Iran Tests New Missle Engine

Any doubt where this is headed?

(BBC NEWS) | "Such an engine would enhance the capability of medium-range Shahab-3, which already has the ability to hit Israeli and US bases in the region.

The new engine would give the missile a greater range and increase its shelf life, Ali Shamkhani said.

Iran has taken huge steps in ballistic missile technology, experts say.

This - coupled with the country's nuclear activities - has caused alarm among the international community.

'Using solid fuel would be more durable and increase the range of the missile,' Mr Shamkhani was quoted as saying by the Iranian official news agency." More...

The Survivor: Clinton Years - The Lies Fights and Insults

Matt Drudge pulls a few juicy excerpts from John Harris's book which traces the Bill Clinton years through both the good times and bad. Some of the passages are already being reviewed by the mainstream press. The following are excerpts via Drudge :

DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005®: "XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON MAY 30, 2005 17:01:22 ET XXXXX

NEW CLINTON BOOK: THE LIES, THE FIGHTS, THE INSULTS

[**Exclusive From Drudge Report** ] - zzb

Summer starts with a bang as veteran WASHINGTON POST reporter John Harris traces the emotional highs and lows of the Clinton presidency.

THE SURVIVOR: BILL CLINTON IN THE WHITE HOUSE drops this week from RANDOM [the book ranked #9,527 on AMAZON's sales parade Monday afternoon], but the DRUDGE REPORT can now sneak:

--Bill Clinton was so upset that his weight-loss regimen in 2000 was not working that he made his aides release a bogus number after his annual Navy physical to make him five pounds lighter. (pg. 394)

--Hillary taunted her husband's aides as being wimps by not fighting hard enough on Whitewater - 'JFK had real men in his White House!' (pg. 108)

--Tipper Gore was so disgusted in 2000 with Bill and Hillary that she stayed cloistered in a holding room instead of going to a New York reception with major Democratic fund-raisers where the Clintons would be. 'No, I'm not doing it,' she snapped to an aide. 'I'm not going out there with that man.'

--The first conversation between Clinton and Gore after the Lewinsky story broke. Clinton is shouting at Gore, 'This is a fucking coup d'etat!' Gore just stared back blankly. (pg 313.)

--Former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke on the record hitting Clinton for not having the guts to fire FBI director Louis Freeh, who Clarke called a major obstacle on anti-terrorism policy. 'He should have just fired Freeh and taken the shit it would have caused.' (pg. 408)

The POST plans two jumbos on Tuesday, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE.

One story from Harris will outline Hillary Clinton's presidential preparations.

Swearing Steaming Screaming -- White House as Hot House

From pages 356-7 of THE SURVIVOR: BILL CLINTON IN THE WHITE HOUSE by John F. Harris, national correspondent for the WASHINGTON POST:

Context is Sally Quinn's article from 11/98 explaining why the Washington Establishment was appalled by Clinton's behavior during Lewinksy.

Some time afterward the president was going over papers with his staff on the upcoming Presidential Medal of Freedom awards. Spontaneously, he launched into a little riff for his assembled aides. His nominee for the prestigious award this year would be none other than the famous [Watergate editor] Ben Bradlee, husband of Sally Quinn.

The aides looked on in puzzled amusement.

"Anyone who sleeps with that bitch deserves a medal!" he explained. Developing through the week...

EU Faces Crisis - Markets Will Tell the Story!

International News Article | Reuters.com: "PARIS (Reuters) - France overwhelmingly rejected the European Union constitution on Sunday, pitching the EU deep into crisis and dealing a potentially fatal blow to a charter designed to make the enlarged bloc run smoothly.

EU leaders said after a referendum 'no' vote that the treaty was not dead and member states should continue the ratification process. But British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the rejection raised profound questions about the future of the EU.

The heavy defeat dreaded by EU leaders could weaken France in the 25-member bloc, stall European integration and unsettle some financial markets. It also wounds President Jacques Chirac two years before presidential and parliamentary elections.

'The French people have given a huge smack in the face to an entire system that has the nerve to tell us what to think,' said nationalist French politician Philippe de Villiers, a leading opponent of the charter. 'The constitution is no more.'

Chirac swiftly conceded defeat in a televised address to the nation as the 'No' camp celebrated a crushing victory with about 55 percent of votes to 45 percent and hinted that he might respond by dismissing his unpopular prime minister.

Such a resounding defeat in a country that has been a key pillar of the EU reduced the chances of a repeat vote on the treaty, which is intended to make EU decision-making easier and requires the backing of all member states to go into force." More...

These developments could signal the beginning of the end to European Union. France's, more specifically Chirac's, dream of political and social dominace on the European landscape is now a nightmare. Jacgues... see if the UN can bail you out of this one !

Devils Steaming Over Criticism of Name

(TRENTON, N.J.) - What chance do the
New Jersey Devils give a proposal that would give the pro hockey franchise a less demonic name? Think hell freezing over.


'I can assure you the Devils name will never change, and I think there are more important things to be thinking about than something that will never happen,' team CEO Lou Lamoriello said. 'It's who we are and what we want to be.'

State Assemblyman Craig Stanley is taking issue with a satanic symbol representing the state's National Hockey League team, which has won three Stanley Cup championships.

'This is an age where symbolism is very important,' said Stanley, a Baptist deacon whose resolution to rename the team is to be introduced in the Assembly next month. A new name would be chosen in a statewide competition." More...

McCain Offers iPod to Dems Who Vote for Bolton

(2005-05-27) -- As Democrats celebrated the new civility in the Senate by launching a friendly filibuster against John Bolton's nomination as U.N. Ambassador, Sen. John McCain, M-AZ, worked late into the night to strike a deal with his 13 colleagues in the bipartisan progressive coalition (BPC), offering a free iPod Shuffle to any Democrat who supports the next vote to close debate on Mr. Bolton.

'Thanks to our compromise on judicial nominees earlier this week, my friends in the Democrat party have become more open to receiving special premium offers in exchange for restraining their minority power,' said Sen. McCain. 'The iPod Shuffle is just my way of saying 'thanks for your service to our country'.'

The most powerful man in the Senate, minority leader Harry Reid, D-NV, welcomed Sen. McCain's spirit of cooperation, but suggested that the $99 Shuffle might not provide adequate incentive.

'The rights of the minority would be more adequately protected,' said Sen. Reid, 'with the $189 iPod Mini, and 10 free downloads per month.'" Scott Ott /ScrappleFace

Mom Indicted for Hiring Stripper for Son

(NASHVILLE, TN) - A mother faces criminal charges after she hired a stripper to dance at her 16-year-old son's birthday party. Anette Pharris, 34, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and involving a minor in obscene acts. The boy's father, the stripper and two others also face charges.

'I tried to do something special for my son,' Pharris said. 'It didn't harm him.'

About 10 people under the age of 18 were at the birthday party in September, including minors who were not related to the family, authorities said."

Some parents just seem to have more than one screw loose !

Memorial Day 2005

Koran Desecration Didn't Happen

lgf: Koran Desecration Didn't Happen

The Koran-in-a-commode story never passed the sniff test, for a multitude of reasons, and now the detainee who made an allegation similar to Newsweek’s report (trumpeted to the media yesterday by the ACLU) has retracted it: Pentagon says detainee retracts Koran allegation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Guantanamo detainee who told an FBI agent in 2002 that U.S. personnel there had flushed a Koran in a toilet retracted his allegation when questioned this month by military investigators, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

“We’ve gone back to the detainee who allegedly made the allegation and he has said it didn’t happen. So the underlying allegation, the detainee himself, within the last two weeks, said that didn’t happen,” chief Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told a briefing.

Looks like Kos is wrong again: Daily Kos :: FBI: Newsweek was right." - LGF

Finally a Vote?

(WASHINGTON) -- The Senate voted 81-18 yesterday to end debate on 5th Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Priscilla R. Owen, a Texas Supreme Court justice whom Democrats have blocked with filibusters four times since she was nominated by the president in 2001.

Even Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who plans to vote against Owen in a vote scheduled today, supported ending debate.

The vote to end debate was the product of a compromise engineered Monday night by 14 'centrists' -- seven Republicans and seven Democrats -- allowing up-and-down votes for many stalled nominees in exchange for preserving the minority party's ability to block future picks with filibusters in 'extraordinary circumstances.'

But just hours after that deal was reached, several Republican senators complained that Democrats had violated the deal by insisting on exercising their right to continue debating Owen instead of proceeding directly to a vote.

Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., pointed out that senators had now debated Owen for more than 21 days on the Senate floor." More...

You can rest assured this battle won't be over until there is a vote to end the filibuster for judicial nominees. Consider the decision Tuesday a short term cease fire....

Uneasy Truce

Darth Marketer

Hollywood mega-bucks... As Mel Brooks would say, "Merchandizing! Merchandizing!" Watch for Starwars the Shampoo which should shortly make it to the shelves at your friendly neighborhood supermarket! - zzb

Howard Dean -- "Hates Republicans and Everything they Stand For"

(Meet The Press / Sunday) Howard Dean in an interview with Tim Russert on Meet the Press admits that he "Hates Republicans and everything they stand for". Amazing that the Democratic Party is looking to this luntic to save their erroding membership. They must have a death wish! I know they can do better than the Deaniac. Yes -- Howard... you are really going to convert moderate Republicans to vote for a Democratic president in the next presidential election with that rhetoric! The crashing and burning is still underway... We suppose it is nature's way of cleaning house.

Star Wars Geekified

For a minute there we thought this clip was a cyber echo of Michael Moore.

Space Supremacy a Future Vision

Star Wars Planning Central ---

The Air Force, saying it must secure space to protect the nation from attack, is seeking President Bush's approval of a national-security directive that could move the United States closer to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons, according to White House and Air Force officials.

The proposed change would be a substantial shift in American policy. It would almost certainly be opposed by many American allies and potential enemies, who have said it may create an arms race in space.

A senior administration official said that a new presidential directive would replace a 1996 Clinton administration policy that emphasized a more pacific use of space, including spy satellites' support for military operations, arms control and nonproliferation pacts.

Any deployment of space weapons would face financial, technological, political and diplomatic hurdles, although no treaty or law bans Washington from putting weapons in space, barring weapons of mass destruction. -- Tim Weiner/ NYT

Move over Hans Solo, and make room for Dubbya.

Hamas Opposes First Lady Visit

"GAZA, May 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Sunday that it is strongly opposed to a visit by Laura Bush, wife of US President George W. Bush, to Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

'We strongly reject this visit and we consider it against the highest interests and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,' said a Hamas leaflet.

'In principle, we are not against a visit to Al Aqsa Mosque, but the visit of Ms. Bush is aimed at improving US image in the Islamic world after US army officers tore the papers of Quran before prisoners at the Guantanamo detention camp,' it said.

'Since her visit to the mosque was only coordinated with Israel and secured by Israeli security forces, it means that she gives legality to the military occupation of our territories,' it added. " More...

America... The country the world loves to hate regardless of intent or who the messanger of reconciliation is. Why bother? No matter what we say or do it will be twisted by anti American elements.

Minor Misprint?

Baghdad Mosque Closings Spark Weapons Shortage

(2005-05-21) -- Since Friday's announcement by a Sunni Muslim cleric that Baghdad's Sunni Mosques would close for three days to protest killings blamed on Iraqi security forces, consumers said they're struggling to find alternate sources for weaponry.

'My children and I stood on line at a back-alley dealer for seven hours just to buy mortar rounds,' said one unnamed local resident. 'My uncle just called and he's got one rocket-propelled grenade left, and has completely exhausted his family's supply of roadside bombs.'

Indeed, industry sources report that the price of all kinds of small armaments jumped 73 percent within minutes of the announcement that the mosques would close.

'When you get an improvised explosive device at the mosque, you can rely on the quality,' said one unnamed regular customer. 'But a lot of the stuff you buy on the street is shoddy work that might send you to Allah before you get to the crowd of infidels. I think we're going to see a lot of second-rate martyrdom work until the mosques re-open.'" - Scott Ott / Satire

UK Muslims: "Bomb, Bomb New York"

lgf: UK Muslims: "Bomb, Bomb New York": "More than 100 hardline Islamic protesters chanted the name of Osama bin Laden outside the US Embassy in London today.

The crowd, which is expected to grow during the afternoon, included many men whose faces were covered by their headscarves and at least a dozen women.

Their demonstration “against the desecration of the Koran” was being held yards from the steps of the Embassy in Grosvenor Square, which was guarded by a small detail of police.

The crowd, led by a man on a megaphone, chanted “USA watch your back, Osama is coming back” and “Kill, kill USA, kill, kill George Bush”.

They also chanted “Bomb, bomb New York” and “George Bush, you will pay, with your blood, with your head”.

Angry demonstrators waved placards which included the message: “Desecrate today and see another 9/11 tomorrow.”"

LGF posted this after during the insanity of this past week!

N.J. College Student Auctions Body on EBay

"WAYNE, N.J. - A 21-year-old college business major living in this northern New Jersey community has proven a basic lesson of marketing: Sex sells. Courtney Van Dunk posted a bikini-clad picture of herself on eBay about two weeks ago, auctioning off space on her body for advertisers.

The auction ended Thursday with a winning bid from a New Jersey wine retailer offering $11,300 for a month's worth of advertising. Van Dunk, though, says the offer has been retracted, but she's confident that she's made contacts with enough companies to still earn some cash.

When she finds a buyer, Van Dunk plans to place temporary tattoos on her abdomen while she's at the beach, or on other body parts when she's at the mall, sporting events, amusement parks and other public places. Her butt and chest are off limits.

'I got the idea from a marketing class I had that did a short segment on body advertising,' Van Dunk said. 'I was wondering how advertising could get through to our TV-savvy generation, and I thought this would be an excellent way to do it.'" More... -- Yahoo News

Ahhh eBay... the Bizzare Bazaar.

BlogXchange.us - Blog Traffic Exchange - New Look !!!

Check out the great new look over at BlogXchange! Way to go Jim!!! Awesome makeover! Congrats!
Shoot over there and check it out. Then let us know what you think of it!! Well pass the feedback over to them. Don't forget to sign up if you are not a member yet. Very good service and some interesting contests and promotions!!

Satire: Muslims Riot Over Spelling of 'Koran' in U.S. Media

(2005-05-17) -- "As many as 25 people died and dozens more were injured during riots in Afghanistan today which erupted over what one Muslim cleric called 'the U.S. media's desecration-by-mispelling' of the name of Islam's most holy book.

Indeed, American editors have failed to reach consensus on how to render the holy book's name. Some spell it with a 'K' others with a 'Q' and -- perhaps most offensive to Muslim sensibilities -- some insert a meaningless apostrophe in the middle of the word.

'They're mocking our religion and our God by using a wide variety of spellings for the holy book,' said the unnamed imam. 'Journalists and editors are the stormtroopers of America's war on Islam. They're trying to humiliate and intimidate us with alternate and phonetic spellings, sowing seeds of doubt about the book Allah gave to the Prophet. We will fill the streets with the blood of the infidels and anyone else who gets in the way.'

The latest casualities followed the deaths of 17 people in weekend riots over an inaccurate story in Newsweek magazine about a report that U.S. military guards had flushed a Koran down a toilet at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The cleric, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, denied that the latest uprising on the Arab street was simply part of the 'regularly-scheduled annual riot season'.

'Our previously-scheduled generic riots have been preempted by these special, issue-oriented violent mobs,' he said. 'Americans have nobody to blame but themselves for inflaming the passions of these peaceful religious people.'" Scott Ott

Scott Ott does it again with his unusually pointed perspective. Please provide your review and commentary. -- zzb

News Week Has Blood On It's Hands

ZardozZ OpenWeb: "Just look at these two signs to your left. 'Newsweek should be banned', but they still blame Bush for something that is now retracted? Hmmm... America , WAKE UP!! Mainstream media is doing more to undermine the progress in bringing about stability and security in the Middle East than the insurgents that are killing our troops and innocent Iraqis every day.

In one fell swoop, the irresponsibility of one news outlet has cost the lives of now 17 people and created tremendous damage to any progress that has been made in the Middle East and to the security of Americans abroad and at home. We are at war, why doesn't our media seem to understand this? Instead they seem to be at war with authority figures and government in general. The drive for sensationalism, and increased presitge now comes with a hefty price tag. More...

Flushed Twice !

So where is the accountability? At least 15 people were killed over this story! - zzb

Mozilla Firefox 1.0.4 Released - MozillaZine Talkback

This may seem like old news, but if you are a FireFox user, like we are, be sure to download your upgrade.

Mozilla Firefox 1.0.4 Released - MozillaZine Talkback: "Mozilla Firefox 1.0.4 has been released. This latest update fixes three security vulnerabilities listed on the known vulnerabilities page (MFSA 2005-42, MFSA 2005-43 and MFSA 2005-44) and resolves a DHTML regression introduced in Firefox 1.0.3.

Rafael Ebron sent us what looks like the Mozilla Foundation's official word on 1.0.4: 'Firefox 1.0.4 is a security update to resolve the recently reported vulnerabilities. To our knowledge, no users have been adversely affected by these vulnerabilities.

'A proof of concept of the vulnerabilities was reported last weekend (Mother's Day weekend) and Mozilla immediately took action to prevent active exploits via changes made to the Mozilla Update web service. We also posted a work around so users can further protect themselves by temporarily disabling automatic install from a web site.

'The Mozilla Foundation is deeply committed to providing a safe and secure Internet experience and staying ahead of potential exploits. The Foundation takes security very seriously and is releasing Firefox 1.0.4 to ensure that we continue to provide users the experience they have come to trust.'

Grab Firefox 1.0.4 from the Firefox product page and check out the Mozilla Firefox 1.0.4 Release Notes for more information."

We complement the team at Mozzila for jumping on this "vulerability" BEFORE it could have been exploited by hackers. The proactive approach at Moxilla and the FireFox team is a refreshing approach to browser premptive patching unlike some other major browser developers who will go nameless.

New Battery Lasts 12 Years

"A new type of battery based on the radioactive decay of nuclear material is 10 times more powerful than similar prototypes and should last a decade or more without a charge, scientists announced this week.

The longevity would make the battery ideal for use in pacemakers or other surgically implanted devices, developers say, or it might power spacecraft or deep-sea probes.

You might also find these nuclear batteries running sensors and other small devices in your home in a few years. Such devices 'don't consume much power,' said University of Rochester electrical engineer Philippe Fauchet, 'and yet having to replace the battery every so often is a real pain in the neck.'

Fauchet told LiveScience the batteries could last a dozen years. They're being developed at Rochester and the technology has been licensed by BetaBatt Inc.

How it works

The technology is called betavoltaics. It uses a silicon wafer to capture electrons emitted by a radioactive gas, such as tritium. It is similar to the mechanics of converting sunlight into electricity in a solar panel.

Until now, betavoltaics has been unable to match solar-cell efficiency. The reason is simple: When the gas decays, its electrons shoot out in all directions. Many of them are lost.

'For 50 years, people have been investigating converting simple nuclear decay into usable energy, but the yields were always too low,' Fauchet explained. 'We've found a way to make the interaction much more efficient, and we hope these findings will lead to a new kind of battery that can pump out energy for years.'

Fauchet's team took the flat silicon surface, where the electrons are captured and converted to a current, and turned it into a three-dimensional surface by adding deep pits.

Each pit is about one micron wide. That's four ten-thousandths of an inch. They're more than 40 microns deep. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen. Mixed with chemicals that emit light, it is used to illuminate exit signs without electricity -- the sort commonly found in schools and other public buildings.

"It is safe and can be implanted in the body," Fauchet said. "The energetic particles emitted by tritium do not penetrate inside the skin."

Tritium emits only low energy particles "that can be shielded by very thin materials, such as a sheet of paper," said Gadeken of BetaBatt. "The hermetically-sealed, metallic BetaBattery cases will encapsulate the entire radioactive energy source, just like a normal battery contains its chemical source so it cannot escape."

The device is detailed in today's issue of Advanced Materials.More...

File under interesting new technology...

New Interactive Bloging Portal

Are you are interested in listing your blog and cross posting your articles in an interactive environment? Then check out the OpenWeb Portal! It features a point based module within our OpenWeb environment that encourages site interaction with free promotion and enhanced features based on your accumulated points. Registration is free. "A new concept for Blogging interactivity is underway". More to come ...

Rice: Gun Rights Important As Free Speech

(CNN / AP) "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recalling how her father took up arms to defend fellow blacks from racist whites in the segregated South, said Wednesday the constitutional right of Americans to own guns is as important as their rights to free speech and religion.

In an interview on CNN's 'Larry King Live,' Rice said she came to that view from personal experience. She said her father, a black minister, and his friends armed themselves to defended the black community in Birmingham, Ala., against the White Knight Riders in 1962 and 1963. She said if local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves.

Birmingham, where Rice was born in 1954, was a focal point of racial tension. Four black girls were killed when a bomb exploded at a Birmingham church in 1963, a galvanizing moment in the fight for civil rights.

Rice said she favored background checks and controls at gun shows. However, she added, 'we have to be very careful when we start abridging rights that the Founding Fathers thought very important.'

Rice said the Founding Fathers understood 'there might be circumstances that people like my father experienced in Birmingham, Ala., when, in fact, the police weren't going to protect you.'

'I also don't think we get to pick and choose from the Constitution,' she said in the interview, which was taped for airing Wednesday night. 'The Second Amendment is as important as the First Amendment.'

The First Amendment protects religious, press and speech freedoms as well as the rights to assemble and petition the government. The Second Amendment guarantees 'a well-regulated militia' and 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms.' Gun-rights supporters and those who favor gun control disagree over whether the amendment guarantees individual gun ownership."

Lawmakers Say No to Whissinator

Are you ready for this? Just goes to show you there is always someone out there ready to make a buck off a business opportunity, regardless of how peculiar it may seem.

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A life-like prosthetic penis called the Whizzinator and other products promising to help illegal drug users pass urine tests provoked U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday to take legal action with subpoenas of manufacturers.

Lawmakers objected to attempts to circumvent drug tests with products such as The Whizzinator, a fake penis that can provide a flow of clean urine 'again and again, anytime, anywhere you need it!' according to the Web site www.whizzinator.com.

A congressional subcommittee voted to subpoena the owner of Puck Technology of Signal Hill, California, the company that makes the Whizzinator. The panel also voted to subpoena the owners of Health Choice of New York City and Spectrum Labs of Cincinnati, two companies that lawmakers said also were suspected of selling products aimed at circumventing workplace drug tests." More...

That an entire industry can be created around detection avoidance of "penal" code violations is nothing new. Take radar detectors for example. But this story adds a whole new meaning to getting pissed off... - zzb

White House, Capitol Evacuated

White House, Capitol evacuated after airspace violated: "WASHINGTON — The White House and the Capitol Building were evacuated about noon Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace, but the evacuation was lifted about 20 minutes later.

A senior law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the alarm was caused by an aircraft incursion over the protected airspace over Washington but there was no indication a terrorist attack was under way. The plane — a Cessna — was approached by a fighter aircraft and veered away, the official said.

Sen. George Allen, R-Va., told CNN the plane had been forced to land at an airport in Leesburg, Va., about 35 miles from Washington.

Employees of several other government buildings, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Supreme Court, also were evacuated." More...

Jailbird "Father" Arrested in Slaying of Two Girls

Biological father arested for the alleged killing of his two 8 year old girls in Zion Ill. What kind of animal would do this to an 8 year old let alone his own children!! Breaking News...

(ZION, Ill) - A father who had just been released from prison was arrested and was being charged with murder Tuesday in the Mother's Day stabbings of his 8-year-old daughter and the little girl's best friend, authorities said.

Jerry Hobbs, 34, had led police to the bodies just off a wooded bike path early Monday, claiming he had spotted them while searching for his missing daughter with the girl's grandfather, Arthur Hollabaugh, Hollabaugh told The Associated Press.

Hobbs was questioned through the day by authorities and charged Tuesday in the deaths of Laura Hobbs, 8, and Krystal Tobias, 9.

Both girls had been beaten and stabbed multiple times in the area where they were found and then left to die in the woods, Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said. He said the girls were found side-by-side, facing up and did not appear to have been sexually assaulted.

Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller said in announcing the charges Tuesday that Hobbs would appear at a bond hearing Wednesday morning." More...

Schwarzenegger Not Mad at Moon

Just another example of how main stream media is becoming sloppy just to cash in on anything percieved as entertainment.

(LOS ANGELES - Reuters) - California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger does not want to destroy the moon.

A U.S. political commentator has admitted he failed to check his facts when he erroneously reported on the MSNBC cable news network last month that Schwarzenegger had jokingly advocated doing away with the moon.

In one of the stranger mea culpas from a major U.S. news outlet in recent years, the commentator, Joe Scarborough, a former congressman, acknowledged on Friday that the governor's purported lunar outburst on the nationally syndicated radio show of Howard Stern was actually a spoof.

Citing a British newspaper, Scarborough had quoted Schwarzenegger on the air as saying: 'If we get rid of the moon, women, those menstrual cycles are governed by the moon, will not get (pre-menstrual syndrome). They will stop bitching and whining.'

Scarborough chided Schwarzenegger for insensitivity, saying: 'Hey, governor, way to make 50 percent of California's voting population turn frigid towards you.

'I don't know how it works in Austria, but let me tell you something, friend. Jokes about such matters, (are) not laughing subjects to women in America.'

It turned out the remarks Scarborough attributed to the Austrian-born governor were actually made by a Schwarzenegger impersonator who regularly appears on Stern's show as part of a running call-in gag." More...

The Good, The Bad, and The Media

Do you think C&F is a bit too tough in this cartoon of the callousness of the mainstream media?
Courtesy Cox & Forkum

Internet Life

Steinbrener's Horse Joins the Losing Season! - Yankees Look Out!

Giacomo Stuns the Field to Win Kentucky Derby : "LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Giacomo, a 50-1 shot, defied the odds and won the $2.4 million Kentucky Derby in a gigantic upset Saturday, running down a game Afleet Alex in the final strides and generating a huge payoff.

Even though trainer Nick Zito had five horses in the field of 20, including the favorite, George Steinbrenner's Bellamy Road, this Derby belonged to a 3-year-old gray colt who won just once in seven races.

Giacomo, who always managed to stay in contention, finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby, and trainer John Shirreffs was confident his colt would run well in the 1 1/4-mile Derby.

Did he ever.

The winner, named for the rock star Sting's 9-year-old son, was ridden by Mike Smith, who, at long last, grabbed his first Derby victory in his 12th attempt. Smith was also aboard Holy Bull, Giacomo's sire, when he finished 12th in the 1994 Derby."

With the Yankees in the basement in the American League East -- with the worst start since 1965 -- we suspect the team was praying for George Steinbrenner's horse, to win and take some heat off them. Well -- seems like that horse, like most of the Yankee pitching, might need to be put out to pasture.

Jihad Watch: Three out of four Iraqis say Islam should be source of law

Jihad Watch: Three out of four Iraqis say Islam should be source of law: "We haven't had an I told you so update for awhile, and I hate to interfere with all the 'We Won!' celebrations, but unlike many, I would rather assess the situation realistically. This just in from AFP (thanks to Doc Washburn):

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Three out of four Iraqis believe Islam should be the main or only source of law and legislation in their country, according to a poll of 2,700 Iraqis.

While just over 74 percent thought Islam should be the sole or main source of legislation, just 2 percent said religion should play no role in law-making, a poll showed Friday.

The findings come as parliament prepares to draft a new constitution, which will notably focus on the role of Islam, Iraq's official religion, in society.

The poll was based on some 2,705 interviews conducted from April 11 to April 20 by an Iraqi firm employed by the conservative US International Republican Institute.

Posted by Robert at May 6, 2005 06:08 PM | Email this entry | Print this entry
Comments
(Note: Comments on articles are unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jihad Watch or Robert Spencer. Comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying may be summarily deleted. However, the fact that particular comments remain on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Robert Spencer of the views expressed therein.)"

How do you like them apples ?

An American Housewife: eBay Toasted !

We have to give a hat tip to the housewife at American Housewife for this interesting find! When eBay first went public I can remember everyone calling it a potentially wonderful online Bazaar... Well the online Bazzar is quickly becoming a Bizzare Bazzar!

An American Housewife: "I have seen it all now. A man draws a sketchy picture of the Georgia run away bride on a piece of Wonder Bread toast and puts it up for auction on eBay. I kid you not."

"I just carved it on there real quick and put it on there as a joke," Lonzello told the Daily Record of Parsippany for Friday's newspapers.

As of about 5 p.m. Friday, Lonzello's eBay posting had 134,300 visits and 111 bids made on the toast, with a top bid of $15,400. Bidding closes Sunday.

He put it on eBay as a joke?! I hope the people bidding on this stupid thing are joksters as well.

And it's not the only Jennifer Wilbanks related item up for auction either. I swear eBay will do anything for attention. Shame on them. And while I'm at it shame on me for putting this silly entry up. But then again, I don't have 134,300 visitors.

Get over to her site and check this out. In fact check out the entire site... it's quite interesting !! -- zzb

South Park Conservatives?

Can South Park really have a conservative viewpoint? Can this really be?

South Park Conservatives : The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias: "This book is hilarious! I am a college student and this book scored a direct hit - not just with me but with most of my friends. Political correctness in this country has gone too far. My friends and I are pretty liberal socially, but don't want to be associated with the Democratic Party because they've turned into the party of the absurd. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch South Park or read this book. The reason S.P. is so funny is because it's not so far off from reality. Sad but true." - V.Chais

Also there was this piece this morning over at Scrappleface. You guessed it. Regarding this hot book. There is something afoot going on over in South Park!

DNC Funds Rebuttal to 'South Park Conservatives'
by Scott Ott (Satire)

(2005-05-05) -- The Democrat National Committee (DNC) today announced it would fund publication of a book to challenge the thesis of the new bestseller 'South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias', by Manhattan Institute editor Brian Anderson.

The rebuttal book, 'Looney Tunes Liberals: The Peoples' Revolt Against Wacky Accusations of Media Bias', will "chronicle the grassroots backlash by progressive Americans against the right-wing conspiracy to label news organizations as left-leaning," an unnamed DNC spokesman said.

"Anderson's book falsely claims that conservatives in talkradio, the blogosphere and publishing, have begun to overthrow the liberal media," said the DNC source. "'Looney Tunes Liberals' will prove that there is no liberal media bias and, even if there were, conservatives are too stupid to overcome it or even to notice it. Mainstream Americans are furious about this fascist smear campaign against our trusted news sources."

The DNC hired New York Times columnist Frank Rich to write 'Looney Tunes Liberals' after reading Mr. Rich's review of 'South Park Conservatives' earlier this week.

The columnist said his review illustrates the kind of research that will go into writing the new book.

"The right-wing conspiracy is so patently obvious that I wrote that scathing review after simply skimming the dustjacket of South Park Conservatives," said Mr. Rich. "Some truths are self-evident."

The 600-page 'Looney Tunes Liberals' will hit bookstores nationwide by the end of next week. - Scott Ott

South Park Conservatives -- getting alot of press !!! What's really great about SouthPark is that nothing is sacred ! Satire de jour!

Nailed !!

U.S. and World News: "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Authorities arrested al-Qaida's No. 3 commander, who was a close associate of Osama bin Laden and had a $10 million bounty on his head, and said Wednesday they now were 'on the right track' to catch the fugitive terrorist leader.

Abu Farraj al-Libbi, who allegedly orchestrated two assassination attempts against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was arrested after a firefight on the outskirts of Mardan, 30 miles north of Peshawar, capital of the deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, the government and security officials said.

Al-Libbi, a native of Libya who authorities say is a close associate of bin Laden, was arrested earlier this week, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press.

'This is a very important day for us,' Ahmed said. 'This arrest gives us a lot of tips, and I can only say that our security agencies are on the right track' in the hunt for bin Laden, Ahmed said.

He would not elaborate."

In Washington, President Bush said the capture of al-Libbi "represents a critical victory in the war on terror" and he praised the Pakistani government and Musharraf for the arrest.

Bush added, "We'll stay on the offensive until al-Qaida is defeated." More...

Here is the actual capture story coming out of Pakistan / AP on 5/5/05.

(MARDAN, Pakistan) — Auto mechanic Bakht Munir was sitting alone in a private guesthouse in this bustling town in northwestern Pakistan when a bearded man brandishing a pistol climbed in through the low roof.


"I am a jihadi! Police are after me!" the man gasped in the local Pashto language before locking himself inside a room, not waiting for a reply.

Munir did not know it at the time, but the jihadi, or "holy warrior," was Pakistan's most-wanted man, Abu Farraj al-Libbi, the reputed al-Qaida No. 3 and the closest associate of Osama bin Laden to be arrested in more than two years." More...

Insurgent Pep Rally

Google Exposed as Blatently Biased

It appears that Google wears it's political leanings on it's sleeve. They have been exposed as blatently biased by the RightMarch.com organization that took the same ad and changed the targeted name from Tom Delay to Nanci Pelosi and the obvious double standard was revealed. Here is the story from LGF:

(LGF) May 3, 2005 -- RightMarch.com conducted an experiment with Google ads; they took one of the anti-Tom DeLay ads that Google runs when you search for “Tom DeLay,” and simply replaced DeLay’s name with Nancy Pelosi’s name. Then Rightmarch.com paid Google to place their ad—and Google rejected it.

But the anti-DeLay advertisement they copied word-for-word is still running.

Could the bias possibly be any more blatant?

(Hat tip: Nekama.)

UPDATE at 5/3/05 8:02:53 am:

Please note: Rightmarch.com also placed a pro-DeLay ad which is running at Google. The ad Google rejected was a copy of this anti-Delay ad:

The Truth about Tom DeLay
Learn about DeLay’s many scandals
and help us clean up the House!
dccc.org

Rightmarch.com changed the text to:

The Truth about Nancy Pelosi
Learn about Pelosi’s many scandals
and help us clean up the House!

And Google rejected the ad for the following reason:

Google policy does not permit ad text that advocates against an individual, group or organization. -- LGF

Nothing like blatent bias exposed. We wonder how Google will respond to the criticism permeating the blogsphere today? - zzb

Blog Soldiers - A New Blog Traffic Service!

Blog Soldiers making a debut. Yes there's a new blog surfing service in town. Very nicely laid out and professional looking user interface. Clean and easy to recognize navigation images. Appeared to just hit the streets today May 2nd ! See Press Release:

(PRWEB) May 2, 2005 -- "Bloggers all over the Internet are very excited about the launch of BlogSoldiers.com. A brand new innovative resource for driving traffic to your Blog. BlogSoldiers.com is a free advertising service exclusively for Bloggers and designed to get people visiting and reading your Blogs. 2005 has been deemed the "Year of the Blog" with over 9 million blogs online to date and over 40,000 new blogs being added to the Blogosphere daily. Bloggers need an advertising resource that's both effective and affordable. Our goal is to give Bloggers a valuable resource to increase traffic and exposure quickly."

Pat Lovell, founder of Lovell Technology, LLC has spent the last 6 months researching Blogs. "Anytime we venture into a new market, I always spend time getting to know the market and the people involved. This gives our company a clear understanding of the needs of Bloggers both experienced and those new to the industry." More...

Sign up and give us some feedback... !

UN Nuke Summit Seeks Enviro-Friendly WMD

ScrappleFace: UN Nuke Summit Seeks Enviro-Friendly WMD: "(2005-05-02) -- Delegates from 190 nations gather today at United Nations headquarters to review the effectiveness of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NTP), and to consider cleaner, more environmentally-friendly weapons of mass destruction.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, slated to give the opening address at the month-long conference, will call for an amendment to the treaty which would mandate a 50 percent reduction in radioactive emmissions from nuclear missile detonations by 2015, and 10 percent annual reduction after that.

'We need to look at alternative sources of human destruction that protect our sensitive biosphere, wetlands and endangered species,' said Mr. Annan in a preview of his speech. 'Just as bicycle riding can reduce deadly greenhouse gases, the world's nuclear superpowers need to consider more natural sources of human extermination.'

The Secretary-General said he is 'greatly encouraged by some of the recent work done in this field by researchers in Rwanda and the Sudan, where simple hand tools have been used to eliminate the populations of entire villages in rather short order.'

'The political and religious disputes were settled definitively, at least locally,' Mr. Annan said, 'and yet the pristine beauty of the evolving habitat was preserved. These Africans are pacesetters in the field of what bioethicists call green genocide.'" - Scott Ott

We are always interested in comments of the parodies of Scott Ott over at Scrappleface.

Kuwait Says No to Woman Vote?

The "non-vote" was surprising close! It would have been unheard of several years ago to have this much support.

(Kuwait) "Islamist and conservative lawmakers abstained from voting in the final reading of the government-backed law.

Correspondents say the opponents of the bill abstained, allowing them to put off a result while avoiding angering the government.

A member of parliament said the bill would face another vote on Tuesday.

In 1999, Kuwaiti lawmakers narrowly defeated a similar bill on women's rights tabled by liberals.

Confusion

Twenty-nine members of parliament voted for the law, while the same number abstained and two voted against.

Parliamentary speaker Jassem al-Khorafi told the house that the bill was 'neither accepted nor rejected'.

Under parliamentary rules, abstaining MPs are counted as absent, meaning the chamber did not achieve the required quorum of 33. This effectively leaves the legislation in limbo.

There is some confusion as to the next step for law. Backers of the law said there would be another vote on the bill on Tuesday, as called for by the speaker of parliament.

Opponents of the bill say such a vote would be unconstitutional. - BBC

Kuwait remains a male dominated society but at least some headway is being made toward accepting western ideas of gender equality. Islamic fundamentalism still maintains a cultural foothold and is a problem to furthering western civilized thinking and behavior.

Smoking and Gunpowder Don't Mix

(Kabul) "The explosion was in the village of Bajgah, near the town of Khenjan, some 120km (80 miles) north of Kabul.

An interior ministry spokesman said the whole area around the munitions dump had been destroyed.

He said the dump belonged to a former militia commander who said he had disarmed under a government scheme.

The spokesman, Lutfallah Mashal, said most of the injured had been evacuated but that casualties were expected to rise." More...

A few less potential insurgents and a few less weapons and munitions to fall inot the wrong hands. Wonder if that was the Camel brand he was smoking... ?

Brits Increase Security For Election

From Jihad Watch "And while Britain tries to head off a large-scale attack, British Muslims launch a huge initiative -- against jihadist elements within their community? Nope -- against anti-terror measures. From the Telegraph, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

Police are to launch the biggest security operation ever for a British election in an attempt to prevent Islamic extremists from undertaking a terrorist attack this week. Senior officers are convinced that Osama bin Laden and groups linked to al-Qa'eda are still trying to launch a 'spectacular' terrorist attack to destabilise the country in the run-up to the poll on Thursday, despite 100 arrests over the past year.

MI5, the security service, and Scotland Yard believe that the Houses of Parliament, polling stations and senior politicians casting their votes in their constituencies are the biggest targets for terrorists.

Security analysts also believe that Islamic terrorists have been scouting railway lines in an attempt to conduct bombing attacks similar to those in Spain last year, atrocities that are widely believed to have influenced the election result. Terrorists left 190 dead and 1,800 injured when they detonated 10 bombs in Madrid during the morning rush hour." More...

New Blog Surfing Service! BlogXchange Makes Debut - Check it Out!

BlogXchange hit the net on - 4/15! Sign Up Now!!! Have you added this free traffic service to your blog yet? If not, why not? Add it now and take advantage of early membership! Here is another tip: You can amplify and double the free traffic to your site by using both a web ring strategy like the ZZ BlogRing and at the same time registering with all of the free popular blog surfing sites you see at the bottom of our posts.

First!! Sign up with this new kid on the block.......very reliable service. [sticky post till May 1 ]

Kerry Threatens Republicans with Social Security Plan

(2005-04-30) -- While he was campaigning for president, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-MA, often noted that he had a plan to save Social Security.

Today, in his boldest move yet, he threatened to unveil his plan unless President Bush backs away from his proposal to reform the taxpayer-funded retirement system.

Mr. Kerry, during his 2004 White House bid, suggested he would not 'privatize' the money that Americans put into the government-run system, and he would not cut benefits.

However, America's failure to elect him to the White House seemed to ensure that his Social Security plan would remain cloaked in mystery, since as a mere Senator he can do little more than introduce bills and lead his colleagues to turn them into laws.

'As you'll recall, my plan is better than the president's,' said Mr. Kerry at today's news conference. 'It saves our beloved Social Security without any changes to benefits, taxes, or any other element of the system. If the president persists in attacking the co-dependent relationship between America's seniors and the Democrat party, I will unleash my plan in all its magnificent glory.'

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, wondered aloud if the Kerry plan might be the hoped for 'miracle' that would catapult the Democrat party back to majority status in the Senate in 2006.

Party insiders said that Mr. Kerry's revived suggestion of a plan also helped to cement his position as 'the visionary leader' among Democrats and the frontrunner for the party's 2008 presidential nomination." - Scott Ott [ Satire]