Man Tells Cops Unicorn Caused Crash

Yahoo! News

BILLINGS, Mont. - A man told police not to blame him for crashing his truck into a light post — it was that unicorn behind the wheel. Prosecutor Ingrid Rosenquist said Phillip C. Holliday Jr. initially denied driving the truck involved in the March 7 crash in Billings. He told officers at the scene that a unicorn was driving, she said.

Yes, he was drunk. This was also his 5th DUI.

As someone who has been hit my a drunk driver, I think the punishments are not severe enough. The guy that hit me was charged with DUI, hit-skip, no license, & no insurance. His legal status in this country is also questioned. He served 60 days for the DUI and 30 days for the hit-skip, plus various fines and court costs. The $500 deductible had to come out of my pocket and the chances that my insurance company will ever recover any money is slim.

When someone gets behind the wheel of a 1 ton vehicle while intoxicated, anything can happen. At some point, shouldn't the driver be charged with attempted murder?

 

Technorati tags: Drunk Driver, DUI, Unicorn

Good News From The War on Terror 3/11-3/13

IRAQ

IRAQI ARMY STOPS 27 TERRORIST CELL MEMBERS IN AS SADIYAH

AS SADIYAH, Iraq – The 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi army, in partnership with a military transition team from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, conducted operations against specific terrorist cells Thursday through Saturday in As Sadiyah, Iraq, in the interest of improving stability for the area’s residents.

During the operation, 16 anti-Iraqi forces were killed and 11 suspected terrorists were detained. The detainees will be processed for further questioning.

The IA exploited a cache consisting of a sniper rifle, a mortar sight, a hand grenade, five AK-47s and improvised explosive device-making materials.

“The Iraqi army continues to distinguish itself through vigilance and values.  Their selfless service to the people of Diyala is providing confidence and security to the people while they improve their skills, knowledge and attributes as a professional organization,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, 3-1 Cav. commander and senior U.S. Army officer in Diyala Province.

The soldiers also discovered and defused an IED which could have been used to target other innocent people or security forces.

After the operation, the IA provided medical care to citizens with minor medical issues, and passed out supplies to the local population.

The commander of the IA battalion also met with the As Sadiyah mayor and police chief in hopes of building a partnership to sustain the security and stability of the region.

“The ISF is improving everyday while securing the population and defeating a determined enemy,” Sutherland said.

FOREIGN TERRORIST FACILITATORS CAPTURED IN IRAQ RAIDS

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces captured 15 suspected terrorists during operations Sunday morning targeting al-Qaida in Iraq and foreign fighter facilitators.

Early morning operations conducted by Coalition Forces west of Abu Ghurayb led to the capture of a suspected foreign terrorist facilitation network leader and one of his associates.

Four suspects were detained northwest of Karmah and three suspects were detained in Fallujah, all with alleged ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq and foreign fighter facilitation.

Northeast of Al Asad, three suspects who allegedly operate an al-Qaeda associated foreign fighter training camp were detained.

Coalition Forces also captured three suspected al-Qaeda members operating west of Taji.

"Coalition Forces are working diligently to eliminate al-Qaeda and foreign facilitation networks in Iraq," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.  "These networks are a hindrance to the peace and stability the Iraqi people deserve."

COALITION FORCES CAPTURE 22 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS IN IRAQ

BAGHDAD, Iraq –Coalition Forces captured 22 suspected terrorists during operations Monday morning targeting al-Qaeda and foreign fighter facilitators.

During operations in Mosul, Coalition Forces captured four suspected terrorists allegedly involved in the planning of improvised explosive devices attacks on friendly forces.

A senior foreign fighter facilitator was captured north of Habbaniyah, and two suspects who are reportedly involved in weapons facilitation were detained in Baghdad.

Northeast of Tarmiyah, Coalition Forces captured thirteen suspected terrorists with alleged involved in weapons movement and foreign fighter facilitation.

South of Amiriyah, two suspected terrorists with alleged ties to foreign fighter facilitation and weapons movement were also detained.

“Coalition Forces will continue deliberate and methodical operations in order to pursue, capture or kill terrorists trying to prevent a peaceful and stable Iraq," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.

COALITION FORCES CONTINUE TO PRESSURE BAGHDAD VBIED NETWORK

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Soldiers from eight brigade combat teams completed a nine-day sweep throughout Baghdad to disrupt the Baghdad vehicle borne improvised explosive device network on March 10. 

The operation was designed to attack the terrorist command and control

structure organizing and financing the deadly car bomb attacks.  

Over the course of the operation which began March 2 Coalition forces and Iraqi security forces struck 82 precision targets.  As a result, 24 terrorists were killed; four wounded and 90 suspected terrorists were detained.  Several of those detained were members of Al-Qaeda.

Coalition Forces also found or captured many weapons caches to include:

• 2 aircraft bombs
• 1 500-lb MK-82 bomb
• 50 155mm artillery shells
• 1 complete 82mm mortar system with over 100 rounds
• 4 122mm rockets
• 1 DSHKA heavy machine gun
• 6 rocket propelled grenades
• 2 RPK light machine guns
• 27 AK-47 assault rifles, five bolt action rifles
• 2 shotguns
• 6 pistols
• Numerous ammunition and other bomb making materials. 
  

The operation coined as Arrowhead Strike 8 included Soldiers from 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division; 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division; 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division; 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division; 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division; 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division; 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division; and other Special Operations Forces. 

"We wanted to put pressure on the entire network at one time" said Colonel Steve Townsend, Commander of 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

"We think the number of detainees we have should shake things up a bit.

Although car bombing has continued in recent days, their effectiveness against civilians has significantly decreased," said Colonel Townsend.

 

Technorati tags: Iraq, Good News, American, Coalition, Military, War on Terror, Terrorists, Insurgents

Short Memories on U.S. Attorney Dismissals

 Today

The U.S. attorneys, the chief federal law enforcement officials in their various districts, typically are appointed to four-year terms by the president on the recommendation of state political leaders, but serve the pleasure of the president and can be dismissed at any time - like the attorney general and other Cabinet officers.

Democrats in Congress have charged that the eight dismissals announced last December were politically motivated and some of those fired have said they felt pressured by powerful Republicans in their home states to rush investigations of potential voter fraud involving Democrats.

Perino said Sampson, the aide Miers contacted, objected that a wholesale change of prosecutors would be disruptive. She also said deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, vaguely recalls telling Miers that he also thought firing all 93 was ill-advised.

[...]

The new revelations Monday evening came after congressional Democrats earlier in the day singled out Rove for questioning about the firings of the eight prosecutors and whether the dismissals were politically motivated.

Those demands to question Rove signaled anew Democrats' shifting focus beyond the Justice Department and toward the White House in the inquiry.

1993

But something quite amazing was omitted by those hard-charging Post reporters Dan Eggen and John Solomon digging through White House E-mails for their scandalized front-page bombshell. Didn’t Bill Clinton’s brand new Attorney General Janet Reno demand resignations from all 93 U.S. attorneys on March 24, 1993? Wouldn’t that fact be relevant to the story? Wouldn’t it have the effect of lessening the oh-my-God hyperbole on the front page if the reader was shown that what Bush did was one-tenth as dramatic as what Team Clinton did? Yes, and yes.

Bush’s attorney general fired eight. Clinton’s fired 93. The media think the eight dismissals were a scandal so massive some have begun calling on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign. But they thought the 93 Clinton firings were not worth investigating for the length of a cigarette break. Can a liberal double standard be any more obvious?

[...]

Worse yet, in the middle of this episode of amnesia, ABC brought on George Stephanopoulos – who defended the Clinton firings as the White House spokesman in 1993 – to describe this as an urgent matter putting pressure on Karl Rove to testify before Congress and for Gonzales to resign!

But surely the media gave the Reno order equal, if not ten-fold coverage back in ‘93, right? Think again. ABC never reported it. The New York Times front-page headline yawned: "Attorney General Seeks Resignations from Prosecutors." (At least an editorial the next day blasted Reno’s move as "an odd first step in the wrong direction.")

The Washington Post demonstrated a much richer double standard. While the Post has filed six heavy-breathing front-page stories on their newest Bush scandal, back in 1993, the story was over within a day or two. They reported Janet Reno’s purge on the front page, utterly without suspicion: "The Clinton administration yesterday requested that the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys submit their resignations, a move that likely will mean the quick departure of two figures who have played prominent roles in the politics of the District and Virginia."

[...]

The Post noted mildly that the canned D.C. prosecutor was Jay Stephens, who was right in the middle of investigating corrupt Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, the man who was sure to play a major role in passing Hillary’s socialist health-care plan.

Once again we have the Democrat double standard. What's OK for them, is WRONG for you. Yet mindless people keep electing them.

 

Technorati tags: US Attorney, Bush, Clinton, Attorney General, Rove, Democrats, Republicans, Janet Reno

More On Iran vs. Russia

Iran deplores Russia's decision not to ship nuclear fuel on time

BUSHEHR, Iran (AP) - Iran's top nuclear negotiator on Tuesday deplored Russia's decision not to ship nuclear fuel to Iran as agreed, a move that delays the start of Iran's first nuclear power plant.

"This (Russian decision) shows that there is no such thing as a guarantee to deliver nuclear fuel," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ali Larijani as saying Tuesday.

The Russian move, announced Monday, means that Iran's first nuclear reactor will not come on stream in September, as scheduled. This is a major political blow to Iran which expected the commissioned power plant to boost its position in long-running negotiations with the United Nations over its nuclear program.

"Russians are extortionists," the Iranian legislator Rasoul Sediqi Bonabi said Tuesday. "Moscow has never been a reliable partner and will never be so in the future."

Russia's federal nuclear agency, Rosatom, said Monday it was postponing the March shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran because the country had failed to pay for work on the Russian-built reactor outside this southern Iranian city.

Iran rejected the Russian claim, saying it has fulfilled all its financial obligations.

This is getting good. I can't wait for the next installment of this drama.

 

Technorati tags: Russia, Iran, Nuclear

Russia Warns Iran Of 'Irreversible Consequences':

Yahoo! News

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia warned Iran on Tuesday of "irreversible consequences" for the Bushehr nuclear power station project should Tehran fail to resolve a financing dispute, state-run RIA Novosti reported.

"We cannot wait longer for a decision by the Iranian side," Vladimir Pavlov, director for Russian contractor Atomstroiexport's Bushehr work, was quoted as saying. "Delays in restarting the financing will bring irreversible consequences."

Like I said before, the only thing that will prevent Iran from becoming nuclear is lack of funds. I think this is Russia's way of saying, "Pay up or we don't block U.N. Resolutions".

 

Technorati tags: Iran, Russia, Nuclear, Consequences

Top U.S. General Apologizes For Speaking The Truth

Reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, tried on Tuesday to calm anger that erupted after he described homosexual acts as immoral, saying he was expressing only his personal views.

Gay rights activists and Democrats criticized the chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff for his comments and a veteran Republican senator voiced his disagreement.

"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune published on Tuesday.

"I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is okay to be immoral in any way."

Anyone that is a Christian, believes the same way. For someone like Gen. Pace who believes he serves God and country, this should not be a surprise.

 

Technorati tags: Joint Chiefs, Gen. Pace, Homosexuals, Marine

Pelosi Realizes No One Outside SF Likes Her

Pelosi hears boos at AIPAC

Members of the main pro-Israel lobbying group offered scattered boos to a statement by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the Iraq war has been a failure on several scores. 

The boos, mixed with some polite applause, stood in stark contrast to the reception House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) received minutes earlier. Most of the crowd of 5,000 to 6,000 stood and loudly applauded Boehner when he said the U.S. had no choice but to win in Iraq. 

Pelosi and Boehner were speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual meeting. AIPAC has not taken a position on the war in Iraq or the supplemental spending bill to be considered this week by the House Appropriations Committee, but much of Boehner’s speech was about the future of the Iraq conflict. 

Boehner sought to link the fight in Iraq to the future of Israel, as he said a failure in Iraq would pose a direct threat to Israel. 

When will this horrible woman go away. She's probably one of the worst things to happen to America. I'm glad I don't live in San Francisco because it's obvious most of those people are out of their mind.

 

Technorati tags: AIPAC, Pelosi, Liberal, Iraq, Boehner, Boos, Israel

U.N. Security Council Moves Closer to Sanctions Package for Iran

I bet Iran is really concerned over this. The only thing slowing down Iran's nuclear program is lack of money.

FOXNews.com

The major powers moved closer to agreement Monday night on a modest package of new sanctions against Iran likely to include an embargo on Iranian arms exports and an asset freeze on more individuals and companies associated with Tehran's nuclear and missile programs.

A new sanctions resolution is also likely to include a ban on government loans to Iran, council diplomats said. But a travel ban is out, and there will likely be no ban on arms imports or on export credit guarantees for companies doing business in Iran.

Ambassadors from the five veto-wielding permanent Security Council nations — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — and Germany emerged from a closed-door meeting far more optimistic than ever before but also cautious because of potential problems with every proposal in the package.

The ferocious U.N. Security Council in action. I can't understand why these countries never submit to their demands. It couldn't be because of inaction, but I'm sure there is a good reason.

 

Technorati tags: Iran, Nuclear, United Nations, U.N., Security Council, Sanctions, Useless, Resolution

Liberal Poster-boy, George Soros Buys Halliburton Stock!

Soros buys Halliburton | FP Passport

Mike Boyer

Normally, I'm willing to overlook the hypocrisy of the liberal elite. If Al Gore and his Hollywood cronies want to fly around on gas-guzzling, atmosphere-polluting private jets while railing against global climate change, I'm willing to overlook it.

But the latest move by globe trotting, hyper-liberal billionaire George Soros borders on being too much. According to papers filed with the SEC, in the fourth quarter of 2006 Soros purchased nearly 2 million shares of ... hold your breath ... Halliburton. The Halliburton shares reportedly went for an average purchase price of $31.30 a share. That puts Soros' total investment in Halliburton at around $62.6 million, or about 2 percent of his total portfolio.

Soros, of course, is the dean of Democratic money giving. And Halliburton, of course, is the company that embodies everything the Democrats see as evil. Dick Cheney is its former chief, for goodness' sake. But Soros is also a man of contradictions. He supported campaign finance reform for years, only to declare that defeating President George W. Bush was the "central focus" of his life. To prove it, he sunk $24 million of his own "soft" money into the 2004 campaign, helping make that election one of the most divisive in modern history.

Soros' position in Halliburton is reported to be his first, which means he bought it with a full understanding of Halliburton's reputation. Soros may not see a problem with profiting from a company that has been accused of everything from sweetheart deals to cooking the books to serving U.S. troops lousy food in Iraq. The real question, however, is whether MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress, and other organizations that have benefited from Soros' charity will see a problem with accepting money earned off Halliburton shares?

This is really too good to be true. All these left-wing loonies have been screaming about how Halliburton is the devil. They can't say Halliburton without saying no-bid contracts in the same sentence, even though the Clinton administration had the same agreement.

 

Technorati tags: Democrats, Liberal, Halliburton, Stock, George Soros, Hyprocrisy, MoveOn.org

House GOP Finally Stands Up

House GOP protest Muslim seminar on Hill

WASHINGTON - A House Republican leadership group said Monday that Democrats should retract an offer to let the nation's largest Islamic civil liberties organization use a Capitol conference room for a seminar.

The House Republican Conference referred to the Council on American-Islamic Relations as "terrorist apologists" and called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to cancel the forum scheduled for Tuesday.

"Democrats arrange official meeting with pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah group in U.S. Capitol," headlined a Conference press release carrying a Washington Times article on the planned meeting.

"It's really disappointing," said CAIR national communications director Ibrahim Hooper, that whenever there's an attack from elective officials "we don't even ask any more which party it is. It should be a concern to ordinary Republicans that the party is being viewed as a reservoir of anti-Muslim hate."

It's amazing there are some Republicans that are able to say "NO". I was beginning to think it was outlawed. These terrorist sympathizers have no place in America, much less our gov't buildings.

 

Technorati tags: GOP, Republicans, House of Representatives, CAIR, Terrorists, Sympathizers, Islam

More Fallout From Walter Reed

Army Surgeon General Kiley Retires Amid Walter Reed Medical Center Furor

WASHINGTON —  The Army's top medical official has submitted his request for retirement to Pentagon officials amid a broadening scandal over poor health care for veterans returning from Iraq.

All signs were pointing to Army Surgeon General Kevin C. Kiley 's early retirement, which he made official by submitting paperwork on Sunday. Before becoming the Army's surgeon general, he was the top official in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. A series of news reports by The Washington Post in February showed poor treatment and neglect of outpatient soldiers at the hospital, and the stories have precipitated a major shake-up at the Pentagon.

"I submitted my retirement because I think it is in the best interest of the Army," Lt. Gen. Kiley said in a statement.

He said he wanted to make room for officials "to focus completely on the way ahead and the Army Action Plan to improve all aspects of soldier care."

Well we're getting closer to a thorough cleaning of the Walter Reed administration. The sad part is, those who are taking over having a lot of work to do.

 

Technorati tags: Walter Reed, Army, Surgeon General, Kiley, Pentagon

Iranian Official: "300" Insults Persian Civilization

Iranian official lashes out at Hollywood movie "300" for insulting Persian civilization

An Iranian official on Sunday lashed out at the Hollywood movie "300" for insulting the Persian civilization, local Fars News Agency reported.

Javad Shamqadri, an art advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused the new movie of being "part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological war aimed at Iranian culture", said the report.

Shamqadri was quoted as saying "following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hollywood and cultural authorities in the U.S. initiated studies to figure out how to attack Iranian culture," adding "certainly, the recent movie is a product of such studies."

The movie's effort wound be fruitless, because "values in Iranian culture and the Islamic Revolution are too strongly seated to be damaged by such plans", said the Iranian official.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I plan to. It looks great. As for the Iranian crybabies, we will insult you all we want, and there's nothing you can do about it.

 

Technorati tags: Iranian, Persian, 300

Russians: Iran nuke plant to be delayed

Not because it's the right thing to do, but because of missed payments.

Yahoo! News

MOSCOW - The state-run Russian company building Iran's first nuclear power plant said Monday that the reactor's launch will be postponed because of Iranian payment delays.

"It will be impossible to launch the reactor in September, and there can be no talk about supplying fuel this month," Atomstroiexport said in a statement that followed the collapse of bilateral talks last week on the funding dispute.

 

Technorati tags: Russia, Iran, Nuclear

Montel Williams Ambushes Military Families

Another Reason Not to Trust the Media -Spouse Buzz Via Hot Air 

The trouble started during the second taping, when we learned that Montel's agenda with military people wasn't what it had been portrayed to be when our group was invited to attend.  And as military families have been burned so often by unscrupulous media members (I'm not attacking the ones who work professionally here!), we probably should have sensed it from the beginning.  We were going to be ambushed.

As soon as the opening tape began to roll, hubby and I were uncomfortable.  Montel was using this episode to discuss the debilitating illnesses some military members have suffered from anthrax inoculations.  Using footage with the flag and men in uniform, Montel referred several times to military members being "guinea pigs", repeated several times about the mandatory vaccine which he presented as going to everyone with no one being able to refuse it.

[...]

And while the issue of the anthrax vaccine is a very real one and one that needs to be addressed further, Montel Williams chose to use this subject to ambush a military group (which included women whose husbands were currently deployed to Iraq).  The sudden ambushing of such an emotionally charged subject, combined with the portrayal of our military members as total victims (which included Montel's assertion that the military was being treated so terribly that no one would volunteer again and the draft would have to be reinstated) was an emotional manipulation and degradation of the very military members that were supposedly being lifted up.  The blatant emotional manipulation and doomsday scenarios implied by the footage shown reduced more than one attending wife to tears. 

Finally, we all got up and left during a break before the taping was over.  And I should probably add that there was a quite acrimonious exchange with Montel that resulted in one person being escorted out  by the show security (who were very polite and professional, for the record).  I did say, "You told us this was going to be about deployment, Montel!" to which the reply was, "Please, just leave."  If there was any discussion of how deployment issues affect family members after we left, it happened without us.  All I can say is that the direction and tone of the show definitely made it look like the topic was not going to come up.

I guess what's left to ask is, what do you expect from someone whose featured guest is a phony psychic named Sylvia Browne.

 

Technorati tags: Montel Williams, Talk Show, Military, Ambush

Kucinich Camp Actually Has SOME Sane Thoughts

Cancelled Presidential debates smack of manipulation by ‘run and hide’ candidates

 

The cancellation in the past two days of two planned nationally televised debates because of candidates’ “scheduling conflicts” and unwillingness to participate smacks of “manipulation by some candidates who would rather run and hide than defend their records and their positions on the war,” Ohio Congressman and Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said today while campaigning in Texas.

Widely publicized Presidential debates in New Hampshire in April and in Nevada in August were cancelled after some candidates either backed out after agreeing to participate or declined invitations to attend.

“Whatever their excuses, some candidates are clearly trying to avoid any head-to-head public debate where they will have to answer tough questions -- questions about their votes in favor of the Iraq war, their votes in favor of trade policies that have wiped out millions of American jobs, their votes in favor of abridging Constitutional rights by approving the Patriot Act, and their collaboration with insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations to deny Americans adequate health care protection.”

Kucinich said “it’s an insult to the voters, and the height of cynicism, for candidates to refuse to take the public stage and subject themselves to public scrutiny.”

The New Hampshire debate was announced on January 12. Only two days ago, Kucinich pointed out, did some candidates back out because of “scheduling conflicts.”

“Is it possible that the real conflict was having to take the stage to defend their votes to fund the war?” Kucinich asked. Votes in the House and the Senate on a $100 billion supplemental appropriation are expected soon.

Other candidates were trying to sidestep the Nevada debate because they claimed that the sponsoring television network, Fox News Channel, was conservatively biased.

“If you want to be the President of the United States, you can’t be afraid to deal with people with whom you disagree politically,” Kucinich said. “No one is further removed from Fox’s political philosophy than I am, but fear should not dictate decisions that affect hundreds of millions of Americans and billions of others around the world who are starving for real leadership.”

Kucinich said “the public deserves honest, open, and fair public debate, and the media have a responsibility to demand that candidates come forward now, before the next war vote in Congress, to explain themselves.”

“I’m prepared to discuss the war, health care, trade, or any other issue anytime, anywhere, with any audience, answering any question from any media. And any candidate who won’t shouldn’t be President of the United States.”

Like I said,  SOME sane thoughts. This is pretty much right on with the reasons the Dems are refusing debate. Most of the press will give them a pass, so they really have nothing to lose from hiding.

 

Technorati tags: Kucinich, Democrats, Debate, Presidential Candidates, Fox News