What John Kerry can't understand

Perhaps the greatest thing that John Kerry and those like him don't grasp is that American's are different. And I mean that with the greatest respect.
Despite great pressure from liberal academics, from a MSM that pushes liberal ideals and despite some of the old guard in the govn't that are very liberal (think Ted Kennedy) America is the only developed country that has never had a left wing govn't. Sure we have people in govn't that are left wing, but never have we had a govn't that is completely left wing in the model that European govn'ts are.
It is not unreasonable to ask why.
The American Revolution was by and large the work of landed gentleman well versed in the idea's of the Enlightenment. It was not a revolution of enraged peasants, it was not a revolution of alienated intellectuals. From the beginning of the first real stirring of discontent dating from the Stamp Act of 1765, those who argued with the English crown did so from the perspective that they wished to preserve the principles of the English constitution. The founders of this country made the legitimate claim that they were fighting for the preservation of ancient English rights that started with the signing of the Magna Carta. These things included but were not limited to Trial by Jury, due process, free assembly and no taxation without representation. America's founders did not seek to burn down the old world and create something totally new, but to instead build on a foundation that the English system had already established.
In terms of Revolution, the American Revolution was a remarkedly restrained affair. American Tories were not paraded through the streets of Philadelphia and given show trials. They were not mass murdered. The worst they suffered was the exile and dispossession. Once the Revolution was over there were no "arrests" of some leaders by other leaders. The founding fathers went on to contemplate what they had crafted in serene old age, excepting of course Alexander Hamilton.
Many founders sided with Revolutionary France. After the Bastille was stormed the Marquis de Lafayette sent the key of the prison to George Washington. America threw out the trappings of Feudal society-titles of nobility, the established state run church and based our society on two revolutionary principles, that all men are created equal and that power must ultimately derive from the will of the people while keeping all existing civil laws in place. France on the other hand had a Revolution that devolved into an affair in which all civil society was placed into peril as they swept completely away the old regime and replaced it with something entirely new. The murderous excesses of the French Revolution so different from our own made the founder's who had strongly supported the French Revolution reel back in horror.
America is one of the world's oldest constitutional countries in the world, we are the world's oldest republic, the oldest democracy and the oldest federal system. We have the oldest written constitution. The constitution has never been swept away, it has been tinkered with, the amendments to the constitution have been placed there to force America to live up to it's original constitutional ideals, rather than a departure from those ideals.
Contrast that to France, which has had 5 republics since 1789, not to mention monarchies (again) empires, directorics, consulates and a collaborator fascist dictatorship.
Edmund Burke argued that the French ended up producing disaster because they fought for freedom in the abstract and because they wanted a government that would remake human nature. That is perhaps to me the epitomy of the left, and in that left I include John Kerry. His fight is the fight to use Government to remake human nature.
America produced a successful revolution for the opposite reason. Americans fought for and established a system of government that was tempered to suit human nature. Understanding human nature the founder's built in a complicated system of checks and balances that have worked for over 200 years. The American Revolution established a way of life in America that tempers the ambitions of arbitrary power, that realizes the main task of government is not to remake human nature, an impossible task, but to protect the individual in his private pursuit of happiness.
By enshrining the rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and by setting up checks and balances in every system of govn't our founders all very deliberately crafted a society with the principle that power rests with the individual and not the state . The leftist ideal of power flowing from the state, of all good and happy results flowing from the state is not an ideal that will well take root in this country. According to a Pew survey, 74 percent of Russians, 64 percent of Italians, 62 percent of French and 62 percent of Britons think it is more important for the government to ensure that nobody is in need than it is to allow individuals to be free to pursue their own goals. 34 percent of Americans favor government safety nets over their own freedom. Only 29 percent completely agree that government has a responsibility to help the poor. Not unlike Benjamin Franklin American's worry that state welfare rewards people for destructive behavior and reduces their incentive to get back on their feet. And that destructive behavior impacts on all of society.
At the root of what makes America different and what will continue to make us different is the underlying values that are enshrined in our constitution. And it for this reason that those on the left attack our founder's as "dead white men" in our liberal minded universities. If the left succeeds in rewriting and revising the history of this country as one in which only a few landed properous men thrived while crushing underfoot all minorities and women they will then succeed in burning down centuries worth of civil law that allowed and encouraged the people of this country to build a country unlike any other in the world.
John Kerry is the candidate of the left, the most liberal of all senators outdoing even Ted Kennedy. His beliefs are ones in which citizens happiness flow from what the federal government can do for you, not what happiness you can pursue on your own. Yet one of the things that government is supposed to do by the constitution, provision of the common defense, is something Kerry has voted repeatedly to not allow. While that may be a strong statement, it is one that I believe to be true. He repeatedly voted against the very weapons system's that allowed us to win the cold war, that were used in the first Gulf War, and was used in the current war. I do not see John Kerry as simply a left leaning liberal, I see him as a socialist who would promote proven failed policies.
While I believe sincerely that a mark of civilized society is one in which the weak and the vulnerable are taken care, I do not necessarily believe all of that should happen from the US Government. While the government may have a role in helping to set up appropriate systems, it is often wasteful and incredibly inefficient for the government to run those systems. One can point out many social issues in which the US government stepped in and what occurred was appropriate. Child labor laws, women voting, civil rights all spring to mind. Those are all issues that were solved at the legislative level and ensured by civil law. Break the law and suffer the consequences. None of those things were or are currently a government program that is unending in it's tax spending abilities.
American's are different. We are different for very specific reasons, particularly different not only from cultures that the original Americans did not spring from, but also quite different from those that we did. There are many reasons for those differences, but perhaps primarily among all those reasons the constitution with all of it's complicated checks and balances, is the real force that makes those differences. As long as the majority of Americans believe that adherence to the values of the constitution and thus the values that make up the fabric of our society is of primary importance, than America will always be different. And by being different we will always ensure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

Red

Hmm, wonder if they will be insurgents or terrorists

The winner is---Armed Gunmen!
Good to know that Hamas condemns the kidnapping, apparently someone didn't get the memo saying that journalists are special and therefore are not to be kidnapped or harmed like other people trying to live their lives. Can't imagine why harming a journalist may not be what Hamas would like to see, would you?

John Kerry and his boosting-why he is not a hero

Sent to me by reader Russ Vaughn. I hope this gives all readers the same pause it gave me, as it made me recall members of my family who were in war and how little they spoke of their experiences.

I Don't Know War
(author unknown)
I'm not worthy to question John Kerry's war record. Because I don't have one. I spent the Vietnam War in elementary school. And the four years I was in the Army were all behind a desk. My fort was unofficially known as "Uncle Ben's Rest Home."So I don't know anything about war.Though I do know a little bit about men who've been to war. I've been aroundplenty of those. Like my stepfather. He got bunged up pretty bad in France. I know that because I saw him in a swimming suit once.But he never talked about it. Not once.If you asked him about the war he'd tell hilarious stories about basic training, orwhere the guys he served with were from, or how fun it was learning to fly the gliders,or the time they stole the ambulance to go into town and get drunk in France,or a few of the phrases in German he learned. But he'd never actually talk about the war.Unless he was really drunk.In which case he still wouldn't talk about it. He'd cry about it. He'd put his head inhis arms in the wee hours of the morning and sob to himself about how the menaround him were broken and torn when the gliders crash landed into the Frenchcountryside.But that was only once or twice, and that was never about him.And the little box of medals at the bottom of his footlocker never came out.It was kind of the same way at the Legion and the VFW. Every day he'd check in atboth places, to sign the book and to have a beer, and I would tag along. All those menhad been in the service, and most had been in combat, but I never heard a war story. Lots of Army stories, and Navy stories, sure. About guys they knew and leaves theywere on and officers they messed with. But nothing about the war.It was the same way in the Army.In my day, it seemed like everybody above staff sergeant or captain had been in Vietnam.I went in 10 years after the war ended but the guys on the second half of their careers hadall gone.You could tell when they wore their dress uniforms. But that was the only time.Men didn't talk about what they'd done in the war. They didn't boast of their accomplishments. They didn't brag about their medals. But if you chanced to see them in their dress uniforms, with the rows of service ribbons, you could read their history there, you could see that those who'd done the most spoke of it the least.Like one of our drill sergeants in basic training.Buffing the floor in his office one day we saw the service ribbons pinned to his Class Auniform on the coat rack. Comparing them to the poster in the company day room welearned he'd gotten the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. We asked about them and he made us do push-ups for being nosey.The night before graduation, when he welcomed us as fellow soldiers, we asked himagain, we almost pestered him. Finally he relented and gave us two sentences: "I wasin a war. I got hurt."And that's all he'd say.Kind of like a man I know, who received the Medal of Honor. One night he stood in a long line to shake hands with Colin Powell. The man, because of the nature of the event, wore his medal around his neck. As he came to Colin Powell the man said,

"General, it's an honor to meet you."And Colin Powell responded, "No, sir - it's an honor to meet you."Anyway, I know this man, and he's often asked to tell his story, of how he earned theMedal of Honor. And he never does. Oh, he answers, and he talks, and he inspires,and he talks about the war. But he neglects the part about the lives he saved and the courage he showed, and instead talks about a young Vietnamese man who helped him to safety when his legs were too shot through to hold him anymore.I don't know anything about war. But I do know a little bit about men who've gone to war.And none of them act the way John Kerry does.None of them brag about, boast of, talk about or otherwise try to benefit from theirservice. They don't prostitute their time in uniform for personal gain and ambition.They all modestly and insistently say that they "didn't do anything." They minimizetheir contributions and put them in the context of the similarly courageous and nobleservice provided by their comrades.A true hero doesn't boast.In fact, he kind of keeps his deeds to himself. Which is what makes John Kerry sodifferent. Which is what makes John Kerry so unbelievable.I don't know war. But I do know war heroes.
And John Kerry's damn sure not one of them.

update: Sent to me by reader Patrick-The author of this piece is Bob Lonsberry. Mr. Lonsberry was a columnist for a Gannett paper many years ago in Rochester, NY. He currently has a radio program on WHAM 1180 at 11am to 2pm M-F. This article was originally posted on his site. You can access the original article here
http://www.lonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=1474&go=4 and then access his home page from there.
Thanks Patrick.

Cat Stevens to be deported

Please note that the defenders of Cat Stevens is the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR. Here is a link that goes over who and what CAIR is. http://www.anti-cair-net.org/
A great deal of information on CAIR can also be found at little green footballs where you can search articles related to CAIR.

Worth the look.
Red

Oil for food scandel

Good informative article from Fox. This is only the first in a series of reports that Fox will do. After the 9/11 Commission, this is one of the most important investigations that need to be undertaken.

Reader Russ Vaughn gives us more humor on Dan Rather

In the tradition of satire by Ben Franklin comes a wonderful laugh out loud poem from Reader Russ Vaughn. Russ, ole Ben would be proud.



The Road Less Graveled
(A down home message for Dan Rather in the colorful Texas idiom he so loves)

Y’all know what we all been thinkin’ out here in Texas, Dan, since you started all this foolishness? We think y’all been pissin’ down our necks an’ tellin’ us it’s rain for so long that you boys done got to believin’ it yourselves. Heck, we think maybe you been back East so long you got yourself thinkin’ us folks out here couldn’t hit sand if we fell off our horses; couldn’t hit water if we fell outta the boat. Danged if you ain’t been treatin’ us like you think we got squirrels swimmin’ in our gene pools or sumthin.’ You need to remind yourself that a tree don’t ever get too big for a short dog to lift his leg on, Dan.

Bout them documents bein’ genuine; well, hells-bells, Danny Boy, Grannie’s glasses are so thick, when she looks at a bare wall she see’s folks wavin’ at her, an’ even she can tell them memos are bout as phony as hips on a rattlesnake. We’re startin’ to think your brain done got harder than a woodpecker’s lips if you can’t see that. As far as that story bout George an’ his National Guard duty, looks to us like you’re tryin’ to put wheels on a cow an’ call it a dairy truck. Then you go pokin’ up her butt hopin’ you’re gonna find ice cream. Besides, ever time you durn fools put that picture of young George in his flyboy outfit on the TeeVee, ol’ Jane Fonda loses another herd of her Vagina Voters. Hell, Charlene says that sweet boy’s purtier than my new tangerine metalflake bass boat.

Well, Danny, you still ain’t lost all your redneck habits; you boys took one pickup load to the dump an’ come back with two. Dadgummit, Dan, where you gittin’ all this stuff? You been callin’ some kinda mystery numbers that ol’ boy, whatsisname, Kenneth, is bringin’ you offa bathroom walls at truck stops? Somethin’ you oughta be worryin’ about, Danny Boy: you know how the boys say when you go on a hunt always make sure to save a round for your huntin’ guide? Like if he don’t find nuthin’ else for you to shoot? You suppose any a them rich, fancy-shmancy, New York dudes you work for ever been on a hunt and heard that, Dan, hmmm?

You know how you always been fond a sayin’ you feel like a long tailed cat in a room full a rockin’ chairs? Well, seems to us like you’re startin’ to look more like the ground floor tenant in a two-story outhouse. Yeah, for sure you ain’t lookin’ like the tallest hog at the trough no more. Why, we bet you got yourself wired so tight right now that if we stuck a chunk a coal up your butt it’d come out a diamond in about five minutes. Last time we seen you on TeeVee your smile looked like Charlene’s little ol’ chihuahua dog that time he bit down on one a them ol’ yeller-jacket wasps; you know, kinda like that look a feller gets when he squats with his spurs on.

An’ about your boss, that city slicker fella, Johnnie Klein, the one said somethin’ bout all us sittin’ out here in our long johns? Well we’re gonna give him some advice so good he can take it out back an’ bury it in a Mason jar. You see, the fact is, Danny Boy, now that all us earthworms is gittin’ guns, you big birds is gonna have to be more careful bout where you’re peckin.’ Somebody needs to tell that dude, Klein, that his cage may still be turnin’ but his squirrel’s done died. Course, maybe the boy can’t help hisself; it might run in the family, you know, generic. We heard tell when he was born his ol’ momma carried the little feller around upside down for a whole year wonderin’ why he only had one eye.

Yeah them ol’ boys up there at Power Line done gone an’ slapped you dudes nekkid an’ hid your clothes. Them blogger cats watched you fellers jump in that ol’ litter box an’ they just flat covered you up, quicker ‘n slicker than WD 40 on a doorknob. Yeah you boys done gone skinny dippin’ in a pond full a snappin’ turtles. Looks like them broadcastin’ geniuses at CBS done let them yeller-dog Democrats talk you inta sellin’ your mule so you could buy a plow. When you crawled into the sack with little Miss McCauliffe you done got yourself a real ugly bed partner there, Dan, like a real three-bagger, I mean. You know the drill: one bag over her head, one over yours and one over the dog’s so’s at least he’ll have some respect for you come mornin.’

Before all y’all up there at CBS go tryin’ to saddle up another hog for a quarter horse race, you need to think about this: us ol’ boys out here know a keyboard ain’t where you hang the pickup keys and a byte ain’t what Bubba’s pit bull did to Cousin Billy; we know modem ain’t what we did when the weeds got up to the porch and digital ain’t countin’ on our fingers, least not any more. Yeah, we done got ourselves a dog in this fight, a bloggin’ pit bull, Dan Boy, an’ he’s justa slobberin’ for another big ol’ bite of Liberal blubber butt. Didn’t your ol’ daddy ever tell you that you ain’t never gonna be the brightest bulb on the tree if you go huntin’ bobcats with a BB gun?

But cheer up, Dan, maybe one a these days all you pointy-headed, liberal, media fellers will see the light. Course, seein’s where y’all seem to be keepin’ them pointy heads, it’ll prob’ly be one a them there things the doctors use.

Whatcha call ‘em, proctoscopes?


Russ Vaughn
A Texan

P.S. Charlene says to tell you don’t even think about comin’ back to Texas. Way folks out here feel, you’d have to tie a pork chop around your neck just to get a dog to play with you. Well, and maybe Mollie Ivins.

Who is Bill Burkett

That Burkett's story has changed or evolved over the years is a matter of record.
During Bush's first White House run in 2000, Burkett told reporters he overheard both ends of a phone conversation between former Texas Guard commander Gen. Daniel James III and Bush's one-time Texas chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, that he said occurred in the summer of 1997. That was similar to what he told Hunter's committee, the lawmaker recalled.
But that claim changed earlier this year.
In February, Burkett said he witnessed documents from Bush's records in a garbage can at a Guard base in Austin.
"My eyes fixed on the first page," he said in an interview in February. "It had Bush, George W. Lt1. What I did next still bothers me. I browsed through the top five or six pages."
Everyone who could have supported the account, including George Conn, the friend who Burkett said took him to the office, said it wasn't true. Allbaugh, now a Washington consultant, called the story "baseless ... hogwash."
Texas Guard officials said no Texas Air Guard records had ever been stored at the facility Burkett named.

More on Dan Rather/CBS Fraud

The former Texas National Guard officer suspected of providing CBS News with possibly forged records on President Bush's military service called on Democratic activists to wage "war" against Republican "dirty tricks" in a series of Internet postings in which he also used phrases similar to several employed in the disputed documents.
Retired Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, who earlier said he overheard Bush aides conspiring with the commander of the Texas National Guard to "sanitize" the president's military records, has refused to comment on reports that he could be CBS's confidential source. In e-mails yesterday to The Washington Post, he said he would speak out "at the appropriate time" but "that time is not now."

Read it all with link at top.

Red

San Francisco activist group brings election monitors to the United States

John Kerry infected with Michael Moore's disease

Moore's Disease-Named after filmmaker Michael Moore, closely related to Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Symptoms

1. Grandiose sense of self importance.
2. Preoccupied with conspiracy fantasies.
3. Requires excessive admiration.
4. Has a sense of entitlement or expects automatic compliance with his or her expectations.
5. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes, coupled with rage when frustrated, contradicted or confronted.
6. Firmly believes he or she is uniquely capable of explaining reality to those not as unique and special as they are.
7. Devoid of empathy, believes that his or her feelings are what comprise the universe and are therefore the only reality.

The symptomology of Moore's disease mimics almost exactly that of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, with one exception. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is not considered contagious, however Moore's disease is a contagious condition.

Signs of Moore's Disease

1. Lose the ability to have a rational discourse.
2. See their attacks on others as a crusade, but attacks on themselves are character assassinations and persecution.
3. Inflate or subtlely change claims of who or what they are.
4. Distort or use complete falsehoods to buoy their version of themselves, to denigrate others or to "prove" their views.
5. Insist those who disagree with them are idiots, stupid, illiterate, Hitlerisque, and Nazi's. Other creative names may also be utilitzed.
6. See a vast conspiracy against themselves or others who are similiarly infected with Moore's disease.
7. consistently claim they are being censored while at the same time both covertly and overtly attempting to shut down any criticism of their point of view. This sign can be summed up with-Free Speech for Me, but not for Thee.
8. Wantonly use slander to shut down critics. This takes the form of attempting to tear down and smear "enemies" on a personal level, disregarding any arguments a critic brings up that do not fit into the worldview of infected persons.

Treatment

At this time effective treatment has not been found for Moore's disease. Currently it has been found the best way to treat Moore's Disease is through the principles of infection control. Containment of spread is the focus by highlighting each and every inaccurate or distorted statement put out by those infected. It is hoped that this method will enable others to keep free of the disease process. Disease experts believe that for those already infected hope is slim.

yea, I tend to think in terms of nursing and disease process alot. And just a little note, I apologize for the look of this site right now. I am, as my oldest son says, technology challenged and in attempting to make some changes to the site I managed instead to make it quite childlike. Bear with me as I educate myself.

Danny Boy

Danny Boy

Do you know what I would rather think?
I’d rather think that Dan will blink.
Unable to defend his blather,
From pajama’d fiends that round him gather,
With keyboards blazing out their scorn,
As this great Samson’s locks are shorn.
This first Sequoia, hacked into logs,
Won’t be the last felled by the Blogs.

Dan’s faux reports were belied by the science
Deployed by our robed and unshaved alliance.
We rendered them fakes by letter and line,
This Pajama Brigade, so up yours, Mr. Klein!
Ol’ Dan must admit he’s been outcomputer’d,
Taken to the Vets and journalistically neutered.
One question remains that indeed does perplex us
Must we take him back, out here in Texas?

Russ Vaughn
Texas Hill Country

F***ing unbelievable

A discussion page from the Border's bookstore union folks regarding the book "Unfit for Command"
Hat tip to Kerryhaters and to little green footballs for caching the page. It had gotten too much traffic after being posted to these sites.

Yea! My first hate email

Opened up my email today and what should appear? But a rambling rant from someone that I addressed on a comment section a weblog regarding the Kerry lied rally. (See that post) Because of this individual's style he was banned from commenting further. I guess that really pissed him off.
I post the entire email here to show the mentality of some of the people that are willing to go to the mat for John Kerry. And for a good laugh.

1 We do not take $hit from those who lie because they are upset withpolitical stances - we give back in spades2 Barnes in the Texas Vet ad IS a front for Demsand so are the GOP office holders who go by title of COngressman!
3 We did not hear about 4 months until the SBV started their lies!
3 Lie agasin form you - Kerry did not make sweeping accusations againstEVERY member of the armed forces.that lie you all continue to push and we wil not stand for your bullshit!you must be lifers because I saw that same BS in the AIr Force"Lt Calley WAS a convicted baby killer" -
US MILITARYWhat? you telling me there are maladjusted alcoholic, drug dealers Vets?
It was 7 million who served in some capacity during the Vietnam war. you cant geven get facts straight!they have no right TO LIEI and others told evenryone who that we were vietnam vets and we got nonegatives!If your friends were ashamed of their war crimes so be it. You gotblinders on!and so afraid of retort that you block us from posting - COWARDS


Since everything here is merely a rant without substance I guess I shouldn't pick on Mr. Nick to hard, but can anyone show me where he would have possibly gotten the number of Vietnam Vets at 7 million? Everything I have seen shows between 2.5 and 3 million. Oh, and remember in my post about Dan Rather and Seymour Hersh I said people like the above Nick always bring up My Lai? Yep, they just can't help themselves. As if this incident allows all Vietnam Vets to be tarred with the criminal actions of a few. They also seem to forget that Lt. Calley was charged and imprisioned. That of course is irrelevent to their world view.

Hope you enjoyed the chuckle of the day! I did.

Red

Tell CBS advertisers what you think!

Over time I think most of us understand that the way to get a big corporation's attention is to go after their money. I got an email that asked me to post the advertisers on 60 minutes last Sunday, and I thought that was a delightful idea. Call them, email them and let them know what you think about CBS not only using fraudulent documents in a bald attempt to influence an election, but also the attempt to defend those actions. Enough messages and the advertisers may put pressure on CBS to come clean.

Thanks for the email Russ!

These companies advertised on 60 Minutes last Sunday. Let them know how you feel about that network interfering in the American electoral process.

Nissan nissan-ir@mail.nissan.co.jp
1-800-647-7261

Pfizer ccfeedback@pfizer.com
1-800-733-9393

Aventis aventis-ir@aventis.com
1-800-221-4025

Campbell's http://www.campbellssoup.com
1-800-257-8443

KIA requires registration
1-800-333-4542

Sprint nicholas.sweers@mail.sprint.com
1-913-624-3000

Aflac http://www.aflac.com/about_us/media_center_contact.asp
1-800-992-3522

Citi investorrelations@citi.com
1-800-285-3000

Ameriquest https://www.ameriquestmortgage.com/contact.html
1-800-523-3964

Splenda http://www.splenda.com/vcrc/emailform.jhtml
1-800-7-SPLENDA

SBC drucilla.cessac@sbc.com
1-210-821-4105

Ford https://www.ford.com/en/company/investorInformation/shareholderQuestions.htm
1-800-392-3673

American ronald.stovall@axp.com
Express 1-800-525-3355


Tell these companies what you think about Dan Rather, 60 Minutes and CBS.

Terrorists target more Iraqi's

"I was standing there talking to my friend when suddenly all I saw was blood, and my friend lying dead," said an Iraqi man who gave his name as Zafer, speaking from his hospital bed with blood and scratches on his face and bandages on his stomach.
Hospital workers hosed pools of blood from the floor.

Another article with a different focus. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040914/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=716

Of course it is the fault of the US, it couldn't possibly be the fault of the people who actually did the deed could it? The mentality of blaming everyone but those who commit wrongs has infected the whole world, courtesy of the left.

More indoctinating from our campuses

Just makes you want to go Knock, knock anyone home?

All I can say is WOW!

Read this link, and see what is happening. Personally I know this stuff is real, having had to deal with it in regards to my own college age child, having had to reel him in occasionally from what are to me, the far left BS that passes for discourse. So before you send your own child off to college, be prepared to know what may be coming so you can combat it.

Kerry lied rally

Read a first hand account here.

The battle for the flow of information, or the ghosts of the early 70's

What do these people have in common?
Dan Rather
Seymour Hersh

Each of these journalists were major players in the conflicts of the late 60's and early 70's. Let me recap a bit for any younger readers who are not familiar with the background.

Dan Rather-The first journalist to report that President John Kennedy had died. In 1964 he was made a White House correspondent.
Rather attracted notice in 1974 for an exchange with Richard Nixon. At a National Association of Broadcasters convention in Houston, Rather was both applauded and jeered when he stood to ask a question, drawing Nixon's query, "Are you running for something?" Many saw Rather's quick retort, "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?" as an affront.
Many came to see Rather as a combative young journalist against the Nixon administration, fighting to bring the truth.
However, others saw him a bit differently. For years Rather has been accused of a leftist bias, particularly when one compares the way he reported on Nixon, Reagan and Bush I, to the Clinton years. Even those in his profession have accused him of bias, with the Washington Post reporting that he had helped raise money for the Democratic party in Texas.
Dan Rather cut his journalist teeth during the tumeoulous times of the early 70's, and has been credited with helping bring down the Nixon White House.
In 1988 Rather reported on Vietnam Vets who suffered from PTSD, 5 of the 6 purported vets were later exposed as frauds, something Rather and CBS never acknowledged or retracted. He claims the title Marine, but never got out of boot camp.


Seymour Hersh-Came to national prominence by breaking the story of My Lai. His reporting earned him a Pulitzer for that story. Since that time he has written for the New York Times, and written several books. He currently reports on military affairs for the New Yorker. Many consider him a journalistic icon.
Others do not. Instead they accuse him of overuse of anonymous resources, and of character assassination.
A couple cases that point out these issues.
The book "The Dark Side of Camelot." Some of the material in the book were from purported "secret" Kennedy Papers. These turned out to be sensational forgeries about John F Kennedy's rumored affair with Marilyn Monroe and his supposed links to organized crime. These papers were forged by Lawrence Cusack III, a Connecticut paralegal. There was a large furor over it when Hersh deleted from his book the passages referring to the fraud in 1997. In 1999 Cusack was convicted of forgery. Cusack had said the papers were from his father, a prominent attorney, "who had secretly advised Kennedy". The problem with "secrets" is they are very difficult to fact check, particularly from someone eager to believe.
Next-Hersh's book, "The Samson Option" relies heavily on Ari Ben-Menashe. Ben-Menashe has claimed that he was the Commander of the Israeli raid to free highjacked airline passengers at Entebbe in 1976, that he planted a homing device in the Iraqi Nuclear reactor at Osirak just before the Israeli raid on it in 1981, and he claims he declined an offer to become head of the Mossod. He claimed that George Bush the first, meant secretly in Paris on Oct. 19, 1980 with Iranian representatives to delay the release of the hostages there until after Reagan was elected. However Newsweek did an investigation of this and through secret service logs found that Bush I was actually meeting with the Zionist Organization of America at the Capital Hilton in Washington DC on Oct. 19 1980. In Nov. 1990 ABC news gave Ben-Menashea a lie detector test concerning his allegations about Israel and the Iran-Contra affair. According to Christopher Ishan and ABC producer Ben-Menashe failed (Newsweek Nov, 1991) As far as being the Commander at Entebbe, that is easily fact checked. Jonathan Netanyahu was the Commander, where he lost his life. IN fact Israel later checked the name of the operation to Operation Jonathon in remembrance of this man. Israel flat denies his other claims.
Another of Hersh's sources for this book was Joe Flynn, who admitted to deceiving Hersh in exchange for money. After Flynn was exposed Hersh said "he regretted not checking his facts more carefully".

Ok, what we have are two journalists who came to fame through legitimate news stories, and for all purposes reported on well.

Today we have Dan Rather claiming firmly that the documents used to smear Bush are not forgeries, against all evidence that they are.

Today, Seymour Hersh is the reporter that broke the story of Abu Gharib. Another My Lai I believe in his eyes. He has rushed into print a new book about the scandal, and to see the reviews one would think that Abu Gharib is even WORSE than My Lai.

Whenever one attempts to point out to those on the left that atrocities were not wide spread in Vietnam and attempt to give the evidence of such, they bring up My Lai. Later it can be imagined as soldiers come home from Iraq they will have to defend themselves over Abu Ghraib.

The early experiences of these journalists have imprinted upon them a need to show that the govn't is bad and wrong, and will lie to anyone to hide that. And that the military is bad and wrong, and will lie to you to hide that. One only need to take a look at the various books that Hersh has written and it is quite easy to see what his point of view is and where his focus will continue to be. Short version, the govn't and it's officials/arms are all ridiled with people who are liars, just read his book and he'll tell you so.

Dan Rather's left leaning agenda is so apparent that I don't see how anyone can't see it. The references are so numerous that it would make this post too long to go through them all.

It seems that these two journalists have one goal in mind. To bring down any conservative govn't, and to certainly smear the military. That is not to say that I do not think Abu Ghraib was right, I certainly think it was wrong. But I don't believe there was some vast conspiracy from President Bush on down. Bush is not Nixon, despite the desire of many to tar him with the same brush.

So in 2004 we have two journalists who are attempting to revisit their glory years as young men, doing so on the backs of our President, and our military.

While this is going on, they and other Pop Media holler bloody murder because of the sudden power of the blogs. Bloggers are not real journalists, we do not fact check, type in our pajama's etc... yet, those doing the most complaining are those who refuse to report on stories that millions of people are interested in. Hell, how about if they even take the time to actually look into it. Take the Swift Boat stories. Tell me what major outlet, outside of Fox, that even attempted to look into the allegations? Instead they did little more than attempt to show the men involved with this were really just secret GOP operatives, and than attempted as much character assassination as possible.

The forged documents that Dan Rather insists is not forged were brought to light, not by any major news outlet, but by bloggers.

It is the old guard attempting make the new silent. They seem not to have caught up with technology. What a shame they seem so incapable of using a little thing called google. Edward R. Murrow who used the new media of TV must be rolling in his grave.

They wonder why so many have turned to bloggers and other news sources or why Fox is outdrawing other outlets, because they don't have the courage to look into the mirror and see that they have become so biased that it has turned people off. They also can't manage to get their feet out of the contentious years of the end of the Vietnam era. As they attempt to relive the applause and glory of their earlier years, they are unable to see the reality of today.

The current times have been called the most divisive since those late 60's and early 70's. Take a look at who is reporting and where they are coming from and this should not be a surprise. One can only say thank God that things now are not as bad as then. Today is more like a bare knuckled barroom brawl, then the streets riots of the late 60's and early 70's.

Problem is I think there are certain elements of the Pop Media who would be happy to see those days come back.

How anyone in the Democratic party didn't see this coming when John Kerry won the nomination is beyond me.

Red

More on how CBS slandered Vietnam Vets

The story of Joe Yandle is a case in point. Yandle had admitted to being the getaway driver during a 1972 liquor-store holdup in Medford, Mass., that resulted in the murder of the store manager. Under Massachusetts law, even though Yandle did not pull the trigger, he was as complicit as the gunman. Convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison without parole, Yandle never claimed to be innocent, but contended that Vietnam had driven him to drugs and crime. 60 Minutes did a segment in which Mike Wallace told viewers that Yandle did two tours in Vietnam, and survived the 77-day siege of Khe Sanh; and that he then "came home with a Bronze Star for valor, two Purple Hearts, and something else — a heroin habit." The 60 Minutes report was instrumental in convincing then-governor William Weld to commute Yandle's life sentence to time served — 23 years. But Burkett discovered that although Yandle had indeed served in the Marines and had been honorably discharged, he had never set foot in Vietnam at all.
Thanks to Burkett's work, Yandle is now back in prison. But what is striking about his case is the predisposition of journalists to accept uncritically the claim that service in Vietnam is an explanation for criminal activity at home. How could the hard-nosed Mike Wallace and others like him be so easily taken in? Burkett's answer to this question stands as a rebuke to American journalism. It is also a rebuke to John Kerry.

Read it all,(external link at top) the commentary is great, and ties together media lies with the past lies of John Kerry.

Then ask yourself is John Kerry the man who can really fight Islamist Terrorism?

Red

Islamist Terrorism through the new century, Part III

The Istanbul Bombings were two terrorist attacks carried out on two days in November 2003. They have been blamed on the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
On November 15, 2003, two truck bombs slammed into the Beth Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey and exploded. The explosions devastated the synagogues and killed 27 people, most of them Turkish Muslims. The suicide bombers also died. The blasts littered streets with derbis, and wounded more than 300 others. A Turkish militant group claimed the blasts but Turkey claimed the group did not have enough resources to cary out the blasts.
Five days later, on November 20, as US President George W. Bush was in Great Britain meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair, two more truck bombs exploded. Suicide bombers detonated the vehicles at the HSBC Bank and the British Consulate, killing 30 people and wounding 400 others. Several Britons were killed in the attack, including the top British official in Istanbul, Roger Short, but most of the victims were Turkish Muslims, as in the earlier synagogue blasts. Police say that the bombers may have timed the attacks to coincide with Bush's visit.
Both Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair denounced the attacks in a news conference in Britain hours later. The Turkish government vowed a crack down on terrorists, arresting dozens of suspects including some who tried to flee into Iran. The two attacks, combined, killed 57 people (not counting the 4 bombers) and were the deadliest bombings in Turkey's history. By late 2003 Turkey said it had broken up the cell that had carried out the bombings.
al-Qaeda later claimed both attacks. Some captured suspects said that Osama bin Laden himself ordered the attacks, but wished to hit a US military base in Turkey. Reportedly he was angered so many Muslims died in the bombings.

2003 October 15 - A bomb is detonated by Palestinians against a US diplomatic convoy in the Gaza Strip.

2004 109 Kurds are killed in 2 suicide bombings in Arbil, Iraq.
2004 Bomb on Moscow subway kills 41.
2004 Suicide bombings at Shia holy sites in Iraq kill 181 and wound more than 500.
2004 Attack on procession of Shia Muslims in Pakistan kills 43 and wounds 160.

An attack of an Istanbul restaurant on March 9, 2004 killed one, and injured five. Two militant Islamic fundamentalists, one calling himself Abdullah Islam, entered a restaurant frequented by freemasons in the Kartal district of Istanbul holding automatic weapons and strapped with 10 homemade pipe bombs on their flak jackets.
They shot the guard in his feet and entered the dining hall where they began shooting at 40 people in the room. They then detonated bombs at the entrance killing a waiter. In total, one dead, five injured. One of the militants died. one is in critical condition. This attack occurred 911 days since 9/11. http://www.winktv.com/x8791.xml
Turkey has five Masonic organizations dating back to the days of French and British influence. The organizations are said to have over 10,000 members total but they are mistrusted because of a perception of Jewish membership and rumors of Jewish ritual practices.
A statement was received by the newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi on March 11 which claimed that an al-Qaida affliated group, Jund al-Quds or Soldiers of Jerusalem had carried out the attack. The statement's primary purpose was to claim responsiblity for the March 11, 2004 Madrid attacks.

The 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks (also known as 11/3, 3/11 and 11-M) were a series of coordinated terrorist bombings against the commuter train system of Madrid, Spain on the morning of 11 March 2004, which killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800.

On 21 April 2004, a series of large bomb explosions ripped through Basra, Iraq. Initial casualty estimates put the dead at 68 with hundreds injured. In reality, 74 people died.
Three separate devices exploded outside police stations in central Basra; two in the Ashar area and one in the Old City. A fourth, separate attack also occurred around the same time in the town of Zubair. In the fourth attack, two car bombs exploded which killed three Iraqis and wounded five British soldiers of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, one seriously. In Basra, British forces trying to aid casualties were stoned by crowds, who blamed the Coalition, justifiably or not, for not doing enough to protect Iraqi citizens from such attacks.

2004 April 21 bombing of a security building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kills 5.

2004 Islamic militants seize hostages at a compound housing foreign oil workers in Saudi Arabia; at least 22 are killed.


2004-Over a hundred foreigners kidnapped in Iraq, some 28 murdered so far. Many by beheadings published over the web.

I have tried to only hit the main "low points" of Islamist terror through this small series of articles. I am sure there are more that I did not find.

RED

Islamist Terrorism through the new century, Part II

2002 Kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl

The Bali terrorist bombing occurred on October 12 2002 in the town of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people and injuring a further 209, most of whom were foreign tourists. A number of Indonesians were sentenced to death for their parts in the bombings, but those ultimately responsible have not brought to justice.
The bombing
At 11:05pm (1505 UTC) on 12 October 2002, an electronically triggered bomb ripped through Paddy's Bar, driving the injured out into the street. Approximately ten to fifteen seconds later, a second much more powerful car bomb concealed in a white Mitsubishi van exploded in front of the Sari Club. Windows throughout the town were blown out. Scenes of horror and panic inside and outside the bars followed, with many acts of individual heroism. The local hospital was unable to cope with the number of injured, particuarly burns victims. Many of the wounded, of all nationalities, were flown by the Royal Australian Air Force to hospitals in Darwin and other Australian cities.
The final death toll was 202, the majority of them holiday-makers in their 20s and 30s who were in the two bars. Many Balinese working in the bars were also killed. Hundreds more people suffered horrific burns and other injuries. The largest group among those killed were holiday-makers from Australia. The Bali bombing is sometimes called "Australia's September 11" because of the large number of its citizens killed in the attack.
The Zamboanga bombings are the October 17, 2002 explosions of two bombs in the main shopping district of the mostly Christian city of Zamboanga in the southern Philippines, killing six and wounding about 150, evidently a terrorist incident.
It was the second major bomb attack in southeast Asia in less than a week, following the October 11th Bali car bombing. Suspicion immediately focused Jemaah Islamiyah, an Islamic extremist group that is said to be working with Al-Qaida.
A day later October 18, 2002 Manila bus bombing killed three and wounded 22.
On March 4, 2003 a separate attack on an airport in Davao. Suspicion again fell on Jemaah Islamiyah


Moscow Theatre Siege
Moscow Theatre Siege in the news
During the Moscow Theatre Siege Chechen terrorists, led by Movsar Barayev, seized the House of Culture of the State Ball-Bearing Plant Number 1, a Moscow theater (so named because it was formerly owned by this bearing plant), during a sold out performance of Nord-Ost on Wednesday, October 23, 2002. Taking over 700 civilians--patrons and performers--hostage, they demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. Early Saturday morning, October 26, forces from Russia's elite Spetsnaz commando unit of the Federal Security Services (FSB) pumped sleeping gas (actually an aerosol) into the theater through a hole in the wall, and then stormed the building.
At least 50 terrorists and 120 hostages (official figures - 33 and 128 respectively) died in the raid or shortly thereafter. The terrorists were shot in the head. Two hostages were shot by terrorists, while the others died through a combination of the fentanyl-based aerosol, lack of food and water, and the lack of adequate medical treatment following the raid.
Barayev, nephew of a slain Chechen military leader, and approximately 50 heavily armed terrorists entered the theater during a crowded performance and threatened to execute hostages until Russian forces withdrew from Chechnya. Approximately half of the terrorists were women, which is highly unusual. Cell phone conversations with hostages trapped in the building revealed that the terrorists had grenades and other explosives strapped to their bodies, and had deployed more explosives throughout the theater, indicating that they would blow up the entire building if government security personnel attempted to attack.
A videotaped statement was acquired by the media, in which the terrorists indicated their willingness to die for their cause. In the first days, the terrorists released Muslim members of the audience, some of the children in the audience, and a man with a heart condition, but refused requests to release non-Russian nationals. Several hostages managed to escape through rear or side windows; others were shot at by the terrorists as they attempted to escape. One civilian woman from the outside was shot and killed by the terrorists when she tried to enter the theater.
On November 28, 2002, the Kenyan hotel bombing terrorist attack took place. Three suicide bombers detonated themselves at a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killing 13 other people, including three Israeli tourists who have been presumed to be the targets of the attack. At the same day two anti-aircraft missiles were fired at an Arkia Boeing 757 airliner, which only narrowly missed. The two attacks are suspected to be connected, and it is suspected that al-Qaeda may be involved in the attacks.
12 people were arrested in connection with the hotel bombing, including six Pakistanis and four Somalis, as well as an American and her Spanish husband, both of whom were later released.
Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for this attack on the Jehad.net website, which since had been taken down.

2003 Chechen militants carry out several deadly suicide bombings across Russia and nearby provinces, killing more than 250 people.

The Riyadh Compound Bombings took place on May 12, 2003, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These deadly attacks, attributed to al-Qaeda, were the first of several “spectacular attacks” carried out by that group in 2003, and the deadliest attack on Americans that year.
Early in May, the US State Department warned that terrorists were in the final stages of planning terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government also warned of this, and issued an alert for 19 men believed to be planning attacks.
Late on May 12, while much of Riyadh was asleep, three vehicles: a car, a pickup, and an SUV, drove through the streets of Riyadh. Their targets were three compounds: The Dorrat Al Jadawel, a compound owned by MBI International and Partners, the Al Hamra Oasis Village, and the Vinnell Corp. Compound, a compound owned by a Virginia-based defense contractor that was training the Saudi national guard. All contained large numbers of Americans and Westerners.
Around 11:15 PM, a car packed with explosives attempted to gain entry to the Jadawel compound. Guards opened fire, causing a small gunbattle with the suicide bombers. They then detonated their car, killing the three Saudi security guards.
At the Al Hamra Oasis Village and the Vinnell Corp. compound, the bombers shot the security guards outside the compound gates. They then opened the gates with the security controls and drove their trucks into the compounds. As they fired wildly, they screamed phrases like “Death to the Infidels!”. They then detonated both of their bombs, devastating the compounds.
26 people died, including 9 Americans. The nationalities of the other dead were seven Saudis, three Filipinos, two Jordanians, and one each from Australia, Britain, Ireland, Lebanon and Switzerland. In addition, 9 suicide bombers died, bringing the entire toll from the attacks to 35. More than 160 other people were injured, including more than two dozen Americans.
US President George W. Bush was informed of the attacks while on a national trip, and called them “ruthless murder.” Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah condemned the attacks as works of “monsters” and vowed to destroy the terrorist group that ordered them. After the attacks, Saudi Arabia began a harsh crackdown on terror, arresting more than 600 terrorist suspects and seizing bomb equipment, guns, bomb belts, and thousands of weapons meant for a terrorist campaign around the kingdom.
The US believes that al-Qaeda is behind the attacks, which did claim responsibility later. Attacks in Casablanca five days later led the US to raise its terror threat level from yellow to orange several days later.
There was one more large-scale attack in Saudi Arabia in 2003. On November 8, on the day the US State Department warned of further attacks in that country, a suicide truck bomb detonated outside the Muhaya Complex in Riyadh, killing 18 people and wounding 122. The attack killed all Arabs, many of them workers from Muslim countries such as Egypt and Lebanon. This attack turned some Muslim favor to al-Qaeda away, since they killed mostly Muslims.

Casablanca Attacks were a series of suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco that were the deadliest terrorist attacks in that country’s history. The attacks occurred five days after Western compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were bombed, killing 26 people.
On May 16, 14 members of the North African terrorist group Salafia Jihadia prepared for the bombings. They planned to hit Western and Jewish targets in the bustling tourist city of Casablanca. They apparently had been inspired to carry out their attacks sooner than expected after 3 Western compounds were bombed in Saudi Arabia on May 12.
The 14 bombers, most between 20 and 24 years old, struck at night on the 16th. Wearing grenades and explosives, several of the bombers knifed a guard at the Cafe de Espana restaurant, a Spanish-owned eatery in the city. They blew themselves up inside the building, killing 20 people, many of them dining and playing bingo. It was the deadliest of the bombings.
The five-star Hotel Farah was bombed next, killing a guard and a porter. Another bomber killed 3 Muslims as he attempted to bomb a Jewish cemetery. He was 150 yards away from the cemetery and likely lost, so he blew up by a fountain. Two bombers attacked a Jewish community center, killing no one because the building was closed and empty. It would have been packed the next day.
Another bomber attacked a Jewish-owned Italian restaurant, and another blew up near the Belgian consulate, killing 2 police officers. It was likely they were aiming at a different target.
In all, 12 bombers died, along with 33 civilians. Two bombers were arrested before they could carry out attacks. More than 100 people were injured. Eight of the dead were Europeans and the rest were Moroccan, angering many Muslims.
The motive behind the bombings was probably the fact that Morocco had a history of good relationship with Jews, and another motive was the US Invasion of Iraq.
World leaders condemned the attacks, coming on the heels of the Riyadh bombings. The King of Morocco toured the bombing sites and was cheered by crowds of people. Moroccan authorities arrested dozens of people in connection with the attacks, and began to put them on trial. Salafia Jihadia, an al-Qaeda-linked group, is suspected of sending out the bombers. It is believed Ansar al-Islam leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ordered the bombings in retribution for the invasion of Iraq.
It is interesting to note that inept planning and mistakes by the bombers probably saved dozens of lives.
On March 19, 2004, Belgian police arrested a suspect wanted by the Moroccan government in connection with the bombings

The Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, in the afternoon of August 19, 2003, killed at least 24 people and wounded over 100. The explosion damaged a spinal cord treatment center hospital nearby and the shockwave was felt a mile away. The United Nations had been using the building as its Baghdad headquarters since 1991.
The bombing
The explosion occurred while Benon Sevan, director of the "Oil for food" program, was holding a press conference. Sevan was among the wounded.
There is speculation that Vieira de Mello may have been specifically targeted in the blast due to the proximity of the truck to his office. The UN building may have been chosen due to its limited security. Although the UN is generally thought of as a neutral organization, it was not popular in Iraq due to its role in administration of the sanctions against Iraq in force since the end of the First Gulf War, which, according to UNICEF figures, were directly responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children and a huge rise in the mortality rate. The recent Security Council decision to retrospectively sanction the US occupation, a direct breach of the UN charter, has only added to the anger felt by many Iraqis towards the organization.
It was most likely caused by a suicide bomber driving a truck full of explosives. The vehicle has been identified as a 2002 large flatbed Kamaz (manufactured in Eastern Europe; part of the former Iraqi establishment's fleet). Investigators in Iraq suspect it was from old munitions, including a single 500-pound bomb. The materials may have been from Iraq's prewar arsenal. Investigators comment that such items would not require any "great degree of sophistication" to assemble.

Islamist Terrorism through the new century

2000 The last part of the 2000 celebration terrorist attacks plot fails, as the boat meant to bomb USS The Sullivans sinks


The USS Cole bombing was a suicide bombing attack against the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) that occurred on October 12, 2000.
Cole suffered severe damage in an attack when the ship was in the port of Aden, Yemen for a routine fuel stop. Cole completed mooring operations at 9:30 a.m. Refueling started at 10:30 a.m. At 11:18 p.m. Bahrain time (3:18 a.m. EDT), a small boat approached the port side of the destroyer, and an explosion occurred causing a 40-foot by 40-foot gash in the port side of the Cole. Damage control efforts to manage flooding in the ship's engineering spaces were reported successful that evening. Divers inspected the hull and said the keel was not damaged.
USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) and USS Hawes (FFG 53) made best speed to arrive in the vicinity of Aden that afternoon providing repair and logistical support. Additionally USNS Catawba (T-AFT 168), USS Camden (AOE 2), USS Anchorage (LSD 36), USS Duluth (LPD 6), and USS Tarawa (LHA 1) arrived in Aden some days later, providing watch relief crews, harbor security, damage control equipment, billeting, and food service for the crew of Cole.
Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 others were injured in the blast which blew a hole in the port side of the destroyer. The injured sailors were brought to the United States Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center near Ramstein, Germany, and were later flown to the U.S.
MV Blue Marlin carrying USS ColeM/V Blue Marlin carrying USS Cole.
Then-President Bill Clinton declared, "If, as it now appears, this was an act of terrorism, it was a despicable and cowardly act. We will find out who was responsible and hold them accountable." As defined under U.S. law, this attack was not an "act of terrorism," since it was an attack on a military target, no matter who the perpetrators may be. The popular media and many government agencies did not make this distinction and many consider the bombing to be terrorism. Regardless, no known direct military action was taken by the United States.
Cole was transported from Aden by the Norwegian heavy transport ship M/V Blue Marlin. She arrived in Pascagoula, Mississippi December 24, 2000.
On January 19, 2001, The Navy completed and released its Judge Advocate General Manual (JAGMAN) investigation of the incident, concluding that Cole's commanding officer "acted reasonably in adjusting his force protection posture based on his assessment of the situation that presented itself" when Cole arrived in Aden to refuel. The JAGMAN also concluded that "the commanding officer of Cole did not have the specific intelligence, focused training, appropriate equipment or on-scene security support to effectively prevent or deter such a determined, preplanned assault on his ship" and recommended significant changes in Navy procedures.
Deaths
Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, 21, of Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Electronics Technician Chief Petty Officer Richard Costelow, 35, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Monique Francis, 19, of Woodleaf, North Carolina
link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html.


Strasbourg cathedral bombing plot was a plan to blow up a cathedral in Strasbourg, France by Al-Qaida, a terrorist group.
In December 2000, German police uncovered the plot in Frankfurt and raided an apartment building, where they found arms and explosives. In London, England, United Kingdom, an Islamist preacher named Abu Qatada was arrested for the attack, but was released on a lack of evidence.
Italian police said that they wiretapped a telephone call related to the failure of the plot. This is the transcript.
Sami Ben Khemais: "There is danger. Members of the bin Laden cell in Frankfurt have been captured. I am warning you that they got half the group in Germany."
Tarek Maaroufi: "No!"
Khemais: "Yes. Did you understand me? They arrested our brothers in Germany and they found the arms warehouse in Germany, Frankfurt. You need a cover."
Maaroufi: "What do you mean? God be with you."
Khemais: "Did you understand me? You need a cover. You know how."


The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist suicide attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in the United States on September 11, 2001.
The attacks were the first highly lethal attack by a foreign force on the U.S. mainland since 1814. With a death toll of nearly 3,000, the attacks exceeded the toll of approximately 2,400 dead following the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the then-territory of Hawaii, which provoked U.S. entrance into World War II in 1941. Whereas Pearl Harbor was a military base attacked by military forces of a sovereign state, on this occasion the primary targets were civilians and conventional military forces were not used. (Although the Pentagon, a military target, was attacked, the terrorists used a hijacked civilian airliner to do so.) (no need to go in depth here, Red)

This article is about the Al-Qaida plot to destroy the United States embassy in Paris, France, as well as a munitions depot in Belgium. The NATO headquarters in Brussels was also possibly targeted.
The plot
The operation was based out of an apartment in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Rotterdam cell probably provided the false passports that were used in the assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud.
Tunisian Nizar Trabelsi, an ex-football player for Germany, planned the attack and was the designated suicide bomber. A gifted IT student named Kamel Daoudi led the cell and was the alleged bomb maker.
The plan called for a bomb to be built out of sulphur and acetone. Trabelsi planned to strap this bomb onto himself, and cover it up with a business suit. He would then detonate himself in the U.S. embassy.
Then, a van packed with explosives would be driven into the U.S. cultural center of Paris and the explosives inside would be detonated nearby Place de la Madeleine.
The confession that ended it
The plot began to unravel when a 36-year old French Algerian conspirator named Djamel Beghal was arrested in late July 2001 for passport fraud at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. He was trying to travel to back Europe on a false French passport after receiving training in Afghanistan. Trabelsi went to Brussels and disappeared.
Beghal confessed details of the plot after interrogation. Beghal said that he was relaying instructions from the top brass of Al-Qaida. He recanted parts of his confession after he went back to France, claiming that it had been given under duress. By August, the Dutch police wiretapped the Rotterdam cell.
The French government opened an inquiry into the plot on 10 September, 2001, one day before the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred. Surveillance had started that day on a group of suspected terrorists in Corbeil-Essone, France, near Paris.

2001 December 13, 2001 Terrorist attack on Indian Parliament

2001 Richard Reid, attempting to destroy American Airlines Flight 63, is subdued by passengers and flight attendants before he could detonate his shoe bomb

Singapore embassies terrorist attack plot
Al-Qaida and Jemaah Islamiyah planned to bomb the embassies of the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Israel in Singapore and several other targets in Singapore.
The plan
On 7 October, 2001, a 30-year old Indonesian using a false Filipino passport and a Kuwaiti on a false Canadian passport were sent to Singapore to activate a sleeper cell.
According to the Singaporean government, at least eight of sleeper cell members were trained in Afghanistan, and none of them went to the local mosque or even made contact with any local Islamic organizations.
The two men that came, Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi, known as Mike, and a man known as Sammy, were taken to videotape the U.S. and Australian embassies. Philippine authorities said that Al-Ghozi had three Philippine passports and an Indonesian passport.
The cell members then set off to find 21 tons of explosives, along with trucks and chemicals.
How it failed
After September 11, an informant told the Singaporean Internal Security Department about Muhammad Aslam Yar Ali Khan, a Singaporean of Pakistani descent who was a member of a group partnered with Al-Qaida. He was placed under surveillance, and he left for Pakistan on October 4. The man was captured by Northern Alliance officials. His interrogation led investigators to the Singapore cell.
The arrests of 13 people began in December 9. Soon after that, a video found in an abandoned house in Kabul, Afghanistan showed a narrator in Singapore that was describing about how bombs could be hidden to attack Americans. Investigators found similar tapes at the residences of the arrested men.
In all, 33 men were arrested in relation to this plot.
The Ghriba Synagogue Attack was a deadly bombing carried out in Tunisia by the al-Qaeda terrorist group.
On April 11, 2002, a natural gas truck fitted with explosives drove past security barriers at the ancient Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba. The truck detonated at the front of the synagogue, killing 14 German tourists, six Tunisians, and one Frenchman. More than 30 others were wounded.
Although the attack was initially called an accident, as Tunisia, France, and Germany investigated, it became clear the attack was deliberate. A 24 year-old man named Nizar Nawar apparently was the suicide bomber, who carried out the attack with the aid of a relative. An audio tape later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it "sent Germany a message."
Many people were arrested over the bombing.

the morning of June 14, 2002, a truck with a fertilizer bomb driven by a suicide driver was detonated outside the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. 12 people were killed and many more injured. All were non-Americans.
It led to an increase in security in US bases throughout Pakistan.
A group called al-Qanoon claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the incident is believed to have been connected with al-Qaeda and the US War on Terror.

The Limburg tanker boming involved the october 6, 2002 bombing of the Limburg, a French oil tanker.
On that day, the ship was carrying 397,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran to Malaysia. While it was stationed in the Gulf of Aden off of Yemen to pick up more oil, a small dinghy laden with bombs rammed into the starboard side of the tanker and detonated. The ship was on fire and 90,000 barrels of oil leaked out. A 38-year old Bulgarian crew member named Atanas Atanasov died, and other crew members were injured.
The ship's fire was put out. It was towed to Dubai, United Arab Emirates four days later.
The damage was worth about 45,000,000 United States dollars.
Al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jehad.net website, which had since been shut down.

Major Palastinine attacks since Oslo

March 14, 2004
Ashdod
10 killed, 16 wounded
Hamas and Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Twin suicide bombings at port

February 22, 2004
Jerusalem
8 killed, over 60 wounded
Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Suicide bombing on bus
January 29, 2004

Jerusalem
10 killed, 50 wounded
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Suicide bombing on bus

October 4, 2003
Haifa
19 killed, 60 wounded
Islamic Jihad
Suicide bombing in restaurant owned by Jews and Arabs

September 9, 2003
Tel Aviv
8 killed, 32 wounded
Hamas
Suicide bombing at a hitchhiking post for soldiers

September 9, 2003
Jerusalem
7 killed, 50 wounded
Hamas
Suicide bombing at Cafe Hillel

August 19, 2003
Jerusalem
22 killed, 135 wounded
Hamas
Suicide bombing on a bus

January 5, 2003
Tel Aviv
23 killed, 108 injured
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Two suicide bombers in an immigrant neighborhood

June 19, 2002
Jerusalem
7 killed, 50 injured
Suicide bombing at a bus stop

June 18, 2002
Jerusalem
19 killed, 74 were injured
Hamas
Suicide bombing on a bus

June 5, 2002
Megiddo
17 killed, 38 injured
Islamic Jihad
Car bomb next to bus

May 27, 2002
Petah Tikvah
2 killed, 37 injured
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Suicide bomb in shopping mall

May 22, 2002
Rishon Lezion
2 killed, 40 wounded
Suicide bomb on pedestrian mall

May 19, 2002
Netanya
3 killed, 59 injured
Hamas and the PFLP
Suicide bomb in market

May 7, 2002
Rishon Lezion
16 killed, 55 injured
Hamas
Suicide bomb in pool hall

Apr 12, 2002
Jerusalem
6 killed, 104 injured
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Suicide bomb in Mahane Yehuda market

Apr 10, 2002
Kibbutz Yagur
8 killed, 22 injured
Hamas
Suicide bombing on bus

March 31, 2002
Haifa
14 Killed, 40 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide bombing at restaurant

March 29, 2002
Jerusalem
2 killed, 28 Wounded
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Suicide bombing at supermarket in Kiryat Yovel

March 27, 2002
Netanya
22 killed, 140 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide bombing at Passover seder at Park Hotel

March 21, 2002
Jerusalem
3 killed, 86 Wounded
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Suicide bombing downtown

March 20, 2002
Afula
7 killed, 30 wounded
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Suicide bombing on bus

March 14, 2002
Karni-Netzarim road
3 Killed, 2 Wounded
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Remote Control Mine

March 12, 2002
near Kibbutz Matzuva
6 Killed, 7 Wounded
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Gunmen Ambush Vehicles
March 12, 2002
Kiryat Sefer checkpoint
1 Killed, 1 Wounded

Shooting Attack
March 11, 2002
Ashdod
1 Wounded

Gunman Opens Fire at Bar Mitzvah
March 10, 2002
Netzarim
1 Killed
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Shooting Attack

March 9, 2002
Jerusalem
11 Killed, 54 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber at Cafe

March 9, 2002
Netanya
2 Killed, 50 Wounded
Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
2 Gunmen Open Fire on a Promenade

March 7, 2002
Atzmona
5 Killed, 23 Wounded
Terrorist Opens Fire and Throws Grenades

March 7, 2002
Ariel
>6 Wounded

Suicide Bomber in Hotel Lobby
March 5, 2002
Sderot
1 Baby Wounded

Kassam Rocket
March 5, 2002
Afula
1 Killed, 10 Wounded

Suicide Bomber on Bus
March 5, 2002
Tel Aviv
3 Killed, >35 Wounded

Gunman Opens Fire at Restaurants
March 5, 2002
outside Bethlehem
1 Killed, 1 Wounded

Gunman Ambushes Vehicle
March 2, 2002
Jerusalem
10 Killed, >50 Wounded
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Suicide Bomber outside Synagogue

February 27, 2002
West Bank
3 Wounded
Fatah
Female Suicide Bomber

February 25, 2002
Jerusalem
1 Killed, 8 Wounded
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Gunman Opens Fire at a Bus Stop

February 25, 2002
Gush Etzion
1 Killed, 1 Pregnant Woman Wounded
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Gunmen Open Fire on a Car

February 22, 2002
Efrat
1 Wounded
Suicide Bomber in Supermarket

February 22, 2002
North of Jerusalem
1 Killed
Fatah
Drive-by Shooting

February 19, 2002
En Arik
6 Killed, 1 Wounded
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Gunmen Open Fire at Soldiers

February 18, 2002
Gush Katif
3 Killed, 4 Wounded
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Gunfire and Bombs at Cars

February 18, 2002
near Jerusalem
1 Killed, 1 Injured
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Car Bomb

February 16, 2002
Karnei Shomron
2 Killed, 27 Wounded
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Suicide Bomber at Crowded Shopping Mall

February 14, 2002
Gaza
3 Killed, 4 Wounded
Mine Placed Under Tank

February 10, 2002
Be'er Sheva
2 Killed, 4 Wounded
Hamas
Drive-by Shooting

February 8, 2002
Jerusalem
1 Killed
4 Teenagers with Knives

February 6, 2002
Moshav Hamra
2 Killed, 5 Wounded
Hamas
Gunmen Infiltrates Moshav

January 30, 2002
Taiba
2 Wounded
Fatah
Suicide Bomber

January 27, 2002
Jerusalem
1 Killed, >150 Wounded
Fatah
Female Suicide Bomber

January 25, 2002
Tel Aviv
24 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Suicide Bomber at Crowded Pedestrian Shopping Mall

January 22, 2002
Jerusalem
2 Killed, 40 Wounded
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Guman Opens Fire on Crowd

January 17, 2002
Hadera
6 Killed, 35 Wounded
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
Gunman Opens Fire at Bat Mitzvah Celebration

January 15, 2002
Beit Jala
1 Killed
Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
American Kidnapped and Murdered

January 9, 2002
Kerem Shalom
4 Killed, 2 Wounded
Hamas
Gunfire and Expolsives

December 12, 2001
Emmanuel
10 Killed, 30 Wounded
Fatah & Hamas
Bomb and Gunfire Attack on Bus

December 9, 2001
Haifa
31 Wounded
Suicide Bomber

December 2, 2001
Haifa
15 Killed, 46 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber on Bus

December 1, 2001
Jerusalem
10 Killed, >188 Wounded
Hamas
2 Suicide Bombers and a Car Bomb in a Pedestrian Mall

November 29, 2001
near Hadera
3 Killed, 9 Wounded
Islamic Jihad & Fatah
Suicide Bomber on Bus

November, 27, 2001
Afula
2 Killed, Dozens Wounded
Islamic Jihad & Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
2 Gunmen Opened Fire on Crowd near the Central Bus Station

November, 27, 2001
Gush Katif
1 Killed, 3 Wounded
Hamas
Grenades and Gunfire

November 26, 2001
Erez Checkpoint
2 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber
November 24, 2001

Kfar Darom
1 Killed
Hamas
Morter Shell Landed on a Soccer Field

November 4, 2001
Jerusalem
2 Killed, >50 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Gunman
October 28, 2001
Hadera
4 Killed, 40 Wounded
Gunman

October 28, 2001
near Kibbutz Metzer
1 Killed
Tanzim
Drive-By Shooting

October 17, 2001
Jerusalem
Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi Assasinated
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Gunmen in Hotel

October 7, 2001
Beit She'an Valley
1 Killed
Suicide Bomber

October 4, 2001
Afula
3 Killed, 16 Wounded
Gunman Opens Fire on Crowd
October 1, 2001
Jerusalem
Several Wounded

Car Bomb
September 9, 2001
Nahariya
3 Killed, 90 Wounded
Hamas
1st Israeli-Arab Suicide Bomber, at Train Station

September 9, 2001
West Bank
2 Killed, 4 Wounded
Gunmen
September 4, 2001
Jerusalem
20 Wounded

Suicide Bomber disguised as Orthodox Jew
September 3, 2001
Jerusalem
3 Wounded
Series of Car Bombs

August 12, 2001
Kiryat Motzkin
21 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Suicide Bomber at Cafe

August 9, 2001
Jerusalem
15 Killed, >130 Wounded
Islamic Jihad & Hamas
Suicide Bomber at Pizzaria

July 16, 2001
Binyamina
2 Killed, 11 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Suicide Bomber at Bus Stop

June 22, 2001
Dugit
2 Killed
Hamas
Suicide Bomber

June 1, 2001
Tel Aviv
21 Killed, 120 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber at Disco

May 30, 2001
Netanya
8 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Car Bomb outside School

May 27, 2001
Jerusalem
30 Wounded
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine & Islamic Jihad
2 Car Bombs

May 25, 2001
Hadera
65 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Car Bomb

May 18, 2001
Netanya
5 Killed, >100 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber at Mall

May 9, 2001
Tekoa
2 Killed
Islamic Jihad
Two 14 year-old Boys Beaten and Stoned to Death, found dismembered in a Cave

April 23, 2001
Or Yehuda
8 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Car Bomb in Outdoor Market

April 22, 2001
Kfar Saba
1 Killed, 60 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber at Bus Stop

March 28, 2001
near Kfar Saba
2 Killed, 4 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber at School Bus Stop

March 27, 2001
Jerusalem
7 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Car Bomb

March 27, 2001
Jerusalem
28 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber

March 26, 2001
Hevron
10-Month Old Infant Shalhevet Pass Killed

Sniper from Abu Sneineh
March 4, 2001
Netanya
3 Killed, >65 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber

February 14, 2001
Azor
8 Killed, 21 Wounded
Hamas
Bus Driver Plows into Crowd

January 23, 2001
Tulkarem
2 Killed
Hamas
Gunmen Kidnap and Shoot 2 Israelis

January 1, 2001
Netanya
>50 Wounded
Hamas
Car Bomb

December 22, 2000
Jordan Valley
>3 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber

November 22, 2000
Hadera
2 Killed, 55 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Car Bomb next to Bus

November 20, 2000
Kfar Darom
2 Killed, 9 Wounded
School Bus Bombed

November 2, 2000
Jerusalem
2 Killed, 10 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Car Bomb in outdoor Market

October 26, 2000
Gaza
1 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Youth Suicide Bomber on Bike

November 7, 1999
Netanya
27 Wounded
Hamas
3 Pipe Bombs

August 10, 1999
Nahshon Junction
6 Wounded
Hamas
Car Plows into Crowd (Twice)

November 6, 1998
Jerusalem
2 Killed, 20 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
2 Suicide Bombers

October 29, 1998
Gush Katif
1 Killed, 8 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber Attacks School Bus

October 19, 1998
Be'er Sheva
59 Wounded
Hamas
Grenades Thrown at Central Bus Station

October 11, 1998
Hevron
18 Wounded
Hamas
2 Grenades Injure Palestinians and Israelis

August 27, 1998
Tel-Aviv
14 Wounded
Hamas
Bomb In Dumpster

August 20, 1998
Tel Rumeiyda
Rabbi Killed
Hamas
Fire Bomb & Stabbing

September 4, 1997
Jerusalem
4 Killed, 181 Wounded
Hamas
3 Suicide Bombers at Pedestrian Mall

July 30, 1997
Jerusalem
15 Killed, 178 Wounded
Hamas
2 Suicide Bombers at Outdoor Market

March 21, 1997
Tel-Aviv
3 Killed, 48 Wounded
Hamas
Bomb at Restaurant

March 4, 1996
Tel Aviv
20 Killed, 75 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Suicide Bomber at Mall

March 3, 1996
Jerusalem
19 Killed, 6 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber on Bus

February 25, 1996
Ashkelon
2 Killed
Hamas
Suicide Bomber at Bus Stop

February 25, 1996
Jerusalem
26 Killed, 80 Wounded
Hamas
2 Suicide Bombers on Bus

July 24, 1995
Ramat Gan
6 Killed, 31 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber on Bus

June 25, 1995
Neve Dekalim
3 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Explosives-ladden Cart

April 9, 1995
Gaza
8 Killed, 50 Wounded
Hamas & Islamic Jihad
2 Suicide Bombers

January 22, 1995
Beit Lid Junction
21 Killed, 69 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
2 Suicide Bombers at Bus Stop

December 25, 1994
Jerusalem
13 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber at Bus Stop

November 11, 1994
Netzarim Junction
3 Killed, 6 Wounded
Islamic Jihad
Suicide Bomber on Bike

October 19, 1994
Tel Aviv
22 Killed, 56 Wounded
Hamas
Suicide Bomber on Bus

October 9, 1994
Jerusalem
2 Killed, 14 Wounded
Hamas
2 Gunmen Open Fire

April 13, 1994
Hadera
5 Killed
Hamas
Suicide Bomber

April 6, 1994
Afula
8 Killed
Hamas
Car Bomb next to Bus