Islam Likely Main Basis for Iraqi Law

This doesn't bode well for the future of Iraq, but it is their choice to make.

I hope she runs for President

Condelezza Rice is a woman who can kick butt and take names. The bit about Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker spilling coffee into Javier Solana's lap after Rice threatened Europe with retribution should it lift the arms ban with China is an instant classic.

I broke down

I got my first Red Sox ballcap today. I think it looks sharp on me.

Ah, France!

It's amazing that France patting itself on the back for helping out its former colony and excorciating the world for not doing the same.

If Matthew Green's characterization of France is accurate, France is supremely rude in "saying it was not the only country responsible for aiding the world's poor". Let's be clear, the U.S. does more in foreign aid than France ever will. Japan does the same. And the world calls us arrogant?

Astronomers find 10th planet in solar system

I wonder if they'll call it Rupert?

Xbox 360 to go HD-DVD

From Gizmodo, good news about the Xbox 360. It really needed the HD-DVD capability, but it seems to me that Microsoft should implement it right away, as it might hurt critical initial sales. I, for one, would delay getting the new Xbox until it had HD-DVD.

4 UK bomb suspects held

Got 'em.

Moral equivalence

Saree Makdisi, professor of English, is a shining example of the disgusting moral desolation of the apologists, writing in the LA Times that terrorism is A-OK.

Makdisi writes "suicide bombing is merely a tactic used by those who lack other means of delivering explosives". Futhermore, that we are indifferent to civilian casualties and that "'collateral damage' is the inevitable result of choosing to go to war".

Um, no. Suicide bombing is a tactic employed by terrorists that care nothing for the military value of the target, but are only concerned with spreading as much innocent suffering as possible. Also, collateral damage is the inevitable result of putting military targets immediately next to civilian populations for the express purpose of using civilians as human shields.

Makdisi furthers his calumny by mocking our use of uniforms in battle, calling them "smart uniforms and shiny weapons". Apparently, the whole purpose of us distinguishing our military from our civilians to protect them means nothing. He would rather have battles where anyone could be the enemy in order to maximize random bloodshed.

His final stupidity is just too much, claiming that "Iraq was first invaded in 1991, not 2003". It's clear that history is not his area of expertise. Indeed, children probably have a better understanding that

1) Iraq invaded Kuwait and killed Americans in the process
2) We liberated Kuwait at their request
3) We did not invade Iraq

He also blames the Western sanctions against Iraq following Iraq's defeat as the cause of the deaths of a million Iraqis, nevermind that it was Saddam that took the profits from UNSCAM and bought palaces with it, instead of feeding his population.

How in the world is this guy a professor?

Frist breaks with Bush in stem cell debate

Could it be that the 'doctor' who suggested that spit could bring on AIDS be trying to restore his credibility?

This is a good first step.

Vatican Denounces Some Israel Retaliation

Seems like another Pope is selling out the Jews again.

I guess Benedict is really trying to atone for past mistakes.

Van Gogh's son attacked by Muslims

When will the post-modern Europeans wake up?

Cheney, reason for suicide?

According to Drudge, Helen Thomas, a reporter, threatened to kill herself if Dick Cheney runs for President.

Nice knowing you, Helen.

CAFTA approved

CAFTA passed in the House by two votes. Though many Republicans opposed it, fortunately, capitalism triumphed.

U.S. Muslims take bold step

It's interesting that one of the first bold steps against terrorism by a major Muslim group comes from U.S. Muslims. They call upon Muslims fight against terrorism by helping authorities against militants.

That is a great step and a great blow against Islamist terrorism.

Truer words

Youssef Ibrahim tells it like it is, writing that Muslims that believe that they are winning a so-called jihad are deluding themselves if they think that killing other Muslims will help.

This is the ultimate argument against the post-modern apologists. If the 'insurgents' are only fighting because of Western aggression, why are they murdering Muslim men, women, and children? Is there any response that the can give without sounding like they're pathetically grasping for straws?

Brazilian did not wear bulky jacket

This does not bode well for the London authorities, and it will not bode well for Tony Blair. I wonder what other details will emerge, one way or the other.

Canada's interweb war with Denmark

Too funny.

NASA to Ground Shuttles Again

From WaPo, bad news regarding the shuttle Discovery launch. It turns out that pieces of foam insulation fell away from the external fuel tank. This unfortunate occurence caused NASA to ground future flights.

The silver lining is that this phenomenon is probably not new, and that goes to the engineering tolerance of the shuttle design. Also, this discovery will only allow NASA scientists to improve upon the design.

Google...evil?

Christina Elwell's lawsuit against Google for alleged job discrimination because of her pregnancy certainly takes the sheen off of Google's 'do-gooder' image.

London bombers probably part of larger attack

London police had found 12 bombs and 4 detonators in a trunk of a car rented by the terrorist Shehzad Tanweer who killed himself during the July 7 attacks, indicating that there were more attacks to come. Fortunately, the London police seized the car before anything else could happen.

Travel woes

My first business trip to DC turned out to be a complete disaster. I had a couple of delays with our subcontractor that forced me to push back my return flight from 4:30 to 7. Once I got there, my second flight was canceled due to weather, with my third attempt not leaving until 10PM. Then, also due to weather, that flight was delayed to midnight. When the plane finally arrived from Boston, there were only three people that deplaned. I didn't get home til almost 2. By that time, I was awake for 23 hours. Ughh.

Japanese develop 'female' android

Leave it to the Japanese to create a female android. Why am I not surprised?

Motorola Q via MobileBurn

Can I just say that the Motorola Q is in the running for my next gadget, along with the Nokia N90, but not before the X41T.

Too much gadget goodness, not enough money!

Thanks for nothing

It turns out that 2 of the July 21 bombing suspects immigrated to Britain as political refugees.

And this is how they repay the country that took them in?

If there is supposed to be a silver lining in this report, it's that Ibrahim's relatives stood up and tipped the police as to his identity and are working to bring him to justice. Good on them for taking a stand.

Great anime

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is probably the best cartoon on basic cable, bar none. It has one of the best soundtracks on TV, too. Everyone should check it out.

A sensible assessment

Kenneth Pollack of the Brookings Institution makes a sensible assessment of the situation in Iraq. Basically, he's calling for American forces to, instead of conducting offensive operations, secure areas inside Iraq where civilians would feel safe. Then, over time and simultaneous to an increasing indigenous security force, civilians would become happier and more productive and more willing to assist in defeating terrorists. This is all contigent on having enough troops, something he claims that we do not have.

I, myself, am leaning to the thought that we do not have enough forces inside Iraq in order to secure it in the short term. However, on the other side of the coin, I think that the administration is using an optimization strategy. That is, we have enough troops to allow the Iraqis to grow their own security forces, which will then take over as we fall more and more into support mode. I hope that they know what they're doing.

Amnesty International - International Joke

Publius Pundit further exposes just how much of a joke Amnesty International has become.

These guys have gone off the deep end equating the terrorist slaughter of Iraqi civilians with anything the MNF has done in Iraq.

The Pope's gaffe

Seems like Benedict forgot about Israel when listing countries suffering from terrorist attack. It's like forgetting the eggs while making an omelet.

Idiot.

J-Lo blows

So this is why J-Lo is so popular despite putting out crappy music. Seems like the music companies were involved in payola schemes: paying radio stations to play music in order to boost ratings. Instead of playing music because it's good, radio stations were paid to play music that the music companies wanted to promote in order to increase record sales.

I'm of two minds:

1) It's creepy and deceptive, which I deplore
2) It's capitalism, which I support

Drug companies do it all the time, sending doctors on 'information' trips (junkets) to promote a new drug that combats hay fever. If that's the case, is this really so bad?

UPDATE:

So, I guess I'm linked in Slate. Cool! Auros comments that I'm sounding like I'm saying that it's ok for the music industry to do this, and I totally agree it sounds that way. Seriously, though, I don't think it's entirely copacetic that these industries are basically attempting to bribe people in order to promoting their product. However, should Sony's actions be punished? I would say this: if there is an inherent expectation of trust between the music radio stations and the public and an implied expectation of impartiality, then yes, it should be. However, it's not clear to me that music radio stations have that sort of status with the public. That said, if the DJ were to misrepresent the reason for playing the song, e.g., "I think this song is so incredible", instead of, "Sony gave me tickets to the Yankees game to play this", then I would think that only the station should be punished.

If anyone out there has a good argument one way or the other, I'd love to hear it.

Oh, and I think that Green Day blows, too.

Anklets

I must say that anklets on women are incredibly sexy.

Beachin!

Went to Singing Beach up in Manchester-by-the-Sea this weekend with several friends. It was an absolutely perfect day with weather in the low 80s and sunny. Let me tell you, getting a tan and doing absolutely nothing for 4 hours is tough work! And to top it all off, I had a milkshake (my first in at least a year) at Captain Dusty's. Dinner was to be had at Kowloon. What a great day!

Maternity clothier fired for being pregnant?

Oh, the irony! Cynthia Papageorge is suing Mothers Work Inc., a maternity clothing retailer, for firing her because she was pregnant! Her supervisor, Jan Dowe, is also suing Mothers Work, claiming that she was fired in part for refusing to fire Papageorge.

Talk about bad press! I've got a prediction: Mothers Work will be taken to the cleaners on this one.

Armstrong Ends Career With 7th Tour Win

Congratulations to Lance Armstrong for his 7th Tour win. Although this is a record for him, records are made to be broken. Not being an avid follower of cycling (I don't even own a bike), is there anyone on the horizon who can achieve the monumental task of supplanting Armstrong?

Alabama House asks residents to boycott Aruba

In the running for the stupidest resolution in history is Alabama's resolution asking Alabama residents to boycott Aruba. What else could you ask Aruba to do to find Natalee Holloway? The Aruban government gave all its citizens a day off to help locate Holloway and had F-16s fly over the island to help. I don't think Alabama would do the same if an Aruban were to go missing. Not that anyone would even want to visit Alabama. If I were Aruba, I would stop the investigation in retaliation.

You pay the price

You wear a heavy coat in the summer, you run from the police after they call for you to stop, you jump a turnstile to get onto a train a day after 3 failed train bombings and a failed bus bombing, you pay the price. To give an excuse that he had lived in a high crime area is not an excuse at all. It's a tragedy that de Menezes was killed by the police, but it is not their fault.