Attacks in Iraq down 55%

The Washington Post is reporting that attacks in Iraq against civilians and the US military have declined 55% over the last nine months:
[snip]
Make no mistake. Iraq is still not a garden spot of peace and tranquility.
But by now, even the press can't ignore the huge turnaround in the security situation not to mention the continuing improvement in the effectiveness of Iraqi police and army units.
[snip]
It remains to be seen whether the Democrats will recognize what is going on in Iraq and stop being obstructionists over funding for the war and give the military what it needs to continue its successful operations.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/11/attacks_in_iraq_down_55.html

As Col. Roberts put it, "Micro-everything is good." Our troopers have backed micro-projects, such as community generators, awarded micro-grants to jump-start street-level commerce, and favored a ground-up version of capitalism, rather than the administration's dysfunctional marriage of profits at home and socialism in Iraq.

The Iraqis get their batteries charged. Once. Then it's up to them to make their neighborhood - and their country - work. Lt. Col. Jeff Peterson, 1-14's commander, adds that the "spontaneous economic development" that followed the establishment of security and face-to-face engagement with the population has been inspiring.
[snip]
So why don't you hear more about our military's successes? It goes beyond the old media dictum that "if it bleeds, it leads."

Plenty of journalists have staked their reps on our predicted failure in Iraq - and they hate the reversal of fortune the surge is achieving.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08312007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/back_from_hell.htm?page=0

Somali Islamists vow to fight peacekeepers

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Islamist gunmen patrolled Kismayo, a key southern port, on Monday, vowing to impose strict sharia law just hours after they seized the town in a new threat to Somalia's weak government. Hundreds of turbaned, heavily armed fighters on "battlewagons" -- machine-gun mounted pick-ups -- took up positions in and around Kismayo as the country's powerful Islamist movement hailed the overnight takeover, witnesses said.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=284861&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/

Flight 93 Memorial: Screw You, America

Michell Malkin is outraged (rightly) that the Red Crescent is back on the Flight 93 memorial to the Americans on that flight who were murdered by the 9/11 hijackers. It is an outrage.

Writes Michelle,

"Tons of you are stunned, outraged, and sickened by the new Flight 93 Memorial, the "Crescent of Embrace." I called the architect responsible for the redesign, Paul Murdoch of Los Angeles, yesterday for comment. He did not return my call..."

Take a look at Michelle's site. And call up your Congress critters, the sleazoid architect, and the President. [president@whitehouse.gov and comments@whitehouse.gov ]

This is a slap in the face, and no one can doubt that it's deliberate. Our enemies take Muslim symbols with deadly seriousness. They will see this as a triumph for jihad, and a surrender by America.

[it's not the simple 'c' it first appears, it's a tapering crescent immediately reminiscent of only one symbol. of the infinite number of shapes available, how could its choice be a coincidence?]

http://michellemalkin.com/2005/09/10/flight-93-memorial-seeing-is-believing/

'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

Obstacles to 21st Century socialism in Venezuela

President Hugo Chavez's ambitious project to bring "21st Century socialism" to Venezuela is running into obstacles -- easy cash, corruption and an expanding class of citizens who are growing rich by exploiting economic distortions. Chavez promised a revolution when he won his first election in 1998. Since his third election victory in December, he has pledged to accelerate Venezuela's transformation into a society where a "new man" is free of selfish urges and devoted to the common good.

[advanced warning: expect a rash of articles exalting how well socialism is working in Venezuela. It always does - for the first decade or so while past spoils of private industry are consumed by the populace. It's the 2nd decade where the lack of investment starts showing signs of decay - by the third decade, full decline. History's ran this movie time and again - that's why it's called 'unsustainable']

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=964842007

UK cancer survival rate lowest in Europe

Cancer survival rates in Britain are among the lowest in Europe, according to the most comprehensive analysis of the issue yet produced. England is on a par with Poland despite the NHS spending three times more on health care. Survival rates are based on the number of patients who are alive five years after diagnosis and researchers found that England was the fifth worst in a league of 22 countries. Experts blamed late diagnosis and long waiting lists.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=ALDQAFHLW3BERQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/08/21/ncancer121.xml

Katrina collects a bundle

The flow of federal dollars to the Gulf Coast two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the region already exceeds what the U.S. spent on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II. President Bush and Congress have committed more than $127 billion in resources and tax relief for the region — significantly more than inflation-adjusted $107.6 billion directed to 16 countries in Europe between 1947 and 1951.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070830/NATION/108300092/1001

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. . . [recommended...>] http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070820/EDITORIAL/108200006/1013/editorial

Blaming Americans again

Liberals are using the concept of Anthropogenic Global Warming to advance their favorite causes, and that the whole War of the Worlds AGW scare is a tool to that end. This piece in LiveScience.com certainly buttresses that opinion. The Left has traditionally hated Americans eating red meat and driving their cars, and now we are told that, in order to ``save the planet`` we should eschew both.
[snip]
As for fighting obesity and global warming by walking and cycling, don't expect people to do it easily, said Kristie Ebi. She's a Virginia public health consultant and one of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
[snip]
Now, why did the IPCC [International Panel on Climate Change] need a public health consultant, and why was she one of the "leading authors" of the IPCC? Does it not seem obvious that transforming our way of life is the critical point of all this? Can any informed person continue to doubt that this issue is primarily a political power grab?

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/11/blaming_americans_again.html

Medved on 'Redacted': 'It Could Be the Worst Movie I've Ever Seen'

"It could be the worst movie I've ever seen" ... "[T]he out and out worst, most disgusting, most hateful, most incompetent, most revolting, most loathsome, most reprehensible cinematic work I have ever encountered." ... "It portrays the members of our Marine Corps in the most disgusting way imaginable." ... "This film is an atrocity. It is zero stars." ... "I honestly was close to vomiting when I saw the film." ... "It is a slander on the United States of America." ... "Everyone associated with this film ought to be ashamed." ... "Will it inspire future terrorists? Of course it will!"

That's prominent movie critic Michael Medved on the new film "Redacted." Lest anyone think that Bill O'Reilly's recent outrage over the film is an overreaction, Medved tells Bill, "It's worse than you think."

Johnny Dollar's Place has the must-hear audio.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/dave-pierre/2007/11/18/medved-redacted-it-could-be-worst-movie-ive-ever-seen

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

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Iraqi Government Assumes Control of Country’s 7th Division

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The Iraqi government has assumed command of a major unit from the country’s army, a sign of continued improvement in Iraq’s armed force. The 7th Iraqi Army Division is responsible for security along the western Euphrates River Valley, with three brigades operating across the region.
[snip]
The 7th Division is the newest Iraqi army division and the last of 10 to transfer to command and control by Iraqi Ground Forces Command. The 1st Division, responsible for security in the greater Fallujah area and one of Iraq's most seasoned units, transitioned to the command’s control in February.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48027

Troop Surge, Iraqis’ Anger Puts al Qaeda ‘On the Run’

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2007 – A combination of unceasing pressure by U.S. and Iraqi security forces and citizens’ anger at al Qaeda in Iraq’s brutal tactics have put the terror group “on the run,” a senior U.S. military officer said today. “The targeting of (al Qaeda in Iraq) leadership and their networks has contributed to the downward trend in violence we are seeing across Iraq,” the admiral said.
<>
Iraqi security forces are gaining in numbers and effectiveness and are increasingly taking the lead during anti-insurgent operations, Smith said. Iraqi commandos recently captured an entire group of terrorists during a raid west of Ramadi, he said. “The precision operation captured all four primary targets in this cell and four other suspects.”
<>
More than 67,000 concerned Iraqi citizen-volunteers also are contributing in the fight against the terrorists, Smith said. As a result, al Qaeda operatives in Iraq are “on the run,” Smith observed. The insurgents realize they have dwindling maneuvering room, he said, and “the Iraqi people are just not going to put up” with them.

(Video) http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48074

Democrats Set for Next Effort To Block Surge

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Democrats in Congress will begin on Wednesday the next phase in the battle for Iraq by unveiling the latest challenge to the military's contention that the surge in Iraq has brought some success. On September 5, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing to discuss a report from the Government Accountability Office that contends Iraqi security services have not improved and key political benchmarks have not been met.

[as opposed to the plethora of political benchmarks achieved by our legislature...]

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=61665&v=3886558811

Suppressing the Good News from Iraq

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Last month, Michael O’Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack, who have in the past been critical of the President’s handling of the mission in Iraq, wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times in which they stated, “Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms."

The reaction to the O’Hanlon and Pollack piece from liberal bloggers was fierce. It is healthy to question opposing opinions, but many on the left did not seem interested in giving the claims of O’Hanlon and Pollack any serious consideration whatsoever.

A fellow blogger at Wizbang said of the reaction, “Forgetting for a moment the value of the assessment by the two authors, the value of the piece as a way of outing defeatist liberals remains unrivaled. The [extreme among] liberals in this country are so deranged that good news in Iraq is now considered bad news. Rather than being pleased that we might be making progress and hopeful for American success, the liberals in this country are actively -and near openly- hoping for defeat. But don't question their patriotism. They support the troops.”
[snip]
If the report contains any reference to progress or any glimmer of hope for the mission in Iraq, expect it to be attacked viciously by those on the anti-war Left. Good news in Iraq is bad news for those opposed to the war and there will be an all-out effort to deny or diminish any news that does not support their demands for immediate withdrawal and no consideration will be made to the consequences of ignoring the latest reports from the region. Can I question their patriotism yet?

http://townhall.com/columnists/LorieByrd/2007/08/31/suppressing_the_good_news_from_iraq