Penn and Teller: World Peace

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 8:33:46 pm PDT

Searching for world peace, Penn and Teller encounter Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, and the United Nations. Chainsaws and hatchets ensue. (Language warning.)

Youtube Video

Youtube Video

Youtube Video

Conventional Discussion Thread 5, The Hillary Factor

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 7:38:17 pm PDT

Coming up next, Hillary’s long-awaited capitulation speech...

Zombie: The Mosque in Denver's Civic Center

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 6:26:01 pm PDT

Zombie's latest report is on the mosque that was constructed in Denver's Civic Center Park, within sight of the capitol building.

The mainstream media don't think this is newsworthy.

Continue reading...

Breaking: Religion and Science Not in Conflict

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 5:47:05 pm PDT

Here’s an excellent video presentation from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, explaining why religion and science need not be in opposition.

As the wise and venerable Lao Stinky once said:

Belief in God does not preclude belief in evolution.
Belief in evolution does not preclude belief in God.
Do not trust those who insist otherwise.

Youtube Video

Conventional Discussion Thread 4

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 3:47:41 pm PDT

We’ll open this evening’s discussions of the televised edition of the Democratic Convention, as Cecile Richards of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America takes the podium.

The highlight of the night, of course, is Hillary Clinton, scheduled to be onstage at about 10:30 pm ET.

UPDATE at 8/26/08 3:51:05 pm:

Give it up for the UFO Man, Dennis Kucinich!

The 'Al Qaeda in UK' Plot

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 3:09:12 pm PDT

Jawa Report’s been tracking developments in the latest terrorism plot uncovered in Britain: Fourth Arrested in Umar Rabie ‘al Qaeda in UK’ Plot.

Of Democrats and Co-Conspirators

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 1:47:40 pm PDT

As we noted earlier this month, the Democratic Party invited a representative from the radical Islamic front group ISNA to participate in an “interfaith service” at the opening of the convention; here’s the Investigative Project’s take on this disgraceful event that went completely unnoticed by mainstream media: Of Democrats and Co-Conspirators.

On Sunday, Ingrid Mattson, the President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), participated in a “public interfaith service of Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists” at the opening of this week’s Democratic National Convention. While there is nothing wrong with a “public interfaith service” in and of itself, the invited guests and speakers can raise legitimate questions about the motives and mindset of the organizers. Mattson’s presence does just that.

Reporting on Mattson’s appearance, the website for the Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera stated:

Dr Ingrid Mattson, director of the MacDonald Centre for the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations in the US state of Connecticut, told the crowd it “saddened” her that “so much out there is being done because of my religion”, but took pains to stress both the work of the US Muslim community with local officials to combat extremism and the support she had from leaders of other faiths.

Aside from reaching out to a handful of naïve Jews and Christians for “interfaith” dialogue, constantly whining about “Islamophobia” and claiming that the U.S. government’s “war against terror” is, in fact, a “war against Islam,” one wonders just what ISNA has done to “combat extremism.”

Mattson’s organization, ISNA, is currently an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest Hamas-fundraising case in U.S. history, against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). In petitioning the federal district court in Dallas to remove itself unindicted co-conspirator status, ISNA’s attorneys conceded substantial financial ties to top-Hamas operatives, claiming merely that such documentary evidence dated back to the late ’80s and early ’90s, before Hamas was officially designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

Epic FAA Fail

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 12:58:53 pm PDT

A computer system that handles flight plans on the east coast is failing massively: FAA computer problems causing delays.

Fox is reporting “full ground stops” at airports all down the coast.

Zombie: Liveblogging from the Kos Tent with Dan Rather

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 12:15:35 pm PDT

(Zombie live-blogging from the Kos “Big Tent” in Denver.)

I’m sitting in “The Big Tent,” a “space” co-sponsored by Daily Kos for “alternative media.” RIght now, as I type, Dan Rather is standing about 8 feet above my head, giving some longwinded diatribe about media ethics to a room half full of Kos supporters.

12:38
Despite the fact that this building/tent/“space” is supposed to be for the little guy, the blogger, the citizens journalists excluded from the mainstream media tent at the Pepsi Center, it is just as elitist and exclusionary.

12:39
One has to have registered long beforehand and/or paid a fee to gain admission, and been vetted for approval by the “Big Tent” staff — I presume people like me would probably have been excluded for ideological reasons.

12:39
Luckily, I was able to charm my way in under a different persona

12:41
It’s extremely crowded with left-wing bloggers and “new media” types. Everyone is (like me) frantically posting things to their blogs. Nonprofits have little booths around the room handing out freebies.

12:41
Me, I’m mainly here for the free wi-fi connection. I gave Dan Rather about 10 minutes of my life before bailing out. Utterly tedious. And without the stage makeup, he’s a little haggard.

12:42
So, what’s happened today so far?

12:42
I started the day off at Civic Center Park once again, where there were a variety of scheduled protests. But as always, it was the unscheduled that took priority.

12:44
A group of anti-homosexual Christian activists set up camp right in the middle of the radical leftist protesters, and began shouting about Sodom and Gomorrahe through megaphones. These were the exact same guys I saw at the Tookie Williams execution and the “Walk for Life” in San Francisco.

12:45
As with those other events, they were quickly surrounded by detractors. The Christians were actually quite humorous in their shpiel, even though I disagree with them and think they’re a bit nuts.

Before long, a communist cult member (couldn’t tell which group he was with — the Wobblies or World Can’t Wait or something), tried to attack them

12:46
The police rushed in and arrested the communist for trying to get violent against the Christians, and dragged him off with a horse-cop mounted police escort.

12:48
Needless to say, this send the assembled crowd of radicals into a frenzy, and an equestrian-human melee ensued

12:48
The cops ended up literally trotting in circles around the arrestee and the officers holding him

12:49
It was like a scene out of the wild west - - very appropriate for Denver!

12:49
The horses served to scare away the hundreds of would-be “rescuers” of the arrested guy.

12:50
Then reinforcements showed up and carried him away to jail in a off-road vehicle. In the concomitant frenzy, a young protest girl wearing pink was knocked to the ground by a cop when she ventured too close

12:50
Oops, dan rather just came in

12:50
He’s five feet from me

12:50
Hi dan!
Cameras are following him

12:51
the media are descending on him

12:51
within ten seconds, he has 20 photographers encircling him

12:52
Now there are 30

12:52
He’s a real celebrity around here!

12:52
Anyway, where was I?

12:52
Oh yes — the girl.
She fell to the ground and acted like she was dead or unconscious

After playing dead to arouse sympathy, she suddenly hopped up when everyone was looking elsewhere

12:54
Then I went to the next scheduled event: a pro-Hillary march.

12:54
About 400 rabid Hillary supporters. They were angry!

12:54
I got photos of that.

12:55
Then I followed the Giant Puppets parade for a while, and came here.

12:55
That’s it for today so far!

12:55
More later.

Ta ta from Denver...

Peace Activists Armed with Rocks, Other Weapons

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 10:21:56 am PDT

The Denver Post has a report on the mini-riot incited last night by the Recreate 68 gang: Rocks, other potential weapons helped spark police action.

“Denver police made limited use of pepper spray Monday night when a protest crowd that had gathered near Civic Center Park refused requests to disperse and suddenly rushed a police safety line about 7:15 p.m.” the statement said.

Police estimated the crowd at 300, although many onlookers and media also were on hand.

Among those arrested, many were observed “carrying rocks and other items that could be used to threaten public safety,” the police report said. “In order to protect the public when the crowd surged forward, two officers deployed their pepper spray and one officer used a pepper ball device.”

Pepper balls are similar to a paint ball, but contain the same material as pepper spray.

Zombie: Recreate 68 Finally Lives Up to Its Name: Riot in Denver

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 9:26:52 am PDT

(Zombie's reports are cross-posted at Pajamas Media.)

Word had disseminated among the protest crowd that there was to be an "Anti-capitalist march" as well as a "Meet-up for Fundraiser Disruption" jointly announced by Recreate 68 and DNC Disruption 08, two radical groups dedicated to causing problems at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. A notice online said, "Interested parties will gather at 6pm at civic center park" where "top-secret information on a couple of the choicest fundraisers and parties in Denver" was to be handed out. Then, "at the appointed time monday night, we'll emerge from the shadows to reconvene in downtown and get down and dirty."

Continue reading...

Totten: The Truth About Russia in Georgia

Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 8:01:56 am PDT

Here’s another great piece from Michael Totten, in which he gets to the bottom of The Truth About Russia in Georgia.

TBILISI, GEORGIA – Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend in typical fashion.

Virtually everyone is wrong. Georgia didn’t start it on August 7, nor on any other date. The South Ossetian militia started it on August 6 when its fighters fired on Georgian peacekeepers and Georgian villages with weapons banned by the agreement hammered out between the two sides in 1994. At the same time, the Russian military sent its invasion force bearing down on Georgia from the north side of the Caucasus Mountains on the Russian side of the border through the Roki tunnel and into Georgia. This happened before Saakashvili sent additional troops to South Ossetia and allegedly started the war.

Regional expert, German native, and former European Commission official Patrick Worms was recently hired by the Georgian government as a media advisor, and he explained to me exactly what happened when I met him in downtown Tbilisi. You should always be careful with the version of events told by someone on government payroll even when the government is friendly as democratic as Georgia’s. I was lucky, though, that another regional expert, author and academic Thomas Goltz, was present during Worms’ briefing to me and signed off on it as completely accurate aside from one tiny quibble.