Al-Qaeda Operatives Working Overtime in Dinosaur Media!

The Gateway Pundit blog ran the following story, of how the MSM ran 6 bogus stories in 6 weeks out of Iraq and Afghanistan without issuing corrections. Here's one example:

On November 29, 2007... It happened again.The Western media including the Reporters Without Borders organization reported:

11 close family members of Jordanian-based Baathist reporter Dia al-Kawwaz, who runs the online anti-Iraq newspaper Shabeqat Akhbar al-Iraq, were slaughtered in Baghdad. The attack occurred in the Al-Shaab neighborhood shortly after 7 a.m. Shia militia men shot dead two of Kawwaz’s sisters, their husbands and their seven children, aged 5 to 10. They then exploded the house on their way out.This made headlines around the world.This was a lie, too.

Two days later, the "dead family members" of Dia Al-Kawwaz appeared on Iraqi television smiling and waving to the cameras.They managed to convince the Iraqi audience that they were in fact quite alive. ** Not one Western Media Organization showed this photo or film of the waving family members. Not one.

Another Report from the Dept. of the Easily Offended

ABC’s Walters Disses White House Christmas Card

The "World's Smallest Violin" award goes to Barbara Walters for complaining that she received a Christmas card from the White House with a Christian theme! In a Culture and Media Institute article, she publicly aired her dismay over the use of a quote from the Bible by President and Mrs. Bush on "The View."

"Later in the show Walters did say, 'By the way, I don’t want to put down the President of the United States and his wife. I think it’s very nice that they sent me a Christmas card.'

"Christmas greetings can be sent to Barbara Walters at the following address. CMI asks that Christmas greetings be worded in the spirit of the season."

Barbara Walters
c/o The View320 West 66th Street

New York, NY 10023

Flashback from the Soviet Era!

Putin rival [photo on left] held in psychiatric ward 'to prevent him protesting against government'

Last updated at 01:05am on 15th December 2007

Source: Daily Mail [UK]

A Russian opposition activist has been sent to a psychiatric hospital by authorities a day before a planned demonstration.

Artem Basyrov's detention is the latest in a series of incidents suggesting a punitive Soviet-era practice is being revived under president Vladimir Putin.
Mr Basyrov, 20, was ordered to be held at a hospital in the central region of Mari El on November 23, a day before planned demonstrations, said Alexander Averin of the opposition National Bolshevik Party.

The party is part of the Other Russia coalition which organised the so-called Dissenters' Marches across the country this year.

Mr Basyrov ran for the local legislature as an Other Russia candidate. Police who originally detained him claimed he had assaulted a girl. A local psychiatric board agreed, deciding the activist suffered from a mental illness and he was committed to the psychiatric hospital three weeks ago. He was only transferred from an isolation ward and allowed to have visitors on Thursday, said Mikhail Klyuzhev, a National Bolshevik member from the city of Yoshkar-Ola.

The allegations against Mr Basyrov were "idiocy" and were "part of the hysteria" before Russia's parliamentary elections which were held on December 2, Mr Klyuzhev added.

Supporters said Mr Basyrov did not appear to have been mistreated. A psychiatric board is due to review his case at the end of the month.

His case is the latest example of journalists or opposition activists being involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals in Russia. During the Soviet era, dissidents were frequently committed for protesting against Soviet policies.

Last week, Reporters Without Borders said Andrei Novikov, a reporter for a news service connected with Chechen separatist government, was released after nine months in a psychiatric hospital. Earlier this year Larisa Arap, an Other Russia activist and journalist, spent six weeks in a psychiatric clinic. Supporters said this was punishment for her critical reporting.

The Global Initiative on Psychiatry, a Dutch watchdog, says psychiatry continues to be used for punitive, political purposes in Russia.

Prosecutors in Mari El were not available for comment last night.

Forget Algore - Men with Big Carbon Footprints Turn Women On!

Crass and materialistic as this may sound, a Wall Street Journal article brings up the obvious fact that there are men and women out there seeking wealthy spouses. Here's an excerpt from that article:

"Yet even among the workaday (or wannabe) wealthy, marrying for money has become a popular pursuit. In an infamous personal ad posted on Craigslist this summer, a twentysomething New Yorker who described herself as 'spectacularly beautiful' wrote that she was looking for a man who made at least $500,000 a year. She'd tried dating men earning $250,000, but that wasn't 'getting me to Central Park West,' she said. The ad inspired all manner of parodies and follow-ups, including one by an investment banker, who replied that since his money would grow over time but her beauty would fade, the offer didn't make good business sense. She was, he said, a 'depreciating asset.'"

For more comments (and a cartoon), see the following Web page from the TigerHawk blog: http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2007/12/carbon-is-hot.html

Is This Principal Being Demeaning, or Simply Bowing to Reality?

Principal Tells Teachers To Dumb-Down Standards
City Hall Angered; Central Park East High Students Miffed
By Andrew Kirtzman
Source: http://wcbstv.com/local/central.park.east.2.610529.html

HARLEM (CBS) ― Have teachers at an East Harlem school been ordered to lower their standards because many students there are poor?

That's the impression some got from their principal's memo.

And now City Hall has stepped in.

The weather was gloomy Thursday outside Central Park East High School, but the talk was about a controversial memo from the school's principal.

"I don't think he thinks we're dumb," 12th grader Crystal Scarlett said. "He just thinks we can do much better than we're doing."

But not everyone agreed.

Last month, Principal Bennett Lieberman sent off a stern memo to teachers. "If you are not passing more than 65 percent of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities, and you are setting your students up for failure, which, in turn, limits your success as a professional."

Was he ordering teachers to dumb down their classes? The memo continued: "Most of our students come from the lowest third percentile in academic achievement, have difficult home lives, and struggle with life in general. They DO NOT have a similar upbringing nor a similar school experience to our experiences growing up."

Some students took offense. "That's not the way to pass," 12th grader Richard Palacios said. "That's not the way to get your education, so you're basically cheating yourself."

CBS 2 HD made several requests to speak with the principal and he refused. But he is standing by his comments.

Lieberman told a newspaper Thursday he "confidently stands by" his words.

But late Thursday, the Department of Education weighed in. It sent him a letter demanding he clarify his views and state that he is not ordering his teachers to lower their standards. No word back yet from the principal.

Teachers at the school stand to receive $3,000 bonuses if their school improves.

Hell Freezes Over: Muslim Man Comes to the Rescue of Jewish Women!

Source: New York Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2007/12/12/2007-12-12_muslim_hero_breaks_up_train_beating-1.html

Muslim hero breaks up train beating
BY MELISSA GRACE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, December 12th 2007, 2:13 AM

The Good Samaritan who tried to stop the Christmas-versus-Chanukah subway beating has two black eyes and a sore nose - but no regrets.
"I did what I thought was right," said Hassan Askari, 20. "I did the best that I could to help."
Askari, a Bangladeshi Muslim studying at Berkeley College in Manhattan, was on a Q train headed to Brooklyn late Friday when he came to the aid of young women confronted by a group of 10 thugs.
Fearful for the women's safety, he pushed one of the men away - and was then pounced on by the group, he said.
"They grabbed me and punched and beat me up," Askari said.
"They punched me first. I didn't get a chance to punch him back."
Askari, all of 5-feet-7 and 140 pounds, said he was left with a swollen face.
He said he didn't go to the doctor because he's too busy working two waiter jobs and doesn't have the money for medical care.
He was mystified as to why the men became so outraged when the women and their male friends wished them a "Happy Chanukah" while they were yelling "Merry Christmas" on the train car.
"I don't understand," he said. "They were just being nice."
One of the Jewish victims, Walter Adler, expressed amazement that Askari took the risk to try to help.
"That a random Muslim kid helped some Jewish kids, that's what's positive about New York," said Adler, 23, who suffered a broken nose and required four stitches to close a lip wound.
Askari's interference allowed Adler to pull the emergency brake, which alerted police to trouble on the train.

Voluntarily Removing Themselves from the Gene Pool

According to Chuck Colson, members in good standing of the Church of Gaia are using sterilization, abortion, and other forms of birth control as an environmental statement.

One of these women [in the U.K.], Toni, works for an environmental group. She said that she “shudders with horror” at the thought of a “little hand slipping into hers—and a voice calling her Mummy.”

The “shudder” is caused by the thought of the child’s environmental impact. As Dave Barry likes to say, “I am not making this up.” I wish I were.

So, when Toni learned she was pregnant 10 years ago, she quickly had an abortion to “protect the planet.” Then, to make sure that such a “mistake” could not happen again, she had herself sterilized at age 27.

What did the child’s father think about all this? He sent her a “congratulations card” and later married her.

So far there has not been a mass outcry against this trend. For the full article, see: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/ChuckColson/2007/12/11/voluntary_self-extinction

"The People's Cube" Blog Identifies New Mental Disorder: Offended Muslim Syndrome (OMS)

For full article, see http://www.thepeoplescube.com/red/viewtopic.php?t=1621&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Following the misery inflicted on Islam by a toy bear that ended up with calls for the execution of an English woman, more Muslims are stepping forward with stories of long-suppressed emotional trauma imposed on them by so-called reality. This has led to the creation of support groups and social networks that help followers of the Prophet Mohammed cope with the agony of learning about life outside of their immediate environment, offering assistance with technical resources, practical guidance, and strategies for early intervention and punishment of those who offend Islam....

"I have always been offended by rubber ducks," says Mahmud Said of Portland, Oregon. "For a long time I felt stigmatized and inadequate, until one day I decided to write about it on an Internet forum. I received hundreds of heart-felt emails - from Morocco to Indonesia. It turns out that thousands of Muslim men between the ages of 18 and 35 have had traumatic experiences with rubber ducks.

"We started a support group that has grown to 10,000 members. Not only do we share horrifying rubber duck stories, we also try to increase public awareness by sabotaging the world supply of rubber ducks, setting fire to factories, abducting rubber duck distributors, and intimidating retailers. These are building blocks for our healthy future. With Allah as my witness, our public awareness campaign will soon result in a completely rubber-duck-free world."

NOTE: There are a number of different manifestations of OMS in the original article, but we will skip to the listing of classic symptoms:

Symptoms of Offended Muslim Syndrome (OMS)
Irritability, agitation, anxiety at the sight of women who are not fully covered
Prolonged rage or unexplained killing sprees
Significant changes in immigration patterns
Brooding about the past glory of the Caliphate
Decreased effectiveness and minimal work productivity
Difficulty in understanding new information without a trial lawyer
Feelings of despair or hopelessness about the existence of Israel
Recurring thoughts of death to the infidels

A Superglue Invented by the Romans!

Roman repairs last the distance
Allan Hall December 6, 2007
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/roman-repairs-last-the-distance/2007/12/05/1196812825662.html

THEY came, they saw … and they used superglue.

Archaeologists in Germany say they have found a 2000-year-old glue that Roman warriors used to repair helmets, shields and other accessories of battle.
"Caesar's Superglue" — as it has been dubbed by the co-workers of the Rhine State Museum in Bonn — was found on a helmet at a site near Xanthen on the Rhine River where Romans settled before Christ.

"We found that the parade cavalry helmet had been repaired with an adhesive that was still doing its job," said restorer Frank Willer.

He said that since the find researchers had been going over collections of weapons and armour from the battle of the Teutoburger Wood in Germany.
There are traces of DIY repairs on them.

"This is rightly called some kind of superglue because air, water and time have not diminished its bonding properties," Mr Willer said.

His team discovered the adhesive accidentally when they examined the repair to the helmet.

Silver on the helmet separated from iron under heat — and the threads of the glue were discovered.

The remains have already been under the microscope: the Romans made their adhesive from a mixture of bitumen, cattle fat and bark pitch.

Researchers believe the Romans added soot, sand and quartz to the mixture for various jobs and to improve "stickability".

"We haven't mixed a batch ourselves but we can thoroughly recommend it lasts, 2000 years later," Mr Willer said.

Just When I Thought It Would Be a Slow-News Day...

Shooting at New Life Church

Greg Boyce

Colorado Springs Published 2 hour(s) ago

Four people were shot at around 1 p.m. at New Life Church on the north side of Colorado Springs. Initial reports indicate a gunman opened fire in the parking lot about thirty minutes after a church service had adjourned.

News First spoke with Penrose Hospital. Three victims were taken there. One is in critical condition, one is in fair condition and one is good condition.

At a news conference just before three o'clock a police spokesman said a suspect "was down" and that other suspects were being sought.

Witnesses will be released from police questioning and reunited with their families at Pikes Peak Community College (Rampart Range campus).

Source: KOAA-TV News

UPDATE: Gov. Bill Ritter issued the following statement this afternoon following shootings in two Colorado religious facilities earlier today:

“Today, Colorado mourns the tragic loss of those killed and injured in two senseless shootings. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those who were taken from us, and we pray for the speedy recovery of those who were wounded.

“Violent crimes of any sort are tragic enough, but when innocent people are killed in a religious facility or a place of worship, we must voice a collective sense of outrage and demonstrate a renewed commitment to keeping our communities safe.

“We have activated the Colorado Information Analysis Center, and I have directed the Department of Public Safety, Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to provide immediate assistance to the local and federal agencies investigating the shootings.”

Church and law enforcement officials proceeded slowly and cautiously to save as many people as possible. Following a preset emergency plan, churchgoers were herded into a basement. The building was placed on lockdown, police swept the church one room at a time, and extra ambulances were placed on standby.

As of 5:50 p.m., police reported that one suspect and one member of the congregation were confirmed dead. A quick-thinking security guard on the scene was credited with saving many lives by shooting the suspect.

These two shooting incidents (in Arvada and Colorado Springs) have already gotten the attention of national news outlets: http://www.newsweek.com/id/74573

Monday, 10 December, 1:27 p.m.: Names of the two victims killed at New Life Church, Stephanie and her sister Rachel Works, and of the people who were wounded in the incident were released. A news conference was held at 4:00 p.m. MST. http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/12297661.html

The gunman believed to have been involved in both incidents is Matthew Murray, age 24. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22174890/

Nostalgia for a Lost Cause

Dr. Horsefeathers has done it again! He has written an incisive and insightful explanation of why so many "intellectuals" in the west have this fatal fascination with discredited ideologies such as communism. Here's an excerpt:

"To return to my patient and that unasked question. I think I have the answer now. Utopians are nostalgic not for anything real, but for a fantasy, a garden of Eden in which painful differences of talent, looks, fortune, do not exist, an egalitarian paradise where sexual and aggressive conflicts don't exist and all problems are solvable with words. As long as human beings feel injured by their very condition, their own mortality, their own vulnerability, as long as reality includes blows to one’s sense of childhood grandiosity and entitlement, the fantasy of socialist paradise will persist."

Source: http://doctor-horsefeathers.com/archives2/000705.php#comments

Hero Stories

Yesterday's Westroads Mall massacre in Omaha has distressed a lot of folks, including myself, but we must not forget that there are decent and noble people out there who do extraordinary things. Here's one amazing story from the Detroit area:

Source: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/METRO/712050396

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Girl, 7, shot 6 times saving mom
Norman Sinclair, Santiago Esparza and Jennifer Mrozowski / The Detroit News


DETROIT -- A 7-year-old-girl is being hailed as an "angel from heaven" and a hero for jumping in front of an enraged gunman, who pumped six bullets into the child as she used her body as a shield to save her mother's life.

Alexis Goggins, a first-grader at Campbell Elementary School, is in stable condition at Children's Hospital in Detroit recovering from gunshot wounds to the eye, left temple, chin, cheek, chest and right arm.

"She is an angel from heaven," said Aisha Ford, a family friend for 15 years who also was caught up in the evening of terror.


The girl's mother, Selietha Parker, 30, was shot in the left side of her head and her bicep by a former boyfriend, who police said was trying to kill Parker. The gunman was disarmed by police and arrested at the scene of the shooting, a Detroit gas station. Police identified him as Calvin Tillie, 29, a four-time convicted felon whom Parker had dated for six months.

Parker, who was treated and released at Detroit Receiving Hospital, is now at her daughter's bedside. She declined to comment Tuesday....











Burglary suspect Joshua Burris

Westside News [Missouri]

Thursday, December 06, 2007
World War II veteran fends off home invader
K-9 unit tracks accused down

By Lake Sun Publications StaffPublished: Monday, December 3, 2007 1:15 PM CST
Source: http://westsidestar.net/articles/2007/12/04/westside_news/17.txt

MORGAN COUNTY — A suspect who allegedly stabbed and wrestled with a World War II veteran fled on foot only to be tracked down by a K-9 unit a short distance away.

Morgan County detective Todd Wright said 83-year-old Stanley Egerer was in his home sleeping early Monday, Nov. 26 when 20-year-old Joshua Burris allegedly broke in. Egerer awoke to find Burris in his bedroom, holding a knife and demanding money. Burris then reportedly stabbed Egerer in the upper left chest after he said he didn’t have any.

And, Egerer fought back.

During the skirmish, the WWII vet sustained several more cuts to his hands and arms from the knife, Wright said.

Burris then fled the residence on foot, taking with him several stolen prescription medications, according to the police report. Egerer called 911 about 3 a.m. to report the burglary.Investigators from the sheriff’s office, along with detective Tony Wheatley and his K-9 dog Joky, joined the search for the suspect.

Wright said Burris was tracked down about 1/2-mile away in a wooded area off Route TT. He was attempting to get his 1995 gold-colored Ford Ranger unstuck from the mud.

A search warrant executed on Burris and his residence found several pieces of evidence linking him to the crime.Burris was charged with Class B felony assault in the first degree, felony armed criminal action, Class B felony burglary in the first degree, Class C felony stealing and Class C felony possession of a controlled substance.

He is being held on a $15,000 cash-only bond. Wright said the investigation has not found a direct relationship between Burris and Egerer. He also said Egerer was in the hospital in good condition.

Mitt Romney Rises to the Occasion

Today was the day Gov. Romney delivered a statesmanlike speech on the subject of religious values in America. Here is an excerpt from the speech:

"There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face us. If so, they are at odds with the nation's founders, for they, when our nation faced its greatest peril, sought the blessings of the Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious freedom. In John Adams’ words: 'We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.'

"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.
"Given our grand tradition of religious tolerance and liberty, some wonder whether there are any questions regarding an aspiring candidate's religion that are appropriate. I believe there are. And I will answer them today.

"Almost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president. Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.

"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin...."

For the entire transcript, see http://www.mittromney.com/News/Speeches/Faith_In_America

I am not in the habit of endorsing any candidates before or during the primary season, but like to give credit where credit is due. It took courage for Mitt Romney to speak out on this subject at a time when many of his friends were advising him to wait until he had won a few primaries and caucuses.

Reason to Be Skeptical about the NIE on Iran's Nuclear Program

U.S. Intel Possibly Duped by Iran

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 9:38 AM
By: Kenneth R. Timmerman

President Ahmadinejad on left - can we trust this guy?

Source: http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/iran_nukes/2007/12/04/54359.html

[NOTE: When I heard about this recent NIE that claims that Iran has suspended its nuclear research program, something did not compute. A leopard doesn't change its spots so easily - after all, they still have thousands of centrifuges to enrich uranium, continue to call the USA the "Great Satan," send money and arms to Hezbollah, haven't renounced their intention of wiping Israel off the map, nor have they withdrawn the terrorists they sent into Iraq to kill our troops. To see the report for yourself, go to http://www.odni.gov/]

A highly controversial, 150 page National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear programs was coordinated and written by former State Department political and intelligence analysts — not by more seasoned members of the U.S. intelligence community, Newsmax has learned.

Its most dramatic conclusion — that Iran shut down its nuclear weapons program in 2003 in response to international pressure — is based on a single, unvetted source who provided information to a foreign intelligence service and has not been interviewed directly by the United States.

Newsmax sources in Tehran believe that Washington has fallen for “a deliberate disinformation campaign” cooked up by the Revolutionary Guards, who laundered fake information and fed it to the United States through Revolutionary Guards intelligence officers posing as senior diplomats in Europe.

Dangerous Game

The National Intelligence Council, which produced the NIE, is chaired by Thomas Fingar, “a State Department intelligence analyst with no known overseas experience who briefly headed the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research,” I wrote in my book "Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender."

Fingar was a key partner of Senate Democrats in their successful effort to derail the confirmation of John Bolton in the spring of 2005 to become the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations.

As the head of the NIC, Fingar has gone out of his way to fire analysts “who asked the wrong questions,” and who challenged the politically-correct views held by Fingar and his former State Department colleagues, as revealed in "Shadow Warriors."

In March 2007, Fingar fired his top Cuba and Venezuela analyst, Norman Bailey, after he warned of the growing alliance between Castro and Chavez.
Bailey’s departure from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) was applauded by the Cuban government news service Granma, who called Bailey “a patent relic of the Reagan regime.” And Fingar was just one of a coterie of State Department officials brought over to ODNI by the first director, career State Department official John Negroponte.

Collaborating with Fingar on the Iran estimate, released on Monday, were Kenneth Brill, the director of the National Counterproliferation Center, and Vann H. Van Diepen, the National Intelligence officer for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Proliferation.

“Van Diepen was an enormous problem,” a former colleague of his from the State Department told me when I was fact gathering for "Shadow Warriors."
“He was insubordinate, hated WMD sanctions, and strived not to implement them,” even though it was his specific responsibility at State to do so, the former colleague told me.

Kenneth Brill, also a career foreign service officer, had been the U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna in 2003-2004 before he was forced into retirement.

"Shadow Warrior" reports, “While in Vienna, Brill consistently failed to confront Iran once its clandestine nuclear weapons program was exposed in February 2003, and had to be woken up with the bureaucratic equivalent of a cattle prod to deliver a single speech condemning Iran’s eighteen year history of nuclear cheating.”

Negroponte rehabilitated Brill and brought the man who single-handedly failed to object to Iran’s nuclear weapons program and put him in charge of counter-proliferation efforts for the entire intelligence community.

Christian Westermann, another favorite of Senate Democrats in the Bolton confirmation hearings, was among the career State Department analysts tapped by Fingar and Brill.

As a State Department intelligence analyst, Westermann had missed the signs of biological weapons development in Cuba, and played into the hands of Castro apologist Sen. Christopher Dodd, D, Conn., by continuing to use impeached intelligence reports on Cuba that had been written by self-avowed Cuban spy, Ana Belen Montes.

“After failing to recognize the signs of biological weapons development in Cuba and Cuba’s cooperation with Iran, Westermann was promoted to become national intelligence officer for biological weapons,” I wrote.

“Let’s hope a walk-in defector from Iranian intelligence doesn’t tell us that Iran has given biological weapons to terrorists to attack new York or Chicago,” I added, “because Westermann will certainly object that the source of that information was not reliable — at least, until Americans start dying.”

It now appears that this is very similar to what happened while the intelligence community was preparing the Iran NIE.

UPDATE: President Bush was quick to defend his position on Iran in the following Townhall.com article: http://www.townhall.com/news/us/2007/12/04/bush_iran_still_a_danger_despite_report

An Independent Media Review Analysis by Yaakove Katz of the Jerusalem Post describes the Israeli position on Iran's nuke program at

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=37110
Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations continue to be suspicious of Iran, as evidenced by the following article in Opinion Journal: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010968

Former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton smells a rat and wrote the following article for the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/05/AR2007120502234.html?nav=hcmodule

Follow the money: Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the richest men in Iran (with a vested interest in the nuclear program) is identified as the source that influenced the authors of the NIE. http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/12/post_10.html

When You're a Journalist, You Have to Kiss the Feet of People You Don't Like

This Associated Press story about Hillary Clinton's reaction to the hostage situation at her campaign headquarters in New Hampshire lays it on thick, even though she was never exposed to danger that day!

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T8P3BG0&show_article=1

Oh, well. I heard that AP wants to play hardball in the following article:
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-interview-tom-curley-ceo-associated-press/

Anxious to avoid a cease-and-desist order or a lawsuit, I removed the excerpt, and you'll have to go to the link to read about it - if you dare.

One Hundred American Cities, in Order of Drunkenness

There's an MSN/Men's Health article that came out recently, listing the drunkest cities in the United States, in descending order. Being a non-drinker, I don't understand how Denver and Colorado Springs sank so low.

Source: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/addiction/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100182332&Gt1=10710


Most Dangerously Drunk
100. Denver, CO F
99. Anchorage, AK F
98. Colorado Springs, CO F
97. Omaha, NE F
96. Fargo, ND F
95. San Antonio, TX F
94. Austin, TX F
93. Fresno, CA F
92. Lubbock, TX F
91. Milwaukee, WI F
90. El Paso, TX F
89. Spokane, WA F
88. Washington, DC F
87. Columbia, SC F
86. St. Louis, MO D-
85. Bakersfield, CA D-
84. San Diego, CA D
83. Cheyenne, WY D
82. Aurora, CO D
81. Houston, TX D
80. Portland, OR D
79. Seattle, WA D
78. Boise, ID D
77. Tucson, AZ D+
76. Dallas, TX D+
75. Jacksonville, FL D+
74. Toledo, OH D+
73. Madison, WI D+
72. Oakland, CA D+
71. Modesto, CA D+
70. Billings, MT D+
69. Fremont, CA D+
68. Oklahoma City, OK D+
67. San Francisco, CA D+
66. Sacramento, CA D+
65. Los Angeles, CA D+
64. Phoenix, AZ D+
63. Albuquerque, NM D+
62. Chicago, IL D+
61. Providence, RI D+
60. Fort Wayne, IN C-
59. Manchester, NH C-
58. Charleston, WV C-
57. Burlington, VT C-
56. Lincoln, NE C-
55. Corpus Christi, TX C-
54. Des Moines, IA C-
53. Indianapolis, IN C-
52. Pittsburgh, PA C-
51. Honolulu, HI C-
50. St. Paul, MN C
49. Tampa, FL C
48. Greensboro, NC C
47. Las Vegas, NV C
46. Baltimore, MD C
45. Riverside, CA C
44. Norfolk, VA C
43. Detroit, MI C+
42. Arlington, TX C+
41. Grand Rapids, MI C+
40. San Jose, CA C+
39. St. Petersburg, FL C+
38. Nashville, TN C+
37. Charlotte, NC C+
36. Wilmington, DE C+
35. Orlando, FL C+
34. Minneapolis, MN C+
33. Kansas City, MO C+
32. Fort Worth, TX C+
31. Tulsa, OK C+
30. Anaheim, CA B-
29. Wichita, KS B-
28. Lexington, KY B-
27. Philadelphia, PA B-
26. Montgomery, AL B-
25. Rochester, NY B-
24. Raleigh, NC B
23. Cincinnati, OH B
22. Louisville, KY B
21. Bangor, ME B
20. Memphis, TN B
19. Boston, MA B
18. Hartford, CT B+
17. Sioux Falls, SD B+
16. Birmingham, AL B+
15. Baton Rouge, LA B+
14. Columbus, OH B+
13. Cleveland, OH B+
12. Atlanta, GA B+
11. Newark, NJ B+
Least Dangerously Drunk
10. Jersey City, NJ B+
9. Richmond, VA B+
8. New York, NY B+
7. Little Rock, AK A-
6. Salt lake City, UT A-
5. Yonkers, NY A-
4. Jackson, MS A
3. Buffalo, NY A
2. Miami, FL A
1. Durham, NC A+

Presidential Candidates and Mental Health Issues

Pie-Bolar Served w/ 3 Flavors of Anksia Tea brings up a subject that's near and dear to my heart: where politicians stand on health insurance and specifically mental health parity. It makes reference to an About.com article (work-in-progress) on what positions, if any, the top 3 Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have taken. Here's an excerpt from that blog:

"Mental health parity means that insurance companies would have to cover mental illness the same way they treat the coverage of other, traditionally covered with many fewer restrictions (relatively speaking) illnesses, such as diabetes or pneumonia, etc. If they don't limit a diabetic to two doctor visits a year (I'm speaking from a rather unknowledgeable position as regards diabetes), which I don't think they do because I think diabetics need more frequent visits in order to keep the illness in check? - Then they couldn't limit mental health visits to two a year, or whatever number."

Toilet-Themed Restaurants Catching On in Taiwan

Flushed with success

A chain of 12 restaurants with a toilet theme has opened in Taiwan.

Seats in the Modern Toilet restaurants are toilet-shaped and napkins are dispensed from toilet rolls on tables.
Food containers are also toilet or wash-basin shaped, and much of the food is made to look like human waste, reports China Photo Base.
The owner claims the edgy nature of the restaurants is attracting younger diners.
"Every detail tells you it's a bathroom, not a restaurant. But it's fun to eat here," said one diner at a Taipei city outlet.

Source: Ananova.com, 16 November 2007, http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2601396.html?menu=news.quirkies.badtaste

This story reminds me of one that appeared in the now-defunct "Over the Edge" blog:

17 February 2005

Theme Restaurant in Taiwan

This news is rather old (June 2005), but anyhow, there's a chance you may not have heard about this toilet-themed restaurant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. "Martun" (toilet in Chinese) is a highly popular restaurant in this southern Taiwanese port city. Its specialty: serving food in bowls shaped like Western-style toilets or chamber pots.

Bill Clinton Continues to Amaze

The attached cartoons by Nick Anderson & Bob Gorrell documents a statement that former President Clinton made on the war in Iraq, which astonished Democrats as well as Republicans throughout the land.

Huckabee Rocks (Not an Endorsement)

Years ago I saw an album cover called "Propaganda," where there's a painting of Mao Zedong playing lead guitar for a rock band in front of a horde of admiring Chinese. I often had occasion to reflect on how much better off China would be if that were so.

Here are the first three paragraphs of a human-interest article about Gov. Huckabee, a bass guitarist in the classic rock band Capitol Offense, visiting the Tilton School in New Hampshire:

Article Date: Saturday, December 1, 2007
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, whose Republican Presidential campaign is gaining momentum in early primary states, brought his road show to town Friday afternoon, where he demonstrated that that Bill Clinton isn't the only former Arkansas Governor with a flair for the musical scene.

Huckabee didn't pull out the saxophone but instead donned a bass guitar to perform "Louie Louie" and "Sweet Home Alabama" at the Tilton School.

"How many would rather listen to music than a politician talk?" Huckabee asked the crowd in the Tilton School's Memorial Athletic Recreational Center before seamlessly joining the school's band, named "Ram Band."

For the rest of the article, see http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/GJNEWS02/712010076/-1/CITIZEN