Wednesday - October 04, 2006

Collaborators

We haven’t picked on the Fwench in a while. It’s time to pay a visit to Lebanon and Iran and see what the Frogs are up to. Not surprisingly, Robert Tracinski finds the Fwench up to their usual tricks ...

It’s Not a World War Until…
-by Robert Tracinski, The Intellectual Activist

The joke going around the Internet is that it’s not a World War until France surrenders. But I disagree. I think it’s not really a World War until the French become collaborators—a moment that has now fully arrived.

TIA Daily reader Jonathan Cargan sent me a story about an Iranian attempt to draft the French into a scheme in which French technicians would help enrich uranium inside Iran for use by the Iranians—a scheme that, sadly, sounds like one the French might embrace.

Meanwhile, TIA Daily reader Erik Driessens sent me the link below (from DEBKAfile, a site run by folks with lots of contacts within Israeli intelligence), which provides photos of French “peacekeepers” in Lebanon blocking Israeli tanks to keep them from attacking Hezbollah fighters who had just raided an Israeli armory. The French are now acting as allies of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“French Tanks Obstruct Israeli Tanks over Suspected Hizballah Robbery of Israeli Weapons Store,” DEBKAfile, October 3

The south Lebanese village of Merwahin was the stage Thursday, Sept, 28 of the first near-showdown between UN and Israeli forces. DEBKAfile publishes here the first photo of an encounter between 4 French Leclerc and at least 5 Israeli Merkava tanks in that Lebanese village.

Despite the photographic evidence, Israel officially denies the incident. DEBKAfile reports the French force sought to prevent the Israeli unit from combing through the Hizballah-dominated village in search of the raiders who crossed into Israel and broke into the IDF’s Kibbutz Shomera arms store last week. They made off with a large quantity of side-arms, anti-tank weapons, LAU rockets, and hundreds of combat grenades, which the Israeli force was determined to recover.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/04/2006 at 12:05 PM   
Filed Under: • EUro-peons • Middle-East •  
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Smoke And Mirrors

Let me see if I’ve got this straight, OK? (1) There are only 34 days left until the November elections. (2) The Democrats have nothing to offer voters on Iraq, the economy, health care, education or social security - except criticism of Republicans. (3) President Bush’s poll numbers are climbing. (4) Bill Clinton just had to go and make an ass of himself on national TV, embaressing the whole Democratic party. Does that about cover it?

So .... why are we sudddenly told about a Republican congressman pedophile that Democrats and Republicans knew about for the last ten months? Why does Bob Woodward suddenly have a new book out that slams the Bush administration? Why are the usual suspects on the Looney Left suddenly so quiet (Dean, Kerry, Kennedy, Pelosi, Murtha, most of Hollywood)? Why are we suddenly told that Condaleeza Rice was briefed by the CIA about Bin Laden only months before 9/11?

Hello? Am I the only one paying attention here? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re getting bamboozled by the Democrats again! They’re up to their same old dirty tricks. No message, no plan, no alternative so ... distract the voters with smoke and mirrors. They pulled this same s**t before, remember? Go back to 2004 and the release of “Fahrenheit 911” and “Rathergate” right before the election. Are you starting to get a clue yet?

Mark Foley is a creep and deserves to have his ass kicked (and he will) but the timing is what bothers me ... and it should you too. Why do we have to go through this same crap every time there is a major election? While Republican candidates talk about issues like security, the economy, education, health care, and other things we ordinary people are concerned about, the Democrats ignore the issues and suddenly expose scandals and hire journalists and other media figureheads to stir up the public with trash-talk and sleaze?

America, if you buy into this crap for even one second then you’ll get exactly the kind of useless, hypocritical, underhanded, devious politicians you deserve. You and I are being hoodwinked by a gang of Liberal losers who have no plan other than to regain power.

Don’t believe it? Then ask one of them to define his or her plan for fighting terrorism, or reducing our dependence on foreign oil, or creating more jobs, or reducing health care costs. The only answer you’ll get is a blank stare ... right before they point over your shoulder and yell, “LOOK! There goes another GOPervert!”

On November 7th, you will have a choice. You can either be a complete idiot and swallow all this crap or you can prove to the Donks that you’re not as stupid as they think you are. I’ve already made my choice ... and it doesn’t include being stupid in any way, shape or form ....

_{Mike Lester - The Rome News-Tribune (Georgia)}

Did Democrats Page Mark Foley?
_{(INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY) - Mon Oct 2, 7:00 PM ET}

Scandal: Right after Mark Foley was revealed to have had inappropriate e-mail conversations with a 16-year-old page, he resigned and checked into rehab. Now, what did Democrats know, and when did they know it? Yes, you read that right: the Democrats. It’s of course clear that Foley, a Republican representative from Florida, resigned for good cause. We don’t defend him or his inexcusable behavior—good riddance.

But it didn’t take long at all after Foley’s resignation for the Democrats to call for an investigation of the entire Republican leadership in the House, charging that GOP stalwarts knew early on that Foley, as they like to say in the rehab business, had a “problem.” Democrats have begun losing their once-significant lead in the polls, and a mere five weeks remain until the midterm elections. Is this scandal the Democrats’ own “October Surprise,” meant to throw the GOP into a tailspin shortly before the vote?

Recent polls show Democrats aren’t doing very well on several key issues. What better way than a good, old-fashioned sex scandal to get people’s minds off such things as the importance of winning the war in Iraq, our ongoing vulnerability to terrorist attack and the necessity of keeping the Bush economic boom going? As it is, Republicans deny knowing about the explicit text messages that Foley sent to a 16-year-old congressional page back in 2003. In repudiating Foley, House Speaker Dennis Hastert called the messages “vile and repulsive.”

Despite this, the immediate take by Democrats and much of the mainstream media was that this was a classic example of Republican hypocrisy—talking “morals” and “values” while all the time shielding a child predator. But it was nothing of the kind.

If anything, the episode reveals the Democrats’ hypocrisy about their own behavior. The fact that Foley resigned virtually within minutes of being told that ABC News had copies of his salacious e-mails and text messages indicates he at least felt shame for his actions. Can the same be said for Democrats?

Sadly, it doesn’t seem so. How else can you explain the following? In 1983, then-Democratic Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachusetts was caught in a similar situation. In his case, Studds had sex with a male teenage page - something Foley hasn’t been charged with. Did Studds express contrition? Resign? Quite the contrary. He rejected Congress’ censure of him and continued to represent his district until his retirement in 1996.

In 1989, Rep. Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record), also of Massachusetts, admitted he’d lived with Steve Gobie, a male prostitute who ran a gay sex-for-hire ring out of Frank’s apartment. Frank, it was later discovered, used his position to fix 33 parking tickets for Gobie. What happened to Frank? The House voted 408-18 to reprimand him—a slap on the wrist. Today he’s an honored Democratic member of Congress, much in demand as a speaker and “conscience of the party.”

In 2001, President Clinton, who had his own intern problem, commuted the prison sentence of Illinois Rep. Mel Reynolds, who had sex with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer and pressured her to lie about it. (Reynolds also was convicted of campaign spending violations.)

You get the idea. Democrats not only seem OK with the kind of behavior for which Foley is charged, but also they protect and excuse it. Only when it’s a Republican do they proclaim themselves shocked—shocked!—when it comes to light. We have a lot more questions about this whole affair.

The timing of the revelations, as we noted, couldn’t be more propitious for the Democrats. Turns out both the Democrats and several newspapers seem to have known about Foley’s problem as far back as November, according to research by several enterprising blogs.

Why didn’t they come forward then? Who dredged up these e-mails—and why did they hold them until now? This reeks of political trickery. We’re glad Foley’s gone. He betrayed Congress, his party and the trust of the 33 pages who serve in Congress, and their parents. He behaved immorally, and we won’t be surprised at new revelations. That said, if this scandal is the Democrats’ answer to their problems at the polls, it’s pretty pathetic. It shows a base contempt for the voters.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/04/2006 at 03:00 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists •  
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Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

The first “Oktoberfest” took place on October 12, 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (hence: “Theresienwiese") organized a great horse race (the marriage took place on October 12th, the horse race on October 17th, therefore there are different dates named as being the first Oktoberfest).

In the year 1813, the Oktoberfest was called off as Bavaria was involved in the Napoleonic war. In 1816, carnival booths appeared. The main prizes were silver, porcelain, and jewelry. In 1819, The town fathers of Munich took over festival management. They decided that the Oktoberfest should be celebrated every year without exception.

In 1854, 3,000 residents of Munich succumbed to an epidemic of cholera, so the festival was canceled. Also, in the year 1866, there was no Oktoberfest as Bavaria fought in the Austro-Prussian War. In 1870, the Franco-German war was the reason for cancelation of the festival.

In the year 1880, the city government approved the sale of beer. The electric light illuminated over 400 booths and tents. In 1881, booths selling bratwursts opened. In 1892, beer was first served in glass mugs.

At the end of the 1900’s, a re-organization took place. Until then, there were games of skittles, large dance floors, and trees for climbing in the beer booths. They wanted more room for guests and musicians. The booths became beer halls.

From 1914 through 1918, World War I prevented the celebration of Oktoberfest. In 1919 and 1920, the two years after the war, Munich celebrated only an “Autumn Fest.” In 1923 and 1924, the Oktoberfest was not held due to inflation. In 1933, the Bavarian white and blue flag was replaced with the standard swastika flag

From 1939 to 1945, due to World War II, no Oktoberfest took place. From 1946 to 1948, after the war, Munich once again celebrated only the “Autumn Fest.” The sale of proper Oktoberfest beer was not permitted. The guests had to make do with beer that had an alcohol content under 2%. Since its beginnings the Oktoberfest has thus been canceled 24 times due to war, disease and other emergencies.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/04/2006 at 12:19 AM   
Filed Under: • History •  
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   Tuesday - October 03, 2006

Through The Looking Glass

“Saber Oath”

BAGHDAD – Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, stand under Baghdad’s Crossed Sabers monument after a ceremony in which they re-enlisted in the Army Sept. 17.

-- U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Ramey, 2nd BCT PAO, 1st Arm. Div.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/03/2006 at 05:08 PM   
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Hijack!

Turkish Jet Hijackers Surrender
_{(BBC) - Tuesday, 3 October 2006, 20:03 GMT 21:03 UK}

Two men who hijacked a Turkish airliner flying from Tirana to Istanbul have surrendered after the Boeing 737 landed at Brindisi in southern Italy. The motive for their action is unclear, with conflicting reports of either a protest against the Pope or an attempt to seek asylum in Italy. Reports say Italian fighter planes forced the airliner to land.

All the Turkish Airlines plane’s 107 passengers - including beauty contest entrants - are said to be unhurt. The hijackers were reported to have been protesting against the Pope’s planned visit to Turkey in November. However, confirming the surrender, Brindisi Police Chief Salvatore De Paolis told Reuters news agency that the two men wanted political asylum.

A Greek defence official who spoke to Reuters said the plane had entered Greek air space at 1758 (1458 GMT) and four Greek fighters had been scrambled to escort it. The Italian air force in turn sent up two F-16s to intercept the plane, and reportedly forced it to land. Both hijackers are said by Turkish media to be Turks. Candan Karlitekin, chairman of Turkish Airlines’ board of directors, said no-one had been hurt and the hijackers had apparently not threatened passengers.

Asked if the hijacking was a protest against the papal visit, Mr Karliteken told Turkish TV channel NTV: “The cockpit was told that it was a protest of this nature.” A speech by Pope Benedict XVI, in which he quoted a 14th-Century Byzantine emperor who had suggested a link between Islam and violence, sparked angry protests in Turkey and other mainly Muslim countries last month.

But Turkish television later said one of the hijackers had converted to Christianity and was a conscientious objector, Reuters reports. It said he had sent a letter to the Pope in late August, asking for his help to avoid compulsory military service in Turkey. It quoted the letter as reading: “I am a Christian and I do not want to serve in a Muslim army.”

 
 
 
Contestants in an international beauty pageant, Globe International 2006, were among the passengers, according to the Albanian event’s press spokesman. Miss India, Miss Singapore, Miss Malaysia and Miss Philippines were on the flight, the spokesman told the BBC’s Asian Network.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/03/2006 at 03:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Middle-East • Odd-Strange • Terrorists •  
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Bill Clinton Rebuked!

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/03/2006 at 02:00 PM   
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Sleeping With The Enemy

I am dumbstruck. It seems the GOP is determined to be just as self-destructive as the Donks this time. Bill First has obviously lost his mind. Although he later attempted damage control this morning by saying he was misquoted, I ain’t buying it. Something is going on within the ranks of the GOP when this many of them get weird right before an election. Are the Donks poisoning the water in Washington? Does Howard Dean now have a Lefty version of Karl Rove’s mind-altering raygun? WTF is going on?

I can’t imagine what would have happened in the Spring of 1945 if some Senator had said we should bring the Nazis into a new German government because Hitler’s minions could never be entirely defeated. There would probably have been a lot of tar and feathers involved and possibly the use of a tall tree and a short rope. Somebody needs to ‘splain this to me. I’m at a loss here .... and so is the GOP if they keep this s**t up ....

Frist: Taliban Should Be In Afghan Government
_{QALAT, Afghanistan (AP) — Oct. 2, 2006, 6:56PM}

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Monday that the Afghan war against Taliban guerrillas can never be won militarily and urged support for efforts to bring “people who call themselves Taliban” and their allies into the government. The Tennessee Republican said he learned from briefings that Taliban fighters were too numerous and had too much popular support to be defeated on the battlefield.

“You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government,” Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. “And if that’s accomplished, we’ll be successful.” Afghanistan is suffering its heaviest insurgent attacks since a U.S.-led military force toppled the Taliban in late 2001 for harboring al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

According to an Associated Press count, based on reports from U.S., NATO and Afghan officials, at least 2,800 people have been killed nationwide so far this year. The count, which includes militants and civilians, is about 1,300 more than the toll for all of 2005. The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, told Pentagon reporters last month that while the Taliban enemy in Afghanistan is not extremely strong, their numbers and influence have grown in some southern sections of the country.

President Bush has been criticized for his handling of the war and is trying to contain the damage ahead of midterm elections this fall. On Friday, Bush acknowledged setbacks in the training of Afghan police to fight against the Taliban resurgence but predicted eventual victory. Frist said asking the Taliban to join the government was a decision to be made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai’s spokesmen were not immediately able to be reached for comment.

Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida accompanying Frist on his trip, said negotiating with the Taliban was not “out of the question” but that fighters who refused to join the political process would have to be defeated. “A political solution is how it’s all going to be solved,” he said. Frist said he had hoped the U.S. would be able to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan soon. But he said the 20,000 U.S. troops in the country are still needed to support the NATO alliance, which will assume direct control over most military operations here.

“We’re going to need to stay here a long time,” Frist said. The senator said he was warned to expect attacks to increase. There appears to be an “unlimited flow” of Afghans and foreigners “willing to pick up arms and integrate themselves with the Taliban,” he said. He said the only way to win in places like the volatile southern part of the country is to “assimilate people who call themselves Taliban into a larger, more representative government. Approaching counterinsurgency by winning hearts and minds will ultimately be the answer,” Frist said. “Military versus insurgency one-to-one doesn’t sound like it can be won. It sounds to me ... that the Taliban is everywhere.”

- More on the madness here ...

Blogs who are covering this:

- Ace Of Spades

- Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller

- Captain’s Quarters

- Townhall

- Hotair (Allahpundit)

- IMAO

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/03/2006 at 09:22 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics • Terrorists •  
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Meltdown?

The Democrats and their Liberal base are gleefully clapping their hands over the Foley Incident. We even have a retarded member here who left a comment about the meltdown and requested pictures of Oktoberfest as a distraction. Maybe I’ll get to the blonde babes in liederhosen later. For now, let’s take a look at what’s going on.

First, the Democrats haven’t got a leg to stand on when it comes to sexual scandals or just scandals in general. Think Ted Kennedy or Gary Hart or Gary Condit or ... (drum roll) ... Bill “Old Stained Blue Dress” Clinton. Speaking of Beelzebubba, he is the big reason why the Democrats and their partners in crime are so happy - now they can throw the whole “sex scandal” thing back in Republicans’ faces. The rocks are piled up outside their glass houses.

The problem is that sex scandals do hurt Republicans because the party base is mainly composed of conservatives who believe in family values and real personal morality. Democrats don’t have this problem. Their liberal base thinks that elected officials having sex with the hired help (pages, interns) is perfectly acceptable, that renting out the Lincoln Bedroom is no big deal, that perverts and sexual predators are normal.

That is why Ted Kennedy can get drunk, have a fling with a young woman, drown her and walk away without hurting his political career in the least. It also explains why the Left is so quick to defend Bill Clinton for his “cigar games” with interns. Republicans can’t get away with this kind of bad behavior because the people who vote for them expect their elected officials to be responsible, morally honest people.

So is the “Foley Affair” going to hurt Republicans? Probably so - but before you start to count the GOP out in the upcoming election, consider the alternative: an even worse bunch of idiots who are completely without ethics and are morally bankrupt to boot. Add to that the fact that Democrats have so far offered nothing of substance this election year except to scream over and over again, “WE’RE NOT REPUBLICANS!”

So remember this when you go to vote next month. You are going to vote, aren’t you? The worst mistake you could make is to stay home and decide that none of them are worth voting for. If you do that, then the Donks win by default because I can guarantee you they will be mobilizing their base to get out and vote - even if they’re dead or in jail.

_{Michael Ramirez - Investors Business Daily}

After Foley, New Fears For the GOP
Some Say Party Could Lose House and Senate
_{(WASHINGTON POST) - Tuesday, October 3, 2006}

Republican strategists said yesterday that public revulsion over the sexually graphic online conversations between Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla. - pictured at right) and former House pages could compound the party’s problems enough to tip the House to the Democrats in November—and could jeopardize the party’s hold on the Senate as well.

As House GOP leaders defended their role in handling revelations that forced Foley on Friday to give up his House seat, party strategists said the scandal threatens to depress turnout among Christian conservatives and could hamper efforts to convince undecided and swing voters that Republicans deserve to remain in the majority. There was intense anger among social conservative activists in Washington yesterday, and some called for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to resign.

Republican operatives closely following the battle for the House and Senate said that they are virtually ready to concede nearly a third of the 15 seats the Democrats need to recapture control of the House, and that they will spend the next five weeks trying to shelter other vulnerable incumbents from the fallout of the Foley scandal in hopes of salvaging a slender majority.

Districts in which Republicans have effectively walked off the field include Foley’s own in South Florida. House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a radio interview with conservative commentator Sean Hannity that the party’s replacement candidate is all but doomed. Because of ballot procedures in Florida, “to vote for this candidate, you have to vote for Mark Foley,” Boehner said. “How many people are going to hold their nose to do that?”

Others warned that the impact could be much greater. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and an important social conservative leader, said “there’s a real chance” that the episode could dethrone the Republican majority. “I think the next 48 hours are critical in how this is handled,” he said, adding that “when a party holds itself out as the guardian of values, this is not helpful.”

Foley’s sudden resignation came at the end of a week that had delivered a series of blows to Republican hopes in November. A National Intelligence Estimate asserted that the war in Iraq is fueling new threats from Islamic jihadists faster than the United States and allies can contain them, then a new book by Bob Woodward of The Washington Post said the administration’s private assessments of Iraq are far worse than officials are telling the public. Taken together, GOP strategists said, the events of the past 10 days reversed what some Republicans had seen as a modest rebound in September after the worst days of the summer.

By yesterday, a number of GOP strategists reported widespread gloom about the party’s prospects, combined with intense anger at the House leadership. Joe Gaylord, who was the top adviser to Newt Gingrich (Ga.) when Republicans seized control of the House in 1994, was pessimistic about the party’s midterm prospects. He said the fallout from Foley’s resignation comes “very close” to ensuring a Democratic victory in November.

“The part that causes the greatest fallout is the obvious kind of pall that an incident like this would put on our hardest-core voters, who are evangelical Christians,” he said. “The thing I have said almost since this cycle began is the real worry you have is that [Republicans] just won’t turn out. This is one more nail in that coffin.”

Depressed turnout would not only hurt vulnerable House incumbents but also make it more difficult for Republicans to hold the most competitive Senate seats—many of those races are now virtually even, according to recent polling.

Hastert faces a spreading revolt among some conservatives over the way he and other GOP leaders handled the matter when first alerted to the contact between Foley and one former House page. Hastert said again yesterday that no House Republican leader knew about the most graphic communications until they surfaced on Friday, but that did little to satisfy some conservative activists.

David Bossie, who runs a group called Citizens United, called yesterday for Hastert’s resignation and said other conservative leaders are likely to follow suit. Bossie said the initial e-mails alone, which included Foley’s request of a minor’s picture, should have prompted an immediate inquiry. “That was a cry for an investigation,” Bossie said. “Why couldn’t the speaker of the House muster the will to stop this?”

Leaders from about six dozen socially conservative groups held a conference call late yesterday afternoon, and participants were described as livid with House GOP leaders. “They are outraged by how Hastert handled this,” said Paul M. Weyrich, a conservative activist who participated in the call. “They feel let down, left aside. How can they allow a guy like [Foley] to remain chairman of the committee on missing and exploited children when there is any question about e-mails?”

Vin Weber, a GOP lobbyist close to the White House and to congressional leaders, said many Republicans outside of Washington are echoing Bossie. “From what I hear, it is resonating badly and our candidates are on the defensive about this,” Weber said. “The maddening thing about this is if they had done the right thing” by informing Democrats early on and investigating it fully, “there would be no political fallout,” he said.

- More on the meltdown at WAPO...

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/03/2006 at 04:48 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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Hiding Out

This post originated with Robert Tracinski at The Intellectual Activist and today’s TIA Daily report. Tracinski notes:

He goes on to point out an excellent editorial on the subject by Victor Davis Hanson at NRO Online entitled “Traitors To The Enlightenment”:

_{“Critical Mass” -by- Cox & Forkum}

French Philosophy Teacher Forced Into Hiding After Op-Ed on Islam
_{Paris (CNSNews.com) - October 02, 2006}

A French philosophy teacher has been forced to leave his home and go into hiding after publishing an op-ed piece in the French daily Le Figaro that criticized Islam and the prophet Muhammed. Robert Redeker, a published author, wrote on September 19 that “the Koran is a book of extraordinary violence” and Islam is a religion that “exalts violence.” Comparing Islam to Chritianity, he wrote: “Jesus is a master of love, Muhammed is a master of hatred.”

That day’s issue of the newspaper was banned in Tunisia, and a commentator on Al Jazeera television criticized Redeker. An Islamic website linked to al Qaeda published Redeker’s photo, phone number and address, with directions. Last Friday, interviewed on Europe 1 radio, Redeker said that he and his family had received numerous death threats by e-mail and phone. He said he has been forced to leave his high school teaching job near the southern French city of Toulouse.

In his commentary, Redeker wrote that the Koran revealed the prophet Mohammed as a “warlord without pity, a pillager, someone who massacres Jews and a polygamist. Hatred and violence reside in the book by which all Muslims are educated, the Koran,” he wrote. Redeker said that Islam was trying “to impose its rules on Europe” by - for example—asking swimming pools to have special hours for women only and forbidding caricatures of Islam.

“Islam is trying to force Europe to bend to its vision of mankind. As in the past with communism, the West finds itself under ideological surveillance,” he wrote. A research specialist on Islam told Cybercast News Service that while the vast majority of Muslims condemned the death threats, the piece was insulting and had elicited a radical reaction because it hurt sensibilities.

“Does speaking of the prophet as a pillager and as an exterminator of Jews enrich the debate? I don’t think so,” said Khadija Moshen-Finan, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in Paris. “Even for us Muslims, who say repeatedly that we must debate about the contents of Islam and its evolution in relation to today’s international context, these types of articles are not helpful, because they are injurious and are not open to debate.”

Moshen-Finan said that when she read the commentary, she concluded that it was just a bad article. “But bad articles should not be censored. I don’t think so,” she added. Redeker has been placed under police protection, but he said during the radio interview that he was forced to make his own arrangements in finding safe houses each night.

He said he is no longer able to move around freely and that the Islamic radicals who had threatened him had “succeeded in punishing” him. He felt that he was a victim of the things he’s denounced, and he complained that he felt abandoned by the government. The education minister, Gilles de Robien, said he felt “solidarity” with Redeker but warned that “government employees must show prudence and moderation.” Redeker said his piece was not meant to attack Islam but only certain violent aspects of the religion.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/03/2006 at 04:12 AM   
Filed Under: • EUro-peons • RoPMA •  
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   Monday - October 02, 2006

Through The Looking Glass

Have you ever wondered what the Panama Canal looks like from 438 miles straight up? I’m glad you asked. This photo was taken by NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite which Google used to create their Desktop Earth. You can find a high resolution (2500x2500 3.0MB) version of this shot here. The Panama Canal is facing a severe environmental problem and Al Gore doesn’t care. Read here about how deforestation is removing the canal’s water supply. Here’s the info on Landsat ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/02/2006 at 04:04 PM   
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Under Pressure

In case you’ve been hiding in a cave with Al Qaeda lately, the Donks and the Looney Liberals among us have donned their hunting gear, grabbed their popguns and water pistols and in their best Elmer Fudd voice whispered, “Be vewwy quiet! I’m hunting Wumsfeld!”

Personally, I like Rummy and his straight talk. Is he doing a good job as SecDef? I believe he is doing the best he can with what he’s got, namely the gutted military that the Clinton administration left behind. Here’s your chance to sound off. Cast your vote in our poll and let’s see where everyone stands ....

Should He Stay?
By Bob Woodward
_{(WASHINGTON POST) - Monday, October 2, 2006}

After President Bush won reelection in 2004, White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. got out an 8 1/2 -by-11 spiral notebook, half an inch thick, with a blue cover. He called it his “hit-by-the-bus” book—handy in case someone in the administration suddenly had to be replaced.

He had intentionally used a student notebook, something he had bought himself, so it wouldn’t be considered a government document or presidential record that might someday be opened to history. It was private and personal.

A second term traditionally leads to personnel changes. The question was whether one of them would involve Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Card had to approach the issue with delicacy. Iraq was the centerpiece of everything now, and the president was clearly predisposed not to do anything that would disrupt the war effort. If Rumsfeld left, what would the impact be on overall momentum and on the morale of those who were doing the fighting? Rumsfeld had a virtual monopoly on defense contacts with the president, so there was no way the president could get independent information to answer those kinds of questions.

The champions of change at the Defense Department included Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser who would soon be nominated to become the new secretary of state; her replacement as national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley; and Card himself. Card had the names of 11 possible Rumsfeld replacements in his “hit-by-the-bus” book, among them Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), who had been Al Gore’s vice presidential running mate in 2000 and was a staunch defender of the Iraq war, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

But Card thought the best replacement for Rumsfeld would be James A. Baker III, who had been White House chief of staff and Treasury secretary under President Ronald Reagan, then secretary of state and chief political adviser to the president’s father. Card floated the names to Bush over the course of several weeks, all the while underscoring the advantages of change. But his focus was on Baker.

“Mr. President, this is my quiet counsel,” Card said. “Put a diplomat in the Defense Department.” The president seemed genuinely intrigued. “You don’t have to rush to make a decision,” Card advised. Card spoke with Rumsfeld, who talked as if he presumed there would be no change. One of Rumsfeld’s minions told Card, “Nothing will happen until the war is over.”

Karl Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, weighed in with the president. A contentious session with Congress was coming up. As he saw it, the Democrats were in no mood for a honeymoon. With Rice’s confirmation hearing to replace Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, and with the expected nomination of White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales to be attorney general, would another Senate confirmation overload the system?

Card kept pushing, at one point raising the possibility of change at the Pentagon with Vice President Cheney. No, Cheney said, he was predisposed to recommend that the president keep Rumsfeld right where he was. Card was not surprised.

In private conversations with Bush, Cheney said Rumsfeld’s departure, no matter how it might be spun, would be seen only as an expression of doubt and hesitation on the war. It would give the war critics great heart and momentum, he confided to an aide, and soon they would be after him and then the president. He virtually insisted that Rumsfeld stay.

- More on the story at WAPO ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/02/2006 at 11:35 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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Something Is Missing

 
 
Fall is in full progress, we’re already into October and I feel like something is missing this year. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I know there were dire predictions by Al Gore and the environwackos last year about some deadful weather that was coming our way this year.

I believe it had something to do with global warming and hotter ocean temperatures or some such. I recall them saying that last year’s terrible storms were a sign of things to come. Why has everything been so quiet this Summer and Fall. What’s missing .... ?

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/02/2006 at 11:28 AM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather •  
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NFL Hall Of Shame

As my momma always said, “stupid is as stupid does.” This one takes the cake though. I was watching the Rams/Lions game when they cut in and showed the incident described below, along with replays. I was dumbstruck at the sheer idiocy of Haynesworth’s act.

This is what happens when you mix a big young kid who barely made it through college and who probably now bulks up on mind-destroying steroids and painkillers. I don’t fault Haynesworth as much as I blame the rotten professional football system that gave him every opportunity to ruin his life and encourages the mindless violence that was the root cause of this incident.

Fine him, suspend him without pay for the season. What have you accomplished? Nothing much. Haynesworth’s act was the symptom, not the disease itself.  Both Haynesworth and the NFL get a “thumbs down.”

Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant!

NFL Tackele Ejected

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (SI.com)—Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was ejected early in the third quarter Sunday after he kicked Dallas center Andre Gurode in the face. Now the tackle expects to be punished and knows he deserves it.

Julius Jones had just scored on a 5-yard run, putting Dallas up 20-6 in what wound up as a 45-14 victory. Gurode’s helmet came off, and Haynesworth, standing over him, used his right foot to kick Gurode in the head.

Gurode said they hadn’t been talking or having any exchanges that led to Haynesworth kicking him twice. He received stitches above his forehead and beneath his eye. A flag was thrown, and Haynesworth followed an official toward the Titans’ sideline, protesting.

Haynesworth pulled off his helmet and slammed it to the ground, prompting another flag. Referee Jerome Boger disqualified Haynesworth, and the player walked off the field after talking briefly with Titans coach Jeff Fisher.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/02/2006 at 11:19 AM   
Filed Under: • Outrageous • Sports • Stoopid-People •  
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Quote Of The Day

The Talking Sock Puppet

Welcome to the world of a madman. This is Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the walking, talking, camel-fornicating piece of goat dung who planned the attack of 9/11. He is the Number Two man in Al-Qaeda, next to Osama Bin Laden.

This goober has his towel wrapped a little too tightly around his empty head. His most recent pronouncements condemn everyone in Western society and he engages in some of the worst grammar while dancing around and waggling his fingers and sticking his tongue out at us, screaming, “Nyah-na-na- nah-nah”.

I have a message for this raghead:

Dear Mr. Asshat, there are only three things in this world uglier than you, (1) a camels face, (2) a goat’s ass, and (3) .... YO MOMMA! (who wears combat boots and only charges $2 for a “good time")


On President Bush:

On Pope Benedict XVI:

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/02/2006 at 08:52 AM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA • Stoopid-People •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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