J's Cafe Nette

Archive for June, 2007

The airport in Glasgow, Scotland, was evacuated after a flaming car ran into the terminal.

Here is the entire AP story via BBC available at this time:

GLASGOW, Scotland — Witnesses said a motorist tried to ram a Jeep Cherokee in flames into the main terminal building of Glasgow airport Saturday, reports said.

The British Broadcasting Corp. said witnesses described an SUV driving at full speed toward the terminal building with flames pouring out from the car.

The airport was evacuated and all flights suspended, the report said.

Police, however, said two cars had collided outside the airport around 3:15 p.m., with one of them bursting into flames.

Strathclyde Police spokeswoman Lisa O’Neil did not confirm media reports saying the motorist tried to drive into the terminal building.

“One car is on fire, but it is not clear if it went inside the terminal building,” she said.

Here’s more information from CNN:

LONDON, England (CNN) — A burning car has been driven into the terminal building of Glasgow Airport in Scotland, police confirmed on Saturday.

Police and witnesses described an SUV-style vehicle in flames being driven at full speed towards the building.

The incident comes with the UK already on alert for terror attacks a day after two cars loaded with explosives were discovered in London.

An eyewitness at the airport speaking to a British TV network said there appeared to be injuries. Images showed black smoke and flames rising from the vehicle just outside the building. Sirens could be heard in the background.

A witness told Sky News that a man had fled from the car as it struck the building and been immediately wrestled to the ground by police.

“The jeep is completely on fire and it exploded not long after. It exploded at the entrance to the terminal,” one witness, Stephen Clarkson, told the BBC.

“It may have been an explosion of petrol in the tank because it was not a massive explosion.”

Airport authorities said the airport had been evacuated and all flights suspended.

Update: Here’s the latest AP update via Breitbart News.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) – Two men rammed a flaming sport utility vehicle into the main terminal of Glasgow airport Saturday, crashing into the glass doors at the entrance in what appeared to be the third terror attack on Britain in two days, witnesses said. Police said two suspects were arrested.
There were no reports of injuries but the airport—Scotland’s largest—was evacuated and all flights suspended, a day after British police thwarted a plot to bomb central London, discovering two cars abandoned with loads of gasoline, gas canisters and nails.

“One has to conclude … these are linked,” Dame Pauline Neville- Jones, former head of Britain’s joint intelligence committee, told Sky News. “This is a very young government, and we may yet see further attacks.”

Britain’s prime minister, Gordon Brown, who took office only Wednesday, was being briefed on developments, Downing Street said.

Also, the president has ordered extra precautions at American airports, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy since we are flying to Texas on Friday the 13th of July and returning on Monday the 16th of July.

I’m changing the category on this post from “Uncategorized” to “Terrorism” since that word has now been used by the British authorities.

Tweet This Post

It really has been slim pickings lately for good news stories but I chuckled at the way it is described by James Lileks.

There is no news today. We’ve run out. Sorry; come back tomorrow. We’re expecting a shipment around noon, but we can’t guarantee it’ll be Grade-A news – could be that weird stuff packed with sawdust and Chinese anti-freeze and other fillers and extenders.

About sums it up for me.

Read more…

Tweet This Post

Someone is determined to terrorize London and who knows where else?

LONDON, England (CNN) — As authorities were investigating an explosives-packed car discovered outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus on Friday, a second vehicle was found in London that had similar explosive material inside, security sources said.

The second car had been parked underground near Trafalgar Square in an area where parking was not allowed.

Workers towed it to a lot on Park Lane near Buckingham Palace and thought it smelled of gasoline. Given the reports that gas canisters were among the explosive material found in the other car, they became suspicious, security sources said.

Authorities then blocked off a section of Park Lane while they examined the car and discovered the material.

The sources did not say exactly what was found in the second car, but a U.S. source with knowledge of Britain’s investigation said the second vehicle is linked to the first.

Earlier Friday, a section of Fleet Street also was cordoned off briefly, then reopened without incident.

Inside the first car near Piccadilly Circus, a device was found to be loaded with fuel, gas cylinders and nails, said security sources, and it was set up for remote detonation.

Is it foolish for me to say each of us must be on the look-out for similar things in this country? I think not, though others may disagree with me.

If you’re in a large city, especially be on the look-out.

Thankfully, God was looking out for London at least twice today.

Tweet This Post

This video stirred emotions in me which had been dormant for a very long time. It reminded me of a time (and I was one of these kids) when another war became unpopular in this country due to politics and how our returning military members were treated.

From the site which posted and composed the video these words were so touching:

The inspiration for this video comes from the Family Support Group for the unit I supported while I was a recruiter. I finally saw first hand how it isn’t only the soldier who sacrifices for this country. I saw how sometimes the world forgets how much the children of our Armed Service Members really sacrifice.

This video is for the kids… it’s for every concert or soccer game their parent miss. It’s for every band or choir concert their parents watch on video thousands of miles away. This video is for how much we really love our kids – and why sometimes mommy and daddy have to be away. Its because we don’t leave because we don’t love our kids – it’s because we leave BECAUSE we love our kids.

I hope for these children when their Moms and Dads return from Iraq or Afghanistan the people in this country will swell with pride and thank them for their service.

To every military family out there, know that there are prayers said and thoughts of you each day. Know there are those here who do understand your mission and support you and your families without fail. Washington may control policy but they will never control the hearts of those who care.

Note: If you cannot see the video on this post or are having trouble viewing it please go here and view.

Tweet This Post

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid have said they will announce a new plan to end the Iraq war, to which I say, Just defund the darned thing and get it over with! Stop playing games and be the transparent Congress leaders you promised in the last election.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are expected tomorrow to announce a new coordinated effort to force votes in July to end the Iraq war, according to Democratic insiders.

Reid has already publicly declared that Senate Democrats will offer four Iraq-related amendments to the upcoming 2008 Defense authorization bill, including a proposal by Reid and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to set a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by next spring.

Pelosi is planning to announce that the House will also vote on a bill setting a new withdrawal timetable of April 1, 2008, although the details of the proposal were still up in the air at press time, according to Democratic sources. The House will consider this proposal as a freestanding bill, said the sources.

Pelosi is also planning to force a vote on a proposal by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to repeal the 2002 use-of-force resolution for Iraq. This “deauthorization” proposal may be offered as an amendment to the 2008 Defense spending bill, which the House is scheduled to take up following the week-long July 4th recess.

Both leaders obviously feel strongly we should end the war so they should follow their gut feelings and end the funding, which will end the war on our part.

These games are mighty tiresome. Bring a de-funding bill to the floor of each chamber and see if it flies. If it does you have accomplished your mission. If it doesn’t then stop trying.

Tweet This Post

Yesterday the Supreme Court rejected Louisville, Ky., and Seattle, Wa., diversity plans because they were based solely on race for school assignments but the Court left the door open for using race in limited circumstances.

The court split, 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts announcing the court’s judgment. The court’s four liberal justices dissented.

The districts “failed to show that they considered methods other than explicit racial classifications to achieve their stated goals,” Roberts said.

Yet Justice Anthony Kennedy would not go as far as the other four conservative justices, saying in a concurring opinion that race may be a component of school plans designed to achieve diversity.

To the extent that Roberts’ opinion could be interpreted to foreclose the use of race in any circumstance, Kennedy said, “I disagree with that reasoning.”

He agreed with Roberts that the plans in Louisville and Seattle violated constitutional guarantees of equal protection.

Justice Stephen Breyer, in a dissent joined by the other liberals on the court, said Roberts’ opinion undermined the promise of integrated schools that the court laid out 53 years ago in its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

“To invalidate the plans under review is to threaten the promise of Brown,” Breyer said.

I have grandchildren in school now and not my own children so I can’t speak too much to the question from first-hand experience except to say I know the schools in our city are integrated, but we are not as large a school system as these two cities.

I have always thought bussing children clear across town, when they have to stand at the side of the street waiting for the bus while it’s still dark and they don’t get home until after 5 pm in the afternoon, when it’s again dark in the winter, was not the best solution to the problem of integration, but it seemed to be the best solution fifty years ago.

Last night the Democratic presidential candidates apparently had another debate, and it included talk of this decision and of race.

I’m not going to review the entire debate except to say it was held at Howard University in front of a predominantely black audience, but one quote stuck out at me and has really angered me by what was said by Sen. Clinton:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first female candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, drew the night’s largest cheer when she suggested there was a hint of racism in the way AIDS is addressed in this country.

“Let me just put this in perspective: If HIV-AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34 there would be an outraged, outcry in this country,” said the New York senator.

Haven’t we spent millions of dollars on HIV-AIDS research and haven’t we tried to educate the people in our country on how one gets HIV-AIDS? Haven’t we sent millions of dollars to help stop the spread of HIV-AIDS in Africa, which the last time I looked, was populated mostly by people with black skin?

Excuse me, Sen. Clinton, but you are using the race card to continue to divide our country by race and you are not trying to bring together the various races in our country. It works better for your party if you keep a split there and make it look as though it’s all the Republicans’ fault.

Here’s a factoid I’m sure you know, but just failed to mention: President GW Bush has spent more money on AIDS research and prevention than any other president in our history, including your husband who was his immediate predecessor.

Before this everlasting campaign for president is over I expect to hear the old Social Security scare used to get the old people to vote against the Republicans because it has proven to be a vote-getter in the past.

When are we going to get past this and talk about solutions and not try to make people afraid and angry? This is done on both sides, and I’m tired of politics as usual. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I am tiring of politics altogether.

Nothing new gets said in campaigns from one year to the next. We just continue to anger and scare voters but offer no solutions.

The Republicans are guilty of it too, and when I see the quotes I’ll put them up here.

Tweet This Post

People in the Haymarket section of London, which is close to Picadilly Circus, a place with restaurants, bars, etc. noticed a Mercedes that had crashed into some trash cans and the driver running away.

They called the police who discovered the car was laden with gas containers and a large number of nails.

British police thwarted an apparent terror attack in central London on Friday, discovering a parked silver Mercedes that was packed with gas containers and a large number of nails. The attack would have caused “significant injury or loss of life,” police said.

A British security official told The Associated Press that there were similarities between the device and vehicle bombs used by insurgents in Iraq.

“Forensic staff are still examining the device, but once we know more about it, we’ll know more about what type of individuals are behind this,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the security details.

The official said Britain’s domestic spy agency MI5 also would examine possible connections between Friday’s incident and at least two similar foiled plots — including a planned attack on a West End nightclub in 2004 and a thwarted attempt to use limousines packed with gas canisters to attack targets in London and New York.

Officers were called to the Haymarket area near Piccadilly Circus shortly before 2 a.m., a police statement said. Sky News cited witnesses as saying doormen from a nearby nightclub had reported that someone had crashed a Mercedes sedan into garbage bins and had run away.

It’s a good thing someone was smart enough to call the police before anything bad had happened to a lot of people.

Tweet This Post

When General Petraeus goes before Congress in September to give his assessment on the situation in Iraq, it might serve him well to bring along Omar from Iraq The Model.

I will post the first and second paragraph of his most recent piece but I paid particular attention to the latter as it says in few words what I have thought so many times.

It’s almost July now, and General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will present their report about the situation in Iraq, military and political, at some point in September.
I don’t know what parameters the two men are going to list statistics for in their report but I expect it to show the results of fighting al-Qaeda and other armed groups in numbers, the progress in building the ISF in numbers, also in numbers and of course the report would include the progress, if any, that our political leaders will have made by the time.

I think what matters more than the way of presentation would be how the data in the report is going to be read and afterwards interpreted into attitudes and actions.
One thing I hope the decision-makers and the media do when they read the report is to not isolate the war in Iraq from the war on terror and al-Qaeda as a whole, and at the same time put in mind the difference between war and nation-building. The latter takes much more time than winning a military conflict but requires different tools.

This is from a man who calls Iraq his home and sees first hand the struggles but also the accomplishments on a daily basis. Do we have a politician here at home or a daily newspaper who can say the same? One who understands the culture intimately and can speak on it intelligently and not only present one side of the picture. I do not believe we do.

No we see and hear of the roadside bomb or the beheadings, never of the progress, however slow it may seem. I remember not to long ago hearing the words “civil war” being bandied about constantly. Well, here is what Omar has to say about that bit of information:

For over a year the media and many officials were spooking us with the exaggerated ghost of civil war. I wonder what they have to say now! I think their silence is more telling than anything they would’ve said.

How true that statement is. After the deluge of talk shows, radio and media print on the topic, you barely hear those words spoken now. Fear mongering is what they call that and it has been used effectively to drive this Presidents numbers down and turn the American people against this war.

I would never be so foolish as to say all is well and every day is bright in a country ravaged by terror. But we must bear in mind, it is not the average citizen of Iraq that poses the problem. They are rising up and fighting. Our forces are doing their very best to stand up an Army which can defend its homeland and daily removing another person or persons who would not think twice of killing any one of us or our children and grandchildren. How difficult it must be to fight a faceless enemy.

The entire piece is well worth a read if you really want a good sense of what is happening in some areas in Iraq. I would love to see a major publication in this country print it verbatim. It is wishful thinking of course, but perhaps the people of this country would be enlightened on a different level, not just spoon fed chosen sound bites.

Tweet This Post

While Lewis I. “Scooter” Libby is still waiting to hear from the appeals court whether or not he can remain free on bail while awaiting his appeal the Bureau of Prisons has issued an inmate number to him.

For years he was known as chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney and assistant to President Bush. On Wednesday, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby became federal inmate No. 28301-016.
Libby, who was convicted in March of lying and obstructing an investigation into the leak of a CIA operative’s identity, faces 2 1/2 years in prison.

The assignment of an inmate number by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons represents another step on the road to prison. Inmate numbers stay with prisoners even after their release.

Libby, however, is hoping that an appeals court will intervene and put the sentence on hold before he is ordered to surrender.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has not indicated how quickly it will rule. Lawyers in the case said Libby had not yet been assigned to a prison or given a date to surrender.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald opposes Libby’s bid to delay his prison term. He says Libby does not have a good chance of having his conviction overturned and should begin serving prison time immediately.

Libby’s friends have asked President Bush to step in and pardon him, a request that Bush has sidestepped while the legal case drags on.

How I hope he remains free while his appeal is being heard and decided, and short of that, I hope the president will commute the prison part of his sentence and let him continue his appeal to try to clear his name.

Tweet This Post

The Senate voted 53-46 to defeat cloture on the Immigration bill. The clay pigeon is now a dead duck.

Tweet This Post

From Breitbart news:

The White House, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected lawmakers’ demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors.
President Bush’s attorney told Congress the White House would not turn over subpoenaed documents for former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor.

This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information

I figured this would go to the courts to decide just as it did when Nixon was president and everything was being subpoeaned by Congress.

We’ll see how this pans out.

Tweet This Post

I am often conflicted on the issue of the death penalty, however, this is one time I would gladly stand with the Kurds and witness the final moments in the lives of these truly evil men.

‘Chemical Ali’ to be hanged in Kurdistan

Saddam Hussein’s cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as “Chemical Ali,” and two other regime officials will probably be hanged in Kurdistan if the appeals court upholds their death sentences, an Iraqi official said Tuesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information to the media, said no final decision had been taken but the executions would probably take place in either Irbil or Halabja.

Also sentenced to death were Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, the former defense minister who led the Iraqi delegation at the cease-fire talks that ended the 1991 Gulf War, and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, a former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces.

They were convicted Sunday of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in “Operation Anfal,” a 1987-88 crackdown on Iranian-backed Kurdish rebels during the final years of the Iran-Iraq war.

The prosecution said up to 180,000 Kurds — including women and children — died in chemical weapons attacks, artillery barrages and mass deportations.

The political process in Iraq may be painfully slower that we expected or would have preferred, but the judicial branch of their government is advancing with lightning speed and rendering quick and just punishment.

Imagine, 180,000 of your own people brutally murdered or deported by these thugs. If this conviction holds (which most seem to think is a given), the Kurds may finally have the revenge they deserve for this sadistic behavior once and for all.

Tweet This Post

Yesterday the question was asked what is a conservative and what is a liberal.

I do not claim to speak for all conservatives and I won’t even attempt to speak for liberals because I have never been a liberal by my definition, which may be wrong. I’ll leave that definition to Ayschlay or Guss to give us.

I have stated I believe I’m more of a moderate than a conservative and maybe that’s because my politics have evolved over the years.

I remember working for the failing Reagan campaign in NC in 1976, and I was running with the big crowd then. Former US Attorney, the mayor of our city etc. Anyone who was anyone in the local Republican party I knew on a first-name basis because they liked a statement I made at the Republican caucus.

I was young then and when I asked what a conservative was I was met with “Do you believe this? Do you believe that?” When I agreed with all the positions I was told then I was a conservative.

I believe in limited government. I would very much like to see term limits put on our legislators as they seem particularly wont to get too big for their breeches lately and run roughshod over all of us.

I believe judges should interpret the Constitution as written and the laws as written and not make new law out of whole cloth. An example would be the so-called “right to privacy” in Roe v Wade.

I believe if the Constitution is silent on an issue it should revert to the states to decide individually what their laws will be and not have foreign law decide what will be the law of the land.

I believe lower taxes help our economy and don’t hurt it. Tax receipts are higher when the tax rate is low because the small business owner (the largest group of employers in the country) can keep more people working. Since small business owners usually pay the personal income tax rate, if the taxes go up he either has to raise his prices and lose customers or lay someone off to keep his prices where they are. Either way someone loses a job.

I believe it should be mandated by a Constitutional amendment that we have a balanced budget.

I believe we have the right and the responsibility to raise our children as we see fit as long as we are not abusing them physically or emotionally.

I believe if our schools have to teach kids about Islam, Hinduism etc. they should also be able to touch on Christianity without trying to convert anyone. That should be up to the family.

I believe in a strong and well-equipped military that can fight two wars at a time if necessary to protect our freedoms.

Those are my conservative beliefs and it may not be a comprehensive list.

On my liberal side I am very strongly in favor of assistance to those who really can’t work or get help from rich relatives.

People who are mentally or physically incapable of caring for themselves by getting a job should be provided for by our tax dollars since LBJs Great Society, for all intents and purposes, did away with family and charity assistance for these people.

For parents who don’t have the skills to work I believe we should support them until they have gotten training and had time to find a job and then let them off the rolls after a reasonable time even if they haven’t found work.

If we were to take able-bodied people off the welfare rolls and keep only those who are actually disabled, I think we should keep the same budget so we can give the truly needy more than a stipend to live on each month. Not enough for a new car every couple of years but enough so they aren’t trying to figure out where their next meal is coming from at the end of the month.

I believe these people should also be mandated to take classes that teach money management.

So, when all is said and done I’m a conservative on many things, but a liberal on caring for people. I guess that makes me a moderate, and judging by the ones on blogs who are calling themselves conservatives or liberals right now, I’m happy being a moderate.

Tweet This Post

To all those “conservatives” who proudly cast their votes for President Bush twice and are now calling him names because he supports the immigration bill (as proposed it’s a bad bill), you can take heart because it seems some of the senators you are also bashing and have declared war on are not going to support the next cloture motion.

The Senate immigration bill’s chances of passage seemed in doubt late this afternoon as several lawmakers signaled that they were undecided about supporting the legislation.

The bill is in more danger “than I thought a few hours ago,” Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, told Bloomberg News. His comments came after the Senate voted down several attempts to make the immigration bill stricter, including one that would have barred illegal immigrants from a chance for eventual citizenship.

But the bill’s very fate was in doubt as senators who voted Tuesday to allow the bill to go forward said today that they were either now against allowing a vote on final passage or were inclined that way.

The wavering senators were Richard Burr of North Carolina, Christopher Bond of Missouri, John Ensign of Nevada and Pete Domenici of New Mexico, all Republicans, and Jim Webb and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, according to Bloomberg News.

The stances of those six are crucial, since all voted Tuesday to allow the debate to proceed. That cloture motion got 64 “yes” votes, or four more than necessary under Senate rules.

Another cloture motion is scheduled for Thursday, and if it does not get the required 60 votes, immigration legislation will probably be shelved for the foreseeable future.

If just five of these six senators vote against cloture the bill is dead. If all six and more vote against cloture the bill is dead.

If, by some miracle the bill passes the Senate, I have heard that Pelosi has said she won’t even bring it to the floor of the House unless she has at least 60 Republican votes and the Republicans are pretty well lined up against it in the House.

I don’t have a link to the Pelosi story as I heard it on the radio on my way home from a doctor’s appointment, but I honestly do not expect this bill to go anywhere in the Senate.

This is what happens when a bill is agreed upon by a group of Senators without the benefit of a committee hearing where nothing is done in secret. At least it’s not supposed to be done in secret.

So, for all the conservatives who think the bill is too easy on the illegals and all the liberals who think the bill is too tough on the illegals, don’t let your blood pressure rise until you see the final vote.

To see more of the sausage-making process go here and you will read basically the same thing with a bit more information.

It ain’t over till the fat lady sings and she’s not even warming up yet.

Tweet This Post

Isn’t it a shame that we could once again see a rogue prosecutor, fueled by politics, be responsible for the reputation and career of a man being ruined? Time will tell if Ronnie Earle managed this case in the same manner as Mike Nifong did his.

Court refuses to reinstate charges against DeLay

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today refused to reinstate criminal conspiracy charges against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and two co-defendants.

DeLay, R-Sugar Land, and political consultants Jim Ellis and John Colyandro were accused of conspiring to violate state election laws in the 2002 elections for the Texas House. But lower courts threw out the indictment on grounds that conspiracy to violate the election code was not a crime until 2003,

A majority of the Court of Criminal Appeals agreed.

DeLay, Ellis and Colyandro were charged with plotting to funnel illegal corporate campaign contributions to several Republican House candidates in 2002, when the GOP gained its first House majority of modern times.

The three also were charged with money laundering, but a trial on those charges has been held up pending a resolution of the conspiracy charges.

DeLay’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said he was pleased with the ruling but sorry that it took so long and resulted in DeLay’s resignation from Congress, where he represented Houston’s southwest suburbs for more than 20 years.

“Ronnie Earle indicted Tom DeLay for a crime that didn’t exist, wasn’t on the books,” DeGuerin said.

Please do not misunderstand me here, I do not think Tom DeLay is a choir boy, but neither are most politicians at any level today. Won’t it be interesting to see if the money laundering charges hold up now that the main portion of Mr. Earles case has been defeated?

More here, here and a HT to MacRanger for pointing me to this story.

Update: The Courts Decision is available through a link at Redstate.

Tweet This Post

Well it’s official. Tony Blair whom I have come to admire greatly is no longer Prime Minister of England. I would have expected nothing less from this man than the gracious exit he made.

I will miss his eloquent speeches, both those he gave here in America and ones we were shown from Parliament. His honesty and integrity much like that of our own President are unmatched in most world leaders today.

This article I believe best typifies how our Commander In Chief felt about his partner in foreign affairs and perhaps more importantly, his friend.

Blair ain’t my poodle says Bush

President Bush told The Sun in a world exclusive interview: “Tony’s had a great run and history will judge him kindly. He’s a very talented man, for whom I’ve got a great deal of respect.

Mr Bush said Mr Blair is blessed with a world-class ability to communicate. He went on: “Tony’s great skill, and I wish I had it, is that he’s very articulate.

“I wish I was a better speaker. This guy can really . . . he can talk.

As for the pressure he’s been under at home over Iraq, I ask him about it, try to buck him up as a friend . . . ‘Are you doing OK?’ But the truth of the matter is each person carries their own burden.

I’ve heard he’s been called Bush’s poodle. He’s bigger than that. This is just background noise, a distraction from big things.

We’re working together to achieve global peace in the face of enormous danger.

This kind of thing is just silly ridicule and that’s how I treat it.

Somehow our relationship has been seen as Bush saying to Blair ‘Jump’ and Blair saying, ‘How high?’ But that’s just not the way it works. It’s a relationship where we say we’re both going to jump together.

Job well done Mr. Blair ..may you have continued success in the future.

Tweet This Post

The Iranian government gave its citizens a two hour notice of gas rationing of 100 liters of fuel a month.

I’m no expert in the metric system, but I think a liter is somewhere over a quart. This would translate to about 25 gallons of gas a month.

At least 12 petrol stations have been torched in the Iranian capital, Tehran, after the government announced fuel rationing for private vehicles.
Windows were smashed and stones thrown at the stations, and there was traffic chaos as motorists queued to buy fuel.

Iranians were given only two hours’ notice of the move that limits private drivers to 100 litres of fuel a month.

Despite its huge energy reserves, Iran lacks refining capacity and it imports about 40% of its petrol.

The country has a large budget deficit largely caused by fuel subsidies and the inflation rate is estimated at 20-30%.

The BBC’s Tehran correspondent, Frances Harrison, says Iran is trying to rein in fuel consumption over fears of possible UN sanctions over its nuclear programme.

Iran fears the West could impose sanctions on its petrol imports and cripple its economy.

A country sitting on top of an oil well can’t afford for its citizens to get as much gas as they need.

Tweet This Post

One reason so many companies go out of business these days is that they are not offering a product the people want, or they are not offering a quality product the people want.

Conservative talk radio has been a staple for many years now and now we are hearing from various Democratic senators that we should return to the fairness doctrine because the liberal side of the spectrum is not being heard.

How many liberal talk radio shows have started only to fail for lack of listeners?

Do you think radio stations, except for Air America, are in the business to lose money? Of course not, so they have conservative talk radio and it’s popular with listeners. Even some liberals listen and get through to voice their opposing opinions. Imagine that!

When I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh while waiting to pick up my granddaughter at school (a long wait) he would always put the dissenters at the head of the line and was always polite with them. Generally they were polite with him also, so why the cry now for the fairness doctrine?

Listen to John Kerry talk about the fairness doctrine:

Give us a product we want and we’ll buy it.

Tweet This Post

Big Mo made a comment today that it seems there are no real statesmen in our country today.

I happen to agree with that and will take it another step and say that Al Qaeda had us pegged when they called us a paper tiger.

We left the people in Vietnam high and dry so we could have “peace with honor”. Try telling that to the boat people and those who were tortured after we left. The ones who died were the lucky ones.

Now we have not only the Democratic Caucus in Congress calling for withdrawal in Iraq, but in the last two days we have had Senators Lugar and Voinovich both say we should draw down or get out.

This country used to stand for something; something that made me proud to be an American. It stands for nothing now because at the first sign of trouble everyone wants to run away.

Everything is done by polling with the next election in mind. The founding fathers did not make this a democracy for that very reason. In a democracy the majority rules whether it is right or wrong. In a constitutional republic, which is what we are, we elect people (I refuse to call them leaders now) to do what’s best regardless of the majority opinion.

If the majority of Americans wanted us all to stand in front of a fast moving train I guess Congress would mandate that we all do it because it polls well. That’s not smart and definitely not in our best interests, but hey, that’s politics.

Except GWB. He doesn’t wet his finger in the morning and hold it up to see which way the wind is blowing. He believes something is right and he does it even if it costs him his popularity.

Unlike President Clinton before him, he doesn’t seem to have a “need” to be loved by the masses. He realizes he was elected to do a job as he saw fit and he’s doing it, but the very people who admired that in him are tearing at his throat right now.

If all we want in our politicians is someone we can show our adoration to then we should set up a monarchy and worship the king.

Death is a part of war, and while I don’t want to trivialize it, we have lost fewer people in the almost six years of this war than we lost in one week in Vietnam at the height of that war.

The fact of the matter is we went to Iraq, overthrew a corrupt government and dictator, took on the enemy, and are now trying our hardest to get the Iraqis to learn to stabilize their own country.

Maybe it will work and maybe it won’t work, but we at least owe them our best shot at trying to help them before wringing our hands and saying “Woe is me.”

I don’t enjoy hearing of the deaths or maimings of any of our soldiers who are in harm’s way, and if a draft were ever re-instated I have two grandsons I wouldn’t want sent to war, but the fact of the matter is we have an all volunteer military and when they joined they certainly knew they could go to war. They trained for it so they should have been knowledgeable about it.

Reading dispatches from the mil blogs tells me the troops are ready to do whatever is necessary to win.

As John Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Today the slogan seems to be To heck with the country; I know what’s best.”

And that’s a shame. We are witnessing the waning days of what used to be a great people because we have so many who are so loud about something most of them know nothing except emotions whipped up by the all too willing media.

Tweet This Post

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair submitted his resignation to the Queen in a twenty-five minute closed door meeting today and then drove to his constituency in Northern England to resign as a lawmaker and is expected to take up his post with the Quartet of Mideast Peace Mediators.

Mr. Blair has been a very good and loyal friend to the United States and I, for one, will miss him.

He is expected to be replaced by Treasury chief Gordon Brown. I hope he’s as good a friend to us as Tony Blair.

Tweet This Post

I’ve been reading some conservative web sites and I thought our country had just been attacked.

I had to have a portrait taken for our church directory and on the way back the host of the talk show on at the time must have had every vein in his head and neck bulging to the point of bursting because cloture passed. Oh, and all those Republican senators should be voted out.

Then I heard the news and I heard Harry Reid say in order for the immigration bill to pass he needed 25 Republican votes. I went over here and counted twice. If my eyes haven’t deceived me I have counted 24 Republicans who voted for cloture. That’s one shy of what Harry Reid says is needed, and many said they would vote for cloture but not vote for the bill.

So, the bill hasn’t come up for a vote except for cloture, some Republicans who voted for cloture will vote against the bill, and we still have to get it passed in the House if it passes the Senate.

Am I missing something here?

Someone please tell me if I should be upset over a cloture vote when no final vote has taken place and when the House hasn’t taken up the bill yet. I’m all eyes and ears.

Tweet This Post

The Anchoress is asking for help for a family which certainly seems to be in need and also for a good friend.

It is the type of help which I am certain will be offered by many of us who read, comment and write here at “J’s.”

Tweet This Post

Not much time for commentary but this piece linked to from Drudge Report is something any animal lover should indulge in. The accompanying pictures make me wish I had the courage to do what this man does.

The king of the jungle doesn’t frighten the lion whisperer

Animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson has such an intimate bond with big cats that he can spend the night curled up with them without the slightest fear of attack.

Richardson, 32, who is based in a wildlife conservation area near Johannesburg in South Africa, works his unusual magic on other species too. Cheetahs, leopards and even unpredictable hyenas hold no threats for him.

Tweet This Post

Michael Yon is not a newspaperman or reporter hired by any news organization. He has gone to Iraq and been embedded with units to report on what is going on there, whether it’s good or bad news for us.

Here is a teaser from his latest dispatch:

On 19 June American forces sealed off Baqubah and began attacking targets within the city. The immediate goal of Arrowhead Ripper was to free Baqubah of al Qaeda, by trapping and killing its members, but according to American officers here, public remarks by senior military officials may have flushed many AQI leaders before the attack. Despite this frustrating and significant setback, progress toward the end-state goal of Arrowhead Ripper—turning over Baqubah to Iraqi government control—appears to be working, at least in terms of the removal of the current AQI leadership and its quasi-government. There are conflicting signals about how many of the AQI leadership escaped before Arrowhead Ripper launched. This weekend’s capture of a possible high-value target in Baqubah indicates that not all AQI leaders successfully fled the city before the attack.

Media reports indicating that many top leaders escaped before Arrowhead Ripper began appear to be mostly true. But other information suggests some AQI leaders are trapped just down the road from where I write. In addition to the seven men who were caught trying to escape while dressed as women, there is information that some AQI leaders remain trapped in a constricting cordon.

Please go over and read the rest and look at the photos he has in the post.

Tweet This Post

59 year old Carlo Ventre was testifying in an Italian court about the death of his girlfriend, whom he was accused of killing, when he said he didn’t feel well and died of an apparent heart attack.

Ventre had been testifying calmly for 10 or 15 minutes about the first fights he had with girlfriend Toni Dykstra when he suddenly said he did not feel well, Leonardo said. A few seconds later he was dead, he said.

“It’s a terrible story, with a tragic epilogue,” he said.

Ventre, who had suffered a heart attack in 2002, was charged with killing Dykstra in his Rome apartment in 1998.

Dykstra, who lived in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles, had traveled to Italy to retrieve the couple’s daughter, Santina. When she found the girl and Ventre, she obtained an Italian court order requiring Ventre to hand over the girl so she could return to the United States with her.

The day before they were to leave, Dykstra, 29, was found dead on the floor of Ventre’s apartment. Ventre told Italian authorities Dykstra struck her head on a fireplace when he shoved her in self-defense after she attacked him with an ax.

A day before his court date in Rome, Ventre had told Leonardo he feared he would not feel well when he testified, the lawyer said. Ventre arrived tired and sweating, after traveling an hour on public transport in nearly 95-degree heat Monday, Leonardo said.

Ventre appeared to be doing well while testifying in the air-conditioned courtroom, Leonardo said. “He was very calm, secure, detailed and very credible,” but then suddenly stopped, said he didn’t feel well and leaned back in his chair, the lawyer said.

I guess he meant it when he said he thought he wouldn’t feel well that day and after being in that heat for so long I could see how it would have put a strain on his heart if he wasn’t otherwise healthy.

Tweet This Post

There hasn’t been much news lately that has excited me . A hit piece on the administration is commonplace these days. Republicans and Democrats at each others throats in Congress is becoming a yawn and all the polls on endless subjects just leave me feeling empty. The Presidential race beginning immediately after the midterms even took the edge off what was once one of the most exciting events in our country.

I was happy to see that I was in the company of Rick Moran in feeling almost numb to this one aspect of politics at the moment.

WAKE ME WHEN IT’S OVER

Truth is, I’m bored. And if you’ve been following the race for the presidential nomination in both parties, I’ll bet you a dollar to navy beans that you’re bored too.

Has there ever been such a ponderously dry, stodgy, stuffy, tiresome group of candidates ever assembled? They don’t even make good stand up comedy material. How many jokes can you tell about John Edward’s hair? How many variations of Hillary the Harridan can be photoshopped? How many pictures of an empty suit can you show representing Obama?

The Republicans aren’t any better. Mitt Romney – the Stepford Candidate. The guy is so automatically smooth we should probably cut him open to see if he bleeds or blinks on and off.

And what about John McCain? I’ve seen trees with more animation. “Wooden” doesn’t begin to describe his personality much less his oratorical style.

Rudy is feistier but hardly what I’d call mesmerizing. The guy has been married three times for God’s sake. If his wives don’t find him very interesting, why should I?

And Fred? Thompson is like dark matter – we know he exists but we’re not quite sure what he’s made of. But those of you pining for a reincarnation of Ronald Reagan will almost surely be disappointed. Fred will make “stolid” a new Republican virtue, hopefully replacing “out of control avarice” as a the impression people have of the party.

Perhaps things will improve after the primaries. My sense is by that time we will know all there is to “know” about the next President of the United States.

Tweet This Post

Former French President Jacques Chirac will be questioned in the next few months over corruption scandal dating back to the days he was mayor of Paris.

Former French President Jacques Chirac is to be questioned in the coming months over a corruption scandal involving fake jobs and linked to the former conservative political party he headed, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Chirac will “very probably” be questioned before Sept. 15 in the long-running case as a material witness, lawyer Jean Veil said on RTL radio. The role of a material witness means that Chirac himself is not under investigation.

The fake jobs case is the most potent of a string of potential legal problems the 74-year-old Chirac faces now that he no longer has presidential immunity. He handed over the French presidency to Nicolas Sarkozy on May 16.

The jobs case dates back to Chirac’s years as mayor of Paris, from 1977 to 1995, when Chirac also headed the conservative party Rally for the Republic, or RPR. Investigators say operatives from the RPR were illegally on the Paris city payroll.

Remember, a conservative in France is about as conservative as Ted Kennedy in the US. I wonder if Chirac will do what he does best and run up a white flag while being questioned?

Tweet This Post

Despite other stories on this site this morning I am going to attempt to not Bush-Cheney bash, but tell something else of what’s going on in the world.

A six-year old boy (estimated age because birthdays are not kept track of in Afghanistan) was told by the taliban to put on a belt and when he pushed a button the vest would “spray flowers” and when he saw American soldiers he should throw his body at them.

The boy figured something was wrong so he went to the nearest Afghan military checkpoint and asked for help.

Juma said that sometime last month, Taliban fighters forced him to wear a vest they said would spray flowers when he touched a button. He said they told him that when he saw U.S. soldiers, “throw your body at them.”

The militants cornered Juma in a Taliban-controlled district in southern Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. Although he is but an impoverished youngster being raised by an older sister — he proved too street-smart for their plan.

“When they first put the vest on my body, I didn’t know what to think, but then I felt the bomb,” Juma told the Associated Press as he ate lamb and rice after being introduced to the elders at the joint U.S.-Afghan base in Ghazni. “After I figured out it was a bomb, I went to the Afghan soldiers for help.”

While Juma’s story could not be independently verified, local government leaders backed his account and the U.S. and NATO military missions said they believe his story.

Abdul Rahim Deciwal, chief administrator for Juma’s village of Athul, brought the boy and an older brother, Dad Gul, to a weekend meeting between Afghan elders and U.S. Army Col. Martin P. Schweitzer.

Fidgety but smiling during all of the attention, Juma told the AP that he was scared when he was surrounded by Taliban fighters. He cupped his hands together to show the size of the bomb, then ran his hands along his waist to show where it was on his body.

Raised in a country where birthdays are not always carefully tracked, Juma said he is 4. But he looks older and Afghan officials said he is about 6. His brother appears to be a year or so older.

Their village lies in Ghazni province’s Andar district, a Taliban stronghold targeted this month in a joint Afghan-U.S. operation. The region remains dangerous, and Afghan elders worry for Juma’s safety.

The Taliban denies it uses children for these missions, but just last month had a video going around showing a twelve-year old boy severing someone’s head with a sword. Perhaps twelve-year old boys are considered men there.

Tweet This Post

Solacegirl asked a question in one of the threads about whether or not we have heard Chavez has warned Mexico about a war with the U.S.

What I have been able to find is this article.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – President Hugo Chavez urged soldiers on Sunday to prepare for a guerrilla-style war against the United States, saying that Washington is using psychological and economic warfare as part of an unconventional campaign aimed at derailing his government.
Dressed in olive green fatigues and a red beret, Chavez spoke inside Tiuna Fort—Venezuela’s military nerve-center—before hundreds of uniformed soldiers standing alongside armored vehicles and tanks decorated with banners reading: “Fatherland, Socialism, or Death! We will triumph!”

“We must continue developing the resistance war, that’s the anti- imperialist weapon. We must think and prepare for the resistance war everyday,” said Chavez, who has repeatedly warned that American soldiers could invade Venezuela to seize control of the South American nation’s immense oil reserves.

U.S. officials reject claims that Washington is considering a military attack. But the U.S. government has expressed concern over what it perceives as a significant arms build-up here.

Chavez—a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro—told soldiers the Washington was trying to weaken and divide Venezuelan society, including the armed forces, without resorting to combat.

“It’s not just armed warfare,” said Chavez, a former army officer who is leading what he calls the “Bolivarian Revolution,” a socialist movement named after 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar. “I’m also referring to psychological warfare, media warfare, political warfare, economic warfare.”

Chavez seems to have been itching for a fight with the United States for some time. Remember the insults at President Bush at the UN last year, and other statements he has made that we are attempting to take over Venezuela for its oil.

He has purchased billions of dollars worth of helicopters, Kalashnikov rifles and fighter jets to protect Venezuela from an attack by the U.S.

Now he’s thinking of purchasing submarines to go along with his arsenal.

He is a dangerous man and if there is a war between the US and Venezuela I think it will start with Venezuela.

Here’s an instance of an insane man being declared the legitimate victor in a tainted election overseen by former President Carter, without checking ballots that were not hand-fed to him by the Chavez people.

I don’t see us attacking any country in this hemisphere unless we have knowledge they are preparing to attack us.

That’s my opinion.

Tweet This Post

Why this case was ever heard at all is beyond me, but a man who had attained the position of a judge sued a Korean couple and their son who own a dry cleaners because they lost his pants and he wanted to wear those pants to court the day he was sworn in as a judge.

He sued them originally for $67 million even though the pants were found and he refused to take them. He subsequently lowered his asking price to $54 million.

Well today the judge who matters, the one hearing the case, ruled against the plaintiff and ordered him to pay court costs for the defendents.

I hope that includes lawyer’s fees, as this man has been on a vendetta that has nearly bankrupted the couple and their son.

A judge ruled Monday in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.

The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city’s Consumer Protection Act by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson’s expectations of the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign that was once placed in the store window, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled.

Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay the court costs of defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung.

Pearson pinned all his hopes of winning this case on the fact the business had a sign stating “satisfaction guaranteed.” It did not state unconditional satisfaction guaranteed and certainly met the requirement when they produced Pearson’s pants along with various offers to settle the suit.

I hope he gets disciplined for filing a frivolous lawsuit that was even asking for money for a rental car to take his cleaning to another cleaner.

He represented himself in court. I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said, “A man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.”

Tweet This Post