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December 17, 2004
Spying on the U.N.
The U.N. has been bugged!
The United Nations European headquarters, where a listening device was discovered in a ministerial meeting room, is probably rife with secret spying equipment, a U.N. security source said on Friday.I wonder how many of those little critters were -- ahem -- inadvertantly left by the U.S. of A.?"It's like Swiss cheese," a U.N. security source told Reuters, referring to the Swiss Emmenthal cheese which contains holes.
"If we had the technnical means and staff for thorough searches, I'm certain that we would find one microphone after another. The U.N. in New York and Vienna are the same," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Marie Heuze, chief U.N. spokeswoman in Geneva, on Thursday confirmed the report by Swiss Television which said workmen had found a sophisticated bugging device during recent renovation of a room called the Salon Francais at the Palais des Nations.
But a U.N. inquiry had not established who planted the bugging device or when, she said.
Several dozen I hope.
Posted by bubba138 at 07:00 AM | Comments (0) |
December 16, 2004
Bush Speaking in Code?
Peggy Noonan is a must read today:
"Scrubbing" public discourse of religious ideas would remove "one of the main sources of social justice in our history." We forget at our peril that it is the pursuit of justice rooted in faith that has yielded up such great American moral and political movements as abolition, civil rights and the pro-life movement.Mr. Gerson was eloquent, his arguments apt. But what seemed most telling was his being questioned on whether, when the president refers to belief, he is speaking in "code" to evangelicals. No, said Mr. Gerson, "they're not code words, they're our culture." He said that when he put in a reference to T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets" in a speech, he was not sending a code; he was making a literary reference that springs from our culture. The same with religious references. They are not "a plot" or "a secret."
The idea that the president is speaking in religious code to his religious followers says more about the reporters who asked the question than it does about the president, or his speechwriter.
Posted by bubba138 at 08:37 AM | Comments (0) |
December 13, 2004
Holding My Interest
Things that are holding my interest these days:
1. Christmas, spiritually.
2. FOOTBALL.
3. Christmas, family and friends.
4. Christmas, financially and materially.
5. The desert ('Tis the season!). I'm going riding this Saturday and a good portion of the week between Christmas and New Years.
Things that are not:
1. Politics
2. Politics
3. Politics
Last year I think I posted twice in all of December, so my post ratio is improved. Heck, I am not even watching the news on TV these days.
Posted by bubba138 at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) |
December 08, 2004
Dan's New Friends: The Pajamahadeen
Dan Rather's bunch is up to no good again:
The owner of Nonviolence.org, Martin Kelley, said he got an interesting phone call yesterday from a CBS News publicist for—you guessed it—Dan Rather's 60 Minutes Wednesday, the same program that carried the infamous bogus memos.Perhaps CBS has realized there are more blog readers than CBS News viewers."Yesterday I got a call from a publicist for CBS News’s 60 Minutes. They’re running a story tonight on 'Deserters,' U.S. military personnel who have fled to Canada rather than serve in Iraq. She was requesting that I talk up the program on Nonviolence. In nine years of publishing the peace site, I can’t remember ever getting a call from a publicist before. I’ve talked to reporters from major news networks and papers, and I’ve talked a booking agent or two to arranging appearances on radio shows, but never a publicist."
Posted by bubba138 at 02:37 PM | Comments (0) |
Out-Dumbed, by George!
Did you really believe we’re too stupid to see,
How you tried to deceive us with smug sophistry?
Did you actually think we’d accept without thinking,
That our ship of state’s hulled, our economy’s sinking?
We saw how with help from your media tools,
You picked just the right captain for your ship of fools.
With your Cambodian Admiral at the helm of your boat
You needed an ocean of lies just to keep him afloat.
You put forward no spokesman with a true honest voice
And offered the voters no acceptable choice.
Your party got “jacked” by the loons on the left,
And the rest of you’ve yet to wake up to the theft.
You let billionaire bandits with a bolshevik whiff,
Take your “Ride” for a drive that went straight off the cliff.
So, do you now blame your loss on these crazies and flakes?
Nope, by Jove, it was Rove, must’ve messed with the brakes.
Even now that you’ve lost, you refuse to accept,
That your party’s outdated and its leaders inept.
The election is over, and with your masquerades falling
The true you we see is truly appalling.
You’ve nothing but scorn for true faith and belief
Holding up Christianity as some election year thief.
Your apostasy’s clear to those blacks and hispanics,
Who, next time around, just may be your Titanics.
So now as you sit contemplating your fate,
Sipping modest chablis, camembért on your plate,
Just remember your failure in sowing false fears,
And let this burn in your brains for four more long years:
Even owning the press and controlling the tube,
You got your butts whipped by an’ ol’ Texas rube.
So, keep pondering this ‘til your brains are all numbed
Rove didn’t outsmart you; you were smartly out-dumbed
That’s gonna stick in your craws ‘til you’re forced to disgorge,
All you smart liberal wienies just got out-dumbed, by George.
Russ Vaughn
Posted by bubba138 at 02:34 PM | Comments (0) |
Dirty Elections
Compared to the election in the Ukraine, ours was tame. Challenger Viktor Yuschenko was deliberately poisoned during the campaign, a fact dramatically illustrated by these before and after photos.
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| Before | After |
Posted by bubba138 at 08:24 AM | Comments (0) |
Jumping Ship or Pushed?
John Podhoretz posits an interesting thought:
What if, in fact, [Bush is] a smoothie — someone who achieves his political aims with elegance that's all the more shocking because there's nothing especially elegant or smooth in his manner?Whatever the case, one thing is certain: this isn't Daddy's Whitehouse.Consider his conduct in the wake of the election. It is now clear, from the way Cabinet secretaries are seemingly ousting themselves left and right, that most of the Cabinet departures were not voluntary.
How do I know this? Only because of the psychological impact of this election. Every Bush supporter, from the voter in Ohio to a White House staffer, felt as though he'd won part of the victory on Nov. 2.
It doesn't follow that eight (at present count) of his 15 cabinet secretaries would greet that sweet vindication by saying, "I'm outta here."
Posted by bubba138 at 08:04 AM | Comments (0) |
The Sunni Vote
What happens if the Sunnis boycott the Iraq elections? Will that make them illegitimate? Charles Krauthammer says no:
In 1864, 11 of the 36 states did not participate in the American presidential election. Was Lincoln's election therefore illegitimate?
In 1868, three years after the security situation had, shall we say, stabilised, three states (and not insignificant ones: Texas, Virginia and Mississippi) did not participate in the election. Was Grant's election illegitimate?There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps three of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs - barely 20% of the population - decide that they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, which ended with 30 years of Saddam Hussein's atrocious tyranny, then tough luck. They forfeit their chance to shape and to participate in the new Iraq.
Posted by bubba138 at 08:00 AM | Comments (0) |
Love the Guv
Gov. Schwarzenegger continues to entertain:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking Tuesday to open an annual conference celebrating women's contributions to the state, dismissed California nurses who protested his health care policies as "special interests'' who are mad because "I kick their butt."...and I love this governor!The offhand remark by the governor, in front of 10,000 people at the California Governor's Conference on Women and Children, drew a blistering reaction from the California Nurses Association, whose leaders said they will sue this week to stop Schwarzenegger's executive order weakening mandated nurse-to-patient ratios in the state's hospitals.
Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the 60,000-member nurses group, said Schwarzenegger's characterization of the group as "special interests'' was "completely insulting'' and particularly inappropriate at a conference specifically aimed at honoring women.
The governor's opening speech was interrupted when about 15 nurses -- who had paid the $125 entrance fee to the one-day conference -- unfurled a banner inside the Long Beach Convention Center, held up signs and chanted "Safe Staffing Saves Lives."
As the group was escorted out and continued to chant, Schwarzenegger tried to continue his talk about the contributions of California women.
"Pay no attention to those voices over there," he said. "They are the special interests. Special interests don't like me in Sacramento because I kick their butt."
With a laugh, the governor added, "I love them anyway."
Posted by bubba138 at 07:47 AM | Comments (0) |
Cultural Sensitivity
BBC:
In a newspaper interview, Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said that from September, future imams must study law, civics and history.The Imams don't think like Frenchmen so they must be...re-educated.Three-quarters of France's 1,200 imams are not French, and a third do not speak French, he told Le Parisien.
France has expelled several imams for preaching contrary to French law.
Mr de Villepin said it was unacceptable that so many Muslim prayer leaders in France do not speak the language of the country in which they live and preach.
He said imams must learn French - and receive further education in other subjects at French universities.
And the French accuse America of being arrogant?
Update: Here is more European intolerance.
Posted by bubba138 at 06:58 AM | Comments (0) |
December 07, 2004
Man Charged With Genocide
A man has been charged with genocide in connection to Saddam Hussein:
Prosecutors said on Tuesday they will charge a Dutch chemicals dealer as an accomplice to genocide for supplying Saddam Hussein with lethal chemicals used in the 1988 chemical attack on a Kurdish town that killed an estimated 5,000 civilians.A conviction here could set a huge precedent. Anyone who supplied sanctioned materials to Iraq could be charged with genocide. Can we think of any prime candidates?Wim de Bruin of the national prosecutor's office said the suspect, who was arrested in Amsterdam on Monday, will face charges "for violating the laws of war and involvement in genocide."
Prosecutors said Frans van Anraat, a 62-year-old chemicals dealer, had been a suspect since 1989, when he was arrested in Milan, Italy, at the request of the U.S. government. But he was later released and fled to Iraq, where he remained until 2003. After the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, he returned to the Netherlands via Syria.
Posted by bubba138 at 08:24 AM | Comments (0) |
Times Have Changed
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In 1941, evil was evil. Very few questioned it. There were no Michael Moores, no Nancy Pelosis, no Alec Baldwins. There were only Americans. Americans determined to completely wipe out the evil that had come calling even though uninvited.
Posted by bubba138 at 08:13 AM | Comments (0) |
December 06, 2004
Hunting For National Security
There is a reason I keep voting for this guy:
For Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the House Armed Services Committee chairman at the center of the logjam, the role is a familiar one. During 24 years in Congress, he has bucked Democratic and Republican presidents when he thought they provided too little money, equipment and weaponry for U.S. troops.When it comes to safeguarding satellite intelligence for troops in Iraq — the issue that prompted him to waylay the White House-backed bill last month — he has an unusually personal interest.
Hunter's son, a Marine lieutenant who has served two tours in Iraq, phoned him from embattled Fallujah and "told me to hang in there on the intel thing," the congressman said in an interview late last week.
"A lot of military people have told me that," he added, but his accounts of his son, Duncan Duane Hunter, have proved especially moving to his House colleagues, several said.
Posted by bubba138 at 01:47 PM | Comments (0) |
Campaigning for Party Chairman
It looks like Howard Dean really wants the job:
Governor Dean will lay out a vision for the future of the Democratic Party this Wednesday at 12 p.m. Eastern in Washington, D.C.This sounds alot like Dean read the same article as Joe Gandelman.He will outline not just a direction for our party, but a concrete destination: a party built from the ground up.
That means a party powered by millions of small donors, not millionaires. It means a party that speaks plainly and commits to concrete outcomes that affect real people. And it means a party that competes in every single race, for every single vote, in all fifty states.
One is loathe to believe, however, that Dean really wants "a party powered by millions of small donors, not millionaires," especially since he received so much support from billionaires like George Soros through 527 organizations such as MoveOn.org. It would be quite a stretch to believe as DNC chairman Dean would refuse the resources of Peter Lewis and Steve Bing.
Some will buy it, though.
Posted by bubba138 at 12:56 PM | Comments (0) |
They Just Keep Winning
Posted by bubba138 at 07:47 AM | Comments (0) |
A Voice of Reason?
Rep. Pelosi could learn a thing or two from Senate minority leader Harry Reid:
Speaking with Tim Russert on NBC's Meet the Press, Reid conceded that with just 45 seats in the Senate his party is in no position to push a "far left" Democratic agenda. "We have to work toward the middle," he said. But he promised that the party would stick to its guns on a number of key issues, including the need to pass intelligence reform by year's end.The Democrats desparately need to find a coherent message other than "if the Republicans are for it we are against it." Moving further left, as Pelosi would like, is a certain road to disaster. Sen. Reid's position, although still oppositional to many Republican policies, looks to be one of reason, not reaction. The Democrat party would do well to consider that approach as a whole.
Posted by bubba138 at 06:37 AM | Comments (0) |
December 03, 2004
Back at It
As you can see, I am back at it on the blog. Heartfelt thanks goes out to Michael Chester of Art of Politics. He did a superb job of keeping things going here. Show your appreciation by visiting his site repeatedly.
Posted by bubba138 at 07:49 AM | Comments (0) |
Spammers Slammed in Court
This is a good thing:
Microsoft's legal department has its eye on more than fake certificates of authenticity. The company today gave word that it has begun legal proceedings against seven spammers for violating CAN-SPAM's Brown Paper Wrapper rule.The law requires that e-mails containing pornographic content must include a "SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT:" label in the subject line as well as appear in the body of the email front-and-center. Naturally, this provision makes it easier for spam filters to block such emails and puts a crimp in a spammer's ability to reach inboxes with sexually suggestive material.
Thus the OS maker has filed seven lawsuits in Washington State Superior Court in King County against "John Doe" spammers that the company asserts were in violation of the rule.
Posted by bubba138 at 07:45 AM | Comments (0) |
Just Throw Money At It
Here is proof that money does not buy everything:
Total spending on the presidential campaign from all sources seeking to influence the outcome exceeded $1.7 billion, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. At least $925 million was spent in support of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and $822 million in support of President Bush. In the 2000 presidential contest, total spending was just under $1 billion.
Posted by bubba138 at 07:06 AM | Comments (0) |
All in the Family
It pays to be the son of the Secretary General:
For example, in 1998 the secretary-general went to Nigeria to persuade the military leaders to release political prisoners. The memos show that at the same time, Kojo Annan — who was based in Nigeria for Cotecna — did company business during his father’s trip and may have gotten access to key players because of his family connection.And the wolrd questions the U.S.'s integrity?According to records reviewed by The New York Post, Kojo Annan, while working for Cotecna, enjoyed extraordinary access to U.N. diplomats and other international dignitaries because of his father's position.
The documents indicate that Kojo Annan was clearly trading on his father's name to win business for Cotecna, where he worked from 1995 to 1998.
Posted by bubba138 at 07:01 AM | Comments (0) |
Which War are We Fighting?
The Left constantly wants to draw parallels between the war in Iraq and Vietnam. Oliver North thinks they have not gone back far enough in looking for comparisons:
To the extent that today's schoolchildren are taught anything about the origins of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the unprovoked assault is explained away as the consequence of "Japanese expansionism," or worse yet, the result of America denying Japan "essential raw materials and oil."Go read it all.Such historical contortions from the Blame America First crowd ignore the ideological conviction of Tokyo's leadership, from Emperor Hirohito on down, that the Japanese had a "divine duty" to cleanse Asia of Westerners and "inferior Western influences and institutions."
In short, the Imperial Army, Navy and Air Force became the instruments of a race war, waged with religious zeal. Today's radical Jihadists have precisely the same goal -- evicting the infidels, meaning "Westerners" -- and all their institutional influence from "Islamic lands."
Posted by bubba138 at 06:57 AM | Comments (0) |
December 02, 2004
Denver Cancels Christmas
For the last thirty years Denver has put on a holiday parade they call the "Parade of Lights". Just about every theme is acceptable for float entries, except of course a Christmas theme:
If groups celebrating American Indian holy people, German culture and the Chinese New Year can march in the city's Parade of Lights, why can't a Christian group march to celebrate Christmas?Krikorian's position is baffling since one of the honored participants in the parade is the "Two Spirit Society" of Denver, a native American organization with the purpose of restoring "the traditional role of Two Spirited persons:"That's just one of the questions bothering prominent Denver-area Pastor George Morrison.
He said he was barred from participating in the parade because his multicultural church group wanted its Christian-themed float to feature traditional yuletide hymns and a "Merry Christmas" message.
But the parade does not allow "direct religious themes," said spokesman Michael Krikorian.
"We want to avoid that specific religious message out of respect for other religions in the region," Krikorian said. "It could be construed as disrespectful to other people who enjoy a parade each year."
In most Native American history, gay, lesbian, and/or transgendered individuals were considered holy and treated with the highest respect. They were the historians, the healers, and the people of empowerment.That sure sounds like an overtly religious message to me.
The bare truth here is not that religious messages are banned, but that Christ is. It makes for a fine birthday present, no?
Posted by bubba138 at 08:57 AM | Comments (0) |