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Heute Abend ereignete sich ein Raketen-Anschlag in der israelischen K #252;stenstadt Aschkelon auf das Einkaufszentrum ��Huzot ��. Bei dem Angriff wurden f #252;nfzehn Menschen verletzt. Unter den Verletzten befindet sich auch ein dreij #228;hriges M #228;dchen. Mindestens vier Menschen waren zeitweilig unter Tr #252;mmern eingeklemmt, konnten aber mittlerweile befreit werden. Die Jerusalem Post und auf deutsch die Bild berichten #252;ber den brutalen Anschlag auf eine Einrichtung, die zivil ... more

(Iraq) Suicide bomber kills 20 west of Baghdad: police ... more

Lebanese Cabinet reverses decisions - Decisions to fire airport security chief for Hezbollah ties and declare their phone network illegal ... more

Pakistani militants killed in air strike - US strike on Bajaur house compound used by suspected al-Qaeda killed at least 12 ... more

Baroness Haleh Afshari, PhD is a renowned Middle Eastern scholar. I read a chapter in her book, #8220;Women and Politics in the 3rd World #8221; and I was surprised by some of the things I read. The author makes several persuasive points about the emerging, or I should say re-remerging form of Islamic feminism. But first, she makes the point to first go into detail about what exactly is fundamentalism. This is her first point. That in order to understand what may be happening today in the Islam ... more

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The latest ad from the RNC takes some low-hanging fruit and makes a feast from it. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Airing across the dial at around 6:20 ET. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Colombian president Alvaro Uribe's decision to extradite 13 leaders of the paramilitary, terrorist-designated United Self Defense Forces (AUC) to the United States could be a milestone in Colombia's efforts to erradicate terrorism from all sides of the political spectrum. Uribe's own past ties to paramilitary organizations, the political influence wielded by the groups and the alleged direct participation in the groups by his cousin and close adviser Mario Uribe, now jailed, have seriously unde ... more

Former Georgia congressman Bob Barr announced this week that he wants to be the Libertarian Party ��s presidential nominee in 2008. Party members have only another week to kick the tires of this former Republican before they decide at their May 22 convention whether he should be their standard bearer in the fall. I ��ll leave it to others to dissect his overall record, but on international trade Barr is no libertarian. During his eight years in the House, from 1995 to 2003, Barr voted on 24 majo ... more

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger just released his revised budget proposal. To close the $17.2 billion gap between the spending desired and the revenue growth projected, the governor is recommending securitizing future lottery revenue or increasing the sales tax. As soon as November, pending legislative approval, voters could have the chance to vote for even more state debt. Rejecting the proposed ballot measure would trigger a sales tax increase of 1 cent for up to three years. Schwarzenegger #8217;s ... more

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A little clarification on the political views expressed in this weblog #8230; In a previous post, many readers expressed a form or another of disappointment #8212; in comments and in emails #8211; that I #8217;m becoming less fair and less balanced. I want to make it clear that I never suggested before that I was somehow dissociated from what is happening in Lebanon, and I never suggested that I was a #8220;neutral #8221; observer. Perhaps I should have made this clearer before, but I do wear ... more

The New York Times headline says they were recruiting for jihad. How's that again? Recruiting for a benign struggle for self-improvement? What will the friends of the Times in the U.S. government say when they see the Gray Lady eschewing their new guidelines and speaking of jihad as if it had something to do with violence? "France Convicts 7 of Jihad Recruiting," by Katrin Bennhold for the New York Times, May 15 (thanks to Davida): PARIS — A Paris court sentenced seven men to prison terms of ... more

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According to the Indian wire service PTI, a drone dropped two missiles on a Taliban safe house in Pakistan, near the Afghan border. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Israeli units around Gaza, including the air force, are on the highest alert, DEBKAfile ��s military sources report, for Palestinian terror groups to follow up their rocket attack on the Ashkelon shopping mall, which injured 100 civilians, with more aggressive actions. Aside from rocket fire, according to our sources, Hamas is planning to stage mass marches Thursday, May 15, to batter the Gaza-Israel border crossings and fence.To pre-empt this assault, the Israeli air force plan to drop bombs on ... more

Yesterday, an announcement from the Commonwealth Foundation landed in my inbox. The subject line read: How to Achieve Universal Coverage While Lowering Health Spending A colleague received the same release, and forwarded it along with this note: Coming next, anti-gravity and perpetual motion machines. To which I replied: ��eternal youth, gold from base metals, a lasting peace in the Middle East �� To which he replied: The dead shall rise, the lame shall walk, the blind shall see. I #8217;m temp ... more

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The new commanding general of the 80,000-strong Philippine Army vowed to strictly enforce the meritocracy rule in promotions and push for the modernization of military hardware as he assumed his post on Wednesday. Full Story ... more

The German interior minister said Tuesday that the emancipation of women within Germany's Islamic communities was the key to continued social integration. In an interview with the Berliner Tagespiegel newspaper Wolfgang Schaeubler said, "That women have the same rights is one of the things which Muslims must accept." Full Story ... more

The Hells Angels are extending their sphere of influence into southern Germany, the Bavarian Interior Ministry warned in a recent report. The motorcycle group, which has been linked to organized crime in many countries, has long been established in northern Europe. Full Story ... more

The Washington Post has offered another round of buyouts to its staff and two of their biggest names, David Broder and Tony Kornheiser, have opted for the cash. In Broder #8217;s case, it appears to be mostly an accounting move, as he #8217;ll still be doing what he does now, just on a contract basis. The column you have been running will not change at all, and you will continue to receive it from The Washington Post Writers Group. I will continue to write from the same office in the Post newsro ... more

Gaza rocket strikes Israeli city, 14 wounded ... more

(India) We did it, terror outfit brags in video - Little-known Indian Mujahideen claimed Jaipur bombings with video clips - see Animesh Roul's May 13 post ... more

A couple of days ago the New York Times published a piece by Edward Luttwak, wondering if President Barack Obama would face rage in the Muslim world for being an apostate from Islam -- I posted about it here. I disagree with Luttwak on two points. First, it isn't clear that Obama is an apostate at all, according to the stipulations of Islamic law. If he left Islam before puberty, or was never a professing Muslim at all (despite his school registration), the death penalty wouldn't apply. Also, ... more

Via Ben Smith, an almost miraculous stroke of bad luck: He dropped this on the one member of the media who wouldn #8217;t coo and squeal like an infant at being addressed by him this way. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Let me see if I have this right: Arabic translators deployed in Iraq are needed in Afghanistan, even though Afghans don't speak Arabic and the only people speaking Arabic in Afghanistan are the people shooting at NATO troops; agricultural specialists that we've sent to Baghdad are needed in Afghanistan to help Afghans develop crops other than heroin poppies, even though in Iraq, oil fields not poppy fields are a major source of U.S. technical assistance and Afghans grow poppies because they lack ... more

As Barack Obama visits Michigan today, the Kent County GOP is releasing this "ad" painting him as a white-flag-waiving elitist:As an American flag slowly dissolves into a white flag, the narrator intones that "Barack Obama believes that those of us from small towns in the midwest "get bitter and cling to guns and religion..." "He will compromise America's strength, mission and integrity." (HT - Marc Ambinder) Of interest is the fact that the Kent County GOP Ad portrays nothing more than wha ... more

An executive order signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano has prompted state police to cancel a $1.6 million agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and, instead, use the money to create a fugitive task force. The move effectively stripped two squads of Sheriff's Office deputies from a statewide multiagency team designed to go after crimes dealing with human smuggling. It also took away Arpaio's ability to tap some of the squad members to supplement immigration sweeps at the state's expense ... more

As was pointed out in an earlier post today, Republicans allowing themselves to be intimidated, as they too often are, from using legitimate political weapons to defend what they still have, is going to continue to cost them elections. On a similar matter, AIM notes how the GOP for its part prefers not to fight tit for tat and the result has been an increasingly smaller minority. While there are a myriad of reasons as to why the Republicans keep losing special elections, they aren't being help ... more

The perfect endorsement on a day when an image of the Messiah beneath the cross graces the top of the Drudge Report. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

In an op-ed in today ��s Wall Street Journal the political liberal Thomas Frank paints a Depression-era picture of American workers and households. Real hourly wages for most workers �� have risen only 1% since 1979, �� he writes. Median ��non-elderly �� household income is down since 2000. Americans work more hours per year than their counterparts in other industrialized countries. The phrase ��modern American slave labor �� even finds its way into his column. All this reminds Frank of ��th ... more

After noting that ��some of my best friends work for think tanks, �� The Atlantic blogger Megan McArdle contends that these organizations cannot be trusted because the purported ideological homogeneity of their employees renders them intellectually blindered, lazy, and compromised. Since Cato was apparently the first think tank Ms. McArdle thought of in the context of school choice (and I #8217;m not even one of her best friends!), I couldn #8217;t resist the temptation to respond. All human i ... more

Phil Carter, noting yet another month when the Marine Corps easily exceeded its recruiting goals, asks, #8220;What is the Marine Corps doing that enables it to recruit so well during wartime #8212; and can the other services do the same? #8221; My immediate answer was although that many of his commenters suggested: The Marine Corps brands itself as a fighting force and an awesome challenge for those who are up to being one of The Few, The Proud whereas the other services try to sell themselve ... more

Matt Yglesias reviews Sim City 4 and laments the fact that #8220;the game is curiously optimistic about middle class people #8217;s willingness to ride a bus to a subway station then take a subway then get on another bus and take that to work. Maybe when gas costs $20 a gallon, but in the real world I think people who aren #8217;t in desperate financial straits are only going to use transit if it #8217;s reasonably convenient. #8221; Damn straight. And that #8217;s as it should be. There are ... more

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BATON ROUGE -- A three-bill package aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants by making it a crime to shelter or transport them swept through the House on Tuesday with little opposition. It now heads to the Senate. In rapid-fire order, the House approved the bills by Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, all passing by at least a 53-vote margin. Geymann said the bills are needed to give state law enforcement "an extra tool to keep them (illegal immigrants) under control at the state level " wh ... more

POSTVILLE - Nearly 400 people have been arrested in what federal officials are now calling the largest single-site immigration raid in United States history. Of the 390 arrested in a Monday raid at Agriprocessors in Postville, 314 are men and 76 are women. The majority are from Guatemala and Mexico. Of those arrested, 29 face criminal charges, said Bob Teig, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. The criminal hearings are being held in three makeshift courtrooms set up on the ... more

POSTVILLE mdash; Monday rsquo;s immigration raid at Agriprocessors was the result of almost eight months of investigation, according to U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth. The probe included interviews with former illegal workers and an undercover source who landed a job at the plant and sometimes wore a recording device, court records show. Agents with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Agriprocessors had 833 workers with suspicious Social Security numbers pulling a paycheck in ... more

The commentariat (including Cato folks and friends) have spent the past couple of weeks sounding off on John McCain and Hillary Clinton #8217;s proposals to suspend the federal motor fuels tax this summer. The commentary has been almost uniformly critical of the idea, and some of the harshest critics have been economists. Unfortunately, a lot of this commentary seems to be value judgments disguised as economics. Also, much of their economic analysis makes assumptions about the market that may no ... more

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Chris Short, a blogger and Air Force NCO, put me in contact with Gina Elise, a model and aspiring actress of Pin-Ups for Vets. Inspired by her grandfather, a WWII vet, and news of wounded veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, she has been making 1940s-style pinup photos of herself, dressed in various period costumes, into calendars and donating the proceeds of their sale to wounded vet hospitals in California. Specifically, 1. The calendars would be sold to raise funds for our ho ... more

More of this. And remember, this is the same regime that went to the U.N. over Hillary's pledge to "obliterate" Iran in the event that it attacked Israel with nuclear weapons. "Ahmadinejad says Israel doomed," by Ali Akbar Dareini for the Associated Press, May 14: TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Israel is dying and that its 60th anniversary celebrations are an attempt to prevent its "annihilation." He spoke hours after President Bush arrived in Isra ... more

Yet again couching his appeal in religious terms. "Jamaat-e-Islami Leader: U.S. Is Eternal Enemy Of Islam And Pakistan," from the MEMRI Blog, May 13 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm): The Deputy Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province Maulana Muhammad Shah Mengal has said that the United States is the eternal enemy of Islam and Pakistan. According to a report in the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jasarat, Maulana Mengal criticized Pakistani leaders for allowing the U.S. to mediate i ... more

For a look through the keyhole into the bizarre world of the Rumsfeld-era DOD establishment, take a look at these documents describing the DOD military analysts/ #8221;force multipliers #8221; program. Or better yet, listen in to some of Rumsfeld #8217;s Roundtables, with audio available here and here. Over the slurpings and mastications of people like Jed Babbin, now editor of Human Events who was then thought to be a reliable pitcher of #8220;softballs #8221; designed to defend the DOD line ... more

One of the hottest trends in health policy #8212; wait, where are you going? #8212; is for insurers to pay doctors and hospitals based on the value of their services. I know: how novel. But as it happens, in the United States we generally pay providers based on volume, rather than value. The new trend of value-based purchasing goes by the name #8220;pay-for-performance #8221; or P4P. P4P can be tricky, since patients vary in terms of their preferences and how they respond to even high-qual ... more

Tuesday, President Bush sat down for an interview with Politico.com and Yahoo, the first presidential interview with online new services. One of the things he commented on was Jimmy Carter #8217;s destructive (my word, not his) role in the Middle East. Here #8217;s what President Bush said: He criticized former President Jimmy Carter for suggesting an approach to Middle East involvement that Bush described as ��if you want to be popular in the Middle East, just go blame Israel for every problem ... more

For Hizballah, the prospect of exiting this most severe of crises with anything resembling a positive [let alone a victory], seems dauntingly distant. As the dust settles, Lebanon ��s besieged (literally!) government remains in place, its fortitude continuously reinforced by the common disgust felt across the nation at the fact that the Iranian-backed group turned its weapons on the capital and the mountain.In its domestic political confrontations, Hizballah ��s aggressions have left it complete ... more

In three years, since the murder of former PM Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah has attempted three coups -- and failed.On March 8, 2005, Hezbollah thought that by rallying supporters they would nip the independence movement in the bud, maintain the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, and move on as though nothing happened.One week later, March 14 happened, in large part as a reaction to Hezbollah's rally. It secured the expulsion of the murderous Assad regime's occupying force.Then in 2006, with the July war a ... more

A court yesterday sentenced a retired imam to 2-1/2 years in prison, convicting him of spreading terrorist propaganda with a speech he gave at a demonstration. Islamic preacher Muhittin Eryilmaz was convicted by a court in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir for a speech he gave at a protest against a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq in February aimed at Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants. Full Story ... more

The directors of several relief organizations in Myanmar said Wednesday that some of the international aid arriving into the country for the victims of Cyclone Nargis was being stolen, diverted or warehoused by the country’s military. Full Story ... more

Pakistan's new government says it has pulled thousands of security personnel out of troubled Balochistan province as part of efforts to bring peace there. Full Story ... more

India's army has accused Pakistani troops of firing across the Line of Control that divides the disputed region of Kashmir. Full Story ... more

The death toll in China's outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease has risen to 42 children, with the capital Beijing reporting its first case Wednesday, state media said. Full Story ... more

Iran's intelligence minister said on Wednesday those behind a bomb blast in a mosque that killed 14 people last month also planned to target a Russian consulate in the Islamic state, an Iranian news agency reported. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States, Israel and Britain on Tuesday of being responsible for the blast in the southern city of Shiraz that also wounded 200 people. Full Story ... more

Dave Schuler rounds up several press accounts of the massive earthquake damage in China, which has killed untold tens of thousands of people. Most notable is the number of schools that collapsed, dooming the children inside. He concludes, It ��s not for a lack of money: China is holding nearly a half trillion dollars worth of U. S. Treasury bonds. Why don ��t they spend it? I think it ��s because of a widespread belief in Chinese officialdom that the people don ��t really matter. Harsh but, I ... more

Afghan Police Arrest Two Pakistanis With Explosives ... more

http://talisman-gate.blogspot.com/2008/05/irans-shifting-strategy.htmlWelcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and other sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated. Support Our Troops, Read Their Stories -------------- ... more

The Christian areas between Beirut's Christian district of Ashrafieh and the northern Christian Lebanese city of Batroun are stable and relatively unaffected by the current events elsewhere in the country.According to friends in the Chouf, the atmosphere is tense. There are still more reports coming out of the Chouf as to what happened and is happening. One of the main reasons why very little has been reported on this battle is because Hezbollah did not allow film crews into the area. Al-Arab ... more

Obviously, I'm angry about Hezbollah, Amal, and the SSNP's invasion of Beirut. They continue to claim that their armed attack is "civil disobedience." Obviously, they are not familiar with satyagraha and Dr. King.However, I'm in a quandary regarding my fellow residents of Beirut.1) Should we go back to our normal lives and not allow the brigands to stop us from doing what we choose? This would be a true act of non-violent civil disobedience in the face of menacing threats.2) Should we keep bu ... more

As bizarre statements go, this one really takes the cake. Israel is a cause for optimism for democratic change throughout the Middle East? And exactly which of the hostile Arab Muslim states of the Middle East are looking to Israel as a model? In which of them is "democratic change" not opposed as anti-Islamic by significant forces that are growing in power? "Bush links optimism for Mideast reform to democratic Israel," by Jennifer Loven for AP, May 14 (thanks to Freckles): JERUSALEM (AP) - ... more

The lovers of death achieve a new low. "Girl, 8, strapped with remote-controlled explosives and used as suicide bomber by Iraqi insurgents," from the Daily Mail, May 14 (thanks to John Doe): An eight-year-old girl was strapped with remote-controlled explosives and used as a human bomb by Iraqi insurgents in a blast that killed an Iraqi commander earlier today. An Iraqi captain was killed and seven other soldiers were injured in the explosion which took place in the town of Youssifiyah, south ... more

But he knows they really want peace. "At least 10 hurt as rocket hits Ashkelon shopping center," from the Jerusalem Post (thanks to DM): At least 10 people were wounded Wednesday evening, including a baby girl and her mother, when a rocket fired from Gaza hit the Hutzot Shopping Center in Ashkelon. The baby was listed in moderate condition, her mother and two others were seriously wounded, five people were in light-to-moderate condition and two children were lightly hurt. Dozens of people wer ... more

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Let me see if I have this right: Arabic translators deployed in Iraq are needed in Afghanistan, even though Afghans don't speak Arabic and the only people speaking Arabic in Afghanistan are the people shooting at NATO troops; agricultural specialists that we've sent to Baghdad are needed in Afghanistan to help Afghans develop crops other than heroin poppies, even though in Iraq, oil fields not poppy fields are a major source of U.S. technical assistance and Afghans grow poppies because they lack ... more

As Barack Obama visits Michigan today, the Kent County GOP is releasing this "ad" painting him as a white-flag-waiving elitist:As an American flag slowly dissolves into a white flag, the narrator intones that "Barack Obama believes that those of us from small towns in the midwest "get bitter and cling to guns and religion..." "He will compromise America's strength, mission and integrity." (HT - Marc Ambinder) Of interest is the fact that the Kent County GOP Ad portrays nothing more than wha ... more

An eight-year-old girl, to be precise, which shouldn #8217;t make it worse but somehow does. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Jihad Islami claimed attack by a Qods rocket.According to provisional figures, falling walls injured at least three people seriously including a mother. Her baby and two other women suffered moderate injuries and 9 people, some of them children, were slightly hurt. The mall was crowded when the Palestinian rockets struck the third floor without warning. ... more

The toll from China's most deadly earthquake in decades climbed to nearly 15,000 on Wednesday as troops, firefighters and civilians raced to save more than 25,000 people buried under rubble and mud. Full Story ... more

North Korea has agreed to cooperate fully on verifying its nuclear declaration, a U.S. official said on Tuesday as he displayed some of the 18,822 documents Pyongyang has given Washington about its plutonium program. Full Story ... more

The serial blasts that killed 80 people and injured 200 in the western Indian city of Jaipur on Tuesday occurred less than a week after a major infiltration attempt by militants was thwarted on the international border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir state. Full Story ... more

US Marines have faced "continuous resistance" from the Taliban since an operation began two weeks ago to clear out a key militant stronghold in southern Afghanistan, the force said Wednesday. US Marines and British troops under NATO command launched the operation late April in Garmser district in southern Helmand province, a key battleground for the Taliban-led insurgency and an opium-producing centre. Full Story ... more

Pakistan "thins out" troops in Waziristan for pact ... more

Disgraced: Yes, I admit it, I've met Jimmy Carter Deborah Weiss, columnist, attorney, and senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy, has kindly alerted me to an eleven-part -- eleven! -- series written by Omer Subhani, "Exposing Robert Spencer." Omer Subhani is the Communications Director for CAIR-South Florida, and as one might expect coming from a representative of that inveterately dishonest and mudslinging organization, his "exposé" is less a refutation than a shallow exercise in ... more

The "race card" game; pc mumbo jumbo, or does it have to do with something far more sinister? In his piece yesterday at Human Events.com, Patrick Buchanan pointed to Bill Clinton's being accused of "playing the race card," for his valid and appropriate remarks in New Hampshire and South Carolina - as examples of how the liberal media and the Democrats are setting limits around what may and may not be said about Obama to indimidate Obama opponents and especially conservatives:"Give me a break. T ... more

He's Back: Pastor Manning says Oprah, Obama, Rev Wright are 'Trinity of Hell'... I've categorized this as "entertainment," rather than anything to do with politics, and I hesitated to put it up but am doing so since it's already been linked by Drudge and put up at another blog. As John Hawkins (Right Wing News) notes, "Where did he even come up with this stuff?" This video isn't nearly as entertaining as this one, in which Pastor Manning calls Obama a "Mac Daddy" and a pimp. I'm begin ... more

The American Conservative Union has released its report on Congress for 2007, and John McCain will welcome the results. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

An excellent question: Surely, given Hillary #8217;s claim of expertise on the basis of her service as first lady, every major or ambiguous episode in her husband #8217;s two presidencies should have been systematically reexamined by the media. I for one have renewed questions about the 1993 suicide of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster, Hillary #8217;s former law partner and longtime friend, whose files were purged by Hillary #8217;s staff before they could be examined for evidence. One mu ... more

Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi will be called as a witness in a trial over the alleged CIA kidnap of a terror suspect. Twenty-six Americans and six Italians are accused of kidnapping a Muslim cleric from Italy and sending him to Egypt, where he claims he was tortured. Full Story ... more

Extending the pre-charge detention limit for terrorism suspects to 42 days is "wholly unnecessary", a cross-party group of MPs and peers has said. The Joint Select Committee on Human Rights has proposed a series of reforms which it says are a viable alternative to increasing the current 28-day limit. Full Story ... more

Auch in #214;sterreich gibt es sie, die abgeschottete islamische Gesellschaft, f #252;r die unsere Zivilisation verachtenswert und Integration ein Gr #228;uel ist. Sie wollen nicht Teil der europ #228;ischen Zivilation werden, sondern die hiesige Gesellschaft ihren Bed #252;rfnissen anpassen - fr #252;her nannte man ein derartiges Vorgehen Kolonialisierung. Das #246;sterreichische Nachrichtenmagazin X-Large berichtet #252;ber den zunehmenden Druck der Muslimbruderschaft und anderer islamische ... more

Doug Mataconis rejects the idea that Bob Barr and other third party candidates should defer to the major party candidate most closely aligned with them ideologically. If McCain loses, it won ��t be Bob Barr ��s fault anymore than Al Gore losing Florida in 2000 was Ralph Nader ��s fault. It will be because he didn ��t convince enough people to vote for him. Well, #8220;fault #8221; is certainly the wrong word. These oddball candidates have a right to put themselves up for a vote, after all. Bu ... more

(U.S.) Guantanamo Bay: More members of the military turn against the terror trials ... more

(India) Jaipur blasts: Woman bomber suspected -- Jaipur blasts: RDX used, Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) suspected -- Four persons detained in connection with Jaipur blasts -- India blast has hallmarks of Al Qaeda ... more

(India J K) Two Pakistan-based insurgents including top Lashkar commander killed in Kashmir ... more

Pakistan violates truce with India, fires at Indian troopers ... more

(Pakistan) Prisoner swap ahead of peace deal with militants ... more

(Pakistan) Soldier killed in Bajaur attacks ... more

(Pakistan) NWFP Govt agrees to enforce Shariah in Malakand -- to meet Taliban demand for Shariah implementation -- Breakthrough claimed in talks with Swat militants - demands for Sharia in Swat -- and -- Government agrees on role for Islamic law in northwest Pakistan courts ... more

(Pakistan) Taliban invite Pakistan govt, military, people to join hands against US ... more

Barack Obama spent yesterday trying not to think of West Virginia, making an appearance instead in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where Obama won the primary in February. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

A French court has convicted seven men accused of recruiting poor young Muslims in Paris to fight against US-led forces in Iraq. The sentences ranged from 18 months in prison to seven years in prison, with the cell's ringleader being jailed for six years. Full Story ... more

It just doesn #8217;t feel right #8230; (Photo credit: AP) The Arab delegation has landed in Beirut, but expectations remain bottom low for many reasons. From the reception committee made by not-quite-resigned Minister of Exterior Fawzi Salloukh, standing proudly next to Brig. Gen. Wafik Shoucair #8212; the man whose sacking supposedly sparked the entire hoopla in Lebanon #8212; , to the composition of Arab dignitaries who obviously went through a rigorous Hezbollah selection process, to the ... more

Durch Europenews sind wir auf einen interessanten neuen Lifestyle-Trend aufmerksam geworden: #8220;Melo Kesmen das Konzept f #252;r Styleislam entwickelt, ein Label, das T-Shirts und Sweatshirts, Stickers, Tassen und Babyl #228;tzchen f #252;r ��junge und jung gebliebene �� Muslime produziert. StyleIslam ist nur eines von mehreren Online-Versandh #228;user mit Sitz in Deutschland, die entsprechende Produkte verkaufen. #8221; Lesen Sie hier dazu mehr. ... more

Will Wilkinson reports that he didn #8217;t buy as many things as he would have liked on a recent trip to Turkey because the cultural proclivity to haggling left him cold. He suspects this experience is generalizable: [P]robably hundreds of my dollars stayed in my pocket because I didn ��t have good information about the quality of products and I knew the retailer is better at bargaining over the surplus than I am, so �� there was no transaction and no surplus. Sure, there is a lot of successful ... more

Australians linked to Colombian FARC rebel arms deal -- offered FARC weapons to topple Colombian govt ... more

Colombian paramilitaries to be tried by US for terror, drugs - update ... more

North Korea likely to submit nuke declaration within few days: Seoul -- and -- North Korean nuclear documents may not be enough -- see also Andrew Cochran May 13 posting ... more

Sri Lanka military says jets bomb Tamil Tiger training base, 11 rebels killed in fighting ... more

(France) 7 convicted in France-Iraq terror trial -- terrorist group recruiting for Al-Qaeda in Iraq ... more

(U.S.) Detroit: Nada Prouty spared jail, fined in conspiracy case -- held key jobs in CIA and FBI - faced jail for unauthorized access to FBI computers on terror investigations of family ... more

(Pakistan) Militants behead 'US spy' in Pakistani tribal area - outside Naurak village in North Waziristan ... more

Iraq PM in Mosul to direct al Qaeda offensive ... more

(Iraq) Blast near Islamic Party in Baghdad wounds eight people - in Baghdad ... more

(Iraq) Baghdad fighting kills 6: Iraqi police -- and -- US troops search in Baghdad's Sadr City ... more

Just wanted to let everyone know that the BBC did a radio special on the group (ADAMA - Abu Dis and Maaleh Adumim) I started. The broadcast can be listened to here:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/heart_and_soul.shtml  Share This ... more

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After taking his beating last night, news agencies expected Barack Obama to at least make a short speech congratulating Hillary Clinton and emphasizing the need for unity. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Am Freitag, 14. Mai 1948, ging das britische Mandat #252;ber Pal #228;stina um Mitternacht zu Ende. Am gleichen Tag um 16.00 Uhr verlas David Ben Gurion, der Vorsitzende des Exekutivkomitees der Jewish Agency, des vorstaatlichen Leitungsgremiums der j #252;dischen Bev #246;lkerung in Pal #228;stina, die Unabh #228;ngigkeitserkl #228;rung und proklamierte die Gr #252;ndung des Staates Israel. Die Unabh #228;ngigkeitserkl #228;rung im Wortlaut: Im Lande Israel entstand das j #252;dische Volk. H ... more

Chris Lawrence earlier noted the win by Democrat Travis Childers in a special election to fill the remaining few months of the Mississippi 1st Congressional District seat long held by Republicans. He knows the local dynamics in Mississippi far better than I do, having earned his PhD at Ole Miss, so I #8217;ll defer to his analysis. It did, however, put me in mind of an NPR report from two days ago describing a Childers campaign event held at a local gas station highlighting the recent rise in p ... more

Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 margin (67-26) in West Virginia. Does this change anything? Probably not. One suspects Dick Cheney could have beaten Obama in this one. As is generally the case when Clinton wins a primary in a state dominated by white people with blue collars, the attention is on race. Patrick Healy of the NYT writes, #8220;racial considerations emerged as an unusually salient factor as Mrs. Clinton drew strong support from white, working-class voters who ... more

A Jaipur update from ABC Radio Australia: Police in India are sifting through the sites of eight bomb attacks that killed at least 80 people in the north-western city of Jaipur. Police have questioned four people in connection with the attacks which left about 200 people injured. Presenter: Sen Lam Speaker: MJ Gohel terrorism expert and head of the Asia-Pacific Foundation. GOHEL: Well it's early days yet but the modus operandi, the fingerprints of this attack do point very clearly to Al Qaed ... more

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Yesterday I wrote that a large win by Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama would mean little in West Virginia, where only 28 delegates were at stake. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Democrats dream of healing their party with a ticket that includes both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, especially after seeing the front-runner lose every single county in West Virginia last night. [ #8230;] Read the rest raquo; ... more

Afghanistan will ask international donors for $50 billion in aid at a conference in Paris next month, President Hamid Karzai's senior economic advisor said. Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries and depends on aid for 90 percent of its spending as it tries to rebuild an economy shattered by 30 years of war and also fight off a Taliban insurgency that killed 6,000 people last year. Full Story ... more

Exiled leaders of Burundi's last active rebel group will return home this week to implement a long awaited peace deal to end a civil conflict that has killed 300,000 people, a rebel spokesman said on Wednesday. The persistent insurgency by the Forces for National Liberation (FNL), an ethnic Hutu guerrilla group, is seen by many as the final barrier to lasting stability in the tiny central African country of eight million. Full Story ... more

The military says gunmen in Nigeria's southern oil region have hijacked an oil-services vessel with 11 crewmembers onboard. Military spokesman Maj. Sagir Musa says the unknown hijackers are demanding about $250,000 for the release of the boat and the crew, including one Portuguese and one Ukrainian. Full Story ... more

For the last week Dream TV #8217;s interview with President Bush has been talked up in Egypt, but can you understand any of this? And can Bush get any more condescending (and wrong) when he tells the interviewer she has her job because Egypt is a #8220;society that honors diversity and gives people a chance to realize their talents? #8221; I suspect the standard for Middle East reform that Bush has is having the same foreign policy as the Saudis and being slightly less bigoted than the Saudis ... more

Making the obvious point that Annapolis is a joke, Dennis Ross is now angling for the #8220;fake moderate #8221; position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he finds prospect of government employment looming again. Having spent his political exile with the pro-Israel, anti-peace WINEP think tank (the place where a veneer of #8220;moderation #8221; produces apologetics for ongoing occupation and expansion of settlements), he wants a pro-active policy of crushing Palestinians rather than the ... more

Was Jungsozialisten von Demokratie halten, n #228;mlich nichts, das erl #228;utert Christian Reinke (Foto), ehemaliges Juso-Bundesvorstandsmitglied, unter allgemeiner Heiterkeit auf dem Juso-Bundeskongress 2007 in Wolfsburg. Unfassbar, wie die Verletzung demokratischer Spielregeln mit sichtlichem Stolz offen eingestanden wird. (Sp #252;rnase: Petra B., Fenris) ... more

Bei der Versch #228;rfung des Zuwanderungsgesetzes im letzten Jahr wurde unter anderem das Nachzugsalter f #252;r Ehepartner auf 18 Jahre heraufgesetzt, sowie ein Minimum an Deutschkenntnissen f #252;r Zuzugswillige verlangt. Beides geschah zur Wahrung elementarer Menschenrechte. Junge, meist t #252;rkische M #228;dchen sollten vor einem Sklavendasein in der Familie des Ehemannes und ohne Sprachkenntnisse in einem fremden Land bewahrt werden. (Foto: R #252;diger Veit, migrationspolitischer Spre ... more

In Human Events today I discuss some of the unsavory characters speaking at some mosques in the U.S.: Unless you live in a rural area, there is probably a mosque (or more than one) in your town, and most people -- including local law enforcement officials -- regard them with the complete indifference shown the local churches. It is the height of political incorrectness to even suggest that possibly, just possibly, it might be worth checking into the local mosque’s sources of funding, and what ... more