America - New Front in War on Terror

Front Page nails it.

It's become increasingly clear in recent weeks that a second front has opened in the War on Terror. Now, not only is the United States battling Islamic terrorism and its state supporters, it's facing another enemy. That enemy is the mainstream news media that is aided by its allies among so-called international human rights organizations, the anti-American left, and detractors within our own military, government and intelligence services who are leaking as much dirt as they can muster. The mainstream news media is doing all it can to defeat the United States abroad.

The mainstream news media for the most part has long had it out for President Bush as well as being transparently opposed to the war in Iraq. But beginning with the Abu Ghraib story, it started focusing almost solely on the U.S. military. The obsession with Abu Ghraib began a narrative in which U.S. soldiers were always the bad guys and the terrorists they fought just innocent victims of American "oppression" or even "imperialism."

A must read.
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Middle East - Palestinians Don't Want Peace

Want proof? Ok.

Abu Mazen says that "Without Progress, We Will Return to Armed Resistance".

But how can there be progress when Hamas "rejects Abbas call to renounce violence".

GAZA CITY (AFP) - The radical Islamist group Hamas rejected calls from Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas for the movement to renounce violence and hold dialogue with the ruling Fatah party.

"We think that the past experience of our people with the Israeli occupation confirms that resistance is the main language that this occupation understands," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP in Gaza City.

And Hamas is busy turning Gaza into its own state.

The intelligence agencies of the US and Israel are aware of the fact stated by Dichter and the outgoing IDF chief of staff, Moshe Ya’alon, that large quantities of weapons are being constantly smuggled to the Gaza Strip. In 2004 alone about 10,000 automatic rifles and a 1,000 RPG anti-tank weapons were smuggled in.

The dimensions of the smuggling have now reached a new peak since the IDF is hesitant to carry out military operations in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians are digging additional tunnels both for smuggling weapons and for perpetrating terrorist attacks against IDF bases and the settlements that are about to be uprooted.

Meanwhile the Palestinians are busy murdering anyone who would try and create peace.

Murdered Al-Rantissi is one of the main Palestinian figures who drafted the controversial Geneva agreement between Israeli and Palestinian figures Including Abd Rabbou.

Anyone who thought the death of Arafat would be a watershed for peace, had better think again.
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Europe - an indulgence we can't afford

At his usual best, Mark Steyn writes on why the French voted no to the EU constitution and why "Europe" is a failure.

He sums it up this way:

They're gone now. But their spirit lives on in the EU, critically admired (at least by the Guardian and Le Monde) but not making any money, and clinging to the theory that if you merge enough weak economies they add up to one global superpower. The big story of the past three decades is that the more it's mired itself in the creation of a centralised pseudo-state, the more "Europe" has fallen behind America in every important long-term indicator, from economic growth to demographics. "Europe" is an indulgence the real Europe can't afford. The followers recognise that, even if the leaders don't.

Which is one of the reasons why "they hate us".
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Korea - Stealth Fighters to the South

Earlier this month I noted the US had moved stealth bombers to Guam - indefinitely.

Now comes news that stealth fighters have been deployed to South Korea.

Stealth bombers on Guam and stealth fighters in South Korea are things that make you go "mmmmm".

UPDATE

The Telegraph (UK) reports US Vice President Cheney launches tirade against N Korea just 48 hours after the US announced it was sending 15 F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters to South Korea - for an undetermined period.

So, the bombers are on Guam indefinitely and the fighters are in South Korea for an undetermined period. Interesting.

And this comment from Cheney is telling:

But Pyongyang would need to "understand that they're not going to have normal relationships with the outside world in terms of commerce, industry and trade if they become a nuclear power".

Tucked way down in the article is this little nugget:

It has also quietly ended food aid to the regime amid suspicions that the North Koreans were using it to feed the country's elite.

While China threatens Taiwan the US threatens North Korea. The difference however, is Taiwan doesn't have nuclear ambitions. Do you think Bush would make a trade with China? China gets Taiwan and the US "gets" North Korea.
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Lite blogging today

Lite blogging today as I'm off to bury a dear friend and then give him a good send off at the pub.

Charlie was 75 and died in his sleep, which is how I want to go.

Charlie was the type of guy that gives a pub it's character. He visited often, did his crossword and had a wee bet on the horses; he even won sometimes.

Even though he was a pensioner with a modest income, Charlie always offered to stand his hand. Most refused and instead bought Charlie one.

I never heard Charlie ever speak ill of anyone.

He was in declining health these last few years but he still managed a smile and cheerful attitude.

Charlie will be missed by all.

RIP my friend.
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Bangladesh - Muslims Behead Christian

Jihad Watch reports.

JALALPUR, Bangladesh - A Baptist lay pastor has been beheaded in Bangladesh, the second Christian leader to lose his life in that country in a year, according to a Christian news organization.

Dulal Sarkar, 35, was attacked as he returned home from discussing his faith with local villagers, reported Compass Direct, which tracks incidents of Christian persecution. One source later identified the assailants as a group of 10 local Muslim extremists. After reporting the incident, Sarkur's wife, mother and five children have been forced to move from place to place in fear for their lives.

Tell me again how Islam is the religion of peace and tolerance.
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America - Re-writing History for Muslims

Thomas F. Madden notes Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, re-writes history for Muslims.

But I am not a film critic; I am a historian. As a historian it naturally irritates me that there are people who will leave theaters certain that Scott and his writer, William Monahan, have served up something that approximates reality in the Middle Ages. They haven’t. In fact, there is very little that is medieval about The Kingdom of Heaven. It is instead a mixture of 19th-century Romanticism and modern Hollywood wishful-thinking. The real Crusades began in 1095 as a response to centuries of Muslim conquests of Christian lands. Their purpose was to restore those territories, including the Holy Land, to Christian control. The Kingdom of Jerusalem, which was established by the First Crusade in 1099, was an outpost of European Christians planted in a largely Muslim world for the purpose of safeguarding the holy sites. Subsequent major Crusades were called in response to subsequent Muslim conquests.

He ends with this:

Ridley Scott has repeatedly said that this movie is “not a documentary” but a “story based on history.” The problem is that the story is poor and the history is worse. Based on media interviews, Scott, Monahan, and the leading actors clearly believe that their story can help bring peace to the world today. Lasting peace, though, would be better served by candidly facing the truths of our shared past, however politically incorrect those might be.

Yes it would.
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Middle East - The Truth About the Crusades

From Jihad Watch.

Proper context for the Crusades must begin at the beginning, with the First Crusade (1096-1099). Yet - and here is the point - even the First Crusade was not the real beginning of the story.

The real beginning came in the century following the death of Muhammad in 632. During that incredible hundred years, Muslims spread their religion by force throughout Arabia, and into the modern Middle East, including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, as well as into Egypt, north Africa, and Spain. Further progress into Western Europe was stopped cold by Charles Martel and his Frankish warriors at the battle of Poitiers/Tours in 732.

It is easily forgotten that some of these territories had been heavily Christian when the Muslims took them over. No one today thinks of Syria and Egypt as Christian centers, but in the seventh century they certainly were. The ancient city of Antioch had been home to a school of Christian thought second only to that of Alexandria, and Egypt had been the birthplace of Christian monasticism...

As they say, read the rest.
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Israel - BBC Supporting Terrorists

Check out this mis-leading headline from the BBC.

Israel strikes Gaza refugee camp

Notice how the BBC portray Israel as the aggressor and evil for striking a "refugee camp". Just five words and you are left with the impression that Israel is striking at poor defenseless refugees. An impression created deliberately by the terrorist loving BBC.

It is not until the third paragraph that we are told this:

An Israeli military source said the strike targeted militants who were preparing a mortar attack.

So, the headline should read "Israel strikes Palestinian terrorists in Gaza". But that would be the truth - something that continually eludes the BBC.
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Yemen - Supporting al Qaeda

Jihad Watch reports on the trouble with Yemen.

The Yemeni Ambassador to Syria, Ahmed Abdullah al-Hasani, is attempting to defect to the UK. He says that members of Al-Qaeda are in the highest ranks of Yemen's military and security forces. Al-Hasani says that it is very likely that President Ali Abdullah Saleh "knew in advance of the Cole explosion" which killed 17 U.S. servicemen. Indeed, Freedom House in 2003 reported that Saleh refused to even investigate the Cole bombing until the United States threatened military action. Also in 2003, al-Qaeda praised President Saleh as the only Arab and Muslim leader who is not an agent for the West or the East.

Currently President Saleh is refusing to act against terrorist financing, probably earning him more praise. Only one bank account in Yemen was frozen in response to a 2003 UN Security Council Sanctions Committee directive to freeze 144 terrorist affiliated accounts of persons, companies, and organizations. The other 143 terrorist associated bank accounts in Yemen remain fully functional. In 2004, the UN Sanctions Committee list of al-Qaeda owned Yemeni bank accounts was not even issued by the Yemeni government to Yemeni banks...

As they say, read the rest.
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Canada - Muslim's Reject Islamic Law

Good for them! Even better, this is being reported in The Daily Times of Pakistan.

Washington: The Canadian Council of Muslim Women has welcomed the Quebec National Assembly’s unanimous adoption of a motion declaring that no Muslim tribunals for family matters will be allowed in the province, and that the laws of Quebec will apply to all its residents, regardless of religion, ethnicity or culture.

The Council said, “This public motion is a courageous act and though it may be criticised by some, its message is strong that religious women will not be isolated and placed under any other form of law. Quebec has clearly understood that different laws for different citizens lead to discrimination and have nothing to do with multiculturalism or Quebec’s Charter of Rights and Freedom. Our regret is that the motion did not include a statement that no religious laws shall be used. This move towards separate laws, according to religion, is being advocated by other religious groups and is not restricted to Muslims only. We hope that Ontario will follow the same reasoning and demonstrate courage to state unequivocally that all Ontario families must be treated equally under the laws of the land.

And it's good to hear Muslims rejecting Islamic law.

Earlier, Liberal Party member of the Quebec Assembly Fatima Houda-Pepin, who introduced the motion, said sharia law would discriminate against women. She said fringe Muslim religious groups are seeking to use the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to impose religious values that undermine Canada’s democratic institutions. “Demanding the implementation of the sharia in Canada is a tantamount to a takeover attempt aimed at undermining our democracy, our system of justice.” Ms. Houda-Pepin, who is a Morocco-born Muslim, said that for the last few years, Canada has become the stage of an intensive battle for control of the Muslim community.

More of this please.
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Lebanon - Sunnis call for poll boycott

Gulf News reports.

Lebanon's Jama'a Islameyya has asked its supporters to boycott the forthcoming parliamentary elections because "they are fixed by the American and French governments".

Go ahead, look how well that worked out for you in Iraq.
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Britain - BBC Calls US Senators "Twats"

In a truly amazing display of anti-Americanism and bias, presenters of BBC Radio Scotland's "Off the Ball" football coverage are heard denigrating the US Senators who recently questioned George Galloway and at one point referred to them as "American twats".

The presenters were all over themselves sucking up to Galloway. They even tried to show how it was impossible for Galloway to have taken millions of barrels of oil from Saddam. Repeatedly asking him where he could store all those millions of barrels. Galloway responding by saying he would be the richest man in Britain if he had sold all those barrels at $25 a barrel.

What these idiots failed to grasp is that Galloway is not charged with taking possession of the barrels or getting the entire price for selling each barrel. He is charged with receiving vouchers for the oil which entitled him to a fraction of the price of each barrel.

Until it is removed you can listen to this disgusting display of anti-Americanism by the BBC here.

I'm an American married to a Scottish wife and live in Scotland. We have never heard such an appalling radio broadcast. The BBC owe all of Scotland and America an apology.

And the BBC claim they are not biased.

HT Biased BBC.
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America - Desecrating the Flag

The next time anyone reads a Koran desecration story, email a copy of this to the paper/reporter and remind them that Muslims burn our flag all the time. Our Flag is not a sacred book but it is sacred to us none the less. Even more so since it flies over all Americans - Muslims included.
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Iraq - Zarqawi Has Lost

There is mounting evidence that Zarqwai has lost the battle for Iraq.

First, he is running out of suicide bombers and now has to lie or decieve these mass murderers in order to get them to do his bidding. He has even had to start using dogs as replacements. Same thing really.

Next, he has failed to ignite a sectarian war as the Sunnis have joined the Army and the political process. More damage to Zarqawi's hopes comes from an agreement between two of Iraq's most influential Shiite and Sunni organizations.

An now, even ordinary Iraqis are fighting Zarqawi.

Meanwhile the Iraqi government has switched from a defensive posture to an offensive one with the announcement that 40,000 Iraqi troops are to deploy in and around Baghdad. The Iraqis will deny Zarqawi santuary in Baghdad while the US denies him santurary in the rest of Iraq - a classic squeeze play.

While the US rebuilds the country, the Sunnis join the military and political process and forge ties to the Shites, ordinary Iraqis turn on him, the Iraqi and US military denies him santuary, Zaraqwi lies mortally wounded.

Zarqawi is still a danger and more will die before he gets his, but there is no doubt that he has lost in Iraq.

UPDATE

And between US troops killing them and Syria arresting would be jihadists, Zarqawi will start to run out of troops.
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America - Purging Kerry's Military Files

The media and the blogsphere have been all abuzz lately about presidential wannabe John Kerry's claim that he has signed Form 180 which would allow the Navy to release all his military records; something he refused to do during the election. Some people point to this as proof Kerry has something to hide. Those people are holding their breath waiting for the records to become available. Well you can exhale. I don't think we are ever going to see "all" of his military records. The proof comes from Kerry himself who admits, on Don Imus's radio show this past Feb. 7th, that he intends to hide some of the records.

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.

What's with this we stuff, Kimosabe? You got mouse in pocket white man?

Note Kerry says, "clear as to what is in the record and what isn't in the record". I can hear the shredder from here in Scotland.

I'm no expert on military records and Form 180, but I have read recently that Kerry can advise the Navy as to which records he does not want released. I don't know if that's true or not, but this exchange with Imus sounds like Kerry is having his records purged of any damaging evidence.

UPDATE

Michelle provides this link which shows how "nuanced" Kerry will be able to claim that he has signed Form 180, as promised, and released "all" of his military records, as promised, while still not releasing all of his records, as promised. You watch.

2. 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. If the former member is deceased, surviving next of kin may, under certain circumstances, be entitled to greater access to a deceased veteran’s records than a member of the public. The next of kin may be any of the following: unremarried surviving spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, sister, or brother. Employers and others needing proof of military service are expected to accept the information shown on documents issued by the military service departments at the time a service member is separated.
Form SF 180

So, the new question to Kerry is, "have you signed section III?".
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Cuba - Communism Doesn't Work

Here's more proof from "the only one-party communist country in the Americas."

Basic Industry Minister Yadira Garcia had a somewhat discouraging bottom line: Cuba's power plants are obsolescent and require complex maintenance, which adds to the number of blackouts.

She said there are no spare parts readily available for the mostly vintage 1960s and 1970s Soviet- and Czech-technology plants. "You have to special-order them," which also contributes to blackout woes, she said.

Yet "May and June are very difficult months, with a lot of tensions," she said, and power simply will not be able to be kept flowing at all times.

She said blackouts would continue for now, but did not give a date as to when they might stop.

Castro grilled state power company officials on the program, and they revealed that they need to replace 17,000 kilometers (10,563 miles) of power lines and 44,000 power line poles to modernize the country's distribution system.

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Iraq - Zarqawi's Clash With Local Sunnis

The Washington Post reports on local Iraqis fighting Zarqawi.

BAGHDAD, May 28 -- For four days this month, U.S. Marines were onlookers at just the kind of fight they had hoped to see: a battle between suspected followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, a foreign-born insurgent, and Iraqi Sunni tribal fighters at the western frontier town of Husaybah.

In clashes sparked by the assassination of a tribal sheik, which was commissioned by Zarqawi, the foreign insurgents and the Iraqi tribal fighters pounded one another with small weapons and mortars in the town's streets as the U.S. military watched from a distance, tribal members and the U.S. military said.

Things are not looking too good for Zarqawi.
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America - Foleygate Heating Up

Yesterday I posted about Thomas Lipscomb's email to his collegues wherein he asked them:

This is a key moment in media history. So far NO ONE in MSM is covering this but my Chicago Sun-Times story and an item in the Washington Times. WHY? How do you account for it? Are you going to let this drop?

Looks like his email is getting some response.

I take my membership in the Guild very seriously. That's why I was dismayed to learn that you, the president of my union, made a speech on May 13 in which you asserted that the US military has deliberately killed journalists. The relevant portion of the speech was videotaped and is available for viewing here.

Since then, you have failed to provide supporting evidence for your remarks, but neither have you retracted them. I spoke with you at 11:10 AM today by telephone; union secretary-treasurer Bernard Lunzer was also on the call.

When I told you that I would publish your response to me on the Internet, you declined further comment--except for the following: "I am not going to discuss this with you on the eve of Memorial Day weekend."

This remark strikes me as extremely odd. I can't think of a better time to redeem the honor of the US military by beginning a serious investigation of outrageous conduct on its part. If our soldiers are deliberately killing journalists, it's our duty to publicize it, so that such a terrible stain on our nation's integrity may be quickly cleansed.

But as Lipscomb notes: Her spokesperson, Candice Johnson, told me Foley can provide “no evidence” to support her charges either.

Keep the heat up.
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America - CNN Listening to bloggers?

Fresh Bilge reports on a show he caught recently on CNN.

Flipping cable channels yesterday afternoon, I chanced upon a CNN feature that astonished me. It was a roundup of opinion by leading blogs. Is this where the 'news' stations are headed? The screenshot sampler predictably began on the hard left, with Daily Kos, then it edged reluctantly rightward -- calling Andrew Sullivan a 'conservative,' which might be true in Britain, but not in the US. Eventually CNN reached the neo-cons of Power Line. It even included USS Neverdock, a site reciprocally linked by Fresh Bilge. Perhaps I should have gone wholly into politics from the start, like these other bloggers. Then I could get quoted by CNN. But I would not be free to describe Doggy Heaven, or to snarl like the Imperial Rottweiler, although I rarely do that. Poor CNN doesn't even rate a curled lip any more. It would be cruel to snarl at a chihuahua.

I'm no fan of CNN but we all need publicity.

Wouldn't it be great if MSM started getting input from bloggers?
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