Red Baron Movie

Is Germany finally waking up from it's effeminate slumber? This movie about the story of WW I flying ace Manfred von Richthofen might just be the testosterone shot German manhood has needed for over 50 years. The storyline is somewhat fictionalized by adding a lover that The Red Baron never had. Why! Is this necessary? When Pearl harbor was released I was highly disappointed because so much of the movie was the ridiculous love triangle. Well, I'll have to wait until the movie is released for American audiences to see if love ruins the movie.

(Don't) Curse You, Red Baron!

Friday, Apr. 04, 2008 By ANDREW PURVIS/BERLIN

German First World War air ace Manfred von Richthofen (1882 - 1918) known as the Red Baron, leader of the 11th Chasing Squadron, with a comrade in front of his famous red tri-plane.

Hulton / Getty

Snoopy dreamed about fighting him. The English revered his chivalry in combat. His red Fokker Triplane holds an iconic place in the history of aerial "dogfights." But in Germany, Manfred von Richthofen, the World War I flying ace who downed 80 Australian, British, French and Canadian planes before being shot down himself 90 years ago this month, barely rated a mention in the history books. Postwar Germany, after all, was leery of celebrating legendary warriors. But now, the star of the "Red Baron" may be rising again.

article continued here

Military History Fading From Campuses

It appears that the teaching of military history in our college campuses is dying off. If this article is correct, and there's no reason to think that it's not, soon the only schools offering classes and degree in military history will be our military schools. I sensed this was happening back when I took some classes in history at the local university. The class was European History from 1914 to 1945. Perfect, I thought. A class that covers both world wars. To my chagrin the professor was more interested in teaching about the lost generation and the social impact of the wars than on the causes and the wars themselves.

Why Don't More Colleges Teach Military History?

Despite its enduring public appeal, and a country at war, the subject gets little respect on campus

By Justin Ewers

Posted April 3, 2008

Five years into the war in Iraq, military history seems to be experiencing a golden age. Hollywood has been cranking out war movies. Publishers have been lining bookstore shelves with new battle tomes, which consumers are eagerly lapping up. Even the critics have been enjoying themselves. Two of the last five Pulitzer Prizes in history were awarded to books about the American military. Four of the five Oscar nominees for best documentary this year were about warfare. Business, for military historians, is good.

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Laser Weapon System Near Deployment

It was in the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still that Gort, the space alien robot, used his cyclops laser beam to melt tanks and guns. That was a great Sci-Fi story but it's no longer . Now it's real. A laser weapon system that can track and kill or disable multiple targets is now being tested at an AF base in New Mexico. If this weapon system is successful and feasible pinpoint accuracy spells the end of for anything from enemy tanks, bunkers, ammo dumps, and ugly mother f***ing Muslim jihadist. See Popular Science article below.

How It Works: The Flying Laser Cannon

Boeing's new laser cannon can melt a hole in a tank from five miles away and 10,000 feet up—and it’s ready to fly this year

By Eric Adams Posted 03.13.2008 at 4:48 pm 13 Comments

Inside the Advanced Tactical Laser : Photo by Bob Sauls (Illustration)

Creating a laser that can melt a soda can in a lab is a finicky enough task. Later this year, scientists will put a 40,000-pound chemical laser in the belly of a gunship flying at 300 mph and take aim at targets as far away as five miles. And we’re not talking aluminum cans. Boeing’s new Advanced Tactical Laser will cook trucks, tanks, radio stations—the kinds of things hit with missiles and rockets today. Whereas conventional projectiles can lose sight of their target and be shot down or deflected, the ATL moves at the speed of light and can strike several targets in rapid succession....continue here

Boston Hawk Beans Red Sox Fan

Hawk nest removed from Fenway Park after school girl scratched on tour

Email|Print| Text size – + April 3, 2008 01:02 PM

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

By John Tlumacki and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A red-tailed hawk lost its choice seat behind home plate at Fenway Park today after the raptor scratched a middle school girl on a tour, drawing blood from her scalp.

The girl was in the upper deck behind home plate, some 40 feet from the hawk’s nest, where a single egg lay in an overhang near the press booth. The hawk had been perched on a railing and swooped at the girl with its talons extended. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

"The girl is fine," said Red Sox spokeswoman Susan Goodenow, who said the team followed up with the girl’s group from Memorial Boulevard Middle School in Bristol, Conn.

"The nest and the egg were removed by the Boston Animal Rescue League at the direction of the director of Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife," Goodenow said.

It was the second incident with a hawk in the park in the last two days. It has been common for the birds to take up residence in the stadium rafters in the off-season, dining on rats and mice when the park is quiet.

"When the season starts and there is lots of noise, they usually find a new home," Goodenow said.

NEW CO2 REDUCING GADGET

With the rapid deforestation of Amazonia and Indonesia trees are at a premium if mankind is to survive rapid global warming ...eeech, no I didn't say that!!!! Well, just for arguments sake let's say that the developed world needs to come up with a machine that filters CO2 from the atmosphere. Like what a tree does. It just so happens that scientist who want to make a buck out of the global warming crisis have come up with such a gadget.

Spongelike Air-Capture Gadget Scrubs Away Carbon Emissions

By Joanna Borns

Published on: March 28, 2008

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With the specter of global warming seared into our national consciousness, reducing carbon dioxide emissions has become a priority. Now, researchers have invented a phone-booth-size device that can take back those emissions we can’t prevent—the ones that have already reached the atmosphere. ..................continue here

SHOULD AL QAEDA IN IRAQ BE DEFEATED?

That's basically the question asked by this report.

The Risks of Defeating Al Qaeda in Iraq

Experts warn that jihadist fighters could carry their fight to other nations

By Kevin Whitelaw

Posted March 28, 2008

President Bush claimed on Thursday that U.S. forces and Iraqi tribesman have "systematically dismantled" the terrorist group Al Qaeda in Iraq in the long-troubled Anbar Province. And indeed, while Al Qaeda in Iraq remains dangerous and active, particularly in parts of northern Iraq, the terrorist group is having increasing difficulty pulling off its signature type of attack, deadly car bombings...........continue with article.

US SUPREME COURT vs WORLD COURT

SCOTUS Tells Foreign Court to Butt Out

by Ted Cruz

Over the past few years many Americans have become deeply concerned that judges have begun relying more and more on foreign law to decide questions of U.S. constitutional law. One doesn’t have to be a constitutional scholar to object to foreign laws and foreign courts -- laws that are not enacted by our democratic government and judges who are not selected as our Constitution provides -- ruling on Americans’ rights and the powers of American government. These concerns are largely well founded, and reflect the increasing degree to which modern constitutional adjudication has become altogether unmoored from the text and original understanding of the Framers........................................................continue here
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Three cheers for the conservative members of SCOTUS. What's amazing about this case is not that defendants can use the Vienna Convention on Consular Affairs to assist in their trials but that three of our justices - Breyer, Souter and Ginsburgh - would subordinate our legal system to that of a foreign courts. These three justices should be impeached, immediately!!!

GLOBAL WARMING AND WEALTH TRANSFER

Can you envision industrialized nations (mainly Europe and the US) paying billions
of dollars to Indonesia and Brazil to make environmentalist feel good? Well, that's what's at stake in the next UN climate change (notice it's no longer global warming) summit at Bali.

The Secret Life of Trees

Friday, Dec. 14, 2007 By BRYAN WALSH/NUSA DUA

Think of carbon dioxide, the main gas that causes global warming, and you'll likely picture a polluting factory in China; neon lights in Tokyo, an SUV sitting in traffic on the freeways of Santa Monica..........................While there are already international carbon trading schemes that help rich countries pay for reductions in carbon emissions from power or industry in poorer nations, no such mechanism exists for avoided deforestation. That nations are not compensated for protecting their forests has been a huge gap in anti-climate change efforts, and one that has to be resolved if the world is ever to achieve the kind of large-scale reductions in carbon emissions needed to avert catastrophic climate change. "Forests are the elephant in the living room," says Andrew Mitchell, director of the Global Canopy Project and a forestry advocate. "Powerful — but unseen and unrecognized."

At the UN climate change summit in Bali — hosted by Indonesia, home to some of the world's most extensive tropical forests — that's begun to change. Though negotiators still need to work out the details, nations here agreed to put deforestation and forest degradation — the damage of woodlands, which can also release carbon — as a main element of the climate change deal that will eventually succeed the Kyoto Protocol. That will eventually open up a new market that could be worth billions, as industrialized nations that need to reduce carbon emissions could choose to pay tropical nations like Brazil and Indonesia to preserve their own forests. The private market — which has been the engine of forest destruction in the form of logging — could end up saving the trees. "We have to solve this market failure by turning to market measures," says Mitchell.
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THE BIOFUEL MYTH

It's not easy for me to read TIME and actually nod my head in agreement with any of their articles. But this time I was nodding in almost every paragraph. Could it be that the MSM is finally getting it!! The TIME article which has given me hope is The Clean Energy Scam.

Encouragement begins with the title. It continues with the body of the article, even though the authors still cling to the global warming scam. The authors basically come to terms with the observation that even good intentions can go wrong. This blogger believes the same and adds that good intentions and high minded proposals are usually the refuge of scoundrels.

The Clean Energy Scam

Thursday, Mar. 27, 2008 By MICHAEL GRUNWALD

"But several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it. Corn ethanol, always environmentally suspect, turns out to be environmentally disastrous. Even cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass, which has been promoted by eco-activists and eco-investors as well as by President Bush as the fuel of the future, looks less green than oil-derived gasoline.

Meanwhile, by diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices and endangering the hungry. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year. Harvests are being plucked to fuel our cars instead of ourselves. The U.N.'s World Food Program says it needs $500 million in additional funding and supplies, calling the rising costs for food nothing less than a global emergency. Soaring corn prices have sparked tortilla riots in Mexico City, and skyrocketing flour prices have destabilized Pakistan, which wasn't exactly tranquil when flour was affordable."

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Further reading see Technology Review: Biofuels

Uranium seized from FARC guerrilas

More evidence that justifies Colombia's raid into FARC controlled area inside Ecuador was unearthed yesterday when Colombian police raided a FARC stronghold in the vicinity of Bogotá. 66 pounds of uranium was seized as a result of information obtained from a captured laptop computer:

"The government said information about the stash of uranium was found earlier this month in computer files left behind by top guerrilla leader Raul Reyes, who was killed in a Colombian bomb strike against a FARC camp in neighboring in Ecuador."

Besides information about the uranium stash links between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and FARC were also confirmed by incriminating evidence within the computer files. Now that FARC is dealing in uranium it's time that a more serious approach be taken by OAS member states in dealing with the Venezuelan leader.

WSJ Editorial: Islam and Free Speech

Congratulations to the Wall Street Journal and Mr. Peter Hoekstra for the wonderful editorial piece on Islam and free speech. Mr. Hoekstra has got it 100% correct by declaring that free speech has been bought with blood and it would be cowardly for any nation to cave in to threats. I'm afraid that's not the case in many countries were free speech is not the hallowed God given right which we in America think it is. It's a real shame that Europe appears to be caving in to Islamic threats of violence.

Here's a snipet of the the WSJ editorial:

Islam and Free Speech

By PETER HOEKSTRA
March 26, 2008; Page A15

The Netherlands is bracing for a new round of violence at home and against its embassies in the Middle East. The storm would be caused by "Fitna," a short film that is scheduled to be released this week. The film, which reportedly includes images of a Quran being burned, was produced by Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament and leader of the Freedom Party. Mr. Wilders has called for banning the Quran -- which he has compared to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" -- from the Netherlands.

After concern about the film led Mr. Wilders's Internet service provider to take down his Web site, Mr. Wilders issued a statement this week that he will personally distribute DVDs "On the Dam" if he has to. That may not be necessary, as the Czech National Party has reportedly agreed to host the video on its Web site.

.

Reasonable men in free societies regard Geert Wilders's anti-Muslim rhetoric, and films like "Fitna," as disrespectful of the religious sensitivities of members of the Islamic faith. But free societies also hold freedom of speech to be a fundamental human right. We don't silence, jail or kill people with whom we disagree just because their ideas are offensive or disturbing. We believe that when such ideas are openly debated, they sink of their own weight and attract few followers.

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali born Dutch member of parliament. Read about her troubles in Slate.com.

"Entering politics to try to alert the European left to this danger, she was first elected as a deputy for the Labor Party, but after 9/11 she changed her allegiance to the Liberals. This, she explained, was because many Labor spokesmen preferred to think of immigrants as possessing "group rights." They had become so infatuated by their own "multi-culti" style that they had ignored the rights of individuals—especially women and girls—who were imprisoned within their own ghetto. (That, by the way, was precisely Spinoza's problem as well. The Dutch rabbis cursed him and condemned him in their own sectarian "court," of which the Christian authorities approved because it took care of dangerous secularism among Jews.)"

A Global Warming Skeptic

This Global Warming weather phenomena has puzzled because I'm not inclined to dispute scientist whose expertise in this subject must be taken into consideration. So, why is it that I'm not yet convinced that it's mans fault? That man has been so reckless that we now face extinction! This may be an exaggeration but this is how I perceive what experts such as Al Gore and the international scientific community are telling me if man does not do something drastic, NOW!!

There's plenty of evidence indicating that our globe has warmed over the past oh...30 years. But there's also plenty of evidence that our globe has gone through periods of rapid warming and cooling over the past 100 years. If this is so then we are just passing through a natural warming cycle. Why is it that Algore and his minions are making such a big fuzz about this particular warming trend?

I remember not too long ago, about 23 years in fact, that weekly magazines such as TIME were running articles of the upcoming global cooling and of it's potential catastrophic effects on the worlds food supply. Well, that didn't happen. Now it's global warming and it's potential harmful effects to eh...I don't know, polar bears? It seems to me that too much attention is payed to doomsdayers.

The following list of links with a brief description to articles concerning global warming . Both sides of the arguments are presented.

Climate facts to warm to. The Australian An interview with Jennifer Marohasy, an expert ( or someone who knows an expert) on climate change, global warming, yada, yada..Pretty interesting stuff. Ms. Marohasy debunks the theory that the earth is still warming.

Is the earth still warming, asks the host.

"No, actually, there has been cooling, if you take 1998 as your point of reference. If you take 2002 as your point of reference, then temperatures have plateaued. This is certainly not what you'd expect if carbon dioxide is driving temperature because carbon dioxide levels have been increasing but temperatures have actually been coming down over the last 10 years."

The Australian. 22 March 2008
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ABC News interview with Fred Singer.

A hatchet job on the old fella. "Singer, an 84-year-old Princeton-trained physicist, is the grandfather of the global warming skeptics who dispute the established scientific consensus (emphasis mine) that global warming is real, that it is caused by the pollution humans are pumping into the atmosphere, and that it will be catastrophic if measures are not taken immediately."

The interviewer makes no attempt to bring out the facts which Mr. Singer bases his opinion.

Newsbusters.org article on ABC News interview with Fred Singer.

"Climate alarmism reached a new low Sunday as ABC's "World News" featured a hit piece on Dr. S. Fred Singer, the esteemed Professor Emeritus of environmental science at the University of Virginia."
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Delicate Partnership Between Coral and Algae Threatened By Global Warming

This article in Sciencedaily.com discusses the effects, well...the title says it all. The science end comes from the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) and James Cook University in Australia. Not surprisingly the findings are that global warming could damage this coral and algae relationship with potential catastrophic effects upon mankind yada, yada...
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Black carbon adds the most to global warming

This report from SIFY.com blames China and India for melting the snow in the Himalayas. V. Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography admits that previous findings were wrong:
"In the paper, Ramanathan integrated data from satellites, aircraft and surface instruments about the warming effect of black carbon and found that its warming effect is about 0.9 watts per metre squared. That is far higher than estimates of between 0.2 watts per metre squared and 0.4 watts per metre squared that were agreed upon as a consensus estimate in a report released in 2007 by the R.K. Pachauri-headed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which won the Nobel last year."

Interesting finding considering that a consensus on previous findings had been reached.
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Israel and Gaza

This Op Ed piece by Mortimer Zuckerman is right on the money. Throughout it's short history Israel has faced the prospect of violence from it's neighbors yet has tried repeatedly to use diplomacy to solve their differences.

A Moral Outrage

By Mortimer Zuckerman

Posted March 14, 2008

The world applauded when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, forcibly removing Jewish settlers. At last, the Palestinians were free to show how they could build their own society.

But what did they do with their freedom? They elected the terrorist organization Hamas in 2006. First Fatah and now Hamas have rained 4,000 rockets on Israel, killed 24, and wounded 620—the equivalent of killing 1,200 Americans and wounding 31,000. The citizens of Sderot and Ashkelon have suffered a collective trauma; children fear that when parents leave for work, they will never see them again.

Forced labor = Slave labor

It's sad to think that forced labor is a thing of the past, left behind with the defeat of Hitler and Tojo and the dissolution of empires such as British, French, Belgian and Italian but forced labor is still with us and it's pretty much widespread through out China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the developing world. Saudi Arabia is a country which is guilty of trafficking in slavery and yet the US does not seem to mind. What a shame. The UN is impotent too as sanctions are very limited in scope.

According to CIA Fact book; current situation: about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked annually across national borders, not including millions trafficked within their own countries; at least 80% of the victims are female; 75% of all victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation; roughly two-thirds of the global victims are trafficked intra-regionally within East Asia and the Pacific (260,000 to 280,000 people) and Europe and Eurasia (170,000 to 210,000 people)
Tier 2 Watch List: Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, The Gambia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Libya, Macao, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates
Tier 3: Algeria, Bahrain, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

The following article in Newsweek explains:

INTERNATIONAL

Bottom of the Barrel

Millions of Asian workers producing goods sold here are trapped in servitude.

Photos: Mark Ralston / AFP-Getty Images (left); Tengku Bahar / AFP-Getty Images

Some of the world's leading computer makers don't want you to know about Local Technic Industry. It's a typical Malaysian company, one of many small makers of the cast-aluminum bodies for hard-disk drives used in just about every name-brand machine on the market. But that's precisely the problem: it's a typical Malaysian company.

to continue reading article click here.

German Jewish leader criticizes Pope over prayer

BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's Jewish community said on Friday she was surprised Pope Benedict could have allowed a new version of a Good Friday prayer for the conversion of Jews.

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told Reuters Television she could not fathom Pope Benedict putting forward the new decree because he experienced discrimination against Jews in Germany as a young man.

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This article from time covers the same subject.

Bringing back an ancient rite risked reopening ancient wounds. And so after Pope Benedict XVI introduced wider use of the old Latin rite last year, top Vatican officials promised to adjust a Good Friday prayer from the ancient liturgy that had called for the conversion of the Jews. The text of the updated version — released this week in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano — deletes offensive language referring to Jews' "blindness" and the need to "remove the veil from their hearts." But the substance is left in place: "Let us pray for the Jews," the prayer says, according to an unofficial translation from Latin. "May the Lord our God illuminate their hearts so that they may recognize Jesus Christ savior of all men."

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I don't see any problem with the prayer the way it is now. It's clear that Catholics believe it's their duty as Christians to spread the word and pray for conversions. The prayer does mot call for another Inquisition nor does it attack Jews. This meddling into affairs not of their concern only serves to antagonize and makes me wonder if these Jews who protest such things are really interested in improving relations. I'm glad the Pope changed the old wording in the prayer which was offensive. Jews should not expect complete capitulation to their demands. If this happens then next would be demands for changes in the New testament. I wonder if these same Jews demand that Koranic verses be changed so as not to offend?

Bring Back the Iron Cross

Iron Cross purposes

By Chris Schuler

As our Berlin correspondent, Tony Patterson, reported last week, Germany has been riven by controversy since the Defence Minister, Franz Josef Jung, announced plans for a medal, “similar in shape to the Iron Cross”, to be awarded to German troops risking their lives in Afghanistan. The proposal was greeted with fierce opposition from the Greens, Social Democrats, and Jewish groups, and within 24 hours, he had backed down, stating that any new medal would bear no resemblance to the Iron Cross.

"Given the legacy of Hitler and the Second World War,” said Rainer Arnold, a leading Social Democrat, “the medal is too burdened by the past to be reintroduced." Stephan Kramer, General Secretary of Central Council of Jews in Germany, was of the same opinion. The Iron Cross, he said, was "shamelessly abused" by the Nazis and had become synonymous with Hitlerism.

Yet the Iron Cross is not synonymous with Nazism, but was introduced by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III during the Napoleonic Wars. And although it has not been used as a military decoration since the end of the Second World War, it is still the official emblem of the Bundeswehr, and has been displayed on its tanks and planes for 60 years without protest.

It is worth remembering that, before Hitler came to power, many holders of the medal were Jewish: the picture shows a detail from the grave of a Jewish serviceman in the former German city of Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland). Of the 555,000 Jews living in the German empire in at the outbreak of the First World War, 100,000 served in all branches of the armed; 12,000 of them died in action; and many were awarded the Iron Cross.

This did not, of course save them from the concentration camps. Perhaps the award is irretrievably tainted – but then again, maybe it would be better to reclaim it, rather that give the Nazis credit for something that was not theirs in the first place?

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I lifted this article from the Independent Online Edition. I agree with Chris Schuler. The Bundeswehr (German Military Forces) adopted the Iron Cross as it's emblem in 1955. Jewish sensibility to a decoration awarded by Nazi Germany is understandable but this cross is without the swastika.

Hitler the cartoonist

Anyone interested in WWII knows personal stuff about Hitler. He wanted to be an architect, was a landscape painter and tried his hand at selling hand painted postcards, not very successfully. Well, it turn out that Hitler was also a cartoonist.

Four of his cartoon drawings were found behind a Hitler Bavarian landscape painting up for auction in Germany. The cartoon drawings are of Disney Characters in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and of Pinocchio.

Correa to Bush: "Shut Up!!!!"

Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa a.k.a "little Chavez" has just issued a mano - a - mano challenge to President Bush; either you send brave American troops to our border with the nasty Colombians or shut up. He followed the outburst by threatening to hold his breath until Bush gives him an answer.

"My boys can't fight" implied Correa. "Those nasty rebels don't fight fair. They use real bullets and could kill our soldiers if I try to protect Ecuadoran sovereignty." Correa was practically in tears as he lamented the fact his troops lacked cojones. In the background could be seen embattled Venezuelan president Hugo "Fidel, you had me at hola" Chavez throwing darts at a dart board with a head shot of President Bush.

Mr. Correa was also visibly mad at Spain "after Madrid newspaper El Pais printed allegations the Ecuadoran government was mixed up with FARC rebels." "Oye, gallegos" Correa shouted at no one in particular, "you guys are way over there in Europe. Send your troops here or mind your own business. I hate you..I hate you!!

As the news conference continued Mr. Correa got even more agitated. He now demanded that not only should the US and Spain send troops but that the UN also send multi-national troops to the Ecuadoran - Colombian border "or you shut up too.....you don't know how grateful we would be, how much trouble you'd save us."

Ecuadoran Defense Minister Wellington Sandoval also appeared to be mad and hurt by allegations that his country and the FARC rebels got along very well, "falsehoods", that's what's in El Pais. "I'm going to sue".

Call me a skeptic but I believe that Ecuador is harboring FARC rebels. Before Colombia sent in troops FARC was operating freely inside Ecuador. Correa's contention that Ecuador is powerless to intervene against FARC rebels rings hollow given that Ecuadoran troops were swiftly moved into the same region in a show of force designed to intimidate Uribe.

SNL not pro-Hillary: So says producer (wink, wink)

Saturday Night Live (SNL) producer Lorne Michaels insists that SNL does not favor Hillary Clinton over Barack Hussein Obama despite sketches which casts Sen. Obama as an empty suit that gets favorable treatment from the general press.

“I’m sensitive to the suggestion that we’re in the service of Hillary Clinton this year,” he said. “That obviously is not the case.” He added, “We don’t lay down for anybody.”

Yeah, right. The timing of the sketches - and of guest host Tina Fey's unequivocal endorsement of Hillary - before crucial (for Hillary) primaries in Ohio and Texas definitely helped Clinton. Before SNL's sketches the perception was that Obama was receiving fluff treatment by this nations unbiased(wink, wink) media, like CNN, NBC, CBS, The Times, The Post, etc..etc. (the usual suspects). According to the same entities that gage public perception the situation changed after SNL's deliberate attempt to......excuse me, sorry, after SNL's innocent attempt at humor by casting Hillary in a favorable spotlight (and, hopefully, increasing viewers). You see it was all just political humor, something SNL used to be good at years ago.

In his defense Mr. Michaels points out that most of the cast and writers of the show are Obamatrons. Heck, even Jim Downey - creator of the most recent pro Hillary sketches - would "definitely" vote for Obama if he was the democratic nominee. Not a ringing endorsement in my book but an expected one considering that Mr. Downey is - surprise - a democrat.

Personally, I can't wait (not really) until this thing with the democrats is decided for I predict that Mr. Michaels, Mr.Downey and the rest of the SNL casts will just skewer Sen. McCain. All in the quest for political humor (and ratings), of course (wink, wink).

For the complete story see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/arts/television/13snl.html?em&ex=1205553600&en=65004fe840701e31&ei=5070

Obama: Race not issue!!!

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Hussein Obama announced that important issues, not race, are what determine how voters decide after receiving 90% of the Black vote in his most recent primary victory. And he said this with a straight face. Apparently, Sen. Obama believes that issues only count when Whites and Hispanics vote because it's clear that he's pocketed the Black vote.

A daily tracking poll just released by Rasmussen shows that race does play a significant role in determining who supports Sen. Obama. Blacks support Obama over Sen. Clinton by an overwhelming margin, 81% to 7% while White voters give Hillary a more balanced but still substantial edge of 50% to 39%.

Considering that both Obama and Clinton stance on the issues is virtually identical there's plenty of evidence to suggest that Black voters prefer Obama because he is ehhhh.... Black! But Obama doesn't think so, hmmmm... I wonder why? Maybe he hopes willing accomplices in the media will follow this line. I think Geraldine Ferraro was right! Obama is still a candidate because of overwhelming Black support for a fellow Black.

Good news on the Rasmussen poll. McCain leads both Clinton and Obama in a head to head race by 1-2%. This, in my opinion, is significant since Republicans usually trail by much larger margins in early polls.

Why I won't vote Democrat

I'm not a politically involved person. Unless there's an issue of real importance to me - like pocketbook issues or presidential election- you'll rarely find me discussing politics with friends or co-workers. Rarely do I get up early on Sunday mornings to watch the talking heads and political pundits discussing what's going on nationally or internationally.

During the Reagan era I was more in tune politically because here was a man who would make Americans again proud of our country. Carter had made America suffer through four years mental depression. Watching him light candles while the Iranians held Americans hostage made my skin crawl. "Is that the only response from the worlds no. 1 superpower!", I thought. Here we were, being mocked by a two bit second rate country. How the mighty had fallen.

The Clinton era also kept me politically aware because the guy was such a clown that I couldn't wait to hear what Rush had to say about the First Family and the fellow Clintonistas. The guy had charisma, I have to admit. That charisma, and my disgust with Bushes backtracking on the no new taxes pledge, sold me the used car, the snake oil that Bubba peddled. I didn't make the same mistake in 96. Reagan inspired me Clinton amused me, both good reasons to keep my interest. I didn't get this from either of the two Bushes. Sure, I voted for both but not because they were my favorites. This year again I will vote for a candidate that does not inspire me to be politically motivated but I'll vote for him for the same reason both Bushes got my vote. I refuse to vote Democrat.

In my opinion, the Democratic party has - over the last 30 years or so- become the refuge of crypto socialist and neo-communist. It has become the party of self hatred, the party of big government, the party that our enemies love. It has become the party of those who are arrogant and condescending.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama bring nothing new to the table. Both resort to more government to fix crisis that don't exist. Both are anti-business and protectionist. Both cater to eco loonies and far left idealist. Neither care about protecting our borders. Both hide their contempt for free expression with politically correct jargon.

More of the same.