Edinburg firefighters inhale too much pot smoke during blaze

Edinburg firefighters inhale too much pot smoke during blaze

Edinburg firefighters inhale too much pot smoke during blaze
Houston Chronicle (AP) ^ | 6/22/07

Associated Press

EDINBURG — Federal authorities were trying to find out today who stored 2,000 pounds of marijuana in a warehouse that caught fire.

It took more than 35 firefighters about half an hour to extinguish Wednesday's blaze with 1,000 gallons of water and five gallons of chemical suppressant, Edinburg Fire Chief Shawn Snider said.

Snider said the firefighters were exposed to so much marijuana smoke they would not be able to pass a drug test, despite the air packs they wore to prevent them from inhaling toxic or hazardous fumes.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were called in to investigate the origin of the drugs, and the Hidalgo County fire marshal was investigating whether arson might have been the cause.

Black & Right � Sarge Speaks: The Duke 88

Black & Right >> Sarge Speaks: The Duke 88
Bob Parks gives the floor to sheer brilliance:

by Bob Parks

Every now and then I get an email from a reader that puts a topic into words as good, if not better than I. This is one of those occasions.

Sarge57 sent me an account of a message sent to the "Concerned Duke Faculty", now affectionately known as the "Gang of 88". His letter was impassioned, but never rude or obscene. The response he received was telling….

"I wish to offer my personal encounter with one of the Duke 88 after I sent them a group email. It is detailed below.

"I was outraged by the arrogant and presumptive proclamation by 88 members of the Duke University after they took out an ad in a campus newspaper connecting the accused Duke Lacrosse players with intimidation and racism.

"Accordingly, I sent two group emails to the Duke 88. The only response I received was from one Paula McClain, who among her other offices is the Co-Director, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Social Sciences at Duke. Below is the second iteration of the two messages that I sent."

The Duke Rape case is a crystallization (pardon the pun) of all the corruption to the rule of law, linear reasoning and the presumption of innocence engendered by political correctness and Cultural Marxism (particularly that personified by campus professorial elites).

It has added a new phrase to the lexicon: To be Nifonged. The egregious conduct of Nifong will be addressed in other venues. As an Illinois state policeman for 28 years, I can say with near complete confidence that a case like this with these facts would never have passed Felony Review with even the WORST State’s Attorney that I ever dealt with.

The most important lesson to be gleaned from this is that Tawana Brawley Syndrome is no substitute for a proper analysis of the objective facts. I LOVE to see liberals like you hoisted on the petard of Political Correctness, racial identity politics, gender determinant feminism and what I have coined as “Tawana Brawley Syndrome”.

TBS exists when one takes a historical reality such as the marginalization of innocent blacks within a once overtly racist criminal justice system or the past subjugation of women or any number of other offenses and attempts to apply that to a contemporary situation wherein the objective facts don’t apply; ala OJ Simpson, Rodney King, Anita Hill etc. In the Brawley case, Al Sharpton was continually referencing the “400 years” of unrequited oppression for black women and their inability to obtain redress within a racist criminal justice system. The fact is that had absolutely nothing to do with the Tawana Brawley case.

None of this would have happened if an unscrupulous DA had not chosen to exploit racial identity politics using an apparently mentally ill woman for his political gain, and if the Duke 88, the Durham black community, the radical feminists, and the racial grievance industry merchants had sifted thru the facts objectively and not attempted to stuff them into lurid post modern meta-narratives of privileged white male elites sexually exploiting black women. But than the attendant historical overtones of plantation sexual abuse were probably too much for them to resist. I have increasingly noted that fact and truth present no barrier to the fanatical Cultural Marxist.

My question now is this: Will all those who stampeded to rush to judge and vilify these innocent men now arrange a meeting with them, ala Imus to apologize and create a genuine aura of “healing”? I hope so but I don’t think so, because often being a liberal means never having to say you’re sorry.

Aside from the fact that petty tyrants like you have turned US college campuses into little ivy covered North Koreas, I suspect that you were seeking to appropriate PC bonus points and obtain instant moral authority by championing the cause of the “other” (marginalized black exotic dancer) against racist male chauvinist members of the privileged white elite. A case of cultural Marxist Class warfare that boomeranged. GOD how I love it so!!!!!

Even though I despise the racial identity politics that mindlessly multicultural cultural Marxists like you have fostered amongst my people to our ultimate detriment, I would like to state that I am a black man living in the heart of Chicago’s South Side ghetto, who values the rule of law and truth as best as it can be objectively and humanly determined.

It would be fitting if they get a pretty penny from you.

"I got the response below:"

Your continued messages have now moved into the realm of harassment and I have reported you to your service provider for using abusive and inappropriate language in your email which was sent through their servers.

Paula D. McClain
Professor of Political Science
Professor of Public Policy
Department of Political Science
Co-Director, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity
and Gender in the Social Sciences
Duke University

"Accordingly, I responded as follows"

I was unaware that the 2 emails that I sent to you had caused you such distress. I wish to tender my apologies and desire to assure you that you shall receive no further messages from me. But since you are a college professor I was acting upon the putative assumption that universities are about the exchange of ideas, and I thought that my admittedly critically gloating message might prompt a suitable rejoinder. My missive was harsh, yes even severe. But it does contain concepts and ideas that however offensive ought to provoke a suitably barbed retort rather than a threat of server censorship.

Alas, I shall have to reconsider the notion that the campus is about the free exchange of ideas. But this is precisely what I was getting at in my email. If you can ever manage to free yourself from leftist dogmatic doctrine maybe you will realize that.

This is the best evidence of the thought policing that must be extant on all too many college campuses. If she can threaten me with this, someone unconnected with Duke University, just imagine the ax that she wields over any dissenting students!!!! Political Correctness is the intellectual scourge of our time and the worst threat to academic freedom that I have ever seen.

"I have learned today that Duke has named McClain to head the Academic Affairs Dept. The anti-exterminators at Duke's administration have decided to shield their professorial termites from tort pesticides so they may continue their destruction of Duke’s edifice. One of the queen termites is even getting a new throne!!!!! No speaking truth to power there!!!!"

Way to go, Sarge.

And while we're at it, let's not let the mainstream media off the hook.

The tragedy remains that in America (and around the world), women are raped every day. What's sad is that in this case, the "rape" met a template liberals in the media salivated at exposing: White privileged kids at an elite university sexually assaulting and humiliating a poor, defenseless Black woman who was doing what she had to do to support her family.

Of all the rapes that occur in the state of North Carolina, if not the nation, this was the one singled out for exposure because it was racially sensational. Had it not been for the race element, Mike Nifong may not have abused the case for political gain (however, he is a Democrat, so…). The exposure emboldened the Gang of 88, polarized and created fear and loathing on a college campus, and energized the PC-trained student goon squads.

It's not over.

Posted in Vox Populi, Bob Parks at 10:10 am by Bob Parks | Permalink | |

List of journalists taking sides - Politics - MSNBC.com

List of journalists taking sides - Politics - MSNBC.com
Taking sides? Sure, if over 90% of the cash going to the Rats (whaddashocker) constitutes side-taking. Click the headline for the whole list.

S.C. Cops: Naked Couple Falls 50 Feet From Rooftop to Their Deaths

S.C. Cops: Naked Couple Falls 50 Feet From Rooftop to Their Deaths
It's not even Friday yet... but click the headline for the black humor... if'n you can take it.

= )

Netanyahu on Jimmy Carter: "He's an odd little man"

Netanyahu on Jimmy Carter: "He's an odd little man"
Yes sir, that's my Bibi!

Neil Cavuto showed a quote from Jimmy Carter saying the US and Fatah are committing a criminal act by opposing Hamas.

What do most Israeli's think about Jimmy Carter?

He gets a smirk.. there's an awkward pause...

"I think they view him as an odd little man"

The Politically Incorrect Americanism of (Jessica) Alba, Pacino, and Arnold

The Politically Incorrect Americanism of (Jessica) Alba, Pacino, and Arnold

Hablas Espanol?

Jessica Alba doesn’t. Is there anything wrong with that? Apparently so.

The third-generation American and actress is under fire this week from fellow Latinos for comments she made to Para Todos magazine:

Alba is my last name and I'm proud of that. But that's it. My grandparents were born in California, the same as my parents, and though I may be proud of my last name, I'm American. Throughout my whole life, I've never felt connected to one particular race or heritage, nor did I feel accepted by any. If you break it down, I'm less Latina than Cameron Diaz, whose father is Cuban. But people don't call her Latina because she's blonde…

My grandfather was the only Mexican at his college, the only Hispanic person at work and the only one at the all-white country club. He tried to forget his Mexican roots, because he never wanted his kids to be made to feel different in America. He and my grandmother didn't speak Spanish to their children. Now, as a third-generation American, I feel as if I have finally cut loose.

My whole life, when I was growing up, not one race has ever accepted me, ... So I never felt connected or attached to any race specifically. I had a very American upbringing, I feel American, and I don't speak Spanish. So, to say that I'm a Latin actress, OK, but it's not fitting; it would be insincere.

She never felt connected to any race, specifically, but she always felt American. That doesn’t sounds like a bad thing, does it? And yet, it is, in the eyes of many activists.

One blog post on the comments remarks, “Guess sell-outs come in all races and sizes.” Another calls it a “disturbing hoard of quotes.” Another claims she “hates Mexicans.”

Comments about Alba’s comments include, “F**K YOU THEN, JESSICA…VIVA LA RAZA!!!,” “She should just change her last name to White, then,” and “I thought she could be a good role model for Latinas, but she is a fake, tryin’ to be white.”

Alba wasn’t trying to make a political statement. Instead, she sounds like she was trying to avoid speaking for an entire ethnicity and many recent immigrants when she barely speaks Spanish, and identifies as an American first. But because she didn’t reflexively take upon herself her ethnic mantle and collective responsibility, she’s bashed as a traitor to her race.

Elsewhere, a phenomenally successful first-generation immigrant was sharing his secret to success in America, which was much the same as the approach Alba’s college-educated grandfather took. When addressing the national Association of Hispanic Journalists, and responding to question about how Hispanics can improve academically, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said:

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set" and avoid Spanish-language television, books and newspapers, the Republican governor said Wednesday night…

"You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster," Schwarzenegger said.

"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say, and I'm going to get myself in trouble," he said, noting that he rarely spoke German and was forced to learn English when he emigrated from Austria.

The response from those in attendance?

"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that," said Alex Nogales, president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Naïve, out-of-it, hateful, traitorous. There is a large segment of the country that believes it’s somehow disrespectful to emphasize assimilation among new immigrants to the country.

And, it’s not just among leftist activists and left-coast gossip bloggers that this idea prevails. Just last year, Sen. Harry Reid called a proposal to make English the official language of America “racist,” despite the fact that a large majority of Americans support such a measure.

More recently, Barack Obama called the very discussion of English as an official language, “divisive” during a Democratic debate:

I have to say that this is the kind of question that is designed precisely to divide us. You know, you’re right: everybody is going to learn to speak English if they live in this country. The issue is not whether or not future generations of immigrants are going to learn English. The question is, how can we come up with both a legal and sensible immigration policy? And when we get distracted by those kinds of questions, I think we do a disservice to the American people.

But is everyone going to learn English, Sen. Obama? It seems that Schwarzenegger’s encouragement of English-language immersion for immigrants and Alba’s family’s decision to speak English only are put down in pretty harsh terms by folks on your own side of the aisle.

The movement to make English the official language of America is, in part, a response to the Left’s active discouragement of assimilation. Even the idea of the “melting pot” went out of style when I was in grade school, replaced in text books by the less offensive “mosaic.” You see, now we don’t do anything so gauche as melt into one, cohesive society. Instead, we are all obligated to hold onto our various ethnic and cultural identities and languages, building little barriers between communities, lest we be accused of “selling out” or trying to be too “white.”

There is certainly a way to assimilate without losing all touch with one’s culture. Being American does not mean being “white.” “American” is, by definition, many colors and characteristics. But the strength of America has always been in creating Americans of all colors and characteristics, not all colors and characters who happen to live in America.

The English language and cultural assimilation are unifying forces, economic passports, essential parts of preserving the American dream and all its blessings for everyone who comes to our shores.

When talking about comprehensive immigration reform, some have compared today’s illegal immigrants—the challenges and the prejudices they face—to legal immigration of Italians and Irishmen and others who came through Ellis Island just a few generations ago. But those same people conveniently overlook that anti-assimilation forces in America weren’t nearly so strong at that time.

Al Pacino is a second-generation American whose grandparents emigrated from Sicily, but despite living in his grandparents’ home, he speaks no Italian. Would anyone accuse that iconic Baby Boomer of being a traitor to his ethnicity? Well, he better watch out, if he keeps talking like this:

Explain to me what Italian-American culture is. We've been here 100 years. Isn't Italian-American culture American culture? That's because we're so diverse, in terms of intermarriage. Most everybody who's Italian is half Italian. Except me. I'm all Italian. I'm mostly Sicilian, and I have a little bit of Neapolitan in me. You get your full dose with me.

Alba, Schwarzenegger and Pacino have got it right. Their concern is with becoming successful, individual Americans, not with specious collective responsibilities imparted to them by their skin colors, accents, or surnames. As a result, they have all done both America and their ancestors proud. They are all walking, talking, acting illustrations of the American dream in action.

When considering legalizing 12 million illegal immigrants, Congress should consider seriously the fact that the walking, talking American dream is now politically incorrect. That doesn’t bode well for its survival.

Christians warned: Accept Islamic law

Christians warned: Accept Islamic law

JERUSALEM – Christians can continue living safely in the Gaza Strip only if they accept Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings, an Islamist militant leader in Gaza told WND in an exclusive interview.

The militant leader said Christians in Gaza who engage in "missionary activity" will be "dealt with harshly."

The threats come two days after a church and Christian school in Gaza was attacked following the seizure of power in the territory by the Hamas terror group.

"I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza," said Sheik Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamic outreach movement that recently announced the opening of a "military wing" to enforce Muslim law in Gaza.

See? They are a religion of peace. It is an option.

David Kahane on Hollywood on National Review Online

David Kahane on Hollywood on National Review Online

June 18, 2007, 6:00 a.m.

Mexicans Do Jobs the Kids from Bel Air Shouldn’t Have to Do
(Just don’t start writing scripts, Jose.)

By David Kahane

Out here in California, we’re a little puzzled by the kerfuffle back east over “comprehensive immigration reform,” whatever that is. The great internecine ruckus among Chimpy McHitler, John McCain, Trent Lott, Lindsey Graham, Jon Kyl, Mitch McConnell, and a bunch of other senators not named Feinstein or Boxer means absolutely nothing to us. Why, just the other day some senator from Wyoming named Craig Thomas apparently died and we all said: Who? Anything the Republican party — almost extinct in the Golden State — wants to do to sink itself nationally is just fine with us.

You see, despite what you may read, “immigration” is simply not a contentious issue here; like Roe v. Wade, or the fact that The Sopranos was the greatest TV show of all time, it’s settled law. For all practical purposes, most of Los Angeles is already part of Mexico and that’s just the way we like it. I mean, where else would we get our maids, gardeners, leaf blowers, and fast-food employees? From so-called “Anglo” America? No way, Jose! Somebody’s got to do the jobs kids from Bel Air and Pacific Palisades just shouldn’t have to do.

But don’t sweat it. For decades, those of us who grew up in California have been told to learn Spanish because some day it would be “useful.” Well, that day never came and it still hasn’t because nobody I know speaks a lick of Spanish beyond por favor, adios, amigo, and hasta la vista, baby. Sure, the Mexicans boo our soccer teams, riot in MacArthur Park, and yell at Arnold when he tells them to turn off the Spanish-language television programs and learn English — after all, what would he know about immigration? But mostly they stay in their barrios, well out of Paris Hilton’s way when she’s rocketing down Sunset Boulevard three sheets to the wind.

“Peaceful coexistence,” I believe the term is. You come to our neighborhoods when there’s menial work to be done and we won’t go to your neighborhoods, ever.

On the other hand, should any of our new immigrants actually want to work in industries that are, shall we say, reserved for, you know... us... the Writers Guild of America would take a very dim view of that. A few years back, when everyone was wringing his hands publicly (and doing absolutely nothing privately) about the dearth of African-American “above the line” talent — writers, directors, producers, etc. — some comedy writer cracked, “there will be blacks in Hollywood when there are Jews playing in the NBA.” Everybody chuckled, hardy har har, but nobody disagreed.

Since then, Hollywood has had its “black Oscars” (Denzel and Halle Berry) and, last this year, its “diversity Oscars.” But if, say, Mexican screenwriters started writing scripts American screenwriters just won’t write — and, worse, if those scripts actually got bought at cut-rate prices — there would be hell to pay. Even for us liberals, liberalism only goes so far, and when it starts threatening the Porsche payments...



Which doesn’t mean we’d ever vote for a Republican. If we did, the next thing you know we’d have a president who never vetoes a spending bill, institutes a No Child Left Behind Act, pushes relentlessly for open borders, appoints Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, refuses to enforce the immigration laws, hands out citizenship like it was candy, appeases the Palestinians, humiliates the Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff by firing him after one term, and generally acts like a tool in Ted Kennedy’s hand. And that’s a Democrat’s job.

So instead of fussing about immigration, or “illegal aliens,” or the Reconquista, or whatever you want to call it, we’ve got more important things on our mind. Really big stuff, more pressing than Paris in chains, or Larry and Laurie David deciding which one gets the Prius before the world ends, or even whether Phil Spector is finally going to get the chair for ruining the Beatles’ Let It Be album.

Hillary or Obama?

Luckily, Uncle Stevie Spielberg settled that one last week by coming down from the mountain and anointing Herself. It’s not that we don’t like Obama: as Joe Biden says, he’s clean and articulate. And we don’t hold his middle name — Hussein — against him. In fact, you can take it to the bank that after “Che” finally runs its course as a chic moniker, “Hussein” will take its place. After all, Yugoslavia — I mean Iraq — never attacked us!

Still, it sure was fun to flirt with the Punahou Kid for a while. Believe it or not, some of us do resent getting pushed around by the Clintons, shaken down for donations and forced to shop at Ron Burkle’s supermarkets when we’d rather be buying Two-Buck Chuck at Trader Joe’s. And so we grumble and groan, and make goo-goo eyes at people like Dick Gephardt and Joe Lieberman and even crazy Albert Arnold Gore Jr.

But in the end, we always go back to the Clintons. We love them. They showed us the way out of the Reagan-Bush electoral wilderness and into the land of milk, honey, and Monica from Beverly Hills. So what if Bill never got even 50 percent of the popular vote, was impeached, and disbarred by the Supreme Court? He’s still a winner in our books, and if he wants his brilliant, brainy, multilingual helpmeet, soul mate, and business partner to follow him into the Lincoln Bedroom, I say: Go for it!

Because there’s another reason we’re going to vote for her, and that’s to get him out of Los Angeles. Remember all that talk about how, when Bill fell victim to the cruel, Republican plot known as the 22nd Amendment, he was going to come out here and take a job as a studio executive? Never happened, did it? No, because the last thing anybody in Hollywood needs is a sexual-harassment lawsuit.

As president, Hillary Clinton will be doing a job that even Mexicans can’t do, yet. Which is just fine with us, as long as she keeps her friends close, and her enemies closer.

— David Kahane is a nom de cyber for a writer in Hollywood. “David Kahane” is borrowed from a screenwriter character in The Player.

ALIEN BILL DEFIES PUBLIC WILL (Lonsberry)

ALIEN BILL DEFIES PUBLIC WILL (Lonsberry)
An excellent rant.

It's not even about illegal aliens anymore. It's about the relationship between the government and the people.

It's about who wears the pants in the family.

And right now, the president and a whole bunch of others are confused about that. See, they think they're in charge. They think it's their country.

They think they're going to tell us what to do.

Well, they've got another think coming. This time they've got a fight on their hands.

The background is illegal immigration and the years of treasonously incompetent government which have allowed it to turn into the biggest threat to our country and its future. It takes some doing for an issue to rival militant Islam as a danger to the United States, but illegal immigration does.

And that is completely the fault of the federal government. Stretching back to the late 1980s, and accelerating to light speed under George W. Bush and the Republican Congress, government negligence turned a blind eye to border security and the flood of illegal aliens into the country. Instead of dealing with the problem, the government facilitated it. Instead of being rounded up and deported, illegal aliens were guaranteed an ever-larger pool of government services.

The United States became Mexico's welfare and medical system and the federal government did absolutely nothing to protect the interests or territorial integrity of the nation. As cultural dilution and antagonism became rampant, the government was uncaring and impotent. It was national suicide by governmental neglect.

American wages were suppressed, American taxes were raided, American communities were endangered, American values were suppressed, American culture was spat upon. Entire communities were lost to illegal newcomers who were invaders, not immigrants. A centuries-old American model of immigration was thrown out for a divisive new pattern which has already effectively lost the United States sovereignty over portions of its own territory.

We face cultural and financial bankruptcy because the president and Congress failed to uphold their oaths of office. They have ignored the rule of law by refusing to enforce the written law. We have a border, we have immigration laws, and the federal government has ignored them both.

And only after years of complaint and rising public upset did the government begin to do anything. But even then it was mostly manipulation for political gain. It has been a scripted dance in which the people have demanded and the politicians have manipulated and in the end they get our dollars and our votes and we get the back of their hand. And the illegal immigration problem festers into malignancy while they twiddle their thumbs.

Now there is a bill.

Now, they tell us, is the time to act. And their bill is the only thing that can be acted upon. Negotiated in secret, amended in secret, demanded in public. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. It's time to pull the wool over our eyes and they're impatient, afraid that delay will lead to scrutiny and defeat.

In the name of helping us, they are about to kill us.

And a tiny group of senators, in league with the president, have agreed to ramrod this through. And to defuse the nation's roaring disapproval they are taking a tone of authority and power their offices do not provide them.

The president who is sure one more of his stammering speeches will convince the nation to change its mind. The Democrat senator who is essentially calling the American people racists. The Republican senator who is going to “do something” about talk radio, the only place political correctness and government intimidation have not yet completely choked out the voice of the people. All are miffed that the people have not rolled over and obediently accepted the superior enlightenment of the Washington fat cats.

And that's what brings us to today's fight. Not just to stop an immigration bill that is poison to our national interests, but to knock down the politicians whose arrogance has presumed they could cram down the throats of average Americans a piece of legislation that every measurement of public sentiment shows they don't want.

They said “Yes,” we said “No,” now they have raised their voices and furrowed their brows and pointed their fingers and said “Yes” again. It's as if they are the masters and we are the servants and they have reminded us to know our place.

Well, the fact is we do know our place.

We are at the top of the political food chain. We are the people the Preamble is talking about. We are the United States of America – they aren't. It is supposed to be government for, of and by the people, not imposed on the people.

The job of every member of Congress is to represent the wishes of the people of his state or district. Period. It is not to impose a will, or coerce an opinion, it is to do what the people want.

And the people don't want this immigration bill.

Not by a damn sight.

And the president and Congress who do not honor that wish have don't need a lesson just in immigration policy, they need a lesson in American democracy.

And they are about to get it.

Secure the border. Make it impenetrable. Shut off the influx of illegal aliens. Begin cleaning up the mess in our schools, jails, hospitals and streets caused by illegal aliens. Actively seek and deport illegal aliens and their families, particularly those involved with welfare and crime. Change the 14th Amendment to get rid of anchor babies. Passionately promote a national program of culture and language education and assimilation.

Then, after a couple of years, talk about legalization and pathways.

But secure the border first and foremost.

And actively take down every candidate and party that pushes forward this asinine immigration bill.

Isaac Newton saw end of world in 2060

Isaac Newton saw end of world in 2060
I'll either be long gone, or looking rather crepe-y, and quite welcome for it.

= )

(P.S.... Take that, Mayans. LOL.)

JERUSALEM: Renowned British scientist Sir Isaac Newton, the father of modern physics and astronomy, predicted the world would end in 2060. He made the prediction in a 1704 letter that went on show in Jerusalem on Sunday.

A famed rationalist, who secured a royal exemption from the ordination in the Church of England that was normally expected of academics of his day so he would not have to follow its teachings, Newton nonetheless based his prediction on a Biblical text.

Working from verses in the Book of Daniel, the elaborator of the classical laws of gravity, motion and optics argued that the world would end 1,260 years after the foundation of the Holy Roman empire in western Europe in 800 AD.

The letter, on show at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University as part of an exhibition called “Newton’s Secrets”, is part of an array of papers of the British scientist bequeathed to the institution by a wealthy collector of scientific manuscripts.

The university said it was the first time the letter had been put on public show since 1969. Newton’s late 17th century work at Cambridge University was the foundation stone of modern science until the discovery of relativity and quantum mechanics in the last century.

But it has long been known that the ground-breaking physicist from Grantham, England, also took a keen interest in superstitions of his day that have long since fallen foul of modern science. Newton spent four years in the 1670s preparing a work on alchemy, the notion that base metals can be turned into gold.

The Blotter

The Blotter

Exclusive: Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe

June 18, 2007 4:45 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda/Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.

A Pakistani journalist was invited to attend and take pictures as some 300 recruits, including boys as young as 12, were supposedly sent off on their suicide missions.

Photos: Inside an al Qaeda/Taliban 'Graduation'

The tape shows Taliban military commander Mansoor Dadullah, whose brother was killed by the U.S. last month, introducing and congratulating each team as they stood.

"These Americans, Canadians, British and Germans come here to Afghanistan from faraway places," Dadullah says on the tape. "Why shouldn't we go after them?"

The leader of the team assigned to attack Great Britain spoke in English.

"So let me say something about why we are going, along with my team, for a suicide attack in Britain," he said. "Whether my colleagues, companions and Muslim brothers die today or tonight, every drop of our blood will invigorate the Muslim (unintelligible)."

Video: Watch the Taliban's 'Graduation' Ceremony

U.S. intelligence officials described the event as another example of "an aggressive and sophisticated propaganda campaign."

Others take it very seriously.

"It doesn't take too many who are willing to actually do it and be able to slip through the net and get into the United States or England and cause a lot of damage," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism official.

Religious Education by Parents is "Child Abuse": Center for Inquiry Proposal

Religious Education by Parents is "Child Abuse": Center for Inquiry Proposal
Well, at least that hater Dawkins has found his peeps.

(And with Hamas's Mickey Mouse out there, one might be seduced into supporting this. However, the promoters' socialismcommunism is certainly no cure. How about no religion if it's based on slitting the throats of the other guys? Just leave the foundations of Western Civ alone.)

NEW YORK, June 18, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Religious education is a form of child abuse and violates the rights of children, contends a thesis to be considered by secular humanists at the Center for Inquiry's congress in Beijing this October.

The Center for Inquiry, an organisation recently awarded special consultative status as an NGO at the United Nations (UN) will consider the proposals of Innaiah Narisetti, the chairman of the Center for Inquiry's India chapter, that portend the next stage in the assault on the rights of parents to educate their children.

Nasiretti called the influence of religion a "severe shortcoming in the global campaign to protect children" and a contributor to child abuse saying, "In one form or another, all religions violate the rights of children."

"Such abuse begins with the involuntary involvement of children in religious practices from the time they are born," says Narisetti. "All religions, through ritual, preaching, and religious texts, seek to bring children into day-to-day religious practice."

"This gives holy books and scriptures, as well as those who teach them, an early grip on the developing minds of young people, leaving an indelible impression on them," said Narisetti, calling Sunday schools, madrassas, or Jewish or Hindu temples, centers of indoctrination for children.

Nasiretti's proposal would reject the long-recognized inherent rights of parents to educate and provide for their children's religious instruction in favor of regulating children's exposure to religious influence by world governments abiding by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"The time has come to debate the participation of children in religious institutions," continues Narisetti. "While some might see it as a matter better left to parents, the negative influence of religion and its subsequent contribution to child abuse from religious beliefs and practices requires us to ask whether organized religion is an institution that needs limits set on how early it should have access to children."

The UN forum proposed by Narisetti would debate the "pros and cons" of religion on children and determine whether religion contributes to global child abuse.

"The UN must then take a clear stand on the issue of the forced involvement of children in religious practices; it must speak up for the rights of children and not the automatic right of parents and societies to pass on religious beliefs, and it must reexamine whether an organization like the Vatican should belong to the UN," stated Narisetti.

"Until this happens, millions of children worldwide will continue to be abused in the name of religion, and the efforts made by the UN will continue to address the symptoms but not the disease."

Poor New Yorkers to Get Cash for Good Behavior

Poor New Yorkers to Get Cash for Good Behavior

Here's a look at some of the cash rewards poor New York residents will receive in return for good behavior and healthy lifestyle choices under a $53 million pilot program beginning in the fall:

$25 - for attending parent-teacher conferences.

$25 - for elementary and middle school students who maintain 95 percent attendance records.

$50 - for high school students with good attendance.

$50 - for getting a library card.

$100 - for seeing a dentist every six months.

$150 - for holding a full-time job.

$200 - for visiting the doctor yearly.

$300 - for elementary school students who pass standardized tests or whose scores improve.

$600 - for passing a Regents exam.

Up to $600 - for adults who take approved education and additional training courses while employed.

I have a library card. Will someone please gimme a fitty?

Victor Davis Hanson: Gaza -- It’s All Our Fault - Blaming America on CNN is all the rage.

Victor Davis Hanson: Gaza -- It’s All Our Fault - Blaming America on CNN is all the rage.

June 14, 2007, 0:00 a.m.

Gaza -- It’s All Our Fault
Blaming America on CNN is all the rage.

By Victor Davis Hanson

One of the more depressing things of being stuck in airports during East-Coast June storms is watching CNN and its parade of glib fools that appear hourly blaming (but, of course) the U.S. for the miasma in Gaza and the ongoing creepy Fatah/Hamas killing.

I lost count of the various contortions. One talking head censures the Americans for not recognizing Hamas despite its refusal to disclaim its reason-to-be of undoing the Jewish state.

Another cited the “culture of violence” unleashed by the U.S. (read Iraq) — i.e., apparently the West Bank was like Nantucket until 2003.

Yet another lamented our support for elections that ushered in Hamas, as if the generic support for democracy makes us culpable for the odious government that the people freely chose to elect. (As if one who voted for such a terrorist clique would expect the United States to keep subsidizing it; as if one would have to keep talking to Hitler because he was once elected).

And then, of course, was the most Orwellian of all — our failure to support (e.g., send arms to) Fatah! (Is a terrorist organization no longer a terrorist organization when it is one-upped by another terrorist organization?)

An alien from Mars would almost instantly diagnose the problem of the Palestinians from simply listening to their inane apologists: The problem is not the acquisition of the final seven percent of the West Bank denied in the offer to them at Camp David, but the pathology of a victim culture, one that has learned, through playing the card of terror with simultaneous appeals to multicultural guilt, how to shake down Westerners for their money, attention, and pity.

And now for the very life of it, it can’t figure out how to quit that lucrative habit — so much so that, teenager-like, it simultaneously seems to cry “I don’t want anything to do with you” and “I don’t want anything to do with you even more because you don’t want anything to do with me.”

Never a word about murderers having free will and being responsible for their murdering — much less recognition that a culture that canonizes suicide bombers forgets that once they banish the rules of civilization there is no reason why such savagery would not be turned on themselves.

The only interesting comment came from one “expert” who swore this wasn’t a civil war! — the type of Middle Eastern savant we have heard the last two years swearing that Iraq is torn by?

A full-fledged civil war, of course.

PBS Explores Separation of Church and State in New Documentary

PBS Explores Separation of Church and State in New Documentary
Hmmm...

Posted by Noel Sheppard on June 18, 2007 - 10:56.

This may come as a surprise to many religious Americans in the country: PBS this month is broadcasting a documentary presenting both sides of the controversial issue of the “separation of church and state.”

As many of you know, this has been an ongoing debate for decades as to when this term first appeared, and what the Founding Fathers’ intent truly was concerning government involvement in organized religion.

The documentary’s goals are described thusly at the PBS website (emphasis added throughout):

America is a nation forged in the furnace of controversy over religion in politics. The events of 9/11 brought that conflict into sharper relief, and the 2004 presidential election provoked a closer examination of the role of religion in American government. The historical documentary WALL OF SEPARATION, airing in June 2007 (check local listings) on PBS, examines the origins and history of this controversy.

The “wall of separation” is a metaphor deeply embedded in the American consciousness. Most Americans assume that the First Amendment prevents the mixing of politics and religion. The freedom of religion clauses protect individuals from the entanglement of religion with government and secure the right to freely exercise religious faith. America is a religiously pluralistic culture guided by a secular government.

And here was the shocker:

But what would surprise most Americans is the discovery that this is not what the Founding Fathers intended when they established the nation and wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights. In fact, they had a radically different interpretation of the role of religion in state and federal governments. Just what was their view? Why was it different? Where did the “wall of separation” metaphor come from? And how did its meaning evolve into what we consider it today?

WALL OF SEPARATION explores both sides of the issue by telling the story of the “wall” metaphor, from its humble beginnings in a letter by Thomas Jefferson to a Baptist church through important Supreme Court cases like Everson vs. Board of Education and the most recent decisions about Ten Commandment displays. Actor Liev Schreiber narrates.

For those interested, this is what President Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut:

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.

And, this was their inquiry to him:

The address of the Danbury Baptist Association, in the State of Connecticut; assembled October 7th 1801. To Thomas Jefferson Esq., the President of the united States of America.

Sir,

Among the many millions in America and Europe who rejoice in your Election to office, we embrace the first opportunity which we have enjoy’d in our collective capacity, since your Inauguration, to express our great satisfaction, in your appointment to the chief Magistracy in the United States: And though our mode of expression may be less courtly and pompious than what many others clothe their addresses with, we beg you, Sir to believe, that none are more sincere.

Our Sentiments are uniformly on the side of Religious Liberty – That Religion is at all times and places a Matter between God and Individuals – That no man ought to suffer in Name, person or effects on account of his religious Opinions – That the legitimate Power of civil Government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbour: But Sir our constitution of government is not specific. Our antient charter, together with the Laws made coincident therewith, were adopted as the Basis of our government at the time of our revolution; and such had been our laws & usages, & such still are; that Religion is considered as the first object of Legislation; & therefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights: and these favors we receive at the expense of such degrading acknowledgements, as are inconsistent with the rights of freemen. It is not to be wondered at therefore; if those who seek after power & gain under the pretence of government & Religion should reproach their fellow men – should reproach their chief Magistrate, as an enemy of religion Law & good order because he will not, dares not assume the prerogative of Jehovah and make Laws to govern the Kingdom of Christ.

Sir, we are sensible that the President of the united States is not the national Legislator & also sensible that the national government cannot destroy the Laws of each State; but our hopes are strong that the sentiments of our beloved President, which have had such genial Effect already, like the radiant beams of the Sun, will shine & prevail through all these States and all the world till Hierarchy and Tyranny be destroyed from the Earth. Sir, when we reflect on your past services and see a glow of philanthropy and good will shining forth in a course of more than thirty years we have reason to believe that America’s God has raised you up to fill the chair of State out of that good will which he bears to the Millions which you preside over. May God strengthen you for the arduous task which providence & the voice of the people have cal’d you to sustain and support you in your Administration against all the predetermin’d opposition of those who wish to rise to wealth & importance on the poverty and subjection of the people.

And may the Lord preserve you safe from every evil and bring you at last to his Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Glorious Mediator.

Signed in behalf of the Association,

Neh’h Dodge

Eph’m Robbins }The Committee

Stephen S. Nelson

It should be very interesting to see how this is all covered.

*****Update: NB reader Jeff Dietz found this fabulous piece of information at the Library of Congress website:

THE STATE BECOMES THE CHURCH:
JEFFERSON AND MADISON

It is no exaggeration to say that on Sundays in Washington during the administrations of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) and of James Madison (1809-1817) the state became the church. Within a year of his inauguration, Jefferson began attending church services in the House of Representatives. Madison followed Jefferson's example, although unlike Jefferson, who rode on horseback to church in the Capitol, Madison came in a coach and four. Worship services in the House--a practice that continued until after the Civil War--were acceptable to Jefferson because they were nondiscriminatory and voluntary. Preachers of every Protestant denomination appeared. (Catholic priests began officiating in 1826.) As early as January 1806 a female evangelist, Dorothy Ripley, delivered a camp meeting-style exhortation in the House to Jefferson, Vice President Aaron Burr, and a "crowded audience." Throughout his administration Jefferson permitted church services in executive branch buildings. The Gospel was also preached in the Supreme Court chambers.

Jefferson's actions may seem surprising because his attitude toward the relation between religion and government is usually thought to have been embodied in his recommendation that there exist "a wall of separation between church and state." In that statement, Jefferson was apparently declaring his opposition, as Madison had done in introducing the Bill of Rights, to a "national" religion. In attending church services on public property, Jefferson and Madison consciously and deliberately were offering symbolic support to religion as a prop for republican government.

Muslims won't fund footbaths

Muslims won't fund footbaths
I can't even begin to comment on this one...

Leaders cite ACLU's decision not to oppose use of public money for UM-Dearborn project.

Karen Bouffard / The Detroit News

DEARBORN -- Muslim leaders in Metro Detroit have decided not to raise private money to pay for two footbaths at a local college campus now that the American Civil Liberties Union has said the plan doesn't pose constitutional problems.

The University of Michigan-Dearborn's plan to spend $25,000 on the footbaths was criticized on conservative blogs and radio shows this month. Critics said using public money for the project would violate the First Amendment, which says governments can't favor or subsidize religions.

Muslims are required to wash body parts, including feet, up to five times daily before prayers.

University officials say the floor-level wash basins are needed because some students at the 8,600-student campus wash their feet in the sinks.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said his group was concerned a public outcry would cause the university to back down from the project.

"If the ACLU had decided to take legal action against the UM-Dearborn, we probably would have called for the university to raise the funds privately, just so that the UM-Dearborn wouldn't have to go through the trouble of having to defend its position against the ACLU," Walid said.

Kary Moss, director of the Detroit branch of the ACLU, said its review concluded the plan is a "reasonable accommodation" to resolve "safety and cleanliness issues" that arose when Muslims used public sinks for foot cleaning before prayers, which often spilled water on bathroom floors.

"We view it as an attempt to deal with a problem, not an attempt to make it easier for Muslims to pray," said Moss, who likened the plan to paying for added police during religious events with huge turnouts.

"There's no intent to promote religion."

You can reach Karen Bouffard at (734) 462-2206 or kbouffard@detnews.com.

Star Parker to co-host "The View", June 19 -- Michael Moore as guest

Star Parker to co-host "The View", June 19 -- Michael Moore as guest

Star Parker, President of CURE and conservative icon will appear on ABC’s “The View” as a guest co-host with Barbara Walters on Tuesday, 19 June 2007.

One of the guests will be Michael Moore who is promoting his new film “Sicko,” which promotes government run health care.

“I certainly do not agree with Mr. Moore regarding health care reform,” said Ms. Parker, “however, I look forward to a lively discussion.”

Duke University, Three Lacrosse Players Announce Settlement

Duke University, Three Lacrosse Players Announce Settlement
Well, that was fast. Wonder if this includes the '88' jerks (hope not).

Durham, NC -- On Monday, Duke University leaders announced they have reached a settlement with David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. Below are statements about the settlement.

STATEMENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE PRESIDENT OF DUKE UNIVERSITY:

This has been an extraordinary year for Duke students David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, who were accused of serious crimes they did not commit. In April, after a thorough review, the North Carolina Attorney General declared that they were innocent of all charges and that the charges never should have been brought. We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure. They conducted themselves with great dignity during their long ordeal.

These young men and their families have been the subject of intense scrutiny that has taken a heavy toll. The Board of Trustees and the President have also determined that it is in the best interests of the Duke community to eliminate the possibility of future litigation and move forward. For these reasons, and after considerable deliberation, the trustees have agreed to a settlement with each student. Beyond this statement, the resolution is a private matter among the students, their families and Duke.

This past year has been hard for many people who care about Duke -– for students, faculty, staff, alumni, families and friends –- and for the three students and their families most of all. We resolve to bring the Duke family together again, and to work to protect others from similar injustices in the criminal justice system in the future.

Some Inconvenient Facts About the Haditha Incident

Some Inconvenient Facts About the Haditha Incident

Opinion Editorials ^ | June 18, 2007 | Robin Mullins Boyd

It started in November 2005. It became a political witch-hunt after Time’s Tim McGirk plastered the media with half-truths, suspect statements from “eyewitnesses” and a great deal of hearsay. It exploded into an anti-war talking point once John Murtha called it “cold blooded murder” and compared it to My Lai. The media and the anti-war crowd were salivating at the thought of US Marines convicted of murder. It did not occur to them that the Marines deserved the benefit of the doubt – you know, innocent until proven guilty.

The Article 32 Hearing for LCpl Justin Sharratt wrapped up Friday June 15. This was the third hearing for the seven Marines charged in the incident at Haditha in November 2005. Now that there is sworn testimony out in public (not just cherry picked leaked information), the media seems to have lost interest in the story. Other than the NC Times, most media outlets pick up abbreviated versions of the wire stories. Murtha is suddenly silent. Time does not have time for coverage. This means that a great deal of evidence has not been disseminated to the wide audience that was bombarded with premature claims of cold-blooded murder.

So doing the job the media fails to do, here are some of the facts from the Haditha cases.

Did you know that the Article 32 Hearing officer, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, stated "What the evidence points to is that the version of the Iraqis isn't really supported” during the closing of LCpl Justin Sharratt’s hearing?

Did you know that the wounds of the four “civilians” in the last house came from at least 2 feet away, which negates the claims of “execution style”?

Did you know that the witnesses who claimed the four young men were herded into a closet and shot were not even in the home during the firefight?

Did you know that the four “innocent civilians” attempted to kill the Marines with AK-47’s and were stopped only by the quick response of LCpl Sharratt and Sgt. Wuterich?

Did you know that aerial drones filmed the events that occurred on that fateful day in Haditha?

Did you know that footage from a drone shows an insurgent leaving a home carrying a child and attempting to blend in only to be discovered by the Marines due to a bloody ear?

Did you know that intelligence reports prior to November 19 2005 indicated an ambush was planned for that day and a white car would figure prominently in the attack?

Did you know that Lt. William Kallop ordered Sgt. Wuterich to “clear a group of building” south of the bomb crater after arriving on the scene in Haditha?

Did you know that the Armory Officer for Kilo Co received two AK-47s at the ambush site along with a suitcase that contained a million Iraqi dinars and Jordanian passports?

Did you know that Lt. Col Chessani has reported everything he knew about the incident o his superior officers and none called for an investigation?

Did you know that LCpl Justin Sharratt passed a polygraph exam, which was included in the NCIS report but not reported with any of the more lurid leaked information?

Did you know that the Battalion Intelligence Officer’s after action report included photographic evidence, logs of all the day’s radio transmissions and a narrative of the day’s events?

Did you know that the after-action report including a PowerPoint presentation were sent up the command ladder to all the higher officers and not one recommended further investigation?

Did you know that NCIS did no background research on any of the “civilians” killed in Haditha other than checking an insurgent database for the names?

Did you know that NCIS investigators spent approximately 1 hour interviewing the “witnesses” due to the extreme level of violence in Haditha?

Did you know that the “budding journalism student” responsible for the video at the root of the investigation was known to be part of the anti-government, anti-American Sunni insurgent sympathizers inhabiting Haditha a year prior to November 19, 2005?

Of course you didn’t know about any of the above facts. Instead, the media has focused on the Marine who testified that he urinated on the dead body of an Iraqi. They have reported the claims of photos showing powder burns without ever examining the bodies. The media would rather tell you about wounds to the head and equate them to execution style killings.

Seven Marines and their families have been subjected to poison arrows thrown by the media, blowhard politicians and the anti-war crowd. Their finances have been depleted & their lives a constant turmoil… All because of a political agenda that can only survive by plying the public with massive doses of propaganda. What did these Marines do to deserve such an injustice? They served their country in a time of war and defended their lives in a kill or be killed situation. The only thing cold-blooded and out of control in this whole Haditha incident has been the attempt to score political points by those pointing fingers at the Marines. But don’t count on any of that to be reported in the media.

Kevin McCullough :: Musclehead Revolution

Kevin McCullough :: Musclehead Revolution

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Why I dropped Mitt for Fred...

Posted by: Kevin McCullough at 12:13 PM

In the election cycle that has been underway this incredibly early part of 2007, I have had a chance to shake the hands and speak personally with all of the presidential candidates.

I have to say in the early going, and largely due to a few factors - his defense of marriage in Massachusetts, his stunning credentials and record of CEO success, and because of my good friend's great book "A Mormon in the White House" by Hugh Hewitt - I was leaning strongly Romney.

Here on TownHall, Dean Barnett has challenged all of us to articulate clearly who we are supporting so that we have the most honest debate possible. He said so, and then immediately proclaimed his loyalty to fellow New Englander - Mitt Romney.

Matt Lewis has not fully endorsed John McCain but he has definitely been faithful to keep some of us more anti-McCain cranks honest about the facts of Senator Cranky.

Patrick Ruffini has openly admitted his connection to the Rudy 2008 campaign and in doing so is benefitting TownHall readership by giving us a perspective that would more than likely be absent were he not to do so.

I have never done so in a campaign cycle - certainly never this early - but I am proud to announce that today (really as of mid-day yesterday) I am an eagerly, enthusiastic, anticipatory supporter of Fred Thompson. I have leaned his direction ever since first hearing the possibility but had to tell myself that focusing on the declared candidates was the reality - everything else just speculation.

I believe Thompson will win for a variety of reasons. He understands technology, and the total scope of the blogosphere in a far more superior way to any of the rest of the candidates. But he has also not abandoned the gray hairs - of which there are far more of than ever before for an election cycle in America. He's gone from last place to tied for first without spending any money - and behind the laid back calm gentile facade is a fierce defender of America.

So I figured - why hide it anymore. I'm a Fred-head. So yes - the Musclehead blog will have a Fred-bias to it - as the Hewitt blog has a Mitt-bias, and as the Medved blog as an Amnesty-bias. The important thing is that we are honest about the views from which we are coming from and allow you the TownHall reader to examine our rationale for itself.

So what pushed me over the edge? Well, Fred has had some bang-up speeches and television appearances. He's written a weekly column for us here on TownHall bringing his common sense directly to us, and in doing so he's eliminated a lot of the filters by which messages can usually get mangled. He also speaks so that everybody in the room can understand - and funny enough according to the poll numbers - they do. I do look forward to seeing Fred in the debates and when he arrives, look for him to shoo away the attacks of the others with the ease that he puffed cigar smoke into the face of Michael Moore.

But if you really have to know what pushed me from Mitt to Fred: National Right To Life 100% rating... and the rest of what he says in this video to the NRLC that met in Washington last night.

Plain speak on life, culture, and terror... He is unequivocal - and none of the others are.

HOW REFRESHING!

Looters raid Arafat's home, steal his Nobel Peace Prize

Looters raid Arafat's home, steal his Nobel Peace Prize

1957 Pontiac unearthed in Oklahoma

1957 Pontiac unearthed in Oklahoma
Click the line above to read all about it. Also, additional links and live feed.

My favorite line, BTW:

Also buried with it were 10 gallons of gasoline — in case internal combustion engines became obsolete by 2007 — a case of beer, and the contents of a typical woman's handbag placed in the glove compartment: 14 bobby pins, a bottle of tranquilizers, a lipstick, a pack of gum, tissues, a pack of cigarettes, matches and $2.43.

Now I know why all those 50s women seemed so serene.

= )

‘Things were better when Israel ruled Gaza’

‘Things were better when Israel ruled Gaza’

Aviram Zino Published: 06.16.07, 00:06 / Israel News

“I’m afraid to say this out loud, they may execute me for it, but there are a lot of people, including myself, who think it would be better if Israel came back here. Things would be much better than they are now,” said Samara (alias), a graduate of the Islamic University living in the Gaza Strip.

According to Samara, who lives nearby one of the Fatah strongholds taken over by Hamas in recent days, fear reigns in Gaza’s streets, and apart from gunmen and military officials, no one leaves their homes.

“The children are afraid all the time,” Samara says. “My nephews ask, ‘Why are the Israelis shooting at us?’, and we tell them it’s Palestinians. Then they ask, ‘Why are Palestinians shooting at us?’, and I have no answer for them. (Love the propaganda knee-jerk "Israelis" question, eh? Maybe they can get a guy dressed up as Donald Duck to teach them to hate Hamas now.)

“We have no food at home. We’ve been living on soups and canned food for days. There is no electricity or continuous water supply, let alone medicine or essential hygiene products,” she explained.

The gun battles taking place in the streets keep all of Gaza’s residents in a state of constant fear.

“I hide in the house all day long, but even that might not be enough. Our neighbor was shot while he was inside. Men with black masks, weapons, and bags are walking around on the streets and I’m afraid to leave. They could shoot me – even if I’m not what they are looking for,” Samara said.

She blames both sides for the escalating violence. According to her, both Hamas and Fatah need to understand that they are one people. “They promised us a better life, and the situation is only getting worse. I’m afraid that by next week we’ll become a Taliban state.

“The minute Hamas takes over, it will become an Islamic state. It must be understood – they were elected out of a sense of desperation. The people here are poor and desperate, and when they chose Hamas they had nothing to lose, but now it turns out they had a lot to lose.” (Really? No! Shocking!! How incredible that no one knew this back then!)

Israel is not free of blame in Samara’s eyes either. According to her, despite the Israeli government’s desire to wash its hands of Gaza, it should have done so the “right way”, and left it with economic infrastructures. (Of course whatever the Israelis did leave behind was burned to the ground, remember?)

“When people have money, they don’t turn to violence,” she said. (Just ask the Saudis, or the big OBL himself.)

Samara explained that the economic boycott on the Palestinian Authority punished residents of Gaza, and not Hamas. She called on Israel to open the Rafah crossing and allow those who could to leave Gaza. “The Strip is like a jail, and we could die,” she said.

Samara also had harsh claims against Arab states, saying they do nothing to improve the situation. “Everywhere we go, even Arab states, the consider us to be terrorists,” she claimed.

Gisha, an Israeli non-profit organization whose goal is to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians, mainly in Gaza, said that Samara’s words reflect the unbearable existence of many Gaza residents, who fall victim to the factional violence.

“As a human rights organization, we condemn the horrible violence between the Palestinian factions, which hurts innocent people, and we call for its immediate end,” the organization declared.

“At the same time, Israel - which is in control of Gaza’s borders and financial means - is also responsible for the current situation, until this very day. Israel and the international community have imposed an economic and physical siege on Gaza.

“The harsh limitations on transporting goods and people from the Gaza Strip and into it, and preventing the transfer of public funds, have severely injured the population in Gaza, strengthened extremist sources, and sped up the creating of the current chaos.” (Yay! It's still the Joooooooooooos' fault!)

FOXNews.com - Angelina Jolie's Anti-Press Touches Nerve - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

FOXNews.com - Angelina Jolie's Anti-Press Touches Nerve
There's a great New York Crimes diss at the end of this too, almost like an added bonus.

Our report yesterday about Angelina Jolie banning press from interviews and requiring interviewers to sign contracts touched off a firestorm. Mostly it was from colleagues who were relieved that we’d finally lifted the veil on all this craziness.

And it wasn’t just about FOX News getting banned from the red carpet. That was bad, but it wasn’t the central issue. Jolie treats all the press with hostility unless she can control the outcome of an interaction. Insisting interviewers sign contracts was an affront, considering that her movie is about the murder of a reporter who tried bravely to do his job. And then to pretend empathy by raising money at the movie for Reporters Without Borders. The hypocrisy and arrogance were overwhelming.

The fact is, Angelina Jolie — despite her posturing as Goodwill Ambassador to the world — is just like everyone else. She’s only different in that she’s created rules for herself that are so far beyond the norm of self-absorbed celebrity nuttiness, that she finally went too far.

It’s too bad, because Michael Winterbottom’s “A Mighty Heart,” which opens next Friday, is really a wonderful film that should be seen by the widest possible audience. That’s why what’s happened is so frustrating: it’s not like Jolie was in a bomb and needed to protect herself.

Of course, then I got reports from last night’s red carpet. It turns out that Jolie simply skipped the entire print area of the carpet, which means she didn’t give interviews for her own film to the many very nice, well-mannered print reporters from magazines and daily newspapers who wait patiently with tape recorders to ask completely innocuous questions like “What are you wearing?” and “How’s Shiloh?”

It’s a good thing Jolie has an Oscar (for “Girl Interrupted”). She will find no support next fall when she wants a nomination for playing Mariane Pearl. There has hardly been a less sympathetic actress in recent history. Even Russell Crowe knows how to be charming when he has to.

Still, there is plenty in “Mighty Heart” to admire and reward, not the least of which is Winterbottom’s direction. He turns what could have been a dead end of a story into an absorbing thriller. And he gets good stuff from his two supporting actors, Dan Futterman and Irfan Khan. None of that can be overlooked.

Jolie’s defense this morning is that a) her lawyer was overzealous with the journalists’ contract; and b) an “oversight” caused FOX News not to be invited to the red carpet. Both the lawyer, Robert Offer, and Paramount Pictures, are ready to fall on their swords for the star.

But neither statement is even remotely true. Jolie, the Ambassador, would never let her attorney distribute a contract without approval. And the good folks at Paramount Vantage know all too well what really happened. They cannot be blamed.

So do see “A Mighty Heart’ next Friday when it’s released. We owe it to Daniel Pearl, and to Mariane and the son Daniel never got to meet. But let’s not forget that it’s a movie, and that actors are playing parts. They are separable from the real people whose lives they conveying. It’s important to remember that, and to observe that in this case, the actor learned nothing from the experience.

Meanwhile, thanks to the New York Times’s Sharon Waxman, who simply stole our story from yesterday, including the news of the contract from Robert Offer, without giving any credit except to elicit a denial from Paramount. Really, really lame.

Duke DA Says He Will Resign

Duke DA Says He Will Resign

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Facing the loss of his law license, a tearful Mike Nifong said Friday he will resign as district attorney, more than a year after he obtained rape indictments against three Duke University lacrosse players who were later declared innocent by state prosecutors.

"My community has suffered enough," Nifong said from the witness stand at his ethics trial.

This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information.

Good.

Hot Air � Blog Archive � Video: Dennis Miller goes nuclear on Harry Reid

Hot Air � Blog Archive � Video: Dennis Miller goes nuclear on Harry Reid
Greatest putdown EVER.

Murder With Baseball Bat of Mentally Disabled Man Caught on Surveillance Tape in L.A.

Murder With Baseball Bat of Mentally Disabled Man Caught on Surveillance Tape in L.A.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

LOS ANGELES — A mentally disabled man beaten to death with a baseball bat on May 29 was captured by a surveillance camera in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, May 29, 2007, around 8:45 p.m., James McKinney, 41, of Los Angeles, walked to a store from his home, a board and care facility for the mentally challenged. As he neared the corner of Wilton Place and Olympic Boulevard, a male assailant approached him from behind and violently struck the back of his head with an aluminum baseball bat. The suspect then fled on foot. McKinney, hemorrhaging, fell to the ground. An unidentified passerby called 911.

McKinney was rushed by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics to Cedars Sinai Hospital, where he died from severe head injuries on June 3rd.

Police describe the suspect as Hispanic, between the ages of 16 and 20 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall and approximately 175 pounds. In the surveillance tape, he was bald, wearing black shorts, a dark T-shirt and white tennis shoes.......

Well, that sure narrows it down...

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...

BBC sorry for calling Jerusalem capital of Israel

BBC sorry for calling Jerusalem capital of Israel
Pass the air-sickness bag.

(From the Jerusalem Post):

The BBC apologized this week for referring to Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and promised not to repeat "the mistake," following a complaint by four British organizations.

Arab Media Watch, Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Friends of Al-Aksa and the Institute of Islamic Political Thought sent a joint complaint to the BBC after a presenter on its Football Focus program on March 24 mentioned that Jerusalem was Israel's capital and "historic soul."

The BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit posted a response on its Web site: "The reference was a passing one in a context where the focus was on sport, not politics. While recognizing the sensitivity of the issue of the status of Jerusalem, the ECU took the view that the program-makers had taken sufficient action by acknowledging the error and rectifying the Web site."

The Editorial Complaints Unit's ruling was: "Complaint resolved."

In a letter to the complaining NGOs, Fraser Steel, head of editorial complaints at the BBC, said: "We of course accept that the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and that the BBC should not describe it as such. I was therefore pleased to see that Katherine Tsang [BBC Information adviser], when she wrote to you in April, acknowledged the error and apologized for it. [Presenter] Steve Boulton and other senior managers in BBC Sport told us they very much regret the mistake and apologize for it."

"Senior managers will try to ensure, as you suggest, that the mistake is not repeated. Because it appears on the Web site, there will be a public acknowledgement of the error, and the action taken in consequence."

Steel added: "I'd like to add my apologies for this most regrettable, but I'm sure accidental, factual mistake. I appreciate that the status of Jerusalem is of particular concern to Palestinians, and it is important that it is not misrepresented. I am confident that lessons have already been learned, and they will be emphasized as a result of my decision."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in response: "Jerusalem is Israel's capital. It is the right of every sovereign state to determine which city will be its capital. If this is not accepted by everyone today, I am confident it will be in the future."

London-based Arab Media Watch told The Jerusalem Post: "Under international law, neither east nor west Jerusalem is considered Israel's capital. Tel Aviv is recognized as Israel's capital, pending a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians."

The Institute of Islamic Political Thought is run by Azzam Tamimi, a Hamas supporter and a member of the Muslim Association of Britain, part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Tamimi spoke at Saturday's anti-Israel rally in London's Trafalgar Square. He blamed the British for their role in the Arab-Israeli conflict and vowed to return to his mother's house in Hebron, which he said could never become a "Zionist place."

To huge applause, Tamimi called Israel "a racist entity that sees us [Palestinians] as subhuman while they see themselves as superhuman."

Tamimi told BBC in an interview in 2004 he did not recognize Israel's right to exist and would be willing to become a suicide bomber. Last year, Merrill Lynch pulled its sponsorship from an event hosted by the London Middle East Institute because of Tamimi's participation.

The Muslim Public Affairs Committee has faced continuing allegations of extremism and anti-Semitism. In 2005, during the last general election in the UK, the group campaigned against pro-Israel and pro-Iraq war MPs, and attempted to slur one MP by claiming she was a Jew. It eventually apologized when they learned the candidate was not Jewish.

Last year, The Observer discovered that the committee's co-founder, Asghar Bukhari, had funded Holocaust denier David Irving.

The Friends of Al-Aksa states on its Web site that the first Jewish commonwealth lasted "only 98 years - from 1020 BC to 922 BC," and that after the destruction of the First Temple, "all Jews are either killed, exiled or taken prisoners. This marks the end of Israel after 400 years of its inception."

The Leicester-based organization had its bank accounts closed by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2005.

The Muslim Association of Britain accused the bank of being a tool of the pro-Israeli lobby. "It appears the Royal Bank of Scotland is being used as a tool against those that express sympathy with Israel's victims," a representative of the Muslim Association said. "No bank or institution should be allowed to get away with such anti-Palestinian or anti-Muslim bias."

Left-Wing Food Group Wants to Whack Toucan Sam (Fruit Loops Cereal Cartoon Mascot)

Left-Wing Food Group Wants to Whack Toucan Sam (Fruit Loops Cereal Cartoon Mascot)
Oh, how idiotic.

Posted by Julia A. Seymour on June 14, 2007 - 14:17.

That’s right, a food police group has turned cereal killer. What's worse, the media don't see any foul play.

Fruit Loops cereal’s brightly colored mascot Toucan Sam, along with Sugar Smack’s Dig ‘Em and Rice Krispies’ Snap, Crackle and Pop are likely to be axed due to an agreement between Kellogg Company and the food police group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

“Early Show’s” Hannah Storm was happy about the announcement. She called getting rid of the popular cartoon figures a “great idea” on June 14.

Video (0:57): Real (1.55 MB) or Windows (1.82 MB), plus MP3 audio (275 kB).

“[B]ecause you can’t even take your child to the grocery store because they’re clamoring for the products with characters on them. When are we going to see them disappear?” Storm asked correspondent Nancy Cordes.

NBC’s “Today” called the agreement to stop advertising cereals during children’s programming a “partnership,” but that’s like saying if I give my wallet to a mugger at gunpoint it was voluntary.

CSPI as well as the liberal Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and two parents threatened to sue Kellogg’s for marketing sugary cereals to kids. I have a question, who exactly should they be marketed to? The demographic of Sex and the City perhaps?

Kellogg’s told ABC’s “Good Morning America” the products that can’t be reformulated to meet the manufacturer’s self-imposed nutritional criteria for television commercials will be either marketed to an older group or they’ll stop advertising it altogether.

Which basically means the death of Toucan Sam and his friends. May they rest in peace.

YouTube - Paul sings Nessun Dorma high quality video/sound

YouTube - Paul sings Nessun Dorma high quality video/sound
Truly astounding. A cellphone salesman blows the audience, and Simon Cowell, away.

Hamas Overruns Rival Fatah's Key Posts (AP gets in Israel dig by 2nd para)

Hamas Overruns Rival Fatah's Key Posts (AP gets in Israel dig by 2nd para)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas fighters overran two of the rival Fatah movement's most important security command centers in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen into the street and shot them to death execution-style.

Meanwhile, an Israeli tank shell struck a group of siblings near the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Thursday, Hamas security officials said. Hospital workers said five children, all under 16, were killed.

They identified the children as members of the Abu Matrok family.

Hamas security officials said they were from the Bedouin community of Showka, east of Rafah.

The army said it would look into the report.

Hamas also seized control of Rafah in the south, Gaza's third-largest city, according to witnesses and security officials. It was the second main Gaza city to fall to the militants, who captured nearby Khan Younis on Wednesday.

Hamas captured the Preventive Security headquarters and the intelligence services building n Gaza City, major advances in the Islamic group's attempts to take over Gaza.

After the rout at the Preventive Security headquarters, some of the Hamas fighters kneeled outside, touching their foreheads to the ground in prayer. Others led Fatah gunmen out of the building, some shirtless or in their underwear, holding their arms in the air. Several of the Fatah men flinched as the crack of gunfire split the air.

A witness, who identified himself only as Amjad, said men were killed as their wives and children watched.

"They are executing them one by one," Amjad said in a telephone interview, declining to give his full name for fear of reprisals. "They are carrying one of them on their shoulders, putting him on a sand dune, turning him around and shooting."

Fatah officials said Hamas shot and killed seven of its fighters outside the Preventive Security building. A doctor at Shifa Hospital, said he examined two bodies that had been shot in the head at close range. The officials and the doctor spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Militants and civilians were looting the compound, hauling out computers, documents, office equipment, furniture and TVs.

The moderate President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, for the first time in five days of fierce fighting, ordered his elite presidential guard to strike back. But his forces were crumbling fast under the onslaught by the better-armed and better-disciplined Islamic fighters.

In all, 14 fighters and civilians were killed and 80 wounded in the battle for the Preventive Security complex, bringing the day's death toll to 25 by mid-afternoon, hospital and security officials said. About 90 people, mostly fighters but also women and children, have been killed since a spike in violence Sunday sent Gaza into civil war.

The two factions have warred sporadically since Hamas took power from Fatah last year, but never with such intensity. Hamas reluctantly brought Fatah into the coalition in March to quell an earlier round of violence, but the uneasy partnership began crumbling last month over control of the powerful security forces.

Hamas had been tightening its ring around the Preventive Security complex for three days, stepping up its assault late Wednesday, with a barrage of bullets, grenades, mortar rounds and land mines that continued until the compound fell. Electricity and telephone lines were cut, and roads leading to the complex were blocked. Hamas claimed it confiscated two cars filled with arms sent as reinforcements.

As Hamas took this major battle spoil, the Palestine Liberation Organization's top body recommended that Abbas declare a state of emergency and dismantle Fatah's governing coalition with Hamas. Abbas said he would review the recommendations and make decision within hours, said an aide, Nabil Amr.

"We are telling our people that the past era has ended and will not return," Islam Shahawan, a spokesman for Hamas' militia, told Hamas radio. "The era of justice and Islamic rule have arrived."

[snip]

'Mighty' Hypocrite Angelina Joile Bans FOX and Others From Premiere

'Mighty' Hypocrite Angelina Joile Bans FOX and Others From Premiere

Angelina Jolie's true colors came out yesterday as she promoted a film about freedom of the press and then tried to censor all her interviews.

Jolie is touting freedom of the press these days, playing the widow of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in a new movie called "A Mighty Heart."

But Jolie turns out to be a mighty hypocrite when it comes to her own freedom of the press. Her lawyer required all journalists to sign a contract before talking to her and Jolie instructed publicists at first to ban FOX News from the red carpet of her premiere.

Ironically, last night's premiere of the excellent Michael Winterbottom-directed film was meant to support an organization called Reporters Without Borders.

Yesterday, reporters from most major media outlets balked when they were presented with an agreement drawn up by Jolie's Hollywood lawyer Robert Offer. The contract closely dictated the terms of all interviews [and] a violation... would ...make it possible for her to sue the interviewer and seek a restraining order.

That's not all: Jolie told Paramount Pictures publicists to ban FOX News Channel and all FOX News affiliates from covering the "Mighty Heart" premiere on the red carpet. It was only with the intervention of mortified Paramount staff that a FNC camera crew was allowed to be present.

It's a little unclear how Mariane Pearl, whom Jolie plays in "A Mighty Heart," feels about her portrayer's position on freedom of press for some, but not all. Yesterday, I spoke to Jeff Julliard, the editorial director of Reporters without Borders in Paris.

"Paparazzi should be allowed to do their job," he said, adding that he condemned Jolie's banning of FOX News