The Turkish Pity Party

I'm officially calling for Turkey to change its name to Bull.  The Prime Minister of Tur...er...Bull demonstrated a less than stellar grasp of reality in a speech to the Council of Europe wherein he not only managed to flaunt his apparent lack of knowledge about the nature of Islam itself, but somehow managed to compare 'Islamophobia' to Anti-Semitism.  Yes, the fear of Islam has been compared to the hatred of Jews. 

This is especially interesting considering that Islam is a tad more anti-Semitic than a pub full of drunken Nazis.

The incitement to hatred of Islam should be considered a crime against humanity, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech before the Council of Europe in Strasbourg yesterday.

“Just as anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity, so should Islamophobia be regarded,” Erdogan said. Erdogan warned against the growing phobia against Islam and foreigners in the world in which “we Muslims feel increasingly under siege.”

I had no idea they felt this bad.  How terrible.  Let's start a "pity-club." I can introduce these Muslims to a lot of people in DC and New York...and for that matter the rest of the Western Hemisphere who feel the same way for some reason. I don't hate Islam.  I hate the fact that it justifies murder and terror to a substantial portion of the world's population, whether or not they choose to publicly acknowledge the fact.

Referring to the row over blasphemous cartoons that were originally printed in a Danish newspaper, he said freedom of expression should not be confused with the freedom to insult.

Um, you and your violent beliefs suck like an Oreck.  Oops, look at that.  Freedom of expression and an insult to boot. Cool.

The row showed not only a “lack of respect for religious convictions,” but was also a sign of a “growing and dangerous polarization between the Western and Islamic world.” The Turkish prime minister called on Western countries to integrate the Muslims living among them to a much greater degree.

I lost my respect for your religious convictions when they led to the death of a friend of mine in Tower 2.  Take your bullshit sob story somewhere else. Is this guy really so ignorant of current events as to not understand the reason for this polarization?  People don't like to hang out with people who want to KILL them. Got it yet?

“With a (Muslim) population of between 10 and 25 percent in Europe’s largest cities, it is important to follow a policy of social integration to ensure a peaceful coexistence...” 

What do you even say to this?  Peaceful and coexistance are two words which are conspicuously absent in the Q'uran.  You know what, let's just ask Muslim countries how they've managed to successfully integrate Christians and Jews.

And the pin drops.

Islamophobia Is a Crime Against Humanity: Erdogan

technorati tags:Turkey, Islam, Q'uran, Terrorism, Muslim, Islamophobia, religion, Council+of+Europe

Cause and Effect in the Middle East

A large number of Arabs still apparently have no concept of cause and effect.  Not that this is any big surprise.  For years, the standard MO in the region is to provoke someone then cry outrage when they respond.  The Palestinian abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is a perfect example. 

He was abducted by Palestinians who then attempted to extort Israel into releasing Palestinian prisoners.  As expected, Israel didn't respond to those threats and instead moved on the Gaza Strip, putting military pressure to bear in the hopes of finding the young man. What do you think happened next?

Anger flared across the Middle East on Thursday over Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, and Arab governments were assailed for not aiding Palestinians. The Egyptian government's top rival, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, urged Egyptians to gather at pro-Palestinian demonstrations Friday, the day of weekly Islamic prayers.

Egyptian officials urged the Syrian-based political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, to obtain the release of an Israeli soldier whose abduction set off the confrontation.

Mashaal, meanwhile, sought help from Arab leaders to stop Israel's incursion, a statement from his office said.

"This situation demands that Arab officials and the international community take a tough stance," Mashaal's top aide, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told Al-Jazeera television. "They should pressure Israel to withdraw from the middle of cities and stop shelling civilians."

Unbelievable.  I'm going to suggest that maybe, just maybe, the Palestinians might want to stop abducting and murdering people for a start.  You know, if they got a little more civil about things, maybe Israel wouldn't have to keep laying the smack down on them.

Of course, what reason would they have to be outraged then?

Newsvine - Arab Anger Flares at Israeli Incursion

technorati tags:Israel, Gilad+Shalit, Arab, Protest, Palestinian, Hamas, Mashaal, Egypt

1-800-JIHAD

Not content to wage guerilla war and continute slaughtering people for Allah, Iraqi insurgents have now adopted a technique pioneered by adolescents worldwide in their quest to spread terror.  Crank phone calls. 

Using off-the-shelf technology, insurgents have begun to capture cell-phone numbers and make threatening phone calls to the families of British soldiers.

The "nuisance" calls have been made with increasing frequency over the past few weeks after insurgents managed to obtain home numbers from soldiers' mobile telephones. The growing number of calls has led to an investigation by the Royal Military Police, which has issued a warning to all soldiers in Iraq to take great care when using mobile telephones to call home.

The extent of the problem emerged in a restricted Army document issued to soldiers of the London Regiment, a Territorial Army unit, which has soldiers from its ranks serving in Iraq. The document warns soldiers preparing to take part in operations that insurgents in southern Iraq have managed to obtain the home telephone numbers of soldiers by using electronic intercept devices to hack into mobile phone systems. It is understood that the threats range from claims that a husband or son is dead or will be killed fighting in Iraq, to verbal abuse.

Many of those who have received calls say that they were made by people with a poor command of English or with a Middle Eastern accent.

Telegraph | News | Army wives get phone death threats from Iraq

technorati tags:Iraq, War, Britain, UK, Jihad, Insurgents, Terrorism

The Domino Effect

With all of the media focus on the erosion of personal privacy here in the U.S., it's interesting to take a short visit north of the border and see what our hockey-loving neighbors might have to contend with in the over-reaching name of security.

One of Canada's largest Internet service providers is warning its customers that Big Brother is lurking online, with the federal government expected to revive an Internet surveillance bill. If the legislation is reintroduced, it could allow police unfettered access to personal information without a warrant, experts warn.

Bell Sympatico has informed its customers that it intends to "monitor or investigate content or your use of your service provider's networks and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy any laws, regulations or other governmental request.''

Bell Sympatico's new customer service agreement, which took effect June 15, is a clear signal the telecommunications industry expects the Conservative government to revive the surveillance law, said Michael Geist, an Internet law professor at the University of Ottawa. "Everybody expects it's going to be reintroduced,'' Geist said in an interview. "If anything, (the new bill) will be a hardened approach.''

Geist fears police will be able to demand customer information from Internet providers without having to make a case before a judge, opening the door wide to an abuse of civil rights.

The recent arrest of 17 men in the Toronto area on terrorism charges proves that Canada already has effective law enforcement tools, Geist argues. "Authorities were able to investigate and arrest 17 individuals with the laws we have in place,'' he said. "Even if we do reach the conclusion that we need new laws, we need oversight included in the system.''

Oversight? What's that? I think I heard the term once.

CTV.ca | Sympatico's customers warned of privacy loss

technorati tags:Canada, Privacy, Surveillance, Internet, Michael+Geist, Bell+Sympatico, Police, Terrorism

When Will They Learn?

One thing you'd think Palestinians would have learned in their decades long conflict with Israel is the simple fact that actions have consequences.  Endless whining about Israeli atrocities does nothing to hide the fact that Israel is being forced to respond by never-ending suicide and terror attacks. 

Palestinians won't come to the table when they can bomb a restaurant or bus and get more attention. Now with the abduction of a young IDF soldier by Palestinian 'militants' ( a term which effectively applies to seemingly the entire population of the Gaza Strip), Israel once again put its boot down.

Israeli tanks and troops rolled into the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday after mediators said hope was running out of recovering a soldier abducted by Palestinian gunmen...the first major ground offensive in Gaza since the Jewish state withdrew last year after 38 years of occupation.

Apparently the concept that retibution is a two-way street is simply lost on the Palestinian psyche.  All the wailing and complaining about the tyrannical Israeli regime is a load of crap.  Anyone with half a brain knows that they're repeatedly bringing this on themselves.  It's so simple; stop killing and you will stop getting killed. 

Sadly, this basic concept is forever lost on a people who value death over life and believe that martyrdom is a more certain route to glory than peacemaking.

(Source: Reuters)

technorati tags:Israel, IDF, Gaza, Palestinian, Palestine, Gilad+Shalit, Terrorist, Abduction, Military, War

Windows Genuine Shaft

I've written before of how satisfied I have been with my switch to the Mac platform over a year ago. I've enjoyed stability, ease of use, and zero-configuration computing bliss. I haven't once missed the viruses, crashes, hard-locks, or frequent re-installations needed to keep a Windows machine in top form.

I've kept up to date on the technology though and I have a sneaking suspicion that the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) authentication scheme is going to turn into nothing more than a boarding pass for disaffected Windows users headed for Mac-ville.

There's some speculation now that WGA will in fact become a so-called 'kill-switch' enabling Microsoft to simply turn off your Windows installation if you decide not to use it. Interesting People says:

I installed Windows Live OneCare antivirus on my Windows machine.
OneCare marks a system marks a system as "vulnerable" if you do not
have automatic updates turned on.

I called Microsoft support to see if there is a hidden option to say,
"yep, I've got updates turned to manual... it's okay." The rep said,
"No and why wouldn't you want to get the latest updates to Windows."

I responded with the issues relating to WGA. He spent some time
telling me that WGA was a good thing, etc. I reiterated that I have
accepted all the updates except WGA and just want to review the
updates before they're installed on my machine.

He told me that "in the fall, having the latest WGA will become
mandatory and if its not installed, Windows will give a 30 day
warning and when the 30 days is up and WGA isn't installed, Windows
will stop working, so you might as well install WGA now."

Ed Bott at ZDNet has more:

That can’t be true, can it? I’m always suspicious of any report that comes from a front-line tech support drone, so I sent a note to Microsoft asking for an official confirmation or, better yet, a denial. Instead, I got this terse response from a Microsoft spokesperson:

"As we have mentioned previously, as the WGA Notifications program expands in the future, customers may be required to participate. [emphasis added] Microsoft is gathering feedback in select markets to learn how it can best meet its customers' needs and will keep customers informed of any changes to the program."

So much for you deciding what can and can not be installed on your own computer. Just another in a long line of questionable practices by Microsoft. When your market share is over 90%, is this type of aggressive behavior really necessary? Especially in light of the inevitible false-positives that will have God only knows what consequences?

Microsoft needs to stop worrying so much about WGA and start worrying about how to retain customers who are sick of feeling like criminals.

technorati tags:Microsoft, Windows, WGA, kill+switch, Windows+Genuine+Advantage, Windows+Live+One+Care, XP, Vista

'To the U.S. With Love - Iran'

Could it be possible that in order to get softer treatment in the ongoing Iranian nuclear standoff, Iran essentially handed Zarqawi's location over to the U.S.?

Such an act would be an effective and face-saving maneuver for Iran; a token gesture that would, at least initially give the United States a reason to 'turn down the heat' over the nuclear issue.

"In fact, a credible Moroccan newspaper, La Gazette du Maroc, is affirming that Zarqawi was caught thanks to Iran and was the first gift to the US.

...Coincidence or not the US position softened around that time when for the first time Secretary of State Rice announced a possible ouverture to Iran."

Amid internal dissent and failures to follow through with campaign promises, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has in some quarters been called weak.  Given his propensity toward an almost reckless level of saber-rattling this type of information trade-off would, if authorized by President Ahmadinejad, signal either an unwillingness to continue his 'damn the world' attitude toward the nuclear issue, or an internal division over it. 

The recent formation of an intermediary advisory council on foreign policy by the Ayatollah Khameini is seen by some as lending credence to the latter of those two possibilities.

(Sources: Counterterrorism Blog, AKI)

technorati tags:Iran, Ahmadinejad, Nuclear, enrichment, Ayatollah, Khameini, Zarqawi, Iraq, Terrorism

Extreme Home Makeover: Iraq Edition

I've been hitting YouTube a little hard recently, but with good reason. This is the greatest program ever to be featured. Enjoy!

technorati tags:Iraq, Home+makeover, insurgent, terror, war

Journalism Degree Not Required

This was on the homepage of my local newspaper yesterday. I'm going to be polite and suggest that maybe the newspaper check their hiring requirements.

technorati tags:Weather, Maryland, Newspaper, Humor

The Six Year Old Superhero

I spend an inordinate amount of time surfing the web for things that spark my imagination, grab my interest, or ignite the flames of righteous indignation deep down in my gut. It seems as though these days only the bad stories, the ones that outrage people seem to make it into my newsreader and eventually beneath my gaze.

Not because I have no interest in uplifting stories. It's just harder to stumble across them. This one is a story that reaffirms my faith in humanity; both in the innocence and wonder of children and in the stunning capacity for selfless good that dwells within us.

In a time when war and terror grip our collective conscience, it's a rare find, and one I don't think I'll soon forget.

Idaho Girl Becomes Superhero for a Day

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Most days, 6-year-old Aubrey Matthews spends her energy fighting a brain tumor growing behind her eyes. But the first-grader managed to foil crimes and chase an arch-nemesis through Boise on Friday, serving the city as the superhero "Star" with assistance from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Idaho, The Idaho Statesman reported. When she donned her blue and metallic superhero costume, Star took on the super-powers of X-ray vision, superhuman strength, speed and blowing power - and a mission: To capture the villain who had stolen a golden star from the Idaho Historical Museum.

After Star was alerted by authorities, she hopped on a Life Flight helicopter to reach the crime scene, where she found a clue linking the crime to a kjnown evildoer. The chase was on, with plenty of opportunities for Star to use her superpowers along the way. Before catching the bad guy, she rescued people from a "smoke"-filled building, saved a citizen from drowning in ParkCenter Pond, and vindicated ferrets at Zoo Boise who had been framed for stealing the golden star.

You owe it to yourself to read the rest. Superman's got nothing on this girl.

Continued: Valley Morning Star Online Edition

technorati tags:Aubrey+Matthews, cancer, tumor, Star, superhero, Idaho, Make+A+Wish

Bill Gates Is a Pirate

I don't know whats funnier; the choice of topic or the fact that Bill Gates admitted to copyright infringement.  Either way, I got a laugh out of it.

If you read way down to the bottom of a Wall Street Journal interview with Bill Gates that ran yesterday, you'll discover that the Microsoft executive admitted to watching pirated movies on the Internet. The confession came as he was talking about content he had viewed on YouTube.

WSJ: You watch physics lectures and Harlem Globetrotters [on YouTube]?

Gates: This social-networking thing takes you to crazy places.

WSJ: But those were stolen, correct?

Gates: Stolen's a strong word. It's copyrighted content that the owner wasn't paid for. So yes..."

You can hear the wheels turning as Gates thinks through the reality of his actions before finally admitting that he has indeed downloaded and consumed copyrighted content.

Bill Gates' piracy confession - Computerworld Blogs

technorati tags:Software, piracy, internet, youtube, BIll+Gates, movies, Microsoft, Wall+Street+Journal

Curl Up Internet

Reason 636,212 I'm glad I don't have Comcast.

Technorati tags: Comcast / youtube / sleep / internet / modem / funny

Subpoenas Are So Last Year

It's so refreshing to see that the internet has enabled such open sharing of information.

Federal and local police across the country — as well as some of the nation's best-known companies — have been gathering Americans' phone records from private data brokers without subpoenas or warrants.

These brokers, many of whom market aggressively on the Internet, have broken into customer accounts online, tricked phone companies into revealing information and sometimes acknowledged that their practices violate laws, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

"There's a good chance there are some laws being broken, but it's not really clear precisely which laws, said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky"....data brokers use trickery, impersonation and even technology to try to gather Americans' phone records. "

"This is pernicious, an end run around the Fourth Amendment," said Marc Rotenberg, head of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center which advocates tougher federal regulation of data brokers. "The government is encouraging unlawful conduct; it's not smart on the law enforcement side to be making use of information obtained improperly."

Legal experts said law enforcement agencies would be permitted to use illegally obtained information from private parties without violating the Fourth Amendment as long as police did not encourage crimes to be committed.

So much for due process. Isn't technology grand?

(Source: AP/Yahoo News)

technorati tags:Warrant, Subpoena, phone+records, privacy, fourth+amendment, law, police

Yes, The Dixie Chicks Suck

I'm tired. Literally. And I'm tired of self-righteous 'entertainers' who use their popularity to flip the bird at their country. I'm so tired of it that I'm not going to waste the time preparing a proper argument. Yes, I'm talking about the Dixie Chicks. I'm going to be blunt so here goes.

"A lot of artists cashed in on being against what we said or what we stood for because that was promoting their career, which was a horrible thing to do," says Robison.

Self righteous bitch. The world does not revolve around you or your shitty band. Sit down.

"A lot of pandering started going on, and you'd see soldiers and the American flag in every video. It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism."

You know what sickens me? Terrorists attacking my country and loudmouthed singers telling me I'm wrong for supporting my country and its soldiers.

"The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism," Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country… I don't see why people care about patriotism."

As the saying goes 'If you have to ask, you'll never know.'

There can be no rational explanation of how Maines's remark came to drive a red-hot poker into America's divided soul, but it's only now that some of the poison has begun to dissipate.

This can NOT be a serious remark. No rational explanation? Here's your rational explanation. She's a braindead peacenik with a big mouth and a lot of free media attention. Evidently she doesn't grasp the fact that a majority of people in the United States actually DO give more than a crap about their country and feel proud of the fact that they live here. So much for cheering on the home team. Honestly, not to degenerate into a tired cliche, but if they don't like it that much, they should do us and themselves a favor and just leave. God knows my car stereo will thank them.

Oh, and while I'm on the cliche train, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.

(Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

technorati tags:Dixie+Chicks, Natalie+Maines, war, patriotism, entertainment, opinion, music, country, politics

The WTF Files: Iran Vows Nuclear Defense

Either this is a Freudian slip of the highest magnitude, a total bluff, or the Iranian government has just exposed a set of armor-plated balls.

"Iran's defense minister on Thursday vowed that his country would "use nuclear defense as a potential" if "threatened by any power."  Speaking following a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Hassan Ali Turkmani in Teheran on Thursday."

Since Iran claims it has no nuclear weapons, and doesn't plan to build any, you kind of have to wonder exactly how they're planning to accomplish that.  (That swooshing sound you just heard was the whole 'peaceful civilian nuclear energy' line being flushed down the proverbial toilet.)

Meanwhile, Turkmani told reporters that Syria and Iran's "policy is the policy of strengthening resistance and tackling the threats of United States and Israel."

He added that he wouldn't give details of joint defense plans against Israel, although the plans were "not secret."  Answering a question regarding a newly-developed Shahab 4 missile, Najjar said that research activities were underway. Iran would continue production of "different missiles and research,"

If nothing's done about this issue soon, the layer of bullshit covering Iran will suffice to protect it from any foreign attack.

(Source: Jerusalem Post)

technorati tags:Iran, nuclear, missiles, weapons, war, attack, Ahmadinejad, politics, Islam, terrorism

Chavez Still Thinks We're Invading

Hugo Chavez has officially won the award for most paranoid leader of the western hemisphere. He's like Ahmadinejad's dumber, slightly more retarded and better groomed brother. Neither one has a clue what the hell they're talking about but at least Ahmadinejad is scary. He's the believable despot.

Chavez is like a hopelessly psychotic mental patient being carted around an asylum screaming whatever's on his mind just to get someone to listen. 'Oh, look at me, I'm a big bad dictator too!'

Wearing his old army uniform and red paratroop beret, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez handed new Russian-made rifles to troops on Wednesday, vowing Washington would not defeat his socialist revolution.

Chavez, a left-wing former soldier who says the United States wants to topple him, has ordered officers and civilian reservists to train for a resistance war against U.S. troops who he says plan to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves. "The U.S. empire has a campaign around the world trying to isolate Venezuela so no one will sell us even a shotgun. This is an act of victory," Chavez told troops after inspecting and sighting a target with one of the new rifles. "We keep warning the imperialist U.S. government that they won't ever defeat us,"

Sure, Hugo. Go on with your bad self. I know we here in the U.S. are both clamoring to get into a scrap with you, and yet are awed at your military might.

"Fatherland or death," Chavez told soldiers as he slapped the black rifles into their hands. "These are the best rifles in the world."

And apparently they have super-magical-tastic capabilities that don't require ammo clips. Be afraid, America. Be afraid.

(Source: Reuters)

technorati tags:Venezuela, Chavez, Kalashnikov, rifles, military, soldier, foreign+policy, war, oil, South+America

Freedom of Stupidity

There's a saying that goes: 'Just because you can doesn't mean you should.'  Freedom of speech and expression is the term most often used to defend insulting, hateful and outright stupid behavior by people who really have nothing constructive to say or an insidious agenda to push.  For example:

"A retired farmer who says he served in a branch of a German paramilitary unit in World War II is turning some of his property into a memorial to Adolf Hitler. Ted Junker, 87, plans a grand opening June 25 and says his goal is to clear up what he says are inaccuracies about the war and Hitler’s role in it. “I like the U.S.,” he said. “I can’t understand why people don’t know the truth. This is for understanding, not hate.”

Apparently in the 61 years since the end of the Second World War, countless documentaries, historians and war vets' testimonies have yielded so little information that a former SS soldier feels the need to build a monument on his property to set things right.  Exactly what misconceptions are there?  What else is left to explain?

"Kathy Heilbronner, assistant director of the Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations, described Junker as a classic Holocaust denier. She said he chooses to ignore the ample evidence of the Holocaust."

Apparently so.  He also chooses to ignore the truth:

"Sugar Creek Town Chairman Loren Waite said Junker told local officials he was going to build a tractor shed, not a Hitler memorial."

(Source: MSNBC)

technorati tags:Hitler, War, Memorial, Junker, Wisconsin, History, Politics, Sugar+Creek

And the Next Al-Qaeda Mastermind Is...

A little background has begun to surface on the latest USAF target of choice, Zarqawi's successor. (Bombs be upon him.)

Al-Qaeda in Iraq's new leader is a 40-year-old Libyan specialised in recruiting young Arabs to fight for the terrorist network, according to an "Iraqi expert" cited on the Internet site of the Dubai-based television network al-Arabiya.

According to the expert, Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir - named on Monday on several Islamist Internet sites as terror network in Iraq's new leader - lived in Sudan until 1995 from where he moved to Pakistan and also Afghanistan.“I believe he stayed with a group linked to the Osama Bin Zayd Mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan before leaving for Iraq in 2001. I've been informed that he is an educated leader, in the military rather that in the spiritual field.

"Abu Hamza al-Muhajir has been an al-Qaeda intelligence chief for three years during which he was responsible for maintaining links with cells in the Middle East and in certain North African countries," the unidentified expert told al-Arabiya."In Iraq, al-Muhajir was based in the small northern town of al-Qaim (near the Syrian border and some 400 kilometres nortwest of Baghdad) from where he would direct the operations of his Arab recruits.

One of his last tasks before his appointment as al-Qaeda in Iraq's leader was to organise the group's fighters in the city of Kirkuk," the expert said.  Some observers have linked the series of bombs that went off in Kirkuk on Tuesday killing 24 Iraqis and wounding another 40 as possibly signalling a show of strength by the terrorist leader.

(Source: AKI)

Technorati tags: Al+Mujahir / Abu+Hamsa / Iraq / Terror / War / Zarqawi / Libya / Insurgent

Much Ado About Cheesesteaks

A civil rights watchdog agency opened an investigation on Monday into a
Philadelphia cheese steak restaurant that posted a sign saying "This is
America - when ordering, speak English."

The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations complaint effectively
opens a case against Geno's Steaks of South Philadelphia, said Rachel
Lawton, acting executive director of the agency.

The sign may violate the city's Fair Practices Ordinance, which bans
businesses from discriminating on the basis of nationality or
ethnicity, Lawton said.

"The complaint will say that the sign
discourages patronage by non-English speakers because of their national
origin and/or ancestry," Lawton, whose agency enforces the city's
anti-discrimination laws, said before the official filing.

People; seriously.  Enough with the sob-stories about discrimination and racism.  My God, everytime something happens that minorities don't want, the first shot fired is 'Racism!  Discrimination! Unfair!'  This sign does not discourage anyone from visiting on the basis of their national origin or ethnicity.   This may come as a shock, but people from other countries and backgrounds CAN and DO learn English on a fairly regular basis.   And if you really, REALLY have to have  a cheesesteak, and you can't pronounce 'cheesesteak' then maybe you really don't want one as badly as you think.

This is such a simple thing, yet these flaming left-wing nutjobs try to make everything out to be some sort of racially motivated evil masterplan.  I went to Germany about 12 years ago on a student exchange program.  Now, maybe I'm the exception here, but I went with the full expectation that I would have to have and demonstrate at least a basic knowledge of German to get by.  I found it slightly helpful for things like reading road signs, menus, street names, and things like that. 

I had no expectation of anyone having to speak English simply because I couldn't be bothered to learn the local language.  That's disrespectful, ignorant, and lazy.  Luckily I was equipped with a solid education in the language, which made it fairly simple.  There were times I was stumped, but I understood how to explain that to people and asked them to please bear with me as I was trying.  In turn, they were very respectful and appreciative that I was willing to do my best as a guest of their country to accomodate THEM. 

I simply can't understand the mentality of someone who can't be bothered to learn the language of the country they live in, and then have the titanium clad balls to not ASK for but DEMAND accomodation.

It's all about respect.  It's obvious that the people complaining about this don't understand that concept.  Illegals don't respect our laws at the border, and now non-english speakers can't respect the language that dominates our culture.  If they really want to speak their language all the time, and continue to denigrate our culture perhaps they should consider heading back to their 'national origin.'


Technorati Tags: Geno's, Immigration, Englsh, Language, culture, illegal immigrants

Oklahoma to Execute Repeat Child Molesters

Parents in Oklahoma have been handed a new weapon against child-molesters seeking to prey on the innocent. More accurately, the courts have been given a new option in the prosecution of such cases. Governor Brad Henry signed a measure into law making repeat child-molesters eligible for the death penalty.

Speaking in defense of the legislation, State Senator Jay Gumm commented:

"Predators with multiple convictions for child molestation have proven they will continue to prey on Oklahoma's children until they are stopped...The crime of child molestation ripples throughout the life of a child, robbing them of their innocence and sense of safety," he added. "We need to send the message as a state, that if you repeatedly prey on our children we will find you, prosecute you, convict you and execute you."

The United States Supreme Court has previously ruled out the death penalty as an option in all but murder cases,

but the author of the Oklahoma bill said it is time to challenge that ruling.

Dissenters claim:

"There's an incentive not to leave the victim alive," warned Colin Garrett, the Death Penalty Resource Counsel for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

This argument holds no water as the murder of the victim would equally qualify the offender for capital punishment.

Another concern is that the severity of the punishment will prevent some victims -- or their families -- from reporting the abuse because most children are molested by family members, he added.

This may be true, but speaking as a parent, if a member of my family molested one of my children even once, I'd volunteer to pull the switch, and I suspect a fair number of people out there would agree with me. This law only applies to repeat offenders however, and I have a suspicion that suspect that some of these people end up being dealt with by family members already.

(Source: AP/Breitbart)

Technorati Tags:
Oklahoma, Brad Henry, law, legislation, crime, justice, child molester, death penalty, execution, capital punishment

U.S. Airstrike Kills Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the most-wanted terrorist in Iraq with a $25 million bounty on his head, was killed when U.S. warplanes dropped 500-pound bombs on his isolated safehouse northeast of Baghdad, coalition officials said Thursday. His death was a long-sought victory in the war in Iraq.

Al-Zarqawi and several aides, including spiritual adviser Sheik Abdul Rahman, were killed Wednesday evening in a remote area 30 miles from Baghdad in the volatile province of Diyala, just east of the provincial capital of Baqouba, officials said.

"Al-Zarqawi was eliminated," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said.

Al-Zarqawi's body was found and moved to a secure location, where it was positively identified at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Caldwell said, adding that the confirmation was made with scars, tatoos and fingerprints known to be al-Zarqawi's.

Well done. Literally.

(Source: AP/Breitbart)

Technorati Tags: Iraq / Zarqawi / airstrike / terrorist / Islam / AlQaeda / Baghdad

Gentlemen, Start Your E-Meters

Welcome one and all to the Xenu 500:

"Tom Cruise came to Charlotte in 1989 to film "Days Of Thunder." Little did we know that someday his idealogy would come zooming back to NASCAR as a sponsor.

Racin' fans, brace yourselves for some couch-jumping news: Scientology is ridin' shotgun.

A No. 27 red Taurus emblazoned with "DIANETICS" and featuring the volcano from the cover of L. Ron Hubbard's book has been tearing around California's Irwindale Speedway."

(Source: Charlotte.com)

Technorati Tags: Scientology / L+Ron+Hubbard / NASCAR / racing / motorsports

Coward Refuses Iraq Deployment

The U.S. military is not a democracy.  As the saying goes, 'ours is not to question why, ours is but to do and die.'  Men and women across this country in countless numbers have joined up with the full knowledge that once in the employ of the military, they will be given orders and expected to follow them. Failure to comply will have serious and potentially life-threatening consequences.  Without this basic tenet of military structure, the concept of a military would be useless.

It's really very simple. The place for protest is in the civilian world where picketing and protesting are part and parcel of the American way of life; a way to provide a social counterbalance to the 'powers that be'.  

For military personnel and officers especially, to disregard the traditions, heritage, and core structure of the command structure and use their position as a platform for social commentary is disrespectful and criminal.

Army Lt. Ehren Watada has stated publicly (at press conferences no less) that he refuses to deploy with his unit to Iraq because he believes the war to be 'unjust'.

"I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to ‘stay the course.’ I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression.

"I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way was not to help drop artillery and cause more death and destruction. It is to help oppose this war and end it so that all soldiers can come home."

I'm sorry, Lieutenant that you feel this war is unjust.  Unfortunately, you lost your ability to refuse to go when you joined the Army. 

One military blogger points out:

"...Interestingly, [Watada] joined the Army in June 2003, after we had invaded Iraq (so the concept that he might have to go there shouldn't have come as a surprise to him)"

Military Families Voice of Victory adds:

"Lt. Watada has chosen to ally himself and accept financial aid from Not in Our Name, a front group for the Revolutionary Communist Party. He has also accepted aid from other anti-American organizations that have expressed support and/or given material aid to terrorists in Iraq."

Whatever his true intentions may be, this man is a disgrace to the uniform and those who wear it.

(Source: komotv.com  More: Here)

Technorati Tags: Ehren Watada, Not in Our Name, deserter, Army, Iraq, war, treason, deployment, military

Leukemia Drug Turns Cancer Into Manageable Illness

For anyone who knows someone afflicted with or affected by cancer (and most of us do) a new finding by British cancer specialists has stunning implications.  My family has been touched by cancer on numerous occasions, and I heartily welcome any news like this.

"A drug prescribed for one of the commonest forms of leukaemia has reduced the deadly cancer to a chronic illness that can be managed with a single pill a day, specialists said yesterday.

New data issued in London showed that about 90 per cent of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) who take the drug Glivec are alive and well after five years.

Before the drug was developed, the blood cancer would become advanced within four to six years, giving little hope of survival.

Specialists described the results as "breathtaking". They said that, unlike some cancer drugs which had shown early promise that then faded, Glivec patients had an "impressively durable response to the drug..."

"The significant success of Glivec in treating CML is an exciting model for the development of new treatments for other cancers."

(Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

Technorati Tags: cancer, leukemia, cml, disease, medicine, drugs, pharmaceuticals, Glivec, London, science

Candian Prosecutors Detail Terror Plot

Some chilling details of the Canadian terror plot were unveiled today in court.

Gary Batasar, a lawyer for Steven Chand, one of the arrested men, said that an 8-page synopsis presented in court by prosecutors described plans to blow up the Canadian Parliament's buildings in Ottawa, storm the studios of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, demand the release of Muslim prisoners, and behead hostages if the government did not comply.

He said Mr. Chand and several others in the group were also accused in the synopsis of wanting to behead the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper.

Scores of people, most of them with unrelated business at the courthouse, waited outside in long lines for clearance to enter the building. Anyone who appeared to be Muslim or who seemed to have a connection to the terrorism case was quickly mobbed by the reporters and television crews on the scene. Most refused to respond to questions; a few complained about ethnic stereotyping by the news media.

Why on Earth would they think the news media has an ethnic stereotype of Muslims as potential terrorists? It's not like they would ever plan to blow up buildings, storm buildings and behead hostages...oh, wait, nevermind.

Donald F. McLeod, a lawyer for Jahmaal James, one of the men arrested in the terrorism case, complained to reporters about the conditions under which his client and others were being held. He said they were being kept under 24-hour supervision, had not been allowed to make phone calls and were able to speak to visiting relatives only through thick Plexiglas.

Cry me a river.

(Source: New York Times More: Reuters)

Technorati Tags: Islam, Muslim, Mosque, terrorism, Canada, Toronto, beheading, bombing, terrorist, Stephen Harper

Fun From the Border

Fake, but yet strangely true.

Technorati Tags: Bush / border / border+patrol / immigration / illegal / fence / funny

What The Hell Are They Thinking?

I think I woke up this morning having slipped into another dimension during my sleep; on the Earth I'm from it seems foolish to encourage other countries to give up nuclear programs by giving them nuclear technology.

A package of incentives presented Tuesday to Iran includes a provision for the United States to supply Tehran with some nuclear technology if it stops enriching uranium; a major concession by Washington, diplomats said.

Um, what?

Is it any wonder that'Iran sees some positive signs' in the package of incentives? I would too if I were viewing this from the Iranian perspective. Evidently if you act like a defiant warmongering, fascist prick, you'll eventually get what you want and make the U.S. look like a capitulating sissy in the process.

(Source: AP/Breitbart More: Here, Here, & Here Precedent: Here)

Technorati Tags: apocalypse / 666 / end+times / armageddon / humor

Signs of the Apocalypse

I'm not normally one to latch on to Apocalypse fever, but I have to admit, I find this more than a little ironic.

(Source: USAToday for all your apocalyptic news)

Technorati Tags: apocalypse / 666 / end+times / armageddon / humor

The Forest and The Giant Neon Tree

The Toronto Star evidently is having difficulty with the obvious.

In investigators' offices, an intricate graph plotting the links between the 17 men and teens charged with being members of a homegrown terrorist cell covers at least one wall. And still, says a source, it is difficult to find a common denominator.

Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.

(Source: TheStar.com)

Technorati Tags: Islam / Muslim / Toronto / terrorism / terror / raid / Canada / Mosque

Iranian Students Irate Over Nuclear Plans

Iranian students have spoken up more and more of late against the fundamentalist policies of President Ahmadinejad, signalling growing internal divisions which may prove to be the undoing of Ahmadinejad's much-touted unified Iranian resolve against the west.

Anjoman Daneshjouian Azad, which means the association of free students, called on authorities to invest the money they are spending on the country's controversial nuclear programme in health and education programmes. "We don't believe in the choices of President Ahmadinejad who means to use its nuclear [technology] for military purposes, dragging the country into a new war," said the statement

Even his own people realize he's a half-baked liar backed by a host of crazy mullahs. Of course, that's nothing new.

(Source: AKI)

Technorati Tags: Iran / Ahmadinejad / protests / student+protests / Tehran / nuclear / war / politics / middle+east

The Revenge of Darwin

From CNN:

Two college students were found dead inside a large, deflated helium balloon after apparently pulling it down and crawling inside it, officials said.

The deaths of Jason Ackerman and Sara Rydman, both 21, appear to be accidental, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Maj. Bob Schrader said.

Their bodies were found Saturday partially inside a deflated helium balloon at the entrance of a condominium complex a few miles north of Tampa.

The 8-foot-diameter balloon was used to advertise the complex.

Sometimes you just have to wonder exactly how low the stupidity threshold actually goes.

Technorati Tags: Tampa / helium / balloon / death / stupid / odd / suicide

Toronto Mosque Vandalized - Imagine That

Reuters once again pulled a magic trick out of it's magic hat on this one. We're all familiar by now with the arrests of 17 suspected 'Al Qaeda sympathizers' who just happened to have attempted to acquire three tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, made famous by Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City.

The plan was apparently to bomb buildings in Toronto, until the plot was foiled by Canadian authorities. Reuters notes:

Vandals smashed 30 windows of a Toronto mosque and damaged nearby cars after the arrest of 17 suspected al Qaeda sympathizers accused of planning bomb attacks. Canadian Muslims expressed fear on Sunday that a backlash had begun.

Maybe Canadian Muslims should express outrage at the idiocy that runs rampant in the name of their religion which exhorts these people to dream up acts like this in the first place. But no, they just decided to come out as 'afraid of a backlash.' If they're so damn worried about a backlash, why not actually do something to stop people from interpreting their religion in a manner that glorifies this type of act.

I suppose it's simply easier to play the victim. Never mind the countless people who would have lost their lives, let's all feel sorry for the poor Muslims. Nobody understands them. Boo frigging hoo.

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told a meeting with Islamic community leaders, "it is certainly possible that that damage was motivated by hate. Hatred in any form, and certainly in its expressions of violence and damaged property, will not be tolerated in our community."

Um, does that include building bombs with THREE TONS of fertilizer and planning to set them off near civilian targets because of hatred, you oblivious moron? Oh, I guess we should feel sorry for the poor peaceful people whose Mosque was vandalized. Vandalism is hatred. Planning to kill civilians with three tons of fertilizer bombs isn't. I get it now.

Mohammad Alam, president of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, said the vandalism may be the beginning of religiously motivated reprisals against the country's Muslim population, estimated at more than 600,000.

Again, I direct your attention to the plot to BOMB CIVILIANS in Toronto. This plot brought to you by the RELIGION of Islam. Moving on...

Tarek Fatah, spokesman for the Muslim Canadian Congress, said he felt "a mixture of shock and relief" following the arrests. "It's too close to home," he said.

I can definitely agree with Mr. Fatah on this comment. It is a little close to home pal, so start reigning in the people who encourage this.

Interestingly, after all of the sob stories and statements of how prejudicial and biased Canada is for assuming this is a terror plot, buried on the LAST PAGE of the story are the following two paragraphs. Doesn't this warrant a slightly higher placement in the story?

"Police said the group had acquired three tonnes of ammonium nitrate -- triple the amount used in the Oklahoma City bombing.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said the men had become "adherents of a violent ideology inspired by al Qaeda."

I'm getting dizzy from sitting here reading this much of a leftward-spinning article.

(Source: Reuters Background: TheStar.com & AP/MyWay)

Technorati Tags: Islam / Muslim / Canada / Plot / Terror / Terrorism / Bomb / Ammonium+Nitrate / Oklahoma+City / McVeigh / Violence / Mosque / Vandalism / Toronto

Iran Threatens West With Drugs

Reaching down deeper into the back of filthy tactics, Iran has now begun to suggest that it may help launch a sneak attack on Europe in the form of increased drug trafficking.

Should the UN slap Iran with sanctions over its disputed nuclear program,

leading members of Iran's establishment have hinted that drugs could be used as a weapon against Europe.

"Should Europe continue to defy the Islamic Republic, Iran could favour drug trafficking towards Europe, obviously not through its territory, but for example by sea," said the chief prosecutor, quoted by Resalat.

A few days earlier, online newspaper Roozonline quoted Iranian drug-control chief Fada-Hussein Maleki as claiming that Tehran "could remove all current obstacles on drug trafficking from Afghanistan towards Europe and inundate the West with drugs."

Is that one of those famous 'threats' that President Ahmadinejad accuses the west of illegally making? Ahh, the sweet sound of hypocrisy.

(Source: AKI)

Technorati Tags: Iran / Europe / EU / UN / sanctions / drugs / politics / policy / middle+east / nuclear

Back in The Big Time

I'd just like to say thanks to the powers that be at Blogger for whitelisting me and taking me off the list of evil.  All is well in Chris-land.  Well, now Mars Edit doesn't work, but I suppose I can cope.

At least there's no more 'captcha' goodness to drive me utterly batshit insane.

Haditha Hyperbole

With all of the mainstream media focus on Haditha, it's important to remember a tiny little tenet of law that we 'used' to treasure. Remember innocent until proven guilty? Not one news outlet has all of the facts on the incident, so the foredrawn conclusion that the Americans are guilty is based on nothing other than supposition. More accurately, supposition fueled by a driving anti-war bias that is dead-set on reviving the 'babykiller' image American GIs had to contend with during the Vietnam war.

I find it sickening that the left-wing anti-war crowd is so utterly desperate to get their point across that they're willing to cast GI's in a negative light with little evidence, virtually no facts, and a complete and utter disregard for their service.

Now they're going so far as to compare the alleged actions of the Marines to My Lai. I'm not going to get into that, as Indian Chris over at Right-Wing and Right Minded took the words right out of my mouth.

Technorati Tags: Haditha / My+Lai / Iraq / Vietnam / military / marines / Murtha / terrorism / war

Welcome to the Revolution

Depending on your personal and religious beliefs, this story could be more than a little troubling to you. I'm all for tracking the presence of 'guest-workers' inside the borders of the United States, but microchipping them is a bit much. Not because it allows us to track them, but because it sets a dangerous precendent.

Scott Silverman, Chairman of the Board of VeriChip Corporation, has proposed implanting the company's RFID tracking tags in immigrant and guest workers. He made the statement on national television earlier this week.

Silverman was being interviewed on "Fox & Friends." Responding to the Bush administration's call to know "who is in our country and why they are here," he proposed using VeriChip RFID implants to register workers at the border, and then verify their identities in the workplace. He added, "We have talked to many people in Washington about using it…."

The VeriChip is a very small Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag about the size of a large grain of rice. It can be injected directly into the body; a special coating on the casing helps the VeriChip bond with living tissue and stay in place. A special RFID reader broadcasts a signal, and the antenna in the VeriChip draws power from the signal and sends its data. The VeriChip is a passive RFID tag; since it does not require a battery, it has a virtually unlimited life span.

Going one step further,

In a related story, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe allegedly remarked to visiting U.S. senators Jeff Sessions (Alabama) and Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) that microchips could be used to track seasonal workers. "President Uribe said he would consider having Colombian workers have microchips implanted in their bodies before they are permitted to enter the U.S. for seasonal work," Specter told Congress on April 25.

Seasonal workers or not, chipping people like animals is a bad, bad move. It starts with non-citizens, but where does it end? People should not have to have something inserted into their bodies in order to come here to work. Simply following a legal process with some other form of identification ought to be enough. Has the government suddenly stopped believing it's own plans for an un-tamperable ID card are realistic?

If this takes hold, this is a step down a road we are going to regret travelling.

(Source: LiveScience.com)

Technorati Tags: science / immigration / immigration+reform / guest+worker / visa / border / RFID / microchip / Uribe / Sessions / Specter / VeriChip

Reparations Nonsense in North Carolina

People need to get their heads out of their collective asses with respect to 'reparations.' This is absolutely ridiculous; and just another waste of time and money by politicians with entirely too much time on their hands and not enough common sense.

North Carolina should compensate victims of racial violence that led to the overthrow of a racially mixed city government a century ago and ushered in a new political era in the Jim Crow South, a fact-finding commission recommended Wednesday.

Ok, great. Find a real live victim of this incident and compensation is fine by me. But no, that would be too literal and too logical. Instead, let's look at it through some nice rose-colored liberal glasses:

The commission's report _ produced after six years of study _ urged lawmakers to consider economic reparations for the coastal town, including incentives for minority small businesses, opportunities for compensation for victims' heirs, and help for minority home ownership.

Excuse me? What local businesses around today were affected by this? By this logic, can I claim reparations for something done to my great grandfather? I sure would start digging out the family history if I could, especially if I could use his misfortune to get help buying a house.

My God, where will this 'reparations' crap end? The situation happened, it is regrettable, but leave it alone. There is no way anyone in this town needs incentives or mortgage assistance because their great grandparents or even great-great grandparents were mistreated one hundred eight years ago! This is just another example of freeloading by association. Those people asking for these reparations should be ashamed of themselves, and I think those 'qualifying' under these findings should be offended.

But, of course, getting by on the coattails of others is the American way these days, isn't it?

(Source: AP/Breitbart)

Technorati Tags: North+Carolina / reparations / economics / Jim+Crow / Wilmington / racism / history / south / U.S. / politics / civil+rights

Prehistoric Cave Found Intact in Israel

Scientists in Israel have discovered something pretty amazing; a prehistoric cave with a completely sealed ecosystem.

The discovery was made in a cave near the central Israeli city of Ramle during rock drilling at a quarry. Scientists were called in and soon found eight previously unknown species of crustaceans and invertebrates similar to scorpions.

He said the cave's ecosystem probably dates back around five million years when the Mediterranean Sea covered parts of Israel.

The cave was completely sealed off from the world, including from water and nutrients seeping through rock crevices above. Scientists who discovered the cave believe it has been intact for millions of years.

"Every species we examined had no eyes which means they lost their sight due to evolution," said Dimantman.

Samples of the animals discovered in the cave were sent for DNA tests which found they were unique, he said. The cave has been closed off as scientists conduct a more detailed survey.

"This is a cave of fantastic biodiversity," Dimantman said.

This is exactly the type of thing that makes science so interesting. It makes me wonder what else is out there hidden underground that we haven't found yet.

(Source: Reuters)

Technorati Tags: science / Israel / evolution / history / cave / scientists / odd