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Iran Is Making a Greater Push Into Nicaragua

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:30:23 GMT

Iran is establishing a Central American foothold in Nicaragua, to the alarm of some U.S. state department officials, it is being reported.

The San Antonio News-Express said Monday that Nicaragua, with the backing of its Venezuelan ally, has been forging a new partnership with Iran.

Part of that relationship comes in the form of a $350 million deep-water port at Monkey Point on Nicaragua's Atlantic coast that is to extend across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. Iran has also recently opened an embassy in Nicaraguan capital of Managua.

Some state department officials are concerned that Iran's presence in Nicaragua would allow Tehran to stage strikes on American interests by deploying the terrorist group Hezbollah and Revolutionary Guard operatives already in Latin America, the Express reported.

This comes as relations with the U.S. and its allies cool over attempts to try to force Iran to end its contentious uranium enrichment program.

Tags: iran, nicaragua

U.S. General Says Iraq Violence at Lowest Levels Since 2004

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:44:11 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

BAGHDAD — Violence in Iraq is at its lowest levels since the first year of the American invasion, finally opening a window for reconciliation among rival sects, the second-ranking U.S. general said Sunday as Iraqi forces formally took control of security across half the country.

Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the man responsible for the ground campaign in Iraq, said that the first six months of 2007 were probably the most violent period since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The past six months, however, had seen some of the lowest levels of violence since the conflict began, Odierno said, attributing the change to an increase in both American troops and better-trained Iraqi forces.

"I feel we are back in '03 and early '04. Frankly I was here then, and the environment is about the same in terms of security in my opinion," he said. "What is different from then is that the Iraqi security forces are significantly more mature."

Tags: iraq, war, progress, terrorism, military, al-qaeda

22 UN Climate models flunk

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:12:34 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler

Clip Source: www.americanthinker.com

Prediction is hard, especially about the future, said Yogi Berra. So why not try to predict the past? A study in the Royal Metereological Society journal did just that, focusing on the best available evidence of the past 25 years. Measuring instruments have improved immensely in accuracy and coverage in recent decades, using satellites, weather balloons and surface sensors.

Alas, all 22 math models use by the United Nations failed to predict the last twenty-five years.

"The usual discussion is whether the climate model forecasts of Earth's climate 100 years or so into the future are realistic," said the lead author, Dr. David H. Douglass from the University of Rochester. "Here we have something more fundamental: Can the models accurately explain the climate from the recent past? It seems that the answer is no."

The 22 climate models used in this study are the same models used by the UN Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), which recently shared a Nobel Peace Prize

with

Al Gore

Islam: Not Just Another Religion

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:08:33 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler

Clip Source: www.americanthinker.com

This campaign season, presidential candidates seem intent on battling each other with a war of words over universal healthcare, tax reform, immigration, the war in Iraq, the economy and Biblical literalism. Yet, they have spent few words on and have literally ignored the greatest threat to America and Western civilization since the Cold War: the global jihad.

Instead, conservative pundits debate whether we are in the midst of World War III or IV and non-candidate Newt Gingrich voices his concerns in monumental orations, such as his now famous, "Deeply Worried" speech at the National Press Club. Meanwhile, candidates on both sides of the aisle tiptoe around the proverbial elephant in the room as the critical issue of our nation and civilization's very survival takes a back seat.

Yet, viewing Islamic fundamentalism as just another faith is to play into the hands of those who would destroy us.

Tags: islam, religion, jihad, terrorism

MSM - 6 bogus stories in 6 weeks

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:05:25 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler
clipper's remarks: Follow the links to read the full story with the details and see for yourself.

Clip Source: op-for.com

6 Bogus Stories in 6 Weeks!

Read the whole thing, but here are the headlines:

20 headless bodies

… nope

11 close family members of Jordanian-based Baathist reporter Dia al-Kawwaz, who runs the online anti-Iraq newspaper Shabeqat Akhbar al-Iraq, were slaughtered in Baghdad.

…err, not so much…

12-25 "construction workers" were killed in a Bombing by NATO forces in Afghanistan

…yeah… the “construction workers” were actually “Taliban”…

13 people were slaughtered by Al-Qaeda in their sleep

…except they weren’t….

There was an explosion at a refinery in Baghdad. The media immediately reported it as a rocket attack

…nope!

…Nope!

I also can’t believe how gullible reporters are when they actually report on these matters. I don’t want to get on a rant about media types, because I’m sure some of them are nice guys who do hard work, but this type of reporting reflects badly on the reporters, the news company, and the media overall. I’m astonished that these folks have any credibility left.

Tags: msm, bogus, lies, faulty reporting, hype, terrorism, al-qaeda

Freed terrorists behind UN bomb

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:57:30 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler

Clip Source: edition.cnn.com

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Two convicted terrorists who had been freed in an amnesty carried out the suicide bombings at U.N. and government buildings that killed 37 people, an Algerian security official has said.

Rescuers in the shaken city Thursday were still extracting the living and the dead from the crumpled remains of U.N. offices in Algiers that were bombed by al-Qaeda's self-styled North African affiliate.

Victims caught in Tuesday's twin truck bombings, which happened 10 minutes apart, included U.N. staff from around the world, police officers and law students.

One of the bombers was a 64-year-old man in the advanced stages of cancer, while the other was a 32-year-old from a poor suburb that has produced many Islamic militants, the security official said Thursday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Tags: terrosrists, algeria, un, amnesty, islam, al-qaeda

Venezuelan Politician's hypocrisy exposed

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:34:02 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler

Clip Source: michellemalkin.com

A video of a Gucci- and Louis Vuitton-clad politician attacking capitalism then struggling to explain how his luxurious clothes square with his socialist beliefs has become an instant YouTube hit in Venezuela.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Pedro Carreno was momentarily at a loss for words when a journalist interrupted his speech and asked if it was not contradictory to criticize capitalism while wearing Gucci shoes and a tie made by Parisian luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton.

“I don’t, uh … I … of course,” stammered Carreno on Tuesday before regaining his composure. “It’s not contradictory because I would like Venezuela to produce all this so I could buy stuff produced here instead of 95 percent of what we consume being imported.”

The video clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDsdXkY4UlE) had been viewed more than 15,000 times on Thursday, a day after it was posted on the YouTube Web site.

the gratitude campaign

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:24:57 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler
clipper's remarks: A neat way to say thank-you to our military members.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Navy Corpsman in action

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:20:20 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler
clipper's remarks: This is a great read, click on the link to read the whole article, its worth the few minutes it will take.

Clip Source: op-for.com

Recently, I had the honor of interviewing Hospital Corpsman 2 Juan Rubio. His story is truly amazing.

Juan was already a Navy Corpsman on 9/11. On that historic day, he was stationed at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Early that morning, he was called into a meeting where he was told that a plane had struck the Pentagon and that he would be part of a medical team being dispatched to the site. Members of the emergency response team gathered their equipment and were hustled onto a waiting Coast Guard helicopter to be flown to the Pentagon.

Rubio arrived within two hours of the attack. When he stepped off the helicopter he found an unimaginable scene. Smoke was rolling out of the huge building and the parking lot was swarming with emergency workers and dazed victims. To Rubio it looked like the ultimate emergency assistance drill.

More progress in Iraq

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:15:04 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler
clipper's remarks: COL Wayne Grigsby CDR 3rd Bde 3rd ID

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Clinton Vs. Obama

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:49:12 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler
clipper's remarks: If either of these two win the presidency, it'll only be because of a lack of a strong Republican contender and apathy on the part of conservatives.

Where is Reagan when you need him.......

Clip Source: www.google.com

A top adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign said that Democrats should give more thought to Sen. Barack Obama’s admissions of illegal drug use before they pick a presidential candidate.

Obama’s campaign said the Clinton people were getting desperate. Clinton’s campaign tried to distance itself from the remarks Wednesday, and the adviser said later he regretted making them.

Shaheen, an attorney and veteran organizer, said much of Obama’s background is unknown and could be a problem in November 2008 if he is the Democratic nominee. He said Republicans would work hard to discover new aspects of Obama’s admittedly spotty youth.

“It’ll be, ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?’”

Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman of Clinton’s front-runner campaign, raised the issue during an interview with The Washington Post, posted on washingtonpost.com.

Congressional meltdown

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:42:10 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler
clipper's remarks: Seems as if our politicians know only one thing anymore.... how to blame others and point fingers, regardless of which side of the isle they are from.

Clip Source: michellemalkin.com

When Democrats took control of Congress in January, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) pledged to jointly push an ambitious agenda to counter 12 years of Republican control.

Now, as Congress struggles to adjourn for Christmas, relations between House Democrats and their colleagues in the Senate have devolved into finger-pointing.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) accuses Senate Democratic leaders of developing “Stockholm syndrome,” showing sympathy to their Republican captors by caving in on legislation to provide middle-class tax cuts paid for with tax increases on the super-rich, tying war funding to troop withdrawal timelines, and mandating renewable energy quotas. If Republicans want to filibuster a bill, Rangel said, Reid should keep the bill on the Senate floor and force the Republicans to talk it to death.

Tags: politics, congress, bitterness

Sunni, Shia sheiks say no to violence, yes to reconciliation

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:35:13 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler
clipper's remarks: Another glimmer of hope in Iraq.

Clip Source: www.google.com

ASSIRIYAH, Iraq - Sunni and Shia tribal sheiks, local government
leaders, senior Iraqi Army officials and local Iraqi Police officials
from throughout the Taji area, met here Dec. 6 at the prayer town hall
to continue reconciliation efforts and celebrate the "awakening," a term
used to describe a turning away from sectarianism and violence

More than 200 attendees from the villages of Hor Al Bosh, Sheik
Ahmer, Shat Al Taji, Falahat and other areas dined as they discussed
issues affecting their villages and ways in which they can improve the
quality of life for the people living there

They decided to have a Sawa, or lunch, to bring both Sunni and
Shia tribal leaders together for solidarity," said Anchorage, Alaska,
native Capt. Martin Wohlgemuth, commander for Troop D, 1st Battalion,
82nd Field Artillery Regiment, which is attached to the 1st Squadron,
7th Cavalry Regiment. "This is a continued extension of the Sunni and
Shia partnership which has truly spread to every corner of North Taji

Tags: optional. separate by commas., iraq, military, war, radicals, surge

Iran tests new ballistic missle

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:25:43 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler

Clip Source: www.google.com

Iran tested a newly developed ballistic missile on the day of Annapolis conference, Channel 10 News reported Wednesday.

The missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers, and is capable of reaching Israel, US Army bases in the Middle East and eastern European cities, including Moscow

The peaceful, non trouble-making, stabilizing Iranians are building longer range missiles, hmmmm wonder what for? I mean our reliably clueless intel apparatus has just assured us they are not working on nuke weapons, so shouldn't be a problem. HA!

Tags: iran, military, missile

Hill breifed on waterboarding in 2002

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:49:07 GMT

clipped by: topsailangler

Clip Source: www.google.com

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA’s overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

“The briefer was specifically asked if the methods were tough enough,” said a U.S. official who witnessed the exchange…

Tags: waterboarding, pelosi, cia, interrogations