MORNING INTELL: Terrorist Gets Truth Serum Treatment, NFL, Oldest Pot Stash

BLOGOSPHERE NEWS:
December 4 2008



THE SCOOP:
* Russian Warships to Go Through Panama Canal
* The Atlantic Takes Up Obama Citizenship Question
* ChiTrib Runs Obama Citizenship Apologia
* UK school: Christmas celebration, OUT; Eid, IN
* World's Oldest Pot Stash Found
* Pakistan Navy Trained Mumbai Terrorists
* Mumbai Bombers Took Cocaine, LSD Beforehand
* Indians use Truth Serum on Terrorist
* NFL Power Ratings--Week 14

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A WORLD OF NEWS

1. Remember when it was an American possession? Russian warship to cross Panama Canal.
   

   A Russian warship will sail through the Panama Canal this week for the first time since World War II, the navy announced Wednesday, pushing ahead with a symbolic projection of Moscow's power in a traditional U.S. zone of influence.

   
   Another legacy of the great Jimmy Carter years.
   
   
2. Not good: We were trained by Pak navy: Captured terrorist.
   

   Azam Amir, the terrorist who was held by the Mumbai Police, has made some striking revelations regarding the Mumbai terror attacks. Azam has disclosed that the Pakistan Navy had trained the terrorists in boating and swimming to carry out the attacks in Mumbai. Azam was arrested on Wednesday from Girgaum Chowpatty in an encounter with the police. Ismail Khan, an accomplice of Amir, reportedly died in the gunbattle.

   
   Obviously, Pakistan's new president needs to get segments of its military under control.
   
   
3. And how do you suppose the Indian authorities got the information out of Azam Amir? Mumbai police to use truth serum on 'baby-faced' terrorist Azam Amir Kasab.
   
   
4. MORE MUMBAI. The real drug war might be in India: Mumbai bombers 'took cocaine and LSD' before carrying out attacks. A little buzz before the bombing takes the edge off--or puts it on.
   
   

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QUICK HITTERS

• World's Oldest Pot Stash Found: Huge Stash of Marijuana Found in Ancient Tomb.
  

  An ancient Caucasian people, probably the Indo-European-speaking Yuezhi whose fair-haired mummies keep turning up in Xinjiang province, seem to have buried one of their shamans with a whopping 789 grams of high-potency pot 2,700 years ago.

  
  If that mummy had been caught in Cleveland with 1.75 pounds today, he would face another burial.
  
  
• Minneapolis discovery costs Franken 36 votes
  

  Elections officials in Minnesota's largest city today discovered that one precinct came up 133 ballots short of election day totals, resulting in a net loss for Democratic challenger Al Franken of 36 votes.

  
  That negates an earlier pickup of 37 votes for Franken in Maplewood.
  
  
• Saxby Hearts Sarah: Chambliss: Palin Key To My Win. Although Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee came into Georgia to help Chambliss, only Sarah Palin went around the state, speaking at four different locations on the final day before the election.
  
  
• IS OBAMA's BIRTH CERTIFICATE GOING MSM? Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic, discusses Townhall discussing Obama's citizenship questions: Discourse Watch: Obama's Citizenship A Legit Topic?.
  Ambinder: "The birth charge is specious and has been convincingly refuted." Of course, it hasn't, but what else would readers expect Ambinder to write? Much easier to link to snopes and their COLB digital image than to do a bit of independent research on his own.
  
  
• The obligatory Chicago Tribune Obama citizenship apologia: Tax activist's ad challenges Obama's eligibility for office
  
  
• Hillary Clinton Ineligible: Judicial Watch Announces Hillary Clinton Constitutionally Ineligible to Serve as Secretary of State. Supporters are calling it a "technicality". But aren't all laws?
  
  

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SEE ALL, KNOW ALL

1. Harvard's endowment takes it on the chin. The financial crisis has walloped the lib university to the tune of over $8 billion.
   

   Harvard University's endowment suffered investment losses of at least 22% in the first four months of the school's fiscal year, the latest evidence of the financial woes facing higher education. The Harvard endowment, the biggest of any university, stood at $36.9 billion as of June 30, meaning the loss amounts to about $8 billion. That's more than the entire endowments of all but six colleges, according to the latest official tally.

   
   
   
2. Maybe he's gonna write about night life? Meet Slate's New Columnist: Eliot Spitzer.
   
   
3. HO HO ALLAH AKBAR: School cancels Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim Eid celebrations .
   "A primary school has cancelled its Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim festival of Eid celebrations because it would be too much for the children to do both."
   Of course.
   
   
4. Michelle Goldberg's annoyed at Newt for not signing onto anti-Christian bigotry: Newt Gingrich Hasn't Gotten The Memo.
   Who's Goldberg? An author of an upcoming book on "the rise of Christian nationalism". Maybe Goldberg's next book will be the "rise of the Illuminati"?
   
   
5. Jeb Bush to GOP: Don't Become 'Democrat-Lite': "Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tells Newsmax that the GOP must broaden its appeal to avoid becoming “the old white-guy party,” and recommends that Republicans create a “shadow government” to engage Democrats on important issues as the incoming Obama administration seeks to enact its agenda."
   
   

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MEATY LINK FUNK GOODNESS

• Orwellian Airport Security and Brain-fingerprinting Technology
  
  
• Offshore Drilling Record Set in Gulf of Mexico
  
  
• Bill and Hill's price: Giving up the Con (Always Hurts)
  
  
• Community Activist Helps Squatters Infest Other People's Houses: "
  Being a community activist is the perfect job for moonbats. With the media behind you, you get can all the way to the White House. Even if you don't, you can have lots of fun helping to dismantle civilization."
  
  
• MICHELLE MALKIN: Obama finally lets Fox News ask a question.
  
  

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• Charlie Weis coming back for 2009 Irish encore: Has Notre Dame finally lowered its standards?
  
  
• TOP 3: Giants, Titans, Steelers. Sports Illustrated NFL Power Ratings--Week 14
  
  
• Just Go, Plaxico, Just Go: Vacchiano: Giants have had enough of Burress.
  

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file; hot air

MORNING INTELL: Senator Slick Willie and Robot Soldiers

BLOGOSPHERE NEWS:
December 2 2008



THE SCOOP:
* Senator Slick Willie?
* TIME's Tool
* Mumbai's Message
* Pentagon's Robot Soldiers
* Jihad against Civilization

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A WORLD OF NEWS

1. OBAMA's ELECTION HASN'T ENDED TERRORISM?
   

   File this one under “Deluded Expectations.” During MSNBC’s coverage of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, daytime anchor Alex Witt seemed frustrated that the election of Barack Obama 23 days earlier — and the accompanying “global outpouring of affection, respect, hope” — had not caused an end to terrorist violence.

   
   
   We'd say: file this under the heading, "Some Obama Supporters Aren't Very Well Informed--or Anchored in Reality: MSNBC Anchor Frets: Why Hasn’t Obama’s Election Ended Terrorism?.
   
   From MSNBC's Alex Witt Amazed There Are Still Terrorists Even After Obama Won: "Congratulations, Alex. You're starting to figure out the future you've helped make for us by hyping the clueless and unqualified Obambi all the way into the White House."
   
   
2. WTF?!?: Bill Clinton mentioned for wife's Senate seat. "Senator Slick Willie" does have a certain ring to it.
   
   
   
   
3. Al Franken still isn't funny: Minnesota Recount: Franken’s Sore Loser Strategy. If Franken doesn't get enough votes, it's off to the courts--or even the Senate! Both are funny places.
   
   
4. Al-Qaida: Making some lists and checking them twice...
   "In Washington, analysts in the law enforcement and intelligence communities will be putting together "after incident reports" on Mumbai. So too will terrorists in Islamabad, Kabul and Gaza."
   Mumbai: A Message for America
   
   
5. One item of disagreement with the above story is the following:
   

   If you think about what ten terrorists in Mumbai were able to accomplish with automatic weapons, grenades, and bombs against the Indian special forces and military, you realize that a similar attack against modestly-armed American police with a few special weapons teams would create even greater havoc. Certainly, the military would be mobilized in response, but all of that takes time, especially in our multi-layered federal system with its historic emphasis on local control. In the initial hours of an attack, the terrorists would vastly out-gun the police. The police would hardly be able to contain the situation let alone bring it to denouement.

   
   We're not sure where the author, Abraham H. Miller, lives; but apparently he is unaware of the increasing militarization of America's small-town police forces. Undertaken in the name of "not wanting to be out-gunned by the bad guys", police throughout the country are using assault tactics and weapons to carry out routine duties. It's not only scary, it's a waste of money. Mumbai's message might be many things, but one thing it's not: the transformation of the Mayberry Police Dept. into a special commando unit.
   
   

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QUICK HITTERS

• Water-Powered Car Video: GenePax Hydro Car Set for 2010: Japanese company GenePax unveils their water-powered car in this short video demonstration. It runs about an hour at 80 kilometers/hour. They hope to be in production by 2010. [video length: 1:21]
  
  
  
• Is there a bigger tool than TIME's Joe Klein? Klein can't believe that reporters are asking PE Obama "inane" questions?
  

  Watching the Obama rollout of his national security team from overseas--I'm in Europe, on my way to Afghanistan--I was struck by the inanity of most of the questions from my colleagues.

  
  For 22 months, the press asked BHO a steady stream of inane, insipid questions. Why would there be a sudden "Change"? Why is it that MSM reporters always ask questions about their total tool-ness after the fact? Memo to Klein: this would have been a real story if you'd written it in August. Now, it's just another eyebrow-chewing MSM piece written to assure readers--and the reporter--that you're "thoughtful".
  
  
• MO's Big Thank You: Michelle’s ring thing.
  MMalken: "If Michelle thinks she should receive a present for contributing to the successful Obama campaign, what gift is she getting him for winning it?"
  Sometimes, when presented with too much information all at once, the human mind shuts down. The above question makes the mind spin at the possibilities.
  
  
• Change to The British System?
  Don Surber: "The British government saves money by forgetting to treat Alzheimer’s patients." Free Health Care
  
  
• During the campaign, the ObamaBunch cut off access to those asking anything but softball questions. Doesn't look like that's going to "Change!" anytime soon. Don't say America wasn't warned: Change... Obama Continues Boycott of FOX News.
  
  

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Michael Ramirez, IBD:

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SEE ALL, KNOW ALL

1. Sounds like the Terminator to us: Pentagon hires British scientist to help build robot soldiers that 'won't commit war crimes'.
   Just a guess: It'd be hard to try a robot in a court of law.
   
   
2. Britain, the Land of the PC - UK: Muslim Prayer Rooms Should Be Offered in Catholic Schools .
   "Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in every Roman Catholic school, Church leaders have said. The Catholic bishops of England and Wales also want special toilet facilities in schools to be adapted for Islamic cleaning rituals."
   No word if holy water will be used in the footbaths.
   
   
3. Why do you suppose he didn't do a Gay version of the Koran? Gay Bible Set to Publish: Aida and Eve, Christian “Backlash” Needed
   
   
4. More Mumbai: Jihad: The War Against Civilization
   

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MEATY LINK FUNK GOODNESS

• Idiots of the Week: December 1, 2008
  
  
• Thankful? Four videos that will make anyone swear off getting wrapped up in "World of Warcraft". WoW was the same game that brought the two killers in 2007's Baby Grace murder together.
  
  
• Giants are leading, Steelers, Cowboys tied for second at the moment: POLL: Which NFL Team Will Win Super Bowl XLIII
  
  
• More money down a rathole: On Bailing out an unsalvageable dinosaur industry.
  Either the bailout is about saving companies serious about saving themselves--or it's about saving some cushy jobs both in the front office and on the assembly line.
  
  

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file; hot air

Dangerous World for Obama: Five Places Obama Will Be Tested

The Five Obama Foreign Policy Tests:
Obama's Not Even Sworn In Yet But
Russia, Terrorists, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran
Have Started the Testing of Obama

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Americans were assured that the world couldn't wait until the election of a President Obama--and it was true. The world didn't wait until Obama officially takes office on January 20 to start testing the former junior senator from Illinois.

Joe Biden called it during the presidential campaign: Within six months, Barack Obama will be tested by countries around the globe if he won. [Joe Biden: Elect Obama and We’ll Have an International Crisis]

The Mainstream press didn't address Biden's comments much--other than feature numerous campaign spokesmen "clarifying" Biden's remarks. Obama's lack of experience or credentials wasn't a topic for polite MSM conversation: it was much more pleasant to write about what "Change" really meant.

Within hours of Barack Obama winning the 2008 election, Russia announced it was putting missiles next to NATO countries. This wasn't the only wake-up call for the new administration. There are other countries and groups seemingly lined up to see what the United States' response will be to global challenges.

We've picked out four of the earliest ones.

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• Test #1: Russia and Europe
  
  From Obama's First Diplomatic Test:
  
  

  The day after Obama's election, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev publicly threatened to deploy missiles near the borders of two NATO allies to counter the Bush Administration's plans to install antimissile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. The Russian announcement, rolled out during an elaborate ceremony, was timed to put one of the most contentious issues between Moscow and Washington on Obama's table right away. Obama and his advisers took it as an intentional provocation aimed at testing the President-elect.

  
  
  TIME then makes an amazing statement: "In fact, Obama's biggest challenge lies not in the tone he takes with the Russians but in the substantive policy choices he makes."
  
  What is this? Won't "acting presidential" pacify the Russians? It certainly worked on the American Mainstream Media during the election. It seems a little late in the game for TIME to talk "substantive policy choices" after the election.
  
  Unlike the MSM, Russia will not be swayed by a confident Obama style only. Like their invasion of Afghanistan during Jimmy Carter's term, the Russians will be watching U.S. responses and adjusting their policy accordingly.
  
  
  
• Test #2: Iraq and Afghanistan
  
  Obama ran a relentless campaign against George W. Bush--who wasn't a candidate. But Obama will find that it was Bush's surge policy--in stark contrast to Obama's plan to beat a hasty retreat--that carried the day in Iraq.
  
  From early indications, Obama will roughly follow the Bush agenda for Iraq; no doubt disturbing his anti-war supporters who helped him secure the Democrat nomination. It's been quiet in Iraq the last several months: some want to declare victory.
  
  But the incoming Obama administration may be tested by all parties in Iraq, including the Iraqi government.
  
  Al-Qaida seems detested, dejected and defeated, but they may be lying dormant. They will monitor developments and American policy and look for any openings to test the new president.
  
  Afghanistan is a different matter.
  
  The Afghan central government is corrupt; NATO allies--with the exception of Britain--are not much good once shooting starts; and, the Taliban appears to be getting stronger as the war wears on.
  
  It's promising that during the campaign, Obama did support the war in Afghanistan. So, cutting-and-running is probably not his first option from the opium capital of the world.
  
  Obama has also said that he recognizes the situation in Afghanistan is worsening. What actions will he take in response?
  
  
• Test #3: Biological and Nuclear Terror
  
  From Panel Fears Use of Unconventional Weapon:
  

  An independent commission has concluded that terrorists will most likely carry out an attack with biological, nuclear or other unconventional weapons somewhere in the world in the next five years unless the United States and its allies act urgently to prevent that.
  
  In a report to be released this week, the Congressionally mandated panel found that with countries like Iran and North Korea pursuing nuclear weapons programs, and with the risk of poorly secured biological pathogens growing, unconventional threats are fast outpacing the defenses arrayed to confront them.
  
  “America’s margin of safety is shrinking, not growing,” the bipartisan panel concluded.

  
  
  Pakistan is a particular area for concern, with terrorists with an eye toward causing death and destruction likely to come from that U.S. ally. It's suspected that the Mumbai terrorists came from Pakistan, where they likely trained and prepared.
  
  “Pakistan is an ally, but there is a grave danger it could also be an unwitting source of a terrorist attack on the United States — possibly with weapons of mass destruction,” the report said.
  
  
• Test #4: India and Pakistan
  
  ABC News called Mumbai "Obama's first foreign policy test". From Mumbai: Obama's First Foreign Policy Test:
  

  American officials believe the terrorists may be Pakistani extremists bent on turning the disputed Kashmir region along the border with India into a separate Islamic state.
  ...
  As Obama continues to work with the current administration to prepare for a seamless transition, history shows that foreign policy and national security cannot be put on hold during presidential transitions.

  
  
  Mumbai was seen by some, including Melanie Phillips, as another battle in the worldwide Jihad now being fought.
  
  One wrong move and the world could witness the first nuclear war between the countries on the Indian subcontinent.
  
  
• Test #5: A nuclear armed Iran
  
  Iran is not going to change its headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons--or its reasons for acquiring them--because of pleasant talk, smiles and handshakes. The Islamic Republic respects one thing: power.
  
  What actions will a President Obama take?
  
  Hopefully, they'll be wiser than the policies of ex-president, Jimmy Carter.
  
  From Obama's First Foreign Policy Tests
  
  

  Successive, Democratic and Republican U.S. administrations have appeased the Islamists in Iran, starting with the catastrophic Carter administration, which secretly assisted the Islamist overthrow of the pro-U.S. Shah, a modernizing monarch, in a craven, cynical attempt to curry favor with the Ayatollah Khomeini.
  ...
  China Confidential analysts believe that Iran's Hitlerian maniac-in-chief, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (whom President-elect Obama has offered to meet in face-to-face talks) is determined to announce a major nuclear breakthrough in time for this February's 30th anniversary celebrations of the Islamic Republic.

Five tests for President-elect Obama.

The world will be watching to see how he scores.

Americans hope he gets a passing grade.


by Mondo Frazier
image: dbkp file

MORNING INTELL: SecState Clinton, EnviroCourt, No Beer for America

BLOGOSPHERE NEWS:
December 1 2008



THE SCOOP:
* Clinton Obama's Secretary of State
* Al-Qaida #2: "America, Convert to Islam; Give Up Beer
* Taj Mahaj CEO: Mumbai Terrorists Well-Trained and Prepared
* CNN in Mumbai: Helping the Terrorists Target Victims
* Cock-fighting on Steroids
* Steyn Takes on the Sheep Shaggers
* Shysters Want International Environmental Court
* Google Gags MMalken Videos

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A WORLD OF NEWS

1. All is not well in the Chinese economy: laid-off workers and those who have lost their jobs--over 7000 factories have closed in South China due to the worldwide economic slowdown--roam the streets and are prone to express their disatifaction with lost wages by rioting. Chinese Economy: Riots at the Nerf Toy Factory
   
   
2. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton: Obama, Clinton Seal the Deal.
   
   "The news conference at a Chicago hotel is scheduled to begin at 10:40 a.m. Eastern."
   
   
3. Clinton passed on a powerful Senate committee chairmanship to take the SecState job.Hillary Clinton passed on Appropriations chair to become Obama's Secretary of State
   
   
4. It could have been worse: The Taj Mahaj Hotel were alerted of a possible terrorist attack. Taj Mahal hotel chairman: We had warning
   

   The Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, temporarily increased security after being warned of a possible terrorist attack, the chairman of the company that owns the hotel said Saturday.
   
   But Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said those measures, which were eased shortly before this week's terror attacks, could not have prevented gunmen from entering the hotel.

   
   Among the actions taken which lead Tata to conclude that the terrorists were well-trained: they evaded the metal detectors in the front by using a back kitchen entrance; they shot a sniffer dog and his handler; and, the terrorists knew the hotel's layout extremely well.
   
   
5. Melanie Phillips says the Mumbai terror attacks were part of The war against civilisation.
   She gives two things learned from the atrocities: 1) The Islamists want to murder as many Americans, Brits, Hindus and Jews as possible. That is because they are waging all-out war against civilisation; and 2) They singled out Americans, Brits and Indians in the financial heart of India to break the ever-more important strategic alliance between India and the west.
   
   
6. 3 creepy words/phrases appear in the same headline: Lawyers call for international court for the environment.
   For Green Weinie readers, that'd be "Lawyers", "international court" and "environment".
   Of course, there's fines, punishments to be administered by unaccountables.
   
   "A former chairman of the Bar Council is calling for an international court for the environment to punish states that fail to protect wildlife and prevent climate change."
   
   How about a court to punish former UK Bar Council chairmen that propose freedom- and sovereignty-killing environmental courts?
   

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QUICK HITTERS

• Zogby Interactive: Palin Leads the Pack Of Possible 2012 GOP Candidates
  AllahPundit's theory is that Bobby Jindal is stealing from Sarah Palin, who is stealing voters from Mike Huckabee. He could be right. But, perhaps not.
  
  
• 400 busted in a Dallas roid-rage cock fight: Roosters on Steroids: The Newest Rage-Roid Cock Fighters
  
  
• Your media business is struggling and cutting staff. What do you do? How about offering your dwindling customer base more of the same?: Figures... WaPo Fluff Piece Uses Lib Think Tank to Praise Obama & Bash Bush
  
  
• THE SHAGGED SHEEP: Mark Steyn gives a long, concise account of a "Journalism Doctor" who is neither a journalist nor a doctor. Oh yeah, there's some wacky animal intercourse dos-and-don'ts from the Ayatollah Khomeini. It would be funny if it didn't involve censorship and the equally-wacky Canadian "Human Rights" Tribunal.
  
  
• More uncanny similarities in the writing styles of Obama and Bill Ayers: The Odd Story of Romance in Dreams from my Father
  

  The hypothesis is simple enough, namely that Barack Obama needed substantial help to write his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father, and that this help came from the man who has made "unrepentant" a household word, Bill Ayers.

  
  

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FROM RED PLANET CARTOONS:



CONTRARY TO WHAT OBAMA SAYS:
When government stays out of the way, Freedom and Abundance are the results: The Real Story of Thanksgiving

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Hold-Over Headline Dept.
CRACK OPEN THE CHAMPAGNE!
Something else for the losers in the MSM to explain away: Most Consider The Web Most Reliable Source of News

A Zogby Poll, commissioned by IFC, found 37.6% of those asked consider the Internets the most reliable source of news. 20.3% consider national TV news most reliable and 16% say radio is the most reliable source.

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SEE ALL, KNOW ALL

1. Mr. Obama: Don’t Miss Next Week’s Chicago Tribune, Full-Page Citizenship Challenge To Run Twice,
   December 1st and 3rd.
   

   Our full-page Open Letter to Mr. Obama will be published in the Chicago Tribune on both Monday, December 1, 2008 and Wednesday, December 3, 2008. It will appear in the main news section. Click here to view a copy of the final ad.

   
   More from the Canada Free Press.
   
   
2. FIGHTING WORDS: Al-Qaeda #2 Warns America to Convert to Islam & Give Up Beer.
   
   
3. Google gags Michelle Malkin videos: Inside the world of Google censors.
   Google must think the USA is China. Google actively participates in the censorship of the Internet in China by blocking results that annoy the Chinese government. Maybe if Malken had opened her video with "Allah Akbar!", Google would have let her videos be posted.
   
   
   [ABOVE: Google image search results page for "Tiananmen" in USA and China.]
   
   
   
4. George Will takes time off bashing Sarah Palin to explain why an Obama New Deal will accomplish the same thing as the original FDR 1930s' programs: nada. Same Old New Deal?
   
   
   

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MEATY LINK FUNK GOODNESS

• Is the LA jury verdict finding creepy mom, Lori Drew, emotionally satisfying but bad law? Lori Drew Verdict: Bad Law that Threatens Us All?
  
  
• PINHEAD ALERT: LA Times' Neal Gabler has a theory: Joe McCarthy was the father of Conservatism. LA Times Pinhead: Joe McCarthy Is the Father of Conservatism
  Another theory: Neal Gabler is a pen-name used by Zippy.
  
  
• Or maybe Zippy's working at CNN?: ‘We thought we were safe... then CNN stepped in!’.
  

  A SOUTH Wales couple caught in the Mumbai terror attacks claimed last night that CNN put their lives at risk by broadcasting where they were. Lynne and Kenneth Shaw, of Penarth, warned that terrorists were listening in to the media to pinpoint Western victims.

  
  
• OOOPS! Rare Fatah Terrorist Video: Hamid Targets Israeli Armor, Blows Up Himself Instead
  
  
• He has a dream: David Axelrod's Project 2016: Electra for America.
  

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file

MORNING INTELL: Mumbai-Pakistan Link, The Left and Hate, Senator Chris Matthews

BLOGOSPHERE NEWS:
November 29 2008



THE SCOOP:
* Pakistan Behind Mumbai?
* Leaker or Whistleblower?
* Chicago: Where only the criminals have guns
* Swiss likely to approve prescription smack
* Japan, Spain Race to Join Dead Civilizations
* Senator Chris Matthews?
* Republicans Lose; We Don't have to Drink Dirty Water Anymore
* AP Doesn't Want Military Fauxtography Competition

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A WORLD OF NEWS

1. Was the attacks on Mumbai the work of the Pakistanis? Looking more likely, it seems. India, Pakistan simmer over Mumbai attacks
   

   Indian accusations of a Pakistani link to the attacks on Mumbai that killed nearly 200 people threaten to damage attempts to improve ties between the rivals.
   
   Indian officials have said most, perhaps all, of the 10 attackers who held Mumbai hostage with frenzied attacks using assault rifles and grenades came from Pakistan, a Muslim nation carved out of Hindu-majority India in 1947.
   
   An official in Islamabad said the next one to two days would be crucial for relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan has condemned the assaults and denied any involvement by state agencies.

   
   
2. American "allies" debate how best to squeeze blood money from a financially-stricken turnip: OPEC defers new oil supply cut as divisions emerge
   
   

   OPEC on Saturday deferred a decision on a new oil supply cut amid signs that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are demanding tighter adherence to restraints put in place over the past two months.
   
   Gulf producers want to see strict compliance with recent output curbs of 2 million barrels a day before considering further reductions when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Algeria on Dec. 17.

   
   Diplomats from throughout the oil-consuming world are also debating--about the best way to say, "Kiss my ass".
   
   
3. Chicago, the Kingdom by Lake Michigan: homicides are up 41% since the gun ban was passed, but who's counting? Chicago Defies the Second Amendment
   
   

   When it comes to firearms, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is no slave to rationality. "Does this lead to everyone having a gun in our society?" he demanded after the ruling came down. "Then why don't we do away with the court system and go back to the Old West, where you have a gun and I have a gun and we'll settle it in the streets?"
   
   From listening to him, you might assume that the only places in North America that don't have firefights on a daily basis are cities that outlaw handguns. You might also assume that Chicago is an oasis of concord, rather than the site of 443 homicides last year.

   
   
   
4. It's comforting to know that when the Right half of the blogosphere publishes information damaging to the Obama administration that's leaked, the NY Times will stand up and applaud. Right? Right? Leaks: A Different Story in Great Britain
   

   We have complained for years about the fact that leakers in the CIA, the State Department and elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy have carried on a war against the Bush administration since the President's first term, a war they largely have won. Politically-motivated Democrats in the bureaucracies leak to politically-motivated Democrats at newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, who run "exposes" of the Bush administration based, frequently, on selective use of classified documents. Instead of being prosecuted, the leakers have never been identified and the reporters have won awards.
   
   That infuriating situation is a striking contrast with what is happening in Great Britain, where one of the most prominent members of the Conservative opposition, shadow immigration minister Damian Green, has been arrested for receiving leaked information from a government official:

   
   
   
5. THE OBAMA TOUCH: Is Barack Obama: The Wile E. Coyote of Diplomacy? Obama is only the president-elect--as we're reminded on a hourly basis--but he's already mishandled relations with both Pakistan and India since his election. With accomplishments like that, the sky's the limit once January 20 gets here.

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QUICK HITTERS

• Wonder if its part of the socialized health care plan? Swiss likely to approve prescription heroin. Wonder how difficult it is to make chocolate and watches with a prescription monkey on your back?
  
  
• What's a Libertarian to do? Does the Libertarian party still matter?
  
  "Traditionally opposed to government interventionism, libertarians are at a loss about how to respond to the economic crisis"
  
  
• NYC Mayor Rudy knew. Dutch Experiments vindicate the "Broken Windows Theory" of how disorder and crime spreads: Is Crime Contagious?
  
  
• LOVE TO HATE: The Left is obsessed with hate. Here's a leftie blog hate two-fer: Lou Dobbs doesn't want to deal with his own culpability for hate crimes and I Hate Wal-Mart
  
  
• NO HATE HERE: Meanwhile, an Obama supporter goes on an annoyed (hate seems over-used) rampage against a Doubter-of-Hope-and-change. Hope like a butterfuly, sting like a bee: I'll kill you! Spat Over Obama Sparks Beating in Florida. The color of change in Florida is black-and-blue.
  
  
• The AP apparently satisfied the U.S. military isn't muscling in on its fauxtog territory: AP lifts ban on military photos. How many fauxtography scandals has the AP been involved in? Check out Fauxtography on Parade

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Tired of bloody revolutions and capitalistic monopolies? Mark Fiore has the answer with the economic clapper. It makes switching from one ideology to the other quick and painless with just the sound of the infamous clapper. This is exactly the radical new technology that will help improve the productivity and spped to action of our dead beat Congressional leadership.
--[for the complete animated version of the image above, see: Clap Capitalism On and Off With The Clapper]

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SEE ALL, KNOW ALL

1. Chris Matthews Staffing Up for Probable Senate Run in 2010. The news reportedly sent a thrill, chill and spill running down the legs of Arlen Specter (R-PA).
   
   
2. History lesson for those too young to remember the breathtaking days of cattle futures, Pardongate, impeachment and Travelgate: Hillary Clinton, pseudo-centrist .
   
   
3. The Quote of the day answers the question, "How do you want to be remembered, Mr. President?"
   
   
4. The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and Man Made Climate Change: Efforts to support global climate-change falls: Poll.
   

   Less than half of those surveyed, or 47 per cent, said they were prepared to make personal lifestyle changes to reduce carbon emissions, down from 58 per cent last year.
   
   Only 37 per cent said they were willing to spend "extra time" on the effort, an eight-point drop.
   
   And only one in five respondents - or 20 per cent - said they'd spend extra money to reduce climate change. That's down from 28 per cent a year ago.

   
   Al Gore's so pissed, he's buying stock in Consolidated Coal.
   
   
5. Did we make any money this week? I don't know, I'll ask Washington.
   From Market Economy to Political Economy
   

   Even more egregious will be the directives to a nationalized Detroit. Sen. Charles Schumer, the noted automotive engineer, declared "unacceptable" last week "a business model based on gas." Instead, "We need a business model based on cars of the future, and we already know what that future is: the plug-in hybrid electric car."
   
   The Chevy Volt, for example? It has huge remaining technological hurdles, gets 40 miles on a charge and will sell for about $40,000, necessitating a $7,500 outright government subsidy. Who but the rich and politically correct will choose that over a $12,000 gas-powered Hyundai? The new Detroit churning out Schumer-mobiles will make the steel mills of the Soviet Union look the model of efficiency.

   
   The economy according to Marx, Bush, Stalin, Obama and Lenin.

---

MEATY LINK FUNK GOODNESS

• Lori Drew, the Mad Max Mom Run Amok, was convicted by an LA jury of violating the terms of service of MySpace when she participated in creating a fake cyberspace boy. Her manipulation of the cyber-guy pushed 13-year-old Megan Meier over the edge to suicide and produced a national outcry once the story was publicized. Should the Lori Drew Cyberbullying Decision Be Overturned?
  

  Young Megan Meier hung herself after she was spurned by her MySpace boyfriend. The boyfriend never existed. He was a creation of the mother of one of Megan’s classmates. The mother, Lori Drew, was found guilty Tuesday of creating a fake persona.
  ...
  According to CNN, Lori Drew was convicted of three misdemeanor counts in the case of 13-year-old Megan Meier’s suicide that came as a result of her being criticized on the Web site MySpace.com.

  
  In old Western movies, the villain would be brought to the gallows and someone in the crowd would inevitably yell, "Hangin's too good for 'em!"
  
  We'll just say, "30 days in the electric chair" and leave it at that.
  
  
• Another Hillary brick in the Obama wall: Obama Picks Pro-Hillary Communications Director
  
  
• BORED, FIREARMS-INCOMPETENT ATHLETE ALERT: Maybe he didn't like the music? Plaxico Burress Shoots Himself in the Leg' Update: Shocker! Shooting Took Place at a Nightclub . At least he's not playing for the Steelers anymore.
  
  
• Abortion Now Number One Cause Of Death In Spain: Remember when the MSM was predicting in the 1980s that the USA would soon be swallowed whole by Japan, Inc.? Mark Steyn's Lights out relates how Japan and Spain are following the Path of the Dead (Civilizations). At least the dying nations share a chapter of history: Incans, Aztecs, Japanese, Spanish.
  
  
• The Left celebrates: We don't have to drink dirty water anymore! EPA, Interior Dept. Chiefs Will Be Busy Erasing Bush's Mark and Science, common sense returning to Washington. Now, mothers won't have to be worried about non-aborted babies having their grown stunted by the environmental nightmare that was America 2000-2008.

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file

MORNING INTELL: Anti-social Homosexual Penguins and RINOs

BLOGOSPHERE NEWS:
November 29 2008



THE SCOOP:
* The Religion of Man Made Global Warming Debunked
* Ten Random, Politically-Incorrect Thoughts
* 19 New Words
* Truth for RINOs
* Cyber Attack Against Combat Zone/Military Computers
* 10 Republicans Who Should Go Away
* Obama Citizenship

1. Pakistan, Likely Behind Mumbai Attacks, Sends Its Top Spymaster To Help "Investigate" the Attacks
   Ace: "Is he going to help India find the culprits, or simply to find out how much India knows about the true genesis of the crime? I suspect the latter."
   
   
2. Black Friday's Mindless Stampede. Video highlights included in the update.
   
   
3. Cyber Attack Against Combat Zone/Military Computers
   Susan Duclos: "It is suspected the origin of the malware affecting the computers was Russia but that is just a suspicion at this point and even then, they have no clue as to whether it was a private hacker or group or whether the government was involved."
   
   
4. "Shocker": Minnesota Muslim Was Somalian Homicide Bomber Terrorist
   

   Debbie Schlussel: "And therefore, I'm sure it's just a mere coincidence that several of the thousands of Somalians who've invaded Minnesota and other American locales--and insisted we adapt to their barbaric and old-world mores of refusing to be cabbies to people with guide dogs or closed bottles of alcohol in their luggage or ring up pepperoni pizza at Target--are missing and are now suicide bombers in Somalia, including this guy:"

   
   
5. How many times did Joe Biden say Obama would be tested in the first six months:Russia sells arms/transports to Chavez… pledges aid to build nuke energy program
   Among other "firsts" the campaign can claim: first time America's enemies (Russia, Iran, Palestinians, Venezuela] have so enthusiastically tested the resolve of a "president-elect".

---

QUICK HITTERS

• Victor David Hansen: Ten Random, Politically-Incorrect Thoughts
  

  2. Hollywood is going the way of Detroit. The actors are programmed and pretty rather than interesting looking and unique. They, of course, are overpaid (they do to films what Lehman Brothers’ execs did to stocks), mediocre, and politicized.

  
  
• Homosexual Penguins Steal Eggs From Healthy Couples
  Van Helsing: "As moonbats delight in publicizing, homosexuality sometimes occurs among lower animals. But in animals as in humans, this unhealthy aberration inevitably results in unfortunate consequences".
  
  
• Five Hard Truths For RINOS
  John Hawkins: "We've already gone the moderate route -- and lost. One of the most surreal aspects of the post-2008 campaign is listening to moderates pretend that the last eight years never happened."
  
  
• Silver Stars Awarded Simutaneously To Viet Nam Vet & His Son In Afghanistan
  Some things are in the genes.
  
  
• Huffington Post has a list of “10 Republicans Who Should Go Away.”
  Michelle Malkin: "Woo-hoo: We’re Number Three!"

---

[h/t: Doc Sanity, And so it goes...]

---

SEE ALL, KNOW ALL

1. US Congressman And Obama Superdelegate Travel To Indonesia To Exchange Cash For Sensitive Indonesian Records And Information: Bloggers continue to do the work that the American MSM won't do.
   
   
2. Writer Hits Mark on Issue of Obama Birth Certificate
   Bob McCarty: "Today at American Thinker, I read what is perhaps the best piece to date on the subject of President-elect Barack Obama’s birth certificate and how it relates to his eligibility to serve as the nation’s 44th president."
   
   
3. AOL MAKES ITS PITCH TO JOIN MSM: (Still) Challenging Obama's Birth Certificate
   The writer's article in three words: "Those damn bloggers!"
   
   
4. Tulsa Take: The Great Birth Certificate Scandal/Cover-Up of ‘08
   

   Buyers’ remorse is in the air. America has been hijacked. What a price we will pay if the Supreme Court and the Electoral College abandon their oaths to uphold the U.S. Constitution by capitulating – as the media have – to our enemies. God Save America!

---

MEATY LINK FUNK GOODNESS

• ATTENTION GLOBAL WARMING ATHEISTS: Debunking the religion of man made global warming
  The "broad scientific consensus" that confirmed Globaloney isn't so broad anymore.
  
  
• List of 19 New Words for 2007 , 2008 and 2009 …
  

  4. SALMON DAY : The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.

  
  
• Obama’s Pro-Abortion Fanaticism Could Close One Third of Hospitals
  Freshly-aborted Change comes to the medical field.
  
  
• The return of thrift and the essence of capitalism
  

  TigerHawk: The harsh reality is that the changing attitude of American consumers toward thrift is one of the major causes of the current global financial crisis. Millions of Americans borrowed more money than they could afford to repay in reliance on rising asset values. Sure, the financial services industry abetted the borrowing by lowering standards to accomodate the ever-greater ambitions of American consumers, but at the end of the day nobody can force you to borrow and spend too much. You do that yourself, to yourself. The return of thrift will force us to recognize that inconvenient truth, even if we do not often say it out loud.

  
  
• Wasn't Saint Hubbins The Patron Saint Of Quality Footwear?
  

  Ed Driscoll: For over a decade, the good Dr. Dalrymple has written about England's out-of-control binge drinking problem; Mark Steyn explores a pair of size 12D unintended consequences: "Britain has clearly decided it has a golden future as one vast theme-park for The Onion.

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file

Possible Terror Plot Update: Five Missing Afghan Students Names

UPDATE
More Details Surface on Missing Afghan Students

---

Earlier today, I published a post about five Afghan students reported missing for more than a week from the campus of the University of Washington. After contacting a variety of individuals and government agency representatives, I am now able to shed more light on the matter.

At 2:52 p.m. CDT, I received some answers to a set of questions I had sent to Dr. Maria Beebe, chief of party for Afghan eQuality Alliances at Washington State University. She confirmed that the University of Washington is an alliance partner, despite the fact that the name of the school was not listed on the program's website.

She also provided the names of the missing students. They are as follows:

• Mohammed Ratib Abeer — Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan;
• Masood Ghory — English Instructor for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission;
• Rahmatullah Hamidi — Scientific Member for Curriculum Development, Ministry of Education;
• Numan Tarin — Senior National Coach for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission; and
• Sayed Hashmatullah — National Consultant for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission.

Dr. Beebe said the students were reported "missing" to local police by Ken Peavler after they did not show up in class and their roommates verified that they had not shown up in their rooms. As program manager at the Evans School of Public Affairs, Peavler's duties include keeping track of the study-abroad students.

ALSO at DBKP: Five Afghan Students Missing From University of Washington, School Bus Stolen in Delaware

Of the 38 students selected for the program, only 32 remain after one returned home to Afghanistan to deal with a family matter.

Since the Afghan eQuality Alliances program is attracting a number of applicants (250 for the next batch for 36 slots), Dr. Beebe said, program officials can be more selective and add a criteria related to their current job titles.

"So, for example, we can say only directors and assistant director levels would be considered," she explained. "At that level, we will also get the older (more mature) students who have children and will have more compelling reasons to go back to Afghanistan."

Apparently, at least five of the students were not old enough or not motivated enough to want to return.

I have yet to receive additional information from U.S. Agency for International Development or the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Developing…

Check back for more updates as they occur.

WANT MORE of Bob McCarty, "The Ultimate Blogging Machine"? Try these recent posts: * Supreme Court Chief Justice Pens ‘Mystery Novel’ * Democrat’s Message Flagged as ‘Junk Mail’

by Bob McCarty
image: dbkp file
Source: More Details Surface on Missing Afghan Students

Culture: Lots of Iraqi Good News, Few Idiots of the Week

Culture Watch vol. 36
Nancy Morgan
RightBias.com
October 13, 2008

God is still smiling.

---

No, Shirley, the world hasn't melted down. Despite the media insistence that the US is once again facing an unprecedented crisis, there remains much to celebrate.

Yes, the US seems to have started down the path of socialism. The good news is, Americans are starting to realize this. And they're starting to protest. Polls are showing that a vast majority of the American people are, once again, at odds with the political and media elites. They are against the recent bailouts of Wall Street. And even though a new global poll found of 17 countries found a huge preference for Obama to be our next president in 16 of those countries, the same poll showed America still preferred McCain.

As the media focus on all the problems of the world, almost unnoticed, is the fact that there is still plenty of:

GOOD NEWS


Remember Iraq? Not too long ago it was problem number one for the American people. Lo and behold, Iraq is now doing very nicely. The Iraqi stock exchange is booming. Last month, the general index increased 40%. Year to date, Iraq's fledgling stock exchange has increased 25%, due to improved security.


Remember Sadr City? Until 6 months ago, Sadr City was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq war. Today, schools are back in session. As we reported last week, Baghdad is in the process of being turned into a vacation hotspot. Can we say 'Mission Accomplished' yet?

It looks like Iraq thinks so. Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister has told Britain that their combat forces are no longer necessary to maintain security. Go on home, he says.


Our military services, including their reserve components, have all met their recruiting goals for fiscal 2008. I guess our military is doing fine, despite what the media would have us believe.

With the war on terror increasingly including Afghanistan, the word is, we're kicking butt there, too. Taliban fighters suffered one of their heaviest defeats on Sunday when scores were killed in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand. Its getting so terrorists can't find a safe haven anywhere these days.




Other terror nations, like Iran, are starting to feel the crunch of lowered gas prices, with oil prices plunging as we speak. This is bad news for the bad guys. Lower oil prices are cutting into their terror budgets in a big way. Who knows, pretty soon these countries may not be able to afford all those one way tickets to martyr's paradise.

For Americans, however, its good news indeed. The national average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas fell 35.03 cents to $3.3079 a gallon on October 10 from $3.6582 two weeks earlier.

Despite the financial crisis that has left America and other highly ranked nations facing market meltdown, the US has again topped a widely-watched index ranking country competitiveness.
Meanwhile there is also good news in the
CULTURE WAR:

The left suffered a devastating defeat as the Supreme Court refused to grant a new trial to one of their icons, convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. I guess Mumia will have to be content to be the left's new martyr. And he didn't even have to blow himself up. Just shoot a cop. Go figure.

In California, the words 'bride' and 'groom' have been reinstated on all marriage license applications, replacing the androgynous 'applicant A,' and 'applicant B.' Hey, its a start.
In Arizona, Americans now have the right to sport 'choose life' license plates. A small but important victory, achieved only after a long legal fight.

A McDonalds executive who had been on the board of directors of the national Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce has stepped down following a successful boycott of McDonalds.

A little noticed news item has huge ramifications for our floundering political system. In Indiana, two challengers for a congressional seat have agreed to be hooked up to lie detectors during a debate. The incumbent's party dismissed the idea as 'bizarre,' which indicates to me that they have the most to hide. Here's hoping this becomes a trend.


More good news - RightBias could not find enough idiots this week to publish a separate list. You'll have to be content with just one:
IDIOT OF THE WEEK AWARD:

Bureaucrats in Switzerland win first place this week. Apparently, geneticists in Switzerland must now conduct their research on genetically modified rice, corn and apples 'without trampling on a plant's dignity.' Which begs the question, "How does one humiliate an apple?" Inquiring minds want to know.

In these chaotic times, I hope you all remember that there's plenty of good news out there. America has survived far worse things than venal politicians and amoral rent seekers.


Till next Monday, keep smiling,


by Nancy Morgan
RightBias.com

Culture Watch may be reprinted, with attribution to RightBias.com

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