N.Korea to Crush Intercetors

N Korea to 'crush Interceptors

31/03/2009

Seoul - North Korea will view any interception by Japan of its satellite launch an aggressive act and respond as with its "most powerful military means", the communist state's news agency said on Tuesday.

If Japan dares to shoot down the satellite, the Korean Central News Agency said, "our military will consider it as gunfire from the war criminal Japan that signals a re-invasion 60 years after World War II".

The North Korean military will "mercilessly crush all interceptors... with our most powerful military means", it added.

The North has said it will launch a communications satellite some time between April 4-8. The United States, South Korea and Japan say the launch is a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test.

North Korea has warned that the first booster rocket would likely plunge into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) off Japan's northern Akita prefecture, while the second stage would drop into the Pacific between Japan and Hawaii.

Japan has deployed land- and sea-based anti-missile systems to try to bring down the rocket, should it start falling toward Japanese territory. The North has previously said it would regard a rocket interception as an act of war.

On Tuesday Japanese lawmakers passed a resolution denouncing the planned launch as a threat to peace in Northeast Asia.

Japan colonised Korea from 1910-45 and is regularly vilified by North Korea.

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N.Korea Rodong Missiles Have Nuclear Warheads!

N. Korea miniaturized nuclear warheads for Rodong missiles

SEOUL
March 31, 2009
from KYODO News

The U.S. and South Korean intelligence authorities have obtained information that North Korea has succeeded in miniaturizing nuclear bombs made using plutonium extracted from its Yongbyon nuclear complex, a senior analyst at an international research institute said Tuesday.

The intelligence circles have also obtained information that North Korea produced nuclear warheads that could be mounted on medium-range Rodong missiles and they were stored in two underground facilities in the northern part of the country, Daniel Pinkston, a senior analyst at the Seoul-based Northeast Asia office of International Crisis Group, told Kyodo News.
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G20 - A Group too diverse to succeed?

Group of 20 too diverse to succeed

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
By KEVIN RAFFERTY
Special to The Japan Times

HONG KONG — Amid great fanfare, pestered by a rainbow alliance of protesters, and protected by almost blanket security costing $30 million for a mere seven hours of meetings and making London a virtual no-go area, the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) countries meet this week, promising to restore hope and prosperity to a world battered and bruised by financial and economic crises.

Unfortunately, there are too many doctors already squabbling over the diagnosis and which medicines to take, vitamins or antibiotics, starvation or a rich diet, energy boosters or that new but expensive wonder drug that might have damaging side effects; moreover, the doctors are going to have to take some of their own medicine, and they don't like that at all.

There are many good reasons for the world's top economic powers to come together, not least because the global economy has fallen off the proverbial cliff edge. In October, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was more pessimistic than his own economists, but all scorned the idea that the world as a whole would fall into recession. Indeed, the economists expected positive growth of 3 percent, thanks to rapidly growing developing countries like China and India.

There has been a rude awakening. Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank predicted, that global growth this year will be minus 2 percent, the first time since the end of World War II that there has been negative global growth.

The IMF is slightly less pessimistic, expecting only minus 0.5 percent. But there are plenty of ominously gloomy signs. World trade, the main engine of growth, has spluttered and fallen by 9 percent. Protectionism is growing from the United States and Russia, to China and India. The U.S., France, Germany and Japan are looking for ways to protect their carmakers.

Jobs are being lost in the thousands, adding up globally to tens of millions. The U.S. and China are being noticed most because of the large numbers involved, but every country is suffering except perhaps North Korea (the harder-hit victim of its own isolation). The idea that rapidly growing developing countries had their own momentum and would be immune to global trends has been found wanting: The poorest countries are faring relatively worst, with children being taken out of school to try to earn pennies for their families.

One problem for the summit is where to start. The extensive agenda includes too many key issues, including: How much extra stimulus governments should pump to revive their own and the global economy and get sustainable growth going again; what new rules and regulations should be put in place to stop future financial excesses and restore confidence; how to stimulate trade and prevent the resurgence of protectionism; what special measure should be taken to help the poorest countries; what new powers and funds should be given to the IMF and World Bank; what part the two should play in a reformed international financial system.

On its Web site, the G20 boasts that its members account for 85 percent of global output. In striving for inclusiveness it has become unwieldy. Ideas of giving emerging economic mega-powers China and India a greater voice have been lost in the profusion of voices at the top table, though critically Bangladesh, Pakistan and the oil-rich Gulf, apart from Saudi Arabia, are missing.

The G20 has become the G-22 with the unaccountable admission of the Netherlands and Spain. Places also have been found for the Czech Republic, as chair of the EU, plus the president of the EU commission — how the Europeans love double and triple dipping — the heads of the IMF and World Bank, the U.N. secretary general and chairs of the African Union, ASEAN and other regional bodies, making it a "G30something" circus of more than 1,000 summiteers.

Mutual bitching has already started. A small taste greeted British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week in Brazil where he went trying to find common cause to set the world to rights. On the same platform as the British leader, President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva launched a stinging attack on the "white and blue-eyed" people "who appeared to be gods of wisdom" who started the crisis that has engulfed the world.

President Barack Obama is not blue-eyed, but there are plenty of leaders who are gunning for the U.S. and American-style capitalism. There is a great gulf between the U.S. and Europe, and the leaking in Der Spiegel of a draft final communique containing plans for a $2 trillion global spending boost has been seen as a German ploy to defeat such spending.

There is a real danger that infighting among the old G7 members preoccupied by domestic politics may prevent China, India or the emerging countries being heard. Canada has already said specifically that helping the world's poorest countries is "secondary" to the need to restore global growth.
Kevin Rafferty, editor in chief of PlainWords Media, was managing editor at the World Bank.
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N.Korea to put 2 U.S. Journalists on Trial

from The Korea Times
03-31-2009 20:12
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

North Korea announced Tuesday that it will try two U.S. journalists it has detained on charges of illegal entry and committing hostile acts, as opposed to expelling them.

Analysts say that the decision means it could take long time to get the pair released.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both working with independent media Current TV, were taken into custody on March 17 near the China-North Korea border.

"The illegal entry of U.S. reporters into North Korea and their suspected hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their statements,'' said the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KNCA).

"The state is to indict them,'' the KCNA said.

However, it did not give any details as to what the "hostile acts'' were. Intelligence sources at home and abroad said the journalists were probably being interrogated for alleged spying. Under North Korean law, people convicted of espionage can be jailed for up to 20 years.

The KCNA's announcement came hours after the U.S. State Department said that a Swedish diplomat had access to the American journalists.

"It was over the weekend. A representative of the Swedish Embassy met with each one individually,'' State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said.

He did not specify the current condition of the Korean-American Lee and Chinese-American Ling, who are believed to have entered North Korea from China by mistake.

According to reports, they were sent to a top-security guesthouse on the outskirts of Pyongyang a day after they were arrested but State Department officials have not confirmed where they are being detained.

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Billy Mays was at Obama Press Conference

Billy Mays at Obama Press Conference
This probably went better than it would have if the ShamWow guy showed up too.

from THE POWERS THAT BE
March 31,2009

Tax Problems for HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius

from Michelle Malkin.com
by Michelle Malkin
March 31, 2009

Knock me over with a feather. Another Obama nominee made “unintentional” errors, meaningless goofs, nothingburger mistakes on her tax returns.

It’s HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius. Via Brian Montopoli of CBSNews:

Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama’s nominee to become Health and Human Services secretary, said in a letter obtained by the Associated Press that she made "unintentional errors” on her taxes and has corrected her returns from three different years.

In the letter, which was sent to senators and dated today, Sebelius wrote that she had made changes related to charitable contributions, business expenses and the sale of a home, according to the AP.

The wire service reports that she and her husband paid just over $7,000 in back taxes, along with $878 in interest, for the years 2005-2007.

Hey, where’s that stamp? Oh, yeah. There it is.

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Would You Buy A Car From This Guy?

from the blog THE POWERS THAT BE

Call me inattentive to history, but I think that Obama’s speech today about the government taking over the restructure of General Motors was the first time I ever heard a president telling me what a killer warranty, service and repairs I’m going to get if I buy an automobile from him… er, I mean, from General Motors or Chrysler.

In related news, Government Motors unveiled a new logo:

Would you clone your beloved departed pet?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Couple spends $155,000 to clone dead dog

Their beloved Lab had died of cancer; ‘we have gotten negative feedback’

By Michael Inbar
from the TODAYShow.com

The miracle of life made an encore for Edgar and Nina Otto. A year after their beloved yellow Labrador retriever, Lancelot, died of cancer, the Florida couple welcomed a cloned copy into their home Tuesday. They’ve dubbed their doggie double “Lancelot Encore.”

Speaking live with Al Roker via satellite on TODAY Wednesday, Edgar Otto said that it only took the 10-week-old puppy a few hours to assume his forebear’s place of preeminence in the family’s large menagerie, which includes nine other dogs.

“This morning, when the pack runs from the bedroom into the kitchen, he led the pack, which the old Lancelot did,” Edgar told Roker. “This is a puppy, 10 weeks old, and he led the pack!”

Nina added, “We noticed that he bonded immediately, within an hour, with every other pet in the house.”

Springing into auction

To be sure, the Ottos love their animals. On their 12-acre spread in West Boca, Fla., the couple tend to four birds, 10 cats and six sheep along with their kennel’s worth of pooches.

But Lancelot always occupied a special place in their hearts: Edgar called Lancelot “an unbelievable, humanlike dog, a true companion.” Thus the Ottos had the foresight to have DNA frozen from Lancelot six years ago.

Then, last June — six months after Lance’s death — they learned the Northern California biotech firm BioArts International was holding a dog-cloning auction. They threw their hat in the ring, and won.

The cloning didn’t come cheap — the Ottos shelled out $155,000 for the opportunity. But it worked. BioArts partnered with Dr. Hwang S Woo-Suk, of the South Korea biotech research firm Sooam, to bring a second Lancelot into the Otto household.

An egg containing the late Lancelot’s DNA was placed in a Korean dog to create Lancelot Encore. Once the pup was able to leave his birth mother and go out on his own, he was flown from South Korea to San Francisco before finally making his way to Miami International Airport, where the Ottos were pacing with anticipation.

Spitting image

“He came out of the chute and he actually ran to us, so it was amazing,” Nina Otto told Roker. “He looked just like my original Lancelot, so I was thrilled. I had been getting updates and pictures over the past 10 weeks, but the real thing is what I wanted to see.”

While Lancelot Encore acted positively puppylike on TODAY, squirming and licking the faces of his new owners as they talked, Roker asked the Ottos whether it seemed “a little kooky” to spend six figures to create a new dog in their old dog’s image.

Edgar explained that the family is hardly hurting: His father, Edward, cofounded NASCAR, “so I won that lottery.” On top of that, Edgar himself started a successful medical company.But even with their family’s good financial fortune, Nina Otto sold some of her jewelry to pay the big ticket to create Lancelot Encore.

“I can always have jewelry,” she told Roker. She added the couple entered the dog cloning lottery last summer, when “the country was not in the shape it is right now.” But when Roker asked if they would do it today, they admitted, “we would still do it.”

Still, the couple have their critics. Dr. Sara Pizano, of Miami-Dade County’s animal services department, told the Miami Herald that for the price the Ottos paid for having Lancelot cloned, “we could do spays and neuters for six months.”

Edgar Otto told the paper he donates considerable sums to his local Humane Society — and promised that if the Ottos bring an 11th dog into their home, it will come from a shelter.
He admitted, “We have gotten some negative feedback from people on the price.” Yet, as Lancelot Encore squirmed in his arms, he added, "But we feel it is worth it.”

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The Racism Trap Defined

"We are not a nation of cowards, as Eric Holder has suggested. But many of us are indeed bound by a slavery worse than any material shackles or abuse. It is a slavery of our own making, which holds us bound and gagged by the false charges of "racism" where none exists." - Kyle-Anne Shiver

The Racism Trap Defined

from American Thinker

By Kyle-Anne Shiver

March 31, 2009

Yesterday, I received a number of emails vociferously attacking my character on the basis of the column I wrote for American Thinker, "The Obama We Knew, but Denied." I was called a "racist," a "race-baiter" and a "white elite."

Since I don't live in a "nation of cowards," as Eric Holder has suggested, I generally face all such charges head-on with individualistic fervor.

I will state boldly and for the record that I am no racist. Some of the most rhetorically bloody battles I've ever fought were in defense of equal opportunities for blacks in the days when the civil rights movement was being battled over every dinner table, at every social gathering and in every church in the South. I have had friends of many races, have worshipped hand in hand with all races and consider it to be a sin against God of the highest gravity to harbor racist feelings or thoughts. If I ever have a racist thought, I cast it out quickly with disgust, asking forgiveness. This is the Christian way.

Racism is absolutely indefensible to God, the Creator of all souls in His image. Each unique human being has perfectly identical value to God. Period. This is in adherence to both Judaism and Christianity, and no man can claim to follow either while knowingly enabling his own racist thoughts, words or deeds. To entertain and harbor racist thoughts is an act of hatred against God, one's fellow humans and oneself and if done on a habitual basis, has the power to cut one off from God entirely.

Now, as to my own definition of racism. Racism, defined by Webster's Dictionary, is "a belief that by nature some races are superior to others," or "discrimination based on such belief."
Racism cuts all ways, between all races, and any individual of any race can be equally guilty of this sin. Racism is no more a singularly white sin than is say, drunkenness or gluttony or laziness. People are people are people; sin is sin is sin.

This godly belief was at the heart of Dr. Martin Luther King's struggle for a colorblind America. Many groups vied for King's ear and tried to dissuade him from this mission, saying he should demand more, should clamor for not only equality but payback for the hundreds of years of white on black racism, including slavery and Jim Crow in the South. Dr. King resisted these efforts; I regard the man as a Saint. He may have yielded some, but in the whole of his life, he was a true Christian minister (though sinful, as we all are), who disdained the calls for human vengeance against white oppressors and held firmly to the dogma of nonviolence and forgiveness, seeking only a coming down of the walls and a restoration of equal civil rights.

Unfortunately, after King's assassination, black liberation theologians (like James H. Cone) and Black Panthers, Black Muslims and other splinter groups hijacked Dr. King's movement and turned it upside down and inside out, adopting the vengeance/violence model. Even after the post-King-assassination wholesale riots and killing sprees ended, these groups adopted socialist revolutionary tactics (those designed by Alinsky and others), which have perpetuated the battle, turned racism into a black on white sin more than the other way around, and have demanded more and more and more as just retribution and penance for the sin of white racism in the past.

This movement has had very little to do with mending relations between the races and everything to do with gaining power for the leaders of the revolution. This movement has had very little to do with wanting achievement for individual black children and everything to do with developing a large class of people loyal to the "gifts" of Party politicians. It is the most duplicitous and diabolical twisting of King's original intentions I have ever witnessed in wholesale fashion, performing its evil upon nearly the whole of our black population, holding them in shackles to a different kind of slavery, the kind we have seen emerge in post-colonial Africa. Individual blacks have economically enslaved whole generations of their own race in this quest for wealth, power and dominance.

In this, we have seen perhaps the best evidence of the fact that underneath our skins we are all alike. The human soul in a black skin is just as tempted and likely to give in to the thirst for power as any white soul. Just as likely to use other human beings for personal profit and just as likely to be damned for his sins.

I am no racist, and I will vehemently defend myself on any charge to the contrary. I do not care what any other person thinks of me. I live to serve God alone. No man can grant me eternal life. To serve the interests of other men is nothing more than to be a slave.

We are not a nation of cowards, as Eric Holder has suggested. But many of us are indeed bound by a slavery worse than any material shackles or abuse. It is a slavery of our own making, which holds us bound and gagged by the false charges of "racism" where none exists.

I am a free woman; I shall not be bound by other men or women.
47 Comments on "The Racism Trap Defined"

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G20 Protesters - David vs Goliath - Capitalism vs Socialism

Brave dissenters at the G20 anti-capitalist orgy
By Michelle Malkin
March 31, 2009

This is heartening: A small band of rational students is standing up to the G20 anarchist mob in defense of free markets.
Godspeed!


Capitalist-David rally versus Goliath-protests for Socialism
by Michelle Minton
March 31, 2009

During the G20 summit something like 40,000 plus protesters slated to descend upon London. Of that number, there is a small but growing and prodigiously brave group of idealists planning to throw their message and bodies into the breach. They are not there to demand government action against climate change, stricter business regulations, nor are they requesting money for the poor, hungry, or infirm. Their message is simple, but profound: Get out of our way.

This small band, comprised mostly of university students and recent graduates wants only to communicate the message to the world that capitalism is not to blame for the current economic crisis. In fact, they want people to know that interventionist policies are what got us into the mess in the first place and increased state intervention is unacceptable.

“The point must be made, essentially, that we do not live in a Capitalist system and certainly not a Laissez-Faire Capitalist system. The sectors of the economy that failed were the most regulated sectors of a ‘mixed-economy’,” said Rory Hodgson, University of York student and protest organizer.

Perhaps because those still in university and recent graduates have the most to lose that they are willing to risk physical harm in order to oppose the ever-tightening choke-hold the government has on the economy. But we should all be as worried about the future and willing to fight the increasing anti-capitalist sentiment and the vulnerability of individual liberty.
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Salary control: You knew it was coming

article from Michelle Malkin.com

By Michelle Malkin

March 31, 2009

This is not a surprise. Grabby Hands Barney Frank has been signaling his salary control plans for weeks. In early February, you’ll recall, he told Business Week that compensation restrictions might be restricted to all US companies, not just TARP recipients.

Now, via Byron York:

In a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has approved a measure that would, in some key ways, go beyond the most draconian features of the original AIG bill. The new legislation, the “Pay for Performance Act of 2009,” would impose government controls on the pay of all employees — not just top executives — of companies that have received a capital investment from the U.S. government. It would, like the tax measure, be retroactive, changing the terms of compensation agreements already in place. And it would give Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies.

The purpose of the legislation is to “prohibit unreasonable and excessive compensation and compensation not based on performance standards,” according to the bill’s language. That includes regular pay, bonuses — everything — paid to employees of companies in whom the government has a capital stake, including those that have received funds through the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The measure is not limited just to those firms that received the largest sums of money, or just to the top 25 or 50 executives of those companies. It applies to all employees of all companies involved, for as long as the government is invested. And it would not only apply going forward, but also retroactively to existing contracts and pay arrangements of institutions that have already received funds.In addition, the bill gives Geithner the authority to decide what pay is “unreasonable” or “excessive.”

And it directs the Treasury Department to come up with a method to evaluate “the performance of the individual executive or employee to whom the payment relates.”

The bill passed the Financial Services Committee last week, 38 to 22, on a nearly party-line vote. (All Democrats voted for it, and all Republicans, with the exception of Reps. Ed Royce of California and Walter Jones of North Carolina, voted against it.)

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Obama courts 'West-haters'

Plans to attend conference 'seeking Islamic interests'

March 31, 2009
By Aaron Klein
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – Concern has been mounting over President Obama's scheduled participation in the U.N.'s Alliance of Civilizations summit in Turkey next month, with some critics painting the organization as anti-Western and advocating Iranian interests.

"The Alliance might more appropriately be called a U.N.-approved Slush Fund for Advancing Iranian and Other Islamic Interests," wrote Claudia Rosett, a Forbes contributor and journalist-in-residence with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

A separate report by the Heritage Foundation labeled the Alliance forum "well-intentioned" but with little prospect for success due to "bias and objectionable proposals to freedom of expression." The report was titled "Why President Obama should not attend the Alliance of Civilizations forum."

Obama is reportedly due at the Alliance April 7. The organization was formed in 2005 as an offshoot of the Dialogue of Civilizations, an earlier U.N. project founded by former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who is still a member of the Alliance.

Other Alliance member states or participating organizations include China; the Organization of the Islamic Conference; the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the Arab League; Turkey; and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization. Not on the list is Israel.

In 2006, the Alliance released a 63-page official report largely laying blame on the West for negative perceptions of Muslims and Islam. The report only mentioned Islamic terrorism once – in its recommendations section where it suggested the Western media should not use the term terrorism.

The Western media should refrain from using certain terms in reporting on Muslims and Islam, the report recommended, "including the use of terms such as 'Islamic terrorism' and 'Islamic fascism' – [which] have contributed to an alarming increase in Islamophobia which further exacerbates Muslim fears of the West."
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Senator Jim DeMint on GIVE - The National Service Act

Attack on the U.S. Capital is next says Taliban Chief Mehsud

I'm going to take a wild guess that this guy is not one of the moderate Taliban that Obama wants to have tea with.
Rees

Very soon we will launch an attack in Washington which will amaze the entire world – Taliban Chief Baitullah Mehsud

SOURCE: Free Internet Press

LAHORE: Pakistan's most wanted militant on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a deadly police academy assault and threatened to attack the U.S. Capital in retaliation for a series of air strikes. ( Watch )

Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, for whom the United States has posted a five-million-dollar reward, said there would be more attacks after Monday's raid on the Lahore police training school that left 12 people dead.

"We claim responsibility for the attack," Mehsud, blamed for the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said by telephone from an undisclosed location. "This was in retaliation for the ongoing drone attacks in the tribal areas. There will be more such attacks."

"Very soon we will take revenge from America, not in Afghanistan but in Washington, which will amaze the entire world," Mehsud warned.

Seven cadets, a civilian and four attackers died in Monday's raid on the police academy in eastern city Lahore, sparking fears that unrest is seeping out of the tribal badlands and into the heart of Pakistan. Assailants armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests shot their way into the academy in the morning, triggering eight hours of gun battles that lasted until they were overpowered by security forces.

Mehsud, who was accused by the former government of masterminding Bhutto's killing, heads the feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The US State Department has branded him a "key al-Qaida facilitator" in the semi-autonomous South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan. Mehsud said he had set up a council of mujahedeen (holy warriors) grouping different groups "to step up attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan."

He dismissed the US reward for his arrest. "The maximum they can do is martyr me," he said. "We will exact our revenge on them from inside America." Mehsud's group is influential in both North and South Waziristan, as well as in the Bajaur tribal district to the north, which Pakistani security forces said they had effectively cleared last month following a major offensive. He commands thousands of fighters across the tribal areas on the Afghan border, although official estimates vary on the precise number. His capacity for launching attacks outside the region is questionable.

At least 35 US drone strikes have killed over 340 people in Pakistan since August last year. The US military does not usually confirm such attacks, but its armed forces and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only ones to deploy drones in the region.

In Lahore, interrogators questioned dozens of people over the assault. Punjab province's police chief Khalid Farooq said 50 had been picked up. "These people will now be interrogated," he added. "Things are moving in a positive direction but it is too early to say who was involved." A bearded man -- who interior ministry chief Rehman Malik said was Afghan -- was arrested for allegedly trying to attack police outside the compound. Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif said a judicial commission would be set up to investigate the attack, whose findings would be made public. Chief suspects for the attack are homegrown Islamist groups or Taliban and al-Qaida militants holed up in the tribal areas.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at an international conference on Afghanistan Tuesday, backed plans for reconciliation talks with members of the Taliban or past Al-Qaeda supporters who reject violence. "They should be offered an honorable form of reconciliation and reintegration into a peaceful society, if they are willing to abandon violence, break with al-Qaida, and support the constitution," she said. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned Monday's attack near Lahore and pledged international help to root out the extremist threat. Lahore was also the setting for the March 3 gun attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team that left eight Pakistanis dead.
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MUST WATCH!!! Beck: “Is it against the law sir!?”

pwn'd with a capital "P"

Comments from Hot Air.com:

What happened is most certainly news because we established that the Attorney General of CT is acting in a tryannical and unlawful manner.

1 - By using his Office and the office’s legal powers to engage in hostile State action against citizens who , it is not contested by anyone, have violated no law and in course of those actions , the AG is violating
2 - The Constitution of the United States
Article I Section 10

No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
No State is permitted to interfere with any party’s obligations under a contract.
He should be impeached.
VinceP1974 on March 31, 2009 at 12:08 AM
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I like the fact that the conservatives are finally waking up and taking a stand. It’s good to see the tea parties and shows like Glenn Beck telling us it is okay to be angry, to stand up for our rights, and to march in the streets. It works for the left. Those loonies have been making noise, demanding their views be voiced, while we sit in our offices and work. Now, we have a chance to make some noise, to take back our country, to demand that the laws and the constitution be followed in our country. I like the fact that the left loonies are a little scared.I say, let’s make some noise and make the left pee down their legs in fear.I heart Glenn Beck.
HornetSting on March 30, 2009 at 9:41 PM
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When Attorney Generals devote themselves to promoting what ought to be law, particularly heinous when not defined as their “wish” but arguments presented AS IF a matter of “yes or no” law, then the Attorney Generals are not doing their job of defending what IS the law, and the rights of those who obey the law. Simple enough, and the AG finally had to admit the status of factual vs. wish-list matter.
maverick muse on March 30, 2009 at 7:55 PM
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Unbelievable, the Attorney General admits that he was enforcing a law that does not exist. In other words the Attorney General thinks… HE IS THE LAW. This is called thuggery and I’m afraid we are going to see more and more of it with the Democrats in power and encouraging it at all levels.
Maxx on March 30, 2009 at 7:59 PM
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A pity that more of those fortunate to have a megaphone do not use it to expose these fools like Beck did with AG Blumenthal.
Jdripper on March 30, 2009 at 7:58 PM
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A nice demonstration of Liberal myopia and misunderstanding of the rule of law. Also a stellar example of how the MSM has lost its will and its way. Beck is doing the job that the MSM refuses and at this point is constitutionally incapable of doing: pressing the issues and asking hard questions.
When did Connecticut turn into Vermont? Who are these unsightly Socialists who embarrass themselves and their once great state?
This Blumenthal idiot goes a long way to show how the likes of Dodd can fester.
EMD on March 30, 2009 at 8:05 PM
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You know what should be the law… following the Constitution.
Wait… that is the law? Huh, too bad there are no AGs prosecuting that one. Guess they’re too busy on “public policy”
… wait… I thought that public policy was required to be the province of legislators while the judicial branch dealt with enforcement of the law?
I am so confused… should we ask the executive branch and see if he can figure it out?
Damiano on March 30, 2009 at 8:13 PM
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Wow, no wonder CNN got rid of Beck. Those pussies simply couldn’t stand watching a real man work the magic John Wayne used to bring to the screen.
Great stuff! Melted that POS on the constitution question. Liberals think they are above our laws. Beck just brought that dynamic to life.
Keemo on March 30, 2009 at 8:29 PM
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Glenn Beck isn’t doing it for ratings, he already has the ratings.
He’s doing it because its what’s right. This AG has no business trying to enforce ‘populist principle’ vs the laws he was meant to enforce.
The CT AG had no response as to what law the people that received the bonuses was breaking. Plain and simple.
And something tells me, this is just a prelude of things to come with this new administration and its cronies.
RedbonePro on March 30, 2009 at 9:19 PM
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People in Beck’s line of work do go over the top sometimes with weak facts or poor perspective, but this ain’t it. This A.G. is a disgrace and the arrogance and over reaching he is happy to engage in is as un-American as it gets. Beck did exactly what’s needed: ask the simple questions and insist on answers. I can not figure out why some people for the sake of appearing reasonable cannot get on board with that. All that’s needed for evil to succeed is for people to try and look smart when angry indignation is called for. If this public law enforcement official does not get you angry then you would probably be fine with a good police beating or railroad of an innocent fellow citizen. It’s all just fun right, as long as it’s not you being ground up in some politician’s ego trip. No news value to this? Really AP? Maybe when some capitalists get hung in trees… well maybe the first one anyway. Then: “ho hum, that again.”
bagoh20 on March 30, 2009 at 9:29 PM
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No news value? Asking a public servant, who’s job it is to win convictions in court for violations of laws passed by our government, which broken laws he is spending his time trying to prosecute has no news value in you’re mind? Don’t you understand that it is the responsibility of a free press to find out and question how government officials do their jobs? This guy spent a solid week grandstanding against someone else’s bonuses and promising the populist mob to stop payment on a legal contract. This has no news value for you Allahpundit? I think you should really rethink this, either that or just spend you’re time reading Frum rants, monitoring Meghen McCain’s twitter musings and watching The View.
Dollayo on March 31, 2009 at 12:04 AM
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Really? So who here thinks like this wanker blueneck? Again, I have yet to hear this supposed “conservative” list a cogent argument for what his beef with Beck is. Deflect the argument of who signs your checks by another slam on Beck. Punk. It’s bitches like you that make realize America is too wealthy. Only a society as affluent as ours can afford parasites like you. What do you do for a living? And what’s with the tooth polishing? Is the only “DR” you can think of a dentist? Are you even sure I’m in the health industry? What the hell does the “D” in “JD” stand for, punk? Howzabout the “D” in PhD? Wow. Go to the dentist for your prostate exams, do you?
drballard on March 31, 2009 at 1:02 PM
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Netanyahu: Biggest peril to Israel and mankind is...

Netanyahu: Biggest peril to Israel and mankind is radical regime seeking nuclear arms

March 31, 2009

from DEBKAfile.com

Introducing Israel's 32nd government to the Knesset, Tuesday, March 31, Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel faced two major perils on two fronts - the economy and security. Neither was caused by our actions, but the outcome of both will depend on how Israel acts.

Israel seeks peace with the entire Arab and Muslim world, but continues to be threatened by the forces of Islamic extremists.

Netanyahu then called on the Palestinian Authority to embrace peace: "If it is really peace that you seek – we can achieve it. We will promote [negotiations] on three tracks, financial, security and diplomatic…"

The incoming Israel prime minister said: "We will support a Palestinian mechanism which fights terror. We have no desire to rule over another people. The final accord will allow the Palestinians to rule themselves, barring elements which menace Israel. "

Netanyahu then presented his jumbo lineup of 30 cabinet posts including 6 without portfolio and 8 deputy ministers drawn from five parties, Likud, Israel Beitenu, Labor, Shas and United Torah Judaism.
Click to read the article

New Rat Species Discovered

The CDC is warning that unless extreme measures are taken immediately to eradicate this breed of rats, the disease that these rats carry could spread across the entire world.

Officer & K-9 attacked by Modesto mob of 60

What an absolutely disgusting example of what a portion of our society has become. Can society ever reverse this rapid descent into chaos? Can the mindset of the individuals involved in this mob assault ever be changed? I doubt it. This is a learned behaviour from their parents, neighbors, friends and the public figures who they admire. Can you imagine what would have happened if the officer had been forced to fire his weapon to stop the assault?
Rees

from The Modesto Bee
By Leslie Albrecht
March 31, 2009

A Modesto police officer had to pull his gun to keep a hostile crowd at bay early Sunday.

The officer sustained minor injuries in the southwest Modesto incident, said police spokesman Sgt. Brian Findlen. Police are not releasing the officer's name. The officer's dog was assaulted but not seriously injured, Findlen said. Police arrested several suspects in connection with the incident. A loaded assault rifle was found later at the scene of the struggle, which unfolded about 2 a.m.

Findlen said the officer pulled his gun only after other deterrents, including his police dog, failed to keep the crowd under control. "In a situation where you really feel that your life is in imminent danger, your options become very few," Findlen said.

Some members of the crowd told the officer that "he was not going to leave the scene alive," according to police.

The crowd of as many as 60 people included some known gang members, Findlen said. Police believe the group was gathered for a party in the 1700 block of Pelton Avenue. The officer happened upon the group when he was responding to another call in the area.

The officer saw several people assaulting one man, Findlen said. As the officer tried to break up the fight, the crowd's attention shifted from the assault victim to the officer. The crowd surrounded the officer. The officer sent his dog into the crowd in an attempt to stop the group.

The dog apprehended one suspect, who police later identified as 18-year-old Alfredo Espinoza of Modesto. As the officer tried to arrest Espinoza, the crowd pulled Espinoza away from the officer.

According to police, some in the crowd then challenged the officer to a fight. One suspect attacked the officer, police said.

The officer's two-way radio was broken during the struggle. The officer then used his gun to hold off the crowd as he tried to tell neighbors to call 911. Someone in the crowd had a police scanner, Findlen said, and told the rest of the crowd that other officers weren't responding to the scene. It was then that the officer was told he wouldn't be leaving the scene alive, according to police.

Backup units responded after calls from other residents.

Other officers responding to the scene stopped a vehicle and found Espinoza inside, Findlen said. The driver, 20-year-old Modesto resident Andrew Mitchell, and the passenger, 19-year-old Modesto resident Matthew Reyes, were arrested on suspicion of resisting and delaying a police officer, assaulting a police dog, and "lynching." Lynching is a law enforcement term that means forcibly removing a suspect -- in this case, Espinoza -- from police custody.

Two police scanners were found in the vehicle.

Two other suspects were arrested at the scene of the struggle. William Rodriguez, 29, of Modesto was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, false imprisonment of a police officer and lynching. Junior Suarez, 19, of Modesto was arrested on suspicion of resisting and delaying a police officer and lynching.
Click to read the rest of the article

Pyongyang, Tehran: Axis Of Missiles

photo of U.S. THAAD anti-ballistic missile.

This is what the launch would look like if Obama and Gates had the cojones to to use our anti-ballistic missile system on North Korea's upcoming "satellite" launch.

It's not a matter of whether we can shoot the North Korean missile down, we know that we can. The bottom line is we shouldn't allow North Korea have a successful launch and confirm what their missile capability is. As soon as they they know it, the blackmail and extortion will begin.

It's hard for them to make serious threats when they don't know if their missile will explode 40 seconds into launch like the last one did.

It doesn't mean that North Korea wouldn't launch a nuclear tipped missile anyway without a previous successful launch, but if we've shot everyone of their launched missiles out of the sky, why would they believe the next one would be able to reach its target?

Beyond the nuclear missile capability, North Korea needs a successful launch for prestige and to satisfy their narcissistic leader. I hope the Obama administration hasn't made a deal with the devil, and told North Korea that they would not shoot the missile down if they would come back to the negotiating table. Let's hope not. However, Obama needs some foreign policy success, because so far, he's had none at all. Otherwise, it's hard to explain the bizarre comments, contradictions and incompetent behaviour we're seeing.
Rees

from from INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Monday, March 30, 2009

National Security: Iranian missile experts are helping North Korea with the imminent launch of an ICBM that can hit Alaska and Hawaii. Imagine a Taepodong-2 with a nuke. This is no time to gut missile defense.



The enemy of my enemy is my friend, the saying goes. On Sunday, the Japanese paper Sankei Shimbun reported that a 15-member delegation from Tehran has been advising the North Koreans on their imminent "satellite" launch since the beginning of March. Iran recently launched its own satellite to demonstrate its global reach.



The Iranian experts include senior officials with rocket and satellite producer Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group and brought with them a letter from Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to North Korea's Kim Jong Il stressing the importance of cooperating on what they call "space" technology.



Cooperating they have been. The Sankei report said North Korea sent missile experts to Iran when it launched a satellite in February. North Korea is known to have sold missiles and missile technology to Iran, and Iran's Safir-Omid space launch vehicle owes much to North Korea's Taepodong missile.



Iran's cooperation with North Korea began in the 1980s, when Tehran financed Pyongyang's production of Soviet-designed Scud missiles and received 100 of them. Later, North Korea shipped engines for Rodong midrange missiles to Iran. Pyongyang also has helped Tehran set up missile production facilities, and North Koreans are regular visitors to these plants.



A November 2006 Congressional Research Service report reinforced concerns over Iranian and North Korean ties relating to missile technology. The report said Israel's military intelligence chief had information indicating that North Korea had shipped 18 long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead up to 1,500 miles.



Iran's Shahab-3 simply is Iran's enhanced version of the North Korean Rodong. Confirmed reports place Iranian scientists and engineers inside North Korea in 1993, when the Rodong-class missile was first tested and unveiled.



A 21-member delegation headed by Brigadier-General Hossein Mantequei, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander in charge of Tehran's missile force, had arrived in Pyongyang to observe the test. The Iranians were satisfied, and as many as 150 Rodongs were sold to Iran, where the missile was renamed the Shahab 3.



North Korea's upcoming test may fail, as a Taepodong-2 launch in 2006 did. But that should not reassure us. Success is inevitable, even for the last Stalinist regime on earth. Working in tandem with Tehran, we may soon be faced with two nuclear powers capable of hitting Western cities.
As we have noted, if you can orbit a satellite, you can deliver a warhead anywhere on earth.



We forget these missiles don't have to be accurate. A single nuclear warhead detonated over the American heartland would fry our technological infrastructure and catapult America and its economy back into the 18th century.



This is no longer a theoretical discussion about hitting a bullet with a bullet. North Korea may soon be able to hit our Alaskan oil fields or Anchorage. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told CNN on Friday that a variant of the Taepodong-2 "could probably get down to Hawaii."



A Taepodong-2 with a range of 6,700 kilometers has been developed, bringing U.S. bases in Okinawa, Guam, Alaska and Hawaii within the potential range of North Korean missiles. Honolulu and Pearl Harbor are within range.



Thanks to the vision of President Ronald Reagan and the leadership of President George W. Bush, we have some arrows in our quiver — from the Patriot-3 to the sea-based Aegis to the ground-based interceptors based in Alaska and California.



But is there some quiver in our arrows? Will we give up for vague promises the missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic specifically designed to deal with the Iranian threat? Will we give up expanding the missile defenses that give us a fair chance of shooting down these missiles in the hands of unstable tyrants?
Will we give up? - [my comment - If Obama has his way, the answer is Yes.]


Click to go to the article

Obama and Acorn story was killed by NY Times

“It was a game changer”

Thus was the reason, according to former ACORN worker, Anita Moncrief, why the New York Times killed a story about the connections between the activist group and the Obama campaign.

from Q and O

March 30, 2009

by Michael W.

A lawyer involved with legal action against Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) told a House Judiciary subcommittee on March 19 The New York Times had killed a story in October that would have shown a close link between ACORN, Project Vote and the Obama campaign because it would have been a “a game changer.”

Heather Heidelbaugh, who represented the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee in the lawsuit against the group, recounted for the ommittee what she had been told by a former ACORN worker who had worked in the group’s Washington, D.C. office. The former worker, Anita Moncrief, told Ms. Heidelbaugh last October, during the state committee’s litigation against ACORN, she had been a “confidential informant for several months to The New York Times reporter, Stephanie Strom.”
[...]

During her testimony, Ms. Heidelbaugh said Ms. Moncrief had told her The New York Times articles stopped when she revealed that the Obama presidential campaign had sent its maxed-out donor list to ACORN’s Washington, D.C. office.

Ms. Moncrief told Ms. Heidelbaugh the [Obama] campaign had asked her and her boss to “reach out to the maxed-out donors and solicit donations from them for Get Out the Vote efforts to be run by ACORN.”

Ms. Heidelbaugh then told the congressional panel:

“Upon learning this information and receiving the list of donors from the Obama campaign, Ms. Strom reported to Ms. Moncrief that her editors at The New York Times wanted her to kill the story because, and I quote, “it was a game changer.”’

ACORN does not exactly deny Moncrief’s allegations, but instead waives her off as a “disgruntled” employee:

“None of this wild and varied list of charges has any credibility and we’re not going to spend our time on it,” said Kevin Whelan, ACORN deputy political director in a statement issued last week.

And the NYT isn’t saying much either:

Ms. Mathis [the New York Times’ Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications] wrote,

“In response to your questions to our reporter, Stephanie Strom, we do not discuss our newsgathering and won’t comment except to say that political considerations played no role in our decisions about how to cover this story or any other story about President Obama.”

Strangely, neither the Obama administration nor anyone connected with his campaign comments on the story. Of course, if the allegations regarding handing over the donor list are true, then there may campaign finance law violations to worry about, so they probably wouldn’t say much anyway.

I have to admit, this is almost a dog-bites-man story. There can’t be too many people who will seriously contend that the NYT isn’t a liberal newspaper. And it wasn’t any big secret during the run-up to the election that the MSM was in the tank for Obama. But I do wonder if many people realize the lengths that the MSM would go to in order to see their boy to the finish line. Hillary supporters got the message pretty loud and clear during the primaries, and Palin’s backers can cite chapter and verse on how the MSM dragged her and her family through the gutter. Some people might even remember that story suggesting that McCain had an affair with lobbyist Vicki L. Iseman (for which she sued the NYT and settled out of court).

Yet, how many people realize that the de facto leader of the MSM would spike a story that’s not just critical of their chosen candidate, but that implicates him in illegal activity with a notorious election law violator? Seems like that would be news fit to print. Just not in the NYT apparently.

By the way, keep this story in mind as plans continue to unfold regarding the federal government subsidizing newspapers. If the NYT was willing to spike a story just to help its chosen one, what will they do when that chosen one is paying the bills?
Tags: ACORN, Anita Moncrief, Election 2008, Obama campaign

Click to go to the article

Michael Ramirez Cartoon from Investor's Business Daily

World War III or World War 3 - whichever way you prefer it...

As always, telling it like it really is...with an attitude to get your attention!

Owning the expert...

This latest video from How the World Works is in direct response to a "so called expert that challenged him on several issues from his previous ones. It covers climate change, socialism, federalism, capitalism, the depression and a few more. It's 21 minutes long, but worth every minute of your time.
Rees

5 arrested in G20 'bomb plot'

Well, it appears the G20 rioters are well organized. They've got fancy posters and even a web site. Do these professional rioters have their own union to protect them from unsafe rioting conditions? Just curious.

I'll bet our rioters from back in the 60's are sitting in their rocking chairs right now, and shaking their heads about how things could have been, if only...

Rees

Five activists arrested in G20 'bomb plot' as London goes into lockdown for world leaders

By Stephen Wright and Luke Salkeld

from the MailOnline.com

31st March 2009

Five people were arrested under anti-terror laws yesterday after an imitation Kalashnikov rifle and other weapons were seized by police investigating a possible plot to cause havoc at the G20 summit.

Three men aged 25, 19 and 16 and two women of 20, were held after the eldest man was seen allegedly spraying graffiti in Plymouth. [maybe he ran out of printer paper for his riot posters]

In searches of several homes, officers found a range of imitation and deactivated firearms from handguns to hunting rifles and a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle.

They also found 'improvised explosives made of fireworks'.

Detectives are investigating the possibility that the group were planning to mount protests in London against the G20 summit.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton said 'politically sensitive material' had been found.

Sources said the suspects were not linked to any religious group. All five were being held under the Terrorism Act.

The arrests were made after the 25-year-old man was held in Plymouth on Friday evening, for allegedly spraying graffiti on a wall, and his home was searched.

Mr Netherton said the operation had no connection to Nicky Reilly, 22, the Muslim convert from Plymouth who was jailed for 18 years earlier this year for an attempted nail bomb attack on an Exeter restaurant.

In London, Scotland Yard said the Metropolitan Police was liaising with the Devon and Cornwall force but the investigation was at a very early stage.

The spokesman added that police were seeing 'an unprecedented level of activity amongst protest groups not seen since the late 1990s, involving some individuals we have not seen on the protest circuit for some time'.

Organisers of a planned protest in the City of London tomorrow are to meet Scotland Yard officers today to discuss their concerns over how it will be policed.

Activists from the Climate Camp said they had been trying to open communication following 'increasingly sensational police predictions' of violence. The group said it was concerned it was the victim of a 'smear campaign' ahead of the demonstration.

More than 3,000 police officers will be on duty during the summit period, with up to 100,000 protesters expected to stage rallies and marches. Police estimate the cost of the security operation at £8 million - the largest in UK history. A huge cordon will be thrown around the Excel centre in London's Docklands, the headquarters of the summit. A ring of steel will also be constructed to keep protesters away from the U.S. embassy in central London.

Senior officers fear a repeat of the violent anti-capitalist and MayDay protests of 1999 and 2000. Shops and other businesses were damaged and dozens of arrests made.

Click to read the article and comments

run.drive.sleep.repeat.

181 MILES - 180 TEAMS - 2,200 RUNNERS - 17 HOURS ON UP....

See what happens when you put these together for a foot race from Logan to Park City, Utah. JUNE 19-20, 2009 - Sold Out - Click to join the Wasatch Back waiting list

The Ragnar Relay Series has 9 more relays around the nation - Click and scroll down to Register Las Vegas, Washington D.C., Del Sol-Arizona, Texas, Los Angeles, New England, Great River-MN, Northwest Passage-WA, Florida, New York

RAGNAR RELAY WASATCH BACK

Think of it as a 181 mile long party with 12 best friends. Teams of 12 will rock out to live bands, enjoy the wacky participant costumes, and make life-long friends with teammates and competitors. Teams will party along the backside of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains from Logan (85 miles north of Salt Lake City) to Park City, Utah (15 miles east of Salt Lake City).

AN EASY 181 - Running three legs during a 24-hour relay race is much easier than you think. Each team member runs three legs, ranging between 3 and 8 miles. This relay race is physically demanding, but legs vary in difficulty, and runners can choose their legs. This unique relay format makes the Wasatch Back an accessible race for beginners yet challenging enough for the most competitive.

LOAD EM' UP MOVE EM' OUT - How do you get from one exchange to the next? Each team is allowed two support vehicles. The first vehicle will drop off the first runner, drive ahead a few miles, cheer the runner on, and provide them with water, snacks, and plenty of love. That vehicle will then drive ahead to the first exchange point to drop off the second runner and pick up the first runner when that leg is complete. They will repeat this pattern for six legs until they hand off to their second vehicle. This leapfrogging pattern will continue all the way to the finish line.

THE GOODS - In addition to flawless logistics and a beautiful course you will receive:
Live music along the course!
Tech tee's for all participants
Medals for all course finishers!
Awards for all division winners!
Best decorated vehicle award!
Award for the best team name!
A rocking finish line party!
T-shirts for all volunteers!

TEAMS/RESULTS

RACE COURSE MAP OVERVIEW

RAGNAR RELAY SERIES

RAGNAR? - Ragnar was a 9th century Norse King. He was a pirate, a raider, a conqueror, an explorer, and a wild man. The tough, fearless, rugged attributes of this Norse King are shared by all who participate in a Ragnar Relay. In much the same way, a Ragnar Relay provides runners the freedom to roam, to explore - a free-spirited curiosity to get out there and experience outdoor adventure. And maybe even to conquer. And though tough or rugged may not perfectly describe you, these attributes become a goal - something to strive for.

In a Ragnar Relay, the wild nature of this Norse King is embraced by many participants. Participants who aren't afraid to paint their van plaid, to bring along their own hair band, to join together in yelling as they cross the finish line. You may think that you are not one of them, but you are. Everyone has a wild side and nothing brings it out of you like a Ragnar Relay.

OUR STORY - Since the mid 80's, Steve Hill packed around in his mind the idea of staging a grand relay in Utah. He thought about it on his nearly daily runs, and on quite a few car trips, plane rides and nights before he dozed off to sleep. The idea of an overnight running event with 12-person teams covering designated legs over a spectacularly scenic stretch of rural roadways has been on Steve's mind for a very long time.

In late 2003 Steve Hill was waxing eloquent yet again about his dream. At which point his 23-year-old son, Dan, came up with a novel idea. "Dad," he said, "let's just do it."

Dan recruited childhood friend Tanner Bell and together they launched the Wasatch Back Relay, a wild 170-mile relay race from Logan to Park City, Utah. It started with just 22 teams in 2004, but by 2006 it claimed its position as one of the largest relay races in the nation.

The unprecedented growth of the Wasatch Back Relay attracted adventure racer/entreprenuer Eric Jacobsen and his investment group Dolphin II. Eric, Steve, Dan, and Tanner hammered out the details of a partnership over a 4-day, 240-mile, bike ride around Hawaii's Big Island, and made the partnership official in June 2006.

Soon after, Ragnar Events, LLC launched the Ragnar Relay Series, the nations largest series of relay races. The series includes the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back (Utah), Ragnar Relay Great River (Minnesota/Wisconsin), Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage (Washington State), and the Ragnar Relay Del Sol (Arizona).

At any given race Dan and Tanner are easy to spot, just look for the bloodshot eyes. They work around the clock before, during, and after each relay to ensure that it lives up to the Ragnar name. Eric can usually be found participating in the race. He is that crazy guy cheering you on at 2:00 am, and 3:00 am, and probably 4:00 am. Steve you will find blending in with participants, joining in conversations, and basking in the glow of what his dream has become.

Providing you with an unforgettable relay experience is our passion. We love what we do and we do it well, because for us it is a dream come true.

LONG LIVE THE RAGNAR IN US ALL!

Obama Just Displayed His Middle Finger...Again! This time it was to the American People!

Did you see that? Obama just gave America the middle finger!

His choice of Harold Koh exhibits a level of arrogance that's pathologically extreme in its nature. He's chosen someone that's so anti-constitution and anti-American, there may be even some Obamabots that might oppose him. I can't imagine anyone would want this man serving in the Obama Administration.

Obama has basically said "screw you" to the American people. He doesn't care what we think. He is going forward with his plan and daring the the republicans to try and stop him. It only take one Republican vote for this guy to be approved. Anyone who does approve him should be asked to resign immediately.
Rees (now I feel much better)

OBAMA'S MOST PERILOUS LEGAL PICK
Koh: Wants US courts to apply "world law."

from The New York Post

By MEGHAN CLYNE
March 30, 2009

- 'JUDGES should interpret the Constitution according to other nations' legal "norms."
- Sharia law could apply to disputes in US courts.
- The United States constitutes an "axis of disobedience" along with North Korea and Saddam-era Iraq.

JUDGES should interpret the Constitution according to other nations' legal "norms." Sharia law could apply to disputes in US courts. The United States constitutes an "axis of disobedience" along with North Korea and Saddam-era Iraq. Those are the views of the man on track to become one of the US government's top lawyers: Harold Koh.

President Obama has nominated Koh -- until last week the dean of Yale Law School -- to be the State Department's legal adviser. In that job, Koh would forge a wide range of international agreements on issues from trade to arms control, and help represent our country in such places as the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.

It's a job where you want a strong defender of America's sovereignty. But that's not Koh. He's a fan of "transnational legal process," arguing that the distinctions between US and international law should vanish.

What would this look like in a practical sense? Well, California voters have overruled their courts, which had imposed same-sex marriage on the state. Koh would like to see such matters go up the chain through federal courts -- which, in turn, should look to the rest of the world. If Canada, the European Human Rights Commission and the United Nations all say gay marriage should be legal -- well, then, it should be legal in California too, regardless of what the state's voters and elected representatives might say.

He even believes judges should use this "logic" to strike down the death penalty, which is clearly permitted in the US Constitution.

The primacy of international legal "norms" applies even to treaties we reject. For example, Koh believes that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child -- a problematic document that we haven't ratified -- should dictate the age at which individual US states can execute criminals. Got that? On issues ranging from affirmative action to the interrogation of terrorists, what the rest of the world says, goes.

Including, apparently, the world of radical imams. A New York lawyer, Steven Stein, says that, in addressing the Yale Club of Greenwich in 2007, Koh claimed that "in an appropriate case, he didn't see any reason why sharia law would not be applied to govern a case in the United States."
A spokeswoman for Koh said she couldn't confirm the incident, responding: "I had heard that some guy . . . had asked a question about sharia law, and that Dean Koh had said something about that while there are obvious differences among the many different legal systems, they also share some common legal concepts."

Score one for America's enemies and hostile international bureaucrats, zero for American democracy.

Koh has called America's focus on the War on Terror "obsessive." In 2004, he listed countries that flagrantly disregard international law -- "most prominently, North Korea, Iraq, and our own country, the United States of America," which he branded "the axis of disobedience."

He has also accused President George Bush of abusing international law to justify the invasion of Iraq, comparing his "advocacy of unfettered presidential power" to President Richard Nixon's. And that was the first Bush -- Koh was attacking the 1991 operation to liberate Kuwait, four days after fighting began in Operation Desert Storm.

Koh has also praised the Nicaraguan Sandinistas' use in the 1980s of the International Court of Justice to get Congress to stop funding the Contras. Imagine such international lawyering by rogue nations like Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela today, and you can see the danger in Koh's theories.

Koh, a self-described "activist," would plainly promote his views aggressively once at State. He's not likely to feel limited by the letter of the law -- in 1994, he told The New Republic: "I'd rather have [former Supreme Court Justice Harry] Blackmun, who uses the wrong reasoning in Roe [v. Wade] to get the right results, and let other people figure out the right reasoning."

Worse, the State job might be a launching pad for a Supreme Court nomination. (He's on many liberals' short lists for the high court.) Since this job requires Senate confirmation, it's certainly a useful trial run.

What happens to Koh in the Senate will send an important signal. If he sails through to State, he's a far better bet to make it onto the Supreme Court. So Senate Republicans have a duty to expose and confront his radical views.

Even though he's up for a State Department job, Koh is a key test case in the "judicial wars." If he makes it through (which he will if he gets even a single GOP vote) the message to the Obama team will be: You can pick 'em as radical as you like.
Click to go to the article
Meghan Clyne is a DC-based writer