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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Jack the Rat bites the Big One at Dulles
Transcribed from print edition of General Aviation News, Oct 1, 2004
It was a threat of another kind that plunged Washington's Dulles International Airport (IAD) into darkness on Sept. 5. A hungry rat bit into an electrical cable, shorting out the airport's entire power grid. Travelers and employees were in the dark for at least 40 minutes before emergency generators came on. Security inspections were stopped during the blackout and several flights were cancelled.
The TSA smelled a rat in this plot.
Authorities quickly dismissed terrorism as the cause of the blackout when they discovered the electrical cable with a bite out of it --- and a dead rat nearby.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/17/2004 4:17:09 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When I am president, I will hunt down and kill all terrorist trained rats while wearing my lucky hat and carrying my VC blunderbuss...
Posted by: John Fn Kerry || 10/17/2004 12:17 Comments || Top||

#2  40 minutes, huh? Nice system......
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 12:23 Comments || Top||

#3  When I first read this article, Frank, I was wondering what kind of standby electrical system they had out there. Maybe their generator system had a startup failure. The ones I install in facilities I design sense power out or abnormal power in 1 to 3 seconds, then start, then run about 10 seconds to stabilize, then pick up the load. They also are exercised once a week for 30 minutes to an hour. The battery type emergency lights last 90 minutes or so if they are maintained.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/17/2004 12:38 Comments || Top||

#4  exactly....40 minutes meant there was no auto-startup....in an airport. Criminy
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 12:55 Comments || Top||

#5  No auto start up mean they are cheap.

I bet they didn't have anyone who knew how to properly start the generator sets on duty and don't do weekly testing. 30 min is usually long enough running. I bet they don't check and change to oil either.

No excuse for this.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 10/17/2004 17:14 Comments || Top||

#6  Tree frogs are the worst tho..... they get made into litter stone like amphibians.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/17/2004 20:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Have you seen the TSA employees at Dulles? They probably can't read the instructions on how to plug into the UPS.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/17/2004 20:14 Comments || Top||


Britain
Heroin kits on demand for Scots prisoners
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 18:01 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Masive stupidity. One has to ask where the heroin is comming from? If I hear the lame "visitors" as an answer I will gladly telly you visitors can't bring that much in. It's comming in on staff. Just like it does here in the good old USofA. Get rid of the crooked staff and those who protect them and they will not need to be providing this crap.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 10/17/2004 22:51 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
FIre Engulfs Caracas Skyscraper
(photo in link)
Hundreds of firefighters in the Venezuelan capital Caracas are battling a blaze which has engulfed one of the country's tallest buildings. At least sixteen floors of the 56 storey skyscraper have been damaged and 13 firefighters have been hurt. The Caracas complex houses ministries and state agencies but there were no casualties. The blaze ignited in the 34th floor offices belonging to Ministry of Infrastructure. It quickly engulfed the upper half of the East Tower of the Parque Central complex. "We have total material losses from the 34th floor to the roof of the building," Interior and Justice Minister Jesse Chacon said. Firefighters were treated for the effects of toxic fumes after struggling to control the fire which started around midnight, officials said. Most of the offices were closed for the weekend.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 5:06:47 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Firefighters were treated for the effects of toxic fumes after struggling to control the fire
Uh, guys - they give you that breathing apparatus for a reason.

Yes, it's heavy (though if you have the new aluminum air bottles it's not as bad as the old iron ones we had), but a mask and air bottle aren't nearly as heavy as your ass is when two other firefighters have to drag you out of there.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 17:25 Comments || Top||

#2  "The blaze ignited in the 34th floor offices belonging to Ministry of Infrastructure."

Heh.
Posted by: Dave D. || 10/17/2004 17:36 Comments || Top||


UN Peacekeepers Blame Kerry for Haiti "Unrest"
Damned nuanced of you, sKerry.
The commander of the UN peacekeepers in Haiti has linked a recent upsurge in violence there to comments made by the US presidential candidate, John Kerry.
Bwhahahahahaha
Earlier this year Mr Kerry said that as president he would have sent American troops to protect Jean-Bertrand Aristide who was ousted from power in February. The Brazilian UN general, Augusto Heleno, said Mr Kerry's comments had offered "hope" to Aristide supporters. Much of the recent unrest has centred on areas loyal to Mr Aristide.
Lessee - what other area/supporters does this remind us of? Might that be Iraq/Al-Q?
More than 50 people have died over the past fortnight.
"Fortnight" would be "2 weeks" for us illiterate 'merkin cowboys.
Eight months ago the Bush administration withdrew all support for Mr Aristide and made it clear he should leave Haiti. John Kerry called that "short-sighted" and said he would have sent troops to protect Mr Aristide, who was an elected leader. Now General Heleno, says those comments have offered hope to Aristide's supporters that should Mr Kerry win the US election in November the former Haitian president might be restored to power.
No, really? Ya' think?
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 1:37:17 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You know what? Much as I dislike Kerry, until those f*ckers in Haiti produce a check signed by Kerry or the missus, they should STFU and go back to killing other Haitians.
Posted by: badanov || 10/17/2004 6:41 Comments || Top||

#2  And I wonder how many haved died in Iraq because of the Jack Ass's party trashing of the President and the war. Sends mixed signals dopesn't it.
Posted by: Bill Nelson || 10/17/2004 8:05 Comments || Top||

#3  "Sends mixed signals dopesn't it."

I am not sure this sentence entirely "cuts it", Bill.

"Sends mixed signals, dopey, 'sn't it." sounds better to me.
Posted by: Memesis || 10/17/2004 8:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Hold on Heleno. The Chinese Rangers are a comin'.
Ninety-five Chinese riot police, including 13 women, left Beijing for Haiti on Sunday, the first Chinese troops to be deployed to the Western Hemisphere. 95 riots: 95 rangers.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/17/content_383085.htm H/T to Drudge.
Posted by: GK || 10/17/2004 10:07 Comments || Top||

#5  maybe the Chinese can gather all the troublemakers in, like, a big square, and....
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 10:37 Comments || Top||

#6  Now, now. As I was telling my good friend JB the last time I was down the Kennedy compound, "Another gin and tonic, Jean-Bertrand...and a little lighter on the ice this time please?"
Ah, he was a great free world leader...
Posted by: John Fn Kerry || 10/17/2004 11:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Is anyone farking suprised? Hanoi John (and Jane) gave aid and comfort and most of all encouragement to the North Vietmanese and VC during the vietnam war (In case you dont know they were the enemy...). This was during wartime. They (the north vietmanese and what was left of the VC) were seriously thinking about seeking peace but, because of John and Jane's antics (and those of the MSM) they continued their war, probably killed thousands more americans and countless South Vietmanese and (by extension) Cambodians. The North Vietmanese general even thanked John and Jane for their 'contribution'....

Now he is giving encouragement to the terrorists and enemies not only of the United States but the free world. Looks like he stepped up.

This is just small-potatoes to Hanoi John....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/17/2004 11:34 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Theme park plan for Chechnya
Posted by: Aris Katsaris || 10/17/2004 00:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I can see the attractions now. Bombs, guns, murder. And that's just in the fun-house.

The rides will be real corkers.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 1:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't be suprised to see the place blow up on opening day.
Posted by: Charles || 10/17/2004 7:56 Comments || Top||

#3  I thought this was Scrappleface.
Posted by: Major Domo || 10/17/2004 9:52 Comments || Top||

#4  "Boomtown"?
Just a suggestion...
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/17/2004 12:27 Comments || Top||


Russia Forced To Choose: Kyoto and WTO or Nothing
RUSSIA'S cabinet said today it supported the Kyoto Protocol, local news agencies reported, in the first concrete sign that Moscow would ratify the pact and enable the UN's global warming treaty to enter into force. The Associated Press reported President Vladimir Putin's economic adviser as saying the Kremlin had been "forced" to support the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Andrei Illarionov, Putin's top economic guru, made his statement during a Cabinet session that mulled over the ratification of the pact. "It's a political decision, it's a forced decision" to ratify Kyoto, Illarionov reportedly said. "It's not the decision we are making with pleasure."

If the cabinet supports the measure, it would have to submit a draft bill to the State Duma, the lower parliament house. The Duma is dominated by the Kremlin-directed United Russia party and approves nearly all bills backed by President Vladimir Putin. Putin in May pledged to speed up ratification in return for European Union approval of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation.
Looks the the EU doesn't want to economically compete with an uncrippled Russian economy.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/17/2004 8:03:22 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pussy.
Posted by: .com || 10/17/2004 2:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Actually not... at least for now. As I have posted a few days ago Russia will benefit from Kyoto, at least for the next years since they don't meet the quota of Kyoto yet (those were calculated on the higher Soviet level of 1992 or so). Russia will make heavy profits on selling quotas. Could be more than 20bn dollars.
If Russia reaches the quota limits in 5 years or later... we'll talk again.
First the billions... and WTO
Putin's no fool
Posted by: True German Ally || 10/17/2004 2:44 Comments || Top||

#3  A bunch of countries that were all gung ho for Kyoto are not now. I wonder how this will work out. Some of the biggest pushers of Koyto can't meet it's caps and their people will not take the economic hit that is reqired to do so. Putin feels quite safe taking this position.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 10/17/2004 3:01 Comments || Top||

#4  "Putin's no fool"

TGA - You're right about the cash prospects, the motivations, hell - the whole thing, of course! Wonder how much of that will make it to Gov't coffers... Tsar Putty is not my kind of guy.

SPo'D - Yep, he can skin the fools while the skinnin's good. What's that song about a Fool and his Money? Lol!
Posted by: .com || 10/17/2004 3:15 Comments || Top||

#5  IMO, Puti figured that signing Kyoto doesn't mean implementing it --- just like all the already signed.
Posted by: Anonymous6092 || 10/17/2004 5:55 Comments || Top||

#6  Kyoto isn't about Saving the Planet (tm)

It's the International Singles Bar Pickup Line Act:

Hi.
I'm with the government and our Kyoto plan is saving the planet for OUR children.
Wanna go make some?
Posted by: badanov || 10/17/2004 6:30 Comments || Top||

#7  Y'know, the Kyoto Protocol really gets a bad rap around here. We should all step back for a moment and marvel at the brilliance of its pure malevolent fusion of junk science and Marxist economics. There's never been anything quite like it before and that's quite an achievement in this day and age.
Posted by: AzCat || 10/17/2004 7:53 Comments || Top||

#8  "There's never been anything quite like it before"

Well, if you promise there won't be anything like it after, I may take a peek at it.
Posted by: Memesis || 10/17/2004 8:08 Comments || Top||

#9  Lol! In the entertainment biz, they'd classify RB as a "tough house", heh.
Posted by: .com || 10/17/2004 8:25 Comments || Top||

#10  Grain of salt required as far as Russia is concerned. Just a bit of "sweet talkin" to get into the WTO.
Posted by: tipper || 10/17/2004 11:44 Comments || Top||

#11  Thank you Al Gore and John Kerry. You deserve Russian medals, but you won't get them because of your record on medals.
Posted by: Pooty Poot || 10/17/2004 11:52 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Chinese Satellite Crashes, Destroying House - Good Luck?
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 16:43 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  At least their were injuries. The fact it could have crashed into a crowed Chinese restaurant would have been horrible. Talk about a crushed fortune cookies!
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 16:53 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Québec's PQ leader promotes bold separation plan (again)
SHERBROOKE, QUE. -- Faced with a growing internal revolt, Parti Quebecois Leader Bernard Landry has adopted an aggressive new plan to take Quebec out of Canada. In a speech to PQ delegates yesterday, Landry said if he wins the next provincial election, he would draw up a Quebec constitution and a proposal for economic union with the rest of Canada, before a referendum is held.

Landry said he would spend public money to create a Quebec national anthem and a new government department to promote Quebec independence. Money from provincial coffers must go toward boosting sovereignty to balance the federal government's spending on national unity, he said.

"It's clear it would be legitimate and necessary for a sovereigntist government to put the resources of the Quebec state into the emancipation of the Quebec nation," Landry said to enthusiastic applause from delegates at the PQ meeting.
Here we go again.
Under his proposal, Landry would beef up Quebec's presence on the international stage, sending official observers to forums like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

Landry's new tone reflected a more aggressive mood in his party, which is on the verge of changing official PQ policy to require a referendum within 2 1/2 years of winning an election. Landry previously promised a referendum by 2009. "The founding of this party is to realize Quebec sovereignty, so let's be open and frank and blunt," he said.

Landry's proposal calls for a "Sovereignty Secretariat," a new government department dedicated to promoting Quebec independence.

Landry said a national anthem would boost Quebecers' pride and a Quebec constitution would reassure anglophones and aboriginals in the province.
I suspect they'd need a lot of reassuring.
The constitution would take effect the day after a vote for independence, Landry said.

Landry also vowed to fight for Quebec athletes to compete at international competitions under the Quebec flag.

Landry, 67, will have to survive a leadership confidence vote at the PQ policy convention in 2005 before he can put his plan into action. An underground leadership race, mass resignations in the PQ's youth wing and unhappiness among hardline separatists have put pressure on Landry's leadership.

Pauline Marois, who has expressed interest in Landry's job, applauded the leader for most of his sovereignty plan, but did not endorse the idea of a quick referendum. "It's early for such a decision," she said. "I'm still not convinced."
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 2:10:21 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If they put it to a vote, English speaking Canada would say. "Good riddance to bad rubbish." Learning to speak bad French is just too large a price to pay for the privilege of supporting the ungrateful Quebecois. Although, maybe it would be good if Quebec took Ontario and the Atlantic provinces too.
Posted by: RWV || 10/17/2004 14:18 Comments || Top||

#2  A land-locked province, mind you. These people are just dumber'n a bag of hammers...
Posted by: mojo || 10/17/2004 16:57 Comments || Top||

#3  Mojo-
Quebec is not landlocked. They have easy access to the ocean via the St. Lawrence river. I agree, however, that they are idiots.
Posted by: Spot || 10/17/2004 17:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Spot - Canada has access. Quebec must negotiate them.....
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 17:10 Comments || Top||

#5  From what I can see, Quebec has a straight shot from Montreal out to the Atlantic. Unless the Newfies want to mount a blockade.

If Quebec weren't part of Canada, how would that affect their elections? Would the Liberals lose enough seats to lose power?
Posted by: jackal || 10/17/2004 18:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Let them withdraw. Don't let them in NAFTA. Seal the borders. They can become a Department of France. We can take all the French off of everything we buy from the other parts of Canada that actually produce something. Oh, and let's adjust the U. S. Border to the St. Laurence.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/17/2004 18:18 Comments || Top||

#7  As long as Nell and the Inuits have a vote to stay in Canada, then good riddance.
Posted by: Dudley Dooright || 10/17/2004 18:32 Comments || Top||

#8  So they want to become France, Jr., eh? Remember Le Grande Charles deGaulle's little number in Quebec before he left Canada? Heh. I say, let 'em go. The US and other Canadian provinces will develop closer relations and Quebec will be forced to look itself in the mirror without any more tantrums to throw.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/17/2004 18:38 Comments || Top||

#9  Geez, just go already, wouldja? I doubt the rest of Canada would care.

If the Atlantic provinces don't want to go with Quebec (and why should they? They seem to have good sense), and it proves too difficult for them to remain with the rest of Canada, and they don't want to be independent, I'm sure we could arrange something. Up to them.

Good luck, Canada, in getting rid of your Phrench millstone.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 18:42 Comments || Top||

#10  Careful about those Atlantic Provinces. From what I've heard, they'd be solid blue. Just what's west of Ontario.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/17/2004 19:00 Comments || Top||

#11  It might be nice to hear Newfies tell frog jokes.
Posted by: RWV || 10/17/2004 19:01 Comments || Top||

#12  The last thing Quebec wants is real independence.That bit about economic union means they want the rest(ie. West)of Canada to continue paying the bills,while local politicians make all the decisions.The best thing Canada could do would be to say,fine,have your vote now,and if you vote yes,we agree to your independence,but you should know,the day after the vote we are not sending another Federal dollar to Quebec,and we will be sending you a bill for all the Federal buildings we payed for in Quebec.So vote or STFU!
Posted by: Stephen || 10/17/2004 19:02 Comments || Top||

#13  Separation ain't gonna happen folks. Federal Canadian politics is a game played too well by Quebec. Much like how France games the EU to its benefit. Well at least it did until the new arrivals missed out on their opportunity to shut up.

What Quebec really wants is all the trappings of an independent state, but without the serious obligations of one--like having to make its own way in the world. It's close now. They've got their own immigration policy fer crissakes. (The fact that Quebec has an immigration recruiting office in Damascus should give us pause.)

Quebec will never walk away from the intra-provincial financial transfers it commands from being the pivot point in federal politics. It's a shame Quebec doesn't separate. The two way game of placate Quebec/agitate for "sovereignty" is profoundly corrupting for all the players.
Posted by: Classical_Liberal || 10/17/2004 19:18 Comments || Top||

#14  Quebec is not landlocked. They have easy access to the ocean via the St. Lawrence river. I agree, however, that they are idiots.

Quebec will be landlocked.
Posted by: The Only Armed Force That Matters || 10/17/2004 20:19 Comments || Top||

#15  But CL, they have an anthem an' everything! They're ready to go! Vive La Belle Quefrog...
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/17/2004 20:27 Comments || Top||

#16  This is why my mother-in-law finally traded in her Canadian citizenship for American.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/17/2004 20:33 Comments || Top||

#17  The funniest part is that 83% of the territory is claimed by Cree and they would "separate" from Quebec and their phrenchophony. They make no bones about it.

I'd say go for it, Quebfrogs! But total independence only, no funny stuff.

Which is, as Classical_Liberal notes, unlikely, the gravy train would run no more.

In time, the western provinces would get fed up, and split along the western Ontario border.
Posted by: Memesis || 10/17/2004 21:30 Comments || Top||

#18  The only thing is, the Quebec separatists don't want to allow the Cree to separate. Odd that. But the Cree do have a valid claim, imo.

This is all started with that DeGaul guy when he exclaimed "Vivre le Quebec libre!". Asshole.
Posted by: Rafael || 10/17/2004 21:45 Comments || Top||

#19  Rafael, you think that Cree would ask them nicely for a permission? Bw...bw...hahahhahahaha
Posted by: Memesis || 10/17/2004 22:55 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
The Presidential Polls
All the polls on one page.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/17/2004 6:06:43 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This election will not be close, folks. Millions of swing state voters will go with their gut, which will lead them in a direction opposite to where they're now telling their neighbors, colleagues, family (and pollsters) they intend to go.

This is especially true of the kind of educated, normally Democrat-leaning moderate voter who cares about national security but is unwilling to come out openly for Bush. When crunch time comes, millions of these voters will not go for an unreconstructed pacifist who wants to give fuel to Iran, unilaterally disarm us, and who persists in his fantasy that the French will send troops to Iraq.

The "Closet Bush" voters are larger than anyone thinks and are not reflected in the polls. Expect them to be decisive in swing states that have large numbers of pro-Lieberman Dems-- I'm guessing that means OH and PA as well as FL.
Posted by: lex || 10/18/2004 12:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Same type of reasonable, silent-majority Dems who elected Arnie in a landslide (polls had him even with Bustamante the day before!) and Jeb Bush by 13 points in FL (polls showed him up by only 3-6 points day before).
Posted by: lex || 10/18/2004 12:17 Comments || Top||


CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL - Bush by 8 among likely voters
Via Drudge
CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
October 14-16
Choice for President

Likely Registered
Voters Voters

Bush 52% 49%
Kerry 44 46
Nader 1 1

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL

FOR RELEASE: Sunday, October 17 at noon

Interviews with 1,013 adult Americans, including 788 likely voters and 942 registered voters, conducted by telephone on October 14-16, 2004

Although Americans think John Kerry did the best job in the debates, that has not translated into an increase in his popularity, which in turn means that he appears to have lost a little ground to Bush. Among registered voters, a 48%-48% tie is now a 49%-46% edge for Bush -- not much of a difference and, with the sampling error, not a significant change. The Gallup likely voter model, which identified those respondents who are most likely to cast a ballot, is magnifying those shifts, with a 49%-48% advantage for Kerry turning into a 52%-44% lead for Bush. What's going on?

For one thing, the charge that Kerry is too liberal, which Bush emphasized mostly in the third and last debate on Wednesday night, seems to be sticking. Nearly half say Kerry's political views are too liberal. (Four in ten say Bush is too conservative.) But didn't Kerry win the debate? Yes, as with the first two debates, the public thinks Kerry did the better job on Wednesday night. But as Al Gore learned in 2000, winning a debate on points does not necessarily translate into votes or make a candidate more popular. As in 2000, Bush's favorable ratings -- Americans view of him as a person -- went up after a debate that he lost. Kerry's favorable rating has remained flat. Republicans seem more enthusiastic about the election, and thus more likely to vote, as reflected in the Gallup likely voter model.

Bush may have energized his base in the final debate at the expense of not appealing to a wider audience -- but he managed to do so in a way that made him more popular than Kerry.

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
October 14-16
Likely Voters'
Choice for President

Now Oct. 9-10

Bush 52% 48%
Kerry 44 49
Nader 1 1

Sampling error: +/-4% pts

QUESTION: Now, suppose that the presidential election were being held today, and it included John Kerry and John Edwards as the Democratic candidates, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as the Republican candidates, and Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo as independent candidates. Would you vote for Kerry and Edwards, the Democrats,Bush and Cheney, the Republicans, or Nader and Camejo, the independent candidates?

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
October 14-16
Favorable Ratings

Now Oct. 9-10
Bush 55% 51%
Kerry 52 52

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
October 14-16
Opinion of George W. Bush

Now Oct. 9-10
Favorable 55% 51%
Unfavorable 44 46
Sampling error: +/-3% pts

QUESTION: Next, we'd like to get your overall opinion of some people in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of these people -- or if you have never heard of them. A. George W. Bush B. John Kerry

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
October 14-16
Kerry's Political Views

Too liberal 47%
About right 38
Too conservative 9

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL
October 14-16
Bush's Political Views

Too liberal 14%
About right 41
Too conservative 40

Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 3:08:45 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Powerline Blog calls BS on this one, and cites Gallup's analysis this time in 2000 - they had Bush 13 points ahead of Gore!
Posted by: Bulldog || 10/17/2004 15:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Gimmick to push Bush up,so as to reflect a resurgance by Kerry in the next poll.
Posted by: crazyhorse || 10/17/2004 15:55 Comments || Top||

#3  actually PWLine sez:
"Today's Gallup Poll has President Bush ahead by eight points among likely voters, 52% to 44%. I'm glad to have this survey getting some publicity, but I don't believe it for a moment. You apparently can't get the poll's internal numbers without subscribing to Gallup's service, which we don't do, but those data will come out soon, and when they do, I'm pretty sure they'll show a screwy sample."

If so, then none of the polls can be believed
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 16:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Never believe polls. Good or bad.
Posted by: mojo || 10/17/2004 17:01 Comments || Top||

#5  The polls are showing trend that there was a break after the final debate, and that break appears to be in Bush's favor. To understand if it is real, we need to see what is happening in the swing state polls and determine if this trend indicates a shift in the electoral college.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono || 10/17/2004 19:40 Comments || Top||

#6  I don't believe the polls, but Steven DenBeste's observation of the numbers is interesting, especially the September timeframe. Best part- it isn't as long as was his usual screeds.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/17/2004 22:00 Comments || Top||

#7  Closet Bush voters are more numerous than anyone suspects. We can expect that most of the pro-Lieberman Dems and perhaps a million or more independents who, in their outward lives, currently give all indication of leaning toward Kerry, will go with their gut in the voting both and opt for the only serious national security candidate in this race.

Keep your eye on the jewish vote in Miami, Cleveland, Philly and Pittsburgh. If Kerry doesn't get more than maybe 60% of this vote, he's finished.
Posted by: lex || 10/18/2004 12:43 Comments || Top||


Washington Post columnist endorses Bush! Another one falls....
Even if he has to cut Bush down, he does find him the best on this terror issue. Another big MSM surprise! (Posting all as registration is required and I don't know how to do Page 71)
A Reason to Back the President?

By Sebastian Mallaby
Monday, October 11, 2004; Page A23

Much of what Sen. John Kerry says about Iraq is consistent and reasonable. He voted for the war because, like just about everybody else, he believed that Saddam Hussein was dangerous. He criticizes it now because Hussein turns out not to have had weapons of mass destruction after all, and because the Bush administration's handling of reconstruction has been incompetent. Had everybody known two years ago that Hussein's weapons program had fallen apart, there would have been no convincing argument for war. By insisting in Friday's debate that Hussein presented a "unique threat," President Bush made himself appear blind to reality.

But the question that matters in this election is: What next? Should we fight on in Iraq? Or should we leave as soon as possible -- on the theory that all this nation-building stuff is bound to fail and that winning hearts and minds among allies will boost our security more than battling Iraq's insurgents? And beyond Iraq, what is the role for preemptive war and nation-building in the next phase of the war on terrorism?

On this crucial issue, neither candidate's position is completely clear. My colleague Robert D. Novak insists that a second Bush administration would cut its losses in Iraq, despite everything the president says to the contrary. Meanwhile, Kerry, whose criticism of the Iraq war often suggests that he sees no hope of victory there, nonetheless declares that he's intent on "winning." Even so, the candidates' statements and the mood among advisers on both sides suggest that the electorate faces a stark choice -- such an important choice, indeed, that the election should perhaps depend on it.

Bush offers a military vision, based on the idea that the best defense against terrorism is aggressive offense. He doggedly believes that by doing the "hard work" in Iraq, the United States will eventually create a democracy, transforming Middle Eastern politics. He is determined not to allow hostile global opinion to get in his way. Invoking Ronald Reagan in Friday's debate, he spoke forcefully about how it is more important to be right than to be internationally popular.

Kerry seems to reject most of this. He emphasizes homeland security, faulting Bush for shortchanging it. He stresses the importance of allies, which necessarily implies accepting a check on preemption, however much he denies it. On Iraq, Kerry's "plan" is a smoke screen. He says he would summon more help from allies, though little would be forthcoming. He says he would train Iraqi troops, but Bush is doing this already. If Kerry's plan to share the burden fell apart, would he stay committed anyway? It seems fairly unlikely.

If this is a fair description of the two candidates' positions, which one is preferable? The worry with Bush is that he underestimates how hard the "hard work" is: He sometimes implies that the victory of democracy is inevitable because all people in all places yearn always to be free -- a non sequitur that's belied by large numbers of dictatorships. He has repeatedly failed to commit resources in proportion to the vast tasks that he's taken on: he sent too few troops to Iraq, just as he opposed a more serious peacekeeping effort in Afghanistan.

And yet, on this overarching "what next" question, Bush is right. He is right that the best defense against terrorism is offense: Given the vast variety of targets from which terrorists can choose, the "homeland security" alternative is hopeless. He is right that preemptive war is a necessary option, and that we won't always know all of the facts about the threats we are preempting. And he is right, however unfashionable it may be to say so, that nation-building can be successful.

Consider Afghanistan. In many ways, nation-building there has been mishandled. The early peacekeeping effort was restricted to the capital; the resulting power vacuum allowed regional warlords to dig in; the opium trade has boomed, bolstering criminals who work against the state and corrupting government officials. Despite these errors, however, Afghanistan is at least partly a success. Three years ago, the country featured medieval zealots and large terrorist bases. Today it features an enlightened constitution, 3 million exiles who have felt confident enough to return home and an election that attracted a remarkable turnout, whatever the flaws in administering it.

The same is likely to be true in Iraq, if America shows enough determination. Again, there has been no shortage of errors: too few troops, too much delay in empowering Iraqi leaders, the disaster of Abu Ghraib, the hesitation in rooting out insurgent bases in the Sunni heartland. But most of these errors are being addressed. If the United States remains committed to defeating Iraq's insurgents, the country is likely to progress, Afghan-style, toward some kind of imperfect democracy. And that will represent a clear advance -- both for Iraq and for U.S. security.

The case for Kerry in this election is the one made, inadvertently, by Novak: We have no idea what either candidate would do next, so we should punish Bush for misconstruing the intelligence on Iraq, allowing Abu Ghraib and pretending there's nothing to be sorry about. Given Kerry's preferable policies on economic and social questions, this is a tempting position. But if you are willing to read the tea leaves on how Bush and Kerry would prosecute the next phase in this war, then Bush comes out better. His gut instincts on terrorism are right -- and Kerry, by assailing the president's foreign policy record at every turn, seems to be saying that those instincts are not his own ones.
Posted by: Sherry || 10/17/2004 2:16:33 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What a wonderous age in which we live. Living in the 10 ring tends to concentrate your mind on the important things.
Posted by: RWV || 10/17/2004 14:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Living within the Beltway, working for the Post & publicly supporting the President. The age of marvels & wonders.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 14:24 Comments || Top||


Chicago Tribune Endorses Bush
Posting the whole thing cuz it's a registration site
One by one, Americans typically settle on a presidential candidate after weighing his, and his rival's, views on the mosaic of issues that each of us finds important. Some years, though, force vectors we didn't anticipate turn some of our usual priorities--our pet causes, our own economic interest--into narcissistic luxuries. As Election Day nears, the new force vectors drive our decision-making. This is one of those years--distinct in ways best framed by Sen. John McCain, perhaps this country's most broadly respected politician. Seven weeks ago, McCain looked with chilling calm into TV cameras and told Americans, with our rich diversity of clashing worldviews, what is at stake for every one of us in the first presidential election since Sept. 11 of 2001:

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 11:38:03 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is a shocker to me. I read the Trib daily. To me it has become more and more a shrill member of the looney MSM. So I'm surprised, but pleased.
Posted by: Spot || 10/17/2004 11:45 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm not surprised. The Trib has always been one of the more sane members of the MSM. Plus I think Col. McCormick's ghost won't allow for any endorsement of a Democrat!
Posted by: Steve White || 10/17/2004 11:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Wow. Who let the adult into the newsroom?
Posted by: Desert Blondie || 10/17/2004 11:50 Comments || Top||

#4  "...the war hero, or the anti-war hero."
The latter for Senator Bon bon. I don't personally buy his grand alliance plans, that are centerpiece to his foreign policy. I rather take from that a policy of mediation and inaction. The USA acting unilaterally, with some key support from the nations of the unbribed, will work. We have established a presence in the terror region of the world. Our enemies know it and hope for someone to rescue them.
Kerry is their poster boy.
His loss in the election will force them to come to grips with an administration that will continue to take it to our enemies.
This is perhaps the 60's left last stand.
Posted by: Bill Nelson || 10/17/2004 12:31 Comments || Top||

#5  This is a jaw dropper. A big paper's editors coming out for Bush? And coming out for him for all the right reasons?

I'm stunned.
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/17/2004 12:35 Comments || Top||

#6  Who did the Tribune endorse four years ago ?
Posted by: crazyhorse || 10/17/2004 13:51 Comments || Top||

#7  Their is a voice of reason in the Windy City. Well done, Chicago Tribune!
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 13:51 Comments || Top||

#8  The Tribune always endorses Rebublicans for President. It doesn't matter how liberal their reporters and editors are.

And yes, the good Col. McCormick will roll over in his grave if they ever break with that tradition.
Posted by: Mike Peck || 10/17/2004 14:59 Comments || Top||

#9  I did not believe it. I had to race upstairs, find the unopened paper and read the editorial in black and white. I am dumbfounded. This is the same paper whose lead headline several days ago was 2 blasts rip 'safe zone'. A scare quote smear if ever there was one. How can the same paper produce the editorial above and that headline? They have undermined every effort of Bush for the last four years. The paper talks from both sides of its mouth. Its attitudes are the definition of schizophrenia. Mark E., there is a voice of reason in Chicago, it's Mark Steyn. It's an imported voice, but it can still be heard every Sunday in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Posted by: Zpaz || 10/17/2004 15:51 Comments || Top||

#10  The Trib endorsed W in 2000, Dole in 1996, and Bush in 1992. No real surprise here.
Posted by: jackal || 10/17/2004 18:08 Comments || Top||

#11  It is a very nice and well written endorsement. And yes, I was surprised by it. Meanwhile the Trib maintains it's LLL credentials quite nicely- on the front page of today's Trib magazine is a multipage puff piece on a moonbat peacenik extraordinaire, Kathy Kelly. Whadda piece of work! Proud of being arrested 60 times and a guest in Federal prison at least twice. Once for invading a missle site in Missouri. Not only does she drink the koolaid, she makes it by the pitcher full.

While playing Monopoly with her siblings she will not pay the $50 to get out of jail and says that "all the property should be divided equally" She also limits her salary to $3000 per year so she does not pay any taxes to the military budget "death machine".

Get this; "It's too bad they (Iraqi citizens) had to go through this to get rid of Saddam. They're probably better off now." Thanks for admitting that lil' thing there; rape rooms, people shredders, and the slight fact of having a jack-booted thugocracy gone just MIGHT be a tiny bit better for the average Iraqi.

Well gee moonbat Kathy, your peaceful demonstrations in Iraq did not remove one of the most boodthirsty demons of the latter 20th century now did it? And spending your time implicitly supporting his regime during the war was supposed to be helpful when you admit yourself that being critical of him (Saddam) would have meant expulsion from Iraq; "If we did a demonstration in Iraq, we'd get booted right out of there." Doncha think that invading one of his weapons sites would have lead to your immediate execution and not just a few month prison term!

G*d save us from these self-righteous bags 'o shit. And yes, she has been nominated three times for a Nobel Peace Prize. And friggin' commie Studs Turkel is certain that she will eventually win the award. Her and AraFART would be suitable as co-winners.

ESAD

Posted by: Craig || 10/17/2004 21:11 Comments || Top||


A Plea for Your Vote Based Upon What Is at Stake
Posted by: tipper || 10/17/2004 11:03 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Life is strange coincidence sometimes. I own the television series the article discusses, Simon Schama's "A History of Britian". And I was watching that very episode it discusses this morning, "The Two Winstons". If you have not discovered the series, I heartily recommend it to all Ranters. It is mystical and beautiful. That episode makes the point that when Britain was tottering on the brink of cutting a deal in 1940 with Nazi Germany and had little to fight with, it fell back on its sense of its own history. The knowledge of that history led men like Winston Churchill and George Orwell to decide independently that Britain's history, and thus Britain, must be defended at all cost - with bullets and not words. In this war on terror, that is one thing that motivates me, the knowledge that 500 years of American history would be wiped out by a Muslim victory. "We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..." Men have faced the greater crises than we now face and won. We are going to win, whatever the cost may be.
Posted by: Zpaz || 10/17/2004 18:58 Comments || Top||

#2  It's sad that American history ended so suddenly, but that's the way history works.

a.) disagree
2.) not this term
iii.) expound using postulates
Posted by: Churchills Parrott || 10/17/2004 20:26 Comments || Top||


'CONSPIRACY' CRISIS
Posted by: tipper || 10/17/2004 10:58 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


6 Killed in Arizona As SUV Flees Deputies
A stolen truck filled with suspected illegal immigrants sped away from deputies and rolled over at a busy intersection near an Army post Saturday, causing an 11-car crash that killed six people and seriously injured 15, sheriff's officials said. Passengers were thrown from the truck as it struck a center median and began to spiral, hitting vehicles waiting at a turn lane, Deputy Chief Randy Redmond of the Sierra Vista Fire Department said. Investigators think the truck was traveling at about 90 mph when it lost control near Fort Huachuca in southeastern Arizona, he said. At least 20 people were in the truck, Redmond said. "This is the worst multiple fatality accident I've been on," Redmond said. "To have people pinned, the huge language barrier, it was really a horrible, horrible scene."

The impact tore the roofs from some cars and trapped some motorists in their vehicles, Redmond said. Five people died at the scene. Two people were flown from the scene and another 20 were transported by ambulance to hospitals, where one victim later died, according to the fire department. Cochise County deputies believed the truck was carrying illegal immigrants. They first saw the vehicle driving out of a brushy area along a highway and trailed it for a short time, sheriff's spokeswoman Carol Capas said. Deputies called for backup and stopped chasing the vehicle after the suspect sped and drove away recklessly, Capas said. Authorities then spotted the truck heading north on State Route 90. Sierra Vista police officers used tire deflation devices to slow the vehicle, said Frank Valenzuela, a spokesman for the Public Safety Department. The driver lost control shortly before noon at a busy intersection near the east entrance to Fort Huachuca, an Army post next to Sierra Vista. Traffic in the area was diverted to Tombstone while authorities investigated. The vehicle had been reported stolen in Phoenix, Capas said.

Vehicle-related deaths of undocumented immigrants have been on the rise in Arizona, many of them involving overloaded vehicles used by immigrant smugglers. Also in the past year or so, authorities have noticed that stolen vehicles are being used more frequently for smuggling human cargo.
Posted by: tipper || 10/17/2004 10:48:44 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What do these evil SUV's expect when they drive themselves to Mexico, load up on illegals, and drive themselves back. The day they gave SUV's minds of their own was a dark day in American automotive history!
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/17/2004 10:53 Comments || Top||

#2  You beat me to it, tu3031.

My SUV doesn't drive around on its own, unlike the SUVs always being blamed in newspaper articles for fatal accidents. Guess mine didn't come with that special chip.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 11:09 Comments || Top||

#3  One account has most of the illegals and the driver running like heck. They were not the ones killed and injured. Developing.....
Posted by: dennisw || 10/17/2004 11:12 Comments || Top||

#4  typical - we see one of these runners every month in San Diego, it seems
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 11:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Fort Huachuca:home of the Buffalo Soldier.Did some lead abbatment work there.We were finding pre-WW1 Springfied and Enfield ammo buired in the stables.
Posted by: raptor || 10/17/2004 12:06 Comments || Top||

#6  Barbara, I have no doubt that your SUV is properly trained, which is why it doesn't do such things. And it feels loved, so it doesn't run away to Mexico. But have you heard about the midnight SUV dances? That's why we occasionally find crop circles, y'know. Its nothing to do with aliens.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/17/2004 12:25 Comments || Top||

#7  LOL, TW.

Nah, mine isn't out at night vandalizing farmers' property. It sits contentedly in the driveway, knowing it is loved and it will be fed and groomed/petted regularly. ;-)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 12:53 Comments || Top||

#8  Four of the people who died were in the pickup and the two others were in a vehicle the truck hit, Redmond said.

So two Americans lost their lives for these illegal immigrants to come across the border. Electrify the damn fence already!
Posted by: Charles || 10/17/2004 17:34 Comments || Top||

#9  Its really sad, but they'll have to be a terrorist act with hardcore proof that the perps leaked across the Mexican border before ANYBODY in our government is ever going to take this seriously.

Absolutely amazing.
Posted by: Crusader || 10/17/2004 18:27 Comments || Top||

#10  Fleeing Police must be a felony in Arizona. Does Ariozona have a Felony Murder rule whereby if anyone dies in the commission of a felony they are up for Murder 1? And all the illegals in the truck were committing a felony with the driver as well by entering the country ilegally. They should be up for Murder 1 as well. Fry 'em all at once.

If I were related to one of the victims, I would sure as hell try to sue the U. S. Government for negligence in the wrongful death of my relative. This is BS.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/17/2004 18:58 Comments || Top||

#11  Fort Huachuca is where the Army's intelligence school is located. I have a half-dozen friends stationed there right now. So far, all but one have checked in as being ok.

It's time to start running hellfire-equipped Predator drones along our border, with an established free-fire zone, and a rule that the first trial lawyer that tries to sue over it gets deported to Zimbabwe.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 10/17/2004 19:28 Comments || Top||


JFK Aide Pierre Salinger Dies at 79
Pierre Salinger, a journalist and former press secretary to President John F. Kennedy, was also a prominent backer of the theory that the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 was caused by a Navy missile. Salinger, died Saturday at a hospital in southern France where he had undergone surgery to implant a pacemaker, his wife, Nicole Salinger, said Sunday. He was 79.

Mrs. Salinger spoke from Le Thon, near Avignon in the Provence region, where the couple moved four years ago to run an inn. She said her husband left the United States because he opposed the presidency of George W. Bush. "He was very upset because he thought Bush was not fit to be president. He said he would leave if Bush became president and he did," Mrs. Salinger said.

The cultured and outspoken Salinger rose from the ranks of newspaper journalism to become press secretary to Kennedy and eventually a trusted member of the family's inner circle. He and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis stayed in contact for many years following her husband's assassination, Mrs. Salinger said in a telephone interview.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper || 10/17/2004 10:44:20 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well....at least he followed through on leaving the US if Bush won.
Now if only Alec Baldwin and the other Hollyweird idiots would do that too.....
Posted by: Desert Blondie || 10/17/2004 11:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Hope the Navy's not "testing missiles" when they fly his body back.
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/17/2004 11:39 Comments || Top||

#3  "...left the United States because he opposed the presidency of George W. Bush..."
Put this Frenchman in one of the Kennedy plots, please, not among the other Americans.
Posted by: Tom || 10/17/2004 11:47 Comments || Top||

#4  One of the few people I'm glad to see dead.
Posted by: John J. Simmins || 10/17/2004 16:41 Comments || Top||

#5  Like many of JFK's minions, Pierre le Moonbat was a "cultured and outspoken" member of the elite, but completely ignorant of large swatches of reality. The most dangerous of these gaps, of course, was ignorance of their own limits. Robert McNamara, for instance, really believed that his experience promoting the Edsel at Ford Motor Company qualified him to run the Pentagon. Kennedy acolyte John Kenneth Galbraith, still wasting oxygen today at age 95, is a laughing stock in two countries, the US and India (where he almost single-handedly drove Nehru into the Soviet camp while acting as JFK's ambassador.) Earlier, as a member of an economic survey team in Germany at the end of WW2, Galbraith cited the failure to provide propellors for the Luftwaffe's Me-262s as evidence that German military-industrial competence was overrated. The planes were, of course, jets.
More recently, he predicted that American soldiers would be as "befuddled in Afghanistan as they were in Vietnam." This may well be true, but not in the way he intended.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 10/17/2004 17:48 Comments || Top||

#6  Ima think AC carries a grudge! LOL! Get 'em.
Posted by: Churchills Parrott || 10/17/2004 20:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Our P-59 props didn't work worth a damn either. I blame McNamara.
Posted by: ed || 10/17/2004 20:42 Comments || Top||


OPERATION GUARDIAN GUERRILLA UPDATE
Tim Blair's blog has a nice round-up of responses to the Guardian's little stunt. Lots of links, too.
Having launched a unilateral attack on Clark County, Ohio, The Guardian now finds itself facing an unexpected uprising from insurgents loyal to their tyrannical president. The Guardian's campaign of liberation, led by an unprecedented shock and awe letter assault, has become bogged down in a quagmire of hostile e-mails and online mockery. Instead of the flowers they'd anticipated, The Guardian's soldiers are being targeted by the very people they believed they were helping.

As well, factional rulers, power-seeking warlords, and fundamentalist militias from outside the region have since joined the brave Clark County resistance. Springfield looms as another Stalingrad. Fears that weapons of mass destruction would be deployed against the invaders have so far proved groundless, although rumours persist of an alleged postcard-powered Doomsday Device. The device is said to be capable of transmitting fatal images to massed Guardian forces within 45 seconds.

"All Guardian journalists will feel the wrath of postcard vengeance!" a resistance spokesman urged on a website opposed to the imperialist takeover. "Images of the Hatted One shall be upon them! Blog is great!"
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/17/2004 2:10:24 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Kneel before Zog Blog!"
Posted by: .com || 10/17/2004 2:20 Comments || Top||

#2  A truly wonderful spectacle, indeed. But will the liberal clusterf*ck that is the Guardian staff and its celeb admirers learn anything from all this? I don't think so. Will their readers? They'll just drop the whole thing without a word, and the Guardoshpere's wilfully ignorant minions will carry on in their illusory bubble of irrelevance as if nothing ever happened. Read the Guardian. Escape from the real world.
Posted by: Bulldog || 10/17/2004 5:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Europe is a shining example of "spare the rod..."
Posted by: Anonymous6092 || 10/17/2004 5:51 Comments || Top||

#4  Awesome pics of Dubya btw. Must drive the left crazy seeing Bush wearing a Stetson.
Posted by: badanov || 10/17/2004 6:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Just dropped a line there to express my solidarity with the Americans that are getting (rightly) totally pissed off by this.

As for the Gruaniad - hyper-leftist, vacuous waste of paper, space and effort.
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 10/17/2004 10:36 Comments || Top||


New York Slimes Makes Marriage Official
John Kerry for President
Senator John Kerry goes toward the election with a base that is built more on opposition to George W. Bush than loyalty to his own candidacy. But over the last year we have come to know Mr. Kerry as more than just an alternative to the status quo. We like what we've seen.
He's wooden. He looks like Lurch. He has no personality. He makes Al Gore look witty. And he has multiple opinions on every issue.
He has qualities that could be the basis for a great chief executive, not just a modest improvement on the incumbent.
Since he's been grooming himself to run for president since he was a tad, you'd think he'd have more qualities than he does.
We have been impressed with Mr. Kerry's wide knowledge and clear thinking - something that became more apparent once he was reined in by that two-minute debate light. He is blessedly willing to re-evaluate decisions when conditions change.
They mean every time the wind changes. We're doing the "Bush is stubborn" thing here...
Do we get a promise to keep the two-minute light on Kerry from here on out?

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Capt America || 10/17/2004 11:45:49 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why the former "America's paper of record" is now just another tabloid.
Posted by: RWV || 10/17/2004 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  I am utterly shocked by this turn of events. Utterly.
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American || 10/17/2004 1:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Perfect example of "preaching to the choir."

When Bush wins decisively Nov. 2, the NYT readers will sit there stunned wondering how it happened, since no one they know voted for Bush.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 1:10 Comments || Top||

#4  An endorsement from the New York Times is like a French kiss from your grandmother. I am sure Kerry will wear this bib with his own unique sense of honor.
Posted by: badanov || 10/17/2004 3:34 Comments || Top||

#5  I am so not suprised
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 10/17/2004 3:42 Comments || Top||

#6  That is fine if the NYT wishes to endorse a candidate. What is not fine is the way the Times has portrayed their news stories by supressing the real news and following an agenda which has not done the public any service at all. All the News that is fit to print has become all the news that favors their agenda. Time will tell the result of their actions (not to be confused with Time magazine either, another MSM disinformation source).
It actually has already started. Their siblings in the MSM CBS already have lost their credibility.
What is telling is how the latest ABC Nightline report has been received by the public. That interview was conducted with one purpose and that was to prop up Kerry for the electorate. Rather (that name is synonmous with bad reporting) than interview Vets who were there , ABC went to extraordinary lengths to go to Vietnam and interview Vietcong operatives. The public hasn't bought that story either. Their credibility is disappearing.
The self destruction of the MSM is in progress as we speak.
Posted by: Bill Nelson || 10/17/2004 8:47 Comments || Top||

#7  You mean *sniff* they're not going to endorse Bush? I thought they'd *sniff* be so much more fair... *sob sob sob*
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 10/17/2004 9:47 Comments || Top||

#8  "[Kerry] strikes us, above all, as a man with a strong moral core."

I really do appreciate the NYT injecting a little levity into the proceedings.
Posted by: Matt || 10/17/2004 10:02 Comments || Top||

#9  "He has qualities that could be the basis for a great chief executive, not just a modest improvement on the incumbent."

These people are either stupid, or ignorant, or just plain evil-- or, more likely, all three.

Even if I were the Democrat I was 25 years ago, I would still be utterly flummoxed at the notion of my party nominating this obscure, unaccomplished nobody for the office of President. A "great" chief executive?? Please, that makes my head hurt: John Kerry would be the most timid, ineffectual, incompetent and indecisive President since Jimmy Carter-- and would very likely make Carter, in comparison, seem resolute, purposeful and dynamic.

God help us all-- Democrats and Republicans alike-- if this bozo wins.
Posted by: Dave D. || 10/17/2004 10:16 Comments || Top||

#10  Bill, what needs to be explained very clearly to all Americans is that ABC News, along with the Old Media, would rather propagate the words of communists than interview American war heroes and respected members of their community (which is what the SwiftVetsandPOWforTruth are).

Think about it. The word of a communist foreigner is worth more to the Old Media than the word of a decent American. Do you remember the Cold War?

Whether Bush or Kerry wins, this will turn into a civil war within 10-20 years. The extreme left and its supporters will go the way of the Islamofascists and their supporters. Both groups are witnessing the slow defeat of their evil ideology at the hands of political liberty and free-markets. It won't be pretty.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 10/17/2004 10:35 Comments || Top||

#11  I should add that I have been predicting a radical turn to violence by the Left since the early 90s (note the Marxist-Leninist doctrine that a *violent* revolution should take place; I've met people in Europe who hope it will start tomorrow, nope ok tomorrow then, nope ok tomorrow then...). Only eco-fascists have gone down that path so far (Gore's support for their ideology was a major marker).

My frustration is that I can't figure out how to neutralize them before they engage in widespread violence. I know how to defend myself and my loved ones, but I'd rather we didn't have to deal with either Islamofascist murderers or a mogrified Old New Left. That is, not in the homeland.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 10/17/2004 10:42 Comments || Top||

#12  Well, Pierre Salinger would've been more moved, more touched, and far more convinced by a Rent-a-Cong than a CMOH recipient, too. Glad the old multicultiphrogdicksmoker is finally fucking dead... And in the South of France no less - not Southern France, heh, where else?
Posted by: .com || 10/17/2004 10:46 Comments || Top||

#13  Pierre Salinger is dead???? When????

I never miss an opportunity to celebrate. NEVER. Where did I go wrong?
Posted by: Dave D. || 10/17/2004 10:52 Comments || Top||

#14  Belay that. Just saw tipper's post about Salinger's croaking.
Posted by: Dave D. || 10/17/2004 10:56 Comments || Top||

#15  another fragrant belch from the Olde Gray Whore.
Posted by: Frank G || 10/17/2004 11:12 Comments || Top||

#16  WHat happens if Kerry wins?

If it happens it will be by the narrowest of margins.

The Congress stays Republican.

Kerry has the economy collapse when he vetos tax cut extensions.

The situation in Iraq produces terror attacks when he prematurely pulls US troops out and the government there collapses.

The military starts losing toops - retention becomes a nightmare under Kerry.

The left pulls a takeover of the party - based on thier belief that thier left manipualtions liek MoveON were what won the election. They produce the most left-wing slate of legislators ever.

The Congress becomes even MORE Republicn in 2 years - as a backlash against the mistake of putting someone like Kerry in office.

In 4 years Kerry is run out of office on a rail, with Hillary Clinton's hopes for the presidency smashed forever by the landslide victory by President Taft (of Ohio) and Vice President Bill Owens (of Colorado).


And the Mainstream Media becomes more and more irrelevant and partisan - opening even more room for upstarts like Fox to usurp the influence these old-guard conglomerations have abandoned in their surge into partisanship.
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/17/2004 12:30 Comments || Top||

#17  It will be a 4 year self sentence for the nation, OldSpook. And we will have alot of casualties and some semi-infinite catching up to do.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/17/2004 14:07 Comments || Top||

#18  "WHat happens if Kerry wins?"

The world will know that the American people have lost their nerve, that they are tired of fighting and tired of being disliked, and have succumbed to the need for a "group hug".

The inevitable consequences-- all of them violent beyond our wildest nightmares-- will quickly ensue all around the world.
Posted by: Dave D. || 10/17/2004 14:18 Comments || Top||

#19  #10 Kalle (kafir forever) - Unfortunately, you're probably right.

Luckily we're the ones with the most guns.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 17:29 Comments || Top||

#20  OS -
RE your prediction for '08: You don't have a time machine there, do you?...

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/17/2004 17:46 Comments || Top||

#21  Marriage official? Sorry, NYT, but Kerry "married up" and is no longer available. Besides, you've been screwing Bush daily for years -- you're no virgin. Best you can get is a civil union with the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Posted by: Tom || 10/17/2004 18:30 Comments || Top||

#22  Makes sense - they've been endorsing him in all their 'news' stories for the past six months.
Posted by: A Jackson || 10/17/2004 21:17 Comments || Top||

#23  OMG, Old Spook, pleasepleaseplease not Taft! Guiliani and Condi Rice by preference, maybe with backing by Rumsfeld as SecState, but Taft is not the man we to fill the gaping need at that point.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2004 0:31 Comments || Top||


Clark County Voters to be Monitored
U.S. officials often monitor elections in foreign countries. This year Clark County voters likely will see election observers in their polling places.
NO, no! Do anything to me but don't make me go behind that curtain with Jimmah Catah.
Democrats and Republicans expect to use an obscure 51-year-old state law to place their representatives inside polling places across Ohio on Nov. 2. The observers — called challengers and witnesses — could ask voters about their identity or residency and will make sure election rules are followed. "There is no doubt in my mind they will be armed here," David Farrell, Clark County Democratic Party chairman, said. Republican chairman Dan Harkins said Democrats will have challengers in Clark County, and that's why Republicans must consider it, too. "It's like a game of chicken," he said.
Kofi and Jimmah are not likely to take this lying down either. This is in the triple dog dare area.
Clark County voters have been the focus of international attention during the presidential campaign. President Bush campaigned in Springfield once this year and Sen. John Kerry twice.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/17/2004 8:19:12 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Clark County voters will each receive a complimentary discreet ankle monitor as they leave the precinct, plus a free copy of the special election issue of The Grauniad.
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/17/2004 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Looks like there's going to be an awful lot of watching...
Posted by: True German Ally || 10/17/2004 2:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe it is *the* Springfield of "The Simpsons".
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/17/2004 12:57 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Mega to Skip Indonesian Inauguration
Outgoing President Megawati Sukarnoputri — criticized by the media for being a sore loser in Indonesia's first direct presidential vote — will skip this week's inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the country's next head of state, a senior aide said Sunday. Voters overwhelmingly dumped Megawati in favor of Yudhoyono in the Sept. 20 election over her failure to fix the many economic and social problems saddling the world's most populous Muslim nation. During her tenure, Megawati was also perceived as aloof and uncaring.
My! These grapes are really sour!
Posted by: Fred || 10/17/2004 12:39:32 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Indonesian Moslems Debate With Indonesian Christians About Religion
From Compass Direct
Local authorities recently ordered 12 churches in Rancaekek to close their doors. The order came after Muslim leaders protested that the churches were meeting illegally. The congregations had applied as early as 1993 for permits for church buildings but were refused because officials said the land was reserved for a housing development, not for places of worship. Christians have since been meeting in private homes, but a local Muslim group declared this was illegal. Despite negotiations, the Christians were ordered to stop meetings in the first week of September. Local officials rarely grant permission for a church building to be erected and they don't allow congregations to meet in private venues. Many Christians say this is an abuse of their basic right to religious freedom. Rev. Simon Timorason of the West Java Christian Communication Forum says the churches will try to resolve the issue through proper legal channels.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 11:25:25 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Page 2 please - and you should have summarized all these into one article
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/17/2004 12:15 Comments || Top||

#2 
I put it on Page 2. Someone moved it to Page 1.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 14:45 Comments || Top||

#3 
In fact, the articles about the Nigerian and Eritrean Moslem debators are still on Page 2. Earlier today all four of these articles were there.

Probably Fred moved them. I think he likes my postings to be evenly distributed on both pages.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 14:54 Comments || Top||

#4  I moved them, and am in the process of putting them on page 2. They really could go to either, but page 2 is generally lighter in the number of posts. Balancing makes both load quicker for everyone.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/17/2004 15:04 Comments || Top||

#5 
If one is about Indonesia, one is about Nigeria, one is about Pakistan and one is about Eritrea, then which section should I post the combined article in?
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 16:06 Comments || Top||

#6 
Firefighters were treated for the effects of toxic fumes after struggling to control the fire
Uh, guys - they give you that breathing apparatus for a reason.

Yes, it's heavy (though if you have the new aluminum air bottles it's not as bad as the old iron ones we had), but a mask and air bottle aren't nearly as heavy as your ass is when two other firefighters have to drag you out of there.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 17:17 Comments || Top||

#7  Well, that's cute. How the hell did my comment end up here when I clicked on the post about the Caracas skyscraper fire?

Bummer.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/17/2004 17:24 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Economy
Oil May Rise to $75 a Barrel, says top man at CBT.
Crude oil prices, which rose to a record $55 a barrel in New York on Friday, may increase further and peak at $75 a barrel, said Bernard Dan, President of the Chicago Board of Trade, the second-biggest U.S. futures market. ``Given that some production is going on around the world, I can't see it much higher than $75 unless there are disruptions in supply lines,'' Dan said on Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd.'s Nine Network's Business Sunday program in Sydney. ''I think that the U.S. economy is strong enough to absorb that.'' Crude oil for November delivery on Friday closed at $54.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reaching $55 during the day, the highest since futures began in 1983. Oil in New York has surged 26 percent in the past month.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 1:30:55 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ..Which means regular here in SC at roughly $2.60/gal, easily $3.25 in many other places, and possibly close to $4.00 in quite a few places.
Frankly, I have a feeling Something - though God alone knows what - will have to be done before it gets that bad. That will almost certainly bring on a recession here, and a wipeout-level DEpression in many other parts of the world.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/17/2004 17:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Okay, now that an "expert" has put a stake in the ground, we now know that it will *not* go as high as $75....
Posted by: Carl in N.H. || 10/17/2004 18:55 Comments || Top||

#3  The navy sez it's time to short oil.
Posted by: The Only Armed Force That Matters || 10/17/2004 20:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Carl, up in 'heating oil New Hampshire', you hope it does not climb to $75 or higher. I do not blame you with winter on the way. To a degree the Islamic terrorist enemy can effect further price rises, only if they are able to cause a panic among energy traders by attacking key oil exporting nation's storage depots resulting in tangible (real) shortages in global supplies. Security measures have been greatly beefed up around all major oil instillations, therefore the only way the enemy can succeed in acts of sabotage is through jihadic suicide missions, which these crack pots have proven they are more then willing to carry out.

Mike, if prices begin approaching the $70's the President can authorize that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve be opened to assist in demand. That action should lower prices, but it would be contingent on the driving force being the leap in energy prices at the world-wide market level.

Armed Force, to be safe, since there will an inevitably reversal to these record highs, placing a hedge on the downside would be wise at this stage. The question is how much down on the strike & which month(s) coupled of course with how many 'put' contracts? Like the man said, 'what goes up must come down.' How much and when remains to be seen.

Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 21:41 Comments || Top||

#5  Mark, where and how do you trade oil futures? Any trusted online exchanges?
Posted by: lex || 10/18/2004 12:44 Comments || Top||


Africa: Subsaharan
Chemical Blast Wounds 2 at Kenya Airport
An explosion went off Sunday at an airport in Kenya's capital, wounding at least two people Sunday and prompting authorities to seal off the facility to air traffic, witnesses said. Pilots monitoring communications over short wave radio said emergency personnel indicated the blast at Wilson Airport was caused by mishandling of explosive chemicals or a gas canister. Police spokesman Superintendent Jaspher Ombati said that he received reports of an explosion at the airport and was trying to get more details. At least two people were evacuated by ambulance from the airport, witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A reporter with The Associated Press saw fire fighters at the scene, with part of the roof at the departure lounge destroyed by the explosion. The airport is one of the busiest in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, serving as a hub for tourist and cargo charter flights. The airport is used mostly by helicopters and light- and medium-sized aircraft.
Posted by: Fred || 10/17/2004 12:27:25 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa: North
'Chirac dates' fall from grace in Ramadan
Cairo fruit sellers have a Ramadan tradition of giving nicknames to their various selections of dates during the fasting month, and the "Jacques Chirac" carried the highest price in town last year. But France's controversial ban in state schools this year on the Muslim custom of women wearing headscarves, has seen the French president demoted. "Last year we had named the most expensive dates after Chirac, but this year we did not grant him this honour," said Ahmed Idriss, from the central Al Sahel wholesale market where Egyptians, were shopping Thursday on the eve of Ramadan, which began here on Friday. "He fell from grace because of his position against the headscarf and also because he presented a resolution against Syria at the United Nations," Idriss explained, amid the din of shouting vendors and honking cars. The controversial law banning headscarves, which went into force last month, has sparked a barrage of protest in the Arab world, where the French government had enjoyed tremendous popularity for its opposition to the war in Iraq. Then, relations between Paris and Damascus were strained after France co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution that implicitly demanded an end to Syria's political and military dominance of Lebanon.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: TS(vice girl) || 10/17/2004 12:28:47 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Meanwhile, the best-selling among the pricier dates were named “Palestinian Intifada” and “Iraqi resistance,” selling at 14 and 13 Egyptians pounds ($2.26 and $2.10), respectively, per kilogramme.

I wonder how "Beslan School Massacre" and "Beheaded Infidel Prisoners" are selling?
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/17/2004 12:36 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm wondering about "$2Bn lost US Aid"... these would prolly have a bluish color...
Posted by: .com || 10/17/2004 12:40 Comments || Top||

#3  My favorite brand is "Mubarak's left testicle"
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 10/17/2004 12:47 Comments || Top||

#4  But there'd be only one, right? Er, left? Yeah, that'd be right, with the left one gone, Right? But still, just one, the left, right?
Posted by: .com || 10/17/2004 12:53 Comments || Top||

#5  tu3031, good point.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 10/17/2004 13:27 Comments || Top||

#6  What have you done for us lately, infidel?
Posted by: BH || 10/17/2004 13:32 Comments || Top||


Africa: Horn
Eritrean Moslems Debate With Eritrean Christians About Religion
From Compass Direct
Eritrean security police pounced on five evangelical Christians holding a prayer meeting in their church office in Asmara last week and arrested them. The five members of the newly formed New Covenant Church were taken into custody on the evening of September 7. The one woman among them was later released, but the four men were transferred to cells at the Adi-Abyto military camp outside Asmara. Among the jailed men was the pastor, identified only as Yohannes, and his assistant David. Meanwhile, three leading Protestant pastors jailed since late May remain under arrest in a dungeon-like inner prison in Asmara, where many of Eritrea's prominent political dissidents incarcerated over the past three years are believed to be held. Prison authorities have refused to allow the pastors' families or friends to deliver any food or other provisions to the men since late August, when they were moved to Wongel Mermera from a local police station.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 11:31:45 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Page 2 please - and you should have summarized all these into one article
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/17/2004 12:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Is kofi kofi a cross kisser or a ground banger?
Posted by: Shipman || 10/17/2004 20:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Mike is providing us evidence with his links to multiple sources.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 10/17/2004 20:15 Comments || Top||


Africa: Subsaharan
Nigerian Moslems Debate With Nigerian Christians About Religion
From Compass Direct
An Islamic militant group that has been terrorizing non-Muslim communities in northern Nigeria since the beginning of the year struck again on September 20, burning down villages, killing four policemen and kidnapping seven Christians. About 60 members of the Muslim sect known as the Talibans attacked police stations in the towns of Bama and Gwoza, Borno state, then carried out raids on Christian communities, killing people, raping women and burning down homes. Nigerian police authorities said 14 corpses had been recovered from areas affected by the raids. Some of the attackers were reported killed in a joint operation carried out by the police and the Nigerian army. Five militants who escaped into the neighboring Republic of Cameroon were arrested by security forces of that country. Meanwhile, police say they are attempting to trace the whereabouts of the seven kidnapped Christians.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 11:29:41 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Page 2 please - and you should have summarized all these into one article
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/17/2004 12:14 Comments || Top||

#2  These debates, in precisely these terms, were going on since Islam was invented.
Posted by: Anonymous6092 || 10/17/2004 14:50 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Pakistani Moslems Debate With Pakistani Christians About Religion
From Compass Direct
Yousaf Masih, 33, a Protestant pastor in Pakistan's Sindh province, is recovering slowly after being kidnapped, drugged and beaten severely two weeks ago by bearded assailants. Masih was abducted off a back street near his home on Sunday evening, September 12, while walking home from a worship service. His Muslim captors told Masih that they were taking revenge for the United States' military presence in the country and ordered him to stop "praying for Muslims" in his Baptist church in Jacobabad. The attackers held him hostage for two days before dumping him along a road nearly 600 miles away. Married with two young children, Masih is undergoing treatment for his injuries. He is the second Protestant pastor subjected to kidnapping and torture at the hands of Islamist extremists in Pakistan within the past four months.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 11:27:23 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Page 2 please - and you should have summarized all these into one article
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/17/2004 12:14 Comments || Top||

#2 
I put it on Page 2. Someone moved it to Page 1.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 14:44 Comments || Top||


Africa: Subsaharan
Nigerian Moslems Threaten to Kill Nurses for Christian Worship Services
From Compass Direct
Muslim militants have threatened to kill Christian nurses serving at the Federal Medical Center in the town of Keffi, in the central state of Nasarawa, Nigeria, unless they stop conducting Christian worship services. An undated letter received by the hospital's chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Nurses (FCN) -- also delivered to hospital management -- stated, "We are making it abundantly clear that our thirst for your heads/blood is mounting daily if you continue with your worship services in the hospital unabated."

The letter carried no names and was simply endorsed by a group calling itself "Islamic fundamentalists." The group said that it has a strong presence in the hospital and would do everything possible to deal with all Christian health workers there. The letter has reportedly caused panic at the hospital and prompted institutional authorities to ban all Christian worship activities.

Christiana Shiaki, secretary of the local chapter of the FCN, told Compass that Dr. B.A. Abiminku, medical director and chief executive at Keffi Federal Medical Center, sent the nurses a letter on July 19, 2004, stating that Christian-related activities at the facility had been banned. "Following the events of last week ... which occurred within the center, Management has decided that Christian religious activities at the center is [sic] suspended in the interim," Abiminku wrote.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 10/17/2004 11:20:58 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Page 2 please
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/17/2004 12:15 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Why Do They Hate Us?
Hating America is not new. Nor does it have much to do with the unpopularity of George Bush. Instead, primordial emotions like envy, resentment, and self-loathing explain why the world's elites damn Americans for who they are and what they represent rather than what they actually do. Criticism of American policies and culture is fair game, but not hysterical venom. Left unsaid is why millions flock to our shores and still more emulate our society if it is so abjectly awful as writers, artists, politicians, and journalists attest. ... Roger Kimball's insights into the detritus of the 1960s are many, but he reminds us that anti-Americanism flourishes because we choose neither to question it nor to defend our values—and thus it will start to disappear precisely when we do.

Rest at link
Posted by: Bill || 10/17/2004 11:26:52 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My foul mood says We should start explaining it with the barrel of a gun. Trying to reason with these people is tedious, frustrating and generally useless. If they can't be reasonable and accept the failures of their own making and as not caused by the US. If they can't like the US screw them. Let them quake in fear of the US. WTF should we be nice to them anymore.

I suggest we start by beating up every EUropean reporter (even if they are not europeans) we can lay hands on. Preferably starting with BBC employees.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 10/17/2004 7:18 Comments || Top||

#2  i've been thinking the same thing for awhile now SPOD
Posted by: smokeysinse || 10/17/2004 10:48 Comments || Top||

#3  This reminds me of my teenage daughter's "social problems":

Okay, let's question our values:
Question: Why do they hate me?
Answer: Why do you care? You care too much, and it fuels their fires that you even listen. Ignore their taunting and it will fade away. Stop being a middle-schooler and get on with your own independence and identity. Then they can start to focus on thei independence and identity too.

I think that about sums it up why the Arab middle east produces almost nothing except oil and hate: they have wrapped up their identity in us instead of getting a life of their own. That explains the adolescent behavior at every turn.
Posted by: Tom || 10/17/2004 12:15 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2004-10-17
  Soddies wax AQ shura member
Sat 2004-10-16
  Fallujah Seeks Peace Talks if Attacks End
Fri 2004-10-15
  Alamoudi gets 23 years
Thu 2004-10-14
  Caliph of Cologne Charged With Treason
Wed 2004-10-13
  Soddies bang three Bad Guyz
Tue 2004-10-12
  Caliph of Cologne extradited to Turkey
Mon 2004-10-11
  Security HQ and militiamen attacked in NW Iran
Sun 2004-10-10
  Libya Arrests 17 Alleged al-Qaida Members
Sat 2004-10-09
  Afghanistan: Boom-free election
Fri 2004-10-08
  al-Qaeda behind Taba booms
Thu 2004-10-07
  39 Sunnis toes up in Multan festivities
Wed 2004-10-06
  Boom misses Masood's brother
Tue 2004-10-05
  Sadr City targeted by US forces
Mon 2004-10-04
  ETA head snagged in La Belle France
Sun 2004-10-03
  Arafat calls on world to end Israeli campaign in Gaza

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