Tractor Beam

The original graphic is from an undeterminable source, and was shamelessly lifted from the Skipper over at Barking Moonbat Early Warning System (BMEWS) I just couldn’t resist it – this is truly worthy of Douglas Adams!

Princely Warriors

TCS once again, with modern applications of some old truths that Kipling (and for that matter the republican Romans) would have understood without thinking about.

Proving leadership by leading troops into battle is the oldest trick in the book. Except that it’s not a trick — it’s real and it works. The motto of the Palmach, the legendary military unit in Israel’s 1947-48 War of Independence, was aharay, “follow me!” Historically, one of the strongest rationales for kingship was the monarch’s presumed military effectiveness. So in the modern era, as kings fell out of the habit of leading armies, their political power fell away, too.

After examining the historical background of involvement of the UK Royal House with the military since George II, it is noted that:

“…both William and Harry joined the Army. Moreover, both made it clear that they expect to go into action with their units, in Iraq or Afghanistan, where more than 100 British troops have been killed in action. As Harry said last September, “The last thing I said was there’s no way I’m going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country. That may sound very patriotic, but it’s true.” Actually, it sounds pretty good.

It’s safe to assume that press agents and spin doctors had a hand in getting this information out to the public, but so what? If it’s real, it’s real. Reality is the rock upon which spin shatters. Besides, the media saturation that William and Harry receive will cut both ways: Yes, they are stars, but being a star in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan — where the terrorists are tuned in, too — is risky. Stardom could turn into martyrdom. In the words of The Daily Mail, “If they share the fear and bear themselves well, they, the country and the monarchy will all be stronger for it.”

So there’s the lesson for today: Shared sacrifice is the key to legitimacy. As Shakespeare’s Henry V trumpeted at Agincourt, “For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.” That’s the brotherhood that keeps nations together and keeps dynasties in power. Oh, and by the way, the same lesson applies to other dynasties, too. The moment that members of a powerful family seem to have insulated themselves from the fortunes of a nation, their value to that nation is finished.

(Are you listening Senator Kennedy?)

The war in Afghanistan is popular enough, albeit obscure. The war in Iraq is unpopular. But here’s a prediction, based on history from both sides of the Atlantic: In the future, the most powerful political leaders on national-security matters will be drawn from those who went Over There and did their bit. Those future leaders may be hawkish, or they may be dovish, but if they stepped forward and said, “Send me,” they will be heard with respect in the years ahead.

Times have changed, as they always do, but some verities of political leadership never change. A nation, be it a monarchy or a republic, will always most admire those who serve their people selflessly — and riskily.

Interestingly enough, as of now, the officially titled British ruling class is acquitting itself better than the officially meritocratic American ruling class.

Hear, hear!

Energy Policy for Idiots

Tech Central Station scores again with this one.

READ IT AND HEED IT! (Pass it on as may be necessary.)

This essay is not meant to insult your intelligence. Instead, I am attempting to explain elementary economics to the most poorly-educated segment of our society, meaning people like Energy Secretary Bodman, Senator Bill Frist, Lou Dobbs, and Bill O’Reilly. Leave No Demagogue Behind.

Let’s go s-l-o-w-l-y. Start by asking yourselves these questions:

* Should the goal of U.S. energy policy be to raise long-term domestic energy production, or to reduce long-term domestic energy production?

* Should the goal of U.S. energy policy be to increase profits earned by Iran and other foreign producers, or to reduce their profits?

* Should the goal of U.S. energy policy be to increase consumer demand for gasoline, to leave consumer demand alone, or to reduce consumer demand?

Did you answer “raise long-term domestic energy production,” “reduce profits of foreign suppliers,” and “leave consumer demand alone” or “reduce consumer demand”? Very good! Those are very sensible answers. Before reading further, go back and repeat the questions and the answers five times, to make sure that they stick in your mind.

The piece goes on to spell out the realities of the curent oil situation. Check it out – it ain’t necessarily what you hear on the news, or from the politicians, pundits, et al. The conclusion is pithy and to the point:

Congress wants to treat American consumers like children, who should not have to deal with reality when it comes to the supply and demand for gasoline. It might be better to treat consumers as adults, and let us make grown-up decisions. These grown-up decisions probably will serve the country’s interest more than the infantile energy policies now under consideration.

Are you in the political/economic playpen, or not?

Drivin’ and Not Cryin’?

This piece over at Tech Central Station goes a long way towards putting the gas situation into a rational perspective. Taking note of the plethora of MSM moaning and bloviation about the price of gasoline, it is noted that

…what’s more interesting about these stories is what they don’t tell you. For example, AP reports that “surveys indicate drivers won’t be easing off on their mileage, using even more gas than a year ago.” Now why is that? If prices are rising, one would expect consumers would use less. The answer might be in some of the long-term trends that the short-term media lens is too cramped to see. While energy prices may be rising, energy itself is much less important to consumers and to the overall economy than it once was.

According to the Bureau of Economic Affairs, American consumer spending on energy as a fraction of total personal consumption has declined considerably since 1980. Whereas 25 years ago, one in every ten consumer dollars was spent on energy, today it’s one in every sixteen bucks. In other words, what it takes to heat and cool our homes and drive to and from our jobs and vacation destinations is relatively less costly than it once was.(Emphasis added.)

The inevitable result of this is extremely counterintuitive to the conventional wisdom:

This goes a long way to explaining why even while gas prices rise this summer, and while they will be higher than they were through the 1990s, people will still be driving more — it’s much more of a value than it was a generation ago.

The Chief and Mrs. Chief are planning a nice long road trip this summer, from the Dakota plains to the exotic realm the People’s Republic of Taxachusetts Massachusetts. While the proballe price per gallon is NOT fun to contemplate, even on teacher’s pay automotive travel is still very affordable, so there is personal truth to the above observations.

This is a good thing – I like to drive!

United 93 – The filmmakers got it right

Writing in the WSJ Opinion Journal, Michael Beamer, father of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer (Let’s roll!) comments on the appropriateness of taking an unflinchingly close look at the 9-11 events concerning United Airlines flight 93.

This year the movie that had its worldwide premiere at the [Tribeca] festival is titled “United 93.” It is about the day when the hole in the skyline of New York was made–the day when a hole was made in the side of the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.–the day when a hole was made in a quiet mountain meadow in Pennsylvania. The day that our nation was attacked; the day when the war came home–Sept. 11, 2001. The day our son Todd boarded United 93.

Paul Greengrass and Universal set out to tell the story of United Flight 93 on that terrible day in our nation’s history. They set about the task of telling this story with a genuine intent to get it right–the actions of those on board and honor their memory. Their extensive research included reaching out to all the families who had lost loved ones on United Flight 93 as the first casualties of this war. And Paul and his team got it right.

The Chief has this one on his extremely short “must-see” list!

There are those who question the timing of this project and the painful memories it evokes. Clearly, the film portrays the reality of the attack on our homeland and its terrible consequences. Often we attend movies to escape reality and fantasize a bit. In this case and at this time, it is appropriate to get a dose of reality about this war and the real enemy we face. It is not too soon for this story to be told, seen and heard. But it is too soon for us to become complacent. It is too soon for us to think of this war in only national terms. We need to be mindful that this enemy, who made those holes in our landscape and caused the deaths of some 3,000 of our fellow free people, has a vision to personally kill or convert each and every one of us. This film reminds us that this war is personal. This enemy is on a fanatical mission to take away our lives and liberty–the liberty that has been secured for us by those whose names are on those walls in Battery Park and so many other walls and stones throughout this nation. This enemy seeks to take away the free will that our Creator has endowed in us. Patrick Henry got it right some 231 years ago. Living without liberty is not living at all.

Wow! The Chief re-read that paragraph several times. THIS is real substance.

The passengers and crew of United 93 had the blessed opportunity to understand the nature of the attack and to launch a counterattack against the enemy. This was our first successful counterattack in our homeland in this new global war–World War III.

…telling it like it is!

This film further reminds us of the nature of the enemy we face. An enemy who will stop at nothing to achieve world domination and force a life devoid of freedom upon all. Their methods are inhumane and their targets are the innocent and unsuspecting. We call this conflict the “War on Terror.” This film is a wake-up call. And although we abhor terrorism as a tactic, we are at war with a real enemy and it is personal.

There are those who would hope to escape the pain of war. Can’t we just live and let live and pretend every thing is OK? Let’s discuss, negotiate, reason together. The film accurately shows an enemy who will stop at nothing in a quest for control. This enemy does not seek our resources, our land or our materials, but rather to alter our very way of life.

I encourage my fellow Americans and free people everywhere to see “United 93.”

The Chief FULLY and unreservedly concurs!

Be reminded of our very real enemy. Be inspired by a true story of heroic actions taken by ordinary people with victorious consequences. Be thankful for each precious day of life with a loved one and make the most of it. Resolve to take the right action in the situations of life, whatever they may be. Resolve to give thanks and support to those men, women, leaders and commanders who to this day (1,687 days since Sept. 11, 2001) continue the counterattacks on our enemy and in so doing keep us safe and our freedoms intact.

May the taste of freedom for people of the Middle East hasten victory. The enemy we face does not have the word “surrender” in their dictionary. We must not have the word “retreat” in ours. We surely want our troops home as soon as possible. That said, they cannot come home in retreat. They must come home victoriously. Pray for them.

AMEN.

‘Green’ Politicians Add to Gas Price Woes

Amid the race between politicians to capitalize on consumer anger at high gas prices, at least one member of Congress, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., expressed a much-needed perspective on the problem — these same politicians own a share of the blame.

“Look! The Emperor has no clothes!” This piece goes on an itemizes a number of enviro programs and regs that hinder, limit or prevent the production of needed energy. Then it concludes:

Of all the proposals and ideas offered by politicians this week, only Rep. Blackburn’s questions Congress’ role in the problem. No other politician has even come close to hinting that Congress has allowed our national energy policy to be hijacked by environmentalists.

I’m all for environmental protection measures that do more good than harm. I’m also all for private research into alternative energy technologies that make economic sense and don’t require subsidies. None of this, however, requires that politicians simply knuckle under to junk science-fueled environmental extremists.

Senator plans Net taxes but no Net neutrality

Unfortunately this is NOT an urban legend, unlike those chain-letter e-mails that have been circulating around for some time. Given the nature of politicians, you just KNEW that they would start going after the net at some time to feed their voracious appetite for ever more sources of tax revenues loot.

More Americans would be forced to pay taxes subsidizing broadband service in “unserved” locales, and cities would be free to go into the Wi-Fi business under an upcoming U.S. Senate bill.

Later this week, Sen. Gordon Smith, an Oregon Republican, plans to introduce a legislative package called the Broadband for America Act of 2006, he said Tuesday morning at a conference here hosted by the National Telecommunications CooperativeAssociation, which represents small and rural carriers.

Hopefully this can be squelched, but these days, who knows?

Scientists moot gravity-busting hyperdrive

The US military is considering testing the principle behind a type of space drive which holds the promise of reaching Mars in just three hours. The problem is, as New Scientist explains, it’s entirely theoretical and many physicists admit they don’t understand the science behind it.

Nonetheless, the so-called “hyperdrive” concept won last year’s American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics award for the best nuclear and future flight paper. Among its defenders is aerospace engineer Pavlos Mikellides, from the Arizona State University in Tempe. Mikellides, who reviewed the winning paper, said: “Even though such features have been explored before, this particular approach is quite unique.”

How cool is this?

If in fact we are figuring out how to manipulate GRAVITY, the effects on our civilization would be incalculable.

Blackstar: the US space conspiracy that never was?

The Chief noted this story here when it first appeared in Aviation Week.

THis piece includes quite a bit more information on the advanced tandem aircraft system, as well as some skeptical views that the whole thing was never more than a conceptual orojet.

Which is it? Check out the piece. They report. You decide.

Bush, senators agree on alien citizenship, shut out critics

A big meeting in the White House featuring the Donk leadership and the prime members of the RINO (Republicans in Name Only) caucus in the senate as they celebrate their intention to grant amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens who have run the borders.

President Bush and a group of senators yesterday reached general agreement on an immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for many illegal aliens.

Senate Donk leader “Dingy Harry” Ried is pleased with the scheme they are cooking up for us:

“I’m not in the habit of patting the president on the back and sending him accolades, but I have to say that this meeting that we just had, I have to pat the president on the back,” said Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. “This was really, I thought, a good, good meeting.”

Hellooo? Harry Reid LIKES it?! That in itself is enough to convince the Chief that this will be really, really BAD.

The rest of the dishonor roll is as follows:

Also in yesterday’s meeting were Republican RINO Sens. Bill Frist, Lindsey Graham, Judd Gregg, Chuck Hagel, John McCain and Mitch McConnell, and Democratic Donk Sens. Richard J. Durbin, Edward M. Kennedy, Patrick J. Leahy, Joe Lieberman, Robert Menendez, Barack Obama and Ken Salazar.

As if Reid isn’t enough – “Turbin” Durbin, “Splash” Kennedy, Leahy, Obama, and of course senators representing the Hispaniz Aztlan: Menendez, and Salazar!!!

One can’t really blame the Donks – they do what is in their nature to do, but as for the President and the RINOS, there should be at least some semblence of Constitutionality left from their former Republican principles, but apparently this is not the case.

In addition to this meeting, Bush spouted off on the issue

MSU prof’s e-mail outrages Muslims

An Islamic student group at Michigan State University demanded Monday that university officials publicly reprimand a professor whose Feb. 28 e-mail called on Muslims who don’t “like the values of the West” to leave the United States.

Awwwwwwwww. Poor things!

“I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders,” Wichman wrote.

MUCH needed clarification, and proper identification of reality – all too lacking in the current debate.

He went on to say: “I counsul you dissatisfied, agressive, brutal, and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile ‘protests.’ “

In other words, if you don’t like it here, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also is urging the university to take “appropriate disciplinary” action, saying the e-mail creates a hostile learning environment for students.

Wouldn’t you know it that CAIR – Council of Angry Islamic Rejects – would jump into this too.

“It was upsetting, yet sad” that a tenured professor could make such comments, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the council. “It’s scary when you think about the power that this gentleman has” as a professor

.

Let’s see here:
– upsetting that someone doesn’t swallow the “religion of piss peace” idea hook, line, and skinker.
– sad that they haven’t been able to enforce total dhimmitude at MSU yet;
– scary to them, that the good Prof. can’t be hounded out of his position in a state of fear, since MSU is not properly in dhimmitude.

The Chief’s final comment: Keep up the good work, Professor!

What the neo-Nazi fanatic did next: switched to Islam

Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other.

Myatt said recently that he had given up hope of a breakthrough by the far Right and believed that Muslims were the best hope for combating Zionism and the West. “There will not be an uprising, a revolution, in any Western nation, by nationalists, racial nationalists, or National Socialists – because these people lack the desire, the motivation, the ethos, to do this and because they do not have the support of even a large minority of their own folk,” he said.

“If these nationalists, or some of them, desire to aid us, to help us . . . they can do the right thing, the honourable thing, and convert, revert, to Islam – accepting the superiority of Islam over and above each and every way of the West.”

F.E.T.E.

UGLY BABY!

The Chief was innocently browsing and found this over on Michelle Malkin’s site.

Click on image for link to animation. (It’s a hoot!)

This critter seems to show a very close phylogenetic relationship to the Donkephant that was created by the McCain-Feingold Incumbant Protection Act Campaign Finance Reform.

Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth

If you have a really bad attitude, and are REALLY tired of it all, this may be your answer from a site simply titled THINGS of INTEREST.

Destroying the Earth is harder than you may have been led to believe. You’ve seen the action movies where the bad guy threatens to destroy the Earth. You’ve heard people on the news claiming that the next nuclear war or cutting down rainforests or persisting in releasing hideous quantities of pollution into the atmosphere threatens to end the world.

Fools.

The Earth is built to last. It is a 4,550,000,000-year-old, 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000-tonne ball of iron. It has taken more devastating asteroid hits in its lifetime than you’ve had hot dinners, and lo, it still orbits merrily. So my first piece of advice to you, dear would-be Earth-destroyer, is: do NOT think this will be easy.

This is not a guide for wusses whose aim is merely to wipe out humanity. I (Sam Hughes) can in no way guarantee the complete extinction of the human race via any of these methods, real or imaginary. Humanity is wily and resourceful, and many of the methods outlined below will take many years to even become available, let alone implement, by which time mankind may well have spread to other planets; indeed, other star systems. If total human genocide is your ultimate goal, you are reading the wrong document. There are far more efficient ways of doing this, many which are available and feasible RIGHT NOW. Nor is this a guide for those wanting to annihilate everything from single-celled life upwards, render Earth uninhabitable or simply conquer it. These are trivial goals in comparison.

This is a guide for those who do not want the Earth to be there anymore.

Check it out, also THIS. It really is a “thing of interest”.

Interstellar Deathray Not Likely to Hit Earth

The nature of the threat:

Gamma ray bursts, or GRBs, are focused beams of gamma radiation emitted from the magnetic poles of black holes formed during the collapse of ancient, behemoth stars. They can also form when dead neutron stars merge with each other or with black holes. It’s been speculated that if a GRB went off near our solar system, and one of the beams hit Earth, it could set off a global mass extinction.

Now THAT would give you a REALLY bad day!

But in a new study to be published in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers found that GRBs tend to occur in small, metal-poor galaxies and estimated that the likelihood of one occurring in our own metal-rich Milky Way is less than 0.15 percent.

Phew! The Chief has been really sweating this out! At last, I can get a good night’s sleep!

Hamas’ Short Reign Is Long on Problems

Looks like it’s easier for the Ham-ass Paleswinians to kill people and break things that it is to take part in actually managing something.

The Islamist group Hamas, in control of the Palestinian Authority for less than a month, is already in deeper trouble than critics had predicted: diplomatically isolated, profoundly in debt and in a state of increasing internal disarray.

“The question is really where they can go from here,” Palestinian analyst Talal Okal said. “It looks like a dead end – but one that could drag down everyone else along with them.” Still uncertain is whether ordinary Palestinians would prefer to see a flawed and struggling Hamas government stay afloat rather than witness the fulfillment of what they see as Israeli and U.S. wishes to bring about its downfall.

Where is there hope in this:

“Our help is from Allah, not from America and the West,” said Hamed abu Harbid, a 27-year-old government employee who is scrambling to support his elderly parents as well as his wife and two daughters in the absence of a paycheck. “A collapse of the Hamas government wouldn’t mean the alternative was any better.”

Uh…Hamed…you have a severe case of poor situational awareness.

However this situation evolves, it isn’t going to be pretty.

Evidence of work fraud untapped

If the USG wants to really get serious on enforcing the employment laws relating to illegal aliens, all it needs to do is for the right hand to start communicating with the left hand.

Two federal agencies are refusing to turn over a mountain of evidence that investigators could use to indict the nation’s burgeoning work force of illegal immigrants and the firms that employ them.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration routinely collect strong evidence of potential workplace crimes, including the names and addresses of millions of people who are using bogus Social Security numbers, their wage records and the identities of those who hire them. But they keep those facts secret.

So much for interagency cooperation in the post-911 environment.

“If the government bothered to look, it could find abundant evidence of illegal aliens gaming our system and the unscrupulous employers who are aiding and abetting them,” said Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz. The two agencies don’t analyze their data to root out likely immigration fraud — and law enforcement authorities can’t do so because the agencies won’t share their data. Privacy laws prohibit that, they say.

The agencies also don’t use the power that they have. The IRS doesn’t fine employers who repeatedly submit inaccurate data on workers. Social Security does virtually nothing to alert citizens whose Social Security numbers are being used by others.

Evidence abounds within their files, according to an analysis by Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Charlotte Observer. One internal study found that a restaurant company had submitted 4,100 duplicate Social Security numbers for workers. Other firms submit inaccurate names or numbers for nearly all their employees. One child’s Social Security number was used 742 times by workers in 42 states.

“That’s the kind of evidence we want,” says Paul Charlton, the U.S. attorney in Arizona. “If you see the same Social Security number a thousand times, it’s kind of hard for them to argue they didn’t know.”

Duh! Even bureaucrats are not THAT stupid. But what they do know how to do with consumate skill is to carry out policy, and to obfuscate where the policy actually originated from.

The potential crimes are so obvious that the failure to provide such information to investigators raises questions about Washington’s determination to end the widespread hiring of illegal immigrants.

No shit, Sherlock! The game’s afoot! The feckless bureaucratic weasels are beginning to be spotlighted. Time to unlimber the varmint gun & let ’em have it!

H/T to Signal94.

Feinstein insists U.S. not bound to protect Taiwan

Senator Di Feinstein (Donk-CA) has spread her posture to present her diplomatic warm fuzzy to ChiCom Dictator President Hu (who?) Jintao in the form of acquiescence to the ChiComs’ desire to absorb Taiwan.

In remarks certain to please visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday told a gathering of Chinese-American business and cultural leaders in San Francisco that the United States has no obligation to defend Taiwan if it provokes China into a military confrontation.

“It is important to point out a common misconcephttp://www.radioactivechief.com/mt/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&blog_id=4#
Quotetion — nowhere does the TRA explicitly require the U.S. to go to war with the mainland over Taiwan.” Feinstein said, referring to the Taiwan Relations Act, at the annual conference of the Committee of 100 in San Francisco. The group helps foster U.S.-China relations.

Sounds like a carte blanche to the Chief. When the US Ambassador to Iraq said something similar about Kuwait vis-a-vis Iraq in 1991, the result was the Kuwait invasion, Gulf-War I, which set up and led to the present situation over there.

Hopefully the ChiComs are smart enough to realize that Feinstein is NOT part of the administration, or even a State Department diploweenie.

Amsterdam Mulls Axing Dole for Women in Burqas

Even as a number of the United States extend “in-state resident” tuition rates to illegal aliens, the generally tolerant Dutch are cracking down on welfare rights for legal Muslim female residents who seek welfare since their used of the burqa prevents them from being hired to work.

An official in Holland’s biggest city wants to introduce legislation that would ban unemployed women who wear a burqa from receiving welfare payments if it prevents them from finding a job….If this burqa is keeping you from getting a job, Amsterdam Social Affairs Alderman Ahmed Aboutaleb argues, you shouldn’t be wearing it. If this burqa is keeping you from getting a job, Amsterdam Social Affairs Alderman Ahmed Aboutaleb argues, you shouldn’t be wearing it.

The Multicultural Netherlands is having a serious identity crisis. These days, the country’s immigrant melting pot is feeling more like a powderkeg. The latest spark in Holland’s mini culture war came this week from the social affairs alderman for the city of Amsterdam, who says women who wear burqas are having trouble finding jobs. His solution? Take it off or lose your benefits.

What really makes this unusual is the identiy of the alderman:

Ahmed Aboutaleb has proposed introducing legislation that would allow the city to cut welfare payments to women who insist on wearing a burqa if it can prove the full-body covering is the reason she can’t find a job.

“Nobody wants to hire someone with a burqa,” he told the Dutch women’s magazine Opzij. “In that case, I say: off with the burka and apply for work. If you don’t want to do that, that’s fine, but you don’t get a benefit payment.” Aboutaleb, a member of Amsterdam’s Labor Party (PvdA) and a Dutch citizen of Moroccan descent…

Good for him. Maybe there IS such a thing as a moderate, secularist muslim.

CIA Officer Is Fired for Media Leaks

The CIA fired a long-serving intelligence officer for sharing classified information with The Washington Post and other news organizations, officials said yesterday, as the agency continued an aggressive internal search for anyone who may have discussed intelligence with the news media.

CIA officials said the career intelligence officer failed more than one polygraph test and acknowledged unauthorized contacts with reporters. The “officer knowingly and willfully shared classified intelligence, including operational information” with journalists, the agency said in a statement yesterday.

Sounds plenty illegal to me. The Chief shudders to think what theconsequences would be if HE had been involved in a security breach, at the time when he worked with classified material in the Navy.

The CIA did not reveal the identity of the employee, who was dismissed Thursday, but NBC News reported last night she is Mary McCarthy. An intelligence source confirmed that the report was accurate.

So, who is this:

McCarthy began her career in government as an analyst at the CIA in 1984, public documents show. She served as special assistant to the president and senior director for intelligence programs at the White House during the Clinton administration and the first few months of the Bush administration. She later returned to the CIA.

TA DA! One of Clintons devotees! Whay am I NOT surprised!

The CIA’s statement did not name the reporters it believes were involved, but several intelligence officials said The Post’s Dana Priest was among them. This week, Priest won the Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting for articles about the agency, including one that revealed the existence of secret, CIA-run prisons in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.

Too much – a REAL Judas Priest!

Intelligence officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the dismissed officer identified by others as McCarthy has not been charged with any crime and is not believed to be the subject of a Justice Department investigation.

Too bad about that. There SHOULD be one!

The officer’s employment was terminated for violating a secrecy agreement all employees are required to sign when they join the agency. The agreement prohibits them from sharing classified information with unauthorized individuals. The CIA said the firing was the result of an internal investigation initiated in late January of all “officers who were involved in or exposed to certain intelligence programs. Through the course of these investigations a CIA official acknowledged having unauthorized discussion with the media” and was terminated, the CIA statement said.

Priest, who also won the George Polk Award and a prize from the Overseas Press Club this week for her articles, declined to comment yesterday.

Wonder why no comment? Oh, yeah – that bit about “…anything you say may be used against you in a couirt of law.” Heh heh heh!

Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. said people who provide citizens the information they need to hold their government accountable should not “come to harm for that.”

Hey Downie – can you say “H-U-B-R-I-S”? YOU are above the US National Security establishment, and are exempt from the same laws that apply to us mere mortals?

F.U. and the horse you rode in on, you treasonable, seditious, self-righeous, future denizen of the nether regions. Likewise to the rest of your ilk too. Hanging is too noble for you.

“The reporting that Dana did was very important accountability reporting about how the CIA and the rest of the U.S. government have been conducting the war on terror,” Downie said. “Whether or not the actions of the CIA or other agencies have interfered with anyone’s civil liberties is important information for Americans to know and is an important part of our jobs.”

IT IS NOT YOUR JOB! YOU ARE NOT ELECTED TO OFFICE! YOU DO NOT HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY TO SET POLICY AND TEAR DOWN THOSE WHO DO HAVE THESE RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER (WHAT’S LEFT OF) OUR CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC. IF YOU BREAK THE LAWS, TOUGH SHIT FOR YOU!!!!

IF YOU DO THE CRIME, YOU SHOULD DO THE TIME!

F.E.T.E.

Radio Free Mexico eyed to stem migration

This is a really neat creative way to attack the illegal immigration problem. It doesn’t hurt either that it’ll stick a finger in the eye of Vincente Fox and the rest of the Mexican status-quo political establishment.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Voice of America — and Radio Free Mexico? If Jack Wheeler gets his way, airwaves south of the border will be filled with reasons for potential illegal aliens to stay in their country and prosper. He announced plans yesterday to privately raise $500,000 in start-up funds for Radio Free Mexico (RFM), a new broadcast system featuring Spanish-language programming with a Yankee capitalist slant. The former Reagan administration geopolitical analyst is convinced he has a ready audience among frustrated Mexicans eager to undo the poverty that drives them north.

The Chief likes it. This is a GREAT way to become…well…more RadioActive!

“The goal of RFM is to change the culture of Mexico from corrupt poverty to lawful wealth. Some Mexicans already realize they can’t blame their situation on ‘El Norte’ and the gringos all the time. They know they must fix the problem themselves, and are desperate to do so,” Mr. Wheeler said.

“Winning the war of illegal invasion requires liberating Mexico,” Mr. Wheeler said. “That’s the lesson Ronald Reagan would have us learn. That’s the promise of a Radio Free Mexico.”

Hoo-rah!

Hamas government to unpaid security: Take it out on Israel

Here’s something that should surprise no one:

The Palestinian Authority has encouraged security officers to turn their wrath on Israel. Palestinian sources said Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Interior Minister Said Siyyam have met disgruntled PA officers and urged them to join the insurgency war against Israel. The meetings came amid threats against the PA by police and security officers who did not receive their salaries for March.

No one with any sense could have ever expected Ham-ass to be anything other than what it is – a terrorist organization – now a terrorist organizarion in possession of a (sort of) government.

“Under Hamas, the Interior Ministry has told unpaid security officers that the more attacks against Israel, the more money they would get from Iran and other countries,” a Palestinian source said.

Well, so much for ANY expectation of moderation on the part of Ham-ass now that it is formally “in power” in the Paleswinian terroristories.

China’s Emerging Military

More along the lines of the Chief’s posting yesterday citing Bill Gertz in the WaTimes.

As ChiCom Chinese President Hu Jintao sits down with President Bush at the White House this week, much of the discussion will focus on economic developments, international relations, human rights, and the global war on terrorism. But as China’s economy continues its booming growth and modernization, a similar Chinese effort is underway to catch up with the United States in military might. It’s a drive conducted largely in the shadows–with the flow of information from the People’s Liberation Army muzzled by its secretive leaders.

Citing this RAND Corporation monograph, there is a bit more of a specific strategic framework presented here.

GA Tech Student Arrested by FBI

The FBI is holding a Georgia Tech student accused of planning terrorist activity, but the student’s family says he is innocent of wrongdoing, an Atlanta television station reported Tuesday night. The family of Syed Ahmed, 21, told WAGA-TV that he was arrested a few weeks ago, but details of the case have not been made public. The federal government has sealed all information about Ahmed’s arrest, the station said.

Interestomg. If he is involved, it’s a good thing.

Our Rhineland Moment

Interesting and somewhat disturbing historical parallelism here. Unfortunately the associated discomfort with this, doesn’t make it less valid.

In conjunction with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s announcement that the Islamic Republic has successfully enriched uranium, both Hugh Hewitt and Bill Kristol invoked the Rhineland analogy as a warning for America to act promptly to prevent the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran. It is an apt analogy — not necessarily because the threat of a nuclear Iran closely parallels that of Hitler’s Germany, but rather, because the United States politically and diplomatically finds itself nearly as hamstrung as France was during the Rhineland crisis seventy years ago.

This is NOT encouraging. Check it out. Hopefully we don’t wind up in the same place that the Frogs did then…but time will tell.

Scientists cool outlook on global warming

The Chief has posted on this topic a number of times previously, and will continue to do so from time to time, as long as the orthodox official MSM and others of that ilk continue to genuflect at the altar of global warming.

Global warming may not be as dramatic as some scientists have predicted. Using temperature readings from the past 100 years, 1,000 computer simulations and the evidence left in ancient tree rings, Duke University scientists announced yesterday that “the magnitude of future global warming will likely fall well short of current highest predictions.”

There’s a lot more interesting detail, including some of the current stunts that AlGore is up to promoting his chicken-little views of envirironmental disaster.

Here’s the original release from Duke University announcing the publication of this study, if you want more scientific detail.

Former Military Air Traffic Controller Claims Comet Collision with Earth on May 25, 2006

This is so far out it is breathtaking! The report starts out like a more-or-less conventional science story:

Eric Julien, a former French military air traffic controller and senior airport manager, has completed a study of the comet 73P Schwassmann- Wachmann and declared that a fragment is highly likely to impact the Earth on or around May 25, 2006.

Comet Schwassman-Wachmann follows a five-year orbit that crosses the solar system’s ecliptic plane. It has followed its five year orbit intact for centuries; but, in 1995, mysteriously fragmented.

Doesn’t sound too unreasonable, and the Chief knows that comet observation is one of the few areas in science where determined amateurs still are able to make significant contributions.

Using NASA simulations of the comet’s path, Julien concludes that impact is likely around May 25 precisely when the comet crosses the Earth’s ecliptic plane. While the first fragment will cross at approximately 10 million miles, lagging fragments threaten to collide. While astronomers have stated that the comet poses no direct threat, Julien argues that some fragments are too small to observe. Astronomers have predicted possible meteor showers indicating some cometary debris will enter the atmosphere.

However, things soon move far into the realm of the moonbat:

According to Julien, this is the same year that a crop circle appeared showing the inner solar system with the Earth missing from its orbit. He argues the “Missing Earth” crop circle was a message from higher intelligences warning humanity of the consequences of its destructive nuclear policies. He links this crop circle to May 25, 2006, and identifies the comet Schwassmann-Wachman as the subject of higher intelligence communications.

Oooohhhhh-kay. But wait, it gets even better: what is the true moonbats’ ultimate source of evil in the world today – obviously it’s George Bush!!!!

Julien argues that the kinetic energy of even a ‘car sized’ fragment will impact the Earth with devastating effect.

The physics of this one doesn’t compute very well. That size an object wouldn’t equal the Tunguska strike of approx. 100 years ago, to make it into the realm of something truly “devastating”.

Finally the crux of the issue – it’s all Bush’s fault!

He concludes the May 25 event is tied in to the Bush administration’s policy of preemptive use of nuclear weapons against Iran, and the effect of nuclear weapons on the realms of higher intelligences.

Phew! Lost in the ozone again! For a final touch of icing on this cake of moonbattery, the guy is French!

Simcox ultimatum to Bush: `Build fence or Minutemen will’

Minuteman border watch leader Chris Simcox has a message for President Bush: Build new security fencing along the border with Mexico or private citizens will.

Simcox said Wednesday that he’s sending an ultimatum to the president, through the media, “You can’t get through to the president any other way,” to deploy military reserves and the National Guard to the Arizona border by May 25.

The big question here is what form the governmental establishments opposition to this will take, since there is demonstrably a determination that the expressed will of the people is not a valid consideration.

This is the biggest screw-up of the administration, and if they aren’t careful they will cause themselves serious damage, which will be no more than they will have deserved.

Sat-nav drivers land in deep water again

Motorists were furious at being stranded in up to 4ft of water yesterday after satellite navigation systems sent many away from a road closure and into a river. Cars, vans and motorbikes have come to grief because the systems send them across a ford on the Avon, in Wiltshire.

Hellloooo? Anything inside the head there?

The problem – near the village of Luckington – has occurred because a main road a mile away is closed, following the collapse of a wall, and drivers are warned to “seek alternative routes”. Most satellite systems send traffic into the village and across the ford, known locally as The Splash, in the hamlet of Brook End.

From the time the Chief was in England, he seems to recall that cars over there have windows, just like ours. Like other devices however, they apparently only work if you use them.

Locals are reported to have been charging as much as £25 to pull motorists out.

Cheap at the price. Sort of a local tax on stupidity.

“Before the road closure there was one a week but now we’re getting one or two a day,” said Mrs Bennett, a photographer.

“When the driver’s car conks out he looks stunned and when you ask him what happened he says: ‘My sat-nav told me it was this way’. There are signs warning about the water but the fools just plough on regardless.”

Sort of helps answer the question of what happened to the former British Empire – the smart ones must have emigrated.

More muscle, with eye on China

The Pentagon is engaged in an extensive buildup of military forces in Asia as part of a covert strategy to strengthen and position U.S. and allied forces to deter — or defeat — China.

This is important. It is also what is needed. Also note, it is under the leadership of Secretary Rumsfeld…once again, the right man in the right job!

President Bush approved elements of the first phase of the strategy within the past several months. The key architect is Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The State Department’s point man on the strategy is Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, who has led three rounds of strategic talks with China in the past several months.

There’s a lot more in the piece, and it’s well worth reading, as is anything that Bill Gertz does on the ChiComs.

Chinese military linked to missile smuggling

Yet another reason to be beefing up our defense posture vis-a-vis the Chicoms. This is NOT a friendly act, especially in the context of the Jihadistan War.

Court papers made public yesterday in the case of a California man who pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle anti-aircraft missiles into the United States show that a Chinese general and state-run manufacturer are linked to the crime.

The Chief would contend that there is really no ChiCom manufactory that is NOT “state-run”, one way or another.

Chao Tung Wu, 51, of La Puente, Calif., pleaded guilty yesterday at U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to conspiracy to smuggle Chinese QW-2 anti-aircraft missiles into the United States. It was the first conviction under a 2004 anti-terrorism law aimed at preventing the spread of shoulder-fired and portable anti-aircraft missiles.

Protester interrupts Chinese president as he speaks to Bush

President Hu Jintao’s first visit to the US has been marred by a protester, who interrupted his joint press conference with George W Bush on the White House lawn. The woman, of Chinese appearance, began shouting from the press area as the Chinese president delivered his response to Mr Bush’s welcome.

She shouted: “President Hu, your days are numbered. President Bush, make him stop persecuting Falun Gong,” in reference to the spiritual sect that is banned in China.