Yeah, I miss him. I think the world is beginning to as well.

HT: Ace of Spades

As remote as it is, I shudder uncontrollably at the thought of Bin Laden being taken alive by the Obama administration.

ISLAMABAD — After a prolonged lull, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has launched a series of covert operations in the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan following strong tip-offs that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been criss-crossing the area in the past few weeks for high-profile meetings in militant redoubts.

The US has been on Bin Laden’s trail ever since he fled Afghanistan when the US invaded the country in 2001 to oust the Taliban, but the 54-year-old with a US$50 million reward on his head has always remained several steps in front.

Asia Times Online has learned that decision-makers have put a lot of weight on the information on Bin Laden’s movements as it has come from multiple intelligence agencies, in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. For at least two years, little credible news has emerged of Bin Laden’s movements and motives. Now, intelligence officials believe they have top-grade accounts as they come from the inner circles of militant camps.

Officials are said to be “stunned” by the visibility of Bin Laden’s movements, and their frequency, in a matter of a few weeks in the outlawed terrain of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the most unprecedented reports about him since he evaded the US in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan in 2001.

Keep reading…

The next thing you know I’m going to tell you water is wet.

(Aaron Klein) — President Obama once boasted of consulting a radical on immigration issues who later admitted that granting citizenship to millions of illegal aliens would expand the “progressive” electorate and help ensure a “progressive” governing coalition for the long term.

A widely circulated video clip of Obama making a campaign stop at an event for the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, shows the then-candidate telling the nation’s second-largest union, “Your agenda has been my agenda in the Senate.”

While the video received play during the 2008 presidential election campaign, there is one section that may warrant renewed scrutiny in light of a separate, second video that recently surfaced involving the individual being referenced by Obama.

Obama boasts to the SEIU about how he consulted the group’s officials while he was in the Senate.

“Before immigration debates took place in Washington, I talked with Eliseo Media and SEIU members,” Obama said.

Medina is SEIU’s international executive vice-president.

In February 2010, WND posted video of Medina stating that a bill to document an estimated 12 million illegal aliens could help ensure “progressive” rule.

“We reform the immigration laws, it puts 12 million people on the path to citizenship and eventually voters,” stated Medina.

Medina was speaking at a June 2009 Washington conference for the liberal America’s Future Now!

Medina said that during the presidential election in November 2008, Latinos and immigrants “voted overwhelmingly for progressive candidates. Barack Obama got two out of every three voters that showed up.

“Can you imagine if we have, even the same ratio, two out of three? Can you imagine 8 million new voters who care about our issues and will be voting? We will be creating a governing coalition for the long term, not just for an election cycle.”

Keep reading…

Reagan didn’t call Gaddafi the “mad dog of the Middle East” for nothing.

(CBS News) — On “Face the Nation” airing Sunday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told CBS News chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer that intelligence reports indicate Muammar Qaddafi’s forces are planting dead bodies of civilians at sites attacked by coalition forces.

“We do have a lot of intelligence reporting about Qaddafi taking the bodies of the people he’s killed and putting them at the sites where we’ve attacked,” Gates told Schieffer in an interview taped Saturday.

Gates stressed that coalition forces have been “extremely careful in this military effort” and commended coalition air forces saying, they “have really done an extraordinary job.”

Schieffer asked Gates if the Qaddafi regime is planting bodies at more than one location. While acknowledging that bodies have been moved to more than one location, Gates could not say how many.

Wait, we invaded Libya?

It’s one thing to misspeak (as Schultz is prone to do), it’s another to use it in the title of your latest Huff Po piece.

This is one ballsy (and beautiful) woman.

Full transcript here…

Here’s a choice nugget where she chastises the mullah for not doing anything about his fellow clerics who rape young boys.

Mufti Sahab, first, I would like to respond to all your questions. As far as Islamic religion is concerned — Islam is a vast religion. Islam also means that I am the sole provider for my five sisters and my brother, and I have paid for their education.

Also, as long as you are talking about Islam, let met tell you that you are not allowed to set eyes on me in my present condition. You should be punished in public, because charity begins at home. Clerics may look at a woman once, but if they look at her a second time, they must be punished. You deserve to be punished, because you are not allowed to look at me in this condition.

Secondly, if you want to do something for the glory of Islam, you have plenty of opportunities. What are the politicians doing? Bribery, robbery, theft, and killing in the name of Islam. There are many things to talk about. Why Veena Malik? Because Veena Malik is a woman? Because Veena Malik is a soft target for you? What has Veena Malik done? Did Veena Malki lip-lock? Did Veena Malik wear shorter clothes than what Pakistani actresses wore in India in the past? Why Veena Malik, Mufti Sahab?

There are many other things for you to deal with. There are Islamic clerics who rape the children they teach in their mosques, and so much more.

Sorry unionists, party’s over.

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House delivered a major blow to public employee unions Friday, approving a bill that would ban automatic dues deduction from a government paycheck and require members to sign off on the use of their dues for political purposes.

Democrats and Republicans fought over the legislation for just under two hours. Democrats and labor unions have accused conservatives of “union-busting” and said the bill was more about political payback than public policy. Unions have typically been big backers of Democratic candidates.

Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, the House sponsor of the legislation, said this was simply the state’s movement to get out of the dues deduction business and let the unions take care of it.

“It’s a bill that empowers membership of labor unions,” Dorworth said.

The measure, HB 1021, passed by a 73-40 vote, with three Republican lawmakers siding with the Democrats.

High road all the way.

(POLITICO) — Sarah Palin took to Twitter and Facebook Saturday to mourn the passing of Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman on a national ticket who “broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more.”

“My family and I would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of Geraldine Ferraro,” Palin, the second-ever woman on a national ticket, wrote on her Facebook page, about a half-hour after she tweeted about the “sad” passing of Walter Mondale’s running mate.

“When I had the honor of working alongside Geraldine on election night last year, we both discussed the role of women in politics and our excited expectation that someday that final glass ceiling would be shattered by the election of a woman president. She was an amazing woman who dedicated her life to public service as a teacher, prosecutor, Congresswoman, and Vice Presidential candidate. She broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more. The world will miss her. May she rest in peace and may her example of hard work and dedication to America continue to inspire all women.”

(more…)

Both vids are excellent; the money quote is in the second.

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Imagine if Dick Cheney had done this. They kept him in the closet to “keep him from mingling with high-powered guests gathered for a Democratic fundraiser.”

(Drudge Report) — Staffers with Vice President Joe Biden confined an Orlando Sentinel reporter in a closet this week to keep him from mingling with high-powered guests gathered for a Democratic fundraiser.

Reporter Scott Powers was the designated “pool reporter” for the vice president’s Wednesday visit to the massive Winter Park, Fla., home of developer and philanthropist Alan Ginsburg. The veep hadn’t arrived yet but most of the 150 guests (minimum $500 donation) had. They were busy noshing on caprese crostini with oven-dried mozzarella and basil, rosemary flatbread with grapes honey and gorgonzola cheese and bacon deviled eggs, before a lunch of grilled chicken Caesar and garden vegetable wraps.

Not so for Powers. A “low-level staffer” put Powers in a storage closet and then stood guard outside the door, Powers told the DRUDGE REPORT. “When I’d stick my head out, they’d say, ‘Not yet. We’ll let you know when you can come out.’”

And no crustini for Powers, either. He made do with a bottle of water to sip as he sat at a tiny makeshift desk, right next to a bag marked “consignment.” Powers was closeted at about 11:30 a.m., held for about an hour and 15 minutes, came out for 35 minutes of remarks by Biden and Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida Democrat, and then returned to his jail for the remainder of the event.

Powers’ phone didn’t work in the closet, but his Blackberry did, so he fired a picture of his impromptu prison to his editors, who posted a short blog item on the lack of freedom of the press under the veep’s control.

Powers didn’t mention his confinement in either of his pool reports that day, saying only that “press coverage was limited to a single pool reporter, filing on behalf of all local media, who was allowed to listen to the remarks but not given an opportunity to talk with anyone at the event.”

On Friday, Powers said, the home’s owner called him. “He said he had no idea they’d put me in a closet and was very sorry. He said he was just following their lead and was extremely embarrassed by the whole thing.”

You know, because Pope Benedict routinely calls for the execution of Bible-burners . . . no, wait?

Lahore, Mar 26 (PTI) — A prominent group in Pakistan, the Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat, has called for “death” to US pastor Terry Jones for his act of burning a copy of the Quran and threatened its members will march to the Pakistani capital if the US ambassador is not expelled by April 7.

Sunnat leader Allama Riaz Husain said his organisation was giving “an ultimatum to the federal government that it should banish the US envoy by April 7 or be ready for a long march from Karachi to Islamabad”.

Husain said a Shariah or Islamic court comprising 500 clerics associated with the Sunni sect had declared Jones an “international terrorist” for desecrating the Quran and for damaging world peace.

This court had announced capital punishment for Jones, he said.

“We will hold demonstrations outside US embassies in 45 countries for Washington”s failure to take action against Jones,” he said.

Prominent Sunni leader Sahibzada Fazle Karim, who is the chairman of the Sunni Ittehad Council, demanded the convening of a session of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to announce the establishment of an “Islamic United Nations” to protest the desecration of the Quran.

He suggested that Muslim countries should quit the UN if it does not act against Jones.

Pretty sad when a high-ranking Democrat is doing the bidding of a group the FBI has cut off all contact with and is connected to Hamas per the Department of Justice.

(The Hill) — The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee has called for an investigation into claims by American Muslims that they are being harassed by U.S. customs and border officials while trying to cross back into the country from Canada.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) asked the Justice Department (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate allegations made by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) that American-Muslims are being handcuffed, interrogated and sexually harassed for hours by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents along the northern border.

“With federal hearings on radicalization and intense scrutiny by law enforcement of religious institutions, the American-Islamic community today is living in a climate that has the risk of producing a siege mentality,” said Conyers in a statement.

“The American-Islamic community should know that the federal government will protect the interests of the community, while maintaining the appropriate focus on national security.”

Remind me again, when was the last time a Muslim had a body part amputated by a group of Christians claiming “biblical law”?

(AINA) — A group of Muslims attacked Ayman Anwar Mitri, a 45 year old Christian Coptic man in the Upper Egyptian town of Qena, cutting off his ear. The Muslims claimed they were applying Sharia law because Mr. Mitri allegedly had an illicit affair with a Muslim woman.

The Muslims called the police and told them “We have applied the law of Allah, now come and apply your law,” according to Mr. Mitri in an interview for the Egyptian Human Rights Organization.

Mr. Mitri, a low grade administrator at a secondary school, from elHasweya, in Qena, 492 KM from Cairo, had rented his flat to two Muslim sisters, Abeer and Sabrin Saif Al-Nasr, through an agent. After nine months he learned the sisters had been indicted for prostitution, so he asked them to leave and they did.

Keep reading…

This is what unchecked government-sponsored “multiculturalism” gets you.

Via TAP

— President Obama, February 12, 2009

Obama’s comments about Caterpillar were both prescient and a portend of his floundering presidency: Caterpillar CEO Contradicts Obama on Rehiring Employees:

“Yesterday, Jim, the head of Caterpillar, said that if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off,” Obama said today in Peoria.

But when asked today if the stimulus could do that, Owens said, “I think, realistically, no. The honest reality is we’re probably going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again.”

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You get more of what you subsidize and less of what you penalize.

SPRINGFIELD — The chairman and CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. is raising the specter of moving the heavy equipment maker out of Illinois.

In a letter sent March 21 to Gov. Pat Quinn, Caterpillar chief executive officer Doug Oberhelman said officials in at least four other states have approached the company about relocating since Illinois raised its income tax in January.

“I want to stay here. But as the leader of this business, I have to do what’s right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest,” Oberhelman wrote in the letter obtained Friday by the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau. “The direction that this state is headed in is not favorable to business and I’d like to work with you to change that.”

Oberhelman said he’s being actively courted to move.

“I have been called, ‘cornered’ in meetings and ‘wined and dined’ — the heat is on,” Oberhelman wrote. “Before, I never really considered living anywhere else and certainly never considered the possibility of Caterpillar relocating. But I have to admit, the policymakers in Springfield seem to make it harder by the day.”

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All aboard the Mahdi Express.

(Al Arabiya) — Iranian authorities have licensed a website calling for “war,” including the use of volunteer suicide militants, against what its founders see as the “invasion” of Bahrain by troops from countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Raheel, Arabic for “departure,” seeks to mobilize public opinion against the intervention of the GCC joint Peninsula Shield Force in Bahrain.

The website features Quranic verses that call for Jihad, or holy war, and backs those calls with photos and videos showing alleged human rights violations by the GCC troops. The website, however, does not show any GCC troops cracking down on civilians in the streets.

The website claims that a “redeemer” would wage war against Arab Gulf countries, Israel, and the United states, pointing out that this so-called “redeemer” has played a role in the popular uprisings of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

According to the website, the divine promise of the redeemer’s advent is materializing.

The website calls upon volunteers to engage in “martyrdom” attacks in Bahrain and reassures them that their data will be kept confidential and that they will be notified by email of the missions they are to carry.

According to the website, 1,858 have so far volunteered, 60% of them are from Iran, 18% from Bahrain, and the others from several countries in the region including Kuwait.

Obama regime take note, you may have found your next White House Press Secretary (considering how awful Jay Carney is).

(NOW Lebanon) — Syria’s information minister said Friday the situation was “totally calm” throughout the country following a week of deadly protests in the south.

Protests demanding major reforms in Syria spread Friday from Daraa to Damascus, where AFP journalists said police arrested five people.

Mourners also gathered en masse for the funeral of two people killed this week during clashes with security forces in Daraa, where a security clampdown has left 100 dead according to human rights groups. Syrian authorities have put the death toll at 10. . . .

“It is not a climate of protests against the government but these are radicals, terrorists [who] threaten national security from 14 provinces to [lead] a global revolution,” said Bilal.

Despite appeals for demonstrations on Friday, “the climate is totally peaceful in the whole country and there is no unrest of any sort,” he said.

Those who came onto the streets did so “to hail the decisions of the Syrian government” on Thursday night.

President Bashar al-Assad’s government on Thursday said it may scrap an emergency law in place since 1963 and announced the release of all activists detained this month.

HT: Tiger Hawk

Stop me if you’ve seen this one before. Protesters go wild, the government empties its jails of Islamist prisoners and eventually the regime falls.

DAMASCUS — Thousands of mourners at a funeral for a Syrian killed in anti-government protests burned a ruling Baath party building and a police station on Saturday as authorities freed 260 prisoners in a bid to placate reformists.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was facing the deepest crisis of his 11 years in power after security forces fired on protesters on Friday, adding to a death toll that rights groups have said now numbers in the dozens.

Mosques across Deraa announced the names of “martyrs” whose funerals would be held in the southern city and on Saturday hundreds were gathering in the main square chanting for freedom.

Three bare-chested young men climbed onto the rubble of a statue of late President Hafez al-Assad, which protesters pulled down on Friday in a scene that recalled the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Iraq in 2003 by US troops.

A witness said they had cardboard signs reading “the people want the downfall of the regime”, a refrain heard in uprisings across the Arab world from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen.

In nearby Tafas, mourners in the funeral procession of Kamal Baradan, who was killed on Friday in Deraa, set fire to the Baath party building and the police station, residents said.

A human rights lawyer said on Saturday that 260 prisoners, mostly Islamists, had been released after completing at least three-quarters of their sentences.