Afghan, U.S. Troops Deliver Aid to Villagers

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Dec. 26, 2007 – Afghan national security forces, assisted by coalition forces, delivered tons of humanitarian assistance to hundreds of villagers in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
[snip]
“The villagers were very happy to receive the much-needed items. The goods will help villagers endure the onset of freezing winter temperatures. The people of Sra Kala and Shbal recognize that the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan truly cares for the general welfare of the population,”
[snip]
The provincial subgovernor responsible for the districts asked for help after hearing from area chiefs and village elders. The humanitarian aid also served as a way to reward villagers who have ensured the relative safety of the districts by making the area inhospitable to insurgents.

Petraeus Letter to the Troops

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Civilians of Multi-National Force-Iraq: As 2007 draws to a close, you should look back with pride on what you, your fellow troopers, our Iraqi partners, and Iraqi Coalition civilians have achieved in 2007.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/535mehzn.asp

Democrats: Redeploy troops from Iraq

The United States should redeploy troops from Iraq, New York Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand said Saturday.

"Congress is challenging the administration's strategy in Iraq in favor of a better one that will effectively combat terrorism and create stability in the Middle East,"

she said during the weekly Democratic radio address.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071229/ap_on_go_co/democrats_troops

US report: Israel nuclear war with Iran

All out nuclear war between Israel and Iran: a doomsday scenario that we all fear deeply. A new study compiled by the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), headed by former Pentagon analyst Anthony H. Cordesman, explored just such a nightmare scenario, noting that it could lead to the death of between 16- 28 million Iranian civilians, and 200-800 thousand Israelis.
[snip]
One essential requirement for nuclear confrontation in our region, according to the study, is allowing Iran’s nuclear program to develop, unhindered by a pre-emptive strike by either Israel or the United States. If US or Israeli preemption does not occur, the study found, Iran could very well have 30 nuclear warheads available for warfare between 2010-2020.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3486011,00.html

Muslim call to prayer on loudspeaker in Oxford

Muslim plans to broadcast a loudspeaker call to prayer from a city centre mosque have been attacked by local residents who expressed their concerns over the plans for a two-minute long call to prayer to be issued three times a day, saying that it could drown out the traditional sound of church bells.
[snip]
Dr Mark Huckster, who lives in Stanton Road and works at East Oxford hospice Helen House, told the Oxford Mail: "The proposal to issue a prayer call is very un-neighborly, especially in a crowded urban space such as Oxford.

[ah, the joys of all-beliefs-are-equal 'multiculturalism']

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=504373&in_page_id=1770&ct=5

There v Here...

France to cut Syria ties over Lebanon presidential crisis
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday he had instructed his staff to suspend diplomatic contacts with Syria until Paris has proof that Damascus is working for a consensus president in Lebanon. Speaking in Egypt after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Sarkozy said the time had come for deeds rather than words from Syria.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=939786&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1
[vs]
Specter, Patrick Kennedy visit Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria - There is "a real opportunity" for Syria and Israel to resume peace talks with help from the United States, Sen. Arlen Specter said Saturday after arriving for a two-day visit. Specter said he hoped Syria's participation in last month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., was a step toward "a new beginning for real efforts" to reach a Mideast peace, including between Syria and Israel.
[the useful idiots show hits the road once again...]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071230/ap_on_re_mi_ea/syria_israel_us

The more things change...

Chavez vows to put
''revolution'' back on track
Caracas - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez promised on Saturday to tackle poor garbage collection and high crime in a bid to win back support for his socialist ''revolution,'' which was hurt in a poll defeat a few weeks ago. Seemingly taking on board common criticism of his performance, Chavez said it was unacceptable that garbage was piling up uncollected in some parts of capital city Caracas, and acknowledged people were worried about crime.
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/news/international/Chavez_vows_to_put_revolution_back_on_track.html?siteSect=143&sid=8578578&cKey=1198981351000&ty=ti

Hollywood's new favorite dictator
Hugo Chavez, the oil-powered Castro wannabe of Venezuela, has picked up a few fans in Hollywood, despite the Venezuelan public's rejection of his plan to be dictator-for-life by a large enough margin that he couldn't steal the election, and despite (or in some cases because of) his cozying up to the regime of the mad mullahs. His willingness to finance movies with the Venezuelan treasury might just have something to do with it.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/12/hollywoods_new_favorite_dictat.html

The hot air cult

[you want to talk about special interest money?]

One of the traits of a cult is its refusal to consider any evidence that might disprove the faith. So it is doubtful the global warming cultists will be moved by 400 scientists, many of whom are current or former members of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Mr. Gore, for publicizing doubt on a "scientific consensus" that human-caused global warming endangers the planet.
[snip]
Like most cultists, the true believers struck back, not by debating science, but by charging that a small number of the scientists mentioned in the report have taken money from the oil industry. A spokeswoman for Al Gore said 25 or 30 of the [400] scientists may have received funding from Exxon Mobile Corp. Exxon Mobile spokesman Gantt H. Walton dismissed the claim, saying, "The company is concerned about climate-change issues and does not pay scientists to bash global-warming theories."
[snip]
The pro-global warming cultists enjoy a huge money advantage. Paleoclimate scientist Bob Carter, who has testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, noted in an EPW report how much money has been spent researching and promoting climate fears and so-called solutions: "In one of the more expensive ironies of history, the expenditure of more than $50 BILLION on research into global warming since 1990 has failed to demonstrate any human-caused climate trend, let alone a dangerous one," he wrote on June 18, 2007.

The $19 million spent on research that debunks the global warming faith pales in comparison.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071226/COMMENTARY09/245075897

Fence fiasco: Or Feliz ano nuevo

The decline of American sovereignty would typically be a big story in any year, but with all the news coming out of Hollywood this year, maybe it was a bit overshadowed by more significant events.
[snip]
Most recently, we learned that Congress — that hallmark of American integrity — had pulled a fast one on the voting public by undermining the border fence which it had so ostentatiously supported before the 2006 midterm elections.
[snip]
“Nothing in this paragraph shall require the Secretary of Homeland Security to install fencing, physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors in a particular location along an international border of the United States, if the Secretary determines that the use or placement of such resources is not the most appropriate means to achieve and maintain operational control over the international border at such location.”
[snip]
In other words, it leaves total discretion for whether to build the fence or not to the administration that opposed the fence in the first place. Way to go, Congress, and feliz ano nuevo.

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/12/30/columns/columns01.txt

House GOP to fight Democratic 'war' on jobs

Democratic proposals for higher taxes and policies that favor unions and lawyers over businesses threaten to kill jobs and reduce disposable income for middle-class families, according to a report by House Republicans. The report, titled ''Death by a Thousand Cuts: Democrats' War on American Jobs,'' cites policies that expand government and boost taxes, open doors for more lawsuits against employers and increase regulation on large and small businesses.

[catchy title, big politicos involved - expect a 60 Minutes special on this any day now...]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071226/NATION/376664386/-1/RSS_NATION_POLITICS

NHS patients wait years for hearing aids

Patients across the country are waiting more than two years for a hearing aid, and up to five years to have old-fashioned equipment replaced by modern technology. Almost 50,000 people, many of them elderly, are stuck on NHS waiting lists and 10 primary care trusts have admitted to delays of more than a year for patients in need of their first hearing aid.
[government run health 'care']
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/30/nhear130.xml

Media Military Matters

THE story of 2007.

There should be no question what the top story of the year was: America’s counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq, a political party's hapless efforts to sabotage it, and the Western mainstream media’s stubborn refusal to own up to military progress.

We rang in 2007 with vehement liberal opposition to the “surge” of 21,000 added U.S. troops and tactical changes to secure Baghdad. In the ensuing 12 months, Democrats tried and failed repeatedly to undermine this military strategy and starve the war of funding. Their poisonously partisan allies at MoveOn.org attempted to smear surge architect and patriot Gen. David Petraeus as a traitor. The New York Times and Associated Press fought tooth and nail to obscure the successes of the surge with their relentless “grim milestone” drumbeat. But by year’s end, with Shiites and Sunnis marching and praying together for peace, even anti-war Democrats and adversarial media outlets alike were forced to acknowledge that undeniable military progress and security improvements had been made.

Is there still a long way to go? Hell, yes. Were there other ancillary factors that contributed to the decrease in violence and the “awakenings” in Anbar province and Baghdad? Yes again. But go back to January. Refresh your memories of the anti-surge rhetoric and the spectacularly misguided conventional wisdom...

[i.e., remember this, for utter failure has never dented their ideology one iota: they will try again...]

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzQ1MDM4MDU1OWZlNGViNmFjNzRjZTkzNzQzYWQ2MzY=

U.S. Troops Deliver Backpacks to School Children

ADIL, Iraq, Dec. 26, 2007 – The troops who provide a security situation that allows Iraqi children to attend school are helping those same children here get the most of that experience.

"I have always been a believer that when you are in school the only thing you should worry about is learning, and all teachers should be worried about is teaching, and they should be at least afforded a good building and plenty of supplies so they can focus on learning and not worry that they will run out of notebooks and pencils and that their building is falling apart,”

With the army enjoying the trust of local citizens, the soldiers can continue to reach out and conduct their security mission joint operations.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48522

Triple Threat Pressures al Qaeda in Iraq, General Says

While al Qaeda scrambles to reorganize itself, the terrorist group is being pressured by a triple threat consisting of coalition and Iraqi security forces and local concerned citizens’ groups, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.

“We have to continue to pursue this enemy to prevent them from re-establishing themselves or creating new bases of operation,” Bergner said.

Meanwhile, the 70,000 members of Iraqi concerned citizens’ groups that have sworn to fight al Qaeda have proven to be powerful allies, Bergner said, as the capabilities and numbers of Iraqi soldiers and police continue to grow.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48528

Iran source of Afghan weapons: MacKay

Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan – Defence Minister Peter MacKay says weapons are flowing from Iran into the hands of Afghan insurgents. He says improvised explosive devices from Iran have been a particular concern for Canadians. Most of Canada's 73 combat deaths have been the result of IEDs. He says it's been difficult for Canada to address the issue though he has made his concerns known to the Iranian government.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/288640

West Ignoring 'Systematic Persecution' of Palestinian Christians

If Western governments do not address the Muslim persecution and economic plight of Palestinian Arab Christians, there won't be many Christians left in the Holy Land within 15 years, an Israeli scholar said here. Loss of employment, land seizures, attacks on churches, intimidation, torture, beatings, kidnappings, forced marriage and sexual harassment of Christian women are clear human rights violations ....

[shouldn't that read 'Western Media Ignoring...'? Or is there to be a public outcry against something we're not told about? Besides, we wouldn't want to be accused of religious jingoism defending Christian women when we obviously don't care about Muslim women... 'world opinion' and all that]

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/11560968/

New Peer-Reviewed Study Finds ‘Warming is naturally caused and shows no human influence’

Climate scientists at the University of Rochester, the University of Alabama, and the University of Virginia report that observed patterns of temperature changes (‘fingerprints’) over the last thirty years are not in accord with what greenhouse models predict and can better be explained by natural factors, such as solar variability. Therefore, climate change is ‘unstoppable’ and cannot be affected or modified by controlling the emission of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, as is proposed in current legislation.

The report is published in the December 2007 issue of the International Journal of Climatology of the Royal Meteorological Society [DOI: 10.1002/joc.1651]. The authors are Prof. David H. Douglass (Univ. of Rochester), Prof. John R. Christy (Univ. of Alabama), Benjamin D. Pearson (graduate student), and Prof. S. Fred Singer (Univ. of Virginia).

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/908

Navy's new lethal subs

Australia will build the world's most lethal conventional submarine fleet, capable of carrying long-range cruise missiles and futuristic midget-subs, to combat an expected arms race in the region.* New Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has ordered planning to begin on the next generation of submarines to replace the Royal Australian Navy's Collins-class fleet (Snip) The 17-year project will be the largest, longest and most expensive defence acquisition since Federation, potentially costing up to $25 billion.

[*i.e., China]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22971955-601,00.html

NHS losing battle against superbug’

Nurses should take back responsibility for cooking and cleaning in hospitals instead of letting private contractors do the work, a medical expert says. Many doctors are afraid of being treated in their own hospitals, while a lack of support from the Government has left elderly patients at risk from hospital-acquired infections and malnourishment, (Snip) Recent attempts by ministers to lower rates of MRSA and Clostridium difficile infections through a ''deep clean'' of hospitals will not have any significant impact...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3095545.ece

Boy's kidnappers promise revenge if family cooperates with authorities

Human traffickers are threatening family members of a Houston boy who was kidnapped in an apparent Christmas Eve dispute over $4,000 owed for smuggling his sister from Mexico, the boy's mother said. Francisca Torres, 37, said Wednesday she has received three calls at her home from smugglers since her son Luis Antonio Gonzalez, 14, was freed by authorities in Austin and returned to Houston late Christmas Day.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5405697.html

Scientists fleeing border, smugglers

Biologist Karen Krebbs used to study bats in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the Arizona-Mexico border. Then, she got tired of dodging drug smugglers all night. "I use night-vision goggles, and you could see them very clearly" - caravans of men with guns and huge backpacks full of drugs, trudging through the desert, Krebbs said. After her 10th or 11th time hiding in bushes and behind rocks, she abandoned her research.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1227narco-science.html

US Economy So Bad Illegal Aliens Heading Back to Mexico

Just how bad is the economy doing? Well, according to Reuters, it's so bad out there that illegal aliens are heading back to Mexico.

"The couple are among a growing number of illegal immigrants across the United States who are starting to pack their bags and move back to Mexico* as a crackdown on undocumented immigrants widens and the U.S. economy slows, turning a traditional Christmas trek home into a one-way trip."

What turndown in the U.S. economy? According to the Department of Labor's enterprise survey, employers have added 400,000 jobs since July, and 1.1 million so far this year. Furthermore, the broader household survey identified an astounding 1 million gain in workers since August. But there was more:

"Other returning immigrants cite a slowdown in the U.S. economy as a factor, and the falling value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies, which has eaten into the value of remittances sent to support families at home."

Despite the stupidity of this Reuters piece, the contract which trades pesos on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed last Friday at 9.18 cents. That's a better exchange rate than was 2006's 9.6 cents, so illegal immigrants sending money back to Mexico were benefiting from exchange rates NOT being penalized as this Reuters piece suggested.

Facts can be terrible things.

[* the critical point here is yet more objective evidence {i.e., their own words} that when we require illegal aliens to be documented to work, they self-deport - no 'rounding up of 20 million people' required.]

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/12/24/reuters-us-economy-so-bad-illegal-aliens-heading-back-mexico

Redefining 'Fiscal Responsibility' - At high cost

Congressional "Pay-As-You-Go" budgeting translates to perpetually bigger government

Want to ensure the growth of government? Forever?
[snip]
Pay-Go became law as a part of the 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. (It went away in 2002, only to be reinstated in January of this year.) The problems with Pay-Go, however, became apparent immediately. It did nothing to reduce spending, and everything to prevent tax cuts.
[snip]
Before Pay-Go, "fiscal responsibility" meant limiting federal expenditure to what the government could reasonably afford. Under Pay-Go, spending hawks slowly went the way of the dodo, to be replaced by "deficit hawks". These creatures are first and foremost concerned with the Congressional bottom line, and are far more willing to raise taxes than reduce spending to maintain it.

Responsibility used to mean frugality; it now means tax hikes to pay for as much government as possible. Accordingly, you can be an Ear-Marxist and still be a "deficit hawk", so long as you raise taxes enough to foot the bills.

And despite replete examples throughout our history that reducing taxes actually increases the revenue Washington collects, under Pay-Go Congress can not decrease taxes a dollar here without raising taxes a dollar there or cutting spending a dollar somewhere.

And this is merely the tip of the Washington ice berg the media wishes to see.

Only in this press-induced haze can the federal government spend 1/5th of everything the nation creates and there be anyone calling it miserly.

Yet the media are doing exactly that. They are never ones to see any government program go without ever more, each and every year. Only they can call a program's increase of a lesser percentage than that it had grown the previous year a "cut."

And so Pay-Go goes. Were it rightly defined by the press, the mess in Washington would by now be a great deal less.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24059

Country-club Dems

Republicans are the party of the rich. Isn't that an immutable law of American politics? While certainly a popular truism for the past half-century, it's no longer supported by the numbers.
[snip]
A recent study by Mike Franc at the Heritage Foundation finds "the demographic reality is that, in America, the Democratic Party is the new 'party of the rich. "

[more accurately, it's the mega-rich {think 'tycoons' and 'stars'} that lean democratic... ]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071227/EDITORIAL08/509955919/1013&template=printart

Burping moose bad for the environment

Amidst all the talk about carbon dioxide emissions and global warming comes news that Norway's national mascot may be contributing to the destruction of the environment, through burping and other bodily functions. (Snip) But now some researchers linked to Norway's technical university (NTNU) in Trondheim contend that moose are responsible for tons of gas emissions a year through their frequent burping and, well, farting. ''Shoot a moose and save yourself a climate quota,'' joked moose researcher

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1949645.ece

Iraqis Increasingly Side With Coalition, Colonel Says

The Iraqi people increasingly are siding with the coalition against extremists in their country, a unit commander there said. [snip] “They’re starting to realize that we’re here to make their life better, and because of that they’re starting to take our side,” he said in a teleconference with online journalists and “bloggers” Dec. 20.

“So, they’ve really taken our side against al Qaeda over here. And I think it’s something we can be proud of as an Army, and we can be proud of as a nation.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48521

Northern Iraq Operations Expose Enemy’s Grim Nature

[snip] coalition forces found an execution site and a torture facility where al Qaeda had operated. “At that execution site, there were 26 remains found. Their arms were tied behind their back, and most of them were shot in the back of the head,” Bacon said.

Inside the three-room torture facility, tools for carrying out various forms of torment were found, including blood-caked knives, whips, metal beds wired to electrical outlets and chains hung from the ceiling, he said.

Bacon added that this is the fifth al Qaeda-operated torture house he’s become aware of since arriving in Iraq in May.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48498

Tortured Democrats

It didn't get much attention, but last May U.S. troops unearthed an even grislier site, an al Qaeda torture chamber in Baghdad itself. When they entered, the soldiers found [redacted: truly gruesome] and many more. It's useful to be reminded of what real torture looks like when the Democrats in Washington are working themselves into a froth about CIA interrogation tapes.
[snip]
So now we will have an inquiry into whether the CIA has violated the law by destroying tapes it was under no obligation to make in the first place; concerning an interrogation technique that at the very worst involved making three notorious terrorists think, for a few seconds, that they were drowning.
[snip]
I have severe doubts as to whether waterboarding constitutes torture. But I am certain the unceasing attention it receives and the eagerness of many Democrats to indict the Bush administration damaged America's image more than anything the CIA has done. [well, until the insane NIE report] I say this for two reasons:[...]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071226/COMMENTARY/485798050

Egyptians caught out in arms video

Jerusalem - Israel and Egypt traded accusations over the smuggling of weapons from the Egyptian Sinai into Gaza, a day before Israel's Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, was scheduled to meet the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, in the Sinai resort of Sharm el Sheikh. (Snip) individuals from the Israeli defence establishment had sent a videotape, or tapes, to colleagues in the Israeli embassy in Washington showing Egyptian border guards not only turning a blind eye to the cross-border smuggling but in at least one case helping it.

[another of Israel's 'peace partners']

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/egyptians-caught-out-in-arms-video-israel/2007/12/26/1198345081176.html

Muslim call to prayer on loudspeaker in Oxford

Muslim plans to broadcast a loudspeaker call to prayer from a city centre mosque have been attacked by local residents who expressed their concerns over the plans for a two-minute long call to prayer to be issued three times a day, saying that it could drown out the traditional sound of church bells.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=504373&in_page_id=1770&ct=5

Afghanistan kicks out EU/UN officials

Kabul - Afghanistan has ordered a top European Union official and a United Nations staffer to leave the country for threatening national security, government and diplomatic officials said on Tuesday. The two were declared persona non grata, apparently after allegations they had met with Taliban insurgents, a European diplomat said.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2243332,00.html

Drilling a Hole in the Lifeboat

What would you do if your foreign policy agenda had these priorities:

1. Get Arab and European support for solving the Iraq crisis.
2. Mobilize Arab and European forces against a threat led by Iran and its allies, Syria, Hamas, and Hizballah.
3. Get Iran to stop its campaign to get nuclear weapons.
4. Reestablish American credibility toward friends and deterrence toward enemies.
5. Reduce the level of Israel-Palestinian conflict.

That pretty much describes the U.S. framework for dealing with the Middle East nowadays. The Annapolis conference is did not contribute to any of these goals. The outcome is a failure or at least a non-event portrayed as a victory because it took place at all. And yet, nobody is saying: 'We are so grateful at the United States becoming more active on Arab-Israeli issues that we are going to back its policy on other issues.'

On the contrary,...

http://www.globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=3829&cid=1&sid=27

$cience Mag Jumps on Global Moneywagon

Big Science is a Big Business, supporting nearly half the budgets of our major universities. [snip] So the professional scientist union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has ads headed AAA$. They aren't shy about it.

The trouble is that money means politics, and politics means shading the truth. As a result, we get politicized science, which corrupts real science. Any kind of Politically Incorrect science therefore becomes very hard to publish. So the cult of PC has invaded the pristine halls of science.
[snip]
In the last issue of Science Donald Kennedy has an editorial endorsing the Democrat candidate for president. Not exactly in so many words, but it's unmistakable:

"The United States could ... mitigate carbon dioxide emissions: The root cause of global warming and the reef problem. Experience suggests that for this, we might have to await an election."

This is like the union boss telling his members how to vote in a general election if they want to get more money. But global warming is a popular hypothesis, Dr. Kennedy. It's not established. You do remember the difference, don't you?

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/12/cience_mag_jumps_on_global_mon.html

Iran to Get Russian Anti-Missile Defense

Russia is preparing to equip Iran with a powerful new air defense system that would dramatically increase its ability to repel an attack, Iran's defense minister said Wednesday. The S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense system is capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads at ranges of over 90 miles and at altitudes of about 90,000 feet. Russian military officials boast that its capabilities outstrip the U.S. Patriot missile system.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TPC0V00&show_article=1

NHS definition of 'customer'

Figures obtained by The Scotsman under Freedom of Information legislation show at least 1,390 hospital appointments are missed every day in Scotland. However, the figure is likely to be much higher, as many health boards were unable to supply numbers for missed inpatient appointments, while others do not collect data on clinics with staff such as physiotherapists and dieticians.
[snip]
She added: "Part of the problem is appointments are made so far in advance that pat-ients simply forget. We need some kind of system to remind people of their appointments nearer the time." [you know, like the private sector has had for a decade. The NHS response? ...

practices (68 per cent) said they would support charging people £10 for missed appointments. ... of course. It's government run.]

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/1390-Scots-don39t-turn-up.3619753.jp

Study on Illegal Immigration to Be Released Tomorrow

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, issued a press release announcing that their cost study on immigration will be released tomorrow the subtitle of which is:
“Previous state and private studies over-estimated tax receipts and under-estimated costs.”

The details of this study are sure to be controversial, and the Des Moines Register reported last week that “immigrant-rights groups” are already critical and calling for the upcoming radio event to be scuttled.

[scuttled. is that anything like censored?]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071226/aqw018.html?.v=39

Plan Would Let Seniors Work to Pay Taxes

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Audrey Davison lives alone, gets a $620 Social Security check each month and worries about the sharply rising taxes on her four-bedroom house. Davison, 76, raised her family there and after 43 years, she really doesn't want to leave Greenburgh. Greenburgh doesn't want her to leave, either. The town is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time, for $7 an hour, to help pay off some of their property taxes.

[is it just me or is it shameful that 'telling the government to f-off' evidently hasn't even be considered as a fix to this deplorable situation? we are rapidly losing control of our government, becoming sheeple]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071225/D8TOKT9G1.html

America Supports You: Virginia Guard Family Gets Extreme Dream Home

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 18, 2007 – Army National Guard Spc. Michael Lucas received an extra-special homecoming during his mid-tour leave from Iraq recently when he and his family discovered they had been selected for a total home renovation, courtesy of the ABC reality television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

A lifelong history buff, Lucas had begun construction on a house near Rice, Va., on the site of the Civil War’s Battle of High Ridge. But he was deployed before he could finish the home, and the family moved into a rental property in Cullen, Va. Jean home-schools both of her children, and the nomination for the home makeover came through members of the home school cooperative where she is a member.

National Guard soldiers were quick to lend a helping hand. About 50 soldiers volunteered their time to help build a home for a fellow soldier.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48445

NBC Refuses to Run Support the Troops Ads During Holidays

A conservative organization known as Freedom's Watch has had its advertisements rejected by NBC. As reported moments ago by the Associated Press (emphasis added):

NBC has rejected a TV ad by Freedom's Watch, a conservative group that supports administration policy in Iraq, that asks viewers to remember and thank U.S. troops during the holiday season.

NBC said it declined to air the ad because it refers to the group's Web site, which the network said was too political, not because of the ad's message.

[think about that - and this outfit based in New York]

http://www.freedomswatch.org/Edit/PressReleases/tabid/45/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/42/Default.aspx

Reform of Islam is Necessary for Civilization

The greatest [physical] danger mankind faces is the smuggling of a nuclear weapon by an Islamic Terrorist into a major western city killing millions in the name of God. If the hateful teachings of the Koran are not removed from Islam this is the disaster that will destroy civilization as we know it. It will dramatically change human history forever. The stakes are that high.
[snip]
Nobody cares if Islam is a religion in which people pray 5 times a day, wash their feet, fast for one month, do not use alcohol etc. That would be wonderful. But it is not.. Islam is a declaration of war against infidels. Islam is an ideology of war and the Koran is a book of war. This war is permanent until all the infidels have converted, or paid a submission tax or have been murdered. This is the Law of God as set down in the Koran.
[snip]
How is it possible that such an evil ideology (not religion) invented by an evil man (Muhammad) who, raped slaves, beheaded prisoners, sold women and children into slavery and raped a child – be posing such a grave threat worldwide to democracy and freedom. Any normal person reading the Koran immediately realizes that the hate, terror, violence pouring from the pages is not the word of God but that of a mad man which needs to be expunged from civil societies.
[snip]
The biggest problem we face in our struggle is that the political, media, intellectual and political elites are making criticism of Islam off limits by labeling such criticism Islamophobia. These elites are contributing this crazy and insane situation...

http://www.globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=3910&cid=11&sid=109

Lakota Indians Announce Secession from United States

A group claiming to represent the Lakota (aka Teton, Tetonwan) people, part of the Sioux, announces via press release their independence from the United States. A Lakota delegation on Monday delivered a statement of "unilateral withdrawal" from the United States to the U.S. State Department in Washington.

"We are now a free country and independent of the United States of America," Means said in a telephone interview. "This is all completely legal." Means said anyone could live in the Lakota Nation, tax free, as long as they renounced their U.S. citizenship. The nation would issue drivers licenses and passports, but each community would be independent. "It will be the epitome of individual liberty, with community control," Means said.

To make his case, Means cited a recent nonbinding U.N. resolution on the rights of indigenous people. He thinks there will be international pressure. "If the U.S. violates the law, the whole world will know it," Means said.

It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see harmonic convergence looming in the fantasies of the international left. Their publicity campaign is coming. It deserves to be laughed away - but won't be. There is a vast industry of activist groups, NGOs, financial interests and governments which will love this "cause." Imagine the potential for "solidarity"! The nation state is the primary rival of the forces of supranational organizations like the EU, UN, and others of 'world governance'.

The news was picked up eagerly overseas (e.g., Radio Netherlands, U.K. Telegraph, AFP and Malaysia Sun ) faster than at home, although USA Today and local/regional media like the Rapid City Journal had coverage that went beyond PR transcription.

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=31054&cat=0

Gore: Scientists Disagreeing with Climate Alarmism Tied to Big Oil

As NewsBusters reported Thursday, over 400 scientists in 2007 "voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called ‘consensus' on man-made global warming." Predictably, Nobel Laureate Al Gore dismissed this historic Senate report by stating through a representative that some of these esteemed scientists from around the world have connections to Big Oil, and, therefore, their opinions should be ignored.

Pretty amazing coming from a man that has made what some estimate is $100 million in the past seven years selling this canard 'consensus' to the public.

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.SenateReport

Fatal alliance

A recent article in The Washington Times by Sara A. Carter show the frightening importance of the alliance between Arabic terrorists and Mexican drug cartels. It documents how well known this dangerous situation has been for several years, for which no effective action had been taken by the Department of Homeland Security or local officials.

As an old drug-policy hand, I thought I had heard everything about it. But parts of the story were news to me and terribly disturbing. One example was the report that "approximately 20 Arab persons a week were utilizing the Travis County Court in Austin to change their names and driver's licenses from Arabic to Hispanic surnames." I do not claim that this horrendous problem is easy to deal with; it is not.

However, I do claim that some obvious first steps come to mind. . .

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070820/EDITORIAL/108200006/1013/editorial

From bad to worse for deficit

California

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's finance officials are estimating a California budget deficit next year of $14 billion, significantly larger than the $6.8 billion gap previously forecast by a state budget analyst, according to two sources who have spoken to the governor. The growing estimate increases pressure on Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to cut spending, increase taxes and possibly sell off public assets to close the budget hole.

[All the while continuing to pursue taxpayer funded 'free' health care.]

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/560995.html

Time's Selective Sense of Humor: Top Cartoons Target Only Conservatives

What do you know? Time magazine ran a list of the Top Ten Editorial Cartoons of 2007, and the only American political figures coming in for lampooning were . . . conservatives. Four of the cartoons were not explicitly political, but of those that satirized political figures, all were Republicans or conservatives:
[snip]
Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got better treatment at Time's hands than did conservatives. The only bad news that upsets the Iranian regarding his trip to NYC is his inability to get tickets to The Lion King. Aww. As for Democrats, not a cartoon in sight.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1690170_1690363,00.html

When Will They Ever Learn?

California

An agreement is rumored to be near for adoption of a $9 billion general obligation water bond. The bond will cost the general fund roughly $18 billion, including interest (or $600 million a year EVERY year for the next 30 years) and is being pushed at a time when the state is running an unprecedented deficit due to unsustainable increases in spending.

The measure is being touted as a response to increasingly tight water supplies, although only $3 billion – at most – will be used for surface water storage. This despite SIX other bond acts over the last 11 years that have totaled $17 billion, ALL promising to solve our water shortages.

Two other notes. First, nearly HALF of our water is now being used to meet various environmental mandates. Although additional facilities are certainly needed, our current "crisis" is largely the product of environmental extremism. And second, $7.1 billion from the two water bonds approved by voters last November still has not been appropriated.

http://www.carepublic.com/blog.html?blog_id=204&frompage=latestblog&domain=tom_mcclintock

UK chooses 'most ludicrous laws'
A little-known law which prohibits people dying while in the Houses of Parliament has been voted the UK's most ludicrous piece of legislation. The most absurd international law was judged to be in the US state of Ohio, where it is illegal to get fish drunk. (Snip) the list included legislation against naming a pig Napoleon in France, driving while wearing a blindfold in Alabama and unmarried women parachuting on a Sunday.
[methinks that last may have something to do with the wearing of skirts back in the day - note that it was evidently A-OK on Saturdays!]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7081038.stm

Baghdad-Area Surge Operations Garner More Success

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2007 – Ongoing U.S. military efforts to disrupt insurgent operations in and around Baghdad are garnering continued success, a senior military officer posted in Iraq said today. “It is just evident that the surge was the right thing to do,” Grigsby said. Overall attacks in Baghdad have decreased dramatically since the surge took hold, he said.

“We are continuing to kick the insurgents’ butt each day,” Grigsby said.

Related operations to date have resulted in the killing of 128 insurgents and the capture of almost 500 suspected extremists, Grigsby said, 25 of whom are considered to possess high informational value. The operations also disabled 119 roadside bombs and seized 43 weapons caches the colonel said.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48410

Active, Reserve Components Meet November Recruiting Goals

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 – All military components met their recruiting goals in November, Defense Department officials said here yesterday. It was the sixth month in a row that all services made their recruiting goals, officials said.
[snip]
On the active-duty side, the Marine Corps made 108 percent of its recruiting goal, accessing 2,444 recruits against a goal of 2,263. [] The Navy made 100 percent of its goal of 2,732 recruits, and the Air Force met its goal of 1,836. [] The Air National Guard and Army National Guard easily made their November goals at 133 percent and 116 percent, respectively. [] The Air Force Reserve made 100 percent of its enlistment quota of 558; the Navy Reserve made 100 percent of its goal of 895; and the Marine Corps Reserve made its goal of 572.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48381

The War on Zionism

Post Annapolis, the Palestinian Authority made it crystal clear that it will never recognize Israel as a "Jewish state". Furthermore, it made it crystal clear that it will not compromise on Jerusalem by making it a capital offense to do so. Yet negotiations continue. [?] Either Olmert doesn't believe the PA or what is more likely, he will still cut a deal where Israel is denied that recognition and will divide Jerusalem according to Arab demands.

Do not think for a moment that these entrenched Arab positions are negotiable. They aren't and never have been...

[i.e., any plan for peace requires parties - plural - who desire it]

http://www.globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=3900&cid=2&sid=1

UN Moving to Derail Fraud Investigations

The UN bureaucracy has once again acted to insulate itself from punishment for engaging in fraud that has cost the UN (and America, since America by far is the largest contributor to the United Nations) hundreds of millions of dollars. .
[snip]
The General Assembly is preparing to put an early end to an in-house panel that has exposed more than $600 million in tainted United Nations contracts and is currently investigating an additional $1 billion in suspect agreements.

The effort to scuttle the panel is not a budget matter so much as a political one, and it represents the continuing suspicion developing countries have about international intervention in their affairs.
[snip]
In its effort to curtail the task force’s work, Singapore succeeded in winning over the powerful Group of 77, an assemblage representing the developing world that has grown over the years to 130 nations. [each of which get as influential a vote in the general assembly as any nation, regardless of size or contribution to the UN's budget - and as a block of 130, they're nigh unstoppable.]

"The investigations will obviously cease,” Mr. Appleton said Thursday, noting that the United Nations currently had no other unit “to address these matters.”

[The organization is UNsalvageable]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/world/asia/21nations.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Senate Report: Over 400 Scientists Dispute Manmade Global Warming

According to a report just published at the United States Senate Committee on Environment, over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called "consensus" on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC.
[snip]
Even some in the establishment media now appear to be taking notice of the growing number of skeptical scientists. In October, the Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin conceded the obvious, writing that climate skeptics "appear to be expanding rather than shrinking." Many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears "bite the dust." (LINK)
[snip]
This report lists the scientists by name, country of residence, and academic/institutional affiliation. It also features their own words, biographies, and weblinks to their peer reviewed studies and original source materials as gathered from public statements, various news outlets, and websites in 2007. Many of the scientists featured in this report consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution.

Though lengthy, readers are strongly encouraged to review this entire document to learn the truth about what real scientists - those not receiving Oscars, Emmys, and Nobel Peace Prizes [or grants]- think about this controversial issue.

[reminder: alarmists are in a hurry to get their laws on the books because time will increasingly prove prior predictions and scientific methods false - hence they're becoming shriller and shriller in demanding legislation now-right-now, for as we all know, a law that brings the government money and power once enacted is forever...]

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.SenateReport

Moscow Suspends Cold War Weapons Treaty

Moscow officially ended its adherence to a key Cold War treaty that sets limits on the number of soldiers and weapons stationed in Europe. Officials in Moscow said on Wednesday, Dec. 12, that there are no plans to build up their military forces after they suspended participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty but added the move was necessary to protect Russia's national security.

[So how many years will need to pass before it's politically acceptable to admit the cold war is back on? How many more after that before we react to counter it?]

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3000904,00.html

ABC Does Three Consecutive Nights of Socialized Medicine

"Critical condition" in medical terminology means a patient has a high risk of death that could occur within the next 24 hours. So when you see "Critical Condition: Rx For America," sounds like something is in really bad shape, right?

No, it was just a promotional three-night series on ABC "World News with Charles Gibson" that ran from December 10-12 about health care. By the third night, Charles Gibson was even calling one example of socialized medicine a "system that works."

[what bias?]

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2007/12/13/abc-does-three-consecutive-nights-socialized-medicine

Immigration

[there...]
Tougher UK visa laws to curb illegal immigration

Britain is planning tougher visa controls, in an effort to tackle illegal immigration. Tourists from outside the EU currently get six- month visas. That will be cut to three months, and there may be a financial imposition as well. The proposals were unveiled by the Immigration Minister Liam Byrne:

"This is just part of a general tightening up of the system and it's part of a sweeping set of changes that we will be making to Britain's border security over the next 12 months."

Every person coming into Britain would have to pay a thousand pounds; families whose relatives outstay their visa risk losing the money.

http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=460129&lng=1


[here...]
ACLU's War On U.S. Immigration Law
Prof. Nicholas Stix

While President George W. Bush, ICE, and Congress act as if the U.S. had no immigration laws and no borders, some heroic local officials and private organizations have nevertheless sought, against all odds, to enforce and uphold immigration law. And every time they have done so, the ACLU has been there to fight them, on behalf of those who are flouting our laws.

A study of the tactics of local ACLU chapters across the country and the national ACLU reveals a distinct, coordinated strategy of six components [...]

http://www.globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=3856&cid=1&sid=26

The Media: Bad Intelligence with No Confidence

[snip]
The media dangerously ignore the rest of the report, which indicates that Iran remains in the process of doing everything required to develop every aspect of their nuclear program save weapons, to which they can return on a dime whenever they wish. The MSM also disregard the July 2007 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee of Thomas Fingar, one of the co-authors of the latest NIE, which was wholly contradictory of the new downgraded danger assessment.

"Iran is continuing to pursue uranium enrichment and has shown more interest in protracting negotiations and working to delay and diminish the impact of UNSC sanctions than in reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution.

"We assess that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons--despite its international obligations and international pressure. This is a grave concern to the other countries in the region whose security would be threatened should Iran acquire nuclear weapons."

This is all extraordinarily perilous. The world is not a sandbox in which all the little children play nicely, save for the American bully. The naïve notion the media broadcast that we could all just get along were it not for us throwing our weight around is a stone around our necks that hinders our ascendance both here and abroad.

As exhibited last week, when their righteous preening led to Bush-as-Pinocchio headlines in Tehran and smiles all around from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinijad and his Mullah bosses.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/seton-motley/2007/12/05/media-very-selective-when-they-choose-believe-nie

Consumer spending explodes in November...

Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in November by the most in more than two years as incomes grew and shoppers took advantage of early holiday discounts. A bigger-than-forecast 1.1 percent increase in purchases followed a revised 0.4 percent gain in October that was more than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said today in Washington.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aISUBxdFxvBo&refer=news

Hmmm. Incomes up. Spending up. Where's that bleeping recession we keep hearing about?

[Answer: on TV... > ]


Investment Firm CEO: If We Have a Recession, Media Will Cause It

Craig Hester, CEO of Hester Capital Management, who during an interview with CNBC's Erin Burnett and James Cramer Friday spoke an inconvenient truth about media's impact on the economy that folks in the press sadly don't recognize as they disseminate pessimistic after pessimistic predictions often leading to people unnecessarily losing their jobs - or worse:

That's one thing about the economy, Jim. There's a lot of pessimism, and I think we're going to, through the media, if we're going to have a recession, it's going to be media generated as opposed from the economy. Things look very strong from what I can tell.

Thanks, Craig. We couldn't have said it any better.

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2007/20071128154245.aspx

USA Today Finds Dem-GOP Approval Margin Too Close; Finds 'Better' Data Elsewhere

Monday's USA Today piece by Richard Wolf on congressional and presidential approval ratings had this odd segue:

Although just 30% of those polled give Democrats in Congress good marks, they favor the party by a 53%-40% margin in next year’s elections. That represents a silver lining for Democrats, who achieved only a fraction of their ambitious agenda after taking over Congress.

It’s odd because Wolf doesn't indicate how many of those polled gave Republicans in Congress good marks. It's even odder that the 53%-40% election margin Wolf cited is nowhere to be found in the survey detail. Also, neither the article nor the survey detail have an external link to information relevant to this margin.

http://www.bizzyblog.com/2007/12/20/couldnt-help-but-notice-122007/

Commanders Tell Gates Iraq Policy Working, Urge Vigilance

[there...]
BAGHDAD, Dec. 5, 2007 – Field commanders deployed throughout Iraq gathered here today to tell Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates firsthand that the U.S. strategy in Iraq is working and to urge vigilance in seeing it through.
[snip]
But asked if there was one central message the commanders delivered, Simock said they’re confident the strategy in Iraq is showing results and don’t want to give up too soon.

“We’re winning; there is no doubt,” Simcock said. “I wanted to make sure we are winning here on the ground. Now we need to stay and finish the job. It ain’t done yet.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48329

Defense Department Notifies Congress of Furlough Moves

[here...]
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 – The Defense Department has officially notified Congress that the department will begin the furlough process for civilian employees of the Army, the Marine Corps and the combatant commands.
[snip]
“Without GWOT funding, only operations and maintenance funds in the base budget are available to cover war-related costs,” England said in the letter. “O&M funds also cover salary costs for a large number of Army and Marine Corps civilian employees.”
[snip]
England reminded legislators of a letter he sent Nov. 8 to explain what would happen without supplemental war funding. “I emphasized that without this critical funding, the department would have no choice but to deplete key appropriations accounts in order to sustain essential military operations around the world."
[snip]
“The furlough will negatively affect our ability to execute base operations and training activities,” England wrote. “More importantly, it will affect the critical support our civilian employees provide to our warfighters -- support which is key to our current operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq"

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48387

Children used as shields in Pakistan mosque

[there]
Islamabad - - Women and children were being used as human shields by militants besieged in a mosque in Islamabad, the Pakistan government said on Thursday as security forces ratcheted up pressure on hundreds inside to surrender. Pakistan's Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said the few students who had quit the mosque spoke of a nightmare scenario for security forces trying to keep casualties down.

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Children_used_as_shields_in_Pakistan_mosque.html?siteSect=143&sid=7989851&cKey=1183646303000

Police action over TV film 'undermined free speech'

[{near} here...]
Police claimed that the Dispatches programme Undercover Mosque misrepresented the views of Muslim preachers and clerics through misleading editing. The programme featured undercover recordings from speakers alleged to be homophobic, antiSemitic, sexist and condemnatory of nonMuslims.

West Midlands Police rejected calls to take action against the preachers for hate speach - instead, they pursued a complaint against the film-makers, accusing them of undermining community relations.

But Ofcom, the media watchdog, threw out the police complaints. It found that the programme had “accurately represented the material it had gathered and dealt with the subject matter responsibly and in context”.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2902254.ece

Kasparov quits presidential race

The Russian opposition figure and former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, will no longer contest the presidential election next March. Mr Kasparov said his Other Russia bloc had faced difficulty arranging for its supporters to meet in Moscow - an official requirement for his candidacy. (Snip) Under Russian election law, presidential contenders who are not affiliated to one of four major parties must provide the details of two million supporters across the country.

[Oh, and are allowed zero air time on the state run television. The thing is rigged from front to back - all it needs now is Jimmy Carter...]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7140946.stm

'Changing border will be dangerous'

The defense establishment is fiercely opposed to a United Nations initiative to redraw Israel's border with Lebanon and ultimately revoke Israeli sovereignty over the Shaba Farms. A UN cartographer is expected to visit the Shaba Farms, also known as Mount Dov, in the coming weeks, sent by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to review the current border route along the 25-square-kilometer area located between Lebanon and the Golan Heights.

[betrayed again: it's elevated land, previously used to shell Israel]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1187502427231&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

WaPo Ignores Republican Criticism of Lack of Drilling in Energy Bill

Washington Post staffers Jonathan Weisman and Steven Mufson gaver readers of the December 7 paper an article on a "comprehensive [?] energy bill" that passed the House of Representatives without delving into Republican criticism that the bill lacks any provision to produce or procure more energy domestically, such as from interior and off-shore natural gas and oil reserves.

In the Washington Post front pager, not once do the words "drilling" or "natural gas" occur.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2007/12/07/wapo-ignores-republican-criticism-lack-drilling-energy-bill

Tougher UK visa laws to curb illegal immigration

Britain is planning tougher visa controls, in an effort to tackle illegal immigration. Tourists from outside the EU currently get six- month visas. That will be cut to three months, and there may be a financial imposition as well. The proposals were unveiled by the Immigration Minister Liam Byrne:

"This is just part of a general tightening up of the system and it's part of a sweeping set of changes that we will be making to Britain's border security over the next 12 months."

Every person coming into Britain would have to pay a thousand pounds; families whose relatives outstay their visa risk losing the money.

http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=460129&lng=1

Mexico's President Calderon insults the United States

Mexico's President Calderon has delivered a slap in the face to the United States, and provided what amounts to an endorsement for his citizens violating the laws of the United States. Steve Gilbert of Sweetness & Light caught the significance of an official photo appearing on Mexico's Presidencia website, showing El Presidente meeting with Elvira Arellano, who illegally entered our country and who illegally used a fake social security number.

There can be no denying that this is a high honor for the citizen of any country. To confer such a distinction on someone who very publicly flouted the laws of a neighbor implies official endorsement of lawlessness. Steve asks the important question of how Mexico would regard a neighboring nation encouraging its citizens to flout Mexico's laws, such as its strict immigration laws.

This is not the behavior of an amigo.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/08/mexicos_president_calderon_ins.html

All I Want for Christmas Is Reporting on Al Sharpton's FBI Probe

Imagine for a moment that the FBI raided televangelist Pat Robertson's office for any reason whatsoever, much less say his 1988 presidential campaign. It'd be a story in the broadcast evening news programs, right?

So why the utter lack of interest in the December 12 federal probe into Al Sharpton's 2004 campaign? A review of Nexis for ABC, NBC, and CBS network news stories for December 12-18 yielded NOTHING on a December 13 FBI raid.

Here's an excerpt from the AP's reporting from December 13:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316660,00.html

Watching a Treasury Wreck...

California
According to news reports yesterday, behind closed doors the Department of Finance is privately admitting to a $14 billion shortfall between this and the next budget year. Assuming that this shortfall occurs AFTER blowing through the $4 billion reserve, that makes the actual operating deficit $18 billion.

The problem is not a revenue shortfall. The problem is that spending has increased 33 percent.

That’s how you wreck a state’s finances. It works every time.

[yet we keep returning the some bunch to Sacramento, year after year]

http://www.carepublic.com/blog.html?blog_id=210&frompage=latestblog&domain=tom_mcclintock

Women Attracted to Men in Sports Cars Cause Global Warming

As reported by the British Telegraph Monday (emphasis added throughout):

Women must stop admiring men who drive sports cars if they want to join the fight against global warming, the Government's chief scientist has urged. And he singled out women who find supercar drivers "sexy", adding that they should divert their affections to men who live more environmentally-friendly lives.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/16/ncar116.xml

Gates Seeks to Build on Positive Momentum in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Dec. 5, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates talked with Iraqi leaders and U.S. commanders here today to explore ways to maintain momentum built in recent months and continue to build on it.
[snip]
The secretary emphasized that, while weakened, terrorists in Iraq haven’t been beaten, and he cited a migration of terrorists to other parts of the country now experiencing an up-tick in violence. Among them is the northern city of Mosul, which he visited today.
[snip]
Thomas shared Gates’ assessment of the “real growth of the Iraqi security forces” and said the challenge now is to continue their development to the point where they can operate independently, without U.S. assistance.
[snip]
In fact, he reported progress in bringing down the overall troop number in Iraq from its current 166,000. The first units not to be replaced returned home in September, and 1st Brigade Combat Team will begin redeploying this month, he said.

[i.e., we already are withdrawing troops - but as success allows]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48327

The Media: Bad Intelligence with No Confidence

[snip]
The media dangerously ignore the rest of the report, which indicates that Iran remains in the process of doing everything required to develop every aspect of their nuclear program save weapons, to which they can return on a dime whenever they wish. The MSM also disregard the July 2007 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee of Thomas Fingar, one of the co-authors of the latest NIE, which was wholly contradictory of the new downgraded danger assessment.

"Iran is continuing to pursue uranium enrichment and has shown more interest in protracting negotiations and working to delay and diminish the impact of UNSC sanctions than in reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution.

"We assess that Tehran is determined to develop nuclear weapons--despite its international obligations and international pressure. This is a grave concern to the other countries in the region whose security would be threatened should Iran acquire nuclear weapons."

This is all extraordinarily perilous. The world is not a sandbox in which all the little children play nicely, save for the American bully. The naïve notion the media broadcast that we could all just get along were it not for us throwing our weight around is a stone around our necks that hinders our ascendance both here and abroad.

As exhibited last week, when their righteous preening led to Bush-as-Pinocchio headlines in Tehran and smiles all around from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinijad and his Mullah bosses.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/seton-motley/2007/12/05/media-very-selective-when-they-choose-believe-nie