If Columbia President Lee Bollinger and Dean of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs John Coatsworth are indicative of the entire Columbia University staff, is a degree in any kind from Columbia worth more than the paper useless words are printed upon?

Watching Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech followed by a brief Q&A today left me wondering what exactly constitutes being an academic. Ahmadinejad, as he stated on numerous occasions in order to put himself on par with those who would question him and above the audience filled with graduate and undergraduate students, is also an academic allegedly teaching one class per week in the area of ’science’ still to this day. Would you want an engineer teaching you biology?

What was most perplexing about today’s event was the sheer ignorance shared by both Bollinger and Coatsworth. Bollinger stated he hoped Ahmadinejad’s presumed mad words would alienate him inside Iran, which immediately told me Bollinger had never seen Ahmadinejad speak outside of Iran or realized there isn’t exactly a free press, freedom of speech or an actual voting democracy inside the country Bollinger wished would shun Ahmadinejad.

Coatsworth lobbed some probing questions, but his one follow-up question was simply batted away by Master of Deception. That term of endearment for Ahmadinejad is written in half jest, as the Iranian president speaks crystal clear within his own borders yet turns one question asked towards himself into upwards of twenty outside the comfy confines of whatever palace he calls home in Tehran.

Coatsworth asked Ahmadinejad if he supported the destruction of the state of Israel. Ahmadinejad, squinting and half-smiling as he coyly answers, “we love all nations.” We know that not to be the case and he routinely stands in front of crowds chanting “death to America,” “death to Israel” and “death to England.”

But the devil is in the details of his response, details Coatsworth and the rather dimwitted crowd present never seemed to grasp. Ahmadinejad never actually says the word ‘Israel,’ for he believes there is no such state known as Israel. He repeatedly refers to the land as Palestine, stating he wants to open up the entire populace living in both Israel and the Palestinian Territories to a vote which receives a round of applause from the audience.

Did those in attendance not understand what just was pulled over their eyes? Surely the same institution which prided itself in being a beacon of free speech actually knows the difference between a debate and a whitewash, no?

Coatsworth also asked Ahmadinejad if Iran supported terrorist groups, which in itself was a question anyone with any knowledge of the Iranian state’s actions knows the answer to and anyone with any knowledge of Ahmadinejad knows how he will answer said question.

(more…)

I have been following the foiled car bomb plot in London off and on all morning. In no way do any of the developments surprise me in the least.

1. A smoking Mercedes was found outside of a popular night club.
2. Nails were strewn across the floor of the car.
3. A propane gas cylinder and gasoline was inside the car rigged to what appears to be a rather amateurish bomb (Hank Hill might be proud).
4. On an Islamist message board, there might have been a hint there would be an attack soon. Hours before the car bomb was found, an Internet poster wrote, “Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed.”
5. An ‘international terrorist network’ is suspected of being behind the attack.

In the order that they appear above, let us look at what we know. There’s no telling if the night club was the target at this point in time, and we might never know. Sure, it would make sense that jihadists intent on wanting to kill as many of the Infidel population as they can would attack a populated area, but would you park a car on the curb after crashing into a pole of some kind, or would you park normally even if it is illegal and then leave the scene?

This was not a suicide bomb plot, allegedly, but rather those who wished to kill for Allah planned on detonating the car via a cell phone. ‘Martyrdom’ apparently is not for everyone, or perhaps the suicide bomber-to-be just forgot to shave every last piece of body hair or was concerned with having a razor close to a certain part of his anatomy.

Of course nails were inside the car, which can signal an intent to slaughter as many people as possible. Flying nails would do little to buildings, but they certainly have damage to humans. Were there enough explosives though to break the walls of the night club, therefore allowing the nails to wreak havoc on the party-goers inside? I’m just going by pictures here, but there don’t appear to be too many windows. It’s bad business for a night club to have huge windows allowing in light.

The posting on the message board is unique in one way, but it’s also a signal that those who decided to undertake this plot haven’t exactly been invited into Osama bin Laden’s house for tea. If this was a suicide bombing attempt, it would all make complete sense. We know Islamists believe that if an attack works it is the will of Allah, and if they are hampered by anyone if the attack works it is further proof Allah has nothing better to do than to plot to kill the Infidel through mere mortals as opposed to other God-like attributes.

But this was not a suicide attack (see above). By all indications thus far, it was your run of the mill pseudo-jihadis trying to get into the good graces of Allah to get those virgins while still trying to find virgins on terra firma. Why then would someone boast on a message board they planned on carrying out an attack that day knowing their IP is fully available to track regardless of how it turned out? Did someone change the Islamist doctrine to state it’s better to live the rest of your life in prison than to enter Heaven in small chunks of flesh and goo? To me this screams out amateur, and thankfully so.

Even though at this point I firmly believe the jihadis were not the die-hards the Taliban or Al Qaida have long promised will hit the streets of England, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a connection to an international terrorist group, namely Al Qaida. The message board posting alone suggests there is a connection because Al Qaida members are on these boards. It’s recruiting, the distribution of propaganda and connecting a shy jihadis everywhere to other shy jihadis. Besides any of that, the attempted attack was at least inspired by Al Qaida who has repeatedly declared England is a prime target.

And by the way. Didn’t Tony Blair step down this week? He did, so why would Islamists want to attack England? That certainly doesn’t fit the apologists’ mantra of why jihadis attack, but neither do any other attacks for that matter. That is, unless, the United States, England or a ‘coalition of Jews’ run Indonesia or any of the other numerous nations that are victimized by Islamist attacks.

UPDATE: There was a second car bomb in the same area, but it was towed to an impound yard because it was illegally parked.  The second car was also a Mercedes.  To our British readers, are Mercedes lower end cars over there or something?

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter simply cannot be sound of mind anymore, assuming of course he ever was. I have serious concerns about Carter’s mental health, and in no way do my concerns stem from his rather questionable tenure as head of this nation. Sure, we can quibble with the role Carter played in deposing the Shah of Iran giving way to the Iranian Revolution that has largely contributed to the rise of 21st Century radical Islam and a maniacal nation-state in pursuit of nuclear tipped missiles, however at least in that respect it’s easy to conclude Carter simply sold out.

But that raises an interesting point. If Carter was willing to sell out, literally, a U.S. ally in favor of an Islamist government, why can’t we conclude the below comments were made through the prism of bank accounts rather than rationality?

The United States, Israel and the European Union must end their policy of favoring Fatah over Hamas, or they will doom the Palestinian people to deepening conflict between the rival movements, former US President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday . . .

“This effort to divide Palestinians into two peoples now is a step in the wrong direction,” he said. “All efforts of the international community should be to reconcile the two, but there’s no effort from the outside to bring the two together.”

Carter was pessimistic this would happen soon. I don’t see at this point any possibility that public officials in the United States, or in Israel, or the European Union are going to take action to bring about reconciliation,” he said. (source)

Newsflash: Hamas and Fatah have waged war against each other since Hamas won the election. Actually, they have warred against each other longer than that but let us focus on the recent past.

In Carter’s utopia world where “there’s a good chance” Hamas will embrace peace and be willing to coexist peacefully with Israel, he neglected to mention Hamas can’t figure out how to coexist peacefully with anyone.

After Hamas staged its coup, it did the only thing the group knows how to do well. Hamas members dragged out Fatah leaders who had surrendered or were wounded and executed them in the streets in front of cheering men, women and children who seemingly know no better joy in life than watching blood spill on the streets. Quite a peaceful people you see, both Hamas and the death-fetished gathering of misfits.

Irregardless of the omission of the culture in which Hamas operates within and perpetuates to gain power, Carter somehow feels the United States and Israel should try to be some sort of moderator between Hamas and Fatah. If there is a country who has less credibility to moderate anything with Hamas it would be Israel, a state the terrorist group has pledged to vanquish and continues to maintain Israel should not exist despite Carter’s mind-boggling refusal to read the group’s own charter or any statements to that effect.

The solution to the problem is just so easy, Carter must believe.  Based upon his numerous comments, he must believe the only rock that lies within the smoothly paved highway between a militant Hamas and a peaceful Hamas is international involvement. However, it has always been perfectly clear that rock threatening to derail Carter’s motorbike is not international involvement, but rather the existence of one tiny Jewish state. How dare that rock be Jewish, but at least we know the Israeli rock is not the one that is expected to come alive to smite the Jews under Allah’s Final Solution to the ‘problem’ of the Jewish state.

Therefore the only rational conclusion to Carter’s constant lunacy is that he is either not sound of mind or there are cash transactions made to sway his beliefs.  There has to be a good reason for Hamas leaders to smuggle in suitcases filled with cash rather than simply deposit funds or launder them through the group’s paymasters in Damascus and Tehran.

A headline from the Times of London: ‘Muslim world inflamed by Rushdie knighthood.’

Yeah, so what else is new?  The mythical ‘Muslim world’ is upset at something done in another country and takes the streets to burn flags.

You know, I’d love to own a flag shop in Pakistan.  There’s much profit to be had at the expense of idiots wielding cans of lighter fluid or petrol within an empty two-liter bottle of Pepsi (see other photos).  Of course the shop would sell that too.

I haven’t a clue why Rushdie was knighted, but if Elton John can be, why not Rushdie?  Heck, why can’t I fly across the pond and get knighted?

Perhaps more disturbing is that during the same protest in which the above photograph was taken, one sign reads in part, “Curse Against Satan.”  Seriously, who protests against Satan?

Photo credit: The Daily Mail

Hamas overtook Gaza, though the fighting between two elected governments in the form of Hamas and Fatah have waged numerous battles over the past year alone.  The fighting escalated in recent weeks, thus one major question has been posed.  Is there a civil war in the Palestinian territories?

A civil war is loosely defined as a war between two groups with a right to govern.  In the case of Palestine, both Hamas and Fatah can and do claim a right to govern.

For the purposes of debate, let us look at another conflict which is called a civil war by politicians and journalists.  Yes, that conflict is inside Iraq.  There are numerous sides to the conflict, but only one of those sides is represented in the Iraqi government.  That side affiliated with the current elected Iraqi government is aligned with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr.  Sadr’s military wing, known as the Mahdi Army, chooses to war against Sunnis.  Now those Sunnis the Mahdi Army has declared war upon are not affiliated with the Iraqi government, nor for the most part are they affiliated with the umbrella Sunni insurgent group known as the Islamic State of Iraq, who, by the way, has no affiliation with the Iraqi government nor any legitimate claim to govern the nation of Iraq.

The conflict in Iraq, however, was declared a civil war by NBC News despite not carrying the main characteristic of what a civil war entails.  Calling Iraq a nation engulfed in a civil war has also been hoisted by leading Democratic politicians, apparently without regard to what the term actually means.

Meanwhile back in Palestine, it strikes me as completely odd none of the ‘purveyors of truth’ within the media elite or Democratic Party’s stronghold of Iraq naysayers have concluded there is actually a civil war ongoing.  Perhaps it’s already over after Hamas overtook Gaza and posed for pictured in Mahmoud Abbas’ presidential palace, fully hiding their true identities for whatever reason.  Regardless, what would make Iraq a civil war and Palestine not?  By the pure definition of what a civil war is, the opposite is true.

Earlier today I flipped to Fox News just at the right time to catch the Reverend Jesse Jackson who stated there was an insurgency in Chicago.  He went on to call handguns weapons of mass destruction and asked if the United States wished to engage insurgencies why the U.S. government has not taken action in Chicago.

Good question Rev. Jackson.  Should Americans conclude because there are people murdered in Chicago there is in fact an insurgency, and should Americans conclude that if we as a nation wish to curtail the use of WMDs we should vote in favor of gun control?  Jackson argued in favor of both stances.

But perhaps the good reverend should take a look around at the party he’s adopted during his runs for office and call for an immediate withdrawal of Chicago.  Nope, instead Jackson argued for more federal involvement and helped lead a protest against violence, I suppose deciding to place himself within a theater of war as he put it.

Don’t get me wrong here.  Just like the vast majority of people across the globe, I abhor violence.  I prefer to make jokes as opposed to lash out physically, but the solution to crime in Chicago isn’t to classify criminals as insurgents or to confuse the GWOT with gang wars that have gripped Chicago for decades.

I love Chicago and hope to get back there some day, though hopefully I’ll wait until after the insurgency is ended and after all WMDs are secured.  Until then, however, I am eagerly awaiting Rev. Jackson to explain why the United States should engage one insurgency while withdrawing from another.

Posted from Right Truth

From John E. Carey at Peace and Freedom, posted at his request. Highly recommended:

I came to Washington DC the first time in 1972 to work in the office of a liberal Democrat Ohio Congressman. I took away from that experience my first taste of the unwritten rules governing good conduct and decorum that most groups stick to, from your local Elks Club to the U.S. Senate.Most call it the culture or the ethos the organization lives by.

Unwritten rules exist to help an organization or team function harmoniously despite severe difference. For decades, even at the lowest moments of despair and disharmony, the Senate and in fact the United States of America, operated smoothly and got business completed. If two lawmakers wanted to lock horns, they were encouraged by the leadership to “take it outside.” Of course there are historically significant altercations on Capitol Hill but they served only to reinforce the rules.

(more…)

Sphere It

THE BIRTH OF “HAMASTAN”, BY: FERN SIDMAN (posted at Right Truth at Ms. Sidman’s request)

June 14 - According to breaking new reports from Gaza, the escalation of infighting between Hamas and Fatah forces has reached a zenith, with Hamas claiming victory after conducting a series of execution style killings of Fatah members. Over 80 Palestinian terrorists have been killed in Hamas-Fatah factional fighting since Sunday. Hamas declared that it had taken control of the town of Rafiah in southern Gaza after blowing up the Fatah headquarters there. All of northern Gaza is already under Hamas control. According to an Arutz Sheva report of 6/14/07, “Fatah was beaten so badly that Egyptian reports said 40 PA officers broke through the Gaza-Egypt border fence and fled to Sinai for safety. The Hamas-affiliated Popular Resistance Committee announced Thursday that it had taken control of the border to prevent weapons smuggling (to Fatah) and mass emigration by local Gazans.”

(more…)

Originally posted at Right Truth

North American Open Skies Agreement, by Toni and Bear Creek Ledger (cross-posted)

Looks like there is a slow chipping away at any of sign of a US border whether it be by land, air or sea. Dr. Jerome Corsi is reporting on a meeting called the North American Transportation Trilateral which occurred in Tuscon.You could be flying Aeromexico or Air Canada from NYC to LA soon. I wonder who will be sued or who will have to pay when the first Aeromexico flight crashes due to maintenance issues. Personally, I wouldn’t be a taker on the Aeromexico airlines. Sorry, but there is too much graft and corruption in Mexico for me to trust any transportation industry coming out of that country.

(more…)

Sphere It

Originally posted at Right Truth

Bon Appetit, a food services company, has gone “green”, serving only “low carbon” foods. That’s NOT low carbohydrates, that low CARBON. They won’t serve pineapple because it has to be shipped to the United States. I wonder if they serve coffee or tea with the meal? Both must be shipped to the US. Forget about bananas, forget about anything that is out of season, like tomatoes.

Carbon Neutral Journal:

Promoting Food Services for a Sustainable Future, Bon Appétit will be introducing a new low-carbon diet to its clients in celebration of Earth Day 2007. But Bon Appétit’s newest initiative isn’t just jumping on the latest bandwagon. The food service provider’s online pressroom is chock full of stories about sustainable food projects–like their recent Eat Local Challenge, which showed 200,000 diners at 400 Bon Appétit cafés across the U.S. what a meal made entirely of food grown within 150 miles of a restaurant looks and tastes like.

Agriculture accounts for one-third of greenhouse gases. In many ways, food choices are more important than car choice. It was clear we had to do something. In St. Louis, you can’t get tomatoes year-round locally. We might stop serving tomatoes with every hamburger in winter…The overarching message is that conscious food choices reduce climate change.

Livestock production accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions…If you currently have a hamburger four times a week, could you cut back to three and reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent?

Bananas are a very high-carbon item. They are grown far away and must be brought rapidly back so that they don’t spoil…do you have to have a banana every day, or can you eat dried cranberries?

These aren’t major trade-offs but are small things that can have a really big impact. (Student Life Newspaper)

Last year in the UK, via TreeHugger:

Hot on the heels of the imminent arrival of Green Green Tea, the first carbon neutral food product, we have news of Britain’s first carbon neutral restaurant. The Independent newspaper recently reported on Barny Haughton’s newest project in Bristol. Haughton, one of the UK’s most respected organic chefs, is working on Bordeaux Quay which will be a restaurant, bar, bistro, shop, bakery and cookery school that aims to reduce it’s impact on the environment.Bordeaux Quay aims to be zero-waste and carbon-neutral and to source the vast majority of its produce from within 50 miles. “Overall, we aim to be carbon neutral - in both the construction and the running of the restaurant.

TreeHugger reports that Terroir Restaurant on the North Norfolk coast has been Carbon Neutral for three years. Everyone’s jumping on the global warming bandwagon. There are carbon neutral hotels, too.

How to get a never ending happy ending, Planck’s Constant

Originally Posted at Right Truth

Syria is at it again, or should I say still at it? Anti-Syrian Lebanese lawmaker Walid Eido, nine other people, including his son, were killed by a vehicle packed with 80 kg (177 lbs) of explosives. Sound familiar? US President George W Bush is blaming Syria. Mr. Eido was a Sunni.

Syria seems to have evaded trial and punishment for the killing of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was similarly assassinated by a suicide truck bomber in February 2005.

Syria is denying any connection to Mr. Eido’s death. Syria has also denied any links between Syria and Fatah al-Islam militants battling the Lebanese army.

(more…)