MORNING INTELL: Senator Slick Willie and Robot Soldiers

BLOGOSPHERE NEWS:
December 2 2008



THE SCOOP:
* Senator Slick Willie?
* TIME's Tool
* Mumbai's Message
* Pentagon's Robot Soldiers
* Jihad against Civilization

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A WORLD OF NEWS

1. OBAMA's ELECTION HASN'T ENDED TERRORISM?
   

   File this one under “Deluded Expectations.” During MSNBC’s coverage of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, daytime anchor Alex Witt seemed frustrated that the election of Barack Obama 23 days earlier — and the accompanying “global outpouring of affection, respect, hope” — had not caused an end to terrorist violence.

   
   
   We'd say: file this under the heading, "Some Obama Supporters Aren't Very Well Informed--or Anchored in Reality: MSNBC Anchor Frets: Why Hasn’t Obama’s Election Ended Terrorism?.
   
   From MSNBC's Alex Witt Amazed There Are Still Terrorists Even After Obama Won: "Congratulations, Alex. You're starting to figure out the future you've helped make for us by hyping the clueless and unqualified Obambi all the way into the White House."
   
   
2. WTF?!?: Bill Clinton mentioned for wife's Senate seat. "Senator Slick Willie" does have a certain ring to it.
   
   
   
   
3. Al Franken still isn't funny: Minnesota Recount: Franken’s Sore Loser Strategy. If Franken doesn't get enough votes, it's off to the courts--or even the Senate! Both are funny places.
   
   
4. Al-Qaida: Making some lists and checking them twice...
   "In Washington, analysts in the law enforcement and intelligence communities will be putting together "after incident reports" on Mumbai. So too will terrorists in Islamabad, Kabul and Gaza."
   Mumbai: A Message for America
   
   
5. One item of disagreement with the above story is the following:
   

   If you think about what ten terrorists in Mumbai were able to accomplish with automatic weapons, grenades, and bombs against the Indian special forces and military, you realize that a similar attack against modestly-armed American police with a few special weapons teams would create even greater havoc. Certainly, the military would be mobilized in response, but all of that takes time, especially in our multi-layered federal system with its historic emphasis on local control. In the initial hours of an attack, the terrorists would vastly out-gun the police. The police would hardly be able to contain the situation let alone bring it to denouement.

   
   We're not sure where the author, Abraham H. Miller, lives; but apparently he is unaware of the increasing militarization of America's small-town police forces. Undertaken in the name of "not wanting to be out-gunned by the bad guys", police throughout the country are using assault tactics and weapons to carry out routine duties. It's not only scary, it's a waste of money. Mumbai's message might be many things, but one thing it's not: the transformation of the Mayberry Police Dept. into a special commando unit.
   
   

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QUICK HITTERS

• Water-Powered Car Video: GenePax Hydro Car Set for 2010: Japanese company GenePax unveils their water-powered car in this short video demonstration. It runs about an hour at 80 kilometers/hour. They hope to be in production by 2010. [video length: 1:21]
  
  
  
• Is there a bigger tool than TIME's Joe Klein? Klein can't believe that reporters are asking PE Obama "inane" questions?
  

  Watching the Obama rollout of his national security team from overseas--I'm in Europe, on my way to Afghanistan--I was struck by the inanity of most of the questions from my colleagues.

  
  For 22 months, the press asked BHO a steady stream of inane, insipid questions. Why would there be a sudden "Change"? Why is it that MSM reporters always ask questions about their total tool-ness after the fact? Memo to Klein: this would have been a real story if you'd written it in August. Now, it's just another eyebrow-chewing MSM piece written to assure readers--and the reporter--that you're "thoughtful".
  
  
• MO's Big Thank You: Michelle’s ring thing.
  MMalken: "If Michelle thinks she should receive a present for contributing to the successful Obama campaign, what gift is she getting him for winning it?"
  Sometimes, when presented with too much information all at once, the human mind shuts down. The above question makes the mind spin at the possibilities.
  
  
• Change to The British System?
  Don Surber: "The British government saves money by forgetting to treat Alzheimer’s patients." Free Health Care
  
  
• During the campaign, the ObamaBunch cut off access to those asking anything but softball questions. Doesn't look like that's going to "Change!" anytime soon. Don't say America wasn't warned: Change... Obama Continues Boycott of FOX News.
  
  

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Michael Ramirez, IBD:

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SEE ALL, KNOW ALL

1. Sounds like the Terminator to us: Pentagon hires British scientist to help build robot soldiers that 'won't commit war crimes'.
   Just a guess: It'd be hard to try a robot in a court of law.
   
   
2. Britain, the Land of the PC - UK: Muslim Prayer Rooms Should Be Offered in Catholic Schools .
   "Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in every Roman Catholic school, Church leaders have said. The Catholic bishops of England and Wales also want special toilet facilities in schools to be adapted for Islamic cleaning rituals."
   No word if holy water will be used in the footbaths.
   
   
3. Why do you suppose he didn't do a Gay version of the Koran? Gay Bible Set to Publish: Aida and Eve, Christian “Backlash” Needed
   
   
4. More Mumbai: Jihad: The War Against Civilization
   

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MEATY LINK FUNK GOODNESS

• Idiots of the Week: December 1, 2008
  
  
• Thankful? Four videos that will make anyone swear off getting wrapped up in "World of Warcraft". WoW was the same game that brought the two killers in 2007's Baby Grace murder together.
  
  
• Giants are leading, Steelers, Cowboys tied for second at the moment: POLL: Which NFL Team Will Win Super Bowl XLIII
  
  
• More money down a rathole: On Bailing out an unsalvageable dinosaur industry.
  Either the bailout is about saving companies serious about saving themselves--or it's about saving some cushy jobs both in the front office and on the assembly line.
  
  

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file; hot air

Dangerous World for Obama: Five Places Obama Will Be Tested

The Five Obama Foreign Policy Tests:
Obama's Not Even Sworn In Yet But
Russia, Terrorists, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran
Have Started the Testing of Obama

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Americans were assured that the world couldn't wait until the election of a President Obama--and it was true. The world didn't wait until Obama officially takes office on January 20 to start testing the former junior senator from Illinois.

Joe Biden called it during the presidential campaign: Within six months, Barack Obama will be tested by countries around the globe if he won. [Joe Biden: Elect Obama and We’ll Have an International Crisis]

The Mainstream press didn't address Biden's comments much--other than feature numerous campaign spokesmen "clarifying" Biden's remarks. Obama's lack of experience or credentials wasn't a topic for polite MSM conversation: it was much more pleasant to write about what "Change" really meant.

Within hours of Barack Obama winning the 2008 election, Russia announced it was putting missiles next to NATO countries. This wasn't the only wake-up call for the new administration. There are other countries and groups seemingly lined up to see what the United States' response will be to global challenges.

We've picked out four of the earliest ones.

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• Test #1: Russia and Europe
  
  From Obama's First Diplomatic Test:
  
  

  The day after Obama's election, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev publicly threatened to deploy missiles near the borders of two NATO allies to counter the Bush Administration's plans to install antimissile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. The Russian announcement, rolled out during an elaborate ceremony, was timed to put one of the most contentious issues between Moscow and Washington on Obama's table right away. Obama and his advisers took it as an intentional provocation aimed at testing the President-elect.

  
  
  TIME then makes an amazing statement: "In fact, Obama's biggest challenge lies not in the tone he takes with the Russians but in the substantive policy choices he makes."
  
  What is this? Won't "acting presidential" pacify the Russians? It certainly worked on the American Mainstream Media during the election. It seems a little late in the game for TIME to talk "substantive policy choices" after the election.
  
  Unlike the MSM, Russia will not be swayed by a confident Obama style only. Like their invasion of Afghanistan during Jimmy Carter's term, the Russians will be watching U.S. responses and adjusting their policy accordingly.
  
  
  
• Test #2: Iraq and Afghanistan
  
  Obama ran a relentless campaign against George W. Bush--who wasn't a candidate. But Obama will find that it was Bush's surge policy--in stark contrast to Obama's plan to beat a hasty retreat--that carried the day in Iraq.
  
  From early indications, Obama will roughly follow the Bush agenda for Iraq; no doubt disturbing his anti-war supporters who helped him secure the Democrat nomination. It's been quiet in Iraq the last several months: some want to declare victory.
  
  But the incoming Obama administration may be tested by all parties in Iraq, including the Iraqi government.
  
  Al-Qaida seems detested, dejected and defeated, but they may be lying dormant. They will monitor developments and American policy and look for any openings to test the new president.
  
  Afghanistan is a different matter.
  
  The Afghan central government is corrupt; NATO allies--with the exception of Britain--are not much good once shooting starts; and, the Taliban appears to be getting stronger as the war wears on.
  
  It's promising that during the campaign, Obama did support the war in Afghanistan. So, cutting-and-running is probably not his first option from the opium capital of the world.
  
  Obama has also said that he recognizes the situation in Afghanistan is worsening. What actions will he take in response?
  
  
• Test #3: Biological and Nuclear Terror
  
  From Panel Fears Use of Unconventional Weapon:
  

  An independent commission has concluded that terrorists will most likely carry out an attack with biological, nuclear or other unconventional weapons somewhere in the world in the next five years unless the United States and its allies act urgently to prevent that.
  
  In a report to be released this week, the Congressionally mandated panel found that with countries like Iran and North Korea pursuing nuclear weapons programs, and with the risk of poorly secured biological pathogens growing, unconventional threats are fast outpacing the defenses arrayed to confront them.
  
  “America’s margin of safety is shrinking, not growing,” the bipartisan panel concluded.

  
  
  Pakistan is a particular area for concern, with terrorists with an eye toward causing death and destruction likely to come from that U.S. ally. It's suspected that the Mumbai terrorists came from Pakistan, where they likely trained and prepared.
  
  “Pakistan is an ally, but there is a grave danger it could also be an unwitting source of a terrorist attack on the United States — possibly with weapons of mass destruction,” the report said.
  
  
• Test #4: India and Pakistan
  
  ABC News called Mumbai "Obama's first foreign policy test". From Mumbai: Obama's First Foreign Policy Test:
  

  American officials believe the terrorists may be Pakistani extremists bent on turning the disputed Kashmir region along the border with India into a separate Islamic state.
  ...
  As Obama continues to work with the current administration to prepare for a seamless transition, history shows that foreign policy and national security cannot be put on hold during presidential transitions.

  
  
  Mumbai was seen by some, including Melanie Phillips, as another battle in the worldwide Jihad now being fought.
  
  One wrong move and the world could witness the first nuclear war between the countries on the Indian subcontinent.
  
  
• Test #5: A nuclear armed Iran
  
  Iran is not going to change its headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons--or its reasons for acquiring them--because of pleasant talk, smiles and handshakes. The Islamic Republic respects one thing: power.
  
  What actions will a President Obama take?
  
  Hopefully, they'll be wiser than the policies of ex-president, Jimmy Carter.
  
  From Obama's First Foreign Policy Tests
  
  

  Successive, Democratic and Republican U.S. administrations have appeased the Islamists in Iran, starting with the catastrophic Carter administration, which secretly assisted the Islamist overthrow of the pro-U.S. Shah, a modernizing monarch, in a craven, cynical attempt to curry favor with the Ayatollah Khomeini.
  ...
  China Confidential analysts believe that Iran's Hitlerian maniac-in-chief, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (whom President-elect Obama has offered to meet in face-to-face talks) is determined to announce a major nuclear breakthrough in time for this February's 30th anniversary celebrations of the Islamic Republic.

Five tests for President-elect Obama.

The world will be watching to see how he scores.

Americans hope he gets a passing grade.


by Mondo Frazier
image: dbkp file

MORNING INTELL: Mumbai-Pakistan Link, The Left and Hate, Senator Chris Matthews

BLOGOSPHERE NEWS:
November 29 2008



THE SCOOP:
* Pakistan Behind Mumbai?
* Leaker or Whistleblower?
* Chicago: Where only the criminals have guns
* Swiss likely to approve prescription smack
* Japan, Spain Race to Join Dead Civilizations
* Senator Chris Matthews?
* Republicans Lose; We Don't have to Drink Dirty Water Anymore
* AP Doesn't Want Military Fauxtography Competition

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A WORLD OF NEWS

1. Was the attacks on Mumbai the work of the Pakistanis? Looking more likely, it seems. India, Pakistan simmer over Mumbai attacks
   

   Indian accusations of a Pakistani link to the attacks on Mumbai that killed nearly 200 people threaten to damage attempts to improve ties between the rivals.
   
   Indian officials have said most, perhaps all, of the 10 attackers who held Mumbai hostage with frenzied attacks using assault rifles and grenades came from Pakistan, a Muslim nation carved out of Hindu-majority India in 1947.
   
   An official in Islamabad said the next one to two days would be crucial for relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan has condemned the assaults and denied any involvement by state agencies.

   
   
2. American "allies" debate how best to squeeze blood money from a financially-stricken turnip: OPEC defers new oil supply cut as divisions emerge
   
   

   OPEC on Saturday deferred a decision on a new oil supply cut amid signs that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are demanding tighter adherence to restraints put in place over the past two months.
   
   Gulf producers want to see strict compliance with recent output curbs of 2 million barrels a day before considering further reductions when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Algeria on Dec. 17.

   
   Diplomats from throughout the oil-consuming world are also debating--about the best way to say, "Kiss my ass".
   
   
3. Chicago, the Kingdom by Lake Michigan: homicides are up 41% since the gun ban was passed, but who's counting? Chicago Defies the Second Amendment
   
   

   When it comes to firearms, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is no slave to rationality. "Does this lead to everyone having a gun in our society?" he demanded after the ruling came down. "Then why don't we do away with the court system and go back to the Old West, where you have a gun and I have a gun and we'll settle it in the streets?"
   
   From listening to him, you might assume that the only places in North America that don't have firefights on a daily basis are cities that outlaw handguns. You might also assume that Chicago is an oasis of concord, rather than the site of 443 homicides last year.

   
   
   
4. It's comforting to know that when the Right half of the blogosphere publishes information damaging to the Obama administration that's leaked, the NY Times will stand up and applaud. Right? Right? Leaks: A Different Story in Great Britain
   

   We have complained for years about the fact that leakers in the CIA, the State Department and elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy have carried on a war against the Bush administration since the President's first term, a war they largely have won. Politically-motivated Democrats in the bureaucracies leak to politically-motivated Democrats at newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, who run "exposes" of the Bush administration based, frequently, on selective use of classified documents. Instead of being prosecuted, the leakers have never been identified and the reporters have won awards.
   
   That infuriating situation is a striking contrast with what is happening in Great Britain, where one of the most prominent members of the Conservative opposition, shadow immigration minister Damian Green, has been arrested for receiving leaked information from a government official:

   
   
   
5. THE OBAMA TOUCH: Is Barack Obama: The Wile E. Coyote of Diplomacy? Obama is only the president-elect--as we're reminded on a hourly basis--but he's already mishandled relations with both Pakistan and India since his election. With accomplishments like that, the sky's the limit once January 20 gets here.

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QUICK HITTERS

• Wonder if its part of the socialized health care plan? Swiss likely to approve prescription heroin. Wonder how difficult it is to make chocolate and watches with a prescription monkey on your back?
  
  
• What's a Libertarian to do? Does the Libertarian party still matter?
  
  "Traditionally opposed to government interventionism, libertarians are at a loss about how to respond to the economic crisis"
  
  
• NYC Mayor Rudy knew. Dutch Experiments vindicate the "Broken Windows Theory" of how disorder and crime spreads: Is Crime Contagious?
  
  
• LOVE TO HATE: The Left is obsessed with hate. Here's a leftie blog hate two-fer: Lou Dobbs doesn't want to deal with his own culpability for hate crimes and I Hate Wal-Mart
  
  
• NO HATE HERE: Meanwhile, an Obama supporter goes on an annoyed (hate seems over-used) rampage against a Doubter-of-Hope-and-change. Hope like a butterfuly, sting like a bee: I'll kill you! Spat Over Obama Sparks Beating in Florida. The color of change in Florida is black-and-blue.
  
  
• The AP apparently satisfied the U.S. military isn't muscling in on its fauxtog territory: AP lifts ban on military photos. How many fauxtography scandals has the AP been involved in? Check out Fauxtography on Parade

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Tired of bloody revolutions and capitalistic monopolies? Mark Fiore has the answer with the economic clapper. It makes switching from one ideology to the other quick and painless with just the sound of the infamous clapper. This is exactly the radical new technology that will help improve the productivity and spped to action of our dead beat Congressional leadership.
--[for the complete animated version of the image above, see: Clap Capitalism On and Off With The Clapper]

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SEE ALL, KNOW ALL

1. Chris Matthews Staffing Up for Probable Senate Run in 2010. The news reportedly sent a thrill, chill and spill running down the legs of Arlen Specter (R-PA).
   
   
2. History lesson for those too young to remember the breathtaking days of cattle futures, Pardongate, impeachment and Travelgate: Hillary Clinton, pseudo-centrist .
   
   
3. The Quote of the day answers the question, "How do you want to be remembered, Mr. President?"
   
   
4. The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and Man Made Climate Change: Efforts to support global climate-change falls: Poll.
   

   Less than half of those surveyed, or 47 per cent, said they were prepared to make personal lifestyle changes to reduce carbon emissions, down from 58 per cent last year.
   
   Only 37 per cent said they were willing to spend "extra time" on the effort, an eight-point drop.
   
   And only one in five respondents - or 20 per cent - said they'd spend extra money to reduce climate change. That's down from 28 per cent a year ago.

   
   Al Gore's so pissed, he's buying stock in Consolidated Coal.
   
   
5. Did we make any money this week? I don't know, I'll ask Washington.
   From Market Economy to Political Economy
   

   Even more egregious will be the directives to a nationalized Detroit. Sen. Charles Schumer, the noted automotive engineer, declared "unacceptable" last week "a business model based on gas." Instead, "We need a business model based on cars of the future, and we already know what that future is: the plug-in hybrid electric car."
   
   The Chevy Volt, for example? It has huge remaining technological hurdles, gets 40 miles on a charge and will sell for about $40,000, necessitating a $7,500 outright government subsidy. Who but the rich and politically correct will choose that over a $12,000 gas-powered Hyundai? The new Detroit churning out Schumer-mobiles will make the steel mills of the Soviet Union look the model of efficiency.

   
   The economy according to Marx, Bush, Stalin, Obama and Lenin.

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MEATY LINK FUNK GOODNESS

• Lori Drew, the Mad Max Mom Run Amok, was convicted by an LA jury of violating the terms of service of MySpace when she participated in creating a fake cyberspace boy. Her manipulation of the cyber-guy pushed 13-year-old Megan Meier over the edge to suicide and produced a national outcry once the story was publicized. Should the Lori Drew Cyberbullying Decision Be Overturned?
  

  Young Megan Meier hung herself after she was spurned by her MySpace boyfriend. The boyfriend never existed. He was a creation of the mother of one of Megan’s classmates. The mother, Lori Drew, was found guilty Tuesday of creating a fake persona.
  ...
  According to CNN, Lori Drew was convicted of three misdemeanor counts in the case of 13-year-old Megan Meier’s suicide that came as a result of her being criticized on the Web site MySpace.com.

  
  In old Western movies, the villain would be brought to the gallows and someone in the crowd would inevitably yell, "Hangin's too good for 'em!"
  
  We'll just say, "30 days in the electric chair" and leave it at that.
  
  
• Another Hillary brick in the Obama wall: Obama Picks Pro-Hillary Communications Director
  
  
• BORED, FIREARMS-INCOMPETENT ATHLETE ALERT: Maybe he didn't like the music? Plaxico Burress Shoots Himself in the Leg' Update: Shocker! Shooting Took Place at a Nightclub . At least he's not playing for the Steelers anymore.
  
  
• Abortion Now Number One Cause Of Death In Spain: Remember when the MSM was predicting in the 1980s that the USA would soon be swallowed whole by Japan, Inc.? Mark Steyn's Lights out relates how Japan and Spain are following the Path of the Dead (Civilizations). At least the dying nations share a chapter of history: Incans, Aztecs, Japanese, Spanish.
  
  
• The Left celebrates: We don't have to drink dirty water anymore! EPA, Interior Dept. Chiefs Will Be Busy Erasing Bush's Mark and Science, common sense returning to Washington. Now, mothers won't have to be worried about non-aborted babies having their grown stunted by the environmental nightmare that was America 2000-2008.

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file