NIE Doc Needs an Editor (or a librarian!)

For the life of me I cannot discover how the NIE doc is organized. There's really no taxonomy applied to the thing and it seems to jump back and forth.

What's more the content of the bullets is conceptually at the same level of the key findings paragraphs. In short, someone threw up a whole bunch of items but never organized it into congruent categories.

Well, I did it for them:

Paris Hilton and the 12th Imam are dating?

Mark Steyn is probably one of my favorite writers. His latest column is very fine indeed:

The last intervention in public affairs Ted Turner made was a month or two back, when he recounted what an agreeable vacation he'd had in Kim Jong Il's North Korea. (I sent him a postcard saying, "Wish you were still there.")

Speaking of President A's call for the 12th Imam Steyn has this to say:

This isn't just some cockamamie pie-in-the-sky deal. Last year, Ahmadinejad told the Indian foreign minister that everything would be hunky-dory in two years' time, which the minister took to mean when Iran's nukes would be ready to fly. But, as the president went on to explain, that's apparently the Twelfth Imam's ETA.

Steyn points out the sharp differences between Turner-ites and sane lefties:

What to do? Alan Dershowitz is a big liberal but he's a sane liberal and, unlike many of his chums, he acknowledges the threat. So what's his big idea?

He thinks Iran should be expelled from the United Nations.

Yeah, right. There's more chance of the Twelfth Imam eloping with Paris Hilton.

I laughed. Steyn continues:

ran's president was a huge hit at the U.N. Short of bringing out some burqa-clad Rockettes and doing a couple of choruses of "This Is the Dawning of the Age of a Scary Us," he couldn't have been a bigger smash. I said a year or two back, apropos the U.N., that it's a good basic axiom that if you take a quart of ice cream and blend it with a quart of dog poop the result will taste more like the latter than the former. And last week's performances at the General Assembly were a fine illustration of that.

And I didn't see any news reports of this story:

As further evidence of my fecal ice-cream thesis, the Iranian president followed his boffo speech with a trip to the Council on Foreign Relations, where he said the Palestinians were the ones being penalized for an event they had nothing to do with: World War II and the Holocaust, "if it, in fact, occurred." On the matter of whether it did occur, he said that "more unbiased research should be carried out on the subject." A survivor of Dachau, Morris Greenberg, happened to be in the room and pointed this out. President Ahmouttamatree then queried whether Greenberg was old enough to have been at Dachau.

Then a fantastic dig at Chomsky and Chavez:

Chavez was an even bigger hit, in part because he eschewed the Holocaust denying, doesn't see himself as the warm-up act for the Twelfth Imam, and stuck closer to the American left's talking points: It's all the Bushitler's fault. He denounced Bush as an "imperialist, fascist, assassin, genocidal" and also "the devil," he held up a copy of some unreadable Noam Chomsky book, gave it a big plug and subsequently regretted that he couldn't meet with the late Professor Chomsky. Chomsky isn't late, he's alive and well. Granted, it's easy to get the impression he's been dead for 30 years, since he hasn't had a new idea since the early '70s.

And then a final adieu!

Anyone who thinks the U.N. is the body to mediate Iran's nuclearization or anything else is more deluded than Ahmadinejad. At this rate, the Twelfth Imam will be the next secretary-general.

Sadat's Fate Our Own?

If you haven't read or listened Hugh Hewitt's interview with the author of The Looming Tower, do so now! Then, as Hugh suggests, go get the book itself.

One interesting aside from the interview. At one point, Hugh asks Wright whether Iran's 12th Imam or Al Quaeda pose a greater threat to the United States. Wright replies:

LW: It's an interesting question, Hugh. They're both very dangerous in their own way. And I think that the real threat is that they are collaborating in certain ways. I've written about al Qaeda's master plan, its grand plan. And one of the things that al Qaeda would love to see happen is to have happen, is to have the U.S. and Iran in a real conflict, because it was accomplish things that al Qaeda can't do for itself... And we'd be really wise not to try to follow.

Hugh follows with another question: "Would you ever want that government to have nukes, Lawrence Wright?"

LW: You know, no. I don't want them to. But we were likely to see this happen, though, Hugh. We've already had, of course, an Islamist government in Pakistan that developed a nuclear bomb before Musharraf came into power. So although very dangerous, and their contacts with Hezbollah, I think, make it even more dangerous, it may not be something that we can actually stop. So I think we're going to have to find a way to negotiate our way out of this, because the alternative is not very rewarding, I don't think.

Hugh's a pro at this and knows where the tangent should stop so he concludes: "Well, we'll have to come back to that a different day,... we disagree, but we'll just put it aside."

Just a few minutes later in the interview Wright describes the tragic mistake that Sadat made once he came to power in Egypt:

Sadat made the unfortunate calculation that he could let these guys out [the Muslim brotherhood] of prison, and work out an agreement with them. I could see where he would think that.... he calculated that he was a pious Muslim himself, and that he could deal with the radical fringe that was so popular in the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups. But he completely miscalculated.

This strikes me as formidible evidence against Wright's assessment that we should "negotiate our way out of this". Of course, everyone would prefer to avoid war, but we need to face the brutal reality lest we suffer Sadat's same fate.

Daily Kos: Anonymous Sources = Red Flags

Too funny. Today on Daily Kos, "mcjoan" posts a report on the Huffington Post about the Dems wanting to run the election on the economy. This upsets the radical left because in their minds every drawn breath must be used to bash Bush! After analyzing the evidence they

"We're all ready to believe the worst of our Democraticleaders, and given how many times they've disappointed, I'm right there w ith everyone else. But this is another instance in which considering the source is important. An article that's based primarily on anonymous sources should raise red flags."

Oh boy! Can we hold you to that when the NY Times prints another treasonous article about the military with anonyous sources?

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

Senate Staff Salaries

I love it when we shine transparency on the legislative process but I have to admit even I was a bit uncomfortable with the new site Legistorm making Legislative Staff salaries public for the first time on the Internet. (hat tip to Hugh Hewitt who had the Legistorm founder on his show the other day)

To date, you could walk into the clerk's office and ask for the information but now you're a click away from the vital information that the Mail Clerk for Senator David Vitter rakes in about $26,000 a year.

Pithy stuff right? Of course, if you're the Mail Manager in Senator Burns office only pulling in $24,000 you may have a sit down with the Senator.

Talking to a few friends of mine on the Hill, this has been the pastime favorite for the last two weeks. Many staffers that I talked to laughed out loud when I mentioned it. As I understand it, there has been a bit of consternation over the info.

I pulled down a decent sample of the data (concentrating on Senators) and came up with some fun stuff.

Republicans make (on average) about $1000 less than Democrats. No big deal here, it actually might be a sample anomaly.

I'll be sampling the data over the next few days. For now here's a chart breaking down the salaries by position. The biggest surprise I had is how much they actually DO make. I really didn't expect the highest paid people to be bringing in that much money. On the whole, of course, most of the staffers do not make a lot of money (average is about $40,000/year).

Click on the chart below for a larger view:

Nutter Email and Response

Occasionally I'm copied on an email from a lefy nutter that is gold. Pure gold! I absolutely love to respond to these.

Here's the original wacko alarmist at work followed by my response:

To: Subject: The Gulf of Tonkin Has Moved --- URGENT & SERIOUS

I have learned this morning from a most reliable source, Retired Col. Ann Wright, that the US/Israel will attack or provoke Iran, before the Nov. Elections -- for the elections!

The US Navy is now getting ready to deploy and will do so probably between Oct. 5 and 21, 2006.

I promise to check on this information for changes or retrations or inaccuracies --even though this information verifies my sources and my prediction of such an attack this fall, back in April, 2006.

Here is the scenario already in place:

1) Raise the level of false* fear.
2) Force UN sanctions against Iran.
3) Demand that the sanctions be immediately enforced by the UN.
4) When that fails, demand that NATO enforce sanctions.
5) When that fails demand the the "coalition" enforce sanctions.
6) Deploy US Navy to supposedly "protect our interests", to "enforce UN sanctions" off shore of two or more Iranian oil ports.
7) To never call this a "blockade" -- even though that will be its purpose.
NOTE: Any blockade is an "act of war" according to international law.
8) Sooner or later through blockade or air space violations Iran will respond (as is their international right).
7) GWB will then declare WE have been attacked.
8) War in Middle east will expand HORRIBLY!

*FALSE Fear. IAEA has verified that Iran is producing only enriched uranium for nulcear energy - 3% enriched versus 90%? enriched for weapon grade.

CIA has confirmed that Iran would be 5-10 years from producing nuclear weapon - IF that's what they were doing.

NOTE this also fits all previous GWB policy:
Mislead public.
Respond only with force.
Escalate as needed.
Win (whatever that means) at ANY costs.

I doubt it, but we might be able to stop this eventuality if we call our congressmen/women and candidates NOW and say "do not approve or fund any such action without full, independent, public, investigation.

If this action proceeds . . . the chaos and terror has only just begun . . . .

PLEASE pass this information on . . .

PS Why has price of gasoline decreased, now? Anybody note a big decrease in demand

.

---

Love ya Terry but this just won't stand... Please be serious and cite actual evidence (my response below):

"most reliable source"

Colonel Ann Wright is a self-declared peace activist who works closely with Cindy Sheehan. Wright has been arrested on multiple occasions, interrupted a Senate hearing with chants of "Stop the killing" and was one of the 5 judges on a panel of "International Commission of Inquiry On Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration." At best she is a biased source.

"US/Israel will attack or provoke Iran, before the Nov. Elections -- for the elections!"

I'm sure that the evidence that Wright has in her pocket not only indicates the movements of Naval vessels but also documents the assumed conspiracy doing this "for the elections".

"my prediction of such an attack this fall, back in April, 2006."

Yes, we know, people on the Left have been predicting this for the last 2 years. A simple Google search of "Iran, attack, April 2006" is convincing evidence that these talking points are old.

Next, how about a little running commentary on your war plan:

1) Raise the level of false* fear.
I suppose a thwarted attack against American airlines over the Atlantic is nothing to fear. I suppose 17 suspects arrested in Canada who planned to behead the Prime Minister and blow up Toronto buildings was no threat. I suppose the arrest and conviction of Hemant Lakhani who attempted to sell an anti-aircraft missile to a terrorist is no big deal. Or the unfortunate attacks we weren't able to stop like the July bombing in Mumbai Shall I go on? It isn't GWB raising the threat, it's the terrorists.

2) Force UN sanctions against Iran.
Of course you are referring to resolution 1696 passed by a vote of 14 to 1 on the UN Security Council.

3) Demand that the sanctions be immediately enforced by the UN.

I believe the exact words (from the 14 members who voted for it) were: "demanded that Iran suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and gave it one month to do so or face the possibility of economic and diplomatic sanctions to give effect to its decision." Let's be accurate. No sanctions have been put in place, yet.

4) When that fails, demand that NATO enforce sanctions.

Well, if the UN can't follow up on it's threats...

5) When that fails demand the the "coalition" enforce sanctions.
You're losing me now.

6) Deploy US Navy to supposedly "protect our interests", to "enforce UN sanctions" off shore of two or more Iranian oil ports.

Are you kidding me... there is no way we would do this before the elections.

7 through 8 -

Of course you have nothing to back this up.

*FALSE Fear. IAEA has verified...

Once again, go read the text of the UNSC resolution and then go read what the IAEA has acutually said:

"Expresses serious concern that the Agency is not yet in a position to clarify some important issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme..."
"Deeply regrets that, despite repeated calls from the Board for the maintaining of the suspension of all enrichment related and reprocessing activities... Iran resumed uranium conversion activities"
"Calls on Iran to understand that there is a lack of confidence in Iran’s intentions..."
"Requests Iran to extend full and prompt cooperation to the Agency..."

I'm not making this stuff up.

"CIA has confirmed that Iran would be 5-10 years from producing nuclear weapon"

How far is a plane ride from North Korea to Iran.? Iran could get a nuclear weapon in 10 hours if North Korea decides to give them one. Farfetched? The State Department confirmed that members of an Iranian delegation were present when North Korea launched a series of medium and long ranged missiles in a direct provocation against the United States on our 4th of July.

"Why has price of gasoline decreased, now? Anybody note a big decrease in demand."

Always a conspiracy with you? Everyone blamed GWB when prices went up doesn't he deserve credit when it goes down? The reasons are easy if you understand how capitalism works.

In short, is war imminent? No. Is war with Iran still on the table? Yes. Is Iran a threat? Absolutely yes. Here's a quote:

"O, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause. "

That was the President of Iran in front of the UN Council (on Tuesday!) praying openly God to fulfill the dark vision of his benighted and strange wing of Islam awaiting the Twelve Imam.

For a man who denies the holocaust, denies nuclear build-up, denies any involvement with Hezbollah, and denies any ambitions -- the message for us is indeed URGENT & SERIOUS.

Your implication that Bush will use war as a political weapon is deeply offensive and unfounded. In my mind there is only one political ploy involved in this discussion.

With respect,

Justin

The Dominance Motif, Again

Hugo Chavez would be a funny man if he weren't so dangerous and outrageously hungry for power.

Today, Chavez throws his weight behind Chomsky's crazy political advice and warns of the US "dominance."

This is classic leftists rhetoric. I pointed this out two years ago after one of the presidential debates. The article was published on The American Thinker.

Coming Soon: Immigration Hypocrisy on the Right?

Drive-by Conservatives?

Rush Limbaugh has popularized the phrase "drive-by media"; an apt analogy, describing how certain press sources defame a subject on the fly, recklessly riddling a news target with bias and shallow analysis as a substitute for expertise. The truth to this analogy is powerful but its time for us to examine how we as conservatives employ the same unfortunate stratagem when it comes to the new economy.

As a 10-year IT professional and staunch conservative I have misgivings about making these thoughts public. But taking a page from author Jim Collins in his book Good to Great¸ the first action to keep any business or movement afloat must be to "confront the brutal facts." In short, rhetoric against outsourcing and immigration grows awkwardly hypocritical and antithetical to traditional capitalist values and flies dangerously blind to the economic realities of our day.

More to come soon with details.

Looming Tower meets James Zogby

This should be quite the debate and discussion as James Zogby, the disgraceful head of the AAI is interviewing Lawrence Wright, author of the new incredible book "The Looking Tower".

http://www.booktv.org/schedule/

Short Clip. This is where the rubber hits the road. The blinders are on in full force here.

Zool, A Decent Lefty

Zool, A Decent Lefty

On Friday, I was leaving my full-time consulting job in D.C. when I passed the most glorious wacko nutter display. I just had to stop and interview someone.

The above video is of "Zool", a very decent very respecting lefty. He was the only one who agreed to do a video interview with me. He was a refreshing change from most of the people I tried to talk in DC.

First, the display:



Obviously a homemade special. Fine tribute to the excellence involved in this event. The event, as it turns out, was taking place all weeked and almost certainly the mother of all lefties (Sheehan) was going to be there on the morrrow. For the time being I wandered around to see the proud treatment of our commander in chief.


"Impeach me"

9/11: A Tribute

John G. Farrell, age 32.

Place killed: World Trade Center. Resident of New York, N.Y. (USA).

-----------------------

I am 34 years old myself. I have three children. I cannot comprehend the pain this child must endure knowing that her father will never return in this lifetime.

As a Mormon, I have very strong feelings about the eternal nature of families. But I imagine that even the promise of that bond and reunion is not enough to assuage the feelings of loss from the tragic events that occured 5 years ago.

I was sitting at home, readying some Monday preparations before I headed into work. I live just 35 minutes outside of DC and about 10 miles from Dulles airport itself.

I turned on the TV just as the second airplane hit the second tower. I could not believe what I was witnessing. I could not fathom it's impact.

My wife had left for an appointment at the school. I tried frantically to raise her on the phone. Next, I called my parents in California. It was still very early there... but they realized the import of the news instantly.

When the first tower fell I fell to the floor myself in a fervant outloud prayer.

Word came shortly after that about the Pentagon. Airplanes were circling the air above me. My wife finally called and I struggled to tell her what was going on. Her first reaction was one of relief (she thought my difficulty in explaining what happened had something to do with the kids - that some tragedy had befallen them. The timing of my conversation with her eased her shock - but only just).

My shock was still very raw.

And it still is.

I did not know anyone directly who died on 9/11. I knew Todd Beamer's sister and grieved for her. A colleague at work had in-laws who both died at the Pentagon. Word travelled that 2 members of the Church (both millitary officers) had died at the Pentagon.

But in the end, I had no direct tragedy, except that this was my country too. And, we all lost something that day.

But we gained perspective as well. Something we could use a little more of today.

Join me this day in honoring those who fell.

2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11

A blogger has set up a website for other bloggers to honor the memory of people who dies on 9/11. See the link below

2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11

When you sign up you are assigned a random person to honor on your blog.

I've signed up... so should you. Here is the man I'm honoring:

John G. Farrell, age 32.

Place killed: World Trade Center. Resident of New York, N.Y. (USA).

Fact Sheet: Bringing Terrorists to Justice

You can't fake this stuff folks. The enemy is real and we need all the tools we can to attack them:

Fact Sheet: Bringing Terrorists to Justice: "According To Our Intelligence Community, The Program Has Produced Information That Has Saved Lives. Some Examples Include The Following:

* Abu Zubaydah Told Us That Al Qaida Operatives Were Planning To Launch An Attack Inside The United States. Based on information he provided, the operatives were detained, one while traveling to the U.S. Zubaydah also disclosed that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed ('KSM') was the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks.

* Information Provided By Zubaydah Also Helped Lead To The Capture Of Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, One Of KSM's Accomplices In 9/11. Together, these two terrorists provided information that helped in the planning and execution of the operation that captured KSM.

* KSM Provided Information That Led Us To The Capture Of A Terrorist Operative Named Zubair, Who Provided Information That Helped Lead To The Capture Of Hambali – The Leader Of Al Qaida's Southeast Asian Affiliate Known As JI (Jamal Islamia). After Hambali's arrest, KSM was questioned again, and he identified Hambali's brother as the leader of a JI cell, and Hambali's conduit for communications with al Qaida. Hambali's brother was soon captured, and he in turn led us to a cell of 17 Southeast Asian JI operatives. When confronted with the news that his terror cell had been brok"

Online Interview with Colonel Betros, Lebanese-American

Today, I post again the interview I conducted with Fareed Betros, recently promoted to Colonel in the Army Reserves. Fareed is a second generation Lebanese American who recently returned from Iraq where he served as a civilian advisor to the head the iraqi military. We cover a myriad of topics including culture in Iraq.

This has gotten some interesting press with Colonel Betros being asked to appear on numerous radio shows of late.


MP3 File

UPDATE: Adam Gadahn, The American goat farmer turned Islamic Extremist

You may recall this post from two years ago, when the American Taliban was first featured in the news.

Well this last weekend, Adam showed his face again.

To review, Adam was a goat farmer from California? whose father was Muslim. He was a big heavy metal Christian fan but later turned a 180 and became a Muslim himself, emigrated to Afghanastan and became what he is today.

For more info: see here.