Miracle Baby Comes Back From The Dead

It's a slow news day, so here's a miracle to read about:

After trying for 30 minutes to bring two-week-old Woody Lander back to life, doctors decided there was nothing more they could do and called in his parents to say their tearful farewells.

A nurse passed Woody to his heartbroken father and gently pulled a tube from his mouth so they could kiss him goodbye.

It was then that the miracle happened. The lifeless baby suddenly coughed and moved. Nurses immediately grabbed Woody back, re-attached the tubes and lifesaving equipment and he came back to life in front of his astonished parents.

He's now 14 months old and perfectly healthy.

New Curriculum: Math, Science And Socialism

Home schooling's starting to look more and more appealing these days. Apparently teachers in Seattle have been teaching their students that private ownership is evil, by banning Legos:

According to the article, the students had been building an elaborate "Legotown," but it was accidentally demolished. The teachers decided its destruction was an opportunity to explore "the inequities of private ownership." According to the teachers, "Our intention was to promote a contrasting set of values: collectivity, collaboration, resource-sharing, and full democratic participation."

More like promote socialism. One hopes they at least found time to teach, I don't know, math or English or something. But looking at the state of American schools, I'm guessing they probably skipped those lessons.

Foxy Bandits

And just when I thought my avoidence of minorities would keep me safe (yes, that's a joke), two foxy bandits have held up a bank in Georgia. Do I have to start avoiding hot college chicks, too? I think I'll take my chances...

Here are the foxy bandits, wearing their Paris Hilton disguises:

Question: They weren't armed; would you give them the money, or laugh in their faces?

Stock Market Begins To Rebound

The stock market has rebounded "fitfully" after yesterdays plunge. Expect to hear little from the media. At least they're mentioning it, but probably just as damage control after blatant bias in ignoring record highs for months straight only to hastily report the first significant drop in as much time.

A True Hero Turns 79

Happy Birthday Ariel Sharon. You're not forgotten.

Who's Running In '08, Anyway?

WaPo has a list of all the Presidential candidates, including some I've never heard of. Probably because it includes people who haven't announced they're running yet, like The Goracle. It's worth a look anyway.

New Headline Of The Year!

And again, in less than 24 hours, we have a new headline of the year:

Australia rocked by 'lesbian' koala revelation

Thank you, New Zealand Herald, for that one.

Rutheford wishes me to note that this in no way shows that homosexuality is natuarl, as the story mentions:

The furry, eucalyptus-eating creatures appear to develop this tendency for same-sex liaisons when they are in captivity. In the wild, they remain heterosexual.

Sounds to me like the horny little ladies just thrive under human care and hump anything in site. Kind of like gay thrive in San Fransisco and... Well, you get it...

Obama Christ Watch

Holy shit! Can this guy do anything wrong in the eyes of these ball-licking libs? It makes me sick:



What honesty! Isn't it refreshing! Don't you love how he tells it like it is? I'd prefer a President who did lie about using drugs. You know why? Because every damn kid in the country looks up to the President - the most powerful man in the world - and if Barrack had any regard for the effect this would have on kids that idolize him he would just say, "No. Pot's for losers." And what's this BS that those talking heads are spouting about how it's culturally accepted now? This is the same defense they used when Clinton was banging fat chicks in the White House. The definition of "culturally acceptable" is apparently if the Democrats have been caught doing it.

Cheney Possible Target In Afghan Suicide Bombing

Some Islamists may have tried to kill our Vice President today:

A suicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, killing up to 23 people and wounding 20. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney, who was unharmed, was the target.

The office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai reported that 23 people had been killed, but the U.S. military put the toll at nine. The discrepancy could not be reconciled immediately. At least one U.S. soldier, an American contractor and a South Korean soldier were among the dead, NATO said.

Cheney’s spokeswoman said he was fine, and the vice president later met with Karzai in the capital, Kabul, before leaving the country.

Although there's speculation that this was just a random suicide bomber, and that the Taliban's claim that they were behind it and that Cheney was the target are BS. The mainstream media seems reluctant to report this, maybe because they like the idea of a resurgence of Taliban violence in Afghanistan. Buried at the bottom of the above quoted story:

Maj. William Mitchell said it did not appear the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president. “He wasn’t near the site of the explosion,” Mitchell said. “He was safely within the base at the time of the explosion.”

Meanwhile, here are some good roundups of the absolute insanity of the left in reaction to this attack, ranging from "Damn, Cheney didn't die!" to "Great, another Cheney ploy to get support in killing more Afghans!"

LGF's Roundup

Malkin's Roundup

Al-Zawraa Off The Air

Looks like the terrorists have lost one of their main propaganda channels. Now they'll have to revert back to CNN:

Today, Lebanon's Daily Star reports that NileSat has removed al-Zawraa, with this explanation: "'The Iraqi Al-Zawraa satellite channel on NileSat 101 was cut off after it repeatedly interfered with the transmission of several other channels,' the state-owned Al-Gomhuriyah newspaper reported. It said several channels had been experiencing transmission problems that were traced to Al-Zawraa. The channel was initially disconnected on Thursday and the problems stopped immediately."

Hat tip: Counterterrorism Blog

Diggbats Unhinged

Over at LGF their war with the Diggbatts seems to rage on. Posted is this comment form a Digg user, about LGF:

For anyone who’s not aware LGF is an anti Semtic [sic] site posing as a pro Jewish site it tries to post as many stories as it can about Muslims just so people will get really p*ssed at reading about how bad muslims are and get angry at Jews.

Take a moment to reflect on the actual line of thought being promoted here. The implication is that LGF purposefully showcases Muslim atrocities, so that people will get so pissed at Muslims, that they'll get pissed at the Jews. Charles seems to think that this is representative of the left's dishonesty; I'm more inclined to think of it as an example of the left's stupidity.

How To Get The MSM To Care About The Stock Market

I've seen this story all over my news feeds. Where was the MSM's interest in the stock market for the last couple months when it's been hitting record highs every other day?

The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 500 points with about an hour of trading left today but then gained about 100 of it back. The Nasdaq Composite fell more than 100.

The Dow fell 546.02, or 4.3 percent, to 12,086.06 before recovering some ground. It was down 407.29, or 3.22 percent, at 12,224.97 in the last hour of trading.

...

A 9 percent slide in Chinese stocks, which came a day after investors sent Shanghai's benchmark index to a record high close, set the tone for U.S. trading. The Dow began the day falling sharply, and the decline accelerated throughout the course of the session before stocks took a precipitous plunge in late afternoon as computer-driven sell programs kicked in.

Presumably this is the market adjusting after China's slide. Economic recovery should follow shortly.

Angry Christians Beat James Cameron

Over at Ace of Spades HQ, Ace puts the difference between Christianity (any religion really) and Islam in perspective:

Angry Christians Shout "Christ Is Risen" As They Beat James Cameron For Making Jesus-Is-Dead Film

—Ace

Oh, wait, I got that headline wrong. Muslims chant "Allah is great" while beating a director for displaying the barbaric practice of "honor" killings.

So easy to make that mistake, you know? I mean, it's hard to keep track of which religion it is murdering people this week. It's always changing.

Anyway, they rioters claim that the director misrepresented the region they came from by depicting it as filled with "honor" killings and general "honor" violence.

Post here. Read the whole thing. As usual, Ace is enlightening and at the same time funny as Hell.

Who's Really Looking Out For 'The Poor'

By: Shane

Since LBJ first had the idea of a Great Society and began to implement massive socialist reforms, the Left has vastly redefined poverty to further their socialist agenda and welfare policy.

As the Washington think tank The Heritage Foundation points out, a rich man used to own a horse, and a poor man had to walk. These days a rich man owns a BMW and a poor man makes due with a used Buick. The difference between rich and poor in America has become merely aesthetic. When we think of poverty, we imagine people who are homeless and starving to death. This just isn’t the case. Liberals and the media have redefined poverty to include anyone who can’t afford to buy the luxury items that the average working American enjoys.

The Heritage foundation's data shows that “Forty-six percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.” On top of that, 76% of “poor” households have air-conditioning, 75% own cars, 97% have colored televisions (more than 50% own two or more colored TVs), 78% have VCRs or DVD players, 62% have cable or satellite, 73% have microwaves, more than 50% have stereo systems, and 33% have dishwashers.

Welfare isn’t just going to people who could actually use it - the people who are starving on the streets with no place to sleep at night. A vast majority of it is going to people who are simply too lazy to find work. And why would they want to work when they can have a higher quality of living than the average citizen of Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe without lifting a finger?

The Left thrives on creating class warfare; convincing people that they are victims who need the government’s help. This is how they get votes, basically buying them by promising people who feel a sense of entitlement government paychecks for doing absolutely nothing. While the Left is exploiting the poor to gain power, you and I are paying for it through the countless taxes the Left has placed on practically everything, including sales tax on the things we buy, sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco, taxes on services such as auto repair and movie tickets, and taxes on our income, among many others.

If you want a government handout, you’d better actually need it, and not just be sitting in a nice house with the AC blasting watching your TV or driving to the mall to pick up some new clothes (and grabbing some groceries with your food stamps while your out). When a vast majority of welfare recipients have a better standard of living then most Europeans, you know the system is no longer helping those in need, but has become a means of redistributing wealth that's so sneaky Lennon, Marx and Mao would be impressed.

If the Left really cared about the poor they would stop stifling economic growth in America with their incessant taxes and regulations. Cutting taxes not only increases government revenue, but it allows the private sector to flourish, creating more high paying jobs, effectively reducing poverty. Government enforced minimum wage laws lead to an increase in unemployment, hurting the poor. Instead of making $5 an hour like they would before a minimum wage increase, many low skill workers would be fired by employers who couldn't afford to pay the new higher wages. Then they make no money at all; how does that help them? By attempting to restrain an increasingly intrusive government from hindering the free market, conservatives are the ones who are really looking out for the poor. Liberals have simply locked America's poor in a vicious cycle of poverty, and all so they could get a few more votes. Ask yourself; who's really helping the poor?

Shane is a writer for the conservative news blog UnrestInTheForest.BlogSpot.com. His other articles can be found here.

New Headline of The Year:

The headline of the year has been dethroned in less than 24 hours by this random, somewhat confusingly bizarre headline from Fox News:

Jaguar That Killed Denver Zookeeper Had Mean Twin Named Osama

Well that explains it.

UITF Technical Update

I'm often jealous of Charles Johnson's vast coding knowledge, so I figured it was time for an UITF "Technical Update."

After a few minutes of tinkering, I finally figured out how to add a "Digg This!" button to our posts. So now, if we decide a post has enough original content to be worthy of a Digg submission, you'll see this cool little button at the bottom of the post:



So, you know, whenever you see that little button, help out the conservative movement and give it a click (excluding the one in this post, of course).

Japanese WWII Atrocities

I stumbled upon this article about a WWII Japanese Naval Officer's "medical dissection and murder of living prisoners of war" simply to learn anatomy, a reminder of Japanese atrocities during WWII.

And some people think we shouldn't have dropped the bomb?

Anyway, I found it interesting, if not utterly disgusting.

The Goracle's Hypocrisy

Hat tip to Hot Air, who links to this report highlighting The Goracle's hypocrisy:

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

I'm not saying the guy doesn't have the right to live however he wants to, he's the one saying it! If you're going to preach about how Americans should be living their lives, the least you can do is live that lifestyle yourself!

24 Tonight, Get Pumped!

Get pumped! 24 tonight, with the return of America's favorite President, Charles Logan.

The only thing that could be better is if Tony Almeida came back from the dead. Here's the Charles Logan highlights reel, incase you need a refresher on Day 5:

Three French Tourists Murdered By Islamofascists In Saudi Arabia

LGF has everything you'd want to know about the three French tourists murdered in Saudi Arabia for wondering into a "No Infidels Allowed" area, including this revealing photo of the kind of segregation that exists in the Middle East:

Former ACLU Of Virginia President Arrested For Downloading Kiddy Porn

You haven't heard anything from me about the ACLU president downloading kiddy porn because the whole thing makes me sick. Here's a refresher on the story, from ABC:

Federal agents arrested Charles Rust-Tierney, the former president of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU, Friday in Arlington for allegedly possessing child pornography.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC News, Rust-Tierney allegedly used his e-mail address and credit card to subscribe to and access a child pornography website.

The complaint states that federal investigations into child pornography websites revealed that "Charles Rust-Tierney has subscribed to multiple child pornography website over a period of years."

As recently as last October, the complaint alleges, "Rust-Tierney purchased access to a group of hardcore commercial child pornography websites."

One wonders what law enforcement is doing with all the tax-payer funds they receive when there is such a thing as a "commercial child pornography" website, but then, I guess they caught the perverts using it.

The ABC story describes the porn he had (in case you're actually from the ACLU, and therefore think kiddy porn shouldn't be illegal):

The videos described in the complaint depict graphic forcible intercourse with prepubescent females. One if the girls is described in court documents as being "seen and heard crying", another is described as being "bound by rope."

Honestly, these people leave me speechless...

Stop The ACLU has a roundup going. Ace notes that Rust-Tierney wife may have known about his Kiddy Porn.

***Update, 4:52pm***

Practically every mention of this guy has been removed from the ACLU of Virginia's website, but in case you were wondering how a pedofile's brain works, here's a statement he wrote following the September 11th attacks:

Long recognized as one of the nation's foremost advocacy
groups, the ACLU emerged as the preeminent voice for
protecting civil liberties following the attacks by terrorists last
fall. While the National ACLU continues to work at the highest
levels of public policy, most notably in Congress, the state
affiliates, as always, are in the trenches.

In this newsletter, you will find numerous references to the
ACLU of Virginia's work on post-September 11 issues, from our
op-ed that appeared in newspapers last fall to our defense of the
suspended Muslim student attending UVA, from protecting a
shopkeeper's right to post an anti-terrorism sign to lobbying
against the General Assembly's overreactions to terrorism.

And there are other important efforts you will not read
about here. You will not see a listing of the scores of speaking
engagements and media interviews taken on by staff and
volunteers to educate the public on the value of maintaining
constitutional rights in times of crisis. This kind of public
education is especially important at a time when so many people
seem eager to put aside fairness and freedom to fight terrorism.

You also will not find chronicled in this newsletter the
numerous calls to our office from concerned minority groups and
individuals seeking guidance as the threats to their privacy and
safety mount. Some say that our nation is returning to normal,
but that is certainly not true for those who practice the Muslim
faith or whose name or appearance even vaguely ties them to the
Middle East.

That's right, following 9/11 the single most important issue facing the nation was "public education," "at a time when so many people seem[ed] eager to put aside fairness and freedom to fight terrorism."

Ridiculous...

***Update, 5:13pm***

My God, I wanted to do a little more research into this so I ran a search through Google News for "Rust-Tierney." It yielded only 17 results!

What liberal media bias?

I'm trying to dig up a post I read somewhere on the media's cover up, but I can't find it...

Headline Of The Year:

Great headline, boring story: "Engineers Begin Dropping Giant Balls Into Indonesian Mud Volcano."

The 'Top Of The World'

Jawa thought it appropriate on the anniversary of the first WTC bombing to remind us all what it was like from the "top of the world:"



I'm saddened every time I watch a movie from the 80s or 90s and I see those incredible towers standing side-by-side, towering over the rest of the New York skyline. The victims of both the attacks on the WTC will be in my prayers today.

Iranian Fauxtography?

An update on Rutheford's mention of Iran possibly launching a rocket into space; turns out, "the blessed rocket was actually a below-orbit satellite which goes above balloons but below satellites." Not quite launching a rocket into space, eh, Mahmoud?

Not only that, but Gateway Pundit has discovered that most of the pictures the Iranian media is circulating of their "space rocket" are actually recycled shots of American and Australian rockets. While this doesn't prove they didn't even launch a rocket, it certainly suggests it.

More lies from an oppressive government. Any surprise? You've got to keep the oppressed impressed, or they might just start to think for themselves and not stand up for that Sharia shit.

Failed Presidential Announcement, Or Crappy Joke?

Drudge seems to think this was a failed Presidential announcement by The Goracle at the Oscars, I think it's obviously just a bad joke:



I didn't actually watch the video, by the way. I can't stand to listen to The Goracle. Nor did I watch the Oscars. The Oscars suck.

Three Random Stories

Three quick Sunday stories:

Teachers are under appreciated heroes that deserve our respect and far more money. Here's an example of the selfless sacrifices our teachers and administrators make:

Drugs in school is a serious problem. But here's one for the books.

A Florida middle school principal is charged with possession of cocaine and soliciting to purchase cocaine on school property.

The felony carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison.

Police say Anthony Giancola, principal of Tampa's Van Buren Middle School, was arrested in the school lobby Thursday after buying 20 dollars' worth of crack from an undercover officer while students were on campus.

It's gotten to the point where our teachers need to become drug addicts, we put them under so much pressure.

Next, Iran moves on in their climb to world domination - something that's not hard to do if no one is trying to stop you:

Iranian media say the country has successfully launched its first rocket capable of reaching space.

But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit.

Experts say if Iran has fired a rocket into space it would cause alarm abroad as it would mean scientists had crossed important technological barriers.

Iran has made little secret of its desire to become a space power and already has a satellite in orbit launched by the Russians.

I thought this was an American problem:

LONDON — The newest fashion among schoolgirls is getting knocked up, according to one pregnant 14-year-old whose four friends are also expecting.

British teen Kizzy Neal says she's been approached for advice from other pregnant girls her age ever since she conceived, reported London's Daily Mail.

"When my friends see my bump they say they wish they could have a baby, then three weeks later they're pregnant and don't know what to do," Neal said.

"It seems to be fashionable to get pregnant. ... Teenage girls think babies are cute, but they forget the physical side of being pregnant, then having to give up your own childhood to look after a baby," she told the paper.

Neal says she got pregnant the first time she had sex with her 13-year-old boyfriend.

Sick.

Daily Kos Defends Iraqi Terrorists

Over at Daily Kos there is a vial post defending the terrorists in Iraq, you know, the "freedom fighters" who are killing the "occupation."

LGF and Jawa among others have reported this. Here's a small, vial quote from a gigantic post filled with anti-American venom:

Writing in The Guardian yesterday, Peter Beaumont depicts the insurgents as brutal and immoral "jihadi fighters", who "use human shields and force children to run weapons for them." Meanwhile, the occupying forces are painted as benevolent bystanders, trying their hardest to combat the evil jihadis whilst sparing innocent civilian lives.

The demonisation of the Iraqi insurgency is understandable. It is in the interests of the political elites, and the corporate media that serve them, to portray any opposition to Western imperial policies as illegitimate, terroristic and barbaric. That an imperialistic or occupying power will attempt to demonise any resistance to it is a historical universal, as writer and activist Tariq Ali points out:

"Every resistance movement against imperialism has been categorised as terrorist ‹ the Mau Mau in Kenya were demonised and brutally tortured by the British; the Algerian FLN by the French; the Vietnamese by the French and the Americans.

Today Israel’s Ariel Sharon refers to Palestinians as terrorists, Russia’s Vladimir Putin crushes the Chechens in the name of fighting terror and Tony Blair is assaulting traditional civil liberties in this country in the name of fighting terror. It’s hardly surprising that the Iraqi resistance is characterised in the same fashion."

A quick examination of the reality, however, tells a very different story. Firstly, the Iraqi resistance is overwhelmingly indigenous. According to Major General Joseph Taluto, "99.9 per cent" of militants captured fighting U.S. forces in Iraq are Iraqi. When U.S. and Iraqi soldiers ‘methodically swept through Tall Afar’ in the largest counter-insurgency operation of 2005, they killed nearly 200 insurgents and detained close to 1,000. All those detained were Iraqi. Serious analysts of the occupation have long recognised that, in Scott Ritter’s words, the "anti-US resistance in Iraq today is Iraqi in nature, and more broadly based and deeply rooted than acknowledged." In a recent article for the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies, Stephen Zunes writes (.pdf) that "the al-Qaeda-inspired jihadists and the foreign fighters upon whom the Bush administration has focused represent only a small minority of the insurgency." The U.S. and UK governments, together with the Western media, focus disproportionately on the very few foreign fighters present in Iraq to minimise Iraqi opposition to the occupation and to delegitimise the resistance. In addition, as Zunes explains, branding the entire resistance movement "terrorists" (or by focusing disproportionately on al-Qaeda’s small role in the insurgency, thereby associating the insurgency as a whole with terrorism) enables Bush and Blair to present Iraq as a front in the "war on terror", whereas in fact it is nothing of the sort, and to "portray the US invasion and occupation of Iraq not as an act of aggression – as most of the international community sees it – but as an act of self-defence. By extension, it seeks to portray those who oppose the ongoing US occupation as appeasers or even supporters of totalitarianism and violence." According to Zunes, the number of foreign insurgents fighting with an agenda even remotely resembling that described by President Bush above constitutes "well under 5 per cent of the armed resistance."

Ugh.

'Janie's Got A Gun'

This week's conservative song is "Janie's Got A Gun" by Aerosmith. About how the Second Amendment is the great equalizer, especially for women, this song tells us about an abused girl killing her father when no one would help her. (Note to liberals: give women guns and we won't have to worry about your unrealistic "incest/rape" pregnancies that aparently happen so much, requiring abortions). Here's the song:



Here're the lyrics:

Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done?
Dum, dum, dum it's the sound of my gun.
Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done?
Dum, dum, dum it's the sound

Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her whole world's come undone
From lookin' straight at the sun
What did her daddy do?
What did he put you through?
They said when Janie was arrested they found him underneath a train
But man, he had it comin' Now that Janie's got a gun she ain't never gonna be the same.

Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
Tell me now it's untrue.
What did her daddy do?
He jacked a little bitty baby
The man has got to be insane
They say the spell that he was under the lightning and the thunder knew that someone had to stop the rain

Run away, run away from the pain yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Run away run away from the pain yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away

Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
What did her daddy do?
It's Janie's last I.O.U.
She had to take him down easy and put a bullet in his brain
She said 'cause nobody believes me. The man was such a sleeze. He ain't never gonna be the same.

Run away, run away from the pain yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah
Run away run away from the pain yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away

Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Everybody is on the run

Janie's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
Because Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
Janie's got a gun

ANSWER Counter-Protest To Protect Memorial

An interesting story via the Political Pitbull:

On March 17, ANSWER, a liberal group, plans an anti-war protest at the Vietnam Wall Memorial. Seeing how peaceful they were at the Capitol, spray painting and damaging part of the building, some citizens are gathering, to protect the war memorial. They're calling it "The Gathering of Eagles", and they will be standing guard at the Vietnam Memorial, March 17.

Age of Hooper attended the press conference, at the National Press Club. Most of the "Eagles" are war veterans, who will be wearing arm bands to identify each other, and they have set up a website for the event. The attendance is expected to be in the thousands. If you can make it, even if you're not a veteran, by all means, please do attend.

This is a great idea on behalf of the "Eagles," but I wonder if it may only provoke some of the ANSWER nuts to desecrate the memorial as a sort of, in-your-face type move.

Brokeback Mountain - From The Point of View of The Horses

You know, I try not to post so many Family Guy clips. But some of these jokes are just so damn funny:

Beaver Sighting In NY Arrouses Scientists

The first beaver sighting in New York in 200 years leaves bloggers scrambling to make the best "beaver sighting" joke:

Beavers grace New York City's official seal. But the industrious rodents have not been seen in the flesh here for as many as 200 years — until this week.

Biologists videotaped a beaver swimming up the Bronx River on Wednesday. Its twig-and-mud lodge had been spotted earlier on the river bank, but the tape confirmed the presence of the animal itself.

"It had to happen because beaver populations are expanding, and their habitats are shrinking," said Dietland Muller-Schwarze, a beaver expert at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. "We're probably going to see more of them in the future."

Now that there's one beaver in New York, do you think they're going to try and call it endangered and make its home "protected?" I wouldn't put it past them. Also notice that even though their population is exploding while their habitat shrinks, the shrinking habitat is still seen as a negative. Maybe all along all the beavers needed to propagate was less space - it sort of makes them feel cozy.

Meanwhile, in other news there have still been no reports of any beaver sightings in San Francisco.

NASA's Contingency Plan

How would NASA deal with an unstable astronaut in space? Easy: Duct tape.

What would happen if an astronaut became mentally unstable in space and, say, destroyed the ship's oxygen system or tried to open the hatch and kill everyone aboard?

That was the question after the apparent breakdown of Lisa Nowak, arrested this month on charges she tried to kidnap and kill a woman she regarded as her rival for another astronaut's affections.

It turns out NASA has detailed, written procedures for dealing with a suicidal or psychotic astronaut in space. The documents, obtained this week by The Associated Press, say the astronaut's crewmates should bind his wrists and ankles with duct tape, tie him down with a bungee cord and inject him with tranquilizers if necessary.

"Talk with the patient while you are restraining him," the instructions say. "Explain what you are doing, and that you are using a restraint to ensure that he is safe."

The instructions do not spell out what happens after that. But NASA spokesman James Hartsfield said the space agency, a flight surgeon on the ground and the commander in space would decide on a case-by-case basis whether to abort the flight, in the case of the shuttle, or send the astronaut home, if the episode took place on the international space station.

Honestly I'm surprised, but in a good way. Here I thought that if NASA were to have some sort of contingency plan for a situation like this, it would involve some sort of restraint system that cost the US taxpayer tens of millions of dollars. But hey, if duct tape works, then use it.

Vilsack's Out! Wait. Vilsack Was In?

Wow. I honestly didn't even know he was "running."

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack dropped out of the presidential race today, saying he was a victim of the high-dollar fundraising that increasingly dominates the nomination process.

He goes on to say a ton of BS about how no one's discussing the issues or something. I don't really care. Go back to Iowa where you belong.

Badass!

Hat tip to Ace of Spades HQ:

He did it all for the paycheck, of course.

He will be fondly remembered. Even better, he gets to do some of the remembering himself, because he followed Patton's rule:

As ANP forces chased the suspect, Coalition forces verbally instructed him to stop. When he did not, they engaged with small arms fire, hitting the bomber several times. A U.S. Soldier wrestled him to the ground, restraining him long enough to allow the crowd of people to move safely away. He was able to break free from the bomber prior to the explosion. He sustained only minor injuries from the blast.

Mercenaries. Is there anything they can't do?

Cirsumcision Reduces Risk Of Contracting HIV

Boy, wait for the Islamic world to get a hold of this story, they'll start claiming that AIDS is a Jewish conspiracy:

LONDON (AP) - Scientists say conclusive data shows there is no question circumcision reduces men's chances of catching HIV by up to 60 percent - a finding experts are hailing as a major breakthrough in the fight against AIDS. Now, the question is how to put that fact to work to combat AIDS across Africa.

The findings first were announced in December, when initial results from two major trials - in Kenya and Uganda - showed promising links between circumcision and HIV transmission. However, those trials were deemed so definitive that the tests were halted early.

The full data from the trials, carried out by the United States' National Institutes of Health, were published Friday in The Lancet.

"This is an extraordinary development," said Dr. Kevin de Cock, director of the World Health Organization's AIDS department. "Circumcision is the most potent intervention in HIV prevention that has been described."

Circumcision has long been suspected of reducing men's susceptibility to HIV infection because the cells in the foreskin of the penis are especially vulnerable to the virus.

A modeling study done last year projected that in the next decade, male circumcision could prevent 2 million AIDS infections and 300,000 deaths. Last year, 2.8 million people in sub-Saharan Africa became infected with HIV, and 2.1 million people died.

Being from the Lancet I sure hope it's not junk science. I guess we'll see.

Bad Apples To Rot In Prison

It's a well known fact that even the greatest group of people will have terrible people in it, no matter how small of a minority they are:

FT. CAMPBELL, Kentucky (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier who pleaded guilty to raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her family was sentenced to 100 years in a military prison, the U.S. Army said on Thursday.

Sgt. Paul Cortez, 24, was also given a dishonorable discharge. Another soldier who pleaded guilty in November was sentenced to 90 years in a military prison. Two other soldiers and a former soldier are awaiting trial for the crime.

These pricks got what they deserve. Will the libs now take this as an example of how the Army really does have the interests of the Iraqi people at heart, and see that the Army will not tolerate the few who slander the name of all good soldiers? No. They'll say this is some exception to the rule of the horrendous behavior of US soldiers.

We Support The Troops

A cartoon from the IBD editorials:

Gitmo At 104

In honor of the anniversary of the US "[assuming] territorial control over Guantánamo Bay under the 1903 Cuban-American Treaty, which granted the United States a perpetual lease of the area," here's a video of Rep. Duncan Hunter describing how horrendously well the inmates at Gitmo are treated:



An historical note: "The current Cuban government rejects the Cuban-American Treaty on the grounds that it violates article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and therefore considers the U.S. presence in Guantánamo to be an illegal occupation of the area." Well that's funny Fidel. Why don't you go ahead and try and take it back. Just give us any reason to hang your sorry ass.

Further note: Leftist moonbats are clearly still editing at will over at Wikipedia, where you'll find this gem:

Recently, the base at Guantánamo Bay began hosting a detainment camp for suspected militant combatants collected (actions that are viewed by some as kidnapping) from both Afghanistan and Iraq, or from secret NATO prisons in Europe (discovered recently, in 2006).

'Putin's Just A Mafioso Seeking To diminish Us'

An excellent article by Krauthammer on what a thug Putin is evolving into. Some of his rhetoric is even starting to sound like Ahmadinejad's.

Daytona 500 and a Racist Dog

"NASCAR's boring and for backward hicks and all the cars ever do is go around in circles and you can't even tell they're going fast and blah, blah, blah ..."

Okay. And here's a clip form the last lap of the Daytona 500 last Sunday:



That clip is ridiculously close to the final race in Talladega Nights.

And while I'm posting a video, here's Brian channelling his father (I'd skip to 0:30 if'n I was you):

House Of Bottled Human Waste

Umm ... gross:

A Long Island woman found living in squalor with her three children was under investigation Thursday after a neighbor made a call to the children's father last week, worried about the children's well-being. That's because inside the home police were stunned to find hundreds of bottles of urine, feces, soiled clothes, a dead cat, piles of garbage and used toilet tissue scattered everywhere.

It was the same scene of filth that greeted 42-year-old Raymond Young Jr., the children's estranged father, who is now fighting for custody of his three daughters that he says he hasn't seen in six years.

"Urine in bottles, no plumbing, no toilet," Young told CBS 2. "There was just feces all over, [it's the] most horrible situation you could ever imagine.

Liberman May Switch Parties

Is Joe Lieberman finally going to jump ship and join to Republicans? It's a "remote possibility."

"Independent" Sen. Joe Liebeman [sic] receives a mini-profile titled "What Joe Wants," a key question since he is "the Senate's one-man tipping point." Republicans, the magazine says, are "courting him" and Lieberman "has been indulging in some fairly immodest political footsie."

Lieberman calls jumping to the Republican side, and tilting the Senate, "a remote possibility," which means there's at least a chance of that. Time seems to push Lieberman in this direction, as the article concludes: "Lieberman's GOP flirtation has its risks--and a time limit....The longer he waits to capitalize on his moment, the greater the danger that he'll be tagged as one of those politicians for whom having power is more important than using it."

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin claims that his side still "counts on him as a friend" even though it is "a little painful and awkward."

Last month, after Lieberman told Democratic chief Sen. Harry Reid that he had "stopped attending the weekly Democratic lunch because he didn't feel comfortable discussing Iraq there, Reid offered to hold those discussions at another time," Time's Massimo Calabresi reveals. "Lieberman has started attending again." But Lieberman also keeps in touch with Bush aide Stephen Hadley "every week or two."

Meanwhile, Hot Air adds this bit of info from Politico:

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut told the Politico Thursday that he has no immediate plans to switch parties, but suggested Democratic opposition to funding the war in Iraq might change his mind…

He suggested, however, that the forthcoming showdown over new funding could be a deciding factor that would lure him to the Republican Party.

“I hope we don’t get to that point,” Lieberman said. “That’s about all I will say on it today. That would hurt.”

It's too bad I'd rather a funded war than a split Senate, but it's good to know that if the Democrats ever get the balls to go through with their real goal of cutting off funding, they may pay the price with control.

Chlorine Car Bombs In Production

Sounds like the chlorine car-bomb craze is catching on amongst terrorists in Iraq:

BAGHDAD, Feb. 22 — American troops on a raid near Falluja discovered three car bombs under construction in a bomb-making factory that appeared intended to be used with chemicals, the chief American military spokesman in Baghdad said today.

Five of the buildings raided by American forces were packed with munitions and chemicals, he said.

The discovery follows three gas attacks in the past month in which insurgents used truck bombs to deploy chlorine, a greenish gas that burns the skin and can be fatal after just a few deep breaths. The latest such bombing on Wednesday in southern Baghdad killed at least two people and wounded 32 others, many exhibiting symptoms of chlorine exposure.

The spokesman, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, described the materials found in the raid as 65 propane tanks and ordinary chemicals, but he did not say any chlorine gas was found. He said the troops found “five complete buildings full of these various types of things to include car bombs that were being assembled and put together with propane tanks.

And liberals just can't get it into their pee-sized brains that if we cut-and-run out of Iraq, it won't be long before blood-thirsty terrorists come over here and start setting these bombs off in our streets. This is scaremongering, it's reality and common sense. Iraq is a target-rich environment full of American troops, and yes it has acted like a magnet for terrorist the world over - but that's a good thing. By smoking them out of their various homes and bringing them all to fight in one theater we increase our chances of victory.

As soon as we go back to pre-9/11 days when all of the Americans that you wanted to kill were here in America - well that's right where the terrorists are going to go, just like they did on 9/11.

Chimps Use Spears To Kill Bushbabies

Wow. Who would have thought that liberal scientists would have been able to spin a finding like this into a feminist revision of the far-distant history:

Chimpanzees are capable of making spears to hunt other primates and have been seen using the weapons to apparently kill bushbabies for meat, scientists announced today.

The researchers based their findings on observations of omnivorous chimpanzees that dwell in savannahs similar to those from which humanity's ancestors are thought to have emerged.

"It is not adult males, but young chimpanzees, including adolescent females, who are exhibiting this behavior," Jill Pruetz, a primatologist at Iowa State University, told LiveScience.

"This has important implications for how we think about the evolution of tool use in our own species," Pruetz added. "We have tended to emphasize the role of adult males in hunting, and this research supports the assertion that we should not ignore females and other individuals."

Hell. They can't even give humans any credit for advancing Chimp civilization:

Earlier this month, scientists reported that chimpanzees used stone tools as early as 4,300 years ago, suggesting that they learned to make and use the tools on their own, rather than copying humans.

The left is going to have trouble with this issue because in one way, it appeals to their nature of loving when things with "Bush" in their name are being killed. On the other hand, they would be outraged if they found humans who killed bushbabies with spears, and since they think of humans as nothing but glorified apes, they really ought to hold Chimps to the same standard.

Iran Continues To Enrich Uranium

Iran is continuing to barrel ahead in its nuclear power/arms program, despite a toothless threat from the UN's IAEA. Let's pray that the UN actually enforces this "deadline" unlike so many others - however the smart money is on this being yet another problem the the US will have to face virtually alone.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran failed to suspend uranium enrichment activity by February 21, ignoring a U.N. Security Council deadline to halt work the West fears could give Tehran an atomic weapon, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said on Thursday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also said in a report that Iran had installed two cascades, or networks, of 164 centrifuges in its underground Natanz enrichment plant with another two cascades close to completion.

This represented efforts to expand research-level enrichment of nuclear fuel into “industrial scale” production.

It said Iranian workers lowered into the plant an 8.7-ton container of uranium hexafluoride gas (UF-6) to prepare to start feeding centrifuges, which can enrich the material into fuel for power plants or, if refined to high levels, for bombs.

Iran’s defiance of a 60-day deadline set by the Council when it banned nuclear technology transfers to Iran on December 23 will expose Iran to wider sanctions over its atomic energy program, which the West fears is a front for assembling atom bombs.

Good News Out of Iraq

Good summary of the positive things going on in Iraq over at Flopping Aces.

Denmark To Leave Iraq

First Britain, now Denmark. The coalition is hardly crumbling though, as the left would have you believe (you know, the same left that told you there was no coalition). Brtain feels that its presence is no longer necesary in Iraq, the area that they're policing having made so much prgress, and Denmark's mandate is up:

Denmark will withdraw its troops from Iraq by August, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.

The troops, numbering about 460, will be replaced by a unit of nine soldiers manning four observational helicopters, he said.

It comes as Tony Blair announced a timetable for reducing British troop numbers in Iraq from 7,100 to 5,500.

Most Danish troops are based in the southern city of Basra, where they operate under British command.

The mandate for Danish troops to serve in Iraq is due to expire in June.

Girl Has No Right To Full-Face Veil In Class

Score one for civilized society in Britain:

A 12-year-old schoolgirl has failed in an attempted legal challenge to her school's ban on a full-face veil.

Mr Justice Silber had been told that the girl's three older sisters had attended the same school and had worn the niqab with no problems.

But the school, in Buckinghamshire, had told the girl it was not acceptable because teachers believed it would make communication and learning difficult.

The judge has now rejected her lawyers' arguments for a judicial review.

They said after the judgment that the family were "bitterly disappointed".

They are considering making an appeal, but would have to make a separate application for this as the judge refused them permission to do so.

For legal reasons the girl and the school have not been identified publicly.

Gee. I don't see how completely covering your face and body could be an impediment to learning and proper communication between student and teacher, do you?

Edwards Doesn't Apologize

The third Democrat in so many days to completely eat his words regarding the affairs of the Middle East and the War on Terror:

WASHINGTON John Edwards' presidential campaign wants to make it clear that he doesn't consider Israel a threat to world peace.

A spokesman for the 2008 Democratic candidate issued a statement today denying such a report on Variety.com.

Columnist Peter Bart reports that Edwards told a Hollywood fundraiser last month that the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities is perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace.

Edwards' spokesman Jonathan Prince says the article is erroneous. He says Edwards says one of the greatest short-term threats to world peace is Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Iran To Have Women-Only Island

From Hot Air:

I’ve seen movies based on this concept. Ahmadinejad wouldn’t dig them.

Or, you know, maybe he’d dig them a lot. Terrorists are nothing if not unpredictable.

Here’s the logical outcome of Islamists trying to reconcile their chastity-belt misogyny with the concept of sun, surf, and fun:

Iran is seeking to create a paradise for female tourists by turning an island on a northwestern lake into male-free zone, the press reported on Wednesday.

All public transport, restaurants and facilities on the island — on the gigantic Oroumiyeh lake close to the Turkish border — will be staffed only by women, officials said…

Iran’s Islamic codes strictly prohibit exposure of unveiled women to men.

Iran has already partitioned parts of its southern and northern beaches as women-only zones where women can legally remove their headscarves and overcoats in freedom.

In some cities, there are also special “women parks”.

Exit question: Isn’t there another, more efficient solution to this “problem”?

Boy. I bet women in America wish that we were respectable enough to ban them to special islands.

Poll Finds Americans Don't Support Pulling Out Of Iraq

So, here are some interesting poll results:

In the wake of the U.S. House of Representatives passing a resolution that amounts to a vote of no confidence in the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, a new national survey by Alexandria, VA-based Public Opinion Strategies (POS) shows the American people may have some different ideas from their elected leaders on this issue.

The survey was conducted nationwide February 5-7 among a bi-partisan, cross-section of 800 registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. The survey was commissioned by The Moriah Group, a Chattanooga-based strategic communications and public affairs firm.

The survey shows Americans want to win in Iraq, and that they understand Iraq is the central point in the war against terrorism and they can support a U.S. strategy aimed at achieving victory, said Neil Newhouse, a partner in POS. The idea of pulling back from Iraq is not where the majority of Americans are.

• By a 53 percent - 46 percent margin, respondents surveyed said that Democrats are going too far, too fast in pressing the President to withdraw troops from Iraq.
• By identical 57 percent - 41 percent margins, voters agreed with these statements: I support finishing the job in Iraq, that is, keeping the troops there until the Iraqi government can maintain control and provide security and the Iraqi war is a key part of the global war on terrorism.
• Also, by a 56 percent - 43 percent margin, voters agreed that even if they have concerns about his war policies, Americans should stand behind the President in Iraq because we are at war.
• While the survey shows voters believe (60 percent- 34 percent) that Iraq will never become a stable democracy, they still disagree that victory in Iraq (creating a young, but stable democracy and reducing the threat of terrorism at home) is no longer possible. Fifty-three percent say it's still possible, while 43 percent disagree.
• By a wide 74 percent - 25 percent margin, voters disagree with the notion that "I don't really care what happens in Iraq after the U.S. leaves, I just want the troops brought home."
• When asked which statement best describes their position on the Iraq War, voters are evenly divided (50 percent - 49 percent) between positions of "doing whatever it takes to restore order until the Iraqis can govern and provide security to their country," and positions that call for immediate withdrawal or a strict timetable.
• 27 percent said "the Iraq war is the front line in the battle against terrorism and our troops should stay there and do whatever it takes to restore order until the Iraqis can govern and provide security to their country."
• 23 percent said "while I don't agree that the U.S. should be in the war, our troops should stay there and do whatever it takes to restore order until the Iraqis can govern and provide security to their country."
• 32 percent said "whether Iraq is stable or not, the U.S. should set and hold to a strict timetable for withdrawing troops."
• 17 percent said "the U.S. should immediately withdraw its troops from Iraq."

The survey also found that voters thought it would hurt American prestige more to pull out of Iraq immediately (59 percent) than it would to stay there for the long term (35 percent). Public Opinion Strategies "scored the best win-loss record among the major polling and media firms in the 2004 election" and was named Pollster of the Year in 2002.

Good to know that the Dems have no mandate. Not that this will change there behavior. Hat tip to wizbang!

Britains' Pullout Good?

Here's a spin on Britains' pullout that I never would have thought of. Who knows, maybe it's true:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that British troops will begin withdrawing from Iraq would appear to be bad news for the Bush administration.

Blair said today that Britain will cut its forces in Iraq to 5,500 by summer, down from 7,100 currently. And additional cuts to as few as 5,000 British troops in Iraq are possible by the end of summer, Blair said.

But in an exclusive interview with ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney said the move was actually good news and a sign of progress in Iraq.

"Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well," Cheney told ABC News' Jonathan Karl.

"In fact, I talked to a friend just the other day who had driven to Baghdad down to Basra, seven hours, found the situation dramatically improved from a year or so ago, sort of validated the British view they had made progress in southern Iraq and that they can therefore reduce their force levels," Cheney said.

The Effectiveness Of Catch and Release

A surprisingly open story from the NYT, with a quote that shows the effectiveness of catch and release programs. After the US government began catch and release due to lack of facilities to house illegals:

[Illegals] would cross the river in droves in broad daylight, run up to Border Patrol agents and line up to be arrested, knowing they would be released and could then continue on their journey. More than 200 a day were arrested in Eagle Pass alone.

Charming. Hat tip to O'Riley.

By the way, don't bother reading the article. Their constant use of the word "migrant" instead of, say, "illegal," will make you sick.

Giant Hornets Sent To France By God

Nature provides perfect analogy for France's troubles with Muslim immigrants:

Swarms of giant hornets renowned for their vicious stings and skill at massacring honeybees have settled in France.

And there are now so many of the insects that entomologists fear it will just be a matter of time before they cross to Britain.

	A hornets nest

Global warming has largely been blamed for the survival and spread of the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina, which is thought to have arrived in France from the Far East in a consignment of Chinese pottery in late 2004.

Thousands of football-shaped hornet nests are now dotted all over the forests of Aquitaine, the south-western region of France hugely popular with British tourists.

"Their spread across French territory has been like lightning," said Jean Haxaire, the entomologist who originally identified the new arrival.

He said he had recently seen 85 nests in the 40-odd miles which separate the towns of Marmande and Podensac, in the Lot et Garonne department where the hornets were first spotted.

Wow. Now Global Warming even causes giant hornets. Is there anything it can't do?

Illegal Immigration Slows As Border Cracks Down

Good news on the border:

All along the U.S.-Mexican border, there are signs that the measures that the U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies have taken over the past year, from erecting new barriers to posting 6,000 National Guardsmen as armed sentinels, are beginning to slow the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.

For 10 years, Eduardo Valenzuela has been crossing the Mexican border near Yuma, Arizona, illegally, trekking over desert scrub and hopping on a freight train to get to his job with a construction company in Phoenix, Arizona.

But on a recent afternoon, Valenzuela and four travel companions from his hometown of Los Mochis plopped down on a bench in a park in the border town of San Luis Río Colorado, exhausted and dispirited. Border patrol agents had caught them two times over three days, hounding them with helicopters and four-wheel-drive trucks.

"It's become much more difficult," Valenzuela said, echoing the comments of dozens of other migrants.

The only barometer to gauge whether migrants are being discouraged to attempt entering the United States is how many migrants are caught. In the past four months, the number has dropped 27 percent compared with the same period last year. In two sections around Yuma and near Del Rio, Texas, the numbers have fallen by nearly two- thirds, officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security say.

Gee. Who would have thought that building barriers and adding personnel would slow the flow of illegal immigration. Still, I think this story ought to be taken in a "that's good progress, now we've got a long way to go down that track" kind of story, and not a "our work is done here" kind of story, which the media no-doubt wants it to be.

President of Gambia Cures AIDS

Congratulations to the President of Gambia for going insane and convincing his own people to let themselves die:

From the pockets of his billowing white robe, Gambia's president pulls out a plastic container, closes his eyes in prayer and rubs a green herbal paste into the ribcage of his patient.

He then orders the thin man to swallow a bitter yellow drink, followed by two bananas.

"Whatever you do there are bound to be skeptics, but I can tell you my method is foolproof," Yahya Jammeh says, surrounded by his bodyguards inside his presidential compound as he prepares to treat more patients.

"Mine is not an argument, mine is a proof. It's a declaration. I can cure AIDS and I will."

In a continent suffering from the world's worst AIDS epidemic, claims of miracle cures like those of Jammeh are alarming public health workers already struggling against the corrosive effect of faith-healers dispensing herbal remedies from thatched huts.

The biggest concern to experts is that Jammeh requires his patients to cease their anti-retroviral drugs, a dangerous move since doing so can weaken the body's immune system, making the patient prone to infection, said Dr. Antonio Filipe Jr., the local head of the World Health Organization in neighboring Senegal.

Since January, when he announced his cure to a gathering of foreign diplomats, Jammeh has thrown the bureaucratic machinery of his small West African country behind his claim of a cure.

First Iran, then Gambia. Who's going to cure AIDS next?

Britain - Pulling Out For Harry?

Interesting:

Britain's official policy on Iraq is that its troops will leave as soon as they can hand control over to Iraqis. But there is one particular soldier who, according to a crescendo of British newspaper reports, does not seem quite so replaceable.

Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne and second son of Prince Charles, is an army officer, reportedly with a hankering to be treated as just another soldier in line for rotation in southern Iraq.

The Ministry of Defense has dismissed the idea as speculation, but newspapers have already started speculating on a different tack — not so much about whether he will be deployed in Iraq as about his security if he does go. He would, one report said, be a "bullet magnet" in an area where British troops confront what the authorities here call Iranian-backed Shiite insurgents.

Of course, they don't explicitly state it, but I'm assuming that they're saying Britain is pulling out of Iraq to protect the Prince, which to me, is bullshit. Like there aren't other strings that Harry's father could have pulled rather than convincing Tony Blair to leave Iraq entirely. Yeah. Bullshit.

Zilla Huma Usman, RIP

Radical Islam strikes again, taking the life of a woman who refused to kowtow to their misogynistic BS that they pass off as religion:

A Pakistani minister and woman’s activist has been shot dead by an Islamic extremist for refusing to wear the veil.

Zilla Huma Usman, the minister for social welfare in Punjab province and an ally of President Pervez Musharraf, was killed as she was about to deliver a speech to dozens of party activists, by a “fanatic”, who believed that she was dressed inappropriately and that women should not be involved in politics, officials said.

Mrs Usman, 35, was wearing the shalwar kameez worn by many professional women in Pakistan, but did not cover her head.

The attack happened in Gujranwala, 120 miles southeast of Islamabad, where the minister’s office is based. As Ms Usman, 35, stepped out of her car – where she was greeted by her co-workers throwing rose petals - the attacker pulled out a pistol and fired a single shot at close range, hitting her in the head. She was airlifted to hospital in the provincial capital Lahore, but died soon afterwards.

I'm hoping "fanatic" is in quotes because they think terrorist is more appropriate, but maybe they don't think he's really a fanatic, just your run-of-the-mill Islamic male.

Israel Condemned For Self Preservation - Nothing New

Isn't it nice to see a mainstream media story that's sympathetic toward Israel? Too bad I can never find any:

Lebanon's military says it has fired anti-aircraft rounds against Israeli jet fighters violating its airspace.

The aircraft were flying at low altitude over southern Lebanon, but none appear to have been hit.

It is reported to be the first time the Lebanese military has fired at the Israeli aircraft, which make regular sorties over southern Lebanon.

Beirut and the United Nations say the flights violate a ceasefire agreement sanctioned by the UN Security Council.

Israel says the sorties are to make sure that weapons are not being smuggled into southern Lebanon to re-supply Hezbollah militants.

The UN says the flights undermine the efforts of its peacekeepers to maintain stability in the area.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day conflict in 2006, in which Israeli air power caused massive destruction to south Lebanon. Fighting ended in August under the terms of the UN ceasefire resolution.

The UN continues its anti-Israel BS and this article reports the UN's view unquestioningly. Maybe if the UN ever did anything right and would take care of business in S. Lebanon, making sure Hezbollah wasn't rearming, then Israel wouldn't have to check.

New Assault Weapons Ban Before The House Judiciary Committee

A new bill, HR 1022, the "Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007," is set to go before the House Judiciary Committee. It's sponsor is Rep. Carolyn McCarthy [D-NY]. Some highlights of the bill include:

Instead of banning rifles with 2 evil features, it’s one evil feature. Said evil features are:

`(i) a folding or telescoping stock;

`(ii) a threaded barrel;

`(iii) a pistol grip;

`(iv) a forward grip; or

`(v) a barrel shroud.

Expands the list of rifles banned specifically by name.

Bans possession of conversion kits (example, you couldn’t own a rifle and a bayonet lug even if the two weren’t attached).

Transfer of grandfathered weapons would have to go through a FFL.

Bans transfers of grandfathered semi-automatics with regular capacity magazines.

This bill is particularly ugly, folks.

Update: Seems the ban on transfer provision is there to prevent people like my from going out and stocking up on evil black rifles. This happened quite extensively prior to passage of the 1994 ban. Manufacturers cranked out weapons that look like assault weapons and regular capacity magazines in droves. People bought them up and some turned a profit. I personally sold an Oly Arms AR for $1,300 after spending $700 on it two months before.

Update 2: Make sure you write or call your Congressmonkeies and tell them oppose this bill.

Yet another bill that aims to protect law enforcement, how? By banning certain guns based on their aesthetic features? Shows you how much liberals know about guns.

**Update, 5:55pm***

Here's my letter to my Congressman, if you want/need to steal ideas:

Representative Upton,

I would be lying if I said you didn't let me down in your recent vote to condemn the administrations planned "troop surge" in Iraq. But that is behind us now, and I'm am writing you in concern to a completely different issue.

From what I've been told, H.R. 1022, "the Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007," is now before the House Judiciary Committee. I beg you to do everything in your power to defeat this bill.

This is classic liberal scaremongering; nothing good will come out of banning guns based solely on their aesthetic qualities. I would remind you that Michigan is state where we understand our rights and have a particular affinity with the Second Amendment. Every American has the right to bear arms, no matter if those arms have a "pistol grip," a "barrel shroud," a "forward grip," or any other merely aesthetic feature.

Once again, I'm urging you not to be part of this liberal assault on the rights of Americans. We need every conservative member of Congress to stand up and show that they won't break under the pressure of liberal scaremongering. Please, do what is right and fight to defeat H.R. 1022.

And even though I linked to it up there in the block quote, here's where you can contact your Congressman electronically (here for snail mail, or by phone).

Britain To Cut and Run

Bad news out of Britain:

Tony Blair is expected to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq.

The prime minister is due to make an announcement in the House of Commons on Wednesday in which he is expected clarify the details.

Mr Blair is expected to say hundreds of troops will return from Basra within weeks with more to follow later.

Some 7,000 UK troops are currently serving in Iraq and about 1,500 are expected to return within weeks.

And who's going to have to replace those 7000 troops? The US. But under these circumstance would the Congress still condemn adding more troops? Of course they would. They have no desire to win this war, and now Tony Blair is letting his want of a positive legacy put further US lives in danger.

Court Rejects Philip Morris' $79 Million Penalty

Bad news for all of the morons out there that think they should be paid for there own stupid decisions:

WASHINGTON -- Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit Tuesday won a U.S. Supreme Court challenge to a $79.5 million punitive-damages award made by an Oregon jury.

The high court voted 5-4 to overturn the jury verdict, ruling it violated earlier high court decisions on limits to punitive damages. The decision could further curb the size of product liability awards against companies beyond new limits the high court outlined in its 2003 State Farm ruling.

Good news however for those of us participating in the free market who don't want to pay higher prices because of people who were unable to notice that smoking made them cough up blood.

Your Son Is A Murderer

I think with this war going on and all, the media sometimes gets nostalgic for the good ol' days when they would scare you with any given "epidemic" that was "sweeping the nation" at least once a week. There were killer bees, El Nino, West Nile Virus, Asbestos, Blah blah blah.

Anyway. If you're a middle-class suburban parent, look out. Your children are most likely murderers:

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (CNN) -- All Nathan Moore says he wanted to do was smoke pot and get drunk with his friends. [ed - a common lament]

Killing Rex Baum was never part of the plan that day in 2004.

"It all started off as a game," Moore said.

The 15-year-old and his friends were taunting the homeless man -- throwing sticks and leaves -- after having a couple of beers with him.

No big deal, Moore says, but he's sorry for what came next.

It was a mistake, he said, a sudden primal surge that made him and his friends Luis Oyola, 16, and 17-year-old Andrew Ihrcke begin punching and kicking Baum.

"Luis says 'I'm gonna go hit him,' We're all laughing, thought he was joking around,'" but he wasn't, Moore concedes. "We just all started hitting him."

They hurled anything they could find -- rocks, bricks, even Baum's barbecue grill -- and pounded the 49-year-old with a pipe and with the baseball bat he kept at his campsite for protection.

Ihrcke smeared his own feces on Baum's face before cutting him with a knife "to see if he was alive," Moore said.

After destroying Baum's camp, the boys left the homeless man -- head wedged in his own grill -- under a piece of plastic where they hoped the "animals would eat" him.

Then, Moore says, they took off to grab a bite at McDonald's.

Baum's murder was indicative of a disturbing trend.

A National Coalition for the Homeless report says last year, there were 122 attacks and 20 murders against the homeless, the most attacks in nearly a decade. (Coalition report on 2006 homeless attacks)

Police found Baum's body two days after the teens attacked him.

They bragged about it around town. Police picked them up and they described what happened.

Ihrcke told police that killing "the bum" reminded him of playing a violent video game, a police report shows.

All three teens pleaded no contest to first degree reckless homicide charges and went to prison.

Moore recently turned 18 at Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin, where he is serving a 15 year sentence.

"When [the beating] stops, you say, 'What did we just do?'" he told CNN. "There's no rational explanation."

Well, we could attribute this to the fact that these were delinquent, evil and irrational human beings who killed a homeless man, but the media was able to plant somewhat subconsciously the real explanation: violent video games.

I never got why libs will support any and all morally depraved activity, especially if it involves children, but they're so quick to blame violent video games for all of society's ills. Maybe they realize that pretty soon people are going to notice the link between their secular progressive society and other forms of moral depravity and catch the link. Maybe video games are a purposeful scapegoat. Maybe not.