Singing Japan PM tours Graceland

BBC (UK) ^ | 30JUN06 | BBC

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited the home of his musical hero, Elvis Presley, as a guest of US President George W Bush.

The Japanese PM showed off his Elvis impression

Who died and left you president of the United States? (NYT)

Oregonian ^ | 6-29-06 | David Reinhard, Associate Editor

Dear Bill Keller:

Remember me? We met in the elevator here at The Oregonian recently. Your decision to expose a secret program to track terrorist funding got me to thinking I had better write and apologize. I don't think I was sufficiently deferential on our brief ride together. I treated you like the executive editor of The New York Times who used to work for The Oregonian. I had no idea I was riding with the man who decides what classified programs will be made public during a war on terror. I had no idea the American people had elected you president and commander in chief.

Yes, I'm being sarcastic. What's that they say -- sarcasm is anger's ugly cousin? I'm angry, Bill.

I get angry when a few unauthorized individuals take it upon themselves to undermine an anti-terror program that even your own paper deems legal and successful. I get angry when the same people decide to blow the lid on a secret program designed to keep Islamic terrorists from killing Americans en masse.

"The disclosure of this program," President Bush said Monday, "is disgraceful."

Strong words, but not strong enough, Bill.

Your decision was contemptible, but your Sunday letter explaining the Times' decision only undermined your case for disclosure.

"It's an unusual and powerful thing, this freedom that our founders gave to the press . . .," you wrote. "[T]he people who invented this country saw an aggressive, independent press as a protective measure against the abuse of power in a democracy. . . . They rejected the idea that it is wise, or patriotic, to always take the President at his word, or to surrender to the government important decisions about what to publish."

Too true, but the issue here is your judgment. It would be one thing if you ran this story because the program was illegal, abusive or feckless. Yet your paper established nothing of the kind. In the end, your patronizing and lame letter offered only press-convention bromides ("a matter of public interest").

"Forgive me, I know this is pretty elementary stuff -- but it's the kind of elementary context that sometimes gets lost in the heat of strong disagreements," you write, after providing a tutorial on how the government only wants the press to publish the official line and the press believes "citizens can be entrusted with unpleasant and complicated news."

But this is a false and self-serving choice. The issue is your decision to publish classified information that can only aid our enemies. The founders didn't give the media or unnamed sources a license to expose secret national security operations in wartime. They set up a Congress to pass laws against disclosing state secrets and an executive branch to conduct secret operations so the new nation could actually defend itself from enemies, foreign and domestic.

Forgive me, I know this is pretty elementary stuff -- but it's the kind of elementary stuff that can get lost in the heat of strong disagreements. And get more people killed in the United States or Iraq.

Not to worry, you tell us, terrorists already know we track their funding, and disclosure won't undercut the program. (Contradictory claims, but what the heck.) You at the Times know better. You know better than government officials who said disclosing the program's methods and means would jeopardize a successful enterprise. You know better than the 9/11 Commission chairmen who urged you not to run the story. Better than Republican and Democratic lawmakers who were briefed on the program. Better than the Supreme Court, which has held since 1976 that bank records are not constitutionally protected. Better than Congress, which established the administrative subpoenas used in this program.

Maybe you do. But whether you do or not, there's no accountability. If you're wrong and we fail to stop a terror plot and people die because of your story, who's going to know, much less hold you accountable? No, the government will be blamed -- oh, happy day, maybe Bush's White House! -- for not connecting dots or crippling terror networks. The Times might even run the kind of editorial it ran on Sept. 24, 2001. Remember? The one that said "much more is needed" to track terror loot, including "greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities"?

Keep up the good work -- for al-Qaida.

Superman eschews longtime patriot act:
From the Hollywood Reporter:

By Tatiana Siegel

Nevermind Superman's sexual orientation. Here's another identity-related question that is likely to spark controversy as the Man of Steel soars into theaters nationwide this Fourth of July weekend in Warner Bros. Pictures' 'Superman Returns': Is Superman still American?

Ever since artist Joe Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel created the granddaddy of all comic book icons in 1932, Superman has fought valiantly to preserve 'truth, justice and the American way.' Whether kicking Nazi ass on the radio in the '40s or wrapping himself in the Stars and Stripes on TV during the Cold War or even rescuing the White House's flag as his final feat in 'Superman II,' the Krypton-born, Smallville-raised Ubermensch always has been steeped in unmistakable U.S. symbolism.

But in the latest film incarnation, scribes Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris sought to downplay Superman's long-standing patriot act. With one brief line uttered by actor Frank Langella, the caped superhero's mission transformed from 'truth, justice and the American way' to 'truth, justice and all that stuff.'

'The world has changed. The world is a different place,' Pennsylvania native Harris says. 'The truth is he's an alien. He was sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and he is here for everybody. He's an international superhero.'

[snip]

My tip? Spend your made-in-the-USA dollars elsewhere this weekend.

Mark Steyn: The trouble with insolent breasts
And now, on a much-needed lighter note...

Snow to Keller (Treasury Sect. send letter to NYSlimes)
This one's great. The folks at the NYCrimes aren't just traitors, they're liars, too.

Mr. Bill Keller, Managing Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Keller:

The New York Times' decision to disclose the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, a robust and classified effort to map terrorist networks through the use of financial data, was irresponsible and harmful to the security of Americans and freedom-loving people worldwide. In choosing to expose this program, despite repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle, including myself, the Times undermined a highly successful counter-terrorism program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails.

Your charge that our efforts to convince The New York Times not to publish were "half-hearted" is incorrect and offensive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the past two months, Treasury has engaged in a vigorous dialogue with the Times - from the reporters writing the story to the D.C. Bureau Chief and all the way up to you. It should also be noted that the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, met in person or placed calls to the very highest levels of the Times urging the paper not to publish the story. Members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials and well-respected legal authorities from both sides of the aisle also asked the paper not to publish or supported the legality and validity of the program.

Indeed, I invited you to my office for the explicit purpose of talking you out of publishing this story. And there was nothing "half-hearted" about that effort. I told you about the true value of the program in defeating terrorism and sought to impress upon you the harm that would occur from its disclosure. I stressed that the program is grounded on solid legal footing, had many built-in safeguards, and has been extremely valuable in the war against terror. Additionally, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey met with the reporters and your senior editors to answer countless questions, laying out the legal framework and diligently outlining the multiple safeguards and protections that are in place.

[snip]

Click the link to read it all in all its glory.

A word from Lt. Cotton (via Powerline):

Lt. Tom Cotton writes this morning from Baghdad with a word for the New York Times:

Dear Messrs. Keller, Lichtblau & Risen:

Congratulations on disclosing our government's highly classified anti-terrorist-financing program (June 23). I apologize for not writing sooner. But I am a lieutenant in the United States Army and I spent the last four days patrolling one of the more dangerous areas in Iraq. (Alas, operational security and common sense prevent me from even revealing this unclassified location in a private medium like email.)

Unfortunately, as I supervised my soldiers late one night, I heard a booming explosion several miles away. I learned a few hours later that a powerful roadside bomb killed one soldier and severely injured another from my 130-man company. I deeply hope that we can find and kill or capture the terrorists responsible for that bomb. But, of course, these terrorists do not spring from the soil like Plato's guardians. No, they require financing to obtain mortars and artillery shells, priming explosives, wiring and circuitry, not to mention for training and payments to locals willing to emplace bombs in exchange for a few months' salary. As your story states, the program was legal, briefed to Congress, supported in the government and financial industry, and very successful.

Not anymore. You may think you have done a public service, but you have gravely endangered the lives of my soldiers and all other soldiers and innocent Iraqis here. Next time I hear that familiar explosion -- or next time I feel it -- I will wonder whether we could have stopped that bomb had you not instructed terrorists how to evade our financial surveillance.

And, by the way, having graduated from Harvard Law and practiced with a federal appellate judge and two Washington law firms before becoming an infantry officer, I am well-versed in the espionage laws relevant to this story and others -- laws you have plainly violated. I hope that my colleagues at the Department of Justice match the courage of my soldiers here and prosecute you and your newspaper to the fullest extent of the law. By the time we return home, maybe you will be in your rightful place: not at the Pulitzer announcements, but behind bars.

[snip]

More at link above.

The following link, and a few that will come later, are to ensure that you have sufficient good reading for the weekend.

Have a great one!

12 down: Top secret war plans, 36 across: Treason [Ann Coulter]

Bad Boy Bolton: Our Ambassador Has ‘Become U.N.’
An absolutely delicious article.

Putin kisses boy on the stomach
Odd behavior, hilarious thread.

'Inconvenient' change for Gore film ["ticket sales plummet"]

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" has seen its ticket sales plummet after a promising start.

After Gore's global warming documentary garnered the highest average per play ever for a film documentary during its limited Memorial Day weekend opening, recent theater takes for the film have been less than stellar, Daily Variety reports.

The film dropped from its record $70,333 per play to $12,334 during its third week and its numbers have continued to fall as the film opens in smaller cities and suburbs across the country.

Yet despite its failing numbers, the film has brought in $9.6 million to date, making it one of the most successful documentaries to date.

In comparison, the 2004 documentary "Super Size Me" brought in $11.5 million, while the title for most successful documentary remains with director Michael Moore's 2002 film, "Bowling for Columbine," which brought in $21.6 million, Variety said.

Apparently the folks at Variety are smart enough to realize that Fahrenheit 9/11 was not a documentary.

= )

TIMES DAMAGE REPORT IS DUE (Senate seeks intellence damage assessment on NYT leaks)

Memorial service planned for Madras soldier

A community memorial service will be held next Saturday for Private First Class Thomas Tucker of Madras, the soldier who disappeared during an insurgent attack in Iraq and was killed.

Good grief! Could the (cr)AP have sanitized this any more?!!

Saddam ends hunger strike after missing one meal
Best headline of the week.

Khobar Towers (as told by Louis Freeh - WOW!)
Interesting. Important.

Stalker Hides Under Woman's Bed for Two Days
I've learned an invaluable lesson from this story. Never give the valet more than your car key. Never leave ID in your car.

Creepycreepycreepy.

Crackdown on Homeschoolers: It’s the UN Wot Done It
From Belgium. Whole thing's a must-read, and a reminder why not signing silly UN treaties is a GOOD THING.

IMRA - Thursday, June 22, 2006 PMW Reports: Hamas: Islam will conquer US and Britain:
Whaddabunchadelusionalfux.

Hamas: Islam will conquer US and Britain

By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

Hamas Video

A Hamas video just released on their web site focuses on the broader
Palestinian Islamic ideology, promising the eventual conquering and
subjugation of Christian countries under Islam. The way Israel "ran" from
Gaza after terror is presented as the prototype for future Israeli and
Western behavior in the face of Islamic force.

The video is a collection of statements by Hamas terrorist leader, Yasser
Ghalban, killed last week by Palestinians, in the ongoing internal fighting.

To view this video, anticipating Islam's conquering of US and Britain, click
here.
www.pmw.org.il/asx/PMW_yasserghalban.asx

The following is the transcript of selections from the Hamas video:

"We will rule the nations, by Allah's will, the USA will be conquered,
Israel will be conquered, Rome and Britain will be conquered.

The Jihad for Allah... is the way of Truth and the way for Salvation and the
way which will lead us to crush the Jews and expel them from our country
Palestine. Just as the Jews ran from Gaza, the Americans will run from Iraq
and Afghanistan and the Russians will run from Chechnya, and the Indian will
run from Kashmir, and our children will be released from Guantanamo. The
prisoners will be released by Allah's will, not by peaceful means and not by
agreements, but they will be released by the sword, they will be released by
the gun".

The video identifies itself as from the "Al-Qassam Brigades Media Office."
"Al-Qassam Brigades" is the name the Hamas calls its military wing.
(www.palestine-info.net) June 22 2006:

Al-Qaeda Video

The ideology is similar to the Al-Qaeda ideology, and this can be seen by
viewing an Al-Qaeda video seen now on many sites on the Internet, likewise
anticipating battles with other religions throughout the world. "They Are
Coming" is 12 minute collection of scenes of Al-Qaeda's training around the
world: Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, Eritrea, Indonesia, Kashmir, Somalia,
Philippines, UK, Algeria and Pakistan. This propaganda video addresses the
American public with captions in English, images of dead and injured
American soldiers, and threats such as: "They Are Coming", "Start digging
your graves", and ends with a burning US flag.

Click here to see Al-Qaeda video.
www.pmw.org.il/asx/PMW_theyarecoming.asx

Taking credit for the video is: "Al-Qaeda's 'Jihad Media Battalion'
June 2006
Please feel free to forward this bulletin, crediting Palestinian Media Watch

Finally, a new gator tale... but good grief! From Pennsylvania? That's a long walk in alligator shoes!

Gator Lunges at Man Delivering Newspapers ( Pennsylvania )

NO TEARS FOR JIHAD JOHNNY (Lindh)(BARF)
Don't ask me why, but every once in a while I remember this disaster of a human in my prayers.