Shocking Setback for Sudan!

** Rioting and death in Sudan after news of the Rebel Leader's death **

VIDEO OF THIS DEVASTATING NEWS HERE

On July 8th, Rebel Leader John Garang was waving to a crowd of more than one million Sudanese who gathered in the capital of Khartoum to welcome the new Vice President of Sudan back home after a 21 year hiatus.

Today John Garang is dead!


More than a million Sudanese greeted John Garang in Khartoum's Green Square on July 8th. Garang was considered a hero for peace by many of the suffering Sudanese people.

The Vice President had been missing for two days. It was just announced he was killed in a helicopter crash:

Reports at dawn on Monday indicate that New Sudan's First Vice President John Garang died when a Ugandan military helicopter he was travelling in crashed on Saturday night.

Ugandan authorities lost contact with the helicopter carrying him to Juba, after a weekend meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.

The Ugandan military last night could only say that they had located a signal of the presidential helicopter carrying Colonel Garang after it lost contact in bad weather, at a spot on the border between Uganda and Sudan. However, they were yet to reach the site.


US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Vice President Garang on her trip to Sudan on July 21, 2005.

The President confirmed today (Monday) that John Garang died in the helicopter crash:

In a statement quoted by state television, it said Garang, six of his companions and a crew of seven had died.

"The march of peace will continue toward its goal and his death will only make us stronger and more determined to complete the march which he began and his companions began," it added.

On Sunday there were reports that his plane had landed safely, according to Sudanese state television.

The Sudan News Wires have yet to announce that he has died just as the video has stated above (as of 3:00 AM EST). I stand corrected. It has just been announced in Sudan! (3:00 AM EST)

This is shocking news that may have dire consequences:

Garang's absence would be a heavy blow to the January peace deal that ended a 21-year civil war between the mostly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south in which some 2 million people died.

For the latest on the 'New' Sudan Crisis go to this post.

"Saddam the Victim"... Are you buying it?

This could possibly will be the liberal litmus test of the year! The Pack of Thugs representing Saddam Hussein said that the poor, defenseless, "Butcher of Baghdad" was attacked in court the other day.

Reuters reported today that the former Iraqi dictator was attacked by an unidentified man during his appearance at a court hearing in Baghdad on Thursday.

According to the statement, the dictator and the man threw punches at each other in court: "As the president stood to leave the courtroom one of those present attacked him and there was an exchange of blows between the man and the president," Reuters quoted from the statement, which added that the head of the tribunal did nothing to stop the assault.

The tribunal, however, adamantly denied the charges.

So, we now see the defense strategy of "Team Saddam". Make Saddam out to be the victim! That is just sick!

It will be interesting, though, to see who from the Left migrates over to Saddam's corner. It is only a matter of time before this happens, it's not a question of "if". There is no way this trial will conclude without a few(?) hardcore Leftists having a hissy-fit over the mass murderer. Do you suppose we will see these guys in the court room?

And, what do you suppose the next accusation will be by the defense team? That Saddam was forced to wear women's underwear on his head?

Musharraf Calls UK "Terrorist Safe Haven!"

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf accused Great Britain today of being the "Club-Med" for Islamic extremists:

President Pervez Musharraf has said that Britain is regarded as a safe haven by Islamic extremists because it has failed to crack down on them despite urging other countries to do so, The Sunday Times reports.

In an interview with the paper, President Musharraf suggested that the UK had paid a price for putting the right of free speech before the need to curb militant Islamic organisations that openly advocate violence. He told the paper: “They should have been doing what they have been demanding of us to do – to ban extremist groups like they asked us to do here in Pakistan and which I have done.”

Ouch!

In Nepal, Women Join the Fight for Democracy!

When the going gets tough,... the Democracy Babes get tougher!

Female student activists from the Padmakanya Campus throw stones and bricks at the police, while shouting anti-monarch slogans against the Nepali king in Kathmandu, July 28, 2005. (Reuters)

The US criticized Nepal for jailing the former Prime Minister as more democracy protests broke out this week:

Mr Deuba and five others were convicted on Tuesday by the country's corruption commission, set up by King Gyanendra after seizing direct power in February.

Washington said the commission was "extra-judicial" and again called on the king to "restore civil liberties".

On Thursday, anti-king protesters and police clashed in Kathmandu.


This weekend the US strongly encouraged Nepal to return to democracy:

The US has asked King Gyanendra to reconcile with political parties for immediate restoration of multiparty democracy in Nepal.

"It is the Royal Palace's compulsion to reach a compromise with political parties to prove its democratic nature," US Ambassador James F Moriarty said at an interaction programme in eastern Nepal town of Dharan.

"Rather than expecting help from third parties, reconciliation among the legitimate political forces is the best option to resolve the crisis," the envoy said on Saturday.

Asserting that the US was in favour of restoration of democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom, Moriarty appreciated the seven party alliances' efforts to resolve the current political crisis. He called on "the eighth force"- the Palace to cooperate with the political parties.


A student (C) from the Padmakanya Campus is being taken to the hospital after she broke her arm during a protest against the Nepali king, in Kathmandu, July 28, 2005. (Reuters)

Meanwhile, Maoist rebels captured a van of Nepali lawmakers that they had captured earlier:

Maoist rebels on Sunday freed seven government officials they had seized in eastern Nepal, and all were safe and in good health, an official said.

The freed hostages telephoned from the town of Birtamod, about 350 miles east of Katmandu to report they had been released, said Vijaya Poudel, the administrative chief of Illam District, where the officials were seized on Saturday.

The rebels stopped the officials as they were traveling in a van on the Mechi highway near Kolbung village, 20 miles north of Birtamod. Of the 10 people in the van, two officials and the wife of one were not held. The officials had apparently defied a rebel order to stay off the road.

I'm dedicating this post to Lynne, Sue, Becky, and big sisters everywhere!

Publius Pundit has more democracy news this morning!

Previous posts on Nepal:
Nepali Protest ends Violently
Nepal Cracks Down on Journalists

Jimmy Carter Stoops Lower

The latest news of the embarassment that is Jimmy Carter comes via Polipundit, via Betsy's Page.
Ugh.

The Dean Girls Return to Herring, Iowa

On Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, the fighting from World War I ceased at 11 am. Around the world people celebrated the end to the final and greatest war the world had witnessed up to that point in history. The small town of Herring, Iowa joined in the julilation. The town's people and area farmers gathered at the bottom of the Herring Hill near the center of town. They took two long poles and spliced them together with wire. Later that night the Herring folk celebrated the end of the Great War by hoisting the towering flagpole and proudly flying Old Glory in the town center.


Dorothy and Shirley Dean (r to l) on a sunny day atop the hill in Herring, Iowa in 1928.

Many years had passed when Ralph Dean, one of the children there on that 1918 Armistice Day celebration in Herring, took over the Herring general store in 1931 and brought his family there to live. Herring at that time had a country store complete with post office, a grain elevator, a Northwestern Railroad Depot, a lumber yard, and a dance hall. The country school was down the hill by the train tracks. Herring was established as a trading town and at one time previously had a pool hall, a blacksmith shop, and a livestock yard for the railroad. But that was before Ralph and Alice Dean moved there to raise their 3 girls, Dorothy, Shirley and Betty and run the country store.


Dorothy is helped up the Herring Hill today by her grandson David (l) and her son Tim (r).

Today, the Dean girls returned to Herring, Iowa. There is no longer a train depot in the town. The country store burned down in the 1950's. The dance hall was torn down after World War II by returning veterans to use the needed lumber in building homes for their families. The houses are no longer standing there. But the Dean girls were coming home!

It has been more than 80 years since Armistice Day, in 1918. A lot of water has trickled down that stream at the bottom of the Herring hill since that time. The Dean girls moved on from Herring and raised their families and lived their lives. Ralph and Alice have since passed away. Dorothy, the eldest Dean girl, is nearing her 80th birthday celebration. But Dorothy and her sisters wanted to go back to see Herring, Iowa. So, today after the annual round of golf at the "Ralph Dean Golf Classic", Dorothy, Shirley and Betty went back to Herring. Dorothy, who has had health problems these last few years, was lifted over the barbed wire fence surrounding the hill by her sons and grandson. And, the three Dean Girls climbed the Herring Hill as they had done a thousand times before.

It is the same hill, but, Herring has changed. It is not the same country town they remembered...

In fact if you were driving west of Wall Lake, Iowa and didn't know when or where to stop, you would drive right past Herring. The only remnant of Herring left standing was put up on an Armistice Day nearly a century ago. The flag pole,... the one that was spliced together to celebrate the end of World War I, still stands tall in the town center, now a meadow.

But, the Dean Girls didn't care. The Dean Girls were home!


(l to r) Shirley, Dorothy and Betty, "The Dean Girls" return to Herring. The Herring flag pole stands tall in the background.

Today's dedication goes to my mother and her sisters "the Dean Girls" and to Ralph and Alice Dean. I am also dedicating this to the lost "Herrings" in every state, and to all of the Great Americans who made this country what it is today!

Zimbabwe Continues Secret Genocide

The news stations are silent now for the people. The radio station was jammed by the government. No photographs are allowed. The people are dying a secret death!

Reader "Zimbo in America" sends me a letter from Zimbabwe sent to him by Zimbabwe John*:

I reckon that these are the last days of TKM and ZPF. The darkest hour is always before dawn. We are all terrified of what they are going to destroy next........I mean they are actually plowing down brick and mortar houses and one white family with twin boys of 10 had no chance of salvaging anything when 100 riot police came in with AK's and bulldozers and demolished their beautiful house - 5 bedrooms and pine ceilings - because it was "too close to the airport"... so we are feeling extremely insecure right now. You know - I am aware that this does not help you sleep at night, but if you do not know - how can you help? I feel so cut off from you all knowing I cannot tell you what's going on here simply because you will feel uncomfortable. There is no ways we can leave so that is not an option.



I just ask that you all pray for us in the way that you know how, and let me know that you are thinking of us and sending out positive vibes... that's all. You can't just be in denial and pretend its not going on. To be frank with you, its genocide in the making and if you do not believe me, read the Genocide Report by Amnesty International which says we are IN level seven (level 8 is after its happened and everyone is in denial). If you don't want me to tell you these things then it means you have not dealt with your own fear, but it does not help me to think you are turning your back on our situation.

We need you to get the news OUT that we are all in a fearfully dangerous situation here. Too many people turn their backs and say - oh well, that's what happens in Africa. This government has GONE MAD and you need to publicize our plight or how can we be rescued? You can't just say "oh you attract your own reality". The petrol queues are a reality, the pall of smoke all around our city is a reality, the thousands of homeless people sleeping outside in 0 degrees Celsius with no food water, shelter and bedding are a reality.

Today a family approached me, brother of the gardener's wife with two small children. Their home was trashed and they will have to sleep outside. We already support 8 people and a child on this property and electricity is going up next month by 250% as is water. How can I take another family of 4 - and yet how can I turn them away to sleep out in the open? I am not asking you for money, or a ticket out of here - I am asking you to FACE the fact that we are in deep and terrible danger and I want you to pass on our news and pictures and don't just press the delete button. Help in the way that you know how. Face the reality of what is going on here and SEND OUT THE WORD. The more people that know about it, the more chance we have of United Nations coming to our aid.



Please stop ignoring and denying what's happening. Would you like to be protected from the truth and then if we are eliminated how would you feel? Surely you would say "if only we knew how bad it really was we could have helped in some way". I know we chose to stay here and so we "deserve" what's coming to us. For now we ourselves, have food, shelter, a little fuel and a bit of money for the next meal - but what is going to happen next? Will they start on our houses? All property is going to belong to the State now. We no longer have SW radio which told us everything that was happening because the government jammed it out of existence - we don't have any reporters, and no one is allowed to photograph. If we had reporters here they would have an absolute field day. Even the pro government Herald has written that people are shocked, stunned, bewildered and blown mindless by the wanton destruction of everyone's homes which are supposed to be "illegal", but which a huge percentage of them actually do have licenses for.

Please - have some compassion and HELP by sending out this report so that something can be DONE! Please pray for us!

* I changed the names on this post due to safety concerns.

Update: Cox & Forkum get it!

Spain's Media Scandal

It looks like Spain is going through its own media scandal. Of course the Spaniards are blue in the face accusing the White House of intimidation to reporters. Meanwhile they are having their own kind of scandal.

Barcepundit has all of the story that so far the media is not touching in Spain.

Protesters Thrashed by Thugs in Egypt

VIDEO OF THE VIOLENT ANTI-MUBARAK PROTEST HERE

It was a brutal scene at this Egyptian protest today.

Pro-Mubarak thugs stormed opposition protesters today in Egypt:

Police and Egyptian government supporters beat dozens of opposition activists with batons, sometimes kicking them as they lay on the ground, during a protest Saturday against President Hosni Mubarak days after he announced his bid for re-election promising greater democracy in Egypt.

Several hundred men and women were still gathering to begin their march toward Cairo's main square when men in plainclothes descended on them, swinging billy clubs and assaulting the demonstrators.

Circles of burly government supporters surrounded activists sprawled on the pavement, kicking them in the head and ribs and tearing at their clothes. Others lifted protesters in the air by the arms and legs, hauling them off to police trucks. One elderly man wandered in a daze, his head bleeding.


Pro-reform activists were clubbed by police for nearly an hour in the scuffle:

Opposition groups were gathering to stage a demonstration in Cairo's main Liberation Square two days after Mubarak announced he would run for re-election in a Sept. 7 vote.

The election will be Mubarak's first in which he faces an opponent, and his government has touted it as a launching pad for greater democracy. The United States also praised the elections, though Mubarak opponents are more skeptical.

Riot police blocked protesters from reaching Liberation Square, and plainclothes officers wielding police batons quickly descended on them and beat them.

The scuffles lasted for about an hour, and an Associated Press reporter saw least 15 protesters being beaten.


Opposition leaders were briefly held by police after the attacks:

Egyptian security briefly detained senior members of the opposition Kefaya (Enough) Movement on Saturday during a protest against the nomination of President Hosni Mubarak for a fifth 6-year presidential term.

The protest, during which police beat protesters with batons and manhandled journalists, comes a day after Mubarak submitted his nomination papers to stand in Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential election.

"Five of the people from Kefaya were released ... Those released include Kamal Khalil, George Ishak and Amin Iskander," a police source said without giving further details after nearly 30 people were detained.


Protesters were kicked by the thugs after they had fallen to the ground.

Uzbekistan Evicts the US

Also, yesterday, the 450 refugees who fled to Kyrgyzstan after the May 13th Massacre were flown to Romania for safe haven in a UN sponsored action. (AFP)

The Uzbek Government formally evicted the US from the Karshi-Khanabad airbase it has been using since shortly after 9/11,yesterday. Tensions have been increasing between the two countries since the US put pressure on the Central Asian country to allow an international investigation following a government slaughter of protesting civilians in May:

Uzbekistan formally evicted the United States yesterday from a military base that has served as a hub for combat and humanitarian missions to Afghanistan since shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Pentagon and State Department officials said yesterday.

In a highly unusual move, the notice of eviction from Karshi-Khanabad air base, known as K2, was delivered by a courier from the Uzbek Foreign Ministry to the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, said a senior U.S. administration official involved in Central Asia policy. The message did not give a reason. Uzbekistan will give the United States 180 days to move aircraft, personnel and equipment, U.S. officials said.


If Uzbekistan follows through, as Washington expects, the United States will face several logistical problems for its operations in Afghanistan. Scores of flights have used K2 monthly. It has been a landing base to transfer humanitarian goods that then are taken by road into northern Afghanistan, particularly to Mazar-e Sharif -- with no alternative for a region difficult to reach in the winter. K2 is also a refueling base with a runway long enough for large military aircraft. The alternative is much costlier midair refueling.

The Registan has much more on the Uzbek refugees relocating to Romania.

And, Robert Mayer at Publius Pundit has much more on the refugee transfer.

US Proves North Korea AQ Khan Ties

The US let North Korea in on its "allegation evidence" at the talks this week:

The United States has for the first time presented North Korea with specific evidence behind its allegations that North Korea secretly obtained uranium enrichment technology from Abdul Qadeer Khan, the New York Times (NYT) quoted two senior administration officials as saying.

According to NYT, the two officials said that the decision to share the intelligence with North Korean negotiators was part of an effort to convince North Korea that any discussions about disarmament must cover not only the nuclear weapons programme it boasts about, but a second one that it now denies. Putting on the table the evidence that North Korea obtained technology from the network built by Abdul Qadeer Khan is significant because it is an effort to break an impasse over the scope of North Korea’s nuclear program, the paper said.

Iranian Prez Honors the "Art of Martyrdom"

In his speech broadcast on Iranian airwaves on July 25th, Iran's President-Elect, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, honored the "Art of Martyrdom":

"Art reaches perfection when it portrays the best life and best death. After all, art tells you how to live. That is the essence of art. Is there art that is more beautiful, more divine, and more eternal than the art of martyrdom? A nation with martyrdom knows no captivity. Those who wish to undermine this principle undermine the foundations of our independence and national security. They undermine the foundation of our eternity.

Bahrainis Protest for Political Reform

Up to 10,000 demonstrators protested Friday in Bahrain.


The Bahrainis were out in force yesterday demonstrating for political reform in the small Kingdom of Bahrain:

About 10,000 people, with their mouths covered, passed by the Government House in Manama, calling upon all societies to work together to ensure that the law is either withdrawn or replaced with a more modern law, organisers of the rally said.

The protesters stressed that the law should acknowledge the ideals of a true political environment and political group activities on the basis of a democratic set-up accepted by the international community.

The protest march culminated in a meeting at King Faisal Park, where Al Wasat Al Arabi Society president called upon the participants to exert pressure on the government and mobilise public opinion to stop the government and its supporters from issuing other laws that aimed to curb freedoms such as the laws on organising rallies and combating terrorism.

There have been several protests this year in Bahrain pushing for reform.

Bahrain protesters took to the streets today to demonstrate against a new law that restricts political parties in the country:

About 4,000 activists demonstrated to protest the ratification of a law regulating political associations in Bahrain, which opposition groups said will restrict their activities.

Many protestors had tapes on their mouths as they marched toward the seat of the government in the center of Manama.

"The law is another step back on the way to free opinion," said Jassem Al-Mehzea, head of the Al-Wassat opposition association.

The law was passed by parliament early this month and ratified by King Hamad last Saturday.

The associations, which stand in place of banned political parties, said the law would restrict their funding by banning donations from foreign countries.

Opposition groups also object to a provision raising the minimum age to join associations from 18 to 21.

Bahrain has been pushing for democracy all year with demonstrations

The new law allows the justice minister to close political societies (parties) in the tiny Gulf kingdom. The biggest concern for political societies is the powers the new law gives the justice minister, who can request a civil court order to suspend, close and liquidate a society. (AP)

Great minds think alike! I see that Robert Mayer at Publius Pundit is reporting on the protest in Bahrain as well.

More Positive Economic News!

The great economic news continues! I am talking about the "factual economic news" and not the "make believe kind" that we hear from the media and the left.

Jayson at Polipundit has the whole story:

The Commerce Department just reported the U.S. economy grew at an inflation-adjusted rate of 3.4 percent last quarter.

The economy has posted the following (annualized) real growth rates over the past thirty months:

3.4 - Q2 2005
3.8 - Q1 2005
3.8 - Q4 2004
4.0 - Q3 2004
3.3 - Q2 2004
4.5 - Q1 2004
4.2 - Q4 2003
7.4 - Q3 2003
4.1 - Q2 2003
1.9 - Q1 2003

On the other hand, if you surveyed a bunch of those 80 year-old lifelong Democrats – you know, the kind of people who hold the surreal distinction of having voted for Harry Truman, on the one hand, and John Kerry, on the other, and who get their economic *news* from the likes of “60 Minutes,” NPR, Lou Dobbs, the Philly Inquirer, and the Detroit Free Press – you’d learn many of them believe the country still is mired in a recession.

No, seriously, many of them actually *believe* we’re still in a recession!

And, California Conservative shows when they can't complain about the economy, they have to fall back on this topic where they have a hard time convincing themselves.

Russia Furious Over ABC's Basayev Interview

** How would Americans react to a foreign journalist meeting with Osama bin Laden or Abu Masad al-Zarqawi in a "secret" hiding place, interviewing him, and then posting the video up on their website? **

ABC uses the "Freedom of the Press" excuse to explain their "Nightline" interview with the mastermind behind the Beslan Massacre, the Moscow Theatre Massacre, and countless other terrorist attacks in Russia!

ABC SPREADS CHECHEN TERRORIST LEADER'S PROPAGANDA,
VIDEO HERE


A TV screen grab shows US ABC journalist Andrei Babitsky (L) interviewing Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. The United States, pleading freedom of the press, steered well clear of a row between Russia and a US television network that interviewed a Chechen guerrilla leader(AFP/ABC NEWS) (AFP)

"I admit I am a bad guy, a bandit, a terrorist!"

Basayev shares with the cameraman as Russian children are shown running from the besieged Beslan school after bombs started exploding during their three days of hell.

As Americans blast Al Jazeera for broadcasting Osama Bin Laden or Al Zarqawi tapes and videos, including beheadings, one of the big three networks from America goes to the backwoods of Chechnya and interviews directly, Shamil Basayev, leader of the Chechen terrorists.

But, Russia responded quickly to ABC's terrorism propaganda:

The parliamentarian said the “appearance of an interview of Basayev is unacceptable for Russia, just as an interview of the Russian mass media with Osama bin Laden would be unacceptable for the Americans”.

“This fact cannot but cause indignation,” he said.

Just to refresh you,... This is the same man who is behind the Beslan School Massacre that killed over 200 Russian Beslan children on their first day of classes. This is the same man who made a practice attack video before is men and suicide bomber women attacked the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow and killed 130 Russians in a three day siege.

It was also confirmed just today that Basayev was behind a village attack on July 19th killing 14 officers and his involvement in Beslan has now been proven.


Russians furious over ABC-Basayev interview:

Russia's foreign ministry summoned the senior US diplomat in Moscow and expressed "strong indignation" over an interview aired on the ABC television network with radical Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev.

Daniel Russell, who as charge d'affairs heads the embassy in the current absence of a permanent ambassador, was called in to hear "strong indignation with the fact of the airing of the Basayev interview," a ministry spokesman told AFP.

Basayev, a veteran guerrilla commander in Chechnya's decade-old separatist conflict with Russia, has claimed responsibility for several large-scale attacks on civilians, including last year's bloody mass hostage-taking at a school in Beslan, near Chechnya.

In his interview, thought to be the first face-to-face meeting with a journalist in years, Basayev said he had turned to terrorism because Russia was killing so many Chechen civilians. (at least it wasn't Iraq!)


The interview was reported on ABC's "Nightline" last night!

Russia's most wanted man also warned of further Beslan-type attacks.

More than 320 people - around half of them children - were killed in the attack at the school in September.

Russia is offering $10m (£6m) for the capture of the warlord, who it also accuses of several other major attacks.

The interview with Shamil Basayev - recorded at his hideout in Chechnya - was aired on ABC's Nightline programme.

“It’s not the children who are responsible,” Basayev said. But he added: “Responsibility is with the whole Russian nation... If the war doesn’t come to each of them individually, it will never stop in Chechnya.”

Russia is asking the US Congress to help stop the media attention given to international terrorists . AMEN!

** "Nightline" still has the video up on their page here. **

Update: (Saturday PM) The Great Lori Byrd at Polipundit is linking to this news story and has another horrific account of the Beslan Massacre with her posting.

Indian Attacks Leave 18 Dead

* Train Blast leaves 13 dead and 20 seriously injured
* Terrorists slit throats of 5 Hindus in gruesome Kashmir siege


An "unreserved" compartment like this one was the scene of a bomb blast in India, on Thursday. Police suspect the bomb was planted in a toilet.


Police in India are searching for clues on who is behind the train blast that killed 13 yesterday:

Police in India said on Friday that an explosion in a train that left 13 people dead and dozens wounded was caused by a bomb planted in a toilet.

Indian railway officials had earlier suggested the blast late on Thursday near Jaunpur town in northern Uttar Pradesh state may have been caused by a cooking gas cylinder, sometimes carried by villagers on trains.

But bomb experts discounted this on Friday.

"There is enough evidence to confirm the use of RDX explosive," a member of a police bomb squad, who did not want to be named, told Reuters from the site.

Uttar Pradesh Home (interior) Secretary Alok Sinha said authorities did not have any specific leads on who was behind the blast which occurred in an unreserved coach.

"It certainly is not an accident. It is some explosive planted in the coach," Sinha told Reuters.

"But who could have been behind it has not been ascertained."

The train was full of passengers at the time:

Indian Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has ordered an investigation into the explosion, which happened near the town of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The "condition of 20 (injured passengers) is serious".

The unreserved compartment where the blast took place was packed to capacity, and eyewitnesses said people were blown to pieces or thrown out of the train.

In Kashmir 5 Hindus had their throats slit by Muslim extremists in a gruesome siege on a village:

Suspected Muslim militants have raided a village in Indian-administered Kashmir, slitting the throats of five Hindus, police have said.

The attackers entered Dhoob village, 200km (125 miles) north-west of Jammu and segregated Muslims from Hindus before the killings, the police said.

Bangladesh Protests Against Tancredo's Comments

Bangladesh Muslims protest earlier today against Colorado Republican Representative Tom Tancredo's comments advocating the bombing of Islamic holy sites as a response to future terror attacks. (HT)

Convicted Vote Fraud Defendant Says More Dems Should Be Charged

Sheila Thomas, convicted of vote fraud last month in East St. Louis, says high ranking Democrats should also face a jury.

Sheila Thomas is the first of five convicted defendants of vote fraud in East St. Louis to make a public statement since the guilty verdict last month:

Sheila Thomas said she is innocent, but added that if her vote fraud convictions were justified, then high-ranking county Democrats should also have faced a jury.

Thomas is the first of five defendants convicted of vote fraud in federal court last month to make a public statement after the verdict.

"We got into this because they gave us money," Thomas, 31, said about $73,000 passed out in East St. Louis two days before the Nov. 2 election. St. Clair County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Robert Sprague distributed the funds by giving checks to city Democratic precinct committeemen.

"If we never would have got money, we probably would have never got into this," Thomas said.

Thomas also said she does not know whether county Democratic officials knew the money might be used to pay for votes.

"Bob Sprague is the one who gave us our checks. He gave us the money. He, too, should have been tried.... We all should have been sitting at the same (defense) table. All of us. All the (East St. Louis) precinct committeemen. All the guys in Belleville. Not just the five of us because that wasn't fair," she said.

Thomas said she felt that other county Democratic officials should have been charged but wasn't sure who.

Previous posts on the Democratic Voter Fraud Trial in East St. Louis:
East St. Louis makes Voter Fraud a Business
$5 for Non-Racists; Racists are $10
ESL Prosecution Witness Falters
Damning Tapes in East St. Louis Voter Fraud Trial
Witness Grilled at ESL Vote Fraud Trial
How to Buy Votes at ESL Vote Fraud Trial
"Showing Appreciation" at ESL Voter Fraud Trial
Democratic Vote Buyers May Get Pass
ESL Vote Fraud Trial Gets Nasty
Ugly Politics, Ugly Trial in ESL
Closing Arguments Wrap Up in ESL Voter Fraud Trial
"Guilty" Verdict in ESL Voter Fraud Trial

West Virginia Democrats Charged with Vote Buying

Glen D. Adkins, "Hound Dog", is charged with conspiracy to buy votes in West Virginia

Logan County Clerk Glen D. Adkins (left) exits the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charleston with his attorney, Dwane Tinsley, following his arrest Thursday, July 21st. As with past election fraud probes, the latest case targets solely Democrats, who dominate the voter rolls and local governments through the region.

At least one dozen democrats have been charged with voter fraud in Logan and neighboring Lincoln County is west Virginia:

Federal grand jurors allege one person conspiring to keep the political support of Logan County Clerk Glen D. Adkins paid more than $4,000 for the college tuition of one of Adkins’ relatives, as well as cash to be placed on Adkins’ political slate.

Adkins was brought into a federal courtroom in Charleston Thursday shackled at the ankles after being arrested on a federal charge of conspiring to buy votes. He was released on a personal recognizance bond.

Adkins allegedly took money from other people known to the grand jury to buy votes for candidates on slates he and others supported.

Adkins is the latest person to be arrested in the election fraud probe that began last year in Logan County and spread to neighboring Lincoln County. A dozen other people have been charged, including Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Greg Stowers, who has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to buy votes.

Last year, John Mendez resigned as Logan County sheriff after pleading guilty to election fraud and Logan attorney Mark Hrutkay was sent to jail after admitting paying to help get his former wife, Delegate Lidella Hrutkay, D-Logan, on a political slate.

It alleges that in 1992, he took about $2,000 in cash from two people to buy votes for unidentified candidates for Logan County sheriff and the House of Delegates, along with other candidates on a slate backed by the co-conspirators.

St. Louis Democratic Convictions Are Adding Up

Since the November elections 16 individuals in the St. Louis area have been convicted of voter fraud or election violations.

(this is also posted over in the sidebar)

In the last 7 months in the St. Louis Metro Area here is a slice of what we have witnessed:

Nov. 18: Nine precinct committeemen appear before a federal grand jury probing vote fraud during the Nov. 2 election.

December: In St. Louis Six volunteers pleaded guilty in December of dozens of election law violations for filling out the cards with names of the dead and other bogus information. One still faces charges.

January 21: Kelvin Ellis, a top administrator at East St. Louis City Hall, was indicted for plotting to kill a witness in the year long East St. Louis, Illinois federal vote fraud investigation.

February 10: In St. Louis Nonaresa Montgomery was found guilty by a jury of perjury in a trial in St. Louis Circuit Court in the St. Louis vote fraud trial.

March 22: Precinct committeemen Leroy Scott Jr., 46; Lillie Nichols, 51; Terrance R. Stith, 43; and his wife, precinct worker Sandra Stith, 54; plead guilty to one count each of vote-buying.

March 23: The chairman of the East St. Louis Democratic Central Committee and councilman Charles Powell Jr. is charged with conspiracy to commit election fraud. Charged with conspiracy as well as election fraud are East St. Louis City Hall employees Jesse Lewis, Sheila Thomas, Kelvin Ellis, and Yvette Johnson.

June 29: All five defendants are convicted on all counts.

That comes out to 16 different Democrats convicted of election violations in the last 7 months in the St. Louis area!

And, one Democrat is still being held for attempted murder (trial scheduled for Oct. 17) of a government witness!

Militant Arrested for Daniel Pearl Murder

One of the Militants wanted for the kidnap and murder of American Daniel Pearl was arrested yesterday in Pakistan:

Police and intelligence agents Wednesday arrested a suspected militant who was wanted for a role in the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, officials said.

The man, identified as Hashim Qadeer, was captured from a bus at a terminal in the eastern Pakistan city of Gujranwala, a police and an intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. Both requested anonymity because they are not authorized to make media statements.

Pearl was kidnapped and later beheaded in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi while he was researching a story on Islamic militancy in 2002.

Months later, a court in Karachi convicted four Islamic militants in Pearl's killing, including British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was sentenced to death. The three others were given life imprisonment.

The Karachi-based intelligence official said Qadeer is believed to have arranged a meeting between Sheikh and Pearl at a hotel in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital of Islamabad.

Two other militants wanted in Pearl's case were killed in shootouts with security forces last year. Five others remained at large, and Qadeer was one of them, the police official said.

Publius Pundit's Excellent World View

Publius Pundit continues to push for excellence!

Today, Robert Mayer has an excellent post on Burma's New Best Friend
and Zimbabwe's China Embrace. Great Reads!

Not to be outdone, A.M. Mora y Leon, comments on the CAFTA Countdown.

Meanwhile,... Pamela from Trey Jackson and Atlas Shrugs is in Paris to show "Old Europe" how to blog! And, Trey has a great video on the Mullahs.

And,... Stefania from Free Thoughts is reporting that Iranian activist Manucher Mohammadi has slipped into a coma.

London Bomber Arrested

VIDEO OF ARRESTED LONDON BOMBER HERE



These photos show an x-ray view of one of the unexploded devices and another view of a home made bomb found in the trunk of a car belonging to Shehzad Tanweer, one of the July 7 bombers who attacked the London Underground. (AP)

Police arrested one of the London bombers yesterday in Birmingham:

The nail-studded devices were reportedly made by the same person who armed the second wave of would-be suicide bombers who attempted to blow up three London subway trains and a bus exactly one week ago. On that occasion their bombs failed to explode.

In a fast-moving police investigation, a senior officer said Somali-born Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, was arrested alone in a house where police carried out a pre-dawn raid Wednesday in the central English city of Birmingham.

Police made nine more arrests this morning in connection with the botched bombing attempts from last week:

Anti-terrorist officers arrested nine men in dawn raids Thursday in connection with the botched July 21 attacks on London's transit system, bringing to 20 the number of people police have in custody, including one of the alleged bombers.

With three of the suspected attackers still at large, Britain's most senior police officer warned of more possible attacks and thousands of officers patrolled the country's rail network to reassure the public.

"There are many thousands of police officers trying to ensure the safety of Londoners," said Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair — three weeks to the day after the July 7 attacks that killed 56 people, including four suicide bombers.

He said it was a "a race against time" to find the suspected bombers.

And, there is some speculation that the suicide bombers from 7/7 may not have known that they had signed on to a "suicide" mission!

Update: Zambian Officials are holding a suspect in the 7/7 Bombings.

Police Prevent Moscow Terrorist Attack

Russian police today are reporting that they have prevented a major terrorist strike planned on Moscow:

Police engaged in an operation against militants in Dagestan prevented a major terrorist attack in Moscow, Deputy Interior Minister Andrei Novikov told a Thursday press conference in Makhachkala.

"A man was preparing to perpetrate a terrorist act in Moscow and we managed to stop him. About 150 accomplices, including policemen, civilians and clerics, were detained," he said.


Three suspected militants were killed in this house raid in Dagestan earlier today. Two other suspects escaped and two police officers were wounded. (AP)

A large weapons cache was discovered in Dagestan earlier this week:

In the Tsumadin District, Dagestan Interior Ministry officers discovered a large weapons cache belonging to militants.

"The cache consisted of 123 122mm artillery shells and 130 detonators," the spokesman said. "The stockpile was destroyed by military specialists."

An explosive device, with power equivalent to 10 kg of TNT, was found on the Makhachkala-Krasnoarmeysk highway 100 meters from a bridge. "If the criminals had managed to activate this, there would have been more casualties," he said.

The radio-controlled, homemade explosive device consisted of a 10-liter metal bucket stuffed with a mixture of aluminum powder, ammonium nitrate, and pieces of metal, sealed with polyurethane foam and resin, with wires leading out of it.

Dagestan, which has seen nearly 80 terrorist attacks so far this year, is an impoverished region neighboring Chechnya, where the fighting between government forces and separatist rebels has spilled over into nearby regions.

And, police arrested the suspected train bomber this week in Dagestan. The attack killed one female passenger. Explosives similar to the ones used in the attack were found in the attacker's home.

Pakistanis Protest Against Terror

The Lahore protests earlier in the week by the more miltant Muslims got most of the media's attention. However, Pakistani lawyers had their own protest "against terrorism" in Lahore this Tuesday, July 26th. The lawyers are part of the International Bar Association and Lawyers Forum for Peace. (AFP)

Ugandans Vote for New Election System

UGANDANS VOTE FOR MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM,
VIDEO HERE


Ugandans line up to vote in the capital of Kampala today.

After blaming political parties for the past suffering in Uganda and outlawing them 19 years ago, the government is holding an election today to move back to a multi-party system:

President Museveni decided the country would be ruled under the "movement" or "no party" system of government. Since then, political parties have only been allowed to maintain a minimum presence through national offices.

The president blames multiparty politics for the decades of oppression Ugandans suffered under the East African country's past rulers, whom he has accused of dividing the population along ethnic and religious lines.

However, Wafula Oguttu, spokesman for the newly formed opposition political party, Forum for Democratic Change, argues that it was individuals, not parties, which had caused wars in Uganda.

"We have had wars in various regions of the country under Museveni's rule that was devoid of party politics, therefore it is wrong to suggest that parties caused trouble in Uganda," Oguttu said.

Oguttu said the country still suffered bad governance. "Key sectors of the economy are headed by people from the president's home area.

"We have got the most sectarian regime in the history of the country in spite the fact that there are no parties," he added.

A poster in Uganda shows voters the proper way to mark their ballot in today's elections. (AFP)

International donors and activists push Ugandans to accept multi-party politics as they head to the polls today:

Ugandans are choosing whether to allow multiparty politics in the East African country in a referendum Thursday, the first step in reforming the country's constitution, which forbids political parties from campaigning in elections.

President Yoweri Museveni banned multiparty politics when he came to power in 1986, insisting political parties were tribally based and responsible for years of partisan violence and civil war.

Under pressure from international donors and Ugandan activists, Museveni agreed to reintroduce multiparty politics, if a majority of voters approved.

Opposition groups have boycotted the US$12 million referendum, insisting it was a waste of money and the reforms should be instituted without a vote.

Electoral commission chairman Badru Kiggundu made a last-minute appeal late Wednesday to Uganda's 8.5 million registered voters to participate in the referendum.

"I appeal to voters to turn up in large numbers and exercise their democratic rights by choosing a system of their own choice," he said.

How to Kill Cops in St. Louis

On Tueday July 5th, Sgt. McEntee was talking to a 13-year-old boy about a fireworks disturbance when a man approached the passenger's side of Sgt. McEntee's patrol car and fired a 9 mm handgun several times, striking Sgt. McEntee in the face.

Sgt. McEntee died later that night at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. He was 43.


Outside his life as a police officer, Sgt. McEntee coached baseball and soccer teams at the St. Simon the Apostle Catholic School for at least five years. His three children - Katie, 13, Brendan, 10, and Conor, 7 - attend classes there.

On Saturday July 9th, Mary McEntee and her children, hundreds of law enforcement officers, family members and friends packed St. Simon the Apostle Catholic Church in Affton to say goodbye to Sergeant Bill McEntee. As people inside the church celebrated his life and mourned his passing, people who never even met the fallen officer also showed their support.

Sergeant Bill McEntee was no ordinary officer:

During his career as a Kirkwood Police officer, Sgt. Bill McEntee touched many lives and saved a few too. Among those he rescued was Reid Williams, who wanted to share his story.

Williams says he and Sgt. McEntee had a special bond, one they forged a few years ago when McEntee saved his life.

The accident happened on South Kirkwood Road. Williams was in his electric wheelchair at the time, trying to cross the street. An 18-wheeler truck clipped his chair, knocking him over.

It was Sgt. Bill McEntee who pulled him out of harm's way.

But not everyone in St. Louis shares the same respect for Sergeant Bill McEntee and his fellow St. Louis police officers.

One week after Sgt. McEntee's burial two local deejays made a "joke" out of killing police officers on their morning show:

"DJ Kaos" and "DJ Sylli Asz" lived up to their names last Wednesday morning (July 13th) when they devoted part of their show on 100.3 The Beat (KATZ-FM) to methods of combating police officers.

They gave their audience tips on how to disarm and injure police officers. One bit of advice told people to fight for the officer's radio so he can't call for help.

This apparent attempt at humor, coming in the wake of the murder of a police officer in Kirkwood, inspired a firestorm of protest from local cops and some community members.

The two were suspended without pay.

But this controversy has not died down, yet. Many in the St. Louis Community are still in an uproar over the disgusting remarks made by the morning show hosts.

* St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa called on-air comments wrong and inappropriate, but seemed willing to forgive. "They made a mistake. I'm willing to move on and forget about it."

* But in O'Fallon, Missouri police Sergeant Tom Otten is livid. "They need to be fired, absolutely, they need to be fired. And I think there needs to be a public apology to officers on that radio station."

Sergeant Otten is far from satisfied by the punishment. "What does a suspension do? It does nothing. That shows a horrible lack of character and moral judgment"

* StLMedia.net goes a step further and is asking that the Clear Channel's Market Manager be fired from his state position:

Lee Armstrong Clear has shown his disinclination over the past few weeks to be responsive to the needs of the communities which his radio stations serve. He does not answer nor does he return phone calls concerning the furor he has allowed to continue.

Clear has allowed a pair of runaway thug DJ's on one of his stations to get away with threatening the health, safety and welfare of area police officers and be punished with only an "indefinite suspension", during which they will be paid their full salaries and benefits.

That he will lead the state broadcasters' association is incomprehensible, considering this matter.

* And, some area police officers are planning to organize a boycott:

Area Police message boards have called for his resignation or firing, and his actions have been the subject of letters from local and national FOP officers as well, and, unless Clear Channel corporate management intervenes with appropriate action, there may well be a nationwide boycott against the company's 1200+ stations and sponsors.

* And, that's not all...some local black residents are excusing the deejays:

"Black people feel a certain way about the police because of what they've seen in the news media or what happened to someone close to them or themselves," said local barber Eric Palmer.

The often adversarial and sometimes hostile relationship between police and the African-American community prompted 18th Ward Alderman Terry Kennedy to introduce a Citizens Review Board Bill because many local blacks don't trusts the police to justly police themselves.

Some regular listeners to the "Kaos Morning Show" thought it was unfair that the jocks were singled out for one incident, especially when the deejays also have mentioned the police in a positive light.

This story is far from being over...

But, in the mean time, Mary McEntee drops one of her children off at soccer practice. And, Mary and her three children, Katie, Brendan, and Conor, get used to life without Daddy.

Illinois Republicans Offer Reward for Daley's Head

Illinois Republicans Offer Reward on Daley

I have to admit that I liked when Mayor Daley stood up for the military, but after all of the scandal from the special cleanup favors to the Columbian heroin smugglers running drugs out of City Hall I'll throw in 20 bucks for the cause.

I am just playing... I don't believe in this type of tactics. I don't think it's dignified or honorable.

Same Durbin, Wrong Turley

Whew!... I thought Senator Durbin had completely lost his head!

When I read today at Powerline that Senator Durbin was in a verbal scuffle with a certain "Turley", I thought to myself... surely not Kyle? Surely, the Nazi-comparing Senator is not out challenging NFL players now?

So I was relieved to hear the latest transgression by the senator involves a journalist and not a St. Louis Ram's lineman!

Here is how Powerline describes the latest fiasco concerning Senator Dick Durbin:

Durbin has acknowledged that he was the source for Turley's newspaper column which raised the suspicion that Durbin is contemplating applying a "Catholic test" to John Roberts. Durbin maintains, however, that Turley "incorrectly captured" their conversation. That may very well be. But Durbin does not deny that Turley correctly captured what Durbin told him. Indeed, Turley states that after he wrote the column he read key portions to Durbin's press aide and the aide verified the account."

"In the strangest part of the Washington Times story, Durbin's office notes that Turley introduced himself as a law professor, not a journalist. But it goes on to state that their conversation centered around a newspaper column Turley previously had written. So Durbin knew that Turley is a columnist, and in all likelihood the Senator was trying to plant a story that would raise questions about Roberts' fitness (and the left-of-center Turley raised some based on what Durbin had told him). But the real questions raised by this flap go to Durbin's character and fitness for a Senate leadership position."

It looks like the senator is in trouble again, barely a month after the "gulag" flap. It's turning into one hot summer for the Illinois Senator!

Same Durbin. Different Turley!

Economy Continues to Roar Ahead

More great economic news that you won't hear repeated often in the MSM:

Sales of new homes soared to an all-time high in June as the red hot housing market kept sizzling.

Meanwhile, orders for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a surprisingly strong 1.4 percent increase last month as the country's factories continued to signal a rebound after a weak spring. Analysts said both the housing and orders reports showed an economy with plenty of momentum headed into the second half of the year.

The Anchoress has more on the economy as does the always statistically sound Polipundit.

And, Patrick Hynes is wondering why the 21 straight quarters of economic growth are not showing up in polling data? Hmmm... this is just a stab in the dark, but could it be because of the dishonest, liberal media?

Deadly Protests Erupt in Iran

Iran is battling deadly protests in the north and south.

Southern Iran also experienced deadly protests and rioting in April. The area is a hotbed for ethnic unrest.

* * * * *

Iranian authorities cracked down on protesters today in the southwestern oil province of Khuzestan, home to most of the Islamic Republic's Arab minority. There are reports that four people may have been killed in the violence:

An Iranian official said police had restored order after 12 arrests, but a leader among the Arab protesters said four protesters were killed and many injured in clashes with authorities.

Iran's Interior Ministry told Reuters it had no immediate information on deaths and would check with security forces.

Unrest among the Arab minority flared in April, when five people were killed and about 200 arrested. The street fighting was kindled by rumours that Tehran was planning to force ethnic Arabs to relocate.

The protests had a strong ethnic tone with people hanging Khuzestani Arab flags from buildings.

* * * * *

On Monday a Kurdish protester was shot and killed in northeren Iran. Kurdish Iranians were protesting the brutal killing of a young Kurdish acivist earlier in the month:

A Kurd named Umer Emini was killed and tens of people were wounded when Iranian soldiers tried to stop the protest which started at 21:30 (9:30 pm GMT+3:30) led by the Kurdish party PJAK in support of the uprising in Mahabad. An unknown number of people were arrested.

The uprising in Mahabad started after news that Iranian soldiers had on July 9 brutally killed the young Kurdish activist Shivane Qadri in the district of Pisttep in Mahabad. It escalated when grotesque pictures of Qadri’s tortured body was published by Kurdish news agencies. Two Iranian soldiers were killed during the protests.

Protests are still raging on in eastern Kurdistan (Iran).

Kurdish journalists report that three people were killed on Monday and seven died in previous days.

Kurds are saying the unrest is a sign of frustration over the denial of minority rights in Iran.

The northern city of Shino is protesting the oppressive attitude of the Iranian state forces:

The oppressive forces of the Iranian regime have shot at the demonstrators and two of them by the names of Hayder Abdullazada and Homer Emini the son of Shehk Mohammed have unfortunately been made martyrs and an unknown number of the demonstrators were also wounded.

The Iranian regime has gathered its suppresive forces from the cities of Mianduab and Urumiye and has ordered them to go towards the city of Shnow and to attack the civilians of the city. The oppressive forces are already moving towards the city of Shino with the intention of surrounding it.

Poland Pledges Continued Iraq Support

But, the BBC reports a different story!

Polish President Marek Belba on a surprise visit to Baghdad, committed his military contingent to stay put in Iraq:

Visiting Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka said his country was determined to keep its military contingent of around 1,400 troops in Iraq.

"We are determined to maintain our military contingent in Iraq," Belka told reporters in Baghdad after meeting with Iraqi premier Ibrahim Jaafari.

He said in the future troops might focus on training missions, once stability returns to the war-torn country.

"The characterisation of the military may change from the present stabilisation mission to a training mission," he said.

Poland has the third largest contingent in the US-led coalition, with 1,400 troops in Iraq, and commands a multinational force of some 4,000.

Jaafari, who also addressed reporters, said he wanted Polish forces to stay in Iraq.

"We in Poland know what challenges are ahead in Iraq and we are proud to contribute (to the) stabilisation of Iraq," Belka said.

"We are determined to participate in the economic development of Iraq and our meeting today was mostly devoted to this issue."

But the BBC puts a different spin on the story. In fact, they barely mention the troop commitment at all in their article. You are left with the feeling that Poland is bailing out of Iraq because things are too tough there and at home! But, what the Polish Prime Minister states is just the opposite. Here is how the BBC put things:

The Polish government has been a staunch supporter of the US-led coalition in Iraq.

However, the policy is now unpopular with the public and it no longer has the funds or soldiers to sustain it.

Even though much of the public originally supported the idea of sending troops to Iraq opinions have now changed.

Many of the expected economic and political benefits have not materialised. And now the overwhelming majority of Poles want the soldiers to come home.

Most Poles are still probably more concerned about domestic issues like high unemployment and corruption than Iraq.

But the Madrid and London bombings served as an awful reminder that Polish cities could also be targets - although the government says it has no reports that suggest a heightened threat.

Saddam's Henchmen are Turning Against Him

CHEMICAL ALI IS QUESTIONED ABOUT HIS ROLE IN WAR CRIMES,
VIDEO HERE
(Taken during his pre-trial hearing in December)

"Chemical Ali", one of Saddam's loyalists,... no longer so loyal!

Saddam's closest allies, friends and relatives from his deposed regime are turning against him:

Saddam Hussein's half brother Barzan al-Tikriti and his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") have made statements incriminating the former dictator during preparations for the trial against him and former aides, the examining judge said, according to the al-Sharq al-Awsat on Monday.

The former Iraqi foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, had also incriminated Hussein in a statement, the magistrate Raed Jouhi told the Arab daily in an interview.

Six of Saddam's closest associates were questioned about their roles in the genocide of Shiite's, Kurds, and Marsh Arabs:

In the incomplete audio accompanying the pictures, the judge's questions were largely confined to details of the detainees' posts under the ousted regime.

But an attached statement said all six were questioned about their role in the murders of thousands of members of a Shiite religious party by the Sunni-dominated secular regime.

Samarrai was also questioned about his alleged role in expulsions and killings of Shiite Kurds of Diyala province's Fayli community.

Chemical Ali faced questions about the suppression of Shiite resistance in the marshes of southern Iraq following the 1991 Gulf war.


Barzan Ibrahim Hassan Al Tikriti, the half brother of ousted Saddam Hussein sits before a judge in video released yesterday.

On Monday, in response to Saddam's lawyers, Sweden declined the request to change the Saddam trial venue:

Sweden yesterday turned down a request from Saddam's lawyers to change the venue of his trial to the Scandinavian country or allow him to serve any prison sentence there.

"We have said 'no'," justice ministry director Ann Marie Bolin Pennegaard said, referring to a request from one of Hussein's lawyers, Giovanni di Stefano.

Speaking to a Swedish newspaper, Di Stefani said holding Saddam's trial in Baghdad threatened the ousted president's safety.

"One couldn't stop an Egyptian ambassador from recently being kidnapped and murdered in Baghdad. And there is a war going on there. How can one hold a trial when bombs are exploding outside the door?" he asked.

The people of Dujail, a small Shia village north of Baghdad where a mass killing of local inhabitants took place 23 years ago under the regime of Saddam Hussain, say they want the ousted dictator hanged.

Iraqi Expat has more on the "Saddam Sellout". He also notes that "Badboy" is still a wanted man.

Rumsfeld Visits Central Asia

Americans for Freedom Blogspot has a post up today about Donald Rumsfeld's trip to Central Asia this week.

Human Rights Watch Still Attacking US

I just noticed the lead story at the Human Rights Watch website. You would think that maybe burning down entire communities in Zimbabwe would get this group's attention. But, no! The lead article at HRW asks the the US to destroy it's stockpile of unsafe cluster submunitions.
How Pathetic!

Democrats Rewrite Last Month's History

Generally, Democrats wait a while before they try to rewrite history, at least a few years, but not so with Howard Dean. It was nice of Howard to set such a good example for the young democrats:

Town Hall today reports that after asking the students to donate money to the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean during a talk to College Democrats of America this week said "one of the biggest problems in this culture of corruption that the Republicans brought to Washington, is they sold our government to the highest bidder."

"If we want it back, we'll have to buy it back," Dean said.

He also said the president was partly responsible for a recent Supreme Court decision involving eminent domain.

"The president and his right-wing Supreme Court think it is 'okay' to have the government take your house if they feel like putting a hotel where your house is," Dean said, not mentioning that until he nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court this week, Bush had not appointed anyone to the high court.

Dean's reference to the "right-wing" court was also erroneous. The four justices who dissented in the Kelo vs. New London case included the three most conservative members of the court - Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the fourth dissenter.

The court's liberal coalition of Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer combined with Justice Anthony Kennedy to form the majority opinion, allowing the city of New London, Conn., to use eminent domain to seize private properties for commercial development.

"We think that eminent domain does not belong in the private sector. It is for public use only," Dean said.

The former Vermont governor cited moral values as the stamp of the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile... Conservative groups continued this week to fight the Kelo decision by the Supreme Court.

Iranians Protest for Ganji's Release

As Akbar Ganji's health declines, some see him as a pawn
to American Neo-Conservative Policy!

Iranians Protest for the Release of the Jailed Journalist

Iranian students protest for jailed reformist journalist Akbar Ganji during a protest in central Tehran July 12, 2005. (Reuters)

Iran's Nobel Prize Winner speaks out for Akbar Ganji:

Iran's 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi urged human rights groups on Sunday to pay attention to the "failing" health of the jailed hunger-striking journalist Akbar Ganji, she said in a statement.

Ganji, 46, an outspoken critic of the Islamic state's clerical leadership, was rushed to a Tehran hospital last Sunday amid growing fears about his health following his a month-long hunger strike, Ganji's wife told Reuters.

Senior judiciary officials said the investigative journalist had been admitted for knee surgery, denying he was on a hunger strike.

The human rights lawyer Ebadi echoed concerns of Ganji's family about his health.

"I call on the judiciary and human rights groups to pay serious attention to my client's dangerous situation," Ebadi, who is Ganji's lawyer, said in the statement faxed to Reuters.

Ganji's family and rights activists say Ganji has lost more than 52 pounds (24 kg) during his 43 days of hunger strike, which he says is a protest against being detained in spite of his chronic asthma and back pain.

Protesters in Iran gather in support of the outspoken critic of the Islamic state's clerical leadership

However, Iranian Blog-father Hossein Derakhshan says that Ganji is just a symbol to the American neocons and that a dead Ganji gives Bush what he wants in a unifying symbol for "future phases to change Iran from the outside".

"The more the American right puts more investment in Ganji by its unprecedented support, the more the Islamic Regime would become determined in taking care of Ganji."

"Only a DEAD GANJI would give Mr. Bush a unifying symbol for the future phases of their desperate efforts to change the regime of Iran from outside. That's why they are all loving him so much. Because a dead Ganji will not be able to have nuanced opinions and could easily be hijacked by the neoconservatives for their own agenda."

I met Hoder (Hossein Derakhshan) at BlogNashville. I was hoping he was more perceptive than this. Here is the reply to Hoder from DoctorZin atRegime Change Iran:

Your belief that the American right prefers a dead Ganji to a living one is false. It is also sad, because it reveals a total misunderstanding of the American right.

I have been publishing the news on Ganji for years now and I have never met nor published anyone on the American right who fits your caricature.

You may be correct in thinking that Ganji’s support by the American right is keeping him alive. That should be a good thing. But your assumption that the American right prefers a dead Ganji is false on its face.

If the U.S. wanted a dead Ganji as a unifying symbol, why are those on the American right increasing up its support for Ganji? The fact is that a living dissident is a much more powerful symbol for Iranians to emulate.

While you seem to have a low opinion of Ganji, I have admiration for the transformation of this man.

Blogger Stephania, from Free Thoughts, whose opinion I value, is steering away from the "Ganji Story" because of things she has heard about him.

I am not the expert on Ganji. But, what upsets me is the fact that anyone would be twisted enough to think that the Right in America would want to see someone dead for some kind of sick imperialistic reason!

Previous Posts on Reformer Ganji:
Students Protest in Iran
Iran Lectures US on Human Rights

Hillary to Unite the Left

Hillary, "the moderate", is taking on the task of defining the Leftist Democratic Agenda into something more palatable for American swing voters. Hmm... atheism, socialism, higher taxes, and partial birth abortion, aren't exactly the pillars that built Middle American society! Hill may have her hands full with this one!

And, how did Hillary ever get on this committee in the first place? If Hillary is the model "moderate" democrat, it looks like the party is in worse shape than they're owning up to:

The Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of influential party moderates, named Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton today to direct a new initiative to define a party agenda for the 2006 and 2008 elections.

"Now, I know the DLC has taken some shots from some within our party and that it has returned fire too," she told a gathering of the group here. "Well, I think it's high time for a cease-fire, time for all Democrats to work together based on the fundamental values we all share."

Oh, and BTW, the left "was" united in the last election! They were united more than a box of snakes in mating season! The fact that they lost so miserably must make it even more scary to look at. What Hill must do is take after Bill, run on a conservative agenda and get another candidate to take a substantial amount of votes. That's the plan they need!

Man, I should be working for the DNC!

Christmas in July

Do you suffer from "Liberal Sibling Syndrome"?

If you do, Trey Jackson has just the gift for you to make this Christmas special! Remember it's never too early to start your shopping. And, you also never know how long the Supreme Court will keep Christmas a holiday!

So get on over to Trey Jackson's site and tell him "The GP" sent you!

...And, if you want another good laugh go see what La Shawn Barber has to say about the "magic bus" tour.

Van Gogh's Murderer Sentenced to Life

VIDEO OF TRIAL & INVESTIGATION HERE


Demonstrators outside the court house today where Bouyeri was sentenced to life in prison.(AP)

Mohammed Bouyeri was sentenced to life today:

The three-judge panel of the Amsterdam high-security court announced the life sentence against Bouyeri for the murder which the prosecution said signaled the end of innocence for the tolerant Netherlands.

To show just how severe the judges believe this reading is, they have order that Bouyeri be present in court as the verdict was read out --something almost unheard of in the Netherlands, where suspects are not obliged to attend the reading of the verdict and it is very rare that a court orders a suspect to attend.

More on the Netherland's Van Gogh Murder Trial:
Dutch Terror Trials Begin
Van Gogh's Murderer Goes to Trial
Dutch Terror Trial- "We Are Too Soft"
In Wake of Van Gogh Trial, Dutch Arrest Bomb Maker

First Mullah Omar Tape Since 2001 Surfaces

The first first new recording of Mullah Omar to surface since his regime was overthrown by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 has surfaced this week:

Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi says fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has called on his supporters to put aside differences and continue to battle U.S. and Afghan government forces.

An audio recording of a message, purported to be Omar, was handed over to a Reuters correspondent in Kandahar on 25 July. If authentic, it would be the first new recording of Omar to surface since his regime was overthrown by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

The recording contains a field radio message addressed to the Taliban's leadership council. It also calls on Taliban fighters to stop harassing ordinary Afghans.

The recorded voice does not elaborate on the disagreements within the Taliban or the reference to harassing people.

Grenade Thrower Tells Why He Attacked Bush

Just like it's thrower, thankfully, this grenade was wrapped too tight!

When asked why he threw a grenade at George W. Bush during his visit to Georgia, Vladimir Arutyunyan told officials, “I will tell you why I did it. Because Bush is a prick!”

Arutyunyan said he threw the grenade over his head “like a lob in basketball so that pieces would fly over the armored glass.”

The grenade attack took place on May 10 during Bush’s speech in the center of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The grenade hit a girl’s head and did not go off. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who was also on the podium when Bush spoke, raised the prospect that the grenade could have been directed at him.

Georgian police have revealed that the grenade did not explode because it was “wrapped up too tight in a red handkerchief,” not due to a defective fuse as it was reported earlier, the paper quoted the country’s interior minister, Vano Merabishvili, as saying.

Arutyunyan was detained after a shootout with Georgian police. He killed a police colonel and was wounded himself. His arrest came three days after his photograph was published in Georgian media. The photographs were made by a Polish press photographer who had been taking shots of a pretty woman standing next to the suspected bomber.

Previous "Bush in Georgia" Posts:
GW Rocks Georgia
Bush, Georgia and Explosives
Failed Assassin to be Named
Georgia Releases Pictures of Bush Grenade Attacker
Georgian Arrests Failed Bush Assassin!
"Serve Your Bush Faithfully"

Meanwhile, in Dagestan

As the International Media focuses on the terror attacks in London,
terror attacks in Dagestan have become as routine as calls to prayer in recent days.

Policemen and their families are targets of terror in Dagestan.

An Islamic militant group said it planted a bomb that killed at least 10 Russian soldiers in the capital of Dagestan on July 2nd.

The terrorist attacks in Dagestan, Russia's largest North Caucasus Republic, have their roots in Shariah Jamaat, a terrorist Wahhabi organization

Terrorism in Dagestan is more complicated and sophisticated than in Chechnya, and has a more serious ideological content. First, it is closer to "international standards" of terrorism, as terrorist attacks staged by Chechen rebels are mostly anonymous, and the names of organizers and those who carry them out are established only after investigation. Chechen separatism today is striving to maintain a limited battleground that no authority can control. But the series of recent terrorist attacks in Dagestan have one source: Shariah Jamaat, a terrorist Wahhabi organization.


The bomb blast at this building in Dagestan killed three policemen on July 5th.

Shariah Jamaat assumed responsibility for the July 1 attack in Makhachkala and a series of other recent political assassinations, including that of Magomed-Zagid Varisov, a public opponent of Wahhabism. In March this year, Jamaat proclaimed an all-out war against Dagestani law enforcers allegedly guilty of "murdering Muslims."

Second, the organization has declared its goals clearly and boldly: The creation of an Islamic state in Dagestan and the liquidation of Russia's military and political presence in the Russian Caucasus. After the tragedy in Makhachkala, it issued a statement over the Internet stating its readiness to "land a group of Dagestani mujaheddin in Moscow to stage a series of subversive attacks."

Russian President Putin on July 14th vowed to take the steps ncessary to stabilize the situation in Dagestan.


Civilians run for cover as Russian forces battle rebels in Dagestan's capital of Makhachkala on July 6th.

The rebels in Dagestan have not just threatened police but have threatened to kill their families as well:

Their viciousness is bad. One radical Islamic group threatened to extend its assassinations of police to not only police officers themselves but also to their families. The perpetrators of the violence are mostly Islamic guerrillas and the maffia that have crossed the border from Chechnya as well as members of ethnic minorities from Dagestan that are joining in the battle.


A police dog sniffs through the wreckage of this train car. A bomb exploded killing one of the train's passengers on Sunday, July 24.

A woman was killed from this deadly train bombing:

A powerful explosive device went off under the first car of the train as it headed from the regional capital, Makhachkala, to the town of Khasavyurt, derailing the car and leaving a crater on the track bed, said Akhmed Magomayev, chief of staff of the transport police in Dagestan.

A woman who was among five people injured by the blast died on the way to a hospital, Magomayev said. One of the injured was a guard on the train, he said.

Firefight in the Egyptian Mountains

Egyptian police exchanged gunfire in a mountainous area of Egypt in their search for those responsible for Saturday's bombings:

Egyptian police have exchanged fire with armed men as they search for six Pakistanis suspected of involvement in deadly bombings in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Shaikh.

The Monday firefight with Bedouin men erupted in the mountainous interior of the Sinai peninsula about 30 km from the scene of Saturday's attacks on the coast, security officials said.

"Two Pakistanis had been staying there, and it is suspected that the bombs were assembled in this area," an intelligence source said.

Pictures of the six Pakistanis believed to have entered Egypt in early July were distributed to police stations in the Sharm al-Shaikh area after the attacks, which followed another bombing spree in Sinai resorts in October.

These five Pakistanis are wanted by Egyptian Authorities
These five Pakistani Nationals are wanted by Egyptian police for questioning about the Saturday blasts in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. They are (Left to Right) Mohammed Aref, Mohammed Anwar, Rashid Ali, Musaddeq Hussein, and Mohammed Akhtar

Egyptian security officials went searching today for five Pakistanis suspected of being behind the blasts this weekend:

Security forces hunted through rugged desert mountains Monday for militants suspected in the bombings in this Red Sea resort, and investigators said attackers may have been killed in all three explosions — either accidentally or as suicide bombers.

Police at checkpoints around Sharm el-Sheik, meanwhile, were circulating photographs of the five Pakistanis believed to have come to the area from Cairo earlier this month, at least two investigators said.

DNA tests were being run on two bodies that could be those of bombers, one believed to be Egyptian, the other a foreigner, a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the release of details in the probe had not been authorized.

An American was one of the dead from the blasts on Saaturday Night:

Las Vegas native Kristina Miller took time out from celebrating her 27th birthday with her British boyfriend in Egypt to speak with her father by phone, telling him that she loved him.

Hours later, she was dead — killed along with the boyfriend in the bombings Saturday at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

Meanwhile Pakistani President Musharraf is not pleased with the assertions of the direct Pakistan Al-Qaeda link to the Egypt blasts.

Carnival of the Revolutions

This week the Carnival of the Revolutions lands at Soapgun.
You've got to love one of the opening quotes:

"There is no other place I want to be.
Right here, right now.
Watching the world wake up from history."

--- Jesus Jones - 1991

Soapgun did a great job this week...
Hope you check it out!

Email WILLisms@gmail.com if you would like to host the Carnival of Revolutions at some point in the future. We prefer that you have some experience blogging on these issues, as it requires a moderate level of expertise to prepare the carnival each week.

The submission deadline is each Sunday evening, but the exact deadline is really up to the host each week. Any blogger can submit a post on the rapid flurry of events we see each week, or on a broader theoretical idea. The criteria are fairly broad, but inclusion of your submission is ultimately up to the host.

To submit a post for a future Carnival of Revolutions, use this page, or email the host for the week directly.

Next week SophistPundit will be the carnival host.

Arroyo Faces Impeachment

ARROYO FOCUSES ON CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION IN PHILIPPINES
RATHER THAN FOCUS ON OPPOSITION'S CHARGES,
VIDEO HERE


Protesters burn an effigy of Gloria Arroyo near the House of Representatives in Manila on Monday July, 25. (Reuters)

After weeks of protesting, opposition politicians filed an impeachment complaint against Gloria Arroyo today in Manila:

Philippine opposition lawmakers filed an impeachment complaint today against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, accusing her of vote-rigging and other allegations.

The filing against Arroyo, a staunch U.S. ally, claims she ''stole, cheated and lied'' to obtain and hold power. Her aides have moved to block the complaint on a legal technicality after Congress convenes following Arroyo's scheduled State of the Nation speech later today.


So far, President Arroyo has managed to survive strong opposition protests. But, her desire to stay on as president may be going up in flames. (Reuters)

President Arroyo called for constitutional changes today rather than focus on the charges against her:

In her state-of-the-nation address, Mrs Arroyo said the country should switch from a US-style presidential system to parliamentary government.

Mrs Arroyo's speech came as opponents filed an impeachment motion over claims she interfered in 2004 elections.

The president said the country's economy showed promise, but its style of governance was holding it back.

"Our political system has now become a hindrance to our national progress," she said in a 20-minute speech.

Several charges were brought against her by the opposition today:

Opposition lawmakers said an amended impeachment complaint to be filed today would charge Mrs. Macapagal with culpable violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, bribery, graft and corruption and other serious crimes.

Mrs. Macapagal is fighting calls for her resignation over allegations she tried to rig the vote count for the May 2004 presidential polls.

Update: A reader sent this article from the Heritage Foundation on the implications this crisis has on the United States.

Previous Posts on "GloriaGate" in the Philippines:
Wire Taps & Protests in Philippines
Philippine Protests Mount Against Arroyo
GloriaGate Continues in Philippines
Coup Alert in Philippines!
Can Gloria Arroyo Hold On?

Ugly Crime

Do you suppose the Left will win over any Ohio swing voters this way?

The Left in America commits a really ugly crime,... this time in Cincinnati:

American flags, lining the lawn of the mother- and father-in-law of fallen U.S. Army Pfc. Timothy Hines Jr., were heaped in a pile early Saturday and burned under a car parked in front of the home - less than 24 hours after Hines was buried in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery.

Update: It looks like some chipper Leftie Readers at "The MahaBlog" have their "let's pretend to be pro-military" hats on today:

Just Call Me the Boogywoman

This act of senseless vandalism was bad enough, but what really pisses me off are the hateful rightie twits who jumped to the conclusion (unsupported by the article) that the perpetrators represent The Left in America.
See also Jesse Taylor at Pandagon.

Maybe I missed something, but...

- I don't recall the Leftist Senators lining up to side with Republicans and the military when Senator Durbin accused our soldiers of Nazi-like behavior.
- I don't recall any Democrats telling Teddy Kennedy to ease up on the "Abu Ghraib opened under new management" talk.
- I don't remember Howard Dean screaming... "And, we're gonna go to New Hampshire, and Kentucky and I love our military! ... YEAHHHOWWWW!"

And, yes these arguments are as silly as the democratic party pretending to be pro-military!

It's hard to include every Leftist Anti-War group on your roster and not have an inkling that the perpetrators of this vandalism are either members of your party or future members.

Protesting the King of Kathmandu

Democracy protests heat up against the all-powerful King of Kathmandu.

Journalists protested in Nepal Friday to demand freedom of the press and freedom of expression. The journalists have held numerous protests since the February 1 ban by the government:

Around 49 FM radio stations were broadcasting news all over the country, but the new laws that closed most of these left 1,000 journalists jobless, according to the Save Independent Radio Movement.

The king has removed the multi-party government, suspended civil rights and imposed severe restrictions on news reporting, all on the pretext of national security in light of the ongoing, deadly Maoist rebel uprising.

OhmyNews International has a great piece on the current situation in Nepal.


Students protested at their college in Kathmandu on Friday demanding the return of civil rights and democracy in this Himalayan kingdom.

Some 400 protesters gathered in the Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal to protest recent ruling banning the unions in government offices:

The protestors, mainly members of the Government Employees Organisation (NGEO), gathered at the Sundhara locality in Kathmandu before marching through the streets denouncing changes effected to the Civil Service Act enacted last week.

King Gyanendra's order bans unions of civil servants and 38 professional organisations, whose members joined in Friday's protest, organisers said.

"The ordinance has attacked the civil servants' right to organization," a leaflet handed out by protestors said.

A large number of riot police monitored the march and confiscated the posters they were carrying.


Police used wooden "batons" to break up a protest in Kathmandu on Sunday, July 24. 15 demonstrators were injured.

About 400 supporters of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba were rallying outside the Royal Commission for Corruption Control, waving flags and chanting slogans against the king, who seized absolute power in February and fired Deuba.

The skirmishes began when police moved in to clear the protesters because they were blocking the street.

They used batons to beat the protesters, injuring about 15 of them. Many more had cuts and minor bruises.

Protesters retaliated by pelting police with bricks, injuring at least 10 police officers, said a policeman at the scene who declined to be named.


Nepalese journalists hold a candlelight protest symbolizing the darkness of Nepal's media restrictions.

United We Blog for a Peaceful and Democratic Nepal has more on the government worker protest this weekend.
And United We Blog has more here on the latest battering of protesters.

Egypt Protests as Arab World Watches

EGYPTIANS PROTEST IN SHARM EL-SHEIKH, VIDEO HERE

The BBC, CNN, and FOX News chose not to carry this news. But, Al Jazeera puts the Egyptian protest against terror as their lead story.

1,000 Egyptians chanted "We will not be terrorized!"

Egyptian workers vowed that they would not be terroriszed today as over 1,000 demonstrators protested in Shaem el-Sheikh:

"There is no God but God and terrorism is the enemy of God," chanted the Egyptian protesters, including hotel chefs, technicians and road sweepers, as they marched along the main road of Sharm el-Sheikh, hit by three bombs on Saturday.

"The feeling is very sad and very angry. We are not going to be scared by the bombers," said Sherif Saba, an Egyptian investor in the diving and beach resort.

Protesters marched into the night, waving Egyptian flags and holding aloft signs in Arabic, English, Spanish, Italian and Russian.


Egyptians working in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh attend a protest in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Sunday.


Al Jazeera also reported the protests as front page news:

"People are against those who did this. They have no religion and are not from us, neither as bedouin or Egyptians. It's a cowardly act," said Saleh Mohamed, a south Sinai bedouin wearing flowing robes and a lilac headscarf.

The Bahrain Tribune is now reporting on the protest as well.
The Jordan Times mentions the Anti-terror protests.


More than 1,000 Egyptian hotel workers, bedouin sheikhs and foreign dive school instructors marched through Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday to condemn bombs which killed 88 in the Red Sea resort.



Egyptians stop and pray at their protest against terrorism in front of the blown-up Ghazala Gardens Hotel in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, on Sunday, July 24, 2005. (AP)

Are the people waking up in the Arab World? Are they rising up?

Previous Egypt Protest Post:
Egyptians & Tourists Join in Protests

For More News on Egyptian Anti-Terror Protests:
Instapundit has been tracking another Egyptian protest organized by blogger Karim Elsahy.
Rantings of a Sandmonkey has a great post on the Cairo protest.
Big Pharoah of course was a major player!

Russians Blame Brits for London Bombings

This is not another Ken Livingstone story!

Nearly two-thirds of Russians blame the British for the London bombings because of what they call a double standard:

64% of 1500 adult Russians surveyed last week by the Moscow-based Bashkirova & Partners pollster agree with the opinion that British authorities have created favorable conditions for terrorist attacks by hosting individuals accused of having links to terrorists.

In another development, Nikolai Zakharov, a spokesman for the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service), said last Wednesday, that Britain must curb some of its cherished civil liberties if it wants to avoid more suicide bomb attacks.

“People would come to understand that losing some rights was better than facing more attacks such as those in London on July 7,” Zakharov said, according to The Moscow Times.

Egyptians & Tourists Join in Protest

Egyptians and Tourists Join in Protest at Sharm el-Sheik

A rapid series of explosions killed 88 people in this Egyptian Red Sea resort on Saturday, devastating a mall, a luxury hotel and a coffee shop. (AP)

VIDEO OF THE "ACTUAL" SHARM EL-SHEIK BLAST AND AFTERMATH, HERE



The Mideast Press came out and condemned the terrorist bombings on Saturday:

Newspapers across the Middle East have denounced Saturday's bomb attacks in Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh resort.

"We are the victims - regardless of whether the people killed are Arab, Muslim or Western Christian, or whether they are living with us in our country or we with them in their countries." said the Kuwaiti paper.


More Tourists join the Egyptian Protest

Egyptians are holding over 70 individuals for questioning about the largest terrorist attack in Egyptian history:

Egyptian police searched for clues Sunday and struggled to identify bodies from the 88 people killed in three bomb blasts that rocked this Red Sea resort, sending foreign tourists scrambling to catch flights home.

More than 70 people have been detained in Sharm el-Sheik and elsewhere on the Sinai Peninsula (search) for questioning over the bombings early Saturday. But none has been accused of involvement in Egypt's deadliest-ever terror attack, said security officials, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the inquiry.

Update: Instapundit has been tracking another Egyptian protest organized by blogger Karim Elsahy.
Rantings of a Sandmonkey has a great post on the Cairo protest.

France Expels Imam

France on Saturday expelled an part time cleric for his role in a network linked to the suspected would-be bomber of a high-speed train in 1995:

Abdelhamid Aissaoui, a 41-year-old Algerian national, was barred from French territory in January 1999 but he was only deported to Algiers this weekend after the French agency for the protection of refugees and stateless people formally rejected an asylum request.

He was part of a group of a dozen radical imams under observation by the French intelligence agency, the ministry said.

Security News Gets Personal

Trey Jackson has some chilling security data... but this is about identity security:

* 1 out of every 6 people in the U.S. have had their personal information breached in the last 100 days. US population = 296,689,763.

* 1 out of every 4 people over the age of 18 have been exposed to identity breaches in the last 100 days. US pop. over 18= 209,128,094 - That's 24%

Trey continues:

* This is alarming. At this pace, every consumer record in our country will have been exposed/breached/stolen in less than two years.

* I.D. Theft... If it hasn't found you yet, just give it a minute. So far I have found that 49 50+ million (#growing as I research) consumers have had their private information breached since 4-08-05...

Trey Jackson has much more at his site.

Democrats Fight Republicans Who Fight Terror

Checked out the Democrat Party Website lately?

It is living proof that "Democrats fight Republicans as Republicans fight Terror!"

As long as there is a War on Terror...

And, there is! And, it is global! And, it is deadly! And, it is real!

Then The Republican Party needs to be in charge. Period.

While the Democratic Party Website is full of strife, rumor, innuendo, and "untruths" (Are Rove and Libby Perjurors?),... the Republican Party Website is forward looking and positive.

Todays National Radio Address is a classic example of the Democrat Party Policy we have lived with since the Democrats lost the White House in 2000.

HERE is the live version if you care to listen.

HERE is a transcript of the address.

Todays guest speaker is Larry Johnson, who calls himself a Republiican but has been talking out against the Bush Administration since at least 2003.

This begs the question... when is one considered an ex-Republican? It is hard to imagine that a person who has released as much venom as Larry Johnson has these past two years would ever feel proud to be a registered Republican Party Member, again. And, I am taking for granted that HE WAS a Republican, once.

Mr. Johnson has been speaking out against the Bush Administration for at least two years. Todays talk was nothing new for Larry!

Here is a piece of his attack against the Bush Administration today:

I really didnt realize what her last name was until her cover was betrayed by the Government officials who gave columnist Robert Novak her true name.

I am stunned that government officials at the highest level have such ignorance about a matter so basic to the national security structure of this nation.

Robert Novaks compromise of Valerie led to scrutiny of CIA officers that worked with her. This not only compromised her cover company but potentially every individual overseas who had been in contact with that company or with her.

Of course there is NO PROOF of anything that he just stated. NOTHING! There is not yet any evidence that Robert Novak recieved any information from a Bush Administration official about the identity of Valerie Plame.

He continues:

We must put to bed the lie that she was not undercover. For starters, if she had not been undercover then the CIA would not have referred the matter to the Justice Department.

Val only told those with a need to know about her status in order to safeguard her cover, not compromise it. She was content with being known as an energy consultant married to Ambassador Joe Wilson and the mother of twins.

Larry certainly must know the rules of law that show that Valerie Plame did not legally fit under the law including her as an undercover agent.

Larry goes way over the top here, though:

The President has flip-flopped on his promise to fire anyone at the White House implicated in a leak. We now know from press reports that at least Karl Rove and Scooter Libby are implicated in these leaks and may have lied during the investigation.

No one, including Karl Rove, has been charged or arrested during this affair for any violation except a reporter from the New York Times who we know is not sitting in jail to protect "Bush's Brain"! Only a fool would believe that she wouldn't give up Rove in a New York Times minute!

But, get this next line:

...we are confronted with a President who is willing to sit by while political operatives savage the reputations of good Americans like Valerie and Joe Wilson.

Joe Wilson? Good American? Give me a break, Larry!

Larry shuts down his Bush-bash with this truly unbelievable statement:

We deserve people who work in the White House who are committed to protecting classified information, telling the truth to the American people, and living by example the idea that a country at war with Islamic extremists cannot focus its efforts on attacking other American citizens who simply tried to tell the truth.

Now, did you catch that?

Did you catch that?

...a country at war with Islamic extremists cannot focus its efforts on attacking other American citizens!

He just attacked the Bush Administration with his whole address and then has the gall to lecture Bush about "focusing his efforts on attacking other American citizens"!

This from the party that has been calling the president a liar (he just did again) stupid, Hitler,... since he came into office. Now they want to accuse George Bush as the one who is attacking other Americans! The Democrats have stooped to a new low,... again, today!

* * * * *

Larry Johnson is the same Johnson who said:

* Valerie Plame was undercover since she was ten years old!
* The terror alert warning system was irresponsible

Larry has actively been fighting the Bush Administration since the War in Iraq began.

Grouchy Old Cripple has Karl's reaction to the democrats attempt to get him.

Courthouse Confusion

Would someone please explain to me how this can be displayed in a court house...

Sacramento, CA - A painting of the United States sinking into a toilet now on display in the cafeteria of the state Department of Justice has raised the ire of the state Republican Party, which is demanding that Attorney General Bill Lockyer remove the image.

...but not these?

Veterans and supporters watch as Paul Worthington, commander of the local American Legion post, hangs a copy of the Ten Commandments in the McCreary County Courthouse on Oct. 10, 2000.

Not only that,... but on June 27, 2005 The Supreme Court Justices forbid copies of the 10 Commandments on walls of courthouses but allowed 10 Commanment Monuments on the lawn of courthouses.

More Good News from Denmark

These Iraqis living in Denmark know a terrorist attack when they see one!

Iraqi and Danish flags fly over an Iraqi protest in Copenhagen. The Iraqis were protesting against the terror attacks in London and Iraq.

Where else in Europe would you see the Iraqi flag flying next to the host countries flag at a demonstration?

On Friday the Iraqis living in Denmark weren't hiding their admiration for the country they now call home. In a demonstration against "terrorist attacks in London and Iraq the Danish and Iraqi flag flew in the same breeze. These demonstrators know how to spot terror attacks better than the mainstream media!

The Danes believe that they may be a target for terrorism, but as you look at reality and the blasts of this morning, is there any place that is free from a terrorist attack today?

Denmark knows that its support of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan may make them a terrorist target:

Fears of a terror attack in Denmark, a staunch supporter of the American-led coalition in Iraq, are increasing after Islamic extremist groups targeted the small Scandinavian country and bomb scares have led to heightened security.

The London bombings were "a warning to all European countries, but first and foremost to Denmark, which still has soldiers stationed in Muslim countries," the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, a terrorist organization linked to the Madrid train attack, announced in an Internet posting. The al Qaeda-linked group that took responsibility for the London attacks had previously threatened Denmark and Italy.


Denmark Iraqis place candles on City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday July 22, 2005, in the shape of the number 36 to commemorate 36 children killed in a recent attack in Iraq. (AP)

Also:
Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit, is reporting on a Muslim protest in California against terror.
Powerline is reporting on a protest in Iraq against terror.
Glenn is wondering why these protests are not getting media attention?

Cuba Cracks Down on Dissent

Cuba arrests several Human Rights Leaders before the anniversary of Castro's Revolution this coming Tuesday

Cuba arrested several activists yesterday before a planned protest at the French Embassy. Many Cubans are discontent with prolonged electrical outages on the island. Other protesters were kept in their homes by Pro-Castro supporters who "demonstrated" outside their homes!

CUBAN police are accused of trying to stop a rally for the release of political prisoners on the island after detaining 22 people, including the three top leaders of a dissident group.

"These are arbitrary detentions and a flagrant violation of the freedom of association and peaceful demonstration," said Elizardo Sanchez, of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation.

Supporters of President Fidel Castro also staged noisy protests outside the homes of opponents who had planned the rally outside the French Embassy in Havana to call for the release of political prisoners.

The incidents came as Cuba's communist authorities moved to keep the lid on discontent over prolonged power cuts on the Caribbean island before Tuesday's anniversary of Castro's revolution 52 years ago.

Cuba later released Martha Beatriz Roque and two other dissidents but the remaining activists are still being held:

Cuban police released dissident leader Martha Beatriz Roque and two other women on Saturday but continued holding other opponents of President Fidel Castro detained in a roundup, a human rights group said.

Roque, a 59-year-old economist who has been jailed twice since 1997 for criticizing communist rule in Cuba, was freed without charges at 5:15 a.m. (0915 GMT), said veteran activist Elizardo Sanchez of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights.

Cubans are saying that this is one of their hardest summers in memory:

Sweltering summer heat in the 90s, blackouts of more than 12 hours and water shortages have increasingly frayed Cubans' nerves, challenging Castro's government as he prepares for Tuesday's celebration marking the launch of the Cuban revolution.

While occasional blackouts are common every summer, Cubans say these are the most frequent and longest of recent years.

Fidel Castro attended the 6th Grade Graduation Of Elian Gonzalez this week and said that he's honored to be friends with Elian.

On Thursday Publius Pundit reported that almost 50 members of a Cuban dance troupe were granted asylum.

Babalu' Blog is following the story.
And, Stephania at Free Thoughts has been following this story.

Progressive Imams Tell Women to Use Side Door

Imams at an anti-extremism conference in Toronto told the president of the Muslim Canadian Conference to use the side-door:

Canadian imams who gathered in a Toronto mosque on Thursday to denounce London bombings and distance themselves from extremism, refused to allow the woman president of a progressive Muslim organisation to enter the mosque through the front door.

They insisted that Niaz Salimi, president of the Muslim Canadian Congress, enter through the side door reserved for women. According to Tarek Fatah, a Muslim writer, broadcaster and activist, the action demonstrated the “misogyny” that has become the “defining trait” of these leaders of the Islamic community.

Roberts to Kerry "I'll show you mine,..."

When you show me yours!

This is an outrage! Not that I'm surprised. I glanced at this news yesterday but paid it no attention, not until Polipundit reminded me of how ridiculous it is.

Kerry Seeks Release of Roberts' Documents

The man who still is hiding his military records from the public is calling on Judge John Roberts and the White House to release “in their entirety” all documents and memos.

Tell it to the Swift Boat Vets, John! Tell it to the Swift Boat Vets!

Huge Terror Blasts in Egypt

VIDEO OF THE DEVESTATION FROM THE MASSIVE BOMBS HERE

(7:00 AM EST) Al Qaida group claims responsibility for the blasts

At least 7 Foreigners are Killed in the explosions

* Death Toll climbs to 83 *

Egyptian Officials say they are following some leads and have some clues especially about the car that was exploded in the Old Market


A "Car" at one of the bomb blast sites in Sharm el-Sheik old market in Egypt (AP)

* * * * *

EYEWITNESS DESCRIBES THE VIOLENT SCENE, VIDEO HERE

Egypt has a history of terror attacks as Reuters shows in this report.
This terror timeline does some damage to the "It's all about Iraq!" argument.


(9:00 PM EST) * Death Count Rises to 43 in Sinai Explosions *


(Approx. 9:30 PM EST)An emergency worker walks among body bags on an ambulence. The death toll has risen to 49.

* * * * *

(10 PM EST) The attacks are now being reported as suicide car bombers:

The attacks on the popular Sinai resort at the peak of the tourist season were the deadliest in Egypt in eight years and officials feared the death toll could rise further.

Police said there were up to seven bombings and witnesses told AFP that at least four of them were suicide car bomb attacks.

* * * * *

(11:55 PM EST) "A suicide car bomber forced the barrier at the entrance of the hotel. A member of the security staff tried to stop him but he sped towards the reception and there was a huge explosion," a Ghazala hotel employee told AFP.

Medical sources in the Sinai resort city said a total of at least 50 people were killed and at least 150 wounded, 120 of them seriously.

* * * * *

(12:30 AM) At least one blast targeted Egyptian Muslims!

The third detonated at a minibus parking lot in the Old Market, an area about 2 1/2 miles from where many Egyptians and others who work in the resorts live. The blast ripped through a nearby outdoor coffee shop, killing 17 people, believed to be Egyptians, said a security official in the operations control room in Cairo monitoring the crisis.

* * * * *

A damaged car from one of the explosions (AP)

At least four car bombs were used in the attack, according to a security official in the operations control room in Cairo who was monitoring the crisis.

One went off in the driveway of the Ghazala Garden hotel, a four-star resort on the main strip of hotels in Naama Bay, the official said.

Another exploded in the Old Market, an area a few kilometers away, killing 17 people - believed to be Egyptians - sitting at a nearby outdoor coffee shop. Three minibuses were set ablaze, though it was not clear if they were carrying passengers.

Amal Mustafa, 28, an Egyptian who was visiting Sharm with her family, said she drove by the Ghazala Gardens - a four-star resort on the main tourist strip in Naama - and it was "completely burned down, destroyed."



Casualties include Britons, Dutch, Qataris, Kuwaitis and Egyptians, a police source said.

The explosions that shook the resort apparently occured around Naama Bay, a resident said.

* * * * *

(9:20 PM EST)Mustafa Afifi, governor of South Sinai province, said one car bomb exploded in front of the Ghazala Hotel in Naama Bay, the site of most of the resort's luxury hotels. He was quoted by the state news agency MENA.

Another car bomb exploded in the old market in Sharm el-Sheikh town, about six km (four miles) from Naama Bay. "The third explosion, in a car park at the entrance to Naama Bay, could have been a bag of explosions," he added.


Sharm el Sheik Area in Egypt.

* * * * *

(8:30 PM EST) At least seven explosions kill a reported 36 individuals in the Sharm el-Sheik resort in Egypt around 1 AM Egypt time:

As many as seven explosions, including at least four car bombs, struck the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, hitting several hotels packed with foreign and Egyptian tourists and killing at least 36 people, witnesses and police said.

Saturday's explosions at 1:15 a.m. shook windows more than five miles away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city popular with Israeli and European tourists, witnesses said.

At least four car bombs were used in the attacks, said a security official in the operations control room in Cairo monitoring the crisis. One went off in the driveway of the Ghazala Garden hotel, a 176-room four-star resort on the main strip of hotels in Naama Bay, the official said.

* * * * *

(12 AM EST) The US has condemned the attacks. "We condemn this act in the strongest possible terms. There can be no excuse for the targeting of innocent civilians," a U.S. State Department spokesman said in Washington.

* * * * *

Instapundit recovering from dental work, makes this prediction:

"I predict that this will only encourage the loss of patience with Islamist radicalism that is already sweeping the world. That's the problem for terrorists: If they try to terrorize, they make people mad. If they don't, then, well, they're not really terrorists."

Counterterrorism Blog is reporting on the attacks.
Discarded Lies is reporting on the blasts.

Austin Bay asks, "When will George Galloway and Teddy Kennedy admit Al Qaeda is at war with Arabs and Muslims as well as 'the West'?"

ACLU Continues Their American Jihad

Four "ACLU Hates America" stories in one day! Not a bad days work for the Anti-American bunch!

1 -ACLU Blames Gov't for Abu Ghraib Delay

The American Civil Liberties Union accused the government Friday of putting another legal roadblock in the way of its bid to allow the public to see photographs and videos stemming from the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.

2 -ACLU honors military lawyers for Guantanamo challenge

* It is the first time the ACLU has ever honored anybody in the military. *

3 -ACLU Says Lawmakers Failed to Protect the Constitution; House Approved Flawed Patriot Act Bill

4 -American Civil Liberties Union in the Garden State and New York City say the random subway inspections violate protections against unreasonable searches.

Egypt Chronology of Terrer

Reuters put out this timeline of terror attacks in Egypt tonight after the bombings at the Sharm el-Sheikh resort tonight:

Oct. 21, 1992 -- Militants ambush tourist bus, killing a British woman and wounding two British men. The woman is the first foreigner to die in militant-related violence.

Feb. 26, 1993 -- Bomb in crowded coffee shop in central Cairo kills a Turk, a Swede and an Egyptian and wounds 20.

June 8 -- Bomb explodes near tour bus on Pyramids Road in Cairo, killing two Egyptians and wounding 22 people, including five Britons.

Oct. 27 -- A man described as a mentally disturbed musician shoots dead two American businessmen, a French jurist and an Italian at a luxury Cairo hotel.

March 4, 1994 -- Gunmen fire at Nile cruiser in southern Egypt, wounding a German woman tourist, who died after being flown back to Germany.

Aug. 26 -- Gunmen kill Spanish boy in an attack on a tourist bus in southern Egypt.

Sept. 27 -- Gunmen shoot and kill one German tourist and wound another in a gun attack in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. Two Egyptians also killed and another German man died of his wounds after returning to Germany.

Oct. 23 -- Suspected Muslim militants kill a British tourist and wound three in a minibus attack.

April 18, 1996 -- Islamic militants shoot dead 18 Greek tourists they mistook for Israelis near the Pyramids.

Sept. 18, 1997 -- Gunmen kill nine German tourists and their Egyptian bus driver in a shooting and firebomb attack outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Nov. 17 -- Attackers kill 58 tourists and four Egyptians at an ancient temple near the southern tourist town of Luxor. Six gunmen and three police also die in the violence.

Oct. 7, 2004 - A series of bombings at the Taba Hilton hotel on Egypt's border with Israel, and two beaches further south, kill 34 people.

April 7, 2005 - A probable suicide bomb attack in a bazaar in medieval Cairo kills an American man, a French man and woman and the suspected bomber.

April 30 - A suicide bomber wounds seven people including four foreigners -- two Israelis, an Italian and a Swede -- near the Egyptian museum.

July 23 - Car bombs rock Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and nearby Naama Bay, killing 20 and wounding at least 100.

Are the Jihadists Winning?

Could this be proof HERE that modern man is slipping back into another Dark Age?

Peaceful Madrasa Students Revolt

ISLAMIC STUDENTS RIOT DURING "PEACEFUL PROTEST" TODAY,
VIDEO HERE

Peaceful Protests were planned in Pakistan today!

Madrasa students, upset with the clamp down on Islamic Militants in Pakistan, burn up a police moter bike. (AP)

A senior cleric urged his followers to join him on a peaceful protest rally in Pakistan today:

Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, a senior leader of the six-party coalition called Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, or United Action Forum, said Pakistan’s government has arrested a large number of innocent people to appease Western countries.

Ahmad said no terrorists were arrested in the raids on Islamic schools, or madrassas, and mosques, and demanded the immediate release of all detainees.

He said the coalition would hold peaceful protest rallies later Friday.


(Maybe he was having a difficult semester?)
A madrasa student throws a brick at a police post in reponse to a crackdown on Islamic Militants in Pakistan. The students were protesting the unfair detention suspected militants in Pakistan since the July 7 London bombings.

Some shouted slogans in support of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan's fundamentalist Taliban government, which was overthrown by U.S.-led forces after the al Qaeda attacks on U.S. cities on Sept. 11, 2001.

Up to 700 Islamists, most of them teenagers or in their 20s, chanted anti-Musharraf and anti-U.S. slogans at Islamabad's Lal or Red Mosque, which was raided by security forces searching for militants on Tuesday.



Madrasa students take a break from classes to join their mentors at an Anti-Clamp-Down rally. (Reuters)

Reporters said that the planned rallies "fell flat" (not exactly the language I would use!):

An Islamist call for nationwide protests in Pakistan against a crackdown on militants after the July 7 London bombings fell flat on Friday with rallies in big cities failing to attract more than a few hundred people.

More than 300 militant suspects have been detained across Pakistan since revelations that three of the four London bombers were British Muslims of Pakistani origin who had visited the country before the attacks.

The protesters pelted a police post with stones, destroyed lamp posts and set fire to a police motorcycle.

The protests followed a televised address to the nation by Musharraf on Thursday night in which he called for a holy war against preachers of hate and announced steps to rein in militant madrasas and groups seen as having influenced the London bombers.

In his television address, Musharraf said all madrasas must register with authorities by December.

In a rare show of solidarity, self-exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, for long Musharraf's bitter rival, backed his decision to register madrasas.

Update: Captain Ed is wondering what's up with the low turnout?

"More people show up here at the opening of a Krispy Kreme donut shop!"

Good Point, Captain!...

But remember... It's not the number of donuts in the box, it's the jelly in the middle!

Ted Kennedy Gets a Tongue Lashing

Massachusetts soldiers stationed at Gitmo told Teddy and his Democratic cohorts to cut the Gulag crap on their recent visit to check out the prison!

Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, last month invoked widespread military outrage when he compared Guantanamo to the prison labor systems used by communist tyrant Josef Stalin, Cambodia's Pol Pot and Adolf Hitler.

Hat Tip New England Conservative

Taliban Joins Iraqi Jihadists

In yet another interview with a terrorist, Al Jazeera learned the reason for the upsurge in violence in Afghanistan lately:

Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah recently shared with Al Jazeera television that his group has established links with jihadist fighters in Iraq. This could provide some answers to the many questions linked to the upsurge in violence that Afghanistan is now facing.

Only a few days ago, ten Afghan troops were slain by the Taliban and their corpses were beheaded. This could be the clearest indication that the Iraqi resistance is influencing the Afghan insurgency.

Such disgraceful and inhumane acts will only further isolate the Taliban and ignite anger amongst the general populace.

Condoleezza Sizzles in the Sahara

And, she's already off making tracks in the Mideast today!

SEVERAL HUNDRED PROTESTERS WERE ARRESTED ON THURSDAY BEFORE RICE WAS DUE IN ISRAEL THIS WEEKEND,
VIDEO HERE

Condoleezza continued her jet-set diplomacy this week...

On Wednesday, Condoleezza promoted the African Growth and Opportunity Act with her moving speech in Senegal:

Before I begin I want to acknowledge something that the Foreign Minister has said. I was here just about two years ago in Senegal with President Bush and we went to Gorée Island to the site of the transatlantic slavery. And as we stood at the gate that I think one could call a gate of no return, we all thought about the extraordinary bonds of kinship, of blood, of tragedy between the United States and Africa.

In my own personal case, of course, many of my ancestors may have come through that gate. And it is only in the course of the last several years that the United States has fully begun to come to terms with that great tragedy. It has become -- we managed to come to terms through institutions of democracy and inclusion. But I personally want to acknowledge my gratefulness to the sons and daughters of Africa, without whom there quite literally would have been no United States of America...

...With President Bush’s leadership, America has tripled our development assistance to Africa. And we will double it again by 2010...

...Not only is America giving new money, we are revolutionizing how much of that money is given, together with Africans who believe in good governance, democracy, and an open society.

Under the leadership of Paul Applegarth, who is here today, our Millennium Challenge Account Initiative is providing new development grants to nations that govern justly, promote economic freedom, and invest in their people. So far, eight African countries have qualified to apply for grants, including Senegal, and one, Madagascar, has already signed a development compact worth $110 million.

Condoleezza demanded a resolution to the Darfur Crisis Thursday

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Abu Shouk camp for displaced people in el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state. (AFP)

Condoleezza held talks with Sudanese officials and visited Darfur during her stop in the troubled Saharan country:

In her first trip to the sprawling African country, Rice had a round of talks with Khartoum leaders, demanded and got an apology for a dustup between her entourage and Sudanese security men, and visited battered Darfur.

US officials said Rice made clear Washington would not improve ties with Sudan without a resolution of the crisis in Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have died in 29 months of fighting branded by Washington as genocide.

"I told them they had a credibility issue," Rice said of her talks with President Omar al-Beshir, Vice President John Garang and Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail.

Condi gets her apology:

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail apologized to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the treatement of her delegation and the press corps as she visited Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir's residence.

* POLITICAL TEEN HAS THE VIDEO OF ANDREA MITCHELL'S EPISODE WITH SUDANESE BODYGUARDS. *

Friday included a stop in Israel

Condoleezza met with Ariel Sharon at his ranch before formal meetings tomorrow. (AP)

Ms. Rice met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at his ranch in southern Israel Friday. She has been urging greater coordination between Israel and the Palestinians on the withdrawal.

The Secretary's message has been for both sides to work together to ensure the mid-August deadline for the start of the Gaza pullout remains on track.

"I look forward to talking with both the Israelis and Palestinians about the need for tight coordination and for rapid resolution of a number of key issues that are before the parties in advance of the disengagement," she said. "I also look forward to talking about the need to resist any efforts of terrorists to destroy this moment of hope."

And, a surprise stop in Lebanon on Friday

Condoleezza Rice shakes hands with Saad Hariri, son of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, of Lebanon on her surprise visit there today. (AP)

Condoleezza congratulated Lebanon on her surprise stop there for there strides towards democracy:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to volatile Lebanon under heavy guard Friday to encourage a new democratic government outside Syrian control.

Rice met with Saad Hariri, son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Together, they visited the seaside grave of the elder Hariri, an anti-Syrian politician slain in a February car bombing. Afterwards, she went directly to the Presidential Palace for a meeting with Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.

This will be an opportunity first of all to congratulate the Lebanon people on their incredible desire for democracy," Rice said en route to Beirut.

Rice's visit comes three days after formation of a new Cabinet led by Prime Minister-designate Foud Saniora

Update: (Friday AM) I see that Robert Mayer has some great words about Condi's "government boosting" stop in Lebanon at Publius Pundit.

Blunt Sets Up Eminent Domain Task Force

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt (R) has set up an eminent domain task force to review laws and recommend legislation that would establish criteria for state and local governments to use when taking private property.

Blunt had expressed concern after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month gave local governments broader powers to seize private property for tax-revenue-producing developments such as shopping malls.

"Team Saddam" Back in Court

A DEFIANT SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS CHARGED WITH
MORE WAR CRIMES TODAY IN IRAQI COURT,
VIDEO HERE

** Saddam Hussein was back in court today facing new charges **

On July 8, 1982, a small group attacked a convoy carrying the Iraqi leader through Dujayl, a Shiite village north of Baghdad. A series of detentions and executions in the town followed the failed assassination attempt.

According to the tribunal, 15 people were summarily executed, and some 1,500 others spent years in prison with no charges and without trial dates. Ultimately, another 143 people had "show trials" and were executed, the tribunal said.

There was more in the news today about the motley crew of lawyers who are preparing to defend him.

Saddam's legal team includes 1,500 volunteers and at least 22 lead lawyers who come from several countries, including the United States, France, Jordan, Iraq and Libya. No date has been set for the trial of Saddam, captured by U.S. troops in December 2003.

Star members of the Defense Team include:

Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark

The fiercely anti-war (Anti-American) Clark has met with Saddam several times over the past 15 years and was considered a friend of Saddam's Iraq when it was hit by sanctions in 1990 for invading Kuwait.

...An embittered casualty of the '60s, and Attorney General for the LBJ administration, Clark assumed a leftist posture after leaving the Justice Department. He became the lawyer for anti-war protestor Philip Berrigan, headed a private probe into the FBI killings of Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, and travelled to Vietnam to condemn the bombing.

In June 1980, with America mesmerized by the Iran hostage crisis, he joined a forum on "Crimes of America" in Tehran--the first of many such junkets. The '80s saw him globetrotting to schmooze with any dictator who happened to be on the White House shit-list...

He has advised, among others, David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian religious sect who died with 75 followers when U.S. federal agents stormed their compound in Waco, Texas in 1993.

Former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas

Roland Dumas a colorful octogenarian who served as France's foreign minister from 1988-93 and who was once head of its constitutional court.

Dumas, who during his career acted as executor of Pablo Picasso's estate, was also famously implicated and then cleared in one of France's biggest corruption scandals.

Roland Dumas, and of the former head of Elf, Loïk Le Floch-Prigent were convicted of corruption in France in 2001.

Issam Ghazzawi

Issam Ghazzawi said the deaths of Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims were not down to Iraq's deposed leader but the regime in the neighbouring country.More than 100,000 Kurds were estimated to have been killed by Saddam's troops in 1988.

Around 5,000 of these are said to have been gassed to death in the city of Halabja and another 8,000 members of a powerful clan rounded up and shot.

* But Mr Ghazzawi told Austria's Die Presse newspaper: "Iran is responsible for the the murders of the Kurds." *

Emmanuel Ludot(l) and Mohammed Rashdan (r)
Little is known outside his own country, except a for his penchant for controversial cases. In the past he represented a cancer sufferer suing over the Chernobyl disaster. In case you were wondering the suit wasn't against the Soviet Union but the French government for allowing people to consume food possibly contaminated by the radioactive fallout over France. According to one recent report, "Mr Ludot... called the Iraqi penal code 'Stone Age legislation' and said it was ill-suited to Saddam's case." One would have thought it was very well suited.

Mohammed Rashdan who was leading the team was later released by the family.

Jacques Verges
Another French member of the team, Jacques Verges, famous - or notorious - as defender of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and international terrorist Carlos the Jackal. Charmingly, he "is said to have been a friend of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader behind Cambodia's genocide."

Marc Henzelin
Swiss barrister and academic Marc Henzelin has represented Iraqi-based Iranian mudjahedin, Argentinian arms dealers, and Saddam's nephews and nieces whose Swiss bank accounts were frozen by the authorities.

Giovanni di Stefano with wife Mirjana

Another team member is British-based Giovanni di Stefano, multi-millionaire and former controversial director of Dundee football club. And a lawyer, apparently. Di Stefano has in the past rubbed shoulders with some interesting characters.

He had this to say about the late Serbian ethnic cleansing mass murderer Arkan: "He loved me very much as a human being. And I liked him as a person. He had good morals. He was a good person. And I'm not ashamed of saying it." He also claims to have met Osama bin Laden in Baghdad in 1998 (!): "He had a handshake like a woman. He had a soft voice. He spoke like a priest."

Giovanni is described as a globe-trotting Anglo-Italian who has been convicted of fraud - and was exposed as a liar in Auckland in 1990 - re-emerged in the New Zealand media with his defense of Saddam.


John Marsden
Australian John Marsden, who successfully fought off paedophile allegations, has been asked to join the legal team representing the former Iraqi dictator, is used to defending high-profile clients such as notorious backpacker killer Ivan Milat.

Aysha Qaddafi

Saddam's defense team even gets Aysha Qaddafi, a daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi joined a 20-member defense panel for former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the team's chief Mohammad Rashdan announced yesterday (in July of 2004).

Ghazzawi said Gaddafi became the 21st member of the defence team, which also includes European and American lawyers appointed by Saddam's wife and three daughters.

Curtis Doebbler
Then there is American academic (Professor of Human Rights Law at American University in Cairo) and lawyer Curtis Doebbler. Doebbler is a former legal advisor to the Palestinian Authority, and has been representing suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay (or as this note delightfully puts it, he "served as an advisor to the Taliban on the laws of war").

In addition, around "1,500 volunteers, 400 American professors and 200 consultants from different countries, including France and Latin American nations" back the defence team, Ghazzawi said.

Earlier this month, Saddams chief lawyer quit after battling with the Americans on the team:

* Saddam Hussein's chief lawyer, Ziad al-Khasawneh, quit the Iraqi dictator's Jordan-based legal team, saying Thursday some of the team's American members were trying to control the defense and tone down his criticism of the U.S. presence in Iraq. *

John Howard's Not Hearing It

John Howard is not hearing the Leftist drivel!
Australian Prime Minister John Howard was in London today with Tony Blair in time to witness the second wave terrorist "tube" bombings. Mr. Howard gave this reporter a "Down Under" tongue lashing:

Howard, who was in New York during the September 11, 2001 attacks, told a delayed press conference with Blair that such attacks would not shake the US-led coalition in Iraq or international efforts to defeat terrorism.

"Once a country has allowed its policies to be determined by terrorism it has given the game away," Howard said, adding that Australia was united in its sympathy for Britain and the people of London.

"There is no city in the world after our own that Australians have more affection for, more identification with and a greater sense of history about than the city of London," he said.

Both leaders dismissed suggestions that the latest London attacks showed the "war on terror" was being lost. They also rejected any connection between the attacks and the conflict in Iraq.

"The people who are responsible for doing these things are the people who are doing them," Blair said when asked whether the attacks were the inevitable result of Britain's policy toward the Middle East.

"The scourge of terrorism is one that we all face together," he said.

Howard said the London attacks were not "incident-specific" and noted that 88 Australians had been killed in a night-club bombing in Indonesia months before the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

"I do not know the minds of terrorists ... I can only look at objective facts. The objective evidence is that Australia was a terrorist target long before the operation in Iraq," he said.

Trey Jackson has the video of the Howard & Blair Press Conference. Trey has a few words for Instapundit and I join him.
Indeed!

In respect to Mr. Howard, The Anchoress has a fantastic pictorial of the "Before Iraq" terror.

"Serve Your Bush Faithfully"

Nutjob Bush Grenade Attacker Recovering after Surgery.

Asked what "claim" he had against Bush, Arutyunyan answered: "Serve your Bush faithfully. Maybe you'll get an award for it."

He made an obscene gesture at the camera during an interview today. The suspect "did not aim to kill the presidents but deliver a huge blow to Georgia's international reputation and the prestige of our country. Thankfully, with God's help, it did not happen."

Vova Arutyunov (that is how they are spelling his name... now), 27, opened fire on the police when they came to his house to question him.

Mr Arutyunov shot dead one of the policemen before escaping from his flat in the Tbilisi suburb of Vashlisdzhvari.

He fled to a nearby wood, firing shots as the police encircled him until he was finally captured two hours later and taken in for questioning. Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili told reporters that he was wounded.

Georgian officials have announced that he has been arrested for the crime in May. The Russian-made explosive device, folded in a red handkerchief, failed to go off. A Georgian security officer reportedly picked it up and removed it from the area:

Interior Ministry spokesman Guram Donadze today released a short police video of a conversation that he said he had in hospital with Arutyunian. In the video, broadcast on Georgian television channels, the suspect admits to throwing the grenade with a view to harming Bush.

In earlier comments made to Georgia's Rustavi-2 television channel, Deputy Health Minister Irakli Giorgobiani had quoted hospital doctors as saying Arutyunian had confessed to throwing the grenade. But Giorgobiani had also cast doubt on the suspect's mental health.

Georgian television footage today showed explosives and detonators, as well as chemical substances that could possibly serve to make a bomb, that were reportedly seized at Arutyunian's home. Investigators also found electronic equipment and military literature.

Georgian media have described Arutyunian as an unemployed man who lives alone with his widowed mother. Neighbors describe him as a recluse.

FBI officials have already visited Tbilisi’s Republican Hospital and met the suspect.

Several neighbors of the attacker will collect the reward:

Several people, whose identities remain confidential, helped the investigators in capturing a suspect in the Bush grenade throwing incident by providing information about the suspect’s identity. As a result, a 150,000 Lari (USD 82,000) bounty, announced by the Interior Ministry for information, will be distributed among an unspecified number of citizens.

During the Bush visit security at the event was high with sharpshooters posted on rooftops around the square and guards checking those who entered the area.

But a gap in security occurred shortly before the speech when crowds broke through police barriers to get a place on the square.

Previous "Bush in Georgia" Posts:
GW Rocks Georgia
Bush, Georgia and Explosives
Failed Assassin to be Named
Georgia Releases Pictures of Bush Grenade Attacker
Georgian Arrests Failed Bush Assassin!

Your Daily Dose of Media Insanity

The winner today in the MSM insanity contest is this article by Mike "Blame the Iraq War" Peacock from Reuters:

London bombings fail to damage Blair ... yet

But if Thursday's fresh attacks, albeit smaller and taking no lives, turn out to be the start of a trend, the political flak could start to fly.

Even before the latest incidents, Blair had been forced to fend off accusations that his backing for the Iraq war has made Britain a more dangerous place.

*spit*

I have seen the enemy and he works for Reuters!

Locally, ding-dong Sylvester Brown wins for using the Daily Koz talking points AGAIN for the meat of his slandering hateful piece in the Post Dispatch about Karl Rove and President Bush

Isn't it time we accepted the truth about Bush?

*spit* *spit*

Better yet, "Isn't it time we accepted the truth about Sylvester Brown?"

Do you suppose that this idiot will apologize to President Bush when the stench clears from this made-up scandal?

Me Either!

And finally... A close second locally comes again from the Post Dispatch ..(cancelled your subscription, yet?)...

Low-pay jobs outgrow high-pay positions

...The Post Dispatch had to dig deep for this one. With the economy roaring (todays tidbit of truth at WILLism's )the Post Dispatch had to put together this collection of low-paying jobs FROM 1980 TO 2000 to get their point across!

(Hmm... Let's see. When did GW get into office?)

There you have it! That took all of 15 minutes to put together!

George Bush the Prophet?

George Bush the Prophet? When peace activists in Pakistan start pushing the "Bush Doctrine" it makes you wonder?

(Lahore, Pakistan) Noted religious and political figures gathered to call for fostering unity, patience and harmony between the West and Islam. They were addressing a seminar on "A Critical moment, inter-religious dialogue" held here (Lahore) Sunday under the aegis of Muslim-Christian Federation International. Secretary General, Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian, Jehangir Badar on the occasion said that:

"...democracy could ensure global peace..."

and added that the terrorism was spreading due to misunderstanding among religions.

Charles Krauthammer has more on the Bush Doctrine today as well, and why it works. (He also points out the "fat internationalist elephant in the living room" during the Clinton years.)

Faith in democracy in Islamic countries is also on the rise.

Even the Germans are enthused about the democratic transformation of the Middle East and elsewhere.

And, after the London attacks, the global anti-terrorism voices have possibly gained in numbers and strength. There have been several peace rallies held by interfaith groups. One group calling itself the Muslim Christian Federation International held a rally against terror in Lahore, Pakistan this week.

A group calling itself the "Muslim Christian Federation International" rallied in Lahore, Pakistan to condemn recent suicide bombings in London, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. The sign at the bottom reads, "We condemn London bombings!" (AP)

General Secretary Joseph Francis, a Christian Rights Leader in Pakistan, has been fighting for Pakistan's Christian minority since the 1960's.

The picture at the right is of an interfaith rally in Germany against terror. (Reuters)

Muslim leaders have planned an anti-terror summit in Australia aimed at heading off extremist elements of the Islamic faith in Australia.

Also from Australia, a joint religious group has condemned hate literature:

CHRISTIAN, Muslim and Jewish leaders have launched a joint appeal for the withdrawal of hate literature from bookstores and an apology from the booksellers.

A statement by the Australian National Dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews has been released in response to the sale of racist and vilifying books at Islamic bookshops in Sydney and Melbourne.

"All fair-minded people will be dismayed to learn that notorious racist and vilifying texts, printed overseas, have found their way to Australia and have been made available for sale at bookshoppatronizeded by customers seeking knowledge of Islam and Muslim life," the statement said.

"The individuals who have imported and are promoting this material must not be allowed to present themselves as acting in the interests of Muslim Australians.

Although after the London bombings some Westerners still believe that terror is our fault, it was nice to see these other developments!

Update: (Thursday AM) Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit is also shining some light on these global interfaith protests.

More London Bombs!

What say you, Mayor Ken Livingstone?

Doctors, religious leaders, and members of the public gathered for a service at the British Medical Association in London for those who died in the 7-7 terrorist blasts , today. (AP)

At midday the London "tubes" were evacuated after up to four explosions went off.

A man was seen fleeing the scene:

No one was reported injured in the blasts that caused major disruption and shook the nerves of an already jittery city.

Witnesses said they had seen what could have been a would-be bomber running away after dropping a rucksack on one of the trains.

"We all got off on the platform and the guy just ran and started running up the escalator," one witness who gave her name as Andrea told the BBC.

"Everyone was screaming for someone to stop him. He ran past me ... and he ran out of the station. In fact he left a bag on the train," she said.

Athena has more.
Michelle Malkin is all over it.
Instapundit on Blair and Howard's press conference.
La Shawn Barber
Wizbang

Schumer's Dumba$$ Questions

THIS VIDEO posted by Trey Jackson from Jackson's Junction is a likely indicator of what we can expect from Senate liberals in the coming battle for the open Supreme Court Seat.

Trey notes that Senator Orrin Hatch (R- UT) was not amused with Senator Schumer's (D-NY) antics:

(as seen on Hannity and Colmes)

Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch praised Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer of New York for asking "intelligent" questions, but then Hatch switched gears...

"Some [of his questions] I totally disagree with," Hatch of Utah said. "Some I think are dumbass questions, between you and me. I am not kidding you. I mean, as much as I love and respect you, I just think that's true."

A stunned Schumer asked if he heard the chairman correctly, to which Hatch said yes. Again, Schumer asked Hatch if he would like to "revise and extend his remark," congressional speak for change his mind.

A former trial attorney, Hatch replied: "No, I am going to keep it exactly the way it is. I mean, I hate to say it. I mean, I feel badly saying it between you and me. But I do know dumbass questions when I see dumbass questions."

In the above photo Senator Frist (R-TN) pledges support to Judge John G. Roberts today outside of the Capital Building.

Instapundit adds that we can count on dumba$$ questions like Schumer's.

Hunger Strike at "Weight Gain Gulag"

The glazed chicken was simply too bland!

Two released men claim their is a hunger strike at Guantanamo Prison.

I say weigh them all and then tell me there's a hunger strike!

This is the first "gulag" in history where prisoners are putting on weight during their stay. 13 Pounds to be exact!! Most of the released "Gitmo Hilton" prisoners have to be given a new pair of Levi's because the one'e they came in with were too tight!

If they diet for a couple of days to get rid of some of that softness around the mid-section, so be it!

Atlas has more on the two Gitmo-Grads who are making the stink.
It appears that one of the two was fitted with a new leg while on America's dime!

Georgia Arrests Failed Bush Assassin!

Update: (Thursday AM) The man arrested after a fatal shootout with police (now being named as Vladimir Arutyunian) has admitted to throwing a grenade at President Bush in Tbilisi!

VIDEO OF THE SHOOTOUT AND ARREST HERE

In a Bloody Shootout Police Emerge with Grenade Attacker!

One policeman was killed in the fight and arrest in a Tbilisi, Georgia Suburb!
** Georgian Officials are now saying they have captured the man who attempted to kill President Bush with a grenade in May! **

** The capture came after a shootout in which one officer was killed and another wounded!! **

** Police raided a property in the Vashli-Jvari suburb of Tbilisi where the suspect was hiding, but he got away after a gunfight in which one policeman was killed, a ministry spokesman said. **

** Dozens of police combed a nearby wood and emerged with the suspect, who was covered in blood, and put him in a police car, a witness said. **

Suspect Vladimir Arutyunian seen in the hospital inTbilisi, Georgia, Thursday, July 21, 2005, in this photo made from video footage released by the Georgian Interior Ministry. (AP)


VIDEO OF BUSH GRENADE ATTACK INVESTIGATION HERE

Police on Wednesday captured a man accused of throwing a live grenade in a crowd not far from where President Bush was speaking in May in Tbilisi, the capital of the Georgia Republic, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said.

Although the grenade never exploded in Freedom Square, it could have, according to Georgian officials and an FBI agent.

The shootout and detention occurred Wednesday evening in the village of Vashlisdzhvari, outside the capital, Tbilisi, ministry spokesman Guram Donadze told The Associated Press. The suspect fled into the woods but was later detained, Donadze said.

President George Bush spoke in front of a crowd estimated in size, from less than 100,000 to more than 300,000 on May 10, 2005.

From the AP:

Rustavi-2 television showed pictures of a dark-haired man it described as the suspect being hustled into a car by police officers. It said he was wounded and identified him as Vladimir Arutyunov, in his late 20s.

The man lived in an eight-story apartment building with his mother, Rustavi-2 reported, citing neighbors as saying Arutyunov was unemployed. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

The police operation came two days after authorities released a photograph of a man suspected of throwing the grenade, which failed to explode, at a podium where Bush was speaking May 10 before tens of thousands of people.

Police also took the mother of the attacker into custody. (There is a picture of this I chose not to post).

Previous "Bush in Georgia" Posts:
GW Rocks Georgia
Bush, Georgia and Explosives
Failed Assassin to be Named
Georgia Releases Pictures of Bush Grenade Attacker

Update: (8:00PM) Powerline is guessing that he may be a "lone assassin" and that this was not an Islamist plot. We will see!

Apparently... police are saying: "He may not have been in control of himself at the time!"
GOPinion is weighing in.

Next Question: How does an unemployed man in Georgia get his hands on a Russian grenade?

For more on the "Mad Georgian" go HERE

Russia Trained Al Qaida #2

The Moscow News today reported that Al Qaida's second in command(?) was trained by Russians:

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), formerly known as the KGB, gave terrorist training to Ayman-al-Zawahiri, the second most wanted member of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden, Asian News International reported Sunday.

The Pakistani newspaper The Dawn quoted a report in the Polish newspaper “Rzeczpospolita” that before deciding to join Osama, Zawahiri received terrorist training in 1998 at an FSB camp in Dagestan.

Thereafter, he shifted his base to Afghanistan to become Osama bin Laden’s deputy, the paper quoted a former FSB agent as saying.

Seminary Arrests in Pakistan

* Pakistani security forces have arrested Haroon Rashid Aswad, a British Muslim believed to be wanted in connection with the July 7 London bombings. *

Pakistan is clamping down on their "religious students". In the last 24 hours police detained 39 students and clerics belonging to banned organisations in the restive southern city of Karachi. Another 39 were detained in the northwestern city of Peshawar, 30 in the southwestern city of Quetta and 30 in the central city of Multan and some other cities in Punjab province.

The photo on the right (Reuters) shows a Muslim Cleric being escorted out of a modrasa in Pakistan. Students today in Islamabad protested the arrest of their school clerics.

General Pervez Musharraf ordered arrests in a countrywide swoop of suspected militants this week.

Two of the London bombers - Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30 and Shehzad Tanweer, 22 -are believed to have visited Lahore and Faisalabad after flying into Karachi airport together last November. They returned to Britain in February.

Bangladash also arrested 11 suspected militants at a make shift camp on Tuesday.

During the raid the police seized some documents of Islamic militancy that include diaries containing notes on modern arms and explosives training, and slogans and songs of Islamic revolution, mostly against the United States.

And, Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke out today. He said some madrasas, or Islamic religious schools, were training camps for hate in statements today.

Liberal Media Defines Roberts

I hope that the Media Research Center is taking note of all of the press reports about the "ultra-conservative" Supreme Court Nominee John G. Roberts Jr.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch headlines... "Supreme Court pick is a strong conservative voice".

The NYT is calling Roberts a "conservative federal appellate judge".

It makes you wonder about how the liberal media described Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an ACLU lawyer, when she was nominated by Bill Clinton in 1993?

* * * * *

And,... more "Reaction to the Reaction" by reader Dale P.:

They will decry anything and everything and anyone that Bush supports in earnest. They have been detrimental to our nation and its values for far too long. The utterances of Harry Reid: "The president has chosen someone with suitable legal credentials, but that is not the end of our inquiry. The Senate must review Judge Roberts' record to determine if he has a demonstrated commitment to the core American values of freedom, equality and fairness."

I find laughable, coming from the likes of him. They do not even have their OWN core values, let alone attempting to define if Judge Roberts has such qualifying values.

Typically, the well-informed (?) Babs Boxer says: "Without prejudging the nominee, I do believe Judge Roberts' record raises questions about his commitment to the right to privacy, protection of the environment and other important issues." She mentions "without prejudging", and then goes on to do just that and set up the obvious point that she will oppose him. No soul, this girl, and stupid is as stupid does could be her motto.

And from the grand Islamofacist supporter, Dickie Durbin, and whom spits out the very words on what they want : "The president had an opportunity to unite the country with his Supreme Court nomination, to nominate an individual in the image of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Instead, by putting forward John Roberts' name, President Bush has chosen a more controversial nominee and guaranteed a more controversial confirmation process." (One has to wonder HOW it is that a SCOTUS nomination has one whit to do with UNITING the country??! What blather.) He throws down yet another leftist gaunlet.

Critics and Protesters Pressure Chavez

On Friday doctors in Venezuela rallied in Caracas yelling "Out!" to Chavez and the Cuban doctors he has brought into the country. Now, on Tuesday, students marched in Caracas demanding autonomy of the universities from government influence.

Not a good sign for any dictator!

Venezuelan university students march protesting a proposed legislation they fear will curtail the autonomy of public universities and reduce budget in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, July 19, 2005. (AP)

Notice the democracy sign in the background!


Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara from Venezuela recently spoke out against Chavez and is not backing down:

Venezuela's Catholic Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara recently spoke out against his country's president, Hugo Chávez, and his policies. The president has reacted to the prelate's comments with anger and insults, calling the Cardinal immoral, an outlaw, a hypocrite and a coupist, among other things.

This is typical of Chavez, Castillo says. "This is a tactic of his which he is used to. He has never worried about facing his critics by reasoning .... On the contrary, his answer is to attack his critics, try to destroy them, disqualify them, insult them, any number of things."

Castillo added, "His preoccupation and actions since he arrived have been to annihilate, destroy the opposition, in other words, to do away with it. Then he says hypocritically that he loves the opposition, that there is no opposition."

The picture of the student on the left is from Aleksander Boyd's Blog.

"No Doctors for Oil!"

Several hundred Venezuelan doctors and hospital workers staged a protest on Friday against the presence of thousands of Cuban doctors employed by the government whom they said were stealing their jobs.

Wearing white medical gowns and waving national flags, the protesters accused President Hugo Chavez of using oil revenues to pay for more than 20,000 doctors and dentists from Cuba who are providing free health services for Venezuela's poor.

They complained that many Venezuelan doctors could not find jobs and that while Chavez's government equipped Cuban-staffed clinics with medicines and modern machines, public hospitals lacked basic medical equipment.

Blogger V-Crisis has a letter from Pope John Paul II written to Cardinal Castillo posted. It appears that the Cardinal was a close acquaintance to John Paul II.

A.M. Mora y Leon from Publius Pundit has also been following the Chavez saga closely.
Today A.M. Mora y Leon has a post up on "How Cuba's doctors really live in Venezuela".
A.M. says he has never seen a better essay on the topic and he would know!

More on the doctor's protest and a couple of other protests in Cuba HERE!

Update: (Wednesday AM) Instapundit is linking to this Anti-Chavez news this morning.

Meanwhile... Chavez is out promoting what he calls his "21st Century Socialism".

...I call it the furthest distance from capitalism to capitalism!

Babalu' Blog has been talking about Castro's new best friend in "Cubazuela".

And,... The Bad Hair Blog has much, much more on "Cubazuela".

Rape of the Sabine Women

The "Avoidance and Accommodation" segment of our society is looking more and more like the men of Sabine. They are failing to take in the historical evidence disproving the desired actions and outcome of their behavior. And, they are setting a table for the West like that famous dinner party in Sabine.

There was more evidence of this today. The BBC released a fraudulent and biased report by the glaringly Leftist Oxford Research Group claiming 25,000 "civilians" have died in the Iraq War and 37% of those innocent civilians were killed by US troops!

This was just so ridiculously over the top! If it were true you could be sure we would have heard about it day and night before some study released the information today. It will be interesting to fact check their totals. The Oxford Research Group is not as generous with its sources as a responsible blog would be.

So here is my first gentle lesson in re-educating the Left. (I thought I'd use some art history to capture their attention! The Left loves art history!) This story goes back quite a ways. Yet, this truth learned by the Romans is the same truth that needs to be re-learned today, especially by the dangerous liberals who wish to poo-poo the safety and defense of this country.

The Rape of the Sabine Women is a mythological event from just after the founding of Rome. The young city of Rome had granted citizenship to criminals and lawless persons to grow quickly, and was therefore winning the wars against its neighbor's, but a lack of women made it clear that the greatness of the city would vane in a generation or two due to lack of male offspring.

The neighboring town scorned at Roman requests to marry their women, but accepted an invitation to a huge religious celebration in honor of Neptune. In the middle of the party, the Romans rushed in and abducted the Sabine women, who were the forced to marry their rapists.

Caleb Carr has more on Victim Societies today at Instapundit:

What common elements can we establish among these societies at the given moments that they were victimized?

Of paramount interest is the fact that each nation had recently exhibited a weakening public determination to aggressively meet the rising challenge of Islamist terrorism. Consider the U.S. of 2001: The Clinton administration had left behind a record of essentially ignoring those few terrorism analysts who asserted that full-fledged military action against al Qaeda's Afghan training bases, backed by the possibility of military strikes against other terrorist sponsor states, was the only truly effective method of preventing an eventual attack within U.S. borders. President Clinton himself, we now know, at times favored such decisive moves; but opposition from various members of his cabinet, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and finally (as well as most importantly) a general public that would not or could not confront the true extent of the Islamist problem generally, and al Qaeda specifically, forced him to confine his responses to occasional and counterproductive bombings -- even as the death toll from al Qaeda attacks on U.S. interests abroad rose dramatically. Correctly sensing that the new president, George W. Bush, was treating the terrorist threat with a similar attitude of denial, al Qaeda's Hamburg-based subsidiaries launched the 9/11 operation. . . .

In all of these examples, then, the "trigger" for terrorist action was not any newly adopted Western posture of force and defiance. Rather, it was a deepening of the targeted public's wish to deal with terrorism through avoidance and accommodation, a mass descent into the psychological belief, so often disproved by history, that if we only leave vicious attackers alone, they will leave us alone. It is hardly surprising that by actively trying -- or merely indicating that they wished -- to bury their collective heads in the sand, the societies were led not to peace but to more violent attacks.

It will be interesting to see how the West holds up to the War on Terror. The pendulum could swing either way. Will we end up victorious? Or, will we end up like the men and women of Sabine?

Update: (Wednesday PM) London Mayor Ken Livingstone who became a hero with his remarks immediately after the London bombings is reverting back into his "men of Sabine" modus operandi that is more true to form.

Bush Picks Conservative for Supreme Court

Let the Character Assassination Begin!


President Bush chose federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday as his first nominee for the Supreme Court, selecting a rock solid conservative whose nomination could trigger a tumultuous battle over the direction of the nation's highest court, senior administration officials said.

Bush offered the position to Roberts in a telephone call at 12:35 p.m. after a luncheon with the visiting prime minister of Australia, John Howard. He was to announce it later with a flourish in a nationally broadcast speech to the nation.

Roberts has been on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since June 2003 after being picked for that seat by Bush.

Polipundit is quoting the Volokh Conspiracy with one of Judge Robert's legal briefs that will make the liberals squirm!

Senator Schumer (D-NY) is saying that, "Judge Roberts has only been on the Washington Court for 2 years and that he has to answer many questions in the following "months"!
Dear God! Tell me this won't take "Months"?!!

FOX News barometer looks good! Fred Barnes and William Kristol look perky!

Wages Increase but MSM is Sad!

Well... is this a surprise? Wages increased 3.6% this year well ahead of inflation at 3.1% but the MSM and AP in particular paint it as bad news.

A rebounding economy and improving job market aren't translating into big pay raises for U.S. workers, who'll get an average 3.6 percent increase this year. Some workers, though, might find something extra in their paychecks if their bosses are really pleased with their work.

Results of a survey released Tuesday by Mercer Human Resource Consulting show the size of the average raise this year is little changed from 2004, when pay hikes averaged 3.5 percent. But the increases are generally helping workers stay ahead of inflation, which has risen at annual rate of 3.1 percent so far this year.

Surprise! MSM Roots for Lefty Blogs!

USA Today came out with a ridiculous piece of slanted prose today that sent my "Bias Meter" over the threshold!

After the non-stop "Farcegate" coverage the past couple of weeks over the non-issue with Karl Rove and the ridiculous "study" this morning passed as fact from the BBC, this comedy piece, "Bloggers on your Mark!" from USA Today, put me over the top!

I am working with the Powerline Principles of Peace but ... it's just not helping very much right now!

Breathe, Breathe, Breathe...

From USA Today:

...There are plenty of other examples of how bloggers on both sides of the political aisle, when aroused, have sunk their teeth into an issue or person in the news...

Huh? Leftist bloggers are good at sinking their pointed teeth into a person, that's for sure!... But, why is this guy comparing that to Rathergate or Swiftboat Vets Telling the Truth? Show me where they have made a significant change in policy or issue?

Jeff Gannon/Guckert?...is not a policy change! It is not a retraction! It was not important! He only stuck out because in the Den of Bush-Haters who go to the Presidential briefings, his one or two conservative questions made him look like a monkey in the room. (and, don't start with that "Chimpy Bush" crap!)... Jeff Gannon/Guckert was nothing more than character assassination by the Left. In fact that is all the leftist bloggers are... an exaggeration of the usual personal attacks that you get "live and in person". Nothing else!

Which brings me to his opening point:

Left-wing bloggers discredited Ed Klein's book, The Truth About Hillary, so fiercely that even Clinton haters called the book a hatchet job.

Again, Huh?... This is the proof that he doesn't follow the blogs. It was the right blogs as well as the left blogs that discreditied The Truth About Hillary. Michelle Malkin is one voice that comes to mind. To say that the left discredited this man is just dishonest reporting.

The fact that this guy compares the right and left blogosphere is proof that he has never gone further than Daily Koz or Democratic Underground if he's been to a blog at all!

The Right remains on top, clear and simple! "Volume" does not trump "success"!

"Farcegate" will be the left's next loss. Lots of volume,... lots of smoke and bubbles, but no substance. The left is wanting so badly to have a win. But that win is off in the horizon, just like the next Red State to go Blue!

"Outposts of Tyranny" Join Hands

Iran and Belarus announced progress in their relations has reached a very high level.

Belarus is celebrating these relations with a planned week long Iranian festival.

Both Iran and Belarus were described earlier this year by US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, as two of the six "outposts of tyranny" in the world.

Iran also signed four articles of understanding with Togo this week. Togo just went through a violent election period that included numerous deaths to opposition supporters. The son of the recently deceased dictator was ruled the winner of a suspect election and took power despite accusations of voter fraud.

* Iran also announced today that it is restarting its nuclear activities in the near future.

Iran will restart activities at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility in the near future, Majlis Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Manuchehr Mottaki said here on Tuesday.

“We will resume work at the UCF to the stage of producing UF6 and thus demonstrate to the world our strong resolve to make use of Iran’s legal right to master the complete nuclear fuel cycle,” Mottaki told the Mehr News Agency.

He noted that Iran does not intend to halt the process of nuclear negotiations with the European Union but believes that if the Europeans make a positive proposal they could open a new chapter in Iran-EU ties.

* And, the Iranian leader told the Iraqi PM on his historic visit that the US troops in Iraq were harming his country.

Nepal Democracy Protests End Violently

* Protesters shout, "We Want Democracy!" at rallies today in Nepal! *

At least 40 individuals were injured as police charged
into the student demonstration!

And, later in the day another protest 0f 2,000 demonstrated in the streets of the capital:

Police broke up a demonstration Tuesday in Nepal's capital by hundreds of students protesting the king's seizure of absolute power, injuring at least 36, witnesses said. Four policemen were also hurt.

In a separate rally later in the day, about 2,000 political leaders and supporters demonstrated in the streets of Katmandu after police blocked them from a scheduled rally at the Royal Nepal Academy.

The first demonstration was organized by student groups affiliated with the country's seven major political parties, which have banded together to protest King Gyanendra's power grab earlier this year.

About 500 students blocked a key street Tuesday when police charged at them with batons. The students retaliated by throwing stones, witnesses said.

At the Royal Nepal Academy later, police locked the main entrance and formed a line to prevent former politicians from entering the premises for a rally against the king's power grab. Minor scuffles broke out, but there were no injuries reported.

"Down with autocracy. We want democracy," chanted the demonstrators.

The Khaleej Times has more on the protest saying that the student protesters were severely beaten:

Six people were injured in Nepal on Tuesday when police broke up a protest staged to demand the release of student union leaders arrested for opposing a government order to print photographs of the king in text books.

“It was like a battlefield. Some of the students were profusely bleeding after police beat them,” Kathmandu taxi driver Bhagawan Chhetri said. “The students then threw stones at cars before being chased away by police.”

Police in the Nepali capital said six of the roughly 200 demonstrators were hurt and dozens were detained.

MSM Slanders US Military!

This is horrendous, hateful, biased, dishonest reporting at its worst!! Why would the BBC take a death count from Leftist "Peace activists(?)" and pass them off as factual? This is more proof of the MSM's clear agenda! Whoever said that the BBC is non-baised is a liar!

BBC quotes a new death toll by the Iraq Body Count and the glaringly Leftist Oxford Research Group claiming...

25,000 "civilians" have died in the Iraq War! (that is roughly 67 per day!... way over the top!)

And,...

37% were killed by US troops!
* Spit *

That is beyond biased reporting. I am just sick!
Lord help those good men and women in our Armed Forces!

Al Gore Hits Bottom, Joins Recovery Program

We knew this was bound to happen. And, it hurt us so to see Al wallowing in self pity and spewing forth hate ("He Played on our FEARS!") for so long. So it was good news to hear Al come clean and admit his "powerlessness over politics and that his life had become unmanageable".

In an interview about his newest venture since starting the internet, Al says:

"I consider myself a recovering politician. I'm on step nine," Gore told a meeting Monday of the Television Critics Association.

The 2004 Democratic candidate for president was asked if he was concerned the 24-hour news and information channel, called Current, would be perceived as having a political slant. It's scheduled to launch Aug. 1.

"I think the reality of the network will speak for itself. It's not intended to be partisan in any way," said Gore, Current's co-founder (with businessman Joel Hyatt) and chairman of the board.

Poor Al! It sounds like they let him out of detox too soon! First of all, it's an "honest" program, Al! One of the cornerstones to recovery is honesty. So, please don't do us or yourself an injustice in making us believe that your station aimed at an 18-34 year old audience will be anything but partisan. Remember, you'll be the one hurting in the long run!

And, Al... I am sure that you didn't realize this when you sat down for that interview but you really need to take a closer look at your steps!

Step nine is "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Step #9 is about making amends, Al! So does this mean that you're going to apologize for your nasty over-the-top rants from last year? Are you going to set the record straight about who really did invent the internet? And are you going to apologize to President Bush and the American people for attacking the sitting President so harshly because he defeated you in the 2000 election?

* * * * *

Update: Powerline has some advice for Al (these also work well for "Farcegate" or "Nadagate" when thinking of the bias of the MSM). While working your way through this delicate period, Al, remember the basics:

• Take three deep breaths. When you are angry, your body becomes tense. Breathing deeply will ease the tension and help lower your internal anger meter.

• Change your environment. The quickest way to uncouple yourself from an ongoing source of anger is to take a five-minute walk to get some fresh air. Stuck in traffic? Take a mental escape by turning up the radio and singing at the top of your lungs.

• Know why you feel angry. Track down the clues about the kinds of things, situation, people and events that trigger your anger. Anger often masks our deepest fears. In an angry-making situation, ask yourself what deep fears it might be stirring in you.

• Let go of what is beyond your control. You can change only yourself and your responses to others, not what others do to you. Getting angry doesn't fix the situation and makes you feel worse. If someone constantly arouses your anger, focus on the troublesome situation and brainstorm solutions.

• Express yourself. Be sure to think first and use measured tones and words that are not emotionally loaded. In a nonconfrontational way state that you are angry and identify the situation that makes you angry and why it ticks you off.

• Be cautious. There are situations in which expressing your anger holds danger. Having a jealous or abusive partner is one. Vent to a friend instead of the person who wronged you; you may wind up with some solutions you never imagined.

• Be assertive, not aggressive, in expressing yourself. Assertiveness requires speaking in an effective, nonviolent way towards a constructive goal. It may help if you rehearse your response before delivering it.

• Make positive statements. Memorize a few positive statements to say to yourself when your anger is triggered. They will remind you that you can choose your behavior instead of reacting in a knee-jerk way. For example, you might say: "I can take care of my own needs" or "His needs are just as important as mine" or "I am able to make good choices."

You can do it Al! We're right behind you!

Bush Promotes Democracy with Indian PM

President George Bush welcomed India's Prime minister Singh at the White house today. President Bush commended the Prime Minister and thanked him for his dedication to democracy adn peace.

HERE IS A PAGE WITH VIDEO OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S SPEECH WITH INDIAN PRIME MINISTER SINGH.

US President George W. Bush (L) and First Lady Laura Bush (2nd L) look on as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (R) and his wife Gursharan Kaur wave upon arriving at the White House in Washington for a state dinner. (AFP)

The charm offensive included the equivalent of a state dinner, making Singh only the fifth foreign leader to get the black-tie treatment since Bush took office.

President Bush applauded India's Prime Minister today for his country's vision and leadership:

India and the United States share a commitment to freedom and a belief that democracy provides the best path to a more hopeful future for all people. We also believe that the spread of liberty is the best alternative to hatred and violence. Because of our shared values, the relationship between our two countries has never been stronger. We're working together to make our nations more secure, deliver a better life to our citizens and advance the cause of peace and freedom throughout the world.

Prime Minister Singh gave a speech of his own at the press conference with Bush:

The President's steadfast determination and leadership in meeting the challenges of international terrorism is widely appreciated by us, in particular, but all the world, all civilized men and women all over the world. There can be no cause that justifies the killing of innocent and defenseless civilians. There must be an international norm of zero tolerance for terrorists.

BTW- Notice the first question the president gets at a news conference with the Indian Prime Minister! The Freekin Rove-non-scandal!

Farcegate Update

"The bees are swarmin' but there ain't no honey in the pot!"

The non-crime of non-outing of the non-covert spy, who hired her non-impartial spy spouse for a non-fact finding mission in Africa, who as a non-Brit, wrote a non-sensical hackjob opinion piece, in the non-America-backing NYT , disregarding that the president spoke about non-American British sources at the time, and then blamed the Bush Administration for non-outing of his spy spouse wife before attending a non-Republican party was headlined in the non-fair minded MSM again today.

Zarqawi Prints 3rd Issue of Camel's Hump Magazine

** The Camel's Hump celebrates it's third printed issue today! **

As if blowing up innocent Iraqis, sawing heads off of infidels, and running from US and Allied military forces were not enough to keep one busy...

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has released the third edition of the Camel's Hump!

Al-Qaeda in Iraq recently issued the third issue of their publication Thurwat al-Sinam, also known as both The Highest Point and The Camel's Hump.

This issue is the first edition of the publication to explicitly reference military strategy, delineating five sectors or "fields" of jihad: military, security and intelligence, medical, information, and economic.

Throughout the issue, the authors reiterate that if the mujahideen focus only on military operations, regardless of their successes in battle, they will lose the jihad on other fronts. They provide examples such as Afghanistan and Bosnia wherein an alleged military victory by the mujahideen was overturned in the eyes of the international community because the mujahideen neglected other sectors of warfare.

Of particular interest as a non-military based threat to the mujahideen is the creation of a "peaceful Islam" which has "nothing to do with the original religion" and is spread by "information media all over the earth" in the hopes that "the infidels will succeed in this which they could not do militarily".

The issue pinpoints boycotts as a very effective weapon in the arsenal of the Muslim people, saying that even the "American people boycotted French cheeses" to support their government against French policies.

The economic section specifically references Phillip Morris' high profits in the Muslim world, claiming that the profits reach "26 million dollars annually". The authors suggesting that if only one company can make such high profits in the Muslim world, a general boycott on all companies and governments affiliated with America would serve as a harsh punishment for embarking on a war against Islam.

The second issue of the Camel's Hump from June reiterated their position on the imperative for jihad and its utility, and included many articles to this effect, as well as pieces by the Shari’a Committee of al-Qaeda in Iraq and a will of a suicide bomber.

Jailed Iranian Writer Hospitalized

Jailed Iranian writer Akbar Ganji who has been on a hunger strike for over 3o days has been hospitalized in Tehran:

Jailed dissident Iranian writer Akbar Ganji has been admitted to hospital after being on hunger strike for more than a month, his wife said on Monday.

Ganji was taken to a hospital outside his Tehran prison on Sunday, the 37th day of his hunger strike, said Massoumeh Shafiie.

He was sentenced in 2001 to six years behind bars over articles he wrote linking senior regime officials, including ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, to the serial murders of several intellectuals and writers.


George Bush made comments on July 13th condemning Iran's detention of Iranian journalist, Akbar Ganji. Iran responded with criticism of its own of the US government and its treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo.

Ripe Environment for More Democratic Revolutions

** The stage is set for continued democratic revolutions
in the former Soviet Bloc Countries of Central Asia. **

The US is calling for a conference opposing the growing threat posed by Russia to the countries which are in transition to democracy.

While Russia is set to "save" the area from more Color Revolutions!

Several countries from the former Soviet block are ripe for a democratic revolution:

The discontent that led to political change in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan is present in other FSU countries. In many states, citizens are tired of confronting rampant corruption, repression and economic stagnation on a daily basis, and are becoming more restive. At the same time, political leaders appear to be increasingly reliant on authoritarian methods as they respond to signs of discontent.

In Uzbekistan, where there is virtually no space for dissent, the socio-political environment is explosive, as the Andijan events in May underscored.. Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s reliance on force to contain opposition is precisely the wrong response in such a febrile environment and is bound to generate far more alarming problems.

The upcoming elections in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are attracting considerable attention, as these ballots will test the authorities’ assertions that the elections in the respective countries will be free, fair and otherwise meet international standards. In these cases, the burden for holding genuinely competitive elections falls on the shoulders of the regimes that currently dominate political life, and whose track records concerning democratization have been generally poor.

For the upcoming elections in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, the signs are not promising. In recent months, Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has advanced measures that reduce political competition, including the imposition of restrictions on rights to assembly. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

In Azerbaijan, where past elections have been marred by serious irregularities and fraud, President Ilham Aliyev’s administration has done little that would suggest that it is prepared to allow a freely and fairly contested election process for the country’s planned parliamentary ballot in November.

It is crucial that the United States and European Union [along with other interested states] continue their investments in the future success of democratization initiatives in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

But they must also prepare for the more complex challenges presented by other static and unreformed FSU states. Given the high level of frustration that already exists among the population in so many of these countries, this suggests that far more unpredictable and potentially volatile transitions are in the offing.

Meanwhile China is working to make sure it does not need to worry about "Color Revolution".

Georgia Releases Pictures of Bush Grenade Attacker

* PICTURES RELEASED TODAY OF WOULD-BE ASSASSIN OF PRESIDENT BUSH *

Georgia today released pictures and offered a reward for information on the Bush grenade attacker:

Georgia’s Interior Ministry and their U.S. colleagues are looking for the man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President George Bush during his May visit to Tbilisi.

They have promised $80,000 to anyone who can provide information about the current location of the suspect, Interfax reported Monday.

Georgia’s Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili displayed a photograph of the suspect, a man of 25-30, at a briefing on Monday.

Georgian officials are asking the masses for their help:

Police released little detail about the suspect other than his estimated age of 25 to 35 years and height of 175-180 centimeters (five foot eight to five foot ten).

"I am appealing to the mass media for help" in finding the suspect, Merabishvili said.

President George Bush spoke in front of a crowd estimated in size, from less than 100,000 to more than 300,000 on May 10, 2005.

Bush was the first sitting U.S. president to visit the ex-Soviet Republic. He spoke in the capital's Freedom Square, the rallying point for a 2003 'Rose Revolution' that installed a reforming, Western-looking government.

There was speculation made in the last couple of weeks about a possible Russian or Bulgarian connection to the grenade attack. But, those rumors could not be verified.

While Bush was making his historic speech from Freedom Square in Tbilisi, a grenade was tossed from the crowd to within 100 feet from the stage that the president was speaking from. At first it was thought to be a fake but it was later discovered as an actual loaded grenade.

A preliminary investigation indicated the activation device deployed too slowly to hit the blasting cap hard enough, the FBI said.

Georgian officials had initially claimed the grenade was not set to explode, and U.S. officials initially said that Bush had been in no danger, but they later said the grenade was a threat to his life.


Previous "Bush in Georgia" Posts:
GW Rocks Georgia
Bush, Georgia and Explosives
Failed Assassin to be Named

Koreans Do Battle Over Gen. MacArthur Statue

Lord, it's great to see people actually protest "for" our flag and not "against" it!

South Korean Conservatives battle police to get at Anti-MacArthur activists!

A small gathering of Anti-MacArthur activists were met at a rally at Freedom Park in Inchon, west of Seoulon Sunday, July 17, 2005 by THOUSANDS of Pro-MacArthur supporters:

Protesters hurled rocks, bottles and eggs during a clash Sunday over the legacy of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who landed behind North Korean lines a half-century ago and led U.N. forces in an attack that turned the tide of the Korean War.

The dispute erupted when a small group of anti-MacArthur demonstrators marched at a MacArthur war memorial in the western city of Incheon, site of the late general's 1950s landing. Thousands of MacArthur supporters confronted the protesters in Freedom Park, pelting them with objects and shouting insults. Police were present, and no injuries were reported.

The protesters separated from the activists used hand gestures to show their disagreement!

Song Chul-young, 61, a veteran, disagreed with the anti-MacArther protesters. "Around the statue stand numerous invisible soldiers that fought with him. To take his statue down is to eliminate their souls," he said.

The 15-foot-tall bronze statue was erected in 1957, four years after the end of the Korean war. It depicts MacArthur holding binoculars and wearing a cap, overlooking the sea where his troops came ashore.

"Not even dogs forget their benefactors," said former South Korean U.N. Ambassador Park Keun, who spoke at a news conference Friday staged by a veteran's group.

The activists had to be surrounded by police for their own protection.

Some observers link the MacArthur controversy to changing relations between the South Korean government and Washington. South Korea has become increasingly assertive, and President Roh Moo-hyun promised in his successful 2002 election campaign not to "kowtow to the Americans."

"There already are concerned voices about the abnormal condition of U.S.-(South) Korea relations. Imagine the scene of MacArthur's statue being taken down broadcast live in homes in the United States and worldwide," the Dong-A Ilbo daily wrote in an editorial last month. "History shouldn't be garnished or vandalized with ideology."

Obviously, the conservatives in South Korea are more aggressive than those in the United States!

Previous Unruly South Korean Protests:
Unruly Seoul Anti-Japanese Protest
South Korean Protest Erupts in Violence

Update: Michelle Malkin notes "Why they like us!
GOPinion is linking to this General MacArthur news.

The "Blame the US Crowd" Releases Report

The leftists in the West think that the wise thing to do would be to lay down and wet all over yourself in the face of terrorism. Thankfully they are not making the decisions and only the distractions at this time.

Here is another leftist report blaming "US" for the terrorist attacks in London. This report out today is getting some press from the leftist Western media outlets. Of course its based on white puffy clouds and nebulous opinion over anything factual which is irritating. But, what does make it worth reading is the response by British Defence Secretary John Reid who said:

"And the idea that somehow by running away from the school bully, then the bully will not come after you is a thesis that is known to be completely untrue by every kid in the playground and it is also refuted by every piece of historical evidence that we have."

"Terrorism goes way back to the late 1980s and the early 1990s."

But the report said Islamic terrorists had only become recognised as a threat in the late 1990s.

Well put! Sir John! Well put!

Update: Whoever did the above report should have looked at these polling results first!

More Danish Pro-Americans

After the Danish Pro-American post from yesterday, I recieved some more pictures from another Danish blogger, Steen from the...
En dansker i Sverage Blog.
(It looks like a great blog! Too bad I can't read it!)

These shots were taken from their gathering in front of the US Embassy in Denmark during Bush's visit.
Another classic shot of the Pro-Americans with the anti-war crowd in the background.



Powerline also has more pictures posted.

And get this...

via Watching America and the Copenhagen Post:

Denmark Mulls Arrest of U.S. Flag Burners

Democrats Still Hold Office Here

The democrats may have lost the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Governorships,... but they still have the media and that is good for at least a good 10-15 points in an election anyway you look at it!

This weekend the liberal communication police at the AP are working OT to keep the Rove-White-House-Nadagate non-story playing on the news wires. It is sad that after you get past the headline and read the meat of this article by AP writer Pete Yost that you see that it was not the White House that told Cooper but Cooper that told the White House (as he said earlier on Sunday) about the non-leaked wife of partisan Joe Wilson.

Powerline and Michael Barone have much more today on "Farce-gate".

Carnival of the Revolutions

This week the carnival travels to North Texas... somewhere west of North Ossetia and east of Houston, I believe? Russ Mitchell of Boxing Alcibiades brings you the democracy news of week. Hope you check it out and get your democracy fix for the week, or a few hours anyway!

And here is the lineup for the Carnival for the next few weeks:

July 18: Boxing Alcibiades
July 25: soapgun blog
August 1: SophistPundit
August 8: Blogrel
August 15: Am I A Pundit Now?
August 22: Coming Anarchy
August 29: One Free Korea
September 5: Thinking-East
September 12: Quid Nimis


Email WILLisms@gmail.com if you would like to host the Carnival of Revolutions at some point in the future. We prefer that you have some experience blogging on these issues, as it requires a moderate level of expertise to prepare the carnival each week.

The submission deadline is each Sunday evening, but the exact deadline is really up to the host each week. Any blogger can submit a post on the rapid flurry of events we see each week, or on a broader theoretical idea. The criteria are fairly broad, but inclusion of your submission is ultimately up to the host.

To submit a post for a future Carnival of Revolutions, use this page, or email the host for the week directly.

Israel Blamed for Palestinian Infighting

I could see this coming, Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei says that "Israel Is Fueling Palestinian In-fighting"...

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei in a press conference early Saturday warned that Israel’s military escalation is “an attempt by Israel to meddle in our internal Palestinian life.”

Israel’s second aim is to “destroy the Cairo understandings,” he said, referring to the Cairo Declaration, which the PNA and 13 anti-occupation factions reached earlier this year and agreed upon a one-year truce with the IOF.

Did you get your Conyers invite?

Representative John Conyers is having a bash and everyone will be there, including Ambassador Joe Wilson! Maybe his wife Valerie will make a showing. Now what does she do again?

GOPinion has the details. (BYOB?) Check the mail for your invite! You won't want to miss this one!

A Rally of One in Sweden

Swede Martin Lindeskogsent from the Egoist sent me this picture of his one man Pro-American demonstration in Gothenburg, Sweden in March. In the background are some Anti-Iraq War protesters. I thought the least I could do was give Martin some exposure for his heroics. A brave soul that Martin!

And, Guess who's making tracks in Europe?

"Cox & Forkum" shows up on this Pro-American blog in Sweden as well as the blogs in Denmark. Nice going!