Blogs Are As Much “Press” As Everyone Else

The FEC has issued an advisory opinion in the case of a Missouri Donk-oriented blogsite called “Fired Up!”. If you read the opinion, there is a thorough description of “Fired Up!”‘s activity – which matched most of the sorts of comments, postings, etc. that are done by just about any politically or semi-political blogsite.

To cut to the chase on their decision:

QUESTION PRESENTED: Is Fired Up eligible for the press exception?
LEGAL ANALYSIS: The Commission concludes that, in light of the facts presented, Fired Up’s disbursements for news stories, commentary, and editorials on its websites are encompassed by the press exception, and therefore do not constitute “expenditures” or “contributions” under the Act and Commission regulations.

Of course there’s more legalese – but the upshot is that the FEC has made a sensible decision that in fact the 1st Amendment is still in effect, and whether you are standing on a soap box in Lafayuette Square, or on the electronic soapbox of the internet, your political speech is protected!

Will wonders never cease! Now, to get rid of the root problem that caused the whole issue to come up in the first place: the legal abortion infamously known as “McCain-Feingold”.

McCain-Feingold delenda est!

Don’t go wobbly on Iraq

The Chief gives a hearty “Bravo Zulu” (NavSpeak for “kudos”) to the Rapid City Journal editorial board for cutting through the crap and calling the right shots on the recent maneuvering about Iraq in the Senate.

“Don’t go wobbly on me, George,” said British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to President George Bush after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. Bush steeled himself, told Hussein that he was “drawing a line in the sand” at Kuwait, and the following year, U.S. and British forces spearheaded a coalition that booted Iraq out of Kuwait. Now his son, President George W. Bush, is faced with a U.S. Senate that has gone wobbly on the war in Iraq.

On Tuesday, Senate Democrats proposed an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would have called on President Bush to specify a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. The amendment was defeated by a 58-40 vote, largely along party lines.

Those Donk boneheads have to be truly clueless. One would have expected that they had studied at least the rudiments of history somewhere along the line before they got into office, but on the face of it, this is evidently not the case.

A fixed timetable says just one thing to the terrs: “OK guys, we can’t cut and run – but, (wink, wink) we’ll be gone on date certain, so just be a bit patient, and we’ll deliver what you want on a silver platter after that. Oh yes, please forgive us for the inconvenience of our efforts to defend western civilization.”

Weak-kneed Republicans crafted an alternative that called on the administration to explain to Congress and the American people its strategy for completing the mission in Iraq. That non-binding amendment passed 79-19.

As previously noted here, most of the GOP’ers didn;t do a whole lot better – but at least THEY didn’t seek to set a specific schedule.

Thirteen GOP senators stood with the president and voted against both measures, including South Dakota Sen. John Thune. Thune said the amendments “send the wrong message to our troops, the Iraqi people and the terrorists.”

Hooray for Senator Thune! As for Donk Tim Johnson, as noted in the last post, he’s a Donk doing what Donk’s do: appease and apologize to our enemies.

Congressional oversight of the president’s conduct of the war is one thing, but it is not Congress’ role to dictate war plans. Certainly, as commander in chief, President Bush has the responsibility of demonstrating that he has a clear strategy for winning, but the war against terrorism will surely be lost if our military has to answer to 100 commanders in chief. We can’t wage war based on public opinion polls.

Indeed!

We can debate what strategies will lead to victory in the war against terrorism, but now is not the time for weakness and to signal to the Iraqi people and the terrorists that we’re going to cut and run from Iraq. That’s not a winning strategy. Will the House of Representatives join the 13 senators who understand that this is a war that we must win, or will they, too, go wobbly?

Democrats say Alito not a sure thing

THe Chief doesn’t see much real news here. Anyone that has a clue could have predicted this development. You just KNOW that there will be a lot of weeping, wailing, and knashing of teeth by the libDonks about the Alito nomination.

Among the Nevada Democrat’s concerns were that Democrats weren’t consulted on the nomination, as well as Judge Alito’s 20-year-old claim to be a conservative. Judge Alito’s job-application essay “may explain why the extreme right wing is popping champagne corks,” Mr. Reid said. “We learned of the 1985 memo in which he said, ‘I am and always have been a conservative.’?”

How SHOCKING to the Donks! Who could have ever imagined that a Republican would appoint a…CONSERVATIVE…to SCOTUS! Why, this doesn’t even have the approval of the NY Times editorial board!

Will they EVER get a clue? Naaaah! They can’t help it – they’re Donks, and they’re just doing what they do because of what they are.

Deal Reached on Managing the Internet

U.S. officials said early Wednesday that instead of transferring management of the system to an international body such as the United Nations, an international forum would be created to address concerns. The forum, however, would have no binding authority. U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Michael D. Gallagher, however, said the deal means the United States will leave day-to-day management to the private sector, through a quasi-independent organization called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.

This deal can be fairly easily summarized. The US is retaining administrative management of the internet, but an organizational framework is being set up to make comments and suggestions for changes and improvements, which the US can act on, or not, as it sees fit, thus giving the UNOcrats and EUrocrats a fig-leaf concession to hide behind.

Not too bad! The Chief thinks that someone(s) had a clue as to how things REALLY were, and came up with a formula that COULD be interpreted as a concession from the US, but that had no real realignment of the way things are now run. Did anyone REALLY think that the US was going to turn internet admin rights over to the UNO (UN disOrganization)?!

The onus now lies with the developing world to bring in not just opinions, but investment to expand the Internet to their benefit, he (Gallagher) said.

What a concept! You want something? You pay for it and build it! Radical stuff for UN/EU apparatchiks to wrap thier minds around.

This time at least, the big dog on the block wouldn’t let himself get penned up by the Poodles and friends.

Bush Urges China to Grant More Freedoms

President Bush prodded China on Wednesday to grant more political freedom to its 1.3 billion people and held up rival Taiwan as an example of a society that has successfully moved from repression to democracy. In remarks sure to rile Beijing, Bush said, “Modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society.”

This has GOT to bug the ChiComs big time, especially the comparisons to Taiwan. Frankly, it couldn’t happen to a more deserving outfit, all the more so in the face of the recent espionage ring that’s busted on the west coast.

F.E.T.E.

S.D. activists target judges with ballot issue

A movement is under way in South Dakota to turn the tables on members of the bench. Activists are trying to put a radical measure on next year’s ballot that could make South Dakota the first state to let people who believe their rights have been violated by judges put those judges on trial. Citizens could seek damages or criminal charges.

The J.A.I.L. initiative would establish a mechanism for penalizing judges who improperly administer the law in their courtrooms by making them subject to special grand juries that could allow for civil and/or criminal consequences.

The South Dakota amendment would eliminate state judges’ immunity in cases involving deliberate violations of the law (by the judge), someone’s constitutional rights or deliberate disregard of the facts. People could file complaints against judges after the traditional appeals process has concluded. A special grand jury would handle complaints, deciding whether a judge could be sued or face criminal charges.

If the grand jury decides on criminal charges, it could indict the judge and create a special tribunal that would act as both judge and jury, deciding guilt and any sentence. The measure would not apply to federal judges.

Predictably, this has members of the PLM (Politico-Legal-Media) complex upset. Thomas Barnett, Exec. Director of the SD Bar Assoc. already telling lies about the measure to the effect that it would allow convicted felons on the grand juries (NOT! They are specifically excluded!), and that the measure is about suing judges whose decisions you dislike (NOT! The measure only addresses procedural actions that violate a person’s due process rights.)

The Chief predicts that when this gets certified for the ballot – attacks will get FAR worse than that!

For the straight story go to the J.A.I.L. site, or to SouthDakotaJudicialAccountability.com.

By the way, J.A.I.L. stands for Judicial Accountability Initiative Law.

France Cabinet Extends State of Emergency

The French Cabinet approved a bill Monday to extend the country’s state of emergency for three months, while youths set schools ablaze and waged other scattered arson attacks across France.

I’m sure that this is very reassuring to the Fwench people.

Hey! Look at the bright side! All those cars burned up may help unemployment by giving a boost to the Fwench auto makers to replace the ones that are fried.

American Media Quit The French Riots Story

Captain Ed notes the fecklessness of the MSM in mostly dropping coverage of continuing civil disorder in Fwance:

Does the American media suffer from ADHD and find themselves incapable of following an important story for longer than ten days? Or do they find themselves increasingly unable to explain the serious and continued violence despite the bribery and politically-correct strategies employed by French security forces? It seems to me that the media cannot bring themselves to admit that the uprising has more behind it than bored youths looking to blow off some steam and acting spontaneously and unilaterally. The riots have a purpose, and they have a central control structure — and that means someone wants to make specific gains from attacking France.

Who could that be? Don’t count on the Times or the Post to find that out for you.

’nuff said!

Liberals rap Alito’s anti-Roe stance

The libDonks are increasingly unhappy with the Alito appointment as it becomes more evident that he is actually a real conservative.

Hopefully the RINO dominated Senate maintains enough backbone to push through the nomination.

Chirac cites ‘malaise’ in riot outbreak

President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that more than two weeks of violence in the poor suburbs of France is the sign of a “profound malaise” and ordered measures to reach out to the angry rioters.

Hmmm. “Profound malaise” – sort of reminds one of the atmosphere of the Jimmy Peanut Carter administration. ’nuff said.

Can the U.S. find a substitute for the U.N.?

America’s representative at the United Nations said yesterday that the organization must become better at solving problems and more responsive to U.S. concerns or Washington will seek other venues for international action.

Oh yes! PULEEEEZE let it be so!

During a luncheon with reporters and editors at The Washington Times, U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton said repeatedly that the Bush administration requires nothing less than “a revolution of reform” at the world body, encompassing everything from U.N. Security Council engagement to management changes to a focus on administrative skills in choosing the next secretary-general.

What a novel concept: efficiency at the UN. Talk about cleaning the Augean stables!

The Bush administration has been a principal advocate of management reform at the United Nations — supported by a mandate from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the passion of new management and budget czar Christopher Burnham, and crisply worded criticism from oil-for-food investigator Paul Volcker. But developing nations have mounted stiff resistance to many of the administrative changes sought by Washington — most of which call for reducing micromanagement by budget committees within the General Assembly.

This is easy to deal with – just close the purse on ’em:

Washington’s frustration with the General Assembly is well-known. Mr. Bolton said yesterday that the United States pays 22 percent of the regular U.N. budget, yet has only one vote out of 191 cast. “We have one-half of 1 percent of the total [votes], meaning we pay 44 times more than our voting power,” he said. “My priority is to give the United States the kind of influence it should have. Everybody pursues their national interests. The only one who gets blamed for it is the United States.”

Sacrilage! The US Ambassador calling an ugly spade, an ugly spade – in this case the UNO (UN disOrganization).

Senate Weighs Measures Urging Bush Set Limits in Iraq

The U.S. Senate opened debate today on measures that would put the chamber on record for the first time asking President George W. Bush to set limits for keeping American troops in Iraq. The Bush administration “needs to explain to Congress and the American people its strategy for the successful completion of the mission” say resolutions introduced separately by both Republicans and Democrats.

This certainly provides evidence that bipartisanship is nearly dead in the Senate, although most pundits and talking heads will label the event in precisely opposite terms than this. It’s just a matter of perspective.

First, the standard interpretation that this IS bipartisanship: the obscene political mating of Frist and Ried, simultaneously cutting the President off at the knees does indicate a perverse sort of cooperation.

Bipartisanship? The Chief would argue that this is an indicator not of bipartisanship, but rather one of MONOpartisanship. At this rate, the only real debate will be whether the newly unified polity will take the name of Republocrats, or Demicans. WAIT! I know! Even more descriptive: call them Republodhimmicrats* taking cognizance not only of their joining, but also their willingness to submit to the strategy of the Islamofascists to push us out of the way of their eventual triumph.

*NOTE: 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, are part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race. (Note borrowed from the Dhimmi Watch blogsite.)

How unnecessary it all is – once again the American political class is demonstrating that it has no more nerve than the Fwench, and is unwilling to apply the necessary fortitude and determination to grind the enemy into the dust and break HIS will to fight.

What’s a patriotic man to do any more? Remember, Nov. 19 is National Ammo Day – buy 100 rounds (or more)! It’ll no doubt be handy for something or another someday.

Keep the Internet Free

Surprisingly good coverage for the WaPo on an upcoming UN-ish based conference aimed at wresting control of the internet away from the US. Of course, with the usual suspects are involved in this for reasons having little or nothin gto do with smooth administration of the net.

Delegates from around the world will gather next week in Tunisia for what is known as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Few people are aware of WSIS’s existence, its mission or the purpose of this conference. That is unfortunate…

The chief problem appears to be is that the US allows too much free flow of information – and LOTS of thuggish governments have a real problem with a severe information allergy!

…the principal agenda item calls for a wholesale change in governance of the Internet that could lead to a significant setback for global freedom of information.

But demands are growing for the “internationalization” of Internet governance. To this end, a number of countries are pressing to remove oversight from ICANN and place it under the auspices of a new organization that would be part of the U.N. system. Advocates of this arrangement make no claims that the current system is flawed. Instead, they focus on the supposed “injustice” or “inappropriateness” of a system overseen by an American agency.

As far as the Chief is concerned, “That dog just won’t hunt!”

And there is an ulterior motive behind the clamor for change…the coalition of U.N member states making the loudest noise for change. Among them are regimes that have taken measures to control their citizens’ access to the Internet and have championed global controls over Internet content. These include some of the world’s most repressive states: Cuba, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Other governments have weighed in to support U.N. oversight, either out of anti-Americanism, a reflexive commitment to international governance or a belief that Internet content needs to be reined in.

With the sterling examples of UN integrity like the Iraq oil deals, and the UN Peacekeeping Piece-seeking Forces’ sex scandals, the last thing this world needs is the UN (dis-)Organization in charge of the internet.

It is no secret why Iran, China and Cuba are lobbying so desperately to replace ICANN: The Internet has proven a potent weapon against state repression. In an age of media concentration, it has contributed mightily to democratization of the means of communication. It nullifies totalitarian schemes to monopolize the airwaves; in the age of the Internet, the total control portrayed by George Orwell in “1984” is simply impossible in all but the most hermetically sealed countries.

As far as the Chief is concerned, “This dog just won’t hunt!”, and apparently even the WaPo agrees:

Given the stakes involved, it is incumbent on the world’s democracies to stand firm against efforts to undermine this critical instrument of free ideas.

Hear, hear!

Sony BMG suspends copy-protection software

THis is a response to a DRM scheme that the Chief noted a few days back, where Sony had what amounted to de-fact trojan spyware on audio CD’s that installed itself (clandestinely) when the CD was played on a PC.

Well, it didn’t take very longfor themn to decide that this was NOT a good thing to have been caught doing! Pesumably the suits and bean-counters at Sony-BMG took a look at the reaction to their DRM scheme, and decide to quit while they were behind.

Arctic drilling dropped from House bill

One might think with the tight energy situation and the prices the way they have been, that even the Donks and RINOs in the House would have woken up and smelled the coffee, and figured out that we could REALLY use some more production. Sadly, this is not the case.

House leaders late Wednesday abandoned an attempt to push through a hotly contested plan to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling, fearing it would jeopardize approval of a sweeping budget bill Thursday. They also dropped from the budget document plans to allow states to authorize oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts — regions currently under a drilling moratorium.

F.E.T.E.

Sony CDs secretly install spyware

Sony is spying on thousands of listeners who buy and play its music CDs on their computers, a leading computer security firm said yesterday. Computer Associates International Inc. said that new anticopying software Sony is using to discourage pirating of its music also secretly collects information from any computer that plays the discs.

Of ourse it doesn’t do any good just to collect the data, does it:

But Computer Associates said the antipirating software also secretly communicates with Sony over the Internet when listeners play the discs on computers that have an Internet connection. The software uses this connection to transmit the name of the CD being played to an office of Sony’s music division in Cary, N.C. The software also transmits the IP address of the listener’s computer, Computer Associates said, but not the name of the listener. But Sony can still use the data to create a profile of a listener’s music collection, according to Computer Associates.

“This is in effect ‘phone home’ technology, whether its intent is to capture such data or not,” said Sam Curry, vice president of Computer Associates’ eTrust Security Management unit. “If you choose to let people know what you’re listening to, that’s your business. If they do it without your permission, it’s an invasion of privacy.”

Yikes! This idea REALLY sucks! But wait! It’s even worse:

In late October, a well-known Windows computer engineer, Mark Russinovich, stumbled across the Sony software on one of his personal computers while running a security scan. Russinovich had used the computer to play the Van Zant CD, not realizing that it had installed the anticopying program. When he tried to remove it, Russinovich found that the program lacked the ‘uninstall” feature found in most Windows software. Indeed, key components of the software hid themselves deep in his computer by applying the same techniques used by data thieves to conceal their activities. Even a skilled user who identifies the correct files can’t safely remove them, said Russinovich. ‘Most users that stumble across the cloaked files…will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files,” he wrote on his technology website, SysInternals.

Computer Associates yesterday concurred with Russinovich’s assessment. Curry said Sony has made it so difficult for listeners to uninstall its software that some could lose all their data in the process. “It can damage the operating system and the operating system’s integrity, so it can’t reboot at all,” Curry said. “As an expert in security, I can say this is bad behavior.”

Indeed, Computer Associates has added the software to its list of spyware programs that collect personal information from computer users without their permission.

Russinovich also said that a patch Sony and First 4 released Friday to stop the software from hiding inside computers malfunctions and can cause an irreparable loss of computer data.

H/T to Strange Women Lying in Ponds.

Also, a post on this issue at Hugh Hewitt.

Direct from France!

H/T to the Emperor Misha.

Conservatives grow cross over ‘bridges to nowhere’

Federal spending on Alaska’s so-called “bridges to nowhere” is facing renewed attack in the House of Representatives, where conservatives say the $452 million has become an embarrassment that may haunt them at election time. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., says Alaska’s “bridges to nowhere” have become a national joke.

It high time SOMEBODY said this! There’s more in the article if you read it.

Christian girls shot near church

Practitioners of the religion of mercy mercilessness in Indonesia are once again showing off how they engage in their own local version of jihad, by going after dangerous opponents – Christian school-girls.

This was in the same area where similarly dangerous opponents were attacked and beheaded last month.

Rope, tree, terrorists. Some assembly required.

France to deport foreign rioters

Wow! What a concept! Deporting aliens who break the law! Of course, it only took the Froggish government two weeks of rioting to figure this out, but hey – better late than never!

We can only hope that the US INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service) gets the hint and act on the criminal aliens in the US by shipping them back where they came from also.

Pet Ordinance Has Tails and Tongues Wagging

This is just plain dumb. Apparently the city of Rome (Italy) has WAY too much money to spend, and too many bureaucrats in too many offices, with not enough to do with their time.

Firstly, the fact that such a thing as an official “Office of Animal Rights” even exists illustrates two of the three points noted above.

As far as the third point is concerned: these inspired public servants have drafted a new city ordinance: since it is defined as cruel and inhumane to confine goldfish in a goldfish bowl, all good Romans who are fanciers of said fish, must now only keep them in a full-fledged aquarium tank.

The 59-point statute ordering better treatment for all pets, from cats and dogs to birds and lizards, was approved by the City Council last month and will go into effect today

As a result…of course…PETA weighs in:

The fish-bowl rule may win Rome a humanitarian award from the Fish Empathy Project of PETA, the international animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “Rome has gone above and beyond anything we’ve seen anywhere else,” spokeswoman Karin Robertson said in a telephone interview. For all animals, the Italian capital’s new ordinance is more restrictive than anything in the United States, PETA said in a statement.

Phew! Thank G-d for that blessing!

Anyway, the Chief prefers the Dakota farmers’ and hunters’ version of PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals!

No particular priority order – just results of a quick scan of stuff:

Voters Ban Handguns in San Francisco

What to say here? It’s no great secret that SanFran is one of the strongholds of the California Democratic People’s State – and this vote reflects that. The Chief counts his blessings that he doesn’t have to live under that regime!

Democrats Will Lead Virginia, New Jersey

Another no-brainer. Although Kilgore might have had an outside shot in Virginia, the Donk candidate Kaine ran far to the right of most of his national party – and was able to ride retiring Gov. Warner’s coat-tails and carry northern VA (read DC suburbs) heavily enough to run away with the win. Kilgore also didn’t run strongly at times. National significance? Not a whole lot.

Even less significance to Corzine’s win in NJ. Surprise? STRONGLY Democratic NJ electing another Donk? So what’s the news here?

Patrick Fitzgerald Ignored Witnesses who Contradicted Wilson

This was going to be the Donk’s big torpedo aimed at the White House: taking out Darth Rover and leading to a possible impeachment. Like the poet Robert Burns wrote: “The best laid plans of mice and men, gang aft agley (often go astray)”.

The whole underpinnings of Fitzgerald’s case is unraveling at a high rate of speed, and the so-called secrecy of Valerie Plame-Wilson’s status as a CIA employee.

Soros-Backed Reforms Fail in Ohio

A group of election reforms backed by liberal Daddy Warbucks George Soros has crashed and burned in Ohio, leaving Democrats unable to capitalize on a year’s worth of complaints that the state’s 2004 presidential vote was rigged. Voters soundly rejected the four Soros-backed proposals, which would have overhauled the way Ohio runs its elections.

These changes would have given the Donks a lot more power in redistricting, etc. than they currently have based on their electoral outcomes. It’s tough to play by the rules when you lose, and then can’t get the rules changed to declare you the winner. My heart bleeds for ’em. NOT!

Falluja-Sur-Seine?

Here’s one of relatively few reporting on the intrinsically Islamofascist nature of the current difficulties in France, in spite of, in some cases warning of the possibility of such events in advance!

When the media began covering the spreading violence in France, it appeared to go out of its way to avoid the notion that Islam had anything to do with the riots or their organizers….After a few straight days of increasing violence, however, the only people still believing that comforting line appeared to be members of the French government and the media, who insisted on doing everything they could to miss the story. Twelve days into the riots, even after they had spread across France and inspired violence in Germany and Belgium, the media for the most part still could not bring itself to mention the “M” or “I” words: Muslim and Islamist. The lack of even any suggestion that radical Islamists might have initiated the violence, or at least be taking advantage of it, boggles the imagination.

Indeed!

What a piece of double-think by the WaPo: warn about a possible event, and then ignore the nature of it when it happens in accordance with your own prediction!

The Washington Post’s reporter Molly Moore bravely mentioned a possible Islamist connection to the violence, but the paper’s editorial board went out of its way to disavow this nexus. Interestingly enough the Post warned its readers just three weeks ago that Islamist groups had targeted France for the next stage of their war.

For more details, read the article.

Men are too rough to train with, Army tells women

Another feminazi assertion bites the green weenie of reality – the one that secondary sexual differentiation is insignificant.

The (Royal) Army is abandoning mixed-sex training units because too many female recruits are getting injured trying to keep up with their male counterparts.

This is not just based on anecdotal evidence either:

Dr James Bilzon, the Army Training and Recruitment Agency’s senior scientific adviser, found that women are getting hurt as they try to match men in arduous drills and marches wearing full combat gear. His research showed that, in general, women are less able to cope with the sudden introduction to the exhausting exercise regime demanded by the Army. The most common complaints are stress fractures to the shin and thigh bones, and pelvic injuries caused by attempting to keep up with the longer stride patterns of men.

All of this has caused the Doctor to come to this astounding conclusion:

‘Men are stronger and more robust and it’s silly to pretend otherwise’

What a radical statement! This goes right along with a TIME magazine cover story some years ago that noted that “Men and Women Really are Different!”, which must have been a rude shock to their view of reality.

H/T to Barking Moonbat Early Warning System for this one. It’s too evocative not to pass along.

Islamofascist Links to Burning Fwance

Captain Ed at Captain’s Quarters has a very interesting post with links and descriptions of some very substantial linkages between organized Islamofascism of the Algerian flavor (among others), and the current civil war there…like anyone should be surprised…eh!?

This is taken from the London Telegraph. “Every picture tells a story don’t it?”

Meanwhile, more talk of reconciliation and inclusion, but only a few half-measures to regain some order. A caption to another picture in the Telegraph notes that “Rioters have targeted schools, churches and public buildings.” One would imagine that this is a serious targeted attack on the infrastructure of western civilization.

THere are also reports of the violence spreading to other areas of Europe, as well as the discovery of organized bomb factories at work. Sounds like terrorism to the Chief – if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then by gosh, maybe it IS a duck!

It’s also truly amazing about how the jokes on Fwench military ineffectiveness and lack of will seem to be getting some validation – in an admittedly harsh way. C’est la vie.

Fuel’s paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head.

For several years the Chief has been interested in a startup firm called Blacklight Power Inc. founded and led by Dr. Randell Mills, that has reported that it is engaged in engineering development of a totally new way of generating energy. This also has the collateral effect of demolishing the quantum-mechanical model of the atom that has reigned supreme for the last 60 years, not that Mills et. al are very worried about that.

These guys are NOT a bunch of crackpots, and other independent scientists (outside of the intellectually aristocratic world of quantum physics) who have been given full access to their labs and their results have verified that they are on to something.

The energy released from this process is hundreds of times in excess of the energy required to start it. The primary fuel is hydrogen gas, which can be created inexpensively via electrolysis from water. Energy is released as heat and may be converted to electricity using known methods. The process is scalable from small, hand-held units to large, fire-box replacements in large central power stations.

Rather than pollutants, the BlackLight Process releases heat, light, and valuable chemicals. The lower-energy atomic hydrogen products of the process can be used to form novel hydrino hydride compounds (“HHCs”) which are proprietary to the company, and form a vast class of new chemistry. Alternatively, the product can be a new inert form of hydrogen gas that may serve in revolutionary applications such as the medium for a new high-energy laser. Since this gas is lighter than air, it may also be safely vented and allowed to diffuse into space.

Having apparently decided that they are more interested in applying their discovery in the real-world rather than fighting an academic war over the theories involved, their website is well worth a look – they do an excellent job of presenting in a specific way what it is they are doing, and has references to 65 peer-reviewed articles in the scientific literature.

The ramifications of this could be staggering. First, we could once and for all tell the Islamofascist world to take their oil and put it where the sun doesn’t shine. Then…the technological impact is almost beyond imagining.

BlackLight’s technology has far-reaching applications in many industries such as: Power, Heating, Lighting, Lasers, Chemicals, Batteries, and Advanced Materials.

Unfortunately, even a few years ago when the Chief first found out about Blacklight Power, they were not open for further investors, so my retirement probably won’t be to a private island in the Caribbean. Oh well.

Wake up, Europe, you’ve a war on your hands

This article is well worth the read. While we haven’t responded as supinely as the Fwench have to the Islamofascist attempt to enforce dhimmitude on western civilization, the liberal establishmentarians and MSM sympathizers would do the same thing here if allowed to, and the results would be ultimately similar.

Ever since 9/11, I’ve been gloomily predicting the European powder keg’s about to go up. “By 2010 we’ll be watching burning buildings, street riots and assassinations on the news every night,” I wrote in Canada’s Western Standard back in February. Silly me. The Eurabian civil war appears to have started some years ahead of my optimistic schedule. As Thursday’s edition of the Guardian reported in London: “French youths fired at police and burned over 300 cars last night as towns around Paris experienced their worst night of violence in a week of urban unrest.”

There’s more – check it out.

Unrest hits Paris as riots spread afar

The spectacle of France virtually allowing Islamic mobs to run amok for over a week is amazing.

A 10-day rampage by angry immigrant youths spread last night and early today from the suburbs of Paris to the heart of the capitaland from Normandy in the west to Mediterranean cities of the south.

The Fwench have just about completely lost it, and have become so ennervated that they are apparently incapable and/or unwilling to act decisively to maintain and restore order in the face of Islamoanarchy in their streets.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin yesterday met with government ministers to work out a plan for ending the violence. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has come under fire for his handling of the crisis, declared that the government was unanimous in its position to be “firm.”

Wow! After 10 days of rioting, they meet “to work out a plan” to respond. How reassuring this must be to the Fwench people.

In quiet Acheres, on the edge of the St. Germain forest west of the capital, arsonists burned a nursery school, where part of the roof caved in, and about a dozen cars in four attacks over an hour that the mayor said seemed “perfectly organized.” Children’s photos clung to the blackened walls, and melted plastic toys littered the floor.

This is apparently starting to remind some of the Fwench that they still have some residual genes from the armies of Napoleon that almost conquered all of Europe once upon a time…

Residents gathered at the school gate demanded that the army be deployed or suggested that they band together to protect their neighborhoods.

…unlike their emasculated leaders:

Mayor Alain Outreman tried to cool tempers. “We are not going to start militias,” he said. “You would have to be everywhere.”

Chirac Vows to Restore Order

President Jacques Chirac (search) promised Sunday to restore public order across France as unrest spread from suburban Paris (search) to cities south and north, with rioters battling police, throwing Molotov cocktails and ramming a car into a housing project during an 11th night of mayhem.

After the planning meetings from the day before, Jacques doesn’t have anything new to offer except more talk. This Fox News account goes on with a lot more of the gory details of the Islamoanarchy spreading throughout Fwance.

In spite of the Chief’s lack of empathy for Fwench policies vis-a-vis Iraq, etc. – it’s still a sad thing to see a one-time great Euro nation being dragged down by a bunch of Algerio-Tunisian neo-barbarians.

GOP mulls ending birthright citizenship

The existance of a nation-state is defined by the three concepts of “borders, language, culture”. For years the United States has been particularly deficient in maintaining these, as the near anarchy on the Mexican border illustrates.

A few GOP’ers have been preaching Jeremiads against the slapdash enforcement on the border, such as Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO). Finally there is at least discussion on some measures that would seriously enhance our security and ability to successfully manage the border. One only hopes that the rest of the Congresscritters find enough spine to act, but even if not, at least the discussion is more fully out on the table.

House Republicans are looking closely at ending birthright citizenship and building a barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border as they search for solutions to illegal immigration.

“There is a general agreement about the fact that citizenship in this country should not be bestowed on people who are the children of folks who come into this country illegally,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, who is participating in the “unity dinners,” the group of Republicans trying to find consensus on immigration.

Meanwhile, the idea of a fence or other barrier also is gaining support. At this week’s “unity dinner,” House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican, said he supports a barrier system of fences in some places and electronic surveillance or vehicle barriers in others, one participant said.

Again, some progress, but still some waffling.

Border barriers received a big boost yesterday when Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, announced a broad enforcement bill with a fence as its centerpiece.

This would do most of the job. Once the border is controlled, then WE would have control over who we wanted to ALLOW entrance.

Of course there are some who are not so supportive of this – and that’s where the debate lies. The Chief hopes that the wall goes up, the sooner the better.