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"Al-Qaeda has dirty bomb, UK says"

So sayeth this:

British officials have presented evidence which they claim shows that al-Qaeda has been trying to assemble radioactive material to build a so-called dirty bomb. They have shown the BBC previously undisclosed material backing up their claim...

For a second opinion, the BBC showed some of the material to an expert on al-Qaeda.

"I think this is genuine," said Dr Mustafa Alani, of the Royal United Service Institute...

Why the British government would release such top secret information has been questioned by some commentators in the Arabic world.

Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor of Al Quds al Arabi, said it was an attempt to revive fears in Britain and the US about 11 September.

"They would like to prove their point that there are links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda," he said.

Iraq isn't mentioned in the article. But, then again neither are, say, Pakistani nuclear scientists.

Posted to Terrorism at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)

Oil as a terror weapon

According to this:

Pentagon preps for possibility Saddam will use oil wells as doomsday weapon...sources indicate Saddam had already begun mining his wells with explosives in ways that would make it most difficult to extinguish fires and cap the wells.

"The Tigris and Euphrates hold a large part of the fresh water for the Middle East," Skinner told the Telegraph. "If he drains oil into them, we can't use that water for firefighting. If there are ground fires, we may not be able to get to the wells."

In 1991, Saddam poured into the Persian Gulf at least 10 million gallons of crude – over 20 times more than the Exxon Valdez spilled in Alaska – to preclude a marine assault by igniting a curtain of fire. The cost of cleaning it up was $700 million.

It's unfortunate some people aren't wackily crazy or devious enough to think something like this might happen. (Or, maybe they think it could happen, they're just complaining about the usual things they complain about.)

Posted to Iraq at 01:16 AM | Comments (0)

Fishing in Venezuela

A Judicial Watch client is suing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for allegedly sending $1 million to OBL right after 9/11. The complaint is here.

As to why the complaint brings up Cuba, socialism, and communism, I don't know. How is that relevant?

Also, while it mentions the $1 million that was given after 9/11, it doesn't go into details about the supposed "practical assistance and/or encouragement" that (I presume) they will want to show Venezuela gave before 9/11.

Also, thanks to JW, here's an article by Bill Safire about the Ansar al Islam group in Kurdistan providing a clear link between Saddam and al Queda. Interesting, but more proof needed. Having seen, for instance, a Kurdish report of a supposed meeting of Saddam and his top advisors, I'd take this with a tiny pinch of salt. I had something intemperate to say about one of the AQs mentioned in his article here. In his SOTU, Bush kinda creeped me out with his statement that we'd made some people disappear, but...

Posted to Terrorism at 12:32 AM | Comments (10)

"NEW EUROPE BACKS BUSH"

From Sully:

Eight leaders of European countries call for unity between Europe and America in dealing with Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. They are: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Britain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Denmark

OK, this is somewhat good news for my hawk side, but, all seriousness aside, I think I'll make a snide comment or two.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?

Yes, but what about Greece?

Yes, I've met several celebrities. Did I tell you about the time I met the girl who played the smart girl on Eight is Enough?

He also links to a story in which an advisor to Saddam supposedly says "has the time not come to take the fight to their own homes in America? They wanted this to be a war on all fronts, so let it be a war on all fronts and using all weapons and means." Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Maybe it's just propaganda. Maybe the pic he links to at this article is just a few guys who were paid to hold up those signs.

I come not to bash Sully, just to suggest he be a bit more skeptical.

Posted to Iraq at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)

Raise your hand if you voted for Paul Craig Roberts

Eugene Volokh has another discussion of a Paul Craig Roberts article here. It ends with:

[I]t's a shame that the anti-race-preferences movement (which I support) and the anti-immigration movement (which I do not support, but which I think makes some serious claims that deserve serious consideration) are being represented -- and represented in leading conservative publications, such as the Washington Times and townhall.com -- by authors such as this.

First of all, the phrase "anti-immigration movement" is misleading: the U.S. not only has legal immigration, but the illegal kind as well. Since different people might have different opinions about both kinds of immigration, it's best not to combine that into one movement. There's even the related issue of American sovereignty being threatened by foreign governments which might be considered part of one or both movements.

Secondly, I don't recall electing PCR to represent my thoughts on immigration. I do welcome, however, the call for new spokespeople for the "anti-immigration movement", and I wonder why there are so few politicians speaking out on this issue.

Could it be because they're too busy looking either for illegal alien votes from their "constituents" or for cheap serf labor, or, in some cases, for both?

If Barbara Jordan were still alive, she'd be a good spokesperson for the "movement." But, there are at least a few other candidates, such as Michelle Malkin or Tom Tancredo. Their arguments are not anywhere near as easily dismissed as those of PCR.

However, regarding the "ethnic cleansing" mentioned in one of PCR's articles, perhaps there is a little bit of truth to that. Consider these quotes from Mario Obledo, past president of the "mainstream" group LULAC and co-founder of the "mainstream" group MALDEF:

"We're going to take over all the political institutions of California, in five years, we're going to be the majority population in this state. California is going to be a Hispanic state and anyone who doesn't like it should leave"

and

"Well, if they (Anglos) don't like Mexicans they ought to leave. They ought to go back to Europe."

(Listen to them, and read other scarrry quotes here.)

Now, certainly, we don't have house-to-house Balkans-style fighting (yet), but, don't those quotes at least suggest a bit of a desire for something that might be termed "ethnic cleansing?"

Parenthetically, regarding those Matricula Consular cards: doesn't acceptance of those cards violate, like, our laws? Thankfully, some politicians have found it within themselves to stand up for said laws and, if nothing else, consular protocol.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)

If I'm a Libertarian-Leftie...

If I'm a Libertarian-Leftie, why do I and every liberal or leftie or libertarian I meet instantly hate each other?

I took this test a couple years ago, and I got a similar result. This time it was: Economic Left/Right: -1.50
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -2.15.

Posted to Politics at 09:22 PM | Comments (0)

Blog babage

Here's a Russian-English bilingual blog.

Posted to Bloggage at 04:40 PM | Comments (1)

Today's comments

I created a thread about Matricula Consular cards here.

It involves a Palm Beach [FL] Post editorial that tries to say that the MC cards are a "Boost for security."

This long and extensively footnoted article begs to differ.

Posted to Bloggage at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)

Hikers Are Special People!

Let this serve as notice that I'm starting an organization called H.A.S.P.: Hikers Are Special People.

This new organization was inspired by the efforts of a group called 'Safe Trails' that wants to ban mountain biking on certain trails in the Santa Barbara area. They might have somewhat of a point for this particular trail. However, they spoil their argument with anti-MTBer sentiments.

Of particular interest is their page that deals with Biker Psychology:

These "sensation seekers" [e.g., mountain bikers] as a group have substantially higher rates of engagement in a whole range of more risky activities than do individuals who are less inclined to seek thrills. These activities include drug usage, law breaking, risky driving, heavier alcohol usage and risky sex... This does not mean that all members of the group engage in these activities but that as a group there is generally a higher rate than other populations...

The low sensation seekers [e.g., hikers], in contrast, much more readily experience fear as a result of high levels of stimulation... This difference leads to the asymmetry which is commonly observed that hikers are much more upset by the presence of bikers than vice versa... Because of their temperament, hikers are also much more reluctant to press their concerns... Whatever the hikers are seeking on the trails, it's certainly not thrills and danger... They often are seeking the opposite in fact, an environment with solitude, free of the arousing stimuli of our everyday world. Because of their physiological difference, the hikers are typically startled by the sudden appearance of a mountain bike and take some time to recover a non-aroused state.

Grow a pair.

Posted to OutdoorSports at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

"Park ranger cites militia leader, seizes his gun"

From this article:

A National Park Service ranger cited militia leader Chris Simcox Sunday for carrying a loaded weapon and operating without a permit at Coronado National Memorial in southeastern Arizona.

The chief ranger at the park south of Sierra Vista, Thane Weigand, said it appeared Simcox and William Dore were conducting a patrol of the border. "They were doing a special activity inside the park that's not sanctioned by the park," Weigand said.

Simcox, founder of the Tombstone group Civil Homeland Defense, has been conducting citizen patrols of the border area, but he said that's not what he was doing Sunday afternoon. He said he was simply hiking with Dore.

...[They were detained by a] park ranger, who said she had been watching the pair, knew who they were and what they were up to, Simcox said. He and Dore were detained for about 3 1/2 hours, and some belongings were seized, Simcox said. Those belongings included a scanner, two two-way radios, his camera, a cell phone and his pistol.

The email for the Coronado N.M. is coro_interpretation@nps.gov, and they're at 4101 East Montezuma Canyon Road
Hereford, AZ 85615
Telephone:
(520) 366-5515. The chief ranger is Thane Weigand.

There's a law against carrying a gun in National Parks, and I believe that goes for National Monuments as well. So, Simcox and friend shouldn't have been doing this.

However, what I object to is a) that, if the characterization and statements given above are accurate, they appear to have been targeted by an "activist" NPS Park Ranger, and b) that their camera and other items were seized.

I'll call the NPS and get more information tomorrow.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)

Today's comments

Atrios' attempts to apologize for ANSWER.

WeHo passing an anti-war resolution. Also, here. Does anyone read the fine print on these things?

Commercials for the Big Game.

Posted to Bloggage at 05:46 PM | Comments (0)

Just go back to Oaktown baby

Except, I don't think he had possession before going out of the endzone.

Well, they still need three scores just to tie, including two TDs with 2-point conversions. I hope I didn't jinx nothin'.

I'm the first to admit that the Raiders got robbed a couple times. They deserve it.

Oops, I think the game is just about over. Except, there's still 78 seconds left to run up the score a bit. C'mon, just for fun.

See, I was right!

UDPATE: Oakland fans are taking it in a classy way.

Posted to Miscellania at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)

Nancy Pelosi, Matricula Consular cards, and the cost of wine

Here's an interesting/"interesting" article about Nancy Pelosi.

Summary: She owns 32.6 acres of land in the Napa valley, of which a total of 9 acres is wine-producing. For 2001, she declared a total income of between $200,002 and $2 million for those holdings. Are those figures in line for what other growers receive, or are there shenanigans involved? The article hints that this might explain why she's apparently fond of illegal immigration.

This issue desperately needs a more journalistic approach, because the article reads like it's one step up from random conspiracy theorizing. For instance, rather than relying on an unnamed source, are there published figures available showing how much similar grapes fetch?

The 'Grapes and Vineyards' section of this article has more information on the cost of wine grapes, as does this.

Parenthetically, on your way to Napa county to verify this info, consider a hike up Mount St Helena (not to be confused with Mt. St. Helens in WA). As the author states, it's a boring fire road hike, but the views are real good. It wasn't as clear for me as it was for him when I did this. Next time I go, I'll bring my MTB with me. I climbed down into the caldera a bit, but you shouldn't because it ends in a long drop-off. I know there's sport climbing in the area, I wonder if anyone's tried to rappel or climb up the caldera.

Posted to Politics at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

Eating the elephant, one bite at a time

[UPDATE: the first article has disappeared. Here's the cached version. (The cached version appears to have disappeared as well. Here's the letter at Tancredo's site.) The second article appears to have disappeared, and no cache is available. The third article is still there.]

This article on ID cards given out by the Mexican government to illegal aliens in the U.S. has some moderately good news:

The Mexican government, despite concerns by U.S. law-enforcement authorities and immigration officials, is handing out thousands of identity cards to Mexican nationals in this country, including those here illegally...

"The most important thing to understand about these Mexican matriculas is that they are almost absolute proof that the bearer is an illegal alien," said Dan Stein, executive director of the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform...

Last week, in a letter to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, 12 House members questioned the propriety of the cards, describing them as an "issue of enormous significance that has massive implications for the nation."

The lawmakers said that in addition to Mexican authorities, officials in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras had increased their efforts to provide "identification cards to their nationals living illegally in the United States." They also said Mexico had undertaken "a massive lobbying effort" to persuade local authorities to accept the cards for identification purposes.

"While the issuance of national identification cards is nothing new, providing them with the express purpose of evading U.S. law is something entirely different," the lawmakers said. "The active lobbying of local and state governments by consuls of foreign countries is, at least, a breach of international protocol deserving of a serious response by our government."

Would you like an example of that lobbying? Here:

"Oxnard is poised to become the first city in Ventura County to allow Mexican immigrants to use their country's identification card to do business at city offices... County supervisors unanimously agreed in October to adopt a similar resolution, saying it would make it easier for Mexican nationals residing here to obtain marriage certificates, business licenses and other services....

Mexican Consul Fernando Gamboa said his Oxnard office issues about 1,000 identification cards a week to Mexican immigrants in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Immigrants are more likely to report crimes and cooperate with police if they know they have some form of identification accepted by authorities, he said. Gamboa said that illegal immigrants could not use the cards to obtain government benefits, alter their legal status or get driver's licenses.

Acceptance of the card is vital because officials are looking more closely at identification cards since 9/11, he added.

Gamboa plans to lobby the cities of Ventura and Camarillo for similar resolutions."

In more slightly good news:

PHOENIX - Some Arizona lawmakers are pressing for tougher laws dealing with illegal immigrants.

Legislators are proposing everything from requiring police officers to turn them over to immigration officials to blocking colleges and universities from accepting them. Another proposal would reject identification cards issued by Mexican consulates as valid identification.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

"Oracle grand jury session canceled"

News here, discussion here.

Posted to California at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

"Bills: Down With Citizen Database"

Thankfully, I haven't read WIRED for a long time, but in this case, I'll make an exception:

[L]awmakers have introduced three separate bills banning or suspending the [Total Information Awareness] program.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) proposed an amendment on Wednesday to the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that would suspend the program's $112 million budget for 2003.

On Thursday, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced the Data Mining Moratorium Act of 2003, which "suspends data-mining programs until Congress finishes a complete and total review," according to Feingold spokesman Ari Geller.

But the first lawmaker to take a shot at the program was Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who introduced his bill last week, though few on Capitol Hill noticed. The bill, the Equal Rights and Equal Dignity for Americans Act of 2003, was one of 12 Daschle introduced and currently has 26 co-sponsors.

Posted to Privacy at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

Time to pay the piper

According to this article:

Cash-strapped Arizona and other states soon would have to pay the full costs of jailing illegal immigrants convicted of crimes under a $390 billion budget bill for 2003 being considered by the Senate.

For fiscal 2002, states, counties and cities received $565 million for their costs of imprisoning criminal illegal immigrants, representing about 40 cents for every dollar spent. Arizona got $15.9 million, and some local governments got an additional $8.2 million, though they incurred costs of more than $305 million.

[AZ Gov.] Napolitano, a Democrat, argues that the federal government has been walking away like "a deadbeat dad" from paying its "fair share" of costs related to illegal immigration that has hit border states particularly hard.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)

Remember the Maine!?!?

Remember how the U.S. ship The Maine blew up in Havana harbor in 1898? Remember how the Spanish were immediately blamed, causing us to fight the Spanish-American war? Remember how no one knows to this day exactly what happened, whether it was really the Spanish or perhaps it was an accident or faulty ship design. (Read more here or here.)

And, remember how in the early 60s, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, wanted to start a war with Cuba by staging fake terrorist attacks to be blamed on the Cubans?

Lemnitzer even - hold onto your seats - wanted to fake the Cubans shooting down a civilian airliner. He had it all planned out: a dummy, empty plane and a plane full of the supposed victims would take off at the same time; the dummy plane would fly over Cuban airspace and get shot down, while the plane containing the supposed victims would secretly and safely fly back home.

Interesting, no?

Now, God only knows what's in the congressional report on 9/11. Remember, it's sealed for, what, 20 years? Maybe it's 30, maybe it's 40. But, it will be a long time before all the facts concerning 9/11 come out.

This post is a roundabout way of response to the "Wild Monk," whose hawk/dove survey I took in the preceding entry to this blog. I scored a 5 out of 10 on the rationality score, because I agreed with the statement "It has not been proven that the World Trade Center / Pentagon attacks were committed by Muslims." I'm about 98% sure that they were, but it certainly hasn't been proved, and it would be difficult to prove it in a legal sense.

It's good to keep an open mind, and consider all actors involved and their motivations. In fact, I'd consider that the height of rationality.

Posted to Warblogging at 05:13 PM | Comments (0)

Today's warblogger test

From DP, here's a test of how much of a hawk or dove you are.

I scored 48, with 5 on the rationality scale. I'll take the 5 as a badge of honor. Perhaps someone could tell me the "right" answers:

1. George Bush was validly and democratically elected president in 2000
Disagree
"While he may have been validly elected, he wasn't elected in what I would term a "democratic" fashion. I.e., he did not win the popular vote."

2. The Afghani people are in much better condition today than before the Afghan war.
Agree

3. The U.S. Military Operation in Afghanistan was largely successful in disrupting and damaging Al Queada.
Agree

4. It has not been proven that the World Trade Center / Pentagon attacks were committed by Muslims.
Agree
"While I think it was, it hasn't been proven."

5. The Bush administation's primary reason for invading Iraq is to take control of Iraqi oilfields.
Agree

6. Iraq and/or Saddam Hussein represents a threat to the United States
Agree

7. If Saddam Hussein succeeded in building a nuclear weapon, he will try to covertly provide it to terrorists for use against the West.
No Particular Opinion
"I'm supposed to speculate on what he's going to do? Maybe he'll be deterred, maybe not."

8. The U.S. must stop Hussein from acquiring weapons of mass destruction
Agree

9. War has never and will never achieve anything
Disagree

10. The United States is presently the greatest threat to world peace.
Disagree

Posted to Warblogging at 01:38 PM | Comments (1)

"Saddam Hails Worldwide Anti-War Demonstrations"

So sayeth this:

"They are supporting you because they know that evildoers target Iraq to silence any dissenting voice to their evil and destructive policies," Saddam told senior military officers and his son Qusay, the commander of the elite Republican Guards.

A recording of the meeting was broadcast on Baghdad's state- run television.

If there weren't a recording (and, OK, even if there is) I might consider this anti-anti-war propaganda.

In other news, one of these days I'm going to get around to reading Al Qaeda’s Fantasy Ideology.

Posted to Iraq at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)

People of Color for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

According to this article:

Just when you thought the white male could stoop no lower, PETA tells us that white men don't care about animal cruelty.

No, this isn't a joke, though I thought it was when a postcard from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) making such a claim crossed my desk a few days ago. Here's how the PETA assault on white males begins: "If the idea of animals' being castrated without anesthetics on factory farms isn't at all unsettling to you, chances are you're a man and you're white..."

Here's PETA's spin on the white man's carnivorous ways: "Could it be because white men are raised on `sports' such as fishing and rodeo? Or taught to `appreciate' the outdoors with a rifle in their hands? Do they feel like they're betraying Dad if they don't give their sons hot dogs at ballgames or that they won't grow `hair on their chests' without a slab of meat on their dinner plate?

"On the other hand, could it be that people who themselves sometimes feel disenfranchised and oppressed might, for that very reason, be sympathetic to the plight of animals?"

Racist? Check. Wouldn't dare say such things about non-white males? Check. Time to look up the emails of publicists who represent celebrities who support PETA? Check.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 12:41 AM | Comments (2)

Aryans of Color

Iranians (the word Iran is related to "Aryan," and you know what that means) are apparently the newest members of the Persons of Color club: "We thought of ourselves as whiter than white." Well, no longer. You are - shazzam! - now an Oppressed Peoples of Color. Welcome to the club, we've got some tofu-based snacks in the hall.

Maybe they should read a few quotes from the friends of their fellow travellers.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

The Brits get slightly smart

Either that, or the Finsbury Park mosque is no longer useful to them: Anti-terror police raid London mosque.

Geez louise, read this Q&A: North African terror in the UK
:

The reason why a lot of Algerians are here in the first place, why there is a network, is that in 1995 the French anti-terrorist people really cracked down, after a number of bombings in the Metro that were carried out by Algerians that killed eight people and injured well over 100.

Quite a few Algerian extremists sought refuge in the UK.

Britain let them stay here because the authorities didn't see them as a threat to the country, nor did they appear to be breaking any laws.

So they left them alone, and basically ignored them for the first year or two.

The authorities then woke up to the problem, because the French kept insisting these were dangerous people, and started monitoring them.

This from the land that gave us Oliver Cromwell.

Posted to Terrorism at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)

Gawd I hate the Raiders

Posted to Miscellania at 07:06 PM | Comments (2)

Don't go mountain biking in Griffith Park

You can signup for a 14-day free trial and get extensive information on a wide variety of mountain biking trails in SoCal and other areas here.

Posted to OutdoorSports at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)

My fave pro football team

... is whoever is playing against the Raiders. Go Titans!