EU gives Iran two more weeks in atomic standoff

LAPPEENRANTA, Finland (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on Saturday to try to clarify Iran's stance on halting uranium enrichment within two weeks as the U.N. secretary general arrived...

I have a question. What part of "We are not going to stop enriching uranium," don't you understand and needs clarification?

Iran has been dragging their feet and sending mixed messages for 'many moons' now in regards to their nuclear plans. The U.S. has let the EU use 'diplomacy' which has produced zero results other than delay. Some might argue delay is not a result; it is for Iran.

We finally gave an August 31st deadline to Iran and if they did not comply to the resolutions .... we agreed to meet again!! That'll show 'em! So now the EU says "give them 2 more weeks" until the 'nuclear experts' can meet with Iran and assess the situation. Boy, we are getting tough now. We need clarification on their enrichment program. Like what?

EU: "Do you plan on continuing with your uranium enrichment program?"

Iran: "Yes, infidels."

EU: "Is it going to be used for only peaceful purposes?"

Iran: "Yes, infidels. The Little Satan Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth."

EU: "But..but.. you said it was going to be used for only peaceful purposes."

Iran: "Yes, infidels. It will be, with the help of Allah."

EU: "OK, then.......just peaceful purposes, right?"

Iran: "With Little Satan's existence, there can be no peace. Allah akbar"

EU: "OK, then ... we're convinced. But keep in mind, do not try and trick us, or else....."

NUKE IRAN.... ?

To The Point News (Paid subscription only)
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler

"Why isn't the world afraid of Jews With Nukes? It's terrified of the prospect of Mullahs With Nukes - but Israel already possess hundreds of nukes and no one freaks out about it.

Least afraid are the Mullahs of Iran and their leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinutjob, who glories in threatening to wipe Israel 'off the face of the earth' and arming its enemies like Hezbollah.

The reason they are not afraid and the world is not worried about Jews With Nukes is what philosopher Ayn Rand called The Sanction of the Victim.

She defined this as 'the willingness of the good to suffer at the hands of evil.'

In other words, Ahmadinutjob is using the moral decency of Israel as a weapon against it. He is betting his country's existence that Jews are too virtuous to do to him what he most desires to do to them. He expects them to be sacrificial victims doomed by their own virtues.

It is now being argued in Israeli halls of power that his assumption should be a fatal mistake. Atlas may be about to shrug in Jerusalem."

The Party Of Defeat

By Rich Lowry:
On Iraq, the Democrats are the party of defeat. That's not a partisan smear, but a fact.

"The further we slide toward defeat, the higher the Democrats' political fortunes rise. To the extent they offer any clear policy alternative for Iraq, it is either — depending on your point of view — to admit, or to guarantee, defeat with a rapid drawdown of American troops. So, their political self-interest objectively coincides with a defeat, and the kind of pullout endorsed at times by high-profile leaders in the party would hasten it." Read more.

Hezbollah's new battle at home

Opinion - theage.com.au: "IF LOVE means never having to say you're sorry, that principle should apply with redoubled force when the emotion in question is hate. So when Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah publicly apologised for igniting the recent Lebanese conflict, his boasts of victory over Israel began to ring a tad hollow.

During an August 27 interview with Beirut's New TV, Nasrallah expressed regret about ordering the cross-border raid during which two Israeli soldiers were taken prisoner. 'We did not think that there was a 1 per cent chance that the capture would lead to a war of this scale and magnitude,' he conceded." More.

Hezbollah announces commander's death from wounds sustained in fighting with Israel

International Herald Tribune: "BEIRUT, Lebanon Hezbollah announced Saturday the death of a military commander from wounds he sustained in monthlong fighting with Israel, making him the highest-ranking guerrilla the group acknowledges to have died in the war.

In a statement carried on Hezbollah's al-Manar TV, Hezbollah said 'the commander Hajj Ali Mohammed Saleh Bilal was martyred from wounds he sustained in the confrontations.' " More.

British anti-terror police probing 'thousands' of suspects

Yahoo! News: "LONDON (AFP) - British police are currently trying to monitor 'thousands' of potential security suspects, the head of the anti-terrorism unit at London's Metropolitan Police said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday.

In an interview recorded in July, before the arrest of more than two dozen people on suspicion of an alleged plot to blow up US-bound aircraft, Peter Clarke said Britain was facing an increasing threat from homegrown extremists.

He refused to give an exact figure about how many people he said were either directly or indirectly involved in plotting atrocities on British soil but said the number ran into four figures." Read more.

Muslims must come forward

A Muslim American, M. Osman Siddique writes a column appearing in the Washington Times in which he states that it is of utmost importance that Muslims must come forward.

"My proudest day as an American Muslim came in 1999 when I was sworn in at the State Department to be this nation's ambassador to Fiji and its Pacific island neighbors Tonga, Tuvalu and Nauru.

Almost 30 years earlier I had come to the United States as a student from my native Bangladesh. Now, I was the first Muslim U.S. ambassador to serve as chief of mission. I swore to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution with my hand on a copy of the Koran.

My pride in faith and country remain rock solid. But my real life American dream often feels more like a nightmare these days. Renegade members of my faith are committing horrendous acts of global terrorism, and I am left embarrassed and angry.

I am embarrassed when I read the names of the terrorists in the newspaper. What must non-Muslims think when some criminal claiming to act in the name of Islam and bearing the same name as the Prophet Muhammad is arrested?

I am also embarrassed that not all American Muslims do all they can to expose those in our community who would commit mayhem or would give succor in any way to those who would cause harm. Too many American Muslims hold back from publicly speaking out against extremist ideologies that threaten us all because they fear being stigmatized by their coreligionists for cooperating with security agencies.

Why is this?"

Read on.

Hezbollah Is Working Openly in Venezuela!!

From Gateway Pundit:

Holy Terror! They even have a song!
Unlike Argentina, these Hezbollah heads are taking things to a whole new level!"

From the Spanish Hezbollah Venezuela website:Gustavo Coronel at Venezuela Today has proof that Hezbollah is working openly with the tribe of the Wayuu on the Venezuelan side of the Guajira Peninsula: Read more from Gateway Pundit....

The Waiting Game

The Waiting Game:
Do we really need further convincing of the threat we face?
by Victor Davis Hanson

Hezbollah’s black-clad legions goose-step and stiff-arm salute in parade, apparently eager to convey both the zeal and militarism of their religious fascism. Meanwhile, consider Hezbollah’s “spiritual” head, Hassan Nasrallah — the current celebrity of an unhinged Western media that tried to reinvent the man’s own self-confessed defeat as a victory. Long before he hid in the Iranian embassy Nasrallah was on record boasting: “The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are going to win because they love life and we love death.”

Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trumps that Hitlerian nihilism by reassuring the poor, maltreated Germans that there was no real Holocaust. Perhaps he is concerned that greater credit might still go to Hitler for Round One than to the mullahs for their hoped-for Round Two, in which the promise is to “wipe” Israel off the map.

The only surprise about the edition of Hitler’s Mein Kampf that has become a best seller in Middle Eastern bookstores is its emboldened title translated as “Jihadi” — as in “My Jihad” — confirming in ironic fashion the “moderate” Islamic claim that “jihad” just means “struggle,” as in an “inner struggle” — as in a Kampf perhaps.

Meanwhile, we in the West who worry about all this are told to fret instead about being “Islamophobes.” Indeed, a debate rages over the very use of “Islamic fascism” to describe the creed of terrorist killers — as if those authoritarians who call for a return of the ancient caliphate, who wish to impose of 7th-century sharia law, promise death to the Western “crusader” and “Jew,” and long to retreat into a mythical alternate universe of religious purity and harsh discipline, untainted by a “decadent” liberal West, are not fascists. It is almost as if Alfred Rosenberg has returned in a kaffiyeh to explain why Jews really are apes and pigs, and why we must recapture the spirit of our primitive ancestors.

Read on.

Covering all the bases

Fresh off from getting Syria's assurances that they will abide by the UN resolutions prohibiting arms going to Hizbollah **snicker-snicker**, Kofi Annan used his 'stature', a lot of 'diplomacy', and his superior negotiationg skills and was also able to get Iran to offer cooperation on Israel-Hizbollah truce.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to press Iran on Saturday to help shore up the Hizbollah-Israel ceasefire, but diplomats say the talks will also cover...

Bwaa haaahaaaa!!!!

Cradle to Grave: Hezbollah Children
Telos Press - New York,NY,USA
In the debates during and after the recent war in Lebanon, supporters of Hezbollah have tried to represent it as a deliverer of social welfare and not as a ...

FACT OF THE DAY

The US Department of the Treasury was founded today in 1789. In charge of all the money in the United States (which is quite a lot, one imagines), its first secretary was one Alexander Hamilton. Scottish-French and born in the West Indies, Hamilton became a fervent supporter of the American cause and fought bravely as an artillery officer during the War of Independence. His post-war career ended abruptly when he was mortally wounded in a duel.

U.S. test missile hits a Korean bull's-eye

The U.S. missile defense system yesterday shot down an incoming dummy warhead simulating the last-stage trajectory of a North Korean Taepodong-2 missile, a milestone that U.S. officials expect to counter critics of earlier tests.

Mexico in a state of upheaval

Mexican Lawmakers Block Fox's Speech

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Vicente Fox was forced to forego the last state-of-the-nation address of his presidency Friday after leftist lawmakers stormed the stage of Congress to protest disputed July 2 elections.

It was the first time in modern Mexican history a president hasn't given the annual address to Congress. Instead, Fox handed in a written copy of his report, and his office said he would address the nation in a televised speech later Friday.

The standoff came six days before the top electoral court must declare a president-elect or annul the July 2 vote and order a new election. So far, rulings have favored ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon, who was ahead by about 240,000 votes in the official count.

Lopez Obrador has already said he won't recognize the electoral court's decision, and he plans to create a parallel government and rule from the streets.

Minimum wage for thee, but not for me.

Powerline Blog posts Rules Are For Other People which is about the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hiring "Boston's Grassroots Campaigns to solicit money for the DCCC by promoting, among other things, the need to raise the minimum wage."

It would seem however, that these grassroot canvassers themselves are not getting paid minimum wage. When asked about this, the DCCC said they would look into it.

So what has been the response? **Crickets chirping**

So what does this silence by the DCCC mean? Well....

Powerline: "It's just another entry in the long history of Democratic Party hypocrisy."

Never Mind
By Lorie Byrd

"I watched entirely too much television as a child. I was a big fan of Saturday Night Live and loved the Emily Litella character. For those unfamiliar with Litella, she was played by Gilda Radner and was a little old lady who did commentary on the SNL Weekend Update segment. She was hard of hearing and was constantly confusing words. She would rant on and on, slapping the desk all the while, about one outrage or another until Chevy Chase explained to her that, for example, the report she heard was about bussing schoolchildren, not busting them. She would pause a moment, smile a sweet little smile, look into the camera and say, “Never mind.”

There have been quite a few “never mind” media opportunites during the Bush years. They range in significance from such incorrect stories as that of the plastic Thanksgiving turkey in Baghdad, to stories such as those of widespread rape and murder in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina." Continue reading.

Plain lies, war lies and partisanship
By David Limbaugh

Democrats are outraged over President Bush's new series of national security speeches. There he goes again, politicizing the war.

Hezbollah's hollow victory

"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not.''

-- Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader, Aug. 27

Charles Krauthammer looks at the Hezbollah 'victory' and makes some good observations:

WASHINGTON -- "So much for the "strategic and historic victory'' Nasrallah had claimed less than two weeks earlier. What real victor declares that, had he known, he would not have started the war that ended in triumph?

Nasrallah's admission, vastly underplayed in the West, makes clear what the Lebanese already knew. Hezbollah may have won the propaganda war, but on the ground it lost. Badly.

True, under the inept and indecisive leadership of Ehud Olmert, Israel did miss the opportunity to militarily destroy Hezbollah and make it a non-factor in Israel's security, Lebanon's politics and Iran's foreign policy. Nonetheless, Hezbollah was seriously hurt. It lost hundreds of its best fighters. A deeply entrenched infrastructure on Israel's border is in ruins. The great hero has had to go so deep into hiding that Nasrallah has been called "the underground mullah.''

Most importantly, Hezbollah's political gains within Lebanon during the war have proved illusory. As the dust settles, the Lebanese are furious at Hezbollah for provoking a war that brought them nothing but devastation -- and then crowing about victory amid the ruins.

The Western press was once again taken in by the mystique of the "Arab street.'' The mob came out to cheer Hezbollah for raining rockets on Israel -- surprise! -- and the Arab governments that had initially criticized Hezbollah went conveniently silent. Now that the mob has gone home, Hezbollah is under renewed attack -- in newspapers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt, as well as by many Lebanese, including influential Shiite academics and clan leaders. The Arabs know where their interests lie. And they do not lie with a Shiite militia that fights for Iran." Read the rest.

“A universal peace, it is to be feared, is in the catalogue of events, which will never exist but in the imaginations of visionary philosophers, or in the breasts of benevolent enthusiasts.”

—James Madison

Former sushi chef: Mistress suite in Kim's nuclear bunker

"North Korea leader Kim Jong-Il has a secret bunker near Pyongyang to protect him from a nuclear attack, according to South Korean press reports."

'Somthing terribly wrong' about aiding enemies in time of war

Ed Koch (D), ex-mayor of New York City, has written 'Somthing terribly wrong' about aiding enemies in time of war.

On the heels of what Bush and Rumsfeld have been saying in the last couple of days, this has to be driving the left nuts.

United Nations: You Have No Right To Self-Defense

Glenn Reynolds has been pointing to several people talking about a UN report that minimizes the importance of what many hold to be the most basic of all human rights, that of self defense."

Oh, sure. He's believable.

Syria committed to Hezbollah weapons embargo Assad tells Annan.
ABC News Online

"United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says Syrian President Bashar Assad has promised to enforce an arms embargo on Hezbollah under a UN resolution that halted Israel's war with the Lebanese group.

Mr Annan met with Mr Assad in Damascus, on the last part of the secretary-general's tour of the Middle East.

'The President informed me that Syria supports Security Council Resolution 1701 and will help in its implementation,' Mr Annan said."

Some slightly uncomfortable questions

A post from Sandmonkey which is an Egyptian blog that is pro-American:

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a co-worker, on the concept of the disporportinate Israeli attacks on Lebanon compared to Hezbollah attacks. He pointed to me his dismay at Hezbollah's rockets ineffeciency at hitting targets. He said "If you noticed, they bomb each other almost equally in amounts of missiles shot, but 90% of Hezbollah's rockets miss or hit nothing, while all of Israel's rockets hit something. If Hezbollah had better rockets, the civillian death toll on the Israeli side would be huge, and they would be really hurting by now."

Impressed by this point of view that I haven't considerd before, I asked him what he would've thought, if a Hezbollah rocket had attacked a building in Israel, killing 55 civillians, of which 30 were children. He responded immeidtely "I would've thought it was great! A7san!".

So I repeated the same question to 8 other co-workers, and the responses so far have been as follows: 7 said they would celebrate, and 2 said that such an attack would've been bad, but justified! Yeah! Not a single person said that the death of any civllian, on either side, is an equal tragedy. Civillians dead on our side is tragic, civillian deaths on their side cause for celebration. And if you think I am being unfair or demonizing arabs or whatever, do me a favor and try it at your work place and/or with members of your family. Conduct this little social experiment and see for yourself. The results are very interesting.

This begs another question: If we were the ones who had the superior military machine, would we have shown them any mercy, or any regard to their civillian casualties? Would we have hesitated to wipe them all out? Armed forces, civillians, whatever? Would any of us have felt bad about it at all? Or would we be filled with the feelings of Pride, honor and dignity that we keep talking about day and night?

Although this is anecdotal evidence, having asked 9 co-workers, I find the responses extremely dissapointing; but, unfortunately not all that surprising.

(Hat tip to Right Wing News.)

Running scared

Also from Sandmonkey

"The EU wants to stall on any decision regarding Iran, which is understandable. After all, the Iranian missilies can't reach the US. It's limit is Europe. This is why they have been stalling the sanctions and keep proposing dialogue. They are scared shitless. The leaders are, anyway. The people? Well, too concerned about US Hegomony and hypocrisy to actually worry about stuff like nuclear Iran."

"If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute."

-- Thomas Paine

The classics get Islam twist
Pinocchio, Tom Sawyer and other characters have been converted to Islam in new versions of 100 classic stories in the Turkish school curriculum.

Israelis vacate part of Lebanon
The Israeli army turned over a small border area in southern Lebanon to Lebanese and foreign troops yesterday, a symbolic move paving the way for U.N. peacekeepers to go into the volatile region.

This is the position I've been advocating all along

Hoffa backs control of nation's borders
James P. Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, called for tighter U.S. border control yesterday, saying the country must stop illegal immigration so it can focus on the undocumented aliens already here.

Who would have thought that Hoffa and I would agree on anything?

Gene therapy successfully treats cancer
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have performed the first successful use of gene therapy as a cancer treatment, in a study of 17 patients with advanced melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer that kills almost 8,000 Americans annually.

Gingrich opposed to U.S. strike on Iran
In an impromptu speech during a Mediterranean cruise that hosted scores of conservative donors and activists, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich expressed unexpected skepticism about prospects of military intervention to halt Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran rebuffs U.N. deadline; Bush fires back
Iran's president defiantly refused to compromise as a U.N. deadline for his country to stop enriching uranium arrived yesterday, prompting the United States to threaten sanctions against the Islamist regime -- with or without unanimous approval of the U.N

EDITORIAL

OpinionJournal
Fess Up, Mr. Armitage Time to put the Plame conspiracy to its final rest.

"From its very start, the ballyhooed case of who leaked the name of CIA analyst Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak has been drenched in partisan politics and media hypocrisy. The more we learn, however, the more it also reveals about the internal dysfunction of the Bush Administration and the lack of loyalty among some of its most senior officials." More...

“Pluto lost its status as a planet in a ruling Wednesday by the International Astronomical Union. All science books have to be re-written and re-illustrated. As a result of the decision, the planet now farthest from the earth is Washington, DC.” —Argus Hamilton

“We are really enabling immigrants to avoid learning English and assimilating into our culture because we give them everything they need so they don’t have to learn to speak English or become part of the traditional melting pot. By enabling these people, we build an enclave for them that looks like the one they ran away from at home...” —Michael Reagan

“Unless we in the West adapt more quickly than do canny Islamic terrorists in this constantly evolving war, cease our internecine fighting and stop forgetting what we’ve learned about our enemies—there will be disasters to come far worse than Sept. 11.” —Victor Davis Hanson

Rumsfeld warns against 'appeasement'

"SALT LAKE CITY -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday the world faces 'a new type of fascism' and warned against repeating the pre-World War II mistake of appeasement.

He alluded to critics of the Bush administration's war policies in terms associated with the failure to stop Nazi Germany in the 1930s, which the Pentagon chief called 'a time when a certain amount of cynicism and moral confusion set in among the Western democracies.'

Without explicitly citing President Bush's critics at home or abroad, he said 'it is apparent that many have still not learned history's lessons.' " Read more.

I see nothing wrong with the things Rumsfeld is saying here. But the thin-skinned Democrats are taking exception to all the mean things that the "liar" is saying as you can see here.

Democrats take fire at Rumsfeld - Politics - MSNBC.com: "WASHINGTON - Democrats chastised Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld Wednesday for questioning the historical grasp of Bush administration war critics, accusing him of engaging in 'dangerous business.' "

Emmett Tyrrell does a good job at lambasting the Dems for their 'outrage' at Rummies 'verbal attacks' in his column The Rumsfeld horripilation.

"WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week in his speech before the national convention of the American Legion, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made an unconscionable faux pas. He defended our present policy in Iraq and our war on terror by citing historic events and quoting Winston Churchill and Georges Clemenceau. That is a rude way to discuss policy with one's Democratic opponents. The historical record is a particularly sore subject with the likes of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who inveighed against Rumsfeld's speech as 'reckless.' History has not been going his way for a while. Reid's equivalent in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, spoke of the secretary's impairment ... and she was not referring to his golf swing. Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, accused Rumsfeld of questioning the critics' patriotism." Read more of Emmett Tyrrell's column.

Dereliction of duty

"In a time of war, how do democratic governments deal with allegedly unbiased news organizations that may slant their coverage in favor of those who mean to destroy said governments?"

Gallup points to GOP resurgence

By Donald Lambro

"WASHINGTON -- Republicans have moved closer to the Democrats in a congressional voter-preference poll just as the election campaigns near the official Labor Day starting gate.

The surprising findings in a little-noticed Gallup Poll that were ignored by most of the national news media shows the Democrats barely leading the Republicans by just two points -- 47 percent to 45 percent." More.

Carter, Kerry and Other Embarrassments -- 08/31/2006

By Christopher G. Adamo

"Like a chronic rash, former President Jimmy Carter has emerged once again to display a quality that vastly eclipses mere ignorance. If his abominable utterances of recent weeks were merely the result of misinformation, the law of averages suggests that Carter would occasionally end up on the right side of one issue or another."

If I only had a brain....

'Tis a good thing she has the 'beauty thing' going for her, for it is apparent she has no brain.

FILE THIS ONE UNDER: HUH..? WHAT THE HELL?

Minneapolis Police Suspend Christian Psychologist

"Pro-family groups are defending a psychologist who screens potential officers for the Minneapolis Police Department after he was suspended because of his past affiliation with an Illinois group that opposes special legal recognition for homosexuals.

Interim Chief Tim Dolan announced Aug. 24 that the police department would stop using Michael Campion's screening services until it could conduct an investigation into his relationship with the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) and whether his personal religious beliefs influence his psychological evaluations." Read more.

"A fondness for power is implanted, in most men, and it is natural to abuse it, when acquired."

-- Alexander Hamilton

The United Nations' Lack of Legitimacy

"In 1972 I was not rehired at the Department of Philosophy of the California State University, Bakersfield, even though I fulfilled the promise of finishing my dissertation and obtained my PhD as I was told I would have to so as to be reappointed. I was mystified -- I had a good publication record, my teaching went quite well as a beginner. So what was up?

I had a friend in the office. She checked out the secret records they could still keep on people back then and learned that those records contained something totally irrelevant to my qualifications. I had written a letter to the editor of the local paper, The Bakersfield Californian, in which I argued that the United Nations is mostly a coercive international organization that lacks any moral or even political legitimacy. Turns out, this letter made it into my records -- and through the grapevine I heard it was deemed an embarrassment by the dean and my department chairman. Cal State Bakersfield was just starting up in 1970, and academic freedom wasn't their priority. Looking good in the community and to the politicians in Sacramento -- that was what counted most." Continue...

Are black Democrats liberal enough for the left?

The trend of incumbent Democratic lawmakers facing primary challenges from the left is not sparing black lawmakers, despite their generally being among the party's more liberal representatives and blacks being the party's most loyal constituency.

'NEWT' IS RIGHT...IT IS A SCARY THOUGHT

Gingrich: Powerful Pelosi 'would be a disaster'

JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Ex-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that the thought of California Rep. Nancy Pelosi becoming the next leader of the House and being third in line to the presidency is frightening.

MORE BAD NEWS FOR THE LEFT

Army Meets Its Retention Goal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Staff Sgt. Michael Obleton has already done two tours in Iraq, dodging roadside bombs as he drove trucks in Army convoys across the hostile countryside.

I thank God for men like him.

“We need more Democrats in the Senate—like Custer needed more arrows.” —Ronald Reagan

Commentary

It’s the Teachers Unions, Stupid!
By Chuck Muth
In state after state, all across the county, we hear the same, tired refrain from apologists for the government-run education bureaucracy: "Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!" And maybe conservatives should be open to significant funding increases for education. In return, however, conservatives should demand significant education repairs. Not band-aids. Not tinkering around the edges. Massive overhaul…

Commentary

No More Ambulances for Terror
By Michelle Malkin

What kind of cold-blooded thugs use ambulances as killing aids or propaganda tools? Islamic terrorists, of course, have an unsurpassed history of using emergency vehicles as tools of their murderous trade. International charities and media dupes have gone along for the ride…

Commentary

Property Rights Attack Continues
By Walter E. Williams

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Kelo v. New London decision, ruled that the private property of one American could be taken and given to another American as long as it served a public purpose. Many Americans were angered by this violation of both the letter and spirit of the Fifth Amendment, which in part reads, “. . . nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Public purpose is not the same as public use. My response to the Kelo decision was, “See, I told you so.” For decades, Americans have been willing to allow politicians to trample over private property rights, so why should we be surprised when politicians become more emboldened? Read more.

'Expel Sudan from the UN'

"Sudan should be suspended from the United Nations and eventually expelled if it continues to defy U.N. resolutions and international human rights law with its abuses in Darfur, a non-governmental organization said Tuesday"

A TALE OF TWO COMMUNIST STORIES

Notice the differences in these two stories.

Russia Leery of Sanctions Against Iran
"Moscow – Wary of penalties against Iran because it has so much at stake, Russia is continuing to urge diplomatic efforts rather than sanctions as the U.N. Security Council’s August 31 deadline approaches..."

"China Uneasy About Sanctions Against Iran, Says They’ll Hurt West
With the U.N. Security Council’s deadline for Iran’s nuclear activities looming, China is warning the Western powers not to impose sanctions against Tehran..."

I don't have much good to say about either of these two nations. However, it would appear in this case, Russia is being honest; they feel sanctions against Iran would harm their own interest. With China, I take little comfort in the fact that they are "concerned" about sanctions on Iran, fearing that these sanctions would hurt the West.

Apparently, Russia could learn a little about propaganda from China.

Venezuela, Syria Join Forces Against ‘American Imperialism’
Jerusalem – Thousands of flag-waving Syrians greeted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Damascus on Wednesday as he began a three-day official visit to challenging what he called American “imperialism.”

Americans back anti-terrorism racial profiling

Yahoo! News

"BOSTON (Reuters) - Most Americans expect a terrorist attack on the United States in the next few months and support the screening of people who look 'Middle Eastern' at airports and train stations, a poll showed on Tuesday.

The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute said 62 percent of Americans were 'very worried' or 'somewhat worried' that terrorists would strike the nation in the next few months while 37 percent were 'not too worried' or 'not worried at all.'

By a 60 percent to 37 percent margin, respondents said authorities should single out people who look 'Middle Eastern' for security screening at locations such as airports and train stations -- a finding that drew sharp criticism by civil liberties groups." More.

A RELAXING DAY

I just returned from the Minnesota State Fair. I had breakfast there. Then, I met Mrs. HH at the fair, along with my son, HH Jr. and a friend of his at around 9:30 AM. A little while later, I had a couple of beers, a couple of corn dogs, taffy, Tom Thumb Mini-Donuts, and a tasty and sweet Minnesota grown 'Paulared' apple. Ya gotta' have something healthy don't ya'?

I stopped by The Patriot 1280 AM radio station booth and listened to Dennis Prager and got my morning moral clarity fix. I got to say a brief "Hi" to him after the show before he and his son had to dash off to catch their plane.

Once, back home to the 'burbs' wherest I live, by turning in the ticket stub from the fair, I could receive a free glass of beer from a nearby watering hole. And rest assured, I did just that. Of course being guilt ridden, I could not just stop for a free one and then skidaddle, I did what any good American male who supports capitalism would do ..... I had another...... along with some nacho chips and cheese. I don't want to know how many points my cholesterol level shot up today.

What great weather we had today, too. Great weather, great company (yes my wife, Mrs HH, reads my blog in case you are wondering), great food, Prager clarity .... and beer. Life is good.

Just a reminder about who and why we are fighting

By Dennis Prager

"Last year at UCLA, I debated a professor who argued that Israel and the Palestinians were moral equivalents. He is not alone (especially on college campuses) in his lack of understanding of the immoral nature of the Islamic enemies of America and Israel.

Thus it is important to remind people once again about the moral world inhabited by the people we are fighting, whom President George W. Bush calls the Islamic Fascists." Read more...

The NAFTA super highway

"This is a 'mind-boggling concept,' exploded Lou Dobbs. It must cause Americans to think our political and academic elites have 'gone utterly mad.' What had detonated the mild-mannered CNN anchor?

Dr. Robert Pastor, vice chair of the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on North America, had just appeared before a panel of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations -- to call for erasing all U.S. borders and a merger of the United States, Mexico and Canada in a North American union stretching from Prudhoe Bay to Guatemala." More....

'Peacekeeping' farce in Lebanon

Editorials/Op-Ed - The Washington Times

"In the wake of the Israel Defense Forces' inability to dislodge Hezbollah's military, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert seems intent on trying to spin his way out of his unhappy political predicament. This will be extraordinarily difficult, given the realities that: 1) Hezbollah, an arm of the Iranian government, remains a powerful, if not dominating, force in Lebanon; 2) neither the Lebanese government nor the European-led U.N. 'peacekeeping force' shows any serious inclination to disarm the terrorist group; and 3) when Israel, acting in self-defense, takes military action to prevent Syria and Iran from resupplying Hezbollah with weapons, it will be attacked by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other representatives of the international community -- just as it was when it launched such an operation 10 days ago."

Hizballah Spreading Radical Goals With Fund-Raising Drives
Jerusalem – Hizballah is spreading its destruction-of-Israel ideology at the same time it collects money from the local Lebanese population, an expert here said on Tuesday...

Gov. Schwarzenegger Accused of ‘Squashing Religious Freedom’
A conservative advocacy group says California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has betrayed California families by signing a bill that will force faith-based colleges to either abandon their biblical standards on sexuality, or else reject students who receive state financial aid...

Groups Support Border Patrol Agents Who Shot Smuggler
Two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler who was fleeing from Texas into Mexico face the possibility of 20 years in prison, but some groups say the agents were just doing their jobs – and they are calling for the investigation to be reopened...

Mexico court rejects claims of vote fraud
Mexico's top electoral court yesterday threw out leftists' claims of massive fraud in last month's presidential election, almost certainly handing victory to conservative candidate Felipe Calderon.

Hezbollah Builds New War Bunkers
All Headline News - USA
Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Hezbollah has begun building new bunkers after many of its large and well-equipped underground compounds were destroyed during more ...

51% of Lebanese Vote in Favor of Hezbollah Disarming
Zaman Online - Istanbul,Turkey
Amid discussions of whether the United Nations-led peacekeeping force will be charged with disarming Hezbollah after its deployment to Lebanon; at least half ...

Hezbollah's indoctrination

United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - Analysis: Hezbollah's indoctrination

TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- "Israeli soldiers who searched Hezbollah homes and bunkers in the south Lebanese village of Maroun el-Ras found a booklet that provided a glimpse into that movement's religious indoctrination." Continue...

THE WRONG ARMY

You wanna' take a look at the criticism that we always seem to 'have the wrong army.' Go here to see what's wrong with it.

Commentary

By Pete Du Pont
An attempt to circumvent the Electoral College is really an urban power grab.

For more than 200 years America has chosen its presidents as the Constitution provides: through the Electoral College. Traditionally, each state has cast its electoral votes--equal to its total representation in Congress--for the candidate who receives the most votes statewide.

But last week the California Senate passed legislation to award the state's Electoral College votes to the candidate who has received the most popular votes nationally--whether Californians chose him or not. A similar bill passed the Assembly on May 30, so it will soon be up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign or veto the bill. Such a bill also passed the Colorado Senate in April, part of a national to change the way we choose our presidents. The mandate doesn't take effect until enough other states sign on to provide a majority of electoral votes. If it were in effect in 2004, George W. Bush would have taken California's 55 electoral votes, even though John Kerry carried the state by a margin of nearly 10%. Continue.

Judicial Chaos
By Robert D. Novak

The background of a federal district court declaring President Bush’s national security eavesdropping unconstitutional was a conservative’s fantasy. The judge, a former Democratic politician and civil rights activist, wrote what read more like a political manifesto than a judicial opinion. What’s more, she was responsible for contributions to an organization that was a plaintiff in the case she decided...

When is it OK for boys to be girls, and girls to be boys?

Park Day School is throwing out gender boundaries.

Many kids want to look and act like the other sex. For some, it's a phase; for others, it's not. Parents and schools are adjusting.

Teachers at the private Oakland elementary school have stopped asking the children to line up according to sex when walking to and from class. They now let boys play girls and girls play boys in skits. And there's a unisex bathroom.

Admissions director Flo Hodes is even a little apologetic that she still balances classes by gender. More details.

Mandatory Pre-Employment Screening Closer to Reality
The immigration reform bills in the Senate and House have little in common, but one thing both chambers agree on is the need to verify potential employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States. An automated system to do just that is already in place and could be implemented nationwide soon...

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.” —Marcus Tullius Cicero

UN Watch Demands Investigation of UNIFIL Aid to Hezbollah

Today, according to News Blaze, UN Watch faxed a letter to Kofi Annan demanding an investigation into allegations that UNIFIL peacekeepers provided intelligence information to Hezbollah terrorists on Israel troop movements during the most recent conflict, which obviously is a gross violation of neutrality that the U.N. is supposed to abide by.

I had a post earlier on this story that had appeared in The Weekly Standard. The UN Watch letter to Kofi is as follows:

His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan

The Secretary-General
The United Nations
New York, NY 10017
Via fax

Dear Mr. Secretary-General,

We are deeply troubled by new evidence that the supposedly neutral United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ("UNIFIL") assisted Hezbollah terrorists by publishing detailed, sensitive information on Israeli troop movements on its website during the recent Israel/Hezbollah conflict. (See Lori Lowenthal Marcus, "What did you do in the war, UNIFIL?", The Weekly Standard , Volume 11, Issue 47, 4 September 2006. No similar information was published about Hezbollah forces, who fired more than 4,000 missiles aimed deliberately at Israeli civilians.

If true, such conduct is unconscionable-although not entirely surprising, given UNIFIL's sad history of both tacit and active bias towards Hezbollah and against Israel-and raises troubling questions as to whether UN forces can be trusted to even-handedly police this area, just as more are being readied to deploy.

We urge you to initiate an immediate investigation into this matter.

With great respect, we remain,

Sincerely yours,

Ambassador Alfred H. Moses

Chairman

Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director

cc: Major-General Alain Pellegrini, UNIFIL Force Commander

Does anybody really think anything will come of this? Puuuuhhhhleeeeease....!

A North American United Nations?

By Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas

"Globalists and one-world promoters never seem to tire of coming up with ways to undermine the sovereignty of the United States. The most recent attempt comes in the form of the misnamed 'Security and Prosperity Partnership Of North America (SPP).' In reality, this new 'partnership' will likely make us far less secure and certainly less prosperous." Read on.

Hezbollah 'in talks' on prisoner exchange
ABC Online - Australia
The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nassrallah, says negotiations are under way to return two Israeli soldiers abducted last month. ...

Hezbollah won't resist UN troops
NEWS.com.au - Australia
HEZBOLLAH leader Hassan Nasrallah said today UN troops set to deploy in southern Lebanon will not encounter any resistance from his fighters, and expressed ...

Al-Qaeda member: Hizbullah backed by evil

Ynetnews

Al-Qaeda member says Hizbullah backed by evil. Website quotes al-Qaeda senior figure as saying: 'Hizbullah are infidels, it and Israel are enemies of Allah'.

"A speech allegedly made by Sheikh Abu Abdul Rahman has surfaced on a jihadi pro al-Qaeda website in which Rahman is cited as condemning the 'infidel Hizbullah' and 'the most corrupted regimes of Syria and Iran.'

The speech was posted on the Islamist Muntada internet forum, frequently used by British Muslim al-Qaeda sympathizers, and was described as being a 'summary of an address by Sheikh Abu Abdul Rahman speaking from Lebanon.'

It is unclear whether the speaker identified as Rahman on the forum is a reference to al-Qaeda's second in command in Iraq, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Iraqi, and whether the senior al-Qaeda figure actually delivered the message from Lebanon.

The statement does, however, represent the seething resentment of Sunni al-Qaeda, directed at what it sees as an attempted Shiite takeover of the jihad campaign in the Middle East." Read on.

Fox News Crew Freed After Gaza Ordeal

My Way News

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - "Militants freed two Fox News journalists on Sunday, ending a nearly two week hostage drama. One of the former captives said they were sometimes held face down in a dark garage, tied up in painful positions and forced at gunpoint to make videos and say they had converted to Islam.

Correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, of Washington, D.C., and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials. A tearful Centanni briefly embraced a Palestinian journalist in the lobby, then rushed upstairs with Wiig behind him." Read more.

PA gov't spokesman: People are to blame for situation

Palestinian government spokesperson and Hamas official criticizes chaos, violence in Gaza, says Israeli occupation couldn't be blamed for all; calls on Palestinians to admit to mistakes.

Soul searching in Hamas. Dr Ghazi Hamad, the spokesperson of the Palestinian government, waged scathing criticism against the Palestinian public on Sunday, blaming the Palestinians for turning the Gaza Strip into a lawless and violent place.

"Have mercy on Gaza," he wrote in an op-ed published on Sunday.

"After the withdrawal from Gaza, we hoped for a bright future, we thought that this year we will reap the fruits of our sacrifices. But I ask myself today – why did the occupation return to Gaza. The occupation – wise men and commentators will say – is responsible. I am not defending the occupation, but I want to stop at our mistakes, which we are accustomed to blame on others." Continue.

Why liberals are crushing dissent

By Kevin McCullough

Liberals are actively undermining first amendment rights to free speech by trying to crush opposing views.

"Growing ever bolder in their naked grab for power they are leaving scorched earth behind those who disagree with them. This is why Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, and Zell Miller no longer find themselves included in the modern Democratic Party. What is left over for the Democrats are wildly anti-American, anti-God, and anti-biblical leftists who are now bragging about their use of brute force to crush the voices of those who disagree with them.

Perhaps that's why this week in one of the boldest moves yet by a sitting liberal, Democrat Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez proclaimed, 'The real purpose of SB 1437 is to outlaw traditional perspectives on marriage and family in the state school system.'

He continued, 'The way you correct a wrong (perspective) is by outlawing.’Cause if you don't outlaw it, then people's biases tend to take over and dominate the perspective and the point of view.'

Nunez's solution to the people he disagrees with is to outlaw their ability to disagree with him." Read entire commentary.

What the United Nations Needs

Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com
By Shashi Tharoor

"The United Nations is a 20th-century organization facing a 21st-century challenge—an institution with impressive achievements........" (audio).

Texas city eyes alien crackdown
About 200 Hispanics rallied yesterday in front of City Hall, demanding that officials rethink their proposals to crack down on illegal aliens.

Israeli general plots war with Iran
Israel has appointed a top general to oversee a war against Iran, prompting speculation that it is preparing for possible military action against Tehran's nuclear program.

Report: Israel And Hezbollah To Swap Prisoners
All Headline News - USA
Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Despite its earlier stance, Israel has agreed to conduct a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah, Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper ...

"Reagan understood that you could either talk common sense to the American people or you could talk nonsense to the New York Times, but you couldn't do both." - Newt Gingrich