Ex-911 operator accused of illegal database searches

This is all because of her religion! She is only trying to see if her or her 220+ friends and family are known to the terror establishment so that the others can carry out operations against the Infidel Government! What is so wrong with that?

Ex-911 operator accused of illegal database searches | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle: "A former city 911 operator faces multiple felony counts for illegally searching state driving records and state police databases that included the FBI's terrorist watch list, officials said Wednesday.

The fired employee, Nadire P. Zenelaj, 32, of Rochester insists she did nothing wrong and is being singled out because she is Muslim.

'I feel they targeted me because of my religion,' said Zenelaj, who worked at the 911 center for nearly six years. 'I have no criminal history. I have never gone against the law.'

Richard Vega, director of the city's Office of Public Integrity, said Zenelaj was 'running personal information on herself, on her family and on friends. I think it went beyond curiosity. ... We think she was accessing this information to pass it on to others.'

At least one of the 227 names that Zenelaj searched for was on the terrorist watch list, according to police. She was fired in December, arrested Tuesday and pleaded not guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor official misconduct and 232 felony counts of computer trespass — one for each allegedly illegal search."

LAW anti-tank rockets found in Palestinian Shufat camp in Jerusalem

These weapons are for Peace! Jimmy Carter says so! He would never lie about killing Jews. Would he?

DEBKAfile - LAW anti-tank rockets found in Palestinian Shufat camp in Jerusalem: "A joint Israeli military-border police raid of the northern Jerusalem Palestinian district, turned up a large secret weapons cache, Monday, May 5. Seven men were arrested on suspicion of engaging in terrorism and arm trafficking.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report this was Israel’s first large-scale counter-terror operation in the Jerusalem municipal area. Uncovered was a large stock of pistols, hand grenades, stun grenades, ammo and military equipment, as well as LAW anti-tank rockets.

They also note the raid was carried out just as visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was about to hold a trilateral meeting in Jerusalem with prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Its findings exposed the true state of security in the Israeli capital.

Rice is on her 15th visit to the region in two years in an effort to push Israel-Palestinian peace dialogue forward.

The house-to-house search was preceded by a curfew and encirclement of the targeted Shufat camp, most of whose 10,000 inhabitants have Israeli identity cards with benefits.

The Shufat camp fringes northern Jerusalem’s main transport hub: highways heading north and out to the Dead Sea and the road connections from the French Hill, Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yaacov suburbs to the city center."

Bolton: US air strikes on Iran would be major step towards Iraq victory

The Mustache is the Man! When he says something it is always hard to argue with. As usual, he is right that the Iranians need to be stopped before things get out of hand over there. Again.

Killing terrorists is not just a job, it is a better than chocolate.


DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security: "Bolton: US air strikes on Iran would be major step towards Iraq victory

May 7, 2008, 12:13 AM (GMT+02:00)

Former American UN ambassador John Bolton said that while a hostile Iranian response harming US interests existed, the damaged inflicted by Tehran would be far higher if Washington took no action. He was quoted by the UK Telegraph as urging therefore that Washington order air strikes against the Revolutionary Guards Corps camps training Iraqi insurgents.

A US spokesman last week confirmed DEBKAfile’s earlier disclosure that the IRGC’s al Qods Brigades had drafted Hizballah personnel to support Iraq’s Shiite militias and train them at facilities in Iran."

Feds Easily Penetrated San Diego State University Drug Culture

Stupid pot heads don't think that cops care about college drugs? How do these morons get into college anyway? Start a crack down on potheads on every campus and see how fast our professors all complain about the lack of good "thinking material".

Feds Easily Penetrated San Diego State University Drug Culture: Top News Stories at Officer.com: "Danielle Patterson, a sophomore sorority member, said she was awake cramming for finals when agents raided an apartment behind her building, pounding on doors and marching boys down the block to the college arena, where they were questioned.

"I never thought something like that would happen here," she said. "To think they think drugs are such a big issue here, it's ridiculous."

Parents joined students at a campus rally Wednesday calling for more drug-abuse treatment instead of tougher enforcement.

"This heavy hand coming down is not going to change drug use on campus," said Gretchen Burns-Bergman, whose son is a month away from graduating. "There's not going to be a shortage of drugs on campus."

During the investigation, agents quickly worked their way to Fraternity Row, where the main target was Theta Chi. They discovered six of its members were operating a sophisticated drug business, with younger "apprentice" members accompanying older members to drug deals in order to learn how the business was run, authorities say.

The ringleader, a 19-year-old, brazenly sent out text messages advertising weekend blowout sales on cocaine, authorities say. Apart from that, however, the fraternity did little to attract attention. In fact, it was known for having a no-alcohol policy at its rundown gray house.

"Theta Chi did not have that reputation, nothing that would have led us to suspect they were the primary purveyors," said Lt. Lamine Secka of the campus police.

One informant told investigators the profits from drug sales were being plowed back into the fraternity's operating budget, according to prosecutors.

The university's fraternities and sororities have about 3,000 members, but they play an outsized role in campus life at the 34,000-student school.

A lawyer for one student arrested last week with about $15,000 worth of cocaine and marijuana did not immediately return a call. The names of the lawyers for some of other defendants could not immediately be learned."

Marines in combat with Taliban

ClipSyndicate Media Player


Marines slaughter bad guys on camera, what else do we need to know?

Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq’s leader, reported captured in Mosul

More horrible news for the Leftists and Media. Just think of all the information that must have been captured with this terrorist scumbag! Soon dozens or hundreds of terrorists might be in jail or dead. Who will the Left be able to honor and support over there? Who will the Media call for reports of American Atrocities?

Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq’s leader, reported captured in Mosul - The Long War Journal: "The Iraqi military claimed Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq’s leader, has been captured in the northern city of Mosul in Ninewa province. The US military has not confirmed the report of al Masri’s capture. Al Masri's capture would provide a potential intelligence boon on al Qaeda's network in Iraq and its connections to the international organization.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al Askari said al Masri’s capture was “confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province,” The Associated Press reported. The person believed to be al Masri has been transferred to US custody for identification, according to Askari. Al Masri’s capture was also announced on Iraqiya Television, the state-run TV network, AP reported.

The Iraqi government has a history of announcing the capture of senior al Qaeda leaders, only to have to retract the statements. The Iraqi government had made several claims of wounding, killing and capturing both al Masri and Abu Omar al Baghdadi, the fictitious leader of al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq, several times during 2007. The reports turned out to be false or cases of mistaken identity."

Court denies Islamic divorce

Win one for the Western traditions! Good to see this guy finding that it is better to be in Pakistan to get a divorce than the US. If he wants to live here, it is time for him to learn to respect US laws. Then tell him to piss off if he does not like it.

Court denies Islamic divorce -- -- baltimoresun.com: "Saying 'I divorce thee' three times, as men in Muslim countries have been able to do for centuries when leaving their wives, is not enough if you're a resident of Maryland, the state's highest court ruled yesterday.

Yesterday, the Court of Appeals rejected a Pakistani man's argument that his invocation of the Islamic talaq, under which a marriage is dissolved simply by the husband's say-so, allowed him to part with his wife of more than 20 years and deny her a share of his $2 million estate.

The justices affirmed a lower court's decision overturning a divorce decree obtained in Pakistan by Irfan Aleem, a World Bank economist who moved from London to Maryland with his wife, Farah Aleem, in 1985.

Both of their children were born in the United States."

Jordanian Minister Ali Al-Faqir Vows to Conquer Spain and Rome

More news that the Media will bury out of fear of the Muslims. When will it be time to confront these people and send them back to the stone age they prefer to live in?

Clip Transcript: "Sheik Ali Al-Faqir: We must declare that Palestine, from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, is an Islamic land, and that Spain – Andalusia – is also the land of Islam. Islamic lands that were occupied by the enemies will once again become Islamic. Furthermore, we will reach beyond these countries, which are lost at one point. We proclaim that we will conquer Rome, like Constantinople was conquered once, and as it will be conquered again.

Interviewer: Allah willing.

Sheik Ali Al-Faqir: We will rule the world, as has been said by the Prophet Muhammad.

[...]

We will face a battlefront that is broader and stronger. Its beginnings were in Palestine, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in Chechnya. What has begun will be completed. It will not stop.

[...]

The Zionist entity reached completion, and it is beginning to decline, until it will wane and come to its end. Similarly, America has occupied, thundered, and foamed with rage, and proclaimed, like Pharoah, 'I am your supreme God,' but it will come to its end, and they have begun to realize that their end is near. We have begun to read in American and European newspapers that 'our glory is on the wane, and there is nothing we can do about it.' This morning on Al-Jazeera TV, I saw American scientists and strategic theoreticians, wh"

How ‘nakba’ proves the fiction of a Palestinian Nation

I love history and it saddens me to see the way that history changes as people warp it to their political agenda. I pray that the honest version will someday be known to the Public and that the Media will help to disseminate it.

How ‘<I>nakba</I>’ proves the fiction of a Palestinian Nation: "Over the past few years, the term nakba (also spelled naqba) has become the favorite nonsense word of the Anti-Israel Lobby. Meaning 'catastrophe' in Arabic, it has been embraced by anti-Semites all over the planet to refer to Israel's creation, which supposedly imposed a 'catastrophe' upon the 'disenfranchised Palestinian Arabs.'

Of course, the real catastrophe that befell the Arabs in 1948-49 was that they failed in their attempt to annihilate Israel and exterminate its population, and for that they paid a price.

Meanwhile, nakba Nonsense has been spreading. Google finds over 85,000 web pages referring to Israel's creation as a 'nakba,' and a Yahoo search finds even more than that. The anti-Israel web magazine Counterpunch cannot mention Israel without using the term. Even Israel's leftist minister of education, Yuli Tamir, has ordered that the nakba be taught as part of the curriculum in Israeli schools, where Israel's schoolchildren can be taught to mourn their own country's existence."

Michael J. Totten: The Military Situation in Beirut

Totten Always has the best insight into the Middle East. His friends help alot with that. Go read him and his links. We all need better insight into what is happening on the street over there so that we don't make bad guesses and back the wrong side with the wrong force.

Michael J. Totten: The Military Situation in Beirut: "Fighting in Beirut has broken out between Hezbollah/Amal and Future Movement supporters. Here's a brief look at the military situation. For a political reading, see the post by Lee Smith below, and make sure to read the excellent quoted op-ed by Michael Young.

The tactics are reminiscent of the 1970s-80s war, with two essential differences: 1- the trigger is not the Palestinian guerrilla threat to the state, but Hezbollah's threat to Lebanon, and 2- the beginning fault line is to the west of the 1975 flash point.

The current areas of clashes is roughly along a crescent from Hamra and the vicinity of the Serail in the north down to Tariq el-Jdideh in the south, and the vicinity of Qoreitem (Hariri's residence) and Ain el-Tineh (Berri's residence) in the west to Ras el-Nabe' in the east."

Fighting rocks Beirut, five killed

At least we don't have any US troops there. THe UN has forces there to disarm the Party of Allah, so it is so I am glad that Hezb'allah can't use terrorism or armed violence to influence the political situation.

What? They have not done anything with their mandate? Who would have guessed?

Fighting rocks Beirut, five killed | International | Reuters: "Fierce clashes raged in Beirut on Thursday after the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah said the U.S.-supported Lebanese government had declared war by targeting its communications network.

Security sources said the fighting killed at least five people and wounded 12.

The street confrontations have aggravated the worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war and exacerbated sectarian tension between Sunni Muslims loyal to the government and Shi'ites who support the opposition.

The U.N. Security Council called for 'calm and restraint', urging all sides to return to peaceful dialogue, while the White House urged Hezbollah to stop 'disruptive' acts.

Fighters from Hezbollah and the allied Amal group exchanged assault rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades with pro-government gunmen in several areas of the capital in the worst domestic fighting since the civil war."

Genes Reveal Platypus Even Weirder Than Suspected

I always liked these little guys. Kind of cool to see who they are related to in the big world. Even if it is not anyone really expected.

FOXNews.com - Genes Reveal Platypus Even Weirder Than Suspected - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News: "To sort out the evolutionary relationships among platypuses and other animals, the team compared the genome of a female platypus nicknamed Glennie with those of humans, mice, dogs, opossums and chickens.

Chickens were included to represent egg-laying animals, such as extinct reptiles, that passed on much of their DNA to the platypus and other mammals in the course of evolution.

At roughly 2.2 billion base pairs, the platypus genome is about two-thirds the size of the human genome, the researchers found. It shares more than 80 percent of its genes with other mammals.

['This is our ticket back in time to when all mammals laid eggs while suckling their young on milk,' Oxford University's Chris Ponting, who was part of the study, told Agence France-Presse.]"

China orders nationwide fight against fatal virus

Another major outbreak of something disgusting. Really disgusting! Thank the Lord it is not very fatal.

Khaleej Times Online - China orders nationwide fight against fatal virus: "China ordered authorities across the nation on Saturday to fight hand, foot and mouth disease, after a rapidly spreading outbreak killed at least 23 children and infected nearly 4,000.

'Our doctors will leave hospitals to find potential patients rather than sitting in the hospitals to wait for them,' deputy health minister Liu Qian told state television in the worst-hit area, Fuyang city in the eastern province of Anhui.

The Ministry of Health said cases of the disease might increase in coming months, because June and July were the peak season for it. Cases in some Chinese provinces, as well as Taiwan and Singapore, are running above year-ago levels, it said.

It ordered health authorities across the country to report all cases within 24 hours. Officials would visit nurseries and primary schools to educate staff on hygiene and prevention steps, and Chinese scientists would step up research into the disease.

In Fuyang, 22 children have died from hand, foot and mouth disease and 3,321 have been infected, of which 978 were in hospital and 58 were critically ill or in serious condition, the ministry said."

Ex-Qaida sector shows safety gains

More bad news for the Leftists and other terror supporters. Great news for the Iraqis and their families. Those poor "useful idiots" will all have to fight hard to ignore more good news from Iraq.

Ex-Qaida sector shows safety gains | www.azstarnet.com ®: "Ex-Qaida sector shows safety gains
wire reports
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.03.2008

MADAIN, Iraq — Just a few months ago, two to three people a day were dying in the Madain district, once a stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Ammer Abdulrazaq Hamod never left the area, in the southeastern part of Baghdad province, but he was concerned about safety — especially for his three children. But now Madain residents are coming out of their homes. Children ride their bikes, and residents mingle downtown.
'My children, they live a normal life,' Hamod said. 'They are in the street, playing soccer games, going here and there.'
Residents credit the recent security gains to when U.S.-backed Iraqi forces entered the district in December and to the formation of an 'awakening council,' a U.S.-allied Sunni armed group that's charged with fighting al-Qaida in Iraq. Now all the area needs is better services, residents say: cleaner water, regular electricity, better-equipped hospitals and schools. And the recent signs of safety are meant to persuade the central government to provide just that.
'After only one month, terrorist attacks stopped,' said Hamod, a member of the council, which is mixed with Sunni and Shiite Muslims, rare among the awakening councils.
Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, the head of"

Gut Check for the "Close Guantanamo" Crowd

Such innocent bastards. Just kill them all as spys and terrorists and get it over. Either that or let them go to live in Hollywood or Berkeley. With their good friends.

Counterterrorism Blog: Gut Check for the "Close Guantanamo" Crowd: "Part of the public campaign to close Guantanamo involves the claim that it houses many innocent people who were swept up from the battlefields where the U.S. military is operating. Now Reuters is reporting that someone released from Guantanamo has died in a suicide attack in Iraq. Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti national, reportedly killed himself in an attack in Mosul. He had been held in Guantanamo until his 2005 release and repatriation.

Fortunately, we have not recently suffered the spectacle of prominent Americans traveling to enemy territory to announce their hope that they will succeed in defeating the United States, like Jane Fonda’s notorious trip to Hanoi. This suggests that even Americans who are critical of our foreign policy are careful to stop short of expressing their hope that Iraqi insurgents kill their fellow Americans. Even to them, al-Ajmi should be a villain.

The news of this incident, if true, shows this: we had the right guy. Could it be that he was innocent when arrested but became radicalized as a result of our invasion of Iraq? Perhaps, but this would be a strange thing for someone from Kuwait, which Iraq invaded in 1990."

Command and control center of armed militias in Sadr city bombed, destroyed

Jawa found this great story about getting rid of the Sadr command and control. Hurray! About time they are gone.

كونا : Command and control center of armed militias in Sadr city bombed, destroyed - الدفاع والأمن - 03/05/2008: "Command and control center of armed militias in Sadr city bombed, destroyed
Military and Security 5/3/2008 3:27:00 PM

BAGHDAD, May 3 (KUNA) -- The U.S. army in Iraq reported on Saturday that its troops and Iraqi forces bombed and destroyed today a centre for the leadership of the armed militias in Sadr City, north-east of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
A statement by the US army said that the joint forces shelled at 10:00 a.m. this morning the headquarters for command and control of the militias using precision-guided munitions.
The statement disclosed that intelligence reports indicated that the target was the headquarters center for command and control and was used by armed elements for planning and coordinating attacks against Iraqi and coalition security forces and Iraqi citizens.
The statement did not reveal whether gunmen were inside the building during the shelling or whether there were casualties."

Embedded Patriotism

Thanks to IMAO for finding this excellent article. About time someone found a way to put an embedded ID chip in the terrorists.

Crunch Time: Embedded Patriotism: "The Patriot Micro-chip is a small implant designed to be placed in the head of the terrorist & allows 100% accuracy in determining the location of the target. There are various methods of delivery & modern technology allows for selective implantation (with low occurrence of rejection) regardless of location.

Since not all applications are identical, the Patriot comes in various sizes and may include precious metals to avoid an allergic reaction to the implant.
(Note: size choices may not be available to all implantees)"

Science-Fiction Writers Help Government Prepare for Attacks of the Future

Way cool! I would love to watch a brain session with these guys.

FOXNews.com - Science-Fiction Writers Help Government Prepare for Attacks of the Future - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "SIGMA — it takes its name from the Greek letter used as a summation symbol in mathematics — is similar in concept to the JASON group, a team of physicists, biologists and chemists that has advised the country since World War II.

Originally a group of 10, SIGMA has swelled to include 35 members. Most have Ph.D.s and all are popular writers and designers in their own right.

These sci-fi writers are particularly adept at envisioning new technologies and planning against “disruptive technology,” according to Andrews. He said he would pit his group “against any other in the world.”

Those in the know in government clearly agree, since SIGMA members have long consulted with agencies like the Homeland Security and Defense Departments, DARPA, Sandia Labs, NASA and the CIA. Some current members are employed by NASA and the Navy; one is a director at Los Alamos National Laboratory."

Changes to the DIA

Print Article: "Just 13 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the heavily guarded Army fort, once the home of the Buffalo Soldiers, is noted today for training some of the U.S. military's most-talented intelligence operatives and interrogation personnel.

Many buildings at the fort have no windows to protect the classified information and the training that takes place inside. Their central focus is combating the country's latest threat: terrorism.

'The threat changed. We went from communism to terrorism,' said Steve Norton, chief of the Defense Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Management Office within the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). 'So we're not looking at nation states; we're not looking at armies; we're not looking at equipment — submarines and ships. We're dealing with a very diabolical enemy, but within the human dimension kind of threat.'

Mr. Norton and John Antonitis, an intelligence professional and a staff member of the now-defunct Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, said preparing military personnel to go 'outside the wire' is essential to winning the war on terror.

In an interview with The Washington Times at the Pentagon, Mr. Norton and Mr. Antonitis explained how the war on terror is like no other in the history of the U.S. military and"

False morality handicaps IDF Planning for Gaza

I read the answer given in the story and like it. Who wants to guess what the answer is before you read it in the link?

IMRA - Thursday, May 1, 2008 Weekly Commentary: False morality handicaps IDF Planning for Gaza: "This is how Abu Rajah, a resident of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip,
described how Hamas gunmen take over apartment buildings when Israeli forces
approach the area::

'Scores of masked men rushed to the area. Most of them carried large bags full of weapons. They invaded our apartment buildings and demanded that the resident leave. In response the women asked the gunmen to distance themselves from the buildings and children. The atmosphere became tense and some of the residents were beaten by the gunmen, who were mostly from Hamas. In the end most of the residents left the buildings. We left the buildings in their hands. They brought sandbags into our bedrooms and living room. They set up heavy machine guns in the windows and planted large explosive devices in the sidewalks. '
Fatah website as quoted by Maariv correspondent Amit Cohen - 1 May 2008.

What is the operative message for Israeli policy makers from this report?"

Ten North Koreans possibly killed in Syria air strike

Good, I hope this slows down the Iranians and North Koreans with their programs. Or maybe someone will get the hint and blow up the Iranian and North Korean plants.

DEBKAfile - Ten North Koreans possibly killed in Syria air strike - Tokyo: "Ten North Koreans may have been killed in an Israeli air strike on Syria in September, NHK-the Japanese Broadcasting Corp. reported on its Web site, citing unidentified South Korean intelligence officials.

The 10 people, whose remains were cremated and returned to North Korea in October, had been helping with the construction of a nuclear reactor in Syria, the Japanese broadcaster said. Some North Koreans probably survived the air attack.

The US last week released undated photos showing the head of the North Korean reactor fuel plant with the head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission in Syria and the same official attending the Six-Party Talks.

Thursday night, the White House in Washington broke its silence on Israel’s Sept. 6, 2007 attack on a nuclear site in northern Syria. Spokeswoman Dana Perino stated its conviction that North Korea helped Syria build a secret nuclear reactor. She spoke after intelligence officials briefed US lawmakers about the Syrian nuclear facility that was destroyed by Israel last year

Perino's statement did not mention Israel. It said Syria was building a 'covert nuclear reactor' in its eastern desert that was capable of producing plutonium.

That development underscored the international community was right to be concerned about the nuclear activities of Iran and 'must take further steps" to confront that challenge, she said. "

Israel: Why Hamas Is Certain Of Success

I still think the best idea is to just work through Gaza and shoot anyone with Hamas ID, flags, clothing, or weapons. No one can get them all, but we can get enough to destroy the organization. Get all the destruction done in one sweep and that should finish this.

Israel: Why Hamas Is Certain Of Success: "Why Hamas Is Certain Of Success
April 30, 2008: Hamas has expressed interest in a ceasefire, of six months or more. Hamas explained this by referring to the Koran, where early in the history of Islam, it was common to use such truces to build up your military strength, before resuming the war, and winning. In Gaza, Hamas has imposed restrictions on indoor public gatherings, in an effort to prevent rival Fatah from undertaking political action of any sort.



Rocket and mortar attacks into southern Israel continue, with one or two dozen rockets or shells a day being fired. Hamas apparently has no interest in making peace with Israel. Hamas internal propaganda continues to call for the destruction of Israel, and points out that the support from Iran would make that possible once Hamas was able to find a way to import large quantities of weapons and other material from Iran. Hizbollah in Lebanon is the model Hamas uses for this. Hamas believes it cannot lose and that time, and God, are on its side."

An Anatomy of Surrender

Excellent article with excellent insights and research in it. I want to read it again to see if the things that did not click the first time will click in the next read. And then again and again. I need to look up some of the points to get the full stories, even though I know most of the points Mr. Bawer has made. I love articles that tie loose threats into a string, but this is almost a rope strong enough to hang with.

An Anatomy of Surrender by Bruce Bawer, City Journal Spring 2008: "We need to recognize that the cultural jihadists hate our freedoms because those freedoms defy sharia, which they’re determined to impose on us. So far, they have been far less successful at rolling back freedom of speech and other liberties in the U.S. than in Europe, thanks in no small part to the First Amendment. Yet America is proving increasingly susceptible to their pressures.

The key question for Westerners is: Do we love our freedoms as much as they hate them? Many free people, alas, have become so accustomed to freedom, and to the comfortable position of not having to stand up for it, that they’re incapable of defending it when it’s imperiled—or even, in many cases, of recognizing that it is imperiled. As for Muslims living in the West, surveys suggest that many of them, though not actively involved in jihad, are prepared to look on passively—and some, approvingly—while their coreligionists drag the Western world into the House of Submission.

But we certainly can’t expect them to take a stand for liberty if we don’t stand up for it ourselves."

CBS' Butler says he isn't sure who kidnapped him in Iraq

What a piece of crap this guy is. Let him go back to his captors and stay out of the US. Put him in a regular US military prison for a month to let him see how horrible it really is compared to the starvation he faced with his good friends the terrorists. I would spit on him except I don't want to waste good saliva on jerks like this.

My Way News - CBS' Butler says he isn't sure who kidnapped him in Iraq: "Men wearing police fatigue uniforms and armed with AK-47's hustled him out of the room and into a car. He was first taken to a police station in Basra and then was held in different places - including three nights where he was sealed into a small room between two walls, he said.

He said he tried not to be belligerent and make a human connection with his captors.

"Straight away you assess the situation," he said. "I am standing there, in front of these eight guys with AK-47s, and I am in a pair of underpants and a T-shirt. The odds are not in my favor. so there is no point in trying to do anything heroic or stupid."

While he was held, he heard a lot of Hezbollah propaganda video and Hezbollah ringtones on mobile phones, but he can't be sure his captors were affiliated with the organization.

As time went on, his captors treated him better, but he was still held with a sack over his head and arm restraints. He eventually got the sense that his captors didn't intend to kill him, and had backed themselves into a corner.

There were points that he thought he was going to die, the first when he was taken from the police station, Butler said.

"I was aware that we were driving out into a quieter area," he said. "I couldn't tell exactly where we were going, but I was aware that there were no more streetlights, for instance, and there were no more dogs barking. You didn't hear any cars. So I thought we were being taken out into the desert and, you know, we were just being shot in the desert."

Butler said he felt it was better to be kidnapped in Iraq then taken into custody by Americans in Afghanistan.

"I was pleased I wasn't being mortarboarded in Guantanamo or being held for six and a half years like an Al-Jazeera cameraman, for instance," he said.

Butler said he lost about 42 pounds and during the last 12 days of his captivity, ate one tangerine and four boiled eggs.

On the day he was found, he heard voices outside where he was staying that escalated into a gunfight. The door to his room was kicked in. A soldier aimed a gun at his head, but when the Iraqi army realized Butler was a Westerner he was taken away to a superior officer."

Consequences: A Rapid US Military Withdrawal From Iraq

Something good to see.

Consequences: A Rapid US Military Withdrawal From Iraq: "Consequences: A Rapid US Military Withdrawal From Iraq

by Austin Bay
April 25, 2008

In February 2007, the ArenaUSA (headquartered in Hollywood, California) asked me to speculate on the possible outcomes of 'a rapid US and coalition military withdrawal from Iraq.' My analysis produced seven potential outcomes, seven 'scenarios' to use the military lingo. The scenarios, which are not mutually exclusive, are 'future histories' describing Iraq, the Middle East, and to an extent, the global political consequences of a rapid coalition military withdrawal from Iraq in mid to late 2007."

Islamic Hackers Score

The Religion of Peace and Tolerance is moving into the modern age. Too bad they can't find a way to use modern technology for something besides death and destruction. They need to find a way to get to real peace. That is just not a easy thing to find for them. Anyone have any suggestions?

Information Warfare: Islamic Hackers Score: "Islamic Hackers attacked the web site of the Bank of Israel on Passover weekend (April 19-20), and shut it down for two days. The hackers identified themselves as 'The Moorish,' indicating that they belonged to a known Algerian hacking organization. But Israel suspects Hizbollah, which has been trying to build a Cyber War capability. The bank insisted that the damage was minimal, but they would say that in order to deny the hackers any inside information on how successful they were. Moslem hackers have been attacking Israeli commercial and government web sites for years. Of late, they have had little success, as the Israelis have been constantly improving their defenses. Just how good 'The Moorish' crew is remains something known only to the Israelis. It is obvious that this bunch was better than any of the other Islamic hackers that have been going after Israeli web sites in the last year or so."

Mahdi Army Fades Away

I thought that Sadr was going to win or had won? That is what all the Media told us. Do you think they might have had an agenda in their "non-biased" reporting?

Iraq: Mahdi Army Fades Away: "After a month of fighting, the Mahdi Army has disappeared from the streets of Basra, the largest city in the south. The army and police are everywhere, and people are providing information on where Mahdi Army personnel are hiding out, and the locations of their weapons caches. Up north, in the Sadr City section of east Baghdad, the Mahdi Army is still fighting hard. But the army and police have the upper hand, and are pushing the Shia militiamen back block by block. Mahdi Army leader Muqtada al Sadr has responded by threatening to order his men to go after American troops if the government does not back off. That's won't work, because the Mahdi Army is not particularly skillful, and not very united either. He recently ordered his troops to stop fighting Iraqi soldiers and police, and concentrate on the Americans. The Iraqi security forces have not reciprocated, and continue coming after the Mahdi Army."

US Marines expand NATO's presence in southern Afghanistan

Semper Fi! Welcome back to the Hot War. I know that I posted about the Marines wanting to get to someplace with real fighting so that you can get more CARs, so enjoy it. While you are there, can you napalm a few poppy fields?

US Marines expand NATO's presence in southern Afghanistan: "Marines stormed into a Taliban-held town before daybreak Tuesday, trading gunfire with insurgents on the ground and using helicopter gunships to destroy a militant compound in one of Afghanistan's most violent regions.

Several hundred Marines, many of whom have fought in Iraq, reportedly met light resistance in the assault, which is the farthest south in years that American troops have operated in Helmand province.

The goal is to stretch NATO's presence into an area where illegal opium poppy fields are plentiful and the Taliban is strong. British troops man a small base on Garmser's northern edge but insurgents rule the countryside south of the outpost all the way to the Pakistan border.

No Marines suffered injuries, said their commander, Maj. Tom Clinton Jr. There was no immediate word on whether any insurgents were killed or wounded.

An 11-year-old Afghan boy suffered a chest wound from the explosion of a rocket that insurgents apparently fired at Marines, Clinton said. The boy was flown to a British base for surgery. His condition wasn't immediately known."

Her crime was to fall in love. She paid with her life

Stomping ones daughter to death in the street for admitting to a crush on a guy seems a little extreme, but hey, it IS the Religion of Peace and Tolerance. They do not allow violence! Only an Islamophobe would bother to see a connection like that.

Her crime was to fall in love. She paid with her life | World news | The Observer: "When 17-year old Rand Abdel-Qader met a British soldier in Basra, she dreamt of romance. But five months later she was murdered in a savage attack by her father. But there will be no trial: this was an 'honour killing'."

Managers, customer all draw guns in West Palm Beach grocery

Good! I am glad that the managers were able to keep things under control while they kept this aged thug from getting away.

Managers, customer all draw guns in West Palm Beach grocery: "It could've been a typical spat between grocery store customer and manager, with the customer announcing he planned to take his business elsewhere. But then the customer drew his gun. The store manager drew his and so did the assistant manager.

It all happened at 5 p.m. Monday at the IGA Supermarket at 1000 36th St. in West Palm Beach. And in the end, West Palm Beach police arrested customer Marshall Hugo Grant for attempted first degree murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling, aggravated assault with a firearm and carrying a concealed firearm.

Police reported Tuesday morning that Grant, 73, entered the store through the exit despite manager Marino Hernandez's warning not to enter that way. The confrontation escalated, Grant drew a handgun, assistant manager Roberto Espinal drew his handgun. Hernandez also pulled a gun. Grant backed out of the store firing three times as he went, the arrest report states.

The managers, who witnesses said never returned fire, ended up surrounding Grant, who hid behind a vehicle while continuing to fire, police report. Grant eventually surrendered his weapon to the managers once they told him police were on their way."

Trident shadowing boat-load of bombs

Interesting use of the Trident! These guys usually sit at the bottom of the sea and hide, I know they are loving their new jobs. Still a little boring, but better than hiding all the time.

Trident shadowing boat-load of bombs: "A floating arsenal of weapons and bombs dispatched by China in a rust-stained tramp freighter to the pariah state of President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe now is being shadowed by Britain's most powerful submarine, a nuclear Trident, says a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

Freighter officers are desperate to be allowed to unload their cargo of 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades, 2,500 mortar rounds and three million rounds of ammunition for Mugabe's army, intended to be used to further cow the country's starving population.

But it has been turned away by dockers in the South African port who branded it 'a ship of shame,' as well as ports in Angola and Mozambique."

Phone Rape

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Too many funny things about this story: How did the family find out? How can this be rape? How ...?

Rantings of a Sandmonkey » Phone Rape: "A Tunisian family is suing a 30 year old man for 'raping their 20 year old daughter through phone sex'. It seems that while they were having phone sex, the girl kinda punctured her hymen. The argument is that the two of them had sexual relations, even through the phone, that led to the girl's loss of hymen. How that is rape, given that the girl did it to herself, I have no idea. But what do I know? But if it works and they convict the guy, await paternity suits for children conceived through cyber sex."

Britons kidnapped in Iraq are ‘held by Iran’

Is anyone surprised by this? Iran just keeps turning up behind most of the bad things happening in Iraq. I wonder why?

Britons kidnapped in Iraq are ‘held by Iran’ - Times Online: "Five British hostages who were kidnapped in Iraq almost a year ago are being held inside Iran by Revolutionary Guards, according to two separate sources in the Middle East and London.

The hostages were handed over to the Revolutionary Guards by their Iraqi kidnappers last November, the sources believe. One of the sources said they were being held in the western Iranian city of Hamadan.

If confirmed, the involvement of Revolutionary Guards would be seen as evidence that senior figures in the Iranian government had backed the decision to hold them in the country.

However, British officials said that while there had been rumours that the five were in Iran, they had seen no evidence to support the idea."

Hamas says cease-fire is a 'tactic'

Bukhari (52:269) - "The Prophet said, 'War is deceit.'" The context of this is thought to be the murder of Usayr ibn Zarim and his thirty unarmed men by Muhammad's men after he "guaranteed" them safe passage


Again, the Religion of Peace

Hamas says cease-fire is a 'tactic' - Yahoo! News: "The chief of Hamas said Saturday that the Palestinian militant group would accept an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire with Israel but it would be a 'tactic' in the group's struggle with the Jewish state.

Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based Hamas leader, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television that Egypt had proposed a six-month truce between the Hamas rulers of Gaza and Israel. He said his group was ready to cooperate but added: 'It is a tactic in conducting the struggle ... It is normal for any resistance ... to sometimes escalate, other times retreat a bit. ... Hamas is known for that. In 2003, there was a cease-fire and then the operations were resumed.'

He warned of an explosion of violence in Gaza if Israel rejects the truce."

The men in black vanish and Basra comes to life

This must be lies, because the Media and Left are decrying the huge loss suffered in Basra. Read the rest of this to see what the whole story is.

The men in black vanish and Basra comes to life - Times Online: "Young women are daring to wear jeans, soldiers listen to pop music on their mobile phones and bands are performing at wedding parties again.

All across Iraq’s second city life is improving, a month after Iraqi troops began a surprise crackdown on the black-clad gangs who were allowed to flourish under the British military. The gunmen’s reign had enforced a strict set of religious codes."

Doctor in court on sexual assault charge

I have a serious issue with child perverts. This just grosses me out. What a sick guy. At least he was caught before he committed something worse. Well, that is known. Send him back to Allah!

EDP24 - Doctor in court on sexual assault charge: "A doctor obsessed with child pornography sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl to satisfy his urges a court heard this morning.

Rashid Sandhu is said to have assaulted the girl at the James Paget University Hospital last June as he carried out an authorised medical procedure.

Sandhu, 30, and who was an A&E doctor at the time is alleged to have told the girl that she was pregnant and needed an abortion.

Norwich Crown Court heard that Sandhu took the girl to a hospital office room, asked her to lie on a desk and take her clothes off, he then inserted tubes into her private parts and rub her breast with gel.

At the beginning of the trial the jury heard that Sandhu had pleaded guilty yesterday to possessing more than 170 images of child pornography on his home computer.

The trial heard that Sandhu asked the 13-year-old girl to get on all four during the alleged assault replicating a pose of one of the images that was found on his computer.

Matthew McNiff, prosecuting, said that Sandhu had an unhealthy obsession with child pornography and used the girl to sate his urges."

All roads lead to Iran

Ms Phillips traces the threads of violence in the Middle East and finds the origin in Iran. As most logical people will. I love this lady! Smart women are such a turn on!

Melanie Phillips’s Articles » All roads lead to Iran: "The fact is that Iran declared war on the West in 1979 as soon as Ayatollah Khomeini came to power — the last great contribution made by President Jimmy Carter to world peace. Ever since, Iranian militias have been attacking Western interests; ever since, the West has refused to acknowledge this.

People say war against Iran would turn a largely pro-western people against the West. But war need not mean carpet-bombing Tehran. It can and should mean targeted strikes on the regime and its principal interests.

War should always be a last resort. But, as in the 1930s, the West once again has failed to take the appropriate intermediate steps. Such a failure of nerve makes war more likely, not less.

As a result, the choice is not between war and peace. War with Iran is almost certainly inevitable. The choice is between war on our terms or on those laid down by Iran. The longer we wait, the more that choice is loaded against the defeat of this most lethal of all threats to the free world."

U.S. military deaths below 26-year average

U.S. military deaths below 26-year average: "Despite suffering 4,000 deaths in Iraq, annual U.S. military casualties overall during the first six years of the Bush administration are well below the average for the 26-year period beginning in 1980, a WND investigation has revealed.

Even in 2005, the deadliest year of the Iraq campaign, U.S. troop fatalities around the world, including Afghanistan, were lower than the first nine years of the study – when the Cold War was still raging in a time of relative peace.

In 2005, a total of 1,942 U.S. military personnel were killed in all causes, including accidents, hostile action, homicides, illnesses, suicides, etc. That compares to 2,392 in 1980, the last year of President Jimmy Carter's administration. In fact, twice as many U.S. military personnel were killed in accidents in that one year than were killed in hostile actions in any year of the Bush administration."

Taliban bitten by a snake in the grass

Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan: "When the Taliban's new tactic emerged, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - which Pakistan's intelligence community says maintains its biggest South Asian presence in Pakistan - sprung into action and staged a coup of its own.

But that's getting ahead of the story."

Greenpeace founder now backs nuclear power

I am glad to see that some eco-nuts are starting to realize that all modern technology is bad. Welcome to the side of power.

Greenpeace founder now backs nuclear power | News Updates | Idaho Statesman: "Moore spoke at the chamber breakfast after an appearance in Idaho Falls Tuesday night that attracted 300 people. He also spoke to the Idaho Environmental Forum in Boise, all sponsored by the Partnership for Science and Technology.

He represents the Clean Air and Safe Energy Coalition, a nuclear energy-backed group promoting reactors for electric energy generation. He began his career as a leader of Greenpeace fighting nuclear testing and working to save whales.

In recent years, he has taken on causes unpopular with his former group, like old-growth logging, keeping polyvinyl chlorides and now nuclear energy.

He says his change of heart comes from his background in science and a different approach to sustainability.

He sees a need for maintaining technologies that are not harmful while fixing or replacing those that are harmful.

'We don't believe we have been making too much electricity,' he said. 'We believe we've been making energy with the wrong technologies.'

His critics, like Andrea Shipley, executive director of the Snake River Alliance, say he has simply sold out.

'The only reason Patrick Moore is backing something as unsafe and risky as nuclear power is he is being paid by the nuclear industry to do so,' Shipley said."

ALF says it raided Ore. fur farm

I had visions of an furry Alien Life Form and cats...

Oh well!

Lucianne.com News Forum: "ALF says it raided Ore. fur farm
Associated Press, by Staff

Original Article

Posted By:Tygerlily, 4/24/2008 9:18:40 AM

JEFFERSON, Ore. -- The Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for releasing mink and destroying breeding records at the Jefferson Fur Farm this week. The Fur Commission USA, an industry group, reported that more than 50 mink were taken, but all were recovered. The dollar loss for the destroyed breeding records was $5,000, said Teresa Platt, the group's executive director."

Displaced Iraqis returning home in droves

Welcome home guys! I know that the world's Liberals will say that you are all going to die if you return, but real people are supporting your safe return and very happy to see that the fundamentalists are calming down and starting to work within societal norms instead of Islamic norms. May Allah protect you from your radical brethren.

United States Central Command - Displaced Iraqis returning home in droves: "With security improving, local economies flourishing and community reconstruction underway, Iraqis who once fled their South Baghdad homes in fear are now returning to the villages they deserted.

This is a good sign, said Maj. Mark Bailey, the officer in charge of the Multi-National Division – Center governance cell. “Once people are convinced that security is good in their area, they come back,” said Bailey, who is with 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to 3rd Infantry Division. “If they own a business, they re-open their business, which helps the economy.”Out of the approximate 18,700 Iraqis who left their homes, it is estimated that 10,450 have returned, according to MND-C records.

Humanitarian aid provided by MND-C, the United Nations and the Iraqi government has been one method of reintegrating the newly returned citizens, Bailey said."

Attack Wing: Glider Makes Waves With Stealth and Speed

I want one! I need one! This is totally cool! Every terrorist in the world is going to be trying to get one, but so is every Special Forces guy. Of course, all the cool stuff like this all the thrill jocks really want.

FOXNews.com - Attack Wing: Glider Makes Waves With Stealth and Speed - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "It weighs only 30 pounds and can be fully weaponized for assault and rescue. It has a 6-foot jet-wing that is steered with handheld rotary controls connected to its rudder. And it can hide more than 100 pounds of combat gear in a built-in compartment.

The Gryphon attack glider, designed to penetrate combat zones at 135 miles per hour, could revolutionize the art of parachuting. It has got to be at the top of James Bond’s Christmas list this year.

• Click here to see video of the Gryphon glider in action.

A vision straight out of 'Batman,' the carbon-fiber stealth glider quadruples the speed of similar craft — and there are quite a few special forces soldiers who would like to jump out of a plane at 30,000 feet and give it a whirl."

Islamic Awareness Week under way

I feel like I should provide quotes from the Koran to refute these Muslims, but if they have not read their own holy books, who can read it to them?

Islamic Awareness Week under way | www.azstarnet.com ®: "Hijabs don't oppress women. Jihad isn't war. Islam doesn't condone violence.
Those messages sprang up on the University of Arizona's outdoor mall area this week as part of an effort by the Muslim Student Association to educate the campus about Islam.
About 1,000 Muslims attend the UA. While Muslim students say the UA campus and the Tucson community are generally tolerant, they stress there's still work to be done.
They've taken a different approach to their annual Islamic Awareness Week this year, creating a display and events that emphasize the voices of local Muslims."

Hope Springs Eternal: Former Baath and Insurgent Leader Captured?

Is this a late, very late, Christmas present? The King of Clubs finally returned to the deck!

The Jawa Report: Hope Springs Eternal: Former Baath and Insurgent Leader Captured?: "Are reports that Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri has been captured true? There's not much evidence, but I freakin I hope so.

If he is caught this is very good news."

Europe facing radicalization over the Web

The jihadis have found that open attacks only get then killed, so they are finding new methods. Law-fare and webtifada are new methods that are more visible every week. See mypetjawa for more sites that need to be dismantled.

Europe facing radicalization over the Web - Middle East Times: "In France, about 30 potentially dangerous sites are monitored by some units of the UCLAT (Unité de Coordination de la Lutte antiterroriste), the French counterterrorism coordination unit. Software allows them to trace back the origin of a server or the IP address of a user and if they act fast, they can trace the network and use it against the Islamists using it. For instance, the recent monitoring of a forum allowed the unit to trace a couple of Salafist groups in the suburbs of Paris that were recruiting jihadis and organizing their trip.

One of the main problems facing European authorities is that simply shutting down Web sites is not very efficient since these sites just end up operating under new names.

European countries are also using the legal tool to fight al-Qaida's use of the Web in Europe. In a first, a Swiss court last summer sentenced several individuals including the widow of the killer of Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghanistan's Northern Alliance's leader killed by al-Qaida on September 9, 2001, and her boyfriend, for having created and operated four Web sites and chat rooms for extremist propaganda and exchange of information by terrorist groups."

UNIFIL finds Hezbollah arms; gunmen scatter peacekeepers

I notice that my prediction about how worthless the UN is at keeping the peace are coming true! Not that anyone doubted it. Did they? I wonder if the UN will aid the terrorists when they start to fire into cities full of civilians again? Or will the UN try to aid the Israelis when they respond to the attacks that the UN is supposed to prevent? Nah! It is definitely the first choice. The UN has failed in almost all aspects. Pity.

UNIFIL finds Hezbollah arms; gunmen scatter peacekeepers - Haaretz - Israel News: "Armed Hezbollah militants warded off members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) last month when the peacekeepers discovered a truck carrying weapons and ammunition belonging to the Lebanon-based guerilla group.

The incident was referred to briefly in a semi-yearly report submitted to the UN Security Council by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The incident was the first time that UNIFIL forces were confronted by armed Hezbollah men south of Lebanon's Litani River, an area which Security Council resolution 1701 prohibits Hezbollah from entering.

According to a government source in Jerusalem, the incident caused great embarrassment for UNIFIL. The source described the incident, explaining that UNIFIL troops on patrol discovered the truck and chased it down and pulled it over. When the UNIFIL troops approached the vehicle, the source said, armed Hezbollah men exited the truck and threatened the troops at gunpoint. The UNIFIL patrol then went back into their cars, according to the source, and returned to their base."

Lack of Intelligence Enables First Armored Terror Attack on Regular Army

DEBKAfile - Lack of Intelligence Enables First Armored Terror Attack on Regular Army: "Israel’s policy-makers and therefore its war planners have never charted a clear policy for dealing with the Palestinian fundamentalist Hamas. Furthermore, the government through second and third-hand intermediaries – Egypt, Qatar, European - is talking to Hamas. Then, too, parts of the government led by defense minister Ehud Barak and chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi, are resistant to any effective military action against the Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. Israel’s war planners are therefore left high and dry without a clear strategy for coping with Hamas and its offensives.

Months of marking time in this way have had a dampening effect on the armed forces and its morale; field intelligence cannot tell on which targets to focus and gather data, while the field officers are at sea about their missions.

The unrealistic assumption that intelligence is omnipotent lost credence two years ago in the 2006 war against Hizballah in Lebanon. It became clear then that for good intelligence to work, it needs direction from the policy-makers and high command pointing to the desired strategic targets. Lacking such direction, intelligence gatherers have no clear objectives.

To take a concrete example, if prime minister Ehud Olmert were to issue a national directive for all intelligence and security branches to concentrate their efforts on locating the place where Hamas is holding their hostage, Gilead Shalit, this information would become available. But this directive has never been issued.

This widening gap, which separates the government and the military high command from the Southern Command and field units, is exploited by Hamas to hatch its war plans in total hush. The fact is that the Palestinian terrorists managed to get away with planting two explosive jeeps and armored personnel carries on the Israel side of the border Saturday, without incurring the correct IDF retaliation of hitting the bases where the lethal vehicles were rigged."

Palestinians' backing for terror rises

Good to see that all these fun terrorists are unhappy with their leaders too.

Palestinians' backing for terror rises | Jerusalem Post: "Both Fatah and Hamas continue to lose support among the Palestinians, and the level of trust in political leaders also dropped.

Support for Abbas fell from 18.3% in November to 11.7% this month. The poll also showed that fewer Palestinians are satisfied with Abbas's performance.

Support for Haniyeh also went down, from 16.3% in November to 13.3% this month. The same applies to Fatah's imprisoned leader, Marwan Barghouti, whose popularity moved down from 14.3% to 12.8% during the same period.

With regards to confidence in the political parties, support for Fatah decreased from 40% in November to 32.5% this month, while Hamas's popularity went down from 19.7% to 17.8%.

The poll, conducted by the Jerusalem Media & Communications Center, covered 1,190 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. It was held from April 8-13."

Israel: Hamas At War

Israel: Hamas At War: "Hamas is desperately trying to remove Israeli and Egyptian control over access to Iranian weapons supplies (not to mention food and fuel). The basic strategy is to attack the border crossings, so as to interfere with shipments of food and fuel. Then manipulate media coverage inside Gaza to make it look worse than it is. That is supposed to persuade the Europeans to force Israel to allow Hamas to bring in whatever they want (especially explosives and longer range, factory made, rockets from Iran.) Then Hamas can increase the rocket attacks on southern Israel. Currently, only a few of the home made Kassam rockets are being fired into Israel each day."

Yemen’s MPs debate female circumcision, pre-marriage tests

Oh goody. These women are living in such a horrible place, I pity them.

Yemen’s MPs debate female circumcision, pre-marriage tests - Yemen Times: "Najeb Ghanem, the Chairman of the Health Committee in Parliament, expressed his sorrow over the way Parliament discussed the two issues.

“These two topics are very important for guaranteeing women’s rights in Yemen,” he commented in a phone call to the Yemen Times after the session.

According to Ghanem, who belongs to the Islah party, most of the MPs who disagreed with the terms represent the conservative attitudes of most Yemeni citizens. “The committee is aware of the Yemeni conservative community’s positions on these issues. So we [the committee] suggested applying the law of emphasizing pre-marriage medical tests after ten years… that is after we carry out extensive awareness campaign to educate people about the importance of such tests.”

Zid Al-Shami, an MP who suggested delaying the approval of the two terms, confirmed that such topics are “sensitive and need more awareness.”

“I suggested canceling term number three, about preventing female circumcision, for many reasons. First, the term, which was written in the draft, included inappropriate and shameful sentences. Second, female circumcision exists in few regions in Yemen, like in Hodeidah and Hadramout, so it not common practice. And finally, there is still religious debate regarding the issue, so as we have no directives by the heads of religion to forbid female circumcision, we do not have the right to ban it,” Al-Shami explained. "

Dutch chapter of Ex-Muslims folds

Again, the Religion of Peace and Tolerance works hard on proving how Peaceful and Tolerant they are.

National Secular Society - Dutch chapter of Ex-Muslims folds: "Dutch chapter of Ex-Muslims folds

The leader of the Dutch chapter of the Ex-Muslim movement, Ehsan Jami, has decided to disband the group, claiming that people are too frightened to join because of Islamist threats. Mr Jami sits on the municipal council in Voorburg, formerly for the Labour Party, now as an independent. He presented plans for a committee for former Muslims last year. He was subsequently assaulted in the street and was provided with additional protection.

Mr Jami is currently holding discussions with a political party on the possibility of his standing for a seat in parliament in the next election. However, he is not prepared to reveal which political party is
involved."

Islamic school in London behaved as though it wasn’t part of Britain

How nice. We are pigs and monkeys. And the Saudis, our wonderful friends, are teaching this to their kids. The same kids who are so stupid that they have to have the answers to their tests before they are tested. Sounds like a wonderful place to have ones kiddies. Really stupid kids...

National Secular Society - Islamic school in London behaved as though it wasn’t part of Britain: "The school denied ever teaching any form of racial hatred and insisted that the offending passages in the books were “misinterpreted” and were never used in class. But it later got rid of the books. The school was established in 1985, with the aim of providing a high-quality education acceptable to the Saudi and British authorities for the children of Saudi diplomats and other Muslim families in London. Some of the children of the jailed extremist clerics Abu Hamza al-Masri and Abu Qatada are pupils at the school, which charges fees of up to £1,500 per year for day students.

Mr Cook alleged that in June 2006 staff wrongly allowed pupils to refer to heavily annotated course books during an English language GCSE exam. The tribunal was told that when he suggested that the school might be trying to cover up his allegations, a senior colleague told him: “This is not England. It is Saudi Arabia.” Mr Cook then took his complaints direct to the Edexcel exam board.

Mr Cook of Feltham, West London, taught English as a second language at the school. Giving evidence to the tribunal, he said that some pupils “talked as if they did not live in London at all”.

When he queried how Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada could be paying school fees..."

Asylum seeker attacked for not being a good Muslim

Again: The Religion of Peace is so tolerant and peaceful...

When will I say it again?

Islam in Europe: Sweden: Asylum seeker attacked for not being a good Muslim: "Sweden: Asylum seeker attacked for not being a good Muslim

A man in an asylum center was attacked by his 23 year old neighbor for having alcohol in his fridge. The two men shared a kitchen in one of the immigration service's houses in Halmstad. One day when the victim came home from work, his neighbor broke into his room and attacked him with a knife. 'You are not a proper Muslim. I will kill you,' he threatened.

The reason was that the man - also a Muslim - had some beer in the fridge. The man fled from the apartment, and when he came back he found his room vandalized and destroyed with detergent.

To the court the 23 year old declared that he wanted to clean away the evil from the room.

The man was sentenced to psychiatric care for unlawful threat, breaking in, and causing damage. He is also to pay the victim 21,200 kronor (~ $3600) in damages.

Source: Hallands Nyheter (Swedish)"

Terrorist can stay in Norway

Send the guy home to be executed. Why keep a known terrorist in your country? That is just insane!

Krekar can stay in Norway - Aftenposten.no: "Krekar, who has been under an expulsion order after being determined a threat to Norway's national security, initially came to Norway as a refugee from Iraq in the early 1990s.

It later emerged that he was the head of guerrilla group Ansar al-Islam and he repeatedly violated the terms of his asylum by travelling back to northern Iraq to lead guerrilla activities.

Krekar is the only person in Norway ever to have been sentenced to deportation because he is a danger to the country’s security.

However, Norway has not been able to deport Krekar because he faces the death penalty in his homeland. Norway will not extradite anyone if they are under threat of execution when they are returned to their country of origin."

Cancelled on police advice: St George's Day parade through the Bradford race-riot zone | the Daily Mail

St George is a blatant Christian, so parading him near Muslims is an insult to Islam, which everyone knows leads to murders and violence. I guess that 'health and safety' is a very valid reason to cancel! Of course, that is calling the Muslims violent, which is an insult and will lead to violence.

Cancelled on police advice: St George's Day parade through the Bradford race-riot zone | the Daily Mail: "A St George's Day parade through an inner-city area hit by race riots has been cancelled following police advice.

Community groups had planned to stage the multi-cultural event in Bradford and 1,500 schoolchildren were due to take part.

Many of the youngsters had already made flags of St George to carry on the parade on April 23, which was designed to boost community cohesion.

But last week police and council chiefs told the organisers that the event could not go ahead as planned for 'health and safety' reasons. At a meeting, police demanded a shorter route which avoided two streets at the centre of the race riots in 2001.

As a result, organisers have decided to call off the event, which was due to attract more than 10,000 people."

Five Years after the Fall of Baghdad: Honoring the Sacrifice of Michael Monsoor

Amen! Here is a great story about the politics behind the desire for failure in the US Left. Read it and learn from it. The quote from President Lincoln is perfect for understanding the current War.

Family Security Matters: "Honor Those Who Have Sacrificed by Insisting on Victory


We will hear a lot of information and disinformation this week about America's effort in Iraq and in the war against the Irreconcilable Wing of Islam.

Despite the demonstrable progress that has been made, we will hear more voices urging us to leave Iraq in defeat.

But here are the facts to remember:


* The United States is engaged in the right fight in the right countries.
* We are gradually winning those fights, but the road will be long and difficult.

Now is the time for Americans to insist that we honor the memory of those who have sacrificed for America -- men and women like Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike Monsoor and his family -- by insisting on victory for the cause of freedom."

What Really Happened in Basra?

Someone with inside information writes about the situation in Basra. Who wants to bet that the Left is going to ignore this positive analysis?

Family Security Matters: "Churchill once quipped that “a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.” On the whole, the international press has done much to advance this remark over the course of the last few weeks, telling tales of misconception as to what recently happened in Iraq’s southern port city of Basra. (James Hider, Juan Cole, and Reuters were among the worst transgressors.)

As some would have us see it, the story apparently goes something like this: Iraqi premier Nouri Maliki reluctantly sent his security forces south to reestablish control of Basra in the wake of the British withdrawal, and was humiliated and politically weakened when the insurrectionists of Muqtada al Sadr’s Jaish al Mahdi militia (or JAM) fought the Iraqi security forces to a standstill, forcing the central Iraqi government to accept a ceasefire on terms it deemed unfavorable.

Thankfully, there is more to the story. Some of these misconceptions about Mr. Maliki and Mr. Sadr should be countered."

Iraqi Army Takes Last Basra Areas From Sadr Force - New York Times

The NYT has a moderately well balanced story? How did that happen? A good read if you can skip the parts that are pro-Iranian.
Iraqi Army Takes Last Basra Areas From Sadr Force - New York Times: "Iraqi soldiers took control of the last bastions of the cleric Moktada al-Sadr’s militia in Basra on Saturday, and Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad strongly endorsed the Iraqi government’s monthlong military operation against the fighters.

By Saturday evening, Basra was calm, but only after air and artillery strikes by American and British forces cleared the way for Iraqi troops to move into the Hayaniya district and other remaining Mahdi Army militia strongholds and begin house-to house searches, Iraqi officials said. Iraqi troops were meeting little resistance, said Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry in Baghdad.

Despite the apparent concession of Basra, Mr. Sadr issued defiant words on Saturday night. In a long statement read from the loudspeakers of his Sadr City Mosque, he threatened to declare “war until liberation” against the government if fighting against his militia forces continued."

Iran: Justice tainted by western laws, says ayatollah

Actually, I think the guy has a point! I have often admired the Muslims for the way they deal with criminals. I just have a problem with how many people I consider innocent of a crime. Too many of their crimes seem completely innocent to me! They do go overboard with their punishments. Violent crimes should be handled the Islamic/old fashioned way, just to prevent recidivism.

AKI - Adnkronos international Iran: Justice tainted by western laws, says ayatollah: "'Justice in Iran does not work,' the Ayatollah said on Friday. 'People are unhappy because our penal code is tainted with principles of western law.'

'If we limited ourselves to follow Islamic legislation, many criminals would not relapse, and many others, in fear, would not commit crimes.'

According to the Ayatollah, a better deterrent would be punishment based on the Islamic Sharia law.

'The criminals' behaviour would be different if they were punished according to Islamic law with floggings and cutting of limbs,' said the Ayatollah during an interview with Tehran's Berna news agency.

'Sharia law does not consider a prison term an effective form of punishment. It is a legacy stemming from western law,' said Najafabadi.

'Criminals, instead of becoming reformed characters, actually improve their criminal techniques and as soon as they are freed, they go back to commit the same crimes,' concluded the chief prosecutor."

Passenger on Plane with Infected Woman Tests Positive for TB

Are we going to have to take a blood test of all passengers? Scary stuff.

FOXNews.com - Feds: Passenger on Plane with Infected Woman Tests Positive for TB - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News: "A passenger on an American Airlines flight from India who sat near a woman with drug-resistant tuberculosis has tested positive for TB, federal health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uncovered the second case after tracking down and testing more than two dozen passengers who sat near the woman on the December flight from New Delhi to Chicago.

But CDC officials cautioned Thursday that because the other passenger had lived in a country where TB is common, they could not determine how the infection was contracted.

'It's not really surprising to see people on a plane from a country with high TB prevalence testing positive for TB,' said Shelly Diaz, a spokeswoman for the agency.

The 30-year-old woman diagnosed with the full-blown version of the disease late last year arrived in Chicago on Dec. 13 and then traveled on to San Francisco International Airport. Health officials said the woman learned in India that she was sick with TB but still boarded the international flight.

About a week after the flight landed, the woman showed up at the Stanford Hospital emergency room with a fever and chest pain and coughing up blood.

The Silicon Valley woman has since been released from the hospital after months in"

Iwo Jima Veterans Blast Time's 'Special Environmental Issue' Cover

I have to fully agree with the Iwo Jima Marines on this. This is an act of fully stupidity on the part of Time. Can we just smack them all over the head for being so stupid?

Iwo Jima Veterans Blast Time's 'Special Environmental Issue' Cover: "For only the second time in 85 years, Time magazine abandoned the traditional red border it uses on its cover. The occasion – to push more global warming alarmism.

The cover of the April 21 issue of Time took the famous Iwo Jima photograph by Joe Rosenthal of the Marines raising the American flag and replaced the flag with a tree. The cover story by Bryan Walsh calls green “the new red, white and blue.”

Donald Mates, an Iwo Jima veteran, told the Business & Media Institute on April 17 that using that photograph for that cause was a “disgrace.”

“It’s an absolute disgrace,” Mates said. “Whoever did it is going to hell. That’s a mortal sin. God forbid he runs into a Marine that was an Iwo Jima survivor.”

Mates also said making the comparison of World War II to global warming was erroneous and disrespectful.

“The second world war we knew was there,” Mates said. “There’s a big discussion. Some say there is global warming, some say there isn’t. And to stick a tree in place of a flag on the Iwo Jima picture is just sacrilegious.”"

German charged with stabbing Frankfurt rabbi

Just another friendly member of the Religion of Peace.

At least this guy is honest and admits that Muslims are threatened by Jews! The rabbi might have tried to tell him the God is not as violent as the Muslims believe, which, of course, is a horrible insult to any Muslim.

German Muslim charged with stabbing Frankfurt rabbi - Israel News, Ynetnews: "A 23-year-old German Muslim went on trial Thursday for stabbing a rabbi in Frankfurt, telling a court that he felt threatened by the rabbi and had acted in self-defense.

Defendant Sajed Aziz testified that the Frankfurt-based rabbi, Zalman Gurevitch, approached him in a threatening manner on a street in the city in September. He said he reacted by pulling a knife and stabbing the rabbi, but did not intend to kill him. Prosecutors have said the rabbi told authorities at the time of the attack that his assailant said, 'I'll kill you, you (expletive) Jew,' Then pulled out a knife with a and stabbed him in the stomach. (AP)"

Winning an asymmetric war

I love Ms Phillips! Her analysis is so excellent that it is hard to dispute. It makes it so much easier when I deal with the Liberal fascists in my life.

The Spectator: "The belief that asymmetric warfare, in which conventional armies are forced to fight ostensibly weaker terrorists who don’t fight by the rules, can only be won by political rather than military means and that therefore states must talk to terrorists, currently commands enormous political support in the west and is to a large extent responsible for the mood of defeatism and appeasement that currently grips its elites. All the more bracing, therefore, to read this fine analysis by Maj-Gen Yaakov Amidror of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, which magisterially refutes this counsel of despair. An asymmetric war is certainly winnable against terrorist insurgents, he says, provided certain principles are followed. Unfortunately, this is far from the case at present, not least in Israel, but that’s another matter. Amidror lays down six basic conditions for victory of which the first is:

A political decision to defeat terrorism, stated explicitly and clearly to the security forces, and the willingness to bear the political cost of an offensive."

IRAN'S BUSTED IRAQ BID

I like that a major news paper has found something nice to publish! The NYP is generally more neutral than the NYT, so this is not a shock, but it is wonderful to see.

IRAN'S BUSTED IRAQ BID - New York Post: "A GAMBLE that proved too costly.

That's how analysts in Tehran describe events last month in Basra. Iran's state-run media have de facto confirmed that this was no spontaneous 'uprising.' Rather, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) tried to seize control of Iraq's second-largest city using local Shiite militias as a Trojan horse.

Tehran's decision to make the gamble was based on three assumptions:

* Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wouldn't have the courage to defend Basra at the risk of burning his bridges with the Islamic Republic in Iran.

* The international force would be in no position to intervene in the Basra battle. The British, who controlled Basra until last December, had no desire to return, especially if this meant getting involved in fighting. The Americans, meanwhile, never had enough troops to finish off al-Qaeda-in-Iraq, let alone fight Iran and its local militias on a new front.

* The Shiite clerical leadership in Najaf would oppose intervention by the new Iraqi security forces in a battle that could lead to heavy Shiite casualties.

The Iranian plan - developed by Revolutionary Guard's Quds (Jerusalem) unit, which is in charge of 'exporting the Islamic Revolution' - aimed at a quick victory. To achieve that, Tehran spent vast sums persuading local"

ACLU: Harvard spied on protesters?

Why can't the cops take pictures of protests that have been violent in the past? If anyone says that the "Palestinians" are peaceful, they are obvious morons, so it is safe to say that monitoring this "protest" was a wise thing.

ACLU: Harvard spied on protesters? - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has denounced Harvard University for photographing protesters at a political rally last month near Harvard Square during which university police arrested two protesters.

Officials at the ACLU also want Harvard to explain why an undercover officer was taking photographs at the rally, what the university intends to do with the photos, and whether it is sharing information with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, as have universities around the country.

“The concern we have is that Harvard police were gathering intelligence about a lawful political protest on public property,” said John Reinstein, the ACLU’s legal director. “A university is a place where we would expect there’s room for political discussion, where appropriate protests would be allowed, as part of academic freedom. We want to find out the scope of the university’s activities.”

In a statement, Joe Wrinn, a Harvard spokesman, said the university is not participating with the Joint Terrorism Task Forces and that it does not have a political intelligence unit or an undercover unit."

Mr. Zahar and Mr. Carter

The WaPo is allowing critisism of "Palestinians"? The End is near!

Mr. Zahar and Mr. Carter - washingtonpost.com: "Hamas is 'perfectly willing' for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 'to represent them in all direct negotiations with the Israelis, and they also maintain that they will accept any agreement that he brokers with the Israelis' provided a referendum is held on it, the former president told the newspaper Haaretz. Compare that claim with Mr. Zahar's own words on the opposite page. In fact, Mr. Zahar has called Mr. Abbas 'a traitor' for negotiating with Israel -- a label that is, in the Palestinian context, an incitement to murder.

Mr. Carter justifies his meetings with familiar arguments about the value of dialogue with enemies. But he misses the point. Contacts between enemies can be useful: Israel is legendary for such negotiations, and even now it is engaged in back-channel bargaining with Hamas through Egypt. But it is one thing to communicate pragmatically, and quite another to publicly and unconditionally grant recognition and political sanction to a leader or a group that advocates terrorism, mass murder or the extinction of another state. That is what Mr. Carter is doing by lending what is left of his prestige to an avowed terrorist such as Khaled Meshal -- or Mahmoud al-Zahar."

Man at center of Las Vegas ricin case arrested, charged

I know that I am shocked that this guy has been arrested, but I still want to know who he planned to kill with this toxin! WHO???? Tell me!

Man at center of Las Vegas ricin case arrested, charged: "A man who authorities believe was sickened by the deadly toxin ricin was arrested Wednesday on federal charges after he was released from a hospital.

Roger Bergendorff, 57, had been hospitalized since Feb. 14.

He is charged with possession of a biological toxin and two weapons offenses stemming from materials authorities said were found Feb. 26 and Feb. 28 in his room at an extended-stay motel several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip.

'He was released from the hospital and he's in custody,' said Agent Joseph Dickey, spokesman for the FBI office in Las Vegas.

The three charges carry a possible penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a $750,000 fine. Bergendorff was scheduled appear Wednesday afternoon before a federal judge in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas."

Israel's Secret War - TIME

Who would have guessed TIME would cover the lack of suicidal Palestinians? Unless it has a "Blame the Joos!" spin on the article.

Israel's Secret War - TIME: "Abu Dhaim's killing spree--along with a suicide bombing in the Negev town of Dimona last month--highlights Israel's continued vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Just because fewer Palestinian terrorists are slipping into Israel from the Palestinian West Bank doesn't mean that they have stopped trying. Says an officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF): 'Our people sleep comfortably in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv because the IDF is putting in a huge effort, day and night, in the West Bank to prevent terror.'

Israel's secret war inside the West Bank is no less deadly--but a good deal less visible--than its fight in Gaza. In the West Bank, Israel relies on a network of Palestinian collaborators and wide-scale arrests. Last year more than 6,650 suspected Palestinian militants were rounded up, among them, claim Israeli intelligence officers, 279 potential suicide bombers."

Officials say they found FARC's uranium

Scary stuff! Why would FARC need this? Would contaminating a city with radioactive dust free the people like they keep claiming they are working towards? Or would it just make a bunch of people sick and force the people they support to leave their homes and belongings? Idiots.

Officials say they found FARC's uranium | The Australian: "COLOMBIAN officials have found low-grade uranium acquired by leftist rebels, according to authorities.
The news comes three weeks after files found on the seized computers of a slain FARC commander suggested the group had the dangerous radioactive material.

Informants on March 20 handed over to military intelligence a sample of the uranium referred to in the computer files, and experts at the state geological institute Ingeominas have sinced confirmed that it is depleted uranium, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The computers were seized March 1 following a controversial Colombian air raid on a rebel camp in neighboring Ecuador that killed FARC's second in command Raul Reyes."

Another Syrian armored division masses on Israeli-Lebanese borders

Nope, no threats here. Syria is peaceful!

This sounds like a good reason for Israel to continue to prepare for all out war. Since the Syrian leadership is directly involved, if anything, anything!, happens it will be intentional.

I will pray for peace, but prepare for war.

DEBKAfile - Exclusive: Another Syrian armored division masses on Israeli-Lebanese borders: "DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Damascus has deployed the 10th armored corps at the Massaneh crossing of Mount Hermon. It links up with the northwestern positions the 14th division took up last month on the Syrian-Israeli border which cuts through the Hermon range.

Syrian troops are now strung along a continuous crescent-shaped line from the central Lebanese mountains through Mt Dov on the western slopes of Mt. Hermon and up to southeastern Lebanon. This deployment, commanding Syria’s Israeli and Lebanese borders, is under the command of the president’s brother, Maher Assad.

The 10th armored corps was moved forward straight after Syria’s snap civil defense exercise which crashed after three hours last Thursday, April 10. The exercise was ordered without notice by president Bashar Assad on the last day of Israel’s five-day homeland defense drill."

Iraq: Dealing With The Desertion Disease

I love how much the Iraqis have changed for the better over the last few years. It is a wonderful thing to see!

Iraq: Dealing With The Desertion Disease: "Fighting is heaviest in the main Mahdi Army areas in Baghdad ('Sadr City') and Basra. U.S. troops have assisted by providing aerial reconnaissance and manpower to cordon off the battle areas. Everyone, except the foreign media, has been pleased with the performance of the Iraqi police and troops. But this was viewed differently overseas, where much was made by the foreign media, when the government fired 1,300 soldiers and police for deserting or refusing to fight. Locally, this is seen as tremendous progress. The Iraqi army and police have a long tradition of, well, bugging out when the going gets tough. Remember that the Iraqi army largely melted away in the face of the U.S. and British invaders in 2003. In 1991, about a third of the Iraqi troops occupying Kuwait in 1990-91, deserted by the time coalition troops attacked in January, 1991. During the 1980s war with Iran, desertion was such a pervasive problem that Saddam had to come up with some novel techniques (think 'carrot and stick' on steroids) to deal with it. Even before Saddam, Iraqi reluctance to stick around once the fighting begins, was just considered another national characteristic. But five years of troops selection and training have changed that attitude considerably."

Afghans and Pakistanis squeezing Taliban and al Qaeda

This must be the Right Wing crazies at Reuters just making things up.

Everyone knows that the US and their NATO slaves are just holed up on little bases while the heroic Taliban slaughter more of them every day!

HA! Having the MSM admit anything good in the War is scary! If they are forced to admit this, then just think of all the wonderful advances that they have been able to successfully ignore.

Afghans and Pakistanis squeezing Taliban and al Qaeda | Reuters: "Al Qaeda and Taliban militants on the Afghan-Pakistani border are increasingly facing pressure on two fronts and they can be squeezed with more coordination between the neighbors, a U.S. official said on Monday."

iowahawk: Blue State Blues as Coastal Parents Battle Invasion of Dollywood Values

Things are tough all over! You really need to read the whole article so that you can look for these warning signs in your friends and families.

iowahawk: Blue State Blues as Coastal Parents Battle Invasion of Dollywood Values: "'I'm not sure where we went wrong,' says Ellen McCormack, nervously fondling the recycled paper cup holding her organic Kona soy macchaito. 'It seems like only yesterday Rain was a carefree little boy at the Montessori school, playing non-competitive musical chairs with the other children and his care facilitators.'

'But now...' she pauses, staring out the window of her postmodern Palo Alto home. The words are hesitant, measured, bearing a tale of family heartbreak almost too painful for her to recount. 'But now, Rain insists that I call him Bobby Ray.'

Even as her voice is choked with emotion, she summons an inner courage -- a mother's courage -- and leads me down the hall to 'Bobby Ray's' bedroom, for a firsthand glimpse at the psychic devastation that claimed her son.

She opens the door to a reveal a riot of George Jones CDs, reflective 'mudflap mama' stickers, empty foil packs of Red Man, and U.S. Marine recruiting posters. In the middle of the room: a makeshift table made from a utility cable spool, bearing a the remains of a gutted catfish.

'This used to be all Ikea,' she says, rocking on heels between heaved sobs. 'It's too late for us. Maybe it's not to late for me to warn others.'"