Heavy-Handed Politics: July 16, 2006

Death toll from Indonesian tsunami nears 670

The death toll from the Indonesian tsunami rose to 668 as reports of fatalities came in from remote villages along Java's battered southern coast, the government said. Another 287 people are missing and 74,100 have been displaced.

Drajat Santosa, a National Disaster Management Coordinating Board official, said around a hundred bodies had been found over the past 72 hours in parts of Ciamis district. (AP)

Bush says Rice trip will focus on strategy for confronting Hizbullah

US President George W. Bush says his administration's diplomatic efforts in the Mideast will focus on strategy for confronting Hezbollah and its supporters in Syria and Iran.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to depart for the region after an Oval Office meeting on Sunday with Bush and Saudi officials. (AP)

IDF’s next target: ‘Hizbullah villages’

Army boosting ground incursion in upcoming days in south Lebanon villages with aim of 'cleaning out' Hizbullah strongholds. Elite units to deploy to problematic villages such as ‘Hizbullah capital’ Bint Jabel.

The IDF prepared Saturday night to boost ground operations in south Lebanon villages, with the aim of “cleaning out” Hizbullah strongholds. The IDF has already taken control of the village Marun a-Ras north of Avivim in the eastern sector, as well as a few other Lebanese villages known to harbor Hizbullah infrastructure. Currently, the IDF is moving in with fire and surveillance on Bint Jabel, which is considered to be the “Hizbullah capital”.

The IDF was preparing to carry on operations, after an intense day of violence Saturday during which northern Israel was hit by at least 150 rockets.

On Saturday the Air Force struck over 90 terror targets in Lebanese territory. Since the beginning of operations in Lebanon, roughly 2,000 terror targets across Lebanon were hit and over 4,000 sorties were carried out, according to the army. Among the targets hit Saturday: Hizbullah buildings, tunnels, communication systems and Katyusha launch sites.

On Saturday the Herev battalion operated in Marwahin, about two kilometers into southeast Lebanon, and discovered a great deal of Hizbullah weapons there. While forces were operating, shells were fired at them from a neighboring village. The Air Force was prepared to back up troops operating on the ground. After difficult battles the army also took control of Marun a-Ras.

“We searched through the village carefully, we went house to house, and we found three sites where Hizbullah operatives had been hiding out. We could tell by the flak jackets, helmets, and even the cups of coffee still sitting on the table – but the Hizbullah men apparently fled when we entered. We also found a lot of ammunitions, including weapons, Lau rocket launchers in the yard of a mosque, binoculars, and various rockets,” said battalion commander Lt. Col. Wajadee.

An 80-year-old Lebanese man, who remained nearly alone in the town [of Herev], told soldiers that residents did not cooperate with Hizbullah, but Hizbullah forced themselves on the village and used the residents in operations against Israel.

This is just an example of what will take place in the next few days. More battalions will repeat the activities of the Herev battalion in other Lebanese villages throughout the south. Elite units will be dispatched to villages considered most problematic, such and Bint Jabel, while other forces will enter villages anticipated to be quieter." YNET NEWS

The Middle East conflict is hard to solve but easy to explain

By Dennis Prager
Townhall.com

"The Middle East conflict is difficult to solve, but it is among the simplest conflicts in history to understand.

The Arab and other Muslim enemies of Israel (for the easily confused, this does not mean every Arab or every Muslim) want Israel destroyed. That is why there is a Middle East conflict. Everything else is commentary.

Those who deny this and ascribe the conflict to other reasons, such as 'Israeli occupation,' 'Jewish settlements,' a 'cycle of violence,' 'the Zionist lobby' and the like, do so despite the fact that Israel's enemies regularly announce the reason for the conflict. The Iranian regime, Hizbollah, Hamas and the Palestinians -- in their public opinion polls, in their anti-Semitic school curricula and media, in their election of Hamas, in their support for terror against Israeli civilians in pre-1967 borders -- as well as their Muslim supporters around the world, all want the Jewish state annihilated." Read more.

Where there is crisis and there is opportunity

By Charles Krauthammer
Townhall.com

"There is crisis and there is opportunity. Amid the general wringing of hands over the seemingly endless and escalating Israel-Hezbollah fighting, everyone asks: Where will it end?

The answer, blindingly clear, begins with understanding that this crisis represents a rare, perhaps irreproducible, opportunity.

Every important party in the region and in the world, except the radical Islamists in Tehran and their clients in Damascus, wants Hezbollah disarmed and removed from south Lebanon so that it is no longer able to destabilize the peace of both Lebanon and the broader Middle East." Continue.

Science’s Stem Cell Scam

By Michael Fumento
Townhall.com
"Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) receive tremendous media attention, with oft-repeated claims that they have the potential to cure virtually every disease known. Yet there are spoilsports, self included, who point out that they have yet to even make it into a human clinical trial. This is even as alternatives – adult stem cells (ASCs) from numerous places in the body as well as umbilical cord blood and placenta – are curing diseases here and now and have been doing so for decades. And that makes ESC advocates very, very angry." Read on.

Pacifists vs. Peace

"If cease-fires actually promoted peace, the Middle East would be the most peaceful region on the face of the earth."

-- Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell has written a column about Pacifists vs. Peace. Here are a few excerpts:

One of the many failings of our educational system is that it sends out into the world people who cannot tell rhetoric from reality. They have learned no systematic way to analyze ideas, derive their implications and test those implications against hard facts..............

......................Was World War II ended by cease-fires or by annihilating much of Germany and Japan? Make no mistake about it, innocent civilians died in the process. Indeed, American prisoners of war died when we bombed Germany............
.....................There was a time when it would have been suicidal to threaten, much less attack, a nation with much stronger military power because one of the dangers to the attacker would be the prospect of being annihilated.
"World opinion," the U.N. and "peace movements" have eliminated that deterrent. An aggressor today knows that if his aggression fails, he will still be protected from the full retaliatory power and fury of those he attacked because there will be hand-wringers demanding a cease fire, negotiations and concessions...............

Read the column in its' entirety here.

The Iranian Spiderweb

By Marc Schulman
AMERICAN FUTURE

'For the Islamic fundamentalists, democratic reform is like toilet paper. You use it once and then you throw it away.'

So said a Jordanian intelligence officer to Ted Koppel, whose op-ed appears in today's New York Times. (Subscription needed.)

The intelligence officer had much to say about Iran:

During the past two months, Hamas has received more than $300 million from Iran, funneled through Syria.

Iran is reminding America's traditional allies in the region that the United States has a track record of leaving its friends in the lurch — in Vietnam in the 70's, in Lebanon in the 80's, in Somalia in the 90's.

The U.S. must confront Iran in Iraq by increasing its troop levels.

Koppel's conclusion:

Are the Israelis over-reacting in Lebanon? Perhaps they simply perceive their enemies' intentions with greater clarity than most. It is not the Lebanese who make the Israelis nervous, nor even Hezbollah. It is the puppet-masters in Tehran capitalizing on every opportunity that democratic reform presents. In the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon, in Egypt, should President Hosni Mubarak be so incautious as to hold a free election, it is the Islamists who benefit the most."

Jihadis in Switzerland

By Marc Schulman
AMERICAN FUTURE

"Switzerland is a neutral country. No matter. The Washington Post reports that Islamic radicals are making inroads:

Swiss security officials are warning that their country could become a target. In an intelligence report completed in May, the Swiss Federal Police reversed previous assessments that the domestic risk of terrorism was nearly nonexistent. The report concluded that Switzerland had become 'a jihadi field of operation' and predicted that terrorist attacks were 'an increasing possibility'." Read more.

THE SENATE IS NOT A SERIOUS CHAMBER

When it came to fulfilling its pledge to protect the nation's southern border......the Senate showed its usual self. In May, the Senate voted by an overwhelming 83-16 margin to build a border fence along high-traffic areas of the U.S.-Mexico border. In the same vote, they also endorsed construction of 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the border. However, when it came time to fund construction of the fence and barriers this week, both of Sen. Jeff Session's amendments to that affect were unceremoniously rejected. In votes of 71-29—not far from the margin by which the Senate first approved their construction—the upper chamber, a la John Kerry, refused to fund the $1.8 billion needed for their construction.

So, when Jihadis cross the southern border and detonate a fissile device in a U.S. urban center, we know where the inevitable special commission investigation should begin.

From The Federal Patriot.

"Those who keep calling for an end to the 'cycle of violence' are what make such violence more likely. 'World opinion' in general and the United Nations in particular can always be counted on to counsel 'restraint' in response to attacks and 'negotiations' in response to lethal threats... What that means is that those who start trouble will have a lower price to pay than if those they attacked were free to go all out in their counter-attack. Lowering the price to be paid by aggressors virtually guarantees more aggression."

— Thomas Sowell

Israeli troops set to invade Lebanon to create missile 'buffer'

ISRAEL appeared to be on the verge of launching a major ground offensive into southern Lebanon last night, despite international efforts to reach an agreement to halt the fighting.

Iran Calls On United Nations To Stop Israeli Attacks On Lebanon
All Headline News - USA
Tehran, Iran (AHN) - On Friday, Iran calls on the United Nations to stop Israeli atrocities in Lebanon and the urges UN to play a more active role in putting ...

Human Traffickers Captured in El Salvador
Prensa Latina - Havana,Cuba
... the criminals offered trips to North America and their clients were transported on international buses across the borders of El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico ...

Venezuela's Chavez Says Visit to North Korea Planned, No Dates
Bloomberg - USA
... While in Moscow, Venezuela will sign several defense accords, including one for the purchase of Sukhoi Su-30 military jets, and others to manufacture Russian ...

Peruvian judge gunned down

LIMA, July 21 (UPI) -- A leading Peruvian judge prosecuting alleged drug traffickers with supposed ties to the Mexican mob has been killed, El Coercion reported Friday.

Judge Herman Saturn Verger was having dinner with his cousin at the time of the attack, authorities said. The cousin -- a lawyer -- was hurt in Thursday's assault, which was said to be committed by a lone gunman.

Verger was among the three judges trying 25 suspects accused of orchestrating the shipment of cocaine from Peru through Mexico and into the United States.

Peru is the world's second-largest producer of cocaine behind Colombia.

Schools Juggle Holidays for Other Faiths

Las Vegas SUN
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - "Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, and Christian - each faith has its holy days. Schools across the country are asking how to respect them all.

Consider the University at Albany, which canceled classes on major Muslim holidays. Faculty wanted the move out of concern for Muslim students after the Sept. 11 attacks. But then came the questions: What about Hindus? Buddhists?" More.

Border fence cited as deterrent to crime

The Washington Times
"Building fences along high-traffic areas of the U.S. border with Mexico dramatically reduces crime, the president of the Border Patrol union told Congress yesterday.
'Drug smuggling was rampant' in the border area just south of San Diego, said T.J. Bonner, national president of the National Border Patrol Council, before a fence was constructed. 'Anarchy reigned, and there was no semblance of control over that section of the border.'
Mr. Bonner said that after the fence was built, with surplus military steel landing mats, drug seizures tapered off and the crime rate fell sharply." Continue.

Unlike stem cells, placental cells show promise without the ethics dilemma

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

"As the stem cell debate has escalated in recent years, scientists have discovered certain cells from the placenta may be as versatile as human embryonic stem cells, and may provide a noncontroversial source of potentially life-saving therapies."

[snip]

"Researchers say they have been able to coax the placental stem cells to become bone, nerve, muscle, fat, pancreatic, or liver cells, which could make them useful in treatment of such ailments as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's."

'I know that with the cord blood, they have been able to treat leukemias, lymphomas and anemias," said Rosa Simmons, "but with the placenta cells, they'll be able to treat heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, neurological disorders and do bone regeneration, and probably things we don't even know about yet.'

[snip]

"Cryo-Cell (a Tampa Bay, Fla. company) has signed an agreement with Plureon Corp., of Winston-Salem, N.C., one of several companies working to develop new therapies using the cells, to collect and store the placental cells.

'The Plureon placenta cells have been coaxed into becoming pancreatic cells, injected into a diabetic mouse, and rendered the animal insulin independent,' Maass said. Plureon has research agreements with at least one other company that is working on a cure for diabetes, Maass said."

[snip]

" 'These cells are non-controversial, and have been (approved) by the Catholic Church,' said Dr. Robert Hariri, president and chief executive officer.

Hariri said placental cells have some advantages over embryonic cells.

'If the headline tomorrow says X disease has been cured by embryonic stem cells, there would never be enough supply to meet demand. But the beauty of this (placental cell) methodology is we have nearly 4 million births every year, so we will have a vast supply of these stem cells which will supply the need,' Hariri said."

[snip]

"Stephen Strom, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, has been working with placental cells extracted from the amnion, the thin layer of tissue that separates the baby from the mother, and he and his colleagues are attempting to turn them into liver cells, heart muscle cells and nerve cells that could be used to repair brain damage.

Some of the work is exploring whether the cells could be used to repair hearing loss, especially in soldiers whose hearing has been damaged by roadside bombs in Iraq, he said." Full story.

Indian police make first arrests in Mumbai blasts

Reuters.com
MUMBAI (Reuters) - "India arrested three men in connection with last week's Mumbai bombings that killed more than 180 men, and urged Pakistan on Friday to hand over a top Kashmiri militant as a gesture of its determination to fight terrorism.

The three men, all Indian Muslims, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the July 11 attacks on packed commuter trains and stations in India's financial hub, a police official said.

'Yesterday, on July 20, we arrested three suspected accused in connection with the bomb blast case,' K.P. Raghuvanshi, chief of Mumbai's anti-terrorism squad, told a news conference." Read more.

China, Russia Again Apply Brakes on UN Steps Against Iran

"A week after agreeing with their U.N. Security Council colleagues to act against Iran's nuclear activities, Russia and China are once again working to slow down efforts to do so." Read on...

UK Bans Islamist Groups for Incitement

London - Drawing on new laws against the 'glorification of terrorism,' the British government for the first time has banned two Islamic groups which it said were extremist.

Home Secretary John Reid said that Al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect, two relatively small groups in England, would be shut down as soon as Parliament approved the move." Continue.

'Axis of Evil' Pair Suspected of Missile Collaboration

Drawing a link between the two surviving members of what President Bush has called "the axis of evil," the U.S. said Thursday that Iran may have sent observers to witness North Korea's ballistic missile tests early this month.

The allegation came as the U.N. Security Council once again ran into Russian and Chinese attempts to slow down efforts to take a unified stand against Iran's nuclear programs. Continue.

ON 2ND THOUGHT......

Next Time, I’ll Support John Bolton, Republican Says
Sen. George Voinovich, the Ohio Republican who last year opposed President Bush’s nomination of John Bolton to serve as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., now says he’ll vote for Bolton when Bolton’s recess appointment expires...

Israel Giving Up ‘Element of Surprise’ to Save Civilian Lives
Israel has been willing to give up the element of surprise in its battle against Hizballah to warn civilians that they should flee areas where the Air Force is planning to attack, an army official said on Thursday...

House Passes Bill to Save Mt. Soledad Memorial
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would allow the federal government to take over a San Diego war memorial featuring a large cross that overlooks the city from atop Mt. Soledad...

‘You Don’t Speak for Me,’ Legal Hispanic Immigrants Shout
A group of American Hispanics – legal residents of the U.S. – are blasting efforts to convert illegal immigrants into “guest workers,” arguing that their own pursuit of the American dream is being impeded by the influx of illegal aliens...

Iran helped cultivate Mideast crisis, US says

The Boston Globe

WASHINGTON -- "What began as a kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by Lebanese militants is now being seen by some senior Bush administration officials as a defining moment in a far larger struggle by Iran and its allies against the United States and the West.

Although US officials say they have no evidence that Iran directly ordered the Islamic extremist movement Hezbollah to carry out the kidnapping, they contend that the move was part of a coordinated effort by groups allied with Iran to frustrate US interests across the Middle East.

'We see this as a power play by Iran,' said a senior US official who has been closely following the developments in the Middle East." Continue.

Russia and Venezuela Cooperation Growing Goals
Prensa Latina - Havana,Cuba
Moscow, Jul 21 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said from Caracas that perspectives to increase multifaceted cooperation with the Russian ...

Israel pounds Hezbollah
Israeli soldiers raided Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, suffering losses for a second day yesterday, while warning Lebanese residents to "immediately" evacuate a 20-mile-wide stretch along the border. Continue.

Terrorist interview: U.S. not safe

Al Aqsa Brigades talks of plan for '3rd front' in Israel

Since last week, Hezbollah has fired 1200 to 1300 of advanced rockets into Israeli.

Israel has stepped up its operations against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon; a massive ground assault into northern Lebanon could be launched shortly. Only so much can be accomplished with air strikes. They most likely want to dismantle Hezbollah, and its weapons. This will require boots on the ground.

Israel currently is fighting on two fronts, that being Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Some are concerned that Palestinian groups, such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Islamic Jihad could open up a 3rd front against Israel by stepping up attacks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv with suicide bombings, at minimum, but perhaps even larger-scale attacks at worst.

In an interview, Anu Nasser, whom is second in command in the Al Aqsa Brigades stated, "As Muslims, we need and we must help our brothers........that carrying attacks at this moment can help our Islamic nation in its big battle that is taking place now in Lebanon but also in Palestine..........We hope that our brothers in the Hezbollah will create a situation, a military situation that will allow us to use all the arms we have in order to deepen the Israeli crisis. We believe that Israel is facing its end and we cannot stay away. We will contribute our part. This is the first time that the feeling that this is the end of Israel is more than a dream or a wishful thinking."

Asked about the possibility of rocketing cities of Israel from the West Bank, he replied, "The West Bank is already a front and it will become very hot very soon."

When asked if the U. S. is or will be a target: "It is a question of time that the revolutionary organizations in the Middle East will start targeting the Americans.

Believe me it is a new era and I am suggesting to the American people to adopt a different policy and strategy because very soon they will deal with a unified Muslim world but without the help of their agents in the Middle East – the Arab traitor leaders and the Zionists who will be gone."

Isn't it clear what's at stake here? Israel is fighting for it's mere right to exist. This usually is considered a basic right -- one that doesn't have to be bargained for -- not that it would make any difference in this case. So, tell me, how does one carry on a dialogue and negotiate with terrorists who don't want you to even exist? It's kind of a non-starter isn't it?

If you don't care whether Israel exists or not, at least have the brass ones to admit it. Quit hiding behind mealy-mouthed, namby-pamby ramblings and talking about pie in the sky notions, such as, for example 'proportionality'.

If you don't worry about Israels safety, do you worry about yours......your family's? It won't stop there, with the destruction of Israel.

Battle Over Mt. Soledad Memorial Cross Heats Up

Thomas More Law Center

"President Bush Supports Cross: House Passes Bill To Preserve It; Senate Bill Introduced-ACLU Continues Its Campaign to Stop It"

ANN ARBOR, MI – "The Bill to protect the Mt. Soledad memorial cross, H. R. 5863, overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 349-74. The Bill transfers possession of the veterans memorial in San Diego, California to the..."
more >>

Israel hits Hezbollah stronghold - The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe

BEIRUT -- "Israeli warplanes last night dropped bombs on a bunker in south Beirut where Israel said Hezbollah leaders were meeting, dramatically escalating the conflict on the deadliest day yet in Israel's week-long offensive against the Islamic militant group." More.

Don't work.... You'll live longer

Or don't marry....

Working-class marriages 'shorten lifespan'
BEING working class or marrying into the working classes could dramatically reduce an individual's lifespan, new research has found.

FBI Investigating 10,000 Terrorism Cases

WASHINGTON -- "Besides uncovering a plot to blow up tunnels in New York City, the FBI is currently investigating 10,000 terrorism cases, according to Joe Billy, Jr., the bureau's chief of counterterrorism. The investigations include cases in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, CIA and FBI officials are dumbfounded by quotes attributed to them in Ron Suskind's "The One Percent Doctrine." They say many of the conversations never took place. The FBI took the unusual step of issuing a press release stating that the book was wrong in claiming that, two years before the London subway bombings of July 7, 2005, the CIA had placed Mohammad Sidique Khan, a suspect in the bombings, on the U.S. "No Fly List" and warned British intelligence about him."

[snip]

Today, "You should feel safer in a sense because it's very unlikely that someone's going to slip one by us at this point, with everyone working at it," Billy said. "I may not catch it, but another agency is going to catch it, or you're going to catch part of it, and then I'll add to it, and we'll figure it out." Read on.

Of course that's only true to the extent that the left, the ACLU, the media, and the Dem's don't undermine our ability to do so.

AND RIGHTLY SO.......

Wal-Mart wins case on health care costs
A federal judge yesterday overturned a Maryland law that required Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to spend at least 8 percent of its payroll costs on health care for its employees. Continue...

Israel Warns Syria: Stop Arms Transfer

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office, passed a warning to Damascus, through Jordan and Egyptian diplomats, that they could attack Syria if they continue facilitating weapons transfers to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Additionally, Israel says Syria has served as a meeting ground for Hezbollah and Iranian agents to communicate and direct operations in Lebanon.

Yesterday two Hezbollah-bound trucks carrying weapons and ammunition were attacked while driving through Lebanon after having crossed the border from Syria.

The Birds and the Bees: A Complex Subject?

CNN's Costello Gets a Science Lesson: Embryos Are 'Not Fertilized?'
NewsBusters.org

During a July 18th segment on the science behind stem cell research with CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, American Morning substitute host Carol Costello displayed a shocking lack of knowledge of basic reproductive science. Costello was questioning Cohen on what federal funding for stem cell research would mean for those who had frozen embryos. Cohen explained that scientists with federal grants would seek out these embryos, and it would be up to individuals to decide whether or not to make a donation. Costello showed her confusion on the topic with this question:

Cohen: 'These are four-day old embryos. We’re talking about very tiny, tiny embryos.'

Costello: 'And they’re not fertilized either, right?'" Read more.

"It would be dangerous to be in a world without partners. But it would be more dangerous to see friendship where none exists."
—Tony Blankley

"Americans in Iraq have found 500 sarin- and mustard-gas-filled artillery shells, live botulinum toxin, cyanide salt, and nearly two tons of uranium... Without threatening intelligence contacts and techniques, the ever-bashful Bush administration owes it to American taxpayers and our Coalition allies to unveil everything it safely can about what we really have found in Iraq."
—Deroy Murdock

"The Increasing Complexity of Everything is good for liberalism (government should be vital, large, demand and bestow much) and not conservatism (government should be smaller, less powerful, less demanding of the treasure and liberty of the citizenry). When everything is a big complicated morass, regular normal people, voters, constituents, become intellectually disheartened. They can also lose sight of core principles."
—Peggy Noonan

"There is a terrible lot of us who don't think that we come from a monkey, but if there are some people who think that they do, why, it's not our business to rob them of what little pleasure they might get out of imagining it." —Will Rogers

"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong." —Voltaire

"Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past."
—Tyron Edwards

"The world is a dangerous place to live—not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
—Albert Einstein

"If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honor of the Supreme Being...are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation."
—Samuel Adams

Running Out of Oil?
By Walter E. Williams
"Proven" oil reserves, oil that's economically and technologically recoverable, are estimated to be more than 1.1 trillion barrels. That's enough oil, at current usage rates, to fuel the world's economy for 38 years, according to Leonardo Maugeri, vice president for the Italian energy company ENI. But for decades, alarmists have claimed we're running out of oil…

COMMENTARY

Hezbollah Is Here
By Michelle Malkin
You think Hezbollah is only Israel’s headache? Wake up. Iranian Hezbollah’s spokesman Mojtaba Bigdeli’s threat on Tuesday to dispatch 2,000 operatives “to every corner of the world to jeopardize Israel and America’s interests” is more than just idle Islamic heavy breathing...

Saudis Blame Israel
Amid a campaign for Arabs’ hearts and minds over the fighting in Lebanon and Israel, the government of Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it holds Israel responsible for the conflict. Earlier Saudi criticism of Hizballah’s “adventurism” appears to have given way to the customary Arab stance of blaming Israel and accusing the international community of abandoning the Arabs...

No kidding

Wash. Post Finds Negative News Coverage Affects Americans' View of Economy

By Ken Shepherd
Business & Media Institute

The Washington Post has produced evidence that journalists influence the way the public views the economy. Survey commissioned by the paper found more positive views of economy when respondents saw stories on job creation. Continue...

Health Police Coming?

Are mandatory aerobics classes in your future? (Reason)

Soda obesity taxes: taxing ourselves to health (Tax Foundation)

Congressman's letter: Anti-Bush faction now controls CIA

Insight: The CIA has been taken over by a dissident faction that seeks to undermine President Bush.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Peter Hoekstra has identified the anti-Bush faction in a letter to the president. Mr. Hoekstra said the faction appears to be led by Mr. Bush's recent appointments to the agency.

'In fact, I have been long concerned that a strong and well-positioned group within the agency intentionally undermined the administration and its policies,' Mr. Hoekstra wrote in a May 18 letter to Mr. Bush." More...

Group warns of WMD attack on Israel, calls for 'new Iran'

"A Washington-based group said Hizbullah's ongoing rocket and missile attack is intended to 'swamp regional defenses' so that Iran's strategic missiles can 'deliver WMD against Israel. ' " Read on.

What a farce... The UN is a freekin farce, farce, farce

US To Face United Nations Human Rights Panel
All Headline News - USA
United Nations (AHN) - For the first time in 11 years, the United States is having to defend itself on prisoner treatment, racial profiling, immigration and ...

Israeli Ground Troops Enter Lebanon

JERUSALEM, AP -Israel declared Tuesday it was ready to fight Hezbollah guerrillas for several more weeks, raising doubts about international efforts to broker an immediate cease-fire in the fighting that has killed more than 260 people and displaced 500,000. The military said early Wednesday it sent some troops into southern Lebanon in search of tunnels and weapons.

Despite the diplomatic activity, Israel is in no hurry to end its offensive, which it sees as a unique opportunity to crush Hezbollah. The Islamic militants appear to have steadily built up their military strength after Israel pulled its troops out of southern Lebanon in 2000." Continue.

Iran Provider of Hezbollah's Weaponry

Source Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)
16/07/2006

By Ali Nouri Zadeh

London, Asharq Al-Awsat- According to a source close to a high-ranking official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Teheran has supplied Hezbollah with approximately 11,500 missiles and projectiles.

The source said more than 3,000 Hezbollah members have undergone training in Iran, which included guerilla warfare, firing missiles and artillery, operating unmanned drones, marine warfare and conventional war operations. He said they have also trained 50 pilots for the past two years.

According to the source, Hezbollah currently possesses four types of surface-to-surface missiles, some of which extend to a distance of 150 kilometers.

Katyusha missiles hit Tiberias, on the Lake of Galilee, for the first time on Saturday, while today Hezbollah fired rockets, which killed eight people in the Israeli city of Haifa, and bombs shook Beirut as Israel pursued a five-day-old assault in Lebanon aimed at crippling the Shi'ite Muslim group.

It was Hezbollah's deadliest rocket strike on Israel in at least 10 years and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it would have 'far-reaching' consequences for Lebanon.

Hezbollah said the attack was retaliation for Israel's killing of civilians and destruction of Lebanese infrastructure."

Gee. Maybe we ought to get all the members to dump out their wallet contents and open their briefcases.

United Nations reports shortfall of funds
Zee News - Noida,India
United Nations, July 19: Donor fatigue is telling on the efforts of the United Nations humanitarian agencies with the world body reporting a shortfall of 3.1

Well, well. What a Surprise.

You don't think Chavez got this idea from Fidel Castro, do you?

Press freedom group accuses Venezuela govt:
"CARACAS, Venezuela -- A U.S.-based press freedom watchdog is in Venezuela to investigate complaints that President Hugo Chavez is using news laws and the courts to silence journalists critical of his leftist government.

Several Venezuelan journalists are under investigation for charges from libel to murder, cases critics say were trumped up to intimidate independent media."

Senate immigration bill 'far worse' than in '86

"The latest immigration bill approved by the Senate is 'far, far worse' than the 1986 immigration bill that granted amnesty to 2.7 million illegal aliens and created the magnet for the millions more who have come here since, a House panel was told at a hearing yesterday.

In addition to providing legalization to about four times as many illegal aliens as did the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), witnesses said, the current bill also repeats mistakes made 20 years ago that will render the border-enforcement provisions and employer sanctions meaningless." Read on.

Elimination of Hezbollah the ultimate goal

"Israel's military operation in Lebanon is designed to cripple Hezbollah by destroying its headquarters, weapons stockpiles and supply network, and eventually eliminating the militant group, Israeli officials and analysts said yesterday.

Targeting Hezbollah's leadership is a secondary priority for the time being, they said, although Israel would not hesitate to act if it had credible intelligence regarding the whereabouts of the militia's leaders.

'We are trying to create a new reality that would not enable Hezbollah to operate,' one Israeli official said.
The United States supports that goal, even as it cautions Israel to exercise restraint in carrying it out. 'The root cause of the problem is Hezbollah, and that problem needs to addressed,' President Bush said yesterday." More....

Israel hits Lebanese army base
Israeli warplanes struck an army base outside Beirut in bombings that killed 16 persons yesterday, while Israeli officials said in Jerusalem that the offensive could last several more weeks and involve large numbers of ground forces. Continue....

Iraq vets stump for Santorum
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster,PA,USA
... John Murtha of Johnstown. "Murtha is the poster child for the radical anti-war left," Dellicker, an Air National Guard told the crowd. ...

I WOULD IMAGINE IT WAS BUSH'S FAULT

340 dead ... so why were two tsunami alerts ignored

"INDONESIA received alerts from two regional agencies that Monday's undersea earthquake could trigger a tsunami, but officials made no attempt to alert threatened communities, a government minister admitted yesterday."

Bush more than likely ordered the government not to tell them about the possible impending tsunami. Moreover, Bush more than likely greatly attributed to the calamity because of no Kyoto, causing global warming, etc....... well you know the drill by now.

CYNTHIA MCKINNEY

As I Please notes: "Good news from Georgia, where in yesterday’s Democratic primary, the odious Rep. Cynthia McKinney failed to win outright. She’s been forced into a runoff. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer race-baiting cop slapper."

Mubarak: Nations paying for 'resistance'

Egyptian president says 'Palestinian and Lebanese resistances brought only limited gains'; Saudi Arabia criticizes Hizbullah.

Voices in the Arab world are condemning Hizbullah: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has called on the Lebanese government to take control of its border with Israel.

'The Lebanese government must apply its sovereignty on all the country's territory,' said Faisal.

Since the start of the war, Saudi Arabia has criticized Hizbullah, as have Egypt and Lebanon." Read on.

IAF foils rocket transports from Syria

Ynetnews

While army continues to strike Hizbullah, limit its weapons resources, outside groups trying to rearm group. IAF manages to bomb trucks transporting missiles from Syria. IDF Maj.-Gen. Eisenkot: These rockets belong to Syrian army Hanan Greenberg.

Although Hizbullah has suffered a harsh blow from Israeli air force strikes which took out a good percentage of their available weapons, Syria was continuing to smuggle arms into Lebanon to rearm the group, IDF Operations Branch Head Major General Gadi Eisenkot said during a press briefing Tuesday." Continue.

Federal Appellate Court Hands Traditional Marriage Another Victory

ANN ARBOR, MI – On Friday, July 14th, a federal appeals court reversed a lower federal court ruling that had struck down Nebraska’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. The constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages had been passed by seventy per cent of that state’s voters in 2000.

In Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reinstated Nebraska's constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In a first such ruling by a federal appeals court, a three-judge panel unanimously held that Nebraska voters had not violated the Constitution by seeking to preserve the traditional definition of marriage, since 'laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples are rationally related to legitimate state interests.'

The opinion was written by Chief Judge James B. Loken and joined by Circuit Judges Bowman and Smith. Writing for the court, Judge Loken held that the express intent of traditional marriage laws to encourage heterosexual couples to bear and raise children in committed relationships is a legitimate state interest." Read more.

Israel's Unnecessary War
By Daniel Pipes
The blame for the current fighting falls entirely on Israel’s enemies, who deploy inhuman methods in the service of barbaric goals. I wish the armed forces of Israel every success against the terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon, hoping they inflict a maximum defeat on Hamas and Hizbullah while taking a minimum of casualties. That said, the rest of this column focuses on erroneous Israeli decisions that led to an unnecessary war and suggests the only way Israel can win that war… More.

The Clintons’ War on Gun Rights
By Tom Fitton
What kind of President will Hillary Clinton make? I realize this is a disturbing thought, but we must consider it as Senator Clinton remains the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. Recently, our investigations team uncovered documents that provide some interesting and troubling details about the Clintons’ plan to destroy the gun industry, a la “Big Tobacco.” More.

Mexican Election Limbo Heightens Risk of Instability
Mexico's still-unresolved presidential election threatens the sharply divided country with instability: Without a vote recount, a "perceived lack of legitimacy" will make it very hard for conservative candidate Felipe Calderon to govern, said one expert on Latin America...

Media Report of Raids on Tulsa Illegals Draws Outrage
A series of raids in Oklahoma last week led to the arrests of 127 criminal aliens, fugitives and other immigration violators despite a TV station’s news report that not only exposed the operation to the public, but also described the people and the vehicles being used in the effort...

Tel Aviv plans 4-tier, intensifying offensive
The fierce Israeli attack in Lebanon is part of a carefully orchestrated plan -- not yet half-completed -- that calls for four stages of mounting intensity, culminating in the movement of ground troops into Lebanon, according to Israeli reports.

Hizballah Rockets Go Deeper and Deeper Into Israel
Jerusalem – Hizballah rockets kept slamming into northern Israeli cities on Monday, despite Israel’s continuing attempt to wipe out Hizballah’s rocket-firing ability in southern Lebanon...

Splits Emerge Among Arab Gov’ts Over Hizballah
The war in Lebanon is exposing rifts in the Arab-Islamic world, as governments facing internal demands to take a stronger stand against Israel differ over Hizballah’s role in the crisis...

AT WHAT COST?

"Forget the Mideast governments for a moment. Hosni Mubarak may be president of Egypt but that doesn't mean that what he says is what the man on the Cairo high street is thinking. Likewise the kings of Arabia and Jordan. Some Arab leaders have managed the trick of saying one thing to their home crowd in Arabic and another to the massed microphones of the world's press in English. Yasser Arafat was a dab hand: renouncing terrorism one day and promoting it the next. Saddam Hussain doesn't care who knows what he thinks. Nor does Ahmadinijad. Or maybe they do and it's all just publicity for the other side.

Either way, take a look at the demonstrations around the Arab world, see what ordinary people are telling journalists and emailing: there's a definite sense of elation. Why? Look what's happening to Lebanon. In a week there'll be nothing left. Look at Gaza. There was nothing there to start with. There's even less now.

Is this something to smile about? Of course not. But that's not why they're happy. They're smiling about having poked a finger in Israel's eye, having nabbed three soldiers, killed a handful of civilians, and wrecked a train station in Haifa.

At what cost you may wonder. Arab casualties are mounting by the hour.

It doesn't matter comes the reply. It's revenge. That's why they did it and that's why they're happy. Vengeance, honour, vendetta. Revenge for what some soldier did to a relative two years ago, revenge for a house lost two generations ago, revenge for something that someone said someone did to someone sometime way back when. Who cares? It's revenge.

When you're taking revenge it doesn't matter that you'll die, and half a dozen with you, or that you'll lose more than you were left with the first time round.

Revenge isn't about gaining material advantage. Revenge means giving up all thought of gain, except honour. Imagine the glorious romance of dying for honour while taking revenge.

Could there be anything more futile? Anything more useless and stupid?" Continue.

DISCOMBOBULATION

Help me out here. If the Islamists cozied up to Hitler (which they did) and were "best buds" and if the Holocaust never happened as Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has said, then Hitler couldn't have been a bad guy after all. Right? So when Ahmadinejad criticizes and compares the Israelis (or the Zionists) to Hitler ...... just how is that (from his perspective) criticism ?

ROUND 2

"Hizballah terrorists killed 220 American Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers on 23 October 1983 by driving a bomb-laden truck into their barracks in Beirut. America then retreated from Lebanon, its tail between its legs. Hizballah and Iran—the nation that created Hizballah and still arms, funds, and supplies it—won that round. The two—and Syria, which supports both Hizballah and Hamas—are now in the warmup stage for the next round... What is happening now in Israel and Lebanon is the direct result of our failure for more than 20 years, and the Israelis' failure, to prosecute this war decisively. What happens next depends on what we do now."

—Jed Babbin

EDITORIALIZING THE NEWS

Every newspaper and every television commentator has a right to criticize any aspect of the war in Iraq or anywhere else. But when they claim to be reporting the news, that does not mean filtering out whatever goes against their editorial views and hyping unsubstantiated claims that discredit the troops."

—Thomas Sowell

CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY

"Now it doesn't require expropriation or confiscation of private property or business to impose socialism upon a people. What does it mean whether you hold the deed or the title to your business or property if the government holds the power of life and death over that business or property? Such machinery already exists. The government can find some charge to bring against any concern it chooses to prosecute. Every businessman has his own tale of harassment. Somewhere a perversion has taken place. Our natural, inalienable rights are now considered to be a dispensation from government, and freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp as it is at this moment."

—Ronald Reagan

LEAKS AND LIBERTIES

"[T]he argument that those who have declared war on the war policy are really defending America is the worst possible defense...because it violates the very foundation of our liberties, the social contract on which all our liberties depend... [W]e live under rules for adjudicating our differences both in peacetime and in war. Before all the laws that make us who we are is the primary fact that we are nation of laws. Breaking the law does not protect the law. Breaking national security laws betrays the nation; it does not defend it. The government leakers who provided The [New York] Times with the information that won its reporter a Pulitzer prize, are conducting a war against the very system the Times is claiming to defend. This is an unacceptable way to dissent from national policy, and no excuse can be offered for it... Liberals are not defending our constitutional liberties when they betray the contract on which those liberties are based."

—David Horowitz

You know you're really weak when.......

You are too weak to surrender

"Hezbollah, a Shiite terrorist group, doubles as a political party and is part of Siniora's government. But plainly it is acting on its own, and Lebanon continues to take a pounding from Israel because the government in Beirut is too weak to surrender."

-- James Taranto

Party Loyalty Has Its Limits

About two weeks ago, Hillary "Robb-em" Clinton said she would not back Joe Lieberman, as an independent, if he were to run as such, if he doesn't get the DFL nod. She must remain loyal to the party, don't you know.

She said, "I believe in the Democratic Party, and I believe we must honor the decisions made by Democratic primary voters."

Well .... apparently party loyalty has its limits ...... as James Taranto (OpinionJournal) so aptly points out. He brings to our attention a story in the Boston Globe. In this article, it relays how the Dem's are

maneuvering to keep the Democratic candidates for the state's open US Senate seat off the November ballot, as party leaders seek to clear the way for independent Representative Bernard Sanders in his bid for the Senate.

Taranto's summation? "It says something about the state of the Democratic Party that it finds a self-styled socialist more palatable than a liberal who is moderate on some issues."

Do Ya Think?

Experts: Violence May Hurt Lebanon Economy

Dutch Court OKs 'Pedophile' Political Party

ABC News
THE HAGUE, Netherlands Jul 17, 2006 (AP)— A Dutch court refused Monday to ban a political party whose main goal is to lower the age of sexual consent from 16 to 12. The judge said it was the voters' right to judge the appeal of political parties.

The party has only three known members, one of whom was convicted of molesting an 11-year-old boy in 1987. Widely dubbed the 'pedophile' party, it is unlikely ever to win a seat in parliament. The group would need around 60,000 votes, and pollsters estimate it would get fewer than 1,000. Read on.

G8 Pushes N. Korea to Stop Missile Tests

World leaders on Monday called on North Korea to stop its missile tests and to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Although the Group of Eight summit of industrial powers was... Read on.

World Leaders Step Up Mideast Diplomacy

The United Nations and Britain urged the deployment of peacekeepers in Lebanon and Russia offered troops for any such force, as the U.N. sent an envoy to Israel on Monday in the first big...
Read on.

Israel Hammers at Lebanese Infrastructure

BEIRUT, Lebanon

Israeli warplanes pummeled Lebanese infrastructure Monday, killing at least 17 people. Hezbollah patron Iran said a cease-fire and a prisoner swap were possible, and the international community signaled willingness to send peacekeepers to back a diplomatic solution. Read on.

"The circumstances that endanger the safety of nations are infinite, and for this reason no constitutional shackles can wisely be imposed on the power to which the care of it is committed. "
-- Alexander Hamilton

Hezbollah Terrorist Sleeper Cell Suspected in New York City

I continue to think, and actually believe, that some day in the not too distant future, suicide car bombs, etc. will become a reality in the U.S. It is in this light that I bring you this article.

"While many US government officials are deeply concerned over Iran’s nuclear program, according to recent reports, investigations by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department revealed last May that the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah may be plotting attacks. These attacks may be launched by their sleeper cells in New York and several other US cities.

According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Jewish organization B’nai B’rith, Hezbollah’s largest headquarters outside of the Middle East is located in Toronto." Continue...

United Nations Shows True Colors During Israeli Fight Against Terrorism

By Jim Kouri, CPP

While all eyes are on developments at the United Nations headquarters in New York, a key UN official in Geneva held a press conference that critics point to as evidence UN’s double-standard when it addresses Israel. Read on.

Viet Nam

Viet Nam News
HA NOI — Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem told the visiting Commander of the US Pacific Command, Admiral William J Fallon, that the relationship between Viet Nam and the United States has developed well in many respects. Read more.

CFR's solution to illegal immigration

WorldNetDaily
Grandiose Council on Foreign Relations' plan barely mentions alien invasion of U.S.

With scarcely a mention of the horrendous illegal immigration problem plaguing America, the Council on Foreign Relations – which some call America's 'shadow government' – has laid out a comprehensive plan to essentially merge the U.S., Mexico and Canada into one entity with an outer security perimeter. Following are selected excerpts of the 59-page document, titled 'Building a North American Community.' Read more at WorldNetDaily.

I had two previous posts on this topic, one in July, 2005 and another in April 2006. It seems to go pretty much unreported not only by the ~~mainstream~~ dinosaur media but by the new media as well. I suspect the majority of Americans have no clue what's going on here.

Related:

Bush Administration Fast-Tracks Formation of North American Union