Where Can We Get An Unwelcome Wagon?

That's what the people who live in Crawford, Texas want to know. There is little positive anticipation of the arrival of the Sheehan Circus and Sideshow® in that small town.

"I wish she'd stay away. Crawford's a Republican town, and she's a dumb Democrat," Westerfield, a lifelong Crawford resident, said Friday while sitting on a bench outside a gas station on Main Street.

Sheehan, whose monthlong war protest near Bush's ranch last summer attracted more than 10,000 demonstrators, recently bankrolled the purchase of a 5-acre parcel near downtown to be used for future protests, including one next month.

The protesters group said it outgrew a 1-acre lot about a mile from Bush's ranch that a sympathetic landowner provided. Several hundred demonstrators returned to the lot over Thanksgiving and Easter.

Now many of the town's 700 residents fear the traffic congestion, noise from rallies and odor from portable toilets — complaints from residents near the other campsite — will affect those closer to town.

"When it's here, it affects a different set of people," Teresa Bowdoin said.

The town has tried to stop some of the craziness by banning roadside camping, but that led to that tried and true method of making friends and allies used so often by the left. Sheehan and company filed a lawsuit.

Then last fall, county commissioners enacted roadside camping and parking bans to prevent similar protests. Some demonstrators returned to Sheehan's original makeshift campsite during the November and April protests for a civil disobedience action and were arrested. Sheehan was not among them.

In late June, Sheehan and four others sued the county over the ordinances, saying they want to return to what became an "international symbol of protest against the Iraq war."

Tammara Rosenleaf, one of the lawsuit's plaintiffs, said she is glad the group now owns a lot but that some protesters may return to Sheehan's original site because it is considered "the soul of this movement."

However, not everyone in Crawford is upset by the impending arrival of hordes of followers of Sheehan's Super-Whamadyne Ultra Fast™.  The local Burger Barn has perfected the triple Angus bacon cheeseburger and large fries smoothie which is expected to be a major seller. Cindy has reportedly ordered dozens just for herself.

Sigh. The Animals Win.

It is a sad day indeed. The baboons at Knowsley Safari Park, near Liverpool, England, have opened a zoo. They keep construction workers there.

A band of baboons began screeching and chattering when a team of construction workers commenced work to renovate the primate enclosure at Knowsley Safari Park, close to the city of Liverpool, about 210 miles north of London.

Worried that the baboons would become violent, workers at the animal park — which also houses lions, rhino and elephants — have installed the fence to contain them.

"Because we're effectively in a cage and the animals are free to roam around us, we do feel as though the roles are reversed and we are the exhibit," said Geoff Ames, the construction project manager. "However, we're grateful for the protection." Work to create a new enclosure for the primates will be completed this summer, Ames said.

You feel safe? Is it worth trading your freedom for the occasional banana thrown by the passing baboons? A sad day, indeed.

Iran To World: Up Yours

Iranian state radio has announced that Tehran will reject the UN incentive package. Although not the official voice of the Iranian government, the state radio is generally considered to express the intentions of the Mullahs.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian state radio said Saturday that the government would reject a proposed U.N. resolution that would give it until Aug. 31 to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of international sanctions.

"Iranians will not accept unfair decisions, even in the framework of resolutions by the international bodies," the commentary on state-run radio said.

There has been no official comment to the draft resolution, but state radio often is thought to provide the Iranian government line.

Ok, who didn't see that one coming? See the eye doctor at once if you didn't. European governments might want to start getting themselves onto a war footing, because Iran seems quite intent on launching one against the world.

Politics As Disco

Watching politics is sometimes like watching a really bad dance contest. Picture a 70's style disco and a bunch of guys in polyester leisure suits (in various pastel colors not actually found in nature) vying on the dance floor to be the next John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Only they move more like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz making it more like Saturday Night Feeble. As bad as they all are, statistics tells us that every once in a while someone will make an actually good move.

So it is that the Republican House managed a slick little dance number and cornered the Democrats in the Senate. Harry Reid is now in the unenviable position of having to try to scuttle a bill that raises the minimum wage. They rolled the dice on this one, but it may wreck the Democrat's use of the minimum wage as a club to whip on Republicans with.

The House last night voted to boost the minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade while also permanently slashing the estate tax, a coupling that GOP leaders calculated might garner enough Senate support to become law.

House lawmakers also approved the biggest overhaul of the nation's pension laws in 30 years.

In the rush to bolster their party's accomplishments before leaving today on a five-week summer break, House Republican leaders effectively took a gamble. If the Senate follows the House and passes legislation shoring up the pension system, raising the minimum wage, permanently cutting the estate tax, and extending such measures as a research-and-development tax credit, Republicans can say they departed for the summer in a flourish of accomplishments.

But the maneuvering by House and Senate GOP leaders to package the measures over the objection of some Senate chairmen caused severely bruised feelings. Lawmakers from both parties said last night that the legislation could easily collapse in the Senate, underscoring Democratic contentions that Congress has become dysfunctional.

"It's a risk," said House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), "but I think it's the only way to proceed."

Democrats were incensed that the GOP leadership would couple the minimum wage hike, the first increase since 1997, with an estate tax cut that would reduce federal revenue by $268 billion over the next decade, to the overwhelming benefit of the country's richest families.

"This is beyond cynical. This is disgraceful," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) signaled he would try to scuttle the tax bill next week. "Republicans have made perfectly clear who they stand with and who they are willing to fight for: the privileged few," he said.

But Republicans believed they had found a way to snatch the minimum-wage issue away from Democrats, who had been using it as a cudgel, while securing passage of a central plank of their economic program: all but eliminating the estate tax.

"I know why you're mad," said Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.). "You've seen us really outfox you."

It actually was a smooth move, politically. It is no more cynical than the Democrat's efforts to use issues like this as weapons. In other words, most politics is cynical in nature. The Dems got caught on this one.

I Fear For England

I fear for the survival of one of our staunchest allies when a single, anonymous so-called animal rights activist can bring a time honored tradition to an end. When England is no longer safe for "Conger Cuddling", it effects freedom everywhere. I mean banning the team sport of beating one another with a dead eel is simply not right.

LONDON (AFP) - Battering one other with a dead eel has been a favoured old tradition in one British town for decades, but a new ban has curtailed the fishy fun and sparked local anger.

"Conger cuddling" has been staged annually in Lyme Regis on the southern English coast for 32 years to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) charity, British newspapers reported Saturday.

Two teams stand on wooden blocks and take turns to knock their opponents off by swinging a five-foot (1.5-metre) dead eel on a rope at them, The Daily Telegraph said.

The oddball antics attracted around 3,000 locals and amused tourists to the charity fundraiser.

But a single complaint by an animal rights activist has put a stop to it after claiming the bizarre sport is disrespectful to dead animals.

The RNLI took conger cuddling off the menu after threats were made to film the contest and stir up a nationwide campaign against it.

Richard Fox, 67, who invented the wacky sport, was seething at the ban.

"It's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard," he raged.

"How can you be disrespecting an animal's rights when it's dead? The eel isn't even caught — it's trapped by accident in fishermen's nets. One person has spoiled the enjoyment of many."

Mayor Ken Whetlor also raged against the protest, calling the complaint writer "a gutless troublemaker with nothing better to do than stop people enjoying an innocent event that helps to save lives."

"Next they'll be telling us it's unethical to use whitebait to catch mackerel".

A sad day indeed when you can't enjoy a friendly game of eel bashing. The good news, though, is that it's still legal to trample a flounder in Scotland. For now.

Seattle Shootings Update

The Associated Press has an updated story about the shootings at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle yesterday. Not a lot of new information, I'm afraid, but they have a few things such as the name of the shooter and the fact that he is an American citizen.

Authorities said a man walked into the Jewish agency on Friday and opened fire, killing one woman and injuring at least five others in what they call a hate crime. Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of homicide and attempted homicide, police said.

The gunman, who employees said claimed to be a Muslim angry at Israel, forced his way through the center's security door after an employee had punched in her security code, said Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a co-worker who was not at the building at the time.

Staff members said they overheard him saying "'I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,' before opening fire on everyone," Meislin-Dietrich said. "He was randomly shooting at everyone."

Police would not confirm the account. When asked if the suspect was Muslim, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said at a news conference, "you could infer that that was his background."

As employees fled the center, a SWAT team raced to the scene and blocked off several downtown blocks. The gunman surrendered moments later after speaking with a 911 dispatcher. That conversation led police to believe the shooting was a hate crime, authorities said.

"This was a purposeful, hateful act, as far as we know by an individual acting on his own," Mayor Greg Nickels said at the news conference.

Authorities said officers were moving to protect both synagogues and mosques around the city but there was no evidence of a broad threat. Police were protecting mosques "because there's always the concern of retaliatory crime," Kerlikowske said.

Authorities have been advising synagogues and Jewish groups to be watchful in the weeks since hostilities erupted between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. They said the warning was not in response to any specific threats.

One hopes that security will be tightened even further in light of this attack.

Toy Weapons

When is a toy not a toy? How about when you turn a radio controlled toy car into a device to detect and destroy roadside bombs? The Washington Post has an article that covers all kinds of efforts underway by all sorts of different companies to meet the need for ways to detect and disable Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). And yes, the proposed solutions include beefed up toys.

Robert Pervere's fight against insurgents in Iraq started with an Emaxx monster truck from Debbie's RC World Inc. in Chesapeake, Va., a $335 toy that he turned into a weapon for U.S. troops against roadside bombs. The 24-year-old engineer replaced about 80 percent of the toy's plastic parts with aluminum, fastened two small surveillance cameras to the top and made room for an explosive that could blow up suspicious objects from hundreds of feet away.

"I get paid to play with [radio control] cars," said Pervere, who helped build the prototype for Applied Marine Technology Inc., a Virginia-based defense contractor that has said it expects to begin receiving military orders in September. "This has been a very rewarding project, working on a tool that's going to be out the door saving lives shortly."

American ingenuity. There is nothing else quite like it in the world, I think. The companies involved in the efforts to help solve the problem range from tiny little companies to monster defense contractors. The solutions range from ultra high tech to almost primitive. But the idea is not to get a single "silver bullet" solution but  rather a range of tools troops can use.

Now, a Pentagon agency with a $3.3 billion budget and a staff of 300 has a mandate to focus the defense industry on the problem. The undertaking has attracted not only the country's top weapons makers but also dozens of small businesses like AMTI, all pitching a science-fiction gallery of possible solutions.

Lockheed Martin Corp. has established a corporate team with $22 million in internal funding, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post, that is looking for "best of breed" technology, including ways to study attack patterns. International Business Machines Corp. has a system it says will create a digital image of often-traveled roads and alert soldiers to changes that could indicate bombs hidden in trash, rocks or animal carcasses.

General Dynamics Corp. is pitching a laser-based system adapted from Israeli technology that it says could burn away trash often used to conceal bombs and disable the devices. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is studying whether there is a way to sniff out bombs with electronic polymers that mimic a dog's ability to smell. Octatron Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., is touting a low-tech approach: — a 14-foot, 5-pound high-strength pole that the company says soldiers can use to place explosives next to suspected bombs from a distance.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a toy car of its own. After hearing complaints from soldiers that robots operated by wireless controllers were unreliable and subject to radio interference, Livermore came up with one attached to a 1,000-foot tether.

"This may not be super-high science, but it seems to be useful," Milton Finger, a senior scientist at Livermore, said of the lab's $200,000 research project. "It sounds trite that we're using toys, but it's more than that."

The defense industry's response to the roadside bomb problem mirrors in some ways the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with many companies, such as Lockheed and Northrop Grumman Corp., establishing internal units to go after the market.

So far the threat from the bombs is outrunning the technical creativity of U.S. industry, and the Pentagon now views the bombs as a long-term problem. The search, Pentagon officials say, is not so much for a silver-bullet solution as for a wider set of tools that troops can use.

Read the whole thing, it's quite interesting.

Chavez And Control Of Information

An open letter in today's Washington Post is instructive for those who like to screech about how they are being repressed here in the US. Written by Diana Daniels, general counsel of The Washington Post Co. and president of the Inter American Press Association, it is in response to the actions of the Chavez government when Ms. Daniels paid a visit to Venezuela.

Dear President Chávez:

Last week I spent three days in Venezuela following up on an open invitation from a representative of the Venezuelan legislature. (It had been extended at the March meeting of the Inter American Press Association.) I had been looking forward to meeting you and other members of the Venezuelan federal and provincial governments to have an open dialogue about freedom of expression and freedom of the press in your country. To my regret, no one from the Venezuelan government was willing to meet. Instead of having that dialogue, I found the organization I represent in the unusual circumstance of being the object of petty name-calling by officials of your government, behavior somewhat akin to what my children do when they throw a temper tantrum and they can't think of anything better to say.

Here is what I would have wanted to talk about with you if we'd had the chance.

As head of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, whose founding was rooted in the democratic movements of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, what is it about a truly independent and free press that is of concern to you? As Simón Bolivar stated in his Carta de Jamaica, written in Kingston on Sept. 6, 1815: "The first steps of all the new governments are marked by the establishment of juntas of the people. These juntas then draft rules for the convocation of congresses, which produce great changes. Venezuela erected a democratic and federal government, after declaring for the rights of man, establishing a system of checks and balances, and passing general laws granting civil liberties, such as freedom of the press and others."

It's worth reading. It also shows the world people like Chavez supporters like Harry Belafonte and Cindy Sheehan would have pushed onto all of us. No thanks.

Protesters Mob Australian PM

A mob of about 200 people waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags mobbed Australian Prime Minister John Howard's car in the Western Australian city of Perth. One of the screaming horde that surrounded and jumped on Howard's car was heard to say, "We want Peace".

Violent scuffles broke out on Saturday in Perth, Australia, between Australia's police and pro-Lebanon protesters who mobbed the Australian prime minister demanding more government action to bring peace in the Middle East.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard was leaving a state conference of his Liberal Party in the west coast city of Perth when about 200 protesters waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags and some carrying banners which read "Bush's War of Terror", rallied outside the hotel and mobbed his car. One Muslim woman shouted "we want peace."

Inside the hotel, Howard gave a speech in which he attacked Hezbollah, reported local media.

"It's not some kind of inspirational liberation organization, it's a terrorist organization," said Howard, a strong U.S. ally.

When Howard tried to drive away from the hotel, some of the protesters attempted to stop his car from moving and fought with police, showed television footage. One protester carrying an Australian flag threw himself on the bonnet of Howard's car.

Howard's entourage sped from the scene as police wrestled protesters to the ground, it said. The police said two protesters were arrested.

People in cars with Lebanese and Palestinian flags attached circled the protesters and police, sounding their horns.

How very peaceful. Coverage from the Australian says it was even more violent than Ha'aretz reported. Objects were thrown as well as fighting and scuffling with security personnel.

VIOLENT scuffles have broken out between police and Lebanese protesters who mobbed Prime Minister John Howard's car as he left the WA Liberal Party conference in Perth.

Mr Howard was leaving the WA Liberal Party state conference when about 200 protesters, many of whom were waving Lebanese flags and shouting "we want peace", mobbed his vehicle.

Protesters punched, kicked and threw projectiles at Mr Howard's car as police struggled to keep them at bay.

Mr Howard's entourage sped from the scene as police wrestled protesters to the ground.

The Prime Minister said this week he understood Israel's decision to carry out its devastating military offensive against Lebanon to put an end to attacks by Hizbollah guerrillas who have fired rockets deep into Israeli territory.

At least one protester was arrested and taken away by police.

Protesters later continued their rally along one of Perth's main streets calling for peace in the middle east.

Protest leader Muhammad El Khatib said he has family in Lebanon and the Australian government is not doing enough to broker peace in the region.

"There are mothers watching their children die," Mr El Khatib said.

"There should be aid, they say there is aid getting through to Lebanon, there isn't," he said.

"There are people hiding from bombs, we just want peace."

"Hizbollah is protecting Lebanon, they are freedom fighters, not terrorists," he said.

People in cars with Lebanese and Palestinian flags attached circled the protesters and police, honking their horns in support.

This is certainly not a good development. The blatant spreading of pro-Hezbollah propaganda by some of these protest leaders smacks of coordination and preplanning.

This is certainly not a good development. The blatant spreading of pro-Hezbollah propaganda by some of these protest leaders smacks of coordination and preplanning.

Rice Terms Developments “Positive Step”

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the news that Hezbollah politicians had agreed to a Lebanese preliminary ceasefire package a "Positive step". Rice, en route to the Middle East to present an American sponsored proposal, also praised the Lebanese Prime Minister for getting even such a preliminary proposal agreed to.

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday welcomed as a "positive step" the agreement by Hezbollah cabinet members to seek an immediate cease-fire that would include the disarming of militias.

Speaking to reporters en route to Jerusalem, Rice also praised Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora for persuading Hezbollah to agree.

Rice was to hold talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Saturday night on a United Nations resolution aimed at ending conflict in Lebanon.

Olmert, meanwhile, met with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz for consultations Saturday, Israel Radio reported.

U.S. President George W. Bush said Friday that Rice would return to the region with a cease-fire proposal package to present to Israel and Lebanon.

Rice will also hold talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who has been pleading for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The conflict began on July 12, when Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon carried out a cross-border raid on Israel Defense Forces soldiers patrolling the frontier, kidnapping two and killing eight others.

U.S. officials said much diplomatic work remained and it was unclear whether a UN resolution would be ready by Monday.

Key elements under discussion include a prisoner exchange, creating an international force and disarming Hezbollah.

Speaking at joint press conference in Washington with British Prime Minister Tony Blair after the two met on the two-week long conflict, the president said that Rice would be charged with working with Beirut and Jerusalem to come up with an acceptable UN resolution.

"Her instructions are to work with Israel and Lebanon to come up with an acceptable UN Security Council resolution that we can table next week," Bush said.

The president also stressed the need for an international force to be deployed in Lebanon to assist the Lebanese army in efforts to regain control of the southern part of the country, where Hezbollah has been the dominant military presence since the IDF withdrew from the area in May 2000.

"We agree that a to augment the Lebanese army as it moves the south of that country. An effective multinational force will help speed delivery of humanitarian relief," Bush said.

Complicating things at the moment are a couple of troublesome items: European governments are unwilling to send troops and Israel does not want the UN involved in any peacekeeping force. That Europe is standing back and refusing to assist in the situation is not a good sign. I have maintained all along that the UN has proven itself unable to deal with Hezbollah (except when their forces accept bribes to help Hezbollah) and should not be included in any multi-national force. Kind of a sticky situation.

Is Hezbollah Folding?

This is truly bizarre. According to this report, Hezbollah politicians have agreed to some pretty startling concessions to end the war.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah politicians, while expressing reservations, have joined their critics in the government in agreeing to a peace package that includes strengthening an international force in south Lebanon and disarming the guerrillas, the government said.

The agreement — reached after a heated six-hour Cabinet meeting — was the first time that Hezbollah has signed onto a proposal for ending the crisis that includes the deploying of international forces.

The package falls short of American and Israeli demands in that it calls for an immediate cease-fire before working out details of a force and includes other conditions.

But European Union officials said Friday the proposals form a basis for an agreement, increasing the pressure on the United States to call for a cease-fire.

President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday they too want an international force dispatched quickly to the Mideast but said any plan to end the fighting — to have a lasting effect — must address long-running regional disputes.

"This is a moment of intense conflict in the Middle East," Bush said after his meeting with Blair in Washington. "Yet our aim is to turn it into a moment of opportunity and a chance for broader change in the region."

By signing onto the peace proposals, Hezbollah gave Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora a boost in future negotiations.

Going into Thursday night's Cabinet session, Hezbollah's two ministers expressed deep reservations about the force and its mandate, fearing it could turn against their guerrillas.

"Will the international force be a deterrent one and used against who?" officials who attended the Cabinet meeting said in summing up Hezbollah cabinet ministers concerns. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the debate.

But afterward, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi announced that the package had been agreed on by consensus in a rare show of unity by a divided administration.

While all sides seemed to be looking for a way to stop the fighting, details of plans taking shape on all sides were still fuzzy. And it was not at all certain Hezbollah would really follow through on the Lebanese government plan that would effectively abolish the militants' military wing. It may have signed on to the deal convinced that Israel would reject it.

If true, this indicates how bad a situation Hezbollah is actually in. If they thought they were winning, there is absolutely no way they would agree to any of these terms. Period. I suspect their miscalculation here was of epic proportions and they know it. I also suspect Israel is very close indeed to a total crushing of Hezbollah.

Shootings At Jewish Federation Of Seattle

Via Powerline, there have been shootings at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. At least two people injured and one person taken into custody. Very little is known other than the flash traffic.

SEATTLE (AP) — Two people were wounded in a shooting Friday at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and one person was arrested, police said.

The extent of the victims' injuries was not immediately known. A SWAT team was searching the downtown building for any other possible victims or shooters, police spokesman Rich Pruitt said.

"People got shot, some of our co-workers," Patti Simon said in a phone interview, her voice shaking. "I just got back from Israel and made it out of there a half hour before the rockets started."

Simon, who sells advertising for the federation's newspaper, was working on the first floor when she heard screaming, shots and what sounded like furniture crashing on the floor above.

Simon called up to her co-workers on the second floor, but got no answer, so she called the police and fled the building.

One person shot in the abdomen and another shot in the arm were being taken to Harborview Medical Center, KING-TV reported.

Will update - I'm trolling the web right now.

UPDATE: This is bad folks. Five shot, one killed by a gunman police describe as "Upset with the situation in Lebanon Israel".

At least five people were shot - one fatally - this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man a witness said was upset about "what was going on in Israel."

Police spokesman Rich Pruitt said there was one shooter, who was apprehended without incident outside the Jewish Federation Building located on the corner of Third Avenue and Virginia Street. Pruitt said there were at least two victims on the third floor of the building.

Police got reports of shots fired shortly before 4 p.m.

Early reports were that the victims were shot in the stomach.

The alleged shooter was taken away in a patrol car after being handcuffed on the sidewalk outside the building. Pruitt could not immediately say what motive the alleged gunman had.

One witness, who declined to give her name, said a man walked into the Jewish Federation building with a gun, said he was upset about what was going on in Israel, then opened fire. After the shootings, the man said to call 911, the witness said.

Will continue to update.

UPDATE: Seattle TV stations here.

UPDATE: Still worse. Shooter identified as a 31 year old Pakistani.

Sources told KING 5 the suspect is a 31-year-old Pakistani man with a criminal background. He is from the Pasco but his citizenship is unknown. Officials are on the way to the Pasco to interview his family.

According to the Seattle Times, a man got through security at the Jewish Federation and told staff members, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting, according to Amy Wasser-Simpson, the vice president for planning and community services for the Jewish Federation.

A Harborview Medical Center spokesperson said five women were brought in, and three of them are in critical condition. Two of them are in their 20s. One 43-year-old woman was reportedly shot in the abdomen while another who's 17 weeks pregnant, was shot in the arm. Another person has a knee injury.

The victims have not yet been identified.

A joint terrorism task force joined SWAT teams and a bomb disposal unit at the scene. The suspect's vehicle, a pick-up truck was in a nearby garage in the Bed, Bath and Beyond building, at 1930 Third Ave. Police cordoned off part of the garage before they determined there were no explosives.

UPDATE: Would someone, please, tell our American media to stop playing for the wrong side? Please? (Via Michelle Malkin.)

UPDATE: American Digest, an essay interrupted. Pajamas Media full coverage. AJ Strata, warrior-cowards attacking all women.  Roger Simon, the world as a battlefield. STACLU, terrorist attack. LGF, definitely related. Captain's Quarters, nuts coming out.

An American Soldier’s Perspective On Israel

Some Perspective from my son, serving in Iraq.

Except for a few sideways references in the past couple of weeks, I've remained pretty quiet about the current situation in Lebanon. I figured it was time I put my two cents in.

I'm twenty-three years old, so I was a bit too young to remember or care about what happened the last time Hezbollah was feeling its oats. For me, in my cognizant lifetime, Israel has been a hotbed for suicide bombings, perpetrated by people whose actions have been guided by a twisted and evil interpretation of an otherwise normal religion. I don't remember the last time rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon. I don't remember the bombing of the Marine barracks. However, I am a student of history, so when all this kicked off I started doing some research. And I started thinking.

I wonder what would happen in the United States if, say, Mexico began launching artillery rockets into Texas, if the images of destruction and death were coming not from Haifa, but from San Antonio? Would the left wing and the media be crying for moderation and peace talks? Would the world condemn us for taking the fight to them? Some would say that Israel is a contested territory, that hundreds of thousands of Muslims were forcibly removed from their homes, and for that reason, the analogy does not hold up. To those people I say you are wrong, because a large portion of Texas was once under the Mexican flag.

Since December 7, 1941, the world has known that the United States is a force to be reckoned with when it's attacked within its own borders. I think it's safe to say that that tradition would hold up, and the U.S. military would swiftly and violently punish those responsible. What do you expect the game plan would be? Precision airstrikes? Small incursions of infantry? Special Forces?

My point is this: Israel is a sovereign country. The Israelis have EVERY RIGHT to defend their own borders against foreign attackers. For decades they have endured the cowardly attacks of terrorists. They have turned the other cheek time and time again against these attacks. They have offered the olive branch many times and been spurned by radical Muslims. To accuse them of any wrongdoing because they have finally retaliated against these acts of aggression is pure lunacy.

Put yourself in their shoes, and realize if it was your country, your fellow citizens being murdered, you'd probably want something done about it.

UPDATE: Many thanks to the folks at Powerline for naming Blue Crab Boulevard Blog of the Week (or so) and thanks again for linking this post from my son. His other posts are under the 'Foreign Correspondence' tag on the sidebar should you be interested in reading them. Visitors, please do take a look around, and thanks for stopping by.

UPDATE: Commenters would do well to read the comment policy. Violating the rules gets you deleted, repeated attempts to post the same comment will get you an IP block as well.

Landis Denies Doping Allegations

American bicyclist Floyd Landis made a public appearance today and categorically denied using any doping in his Tour de France victory. He will undergo any testing necessary to prove any elevation of his testosterone level is natural and not do to any improper conduct.

MADRID, Spain - Floyd Landis said the high testosterone that showed up in a drug screening at the Tour de France is the result of his natural metabolism — not doping of any kind — and he will undergo more tests to prove it.

"We will explain to the world why this is not a doping case but a natural occurrence," Landis said at a news conference Friday, his first public appearance since the test result cast doubt on one of the most stirring comeback wins in Tour history.

Landis said in a Thursday teleconference that he had no idea what caused his elevated testosterone levels following the race's 17th stage last week, where he made his heroic charge into the Alps. But on Friday, he was adamant that the reading was the result of his natural physiology.

"I would like to make absolutely clear that I am not in any doping process," said Landis, wearing a baseball cap turned backward and a white shirt with the name of his Phonak team. "I ask not to be judged by anyone, much less sentenced by anyone."

Landis is still awaiting results from a backup sample, which will clear him if found to be negative. Switzerland-based Phonak said it would ask that the backup sample be tested in the next few days.

Landis's lawyer, Luis Sanz, said he fully expected the backup test to come back with the same result, since the elevated testosterone was produced naturally by Landis's body. The 30-year-old cyclist said Friday that he would undergo additional testing to prove it.

"I will procede to under go all these tests … to accredit that the levels that I've had during the Tour and all my career are natural and produced by my own organism," he said.

Until those tests are conducted, Landis said, "I ask not to be judged, or much less to be sentenced by anyone."

If ultimately proven guilty, he could be stripped of the Tour title and fired from the team.

It would be well to remember the charges leveled against Lance Armstrong as well. You know, the charges that turned out to be false? Earlier post here.

All The Nudes That’s Fit To Print

Well, it's time for a roundup of important nudes, er, news from all over.

Item: The world's largest strip poker tournament, which started as an April Fool joke by an Irish bookie, will actually be held next month.

Leading Irish bookmaker, the Paddy Power company, came up with the idea of setting a world record for the game as an April Fool's Day joke.

But it decided to stage the event for real and get into the Guinness Book of Records after receiving numerous phone calls and emails from curious punters.

Paddy Power, which has a reputation for publicity stunts and whacky wagers, has already received over 50 entries for the strip poker game planned for the Café Royal in London on August 19.

"People have entered from Ireland, Britain, Brazil, Australia and Germany. It is a good mixture so far," said Paddy Power, a spokesman for the company of the same name.

"We need about 200 but the way it is shaping up I'd say we might be extending it. The plan was to have 100 men and 100 women. But I'd say we might have to make it a bit bigger," Power told AFP Friday.

The Irish bookmaker aims to set two records — the biggest strip poker tournament ever and the first world strip poker champion.

Well, it's one way to get publicity.

Item: A group of some thirty tourists from Scandinavia, mostly women, scandalized a small town in Albania when they arrived at the beach and promptly lost a strip poker tournament, figuratively speaking. The tourists cheerfully stripped and went swimming and or sunbathing.

Edmon Gjoka, the mayor of Saranda, a picturesque coastal town some 300 kilometers (180 miles) south from Tirana, told AFP that a group of 30 tourists, mostly women, visited on a day trip from the neighbouring Greek island of Corfu on Tuesday a public beach popular with locals.

The police did not know how to react to the unusual behaviour by foreign tourists, the mayor explained.

"The situation was delicate: Albanian parents were pressing the police to prevent the Scandinavians from swimming nude in front of their children," Gjoka said.

But further incidents were avoided when a guide explained to the tourists that nude sun-bathing and swimming were not allowed in Albania, local media reported.

"It is forbidden to swim nude on public beaches as they are usually in the centre of the town, but the police did not intervene in order to avoid misunderstandings," said Saranda police chief Limoz Fallani.

One newspaper reported the police had been reluctant to react as they "spoke no English."

"It was a real topless parade and we had to leave the beach with our children," said 40-year old Frida Agolli.

Not everyone in town is upset. In the true spirit of I Love a Parade some people are suggesting it might not be a bad idea to designate a place where the topless parades can continue. Good for the tourist revenue, don't you know.

Item: A "gentleman's club" in New Braunfels, Texas is defying town officials who want to clamp down on wild river tubing parties. They are organizing a tube trip featuring strippers from the club. They swear the ladies will be properly attired.

Trey Maddox, a manager at Palace Men's Club, said Sunday's excursion — during which men can pay $25 to join the strippers — isn't meant to fly in the face of the city's new rules.

"We're not hookers, dope dealers or Mafia thugs," he said, noting that the strippers will be appropriately dressed. "We're just coming to have a good time."

City Councilman Ken Valentine isn't so sure.

"I'm really disappointed that this is going to occur on Sunday when people should be in church," he said. "I hope they behave themselves and keep their clothes on, but I'm not sure they will because strippers are trained to take off their clothes."

The New Braunfels City Council has been cracking down on rowdy behavior on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers in recent months, banning drinking devices known as beer bongs, increasing the maximum fine for noise ordinance violations and prohibiting sound amplification between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

A new ordinance banning containers with a liquid volume of 5 ounces or less — an attempt to ban Jell-O shots — will take effect after the next city council meeting.

One hates to think what the town fathers would do if a group of Scandinavian tourist was to drop by. For a poker game. Or something.

UPDATE: And yet more nudes in the news. Harry Potter to prance about on stage in his birthday suit. Well, ok, it's just the actor who plays Harry Potter, but he's going to star in a new production of the 1970's play Equus. He'll be doing a nude scene in the play, set to open in London next year. And I suppose the producers did the casting for completely altruistic purposes. Because they also hired the actor who plays Harry's Uncle Vernon in the movies to star.

The play delves into the psyche of a boy named Alan Strang who blinds six horses with a metal spike. The production is scheduled to open next March in the West End theater district, said spokesman Peter Thompson.

"It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role," Radcliffe's spokeswoman, Vanessa Davies, said Friday. "He is maturing as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles."

In one scene the actor playing Strang is required to simulate sexual ecstasy while riding a horse naked. But Davies said nudity was not the focus of the play.

Richard Griffiths, who plays Harry's Uncle Vernon in the films, is lined up to play the psychiatrist who interviews the troubled youth.