Let 'Em Eat Steak

Or something to that effect.

Well, it wasn't exactly a blog fest, but four of us - LC Jackboot, Imperial Correspondent for the Rott, The Dread Pundit Bluto, Cookie of the Cook Shack Gab & Grub and yours truly - got together for lunch today at a nice Italian restaurant just off the NYS Thruway. Jackboot and I maintained satellite communications (okay cell phone tower) during his transition from New England Moonbat to Mid Altantic Moonbat Control. Coming from one Blue State to another, no passports, patchouli transfusions or inspections by crotch sniffing dogs were needed to gain entry.

Today was a last minute, seat of the pants arrangement as the original restaurant I wanted had closed for the day. I spent a frantic half hour trying to find a nice eatery that was open before 3 PM, and then informing our Band of Bloggers of the changes. After staying to clear up network problems for some new users, I barely managed to leave the office on time.

The snow had just started to fall when we reached the restaurant and continued to fall throughout our sumptuous repast. Bluto was recovering from a bad cold and had thankfully regained much of his voice for the blog meeting. When I called him yesterday to confirm the time, I thought I was speaking to Helen Thomas after she had her tonsils bronzed. Cookie was there in rare form also, sporting his snappy leather hat ensemble. He only tried to gum the waitress twice.

As it turned out, our poor waitress had a cold also and sounded much like Bluto did yesterday. She cheerfully croaked and honked at us through the meal and refreshed our beverages on a regular basis so we could continue talking. If I get sick I'll know who to blame.

And we talked. We talked about blogging and politics and engaged in personal male bonding manly stuff. This is the third time we have met in the past year or so and the first time with Jackboot.

Of course as manly men we all had some form of steak for lunch (someone's steak more processed than others, eh Cookie?). Cookie and Jackboot found out that they shared some common experiences with their prior military service. Cookie, you really should post about the time your mate nearly sunk the lot of ya.

The upcoming Rott Fest in Tampa, Florida, was a topic of conversation as well as our concerns for the nation and what we could do to offset the incredible media bias. Bluto said it straightly, as far as the news is concerned, we are in a constant election cycle. Jackboot passed along some encouragement from Emperor Misha also.

It is just so good to hear from our Band of Bloggers.

After lunch we transitioned outside and talked for almost an hour. Protected by the entrance shelter, those who had 'em smoked 'em while the snowfall got heavier and heavier. By time we left to go home, the roads were downright sloppy and the plows were out in full force.

After I finish this post I'll give Jackboot another hour or so to see if he got home.

[Update: I did indeed none the worse for wear either at 2003 and worth every single mile of it too!!! (575 miles R/T). Sig managed to hit the secure, encrypted satellite link to get confirmation with me. All is well. Thanks to my brothers for a Great Day- God Bless Y'all !!!-JB IC/A]

Central New Yorker Murdered By Terrorists

In both the New York Post and the Syracuse Post Standard, we are told that four US soldiers, one of them Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Homer, N.Y., were murdered in an ambush by terrorists on January 20th. Homer is a town about 20 miles south of Syracuse.

From the Post Standard:

4 troops abducted, killed in Iraq attack
1/27/2007, 6:24 a.m. ET
By STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — In perhaps the boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare, gunmen speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers last week at the provincial headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and then shot them to death.

In response, all terrorists in U.S. custody will be forced to wear their underpants on their heads for a week. Clean skivvies will be issued each day, of course, to prevent excessive patchouli build up.

The U.S. military confirmed a report earlier Friday by The Associated Press that three of the soldiers were dead and one was mortally wounded with a gunshot to the head when they were found in a neighboring province, about 25 miles from the compound where they were captured. A fifth soldier was killed in the initial attack on the compound.

This will not decrease the liberals' outcry against "imperialistic" U.S. actions in the Middle East. This will hardly get any attention at all in the MSM. As you read the bird dropping catcher known as the Post Standard, it sounds like the US is at fault for this atrocity. Did you catch how the AP reporters noticed the boldness and sophistication of the attack?

The new account contradicted a U.S. military statement on Jan. 20, the day of the raid on an Iraqi governor's office, that five soldiers were killed "repelling" the attack.

So the news here is that the US military contradicted itself, not the bloody-minded business of murdering captives. Then this:

The security breakdown and the dramatic kidnapping and murder of four soldiers leaked out just as President Bush faces stiffening congressional opposition over his plan to flood Baghdad and surrounding regions with 21,500 more American troops. Two of Congress's most vocal war critics, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Murtha, were in the Iraqi capital as the news broke.

Again, the news is not the outrageous behavior of terrorists, but security breakdowns, opposition to the war and critics of the President's policies. Garbage coverage.

This is a breakdown of the stories Qassim Abdul-Zahra has written for the AP. This is the breakdown of Steven Hurst's stories. As you read this trash you'll get a notion that these reporters get a charge out of negative news from Iraq for they write of nothing else. I checked back to July 2003 on Hurst (68 articles) and July 2005 on Abdul-Zahra (59 articles). All but a few were negative reports.

Contrast this with what the NY Post has to say:

January 27, 2007 -- Those who insist so loudly on following Geneva Conventions rules regarding captured terrorists need to take a long, hard look at the latest atrocity in Iraq, news of which broke yesterday.

Four U.S. soldiers, one of them a New Yorker, were captured - and promptly murdered - last Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles from Baghdad, officials confirmed.

Two of the slain soldiers were found handcuffed together in the back of a vehicle.

The soldiers were murdered after being captured. Their bodies were found miles away from where they were taken. This is the money quote:

But the murder of disarmed and helpless troops - killing POWs, in effect - is what's at issue here.

[...] The murder of helpless captives is a stark reminder of the barbaric nature of the enemy that American-led forces face in Iraq. Indeed, it puts into perspective the complaints about U.S. "atrocities" committed against prisoners at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

Frankly, complaints about degrading photos and alleged desecration of the Koran can't hold a candle to the savage abduction and execution-style murders of brave soldiers.

Those who have led the outcry over what they hysterically decry as U.S. "war crimes" in Iraq have a particular obligation to speak out against genuine atrocities of the kind committed by these terrorist insurgents.

Their failure to do so will only serve to confirm their actual motive: not to hold America to the highest moral standard, but to undermine the U.S. effort and ensure a Vietnam-style defeat in Iraq.

You'll find nothing like this from the AP.

The enemy has one one Rule Of Engagement; kill every man, woman and child who does not support them. There are no circumstances too despicable for these animals. And no atrocity so evil that it can't be overlooked and/or spun by the liberals.

Combat Photography

I've heard it said that a good picture is worth a thousand words. Last July I posted about a combat photographer in Iraq by the name of Russel Klika and put up some of his work.

He now has his own website Russel Lee Klika. Just a few words about Sgt. Klika:

In 2004 I joined the 278th Regimental Combat Team Tennessee Army National uard as the Noncommissioned Officer In charge of Public Affairs during their tour in Iraq.

In 2006 I joined the 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment of the Tennessee Army National Guard for a second tour in Iraq. Prior to joining the National Guard I worked for several large newspapers on the West and East Coast.

Prior to that, I was a Combat Photographer for eight of the twelve years I spent in the Marine Corps.

I am a self-taught photographer and am currently a media trainer for mobilizing Soldiers at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.

Sgt. Klika has some amazing photos of Iraq that you just have to see. My wife and I went through his portfolio and were very moved. Beneath the filth and squalor are some of the most beautiful children you'll ever see. Go here to start the slide show.

As soon as I figure out how to do it, I'll put his url up on the side board.

Northern NY Businessman Treats Fort Drum Soldiers

At a cost of over $15,000, Watertown businessman P.J. Simao bought 125 tickets to tonight's Toby Keith concert at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY, on the Oneida Indian Nation. These tickets were then donated to soldiers and their familes at Fort Drum. And he didn't gofor the cheap seats either. These tickets were the most expensive ones available for the show.

From the Post Standard:

"When you do something like this, you might as well do it the right way," Simao told The Post-Standard of Syracuse, saying he was reluctant to discuss his donation and insisted he did not want publicity.Sam Madonia, Turning Stone's entertainment director, said Simao called personally, insisted on excellent seats and never asked for a discount.

Simao bought 100 tickets soon after they went on sale in October and gave them to the Army to distribute at Fort Drum. then Simao learned they were in high demand, he bought another 25. "After doing what they do for us, it is a small token of our appreciation," Simao said.

Fort Drum is home to the US Army's Tenth Mountain Division. Many of the soldiers attending the sold-out concert tonight are recently home from Iraq. A half dozen soldiers were invited to met Toby Keith backstage.

When Oneida nation leader Ray Halbritter learned of Simao's generosity, he decided to provide a dinner for the group, Madonia said. Tonight, they will dine on crab-stuffed sole, honey-pecan chicken and strawberry shortcake - far removed
from Army-issued meals.

P.J. Simao is co-owner of DealMaker Auto Group in Watertown. If you live in the North Country, you might want to stop in and give P.J. a big NY thank you.

I'm A Little Teapot

I'm a little teapot short and stout,
I'll pour you a Cup O'Death out of my spout.

When I get all steamed up then I cry,
Just take a sip and kiss your ass goodbye.

ABC News reports that the Brit cops have finally found the receptacle that delivered ex-Russian KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko his minimum daily requirement of Polonium 210.

British officials say police have cracked the murder-by-poison case of former spy Alexander Litvinenko, including the discovery of a "hot" teapot at London's Millennium Hotel with an off-the-charts reading for Polonium-210, the radioactive material used in the killing.

I really can't think of an excuse for why it took so long for them to find it. Just turn off the lights and see what glows, no?

A senior official tells ABC News the "hot" teapot remained in use at the hotel for several weeks after Litvinenko's death before being tested in the second week of December. The official said investigators were embarrassed at the oversight.

Whoever was in charge of the crime scene should have his ass booted up over his ears.

British health officials say some 128 people were discovered to have had "probable contact" with Polonium-210, including at least eight hotel staff members and one guest.

No definitive word yet on where these people may have come in contact with the radioactive teabags. Now we have to add another variation of tea: white, green, oolong, black and nuclear.

There obviously has been some intensive work done after the initial bungling. Brit investigators traveled to Russia for interviews and a prime suspect has been identified.

The official says investigators have concluded, based on forensic evidence and intelligence reports, that the murder was a "state-sponsored" assassination orchestrated by Russian security services.

Officials say Russian FSB intelligence considered the murder to have been badly bungled because it took more than one attempt to administer the poison. The Russian officials did not expect the source of the poisoning to be discovered, according to intelligence reports.

Most murders don't. If this was done by old school KGB'ers, perhaps they just didn't care whether or not they were found out. Nothing would ever came of it anyway. Perhaps they are wrong, we'll see.

Sources say police intend to seek charges against a former Russian spy, Andrei Lugovoi, who met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day officials believe the lethal dose was administered in the Millennium Hotel teapot.

Lugovoi steadfastly denied any involvement in the murder at a Moscow news conference and at a session with Scotland Yard detectives. Russian security police were present when the British questioned Lugovoi, and British officials do not think they received honest answers from him.

The Brits may issue a warrant for him, but it is doubtful that it will be served. Lugovoi was in Moscow hospital when the brit cops came looking for him. From a Dec. 6, 2006, ABC News article:

British detectives investigating the poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko have identified a prime suspect — a man who also once was a Russian spy, a British official tells ABC News.

British detectives had just arrived in Moscow when they were told they could not see the man they consider their prime suspect, former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi. He was unavailable, hospitalized with signs of radiation poisoning, Russian officials said.

Russia's top prosecutor said the British could not speak with any witnesses on their own and could not extradite them to Britain if they're charged. Senior British official told ABC News the Russian government is obstructing the investigation, even as more and more signs point to Russia and Lugovoi.

ABC News has reconstructed Lugovoi's movements from Moscow to London, right up to the day he met Litvinenko at a London hotel, and found a trail of deadly polonium 210.

If this gets embarassing enough for the Russians, perhaps Andre will have himself a little accident. I'd be real careful of what I drank. Someone may drop a teapot on him.

Politics As Usual

Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos are the two Border Patrol cops who are now in prison for shooting a drug dealer. Euphoricreality has put together some more developments in this ongoing saga of how the government screws the very people we need to protect our borders and panders to those who violate the same borders. The name of the article is: "Dirty Texas Politics Taint Border Patrol Agents’ Trial" and was written by Shawn Christopher Phillips at www.patgray.com.

The central perpetrator in this travesty of justice is the U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, who has old boy Texas connections from the judge overseeing the case all the way up to President George W. Bush. These connections, though not openly disclosed, have greatly impacted the case, as highly placed government officials look the other way while testimonies, evidence, and statements are manipulated behind the scenes.

Some of the issues which the government has been ignoring is that the drug dealer, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, not only was apprehended after trying to smuggle almost 800 pounds of marijuana into Arizona in 2005, several months later he was stopped again trying to smuggle a half ton of marijuana into the US! He was given a car by the authorities to travel into the US for court appearances and stuffs it with drugs! The results of this second incident?

U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton further extended immunity to this additional felony and sealed the indictment from jurors. Aldrete-Davila’s arrest record was expunged, and a gag order was issued. The jury was not informed of the second smuggling arrest, and Sutton issued a public statement that Aldrete-Davila was “never arrested” on drug charges.

The Bush administration is making a huge mistake in pursuing these two cops and yet letting a real criminal like former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger off with a by-your-leave. A Mexican criminal is caught smuggling almost a ton of dope into this country and skates absolutely free. And this is the part that really makes me sick.

Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila is now suing the US Border Patrol for $5-million for violating his civil rights, and Compean and Ramos are each doing over 12 years hard time. It’s rumored inside the beltway that President Bush will appoint Johnny Sutton to the federal bench before he leaves office on Jan. 20, 2009.

Answer: What Are Clinton's Chestnuts?

Question: What was Sandy Berger trying to protect when he was snagged for stealing national security documents?

Cashill.com has a piece on what Sandy Berger, Clinton's National Security Advisor, was really after when he stole and destroyed national security documents.

If not the most skillful of embezzlers, Samuel “Sandy” Berger is a far more formidable character than the media would have us believe. When he made his now storied sorties into the National Archives, he risked his career and his reputation in so doing, and he knew it. Rest assured, he would not have done so were the secrets to be preserved not worth the risk of pilfering them.

Burglar was portrayed as a bumbling, absent minded professor type by Clinton. Everyone knows that absent minded professors cram their pants with top secrets documents. It's right in their CV. This ridiculous allegation was never questioned by the press.

In his first term, Clinton had hired this millionaire trade lawyer and lobbyist to be deputy national security advisor, not because of Berger’s foreign policy experience, which was negligible, but because of his political instincts, which were keen and reliable. Clinton entrusted Berger with some very sensitive assignments, particularly in relationship to China, and rewarded him for his trust with the job of National Security Advisor in his second term. This job does not require Senate confirmation. It is unlikely that Berger could have gotten any job that did.

Many of Clinton's advisors never passed security clearance. Remember John Huang and Chinagate?

Based on the testimony of a retired USAF Lt. Col. who was assigned White House duties, Cashill states:

At that time Col. Buzz Patterson carried the "nuclear football" for President Clinton. Given his security clearance, Patterson was entrusted with any number of high security assignments. One morning in "late-summer,” Patterson was returning a daily intelligence update from the Oval Office to the National Security Council when he noticed the heading "Operation Bojinka."As Patterson relates, "I keyed on a reference to a plot to use commercial airliners as weapons." As a pilot, he had a keen interest in the same. "I can state for a fact that this information was circulated within the U.S. intelligence community," Patterson writes, "and that in late 1996 the president was aware of it." The President’s hand written comments on the documents verified the same.

The Philippine police had uncovered plans for aerial assaults as early as January 1995 and shared those plans with the FBI almost immediately. The man responsible for those plans was Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing and very possibly an Iraqi contract agent. His accomplice was Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9-11 and allegedly Yousef’s uncle.

In a chestnut shell, Berger was trying to hide Clinton's knowledge of a possible airborne attack on the US five years before 9/11. And there's more. A lot more...

This Is Not A Tragedy

The following article is an example of just how screwed up our legal system's thinking is (hat tip to Maxxdog).

The Wright County attorney's office will not charge a Rockford, Minn., man who fatally shot his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend as he broke into the couple's barricaded bedroom. Eric M. Cegon, 30, shot and killed Erik A. Richter, 35, about 3:30 a.m. Dec. 13. Richter had broken into the apartment Cegon shared with Richter's ex-girlfriend, Samantha Simons, 21. It was the second time Richter had violated a court order not to contact either of them.

And here's the money quote:

"In this matter, you have a justifiable use of deadly force," County Attorney Thomas Kelly said Wednesday. "As tragic as it is, that's how it comes down."

The justifiable use of deadly force is tragic? It's tragic that no innocent victim was killed or arrested? A violent perp has been sent to his final reward. What's tragic about that?

This is not a tragedy. This is a Good Thing™ .

There should be a party. The perp, Erik A. Richter, 35, was:

armed with a loaded, half-cocked semi-automatic handgun and four additional magazines when he broke into the couple's Rockford apartment. Richter also had leg irons and handcuffs with him,

Sounds like he had a good time all planned out for his ex-girlfriend, no? What a tragedy he didn't get to enjoy himself. This County Attorney Kelly appears to be more concerned about political correctness then the lives of innocent people who were spared from God knows what atrocities by the judicious use of a firearm.

24

There are only 24 hours left until former US Border Agents agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos begin their 10+ year sentences. Thus far President Bush has ignored hundreds of thousands of emails and the pleas of 55 Congressmen to pardon these two men. Please contact your US representatives and the White House with your requests to have these men pardoned.

This from the Canada Free Press:

"If it can happen to them, it can happen to any one of us. It has definitely had an adverse affect on agents involved in border security." -Mark Parsons, President, Fraternal Order of Police in El Paso, Texas, Customs and Border Protection agent.

President Bush has shown no interest in pardoning these two agents whose sentences will surpass many murderers, rapists and even drug smugglers they have put behind bars. In addition to the obvious, however, the situation involving Compean and Ramos is having a "rippling effect" among border patrol agents and other law enforcement officials who have the increasingly dangerous and difficult task of protecting American citizens.

This will have a chilling effect on border security. And I believe that Bush wants exactly that.

Mr. Parsons stated that the aggressive prosecution, replete irregularities pertaining to the arrest and trial of the two agents, including but not limited to venue issues, restriction of exculpatory testimony and evidence, government corruption and jury misconduct "has made a lot of agents on the front lines 'gun shy' and afraid to do their jobs." He added that "if this can happen to agents Compean and Ramos, it can happen to any one of us."

It is also sending a strong message to illegal aliens, drug smugglers, and potential terrorists illegally crossing the border into the U.S. everyday. Those involved in illegal border activities see this as a victory for them, endangers the safety and welfare of the officers on the front lines and compromises the safety and security of every man, woman and child in the U.S.

These men and women are the first line of defense for our borders. The two agents were not acting in a manner to delibertly deprive an innocent human being of his life and liberty. They were protecting themselves from a perceived threat from a drug smuggler.

Make no mistake, the southern border of the U.S. is a virtual war zone being exploited by enemies of the United States. The demoralizing affect of this lack of prosecutorial discretion in a time of war is questionable at best, begging the questions: how serious are we in securing our borders, and why isn't the U.S. Department of Justice exercising the same zeal in the prosecution of illegal aliens as they are in punishing those front-line agents who are understaffed, out-gunned, and hamstrung by rules of engagement favoring the criminal?

I'm just so disgusted by this. And Sandy Berger gets probation for destroying national security documents!

National Debt

The Skeptical Optimist has a great article regarding the national debt.

Tax receipts are continuing to grow significantly faster than spending, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement. As a result, if these trends continue, the budget will move into balance on July 3, 2008.

Look at these great charts from the Optimist.

This will drive the democrats and RINO's crazy.
The reason for this? Tax receipts from a healthy, expanding economy are increasing faster than the interest on the national debt.

The trend could change if someone gets crazy. See what the Dems submit their first budget for the new federal FY starting on October 1, 2007.

And visit the Skeptical Optimist for straight talk on how economic policies affect the national debt.

The Wrong Experts

I remember after the 1992 elections how the economic forecasts and dire predictions of the Democrats changed within days. From the "Worst Economy Since The Depression" to much more favorable news. I was astounded that these so called experts could think we were so stupid not to realize how they had tried to manipulate us. But then again, they did manipulate the election successfully. Clinton's economic policies wouldn't even begin to have nay effect until his first budget took effect in October of 1993, but as soon as January the hysterical MSM was granting him prowess in shaping America's economic fortunes for the better.

And they are at it again. When will the American people learn not to trust these liars?

Economists are hastily upgrading their forecasts for the US economy after a series of surprisingly strong reports suggesting the so-called "soft landing" may be over and growth is accelerating. Over the past week, surprises have come in stronger-than-expected reports on US job creation, the trade balance and retail sales -- all key contributors to economic activity.

And they are always "surprised." But only during a Republican administration.

"With the last of the major data in, we are now revising fourth quarter GDP to an above-trend 3.3 percent. A wide range of indicators have been stronger than xpected. Most important have been the strong consumption data and the surprising improvement in the trade balance."

The latest data defy predictions that the slump in real estate would filter into other areas of the economy, notably consumer spending. The latest data showed US employers added a healthy 167,000 new jobs in December, with unemployment holding at a low 4.5 percent.

Average wages were up 4.2 percent annually.

A separate report Friday showed US retail sales increased 0.9 percent in December.

Oops. Wrong again. Like Paul Krugman in his NY Times commentary just six weeks ago.

Normal Upstate NY Weather

There was an ice storm yesterday that lasted through the night. It wasn't a bad one, only about an eighth of an inch of ice; not nearly enough to cause damage. But our trees are covered in a thin layer of crystal. There is a big boxwood elder right behind the house and the nearest branches are only four feet away from the kitchen window.


It has been so unseasonably warm this winter that it is almost a relief to finally get some bad weather. Almost, not quite.

With the bad weather comes traffic accidents. There was a twenty car pile up just north of Syracuse on Interstate 81 yesterday morning due to black ice on a bridge over Rt 11. One motorist who stopped to assist somehow fell over 50 feet to the road below and is in critical condition. In another ice related accident just north of here in Oswego County, two people were killed early this morning when a small car switched lanes and ran head on into an eighteen wheeler dumptruck.

Luckily this stretch of weather came on Sunday and Monday; today is a holiday, cutting down on traffic.

We had almost 8" of snow last Wednesday and it is already melted. Forecasts are for colder temperatures and more snow later in the week.

Broke Back Beijing?

Social experimentation comes back to haunt the Chinese. From the London Times:

It is nearly three decades since China’s rulers implemented a strict “one-couple, one-child” policy. It replaced Chairman Mao’s focus on a high birth rate, which had been intended to ensure that China could fend off enemies with human-wave warfare.

Korean war vets have nightmare stories about waves and waves of Chinese troops attacking their positions. The slaughter of individuals for the perceived common good never did bother the communists much. But the Law of Unintended Consequences can and will bite you on the ass. Just give it time.

The unintended consequences of those severe controls have become increasingly pronounced. China will be short of 30 million brides within 15 years, according to an official report into the country’s burgeoning population. About one in every ten men aged between 20 and 45 — equivalent to almost the entire population of Canada — will be unable to find a wife.

One effect of China’s strict population control has been a jump in gender selection of babies. The traditional preference for a son means that more and more women abort their baby if an early-term ultrasound examination shows it to be a girl. Officials deny that the gender imbalance is a result of the family planning policy.

Thirty million pissed off Chinese isa something that everyone should be concerned about, especially the Chinese.

The findings, from the State Population and Family Planning Commission, outline bleak prospects — and not only for bachelors. The report says that the gender imbalance could result in social instability — a threat that the Communist Party regards as the greatest risk to its grip on power.

These consequences are clearly the result of the government's draconian family policies. And every one of these projected 30 million men know who to blame. I don't think that these guys will be interested in a Barney Frank/San Francisco solution to the shortage of women.

What we should be looking at is more aggression from China to draw national attention away from it's failed domestic policies.

Taiwan may want to restore it's trays to the upright position and fasten it's seat belts. Thirty million horny Chinamen can make anyone's life miserable.

There is an quote used by RFK in 1966, "May you live in interesting times." It sure looks like things are getting interesting again in China.

What Was She Thinking?

We lose about a half dozen teens every year to fatal MVA's, many of which are alcohol related. Drive anywhere in this county and there is a good chance you'll encounter a small cross surrounded by a withered flower arrangement stuck in the ground at the base of a tree or off the road in a culvert; a small, sad memorial for a lost loved one.

Kids just don't have the maturity, the judgement, to realize when they are placing themselves in a dangerous situation. That's why adults are supposed to supervise them and speak our minds when we see them doing stupid stuff. And it usually works, except for this piece of work, 45 year old Kelly Lobrutto.

The drink orders were placed early in the week for Saturday night's party at the LoBrutto house on Rippleton Road. For malt-based alcoholic beverages like Smirnoff Ice, the teens paid $15 a head, while beer drinkers paid $5 to $10 each.

And it is not the first time this woman is making a major mistake by getting these kids ripped.

The festivities began Dec. 9, the same night as the Cazenovia High School winter dance, so many of the two dozen revelers didn't show up until after 10 p.m. By that time, rum, vodka and beer were flowing, according to statements the teens later gave to state police investigators. And by 3 a.m., teenagers were staggering around drunk, vomiting and passing out, according to the statements filed in Cazenovia Town Court.

Sworn statements from 23 high school students who were at the party, including LoBrutto's 17-year-old daughter, Melissa, paint a frightening picture of teenagers bingeing on alcohol that they say was purchased by their friend's mother, who partied with them. Several students interviewed said it was the fourth such party at the LoBrutto house, a detail that will be part of the prosecution's case, said state police Investigator Dennis Dougherty.

This is so wrong. Binge drinking kills over fourteen hundred young people, mostly college students, every year. Read the last link, it is heart breaking. Daniel Reardon speaks about his nineteen year old son, a college freshman who drank himself to death.

Daniel was in the hospital bed for a week before we took him off of life support. And no parent, as I did, should have to get up on a hospital gurney, and just hold his son and cry for hours that he's dead, never. Sending a child to college to die, no parent should have to go through that.

The earlier a teen starts to abuse alcohol, the more likely he will follow this destructive lifestyle as he gets older.

REYNARD KINGTON, Acting Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: We've known for many years that there was a problem, and we have evidence really dating back for decades that there's been a problem with drinking on college campuses, but we've never been able to really describe the parameters of the problem, how big of a problem it is. And I think that even the researchers who were involved from the very beginning were surprised by some of the conclusions. Just the magnitude of the problem is really enormous.

If 1,400 hippies were maced at a Grateful Dead concert we'd never hear the end of it. But back to Lobrutto.

By 10:30 p.m., the kids who had gone to the dance began to wander in. In some cases, Dougherty said, parents were dropping off their children at the LoBrutto residence, but had no idea alcohol was part of the gathering. Inside, teens were playing beer pong (a drinking game), doing shots and downing Long Island iced teas, a drink made with about five kinds of hard liquor, sweet and sour mix and a splash of cola. Kelly LoBrutto was in the kitchen, pouring shots and mixing drinks for the guests.

The partygoers had a variety of alcoholic drinks to choose from, some of which the teens brought with them. There was a case of Smirnoff Ice; a 30-pack of Keystone beer; a case of Bud Light; and bottles of Jagermeister; Bacardi rum; tequila; and Ice 101, a peppermint schnapps.

This is a disaster waiting to happen. It was only by the grace of God someone wasn't seriously hurt.

By midnight, one of the partygoers, a 17-year-old training to be an emergency medical technician, told police he realized some of his friends were in trouble. They were vomiting, and one friend was passed out on the bathroom floor. He and another friend carried their classmate upstairs and put him to bed. The EMT-in-training found more classmates upstairs who were sick. He stayed with them while they vomited, and began a vigil, going upstairs every 10 to 15 minutes to make sure his friends were OK.

He might have been the only one with a lick of sense at this party. And all he did was babysit some drunks. If those kids were really in trouble he would have been overwhelmed. And they could have been brain damaged or dead. Checking someone every 10t o 15 minutes to see if they are still breathing means they could be dead for nine minutes before he returns.

Throughout the evening, Kelly LoBrutto watched as students came and went. Some were picked up by parents, who didn't know what was going on inside the house; others drove themselves to and from the party. One teen told police Kelly LoBrutto woke some partygoers at 7 a.m. and ordered them out of the house. She scolded one of the girls for ruining the party by getting sick.

Melissa LoBrutto told investigators hat she spent the money she collected for the party on Christmas gifts at Carousel Center. "My first priority is my mom and protecting her," Melissa LoBrutto told police. "In the morning my mom wasn't mad at me; she was mad at everyone else."

Who's the kid here? A set of ovaries does not automatically qualify someone to be a mother. And what's with these parents? Can't they smell the booze on their children as they stagger into the car???

Kelly LoBrutto, 45, was charged with a handful of misdemeanors, including endangering the welfare of a child, unlawfully dealing with a child and criminal nuisance. She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is scheduled to appear in Cazenovia Town Court on Feb. 13.

Perhaps a stretch in the slammer will impart some smarts.

Get Out Of Jail Free Card

The United Nations once again proves that it is unfit to guard a newstand much less a nation. This just in from Fox News:

Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers under United Nations command were demoted, dismissed or reprimanded for their roles in a sex-abuse case while on assignment in the Sudan, but U.N. officials are powerless to bring charges or prosecute the soldiers for their alleged crime.

Nonetheless, Jane Holl Lute, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, thinks the punishment is enough.

But let some US soldiers pile naked terrorists in a pyramid and these same UN clowns are screaming for prison sentences. It's like a "Get out Of Jail Free" card in Monoply board game. You just have to wear a blue helmet. The hypocrisy sickens me.

Rapists, any raptists, should rot in prison, but the UN feels that demotions, dismissals and reprimands (Bad rapist! Bad!) are sufficient.

I guess that the soldiers at Abu Ghraib would have been better off if they sodomized the prisoners instead of stacking them.

The particulars of the Sudanese sex abuse case are pretty much the same where ever UN "peacekeepers" are stationed; rape and sex slavery seems to flourish under the blue helmets. From a March, 2005 article in the Guardian:

The reputation of United Nations peacekeeping missions suffered a humiliating blow yesterday as an internal report identified repeated patterns of sexual abuse and rape perpetrated by soldiers supposed to be restoring the international rule of law.

[...]The embarrassment caused by the misconduct of UN forces in devastated communities around the world - including Haiti, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Cambodia , East Timor and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - has become an increasingly high profile, political problem.

And the MSM has increasingly ignored it.

Alarm about the involvement of UN peacekeepers in sex trafficking first became widespread during the 1990s when investigators found soldiers were customers in brothels run in Bosnia and Kosovo which relied on women sold into forced prostitution. One recent estimate suggested up to 2,000 women have been coerced into sex slavery in Kosovo.

The Guardian article continues:

"sexual exploitation and abuse mostly involves the exchange of sex for money (on average $1-$3 per encounter), for food (for immediate consumption or to barter later) or for jobs". [...]"The reality of prostitution and other sexual exploitation in a peacekeeping context is profoundly disturbing because the United Nations has been mandated to enter into a broken society to help it, not to breach the trust placed in it by the local population." There have even been reports of paedophilia committed by peacekeepers.

The UN has been out of control for quite some time. Corrupt UN bureaucrats can't keep their hands out of our pockets and UN peacekeepers can't keep it in their pants.

No Soup For You!

From the Brussels Journel - Muslims run amok through the streets of Paris burning cars, ambushing police, beating innocent citizens and the cops respond by:

Last week, the Paris police issued a prohibition on the distribution to the homeless of soup containing pork meat or fat. According to the police authorities – the same ones who are incapable of restoring law and order in the Paris suburbs – distributing soup containing pork or lard is a racist offence since some people in need might be Muslim and hence not allowed to eat pork.

Seinfeld Soup Nazis! The Paris police are goose stepping down the Champs-Elysées grabbing tins of soup from unsuspecting charity workers.

Pork has been on the European menu since time immemorial. In the winter of 2004 Solidarité des Français (SdF), a charity organization running a soup kitchen, began to distribute “soupe au cochon” (pork soup). SdF is a private organization and is said to be closely allied with “islamophobic” groups. According to critics it put pork soup on the menu to exclude Muslims. The organization says that the soup is a traditional French recipe with origins dating back to Gallic times. Even Asterix and Obelix ate pork soup.

( Asterix and Obelix are Fwench comic book characters.)

On 28 December the Paris police prefecture issued a prohibition on the distribution of the soup, denouncing the “xenophobic character of a charity that excludes people of Jewish and Muslim confessions.” Paris police officers had to enforce the prohibition. This time the policemen did not need to enter certain Paris suburbs because the ruling sharia authorities in those no-go areas ensure that no pork soup is served there.

In reality they do not enter certain Paris suburbs because they always get their asses kicked whenever they do.

This just seems like piss poor policing, or lazy, politically correct posturing. The cops go after free soup (these are fairly harmless, law abiding citizens) but avoid offending the Wahabi charities that seek to impose "xenophobic" sharia law on all non-Muslims. After all, you can get hurt messing with the Wahabis.

Yesterday, however, an administrative court of first instance in Paris ruled that distributing pork soup is not racist. Today Bertrand Delanoë, the Mayor of Paris, told the Paris police to appeal the court ruling. [...] Mayor Delanoë is a Socialist and an outspoken homosexual. Religious Muslims oppose homosexuality at least as much as they oppose pork soup.

Delanoë will find out what the short drop is like if Paris falls under sharia law. That's what Muslims do to homosexuals.

Iranian Five Passenger Zippos

Fresh news out of Tehran:

HUNDREDS of Iranian-made cars have suddenly caught fire on Iran's roads over the past months, with police pointing to the Peugeot 405 as the main culprit.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Iranians are manufacturing splodeydopin' suicidal Fwench cars!!! Instead of fifteen pounds of Semtex and nails, just take a test drive in a brand new Iranian car, "le Zippo."

Since the beginning of the Iranian year in March, there have been 125 incidents of cars catching fire without warning and then killing or injuring the occupants, traffic police chief Mohammad Rooyanian said.

"Around 300 people have been killed or wounded and 40 per cent of the fatalities were attributed to the Peugeot 405," he told the Kayhan newspaper.

The Peugeot 405, is a very popular model in Iran. The most popular car is the Paykan modelled after the British Hillman. Approximately 40% of all cars registered in Iran are Paykans. Other models include the Souren and the Samand which is entirely of Iranian design and manufacture.

The Peugeot 405 and other well-known models from the French carmaker have been manufactured under licence since 1990 by Iran Khodro, Iran's largest car manufacturer." Fire service figures from the first six months of the year have said that 700 cars caught fire in Tehran, out of which 70 per cent of them were manufactured by Iran Khodro," Mr Rooyanian said.

These cars are sold with a full tank of gas, three quarts of "Allah's Revenge" barbeque sauce and extra flints.

Iran Khodro's director of marketing Mehdi Ghasem said the problem was an "occasional technical fault in the fuel system" in cars more than two years old and emphasised that vehicles made in this Iranian year had no such fault.

It was just such an"occasional technical fault" in the fuel tank of the Ford Pinto that resulted in hundreds of deaths in the 1970's. One report indicated that:

the Ford Motor Company makes 24 per cent of the cars on the American road, yet these cars account for 42 per cent of the collision-ruptured fuel tanks.

Another staggering fact that was discovered was that a large and growing number of corpses taken from burned cars involved in rear-end crashes contained no cuts, bruises or broken bones.

They clearly would have survived the accident unharmed if the cars had not caught fire.

The Ford fiasco was a result of a cold hearted economic decision not to address the fault, which was discovered in test crashs conducted before the Pinto went into production. The tests indicated that the cars burst in flames when involved in a rear impact collision. The reason? The trunk of the Pinto would crush into the passenger compartment, splitting open the gas tank in the process.

As Lee Iacocco infamously stated, "Safety doesn't sell." The cost to fix the Pinto gas tank problem: just $5.08 per car to install a rubber bladder inside the tank. The Pinto went into production without it.

In comparison, the Iranian models apparently turn into gas fired grills for no reason. Maybe the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, believes that there was no Holocaust because all those Jews were killed in automobile accidents?

The traffic police chief, Mr Rooyanian, continues,

"We are not to going compromise on this issue. We are emphasising the need to improve the safety of the vehicles, so that our citizens will not be worried any more."

The citizens still uncharred that is. All this goof says is that they are emphasizing the need for improvements in safety. Actual changes to the vehicles to protect the Irani consumer? Programs to recall dangerous vehicle models? Guess again. In the same breathless fashion he finishes:

"Neither us nor the police have received any report on such a fault in this year's cars. Therefore, the registration process will automatically go on," he said, dismissing warnings of a ban on the car.

Ban them? No way! Use them as street lights!

Let me introduce the new fuel-efficient, four-cylinder, Iranian family car ... le Bic!


UPDATE:
Maybe the Iranian cars are suffering from sympathy flames. The muzzies are at it again in France. About four hundred cars were torched during New Year "celebrations."

No Surprise

While rummaging through through Lucianne Goldberg's blog, I stumbled across this commentary from the Rhinelander Daily News (Wisconsin):

If you forgot to make a New Year's resolution, or are still trying to decide on one, let me suggest that you resolve to devote a little time this year to solving the mystery of Sandy Berger and the Destroyed Documents. Pressure on Berger is what is needed, and the united voices of several thousand outraged Americans would provide it.

Several thousand outraged Americans carrying thirty feet of rope screaming outside his front door might do it.

What sorts of things would have impelled Berger to take the very serious risk of stealing those documents from the National Archives and cutting them to bits? Needless to say, Berger has never uttered a word on the subject. Today, his lawyer says Berger considers the matter closed and is seeking to move on.

Berger needs a trapdoor under his feet to loosen his tongue. But what I still can't fathom is why the Justice Department let him off so easy. This really ticks me off. People who have done far less are sentenced to years in prison and this incompetent boob gets a wrist slap.

So far I have found nothing to shed any light on this, but there was a comment on this post that provoked a lot of response.

Reply 7 - Posted by: Evocatus, 12/31/2006 6:46:11 PM
All of the documents stolen by Berger had already been scanned, converted to PDFs and are in very safe storage awaiting an opportune time to be revealed,
accompanied with fresh political charges, and, quite possibly, federal conspiracy charges.

This is not widely known, but those who do need to know, do know this. Not all of the political appointees that have burrowed into the federal civil service system are democratic operatives.

Berger and the Clintons -- both of them -- are searching feverishly for the electronically archived documents and their protectors. Wait until shortly before the 2008 election.

I don't buy into conspiracy theories from either end of the political spectrum and I don't buy into this one either.

"Searching feverishly" for documents? Those pdf files, if they exist at all, are maintained in the primary records management system of the Archives, where they are indexed and stored on probably both the hard drives and back up tapes or whatever media is used for this purpose.

For critically important documents such as these there are also duplicate back ups of documents and system indices that are maintained off site.

I was trained as a system administrator for an optical image system that archived millions of pages of scanned documents. The Clintons know exactly where these files are, if they exist at all.

There will be no surprise in 2008. What we have is government officials who cover each other's asses.

Berger should be in prison, disgraced and penniless.

Dead Man's Jig

More details are becoming available on the execution death of the tyrant Saddam. As reported in The Sun, it appears that his executioners had a few words to say about his impeding fate.

SADDAM Hussein went to Hell with the vicious curses of executioners ringing in his ears, including one who snarled: “God damn you”.

Can't blame these people, who suffered greatly under his despotic regime. They obviously exercised extraordinary self discipline in that Saddam reached the gallows with his head still attached to his shoulders. What surprises me is that the British editors at The Sun seem to believe in an afterlife.

The Iraqis were so delighted at the despot’s demise that immediately after his death they danced a jig around his body as it dangled from the noose. Joining in the outpouring of joy was the masked hangman, guards and even Iraqi officials.

This giddiness was due, no doubt, to the intoxicating effects of the Noose Fairie.

But Saddam had been left in no doubt of the contempt in which he was held in his last few minutes alive. As he prepared to move onto the trap- door of the gallows, one of his guards turned to him and spat out: “God damn you.” The doomed tyrant was heard replying: “God damn you.”

In the exchange with his guards Saddam attempts to justify his war against Iran, which cost a million lives, and laughably proclaims victory against the United States.

One of the guards then shouts: “You have destroyed us. You have killed us. You have made us live in destitution.” Saddam counters: “I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persians and Americans.”

You wonder what goes through the mind of this proud, arrogant man as he faces eternity. He spared himself and his family from the destitution that he visited upon the rest of the country but yet only survived as a free man by scampering from safe house to safe house and ended up hiding in a hole in the ground. During his regime he surrounded himself with riches, family and sycophants, thereby isolating himself from reality.

Last night we had some friends over to celebrate the New Year. One of them, an Army Chaplain, spent two tours of duty in Iraq. The last tour ended a year ago, he was stationed in Tikrit. He talked about the three palaces he was in; one was the size of a state capitol building and the others were like large hotels. These structures were incredibly opulent - Saddam's monuments to himself.

If Saddam ever realized the devastating effects of his actions on others, he never let on. He seeks this same isolation at the end.

As the hangman prepares to pull the lever to open the trap-door, Saddam chants the Muslim profession of faith. “God is Great and Mohammed is his prophet. Palestine is Arab.”

His last words are: “I bear witness that Mohammed . . . ” It is the beginning of the second verse of the invocation, but before Saddam can complete it the executioner sends him hurtling to his death.

Saddam is seen plunging through the trap-door. As he dropped his neck snapped with an audible crack. According to one witness he died with his eyes open. In the video his corpse is then seen dangling at the end of the rope with his head at a grotesque angle. One onlooker proclaims: “The tyrant has fallen.”

Sic semper tyrannis.