The Only Ones

The headline on FARK read "Only one cop had to die for a judge to suggest that maybe mental patients should be required to get treatment even if they don't want it."

That just about sums it up.

During the inquiry, Ayotte also heard what he called alarming statistics about drug use, suicide and the difficulty in treating people with the current number of psychiatrists who practise in Edmonton.

The report recommends that the provincial government spend the necessary amount of money to recruit, train and keep psychiatrists in Alberta.

The judge also suggests the Mental Health Act be amended to allow patients to be kept in treatment, regardless of their personal wishes.

Ayotte said if such legislation had been in place in the years leading up to this incident, the tragedy might have been avoided.

I wonder how many who didn't belong to the exclusive "Only Ones" club have died without any such investigations and recommendations?

Standards Are Changing

For the past few weeks my wife and I have noticed a distinct change in what's acceptable to show on British TV. We don't watch much TV so perhaps it's just a trend we're only beginning to become aware of- but it seems that standards are definitely changing.

A few weeks ago we had just finished watching a DVD and when the player switched off the TV channel which had been on earlier (channel Five) popped back onto the screen. We were confronted by the sight of a man and woman having full penetrative sex filmed from an internal camera. I was pretty shocked- I was under the impression that this was the sort of thing that TV couldn't show, regardless of the time (it was quite late). I guess that by masquerading as a "documentary" they were able to get around some of the restrictions. At the time I opined that TV makers would try to get more and more explicit material shown earlier and earlier. If this is being shown now at (around) midnight when only a few years ago you couldn't have got away with showing it at all, I will not be surprised to see the same thing shown earlier in the evening in years to come.

The following week my wife sat down to watch some daytime TV- an award-winning and long running show by the name of This Morning. She was somewhat taken aback to find a discussion about sex taking place. In fact, the show had dedicated a whole week's worth of programming to the topic. A day or so later I found an article online about people simulating sex on the show. Again I commented on the change in standards- just a couple of years ago I'm sure they would never even have considered showing such a segment.

Today I learn that Britain is about to broadcast its first advertisement for a sex toy on TV. Now I don't have a problem with that per se. The ad doesn't appear to be explicit in any way and the plans are to show it after the 11pm watershed. But Durex aren't pleased with that decision at all- they want to be able to show the ad after the 9pm watershed. Part of their reasoning for this is that scenes of a sexual nature can be seen regularly after that time already- so why can't they advertise their sex toy then too?

I don't want to seem to be a prude- I have no problem with TV showing late night films that are a bit racy, but I fail to see why we should have to have hard core images broadcast at any time. My concern is not that this material exists but that broadcasters seem to be intent on showing more and more explicit scenes and inappropriate language and behaviour earlier and earlier. Is there really a need for simulated sex on daytime TV? If they can show actual sex late at night now, what are they going to be trying to show a couple of hours earlier in the evening two or three years from now? And if that kind of material is being broadcast then, what's going to be shown earlier in the evening or during the daytime?

Iran's Nukes

Thanks to IBA for the head's up on this one-

A document obtained by Iran on the nuclear black market serves no other purpose than to make an atomic bomb, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday.

The finding was made in a report prepared for presentation to the 35-nation IAEA board when it meets, starting Thursday, on whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to impose economic and political sanctions on Iran.

The report was made available in full to The Associated Press.

First mention of the documents was made late last year in a longer IAEA report. At that time, the agency said only that the papers showed how to cast "enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms."

The agency refused to make a judgment on what possible uses such casts would have.

But diplomats familiar with the probe into Iran's nuclear program said then that the papers apparently were instructions on how to mold highly enriched grade uranium into the core of warheads.

So they've had this information for at least a year and still no action has been taken to prevent Iran from enriching uranium. We're only now talking about the possibility of sanctions?

Doesn't the UN do a wonderful job?

Nanotech Weaponry

Now I know what I want for Christmas- super gloves to give me the strength of a bionic man!

Israel changes its R&D program to focus in on the difficulties posed by asymmetric warfare -

Israel is using nanotechnology to try to create a robot no bigger than a hornet that would be able to chase, photograph and kill its targets, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.

The flying robot, nicknamed the "bionic hornet", would be able to navigate its way down narrow alleyways to target otherwise unreachable enemies such as rocket launchers, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.

It is one of several weapons being developed by scientists to combat militants, it said. Others include super gloves that would give the user the strength of a "bionic man" and miniature sensors to detect suicide bombers.

The research integrates nanotechnology into Israel's security department and will find creative solutions to problems the army has been unable to address, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told Yedioth Ahronoth.

"The war in Lebanon proved that we need smaller weaponry. It's illogical to send a plane worth $100 million against a suicidal terrorist. So we are building futuristic weapons," Peres said.

When I hear of this science fiction-type stuff it always seems to be coming from the powerhouse that is America- reading this makes me wonder what other developments are being carried out by the military arms of other nations.

Hat tip to LGF.

Dance Moves

Looking for a quirky dance? A new aerobics workout? Then check this out- but the lyrics to the song (by a band called Le Tigre) are NSFW . Found here- goodness knows how I found it though, it's been sitting in my Bookmarks for a while now.

Killzone PS3

I've just finished playing Killzone for the PS2 and it's a superb game- and it's only partly due to the fact that it's an enjoyable first person shooter. What really grabbed me about it was the design- it's simply superb, one of the best realised imaginary worlds I've ever encountered. A prime example of that it the very good weapons design. Bullpups are the name of the day with the good guys armed with assault rifles, sniper rifles and a neat suppressed PDW-type weapon all along the same configuration. Apparently one of the game designers likes to hang out in Nevada and shoot full auto weapons. It shows.

Anyway, here's the trailer for the follow up Playstation 3 Killzone. The story is basically this- fight off the bad guy (think futuristic Nazis) Helghast army. From the looks of this trailer, this game will be just as much fun as the first.

Democrat Draft

I believe that the appropriate phrase here is, "Suck it, Dems."

I guess those on the Left didn't get the message when the only people talking about a draft before the Bush-Kerry election were the Democrats.

Now look what you've gone and done!

Americans would have to sign up for a new military draft after turning 18 under a bill the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee says he will introduce next year.

Got that? Rangel wants a draft because it might prevent politicians from launching wars. I hope all you lefties are eager to help out with this.

Flight of Fantasy

Ugh, I'm getting lazy blogging again- too much time spent fighting Nazis (Medal of Honor and Call of Duty) and the Helghast (Killzone) on the Playstation. Note to self- kick gaming bug! Anyway, here for your perusal is another work by Adam Hughes - Mina from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Much more attractive than Kevin O'Neill's rendition (although his slightly bizarre art is so well suited to the books- speaking of which, there's another volume out shortly, The Black Dossier).

BTW, here's another picture of Mina I posted some time ago, this one by Frank Frazetta.

Chilling

If you're having a fun, happy day then this is probably not what you want to read- a fictional account of a devastating nuclear attack on America. It's absolutely chilling.

Back in early October, 2006, North Korean President (for life) Kim Jong Il had announced the detonation of a nuclear bomb deep in a tunnel in the stony mountains of North Korea. The seismic signature had been small, and American intelligence at first doubted whether it had been a nuclear explosion at all. Traces of radioactive emissions were detected a few days later, and the intelligence estimate revised to conclude that it had been a failed test that produced perhaps only 10% or less of the expected yield, only 0.5 to 1.5 kilotons, not the 20 kilotons, at least, that Western intelligence had anticipated.

Kim Jong Il gloated. The deception had worked. The Americans were thinking in terms of long range intercontinental ballistic missiles with huge warheads that they could shoot out of the sky with their sophisticated billion-dollar anti-missile defense systems. He was thinking in terms of small warheads carried by small, medium range cruise missiles that could be launched from many places, and infiltrated close enough to slip in under the radar and hit America's coastal cities.

Democrat's New Direction

Head on over to Smallest Minority to check this out, a comment on the Democrat's promised "new direction" for America. Here's a little sample-

The stock market is at a new all-time high and America's 401K's are Back. A new direction from there means what?

Unemployment is at 25 year lows. A new direction from there means what?

Oil prices are down A new direction from there means what?

Taxes are at 20 year lows. A new direction from there means what?

Read it all, for it is good.

Supreme Moonbat?

There really aren't words to describe this sort of cluelessness - I believe a new term may have been invented for moonbat nuttiness; the "Sheehanism".

Kristinn yelled out to her as she was leaving the stage that the Iraqis have a memorial to the victims of terrorism saying “Freedom Isn’t Free.” Cindy got back on the stage to say of course freedom is free, if it wasn’t it would be called expensivedom.

Wow. And this is the woman considered for a Nobel peace prize?

Democrat Round Up

The elections aren't even a week old and already the Democrat position on the war on terror is apparent.

Not only have they been praised by the "Death to America" chanters in Iran and the "Arab street", but now we learn that John Okinawa Murtha may be elected as House Majority leader, some Dems are talking about pulling out of Iraq in four to six months, they're proposing negotiations with Iran (whose stance is unabashedly "we'll talk to you but only if you recognise we'll keep doing exactly what we want regardless"), and are also calling for a return of habeas corpus rights to enemy combatants.

Unsurprisingly, this is bothering even some people who otherwise support the Democrats-

While a bare majority of 51 percent called the Democrats' victory "a good thing," even more said they were concerned about some of the actions a Democratic Congress might take, including 78 percent who were somewhat or very concerned that it would seek too hasty a withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Another 69 percent said they were concerned that the new Congress would keep the administration "from doing what is necessary to combat terrorism," and two-thirds said they were concerned it would spend too much time investigating the administration and Republican scandals."

Given that, one has to wonder what the heck these people where thinking of on election day- when it was obvious what the Dems actually stood for. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it- and now they will have to live with a Democrat majority.

Democrat Security

Democrats in power. What does that mean for US security? Well, perhaps this offers a clue?

Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wants to criminalize FBI and Customs Service profiling of Muslim terror suspects.

"Since Sept. 11, many Muslim Americans have been subjected to searches at airports and other locations based upon their religion and national origin," she said. "We must make it illegal."

Pelosi has also promised Muslims she'll "correct the Patriot Act," one of the most valuable tools the FBI has in ferreting out jihadist cells lurking in Muslim communities.

During the first Gulf War, for instance, Conyers fought FBI outreach efforts in the Arab and Muslim community in Detroit that were designed to gather intelligence on potential cells and protect the home front. Conyers and other Detroit-area Democrats at the time, David Bonior and John Dingell, threatened to hold hearings unless the FBI stopped counterterrorism interviews.

The FBI met with them privately to explain the national security benefits of outreach, but could not allay their concerns. In the end, the FBI backed off. Today, Hamas, Hezbollah and the al-Qaida-tied Muslim Brotherhood are all active in the area.

It doesn't bode well for the future.

Al Qaeda Speaks

Al Qaeda have restated their intentions. Problem is, is anyone listening?

Al-Qaeda's Iraq chief threatened in an audio message posted on the Internet that the terror network will "blow up the White House."

"We announce today the end of a phase of the jihad (holy war) and the start of a new one... to usher in the project of an Islamic caliphate and restore Islam's glory," Abu Hamza al-Muhajer said in the message.

"We swear we will not rest from our jihad... before blowing up the filthiest house, dubbed the White House," in the course of establishing the caliphate which began with the proclamation of an Islamic state in Iraq, he said.

So, can someone from the Democrats please tell me how retreating from Iraq, or stopping supporting Israel, or withdrawing troops from bases in Saudi Arabia, will stop Al Qaeda from, in their very own words, establishing a caliphate?

Anyone?

Superb Good Luck

Talk about lucky- a Brazilian woman was shot in the head six times and survived- in fact, none of the .32 calibre bullets actually penetrated her skull, all lodging in her scalp.

A Brazilian woman who was shot six times in the head after an altercation with her ex-husband was out of the hospital and talking to the media on Saturday.

"I know this was a miracle," 21-year-old housewife Patricia Goncalves Pereira told Globo TV. "Now I just want to extract the bullets and live my life."

Pereira was shot Friday in the small city of Monte Claros, about 900 kilometers (560 miles) north of Sao Paulo, after quarreling with her former husband, who was reportedly upset because she refused to get back together with him. She was also shot once in the hand.

Doctors could not explain why the .32-caliber bullets did not penetrate Pereira's skull and didn't even need to be extracted immediately.

"I can't explain how something like this happened," surgeon Adriano Teixeira said, adding that the bullets were lodged under the woman's scalp.

The ex-husband was still at large.

The moral of the story- well, it's probably a fluke that this happened but it seems to me that what people should take away from this is not to rely on a Mozambique to make up for a lack of stopping power in a carry or home defence gun.

Uncomfortable

If I were a Democrat or Democrat voter, news like this would seriously make me reconsider my position.

Iran’s most powerful leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday called U.S. President George W. Bush’s defeat in the congressional elections an “obvious victory” for the Iranian nation.

“This issue (the elections) is not a purely domestic issue for America, but it is the defeat of Bush’s hawkish policies in the world,” Khamenei said in remarks reported by Iran’s student news agency ISNA on Friday.

“Since Washington’s hostile and hawkish policies have always been against the Iranian nation, this defeat is actually an obvious victory for the Iranian nation.”

Somehow I don't think this will bother too many Democrats though.

30 Years of Terror

According to the current head of MI5 Britain faces a huge problem-

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller outlined the terrifying prospect as she told how her agents are tracking 1,600 fanatics from 200 al-Qaeda cells.

In a rare briefing, the spy chief warned of a sustained campaign of indiscriminate terrorism lasting 30 YEARS.

And she said: “It aims to wear down our will to resist. All of us, whatever our ethnicity and faith, are the targets of terrorists.”

In a nightmare vision, Dame Eliza also told of the “daunting” menace facing Britain, in which:

THIRTY active terrorist plots are under investigation by the security services.

MANY more have yet to be uncovered.

SIX major attacks have been foiled in the last six years.

FANATICS are poised to use biological, radioactive or even nuclear weapons.

RECRUITMENT to terror cells of young Muslims — some still schoolkids — is exploding, with many groomed to be suicide bombers, and

MI5 is struggling to cope with a staggering 80 per cent increase in casework since January, leaving its 2,800 spooks at full stretch and potentially unable to “stop the next attack”.

Dame Eliza said: “The threat is serious, growing and will, I believe, be with us for a generation.

“Today we see the use of home-made improvised explosive devices. Tomorrow’s threat may — and I suggest WILL — include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology.”

All of which means that my eldest daughter will be older than I am now when all this is over- if it ever does end. That's the world my children are growing up in.

Dan Simmons' Century War is sounding more and more accurate in its description of the future.

“Your enemy is he who will give his life to kill you,” said the Time Traveler. “Your enemies are they that wish you and your children and your grandchildren dead and who are willing to sacrifice themselves, or support those fanatics who will sacrifice themselves, to see you and your institutions destroyed. You haven’t figured that out yet – the majority of you fat, sleeping, smug, infinitely stupid Americans and Europeans.”

He stood and set the Scotch glass back in its place on my sideboard. “How, we wonder in my time,” he said softly, “can you ignore the better part of a billion people who say aloud that they are willing to kill your children . . . or condone and celebrate the killing of them? And ignore them as they act on what they say? We do not understand you.”

I wonder, will enough people- with enough influence- wake up in time to stop it? Somehow, with the anti-war Democrats in power, with Rumsfeld's sacrifice and the failure to secure an appointment for the highly effective Bolton at the UN, I don't think enough people have managed to keep their eyes open since September 11, 2001. I dread to think what the next "wake up call" might be.

Clueless on the News

This doesn't surprise me- Jon Snow of the incredibly biased and left-leaning Channel 4 news is giving off about "poppy fascism" following complaints by viewers over his refusal to wear one. He says, "I do not believe in wearing anything which represents any kind of statement."

Of course, why on earth should he wear a symbol of remembrance for the men and women of the armed forces who laid down their lives to fight for freedom? Including the freedoms he currently enjoys when they fought and died combating a real fascist state.

What a complete and utter [insert foul language here].

Democrats Win, World Loses?

So the Republicans threw it all away. A President and a majority in the House and Senate and they still couldn't do any of the things that conservatives wanted them to do. What happened? As each day passes I'm agreeing more and more with MadOgre's idea that there should be term limits for Congress. These career politicians have totally lost touch with what their base wants.

And in the middle of a war they hand power over to a party which the enemy wants to see win.

The Arab Street is greatly pleased with Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, and so are their despotic rulers and jihad-enabling media.

LGF has more details on that. Melanie Phillips suspects that there might be a dreadful price to pay-

"The most likely outcome of these mid-term elections is another major terror attack on America. Whatever the smart analysis of the likely shape of domestic American politics over the next two years, America has now signalled a faltering of resolve; and that’s the cue for a redoubled Islamist attack."

Obviously the jihadis could be emboldened to try and attack an America which is now crippled by Democrat appeasement. Can you imagine what exactly a Democrat controlled House and Senate do about another 9/11?
Could it be that the jihadis can already sense the smell of victory in the air- a victory that will come despite the crushing casualties inflicted on them by the American military at every turn? Let's turn to Democrat John Murtha for an answer on that-

Winning is not a strategy, victory is not a strategy.

We’re gonna say, here’s a plan that we have, and Speaker Pelosi has signed on to the plan I have, stability in the Middle East, stability in Iraq comes from redeployment of our troops, and that’s gonna be what we’ll work for.

Cut and run. And in the wake, a collapse of the fledgling Iraqi government and probably the creation of another Taliban-like dictatorship- where the jihadis will be able to plan and launch further attacks on Britain and America. While I have grave reservations about the success of the democracy project in Iraq, consider this consequence of leaving before the job is done and the government is able to stand alone- will we have to invade Iraq again a few years down the line to overthrow a Taliban-style regime, one possibly backed by Iranian nukes?

The Democrat win had already be likened to a national disaster for the USA- I'm afraid that I have to agree in part, this could very well be a disaster for all of the free world.

300

It looks as if 300 will be a repeat of Sin City, following Frank Miller's work very closely indeed. Can't wait to see this on the big screen.

Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris takes part in a USMC promotion ceremony during a USO tour of Iraq. He now has a column on World Net Daily. He mentions his Iraq visit in his most recent article-

"As in past years, I left the region more inspired by our troops than I believe they were by me. They make me proud to be American. Their sacrifice also reminds me that freedom is born in adversity and purchased at a price.

As I looked in the eyes of these freedom fighters, I began to wonder about the world we would leave to our children, and the nation I would leave to my own children and grandchildren."

Seems to me that it's a column worth paying attention to.

Quote of the Day

Via Smallest Minority-

There are two malign trends of the last four decades, and in the war on terror they've merged. For the far left, the issue is always America. So, if America's destabilizing some Marxist-Leninist socialist utopia the left takes the side of the Marxist-Leninist socialist utopia. Likewise, if America's at odds with misogynist racist homophobic theocrats, the left takes the side of the sodomite-beheaders and the freelance clitorectomy performers. That’s entirely consistent once you realize it’s simply a choice of United States vs [Your Name Here]. – Mark Steyn

Climate Change

Km du Toit writes about an interesting article on climate change and the manipulation not just of data but the techniques used to analyse the data.

The bigger the value of lambda, the bigger the temperature increase the UN could predict. Using poor Ludwig Boltzmann’s law, lambda’s true value is just 0.22-0.3C per watt. In 2001, the UN effectively repealed the law, doubling lambda to 0.5C per watt. A recent paper by James Hansen says lambda should be 0.67, 0.75 or 1C: take your pick. Sir John Houghton, who chaired the UN’s scientific assessment working group until recently, tells me it now puts lambda at 0.8C: that’s 3C for a 3.7-watt doubling of airborne CO2. Most of the UN’s computer models have used 1C. Stern implies 1.9C.

On the UN’s figures, the entire greenhouse-gas forcing in the 20th century was 2 watts. Multiplying by the correct value of lambda gives a temperature increase of 0.44 to 0.6C, in line with observation. But using Stern’s 1.9C per watt gives 3.8C. Where did 85 per cent of his imagined 20th-century warming go? As Professor Dick Lindzen of MIT pointed out in The Sunday Telegraph last week, the UK’s Hadley Centre had the same problem, and solved it by dividing its modelled output by three to “predict” 20th-century temperature correctly.

And here's another interesting titbit that I'm sure won't get a whole lot of coverage- the US, which emphatically did not sign up to Kyoto, has actually managed to reduce its emissions by more than the nations that did sign the treaty.

Watson cited recent U.N. figures showing that, by one measure, the United States is doing better on greenhouse gases than some countries. "The way the numbers are counted, we're doing very well," he said.

That report showed that growth in U.S. emissions in 2000-04 was 1.3 percent, compared with 2.4 percent overall for 41 industrialized nations.

The countries which currently aren't making their targets are still expected to meet them by 2012- by forcing their citizens to pay much higher taxes in the coming years. What a swell idea that is.

Ok Go

I've got my nose stuck in a Terry Pratchett book at the moment (Thud!) so no blogging for now. Instead here's another ingenious little video called Here It Goes Again by OK Go, a band I've never heard of before- I just caught this in passing one day and thought it was very clever. Who needs a massive budget for a music video?

On the basis of this it looks like I'll have to check them out.

Punishing the Victim

What sort of twisted mind does it take to come to a decision like this?

In a virtual repeat of the Imrana case, a mother of four has been driven out of her village in Murshidabad district by a Muslim panchayat after being allegedly raped by a local man over three months ago.

The panchayat ruled her marriage stood annulled in the wake of the incident and neither could she live with her husband nor could she enter the predominantly Muslim village, about 200 km from Kolkata.

The attack took place in front of the woman's four children- and for her courage in reporting the crime, she has been driven from her village: her husband could not afford to pay the 50,000 Rupee "fine" that the village council imposed if she wished to stay.

Her attacker, on the other hand, faces an 18,000 Rupee fine. Which he hasn't bothered to pay. It's not clear if the village council will order a known rapist out of their village but it doesn't seem likely. I guess they seem to have the same type of thinking as the Aussie "uncovered meat" imam- the woman is to blame.

Disgusting.

Justice

For all the complaints about the Saddam Hussein trial in Iraq, it looks like justice will be served-

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity.

Let's hope they don't wait around too long before carrying out the sentence.

Please Help

Okay, I'm looking for a little information- hopefully someone out there can help me; I'm trying to discover what the average US soldier carried/wore during World War 2. Ideally I'd like a picture of a front and rear shot of a GI, and I'd really like to know what equipment and ammo was considered an average load.

How many rounds would have been carried for a Garand, for example? What amount of rations did they have? What about sleeping gear?

I'm looking for an Osprey book on the subject but I have a feeling that military historians won't be too bothered by whether GIs carried 200 rounds of ammo or not.

Can anyone help?

Be interesting to compare and contrast a WW2 GI with the gear that's the norm in Iraq right now. I wonder what the Greatest Generation would have made of a modern soldier and his equipment way back then?

UPDATE - Got some info on this here.

NY Times Back War In Iraq

I'm a tad confused- weren't we all told endlessly that Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq? Well, it seems that the New York Times has come to the conclusion that Hussein was, in fact, a very real threat to the security of the USA and the rest of the the world- because he was a year away from making a fully functional nuclear weapon. And they've roundly criticised the Bush administration for putting documents which detail how to make such a device online- documents that detail how a terrorist group or a rogue nation, for example, could make one too. Good thing the US and allies deposed Saddam before he sold or gave that information to the likes of Al Qaeda.

Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the 1990s and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure Iraq had abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf war. Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein’s scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.

Here's some more from the Times-

The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs.

Glad we've finally got that cleared up. Good of the Times to drop that bombshell just days before the election too.

Karl Rove is really going to earn his paycheck this month- first Kerry and now the NY Times. How does he do it?

QuickNote

I blogged the other day about trying to find a text editor to use in Firefox. I've been trying out FoxNotes and it's okay. Not exactly what I want but it will do.

Well, I also installed another extension called QuickNote. Now, it's less useful than FoxNotes for writing with- you can't save what you write- but it does have some useful functionality for blogging. With it you can highlight text on a website, right click and choose "Send to QuickNote"- it will copy the text to a note tab and even add the website address to the end of the note. Very handy indeed.

EDIT-Actually you can save what you write with QuickNote- I just missed that tick box on the options menu. Looks like FoxNotes is kaput on my system.

UN At "Work"

Thanks heavens that the UN has stepped into the breach in Lebanon and is doing its level best to protect Hezbollah from Israel keep the peace there. Already we've heard how they faced off against Israeli troops, how they have threatened to fire on patrolling Israeli aircraft and how they absolutely, positively won't even try to disarm Hezbollah. Phew, thank goodness for their sterling efforts, eh? Well, just to show how dedicated UN forces are to putting in their best effort into protecting Hezbollah the peace here's another account of exactly what they do over there-

Despite the 20,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon, the United Nations admits that weapons smuggling from Syria continues unhindered. A German report finds UNIFIL does not patrol after dark.

Hizbullah terrorists are free to roam at night without fear of being identified by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to a report by the German paper Der Spiegel.

Spanish UNIFIL official Richard Ortax admitted to the paper that no patrols are carried out at night “because of the danger involved.” UNIFIL commanders said their function is to "observe changes in the behavior of the local population."

The United Nations itself has admitted that Syria was still successfully smuggling arms to the Hizbullah, which neither UNIFIL nor the Lebanese army plan to stop.

Makes you realise just what an essential role the UN has in the 21st century, doesn't it? The United Nations doing all it can to ensure that genocidal terrorists recently engaged in a war against Israel's civilian population continue to thrive.

My Neighbour Totoro

I finally managed to see the Japanese animated movie, My Neighbour Totoro. It's a magical piece of work and I found myself smiling almost all the way through it. Wonderful artwork and a touching story- with some very real human touches. My two year old watched it today too and while she wasn't too interested in parts, her face lit up every time Totoro or the Cat-bus turned up; just like me. There's just something wonderfully innocent about it. I love it. If you haven't seen it, you should now.

Lost

Lost, misplaced, stolen, handed over to jihadis? Seems that nobody has any idea what's happened to weapons that the US supplied to the Iraqi forces. In fact, no one even seems sure at what point they went missing.

Missing from the Defense Department’s inventory books were 13,180 semiautomatic pistols, 751 assault rifles and 99 machine guns, according to an audit requested by Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Also included in the list are RPGs. Seems it adds up to one in every 25 weapons. Just gone.

Quote of the Day

From David Codrea's excellent War On Guns-

"...don't forget that every coin the UN gets is a piece of metal that can be used to forge chains."

Kerry Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot

Gee, I take a day off from blogging to play some Medal of Honor (I'm officially addicted) and Karl Rove launches his super-cunning October surprise. How he managed it, I have no idea- quite possibly it involved some sort of ninja mind control- but he was able to dupe John Kerry into slandering the men and women of the American armed forces just days before the election. What's even more absurd is that Kerry's a former military man himself. Does that mean he thinks he's stupid too? I'm beginning to think that he's actually a Rovian plant- he loses an election to the world's most unpopular man, George Bush, and now this. Seriously, is he really a double agent?

What a tool. Anyway, Rove's evil plan to scupper the Dem's sure thing seems to be working, despite the mainstream media's stalwart damage-control efforts. Bless 'em.

Genius, Karl, just genius.

FoxNotes

It suddenly occurred to me today that it might be quite handy to be able to write in Firefox - I tend to have it open most of the time, usually with multiple tabs and it just seemed easier to be able to jot things down there rather than have to open and close Word as the notion took me.

Text editor extension for Firefox- sounds simple but apparently there isn't such a thing. Not that I can find anyway. Perhaps I'm the only one who has a need for it? Anyway, I did a bit of poking around and eventually came across FoxNotes. You can set it to open in a tab and then write away to your heart's content- and there's even a nice little "save" button at the bottom. What's also neat is that the single FoxNotes tab has six sub-tabs all of its own to work with. That might come in handy.

The big disadvantage is that you can't use it to open any existing text files. And Firefox 2.0's spell checker doesn't seem to function with it. I was rather hoping it would.

If you happen to know of a text editor extension for Firefox please do let me know.

UPDATE - Quicknote is the way to go.

N.I. Terror

Amazing- Tony Blair et al assure the people of Northern Ireland that there's no more terrorist threat here, and he proceeds to dismantle security posts, border watch-towers, he sends troops home and even goes so far as to disband the Home Service battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment. And all because the still armed IRA are engaged in peace talks.

Shame he didn't bother to consider any other nationalist groups out there.

Irish police believe they have disrupted a bomb plot aimed at hurting the Northern Ireland political process.

A large amount of explosives were found in Kilbranish, Mount Leinster, County Carlow on Friday night and made safe by Irish Defence Forces on Saturday.

It is believed the Real IRA were testing bombs in the area, RTE said.

Earlier this week it was reported that dissident republicans were preparing to launch a major gun or bomb attack in a bid to derail political talks.

Additional resources have been deployed to a number of areas across Northern Ireland by the Police Service of Northern Ireland to counter the threat.

A number of individuals have also been warned that they could be under threat.

But hey, this is all out of the blue, isn't it? I mean, why would Blair pander to the demands of Sinn Fein/IRA to destroy Northern Ireland's anti-terror capacity if he knew about other threats?

Successive reports by the Independent Monitoring Commission have said that both the Real and Continuity IRA are recruiting members, trying to acquire weapons and identifying possible targets, including police officers and loyalist paramilitaries.

Earlier this year, the police intercepted a 250lb bomb in Lurgan, and also foiled a plot to import a large quantity of weapons, which included machine guns and ground to air missiles.

So, what is it Tony? Is appeasing the IRA more important than the safety of the citizens of this country?

N.I. Werewolf Movie

The BBC website reports on a film-in-progress that's to be made here in Northern Ireland, Mourne.

Set in the fictional village of Mourne a group of American paranormal investigators arrive to look into the claims of a panicked farmer that a werewolf has attacked his sheep.

They soon discover that a dark legend lives and split into groups to track the fearsome beastie.

What's odd about the BBC article is that they seem to believe that a horror film made here is a first. Haven't they heard of Zombie Genocide or the more recent Wilderness? The former is a real low budget affair but I like it- made in the days before digital cameras and desktop editing, it was filmed in sequence on tape. The latter is a bigger budget survival-horror film about a group of young offenders on a remote island being stalked by a killer complete with some grisly death scenes. Sean Pertwee makes an appearance and although it falters a little towards the end I found it a very enjoyable watch.

I'm hopeful that Mourne does get made- and not only because there's a dearth of werewolf movies; it would be pretty cool to have a movie-making industry here.

Mourne's homepage is here.

Theocracy Alert

Hey Libs- this is the sort of thing that happens in a theocracy. You may want to note that George Bush and Christianity are not involved in any way.

Retired American policeman Randal Barnhart, who was subjected to a 2am raid by religious enforcement officers, is reconsidering his plan to make Malaysia his second home.

On Oct 12, Barnhart, 62, and his wife Carole, 61, were in their rented condominium in Kuah when enforcement officers continuously knocked on their door at 2am, accusing them of committing khalwat (close proximity).

He said the officers demanded to see his marriage certificate, although he had told them that they were Christians and should not be subjected to Islamic law.

Survey Results

From LGF-

Do you consider yourself to be a Muslim first, an American first, or both equally?
MUSLIM FIRST - 214
AMERICAN FIRST - 4
BOTH EQUALLY - 86
UNDECIDED - 3

Is violence by Muslims against the American military overseas acceptable, in retaliation for the American government’s actions in the Muslim world?
YES - 134
NO - 154
UNDECIDED - 19

The survey makes for alarming reading and was taken at a meeting of the Islamic Society of North America. There's much more over at LGF.

Military Commissions Act

I wrote a little while ago about a gun-control wish list. It makes for pretty scary reading- a complete handgun ban, a ban on ammunition that is "high powered" or "wounding" (hunters pay attention). In other words, a complete negation of the Second Amendment- I wonder how groups openly campaigning to usurp, say, the First Amendment would fair? In the comments an anonymous contributor agreed that it was a bad list but went on to say that with the Military Commissions Act the President could label anyone an enemy combatant, including anyone who criticised the government.

Well, that's not quite true- and today I see that Kim du Toit has done his homework and read all of the law, trying to apply it to himself, an American citizen.

Habeas corpus can be suspended only for furriners—ie. terrorists apprehended either overseas or in the United States. In other words, not only can we try by military tribunal terrorists captured overseas, but also terrorists captured in these here United States.

Worth reading it all to cut through the Lefty gnashing of teeth about Bush and his evil plans to take over the world.

Flight of Fantasy

A little Adam Hughes to start the day- another great picture of Wonder Woman. Joss Whedon needs to see some of AH!'s work, and cast a girl who looks like this in the upcoming movie.

Firefox 2.0

After all the hype Firefox 2.0 is finally here- and I've got to say that I'm a little underwhelmed. It's a little different cosmetically and it has a few features which so far I've found to be useful additions but somehow I was expecting more. Oh well, always version 3.0 to look forward to.

Apart from the slightly different look the major benefits to the new version (for me anyway) are a neat spell-checker (look for a few less typos here), buttons on the tabs to shut them down, the ability to re-launch Firefox with all the tabs from your last session in place (huzzah), and a History option for recently closed tabs- I really like that because I'm always closing sites down and then realising a few minutes later that there was something else there I wanted to read. One thing that I haven't quite gotten used to yet is the way that lots of open tabs are treated- before they just got smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared off the right hand side of the browser- now they only get a little bit smaller and there are some handy little arrows on each side of the tab bar so that you can zoom left and right along the row of tabs. It's a great idea but it seems so odd on the screen.

Actually, now that I see all the features I like perhaps this new version is more appealing than I first thought. I've read a few comparisons with IE7 and the two browsers seem to be about neck and neck now- it'll take an awful lot for me to want to go back to IE again.

Bad Car

Britain's nanny government really doesn't like SUVs- even though the government itself s quite happy to be driven around in gas guzzling fleets of Jaguars and the like. It's a case of do as I say, not do as I do. The latest attack on the SUV comes in a "tax" on parking permits - the bright idea is to charge people with high emission cars such as SUVs (or amazingly enough Jaguars) £750 a year (as opposed to the current £200) to park outside their own homes.

The council hopes other authorities will be encouraged to follow its lead.

All because of the dreaded ogre of climate change- something must be done to line the council's pockets help the earth.

If the plans are approved by the council's cabinet on November 6, the cost of parking the most polluting vehicles would rise from £100 to £300.

And those with more than one car would have to pay 50% more for extra permits - thus a household owning two high-emissions cars could pay £300 for the first, and £450 for the second, or £750 in total.

I'm sure that this will have a drastic effect on the unproven human-caused global cooling warming climate change. And fill the council's coffers at the same time.

Race or Religion?

While these guys seem to be nothing more than drunken yobs who deserve to get nicked, what I don't understand is why their attack on a mosque is being treated as "racially motivated assault".

THUGS burst into a mosque and savagely attacked the imam and several others as they prayed.

A man, aged 37, from Eccles and a man, aged 19, from Davyhulme have been arrested on suspicion of racially-aggravated assault. Vandals attacked the mosque in November 2004, destroying religious artworks.

Would an attack on any other religious establishment other than a mosque be treated as some sort of racism? The article reports that "racial abuse" was shouted by the attackers, but we don't know what they said- were they trying to insult Muslims, or were they actually insulted the race of the people present? Is it a more serious crime to assault someone for racial reasons than any other? I'd really like to know- why should someone be punished differently for attacking a person because of their race? It makes no sense to me- surely assault is assault and it should all be treated the same. A guy could be walking down the street and just happen to glance at some drunken yob and be assaulted for it. Why should that crime be treated differently than, for example, a black man being attacked because he just happened to come across a drunken yob and be attacked?

The thing is that while the reports have the incident down as being racially motivated, Mohammed Shafiq of the local Islamic Ramadhan Foundation, blames it on Jack Straw and his comments about the veil. According to him, this was an attack specifically on Muslims-

"This is another example of Muslims being attacked and persecuted and the responsibility lies with the politicians who have been on a feeding frenzy attacking Muslims and giving ammunition to thugs' hatred towards us."

If that's the case, then this has nothing to do with race at all- Islam is a religion- so why all the talk about racially motivated attacks? An attack on a mosque, or a church or a synagogue or a temple, is not racist but religiously motivated.

Vampire Killer?

I hadn't realised that CZ had gone into the vampire slaying business- but here's the evidence, a CZ-75 SP-01 Tactical complete with bayonet.

Someone better let Blade know.

BTW, the folks over at Smallest Minority seem to have confirmed that this is a genuine item.

Crazy.

Watch This

No, really, go and watch it now- especially if you're an American and/or a gun-owner. Then make sure that everyone you know watches it too.

Click here and see how in a time of crisis the police decided that the Constitution didn't matter a damn- and how they treated a frail looking lady who just happened to have a legally owned weapon to defend herself from lawlessness with. Note too how the gun is in her hand the whole time that these people are in her home - camera crew in tow- and see how the cops react when they eventually notice it.

The term jackbooted thugs springs to mind.

Hat tip to Smallest Minority.

And here's the big lesson to be learned- it doesn't matter if you are a shooter, a hunter or just a person who wants to be able to exercise their rights and defend their home/family; you all need to stick together to fight for those rights every day.

CAIR Complains

Wow, CAIR is gnashing its teeth because Pat Robertson and Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch aren't Muslims- they *gasp* don't believe!

INCITEMENT: ROBERTSON CALLS QURAN 'FRAUDULENT,' SPENCER AGREES

How dare he not believe in the Koran, what is he, some sort of infidel or something?

Spencer puts the CAIR Action Alert into context-

Robertson asked me during the segment -- I am working from memory -- if I would be willing to say that Muhammad's claim to be receiving divine revelations was fraudulent.

I responded, "Of course." Because after all, I am not a believer in Islam. Robertson's word choice was not politically correct, and it may hurt feelings; indeed, it is not a word I would have chosen. But essentially the only two choices on this question are these: either Muhammad received divine revelations, or he didn't. Non-Muslims do not believe Muhammad was a genuine prophet. That means that they believe that the things that are claimed to be revelations are not genuine revelations -- even if this view is presented with consummate tact and delicacy.

Accordingly, when Robertson asked me this question, I could do nothing but answer the way I did, simply because I am not a Muslim. To present this as "incitement" is, of course, trying to provoke the "hate crimes" that CAIR professes to abhor, but actually uses politically with consummate skill. The idea that someone would be incited to commit violence against Muslims because I stated that I do not believe Muhammad was a prophet is beyond asinine -- but of course it is also part of CAIR's larger attempt to control the national debate about Islam. Not only do they now protest against statements critical of Islam or Muslims, but even against rather simple and mild non-affirmations of Muslim belief by non-Muslims.

And they will keep doing this, because there is no shortage of willing stooges who will happily restrict themselves to an ever narrower sphere of discussion about Islam in order to appease the all-powerful gods of multiculturalism.

And so the steady drip-drip-drip of complaints and protests continues, drawing a noose tighter and tighter around freedom of speech.

Kerry To Tell The Truth

I wish them well with this one- the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation has filed suit against John Kerry over his career-making Congressional testimony-

A lawsuit filed in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas will test the very foundation of Kerry’s anti-war persona for the first time. It isn’t dubious medals or Kerry’s disputed service record in Vietnam that is being called into question. This time Kerry may finally be forced to answer for the events that launched his public career, one that made him an anti-war hero for many American liberals and a turncoat for millions of Vietnam veterans.

The lawsuit (Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, et al. v. Kenneth Campbell, et al.) challenges the basis, the factual accuracy of then-Lt. (j.g.) Kerry’s acrimonious testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971. It was there Kerry’s public career was catapulted with his now ubiquitous portrayal of American soldiers as murderers, rapists and torturers "who ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam . . . [and] razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan."

Many if not all were members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), an organization led by Kerry and financed by Jane Fonda during the early 1970s. Now, a number of those "witnesses" will be required to testify, under oath for the first time ever, about what they really did and saw in Vietnam.

Perhaps we'll finally get a little closer to the truth about what Kerry actually did and saw in Vietnam.

Compare and Contrast

Here's a telling LGF post- sort of a before and after of the famous Gaza greenhouses that Western liberals cued up to donate money to buy for the poor, beleagured Palestinian folk.

Just look what wonderful work they've done with them since then. Bill Gates must be so proud.

Hamas Speaks

It really is a marvel to see the moderating effect that coming to power has had on Hamas. Once we knew them to be homicidal terrorists but now, why, they are so much more "moderate" now that they are in office and they, you know, have to deal with real world problems.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas told demonstrators in Gaza on Friday that Israel is an abomination in the Middle East that will some day disappear.

"We will never recognize Israel, and the end the [fate of] Zionists will be like that of the Crusaders, the Persians and the English, who left. We want all of Palestine, every centimeter, from the river to the sea, from Rosh Hanikra to Rafah. If we can form a state within the 1967 borders we will do so, but this doesn't mean that we will relinquish our right to every centimeter of Palestine's land," he said.

In his speech, Zahar also addressed the Palestinian prisoners in Israel and promised them that Hamas will do all that it can to secure their release, including kidnapping more Israeli soldiers.

Just imagine what they would be like if they hadn't mellowed so.

Hamas keeps speaking like this- is anyone actually listening?

Special Treatment?

I'm sure that this isn't a case of special treatment of Muslims in the eyes of the law. I mean, they're bound to not arrest people wanted for breaking the law during other religious festivals. Right? I mean, there were all those reports about Sikhs and Hindus not being arrested during Diwali...oh, nevermind.

Police in Manchester have been told not to arrest Muslims wanted on warrants at prayer times during Ramadan.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed it had asked detectives not to make planned arrests during those periods for reasons of religious sensitivity.

Sure, sensitivity. Nothing to do with fear of a violent backlash from the Muslim community at all.

Just being good little dhimmi coppers.

Drive-By Journalism

Newsbusters reports on a recent Newsweek article which painted the campaign in Afghanistan as an unmitigated disaster. The Department of Defense responded and refuted their claims in detail.

Did Newsweek publish a correction? A follow-up story allowing the DoD to present their side of the argument? Well, not exactly, Newsweek is now claiming that its story was only, in fact, analysis- and they will allow the DoD to respond with a "concisely written letter".

Newsbusters concludes, fairly I'd say-

So here we have a mainstay of the MSM that - when confronted with a serious challenge to its reporting on a matter of crucial national interest - attempts to downplay a major piece as mere "analysis." And rather than either replying seriously to the Pentagon's systematic refutation, or covering those arguments in its own pages, offers the Pentagon no more than the barest opportunity to respond.

Is this evidence of a news organization with a burning desire to get to the truth, or another lamentable example of drive-by journalism?

Marvellous, isn't it?

BBC Owns Up

At last.

It was the day that a host of BBC executives and star presenters admitted what critics have been telling them for years: the BBC is dominated by trendy, Left-leaning liberals who are biased against Christianity and in favour of multiculturalism.

Why are all TV owners in Britain forced to pay for the BBC again?

At the secret meeting in London last month, which was hosted by veteran broadcaster Sue Lawley, BBC executives admitted the corporation is dominated by homosexuals and people from ethnic minorities, deliberately promotes multiculturalism, is anti-American, anti-countryside and more sensitive to the feelings of Muslims than Christians.

Surprisingly no mention thus far of their bias in Middle Eastern coverage.

Treason

Can we start the treason trial already?

In his book, which came out this week, Kengor focuses on a KGB letter written at the height of the Cold War that shows that Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered to assist Soviet leaders in formulating a public relations strategy to counter President Reagan's foreign policy and to complicate his re-election efforts.

The letter, dated May 14, 1983, was sent from the head of the KGB to Yuri Andropov, who was then General Secretary of the Soviet Union's Communist Party.

In his letter, KGB head Viktor Chebrikov offered Andropov his interpretation of Kennedy's offer. Former U.S. Sen. John Tunney (D-Calif.) had traveled to Moscow on behalf of Kennedy to seek out a partnership with Andropov and other Soviet officials, Kengor claims in his book.

Specifically, Kennedy proposed that Andropov make a direct appeal to the American people in a series of television interviews that would be organized in August and September of 1983, according to the letter.

"Tunney told his contacts that Kennedy was very troubled about the decline in U.S -Soviet relations under Reagan," Kengor said. "But Kennedy attributed this decline to Reagan, not to the Soviets. In one of the most striking parts of this letter, Kennedy is said to be very impressed with Andropov and other Soviet leaders."

It looks like not much has changed- Democrats believing that the biggest risk to world security is not the enemy of the United States but the president himself. Maybe it's just me but if these allegations had been made about a Republican the Dems would be screaming it from the rooftops- and demanding hearings. Can we please have the same? An elected representative of the USA making secret advances towards an enemy regime at the height of the Cold War in the hopes of derailing an election. In other words, putting lust for power ahead of country. Sounds like treason to me. Surely there should be an official and public investigation into this to see if the claims are indeed true.

Will the Republican leadership really let a matter like this slip?

Election Fever in Iraq

It looks like the Iraq arm of the Democrat election campaign machine is working full time now-

Between 18 and 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded Saturday in an attack at an outdoor market in a Mahmoudiya town, Iraqi authorities said.

And-

Police and members of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia fought in another southern Iraq town on Saturday, leaving nine people dead.

A gun battle erupted in Suwayra, in Wasit province nearly 40 miles south of Baghdad.

This comes after an eruption of violence this week in Amara between police and the militia, known as the Mehdi Army.

I'm not in any way trying to suggest a link between the Dems and the terrorists but only the most naive would believe that the terrorists are unaware of the impending election and the effect that a surge in violence may have on the electorate.

Scared Reporters

Not so long ago I posted a quote by Einstein about how the so-called champions of freedom, the universities and the press were quickly silenced in the face of Nazism. Here in Britain the journalists are running scared of offending Muslims after the Daily Star planned to run a special spoof page.

The page purported to show how the paper would look under Muslim law. It included material that would have given great offence to the Muslim community.

What's of note here is that while the management was all in favour of the spoof the journalists themselves, the supposed lovers of freedom of speech are too terrified to do it.

After 25 minutes, the NUJ chapel passed a motion saying that the article was “deliberately offensive” to Muslims.

The motion read: “The chapel fears that this editorial content poses a very serious risk of violent and dangerous reprisals from religious fanatics who may take offence at these articles. This may place the staff in great jeopardy. This chapel urges the management to remove the content immediately.”

I guess Einstein's words still stand then. It's plainly clear that offence has nothing to do with the decision- it's motivated by pure unadulterated terror. Self-censorship in the face of an expected violent reaction- didn't some Danish fellows have something to say about that recently?

Dirty Tricks

So a Republican politician has been outed. It's a pretty sleazy move at election time and it seems to be utterly at odds with Democrat's supposed tolerance and support for homosexuality. Obviously if they think being gay is a good thing they wouldn't be doing it to harm someone's chances of winning an election. What gets me is that the outing has been done with no verifiable evidence- it's nothing more than an allegation made that the Republican in question will find hard to disprove if it's false.

Captain Ed has an excellent summation-

Once again, the Left shows its obsession with sexuality, but it's really more than that. The Left obsesses over identity politics in all forms, and that obsession comes out in pathological terms. Rogers reveals this in his blog post, demanding that gay staffers on the Hill identify their orientation publicly, or else he will do it for them. Sexual identity is everything to him, and the concept of sexual privacy has no value to him at all. He wants to humiliate gays who prefer to keep their sexual activity private, forcing them to wear the virtual pink triangle against their will to experience obloquy and castigation.

Uninformed and in power

This does not bode well- if those in positions of power don't even understand the basics of the people we're dealing with, how can they ever hope to effectively combat the threat?

FOR the past several months, I’ve been wrapping up lengthy interviews with Washington counterterrorism officials with a fundamental question: “Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?”

But so far, most American officials I’ve interviewed don’t have a clue. That includes not just intelligence and law enforcement officials, but also members of Congress who have important roles overseeing our spy agencies.

Charles Johnson sums it up best- Clueless in Washington.

Maybe this explains all of the badly informed pronouncements coming out of D.C. And also the "tiny minority of extremists hijacking a peaceful religion meme". Is they can't tell a Sunni from a Shi'ite do they know anything about the exhortations to jihad in Islam?

Americans For Jihad

This is so utterly insane that I am flabbergasted.

Democratic strategist and former Michael Dukakis campaign manager Susan Estrich, and the former American Civil Liberties Union president in Massachusetts, Harvey Silvergate, recently joined the attorneys representing two alleged Boston al Qaeda funders.

Emadeddin Z. Muntasser and Muhammed Mubayyid face charges in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts for the soliciting and expenditure "of funds to support and promote the mujahideen and jihad, including the distribution of pro-jihad publications."

In their motion, attorneys Mrs. Estrich, Malick Ghachem, Norman Zalkind and Elizabeth Lunt, argue that the defendants merely exercised their religious freedom and obligation to give "zakat" (Islamic charity).

Their motion cites Chapter 9, verse 60 of the Koran, which describes "those entitled to receive zakat." According to the definition of zakat in The Encyclopedia of Islam, "category 7" of eligible recipients are "volunteers engaged in jihad" for whom the zakat cover "living expenses and the expenses of their military service (animals, weapons)."

Incredibly, the suspects' attorneys also argue that such charitable giving, to support the jihad and mujahideen, is rightfully tax-exempt under U.S. constitutional protection of religious freedom.

Funding the self-declared enemies of America is protected by the Constitution? What the heck are these guys thinking?

This Explains A Lot

Clayton Cramer presents a theory of why the Bush=Hitler meme is so commonplace today. Unsurprisingly, it seems to be based on complete ignorance of history- and what evils Hitler actually perpetuated.

Students are arriving at college with almost no knowledge of history. She found out from her students today that in Meridian school district, their world history class devoted one paragraph to the Nazi concentration camps. In Boise school district, if her students are to be believed, the subject didn't come up.

What little her students know about concentration camps comes from watching Schindler's List. While a fine film, this describes a rare and unusually fortunate outcome of the Holocaust. The disturbing films of the liberation of the concentration camps? Her traditional age students have apparently not seen them. Their knowledge is woefully inadequate. It would appear that Hitler's greatest crime, at least from the statements made by students, was aggressive war about the Soviet Union. (And now you can understand Bush=Hitler!)

Dems in Power

Election time is drawing close in the States and Kim du Toit has a reminder of just what is at stake if you're a hunter, survivalist (and want to have a stockpile of weapons or ammo for instance), paintballer, airsofter or just plain gun owner- Handgun Control Inc's wish-list. It makes for some pretty scary reading. As he points out the Republicans have not endeared themselves to their base recently but the prospect of Republicans staying home and not voting, or protest voting for someone else, would mean a Democrat win- and if you think that a Republican leadership was bad, then you're in for some nightmare times under the Dems. And at this critical juncture in the war on terrorism, a Democrat win would seriously embolden the enemies of the West. Don't believe me? Watch this and think on that this will be the mindset of those with a majority.

Anyway, here's the Brady Bunch's list- spread it around.

1. National Licensing of all handgun purchases.
2. Licenses for Rifle and Shotgun owners.
3. State Licenses for ownership of firearms.
4. Arsenal Licenses (5 guns and 250 rounds of ammunition).
5. Arsenal License Fees (at least $300.00, with a cap of $1,000.00).
6. Limits on Arsenal Licensing (None in counties with populations of more than 200,000).
7. Requirement of Federally Approved Storage Safes for all guns.
8. Inspection License. (Gun safe licenses, yearly fee for spot inspections).
9. Ban on Manufacturing in counties with a population of more than 200,000.
10. Banning all military style firearms.
11. Banning Machine Gun Parts or parts which can be used in a Machine gun.
12. Banning the carrying a firearm anywhere but home or target range or in transit from one
to the other.
13. Banning replacement parts (manufacturing, sale, possession, transfer, installation) except
barrel, trigger group.
14. Elimination of the Curio Relic list.
15. Control of Ammunition belonging to Certain Surplus Firearms. (7.62x54R and .303).
16. Eventual Ban of Handgun Possession..
17. Banning of Any ammo that fits military guns (post 1945).
18. Banning of any quantity of smokeless powder or black powder which would constitute
more than the equivalent of 100 rounds of ammunition.
19. Ban the possession of explosive powders of more than 1 kg. at any one time.
20. Banning of High Powered Ammo or Wounding ammo.
21. A National License for Ammunition.
22. Banning or strict licensing of all re-loading components.
23. National Registration of ammunition or ammo buyers.
24. Requirements of special storage safe for ammunition and licensing.
25. Restricting Gun Ranges to counties with populations less than 200,000.
26. Special Licensing of ranges.
27. Special Range Tax to visitors. ($85.00 per visit per person).
28. Waiting period for rentals on pistol ranges.
29. Banning Gun Shows.
30. Banning of military reenactments.

PLUS:

Ban of all clips holding over 6 bullets.
Elimination of the Dept. of Civilian Marksmanship.
Ban on all realistic replica and toy guns (including “air soft” and paintball).
The right of gun-violence victims to sue, with financial assistance from government programs,
the gun manufacturers.
Taxes on ammo, dealers, guns, licenses to offset medical costs to society.
The eventual ban on all semi-automatics regardless of when made or caliber.

Flight of Fantasy

Has it really been so long since I last posted here? Here's a quickie to make up- a Catwoman cover by Adam Hughes.

Another Islamophobe Speaks

Darn those pesky elected representatives of the British people, always sticking their nose into business that has nothing to do with them!

A minister has been accused of "reckless intervention" after he said a Muslim teaching assistant suspended for wearing a full veil should be sacked.

Phil Woolas told the Sunday Mirror that Aishah Azmi, 23, had "put herself in a position where she can't do her job".

And just who does this guy think he is?

The Muslim Council of Britain said Mr Woolas, whose brief covers race relations, should not have interfered.

Well, of course- an infidel having the gall to speak out about Muslim matters! How dare he? In actual fact, Woolas' brief is for race and faith. Who does he think he is, commenting on a Muslim matter?

Labour peer Lord Ahmed said: "It's unprecedented - in fact quite extraordinary - that a minister can be calling for a sacking of a school classroom assistant."

Of course, why on earth should a local politician express an opinion on a matter like this which is being discussed in the national press? Here's what he had the nerve to say- brace yourself, it's quite shocking-

"The head teacher says that she's not able to do her job...and if the head teacher says that that's the action that needs to be taken, then so be it."

I know, I know- a shocking and no doubt inflammatory statement.

He [Lord Ahmed] added that the minister should be concentrating on "discrimination in the Muslim community" rather than attacking it.

In other words, be a good dhimmi and keep your mouth shut.

Britain Today

Right now in Britain it feels like the inmates are running the asylum.

A Christian British Airways employee is suspended for wearing a cross. Muslims and Sikhs are permitted to wear headscarves and turbans. She had just been on diversity training.

Non-Muslim pupils wanting to attend a new school in Leicester will be required to wear the headscarf as "part of the uniform". It is an Islamic school but under government regulations they have to accept a percentage of pupils from other faiths. What gets me about this is the repeated attempt to make it look like the headscarf is a mere item of uniform like a tie or shirt. I wonder if Muslims would be so accepting of a Christian school that required Muslim pupils attending to wear a cross as "part of the uniform"?