American Thinker Blog
December 31, 2006
Passing events
We have tended to avoid typical year-ender articles around here: ten best/10 worst, for instance, or people who have died. Not that there's anything wrong with them. More
December 31, 2006
Deja vu all over again in Baghdad
There is an eerie parallel to Saddam's life and death in present day Iraq with that of his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar in pre Iraqi Babylonia. More
December 31, 2006
The New York Times' own Rathergate
Byron Calame, public editor of the New York Times, has laid out a carefully worded exposé of the utter breakdown of editorial standards at the New York Times. The fact that paper prominently published a falsehood is only the beginning of the problem. More
December 31, 2006
New York Times makes excuses for anti-Semite
A New York Times book review of the latest work of notorious anti-Semite Amiri Baraka attempts to excuse his bigotry. More
December 31, 2006
European reaction to Saddam's execution
David's Medienkritik, the excellent review of European journalism, presents both public opinion polling data and journalistic reactions to Saddam's hanging. Somewhat surprisingly, most countries had small majorities favoring the execution of the mass murderer. More
December 31, 2006
A party to die for
It's time to call drunken driving what it really is: attempted murder. More
December 30, 2006
Eureferendum: Support Saddam punishment
The unelected Finnish (!) temporary president of the equally unelected European Union has condemned Saddam's hanging:
"The EU has a very consistent view against using the death penalty and it should have not been used in this instance either." More
December 30, 2006
Jackie Mason on Barack Obama
The inimitable Jackie Mason guest-hosted on the Laura Ingraham radio talk show, and did quite a riff on Barack Obama. The website Speedgibson has posted an "edited for brevity" transcript. More
December 30, 2006
Kennedy: open our borders to Iraqis
Writing in the Washington Post, Senator Edward M. Kennedy urges allowing in untold numbers of Iraqis. There is an overwhelming need for temporary relief and permanent resettlement. Last year, however, America accepted only 202 Iraqi refugees, and next year we... More
December 30, 2006
Carter and Makdisi: cut from the same cloth
Saree Makdisi , a Comparative English Literature professor at UCLA, wrote an article in support of former President Jimmy Carter's accusation of Israel as an apartheid state. There is an eerie consistency in Makdisi's ideas and writing style. More
December 30, 2006
Comments of PM Maliki and Ambassador Khalizad on Saddam's execution
From the Multi-National Forces website: "Executing the tyrant is a serious lesson to all despotic rulers who commit crimes against their peoples, and they have to know that oppressing and killing will never help them stay for a longer time... More
December 30, 2006
Another first for Nifong
First the North Carolina Bar Association filed an unprecedented 17 page complaint against Nifong charging him with multiple violations of the rules of ethics. The yesterday yet another precedent against the prosecutor. More
December 30, 2006
The record speaks for itself
Lenin - Dead of the complications of a stroke, perhaps assisted by poisoning, January 21, 1924.
Benito Mussolini - Executed without judicial procedure by communist partisans, April 28 1945. More
December 29, 2006
The oath that binds
Bookworm recently made the case against Keith Ellison`s swearing on the Koran: More
December 29, 2006
Don't forget this
Alamgir Hussain's article today is very nice. But he shouldn't forget Surah 98:6, in regard to Jews and Christians: More
December 29, 2006
First encounter with the beast
A new blog, Breath of the Beast, has debuted. If the first post is an indicator of things to come, it has a terrific future. More
December 29, 2006
Sex in the city blogging
The oh-so-primitive days of he said, she said are about to sink to the sub sewer as they transform to the oh so sophisticated 21st century mind set of he said, she blogged, he sued. More
December 29, 2006
A new apartheid wall?
A country has chosen to build a wall to stop the flow of militants from crossing its border and creating terror and havoc in two countries. Some critics say that the real problem is the tolerance of militants by a government that claims to be fighting them. Sound familiar? More
December 29, 2006
The Loco in loco parentis
As it becomes clear that the Duke case is on the rocks and Nifong with it, Red State turns its attention to the Duke Board of Visitors, which to date has been silent on the outrageous behavior of the school's president and the 88 faculty. More
December 29, 2006
Litigious Muslims seek their own justice
The Saudi-published Arab News reports that the Muslim World League wants to take the courts to prevent "insults" to Isalm and Muhammad. More
December 28, 2006
Response from James Lewis
Dear David Yerushalmi and Col. Tom Snodgrass,
Thanks so much for your articulate (and passionate) response to my questions. I agree with many of your points More
December 28, 2006
What happened to Letters from Iwo Jima? (updated)
The much-anticipated (or so we were told) sequel to Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers premiered in a limited release on December 20 More
December 28, 2006
Nobel Peace Prize winner was a murderer (updated)
Well, it took only 33 years but our very own State Department has finally admitted that a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter's bestest friend, honored White House guest, leader of a great, peaceful nation, worthy partner in peace and genuinely all around nice guy was gasp! shock! actually a murderer! More
December 28, 2006
Nanny-state to the rescue.
John Stossel, writing at Real Clear Politics, has some witty observations, as the Eating Season nears its end. More
December 28, 2006
Syria: The mullahs' plan B?
Our contributor Olivier Guitta has a fascinating article in The Examiner newspapers today concerning Syria's possible role as an alternative nuclear site for Iran. More
December 27, 2006
Response to James Lewis
Dear Mr. Lewis:
This is in reply to your response to the original essay entitled "Dealing with the Iraq Insurgency Militarily." More
December 27, 2006
Dow Jones and AP challenge Fitzgerald
I have no idea what took them so long, but Dow Jones and the Associated Press are suing to unseal the affidavit Fitzgerald filed when he sought contempt sanctions against Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper, arguing that since he knew at the time that Armitage was the source of the leak, it is hard to know on what basis he represented to the Court that the reporters' testimony was necessary to his investigation More
December 27, 2006
Is the Iraqi economy crashing through here?
Are we watching a John Ford western taking place in Iraq, where the private economy is in the role of the cavalry, riding to the rescue? More
December 27, 2006
The question of combat fatigue
Strategy Page has an analysis of the factor of combat fatigue in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. An excerpt:
The bottom line is that the stress of combat has a cumulative psychological effect on soldiers More
December 27, 2006
Pressious Planning (a poem)
In cool, dark, early morning air,
Their growls betray that they are there.
Then come their baying blood lust sounds,
No prey will live survive their grounds.
They seek their sacrificial goat,
A victim they can seize by throat,
They're in full cry, the American press,
The king must die, no more, no less.
More
December 27, 2006
Whoop de do
And now some good news that should brighten these sunlight challenged albeit delightfully globally warmed days and nights while chasing away post holiday depression.
The whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America, whose numbers dwindled to fewer than 20 in 1941, is not only back from the brink of extinction but also thriving
More
December 27, 2006
Democrats ready to cash in on green biz
Robert Novak reports that the Democrats (and bill co-author John McCain) in Congress are ready to push through Kyoto-like clean air penalty legislation, despite the objections of Detroit Congressman John Dingell who will become the chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. More
December 27, 2006
Iran's oil production
There are many better able than I to comment in relation to the current position and likely future trends in respect of Iran's production of crude oil, oil products and LNG. However, my perspective is based upon five years or so - on and off - actually engaging with Iran in respect of a single project More
December 26, 2006
Worst newspaper in US destroys value
The McClatchy Company, recent purchaser of the Knight-Ridder chain of newspapers, is taking a huge loss on its 1998 purchase of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, considered by many to be the worst, most politically correct newspaper in the United States. More
December 26, 2006
Ethiopia trounces Somalia
The news reports of the Ethiopian military's rapid advance into Somalia, raises an obvious question. More
December 26, 2006
A question for Col. Tom Snodgrass
In his article, "Dealing with the Iraq Insurgency Militarily" (American Thinker, 12/26/06), Col. Tom Snodgrass argues that Iraq is effectively equivalent to Vietnam. The question is, are his premises correct? More
December 26, 2006
Jet lag and death
News from the Washington Post is giving me pause about intercontinental travel. More
December 26, 2006
Iran's oil output to decline drastically
That's the conclusion of a new report from the National Academy of Sciences, reported in today's Washington Times.
More
December 26, 2006
Seeing is believing
Durham in Wonderland has posted more excerpts from the examination of Meehan, Nifong's forensic DNA examiner. You must take a few minutes to read them More
December 26, 2006
This explains a lot
An Australian researcher reports that about 40 per cent of the world's population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that, he claims, makes men dumber and women sexier. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald does note that the study is not considered definitive. More
December 26, 2006
Indulgences for rich, guilty liberals
According to "Carbon Neutrality: A Shopper's Guide," in The Boston Globe, "Many [Web]sites...offer the option of offsetting an individual's entire 'carbon footprint.'" ("Carbon footprint" is an expression environmentalists made up, meaning the amount of carbon dioxide each person releases into the atmosphere by breathing, driving to work, heating the house, and other such noxious activities.) More
December 25, 2006
Keith Ellison's crowd: Allahu Akhbar
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) gave a speech yesterday to a crowd in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large Muslim community. "Allahu akbar" - God is great - was the reply of many in the crowd. More
December 25, 2006
The archbishop's Christmas carol
Fresh from his trip to Bethlehem, the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, scurried back to England to pontificate about what he had learned. Nothing. Actually less than nothing as a form of forgetfulness or an inability to comprehend the origins of his religious... More
December 25, 2006
Now they tell us
Today, well after it cannot hurt his reelection campaign, the Washington Post details how Murtha helped an aide set up a non-profit to help the disabled and used this outfit to channel contributions to him and federal money to favored companies:
More
December 25, 2006
It's a Wonderful Life
Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? Although there are many good ones, the one that really puts the season and life in general in perspective for me is, It's a Wonderful Life. More
December 24, 2006
Haditha charges
After endless sensational stories, some inspired by Congressman Murtha's intemperate and misleading claims that the Marines involved engaged in cold blooded murder", charges have been brought in this matter. More
December 24, 2006
Do they know something in Iraq that we don't?
Here is a chart on the Iraqi dinar taken from the safedinar.com website. The time scale is January 24, 2004 - December 24, 2006. What the chart says is that the Iraqi dinar has increased in value on the market by 9% from August 24, 2006 to December 24, 2006. More
December 24, 2006
US troops embedded
One of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group report calls for embedding US troops with Iraqi units. This is already being done. More
December 24, 2006
Jewish in a Winter Wonderland
The legion of liberal loyalists will call it Times-bashing, but they are merely in their usual state of denial about what the Gray Lady has become under its present management, and the various agendas it so relentlessly pursues. More
December 24, 2006
The Archbishop's Christmas card
As predicted, the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has followed his Christmas tradition and once again blamed the Israelis for the plight of Christians in Bethlehem. More
December 24, 2006
Bush's new deal?
"Bush ponders £10bn New Deal to create jobs in Iraq," we are told by a headline in the Sunday Times of London.
What's a New Deal without the fireside chats? Even George Bush's most ardent supporters can't excuse his near dereliction of duty by refusing to calm the fears of a frightened and nervous public. More
December 24, 2006
Joe Kennedy, do-gooder (updated)
Today in the Boston Globe, Joe Kennedy defends his decision to take oil from the poor Venezuelans to give to the poor of America in return for his promoting Chavez. More
December 24, 2006
NYT throws in the towel on Nifong
This account of the serious problems with the Duke rape case and Mike Nifong's conduct comes a little late, after their multi page attempt to resurrect he case a few months back. More
December 24, 2006
To the US Armed Forces: Thanks (a poem)
Because you are watching out for me, I am safe and warm today.
I embrace the joy of this special time because you are far away.
More
December 23, 2006
Surely not Calgary?
It's one thing for Mike Bloomberg's New York City to ban trans fats in food. We're used to "Nurse Bloomberg's" view of big government's role. But I am in shock to read that Calgary might go down the Bloomberg road. More
December 23, 2006
Apparatchiks Anonymous
That's the name suggested by Gagdad Bob, of One Cosmos, the always provocative and amusing website. Bob uses James Lewis's essay "Why isn't the Whole Left Neoconservative?" as a point of departure for his own essay on the pathologies of the left More
December 23, 2006
Dynastic dispute in Saudi?
Something appears to be going on inside the ruling circles of Saudi Arabia. Which means that something is up among the various branches of the Saud family, with its thousands of princes. More
December 23, 2006
Turning the tide on Che?
One of the enduring irritants of contemporary American culture is the iconic status afforded Che Guevara, a bloodthirsty psychopath on his better days, henchman of a long-lived murderous tyranny that has both impoverished and oppressed the Cuban people, our neighbors. More
December 22, 2006
Hillary's chances
Martin Peretz, editor-in-chief of The New Republic, has a delightfully jaundiced take on Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency. There is some wonderful prose here. More
December 22, 2006
His Smartness, Liberali Maximallus (a poem)
Why go to school to get the grades
To graduate in order to debate?
Me, I need to know enough
To know enough to know. More
December 22, 2006
Russia's gas grab update
Russia and the industry partners in the Sakhalin 2 LNG gas project have "agreed" on the terms under which Russia will take over half ownership of the $20 billion project. More
December 22, 2006
Duke does damage control (updated)
Duke University's track record in rocketing into the first tier of American higher education, after being founded in the 1930s, has been one of the most notable success stories in American higher education. But the damage the lacrosse "rape" prosecution, and especially from the university's handling of the case, is starting to show. More
December 21, 2006
DoJ's democRAT line
While the DoJ papered over Sandy Berger's theft and destruction of classified documents from the National Archives, classified documents then of interest to the 9/11 Commission, the judge in the case insisted on a stronger penalty than the DoJ prosecutors who were clearly sympathetic to Berger did, and today the Inspector General of the Archives blew the whistle on the DoJ and Berger's conduct More
December 21, 2006
"Hundreds of millions of dollars"
Rachel Ehrenfeld writes an eye-opening column in today's Washington Times, on the Arab money connections of Jimmy Carter. Like James Baker III, the only president ever called "Jimmy" has lots and lots of lucrative connections to money with Islamic connections. More
December 21, 2006
Try reversing the situation
The wonderful Melanie Phillips, London Daily Mail columnist, blogger, and author, makes a wonderful point in commenting on Ed Lasky's article on the connections of ISG personnel with the Saudis. More
December 21, 2006
I'd watch even on pay-per-view
A battle royale is set to take place in London, and it won't be a heavyweight boxing match. Daniel Pipes, a leading critical scholar of Islam, is to debate Ken Livingstone, leftist admirer of Islamic culture and all things left. More
December 21, 2006
Don't ever drive in Saudi without a navigation system
The horrible death of James Kim in the Oregon wilderness reminds us of the potential danger in taking a wrong turn. News comes from India of an unfortunate soul who made a wrong turn, and ended up on the road to Medina. More
December 20, 2006
Goode hangs tough
Under criticism from Muslim rights groups, Rep. Virgil Goode is refusing to apologize for remarks he made about immigration. More
December 20, 2006
Scientific consensus can be wrong
There are many, many instances of where Scientific Consensus has been wrong - including very recently. Off the top of my head I can think of the newly discovered cause of diabetes, which totally surprised the researchers themselves. More
December 20, 2006
Hillary takes a big hit
Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley, a Democrat with a reputation for pragmatism, patriotism and making a big city work reasonably well, has broken tradition and endorsed a presidential candidate before the Democratic Party's nominating process is complete. And his choice is not Illinois native Hillary Rodham Clinton, it is Illinois Senator Obama. More
December 20, 2006
The Al Gore/Lord Monckton debate
Lord Monckton's critique of Al Gore's assertions on global warming theory drew a response from Al Gore. Lord Monckton has responded, and the Center for Science and Public Policy has published the resulting dialogue. More
December 20, 2006
Santa and "The Nativity"
Dear Santa:
I just saw a motion picture called The Nativity Story. I did not see you in the movie. More
December 20, 2006
At Duke "teaching is personal"
No one has covered the Duke case better than professor K.C. Johnson, owner of Durham-in-Wonderland. His latest post, focuses on the outrageous conduct of the 88 Duke Professors who rushed to judgement in this matter. More
December 20, 2006
General Casey looks back on the year
Multi-National Force Iraq commander, Gen. William Casey recently delivered a speech on the occasion of a major change in command. General Ray Odierno's 3rd Corps replaced General Peter Chiarelli's 5th Corps in Iraq. More
December 19, 2006
Political Correctness flips its lid
Newsday, a Long Island news daily, informs us that a Commack, L.I., school bus driver named Kenneth Mott, who has a white beard and bears more than a passing resemblance to St. Nicholas was ordered to remove his Santa Claus hat. More
December 19, 2006
The second time as farce
As Time magazine continues its march into irrelevance naming everybody person of the year, it's interesting to take a look back to a time when "Man of the Year" was relevant. A pivotal point in history was 1938. That year's Man of the Year was Adolf Hitler. More
December 19, 2006
Hark, the angels aren't singing in Bethlehem
"O little town of Bethlehem," a Christmas carol that resonates with many Christians, refers to the town where, according to their religion, many think Jesus was born. And for years believers would celebrate Christmas in the town. But not this year. The hotels and shops, mainly owned by Christian Arabs are mostly empty.
Why? More
December 19, 2006
David Zucker on James Baker
David Zucker, the comedy genius, has his own pointed and hilarious video commentary on James Baker and the ISG. It is a perfect video compliment to Ed Lasky's article today. More
December 19, 2006
The Annanklatura (updated)
Claudia Rosett has another journalistic coup to her name, with her exposé of Kofi Annan's shameless exploitation of what amount to housing subsidies intended for low to moderate income New Yorkers, even while employed as Secretary-General and provided a luxurious Sutton Place residence gratis. More
December 19, 2006
Outrage in Libya
In February of this year, Eric Schwappach called AT readers' attention to an ongoing travesty of justice in Libya: "five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor were arrested and made scapegoats for "scandalous hygienic conditions and bad laboratory procedures practiced by Libyan officials" More
December 19, 2006
The India - US strategic partnership
The civilian nuclear power deal with India was signed into law yesterday by the President with Indian Ambassador Raminder Jassal looking on. The strategic significance of this alliance goes largely unnoticed, or ignored. More
December 19, 2006
Jihad in Ireland (updated)
Our friend Tom Carew blogs from Ireland. He calls our attention to a television documentary produced by state-owned RTE 1 TV covering the state of jihad in Ireland. It does not bring comforting news. More
December 18, 2006
Fannie Mae fraud and Dem dollars
It is astonishing how little attention has been given the financial peculations at Fannie Mae in the press. The only explanation I can offer is that it was the place where Bill Clinton parked his White House budget director, Franklin Raines and the infamous "wall gal" Jamie Gorelick More
December 18, 2006
Lord Monckton stands up for science
Britain's Lord Moncton has sent Senators Snowe and Rockefeller a blistering scolding for their ill-considered letter to Exxon-Mobil which supports the work of some of the climate skeptics More
December 18, 2006
Subsidizing Sharia
Money is fungible: if you give someone money for a certain purpose, it frees up money to be spent elsewhere. So the following story from UPI is not exactly a shock. Nevertheless, it is worth pondering.
Tsunami aid sent to an Indonesian province has freed government funds for the lashing of women for purported violations of Islamic law
More
December 18, 2006
As ye sow: The case of Norway
Norwegians are supposedly shocked to learn that
Two out of three charged with rape in Norway's capital are immigrants with a non-western background according to a police study. More
December 18, 2006
Lives of the rich and famous: The Obamas
Poor Mrs. Barack Obama! "My income is pretty low compared to my peers" she says. More
December 18, 2006
Lives of the rich and famous: The UN
There is a certain kind of "wealth" that goes undetected by tax authorities, surveys, and the general public. It is the wealth that consists of the ability to spend other people's money on pleasurable objects. A shining example is on offer today, courtesy of the London Sunday Telegraph and Mark Malloch Brown, Kofi Annan's right-hand man at the United Nations.
More
December 17, 2006
Mind over madness
Once again, the capacity of free Western societies to create inventions is trumping the brutality of the Islamist terrorists, who seek to restore a seventh century steady-state society, based on the "perfection" of Shari'a law. God-given gifts of intellect trump lunatic interpretations of allegedly God-given dogmas laid down for nomadic tribes almost a millennium and a half ago More
December 17, 2006
Pipeline power for Israel?
Relatively quietly, and with tantalizingly few details available, Israel and Turkey have reached agreement on construction of a strategic pipeline linking the Black Sea and Red Sea, traversing Israel to eventually deliver energy resources to Far Eastern markets. Pipelines matter in the balance of world power. A lot. More
December 16, 2006
Someone else's village
The always wise Don Surber thinks its a mistake for Hillary to roll out her updated version of "It Takes a Village" to kick off her campaign. I disagree. More
December 15, 2006
The damage to Duke starts to show
Duke University's handling of the alleged rape attack by three members of its lacrosse team last year, along with the exposure of town-gown antagonisms and other negative publicity seems to have caused measurable damage to the school. The results are just starting to come in, but the school could be in for long term slippage, following its dramatic climb to the upper level of the academic prestige system. More
December 15, 2006
Gazprom buying into Pravda
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which is extorting equity from Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi in the Sakhlin 2 LNG project, is also buying up large parts of the Russian press.
More
December 15, 2006
Liberals' sudden new respect for a Christian holiday
Recently US agents raided Swift meat packing plants in many states to round up illegal aliens. The liberal press was outraged that this was done on a major Mexican religious holiday/festival, the Virgin of Guadeloupe Day, "celebrated as a religious holiday recognizing the birth of the Virgin Mary."
More
December 14, 2006
Russia and Shell
During my 17 years in States I used to tell many people, with whom I worked, that I would be more than happy to work as a business consultant for companies planning to deal with Russia.
The only advise would be - 'Never, ever invest even a penny into Russia unless you at any moment are ready to write-off money as a total loss, and do not shed a tear'.
More
December 14, 2006
The Holocaust Conference Shames Iran
I have been telling the world that the present clique of Islamofascists ruling Iran is not Iranian and with each passing day fresh evidence supports my claim. The recent gathering of some of the world's fascists in Tehran, at the invitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Islamofascist president Ahmadinejad, provides further support More
December 14, 2006
More partisan "reporting" from al-Reuters
Thomas Ferraro of Reuters has written what amounts to a summary of Democrat talking points on the party's effort to raise the minimum wage. The very title of the article reflects partisanship: "Democrats to raise wages for poor workers." The article might as justifiably be headlined "Democrats seek to limit jobs for unskilled workers."
More
December 14, 2006
Israel Fatigue
The attempt to delegitimize the state of Israel has found many willing ears. Not only is it a popular refrain in the Muslim world, but it has great support in the UN, in western Europe, and increasingly in the mainstream media in the U.S More
December 14, 2006
The Democratic Party and Jews
Gabriel Schonfeld, senior editor of Commentary Magazine, pens an essay in the January issue (now online here) on the paradox of Jewish support for a party (the Democrats) that is becoming more and hostile to Jews and Israel, and friendly to anti-Semites. It is a very good thing that Commentary joins AT's Ed Lasky and the Republican Jewish Coalition in bringing to light the disturbing trends in the Democratic Party More
December 14, 2006
Naked Jew-hatred on display
Noel Sheppard, in his role at Newsbusters, the media watchdog site, covers a shootout of sorts that took place on CNN yesterday. David Duke, speaking from the "What Holocaust?" conference in Tehran, strutted his Jew-hatred in a lengthy interview with Wolf Blitzer. More
December 14, 2006
Mortality and the Senate
Sen. Tim Johnson is in critical condition after surgery. We wish the Senator all the best in his recovery. But the medical news sounds very bad. While a GOP replacement for Johnson could switch control of the Senate to the GOP, with a 50-50 tie, broken by a vote of the Vice President, Republicans should not count on keeping such a windfall. More
December 13, 2006
Best media blog contest
One of our central concerns here at AT is media behavior. Accordingly, we have more than a pasing interest in the competition for best media blog underway. Check it out here. All of us are eligible to vote. More
December 13, 2006
The agony of Lebanon continues
Rick Moran of RightWing NutHouse long has been covering developments in Lebanon, a task which cannot be a happy one, but one which he explains in great detail. He has two different stories posted today.
More
December 13, 2006
From left field
As Hillary Clinton attempts to carefully play nice with America's newest political saint, Senator Barack Obama, hoping to lure him into a VP slot on her ticket rather than a competitive race against her for the Democratic Presidential nod, comes news that will surely inspire hope in America's hardest left enclaves.
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich will try again for the Presidency. More
December 13, 2006
Ward Churchill's student base
He's back in the news, this time being cheered by 200 students at the New School, where he called the school's president, Medal of Honor Winner and former Senator Robert Kerrey, a "mass murder and serial killer to boot"
Clearly the man has his fans on campus. More
December 13, 2006
Now they tell us?
Raymond Hernandez of the New York Times informs the world that Hillary Clinton has long enjoyed the services of a chief aide, someone who plays an absolutely key role on her life, whose existence has received approximately zero media attention until now.
More
December 12, 2006
In thrall of freaks
A bloger who calls herself Urban Infidel was at hand to mingle with some of the guests attending a party in honor Lynne Stewart. As many people know, Ms. Stewart is a prominent civil rights lawyer who was convicted of helping her client Omar Rahman to communicate with his terrorist organization from prison More
December 12, 2006
Premature O-basmas? Try Mitt & Condi...
Are you feeling the heat yet? If not, you haven't been watching the objective media having O-basmas all over the place, long before the New Hampshire primary circus. And Hillary looming over all of it like Nurse Ratched coming to take care of us all. More
December 12, 2006
CAIR on the prowl for (certain kinds of) discrimination
The Council on American Islamic Relations is urging Muslims, especially those planning to Haj travel to Mecca (a city which the rest of us infidel Americans are forbidden to enter), to be exquisitely senitive to any slights they may feel they encounter as airline passengers. More
December 12, 2006
Bugging Diana
The British papers have reported the Commission looking into Diana's death found that the U.S. secret service was bugging Diana's phone on the night she died. Mickey Kaus has the best explanation. The word "service" following "secret" in the report is in lower case, meaning intelligence service More
December 12, 2006
Documenting news fakery
Throughout the Israeli invasion of Lebanon we were bombarded by fake photos and dishonest reports, often from local stringers with dubious allegiances. The American Jewish Congress has now put together the real story More
December 12, 2006
Charges detailed against Carter book
The Emory Wheel, student-run newspaper at Emory University, details serious accusations against Jimmy Carter's controversial new book made by Emory Professor Kenneth Stein, who resigned last week from his post at The Carter Center to protest its inaccuracies. More
December 12, 2006
Twisted progress in women's rights
The feminist-left community prefers to remain largely silent about the extreme oppression of women common in several Islamic countries (does anyone remember major feminist organizations praising the freeing of Afghanistan's women from the burka and stoning for adultery?) More
December 11, 2006
Rumsfeld's last visit to troops as SECDEF
As reported in an American Forces Press Service article today, outgoing Defense Secretary Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to Iraq on Saturday. More
December 11, 2006
In case you had any doubt
Iran isn't taking any chances on facts getting in the way of its planned "conference" on the Holocaust. It wants to rewrite history to make the Jews entirely unsympathetic More
December 11, 2006
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees?
Michael Kranish of the Boston Globe writes:
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have fled their homeland are likely to seek refugee status in the United States, humanitarian groups said More
December 11, 2006
Annan's parting shot
Kofi Anan writes a fatuous farewell op-ed in the Washington Post, maintaining that only through multilateral institutions can states hold each other to account. More
December 11, 2006
Jimmy Carter: "worse than plagiarism"
Jimmy Carter's recent book, Palestine: Peace, not Apartheid, has taken a lot of serious criticism, not least in these pages. Today, Rick Richman goes far deeper into the matter, questioning the ethics involved in something "worse" than plagiarism. More
December 10, 2006
Missing headlines (a continuing series)
Don't expect to see the words "Bush actions welcomed" in the headlines anytime soon. More
December 10, 2006
UN retreating on global warming theory
The "science" underlying global warming theory is about to be recognized as a bit shakier by the UN itself, according to the UK Sunday Telegraph. More
December 10, 2006
ISG's solipcism
The Assessment section of the Iraq Survey Group Report (ISGR) is very good, very hard-hitting. It reflects what certainly seems to be unpleasant conditions in Iraq. The despair reflected in the ISGR is based on the alleged chaos in Iraq. But our primary concern is the situation in America, and that situation is very good More
December 10, 2006
There's always next season
Friday, the AP actually had the audacity, one week after the "deadly" hurricane season ended where "No hurricanes hit the U.S. Atlantic coast in 2006 " to ignore real news and post a story about the high hurricane activity the alarmists should prepare for in late 2007. More
December 09, 2006
Response and responsibility: AP's editor speaks
Kathleen Carroll, executive editor and senior vice president of The Associated Press has addressed the rising cacophony of bloggers and pundits insisting that the AP substantiate its recent reporting of six Sunnis being burned alive in Baghdad. More
December 09, 2006
Baker Commish gives Dems cover for sanity
The critics are right about the flaws of the Baker Report, but none of that really matters. The reason is that the Report's flapdoodle serves as cover for both Republicans and Democrats More
December 09, 2006
Canada's Libs: not ready for prime time
Shortly after the selection of Stephane Dion as party captain, the Canadian Liberal Party looks like it's crashing on the shoals. In the first place, it appears that Dion holds dual citizenship (Canadian and French) and is unwilling to make his allegiance to Canada manifest by giving up his French citizenship. More
December 08, 2006
Get out the garlic and wooden stake
A few days ago the Washington Times reported sighting Ambassador Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame lunching together in a downtown D.C. restaurant.
Thursday night, Fox news reported they were moving to New Mexico to help Governor Richardson in his presidential campaign, a campaign that he now insists is non existent. More
December 08, 2006
5 Year Countdown
I was sitting at my kitchen table, enjoying a cup of coffee with my grandfather, when he suddenly said. "You know, there was a time when I believed that I would die long before the fall of civilization, but I am starting to think I may yet live to see it happen." More
December 08, 2006
Gaza meets Hollywood
Jules Crittenden of the Boston Herald has a hilarious and outrageous satire on his personal blog: a Hollywood-stle pitch for a drama about a suicide bomber. More
December 08, 2006
Iraq report
The situation in Iraq appears bleak, unless you put it into the context of the rest of the Arab world. The descriptions of Iraq's police, courts, civil administration, everything but the violence, is typical of all Arab countries. More
December 08, 2006
Is an anti-anti-terror campaign underway?
One of the great benefits of the Net is the ability it conveys to discover connections difficult or impossible to make previously. The filters erected by the Big Three networks and the national papers no longer apply. More
December 07, 2006
In the genes?
The success of Israel, modern, democratic, wealthy, and above all Jewish Israel has obsessed the Arabs. The cannot tolerate the Jews being among them. Their entire sense of themselves rides on solving their problem More
December 07, 2006
The ISG talked to who?
The list of the ISG's outside "experts" compiled by Hugh Hewitt included some might peculiar choices. More
December 07, 2006
Never forget the day of infamy
Sixty years before September 11 our nation also suffered an unprovoked, surprise attack. They will honor and remember, and so should we. More
December 07, 2006
Dems' do-it-yourself diplomacy (updated)
Democrats seem undeterred by law or propriety from negotiating with our enemies on their own. Kerry with the North Vietnamese; Ted Kennedy with the Soviet Union; Jay Rockefeller with the Syrians; Jimmy Carter with the North Koreans and every other dictatorial thug who'll let him in the door. More
December 07, 2006
Carter aide resigns over book
Former President Carter's book has been thoroughly discredited by reputable scholars and reviewers as a biased polemic filled with inaccuracies. And now: "A longtime aide to Jimmy Carter has resigned from the Carter Center think tank, calling the former president's new book on Israel and the Arabs one-sided and filled with errors More
December 07, 2006
Fiddling while people burn
While the UN uselessly fiddles its usual discordant tunes, "The General Assembly approved six pro-Palestinian resolutions over U.S. and Israeli objections, culminating the annual U.N. debate aimed at showing the world body's solidarity with Palestinian demands for an independent homeland." More
December 07, 2006
NYC's creeping nanny state
On Tuesday, the New York City Board of Health voted unanimously to ban the use of artificial trans fats by New York City restaurants and bakeries. Restaurants have until July 2007 to switch to trans fat free oils, and bakeries have until July 2008. The reason for the ban is simple: Trans fats are unhealthy. More
December 06, 2006
Global warming theory
I consider myself, (as one with a modest scientific background), as one with a great curiosity about the "Global Warming " debate. As such I am inclined to read in full most of what becomes available including the text of Mr. Lawson's paper. More
December 06, 2006
From Russia with love (Part V)
Once again the Times of London has the most detailed up-to-date information on the Litvinenko investigation.
Today they report that Russia's promise of full cooperation was false and the key witness is sick, leaving open the possibility that he -- Lugovoy-- will not be able to be interrogated. More
December 06, 2006
When does the Abraham Linker brigade leave for Darfur?
The left's desire to say and do something about Darfur has been manifested on the streets of New York, with ads in my local subway station (and presumably others), as well as one Upper West Side of Manhattan house of worship placing a sign on its exterior wall. More
December 06, 2006
The Arab world's Dr. Ruth
Apparently the Arab world is ready for its own version of Dr. Ruth's sex talk show. More
December 06, 2006
Racial Double Standards
Last week on HBO's Inside the NFL, star running back Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs stated during an interview that he relates much better to his current coach, Herm Edwards, because they both are African-American. More
December 05, 2006
Justice Breyer's self-delusion
Chris Wallace interviewed Justice Breyer the other day and elicited from him a truly amazing (self-delusional justification of his vote to abridge free speech in the misnamed Campaign Finance Reform case More
December 05, 2006
From Russia with love (IV)
With lots of wild theories floating around (many no doubt originating with Russian operatives), the finger of suspicion for the Litvinenko assassination remains pointed at state organs of Russia More
December 05, 2006
France and the Rwanda genocide
Writing in the London Times Andrew Wallis presents a story that has been utterly ignored by the US media: Evidence for active French collusion in the Rwandan genocide of an estimated one million Tutsis by the French-supported Hutu regime in 1994, under French Socialist President Mitterrand. The normally staid Times story is stark and accusatory More
December 05, 2006
How fresh was the poison polonium?
During the next few weeks of confusion and cover-up about the Litvinenko poisoning, look out for the word 'lead', which may yet pin the tail on the Russian donkey. Polonium-210, the next-to-last link in the uranium-238 radioactive decay chain, decays to lead-206, which is stable. More
December 05, 2006
Chafee's legacy
Well, at least, as Nixon might have put it, we won't have Lincoln Chaffee to kick us around any more. But to in effect fire John Bolton! What can he have been thinking? To deny appointment to an advocate for American policy as effective as John Bolton, well, the word betrayal comes to mind. More
December 04, 2006
Scant Proof of Benefits for Groups Attributed to Diversity
The United States Commission on Civil Rights has issued a stunning report, coming after decades of wasting countless millions on busing children away from neighborhood schools, destruction of (mostly urban) school systems, and consistent parental opposition to racial jiggering of public education systems More
December 04, 2006
Israel in danger?
Despite the apologists, nay-sayers, and Polyannas, it does appear the forthcoming recommendations of the Baker "Iraq Study Group" may have serious and deadly implications for Israel. More
December 04, 2006
Poisoned Litvinenko asked for Muslim burial? (updated)
The mind boggles. Polonium-poisoned ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko's father says that he asked for a Muslim burial. At least that is what MosNews.com is reporting, based on a Russian language daily newspaper report. More
December 04, 2006
A Norwegian tip-off
Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post reports very disturbing news from Oslo about a terror suspect eluding the CIA thanks to an apparent tip-off from a Norwegian official. More
December 04, 2006
From Russia with love (III)
Three good new pieces in the Times (UK): 1. FORMER bodyguard to President Vladimir Putin was murdered with a poison that produced symptoms remarkably similar to those of Alexander Litvinenko it emerged yesterday More
December 03, 2006
From Russia with Love (II)
The Sunday Times (UK) has a detailed 5 page article with the most information to date on the Litvinenko matter. More
December 03, 2006
The Kerry camp still resents Bush's victory (updated)
The Washington Post recently published a harshly anti-Bush op-ed by Douglas Brinkley, who does not bother disclosing his John Kerry connections. More
December 03, 2006
Will Venezuela boot Chavez today?
Venezuelans go to the polls today, to choose whether to give Hugo Chavez a third term, or elect his challenger, the democratic non-communist Zulia state governor, Manuel Rosales. No one knows how this will turn out. More
December 03, 2006
Is the Globe scrutinizing everyone?
The continued hit job being done by the Globe on Mitt Romney over illegal immigrants leads to the question of whether or not the Globe will be applying the same standards across the board to other politicians and business as well as the paper itself. More
December 02, 2006
BBC's further descent into multi-culti madness
We know that Europe has suicidally opened the door wide to Islamofascism via the cult of Multiculturalism, which proclaims lovingly that your jihad is just as good as our democracy. Europe's Commissars of Political Correctness have never bothered to change their minds. More
December 02, 2006
Our vapid cultural icons
Roger L. Simon offers some comic relief in the midst of some gloomy news, a reminder of the moronic thinking of our cultural icons More
December 02, 2006
"Forced" -- my Foot!
I read Richard Cravatts' essay on the book publishing industry with special interest. I'm an author and -- more to the point -- I also own one of those 70,000 book publishing companies whose declining standards he's bemoaning. More
December 02, 2006
More nonsense from academia
Many years ago, as a doctoral candidate in Sociology, I learned that it is possible to design a study to prove just about anything about people. Go for a particular sample, ask carefully-designed questions, calculate some data to highlight what you're looking for, and voila! You have "proven" what you set out to find. More
December 02, 2006
His Smartness, Liberali Maximallus (a poem)
I'm state-of-the-art, ever alert,
Never in doubt, genuine smart,
On the move, new and improved,
Playing games and taking names More
December 01, 2006
From Russia with love
Undoubtedly helped by the extensive CCTV system which monitors movement around London, the British are making rapid progress in cracking the Litvinenko assassination.
There has been a great deal of inaccurate reporting on the matter, but today's report in the UK Telegraph seems reliable More
December 01, 2006
What if the US left Iraq?
One increasingly relevant perspective on Iraq is that it is the latest front in the ongoing war with Iran, started when our embassy was invaded and Carter did nothing to stop it. But beneath the obvious surface of US-Iran tensions lurks the larger fissure of Shia and Sunni Islam. More
December 01, 2006
European reaction to Dem win
The mainstream media is enthusiastic to let us know that "the world welcomes the outcome of the U.S. mid-term elections". In addition to the cheers from the world's worst tyrants and terrorist groups the Democrats should not be proud of, European leaders are for the most part hoping that their dream of becoming an "active counter-weight to America" in the international arena now can come true More
December 01, 2006
Israel would not go quietly
"Do not go gently to that dark night" sang Dylan Thomas in a wonderful poem about death. There is a slightly hysterical rumor afoot that the United States (and, needless to say, Europe) would be happy to abandon Israel's security for its own safe oil supply, guaranteed by Ahmadinejad and his band of Merry Mullahs. That's bizarre. Israel is far more powerful than North Korea, and Kim has been able to freely moon the "international community" More
December 01, 2006
George Clooney: the Sexiest What Alive?
People Magazine this week dubbed George Clooney "The Sexiest Man Alive" for the second time (1997 was the first). While I like looking at George Clooney as much as the next girl, when he opens his mouth, all I can see is Michael Moore. If Michael Moore is a dumbed-down Noam Chomsky (and he is), George Clooney is a dumbed-down Michael Moore. More
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