November 1, 2007
Michael Yon reports on a meeting held between US forces and the Iraqi Islamic Party, whose spokesman comes from a politically influential tribe in Iraq. At the meeting, Yon noticed that the usual singular focus on security issues has declined to a lower-priority agenda item, and that rebuilding issues now receive the most attention. The IIP spokesman explained why: “Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated,” according to Sheik Omar Jabouri, spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic Party and a member of the widespread and influential Jabouri Tribe. Speaking through an interpreter at a 31 October meeting at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters in downtown Baghdad, Sheik Omar said that al Qaeda had been “defeated mentally, and therefore is defeated physically,” referring to how clear it has become that the terrorist group’s tactics have backfired. Operatives who could once disappear back into the crowd after committing an increasingly atrocious attack no longer...
Hillary Clinton's campaign admitted the scope of her debate debacle in a conference call with supporters yesterday. Despite raising the most amount of money in the campaign thus far -- well over $80 million -- they implored backers to start getting even more money for the work necessary to reverse the damage she did this week: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) top advisers, doing damage control after the candidate’s debate performance Tuesday, told supporters on a conference call Wednesday that the campaign needed more money to fight back. Mark Penn, Clinton’s senior strategist and pollster, and Jonathan Mantz, the campaign’s finance director, told the supporters on the call, which The Hill listened to in its entirety, that they expect attacks from Clinton’s rivals to continue, and she will need the financial resources to deflect their attacks. Clinton came under withering assault in the Philadelphia debate, and some supporters on the...
America has a problem in filling in its front-line positions in a war zone. Volunteers have not materialized, and the mission faces collapse without the numbers necessary for success. The leaders have determined that the Charlie Rangel approach has become necessary -- and the rank and file have begun to mutiny. Are we talking about the Army? The Marine Corps? No, their re-enlistment rates and recruitment goals show no troubles -- unlike at the State Department: Uneasy U.S. diplomats yesterday challenged senior State Department officials in unusually blunt terms over a decision to order some of them to serve at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad or risk losing their jobs. At a town hall meeting in the department's main auditorium attended by hundreds of Foreign Service officers, some of them criticized fundamental aspects of State's personnel policies in Iraq. They took issue with the size of the embassy -- the...
Eli Lake offers a recap of the Democratic approach to Iran, calling it the "ask nicely" approach. Leading Democrats in Congress and in the presidential primaries have latched onto the word "diplomacy" as if it has never been tried with Teheran. They offer no reason to hope that another round of sweet talk alone would have any more success than previous attempts: Finally, at least for Democrats who say they are nominally interested in halting the Mullah quest for nukes, there is the Mohammed ElBaradei option. Perhaps, the time is ripe, as the director general of the International Atomic Energy told CNN on Sunday, for "creative diplomacy." Time to lower the temperature and accept for now Iran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the cooperation they promised back in 2003. Senator Boxer, a Democrat from California, is intrigued. She said everyone wants to avoid a confrontation with Iran. "We don't...
The 2007 Weblog Awards team has announced the finalists in the various categories -- and Captain's Quarters has the honor in being named a finalist in two categories, Best Blog and Best Conservative Blog. Voting begins tonight and will run through next week. In fact, the winners will be announced at the Blog World Expo, where I will be next week as a speaker, an exhibitor, and as an excited attendee. I will be there to represent BlogTalkRadio, of course, and on both days will participate in panel discussions. On Thursday, I'll talk about "Raising the Level of Discourse in the Political Blogosphere," and on Friday my panel will discuss "Political Blogs and the Political Press: From Antagonists to Co-Players?" I'm looking forward to seeing the winners announced Thursday night -- and to meeting bloggers from across the spectrum during the conference. There is still room and still time to...
People complain that Hollywood doesn't recognize the heroism and sacrifices of our men and women in the military, preferring to focus on contrived plots about misconduct and torture instead. One man in Hollywood has responded to that challenge. Kevin Major Howard, who played Rafter Man in Full Metal Jacket, has converted two of his classic roadsters into racing tributes to Marines who have given their lives in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The effort of Fuelled By The Fallen is explained in their video: Howard has come up with a unique and memorable way to honor the Marines who have given their lives for their country, as well as those still serving now in OIF. They need some corporate sponsorship to keep their efforts alive, and they have begun to have some success. Warner Brothers, which produced FMJ, has included the Memorial Car in its upcoming 20th-anniversary DVD release. They can use...
In 1996, Alan Greenspan warned that “irrational exuberance” contributed to an overvaluation of the stock market during the days of the dot-com boom. A few years later, events proved him correct. Now according to a poll taken by USA Today, the majority of the country has descended into pessimism about the nation and its direction on a number of fronts — economic, security, political, and in foreign affairs. Could this be the opposite of irrational exuberance? At Heading Right, I wonder what could be bumming out America, given the objective measures of success. It certainly appears to be at least a non-rational response, and I ask what common national experiences could have that kind of influence. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?...
As the casualty rates in Iraq for American and Iraqi soldiers continue to decline, the focus shifts to civilian casualties. In order to stabilize the country, the security forces have to drive attacks and deaths down to the point where native security forces can take control and allow the US to concentrate on rebuilding efforts. In October, the Coalition showed continued progress towards that goal, with civilian casualties dropping to a level not seen since 2005: Iraq's civilian body count in October was less than half that at its height in January, reflecting both the tactical successes of this year's U.S. troop buildup and the lasting impact of waves of sectarian death squad killings, car bombings and neighborhood purges. ... American commanders credit the buildup, which reached full strength in June, with slowing sectarian bloodshed. They say the decision to send 28,500 more troops to Iraq has made a difference...
Note: This post will remain on top until show time; newer posts may be found below. Today on Heading Right Radio (2 pm CT), we'll talk with Carol Platt Liebau, whose new book Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America, Too!) takes on the current culture of oversexualization. Why has the pejorative "prude" taken on worse connotations than "slut"? Why do preadolescent girls now routinely dress in provocative clothing that would have given pause to adult women a generation ago -- and how does that harm girls and women? Rick Moran of Right Wing Nut House (and BTR!) joins us in the second half to talk about his post about Ron Paul, the Hillary Clinton meltdown, the LA Times non-story, and more! Also joining us will be Patterico from Patterico's Pontifications, who has closely followed the LAT and New Rupblic stories. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! And...
Media Matters insists that it has no intention of supporting a candidate, but it's hard to tell that from its content. As Jonah Goldberg noted, the site went into a full-throated defense of Hillary Clinton by attacking Tim Russert for ... well, asking questions about issues: After the October 30 Democratic presidential debate, numerous media figures commented that co-moderator Tim Russert had acted as, in the words of The New York Times, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (NY) "third toughest opponent on the stage." During the debate, Russert asked a total of 30 distinct questions (not including follow-up questions). Fourteen were either questions directed to Clinton or questions directed to other candidates about Clinton. Many media outlets took note of Russert's focus on Clinton. Russert has received media attention for his conduct toward Clinton in previous debates as well, including criticism following a debate he moderated in 2000, when Clinton was...
According to one of Hillary Clinton's donors, the Department of Justice has begun investigating the candidate's fund-raising activities. The AP reports that the DoJ came calling to one donor whose contribution came among many from New York's Fujian community, which have come under as much scrutiny as those bundled by the notorious Norman Hsu. However, the story shows a potential glaring error on the part of the New York Post's reporting on the story: On the wall of Hsiao Yen Wang's apartment, a cramped, 17th-floor public housing unit on the city's Lower East Side, are photographs of her husband, David Guo, a cook who specializes in Fujian cuisine. One photo stands out: Guo shaking Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's hand, a memento from a $1,000-a-person fundraiser for the New York senator held in New York's Chinatown last April. Last week, Wang got another memento — a calling card from a Justice...
Hey, New York! Guess who the Dodgers found looking for a job? Joe Torre was hired Thursday to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking the job two weeks after walking away from the New York Yankees. Torre moved from one storied franchise to another, getting a three-year contract. He takes over a team that finished fourth in the NL West this season and hasn't won the World Series since 1988. The 67-year-old Torre becomes the Dodgers' eighth manager since they moved west from Brooklyn for the 1958 season. Torre grew up in Brooklyn, rooting for the rival New York Giants and detesting the Dodgers. "As a kid growing up, you didn't like them," Torre said on WFAN radio in New York less than an hour before the hiring was announced. "As a player, to me the Dodgers were the Yankees of the National League because ... you either loved them...
November 2, 2007
The Islamists in Pakistan's Swat region have taken some tough blows in the past few days, losing over 70 fighters while their leader, Maulana Fazlullah, ran off to avoid the Pakistani Army. They desperately need some good publicity and a way to undermine military morale. Capturing dozens of soldiers would certainly do the trick -- but faking it might be easier: Islamic militants said Friday they had freed 48 government troops after they surrendered during fighting in northwestern Pakistan, a region increasingly falling under the control of extremists who are challenging Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. ... They escorted journalists to two-story concrete building in the town of Charabagh to show off 48 men said to have surrendered during the fighting. Most were described as paramilitary troops from the Frontier Corps, and were freed later. "We have surrendered to these mujahedeen," said Barkat Ullah, 24, who, like other captives, was...
Ruth Marcus doesn't care much for the post-debate spin coming from Hillary Clinton or her spin teams. In a mild rebuke, Marcus tells Clinton that acting like a damsel in distress hardly helps uphold the feminist ideal. Instead of crying sexism, Clinton should revel in her front-runner status: The Hill newspaper, listening in on a conference call with Clinton fundraisers, quoted chief strategist Mark Penn being even more explicit about the "backlash" he was detecting among female voters: "Those female voters are saying, 'Sen. Clinton needs our support now more than ever if we're going to see this six-on-one to try to bring her down.' " Please. The Philadelphia debate was not exactly a mob moment to trigger the Violence Against Women Act; if anything, this has been an overly (pardon the phrase) gentlemanly campaign to date. Those other guys were beating up on Clinton, if you can call that...
The NTSB's working theory on the St. Anthony Bridge collapse involves design flaws and overloading, according to comments by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters. That prompted questions by two state legislators about the role of maintenance and whether a lack of it didn't also have some role to play in the collapse, but Peters said that the legislators have misinterpreted her remarks (via Mitch): The top federal transportation official said that investigators have a "working theory" of why the 35W bridge collapsed in August: a poorly designed metal component called a gusset plate and excessive weight on the bridge that day. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters' comments Thursday mirrored statements she made in August, a week after the collapse, and like her previous comments immediately led to controversy. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the collapse, has said a formal finding will not be available for at least a...
Barack Obama sat down with the New York Times to discuss his views on Iran, and how he has the policy that will unlock the stalemate with the mullahs. However, what the Times and Obama fail to realize is that Iran has heard the proposal before from the US and others. They didn't take it when we offered it then, and they don't appear prepared to do so now, either: In an hourlong interview on Wednesday, Mr. Obama made clear that forging a new relationship with Iran would be a major element of what he pledged would be a broad effort to stabilize Iraq as he executed a speedy timetable for the withdrawal of American combat troops. Mr. Obama said that Iran had been “acting irresponsibly” by supporting Shiite militant groups in Iraq. He also emphasized that Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program and its support for “terrorist activities” were serious...
The 2007 Weblog Awards polls have opened! Cast your votes for your favorite blogs in a number of categories. Each person can cast one vote per day per category, which means you can spend the next week visiting the excellent site created by Kevin Aylward of Wizbang in Movable Type's new 4.0 system. Captain's Quarters has the honor of being nominated in two general categories -- Best Blog and Best Conservative Blog. I'll leave the link to vote at the top of the Crow's Nest for the week,along with the graphic to remind people to keep voting -- but don't forget that the best part is checking out new blogs and new voices. Explore the blogosphere and hopefully find a couple of new friends in the process!...
Pork-barrel politics hits the front page of the Washington Post today, with a look at what Jeff Flake once called the "earmark incubator", Concurrent Technologies. The defense contractor that John Murtha helped birth and keeps well fed turns out to be a charity case -- a real charity case, recognized as one by the IRS. Its tax-exempt status turns out to be only one of the oddities surrounding this pork warehouse: Behind the rise of Concurrent is Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, who helped arrange funding to launch the organization in 1988. Murtha has since arranged millions of dollars more in directed congressional appropriations called earmarks. Now Concurrent has nearly $250 million in annual revenue and 1,500 employees. Concurrent is a prime example of how to marry entrepreneurial savvy, influence on Capitol Hill and arcane procurement rules to create budget magnets in...
Yesterday, I wrote about the blinkered pessimism Americans have adopted of late. At Heading Right, I parsed a USA Today poll that showed voters despondent over the political and economic direction of the country -- despite continuing strong growth and a dramatic improvement in Iraq. New data continues to show the irrationality of the mood, as jobs have expanded again and unemployment remains at near-record lows: U.S. employment soared at its fastest pace in five months in October led by strong gains in services, easing concerns about the state of the economy and suggesting further Federal Reserve rate cuts are highly unlikely in the near term. Meanwhile, factory orders managed a small gain during September, a welcome surprise amid indications the manufacturing sector and economy in general are slowing. Nonfarm payrolls rose 166,000 in October, the Labor Department said Friday, up from September's 96,000 gain, which was revised down by...
President Bush just added another resident to Vetoland, this resident being the water projects bill that got saturated with pork-barrel projects in conference. Despite having enough votes to override his veto, Bush sent the bill back as a protest against its escalating earmarks: An increasingly confrontational President Bush on Friday vetoed a bill authorizing hundreds of popular water projects even though lawmakers can count enough votes to override him. In doing so, Bush brushed aside significant objections from Capitol Hill, even from Republicans, in thwarting legislation that provides projects for a host of aims, including those that would repair hurricane damage, restore wetlands and prevent flooding in communities across the nation. ... The $23 billion water bill passed in both chambers of Congress by well more than the two-thirds majority needed to vacate a veto and make the bill law. Bush objected to the $9 billion in projects added during...
NOTE: This post will ride on top until the start of the show. Newer posts may be found below. Today on Heading Right Radio (2 pm CT), Duane "Generalissimo" Patterson of the Hugh Hewitt Show joins us to review the week's top stories. We're going 90 minutes again, and we have plenty of topics to cover. How badly did Hillary damage her candidacy at the debate this week? Will Obama's silliness on Iran help right Hillary's ship? How much lower do casualties in Iraq have to drop before it makes a sound in the mainstream media? Has the corner been turned on pork? All of that and much, much more, including the sneak peak at tonight's Hugh Hewitt show! Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! And don't forget to join our chat room! Did you know that you can listen to Heading Right Radio through your TiVo service? Click here...
On Monday, I issued a challenge to six Democratic presidential candidates to reach across the aisle and appear on Heading Right Radio to broaden their message to Americans across the political spectrum. This challenge came out of a great discussion we had on the Heading Right Radio show that day about the impulse towards echo chambers in American politics. After considering the issue after the end of the show, I wrote: In order to improve the tone, I've decided to invite the Democratic presidential candidates to appear on Heading Right Radio for an interview and a chance to speak to the reasonable, rational people of the center-right and conservativism. Those who have heard my interviews know that I allow guests to speak their minds, do not interrupt, and treat them with respect even when I disagree with them. With that in mind, I have sent e-mail requests for these interviews...
Instapundit calls this a dog-bites-man story, but it does have a twist. Instead of the Media Research Center issuing a report on media bias, today's study comes from another bastion of conservative thought: Harvard University. Not only did the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy find that the media treats Democrats better than Republicans, it also finds that the media gives more air time to the Democrats as well: Just like so many reports before it, a joint survey by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy — hardly a bastion of conservative orthodoxy — found that in covering the current presidential race, the media are sympathetic to Democrats and hostile to Republicans. Democrats are not only favored in the tone of the coverage. They get more coverage period. This is particularly evident on morning...
November 3, 2007
Pervez Musharraf has declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, apparently not content to wait for the Supreme Court decision on his presidential election victory last month. So far, he has given no reason for the declaration, although the military activity in Swat and Waziristan is presumably the basis: President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, state TV said, ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win. The report gave no reason for the emergency but it follows weeks of speculation that the president — who is also chief of the army — could take the step, amid rising political turmoil and Islamic militant violence. "The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order," a newscaster on Pakistan TV said. Musharraf had awaited a decision from the Supreme Court...
Last week, I got off to a slow start in the Project Valour-IT fundraising competition, lingering at the dock while my Navy teammates struggled. After finally raising the sails, I'm happy to report that the Navy team has moved into .... third place. The Army and the Marine Corps teams still have a lead on us, but we've got a good wind now and we're closing the gap. If you haven't yet done so, be sure to help the Navy team push into the lead. But whichever team you support, all of us win. Project Valour-IT helps our wounded warriors of all branches by purchasing laptops for severely wounded service members. As of October 2007, Valour-IT has distributed over 1500 laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines across the country. Help the people who gave their bodies and their health to keep this nation secure and strong --...
Chuck Schumer had pressed the Bush administration to nominate Michael Mukasey as Attorney General after the departure of Alberto Gonzales, only to see his fellow Democrats rip Mukasey apart over waterboarding. With leading Democrats insisting that they would oppose Mukasey, everyone waited to see whether Schumer would disavow the man on whom he had insisted, or find the courage to stand on his own to support the man he championed. In the end, Schumer found a third way -- by finding a wingman: The nomination fight over attorney general nominee Michael B. Mukasey effectively came to an end yesterday, as two key Senate Democrats parted from their colleagues and announced their support for the former judge despite his controversial statements on torture. The orchestrated announcements by Sens. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) virtually guarantee that Mukasey will be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, to...
The Northern Alliance Radio Network will be on the air today, with our six-hour-long broadcast schedule starting at 11 am CT. The first two hours features Power Line's John Hinderaker and Chad and Brian from Fraters Libertas. Mitch and I hit the airwaves for the second shift from 1-3 pm CT, and King Banaian and Michael Broadkorb have The Final Word from 3-5. If you're in the Twin Cities, you can hear us on AM 1280 The Patriot, or on the station's Internet stream if you're outside of the broadcast area. Today, Mitch and I will talk about how the mean men gang up on Hillary Clinton in debates. We'll also talk about the unusual place where Chuck Schumer found his testicular fortitude on Michael Mukasey, and much much more! Be sure to call 651-289-4488 to join the conversation!...
Reacting to pressure from public-interest groups as well as criticism from fellow Democrats, the Clintons have decided to open Hillary's White House records to the public by the end of February. The Clinton library will break the seals and begin publishing records in January, and all records will likely be available by the time the primaries have settled the question of the Democratic nomination: The Clinton library is readying a trove of detail about Hillary Rodham Clinton's eight years as first lady in the White House for release in late January, government lawyers said in a court filing. ... Even so, the documents appear likely to become public within a month of their release by the archives, as the general election heats up in February. The New York Democratic senator faces growing questions about her husband's resistance to releasing some documents from the Clinton administration, which ended nearly seven years...
The Times of London answers the question in an editorial today -- when one has invested in defeat. The "Petraeus Curve" has exposed defeatists in Britain and the US, and as a result, no one wants to talk about the obvious and significant progress being made in Iraq. Success, it seems, has become too embarrassing for the media and some politicians to acknowledge (via Memeorandum): In Iraq, it seems good news is deemed no news. There has been striking success in the past few months in the attempt to improve security, defeat al-Qaeda sympathisers and create the political conditions in which a settlement between the Shia and the Sunni communities can be reached. This has not been an accident but the consequence of a strategy overseen by General David Petraeus in the past several months. While summarised by the single word “surge” his efforts have not just been about putting...
It really looked like the Irish had their act together. They finally started running the ball, improving over their league-last 34 yards per game to well over 200 yards. They played ball control but managed to toss the ball as well. Unfortunately, despite playing against an undersized Navy team, the defense couldn't keep the Midshipmen out of the end zone, either, sending the game into three overtime sessions. The Fighting Irish simply couldn't keep their 43-year winning streak alive: It took 44 years and three overtimes for Navy to beat Notre Dame. The Midshipmen snapped an NCAA-record 43-game losing streak to the Fighting Irish with a 46-44 victory today in triple overtime. Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada threw a 25-yard TD pass to Reggie Campbell on the first play of the third overtime, then found him again in the end zone for the 2-point conversion. Notre Dame cut the lead to two on...
November 4, 2007
Pervez Musharraf's seizure of power yesterday did not extend as far as feared, but instead falls in a legal gray area. The assemblies continue to operate and the status of press freedom remains unchanged, according to the Guardian's Ali Eteraz. However, Musharraf appears to have taken a page from Shakespeare's Henry VI, and rounded up all the lawyers: Traditionally, a PCO [Provisional Constitutional Order] is an order which suspends the constitution and dissolves all fundamental rights as well as legislation and judiciary, installing martial law. Except that Musharraf's PCO only dissolves the judiciary (for overstepping its limits and interfering with the war on terror) while leaving the Assembly intact. The limited scope of the PCO means the current situation is something less than martial law. Yet it cannot rightly be called an emergency either, because that does not involve a PCO. This in-between situation is being called "emergency plus". ......
The Washington Post front-pages a story about a Fred Thompson friend who has a drug dealing conviction from 24 years ago. Apparently looking for a Norman Hsu analog in the Republican primaries, Matthew Mosk tells all about Philip Martin and his private jet service to Thompson, but pushes the age of the conviction down a few paragraphs into the story (via Memeorandum): Republican presidential candidate Fred D. Thompson has been crisscrossing the country since early this summer on a private jet lent to him by a businessman and close adviser who has a criminal record for drug dealing. Thompson selected the businessman, Philip Martin, to raise seed money for his White House bid. Martin is one of four campaign co-chairmen and the head of a group called the "first day founders." Campaign aides jokingly began to refer to Martin, who has been friends with Thompson since the early 1990s, as...
Democrats have objected to the Bush administration's pursuit of sanctions against Iran as a precursor to war. They have ignored the Iranian intransigence on nuclearization and treated the White House as the source of the problem. In doing so, they have given signals to Russia and China to continue their obstructionism on sanctions at the UN Security Council. Jim Hoagland explains why Russia, China, and the Democrats are pushing the Bush administration to the war option as the sole remaining recourse: And by mid-November, Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will report on whether the Iranians will now admit that they received and then developed P-2 centrifuges and got other nuclear technology from Pakistan, as was reported in this column in 1995 and as the IAEA has charged since 2002. This is one basic that Bush critics frequently overlook -- in part because it gets lost in...
The Washington Post reported on Friday that the past two leaders of the Consumer Product Safety Commission have traveled extensively on the dime of the industry they regulate. Working from FOIA requests, Elizabeth Williamson discovered nearly $60,000 worth of junkets provided to acting chair Nancy Nord and her predecessor Hal Stratton from 30 trips to places like Hong Kong and a golf resort in Hilton Head (via the Political Machine): The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards. The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency's acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal...
Republicans and Democrats alike share one common impulse in Congress: to pork up any appropriation that exits the legislature. One might think that this impulse would get diminished in a time of war, especially regarding defense appropriations. Instead, the opportunity to earmark for their own political purposes grows more attractive given the vital nature of the underlying appropriation. This year, over $3 billion in pork will get attached to the defense appropriation bill representing 1,337 separate earmarks -- and that's just in the House version: Even though members of Congress cut back their pork barrel spending this year, House lawmakers still tacked on to the military appropriations bill $1.8 billion to pay 580 private companies for projects the Pentagon did not request. Twenty-one members were responsible for about $1 billion in earmarks, or financing for pet projects, according to data lawmakers were required to disclose for the first time this...
The removal of the Taliban ended the brutal application of shari'a law that resulted in executions, mutilations, and oppression for Afghanistan's adults. Now a new study by Johns Hopkins University shows that the destruction of the Taliban saves thousands of children every year through access to modern medicine. The mortality rate for children under five years of age dropped by 25% in the five years since 2001: Close to 90,000 children who would have died before age 5 in Afghanistan during Taliban rule will stay alive this year because of advances in medical care in the country, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday. The under-5 child mortality rate in Afghanistan has declined from an estimated 257 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2001 to about 191 per 1,000 in 2006, the Ministry of Public Health said, relying on a new study by Johns Hopkins University. The U.N. and aid agency...
November 5, 2007
The debacle continues in Pakistan, as police beat and arrested lawyers protesting the emergency rule of Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad today. The Islamist party leader Liaqat Baloch estimates that 500 members have been imprisoned, a fate he narrowly avoided by fleeing Lahore: Legions of police firing tear gas and swinging batons clashed with lawyers Monday as security forces across Pakistan blockaded courts to quash protests against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency. At least 350 were detained. In the biggest gathering, about 2,000 lawyers congregated at the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore. As lawyers tried to exit onto a main road to stage a rally in defiance of a police warnings not to violate a ban on demonstrations hundreds of officers stormed inside. Police swung batons and fired tear gas shells to disperse the lawyers, who responded by throwing stones and beating police...