What in God's name is the matter with Senator John "Assclown" McCain? It wasn't enough that he fucked us with McCain-Feingold? And don't forget McCain-Kennedy.

Now he's come up with this.

There's nothing wrong with John McCain that a tub of bear lard and a couple of Karelian Bear Dogs couldn't solve...


Hat tip to Drudge

I try and try, but I just can't seem to get myself to give a crap about the stem cell debate.

Thanks for listening.

Here is an interesting little piece by John O'Sullivan on why it would be a good thing for the U.S. if the EU constitution is shot down by voters.

At least some European countries allow their citizens to actually have a say in important political matters - it blows me away that France is actually one of them...

Hat tip to the Corner.

I love this bumper sticker:



I found it over at the Righty in a lefty state blog which has a story about their counter-protesting an anti-war march this past Armed Forces Day.

Call me a sick bastard but this is funny.

I want to see the video.

"Poll after poll predicts that the French will reject the constitutional treaty in a referendum on Sunday."

Hmmm. Maybe the French don't have their heads completely up their asses...

Last night I decided to catch Bill Maher's HBO show, since I had not seen it up until then. While I tend to disagree with Maher's politics, I've always thought he seemed more rational and open minded than most of the other voices on the left. Not any longer. I could not believe how far off the deep end he has gone. In a nutshell, he firmly believes that both the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen, (the latter via rigged voting machines) that Bush supporters "don't care about the law, they just care about the Bible", and of course all the other various and sundry "Bush is an idiot" jokes that everyone has heard a million times. Maher even stumbled into a huge gaffe on the Newsweek/ Koran flushing story. Clearly the show was recorded before this story was debunked, but he wasted no time in driving home the point that "this sort of behavior (by our troops) is what puts us in danger; it makes these people want to kill us." I wonder if he will be so hard on Newsweek. After all, if this sort of behavior makes us less safe, shouldn't the false reporting of it do that same? There's a disgusting irony in his open contempt for American Christians, whom he mocks at every turn, and the free pass he gives to Muslims that riot and kill because of a single copy of the Koran being flushed down the toilet. If Christians behaved that way because of a Bible desecration he would be the first to cut them down. As if his own spin weren't enough, he had a little round table discussion, sort of like what Dennis Miller did on his show, but unlike Miller (and 90% of other shows like this for that matter) Maher had 3 liberal guests, including Gore Vidal and Al Franken, and they spent the whole time talking wild conspiracy theories. Even Bill O'Reilly, for all his bullshit, will have people with opposing views on his program to actually have a discussion, not a preach to the choir session.

It's really too bad, because guys like Maher used to keep things honest, but he's become just another liberal so enraged with Bush's reelection that he can't see straight any more. I'm sure HBO will keep his show on for a good while, but I'll bet his numbers are garbage. This is the kind of drivel that's driving down subscription rates and viewership of the MSM all over the country. I mistakenly thought Maher was above it all.

DON'T WANNA STIR UP THINGS, BUT...


On Friday, May 13, 2005, Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris held a sermon (khutba) broadcast by official Palestinian Authority Television. In it, he vowed that "one day Islam will rule America, Britain, and the entire world". Plus, wipe out the jews. View clip here. MEMRI TV, item no. 669.





Full transcript here. Excerpts:

Ask Britain what it did to the Jews in the early sixth century. What did they do to the Jews? They expelled them, tortured them, and prevented them from entering Britain for more than 300 years. All this was because of what the Jews did in Britain. Ask France what it did to the Jews. They tortured them, expelled them, and burned their Talmud, because of the civil strife the Jews wanted to spark in France, in the days of Louis XIX. Ask Portugal what it did to the Jews. Ask Czarists Russia, which welcomed the Jews, who plotted to kill the Czar - so he massacred them. But don't ask Germany what it did to the Jews. It was the Jews who provoked Nazism to wage war against the entire world, when the Jews, using the Zionist movement, got other countries to wage an economic war on Germany and to boycott German merchandise. They provoked Russia, Britain, France, and Italy. This enraged the Germans toward the Jews, leading to the events of those days, which the Jews commemorating today.

But they are committing worse deeds than those done to them in the Nazi war. Yes, perhaps some of them were killed and some burned, but they are inflating this in order to win over the of the media and gain the world's sympathy. The worst crimes in history were committed against the Jews, yet these crimes are no worse than what the Jews are doing in Palestine. What was done to the Jews was a crime, but isn't what the Jews are doing today in the land of Palestine not a crime?!

We have ruled the world before, and by Allah, the day will come when we will rule the entire world again. The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and the entire world – except for the Jews. The Jews will not enjoy a life of tranquility under our rule, because they are treacherous by nature, as they have been throughout history. The day will come when everything will be relived of the Jews - even the stones and trees which were harmed by them. Listen to the Prophet Muhammad, who tells you about the evil end that awaits Jews. The stones and trees will want the Muslims to finish off every Jew.

Apart from the fact that this dude obviously wasn't an ace in history - I have heard of only eighteen Louis, not nineteen - plus, I seem to recall 6 million jews were burned rather then "some" - this piece to me seems to come right out of a lunatics' mind. Highly illogical too.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush said that he would ask Congress to approve $350 million "to support Palestinian political, economic and security reforms."

Someone tell him to watch MEMRI TV. Hat tip to LGF.


MFBB

Gosh, that was nice of Newsweek to apologize for its erroneous story about desecration of the Koran by U.S. troops.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newsweek magazine said on Sunday it erred in a May 9 report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article.

Editor Mark Whitaker said the magazine inaccurately reported that U.S. military investigators had confirmed that personnel at the detention facility in Cuba had flushed the Muslim holy book down the toilet.

The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan to Indonesia to Gaza. In the past week it was condemned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League.

On Sunday, Afghan Muslim clerics threatened to call for a holy war against the United States.

I bet they couldn't wait to get that story to press and now U.S. troops are in a heightened state of danger and at least 16 are dead around the world. Nice going Newsweek.

Another observation - Muslim clerics the world over have their towels in a bunch over this but we hear nary a peep when "insurgents" massacre 30 or 40 of their fellow co-religionists. Say it with me now, "Islam is a religion of peace. Islam is a religion of peace..."

This story makes me chuckle. These enviro-weenies have created such a gloom and doom scenario(mostly in their own fevered minds) about global warming that some are now beginning to advocate the ultimate heresy - nucular power.

I'm going to drive my evil Ford Expedition around the corner to buy some popcorn so I can sit back and enjoy the bloodletting show. Care to join me?

MEANWHILE IN AFGHANISTAN...

Drazil, if you are out there, you may remember we had a conversation a while ago as to the armament of Belgian Pandur APCs in Afghanistan. It appears some examples are armed with the .50 and others with the MAG 7.62mm, as is evident from these recent pics taken from the Belgian Army site. To the left, Pandur with .50 cal. To the right, below, with the MAG. Pictures taken somewhere in April on a shooting range near Kabul.











The troops shown belong, as far as I know, to the 12th-13th Line Regiment. The incongruous name stems from the fact that in 1976 during a rationalization a merger took place between the 12th and 13th regiments. The 12th Line Regiment was the oldest active Belgian Infantry Regiment, as it originated from a volunteer corps established right after the Belgian Independence on March 31, 1831. Of all the units in the Belgian armed forces, it has always had the highest number of awards. It proved itself particularly during the 1914 campaign, during which the Belgian Army slowly fell back, over a period of two months and a half, from Liège towares the westernmost corner of the country, behind the river Yser. Its outstanding reputation was such that our King, Albert I, on April 5th, 1915 wrote:


"I have chosen the 12th Regiment of the Line for my son's military formation because this regiment during the past campaign has distinguished itself the most for its bravery."

Albert I - De Panne - 5 april 1915


The 13th Regiment of the Line was raised in 1874 and disbanded again in 1947. Re-established in 1976 as an anti-tank unit, it was then merged with the 12th and got its final name in 1984, "Régiment 12ème de Ligne Prince Léopold - 13ème de Ligne", referring to King Albert's son, Leopold. The 12th-13th is garrisoned in Spa to the southeast of Liège. WWII buffs may recall that Spa was the place where, prior to the Battle of the Bulge, General Hodges, commanding general of the US 1st Army, had his HQ established (which during Peipers dash for the Meuse consequently had to be evacuated).

The photos show the new desert camo as worn by Belgian soldiers in Afghanistan right now. Of course, with the continental camo pattern on helmet and Kevlar jacket, the effect is a bit weird.

And on Thursday, May 12th, President Karzai was in Brussels for EU talks. He used the occasion to visit the House of Representatives and thank Belgium for its efforts. President Karzais visit was a welcome opportunity for the parents of Hélène De Beir, who was a Belgian project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Badghis, Afghanistan, to ask about the proceedings in the investigation of the murder of their daughter. In June 2004 she was murdered, allegedly by Taliban, in Afghanistan, along with two colleagues and their Afghan driver and translator.

Pesonally, I think some of the news coming out of Afghanistan has been rather distressing a bit. As I mention the case of Mrs. De Beir, I recall that just this week I read in a newspaper that one of the prime suspects of the murder was a Police Chief... reinstated lately in March. Then of course most of us have heard about the recent demonstrations against the US in some Afghan cities. Crowds consisting of students and even children shouting "Death to America", "Death to Bush" and things like that. All so, it seems, because of a Newsweek article where some dipshit editor found nothing better than circulate a story about Guantanamo guards placing a Quran on a toilet (and even flushing one down).

I don't know how it is with you, but if I read crap like that I'm not so much incensed because of shoddy reporting putting lives from US military personnel at risk again, but because these fuckwads, just three years after having been liberated from vile oppressors and receiving massive aid to get their backward country back on its feet again, think it's appropriate to chastize Uncle Sam. When I saw these assclowns, dirty towels wrapped around their heads, eyes towards infintiy and brains switched off, I had this idea that it would be nice to call in a Spec...(censored).

Oh well. We'll see how it all plays out. But what I see thus far in the Muslim World is not exactly encouraging. Excuse me, but this guy may very well show the first signs of losing his patience with Islam.


MFBB

Goddamnit!

Something needs to be done about immigration. Now.

Gosh, I love Condi.

This was not the brightest of ideas.

Leave it to the Frogs...

Interesting. The Senate voted 100 to 0 to approve the $82 billion emergency war-spending bill.

Funny, how a few months and no looming election can change things...

Disadvantages of pissing off America.

I particularly like the last one.

WHY THIS WAR NEEDS TO BE FOUGHT.

From summer 2003 to late fall 2004 the scumbags mostly attacked US military personnel. Ever heard about CEV's? That stands for Combat Effectiveness Value. Losing 30-50 of their own for every US soldier KIA, by late fall even the dumbest jihadists had found out that their CEV was somewhat less than that of the average US infantry troop.

Thus, from late fall 2004 they shifted their attention to Iraq's newborn security personnel: Iraqi Police, Iraqi National Guard, NIA (New Iraqi Army). While they were quite successful blowing up raw would be recruits standing in a row sittingducklike and cutting off the heads of unarmed soldiers returning from furlough, by March 2005 it had become clear they could not fool the Iraqi forces forever.

Ergo, they once again had to go look for an adversary they could cope with. As most of you know by now, given the recent spate of terror attacks against unarmed civilians, it looks they have finally found their match:




Picture released by the U.S. Army Tuesday, May 3, 2005 shows a U.S. Army soldier comforting a child fatally wounded in a car bomb blast in Mosul, 360 km (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 2, 2005. 15 Iraqis were wounded in the combined suicide bomb attack. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)


I must admit that the past few months - say, from February on - I felt rather disappointed in the lack of a clear signal emerging from the Muslim world that there is an understanding that Americas actions in the GWOT are not meant to undermine Islam, but rather to spur it into re-evaluating and re-explaining its core beliefs and adapting them to modern times. Unshackling the Islamic Faith from the burden of fourteen centuries of rigid interpretations of Quran and Hadith.

Then just recently, I stumbled upon this. Can I - we - have some hope please?

The Muslim world is changing. Three years after the atrocity of 9/11, it may be in the early stages of a reformation, albeit with a small "r". From Morocco to Indonesia, people are trying to develop a more contemporary and humane interpretation of Islam, and some countries are undergoing major transformations.
Much of the attention is focused on reformulating the sharia, the centuries-old body of Islamic law deeply embedded in a medieval psychology. The sharia is state law in many Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and the Sudan. For many conservative and radical Muslims, the sharia is Islam: it cannot be changed, and must be imposed in exactly the shape it was first formulated in the ninth century.

Since 9/11, there has been a seismic shift in this perception. More and more Muslims now perceive Islamic law to be dangerously obsolete. And these include the ulema, the religious scholars and clerics, who have a tremendous hold on the minds of the Muslim masses.

The article points to numerous examples, including recent revisions in family law in Morocco, where women are now given equal rights in marriage and custody law, in India, and in Malaysia. Most importantly, where such changes are taking place, they are supported by the religious leaders who have justified the changes by reference to the Quran and to Islamic tradition...

Elsewhere, the focus is not so much on Islamic law as on Islam as a whole. In a general election last March, the Malaysian prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, argued that Islam was almost totally associated with violence and extremism and needed to be formulated anew. He called his new concept "Islam Hadhari", or progressive Islam. It was pitted against the "conservative Islam" of the main opposition party, the Islamic Pas. For the first time, the governing coalition won more than 90 per cent of federal parliamentary seats. Pas, and its version of Islam (full implementation of the sharia, without modification; a leading role in the state for religious scholars; and so on), were routed.


Prime Minister Badawi is, it looks, a welcome change compared to his successor, the fanatic Dr. Mahathir, who quit office with a notorious speech chastizing the jews and lamenting the fact that the Islamic people not so much fail to produce their own consumer goods, but rather their own weapons. Listening to Mr. Badawi, I sincerely hope Mahathir may soon become a ghost from the past. The article concludes with:


Muslims worldwide are acknowledging the need for fundamental change in their perception of Islam. They are making conscious efforts to move away from medieval notions of Islamic law and to implement the vision of justice, equality and beauty that is rooted in the Koran. If such changes continue, the future will not repeat the recent past.


If you are a bit suspicious as to the origins of said article, you may want to read Stephen Schwartz, whom some of us know via Tech Central Station, since he seems to echo the abovementioned viewpoint in this article over at Frontpage Magazine:


...Unlike the radical Islamists of the "Wahhabi lobby," represented by such aggressive and militant groups as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada, and others, we do not fantasize an Islamic conquest of America; nor do we preach the supremacy of Islam. We call for nothing more than a place at the big table of American religions. We do not demand control of the whole table, or a table of our own, separate from other Americans. We welcome sincere interfaith cooperation with Jews, Christians, and others, whom we believe share in the grace of almighty Allah. We affirm, in the words of Qur'an 2:62, "Believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabaeans -- whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right -- shall be rewarded by their Lord; they have nothing to fear or to regret."


I hope they are right. Boy, do I hope so. In the meantime, KUDOS for the US Soldier, for it is him who stirred the hornet's nest - it is him, or her, who brought about the so necessary change in the Middle East.

MFBB


UPDATE:

It appears the man who took this photo is a freelance writer by the name of Michael Yon, who is embedded with a Mosul-based Stryker brigade. I got this info via Cdr. Salamander. The terrorist actually DROVE THROUGH A BUNCH OF PLAYING CHILDREN TO GET TO A STRYKER COLUMN!!! One of the victims was this little girl, who died at a US Army hospital. The soldier holding her is actually Major Mark Bieger, a 35-year old West Point graduate and father of three.

More on Michael Yon's blog (hat tip to Cdr. Salamander):


Major Mark Bieger found this little girl after the car bomb that attacked our guys while kids were crowding around. The soldiers here have been angry and sad for two days. They are angry because the terrorists could just as easily have waited a block or two and attacked the patrol away from the kids. Instead, the suicide bomber drove his car and hit the Stryker when about twenty children were jumping up and down and waving at the soldiers. Major Bieger, I had seen him help rescue some of our guys a week earlier during another big attack, took some of our soldiers and rushed this little girl to our hospital. He wanted her to have American surgeons and not to go to the Iraqi hospital. She didn't make it. I snapped this picture when Major Bieger ran to take her away. He kept stopping to talk with her and hug her.


Meanwhile, moonbats in Europe and elsewhere are chanting "Victory to the Iraqi Resistance":




I don't care if you are Buddhist, Jew, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, animist or whatever. I'm asking you to pray for this little girl and her friends who died because of a specimen I don't even want to call a swine for fear of insulting swines. If you are an atheist or agnost, ponder for a moment the terrible fate of this child and the agony of her parents. Let us all think if we can't do a little of our own to help Iraq achieve its goal of becomeing a free and prosperous nation where children can grow up peacefully.

Just one of the reasons I don't call myself a Republican...

ICH WAR AUCH EIN BERLINER.

But just for one day. Hi all. Every year around Easter I’m visiting with my wife and kid my mother-in-law and brother-in-law in the Polish city of Wroclaw. Since my company is a member of the German-based commercial group MHK and this feted its 25-year anniversary in Berlin last Saturday, April 16th, we decided "om het nuttige met het aangename te verenigen" – to combine the useful with the agreeable – as they say over here in Belgoland. So we off to Berlin.

The obligatory meeting with the group’s 2004 financial roundup and strategy talks was mostly what business meetings without clear-cut objectives are: lots of blah-blah-blah and yawning. However, I did not regret the 200-kloms detour for, a.) I got to collect my year’s bonus, hoorah, and b.) we took the opportunity to do a little sightseeing in Berlin, which had changed an awful lot since I was last there on a drab late autumn day in 1989, only months before the Wall came down. Not gonna make this a long thread, but I got some pics and info to share with you:



The first one is a photo of the Reichstag, the German Capitol so to say. This monumental piece of late 19th Century architecture has a troubled history. After its completion in 1894 it was officially designated as the place where the German people’s representatives should gather. It being still the time of Wilhelm I and Bismarck, these parlementarians had precious little power. Only in 1916, when unrest among the population resulted in the Kaiser’s authority eroding, was the inscription "Dem Deutschen Volke" (For the German People) added. In the twenties however the Reichstag did start to function in a truly democratic way – but not for long. Months after Hitler came to power, in early 1933, the Plenary Hall was set on fire – allegedly by a young Dutch Communist, Marinus Van Der Lubbe, but in reality by the Nazis themselves. They used the turmoil in the wake of the event to force through oppressive legislation, such as the Reichstagbrandverordnung and the Ermaechtigungsgesetz, bills which essentially suspended the legislative role of any parliamentary body. In short, they killed Parliament and allowed the Fuehrer to rule by decree. All in all a monstrous course of events. For those fools who liken 9/11 and the ensuing Patriot Act to the Fire in the Reichstag and the Nazi laws killing off democracy I recommend studying German history from 1933 to 1945. Maybe they also can check out whether Hitler sought for, and obtained, a Resolution 1441-like permission from the League of Nations to liberate Czechoslowakia and Poland.

Anyway, from 1933 on the building was mostly an empty charred hulk, although when the Russians entered Berlin in late April 1945 they seemed for some reason to regard it as a symbol of National Socialism, for they threw lots of troops against it – and the tenacious defense by Waffen SS units may have strengthened them in their conviction. Some of you may recall the famous photos of Russian soldiers hoisting the Soviet flag on top of the Reichstag (at the very moment this happened, there was still fierce fighting in the building’s basement).

During the Cold War, as West Germany (the Bundesrepublik) had its Bundestag (parliament) in Bonn whereas East Germany (the Deutsche Demokratische Republik) had its Volkskammer first in makeshift quarters, then from 1976 in the Palast Der Republik, there was little use for the Reichstag. That changed in 1990 with the reunification of East and West Germany, and the parliamentarians of both republics once again took seat in the imposing building. Under the guidance of the British architect Sir Norman Foster important transformations took place - in fact only the outer walls remained as before. He provided light for the Plenary Hall through an ingenuous system of mirrors placed in the gigantic glass and stell dome replacing the original dome. The renovation would cost 600 million DM (think in excess of 300 million US$). This is a really good link with marvellous photos.


The second pic shows the impressive Television Tower, or Fernsehturm in German, as it rises 365m high over Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. It was commissioned in 1969 (building started in August 1965) and meant as a showcase of East-German ingenuity and building and engineering competency. The 250m high concrete shaft weighs 26,000 tons and carries the 4,800 ton heavy ball, which houses a.o. a rotating restaurant (360° every ½ hour). The aerial carrier on top of the "Kugel" weighs another 245 tons. A lift takes you up in 38 seconds. The Fernsehtower is Berlins tallest building, that’s something you can use in a quiz. Good links here and especially here.





And last but not least, a remnant of the division which once existed between East and West Berlin: Checkpoint Charlie. In 1961 the then DDR Head of State Walter Ulbricht ordered the building of the infamous Wall dividing East and West Berlin since for some reason the marvellous living conditions in the East were not at all appreciated by the spoiled East German workers. On August 13, 1961 the Wall was a fact, and from that moment on tourists from abroad, diplomats and military personnel of the Western Powers were only allowed to enter East Berlin via the crossing point at Berlins Friedrichstrasse. It was named Charlie because there was already a Checkpoint Bravo at Dreilinden and a Checkpoint Alpha at Helmstedt. Checkpoint Charlie was removed on June 22, 1990. The former Allied guardhouses are now located in the Allied Museum. The shack you see in the middle is in fact a copy of the American guardhouse, erected on the original place on August 13, 2000. Checkpoint Charlie 101 here.


MFBB

Got an iPod, Michael? If not, and you want one, for the love of God don't buy one in The Netherlands!