The President's 2006 Budget Shrinks Deficit

According to the Congressional Budget Office's ("CBO") August Report, which is Based on the Monthly Treasury Statement for June and the Daily Treasury Statements for July:

CBO now projects a deficit of $260 billion for fiscal year 2006, about $111 billion less than it estimated in March for the President’s budget (which included supplemental appropriations that have since been enacted). Most of that reduction results from higher-than-anticipated revenues. At 2.0 percent of gross domestic product, the 2006 deficit would be smaller than the deficits recorded in the past three years—3.5 percent in 2003, 3.6 percent in 2004, and 2.6 percent in 2005. So far this fiscal year, the federal government has run a deficit of about $239 billion, CBO estimates, $64 billion less than in the first 10 months of last year. On August 17, CBO will issue a report that presents its new 10-year budget projections and more detail on the updated 2006 estimate.

So, the CBO was off by more than $100 Billion dollars in analyzing the President's Budget. And the Budget Deficit shrinks to lowest levels in 3 years.

Receipts were about $18 billion (13 percent) higher in July 2006 than they were in July 2005. Withholding for individual income and social insurance (payroll) taxes, which accounted for most of the receipts in July, rose by more than $11 billion (almost 10 percent). This July had one more Monday and one fewer Friday than July 2005 did, which added an estimated $2 billion to withholding. Without those effects of the calendar, withholding would have been about 8 percent higher than in the same month last year, CBO estimates. Gross receipts from the small number of corporations that make income tax payments in July rose by $2 billion (19 percent).

as Fox News explains:

The $260 billion forecast for the current budget year, which the CBO previewed earlier this month, would represent an improvement from last year's actual deficit of $319 billion.

However, the detailed CBO report released Thursday showed that the improvement will be temporary with deficit expected to swell to $1.76 trillion over the next decade.

The new CBO report updates estimates made in March, when the CBO projected that the deficit for this year would be $111 billion higher. The improvement reflected strong gains this year in federal tax collections, reflecting an improving economy.

But in the new report, the CBO projected that the deficit for the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1, will climb to $286 billion, then decline slightly to $273 billion in 2008 before rising for the next two years.

The Bush administration points to the improved deficit outlook for this year as evidence that the president's first-term tax cuts worked to get the economy out of the 2001 recession and have led to stronger economic growth and tax revenues.

If the CBO can be more $111 Billion off for this year, how accurate can their 10 year predictions be? For now, I say take a bow Mr. President, the CBO was wrong, you were right, take some credit for a job well done.

NSA Eavesdropping Program Ruled Unconstitutional

A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the U.S. government's domestic eavesdropping program is unconstitutional and ordered it ended immediately.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the Bush Administration disagrees with the ruling and has appealed.

"We also believe very strongly that the program is lawful," he said in Washington, adding that the program is "reviewed periodically" by lawyers to determine its effectiveness and ensure lawfulness.

The administration secretly instituted the program after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. It gives the National Security Administration authorization to secretly conduct wiretaps without a court order.

In a statement from the White House, Press Secretary Tony Fox said, "The program is carefully administered and targets only international phone calls coming into or out of the United States where one of the parties on the call is a suspected al Qaeda or affiliated terrorist.

The decision is 44 pages and is available here. I will comment more on this once I get a chance to read the decision.

What I found interesting was the list of Plaintiffs in this action:

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, based in Detroit. Plaintiffs included branches of the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Washington and Detroit branches of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Greenpeace.

Greenpeace? How did they get mixed up with the ACLU, and CAIR? Politics makes strange bedfellows. You have a group allegedly dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the constitution, a group acused of maintaining terrorist ties, and a group dedicated to saving the wales. I understand the ACLU and CAIR challenging the NSA's actions. But why Greenpeace? What is their angle?

What I do know is that this decision weekens this country's ability to fight terrorisim. The government will appeal, and the loser of the appeal will appeal to the Supreme Court. Unfortunitaly, unless there is a stay of this decision, the decision takes effect immediately.

Liquid Explosives Found in US Airport

CEREDO, West Virginia (AP) -- A West Virginia airport terminal was evacuated Thursday after two bottles of liquid found in a woman's carry-on luggage twice tested positive for explosives, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said.

"The bomb squad is on site and the woman is being interviewed by the FBI," Amy von Walter said.

A machine security checkpoint screeners use to test for explosives registered positive, and a canine team also got a positive hit, von Walter said.

Airport manager Larry Salyers said the bottles would be moved by robot to a remote area of the airport where officials would attempt to detonate them. National Guard and State Police explosive experts will conduct chemical field tests to determine what's inside them, he said.

Salyers said he was told the woman was a 28-year-old native of Pakistan who had moved to Huntington from Jackson, Michigan. He did not know how long she had lived in Huntington. The woman was still at the airport late Thursday afternoon, but was not under arrest, said FBI spokesman Jeff Killeen.

Sometime tonight we will all hear that this is probably some mistake (lets all hope). However, if this was really liquid explosives, air travel in the US will never be the same again.

I know as for myself, I am willing to withstand more scrutiny and delay at the airports in screening if I know they can actually detect bad things, like liquid bombs. If this is true, then at least I have some faith in the system, that the system is working. It is actually catching those items that it is designed to stop.

Charles at Little Green Footballs has more on this story. Also, Michelle Malkin and The Jawa Report are worth checking out.

UPDATE:

As I said, it was probably npthing. CNN is reporting:

Chemical tests later Thursday turned up no explosives in the bottles, said Capt. Jack Chambers, head of the State Police Special Operations unit. The airport was reopened after nearly 10 hours.

"It looks like there were four items containing liquids," said TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter. A machine that security checkpoint screeners use to test for explosives registered positive results for two containers, and a canine team also got a positive hit, she said.The TSA screening looks for a range of explosives residue, some of which can be found on common household items, said TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser.

It makes sence that some ordinary household items can trigger false positives. After all some ordinary household items can be turned easily into bombs.

Once again, TSA needs to make sure their screening works. To many false positives, or to many false negatives, and people will loose confidence in the system and will not be willing to put up with the delays. TSA needs to make sure their screening process is complete and accurate. That is the only way the Airline industry can work.

U.N. All Talk, No Action

First the French show their true colors and waiver on their commitment to the international peace effort, they brokered, and now, the rest of the world balks at deploying troops with an armed Hezbollah still in the picture.

As all sides prepare for Lebanese and international troops to replace the Israeli army in Lebanon in as early as 10 days, officials in Europe, America, and Lebanon have made clear that the resolve to confront and disarm Hezbollah in the aftermath of the war is fast eroding.

After meeting Secretary-General Annan yesterday, Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, hailed the security council resolution that ended the fighting Monday morning, calling it a beginning of a "process" in which "the international community" is expected to end the presence of Hezbollah as an armed force.

Israel has to be convinced, she said, that provisions such as an embargo by the Lebanese army and the multinational force to prevent the rearming of Hezbollah are implemented. The United Nations, however, demands that the current Israeli-imposed blockade is removed even before such a mechanism is in place.

U.N. officials say that within 10 days to two weeks, 3,500 troops will join the 2,000-troop UNIFIL stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978, to aid the Lebanese army that yesterday started deploying south of the Litani River.

But as Ms. Livni called implementation of resolution 1701 "a test" for the United Nations, Secretary of State Rice was quoted as saying the multinational force envisioned in the resolution is not expected to disarm Hezbollah, which she said should be done "voluntarily."

Announcing that the Lebanese army will deploy troops in the south, officials of Prime Minister Siniora's government yesterday left vague the question of Hezbollah's disarmament. Lebanon's army will allow no troops other than its own and those in the multinational force to carry weapons, they said, leaving open the possibility that Hezbollah will still maintain huge concealed arms caches.

Well, ok, I understand not wanting to put your troops in the same area as an armed militia like Hezbollah, especially since Hezbollah has a history of using UNIFIL forces as a shield from which they attack Israel.

So what's the solution, simple DISARM HEZBOLLAH!!! it is so simple. Can't believe the world never thought of it. Think this one through, disarming Hezbollah, accomplishes two key goals, it eliminates the danger to your troops by not having them used as a human shield, and, more importantly, it eliminates the need for them in the first place. Sometimes the simple solutions are the best solutions.

So why isn't that the course of action that the world is taking? Well, because Hezbollah doesn't want to be disarmed, and Hezbollah will fight to keep their arms, and the World will not do, what they must do, and what Israel is willing to do, and that is, fight Hezbollah so that Hezbollah doesn't have any more weapons. Until the World wakes up and realizes that Hexbollah, and Syria and Iran are their enemies, and not Israel, then Hezbollah will remain an armed power to be dealt with and Israel will be handcuffed into inaction by world contempt.

Israeli Pullout of West Bank in Doubt

One victim of Hezbollah's unprovked war against Israel is the governments planned pullout of settlements in the West Bank.

Among the many casualties of Israel's war with Hezbollah is the prime minister's vision to draw the country's final borders and withdraw Jewish settlements from the West Bank of the Jordan River.

Even leading members of Prime Minister Olmert's Kadima Party are saying withdrawal plans are impossible after the rockets and missiles from Israel's enemies this summer were launched from the territory its army evacuated.

Making matters worse, a recent internal government assessment leaked this week to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz found a withdrawal would expose Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Ben Gurion Airport as targets for rocket attacks if the prime minister's plan proceeded as initially planned next year.

Yesterday, a member of Kadima and key member of the panel that helped develop the strategy known here as "convergence" and "realignment," Otniel Shneller, told The New York Sun he would not support an exit from the West Bank until the government could at least guarantee the long-term safety of the residents of Israel's northern towns and cities. Most northern Israelis are returning to their homes this week after spending more than a month taking refuge from Hezbollah's Katyusha rocket attacks in other parts of Israel.

"We have to wait," Mr. Shneller said. "Right now we need to find a solution in the north of Israel. Until then, we cannot withdraw from the West Bank. We need to be sure first that Hezbollah will never fire a rocket against our citizens again."

Well that makes sense, and its been a constant argument against pulling out of the West Bank. If you need any proof that Israel's concerns are genuine, just look at the situation in the Gaza Strip with Hamas. Also, as the article points out, the areas that Hezbollah were launching their rockets from were areas that the Israeli Army unilaterally pulled out from only a few years ago. Of course this will be seen by the Islamofacists as "Zionist Imperialism" and "Zionist occupation of a sovereign people." And of course, the LLL will report these statements as if they were fact, without giving content.

Israel's fears are genuine. They face regimes that are hell bent on destroying her at any cost -- even the cost of their own citizen's lives.

France Waivering on Its Role in Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS — While the United Nations is pushing for French troops to form the "backbone" of an international force in Lebanon, Paris is "cautious"about sending its military to help Lebanon's army take control of the south and disarm Hezbollah, Turtle Bay and French officials said yesterday.

Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, is scheduled to fly to New York today to urge a quick formation of a U.N. force to deploy to southern Lebanon as the Israeli military withdraws from the area. The force should comprise up to 15,000 troops, as called for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.

Facing a new, militant tone from Damascus and Tehran — as well as a Beirut government that is too weak to confront the strengthened Hezbollah — several countries are hesitant about sending soldiers. None had pledged any troops as of yesterday.

A French official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record said that, contrary to previous reports, President Chirac has yet to make a decision on sending any French troops to Lebanon.

Seventeen-hundred French troops are on ships near Lebanon and waiting to be deployed, but while Paris sees the importance of strengthening Prime Minister Siniora's government, it is not ready to instruct its soldiers to go to southern Lebanon, the official said. Recent statements from the region have not helped the situation, he added.

Well lets see, France and the U.N. fore Israel into an ill-advised cease fire, they do not guarantee that Hezbollah will disarm, and then they renege on their commitment to patrol the border area. How can the world expect Israel to stand back and watch Hezbollah rearm itself for another conflict? How can Israel reasonably rely on the U.N.’s promise to provide a buffer zone?

If France and the rest of the world will not step in and control the area, then allow Israel to do what it must do, unfettered and without criticism. Until the world is ready to step up and take its share of the responsibility it shouldered upon itself, then do not hinder the one Country with the ability and the desire to take care of the situation.

Charges Dropped Against Two Men With Many Cell Phones

Updating Lawhawk's previous article , Phoning it In, The New York Sun is reporting today that prosecuters have dropped terrorisim charges agaisnt two men yesterday who were arrested after buying large numbers of cell phones.

MARIETTA, Ohio — Prosecutors dropped terrorism charges yesterday against
two Michigan men who were arrested after buying large numbers of cell phones, saying they could not prove a terrorism link.

The dismissal, in a one-page court document, came the day after the Washington County prosecutor, James Schneider, said he did not have enough evidence to present the felony charges to a grand jury. Ali Houssaiky and Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, both of Dearborn, Mich., left prison after paying a reduced bond on the remaining misdemeanor counts of falsification.

The remaining counts stem from allegations that the men initially gave deputies different names than appeared on their IDs. The men also initially said they were buying phones for a relative's construction business, then changed the story when
deputies asked for contact information, Mr. Schneider said.

Mr. Schneider said his office and federal authorities do not believe "the defendants pose an imminent threat."

So why did they have large amounts of pre-paid Trak Phones? Why did they give the police false information? Innocent people do not need to lie to the authorities. Besides, who needs that many phones? Glad to see that authorities do not beleive they pose an "imminent threat". However, I sure hope they continue to watch these two.

Pluto is Not a Planet? That's Just Goofy

Pluto dodged a bullet today.

In the hope of ending years of wrangling, a committee of astronomers and historians has proposed a new definition of the word "planet" that would expand at a stroke the family of planets from 9 to 12 and leave textbooks and charts in thousands of classrooms out of date. But astronomers immediately began to wrangle about it.

"It's a mess," said Michael E. Brown of the California Institute of Technology. Among the chosen few within the solar system would be not only Pluto, whose status has been challenged in recent years, but also Ceres, the largest asteroid; 2003 UB313, nicknamed Xena, an object discovered by Dr. Brown in 2005 orbiting far beyond Pluto in the outer solar system; and even Pluto's largest moon, Charon.

In addition, at least a dozen more solar system objects are waiting in the wings for more data to see if they fit the new definition of planethood, which is that an object be massive enough that gravity has formed it into a sphere and that it circles a star and not some other planet. The definition, they said, would apply both inside and outside the solar system.

The new definition was to be announced today in Prague, where some 2,500 astronomers are meeting in the triannual assembly of the International Astronomical Union. It is the work of the group's Planet Definition Committee, whose chairman is Owen Gingerich, a Harvard astronomer. The astronomers will vote on the definition on Aug. 25.

For several years now there has been a move to reclassify Pluto as something other than a planet. The Hayden Planetarium in New York City's Museum of Natural History (a must see attraction in New York) has clasified it as a "Minor Planet".

The planet (if that is what it is) has been an oddball ever since Clyde Tombaugh spied it wandering in the outer reaches of the solar system beyond Neptune in 1930. Not only is it much smaller than the other eight planets, only a fiftieth the mass of Earth, but its orbit is unusually elliptical and inclined to the plane that marks the orbits of the other planets. In recent decades, however, other objects with orbits like Pluto's have been discovered in the Kuiper Belt, a junkyard of icy debris beyond Neptune.

Many astronomers began to argue that it made more sense to think of Pluto as a Kuiper Belt object, a minor planet instead of a planet. When it was reported that the Hayden Planetarium had done just that in its new Rose Center, which opened in 2000, a firestorm erupted. Schoolchildren rushed to the defense of lonely little Pluto.

Now science will change as we learn more and as we explore the universe further. However, for my money, keep Pluto as a planet and don't expand the definition to be so inclusive that anything can be considered a planet. Maybe we need to form a coalition, 'Bloggers for Pluto'? I mean next thing you know they will tell us that the Sun doesn't revolve around the Earth, or that the moon really isn't made of swiss cheese.

The War We Forgot To Fight

Saul Singer has an interesting editorial on JPost.com, and I pretty much fully agree with him (except he refers to the current war on terror as WW IV, while I think its only WW III -- Lawhawk would agree with him and we promise to bring that debate to you in the future.)

In the Cold War cycle of this pattern, we were spared the full force of a potential World War III because the wars were fought on a proxy level (Vietnam, Afghanistan), and eventually the Soviet Union imploded.

Now we are in World War IV, as Norman Podhoretz has pointed out, between what Tony Blair aptly calls Reactionary Islam and the rest of us. The first striking thing about this war is that we've managed to fall asleep at a relatively late stage of it.

This war actually began before the last one was over, with the Iranian revolution and the taking hostage of the US embassy staff in 1979. The rise of Soviet-backed terrorism, including by the PLO against Israelis; the drain of proxy wars, and the Iran crisis all fed each other. An American resurgence of confidence in the 1980s turned the tide in WWW III and, by the way, put WWW IV on hold - but all it took was for the West to rest on its laurels in the 1990s for WWW IV to resume where it had left off.

During the 1990s, Osama bin Laden not only took American diplomats hostage, he blew them up. The US responded mainly by turning its embassies into fortresses. This finally led to the full war phase, starting with 9/11 and continuing through the
toppling of radical regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But then we stopped.

America, though it occupied and governed Iraq, was so loath to be seen to be "intervening" in Iraqi politics that it turned a blind eye to massive Iranian support for radical forces. Iraqis, and the region, saw that Iran supported its friends and threatened its enemies inside Iraq, while the US failed to do either until it was too late.

As the security situation deteriorated, Iraqis made impressive strides toward democracy, for which Americans also deserve credit. If Iran and its vassal, Syria, have failed to derail Iraq's political progress, they have succeeded in something no less important: derailing America's prosecution of the global war.

Since 9/11, America had always had an offensive objective. First it was Afghanistan, then it was Iraq. When Saddam was captured, Libya also fell into line, which was a nice bonus for toppling the regime in Iraq. But despite what Bush said on the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003 - "Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilized world - and will be confronted" - Iraq became the end, not a step, in a war that had not yet been won.

This is an important point. The War on Terror is not just a war against Bin Laden, it is a war in which our very fundamental way of life is being attacked. It is not being waged in Afghanistan and Iraq and Lebanon, but in our home cities, in New York City, in London, Madrid, Paris. It is being fought against an enemy that is bent on the destruction of all things not Islam, and considers death a victory.

It is most scary that this war will continue for many generations, as Islamic children are taught that they need to continue this war.

In Tuesday s Wall Street Journal, Bernard Lewis cited Ayatollah Khomeini quoted from an 11th-grade Iranian textbook: "If the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them... Either we shake one another s hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours."

In this view, apocalypse, including the deaths of millions of one's own citizens, is not neutral, it is good. In the fevered imagination of Ahmadinejad s regime, it will bring the return of the Hidden Imam and the ultimate triumph of good (Islam) over evil (everything else).

The editorial continues by stating that G. W. Bush is in a position to successfully fight this war.

It is assumed that Bush is powerless to fight this war because he is unpopular. The opposite is the case: He is unpopular because he is seen to be fighting unsuccessfully.

It is also assumed that American people are in no mood for conflict, and if they were, Bush lacks the credibility to lead them. I know this sounds nuts, but I disagree, on both counts.

It is not too late for Bush to describe the nature of the Iranian threat and lay out a coherent, three-pronged approach to dealing with it: draconian sanctions backed by the threat of military force and support for the Iranian people.

I guess Mr. Singer is suggesting that Bush's unpopularity marks the perfect time to do what is right, not popular. I agree. The right thing is not always the popular thing. Bush is a lame duck President. Cheney is not going to seek the top seat. If Bush does the right thing, takes a hard line stance against Iran (and North Korea for that matter), the political fallout would not ultimately rest on him. However, if he is correct, history may be very kind to him (as opposed to modern day political science.)

Moreover, the Republicans can also take advantage of a strong stance against terror in the 2008 elections. McCain would have the credibility to steer this Country through war and turmoil and would be believable when he claims he could lead this country. Who could the Democrats put up against him? Hillary? Murtha? McCain has more political credibility when it comes to foreign policy and domestic security than either Hillary or Murtha.

Remember, the war against terror, whether in London, NYC, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, etc., needs to be won by us. The alternative is not going to pretty!

Hezbollah Claims Victory

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's terrorist leader, has, of course, claimed victory against Israel in the most recent conflict.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that his guerrillas achieved a "strategic, historic victory" against Israel a declaration that prompted celebratory gunfire across the Lebanese capital.

***

Nasrallah said Hezbollah "came out victorious in a war in which big Arab armies were defeated (before)."

"We are today before a strategic, historic victory, without exaggeration," Nasrallah said. He spoke on the day a cease-fire took effect ending 34 days of deadly fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

Nasrallah called Monday "a great day." Now was not the time to debate the disarmament of his guerrilla fighters, Nasrallah asserted. "Who will defend Lebanon in case of a new Israeli offensive?" he asked. "The Lebanese army and international troops are incapable of protecting Lebanon," he said, flanked by Lebanese and Hezbollah flags.

Unfortunitaly, this time, Nasrallah may be right. To a great extent, Hezbollah has won this battle. Hezbollah has succeeded in drawing Israel into a fight it did not want and which Israel was not willing to give its all to (politcally, that is.) Hezbollah has proven that it is not the push over rag tag army of previous wars . Hezbollah has probably solidified itself as the main political force in Lebanon. Hezbollah will probably rebuil southern Lebanon without the governments assistance. further endearing the people to them. Worse, Hezbollah will retain its weapons, its rockets, its launchers, and its ties to Iran and Syria.

Hezbollah won a battle, not the war. The challenge now is for the U.N. to make sure that Hezbollah does not have a chance to rearm, retrain and reattack. If Hezbollah is allowed to resupply, they will only drag the people of Lebanon into another conflict in which more civillians will be killed and more property will be destroyed.

Unfortunitaly, I have no faith inthe United Nations' ability to control the region, or the U.N.'s desire to prevent Hezbollah's eventual resupply.

Israel and Hizbullah Take A Breather

Has the ceasefire lasted all of four hours before Hizbullah began anew? Six Hizbullah were killed just today in clashes between Israel and the Islamic terror group. Hizbullah fired anti-tank rounds at Israel forces.

I fully expect this ceasefire to fail. Indeed, it appears that it already failed if you count Hizbullah's ongoing attempt to kill still more Israelis today. So does Jerusalem. Hizbullah can't help itself. They're dedicated to Israel's destruction and they think that they could get away with a lower level of terror attacks against Israel hoping that Israel will be restrained by the US and the West from resuming its attacks throughout Lebanon.

This 'cessation' is a hudna. It's a strategic pause to give Hizbullah a chance to take a breather from the pounding it received at the hands of the IDF.

The Israelis are coordinating their activities with UNIFIL, which is deploying throughout South Lebanon.

Most Israelis think that the Israeli campaign failed. Well, considering that the first objective was the return of the two soldiers Hizbullah took in the initiating engagement, it was. Olmert is trying to spin that the newest UN resolution changes things on the border with Lebanon. The only way it changes is if the UN and Lebanese actually live up to their obligations. In the past 28 years, neither has done so.

Now, the Lebanese government says that Hizbullah should leave South Lebanon. Good luck with that. Seems that Hizbullah is still calling the shots, despite the fact that the Lebanese government agreed to the ceasefire and implementation of the disarmament of Hizbullah and securing its own territorial integrity. Ed Morrissey notes the mutinous reaction in the government and military, who should have begun disarming Hizbullah, but now appears to be doing nothing of the sort. Powerline calls the situation grim. Ah, understatement.

Is Lebanon heading towards another civil war because a terrorist group decided to upset the delicate balance between factions that managed to maintain a sense of calm? I think it looks that way. Lebanon is going to need a lot of help to solve this problem, and count on the UN to not be there to help. They'll have peacekeepers present to take the temperature of the corpse that was formerly known as Lebanon as Hizbullah exerts its dominion over South Lebanon and openly flaunts the UN and world opinion.

Meanwhile, Hamas is still firing rockets into Israel, as Carl in Jerusalem reports. Gilad Shalit is still being held by Hamas.

Bloggers to check in with for daily updates are Blue Crab Boulevard, Carl in Jerusalem, Israellycool, Dave Bender, Meryl Yourish, Euphoric Reality, Pajamas Media, Hot Air, Jameel at the Muqata, Greetings from the French Hill, R'Lazer, and Live from an Israeli Bunker. Check back with them regularly for updates.


Technorati: terrorism, fatah, Gilad, Shalit, Olmert, Eliyahu, Asheri, Ashri, Abbas, Rains, Summer, cavaliers, wrath, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, hezbollah, lebanon, syria.

Curious Incident Roundup

All 11 Egyptian Students In Custody
All 11 Egyptian students are now in custody, which brings to a close a most peculiar situation. The 11 students entered the US on student visas as part of a group of 17 students. Only six ended up at the college where all were supposed to arrive in Montana.

The 11 students were picked up all over the US, having split up into smaller groups.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray, 20, and Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad El Shenawy, 17, at an apartment building in Richmond on Sunday night. Virginia State Police and the Richmond Police helped locate the students.

Last Wednesday, one of the Egyptian students was arrested in Minneapolis and two were detained in Manville, N.J. On Thursday, two were arrested in Dundalk, Md., and one was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Three more were arrested Friday in Des Moines, Iowa.

The students were to attend a monthlong program at Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont. A group of 17 students arrived in New York on July 29. Six reported to Bozeman on time.

I find it highly implausible that the 11 Egyptian men were simply going to waltz around the country as tourists on a student visa. They appear to have fanned out throughout the country, and had no interest in attending the college. As far as we know, these 11 made no attempt to contact the college to say that they were not going to attend the school, nor do the reports indicate that they were trying to remain in contact with each other. Was this a test run to see whether other groups of individuals could enter the US on student visas, and begin their terror preperations once inside the US? I don't know, but the FBI seems to think that this group didn't pose a terror risk. I'm going to say that this remains a highly curious situation that deserves further review.

Cellphone Incident Grows Curiouser and Curiouser
Last week, we were treated to several incidents where groups of Middle Eastern men were arrested after being found to possess hundreds of cellphones. Well, now we learn that one of these groups may have been planning to attack the Mackinac Straits Bridge between Upper and Lower Michigan.

Federal authorities helped with the investigation into a possible terror threat to the Mackinac Bridge. The FBI office in Detroit worked with local law enforcement authorities before the police arrested three men in Caro on Friday. Officers found about 1,000 pre-paid cell phones in their van. Police in Caro arrested the three Palestinian-American men after they allegedly bought 80 of the phones at a Wal-Mart store in Caro.

A pre-paid cell phone can be economical and convenient. But, 22 year old Adham Othman, 23 year old Louai Othman, and 19 year old Maruwan Muhareb aroused suspicion when they allegedly bought 80 phones at the same time. Caro Police Chief Ben Page said they thought “something was wrong here."

When police pulled the men over, they found about 1,000 phones in the van. Many were separated from their battery packs and the chargers were discarded. Michigan State Police Trooper Patrick Sharkey says, “We didn't know exactly what was going on. You hear on the news about these phones being used to detonate IED's."

Now, these two incidents may have absolutely nothing in common with each other, and just happen to have happened within days of each other, or maybe there is some connection between the students gone missing and the cellphone caper.

What both incidents show is that people have to remain vigilant throughout the country to threats and situations that appear out of normal.