Knight Rider Returns

Everything old is new again. Recycling in the television and movies is rampant, and with the Bionic Woman back on the small screen, we don't have long to wait before someone attempts remakes of the Fall Guy, Airwolf, and the Six Million Dollar Man.

In the meantime, we're going to have to watch out for our favorite talking car. KITT will be back in the new iteration of Knight Rider.

Instead of the classic Trans-Am, we're going with a Ford Mustang Shelby GT.

The real question is who is going to play Michael Knight. IMDB suggests that it will be none other than David Hasselhoff, who originated the role and has lately been seen crawling on all fours after a drinking binge.

Drunken Bender Results in NH Clinton HQ Hostage Crisis

Fresh off a two-day drunken bender, Leeland Eisenberg strapped highway flares to his waist with duct tape and took hostages at Hillary Clinton’s office here, demanding to speak to the senator in a five-hour standoff that drew national TV coverage.

Eisenberg, 47, of Somersworth surrendered into the arms of heavily armed SWAT police after an ordeal that began at 1 p.m. Five hostages including an infant were released unharmed.

Eisenberg’s frantic stepson, who begged police to let him “go tackle” his disturbed dad, told police early on that his stepfather was coming off a 48-hour drinking binge.

Eisenberg wanted to speak to Clinton and even called CNN during the hostage standoff to vent his anger over the lack of proper mental health care. He finally surrendered to a SWAT team at about 6:15 p.m.

A Herald reporter watched as Eisenberg, dressed in a white shirt, gray jacket and red tie, calmly walked into the middle of the street - duct tape visible on his midsection - and held his arms up, slowly took off his jacket and turned around for police.

That bender is going to cost Eisenberg dearly.

He's apparently an ex-convict and a repeat offender on top of his mental health issues. Not only should he receive the appropriate mental health treatment, but he will also need to pay for his criminal acts.

Thankfully the incident resolved itself without any injuries.

Indonesia Expresses Curious Method of AIDS Prevention

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. Indonesia, which has previously sought to prevent US doctors from helping an Indonesian man who suffers from an ailment that turns his hands into essentially tree stumps and wants to control access to potential virus strains prevalent in the country, has come upon the solution to the AIDS crisis.

Stoning.

This would be in accordance with Islamic law, of course.

“We strongly feel that condoms can't prevent people from getting AIDS. The pores of the latex are bigger than the virus itself,”he told Adnkronos International (AKI), adding that in his view the campaign was harmful and morally wrong.

“AIDS prevention should start by implementing Islamic laws and punishing rule breakers, infidels and those who engage in pre-marital sex.

"In Islam we normally throw stones at them,” said al-Anshori. The MMI is a Muslim umbrella organisation whose member groups promotes sharia law in Indonesia.

UPDATE:
Fixed error in first paragraph - Jersey City is celebrating World AIDS Day today, but the official day is tomorrow.

Developing: Hostage Situation at Sen. Clinton's NH Campaign Office

Some reports note that the man entered the Rochester, New Hampshire campaign offices of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) wearing a bomb, and it would appear that he's taken hostages.

This is a developing situation and will be updated as circumstances warrant.

UPDATE:
Live video from Boston Channel and more details at Gateway Pundit.

UPDATE:
Fox News is reporting the man wanted to speak with Sen. Clinton. Up to four people may be hostages. The area around Clinton's office has been cordoned off and offices evacuated.

Other nearby presidential campaign offices including those for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John Edwards, have been evacuated, as well as other nearby businesses, according to news reports.

WMUR.com reported: "A young woman with a 6-month or 8-month-old infant came rushing into [a nearby store] just in tears, and she said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape,'" witness Lettie Tzizik said.

UPDATE:
Malkin is covering the developing story and notes that officials have confirmed that two people are being held by the assailant.

UPDATE:
It's real easy to be snide about the situation or motives of the hostage taker, but this is deadly serious. Peoples' lives are in danger there - and it's a situation that has to be handled delicately. This kind of violence has no place in society, and that includes politics.

UPDATE:
The fever swamps on the Left don't seem to have any problem identifying the culprit:

more from the fever swamps.

Here are the odds that this domestic terrorist is a frequent visitor of:
Foxnews.com: Even
Freeperville: 5 to 1
Stalkin Malkin: 2 to 1
Redstate: 8 to 1
Newsbusters: 3 to 1
Drudge: Even
O’Reilly.com: 2 to 1

Of course, if this individual happens to be a disgruntled leftist, Olberman viewer, Clinton patron, or other liberal leaning type, those same folks will disregard the story and/or try to find a way to blame the incident on the Bush Administration.

It's what they do. (HT: Jammie at LGF)

The latest news indicates that the hostage taker is a man with a history of mental illness.

The suspect was a well-known local man with history of emotional issues who told his son to watch the news, a well-placed law enforcement source told ABC News' Pierre Thomas.

Others blogging: Ace and Michelle Malkin.

UPDATE:
CNN reports that two of the hostages were released.

UPDATE:
The hostage-taker's name is inadvertently named by a witness, but no confirmation yet from law enforcement.

NATO Airstrikes Hit Taliban, Not Civilian Workers

This isn't getting nearly as much play as the initial reports, which claimed that NATO airstrikes killed civilian workers.

NATO says evidence collected at the site of an airstrike against a Taliban leader in northeastern Afghanistan shows the attack was successful and did not result in the deaths of 14 construction workers.

Brigadier General Carlos Branco said Thursday Afghan and NATO forces tracked the movements of the key Taliban leader in Nuristan province, Abdullah Jan, and five of his followers Monday night - and that they were eliminated by a precision airstrike.

Branco added there was no construction equipment or materials at the site, indicating there was no presence of civilians.

Also Thursday, police in southern Kandahar province said Afghan and international forces killed about 30 Taliban insurgents and captured 12 others overnight.

In neighboring Helmand province, two Danish soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with Taliban insurgents. Denmark has more than 500 troops in Afghanistan.

NATO and the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan have been sharply criticized for killing civilians during their military operations against insurgents.

NATO has said it is doing all it can to prevent civilian casualties - and has blamed Taliban militants for using local people as human shields.

The Taliban have not been nearly as criticized in the media or by the Afghans themselves, despite the fact that the Taliban are largely responsible for the civilian casualties by using civilians as human shields and for not following the Geneva Conventions.

Also, the locals get riled up as the media acts as a Taliban shill by claiming that airstrikes have killed Afghan civilians when there is scant evidence that such events have taken place.

The Taliban continue to play the media for fools, and those hoping that the media outlets would display more caution in running these stories will be out of luck.

Murtha Sends Pigs; Democrats Flying

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) made the most obvious of observations, and for that it will cause much vexing among House Democrats.

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one of the leading anti-war voices in the House Democratic Caucus, is back from a trip to Iraq and he now says the "surge is working." This could be a huge problem for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders, who are blocking approval of the full $200 billion being sought by President Bush for combat operations in Iraq in 2008.

Murtha's latest comments are also a stark reversal from what he said earlier in the year. The Pennsylvania Democrat, who chairs the powerful Defense subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee, has previously stated that the surge "is not working" and the United States faced a military disaster in Iraq.

Murtha told CNN on July 12, following a Bush speech, that the president's views on the success of surge in Iraq were "delusional."

"Well it's delusional to say the least," Murtha told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "As I said earlier, and you heard me say it, it's a failed policy wrapped in illusion. Nothing's gotten better. Incidents have increased. We have had more Americans killed in the last four months than any other period during the war."

He finally acknowledged that the Surge is working. Welcome to the real world Murtha.

It's been working for months, and it might have been nice if you sided with the US on the issue instead of Democrats providing sound clips for the enemies of the US - not to mention aid and comfort in knowing that if the insurgents simply hold out until the Democrats cut funding to the war effort, they could win in Iraq.

That isn't sitting well with the Democrat leadership, which has been casting about for months on end about the doom and gloom claims that the Iraq situation was a muddled mess.

The House has yet to approve appropriations for the US military, which means that all the gains made by the military in Iraq may be for naught if the money runs out.

Others noting Murtha's about face: Hot Air and Blue Crab Boulevard.

UPDATE:
Someone must have taken pliers and a blowtorch to Murtha because he's attempting to backtrack and rephrase his comments.

Following a headline-grabbing uproar, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, moved swiftly Friday to clarify earlier remarks that seemed to suggest the Iraq surge policy was working.
The surge, he said in a statement, “has created a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government,’’ but so far the Iraqi government has “failed to capitalize on the political and diplomatic steps that the surge was designed to provide.”
“The fact remains that the war in Iraq cannot be won militarily, and that we must begin an orderly redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as practicable,” said the chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee.

The Democrats cannot in any way admit that the situation in Iraq is improving because it would mean that the issue goes to those GOPers who have backed the effort. Democrats are doing nothing but playing politics with the issue.

Actually, Democrats are doing nothing - which is also playing politics with the issue since they're not allowing a vote on a clean appropriations bill to go forward.

Middle East Muddle

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is being too cute by half. He warns of the end of Israel if no deal with the Palestinians is made. He's got it bass-ackward of course. A deal made would end Israel because the Palestinians will not settle with or for a two-state solution. Psuedorealism among diplomats is a mental defect.

That he preconditions any such deal on Arab recognition of the Jewish character of the state of Israel is a fool's errand. That is insufficient to deter the Islamists from carrying the day against Israel.

Israel will continue to be attacked by its enemies - and the Palestinian terrorist groups Fatah and Hamas are likely to rejoin forces at some point in the future, which means that all the aid that was going to Fatah will end up in Hamas' hands. Gaza is currently in Hamas' hand, and if the terrorist attacks from Gaza do not cease and Israel takes military action against Gaza, Fatah might strike at Israel in response.

Hamas has never waivered from its position on demanding Israel's destruction. Fatah hasn't either - although they're more coy in their calls. They'd rather kill Israel through thousands of paper cuts.

Diplomacy under these circumstances is a fool's errand for Israel.

Israeli diplomats couldn't even enter through the same entrances as Arab diplomats at Annapolis and Arab diplomats couldn't be seen shaking hands with their Israeli counterparts either.

That speaks volumes to the hatred and animosity towards Israel in the Middle East.

Now, there are those who might put the onus of the latest concessions on the US strongarming the Israelis, but it is clear that Olmert is responsible for the latest moves because without his negotiations with the PA that include apparent talks over repartitioning Jerusalem and access to the Temple Mount, none of this would even be an issue.

The Israeli diplomats are stuck in psuedorealism - ignoring the facts on the ground, which include the incessant rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinians against Israel. They'll ignore the terrorists using teens to try and kill Israelis. They'll ignore the second class status in the hopes that someone will sign a piece of paper.

That piece of paper, should it be signed, will be an Israeli death warrant because it will signal to the Islamists that they can fatally strike at Israel without repercussions. The only thing working against the Palestinians and Islamists is that they've always missed the opportunity to strike because of their impeccible timing. They never know when to take an Israeli deal, and bide their time before they strike - instead lashing out on a regular basis.

It's an intolerable situation for Israel, but Israel continues to push ahead nonetheless. Arabs read this as a sign of Israeli weakness, and seek to exploit it. This ongoing situation is going to result in a continuing death toll on both sides of the Arab-Israeli divide.

Video Shows Emergency Crews Helping French Teens Before Riots Ensued

The video, shot by an amateur cameraman, also may provide evidence to contradict an initial conclusion by investigators that the police car was further damaged later in the evening by angry residents.

"There was no panic, neither by police or the people from around; everybody was calm," said the cameraman, who asked to be identified only by his first name, "Nicolas," in a telephone interview yesterday. "The firemen were very professional, focused on the bodies."

Although the video reportedly is compelling, Nicolas and others who have seen the images said that it does not answer the key question of whether this was purely a road accident or a criminal action by officers driving too fast.

The accident occurred at about 5 p.m. Sunday in Villiers-le-Bel, north of Paris, and ignited two nights of rioting in the town.

Meantime, in a speech to police officers yesterday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted that the violence following the accident was not the result of social deprivation in immigrant neighborhoods, but rather the work of criminals who he labeled a "thugocracy."

The video does give lie to the rumors that the police did nothing to assist the two teens before they died - the rumors that sparked a multi-day riot with police that injured more than 100 police, including dozens hit by gunfire - several seriously.

The video also suggests that reports that the police car involved in the accident was damaged by rioters following the incident may be untrue as well.

Gov. Corzine Still Doesn't Get It

Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) knows that the state has to revamp its school funding formula, which is based on the court imposed Abbott formula. 31 cities are provided additional state aid, and the rest of the state is forced to pay for the spending, despite the fact that those 31 cities have not see improvement in their primary goal of educating students.

So, instead of trying to eliminate the Abbott system altogether, he's looking to expand it so that more municipalities get a piece of the pie.

Corzine is looking to spend another $400 million on education funding.

When will state officials draw the line and realize that throwing money at education isn't going to fix anything. The state has thrown billions in to the Abbott districts and those districts are nowhere near where they should be.

The current arrangement, known as the Abbott system, has been widely criticized as shortchanging the other 584 districts in largely suburban and rural areas, some of which serve children just as needy. The new approach would apportion money to schools based on the characteristics of the students, including income, language ability and special academic needs.

The president of the State Senate, Richard J. Codey, who was briefed on the plan this week, said yesterday that the new formula would require an additional $400 million to $500 million in overall state aid in next year’s budget, a figure that was confirmed by members of the Corzine administration. Mr. Codey said that funds would not be reduced for any Abbott districts and that some Abbott districts might even receive slightly more.

The majority of the new money, however, is intended to benefit poor and disadvantaged students in non-Abbott districts, most of which have not received significant state aid increases since 2000. In what now appears to have been a step toward the new formula, Governor Corzine added $66.8 million in this year’s budget for more than 200 non-Abbott districts with large numbers of poor and disadvantaged students.

Since taking office in 2006, Governor Corzine has made school financing a priority in his efforts to reduce property taxes, and he has made no secret of his dislike of the current system, which he has described as having “no rational basis of explanation.” He told local officials this month that “the current method leaves too many children out of luck simply because they live in the wrong ZIP code.”

What this also means is that the state taxpayers will end up shouldering even more in taxes. That additional financing has to come from somewhere - and it certainly isn't growing on trees in Trenton as much as the legislature thinks that it does.

Sudanese Call For Gibbons' Death, Amnesty Int'l Silent

A screenshot worth a thousand words.

Compare that with the whining and seething of the Sudanese, who are busy calling for Gibbons' death. She was convicted of insulting Islam in a kangaroo court yesterday. Her sentence of 15 days jail and deportation is not harsh enough for the Islamists, who want her killed.

Her supposed crime?

Allowing her students to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

The protesters streamed out of mosques after Friday sermons, as pickup trucks with loudspeakers blared messages against Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation.

They massed in central Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace, where hundreds of riot police were deployed, although they did not attempt to stop the rally.

"Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted.

They called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

I predicted as much yesterday.

UPDATE:
Hot Air opines on the Sudanese Islamists getting whipped into a frenzy during the Friday prayers and further notes this report by Jammie and warns that say what you will about these tactics but don’t say they don’t work.

UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin weighs in, and notes that Sudanese are calling for the children who named the teddy bear Mohammed to be punished as well.

UPDATE:
The BBC seriously underplays the seriousness of the demonstrators and what they're demanding. I'd actually consider this journalistic malpractice. Thousands of Sudanese were demanding Gibbons' death - not merely demanding that she receive a harsher sentence and the BBC decided to bury those details beneath the lede:

Crowds of people have marched in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to call for a tougher sentence for a UK teacher jailed for insulting religion.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed for 15 days on Thursday after allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Some news agencies reported protesters had called for her to be shot.

Those crowds were full of people carrying knives and clubs demanding vengeance. They weren't demanding her release - unless by release you mean releasing her life force from her body.

UPDATE:
Let's go to the photos of the demonstrations. More than just a few hundred folks. Lots of knives gleaming in the sun. Gibbons has been taken to a secret location, which tells you that the Sudanese government knows a lynch mob would tear the place apart to deal her the punishment they see fit.

UPDATE:
Even though Gibbons might be in custody and faces jail, her situation may invariably be better than her students who may face a far harsher future.

UPDATED: Sudanese Kangeroo Court Finds Woman Guilty In Teddy Bear Case

The Islamists aren't going to be happy unless Gilliam Gibbons is sentenced to death for allowing her students to vote and name a teddy bear Mohammed. If the sentence is not death, expect that their whining and seething will be replaced by rioting.

A powerful Sudanese newspaper urged authorities to call a hardline Islamist leader linked to Osama bin Laden to give evidence at her trial, to stress how offensive the case was to Muslims.

Extreme Islamic groups said Mrs Gibbons "must die" and urged Muslims to hold street protests after prayers tomorrow.

The Sudanese government already realizes that it's got a mess on its hands, and security is tight around the courtroom, but that doesn't diminish the role the government is playing in this whole mess.

Gibbons did nothing wrong. Her students, many of whom are Muslim, named a teddy bear after Mohammed, and one of the parents complained and got the ball rolling.

In a statement read to the court, Gibbons explained the incident and emphasized that her 7-year-old students picked the teddy bear's name, British Embassy spokesman Omar Daair told The Associated Press. Gibbons' lawyer said she would likely take the stand later.

The case set up an escalating diplomatic dispute with Britain, Sudan's former colonial ruler.

Prosecutor-General Salah Eddin Abu Zaid told the AP the British teacher could expect a "swift and fair trial." If convicted, she faces up to 40 lashes, six months in jail and a fine, with the verdict and any sentence up to the judge's discretion, official have said.

The judge ordered the prosecution to bring forward the person who originally raised the complaint against Gibbons — an office assistant at the Unity High School, said Isam Abu Hasabu, the head of the school's parent-teacher association, who was in the courtroom.

Gibbons' chief lawyer, Kamal Djizouri, scuffled with a tight police cordon before he was allowed in. British diplomats who were initially barred were also eventually allowed to enter.

Djizouri said he would argue her case based on Islamic Sharia law and show there was "absolutely no intention to insult religion, and for blasphemy to take place there must be an insult."

Gibbons was teaching her pupils, who are around age 7, about animals, and asked one of them to bring in her teddy bear, according to Robert Boulos, the director for Unity High School.

Gibbons asked the students to pick names for it and they proposed Abdullah, Hassan and Muhammad, and in September, the pupils voted to name it Muhammad, he said.

Each child was allowed to take the bear home on weekends and write a diary about what they did with it. The diary entries were collected in a book with the bear's picture on the cover, labeled, "My Name is Muhammad," he said. The bear itself was never labeled with the name, he added.

Initial reports said a parent had complained about Gibbons, but Boulos said he was later told it was a staffer. He said parents of the students supported Gibbons.

Sudanese justice may be swift, but it certainly isn't fair. I fear she's going to be railroaded into a guilty plea, if only to avert rioting should she be found not guilty.

More to the point, it would further cement the status of Islamic law in the country, which bodes ill for all non Muslims in the country.

UPDATE:
That was quick. Sudan court finds teacher guilty of insulting religion, Reuters reports. (HT: anonymous emailer)

UPDATE:
Via the Reuters website - 15 days detention and deportation according to Gibbons' lawyer. The Islamists will not be pleased.

UPDATE:
Others blogging: Michelle Malkin and Jammie,

Despite Police Presence, French Riots Continue For Fourth Night

Despite the larger police presence, rioting continued in the Paris suburbs for a fourth night.

Wednesday was the fourth night of unrest that on prior nights resulted in violent clashes between angry youths and police, and the burning of buildings and cars from the Paris suburbs to the southern city of Toulouse.

No injuries to police were reported, Laurente Wittek, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, told CNN. She said Thursday that there had been a "clear reduction" in the rioting.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to punish those responsible for shooting at police. Sarkozy met Wednesday with the families of the youths on the motorcycle who were killed.

The worst bouts of violence were Monday and Tuesday nights, when police made arrests in the northern Paris suburb of Villiers-le-Bel, where the collision occurred.

In Toulouse, 20 cars were burned and rioters set fire to two libraries on Tuesday.

"There were some problems but we can say that it was much better than previous says," Wittek said.

Note that they're not exactly stating what happened, only that it was supposedly better than previous nights.

No-Pasaran points to another death that may or may not be connected with the rioting from Sunday night on one of the commuter train lines that run into the suburbs. That woman's murder doesn't get coverage, despite the brutality of it.

Should it surprise anyone that Sarkozy's ratings slipped? It shouldn't, and while the headline is trying to put it on the riots, there are also strikes to contend with, and Sarkozy is trying to reshape the economic landscape of France, and that has many entrenched interests upset.

Sarkozy does get points in my book by calling the riots hooliganocracy, instead of blaming it on the social woes in the banlieues.

For the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the weekend's clashes in the banlieue of Paris "have nothing to do with a social crisis" but are an attempt for "hooliganocracy". In a speech on security to 2,000 policemen, he had harsh words for the wave of hooliganism and attacks on policemen (120 injured) following the death of two boys in Villiers sur Bel last Sunday: "I reject all attempts to make any criminal look like a victim of society and any revolt as a social problem". "If we allow a hooligan to be turned into a hero of the quarter" he warned "we are insulting the Republic and our work". Sarkozy defended the hard line taken against the chaos in the outskirts, already started when he was minister of the interior, in 2002: "This determined action is having its effect" he assured.

Meanwhile, the German Interior Minister warned that the rioting might spread beyond Paris and its suburbs, and Germany was on alert to that possibility. A Turkish leader in Germany made veiled threats about just that if social concerns of Turks aren't addressed.

... Kenan Kolat, head of the Turkish Association in Berlin and Brandenburg, told Spiegel Online that Berlin must improve its efforts to integrate immigrants, and warned that "copycat" incidents could occur in Germany.

Hamas Demands Do-Over

Hamas once again lets the world know its true intentions. It doesn't want a two-state solution, and it now wants the UN to rescind its 1947 partition plan, which brought about the existence of Israel and set the world down the path towards a two-state solution, but which Israel's Arab neighbors sought to quash from the outset.

The 1947-1948 Israeli war of Independence established the Jewish state of Israel, and successive wars by the Arabs sought to destroy Israel and throw the Jews into the sea. Those same Arab countries lost progressively more land, but we're now at a point where the diplomats are more than willing to give Palestinians land from Israel in the name of peace even as the Palestinians themselves seek Israel's total destruction.

Hamas on Thursday called on the UN to rescind the 1947 decision to partition Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs.

The group said in a statement, released on the 60th anniversary of the UN vote, that "Palestine is Arab Islamic land, from the river to the sea, including Jerusalem... there is no room in it for the Jews."

Regarding the partition decision, Hamas said that "correcting mistakes is nothing to be ashamed of, but prolonging it is exploitation."

Meanwhile, President Shimon Peres told Army Radio that recognition of the 1967 borders began with the Oslo accords.

Peres is deluded if he thinks that Oslo was the beginning of recognition of Israel's borders. The Palestinians refuse to accept Israel's existence, and their official media propaganda machines churn out maps and videos showing no state of Israel and an Islamic state in its place.

The diplomats keep papering over this, but the facts on the ground show something quite different.

UPDATE:
Of course, this need by Hamas to revise history brings up another uncomfortable fact about the history of the Middle East. None of the countries in the region are older than 100 years - they're all colonial fictions that are now unquestioned facts, except Israel.

So, if we're going to wind back the clock, why stop at 60 years?

Well, if we're going on about do-overs, then let's go all out, shall we? Sadly, the map history doesn't go back far enough.

And then there's that little part of the Bible where G-d himself deeds Israel to the Jews as His Chosen People. /hey if the shoe fits? And that's a might big Shoe.

This uncomfortable fact shows the silliness of thinking that diplomacy between Israel and its mortal enemies will result in peace by 2009.

Breaking: Slovak Authorities Seize Nuclear Materials Capable of Making Dirty Bomb

This is breaking and quite disturbing via MSNBC - Slovak officials say seized uranium enriched enough to be used in 'dirty bomb'

Where did they obtain the materials, what is the identity of the individuals, who did they work for, and what was their ultimate destination? Right now - no answers to any of those questions.

The Slovaks have done the world a great favor. Let's see where this leads.

Bloomberg reports that the seized material - 1.1kg worth - included Uranium 235 and Uranium 238 in powder form.

The material's origin is not certain, although police believe it may have come from the former Soviet Union, Kopcik said, speaking at a press conference alongside Hungarian police officials.

The seized substance was uranium 238 and 235 in powder form, Kopcik said. The material was supposed to be transferred from Hungary, he said. The suspects were arrested on both sides of the Hungarian-Slovak border in a joint operation between the two European Union countries.

``The material was even more dangerous because of its powder form,'' Kopcik said today in Bratislava, Slovakia. ``It could be used for production of a dirty bomb.''

Illegal atomic smuggling incidents have risen almost four- fold since 2006, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Nov. 20. The Vienna-based IAEA has recorded 1,266 incidents of nuclear smuggling since 1993. Some 18 cases have involved highly enriched uranium or plutonium, the essential ingredients for a bomb.

UPDATE:
Nice to see the IAEA on the case - especially considering that the Slovak authorities think the materials came from the former Soviet Union. The IAEA has something to do with non proliferation, but their mission seems to be a bit hazy these days.

UPDATE:
This report provides more details, including a reduction in the amount of Uranium confiscated:

He said police had intelligence suggesting that the suspects - whose names were not released, but were aged 40, 49 and 51 - originally had planned to sell the material early this week. One of the Hungarians had been living in Ukraine. Police moved in when the sale did not occur as expected, he said.
Kopcik said investigators were still working to determine who ultimately was trying to buy the uranium, which the trio allegedly was selling for $1m (£485,000).

Three other suspects - including a Slovak national identified only as Eugen K - were detained in the neighbouring Czech Republic in mid-October for allegedly trying to sell fake radioactive materials. It was unclear to what degree, if any, they played a role in the thwarted uranium sale.

Police said a total of 481.4g of uranium had been stored in unspecified containers. Investigators concluded that the material consisted of 98.6% uranium-235. Uranium is considered weapons-grade if it contains at least 85% uranium-235.

"According to initial findings, the material originated in the former Soviet republics," Kopcik said.

Taking Seed at CNN

Why does CNN continue to engage in such acts? CNN has allowed Democratic party operatives to ask questions without being identified as such - for several individuals at the Democrats debate, and last night at the GOP debate.

This isn't a function of the question asked - they were appropriate, but in the interests of full disclosure.

Why does CNN feel that it can use these potted plants in the debates?

Michelle Malkin and Hot Air have the details.

UPDATE:
These plants say more about CNN and their own agenda politics than anything else:



UPDATE:
While CNN headlines with a report on how questioners are grading the debaters last night, pundits are busy grading CNN on its horrible performance. I grade them with an F.

Random Thought

So, with Citigroup facing all kinds of financial problems and its recent bailout by Abu Dhabi Group, what are the odds that the New York Mets will be playing at Abu Dhabi Field instead of Citifield when the Mets' new stadium opens in 2009?

Name That Party: NJ Edition Revisited

Once again, the Bergen Record doesn't include that tiniest of details - the political party affiliation of public officials who are facing criminal sanctions.

Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera isn't interested in negotiating a plea deal in his federal corruption case and fully expects to be indicted early next year, his lawyer said Tuesday.

A judge has granted Rivera another 60 days to pursue a possible plea deal before prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury, court records show. A court order, signed last week by U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni in Trenton, granted a second continuance in Rivera's case.

But Rivera's attorney said it doesn't make a difference.

"There are no plea discussions going on," said defense attorney Henry E. Klingeman. "The government expects to indict Mayor Rivera at some point. But everybody is busy and they're planning to wait until after the first of the year, as far as I can tell.

"I would expect the next event in the case to be an indictment," said Klingeman, a former federal prosecutor.

"As he's said repeatedly, he's planning to defend himself," Klingeman added, "and that's what we're going to do with vigor."

Rivera was one of 11 public officials arrested by the FBI on Sept. 6 on charges of extorting more than $150,000 in bribes from cooperating contractors in an undercover sting dubbed operation "Broken Boards" He has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

I reported on this September 6 and 7, and the Bergen Record provided a scorecard at that time - 11 of the 12 officials arrested were Democrats. This is yet another reason why people are getting tired of the media outlets - they are failing readers in providing the facts. They are, however, more than clear as to their opinions because it is more than apparent that only Republicans have their party affiliation prominently displayed in these corruption and scandal articles.

UPDATE:
Don Surber links! Thanks!

Unhinged In Venezuela

[T]hugo Chavez isn't the most stable of personalities, and the latest news out of Caracas shows that he's not only dangerous, but loco.

He's currently trying to get the Legislature to grant him more power, and opposition groups have a slim lead. So, what does Chavez do? He thinks that CNN is in on a conspiracy to kill him.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday CNN may have been instigating his murder when the U.S. TV network showed a photograph of him with a label underneath that read "Who killed him?"

The caption appeared to be a production mistake -- confusing a Chavez news item with one on the death of a football star. The anchor said "take the image down" when he realized.

But Chavez called for a probe in an interview on state television, where he repeatedly reviewed a tape of the broadcast, questioning why the unconnected photograph and wording were left on screen for several seconds.

"I want the state prosecutor to look into bringing a suit against CNN for instigating murder in Venezuela," he said. "... undoubtedly it is part of the psychological warfare."

The anti-U.S. president often denounces plots to kill him without providing much detailed evidence. On Tuesday, he said a sniper trained his gun on him at a political rally this month.

Who needs to provide evidence when he's [T]hugo Chavez. He doesn't need evidence. He simply has Hollywood types lining up to take photos with the socialist thug.

Conspiracies don't do the body politic good, but they may give Chavez enough of a bump that he slouches ever closer to the socialist dictatorship he's always wanted. Also playing a role in his likely win is the widespread belief that Chavez has rigged the election system so that he's going to win regardless of how people vote, and that apathy may play a role in Chavez winning - dirty tricks or not.

The Sudanese Name Game

Be careful what you name a stuffed teddy bear. It might get the religious police to arrest you and threaten you with whipping and a prison sentence. Sudan is charging a teacher from Britain with insulting Islam.

Sudan on Wednesday charged a British teacher with insulting religion and inciting hatred, a crime punishable by up to 40 lashes, six months in prison or a fine, after she named a class teddy bear "Muhammad," Reuters reported.

The charges come a day after a 7-year-old Sudanese boy said Gilliam Gibbons, 54, asked him as part of a school assignment what he wanted to call the stuffed animal and he said, 'Muhammad,' after his name, Reuters reported.

Gibbons, of the private Unity High School in Khartoum, was arrested Sunday after one of her pupils' parents complained, accusing her of naming the bear after Islam's chief prophet. "Muhammad" is a common name among Muslim men, but connecting the Prophet's name to an animal could be seen as insulting by many Muslims.

Several Sudanese newspapers on Tuesday ran a statement reportedly from Unity High School saying that Gibbons had been "removed from work at the school" and apologizing for any offense, though it said the incident was a "misunderstanding."

Islam must be quite the insecure religion if they've got to beat the snot out of anyone who doesn't comply - especially if you're not a Muslim. Then again, Islam means submit - and Muslim is English for "one who submits."

UPDATE:
The regime in Khartoum would like you to think that this is an isolated incident, but that isn't the case. These incidents are common throughout the Islamic world, and Sudan is among those nations that enforce Islamic law against those who do not adhere to Islamic law. However, the Islamists gives away their real feelings on the matter; they think the teddy bear name is part of an insidious plot:

But Sudan's top clerics said in a statement Wednesday that the full measure of the law should be applied against Gibbons, calling the incident part of a broader Western "plot" against Islam.

Northern Sudan's legal system is based on Islam's Sharia law, which harshly punishes blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. Any depiction of the prophet is forbidden in Islam, for fear it would provoke idolatry. Caricatures of Muhammad in some European media last year sparked riots in several Muslim countries.

UPDATE:Via HA, an American Muslim group speaks out against the fabricated outrage and criminal sanction pending against the teacher in Sudan:

Earlier today, the Sudanese government charged Gillian Gibbons, a teacher at Unity High School in Khartoum, with insulting religion and inciting hatred for naming a class teddy bear "Muhammad." She faces up to 40 lashes and six months in prison.

“The sad legacy of the Danish cartoon riots is that we have to speak out immediately when extremists try to provoke clashes over trivial matters,” Weddady explained. “This is not about cultural sensitivities. There is no excuse for someone to be sent to jail and whipped over a teddy bear’s name. Ms. Gibbons needs to be freed at once.”

Jana El-Horr, a Peacebuilding Fellow with the American Islamic Congress, noted that the Sudanese regime is trying to distract attention from the ongoing genocide in Darfur. “Muslims around the world are horrified over the brutal killings in Darfur,” El-Horr explained. “Now the Sudanese regime is trying to rally support by putting on the ‘defender of Islam’ hat. But we won’t be fooled.”

There's a reason that public perceptions of Muslims is on the decline. It's because the Islamists justify their slaughter of civilians on a wide scale by claiming it is inherent in their religious views and anyone who disagrees, especially if you're a Muslim, is worthy of death.

More groups like this one have to speak out against Sudan and other Islamists who seek to inflict violence against those who do not adhere to their brand of Islam.

UPDATE:
Lest this be ignored, Ms. Gibbons wasn't the one who named the teddy bear Mohammed. Her students did. She's being prosecuted for the acts of her students, who themselves thought nothing wrong with naming the bear after Mohammed.

UN Failing Darfur Again

The left always likes to say that the world's ills can be solved by the United Nations. Here's a clue. It can't. It wont.

And those most in need of assistance suffer as a result.

Darfur is exhibit A:

Facing its most ambitious peacekeeping deployment ever in Darfur, the United Nations soon might face "humiliation" — as the Sudanese government, rebel groups, troop- and equipment-contributing countries, the U.N.'s own peacekeeping department, and the General Assembly's budgetary organ blame each other for the force's failure, officials say.

The head of the U.N. peacekeeping department, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, yesterday said that beyond such humiliation in Darfur, all U.N. peacekeeping may face a "setback" if the mission there fails. Speaking at the Security Council, he detailed the hardships in deploying 26,000 troops under the joint command of the U.N. and the African Union. The mission lacks critical equipment, such as at least 18 helicopters to move the troops around in the vast Darfur area, and no contributors have offered any. Khartoum, meanwhile, has banned several countries from contributing troops and know-how. Also, Darfur rebels told engineers from Sudan's ally China that they were unwelcome.

American officials privately are expressing frustration at the slow pace of peacekeeping department's planning and execution of the Darfur deployment. But on the General Assembly's budget committee, some criticized a $250 million contract that was awarded to a California-based subsidiary of Lockheed Martin to build infrastructure for the mission — which U.N. officials say they needed to award on a no-bid basis to hasten the deployment at Darfur.

Meanwhile, in Darfur, little hope exists that on January 1 — when the so-called "hybrid force" is scheduled to replace an 8000-troop force under sole command of the African Union — it will have the capacity to do much better in protecting civilians than its "inadequate" predecessor.

Lebanon Coming Undone Again

The situation in Lebanon has been precarious for quite some time, but fighting has broken out in Tripoli among various factions, and with Syrian stooge Emil Lahoud stepping down over the weekend, the political situation remains quite fragile.

Watch for Hizbullah and Syria to both continue their meddlesome ways and use the political situation to their advantage.

Gateway Pundit has more.

Timelines to Peace

For an Administration that rightfully refuses to allow timelines and deadlines dictate foreign policy on Iraq, President Bush and his diplomats are sure blowing it with announcing a timeline for a peace deal.

They want a peace deal by the end of next year. Sounds great on paper.

It's also the only place that there will be peace because the Palestinians have repeatedly shown themselves incapable and unwilling of stopping incitement and violence towards Israel.

How about looking at the facts on the ground. Palestinians don't want a two-state solution. Hamas certainly doesn't - and they're in control in Gaza. They'd be in control of the West Bank but for the massive aid given the kleptocrats in Fatah, who also seek Israel's destruction but only on a much longer time frame.

Of course, one can say that the US and Israelis know the Palestinians will never agree to any deal, and this deal takes the pressure off them to act as the negotiations can now continue apace, but the fact remains that every time the Israelis come to one of these diplomatic events, they're asked to make still more concessions all while Palestinian failures to fulfill their obligations are overlooked and ignored.

All this will catch up with the Palestinians at some point. At some point, the Palestinians will be made accountable. It doesn't look like the Bush Administration or Israel under PM Olmert are going to do it.

UPDATE:
Charles at LGF notes that the Palestinians are up to their usual tricks. Palestinian TV - a wholly owned and operated function of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority - ran a map of the region showing Palestine where Israel once existed.

What happened to the two-state solution and requirement under Oslo to cease and desist from delegitimizing Israel in Palestinian media? It's yet another unfulfilled obligation that the diplomats ignore.

UPDATE:
More mortars were fired at Israel today. I have a suggestion to the negotiators of the farcical peace process.

If they want to negotiate a peace deal, they must do so in Sderot. Let them know what it is like to be living under constant worry that mortars or kassams will come raining down from Gaza. They are so disconnected from the reality on the ground that it threatens the health and welfare of Israelis and Palestinians.

Parisian Riots, Take Three

While reports claim that the French police responded in large numbers to the areas that have witnessed riots Sunday and Monday night, the rioters still managed to torch dozens of cars and several buildings. The violence is also spreading to other locales:

At least 120 police officers have been injured since violence broke out Sunday in the north Paris suburb of Villiers le Bel, touched off after two teenagers were killed in a motorbike collision with a police car.

Some 1,000 riot police clamped down Tuesday night on Villiers where they largely managed to prevent a third night of riots.

Dozens of cars and several buildings were still torched, mainly in towns around Villiers, the regional authorities said.

Youths threw petrol bombs at police and tried to set fire to a bus in Les Mureaux northwest of Paris. In Vitry sur Seine south of the capital, arsonists threw a flaming chair through the window of a primary school.

The regional prefect said there were "half as many" arson attacks compared with Monday night when 63 cars and five buildings went up in flames. He said "a few police officers" were injured.

In the southern city of Toulouse, about 20 cars were torched and a blaze was started in a library.

While Sarkozy's strong words are a departure from the slow response by the Chirac government in 2005, the police are still trying to get a handle on a situation that threatens to spiral out of control.

Police aren't simply responding to rioters who are torching cars, but thugs who are more than willing to fire on the police with the intent to kill.

The New York Times also tries to run with the meme that the rioting eased after two days, but the situation is far from settled. Dozens of cars torched and buildings burned out isn't settled. It is just more of the same.

UPDATE:
Tim Blair wonders whether the media needs a Dissident Frogman refresher on the basic fact that the thugs rioting are using firearms instead of trying to weasel around the fact. He also notes that the thugs have young kids running around at the behest of the old guys - so this is far more organized than simply rampaging youths of undetermined origin.

UPDATE:
News videos are touting this as an uneasy calm. How is this calm when dozens of cars are torched and buildings incinerated? The difference is that this go-around the French police are quickly bolstering the police presence in the banlieus as opposed to the lackidasical approach in 2005. It remains to be seen whether the efforts are sufficient to quell the violence.

A resident looks at a burnt showroom three days after the death of two teenagers, Moushin and Laramy, in a collision with a police car, in Villiers le Bel, northern Paris, November 28, 2007. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy met their family members before chairing a special security meeting on the violence with top ministers and weekly government meeting to try to end violence in suburbs after hundreds of police were deployed to prevent a third night of rioting. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE)

UPDATE:
No Pasaran has more videos of the carnage from last night.

Musharraf Stepping Down?

That's the plan tomorrow if everything holds to form:

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf bade farewell to the military Tuesday, a day before he steps down as army chief and restores Pakistan to civilian rule in an effort to ease the country's political crisis.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in a 1999 coup, said the president's departure from the army would make "a lot of difference," but insisted he needed to do much more to defuse tensions. Relinquishing the post of army chief has been a key demand of an increasingly adamant opposition to Musharraf both at home and abroad.

A guard of honor of about 150 army, navy and air force troops stood to attention as Musharraf arrived at the army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. The colonial-style complex contains Musharraf's office.

NYC Metro Area Fare Hike Watch In Effect

Despite Gov. Eliot "Whiplash" Spitzer (D-NY) saying that he wouldn't allow the MTA to raise the base fare on MTA buses and subways, fares will be going up for most everyone who uses those services because the discounted prices for multi-day passes and unlimited ride tickets will be slashed.

In effect, Spitzer doesn't have a problem with a fare hike. He only had a problem with the way the MTA was doing it and wanted a minimal hit on his already battered credibility.

This actually doesn't improve matters because most New Yorkers take advantage of the various Metrocard options, which has driven ridership to levels not seen in decades.

As it has mulled its plans, the transportation authority has insisted that each separate branch of the transportation network — commuter rail, bridges and tunnels and subway and bus service — generate the same overall increase in revenues. That means each group of riders, essentially, must pay 3.85 percent more, on average.

Because only about 14 percent of bus and subway rides are paid for with the base $2 fare, the biggest increases may fall on a majority of customers who buy unlimited weekly or monthly MetroCards or the pay-per-ride bonus cards.

Mr. Dellaverson said there would most likely be a range of increases for different types of tickets on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad. But based on the authority’s earlier proposals, it appears likely that most suburban commuters could expect to see their costs going up at close to the 3.85 percent target.

Although officials at the authority did not predict how the new directive would affect tolls, a 3.85 percent increase applied to tolls would mean that drivers who use E-ZPass could expect the one-way toll at most crossings controlled by the authority to increase to $4.15, from $4. Drivers without E-ZPass, who currently pay $4.50 at most crossings, would probably see a higher percentage increase. About three-quarters of drivers who use the authority’s crossings, which include the Midtown Tunnel and the Triborough Bridge, use E-ZPass.

The authority’s original proposal, made in July, called for a 6.5 percent overall increase in fares and tolls. The authority said then that it expected to run a sizable budget surplus this year but it needed the increase to overcome large deficits projected for 2009.

But last week, Gov. Spitzer said that new forecasts showed that improved revenues and lower expenses would result in an additional surplus of $220 million. He said that fares and tolls would still need to go up, but that they would not have to rise as steeply. In addition, he said the base subway and bus fare would remain unchanged.

Unlimited ride MetroCards account for close to half of all subway and bus trips. About 36 percent of trips are made on pay-per-ride MetroCards that carry a 20 percent bonus, giving riders six rides for the price of five. Mr. Dellaverson said that officials were considering changes to the bonus as part of the new fare package.

No matter what Spitzer does at this point, he's in a lose-lose situation.

The MTA needs proper funding to handle the increased demand for its service and to fund critical infrastructure repairs and upgrades, but Spitzer has done such a poor job preparing the political landscape for fare hikes that he's going to get slammed.

He may whiplash to another conclusion once the finger in the air (aka polling) tells him he's losing what little credibility he has left.

The only way fare hikes make sense is that they remain below that of the toll hikes, because you aren't going to convince drivers to give up their cars for crowded buses or trains if the cost differential is insignificant especially when factoring in the convenience of being able to sit in your own car instead of having to share space with other commuters or standing in less space than the MTA even deems allowable.

This being NY politics, logic, reasoning, and fiscal sense are all thrown out the window.

Iran Celebrates Not Attending Annapolis With Missile Claim

Iran wasn't invited to the party in Annapolis, but they're celebrating anyways.

With a new 1,200 mile range missile. The AP report posts a most curious caveat:

Many of Iran's weapons development claims have not been independently verified.

Heh. In fact, many of Iran's weapons development claims have actually been debunked or show bogus footage or footage swiped from other weapons tests. In other cases, the capabilities of the weapons systems have been exaggerated and seriously overstated. In still other instances, it's bluster based on the deployment of older Russian weapons systems.

Indonesia Health Minister Slams US Doctor For Helping Tree Man

Indonesia's health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, lambasted the US doctor currently treating the 35-year-old man, who has the rare affliction caused by the Human Papilloma Virus.

Mrs Supari is angry that Dr Anthony Gaspari has taken blood and tissue samples out of the country to the United States in a bid to diagnose the illness. She claims such samples could be used in the future to make vaccines that the poor could not afford.

Developing nations such as Indonesia risk exploitation unless they maintain control over their virus strains, Mrs Supari said.

But her comments have now offended Dr Gaspari, an American dermatologist at the University of Maryland, who maintains that, while he took the samples without permission, his sole motivation was getting treatment for the man.

Known simply as Dede, the man, who lives in a village south of the capital Jakarta, has massive root-like warts growing from his arms and legs which have gone untreated for years.

The logic and reasoning of the health minister is simply astonishing. He'd rather watch thousands or millions of people suffer around the world because he thinks that Indonesia should control their virus strains.

Actually, I think it's even worse than that. It's astonishingly stupid.

Virus strains know no boundaries. With modern travel, anyone can transmit a virus halfway around the world in a matter of hours. It's what has epidemiologists worried about avian flu strains that might mutate into versions that can be transmitted from person to person. And yet, Mrs Supari has, refused to share samples of the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu until she receives assurances they will not be used to make expensive pandemic vaccines.

Despite talking about costs, cost isn't the concern here - control is. The Indonesian government thinks it can control access, and the assurances are really a cut of whatever is being made.

So, instead of furthering scientific understanding of the various ailments, Indonesia is standing in the way of vaccine development that could potentially save the lives of millions of people and/or other medical discoveries because of parochial concerns.

Indonesia wants control over something that it is incapable of dealing with. In fact, Indonesian doctors have been incapable of treating this man's condition for years. Yet, the Indonesian government wants to condemn this man and many others to continued suffering because they want to control something beyond their abilities.

HT: Ace

Annapolis Unburdened

The Annapolis Middle East summit is underway, and the diplomats are unburdened by such details as Gaza being in the hands of an Islamic terrorist group dedicated to Israel's destruction, and which is a member of the Palestinian Authority with whom the Israelis are supposed to make peace with.

Hamas supporters demonstrated in Gaza and called for the death of Israel, the US and called Abbas a traitor for even daring to talk with the Israelis (ht: njdhockeyfan at LGF).

Tens of thousands of Palestinians joined an anti-Annapolis rally in Hamas-run Gaza on Tuesday, chanting "Death to Israel, death to America" and calling President Mahmoud Abbas a traitor for attending the peace talks.

Speaking at the protest in Gaza City, leaders of the Islamist group which seized the enclave from Abbas's forces in June said the president had no right to make concessions to Israel at the U.S.-sponsored conference near Washington.

"Let them go to a thousand conferences, we say in the name of the Palestinian people that we did not authorise anyone to sign any agreement that harms our rights," Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader, told a cheering crowd.

Waving Palestinian flags as well as the green Hamas banner and black flag of the Islamic Jihad faction, protesters shouted "Abbas is a traitor" and "We will not recognise Israel".

The diplomats are similarly unburdened by the reality that the Palestinian civil war never ended, but has been simmering on the fringes for months.

Palestinians in Ramallah wanted to demonstrate against the summit, but Palestinian police dispersed the crowd.

It's also now apparent why Syria agreed to come to this summit. They see that the Golan is on the table. Syria has done nothing to warrant being invited, let alone being returned the strategic Golan Heights, from which they can control the strategic headwaters of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) which supplies much of the water to Israel and Jordan. Syria's continued meddling in Lebanon is also of serious strategic and tactical concern to the US and Israel, and yet they've got a seat at the table.

Hamas' chief thug Haniyeh says the summit is doomed to failure, and he's right, but not for the reasons he thinks. It will fail because the Palestinians will refuse to accept any deal proffered by the Israelis, no matter how generous it is, not matter how injurious to Israelis it may be, and because the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Case in point is the fact that other Palestinian terrorist groups are promising a rain of mortars and rockets on Israel. Diplomats are unburdened by such things. They don't have to live in the path of those rockets and mortars. The paper they write on isn't worth much to the Israelis who have to build bomb shelters at their childrens' schools just in case one of the terrorists' rockets strikes (and they have).

Of course, Haniyeh and Hamas will accept nothing less than the destruction of Israel, so any summit that delivers anything less is deemed a failure.

President Bush is lending his prestige to the diplomatic efforts, but I find that there's nothing warranting such an effort because the Palestinians do not want peace with Israel or even accept a two-state solution. They have never sworn off their ultimate goal of supplanting Israel with a Palestinian state of their own.

Just today, one kassam and two mortars were fired at Israel by Palestinian terrorists.

MSNBC notes that the non-invitees loom large over the summit - namely Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran. No kidding. They seek Israel's destruction and are not interested in accomodation or diplomacy. That they weren't invited is a sign that even the diplomats know (or have been told) that there are some things that even they can't paper over.

Will US diplomacy work this time? The short answer is no. The longer answer is still no. The Palestinians simply do not seek peace with Israel and are unwilling to negotiate in good faith on a two-state solution, not to mention that the PA doesn't even speak for all Palestinians or even all Palestinian controlled territory. Using the summit as a clue-bat against Hamas isn't going to work because Hamas isn't simply a political entity, but a religious one. They are radicalized and it is a part of their religious theology that Islamic rule will come to dominate all of the land now where Israel exists. There can be no accomodation or concession on that point.

UPDATE:
The State Department is holding back a report that is critical of the Palestinian Authority so that it doesn't affect the diplomatic blatherings at Annapolis. Don't say you haven't been warned that the PA and Fatah are not doing what they've said they would do, and/or are incapable of fulfilling obligations, because I've been writing as much for years now.

UPDATE:
President Bush has announced that the various parties have declared that they will get a peace deal done by the end of 2008. Let's just say I'm not holding my breath. This announcement provides cover for the fact that this summit is not going to produce anything more than a photo op for those involved, and that nothing good will come of it.

UPDATE:
One person is killed in anti-Annapolis demonstration in Hebron (that's the West Bank that Fatah supposedly controls for the unaware). Well, here's how Fatah controls the situation. They use water cannon, and when that's insufficient, they beat the protestors senseless with rifle butts and clubs. A Palestinian journalist was among those beaten. And, when beating is insufficient, they use live ammo and shoot the protestors. One protestor was killed.

Torch Citroen Trilogy

For a third straight day, rioters have caused mayhem and injury in the banlieus of Paris. The riots began after two kids were involved in a car accident with a police vehicle, but the circumstances aren't entirely clear:

An angry mob clashed with riot police and wrecked cars and buildings in the town of Villiers-le-Bel, north of Paris, after the Sunday night incident. Rioters bombarded police with Molotov cocktail bombs, bottles filled with acid and baseball bats, as the violence spread to the nearby towns of Longjumeau and Grigby Monday night.

More than 60 police officers were injured, with five still in hospital in a serious condition, according to reports in a number of French newspapers.

A spokesman for the police authorities in the Val d'Oise prefecture refused to confirm the numbers of police injuries, however. He told CNN that police feared the information could further enflame the situation.

The police spokesman said 60 cars, a library and car dealer's showroom had been set on fire in Villiers-le-Bel. He said a police station had also been damaged and 15 garbage cans set ablaze.

Security was tightened Tuesday with helicopters deployed to patrol over the town, the spokesman said.

The disturbances come two years after widespread rioting caused chaos in other Paris suburbs.

The 15- and 16-year-old boys killed in the Sunday evening crash were both sons of African immigrants, police said. They died when their motorbike hit a patrol car in Villiers-le-Bel, police said.

Some residents in the town, populated largely by immigrants and their French-born children, accused police of fleeing the scene without helping the boys.

However three eyewitnesses, interviewed on TV, say the police did not run from the scene but tried to revive the two boys with mouth to mouth resucitation.

Police said the teens drove through a red light without wearing helmets and on an unregistered bike.

Omar Sehhouli, the brother of one of the victims, told French media the police involved should be arrested. "Everyone knew the two boys here," he told French radio. "What happened, that's not violence, it's rage."

So, far from the police being at fault for the unfortunate deaths of these two kids, it appears that locals automatically assumed the police were at fault and began rioting after spreading the rumor that police did nothing to help the kids who were struck.

The police appear to have done nothing wrong in the initial car accident, especially if the two boys ran the red light and weren't wearing safety helmets. As for the rioting, the police have not done nearly enough to quell the violence by arresting those instigating the riots or those involved in the roving mobs.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy will be meeting with the French Prime Minister to deal with the security issue, even as the riots have spread to other towns surrounding Paris.

Clashes spread to other suburbs north of Paris after midnight, with new riots breaking out in Cergy, Ermont and Goussainville, also in the Val d’Oise area. In all, five buildings - the Bellevue library, two schools, a supermarket and a public accounts office - were burned down, and 63 vehicles were set on fire.

Early Tuesday, a helicopter hovered over Villiers-le-Bel, 20 km north of the French capital, "to locate people stirring up trouble," a police officer told AFP.

It looks like the situation is set to repeat the 2005 riots, which is bad news for France. Nearly 10,000 cars were torched in those riots that lasted nearly three weeks.

Thus far, the number of cars torched hasn't been mentioned, but the number of police injured in the riots is far in excess of those earlier riots. Thus far, 70 police have been injured in the clashes with rioters and a number of buildings have been looted or torched.

A state prosecutor is looking into the accident:

State prosecutor Marie-Therese Givry on Monday ordered an internal police investigation for "involuntary manslaughter and failure to assist persons in danger." Speaking to reporters, she later said witnesses had confirmed the police officers' version that the bike smashed into the side of their car during a routine patrol.

Again, based on eyewitnesses and the police version, the police did nothing wrong, but the incident was nonetheless used as a spark to launch in to yet more rioting.

Hot Air is also covering the riots.

This post will be updated throughout the day as events warrant.

UPDATE:
The rioting has been far more intense and violent than the 2005 riots. The rioters have been firing on police with rifles and shotguns.

The violence was more intense than during three weeks of rioting in 2005, said the official, Patrice Ribeiro. Police were shot at and are facing “genuine urban guerillas with conventional weapons and hunting weapons,” Mr. Ribeiro said.

Some officers were hit by shotgun pellets, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said. She said there were six serious injuries, “people who notably were struck in the face and close to the eyes.”

The riots were triggered by the deaths of two teens killed in a crash with a police patrol car on Sunday in Villiers-le-Bel, a town of public housing blocks home to a mix of Arab, black and white residents in Paris' northern suburbs.

Again, the rumor that the police did nothing to help the children is spread despite the fact that it simply didn't happen.

36 cars were torched in Villiers-le-Bel and surrounding areas by the rioting thugs. There will be more.

UPDATE:
The number of police injured last night was 86 and the rioters aren't going to be satisfied until they kill policemen (several were seriously injured) and French police union officials are saying that the use of firearms by the rioters is systematic. This isn't a good sign, and it's already nighttime in Paris.

"Two things are cause for anxiety," Douhane Mohamed of the Synergie police union was quoted as saying by the news agency AFP.

"Signs that the violence is spreading to neighbouring areas, which have already had their share of burned cars, and the almost systematic use of fire-arms against police."

Night three of the rioting is upon us. Expect a greater number of carbeques, more police officers injured, and more property damage.

It also appears that the rioters are using kids as spotters to help the rioters stay ahead of the police.

There are also signs that children as young as ten on bikes acting as spotters and a youth with a scanner tuned to police frequencies to keep one step ahead of the police.

UPDATE:
Gateway Pundit has a bunch of photos, maps, and video of the ongoing situation in France.

UPDATE:
While police are increasing their presence in the hopes of clamping down on rioting, which is far more violent than earlier riots over the past two years, I'm not confident that they'll succeed.

Meanwhile, one of the two kids killed in the incident who sparked the last two days of rioting had maintained a blog.

Since the riots started two days ago, 120+ police officers have been injured, four of them seriously after being hit by buckshot from hunting weapons, according to police figures. In three weeks of rioting in 2005, 200 officers were injured. Many of those injured over the past two days have been hit by gunfire.

Bridezilla Strikes In Iraq

There are bridezillas and then there are bridezillas.

This guy is truly a bridezilla. He and his "groom" were both picked up by Iraqi authorities when their "wedding convoy" got stopped at a checkpoint.

Upon inspecting the convoy, soldiers found a stubbly-faced man, Haider al-Bahadli, decked out in a white bride's dress and veil.

Bahadli was wanted on terror-related charges, as was his groom, Abbas al-Dobbi, the official said.

Both are wanted insurgents. Two others were detained as well.

No doubt the "bride" will be getting all manner of wedding gifts in the coming days.

Did he choose to be the bride or did he pull the shortest straw?

Paris Burning Again: UPDATED - Riots Underway Second Night

Once again, the youths of unidentified extract are rioting in Paris. They're busy torching cars and getting into scrums with police. The situation is again ready to overwhelm police, and this is a major test for French President Sarkozy, who is coming off a significant achievement in dealing with the French transit unions.

The tally on Sunday’s punk jihad outburst is heavy and rising.

Twenty-five policemen injured, dozens of cars burned, shops destroyed, individuals assaulted. Blind with rage, the rampaging mob found time to steal before smashing and burning. For the brother of Mushin, one of the victims, “it’s not violence, it’s an expression of rage.”

Journalists are unwelcome, often assaulted, but they are getting the story out.

According to concurrent reports, the rage broke out immediately. The police claim the motorcycle ran into their patrol car at an intersection; the enraged know better—the police car in hot pursuit of the innocent boys, Moushin and Larami, smashed into their motorcycle. Moushin’s uncle was outraged because the bodies were left lying in the fire station. But it seems that the forces that came to pick them up had to turn back because they were attacked. The boys had gone out to do a little bit of rodeo, a favorite sport in the banlieue projects. Le Parisien posted You Tube videos filmed by reckless kids.

Again, the violence has resulted in torchings and looting:

A police station in the town of Villiers-le-Bel was set on fire and another one in neighbouring Arnouville was wrecked.

The Arnouville-Villiers-le-Bel train station was also damaged.

This report suggests that the police chief tried to negotiate with the bystanders, and was beaten for his efforts.

Tension was palpable Monday as sanitation workers swept broken glass and other debris off the streets of Villiers-le-Bel. Many people predicted more violence after nightfall.

In Sunday's violence, eight people were arrested and 21 police officers were injured — including the town's police chief, who was beaten in the face when he tried to negotiate with the rioters, a police official said.

UPDATE:
Others tracking the latest rioting in Paris and the banlieus include: Michelle Malkin, Tel Chai Nation, hyscience, James Joyner, and snapped shot.

No Pasaran [link added] is also providing some coverage.

UPDATE:
Night two of the Paris riots is underway.

Rampaging youths threw Molotov cocktails and torched cars in a troubled neighborhood outside Paris in a second night of street violence Monday after two teenagers on a motorbike were killed in a crash with a police car.

Anger focused on police, with residents claiming that officers left the scene of Sunday's crash without helping the boys — a claim officials cast doubt on but which the police were investigating.

Again, no number of vehicles torched in this report, and they're trying to pin the blame on the police for another unfortunate incident involving teens killed by police. The default setting in these communities is to riot and issue demands.

More on tonight's riots here.

UPDATE:
Video hat tip courtesy of Ashamed to be Dutch at LGF:

Horrors Lurking Beyond The Big Media Coverage

The situation in Congo is one that makes Darfur pale in comparison. Rape and unspeakable crimes against humanity persist on a daily basis, and are all the result of continuing problems from the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

The problems have their roots in the Rwandan genocide in 1994, when thousands of victims and perpetrators fled across the border. Upwards of 10,000 Rwandan rebel forces remained, living in forested areas and terrorising local populations at their will. Rwanda doesn't want them back, and even if they did, many refuse to return. The Congolese Army, it seems, has neither the collective heart nor the political will to forcibly remove them, and with many soldiers not receiving pay for months on end, they too are guilty of looting and pillaging. So the forces remain, intent on the sexual and social destruction of the local population.

So far they are succeeding on a spectacular scale. For those who are apprehended, there is little impunity, thanks to antiquated gender laws. The attacks grow more numerous and sadistic by the day and the normalisation of sexual violence continues largely unabated.

"Darfur is nothing compared to what's going on in the Congo," says Schuler Deschryver, who despite constant death threats, continues to raise the plight of Congolese women. "My father was the founder of the National Park in Rwanda, which is home to rare silver back gorillas. During the war here, just one silver back was killed. And when it happened, within 48 hours millions in funding was sent to ensure the rest of the gorilla population was protected. Why isn't the same done with our women? I'll tell you why, because in the eyes of the international community animals have more value than humans in this part of the world."

Schuler Deschryver's anger is also felt a few kilometres away, on the outskirts of Bukavu, where Dr Denis Mukwege, an obstetrician for more than 20 years, tries to deal with the aftermath of sexual violence. He runs Panzi Hospital, set up in 1999 in response to the emergency crisis after the so-called African war; it houses more than 350 patients. Each day, 10 new cases are admitted, some as young as nine, so badly damaged that reconstructive surgery is often required. The victims sit on benches, lining urine-soaked corridors, alone and frightened. On eye contact, there is nothing. No expression, no acknowledgement, no smiles - just a fleeting confirmation that behind their eyes, a pained suffering lies deep.

Mukwege can't say for certain if the attacks are on the increase. In general, the hospital estimates it sees just 10 per cent of all sexual violence victims, but certain patterns are developing. Attackers are now identifiable by their manner of attack: one group, after raping the woman or girl, inserts the barrel of a gun into her vagina and shoots, thus destroying her vagina, bladder, rectum and causing massive blood loss. Some force males at gunpoint to rape mothers or sisters, often in front of the whole community. A large percentage of the attackers are HIV-positive and knowingly try to infect their victims.

These aren't just random acts of grotesque inhumanity; it is the systematic sexual and social destruction of whole populations in eastern Congo. And little, it seems, is being done to stop it.

Nothing is done to stop it because it simply isn't fashionable for the Hollywood elites to travel to Congo to demand a stop to the rapes and killings and mutilations. If it were the gorillas, they'd be lifting their voices to demand an end to the senseless deaths and poaching.

There are serious problems with the way the world community deals with human rights catastrophes, and the entire region in Africa is still dealing with the failures to stop the Rwandan genocide in 1994. It's a slow motion horror that continues to take lives and breed new generations of hatred and violence.

Take Your Pix: Mug Shots or Photo Op

The circus that is the Annapolis summit on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is an opportunity to once again reacquaint yourselves with the longstanding US diplomatic position on the Middle East. Every administration reflexively enters into this phase, regardless of the situation or circumstances.

The Bush Administration is no different. They think that the problems in the Middle East can be solved by nudging Israel to concede just a little bit more to the dictatorships and totalitarian regimes that ring the country and the terrorist thugocracies that are hell bent on Israel's destruction. The thugs and dictators provide support to terrorist groups, including those that seek Israel's destruction, so anything that can get Israel to concede ever more is a net plus to them.

Fatah has no interest in a two-state solution, though they'll say just enough to get by and the diplomats will overlook all the actions taken by the Palestinian terrorist group to further those goals.

In other words, Annapolis is just another opportunity to watch the diplomats in action - much sound and fury, but in the end it will signify nothing.

Indeed, Israelis are sour on the idea of making further concessions, even as Prime Minister Olmert is more than willing to give away practically everything, including the keys to half of Jerusalem in order to claim his share of an upcoming Nobel Prize.

Israelis realize that further concessions will not create conditions for peace. Palestinians living up to their obligations under prior agreements are a starting point, and to this day, the Palestinians have not fulfilled their obligations under Oslo. There's no reason to think that they're going to start now, especially when Hamas is under control over more than half of the territories currently under Palestinian control.

Fatah is making promises it knows it can't keep, and the diplomats know that the Palestinians can't keep those promises, and yet we're going through the motions of this charade anyway.

UPDATE:
The Palestinian terrorists simply can't help themselves. Rockets once again rain down on Israel from Gaza. Israel struck at a separate rocket launching terror cell, killing three. Palestinians claim Israel is going after Palestinian factories in Gaza, but the fact is that the Palestinians use those locations to build rockets for firing at Israel.

Hamas says that Abbas has no right to make any agreements on behalf of the Palestinians. Hamas has a point. Hamas was elected by a majority of the Palestinians. To the diplomats, this is just an inconvenient fact to sweep under the rug.

It's another inconvenient fact that Hamas says that they will not abide by whatever agreement is produced at Annapolis (including the hot air).

The fact is that the Middle East, outside of Jordan and Egypt, do not recognize Israel, and this latest charade is doing nothing to change that fact. Bahrain's foreign minister notes that Israel wanted to open diplomatic relations with the Gulf State. Bahrain has suggested only that it might reconsider its position following Annapolis. That's a polite way of saying that unless Israel caves on all demands, nothing will change.

Syria will be joining the circus as well. If Israel is to be carved up, they want a piece of the action as well (see: Heights, Golan).

I'm not sure why news reports think that the risks are great at Annapolis. If the summit fails (the most likely outcome), it's just going to be a continuation of the status quo - Fatah and Hamas will continue attacks on Israel by all available means and Israel will support Fatah over Hamas, despite the fact that both seek Israel's destruction. If the summit succeeds (odds on which I put at about 1 out of 10,000), there is little risk because based on prior history, the Palestinians will again fail to live up to their obligations and Israel will continue to limp along from crisis to crisis.

The US will have engaged in another futile Middle East summit, and the diplomats will have tried out a new location for such failure. They should know by now that breakthroughs in Middle East diplomacy have come when the individual participants engage in secret negotiations (Oslo) or one side makes a grand gesture that moves towards reconciliation (Sadat going to Jerusalem). These summits are nothing more than photo opportunities for those involved. Everyone is going through the motions, knowing that the outcomes will be the same as all the earlier summits.

UPDATE:
This, however, is the photo of the day, because it reflects my sentiment for the past couple of years. You cannot make peace with those who want to kill you. The Palestinians aren't interested in peace. They're interested in eliminating the Jewish state of Israel.

You Can't Be Short A Car When You Are Driving Your Own

One of the biggest hurdles that mass transit has in the United States is the fact that it is simply more convenient for someone to hop in a car than to take a bus or train to work.

You aren't going to convince someone to take mass transit on a regular basis if the person can't get a seat. You certainly aren't going to get people off the road if you are consistently finding that trains are regularly one car short, especially during the holidays when congestion in New York City is at its worst.

NJ Transit should be ashamed of themselves for not running longer trains during the holiday season as a way of enticing people to take the trains on a regular basis or at least running the normal train lengths.

The Bergen Line trains have been frequently one car short, and it was two cars short one day last week. There's no excuse for this, especially with the weather being as mild as it has been.

Of course, all those commuters need a place to park at the train stations, and that's next to impossible at many of the stations, but if you overcome that hurdle, the fact that the trains are packed tighter than a can of sardines will turn most folks off to taking mass transit when they have other options available.

Many people will do the calculation of convenience of driving into Manhattan to be superior to that of taking mass transit, and what you end up with is still more congestion, even with the looming toll and fare hikes.