GOP rolls into Day 4 of gas-price revolt

House Republicans have begun Day 4 in their "Shadow Session" on gas prices, and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is with them. Gingrich, who is pushing for more offshore drilling, said reliance on foreign oil imports is "bad national security policy, it's a bad economic policy and in the long run it's a bad environmental policy.."

[been watching this on TV? {yeah, my point. evidently the old media is selective re: the political stunts it will cover}]

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Moqtada al-Sadr Packs It In

Good news out of Iraq is becoming almost a daily event: In just the past week, we learned that U.S. combat fatalities (five) dropped in July to a low for the war, that key leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq have fled to the Pakistani hinterland, that troop deployments will soon be cut to 12 months from 15, and that Washington and Baghdad are close to concluding a status-of-forces agreement.

Now this: Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr plans to announce Friday that he will disarm his Mahdi Army, which was raining mortars on Baghdad's Green Zone as recently as April. Coupled with the near-total defeat of al Qaeda in Iraq, this means the U.S. no longer faces any significant organized military foe in the country. It also marks a major setback for Iran, which had used the Mahdi Army as one of its primary vehicles for extending its influence in Iraq. [snip]

As with so much in Iraq, Mr. Sadr's sudden turn to moderation remains reversible. That's all the more reason to regret the U.S. failure to arrest Mr. Sadr in 2004 - it can't be undone. But our recent and considerable successes can be, which is all the more reason to see our involvement in Iraq through to an irreversible victory. With Mr. Sadr's "retirement," we've taken another long stride in that direction...

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Bush Gets Tremendous Crowds in S. Korea, US Media Ignores Story

[HT:MS]Over at Gateway Pundit, Jim Hoft introduces us to Amy Proctor's report on the amazingly large crowd of South Koreans that came out to welcome George W. Bush to their country. It's a good thing that Amy clued us in here in America, because our media sure ignored the story of this large turnout.

But, true to fashion, the western media did its level best report only the bad. On August 5, at 6:07am EDT, Reuters first tried to report the President's visit with this headline:

Bush arrives in Seoul, faces large anti-US protest.

But once the truth started coming out, Reuters tried to cover its obvious mistake with this later headline:

Bush arrives in Seoul, anti-U.S. protest fizzles.


Amy also found some nice video of the pro-Bush rally. Great report Amy and good work.

[funny, I don't see the 'fizzle']

[videos not in English {imagine} but worth watching > ]

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Steps toward war...

Russia advocates diplomacy over further Iran sanctions
A day after the US threatened to punish Iran with a fourth round of sanctions for its roundabout, unclear response to a recently offered package of incentives in return for halting uranium enrichment, Russia's insistence on diplomacy pushes the possibility of further sanctions against Teheran even further into the future.
(Snip) Russian envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, made it clear that Moscow has not set an ultimatum for Iran to respond...
[as predicted. and the centrifuges spin on...]
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Germany Presses Firms to Show ''Sensitivity'' on Iran Deals
Germany has called on its firms to show sensitivity in doing business with Iran following Israel's criticism of a German-Iranian gas deal, saying it violated the spirit of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. (Snip) ''We warn companies of the extremely sensitive nature'' of economic ties with Iran, Thomas Steg told a government news conference, adding that Berlin also expected firms to employ their ''moral sense'' if they invest there.
[translation: lip service before they invest there anyway]
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Israel mulls military option for Iran nukes
JERUSALEM - Israel is building up its strike capabilities amid growing anxiety over Iran's nuclear ambitions and appears confident that a military attack would cripple Tehran's atomic program, even if it can't destroy it. Such talk could be more threat than reality. However, Iran's refusal to accept Western conditions is worrying Israel as is the perception that Washington now prefers diplomacy over action with Tehran...
[just doing our part]
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[and we'll all be shocked and outraged when Israel defends itself]
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Speaking of 1936 all over again...

Beijing locals heated as Olympic torch enters city
.....ORDINARY Chinese with painted faces and flags who were eager to see the arrival of the Olympic torch in Beijing yesterday shouted and swore at police as they were forced out of Tiananmen Square before the relay arrived.

.....The crowds of families who had woken their children before 5am for the historic event were pushed out and replaced by bused-in groups of Communist Party members, loyal workers and model students dressed in the uniforms of the torch relay's sponsors, Coca-Cola, Lenovo and Bank of China.......
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China does not allow democracy
Taipei - A senior Taiwanese official said that Beijing's move to delay any direct election for Hong Kong's leader until 2017 underlined why Taiwan could not accept reunification with China.

Tung Chen-yuan, a deputy chief of Taiwan's China policy-making body, known as the Mainland Affairs Council, said the decision sent a clear signal ''that the Chinese Communist Party does not allow genuine democracy''
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Beijing Taxis Are Rigged for Eavesdropping
Beijing - Tens of thousands of taxi drivers in Beijing have a tool that could become part of China's all-out security campaign for the Olympic Games. Their vehicles have microphones -- installed ostensibly for driver safety -- that can be used to listen to passengers remotely.

The tiny listening devices, which are connected to a global positioning system able to track a cab's location by satellite, have been installed in almost all of the city's 70,000 taxis...
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Outspoken '06 Medalist Cheek Has Visa Revoked
The Chinese government on Tuesday revoked the visa of 2006 Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek, effectively barring the speedskating champion and social activist from attending the 2008 Beijing Games. Cheek is co-founder of Team Darfur, an organization composed of athletes attempting to draw attention to human-rights violations in Darfur.
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[NBC and its multiple affiliates plan to give this totalitarian regime over six thousand hours of global propaganda. How proud. Do you plan to watch?]

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What bias?

Nets Lend Credibility to 'Bombshell' Iraq Deception Allegations

CBS, NBC, MSNBC and CNN all jumped Tuesday to publicize the claims in a new book by a left-wing journalist, Ron Suskind, that President Bush knew before the war Iraq had no WMD and that to justify the war the administration forged a letter to prove a connection between Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaeda.

The journalists were unfazed by denials from former CIA Director George Tenet, nor the fact the alleged letter couldn't have impacted the public before the war since it didn't become public until nine months into the war.

The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes undermined Suskind's allegations as he observed, on the magazine's blog:

To believe Suskind's account...you would have to believe: 1) that the Bush administration ordered the CIA, in writing, to forge a letter that was a rather obvious hoax; 2) that the CIA, hostile to the Bush administration and leaking against it at every turn, eagerly complied.

If the Bush administration went to the trouble of manufacturing such evidence isn't it likely they would have used it?

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[nonetheless...]

CNN Highlights Viewer Who Wants Bush 'Executed for Treason'

Deciding to showcase the allegations in Ron Suskind's new book which “says President Bush committed an impeachable offense” by ordering “the CIA to forge a letter to bolster his case for the war in Iraq,” CNN's Jack Cafferty posed as one of his “Cafferty File” questions on Tuesday: “What does it mean, do you suppose, if the White House did, in fact, order the CIA to forge a letter in order to bolster its case for the war in Iraq?”

"Bush, Cheney, et cetera deserved to be clapped in irons, held for trial and executed for treason."

Fellow anchor Wolf Blitzer marveled: “We're just hearing now, Jack, that there may be an effort in the Congress to now go ahead and have some hearings on this explosive, explosive charge.”

Both Cafferty and Blitzer's segments presumed the accuracy of Suskind's claims without question.

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Nannyism run amok

From the People's Republic of Cambridge to the west Texas town of El Paso, a paternalistic wave has been sweeping the country, says Reason.

To find the best and worst cities for exercising personal freedom, Reason ranked the 35 most populous municipalities in the United States in eight areas: alcohol, tobacco, sex, guns, gambling, drugs, freedom of movement, food and "other." The higher a city's score, the more restrictive it is. Here are the results:

• Chicago, ranked 35, is the most restrictive city in the United States; their litany of meddlesome laws include taxes on bottled water, a public smoking ban and a ban on serving foie gras in restaurants.
• Seattle, ranked 34, has long had an unhealthy strain of nannyism; smoking is banned in all public places.
• New York, ranked 33, is also heavily restrictive; the city has banned using trans fats in restaurant cooking oil, required fast food chains to show calorie content on their menus and fines citizens for trivial offenses such as sitting improperly on milk crates.
• San Francisco, ranked 20, has banned plastic bags in supermarkets, mandated the size of pets' water bowls and required psychics to obtain licenses. [er, what's the exam for that?]

Las Vegas, ranked 1, is the least-restrictive city in the United States' most tolerant state; alcohol restrictions are virtually nonexistent and prostitution is legalized. [Vivaaaaaa, Los- sorry]

[think there's a bottom to this slippery slope that magically flattens out? it won't stop until stopped]

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Los Angeles wants to take bite out of fast food

LOS ANGELES - In the impoverished neighborhood of South Los Angeles, fast food is the easiest cuisine to find — and that's a problem for elected officials who see it as an unhealthy source of calories and cholesterol. The City Council was poised to vote Tuesday on a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants...

[government {evidently at all levels} is becoming our parents - always at the cost of individual choice]

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Some good news...

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Texas defies World Court with execution

DALLAS - Texas defied the World Court and executed a Mexican national by lethal injection on Tuesday over the objections of the international judicial body and neighboring Mexico. (snip) The World Court's jurisdiction also does not reach Texas, a state where authorities generally don't like outsiders telling them what to do.

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Dem and Dumber in Ohio

Democratic congressional candidate Mary Jo Kilroy sent a look-alike to rural parade. Much like Saddam Hussein, Ohio 15th congressional district Democratic candidate Mary Jo Kilroy uses body doubles when she tires of having to deal with all of the little people she intends to represent.

Such was the case last week when Kilroy sent her campaign body double to represent her at the Plain City Steam Thresher parade. Apparently the Amish-dominated city was too tough a crowd for Kilroy to handle.

The Ohio 15th district seat is one that Democrats are hoping to pick up this November from Republicans, with longtime incumbent Rep. Deborah Pryce retiring.

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