Where are the Heroes?

While you may have seen a couple of examples of the MSM taking a break from deriding the troops, I am not convinced. It was the mainstream media that ran Abu Grahib stories for months and months, subsequent fake torture pictures, and tried to vilify a soldier caught on camera shooting an enemy that he thought had a bomb.

While Time makes a nice tribute to the fallen, where are the heroes? By only focusing on the fallen, media is able to continue it's relentless pounding of negativity regarding the Iraqi war. Without also demostrating examples of American and British courage, the media is left being insincere trying to demoralize the homefront.Instead of focusing on round-the-clock coverage of Cindy Sheehan, where are today's Audie Murphy or Sgt. Alvin York? Why has the MSM never mentioned the exploits of Cpl. Samuel Toloza.
Only the Washington Times reported how this El Savadoran immigrant defending his fellow soldiers who were out of ammunition and wounded. He said a prayer, whipped out his knife and charged the Iraqi gunmen. His heroics saved his fellow soldiers and bought enough time for reinforcements to arrive.What about the heroics of Cpl. Jason Dunham who jumped on a granade to save his fellow Marines. You may not know his name because only the WSJ reported the story.
Sgt 1st Class Paul Ray Smith single handedly killed 50 Iraqi terrorists while saving the lives of 100 Americans. It was only with his posthumous award of the Medal of Honor did the MSM make some room on their back pages for a short blurb.

There are probably many other heroes, but their names are hard to find. (Update Riehlworld view has a nice list) If the MSM was really supporting the troops, their names wouldn't be.

The media may be biased, but even they support the troops.
We all criticize the mainstream media, regularly and with reason. More and more and day by day the MSM is showing us that its response to the popularity of conservative media and the rise of alternative news sources is to become less carefully liberal. What in the past had to be hidden is now announced.....
An example is a joint venture by Time and the Rocky Mountain News on the families of fallen servicemen in Iraq. Time gives it a beautiful spread on its Web site; the News provided the story and photos. Look at the level of craftsmanship, even art, from the editors, writer, photographer. Look at the work that went into it. It could not have been anything but a labor of love. ... Peggy Noonan

Even Liberals Should Be Anti-Illegal Immigrant

Even mainstream liberals should oppose the massive illegal immigration. Allowing unfettered immigration relieves Mexico of making the necessary economic and political reforms that would make Mexico's economy better. I don't know if y'all know this, but in Mexico there are two distinct classes: those of European descent and those of native Indian descent. You want racism, it's in Mexico. You'll never see a Mexican of indian descent in a position of importance, whether in politics, in business or on TV. If the European elites can continue sending their unwanted across the border, instead of being forced to allow indians the economic freedom to make something of themselves, then Mexico's problems will never be solved.

Additionally, illegals keep US wages low and take jobs away from certain demographic groups like teenagers. Most of their earned money is not spent in the US, hurting our economy. Finally, Mexico has high security at their southern border. Hypocrisy anyone?

MONTERREY, Mexico — Mexico's president on Wednesday criticized the U.S. decision to complete a wall along the border and use drones to increase security, calling it "disgraceful and shameful." On Monday, a U.S. judge lifted the final legal obstacle for the completion of a border fence along the Mexico-California border. Plans call for two additional fences running parallel to the existing steel barrier, with sensors and cameras tracking any movement. The fences will run along the final 3 1/2 miles of the border before it meets the Pacific.
"This situation we're seeing, a disgraceful and shameful moment where walls are being built, security systems are being reinforced, and human and labor rights are being violated more and more, won't protect the economy of the United States," President Vicente Fox said.

Gold as an Investment

Gold as an investment stinks. The gold pushers are always on websites like Newsmax and talk radio. I have a problem when talk radio hosts read gold ads. When reading an add for gold, they seem to be giving financial advice. Some people who put a lot of trust in the talk show hosts may purchase a large amount of gold and lose lots of money over time.

In 1975, gold was about $175/oz
In Jan 1980, gold was at $620/oz.
In Jan 1990, gold was at $410/oz.
The lowest point of the 1980s, gold was at about $300.
Today it is $494.

The stock indexes in comparison:
In Jan 1980, the Dow was at 830.
In Jan 1990, the Dow was about 2750
Now it's about 10885, 13x 1980 and 4x 1990
In Jan 1980, the S&P 500 was about 108
In Jan 1990, the S&P 500 was about 355
Now about 1275, 11.8 x 1980 & 3.6 x 1990.

Although the price of gold in 1980 was the big high point, and it's a little unfair to use that price, there is a major distinction. It's been 25 years since gold peaked! In 2025, 25 years after the March 2000 peak of the Dow, the Dow will be MUCH MUCH higher than its peak of 11722.

When goldophiles show charts of the price of gold or figure percent increases, they always begin in 1971 when gold was released from its fixed price of $35/oz. However, people in the United States weren't allowed to own gold until 1975, when it was already about $175/ oz. (Foriegn market forces had quickly driven the price up.) Thus all returns need to be looked at in comparison to 1975 at $175/oz, not 1971. If you bought gold in 1975 you have less than 3 times your money today (not accounting for inflation). If you bought an S&P mutual fund in 1975, at about 90, you'd have about 14 times your money.

....but go ahead, keep buying gold.

1963 Communist Goals

The following was entered into the Congressional record by Albert Herlong, Jr. (a Floridian who served in Congress from 1949-69) in 1963. Remember while reading this, that the year was 1963, before Vietnam, before Roe, before the country went left. Many pundits have seen this list before and looked it over, but have we ever evaluated and tabulated the list?

1) US acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war

Not applicable with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

2) US willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war

Not applicable.

3) Develop the illusion that total disarmament by the US would be a demonstration of "moral strength"

Not succesful. It doesn't mean that the psuedo-peaceniks haven't tried, but they really haven't gained any ground.

4) Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

Partially successful. China is a huge trading "partner" and Bush's free trade proposal for all of South America would include Venezula.

5) Extension of long term loans to Russia and Soviet Satellites

Successful. The Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), an independent US government agency, has financed many projects in Communist China among others. In other words, we're selling China the rope with which to hang us with.

6) Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination

Succesful. While we haven't stooped to giving North Korea aid, Vietnam gets $40 million annually.

7) Grant recognition of Red China, and admission of Red China to the UN.

Successful. Not only did they get into the UN, they got a seat on the council.

8) Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the Germany question by free elections under supervision of the UN

Failed.

9) Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the US has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress

Not Applicable

10) Allow all Soviet Satellites individual representation in the UN

Successful. Besides communist countries gaining representation in the UN, every third world dictatorship gains not only entry but some laughable positions (such as Iraq being on the Human Rights council)

11) Promote the UN as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the UN as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo)

Partially-successful. The UN has taken been of greater importance in recent years. The implication that UN "permission" was needed prior to invasion of Iraq is evidence of that.

12) Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party

Successful. Communists have evolved to calling themselves things other than communists, but with the same agenda, such as peace activists, Greens, or Democrats.

13) Do away with loyalty oaths

Not successful. While the pledge was under attack for the "under God" clause, the effort has generally failed.

14) Continue giving Russia access to the US Patent Office

Not applicable

15) Capture one or both of the political parties in the US

Successful. Are Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, and Hillary Clinton, really anything else besides communists? Other names such as being part of the "Democratic wing of the Democrat Party" are just semantics.

16) Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions, by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

Successful! Remember 1963 was before Griswold vs. Connneticut or Roe vs. Wade.

17) Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for Socialism, and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers associations. Put the party line in text books.

Successful! Schools and unversities are ripe with Communist professors.

18) Gain control of all student newspapers

Successful! Why stop at student newspapers? Communists have control over a much larger percentage of professional broadsheets.

19) Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

Partially Succesful. Gay rights, death penalty, WTO, war in Iraq, are all met with "student" protests. Many groups such as ANSWER have a distinct communist background. However, these protests are not exactly mainstream despite media hype.

20) Infiltrate the press. Get control of book review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.

Successful. Only with the advent of the internet and talk radio, has there been an outlet of non-leftist news.

21) Gain control of key positions in radio, TV & motion pictures.

Successful. Not only did they get key positions in TV and movies, they nearly got all positions. The rate Hollywood has been churning out leftists propoganda has increased dramatically in the recent decade.

22) Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all form of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings", substitute shapeless, awkward, and meaningless forms.

Successfull....Hmmm....modern art anyone?

23) Control art critics and directors of art museums. " Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art".

Partially successful. There are many modern art museums. Only the classics housed in some muesems have any quality about them.

24) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

Partially successful. There are still some obscenity laws and FCC maintains regulations, but those standards have been reduced dramatically since 1963.

25) Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography, and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and TV.

Successful. In 1963, Playboy sold a couple of copies. Today, what Hugh started has overstaturated life.

26) Present Homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as "normal, natural, and healthy".

Successful. Not only is is "normal", they are pushing for marriage.

27) Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch"

Partially successful. The efforts to eliminate the influence of churches is strong, but there has been some resistance and attendance is much higher in the US than in Europe.

28) Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state"

Successful. Not only prayer, but any Bibles or statues of Moses.

29) Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

Succesful. This has been resulted in judicial activism, which is ignoring the Constitution or the limitations of the government as documented in the Constitution.

30) Discredit the American founding fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man".

Not succesful.

31) Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of "the big picture:" Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

Partially succesful. While American history is taught, some of it has been rewritten to cast America in a bad light. Every school child now knows how evil Vietnam and Joe McCarthy was. Strong emphasis is giving to the shortcomings, while ignoring the good the US has done.

32) Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture - - education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

Partially succesful. Social security, medicare, education, welfare...all part of the bloated and growing federal government. Why is there a federal department of education? The cities and the states run the schools?

33) Eliminate all laws or procedures, which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

Successful. What aren't people allowed to do? War protesters proclaim signs that promote killing US troops, Jane Fonda can go to Vietnam during war to comfort the enemy, and 3 Congressmen can go to Iraq shortly before the War to proclaim how good it is.

34) Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Successful!

35) Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI

Not successful. The FBI still remains a respected institution.

36) Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

Partially succesful. While many unions are corrupt and in the pockets of the Democrat party, few are overtly communists.

37) Infiltrate and gain control of big business

Not successful. While there maybe a few minor examples, as a whole, big business has not been overrun with communists, the way the media and schools have been.

38) Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand or treat.

Partially succesful. While social agencies do not arrest anyone, many kids today are on drugs, such as Ritalin, for behavioral problems, which is now called "ADD."

39) Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

Not succesful.

40) Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

Successful! Divorce rates are high, and the promiscuity of teenagers is much much higher than that in 1963.

41) Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

Partially succesful. If you slap your kid, child services will be arriving at your house to take away your child. Homeschooling is deemed as bad.

42) Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special interest groups should rise up and make a "united force" to solve economic, political, or social problems.

Not succesful.

43) Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

Successful!! We have seen this across Africa and now most prominently in Iraq, where subversive politicans argue for American retreat.

44) Internationalize the Panama Canal.

Successful! We handed the Panama Canal back to the Panamians (thank you, Jimmy Carter) only to see it come under control on China.

45) Repeal the Connally Reservation so the US can not prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike

Not successful, though it doesn't mean they haven't tried. For example, the International Criminal Court. Only through the resistance, despite media objections, was the US subjected to this.

In summary, out of 45 goals, 21 have been succesful, 11 partially succesful, and only 9 were not succesful. (4 were not applicable). That is a successful rate of 59%, probably much much higher than the communists cells could have dreamed about in 1963.

Grinch of the Year

This lady, Patricia Sonntag, certainly should get Grinch of the Year award if there ever was one. We are all used to the Scrooges who like to ban Christmas. This lady wants to go beyond it and to band just about every holiday. Not only is any holiday with a wisp of religious history on her chopping block, American national holidays like "the 4th of July" is on her chopping block. I guess she's worried that a foreigner in our country would be offended by the host country celebrating its Independence Day. If a foreigner in our country is offended by the 4th of July celebrations, then he shouldn't be here. Honestly though, I doubt there is one, save the Al-Qaeda operatives. This is more communist efforts to transform America.

An administrator at California State University, Sacramento has banned decorations pertaining to Christmas and the 4th of July, among other holidays, from her office because they represent "religious discrimination" and "ethnic insensitivity.""Time has come to recognize that religious discrimination, as well as ethnic insensitivity to certain holidays, is forbidden," Patricia Sonntag, director of the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities, stated in the directive she e-mailed to members of her staff on Dec. 9....
The memo specifically names Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine's
Day, the 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day and Easter as the most offensive holidays, but Sonntag adds that they are "off the top of the list," implying that there may be others. She wrote that the ban was being implemented "in order to avoid offending someone else" because Sacramento State is "a secular university and we are a public service area that has a diverse employee and student populations [sic] even in our private offices." CNS News

Vicente Fox on illegal immigration

Illegal immigration is a win-win situation for Vincente Fox and he should be flatly ignored. He wants the US to accept his unemployed and then bring back the money into Mexico. The real problem which Fox doesn't want to address is Mexico itself. The economic policies of Mexico deprive people of the ability to move up in society. Corruption is rampant and the de-facto class system divides people into groups depending on their Europeon or Native ancestry. People of native ancestries have much less access to opportunity.

With over 1 million illegal immigrants coming year, the U.S. cannot handle the influx security-wise. While the legal immigration proceedure is long, difficult, and full of red-tape, the same government turn a blind eye to illegal immigration creating a odd paradox. As for the fence, "it'll cost too much"...meanwhile cost wasn't a factor in Alaska's now-defunct "Bridge to Nowhere."

Since the "reason" for allowing unfettered immigration is business needing workers, Mr. Bush, I have the perfect proposal. A quasi-government website is created, where businesses can post job opportunities. If those jobs are not filled within a certain time, perhaps a month, the opportunity is posted to a board where Mexican applicants can apply and be approved. Although I am not a fan of .government bureaucracy, the downside of 1 million-plus illegalls a year outweigh that.








MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox denounced as "disgraceful and shameful" on Wednesday a proposal to build a high-tech wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigrants.
Concerned about the huge numbers of illegal immigrants streaming across the border and worried it could be an entry point for terrorists, a U.S. lawmaker has proposed building two parallel steel and wire fences running from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Coast. But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said a wall running the length of a border would cost too much.
Mexico has expressed indignation at the idea.
Fox, speaking in Tamaulipas state across the border from Texas, said such extreme security measures would violate immigrants' rights.
"The disgraceful and shameful construction of walls, the increasing enforcement of security systems and increasing violation of human rights and labor rights will not protect the economy of the United States," he said.
He again called for the easing of U.S. immigration laws to benefit millions of undocumented Mexican fruit pickers, waiters and janitors working north of the border, a complex bilateral issue that has at times strained relations with Washington.....Al-Reuters

Illegal Immigration

Although I generally like Wall St. Journal, they have an obvious support for massive illegal immigration. It's not "immigration" many conservatives are opposed to, it's illegal immigration. The vaunted "guest worker program" is in reality a backdoor amnesty program.
Business executives who claim that they can't find enough workers "no matter what the wages" are laughable. People will do any job if you pay them enough. Illegal immigrants keep wages low and take some jobs that were traditionally done by other groups, such as teenagers.
If workers are in demand, increase the quotas for legal immigration and reduce the red tape, but don't pardon the millions who have already broken many laws.
Finally, the last concern for the GOP should be "hispanic votes." If the Republicans have become the party that panders to ethnic groups, then they have lost their way. Why do establishment Republicans think that hispanics who immigrated legally are infatuated with illegal migrants? That is like assuming Italians would vote for a candidate who is soft on the Mafia.

Immigration (Spin) Control A guest-worker program is good politics for the GOP. Friday, December 9, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST

Let's hope Republicans in Congress aren't gulled by the fast and furious spinning of the anti-immigration lobby this week. The restrictionists lost a special Congressional election in California that they'd been promoting for weeks, yet they're still hailing it as a great political victory....
The real political danger for Republicans comes from the vocal restrictionist minority who want to drive GOP candidates back into the demographic box canyon they've walked into so often in the past. If they become the overtly anti-immigration party, Republicans run the risk of permanently alienating another fast-growing ethnic constituency, in this case Hispanic Americans.....
We get the same message from nearly every business executive who comes through our offices: Without immigrants, they couldn't possibly find enough willing workers to do the available work, no matter what the available wages. Yet Republicans seem intent not merely on increasing border patrols but also on further harassing law-abiding businesses that happen to hire illegals, as if anyone can tell the difference between real and fake immigration documents. Only Republicans would think it's smart politics to punish their supporters for hiring willing workers....

Gays in the Military

I'm going to let y'all in on a secret. The reason why liberal groups are pushing for gays in the military is not for the "rights" of gays, but it is for completely subversive reasons. Hardcore leftists hate the military, but the military is all-volunteer force. Generally, the military has done a fine job recruiting the amount of soldiers it needs. One way to destroy that, is to inject the virus known as the openly gay male.

Almost everyone has at least a gay cousin. Maybe you work with one or two. Whatever, it doesn't bother most people in their day-to-day lives. However conditions in the military are different. Showers are communal, and sleeping quarters are shared. Even guys who are very tolerant of gays do not want to shower with an openly gay male. A guy who is completely comfortable showering with an openly gay male is more commonly known as a bisexual.

If openly gay males are allowed in the military, recruiting will plummet. The leftists know this and this is why they push the agenda. Many average gays don't care and don't want to join the military, they don't want to get married, and don't want kids. The odd few and the community in general are being used by the radical left wingers. It's the exact same mentality towards gay scoutmasters in the Boy Scouts. Gay scoutmasters would destroy the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts profess a duty to God and counry, things liberals detest.

Lots of credit is due to Roberts, who showed his Constitutional prowess in these hearings.

With Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. leading the way, the Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed poised to uphold a federal law that requires law schools to give equal campus access to military recruiters as a condition of receiving federal funds.

In oral arguments in the case Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, lawyer E. Joshua Rosenkranz of the New York office of Heller Ehrman attacked the law on First Amendment grounds as a form of compelled speech requiring law schools to adopt the message "Join the Army, but not if you're gay." But his arguments generated little sympathy from justices across the spectrum, who seemed swayed by Solicitor General Paul Clement's argument that the law is needed to enable the military to recruit "the best and the brightest" into the armed services. Since 1990, the Association of American Law Schools has had a formal policy against allowing law students to be recruited by employers who discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Those schools' "refusal to send the message of the military" deserves First Amendment protection, Rosenkranz asserted.

The Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights is a coalition of more than 20 law chools and faculties, including Georgetown University Law Center, where Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's husband, Martin, is a professor. She has not recused. The law at issue is known as the Solomon Amendment, named after the late New York Republican Rep. Gerald Solomon who sponsored it. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the statute last year....

Roberts fired back that there is also a "right to raise the military." He and other justices seemed to view the Article I power of Congress to "raise and support armies" as a justification for the recruiting statute that outweighs law schools' First Amendment objections....

At another point, Justice John Paul Stevens asked Clement if a university could "symbolically" register its objections by giving military recruiters equal access but at a different campus location from other recruiters. Roberts interjected, in a mocking tone, "Sort of separate but equal."

Houston Symphony Plays Grinch

The Houston Symphony should be the latest organization added to the Grinch List. It refuses to use the term "Christmas" anywhere. However, unlike retailers, the Houston Symphony adds irony. One of their "holiday traditions" is a performance of none other than Handel's Messiah. Have they forgetton the definition of the word "Messiah" or the lyrics to the masterpiece of the program, the Hallelujah Chorus?

It defies common sense that any non-Christian who would be offended by the Houston Symphony calling it a "Christmas performance" would, at the same time, NOT be offended by the content of the program, which is completely devoted to recognizing Jesus as God's chosen one, and exhaulting Him as the "King of Kings."

As for the other programs, why not call it Christmas? The pieces performed were written for Christmas by Christians. If there are any Jewish pieces, why not call it "Christmas and Hannakah" traditions? If even the detailed description of the programs mentioned the word "Christmas" I would not be writing this email, but the concerted effort to describe the performances without using the term, makes it sound ridiculous. The bland word "holiday" reeks of non-sensical political correctness, especially when you examine the history and content of the program.

Will Bush listen to Reid again?

President Bush needs no help going left on immigration, but he should know better than to listen to Harry Reid. There's nothing better for Reid than watching Bush going toe-to-toe with his conservative base. It was Harry Reid who suggested that Bush pick Harriet Miers to the court. He probably had several good laughs watching the debacle unfold. He probably thinks he can help encourage Bush and then laugh about the in-bickering again.

The president's plan pairs a guest worker program for foreigners with border security enforcement, an attempt to satisfy both his business supporters, who believe foreign workers help the economy, and his conservative backers, who take a hard line on illegal immigration.
In Tucson, the president planned to aim his remarks at those conservatives, emphasizing his proposals to secure the border, remove people who enter the country illegally and strengthen enforcement of immigration laws.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked Bush in a letter Monday to encourage bipartisan and realistic reforms to immigration laws.
"Enforcement alone does not work. Unless we address the gap between our immigration laws and reality, illegal immigration will not stop and the situation on the border will continue to be chaotic," Reid said.
The Democrat implored Bush to "stand up to the right wing of your party and stand up for what is right" by taking more than an enforcement-only approach to illegal immigration.
The president's two-day push on border security and immigration comes a month after Bush signed a $32 billion homeland security bill for 2006 that contains large increases for border protection, including 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents.
Bush has been urging Congress to act on a guest worker program for more than a year. Under his plan, undocumented aliens would be allowed to get three-year work visas. They could extend that for an additional three years, but would then have to return to their home countries for a year to apply for a new work permit. AP

Zarqawi Retreats

Let's remember that following the bombings in Jordan, there were mass demonstrations against al-Qaeda and Zarqawi. Now, let's forget for a moment that many protesters were not upset about bombing innocent people, but innocent Muslims. Focus on the fact that in response to mass protests (a sign of strength) Zarqawi backed down. There is good chance that there would not have been any apology if there had not been any protests. Zarqawi has killed many Muslims before and there is no reason to believe he wouldn't do it again.
What does it mean for the US? A show of strength by the US would send Zarqawi into retreat. Zarqawi thrives on the US's political sensibilities. Bush needs to know he has limited time to DEFEAT the "insurgents" rather than try to 'wait it out.'

The head of al Qaeda in Iraq said in an audiotape Friday that his group's suicide bombers did not intend to hit a Jordanian wedding party in last week's deadly hotel bombings, responding to criticism even from sympathizers over an attack that killed mostly Muslim civilians. In the tape, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi also threatened more attacks against hotels and tourist sites and military bases in Jordan and threatened to kill Jordan's King Abdullah II. "Your star is fading. You will not escape your fate, you descendant of traitors. We will be able to reach your head and chop it off," al-Zarqawi said, referring to the king. Al-Zarqawi told Jordanians to stay away from bases used by U.S. forces in Jordan, hotels and tourist sites in Amman, the Dead Sea and the southern resort of Aqaba and embassies of governments participating in the war in Iraq — saying they would be targeted. He underlined that al Qaeda in Iraq is not targeting fellow Muslims. "We want to assure you that ... you are more beloved
to us than ourselves," he said, addressing Jordanians. CBS

Sour Deal in Gaza

This is what happens when you put an expert on Soviet affairs into a role of Secretary of State who's major challenge is to deal with Islam. She has no experience on the subject and this week she's proved it. While many are cheering this "historic peace deal", I am not optimistic.

The Soviets were generally held to their agreements, such as removing Cuban missles, because of the principle of Mutually Assured Distruction. The Soviet government also ran the show.
Islamic terrorism is different. The leaders are not necessarily linked to the government but usually allowed to conduct their business freely. So it is a lot harder to acxuse the Islamic government of terrorist-related activities. Normally, the Islamic government, like Pakistan, makes a lot of noise that they are trying to "control terrorism," but in reality do nothing. Additionally, even if Abbas has good intentions, he does not have the power to control factions like Hamas.

There are other reasons why our support of Israel has been lackluster. With the Soviet Union, we had no economic interest in the Soviet Union. In Islamic states, economic interests helps to keep our heads in the sand. Our economic dealings with Saudi Arabia gives them a pass for promoting jihad, building mosques across the US, and distributing islamists reading material at those mosques. Our relationship with OPEC/Saudi Arabia affects our dealing with the PLO. Business interests prevent the US from being overtly pro-Jewish, but voters are largely pro-Israel, so government officials try to sit on the fence. At the end of the day, Israel gets the shaft even though we make it seem like real peace is being made.

Bascially what we need is economic divestment from the Middle East. The freer the US economy is from OPEC, the easier it will be to support Israel. This should have begun on September 12th, 2001, but there were too many people making easy money from Saudi oil to let this happen.

While I still think Condi is a smart and capable woman, I don't think she has the experience in this field. I think I'm a capable mechanical engineer, but I wouldn't attempt to tackle an electrical engineering problem. Let Condi work her mojo with the Russians, or even communist China & North Korea, but someone else needs to tackle Islamic. Finally, to all the "Condi in '08" cheerleaders, keep dreaming. She's hasn't even been elected to a city council, so she can't prove her electability, no matter how many books Dick Morris writes.

JERUSALEM - The Israeli-Palestinian pact announced Tuesday to reopen the Rafah crossing, a vital link to the outside world for the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, came down to a hotel room, a laptop around which negotiators made last-minute revisions and the determination of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to cement the deal in the wee hours of the morning.
Laying her prestige on the line, Rice postponed plans to leave Jerusalem on Monday in the belief that an agreement could be hammered out with her personal touch. She
succeeded.
For the first time, under the agreement, Palestinians will control their own border. The free flow of goods into Egypt will strengthen the battered Gaza economy. It will also give a lift to Mahmoud Abbas, the beleaguered Palestinian leader, in advance of crucial elections for parliament Jan. 25.
The plan sets Nov. 25 as the target date for reopening Rafah terminal, which Israel sealed this summer after its withdrawal of Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip. The crossing is to be checked by Palestinian and Egypt border guards under supervision by European Union officials.
A key sticking point was Israel's insistence that it be allowed to monitor the
crossing, saying it feared cross-border smuggling of arms to Palestinian militants. Under the compromise presided over by Rice, Israeli and Palestinian security officers at an EU-run control room a few miles from Rafah will monitor the crossing via closed-circuit TV. But the operation of the crossing is no longer under Israeli control.
Passage of people between the West Bank and Gaza is due to start Dec. 15, with bus convoys carrying Palestinians between the territories several times a day. Truck convoys carrying goods are due to start Jan. 15. Israel agrees to the passage of at least 150 trucks a day by the end of the year, and at least 400 trucks a day by the end of 2006.
The agreement permits the Palestinians to begin building a seaport and calls for talks on reopening Gaza's airport, which was damaged in 2001 by Israeli airstrikes after the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising. Knight Ridder

Prince Charles is an Idiot

God help England after the Queen passes. Prince Charles lacks any intellegence. I don't understand what happened. The Queen seems sharp and Prince Philip (yes, the Queen is married and that is her husband's name) isn't a dummy either. A week ago, Chucky was saying Americans were too intolerant of Islam. Today, Islam wants Mummy dead.

Unless Charles is really sinister and wants Mummy dead in order to be King, he isn't smart enough to realize, besides the haughty Beeb and other champagne socialists, that it isn't hip to be an Islamophile. The majority of British, although not bright enough to realize the benefits of personal firearm ownership, aren't ready to sing the praises of Islam. What Charles needs to remember is that the monarchy can be done away with. Yup, the people could vote to remove the monarchy. Most (2/3) people still like it, but the future King Charles's mouth could quickly prevent the people from ever seeing a King William.


From November 1st:

Prince Charles of Wales will explain the virtues of Islam to the US President, George W. Bush, and the American people this week. According to British daily Sunday Telegraph, Prince Charles thinks the United States has been too "intolerant" of Islam since 11 September 2001.
During his eight-day visit, Prince Charles will try to convince Bush about the merits of Islam and attend some conferences on religions at various platforms. The Prince of Wales had expressed his concerns earlier regarding Washington's "confrontational"
approach to Muslim countries and its failure to understand the strength of Islam. He came together with senior Muslims in London following the September 11 attacks and said, "I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too confrontational."
According to one of his aides speaking to the newspaper, the Prince had never extended a political message in terms of the religion and only requests different religions to understand each other and be tolerant of each other in order to allow good relations to develop among religions.

Today:

AL-QAEDA has threatened the Queen by naming her as “one of the severest enemies of Islam” in a video message to justify the July bombings in London.
The warning has been passed by MI5 to the Queen’s protection team after it obtained the unexpurgated version of a video issued by Al-Qaeda after the 7/7 attacks.
Parts of it were broadcast on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic satellite channel. NI_MPU('middle'); In the video, Ayman al- Zawahiri, second-in-command to Osama Bin Laden, targets the Queen as ultimately responsible for Britain’s “crusader laws” and denounces her as an enemy of Muslims. Times (UK)

Five questions non-Muslims would like answered.

The below is from the LA Times. Yes, the LA Times. I am still flabbergasted. Granted the author is not a liberal, but for any mainstream paper to print this editorial has left me wondering. Maybe the market forces of the silent majority not buying the LA Times had something to due with it. Whatever the reason, it is a good step nonetheless. The below questions are just common sense that should have asked long ago.

Five questions non-Muslims would like answered. By Dennis Prager

THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims. Here are five of them:

(1) Why are you so quiet? Since the first Israelis were targeted for death by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion and Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings, while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah.There are a billion Muslims in the world. How is it possible that essentially none have demonstrated against evils perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Islam? This is true even of the millions of Muslims living in free Western societies. What are non-Muslims of goodwill supposed to conclude? When the Israeli government did not stop a Lebanese massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982, great crowds of Israeli Jews gathered to protest their country's moral failing. Why has there been no comparable public demonstration by Palestinians or other Muslims to morally condemn Palestinian or other Muslim-committed terror?

(2) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?If Israeli occupation is the reason for Muslim terror in Israel, why do no Christian Palestinians engage in terror? They are just as nationalistic and just as occupied as Muslim Palestinians.

(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?According to Freedom House, a Washington-based group that promotes democracy, of the world's 47 Muslim countries, only Mali is free. Sixty percent are not free, and 38% are partly free. Muslim-majority states account for a majority of the world's "not free" states. And of the 10 "worst of the worst," seven are Islamic states. Why is this?

(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?Young girls in Indonesia were recently beheaded by Muslim murderers. Last year, Muslims — in the name of Islam — murdered hundreds of schoolchildren in Russia. While reciting Muslim prayers, Islamic terrorists take foreigners working to make Iraq free and slaughter them. Muslim daughters are murdered by their own families in the thousands in "honor killings." And the Muslim government in Iran has publicly called for the extermination of Israel.

(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?No church or synagogue is allowed in Saudi Arabia. The Taliban destroyed some of the greatest sculptures of the ancient world because they were Buddhist. Sudan's Islamic regime has murdered great numbers of Christians. Instead of confronting these problems, too many of you deny them. Muslims call my radio show to tell me that even speaking of Muslim or Islamic terrorists is wrong. After all, they argue, Timothy McVeigh is never labeled a "Christian terrorist." As if McVeigh committed his terror as a churchgoing Christian and in the name of Christ, and as if there were Christian-based terror groups around the world. As a member of the media for nearly 25 years, I have a long record of reaching out to Muslims. Muslim leaders have invited me to speak at major mosques. In addition, I have studied Arabic and Islam, have visited most Arab and many other Muslim countries and conducted interfaith dialogues with Muslims in the United Arab Emirates as well as in the U.S. Politically, I have supported creation of a Palestinian state and supported (mistakenly, I now believe) the Oslo accords.Hundreds of millions of non-Muslims want honest answers to these questions, even if the only answer you offer is, "Yes, we have real problems in Islam." Such an acknowledgment is infinitely better — for you and for the world — than dismissing us as anti-Muslim.

We await your response.

French Infitada Continues

The French Infitada continued last night, with the number of cars torched rising from the night before. When the number started declining, the press was quick to proclaim that the "rioting" was nearly over. Now that the number has risen, the story is buried on back pages. Overall this huge story has been given scant coverage by the media. Whenever, it is covered, the "M- word" isn't used.

However, the media isn't ignoring the religion of the rioters completely because of political correctness. I bet if there was similar rioting in Britian, the press would use the term Muslim. The argument would be that the British, in their support for US in Iraq, has inflamed the Muslim communities unnecessarily. If only the British had not supported the US, they would not be the subject of Muslim rioting.

France, however, opposed the US in Iraq, and has a long standing history of trying to befriend the Arabs. The militaries of many Muslim nations are armed with French weaponry. France is the Arabs' best supporter of Palestine in the West. When President Reagan launch an airstrike on Lybia in retalliation for the Berlin disco bombing, French President Mitterand refused the US the use of its airspace.

What the left refuses to admit, is that France is still the subject of Islamic aggression even though it had fully subscribed to the liberal ideology of "if we are nice to the Muslims they won't bother us." Instead of admiting a flaw in their logic, they try to convince the world, there are other reasons behind the rioting.

Notice the last paragraph, where some people retalliated by torching a mosque, but here Chirac is quick to demand an investigation. Too bad the French people can't count on the same support. The funny thing is that Chirac's government is supposed to be right of center! Obviously there is zero different between the UMP and the socialist party.

The number of cars torched overnight in France climbed slightly over the previous night to 502 in a 16th night of unrest that took its heaviest toll on the French provinces, police said Saturday. Security was boosted in the capital with some 3,000 police officers fanning out around strategic points to counter feared weekend attacks targeting Paris. Gatherings were banned from Saturday morning until Sunday morning.
"We returned to an almost normal situation in Ile de France," said national police chief Michel Gaudin, referring to the Paris region. Arson attacks were counted in 163 towns around France, he said. The count of those detained overnight stood at 206, bringing to 2,440 the number of suspects picked up in just over two weeks of unrest.

Two Molotov cocktails were tossed at a mosque Friday evening in the southern town of Carpentras, but it was not immediately clear whether the attack was linked to the unrest that has wracked the poor suburbs and small towns of France since Oct. 27.
President Jacques Chirac demanded that investigators quickly find out who was behind the attack. AP

Note to Politicians: Back our Boys!

Anyone with half a brain could see this coming. Troops in . G-damn it. If a politican is going to ask for the physical courage of soldiers abroad, then he should show some political courage at home. If the US (or UK) government wants to know why recruitment is down: THIS IS THE REASON! Soldiers have to fight with one arm tied behind their backs!! This why we lost Vietnam and this is why we could lose Iraq.

SENIOR army doctors have warned that troops in Iraq are suffering levels of battle stress not experienced since the second world war because of fears that if they shoot an insurgent, they will end up in court.
The two senior Royal Army Medical Corps officers, one of whom is a psychologist, have recently returned from Basra, where they said they counselled young soldiers who feared a military police investigation as much as they did the insurgents....
“The unpopularity of the war at home and a belief that firing their rifles
in virtually any circumstances is likely to see them end up in court are sapping
morale.” ...

The doctors described morale in some units as very low with soldiers cynically suggesting they needed a solicitor with them before they shot back at any Iraqi who attacked them. Times of London

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE JIHAD

France: It's jihad. NPR this morning call it "youths venting their frustrations." The frogs and the frogophiles in the press don't want to admit that even though France vehemently opposed the US in Iraq, they are still on the receiving end of jihad. France & press want us to believe that "if we appease them they won't bother us" ... and 9/11 was America's fault. Bull. Now instead of admiting their mistake, they spin the violence to be caused by other reasons than jihad.

I predict the violence will subside completely within a week, giving the country 3 weeks of rioting. There was no main goal in this rioting. In poker, it's called a "feeler bet." You throw out a small amount chips in order to see how people react. Similarly here, France has folded. Future riots will lead to even more concessions from the French government. First there will be monetary concessions and politicans afraid to curb illegal immigration for "fear of sparking riots." Illegals will be given citizenship status. Any attempt to curb Islamic influence will be met with cries of racism. Then there will be demands that disputes amongst Muslims be decided by sharia. Then future demands for autonomous Islamic zones and powersharing. This is all within the next 10 years.

"Blazing cars, street battles and a powderkeg mix of racism and chronic immigrant unemployment: the image of France as shown around the world by two weeks of riots has hardly been the stuff of tourist dreams" AFP via Yahoo

The 12 Days of Jihad!

In honor of the vented frustration going on in France.... boys and girls, get ready for Islamic carols! Sing Along!!!

On the first day of French jihad,
my mullah sent to me,
A call to join in Jihad.

On the second day of French jihad,
my mullah sent to me,
Two handgrenades
and a call to join in Jihad
...

On the twelve day of French jihad,
my mullah sent to me,
Twelve dhimmi reporters,
Eleven pushover politicians,
Ten burning Bibles,
Nine butcher knives,
Eight AK-47s,
Seven suicide bombers,
Six poison syringes,
Five... Petrol Bombs,
Four RPGs,
Three French whores,
Two hand grenades,
And a call to join in Jihad.

San Franshame

Some day there will be in an earthquake in San Francisco, and massive looting will occur, ala New Orleans. Then I will be tempted to feel some "schadenfreude" One would think that the New Orleans episode would create some doubt amongst gun control jockeys. Then again, Liberalism is a mental disorder.

Voters approved ballot measures to ban handguns in San Francisco and urge the city's public high schools and college campuses to keep out military recruiters.
The gun ban prohibits the manufacture and sale of all firearms and ammunition in the city, and makes it illegal for residents to keep handguns in their homes or businesses.
Only two other major U.S. cities - Washington and Chicago - have implemented such sweeping handgun bans. With all precincts reporting early Wednesday, 58 percent of voters backed the proposed gun ban while 42 percent opposed it. Although law enforcement, security guards and others who require weapons for work are exempt from the measure, current handgun owners would have to surrender their firearms by April.
A coalition led by the National Rifle Association has said it plans to challenge the initiative in court, arguing that cities do not have the authority to regulate firearms under California law. .... Newsmax

Media bias on riots in France

Besides, whitewashing the rioters, calling the "youths" or blaming it on the "failure to integrate" or the high unemployment of the rioters, there are other subtle ways the media shows its bias in its reporting.

French Rioting Appears to Lose Strength

France's storm of rioting lost strength on Wednesday with a drop of nearly
half in the number of car burnings, police said.... AP:

If France was a staunch US ally or there was anti-US rioting in Venezula, the Yahoo news title would read "Rioting continues in defiance of curfew" or "Rioting continues for unprecedented 13th day". Buried down in the news article might be an indication that rioting has subsided, but that wouldn't be the main title.

The Left Coast

The people of California have sunked to a new low. Of California's 8 ballot initiaves proposed by Arnie, all 8 failed. While children need to have a parental permission slip signed before they go on a field trip, they do not need one to have an abortion.

Prop 73: Minor seeking abortion, needs to have parents notified.
Yes: 3,129,340 47.4% No: 3,465,146 52.6%

Two years ago Democrat governor Gray Davis was recalled because the state's budget was falling apart. High taxes and regulations made people leave the state, while the state kept spending. However, the people of California are too dumb to realize that everything hasn't become magical and only by curbing spending would their finances get better.

Prop 76: State spending curbed
Yes: 2,521,709 37.9 No: 4,114,787 62.1

For reference, here are the voting numbers from the 2004 Presidential election. Voter turnout for the Republicans could have been better. For Bush 5,509,826 / For Kerry 6,745,485

The only thing I dread, is a California failure and then the Federal Government bails them out...so intellegent people in real states have to foot the bill for the socialism in California.

Welcome Aboard

Purveyors of Truth would like to welcome a 2nd contributor, John. We are also contimplating a name change.

Christopher's Guide to Texas Constitutional Amendment

Nine constitutional amendments graced the Texas ballot this year. A handy guide on the arguements for or against them can be found here. UPDATE: Results are found here

Prop 1. Creates a fund in the state treasury for Texas railroad relocation and improvement
Christopher says: AGAINST. More state spending = bad. The arguments for are highly speculative, like better public safety. PASSED (54%-46%)

Prop. 2 Defines marriage as a union only between one man and one woman
Christopher says: FOR. This is the hot ticket item. Although I have enough libertarian beliefs, I don't think gays should raise kids, so I don't see why gays need to get married. PASSED (76%-24%)

Prop. 3 Clarifies that certain economic development programs do not constitute a debt.
Christopher says: FOR. This was slightly confusing to unsuspecting voter, but the arguments against weren't at all convincing. PASSED (52%-48%)

Prop. 4 Adds a provision to consider previous violations of release when a defendant in a felony case is up for bail at a later hearing
Christopher says: FOR. It just makes common sense, that if a defendant has fleed before he might again and that is worth considering. The arguements are really poking at straws, including one that "gives too much power to judges" (to be discussed below). PASSED (85%-15%)

Prop. 5 Allows the Texas Legislature, which regulates the interest rates of all loans, to create exemptions to interest rate ceilings, specifically for the commercial loan industry
Christopher says: FOR. 46 other states already do not regulate rates and the world isn't ending. The arguments against worry about borrower protection, but these are commercial loans. If you are going to start a business and get a loan, you should be responsible enough to review the terms and conditions. If you can't, hire a lawyer. REJECTED (43%-57%)

Prop. 6 Increases the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC) from 11 to 13 members and eliminates current restrictions on geographic location of public members
Christopher says: AGAINST. Why do they need 2 more? More importantly, geographical domination could happen. In a state that is 70% conservative, liberal enclaves could gain excessive representative. PASSED (63%-37%)

Prop. 7 Authorizes senior homeowners to take line-of-credit advances under a reverse mortgage
Christopher says: FOR. Why not? The arguments against are "nannyish" in nature. Seniors should be allowed to make decisions on their own. PASSED (60%-40%)

Prop. 8 Releases the state’s right to claim ownership of 4,600 acres of land in Upshur County and 950 acres of land in Smith County.
Christopher says: FOR. It sounds like government pulled this ownership out of their rear and 1000+ people stand to lose out. One of the arguments against, "that it should be left up to the courts, not voters" is a likely liberal arguement, but it is contradiction to the earlier liberal arguement on bail which worried that "too much power would be given to judges." PASSED (61%-39%)

Prop. 9 Changes terms for Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) board members from two-year terms to staggered, six-year terms
Christopher says: AGAINST. Members voting themselves longers terms? I don't like the sound of that. I'm not even sure what the RMA does....but the longer the term, the worse the corruption. REJECTED (47%-53%)

UPDATE: I was 6 of 9 on the proposals. On prop 5 maybe it wasn't a bad thing it failed. It could be that it's never a good thing to take off a cap like that. It's like prop 9, it's never a good thing extend politicans terms or prop 1 let the state spend more money.

Paris Burning

The 12 days of rioting by Muslim youths in France is only being lightly reported by the media. The refuse to identify the rioters as Muslims, choosing to instead call them "French youths" or at best "youth of North African origin." They leave you to do the math.

"Rioting by French youths spread to 300 towns overnight, and a 61-year-old man hurt in the violence died of his wounds" Notice the MSM being good dhimmis and covering their masters by saying a man "hurt in the violence." The man was beaten by Muslims and later died. "hurt in the violence" implies a much less severe situation. No doubt that they would say "man was severely beaten by the gang of (insert non-PC group here) and later died of his extensive injuries" if races/religions were changed. But there is no bias in the media

"Much of the youths’ anger has focused on law-and-order Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who inflamed passions by referring to troublemakers as “scum”. "The Muslims were rioting long before Sarkozy called them scum. This is typical MSM. They relay an excuse as fact. If the French fire Sarkozy, the rioters may stop, but the Muslims know they are the masters. Then look for another excuse to riot with in 2 years, where the Muslims will demand even greater concessions.

Bareback Mountain

Can I be the first to call the Hollywood's new gay cowboy movie, Bareback Mountain? Come on, it's so obvious. Did they not think twice when naming the film? Hollywood is trying to stuff the gay agenda down the throats of America. Jake Gyleeenhhalll (sp?) 's career will be sunk. He'll be the gay dude. I'll enjoy watching the box office failure.

from the Drudge Report: "HOLLYWOOD ROCKED: 'GAY COWBOY' MOVIE BECOMES AN OSCAR FRONTRUNNERArriving with nudity and explicit gay sex scenes between two cowboys, UNIVERSAL/FOCUS FILMS's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN has quietly become an award season frontrunner, interviews with Academy members reveal. "It could very well be the last film standing at this year's Oscars," a top Hollywood producer not associated with the film explained from Hollywood."

Bush is Back

Bush broke out of his long slump with his pick of Samuel Alito for SCOTUS.

Miers Withdraws

Miers withdrew her nomination today. Here is a copy of her withdrawl letter





The next question, will Bush get it right this time?

Before Bush chose Miers on Oct. 3, speculation focused on Miers and two other Bush loyalists: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Bush's longtime friend who would be the first Hispanic on the court; and corporate lawyer Larry Thompson, who was the government's highest ranking black law enforcement official as deputy attorney general during Bush's first term.
Other candidates mentioned frequently included conservative federal appeals court
judges J. Michael Luttig, Priscilla Owen, Karen Williams, Alice Batchelder and Samuel Alito; Michigan Supreme Court justice Maura Corrigan; and Maureen Mahoney, a well-respected litigator before the high court. AP

Wolfowitz: End Farm Subsidies cause it hurts poor

Why do I find myself agreeing with France on this one?

"Rich countries must abandon farm subsidies and give more market access to poor states if the Doha trade talks are to succeed, the head of the World Bank said today. Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz made his appeal amid fears that the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting of ministers in Hong Kong was in jeopardy because of the absence of progress on farm subsidies.
Writing in the Financial Times, Wolfowitz said the need to reduce protection on agriculture was a central element of the Doha talks. He warned that unless serious concessions were made by all sides, the Doha talks would fail "and the people who will suffer the most are the world's poor".
Wolfowitz, formerly a leading Pentagon official, called on the U.S. to step up efforts to cut farm subsidies and urged the European Union to do more on market access for products from poor countries. He added, however, that developing countries also had to open their services and manufacturing markets and lower their own agricultural protection.
Wolfowitz said it was not morally justifiable for rich countries to spend $280 billion (£158 billion) - nearly the total gross domestic product of Africa and four times the total amount of foreign aid - on support for agricultural producers.
The current round of WTO talks stalled in Geneva after wealthy countries failed to reach an agreement on lowering domestic agriculture subsidies and tariffs earlier this month.
Mark Vaile, the Australian trade minister and deputy prime minister, said the E.U. and "particularly France" were responsible for the deadlock because they had refused to accept a plan to cut European farm aid.
"They need to understand they are threatening the future of global trade and cheating millions of the world's poor out of new hope," Vaile said. "It's not enough for them to provide aid and debt relief when the benefits of liberalizing trade are so much greater."
An agreement in Hong Kong is supposed to pave the way for the conclusion of the Doha development round next year, but deadlock on farm subsidies has threatened to scupper the entire process.
The E.U. - generally seen as the villain of the piece by developing countries and the U.S. - is working on a second and final offer this week. The move follows what the U.S. described as its "bold" proposal for trimming the most damaging of its multi-billion dollar agricultural subsidies by up to 60% and phasing them out within a decade.
Development activists say the U.S. scheme is double-edged because it insists on poor countries opening up their manufacturing sectors, a step that could lead to the sectors' collapse in the face of foreign competition.
The U.S. plan has put the E.U. on the spot, and it has struggled to come up with a unified position. France believes the latest round of common agricultural policy reforms - which cut the link between the level of subsidy and the amount farmers produce - went far enough, and is refusing to budge.
The idea of cancelling the Hong Kong meeting has been proposed, but Australia has rejected it. "I don't believe the meeting should be postponed, even if the E.U. does not put forward a better proposal," Vaile said. "I believe the E.U. and France would need to account for their actions before the parliament of world opinion."
Wolfowitz increased pressure on the industrialized world when he said the temporary discomfort of industrialized countries in getting rid of farm subsidies was "nothing compared with the daily discomfort and deprivation faced by the world's poorest people". Free Internet Press


Now we know Paul Wolfowitz is an international socialist. If the culture of African governments was better, there wouldn't be any problems. Remember Zimbabwe used to EXPORT food. The problem lies with the governments of the poorer countries not subsidies. Subsidies actually keep food cheap in the respective countries so the poor of those countries can easily afford food. If subsidies are taken away, farmers stop growing as much food in order to raise prices. Who gets hurt? The poor. Wolfowitz sounds like an international socialist.

Why Does the Non-Story Get the Press?

Someone, somewhere determined that a "leak" by a Bush administration official would be the story of the decade. Some desk clerk at the CIA named Valarie Plame is being dubbed an "agent" as if she was James Bond. News flash: No one cares... except people in the beltway. The quickest way for me to turn of the radio or TV is for the host to start talking about this "case." Let it die and let us be on our way.

Much more important is this:

"... a journalist has been convicted by a Kabul court under the country's blasphemy laws. Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the editor of "Women's Rights," a monthly magazine for women, was sentenced on Saturday to two years in prison by Kabul's primary court...The prosecutor called for the maximum sentence of death, accusing the editor of apostasy, so the two-year sentence appears to have been a compromise. But it is a reminder that Afghanistan is still ruled by Islamic Shariah law and that, on issues of religion, conservatives are determined to enforce it." NY Times (yes, I know)

This should be a much more important story. A Jeffersonian Democracy with its freedoms of the press, speech, etc, is incompatible with Sharia. Sharia will end up superceeding any stated freedoms. So the freedoms will look pretty on paper, but be meaningless. This should be a note to our efforts in Iraq, which included Sharia in the constitution. All the feel-good terms can be included in the Constitution, but ultimately Sharia will trumpt all laws and the muftis will be in charge...because they "intrepret" Sharia. It's pretty simple to figure out.

Contrast this to post-war Japan. The Emporer lost his divine status. The Japanese Constitution is based heavily on the US Constitution. These are major differences in our post war treatment of Japan and Iraq. Wait until about 2 years after we leave Iraq. Then you will start seeing cases like this in Iraq.

Bush Border Bluff

Bush had a nice "get tough on the border" speech today. So he is told he is in trouble because of the Miers nomination. So in order to attempt to appease the conservative base, Rove has Bush touting border security, something that has irked conservatives for years. However, he only talked in generalities, and still values his "guest worker" program. For a man who rather recently call the Minutemen, "vigilantes", his "get tough" speech lacks credibility.

This is definitely a move to try to win back crumbling support, but it's missing it's mark.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Tuesday argued for his temporary worker plan for foreigners, hoping to win over skeptical conservatives with get-tough promises about illegal immigration.

"We're going to get control of our borders and make this country safer for all our citizens," said Bush. He commented as he signed into law a $32 billion homeland security bill that has large increases for patrolling borders but fewer grants for local first responders and a freeze in transit security funding....

"I'm going to work with members of Congress to create a program that can provide for our economy's labor needs without harming American workers, without providing amnesty and that will improve our ability to control our borders," Bush said.

Quag-Miers for the Dems & Reps

Due a horrible nomination by Bush, Republicans has found himself in a pickle, but so have the Democrats.

Bush:
Bush must withdraw this nominee. Maybe she can come down with the bird flu? Either way, if she goes before the Senate, Bush's ever declining popularity will slip further...and no, it's not because of Iraq. We, conservatives, just don't trust Bush anymore. There have been too many letdowns. When Cheney went on Rush's show to do damage control, the only thing he could say was "trust me." Why? So us your track record. I don't think Bush will withdraw Miers, though. He doesn't understand "what the fuss is all about."

"That's possible, I think that's possible," Mrs. Bush said when asked on NBC's "Today Show" whether criticism that Miers lacked intellectual heft were sexist in nature. Ummm.... No. If Edith Jones or Janice Rogers Brown were appointed, conservatives would be cheering. Laura Bush has just picked a card from the liberal playbook to attack her base.

Look for Bush and the blue-blood Republicans to try to throw some bone to the conservative base like proposing an anti-flag burning amendment.

Republicans:
Well, the Senate Republicans have a decision to make. If the support the President, and Miers turns out to be a Souter, they can kiss their careers goodbye. Conservatives may not even wait that long. There could be a backlash in 2006. An outspoken conservative Senator could make a name for himself by openly opposing the nomination. Obviously this is also risky, if by some 1% chance Miers turns out to be a Scalia, he'll be the odd man out. Likely many will stay on the fence and see if the opposition by bloggers and pundits continue until the hearings.

Democrats:
Well the Democrats have two choices: believe the "dodged a bullet" with Miers and confirm her... or join conservative Republicans in rejecting Miers in order to "stick it" to Bush. The former might be better in the long run for the liberals, but their angry-left constitutents will be angry (obviously) that Democrats appointed a Bush crony and passed up an opportunity to "stick it" to Bush. Although they seem relaxed, Senate Democrats are not living on Easy Street.

The Presidential Report Card

Presidents' are scored via their "approval rating." Respondents are limited to two choices. However, a yes or a no can give a misleading indication. Someone very conservative could be called, and answer "no" because of Bush's immigration (or lack there of) policy. This lower rating may be interpreted by the media as "people wants Bush out of Iraq" when it could be criticism from the right.



Foriegn Policy: B

It would be impossible to discuss the foriegn policy of the Bush administration without first talking about Iraq. In a strong effort, Bush ignored much criticism and pressed forth with the Iraqi invasion. Some of his actions since are questionable and I fear Iraq will fall under Sharia with little effort. The trouble began shortly after Baghdad fell. As an overall reaction from the lack of WMDs, the administration felt forced to justify the invasion as for the benefit of the Iraqi people. After not appeasing France & the UN, Bush proceeded to begin appeasing the terrorists. After contractors were hung in Fallujah, we sat idling. Our first offensive into Fallujah was halted for political reasons. Instead of militarily dealing with radical cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, the US brought in Ayotollah Al-Sistani to quiet him. Although this was largely successful, it strengthened the hand of the clerics in the new government. In order to quell complaints that they are "occupiers", the administration quickly handed over the reins of the government without any major stipulations. Democracy was not taught to the populace as was done in post-war Japan. Reports have cropped up that Islamic militants run Basra. An Islamic Iraq would make our efforts in Iraq a complete failure.


Homeland Security: C

Borders, borders, borders. On one hand, Bush has managed to prevent a 2nd terrorist attack. On the other, he has refused to address the growing concern of illegal immigration. He has gone so far as to call the Minutemen project "vigilantes." He refuses to address the problem due to one of two (or both) political reasons. He has big donors that like that cheap labour or he is try to "court the Latino vote." I'm still not positive that Latinos who immigrated legally are terribly fond of the border jumpers.

Federal Spending: D

Who needs Democrats when you have the Republicans we have in Congress? Bush has been giving away money left and right. $15 billion for AIDS in Africa, $300 million to the Palestinians, more to Africa. He has not attempted to curb pork spending by Congress. This is not your father's Republican party.


Taxes: A-

While Bush's tax policy deserves high marks, little if any effort has been made to make these cuts permanent. Some have already expired and many will be phased out over then next 6 years including the elimination of the marriage penalty which has already expired. (Hertitage Foundation) He did press hard to try to change social security. His failure on that issue was more due to the lack of support from Congress. He could press for more tax cuts now that he has a more friendly Senate. I would reccommend he press to make the tax cuts permanent before he leave office.


Economy: A

Although the President doesn't control the economy, some of his policies can greatly affect it. There is no doubt in my mind that the economy could have fallen into a big depression like 30s if the President made poor choices. Remember the Great Depression didn't occur immediately after Black Tuesday. The collapse of the bubble coupled with 9/11 could have done the economy in.

Judicial Nominations: C+ and sinking

Many of Bush's nominations to the appellate courts have been stellar. Prior to about 4 months ago, his grade would have been an A. However his appointments to the High Court have been mediocre at best. By now, John Roberts must seem like a staunch hard right conservative after Bush latest pick of his personal lawyers, Miers. They stand as likely to be the next David Souter as they do the next Clarence Thomas....but I still ask the question: Why not the Best?


Gun Rights: A+

The President has been a good supporter of the second amendment.

Social Conservatism: B

He pushed for bans on partial birth abortion. Regarding Terri Schiavo, he originally supported her but backed down when it was too politically contenious. Only go for the easy ones, eh? Although he is supposedly pro-life, he has never criticized Roe vs. Wade. Nonetheless, his record is decent.

Education: B-

I think the quickest way in my book to get an A is to scrap the department of Education and put education in the sole scope of the states. Why did he put Teddy Kennedy in charge of education? The people vote Republican because they believe in their platform more so than the people believe in the Democrats platform. Politicians supposedly have their platform as their ideas to make the country better. So why should such great extents be made to comprimise...especially to a certain senator who has unsurprisingly stabbed him in the back.

Social Security: B

I liked his plan for Social Security. I view Social Security as a pure tax. I expect nothing in 40 years. Was his plan DOA? We seem to be at square 1 again.


OVERALL: C+

What we say in summary? Slightly above average. He has 3 years left, in which to salvage his declining legacy.

A David Souter in size 6 shoes

"Why not the best?" That question was once asked by Admiral Rickover to Jimmy Carter, and it applies here. Why does the RNC need to be in full defensive mode, when there were many superior candidates for the high court? Why must conservatives be asked to play roulette when there are 55 Republican senators? The "stealth" nominee would have been acceptable with a Democratic Senate, but the Republicans are in the majority and they need to start acting like it.

The fact that Senate Democrats like Ms Miers is a troubling fact, not a comforting one. I wanted a nomination that made Chuck Schumer and Ted Kennedy hopping mad. We are being asked to trust a party which has been recently failing its base on the issues of government spending and illegal immigration. All of that could have been forgiven with a outstanding Supreme Court nomination. I hope Senate Republicans are very confident in the selection, because their future careers are tied to her. Make no mistake about it. A "David Souter in size 6 shoes" will stall the careers of those Republicans who supported her.

No amount of spin by the RNC can help.

The Jihad Shuffle

I've decided to coin the term "The Jihad Shuffle" for the routine one must go through when going through airport security. It consists of: Waiting in line, taking everything out of your pockets and taking off your shoes, watch, belt and rings, walking through the metal detector, the getting redressed, putting everything back in your pockets. I can never help to think that a few people's actions has caused everyone to go through the Jihad shuffle. Beginning with Nobel prize winner, Yasser Arafat's hijackings in the late 1960's/ early 1970's, the FAA began screening passengers in 1973.

I wouldn't mind it as much if they weren't so politically correct. Arab-looking young males are given a pass while 8 year old white girls and old grandmas are patten down. How many Muslims are security screeners, by the way? Of course not every Muslim is a terrorist, but a recent Times (UK) poll revealed that 10% of British Muslims would not turn in a fellow Muslim who he knew to be planning aterrorist attack. While 10% is in a strong minority, 10% of 3 million US would yield 300,000 collaborators. So let's use 10%. 10% of Muslims security screeners would give a pass to Muslim terrorists they found with a bomb. Comforting right?

It's not too late to reject Ms. Miers

Although probably a very nice woman, the conservative base was promised a justice in the mold of Scalia or Thomas. That mold had a paper trail. A conservative paper trail is something to be proud of, not ashamed.

The personal lawyer of the president should not be nominated either. The Wall St. Journal opined and refered to the Federalist papers "To what purpose then require the co-operation of the Senate?...It would be an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the President, and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters...from personal attachment" (http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007354)

Conservatives are saying "Democrats/Republicans" all the same. They will stay home demoralized in 2006 & 2008. If Miers turns out to be O'Connor, the Republican party will be sunk for 20 years. Are Senate Republicans willing to chance their future careers?

I should have been nominated for SCOTUS

If the lack of a "paper trail" is the leading qualifications for a Supreme Court nomination, I don't know why I wasn't picked? There is nothing on me! Okay, I'm not personal friends with Bush...which is the other major qualification.

Forget brilliant writing, excellent opinions, and judicial leadership, President Bush has determined that personal friendship and a quiet mouth are leading attributes for the Supreme Court. This is the United States, not Mexico. Nepotism and cronyism are growing atttributes in America.

The nomination of Harriet Miers is going to sink the conservative base. The Republicans . Even Republican cheerleaders, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, couldn't rightly defend the nomination. "Trust me" is what Dick Cheney said today. Why? Why should anyone be relegated to solely "trust" when Republicans are supposedly in control of the Senate?

Hurricane Gone

The hurricane did little damage to the Houston area. However, much of the trouble was caused by the evacuation panic. It was easy to see that the traffic would be horrendous and people would run out of gas sitting in traffic. If there was no gas in the city, why would there be any on the towns along the evacuation routes? If stupid old me figured that out Wednesday night, why didn't the city planners figure that out a long time ago.? Their evacuation plans were inadequate and half-assed. Neighbors have said it took them 18 hours to get to Austin (which is normally a 3 hour drive). Others said they went 8 miles in 8 hours before turning around. Some when to Baton Rouge taking them 36 hours in what is normally a 5-6 hour drive. The other side of the highway was empty until late Thursday when finally the other lanes were opened up. Nonetheless, it wasn't easy for people to get on those other lanes. There are no breaks in the Jersey barriers that divide the highways.

There were many actors and not many of them really had the publics benefit at priority one. The top priority of the news agencies were to get you to keep watching. The top priority of the politicians was to cover their ass. So what happened was a panic by many residents who quickly fled. Approximately 2 million area residents took to the roads.

The politicians didn't want to tell anyone to stay. That could be politically damaging if one person was hurt by staying. Not until Friday did any politician or newscaster say that people in non-flood areas (areas like West Houston, Cypress, Katy) should stay put. People not along the coast should have been urged to batten down the hatches or seek shelter at a school or church.

Even as the storm kept drifting East, newscasters kept up with their doomsday predicitions about how the storm would go west again or do a loop-di-loop and hit Houston. When Rita was a category 5 and a couple days out, I heard only one forecaster state that no hurricane has maintained a category 5 strength for more than 48 hours. Instead, every other newscaster kept forecasting expected winds as Rita would come ashore as a cat 5 storm.

Some of the statements I saw which added to the panic:

Rick Perry, Republican governor, stating broadly "If you have the capacity to get out, get out." (who, where, Rick? does that include people in West Houston?)

Michael Berry, a Republican councilman, freakedmy wife out by claiming Wednesday night "we've never been so scared in our lives." Thanks Michael. That's leadership right there.

Frank Billingsley, NBC houston meteorologist, on seeing two satellite frames of the hurricane move west from it's NW path, declared that the hurricane would start a westerly trend and strike Houston (instead of it being a small hiccup continuing on it NW trend into Beaumont.)

Houston mayor Bill White, a Democrat, was okay. After contributing to the original road clog on Wednesday, he backed off the "evacuate now" bandwagon, and sought to solve the traffic snarl that ensued. He had a calmer, more reassuring demeanor and logical approach to problem solving, albiet those problems were exxaerbated by himself. While the original evacuation plans were dismal, hopeful they are re-writing them as I type. They should include earlier opening of opposite lanes and securing extra gasoline for evacuation routes, and detailing designated shelters for residents of some of the more inland areas.

Conversely, I did a lot of sleeping over the weekend. We had water and non-perisable foods. We bought a small outdoor grill and firewood (they were out of charcoal). We made a bunch of ice, freezing water in big tupperware containers. We boarded the windows, put pictures and other valuables in watertight containers, and took pictures off the walls and everything off shelves. If the storm was aiming to hit town, I was ready to go to a local shelter.

Update: However, I am glad that the different facets of the government: mayor, governor, harris county judge, etc, worked together. After the initial panic, they all sought to solve the problems, and there was no finger pointing.

Hurricane Coming!

Well, I'm in Houston and we're preparing for the hurricane. Right now, it's beautiful. The calm before the storm.

We've decided to stay here. While obviously, the people along the coast need to evacuate, there are plently of people in Houston proper in full panic mode fleeing the city. With everyone and their mother leaving, the highways are parking lots. People are running out of gas, cars are overheating. It is highly likely that some people will be stuck out in their cars when the hurricane comes.

So, I'll update this with pictures as developments happen.

2nd Amendment

The biggest demonstration for the need of personal ownership of guns occured in New Orleans. If you were stuck in New Orleans or were trying to get out, fearing being robbed or raped by the anarchy of criminals that ensued, would be prefer, or not prefer to have previously purchased a firearm. The liberals who believe the 2nd amendment is antequated should reconsider what they would do if they were in New Orleans on August 30th.


"Second Amendment advocates blast New Orleans policyA number of pro-gun groups blasted the gun confiscations as "unconstitutional," "illegal" and, even, "the sin of arrogance."Alan Gottlieb, of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), is demanding a federal investigation of the actions."I also want to know under just what authority New Orleans officials are confiscating lawfully-owned firearms from law-abiding citizens," Gottlieb said in a press statement. "Where does it say that the state and federal Constitutions can be nullified, even briefly, simply because of a hurricane? In every other natural disaster this country has ever faced, people retain their civil rights, including the right of self-defense, but
New Orleans and Louisiana state officials have added the sin of arrogance to incompetence and negligence for which they must be held accountable when this is over."Erich Pratt, communications director for Gun Owners of America, explained his disagreement with the policy by recounting the story of New Orleans resident Charlie Hackett."[H]e and his neighbor, John Carolan, stood guard over their homes to ward off looters who, rummaging through the neighborhoods, were smashing windows and ransacking stores," Pratt wrote."It was pandemonium for a couple of nights," Pratt recalled from Hackett's description of the incident. "We just felt that when they got done with the stores, they'd come to the homes," Hackett told Pratt.According to Pratt, armed looters did target Carolan's house, demanding his generator, but departed when Carolan showed them that he was armed.Pratt recalled the Los Angeles riots of 1992, when scores of businesses were burned by protesters angry over the acquittal of police officers accused of beating Rodney King."But not everybody in Los Angeles suffered. In some of the hot spots, Korean merchants were able to successfully protect their stores with semi-automatic firearms," Pratt said. "In areas where armed citizens banded together for self-protection, their businesses were spared while others (which were left unprotected) burned to the ground."Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), said the civil disorder in New Orleans is "exactly the kind of situation where the Second Amendment was intended to allow citizens to protect themselves."When law enforcement isn't available, Americans turn to the one right that protects all the others -- the right to keep and bear arms," LaPierre said in a media release. "This attempt to repeal the Second Amendment should be condemned." http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200509\NAT20050914a.html

Most dangerous ruiling since Kelo vs New London

This could be very dangerous in the future, people suing over unfounded scientific charges. Imagine people suing a power plant or a refinery because the "pollution is destroying the earth and impacting their rights."

A federal judge here said environmental groups and four U.S. cities can sue federal development agencies on allegations the overseas projects they financially back contribute to global warming.
The decision Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White is the first to say that groups alleging global warming have a right to sue.
"This is the first decision in the country to
say that climate change causes sufficient injury to give a plaintiff standing, to open the courthouse door," said Ronald Shems, a Vermont attorney representing Friends of the Earth.
That group, in addition to Greenpeace and the cities of Boulder, Colo., Santa Monica, Oakland and Arcata, Calif., sued Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Those government agencies provide loans and insure billions of dollars of U.S.
investors' money for development projects overseas. Many of the projects are power plants that emit greenhouses gases that the groups allege cause global warming.
The coalition argues that the National Environmental Policy Act, the law requiring environmental assessments of proposed development projects in the United States, should apply to the U.S.-backed projects overseas. The U.S. law should apply, they say, because those developments are contributing to the degradation of the U.S. environment via global warming.
The two government agencies claimed that U.S. environmental regulations do not apply to overseas projects, and that the courts have no right to intervene in those agencies' affairs.
Still, the judge's ruling was narrow. White did not rule whether those agencies must perform environmental assessments of projects they help fund, but simply said the groups have a right to sue. If White's decision stands, the issue of whether U.S. environmental rules apply to the projects backed by the agencies likely will be litigated, Shems said. Shems noted that, even if he ultimately wins the case, that doesn't mean a given project would be blocked even if an environmental analysis is performed and highlights severe environmental damage it would cause.
"The first step in getting ahandle on climate change is to find out what the sources are and get an inventory," he said.
The suit claims 8 percent of the world's greenhouse gases come from projects supported by the two agencies. Linda Formella, a spokeswoman with Export-Import Bank, said the agency, which supported nearly $18 billion in exports last year, does not comment on pending litigation. The Overseas Private Investment Corp. did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The case is Friends of the Earth v. Watson, 02-4106.

Iraq vs. Soviet Constitution

There has been much defense of Iraq's "Islamic" provisions in their constitution. I am still skeptical.

When one provision of a constitution ultimately trumps the another, the latter will be essentially irrelevant. Article 50 of the Soviet Union Constiution guaranteed the rights of free speech, free press, and demonstrations. However, Article 62 and others, gave ultimate importance to the interests of the state. The Iraqi Constitution could have several "feel good" lines about people's rights, but if those new found rights contradict certain tenents of Islamic law, then they will be essentially meaningless, much like former citizens of the Soviet Union can testify to.

Interview with Abdullah

An interesting read... an interview with King Abdullah of Jordan.

http://www.meforum.org/article/688

Palestine's Brainwashed Youth.

Israel will never see peace as long as kids are being brainwashed. How does a 14 year old hate something so much? They are not talking peace, they talk death. Read the whole article.

Abdel Kareem Mohammed Abu Habel agrees with Israeli critics who say that next week's disengagement from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank will do nothing to stop Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel....

"I was going to be dead," he said. "I was going to see God and defend Jerusalem. I was happy." He was 14....

"All the youngsters these days, this is what they talk about. Anywhere you go in this area. This is what they think about, the little kids. To blow themselves up," she said. "If you take the youngest kid, he'll say this is what he wants to do. Kill Jews."... SF Gate