China - Silencing Bloggers

While the US media sees bloggers as a nuisance the Chinese see them as a threat.

Reporters Without Borders voiced alarm today at the Chinese government's announced intention to close down all China-based websites and blogs that are not officially registered. The plan is all the more worrying as the government has also revealed that it has a new system for monitoring sites in real time and spotting those that fail to comply.

"The Chinese authorities use this type of announcement above all to intimidate website operators and bloggers," the press freedom organisation said. "The authorities also hope to push the most outspoken online sites to migrate abroad where they will become inaccessible to those inside China because of the Chinese filtering systems."

Reporters Without Borders added : "Those who continue to publish under their real names on sites hosted in China will either have to avoid political subjects or just relay the Communist Party's propaganda. This decision will enable those in power to control online news and information much more effectively."

Not a good sign.
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Zimbabwe - Mugabe: Pol Pot Reborn?

Perry de Havilland thinks so.

Robert Mugabe continues his insane demolition of houses and businesses as he increasingly starts to look like Pol Pot reborn, seeking to depopulate the cites and drive the now homeless and unemployed population into the countryside to eke out an even more miserable living, thereby dispersing and isolating people from communities which might oppose his tyrannical rule.

And where are the marchers in the west? Where are the protesters calling for justice in Zimbabwe? Where is the outrage from those tireless tribunes of the Third World, the UN? Why can I not hear the snarls of fury from the alphabet soup of NGOs? What of the legions of Guardian readers finding out about all this? What are they going to call for? Amnesty International is getting a lot of (bad) publicity from having called Guantanamo Bay 'a gulag' whilst now admitting they do not actually know what is happening there, yet why are they not straining every fibre of their being in opposition to this African horror? There is tyranny aplenty to be opposed without having to invent any.

They're all too busy bashing America for liberating over 50 million people; mostly Muslim people at that.

Here is AI admitting they don't know what they are talking about.
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America - Foleygate: Media Responds

I sent out about two dozen emails to people on the Guild's contact list. So far, I've gotten one response from Bill Salganik, who I believe is with the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild.

Sir --

I agree you deserve a response.

I believe your characterization of President Foley's comments is not
quite correct. I don't think she said U.S. troops target journalists; I believe she criticized the Department of Defense for not investigating fully the deaths of journalists. I don't believe there is a transcript of her comments, although if you have one, I'd like to see it. The
trade magazine Editor and Publisher reported this about a letter Ms. Foley sent to President Bush on the issue:

begin quote from Editor and Publisher

Her comments at the conference followed the letter she sent last month to President Bush criticizing the U.S. investigation into the deaths of journalists in Iraq, including several during an attack on the Palestine Hotel in 2003.

In that attack, two journalists -- one from Spain and the other from Ukraine -- were killed. She also noted the bombing of the Al Jazeera office the same day, in which a reporter died. "Neither of these attacks has been independently investigated nor have the deaths been properly explained to the satisfaction of the victims' families, their friends and their colleagues," the letter said, in part.

end quote from Editor and Publisher

Assuming this is accurate, I think her marks are appropriate. One
important difference between this and the CNN dispute is that Eason
Jordan's job was to maintain CNN's appearance of objectivity; Linda
Foley's job is to represent and protect journalists. I haven't
researched the CNN dispute in detail, so I'm not expressing an opinion
on that.

-- Bill Salganik

I replied and sent him a link to Trey Jackson's transcript and video.

We'll see if we get a reply.
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Iraq - Who Armed Iraq?

Earlier I posted the Galloway test.

A commenter, Andrew, suggested a Rumsfeld test.

How about the Donald Rumsfeld Test?

1. Have you ever sold guns to Saddam Hussein?

2. Have you ever been part of an administration which has vetoed a UN Resolution condemning Saddam's use of chemical weapons against the Kurds?

Im no fan of Galloway's politics and to be frank his party is about as popular as cancer - but he spoke for many people when he said what he did about the US Government and Iraq.

"It's not true I met Saddam Hussein many times. In fact I met him twice, the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld has. The only difference is that I wasn't selling Saddam guns and maps." - George Galloway.

Rumsfeld can answer no to number one.

The Iraqi air force does not fly Falcons or Eagles. The majority of the Iraqi air force is made in Russia. The Russian MiG and Sukhoi design bureaus supplied Iraq with hundreds of advanced strike-fighters and the Mach 3 Foxbat interceptor.

Perhaps the Iraqi missile force has some U.S.-made weapons? Not. The primary Iraqi missile is the Russian-made Scud. Other missiles include the FROG-7 from Russia, the Exocet from France and the Silkworm from China.

The Iraqi air defense has plenty of missiles ... from Russia, China and France. The SA-2 Guideline, SA-3 Goa and SA-6 Gainful SAM missiles are all of Russian or Chinese manufacture. The French also supplied Baghdad with a number of Roland air defense missile systems.

The Iraqi armor force is made up of Chinese and Russian models familiar to any "cold" warrior. The Iraqi T-72 and T-55 tanks are all of Russian manufacture. The Iraqis also have a large number of Type-59 Chinese tanks and Russian-made BMP armored troop carriers. No M-1 Abrams here.

The main Iraqi artillery is the French 155mm howitzer. The remainder of Iraq's artillery is 122mm Russian-made cannons and Russian-made short-range rocket launchers. Even the Iraqi foot soldier is armed with the venerable AK-47 of Russian and Chinese make.

Let's not forget Iraq's army was armed with AK47s not M16s.

As for the maps...

The facts are that during the Iran-Iraq war the U.S. supplied Iraq with something much more valuable than guns: satellite information on when and where the Iranians were going to attack.

Of course, current anti-war activists seize this piece of information without putting it into historical context. The information was supplied during the height of the Cold War. The main threat to America was the Soviet Union and the biggest fear in the Gulf was the Ayatollah Khomeini. [...]

The Reagan administration, aware that the Iranian ayatollah had threatened to turn the Gulf into a sea of fire, assisted Saddam so that he would not lose the war. The assistance stopped short of helping Saddam win the war.

In fact, when it appeared the Iraqis were on the verge of victory, the Reagan administration transferred real weapons to the Iranians. The infamous Iran-Contra scandal involved a large number of badly needed U.S. TOW anti-tank missiles that were sold to Iran.

The U.S. missiles proved to be critical to the Iranian defense against Iraq's superior Russian tank force. The result was a stalemate and the war ended.

So, who really armed Iraq? The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has the numbers in - TIV of transfers of major conventional weapons to Iraq 1970-2004 (pdf - 32kb)

And the list of what was supplied and by whom is here: - Register of the transfers of major conventional weapons to Iraq 1970-2004 (pdf - 128kb)

Here is what the US sold to Iraq.

USA (31) Bell-214ST Helicopter 1985 1987-88 (31) Originally part of order for 45 for civilian use but taken over by Air Force

4 C-130E Hercules Transport aircraft (2004) .. Ex-US; aid; delivery 2005

7 Comp Air-7SL Light aircraft 2004 2004 7 Financed by UAE

30 Hughes-300/TH-55 Light helicopter 1983 1984 (30) Officially bought for civilian use, but taken over by Air Force; Hughes-300C version

30 MD-500MD Defender Light helicopter 1983 1983 (30)

26 MD-530F Light helicopter 1985 1985-86 (26) Officially bought for civilian use, but taken over by Air Force

43 ASV-150/M-1117 APC 2004 2004 (10) Deal worth $50 m; incl 2 CP version; delivery 2004-2005

The US supported Saddam during the Iraq-Iran war when it used to be US policy that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. People seem to forget that Bush renounced that policy during his state visit to the UK.

Galloway continues to support Saddam to this day.
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Britain - BBC "institutionalized leftism"

Nice to see The Wall Street Journal reporting the bias at the BBC.

The task isn't a difficult one. Let's just listen to the BBC's U.S. correspondent Justin Webb, writing on the network's Web site: "America is often portrayed as an ignorant, unsophisticated sort of place, full of bible [sic] bashers and ruled to a dangerous extent by trashy television, superstition and religious bigotry, a place lacking in respect for evidence based on knowledge."

"I know that is how it is portrayed because I have done my bit to paint that picture," he confesses, "and that picture is in many respects a true one."

And

...But there is little doubt that, as Mr. Aitken puts it, a center-left groupthink dominates at the BBC and colors its entire output. It's not deliberate. It's worse. The producers just can't imagine that someone could possibly oppose European integration or any of the other left-wing causes because to them, and their friends, these are self-evident truths. It simply doesn't even occur to them that reasonable people could disagree with them.

The influence of this groupthink goes far beyond the BBC and now permeates the cliquish world of British broadcasting in general. Almost everyone in the television business has worked for the BBC at some point, sipped the Kool-Aid, and now carries the torch of institutional leftism. With few exceptions, every newscast in the country looks and sounds like a knockoff of the Ten O'Clock News, and the nation is not better for it.

Mr. Aitken is said to be the first BBC insider ever to come out of the conservative closet, and he is now putting his opinions into book form. He says that he tried to convince his bosses at the BBC of the problem, going to the trouble of documenting the bias for its Board of Governors, but none of them could be bothered.

And we pay for the privilege.
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America - Kerry's Records Released?

The Boston Globe (free subscription) says "Senator John F. Kerry, ending at least two years of refusal, has waived privacy restrictions and authorized the release of his full military and medical records."

But is the Globe releasing all of Kerry's records? And, more importantly, did Kerry sign Part III of his Form 180?

Restrictions on release of information. Release of information is subject to restrictions imposed by the military services consistent with Department of Defense regulations and the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act of 1974. The service member (either past or present) or the member's legal guardian has access to almost any information contained in that member's own record. Others requesting information from military personnel/health records must have the release authorization in Section III of the SF 180 signed by the member or legal guardian, but if the appropriate signature cannot be obtained, only limited types of information can be provided.

Unless we know whether Kerry signed Part III of form 180, we won't know if he has released his "full record". If people can get a copy of Kerry's records, can they get a copy of the Form 180 to see if he signed part III?

The Navy said they had over 100 pages they could not release without Kerry's authorization. Did the Globe get that many and are they reporting on all of them?

The biggest question of all remains unanswered. What type of discharge did Kerry originally receive? Remember, Kerry had his discharge re-issued after Carter granted a pardon to Vietnam vets.

Then there is this exchange between Kerry and Tim Russert on Feb 7th.

Last week the 2008 presidential hopeful suggested he wanted to review his full Navy file to make sure of "what is in the record and what isn't in the record" before signing Form 180.

"I'm going to sit down with them and make sure that they are clear and I am clear as to what is in the record and what isn't in the record and we'll put it out," he told "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert.

Kerry did not explain his reference to "what isn't in the record," though questions arose late in the campaign about why he received his honorable discharge six years after leaving the service.

So, Kerry edited his records with the help of the Navy.

I doubt we will ever see Kerry's "full" military record.

UPDATE

It's possible the Globe did not get Kerry's records as a result of a Form 180 request.

The grade transcript, which Kerry has always declined to release, was included in his Navy record. During the campaign the Globe sought Kerry's naval records, but he refused to waive privacy restrictions for the full file. Late last month, Kerry gave the Navy permission to send the documents to the Globe.

Was that "permission" the From 180 or just a response to the Globe's request for some "documents"?

We need someone else to do a Form 180 request and we need to know if Kerry signed Part III of that form.

UPDATE

The American Spectator has similar questions and notes this:

A member of the Harvard Law School admissions committee recalled that the real reason Mr. Kerry was not admitted was because the committee was concerned that because Mr. Kerry had received a less than honorable discharge they were not sure he could be admitted to any state bar.

Does Harvard keep a record of these decisions?

UPDATE

Michelle Malkin emailed me and pointed out a big mistake I made.

Kerry had his discharge re-issued after Carter granted a pardon to Vietnam vets.

Ouch! That's is certainly not what I meant! I meant the draft dogers and people such as Kerry.

Sorry for the slip up folks.

UPDATE

This blog notes that there is even a section of Form 180 for deleting records you do not want released. Records like reason for seperation - discharge.

Obviously Form 180 is not the Holy Grail some hoped it would be.
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Britain - The George Galloway Test

You can take the test at Harry's place.
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America - Foleygate Update

If Linda Foley thinks we are going to roll over and play dead like she is, over her now admitted, unsubstantiated claims that US troops target journalists, she'd better re-think that policy.

Media Slander reports on Hiwatha Bray's follow up phone calls with Foley's spokesperson.

At first Foley said she was talking about the "military" targeting journalists and not the "troops", which is ridiculous as you can't have one without the other.

Now she claims it was about "...how journalists have been scapegoated by forces in society..." But she was emphatic that journalists were being targeted as she put it "for real".

"Journalists, by the way, are not just being targeted verbally or ... ah, or ... ah, politically. They are also being targeted for real, um...in places like Iraq."

That's not scapegoating, that's outright slander.

Foley slandered our troops in public and yet she refuses to answer questions in public.

Johnson told me that Foley would speak to me off the record as a union member, but not for publication on a blog or anywhere else. I told her that this was unacceptable; Foley made her claim in a public venue and should have to defend it publicly.

She wasn't so shy when she was slandering our troops. Maybe it's because she now has the backing of the communists.

Foley shouldn't take too much comfort in that, as a member of her own union is now challenging her leadership of the union.

Today the nation's bravest men and women are fighting and dying on our behalf. We who are safe at home are under no obligation to support the war, but we have no right to lie about those who are fighting it, slandering them even as they risk their lives for our sakes. It's reprehensible, and I won't have it. That's why I'm asking for your write-in vote for an at-large seat on the Executive Committee of the BNG. In that position, I'll do my best to demand accountability from our national union leaders, and to uphold the honor of our profession.

In addition, I urge you to contact the Guild at (202) 434-7177 and demand an explanation. For more information on Foley's comments, visit my Web logchoosehonor.blogspot.com. Also, contact me by e-mail at watha@monitortan.com.

Over the weekend I have written to about two dozen on the Guild's contact list asking what they intend to do about Foley's slander of our troops during a time of war. I'll let you know if I get any replies.

In the meantime, I encourage you to write to those on the Guild's contact list and keep up the pressure on Foley to apologize or resign - like Eason Jordan.
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Afghanistan - Good News Round Up

Be sure to read Chrenkoff's Good News Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan - Omar Stipped of religious authority

Somehow I missed this Telegraph (UK) report on Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar being stripped of his religious authority.

A crowd of 600 Afghan clerics gathered in front of an historic mosque yesterday to strip the fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar of his claim to religious authority, in a ceremony that provided a significant boost to the presidency of Hamid Karzai.

The declaration, signed by 1,000 clerics from across the country, is an endorsement of the US-backed programme of reconciliation with more moderate elements of the Taliban movement that Karzai has been pursuing ahead of the country's first parliamentary elections, due in September.

Symbolically, the ulema shura, or council of clerics, was held at the Blue Mosque in the southern city of Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban movement.

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Guantanamo - Amnesty Head Backs Down

The head of the Amnesty International USA, Executive Director William Schulz, now says he doesn't "know for sure", does "not know" and has no idea what he is talking about.

Despite highly publicized charges of U.S. mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo, the head of the Amnesty International USA said on Sunday the group doesn't "know for sure" that the military is running a "gulag."

Executive Director William Schulz said Amnesty, often cited worldwide for documenting human rights abuses, also did not know whether Secretary Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved severe torture methods such as beatings and starvation.

Schulz recently dubbed Rumsfeld an "apparent high-level architect of torture" in asserting he approved interrogation methods that violated international law.

"It would be fascinating to find out. I have no idea," Schulz told "Fox News Sunday."

The Reuters report leaves out a lot more of Schulz's backtracking. But you can read the transcript at Fox. Backtracking like:

Mr. Schulz, do you have any evidence whatsoever that he ever approved beating of prisoners, ever approved starving of prisoners, the kinds of things we normally think of as torture?

SCHULZ: It would be fascinating to find out. I have no idea...

WALLACE: Wait, Mr. Schulz, excuse me, you're switching subjects. I asked you whether the ICRC has been allowed access to every place from Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo Bay. And the answer is yes, correct?

SCHULZ: Oh, Chris, I have no idea whether the Red Cross has been given access to the secret detention facilities that the U.S. is maintaining. Have they been given access to the Syrian prisons and the prisons where the United States is rendering prisoners? I have absolutely no idea and I suggest you don't either. I think we don't know. [...]

SCHULZ: Chris, we don't know what the Red Cross has said about torture.

What we do know about Mr. Schulz is this:

WALLACE: Mr. Schulz, if I can get a couple of final questions in. Last year, didn't you contribute $2,000, the maximum, to John Kerry's presidential campaign?

SCHULZ: I did indeed, yes.

WALLACE: Isn't it a fact that you have already contributed $1,000 to Ted Kennedy's next campaign?

SCHULZ: I have contributed, yes.

AI seemed pretty damn sure in their report and now they have "no idea" and "don't know". More fake but accurate, eh?
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Iraq - Saddam's Aides Talking

Newsweek reports "Some of Saddam Hussein's most notorious former lieutenants have been dishing dirt."

These are Saddam's closests aides bragging about how they scamed the UN in the oil for food program.

Senate investigators looking into prewar U.N. Oil-for-Food deals have named Saddam's former personal secretary and security chief, Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and former foreign minister Tariq Aziz as key witnesses who have provided inside info about Saddam's regime.

And look who they bought with the money.

Kay says that Aziz "sang like a canary" about Saddam's effort to use oil deals to buy friendship among French, Russian and U.K. politicos.

Can you say George Galloway?

There is still the mysterious un-named Iraqi official not in custody, who named Galloway. Who is he?
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Egypt - Fooling Laura Bush

The Big Pharaoh reports on how Laura Bush was fooled during her recent visit to Egypt. And he asks a pertinent question.

Upon Laura Bush's recent trip to Egypt, it was planned that she, along with her host Mrs. Mubarak, would visit a USAID funded school in Alexandria. One week before the scheduled visit, the tattered school was painted anew, tidied up, and the sewage system was fixed. The dirty roads around the school were cleaned up and trees were miraculously planted all around the area. A sign in English was written to welcome the 2 first ladies.

Nevertheless, the Alexandria education officials didnÂ’t like how the Om el Qura school kids looked like! The girls were poor and wore dirty school uniforms. Instead of cleaning them out and distributing clean clothes that would have definitely drew a huge smile on their faces, the officials decided to replaced the kids with new kids brought from a language school! Not only that, they gave the entire school staff a one week leave! Can you imagine how humiliated the school kids and the teachers are feeling right now!

As the Pharaoh points out, why is a USAID funded school in such bad repair? Where'd the money go?

I'm sure Mrs. Bush was unaware of the switch but the Pharaoh is right the kids must have been humiliated. And I'm sure Mrs. Bush would be embarrasseded since she was once a teacher.
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America - Leukemia Blogging

Fresh Bilge is a blog about cruising South Florida in a Sabre 38 sloop called Dreamweaver, among other things. I've followed his blog and writings for some time now and so it's with sadness that we learn he has just been diagnosed with leukemia.

From the sound of his latest post he could use some cheering up or maybe advice. Drop by and leave him a note if you've the time, I'm sure he would appreciate it.
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Guantanamo - Move Them Where?

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. says of Guantanamo ``This has become the greatest propaganda tool that exists for recruiting of terrorists around the world. And it is unnecessary to be in that position,''.

So what should we do? Biden says close it down and move the prisoners.

``But the end result is, I think we should end up shutting it down, moving those prisoners,'' he told ABC's ``This Week.''

``Those that we have reason to keep, keep. And those we don't, let go.''

That's it!?! That's your grand plan? Move them somewhere else. Someone once said "a rose my any other name would smell as sweet".

Sen. Biden, I have a much better and cheaper plan. Why don't we just rename the place. We could call it "Islam Island". That way Muslims wouldn't dare criticize it.
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America - Dean Doesn't Speak for Dems

That's according to Democratic Sen. Joe Biden .

Democratic Sen. Joe Biden blasted the head of his own party on Sunday for his over-the-top outbursts, saying that Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean doesn't speak for him as well as most other Democrats he knows.

Asked about recent comments where Dean trashed Republicans as "evil" and said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay belongs in jail, Biden told ABC's "This Week": "He doesn't speak for me with that kind of rhetoric and I don't think he speaks for the majority of Democrats."

Are Dean's days numbered?

UPDATE

Welcome Instapundit readers!

Be sure to check out Biden's plan for Gitmo.
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America - Taking Back the Mosque

It's great to see someone doing it and what's more it's a woman! But it's not going to be easy.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. It was two days after she appeared on "Nightline" talking about her fight to change her mosque that the death threats began. The first call came on her cell phone. The caller left a message, in Urdu: "If you want to stay alive, keep your mouth shut." Otherwise, he said, he would "slaughter" her, halal style, saying a prayer as he slid a knife across her throat. If she didn't shut up, he'd slaughter her mother and her father, too. Think before you speak, he said. I know where you live. I know where your parents live.

Then he called her parents' home 10 minutes later. Just to reinforce the message.

It's not a message that Asra Nomani, Muslim, unwed mother, former Wall Street Journal reporter, author and left-leaning feminist, is planning to heed (although she did contact the FBI and her local police). Yes, she's started locking her doors now, a rarity for her here in her hilly home town. But she won't be shutting up, definitely not, never.

Good for her.

Tell me again how Islam is the religion of peace and tolerance.
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Britain - Geldof: Wrong Then and Now

Chrenkoff has a great post on why Geldof was wrong then and wrong again now. Before you donate one penny, read this.

Be sure to read the whole post but here is the conclusion.

More aid was never the solution to the problems of the developing world. But it was always an easy way out, because all you had to do was to send (in most cases) somebody else's money without worrying too much about the consequences. The act of charity was an end in itself. But poverty is not a problem, it's a symptom of a problem, that being lack of democracy, freedom, transparency and sensible economic policies - and more money, like giving dope to an addict, only serves to be exacerbates these conditions.

It's so much easier though to have a concert or an appeal for aid or debt forgiveness rather than for political and economic liberty. It's difficult to imagine Robbie Williams and U2 playing for regime change in country X, or Madonna and Sting performing on stage for economic reform in country Y and international trade liberalization. But these are the things that actually matter. And so our boys from the 42nd Infantry Division are now doing more for the cause of solving world's problems, than our boys from REM strutting the stage.

UPDATE

Similar thoughts here and here.

However, aid can do harm as well as good, and this truth is much harder to grasp or depict in a few simple, emotional images. The balance, in fact, is on the side of harm. Civil wars in Africa - in Somalia, Ethiopia and the Sudan, for example - have been kept going by food and medical assistance, which puts tremendous power in the hands of both governments and insurgents. In conditions of famine brought about by war, he who controls the distribution of food aid is king. [...] [Just look at Mugabe]

Why is Africa, alone of all the continents, poorer per capita now than 20, or even 40, years ago, despite the fact it has received something like $500 billion from the rich in that time? And why is it always hovering on the brink of chaos? The answers usually given are wrong.

And

'Sir,' wrote Mr HW Scott of Hemel Hempstead to the editor of the Daily Telegraph last week, 'Bob Geldof hopes to raise an army of a million protesters against world poverty. Instead of sending them to Scotland to lobby the G8, he would do better if he divided his troops into groups of, say, 50,000, and sent them to protest repeatedly in front of the London embassies of the countries everyone knows to be the worst offenders in failing to reduce poverty in their own countries.'

Before you dontate a penny, read all of them.
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Iraq - Hitchens on BBC Radio 4

Labour Friends of Iraq has a partial transcript and a link to the audio, of a discussion of Iraq.

I bet the BBC didn't realize it would turn out the way it did.

Sample:

Andrew Marr – And you’re still cast-iron certain, that despite the large numbers of deaths in the post war Iraq, and despite all the problems of putting together that democracy, that we will end up with a much more tolerable, decent and peaceable country?

Christopher Hitchens – Well, it doesn’t take much of a cast-iron certainty, Andrew, to do that because we know that it could not possibly have been worse and that proposition was given a very solid test. I would say that the possibility of defeat of this enterprise exists in Iraq, partly because we left it so long and the country became so beggared and ruined. But it’s not the kind of defeat that it would have been if we’d left it to be deeded to the Uday-Qusay succession and that was the alternative offer that was being made by the peaceniks.

More than that I think Iraq will be remarkable. We’re going to live to see great things. We already have in Lebanon. We’re about to I think in Egypt, with the reopening of the Egyptian democracy. The Ba’ath party in Syria in my judgement will not be there in two years time And there will be extraordinary, are already extraordinary developments in Iran which I have just come back from. And so the essential point of the Blair-Bush policy, which is to change the balance of power in the Middle East, that has already been conclusively vindicated.

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Iraq - Phoenix Rising

To hear the world's media tell it, Iraq is a disaster. So bad, in fact that their reporters dare not venture out to find out what is really going on.

Yet lowly bloggers seem to manage. Read Michael Yon's reports, complete with photographs, on how Iraq, like Afghanistan, is rising from the ashes of war.
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America - Foleygate

Yesterday I asked if we were forgetting Foleygate.

It has now been several weeks since Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley, claimed US troops target journalists. A claim she now admits she has no evidence with which to substantiate it. A similar unsubstantiated claim forced CNN's Eason Jordan to resign.

The media were silent on Jordan till the bloggers kept up the pressure and they were forced to report on his resignation.

The media are still pretty much silent on Foleygate. So, it's nice to see someone in the media notice the silence.

A column in the St. Paul Pioneer Press mentioned it, and so did an editorial in the Washington Times . Bloggers and The O'Reilly Factor brought important national attention. But a Nexis database search last week failed to turn up a straight news report on Foley's remark anywhere in America since Foley spoke on the panel. Remember, she is president of the union representing 35,000 reporters, editors, and other journalism workers. "Where is the professionalism and the authority that is our main claim to writing the indispensable 'first draft of history'?" Lipscomb asked in a follow-up piece in Editor & Publisher. He wrote, "The mainstream media couldn't be bothered to cover 'Easongate: the sequel.' " Foley sent a letter to the White House calling on it to pursue the "worldwide speculation that the U.S. military targets journalists and the media." In other words, she doesn't have to back up her charge, but the White House should start trying to prove that what she said is false.

The media are hoping that by remaining silent the story will go away. Once again, it's up to us bloggers to keep the pressure on. Here is a contact list you can use to make your feelings known. Via Media Slander.
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America - Forgetting Foley?

It has now been several weeks since Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley, claimed US troops target journalists. A claim she now admits she has no evidence with which to substantiate it. A similar unsubstantiated claim forced CNN's Eason Jordan to resign.

The media were silent on Jordan till the bloggers kept up the pressure and they were forced to report on his resignation.

The media, true to form, are remaining silent on Foleygate. Unless I'm missing something, the blogshpere seems a little quiet too. With the exception ofMedia Slander, a blog dedicated to keeping the pressure on Foley to apologize or resign, bloggers seem a bit quiet. Maybe their content to let Media Slander handle it. I think that's a mistake. We all need to keep up the pressure on Foley, The Guild and the media - US troops lives depend on it.

Media Slander posts a copy of an email they sent to Mike Bucsko, President of Pittsburgh Local 38061 of the Newspaper Guild, asking him what he and his union plan to do about Foley's bogus claims. No reply as yet.

This is the kind of thing we should all be doing.
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Britain - Geldof's Folly

Geldof wants a million people to decend on Edinburgh in what he calls The Long Walk to Justice. The people who will surely be injured and maybe even killed, might want to get justice when it's all over.

"Having huge numbers of people here is one thing, but there is a limit to the number of people we can take," said Anderson. "We want to play a part in hosting an event that can influence G8, but we want to carry it out safely. We want to save lives in Africa we don’t want to put them at risk in Edinburgh."

And Geldof is planning "the sequel to Live Aid, known as Live 8" to "raise money and awareness of world poverty". Despite the fact that all the billions raised last time apparently haven't changed a thing.

Live 8, which is part of the Make History Poverty campaign led by film director Richard Curtis, is expected to be the largest music event since Live Aid in 1985.

So, the cluelss Geldof and the left want us to march on Edinburgh, endangering the public and give more money to a program that has little impact. Can the left make things any worse?

Well, actually, yes they can.

At one of the factories, the Tat Shing Rubber Manufacturing Company in Shenzen, employees were working a seven-day week for less than the minimum wage, with no annual leave, no right to freedom of association, and poor health and safety provisions, one report said.

At the Fuzhou Xing Chun Trade Company, workers were being paid below the minimum wage and having pay deducted for disciplinary reasons, the other report said.

The product? Make Poverty History wristbands.

Via Laban Tall

UPDATE

Seems most people in the UK agree with me.

As the Prime Minister prepares to fly to Washington on Monday to try to secure American support for proposals to tackle poverty in the Third World, a poll for The Daily Telegraph shows that 83 per cent of people are not confident that money given by the West would be spent wisely.

And what do they blame Africa's problems on?

It also shows that 79 per cent of voters believe that corruption and incompetence were to blame for Africa's problems.

So, throwing money at the problem is not the answer.
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Islam - 'Jews are Pigs and Apes'

That's what the copy of the Koran, being given away by the terrorist front organization CAIR, says. See here for the Case against CAIR.

So offensive is this book that it was banned in some schools.

Until recently, he said, it's been the most popular version among Muslims. Yet, despite revisions over the years, Mohammed added, the footnoted commentary about Jews "remained so egregious" that in April 2002 the Los Angeles school district banned its use at local schools.

So, what does the book say about Jews?

Ali's rendering of Surah (Chapter) 2:65 of the Quran, which reads like most English versions, says: "And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed. In the matter of the Sabbath; we said to them: 'Be ye apes, despised and rejected."

And

In the index under "Jews" also are these phrases: "cursed," "enmity of," "greedy of life," "slew prophets," "took usury," "unbelief and blasphemy of" and "work iniquity."

The article does not point out that the Koran also says this:

O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.

"The unjust people".

Here is what CAIR says the program is all about.

But now, this initiative places the sacred text directly in the hands of the American people and encourages all people of conscience to discover the truth about Islam.

Yes, by all means, discover the truth about Islam.
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Islam - Gitmo Grovel: Enough Already

Like a vampire that hasn't had a drop of blood in a month, the anti-American world media bares its fangs, pops its eyes and feasts on the tiniest morsel of Koran desecration. Just scan the headlines and you'll see a sickening display of "Aha!" and "Gotcha!".

In over 24,000 interviews there has only been a handful of alleged Koran "mis-handling" at Gitmo.

Now, do a Goggle search using "mosque bombings" and you'll get hundreds of articles detailing mosque bombings around the world by Muslims. How many copies of the Koran, you know, the book that to Muslims is supposed to be the very word of God, the book that they take to the streets and riot over when there is just a whiff that an infidel may have touched it, how many copies were blown to bits by Muslims in these bombings?

I agree with Charles Krauthammer, "enough already".

Even greater hypocrisy is to be found here at home. Civil libertarians, who have been dogged in making sure that FBI-collected Guantanamo allegations are released to the world, seem exquisitely sensitive to mistreatment of the Koran. A rather selective scrupulousness. When an American puts a crucifix in a jar of urine and places it in a museum, civil libertarians rise immediately to defend it as free speech. And when someone makes a painting of the Virgin Mary, smears it with elephant dung and adorns it with porn, not only is that free speech, it is art -- deserving of taxpayer funding and an ACLU brief supporting the Brooklyn Museum when the mayor freezes its taxpayer subsidy.

Here is a good round up of Muslim crimes against Christians that the media choose to ignore. Show this to your leftie friends the next time they get on their holier than thou soap box.

Seems these vampires only want American blood.
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Zimbabwe - U.N.: Human Rights Violated

Reports the Guardian (UK)

Then why is Zimbabwe a member of the U.N. Human Rights Commission?

GENEVA (AP) - The United Nations on Friday urged Zimbabwe's government to halt its campaign of evicting urban poor and demolishing their shacks around the country, calling it a clear violation of human rights.

The Zimbabwe action, which the government calls a cleanup campaign, represents a form of apartheid and must be halted, said Miloon Kothari, a U.N. expert on the right to adequate housing.

``We are seeing in the world, and Zimbabwe is a good example now, the creation of a new kind of apartheid where the rich and the poor are being segregated,'' Kothari told reporters.

Over 200,000 people have already lost their homes and a further 30,000 people have been detained since the government began the crackdown on May 19, he said.

Where is the outrage from the hypocritical left? Oh, that's right they're too busy falling all over themselves in a rage over a few hundred terrorists imprisoned at Gitmo.
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America - Dan Rather Lied On National TV

This is no slip of the tongue, Rather knew he was lying and no one in MSM is complaining. Once again it is left up to bloggers to expose the lying media.

Listen carefully to what Rather says.

RATHER: Well, without getting into that because the panel, this panel that was chosen by CBS to look into it, they issued their report. CBS adopted the report. I said at the time and I say now, I read the report. I absorbed it. I carried forward in my work. Anybody wants to know the panel's version of what happened should read the report.

"I absorbed it".

Now comes the lie.

...this [CBS] panel came forward and what they concluded, among the things they concluded after months of investigation and spending millions of dollars, they could not determine that the documents were fraudulent. Important point, that we don't know whether the documents were fraudulent or not.

That is an outright lie and Rather knows it because he "absorbed" the CBS report. A report by the way that concluded:

Tytell concluded, for the reasons described below, that (i) the relevant portion of the Superscript Exemplar was produced on an Olympia manual typewriter, (ii) the Killian documents were not produced on an Olympia manual typewriter, and (iii) the Killian documents were produced on a computer in Times New Roman typestyle . Tytell acknowledged that deterioration in the Killian documents from the copying and downloading process made the comparison of typestyles "to some extent a subjective call." However, he believed the differences were sufficiently significant to conclude that the Killian documents were not produced on a typewriter in the early 1970s and therefore were not authentic.

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Iraq - How Wrong They Were

From Front Page

A British academic of Iranian descent who lives in London, notes just how wrong the left were about Afghanistan and how wrong they are about Iraq. More importantly, he points out that the left are not just against the war, they are actually on the side of the enemy.

The anti-American left is a de facto ally of the terrorists and insurgents now operating in Iraq. It spreads their propaganda, it shares their hatreds and it supports their main aim: the humiliation and defeat of America.

Since the left are continually shown to be wrong, why should anyone listen to them?

Be sure to read the whole thing.
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Islam, The BBC and The Power of Propaganda

Peter Bergen reviews the Power of Nightmares in The Nation.

The kernel of Curtis's argument is that Western politicians claim "the greatest danger of all is international terrorism, a powerful and sinister network, with sleeper cells in countries across the world, a threat that needs to be fought by a war on terror. But much of this threat is a fantasy, which has been exaggerated and distorted by politicians. It's a dark illusion that has spread unquestioned through governments around the world, the security services and the international media."

Here are a few questions for Curtis, the BBC and anyone else who believes this dangerous propaganda:

Do you believe the sight of two commercial airliners, packed with innocent people, slamming into the Twin Towers was a "dark illusion"?

Are the now missing Twin Towers a "dark illusion" with the towers still standing?

Was the commercial airliner packed with innocent people that slammed into the Pentagon killing nearly 200 innocent people on the ground and all aboard, a "dark illusion"?

Is Richard Reid, the confessed shoebomber, who tried to blow up a packed commercial airliner over the Atlantic, a "dark illusion"?

Is confessed British shoebomber Saajid Badat, Reid's co-bomber, who planned to blow up a packed commercial airliner at the same time as Reid, a "dark illusion"?

Was the mass murder in Bali that killed over 200 innocent people, a "dark illusion"?

Was Spain's 3/11 a "dark illusion"?

Are Ahmed Ressam, jailed in the United States over a planned millennium bomb attack on Los Angeles airport, and Nizar Trabelsi, in prison in Belgium for plotting to blow up a Nato airbase, "dark illusions"?

I could go on all day.

The only "dark illusion" here is the BBC masquerading as a "news organization" while it spreads Muslim propaganda.
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Malaysia - Reforming Islam From Within

In Saudi Arabia the mere suggestion that women should be allowed to drive, drives men crazy.

But in Malaysia there are tentative sings of reforming Islam - using the Koran.

Zainah Anwar is a good Muslim. She is also an outspoken campaigner for women's rights. To many Muslim men in Malaysia and beyond, these two facts are barely compatible.

Since helping to found the pressure group Sisters in Islam, Ms Anwar has challenged the country's exclusively male religious establishment on issues ranging from polygamy and domestic violence to women's rights to work, dress codes, and moral policing.

She has often won the argument, even if chauvinistic practices and prejudices remain deeply entrenched.

The group's main form of attack - letters printed in Malaysia's newspapers - began in 1990, causing fascination and outrage in equal measure. But the letters proved difficult for Islamic scholars to dismiss since the arguments were based on careful study of the Qur'an.

And there has been tangible progress.

This broadside has had visible impact. While headscarves are still the norm for Muslim women in Malaysia, they are not obligatory and are often worn with trousers or skirts and high heels.

Turning their sights on a widespread belief that Muslim men can insist on arranged marriages and have a right to beat their wives, the women highlighted a passage in the Qur'an: "You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness ... on the contrary, live with them on a footing of kindness and equity."

Malaysia now has a domestic violence act that supersedes sharia law and applies to all Malaysians.

There is still a long way to go but this is encouraging.
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Iraq - Civilian Toll at 12,000

The America bashing world media and the left are always ranting about the discredited Lancet report on hypothetical civilian deaths in Iraq. So it's good to see The Washington Post report on Interior Minister Bayan Jabr's statement that 12,000 civilians have been killed by the terrorists in Iraq.

BAGHDAD, June 2 -- Violence in the course of the 18-month-long insurgency has claimed the lives of 12,000 Iraqis, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said Thursday, giving the first official count for the largest category of victims of bombings, ambushes and other increasingly deadly attacks.

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America - Amnesty International Fallout

The fallout over AI's attack on America continues. Instapundit has agreat round up of links and photos.
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Egypt - Photos of Anti-Murbarak Protest

Sand Monkey has them and one has this caption.

This protester has a picture of the Mubarak Family with the words "Tyrannical Family" written on it and a piece of paper above it that says "No to Mubarak".

Interesting.
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Saudi Arabia - Going Crazy Again

Muslims in Saudi Arabia erupted in rage at the bogus Koran desecration story but that's nothing compared to the outrage at the suggestion that women be allowed to drive!

The Guardian reports.

But Consultative Council member Mohammad al-Zulfa's proposal has unleashed a storm in this conservative country where the subject of women drivers remains taboo.

Al-Zulfa's cell phone now constantly rings with furious Saudis accusing him of encouraging women to commit the double sins of discarding their veils and mixing with men. He gets phone text messages calling on Allah to freeze his blood. Chat rooms bristle with insulting accusations that al-Zulfa is ``driven by carnal instincts with 454 horsepower.''

So what's all the fuss about?

Conservatives, who believe women should be shielded from strange men, say driving will allow a woman to leave home whenever she pleases and go wherever she wishes. Some say it will present her with opportunities to violate Islamic law, such as exposing her eyes while driving or interacting with strange men, like police officers or mechanics.

``Driving by women leads to evil,'' Munir al-Shahrani wrote in a letter to the editor of the Al-Watan daily. ``Can you imagine what it will be like if her car broke down? She would have to seek help from men.''

Imagine that! A woman being able to leave home when she wants and go where she wants, next thing you know they'll want to vote.

From reading this, one gets the impression that all Saudi men are sexual predators, including the police and mechanics. The fear that Saudi men will rape at will, even in public prevades the country.

It is the same argument used to restrict other freedoms. Without written permission from a male guardian, women may not travel, get an education or work. Regardless of permission, they are not allowed to mix with men in public or leave home without wearing black cloaks, called abayas.

Man, what do they put in the water, Viagra?

For some strange reason, chauffeurs seem immune to this affliction.

Those women who don't obey are simply tortured and murdered.

It's not just the women who are oppressed, the Saudis don't like Christians either.

Why do we support these people?
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Europe - Bloggers Responsible for No Vote?

It's possible according to this BBC report.

Evidently one French bloger, who backed the no vote, was getting 25,000 hits a day before the vote.

The French newspaper dubbed Marseille law teacher Etienne Chouard "Don Quichotte du non".

Mr Chouard did not much care for the EU Constitution, but instead of simply voicing his upset to his neighbours, he wrote an essay and set up a blog to explain why he was voting 'Non'.

Just ahead of the vote, his blog was getting 25,000 hits a day and his anti-constitution broadside had been photocopied, faxed and blogged about across France.

Despite overwhelming support for the constitution by the governments of both France and the Netherlands and a huge media campaign by political leaders in both countries, voters have rejected the constitution.

And just as the media and political establishment in the US found during last year's presidential election, European elites have now felt the sting of these online upstarts, the bloggers.

Online upstarts? These upstarts are changing the political and media landscape around the globe and we've even got our eyes on you Aunty.

And Publius even gets a mention! Shame they didn't give him a link.

But it was not just Mr Chouard, Nicolas Vanbremeersch of the blog Publius actually expected more online activism than took place in France after the role of blogs in the US presidential campaign last year.

Well, remember Fance is the size of California I believe.

I'd like to see more UK bloggers take on the British media.
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America - Democrats Ideas Lost

The Puffington Post, er, Huffington Post moans about the Democrats message not getting accross.

The Democrats don’t have any ideas.

Not one.

Well, to be fair we might have some but we’re woefully short on ones that are simple enough for the average American to understand while reading the USA Today and slamming down a cup of coffee.

Got that? In other words, average Americans are too stupid for the Democrats. No wonder they lost the election.
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Saudi Arabia - More Christian Persecution

Robert Spencer reports and asks the right questions.

Saudi religious police arrest 8 Christians

Where are the pious anti-anti-jihadists and anti-"Islamophobia" types protesting the lack of tolerance in Saudi Arabia? Why is tolerance a virtue only for Western non-Muslim countries? Of course The Myth of Islamic Tolerance posits that Muslim countries are already tolerant in a way the West has never been, but stories like this one keep showing that to be false. "Men were part of house-church group in Muslim kingdom," from WND, with thanks to EPG:

Why is the left silent on this issue?
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America - Muslim American Society's Goals

Daniel Pipes notes that the Muslim American Society wants to replace the US Constitution with the Koran.

The Muslim American Society's Goals I wrote about the Muslim American Society in "The Islamic States of America?" and how it seeks to replace the Constitution with the Koran. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross takes this further today in "MAS's Muslim Brotherhood Problem," where he looks closely at the MAS Minnesota website and notes that it calls on members to fulfill their "duties as outlined in the Message of the Teachings by Imam [Hasan] Al-Banna." Gartenstein-Ross then takes a look at The Message of the Teachings and finds that it instructs Muslims that they must work on reforming their government

so that it may become a truly Islamic government. … By Islamic government I mean a government whose officers are Muslims who perform the obligatory duties of Islam, who do not make public their disobedience, and who enforce the rules and teachings of Islam.

Read the rest.
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Iraq - VEILS AND BAR CODES

Steven Vincent from In the Red Zone, blogging from Iraq, provides us with some first hand accounts of what's going on in Iraq.

I mention this bit of quotidian trivia to underscore a point. To many people--obviously, Haifa's one of them--"fundamentalist Islamic feminism" is not an oxymoron. By the same token, fundamentalist Islam and modern technology are also not mutually exclusive. This is a error people make when they claim that Salafists want to "drag us back to the Medieval age." Not quite. Rather, they want to "medievalize" modernity (or perhaps vice versa), keeping their mobiles and satellite dishes and computers and Internet, while frog-marching social relations (especially those dealing with women) back a millenium or so. One fascinating aspect of Basra is that by virtue of its relative stability, you can see the tug and pull of this process at work--debit cards and feminist unions on one hand, veils and alcohol-banning Islamists on the other.

Can they co-exist? That's the next chapter of the Basran saga. Most people I know (none of them fans of fundamentalism) think the religious parties are a passing phase, that Basra's fabled liberal-mindedness and port-city sensuality will reassert itself--in other words, the values implicit in a bar-code reader (not to mention the Internet and sat-TV) will eventually sweep away the shrouds and veils, and reduce the turbanned thugs to Friday rants before dwindling congregations. I'm not sure, but I certainly know where my hopes lie. With their charm and confidence and dedication, may women like Haifa grace the Basra political scene for years to come--make-up, high-heels, fancy dresses and all.

Read the whole thing.
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America - Reply To An Anti-War Moonbat

A commenter was none to happy with this recent post of mine and said so, loud and clear.

I think he deserves and answer - loud and clear. I'm answering him because everything he says in his comment is wrong and epitomizes what is wrong and dangerous with the left. So with that let's get started with the spanking.

Typical, Republican, right wing proaganda. Anyone who opposes the occupation of Iraq is a 'moonbat' and a 'commie'. How original. Just like the ones who were against the Vietnam war eh?

Just for the record, I'm an independent, but we'll let that one go by.

People like him rarely follow the links or do their own research, so sure that they are right. I gave him this link to prove that the anti-war movement is led by communists. It doesn't take much research to prove it. I've posted many times about the anti-war leaders and their communist ties.

As for communist ties to the Vietnam anti-war movement, absolutely! In fact the whole project was run by communists. John Kerry, while still a US Naval Officer, visited in France with the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. Upon his return he championed their cause. They even used the anti-war movement as part of their war strategy.

Even Giap admitted in his memoirs that news media reporting of the war and the anti-war demonstrations that ensued in America surprised him. Instead of negotiating what he called a conditional surrender, Giap said they would now go the limit because America's resolve was weakening and the possibility of complete victory was within Hanoi's grasp.

And

Bui Tin, who served on the general staff of the North Vietnamese army, received South Vietnam's unconditional surrender on April 30, 1975. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal after his retirement, he made clear the anti-war movement in the United States, which led to the collapse of political will in Washington, was "essential to our strategy."

Visits to Hanoi by Jane Fonda and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and various church ministers "gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses." [It's called aid and comfort to the enemy and it's treason]

America lost the war, concluded Bui Tin, "because of its democracy. Through dissent and protest, it lost the ability to mobilize a will to win."

And these communist led moonbats are trying to do it again.

This guy accuses me of propaganda but listen to his statements.

Most Iraqi people want the US out of their country, many voted for the Shia parties on the understanding of their Imam's that this would lead to a withdrawl of US troops.

Got any proof for any of that fella? Unlike you I provide the proof for what I say. Contrary to your communist propaganda, most Iraqis do not want the US out of their country - yet. I've posted about this many times so I'm not going to do all the leg work - again. Go here to Chrenkoff's site, scroll down the right sidebar till you find the Good News Iraq series. Now read through some of them and you will find several polls where the Iraqis said overwhelmingly that they wanted the US to stay until security improved. The blog Iraq the Model posted similar polls.

Earlier this guy got upset because I called these communist led anti-war types, moonbats. His next sentence proves beyond all doubt that he is a moonbat.

As someone who was against the war I don't want to see anymore people killed, for whatever reason - however Id point out that any Iraqi attacking US forces (not Iraqi citizens) is perfectly entitled to do so.

Remember that the next time these anti war moonbats tell you they are against the war but support our troops.

I guess it's too much to point out to this guy that Iraq now has a democratically elected government which has asked the US to stay and gotten the UN's blessing.

How blind are these moonbats? Get a load of this:

If you dont believe that then you dont believe you have the right to defend the US from an imaginary invasion of foreign troops. Or is it simply a case of one rule for yourselves and one rule for everyone else?

Last time I looked the Twin Towers were still gone, nothing imaginary about it. And talk about your moral equivalence!

He continues with his propaganda.

You're wrong, you were wrong over WMD, over links with Al Qaeda and the fact that you were warned you'd be met with a protracted guerrilla war which would kill and maim tens/hundreds thousands of people - yet you have the nerve to turn round and accuse the 'pro-war' people of not wanting the violence to stop.

As a matter of fact, no we are not wrong on all those points. All the proof you need is right here. I need to update that post because there has been so much new evidence to come out with more proof.

So blinded by their hatred of America they even forget who started "it".

You started it, deal with it - personal responsibility should be the vanguard of every 'citizen journalist'.

No, they started it on 9/11, remember?

Personally, I love it when these moonbats speak and write, they condemn themselves with their own words. This is why their numbers are dwindling at these anti-war rallies. Thanks to the internet and blogs, they are being exposed daily around the world. Their ideas are morally reprehensible and untenable.

Thanks to the vision of George Bush, the bravery of American troops, the resolve of the American people and citizen journalists around the world, 25 million Afghans are free, 25 million Iraqis are free, Lebanon is on the road to freedom and all over the Middle East oppressed people are saying "now it's our turn". Not to mention Libya gave up its weapons of mass destruction without a shot being fired.

If you feel offended by the term "moonbat", I'm glad. In fact if I've offended you in other ways, I'm really glad! Moonbats should be offended at every chance we get.
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Islam - It's Not "Honour", It's Murder

Muslims around the world rioted over a bogus claim that the Koran was desecrated. That's nothing compared to how they desecrate their women.

Warning! Graphic picture.

ROJDA is still alive. So, she got off lightly.

She was forced to marry her paedophile rapist at the age of 13, and when she refused efforts by her father-in-law — who also raped her — to force her into prostitution, she had her nose cut off.

If Rodja is still alive, Birgul Isik soon may not be. The Turkish mother of three is in a coma after she was shot by her 14-year-old stepson for talking on television about fleeing from her abusive husband.

Ayse Aydin, 18, is dead. Her family says that she committed suicide. Her husband, who was often away from home for work, says that her family mutilated her sexually and killed her for allegedly consorting with other men.

All these crimes have been committed in the name of honour in Turkey, a country that will begin membership talks with the European Union in October.

These are but a few examples of how the so called religion of peace treats its women.

The UN estimates that 5,000 women are killed in “honour crimes” every year, worldwide.

Up to half of Turkish women are victims of violence, mostly from their families, according to Amnesty International

Even these figures may be just the tip of the iceberg as the "problem is almost impossible to assess, given that many honour killings go undetected and are often disguised as suicide or accidents."

We must stop calling these "honour killings" and "honour crimes". They are murder, sexual assault and domestic violence. Applying the lable "honour" makes the perpetrators look like the victims.

By the way, where in the hell is the women's movement in all of this? You ever hear Jane Fonda or Brown speak out about Muslims abusing their women? Me neither.

The article goes on to mention the numerous reforms being introduced in Turkey and that is to be applauded, but there is a lot that must be done.

Human rights activists welcome the reforms but say that the battle has only just begun. Eren Keskin, the head of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association, said: “There are some positive developments in these new laws. However, in Turkey the written law and its enforcement can be two very different things. Until the feudal make-up of society, until the very mentality behind these crimes changes, we cannot expect anything very different.”

What Keskin is trying hard not to say is that Islam needs to be reformed. Only then will things start to improve.
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Europe - Amnesty International Unmasked

Amnesty International has now dropped all pretenses of being a human rights organization, if in fact it ever was such an organization.

As I reported earlier, we now know the reason for Amnesty's attack last week on President Bush, was Amnesty's backing of John Kerry.

I also noted Amnesty's support of the ACLU and militant Muslims.

Now, The Washington Times reports on Amnesty's attack on the EU's anti-terror laws.

The 25-nation EU's anti-terror policies have led to breaches of human rights, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

Well, al Qaeda's policies have killed thounsands and continue to kill everyday. What about their and our human rights?

"The European Union has always been clear in asserting that there can be no security without human rights. However, in practice, the EU and its Member States are too often prepared to remain silent on breaches of rights protection within or outside the EU," Amnesty International said.

Interesting seeing as how AI called Guantanimo Cuba a gulag while remaining silent Castro's atrocities right next door.
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US anti war coalition defies Iraqis

Despite the fact that the Iraqis have asked the US to stay and the UN has extended its mandate for the US to remain, the communist led moonbats want the US to leave.

Anti-war activists upset by the continuing violence in Iraq are planning demonstrations in Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco this fall to urge the administration to bring U.S. troops home.

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) has seen turnout in its demonstrations wane as the war has dragged on. The group hopes a long lead-up to the Sept. 24 protests will generate more interest.

If they are so upset by the continuing violence why not call for the terrorists to lay down their arms and leave the country? Because they are not so much upset about the violence as they are about the low turnout at their protests.

These moonbats are on the wrong side of history and losing - and they know it. Being part of the US military that oversaw the demise of the Soviet Union was of great satisfaction to me. Being part of citizen journalism that is overseeing the demise of the communist led anti-war movement, is even sweeter.

Bye, bye, you moonbats.
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Iraq - 60,000 The Magic Number

There is something magic about the number 60,000 in Iraq. I'm not sure why it's that particular number, but it pops up everywhere.

The latest to use it is well known anti-war activist Dahr Jamail (just google him) who cites "local humanitarian and other sources" claiming "the number of Iraqis detained by occupation forces is now well over 60,000 -far in excess of the commonly quoted official figure of 17,000".

We are not told who these "other sources" are so we could presume they are the terrorists. As for "local humanitarian" sources, they are no friend of the coalition either.

But where else does the magic number 60,000 crop up?

Some estimated before the war that 60,000 Iraqis would die as a result of the war. The San Francisco Chronicle goes further and says we already killed 60,000 Iraqis. Of course their revered UN puts the figure much lower at around 24,000.

Then there's John Pilger, "the Michael Moore of Great Britain, wrote that United Nations sanctions killed more than 60,000 Iraqi children each year."

It's also the same number of visitors this anti-war site claims it gets everyday.

This anti-war site says 60,000 is the number of "mercenaries in Iraq collected from over 30 countries" by the US.

While others say "The fidayeen outfit comprises about 60,000 Saddam loyalist irregular troops and is believed to be commanded by Saddam's son, Uday."

Strangely the magic numberis the same number of Iraqi security forces on October 10, 2003.

And 60,000 expat Iraqis living in Iran registered to vote in Iraq's recent election.

60,000 is also the number of Baathists removed under the "US-backed program to "de-Baathify," the government".

Still others claim 60,000 is the number of innocent Iraqis Saddam killed with chemical weapons.

Did you know that the population of Mosul in 1926 was 60,000? I didn't.

The next time you see 60,000 mentioned in reference to Iraq, I'd be skeptical and research it.
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Iran - Infiltrating America

Forget about Iranians infiltrating Iraq, they're infiltrating America too.

A smuggling ring specializing in bringing Iranians into the U.S. over the Mexico border has been broken up in an FBI sting operation.

A 39-year-old Iranian with permanent legal residency status who is suspected of having smuggled 60 other Iranians into the U.S. was arrested Thursday in Mesa, Ariz., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Great bust but get this from the FBI:

FBI officials said they had no reason to believe there were any terrorist connections to the case.

Er, except for the fact that "Iran has long been designated a terrorist state by the U.S. State Department and FBI. "

Heaven help us.
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Iraq - Fallujah Rises from the Ashes

NRO reports on the progress being made in Falluja.

Although the area is still “red” — meaning hostile — as is all of the predominantly Sunni Anbar province, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force is extending power lines and laying water and sewage pipes at a steady pace. Rubble and explosives — some left over from the fighting and some freshly laid by the insurgents — is being removed. Schoolhouses and hospitals are being fixed and erected. As a bonus, military-age males (known by the abbreviation “MAM”) are receiving good wages to build things instead of blowing up people.

As I traveled through the slowly repopulating city — about half of the original 250,000 are believed to have returned — I saw awesome scenes of destruction. But I also saw thriving markets, stores selling candy and ice cream, and scores of children delighted to see Americans. I did more waving than the beauty queen in the 4th of July parade and the kids squealed with delight when I took their picture.

Read the rest.
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America - Amnesty International Backs Dems

As the Washington Times reports we now know why AI "unleashed a blistering attack last week on the Bush administration's handling of war detainees".

The top leadership of Amnesty International USA, which unleashed a blistering attack last week on the Bush administration's handling of war detainees, contributed the maximum $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign.

Federal Election Commission records show that William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty USA, contributed $2,000 to Mr. Kerry's campaign last year. Mr. Schulz also has contributed $1,000 to the 2006 campaign of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

And there is a connection between AI and the ACLU.

Also, Joe W. ?Chip? Pitts III, board chairman of Amnesty International USA, gave the maximum $2,000 allowed by federal law to John Kerry for President. Mr. Pitts is a lawyer and entrepreneur who advises the American Civil Liberties Union.

And the ACLU is connected to militant Muslims.

More unholy alliances here.
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Iraq - Fears US Will Leave

While the communist led anti-war movement, whose UK spokesperson is the dispicable George Galloway, clamours for the US to get out of Iraq, it seems the Iraqis and the UN want us to stay.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Iraq's foreign minister said he's concerned the United States may pull out of the country before the army and police are ready to take responsibility for the nation's security

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari meets with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on Thursday, and his wide-ranging agenda includes ``the continued engagement'' of the United States in Iraq.

The Iraqi minister came to New York to urge the U.N. Security Council to extend the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational force, saying Iraqi troops and police cannot yet defend the country against an armed insurgency by remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime and some foreigners.

The council responded positively, issuing a statement Tuesday extending the mandate and saying it looks forward to Iraqi security forces playing a greater role and ultimately assuming responsibility for the country's national security.

Next time you hear anyone crying for the US to get out of Iraq, shove this in their face and tell them to ... (fill in your choice).
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Iran - Nuclear Material Intercepted

While Iran continues to claim its nuclear program is for peaceful means, intercepted material in the last 9 months proves otherwise.

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and its allies in a program to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction prevented Iran from obtaining material for its nuclear weapons program within the past nine months, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

``The trans-shipment of material and equipment bound for ballistic missile programs in countries of concern, including Iran'' was blocked as was the transfer of ``equipment used to produce propellant'' to a ``ballistic missile program in another region'' of the world, Rice said.

All of which raises more questions than it answers. For example, which allies, which "countries of concern" and in which other region?

Rice doesn't give away many details.

Rice gave no details but said that the U.S. and 10 of its partners in the initiative have cooperated on 11 successful interdiction efforts over the past nine months. Iran was the only nation interdicted that she cited by name.

Meanwhile the EU3 and the UN are looking ineffective as usual.

``Our policy is to prevent them from having the capacity to develop enriched uranium to the point where they're able to make a nuclear weapon,'' Bush said at a news conference. ``Therefore we're working with the EU-3 to hopefully convince the Iranians to abandon their pursuits of such a program,'' Bush added referring to France, Germany and the U.K.

Setback

Efforts to curb nuclear proliferation worldwide suffered a setback last week when a United Nations review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty ended in failure, with no new agreement on how to block nuclear programs in either Iran or North Korea.

Which is why more and more countries are following the United States lead and ignoring the UN.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte said the Proliferation Security Initiative ``makes intelligence actionable.''

``Through PSI, intelligence can be coupled to government actions in whatever way is judged to be maximally effective by the responsible authorities,'' Negroponte said in remarks at the anniversary ceremony. Ambassadors from Singapore, Denmark and Japan, all participants in the initiative, also described PSI as an important part of the global effort to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Still, the clock is ticking or is that a nuclear bomb in Iran I hear.
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America - Loves Its Military

That's according to a recent Rasmussen Report.

May 31, 2005--Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Americans have a favorable opinion of the U.S. military. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that just 16% have an unfavorable opinion.

Support is even higher among those who have lost a loved one.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of those who have suffered such a loss have a favorable opinion of our nation's armed forces.

And while the Democrats grudingly support our troops, the Republicans are solidly behind our troops.

Favorable opinions are held by 79% of Republicans, 60% of Democrats and 58% of those not affiliated with either major party.

Now I wonder why this isn't getting wider attention in our back stabbing media?

UPDATE

What's more, according to Rand researchers, Americans are prepared to use those troops overseas.

Americans support the global war on terror because they believe the United States has “important stakes” in the conflict, and will support other military actions overseas as well if they believe important stakes are involved, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.

RAND researchers conclude that “national leaders should expect a relatively permissive public opinion environment for taking military action” in operations that are viewed as directly related to the war on terror, even when U.S. casualties are expected.

The study examines key predictors of national support for U.S. military operations from Somalia to Iraq. It was compiled by the RAND Arroyo Center's Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Army.

“The main implication for the Army,” concludes the report, “is that Americans have proved themselves far more willing to use ground troops — to put boots on the ground — and to accept casualties in operations conducted under the global war on terror than in any of the military operations” during the 1990s.

Which might explain why there hasn't been a peep said about the deployment of Stealth Bombers to Guam and Stealth Fighters to South Korea.
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Guantanamo - The Truth

A must read from Michelle Malkin.

Erik Saar, who served as an army sergeant at Gitmo for six months and co-authored a negative, tell-all book about his experience titled "Inside the Wire," inadvertently provides us more firsthand details showing just how restrained, and sensitive to Islam -- to a fault, I believe -- the officials at the detention facility have been.

Each detainee's cell has a sink installed low to the ground, "to make it easier for the detainees to wash their feet" before Muslim prayer, Saar reports. Detainees get "two hot halal, or religiously correct, meals" a day in addition to an MRE (meal ready to eat). Loudspeakers broadcast the Muslims' call to prayer five times a day.

Every detainee gets a prayer mat, cap and Koran. Every cell has a stenciled arrow pointing toward Mecca. Moreover, Gitmo's library -- yes, library -- is stocked with Jihadi books. "I was surprised that we'd be making that concession to the religious zealotry of the terrorists," Saar admits. "[I]t seemed to me that the camp command was helping to facilitate the terrorists' religious devotion." Saar notes that one FBI special agent involved in interrogations even grew a beard like the detainees "as a sort of show of respect for their faith."

Read the whole thing.

She concludes with this:

The same unreality-based liberals whine about the Bush administration's failure to gather intelligence and prevent terrorism. Yet, these hysterical critics have no viable alternative to detention and interrogation -- and there is no doubt they would be the first to lambaste the White House and Pentagon if a released detainee went on to commit an act of mass terrorism on American soil.

Guantanamo Bay will not be the death of this country. The unseriousness and hypocrisy of the terrorist-abetting Left is a far greater threat.

Yes, it is.
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