Capitalizing on Blog Traffic

Over the past day or so I've received a huge influx of visitors, and would like to capitalize on this. Ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

No Reason To Cheer

Darfuri refugees have no reason to celebrate over the supposed deal between the various militias and the Sudanese government. Many of those militias have had the assent of the Sudanese government to commit the violence in the first place, not to mention that not all of the groups have signed on to the plan.

In other words, some of the worst groups involved in the genocide aren't even covered by the so called agreement.

The government of Sudan and the main Darfur rebel faction inked an agreement on Friday in Nigeria to end three years of fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced 2 million to flee their homes, including more than 200,000 who poured across the border into neighboring Chad.

But a rival faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army and the smaller Justice and Equality Movement rejected the proposals and it was unclear whether the accord, signed after two years of African Union-mediated talks, would bring peace on the ground.

"All three groups have to sign up to the peace deal for me to accept it. It's the only way I will be convinced it's a real accord for the people of Darfur," said refugee Ismael Haron, 37, who runs a market stall at the sprawling Gaga camp.

"I'd like to go home in 2006, but I doubt it will happen."

The deal will still take months to implement, which means that much can still go wrong.

Sudan remains one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. And a significant reason for the conflict is Islamists seeking to eliminate opponents including animists and Christians, not to mention those Muslims who aren't practicing the Islamists' brand of Islam. Yet, many reports on Darfur and Sudan underplay or ignore that aspect of the conflict.

And, it bears repeating once again that Sudan was the former base of operations for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda before they moved on to Afghanistan. In his latest video, Osama called on jihadis to take the fight to Darfur against the infidel peacekeepers (that would be the AU at present, and the UN when the changeover eventually occurs). Al Qaeda would surely benefit from returning to the lawless regions of Sudan, where they can regroup and continue planning and operations against the West.

Austin Bay has further thoughts.

Posted to: Stop the ACLU, Wizbang Carnival of Trackbacks LXII, Basil's Blog, and Jo's Cafe.

Terrorists Lead Terrorists' Funeral Procession

The actual headline reads "Gunmen Lead Militants' Funeral Procession. Sorry, but people who were killed were terrorists. Hamas is a terrorist group, and those who take up arms in the name of the terrorist group are themselves terrorists:

The five, members of a group with close ties to the ruling Hamas movement, were killed late Friday in a neighborhood training ground for militants in Gaza City.

The airstrike further raised tensions between Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinian government, and sparked a new crisis for its leadership, which is under heavy international pressure to renounce violence.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was to meet later Saturday with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to try to iron out growing differences over the division of power and international relations, said government spokesman Ghazi Hamad.

Haniyeh has complained that Abbas has stripped the government of many of its powers. Abbas, in turn, wants Hamas to soften its hard line. The meeting comes at a time of growing a financial crisis resulting from economic sanctions by the West.

On Friday, Israel attacked a base used by the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group responsible for numerous rocket attacks against Israel. At the time of the attack, militants were training in a field there.

Abbas is moderate only when compared to Hamas because Abbas seeks a long term destruction of Israel while Hamas has no qualms about trying to destroy Israel immediately.

Who's To Follow Goss At CIA?

Time magazine seems to think it might be Air Force General Michael Hayden. I really don't have any idea who it might be. However, Hayden was a defender of the ongoing eavesdropping programs whose purpose was to intercept and evaluate communications from outside the US to contacts within the US.

AJ Strata and Mac Ranger are both covering the reaction to Goss' departure. AJ notes that Sen. Jay Rockefeller has gotten a few verbal jabs in on Goss.

The Moderate Voice has an interesting analysis of Goss' departure and the possibility of Hayden's ascension to DCI. He notes that few were sorry to see Goss go. And, apparently Goss never got to click personally with Bush - and personal relationships are a major factor in Bush's style of governance.

Former Spook also analyzes the resignation. Hot Air has a roundup.

Ranting Profs notes that the perception that the turbulence at CIA must be considered in light of the ongoing investigations into leaks. The people Goss brought in weren't trusting of the Agency's own folks, and one can't help but wonder why - not when there were multiple leaks on highly sensitive intel programs. The WaPo doesn't mention the leaks, while the NYT eventually gets around to mentioning them towards the bottom of their most recent article.

UPDATE:
Modified the title as per comment.

Rick Moran wonders just how dysfunctional our intelligence agencies were, and whether Goss was able to shake things up as we've seen was absolutely necessary and crucial to national defense.

Shifting Excuses and Analysis

Right off the bat, I'd just like to thank all those who have taken the time to read through my postings on Kennedy. It's quite interesting to see that a Kennedy scandal resulted in more page views and hits to this humble blog than anything else I've ever written. I'm kind of torn over why this is the case because of the postings over the past few days that should get people talking, I thought it should be the ongoing discussion of the WTC memorial and how the costs are expected to top $1 billion while the politicians are trying to cap the costs at $500 million.

The Kennedy cachet must trump all else. It's influence is far more powerful than even the vast right (or left) wing conspiracy.

Now, ABC News is reporting that the Capitol Police are conducting multiple investigations - both into Kennedy's actions and how and why the Capitol Police let Kennedy walk away from the scene without being arrested.

Capitol Police have taken disciplinary action in relation to the handling of the response to Rep. Patrick Kennedy's car accident, acting Capitol Police Chief Christopher McGaffin said.

McGaffin said the incident was improperly delayed due to "poor judgment" on the part of police managers and that a field sobriety test should have been administered to Kennedy after his car hit a barrier near the Capitol at 2:45 a.m. on Thursday.

Expect heads to roll at the Capitol Police as they try to get their house in order. This is a major scandal for the Capitol Police at a time when they can ill-afford to deal with one. They're already coming off a dustup between an officer and Rep. Cynthia McKinney. McKinney appears to have been on to something when she said that white members of Congress would not have been treated the way she was. I think she ought to have specified that members of the Kennedy clan would not have been treated the way she was. But, as I've stated in the past - none of the members of Congress should have been allowed to avoid going through metal detectors. It's as much for their safety as for the safety of everyone doing business in the government buildings that they are entering.

The Capitol Police's treatment of Kennedy was disgraceful and unprofessional. It wasn't about extending professional courtesy, but providing convenient cover for illegal conduct. And Kennedy has yet to truly own up to his behavior given the jumble of contradictory statements uttered and issued by Kennedy.

U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) seemed to remember a good bit about his Thursday morning car accident on Thursday evening. But by Friday afternoon, his memory was failing.

THURSDAY: “Following the last series of votes on Wednesday evening, I returned to my home on Capitol Hill and took the prescribed amount of Phenergan and Ambien, . . .Some time around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol complex believing I needed to vote. Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication. At that time, I was involved in a one-car incident in which my car hit the security barrier at the corner of 1st and C St., SE.”

“At the time of the accident, I was instructed to park my car and was driven home by the United States Capitol Police. At no time did I ask for any special consideration, I simply complied with what the officers asked me to do.”

FRIDAY: “I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police or being cited for three driving infractions. That’s not how I want to live my life. And that’s not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island.”

What is the latest excuse or explanation of events? And there are still serious questions arising from his car accident in Rhode Island two weeks ago. Again, driving under the influence may have played a role.

All Things Conservative thinks that some of the reactions on both sides of the aisle have been extremely distasteful. From the gleeful gloating on the right, to the defenses offered up by the Left.

Republicans should not attack him, or try to take political advantage of the situation, and the Democrats shouldn't defend his actions. Both sides should say that it is clear Patrick has a problem, and that he should get help for it. That is all. In my humble opinion, a cover-up will only guarantee that Patrick won't seek the help he needs, and the same goes for attacks on him.

I found the Left's reaction to the news that Rush Limbaugh was a drug addict to be disgraceful, and whatever Republicans do, they should not act the same way here.

I have also heard some express surprise and outrage that a cover-up could be in the workings, but personally I would be surprised if there wasn't a cover-up. That is how the Kennedy clan always acts when one of their own does something wrong. Patrick should receive help for his problem, and then his constituents will be given the opportunity to elect someone else to represent them during the next election.

Dan Riehl slams Kennedy and his enablers who are essentially giving Kennedy a pass. He suggests that Kennedy should resign because an addict has no place in government to make key decisions on issues facing the nation. He'll return from his stint in rehab, and resume the same kinds of behaviors until the next time, in which case he'll call it a relapse and begin the cycle anew. He needs a true intervention, and that's not what we're witnessing now, which is really avoidance of the consequences of his actions.

Sister Toldjah weighs in.

Others blogging: Donkey Cons who notes that Kennedy can't handle any personal issues, but we should trust him to handle the business of running America, Classical Values, Wizbang, and Donkey Cons.

Prior coverage: Very Shifty, Damage Control, Spot the Misconduct.

Technorati: patrick kennedy, misconduct, capitol police, dui.

Very Shifty

So, have we heard the final version of Rep. Patrick Kennedy's story of how he got into a car accident 2:47AM EDT Thursday morning? I doubt it. He says that he doesn't remember the events from Thursday morning, yet the substantive press release Thursday afternoon gave specific details. Something is certainly amiss. Like keeping your story straight. Or the excuses.

Kennedy's statements have numerous inconsistencies, not the least of which relate to his consumption of alcohol.

Kennedy has said that he'll be going back to the Mayo Clinic for drug rehab. Which drugs? His early statements said that he was taking Ambien and Phenergan. Those aren't painkillers. Now, we're hearing that he's going into rehab because of an addiction to pain medications. That's why he crashed the car?

Who prescribed all these medications, and were they for legitimate illnesses, or are we dealing with doctor shopping in addition to all the other issues? That's an unresolved question that someone in the media ought to be tracking down.

Each new statement raises more questions than the prior one. The timeline of his actions isn't quite clear enough to be able to explain when he was supposedly drinking, how much he may have consumed and over how much time, when he took the supposed drugs involved, and other intervening steps.

Still, it is curious that he would check himself into drug rehab for painkillers. Thus far, we've got no reason to believe that painkillers were directly involved in the accident.

This is far from the first time that Kennedy has shown questionable judgment.

Why does the Kennedy clan keep offering up new and often contradictory statements about what happened? Could it be because none of these excuses hold water in light of the evidence showing that Patrick was drinking in the hours before the accident?

For all of Patrick's talk about how he supported and pushed for treatment programs to deal with addictions, it changes absolutely none of the underlying facts. He's trying to shift the focus away from his misdeeds and onto moving targets.

Flopping Aces notes that discrepancy between the way the media handled the drug problems of one Rush Limbaugh and how they're treating Patrick Kennedy. In the former case, the media literally rushed to judgment, sought out and published confidential medical records, and otherwise engaged in a feeding frenzy. Patrick, thankfully, has not had to experience such behavior by the media. No one should have to go through that kind of bad behavior by the media. It is enlightening to see the discrepancies, and one has to wonder what is behind it [here's a hint - media bias and the Kennedy brand was involved].

And that doesn't even begin to touch on the vitriol of the media towards GOPers vs. Democrats. Compare the vitriol directed at Vice President Cheney after his hunting accident where he accidentally shot his friend but didn't immediately contact the press corps to the Kennedy situation. Kennedy hasn't given a straight answer over his actions, changed his story at least two times, and may have not only engaged in DUI, but thwarted and interfered in a criminal investigation.

Others blogging: Hot Air with updates, Flopping Aces, and New England Republican

UPDATE:
American Thinker has an interesting Cynthia McKinney angle, which doesn't bode well for Democrats trying to make GOPers look like they're leading the culture of corruption. There is a smattering of calls coming in for Kennedy to resign. Interestingly, one such call comes from a poster at Daily Kos. Somehow, I don't think that the call to resign will be heeded anytime soon.

UPDATE:
Kennedy is expected to enter rehab overnight.

Some background about the Capitol Police, and some of the problems the department has faced in the past can be found at the NY Times.

Prior coverage: Damage Control, Spot the Misconduct.

Technorati: patrick kennedy, misconduct, capitol police, dui.

Goss Gone

This is totally unexpected. Hot Air has the details and some background.

Count on this departure to be related to the ongoing leak investigations and Goss' initiatives to clean up the agency.

Mac Ranger says this is Goss' mission accomplished. He set the wheels in motion for cleaning out the deadwood from CIA. Wonkette thinks it might have more to do with limos, and hookers, and other good stuff as additional fallout from the Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham scandal.

Via anonymous emailer.

It's Electrifying - It's Stupifying

So, can electric cars really be the wave of the future? I don't think so.

Why?

Where is that electricity going to come from? Power plants in many parts of the country are already running full out based on current demand and siting of new power plants are being fought tooth and nail in many parts.

Even Sen. Ted Kennedy is fighting against a wind power facility near his home in Massachusetts.

These cars aren't gas/electric hybrids, but pure electric cars that require to be plugged into the power grid.

Now consider the power generation problems that faced California a few years back, along with the 2003 Northeast blackout. Still think you want an all electric car? It only becomes feasible if you're going to start building new power plants - which can be built far more efficiently than in the past and enable reductions in emissions.

In other words, electric cars aren't a panacea, or even a good solution because while the owner of the car will feel better because he or she isn't going to the pump, the costs of complying with emissions and power generation are passed off to others. And the cost of electricity will likely rise due to higher demand.

Darfur On The Edge

CNN is reporting that a peace agreement is in the works that could end the violence in Darfur. Not a moment too soon.

The main rebel group has tentatively agreed to a peace deal with the government during talks in Abuja, Nigeria, according to a U.S. diplomat advising the talks.

The United Nations says 180,000 people have died from illness and malnutrition since rebels began attacking in February of 2003, and some 2 million have been forced from their homes.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who's attending the talks, told The Associated Press on Friday that participation by Minni Minnawi, who leads the largest rebel group, has been key.

"Today the largest group, Minni Minnawi's, has agreed to sign and the government of Sudan have agreed to sign as well," Zoellick told AP.

"Not all the movements are in accord, but we're already getting phone calls that people with (rebel faction leader) Abdel Wahid (Nur) believe he has made a mistake."

Two smaller rebel groups have not yet backed the deal which, AP reports, includes disbanding of the government-backed Arab "janjaweed" militias. The militias are blamed for killing and raping villagers and burning villages of mostly black Africans.

Damage Control

*** UPDATE 5/6/2006:
I have a new posting up covering additional analysis and reporting since this post.

*** RESUMING ORIGINAL POSTING:
Rep. Patrick Kennedy and his advisors and family are furiously engaged in damage control, as events are continuing to unfold. Kennedy initially submitted a terse statement that alcohol was not involved. A more detailed statement was issued several hours later detailing that he had been taking prescription medications, including Ambien, and that he became disoriented and was driving without realizing the situation.

Okay, there have been other reports of individuals taking Ambien and having incidents not altogether different than what Kennedy experienced. That doesn't excuse the fact that he wasn't completely forthcoming in his first public statement addressing the accident.

The real problem is that officers at the scene initally said that they smelled alcohol on Kennedy's person and that he was staggering about.

And now, we're learning that he may have indeed been drinking:

WASHINGTON -U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy insisted yesterday that he had consumed “no alcohol” before he slammed his Mustang convertible into a concrete barrier near his office, but a hostess at a popular Capitol Hill watering hole told the Herald she saw him drinking in the hours before the crash.

“He was drinking a little bit,” said the woman, who works at the Hawk & Dove and would not give her name.

Leaving his office late last night, Kennedy refused to say whether he’d been to the Hawk & Dove the night before.

However, the manager of the bar said that he didn't see Kennedy on Wednesday, but a bartender at a bar next door "said Kennedy was spotted in the Hawk & Dove Wednesday."

All of which still begs the question of why Kennedy was not given sobreity tests after the accident. Kennedy's personal issues aside, one really has to wonder what is going on with the Capitol police.

UPDATE:
Added additional links to Ambien related side effects above. Fausta notes that Kennedy apparently busted out the Constitutional defense when claiming that he was late to a vote on the Hill. There's your get out of jail temporarily card.

Others blogging: Six Meat Buffet, Don Surber, Donkey Stomp, and Interested Participant.

Talk Left also notes the Ambien angle and that Kennedy claims that he received no special treatment. Well, it's possible that he didn't ask for special treatment, but got it nonetheless. And it doesn't address the fact that officers at the scene and some other witnesses point to alcohol being involved.

Texas Rainmaker is among those noting that Kennedy was involved in another car wreck two weeks ago and further notes that the vote comment was made to specifically avoid being arrested. No idea whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the earlier incident, so we can't draw any conclusions at this time other than it being a really bad run of bad luck.

UPDATE:
Leave it to the Smoking Gun to get a hold of the police accident report. Of note is page 2, where ability impaired and alcohol use were checked off. Speed and driving on the wrong side of the street were also involved. The BAC section has a N/A through it. The officers also noted Kennedy's condition as including: "red and watery" eyes and "slightly slurred" speech.

UPDATE:
Rep. Kennedy will be entering drug rehab.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy will enter rehab for addiction to prescription pain medication Friday evening after a highly publicized car crash near the Capitol.

Kennedy, D-R.I., plans to seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.



The congressman was announcing his decision during a new conference Friday afternoon, then planned to travel to Minnesota later in the day.

Kennedy, who has struggled with addiction and depression, said he had checked into the Mayo Clinic over the Christmas holidays and returned to Congress "reinvigorated and healthy."

"Of course, in every recovery, each day has its ups and downs, but I have been strong, focused and productive since my return," Kennedy said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

The congressman said he became concerned about his condition after the Thursday morning car accident.

"I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police, or being cited for three driving infractions," Kennedy said. "That's not how I want to live my life. And that's not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island."

The congressman's father, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., issued a supportive statement in which he said he's proud of his son for admitting his problem and taking steps to correct it.

Prior coverage: Spot the Misconduct.

Technorati: patrick kennedy, misconduct, capitol police, dui.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 130

Cost projections for the memorial are spiralling out of control according to pretty much everyone following the Ground Zero rebuilding, and fundraising for the project is seriously lagging. The memorial foundation was supposed to raise $500 million, but has only raised $130 million thus far. Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Pataki are trying to cap costs at the memorial to $500 million despite the fact that there's no way it could ever be built for that price in its current configuration.

And that means that the entire Michael Arad design may be due for a redesign of its own.

Only two or three years ago, the problems faced by the memorial, the spiritual centerpiece of the site, would have been unimaginable. The underground complex, with its pools, waterfalls and galleries, was the product of a worldwide design competition that drew 5,201 entries and inspired tremendous public passion.

It was supposed to be immune to the controversies that had engulfed the commercial rebuilding at the site, with its completion assured by an outpouring of good will and open checkbooks. But fund-raising has lagged, with just $130 million raised from private contributions.

The new estimate, $972 million, would make this the most expensive memorial ever built in the United States. And that figure does not include the $80 million for a visitors' center paid for by New York State. It is likely to draw unfavorable comparisons to the $182 million National World War II Memorial in Washington, which opened in 2004; the $29 million Oklahoma City National Memorial, which opened in 2000; or the $7 million Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, which opened in 1982.

The original World Trade Center itself cost $1 billion in the 1970's, or about $3.7 billion in current dollars. Then again, everything at ground zero carries a big ticket, from the $478 million vehicle-screening center to the $2.2 billion PATH terminal.

Perhaps one needs to adjust the figures to account for inflation so that we're not comparing apples to oranges, but there is definitely something amiss when the Ground Zero memorial is anticipated to cost $1 billion or more.

Why are the costs rising like there's no tomorrow? Well, there's disputes over who should bear the burden of preparing a "buildable site." The Memorial Foundation thinks that should be on the Port Authority, which is trying to shift the costs elsewhere.

In the current design, the names of the victims would be inscribed 30 feet below street level, on a parapet in galleries surrounding underground pools within the footprints of the towers. Officials said that eliminating the galleries and moving the inscription of the names to plaza level would save money and resolve some security issues and perhaps assuage opponents.

"We've always made it clear to the foundation and to L.M.D.C. that we do not support this memorial as it stands now," Mr. Gardner said yesterday, although he refused to discuss the April 18 meeting.

But supporters of the current design objected to what they said would be a major revision to appease some critics. "I don't think it's appropriate to go back and start from scratch," said Jeff H. Galloway, a member of Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan. "The memorial design wasn't thrown together in some haphazard way. It's the result of a thorough and amazingly inclusive process."

Monica Iken, a member of the foundation board and a champion of the original design by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, expressed her dismay at what she called a "leadership failure."

The NY Post notes that Pataki, Corzine, and Bloomberg are all calling for fiscal responsibility, all while pushing a project that will still cost $1 billion in its current configuration and that taxpayers should watch their wallets.

The New York Sun has an article today that once again calls for the rebuilding of the Twin Towers. That's simply not going to happen at this point, and it's wishful thinking to believe otherwise.

UPDATE:
The cost of the memorial is bringing out some interesting reactions from the bloggers. Jeff Jarvis wonders about the size of the memorial, not just the cost.

Now New York is finally going to build its 9/11 memorial. But it has grown too big. It’s not the cost — which is now estimated at an incredible $1 billion. It’s the overpowering way this too-large memorial will be too big to be part of life. The NY Post called for shrinking the memorial sometime ago and I am coming to agree and even to wonder whether it should be at the site or elsewhere.

The footprint of the memorial itself actually isn't all that big as it's a fraction of the entire Ground Zero's 16 acres. It's the complexity of the site and the memorial design that is really at issue. We're talking about a memorial that extends 70 feet below street level on multiple levels that has to be coordinated with other infrastructure needs for the entire site - transportation, utilities, access points, and the actual memorial space itself. Some of the costs are related to the cost of doing business in New York, as well as the costs of materials having increased significantly since the memorial design was first chosen.

This isn't to say that I agree with the memorial design. I wonder about the complexity of the design and its feasibility (curtain waterfalls that would run only part of the year because of issues with freezing water causing hazardous conditions). But unless you've been following the story for long, you wouldn't understand how the memorial fits into the larger mess that remains the Ground Zero rebuilding. The whole memorial and Ground Zero building process is all about compromises built upon what many consider to be a seriously flawed Libeskind master plan, which itself grew out of distaste of plans generated by the Port Authority's designers.

Poliblog points to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC as an example that should be emulated in New York. Maya Lin, the designer of the DC memorial, was on the panel that chose the Michael Arad design.

Just a Bump in the Beltway is incredulous at the cost.

Gothamist also has a roundup:

Well, that's what happens when memorial officials estimate the cost of building something - always go to a contractor for an estimate, put another 20% on it, and then you're almost in the ballpark.

UPDATE:
About the costs of various projects, I've calculated current dollar costs using this calculator:

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial cost $7 million in 1982. In current dollars, that would be $14,493,260.

The Twin Towers were built for $1 billion in 1970. In current dollars, that's $5.15 billion.

The WWII Memorial in Washington DC cost $182 million and opened in 2004. In current dollars, that would be $194.62 million.

The Oklahoma City Bombing memorial cost $29 million. In current dollars, it's $33.65 million.

The differential in cost is still staggering, but provides more context. None of the other memorials required the kinds of technological and engineering involved at Ground Zero.

UPDATE:
Glitch in the Matrix meant that this article was posted 9:20PM, when it should have been posted 9:20AM today. That's why the time stamp keeps changing.

UPDATE:
Curbed has a posting that goes into how Bovis Lend Lease threw everything and the kitchen sink into the cost for the site to reach the $1 billion level. Curbed is a good resource for finding out the latest on real estate in the NY metro area.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center, spitzer, silverstein.

Dustup at Defense

The media is making hay out of the fact that a couple of protestors acted up at a speech held by Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld. They're latching onto the fact that a former CIA analyst was among those involved:

"Why did you lie to get us into a war that caused these kind of casualties and was not necessary?" asked Ray McGovern, the former analyst, during a question-and-answer session.

"I did not lie," shot back Rumsfeld, who waved off security guards ready to remove McGovern from the hall at the Southern Center for International Studies.

Let's see - McGovern makes the claim that Rumsfeld lied, and Rumsfeld says he didn't. Yeah, that'a big deal.

Yawn.

Perhaps Rumsfeld should have replied that had the CIA been doing its job during the 1990s, they would have had a much better idea of what al Qaeda was doing, where it was operating, and had a better idea of the nature of the threat posed by Iraq, Iran, and other rogue states. In each of those instances, the CIA has been exposed as not getting the job done. However, when operating with less than perfect intel, one has to do what one thinks is the prudent and reasonable steps to protect the country against threats - threats that happen to include a rogue state like Iraq under Saddam Hussein who openly flouted a decade of UN resolutions and the 1991 cease fire agreement (not to mention ongoing human rights violations throughout that entire period).

Spot the Misconduct

According to Drudge Report and Roll Call, Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) got into an early morning accident in Washington, DC. Capitol Police observed the Congressman as he got out of the vehicle and noted that he was staggering about and claimed that he was late for a House vote. Officers at the scene attempted to conduct an investigation but were called off. According to Drudge:

“The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering,” Baird’s letter states. Officers approached the driver, who “declared to them he was a Congressman and was late to a vote. The House had adjourned nearly three hours before this incident. It was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy from Rhode Island.”

Baird wrote that Capitol Police Patrol Division units, who are trained in driving under the influence cases, were not allowed to perform basic field sobriety tests on the Congressman. Instead, two sergeants, who also responded to the accident, proceeded to confer with the Capitol Police watch commander on duty and then “ordered all of the Patrol Division Units to leave the scene and that they were taking over.”

A source tells the DRUDGE REPORT: "It was apparent that the driver was intoxicated (stumbling) and claimed he was in a hurry to make a vote.

"When it became apparent who it was, instead of processing a normal DWI, the watch commander had the Patrol units clear the scene. The commander allowed other building officials drive Kennedy home."

CNN has some additional information about the accident:

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, son of Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, crashed his car into a barricade on Capitol Hill early Thursday, the Rhode Island Democrat said.

"I was involved in a traffic incident last night at First and C Street SE near the U.S. Capitol," Rep. Kennedy said in a written statement. "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident. I will fully cooperate with the Capitol Police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake."

Louis Cannon, of the DC Fraternal Order of Police, told CNN that, according to officers on the scene, Kennedy had the "odor of alcohol about him."

It's rather difficult to know for sure whether Kennedy had indeed consumed alcohol because no tests were administered. A real question exists as to why that was the case and should be investigated. We'll also have to wait and see whether the accident and ensuing events were caught on a videotape as the Drudge account says that the car first nearly hit a police vehicle before crashing into a security barricade at First and C streets Southeast. That's in the vicinity of Fort Leslie J. McNair.

Assuming that all the information presented thus far is accurate, can you spot the possible crimes and misconduct here?

1) Kennedy's driving a vehicle in an unsafe condition (the vehicle was being driven without running lights at 2:45 AM EDT.
1a) Kennedy driving the vehicle under the influence? This is unknowable because no sobreity tests were apparently conducted.
2) Who told police at the scene to stop their investigation and not conduct a thorough examination?
3) Why was the investigation stopped?

The police labor union officials want acting Chief Christopher McGaffin to allow a Capitol Police officer to complete his investigation. The fact that officers on the scene were apparently prevented from conducting a thorough investigation into Kennedy's accident, including the administration of a breathalyzer, is quite troubling. Allowing the investigation into Kennedy's accident should be the beginning.

Rep. Kennedy is the son of Massachusetts senior Senator Edward Kennedy.

UPDATE:
Stop the ACLU has a roundup of reaction, which roams into New York Post headline territory with the comedic and sarcastic possibilities including from Ace, Confederate Yankee, Allahpundit, GOP and the City, Political Pitbull (with video), and Michelle Malkin.

This is yet another high profile incident where the Capitol Police conduct has come into question. First, there was the State of the Union incidents where Cindy Sheehan and the wife of a member of Congress were pulled from the gallery on grounds that they were violating rules though it later turned out that there were no such rules. Then, there's the infamous Rep. Cynthia McKinney incident where she apparently ran through a security checkpoint and struck a police officer who tried to stop her for proper identification. This latest incident doesn't look good for the Department's professionalism.

The officers of the Capitol Police have to do an extremely difficult and sometimes quite dangerous job. They have a very high profile job and come into contact with very important people, including members of Congress on a regular basis. Their job is to protect the federal government and insure that the business of government operates safely and securely. That they're now involved in yet another dustup suggests that the problems may be more serious than just a run of bad luck. I really hope that this gets looked into.

UPDATE:
Point Five has a get out of jail free card for Kennedy. Expose the Left has more video.

Rep. Kennedy apparently released a second statement saying that he was taking sleep medications that could make him drowsy:

Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'

Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.

Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes in Congress and took "prescribed" amounts of Phenergan and Ambien, another prescribed drug that he occasionally takes to fall asleep.

"Some time around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote," his second statement said. "Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication."

Kennedy appeared to be intoxicated when he crashed his Ford Mustand into a barrier on Capitol Hill early Thursday morning, said Louis P. Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Well, that still doesn't explain why he wasn't given a sobreity test after the accident or why officers at the scene claim to have smelled alcohol. Something is definitely amiss here.

Curious. Very curious.

Technorati: kennedy, misconduct, capitol police.

George Lucas: The Ultimate Sith Lord

George Lucas, aka Darth Richusmaximus, is rereleasing the original trilogy on DVD without the nonsensical reworking of key scenes. And fans will rush out to get them because that's what fans do.

The original theatrical versions of the first three "Star Wars" films are finally coming to DVD on September 12, two years after diehard fans blasted George Lucas for releasing only the digitally modified 2004 versions of the celebrated trilogy in a boxed collection.

This time, "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" will be available individually and appear on DVD exactly as they did in their respective theatrical runs in 1977, 1980 and 1983.

Each release, distributed by 20th Century Fox, will be a two-disc set that also includes the digitally tweaked 2004 edition.

The DVDs will be available only through December 31.

He's a genius. He's the ultimate Sith Lord.

While this means that fans will part with yet more money to satiate their Star Wars appetites, Lucas will find his coffers filled in tribute that would make Jabba the Hutt blush.

And if you think that Lucas is alone in this trick, check out what Disney does to pump up their collection of classics. Disney actually does an even better job of it than Darth Lucas. They say that they'll issue items from their catalogue for a limited time, never to appear. Yet, they invariably do, with various tweaks to improve the video or audio or added and enhanced features accompanying the movies.

Martyrdom

Jihadis spend a lot of time talking about how they want to become martyrs. They want to die for their cause. Fine. If they think that dying in this life will mean paradise in the next, let them.

General George S. Patton remarked thusly:

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

These terrorists and jihadis want to die for their cause. Americans, and American soldiers, want to live - knowing innately what Patton said to be true.

Therefore, we should make every effort to speed the jihadis to their goal. The more dead jihadis the better, because that means that those are less living jihadis who can inflict harm on the rest of us.

As Walid Phares notes, this was the wrong court, and the wrong argument.

The Moussaoui trial is not about the principle of common criminal sentencing per se; it is about criminalizing Terrorism and its root ideologies.

He suggests that we train specialized prosecutors and judges in the task of terrorist prosecutions. We already have an ad-hoc arrangement of prosecutors who specialize in terror-prosecutions. That arose out of the 1993 WTC bombing trials. It's the NY office of federal prosecutors who have developed expertise in trying these cases, but we're still a ways away from having judges who understand the issues. Just as we have specialized courts for patent law or bankruptcy, it is time that we either consider military tribunals or establish a specialized civil court for the express purpose of dealing with terrorism. Since the tribunals already exist, that is my preferred option.

Terrorists and jihadis who end up being captured by US forces should not be turned over to the civilian legal system for adjudication as it currently is formulated. They were, are, and continue to be, enemies of this country that should rightfully be tried in military tribunals and dealt with accordingly. They are not individuals who should receive rights accorded to US citizens. Those captured in the US are akin to spies of a foreign nation. The way the civil justice system has been brought into this conflict goes against precedent and grossly distorts the status of these individuals so that they receive rights granted to citizens when none should be conferred.

We would also avoid the absurd notion that Moussaoui's relatives might push for him to be transferred to France under treaties signed by the US and France.

For all the talk about Moussaoui wanting to be a martyr, he was doing everything possible to avoid that sentence. Crazy like a fox. And his strategy worked. Stephen Green echoes my sentiments. That isn't to say that he wouldn't have become a martyr if the opportunity presented himself. After all, it's easy to declare yourself a martyr, but it's even easier for someone else to say that you are one.

We should care less what Moussaoui considers himself or his supposedly rough childhood, and worry more about how the civil legal system, in a case that, if there was ever such a case to merit such use, failed to implement the ultimate sanction of the death penalty.

What we are now left to ponder is the question of whether the death penalty is now off the table for other jihadis who are captured in the US and tried in civil courts?

UPDATE:
Moussaoui's statements, the verdict, and fallout are obviously big stories throughout the punditocracy and blogosphere. Peggy Noonan thinks that the jury got it wrong. Quite a few bloggers agree, including Political Pit Bull, Kim at Wizbang, T.Longren, and Hyscience, Ace of Spades.

UPDATE:
Others weighing in: Indepundit, Flopping Aces posts a moving video along with his thoughts on the verdict. He thinks that the jurors should sit down and watch United 93 and then report why they voted not to give Moussaoui the death penalty. Sorry, but that wont change their minds. Nothing will. Texas Rainmaker thinks that "the life in prison will be a better punishment than giving the guy an easy death by injection."

Mahablog notes that life in prison gives us the possibility of finding out new details about terrorist operations at some point in the future. That's certainly a consideration, but one that presupposes that information gleaned from Moussaoui 10-20 years down the road will have any value whatsoever. From his commenters, comes a link that notes that the likelyhood of al Qaeda bigwigs ever facing a trial is slim.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, moussaoui, brinkema, 9/11, al qaeda, terrorist attacks, death penalty.

Authenticate This

Anonymous emailer brings this article to my attention about how MLB will not authenticate baseballs hit by Bonds that could eventually be homer #715.

When Barry Bonds hits home run No. 715 and moves into second place on the all-time list behind Hank Aaron, the lucky fan who catches the ball might have a hard time proving it's the real thing.


That's because Major League Baseball won't authenticate any of the baseballs the Giants are using.

"He's not approaching the record," said league spokesman Pat Courtney by way of explanation, reiterating baseball's stance that the passing of Babe Ruth's milestone of 714 career home runs is not a valid cause for celebration. "We will revisit doing the ball authenticating when he approaches the record."

In 1998, as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa approached Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 home runs, league officials made sure the baseballs being used in Cardinals and Cubs games were numbered and included holograms to eliminate any doubt that the record-breaking ball could be identified. They did it again in the final week of that season so McGwire's final home run could be authenticated.

And the league marked and authenticated the balls being used in Giants games three years later as Bonds was passing McGwire's single-season record of 70 home runs.

Courtney said that the league isn't expecting as much of a fight for the ball in the stands this time around, at least compared with what took place during the McGwire, Bonds and Sosa single-season home run assaults. But others disagree.

Michael Barnes, the broker who assisted the families of those who caught the key Sosa, McGwire and Bonds home run balls, says Bonds' home run No. 715 baseball likely will be worth between $25,000 and $50,000.

This is strange, considering that Bonds would supplant Ruth as the all time homers leader for a lefty. Aaron is a righty and the all time leader. Unless MLB is going to strike all his homers, this doesn't make any sense since 715 would be a record breaker, though not the ultimate home run leader.

All of this relates back to the steroid mess, and since MLB has botched its handling of performance enhancing drugs for years, this is only an additional manifestation of MLB's poor performance in policing itself.

Ransom Paid For Latest Hostage Release?

Ed Morrissey notes a news story that suggests that a ransom was paid in relation to the release of two German hostages.

Once again, we're seeing countries paying money to release hostages, which while improving the situation for those released hostages, makes the overall situation in Iraq far more dangerous because of what that ransom will buy, the behaviors it encourages, and the messages that it sends to terrorists - that some behaviors will ultimately be rewarded.

Here Comes The Price Hikes

NJ Transit riders could face a fare hike next spring under the funding levels proposed in Gov. Jon Corzine's state budget, documents prepared for lawmakers by the state Department of Transportation show.

The budget documents say a proposed "single-digit" fare hike would be designed to match the rate of inflation over the preceding two years -- currently projected to total about 7 percent.

However, Corzine said yesterday he would work to "avoid" a fare hike, and NJ Transit executive director George Warrington said no final decision would be made until July.

The documents, submitted to the Office of Legislative Services this week as part of the Legislature's consideration of Corzine's $30.9 billion budget, say NJ Transit will need a fare hike next spring to meet revenue targets in the spending plan.

"The agency anticipates that a single-digit fare increase to take effect on or about the 4th quarter of FY 2007 will be necessary," the budget document notes. "This fare increase will occur nearly two years after the agency's last fare increase in July 2005."

The fourth quarter of the upcoming fiscal year begins next April.

Warrington said yesterday the fare hike schedule laid out in the budget document is premature, and that no final decision on whether an increase is needed will be made until July.

For many people, the price hike will not match their salary increases over the same period. Some of the proposed increase will be due to higher energy costs, which cannot be completely avoided, even if the agency hedges on oil purchases in advance.

So, what this means is that someone with a monthly bus pass that current pays $120 a month will pay $128.40.

Warrington said that when the document was drafted about a month ago, the transit agency projected a shortfall of about $10 million to $20 million next spring. Since then, he said, rising gas prices have prompted thousands of new riders to use mass transit, raising the prospect that the fare increase may no longer be needed.

Such a shortfall would have been lessened or nonexistent if the agency had not built the ill conceived and underutilized Route 17 rail station/parking garage and not suffered cost overruns on the Secaucus Junction station to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. The Secaucus Junction station remains underutilized because it doesn't have a parking garage to get people out of cars and onto the trains into Manhattan.

Both of those projects are an ongoing drain on NJT coffers because we're paying for the bonding on those projects. But don't expect anyone to own up to those mistakes. Commuters will suffer as a result.

On Our Own Eh?

So, if there's a great big bird flu pandemic, the federal government is saying that the first, last, and what would likely be the only line of defense is state and local authorities. That makes sense. It's not as though the federal government can break out the US Army, impose quarantines and otherwise disrupt interstate commerce in actual or potential violation of federal law and the US Constitution unless someone wants to immediately impeach the President for violating the the civil rights of all US citizens. That's simply crazy talk.

Of course, the average citizens of this country will probably have a slightly different reaction should the big bird flu (no, not the one where the big orange bird that talks) hit:



Seriously though, the federal government must do more to stockpile medical supplies and bolster state and local efforts to deal with mass casualty events, such as a bird flu pandemic. Encouraging pharamceutical companies to produce and provide more antiviral medications is a help, as is doing more to limit lawsuits on vaccines that could help prevent or stem flu pandemics.

UPDATE:
New Jersey has a mess on its hands. They only have 18,500 doses stocked of the antivirals that might be able to protect against the avian flu. The state doesn't have its own secured lab facility and has to ship samples to a lab in Iowa. That doesn't make much sense when time is of the essence to detect and identify animals or people who have avian flu.

America, You Lost

Moussaoui, as he was led from the courtroom after the 15-minute hearing, said: "America, you lost. ... I won." He clapped his hands as he was escorted away.

Have no doubt that he would have said the same thing had the jury decided that Moussaoui would be awaiting the death penalty. Had he received the death penalty, it would be spun as Moussaoui getting what he wanted or people would spin things so that he would be treated as a martyr. Moussaoui was a walking contradiction and spun his statements into knots. Pundits and observers likewise will now spin the outcome furiously (as am I).

Having received life without parole, the spin would be that he will now be a martyr or that he's getting exactly what he deserved.

Either way, he wins. He gummed up the legal system in knots because it simply doesn't do terrorism cases well.

Those that think Moussaoui is a martyr will not change their minds. Those who think he should have been executed for his crimes wont change their minds, and those who think that no one should receive the ultimate judgment, the death penalty, under absolutely no circumstances do not have a problem with this outcome.

The thing is that this jury found that he was eligible for the death penalty. They found his involvment in the 9/11 plot and his failure to act were sufficient to trigger the death penalty had they made that decision. So, the only way that this jury could have decided for life in prison is if someone believed that the death penalty was wrong in all cases. Otherwise, the result today is inconsistent with the earlier decision.

While Confederate Yankee thinks that Moussaoui wouldn't last very long in prison, I think that Moussaoui will in all likelyhood spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement. Just like Sheik Abdul Rahman. In a Supermax.

In Supermax, there isn't the kind of interaction you see in a general population. In Supermax, you are confined to your cell 23 hours a day. No interaction with other prisoners. Period.

That's still too good for Moussaoui, but it will have to do.

And Rusty raises a very good point. If Moussaoui cannot receive the ultimate punishment for his crimes - then who would?

UPDATE:
Hot Air has a wide ranging roundup of opinion. Captain Ed has this to say:

Now, however, he faces a very long time in prison and the gradual oblivion he deserves. Forty years from now, Moussaoui will die in this supermax facility of old age, and newspapers will have to explain to half of their readership exactly who this man was. Human rights groups will have no interest in him, and while a few lunatic terrorists will salute him in the near term, they will quickly move their focus to other martyrs and more intelligent and dangerous leaders. Hollywood celebrities will not hold benefits for his defense. Publishers of childrens' books will not offer him book deals. Candles will not be lit for his benefit. He gets to live in a cage for decades, and die almost anonymously and unremarkably.

Allahpundit further notes that the jury found that the defense proved only two mitigating circumstances - both relating to his rough childhood. From the jury answer, we learn that a broken home sob story is sufficient to raise sufficient doubt about imposing the death penalty on a confessed terrorist who was involved in the worst terrorist attack in world history. Moussaoui is responsible for his own actions, and this jury found a reason to absolve him of that responsibility.

Kim at Wizbang notes the jury responses are baffling:

They thought he was not responsible for the deaths of 3,000 people on 9/11 but was responsible for the physical, emotional, and psychological injuries of the survivors. These answers are schizophrenic. Speaking of which, they didn't think he was mentally ill.

Flopping Aces also weighs in.

And The Verdict Is...Life In Prison for Moussaoui

We'll have to wait just a bit before knowing whether the jury has decided that Moussaoui will receive the death penalty or life in prison.

The decision will be read at 4:30PM EDT.

UPDATE:
Moussaoui has pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy in the only case brought in the United States in connection with the deadly hijacked airliner attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage to the economy. This decision has been reached after nearly seven days of deliberations.

The jury ruled against the death penalty, meaning that Zacarias Moussaoui will spend the rest of his life in prison. I expect that he'll be sent to a SuperMax federal facility where he'll remain in solitary confinement for the remainder of his days.

The official US Eastern District of Virginia website.

UPDATE:
Revised the headline.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, moussaoui, brinkema, 9/11, al qaeda, terrorist attacks.

The New Plan

Mayor Ray Nagin has a new plan for evacuating New Orleans, which some may conclude isn't altogether different than this:


Seriously though, the new plan eliminates refuges of last resort or using the convention center or Superdome for evacuees. Somewhere, someone is going to complain that the plan means that for those who are unable to evacuate out of New Orleans and are inevitably forgotten by the local government, there will be no place for them to go within New Orleans that is safer than staying in their homes. Never mind the fact that in the face of an oncoming storm, everyone should take sufficient care to evacuate safely inland or to higher ground so that they are spared the worst of the damage to life and limb.

Brendan Loy rips Nagin for taking eight months to come up with the plan, which happens to be on the eve of the mayoral elections. Maybe he's hoping that New Orleans residents have a very short memory and forget his abysmal failure to prepare the city for the storm, including evacuating residents who couldn't flee on their own.

But although this new plan sounds great (assuming they actually implement it when the time comes, unlike their previous plan, such as it was), it’s truly a tragedy that they didn’t have an adequate plan last August — and it’s not forgivable on the basis that “hindsight is 20/20.” As I said, the threat of a storm like Katrina (or far worse) was long anticipated and feared, and New Orleans’s previous “plan” was self-evidently inadequate. Its inadequacy didn’t just become apparent because it didn’t work; the plan, as implemented, obviously didn’t deal with the serious problems that everyone knew existed. If the plan’s flaws only became apparent to the general public in retrospect, that’s because officials lied about the plan to hide its flaws. City officials get credit for doing a good job with the traffic problems — the contraflow worked very well — but they did absolutely nothing of significance to help those without private transportation.

Loy correctly points out that the threat of a major storm was not inconceivable before Katrina, and that evacuation plans were in place before Katrina but not fully or properly implemented. That we now have a new plan does not insure that it will be implmenented when the time comes. It's all about the accountability and making sure that city residents and their leaders recognize and learn from their errors.

UPDATE:
Laurence Simon notes that the new plan takes into account the fact that people don't want to abandon their pets so that buses and other evacueees will be able to take pets with them.

Warning Sign

If there's a reason not to abandon efforts in Iraq or Afghanistan too soon, this NYT article provides a clarifying moment:

The fact that American troops are pulling out of southern Afghanistan in the coming months, and handing matters over to NATO peacekeepers, who have repeatedly stated that they are not going to fight terrorists, has given a lift to the insurgents, and increased the fears of Afghans.

General Eikenberry appealed for patience and support. "There has not been enough attention paid to Uruzgan," he said in a speech to the elders of Uruzgan Province gathered at the governor's house in Tirin Kot, the provincial capital. "I think the leaders, the Afghan government and the international community recognize this. There is reform coming and this year you will see it."

The terrorists and Taliban see the US withdrawal as a sign that they do not have the political will to last and see the mission through to completion. Our timeframe is measured in terms of the political calendar. The jihadists and Islamists have a completely different timeframe; one measured in decades. They will simply wait out the US until after the US decides it is time to leave and then move in as soon as practible. They're making inroads in Afghanistan because the US is preparing to reduce its presence, and everyone appears to acknowledge that the troops replacing the US aren't going to go after the terrorists and Taliban to nearly the same degree. That's why there's a resurgence.

However, the resurgence is also due to the fact that the Pakistanis are going after Taliban and al Qaeda in a big way on their side of the border, so they're moving back into Afghanistan to escape the pressure. The trick, however, is for the US and coalition partners to use the Pakistani offensive to clamp down and eliminate the terrorists and Taliban as they stream back into Afghanistan.

Further, one has to seriously question NATO's mission when they say that they're not going to go after terrorsts. Whose idea is it that NATO not go after terrorists. After all, Islamic terrorists have struck at member countries in the past, and plot to do so again. Letting Afghanistan become a place where terrorists can operate freely is a real bad idea.

The Bush Administration must pressure NATO into taking a more proactive role, if only to highlight that it is in the Europeans' self interest to act against the terroists now in these remote parts of the world than trying to contain them on their home soil.

UPDATE:
I'm surprised that more people aren't posting about this particular article and its implications - both in terms of Afghan security, US national security, and the usefulness of NATO in peacekeeping and other military operations. Those that have include: Rich Lowry, Daimnation, Don Singleton, and Stormwarning's Counterterrorism.

Comment is free wonders whether mission creep could be setting in and whether this means that forces may get bogged down in Afghanistan for years to come. Considering that US forces are still deployed to Europe, Japan, and South Korea following wars, expect long term deployments to make sure that they remain stable regions. Leaving too soon sends precisely the wrong signals, yet that's the kind of thing that the cut and run types want the US to do in Iraq.

Technorati: NATO, taliban, afghanistan, al qaeda, bush, karzai.

Venezuela's Oil Problem... and Ours

Venezuela is a major oil producer, but apparently has fallen on tough times. According to a news report on the radio this morning, it's now forced to import oil from Russia.

The country has been producing oil at a reduced rate since a strike in 2002, and one has to believe that the situation isn't going to change anytime soon as Hugo Chavez continues to push his socialist economic vision.

That also affects the prices we pay for oil and gasoline since the price of oil is set on the open market.

But as you seethe about $3 gas now and worry about $4 gas next year, remember that Big Oil isn't calling the shots anymore. Venezuela has forced Exxon Mobil to slink out of the country and has made Chevron and ConocoPhillips (COP:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) take a 75% hike in royalties and a 50% increase in taxes and say, "Thank you, sir, may I please have another?"

Russia is blackmailing all of Europe by saying "Sell us your natural-gas delivery companies or no natural gas for you." Iran has thumbed its nose at the U.S. and the U.N., figuring that the world needs its oil too much to actually do anything about its nuclear weapons program. And Chad got the World Bank, the U.S. government and Exxon Mobil to cough up disputed royalties by threatening to shut its oil pipeline.

Bolivia is following the Venezuelan example and nationalizing its own mining and oil and gas industries. The problem is that these socialist policies are based on bankrupt political and economic theory, and it's translating into major problems for those economies. Oil and gas businesses are going to stay away from Venezuela because there's no rational reason for them to enter a given country only to lose their assets via nationalization at the insistence of the government. Thus, the energy infrastructure begins to deteriorate rapidly, making it more difficult to produce and refine the oil and gas - further pressuring the price of oil to go higher.

This is yet another side effect of relying upon unstable regimes for energy production and why domestic production and alternative energy sources (wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear) must be utilized in far greater numbers than at present.

UPDATE:
Further proof comes from TheStreet's article cited above:

Exxon Mobil has decided to take its ball home and wait for the bullies to self-destruct. In Venezuela, the company refused to renegotiate deals and simply walked away from projects. There's some evidence that in the long run Exxon Mobil's strategy will work. Production from the national oil company PDVSA is down about 60% under Chavez because of poor management in the oil fields.

UPDATE:
Charles at LGF has an intereresting article that further points to serious problems in Venezuela. My guess is as good as yours, but have no doubt that Hugo Chavez and his inane policies are behind the problems.

Tilting at Windmills

New Jersey could have windpower generating enough electricity to power 50,000 homes within 3 years, but environmental groups are split over whether an offshore generating facility would be good for the state.

The state's first land-based "wind farm," which is being built in Atlantic City, is a joint effort by the Atlantic County Utilities Authority and a private developer. But despite growing interest from private wind developers, the state put its breezy ocean waters off-limits two years ago, in response to complaints from local residents and coastal advocates.

The moratorium has split environmental activists in New Jersey: Coastal groups worry massive wind farms could harm marine and bird life and drive away tourists; others say the state has to find alternatives to fossil-fuel power and the air pollution and global warming it produces.

"We think the outcome is a positive because we need to fill in that data gap," Jeff Tittel, director of the state Sierra Club, said Tuesday. "We see wind as having tremendous potential for a clean, renewable future."

If they follow the lead of past recommendations, the turbines would likely be built three to six miles offshore and stand 10 to 20 stories high, with 100-foot-long blades.

The wind panel said the test field should go forward only after an extensive survey of environmental conditions along the shore, energy needs and tourists' opinions of wind farms, so the state has a "baseline" to measure the effects of wind development. The panel gave few suggestions, however, on how the cash-strapped state should fund the studies or how long they might take.

In a separate minority report, panel member Tim Dillingham criticized the idea as "poorly supported and premature."

Because there's no guarantee the state will do the proper studies, a test field could do little more than open the door for wind developers, warned Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society. "Given the fiscal times facing the state, this is likely to render these recommendations meaningless," he wrote.

The panel report, nonetheless, said a trial run could be the only way to answer questions about how wind power would affect marine mammals, migratory birds and the fishing industry, among other factors.

There's too little research on existing offshore wind farms to reach conclusions, the panel said.

Are you kidding me? They're worried about whether the windmills, sited 3-6 miles offshore would adversely affect tourism and bird populations. Considering the opposition to building new gas or coal fired power stations that release noxious gases and particulates into the air, wind power is renewable, doesn't rely on supplies of oil or gas that might have to be imported from unstable regions around the world, or dug out of the ground in mines that have seen a spike in deaths this year (think of the WV Sago mine tragedy).

The fact is that the windmills could be seen as an incentive, letting people know that wind power is generating electricity in the communities that rely on tourism dollars - not only increasing awareness, but promoting clean renewable sources of energy that doesn't require OPEC, mining, or despoiling and polluting large areas of land.

What the opponents are doing is nothing more than NIMBY wrapped up in some scientific sounding arguments. The same environmentalists who oppose the windmills are the same ones who complain about greenhouse gases and the damage it causes to the environment. What they are really trying to do is impose zero-growth strategies on the state, which is what happens when you limit energy production, push for additional regulations making it more difficult for businesses to try and provide power to the state to meet demand, and otherwise force businesses to look elsewhere.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 129

Since the logjam was broken last week with an agreement between Silverstein and the Port Authority, not only has prepartory work gone forward (it had been ongoing for several weeks before the agreement was reached, but not widely publicized), Silverstein has now announced who else will be involved in the design of the skyscrapers within his mandate.

Richard Rogers will be designing Tower 3 and Fumihiko Maki is to design Tower 4 at 150 Greenwich Street.

The design work on both Tower 3 and Tower 4 will begin immediately, Silverstein Properties said, with concept drawings due in four months and construction expected to start in 2007.

Given the squabbles that have repeatedly delayed reconstruction at ground zero, such projections are likely to be treated with skepticism. And some planners have questioned whether a coherent aesthetic can emerge at a site involving so many cooks.

In addition to Daniel Libeskind, who designed the master plan for the site, architects include David C. Childs, designer of a so-called Freedom Tower; Norman Foster, chosen in December to design Tower 2; Michael Arad, creator of a proposed ground zero memorial; Santiago Calatrava, whose PATH station is now rising at the site; and Frank Gehry, who was drafted to design a performing arts center.

Where to start with this. Libeskind's master plan has been revised so many times that one has to wonder whether you could call it his plan. Childs is designing the Freedom Tower, which itself has gone through several revisions from Libeskind's original design to the current obelisk on a pedestal. Of the architects involved, the ones I have the most faith in are Calatrava and Foster, whose designs are energetic and dynamic, not to mention eyecatching. Mr. Maki's background includes:

... Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1993, only the second Japanese architect to do so, after Kenzo Tange in 1987. In its citation the Pritzker jury wrote, "He is a modernist who has fused the best of both Eastern and Western cultures."

In Manhattan, Mr. Maki is also designing a 35-story expansion of the United Nations that would also allow for the renovation of the Secretariat building and supplant the Robert Moses Playground on First Avenue.

If the name Richard Rogers sounds familiar, that's because it should. He's the architect involved in redesigning and expanding the Javits Center a few miles north of Ground Zero and he had allowed his offices to be used to organize architects to boycott doing projects in Israel. As I noted at the time of that post, even if Rogers didn't subscribe to all the ideas mentioned at the meeting, the fact that he allowed his offices to be used for the meeting would have sent Javits spinning in his grave (Javits was a staunch supporter of Israel).

UPDATE:
Curbed has a visual key to the site - putting names and faces to each of the major Ground Zero components. They also note that a number of federal agencies are being wooed to be housed in the Freedom Tower, including DHS, FBI, and other law enforcement agencies. Gothamist has more. The LMDC factsheet on the Freedom Tower coyly notes that preliminary work had already begun before the Silverstein-PA agreement had become public. I'd noted previously that PATH service was being adjusted beginning April 9, 2006, because of the need to engage in preparatory work.

Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center, spitzer, silverstein.

Still Smoking

The major fire in Greenpoint, Brooklyn continues to smoulder as firefighters enter the second day of battling the largest non 9/11 related fire event in the city since 1995. Seven warehouses that have been pending demolition were involved, and officials are calling the fire suspicious. Expect the investigators to find that arson was involved, considering the speed and ferocity of the fire.

The speed of the blaze and the fact that it started just before dawn in abandoned buildings led investigators to suspect arson, said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. The buildings were owned by Joshua Guttman, of Lawrence, N.Y., a real estate developer with a history of buying commercial properties and turning them into condominiums.

A lawyer for Mr. Guttman, Joseph Kosofsky, said the developer had no idea how the fire began. "It's the last thing in the world we need right now," he said. "He's a very substantial guy. If someone set fire to it, it could have been squatters, it could have been anybody. How in the hell can you watch 21 acres of industrial property?"

The fire area is a belt of formerly industrial, historic waterfront properties that are turning, one block at a time, into condominiums and apartments, bringing the young and affluent to the neighborhood. Mr. Guttman had acquired demolition permits for 4 of his 10 sites in the area and filed preliminary requests for 6 more on Monday, said Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Buildings.

The change in the neighborhood's population could be seen in the faces on the sidewalks staring up at the flames: old Polish women, young couples with their digital cameras, knots of Hasidic men. Everywhere there were firefighters, climbing into or out of their gear, and police officers. Blocks surrounding the fire were closed to cars and pedestrians. The fire stalled traffic on the Williamsburg Bridge and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive in Manhattan as drivers slowed for a look.

Wisps of the light grey smoke could be seen as far away as New Jersey as I entered the City this morning.

Some of the buildings date back to the 1890s and were used in ropemaking, which could help explain how the fire grew so quickly.

UPDATE:
Was it arson? Quite possibly. The NY Daily News reports that investigators poring through the site have discovered accelerants in various parts of the destroyed building complex.

The developer who owns the buildings involved denies any wrongdoing or involvment in the blaze.

Statement of Principles

The Online Integrity Statement of Principles is simple:

Private persons are entitled to respect for their privacy regardless of their activities online. This includes respect for the non-public nature of their personal contact information, the inviolability of their homes, and the safety of their families. No information which might lead others to invade these spaces should be posted. The separateness of private persons’ professional lives should also be respected as much as is reasonable.

Public figures are entitled to respect for the non-public nature of their personal, non-professional contact information, and their privacy with regard to their homes and families. No information which might lead others to invade these spaces should be posted.

Persons seeking anonymity or pseudonymity online should have their wishes in this regard respected as much as is reasonable. Exceptions include cases of criminal, misleading, or intentionally disruptive behavior.

Violations of these principles should be met with a lack of positive publicity and traffic.

Much of what is contained in here is common sense. I post with a pseudonym, but use the same one at all the sites I visit. No need for sock puppets here. I don't give out private information and honor requests for anonymity from those who email me with information to post. You'll often see me cite to anonymous emailer, who happens to be the same person each time. I just use that monkier to give him credit for finding stories or sharing views that I hadn't noted though I think I might have to call him the Black Knight from here on.

Mister Self Destruct

Bolivia is heading down the same path that Cuba took 40 years ago as Bolivia just went about nationalizing the gas wells and production facilities. No doubt expect the oil businesses to abandon Bolivia because of impending awful business climate. Val at Babalau Blog wonders what Bolivia will be like in a decade. It wont be pretty.

Laura at Ace of Spades has more.

As always, look at who else is pushing for these kinds of changes: Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. They're out and about looking for fellow travellers who can fight against the big bad United States, and the quickest and easiest way to do so is through oil (or so they think). These countries will have no problem bankrupting their people by nationalizing corporations operating in country, driving business out.

Some articles are more forthright in just who Morales is siding with:

Mr Morales' announcement fulfilled an election vow. Reconquering ownership of natural resources, he said, was "a fundamental means for recovering our sovereignty". The move solidified his role along with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro in Latin America's new axis of populist leaders opposed to U.S. and corporate influence in the region.

The populist thing would be to have democratic governance, not the kleptocracy and totalitarianism that we see in Cuba and Venezuela. Chavez and Castro stay in power because they've managed to make the US the bogeyman for their own failed economic policies (if you can even call them policies).

Look no further than Brazil, which had significant oil interests in Bolivia. Expect blowback in the Brazilian-Bolivian relations. It's more than merely concerning. It's the taking of assets without compensation. Don't think that businesses (including state-run outfits) wont notice.

The energy markets have also taken notice.

UPDATE:
For a far more current example of how a economic situation can deteriorate when idiots, thugs, and despots rule the roost, look at Zimbabwe since the thug Mugabe came to power. They're now experiencing hyperinflation, and toilet paper is a luxury item. Bolivia can expect to see many of the same problems within a short period of time, as investments flee the country to safer havens.

Got Another One?

Last week, we heard from three horsemen of the jihadi apocalypse (Osama, Zarqawi, and Zawahiri). This week, we're learning that the US may now be detaining one of Osama's top lieutenants after being captured in a Pakistani sting operation:

A top al Qaeda leader whose links stretch from Afghan terror training camps to extremist networks operating throughout Europe has been detained in neighboring Pakistan and possibly handed over to American authorities, according to a U.S. law enforcement official.

Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, a Syrian who also holds Spanish citizenship, was captured in a November 2005 sting in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta that left one person dead, said the American official, who declined to be identified further because the matter is sensitive.

The official, who spoke to The Associated Press late last week, said Nasar, who is also known as Abu Musab al-Suri, may now be in U.S. custody but did not specify where. He declined to comment further.

A couple of points here. If this story pans out, this is great news and shows that we're making serious inroads into al Qaeda's inner circle of leaders.

A couple of question ought to be considered when examining a story such as this:

1) Was the story based on the leak of classified information.
2) Does officially recognizing that the US now is in possession of this terrorist undermine his intel value?

Leaks are big business in journalism - after all that's how many newsies make their mark and get their stories. However, I believe that the substantive information of this story was declassified.

One has to believe that al-Suri's associates know that he was likely captured or killed by now, and have made alternative plans, and therefore releasing this information now doesn't undermine US intel gathering efforts or the battle plan against al Qaeda. The most likely scenario is that the information wa probably declassified because the recognition of his capture doesn't affect operational security. It also serves to undermine the recent videos produced by al Qaeda.

Therefore, on balance, one has to conclude that his value on new terror operations is low, and that recognizing that we're in possession of this terrorist after sitting on the news for several months has enabled US intel to glean as much information as possible. The US likely allowed this information to be released to counter the recent videos, undermining their effect by showing that we're hitting at the al Qaeda leadership directly.