Strange German tradition on New Year's Eve

From the LA Times:

GERMANS HAVE a rather peculiar New Year's Eve tradition. Everybody — yes, really, everybody — gathers around the TV to watch "Dinner for One," a short black-and-white comedy, in English, about an aristocrat and her butler.

Given the film's astounding popularity, Germans assume that "Dinner for One" is a classic of British cinema, that it must be a huge hit elsewhere in the world — and they feel lucky to be in on the big English joke. It can be a terrible blow to the average German's weltanschauung when he finds out that the English-speaking world is largely unaware of this pearl of British comedy.

Go here for the rest of the story.

The best and worst things I did in 2006

Best things I did in 2006

Put a DVR in my bedroom.

Told a bicycler I was going to run him down if he didn't get off my highway.

Continued hating liberals, socialists, communists, and other delusional cowards.

Disabled voicemail and text messaging. Fk tht sht.

Subscribed to Sprint's EVDO service.

Switched to the left hand.


Worst things I did in 2006

Smoked 14,600 cigarettes. That's two packs every day. At $28 per carton, the hobby cost me $2008 in 2006. I could have gone to Tijuana and rented a hooker 50.2 times for the same amount. Change is in the air.

Started playing the lottery. This is aptly called The Stupid Tax. The odds of a wealthy man walking up to me and giving me $50 million is considerably higher than hitting Mega Millions. The only saving grace is that I'm supporting education in California. If even one illegal alien gets a better education on the backs of law abiding citizens, it's worth it.

Didn't fix my car. It has been sitting for a year. Resolution: Get the car running some day.

Best quotes of 2006

Here are a few collections of quotes from 2006, with a sample from each:

Worst quotes from The New York Times

"The warnings of global warming that led former President George Bush to mock Mr. Gore as 'Ozone Man' in 1992 hardly seem far-fetched in these days of melting ice caps and toasty winters. Mr. Gore's tough condemnation of the war in Iraq, once derided by the White House as evidence of Mr. Gore's extremism, seems positively mainstream today." -- Chief political reporter Adam Nagourney, May 28.

And...

"The pattern has recurred time and again for several years: Palestinians fire rockets from northern Gaza that cause damage or casualties only occasionally, yet prompt a tough Israeli response, like the offensive now under way." -- Israel-based reporter Greg Myre, July 9.

Media Research Center

A runner-up for Quote of the Year:

"I don’t support our troops....When you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you’re not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you’re willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism, for better or worse....I’m not advocating that we spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War, but we shouldn’t be celebrating people for doing something we don’t think was a good idea."

-- Los Angeles Times columnist and former Time staff writer Joel Stein in a January 24 column

Australia's The Daily Telegraph

"I would love to kill George Bush."

-- Nobel peace laureate Betty Williams, speaking to Brisbane schoolchildren

Sydney Morning Herald

April Fool's Day ignites a month of overstatement. Alan Ramsey argues at great length that, under Howard, there are "parallels with Hitler's Germany". How strange, then, that this columnist remains a free man.

Mark Steyn

I long ago lost count of the number of times I’ve switched on the TV and seen crazy guys jumping up and down in the street torching the Stars and Stripes and yelling “Death to the Great Satan!” But I never thought I’d switch on the TV and see the excitable young lads jumping up and down in Jakarta, Lahore, Aden, Hebron, etc, etc, torching the flag of Denmark.

Denmark! Even if you were overcome with a sudden urge to burn the Danish flag, where do you get one in a hurry in Gaza..? Say what you like about the Islamic world but they show tremendous initiative and energy and inventiveness, at least when it comes to threatening death to the infidels every 48 hours for one perceived offence or another. If only it could be channeled into, say, a small software company, what an economy they’d have.

The Chicago Sun-Times, February 5th

Human Events: Journalistic Hysteria

The good news late in the year was that a messiah cometh. Time's Joe Klein wrote on Oct. 23 that Barack Obama "seemed the political equivalent of a rainbow -- a sudden preternatural event inspiring awe and ecstasy. He transcends the racial divide so effortlessly that it seems reasonable to expect that he can bridge all the other divisions -- and answer all the impossible questions -- plaguing American public life."

Media Research Center

“You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. How they surge toward him. You’re looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat’s not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. He inspires the party faithful, and many others, like no one else on the scene today... And the question you can sense on everyone’s mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country?… Everywhere he goes, people want him to run for President, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. Around here, they’re even naming babies after him.”

– Co-anchor Terry Moran profiling Obama on ABC’s “Nightline,” November 6.

[Was Terry Moran masterbating when he said that? --Don]

Laurel & Hardy desperate for limelight

I watched some of James Brown's visitation on CNN this afternoon. Right on cue the Reverends Jesse "Laurel" Jackson and Al "Hardy" Sharpton placed themselves in front of the TV cameras. When will the black community reject these self-serving clowns?

"No justice, no comedy."

Saddam Hussein hanging video

Cell phone video of Saddam's hanging here.

Via LGF.

Saddam Hussein is dead

The dictator has been hanged. So is this an official day of mourning for Democrats?

I can solve major UK problem

The problem is "anti-social behaviour". It's so rampant that legislation exists to classify individuals as anti-socials, not unlike registering sex offenders in the U.S. Anyone charged with anti-social behavior can get an official "anti-social behaviour order (Asbos)". These orders are to keep people from certain behaviors and certain places. Like sex offenders, these anti-socials routinely ignore the orders.

A good summary of the problem is at the BBC.

The solution:

Instead of complex, ineffective, feel-good legislation, why not let the public deal with the problem on-the-spot? Specifically: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Gerald Ford has passed away

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."

--Gerald Ford, 1913 - 2006

Liberals: pleasing people is leadership

A whiney liberal calling herself "misslaura" at the Daily Koolaid unwittingly revealed the mindset of her entire ilk in this bit about the coming increase of troops in Iraq:

Reuters is reporting that 3500 troops may be sent to Kuwait in the next few weeks to be ready to move into Iraq as part of the "surge" of 20,000-30,000 additional troops. Such an escalation is being advocated by George W. Bush and John McCain, even as a recent NPR poll found that 68% of Americans surveyed wanted US troops withdrawn in the next six months.

I'm sure 68% of Americans would like the federal government to give them $50 million, too. Do any liberals understand that leadership is not the same as pleasing people?

Danny Bonaduce on Glenn Beck's show

After mentioning Mel Gibson's drunken, anti-semitic outburst, Beck said: What do you think of Mel Gibson?

Danny Bonaduce: ...I'm mad at Mel Gibson for not being nearly drunk enough. He blew a .12. I can perform brain surgery at a .12. You want to start saying some anti-semitic stuff in Hollywood, you better be blowin' a three.

Tim Blair published my Christmas photo

Link here.

The Shaved Ape Guide to Islamic Headgear

1. The Niqab allows the oppressed woman to look upon the world with her own eyes. This is quite dangerous, as males may lose control and attack the woman.



2. The Burqa is for the troublesome woman. Through the mesh over the eyes, an oppressed woman can see just well enough to raise the man's children, cook for him, and follow any orders the superior sex may want to give.



3. An Indonesian favorite, the Beekeper uniform allows great freedom of movement for the oppressed woman of Islam. This particular woman was flogged for showing her arms.



4. Males wear the Ski Mask because they know their terrorist acts are morally wrong. By wearing it, their shame is reduced. It is also useful for the ski slopes.



5. The Trash Can was inspired by a popular children's show. Islamic women living in war zones have a better chance of surviving trips to the market while wearing this innovative tool of oppression. The foot pedal opens the lid, which facilitates feeding the oppressed woman.



6. The Goaltender ensemble is for oppressed women living in cold climates. Serving the men can be a breeze, even when the sidewalks are covered with ice and dangerous obstacles.

Don's NFL Picks, Week 17

Last Week = 47%

Giants at Washington: Giants

Seattle at Tampa: Seattle

St. Louis at Minn: St. Louis

Carolina at Nawlins: Nawlins

Oakland at Jets: Jets

Detroit at Dallas: Dallas

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati: Cincinnati

Cleveland at Houston: Houston

New England at Tennessee: New England

Jacksonville at Kansas City: Kansas City

Miami at Indy: Indy

San Fran at Denver: SF

Buffalo at Baltimore: Balt

Atlanta at Philadelphia: Philly

Arizona at San Diego: San Diego

Green Bay at Chicago: Chicago

Freakish wife-beater croaks

James Brown, funk singer

1933-2006

Liberal New Year's Resolutions

The "Liberal New Year's Resolutions" can be found in the current issue of U.S. News. Here's the highlight reel:

Learn Arabic

Take an ecovacation

Learn about Islam

Reduce your environmental footprint

Drive with biodiesel

Share your ride

Downsize your car

See a glacier before it melts

See a glacier before it melts? Liberals are an endless source of amusement.

UN Security Council votes on Iran

The Times of London is reporting that the Council unanimously voted to impose restrictions on nuclear imports to Iran, plus other restrictions. This sounds terrific!

There are a few problems, though.

1) Saddam Hussein's behavior demonstrated that defying UN resolutions carries no negative consequences (unless the United States makes a decision).

2) Hussein also demonstrated that tyrants can make a fortune under UN sanctions.

So, will Ahmadinejad accept the terms of the Security Council resolution, or will he defy it?

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Iran immediately denounced the sanctions as “invalid and illegal” and said it would not heed them. Officials in Tehran hinted that they might bar inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency watching for any sign of preparations to make a nuclear weapon.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had already responded to the prospect of UN action by warning that Britain was “doomed to disappear” along with Israel and America.

Ahmadinejad, who has previously threatened to wipe Israel off the map, claimed the three countries would “vanish like the pharaohs” of Egypt.

---

Surprise, surprise, surprise! When he takes action against the resolution, what do you think the UN will do? (hint: more toothless resolutions)

More comedy from the article:

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Russia emphasised that the UN resolution did not back the use of force. But the US said it would not hesitate to return to the security council if Iran failed to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, and western diplomats appeared to leave open the possibility of military action as a last resort.

---

Military action from the UN? Come on! The UN allows genocide before considering military action. I'd be surprised if the UN authorized the use of force even after Iran cooks off a nuke.

Still more comedy:

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Iran was said to be considering withdrawing from the treaty on nuclear non-proliferation. Some reports also suggested it might close the Strait of Hormuz, the channel for 20% of the world’s oil, pushing up prices and increasing the risk of a military confrontation. However, western diplomats believe Iran is unlikely to do this.

---

Iran withdrew from the NPT the moment they violated it by enriching uranium in secret for three years. The whole Iranian nuclear standoff has changed from film noire to comedy.

Remember back to the early 1980s: Israel launched Operation Opera the moment Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor came online, destroying it completely. I expect Israel to repeat the operation when Iran's first nuclear ambitions come to fruition.

Don's NFL Picks, Week 16

KC at Oakland: KC by 7

Chicago at Detroit: Chi by 20

Tennessee at Buffalo: Buff by 3

Carolina at Atlanta: Car by 7

Indy at Houston: Indy by 14

Tampa Bay at Cleveland: Tampa by 10

Baltimore at Pittsburgh: Pitt by 1

New England at Jacksonville: NE by 7

New Orleans at NY Giants: Nawlins by 21

Wash at St. Louis: Wash by 14

Arizona at San Francisco: SF by 13

San Diego at Seattle: SD by 7

Cinci at Denver: Cinci by 3

Philly at Dallas: Dallas by 10

NY Jets at Miami: Jets by 10

Daniel Pipes v. "Red" Ken Livingstone

On Jan. 20, 2007 Daniel Pipes will square off against "Red" Ken Livingstone, the ridiculous mayor of London, in a conference called "A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations".

---

The conference will feature a debate between the Mayor and Daniel Pipes, Director of the Middle East Forum, an American think tank that advises US policymakers on the Middle East. He has argued that ‘there is not so much a clash of civilisations as there is one of civilisations vs. barbarism.’

---

"World wide capitalism kills more people every day than Hitler did. And he was crazy."
-- Red Ken

"An effective counterterrorism strategy must focus on the fact that terrorism by Muslims in the name of Islam presents the strategic threat today to civilized peoples, whether Muslim or non-Muslim."
-- Daniel Pipes

Via USS Neverdock

Donald Trump slams Rosie

Trump is my hero for saying what everyone is thinking.

Fighting Back

I've added some new links in a section called "Fighting Back". Descriptions below.

Daniel Pipes

Harvard Magazine on Pipes: In some ways Daniel, a specialist on Islam as an influence in history, is even more an outsider than his father. Founder and director of his own think tank, Middle East Forum (MEF), his current role in academe is gadfly. Though he taught world history from 1978 to 1982 at the University of Chicago, history at Harvard from 1983 to 1984, and policy strategy at the Naval War College from 1984 to 1986, he has parted ways with the academy—to the satisfaction of both, it seems. "I have the simple politics of a truck driver," he told an interviewer, "not the complex ones of an academic. My viewpoint is not congenial with institutions of higher learning." More congenial was his stint on the policy-planning staff at the State Department in 1983 and his seven years as director of a Philadelphia think tank called the Foreign Policy Research Institute, before starting Middle East Forum in 1994.

His site includes a blog, reprints of his articles, which have appeared in numerous publications, and other useful information about Middle East affairs and militant Islam.

Honest Reporting

If Honest Reporting doesn't raise your eyebrows, you're as biased as Jimmy Carter.

MEMRI

MEMRI, or Middle East Media Research Institute, is your portal into the Middle Eastern print and television media. Our mainstream media only tells us about speeches in English, to an English-speaking audience, but when Muslim leaders speak to their constituencies, things are very different. "Death to America," "Jews eat babies," and "Israel will be wiped off the map" are everyday fodder. When you see and hear what they're saying, even in children's TV shows, your skin will crawl. Don't take my word for it -- visit MEMRI and watch the video clips for yourself.

FrontPage Magazine

This magazine features David Horowitz and other interesting writers. Current stories include "Jimmy Carter and the Arab Lobby", "Senators for Terror", and "The ADL's New Low".

Jihad Watch

Robert Spencer has made a career out of studying Islam and the Koran, and now spends (it seems) most of his time updating the Jihad Watch website, writing books, and traveling the country giving lectures -- all of which warn and inform us about the nature of our enemies.

Debka File

Rumor has it The Debka File is an Israeli Mossad enterprise. Whatever it is, interesting information can be found there.

Campus Watch

Fed up with socialist college professors spoon-feeding anti-American crap to impressionable students? Visit Campus Watch to find out which of these vermin need to be ousted. The site was all over the scandalous Ward Churchill.

The Religion of Peace

TROP is a daily collection of Muslim atrocities worldwide. You will be amazed and disheartened at the disparity between what your local paper chooses to show you and the totality of the barbarism. The site also compiles statistics, such as: Islamic terrorists have carried out 6978 deadly terror attacks since 9/11.

Muslim woman depicted on Christmas card

The Tennessean newspaper has a story about the family Christmas card for the governor of Tennessee, which shows a painting of a Muslim woman. I thought, "This must be a Democrat." I read the article, then went to the governor's website. Nowhere was Governor Bredesen's political party listed. Sure enough, I was right.

Via USS Neverdock.

A left-wing Christmas card

Pub Philosopher has posted an excellent Christmas card. It adequately demonstrates how multiculturalists (we call them liberals in the U.S.) think, especially around Christmas time.

Go here for the card.

Liberals should consult Blobby, the completely inoffensive blob of gray matter, to see if he'll fill in for Santa.


Via Bring Back Christmas and Man in a Shed.

Obesity tags in clothing

Health "experts" are telling us we need tags in large-size clothing to warn about obesity. Times of London:

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Clothes made in larger sizes should carry a tag with an obesity helpline number, health specialists have suggested. Sweets and snacks should not be permitted near checkouts, new roads should not be built unless they include cycle lanes and food likely to make people fat should be taxed, they say in a checklist of what we might “reasonably do” to deal with obesity.

---

Here's what I have in mind:

2006 Blog and Media Awards

Honest Reporting

The 2006 Dishonest Reporter of the Year is Adnan Hajj, for digitally altering photos to make the Israeli bombing of Southern Lebanon appear worse than it was. Reuters removed 920 of Hajj's photos during the embarassing scandal.

Honest Reporting has many other award winners, too, like Worst News Executive, Worst Buzzword, Retration of the Year, and Worst Caption.

Jihad Watch

Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch has announced its Dhimmi and Anti-Dhimmi Awards 2006. The American Dhimmi of the Year 2006 is Jimmy Carter. The site also lists their winners for Dhimmi International, Anti-Dhimmi American and International.

For those who have forgotten, here is the definition of Dhimmi:

Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, "protected people," are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, is part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race.

The 2006 Weblog Awards

The Weblog Awards is a large and democratic awards site. Tim Blair has issues with a non-scientific blog getting nominated for best science blog, and LGF has been talking about cheating. The Weblog Awards site says that cheaters will be caught and there will be no affect on the voting.

Little Green Footballs

The 2006 Idiotarian and Anti-Idiotarian Awards are under way.

Cultural diversity at BBC website

The grahic shows the top three stories, front and center, at the BBC World News website right now. While two terrorist organizations scrap over a small patch a desert in the Palestinian territories, Iraqi religious sects continue to blow each other into smears of blood. Meanwhile, the West, led by the U.S., is conducting a spacewalk to rewire the International Space Station.

Still think all cultures are equal?

Frogs coveting their language

For a long time I have enjoyed laughing at French attempts to keep the French language pure. Maybe that's because English speakers don't care about keeping English chaste. We have an homogenized language -- if it's common usage, we're happy. What do the French think will happen if English words creep into their vocabulary? They can't be worried about becoming bigger assholes.

The UK's PC Advisor (via TechDirt) lays out the official process the French government uses to fight off the English invasion. The classic example was the change from "email" to "couriel". A newer one is "ipod".

---

Although the arrival of podcasting in the French language is something of a fait accompli, that didn't stop the French government from passing a decree in March to encourage the use of an alternative term: "la diffusion pour baladeur". Baladeur is French for portable music player, and spares the French from erroneously referring to any such device as an "iPod" or "Walkman," regardless of the actual brand, as native English speakers tend to do.

---

These frogs crack me up.

---

The goal of the meeting was to discuss a number of new terms that the commission was considering, including "cercle de confiance" (circle of trust), "espace de confiance" (trusted environment) and "maîtrise de l'archivage" (records management), all of which met with near-unanimous approval.

---

We English speakers need an official meeting to stop using the term "frogs". We should call them "toads" from this point forward.

7-legged deer killed in Wisconsin

Associated Press:

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FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Rick Lisko hunts deer with a bow but got his most unusual one driving his truck down his mile-long driveway. The young buck had nub antlers — and seven legs. Lisko said it also had both male and female reproductive organs. "It was definitely a freak of nature," Lisko said. "I guess it's a real rarity."

---

More no-fly zones

BBC is reporting that the UK supports a no-fly zone for Darfur. Twelve years of these zones left Saddam Hussein to continue his reign of terror on the Iraqi people and opened up huge avenues of fraud (oil-for-palaces program). Many UN members who voted against ousting Saddam militarily were the ones committing the fraud. So why are we doing this again, when it failed so miserably the last time?

---

Britain has indicated it would support a UN-backed no-fly zone over Sudan's Darfur region to prevent aerial attacks on civilians, officials say.

Meanwhile, the US has said it will have to consider other options if Sudan's government continues to block the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force.

---

Imams trying to extort US Airways

According to UPI, five of six imams pulled from a US Airways flight are looking for a settlement. Whether it was a test of airline security or a greedy ploy for a settlement, we shouldn't allow these imams to bully us. And I'm not convinced that an actual terror attack wasn't thwarted when they were tossed off the plane.


Here's the bottom line, for me:

If US Airways settles with these imams, I'll never set foot on a US Airways jet again. It's a simple matter of safety. If they merge with Delta, I'll put Delta on my do-not-fly list. If enough of us make our feelings known, a clear message will be sent to the airlines, the imams, and their supporters -- terrorist activities, simulated or real, will not be tolerated.

Contact these airlines to express your opinion:
US Airways contact page
Delta contact page

No Christmas trees at Seattle airport

All the Christmas trees are being removed from the Seattle airport after a Rabbi complained. Rather than tell the good Rabbi to shut his knish hole, the trees are being removed.

From K5news, via Drudge; emphasis added:

---

Sea-Tac public affairs manager Terri-Ann Betancourt said the trees that adorn the Sea-Tac upper and lower levels may not properly represent all cultures.

---

Since some South American tribes are cannibals, I expect Ms. Betancourt to adequately represent them next year. And she'll need to erect a gruesome suicide bombing display to appease Palestinian-Americans, too. Jews will need to be dismembered, lying around in pools of blood.

No, that's probably not a good idea. When liberals get trapped by their own inventions, political correctness and multiculturism, there is only one safe course of action. Blobby. He's neutral gray, silent, sits very still, and is without form or gender. When you can't please absolutely everyone (which liberals can't understand is impossible and unnecessary), call in Blobby.


"Deck the halls with an inoffensive, gray shape."

When Muslims attack

A Muslim was caught before he could carry out plans for mass murder at an Illinois shopping center, via Chicago Sun-Times:

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“I am from America, and this tape is to let you guys know, who disbelieve in Allah, to let the enemies of Islam know, and to let the Muslims alike know that the time for jihad is now...be strong, oh Mujahideen...May Allah protect me on this mission we conduct...so do not cry, do not mourn for me,” he said, according to the FBI affidavit.

---

Now, I wonder where he got those ideas. Was it from growing up in an impoverished Middle Eastern country, oppressed by Bush and Blair's foreign policy? No, because he's from the heartland of America. Quite a mystery. You don't suppose... No! He didn't hear about these fanatical ideas from a garden variety mosque right here in America, did he?

New chewable birth control

Chewable birth control should create a whole new market. Story at MSNBC.

Vote for "Best Sports Blog"

Voting has begun for the "2006 Weblog Awards". Full Throttle has been nominated for Best Sports Blog. Go here to vote.

No Russians on moon project

Russia now wants to be part of our plans for the moon (AP story). No thanks. We've seen enough idiot tourists for a while.

Imams' ploy foiled

According to the Washington Times, three investigations into the removal of six imams have concluded that US Airways acted correctly when the imams were removed from a flight in Minneapolis.

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Three parallel investigations into the removal of six imams from a US Airways flight last month have so far concluded that the airline acted properly, that the imams' claims they were merely praying and their eviction was racially inspired are without foundation.

An internal investigation by the airline found that air and ground crews "acted correctly" when they requested that the Muslim men be removed from a Minneapolis-to-Phoenix flight on Nov. 20.

"We believe the ground crew and employees acted correctly and did what they are supposed to do," US Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader said.

---

Pajames Media has a comprehensive look at what was obviously an Islamic test of U.S. airline security:

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Contrary to press accounts that a single note from a passenger triggered the imams’ removal, Captain John Howard Wood was weighing multiple factors - factors that have largely been ignored by the press.

Another passenger, not the note writer, was an Arabic speaker sitting near two of the imams in the plane’s tail. That passenger pulled a flight attendant aside, and in a whisper, translated what the men were saying. They were invoking “bin Laden” and condemning America for “killing Saddam,” according to police reports.

---

And this OpinionJournal article says it all:

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"Allahu Akbar" was just the opening act. After boarding, they did not take their assigned seats but dispersed to seats in the first row of first class, in the midcabin exit rows and in the rear--the exact configuration of the 9/11 execution teams. The head of the group, seated closest to the cockpit, and two others asked for a seatbelt extension, kept on board for obese people. A heavy metal buckle at the end of a long strap, it can easily be used as a lethal weapon. The three men rolled them up and placed them on the floor under their seats. And lest this entire incident be written off as simple cultural ignorance, a frightened Arabic-speaking passenger pulled aside a crew member and translated the imams' suspicious conversations, which included angry denunciations of Americans, furious grumblings about U.S. foreign policy, Osama Bin Laden and "killing Saddam."

---

The moral of the story of the six faking imams: be vigilant and take one step back from multiculturalism when lives are at stake. 9/11 could have been avoided if people hadn't been so afraid of speaking up.

Also, it is not coincidental that this staged event was held at Mpls-St. Paul Int'l Airport. Earlier this year Muslim cabbies drew a multicultural media and the ire of Minnesotans when they refused to carry passengers with alcohol and were, nearly beyond belief, uppity about the negative reaction of the public. Perhaps more importantly, Minnesota recently became the first state to elect a Muslim to Congress. Has Minnesota become a battleground in the War on Terror? Don't expect MSM to draw any of these conclusions, because to them (CNN, NYTimes, etc.), it is only "Bush's war on terror" or the "so-called war on terror."

Via LGF.

More climate scientists coming out of hiding

From CO(2) Science, via Tim Blair, emphasis added:

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After providing quantitative estimates of the scope and extent of these major forces on earth's climate - not only here but in two earlier studies as well (Khilyuk and Chilingar (2003, 2004) - the two researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (USA) conclude that "the theory of currently observed global atmospheric warming as a result of increasing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emission is a myth," and that it has "proved to be an enduring one."

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I always thought it was Christians (Conservatives, Republicans) who were into guilt. I see now that it is the atheistic socialists (masquerading as modern liberals and "progressives") who feel guilty. When somebody sees that the earth has warmed up by half a degree in 75 years, and surely knows that the earth has a 2 billion year history of warming and cooling without human interference, and then concludes that humans are destroying the earth, the only conclusion one can draw is that they feel really, really bad about something (such as themselves), and have decided "global warming" or the newer, more inclusive "climate change" is the ultimate way to debase oneself. They're all but shouting, "The sky is falling! And we are making it fall!"

Socialists have treated us to these end-of-world scenarios for decades. In the early 70s, and then again in the early 90s, humans were actually causing the earth to cool down, with the subtext being "we're bad and we must be stopped." Other end-of-world idiocies over the years include the big scare in the 70s and early 80s about running dry of oil in 10 years. Well, well. We have discovered more oil since 1990 then anyone ever thought possible. An oil pipeline was going to render Alaskan caribou extinct. They're thriving.

What could possibly come out of socialist mouths next?

The left's love affair with Barak Obama

Barak Obama is the new darling of the left, and he has no presidential qualities except oration! The left's only requirement for president is good public speaking (see: Clinton). Watching CNN's entire staff fall hopelessly in love with Obama is as revealing as it is nauseating.


David Sirota, writing at the Huffington Post, raises similar complaints:

---

Look, I'm willing to admit that maybe it's true: maybe in this age of cynicism where people have completely given up on the idea that government can do anything, all the country really wants is a great orator who nebulously "connects" - a talk show host President who makes us feel good when he's on TV, even as he refuses to use his power to actually change anything. But I think now, more than ever, people are looking for a conviction politician - someone who has either done something, or at least used their platform to try to do something through raising taboo issues.

---

Sirota is a "progressive" who is deeply involved in what he calls a "movement". I call it a movement, too, but of a different kind. He got one thing wrong, or simply neglected to mention something:

---

The national media is swooning over Obama, begging him to run for president.

---

The national media is not swooning over Obama. Media outlets with clear liberal bias are, and no others.

True meaning of life

Headline from The Onion: "I Was Placed On This Earth To Put Off Doing Something Extraordinary"

Precisely.

Litvinenko radiation case solved

The case of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has been solved by Scotland Yard. He and the others who have recently tested positive for radiation were on a bus tour together in Chernobyl some time last year. Although Litvinenko's wife has given a glowing review of the tour, she was puzzled as to why the tour guide was missing his lower jaw.