STARBOARD!!!

U.S. turns control of International Zone over to Iraq

2009-01-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

The United States formally transferred the Republican Palace back to the Iraqi government today, a concrete symbol of the continuing improvement in the country.

CENTCOM reports.

Officials said that American troops are still on duty at some of the checkpoints in Green Zone, but they are there to train their Iraqi counterparts rather than with operational control. “When you come up to a checkpoint, the Iraqis will check your identification. They will make the decision if you come in or go out, ” said Army Maj. Gen. Dave Perkins, U.S. spokesman in Iraq. As a colonel, Perkins led the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division that conducted the "Thunder Run" in April 2003 that first entered Baghdad.

"We will continue to be there to provide some technical capacity, to provide some mentoring, but you will see less and less American forces and more and more Iraqi forces – and they will have the majority of the responsibility for making those key decisions which determine the security of the capital,” Perkins said.

Once again, another momentous story ignored by the MSM.

Open Trackbacks at The World According to Carl.

New Focus

2008-12-13T23:15:00.001-08:00

Now that my life is back in order and my son is over Elmo, I can get back to this.

Obama's Plan to Make America Defenseless

2008-09-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

How Obama intends to make America defenseless in his own words.

Dear Mr. Obama

2008-09-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

The words of a veteran to Senator Obama.

Biden Takes Credit for Success In Iraq

2008-09-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

Biden is unbelievable. He can't seem to figure out, or admit, that the Surge has worked.

Military Meets, Exceeds Recruiting Goals

2006-12-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

Once again, another item for the MSM didn't tell me this file. Well, at least not in the main news section. AP via Yahoo reports.

WASHINGTON - Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in SEARCH

Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs, the Defense Department announced. The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 — meaning 105 percent of its goal.

All the services turned in similar performances in October as well, meaning they so far are meeting their goals for the 2007 budget year that began Oct. 1.

"The services are starting off well," said Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.

The progress in recruiting comes as U.S. pessimism over the Iraq campaign mounts, according to a recent AP-Ipsos poll. Some 63 percent of Americans said they don't expect a stable, democratic government to be established in Iraq, up from 54 percent who felt that way in June.

Despite what the MSM tells us, there are still scores of brave young men and women willing to stand tall and answer their Nation's call.I salute each and every one of them.

Open Post Thanks to Adam's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Pirate's Cove, Bullwinkle Blog, and Third World County.

Use of Unmanned Drones in GWOT

2006-12-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

And people thought the Coast Guard utilized very small craft.

11/16/06 - U.S. Army Sgt. Dane Phelps launches a Raven small unmanned aerial vehicle during a joint U.S. and Iraqi cordon and search operation in the Hawijah district of Kirkuk province, Iraq, Nov. 16, 2006. Phelps is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Guillory, U.S. Army. (Released).

Open Post Thanks to Basil's Blog, Stop the ACLU, Assorted Babble, Adam's Blog, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Jo's Cafe and Bright & Early.

Coast Guard Rated as Top Job for Thrill Seekers

2006-12-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

CNN, in conjunction with Careerbuilder.com, rated Coast Guard search and rescue operations as the top job for thrill seekers in a recent list of high energy jobs. Other occupations making the list included FBI Special Agent and Firefighter. I really wonder what the parameters were for making the list. Regardless, I am very proud of the top listing.

(CareerBuilder.com) -- Many career paths involve the typical office setting: a desk, an office or cubicle, a computer and so on. But for some people, being in an office just isn't an attractive option. There are many people who are searching for more adventure and excitement than your typical desk job. Fortunately, there are thousands of other careers that enable employees to get out and take some risks.
If you are one of those people who looking for thrills, here are four options that also make a real impact.

1. Coast Guard Rescuer. The Coast Guard is the authority on law enforcement on and around our nation's major waterways. There are dozens of career options in the Coast Guard, says Pete Wypyszinski, a recruiter for the state of Louisiana. In addition to search and rescue, the Coast Guard handles environmental protection, law enforcement, maritime law and transportation regulation.

Training and Salary: Coast Guard recruits must be between the ages of 17 and 27 and have a high school diploma. You must also be good health and physical condition and have no major legal violations on your record. Recruits undergo basic training in Cape May, New Jersey, and then have the option of more specialized training.

Risk and Rewards: Wypyszinski says that one of the best things about this career path is how quickly you are involved in activities and missions that directly benefit your community. As for the danger, it is an understood and respected part of the job. "It's dangerous because of the situations we find ourselves in," he says, but adds that the safety procedures in place and the rewards far outweigh the risks.

The rest of the list can be found here.

Open Post Thanks to Basil's Blog, Stop the ACLU, Assorted Babble, Adam's Blog, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Jo's Cafe and Bright & Early.

Navy Eyes Fighting in Cyberspace

2006-11-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

Chief of Naval Operations Mullen has tasked a development group with creating new concepts that will help the service fight adversaries in cyberspace. Military dot com reports.

In an Oct. 16 memorandum, Mullen calls on the Strategic Studies Group to give him a "high-level blueprint that encompasses your longer-term view, as well as a roadmap that includes immediately actionable steps -- operational, process, and technological -- that our Navy may take to begin developing the capabilities" needed to master the cyberspace warfare domain in the next 25 years.
The one-page document is addressed to the group's director, retired Adm. James Hogg, and is titled "Strategic Studies Group XXVI Theme -- 'Fighting in Cyberspace in 2030.'"
The Strategic Studies Group, located at the Naval War College in Newport, RI, "generates revolutionary naval warfare concepts" that appear to have potential, but are not being pursued by other Navy organizations, according to the group's Web site.
The group "is tasked only by and reports directly to the CNO," it adds.
Each year, the study team focuses on an issue of special interest to the chief of naval operations, according to a Naval War College Web site.
Mullen opens the memo by calling cyberspace a "new dimension to warfare" that is not only a "seamless blend of sensors, networks, and advanced information technologies, [but] it is also different in principles and concepts."
The group is charged with first understanding the relationships between cyberspace and "traditional maritime domains" like warfare and naval competition.

Posted openly at Adam's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Basil's Blog and Bright & Early.

Coast Guard Uses Biometrics, Identifies, Detains One Suspect

2006-11-28T20:20:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Coast Guard has adopted high-tech measures to combat human smuggling and illegal immigration efforts on the high seas. USCG District 7 PAO reports.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The crew of Coast Guard cutter Key Largo used biometrics, digital fingerprints and photographs, during an interdiction Sunday night in the Mona Passage, to identify one person who had previously been deported and was attempting to illegally enter the United States.
The suspect was aboard a yola carrying 13 Dominican migrants that was interdicted by the Key Largo 24 nautical miles northwest of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The suspect was identified using the biometric information and comparing it against US-VISIT's databases, which includes information about wanted criminals and immigration violators. The suspect was detained along with two other migrants and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol Tuesday. The other 10 migrants were repatriated to La Romana, Dominican Republic at approximately 9 a.m. today.

The yola was initially located by an HU-25 Falcon jet crew from Air Station Miami. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Borinquen flew rescue support during the transfer of migrants from the yola to the Key Largo.

The biometric capability employed in this case provides the Coast Guard with an important tool to definitively establish the identity of those interdicted at sea who may attempt to enter or re-enter the United States illegally, or who may pose a threat to national security.

Collecting biometric identification supports the U.S. Government's efforts to target human smugglers and protect migrants put at risk attempting to enter the United States illegally from the sea.

The Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo is a 110-foot patrol boat based out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Posted openly at Adam's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Basil's Blog and Bright & Early.

US Military Trains Bomb-Sniffing Bees

2006-11-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

In the latest version of "drone"warfare, DOD scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory said in an online statement published Monday they had developed a method to harness the common honey bee's exceptional olfactory sense to sniff out explosives used in bombs or IEDS.

"The new techniques could become a leading tool in the fight against the use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which present a critical vulnerability for American military troops abroad and is an emerging danger for civilians worldwide," the research laboratory said.

The scientists used Pavlovian techniques on the bees' natural response to nectar, a sticking out of their tongue, or proboscis extension reflex.

By rewarding them with sugar water, the scientists taught bees to give the same reflex action when they were exposed to vapors from explosives such as dynamite, C4 plastic and TATP (triacetone triperoxide), often used by suicide bombers.

"Scientists have long marveled at the honey bee's phenomenal sense of smell, which rivals that of dogs," said Tim Haarmann, principal investigator for the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project. "But previous attempts to harness and understand this ability were scientifically unproven. With more knowledge, our team thought we could make use of this ability."

The rest of the story can be found here.

Posted openly at Adam's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Basil's Blog and Bright & Early.

Afghanistan's Fledgling Army Joins Fight

2006-11-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

Amidst all of the negative reports concerning Iraq, there has been considerable silence regarding Afghanistan. The newly formed Afghan Army has grown from former members of the Northern Alliance, to a legitimate force.

"They are our exit strategy," said Maj. Francoise Bisillon, who is part of the Canadian team that lives with, trains and mentors Afghan soldiers in Panjwayi.

Their short morning patrol might not seem like dangerous work, but the area is NATO's front line against Taliban militants. Clashes erupt in nearby fields almost every day.

This year alone, 34 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Kandahar province, most of them in insurgent attacks near the Argandab River, a fertile valley of orchards and vineyards that is a green oasis in an expanse of brown desert and barren mountains.

Close-quarter fighting over the summer in the province's Panjwayi, Pashmul and Zhari areas killed hundreds of militants, but dozens of civilians also died — deaths that have soured relations between locals and Western troops.
Lt. Col. Shirin Shah Kowbandi's chin and right palm bear scars from clashes with Taliban militants in the country's north in the 1990s, when the hard-line Islamic militia ruled most of Afghanistan.

A towering man in green fatigues, he has spent most of his adult life fighting the Taliban, first as a member of the Northern Alliance and now as commander of the Afghan National Army's 2nd Kandak, 1st Brigade, 205th Corps in Kandahar province, the militia's former heartland.

When the Taliban ruled, the lines of battle and combatants were clear, he said.

"Now, there is no front line," Kowbandi said. "Four or five guys will attack and then run into the village where they hide their weapons."

Kowbandi complains that his unit has only half the men required, few weapons and old equipment. Some of their assault rifles jammed during the summer offensive, while barrels on others were bent. Recent rains left their dun-colored pickup trucks bogged down in thick mud.

"If we have better weapons and equipment, we can beat the enemy faster," Kowbandi said, before turning his gaze to some Canadian armored vehicles.
"If I only had those," he said.

I wish you did, too.

Open Post Thanks to Basil's Blog, Woman Honor Thyself, Pirate's Cove, Jo's Cafe, and Point Five.

Massive Rally Backs Chavez Opponent

2006-11-26T11:47:00.001-08:00

In one of the largest anti-Chavez rallies in many years, thousands of Venezuelans blocked a major highway in support of opposition presidential candidate Manuel Rosales.

Shouts of "Dare to change!" rose up from the dense crowd filling the highway for several miles and spilling into nearby overpasses and streets in Venezuela's capital, Caracas. The rally came eight days before the country's presidential election on Dec. 3.

Rosales, speaking from a stage, promised democracy for a country he said was sinking into Cuba-style authoritarianism under Chavez.

"I don't want to be a president who controls all the branches of government," Rosales shouted to thundering applause. "Let there be true democracy in Venezuela!"

I agree, let there be democracy in Venezuela.

The rest of the story can be found here.

Open Post Thanks to Basil's Blog, Woman honor Thyself, Pirate's Cove, Jo's Cafe, and Point Five.

Farmers Lose...Wetlands Win

2006-11-23T20:23:00.000-08:00

In yet another example of how the government take of private land extends beyond eminent domain, the Island County (Washington) Planning Department has enacted a Critical Area ordinance, which local green groups claim is not enough. In a nutshell, the ordinance limits development in critical areas (e.g. wetlands). Wait a minute; the ordinance not only limits the development of privately owned land, but farming as well. That's right -- farming. The original stewards of the land -- farmers -- are now being regulated as if they were planning a Mega-lo-Mart or the 895th Starbucks in town. The Snohomish County Herald reports.

Whidbey Environmental Action Network is suing the county. It alleged the new rules are based on faulty science and fail to protect these critical areas. The environmental advocacy organization has asked a Thurston County Superior Court judge to force Island County to redraft the rules and protect environmentally sensitive areas.
Ultimately, the group would like to eliminate farming near wetlands and streams, litigation coordinator Steve Erickson said.
"We don't think, by and large, streams and wetlands are the place to have livestock," he said. "Someone who lives downstream shouldn't have to worry about getting sick from someone's livestock (up) the stream. A trip to the beach shouldn't mean a trip to the emergency room."
County Planning and Community Development Director Phillip Bakke countered that the new rules would protect the environment. They also would make it tougher for farmers to practice near critical areas, he said.
For example, the new rules would force some farmers to develop farm plans in conjunction with conservation districts. Others would need to create setbacks from streams and confinement areas for manure.
Additionally, the rules would only apply to current farmers. New farmers would have to abide by the county's critical areas ordinance, which limits development around wetlands and streams. Though the ordinance was created with urban development in mind, it also applies to farming, Bakke said.

Tactics like this aren't limited to Island County, oh no. Right here in California, federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have banded together to draw lines on private property -- lines that establish wetland preserves on private land. If a landowner wants to develop his or her land in the Sun Ridge area of Sacramento County or many other parts of the state, they had better be prepared to give up huge chunks of their land if they want to stand a chance of getting development entitlements.

Think this could never happen to you? That nice little Creek that runs through your back 40 may become the next National [insert species name here] Preserve.

Linked at the following excellent sites: Third WorldCounty, bRight and Early, Cao's Blog, Right Wing Nation, and Basil's Blog.

Canada Toughens Bail for Gun Crimes

2006-11-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

It is not too often I find myself praising any Canadian political, judicial or institutional decision. While I find Canada's stand on gun restrictions appaling, today I find myself cheering Toronto for a good decision. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that his party is pushing amendments to the criminal code to make it difficult for those charged with a violoent crime involving a gun to get released on bail while awaiting trial. The rest of the story.

The amendments, expected to be introduced later in the day in the House of Commons, will require those accused of serious crimes involving firearms to provide sufficient justification to be granted bail.
"Gun crime is a menace to public safety, and protecting Canadians must be the first priority of our bail system," Harper said in Toronto.

"Our legislation will reverse the onus, so that people charged with serious gun crimes will have to demonstrate to the courts why they should not stay in custody until their trial."

Harper said of the nearly 1,000 crimes involving firearms or restricted weapons reported so far this year in Toronto, nearly 40 percent were committed by people on bail, on parole or on probation.

The amendments, which were championed by the Conservative Party during Canada's last federal election, were part of broad anti-violent crime proposals.

Posted with Great Thanks at The Mudville Gazette, Bright & Early, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove and Third World County.

Okinawans Embrace U.S.Military More Than Do Democrats

2006-11-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

In a recent election, Okinawans have proven to support the U.S. military more than the Democratic party -- AFP via Yahoo reports.

Japan's southern island chain of Okinawa elected an ally of conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as governor, rejecting calls to scale back one of the US military's key overseas deployments.
The election had turned into a referendum on the troops in the subtropical islands, which host three-quarters of the US military facilities in Japan, one of Washington's closest allies.

Voters backed Hirokazu Nakaima, who is supported by Abe's Liberal Democratic Party. He has said he will negotiate with the central government over the troop presence and avoid confrontation.

With all the votes counted, Nakaima had 347,303 votes with challenger Keiko Itokazu, who had campaigned actively against the US troops, receiving 309,985 votes. A pro-independence candidate trailed in third place.

Shamelessly linked at The Mudville Gazette, Third World County, Right Wing Nation, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, and Jo's Cafe.

Kissinger says No Victory in Iraq

2006-11-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

Former Secretary of State and noted butcher of the English language Henry Kissinger stated publicly that a military victory in Iraq is not possible.

"If you mean by 'military victory,' an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible," he told the British Broadcasting Corp.

Herr Kissinger further claims that we must hop in bed with Iraq's neighbors if we are to make any progress. He did come out of the ether when asked about total troop withdrawal.

But Kissinger, an architect of the Vietnam war who has advised President Bush about Iraq, warned against a rapid withdrawal of coalition troops,saying it could destabilize, Iraq's neighbors and cause a long-lasting conflict.

What crap.

Shamelessly linked at The Uncooperative Blogger, Stuck on Stupid, Is it Just Me?, and Cao's Blog

Yemeni Government Releases Suspended Newspapers

2006-05-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

In a striking display of "it must not have been that big of a deal because we are letting you off the hook," the Yemeni government has allowed several print news sources to resume operations. The news sources were suspended for republishing the prophet cartoons. Yemen Times reports:

SANA’A, May 2 — Yemeni Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajammal issued a decree releasing Al-Ray Al-Aam,

Al-Hurreyah and Yemen Observer newspapers, which have been suspended since last February for republishing the Prophet cartoons.

Bajammal issued the decree Tuesday following a meeting with Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS), Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Interior Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi and Minister of Information Hassan Al-Lawzi. The meeting, which came one day before journalists around the world celebrated the World Press Freedom Day, discussed many problems and issues experienced by journalists. The meeting came out with the government’s support for journalist via approving the YJS General Assembly’s meeting on May 25 to elect a new YJS Chief. The new chief will succeed Mahboub Ali who resigned the post due to health issues. The government approved financial sponsorship for the YJS General Assembly’s meeting.

Prime Minister obviously responded to the YJS demands regarding situations of journalists in official media and their entitlements in the new wage strategy, YJS board member Sami Ghaleb said in a statement to the Yemen Times. He added that Bajammal ordered concerned bodies to quickly issue an ownership document for the YJS to have land for its Aden office.

With regard to the dispute between YJS and the government over the new draft press law currently discussed before Al-Shoura Council, Bajammal told YJS the government is not in a hurry to approve the draft law. He demonstrated his government’s care to achieve a draft law meeting YJS’s demands and expectations.

“Though late it was, the Cabinet’s decision is good and reflects insistence of the journalistic community, represented by the YJS, on a broader scope and safe climate for press freedom,” Editor-in-Chief of Yemen Observer Mohamed Al-Asadi stated. It will be the first time for the Yemeni press to normally mark the World Press Freedom Day.

Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ray Al-Aam Kamal Al-Ulefi said: “we welcome the government’s move to pass the law after the attempt to harm reputation of Al-Ray Al-Aam, voice of all people, and its editors, as well as to shut up mouths by illegally suspending the three papers.”

"Illegally suspending the three papers," nicely put.

Open Post Thanks to TMH's Bacon Bits, Jo's Cafe, Bright & Early, Outside the Beltway, Liberal Wrong Wing, Adam's Blog, Samantha Burns and Point Five.

Despite Their Actions, We Must Continue

2006-05-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

Today, or was it yesterday according to local time, a British helicopter was struck down in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. While the helo was spiraling towards the ground, groups of Iraqi citizens took the streets and cheered the crash of the helo and the associated column of smoke -- mistake number one. The rest of the story is here.

Reeks of Somalia, yes?

After the helo crashed, British troops arrived to render assistance and were met with a deluge of rocks, bottles and other pieces of hand-propelled debris. Regardless, the Britons continued. Following the initial primitive exchange, Shiite-heads arrived engaged the Britons with small arms fire. Mistake number two -- approximately 30 civilians were injured or killed in the exchange.

These were likely the same Iraqis that cheered the arrival of U.S. troops. The same Iraqis that slammed the soles of their shoes against posters of the previous dictator. The same Iraqis who cheered when the statue was felled. Sadly, the same Iraqis that cheered whenever al-jazeera television broadcasts the beheading of a westerner.

Despite these actions, we must continue in the efforts of Iraqi freedom.

Open Post Thanks to TMH's Bacon Bits, Jo's Cafe, Bright & Early, Outside the Beltway, Liberal Wrong Wing, Adam's Blog, Samantha Burns and Point Five.

Why I Didn't Boycott

2006-05-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

My GrandMother and GrandFather on my Mother's side were born in Mexico and Italy, respectively. As such, I am 25% Mexican and 25% Italian -- the other 50% is white Euro blood courtesy of my Father (not that there is anything wrong with that). My Mother grew up in a wonderful home in San California (Marin County), California. Both of her parents came to the States from their native country, went about their business, raised four children, built a business and retired comfortably. Today, when I traveled to San Rafael to visit my ill Mother, I was adversely impacted by scores of "protesters" who shut down Highway 101. Once my wife, son and I arrived at my parent's home, I asked if they realized what was happening two miles north of their home. My Father said that he wasn't aware of the impact, but he wasn't surprised by the "action." My Mother, on the other hand, was a bit put off by the actions. Shortly before we left, my Uncle Joe came by to visit and he chimed in with his views.

Joe recalled that his parents attended citizenship classes, took tests and did their best to make sure that their children learned English and integrated into American society. It worked. My Uncle Joe became the Mayor of his city -- he also earned a commission as an Officer in the Merchant Marines. My Uncles Francis and Miguel owned successful restaurants and dance studios, respectively. Lastly, my Mother was "Rosie the Riviter' during WWII, raised a family, coordinated community, regional and global relief efforts during times of disaster and famine, and is the best GrandMother the world could imagine. Times have changed. Instead of doing everything possible to integrate into society, today's immigrants want everything handed to them on a silver plate.

Sad.

Really sad.

Open Post thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Mark My Words, Committees of Correspondence, Blue Star Chronicles, Basil's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Pirates, Man Your Women!, and Third World County.

American Culture Shock for Muslims

2006-04-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

Arab News recently ran an Op-Ed piece on the effect that American culture has on Muslims living in or visiting America. I was genuinely surprised by the post. The American Culture Shock Works for Sure.

“Would Osama Bin Laden have ended up so anti-American if he had the chance you had to live and study in the US?” the American journalist wondered.
I gave him a long answer (sorry it wasn’t an easy question): “Many Muslims went to America conservative and came back liberal. Others only became conservative, even radicals, after their American experience. A few remained uninfluenced either way.
Said Qutub, the godfather of Islamic radicalism, was a romantic poet before he lived for a short while in Colorado, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Still, he wrote later about his discovery then and there of the Western decadence and how he decided to change course to fight the US influence on the Muslim world. His books persuaded many Muslim generations and led them on the way of confrontation with Western values and with Muslim regimes that do not strictly adhere to the Shariah.
On the other hand, most people I know, young and old, returned from America positively impressed. A prominent anti-US leftist told me after his first visit: I discovered that America is not just pro-Israel Congress and White House. It is also the hospitable, friendly, open and generous people.
During the cross-Atlantic flight from London to New York, my American neighbor told me all about his life and family, showed me their pictures, and discussed everything from the environment to US foreign policies. We agreed and disagreed, but he never showed any anger, arrogance, stubbornness or hostility. Before we parted ways, he gave me his card, invited me home, and ... presented me with a medal of honor he received in the US Army.

The piece goes on to state what a wonderful time the author had while living in Eugene,Oregon, and how some of his best friends were Americans. All this is well and good, but the fact is that many Muslims seriously hate us and our way of life and no Eugene suburb will ever change that.

Open Post thanks to TMH Bacon Bits, Stuck on Stupid, Adam's Blog, Third World Country, Liberal Wrong Wing, Uncooperative Blogger and The Mudville Gazette.

LA Times Sacks Blog

2006-04-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

The LA Times recently discontinued a column and Times-affiliated blog authored by Michael Hitzik. Times editors claimed that Hitzik's work was not discontinued because it was inaccurate, "But employing pseudonyms constitutes deception and violates a central tenet of The Times' ethics guidelines: Staff members must not misrepresent themselves and must not conceal their affiliation with The Times." The rest of the story.

Does this mean that all LATimes editorials will now be signed as to not conceal the author's affiliation with the Times?

Open Post thanks to TMH Bacon Bits, Stuck on Stupid, Adam's Blog, Third World Country, Liberal Wrong Wing, Blue Star Chronicles, Conservative Cat, Uncooperative Blogger, Church and State and Cigar Intelligence Agency

Time for Suadis to Capitalize on Their Greatest Resource

2006-04-23T18:10:00.002-07:00

Every now and then, I read an article that sends me spinning into what-the-heckville,USA. This instance occured when I read a post from Arab News which stated that educated women, not crude oil or other mineral resources, are the greatest resources in the gulf. Arab News reports:

I have just read an article in The Economist about the changing pattern in parents’ attitudes toward their firstborn. Earlier surveys, especially in the developing world, showed that parents preferred to have a boy instead of a girl. That was a must in agricultural societies where a boy was a strong, extra hand in the field.
However, that belief now is changing — especially in the developing world, including Asia. Girls now are thought of as a better investment. The study found that girls get better grades than boys, graduate quicker and enter the job market faster. They are also excelling in investment and finance which were once exclusively the domain of men.
I have also noticed that the number of women financial analysts on television is increasing and that women are now often found in senior financial positions. After World War II, the number of women in the work force increased. The reason was that many had entered the work force while men were away in the military and when the war was over, they didn’t want to go back home. It wasn’t long before their sisters of working age wanted to work as well.
Today, two-thirds of American women work. Women make up half the US work force, and they are ignoring the gender barriers of the past.
Women are taking more senior-level positions and becoming more involved in the decision-making processes of both business and industry. This also gives them a stronger social and political voice which should contribute significantly to both stability and security in society.
In the Gulf states, there has been fair progress in women’s development; however, more needs to be done. Any society that neglects half its population assures its position as an also-ran among the nations of the world.
In Saudi Arabia, the number of female graduates is high, and women are taking on tasks that a few years ago might have seemed unimaginable. They are taking positions of responsibility, and they are succeeding because Saudi women are intelligent and eager to forge ahead and accept challenges. We should be helping them to succeed rather than debating whether they should try. Educating women is a very important piece of the economic puzzle and, once it is done, it is a piece we cannot afford to ignore or fail to use. This is a truth not lost on India or the Far East — places where national economies are racing forward and national dialogues focus on the next economic or financial sector with no attention paid to who should be allowed to play the game. Many of these nations are resource-poor except for their human populations. Imagine what a nation blessed by an abundance of natural resources would be able to do if it made its human resources the most important of all.
The problem we have in Saudi Arabia is twofold. The most pressing of which is how we can position ourselves in the super-competitive global economy and come out winners. As important for us is the internal challenge of how we can enable all the members of our work force — both men and women — to progress while keeping the fabric of our society intact.
It’s a difficult challenge, but it is a challenge upon which the future success or failure of our nation will depend. Ours is a faith-based country and that makes it an obligation, both to our children and our faith, to find a way forward or find ourselves in a situation in which both will suffer.
Part of that challenge is finding the way to make full use of our female talent. Our society must readjust its views and remove obstacles that make it harder for women to work and, at the same time, provide them with the flexibility to combine work with family life. We have to remember that well-educated Saudi women will not only be more productive, they will also raise healthier, better educated children.
If we had the luxury of time, it would be easy to say: Let those better-educated children figure out what to do. The fact is, however, that we do not have that luxury. It is incumbent upon us to find the way forward — and to do so as soon as possible. The good news is that we have an incredible, largely untapped resource, greater than our blessings of oil, natural gas and minerals. She wears an abaya and her time has come.

Incredible. What's next, letting women vote, show their faces or look at a cartoon? Ghastly.

Open Post Thanks to Third World County, Wizbang, THM's Bacon Bits, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Time for Suadis to Capitalize on Their Greatest Resource

2006-04-23T18:10:00.001-07:00

I have just read an article in The Economist about the changing pattern in parents’ attitudes toward their firstborn. Earlier surveys, especially in the developing world, showed that parents preferred to have a boy instead of a girl. That was a must in agricultural societies where a boy was a strong, extra hand in the field.
However, that belief now is changing — especially in the developing world, including Asia. Girls now are thought of as a better investment. The study found that girls get better grades than boys, graduate quicker and enter the job market faster. They are also excelling in investment and finance which were once exclusively the domain of men.
I have also noticed that the number of women financial analysts on television is increasing and that women are now often found in senior financial positions. After World War II, the number of women in the work force increased. The reason was that many had entered the work force while men were away in the military and when the war was over, they didn’t want to go back home. It wasn’t long before their sisters of working age wanted to work as well.
Today, two-thirds of American women work. Women make up half the US work force, and they are ignoring the gender barriers of the past.
Women are taking more senior-level positions and becoming more involved in the decision-making processes of both business and industry. This also gives them a stronger social and political voice which should contribute significantly to both stability and security in society.
In the Gulf states, there has been fair progress in women’s development; however, more needs to be done. Any society that neglects half its population assures its position as an also-ran among the nations of the world.
In Saudi Arabia, the number of female graduates is high, and women are taking on tasks that a few years ago might have seemed unimaginable. They are taking positions of responsibility, and they are succeeding because Saudi women are intelligent and eager to forge ahead and accept challenges. We should be helping them to succeed rather than debating whether they should try. Educating women is a very important piece of the economic puzzle and, once it is done, it is a piece we cannot afford to ignore or fail to use. This is a truth not lost on India or the Far East — places where national economies are racing forward and national dialogues focus on the next economic or financial sector with no attention paid to who should be allowed to play the game. Many of these nations are resource-poor except for their human populations. Imagine what a nation blessed by an abundance of natural resources would be able to do if it made its human resources the most important of all.
The problem we have in Saudi Arabia is twofold. The most pressing of which is how we can position ourselves in the super-competitive global economy and come out winners. As important for us is the internal challenge of how we can enable all the members of our work force — both men and women — to progress while keeping the fabric of our society intact.
It’s a difficult challenge, but it is a challenge upon which the future success or failure of our nation will depend. Ours is a faith-based country and that makes it an obligation, both to our children and our faith, to find a way forward or find ourselves in a situation in which both will suffer.
Part of that challenge is finding the way to make full use of our female talent. Our society must readjust its views and remove obstacles that make it harder for women to work and, at the same time, provide them with the flexibility to combine work with family life. We have to remember that well-educated Saudi women will not only be more productive, they will also raise healthier, better educated children.
If we had the luxury of time, it would be easy to say: Let those better-educated children figure out what to do. The fact is, however, that we do not have that luxury. It is incumbent upon us to find the way forward — and to do so as soon as possible. The good news is that we have an incredible, largely untapped resource, greater than our blessings of oil, natural gas and minerals. She wears an abaya and her time has come.

Incredible. What's next, letting women vote, show their faces or look at a cartoon? Ghastly.

Open Post Thanks to Third World County, Wizbang, THM's Bacon Bits, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Time for Suadis to Capitalize on Their Greatest Resource

2006-04-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

I have just read an article in The Economist about the changing pattern in parents’ attitudes toward their firstborn. Earlier surveys, especially in the developing world, showed that parents preferred to have a boy instead of a girl. That was a must in agricultural societies where a boy was a strong, extra hand in the field.
However, that belief now is changing — especially in the developing world, including Asia. Girls now are thought of as a better investment. The study found that girls get better grades than boys, graduate quicker and enter the job market faster. They are also excelling in investment and finance which were once exclusively the domain of men.
I have also noticed that the number of women financial analysts on television is increasing and that women are now often found in senior financial positions. After World War II, the number of women in the work force increased. The reason was that many had entered the work force while men were away in the military and when the war was over, they didn’t want to go back home. It wasn’t long before their sisters of working age wanted to work as well.
Today, two-thirds of American women work. Women make up half the US work force, and they are ignoring the gender barriers of the past.
Women are taking more senior-level positions and becoming more involved in the decision-making processes of both business and industry. This also gives them a stronger social and political voice which should contribute significantly to both stability and security in society.
In the Gulf states, there has been fair progress in women’s development; however, more needs to be done. Any society that neglects half its population assures its position as an also-ran among the nations of the world.
In Saudi Arabia, the number of female graduates is high, and women are taking on tasks that a few years ago might have seemed unimaginable. They are taking positions of responsibility, and they are succeeding because Saudi women are intelligent and eager to forge ahead and accept challenges. We should be helping them to succeed rather than debating whether they should try. Educating women is a very important piece of the economic puzzle and, once it is done, it is a piece we cannot afford to ignore or fail to use. This is a truth not lost on India or the Far East — places where national economies are racing forward and national dialogues focus on the next economic or financial sector with no attention paid to who should be allowed to play the game. Many of these nations are resource-poor except for their human populations. Imagine what a nation blessed by an abundance of natural resources would be able to do if it made its human resources the most important of all.
The problem we have in Saudi Arabia is twofold. The most pressing of which is how we can position ourselves in the super-competitive global economy and come out winners. As important for us is the internal challenge of how we can enable all the members of our work force — both men and women — to progress while keeping the fabric of our society intact.
It’s a difficult challenge, but it is a challenge upon which the future success or failure of our nation will depend. Ours is a faith-based country and that makes it an obligation, both to our children and our faith, to find a way forward or find ourselves in a situation in which both will suffer.
Part of that challenge is finding the way to make full use of our female talent. Our society must readjust its views and remove obstacles that make it harder for women to work and, at the same time, provide them with the flexibility to combine work with family life. We have to remember that well-educated Saudi women will not only be more productive, they will also raise healthier, better educated children.
If we had the luxury of time, it would be easy to say: Let those better-educated children figure out what to do. The fact is, however, that we do not have that luxury. It is incumbent upon us to find the way forward — and to do so as soon as possible. The good news is that we have an incredible, largely untapped resource, greater than our blessings of oil, natural gas and minerals. She wears an abaya and her time has come.

Incredible. What's next, letting women vote, show their faces or look at a cartoon? Ghastly.

Open Post Thanks to Third World County, Wizbang, THM's Bacon Bits, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Forrestal Remembered by National Geographic

2006-04-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

I recall (seriously) being in basic training and watching the horrific video footage of the Forrestal tragedy. I never knew until many years later that John McCain (???-AZ) had a starring role in the production. Militatry.com reports:

Norfolk, VA. - The Naval Safety Center and other Navy commands are helping National Geographic with a series called “Seconds from Disaster,” which shares major historical events that had tragic results.

The current Navy story deals with the 1967 fire aboard USS Forrestal (CVA 59). The special will show what happened, how Sailors valiantly fought to save the ship, and what lessons were learned that led to modern safety features.

“This is a chance to show the good that came from a tragic event,” said Cmdr. Bob Standley, head mishap investigator at the Naval Safety Center and a key player in the National Geographic special. “My role was to walk the viewer through the mishap, through the eyes of a modern-day mishap investigator. It was interesting to review an old mishap and to share what the Navy learned from that experience.”

The show will include recreations of various events from that day. Rather than use local actors, Sailors from USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and the Farrier Firefighting School will appear in the show.

Capt. (sel.) Dave Lepard, an ordnance expert at NOSSA Indian Head, Md., also helped with the production. “As an ordnanceman, I’m very aware of the USS Forrestal fire,” he said. “It was a watershed event. I read about the incident, researched it, and learned about the mishap that changed the way we do business at sea. I wanted to make sure we did a job that was right for the Navy and for those who lost their lives that fateful day in July.”

“My biggest thanks for all the hard work you all did getting us in to all the places and to meet all the people we needed to see,” said Margaret Beckett, the show’s producer. “Everyone, but everyone we encountered in the U.S. Navy was enthusiastic, helpful and I think many went out of their way to help us. I hope you will enjoy the end product!”

The show is tentatively titled “USS Forrestal Fire - July 29, 1967.” Current plans are for the show to air during the late summer.

The thought of these images still haunt me to this day.

Open Post Thanks toThird World Country, The Mudville Gazette, Freedom Watch, Conservative Cat and Outside the Beltway.

Jordan Accuses Hamassholes of Smuggling Weapons

2006-04-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

According to an AP report posted today, Amman has accused the Hamassholes of smuggling missiles and other weapons into the kingdom. The irritating part is that the AP reporter used the term "activist" to describe the abject pieces of human debris that are the Hamassholes. Regardless, AP reports:

Jordan accused Hamas activists of smuggling missiles and other weapons into the kingdom and said Tuesday it was canceling a planned visit of the Palestinian foreign minister Â the second diplomatic snub for the Hamas-led government in a week.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar's visit to Jordan, which was planned for Wednesday, had been "put off until further notice," a Jordanian government spokesman said.

On Friday, Zahar went to Cairo, but Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said he was too busy for a meeting.

The Jordanian spokesman, Nasser Judeh, told The Associated Press that "missiles, explosives and automatic weapons were seized in the last couple of days." Hamas activists had managed to smuggle "such dangerous weapons into the country" and store them, he said.

He would not say whether the activists had been arrested.

Osama Hamadan, a spokesman for Hamas, declined to comment on Judeh's remarks, saying late Tuesday he had not seen the Jordanian statement.

In a separate statement to the official Petra news agency, Judeh said Jordanian security services had observed Hamas activists "exploring several vital (potential) targets" in the capital, Amman, and other cities. He did not elaborate.

State television quoted Judeh as saying the discovery of the arms cache proved that "Hamas is using two languages in dealing with Jordan."

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, maintains a tough line on militants and once expelled the current leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, for his activities.

Jordan and Egypt have called on Hamas to accept the Arab peace plan, which entails full recognition of Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars.

Hamas refuses to recognize Israel.

Hamas officials have been flying around the Middle East to ask for aid, although it was not immediately clear whether that was the purpose of Wednesday's trip. Hamas is hoping for help to compensate for the U.S. and European Union's decisions to cut off funds to the Palestinian Authority because of the militant group's refusal to renounce violence and recognise Israel.

Open Post Thanks toThird World Country, The Median Sib, Freedom Watch, Conservative Cat and Outside the Beltway.

41 Taliban Get Their 72 Virgins

2006-04-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Afghan Security Forces and a few coalition helicopters, 41 Taliban terrorists are closer to the 72 virgins they have been promised all their lives. On behalf of freedom-loving individuals everywhere, I wish I could've hooked you up years ago. Afghans Attack Suspected Taliban; 41 Die

Afghan security forces backed by coalition helicopters attacked a suspected Taliban hideout in southern Afghanistan, setting off an intense gunbattle that killed 41 rebels, a provincial governor said Saturday.

Six Afghan police officers also died in Friday's fighting in Sangisar, a town 25 miles southwest of Kandahar, said Asadullah Khalid, the provincial governor. Nine police and several militants were wounded.

"Acting on intelligence reports that Taliban have gathered in Sangisar to plan an attack in Kandahar, we launched this operation Friday and the fighting continued from morning to evening," he said.

Khalid said security forces were pursuing Taliban fighters who fled to a nearby village. He said security forces had seen the bodies of 41 rebels but had only retrieved 11.

AH-64 Apache helicopters provided by coalition forces fired rockets to support Afghan forces on the ground, said U.S. military spokesman Lt. Mike Cody. He declined to comment on casualty figures.

Open Post Thanks to Blue Star Chronicles, Third World County, Pirate's Cove, Rhymes with Right, and The Uncooperative Blogger.

The Post Comes Out of the Ether

2006-04-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Today's lead editorial in the Washington Post gives me a slight bit of reassurance that old and venerable members of the print press still have a breath of life in them. The editorial, A Good Leak, lays out why the current scandal is not and hopefully puts to rest this Joe Wilson -- Valerie Plame fiasco. The Washington Post opines:

President Bush was right to approve the declassification of parts of a National Intelligence Estimate about Iraq three years ago in order to make clear why he had believed that Saddam Hussein was seeking nuclear weapons. Presidents are authorized to declassify sensitive material, and the public benefits when they do.

Not only did the Post get that correct, their successful at-bat continued...

The affair concerns, once again, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV and his absurdly over-examined visit to the African country of Niger in 2002. Each time the case surfaces, opponents of the war in Iraq use it to raise a different set of charges, so it's worth recalling the previous iterations. Mr. Wilson originally claimed in a 2003 New York Times op-ed and in conversations with numerous reporters that he had debunked a report that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium from Niger and that Mr. Bush's subsequent inclusion of that allegation in his State of the Union address showed that he had deliberately "twisted" intelligence "to exaggerate the Iraq threat." The material that Mr. Bush ordered declassified established, as have several subsequent investigations, that Mr. Wilson was the one guilty of twisting the truth. In fact, his report supported the conclusion that Iraq had sought uranium.

Mr. Wilson subsequently claimed that the White House set out to punish him for his supposed whistle-blowing by deliberately blowing the cover of his wife, Valerie Plame, who he said was an undercover CIA operative. This prompted the investigation by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald. After more than 2 1/2 years of investigation, Mr. Fitzgerald has reported no evidence to support Mr. Wilson's charge. In last week's court filings, he stated that Mr. Bush did not authorize the leak of Ms. Plame's identity. Mr. Libby's motive in allegedly disclosing her name to reporters, Mr. Fitzgerald said, was to disprove yet another false assertion, that Mr. Wilson had been dispatched to Niger by Mr. Cheney. In fact Mr. Wilson was recommended for the trip by his wife. Mr. Libby is charged with perjury, for having lied about his discussions with two reporters. Yet neither the columnist who published Ms. Plame's name, Robert D. Novak, nor Mr. Novak's two sources have been charged with any wrongdoing.

In their final at-bat, the Post clears the fences.

As Mr. Fitzgerald pointed out at the time of Mr. Libby's indictment last fall, none of this is particularly relevant to the question of whether the grounds for war in Iraq were sound or bogus. It's unfortunate that those who seek to prove the latter would now claim that Mr. Bush did something wrong by releasing for public review some of the intelligence he used in making his most momentous decision.

This is one of the times I wished the editorial was signed -- not for the reasons I normally wish they were.

Others blogging this topic: Right Wing Nut House, Kerfuffles and Blue Crab Boulevard.

Open Post Thanks to Point Five, Right Wing Nation, Blue Star Chronicles, The Uncooperative Blogger, Jo's Cafe and The Mudville Gazette.

Journalist Jailed for On-line Remarks

2006-04-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

No, he is not a cartoonist. A Suadi journalist has been jailed since Monday for comments posted in on-line forums four years ago. Apparently, authorities claim his faith is in doubt. Arab News reports: Journalist Detained for Internet Remarks

JEDDAH, 9 April 2006 — Saudi journalist Rabah Al-Quwayi, 24, has been detained by Hail authorities in connection with his writings posted on Internet forums, which they allege place his Islamic faith in doubt.

Al-Quwayi, a reporter for the Riyadh-based daily Shams, has been in Hail police custody since Monday.

“They asked me about topics I wrote on the Internet four years ago,” Al-Quwayi told Arab News from his detention center.

Hail police chief Gen. Nasser Al-Nowaisser said Al-Quwayi is detained under a warrant requested by the Commission for Prosecution and Investigation.

“Our job was to execute the warrant. As his case is not a public offense, we have nothing to do with the course of the investigation,” said Al-Nowaisser.

When Arab News contacted Ahmad Al-Mashhour from the Hail office of the commission, he refused to comment on the case.

Lawyer Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem announced yesterday that he would be representing Al-Quwayi. The lawyer said he is still unclear who the plaintiffs in the case are; nobody has come forward as the accusers. The commission has the legal right to detain any suspect for up to six months, said Al-Lahem, but the reasons have to be clear.

“The crime must be a serious one, like drug-trafficking, theft, or when there is a likelihood of the suspect fleeing the country,” said the lawyer.

The story of Al-Quwayi’s detention goes back to November when he was based in Hail as a part-time reporter for the Okaz newspaper. He said that unidentified people had been tracking his postings on Internet forums regarding religious extremism. His car was subsequently vandalized and a note was left on the dashboard that said: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful: This time it is your car but next time it is you. Return to your religion and forsake heresy. This is the last warning.”

Al-Quwayi says that he believes the harassment is based on his Internet writing and not anything he’s published in the two newspapers he has worked for.

In a telephone interview with Arab News on Tuesday night, Al-Quwayi said that authorities in Hail contacted him asking him to come in and fill out some paperwork related to his complaints of harassment that stem from the incidents last November. He responded that he had obligations at his job and couldn’t come in. The police sent an explanation letter to the editor in chief of the paper, and Al-Quwayi was given permission to go to the police station. He was immediately arrested upon arrival. Police told him they had discarded his complaints of harassment and opened a new investigation into his Islamic faith.

“They told me that if I didn’t complain to the police in the first place they wouldn’t have suspected my beliefs,” said Al-Quwayi.

Al-Quwayi said the commission investigators were peppering him with questions that were meant to determine his religious knowledge. He added that commission investigators argued with him on topics he posted on the Internet four years ago.

Lawyer Al-Lahem said that now that he’s taken on the case, his first steps would be to review the warrant to make sure it has been done according to proper procedure, and to request the case be moved to Riyadh where he and his client live.

Open Post Thanks to Point Five, Right Wing Nation, Blue Star Chronicles, The Uncooperative Blogger, Jo's Cafe and The Mudville Gazette.

Hamas Still Doesn't Get It

2006-04-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hamas has constantly reminded the world that they do not recognize Israel. Well, it appears that they are getting pretty good at recognizing Israeli missiles and bullets. Israeli air missiles whacked a car of terrorists that dispatched rockets towards Israel. Today (well, Sunday in Israel), Israeli artillery killed a Palestinian police officer and wounded 16 in response to militant rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas has refused to condemn the attacks on Israel and Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the military has been given a free hand to act against militants. Not a good combination. AP reports:

Deployed Servicemembers Achieve U.S. Citizenship

2006-04-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

Amid all the chaos regarding immigrants (both legal and illegal) in the U.S. , there heve been many voices that are missing. These are the voices of non-U.S. citizens fighting -- and falling -- for the U.S. There are a few out there that say that many of the newly sworn joined the service to become a U.S. citizen. Well, if that is the case, and people are willing to join an armed service and fight (and possibly die) on foreign soil, then this must be one hell of a country. DOD reports:

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, April 7, 2006 – Servicemembers deployed to Kuwait became U.S. citizens yesterday during a naturalization ceremony at chapel here.

"It is a great day to be an American," said Whitcomb. "I am not only happy and proud to be here as a soldier, but as an American as well."

"As new citizens to the United States, I salute you," Tueller said. "From today on, you have the opportunity to pursue the American Dream."

Special guests from the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, Rome office, participated in the ceremony. Lori Pietropaoli, officer in charge, administered the oath of allegiance and presented the certificates. Joseph Hackbarth, immigration officer, presented the candidates.

To become eligible for U.S. citizenship, a person must demonstrate good moral character, an understanding of U.S. history and government, and comprehension of the English language.

The ceremony was the first one conducted since mid-December as servicemembers from all over Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar took the oath to become U.S. citizens.

Congratulations one and all. I am proud to call you all "fellow Americans."

Open Post Thanks to Point Five, Right Wing Nation, Blue Star Chronicles, The Uncooperative Blogger, THM's Bacon Bits and The Mudville Gazette.

Buy American Act?

2006-04-04T20:35:00.001-07:00

After what seems like a lifetime after I left active duty in the Coast Guard, I earned my degree in Environmental Biology and Management from U.C. Davis and worked as a project manager for several environmental firms. The worst project I ever had was a lead paint removal project from the roof of a Federal Building in California. Everything about this project was bad, the project bid, the plans, the specs and most importantly, my project management. All this aside, I recall an item in the contract that threw me for a loop. This was the "Buy American Act" clause. In order to be in compliance with our contract, we could not purchase foreign steel or foreign magic lead paint remover stuff (we could use all the foreign labor we wanted -- funny that). However, my beloved Coast Guard has no trouble contracting with EADS, a French-owned firm, for the design and production of the HC-235A, a medium-range, surveillance, maritime patrol aircraft. I posted about EADS way back in June 2005 and I am still shocked. Aren't the French the people that wouldn't stand by us in Iraq? Aren't the French that stood beside Russia and propped up the Iraqi economy for years? Suppose the Frech get pissed at us again for turning the croissant into the croisandwich? Would they stop production of important spare parts in the time of urgent need.

I can hear it now, "Hurry, we need more infrared HUDs for the HC-235A!"
"But I am le tired."
"I shall smoke and have le nap."

Unbelievable.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Right Wing Nation, Stuck on Stupid and Third World County.

Is Palestine the new Nicaragua?

2006-04-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

According to Aljazeera, Palestine is rapidly becoming the new Nicaragua. While some of the parallels are at the most interesting, the one startling comment is that Hamas is doing this to themselves. I clearly recall many kids in high school that dressed in all black, wore gothic make up and did everything in their power to let the rest of the student body know that they did not want to be part of the crowd. Guess what? We gave them what they wanted. Eventually, there was in-fighting between the goths and many added color to their wardrobe and washed their faces. This seems to be precisely what is occuring in Palestine. Arab News reports:

What is unfolding in the occupied territories is a worst-case scenario, ironically one made possible with the direct help of many Palestinians themselves.
The democratically elected Palestinian government is now officially isolated, as many Palestinians cannot see beyond their own narrow ideological differences and factions. Others cannot resist their total reliance on foreign, mostly European funds to run their NGOs, whose contribution to Palestinian life is still disputed.
It looks as though Palestine is being turned into another Nicaragua. That was the intent from the moment Hamas was declared victorious in the Parliamentary elections last January. US mainstream media conveyed the feeling that an utter miscalculation in US foreign policy took place. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice charged back, leading a campaign of defamation and coercion aimed at isolating the democratically elected Palestinian legislators, further solidifying with the former corrupt political elite.

The isolation was not caused by the U.S. media, nor the Secretary of State; but, by false promises, poor fiscal management and the dreaded "Oh crap we won, now what do we do?"

Nicaragua of the 1960s and 1970s seemed of little concern as long as our formidable man, Somoza, ruled with an iron fist. His people robbed the country senseless until the Sandinistas emerged on the scene, toppling him and eventually his US-armed National Guard. Predictably, the US took on the new Sandinista government, which was described then by the international development organization Oxfam as “exceptional..(in its) commitment to improve the conditions of the people and encourage their active participation in the development process.” On the other hand, it was obvious that Somoza had fled with his country’s entire movable assets.
For reasons that have more to do with US strategic interests than the welfare of the people of Nicaragua, the Sandinistas were labeled a “cancer” that had to be extracted. To do so, Nicaragua was completely cut off, denied any form of aid and was forced to squander its resources to fight off Somoza’s former National Guard, renamed the Contras. The rest, of course, is history. Bullied, isolated and terrified, the people of Nicaragua couldn’t withstand the US-led pressures, and were forced into submission, ditching the Sandinista government in a rare democratic election, orchestrated by the Sandinistas themselves. The human cost for such American adventurism was of course unbearable to ordinary Nicaraguans, though it constituted a mere continuation of US foreign policy in Central America and all over the world.
The Palestinian case is, more or less, being handled the same way: The internal and external pressures, the unreasonable demands, the boycott and the collective punishment. All elements are indeed falling into place to remanufacture that same nightmarish scenario which, it is hoped, would lead to diplomatic deadlock, regional and international isolation and further deterioration in the already unstable (read non-existing) Palestinian economy.

Palestine has every opportunity in the world; work to achieve peace with your neighbor (and largest employer of your people) or wither on the vine.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Right Wing Nation, Stuck on Stupid and Third World County.

China Touts Benefits of Plastic Trees

2006-03-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

It was only a matter of time before Christmas was officially brought to you by Bejing's Foreign Minister in charge of mass-produced, pre-lit, spruce-like tree substitutes. The Register (U.K.) reports:

China has sought to demonstrate its environmental credentials and play down US fears over its economic muscle by pointing out that without it, the traditional American Christmas just wouldn’t happen.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, listing the benefits of US-China trade in Beijing today, said that an ever-growing forest of Chinese-made plastic Christmas trees not only brought joy to the world, but were preventing deforestation in the US itself, Reuters reports.

China isn't the first country to spring to mind when considering green policies. Apart from the somewhat smoggy impact of its rapid industrialization, its factories have recently developed a nasty habit of releasing toxic waste into major rivers.

Still, it clearly excels in the recycling of one commodity – justifications for its trade surplus with the US.

Today’s comments sounded eerily like a similar statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, back in Februay. According to Xhinua, Qin said "According to the documents I've read, the vast majority of Christmas gifts and trees are made by China.”

The sub-text is clear. “Back off, or your (made in Shanghai) stockings will be empty next year.”

Great. What's next, the Great Pumpkin is brought to you by the Cuban Peoples Gourd Collective?

Annan Says Coalition May Be Violating "Law"

2006-03-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

Lord God King of the MoonBats, Kofi Annan, states that coalition and Iraqi defense forces may be illegally detaining thousands of people who really want to kill westerners or anyone else who doesn't think the way they do (o.k. the editorial addition was mine). The ASSociated Press reports:

U.S.-led coalition forces and Iraq's authorities may be violating international law by arbitrarily detaining thousands of people, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report published Tuesday.

The report, which studied the situation in Iraq over the last three months, said Iraq's prison system remains a major concern and lamented that an investigation into allegations of torture in Iraqi Interior Ministry jails had not yet been made public as promised.

Annan's criticism of Multinational Forces and the Iraqi authorities in responding to violence was among the strongest he has made, although many of his claims were not new. He said the detainment of thousands of Iraqis "constitutes de facto arbitrary detention."

"The extent of such practices is not consistent with provisions of international law governing internment on imperative reasons of security," the report said.

While Annan praised Iraq's December elections, he also noted a rise in sectarian strife and said attacks against places of worship were higher than ever. Baghdad's Forensic Institute alone received 787 bodies, 479 of which had gunshot wounds, since early December.

"Repeated bombings against civilians, mosques and more recently against churches are creating fear, animosity and feelings of revenge," Annan wrote.
Annan repeated his strong concern about a Feb. 22 bombing that destroyed the golden dome atop a Shiite shrine in the mainly Sunni city of Samarra. The attack set off two weeks of sectarian revenge attacks, mainly targeting Sunni mosques, clerics and neighborhoods.

Ah yes, International law. I forgot.

Interview with U.S. Coast Guard Director of Port Security

2006-03-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

On 3 March 2006, Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone, Director of Port Security, U.S. Coast Guard participated in an interactive interview with members of the public via Whitehouse.gov. The questions were obviously screened; however, the questions asked seemed to adequately address current concerns regarding port operations, as well as current Coast Guard operations. Whitehouse.gov reported:

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
Good afternoon. I'm pleased to be here today to entertain your questions. The purpose of the Coast Guard is to protect the public, both with regard to waterways as well as maritime safety, and serve the citizens of the United States. Often in the Coast Guard we say our job is to protect people from the sea in search and rescue operations and the sea from people, in regard to the environment. And so today, I know port security is on the minds of many of the people. I'm happy to answer any of the questions you might have.

Edward, from Chicago Illinois writes:
Given the current rate of protection at our ports, what is the likelihood of a terrorist group infiltrating our defenses and detonating an explosive device of great magnitude at one of our busiest ports? For example, using a speed boat to slide past our overburdened coast guard.

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
In the Coast Guard we have established a system of layered security, so that first we can focus on identifying threats overseas, before they reach the United States. Second, we have numerous programs to identify and then intercept the threats--in this case vessels--as they move closer to our shores. 96 hours prior to a vessels' arrival into the United States, we screen the vessels' cargo, people, and background on the operating companies to identify what type of risk profile the present. By that we mean risks associated with the safety of the ship, the security of the ship, or the environmental threats that ship might bring. We determine at that time whether we are going to board the ship in open ocean or possibly let the ship go to an anchorage near shore or allow it to go to a pier (dock side). In each case for these boardings, specialized teams go on board with equipment and verify the condition of the ship, its crew and cargo manifest, as well as the condition of the vessel. We examine its cargo with special equipment to ensure it's safe for off loading operations. If a vessel is found to be non-compliant with U.S. and international law, we can take actions to either direct the vessel to correct its condition at the dock, offshore, or not allow the vessel in at all and direct to another port, but not in the United States.

Edward, in regards to your specific question about a domestic speedboat attack, we have boats--both Coast Guard and state and local--that are armed patrolling our water ways and vessel traffic systems with cameras to monitor our largest ports. This detects and intercepts a vessel that presents a risk or threat profile. We have security zones, which are areas where vessels are not allowed to enter, established around our highest risk operations and critical infrastructure. If a vessel attempts to enter into that area, the Coast Guard is authorized to use force to stop the vessel. We also provide escorts for large passenger vessels and ferry vessels, as well as high-risk vessels such as chemical carriers and liquefied natural gas carriers to ensure their safety. These small boat teams are specially trained to address a multiple small boat attacks, not just a single boat attacks.

With regard to security, since July 2004, we have boarded 16,000 vessels and have found numerous violations, many of which we could correct and allow the vessel in to handle cargo. However, there were 144 cases where the vessel was not allowed to come into U.S. waters.

The Coast Guard is not alone in this effort. We received the port from the customs and border protection officers both in foreign ports, where they check cargo before it departs, as well as upon arrival in the United States. If we believe any cargo or individual presents a significant threat to the United States, we can deny entry into U.S. waters.

Beverly, from Cincinnati writes:
How will Dubai's port authority impact on homeland security? Dubai isn't the United States.

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
First, Dubai, as a country, gains no additional authority within our ports, as a result of this transaction. They would own a terminal, or a facility, they don't control the port operations. They have no responsibility for security or safety for the port as a whole. However, they do have responsibility for the safety and security operations within the fence lines of their facility. Again, as I mentioned earlier, a vessel has to be pre-screened for its crew or passengers, its cargo and its operations companies history before it will be considered for entry into the United States.

A vessel that contracts with Dubai might never make it here if the U.S. Coast Guard feels it is a threat to the United States. Most vessels do not present that threat profile and are legitimate operations, but we know that even legitimate operations can be compromised as we know from the war on drugs. As such, we also conduct random boardings of vessels.

When a ship does arrive to begin off-loading cargos, again, the border protection uses a targeting to identify the highest risk cargo, which requires further screening, such as x rays and radiation detection, immediately as the cargo is off-loaded.

We have regulations under the law that requires facility owners to control access to its facility and maintain security operations on board. The Coast Guard inspects and randomly checks the facility to ensure continued compliance with that law. Again, since July 2004 when these laws went into place, we've issued 700 violates, 44 have caused facilities to shut down or cease cargo operations until the major problems were corrected and a process put into place to ensure they could not be repeated. So there is accountability for Dubai Ports World. This is the same for them as any other company.

Additionally, for Dubai Ports World, we put additional requirements on their operations. We are requiring all employees of their company to undergo and provide information about them, to allow the Coast Guard to run background checks through intelligence databases and law enforcement databases, to ensure they don't present a threat to the United States. This will be a continuous process. If any of their names show up later in a database, we will receive notification and be able to take immediate action. We don't expect the employee profile to change drastically in their operations, and most of the people employed are U.S. citizens or longshoremen or stevedores (who do the work of handling the cargo).

Robert, from Connecticut writes:
Is there any added threats to having a foreign nation control domestic ports and entry points into the United States?

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
Any time a foreign owner or state-owned business is considering investing in the United States, we must look and must examine to see if they present an increased threat to our country, as that potential could be very real. The reason I say "increased" threat is that we live in a world that always has some level of threat in it--that is why we already have protective measures in place. That is also why we as a country have armed forces, which includes the Coast Guard.

Again, no foreign nation will control our ports. They are buying the cranes to move cargo and they lease the property from the state or local government to carry out the cargo removal operations from a vessel and its loading onto either trucks or railroad cars, to transport to middle America. The majority of workers at these facilities have no idea what is in the boxes they are moving, however management or lead supervisors do. The lead security officer and company security officer will be required to be U.S. citizens who have undergone background examinations that meet law enforcement standards. They will be the only individuals that we, in the law enforcement community, provide security related information to. Even those individuals will not know Coast Guard and state and local law specific operations.

Again, they will be held accountable to provide security of their terminal. We will also have exercises and tests of the security operations at the facility conducted on a every three month basis, to ensure the people who operate in that environment have been trained to detect a security event and know what actions to take to mitigate that event and contact Coast Guard and law enforcement authorities to respond.

An example might be finding a stowaway on a vessel or a person who tried to come into the United States found on the facility. They are required to have procedures to respond to this type of case, and many others.

In the case of cargo, if the container has broken seals, then we also are notified. These checks are conducted as the container is removed from the vessel, while stored at the facility, as well as the condition of the container as it departs the facility.

Louis, from Butler,PA writes:
Why is it that foreign companies are operating our port facilities? Thank you

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
The United States is still the land of opportunity and these companies see our country as a very good business opportunity. Just as we invest overseas in oil companies, where we have port facilities that are U.S. owned and operated in foreign countries. The majority of container facilities, in fact, are foreign owned or operated in the United States. Also, over 90% of the ships that carry these cargos are foreign owned and operated, not necessarily by the same companies, but in some cases. This is not the case with Dubai Ports World.

Also, one other reason is that they know we have a system of government and judicial system that sets the standard which is fair and bound by law. They are not subject to issues such as bribery or pay offs in order to conduct their business.

In addition, the United States is a very secure country, so there is less risk doing business within our borders.

Finally, the United States is the largest consumer of goods in the world, so it is a great marketplace to conduct business.

John, from Texas writes:
I would like to congratulate you on the great job the USCG did during Katrina. They are the agency with expertise in search and rescue and their command and control structure has the ability to call on needed assets in a hurry, even from the rest of the military. Do you think the USCG should have a bigger role in managing disaters and Homeland Security?

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
John, thank you for recognizing the heroic efforts of the men and women in the Coast Guard who responded to that terrible disaster. We do believe that our contingency planning in advance of the storm and our command and control, as well as the training and expertise of our people, allowed us to perform our mission well.

The Coast Guard in the maritime environment has responsibility to lead, dependent upon the type of disaster that takes place. The Coast Guard is only, however, the size of the New York City Police Department, to provide a little perspective. We train all our people to be leaders and we work to empower them to the maximum extent possible. As such, when significant events take place, their leadership and experience is called to bear in response to disasters where significant response is needed in the maritime environment, meaning on our nation's coasts and inland waterways or Great Lakes. We have federal responsibility as federal on-site coordinators for those events and are responsible for large geographic areas. Those are currently the responsibilities of our captains of the ports, who are charged with covering 96,000 miles of coastline and inland waterways.

In the case of Katrina, five of our captains of the port lead the responses in those maritime environments. However, Katrina also swept far inland and called for a response much broader than just our inland waterways. The most senior leaders in the Coast Guard are admirals, are trained as principal federal officials that the Secretary of Homeland Security or the President could call upon to take an overall coordination and leadership role of the response operation. That occurred for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

The structure for the national response plan allows the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security the flexibility to bring their best leaders from any agency to respond to the emergency based on the location and emerging situation at hand. The Coast Guard is just one agency whose senior leaders have this training.

On a daily basis, the Coast Guard is trained in incident response for chemical and oil spills, as well as search and rescue, or major casualties such as a vessel explosion and fire, or a catastrophic accident such as a sinking ship or a collision at sea.

What we are talking about is a much larger scale operation and cooperation. Many of our activities involve working with marine industry, as well as state and local authorities. As such, when an event takes place we already have an understanding of each other's capabilities and shared assets that could come to assist with an emerging situation. Such proved of Katrina.

Marilyn, from Texas writes:
With all of the hoopla from all quarters, most of it political what is the real scoop from the military about the port security? It seems to me to make sense that the deal should be approved since other ports are foreign owned and the Saudis have foiled terrorist attacks. Also it doesn't make sense that our great president who is so concerned about national security would suddenly abandon ship.

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
As my Commander-in-Chief, I know the President's top priority is the safety and security of America and Americans. The President also relies on all of the departments under his direction to examine every aspect of this transaction to ensure that it will not provide increased threat to the United States. If any of the departments or the President believes after full investigation and review, as well as additional requirements placed on Dubai Ports World have been completed, that this provides an increased threat to the American public or our adhered interest, he would not let it go through, as would none of the departments.

As I stated earlier, the reason the Coast Guard exists is to provide for the safety and security of the public and I can assure you that if there was anything that needed to be done, we would require it. Again, we are not the only agency responsible for the safety and security of the public. Upon completion of the review of this case and the information we have been provided, we do not believe this transaction presents in and by itself any significant threat to the U.S. ports.

Most of the discussion about this transaction is about vulnerability, not threat. The U.S. Navy made 600 port calls to the Port of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last year. The UAE aided in the fight in Kosovo and is aggressively combating terrorism in their region.

I know many people in the U.S. Navy, and I know that they would never dock their ships in a place that they felt was a high threat environment. The UAE is not such a place as U.S. ships dock there regularly.

Dawson, from South China, ME writes:
I understand 2 of the attackers of 911 were from this country, UEA.It seems to me that it would be very difficult for a Arab to convince an American or even a Brit he should aid in the smuggling of WMD for the purpose of attacking us. A Arab dealing with another Arab is a total different story.

If this deal does go down how can you insure the American people that this government that played a vital part in moving money for the 911 attacks as well as other attacks against U.S. properties will not be coroperative again in aiding Al Queda or that its employees will provide loyalty as a American or Brit would?

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
It concerns me anytime a country's government is painted with a broad brush, because of the acts of a few individuals.

The same concerns could be made by a U.S. citizen because there was a shoe bomber from England to blow up an airplane or the London subway system was bombed by citizens residing in their country.

In no way do I think England is any less an ally to the United States or less concerned and dedicated to removing terrorism from their country.

The UAE, through their actions, has demonstrated a commitment to the United States to aid in the war against terrorism, provide support for our U.S. Armed Forces overseas and even providing relief to Katrina victims.

Thus, you won't hear me make a broad brushed statement about the country of UAE, because of the acts of a few within their country.

Jo, from Owensboro KY writes:
The media has reported how unsecure and vulnerable our port system is to a terrorist attack. Can you state what some of the changes that have been made to the security of the port system since 911? Thank you.

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
After 9/11, the Coast Guard required 3200 commercial faculties to provide security physical improvements and modify their operations to meet new security regulations, as well as training for their personnel.

Over 11,000 U.S. flagged commercial vessels were also required to have security plans and personnel trained to ensure the safety and security of cargos, as well as passengers on their vessels, such as ferry vessels and large passenger vessels.

Additionally, the U.S. Government provided 12 maritime safety and security teams, which are tactical small boat teams to protect our most critical infrastructure and highest risk operation areas. The Coast Guard was also provided with increased helicopters with aerial use of force that can stop vessels from the air.

The Coast Guard was also provided almost 4,000 additional personnel to increase boardings, escorts, and patrols of our ports and waterways, as well as conduct boardings, inspections and examinations of foreign flagged vessels and U.S. port facilities.

Additionally, the Coast Guard was provided funding to support annual large scale exercises such as to responding to disasters like Hurricane Katrina, or a transportation security incident, involving more than one geographic area, to make sure we are prepared for catastrophic events whether natural or manmade.

In addition, we've been provided increased detection capabilities for vessels offshore before them coming to the United States and have required all large commercial vessels over 300 gross tons to have transponders on their vessels that allow us to track their movements. Again, a vessel could be detected prior to coming to the U.S. This requirement is for both U.S. and foreign flagged vessels.

For more information regarding the security precautions the U.S. Coast Guard is doing and has done, I encourage you to visit the U.S. Coast Guard web site.

Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone
Thank you for all of your great questions.

Before I go, a word about safety. We are about to approach boating season and some may even choose to go on the water early because the air is warm. Everyone who goes boating has to ensure their boat is in good operating condition following the off season and everyone needs to understand the water temperature is nowhere near the air temperature and is won't be close for months to come.

It is always critical to wear your lifejacket and that you tell a friend or family member where you are going and how long you expect to be gone. Always have some form of radio to call for help in case of emergency on the water from your vessel's operation to an unusual weather change, to "I'm lost."

And if you find yourself in the water, your best hope for survival is to take those preparations, as well as, the most critical element--your lifejacket. I can't over emphasize the wearing of a lifejacket, and it's not just for children. We have more fishermen who die from falling overboard without wearing their lifejacket than any other community, and most fisherman don't let anyone know where they are going in a n effort to protect their secret "favorite spot" for fishing. So to the fishermen--tell a really good friend where you are headed! For the kids who are online, make sure your parents wear their lifejackets, too.

One final note. If you are young, smart, energenic and you want to make a difference saving lives while protecting your country and our way of life, and you want to have lots of fun, join the Coast Guard!

I concur, Go Coast Guard!

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Freedom Watch, Right Wing Nation, Conservative Cat and Don Surber.

Hamas' Talks with Moscow

2006-03-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

Over the past week, many sides have chimed in on the recent talks between Putin's govenment and Hamas.

Today’s online edition of Haaretz.com reports on recent discussion between Hamas’ leadership and Moscow.

Olmert: Russia's talks with Hamas harm effort to isolate group

Russia's talks with Hamas leaders in Moscow have harmed world efforts to isolate the militant group that is setting up a new Palestinian government, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

Olmert said it was a "mistake" to invite Hamas leaders for talks before the group changes its policies and accepts the basic international demands of recognition of Israel and renunciation of violence.

Despite Israel's objections to the invitation, Hamas leaders were in Moscow over the weekend for talks. They met the Russian foreign minister, but Putin did not agree to see them.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Times reports:

Hamas says Moscow talks 'important breakthrough', rejects pressure

RAMALLAH — Hamas leaders on an official visit to Moscow yesterday called talks with the Russian government an "important breakthrough" and rejected pressure on the group to recognise Israel.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Jo's Cafe, Don Surber, Stop the ACLU and Right Wing Nation.

Kelo-ing Conaway Proves Costly

2006-03-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

The rudderless ship known as the Yolo County(California) Board of Supervisors seems hell-bent on acquiring the 16,300-acre Conway Ranch via eminent domain. So bent, that they have amassed nearly 2 million dollars in legal and consultant fees. All this before the projected ~~theft~~ acquisition price of 60 million dollars. I have commented on this many times in the past, and I am still amazed that people whose jobs depend on the mood of the electorate would want to be associated in any way with the words "eminent domain." The Davis Enterprise reports:

WOODLAND - Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting was marked by at-times angry exchanges about the mounting legal costs - creeping close to $2 million - of acquiring the Conaway Ranch. At issue was an item from the county counsel's office on the board's consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are routinely approved by the board with little or no discussion. This time, however, the item was taken off consent by the chair, Frank Sieferman Jr., to allow nine people to speak in opposition to the payment of up to $687,000 from the county's General Fund to the Sacramento law firm of Somach, Simmons & Dunn. The money will be used chiefly to pay for the county's continuing effort to buy 16,300 acres of the Conaway Ranch by eminent domain.

As of Monday, the county had spent $1.26 million on legal fees (primarily to the Somach law firm) and on professional fees to financial consultants, land appraisers and public relations firms. With the addition of the $687,000 approved on Tuesday, the county is coming very close to spending $2 million on a lawsuit that will, at its conclusion, allow the county to spend a minimum of $60 million to become the ranch's owner.

A valuation trial by jury has been set for June 13 by Yolo County Superior Judge Tim Fall, who ruled in November that the county had a right to buy the ranch from an unwilling seller, the Conaway Preservation Group. Attorney Stuart Somach represented the county at the court trial. County Counsel Steve Basha told the board Tuesday that he would pursue settlement discussions. A pretrial settlement conference has been set for April 13.

Ernie Head of Davis and Dudley Holman of Woodland spoke to the board. Both men belong to the Yolo Taxpayers' Association.

"This is a mistake," said Holman, former Woodland mayor, regarding the purchase of the ranch.

"I'm trying to restrain my anger," he added, pointing out that the county has many immediate needs it cannot afford to address, while the purchase of the Conaway Ranch will put the county in debt. "The debt can only be paid by selling the assets you profess to want to secure," he said.

"It just seems you don't know where to stop on this issue," added Blake Harlan of Woodland, who argued with Supervisor Mike McGowan over the definition of a farmer vs. a developer.

These "evil developers" rightfully purchased the land for future use as mitigation lands to offset impacts from development in other areas. In addition, a majority of the Conway Ranch is located within the federal floodplain, which makes it off limits to development without crossing MAJOR hurdles.

"Your arrogance as usual is overwhelming," he said to the supervisor.

"I think you owe the public an economic analysis of the purchase and the return to the taxpayers," said Stan Lester of Winters. "This is all being done behind closed doors - it's very scary."

"The business plan is still in the works and we are not at liberty to discuss it," said Sharon Jensen, chief administrative officer for the county.

Supervisor Chamberlain said he would not approve the additional expenditure.

"I'm against buying Conaway Ranch to begin with," he said.

Chamberlain said he wanted the county to make a deal with the ranch owners without lawyers and judges getting involved in the negotiations.

"We need roads and levees," he said. He said the county's money should be spent on lawyers to approve a deal after the negotiations take place.

McGowan listened to the public comment and then summarized the county's history with the ranch and blasted the current owners.

"Their intention is not to protect the ranch," he said. "I believe this to the core of my being."

The supervisor said if the county had not stepped in to buy the ranch, the same people who are criticizing him today would watch the land being sold and the water being shipped south and would say: "How could you let this happen?

Another interseting fact, the ranch enjoys massive water rights. Aside from the fact that polls have shown that nearly 70 percent of the registered voters in Yolo County opposed the theft acquisition, a huge portion of this fiasco would be financed by the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, which happens to own the nearby Cache Creek Casino. Hmmm, a local governmental agency accepting financial contributions from a sovereign nation to steal land from the rightful owners? What could possibly go wrong? It is not like the tribe is looking for approval of a massive expansion of their resort, including the construction of a new golf course that would need gobs of water are they. Oh, that's right, they already have approval for that project. How do you spell quid-pro-quo? At least McGowan didn't try to day that the egrets, ducks and other waterfowl were a blight.

Supervisor Mariko Yamada of Davis also refused to be moved by critics of the purchase.

"I will stand my ground," she said.

Sieferman agreed with Chamberlain on the need for a negotiated settlement.

"If we could remove the emotion, that's where we'll find a solution," he said.

The board approved the expenditure of $687,000 on a 4-1 vote with Chamberlain dissenting.

Still, the Supervisors of Yolo County are steamrolling towards acquisition of the land from "evil land developers" despite polls to the contrary, taxpayer groups and one lone supervisor dissenting, a former mayor restraining and a Governor possibly veto-ing.

Amazed as I am, it is happening daily -- an auto repair shop in Oakland (CA), a Baptist Church in Long beach (CA), a successful diner in Arcadia (CA), single-family residences in Long Branch (NJ), commercial property in Seattle (WA) and the list goes on and on.

For shame.

Open Post Thanks to Jo's Cafe, Don Surber, Stop the ACLU and Right Wing Nation.

Vail Opens Arms, Slopes, to Wounded Troops

2006-03-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Did this appear in the NYTimes or The Davis Enterprise? Nope. DOD reports that the good, and well-heeled, folks of Vail Colorado have opened their very expensive doors to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.

VAIL, Colo., March 3, 2006 -- Twenty-four servicemembers who lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan are here reaping the hospitality of a community first established by returning World War II veterans and to schuss down the slopes of this world-class ski resort.
The guests, all patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., along with their spouses or guests, are participating in the third annual Vail Veterans Program that kicked off March 1 and continues through March 5.

The all-expenses-paid program is hosted by Vail Mountain and the Vail community and gives wounded war veterans an opportunity to learn how to ski and snowboard, event organizer Cheryl Jensen said.

"For many of these veterans, the trip to Vail is their first adventure outside the hospital," Jensen said. "This program is all about providing an inspirational experience that focuses on the abilities versus disabilities."

Jensen said the experience is a huge confidence builder for young, athletic troops who are now learning to live with disabilities.

The event includes three all-day private ski and snowboard lessons through Vail's Adaptive Ski Program. The program specializes in providing ski and snowboard classes for people with disabilities. Using specially modified ski equipment, including "outriggers" -- poles with miniature skis attached to them for balance -- the skiers are learning to maneuver through Vail's slopes and trails.

Five of this year's group members participated in the program last year, and Jensen said it's exciting to see how much they've improved, both in terms of their medical conditions and their skiing abilities. Many other of this year's participants are on skis for their first time, but Jensen said they're making great progress and supporting each other as they tackle the challenges of skiing.

"These servicemembers have been through a lot of trials and tribulations together, but this gives them the opportunity to experience something positive together as well," Jensen said. "They're a really wonderful group and have been tremendously supportive of each other."

Countless volunteers and 25 local businesses and organizations are donating lodging, meals, lift tickets, ski equipment and personal time to make the grassroots effort a success. "Without the community, it just couldn't happen," Jensen said.

Participants arrived in Vail to a hero's welcome from local elementary school children and are getting the red-carpet treatment during their stay. Tonight, guests will ride the gondola to the top of Vail Mountain for dinner at the Eagle's Nest Restaurant, and tomorrow night, the Vail Fire Department will treat them to a homemade lasagna meal at the fire station.

"There is an unsaid promise to protect their families while they protect our freedom serving abroad," said Craig Davis, president of the Vail Professional Firefighters Association. "Inviting the veterans to dinner at our home is the least we can do to pay tribute."

Jensen introduced the Vail Veterans Program because she recognized the value it could bring to wounded veterans. "I knew what adaptive skiing can do for people with disabilities, especially people like these who are healthy and athletic," she said. "Skiing can change their lives."

One former participant told Jensen it had done just that for him. "That's the inspiration for this program, to see that it can make a difference," Jensen said.

Jensen called the program just one small way to show support for the troops. "They've all made tremendous sacrifices for us, and this is an opportunity to thank them," she said.

The program is small by design to promote bonding among participants, but Jensen said she's hoping to add a second winter program and possibly a summer program as well.

The Vail community has a strong track record in supporting the troops and actively supports the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program. In late January and early February, the Vail community hosted the 2006 Vail Armed Forces Week event. Two Marines who had been awarded the Purple Heart Medal, a 3rd Cavalry Division soldier who served in Iraq, and their families, and three wives of Navy SEALs killed in June 2005 participated.

"I want to express my appreciation for the invaluable support you provide to our men and women in uniform," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wrote to Paul Donen, the key organizer, following the event. "As a member of the 'America Supports You' team, your organization helps strengthen the bonds between our military and the Americans they serve.

"Thank you for letting servicemembers and their families know how much their fellow Americans value their courage, commitment and sacrifice," Rumsfeld wrote.

I've been to Vail a few times (very few mind you) and have always enjoyed myself. I think I may go again and stop by the Fire Department and the Eagle's Nest restaurant to say thank you.

Posted openly to The Mudville Gazette, The Uncooperative Blogger, Stuck on Stupid, Third World County and Adam's Blog.

Bush Says No Deal to Pakistan

2006-03-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

Not that this was a surprise, but this was a surprise. I thought that the President might treat India and Pakistan the way my in-laws treat my wife and sister-in-law. They are close enough in age and have basically the same weaponry, so my in-laws make everything "equal" at Christmas and birthdays. It sort of smoothes things out. To turn the cold side of the pillow to a member of "the club?" While on his soil? I don't know. The NYTimes reports:

ISLAMABAD, March 4 -- President Bush made clear today that Pakistan should not expect anytime soon a civilian nuclear agreement like the one the United States reached only days ago with India, and he bluntly said that the two archrivals on the subcontinent cannot be compared to each other.

Mr. Bush said that he and PakistanÂs president, General Pervez Musharraf, had discussed a civilian nuclear program for Pakistan during talks this morning.

"I explained that Pakistan and India are different countries with different needs and different histories," Mr. Bush said at a joint outdoor news conference with Mr. Musharraf on the grounds of the presidential palace, Aiwan-e-Sadr. "So as we proceed forward, our strategy will take in effect those well-known differences."

Mr. Bush had never been expected to endorse a nuclear agreement with Pakistan, the country of A.Q Khan, the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program who has confessed to running the largest illegal nuclear proliferation network in history. But it was striking that the president spoke so directly as his host, Mr. Musharraf, stood at his side.

Again, not that this surprised me, but I am surprised.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, The Uncooperative Blogger, Stuck on Stupid, Third World County and Adam's Blog.

Nonsensical Proliferation Panic?

2006-03-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

A recent Op-Ed piece from the Jordan Times suggests that non-proliferators are waging a war of panic-laden rhetoric against would-be proliferators. The Jordan Times reports:

Lost somewhere in the mists of history is the knowledge that it was the pro-American shah of Iran who initiated Iran's quest to build a nuclear bomb. And it was the anti-American revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini that initially suspended work on the bomb, from 1972 to 1985.

A slight correction is in order here. The work was not initially halted by the good will of the Khomeni regime, but rather by bombs dropped by Iraqi war planes during the Iran - Iraq war. Work on reactors continued on a minor scale following the 1979 revolution.

Fanning the panic of proliferation has been a mainstay of the Bush administration, supported in the wings by the British government and, more recently, by France's President Jacques Chirac.

So, when Tehran makes statements such as "...the process of enrichment is a sovereign right of any state" and breaks off negotiations, we should assume that this is the panic of proliferation brought on by the west?

It is a high-stakes game that can slide too easily into the call for regime change, as it did with Iraq. Yet current would-be proliferators are arguably not as dead set on proliferating, nor even as advanced in their capabilities, as their antagonists suggest. But unyielding critical rhetoric combined with a lack of incentives to back down seems to only have the effect of making the likes of North Korea and Iran more determined than they ever were. Moreover, today's game overlooks the success of previous policy in persuading countries to give up and unwind their nuclear armaments' plans or stocks of bombs — South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine and Kazakhstan and, most recently, Libya. This was because the right incentives were put before them.

Uranium enrichment on Russian soil isn't enough of an incentive?

In fact, the Libyan nuclear programme had gone on for many more years than has either the Iranian or North Korean. Despite a great deal of assistance from Pakistan's rogue nuclear weapons entrepreneur, A.Q. Kahn, Libya appeared seriously slowed, if not stalled, by apparently insurmountable difficulties. Iran may well be trying to build nuclear weapons, but it doesn't give the impression of being in a tearing hurry. Its heavy water moderated research reactor will not be online until 2014. Those who have suggested an earlier timetable ignore the slow progress made on completing the Bushehr reactor, a light-water nuclear power reactor initially ordered from Germany in 1975.

Joe Public is being led by the nose on nuclear weapons' policy. It has become nothing more than a political game.

Political game? I don't think so.

Daily Open Post Thanks to Right Wing Nation, The Mudville Gazette, Don Surber, Outside the Beltway, Bloggin' Outloud, Is It Just Me? and Jo's Cafe.

San Francisco Supervisors Call for Bush Impeachment

2006-03-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Once again, the ship of fools officially referred to as the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors, have provided more evidence that San Francisco is truly the land of nuts and flakes. The Board has "passed a resolution asking the city's Democratic congressional delegation to seek the impeachment of President Bush for failing to perform his duties by leading the country into war in Iraq, eroding civil liberties and engaging in other activities the board sees as transgressions." Not long ago, supervisors from the city that is the home of the five-time NFL champion San Francisco Forty Niners adopted a resolution recommending that the City and County of San Francisco adopt the Seattle Seahawks as its official football team for the duration of the 2006 playoff season. In case you didn't know it, S.F. has also banned the sale or ownership of handguns. SFGate reports:

San Francisco's supervisors jumped into national politics Tuesday, passing a resolution asking the city's Democratic congressional delegation to seek the impeachment of President Bush for failing to perform his duties by leading the country into war in Iraq, eroding civil liberties and engaging in other activities the board sees as transgressions.

The supervisors, in voting 7-3 for the resolution, made it likely that San Francisco again will become grist for radio and TV talk shows. The city has appeared in the national media spotlight recently for voters' passage in November of a nonbinding measure banning military recruiters from public high schools and for Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval's recent comment on a Fox News show that the United States doesn't need a military.

Supervisor Chris Daly, one of the most progressive members of the board, sponsored the resolution, which also calls for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. Daly said the measure is justified in light of the administration's case for and handling of the war in Iraq, the federal government's inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina and recent revelations about a domestic wiretapping program.

"I think the case is clear, and I think it's appropriate for us to weigh in," Daly said.

Speaking in opposition to the resolution, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier said, "I don't think that we need to be calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, as much as we may not like them ... and as much as we don't like the policies that they put forward."

Joining Alioto-Pier in voting against the resolution were Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Sophie Maxwell. Supervisor Jake McGoldrick was absent.

Mayor Gavin Newsom didn't want to pick up the impeachment drumbeat, but he offered a sarcastic response when asked his position on the nonbinding resolution.

"It's probably going to shatter the status quo in this country when it passes,'' he said with a smile. "I imagine, immediately, Congress will probably convene into session and begin impeachment proceedings.''

Idiots.

Open Post Thanks to Rhymes with Right, Don Surber, Stuck on Stupid, Bloggin' Outloud, Freedom Watch, Third World County, Outside the Beltway and The Mudville Gazette.

Media Misquotes Coast Guard

2006-03-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

Once again, the MSM runs with a story before fully understanding the breadth and scope of an investigation or audit. In the constant struggle to beat the competition, MSM -- particularly the print media -- rush to press without having all the facts. This is a classic example. The text below includes excerpts from a WaPo article dated 28 February 2006 and statements made from senior U.S. Coast Guard officials on 27 and 28 February 2006.

Coast Guard Saw 'Intelligence Gaps' on Ports Washington Post

The U.S. Coast Guard, in charge of reviewing security at ports operated by a Dubai maritime company, warned the Bush administration it could not rule out that the company's assets could be used for terrorist operations, according to a document released yesterday by a Senate committee.

Now that we have what the Post thinks the U.S. Coast Guard reported, let's go to official statements from official Coast Guard officials, which are officially posted on the official U.S. Coast Guard public affairs site.

Statement by Coast Guard Spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Carter on Port Transaction Analysis 27 February 2006 -- U.S.C. G Headquarters News Site

Washington - "What is being quoted is an excerpt of a broader Coast Guard intelligence analysis that was performed early on as part of its due diligence process. The excerpts made public earlier today, when taken out of context, do not reflect the full, classified analysis performed by the Coast Guard. That analysis concludes Âthat DP World's acquisition of P&O, in and of itself, does not pose a significant threat to U.S. assets in [continental United States] ports.Â Upon subsequent and further review, the Coast Guard and the entire CFIUS panel believed that this transaction, when taking into account strong security assurances by DP World, does not compromise U.S. security."

Statement by Vice Adm. Terry Cross on Coast Guard Due Diligence in Support of the CFIUS Process 28 February 2006 -- U.S.C.G. Headquarters News Site

Washington - "Early in the CFIUS process, the Coast Guard's initial review identified potential intelligence gaps. Since completing its initial intelligence assessment, the Coast Guard has continued its due diligence by auditing all P&O operations in the United States, examining DPW operations outside the United States, obtaining formal assurances from DPW regarding ongoing access to information on personnel and operations, and further evaluating the proposed transaction in conjunction with other elements of the intelligence community. These additional efforts have reinforced the conclusion of the Coast Guard's initial assessment, and the Coast Guard continues to believe that, 'DP World's acquisition of P&O, in and of itself, does not pose a significant threat to U.S. assets in [continental United States] ports.' In fact, the Coast Guard will have more information about the affected terminals under DPW ownership than it currently does under P&O's ownership. During the 45-day review period, the Coast Guard will continue to work diligently within the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence community to ensure that port security concerns are fully raised and objectively analyzed."

I think I'll go with the official version this time around.

Open Post Thanks to Don Surber, Stuck on Stupid, Bloggin' Outloud, Freedom Watch, Third World County, The Mudville Gazette, and THM's Bacon Bits.

Guantanamo Detainee Challenges Force Feeding

2006-03-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

The last time I checked, the U.S. Forces at Gitmo were responsible for the health and welfare of the detainees. AFP, via Yahoo! News, reports:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Yemeni held at the Guantanamo US "war on terror" detention camp has launched a court challenge to US forces force-feeding inmates on hunger strike, a lawyer said.

The action taken by Mohammed Bawazir alleges that he and other detainees were given treatment amounting to torture to force them to take intravenous feeding.

Rick Murphy, the US lawyer taking the action for Bawazir, said that federal judge Gladys Kessler had given US authorities until late Wednesday to give their version of the facts.

Bawazir has been detained at the camp for suspects held in the US "war on terror" since early 2002. He joined a hunger strike by many of the inmates in August 2005 to protest against the conditions of their detention.

According to US lawyers who have had restricted access to the detainees, US military authorities have recently changed their tactics to make the hunger strikers accept nourishment.

Before January, Bawazir and the other hunger strikers had been force-fed through a tube.

The lawyers said that since January 11, Bawazir has been forcibly strapped into a chair -- with his legs, arms, head and midriff tied to the chair -- to be fed.

They said a new larger feeding tube has been used, increasing the pain during insertion and extraction. Four bottles of water were poured into his stomach through the nasal tube even though he has never refused to drink water by mouth, the lawyers said.

They added that Bawazir was denied access to a toilet while being fed and for an hour or more afterwards.

Documents sent to the court said that Bawazir abandoned his hunger strike on January 22 "only because of brutal treatment that respondents (the US military) began inflicting on January 11".

The action argues that the tactics being used are against a recent law passed by Congress which banned the use of torture against detainees held by the United States anywhere in the world.

The US authorities have repeatedly insisted that the Guantanamo detainees are treated humanely.

Should U.S. Forces use I.V. methods to keep detainees healthy?

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USCGC Polar Star Arrives in Antarctica

2006-02-21T21:07:00.001-08:00

For those of you that thought the Coast Guard never went beyond view of the shore line, USCG District 13 reports:

MCMURDO STATION, Antartica - The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived in McMurdo Station, Antarctica Monday, after a non-stop 8,200 nautical mile transit from its homeport of Seattle.

Polar Star, a 399-foot polar class icebreaker with a 130-person crew, provided a relief channel and brief escort of U.S. Naval Ship Lawrence H. Gianella before mooring in McMurdo.

While on deployment, Polar Star will conduct icebreaking operations in McMurdo Sound and continue grooming a shipping channel previously opened by the Russian icebreaker Krasin. The channel ensures that vital cargo ships can deliver supplies to McMurdo Station, Antarctica's largest scientific and support community. Polar Star also acts as a floating research platform for scientists that travel onboard.

For the past 50 years, Coast Guard icebreakers have deployed to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, where ships have broken through as much as 84 nautical miles of ice to produce a navigable shipping channel into McMurdo Station. This vital shipping channel allows supply ships to deliver more than six million gallons of fuel and four thousand metric tons of cargo, enabling McMurdo Station and South Pole Station to remain manned and operational throughout the harsh winter months.

Polar Star, which was specifically designed for solo icebreaking in remote Polar Regions, turned 30 years old Jan. 17. The cutter's red reinforced hull is made of 1.75 inches of steel that covers a specially contoured icebreaking bow. The cutter can call on 75,000 shaft horsepower enabling it to break up to 21 feet of ice. Polar Star has deployed 15 times in support of Operation Deep Freeze.

Openly Posted at Blue Star Chronicles, Rhymes with Right, The Liberal Wrong Wing, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Marine Corps Commandant Disputes QDR

2006-02-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

The Commandant of the Corps has vehemently disputed the services end strength numbers. So much so, that he has resisted slashing numbers and is beginning his own study. Military.com reports:

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee, who disputes the Quadrennial Defense Review's recommendation to slash his service's end strength by 5,000 Marines, is launching his own study to re-examine the issue.
The Marine Corps' end strength now stands at about 180,000, Hagee told reporters Feb. 15 at a breakfast in Washington.

“I testified a couple of years ago that I thought we were in a spike and we could come down in a couple of years,” Hagee said. “I was mistaken on that and I think we're in a long war.” An end strength of 180,000 is “about right,” he said. The service can recruit and retain to that number, he added.

To be clear, the service's official budget funds 175,000 Marines. But given the pace of U.S. military operations around the world, Congress has authorized the service to have an end strength of 179,000. Further, Hagee noted, the defense secretary has some additional flexibility to have a slightly higher end strength, bringing the size of the force to about 180,000 Marines.

The 5,000 additional Marines not included in the regular defense budget have been supported through the Pentagon's annual request to Congress for emergency supplemental appropriations. But Congress is turning up the pressure on the Pentagon to include all predictable costs in the regular defense budget, instead of repeatedly relying on supplemental appropriations that bypass the defense authorization committees.

If the Pentagon bites the bullet and starts including such costs in its regular budget request, it would likely mean an increase for the total amount of Marine Corps funding in the budget -- the service's topline. But instead the Pentagon's new Quadrennial Defense Review recommends stabilizing the Marine Corps' active duty end strength at 175,000 and its Reserve end strength at 39,000 by fiscal year 2011. Hagee is undeterred.

“My sense is, as long as the war stays the way it is right now, somewhere around 180,000 is the right number,” Hagee told reporters. “If the supplementals go away . . . if our topline does not go up, then we are going to have to come down.”

Rear Adm. Stan Bozin, director of the Navy's budget office, recently suggested the QDR's recommendation to size the Marine Corps at 175,000 by FY-11 is not set in stone.

“Between now and FY-11, a lot of things can happen and we'll have those discussions as we go,” Bozin told reporters Feb. 6.

Asked how the Marine Corps would reconcile the difference between the QDR's recommendation and what he believes is needed, Hagee said there would be discussions with the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

“We're going to do that within OSD,” he said. The new Marine Corps force structure review -- which Hagee called a capabilities assessment -- is due to start in March and conclude by May. Maj. Gen. Steve Johnson will lead the effort, Hagee said.

“It's going to look at what should a 180,000 Marine Corps look like and what should a 175,000 Marine Corps look like,” he continued. Officials will examine capabilities versus the amount of funding available, he said. “We'll make some decisions based on that,” he said. He predicted there would be big fights during the review.

“It's going to look at our operating forces in the light of the lessons that we've learned from the war right now, in the light of the QDR, in the light of some of the additional capabilities we're adding right now like the [Marine Corps Special Operations Command] and make sure we have structured the operating forces correctly with a plan that if the money is not there we would come down to 175,000,” he added. Current plans call for the new Marine Corps component of U.S. Special Operations Command to include 2,600 Marines, all of which would be counted in the service's overall force structure.

This is far from the first time the Marine Corps has re-examined its force structure. Most recently, Hagee set up a force structure review group after he became commandant in 2003. “They looked across the Marine Corps, came up with some areas where we could take risk,” he noted.

“I think now is the right time to do it again,” he said. “We have the QDR. We have the lessons learned from Iraq. . . . We have a much better understanding of this operational, cultural learning that we need to do.” Further, the study will help the Marine Corps prepare for the process of shaping the Pentagon's FY-08 long-term budget, he said.

A reporter asked Hagee if the Marine Corps would be better off with a permanent increase in end strength as opposed to the temporary increases now in effect.

“Well, that would require an increase in our topline,” Hagee said. “And that's one of the purposes of this assessment -- to say if we need to come down to [175,000], either [based on] battlefield changes [or] fiscal realities, what capabilities would we have to give up and is it worth it? Is that a capability that someone else could do? Should we increase the topline in order to retain that capability? So we want to have this discussion based on some hard facts.”

Hagee said the review could help the Marine Corps make the case for a permanent increase in end strength. At least it would inform officials about “what the consequences would be of either reducing or expending those additional funds.”

But Hagee does see some room for modifying existing Marine Corps organizations to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The service might be able to eliminate some headquarters and shift that structure into warfighting capability, he said.

“And that's another task that this study will have is to look at are we even organized correctly? Is the Napoleonic staff that we have used very successfully for years and years -- is it the right configuration for the future?”

At the tactical level, for instance, the service has had an intelligence department and an operations department, he said. “And it's worked very well. The intel department has templated the enemy and then the operations department has worked against that template,” he said. But it could be time for a change.

“On the battlefield today, as I said, there is no Army out there,” he said. “These [enemy] guys are very fast. And we've got to be able to operate inside of their decision cycle. Should we have a G-2 and a G-3? Should they be one organization? That's sort of my sense right now. If you combine those, are there some structure savings? Could you put those structure savings someplace else?”

The review is not expected to change the overall end strength of the Marine Corps Reserves, but it will examine whether they are organized correctly, Hagee said.

“Historically we said they should be a mirror image” of the active force, he said. “Is that right? Let me take a look at that and see.”

We are currently at war. Why are DOD bean-counters recommending troop strength / staffing numbers?

Openly Posted at Blue Star Chronicles, Rhymes with Right, Conservative Cat, Freedom Watch, The Liberal Wrong Wing, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Carter Says "Don't Punish Palestine"

2006-02-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Thank God that the former nut farmer from Georgia is no longer in a postion of real power. In a recent Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post, Jimmy Carter opines...

As the results of the recent Palestinian elections are implemented, it's important to understand how the transition process works and also how important to it are actions by Israel and the United States.

Although Hamas won 74 of the 132 parliamentary seats, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas retains the right to propose and veto legislation, with 88 votes required to override his veto. With nine of its elected members remaining in prison, Hamas has only 65 votes, plus whatever third-party support it can attract. Abbas also has the power to select and remove the prime minister, to issue decrees with the force of law when parliament is not in session, and to declare a state of emergency. As commander in chief, he also retains ultimate influence over the National Security Force and Palestinian intelligence.

At least you mentioned that NINE of the elected members are in prison. NINE, Jimmy. How is it that you weren't re-elected.

The role of the prime minister was greatly strengthened while Abbas and Ahmed Qureia served in that position under Yasser Arafat, and Abbas has announced that he will not choose a prime minister who does not recognize Israel or adhere to the basic principles of the "road map." This could result in a stalemated process, but my conversations with representatives of both sides indicate that they wish to avoid such an imbroglio. The spokesman for Hamas claimed, "We want a peaceful unity government." If this is a truthful statement, it needs to be given a chance.

Peaceful unity government? Didn't you just say that these guys cut their teeth under Arafat? Arafat -- what a peace-nick.

During this time of fluidity in the formation of the new government, it is important that Israel and the United States play positive roles. Any tacit or formal collusion between the two powers to disrupt the process by punishing the Palestinian people could be counterproductive and have devastating consequences.

The ruling party has called for the elimination of Israel. Where is the take-off point for discussion relative to a statement like that?

Unfortunately, these steps are already underway and are well known throughout the Palestinian territories and the world. Israel moved yesterday to withhold funds (about $50 million per month) that the Palestinians earn from customs and tax revenue.

Don't worry Jimmy, I am sure that plenty of Riyals will be heading towards the coffers of the Palestinian Authority. Your buddy the Ayatollah will see to this.

The election of Hamas candidates cannot adversely affect genuine peace talks, since such talks have been nonexistent for over five years. A negotiated agreement is the only path to a permanent two-state solution, providing peace for Israel and justice for the Palestinians. In fact, if Israel is willing to include the Palestinians in the process, Abbas can still play this unique negotiating role as the unchallenged leader of the PLO (not the government that includes Hamas).

It would not violate any political principles to at least give the Palestinians their own money; let humanitarian assistance continue through U.N. and private agencies; encourage Russia, Egypt and other nations to exert maximum influence on Hamas to moderate its negative policies; and support President Abbas in his efforts to ease tension, avoid violence and explore steps toward a lasting peace.

Cuba, Jimmy. Cuba.

Open Post Thanks to: Bloggin' Out Loud, Third World County, Jo's Cafe, NIF, Right Wing Nation, Pirates! Man Your Women! and Don Surber.

If Only They Could Collect

2006-02-20T08:33:00.000-08:00

If only they could collect on this debt. Military.com reports.

SALT LAKE CITY - A soldier wounded in Afghanistan and the widow of his slain comrade were awarded a $102.6 million judgment from the estate of a suspected al-Qaida financier.
U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell said the lawsuit may be the first filed by an American soldier against terrorists under the Patriot Act.

But Sgt. Layne Morris, of West Jordan, and the family of medic Christopher Speer, could have a difficult time collecting their award, because the assets of the suspected financier are unknown.

Other soldiers have difficulty identifying their attackers, making it difficult to hold individuals responsible.

Morris cited news reports - including interviews with his attacker's immediate family - indicating that Omar Khadr, then 15, had wounded him and killed Speer. The ruling, released Friday, cited similar evidence that the boy's father, suspected financier Ahmad Sa'id Khadr, was linked to al-Qaida and trained his son to attack American targets.

Morris and Speer, who served with the 19th Special Forces, were attacked with grenades and automatic weapons in a remote Afghanistan village. Shrapnel severed the optic nerve in Morris' right eye, blinding him.

Soldiers arrested the boy, who is being held at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The Canadian government has protested the boy's imprisonment, because he is a minor.

In November, the U.S. government charged the boy with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and aiding the enemy.

The ruling said the younger Khadr was 4 years old when his family moved from Canada to Pakistan, where his father co-founded a humanitarian relief organization that supported al-Qaida terrorist training camps. The boy returned to Canada in 1994, where he attended school for a year while his father was imprisoned in Pakistan on charges of funding the bombing of the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan, the court said.

The next year the family allegedly traveled throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan, meeting al-Qaida leaders including Osama bin Laden. It is believed the father was killed in a firefight in Pakistan.

Attorney Dennis Flynn said the U.S. and Canadian governments have frozen the assets of the elder Khadr.

Open Post Thanks to: Bloggin' Out Loud, Third World County, Jo's Cafe, NIF, Right Wing Nation, Pirates! Man Your Women! and Don Surber.

Drinking Water is Eco Unfriendly

2006-02-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Once again, the knuckleheads at "We know everything and you are all a bunch of oil-consuming, trans-fat eating sheep" have the cajones to tell us to quit drinking bottled water -- especially in Mexico. AFP (via Yahoo!) reports.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Bottled water consumption, which has more than doubled globally in the last six years, is a natural resource that is heavily taxing the world's ecosystem, according to a new US study.

"Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing, producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy," according to Emily Arnold, author of the study published by the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington-based environmental group.

Arnold said although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, it can end up costing 10,000 times more.

"At as much as 2.50 dollars per liter (10 dollars per gallon), bottled water costs more than gasoline," the study says.

It added that the United States was the largest consumer of bottled water, with Americans drinking 26 billion liters in 2004, or about one eight-ounce (25 cl) glass per person every day.

Mexico was the second largest consumer at 18 billion liters followed by China and Brazil at 12 billion liters each.

In terms of consumption per person, Italians came first at nearly 184 liters, or more than two glasses a day, followed by Mexico and the United Arab Emirates with 169 and 164 liters per person respectively.

Belgium and France follow close behind and Spain ranks sixth.

The study said that demand for bottled water soared in developing countries between 1999 and 2004 with consumption tripling in India and more than doubling in China during that period.

That has translated into massive costs in packaging the water, usually in plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is derived from crude oil, and then transporting it by boat, train or on land.

"Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year," according to the study. "Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year."

Once the water is consumed, disposing the plastic bottles poses an environmental risk.

The study, citing the Container Recycling Institute, said that 86 percent of plastic water bottles in the United States end up as garbage and those buried can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

In addition, some 40 percent of the PET bottles deposited for recycling in the United States in 2004 ended up being shipped to China.

The study warned that the rapid growth in the industry has also ironically led to water shortages in some areas, including India where bottling of Dasani water and other drinks by the Coca-Cola company has caused shortages in more than 50 villages.

It said that while consumers tend to link bottled water with healthy living, tap water can be just as healthy and is subject to more stringent regulations than bottled water in many regions, including Europe and the United States.

"In fact, roughly 40 percent of bottled water begins as tap water," the study says. "Often the only difference is added minerals that have no marked health benefits.

By the way, you forgot to mention that most bottled water is ozone-treated to kill impurities. Tasty.

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The Real Ugly American

'Toon Protesters

2006-02-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

The Jawa Report posts an excellent photo montage of the ROP in action relative to the Dane-toons. Evidently, sign and banner manufacturers are earning quite a few riyals these days.

Open Post Thanks to: The Mudville Gazette Right Wing Nation Bloggin' Out Loud Adam's Blog THM's Bacon Bits The Conservative Cat The Liberal Wrong Wing Don Surber The Real Ugly American

Hamas's Lesson?

2006-02-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

Gary LaMoshi at AsiaTimesOnlinedotcom proffers the thought that the spread of democracy in muslim climes will not garner the results anticipated.

DENPASAR, Bali - Observers have focused on one obvious lesson from Hamas' victory in the Palestinian election: democracy in the Middle East may not produce the results the United States wants. But there's a larger global lesson particularly applicable in Indonesia, the latest US poster country for democracy in the Muslim world.

The Bush administration's embrace of democracy as the answer for the Middle East is another symptom of its allergy to unwelcome facts. The theory proposes that democracy will produce regimes friendly to US policies. That just ain't so.

If the US theory worked in Israel, the closest thing to a democracy in the region, then Shimon Peres would have been Prime Minister for the past decade, rather than the Likudniks. If it worked in Iran, the most democratic Muslim country there, the world wouldn't be fretting over potential nuclear-weapons development.

In Latin America, democracy first produced a wave of free marketers the US could love; later results show a swing to the left, including virulently anti-US Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Democracy produces results that are far more likely to reflect the aspirations and hopes of people on the street, based on local issues, than the dreams of the White House.

This lesson isn't new. US policymakers have known it for decades and, current rhetoric aside, it's doubtful they've forgotten it. From the Shah of Iran to the House of Saud, Sese Seko Mobutu to Ferdinand Marcos, Augusto Pinochet to Park Chung-hee, the US has traditionally favored "our SOB" (an apocryphal quote attributed to presidents as far back as Franklin Roosevelt) over free and fair elections. Often, the US predicted chaos if its man fell, and in some cases, such as the former Zaire, it's been proved right.

Today in the Middle East, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the Saudi royals suffer occasional public prodding over a lack of democracy. But it's just lip service, similar to US 1960s and 1970s criticism of apartheid South Africa. It's the same with that great US ally in its global "war on terror", Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf.

While the US habitually encourages democratic window-dressing and sometimes wins marginal concessions, if push comes to shove, those regimes know the US will be in their corner for strategic reasons, whatever they do or don't do at the ballot boxes.

In Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the US fears that full-blown democracy could lead to the same results as in the Palestinian election: a victory for radical Islamic parties. US analysis is probably correct, and the Hamas victory illustrates why.

Hamas' venomous views on Israel get virtually all the attention in the US, but those weren't the deciding factor in the Palestinian election. Palestinians didn't vote to push Israel into the sea, but to toss corrupt Fatah officials off the boat. Former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat reportedly stashed away billions during his decades as head of Fatah and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Despite a steady stream of aid dollars from the United Nations, the West and the Gulf states, average Palestinians have seen little progress or development. The key to Hamas' victory was that voters perceived it as honest, a reputation aided by a social-services network benefiting ordinary Palestinians.

That doesn't mean Hamas is a bunch of boy scouts. Voters may have cast their ballots against corruption, but they also get "death to Israel" as part of the Hamas package. Palestinians saw corruption as their overriding concern, and either ignored the rest or decided it was an acceptable price for cleaner government. As much as the struggle with Israel, corruption had become an obvious, if not unbearable, burden in the daily lives of average Palestinians, and they seized the opportunity to do something about it at the ballot box. Saudis and Egyptians would, too, most likely, as Pakistanis have when given the chance.

In Indonesia, a similar scenario may be unfolding, with the US working the wrong side of the street. Indonesia places in the top five in global corruption rankings, largely thanks to the legacy of the (US-backed) Suharto regime. Democratically elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made fighting corruption a top priority, but progress has been spotty.

The Indonesian military, the centerpiece of Suharto's New Order, remains the nexus of much of Indonesia's corruption, but it also remains largely beyond the reach of civilian authorities. US moves to restore full ties with the military will only serve to strengthen its clout and broaden its impunity (see US 'national security' favors Indonesian thugs, December 2, 2005).

One political party has made corruption its top issue and gained growing appeal, the Prosperous Justice Party (known by its Indonesian abbreviation PKS, which, ironically, also abbreviates the politically correct term for prostitute). PKS was one of just two parties to gain votes in the 2004 legislative elections compared with the 1999 national vote. At its national convention last August, PKS targeted 20% of the vote, which would place it in the top three among Indonesia's political parties, if not the largest, and allow it to run a presidential candidate.

Chosen Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, then-PKS leader Hidayat Nur Wahid (no relation to former Indonesian president and reformist cleric Abdurrahman Wahid) won plaudits with a declaration that he would forgo many of the job's perks, including the fancy limousine and hotel suite.

His act underscored how far PKS stands out from other parties: PKS portrays itself as privileged to serve the public, while Indonesian politicians typically view service as an entitlement to privilege (see Indonesia's transition: The good, the bad and the ugly, October 20, 2004).

PKS is an Islamic party, known for working at the grassroots level through mosques, and some adherents fear that the pursuit of political power has distracted it from its original mission, preaching. In its campaigns, PKS plays down extremist Islamist positions and shrouds its support for sharia (Islamic) law. In the Far Eastern Economic Review last May, Sadanand Dhume sounded alarm bells about PKS's fanaticism, an article that may have been more extreme than any PKS views.

There is no comparison between Hamas and PKS, except that they are both Islam-based parties that have gained by following the Koran's invocation of dakwah, good works on Earth. The point is not how far apart they are or how radical PKS may be now or become later. The point is that Islamism isn't what wins votes.

In the 2004 vote, PKS also became the biggest party in Jakarta's city council. There's no plurality for sharia in Jakarta, by far Indonesia's most cosmopolitan and pluralistic urban center. But Jakarta is also arguably Indonesia's corruption center, and its municipal government is famously unresponsive and dysfunctional, except for funneling wealth to officials.

Like their Palestinian counterparts, Jakarta voters were ready to accept or ignore PKS's Islamist baggage in favor of a more pressing issue. Indonesia's Islamic parties have polled roughly a third of the vote in every legitimate national election, but the door is wide open for PKS or more radical parties, if they can establish and retain their anti-corruption credentials, to succeed across Indonesia.

Corruption, not Islamism, is the issue that's going to win hearts and minds in Indonesia, and the sooner Washington realizes that, the better the chances that secular, moderate parties will continue to carry the day. It's not about supporting the military as a bulwark against radicalism, it's about encouraging clean government. If Bill Clinton's political adviser James Carville had the White House's ear, he'd frame the issue in a way even George W Bush could understand it: It's the corruption, stupid.

Open Post Thanks to:

The Mudville Gazette

Right Wing Nation

Bloggin' Out Loud

Adam's Blog

THM's Bacon Bits

The Conservative Cat

The Liberal Wrong Wing

Don Surber

The Real Ugly American

Taiwan Pres is a Troublemaker???

2006-02-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Once again, Bejing is flexing it's muscles regarding all things Taiwan. The Times of India reports:

BEIJING: China condemned Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's plan to scrap 15-year-old official guidelines on unification on Wednesday, calling him a "troublemaker" and "saboteur" of peace and stability in Asia.

Peace and stability in Asia. Please tell me more...

Chen, seeking to shake off Beijing's claim of sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan, told a rally on Lunar New Year's Day on January 29 that it was time to consider scrapping the island's National Unification Council and its guidelines on unification with the mainland.

"This demonstrates once again that he is a troublemaker and saboteur of cross-Strait relations and peace and stability in Asia," Li Weiyi, spokesman for policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office, told a news conference without mentioning Chen by name.

Li stopped short of saying whether scrapping the guidelines and council, which was set up in 1990 and was once the island's top policy-making body on the issue of unification, would lead to war. The council has been dormant since Chen took office in 2000, ending five decades of Nationalist rule.

Beijing has vowed to attack Taiwan if the island formally declares statehood. The two sides split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 when the defeated Nationalists fled into exile on the island.

Posted Openly at The Mudville Gazette, Don Surber, Is it Just Me?, NIF, Adam's Blog , Those Bastards, History Mike, Common Folks Using Common Sense, Right Wing Nation, Jo's Café and Basil's Blog.

Havana "Flags" Billboards

2006-02-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Castro regime has found a waving interest in electronic reader boards in the U.S. Interests Section of Havana. The interest focuses on blocking scrolling news headlines, quotes from famous figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Lech Walesa and Martin Luther King, Jr., and fragments of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. The Daily Journal (Caracas) reports:

HAVANA – “This is just more of the same,” a man walking his dog along one of the streets that leads up to the U.S. Interests Section in the Cuban capital told IPS. He was referring to nearly 150 flag poles that now occupy what used to be part of the U.S. diplomatic mission’s parking lot.

The forest of flag poles, some of which are over 30 meters tall, was put in place over the past two weeks by the Cuban government in retaliation for an electronic billboard stretching across the front of the Interests Section building.

Since mid-January, the giant sign has been scrolling news headlines, quotes from famous figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Lech Walesa and Martin Luther King, Jr., and fragments of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. According to Michael Parmly, chief of the U.S. Interests Section, “What we are trying to do is communicate with the Cuban people.”

The flag poles are apparently de-signed to create a barrier in front of the electronic sign, which is located behind glass on the fifth floor of the Interests Section building. The flag pole project officially formed part of an expansion of the “Anti-Imperialist Plaza”, which was built five years ago outside of the U.S. Interests Section. According to rumors that have not been confirmed, the mysterious new site is meant to symbolize the Cuban people’s “years of struggle” for independence, and will be unveiled at a giant rally announced for Monday evening, called to commemorate those who have lost their lives in violent acts against Cuba since the 1959 revolution.

Behind him, as he walked away, the U.S. diplomatic mission continued broadcasting its messages, which included “The fast pace of construction is impressive. It shows the potential of Cuban workers”, “Havana residents comment that the funds would have been better spent on widespread repairs”, and “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (a quote from British writer George Orwell).

“The U.S. Interests Section is a center for provocation. No embassy in the world places billboards on the front of their building,” dissident Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo remarked to IPS.
But Gutiérrez Menoyo, who re-turned from exile in Miami in August 2003 to live in Havana, although without official permission, dismissed the idea that the “billboard war” would trigger a complete break between the two countries.

In the meantime, the escalating tensions did nothing to interfere with a meeting held in Mexico on Friday and Saturday between representatives of U.S. oil companies and Cuban energy sector authorities.

Shamelessly Pimped to The Mudville Gazette, The Conservative Cat, Don Surber, Is it Just Me?, NIF, Adam's Blog , Those Bastards, History Mike, Common Folks Using Common Sense, Right Wing Nation, Jo's Café and Basil's Blog.

Eco-Nazis Keep it in "The Family"

2006-01-31T20:40:00.000-08:00

Don't like S.U.Vs? No worries, just go blow up a Hummer dealership. Don't like the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture allows logging in our National Forests? Fret not, just firebomb a ranger station. Tin foil not keeping the voices out of your head? Don't go for another layer, simply destroy a cell tower. Not skills that you currently posses? Don't worry -- I'm sure a "family" member can teach you. The Christian Science Monitor reports:

ASHLAND, ORE. - The group called itself "The Family." After meticulously casing a horsemeat packing plant in Redmond, Ore., they made a firebomb using soap and petroleum products (a napalm-like substance known as "vegan Jell-O") and a time-delayed incendiary device called a "Cat's Cradle."

Arriving at the staging area after dark, they dressed in dark clothing, masks, and gloves, and checked their walkie-talkies and police radio scanner. Quietly, they crept through the sagebrush toward the target. They drilled holes through the wall so the fuel would pour into the building. Then, they set the firebomb against the wall and retreated to the staging area. There, they dumped their dark clothes and shoes into a hole and poured in acid to destroy DNA and other evidence. By the time the packing plant, Cavel West, Inc., was engulfed in flames, "The Family" had vanished into the night.

Five days later, through an anonymous communiqué, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) took credit for the fire that destroyed the facility in July of 1997. But it would be years before the alleged plotters were apprehended. And until then, according to a 65-count indictment announced last week by the US Justice Department, the 11-member group of activists launched 17 similar attacks across Oregon, Wyoming, Washington, and California in what authorities consider one of the most extensive campaigns of "ecoterrorism" in US history.

Documents and other information revealed in recent court hearings provide an inside look at how a band of extremists - 20th century Luddites, in a way - tried to leave their explosive imprint on a society whose commerce and industry they believed was overwhelming nature.

Edward Abbey, the desert curmudgeon whose 1975 novel "The Monkey Wrench Gang" inspired the environmental group Earth First!, once declared that "sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul." Most who took this to heart had no intention of breaking the law.

But somewhere along the way, vandalizing log trucks and "liberating" lab rats escalated into firebombs, plots to blow up electrical towers and dams, code names, and anonymous communiqués boasting of destroying millions of dollars in property.

Other targets allegedly attacked by "The Family," for instance, include US Forest Service ranger stations, wild horse corrals used by the US Bureau of Land Management, a Bonneville Power Administration electrical tower, and an SUV dealership. There were also three forest products companies, the University of Washington Horticultural Center, a Colorado ski resort, and a police station in Eugene, Ore.

Those close to the underground activists say the FBI has targeted the wrong people. "What law enforcement has done is round up a bunch of above-ground, well-known, peaceful animal-rights activists and environmental activists and charged them with being members of the ALF and the ELF [Earth Liberation Front] simply because they can't find the real members," says Jerry Vlasak, spokesman for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office in Canoga Park, Calif. "These people are completely innocent of the charges."

Activists writing online blogs have issued veiled threats against two "snitches," one of whom has been charged in the destruction of an electrical transmission tower in 1999. The sister of one of the informants, describing herself as "brokenhearted," speculated that law-enforcement officers may have provided drugs to her heroin-addicted brother.

"Just assume every conversation you have is bugged, assume everyone is an informer if you must, and don't talk about ANYTHING to ANYONE," another person wrote on an Internet site.

That warning seems to be well-founded. Evidence supporting the indictments reportedly includes 35 compact discs of recorded conversations and 40,000 pages of transcripts, police reports, and photos. Earlier this month, three more people were arrested for conspiring to destroy a US Forest Service genetics institute near Placerville, Calif.

Why is when politicians and "Homeland Security" types talk about terrorism ashore, they always leave out these pieces of human debris.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Basil's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, bRight and Early, Is It Just Me?, Jo's Cafe and Don Surber.

They Just Can't Help Themselves

2006-01-31T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well, the past few days have done wonders of the G.O.P., in my opinion. Kerredy, which is my short hand for the two oxygen thieves from Massachusetts, made complete asses of themselves during the hugely successful Alito confirmation hearings. On Monday, Ted Kerredy looked like my two year-old son throwing a tantrum. Much like the Kerredy, my son throws a stronger tantrum when he knows he's on the losing side of the issue. Then comes Jean-Clause Kerredy, trying to host a filibuster that no one wanted to attend, not even Fienboxer of my state. Again, Jean-Claude brought memories of the kid that wanted to be popular by inviting people over to his house when his parents were gone. Not even free beer could bring in the crowds. Poor Jean-Claude was on the outside looking in. Next comes Harry, errr Hillary, Clinton. During tonight's State of the Union address, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and nod her head. At least she stayed awake this time. They really showed well.

The coup-de-grace this evening was the appearance and swift ejection of Cindy Sheehan. It seems that ol' Cindy was the guest of Lynn Woolsey (D, really big D, CA). It saddens me that my former home district has spawned such political speed bumps such as Woolsey and Boxer. Anyway, Cindy decided to wear a t-shirt that had some petty anti-Iraqi Freedom slogan on it and she was advised to cover it up during the event. Once again, she just couldn't help herself and took off her sweater and showed the shirt. The ejection was swift and certain.

Truly a great week for the G.O.P. and America.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Basil's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, bRight and Early, Is It Just Me?, Jo's Cafe and Don Surber.

All of Hollywood Doesn't Suck

2006-01-22T17:40:00.000-08:00

There are still a few good guys in Hollywood -- not many, but a few. Gary Sinise is one of them; along with Chuck Heston, Cheryl Ladd, James Woods, Tom Selleck and others. While some simply give a check or a few minutes of their time at a mindless award show, Mr. Sinise has traveled to Iraq not once, not twice but three times in support of USO efforts. DOD reports:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2006, When not appearing on the CBS show "CSI: New York" as Detective Mac Taylor, actor Gary Sinise devotes much of his time to raising support for U.S. troops.
Sinise, who is planning his third trip to Iraq with the United Service Organizations, appeared on ABC's "This Week" today to talk about his new venture to help the children who have felt the effects of the war in Iraq.

On his last trip to Iraq, Sinise accompanied a U.S. military unit that remodeled an Iraqi school. He watched the troops transform what had been a cinder-block, dirt-floor structure into a building with concrete floors, windows and fans, he said.

"It was not much, but to these kids and those Iraqis who had been living there with this school, it seemed like a brand new place," he said.

Sinise said seeing the school being remodeled and witnessing the gratitude of the Iraqi children at the school and when he rode with troops on convoys motivated him to come home and found the program, Operation Iraqi Children.

Operation Iraqi Children provides a way for Americans to send school supply kits to Iraqi children. Sinise and author Laura Hillenbrand founded the program in March 2004.

It's a way for you to support the children by sending pencils, beanie babies or soccer balls,"

Sinise said. "That all started because of one of those convoys I was on."

Sinise said his experience playing Lt. Dan, an injured Vietnam veteran, in the movie, "Forrest Gump," helped him identify with the troops he met with in Iraq.

Servicemembers today have much more support than during the Vietnam War, he said, noting that it's important to maintain that support because military service is a sacrifice that should not be taken lightly.

"It's an honorable thing to serve your country," he said. "We need those volunteers; we need those defenders."

Operation Iraqi Children is a partner in the Defense Department's America Supports You program that showcases America's support for the men and women of the armed forces and the myriad ways the country is expressing that support.

I have been a big fan of Mr. Sinise for a long time, but never more than now.

Open Post thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Rantburg, The Uncooperative Blogger, bRight and Early and The Bullwinkle Blog,

China Wants a Pearl Necklace

2006-01-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

China is sending strong signals that it wants to improve its standing in the Arabian Sea. Asia Times reports:

BANGALORE - The port project at Gwadar in Pakistan's restive Balochistan.

Gwadar is on Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast, just 72 kilometers from Iran. It is near the mouth of the Persian Gulf and is 400km from the Strait of Hormuz. The Pakistani government identified
Gwadar as a port site way back in the 1960s, but it was only in 2001-02 that concrete steps on the proposal were taken.

It was the arrival of US troops in Afghanistan - literally at China's doorstep - in the autumn of 2001 that spurred Beijing into action. China agreed to participate in funding, construction and development of a deepsea port and naval base in Gwadar and in March 2002 Chinese premier Wu Bangguo laid the foundation for the port. Its engineers are engaged in the port's design and construction.

China insists its interest in Gwadar is purely commercial. No doubt it is hoping that the port will transform the economy of its landlocked Xinjiang province.

However, Gwadar port has a far-larger significance in China's scheme of things. It is said to be the western-most pearl in China's "string of pearls" strategy (this is a strategy that envisages building strategic relations with several countries along sea lanes from the Middle East to the South China Sea to protect China's energy interests and other security objectives), the other "pearls" being naval facilities in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and the South China Sea.

China's interest in the Gwadar project stems from the port's proximity to the Strait of Hormuz. A base at Gwadar enables China to secure the flow of its oil - 60% of its energy supplies come from the Middle East - through the strait. More important, Gwadar is said to be a "listening post" for the Chinese, one that will enable Beijing to monitor movement of US and Indian ships in the region.

Pakistan is eyeing huge economic and strategic gains, with Gwadar poised to become a key shipping hub at the mouth of a strategic waterway. A port at Gwadar provides Pakistan with strategic depth vis-a-vis India. Gwadar is 725km to the west of Karachi port, making it that much less vulnerable than Karachi to an Indian naval blockade.

Not surprisingly, the construction of Gwadar port and Sino-Pakistan cooperation in the project are causing concern for India, the United States and Iran. The Chinese presence in the Arabian Sea heightens India's feeling of encirclement by China. Iran fears that the development of Gwadar port will undermine the value of its own ports as outlets to Central Asia's exports.

As for the US, it has been uncomfortable with Chinese presence at the mouth of a key waterway. And now in the run-up to a possible war with Iran, Washington appears to be eyeing Gwadar's naval facilities all the more. It appears that the US is pressuring Pakistan to reduce Chinese involvement in the project and to involve Washington instead.

The New Delhi-based online Public Affairs Magazine has reported that the US "could be [pressuring] Pakistan to outprice the Chinese from Gwadar to take over the entire facility". Citing diplomats, the report said: "Pakistan has now raised the cost of Chinese participation to US$3 billion in addition to the $1.5 billion yearly payment, which China has refused, saying it is steep, and in breach of the terms of the contract. China has said that it had already agreed to offset construction costs by giving Pakistan four frigates, but Pakistan is unmoved, and offered to return all the Chinese investment, if they would have it that way."

Dismissing such reports as "wishful thinking on the part of India", a Pakistani government official told Asia Times Online that the Gwadar project was "very much on track" and that "Sino-Pakistan cooperation in the venture remains strong".

But even if the reported differences between China and Pakistan in the Gwadar project were indeed "wishful thinking on the part of India", the project is under fire from Baloch insurgents.

Balochis are not opposed to the Gwadar port project or other megaprojects per se. What they are opposed to is the way these projects have been conceived and implemented. They resent the fact Balochis have been excluded from the benefits of these projects and that "outsiders" have grown rich by exploiting Baloch resources. Balochistan's Sui gas reserves, for instance, meet 38% of Pakistan's energy needs, but only 6% of Balochistan's 6 million people have access to it, and the royalties Balochistan receives for its gas are very low, especially when compared with what other provinces receive.

Likewise, the Gwadar project does not seem to be transforming Baloch lives for the better. Baloch nationalists see Gwadar as "a non-Baloch project", one that has been conceived and implemented without provincial approval or participation, in which "outsiders" have gained the most. They point out that land in Gwadar is being sold at throwaway prices to non-Baloch civil-military elites.

There is concern, too, that the Gwadar project would leave Balochis a minority in their homeland. As the Baloch leader, the Khan of Kalat, pointed out in an interview to the Pakistani daily Dawn, the entire project would need at least a million people, and with Gwadar being a town of 60,000, people from "Karachi, mostly Urdu-speaking", would be brought in.

Not surprisingly, then, the Gwadar project has been repeatedly targeted by Baloch insurgent groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the Baloch Liberation Front and the Baloch People's Liberation Army. Insurgents have struck repeatedly with bombs and rocket attacks. In 2004 for instance, Gwadar airport was the target of rocket attacks.

Several of the insurgent attacks in Gwadar have targeted Chinese working on this project. About 500 Chinese engineers are employed in Gwadar. On May 3, 2004, three Chinese engineers were killed and nine others injured in a bomb blast by the BLA. On May 14 last year, four bombs went off in Gwadar. Then in October, several Chinese engineers had a narrow escape when the vehicle in which they were traveling missed a landmine. The following month, insurgents launched a rocket attack on a Chinese construction company in the Tallar area of Gwadar district. The Chinese engineers and other staff escaped unhurt but several vehicles were damaged.

In total, according to official data, there were 187 bomb blasts, 275 rocket attacks, eight attacks on gas pipelines, 36 attacks on electricity-transmission lines and 19 explosions on railway lines in 2005. At least 182 civilians and 26 security force personnel died in the province during 2005.

An interesting aspect about Baloch nationalist insurgents, who are by and large secular, and the religious militants is that while both view China as an enemy, their opposition to Chinese involvement in the Gwadar project differs. Tarique Niazi, a specialist on resource-based conflict, said: "Baloch nationalists, for instance, are opposed to the Chinese government for advancing its strategic goals at the expense of their freedom and autonomy. But several religiously inspired groups are opposed to the Chinese government for its putative persecution of the Uighur Muslim minority in the autonomous region of Xinjiang."

The kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in October 2004 by members of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is said to have been a response to Pakistan's killing of ETIM chief Hasan Mahsum, to whom it had provided shelter in South Waziristan, on Beijing's request.

While India, Iran and the US might be wary of the Sino-Pakistan cooperation in Gwadar, internal opposition to the bonding seems far greater, as indicated by the ferocity and frequency of attacks on the Gwadar project and Chinese employees there.

With the Baloch insurgency growing in intensity and the Pakistani government's military approach to the problem only fueling Baloch resentment and the insurgency further, it does seem that even if the Gwadar port project is, as officials claim, "on track", it will be near impossible to realize its full potential.

So, we have China, Pakistan, India, Balochistan, and several insurgent groups all interested in this potential deep water port. I am shocked.

Open Post links at The Mudville Gazette, Stuck on Stupid, The Uncooperative Blogger, Jo's Cafe, Basil's Blog and Adam's Blog.

Big Re-Up for Army in 2005

2006-01-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

Here is another item for the "Gosh the MSM Never Told Me This" file. DOD reports:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2006 – Army re-enlistments in 2005 were the highest they've been in five years, with more than 69,500 soldiers choosing to continue their service, the Secretary of the Army said here yesterday.
This surplus in retention made up for recruiting shortfalls the Army has faced, Francis J. Harvey said at a Pentagon news conference.

The U.S. Army is the most capable, best trained, best equipped and most experienced force the United States has fielded in more than a decade, and 2005 was a year of many significant achievements, Harvey said. Speculations that the Army is severely stretched or "broken" are incorrect, he added.

"To be sure, the Army is facing great challenges, but it is more accurate to describe the Army as a full-spectrum force with a portfolio of capabilities that are relevant to the 21st century," he said.

The Army recruited more than 73,000 soldiers in the last fiscal year and has met its recruiting objectives for the last seven months, Harvey said. The number of recruits who have signed an enlistment contract to date is almost 25 percent higher than it was at the same point a year earlier, he said. New authorizations provided by Congress for financial incentives will help that trend continue.

The unusual demands on the Army in 2005 proved the service's capability and versatility, Harvey said. When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the Army was able to surge 50,000 soldiers to the area in little more than a week, he said. The Army also responded to the Southeast Asian tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan, while still maintaining its role in the war on terror, he added.

The Army would not have been able to support all these operations without the National Guard and Reserve, he said.

"2005 reaffirmed that we are truly an 'Army of One,'" he said.

Under transformation initiatives, the Army stood up four new modular brigade combat teams and one Stryker brigade combat team in 2005, Harvey said. Seven existing brigades were transformed to the modular design in the past year, and 37 combat or support brigades have now either completed the transformation process or are well along in the process, he said.

In 2005, the Army continued to reverse its funding shortages of the 1990s, Harvey said. The Army's budget included $2.9 billion for the Future Combat Systems program, in which 18 of the critical technologies have a model or prototype fielded and tested in a relevant environment, he said. The budget also included $10 billion for other research and development, and $5 billion for the Army Modular Force Initiative, he said.

The Army also excelled at force protection, fielding more than 4,400 new up-armored Humvees and 16,000 add-on armor kits in Iraq and Afghanistan, Harvey said. Almost 700,000 sets of Interceptor body armor and more than 170,000 sets of additional protection for shoulder and upper-arm areas have been fielded since the beginning of the war, he added.

The political, military and economic progress being made in Iraq and Afghanistan is due in large part to the efforts of the U.S. Army, and 2006 will be another year of solid progress, Harvey said.

"This is clearly an Army that is highly trained and ready, playing a pivotal role in the global war on terrorism," he said.

Shameless Army of One posting at Bloggin' Outloud, Right Wing Nation, bRight and Early, Jo's Cafe, Basil's Blog and Third World County.

The Kong Arm of the Law

2006-01-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

This is one of the wierdest fuggers I have ever heard of in my life. The Daily Record (Glascow) reports:

Pete Burns could be hauled out of the Big Brother house in handcuffs after police seized his "gorilla skin" coat for testing yesterday.

Animal-lovers complained to the cops after the transvestite pop star bragged of wearing fur from the endangered creatures.

And officers responded by swooping on the house and taking the coat away to be examined by experts.

Burns could face criminal charges if the fur is found to have come from gorillas. Trading in body parts from endangered animals carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a £5000 fine.

Even owning gorilla skin without a permit is illegal.

Police don't know how long it will take to test Burns's coat. But they have vowed to take "appropriate action" if his boasts are found to be true.

Posted Openly at Bloggin' Outloud, Right Wing Nation, bRight and Early, Jo's Cafe, Basil's Blog and Third World County.

Muslims Call for Danish Boycott

2006-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

They won't condem beheadings, murder or kidnapping, but print an illustration of a religous leader and muslims lose it. Arab News reports:

RIYADH, 20 January 2006 — Saudis and non-Saudis in the Kingdom are urging consumers to boycott Danish products in response to cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) printed in September in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.

The appeal was circulated recently in e-mails and mobile messages.

Arab News called the phone number that accompanied the message. A man who did not identify himself answered and explained his organization’s stance.

“The main objective of this message is that we encourage people to boycott goods from Denmark, which is the least thing we can do until Denmark offers an official apology for the drawings that have offended the world’s Muslims,” said the man.

“We urge all Muslim countries to protest officially to the Danish government for what the Danish newspaper has done by publishing the cartoons.”

Jamal Badawi, 29, said he is supporting the boycott. “I would really support such a campaign, because this is the least thing we can do. If they do not respect our religion or our Prophet (pbuh), then we should act in any way to respond to them except violence which will never solve any problem.”

On Sept. 30, 2005 newspaper Jyllands-Posten, Denmark’s largest, ran an article about freedom of speech centering around the issue that artists were unwilling to illustrate the Prophet without remaining anonymous for fear of being attacked by extremists. Depictions of the Prophet of Islam are religiously prohibited.

The paper accompanied the article with 12 depictions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by various Danish illustrators.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference and the EU Commission have condemned the printing of the cartoons.

“We are deeply alarmed that a Danish newspaper has found it appropriate to publish caricatures of Islam’s most prominent figure,” said a statement by the EU Commission, posted on the OIC website. “A picture of Muhammad (pbuh) is by itself a breach of Muslim tradition.”

The statement then went on to condemn the threats of violence that have been sent to the newspaper.

“We therefore sympathize that many Muslims feel hurt, but naturally unsympathetically oppose that some Muslims, mainly living abroad, have deemed it appropriate to threaten the newspaper in question and the caricaturists.”

Some Saudis have decided to take a more peaceful route by calling for a boycott of Danish products.

The Muslim World League recently expressed its resentment over the cartoons published by a Norwegian magazine offensive to the Prophet.

Shamelessly pimped to the Open Posts at The Mudville Gazette, Bloggin' Outloud, Right Wing Nation, bRight and Early, Jo's Cafe, Basil's Blog and Third World County.

Kennedy To Quit Anti-Women Club

2006-01-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

The good folks over at Hub Politics, via Pardon My English, report that the Senator from a really blue state Ted Kennedy will give up his seat in the very posh Harvard alumni group known as the Owl Club. Evidently, the Owl Club has a bit of a problem allowing membership to women.

U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — who ripped Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito for ties to a group that discriminates against women — says he’s going to quit a club notorious for discriminating against women “as fast as I can.”
Kennedy was outed by conservatives late last week as a current member of The Owl Club, a social club for Harvard alumni that bans women from membership.
In an interview with WHDH Channel 7’s Andy Hiller that aired last night, Kennedy said, “I joined when I . . . 52 years ago, I was a member of the Owl Club, which was basically a fraternal organization.”
Asked by Hiller whether he is still a member, Kennedy said, “I’m not a member; I continue to pay about $100.”
He then said of being a member in a club that discriminates against women, “I shouldn’t be and I’m going to get out of it as fast as I can.”

Not a member but he pays about $100. "Get out of it as fast as I can". Sounds like what he did on Chappaquiddick Island back in 1969.

Thanks for the open posts at Stop the ACLU, The Conservative Cat, Bloggin' Outloud and Third World County.

Air Force Bowls Them Over

2006-01-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

There's a real bad joke just waiting out there. DOD reports:

RENO, Nev., Jan. 13, 2006 – The Air Force swept the individual and team efforts in the Armed Forces Bowling Championships at the National Bowling Stadium here Jan. 11.
Staff Sgt. Kristen Elmore of Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany, and Tech. Sgt. Martin Bedford of Hill Air Force Base, Utah, won the women's and men's divisions, respectively.

Elmore finished her 24 games with a 4,605 total to top the Marine Gunnery Sgt. Lisa Beeksma of Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., who had 4,598. Chief Petty Officer Bessie Lowery of USS Ross, Norfolk, Va., was third with 4,520.

Bedford totaled 5,076 to top the men's field. Army Staff Sgt. Dwayne Watkins of Fort Rucker, Ala., was second with 4,902, while Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Barfield of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., was third with 4,875.

Bedford, Watkins and Barfield advanced to the 32-player match play round and qualified to play for a spot on Team USA.

Air Force won the team event in both the women's and men's divisions. The six Air Force men totaled 27,835, while the service's women counterparts scored 17,631.

The 21 women and 24 men representing the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy competed as part of the United States Bowling Congress Team USA Championships.

The only thing worse than winning is not being invited. What's the matter Coast Guard, no bowlers anymore?

Shamelessly pimped via open posts to Stop the ACLU, The Conservative Cat, Bloggin' Outloud and Third World County.

Suicide Bid by Yemeni Guantanamo Detainee

2006-01-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

News out of Yemen, yes, the Yemen that champions democratic rule and abhors terrorism. The Yemen Observer's Daily Chew...uh...reports:

SANA'A - A Yemeni detainee at Guantanamo Bay says he has tried to kill himself due to the treatment he has received from the US military, Gulf News reported. "Mohammad Al Adahi alleges that US troops have used methods of interrogation that were used by Soviet Union and North Korean interrogators in years past. His treatment has been so degrading that Al Adahi has tried to take his own life," said a statement sent to Gulf News by three US lawyers representing Yemeni detainees, including Al Adahi.

So, USSR and North Korean interrogators have detained Al Adahi in the past? Seems as if the good gentleman is somewhat of an expert regarding information gathering techniques.

"Al Adahi's account of his journey to Guantanamo and the despicable treatment he has suffered is not just one man's story. Sadly, it is a shocking narrative that could be told by numerous other Guantanamo detainees," said the statement sent by the lawyers, John Chandler, Kristin Wilhelm and Richard Murphy, from the US firm Sutherland Asbill and Brennan.

By the way, all of the lawyers mentioned have very strong ties to the ACLU, which should raise a flag of concern to our friend at Stop the ACLU.

Al Adahi says he has suffered physical, psychological and religious torture. "On one occasion the troops forced Al Adahi's face down into a toilet while he was handcuffed," said the statement. Al Adahi claims he has spent protracted periods in shackles and his interrogators threatened to detain his wife and mother if he did not admit to supporting al-Qaeda. Other times, they threatened to place his children in an orphanage if he did not talk.

The story of 43-year old Mohammad Al Adahi started in August 2001 when he took a vacation from a Yemeni company where he had worked for 21 years, according to his lawyers.
He was said to be a faithful provider for his wife and two children. He accompanied his sister who left Yemen to meet her husband in Afghanistan. It was his first time out of the country.

Al Adahi and his sister flew from Yemen to Karachi. On the second day, Al Adahi and his sister flew to a town bordering Afghanistan and then traveled by car to Kandahar to meet his sister's husband. Because he wanted to ease his sister's transition to life in Afghanistan Al Adahi remained in Afghanistan for about one month. He then started making his way back to Yemen.

He says he was detained in Pakistan by Pakistani military forces who leveled several charges against him. He was perplexed as the charges centered on his alleged involvement with al-Qaeda or the Taliban, or both. He was also charged with possessing a bomb detonation device - the cheap Casio watch he was wearing at the time he was detained. The Pakistani military turned Al Adahi over to US forces. Al Adahi is now in poor health due to this torture, and is on daily medication. Military physicians refuse to take his ailments seriously, lawyers said.

An unscheduled month in Afghanistan, a trip back to Yemen via Pakistan. What could possibly go wrong?

Shamelessly pimped via open posts to Stop the ACLU, The Conservative Cat, and Third World County.

Islamic Group Wants Catholics to Step Aside

2006-01-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

This just moved to the front of my "You Have Got to be Kidding Me" file. It seems that an islamic group in Glasgow (Scotland, not Yemen), wants a local Catholic elementary school to abandon Catholic teachings and embrace muslim doctrine. Scotsman.com reports:

An islamic campaign group has called for a Catholic primary school to be based on the Muslim faith.

The Campaign for Muslim Schools said 90 per cent of pupils at St Albert's Primary, in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, are Muslim, yet children are having to take part in Catholic rituals like saying the Lord's Prayer and attending mass.

Last I checked, attendance at Parochial schools was voluntary. Don't like the doctrine, start your own school.

Osama Saeed, co-ordinator of the alliance of Glasgow's main mosques and Muslim organisations, said he could see no reason why the main faith of the school should not change.

It's a Catholic school, or was the SAINT part of SAINT Albert's lost on you.

He said: "Clearly the parents of that area find a faith school, even if it is of another denomination, preferable to a secular one. But surely it should be possible for them to have one that is relevant to their own faith.

Exactly, start a school that is relevant to your faith.

"To move towards this would be a fantastic example of good faith - in more ways than one - on the part of the Church."

The call came just days after Scotland's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, sparked controversy by stating that Scotland's core faith was Christianity and that other faiths should recognise they were "living in Scotland as a Christian country". A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland was not available for comment tonight.

And also with you.

Open Post Thanks to The Conservative Cat, Stuck on Stupid, Stop The ACLU,
The Uncooperative Blogger and Bloggin' Outloud.

Is Sex to Blame for Sec. Rice's Harsh Russian Stance???

2006-01-15T12:26:00.000-08:00

If you ask the folks at Pravda, Condoleezza Rice's status as a single woman without children is the root of her recent stance towards the Russian / Ukrainian gas crisis.

Condoleezza Rice's anti-Russian stance based on sexual problems

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, openly criticized the Russian government in connection with the gas conflict with Ukraine. Ms. Rice used quite a trivial technique of psychological pressure, which is mostly practiced, in the field of education.

According to Condoleezza Rice, Russia's actions towards Ukraine did not characterize it as a respectable member of the Group of Eight. The statement from the high-ranking US official sounded like a reprimand from a strict babysitter that was teaching its baby to behave.

Ms. Rice's criticism can be explained with the politician's personal peculiarities. Why is Condoleezza Rice so fond of her "strict teacher" role? Is it her technique that she follows to stay in the center of political attention? The leader of the Liberal and Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Vladimir Zhirinovsky, expressed his opinion on the matter in an exclusive interview with Pravda.Ru.

"Condoleezza Rice released a coarse anti-Russian statement. This is because she is a single woman who has no children. She loses her reason because of her late single status. Nature takes it all.

"Such women are very rough. They are all workaholics, public workaholics. They can be happy only when they are talked and written about everywhere: "Oh, Condoleezza, what a remarkable woman, what a charming Afro-American lady! How well she can play the piano and speak Russian! What a courageous, tough and strong female she is!

"This is the only way to satisfy her needs of a female. She derives pleasure from it. If she has no man by her side at her age, he will never appear. Even if she had a whole selection of men to choose from she would stay single because her soul and heart have hardened. Like Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, or Alexander the Great of Macedon Ms. Rice needs to fight and release tough public statements in global scale. She needs to be on top of the world.

She is on top of the world – knuckleheads.

Open Post Thanks to The Conservative Cat, Stuck on Stupid, Stop The ACLU and The Uncooperative Blogger.

Islamic School Confronts Terrorist Image

2006-01-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Tomorrow's Jakarta Post reports:

A thick cloud of suspicion hangs over the country's pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), with many convinced they are a breeding ground for terrorists.

The second Bali bombings last October, in which several boarding school alumni were implicated, were followed by discussion of the mass fingerprinting of students, as well as revisions to the curriculum to avoid the sowing of hatred.

It's notoriety that administrators at Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Sukoharjo, Central Java, say they would rather do without.

"Whenever a terrorist incident occurs, the world always points at us," director of the school, Wahyuddin, told The Jakarta Post recently. "We are constantly accused of training terrorists, while achievements of the school and students never get the attention of the media, including the national media."

It will be a hard image to dispel for the school, often called Pondok Ngruki.

One of the school's cofounders 30 years ago was the late Abdullah Sungkar, who lived in exile during the New Order regime, fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and established Jamaah Islamiyah, the militant group linked to al-Qaeda.

The other cofounder was controversial cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, and several of the school's alumni were linked to the wave of bombings in the country in recent years.

A 2001 thesis written by a Ngruki alumnus, Muhammad Nursalim, estimated that at least 5,000 of Abdullah Sungkar's combat-trained followers were to be found in several countries.

"The organization's principle of struggle adapted by Ustad (cleric) Abdullah Sungkar is underground in nature. It is forbidden to reveal one's identity," a source told the Post on the condition of anonymity.

The school's alumni say the assumptions are all wrong, and they will hold a seminar on jihad and terrorism on Jan. 21-Jan. 22. Thousands of former students, many now living abroad, are expected to attend.

Among the invited guests are 20 foreign embassies.

"We will hold the seminar in the school complex so that the Western envoys, who have been suspicious of Ngruki thus far, can see first hand the real conditions at the school," said an organizer, Ali Usman.

As of Thursday, the organizing committee had yet to receive confirmation on the number of foreign envoys who would attend.

"Only Malaysia has stated its readiness to attend, and the Netherlands asked us to forward the complete schedule," said organizing committee head, Isfihani.

At a previous seminar in 2004, only ambassadors from Germany and Japan attended.

Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Ma'ruf is slated to open and deliver the keynote speech in the event. Other speakers will include Ma'ruf Amin, head of the Fatwa committee of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), who is also the initiator of the committee to rectify the curricula at Islamic boarding schools.

Ali Usman hopes the presence of the home affairs minister will persuade the foreign envoys to find out more about the school.

"Come and prove for yourself whether our pesantren grooms terrorist members," said Usman jokingly.

Open Post Thanks to The Conservative Cat, Stuck on Stupid, Stop The ACLU and The Uncooperative Blogger.

Eco-Jackasses Busted in Foothills

2006-01-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

Three people were arrested at a local KMart for allegedly plotting to destroy public property. The irony that these eco-jackasses were arrested at a KMart is fabulous. "Attention KMart shoppers, we are having a Blue Light Special on explosive devices on aisle 5." Their parents must be so proud. The Auburn Journal reports:

The FBI arrested three people Friday in Auburn, California including a Foresthill man for allegedly plotting to destroy buildings in the name of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).

Eric Taylor McDonald, 28, of Foresthill, was arrested along with Zachary O. Jenson, 20, of Monroe, Wash. and Lauren Weiner, 20, of Philadelphia, Penn. at the Kmart shopping center on Bell Road in Auburn around 11 a.m., said Karen Ernst, spokeswoman for the Sacramento FBI office.

John Cauthen, special agent with the Sacramento FBI office said Friday that the arrest was related to the eco-terrorist group, the ELF.

"The arrest was based on evidence that they were plotting on behalf of the ELF to destroy unspecified cell phone towers, power generation facilities and U.S. Forest Service facilities," Cauthen said.

The three did not resist arrest, Ernst said.

"The arrest was based on probable cause at this time," she said. "A criminal complaint is anticipated to be filed early next."

Ernst said the criminal complaint and accompanying affidavit will lay out the foundation for the charges. More information is expected in the following days.

At this point, authorities said the arrest is not in direct connection to the planting of any bombs.

"We've been asked if there if this (incident) is related to the ELF bombings in Auburn and Lincoln last year and there is no connection to that investigation," Ernst said.

According to an FBI press release, Jenson, Weiner, and McDavid were intending to use explosives to also destroy " unspecified power generation facilities."

FBI officials said there is no information to indicate there is an immediate danger to public welfare or safety.

Open Post Thanks to The Conservative Cat, Stuck on Stupid, Stop The ACLU and The Uncooperative Blogger.

Western Media Hype and Iran

2006-01-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

Today's (or was it yesterday's depending on where you sit relative to zulu time) Arab News posted an article stating the exact date that the U.S. would invade Iran.

The United States has decided to invade Iran and change its regime. The invasion will start on March 19 with bombing raids against “sensitive targets” in Iran by the US Air Force operating from Turkey, the Mussandam Peninsula, and the island of Massirah.

March 19th? That's a Sunday, correct? I think I can make it.

This is the gist of a number of articles, news items and “strategic analyses” published in the Western media over the past two weeks.

Wow! But is this really true? Since journalists should not engage in fortune-telling, we cannot offer a definite answer.

What we can do, however, is to recall the fact that this is not the first time that reports about an “imminent invasion” of Iran by the United States hit the Western media.

Last year the New Yorker magazine published a lengthy article detailing what it claimed was an American plan to invade Iran. Quoting the usual “senior sources speaking on condition of anonymity”, the magazine even fixed date for the invasion for June 2005. It reported that units of American Special Forces had already entered Iran from Afghanistan and were engaged in unspecified operations without being detected. Well, we know that there was no June invasion.

Thank goodness. And may be there will not be a March invasion either.

So, why did those “senior sources speaking on condition of anonymity”, let’s call them the SSSCA for short, chose June as the invasion date? The only answer is that they wanted to demonstrate their sense of humor.

On the calendar of Iran, June is the month of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of the revolution. It was in June 1963 that he organized his first uprising against the Shah. And it was also in the June of 1989 that he died.

But, why have the SSSCA now decided to shift the invasion from June to March?

Because of March Madness, of course. Since the majority of westerners, and gambling Turks, will be swept up in the Enn-Cee-Dubble-A (don't want to get sued by using a trademarked acronym) tournament, they probably won't notice that a country the size of Alaska was invaded.

The reason may be that March 19 would be the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It will also be the eve of the Iranian New Year, Now-Ruz, which starts with the spring equinox on March 20. As you see the SSSCA are not so dumb after all.

My guess is that the SSSCA either do not exist or, if they do, are using some gullible journalists dreaming of a Pulitzer-securing scoop, to exert psychological pressure on the Iranian leadership.

But what if the SSSCA do exist and the New Yorker and other media that frequently publish their “leaks” know something that we don’t? What if the invasion starts on March 19 ? Would we not end up with egg on our face? Well, we will have to wait and see.

In the meantime the best we can do is to review the causes of a putative clash between Iran and the United States.

Uh, causes? How about a treaty they signed 35 years ago?

The immediate cause cited by the SSSCA is Tehran’s alleged plan for building an arsenal of nuclear weapons in violation of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which it signed 35 years ago.

Thank GOD you remembered this.

It is an established fact that Iran did violate the NPT for almost 18 years before admitting it and promising not to do so again. The International Atomic Energy Agency took note of that promise and agreed not to punish Tehran for its past misdeeds. In exchange Tehran offered to suspend its program of uranium enrichment and was promised economic “goodies” by the European Union.

Did you really say that Tehran DID violate the NPT? Amazing. For a moment there, I couldn't see the puppet strings. Good work Giappetto.

Now, however, Tehran has decided to end its voluntary suspension of at least part of its enrichment program. This in no way violates the NPT and is no proof that Tehran does have a nuclear military agenda.

In no way violates the NPT? Let's see, a country vast in petroleum resources needs nuclear energy. A country that could trade fossil fuels for "energy-grade" fuels rods. Doesn't seem to pass the smell test to me.

Here then is the interesting part: When Tehran actually admitted having violated the NPT it suffered no sanctions. Now that it says it is not violating the NPT, and there is no evidence that it is, it would be rich to talk of sanctions let alone invasion and regime change.

Hey, I fouled Kirk Ansel in a water polo game years ago. To this day I have suffered no sanctions.

In any case Tehran can always walk out of the NPT and tell its members where to get off. Developing nuclear weapons is a legal right for any nation that has not signed that right away by joining the NPT.

They did join the NPT. Did you miss what you typed a few paragraphs north of here?

The problem with Iran, therefore, is not its alleged plan to develop nuclear weapons. Seven NPT members are confirmed nuclear powers and at least five other nations outside the NPT are suspected of having such weapons.

Key words "OUTSIDE THE NPT."

Iran’s regional ambitions, of course, are in contradiction with the American ambition to reshape the Middle East on the basis of the Bush doctrine.

Regional ambitions? I thought this was about a sustainable power source for future Iranians?

Paradoxically, a nuclear-armed Iran could be far more dangerous to the countries of the region, including Russia, India and China, than to the United States. Further afield a nuclear-powered Iran could also emerge as a strategic threat to the European Union.

In the short to medium-terms, however, Tehran is unlikely to develop the kind of nuclear arsenal that could pose an imminent and present danger to the US itself. In fact, by going nuclear Iran may play into the American hands. As a non-nuclear state, Iran cannot be attacked by a nuclear state. By becoming a nuclear state, Iran would lose that immunity, enabling the US to use its nuclear superiority in any final showdown.

As far as the US is concerned Tehran cannot become anything more than an irritant. Tehran could do mischief in Iraq and Afghanistan while funding and arming the Hezbollah and some Palestinian groups. But it does not have the wherewithal to impose its design on the Middle East.

So, if the SSSCA are right and the US is going to invade Iran it would be doing so in the interests of the regional countries that will be threatened by a nuclear-powered Iran.

If I were one of the SSSCA I would wonder why I should do the dirty work of others who would then march to demonize rather than thank me. If the Gulf Cooperation Council, the League of Arab States, the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States, Turkey, the European Union, China, India and Pakistan are happy with a nuclear-powered Iran why should the SSSCA in Washington behave in a holier-than-thou manner?

The SSSCA may be clever enough to manipulate some Pulitzer-seeking reporters and use them to spread rumors and misinformation to confuse the adversary.

But when it comes to the broader task of developing a strategy they are certainly not as naïve as the New Yorker makes them sound. At least, I hope they are not!

Open Post Thanks to The Conservative Cat, Stuck on Stupid, Stop The ACLU and The Uncooperative Blogger.

An Arab's View of Sharon

2006-01-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

Quite a flaming piece in today's Arab News.

He was brutal, he was ugly, he was criminal, of the kind associated with war. He was known as the bulldozer, not only because he weighed as much as one, but because for decades he strutted around our homeland acting like one. And indeed what size stroke would he have suffered last week other than a massive one, a stroke that, by deadline Sunday, still left him alive but with permanent damage to areas of the brain that control speech, faculty of analysis and motor response, producing huge odds against his survival, let alone his ability to function again as a political leader.

You cannot overstate how much Palestinians loathe the man. His life-long war against them began with dreadful massacres, proceeded on to land grabs, and ended with a fraudulent disengagement plan designed to put their dream of independence, as one of his top advisers called it, in “formaldehyde.”

Among the many massacres, raids and “mopping up” operations Sharon mounted against the people of Palestine, the one inscribed in their collective memory — on a par with Deir Yassein — none matches the one in the village of Qibya in the West Bank, perpetrated by Israel’s Unit 101, which he commanded, on the night of Oct. 15, 1953.

Presumably as a reprisal against the killing of three Israelis by Palestinian refugees enraged at seeing their own land across the border being tilled by European immigrants, Unit 101 entered the village and blew up 45 houses with their inhabitants inside. Sixty-seven men, women and children perished. And Israel’s occupation of the two small remnants of the Palestinian people’s homeland left them after 1948 had not even started yet.

But soon after it did, Sharon was soon there to demonstrate his savagery. Between 1967 and 1970, after the resistance began to show its first stirrings in Gaza, Sharon, as commander of the Southern Front, mounted one of the most brutal campaigns in modern history to stamp it out. In August 1970, after entering Gaza, he moved his troops from street to street, neighborhood to neighborhood, refugee camp to refugee camp, orange grove to orange grove where, using their commander’s weapon of choice, the bulldozer, they demolished thousands of homes and uprooted large portions of the Strip’s groves, the region’s only crop.

Orders were given to shoot “terrorist suspects” without questions being asked. Over a thousand people were executed.

Clearly such collective punishments perpetrated against a helpless people under occupation contravened the Geneva Conventions, and the extra-judicial killings of civilians were strictly forbidden by international law, which defines them as war crimes.

But the man got away with it and went on to become Israel’s defense minister in 1982, when he launched the devastating invasion of Lebanon that year, which concluded with the massacres at Sabra and Shatilla — massacres that he was held “indirectly” responsible for by an Israeli court of inquiry. As to what the term means precisely, well, search me.

In June 1974, outside Nablus, a group of fanatic settlers, hell-bent on establishing another illegal settlement on Palestinian land, were resisting soldiers who had been ordered by Yitzhak Rabin’s centrist government to evict them.

Then who would stroll into the midst of this screaming, kicking and chanting mob other than the ex-general and now newly-elected Knesset member, Ariel Sharon, who proceeded to urge the soldiers to “Resist orders! Resist orders!”

After the right wrested control of the government in 1977, and the expansionist Menachem Begin was appointed prime minister, Sharon truly came into his own as the architect of Israel’s settlement policy.

He never wavered in his pursuit of that policy, despite his crafty withdrawal from Gaza late last year, which was intended to consolidate his grip on the West Bank and block the emergence of a future Palestinian state.

After all these years, after all these massacres he has committed, after all the grief he has caused, after all his attempts to subdue the people of Palestine, Sharon has failed. And failed miserably.

He leaves the scene with his dream of a Greater Israel in tatters, a joke, a lunatically improbable goal in the first place. The international community, along with many people in the US — but excluding dorks like the Evangelist Pat Robertson and his equally dorky followers — has turned against Israel much because of his actions.

Sharon’s problem was that he did not understand history and its implacable laws, the most important one of which is that you can colonize, subjugate or dehumanize a human community for so long, but then a tipping point comes where they will revolt.

And once they do that, there’s no going back. No one knew that more astutely than the 19th century French commentator, Alexis de Tocqueville, in his commentary on the French revolution, when he wrote: “Endured so long as it seemed beyond redress, a grievance comes to appear intolerable once the possibility of removing it crosses men’s minds.”

“Now, it appears, Ariel Sharon is leaving the stage of politics,” said Gershom Gorenberg, in an opinion piece in the Washington Post last Friday. “Those who follow him should understand his tragic flaws.” Never mind that one would be hard put to use an adjective like “tragic” to describe anything about Sharon’s life and career. But it is good advice nevertheless.

A more eloquent way of putting it was what Baruch Kimmerling had to say in the conclusion to book “Ariel Sharon’s War Against the Palestinians.” “If both sides make or remake the painful compromises they find unthinkable at present, but which are needed to effect a mutual reconciliation, they may not only cease being enemies but may find that their common interests lead them to become allies as well,” he wrote.

“Without a reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, the contemporary Jewish state will become a mere footnote in world history.”

This from the Religion of Peace.

Open Post thanks to Right Wing Nation and Third World County.

Army Awarded 231% Salary Increase Ahead Of Planned Protests

2006-01-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lost leader, but the pay increases are for the Zimbabwe Army -- not the U.S. ZimDaily reports:

THE government of President Robert Mugabe has given pay increases of 231% to the army and instructed them to crush planned opposition protests, Zimdaily heard yesterday. The increase, made hardly two weeks after the opposition threatened to launch mass protests, have drawn accusations that Mugabe was paying off key groups with a critical role in the wider effort to keep Zanu PF in power. Sources in the Army Data Capture Unit at the KG6 Barracks told zimdaily that they were currently working on the soldiers' payslips. "They are getting a 231% increase across the board," the source said. "I understand there is likely to be another increase soon. "Zimdaily heard that a private in the 40 000 strong army is currently earning $3,5 million while a captain was earning $7 million and a Major $8 million. These figures exclude other allowances such as transport and housing. Zimdaily also heard that there were salary differentials based on the length of service.

The massive increase follows seething discontent among soldiers over poor salaries and working conditions. Military sources said before the raise, soldiers were increasingly unsettled by government’s refusal to increase their salaries and provide adequate food supplies to the 40000-strong army.

Disgruntled armed forces pose a serious threat to President Robert Mugabe’s regime, which depends on the state security apparatus — the army, the air force and the intelligence service — for its survival. Mugabe recently urged the armed forces to remain vigilant to deal with what he termed a “vicious imperialist onslaught”. Soldiers who spoke to zimdaily said the increase was still negligible as they were expecting a 500% increase.

Zimdaily heard the army commanders were battling to assure soldiers the situation would be attended to as soon as possible. It is said some troops have been detained at 2 Brigade barracks in Harare in connection with “indiscipline” related to agitation for salary increases. Sources said the soldiers were expected to be court-marshalled. Zimdaily understands that senior army commanders have been telling soldiers to channel their grievances through proper structures instead of engaging in “unruly campaigning” which could easily be interpreted as “mutiny”. Army spokesman Lt Col Aggrey Wushe declined comment on the salary adjustment and the revolt in the army.

He also denied there was unrest within the army's ranks ranks. Army commanders are traditionally loyal to Mugabe and generals occupy the upper echelons of parastatals and government posts. Mugabe has militarised government bureaucracy by deploying former soldiers to perform civilian duties. In the run-up to the disputed 2002 presidential election, army generals announced they would not accept an elected president without liberation struggle credentials — a reference to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. And more recently a Major General warned junior troops against supporting the opposition. The army was heavily involved in the controversial election, which was won by Mugabe.

Excellent story, but you must go to the link and scroll to the bottom for the real deal. ZimDaily also operates as somewhat of a message board / forum site. The posts in response to this article are fantastic. Something tells me that ZimDaily is not a government-sanctioned news agency.

Open Post thanks to The Mudville Gazette.

Slaughterhouses Busy for Eid

2006-01-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

I suppose many cultures consider Haloween or St. Patrick's Day to be odd. This piece refers to the Eid festivals of the Muslim world. Nancy Oteifa of the Kuwaiti Times reports:

Nearly all Muslims are busy thinking of where and how to sacrifice their animal of choice. So, I decided to visit one slaughterhouse in Kuwait and see how they have prepared for this season.

When I went to Shuwaikh slaughterhouse, the men in charge were very helpful and kind enough to give me all the information I needed. Nasser Al-Wazan, the head of technical department said, "Our sheep are mainly from Australia, but there are also local and Arab ones."

Australian sheep are cheaper than the pure Arabian sheep and they are the most wanted and demanded by the customers, because they are cheaper".

Hygiene and cleanliness are paramount and the area is cleaned daily. They also make sure that all equipment is ready all the time. The third step is that workers or owners must be in place to make sure that the animal is healthy.

He added, "All slaughterhouses are open after the Eid prayer until 6pm -- and from 6pm till the next morning it is for charities. It's important to note that from a religious point of view, not any sheep can be used for scarifying. It depends on the size and age of the animal."

Vets such as Talat Al-Shafiee noted, "The vets have their own procedures in checking the sheep while they are alive. First they check the animal to make sure that they don't have any kind of disease of sickness, like tetanus, salmonella poisoning, or coughing. But when it comes to check the dead animal the vets first make an overall check on the animal to scan if there is any disease, to see if there are any changes in the colour or smell. Then they check the animal's head including the face and the tongue."

He added, "There are more than 220 diseases that are common between human beings and animals. These diseases not only have a great effect on human beings but also it has a huge damage on animals in terms of milk. Those diseases are transferred by touching or indirectly by eating the meat or by milk consumption."

Diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses or even parasites, and consumers are advised to make sure that the animal is free from any tumours on the skin before buying the animal.

Pretty matter-of-fact, eh?

Open Post Thanks to Right Wing Nation, The Bullwinkle Blog, bRight and Early, The Uncooperative Blogger and Don Surber.

Iraqi Troops Celebrate Army Day

2006-01-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

Iraqi troops recently celebrated the 85th anniversary of the creation of Iraq's military forces. While the celebration was smaller in size, it packed more firepower. The Lebanese Daily Star reports:

Iraq's fledgling military marked Army Day Friday to the sound of mortar and rocket fire, highlighting the tough battle the troops face to bring security to the country.Waving Iraqi flags, some 800 soldiers from the army's 10 divisions paraded in front of senior Iraqi government and U.S. officials as marching music played inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

But the annual ceremony, marking the 85th anniversary of the military's creation, was a fraction of its previous size under Saddam Hussein.

The toppled dictator used to sit with a rifle on his lap, firing off rounds, as thousands of troops, tanks, helicopters and fighter jets took part in a three to four hour-long parade.

This time around, there were only two old Russian tanks on display as well as some U.S.-made Humvees and military trucks, while Iraq's current president and prime minister both chose to stay away.

Saddam's theatrical gunshots were replaced by real mortar fire.

One mortar round, fired by rebels, even struck about a 100 meters away but did not explode, said an AFP correspondent at the scene.

Abdel-Aziz Mohammad, official spokesman for the joint operations room at the Defense Ministry, had been talking to reporters at the time and ducked as the round flew past. "It was nothing, it was nothing," he said afterwards.

At the start of the ceremony, Defense Minister Saadun al-Dulaimi and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad laid flowers at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier - a giant shield-shaped stone slab erected in the center of a vast circle.

It was built under Saddam to commemorate soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war.

The Iraqi national anthem struck up as everyone stood to attention.

The soldiers then marched grim-faced for about five minutes. Then Dulaimi and General Babkir Bederkhan al-Zibari, the army's chief of staff gave rallying speeches.

"Today's festival has a special meaning and it is not like the previous ones," said Dulaimi.

"Today we serve the nation and not the [then] victorious leader," he said, in a reference to Saddam.

Standing to attention, with unloaded guns at their side, the soldiers then repeated an oath of allegiance.

"I swear in the name of God and on my honor to protect the land of Iraq and its people from all aggression," they chanted.

The country's security forces, including the army and the police, are now some 210,000-strong.

Open Post Thanks to The Right Wing Nation and Stop the ACLU.

South America's Coup du Jour

2006-01-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

The Cato Institute recently ran a piece regarding the new-style military coup/prison term/landslide victory in the next election leadership in South America. This reminds me of the typical VH1 Behind the Music series. You know, an unknown band from L.A. leaves mom's garage, hits it big, signs a ridiculous record contract where they don't make a penny, get horribly hooked on heroin, break up, have failed solo careers and reunite at a state / county fair somewhere? Anyway, Cato.org reports:

A new form of military coup d'état is emerging in South America.
Today's new militarism is characterized by leftist military men who lead a rebellion, are jailed for it, and then emerge with the popularity to win the next presidential election with large majorities of the vote.

With the patriarchal blessing of Fidel Castro, the model of new militarism started with Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan colonel who led a failed coup in 1992, served two years in prison, and returned to capture the presidency in 1998. Ecuador's President Lucio Gutierrez - an Army colonel who led a successful indigenous rebellion in 2000, was jailed briefly, and was elected president last November - has consolidated the trend that, without a doubt, will spread.

There are imitators of these caudillos everywhere on a continent where confidence in free markets has been shaken and prevailing public opinion is that democracy has failed.

In Bolivia, one such imitator, Evo Morales, seems to be very interested in exercising this new-style coup d'état. Though not a military leader, he is a populist who blames Bolivia's problems on capitalism and explicitly admires Cuban communism and its military leader Fidel Castro. Mr. Morales has successfully roused indigenous masses to violent protest over economic hardship that has resulted, in part, from questionable economic policies. In February, those demonstrations led to street violence, including 33 deaths, the reversal of some government policies, and the weakening of the government.

Not long ago, here in Peru, we had another self-appointed upstart, Lt. Col. Ollanta Humala. Despite leading a mutiny during the last few days of the presidency of Alberto Fujimori, Colonel Humala has just been "rewarded" with the post of Peruvian military attaché to France. What tremendous foolishness: Three of Peru's former military dictators - Oscar R. Benavides, Luis M. Sanchez Cerro, and Juan Velasco Alvarado - held the same post before returning to Lima to strike their blow. If the pattern holds, Ollanta Humala could be next.

This neomilitarism is characterized by a profound hostility to demo- cratic society and to an open economy. It also seems to have a pronounced populist accent and a dangerous dose of communist infiltration. In essence, it represents the popular dissatisfaction with democratic policy in Latin America.

The paradox is that this doesn't seem to worry the United States. Of course, that's historically typical - more so now, because after Sept. 11, American foreign policy seems to be based exclusively on national security criteria. If in the past, Washington was not bothered by Somoza, Trujillo, and Duvalier, why should it be bothered now by Chávez, Gutierrez, or whoever else might come along?

The first wave of Latin American militarism occurred after the wars of independence and was largely a settling of political control with military strongmen alternating in power, often overthrowing one another and plunging the region into a series of civil wars.

The second wave was characterized by a combination of the doctrine of national security and the military taking a role in managing economic policy. Brazil's Getulio Vargas, Argentina's Juan Peron, and Chile's Augusto Pinochet all came to power at different times in this 20th-century wave of militarism and were influential in shaping modern economic profiles of their nations.

In today's incarnation of militarism, which comes on the heels of two decades of democratic progress, it would not be possible simply to install a military government because of the international consequences and the isolation it would entail. Our modern caudillos resort to a stratagem of leading what they know will be a failed revolution in order to become democratic candidates against the system. It's a kind of plebiscitary Bonapartist revival - and it's a new perversion of Latin American democracy.

Shamelessly pimped to the Open Posts at Stop the ACLU, The Mudville Gazette, The Uncooperative Blogger and The Bullwinkle Blog.

Haiti UN Forces Commander Found Dead

2006-01-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

BBC reports that the Commander of the UN forces in Haiti has been found shot dead in a Port-au-Prince hotel room.

The body of Gen Urano Teixeira Da Matta Bacellar, a Brazilian, was discovered early in the morning in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The general had taken over as head of the 9,000-strong peacekeeping force in September last year.

Haiti has been blighted by political and criminal violence and instability over the last two years.

The past two years? Haiti had a very promising begining -- it was the world's first black-led republic and the first Caribbean state to achieve independence. However, previous regimes such as "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier dragged the island nation into a hole it has never climbed out of. Life is so bad in this tiny nation that thousands of hopeful refuges take to the Caribbean in vessels ranging from bathtubs to dozens of pallets lashed together only to be intercepted by the Coast Guard and repatriated.

The role of the UN troops is to keep the peace between rival gangs who support and oppose the ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The mission's mandate, which expires in mid-February, also includes supporting the political process.

On Friday, the UN Security Council urged the country's interim government to hold an election by 7 February.

Hmmm. The UN has an armed military mission in Haiti to support the political process and to ensure that elections take place within a certain timeframe. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Why aren't France, Germany, John Kerry and John Murtha demanding that the UN forces immediately withdraw from Haiti?

The election has already been delayed four times because of spikes in violence, delays in distributing 3.5 million voter identification cards and problems with polling stations.

Voting has originally been scheduled for November, then moved to December, and then delayed a third time until 8 January.

But last week Haiti's provisional electoral council postponed the election again, without setting a new date.

I'm still waiting to see blue fingers in Haiti.

Thanks to the Open Posts at Stop the ACLU and The Mudville Gazette.

New Enlistment Oaths

2006-01-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Strategypage.com has revealed the latest enlistment oaths. Pretty good stuff. The Coast Guard Oath is quite different than the one I swore to in 1982.

New Enlistment Oaths

U.S. COAST GUARD ENLISTMENT OATH
"I, (State your name), swear to sign away 4 years of my life to the UNITED STATES COAST GUARD because I know being in the real military scares me. However, I swear to defend our position as the fifth branch of the Armed Services, although at one point we were under the Department of Homeland Security. I understand that at least twice a day, someone will refer to me a member of the Air Force or Navy, and when I correct them, they will question my military status. I will work on boats the size of kayaks and small yachts during the worst of natures storms, and recieve no thanks or notice form the public. I will fly in helos into the eye of the storm to rescue people dumber then rocks, and then be heckled by the same people when I bust them for transporting drugs two months later! I will prevent thousands of gallons of pollution, but be accused of impeding the economy when I won't allow vessels to pour oil into the ocean. I will be the red-headed step child to all of the other services, although I know I got the better deal. All of my equipment will be discarded Navy property. I will use most of my time in the Coast Guard to take college classes, and perfect my web surfing abilities, then complain that I work too much. I will perfect avoiding PT at all costs, and do my best to attend training that will give me a great competitive edge in the career field of my choice, making retention efforts of the Coast Guard pointless. I will come in contact with so many pollutants during my tenure, I will glow in the dark for the rest of my natural life and refer to myself as "salty" because of it. I will do my best to work 8 to 3, with a two hour lunch, on normal days, and have my pager and cell phone surgically attached, SO HELP ME GOD.

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Signature
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Date

US AIR FORCE OATH OF ENLISTMENT
"I, (State your name), swear to sign away 4 years of my life to the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE because I know I couldn't hack it in the Army, because the Marines frighten me, and because I am afraid of water over waist-deep. I swear to sit behind a desk. I also swear not to do any form of real exercise, but promise to defend our bike-riding test as a valid form of exercise. I promise to walk around calling everyone by their first name because I find it amusing to annoy the other services. I will have a better quality of life than those around me and will, at all times, be sure to make them aware of that fact. After completion of "Basic Training", I will be a lean, mean, donut-eating, Lazy-Boy sitting, civilian-wearing-blue-clothes, Chair-borne Ranger. I will believe I am superior to all others and will make an effort to clean the knife before stabbing the next person in the back. I will annoy those around me, and will go home early every day. So Help Me God!"

____________________
Signature
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Date

US ARMY OATH OF ENLISTMENT
"I, (State your name), swear to sign away 4 years of my otherwise mediocre life to the UNITED STATES ARMY because I couldn't score high enough on the ASVAB to get into the Air Force, I'm not tough enough for the Marines, and the Navy won't take me because I can't swim. I will wear camouflage every day and tuck my trousers into my boots because I can't figure out how to use blousing straps. I promise to wear my uniform 24 hours a day even when I have a date. I will continue to tell myself that I am a fierce killing machine because my Drill Sergeant told me I am, despite the fact that the only action I will see is a court-martial for sexual harassment. I acknowledge the fact that I will make E-8 in my first year of service, and vow to maintain that it is because I scored perfect on my PT test. After completion of my "Basic Training," I will attend a different Army school every other month and return knowing less than I did when I left. On my first trip home after Boot Camp, I will walk around like I am cool and propose to my 9th grade sweetheart. I will make my wife stay home because if I let her out she might leave me for a better-looking Air Force guy. Should she leave me twelve times, I will continue to take her back. While at work I will maintain a look of knowledge while getting absolutely nothing accomplished. I will arrive to work every day at 1000 hrs because of morning PT and leave everyday at 1300 to report back to "COMPANY." I understand that I will undergo no training whatsoever that will help me get a job up! on separation, and will end up working construction with my friends from high school. I will brag to everyone about the Army giving me $30,000 for college, but will be unable to use it because I can't pass a placement exam. So Help Me God!"

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Signature
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Date

US NAVY OATH OF ENLISTMENT
"I, Top Gun, in lieu of going to prison, swear to sign away 4 years of my life to the UNITED STATES NAVY, because I want to hang out with Marines without actually having to BE one of them, because I thought the Air Force was too "corporate," because I didn't want to actually live in dirt like the Army, and because I thought, "Hey, I like to swim...why not?" I promise to wear clothes that went out of style in 1976 and to have my name stenciled on the butt of every pair of pants I own. I understand that I will be mistaken for the Good Humor Man during summer,! and for Nazi Waffen SS during the winter. I will strive to use a different language than the rest of the English-speaking world, using words like "deck, bulkhead, cover, geedunk, scuttlebutt, scuttle and head," when I really mean "floor, wall, hat, candy, water fountain, hole in wall and toilet." I will take great pride in the fact that all Navy acronyms, rank, and insignia, and everything else for that matter, are completely different from the other services and make absolutely no sense whatsoever. I will muster, whatever that is, at 0700 every morning unless I am buddy-buddy with the Chief, in which case I will show up around 0930. I vow to hone my coffee cup-handling skills to the point that I can stand up in a kayak being tossed around in a typhoon, and still not spill a drop. I consent to being promoted and subsequently busted at least twice per fiscal year. I realize that, once selected for Chief, I am required to submit myself to the sick, and quite possibly illegal, whims of my newfound "colleagues." So Help Me Neptune!"

______________________
Signature
______________________
Date

US MARINE CORPS OATH OF ENLISTMENT
"I, (pick a name the police won't recognize), swear..uhhhh....high-and-tight.... grunt... cammies....kill....fix bayonets....charge....slash....dig....burn....blowup....ugh...Air Force women....beer.....sailors wives.....air strikes....yes SIR!....whiskey....liberty call....salute....Ooorah Gunny....grenades...women....OORAH! So Help Me Chesty PULLER!"
X____________________
Thumb Print
XX _________________________________
Teeth Marks
_____________________
Date

Thanks to The Mudville Gazette for their Open Post.

Dream Clears Sailor of Rape

2006-01-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

What???

Wren's sexy dream clears sailor of rape

A sailor was cleared yesterday of raping a Wren in their warship after a jury heard that she had had a sexy dream in her bunk bed.

The woman said she had been having a dream in which she was engaged in foreplay with her Royal Marine boyfriend, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

But she said she awoke at 3.30am to find Christopher Ellerington, 23, a marine engineering mechanic, on top of her in her bottom bunk bed which had a space of only 15in above the mattress.

At first she thought it was her boyfriend but she told the jury that she realised she was being attacked when she shone the light from her mobile phone in Ellerington's face.

She claimed: "He was touching me and then I realised he was having sex with me. I was shocked and angry and told him to get out."

Ellerington said she kissed him and put her hand down his trousers before saying: "What are you doing? I thought you were my boyfriend."

He said he had gone to the Wren's quarters to check that she was all right after a night out in pubs and clubs in Plymouth. She consented to his touching her because she mistook him for her boyfriend but they did not have sexual intercourse, he said.

The court heard that the alleged attack took place when the warship was moored at Devonport, Plymouth.

Ellerington, from Hull, denied raping and sexually assaulting the Wren on Feb 17 last year and was cleared of both charges. He has been transferred to another ship.

A Navy spokesman said the commanding officer would review the case and decide whether Ellerington should face any disciplinary action.

There has to be more to this story than just a dream? Doesn’t there?

Thanks to The Mudville Gazette for their Open Post.

Troops Want to Finish the Job

2006-01-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

Funny that the people here in the states, who cry for our troops to be withdrawn from Iraq, never ask the troops what they think. AP via military.com reports.

BALAD, Iraq - Sgt. Isaiah Killough would love to be with his wife, who's due to have a baby any day. Instead, the 20-year-old military policeman is spending time with detainees in Iraq.
"The only bad thing is being away from my wife right now," said Killough, of West Plains, Miss. "But we're doing a good thing here, and if we leave too early then it would leave us where we started."

Several service members at U.S. bases had mixed reactions to the recent announcement by the Bush administration that some troops in Iraq and Afghanistancould start going home, but all agreed it was important to stay until the job was done.

"I've got a wife and kids at home," Sgt. Richard Roush, 40, of Brooksville, Fla., said at a base near Kabul, Afghanistan. "I would love to see everybody pulled out, but I don't want it to happen too soon. Then we'd be right back where we started."

Facing congressional pressure and waning public support for the conflict in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced plans for the U.S. military to start reducing its troop strength in Iraq and Afghanistan during a surprise visit to the region in late December.

He ordered the number of troops in Afghanistan to be cut from 19,000 to about 16,500 by spring, but he did not reveal the exact size of the reduction in Iraq and cautioned that removing forces too quickly would impede the long-term hunt for terrorists.

Capt. Blane Kusterle, 27, of St. Petersburg, Fla., said further withdrawals should only occur when the Iraqis are up to speed - and that could be a while.

"I think committing to a timeline would be detrimental to the process of handing over to the Iraqis," he said. "It is a good sign to pull the numbers down a bit, but not substantially."

As of late last month, 17 of the 109 former Iraqi bases used by coalition troops since the 2003 invasion had been transferred to Iraqi command, while 30 have been shut down, Army officers say.

Some Iraqi forces have excelled and fought well alongside Americans, but other units have been hamstrung by weapons shortages and some have had their soldiers caught working with insurgents.

In some places, Iraqi troops have failed to report for duty, gotten caught with bomb-making materials or allowed insurgents to attack U.S. convoys or other coalition soldiers by looking the other way, Americans say.

Iraqi soldiers and police units were responsible for much of the security for the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections, which were free of the violence and bombings that U.S. officials expected.

Army Spc. Larry Powers, based near ousted leader Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, agreed, even though his brigade has lost more than 30 men since arriving nearly a year ago.

"The withdrawal is good for us," the 20-year-old from Roseburg, Ore., said during a visit to fellow U.S. forces at Balad, about 55 miles north of Baghdad. "For the Iraqis, it's good to get them in control, but their numbers aren't that high."

Powers, sitting on a sofa in a wood-paneled recreation center at the base, said he had other concerns on his mind, like watching for the roadside bombs that have proven so deadly for his colleagues.

President Bush has authorized the reduction of U.S. combat troops in Iraq to below the 138,000 level that prevailed for most of this year. He did not reveal the exact size of the troop cut, but senior Pentagon officials have said the number of American troops in Iraq could drop to about 100,000 by fall.

The U.S. hopes that as more Iraqi police and army forces are trained, they will be able to take over from American troops. Much of that expectation depends on the ability of Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups to form a broad-based government that will have the legitimacy to deflate the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.

"The conditions on the ground will dictate our force level," Bush said Sunday.

U.S. forces who work with the Iraqis say they've made progress but more work needs to be done.

"I think they might need a little bit more help," said Lucia Godoy, 27, a supply sergeant from Corpus Christi, Texas, with the 172nd Airborne Stryker Brigade in the northern city of Mosul.

Thanks to Third World County and The Mudville Gazette for their Open Posts.

Russia Holds G8 Chair

2006-01-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

Can this be good? Russia at the head of the G8 table.

Russia has taken over the chairmanship of the G8 group of nations for the first time.

It should be noted that the USSR was invited as an observer in 1991. The group at that time was called the G7 plus 1. More on that later in the linked article.

It will provide President Vladimir Putin with an opportunity to emphasise Russia's role in international affairs.

But some critics have said Russia is not a fit country to head the group, which brings together the world's leading industrialised democracies.

Global energy supply is set to be a big issue, with Russia seeking to show the importance of its oil and gas reserves.

Mr Putin will want to emphasise to G8 members like the US, Japan and Germany, that their economies may be far bigger than Russia's, but they need his country because it has enough oil and gas to keep them supplied for years to come.

Keep the west supplied for years to come? Didn't Putin just cut off gas supplies to Ukraine and all of the downstream users?

Mr Putin has made restoring Russian prestige central to his presidency.

Many Russians still feel keenly their nation's loss of influence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now Mr Putin will be able to say Russia is back, and with a real say at the top table.

Mr Putin will also press for co-operation against terrorism. And where Tony Blair put African development at the heart of Britain's chairmanship of the G8, Mr Putin will say that poverty in former Soviet states should be given an equal priority.

Co-operation against terrorism? His government hasn't do a very good job against Shamil Basayev.

But Russia's chairmanship will face criticism too. Some US Senators have argued that Russia should not be a member of what is a club of developed democracies, let alone be allowed to head the organisation.

Russia was originally admitted as an observer to encourage it to reform its economy and develop democratically.

But Russia is still not one of the world's leading economic powers. And Mr Putin has been criticised for prosecuting political opponents, clamping down on the media, and tolerating human rights abuses by his military in Chechnya.

He has supported repressive regimes like that in Uzbekistan, and continues to help Iran develop nuclear power.

So Russia's time at the head of the G8 will raise Russian prestige, but raise uncomfortable questions too.

Great.

Kim Urges U.S. Withdrawal from S. Korea

2006-01-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

In a typical New Year's Day directive from North Korea, the Kim government has urged that the U.S. pull out of the Korean Peninsula so that reunification of the two divided nations can occur.

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea on Sunday accused the United States of seeking to start a new war on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to boost its own military and calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea.
"Dark clouds of war are hovering over the Korean nation, (which) is ardently yearning for reunification," said an editorial in the North's official Korean Central News Agency and three state-run newspapers. "It is the real intention of the U.S. not to hesitate to plunge the Korean nation to nuclear catastrophe."

North Korea often issues policy directives in New Year's Day editorials.

"The entire nation should firmly defend peace and security on the Korean Peninsula by turning out in the struggle to resolutely foil the U.S. attempt to launch another war," the editorial said.

"We must remove the root cause of war completely from this land by launching a nationwide campaign for driving out the U.S. troops," it added.

The message did not mention the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear programs.

The United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia have held five rounds of talks since 2003 aimed at resolving the standoff.

In September, North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear weapons programs in return for aid and security assurances, but no progress has been made in implementing the agreement.

In December, North Korea threatened to boycott the six-nation talks unless the United States lifts sanctions it imposed over alleged counterfeiting and other illicit activities by the North.

The North says it developed nuclear weapons to deter U.S. attack. Washington has repeatedly said it has no intention of invading the communist country.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il faces the challenge of reviving his country's sickly economy, and the editorial called agriculture "the main front of the economic construction this year." It added, however, that the military remained "a top priority."

Kim has followed a "songun" or "army first" policy aimed at building up the country's 1.1 million-strong army and protecting his government.

Let's see, you parade weapons through the streets, threaten to boycott multi-nation talks and in the midst of a huge economic abyss claim that the military is a high priority. Seems like positive steps towards reunification to me.

CIA Warns Ankara of Possible Air Ops Against Iran

2005-12-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

Crazy, unsourced articles are not the exclusive domain of the U.S. MSM. It seems that the Turkish media enjoys this, as well. The TurkishPressdotcom reports CIA's Goss Reportedly Warned Ankara of Iranian Threat.

Cumhuriyet - During his recent visit to Ankara, CIA Director Porter Goss reportedly brought three dossiers on Iran to Ankara.
Goss is said to have asked for Turkey's support for Washington's policy against Iran's nuclear activities, charging that Tehran had supported terrorism and taken part in activities against Turkey.

Goss also asked Ankara to be ready for a possible US air operation against Iran and Syria.
Goss, who came to Ankara just after FBI Director Robert Mueller's visit, brought up Iran's alleged attempts to develop nuclear weapons. It was said that Goss first told Ankara that Iran has nuclear weapons and this situation was creating a huge threat for both Turkey and other states in the region. Diplomatic sources say that Washington wants Turkey to coordinate with its Iran policies. The second dossier is about Iran's stance on terrorism. The CIA argued that Iran was supporting terrorism, the PKK and al-Qaeda. The third had to do with Iran's alleged stance against Ankara. Goss said that Tehran sees Turkey as an enemy and would try to "export its regime."

So, Porter Goss decided to blurt out that Turkey should be prepared for possible air assaults against Iran and Syria? This just doesn't seem to pass the smell test to me.

Thanks to the Mudville Gazette for their Open Post.

TimesWatch Quotes of the Year for 2005

2005-12-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

You gotta love the folks at Timeswatch.org. These guys do an excellent job of keeping an eye on the NYTimes. This years list of quotable quotes was the best I have seen to date. Here are a few I particularly enjoyed.

"And in the shadow of the bleak and often horrific news emerging from Iraq nearly every day, historians and political experts are finding at least a wan hope in those imperfect historical analogies. Even in the absence of a sudden and dramatic shift on the battlefield toward a definitive victory, there may still be a slight opening, as narrow as the eye of a needle, for the United States to slip through and leave Iraq in the near future in a way that will not be remembered as a national embarrassment."
-- From reporter James Glanz's November 27 story for the Week in Review section.

What did James say??? "A wan hope in those imperfect historical analogies? James, I certainly hope "you continue your workman-like efforts to endeavour to work diligently". Whatever that means.

"A nostalgic insider turned outsider can still offer insights, however, and the most useful is that cable news outlets were ludicrously rah-rah during the invasion of Iraq and that embedded reporters felt a credibility-damaging kinship with soldiers."
-- From Ned Martel's February 4 review of a documentary by left-wing media critic Danny Schechter.

You put your left foot in...you put your left foot out...you put your left foot in and you shake it all about. You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about. Ridiculous.

"Nonetheless, [Bush campaign strategist Mark] McKinnon said that Mr. Bush had not gone so far as to include on his playlist 'Fortunate Son,' the angry anti-Vietnam war song about who has to go to war that [John] Fogerty sang when he was with Creedence Clearwater Revival. ('I ain't no senator's son....Some folks are born silver spoon in hand.') As the son of a two-term congressman and a United States Senate candidate, Mr. Bush won a coveted spot with the Texas Air National Guard to avoid combat in Vietnam."
-- Elisabeth Bumiller's April 11 "White House Letter" on the songs on Bush's iPod.

Guess what, Superfreak by the late Rick James ain't on his playlist either. I guess 'Liz never asked John McCain what was on his silver-spoon-pod. Idiot.

"My own sense is that Mao, however monstrous, also brought useful changes to China….But Mao’s legacy is not all bad. Land reform in China, like the land reform in Japan and Taiwan, helped lay the groundwork for prosperity today. The emancipation of women and end of child marriages moved China from one of the worst places in the world to be a girl to one where women have more equality than in, say, Japan or Korea. Indeed, Mao’s entire assault on the old economic and social structure made it easier for China to emerge as the world’s new economic dragon….In the same way, I think, Mao's ruthlessness was a catastrophe at the time, brilliantly captured in this extraordinary book -- and yet there's more to the story: Mao also helped lay the groundwork for the rebirth and rise of China after five centuries of slumber."
-- Foreign policy reporter turned columnist Nicholas Kristof reviewing a new Mao biography in the October 23 Book Review.

Are you Freaking kidding me? Land reform? Ask those in Russia as they watch a toxic plume migrate through their drinking water supply what they think about China's land reform. Selling a book are we? To whom?

"The [Amnesty International] report, released May 25, placed the United States at the heart of its list of human rights offenders, citing indefinite detentions of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and secret renditions of prisoners to countries that practice torture. But it is the use of the word gulag, a reference to the complex of labor camps where Stalin sent thousands of dissidents, that has drawn the most attention."
-- Lizette Alvarez, June 4. It's estimated some 2.7 million perished in Stalin's slave labor camps.

This chick brings shame to the words "community college."

I could go on and on, but go to timeswatchdotcom and get all of the action live.

Thanks to the Mudville Gazette for their Open Post.

High Re-up Rate Among Deployed Servicemembers

2005-12-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

Once again, another piece for "the MSM never told me this" file (which keeps getting bigger and bigger). Defenselink.com reports:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 25, 2005 – Servicemembers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are re-enlisting in high numbers, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today said he thinks he knows why.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace spoke with Chris Wallace on the Fox News Channel's "Fox News Sunday," making his first appearance on a Sunday talk show as Joint Chiefs chairman.

"(The high re-enlistment rate) shows their pride in what they're doing and their understanding of how important it is," the general said. "It is absolutely true that for those units that have served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, that their re-enlistment rates are the highest of all of our armed forces."

Pace said servicemembers know they're doing important work, and also know it's appreciated. "I think Pfc. Pace understands the value of what he or she is doing, and they know that what they're doing is appreciated by the Iraqis and the Afghan people. They know that the support here at home for the armed forces is very, very solid and very strong. They're proud of what they're doing, and they want to continue to do it."

The chairman acknowledged that waking up far from home on Christmas morning can be difficult for the nation's deployed forces, but he added they can wake up with great pride in what they've accomplished in 2005.

"This has been an incredible year," the general said, "and all of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen (and) Merchant Marines have so much to be proud of, and we should all be thankful."

Pace cited an unprecedented concentration of major relief efforts, including the South Asia tsunami, hurricane relief in the United States and earthquake relief in Pakistan. He also noted that U.S. servicemembers' efforts helped to bring about Afghanistan's second parliamentary election as well as two elections and a referendum on a constitution in Iraq.

"When they wake up this Christmas Day, and they're away from home, they also can take enormous pride in being part of a really historical year," Pace said.

The chairman also noted the contributions military families make. "You know, when we're overseas and we are in harm's way, we know when we get in trouble, and we are able to, through our training, do something about it," the general said. "Our families here at home don't know when we're in trouble, so they wait and they pray.

"And when we come home," he continued, "they stand in the background and pretend that we did it all on our own. But the families that we have supporting our military are serving this country at least as well as those who wear the uniform."

RIP Mike Stokely

2005-12-24T21:06:00.000-08:00

Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette has posted a very moving piece from a father who lost his son in OIF. Truly a must read.

I never met Mike Stokely, but I would let him babysit my two year-old son or date my sister. I have no idea what it would be like to lose a child, so I will shut my trap at this point. My heart goes out to SGT. Stokely's family.

For those of you that think that National Guard units hang out in airports drinking lukewarm Coca-Cola, here are a few words for you....

SGT Michael "Mike" James Stokely, KIA Operation Iraqi Freedom 16 Aug 05
2nd Platoon, E Troop 108th CAV 48h Brigaded GA NATL GUARD
15 miles south of Baghdad near Yusufiyah / IED

To the Stokely family, my family gives our thoughts and prayers.

Christmas in India?

2005-12-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

You better believe it. In India, the nations 25 million Christians, mostly Catholic, joyously celebrate the Christmas holiday each year. Unbelievable, the world's largest retailer won't use the word "Christmas" in any advertising, but many Indians proudly proclaim the mystery of faith in public. The India Times reports.

NEW DELHI: Christianity came to India much before it went to the West, perhaps a reason why India's 25 million Christians prefer to be catholic in faith, oriental in worship and Indian in culture.

Funny. Many Americans consider India to be a "third-world" country. One where ancient laws govern the masses. However, India's "freedom of religion" is positively refreshing when placed next to the west's "freedom from religion."

It has been a two-way process - a process of osmosis where Christianity has over the centuries become an indelible part of Indian plurality. Not only for the urban middle classes enthusiastically getting ready for Christmas, a festival that long ago surpassed the boundaries of mere religion, but also for the many millions who have studied in missionary schools.

On the flip side, many customs of the majority Hindu religion have assimilated into Christian traditions, making for a uniquely Indian Christianity in a country where the community forms the second largest minority group after the Muslims and constitutes 2.4 percent of its one billion plus population.

According to a 2003 report of Directory of Catholic Health Facilities in India, the Catholic church itself has 764 hospitals, 2,975 dispensaries and health centres and 115 medical training centers throughout the country.

A country that allows all religions an equal voice is a good one -- in my humble opinion.

Stem Cell Research a Fraud???

2005-12-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

Stem cell research has been smited by a mighty blow this week. According to an AP report, a well known, and respected, Korean veterinarian claimed to have cloned 11 human embryos to produce stem cells. Well, it appears that his gastrula has burst. I don't know why no one doubted his claims. Here are a few descriptions of the good DVM:

When Hwang published findings in February 2004 and again in May, it was believed he had developed a new cloning method that enabled him to accomplish something no one else had.

Let's see, someone in the scientific community came up with something no one else had and no one tried to replicate or bring legitimacy to his efforts. These people can usually smell blood in the water better than a Great white shark finishing off a Farallon Island sea lion colony. Hmmmmmm. Wait a minute, could it be that the scientific community stands to reap enormous financial gains that they looked the other way? Hmmmm.

Hwang chalked up much of the success to South Korean government support and dedicated researchers working around the clock. He also credited his workers' dexterity with chopsticks; stem cell researchers visited from around the world and rushed back to their labs to try the new technique.

Credited his workers' dexterity with chopsticks??? Are you kidding me. I can't pick up a piece of sweet and sour pork and his researchers can pick up cells????

Hwang's work came under serious question last month after University of Pittsburgh scientist Gerald Schatten withdrew his collaboration with the South Korean, citing questionable ethics practices. Hwang later revealed he had used eggs from female scientists at his lab, violating international ethics guidelines, and apologized -- admitting he had earlier lied about the issue.

Serious question? I'd say so.

Employer of the Day Award

2005-10-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

To take my "Unit of the Day Award" one step further, I would like to offer a post that recognizes employers that have gone above and beyond the call of duty, or the law for that matter. AFIS reports:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2005 – Representatives of the nation's top organizations in supporting their Reserve and National Guard employees are here today to meet President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and to receive the 2005 Secretary of Defense Freedom Award.

The award, to be presented here during an Oct. 15 ceremony, publicly recognizes employers for exceptional support above what the law requires.

The Freedom Award is the highest in a series of Defense Department employer awards that include the Patriot Award, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Above and Beyond Award, and the Pro Patria Award.

This year's winners "set a high standard for all America's private and public employers," David Janes, national chairman of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, said in announcing them in July.

This year's winners are Alticor Inc. in Ada, Mich.; Citizens Financial Group, Providence, R.I.; Eaton Corp., Cleveland; Enterprise Rent-a-Car, St. Louis; IDA Corp., Boise, Idaho; Los Angeles Police Department; Louisiana Department of Safety and Corrections, Baton Rouge; Pioneer Financial Services, Kansas City, Mo.; Ryland Homes, Calabasas, Calif.; Sears, Roebuck and Co., Hoffman Estates, Ill.; South Dakota State University, Brookings; State of Delaware, Dover; Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc., Torrance, Calif.; USAA, San Antonio; and Wachovia Corp., Charlotte, N.C.

The companies were selected based on a variety of factors, from providing pay differentials to extending health care, dental and life insurance coverage during employees' military mobilization. All have signed statements of support for the Guard and Reserve at the five-star level, which designates that they are strong advocates for the reserve components and role models for other companies.

Eaton, Enterprise, IDA, Wachovia, the LAPD and the Louisiana Department of Safety and Corrections pay their employees' full salary, regardless of their military compensation, plus benefits for the entire length of their mobilization. All other award winners provide pay differentials for their deployed workers.

Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, called these pay differentials an important show of support to activated Guard and Reserve members, about one-third of whom take a pay cut when they leave their civilian jobs to go on active duty.

But the employers' support goes beyond pay. At Citizens Financial Group, employees get a week of paid leave to be with their Guard or Reserve family members home on military leave. The benefit includes up to $500 in travel expenses. Department managers at Alticor contact the families of deployed employees at least monthly to check up on them, and the company sends regular care packages to families as well as to their reserve-component employees.

Eaton provides regular support for its workers' families, even helping with needed home repairs, and Enterprise's president actively participates in organizing care packages for deployed employees.

Pioneer Services pays for deployed employees' cell phone charges and Internet access fees for their families, including a video e-mail capability for their home computers. Ryland Homes sends its employees care packages during their deployments, stays in close touch with their families and pays out special deployment bonuses.

Sears extended its military pay differential and benefits to 60 months for employees called to active duty in the Guard and Reserve, and helps their spouses find jobs if they're interested. Toyota launched its Hire a Hero program to promote career opportunities in the company for Guard and Reserve members, as well as servicemembers leaving active duty, and helps fund a wide range of nonprofit groups that support military men and women.

While praising these efforts, ESGR officials are quick to point out that this year's winners are among thousands of employees nationwide who demonstrate their patriotism through exceptional support for their Guard and Reserve employees.

"I am absolutely astounded by how much the American employers have stood solidly behind the American soldier, airman, Marines, sailors and Coast Guard in this global war on terror," Blum said.

"There's been no wavering of their patriotism and support," he said of the employers, who "understand what's at stake" in the war on terror and recognize the contribution their workers are making.

"It is truly quite remarkable, and it makes you feel very, very good," the general said.

I would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU to all of these employers for their dedication to our country and the brave men and women serving on our behalf.

As always, thanks to The Mudville Gazette, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Stop the ACLU and Airchairinsin for their Open Posts.

For Injured U.S. Troops, 'Financial Friendly Fire'

2005-10-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Since I had to pay for my haircuts while in boot camp, this doesn’t surprise me. It appalls me, but it doesn’t surprise me. The Washington Post reports:

His hand had been blown off in Iraq, his body pierced by shrapnel. He could not walk. Robert Loria was flown home for a long recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he tried to bear up against intense physical pain and reimagine his life's possibilities.

The last thing on his mind, he said, was whether the Army had correctly adjusted his pay rate -- downgrading it because he was out of the war zone -- or whether his combat gear had been accounted for properly: his Kevlar helmet, his suspenders, his rucksack.

But nine months after Loria was wounded, the Army garnished his wages and then, as he prepared to leave the service, hit him with a $6,200 debt. That was just before last Christmas, and several lawmakers scrambled to help. This spring, a collection agency started calling. He owed another $646 for military housing.

"I was shocked," recalled Loria, now 28 and medically retired from the Army. "After everything that went on, they still had the nerve to ask me for money."

Although Loria's problems may be striking on their own, the Army has recently identified 331 other soldiers who have been hit with military debt after being wounded at war. The new analysis comes as the United States has more wounded troops than at any time since the Vietnam War, with thousands suffering serious injury in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"This is a financial friendly fire," charged Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, which has been looking into the issue. "It's awful." Davis called the failure systemic and said military "pay problems have been an embarrassment all the way through" the war.

Army officials said they are in the process of forgiving debts for 99 of the 331 wounded soldiers, all now out of the military. The other cases have not been resolved, said G. Eric Reid, director of the U.S. Army Finance Command. Complex laws and regulations govern the cancellation of debts once soldiers leave the service, he said.

Part of the problem is that the government's computerized pay system is designed to "maximize debt collection" and has operated without a way to keep bills from going to the wounded, Reid said. In the past seven months, a database of injured troops has been created to help prevent that. Now, he said, the goal is to make "a conscious decision . . . on the validity of that debt" in every case.

Early this year, the Army reported that, in looking at a two-month period, it had identified 129 wounded soldiers -- still active in the military -- who had debts. Those were resolved. But the Army cannot pinpoint the full number of wounded active-duty troops with debts.

The House Government Reform Committee has for several years been looking at pay problems among service members. Last spring, the committee asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate debt among the war's wounded and whether troops were being reported to collection and credit agencies. The findings are due early next year.

Although efforts are being made to correct such problems, Rep. Todd R. Platts (R-Pa.) said that for some troops, "we've so mismanaged their pay that . . . we've sent debt notices while they're still in combat, in harm's way." Hounding wounded troops is unfathomable, he said. "For even a single soldier, this is unacceptable," he said.

At the root of the problem is an outdated Defense Department computer system, which does not automatically link pay and personnel records. This creates numerous pay errors -- and overpayments become debts, said Gregory D. Kutz, the GAO's managing director for forensic audits and special investigations. "They've been trying to modernize it since the mid-1990s," he said. "They have been unsuccessful."

No one can say how many troops have pay problems across the military, Kutz said, but the GAO has found that, in certain Army National Guard and Reserve units, more than 90 percent of soldiers have had at least one overpayment or underpayment during deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. Steps have since been taken to improve the system, but the problem will not be eliminated, Kutz said, until the larger computer system is reengineered.

Typically, troops get a boost in pay while in combat. When they come home, the system can take extra weeks to catch up with the change, and some people are overpaid. For wounded troops -- still adjusting to their injuries and changed futures -- a debt notice can be another bitter discovery.

"It was like I was being abandoned. I was no good to the military anymore," recalled Loria, who served more than five years. "They figured the pay glitch was my fault and I was going to pay for it."

Loria was a combat engineer in Iraq in February 2004 when he rushed out with other soldiers to rescue a comrade wounded by a roadside bomb near Baqubah. After helping load the soldier onto his Humvee, Loria started to drive away. A second bomb exploded.

"My whole body hurt," he said, "and I felt like I was on fire." He noticed that his hand and lower arm seemed to be hanging off to the side.

A week later, Loria awoke in a hospital bed at Walter Reed, his wife watching over him. He had to learn to walk again, and, worse, he had to accept that "I was never going to do something that required two hands." Still, he said, he tried to remember that others died in Iraq and that "so many people in Walter Reed were 10 times worse off than myself."

After he left the hospital, his financial trouble started. First, his wages were garnished. "I was missing car payments and phone bill payments and everything else," he said. Then, when he was leaving the military, shortly before Christmas, his debts were laid out: $2,200 in travel related to follow-up hospital treatment, $2,400 for combat-related pay he should not have collected and several hundred dollars more for military gear that went missing after his injury.

The full force of his debt hit as he was trying to get to his family in New York for the holidays. "I had a quarter-tank of gas, three cats in my vehicle and no money whatsoever," he said.

His outraged wife, Christine Loria, called the local newspaper in Middletown, N.Y., which published an article, and New York lawmakers became involved: Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer and Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey (D). Within a matter of days, the debts were cleared, and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner donated $25,000 to Loria.

Months later, home with his wife and stepson, Loria was stunned to receive a call from a collection agency. He owed $646 for housing: nine days of rent, damaged window blinds, a broken refrigerator tray.

"They call and they call and they call," he said. "They're nasty to me." Sometimes, he said, he feels outraged. "I don't know how much you want from me. I already gave you one arm and a part of a leg."

As Loria battled with bill collectors, Ryan Kelly, 25, took his problems to the GAO. He did this at the suggestion of a friend and fellow volunteer at the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit program in Roanoke for injured troops.

Kelly had been wounded in Iraq in July 2003, when his Humvee was blasted by a roadside bomb. "It blew my leg pretty much clean off," he said.

Like Loria, Kelly spent months at Walter Reed, recovering and learning to walk again without his lower leg and foot. The Army staff sergeant struggled with questions about his future. Because he had been injured as a reservist, he was told, there was no guarantee he could deploy to Iraq again. "I didn't want to stay in the Army if I was just going to be a warm body, filling a slot," he said.

When Kelly left the military last year, he recalled, "it was an intense, emotional time." He thought little of the final two checks totaling $2,700 because he was owed vacation and travel pay, he said. Later, he was bewildered as pay stubs continued to come in the mail, each blank except for a notation of a $2,230 debt.

Frustrated, Kelly called the Disabled Soldier Support System, a unit where a counselor told him the Army had mistakenly paid him for an extra 22 days. But Kelly said he was told it would all work out well because the military owed him for his leave and travel. A few weeks later, he said, "I got a check, and I thought, 'Oh, that's nice.' "

But after he and his wife moved to Arizona, he received a bill for $2,230 -- with the threat of a referral to a collection agency. "I was pretty speechless," he said.

When Kelly called the GAO, he learned that the debt was already listed on his credit history.

"What benefit is the Army getting, aggressively going after disabled service members for $500 or $1,000 or whatever? Why not give injured service members a little leeway?"

That sentiment is common.

Tyson Johnson, 24, of Prichard, Ala., was stunned after being struck by a mortar round in Iraq to find a bill waiting for him when he came home from the hospital. It was for $2,700, the bonus he had been given when he enlisted.

"I definitely felt betrayed, because I went over there and almost lost my life," said Johnson, a corporal when he was injured. His debt was resolved after his story made news. "I really didn't need more stress."

Sgt. Gary Dowd, 28, was caught in an ambush 30 miles north of Tikrit, Iraq, in 2003 and suffered multiple injuries, losing his left hand and forearm.

After 13 months of treatment, he retired from the Army early this year. Shortly afterward, he received a letter at his home in Tampa asking him to repay $600 for a survivor-benefit insurance plan he had opted out of when he signed his deployment papers.

There was no number on the bill to call -- no way to protest. "I was pretty irked that they thought I owed them something," he said. "I feel like I've given them enough."

Although Dowd feels there is no ill intent, he said, "I do wish that once they realized they had an injured service member, they would flag them and say: 'This guy has been in the hospital. He's going through enough already.' "

Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, The Florida Masochist, Stop the ACLU, Little Green Footballs The California Conservative, and Armchairinsin for their Open Posts.

Flooding Link to Logging in Doubt

2005-10-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe I am about to say this, but I agree with the U.N. For years, anti-growth / anti-everything groups have blamed the logging industry for all the woes of the world – particularly devastating mudslides associated with flood events. It appears an organization within the U.N. reports the contrary. The Guardian reports:

Massive flooding is not usually caused by extensive deforestation, contrary to popular belief, a UN report published yesterday claims. A ban on logging and other government responses to widespread flooding are misplaced and potentially harmful, it says.

Forests play a role in preventing localised flooding but have little impact in larger-scale disasters, concludes the report by the UN's food and agriculture organisation (FAO) and the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Research (Cifor). "The frequency of major flooding events has remained the same over the last 120 years going back to the days when lush forests were abundant," the director-general of Cifor, David Kaimowitz, said. "The reason that people do believe what they believe is because at a very small scale there is a very significant link between deforestation and flooding. But at the larger scale you cannot extrapolate."

Patrick Durst of the FAO said that governments were at risk of making knee-jerk reactions. "Politicians want to be seen to be doing something but it can cost many people their livelihoods," he said.

China's logging ban and the forcible relocation of more than a million people following flooding along the Yangtze and Yellow rivers in 1998 is the most dramatic example, says the report. "The majority of these relocations were unnecessary and indeed harmful," Mr Kaimowitz said.

Two other examples are the flooding in Bangladesh and the recent hurricane in Central America where officials blamed deforestation in upland areas, according to Mr Durst. "Nepal could be 100% forested and you'd still have the floods in [Bangladesh]," he said.

The report, Forests and Floods: Drowning in Fiction or Thriving on Facts?, is based on studies since the end of the 19th century. It says that governments should identify high-risk areas and install early warning systems. Wetlands and natural water catchment areas should also be left undeveloped, which has not happened in areas like the Mississippi delta.

Sam Lawson, of the Environmental Investigation Agency, said: "Despite good intentions, I worry that these agencies have provided a tool which will be misused by politicians and logging companies, which have a lot to gain from a reversal of policies to protect hill forests."

Thanks to The Mudville Gazette for their Open Post

Unit of the Day Award

2005-10-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Once again, the MSM missed a great opportunity to inform the public of the great work that continues in theaters abroad. Members of the Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa joined the Mouloud community in Djibouti, Africa, and area officials to celebrate the dedication of the Mouloud Primary School Sept. 26. The school renovation project was funded and coordinated by CJTF-HOA. CENTCOM reports:

MOILED, Djibouti - Members of the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa joined the Mouloud community in Djibouti, Africa, and area officials to celebrate the dedication of the Mouloud Primary School Sept. 26.

The ceremony featured several dances and presentations by students from the school, which was renovated by local contractors from Feb. 24 through April 28.

The project, which was coordinated and funded by CJTF-HOA, included the renovation of three classrooms, the cafeteria and the kitchen, and the replacement of the school's roof.

"The windows and walls were broken, pipes weren't working and the electricity wasn't working," said Hawa Pileh, whose six children have all attended Mouloud Primary School. "The children couldn't be inside the classrooms in the summer because of the heat. Now they have fans, electricity, and the damage that was fixed guards them from injuries."

The school, which consists of more than 250 students, was built in 1988 and this is the first renovation project it has received. The total cost of the project was about $50,500.

"I can't express to you enough what these changes mean to us," said Muhammad Sougeh, the Mouloud Primary School director. "We are very happy. These people will never forget what (CJTF-HOA) has given us."

"We do this for one reason - schools represent the future of a nation and the wish of every parent that their children will have a better life than they did," said Col Dwight Trafton, Chief of Staff, CJTF-HOA.

Since the students are all from the Mouloud community, there is a strong sense of pride when the parents and other community members see the changes being made, Mrs. Pileh said..
"This will help us provide for the future of this community. A community without education is like living in a house without lights," she said. "I hope my children will be able to use their education to help their community and their country."

My hat goes off to the men and women of CJTF-HOA for their hard work in the community.

As usual, thanks to Greyhawk for his Open Post.