Public Secrets: from the files of the Irishspy

Tuesday Link-fest

It's a busy day at work today and a busy night tonight, and there's not much time for blogging, so I thought I'd leave you with some interesting links to follow.

Terrorists strike in India, over 25 dead. Is there a connection to a Bangladeshi jihadist organization? This is a reminder that the jihad targets not just the Judeo-Christian West, but the polytheists and "pagans" of India. Jihad has a brutal history in India.

Cultural jihad-watch: A student teacher in Minnesota is driven to quit his job when a Muslim student threatens his service dog, which he needs to protect him during epileptic seizures. (Dogs are considered unclean in Islam.) The school's reaction?

Steffens said it is important to respect different cultures and the rights of disabled students.

“I think this is part of the growth process when we become more diverse," Steffens said.

Steffens called Hurd a good student and committed young man.

Gary Loch, who is the diversity coordinator for the district, said the situation was an unfortunate case of miscommunication.

“I'm not quite sure where the breakdown comes into play here," Loch said.

Ummm....How about "cultural imperialism," "dhimmitude," "Islamic supremacism," and "violation of the ADA?" (More at Hot Air)

Domestically, the Democrats and the Obama campaign are seeking the future in the past, by boldly planning to recreate the New Deal of the 1930s and the windfall profits tax fiasco of the 1970s. Now there's a vision for the 21st century.

Pity Lebanon, which showed the promise of renewed democracy in 2005, but is now tearing itself apart. Correction: Lebanon is being torn apart by Hizbullah, the Shiite-terrorist stooges and cats-paws of Syria and Iran. Michael Totten is one of the best journalists working in the Middle East, one of my regular points of reference when I want a balanced perspective on what's happening there. His latest article, Lebanon's Third Civil War, is well worth your time.

At Red State, the ever-controversial Lance Thompson discourses on Barack Obama, the affirmative-action candidate.

Finally, Rich Lowry discusses the Obama Rules, which Instapundit compares to Calvinball.

Have a fine Tuesday.

 

Technorati tags: St. Cloud State, Tyler Hurd, Jaipur, service dogs, New Deal, windfall profits tax, Michael Totten, Barack Obama, affirmative action

Newsweek shills for Obama

Oh, for Pete's sake. First it's the New York Times covering for the Obama campaign's lies about their candidate's positions, now it's Newsweek scattering rose petals in the Prophet Barack's path while warning about that mean-old Republican attack machine. Why Wolffe and Thomas didn't put "I'm Barack Obama and I approved this ad" at the end of their article is beyond me.

To give credit where it's due, Newsweek prints an email from McCain's top adviser Mark Salter ripping several large holes in Wolffe and Thomas' puff-piece. Perhaps some editor there still has a sense of shame. Be sure to read it. I think it heralds the campaign to come.

So, what's next? The LA Times reporting that Barack Obama cures cancer? The San Francisco Chronicle revealing that John McCain hates babies?

Yeesh.

LINKS: More at Contentions.

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, John McCain, media bias, Newsweek

Media bias? What media bias?

Shades of Dan Rather and fake but true. Not only does the Obama campaign lie about its position vis-a-vis negotiations with Iran, but the New York Times repeats the lie at face value. To wit: the McCain campaign has criticized Obama for saying he would negotiate directly with Iran with no preconditions. Susan Rice, an Obama foreign-policy adviser has said this is a deliberate distortion of the senator's position. And the Times takes her denial at face value even though Obama's own web site confirms the McCain camp's assertion:

Obama is the only major candidate who supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.

Emphasis added. And here's the video in which the Prophet Barack says it himself:

 

 

For the details see the Power Line article. If it's not the Times running interference for their preferred candidate, then it's gross journalistic incompetence. Either way, the New York Times and its related papers must be seen for what they are: Democratic party partisans less interested in the truth than they are in electing their guy.

LINKS: More at LGF and Hot Air.

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, New York Times, media bias, Iran, diplomacy

General Buck Turgidson lives!

"But Mr. President -- it's the big board!"

I need this on a wall monitor. I'll bet Dick Cheney has several in his secure, undisclosed location.

Technorati tags: global incident map, Dr. Strangelove, terrorism

The United States of Obama

A map to go with the flag. A Power Line reader created a map showing the 57 states of the US as deduced from Barack Obama's recent gaffe:

Says Scott: The map highlights all 18 states that voted for Kerry in 2004, all 31 states in Mexico, the 6 provinces in Canada that didn't vote conservative in 2006, Jamaica and Cuba (naturally).

American politics is a never-ending source of amusement.

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, 57 states, satire, maps

The Prophet Barack-approved patriotic flag pin

For an explanation, visit Suitably Flip.

Laugh while you can, monkey boy, but I think Obama accidentally revealed his secret plant to abandon Iraq and invade Canada!

LINKS: More amused commentary at Sister Toldjah.

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, states, gaffes

Hillary Clinton in "Sunset Boulevard"

I've often compared Hillary to Shakespeare's "Lady Macbeth" for her naked greed for power and her willingness to do anything to win, but I think Allahpundit has it right: this has become psychodrama.

 

 

Does this mean Bill is her Joe Gillis?

Technorati tags: Hillary Clinton, satire, Sunset Boulevard, Gloria Swanson, fading stars

The Goracle proves Mr. Barnum right

There's a sucker born every minute.

(hat tip: Fausta)

 

Technorati tags: Al Gore, climate change, bad science, speaking engagements, suckers, Barnum

Question of the day

Do you think our enemies are trembling at the prospect of dealing with the blood-and-iron troika of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama?

 

Technorati tags: Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, foreign affairs, foreign policy, national security, Jimmy Carter

Winner of a ticket to Gitmo?

The Iraqi security forces have a bad habit of jumping the gun on a big announcement, so let's wait until the Americans confirm this before we break out the waterboard, but this is great news if true:

Al Qaeda in Iraq leader reportedly arrested

The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

CNN is working to confirm the information.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province.

"The commander of Ninevah military operations informed me that Iraqi troops captured Abu Hamza al-Muhajir the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq," al-Askari told The Associated Press by telephone.

Al-Masri, an Egyptian militant, took over al Qaeda in Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed June 7, 2006 in a U.S. airstrike northeast of Baghdad.

We've heard news like this before, only to be disappointed. But there's no question that al Qaeda in Iraq is under tremendous pressure from Coalition forces. Al Masri would be on the move regularly to avoid capture, and it's those times when he might make a mistake. Or maybe some local, among the millions tired of the jihadist insanity of al Qaeda, gave him up.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

LINKS: Background at The Long War Journal.

UPDATE: Looks like the Iraqis were too eager, again. (via Fausta) More at Hot Air.

 

Technorati tags: Abu Ayyub al-Masri, Mosul, al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi Army, terrorists

You failed me, Lady Macbeth

It's hard to see how the former Her Inevitableness can continue after getting crushed in North Carolina and barely winning in Indiana. She now has even less of an argument for convincing the superdelegates to deny the Prophet Barack. (Hey, I thought they were the Democratic Party? Don't the voters count? --Rocky Only when they do what you want. Now go back to swimming.) And her campaign is in dire straits financially: she's had to loan it money again. Logic says she should cut her losses. On the other hand, winning the presidency is the whole reason Hillary stayed with philandering Bill and put up with humiliation after humiliation: this is a woman who wants power the way a lush wants another whisky. It may not be in her to quit until the last ballot is cast at the convention.

And not everyone thinks it's time for her to go: Jonathan Last thinks yesterday changed nothing.

Me, I'm disappointed in yesterday's results. I was hoping for an outcome that would knock neither out, but would instead guarantee that both would fight until the convention in Denver. Last notwithstanding, I think that's much less likely now, and that we're almost certainly looking at a McCain-Obama face-off in the Fall.

And while it looks like an uphill fight at the moment, my money's on the grumpy old guy.

LINKS: Sister Toldjah thinks Lady Macbeth is staying in to the bitter end.

Technorati tags: John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Indiana, North Carolina

Proof that Jeremiah Wright is a crackpot

Rosie O'Donnell says he makes sense.

 

Technorati tags: Jeremiah Wright, Rosie O'Donnell, nut cases

The Prophet Barack is a whiner?

According to Michelle Obama, the man who would save our souls and make us the change we want to be (or something like that), is having trouble controlling his anger and frustration over the length of the primary campaign, Lady Macbeth's continuing refusal to give in, and those darned questions about his character and judgment:

Michelle Obama lifted the lid on the irritation felt by the leading Democrat candidate for the White House at the way anti-American outbursts by his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, have dogged his campaign.

He is said to be itching to turn all his fire on John McCain, the Republican candidate, who is benefiting most from Mr Obama's protracted tussle with Hillary Clinton.

Mrs Obama told a rally in Durham, North Carolina, on Friday that only her husband's desire to change US politics had helped him to control his feelings: "Barack is always thinking three steps ahead – what do we need to do to make change."

Her husband was thinking "I can't let my ego, my anger, my frustration get in the way of the ultimate goal," she said.

Oh, poor baby! It really is mean of people to keep asking Senator Obama about his 20-year membership in a neo-segregationist church led by a racist, conspiracy-nut minister, or his friendship with unrepentant communist former terrorists, or his financial dealings with a known political "fixer" who still hasn't explained where he got the money to help the Obama's buy their dream house. Those are just "distractions from the real issues," whatever those may be outside of babble about "hope" and "change."

And how rude of Clinton to keep herself in the race, when she should just roll over for the prophet, even though she is less than 500,000 votes behind Obama, out of 28,000,000 cast so far. Look, no one is suggesting that Hillary Clinton is an angel or a victim or any other than another power-hungry, mediocre politician. But she has every right to offer a choice to Democratic voters, and the number of votes she's earned indicates a lot of people want her to continue. For Michelle Obama to complain that Hillary won't drop out so her husband can concentrate on Senator McCain is the height of self-absorbed arrogance. Frankly, the whole Obama campaign has become enveloped in a sense of entitlement, that he's somehow owed the nomination. (Shades of Hillary at the start of this race, long ago.)

Face it, Senator Obama: politics in America is a rough-and-tumble business, and the voters want to see how a candidate acquits himself when things get tough. It goes to the very heart of those qualities of character and judgment you like to offer as selling points for your candidacy. What Americans don't like or respect is petulance and whining. Keep it up and, while you'll probably win the nomination, you may well be hurting your chances against someone who has shown real character.

LINKS: Campaign Standard wonders if Michelle Obama hasn't opened the door to questioning Obama on the "anger issue," which the MSM has tried to tar McCain with. Don Surber notes that "How you campaign is how you govern."

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, whining, Hillary Clinton

Embedding with the enemy

What the...? The Times of London has a reporter embedding with the Mahdi Army, Shiite terrorists and cats-paws of Iran. And I bet they'll scream "war crime!" when the tool gets himself killed by the American or Iraqi Armies.

I guess they're sorry they missed out on the chance to "tell both sides of the story" by embedding with Bittrich's SS corp at Arnhem.

Unbelievable.

(hat tip: LGF)

Technorati tags: London Times, embedding, propaganda, aid and comfort, useful idiots, Mahdi Army, Hala Jaber

Quite a story

Say what you will about John McCain positions on various issues (I have serious disagreements with him on several), but his life story is amazing. Take this article by Karl Rove* in the Wall Street Journal, in which he relates stories about McCain told to him by Bud Day, a former fellow POW with McCain at the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Getting to Know John McCain:

When it comes to choosing a president, the American people want to know more about a candidate than policy positions. They want to know about character, the values ingrained in his heart. For Mr. McCain, that means they will want to know more about him personally than he has been willing to reveal.

Mr. Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple."

The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and put him in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained. Had it done so, he never would have flown again.

But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain. Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in the prison courtyard to use as a splint. Mr. McCain put Mr. Day on the floor of their cell and, using his foot, jerked the broken bone into place. Then, using strips from the bandage on his own wounded leg and the bamboo, he put Mr. Day's splint in place.

Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complimented the treatment he'd gotten from his captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was Dr. McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again.

Rove goes on to describe other stories Bud Day told him, such as how McCain served as a volunteer chaplain for the prisoners and recited the entire Episcopal service from memory. Day's stories involve more than wartime bravery, but evidence of tremendous compassion on the part of both John and Cindy McCain, for example in the adoption of their Bangladeshi daughter, Bridget. (Side note: I wonder if this is the origin of the scurrilous "McCain fathered a Black baby" rumor he was hit with during the South Carolina primary in 2000. If so, it's an even dirtier trick than I thought.)

Like Karl Rove, I wonder why the McCain campaign doesn't make more use of stories like these. In a campaign where character has become such an issue, and where the contrast between McCain on the one hand and Clinton and Obama on the other couldn't be starker, one would think it would be a no-brainer. But Rove observes that the McCains are intensely private and that the candidate himself apparently refuses to use these parts of his past to sell himself to the American people. It may be admirably humble, but it could come back to hurt him in this, the biggest race he's ever run.

Take the time to read the whole thing. I think you'll be impressed.

*(OK, moonbats. I know it's Karl Rove, but you can stop hooting and frothing for now. I mean, really. If this were another of his devious plots, do you think he'd be so obvious about it? Hey, maybe that's the plot....)

UPDATE: Reader Q in the comments links to an article by Byron York that questions whether the commonly accepted version of the origins of the "McCain's illegitimate baby" rumor is really a myth. York is a credible reporter, so I take this information seriously. (I note also the article covers the "Max Cleland was smeared" myth.) Thanks, Q.

Technorati tags: John McCain, Bridget McCain, Cindy McCain, Bud Day, Doris Day, Hanoi Hilton, Bangladesh, personal stories, Karl Rove

Saturday afternoon satire

The last few posts have been all too serious, so here's something fun: the Democratic primary race as seen through the (real) Star Wars series: The Empire Strikes Barack!

 

McCain should have been the Wookie.

(hat tips: Hot Air and Fausta)

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Star Wars, satire, The Empire Strikes Back

Religion of Tolerance watch, one in a series

Don't you dare say anything but that Islam is a religion of peace! Otherwise, we'll go on a rampage:

University question riles Indian Muslims

In India, the University of Ranchi in Jharkhand state had to cancel its post-graduation history paper on Thursday, after thousands of Muslims took to the streets protesting against a reference to the Prophet Mohammed, which they said was derogatory.

The university Vice Chancellor cancelled the paper after studying the history paper question which caused some Muslim organisations to march and ransack university offices

The police had to use force to control the mob.

More details at Jihad Watch.

Technorati tags: Islam, India, Muhammad, History, violence, intolerance, fascism, riots, University of Ranchi, intellectual freedom, Islamic supremacism

Thought for the day

Why do you mullahs only go after the ordnances of prayer and fasting? Why do you only read the Qur'anic verses of mercy and do not read the verses of killing?

Qur'an says; kill, imprison!

Why are you only clinging to the part that talks about mercy? Mercy is against God.

--Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on the occasion of Muhammad's birthday, 1981.

Something to think about. See the rest here.

Technorati tags: Iran, Khomeini, Islam, Qur'an

Not quite "crackerquiddick," but....

Lady Macbeth Hillary must be tearing her hair out right about now. Just when she seems to have the Prophet Barack on the ropes, a 16-year old video surfaces to show what the people around her husband's campaign thought of Indianans Hoosiers: They're "worthless white niggers."

 

Mickey Kantor is also a current Clinton campaign advisor.

Now, I'll grant that this isn't as bad as Obama's elitist comments before the white-wine and brie crowd in San Francisco: neither Clinton is in the scene and it is 16 years ago. But, aside from being stupid and offensive in its own right, this is yet another bright shining light illustrating limousine-liberal or "Progressive" arrogance and condescension toward average Americans. It's an ethos that permeates the American Left.

This won't hurt Clinton much on Tuesday (especially if, as I suspect, Kantor falls on his sword today), but this and Obama's slurs against small-town Pennsylvanians may well hurt the Democrats overall in November.

STYLE NOTE: No, I do not approve of words like "nigger." However, we're adults here and we're discussing the news --and this is news-- so I think we can all be honest about what word was used and not have a case of the vapors at the sight of it.

LINKS: There's more at Hot Air and Campaign Standard. You can bet this will get a lot of coverage today.

UPDATE: Take a look at "Update III" at the Hot Air link above, where Ed reports credible claims that this clip is a fake. He asks the right question: Who would benefit from such a fake, if it is a forgery? Baldilocks looks into the weirdness, if you stop to think of it, of calling someone a "white nigger."

UPDATE II: The video is no longer available at YouTube. That pretty much settles it in my mind that this is a hoax in real bad taste.

UPDATE III: Ben Smith at Politico has spoke to the editor of the YouTube video, who claims he enhanced, but didn't alter the sound.  Uh...yeah. Sure.

 

Technorati tags: Indiana, Mickey Kantor, George Stephanopolopus, James Carville, elitism, racism, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today is the day set aside to remember the victims of one of history's greatest tragedies, the massacre of over 6,000,000 European Jews by the Nazis and their allies for the "crime" of being born Jewish. In Poland, over 11,000 marched from Auschwitz to Birkenau to commemorate the dead. Here are a few links you should follow:

• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a good place to start.
• Yad Vashem is the Israeli Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.
• The Simon Wiesenthal Center dedicates itself to teaching the lessons of the Holocaust and fighting bigotry in all its forms. Its museum here in Los Angeles is well-worth visiting.
• Fausta has posted several interesting links to videos and written reflections.

And lest you think such nightmares are in the past, look here, here, and here. That's just the merest tip of the of the anti-Semitic iceberg.

And no, I'm not ignoring the terrible things that have happened to other people who've fallen victim to maniacs: Ukrainians, Armenians, Cambodians, Chinese, Kurds, and others have experienced genocide or ethnic cleansing. But the Shoah stands out for me as the most chillingly systematic effort ever to eradicate an entire people from existence. That there are fools and idiots who can minimize it, deny it, or even claim the Jews themselves organized it, is appalling.

The reason we must not forget such things is not just to remember the victims, but to recognize that it can happen again and to guard against it. The last time wasn't that long ago.

Technorati tags: Holocaust Remembrance Day, Shoah, anti-Semitism, genocide, ethnic cleansing

Distinguished service

If you're like me, that last post about Hamas-Nazis and their lies about the Holocaust probably left a sour taste in your mouth. So, as a palate cleanser, let me offer the amazing story of Green Beret Master Sgt. Brendan O'Connor, who today received the Distinguished Service Cross for exceptional bravery under fire from the Taliban in Afghanistan:

As the Taliban machine-gunners zeroed in, Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor pressed himself into the dirt.

Then he did something that the manuals don’t teach: O’Connor shucked his body armor to make himself a smaller target for the gunners. Small enough to crawl 200 feet in a shallow ditch to the aid of wounded soldiers.

O’Connor says he did it because it was a job that needed to be done. He doesn’t think of himself as a hero.

But his superiors disagree. They say that his courage stood out on a day when many members of a Fort Bragg-based Special Forces unit showed extraordinary bravery.

Four of the soldiers have already been awarded the Silver Star for valor. That’s the Army’s third-highest award.

O’Connor is to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony planned for April 30. Only the Medal of Honor ranks higher in recognition of courage in combat.

“Sergeant O’Connor’s extraordinary actions, performed at tremendous risk of life, successfully rescued two wounded comrades, saved the lives of 21 American soldiers and prevented his detachment’s destruction,” said Capt. Chris Augustine, a spokesman for the 7th Special Forces Group.

You can read the whole story here. If it doesn't have your jaw dropping at least once, you're not human. You can see video of today's ceremony here, including his wife, who would probably kill him for being so foolhardy if she weren't so glad to have him home. But don't bother looking for this story in the major media; they're not interested in uplifting stories from the war zone, which don't fit their predetermined narrative of failure. Neither the Los Angeles Times nor The New York Times bothers with Sgt. O'Connor's story, while the Washington Post carries the perfunctory AP wire story. A search of LexisNexis turns up just the AP article. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am disappointed.

But, enough of that. Master Sergeant O'Connor received a well-deserved reward, and his actions remind us that real heroes are often everyday people like us, the folks next door. They don't make millions to throw a ball down-field or say a few lines in a movie, but they are terribly underpaid to put their lives on the line each and every day. I'm not ashamed to say I stand in awe of people like Brendan O'Connor.

Congratulations and welcome home, Sergeant O'Connor. This one's for you:  

 

Technorati tags: Brendan O'Connor, Distinguished Service Cross, Afghanistan, Green Berets, Special Forces, awards, Fort Bragg, 7th Special Forces Group, bravery, Taliban

But, of course!

Hey, kids! Did you know that the Jews planned the Holocaust so they could get rid of handicapped Jews? No? Then you must not be a regular watcher of Palestinian TV:

 

 

This is obscene on so many levels, it's hard to know where to begin. There's the monstrous distortion of the Holocaust itself, one of the great disasters of Human history. To argue with a straight face that Jewish leaders staged the massacre of their own people gain world sympathy and as part of some monstrous eugenics program boggles the mind. Then again, given the Nazi eugenics programs and the influence of Nazi ideology on modern Arab-Islamic society, perhaps we should be disgusted rather than surprised. This garbage, after all, is the predictable product of a death society.

My first reaction is that the  Palestinians can go rot, for all I care. But, the proper response in our modern world is to give them lots of money, a state of their own, and have a former US President visit their murderous leader.

Just amazing.

(hat tips: Jihad Watch and Israel Matzav)

 

Technorati tags: Hamas, Amin Dabur, Palestinian Center for Strategic Research, Holocaust, Shoah, blood libel, anti-Semitism, concentration camps, eugenics, Palestinian Media Watch

Memo to Secretary Rice

Dear Condi,

Your boss seems to have no trouble using the word "jihadi" to clearly name our enemy. Maybe he has the right idea?

 

p.s., He should have been blowing up at the press like this for years.

 

Technorati tags: George W. Bush, Afghanistan, media cluelessness, media bias, definition of winning, jihadi