NJ Legislature Passes Budget; Corzine To Sign

It should come as no surprise that the legislature passed this nonsensical state budget. The media keeps repeating the claim that the budget is merely $29 billion, all while ignoring the $2 billion in federal monies and the chicanery Corzine proposed that shifts spending and further depletes the pension funds by underfunding them to an even greater extent.

The state Assembly needed more than four hours to debate the budget — much of that time taken by Republicans who read aloud comments from frustrated residents. In the end, not a single Republican voted to approve the measure, which passed 45-34. The Senate’s debate lasted half as long with the same result — a 22-18 vote with no Republicans onboard.

Governor Corzine praised his fellow Democrats for signing off on the budget and called the GOP’s boycott “unfortunate.”

Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-West Orange, offered some of the most fiery words of the night, invoking 8 percent unemployment rates, declining 401(k)s and pension funds, and rising foreclosures.

“Who did that? Jon Corzine? The Legislature?” Codey asked. “No. It was Washington, D.C.”

“What they allowed was despicable and disgraceful. They brought on this recession — I would say depression. Not our governor. Not any of us here. We’re all victims. Whatever our names are, whatever our party is, we’re all victims of what happened down in Washington, D.C,” Codey said.

But Minority Leader Thomas H. Kean Jr., R-Union, said the state brought problems on itself.

“We are the only state in the union that will have fewer private-sector jobs at the end of the decade than at the beginning,” Kean said. “We’re the only state in the union that will spend less on higher education this year than we did eight years ago. Those were decisions made in this state capitol. Those were decisions made here.”

Codey blames Bush for the state's problems, which is quite laughable since no one in Washington DC forced the state to massively underfund the state pensions or tell localities to avoid paying their pension obligations, which is precisely what Gov. Corzine proposed with his budget addresses.

No, the state's precarious fiscal situation is the result of unsustainable state spending and a tax and spend policy that has sent businesses and taxpayers fleeing. State spending is unsustainable despite Corzine's dubious claims that state spending is reduced from last year. The size of the state workforce is still higher than it was before Corzine took office, and state spending is far above where it was when Corzine took office, all while providing less service and with a far higher debt servicing.

All this gets ignored by the media.

Also downplayed are the rash of taxes and fees that are increased to cover the additional spending. Instead of holding the line on taxes and fees, Corzine and the Democrats increased such taxes to cover their unsustainable spending.

The budget benefited from a windfall from the just completed tax amnesty program. Of course, legislators couldn't find ways to spend the excess quickly enough, and they used the amount to restore some of the homestead property tax rebate program. That was better than nothing, but that program itself was unsustainable given that they were using sales tax revenues to fund the property tax relief. With the economy in a tailspin, sales tax revenues were off - a common problem around the country.

Swine Flu Outbreak Update

Since cases of swine flu broke out in the NYC metro region, much has been written about swine flu and the deadly consequences. So, it is somewhat reassuring that 127 people have been confirmed to have died of the disease in the US along with 27,000+ confirmed cases.

US health officials estimate that at least one million Americans have been infected with swine flu since the H1N1 virus emerged nearly three months ago.

The number is far higher than cases actually reported to the authorities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said many cases were mild, although 127 people had died.

The CDC based its figures on surveys, rather than laboratory evidence, but the numbers suggest the death rate from swine flu is lower than thought.

"We're saying that there have been at least a million cases of the new H1N1 virus so far this year in the United States," said Anne Schuchat of the CDC.

"Reported cases are really just the tip of the iceberg."

The CDC has based its estimate on mathematical modelling, based on surveys by health officials.

If the figures are correct, it is reassuring news, because it indicates that the fatality rate from swine flu is even lower than thought, says BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh.

However, Dr Schuchat warned that swine flu might exhibit higher infection rates than seasonal flu and could return in a more virulent form in the autumn.

However, based on computer models, the true number of people who were infected and got sick from the H1N1 virus was likely above 1 million. That means that the mortality rate for this strain is far less than previously thought.

Recall that in any given year, anywhere from 5-25% of the US population becomes ill from the flu, and 25-40,000 people die of the flu.

The concern is that this strain will give way to a more virulent form that is more dangerous and deadly. Health officials have to remain vigilant to see if there are additional outbreaks.

That means constantly scouring medical reports from hospitals and medical officials worldwide for unusual presentations of influenza, but tracking to see whether there are late outbreaks of H1N1 or other influenzas that might signal that the disease is hanging around into the next flu season.

A Moment of Perspective

Ahmadinejad and his loyal mullahs are busy cracking down against the opposition, and the world's focus is not on the brutality of the regime, but instead on the death of Michael Jackson.

In fact, Jackson's death may have accomplished something that even Iran's Ahmadinejad could have only dreamed of - it reduced Twitter to a trickle.

Twitter crashed as users saw multiple "fail whales" -- the illustrations the site uses as error messages -- user FoieGrasie posting, "Irony: The protesters in Iran using twitter as com are unable to get online because of all the posts of 'Michael Jackson RIP.' Well done." The site's status blog said that Twitter had had to temporarily disable its search results, saved searches and trend topics.

Outstanding! A music legend dies, and it nearly takes down one of the key communications efforts by the opposition to the Islamofascists in Tehran because everyone was rushing to say RIP to Michael Jackson. If only so many people cared for the millions at risk of subjugation in Iran today.

Instead, the media is devoting nearly all of the above the fold coverage to Jackson's death. It's a frakking circus, but I guess the public loves a circus.

They're getting one.

Keep in mind what else should otherwise be above the fold for news coverage because of its importance going forward. Jackson's death happened just as the House is set to vote on the cap and trade tax that will sap the US economy for years to come, and is preparing a health makeover that will undermine the delivery of health care for generations to come. After all, if the government can't even deliver on existing promises of health care to US veterans, why should anyone else think that they'll deliver quality care to everyone else?

The media thinks that Jackson's death will sell papers and move magazines off moribund store shelves, and they're probably right. Of course, the same media which claims that they're supposed to be printing all the news that fits is underplaying the important votes set to take place in Congress that will hike the costs of goods and services for years to come via the cap and trade tax hike.

Iranian Mullahs Continue Crackdown

It should come as no surprise as the regime says that some of the protesters will face the death penalty for their participation in protests against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stealing the election.

A senior cleric demanded in a nationally broadcast sermon Friday that leaders of the unrest be punished harshly and that some are "worthy of execution."

Iran's ruling clergy has widened its crackdown on the opposition since a bitterly disputed June 12 presidential election, and scattered protests have replaced the initial mass rallies.

Punish them harshly and with cruelty. That's what the mullahs siding with Ahmadinejad and Khamenei want.

In fact, the mullahs are already claiming that the protesters are at war with God himself, so will use such claims to justify their violence. The mullahs are engaging in jihad against their own people by claiming that they are not following the word of Khamenei as enforced by Ahmadinejad.

As usual, the thugs chant death to America and death to Israel to end their Friday sermons, whipping the faithful into a frenzy. Of course, the media simply can't bring itself to repeat precisely what was said, but instead says that the parishioners were saying anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.

It's also reported that Mirhussein Mousavi's website was hacked, which was likely done by Ahmadinejad's thugs because they want to crush the opposition and their means of communications and organization.

Hal Turner Bombshell: Illegal Ammo Found In Search

Hal Turner, the talk show host who's been arrested and charged with state and federal crimes of threatening judges in Connecticut and Chicago, may now face New Jersey weapons charges after a search of his home turned up 150 rounds of illegal hollow point ammunition.

Infamous hate blogger and Internet radio host Hal Turner had an arsenal in his home that included 200 rounds of ammunition and 150 hollow-point bullets -- which are illegal -- when it was searched by the FBI yesterday, it was disclosed in court today.

Federal officials dropped the bombshell at Turner's hearing this afternoon in Newark. Turner, who is charged with threatening to kill federal judges in Chicago in a blog post on June 2, was held without bail -- at least temporarily.

Turner will be held until the value of his mother's Pennsylvania home, which would be used to secure the $200,000 bail bond, could be proven.

FBI seized the ammunition as well as three handguns and one shotgun, officials said. Turner's attorney, Michael Orozco, said Turner had permits for the guns. A Jersey City police spokesman said Turner's hollow-point bullets are illegal, and added that only law enforcement officers and members of the military can own them.

Espada's Latest Kerfuffle Should End Badly For Him

New York State Senator Pedro Espada Jr (D) is a law unto himself. He's representing a district in the Bronx, but it appears that he doesn't live there. Now, it looks like he's broken state and federal campaign finance laws as well. He's been sending out mailings using postal metering meant for nonprofits and hasn't bothered to file campaign finance returns properly.

CBS 2 HD has learned exclusively that Espada may have violated federal and state campaign finance laws.

CBS 2 HD has been on his trail for months.

It's a question we first asked Sen. Espada months ago.

Marcia Kramer: "I'm asking you why you don't file campaign finance records?"

Espada finally did file some of those reports last Friday, but a review by CBS 2 HD found an apparent failure to report significant amounts of spending, like for five glossy campaign mailings. Experts said mailings like this could cost as much as $20,000 apiece.

"It's hard to believe this information is not disclosed. He's a candidate for the office. He's been a senator before. There's really no excuse for the campaign filing info not to be there," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

But a bigger problem for Espada may be the fact that the bulk postage stamps for two campaign brochures is the same as the one used to send out brochures for his Soundview health clinics. All of them say permit number 1235, Brooklyn, N.Y.

The health clinic's bulk stamps cost less than the standard rates used on political mailings, which means he was getting subsidized mailings. That's a big no no.

It also means that he was shorting not only taxpayers but the US Postal Service by thousands of dollars.

Recall that Espada and another despicable Democrat, Hiram Monserrate threw their support to the GOP allowing the GOP to retake the majority in the State Senate. They did so because of a spat with fellow Democrats, and then Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is looking into whether Espada illegally used the health clinics improperly to subsidize his political career.

The kicker? The health care clinic owes hundreds of thousands in back taxes.

A Bronx health care business operated by Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., which receives millions of dollars annually in state support, owes $347,000 in back taxes.

Yet, Espada's organization was able to afford a $460,000 annual salary for the entrepreneurial Democrat as recently as 2007, according to state and federal tax records and interviews.

In fact Espada, the colorful outspoken renegade senator, whose alliance with Senate Republicans and disputed election as Senate president has caused chaos in New York's government, has a history of tax delinquency.

Will Congress Read the Cap and Trade Tax Bill?

House Democrats are absolutely positively going to pass the massive cap and trade tax scam today, and to do so without the slightest scrutiny as to the massive ill-effects it will have on the economy.

I didn't expect them to read it yesterday, when I said that I doubt that they'd read the 1,092 pages of the original bill, but it goes without saying that they'll absolutely avoid reading the 300+ page amendment that sponsor Henry Waxman (D-MI) attached this morning prior to consideration by the House.

I can generally read about 100 pages an hour in a good page turner like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but when you're dealing with the minutia of legislative changes, that page slows down considerably. In fact, it slows to a crawl, primarily because of the multiple amendments, effective dates, and the time it takes to comprehend and assess the changes being made.

House Democratic leaders want this bill pushed through today, so it goes without saying that few if any of those voting on the measure have actually had the time to read it.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air notes that this bill smacks of a snake oil salesman in the way that it engages in delusional economic pandering as though the costs imposed on energy producers and emitters will somehow magically disappear. They will, of course, be passed on to the consumer, as such costs are always passed on. It's basic economics, and I doubt that Democrats in Congress have read up on that either.

In fact, Australia is preparing to kill its previously enacted climate change bill because of growing doubts over the underlying science.

UPDATE:
The House passed this atrocity and it was a bipartisan effort. 219-212, with eight Republicans voting for this mess. Kudos to the 44 Democrats who voted against, which tells you all you need to know about the Democrat numbers. Pelosi could afford to allow that many to vote against since she had these GOPers.

Quote of the day:
Never have so few stolen so much from so many to achieve so little.

I wonder about just how likely this bill is going to die in the Senate. The Democrats have the numbers again, and the GOP can't exactly filibuster. It would be close, and if it passes the Senate, President Obama will sign it into law - without reading it of course.

That's the new DC way.

UPDATE:
A further thought about all those Democrats who voted against this mess. Kudos to them. It was a bow to the financial and political realities of 2010. Voting against this was the only way that many of those Democrats would be able to save themselves from the inevitable attack ads in conservative districts. They'll still be on the defensive, but this vote was a strategic one on their part.

UPDATE:
Here's the breakdown regionally, courtesy of the New York Times.

Deaths of Legends

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett both passed away today. One was a shock. One was expected.

Both died far too soon.

Farrah Fawcett had been suffering from anal cancer and had been in declining health for some time.



Michael Jackson's death comes as a tremendous surprise. He was rushed to UCLA Medical Center in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead a short time later. No word as to the cause of death.

Jackson's musical career was the stuff of legend. His album Thriller was the best selling movie of all time. The song itself and the video are groundbreaking.

Both will be missed.

UPDATE:
This report suggests that Jackson may have died following the injection of Demerol.

An Emergency Room source at UCLA hospital said Jackson aides told medics he had collapsed after an injection of potent Demerol — similar to morphine.

A Jacko source said: “Shortly after taking the Demerol he started to experience slow shallow breathing.

“His breathing gradually got slower and slower until it stopped.

“His staff started mouth-to-mouth and an ambulance was called which got there in eight minutes “Butfound he was in full respiratory arrest, no breathing and no pulse. They started full CPR and rushed him to hospital.

“When he arrived they started resuscitation, giving him heart shocks and inserted a breathing tube and other supportive measures to try and save his life.

Has Congress Actually Read The Climate Change Bill?

They admit not reading the porkfest. They admit that they didn't understand the TARP or that they were protecting bonuses for companies receiving federal funds all while feigning outrage.

So, will they read the latest mess to pass through the halls of Congress - the climate change bill? I doubt it.

In fact, they're racing to get it passed before anyone delves deeply into its provisions and realizes the mess it is about to visit upon the US and global economy.

It's long.

Real long.

It's 1,092 pages, but others have already had a chance to read it and the reviews are decidedly opposed to passing this bloated mess.

It's a tax, just as I've been warning. If you don't believe me, would you prefer that Warren Buffett said it instead (and did so yesterday on CNBC).

Even if the goal is to reduce overall pollution, which is a laudable goal, this bill will absolutely disrupt the economies of states that are already reeling from the collapse of the auto industry and which are net energy exporters for the nation - primarily because they are oil and coal producers. Importers of such energy could potentially benefit, although that too is cloudy because all the higher energy costs will be passed on to the end-user - the consumer. The gain to the environment will come not from the cap and trade, but the economic depression resulting from the shuttering of businesses and industries around the nation.

Never mind that all these businesses and industries will attempt to pass the costs on to consumers, but will find that demand will decline because people wont be able to afford the higher costs.

The Congressional Budget Office ignores the costs altogether by engaging in a selective and misleading one-year analysis while ignoring what would have happened to the economy had no law been passed.

Obama tries to point out that Spain has seen green jobs created, but ignores that the Spanish unemployment figures are nearly double our current 9%+ unemployment rate and the jobs simply haven't been made and those that were are not cost effective. It's voodoo economics and the numbers don't make any sense. The Spanish experience is one that we should avoid, and yet the Administration is trying to hype that this is where we should be headed.

What we should keep in mind is that some people will profit from this vaporware scheme, including none other than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

That figures.

Sanford's Mistress Named

Say hello to Maria Belen Shapur. She's the Argentine woman consorting with South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

No photos yet, but when they come available, I'll be sure to post.

Hal Turner Arrested By FBI For Threatening Chicago Judges

Hal Turner, a New Jersey talk show host, who has made threats against Connecticut politicians and was arrested a couple weeks back, has now been arrested again. This time, he's been threatening Chicago area judges.

An Internet radio host and blogger charged earlier this month with encouraging people to "take up arms" against three public officials in Connecticut was arrested again Wednesday on charges that he threatened to assault and murder three federal judges in retaliation for a ruling upholding handgun bans in the Chicago area.

FBI agents charged Hal Turner, 47, of North Bergen, N.J., at his home on charges related to the appeals court judges. The federal charges in Chicago arise from Internet postings on June 2 and 3 in which Turner allegedly proclaimed his "outrage" over a June 2 decision by Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and Judges Richard Posner and William Bauer of the Chicago-based U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Let me be the first to say this plainly: These Judges deserve to be killed," said the postings, which also included photographs, phone numbers, work addresses and room numbers of the judges, along with a photo of the building in which they work and a map of its location.

The Chicago arrest warrant affidavit suggests that the Internet postings were inspired by lawsuits in Chicago and suburban Oak Park that followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year upholding the right of citizens to keep handguns in their homes for protection. The lawsuits challenged handgun bans that remained in effect after the high court's ruling. The three judges dismissed the lawsuits in an opinion written for a unanimous court.

This guy is a crank, and the concern is that someone in his audience might go ahead and follow through on those threats.

Turner, of course, is claiming that this is all part of his 1st Amendment rights to free speech, but this goes beyond free speech when he is threatening the lives of people and inciting others to violence. That gets no constitutional protection.

Threatening federal officials carries serious penalties since this is likely to be charged under 18 USC 115, which carries a prison sentence of up to six years and a fine.

Inauguration Day, Iran Style

Ahmadinejad was sworn in today, but 180 members of the Iranian parliament decided to be no-shows. That's pretty ballsy given that Ahmadinejad and his thugs in the Basij arne't above murdering Iranians who stand up against Ahmadinejad and the regime which stole their votes and the election from Mirhussein Mousavi.

More than 180 Iranian MPs appear to have snubbed an invitation to celebrate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election win, local press reports say.

All 290 MPs were invited to the victory party on Wednesday night, but only 105 turned up, the reports say.

A BBC correspondent says the move is a sign of the deep split at the top of Iran after disputed presidential polls.

The Parliament is a mullah approved gaggle of politicians, so if they've decided in overwhelming numbers to snub Ahmadinejad, that is a pretty strong rebuff.

The problem is that the legislature may be next up for reprisal by Ahmadinejad. By stealing the election, there's every indication that Ahmadinejad isn't going to be constrained by Iranian law and will use the Supreme Ayatollah to sanction further actions that undermine what's left of the facade of Iranian "democracy" and push Iran fully into a totalitarian dictatorship. Ed at Hot Air also notes the importance of this action.

Mousavi isn't backing down either, although the street demonstrations are sporadic and some have been cancelled.


Where's the UN in all this? Given that all they could probably muster was a weakly worded letter of rebuke, their presence wouldn't exactly be noticed.

Ahmadinejad has called out President Obama for what he calls interfering in Iranian affairs. Well, that was a given regardless of whatever President Obama said. The US and the rest of the world, particularly the British and Israelis are bogeymen for Ahmadinejad and his cronies to pull out when the going gets tough and their designs to turn the Islamic Republic of Iran into the Islamic State become so blatant and overwhelming that Iranians can't help but notice that their votes have disappeared into the night.

One of Iran's ambassadors is taking to calling the protesters a minority, but the fact that 180+ members of the Iranian parliament snubbed Ahmadinejad shows that it's far more than just a minority. You could even argue that it's an overwhelming majority of Iranians.

The protests continue (screen cap from 6/24/2009). The police are present in large numbers, to head off potential demonstrations.

This video purports to show the damage done by police who act as little more than thugs to intimidate the locals into acquiescence.

This video shows the police gathering to quell demonstrations in Tehran:


Meanwhile, as riding the PATH train this morning a gentleman had a button on the lapel of his jacket which asked "Where is my Vote?" The words were laid out in the colors of the Iranian flag (green/white/red).

That's indeed the question that many Iranians are asking - where are their votes?

Hamas Holds Gilad Shalit For Three Years

Today marks the third anniversary of the day that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel from Gaza and captured Gilad Shalit while killing two other Israeli soldiers. Shalit has been used ever since as a bargaining chip to secure the release of hundreds of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli jails but Israel has resisted such efforts thus far.

His father Noam called on Israeli fathers to close their eyes for three minutes as a reminder of Gilad's ordeal. His brother used the opportunity to talk about sports events since his brother was taken by Hamas:

"My wish, today, on the 25th of June, 2009, from every person in the state, man and woman, from children to the elderly, is to close your eyes for three minutes," he told the station. "For just three minutes close your eyes and wait until those minutes pass, and during that time, try to think about what my son, Gilad, has gone through, a young man who is waiting with bated breath - not just three minutes, and not just three hours, and not even just three days, but is waiting in darkness and despair, mentally and physically tortured, to regain his freedom which was taken from him three years ago."

Yoel Schalit chose to use the occasion to speak directly to his brother.

"Gilad, my dear brother, after three years in captivity I thought you might like to know a little bit about the things that have happened here," he began.

"In the Beijing Olympics, which you would have watched, Michael Phelps broke seven world records and won gold medals. Israel came back with a bronze medal in sailing, Maccabi Tel Aviv got to the finals of the Euroleague but lost to Moscow, and Spain won the European championship," the brother continued.

"Thousands of discharged soldiers left to travel all over the world; you could've traveled with them," Yoel said. "There are so many beautiful trails in this country, you walked them. Today in Israel there are 200,000 students, you could've been one of them. There are plenty of other things that happened and are still happening, and I'm waiting to tell you about them."

Israel, meanwhile, is significantly reducing its presence in five West Bank cities, in the hopes that the Palestinian Authority takes over responsibility for thwarting terrorism from those locations. It's a limit on IDF raids to thwart terrorism. We shall see.

At the same time, Palestinian thugs fired on the IDF from Gaza. No injuries were reported.

A print ad to run in Gazan newspapers by the Israeli human rights group B'tselem to free Shalit was refused. Go figure.

"They ('Palestine' newspaper staff) did not give us a reason for the refusal, but we assume it's because the issue is a complex one (in the Hamas-ruled territory). The press in Gaza is apparently not so free. The ad was published in Al-Quds, and we hope the residents of Gaza will read it there."

The B'Tselem spokeswoman continued to say that "the Red Cross is forbidden from visiting Shalit, and his family hasn't received a letter or another sign of life from him. No one knows what condition he's in or in what conditions he is being held.

"B'Tselem is demanding the release of Shalit and that of all the Palestinian prisoners who are being held illegally (by Israel)," she said.

Only now does this group realize there's no such thing as a free press in Gaza? Hamas runs a terror state in Gaza, and has from the moment it kicked Fatah out. They control every aspect of the territory, and human rights are a distant memory there.

No human rights group has been able to see Shalit, including the International Red Cross. There have been no calls by human rights groups for Shalit to be released as a good will gesture - without linkages to Israel releasing Palestinian terrorists. As noted above, B'Tselem links the two, claiming Israel holds these terrorists illegally.

The situation today is unchanged from what it's been since the moment he was captured. Hamas has always intended to use Shalit as a pawn to secure the release of hundreds of terrorists from Israeli jails. That was their plan all along. They've seen it work for Hizbullah and they've had success with this kind of excruciating barbarism in the past. Israel usually relents at some point and releases hundreds of Palestinian terrorists from jail to secure the release of Israeli remains or occasionally a live Israeli held by the terrorists.

Hamas has had multiple opportunities to provide a humanitarian gesture and release Shalit, but has refused to do so at every turn. Even multiple visits by former President Jimmy Carter have done nothing to secure his release. In fact, I doubt Shalit's name ever came up in Carter's multiple visits.

I feel for the anguish of Shalit's family, and the Netanyahu government now faces the same situation that his predecessor faced. The Israeli government must protect not only Shalit, but all other Israelis against the potential of being captured and used as pawns to secure the release of still more terrorists from Israeli jails. It's a delicate balancing act, and the government has failed miserably to do anything other than maintain the status quo from the moment he was captured.

UPDATE:
There is a report indicating that Shalit may be released within hours or days. We've been here before, and until we see him entering Israel to meet his family, friends, and supporters, consider the rumors to be just that. In fact, minutes after that report, other reports deny that there has been any deal although something could be in the works.

In other words, this is the same nonsense we've seen for three years. Hamas is just yanking Israel's chain yet again - on the anniversary of Shalit's capture no less.

German Officials Warn H1N1 Mutating?

Reuters is reporting that German officials believe the swine flu, H1N1, is apparently mutating and could be setting up to spread in a far more virulent and dangerous form.

Germany's federal agency for infectious diseases said on Tuesday there were signs the H1N1 swine flu virus had started to mutate and warned it could spread in the coming months in a more aggressive form.

Experts were concerned about how the flu was developing in Australia and South America, said Joerg Hacker, head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.

"It's possible the virus has mutated. In autumn the mutated form could spread to the northern hemisphere and back to Germany," Hacker told a news conference in Berlin.

The flu could become far more deadly than the relatively mild strain that we've seen to date, even as dozens of people around the world have died from this strain (annually in the US anywhere from 25,000 to 40,000 die from influenza every year).

It bears watching and public health officials are right to warn that the population should seek vaccination for influenza since it can reduce the spread among the population and vaccine developers are working to prepare the newest flu vaccines to include H1N1 in their mix.

The Cost of Cap and Trade

The Obama Administration is going to get cap and trade, and it's going to cost Americans dearly. Just how badly things are going to work out remains to be seen, but this graphic demonstrates that the negative effects are going to be widespread with a few curious exceptions.



Nearly everyone in the country will be hit with higher costs for everything they do, even in the states that reflect that they will have a surplus allowances for power generation - because energy costs are going to be passed on to the end user - the consumer. It's impossible for those costs not to be passed on because that's how economies work. Businesses are not going to eat the costs, because that would cut into profits, and this is a back door tax.

It will adversely affect the economy and will hit everyone, even if you think that global warming is caused by carbon dioxide. That means nothing if you're now without a job because your company lays you off because higher taxes and a moribund economy has caused business to drop off with no recovery in sight.

UPDATE:
Even the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett opposes cap and trade because it is nothing more than a hidden tax on business and consumers.

Sanford's Sojourn Smells

What is up with South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R)? First, he appeared to have dropped off the planet, and then it was claimed that he was out hiking the Appalachians naked. Ummm... Bizarre, but possible. Definitely not something I'd recommend for someone who had aspirations to seek the White House.

Now, it turns out that he went down to Argentina. Argentina?

The oddball admission came a day after his staff explained his prolonged absence by saying Sanford had been hiking along the Appalachian Trail. They were only off by about 5,000 miles - give or take a sleeping bag or two.

"I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford told The State newspaper, adding that he planned to hike the trail before changing his mind at the last minute.

Sanford, who is married, insisted he went to Buenos Aires alone.

"It's a great city," he said.

The Republican governor hadn't been seen since Thursday. He declined to give further details on his South American trip, saying only that he drove along the city's scenic coastline. Sanford said he needed to recharge his battery after a grueling legislative session.

This report indicates that Sanford's latest statements don't pass the smell test either.

Sanford told The State he was alone on the trip to Argentina. He declined to give any additional details about what he did other than to say he drove along the coastline.

Trying to make such a drive could frustrate a weekend visitor to Argentina. In Buenos Aires, the Avenida Costanera is the only coastal road, and it's less than two miles long. Reaching coastal resorts to the south requires a drive of nearly four hours on an inland highway with views of endless cattle ranches. To the north is a river delta of islands reached only by boat.

Drive along the scenic coastline? If he stayed in Buenos Aires, that would take no more than a few minutes.

What exactly was he doing in Argentina? I don't think anyone knows, even his wife and family.

UPDATE:
Marital infidelity? Go figure.

His presser being held now confirms, and there are conflicting questions over whether his wife knew. I don't think it matters. He's toast.

Who was the other person, and why the trip to Argentina? Who paid for the trip? If the taxpayers paid, we're looking at a bigger scandal. If not, watch him attempt to pull a Spitzer.

Also, he's resigned from the Republican Governors Association. His 2012 chances are done, which is fine by me.

UPDATE:
Video added:


UPDATE:
Ed at Hot Air also notes this is the end of the line, and pulls out a relevant South Park reference.

UPDATE:
Anonymous emailer sends along the following from FoxNews, which can't quite get Sanford's political affiliation correct. He's a Republican.



UPDATE:
The state newspapers have been sitting on the fact that he's been emailing the other woman since December. How they got the emails is unknown. But it is interesting that they chose to sit on the information for as long as they have. Waiting for the right time I guess (perhaps when Sanford decided to run for President?) Sanford's wife tried to forgive, but because of this, a separation is in order.

He has four kids. They're going to suffer all the more for this.

Settle In For the Long Haul

The situation in Iran is going to continue developing and ebb and flow over the next few weeks and months. The Iranian revolution in 1979 didn't occur overnight. It flowed and ebbed as power struggles occurred behind the scenes and events transpired over a series of months. We should not expect this to be resolved quickly, and the bloodshed seen thus far may be an indicator of things to come.

The regime will continue doing all it can to crush the opposition. They're digging in their heels, including arresting more foreign nationals. Ahmadinejad's thugs have been arresting foreign nationals for some time, including Roxana Saberi and the Alaei brothers, but this is the first sign that they're going after foreign nationals since the election was disputed.

Chief among those that are purportedly being held by the Iranians are those with British passports since the Iranians blame them for the unrest:

Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezhei told reporters that some with links to the West and Israel had planned bombings ahead of the June 12 presidential election, the government-funded Press TV reported Wednesday.

"England is among the countries that fan the flames with their heavy propaganda, which is against all diplomatic norms," the intelligence minister was quoted in the semi-official Fars news agency. "And the BBC Farsi has also played a major role. Also, a number of people carrying British passports have played a role in the recent disturbances."

The British Foreign Office said it was looking into the allegations.

"We have seen reports of the arrest of British nationals in Iran," the Foreign Office said. "Consular colleagues and the embassy in Tehran are making enquiries."

This comes from a regime that has no qualms about sending kids into mine fields during the Iran-Iraq war to blow up mines so that tanks and men with guns could fight. This is from the same regime that has no problem supporting international terrorism, including Hamas and Hizbullah, both of which care nothing for the lives of anyone who get in their way.

Pro-regime demonstrations take to the usual pastiche of burning American flags, but this time they throw in British flags for good measure. They also held demonstrations outside the former US embassy in Tehran.

Indeed, Iranians are dying for change, and some in the US are protesting against the Administration's lackluster response to the situation in Iran.

There are ongoing clashes being reported outside the Iranian Parliament building. Mousavi is reportedly under 24-hour watch by Ahmadinejad's thugs, and Mousavi's wife says that the country is under martial law.

Israel has a significant Iranian Jewish population as the country expelled the Jews following the 1948 War of Independence. They're following the situation closely and want to see the regime fall.

The show of support was organized by Kamal Penhasi, the Iranian-born editor of Shahyad, the only Persian-language magazine published in Israel. "We speak from the throats of the entire Iranian people, whose voices are being silenced by the censorship of the regime that is killing people on the streets …we are part of the Iranian people and want to tell them we are with them. Enough of this regime; the Iranian people deserve their freedom," he said at the demonstration.

Penhasi left Iran shortly after the Islamic Revolution. "I saw what happened in 1979; today's events remind me of that revolution," he said. "This is the great spark in the direction of the big revolution." Penhasi says the regime likes to show that it is strong, but in reality it is crumbling from within. "The people of Iran want their freedom and have taken to the streets to prove it." The young generation in Iran knows exactly what's happening in the outside world, they view Israel as a second paradise on Earth after the U.S. in terms of freedom, he says. Acknowledging that "30 years of brainwashing" have damaged Iranians' sympathy to Israel, Penhasi still believes it's there.

The Jersualem Post reports that the unrest may undermine the regime's ability to export its brand of Islam elsewhere, which is good news since its brand is pretty much associated with Hamas and Hizbullah. It may also impact Iran's nuclear weapons program, although I think that as being more farfetched since not even Mousavi was opposed to Iran obtaining nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

UPDATE:
Barry Rubin notes that there is a difference between Mousavi and Ahmadinejad that should be taken into consideration.

Indeed, to listen to what the Obama administration says—though it has moved up its rhetoric one step in recent days—there is some truth to that assertion. Yet it is foolish indeed for anyone to hope for that outcome.

What is the greater danger:

Iran has a less fanatical and adventurous faction in charge. It continues some of its problematic policies but is more cautious, less prone to risk-taking, devotes fewer resources to spreading revolution, and is more eager to avoid war.

Or

Power being in the hands of a group determined to become the region’s dominant power, eager to use money, subversion, and even nuclear weapons to do so no matter what the consequences.

I’ll choose the first alternative.

Even if it is only a matter of degree, Mousavi would likely be more cautious and less likely to agitate for violence and war against the West - a slightly less confrontational stance than Ahmadinejad. I think there was little difference between the two before the election, but now that the Ahmadinejad and his minions are cracking down in the way of stealing the election, there's no telling the position that Mousavi would take going forward. His positions have been overtaken by events and the Iranian people would not tolerate the mullahs running things as they have for 30 years.

UPDATE:
Have cracks appeared in the Guardian Council with overt support for demonstrations against Ahamdinejad? Hot Air has a photo purportedly of mullahs joining in with marching demonstrators. That assumes that this is indeed a photo of demonstrators against Ahmadinejad. It could also be mullahs marching in support of Ahmadinejad. In any case, we've got the drawing of lines and the mullahs showing their support overtly. They're taking sides.

UPDATE:
Mousavi's still in it, but another of the four candidates on the ballot is stepping back, rather than be seen as standing with the opposition.

Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, officially captured less than 2 percent of the vote in the disputed election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the landslide winner over his nearest challenger, moderate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Mousavi, Rezaei and reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi alleged widespread vote-rigging immediately after the election, sparking large-scale protests.

In withdrawing his complaint to the Guardian Council, which oversees Iran's elections, Rezaei reportedly cited national security as his reason, The Wall Street Journal said.

He's as much a thug as Ahmadinejad, and it shows the extent to which the Guardian Council chooses people to run for President that hew closely to its own interests.

It's that Ahmadinejad threw the election that got people to realize just how the Guardian Council truly controls matters and how Ahmadinejad has ripped the veneer of legitimacy from what were really show elections.

UPDATE:
There are multiple reports coming in that Ahmadinejad's thugs have massacred people in Tehran. Persian Kitty, HuffPo, CNN, and other news outlets are reporting similar circumstances. No word on numbers of people murdered by the regime, but expect video and photos to get leaked at some point.

The regime's thugs in uniform opened fire on the crowds.

Hundreds of protesters clashed with waves of riot police and paramilitary militia in Tehran on Wednesday, witnesses said, as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insisted the authorities would not yield to pressure from opponents demanding a new election following allegations of electoral fraud.

It was impossible to confirm first-hand the extent of the new violence in the capital because of draconian new press restrictions on coverage of the post-election mayhem. But the witnesses reached by telephone said the confrontation, outside the national Parliament building, was bloody, with police using live ammunition.

Defying government warnings, the witnesses said that hundreds, if not thousands of protesters, had attempted to gather in front of the parliament on Baharestan Square. They were met with riot police and paramilitary militia, who struck at them with truncheons, tear gas, and guns. One witness said he saw a 19-year-old woman shot in the neck.

The Times is also reporting that Mousavi's distancing himself from the demonstrators engaging in today's actions, saying that this wasn't one of his officially sanctioned demonstrations.

UPDATE:
A troubling email from Iran, as posted at Normblog. In the email, the poster claims that more than 150 were killed in the protests over the weekend, and the true numbers are being withheld by the regime to thwart bigger protests. The dead and injured are not being brought to regular hospitals, but to military hospitals so that the numbers can be sanitized.

In fact several independent sources in Tehran hospitals and clinical centres have counted the dead from Saturday at over 150; yes more than 150. Doctors have been silenced from speaking about it. In fact when less than a week before (16 June) the doctors and nurses of Rasul Hospital in west Tehran witnessed 8 killed and 28 wounded from the day's demonstration, in their hospital, they came out on the street to inform people.

But on Bloody Saturday, the situation was totally different after Khamenei's command to slaughter demonstrators. I have a report just from one hospital not so far from my living place... In this hospital alone doctors received 20 dead and many other wounded. Security forces went to all the hospitals to which people themselves had brought the bodies, to gather all the wounded and dead; when paramilitary and military forces gathered the bodies, they sent them directly to military hospitals; they transmitted these bodies to their own centres too. In an unbelievable event in the hospital, of which I have a report, security forces have shot and killed the wounded persons before transmitting them. When doctors and nurses bacame mad and went out on the streets, they have opened fire on them too.

Read it all.

UPDATE:
President Obama is reconsidering a State Department invitation extended to Iranian diplomats to attend US Embassy July 4th celebrations. There was no reason to extend the invites in the first place (as if they would show in any event), but reconsideration isn't sufficient. You would be consorting with an evil and illegitimate regime that is murdering its own citizens who are attempting to protest against a stolen election and the destruction of what feeble human rights they have under Islamic law in Iran.

UPDATE:
Iranian press reports that the police identified and raided a headquarters for demonstrators. Of course, that location is the same as Mousavi's election headquarters. 1984 indeed.

UPDATE:
Hot diggity dog. Obama rescinds invites to Iranian diplomats for 4th of July celebrations at US embassies around the world.

The Mets Show Their Politics Well

It can't come any clearer than this. The New York Mets farm team, the Brooklyn Cyclones renamed themselves the Baracklyn Cyclones, and they had none other than Obama girl throw out the first pitch:

For one night, the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones renamed themselves the Baracklyn Cyclones, in tribute to the new president. And tickets cost no more than $16, cheaper than nosebleed seats at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.

Steve Fischer bought $5 seats when they were sold in January as an "Economic Stimulus Package.'' With the bobbleheads going to only the first 2,500 fans at 7,500-capacity stadium, he wanted to be at the front of the line before the Cyclones played the Hudson Valley Renegades.

"You can come to a nice little community ballpark like this, tickets are a couple of dollars. Food prices are much more inexpensive,'' he said, standing near Pee Wee the Seagull. "You get a lot closer to the action.''

The action included ceremonial first pitches thrown out by Amber Lee Ettinger, the Obama Girl, and presidential lookalike Randall West.

The real first family didn't take the Cyclones up on their invitation to attend, though in the first inning news broke that Obama planned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the major league All-Star game in St. Louis on July 14.

Who can forget the fact that she didn't even bother to vote in the primary because she was too busy partying. Wasn't her 15 minutes up already?

I understand that their audience was likely overwhelmingly Democrats who voted for President Obama, but political fortunes change. Bad move on their part.

Idiocy On Parade In Albany

Democrats have decided to throw a temper tantrum of their own and have locked themselves in the Senate Chambers.

Why not hold their breath until they turn blue in the face.

They also barred the press and the public from the chambers, which is absolutely deplorable. These people fail to realize that the Senate isn't about them, but the work of the people of the State of New York. It's not about them, but so much of this ongoing political soap opera is driven by the political infighting among various players, particularly Democrats Pedro Espada Jr and Hiram Monserrate who threw the chamber into chaos when they joined up with the GOP but Monserrate has since rejoined the Democrats, stalemating business because both sides have equal numbers.

Governor David Paterson, a Democrat, warned that he would send the state troopers in to demand the Senators hold session and pass critical legislation including a bill on mayoral control of NYC schools. He called for a Special Session to be held at 3pm. Senate GOPers called for session at 2pm, but without a quorum, they will be unable to act.

Power sharing should be the realistic option, but Democrats are resisting the idea.

The circus continues...

Progress on Gilad Shalit's Release?

There are reports of "progress" having been made, but nothing concrete. If there's progress, that means that there's a deal in the works to release terrorists from Israeli jails in exchange for Shalit.

If Shalit's alive, that would be something. I hope he is, but I doubt it.

We've been down this road before. For three years in fact. He will have been in Hamas captivity for three years on the 25th of June (this Thursday).

Hamas has never wavered in its demand that Israel release terrorists from Israeli jails in exchange for Shalit. The numbers have changed, but the threat always remained.

And if Israel releases terrorists for Shalit, it will again be treated as a victory by Hamas over Israel, and no doubt the Iranian regime will in some fashion use this as proof positive - and also take some of the internal pressure off the regime because they can point to their proxies as having succeeded in taking it to the Israelis.

Admissions and Rejections

The Iranian regime continues operating as though the election results actually meant that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won. They're not going to rescind the results, even though their own calculations show that the results were bogus (and outside statistical analysis confirms). They just don't consider the results significantly bogus to annul the results:

On Press TV, the English-language state television satellite broadcaster, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, declared: “If a major breach occurs in an election, the Guardian Council may annul the votes that come out of a particular affected ballot box, polling station, district, or city.”

“Fortunately, in the recent presidential election we found no witness of major fraud or breach in the election,” he said.

“Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place.” He was speaking late on Monday in Tehran and his remarks were posted early Tuesday, Tehran time.

That said, there are reports the Guardian Council is contemplating what was previously considered unthinkable. They are contemplating sending Ahmadinejad packing and/or adjusting the role of the Supreme Ayatollah, a position held by Ali Khamenei.

I consider both of those options farfetched, and frankly resemble the rearranging of deck chairs on the Titanic. This regime has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the Iranian people and most of the world (except for the US State Department, which apparently wants to go forward with hosting barbeques for Iranian diplomats at embassies around the world to celebrate July 4th).

Meanwhile, the regime keeps cracking skulls of protesters and those caught up in the protests:



And they're continuing to make threats that the courts will teach those protesters already arrested a lesson. They're also trotting out people they claim show that the protests were the result of foreign influence. No doubt coercion and propagandists are at work here. It's what the regime does:

Iranian state television, in broadcasts clearly intended to discredit opponents defying a ban on protests, paraded people it said had been arrested during weekend violence.

"I think we were provoked by networks like the BBC and the VOA (Voice of America) to take such immoral actions," one young man said. His face was shown but his name not given.

A woman whose face was pixilated said she had carried a "war grenade" in her hand-bag. "I was influenced by VOA Persian and the BBC because they were saying that security forces were behind most of the clashes.

UPDATE:
The general strike against the regime is on. Ahmadinejad and the Guardian Council had warned anyone striking would be fired.

The stakes are being raised.

At the same time, the regime keeps exposing its depravities for all the world to see. The regime is charging a bullet fee to those killed by the regime's thugs:

A 19-year-old shot in the head and killed during the demonstrations... and Iranian officials asked his parents to "pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a 'bullet fee' -- a fee for the bullet used by security forces -- before taking the body back." One of the most tragic stories I've read in a long time, by the Wall Street Journal's exceptional Farnaz Fassihi.

UPDATE:
This goes to something I've noted before. Mousavi's background doesn't make him a sainted figure either in the opposition to the thug Ahmadinejad. In fact, it appears that he's got just as thuggish a past as Ahmadinejad.

You see, it appears he participated in the attack on the US Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983 among other terror attacks:

"We had a tap on the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon," retired Navy Admiral James "Ace" Lyons related by telephone Monday. In 1983 Lyons was deputy chief of Naval Operations, and deeply involved in the events in Lebanon.

"The Iranian ambassador received instructions from the foreign minister to have various groups target U.S. personnel in Lebanon, but in particular to carry out a 'spectacular action' against the Marines," said Lyons.

"He was prime minister," Lyons said of Mousavi, "so he didn't get down to the details at the lowest levels. "But he was in a principal position and had to be aware of what was going on."

Lyons, sometimes called "the father" of the Navy SEALs' Red Cell counter-terror unit, also fingered Mousavi for the 1988 truck bombing of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Center in Naples, Italy, that killed five persons, including the first Navy woman to die in a terrorist attack.

Bob Baer agrees that Mousawi, who has been celebrated in the West for sparking street demonstrations against the Teheran regime since he lost the elections, was directing the overall 1980s terror campaign.

He may have had a change of heart, but he was clearly one of the Guardian Council's chosen few to run for President, so he would have been amenable to continuing their policies. The thuggish way they've handled matters since has changed Mousavi's role and that of the regime itself.

UPDATE:
President Obama is giving a press conference and taking questions. In his prepared comments, he noted that the Iranian claims that the US is instigating the protests is patently false. His prepared comments are pretty good, but then decides to use the term "extraordinary debate" to describe the ongoing situation there.

Extraordinary debate?

People are being murdered by the regime in cold blood (and being asked to pay for the "privilege" of being murdered to boot). and that's debate? Sorry, but it was an extremely poor choice of words.

This isn't a debate. It's a struggle for power between an entrenched regime that wants to retain all the power for itself, and the rest of the Iranian people who have finally seen the veil lifted on the totalitarianism of the Iranian political system. The election didn't matter, because the outcome was predetermined. It was rigged.

UPDATE:
Iranian soccer players who wore green armbands in solidarity with Mousavi have apparently been punished for that action. They have been "retired."

According to the pro-government newspaper Iran, four players – Ali Karimi, 31, Mehdi Mahdavikia, 32, Hosein Ka’abi, 24 and Vahid Hashemian, 32 – have been “retired” from the sport after their gesture in last Wednesday’s match against South Korea in Seoul.

They were among six players who took to the field wearing wristbands in the colour of the defeated opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, which has been adopted by demonstrators who believe the 12 June election was stolen.

Most of the players obeyed instructions to remove the armwear at half-time, but Mahdavikia wore his green captain’s armband for the entire match. The four are also said to have been banned from giving media interviews.

Also, there's a new video out that shows Ahmadinejad and mullahs discussing items in Farsi. The translations so far speak to laying the groundwork for the events we've seen unfolding.

Farsi translators need to get their hands on this. If true, it shows the determination of Ahmadinejad and the mullahs to thwart the will of the people of Iran and pursue their own agenda.

UPDATE:
Iran is scheduling Ahmadinejad's "swearing in". Tin hat dictators do not get sworn in. They take power and the people have no choice.

That's what happened. Stop treating Iran as though it is a representative democracy; it never was. It was a totalitarian regime that used elections to give it a veneer of legitimacy, and the veneer has been shorn off by the thuggist tactics of Ahmadinejad and his co-religionists.

DC Metro Collision Kills Four; Dozens Wounded

Four people were killed and dozens wounded when two DC Metro trains collided just after 5pm EDT.

The two trains that collided were both going in the same direction and one rear ended the other with such force that the lead car of the trailing train catapulted over the other.

Metro officials said the two trains were headed in the same direction, when one rear-ended the other shortly after 5 p.m. The female operator of the trailing train died.

"Obviously something went terribly wrong for two trains to be on the same track," Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty told reporters after 7 p.m. that four people were killed and scores injured. "This is the deadliest accident in the history of our Metro train transit system," Fenty said.

Authorities said rescuers were combing through the trains at the scene in Northeast Washington to to ensure they were evacuated.

"We're using heavy rescue equipment to cut open the cars to get whoever's trapped in there out," said D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman Alan Etter.

More details for DC commuters can be found here.

Federal investigators are on the scene.

UPDATE:
The death toll has risen to six. The cars involved look like they've been opened like a can of sardines.

Westboro Goes To West Village; Target Of Scorn Scores!

Westboro Baptist Church has a long history of odious statements and pronouncements, including anti-gay and anti-Semitic slurs, and protesting the funerals of US service members killed in service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fred Phelps runs this church, and has at various times called American combat deaths God’s punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

They came to New York City over the weekend and protested outside a West Village synagogue which counts a significant gay and lesbian following.

Instead of buckling, the synagogue turned the protests in to a fundraising opportunity. Counterprotesters outnumbered the Westboro nuts by a significant margin. I don't think the Westboro protesters quite knew what was in store for them:

Leaders of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, a West Village synagogue that caters to gays and lesbians, didn't want to ignore a planned visit by members of the rabidly anti-gay and anti-Semitic Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church.

Instead, they asked supporters to pledge a dollar or more for every minute that six protesters stood near their synagogue hurling epithets and holding signs that read "God Hates Fags" and "Jews Stole the Land."

The final haul after 50 minutes: $10,000.

"Their very presence will actually raise money for the mission of this community," said Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of the synagogue, which now holds services in rented space. "The synagogue wants a building so we're hoping this will help us get a building."

The Kansas church, known for picketing soldiers' funerals to say their deaths are God's punishment for Americans' tolerance of gays, has ramped up its demonstrations against Jews, who they say are sinners.

The group visited several New York synagogues and Jewish institutions over the weekend and planned to hit a Central Park celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Tel Aviv.

When they arrived at Beth Simchat Torah, they found about 150 congregants from several synagogues and a nearby church as well as other supporters on the sidewalk singing Jewish songs and prayers.

I don't think the Westboro protesters quite knew what was in store for them, and the synagogue made out like bandits - raising $10,000 in just under an hour.

At Least We've Got a Nice Song and Park To Remember It By

Kodak is retiring the famous Kodachrome film. It lives on in song, as written by none other than Paul Simon:



How many other film products can get that kind of treatment?

Kodachrome was also incorporated into the name of a famous state park in Utah near Bryce Canyon National Park. Having visited the park, I can say it lives up to his namesake.

Kodak has retired the brand because digital photography has caught up to the film qualities expressed in Kodachrome. Declining sales and the fact that there was a solitary processing facility left meant that it no longer made financial sense to market.

Fundamental Shifts

The events of this past weekend in Iran have signaled what is going to reveal a fundamental shift in Iranian politics. If the regime - Ahmadinejad and Khamenei - cracks down and survives the demonstrations, it will purge the regime of anyone who opposes them.

Steve Shippert further notes that there are rumblings among the opposition that they may look to do away with the position and role of Supreme Ayatollah, a position that Khamenei still holds.

Iraq's Ali Sistani appears to have developed a significant following inside Iran, who has watched as he has threaded his way through Iraqi politics and positioned himself as finding that Islam and democracy can go hand in hand.

This is a huge development. One of the biggest questions I and others have had since the Iranian protests/revolt/revolution began was whether Mousavi would be any different in tangible effect (Hizballah & Hamas support, etc.) than Ahmadinejad and whether Rafsanjani was seeking to sack 'Supreme' Leader Khamenei simply to acquire the powerful position for himself. That question perhaps may have been answered today.

My ears first perked up when word made it through the grapevines over the weekend that Rafsanjani had been meeting with other Ayatollahs and clerics in Qom, and had among them a representative of Iraq's Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

Why? Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in 2007 made two very critical statements: that "I am a servant of all Iraqis, there is no difference between a Sunni, a Shiite or a Kurd or a Christian," and that Islam can exist within a democracy without theological conflict. You will never hear such words slip past the lips of Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei. Ever.

Sistani's presence at the Rafsanjani talks in Qom, Iran, through a representative brings therefore added significance. And the al-Arabiya report above seems to suggest that Rafsanjani is not seeking Sistani's support for superficial reasons.

If you're looking for tangible benefits of the Iraqi invasion, it's that the seeds for democracy might be taking hold not only in Iraq, but well beyond. If it takes root inside Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah may be out of business since they lose their financial backing.

Fatah faced a similar problem after Saddam Hussein was overthrown (Saddam used to fund martyrs' funds for the Palestinian terrorists). Without that money coming in, Fatah had to look elsewhere. Eliminate the flow of money to the terror groups, and they will wither on the vine. That presents the best chance for peace in the region, not the ongoing demands to force concessions from Israel.

But for now, the battle for Iran's future is being fought on the streets and online. The regime is showing that it has developed sophisticated means to quell online communications and they had help from European telecommunications companies in the process.

The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed.

The "monitoring center," installed within the government's telecom monopoly, was part of a larger contract with Iran that included mobile-phone networking technology, Mr. Roome said.

"If you sell networks, you also, intrinsically, sell the capability to intercept any communication that runs over them," said Mr. Roome.

The sale of the equipment to Iran by the joint venture, called Nokia Siemens Networks, was previously reported last year by the editor of an Austrian information-technology Web site called Futurezone.

The Iranian government had experimented with the equipment for brief periods in recent months, but it had not been used extensively, and therefore its capabilities weren't fully displayed -- until during the recent unrest, the Internet experts interviewed said.

Demonstrators have been using the Internet and various services online to communicate and get their message out via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and the video services YouTube and LiveLeak. Disrupting those services by limiting overall Internet access gives the regime the ability to crack down without anyone being the wiser.

Iranian police continue to call demonstrators hooligans, and threaten to continue using force - at least 19 were killed so far yesterday, and the toll was likely far higher.

There were lots of Internet postings on Twitter and Facebook about a 4 p.m. (7:30 a.m. ET) vigil at Haft-e Tir Square for a young female protester identified as Neda. Her death, which was caught on camera, has become a rallying cry for many protesters.

At Monday's rally in the square, one witness said a male protester in his 20s was chased into an alley by two members of the pro-government Basij militia. A group of protesters chased the Basijis away and then the crowd could be heard chanting "Do not be scared. We are all together."

On Monday, the country's Revolutionary Guard warned that protesters who "disturb the peace and stand up to security forces" will be considered a threat to the regime and will be met with a strong response.

"The guardians of the Islamic revolution and the courageous Basiji together with the security forces following the orders of the supreme leader and following him unquestioningly, are determined to act strongly to return peace and tranquility to society ... and to clean the country of these plotters and hooligans," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement, according to Iran's state-run news agency, IRNA.

In other words, the regime expects to purge and eliminate its opposition, cementing control via the clearly bogus election results. The regime admits errors were made, but will do nothing to rectify the situation.

You cannot expect anyone to trust the election results when you have 50 cities showing that they had more than 100% voter turnout. Clearly, someone cooked the books, and that can only be the Ahmadinejad regime. After all, if they were truly secure in the fact that they won this election fair and square without chicanery, they would have had no problem allowing a recount. Instead, they used iron fisted force to ram through the election results without scrutiny because it was all a sham.

More to the point, no one in Iran will accept the regime's say on what will come next because they've already attempted to lie their way into securing power for themselves.

Demonstrations continue around the world, including in the United States, Turkey, Germany and France, and the death of Neda has become a focusing moment for the demonstrators. Her death may have been one of the nearly two dozen murdered by the regime, but since it was captured on video in brutal detail, and because she was a very attractive woman before the Basij murdered her, she has become a rallying cry for opponents of the regime.

UPDATE:
The regime's goons aren't above home invasions to terrorize the people:



UPDATE:
They may have murdered Neda, but not her voice. Indeed.

Meanwhile, a Life photographer has apparently gone missing in Tehran. That comes after threats against journalists to refrain from covering the events on the streets of Tehran and elsewhere in Iran. This regime is doing all it can to remain in power and shows the utmost contempt for the Iranian people in demanding they obey the thugs in charge despite admissions of electoral fraud that the Supreme Ayatollah signed off on as legitimate.

The protesters have called for a general strike tomorrow, which the regime has apparently countered with a claim that anyone who doesn't show up is fired.

UPDATE:
BBC is reporting that the thugs in charge were fearful that there would be tremendous crowds showing up to memorialize Neda, so they've taken to cracking down on demonstrators in smaller groups to prevent them from organizing.

And she wasn't even participating in the demonstration when she was murdered:

The fiance of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman whose violent death during clashes in Tehran on Saturday was recorded on video and uploaded to the internet, has described the events leading up to her shooting in an interview for BBC Persian TV.

She had been sitting with her music teacher in a car, stuck in traffic, when she decided to get out because of the heat. “She got out of the car for just for a few minutes [and] that’s when she was shot dead,” said Kaspin Makan.

Mr Makan quoted eyewitnesses as saying she appeared to have been targeted deliberately by “paramilitaries in civilian clothing.”

He added that officials had prevented mourners holding a memorial service at a mosque on Monday. “The authorities are aware that everybody in Iran and throughout the whole world knows about her story,” he told the BBC. “They were afraid that lots of people could turn up.”

Depraved... and this is the regime in charge.

HuffPo has more details from the interview with Neda's fiance.

Kasamin Makan, Neda Agha-Setan's fiancee, was interviewed by BBC Persia, noting that Neda would have turned 27 this year. "Neda's goal was not Mousavi or Ahmadinejad, it was her country and was important for her to fight for this goal. She had said many times that if she had lost her life or been shot in the heart, which indeed what happened, it was important for her to continue in this path," he said.

UPDATE:
The regime is setting up special courts to deal with the protesters it has arrested thus far. Keep in mind that the regime has called such protesters terrorists, and has murdered its own citizens to remain in power. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the writing on the wall. They intent to make examples out of some of those who they've arrested to force the rest of the country into submission to its will.

UPDATE:
More video:

19+ Dead As Iranian Regime Cracks Down on Protesters

The New York Times says at least 13 are dead, but the Iranian government says at least 19 people it considers terrorists were killed in clashes with police. More than 100 were injured. This is just the tip of the iceberg. (Disturbing video of another woman apparently killed by the Basij here).

Mirhussein Mousavi isn't backing down, and his criticism of Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has only grown.

Mousavi added that the Islamic Republic must be purged of what he called lies and dishonesty, sending out a direct challenge to conservative rulers after a week of unrest in Iran.

The opposition leader, who claims victory in the poll, told supporters he was "ready for martyrdom", according to an ally. But he said he did not seek confrontation with the authorities.

"We are not against the Islamic system and its laws but against lies and deviations and just want to reform it," he said in a statement on his website at the end of another tumultuous day.

Mousavi said if authorities refused to allow peaceful protests they would face the "consequences" – an apparent rejoinder to Khamenei's warning that opposition leaders would be held responsible for any bloodshed resulting from protests.

Ahmadinejad says for the US and Britain to stay out of Iranian affairs.

I guess criticizing the regime for murdering its own citizens for demonstrating against what they believe was a stolen election is meddling. Again, this shows the depravity of this regime and how silence further allows the regime to continue its efforts to consolidate its power.

Now is not the time for silence. It is the time to speak out against the violations of human rights by this evil regime.

The media continues to be restricted from reporting on the situation. The AP runs the following note with its photos:

** EDITORS NOTE AS A RESULT OF AN OFFICIAL IRANIAN GOVERNMENT BAN ON FOREIGN MEDIA COVERING EVENTS IN IRAN, THE AP IS OBLIGED TO USE IMAGES FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES.

In other words, it's got to either use footage from the Iranian media outlets or footage from other media sources.





This is how totalitarian regimes crack down against their opposition. They limit the flow of information that might prove damaging to the regime and crush free speech, the right to assemble peaceably and engage in a free press - rights that we take for granted here in the United States.

UPDATE:
The woman murdered in one of the videos linked to above may have been identified.

The rumor — and it’s all rumor until some newspaper tracks down her family — is that she was 27 years old and a philosophy student. I hope to god this isn’t really her photo because the thought of her being so beautiful and dignified makes the murder somehow that much more obscene.

Unconscionable: Veterans Administration Hospital Botches 92 of 116 Prostate Cancer Treatments

Not only did the hospital botch the procedures, but regulators not only overlooked the errors, but made attempts to allow the doctor to revise his treatment plan for some of those patients to make the errors "go away".

Most of the seeds, 40 in all, landed in the patient’s healthy bladder, not the prostate.

It was a serious mistake, and under federal rules, regulators investigated. But Dr. Kao, with their consent, made his mistake all but disappear.

He simply rewrote his surgical plan to match the number of seeds in the prostate, investigators said.

The revision may have made Dr. Kao look better, but it did nothing for the patient, who had to undergo a second implant. It failed, too, resulting in an unintended dose to the rectum. Regulators knew nothing of this second mistake because no one reported it.

Two years later, in 2005, Dr. Kao rewrote another surgical plan after putting half the seeds in the wrong organ. Once again, regulators did not object.

Had the government responded more aggressively, it might have uncovered a rogue cancer unit at the hospital, one that operated with virtually no outside scrutiny and botched 92 of 116 cancer treatments over a span of more than six years — and then kept quiet about it, according to interviews with investigators, government officials and public records.

This is medical malpractice coupled with government failures. Not only did the doctors work for the Veterans Administration, but the VA failed to provide proper oversight or notice anything wrong with the treatment being offered in the cancer unit.

How many men suffered needless complications from this one doctor's malpractice?

One of the men didn't realize it was medical malpractice until he went to another hospital outside the VA to treat his condition and they informed him of the errors made by the prior doctors at the VA.

The problem at the Philadelphia hospital isn't alone. Several other cancer units at VA hospitals in Jackson, Miss., and Cincinnati, Ohio, were also closed, although the problems weren't nearly as widespread as the Philadelphia case.

In fact, none of the errors at this hospital might have been uncovered but for a clerical error where seeds of lower dosage were reported. That resulted in closer scrutiny by the NRC, which governs radiation usage, and the discovery of dozens of cases of improper placement of the seeds used in brachytherapy.

So, while the doctors in this program were contractors operating at the behest of the hospital, the doctrine of respondeat superior is going to hold the hospital liable because of the failure to oversee the program.