Give Diplomacy a Chance

Cell Phone DWI

Cell phone talking worse than driving drunk - study | TG Daily:

Researchers at the University of Utah have published a study that claims drivers on cell phones are prone to more crashes than drunk drivers. Two psychology professors, David Strayer and Frank Drews, along with toxicology professor Dennis Crouch, conducted the study. 40 test subjects drove a simulated highway while undistracted, drunk and talking on a cellphone. The cell phone using drivers crashed three times, while the drunk drivers surprisingly did OK.

Tags : cell phones, drunk driving

Cutting and Running

Here is an animated satirical toon which takes a shot at some of our political deep thinkers courtesy of Mark Fiore. I will leave the editorial comments up to you...
Thanks Mark....

Nancy Pelosi: Victory for Terrorist Rights!

Wizbang predicts the new slogan of the Democratic Party, "Vote Democratic: The Party of Terrorist Rights!", as Nancy Pelosi jumps for joy on hearing of the recent Supreme Court ruling. The ruling has produced a speed bump for the Bush Administration regarding the prosecution of inmates at Guantanamo under military law. The champaign corks were a pop'in on the Democrat side of the aisle! Here is a solution: Deport them to Israel and prosecute them under Israeli law! Or better still, perhaps the Russians would like a crack at some of those captured in Afghanistan. The new Iraqi gov't, and maybe even Pakistan, might like a piece of this. It just seems that the fair thing to do is to spread the joy.

Wizbang:

Nancy Pelosi is thrilled with the Supreme Court's ruling that the terrorists can not be tried in military tribunals and that, as they plot to attack the US, they can do so with the knowledge that, should they be captured, their rights will be protected by the Geneva Conventions:

WASHINGTON, June 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today following the United States Supreme Court decision that trying Guantanamo detainees before military commissions violates U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions:


"Today's Supreme Court decision reaffirms the American ideal that all are entitled to the basic guarantees of our justice system. This is a triumph for the rule of law.

"The rights of due process are among our most cherished liberties, and today's decision is a rebuke of the Bush Administration's detainee policies and a reminder of our responsibility to protect both the American people and our Constitutional rights. We cannot allow the values on which our country was founded to become a casualty in the war on terrorism."

That sounds like a great slogan for November and on to 2008: Vote for the Democrats. They're the party for terrorists' rights.

Tags : pelosi, quantanamo, terrorist rights, democrats

Hamas Leaders Arrested; Israeli Executed

Watch how the U.N. will attempt to pass a resolution condemming Israel for the invasion of the state of Palestine. Afterall, the Hamas Islamo-nazi government was duly elected by western democratic elections, weren't they? These events will unfold just as sure as the sun will be rising in the east tommorow morning. More than likely it will lead to a confrontation with Syria that will draw Russia back into aliging with Syria and Iran. Just a gut feel. De ja vue all over again? Or will Russia align with the West this time to put an end to Islamo-facist terrorism...? Observe events in Chechneya closely and aliances with China and North Korea! The world has become one dangerous place in an aweful hurry. Does anyone still doubt that the world is at war aside from the New York Times??

Forbes.com:

Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian Cabinet ministers and lawmakers from the Islamic Hamas, increasing pressure on the Islamic militants to release a captured Israeli soldier, and witnesses said tanks moved into northern Gaza, widening Israel's largest military operation in the year since Israel pulled out of the seaside territory.

Adding to the tension, a Palestinian militant group said it executed an 18-year-old Jewish settler kidnapped in the West Bank. Palestinian security officials said they believed the body of Eliahu Asheri had been found in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Palestinian security officials said Israeli forces detained the Palestinian deputy prime minister, Nasser Shaer, and three other Cabinet ministers, as well as four lawmakers in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Two others were arrested in the town of Jenin, they said, and Israeli media reported a roundup of Hamas lawmakers in Jerusalem and other locations.

The military refused to comment. Israel blames Hamas for the attack Sunday in which two soldiers were killed and a third captured when militants tunneled under the border and attacked an army post, setting off the invasion.

Before daybreak Thursday, witnesses said Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into northern Gaza, stopping about 200 yards inside Palestinian territory across from the Jebaliya refugee camp. No clashes were reported. However, the miltiary denied its forces had moved into northern Gaza. More...

Tags : israel, middle-east, hamas, palestine

Israeli Raid Arrests Duputy Palestinian PM

It seems Israel is looking to do a clean sweep. The old saying is, if you want a job done right you have to do it yourself. So much for the value of the UN and other peace keeping agencies. Watch now how the U.S. Security Council springs into action to sanction Israel!!


Chron.com:

Israel Arrests Deputy Palestinian PM

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli forces early Thursday arrested the deputy prime minister of the Hamas government, two other Cabinet ministers and four lawmakers in a raid on a complex of buildings in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian security officials said.

The deputy premier, Nasser Shaer, had called for release of the captured Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shaer, taken in a Hamas-led attack on an Israeli border post outside Gaza on Sunday, setting off an Israeli invasion.

Earlier, Israeli forces arrested Labor Minister Mohammed Barghouti. All those arrested were from Hamas.

The Israeli military refused to comment, saying the operation was still in progress.

Tags : israel, middle-east, hamas, palestine

Syria Fires on Israeli Warplanes

We did say hours on the last post! I certainly appears that the world might be witnessing the first stages in an all out war between Syria, Palestine and Israel. No doubt Iran will want to join in the action sooner rather than later. It will surely perceive Israel's fly over in Syria as reason enough to pursue its race to become a nuclear power in the area likely labeling Israel a renegade by subscribing to the U.S.'s "Preemptive Doctrine". I'll suspect we will hear from Tehran within hours as well.
CNN.com :

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Syria said it fired on Israeli warplanes Wednesday as they flew over the home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, heightening regional tensions over the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier.

"The overflight by two Israeli planes near the Syrian shores is an aggressive act and a provocation," The Associated Press quoted Syria's television news, which quoted an Information Ministry official.

It said "national air defenses opened fire in the direction of the planes, and they dispersed."

Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Israeli planes had flown over the Syrian president's country home and Israeli television reported al-Assad was at home at the time.

The flyover occurred three days after Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped inside Israel. He is believed to be held captive by groups linked with Syria.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres has complained that Syria allowed Hamas political leaders based in Damascus to order Shalit's kidnapping.

Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Army Radio Wednesday that Israel sought to assassinate Hamas' Syria-based political chief, Khalid Meshaal, according to The Associated Press. More...

Tags : syria, middle-east, war, hamas, israel

Non-Negotiable

Coming soon at a Middle Eastern battlefield nearest you...

Hamas leadership, if you can call it that, has painted itself into a very deadly corner playing a dangerous prisoner swapping game with Israel. They are now on the door step of receiving a very rude awakening... just a matter of days if not hours!

Putin: Puts Contract Out on Diplomats Killers

Aljazeera.Net :

Vladimir Putin has ordered security agents to find and eliminate the killers of four Russian diplomats in Iraq

News agencies on Wednesday, quoting the Kremlin press service, said: "The [Russian] president has ordered the special forces to take all necessary measures to find and destroy the criminals who killed Russian diplomats in Iraq."

The embassy employees were seized in Baghdad on June 3 when armed men attacked their vehicle. A fifth Russian citizen was killed during the kidnapping.

Moscow confirmed that the four men were dead after a video footage apparently showing two men being killed appeared on the internet on Sunday.

An anti-government coalition led by al-Qaeda in Iraq - the Mujahidin Shura Council - has said they were responsible for killing the men.

Putin also said Russia would be grateful for any information on the killers.

Tags : terrorism, russia, Chechnya, al-qaeda

Democrats Lose Texas Political Map Case

BBC NEWS:

US state lawmakers can redraw electoral maps to favour their own parties at any time, the Supreme Court has ruled.

By a vote of 7-2, the country's highest court rejected claims by Democrats that Texas Republicans had behaved wrongly by changing boundaries in 2003.

Districts must be redrawn every 10 years to reflect population changes, but Republicans redrew the map a second time in a decade after taking power.

In a related ruling, the court said redistricting must not harm minorities.

Hispanic voters had said the 2003 redistricting did not protect them as required by the Voting Rights Act, and the court agreed by a vote of 5 to 4.

Tags : politics, supreme court, news

Israeli Planes Attack Bridge in Gaza

Looks as though Hamas feels they will be able to vanqish the Israeli militaty. What planet are they on? Looks like Israeli may have no choice but to re-occupy the Gaza Strip. So much for peace through the "democratic" process in Palestine. We are convinced that Hamas must all have a death wish, but then again, death does not have the same meaning to these terrorist neanderthals. Afterall, there are all those virgins waiting in the wings. Israeli forces have cut Gaza in two by taking out these bridges and reducing the chance of the Israeli captured prisoner from being moved out of the town where he was captured. More is SURE to follow as Hamas seems to be hell bent on a full blown conflict with Israel.

ABC:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Jun 27, 2006 (AP)— Israeli planes attacked a bridge in central Gaza late Tuesday, Israel Radio reported, and Israeli tanks were said to be on the move, possibly signaling the start of a military operation.

Palestinian security forces said Israeli tanks were moving near the Israeli village of Nahal Oz, a main Israeli staging area just outside Gaza, but that they had not yet entered Gaza.

In the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City, not far from the border fence, armed militants took up positions across from the blaring headlights of Israeli vehicles, and Israeli attack helicopters hovered overhead. The militants told residents to leave the area.

Israeli military officials said a limited operation has been authorized for southern Gaza, aimed at "terrorist infrastructure." The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

Tags : middle east, palestine, hamas

Israeli Forces Attack Hamas, Again

Looks like our prediction is panning out. Look to see an invasion in the cards and further escalation in Middle East tensions between Israeli and the new terrorist government of Palestine.
NPR:

2006 � Israeli troops remain poised just outside the Gaza Strip, and officials say they could soon launch a major offensive against Palestinian militants holding a captured Israeli soldier.

But even as the crisis builds, the big news from Gaza is word of an agreement between rivals Hamas and Fatah on a common political platform.

The so-called Prisoners Document calls for the creation of a Palestinian state, alongside Israel, within borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It also asserts the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees to land which is now part of Israel proper.

Tags : middle east, palestine, hamas

The Cheney Defense System

This special weapons system will teach those pesky N.Koreans. Now where is that silly wabbit???

Welcome to Pensylvania

North Korean Missiles

Hillary Clinton: List of Late-Night Jokes About Hillary

"According to a new survey, Hillary Clinton's popularity rating is down to its lowest point in over a year. When Bill Clinton heard this, he said, 'If there's one thing Hillary can do, it's bring polls down.'" --Conan O'Brein

"Former President Bill Clinton said that if his wife, Hillary, is elected president, he will do whatever she wants. You know Bill Clinton -- when he makes a vow to Hillary, you can take that to the bank." --Jay Leno

"A New Jersey company has developed an inhaler they say increases sex drive in women. They say it stimulates the brain to make you want to have sex with your partner. It's an inhaler. You know what the means? One day on the campaign trail, Hillary may be able to claim she never inhaled either." --Jay Leno


"I'm surprised they did a portrait of Hillary. I thought maybe an ice sculpture would have been more appropriate." --Jay Leno

"Hillary Clinton said today that she didn't know her husband, Bill Clinton, was giving the Arabs advice on the port deal while she was ruling against it. Can you believe that? Hillary was clueless about a major political event. You know what that means. she could really be the next president of the United States." --Jay Leno

"More problems for Hillary Clinton. The head of New York state's leading gay rights group describes Hillary Clinton as a disappointment on samesex marriage. Today, her husband bill described her as a disappointment on opposite sex marriage." --Jay Leno

"Senator Hillary Clinton hired a former adviser to President Clinton. Apparently she's taking his advice because today she hit on three waitresses." --Conan O'Brien

"Hillary Clinton speaking out on [the port deal]. She has mixed feelings about Dubai. On one hand, they hate Israel. On the other hand, they stone adulterers." --Jay Leno

"Hillary Clinton said today she finds the administration's refusal to level with the American people troubling, but she also finds it somewhat nostalgic." --Jay Leno

"Hillary Clinton blasted the vice president today for failing to disclose all the facts. She wants Dick Cheney to give exact details. You know like, "How do you shoot someone and make it look like an accident?" --Jay Leno

"In a fiery speech this weekend, Hillary Clinton wondered why President Bush can't find the tallest man in Afghanistan. Probably for the same reason she couldn't find the fattest intern under the desk." --Jay Leno

"Hillary Clinton said this week that she doesn't agree with either the people who say we should be in Iraq or her friends who say we should be out. Thanks for clearing that up. Think she’s running for president? Even John Kerry said, "Pick a position!" --Jay Leno

Tags : hillary, jokes, politics, satire

Oxnard California Terror Alert...

This is an unconfirmed report... breaking news as of 6PM EDT. [Hat tip: LGF]

lgf: Breaking: Port Hueneme Closed:

Fox News is reporting that a terror threat has caused the closure of Port Hueneme in California’s Ventura County. A message was found in the cargo hold of a Guatemalan ship:

This nitro is for you, Mr. George W. Bush and your Jewish cronies.

Tags: terrorism, oxnard, port

Russia Confirms Diplomats Murdered by Al-Quaeda

AP News:

MOSCOW (AP) -- The Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed the death of Russian hostages who worked at its embassy in Iraq, a day after an al-Qaida linked group said it had killed the four captives.

The group, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, had posted a video on a Web site that showed the killing of three of four Russian workers who were kidnapped June 3. A statement from the group said the fourth was also slain.

"It is with deep pain that we report that the seizure of the workers of the Russian Embassy in Iraq has, judging by everything, ended in an irremediable way despite all efforts taken for the freeing of our people," the statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

The kidnappers had demanded the Kremlin pull its troops out of Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia where separatists have been fighting for independence.



Moscow vehemently opposed the U.S.-led military campaign and has continued to keep its distance from Washington on the issue of Iraq. Four Russian workers were killed in ambushes in Iraq in 2004.

"We demand that the Iraqi government and the command of the multinational forces do everything possible to ensure that none of the criminals involved in the murder of our citizens escapes punishment," the statement said.

Tags: terrorism, russia, Chechnya

Hamas Attacks Israeli Military Outpost

So much for the cease fire. Did anyone expect anything less? No doubt that we will see an escalation of violence this week on the Gaza strip...

JERUSALEM - For the first time since its leaders took control of the Palestinian government in March, Hamas militants led a sophisticated pre-dawn attack Sunday on an Israeli military outpost along the Gaza border, killing two soldiers and abducting a third.

The raid created the most serious crisis here since Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip last summer.

Israeli tanks almost immediately moved into the fringes of the Gaza Strip, talks between rival Palestinian factions over ending attacks inside Israel fell apart, and Egyptian diplomats worked feverishly to prevent the situation from spinning out of control.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his military leaders warned the Palestinian government that it would be held responsible for the safety of the kidnapped soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19.

"We intend to respond to what happened this morning in such a way that everyone involved will know the price they will pay will be painful, and if the situation does not change, will hurt sevenfold," said Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz.

Tags: gaza hamas violence

Ken's Meme Deflector: XBlogThis!: An Extended BlogThis! Button

XBlogThis!: An Extended BlogThis! Button
If you keep a with Blogger, you have probably come across the BlogThis! button. It is small bit of Javascript that you can add as a button to your bookmark toolbar that generates a post from the text that you have highlighted on a page.

If you run a link blog, such as the Meme Deflector, the BlogThis! button can be a huge time saver. Instead of flipping between two browser windows — one with the page that your blogging, and another with the Blogger edit page — while you copy text and links from one to another, BlogThis! generates the post in a single button click.

Technorati tags: blogging firefox

Whale of a Tale

Hat Tip: ::Uncomfortably Numb::




LOL -- Save the Whales... and the rest of humanity while we are at it :)
"Whale Shack" by Mark Fiore

Israeli Version of Gaza Strike Conflicted

Evidence points to Israeli role in deadly blast: "BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip -- Two weeks after an explosion on a Gaza Strip beach killed eight picnickers and turned images of an 11-year-old Palestinian wailing over her dead father into an icon of the Arab-Israeli conflict, new evidence is raising questions about the Israeli version of what took place.

The Israeli military cleared itself of responsibility for the deaths, saying that whatever exploded June 9 wasn't an errant shell fired by Israeli soldiers during a barrage of the waterfront. Based on video clips from one of its ships, Israel concluded the explosion came at least 10 minutes after the military had stopped shelling.

But medical logs, cell phone records and other evidence suggest the explosion took place during the barrage and probably was caused by an artillery round." If no one had been at the beach to capture the explosion's aftermath, the incident might have passed quickly with a few Palestinian condemnations and a brisk Israeli retort.

But a cameraman caught 11-year-old Huda Ghaliya sobbing over the body of her father. The unsettling images, broadcast around the world, made the attack an international drama.

Israel is standing by its conclusion: No Israeli shell fired that Friday hit the beachgoers.

"We don't know what caused it, but we know what didn't cause it: It wasn't any artillery fired that day," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jacob Dallal said.

Dallal said it could have been a defective shell buried in the sand that someone in the family triggered accidentally or a booby trap that Palestinian militants had planted.

Human Rights Watch offered to provide the Israeli military with shrapnel it pulled from a car that was hit by the blast, but investigators refused, said Marc Garlasco, a Human Rights Watch researcher and former Pentagon analyst. More...

This situation is sure to add fuel to the fire that is already burning out of control. Israeli officials would be advised to come clean and consider acknowledging the posibility of collateral damage to innocents killed during their last strike. Stonewalling their blunder will not improve the already out of control tensions in the region. - ZZ

Reported WMD Found in Iraq - No Mainstream Media Coverage

This is still a bit fuzzy... Needs some better coverage by larger media outlets -- if indeed this is true, it may lead to even larger finds of WMD in Iraq and a potential I told you so from the Bush administration and CIA. Of course there will be those convinced this was planted there by the CIA to save face. Let's see if the story unfolds to something significant, or just a wet dream for the Republicans...

Hawaii Reporter: "On Wednesday, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), quoting from a Pentagon report, announced that since 2003, over 500 weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. According to Santorum, these sarin- and mustard-filled projectiles prove that “weapons of mass destruction are, in fact, in Iraq.” With news this important, one would expect wide-spread coverage, right? Wrong. The so-called main stream media is silent on this discovery, instead painting their own view of Iraq.

At the press conference, Santorum along with Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) said, “It is essential for the American people to understand that these weapons are in Iraq. I will continue to advocate for the complete declassification of this report so we can more fully understand the complete WMD picture inside Iraq.”

Santorum noted that the six key findings from the Pentagon report are as follows:

* Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent.

* Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.

* Pre-Gulf War Iraqi chemical weapons could be sold on the black market. Use of these weapons by terrorists or insurgent groups would have implications for Coalition forces in Iraq. The possibility of use outside Iraq cannot be ruled out.

* The most likely munitions remaining are sarin and mustard-filled projectiles.

* The purity of the agent inside the munitions depends on many factors, including the manufacturing process, potential additives, and environmental storage conditions. While agents degrade over time, chemical warfare agents remain hazardous and potentially lethal.

* It has been reported in open press that insurgents and Iraqi groups desire to acquire and use chemical weapons.

It’s quite interesting" ...More

Then we have this coverage from the NY Sun.

Pentagon Fears Old Iraq WMD May Be Used - June 23, 2006 - The New York Sun: "WASHINGTON - The discovery of more than 500 chemical weapons shells in Iraq has heightened concerns at the Pentagon that terrorists in that country could use the old munitions against American soldiers.

'We have recovered enough chemical weapons munitions to make us sensitive to the possible force protection implications these dangerous items present to our forces in Iraq,' a Pentagon spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician, said yesterday in response to a query regarding the recent declassification of an Army National Ground Intelligence Center report that found a large cache of shells from the Iran-Iraq war containing toxic mustard and sarin gas." More...

World Cup

On Tape: Rep Won't Let Customer Quit AOL

This one will make your head spin... it's for real. The transcript is attached the audio is not great... DEpending on your browser you may have to click on the play button twice. Once for the dumb add, then again and the a/v will start to stream. See if you can't relate to this!!! ROTFL !!!

"An incredible video from CNBC shows an AOL customer trying to cancel his account, but a phone rep won't let him do it. What customer Vincent Ferrari got when he tried to cancel his account was a lot of frustration.

It took him 15 minutes waiting on the phone just to reach a real, live person.

And, what happened next was recorded by Ferrari on audio and lasted about four minutes:

CLOCK READOUT - 00:00

AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL... how may I help you today?

VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.

AOL: Sorry to hear that. Let's pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?

VINCENT: Vincent Ferrari.

CLOCK READOUT - 00:30

AOL: You've had this account for a long time.

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?

VINCENT: I just don't use it anymore.

AOL: Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: How long have you had that...

VINCENT: Years...

AOL: ...the high speed?

VINCENT: ...years.

AOL: Well, actually I'm showing a lot of usage on this account.

VINCENT: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently...

CLOCK READOUT - 01:47

AOL: Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?

VINCENT: No. I just don't use it, I don't need it, I don't want it. I just don't need it anymore.

AOL: Okay. So when you use this... I mean, use the computer, I'm saying, is that for business or for... for school?

VINCENT: Dude, what difference does it make. I don't want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?

CLOCK READOUT - 02:21

AOL: Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage...

VINCENT: I don't know how to make this any clearer, so I'm just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.

AOL: Well explain to me what's, why...

VINCENT: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the ac"

AOL: Well, what's the matter man? We're just, I'm just trying to help here.

VINCENT: You're not helping me. You're helping me...

AOL: I am trying to help.

VINCENT: Helping... listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.

AOL: No, it wouldn't actually...

VINCENT: Cancel my account...

AOL: Turning off your account...

VINCENT: ...cancel the account...

AOL: ...would be the worst thing that...

VINCENT: ...cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:02

AOL: Okay, cause I'm just trying to figure out...

VINCENT: Cancel the account. I don't know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don't mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.

AOL: Well, I'm sorry, I don't know what anybody's done to you Vincent because all I'm...

VINCENT: Will you please cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:32

AOL: Alright, some day when you calmed down you're gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you... and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.

VINCENT: Wonderful, Okay.

CLOCK READOUT - 03:39

"I've never ever experienced anything like that," Ferrari told CNBC.

He recounts how the AOL representative - as a last resort even asked if his dad was home.

"I think I could've put up with everything, but at the point when he asked to speak to my father, I came very close to losing it at that point," said the 30-year-old Ferrari.

Ferrari then posted the call online, and the response was tremendous.

AOL sent him an apology and said the customer service rep was no longer with the company.

We hear this Call Center guy got a call from Howard Dean after getting canned and he is now raising money for the DNC ;) Republicans better watch out! LOL

Fluffernutter Angers Mass. Dem. Senator

This one is for real. Not satire. Just to give you a perspective on what some deep thinking lawmakers and political leaders are struggling with this week... while N. Korea is fueling long range missiles...

(BOSTON) - It's creamy, it's sweet and it's become a staple of lunch boxes for generations of New England school children.

Now, the beloved Fluffernutter sandwich, the irresistible combination of Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter, preferably on white bread with a glass of milk handy finds itself at the center of a sticky political debate.

Sen. Jarrett Barrios was outraged that his son Nathaniel, a third-grader, was given a Fluffernutter sandwich at the King Open School in Cambridge. He said he plans to file legislation that would ban schools from offering the local delicacy more than once a week as the main meal of the day.

The Democrat said that his amendment to a bill on junk food in schools may seem 'a little silly', but that school nutrition is serious.

His proposal seemed anything but silly to Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein, also a Democrat whose district in Revere is near the company that has produced the marshmallow concoction for more than 80 years, Durkee-Mower Inc.

She responded with a proposal to designate the Fluffernutter the 'official sandwich of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.'

'I'm going to fight to the death for Fluff,' Reinstein said.

An aide to Barrios insisted the Senator is not anti-Fluff and even plans to co-sponsor Reinstein's bill, although he still believes schools should cut back on Fluffernutters.

'He loves Fluff as much as the next legislator,' aide Colin Durrant said.

Fluff has a long history in Massachusetts. The treat was popularized by H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower, who cooked up the concoction in their kitchen at night and sold it door to door during the day." More... (AP Wire)

Has to make one wonder... Perhaps the issue will be turned over to the Dept of Defense since the secret concoction might in fact be used as a disinformation tactic to confound North Korean officials. We won't comment on the agenda of the political party that is driving for this critical, crucial legislation in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts. But it does seem on par with other landmark social legislation, such as Gay Marriage rights, from this bastion of leading edge social reform and perhaps this pre-occupation with Fluffernutter might in fact have some hidden significant social uses unbeknownst to the vast majority of backward heterosexuals both in rural Mass. and the other 49 states. --- ed.

Guantanamo Suicides

And make sure each cell has open rafter ceilings...

Speaks with Forked Tongue

Freeware at OpenWeb Downloads

If you are looking for some very good free graphics design programs, HTML editors, RSS readers and lots of other free stuff specially selected for bloggers, then you might want to check this out. OpenWeb Downloads has a number of freeware digital downloads selected for bloggers available as well as shareware and some very special flash gaming packages. (Simple Registration is required as an anti-spamming measure.)

Al-Qaeda 'planned US cyanide hit'

(BBC / LONDON)"Al-Qaeda militants were within 45 days of launching a lethal cyanide attack on New York's subway system in early 2003, US intelligence sources suggest.

But the attack, masterminded by Saudi militants, was called off by Osama Bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The revelations are contained in a new book excerpted by Time magazine.

Unnamed US officials confirmed their knowledge of the plot to the New York Times. The city's underground was placed on high alert in February 2003. In The One Percent Doctrine, Ron Suskind says CIA officials came to learn about the plot after members of the cell were arrested in Bahrain in February 2003.

The plan was allegedly found on one of the computers they had been using. The device they planned to use would have released deadly hydrogen-cyanide gas using a remote trigger, the book says.

"We were aware of the plot and took the appropriate precautions"
Paul Browne (NYPD spokesman)

Top US officials calculated that the casualties would be almost on a par with the 11 September 2001 attacks.

The CIA built a model of the device and showed it to President George W Bush, who put the US government on high alert, the book says.

Mr Bush and his aides were left guessing at the reasons why Zawahiri allegedly cancelled the plan.

'We were aware of the plot and took the appropriate precautions,' the New York Police Department's chief spokesman, Paul Browne, told the New York Times newspaper.

In his book, Suskind says a Pakistani agent close to the al-Qaeda leadership had pointed US officials to the leader of the Saudi militants, who was later killed in a stand-off with Saudi police. " -- BBC

Happy Father's Day

House Vote to Back War puts Dems on Defensive

(WASHINGTON) — The House on Friday voted 256-153 to support the military mission in Iraq after two days of passionate and partisan debate in which Republicans tried to recast an unpopular conflict as part of a broader war on terrorism and totalitarianism.

Forty-two Democrats bucked their leadership to join a virtually united Republican Party and declare that the United States must complete 'the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure and united Iraq' without setting 'an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment' of U.S. troops.

Three Republicans — Reps. Ron Paul of Texas, John Duncan Jr. of Tennessee and Jim Leach of Iowa — joined 149 Democrats and one independent to oppose the resolution. Three Democrats and two Republicans voted present in protest. Nineteen lawmakers did not vote.

In the Washington state delegation, Democrats Rick Larsen and Adam Smith joined Republicans Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris in supporting the nonbinding resolution, while Democrats Brian Baird, Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee and Jim McDermott voted against it. Republican Dave Reichert, in the Seattle area at a fundraiser headlined by President Bush, did not vote.

Public-opinion polls continue to show the Iraq war is unpopular, even after the death last week of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Convinced they cannot avoid the issue in an election year, Republicans tried to put Democrats on the defensive with the first extended debate on the war since Congress authorized the use of force nearly four years ago.

House Republicans linked the war to the Sept. 11 attacks, the war on terrorism and to what they view as the Clinton administration's repeated failures to act after terrorist attacks in the 1990s.

"The American public deserves to hear how their elected leaders will respond to international terrorism and those enemies who seek to destroy our American way of life. Will we fight or will we retreat?" asked House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio. "Let me be clear: Those who say this is a war of choice are nothing more than wrong. This is a war of necessity." More...

We have heard from the "political" leaders... what are your thoughts?

Kennedy: Vote Shows 93 Senators Out of Mainstream

(WASHINGTON) — After the Senate voted 93-6 today against setting a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy held a news conference to announce that his 93 colleagues are “clearly out of the mainstream of American opinion.”

Senators Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts voted for the timeline, along with Democrat Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa, Barbara Boxer of California, Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

“The six of us represent the heart’s cry of every red-blooded American,” said Sen. Kennedy. “We hear the voice of the people, and the people say they want immediate, unconditional withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.”

Senator Kerry, the presumptive runner-up for the 2008 Democrat presidential nomination, criticized the legislation introduced by Republicans as a cheap stunt designed to preempt his own forthcoming Iraq pullout bill.

“I have a plan for a strategic withdrawal from Iraq,” said Sen. Kerry. “I plan to release my plan about the same time the Democratic National Committee unveils its plan for America’s future, or right after Microsoft releases its new Vista operating system, whichever comes first.”" --- as reported by satirist Scott Ott

After the news conference Sen. Kennedy rushed to the Rayburn building to meet with Rep. Nancy Pelosi to schedule a roadmap meeting to construct a strategy in order to create a plan to develop a strategy for an Iraqi pullout for the DNC right after the aformentioned plan and strategy has been decided upon in the not so distant future. Of course this would also depend on the timing of both the strategy and the plan which might be decided upon once the decision on where and when to have the roadmap meeting has been decided.

Rove Cleared, Zarqawi Dead, GOP Doomed

(WASHINGTON) — Republican electoral prospects in November appeared bleaker than ever this week after U.S. forces allowed al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to die in their custody and President George Bush’s close friend and adviser Karl Rove fanned the flames of conspiracy theories by preventing a special prosecutor from charging him with any wrongdoing in the CIA leak investigation.

White House sources failed to return phone calls last night, in a virtual communication lockdown, as the Bush administration hunkered down to figure out how to cope with the latest breaking news.

In five appearances before a grand jury Mr. Rove employed what one source called “his Jedi mind tricks.”

“But it was all for nothing,” the unnamed source said, “Since the lack of charges against him will only confirm America’s worst fears — that Karl Rove controls everything.”

Meanwhile jubilant Democrats hunted for media microphones, as one lawmaker said, “to kick the cowboy while he’s down.”

This week’s slight increase in the president’s popularity ratings only highlights the depths to which he has fallen, according to political experts.

In a bit of fortuitous timing, a Democratic National Committee spokesman said the DNC is on the verge of announcing its vision and plan for America’s future, which should be unveiled “any day now in the coming months.”

California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the presumptive Speaker of the House, took the high road, offering “words of consolation and comfort to our beleaguered Command in Chief.”

“We must rally around our chief executive in his time of need,” Rep. Pelosi said. “I call on all Americans to pray that God would lift President Bush from this pit of despair, and restore his confidence so that he may lead us boldly.”" --- as reported by sartirist Scott Ott

How long do you think the timeframe will be for the DNC to announce its formal unified vision and plan to erradicate Al Qaeda and bring Bin Laden to justice?

Ground Zero: Where is the Memorial?

Democrats Vow to Fight On After Zarqawi Loss

ScrappleFace » Democrats Vow to Fight On After Zarqawi Loss: "(2006-06-09) — As Blackberry devices and cell phones on Capitol Hill hummed with news of the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi yesterday, Congressional Democrats vowed that despite the loss they would fight on in “the war on the war on terror.”

“Zarqawi will be missed because he put a human face on the futility of the illegal U.S. occupation of Iraq,” said one unnamed lawmaker, who assured a reporter that “Democrats are still optimistic. We’re still looking for the silver lining.”

Rep. John Murtha, D-PA, a former Marine and vocal critic of the military occupation of Iraq, immediately denounced “the Zarqawi massacre” and suggested that the F-16 pilot who dropped the bombs had snapped under pressure and murdered the al Qaeda leader “in cold blood.”

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-PA, demanded an explanation of the secret intelligence gathering techniques and surveillance used to find Mr. Zarqawi.

“I want to give the president an opportunity to explain the program to the Congress and to assure the American people that nobody’s civil rights were violated,” said Sen. Specter.

Meanwhile, Democrat National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and former presidential candidate Al Gore observed a moment of silence as they heard of the passing of Mr. Zarqawi, a fellow Internet pioneer." -- as reported by Satirist Scott Ott/ScrappleFace

Aljazeera: Al-Zarqawi family reacts to the news

Want an interesting perspective on the Zargawi extermination? Check this out from Aljazeera...

"'We anticipated that he would be killed for a very long time,' Sayil al-Khalayla told The Associated Press on Thursday in a telephone interview from al-Zarqa, the poor industrial town that al-Zarqawi called home and from which he derived his name.

'We expected that he would be martyred,' he said, in a low voice, signalling his grief over the death of his brother, whose real name is Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayla.

'We hope that he will join other martyrs in heaven.'

In the wake of a triple hotel bombings in Amman in November, claimed by al-Zarqawi's group, his family told King Abdullah II that they 'severed links with him until doomsday'.

In newspaper adverts, 57 members of the al-Khalayla family, including Sayil, reiterated their allegiance to the king." More...

Read the rest of the rejoicing and glee from his family as they believe he is now in heaven with their other glorious "martyrs". No RIP on his virtual grave... rather a hearty BIH. (Burn in Hell) Here's a link if you want to get a peak at a few of the awesome recycled 72 Virgins he is now having a ball with... (hat-tip: hans ze beeman)

Canadian Jihad

From the National Post...

They are young, militant and Canadian. And according to senior counterterrorism authorities, they have been plotting large-scale terrorist attacks on Canadian soil. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service acknowledged this week it has been investigating groups of "homegrown" extremists. In candid testimony to the Senate national security committee, the agency went on to say that these young followers of the "al-Qaeda ideology" have been plotting against targets within Canada.

"They are not looking to Afghanistan, the U.K. or anywhere else," Jack Hooper, the CSIS Deputy Director of Operations, testified on Monday.
The exact targets of these young terrorists were not revealed, but it is their profile that is most shocking: young Canadian Muslims who have somehow become radicalized while growing up in Canada.

They are "homegrown." In other words, they have emerged from within Canada, rather than infiltrating it from abroad. They are insiders, not outsiders like Millennium Bomber Ahmed Ressam, who was behind Canada's last major terrorism scare in 1999.

"Increasingly, we are learning of more and more extremists that are homegrown," says a declassified CSIS report obtained by the National Post. "The implications of this shift are important."
Across the Atlantic, the term "European Jihad" is now used to describe the new generation of young Muslim extremists who not only live in Europe, but also consider it a legitimate terrorist target. --- [HatTip LGF and Cox&Forkum]

Home grown and very disturbing news for our friends up north who are probably stunned at the terrorist bust last Friday. No country is immune from this lunacy, whether they set foot in Iraq or not. Like it or not, accept it or not, we are in a war of culture and ideology that will only result in backlash, increased government survilence and less personal freedoms in general. Orwell's 1984 is approaching. Just 22 years behind schedule.

Gore and Global Warming

"Has anybody seen the Al Gore movie about global warming and the environment? Well, the Bush administration has seen it and they are very annoyed about the whole thing. As a matter of fact, earlier today, Dick Cheney shot a projectionist. ... One very dramatic scene in the Al Gore global warming movie is when a glacier melts and they find more Al Gore ballots from the election." --David Letterman

Anybody hear what the box office draw was this weekend??

In Search Of Jimmy Hoffa

No doubt the Justice Department is still hot on Jimmy's trail. Can someone find out what the price tag for this archeological dig cost the American taxpayer?

Giant Crater Found: Tied to Worst Mass Extinction Ever

(ANTARTICA)"An apparent crater as big as Ohio has been found in Antarctica. Scientists think it was carved by a space rock that caused the greatest mass extinction on Earth, 250 million years ago.

The crater, buried beneath a half-mile of ice and discovered by some serious airborne and satellite sleuthing, is more than twice as big as the one involved in the demise of the dinosaurs.

The crater's location, in the Wilkes Land region of East Antarctica, south of Australia, suggests it might have instigated the breakup of the so-called Gondwana supercontinent, which pushed Australia northward, the researchers said.

'This Wilkes Land impact is much bigger than the impact that killed the dinosaurs, and probably would have caused catastrophic damage at the time,' said Ralph von Frese, a professor of geological sciences at Ohio State University." More...

Terror Suspects Seized in Toronto

(BREAKING NEWS): "Canadian police have arrested at least 10 people in an anti-terror operation in the Toronto area.

The detainees are being held in Pickering, a suburb of the country's biggest city.

A police spokeswoman said that about 400 police officers had taken part in the operation, adding that more arrests were expected.

Canadian anti-terror units, or Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams, were involved." More...

Al Gore: The Global Warming Movie: Fact or Political Fantasy?

(SEATTLE)"As Al Gore's fact-based horror film about global warming, 'An Inconvenient Truth,' opens today in Seattle, pundits, critics and other opining experts can't agree on what it's about -- climate change, Gore's potential presidential bid or entertainment.

Among newspaper columnists and radio talk-show hosts, early screenings of the film have provoked commentary ranging from political analyses of how it may launch Gore's bid for the presidency to those evaluating it as yet another product of Hollywood."...

...The National Review's June 5 cover story, "Scare of the Century," challenges the notion that ice caps are in a melting trend. Holman W. Jenkins Jr. of The Wall Street Journal called the movie "science fiction."

Asked whether he would see the film, President Bush answered coolly, "Doubt it," according to The Associated Press.

All the rhetoric aside, is it even a good movie?

"It's a bit slide-showish, but it's intriguing the way it's set up," said Chris Marshall, 32, a Seattle graphics designer. He watched the film at a showing Tuesday organized by TheWarrenReport, which screens films, and said it was well-put-together and intriguing.

Marshall's one disappointment was that the film included news clips and mention of Gore's loss in the 2000 presidential elections. "It seemed out of place," and made the movie more partisan than he wanted. More...

Better than X-Men III ???

Michelle Malkin on Fox: Deportation Process a Joke

Michelle Malkin was interviewed by Neil Cavuto on Fox News today at approx 4PM EDT. Although there were no counterpoints, it was clear that both Ms. Malkin and Mr. Cavuto were stunned at the total ineffectiveness of the deportation process as Michelle explained that there exists in fact a government paid for "board" which 9 times out of 10 ends up representing the illegals to counter rulings for deporation. Processes and legal filings that can from months to years to complete while the illegals stay in the U.S. She explained illegals have access to this gov't funded agency which represents them to contest an immigration judge's ruling when the judge rules in favor of deportation !

It's becoming clear to mainstream Americans that the entire border security issue in the U.S. is a joke. Politicians see it as nothing more than a hot potato issue that they had hoped would have gone away by now. It won't however... not any time soon with the House of Representatives ready to dig in heals against any action which even smells like amnesty for those who are in the U.S. illegally.

Democratic Hit Man Hevesi: Put Bullet Between Bush's Eyes

[Hat Tip Michelle Malkin ] -- NY State Comptroller Alan Hevesi tells college grads, "Bush should be shot between the eyes" at a commencement exercise in Queens NY. Isn't there a law against threatening the President of the United States? And isn't this sort of rhetoric getting way out of control?

Michelle Malkin: DEM: PUT BULLET BETWEEN BUSH'S EYES: "State Comptroller Alan Hevesi publicly apologized Thursday for a 'beyond dumb' remark about 'putting a bullet between the president's eyes.'

Hevesi hastily called a mea culpa press conference hours after putting his foot in his mouth at the Queens College commencement.

The Queens College media relations office said it had videotaped the commencement but could not immediately provide a copy of the tape or a transcript.

At the press conference, a contrite Hevesi repeated what he recalled saying in the speech. The comptroller said he was merely trying to convey that Sen. Charles Schumer has strength and courage to stand up to the president.

'I apologize to the president of the United States' as well as to Schumer, said Hevesi. 'I am not a person of violence.'

'I am apologizing as abjectly as I can. There is no excuse for it. It was beyond dumb.'

Hevesi said he hadn't been in touch with the White House but he hoped his apology reached President Bush.

Hevesi also called his comments 'remarkably stupid' and 'incredibly moronic.'

'I do speak extemporaneously,' he said. 'And I've never said anything like this.'" More...

We guess the devil made him do it since he had no idea what got into him. (Omen is coming out on 6/6/06, maybe Damian made him do it!) We guess he just could not resist becoming Mr. Popularity on campus for at least one day by making such a dumb, coarse remark. There was a time in the U.S. where such a remark in public would have had the Secret Service up your ass. Just add one more dumb ass politician to the long list with the dread Hoof in Mouth disease.