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Selected News For Week Oct 22 - 28

Once again this thread is for our readers to post news items that might have not gotten enough attention during the week. Of course articles that fit under the topic of a fairly recent thread should be posted as comments there. Also, avoid editorials unless they are truly newsworthy in their own right.

Please eschew articles from blogs or hugely popular sites like Drudge, since most people will presumably see such material elsewhere.

In order to make the articles as readable as possible, try to stick to the format described in the first of these weekly threads here.

And please remember to excerpt … as much as possible.

Related Articles:

Selected News For Week Oct 15 - 21

This article was posted by Steve Gilbert on Sunday, October 22nd, 2006 at 2:01 am. Comments are currently closed.

82 Responses to “Selected News For Week Oct 22 - 28”

1sttofight
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:05 am
… And He’d Do It Again!

http://teapottantrums.typepad.com/index/

Terkel: One big question. Since September 11, what are your thoughts? People talk about nukes, the hydrogen bomb.

Tibbets: Let’s put it this way. I don’t know any more about these terrorists than you do, I know nothing. When they bombed the Trade Center I couldn’t believe what was going on. We’ve fought many enemies at different times. But we knew who they were and where they were. These people, we don’t know who they are or where they are. That’s the point that bothers me. Because they’re gonna strike again, I’ll put money on it. And it’s going to be damned dramatic. But they’re gonna do it in their own sweet time. We’ve got to get into a position where we can kill the bastards. None of this business of taking them to court, the hell with that. I wouldn’t waste five seconds on them.

A very interesting interview with Paul Tibbets, The man who planned and flew the mission to drop the first Atomic Bomb on Japan.
DW
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:21 am
Hey there’s a thought 1st: Framed photographs of a B-2 with “Enola Gay II” painted on the nose (or on whatever passes for a nose on a B-2) and sent personally to Mr. Kim, Mr. Ahmadinejhad, Mr. Chavez and anyone else who is begging to join that exclusive club.
1sttofight
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:39 am
Yeah and sign it, Paul Tibbets III.
DW
October 22nd, 2006 at 12:41 pm
SG,
Semi-belated question concerning this thread, but what about columnists?
Granted they write opinions and not news (in that respect the entire membership here are all columnists -and we have some damned good ones) but some of them do manage to come up with some interesting facts (again- just like the members here).
I realize that op/ed columns tend to be long - How about a format of the title, and a bit of a teaser (a paragraph or two)? Would that work? Or should we stick to accredited (snicker) news agencies?
What’s your pleasure?
SG
October 22nd, 2006 at 2:06 pm
I think it would have to be a very newsworthy column, DW.

Since S&L started I have probably posted less than half a dozen editorials. If even that many.
rocketman
October 22nd, 2006 at 3:33 pm
From the The American Thinker

Equal justice?

A California judge has tossed out an indecent exposure charge against a woman because the law, he says, only applies to men. Via ABC News:

Superior Court Judge Robert W. Armstrong said earlier in the week that the law only mentions someone who “exposes his person.”

“It’s gender specific,” Armstrong said.

He dismissed a misdemeanor charge against Alexis Luz Garcia, 40, of Corona, who was cited in May after parents of a neighbor boy said she showed him full-frontal nudity as he played basketball.

Prosecutor Alison N. Norton said the decision to throw out the case will be appealed because another section of state law says that “words used in the masculine gender include the feminine and neuter.”

She must not have been a blond school teacher.
1sttofight
October 22nd, 2006 at 3:48 pm
Where were these woman when I was 14-15?

They could have abused me all they wanted too and I would not have told anyone other than my best Buds., over and over again with a big grin on my face each time.
sheehanjihad
October 22nd, 2006 at 4:18 pm
Does anyone realize that Paul Tibbets the third is actually a B-2 pilot?? Really!
1sttofight
October 22nd, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Really? I am smarter than I thought I was. ;)
mathews
October 22nd, 2006 at 6:16 pm
DNC staffer start gloating before the election, one can only hope they are their ususal deluded selves.

Bush on display

By Robert Kuttner | October 21, 2006

IN TWO WEEKS, Election Day will render George W. Bush a lame-duck president, and he can begin thinking about his presidential library. Imagine what an honest rendition of that library might look like.

Such libraries typically begin with the early career — in this case The Foggy Years, the heroic service in the Air National Guard, and the falling upward economically. A gallery could commemorate all the Texas businessmen who helped young George turn business blunders into windfalls.

This would lead into an exhibit on Governor Bush, the Uniter not the Divider, his collaboration with Texas Democrats, and the unity theme in the 2000 presidential campaign. From there, you’d go directly into the Hammer Room, and observe Tom DeLay excluding Democrats from the legislative process in Congress.

The next salon would be the Rogues Gallery, featuring each of the several congressional scoundrels of the Bush era — DeLay being forced to step down as Republican House leader, the hapless Representative Bob Ney pleading guilty but refusing to give up his seat, Representative Randy Cunningham devising convoluted scams that led to prison time, as well as an elaborate interactive diagram on the multiple connections with corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. A nearby exhibit would commemorate corporate felons close to Bush, beginning with Enron officers.

One of the most surprising exhibits would be the Gay Closet, depicting the several senior Republican congressional staffers, congressmen, and leaders of the national Republican Party who turned out to be closeted gays. The exhibit would be paired with examples of Republican anti-gay ballot initiatives. The Museum of the Iraq War would open with the Mission Accomplished Room, a wax diorama of President Bush costumed in his flight jacket, emerging from a fighter jet on the USS Lincoln flight deck. The Mission Accomplished banner used in the original May 2003 stunt would adorn the wall. On a facing wall would be discrete portraits of each of the thousands of soldiers killed in Iraq after the mission was declared accomplished.

The stout-hearted could take in a lifelike simulation of the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib. Viewers would exit via the blinking color-coded lights of the Hall of Fear, showing the innumerable efforts to keep the American electorate in a permanent state of anxiety. An educational exhibit would trace the falsification of intelligence linking Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda and to nuclear weapons, and the helpful role of credulous reporters.

The nearby Spin Gallery would feature journalists who temporarily thrived by serving as Bush’s enablers. Judith Miller and Bob Woodward would each get a room. In the nearby Chamber of Echoes, viewers could trace administration talking points from press handouts to Fox News commentaries, editorials in the Wall Street Journal, and talk-radio scripts.

The Hall of Faith would depict the gift of tax-supported services to mega-church empires, and include videos of speeches by Bush’s favorite televangelists, such as the Rev. Jerry Falwell calling the 9/11 attacks God’s punishment for America’s sinful ways. The parallel Hall of Science would display the handing over of science policy to deniers of global warming, religious opponents of stem-cell research and contraception, and sponsors of theological reinterpretations of Darwin.

Nearby would be rotating exhibits featuring Great Moments in Public Management. This month: “Heck of a Job, Brownie: FEMA and Hurricane Katrina.”

A cozy lobby would display how lobbyists for major industries took over government — energy industries running energy policy, drug companies running the FDA, and so on. Museum-goers needing refreshment could enjoy complimentary doughnuts offered by the HMO industry, to commemorate the doughnut hole of non-coverage in Bush’s Medicare drug bill crafted by the insurance companies.

A special exhibition, American Democracy in the Bush Years, would feature material on Ken Blackwell and Katherine Harris, with displays of flawed or manipulated voting machines, purged voter lists, excessive ID checks, rubber-stamp courts, and suspensions of civil liberties.

Visiting schoolchildren who did not live through the Bush era, jaded by special effects in horror movies, would anxiously ask parents and teachers if this all really happened. And at the back of the museum, tourists would be startled to notice a larger, ominously darkened building, dwarfing the sunny George W. Bush Presidential Library. This is, of course, the Dick Cheney Vice-Presidential Library.

Robert Kuttner is co-editor of The American Prospect and a senior fellow at Demos. His column appears regularly in the Globe.

http://www.boston.com/news/glo.....n_display/
mathews
October 22nd, 2006 at 6:19 pm
But thank God for Karl Rove.

Rove Road-Tests Tougher Attack on Democrats

By Michael Abramowitz and Zachary A. Goldfarb
Sunday, October 22, 2006; A05

BUFFALO, Oct. 21 — Republicans have been promising they would ratchet up the rhetoric against Democrats in the final two weeks of the fall campaign, and the man President Bush called “The Architect” of his political campaigns offered a preview of what they have in mind on Friday night.

Appearing in support of embattled GOP Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), Karl Rove offered biting jibes against House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), took a shot at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and asserted that Democratic policies would leave the country weaker.

“You can’t say I want to win the war but not be willing to fight the war,” said Rove, Bush’s top political adviser. “And if leading Democrats have their way, our nation will be weaker and the enemies of our nation will be stronger. And that’s a stark fact, and it’s the reason that this fall election will turn very heavily on national security.”

Officially, Rove was speaking at the annual dinner for the Erie County Republican Party, but in many ways, the appearance was a show of support for Reynolds, the chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, who is in danger this fall after questions about his role in responding to the Mark Foley page scandal.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was supposed to be the speaker at the dinner and rally, but he canceled, pleading a scheduling conflict, the Buffalo News said. McCain did speak to the rally by telephone, praising Reynolds as “one of my heroes.”

Rove stepped in at dinner and used his speech to road-test new lines of attack on the Democrats. The basic themes — that voters face a stark choice between the parties on taxes and terrorism — have been a Bush standard. But Rove, who once claimed liberals preferred “therapy” to war against terrorists, delivered them with an acerbity not seen from his boss.

For instance, he needled congressional Democrats for voting against a GOP plan to try terrorist suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. Many Democrats said the plan violated basic rights, but Rove rejected that. “You need to have the ability to try these people without worrying about the ACLU showing up saying, ‘Wait a minute, did you Mirandize them when you found them on the battlefield,’ ” he said. “With all due respect, I don’t happen to remember that in World War II, that when we captured Nazis and Japanese and took them to camps, that the first thing we did was provide them legal aid.”

He also went after the would-be House speaker for voting against renewing the USA Patriot Act, the warrantless wiretapping program and the war in Iraq. “With a record like that, you can see why Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t want this election to be about national security,” Rove said.

Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly responded, “Clearly, the White House is getting desperate to keep their rubber-stamp Republican Congress.”

(…rest of post was about Nevada dirty trick)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....52_pf.html
doingwhatican
October 22nd, 2006 at 6:46 pm
“You can’t say I want to win the war but not be willing to fight the war,” said Rove, Bush’s top political adviser. “And if leading Democrats have their way, our nation will be weaker and the enemies of our nation will be stronger. And that’s a stark fact, and it’s the reason that this fall election will turn very heavily on national security.” - article.

Rove rage.
mathews
October 22nd, 2006 at 8:49 pm
I just finished watching Karl Rove on CSPAN before dinner. Rove was AWESOME. Arguments were clear, and to the point. SG should get the transcript and post it, hope the RNC does.
sheehanjihad
October 22nd, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Oh poop….my pos computer is wavering before my eyes…I can barely see to type this…so I dont even know where the post is….I shall return when a newer improved version of my typing tater stick is at hand…if this lasts or I can fix it. no prob….if not, look for me later.
mathews
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:16 pm
SG, check out http://www.sweetness-light.com.....ment-41856
SG
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:29 am
I saw it. Thanks.
englishqueen01
October 23rd, 2006 at 10:41 am
The difference between the left and the right when it comes to terrorism. Here in Wisconsin, ultra-liberal millionaire Steve Kagen is running against John Gard for the seat vacated by Mark Green.

When asked about terrorism, Kagen gives the typical left-wing schtick and Gard sticks it to him.

From Charlie Sykes:

The Airplane Moment

Despite the hype, candidate debates seldom really make a difference anymore. But sometimes there’s a comment, or a gaffe so memorable that it becomes a turning point. That may turn out to be the case in what’s being called “the airplane moment” in the debate between congressional candidates John Gard and Steve Kagen:

In another instance, the audience broke into laughter when Kagen, defending his position on the Patriot Act, said he would stand up to a terrorist if the two were in the same airplane.

“That’s the difference,” Gard said, adding that he would not let a terrorist get on an airplane in the first place. http://tinyurl.com/ymunso

Sykes said it best when he called Gard’s response a “slam dunk.”

So if anyone thinks they take terrorism seriously, they’re insane.

Mind you, Kagen also said that non-violent criminals are just “crying for help” and shouldn’t be put in jail:

Well, we have to look at who’s in jail. If people are incarcerated for violent crimes then they belong in incarceration, they belong in jail. The nonviolent offenders probably shouldn’t be there. That’s my personal view….

There are after all only 3 ways to solve problems: confrontation, mediation, and conversation. Conversation can make the difference. Confrontation doesn’t work. We see that in Iraq. So I am all in favor of incarcerating violent individuals and nonviolent individuals need help. They’re asking for help. That’s why they’ve committed a crime. http://tinyurl.com/yn8lvc

And he’s running for one of the coveted seats in Congress that the Dems are drooling over, and - according to the NYT - are certain to win.
mathews
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:01 pm
englishqueen01, Your airplane moment is what is in TV parlance is call “Jumping the Shark” ala “Happy Days” had run out of plots after “the Fonz” jumped a shark. See examples at http://www.jumptheshark.com
There are quite a few political moments like this, I have yet to find a compendium of them. Harold Ford Jr. had one last week invading Cokers press conference.
Gila Monster
October 23rd, 2006 at 2:16 pm
The NY Slimes admits to treason, sort of. From Instapundit;

http://instapundit.com/archives/033429.php

THE NEW YORK TIMES does a flip-flop on the SWIFT program:

My July 2 column strongly supported The Times’s decision to publish its June 23 article on a once-secret banking-data surveillance program. After pondering for several months, I have decided I was off base. There were reasons to publish the controversial article, but they were slightly outweighed by two factors to which I gave too little emphasis. While it’s a close call now, as it was then, I don’t think the article should have been published.

Those two factors are really what bring me to this corrective commentary: the apparent legality of the program in the United States, and the absence of any evidence that any one’s private data had actually been misused. I had mentioned both as being part of “the most substantial argument against running the story,” but that reference was relegated to the bottom of my column. . . .

I haven’t found any evidence in the intervening months that the surveillance program was illegal under United States laws. Although data-protection authorities in Europe have complained that the formerly secret program violated their rules on privacy, there have been no Times reports of legal action being taken. Data-protection rules are often stricter in Europe than in America, and have been a frequent source of friction.

Also, there still haven’t been any abuses of private data linked to the program.”

So the New York Times damaged national security by tipping terrorists off to the existence and nature of a legal program that was not being abused. Remember that the next time they declare their own fitness to be trusted with national security decisions.

Michelle Malkin asks: “Why isn’t this on the front page?”

The truth is revealed by the ombudsman of the NY Slimes. The Slimes disclosed a secretive terrorist financial monitoring program and accused the US of abusing the program when in fact, the entire operation was above board, and LEGAL..!!!
If the DOJ had a pair, indictments of these asshats for treason would be forthcoming. Wishful thinking on my part, I suppose.
oki
October 23rd, 2006 at 2:33 pm
From the Detroit Free Press.

1,700 rally at church in Detroit

Gathering at Fellowship Chapel comes out against Proposal 2

October 23, 2006

BY ZLATI MEYER

A Detroit rally on Sunday focused on the rights of undocumented workers, universal health coverage and affirmative action.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime civil rights advocate, was the featured speaker at the meeting organized by MOSES, Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength, at Fellowship Chapel on the city’s west side.

To encourage the 1,700 people who attended to vote no on Proposal 2, which would ban affirmative action programs, Jackson pointed to a local example of how diversity can lead to success: Men of all skin colors play for the Detroit Tigers, he said, and no local baseball fan would think to root for a white St. Louis Cardinals player simply because of his skin color.

“Affirmative action is a majority issue, not a minority issue,” he preached. “It’s not a race issue; it’s a plan for growth. … Whatever the playing field, it’s the same distance between the bases for all.”

Several times during his speech, Jackson had the audience repeat after him: Affirmative action. Expands. Education. Affirmative action. Expands. Productivity.

In addition to the defeat of Proposal 2, MOSES is calling for equal protections for immigrants who are injured on the job, federal funds for job-training programs and for the creation of affordable and all-inclusive health care.

Those who can’t find jobs tend to leave Michigan, a problem that a workforce development plan could solve, said Linda Williams, a MOSES executive board member.

“I don’t want to see all the highways and bridges become ways for our young people to leave,” Williams told the crowd.

Though he came to the United States from Mexico 18 years ago, Guadalupe Samcen of Detroit is concerned about issues that impact undocumented workers.

“It’s important to live,” said the 42-year-old office cleaner.

As the Rev. Thomas Sepulveda of Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church and Dia Pearce of the union Unite Here of Michigan outlined the abuse some immigrant workers face, several of them stood in front of the stage and held signs that read “$7 billion” (the amount of money these workers pay into the Social Security system but never can use) and “Si Se Puede! (Yes, we can).”

Also addressing the crowd briefly were Gov. Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit.

Carla Richardson, 23, of Detroit said she came to the afternoon gathering because she wanted to be a more informed voter.

“I’m paying more attention to affirmative action to vote no,” the Enterprise manager said. “It takes away from college scholarships and diversity in the workforce.”

http://tinyurl.com/y3ozjv

Note that they say, “Undocumented Workers” which I believe refers to “Illegal Immigrants.”

One line in the article refers to the “the amount of money these workers pay into the Social Security system but never can use” quoting a figure of $7 billion. I know that I get a Social Security statement from time to time with my Social Security number on it. Pretty sure that when my employer takes the money out of my paycheck that it goes to Social Security referencing my Social Security number. How do employers send money to Social Security in the name of these “undocumented workers”? I thought the point of HIRING “undocumented workers” was so you could avoid having to pay the employer portion of taxes and Social Security and whatnot?
spelunker
October 24th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Independents Rule!!!!
http://tinyurl.com/yezcvk
rocketman
October 24th, 2006 at 10:33 am
From the The Timesonline:

MoD bans TV news access to warzones
By Dominic Kennedy

THE Ministry of Defence has banned Britain’s biggest commercial news broadcaster from frontline access to the nation’s forces, The Times has learnt.

In an unprecedented move that risks accusations of censorship, the Government has withdrawn co-operation from ITV News in warzones after accusing it of inaccurate and intrusive reports about the fate of wounded soldiers.

The first casualty is ITV’s planned trip to Afghanistan to cover troops marking Remembrance Sunday, traditionally an opportunity for positive coverage of reconstruction efforts.

ITV sources said last night that the trip had been cancelled because of the row with the MoD.

The Times understands that the head of ITV News, David Mannion, wrote to the MoD yesterday to demand an explanation. He also sent a copy of the letter to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, a move that is likely to drag Tony Blair into the dispute.

The row began last week after ITV broadcast the first of a series of reports showing how British soldiers wounded during the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated. The segments, which appear nightly on the 6.30pm and 10.30pm bulletins, topped the agenda at a meeting between ministers, including the Defence Secretary Des Browne, and military chiefs.

MoD sources have indicated that there was concern about images showing identifiable wounded servicemen arriving at Birmingham airport by night. It has been suggested that no permission was obtained from the men and that their families may have been caused distress. //snip//

Full story: http://tinyurl.com/y83e24
DW
October 24th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
From the AP:

Palestinian gunmen in Gaza kidnap Associated Press photographer

[Moved to own thread.]

http://tinyurl.com/yngql9

Heartwrenching.

The gunmen probably just want to pass on their latest instructions on what to report.
DW
October 24th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
On a slightly similar note, did anyone else happen to catch Michelle Malkin on O’Reilly last night?
“CNN wants us to lose this war.” Yikes ! Pretty unequivocal there. Loved it!
rocketman
October 24th, 2006 at 12:41 pm
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
““Emilio has spent his career representing the values that AP stands for - truthful, accurate journalism that tells all sides of the story.”..AP Pres/CEO Tom Curley.
LOL
mathews
October 24th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Cindy Sheehan’s control over CNN. Or since it wasnt me was it 1sttofight or sheehanjihad exchanging porn with Cindy in the chat rooms?

Sheehan’s Legal Threat Led CNN to Censor Me, Author Says

By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
October 24, 2006

(CNSNews.com)- CNN restricted an on-air discussion about a new book dealing with the Iraq war because peace activist Cindy Sheehan threatened to sue over provocative claims about her in the book, one of its co-authors claims.

“American Mourning” examines how the death of two U.S. soldiers in Iraq affected their families. One of the two is the Sheehan family.

Co-author Melanie Morgan told Cybercast News Service she was slated to appear on CNN’s Headline News’ “Glenn Beck” program last week and that a producer told her it would be a short segment, focusing on passing claims in the book regarding Sheehan’s personal life.

Morgan said she replied: “OK, fine, whatever,” and continued on the promotional tour for the book, which deals with the families of Casey Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., and Justin Johnson of Rome, Ga., friends who were killed within five days of each other in separate ambushes in Sadr City, Iraq, during April 2004.

While en route to CNN studios to tape the interview, however, Morgan received another call from the producer telling her that the segment would now deal with “everything but the sex issues.”

Morgan — who is president of the conservative organization Move America Forward — said when she asked about the reason for the last-minute change, the producer told her it was made because of “legal issues.”

Morgan and her co-author, journalist Catherine Moy, told Cybercast News Service that they believe they know what “legal issues” CNN was concerned about when they changed the focus of the interview.

One day earlier, peace activist Sheehan said on the nationally syndicated Stephanie Miller radio show that she planned to sue Morgan and Moy “for every nickel they have.”

Sheehan stated during the interview that her anger was based on several statements in the book, including a claim that after her son’s death, “Cindy had become addicted to online chat rooms of a pornographic nature.”

The book also asserts that Sheehan exchanged “hundreds of explicit emails and instant messages” with a married man.

Sheehan in the radio interview called Moy and Morgan “hate-mongers” engaged in “yellow journalism.”

“These people are using our tragedy for profit,” she charged. “They always accuse me of exploiting Casey’s death for profit, and what are they doing?”

The activist dismissed the statements in the book as “third- or fourth-party information” and “hearsay.”

“We’re gonna see them in court, and I hope they sell a bunch of their crappy books, because I’m gonna sue them for every nickel they have,” Sheehan said.

Janine Iamunno, a spokesperson for CNN Headline News, told Cybercast News Service that the hearsay issue was a prominent part of the decision to alter the substance of the interview with Beck.

“I’m not really going to get into what the conversation was between the booker and Melanie,” Iamunno said, “but I will tell you that Glenn felt that there were plenty of other issues with Cindy Sheehan to discuss that weren’t hearsay, which is what he felt this element of the book was.”

However, Kristen Schremp, a publicist for Morgan and Moy, told Cybercast News Service that the authors “thoroughly researched and documented each and every fact in this book. There are over 600 phone records, emails, instant messages and FEC documents that back up these facts.”

“We hope for the sake of Ms. Sheehan’s loved ones that we are not forced into litigation,” Morgan and Moy said Monday. “But, if the documents are subpoenaed, we will have no choice but to act in accordance with the court’s requests, therefore making the documents public.”

“It’s not like this book was written to pick on Cindy Sheehan,” Schremp added. “It honestly was not. It was written, more than anything, to let the soldiers — the people fighting for our country — know that not everyone feels the same way that Cindy Sheehan does.”

The book emphasizes “how wonderful and patriotic both of these boys were,” she added. “We talk about their families and their upbringing and all of the things surrounding that, and within that context, we talk about Cindy Sheehan.”

Schremp also noted that the book did not ignore aspects of the second family’s reaction to the death of their son, including the fact that Justin Johnson’s father, Joe, began drinking again after being sober for more than a decade. He later enlisted and was himself deployed to Iraq.

“Everyone’s focusing on one page’s worth of information in a 221-page book,” she stated. “We’re more interested in telling the rest of the story.”

Repeated attempts by telephone and email since Friday to obtain response from Sheehan regarding this article were unsuccessful by press time.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNat.....1024a.html
1sttofight
October 24th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
That does it mathews , I am Officialy putting you on my Noogy list. You have one coming from me. ;)
I have never practiced cybersex , well except for that one time with that one lady from Winnipeg. Hey she sent pictures , how could I resist?

I hope the snag does sue, but she wont. On the other hand as stupid as she is, she might.
mathews
October 24th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
AP attempts to prop up Chavez

Chavez Suffers International Setbacks

Oct 23 11:09 PM US/Eastern
By IAN JAMES Associated Press Writer CARACAS, Venezuela

President Hugo Chavez has suffered a string of international setbacks, seeing his campaign for a U.N. Security Council seat fall short and his favored leftist candidates losing elections in Peru and Mexico.

Calling President Bush “the devil” still rallies faithful Chavistas in Venezuela, where Chavez leads in the polls six weeks ahead of elections. But critics say his superheated rhetoric is turning away some potential supporters elsewhere.

“Taking these kinds of broadsides against the U.S. hasn’t really worked for him politically abroad,” said Daniel Erikson of the Inter- American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. “A lot of governments indicated they would vote for him in the U.N., and then when it came to the secret ballot, they didn’t.”

With Venezuela trailing the U.S.-supported Guatemala after 35 rounds of secret votes that left both shy of the two-thirds majority needed to win a Security Council seat, the contest could eventually end up going to a compromise candidate after voting resumes Wednesday.

Chavez portrays the U.N. voting as a diplomatic victory, saying Sunday that he achieved his objective of blocking Washington’s candidate.

“We’ve taught the empire a lesson,” Chavez told supporters. Even if “Venezuela isn’t able to enter the Security Council, we’ve done damage to the empire. That was our objective.” …

Leftist presidential candidates in Peru and Mexico saw their leads disappear just months after Chavez traded verbal barbs with those countries’ leaders. Mexico’s conservative Felipe Calderon reversed his fortunes by incessantly linking opponent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to Chavez, even though the two leftists had never met. In Peru, Alan Garcia won by a surprisingly wide margin after accusing Chavez of meddling by endorsing leftist Ollanta Humala.

“Chavez’s support for Humala’s candidacy, instead of strengthening it, sank it, since Peruvians felt the Venezuelan president interfered in Peru’s politics,” said Farid Kahhat, a political commentator in Lima.

Chavez’s influence has fared better in Bolivia, where socialist President Evo Morales considers him a mentor, and in Nicaragua, where Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega leads the polls heading into the Nov. 5 presidential election.

But Chavez also has been notably quiet about the prospects of Ecuadorean leftist Rafael Correa, who faces a runoff next month in a presidential race with pro-U.S. businessman Alvaro Noboa.

“Chavez has proven to be political kryptonite in several electoral races, so I think you are seeing some backing away from Chavez,” said Erikson, at Inter-American Dialogue.

Caribbean countries, though, have begun to benefit from Venezuelan oil deals that bring them fuel at preferential prices, and several nations announced support for Chavez’s U.N. bid…

http://www.breitbart.com/news/.....O7O00.html
Gila Monster
October 24th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
“Sheehan in the radio interview called Moy and Morgan “hate-mongers” engaged in “yellow journalism.”

“These people are using our tragedy for profit,” she charged. “They always accuse me of exploiting Casey’s death for profit, and what are they doing?”

The hypocrisy of Snagarita knows no bounds, LOL..!!! Typical moonbat mantra, “It’s OK if I do it, but not if you do it”.
SG
October 24th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
As you can see, DW, I moved your post about the kidnapped AP photographer.

But I also thought I should tell you that your Canoe links never ever work. They either must move the article after you post a link or you are doing something wrong.
DW
October 24th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
I didn’t realize that SG. I stopped testing links I’ve posted after I finally learned how to cut and paste (a few months ago). I’ll go back to double checking stuff like that. Thanks for letting me know.
mathews
October 24th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Here’s a good one, I laughed until tears came. DNC donation page did not require funds but you would send a match message to donors.

Right-wingers prank DNC donations page
posted at 3:14 pm on October 23, 2006 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend | printer-friendly

Funny enough that even some of the DUers are laughing at it.

I captured the top post in the thread for posterity just in case they remove the thread. Click below for larger size, or just follow the previous link. One of the DUers finally figured out how they did it.

Note to Howard Dean: you might want to require a credit card number before allowing people to post pledge messages.

http://hotair.com/archives/200.....ions-page/

http://hotair.com/wp/wp-conten.....pledge.png
mathews
October 24th, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Didnt see this in the news feeds; Hezbollah pipebomb attack in Venezuela

Pipe bombs found outside U.S. embassy in Venezuela
posted at 2:38 pm on October 23, 2006 by Allahpundit
The interesting part:

Local police chief Wilfredo Borraz told reporters that one of the devices was found outside the school and the other in a planter about 50 yards from the embassy entrance.

He said both were wrapped in black plastic bags and contained “small fliers with publicity alluding to Hezbollah” — the Lebanese guerrilla group that recently fought a monthlong war with Israel. He said police glimpsed electrical wires protruding from one of the plastic pipes before setting it off.

That’s noteworthy for two reasons. First, today’s date has significance. And second, it gives us here at HA — and Clint Taylor especially — a chance to say “we told you so.” If you missed our Vents last month on Hezbo in Venzo, click the images below to watch:
(…)
Venezuelan police say the suspect’s motive was “unclear.” These gents might be able to clue them in.
http://hotair.com/archives/200.....venezuela/
sheehanjihad
October 24th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
How do those people pissed off about the donation joke get off calling “us” anti american, and they post with our flag upside down and a “go cindy” picture of the snag? are they really that stupid? Damn…
DW
October 24th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Right-wingers prank DNC donations page

Mathews, that’s hilarious! I’d pay real money to be able to watch some of the reactions when that came up on the screen.
sheehanjihad
October 24th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
The funny part is….they keep screaming it is illegal…..while they register illegals to vote in several districts…and start “rumors” about ‘pubs sexuality and financial affairs…..suing to stop republicans from appearing on a ballot…revealing year old stories as fresh one month before the election….and they have the hubris to bitch about this prank? The trouble is….it is factual! The muslims are de facto supporters of the dems….they need them to win to catch a break from being on the brink of destruction.

Remember the Tet offensive? Giap said that if the American people had known how close the NVA were to defeat they could have easily taken over within a month if they had pressed it. However, the American people werent told….as a matter of fact they were lied to by the incumbent democrats….and we lost another 25 thousand men because of it. This sucks.
1sttofight
October 24th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
The Tet Offensive was a disaster for the NVA and more so for the VC.
Walter Cronkite should have been frog marched out of CBS World Headquarters and strung up from the nearest street light.
If that had happened , we would have got rid of the liberal infestation years ago.
rocketman
October 24th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
“The Tet Offensive was a disaster for the NVA and more so for the VC”

SJ/1st - I AGREE ! Everytime I hear the words “We lost the VietNam War” I want to go to mountain top and yell “NO WE DIDN’T”.

I was in Saigon at the time and remember the beginning well. As I recall, it started about 0330 hrs. The first incoming knocked me out of bed :) Then we (US forces) proceeded to kick ass. One memory that will always be with me was watching the USAF F-105 “Fly the Wheel” over Cholon, the chinese section of Saigon. They must have dive bombed the poor sobs for three hours. When it (Tet offensive) was all said and done, I took a drive over to Cholon. GeezUs, there wasn’t anything standing…total destruction. Gotta luv them flyboys.
//end war story :)
Some day I’ll tell ya’ll about the 1st coup. The one in ‘63. I was there for that also. Seems I’m always around for the excitement :)
Warmonger Infidel
October 24th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
My Seabee unit had just finished our part on the construction of Liberty Bridge (anyone here know that one?) and had moved up to Phu Bai. As soon as TET started we were moved to Hue, kicking ass and taking no names all the way. I remember my father thinking we (U. S. Forces) were the ones getting our asses handed to us because of what he saw on the news. I’m not sure I ever convinced him that wasn’t the case……that we crushed both the NVA and the VC during the little party they threw.

On the first day of TET…..Ho Chi Minh he said to me…….
englishqueen01
October 24th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
Another gem from Steve Kagen. This guy’s a goldmine.

mathews, I wish it was an “eaten by a shark” moment.

From the Chicago Sun-Times (which surprised me, as this has gotten little coverage in Wisconsin, where the guy’s running for Congress)

Pol sorry for ‘Injun time’ remark
But Oneida tribe says no apology needed

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Democratic U.S. House candidate Steve Kagen apologized Tuesday for commenting that he was late for a meeting on an Indian reservation because ”we’re on Injun time.”

”I did not mean any harm by my words and I humbly apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intent,” he said in a statement hours after the National Republican Congressional Committee released a tape recording of the comment.

Kagen attended a meeting Friday on the nearby Oneida Reservation and at his next stop in Green Bay he made the following remarks:

”Appreciate getting here almost on time. Our excuse in Oneida was, well, we’re on Injun time. They don’t tell time by the clock. Our excuse here is that I am a doctor and that we’re never on time.”…

Bobbi Webster, a spokeswoman for the Oneida Nation, said Monday that Kagen’s comment was not being taken as disrespectful by tribal members. No apology was sought, she said.

”Tribal members say that themselves. It is not uncommon to hear somebody come in late and say, ‘Oh-Oh. I am running on Indian time.’ The time you get there is the time to do your thing,” Webster said.

The term ”Injun” also is not necessarily disrespectful, she said.

http://tinyurl.com/yxnk9b

But when Marquette University wanted to change its name from “Golden Eagles” back to “Warriors” (a term that isn’t specifically and explicitly related to Native Americans, as “Injun” is), the Native Americans said “No, no, no. That offends us!”

When Rush Limbaugh used the same word, he was in hot water. Same thing when Mark Belling used an offensive term to refer to illegal immigrants. Belling was suspended and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran over a dozen articles about it, including one that said Belling’s apology wasn’t sincere enough.

Of course, Kagen’s apology (which apparently isn’t necessary) is as half-a$$ed as they come: “‘I did not mean any harm by my words and I humbly apologize if I offended anyone,’ Kagen said in a prepared statement.”

What a bunch of hypocrites. The Democrats can never be racist, or culturally insensitive, or intolerant; those traits are reserved for Republicans only.
rocketman
October 24th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
“On the first day of TET…..Ho Chi Minh he said to me……. “
LOL…haven’t heard that one. I know Phu Bai. Had alot of friends there.
Warmonger Infidel
October 24th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
It’s a whole song based on the On the First Day of Christmas RM. I think it was a Navy thing. I wish I could remember all the words because it’s really good war humor music. Some guy made it up in CRB and used to sing it in the slop shoot after about a case of rusty topped PBR’s or Lucky Lager’s. Could have been SJ for all I know.
Warmonger Infidel
October 24th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
eq….the same old double standard for dems and pubs. I’m just surprised we didn’t have to play “guess the party” and they actually printed his party affiliation in the article.
Warmonger Infidel
October 24th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
It seems like so long ago now…..so many memories…..some good and some horrible. Someday we’ll be like the WWII vets, dying off by the thousands every day. But nobody will want to remember because of the the media and politicians did to us. But as RM said…..We didn’t lose the war. The north won it through the Cronkites and Dan Rather’s of the world.
Gila Monster
October 24th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
The BBC admits to having a liberal bias. Who knew…!!! From the Daily Mail;

We are biased, admit the stars of BBC News

By SIMON WALTERS

21st October 2006

It was the day that a host of BBC executives and star presenters admitted what critics have been telling them for years: the BBC is dominated by trendy, Left-leaning liberals who are biased against Christianity and in favour of multiculturalism.

A leaked account of an ‘impartiality summit’ called by BBC chairman Michael Grade, is certain to lead to a new row about the BBC and its reporting on key issues, especially concerning Muslims and the war on terror.

It reveals that executives would let the Bible be thrown into a dustbin on a TV comedy show, but not the Koran, and that they would broadcast an interview with Osama Bin Laden if given the opportunity. Further, it discloses that the BBC’s ‘diversity tsar’, wants Muslim women newsreaders to be allowed to wear veils when on air.

At the secret meeting in London last month, which was hosted by veteran broadcaster Sue Lawley, BBC executives admitted the corporation is dominated by homosexuals and people from ethnic minorities, deliberately promotes multiculturalism, is anti-American, anti-countryside and more sensitive to the feelings of Muslims than Christians.

One veteran BBC executive said: ‘There was widespread acknowledgement that we may have gone too far in the direction of political correctness.

‘Unfortunately, much of it is so deeply embedded in the BBC’s culture, that it is very hard to change it.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pag.....ge_id=1770

Anti-American Christian hating Mooselimb loving homosexual multiculturalists? Wow..!!

What a combo, but I would prefer calling them stupid liberal moonbat asshats. Sounds better, don’t you think?.
SG
October 24th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
“The BBC admits to having a liberal bias. Who knew…!!!”

We did. I posted the same Daily Mail article on the 21st on this thread:

Brit Bobbies Told Not To Arrest Muslims During Ramadan | Sweetness & Light
http://www.sweetness-light.com.....ng-ramadan

Don’t tell me you aren’t reading every thread all the way through now.
Professor_Repulso
October 24th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Jihadis produce holiday video featuring bin Laden and his elves. http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=133306
Gila Monster
October 24th, 2006 at 8:10 pm
Alas SG, I am not worthy, I missed that one, LOL..!!!
I try to read them all but sometimes, there is just not enough hours in the day.
I must have failed the Evelyn Woodhead speed reading course when I was a yonker’.
1sttofight
October 25th, 2006 at 1:08 am
Some day I’ll tell ya’ll about the 1st coup. The one in ‘63. I was there for that also. Seems I’m always around for the excitement :)

Gees, RM, Just how old are you?
I am begining to think I am a young whipper snapper around here.
SG
October 25th, 2006 at 1:15 am
PR, your MEMRI link didn’t work.
1sttofight
October 25th, 2006 at 2:38 am
Sitting up downloading songs.
Johnny Cash
Roy Orbison
Jerry Lee Lewis
Elvis
Marty Robbins
Statler Brothers

Anyone have any suggestions?
DW
October 25th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
From the AP:

Dutch Parliament orders probe into what agency knew about director’s killer

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The Dutch parliament ordered an investigation Wednesday into how much the country’s top intelligence agency knew about an Islamic extremist before he shot and stabbed filmmaker Theo van Gogh almost two years ago.

Legislators, including members of the government, supported a motion by the opposition Labour party ordering an evaluation of why the intelligence agency knew Mohammed Bouyeri belonged to a radical group known as the Hofstad Network but did not consider him a major threat…

Bouyeri shot and stabbed van Gogh - a distant relative of famed painter Vincent van Gogh - on an Amsterdam street in November 2004, a brutal murder that shocked this largely peaceful nation. He is serving a life sentence.

Labour party legislator Bert Koenders said it is important to find out whether the agency, known by its acronym AIVD, failed in the van Gogh case.

He said that on the day of the murder an AIVD report suggested that Bouyeri was only “a marginal figure” in the Hofstad group.

But at his trial it emerged that “he was in fact a central figure and was the only one responsible for the killing of Theo van Gogh. So it seems that, in the role of intelligence at the time, mistakes were made,” Koenders said.

Koenders said the government probe should be completed as soon as possible so legislators can debate its contents.

It was unclear whether the investigation would be completed before Nov. 22 parliamentary elections.

The Labour party has long called for such a probe, but government legislators had previously blocked it, saying it could interfere with ongoing prosecutions of Bouyeri and other alleged members of the Hofstad group…

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Wo.....50-ap.html
DW
October 25th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
SG, I tested that link and it worked for me. Please let me know if it still doesn’t work on your system.
I’ll work on my formatting too, so’s I can get that grey line on the left side happening…(indent the headline, right?- or the whole article? …bear with me)
SG
October 25th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
Yes, DW, that link worked. I think what happens is that Canoe.ca often moves their articles once they post them.
wardmama4
October 25th, 2006 at 3:49 pm
Matthews you beat me to it on the Sheehan post - but everyone is missing the real point of this article. I’ve wondered about the sudden demise of the publicly touted and surrounded ‘Mother’ Sheehan (whose [soldier] son was killed in Iraq) personna, what occurred that caused it to happen?!? This is ‘the event’ - it was going to be exposed as to just what levels BSCS went to/down to or was/is. While I agree, BSCS is stupid enough to go through with a lawsuit - I think the ‘other’ man (or her children or her ex-husband) just might be able to get her to think about ALL the reprecussions of a lawsuit. I’ve met the people from Move America Forward - went to one of their You Don’t Speak for Me Cindy Tour stops. These are sane, rational people who speak in full sentences and don’t fill their public rhetoric with obscenities. And you and I both know - if this was indeed truly a lie - she’d have already filed. Just more BS from CS.
mathews
October 25th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
From the AP, only ONE word mentions “violence” with NO explaination or details:

Immigrant youths march through Paris
By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer
(…)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....violence_1

YET very interesting post by “The Scotsman” on scene reporter:

Fears of new riots in Paris as mob turns on police
CRISPIAN BALMER IN PARIS
(…)
On Sunday, youths set a bus ablaze on the outskirts of Paris, then stoned police and firemen trying to put out the flames. Bus drivers refused yesterday to take to the streets of Grigny, south of Paris, in protest.

It was at least the fifth time in recent weeks that youths have launched an apparently concerted attack on the police and symbols of the French state.

“The attacks of the last few weeks show [the gangs] are well prepared and using military-like organisation,” said Gaelle James, of a police trade union.

She said gang members were getting “younger and younger, and more and more violent”.
(…)

http://thescotsman.scotsman.co.....1571342006

They must have gone to separate terrorist events…
rocketman
October 25th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Democratic U.S. House candidate Steve Kagen apologized Tuesday for commenting that he was late for a meeting on an Indian reservation because ‘’we’re on Injun time.’’

Bobbi Webster, a spokeswoman for the Oneida Nation, said Monday that Kagen’s comment was not being taken as disrespectful by tribal members. No apology was sought, she said.

What do you suppose the reaction would have been if the candidate were a Republican????????
Professor_Repulso
October 25th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Sorry for the bum link. The story was thus: This ten minute video titled “Rise Up”, was posted on Islamist websites on October 22, 2006, and was described as “a gift for ‘Eid Al-Fitr.” Produced by an individual identified as “Abu Osama” (whose real identity is unknown), it calls on the Muslims to wage jihad against the “Crusaders”. A caption in the film explains that Abu Osama produced the film on the occasion of the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq.
The film begins with footage of horsemen under the caption: “O ye who believe! What is the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter” (Koran 9:38).
Next, several Al-Qaeda leaders and commanders, including bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri, Al-Zarqawi and a number of unidentified young men (who may be field commanders or intended suicide bombers) call upon the Muslims to join the jihad. The following are excerpts:
Al-Zawahiri says: “I urge you, in [the name of] the duty of jihad, which is incumbent upon every Muslim, to hurry and pursue martyrdom in order to kill the Crusaders and the Zionists.” An armed individual calls: “[Oh] defenders of the faith, hurry and prepare [for jihad], this is no time for [internal] disagreement.” Another individual, sitting under a banner that reads, “Expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula,” asks: “Are there no men in this nation?” and a masked individual declares: “Jihad is ancient, and the fate of [all] infidel leaders is one and the same: to be slaughtered.”
The video then shows a scene in which a man is beheaded. This is followed by another beheading, even more grisly, in which the severed head is waved in the air.

“Oh, and twisted thoughts that spin round my head….How quick the sun can drop away…”
SG
October 25th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
I didn’t mean to put you to so much work, Professor. I just thought you might have the link handy. Thanks, though.
mathews
October 26th, 2006 at 9:26 am
NY Times trying to keep Foley on the front page

Rights Group Fires Publisher of Foley E-Mail
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 — A liberal gay rights group said Wednesday that one of its employees, acting anonymously, had created the Web site that first published copies of unusually solicitous e-mail messages to teenagers from former Representative Mark Foley, which led to his resignation.

A spokesman for the group, the Human Rights Campaign, said it first learned of its employee’s role this week and immediately fired him for misusing the group’s resources. The scandal surrounding Mr. Foley, a Florida Republican, has been a burdensome distraction for members of his party in the month before the midterm elections, and some Republicans have speculated that the e-mail messages were planted by a Democrat.

The rights campaign’s spokesman, David Smith, said the employee, whose name he declined to disclose, was a junior staff member hired last month to help mobilize the organization’s members in Michigan. “The minute we learned about it we took decisive action,” Mr. Smith said.

The Miami Herald and other news organizations have acknowledged obtaining copies of the same e-mail messages months ago but declining to publish them because of their potentially ambiguous contents.

After the messages appeared on the Web, at stopsexpredators.blogspot.com, the Web site of ABC News followed with its own independent report. The ABC News report resulted in the disclosure of more sexually explicit electronic messages that Mr. Foley sent to other former Congressional pages.

In the aftermath of the scandal, the creator of the sex predators Web site declined requests sent by e-mail to identify himself. Instead, he posted a message urging the news media to ask questions about “when the Republican leadership knew about it, what they did, how they were connected, what favors took place, etc.”

The posting continued: “The true hero here is the page who reported the e-mails in the first place.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10.....nted=print

Or was the firing because of staf member’s non-support for NAMBLA?
NAMBLA’s the North American Man Boy Love Association for the uninformed.
SG
October 26th, 2006 at 9:26 am
From the UK’s Guardian:

The search for influence: Google becomes a political player

The pre-eminent provider of information is moving into the ‘real’ world to protect its interests

Richard Wray, communications editor
Tuesday October 24, 2006

Last month Washington’s political set, always ready for a good gossip, were sent into a flurry of chattering by news that Google had registered a political action committee (PAC) with the US federal election commission.

The creation of Google NetPAC is a first step towards making corporate donations to support candidates seeking elected office. Its foundation less than two months before the mid-term congressional elections, plus the recent appointment of a clutch of Washington movers and shakers to Google’s DC office, has observers painting the company as a possible kingmaker…

Net neutrality

Top of the issues list for the company, which has yet to make any direct contributions through the PAC, is net neutrality. Some of the major fixed-line telecoms operators want new laws that would require providers of high-bandwidth internet services, such as video streaming and downloading music, to pay a “congestion charge” to guarantee their traffic gets through. Some of these large telecoms firms, such as AT&T and Verizon, were major political donors in the 2004 election.

While Google would not be hit directly by a two-tier net, its recently acquired online video site YouTube would, and Google fears that splitting the internet could hamper the creation of other innovative businesses.

“Net neutrality is the most obvious issue for us,” says Reyes, who worked at the US state department before joining Google. “But … Congress and the government are going to take on a whole range of issues that affect us on technological fronts, on legal fronts. This is our effort to play in that game.”

Google has an impressive list of players on its team. As well as counting Al Gore among its senior advisers, Google’s Washington office was set up about a year and a half ago by Alan Davidson. A well-known Democrat sympathiser, he served for eight years as associate director of the Centre for Democracy and Technology, a thinktank that opposes government and industry control of the web. Alongside him is Robert Boorstin, a former Clinton foreign policy aide from the Centre for American Progress, as Google’s communications chief in the capital.

Google’s PAC will be run by a five-person board of directors who will be guided by the recommendations of an advisory committee made up of Google employees. It will raise its funds through voluntary donations from staff.

But judging from the fact that in the past Google employees have been involved with leftwing groups such as MoveOn.org, it will be very interesting to see where that cash is headed.

Last month Google co-sponsored its first Washington fundraiser for Heather Wilson, a Republican representative from New Mexico. She is trying to fight off a strong Democrat challenger backed by the left-leaning Emily’s List but Wilson won Google’s support because she is one of the few Republican supporters of net neutrality. “It goes back to supporting officeholders who have the same goals of preserving and promoting the internet as a free and open platform,” Reyes says. “She has been a proponent and a friend on net neutrality and believes in the same things that we do.” …

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/.....08,00.html

“Net neutrality” all right. What a laugh.

Of course anyone who uses Google’s search engine or reads their news feed has long since known that they are rabid America-hating leftwingers along the lines of George Soros.
mathews
October 26th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
George W. Bush lied? Not as much as a google bomb!

A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data

By TOM ZELLER Jr. NY Times
October 26, 2006

If things go as planned for liberal bloggers in the next few weeks, searching Google for “Jon Kyl,” the Republican senator from Arizona now running for re-election, will produce high among the returns a link to an April 13 article from The Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly.

Mr. Kyl “has spent his time in Washington kowtowing to the Bush administration and the radical right,” the article suggests, “very often to the detriment of Arizonans.”

Searching Google for “Peter King,” the Republican congressman from Long Island, would bring up a link to a Newsday article headlined “King Endorses Ethnic Profiling.”

Fifty or so other Republican candidates have also been made targets in a sophisticated “Google bombing” campaign intended to game the search engine’s ranking algorithms. By flooding the Web with references to the candidates and repeatedly cross-linking to specific articles and sites on the Web, it is possible to take advantage of Google’s formula and force those articles to the top of the list of search results.

The project was originally aimed at 70 Republican candidates but was scaled back to roughly 50 because Chris Bowers, who conceived it, thought some of the negative articles too partisan.

The articles to be used “had to come from news sources that would be widely trusted in the given district,” said Mr. Bowers, a contributor at MyDD.com (Direct Democracy), a liberal group blog. “We wanted actual news reports so it would be clear that we weren’t making anything up.”

Each name is associated with one article. Those articles are embedded in hyperlinks that are now being distributed widely among the left-leaning blogosphere. In an entry at MyDD.com this week, Mr. Bowers said: “When you discuss any of these races in the future, please, use the same embedded hyperlink when reprinting the Republican’s name. Then, I suppose, we will see what happens.”

An accompanying part of the project is intended to buy up Google Adwords, so that searches for the candidates’ names will bring up advertisements that point to the articles as well. But Mr. Bowers said his hopes for this were fading, because he was very busy.

The ability to manipulate the search engine’s results has been demonstrated in the past. Searching for “miserable failure,” for example, produces the official Web site of President Bush.

But it is far from clear whether this particular campaign will be successful. Much depends on the extent of political discussion already tied to a particular candidate’s name.

It will be harder to manipulate results for searches of the name of a candidate who has already been widely covered in the news and widely discussed in the blogosphere, because so many links and so many pages already refer to that particular name. Search results on lesser-known candidates, with a smaller body of references and links, may be easier to change.

“We don’t condone the practice of Google bombing, or any other action that seeks to affect the integrity of our search results,” said Ricardo Reyes, a Google spokesman. “A site’s ranking in Google’s search results is automatically determined by computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page’s relevance to a given query.”

The company’s faith in its system has produced a hands-off policy when it comes to correcting for the effects of Google bombs in the past. Over all, Google says, the integrity of the search product remains intact.

Writing in the company’s blog last year, Marissa Mayer, Google’s director of consumer Web products, suggested that pranks might be “distracting to some, but they don’t affect the overall quality of our search service, whose objectivity, as always, remains the core of our mission.”

Still, some conservative blogs have condemned Mr. Bowers’s tactic. These include Outside the Beltway, which has called him “unscrupulous,” and Hot Air, which declared the effort “fascinatingly evil.”

But Mr. Bowers suggested that he was acting with complete transparency and said he hoped political campaigns would take up the tactic, which he called “search engine optimization,” as a standard part of their arsenal.

“I did this out in the open using my real name, using my own Web site,” he said. “There’s no hidden agenda. One of the reasons for this is to show that campaigns should be doing this on their own.”

Indeed, if all campaigns were doing it, the playing field might well be leveled.

Mr. Bowers said he did not believe the practice would actually deceive most Internet users.

“I think Internet users are very smart and most are aware of what a Google bomb is,” he said, “and they will be aware that results can be massaged a bit.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10.....nted=print

Like the “from news sources that would be widely trusted”, so why is the MSM not trusted anymore.

Especially like “wanted actual news reports so it would be clear that we weren’t making anything up.”, meaning the MSM making up “actual news”.

Of course google’s NOT biased, “a hands-off policy when it comes to correcting for the effects of Google bombs” and “they don’t affect the overall quality of our search service”.

HotAir has the best verdict “fascinatingly evil.”
wardmama4
October 26th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
That has been going on a long time - just do Cindy Sheehan - it takes you forever to find the first negative article and usually within the top five is that idiotic Meet With Cindy drivel.

Just sad that immature, childish Dems feel that this is 1) a clever political tactic, 2) puts the DNC into a positive light, and 3) is a good thing.

But then the Dems can’t run on their platform, ideas and truth - so I guess that they have to resort to this tactics.
1sttofight
October 26th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
The majority of democrats are immature, never grew up.
That accounts for their resistance to laws and common sense. Also their everyone should be be same attitude.
They are like a bunch of little kids arguing on the playground.
Their problem is they dont have a clue that the majority of Americans are not like them.

Used to be called the SILENT MAJORITY , dont know what it is called nowadays.
dulcimergrl
October 26th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
I knew there was a reason I never use Google. It’s oh-so-clear to me now why I’ve never liked it…
mathews
October 26th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Embedded BBC attempts to top CNN, or how I defeated my country and joined the caliphate.
(saw link on drudgereport)

Travelling with the Taleban

The BBC’s David Loyn has had exclusive access to Taleban forces mobilised against the British army in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.

There is no army on earth as mobile as the Taleban. The Taleban say history is on their side

I remember it as their secret weapon when I travelled with them in the mid-1990s, as they swept aside rival mujahideen to take most of the country.

Piled into the back of open Toyota trucks, their vehicle of choice, and carrying no possessions other than their weapons, they can move nimbly.

The bare arid landscape of northern Helmand suits them well.

After one hair-raising race across the desert last week, patrolling the large area where they can move at will, they screamed to a stop at a river bank.

Hardy

It was sunset, and time to pray before breaking the Ramadan fast they had kept since sunrise.

Before praying, they washed in a dank-looking pool at the side of the almost-dry river bed.

Afghanistan has been in the grip of a severe drought for several years, but the lack of clean water does not seem to concern these hardy men.

“We rose up and saved almost the whole country from the evils of corruption and corrupt commanders… that’s why people are supporting the Taleban again now.”
Mohammed Anif
Taleban spokesman

They clean their teeth with sharpened sticks taken from trees, and sleep with only the thinnest shawls to cover them.

They have surprised the British by the ferocity of their fighting and their willingness to take casualties.

Their belief in the imminence of paradise means that few exhibit fear.

When we stopped for the night, they would break into groups to eat in different houses in a village.

They demand and get food and shelter from places where they stop, but it is impossible to say how enthusiastic the villagers really are.

Power base

These remote villages, scattered across the huge expanse of the northern Helmand desert, are very poor, and made poorer by the drought.

Taleban fighters appear both ferocious and fearless.

The food we shared was just a bowl of rice, a vegetable stew made only of okra, and flat roughly-ground country bread.

The failure of aid policies to make a difference in southern Afghanistan and increasing corruption in the government and the national army, are spreading the power base of the Taleban.

The trucking companies, who backed them first in 1994 when they emerged to clear illegal checkpoints on the roads, are now backing them again.

This time the checkpoints are manned by Afghan government soldiers, who demand money at gunpoint from every driver.

The failure of the international community to stop this makes the military task of the British-led Nato force in the south much harder.

The Taleban official spokesman, Mohammed Anif, explained: “When the Islamic movement of the Taleban started in the first place, the main reason was because of concern among people about corruption.

“People were fed up with having to bribe governors, and other authorities.

“We rose up and saved almost the whole country from the evils of corruption and corrupt commanders. That’s why people are supporting the Taleban again now.”

Civilian casualties

The intensifying conflict itself also plays into their hands. It is hard for Nato to promote its mission as humanitarian given the inevitable civilian casualties of conflict.

The Taleban deny British claims that hundreds of their soldiers have been killed.
They say that since they wear only the loose long cotton shirts and trousers - shalwar kameez - of any local villager, then the British cannot easily tell them apart.

Sher and Nur Ahmad were orphaned when a bomb fell on their home

In a village damaged by a British attack on the night of 7 October, some people were too angry to talk to me because I was British.

One merely pointed to the torn and bloody women’s clothing left in the ruins of the house and said bitterly, “Are these the kind of houses they have come to build - the kind where clothing is cut to pieces?”.

Nato sources describe this village as being heavily defended by the Taleban, who fired on their forces throughout the operation.

British soldiers landed in helicopters, arrested a suspect and flew away.

But they left six dead in one family, including three young girls, and partially demolished the mosque.

Thousands of people have fled the fighting, many seeking refuge in Kandahar city, where they are putting severe pressure on the ability of the UN’s World Food Programme to help.

They fear for the homes and farms they have left behind, and while not active Taleban supporters, it is clear that most blame Nato more for the worsening violence.

Folk memory

One man, Nazar Mohammed, now squatting with his family in a building site in Kandahar, said the Taleban have most to gain in the continuing conflict.

Taleban fighters are highly mobile.

“It’s very obvious. Right now we see foreigners with tanks driving through our vineyards. They destroy people’s orchards.

“They break through the walls and just drive across. When they take up positions in the village like this, nobody can cooperate with them.”

There is one other factor that increases Taleban morale.

Few have any education beyond years spent in the madrassas, the fundamentalist religious schools in Pakistan that have produced an endless supply of Taleban for more than a decade.

But all know the story of Afghanistan’s past victories over the British.

Engraved in their collective folk memory of Afghanistan’s warrior history are tales of the defeat of the British in 1842 and 1880 along with the defeat of the Russians in the 1980s.

The Taleban disappeared to the mountains after their defeat in 2001, and found it hard to recruit.

Five years on they are back, and regrouping against an old enemy.

David Loyn’s TV report on Afghanistan can be seen on Newsnight on Wednesday at 2230 (BBC Two).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6081594.stm

Maybe Loyns will have some ambush or sniper video to show.

Don’t the Brits have the SAS to take care of thugs like Loyns?

I guess the Teason Act has expired in the U.K.
1sttofight
October 26th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
They have surprised the British by the ferocity of their fighting and their willingness to take casualties.

People hopped up on herion tend to do stupid things.
rocketman
October 26th, 2006 at 5:02 pm
1st - The day the Russians invaded A-stan a friend of mine who was from Pakistan told me they (the Russians) would never win. That the afgans would fight to the death. Seems he knew what he was talking about, eh? Reflecting on that conversation, I sometimes wonder what is eventually going to happen.
1sttofight
October 26th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
RM,
Until we start fighting on their terms, we will lose.
Same in VN, we could do some things but not others.
War is all out, no rules.
How long do you think the NVA would have lasted if we bombed Hanoi?
But then that would have got China involved.
Lets get it over with.
Damnit .
mathews
October 26th, 2006 at 10:04 pm
SG, better grap this Drudge report item, Allen’s gone nuclear on Webb, now this is an October surprise!

ALLEN’S REVENGE: EXPOSES UNDERAGE SEX SCENES IN OPPONENT’S NOVELS

Thu Oct 26 2006 20:05:37 ET

Sen. George Allen, R-VA, unleashed a press release late Thursday that exposed his rival’s fiction writing, which includes graphic underage sex scenes.

The press release, as provided by the Allen Campaign:

WEBB’S WEIRD WORLD

The Author’s Disturbing Writings Show a Continued Pattern of Demeaning Women

· Some of Webb’s writings are very disturbing for a candidate hoping to represent the families of Virginians in the U.S. Senate.

· Many excellent books about the United States military and wartime service accomplish their purposes, and even win awards, without systematically demeaning women, and without dehumanizing women, men and even children.

· Webb’s novels disturbingly and consistently – indeed, almost uniformly – portray women as servile, subordinate, inept, incompetent, promiscuous, perverted, or some combination of these. In novel after novel, Webb assigns his female characters base, negative characteristics. In thousands of pages of fiction penned by Webb, there are few if any strong, admirable women or positive female role models.

Why does Jim Webb refuse to portray women in a respectful, positive light, whether in his non-fiction concerning their role in the military, or in his provocative novels? How can women trust him to represent their views in the Senate when chauvinistic attitudes and sexually exploitive references run throughout his fiction and non-fiction writings?

· Most Virginians and Americans would find passages such as those below shocking, especially coming from the pen of someone who seeks the privilege of serving in the United States Senate, one of the highest offices in the land:

– Lost Soldiers: “A shirtless man walked toward them along a mud pathway. His muscles were young and hard, but his face was devastated with wrinkles. His eyes were so red that they appeared to be burned by fire. A naked boy ran happily toward him from a little plot of dirt. The man grabbed his young son in his arms, turned him upside down, and put the boy’s penis in his mouth.”

Bantam Books, NY, 1st Edition, 2001, (hard cover), page 333.
Quote is from para. 10,.Chap. 34.

– Something to Die For: “Fogarty . . . watch[ed] a naked young stripper do the splits over a banana. She stood back up, her face smiling proudly and her round breasts glistening from a spotlight in the dim bar, and left the banana on the bar, cut in four equal sections by the muscles of her vagina.”

William Morrow and Company, Inc., NY 1991, 1st Ed. (hardcover), p. 36.
Avon Books, New York, 1992 (Mass-Market paperback edition), p. 35
Quote is from para. 29, Chap. 2 “The South China Sea,”, Section 2

– A Country Such as This: “[He] could see Jawbone and Ashley Asthmatic [two guards at a Vietnamese prison camp] napping together in the grass. They faced inward, their arms entwined. It looked like they were masturbating each other. It didn’t surprise him. … It was common to see men holding hands, embracing, playing with each other. Some of them [the guards] had wanted him. He could tell in those evanescent moments between his bao cao bow, the obligatory deference when a guard entered his cell, and the first word or blow that followed it… Quick, grinding voices, turgid with repressed passion. An exploratory reaching of the hand near his groin…”

Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY, 1983 (hardcover); page 396.
Bluejacket Books, 2001 (Trade paperback edition), page 396
Page numbers are the same in the Naval Institute Press (paperback) edition, 1983.
Quote is from fifth para, Part 5 “A Country Such As This,” Chap. 24, Section 1

– A Sense of Honor: “Nurse Goodbody, dark and voluptuous (Lenahan had forgotten her actual name, it was something long and Italian), was a bedtime friend to many of the doctors in Bethesda. She had hinted to Lenahan that she simply could not contain herself. Doctors tending to patients, she explained, aroused her. Morphine Mary (again Lenahan could not remember her exact name) was a thin, nervous drill sergeant type, a disciplinarian who did not allow her patients even to complain. Lenahan was convinced that Morphine Mary did not even sleep with her husband. She wasn’t bad looking, he mused again, staring at her thin frame. If she’d just get laid every now and then she’d mellow out and stop being such a damn witch.” (p. 164) (Lenahan brings Goodbody home with him and has sex, pp. 188-190)

Prentice-Hall, New York, 1981 (hardcover)
Bantam, New York, 1982 (Mass-Market paperback edition), p. 164
Trade paperback edition, Bluejacket Books, 1995, p. 164
Quote is from fourth para in Part 3, “Chapter 4:1600”

– Something to Die For: “[Fogarty] has been thinking of the firm, springy skin and the sweet smells of a young Filipina woman named Maria in whose bed he had spent three nights almost twenty years ago. . . . She was a deliciously bad young woman. . . . On the second night, he had brought her a box of Godiva chocolates . . . . he had awakened to find her in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet with her knees underneath her chin, eating chocolates and counting her rosary beads as she prayed.”

William Morrow and Company, Inc., NY 1991, 1st Ed. (hardcover), p. 32.
Avon Books New York, 1992 (Mass-Market paperback edition), p. 30
Quote is from third para in Chapter 2 “South China Sea,”, Part 2

– Something to Die For: “We’re on our way to becoming the world’s recreational center, a nation [USA] not to be taken seriously. Where are we still the undisputed leader? Music. Movies. Fast food. Drugs. . . . the billboards fifty years from now as you come over the bridge and stop at the tollbooths outside Manhattan: A smiling beautiful naked woman, and the sign saying AMERICAN ASS IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCT.”

William Morrow and Company, Inc., NY 1991, 1st Ed. (hardcover), p. 199.
Avon Books New York, 1992 (Mass-Market paperback edition), p. 237
Quote is from para. 38, Chap. 13, Part 1, (five paras before Part 2).

– Fields of Fire: Snake (the protagonist) sees his mother on the bed: “She looked as if she were carefully attempting to re-create a picture from some long-forgotten men’s magazine . . . . She was naked underneath the robe . . . . and the robe fell loosely away, revealing her. Snake shrugged resignedly.”

Prentice-Hall, New York, 1978 (Hardcover, 1st edition), p. 8
Bantam Books “mass market [paperback] edition” published in Sept. 2001. p. 9.
Quote is from paragraphs 18-23, Part 1 “The Best We Have”, Section 1
(NOTE: Part 1 is after the Prologue)

– Fields of Fire: “He saw the invitation with every bouncing breast and curved hip. . . . He was thirteen. . . . She was fifteen . . . . In a few moments she drew him to her and he murmured in his quiet voice, ‘I am still small.’ ‘You are large enough,’ she answered. And he found he was.”

Prentice-Hall, New York, 1978 (Hardcover, 1st edition), pp. 211-212
Bantam Books “mass market [paperback] ed.” published in Sept. 2001, pp. 280-81.
Quote is from paragraphs 8-20, Part 2 “The End of the Pipeline,” Chapter 24

– A Sense of Honor: “… that is, if you knew who your sister was, Brustein, and if she’d been born with anything between her legs except an asshole, I’d be happy to bring some class to your low-rent name by knocking the bitch up.” (p. 223)

Prentice-Hall, New York, 1981 (hardcover)
Bantam, New York, 1982 (Mass-Market paperback edition), p. 223
Trade paperback edition, Bluejacket Books, 1995, p. 223
Quote is from 17th para in Part 4, “Chapter 7:1930”

– A Sense of Honor: “You wouldn’t have believed it, Swede. She just dropped her britches and lifted up her skirt and pissed like a man. Didn’t lose a drop, either. Not a drop.” (p. 183)

Prentice-Hall, New York, 1981 (hardcover)
Bantam, New York, 1982 (Mass-Market paperback edition), p. 183
Trade paperback edition, Bluejacket Books, 1995, p. 183
Quote is from 23rd para in Part 3, “Chapter 8: 2300”

END

http://www.drudgereport.com/flashaw.htm

Guess someone was doing their reading.
rocketman
October 26th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
Mathews - Great grab ! It will be fun to watch the fall out next few days. I’d guess Webb is toast. Wait til Limbaugh, Hannity et al get hold of this,,, don’t love payback?
mathews
October 27th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Webb’s got spin control working this morning. Imus had Sen Chris Dodd defending Webb but Dodd refused to read or listen to Webb’s writings, hilarious.
Here’s Webb saying his own writing is inappropiate!

Webb Says His Novels ‘Inappropriate’ for News Radio

By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
October 27, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - In an interview on Washington Post Radio Friday morning, Jim Webb, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia, said excerpts of his novels are “a little bit inappropriate” to be read on news radio.

“I don’t know why you’re reading that on WTOP,” Webb told host Mark Plotkin. “I think it’s a little bit inappropriate.”

Plotkin was reading an excerpt from Webb’s novel “Something to Die For,” in which Webb describes a female stripper performing sexual acts with a banana.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate for you to read on WTOP,” Webb said again as Plotkin finished the excerpt. (Washington Post Radio is WTOP’s sister station.)

The campaign of Republican Sen. George Allen on Thursday released excerpts from some of the war novels Webb wrote between 1978 and 2002. The books include some graphic sexual passages, as well as frequent uses of a racial slur for blacks and descriptions of Vietnamese women as “monkey-faced.”

Among the excerpts is a scene from the 2002 novel “Lost Soldiers,” in which a man embraces his four-year-old son and places the boy’s penis in his mouth.

Webb said the release of the excerpts was “a Karl Rove campaign tactic” and a “classic example of the way this campaign has worked. It’s smear after smear.”

He defended his fiction as “illuminative.”

“It’s not a sexual act,” Webb told Plotkin regarding the “Lost Soldiers” excerpt. “I actually saw this happen in a slum in Bangkok when I was there as a journalist.”

“The duty of a writer is to illuminate his surroundings,” he added.

Coincidentally, a Cambodian woman in Las Vegas is facing sexual assault charges for performing a similar act on her young son, according to an Oct. 14 report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The article quotes an office manager for the Cambodian Association of America, who described the act as a sign of respect or love.

“It’s an exception,” Thira Srey told the Review-Journal of the practice. According to the report, the act is usually performed by a mother or caretaker on a child who is one year old or younger. In Webb’s novel, the child is four years old.

Webb criticized the Allen campaign for focusing on excerpts from his novels.

“The most important issue facing the country, he hasn’t got a statement to make on it,” Webb said of the Iraq war. “This country’s been breaking into pieces economically … they’ve got no position on that.

Well Webb and his DNC buddies started the mudslinging smear, surprised at who it’s sticking to now.

If Webb wins is he the “Banana Senator” or the “Child’s Penis in Mouth Senator”?
mathews
October 27th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Guess James Webb’s writings will lock in that appeal to those NASCAR dads. (from post primary DNC hype)

… [T]hought Webb might be able to pull it off—as a former Republican with a war-hero halo, he could open up doors, bring voters back to the Democrats, give incumbent George Allen a run for his money. As an outdoorsman who embraced the pro-gun cause, Webb could reach out to the NASCAR dads, with whom Jarding had connected during Mark Warner’s campaign…

http://www.washingtonian.com/features/webb_2.html
mathews
October 27th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Kean doing one two punch in New Jersey, One gay marriage, two DNC Senators are quitters:

New Jersey’s Kean Challenges Incumbents on Homeland Security Funding

(CNSNews.com) - New Jersey has been shortchanged on homeland security assistance from the federal government because its incumbent U.S. Senators “gave up” and yielded to a flawed funding formula, according to Republican state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. …

But Kean claims his opponent actually allowed the “risk-based” formula to be removed, to the detriment of New Jersey…

“They [Menendez and Lautenberg] were sent in to resolve the differences and gave up,” Kean said…

Repeated phone calls to the Menendez campaign seeking comment on Kean’s specific allegations about the senator’s role in the conference committee were not returned&#

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