Year end review

My opinions on some of the things happening across the globe, here at home, and what the outlook will be in 2008:

Iraq: While the first part of 2007 was extremely violent (2007 saw several of the deadliest terror attacks of the Iraq war) things seem to be looking up in that country. I just read an article off of the AP about a New Year's celebration that took place in the capital. Most reports show that Iraqis are living peacefully in major Iraqi cities, including Ramadi, which at the beginning of the year was one of the most violence-plagued cities in the country, and Basra, which is now under the control of Iraqi security forces. If the plans implemented by General David Petraeus continue to work and the Iraqis continue to resist extremism the lull in violence should hold. However, it is of utmost importance that the Iraqi leaders reconcile this year. We should be taking advantage of the dramatic turn-around of events over there in order to ensure permanent success.

Global Warming: It looks like the ship has already left the dock on this one, I must admit. The hysterical Al Gore movement has succeeded in silencing those of us who dare suggest that global warming could be nothing more than a natrual cycle that has been happening for millions of years. TV shows, celebrities, and even school classrooms continue to pump out one-sided propaganda to uninformed individuals, and a growing movement has accepted the doomsday end of the world scenario put forth by Al and his followers. There is a good chance we will be hearing plenty of calls in '08 for crazy "solutions" to the "climate crisis". Suggestions that include things like dumping millions of tons of iron into the ocean and shooting rockets filled with ash into the atmosphere to simulate a volcanic eruption (like that's not going to have some unintended consequences).

Israel: 2007 was a safe year for the people of the Jewish State. While Palestinian infighting left hundreds dead in the Gaza strip and Hamas ended up taking control of that area, there was very little terrorist activity inside of Israel. Israeli security forces have managed to thwart the numerous attempts by Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aksa Martyrs brigade to carry out attacks in Israeli cities.

Pakistan: I don't really know what to say about the situation in Pakistan other than it looks like all hell is breaking loose over there. Riots continue, terrorism continues, and President Musharraf has been repeatedly attacked from all sides, including American politicians. 2008 is not looking good for that region unless the Oppostion, President Musharraf, and the international community can find a way to put aside their differences and agree that stability is the best thing for everyone, even if it means working with people you don't like. The image of President Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif shaking hands and pledging to work together to eradicate extremism would certainly send a strong message.

Afghanistan: 2007 was the deadliest year for all sides in Afghanistan, but things have appear to have quited down in recent weeks. The Taliban continues to attack on a daily basis, but the increased training of Afghan security forces has certainly weakened them. Also, reports are suggesting that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are shifting their focus from Afghanistan to Pakistan in attempt to take advantage of the growing political power struggle over there.

Africa: As always, the world continues to forget about Africa. While a small contingent of peacekeepers has been deployed to Darfur to replace the AU forces there, violence is still continuing. Somalia is all but lost as mortarts rain down on civilian markets and an increasingly ferocious insurgency rules the streets. Rebel militia continue to terrorize the civilain population of lawless Eastern Congo and tensions are high in Kenya as the new year is welcomed in.

US politics: The Iowa caucuses are only a few days away and its completely up in the air as to who will take the lead, as far as I've been able to determine anyway. One thing's for sure, I've had enough of the angry rants and hate that comes out of Washington D.C. My suggestion for the folks in Pakistan can be applied to our own politicians as well.

Iran: Well, what's there to say about in Iran..."Peace in our time" comes to mind. After all, the NIE did release a poltiically driven hatchet peace...Sorry, I mean report, about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iranian money continues to flow to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad and centrifuges continue to spin in the Islamic Republic. There's still hope though, hope that the Iranian people can find a way to phase out this terrible regime with their desire for freedom and democracy, as the ongoing protests among the young people of that country continue to show.

Well, these are some of my opinions as we head into the new year. Let's see how we do in '08.

Independent analysis

I have put together an op-ed I will be submitting to one of my local newspapers. Basically, I offer my analysis on the situation in Pakistan that has boiled over these last couple of days. During that time, I have focused pretty much all of United World's resources on looking into just what is happening over there. Here's my basic conclusion:

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto was carried out by one or more terrorists groups from a larger coalition of Jihadists, both foreign and homegrown, aligned with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Many of the attacks that have happened this year in Pakistan have gone without a claim of responsibility, probably because the extremist elements seek to create as much chaos as possible between the government of President Musharraf and the opposition party. Recent attacks, including the one I reported on at the mosque last week, seem very similar to the matter in which Benazir was killed. That attack happened to target one of Musharraf's ministers, which pretty much puts down the far-left conspiracy that the government is orchestrating such attacks.

Anyway, that's my analysis so far. Obviously, things could change any minute. Interestingly enough though, this news cross the wires only moments ago...

"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Two suspected suicide bombers died Sunday when they prematurely detonated their bomb near the residence of a senior leader of the ruling party in eastern Pakistan, police said.

The men were on a motorcycle and were not far away from the residence of Ijazul Haq, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, in the city of Bahawalnagar when their bomb exploded, said Zafar Abbas Bukhari, the district police chief.

The blast was the first suicide attack in Pakistan since the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday. Her killing triggered nationwide riots and raised doubts on whether parliamentary elections on Jan. 8 can go ahead as planned."
www.foxnews.com

mmmm...targeting the ruling party. That's a fancy media word for Musharraf's government. But wait a second...the far-left blogs told me that Musharraf is the real culprit behind the attacks. I'm beginning to think that Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles can see what's going on here.

Rudy Giuliani speaks out on Benazir's assassination

As of now, I have to say that Rudy Giuliani would be the best choice for president. I think he has what it takes to lead this country and battle terrorism. United World has not endorsed any candidate yet, but there's no doubt in he would make a good leader. He's not a religious fanatic like Mike Huckabee, he's socially liberal, and he does what he thinks his right. Issues like gay marriage and abortion are unimportant in the broader picture, and hopefully the conservative zealots who claim to care most about these issues realize that when they head to the polls. The rather disturbing developments that have been coming in this month from Algeria to Pakistan certainly remind us that their are far more dangerous threats out there than a woman deciding to terminate her pregnancy or a same-sex couple getting married (FYI...I consider myself to be 100% neutral on these issues).

Regardless of who wins in Iowa next week, central Asia is falling apart and terrorism is marching on Pakistan. Things look like they're going to get a lot worse before they get better and we need someone who knows what they're doing.

Benazir Bhutto assasinated, fighting rages as cities burn in Pakistan

This past year, our ally Pakistan has been faced with unprecedented violence against civilian and military targets. Sadly, it has only gotten worse. Last week, United World reported the story of the tragic mosque massacre in Pakistan's Northwest in which some 60 innocent Muslim worshippers were killed. In October, terrorists targeted Former Prime Minister and pro-democracy icon Benazir Bhutto as she made her return to her home country. The attackers failed and only succeeded in murdering well over 100 of their fellow Muslims. Today, however, Benazir and over 20 of her supporters were killed in a shooting/suicide bomb attack at a rally in the city of Rawalpindi. The Pakistan Dawn reports:

"RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack after an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Thursday. Police said a suicide bomber fired shots at Bhutto as she was leaving the rally venue in a park before blowing himself up. “The man first fired at Bhutto's vehicle. She ducked and then he blew himself up,” said police officer Mohammad Shahid. Police said 16 other people had been killed in the blast, but tv channels said at 20 persons were killed.“ A Reuters witness at the scene of the attack said he had heard two shots moments before the blast. Another Reuters witness saw bodies and a mutilated human head strewn on a road outside the park where she held her rally. People cried and hugged each other outside the hospital where she died and residents of Karachi, Bhutto's home town, said they had heard gun shots after news of Bhutto's death spread, apparently from her enraged supporters. (Posted @ 19:26 PST)"
www.dawn.com

Unprecedented violence...

As was mentioned earlier, Pakistan has been rocked by some of the most horrific terrorist violence in its history this year. Bomb attacks have taken a toll on the civilian population in just about every major city in the country, while the military has been battling pro-Taliban forces in the remote mountains along the border with Afghanistan. President Pervez Musharraf has been repeatedly targeted by Al-Qaeda-linked militants, as well as some of his government ministers. The unfortunate reality is that the situation in Pakistan has been poorly covered in the news, where many media figures are more focused on Iraq than anything else. Once again, we are reminded of the threat posed by terrorism in every corner of the globe.

President Bush has strongly condemned the assassination, while leaders in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East have done the same. Even Iran, a country embroiled in a nuclear standoff with the west and a Shiite rival of Pakistan's Sunni majority, has condemned the attack. Musharraf has declared three days of national mourning and the Pakistani flag is flying at half-staff at the embassy in Washington D.C. Presidential candidates, including John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Mike Huckabee, stand united in denouncing such a reprehensible act of terrorism. Benazir's supporters, however, have taken to the streets and begun rioting.


"Angry supporters of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto took to the streets of Pakistani cities on Thursday, from the Himalayas to the southern coast. The unrest was predictably fiercest in Bhutto's native Sindh province and its capital, Karachi. “Police in Sindh have been put on red alert,” said a senior police official. “We have increased deployment and are patrolling in all the towns and cities, as there is trouble almost everywhere,” he said. Reports said security was deteriorating in Karachi, where thousands poured on to the streets to protest. At least three banks, a government office and a post office were set on fire, a witness said. Tyres were set on fire on many roads, and shooting and stone-throwing was reported in many places. Most shops and markets in the city shut down. At least 20 vehicles were torched in Sindh’s second biggest town of Hyderabad. There were also small protests in Rawalpindi and the nearby capital, Islamabad. Protesters blocked roads with burning tyres and chanted anti-Musharraf slogans in Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Kashmir. Police said they had been ordered to block the main road between Punjab province and Sindh province, apparently to stop the movement of protesters. Disturbances were also reported in the southeastern city of Multan, although details were sketchy. In Lahore, capital of Punjab province, Bhutto party workers burnt three buses and damaged several other vehicles, police said. (Posted @ 22:38 PST)"
www.dawn.com

My opinion on this...

I was watching the news the morning and heard a guest on the Fox News Channel suggest the Pakistani government could have been behind the killing of Bhutto. Conspiracy theories are sure to be flying all over the left-wing blogs. Such theories are obviously coming from someone who knows very little about Pakistan or Islamic terrorism. To those people, I ask you...was Musharraf behind the bombing that targeted one of his ministers last week in the Charsadda Mosque? Was he behind the attack that nearly took his own life in 2003, when car bombs targeted his passing motorcade? Or what about the October attack where a bomber attempted to slip into his office but killed seven people instead? There is no doubt in my mind that Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their allies are doing everything possible to destabilize the country and inflict suffering on all those who refuse to submit to their extreme ideology. Once again, the victims of today's attack were all Muslims, including Benazir Bhutto. She fought hard for democracy and stability for the people of her country only to be wiped out by a homicidal maniac determined to bring all of that down. It's safe to say that these murderers are not Muslims, just as Benazir said back in October, a day before coordinated blasts targeted her homecoming rally. Surely the gates of hell, if there is such a place, will swing wide open to welcome the "martyrdom seeking" fanatic who fired the bullets and set off the explosion at the pro-democracy rally today.

The situation is sure to only get worse, with all sides in Pakistan calling for the upcoming elections to be canceled. At this point in time, all we can do is pray for peace and hope that Musharraf can stabilize the country before it falls into total anarchy.

Joy to the World...there is hope for tomorrow as we come upon a new year

As the world celebrates Christmas and 2007 draws to a close, we can remember that there is hope for a better tomorrow and that good can overcome the problems we are facing.

Photo taken by Michael Yon, war zone journalist www.michael-yon.com

Description: Iraqi Christians celebrate as they raise a cross above their newly reopened chruch in Baghdad.

Is there anything more to say?

Last month I took it upon myself to visit a mosque in San Francisco and see for myself just what Islam is all about. It has been over three weeks since that experience and since then I have been attacked in blogs and newspapers for daring to say that the vast majority of Muslims are indeed good people. At the same time, the crazy liberals on the left continue to rant about how the threat of terrorism is completely hyped up and is nothing more than a cover for the Bush administration to strip away our civil liberties.

Well, I hope both sides got to hear about this story...

Earlier today, a terrorist most likely linked to the Taliban or Al-Qaeda walked into a mosque packed with holiday worshippers in NW Pakistan and detonated a nail bomb packed with 15 pounds of explosives. Scores of people were killed, and the apparent target of the attack was a government minister loyal to President Pervez Musharraf. Interestingly enough, the minister was the target of another assassination attempt earlier in April, when a bomb hit a rally he was speaking at. It's a well known fact that the Pakistani government is embroiled in a violent power struggle with Taliban militants in the mountains of the country, but seeing that the terrorists would actually attack a mosque on Friday prayers during the celebration of the Eid holiday is absolutely despicable. It's even more disgusting that these people claim to be fighting under the banner of Islam while having no problem with slaughtering scores of innocent worshippers. Sadly, this is not the first time these inhuman people do such things. Mosques hosting soldiers or other government figures have been hit by terrorism not only in Pakistan, but in Afghanistan and Iraq as well.

For all you crazy people on the left who deny terrorism is a legitimate concern, what do you think of this? Is this George Bush's fault as well? Coupling today's horrific event with with the terrorist attacks that decimated the city of Algiers earlier this month, I think it can be said that terrorism is very much a threat to global stability.

For all you ignorant people on the right, do you still think "all" Muslims sympathize with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda murdering their own people? The fact is, most of the victims of so-called "Islamic" terrorism over the last 25 years have been Muslims, as opposed to the Christians and Jews Islam is said to be opposed to.

Although I growing number of people want to deny it, terrorism is a growing danger to all of us all over the world. This year alone has seen repeated attack all over North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and even Europe. India, Thailand, and Somalia have also been hit as well. But if we are to counter this threat we need to recognize that the 1.2 billion Muslims in the world are not all the enemy. We are fighting a deranged, evil group of people who hijack religion as a means to recruit followers, and it poses just as much, if not more of a danger, to Muslims as it does to any one of us in the west.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: Time Magazine's 2007 person of the year...

...is a scary man.

Running out of bad guys...

Its no secret now that things are getting better in Iraq. The fact that most major media outlets have paid little attention to the dramatic reduction in violence across the country is a good indication of just how much better things really are. So what do we owe all of this success to? Well, it seems to be three factors, the first being the well-planned strategy implemented by General David Petraeus, as well as the increase of 30,000 American troops on the ground. The second factor is the heroic actions of the brave Iraqis who have chosen to rise up against Al-Qaeda and extremism. Last year, an awakening council started by Shiekh Sattar Abu Risha routed the insurgency from the Al Anbar province. Similar movements followed suit and in time, Baghdad and the northern provinces were secure.

...and the third factor, as far as I've concluded, is that Al-Qaeda might just be running out of bad guys to kill innocent people.

A couple of days ago, an awakening council ambushed a group of Al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters and killed 35 of them. This sort of occurrence seems to be happening more often. Last month, the Islamic Army in Iraq, a former anti-American insurgent group, carried out its own raids against Al-Qaeda, while joint U.S.-Iraqi operations continue to wipe out dozens of terrorists on a daily basis. Not to mention, Al-Qaeda has got to be low on "martyrdom seekers" willing to blow themselves up, after hundreds of other fanatics have already done so over the years.

Over the weekend there seemed to be a little hint of desperation when Al-Qaeda's #2 man, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, released a video in which he demanded the group's Iraq-based wing purged the insurgency of traitors. Despite Zawahiri's attempt to sympathize with the American people about the antiwar sentiment currently splitting this country apart, it looks like there is a very good chance Al-Qaeda could be in its death throws, as far as Iraq goes at least.

Certainly, we can only hope.

Which is worse? Choosing the lesser of two evils...

Everyday, the fringe elements of the antiwar movement are coming up with new theories about why the Iraq War was started. Some say that Bush started the war to exact "revenge" on Saddam for trying to assassinate his father. Others say its all about oil. Then there's the argument that Bush and Cheney are trying to take over the world. Still, others insist that the Jews are really running things in the White House. But one of the antiwar movement's favorite talking points is the infamous handshake between former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.


It's rather damning at first, and the antiwar/anti-Bush elements just love it. But if one actually knows any history whatsoever, we were facing a threat even more dangerous than Saddam during that time: the Islamic Republic of Iran. Throughout the 80's, Iran was building up its presence in the Middle East, interfering in Lebanon's civil war and creating Hezbollah. Not to mention, this was only a few years after Iran had been holding Americans as hostages. Allying with a tyrant like Saddam appeared to be the best strategy at the time to confront the Iranian threat. Still, it seems pretty bad we were supporting such a terrible dictator...or was it?


The photo above shows then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sitting side by side with Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union. During WWII, the United States allied itself with Stalin in order to defeat Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. As battles raged on the front lines of the war and Nazi Germany continued its stranglehold on Europe, the allied powers welcomed Stalin onto their side to defeat the German Empire. The reality, however, was that Stalin was just as, if not more evil than Hitler. While the Nazis carried out daily killings of Europe's Jews in death camps, Stalin's brutal regime was sweeping across the USSR, killing millions of political opponents and tossing many more into gulags. Tens of thousands of priests, nuns, and ministers were rounded up and executed during the purges, when Stalin tried to cleanse his country of all those who looked to a power higher than him...and this was all happening as FDR was shaking hands and sipping tea with old Joe. So which is worse, teaming up with Saddam Hussein or Joseph Stalin?

Looking back at both time periods, we did what we thought was the right thing. While working with Saddam seems awful, it did help prevent Iran from dominating the Persian Gulf. Five years after Rumsfeld and Saddam shook hands, Saddam gassed the Kurds and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people. After that, as well as the subsequent invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, the world saw Saddam for who he really was: an evil dictator. After WWII ended, the Soviets became public enemy number one. While Stalin continued his murderous rampage, his regime acquired nuclear weapons, and thus began the Cold War, which would eventually drag us into Korea and Vietnam to fight communism.

Yep, history is full of similarities like this. It's never a bad idea to do a little research.

48 hours in this world

Reporting on the war on terror...well, there's been no let up in extremist terrorism all over the world these last couple of days.

*update* Algeria: Al-Qaeda in North Africa is claiming responsibility for two suicide truck bombings in the capital city of Algiers. One of the bombs targeted the UN headquarters, while the other exploded outside of a university and sheared through a bus carrying college students. The death toll is still unclear, but it appears to be 34, with a half dozen others still missing. At least 11 UN staffers are among the dead.

Iraq: Less than 24 hours after the Algiers attack, bomb-rigged cars in the southern Iraqi city of Amarah exploded within minutes of each other, killing 28 people and injuring scores more. While security has dramatically improved in Baghdad and Anbar province, analysts fear Al-Qaeda or Iranian-backed Shiite militias could try to carry out spectacular attacks in other less secure provinces.

Lebanon: A car bomb in the capital, Beirut, assassinated a Lebanese Army General and his driver. The General had overseen the bloody siege of a Palestinian refugee camp in the north, where Al-Qaeda allied militants battled the Lebanese Army for three months.

Israel: Palestinian militants fired off nearly two dozen rockets into southern Israel, some of which crashed into homes and wounded four Israelis. One woman was injured when a rocket hit a synagogue. This comes as Israeli forces continue to battle Islamic Jihad cells operating on the border.

Pakistan: Two suicide bombers attacked a security checkpoint in the SW city of Quetta. Five security officers were killed and 22 people were injured, including, civilians. The good news is that the Pakistani Army appears to have defeated radical Islamic fighters in the scenic Swatt Valley in the northwest and has taken control of the area.

Afghanistan: An IED blasted a civilian vehicle in the country's south, leaving six dead. This comes as British and Afghan forces routed the Taliban from the town of Musa Qala, where the terrorists had been in control for months.

India: A bomb planted on a rail line ripped through a train coach and killed five in the country's east. Numerous rebel groups as well as Islamic militants operate in the area, and its unclear who was responsible.

Somalia: Al-Qaeda linked Islamic militants shelled one of Mogadishu's biggest markets with mortars, leaving 12 dead and dozens injured. Separately, a gun battle between security forces and militants left five dead.

Conclusion: While our allies seem to have scored several victories recently, it looks like the terrorists are still active and are even going on the offensive in places like Somalia, including attacks on innocent civilians. Isolating Musharraf in Pakistan and angering the Israelis with this NIE report on Iran is definitely not helping. In addition, its pretty clear Al-Qaeda and other terrorists delight in the political deadlock here in the US between President Bush and the dem congress.

Global Warming News!!!

Well, hysterical alarmists have turned up the heat on the global warming debate, as temperatures freeze across the US and sheets on ice and heavy snow pummel the Midwest, the northeast, and western mountain ranges.

The UN chief is warning us that the world will "face oblivion" if we do not act on climate change. This just might be the most hysterical threat about this I have ever heard, next to Bill Clinton saying global warming is more of a threat than extremist political Islam. But then again, the scientists are now saying that the arctic is "screaming". I still don't know exactly what that means, but I'm screaming at the thought of Al Gore using phrases like that, along with his cute little "Earth fever" analogy he used earlier this year. Also new this week, radical environmentalists decked out in polar bear costumes descended on the Bali climate conference in Indonesia, yet another exploitation of such an amazing animal.

Okay, enough ranting. I'm just a bit livid right now with this uptick in global warming alarmism. We have Ban Ki Moon, the UN chief, threatening us with "oblivion" if we don't act on global warming, we have Al getting his prize, scientists with political agendas and now, another tropical storm in the Atlantic, which the media is sure to spin into more evidence of climate change. I was reading the paper this morning and the top story was a poorly-researched claim that the snow packs are going to disappear in the Sierras and the Rockies. Really? Last year, Colorado set a record for monthly snowfall and Denver set a record for consecutive days with snow on the ground. Last week, we got two feet of snow in Lake Tahoe, out here in California, and last year we had some of the coldest temperatures in the state's history. In Fresno, temperatures went down into the teens and wiped out entire crops...and yet rising temperatures are melting the snow? I know, I know, "global warming" can alter the climate and make things colder too (haven't you seen the Day After Tomorrow?)but the statistics seem to contradict these hysterical findings.

Arctic freezes at record pace?

Now, although I disagree with the notion that human beings are responsible for global warming, I have never denied that the earth's temperature has increased. That's why I was so surprised when I read this report.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/arctic-sea-ice-47121205

Apparently, the arctic ice is refreezing at a record pace, after record melting over the summer. I think this just shows nature's unpredictability and that human beings don't understand how the earth's climate works as much as we think we do. I've been labeled a "creature of the right" by other bloggers for taking these viewpoints, but is it that crazy to say scientists don't fully understand how the earth works? Think about the oceans. There are people who claim to be experts on oceanography, but we have only explored less than 10% of the sea floor...ten percent! There could be thousands of unidentified species down there that science might never find.

Sir Albert...

I was thinking the other day, what if Al Gore got knighted? If someone could actually nominate this guy for the Nobel peace prize, its possible there are some out there contemplating such a possibility. In the UK, where the climate change alarmism has reached hysterical proportions, I could see the Queen knighting Al. Then we would have Sir Albert Gore Jr. It sounds funny, but its really not. If it ever happened, it would be the final warning before the point of no return on climate change debate, meaning those of us who dispute man-made global warming would be powerless as governments adopt policies to dump millions of tons of iron into the ocean and shoot ash into the atmosphere with fire hoses attached to balloons...both of which are real solutions science is actually proposing.

I saw a clip from the republican debate earlier today and most of the candidates stood up and refuted the global warming hysteria when the moderator brought it up. It sure would be great if President Bush would do that, but I think he's been weakened by these moveon.org/codepink whackjobs who label anyone an environmental Nazi if they dispute global warming.

More Senseless Violence

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Six young people were shot Tuesday after they got off a school bus that left a high school, and one suffered critical injuries, the authorities said.
At least two people are suspected in the shooting in northeast Las Vegas, which occurred just before 2 p.m., Officer Bill Cassell said.
Gunshots rang out after the school bus left the area, Officer Cassell said, and six people were taken to University Medical Center.
An adult male was in critical condition, and a male under 18 was in serious condition, both with gunshots to the torso, said Cheryl Persinger, a medical center spokeswoman.
The four others had minor gunshot injuries to their arms and legs, Ms. Persinger said. One adult male and one male under 18 were treated and released, she said, and another male and female, both under 18, were in good condition and were expected to be released Tuesday night.

Courtesy: New York Times (http://nytimes.com)

Terror hits Algeria

Car bombs tore through the Algerian capital of Algiers this morning, one of which reduced the UN headquarters to rubble. Information is sketchy, and rescuers are still combing through the debris. The interior ministry, the UN, and hospital officials are all giving conflicting casualty figures--but so far its known that at least 22 people, five of them UN workers, are dead and some 180 injured. The hospitals are saying as many as 76 people may have been killed in the blasts, which would make it the deadliest attack in Algeria's history. In addition, ten UN workers are still missing and rescuers are trying desperately to find them. It's unknown at this time if the blasts were triggered by suicide bombers or timed detonators. Al-Qaeda has posted a message on an Islamist website claiming responsibility for the bombings.

The attack today is especially symbolic because of today's date...December 11th. In April, Al-Qaeda's north Africa wing took responsibility for a triple car bombing in Algiers that left 33 dead, that attack, just like this one, occurred on the 11th of the month. A series of other terrorists attacks have also hit Algeria, and many Algerians are fearing their country could backslide back into the days of an Islamic insurgency and guerrilla warfare.

My opinion on this...

This highlights just how dangerous extremist political Islam is. This shows that there is a lot more to the War on Terrorism than just Iraq and Afghanistan and that terrorism is a universal threat. The antiwar/impeach Bush crowd has been trying to convince the American public that the terrorist threat is hyped-up and overblown, but I'd like to see them tell that to the families of the dozens of people who died today in the streets of Algiers. This year alone, Muslim extremists have attacked all over the world, including the June car bomb plots/failed attack in London and Glasgow. Just because terrorists have been unable to attack us again in the United States is no reason to lower our guard. Nevertheless, if terrorists can hit in Algiers, a relatively affluent city on the Mediterranean, then they could very well hit southern Europe, just look at what happened in Madrid in 2004.

How will the world probably react to this? Well...

President Bush, as well as President Sarkozy in France and UN Chief Ban Ki Moon have condemned the bombings. The media however, has shown a few clips of the attacks and that's about it. They're far more concerned with the Drew Peterson Case and other small, local events. It really kills me when the reporters flock to Namibia to catch a glimpse of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, while completely ignoring the humanitarian catastrophes across the African continent. In addition, this attack today was not in an Iraqi city, so it contradicts the liberal media's talking points about how terrorism wasn't a problem until Bush invaded Iraq. If this had been the UN headquarters in Baghdad, you can bet it would be the opening story on the "Today Show", complete with close up shots of death in destruction to show the world how terrible the war is going.

But the biggest thing this will remind us of is that Al-Qaeda is still active and seeking new training grounds. North Africa, a vast region with a low population density, is the perfect spot to set up Jihadist camps. Pelosi and Reid continue to scream about how we need to go into Pakistan to get Al-Qaeda, but the most dangerous terrorists have already sought refuge in areas that have fallen off our radar, like north and east Africa. Somalia, another African country plagued by extremism, has become a battleground between Islamic militants and Ethiopian soldiers. Yes, although you don't here much about it, extremism is growing all over the world, and its been happening long before the US ever set foot in Iraq. We need to wake up to the reality of the world around us before more innocent people are killed by these homicidal maniacs.

When crazy people attack...

I've been looking around on some other blogs these last couple of days and have reached the conclusion that there are some really crazy people out there. One right-wing commentator has condemned me for publishing my article about Islam, while one left-wing blogger is actually suggesting that the "Jews" are really in control of American foreign policy. This weekend I succeeded in publishing my newspaper article detailing my trip to the mosque in San Francisco. However, upon its publication online, I couldn't help notice that some fanatical conservative zealot felt the need to attack my perspective and completely dismiss the notion that Islam is indeed a peaceful religion. "Look at what they're doing to Jews and Christians in the Middle East" is the most common argument made by the extreme right, even though far more innocent Muslims have been murdered by Islamic terrorists than Christians or Jews. This comes after my global warming editorial I submitted a few weeks back sparked a debate, including ranting by those on the left who want everyone to believe the climate change debate is over. Now, I'm in the cross hairs of the far-right, simply for speaking the truth that the vast majority of those who adhere to the Islamic faith are good, peaceful people. I recently read a great book by Bernie Goldberg, a frequent guest on the O'Reilly Factor, called "Crazies to the left of me, Wimps to the Right". In it, Bernie talks about how both the far-left and the far-right have completely lost touch with reality. Between Rosie O'Donnell saying that radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam and the religious right completely dismissing the theory of evolution, its easy to say that he's correct in his analysis. Now, having been published myself, I find myself being attacked by the fringe elements on both sides. The funny thing is, most clear thinking people would probably agree with me when I say that human beings don't fully understand the earth's complex climate. I'm sure many people would also agree with me when I say that most Muslims are good people. However, when opinions like these get in the way of their agenda, the fringe elements on the right and the left aren't going to be happy.

Bomber rams school bus in Pakistan...

A suicide car bomber slammed a car packed with explosives into a school bus carrying students of military families in NW Pakistan on Monday, highlighting the barbarity of the enemy we are facing. The initial reports say eight children and the driver were wounded in the attack. This comes only 24 hours after another bomber killed 10 people--civilains and police--at a security checkpoint in the scenic Swat Valley. Why anyone...even an Islamic terrorist, would ever do such a thing I do not know. What was accomplished? How does this promote their cause or any cause at all? This just shows us how dangerous the world has become and, just like the previous post below, reminds us that there are some pretty evil people out there.

"I'm going out in style...I'm going to be famous"

Style:
–noun
1. a particular kind, sort, or type, as with reference to form, appearance, or character: the baroque style; The style of the house was too austere for their liking.
2. a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode of action or manner of acting: They do these things in a grand style.
3. a mode of living, as with respect to expense or display.
4. an elegant, fashionable, or luxurious mode of living: to live in style.
5. a mode of fashion, as in dress, esp. good or approved fashion; elegance; smartness.


There is a difference between fame and infamy.

"Redacted"

This ad thanking the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan was blocked from being aired on NBC. The funny thing is, it has no political messages in it whatsoever, yet NBC refuses to air it. Since it fails to portray our soldiers as more than the low-income, uneducated, toothless, rapists their news programs have depicted them as, they have chosen to "redact" it so their viewers cannot hear the truth about what the soldiers are really doing in the war on terror. The folks at NBC should absolutely be ashamed of themselves. But then again, what else would you expect from a network that has broadcast 100% negative news coverage of the Iraq war over the last five years and launched relentless hit pieces about the failures in American foreign policy and the carnage in Baghdad while completely ignoring the enormous strides our troops have made over there. It doesn't get much worse than this.

Sri Lanka: the long road from tragedy to peace

Imagine a conflict that combines the ferocious terrorist attacks seen daily in the Muslim World with the the ethnic cleansing that continues to reciprocate in Africa. In the last eighteen months, tensions have been simmering in Sri Lanka, a tiny island nation off the coast of India. Violent clashes have erupted between goverment forces and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE. Over the last 25 years, the conflict has killed well over 70,000 people. The rebel held north continues to be a hot spot with daily fighting. Just recently, violence flared when the two sides engaged one another. Some forty people are believed dead, although like so many other bloody conflicts, its nearly impossible for independent sources to verify the reports. Separately, a civilian passenger bus traveling through the countryside was hit by an IED believed to have been planted by rebels. Fifteen people died and dozens more injured. So far, all attempts at getting the factions to abide by a 2002 ceasefire have failed. Earlier this year, government forces moved in and recaptured the country's east, a region that had been controlled by the Tamil Tigers for years. Last year, the Tigers succeeded in carrying out their deadliest attack to date when a suicide truck bomber detonated his payload amidst a crowd of sailors and civilians and slaughtered well over 100 people. If the attack had been in Baghdad and resulted in the deaths of American soldiers, there would be no question you would be reading about it on the front page of the newspaper. But because Sri Lanka is nothing more than a third world island nation, its tragedy is largely ignored in the civilized world.

In an op-ed I recently put together, I brought up the Tamil Tigers use of suicide bombing. Why is this phenomanon so significant? Well, the Tigers are not Muslim, nor do they sacrifice themselves for a higher power. The LTTE leaders have a way of convincing their followers that the creation of an ethnic Tamil state is worth dying for. Over the last fifteen years, the LTTE has carried out more than 200 suicide attacks, more than any of the Palestinian groups that routinely attack targets inside of Israel. Believe it or not, the Tigers perfected the explosive belt that many Islamic terrorists use to conceal beneath their clothing. Last month, a female Tiger bomber was caught on camera blowing herself up in the office of a government minister. That attack preceded an even more devastating one. Hours later, a parcel bomb blasted a busy commercial district outside of the capital, Colombo.

In addition to the continuing terrorist attacks, the Tigers and even the government have been accused of ethnic massacres and carrying out attacks on civilians. Over 32,000 civilians are believed to have been killed in the conflict, a long with tens of thousands of government forces and rebels. There have been notable events in which the Tigers capture Sri Lankan security forces and execute them, although the group has at times pledged to abide by the Geneva Convention. They have also attacked minorities, such as Muslims, and even forcibly expelled them from the Jaffna Peninsula, where the LTTE runs its unrecognized Tamil Eelam de facto state. Aid workers have also come under attack in the war-torn country. Last year, seventeen aid workers were hacked to death with machetes and discovered several days later. Because of the increasing danger, humanitarian operations to bring aid to the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire have become increasingly difficult.

The Sri Lankan Civil War is just another example of a tragedy that seems to have no end in sight. Just like the other humanitarian crises throughout the world, it does not help that the vast majority of Americans know little about it or have no idea that a civil war is even taking place in Sri Lanka. The saddest thing is, from what I've seen anyway, is that it looks like a really beautiful country with lush jungles and a rich, blue coastline. If the Sri Lankans could reach a peace deal and work together to rebuild their country, it could probably make a great tourist destination for westerners seeking to relax and experience the nation's culture. Closing the chapter of civil war would be a great thing for the people of Sri Lanka who would love to just live in peaceful lives. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like either of the warring factions want to take any steps down the long road from tragedy to peace.

Kumbaya!

I am not happy right now. In fact, I don't know what I'm going to do if I hear the words "this administration" again. So what's the bad news? Well, there's a new report, or a politically-driven hatchet piece as I like to call it, released by the National Intelligence Estimate a couple of days ago that suggests that Iran gave up its nuclear program back in 2003. Yeah...well the problem with that is the fact that Iran continues to enrich uranium and block UN inspectors from visiting sites, which even this "report" points out. I'm curious to know what the NIE thinks the mullahs plan to do with all that baked uranium yellowcake. Needless to say, the far-left antiwar crowd and the libertarian Ron Paul movement are rejoicing over this. "We were lied to again!" or "The evil Dick Cheney was manipulating intelligence again!" These are just some of the fringe rants I've been reading. Believe it or not, the antiwar movement actually thinks that the Bush Administration wants to drag the United States into another war, when just today, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Iraq continued their murderous bombing campaigns in both Kabul and Baghdad, taking dozens more lives. I think its safe to say Bush knows we have our hands full right now. But when you have a despotic theocracy supplying IEDS and other arms to these terrorists, you have no choice but to use harsh rhetoric, as Bush has been doing. Sitting down and chatting with them will not make them change their ways, no matter how much we want it to be true.

Since I heard this report, I have been thinking, what if the NIE got it right? What if Iran realy did give up its nuclear program back in 2003?

Well, there's a problem. My biggest concern about Iran is not their nuclear program, but some of the other things they've been up to. Here's a short list of what the Iranian regime is involved in.

-Arming, financing, and supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon
-Arming, financing, and supporting Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories
-Supplying deadly IEDS to Jaish Al-Mahdi splinter cells in southern Iraq
-Supplying arms shipments to terrorists in Afghanistan
-According to the 9/11 commission report, Iran allowed Al-Qaeda terrorists to pass through its borders, possibly with knowledge of an impending attack on the United States
-The regime continues it brutal suppression against the Iranian people, often using force to crack down on protesters. A student leader at Tehran University was recently jailed
-Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs routinely make a mockery of reality by denying the Holocaust, threatening to wipe Israel off the map, and suggesting that there are no homosexuals in Iran.
-Executing homosexuals and stoning women to death for minor offenses

These are just some of the things the Iranians have been up to in recent months, and I didn't even mention that they continue to enrich uranium and defy the international community. This is a bloody theocracy that is more than willing to slaughter its own people just to maintain its grip on power. Supporting terrorists and promoting religious violence are government policy in Iran. For the NIE to release this report and undermine US credibility is nieve and stupid. As Colonel Oliver North might say, the only people who are benefiting from this right now are the ayatollahs who are chortling in their beards as America tears itself apart with political infighting.

But there is more to this. I think that the public is unable to understand the full scope of what's going on here. Back in September, Israel carried out an air raid on what many believe was a secret nuclear reactor in Syria. Since then, everyone has been silent over the issue. If you also remember, the US recently made a deal with North Korea to get them to give up their nuclear weapons. Well, intel reports coming out of Israel suggest that North Korea may have been cloning its nuclear reactor in Syria, which is not too hard to believe, considering how the North Koreans have manipulated and outsmarted the UN and the US for years. Syria and North Korea have also increased political ties, but again, no one seems to want to talk about this. In earlier posts, I have talked about the international community's unwillingness to accept the fact that the government of the Sudan is intentionally killing the people of Darfur. Well, the same thing is going on with Iran, Syria, and North Korea. The UN, the United States, and everyone else want to believe that North Korea is cooperating. They want to pretend that the Israeli air raid into Syria didn't happen, and they want to believe that Iran wants peace, when everything they have done contradicts such an assumption. Even if this NIE report is true, Iran is still on its way to mastering the nuclear fuel cycle. That means that they could switch back on their nuclear weapons prgram anytime (Israel's intel agency, the Mossad, believes this is already the case). Buried deep within this report is the suggestion that if this happened, a nuclear Iran could be possible in eighteen months.

In the end, this report could do just as much harm to America as any Revolutionary Guards contingent that has passed off explosively-formed penatrator IED's to terrorists in Iraq. The democrats, many of whom are praying for failure in Iraq every night, are already pouncing on this, accusing the Bush Admiistration of "manipulating intelligence" again. Senator Joe Biden even called the President a liar yesterday. It makes me sick to think that some of my leaders have more hatred and animosity towards the President than a terror-sponsoring state like Iran. If the dems opened up their eyes, they'd see that Israeli, British, and French intelligence aren't buying into this NIE report. The truth is, I trust the Israelis over the NIE because the Israelis are in touch with reality. Everyday, they are dealing with rockets being fired into their territory and understand the threat of Islamic terrorism. Nevertheless, the media is also touting this report, railing against the president for "instilling fear" over Iran at the Mideast peace conference. Seeing as Iran is doing everything possible to derail the peace process, we should be worried about them. But then again, perhaps the media, the far-left, and the isolationist conservatives are right. Maybe instead of isolating Iran, we should have invited them to the peace conference! Hell, why not invite Hamas too! Bush could embrace Ahmadinejad and Dick Cheney could pick up a banjo. Then the whole conference could break out singing "Kumbaya" and we could all live in peace. That would be great wouldn't it? If only we'd stop this useless warmongering...

In closing, I would like to say that Iran, Syria, and North Korea's nuclear development does not bother me nearly as much as their horrific torture and oppression of their own people. To suggest that we should buddy up with a tyrant like Kim Jong Il so we can get his nukes is irresponsible. Remember that the biggest human tragedies in history were committed without nuclear weapons. That's why I consider to invasion of Iraq justified. When we went in there, we discovered mass graves of untold thousands, something far more terrifying than any stockpile of WMD's.

Russia's great leader, the dictator

"Elections" were held in Russia today, and Russian President Vladimir Putin's party won big, taking more than 64% of the vote amid claims of fraud and intimidation. Opposition leaders are calling the election "unfair" and the west--the US and Europe--don't seem to know what to do. Putin's party now controls 350 seats of the 450 seat parliament, pretty much making the outgoing president a dictator by proxy. By rigging the elections, which the results show most likely happened, Putin can maintain his grip on power. Now, this situation in Russia obviously has nothing to do with the Russia we were dealing with in the past. In fact, the communists came in with only 11.6% of the vote, making an ideolgoy that once imposed fear and hopelessness throughout the world a victim of a new movement--a movement led by Vladimir Putin and his team of KGB buddies. Putin is also a harsh critic of the United States and the War in Iraq, even though his administration bombed the chechen people with a ferocity far greater than anything the United States has done in Iraq, and has been aiding Iran in their quest to go nuclear. Not to mention, over the past few years, people have had a tendency to die if they speak out against Putin and the KGB. Just look at Alexander Litvenenko, one of Putin's biggest critics, who was poisoned and subsequently died last year, along with about a dozen other Kremlin critics. In his book, "Blowing Up Russia", Litvenenko even alleges that the KGB carried out the 1999 Apartment bombings, which left hundreds dead and was widely blamed on Chechan militants. Looking at these events, it seems that Putin is a dangerous man who is more than likely than not up to no good.

So what does this mean for the world?

Some political analysts have suggested that Putin and his party want even more power throughout the international community, which is why Russia is alligning itself with oil-rich countries like Iran. By bringing Iran under its wing, Russia can get on top of the Middle Eastern country's vast oil reserves, in addition to the huge quantities it sits on top of already. With the current regime still in power, more weapons are sure to be flowing to Syria, Sudan, and Venezuela. Remember, Syria's missile defense systems are Russian-made, and the Russians supply many of these despotic governments with guns and fighter jets. Russian oppostionists will probably be in the cross-hairs of the KGB, and if I were Garry Kasparov, the chess player turned Putin critic, I would be scared right now. But perhaps one of the biggest worries is Russia's nuclear arsonal, which Putin has suggested could grow. The former Soviet Union has thousands of aging nuclear warheads just lying around, which creates a very real threat of terrorists like Al-Qaeda or Chechen groups acquiring a nuclear warhead. Putin, who himself faces a growing Islamist threat, should be worried about this almost as much as the West should be. The media is too busy salavating over an intelligence report suggesting Iran "may not" be building nuclear weapons to want to report on this danger that in the long run could prove to be even more threatening to global security.



As I write this, I have the O'Reilly Factor on in the background. A moment ago, Pat Buchanan was on whining about China and how China is a growing threat to the United States. Well, China is having its own infaltion problems as well as energy issues. Everyone's complaining about the Chinese, but we have put Russia on the backburner. The Russians are definitely back on stage, and don't seem like their going to wait for the War on terrorism to end before they advance their agenda. The world seems to be getting more dangerous everyday and it looks like things have the potential to get a lot worse before they get better. On one side, we have a war to win in Iraq. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have re-emerged and an Al-Qaeda presence is making itself known. Islamic miliants threaten Pakistan's stability, while genocide is raging in Darfur. Somalia has fallen back into civil war. Islamic terrorists continue to threaten American and European security and Iran still enriches uranium. Now we're dealing with our old enemies--the Russians, only instead of communists we have the dictatorial United Russian party of Vladimir Putin. I find it funny that the American government condemns Pakistani president Musharraf for imposing a state of emergwncy while his nation is under fire, but has little to say about our great ally, President Putin. We need to face the truth and accept that what Putin is doing is not going to benefit the international community, no matter how much we want to believe the Russians are on our side and are looking out for our best intersts. If he paid attention, even Ron Paul could see what's going on here.



This video from NBC news sums up the situation we're dealing with in Russia pretty well. I'm disappointed they chose to overblow the Iran report instead of cover this very big story tonight though. A country like Russia falling into the grip of a dictatorship is a big problem, and whether or not the press wants to cover it, the repercussions will ripple across the globe.

Partner in peace

Now, for the even more important news that came about on Friday. I visited the mosque in San Francisco and was warmly welcomed. The best way to sum it up would be to say that it was a truly amazing experience. I got the opportunity to observe Friday prayers and see just what Islam is all about. At 12:30, an hour long sermon is delivered in Arabic. Seeing as I can only say a few basic phrases in Arabic, I listened to the Arabic to English translation generously provided in the back. Afterwards, I got to sit down in the center of the mosque and talk with the Muslim community about how they felt about some of the things happening in the world today. Just as I have always believed, they reaffirmed to me that Islam is a religion of peace and that true Muslims reject religious violence, whether it be against westerners or their own people. I brought up the subject of Iraq and the religious violence that is happening over there, and they exlained that there really is no difference between Sunni and Shia. My hosts were Sunni, but they said that Shia families come in to pray on a regular basis, something the you're not going to hear about in the media too often. I also talked about terrorism and their thoughts on groups like Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah. There answer was simple: It's political, meaning that many of these groups have a political ideology that has developed over the years. Its important to point out that there is nothing in the Koran that encourages religious violence, hatred, or attacking innocent people. My hosts also voiced their concerns about how many ignorant people, such as some conservative commentators, have stated that Islam is not a religion of peace and calls for the use of violence to bring about conversions. When I was there, I would like to make absolutely clear that nowhere in the Masjid did I hear about anything like that. Muslims are indeed peaceful people and want what we all want: peace and prosperity throughout the world. I shared with them my plans for becoming a writer and how I want to help make the world a better place, and they told me that they fully support my plans and believe it is a noble cause. They encouraged me to write an op-ed about my experience and I plan to do just that. Islam is truly a beautiful and peaceful religion and I encourage anyone who wants to learn more about it to contact the local Muslim community. It is by understanding each other we can all work together to help make the world a better place.

Mad Libs

Last Friday, I was given the opportunity to be in my town newspaper for a second time, although this time I was the subject and not the author. Now, I am very happy about this because I am glad to see that the community is taking part in the political process instead of picking up celebrity magazines and worrying about Britney Spears. The response I got was pretty much what I expected--I was commended for standing up for what I believe in but attacked over small side facts I brought up in the article, altough I should mention that the main point in article that suggests global warming could very well be a natural process, was largely left alone. I was even accused of suggesting that energy efficiency would not benefit the planet, even though I strongly disagree with anything of the sort. I am foremost a conservationist and I am very concerned with some of the things happening with wildlife and pollution. It's typical of liberals to accuse someone who disagrees with the man-made global warming theory of not caring about the planet. Those of you who know me know I am a huge fan of Steve Irwin and his campaign to save wildlife. In fact, many of his actions inspire me to write what I do today. While I welcome criticism of my work with open arms, I am worried that there is a growing movement from extreme enviromentalists and ideological politicians to silence dissent over global warming.

Just how harmful is it?

Well, for starters, many scientists (yes, there are plenty)who disagree with man-made climate change are often accused of working for big oil, supporting a right-wing agenda, or simply being a hack (as Glenn Beck points out in his great new book, An Inconvenient Book). The founder of this movement, Al Gore, has called for the media to cover only one side of the debate, as I have pointed out in my recent editorial and numerous posts on my blog. Researchers, politicians, and commentors who make their disagreement public are often the target of personal attacks by far-left character assasins determined to silence those who refuse to submit to their belief system. But radical enviromentalism goes from being extreme to dangerous. A few posts down I talked about the rather frightening story of a British woman aborting her own baby to "reduce her carbon footprint". Well, on my way to work a couple of days ago, much to my horror, I read a license plate that actually said Global Warming: Have cats not kids. The cult-like actions of a previously unheard of enviromenal movement are spreading from the UK all the way out here to California. Sure, it sounds almost laughable, but this derranged ideolgy is very real. That's why it is very important for people who disagree with radical enviromentalism to get their platform and spark debate instead of allowing this madness to grow.

Bill Clinton's house of waffles

I was watching the news this morning and was shocked to hear Bill Clintion say he never supported the Iraq War from the beginning. In the late 90's, when the bombs were falling in Baghdad, Bill was saying that the UN weapons inspections were a sham and Saddam was working on a clandestine weapons program. In the lead up to the war, his colleagues--including John Kerry, John Edwards, and Hillary--were all calling for the invasion of Iraq to neautralize Saddams "stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction" and bring freedom to the people of Iraq. Predictably, as problems in Iraq arose and the democrats distanced themselves from the invasion, saying it was Bush's war and the "mess" was all because of mismanagement by Donald Rumsfeld, the man the democrats see as the anti-christ himself. Now its all about "changing course" in Iraq, meaning we need to declare failure. At the end of the day, politicians only care about power and Bill and Hillary are the perfect example. To be honest, I'm surprised Bill is taking an even more extreme anti-war stance on the war instead of trying to spin Hillary's waffling into supporting it. In earlier posts, I've warned that the democratic campaign for the White House is in serious danger of imploding if the American people find out the truth about what's really going on in Iraq--the facts that violence has fallen almost 80% in Baghdad and Iraqi people are rising up to fight extremism. The media is sure to do its best to try and ignore the progress, but it will only work for so long. That's why It won't be a surprise if Hillary wins the nomination and starts changing her view on Iraq AGAIN. Before today, I had respect for Bill Clinton (aside from his catostrophic decisions regarding Rwanda and Somalia). I believe he accomplished some good things for the United States during his time in office. But this just shows he is like all the other politcians. Even some republicans who have stood beside the Bush Administration are jumping ship because their terrified of losing votes. President Bush on the other hand, doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about poll numbers or how the American people feel. He does what he has to do, which means succeeding in Iraq and allowing democracy and freedom to flourish in that region. As far as the 2008 presidential election is concerned, I don't know what's going to happen. Bill and Hill's supporters obviously believe the lies they are telling them about being anti-war from the begining. Even though Iraq is turning aroud (6,000 Sunnis stepped up to man checkpoints across Iraq today), the ship has already left the dock with the anti-war movement taking hold across the US, as I've said before. I want to say the American people will somehow get smarter and reject Hillary's phony positions, but I don't know if they'll realize it by then. I don't even know how the Clinton's really do feel about issues like Iraq since they change their views according to how the country feels. I have an uncle who once told me that politicans should only be allowed to serve one term. That way they never have to worry about getting re-elected and can focus all their energy on improving this country. That's the way it should be.

The new anti-semitism

"What these neoconservatives seek is to conscript American blood to make the world safe for Israel. They want the peace of the sword imposed on Islam and American soldiers to die if necessary to impose it."

-Pat Buchanan
Isolationist Kook

This clip from the movie Borat is a good example of how the fringe anti-war movement seems to see the Jewish people. I've been doing a lot of blog surfing these last few days and I have found some pretty disturbing stuff. Conspiracies theories are swirling all over the anti-war blogs, both far-right and far-left. One nutty blogger actually alleged that "the Jews" are really in control of American politics and are pushing for dominance in the Middle East. Now where have we heard crap like this before? If you guessed 1930's Germany, your correct. Think about it. First, they alleged that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were behind the Iraq War and Bush was their puppet...and it was all for oil. Now, apparently the Jews are responsible! And they're seeking world domination! This is no different than the anti-semitic rants put out on Iranian hate television that accuse the Jews of orachestrating 9/11. Just the same, these conspiracy theories are right up there with the 9/11 truth movement. The anti-war left and isolationist right have one thing in common, apparently: they hate Israel. Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan, the "God bless America and no place else" conservatives, want the U.S. to abandon Israel, while the air america liberals think that Israel is pulling the strings behind George W's motives. I don't know why Israel is hated so much. They are the victims of terrorism and just want peace, no matter what else you hear. They have given concession after concession but no one seems to care.

The cult of enoviromentalism

I know I just did a global warming post, but I saw this the other day and it just made me sick. Apparently, some woman in the UK aborted her baby so she could "reduce her carbon footprint". She even said that having children is selfish and harms the earth by increasing the populatuon. This is insane! This global warming hysteria is turning into a cult. We're actually at a point where people are willing to sacrifice their children in order to bow to the scripture of enviromentalism. I've said this before...it's a religion, complete with Al Gore (the prophet) his movie (bible) computer models (scripture) ministers (Kevin Rudd, other leaders), heaven (going green) and hell (globally warmed, hurricane and fire ravaged earth). Only now its gone from being a joke to outright crazy. It can even qualify as a cult, now that enviromentalists are apparently doing human scarifices. This is truly despicable.

Global Warming News!

Yesterday I got an article published in my town newspaper about global warming. It felt could to be the voice of reason in a sea of mass hysteria, especially here in California. Now, I'm expecting a backlash from some of the enviromental fanatics who see man-made global warming almost like a religion. The editor will probably get a handful of letters attacking me for being a "global warming denier" and other stuff like that. The fact is, the left is just angry that there's people out there who don't buy into the idea that human-beings are solely responsible for global warming and that the end is near. Now that I'm in the public domain, I'm going to do my best to counter the one-sided propaganda everyone's been getting about the climate change debate.

Other GW news: Sadly, Prime Minister John Howard, "the greatest leader the world has ever seen" as Steve Irwin called him, has lost his bid for another term to one of Al-Gore's ordained ministers, a man named Kevin Rudd, in Australia. This nut is sure to ratify the sham of a treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol. All I can say is that Prime Minister Howard was a good man and he deserves much praise.

24 hours in this world

November 23rd-24th is an example of just how dangerous the world has become:

India: 16 people were killed in a series of bicycle bombs exploded outside of several courthouses in three northeastern towns. Indian intelligence fears terrorists are trying to spark a war between majority Hindus and Muslims.

Pakistan: Suicide car bombers killed as many as 35 people in the city of Rwalpindi, south of the capital Islamabad. Most of the casuaties were elite ISI specailists onboard a bus, while the other attacker hit a military checkpoint. Dozens more were wounded.

Afghanistan: A Taliban bomber killed 7 children and an Italian soldier working on a bridge in Kabul. Also, 7 Afghan police and an Australian soldier died in a fierce gunfight with Taliban militants.

Iraq: Twin blasts hit Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul. 28 people died in the attacks, the first of which hit a pet shop in Baghdad and is being blamed on Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen.

Lebanon: The Pro-Syrian president left office without a sucessor, forcing the army to send tens of thousands of soldiers onto the streets of Beirut. Many fear a power vacuum could re-ignite warring factions and throw the country back into civil war.

Congo: Renegade General Laurent Nkunda and his Tutsis rebels launched an attack on army positions in the lawless east. Local Congolese are reporting explosions, shelling, and machine gun firing raining down on the countryside. So far, the largely impotent UN force has been unable to reach the area.

Permission Granted...

The mosque in San Francisco has invited me to come by for a visit during Friday prayers next week, which is pretty cool because Friday is the most holy day of the week for Muslims. I plan on talking to them about how the Muslim community feels about some of the events happening in the world today and they'll tell me more about what their religion is all about. I think it's going to be a very interesting experience entering an Islamic place of worship. I have studied Islam extensively, but this is going to be one of my biggest steps forward in my desire to learn more about the world around me and help make it a more peaceful place.

A Genocide Forgotten

Africa has been on my mind a lot lately. It's such a tragedy that so much of what's happening over there goes unreported in the mainstream media. For example, not very many people know about Ituri, Katanga, or North Kivu, three provinces in Eastern Congo that have been plagued by continuing bloodshed for years. The Congo War started shortly after the Rwandan Genocide ended, when RPF rebels drove the Interahamwe militia into Congo's vast jungles. Unfortunately, the militiamen did not stop their killing spree, it simply continued in a new location. After Rwanda finished counting its dead and the world remained in shock over the horror of the most efficient mass killing in human history, the Hutu miltia who took so many lives continued to wreck havoc on the innocent in Congo. Eventually, Rwanda and a half-dozen other African nations would be drawn into the battle, and hundreds of thousands would die. Millions more, many of them children, would sucumb to disease and staration. Other militias would form, including Tutsis rebels led by a General named Laurent Nkunda. Hoping to get even with the Hutus, the Tutsis militias would committ atrocities almost as bad as their rivals. Natural resources also came into play, and greed and corruption dragged Africa into even more mayhem. By 2002, some 4 million people had died in the Congo War and its sub-conflicts, some of which are happening today. A small contingent of 17,000 peacekeepers has had some luck in tamping down the remaining Interahamwe militia, but Nkunda's Tutsis rebels continue their siege of Eastern Congo, killing and raping countless innocent people. This year, tens of thousands have been driven from their homes as the rebels battle it out with government and UN forces, vying for control of lawless region. It's hard to know exactly what type of conflict this is. Obviosuly, its a genocide, but its almost like a mix of Somalia, Iraq, Darfur, and Rwanda. As of today, the death toll in the Congo War surpasses all of the previous conclicts mentioned above combined. If this isn't the definition of tragedy, then what would be? If you care about Africa like I do, then take action. Even something as small as donating a soccer ball to children can go a long way. Then there's always volunteer opportunities, something I'm considering doing in the near future. A good group is Volunteer Africa, where volunteers are sent to build school houses in Tanzania. I plan on writing a letter to Nancy Pelosi (I live right near her district) so I can ask her why she cares so much about condemning the Armenian Genocide that happened 90 years ago, but has never once urged action to intervene in war-torn and genocide ravaged parts of Africa.

Helping to make the world a better place

I have requested permission to enter a mosque in San Francisco, where I would like to get a chance to hear the Muslim community's feelings about some of the things happening in the world today. If all goes well, I could head over there on Monday. This outreach is part of an investigative journalism piece I have decided to put together. My goal is to get an understanding of where the country stands morally and politically over the next few weeks, with a plan of putting it all together in an op-ed I would like to submit to one of the local newspapers by the end of the year. In addition to the Muslim Community, I also plan on visiting the Israeli consulate in San Francisco and the offices of some anti-war and pro-troop movements like "World can't wait and "Move America forward". Each visit is sure to bring about some very different views and opinions, but that's what America is all about.

Iran's centrifuges spin...

The UN has conceded that Iran has failed to stop uranium enrichment and the IAEA's knowledge of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is shrinking. The UN has been trying desperately to pretend that this isn't a serious issue, and they want to believe that the mad mullahs in Tehran are looking out for the best interests of the world, whioh they are not. Oil prices are sure to rise, and I just wish that the people of Iran would rise up and put an end to this madness by bringing about democratic change. We need to remember that they are the best weapon we can use in this fight, much better than any cruise missile or special operations contingent. A war with Iran would be terrible and result in chaos across the region. Not to mention, the world's economy would shut down from the skyrocketing oil price that would follow. We need to take a stand a support the people of Iran without launching another war. The world would be such a better place without the insane statements of Ahmadinejad and his buddy, Khamenei, and would be even better if it could be done without the use of force. If George Bush should ever stumble upon this post...Mr. President, support the Iranian people in their fight for democracy.

Happy Steve Irwin Day!

Crocs rule!

Ron Paul should watch this...

Isolationism and non-intervention are failed strategies and always will be.

Implosion

The genocide advocates are making yet another attempt to abandon Iraq so they can promote their own political agendas, even though every single resolution the congress has tried to pass, whether their seeking a "New Direction" in Iraq or just trying to "Change Course", has imploded long before the President would ever have to comply with it. Now, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are trying yet again to bring the war to an end. Why? Because they're devastated by the turn of events that has been happening in Iraq over the last several months. Violence has fallen dramatically and the U.S. military has really kicked Al-Qaeda's ass. Not to mention, Iraqis are rising up against extremism and Muqtada Al-Sadr has decided to join the peace process. This is Reid and Pelosi's worst nightmare, so they need to bring about failure in order to maintain the anti-Bush sentiment gripping this country. I've said this before and I'll say it again...I don't care about George W. Bush. I could care less about his approval ratings or promoting republicans or conservatism. I just want the world to be a better place, meaning I don't care whether its a democrat or a republican putting out ideas to do so. Right now, Bush's strategy of helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan rebuild their countries seems to be working. Reid and Pelosi's plan of "changing course" in Iraq would surely result in the deaths of untold thousands of people. Unfortunately, the ship has already left the dock with anti-war sentiment. Even though Iraq is stabilizing, the American people (according to polls) seem to have had enough of seeing the carnage in Baghdad every night. If Iraq continues to improve, people might realize that a republican presidential candidate is the best choice to help make our world a safer place. It will have to happen soon though, so hopefully the people of Iraq will keep the pressure on Al-Qaeda and the Iranians will mind their own business as the countdown to the election begins.

Preachers of hate

Does anyone else think its wrong that terribe people like Alec Baldwin and Sean Penn get paid millions and millions of dollars while real heros like soldiers and rescue workers make nothing? All these pompous actors do is act like there better than everyone and let out political rants every once in a while. Sean Penn hangs out with Hugo Chavez, Alec Baldwin goes off on his daughter, and others, like Charlie Sheen, talk about 9/11 conspiracies. All these people do is make the world a worse place.

Tom Cruise's new anti-war movie collapses

"Lions for Lambs", the new flag-burning anti-war movie released over the weekend,(veteran's day weekend) failed to capture a large audience, following suit with other hateful anti-American movies such as Rendition. It appears that the people of the United States still have the utmost respect for their country and don't want to pay ten dollars to go hear it bashed, especially when they can just turn on Keith Olbermann and hear it everynight in their living room. Tom Cruise has completely lost it anyway.

Good man

Former UN ambassador John Bolton seems to be the only person standing up for President Musharraf in Pakistan. He understands the seriousness of what's going on over there and is basically telling President Bush and congress to back off of Musharraf as he struggles to get his country under control.

Absolute Al...

There's been no shortage of global warming news these last couple of days. NBC news has announced there going green! That means every affiliation from sports broadcasts to the Today Show will be preaching sermons amount global warming and the "actions" we can take to "stop it". The Today Shown even featured Al Gore on Monday. In his inerview, he is demanding that journalists end the traditional practice of reporting both sides of the story when it comes to climate change. Basically, he wants to silence those who disagree with him. This is just another attempt by the media to try and influence (brainwash) the American public. The Today show tried it last year, being the first media outlet to officially declare Iraq as a "civil war". Well, that last ditch effort to bring about failure in Iraq failed itself. Now its all about global warming and how people need to start panicking about melting ice caps and drowning polar bears. Earlier this week, congress brought in a hysterical teenage girl from Alaska to testify about the "devastating" effects she's seeing in her home state as a result of global warming. This girl should ask herself if she really believes that by reducing emissions and riding public transportation we can cool Alaska off. It's completely ridiculous! I think we should take the Today Show's advice to conserve energy by turning them off.