In exercises they launches a Hatf III (Ghaznavi) missile, with a range of about 180 miles.
Month: February 2008
A Victory for Civil Rights in the UK
5 Muslim students had their convictions for perusing Jihadi websites overturned.
The appeals court declared that, “Difficult questions of interpretation have been raised in this case by the attempt by the prosecution to use [anti-terrorism law] for a purpose for which it was not intended, …. We do not consider that it was made plain to the jury [in the original trial] … that they possessed the extremist material for use in the future to incite the commission of terrorist acts. We doubt whether the evidence supported such a case.”
It’s not in the US, but I’ll take it.
Writers Strike Officially Over
Great!!!
I can watch Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” tonight.
Clinton’s Deputy Campaign Manager Is Let Go
I’m beginning to think that the wheels are coming off the campaign with Mike Henry leaving.
Their firewall is sounding like Rudy Giuliani, and the rats are leaving the ship.
Bush and His Evil Minions™: Fraud In Iraq and Afghanistan is Just Fine
The Bush administration, after much prodding, will be tightening up the standards for fraud, waste, and abuse in government contracting, but only in the US.
If you are contracting outside of the US, say like Halliburton in Iraq, you do not have to report, “internal fraud or overpayment on government-funded projects” in excess of $5 million.
My guess is that it would sweep up too many of their campaign contributors and Dick Cheney’s Golfing Buddies.
Newspapers Reprint Mohammed Cartoon In Response to Terror Threats
Kurt Westergaard, the Danish artist who painted the picture of Mohammad having a bomb for a turban, was the target of an assassination conspiracy which was uncovered yesterday.
In response, newspapers across Europe have reprinted his cartoon.
Good for them. This is an issue of free speech, and the right to free speech includes the right to be an asshole without fear of violence or death.
For what it’s worth, I do find this cartoon offensive and bigoted:
But the idea that it merits death threats, or for that matter actual conspiracies to assassinate, is repugnant to any civilized people.
The freedom of speech includes the freedom to blaspheme.
By way of example:
I would expect that this would get me called a bigoted asshole, but anyone who thinks that it rates death, and has the inclination to act on it, needs to be removed from free society.
Hezbollah Leader Killed in Explosion
Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a Damascus explosion.
Hezbollah, which translates to GOP in Arabic*, has claimed that the Israelis were responsible, though the Olmert government has denied responsibility.
Considering this guy’s rap sheet, the barracks bombing in ’83, plane hijackings, etc., I’m not heartbroken.
*This is not really true. It’s kind of the reverse almost true. There are any number of people in the Republican party who have either directly, or indirectly claimed that it is the “party of God”, which is what Hezbollah means in Arabic.
Pakistani Nuclear Personnel Go Missing in Al Queida Land
If this does not scare you, you need your head examined.
Two employees of Pakistan’s atomic energy agency have been abducted in the country’s restive north-western region abutting the Afghan border, police say.
One hopes that this was not a voluntary thing, because I’d rather have uncooperative nuclear technicians sharing a room with al Queida terrorists.
Thais Sign With Swedes For Fighters, AEW&C
The Thai government has basically signed with the Swedes for the backbone of their air force moving forward.
They have purchased, “six JAS 39C/D gripen swing-role fighters, a Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft, a Saab 340 transport aircraft, and an air defense command & control system from Sweden.”
Sweden is actually doing a good job staking out the bottom of the current aerospace market, giving capabilities close to those of the big guys for less.
Overheard in the Office — Political Funny
A not by me, but by my “friend I’ve never met in person”, JR:
‘Do we really need a black drag queen running as the conservative candidate?’
‘Um, are you talking about Ron Paul?’
‘Yeah, him.’
‘He’s white and racist.’
‘Then who am I thinking of?’
‘Ru Paul.’
‘I take it they’re both about as qualified?’
‘I think the GOP leadership would take either one over McCain.’
Emphasis mine, and JR owes me a screen wipe.
Wynn, Gilcrest Lose Primaries
Donna Edwards trounced corporate whore Al Wynn in MD-4, getting something over 50% in PG county, and over 60% in Montgomery county, which is about 1/3 of the district.
Gilchrist appears to have lost in a 3-way race by about 6% in MD-1, with state senator Andy Harris getting the nod in the largely Eastern Shore district.
Al Wynn is a bad, bad, man, both personally (won’t go into it) and politically (voted for the Terry Schiavo intervention), in addition to be horrifically bad at constituent service. There is no reason for a Bush Dog in one of the most reliably Democratic districts in the country.
As to MD-1, I think that Harris is a much better chance of a pickup than Gilchrist.
With one exception, paper ballots, Harris is positively Neanderthal (We really are talking Fred Flintstone here), and the Eastern shore has always been a bastion of relatively moderate Republicanism, so Harris is more vulnerable than a multi-term incumbent known for his relative liberalism.
On the Dem side, it will be Frank Kratovil, about whom I know nothing.
In MD-6, which is Western, and very conservative, Maryland, Jennifer Dogherty will Run against Roscoe Bartlett, she’s a former Mayor of Frederick, so hopefully she will be competitive. Bartlett is old, and this is not a Republican year.
The fact that she beat Andy Duck in the primary, and he has ran in, and had built on his organization from the previous election, indicates that she will run a good campaign, but it still a long shot.
Senate Votes to Give Retroactive Immunity for Telecoms
One hopes that the House will have some guts, but I doubt it.
This is about protecting lawbreaking by Bush and His Evil Minions&trade, not about keeping anyone safe or getting the cooperation of telcos.
Michael Ramirez is In Pain
And I laugh at his pain. This guy is a right wing asshole.
Lieberman Likely to Pull a Zell Miller at Republican Convention
This so totally not surprising.
He is, and always has been, a self important, sanctimonious, self serving hypocrite.
Another Republican Retirement, John Shadegg, (Az-3)
That’s 29 in the past 13 months.
I guess that they have discovered it’s less fun to be anvil than hammer.*
*Quoting Goethe: Du mußt Amboß oder Hammer sein (“You must be Anvil or Hammer”)†
†OK, I’m actually quoting Patrick McGoohan’s marvelous serise, The Prisoner. I’m not that literate.
Economics Update
First, it appears that the current credit crisis is now being recognized by some media outlets, such as the New York Times, as not being limited to subprime borrowers. Of course the story misses the fact that it’s not just mortgages, and the story that they use to illustrate the problem is a, “a computer engineer at Lockheed Martin who makes a six-figure income and had a stellar credit score in 2004, when he refinanced his home in Northern California to take cash out to pay for his daughter’s college tuition”, who is the last person we should think of bailing out.
He understood the issue, and took the loan anyway.
As to the general, and ongoing, credit meltdown, we have yet another New York Times story, this leading off with Sailfish Capital Partners, a hedge fund that is being liquidated.
The pair, both fixed-income specialists, quickly raised $1 billion for their flagship multi-strategy fixed-income fund, according to investor documents. Assets grew steadily, reaching $1.2 billion by the end of 2005 and $1.5 billion by the end of 2006, when the fund returned more than 12 percent. In July, the fund sat atop almost $2 billion, and exhibited relatively low volatility — a key factor for institutional investors.
But July proved treacherous. As the credit markets seized up, Sailfish owned seemingly safe top-rated investments, including mortgage investments, that suddenly plummeted in value.
Illiquidity will get worse, and this is one of what will be many stories,
And then we have Warren Buffet offering to buy the good assets of the bond inurers and so give them a capital injection (see also Also here).
Basically, he wants to buy the good stuff for pennies, and leave the sh%$pile for the monoliners to deal for later. Buffet ain’t dumb, this is thinking vulture capitalism.
We are starting to see adulatory coverage of the (very boring, but generally safe)municipal bond market, though I wonder what happens to resale value of the bonds if the monoliners go belly up before Jimmy Warren Buffet gets his hands on those assets.
Finally, we have the federal budget deficit more than doubling, which means that we have to borrow even more foreign money and more downward pressure on the dollar.
Cool Vid
F-35 STOVL nozzle in action:
Obama Crushes Clinton in “Potomac Primary”
I’m hearing the fat lady warm up.
Woah!
That’s what the election worker said when she opened the door about 5 minutes ahead of voting starting, and saw 12 of us waiting.
My guess is that she thought it was a lot of people. I know that she is a regular, I saw here in the previous primary and the general.
In my Maryland, in addition to the Congressional primary (and some unopposed judges in my district), you vote for the candidate, and 4 women and 3 men delegates.
One of the men was my friend Noel, who was uncommitted, who I voter for.
John Edwards-Barack Meeting Cancelled or Postponed
This meeting was supposed to be about a potential endorsement, and Edwards has already had a meeting with Clinton.
My guess is that it is scheduling, since even if John Edwards has made up his mind, he wants to have met with both candidates.