How Much Does Liberating Iraq Really Cost? — Dean’s World

THe Jawa pointed out this excellent article. Good facts about the real cost of the war.

How Much Does Liberating Iraq Really Cost? — Dean’s World: "As predicted, most critics of the war have turned to the costs, now that the “civil war,” military “quagmire” and “no political progress” memes have become inoperative. Amity Shlaes looks at the claims and the actual costs.

But by the standard method of calculating costs of wars, defense spending as a share of gross domestic product, Iraq’s price is improbably modest.

Back in 1986, the year before Ronald Reagan threw out his “tear down this wall” challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev, defense spending was 6.2 percent of the U.S. economy, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In 1968, the year of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, it was 9.5 percent.

In 2005, 2006, and 2007, defense spending was about 4 percent of GDP — as low as during the early 1990s, when the U.S. was enjoying the “peace dividend” after the Soviet Union’s collapse."

France will support the Dutch against the 'youths'

I found this on the Jawa Report and find that I have to agree - global cooling, or Infernal Cooling, must be happening! Wow!

Latest News - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - English: "During a meeting in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has told Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende that he will support the Netherlands if it comes under attack because of the anti-Qur'an film Fitna by populist leader Geert Wilders.

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has asked Dutch ambassadors in Islamic countries to do their best to protect Dutch citizens and companies. Pakistan has also brought the issue to the attention of the European Union and the Vatican. At Islamabad's request, the matter has been placed at the top of the agenda at next week's summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference in Senegal.

There have been new demonstrations against the Netherlands and Denmark in Afghanistan. Dutch flags were burned in a number of cities. The website on which Mr Wilders' film can be viewed has been online since this morning. So far, there is only a picture of a Qur'an along with the text: 'Geert Wilders presents Fitna - Coming Soon.'"

'Diseased water' publicity stunt 'irresponsible'

The Leftist stunts just get crazier! What does this have to do with helping the children of New Zealand? Seems like a stupid way to get attention for being stupid.

'Diseased water' publicity stunt 'irresponsible' - National News - The Marlborough Express: "A bizarre publicity stunt on behalf of Unicef New Zealand, where bottles of 'diseased water' were sent to the news media, has been described as 'irresponsible' and 'scaremongering' by public health authorities.

The plastic bottle, containing putrid water and live mosquito larvae, listed its contents as 'cholera, typhoid, faeces and guinea worm'."

Thousands Mourn Massacre at Jerusalem Seminary; Hamas Backtracks on Responsibility Claim

As more information gets out, this just gets creepier. The Pallys complain about the way they are treated, yet perfectly normal Pallys with no apparent political or religious extremism can suddenly go on jihad and kill a bunch of unarmed kids in a school. This does not happen in other religions, so why do Muslims celebrate it?

FOXNews.com - Thousands Mourn Massacre at Jerusalem Seminary; Hamas Backtracks on Responsibility Claim - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "Israeli police on Thursday night took three remaining brothers and their father into custody for questioning. The 25-year-old gunman was identified as Alaa Abu Dheim of east Jerusalem; his fiance was detained by Israeli police on Friday morning.

The family of Abu Dheim said he had carried out the attack on the seminary, a prestigious center of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank. They described him as intensely religious but said he was not a member of a militant group and had planned to get married in the summer.

Sources told FOX News he called his sisters on Thursday night just to see how they were doing.

Abu Dheim had been transfixed in recent days by the news of bloodshed in Gaza, said his sister, Iman Abu Dheim.

'He told me he wasn't able to sleep because of the grief,' she said.

Initial reports had said Abu Dheim had been in prison, but FOX News learned this is not accurate.

Abu Dheim reportedly drove a shuttle bus for Arab students, not students from the Jewish religious school that was attacked."

An 80-year-old Ahmadi man arrested for blasphemy

Sounds like Islamic harassment to me. I do like the interesting visual of the 80 year old guy running away from a 20 year old! HA!

PAKISTAN An 80-year-old Ahmadi man arrested for blasphemy - Asia News: "According to police, a student saw Altaf Husain rip pages out of a Qur‘an last Monday and throw them on the ground. When he shouted at him to stop, the old Ahmadi ran off.

Conversely, members of the Ahmadi community said that Altaf Husain was just reading the power meter outside his home when a madrassa student warned him that he was stepping on a page of the Qur‘an. The 80-year-old man failed to understand what the boy was saying when the latter began shouting, accusing him of blasphemy. Police arrived soon after and arrested the alleged offender."

Palestinian gunman kills 8 in Jerusalem Jewish school | Reuters

What a shock that the Media is actually covering this! Maybe something is changing. Probably not.

Palestinian gunman kills 8 in Jerusalem Jewish school | Reuters: "'I saw the gunman and he fired a long burst in the air. But then he disappeared,' Dadon said. 'I saw him again when he approached the door of the library. I shot him twice in the head. He started to sway and then someone else with a rifle fired at him, and he died.'

Some 50 ambulances raced to the area in scenes reminiscent of a series of suicide bombings in Jerusalem after a Palestinian uprising began in 2000. Students at the school were attending a study session marking the start of Adar, the most festive month of the Jewish calendar.

Outside the seminary, a crowd shouted 'Death to the Arabs'.

In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, gunmen fired in the air to celebrate the attack, three days after Israel ended a ground offensive it said was aimed at curbing cross-border rocket fire.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, said the group 'blesses the heroic operation in Jerusalem, which was a natural reaction to the Zionist massacre'.

A loudspeaker in Gaza City blared the message: 'This is God's vengeance.'"

Cemetery full, mayor tells locals not to die

If this wasn't so sad, it would be funny! Ok, it is funny anyway, HA!

Cemetery full, mayor tells locals not to die | U.S. | Reuters: "The mayor of a village in southwest France has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the overcrowded cemetery to bury them.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that 'all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish.'

It added: 'Offenders will be severely punished.'

The mayor said he was forced to take drastic action after an administrative court in the nearby town of Pau ruled in January that the acquisition of adjoining private land to extend the cemetery would not be justified."

Counter-Terrorism: Kuwait Makes Mobs Useful

Good news! Why can't the US learn from this? Oh, wait! I bet they have, but the Left has protested that taking pictures of people at public demonstrations is wrong. I am willing to bet! Who has something to bet with me?

Counter-Terrorism: Kuwait Makes Mobs Useful: "Kuwait Makes Mobs Useful
March 6, 2008: Kuwait has found a simple method for getting rid of potentially dangerous foreigners. Recently, there was a demonstration protesting the recent killing (in Syria) of Shia Islamic terrorist Imad Mughniyah. Kuwaiti police took note of which foreigners were present at the rally, and has issued deportation notices for them. In addition, Kuwaiti Shia who were at the rally have been summoned by the police for interrogation.


While Mughniyah was a hero to many Shia because of his work as a leader in Hizbollah. This Iranian funded terrorist organization in Lebanon that has been making attacks on Israel for the last twenty years. But Hizbollah also killed two Kuwaitis on a hijacked aircraft back in 1988. Many Kuwaitis regard Mughniyah as a terrorist, not an Islamic hero. About a third of Kuwaits population are Shia, and the Sunni majority have long feared that the Shia minority would support an Iranian takeover of Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Shia protest that this is not the case, but Iran looms large as a threat to Kuwait, and the other Arab states in the Persian Gulf."

Indonesia: Terrorists Turn To Books

More good news in the War on Terrorism. Don't tell the Media!

Indonesia: Terrorists Turn To Books: "In East Timor, the remaining rebels have either surrendered, or are negotiating terms for surrender. The February 11 attack on the president and prime minister failed to kill either man, and left the rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado, dead. While this rebel group appears to be broken, the high unemployment and regional (east/west, mainly) antagonisms remain, as do several criminal gangs with political aspirations."

Why the French spot terrorists better than Americans

The French are getting better tech than the Americans? Yikes!

Why the French spot terrorists better than Americans from Law Enforcement Technology at Officer.com: "Since 9/11, there have been many civil rights-related questions raised about video surveillance. What has been discussed less frequently is the actual quality of the video displayed and recorded; a simple question might be posed: 'Why do even the most basic cell phone cameras capture higher resolution images than the average video surveillance system?'

The answer, in part, is that while just about everything else in the world is becoming digital, the world of video surveillance has largely remained analog. IP (digital) video surveillance technology is readily available and cost effective, but has not been deployed in the most obvious of arenas — public safety. Not only are analog video surveillance images less clear than digital video, and therefore less useful, but analog cameras lack the functionality and intelligence of digital cameras. They see less detail, store less detail, and lack the ability to analyze or send alerts when a suspicious event is spotted."

Left Wing bombers on both coasts

Two articles, two bombers, two coasts, one day. What are the odds? I know that the Left blame the Right for every gun shot that happens, so why are the majority of bombers from the Left? What happens when a Leftist who hates guns, and most other things, gets mad? They build bombs. This is a field of study that I have not explored much, but will study for the near future. Just to see if this theory has anything to it.

You think I might be on to something?

one thing that stood out, besides the political angle, was that the dorm in Davis was evacuated at 9pm, but the bomb squad had to sit on its hands until the morning because no judge could be awoken to allow the bomb team in. Why? What a waste of time for all involved! What would have happened if these had been armed bombs and they blew apart the dorms? Would that have been better? Idiots. More California Liberal Idiot Thinkers (CLITs)

FOXNews.com - UC Davis Student in Custody After Explosives Found in Dorm - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News: "UC Davis Student in Custody After Explosives Found in Dorm"
A spokesman for the UC Davis Fire Department says 400 students in eight dormitory buildings were evacuated around 9 p.m. last night after getting a report from a woman who reported students with possible explosive devices in a room.

A bomb ordinance team was sent in to assess the room where the explosives were found this morning.

Authorities say the bomb team was not able to go in until this morning because a search warrant had to be obtained

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Military Apparent Target of Times Square Blast

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a blast that shook Times Square and disrupted transit Thursday appears to have deliberately targeted the military recruiting center where it went off.

Marines Learn How To Hunt

Very interesting! Warfare is going full circle since the ancients started all this.

Semper Fi, guys!

Infantry: Marines Learn How To Hunt: "The U.S. Marine Corps has added hunting skills to its combat training. You'd think this would already be a standard feature of infantry training, but the need to master lots of new tech had pushed it out. However, noting that in Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy tried to remain hidden in plain sight (often among civilians), and then set up a bomb or just (more frequently) get off a few shots and run away, the marines sought methods that would make it easier to spot these irregulars, and quickly hunt them down. So the marines called in some professional hunters and quickly developed a training course that emphasized observation and deduction. That's what hunting is mostly about, spotting the prey first, and knowing where to position yourself to do that. Hunting irregular fighters turns out to be much the same. Over the last few thousand years, armies have gotten away from this hunting aspect of warfare. But the first 'soldiers' were simply good hunters now going after different game."

Irish Terrorism Goes Islamic

I pity the Irish if this is true. They finally finish the Troubles and now the violence of Islamic fundamentalism washes up on their shores. I was thinking it would be nice to move their until I read this. Pity.

Counter-Terrorism: Irish Terrorism Goes Islamic: "Irish Terrorism Goes Islamic
March 5, 2008: Britain's MI-5 (domestic intelligence service) has expanded its operations in the neighboring Irish Republic, after increased al Qaeda, and Islamic radical, activity was detected. Three Afghan men were recently arrested, in a room full of bomb making materials. There are dozens of similar suspects under surveillance. For the last three decades, Ireland and Britain have cooperated on domestic security issues, initially because of a mutual need to keep an eye on the IRA (Irish Republican Army) terrorists. The IRA has devolved into a criminal gang, but al Qaeda, and other Islamic radical groups have found Ireland a convenient place to hide out and plan their next atrocity. The Irish economy has been booming for the last decade, and suffering an ongoing labor shortage. If Islamic radicals can slip into the country, they can find work, and cover in the many immigrant neighborhoods. MI-5 has used its more extensive databases and capabilities to help the Irish counter-terrorism police identify potential terrorist cells.



There have been no Islamic terrorist attacks in Ireland yet, but the latest arrests indicate that it's only a matter of time."

Counter-Terrorism: Sunni Arabs Surrender

Very cool! I love to read things like this and learn a little more of the background of the reason the Surge worked so well.

Counter-Terrorism: Sunni Arabs Surrender: "The U.S. Army has angered many Kurds and Shia Arabs by protecting Sunni Arabs, and siding with them in property disputes (when the Sunni Arabs were in the right). This sort of thing has made Sunni Arabs more willing to work with American troops in hunting down Sunni Arab terrorists. The Iraqi Sunni Arabs still hate the Americans for invading, and ending the sweet deal (mainly possession of most of the oil revenue) the Sunni Arabs had enjoyed for so long. But after five years of getting killed by Americans, Kurds and Shia Arabs, the Iraqi Sunni Arabs are just looking for some security. Living as exiles only works if you are one of the senior Saddam cronies who had managed to open a foreign bank accounts, and stock it with stolen cash. For most Iraqi Sunni Arabs that fled, the future is bleak, unless they can come home. The U.S. promises to make that possible, if a little cooperation in the counter-terrorism department is provided. It's an offer many Iraqi Sunni Arabs cannot refuse, especially since none of the majority Sunni Arab countries in the region are willing to go out of their way to help."

Venezuela Military Buildup Is Destabilizing to Region, Military Experts Say

Interesting. Bush is forcing Chavez to build up his military? Bush is making the Communists attack Bush's allies?

I think it is much simpler. Chavez wants to conquer the region and spread Communism. How much simpler does it get?

FOXNews.com - Venezuela Military Buildup Is Destabilizing to Region, Military Experts Say - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "Venezuela's military buildup could foment an arms race in Latin America and destabilize the region, security experts say, noting President Hugo Chavez's recent purchase of fighter jets and helicopters and his intent to buy five diesel submarines.

Using his country’s vast oil revenue, Chavez has been busy negotiating deals with nations like Russia to secure arms to bolster the Venezuelan military.

• Click here for a snapshot of Venezuela's military statistics.

The military build-up comes amid Chavez's most recent show of military force. On Sunday, Venezuelan tanks were deployed to the Colombian border, and Venezuela's embassy in Bogota was closed indefinitely, after Colombia staged a bombing attack on Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels living inside Ecuador. (Colombia believes Chavez is providing support to the guerrilla group; FARC's second-ranking commander was killed in the raid, and Ecuador strengthened its military presence along its border with Colombia.)"

Speaking truth to Power - By Obama's Sec of State

Yikes! I knew Obama was a Far Left Nut, but invading Israel to force them to stop retaliating for the terrorism from the Muslims. What genius. Protecting the terrorists from the farmers and businessmen.

Another reason to vote for someone with a brain, too bad I do not really consider any of the candidates in this election to be very reasonable. What a choice - power hungry nut, charismatic moron, or moderate nut. With so many nuts, I need a nut cracker. Maybe I should move, but I can't think of one country worthy of my skills besides this one, even if it is drifting so far to the Left.

Speaking truth to Power [Martin Kramer's Sandbox]: "Samantha Power is the author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on genocide, and she has a professorship at Harvard (in something called 'Global Leadership and Public Policy'). She is also a senior foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama. This isn't an honorific: she has worked for Obama in Washington, she has campaigned for him around the country, and she doesn't hesitate to speak for him. This morning, the Washington Post has a piece on Obama's foreign policy team, identifying her (and retired Maj. Gen. Scott Garion) as 'closest to Obama, part of a group-within-the-group that he regularly turns to for advice.' Power and Garion 'retain unlimited access to Obama.' This morning's New York Times announces that Power has an 'irresistable profile' and 'she could very well end up in [Obama's] cabinet.'

She also has a problem: a corpus of critical statements about Israel. These have been parsed by Noah Pollak at Commentary's blog Contentions, by Ed Lasky and Richard Baehr at American Thinker, and by Paul Mirengoff at Power Line."

Ward Violated Bail, Lied To Feds

No way can I believe that an honest upstanding Leftist would ever lie or abuse children. Never happens! Only Right Wing racists do those kind of things. Bernie Ward is clearly being set up by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy to make him look even worse than Alex Baldwin! Oh, he is a Leftist... Ok, then - worse than Clinton! Oh... Umm.... How about that Congressman who played footsie in the bathroom? Wasn't he a Right Winger? Yeah!

Bernie Ward's Child Porn is not as bad as playing footsie in the bathroom! Child Porn is not as bad as gay sex!

( To my gay friends: That is sarcasm. MOST of you recognize it, but just in case, I thought I would point out the stupidity of this. )

Ward Violated Bail, Lied To Feds - March 5, 2008: "The San Francisco radio host facing child pornography charges lied to federal officials about his whereabouts after investigators recently received an alert that he had violated his 'electronic monitoring schedule.' Bernard Ward's bail violations are mentioned in a February 28 'status memorandum' sent by a pretrial services officer to Judge Maria Elena James (the memo provided James with an account of Ward's first months under electronic monitoring). The document, a copy of which you'll find below, does not describe where Ward, 56, went on December 21, when officials discovered his bail violation. During a subsequent court hearing, Ward admitted the monitoring violation and acknowledged giving 'false information to Pretrial Services regarding his whereabouts' when first confronted by federal agents. The government memo notes that Ward was 'strongly admonished' by James, who did not revoke his $250,000 bail package"

Plane flies five passengers from US to London

Yes, the solution to the airlines having to run an almost empty plane to pick up a full load is to tax the fuel higher. At least if you want to stop air travel. Which might actually be the case. I think that all Leftist who protest about the use of fuel should be banned from using the fuels - just to set an example for the rest of us.

Think about how much money can be saved in fuel if all the environmentalists took a year off of using carbon based fuels! Since it is now estimated that a third of the population uses petroleum products and hates it, make them all pledge to stop using them! That would save the planet right there! No driving or flying, no plastic bags or plastic products, no products brought to them by flying or driving, no... Well, no modern anything. I think Al Gore and his cult would love to force the rest of us to live that way, so we should force them to sign a pledge to do that themselves and set the example. Or they can piss up a rope. Or piss off. Or I can piss on them... Just for kicks. Stupid hippies.

Plane flies five passengers from US to London - Telegraph: "Operating the near empty flight is estimated as having cost American about £30,000. But a spokesman said it had no alternative.

'With such a small passenger load we did consider whether we could cancel the flight and re-accommodate the five remaining passengers on other flights.

'However, this would have left a plane load of west-bound passengers stranded in London Heathrow who were due to fly back to the US on the same aircraft.

'We sought alternative flights for the west-bound passengers but heavy loads out of London that day meant that this was not possible.'

Richard Dyer, Friends of the Earth's transport campaigner said: 'Flying virtually empty planes is an obscene waste of fuel. Through no fault of their own , each passenger's carbon footprint for this flight is about 45 times what it would have been if the plane had been full.

'Governments must stop granting the aviation industry the unfair privileges that allow this to happen by taxing aviation fuel and including emissions from aviation in international agreements to tackle climate change.'"

Pakistan: US military trainers arrive

Darn! I liked the other report about Blackwater trainers, but this works too. I guess the former spy master was making a big splash in the headlines with 'misinformation'. I wonder if he works with the Clintons?

AKI - Adnkronos international Pakistan: US military trainers arrive: "Military experts from the United States have started arriving in Pakistan in order to provide counter insurgency training to the Pakistani military, diplomatic sources told the Pakistani daily Dawn.

Pakistan has rejected repeated US requests to embed American military personnel with its troops in the tribal areas, according to the sources. They said that 'less than a hundred' US military experts have started arriving to train the military's Frontier Corps.

The sources insisted that no US military personnel will participate in combat operations against insurgents in the tribal areas.

According to these sources, Pakistan has thus far resisted direct US involvement with its forces.

“Pakistan has even rejected the suggestion to embed US military personnel as liaison officers with its troops in the tribal areas,” said a diplomatic source. “The Pakistanis insist that it is a bad idea and may backfire.”

The US trainers now arriving in Pakistan will focus on the Frontier Corps, a force of about 8,500 soldiers drawn from various Pakhtun tribes.

The trainers are expected to be in Pakistan for up to two years."

Seized laptop shows Chavez-rebel ties - Yahoo! News

The seized materials also point out that the Leftist in the US are already planning on selling out the Columbian government as soon as they can take power.

This snippet is the end of the article, where it finally mentions the attempts by the drug-lords/ communists/ terrorists to get their filthy fingers on a dirty bomb. That just does not matter to the terrorist sympathizing Leftists around the world. I wonder why the Party of the People does not worry about dirty bombs killing thousands and making millions sick?

Seized laptop shows Chavez-rebel ties - Yahoo! News: "References to U.S. diplomatic overtures are scintillating, if vague.

In a Dec. 11 message to the secretariat, Marquez writes: 'If you are in agreement, I can receive Jim and Tucker to hear the proposal of the gringos.'

The same message says an Italian referred to only as Consolo has told Marquez 'the European Parliament wants to get involved in the prisoner exchange.'

Writing two days before his death, Reyes tells his secretariat comrades that 'the gringos,' working through Ecuador's government, are interested 'in talking to us on various issues.'

'They say the new president of their country will be (Barack) Obama,' noting that Obama rejects both the Bush administration's free trade agreement with Colombia and the current military aid program.

Reyes said the response he relayed is that the United States would have to publicly express that desire.

Another message, to Reyes from a lower-ranking commander and dated Feb. 16, includes mention of a possible purchase of 50 kilos — 110 pounds — of uranium.

Uribe's government has claimed that means the FARC was seeking to build a dirty bomb. But the message discusses a different motive: selling the uranium at a profit."

Gary Gygax Gone for Good

I loved this game as a kid. Never got nuts about it, but passed many a happy evening killing orcs and trolls.

FOXNews.com - Dungeons and Dragons Co-Creator Gary Gygax Dies at 69 - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment: "MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A co-creator of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game has died.

Gary Gygax died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva, Wis. His wife Gail says the 69-year-old had been suffering from health problems for several years.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

It is considered the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games and has inspired legions of adoring fans. Gygax's wife says he always enjoyed hearing from them."

Iraq: Prime minister appeals for release of Chaldean archbishop

A crime against Christians by the Religion of Peace. Read the article and see how the silly Media lap up the cry against the 'political' kidnapping. What a joke.

AKI - Adnkronos international Iraq: Prime minister appeals for release of Chaldean archbishop: "Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki has appealed for the release of Paulos Faraj Rahho [photo], the Chaldean archbishop of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul who was kidnapped last Friday after he finished celebrating the rite of the Via Crucis at a local church.

'Iraqi Christians are one of Iraq's fundamental and indivisible components of its civilisation and people,' said al-Maliki in a statement on Tuesday.

The prime minister said that any aggression against members of the Iraqi Christian community is an attack on all Iraqis.

In the statement sent on Tuesday to the Chaldean patriarch in Iraq, Emmanuel III Delly, the Iraqi prime minister expressed his 'grief and sadness at the kidnapping of the Chaldean archbishop in Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, in a criminal aggression which caused the death of three of his companions.'"

US troops to participate in operations in tribal areas, says ex-spy master

Interesting slant on this article, against the Blackwater guys. The retired general hates the US for its failure to help Afghanistan after the CIA failed to help more after the Soviets were chased out. Of course, the Left refused to allow funds for rebuilding and helping the Afghanistanis, because some of them were religious zealots. So the zealots ended up taking over the region because they had help from the rich Muslims around the world.

Allowing Blackwater to train the Pakistani military is great. Those boys are fantastic at doing that job, just like they have a perfect record while protecting High Value Targets in Iraq. I would trust them to make the Pakistani commandos into deadly fighting machines. Go get 'em, boys!

AKI - Adnkronos international Pakistan: US troops to participate in operations in tribal areas, says ex-spy master: "Hundreds of US troops will be involved in military operations in Pakistan's restive tribal areas, according to a former head of the country's powerful intelligence agency, ISI.

“Seven hundred and fifty American commandoes will participate in upcoming military operations in the Pakistani tribal areas,' retired General Hamid Gul, former ISI director-general, told Adnkronos International (AKI).

“I confirm this to you on the basis of my information that those American commandoes will be sent [to Pakistan] through private [security] contracting firms like Blackwater and they will supervise the whole operation,' said Gul referring to Blackwater, a private security firm that has been at the centre of a controversy over private contractors in Iraq."

The Europeans Have Other Priorities

Yes they do! The Europeans don't care about anything except their government checks, and the War is ruining the welfare system. Terrorists might blow up a few people here and there, but cheap heroin is good for morale with the proles. Correct, tovarisch?

The Europeans Have Other Priorities: "A particularly cold Winter has shut down most Taliban and al Qaeda combat operations. The bad weather has killed nearly a thousand people so far, and injured thousands more with frostbite and disease. The Islamic terrorists are spending this time to get ready for more combat. That can be dangerous, as five Taliban terrorists were killed in southern Afghanistan this week, when a bomb they were assembling went off. The leader here was a local cleric, who died along with two of his sons. While religious zeal plays a role in the Taliban violence, a lot more of it is about tribal rivalry and money. The opium/heroin trade is bringing in unprecedented (for Afghanistan) amounts of money, and the drug gangs see the Taliban as more hospitable than the government and their foreign allies. The drug gangs pay a protection 'tax' to the local Taliban, who then go fight the police army and foreign troops, in order to protect the drug production (poppy growing, chemical processing of the crop into opium or heroin, and smuggling most of that out of the country.)"

Attrition: Why Are U.S. Troops So Hard To Kill?

Another excellent look at how good the Americans are at fighting a war, and WHY they are so good.

Attrition: Why Are U.S. Troops So Hard To Kill?: "While every combat death is a tragedy, the war in Afghanistan has been notable for how few of them there have been. We'll use a standard measure of combat losses, the number of troops in a combat division (12-20,000 troops) who are killed each day the division is in combat. Since late 2001, there have been .12 American combat deaths per division day in Afghanistan. During the Vietnam war, the average division lost 3.2 troops a day, which was similar to the losses suffered in Korea (1950-53). In Iraq, the losses have been .44 deaths per division per day. By comparison, during World War II the daily losses per American averaged (over 400-500 combat days) about twenty soldiers per day. On the Russian front, German and Russian divisions lost several times that, and often over a hundred a day for weeks on end."

As Israelis Pull Out of Gaza, Hamas Celebrates Its Rocketry

What? No complaints from the Eu or UN about attacks on civilians? The Israelis even stopped the search for weapons before they finished, just for the avoidance of more negative PR. Not that it helps.

As Israelis Pull Out of Gaza, Hamas Celebrates Its Rocketry - New York Times: "Soon after the forces left northern Gaza on Monday, two more of the imported rockets struck Ashkelon, an Israeli coastal city of 120,000 people about 10 miles north of the strip. One rocket hit an apartment block, causing damage but no serious injuries."

Thousands of Aliens In U.S. Flight Schools Illegally

Not good! Arrest a few of these guys and the others might start following the law.

Thousands of Aliens In U.S. Flight Schools Illegally : Homeland Security National Terror Alert - Homeland Security News: "Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.

“Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today,” wrote one regional security official to his boss at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration.

“Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes,” wrote the TSA official, Richard A. Horn, in 2005, complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.

Under the new laws, American flight schools are only supposed to provide pilot training to foreign students who have been given a background check by the TSA and have a specific type of visa.

But in thousands of cases that has not happened, according to the documents and current and former government officials involved in the program."

Border Patrol Agents Fire Tear Gas Over Border at Mexican Attackers

What an article. The writer whines about how the Border Patrol is endangering the Mexican citizens along the border by not standing around for the Mexicans to attack. By responding, the agents sometimes get tear gas into the homes of the locals.

Instead of complaining that the police are responding to rioters who keep coming to your neighborhood, complain to the local police about the lack of protection they are giving. If that does not work, form citizens groups to chase the criminals away. Why allow criminals to do things from your house or yard?

FOXNews.com - Border Patrol Agents Fire Tear Gas Over Border at Mexican Attackers - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News: "The Border Patrol says its agents have been attacked nearly 1,000 times during a one-year period.

The agency's top official in San Diego, Mike Fisher, said agents are taking action because Mexican authorities have been slow to respond. When an attack happens, he said, American authorities often wait hours for them to come, and help usually never arrives.

'We have been taking steps to ensure that our agents are safe,' Fisher said."

New al-Qaida book defends violence

Find these guys and fry them with napalm.

New al-Qaida book defends violence - Yahoo! News: "Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader wrote a book published Sunday on militant Islamic Web sites in which he slams radical militants who have disavowed armed struggle and turned their backs on violence.

The 215-page book by Ayman al-Zawahri is the latest salvo in an intellectual war between the founders of the terror group and the other Islamic militants, many of whom have become disillusioned with suicide bombings and attacks on civilians.

'This message that I present to the reader today is the most difficult, if not the hardest I have written in my life,' al-Zawahri wrote in the introduction to 'Exonerations,' published by al-Sahab, al-Qaida's media wing."

Terrorism at University of Illinois

Just because she is a Muslim and makes threatening remarks about killing people, the FBI jumps all over this poor lady. She is probably the victim of a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy to make her look bad. Where is Senator Clinton to defend her? Where is Reverend Sharpton to complain about FBI abuse?

Hawaii Reporter: Hawaii Reporter: "A 24-year-old Wheaton, Illinois resident was arrested for making e-mail threats against the University of Illinois-Chicago campus. Mahtab Shirani was nabbed on Tuesday by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), according to John W. Richardson, Chief of the University Police Department.

Shirani was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Chicago with one count of making threats through use of interstate commerce, which is a felony offense.

According to the police complaint, an individual subsequently identified as Shirani, who is a student at the University, sent an anonymous e-mail to a university administrator threatening a repeat of the shooting incident that had taken place the previous day at Northern Illinois University . The threat stated that a group of five individuals would carry out the attack sometime during the spring 2008 semester. However, the caller failed to give a reason for making the threat."

Ecuador says sends 3,200 troops to frontier

The Communists are escalating the the violence and blaming it on others. Of course they blame others, that is all Communists know how to do!

Ecuador says sends 3,200 troops to frontier - Yahoo! News: "Ecuador has sent 3,200 soldiers to the border province of Sucumbios after a diplomatic spat with Colombia over a Colombian military raid that killed a rebel leader inside Ecuadorean territory, a military official said on Monday."

Tehran is trying to sabotage anti-al-Qaeda groups

The Left will ignore this because it is bad news for the terrorists, even though it is also bad news for the US military and President Bush. Bomb the snot out of the Iranian intelligence building and send in some Marines to ensure that the job is done right.

AKI - Adnkronos international Iraq: Tehran is trying to sabotage anti-al-Qaeda groups, says US military spokesman: "US military spokesman Adm Gregory Smith said that 'the American military recently obtained confessions from detainees who are members of the Al-Quds Brigade and other Shia group who have been arrested in various parts of Iraq, who said that they were assigned to carry out armed operations to kill the leaders and the members of the Awakening Councils, in order to destroy this experiment.'

Smith said that 'the American forces have arrested 14 Iranians who represented a danger to the security of Iraq,' without giving any other details.

The head of Iraqi intelligence, Muhammad Abdallah al-Shahwani declared a few days ago that elements of Iranian secret services planned to sabotage the Awakening Council project.

Al-Shahwani urged the Iraqi security apparatus to 'follow suspicious activities and to collect all the information and clues provided by citizens, treating this with total secrecy and professionally in the interest of the country.'

The US forces began arming Sunni tribes in the province of al-Anbar last year, creating the Awakening Councils, which were aimed at hunting down and driving out al-Qaeda members."

Ecoterror Link Eyed in Wash. Fires

Nope, no terrorism here!

Ecoterror Link Eyed in Wash. Fires: "Fires gutted three multimillion-dollar model homes in a Seattle suburb on Monday, and authorities found a sign purportedly left by eco- terrorists that mocks claims that the homes were environmentally friendly.

"Built Green? Nope black!" said the spray-painted sign that bore the initials of the radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front.

Crews removed explosive devices found in the homes, said Fire Chief Rick Eastman of Snohomish County District 7. The FBI was investigating the fires as a potential domestic terrorism act, said FBI spokesman Rich Kolko in Washington, D.C.

No injuries were reported in the fires, which began before dawn in the wooded subdivision and were still smoldering by midmorning. The sheriff's office estimated damage at $7 million. In addition to the three homes destroyed, two sustained smoke damage.

The houses burned as a federal jury in Tacoma was about to resume deliberations in the case of an alleged ELF activist, Briana Waters. Waters could face at least 35 years if convicted of helping to firebomb the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001.

The fires started at the "Street of Dreams," a strip of unoccupied, furnished luxury model homes where developers show off the latest in high-end housing, interior design and landscaping. The homes are later sold.

The homes are in a development near the headwaters of Bear Creek, which is home to endangered chinook salmon. Opponents of the development had questioned whether the luxury homes could pollute the creek and an aquifer that is a drinking water source, and whether enough was done to protect nearby wetlands.

The sign, a sheet with red scraggly letters, said "McMansions in RCDs r not green," a reference to rural cluster developments.

One of the people involved in the project said the homes used "green" techniques such as water-pervious sidewalks, super-insulated walls and windows and products made with recycled materials, such carpet pads. Advertising for last summer's Street of Dreams show focused on the environmentally friendly aspects of the homes, which were smaller than some of the huge houses featured in years past.

"It's very disappointing to take a situation where we're tying to promote good building practices—Built Green practices—and that it's destroyed," said Doug Barnes, the Northwest division president of Centex Homes in Kirkland.

The homes that burned were between 4,200 and 4,750 square feet, with prices up to nearly $2 million. "

Shrine of the Mall Ninja » LonelyMachines

HAHAHAHAHA! This is the best laugh I have had for a while!

Go read this and see if you can keep your drink from splashing all over your computer. Go ahead!

Others might want to put aside any and all beverages before they read this, in the interests of saftey.

(Hat tip to IMAO )

Shrine of the Mall Ninja » LonelyMachines: "This is a collection of the wisdom posted on the internet by a guy calling himself Gecko45. It all started back at the end of the halcyon summer of 2001, and his posts have created a certain urban legend that many refer to as the Mall Ninja. Hang out at any gun shop, gun show or shooting match and you’ll see one of these guys; you might even see a group of them since they are known to associate in the wild.

The Mall Ninja is easily distinguished by an abundance of “tactical” gear, such as fatigues, a thigh holster (with, of course, a Glock), combat boots, bandolier and other accouterments that you’d usually only see on a SWAT operative. Median age is usually 19-25, and they tend to boast about their various exploits with certain Special Forces units, all of which they’re too young and idiotic to have joined (real Special Forces types don’t brag). They typically have opinions on everything, regardless of expertise, they are uniformly poor shots, and they tend to exhibit a frightening lack of safety training."

Anti-Quran Film to Air in Netherlands

This is interesting. If the Muslims react in the usual fashion, with murder and riots, they will have proved the probable point of the film. If they react calmly and with lawsuits, they might have a case.

The biggest 'if' of this case is going to be what the film will say about Islam. If they only take quotes from the Koran and Hadith, then the Muslims will have a hard time proving their case. It might be interesting to see how the Muslims claim that quoting the Koran is defamation of Islam!

Anti-Quran Film to Air in Netherlands: "Wilders has lived under round-the-clock security since the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic radical enraged by his short film, 'Submission,' a fictional study of abused Muslim women with scenes of near-naked women with Quranic texts engraved on their flesh.

The film 'Fitna'—an Arabic word meaning discord—puts the centuries-old Dutch traditions of religious tolerance and freedom of speech on a collision course.

If it airs, Dutch Muslims are expected to file criminal complaints for racial or religious vilification. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to charge Wilders with any offense.

'Our law is very clear—anybody can make a film. We have freedom of expression and you cannot restrict that,' says Moroccan-born Sadik Harchaoui, chief of the Forum Institute for Multicultural Development.

'Can you offend people? The answer is yes. I'm not saying you should do it or it is desirable, but you can,' he added. 'But if the film is insulting and preaches hate, then the law has to take action.'"

Feds Mum on Home Search in Ricin Case

This is scary stuff! Why did this guy have three storage units? I know that the Anarchist Cookbook is interesting, I have a couple of copies, one of which was handed out in a counter-terrorism class I took, so I can not judge this guy for that, though it is evil that he actually used it.

I still wonder what this guy was planning on doing.

Feds Mum on Home Search in Ricin Case: "The FBI searched a home in Utah and three storage units linked to a man possibly sickened by the deadly toxin ricin that was discovered in his motel room, but remained quiet Monday about what they found.

In a statement, the FBI said only that the search had concluded and there was no health threat discovered at the home or the storage units.

Authorities believed they had recovered all of the ricin in several vials found last week from the Las Vegas Strip motel where Roger Von Bergendorff had stayed, but they wanted to also check the home in Riverton, where Bergendorff had lived.

Authorities believed they had recovered all of the ricin, but as a precaution they wanted to also check the home in Riverton, where Bergendorff had lived with a cousin, Thomas Tholen.

Nearby homes were evacuated Sunday as FBI agents in hazardous-material protection suits meticulously searched Tholen's house."

Egyptian Chopper Strays Over Gaza

HA! I knew the Joos were tricky! Pretending to be Egyptian like this is a good scam! Now we just have to have the UN and EU condemn the incursion into the innocent occupied territory of Gaza by the Joos to make this complete.

Not that anyone will condemn the Muslims in Egypt for this. They could bomb Gaza flat and no one would care. The Israelis, on the other hand, bomb a missile launcher and get condemned for killing the terrorists firing the missiles. Missiles aimed at schools and hospitals. I wonder what would happen if a year went by without a terror attack from Gaza?

Egyptian Chopper Strays Over Gaza: "The pilot of an Egyptian helicopter lost in the fog found himself over the Gaza Strip and under fire from Hamas militants Monday until Israeli warplanes escorted his aircraft back across the border, Egyptian and Israeli security officials said.

The red-and-white chopper strayed into the narrow coastal strip between Israel and Egypt shortly after Israeli forces withdrew from northern Gaza, concluding an offensive against rocket squads.

Hamas mistook the Egyptian aircraft for an Apache attack helicopter used by Israel in airstrikes and tried to shoot it down, the militant group said. There were no reports of injury to the pilot or any passengers.

The Israeli military said its radar picked up an unidentified aircraft crossing into Gaza airspace, which Israel controls. Fearing an attack, Israel scrambled jet fighters to investigate.

After a few tense minutes, Israeli radio operators contacted the pilot, who said he had lost his way. Israeli planes then escorted the wayward chopper back to the Egyptian border.

An Egyptian security official said the aircraft belonged to an oil company, while an Israeli defense official said it was a military helicopter. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979 but relations between them are cool."

Marines value brains more than brawn

The Marines traditionally react to change much faster than the Army, so this is not a surprise. It is always nice to see that they have kept up with the changes of the terrorists as much as they can. Semper Gumby - Always Flexible!

Current and Local and Breaking News for Denver, Colorado and the surrounding area : Rocky Mountain News: "Padilla said today's Marines have grown up inside their homes, playing on computers and with video games. They adapt to the use of new technology and equipment more quickly than earlier generations.

But it is also problematic, he says.

'They didn't grow up outside,' learning how to analyze their surroundings or learning about the outdoors, he said. Earlier Marines had skills like hunting and tracking under their belts.

'What we are seeing now is a generation of Marines that don't have those skills,' Padilla said."

Chavez Warns of War With Colombia

Chavez is itching for a war and supporting the terrorists. Naturally, the Media will be white washing this soon to protect its good Leftist friends. Idiots.

Power Line Forum | Chavez Warns of War With Colombia: "Chavez called the Colombian government “a terrorist state” as he sided with the leftist rebels it has battled for decades, saying its military “invaded Ecuador, flagrantly violated Ecuador’s sovereignty.”

Neither Colombia’s foreign minister nor the country’s military leadership would comment on Chavez’s latest move when pressed by reporters for comment Sunday as they left a funeral service in Bogota for a Colombian soldier killed in Saturday’s raid.

Speaking in Texas, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said officials were monitoring the situation.

“This is an odd reaction by Venezuela to Colombia’s efforts against the FARC, a terrorist organization that continues to hold Colombians, Americans and others hostage,” Johndroe said.

Chavez said he had just spoken to Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and that Ecuador was also sending troops to its border with Colombia. Chavez said his Ecuadorean ally told him that Uribe had lied and that the rebels were killed while asleep “in their pajamas.”"

Escalation in Southern Israel

The Israeli government has finally found a line that Hamas is NOT allowed to cross! About time. Too bad it is not the poor residents of Sderot, but this is a start. Until Hamas gives up the terror campaign, seal them in. If Egypt can't keep them sealed at that end, then let the Gazans run free in Egypt to blow things up. That might finally outrage people.

Collactive: GIYUS.org - Escalation in Southern Israel: "Six people were wounded in Ashkelon on Saturday, after one rocket landed next to City Hall and another in the marina area. Another rocket struck Ashkelon on Sunday. One person was slightly wounded, medics said.

Ashkelon's mayor said he was willing to sacrifice his residents' sense of security for the short run, but would not accept the rockets becoming a normal reality.

'This is a state of war, I know no other definition for it,' said Roni Mahatzri, from his makeshift office in an underground bunker. 'If it lasts a week or two, we can handle that, but we have no intention of allowing this to become part of our daily routine.'

That seemed to be the major concern for most residents.

'We will not turn into Sderot,' Shimoni said, referring to the town that has suffered most of the rocket attacks over the past seven years. The rockets have killed 13 people, wounded dozens more, caused millions of dollars in damage and made daily life unbearable."

The Las Vegas ricin case: Man in coma ID’d as Roger Von Bergendorff

Is he a White Supremist? Not enough information yet. Is he a terrorist? The evidence sure points that way! Anyone with ricin could be assumed to be a terrorist until proven not guilty.

What gets me is the stupid statement about the ricin maker might be a victim! Thats nuts!

Michelle Malkin » The Las Vegas ricin case: Man in coma ID’d as Roger Von Bergendorff: "The Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained a DHS document with new details about the men connected to the bizarre ricin case. The man in a coma has been identified as Roger Von Bergendorff. The man who claimed to be Von Bergendorff’s “relative” who discovered the ricin vials in Von Bergendorff’s motel room has been identified as Thomas Tholen.

Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said Von Bergendorff “is not considered a criminal suspect.”

Lombardo said: “I don’t want to make any conclusions with the anarchist-type textbook. It doesn’t make you a terrorist because you have this type textbook. It doesn’t make you a terrorist if you possess firearms.”

Police said Von Bergendorff had a misdemeanor arrest several years ago but would release no other details until the ricin investigation is completed.

Suey said the suite was registered to the man, but she did not know how long he had stayed in the suite before his hospitalization.

…Suey said police do not know whether the former occupant of the hotel suite manufactured or possessed the substance. “Might he be a victim?” a reporter asked. “That’s possible,�"