A Fungus Among Us

For all the hysteria about how cellphones are supposedly killing off honeybees around the world, it seems that there is a far more plausible reason - a fungus, that might be a culprit, or an indicator of what may actually be causing the problems.

A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.

Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder, and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.

But the results are "highly preliminary" and are from only a few hives from Le Grand in Merced County, UCSF biochemist Joe DeRisi said. "We don't want to give anybody the impression that this thing has been solved."

Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives from around the country — as well as in some hives where bees had survived. Those researchers have also found two other fungi and half a dozen viruses in the dead bees.

N. ceranae is "one of many pathogens" in the bees, said entomologist Diana Cox-Foster of Pennsylvania State University. "By itself, it is probably not the culprit … but it may be one of the key players."

Chumley's Chimney and Related Issues

Chumley's, the West Village landmark, may see the light of day in a few months time. The chimney that collapsed causing the building to be shut down, is being dismantled and the building stabilized.

I passed by the building on Thursday and saw that workers had installed interior bracing through the structure and a large dumpster had been placed outside to collect debris from the site.

Also, it is important to note that there was a sign on the street shed noting that the owners are looking to sell the building. I should have some photos of the site next week.

UPDATE:
There's a Save Chumley's website that promises to keep folks up to date on the progress of reopening the former speakeasy and literary haunt.

Keeping Secrets

The New York Times provides today's headline: C.I.A. Held Qaeda Leader in Secret Jail for Months

Someone break out the waaambulance because I don't care that he was held in secret for months. I'm happy that someone was able to keep a secret for as long as they did - without breaching operational security on intel gathering that saves lives. That he was captured and held without the media picking up on it for months lets me know that there are still folks in the CIA and military that pride themselves on maintaining secrets and gathering intel that helps direct military operations and further intel gathering on the inner workings of the al Qaeda terror operations inside Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.

The Times has problems with secret detentions of terrorists so that we can obtain crucial and timely intel. Yet, the NYT and other leftists want to have GitMo shut down, as if they have a better solution for where to keep these terrorists. The announcement came after he was transferred from the secret facility to GitMo.

Let's not forget that this guy was only a few small notches below Osama and above Zawahiri on the hit parade. He was as connected as terrorists come, and his connections may have included those inside Saddam's government.

Once again, it seems that the NYT is more concerned about a terrorist's civil rights than the rights of the US to defend itself against a genocidal enemy.

Then, there's this minor issue of ignoring a couple of inconvenient facts:

American officials have long been worried about efforts by Qaeda leadership in Pakistan to exert control over its Iraqi offshoot, known as Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and the dispatch of Mr. Iraqi to help run the Iraqi affiliate has raised concern among American military officials that the links between the groups are growing.

“We do definitely see links to the greater Al Qaeda network,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday.

But the relationship between Qaeda fighters in Iraq and the top leadership has appeared to wax and wane over the years, often over tactical disagreements.

In 2005, Ayman al-Zawahri, Al Qaeda’s second in command, wrote a letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, then the top Al Qaeda operative in Iraq, urging him to refrain from killing Shiites. But since then, terrorist experts have said that they see Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as largely independent of the organization hub in Pakistan.

Al Iraqi was an Iraqi who was in the Iraqi military under Saddam, and likely maintained his contacts. Who was he in contact with and can that knowledge be exploited to bring down the insurgency and al Qaeda operations?

Zarqawi, al Qaeda's prior head in Iraq, had no problem slaughtering everyone in sight before he ended up well and truly dead after US airstrikes. al Iraqi probably was sent back to Iraq to impose better operational controls and better coordination between terror cells so that they inflict as much carnage as possible on US forces, and not simply slaughtering anyone and everyone in their path.

Also, it would also make sense that there were tactical disagreements between the various terror cells because some had military training while most others did not - and some were far more willing to shed Muslim blood than others.

Bill Roggio looks at the implications of al Iraqi's capture and what it means for operations in Afghanistan and the links between Iran and the terrorist organization. And note that al Iraqi was in contact with al Qaeda located inside Iran.

Abd al-Hadi is also said to have worked with Saif al Adel, al Qaeda's operational planner who is currently in Iran. The two are said to have planted the seeds for al Qaeda's involvement in Iraq's insurgency.

Abd al-Hadi's capture comes as General Petraeus outlined Iranian Qods Force's involvement with the February 20 attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, which led to the aborted kidnapping and subsequent murder of five U.S. soldiers. Qods Force armed, trained, and advised the Qazili network, which carried out the attack.

U.S. forces detained several senior leaders of the Qazili network, and captured a "22-page memorandum on a computer that detailed the planning, preparation, approval process and conduct of the operation that resulted in five of our soldiers being killed in Karbala," said Gen. Petraeus.

Gen. Petraeus also discussed the Sheibani network, "which brings explosively formed projectiles into Iraq from Iran," as well as other deadly weapons from Iran. An American military intelligence official informs us that the Sheibani network is one of Qods Force's foreign networks in Iraq, just as Hezbollah is an Iranian arm in Lebanon.

The deadly nexus between al Qaeda, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia must be closely examined, especially because of the way the terror group is funded and safe havens provided. Regimes may be providing lip service to cracking down on al Qaeda, but functionally they have simply hidden the way they provide assistance, and alternatively, have provided Iran the means to hold sway over the group because they are far more willing to engage in terrorism against the US via their proxy forces - Hizbullah and Hamas.

The knowledge gathered from those terrorist groups is certainly being shared among other terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda, and Iran is serving as a conduit for terrorists.

Photo of the Day

 

The Musée d'Orsay. This former train station has been turned into a world class museum, which has one of the most impressive collections of impressionist art anywhere. Never had I seen so many Van Goghs and Renoirs and Degas in one place. If you go, head to the fifth floor to start and work your way down - that's where the impressionist rooms are located, and be prepared to spend the day.

North Carolina AG Slams Duke Case Prosecution

KC Johnson has been all over this case from the outset, and the State's findings do not help Nifong one bit. They also don't make the Durham police look good either.

This case highlights not only prosecutorial misconduct, but shoddy investigation work and far too many people jumping to conclusions.

Former Mets Employee Admits Selling Steroids; HGH

This isn't a good thing for Major League Baseball players, and investigators are sure to lean hard to get names of those companies that provided the drugs as well as those players who purchased and used them. You can bet he's going to be naming names, perhaps hoping to get a better deal with prosecutors, and I wouldn't be surprised if some local players were implicated - whether they're Yankees or Mets, though much of his business was done over the phone.

In a new steroids bombshell, a former New York Mets clubhouse employee has admitted distributing various performance-enhancing drugs to "dozens of current and former Major League Baseball players." Kirk Radomski, 37, pleaded guilty today to distributing anabolic steroids and laundering the proceeds of the illicit business, which operated from his New York home. According to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, Radomski sold ballplayers anabolic steroids, Human Growth Hormone, and amphetamines from 1995 to December 2005, when his home was raided by federal agents. In the plea agreement, a copy of which you'll find below, Radomski stated that during his prior clubhouse employment he developed "contacts with Major League Baseball players throughout the country to whom I subsequently distributed anabolic steroids and athletic performance-enhancing drugs."

Developing: Major Al Qaeda Leader Captured By CIA

This is a developing story, but it is breaking that the CIA has captured a major al Qaeda leader. The information was released by the Pentagon.

UPDATE:
Via Breitbart:

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the captive is Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi. He was received by the Pentagon from the CIA, Whitman said, but the spokesman would not say where or when al-Iraqi was captured or by whom.

The Pentagon took custody of him at Guantanamo Bay this week, Whitman said.

Whitman said the terror suspect was believed responsible for plotting cross-border attacks from Pakistan on U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and that he led an effort to assassinate Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

"Abd al-Hadi (al-Iraqi) was trying to return to his native country, Iraq, to manage al-Qaida's affairs and possibly focus on operations outside Iraq against Western targets," Whitman said, adding that the terror suspect met with al-Qaida members in Iran. He said he did not know what time period al-Iraqi was in Iran.

Who exactly is al-Iraqi? Regime of Terror has more.

Once again, the links between Iraq and al Qaeda's worldwide operations come to the forefront as this thug was not only a member of the Iraqi military, but was involved in al Qaeda operations in Afghanistan as well.

UPDATE:
Hot Air has more details.

UPDATE:
He was captured back in 2006 and the information related to his capture wasn't released until now. It would seem that someone has decided that national security trumps the purely partisan political advantages that releasing this information might have on their domestic agenda. As for the importance of al-Iraqi, Ace notes that the US considered him an extremely high value target. From Hot Air (link above):

Executive Order 13224, executed by Bush on September 23, 2001 to block assets held by certain groups and persons in connection with 9/11. Or click and scroll just a bit and you’ll find him named, again a few lines below Osama, in a UN document posted a month before 9/11 regarding terrorists operating in Afghanistan. Newsweek published a blockbuster article about him last April that claimed he was dispatched to Iraq, where he was born, along with Saif al-Adel by Osama himself to set up AQ’s organization there after the homegrown insurgency had already broken out.

In fact, al-Iraqi rates higher on the September 23, 2001 list than Zawahiri, who many consider to be running al Qaeda these days with Osama MIA. That gives you some context as to how important and high ranking this thug was.

Also, he was captured while trying to get back into Iraq. That means he was coming from somewhere else. Where could that have been, especially considering that intel believed he had met with Iranian agents.

But here is where things get real interesting. Just what exactly was the relationship al-Iraqi had with Saddam's government after he went and joined up with al Qaeda? Read that whole post as he runs through other questions that this terrorist can shed light upon.

Here's a few more:
1) What was your relationship with the Iranians and what assistance, if any, did the Iranians provide to your group.
2) To what extent is al Qaeda operating with, or providing assistance to, the following terrorist groups: Hamas, Hizbullah, Fatah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Abu Sayaaf, Muslim Brotherhood, and their subsidiary terrorist groups?
3) Where are the terrorists able to obtain the funds in order to continue their operations and who is providing the funding?
4) Who is providing the training and outfitting for al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan? Who is providing al Qaeda with weapons and intel? How is such intel gathered and has al Qaeda penetrated the Afghan government? Do they have moles within the Iraqi government?

Those are just a few of the many questions that need to be asked and answered.

UPDATE:
Seems that the British government might want to talk things over with al-Iraqi, as they're noting that he appears to have been behind the 7/7 London Underground bombings.

Abd al-Hadi recognised the potential for turning young Muslim radicals from Britain who wanted to become mujahidin in Afghanistan or Iraq into terrorists who could carry out attacks in their home country. He realised that their knowledge of Britain, possession of British passports and natural command of English made them ideal recruits. After al-Qaeda restructured its operations in Pakistan’s tribal areas he sought out young Britons for instruction at training camps. In late 2004 Abd al-Hadi met Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, from Leeds, at a militant camp in Pakistan and, in the words of a senior investigator, “retasked them” to become suicide bombers.

They were sent back to Britain where they led the terrorist cell that carried out the 7/7 bombings, killing 52 Tube and bus passengers.

Pakistani intelligence sources said that Abd al-Hadi was also in contact with Rachid Rauf, a Birmingham man now in prison in Pakistan and alleged to be a key figure in last summer’s alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners in mid-flight.

Abd al-Hadi has also been linked to a number of other foiled al-Qaeda plots to carry out attacks in Britain. But the Security Service, which has previously sent officials to question detainees at Guantanamo Bay, may not have the opportunity to question him directly.

The Government’s recently adopted position in favour of closing Guantanamo Bay is likely to act as a bar on agents travelling there. British Intelligence would have to rely on relaying questions it would like asked by American interrogators.

Friday Funny

I find your lack of cell phone etiquette disturbing.



This post will serve as a place to showcase your best and brightest.

Elizabeth Edwards: Race Baiter

John Edwards' wife Elizbeth seems to think that President Bush rushed to the campus of Virginia Tech faster than he did to Louisiana and New Orleans because the people on the college campus were prettier.

Right.

At Virginia Tech, the mass murder was over in a matter of minutes and the horror revealed itself over a span of hours.

The situation in New Orleans was anything but secured within hours. The flooding of New Orleans occurred hours after the hurricane actually made landfall and the full extent wasn't felt for several days as the city was cut off from the outside world for all intents and purposes by the flooding and damage to roads leading in and out of the city plus damage to the airport and rail links. Having the President show up too soon meant taking away resources that were devoted to rescue and relief operations, when it was clearly apparent that there were thousands of people unaccounted for over an area of 90,000 square miles - and hit not just Louisiana, but Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and points inland.

President Bush went to New Orleans on September 15, which was about two weeks following the landfall. The city was still largely without power and local law enforcement was struggling even with infusions of state and federal assistance plus the assistance of law enforcement from around the country.

Edwards complains that President Bush waited too long to go to tour the devastation done by Hurricane Katrina and now they’re complaining he went to Virginia Tech too soon. To these people, President Bush can do nothing right. Ankle biters.

Virginia Tech Massacre Investigation Continues

It has now been confirmed that Cho Seung-Hui did not use extended capacity ammunition magazines. Will the various media outlets that peddled theories on high capacity ammo clips being one of the reasons for the high body count retract their claims and issue corrections? I doubt it.

Meanwhile, there are those who seek to forgive the shooter for his murderous rampage. I just don't get it.

There's an interesting USA Today piece on the way the big media outlets and bloggers handled the news of the crisis and how they disseminated information. The hook used against the bloggers is that they jumped all over a possible suspect, Wayne Chiang, who was a gun enthusiast and met the description of an Asian man behind the shootings. It is certainly true that some bloggers jumped on that possibility, but then again, as I note above, the media also had no trouble jumping to conclusions about high capacity ammo clips being involved, when no such thing occurred. That news item has not been retracted and continues to shade coverage including the possible legislative response to the crisis.

The USA Today piece notes that some news outlets simply rewrote the history by posting over prior incorrect versions with new and more accurate versions without noting the earlier stories and the corrections made.

As with any crisis, there are those who manage the fine line of getting the news out in a timely fashion as accurately as possible, and then there are those who jump to conclusions without having all the evidence in hand.

What I try to do when I post on breaking news stories is to post updates in running order, from oldest to newest at the bottom of the respective postings. You can see the developments as they occur, including references to corrections or adjustments in the prior text.

Major Terror Busts In Saudi Arabia

Police have arrested 172 militants who were plotting to attack Saudi Arabia's oil fields, the Saudi state TV channel Al-Ekhbariah reported Friday.

The channel broadcast footage of the large quantity of weapons of all kinds that were discovered buried in the desert. The arms included brickettes of plastic explosives, ammunition cartridges, handguns and rifles wrapped in plastic sheeting.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour al-Turki told the rival Al-Arabiya channel that the militants included non-Saudis and that one cell planned to storm a prison and release the inmates.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that more than 120 million riyals ($32.4 million) had been seized in the operation, one of the largest sweeps against terror cells in the kingdoms.

Some of the militant were being trained to fly aircraft, the statement added, raising the specter of more attacks like Sept. 11, 2001 in which terrorists hijacked passenger planes and flew them into buildings in New York and Washington

Al-Ekhbariah showed investigators breaking tiled floors with hammers to uncover pipes that contained weapons. In one scene, an official upends a plastic pipe and bullets and little packets of plastic explosives spill out.

The ministry statement said that one cell had planned to carry out suicide attacks against "public figures, oil facilities, refineries ... and military zones."

This is a major intel and operational coup against terrorists. However, the scope of the arrests and the kind of information uncovered shows a sophisticated operation and the intent to commit mass murder, including the possible use of airliners. If these terrorists (and they're terrorists not militants) had been successful in their terror operations, they could have destabilized the regime and opened up yet another safe haven for terrorists in the Middle East.

It will be interesting to see how this story develops and whether there are links between the terrorists and Iran or various terrorist groups like al Qaeda.

UPDATE:
Allah wonders now that the Saudis have captured all these thugs, when are they going to be let go. Is this for show, or have the Saudis indeed nailed a bunch of terror cells that were preparing for mass carnage? Good question.

Flooding In

FEMA has approved disaster relief for six New Jersey counties affected by the Nor'easter. Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Burlington, Somerset and Union counties were included on the list but Morris County was not, despite the fact that several municipalities were hard hit by the storm that dumped nearly 8 inches of rain across the area in less than 24 hours.

President Bush Thursday declared six counties in New Jersey ravaged by flooding federal disaster areas. The declaration makes federal funding available for individual property owners in Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Burlington, Somerset and Union counties.

Morris County, which includes two towns hard-hit by the 0flood, Pequannock and Lincoln Park, was not included in the federal disaster declaration.

Bush also signed off on a declaration that will enable New Jersey to collect federal money for hazardous waste cleanup caused by the flood. The president did not act on a request by municipalities for federal aid to help defray their cleanup costs because all damage assessments are not complete.

Disaster declarations for New York were made on Tuesday.

FEMA provides links to more information for individuals and businesses, including how to apply and what to expect.

This storm is also responsible for yet another aborted attempt to buy a house in Bergen County. We had an agreement to buy a house in place, but the storm showed that the house had serious shortcomings - water infiltration in the basement and improper sump pump operation, and related problems were too numerous to mention. So, we'll consider this storm to be our blessing in disguise because we wouldn't want to be stuck with a headache and heartache of having another storm come through and damage the property. Another property on which we had an offer was also located quite close to the Passaic River and other properties in the area were flooded as a result of the river overflowing its banks.

Unfortunately, there are many people in the area who are having to deal with the damage wrought by the storm. Many are still pumping out their basements because the water table is still quite high and have to trash everything in their basements because of water damage. In one example, a duplex in Ridgewood that was recently built from the ground up, saw its basement completely flooded and the contents destroyed. It makes you wonder what kind of waterproofing job was done that it could fail so horribly while other properties in the same block weren't nearly as badly affected - and all are much older.

Waterproofers and contractors are going to be quite busy with calls to assess the damage and implement fixes - whether they're french drains, sump pumps, or the installation of new waterproofing to exterior walls of foundations.

UPDATE 4/27/2007:
Three more New Jersey counties have been added to the list of counties declared as disaster areas that will receive federal assistance: Mercer, Middlesex, and Morris.

Somali Islamists Relying On Kids To Fight

Via The Jawa Report comes disturbing photos of children being used as soldiers in the Islamists fight against the Somali government. The photos come from the Somali government news agency. The caption for the above image states:

A 10 year-old Somali Islamist boy aims his AK 47 rifle at an Ethiopian military base nearby in North of the capital on Monday April 23, 2007. Fighting between Islamic insurgents and government troops backed by Ethiopian forces continues for the fifth straight day

At the feet of this kid are dozens of spent bullet casings. It's quite likely he's been doing much more than simply aiming his gun at Ethiopian or Somali government forces. He's been firing it.

This is what the Islamists do. They have no problem sending kids to fight in wars and don't give much thought to the consequences of having kids fighting their wars for them. Entire generations are being brought up on the belief that going to war is a normal thing and are deprived of a real childhood. Instead, they're nothing more than cannon fodder.

UPDATE:
Corrected the reference to the news agency involved in obtaining the photos.

Offset This?

All those proponents of carbon offsets as a cure to global warming might want to hold on to their money just a little longer. It's nothing more than a scam to part you from your money.

Companies and individuals rushing to go green have been spending millions on “carbon credit” projects that yield few if any environmental benefits.

A Financial Times investigation has uncovered widespread failings in the new markets for greenhouse gases, suggesting some organisations are paying for emissions reductions that do not take place.

Others are meanwhile making big profits from carbon trading for very small expenditure and in some cases for clean-ups that they would have made anyway.

The growing political salience of environmental politics has sparked a “green gold rush”, which has seen a dramatic expansion in the number of businesses offering both companies and individuals the chance to go “carbon neutral”, offsetting their own energy use by buying carbon credits that cancel out their contribution to global warming.

You may be purchasing carbon offsets with the idea that you're saving the environment, but all you're doing is padding the bottom line of some energy companies that are already making a hefty profit on what they were already doing.

You'd be much more successful in cleaning up the environment and reducing emissions by taking real steps to reduce energy consumption - switching to CFLs or driving less or purchasing/using cars that are more gas efficient. Dropping opposition to cleaner energy production systems, like nuclear, wind, solar, and tidal would be a major help. Of course, you get a combination of NIBMYiots who think that these projects are fine just as long as they're located somewhere else, but that ignores the fact that power generation is most efficient when it located nearest to the end users.

UPDATE:
In a move that was supposed to reduce reliance on petroleum, the EU is now finding that biofuels may be destroying the rainforests as people chop down the trees to make way for fields devoted to producing biofuel. The costs of foodstuffs - like corn and soybeans are also rising because biofuels - ethanol - has meant that farmers make more money from biofuel than they do by selling it as food. Once again, the laws of unintended consequences comes to bear on the marketplace and everyone ends up paying for poor choices.

The Politics of Defeat and Retreat

Rudy certainly has gotten quite a bit of mileage about his comments on the Democrat party fecklessness in the face of terrorism and the ongoing war in Iraq. He's absolutely right to slam the Democrats for reverting to a pre-9/11 mentality on defending the US from terrorist attacks by terrorist groups that are ideologically driven to defeat the West over a period of not weeks and months but generations.

Here's the one question Democrats cannot answer because it would give lie to the fact that they have no interest in fighting the terrorists and those that seek to do harm to the US.

Al Qaeda is operating in Iraq. By leaving Iraq and setting timetables and all the rest - as Congress is voting to do in their latest measures - they would be handing a sanctuary to al Qaeda, which is the terrorist group that attacked the US on 9/11, at the USS Cole, at the Khobar Towers, at the African embassies, and is currently trying to attack us yet again.

How does withdrawing troops where they have the capabilities to kill al Qaeda actually make us safer? Or do Democrats believe that al Qaeda isn't in Iraq, despite al Qaeda itself announcing that this is the case?

All you will get from Democrats is that the war is lost, that leaving Iraq means that al Qaeda will have one less place to attack us, etc.

That ignores the fact that al Qaeda has no problem crossing borders and attacking the US inside the US. If the US leaves Iraq, al Qaeda isn't going to leave. They're going to continue fighting there, and use Iraq as a springboard to launching attacks elsewhere. Going after al Qaeda where it is operating is the best and only way to deal with the problem, not withdrawing forces where they are already engaging al Qaeda.

And most importantly, if Democrats believe the war is truly lost, why not demand immediate withdrawal because anything less is nothing more than a cynical ploy to convince themselves and their followers that they gave this a chance and are putting the military through a meatgrinder to prove a point (wrongly to boot). Sen. Harry Reid repeatedly has stated the US has lost in Iraq, and his clarifications on the matter only show that he has no interest in knowing otherwise. The same goes for Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Neither bothers to show up for military briefings on the situation in Iraq, so how can they form an informed opinion on the situation?

Instead, they take comfort in passing mealy mouthed bills that have absolutely no chance of being passed as though they think this somehow fulfills their obligation to the troops and to secure ongoing funding for the military operations in Iraq.

This is fecklessness of the worst kind, and it will do nothing except embolden the insurgents and terrorists in Iraq, give comfort to the Iranians in knowing that the divided US polity can be exploited to further their own goals for the region, and al Qaeda knows that if it can simply hold out long enough that it will claim victory once again because they have the will and fortitude to deal with setbacks while the US does not. The Democrats simply do not recognize the power of their words and what it does to those who listen overseas - especially the insurgents, terrorists, and other enemies of the US, not to mention US allies or potential allies.

The Democrats are handing enemies of the US an easy propaganda victory, and yet it is the Democrats who think that Rudy is out of line?

At least there are some GOPers who recognize that Reid's words are damaging more than just domestic politics. They're calling for Reid to step down. With Reid's statements and falsehoods, one needs a scorecard to keep track.

UPDATE:
The Senate passed their version of the defeat and retreat bill 51-46 and the full rundown will be listed here. It will most certainly be vetoed by President Bush. What a way to send messages. Speaking of sending messages, here's one for Reid from Sen. Lieberman.

Baby Steps

New Jersey Gov. Corzine is finally walking around his hospital room, which is a major accomplishment since he was on a ventilator until earlier in the week. He's going to be on pain medication and antibiotics for some time to come because of the risk of infection and ongoing pain from his injuries and the few steps he did take were enough to tire him out:

With the assistance of a walker, Gov. Jon S. Corzine took his first steps on Wednesday since he was seriously injured in a car accident two weeks ago, administration officials said.

In his daily e-mail update on Mr. Corzine’s condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, Anthony Coley, Mr. Corzine’s communications director, also said that signs of the governor’s having suffered a possible infection to the trachea, or windpipe, had cleared.

Mr. Corzine is still receiving pain medication, and antibiotics to prevent any infection in his left leg, which was fractured in two places during the accident. But Tom Shea, Mr. Corzine’s chief of staff, said that the governor could be released from the hospital as soon as Monday.

Indeed, Mr. Corzine, a Democrat in his second year in office, was feeling strong enough on Wednesday to take a call from someone with whom he has disagreed vehemently over policy in recent years: President Bush.

“They spoke casually for a few minutes, and the governor thanked the president for his call and well wishes,” Mr. Coley said in the e-mail statement.

It's interesting that Gov. Codey has not called on Corzine and the governor's aides have not allowed anyone to photograph him since the accident:

governor’s aides have refused to allow reporters or photographers to see him, and it remains unclear when he will greet visitors beyond the small circle of family, friends and aides who have been in to see him so far.

UPDATE:
Corzine has been named in a complaint for not wearing his seat belt. We'll see just how far that really goes. It's more symbolic than anything else.

UPDATE:
The first photo of Corzine since the accident has been released and Corzine considers himself to be the most blessed person on the planet for surviving the accident.

No Links Between Cho and Victims

Investigators have pored through Cho's computers and phone records and have found no links between him and his 32 victims. This means that it is increasingly likely that no one will ever entirely know why Cho went on one of the worst spree killings on a school campus in US history.

Flaherty said investigators also have been unable to answer one of the investigation’s most vexing questions: Why the spree began at the West Ambler Johnston dorm, and why 18-year-old freshman Emily Hilscher was the first victim.
He said police have searched Hilscher’s e-mails and phone records, but come up empty. Hilscher’s mother said she had not been updated on the investigation Friday night and declined to comment.
“We can’t make a link at this point,” Flaherty said. “We haven’t found anything to link Mr. Cho and Ms. Hilscher.”

So, was Hilscher simply a target of opportunity and in the wrong place at the wrong time? Possibly, though it doesn't make sense why Cho would first kill two people in Johnston Hall and then not only amble back to his dorm room to send off the package to NBC News and then return to campus to renew his murderous rampage in Norris Hall.

And the issue of whether Cho could have been stopped at any point or that campus officials could have done more will be raised in any lawsuits from victims' families, which are apparently inevitable.

UPDATE:
Cho apparently had sufficient ammo to continue his murderous rampage but committed suicide nonetheless before law enforcement could possibly take him alive. Meanwhile, Confederate Yankee points out that there are some folks who want to put Cho on the same level as those he murdered. One such person is a Virginia Tech psychology student who thinks that someone who murdered 32 people in cold blood should be remembered in the same breath as the murderer himself.

A senior Virginia Tech psychology major has identified herself in a letter to the editor in the Collegiate Times as the person who's been placing a stone at the memorial for Seung-Hui Cho.

The writer, Katelynn L. Johnson, wrote in the lengthy letter that she placed the stone at the memorial at 4 a.m. last Thursday morning in the dark to avoid drawing attention.

"I refuse to do what is popular and agree with everyone around me that only 32 people died on Monday. 33 died."She said in the letter that she intends to continue adding a stone whenever it is removed, as was the case earlier this week.

33 people died. However, 32 were murdered and the 1 other person, Cho, was responsible for that slaughter before killing himself. Conflating the numbers doesn't do any justice to those who Cho killed. The important thing to keep in mind is that these people didn't simply die - Cho brutally and methodically murdered them. Johnson just doesn't get it.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Notes Imam's Death Threats Stem From Koranic Interpretation

From John Gibson’s radio show yesterday. Thanks to reader Emma for sending it along. Gibby wants to know what she thinks of Imam Fouad ElBayly telling an interviewer that she deserves to die for defaming Islam. Exactly right, retorts AHA; that’s what the Koran says. The man’s just following his religion. The takeaway: “This imam has been strikingly honest.”

It's tough to rebut Hirsi's logic considering that it's based entirely on the imam's interpretation of the Koran.

The death threats are appropriate because that is what the Koran demands of its adherents. If the imam didn't issue a fatwa for Hirsi's death, he would be acting as an apostate by not carrying out the letter and spirit of the Koran, itself a sin punishable by death.

Rosie's Riveting Stay at The View Coming to End?

TMZ has now confirmed the buzz that we exclusively reported last night: Rosie O'Donnell will announce on today's show that she is leaving "The View." And TMZ has confirmed that "View" honchos are already searching for her replacement.

So, if she's indeed leaving The View, what are the circumstances? Is it Rosie's choice to leave or is she being forced out. And, if she's being forced out, what is the reason behind it?

Don Surber jumps to the conclusion that she was being forced out. From what little we know thus far, I don't know what to think, though if she is indeed leaving the show, bloggers the world over lose a ripe target for scorn, derision, and good comedic material.

I'd wait to see what Rosie has to say for herself along with what Barbara Walters has to say to know what really went down.

I'm no fan of Rosie, but she does what she needs to do bring attention to the show. She's extremely good at it - from her kerfuffle with Donald Trump to her nonsensical ravings about 9/11 conspiracies.

She's every much a shock-jock style personality as Howard Stern or Don Imus are. Half the folks who turn in are watching her because they're fans, while the other half can't wait to slam her. And that means ratings. Ratings are what keeps shows such as The View on the air.

Yet, if she's being fired because of what she's said, then something is truly wrong with the media business. If it was a personality conflict with others on the show, then that's a valid concern, but if she was fired over what she was said, then her own concerns about the speech police holds valid.

Businesses have the right to determine what is or isn't said on their property - in this case, the programs they air. However, there is a definite concern that businesses like ABC are making poor business choices by limiting speech because of pressure from groups that want to impose their speech codes on others.

UPDATE:
This ABC News piece suggests the split is amicable, though it appears that there were issues over renewal of her contract that couldn't be overcome. Money talks and Rosie walks because they couldn't come to terms.

UPDATE:
That ABC News article claims to be an exclusive, and yet the TMZ piece predated the ABC report. That's some exclusive ABC News got. Sister Toldjah has a good roundup.

Port Authority Considers Selling Air Rights Over PABT

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has entered into negotiations to sell the air rights to Vornado over the bus terminal at 42nd and 8th Avenue to build a 1.3 million sf office building and to expand the bus terminal to permit 23 additional gates.

The deal would also mean hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds that could go to other Port Authority projects.

Though the existing terminal is a far cry from its seediest days during the 1970s and 1980s, its mid-20th-century architecture remains uninspiring by any objective measure. Under the new plan, a gleaming rectangular tower set back from the outer edges of the existing facility will rise from the building's northern section at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street.

Overall, 1.3 million square feet of office space and 55,000 square feet of retail space would be built. If Vornado and the Port Authority cannot agree on a deal by October, the agency will be able to seek other bidders, Sigmund said.

"It's a hot market," Sigmund said. "We'll be doing what we're supposed to be doing: using the real estate development potential here to invest in transportation."

The arrangement follows several years of contentiousness between the Port Authority and Vornado after a prior, similar deal for an office tower atop the terminal went awry. Vornado sued the Port Authority, accusing the agency of breaking an agreement. The new deal requires the New York-based realty company to drop its outstanding litigation.

This has the makings of a very profitable deal all the way around. The Port Authority gets to leverage the bus terminal, which sees more than 200,000 customers come through on a daily basis, and Vornado gets a deal on a building in a very high traffic and high profile location. It would also sit across the street from the nearly completed NYT building. The deal would also end contentious litigation over an earlier deal that fell through.

The addition of bus gates will proceed even if the deal again falls through. The Port Authority currently loses money on the bus terminal despite the prime location and foot traffic. The Port Authority subsidizes bus terminal operations to the tune of $86 million a year. This deal would not only reverse the revenue flow, but would free up assets for use elsewhere in the system.

Now, if New Jersey Transit could do a similar deal for its Secaucus Transfer boondoggle, then we'd have a much more stable transit system that is better funded and more self sufficient.

USS Intrepid Renovations Continuing

Here's a sneak peak into the renovations the ship is undergoing while in drydock.

A Pocketfull of Kryptonite

Scientists have actually managed to discover a new mineral that matches the description of kryptonite that causes Superman to lose his superpowers.

Kryptonite, which robbed Superman of his powers, is no longer the stuff of comic books and films.

A mineral found by geologists in Serbia shares virtually the same chemical composition as the fictional kryptonite from outer space, used by the superhero's nemesis Lex Luthor to weaken him in the film "Superman Returns."

"We will have to be careful with it — we wouldn't want to deprive Earth of its most famous superhero!," said Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London's Natural History Museum.

Under the Cover of Rocket Fire

Hamas has stated that it will no longer be held to the truce, which was never truly a truce as Hamas and other Palestnian terrorists routinely violated it with rocket fire.

Well, after yesterday's incidents, Hamas launched yet more kassams at Israel, this time to divert attention from a possible plot to capture more Israelis to be held as bargaining chips for prisoner releases.

The barrages of Kassam rockets and mortar shells Hamas fired at Israel on Tuesday morning were meant to provide cover for and distract attention from an attempted infiltration by a terror cell, whose members intended to kidnap IDF soldiers deployed along the Gaza border, IDF sources reported Tuesday afternoon.

The sources said that the army's heightened alert, as well as a quick response by ground troops and IAF helicopters that had been hovering over Gaza, foiled the attempt. According to preliminary reports, no cell managed to cross into Israel.

The IDF has been on high alert in recent weeks, ever since receiving intelligence that Hamas was planning to abduct soldiers in a raid similar to the one near Kerem Shalom in June, 2006 in which Cpl. Gilad Schalit was captured.

According to an IDF source, Tuesday's attack was "Hizbullah-style," in that the group launched rockets to distract the troops on patrol and provide cover for the cell members' movements.

The Palestinian terrorists use the cover of a truce only as long as needed to regroup and rearm, and Hamas believes that now is the time to strike in force. Since last summer, Hamas has been licking its wounds and firing on Israel sporadically, leaving the bulk of rocket fire to come from other Palestinian terrorist groups.

UPDATE:
Predictably, Hamas and media pick up reports that the dissolution of the truce is Israel's fault. That, of course, ignores the continual kassam rocket fire launched by Palestinian terrorists without regard to any ceasefire or truce.

This puts the Palestinian Authority in a real difficult spot since Hamas is making no bones about their rocket attacks on Israel, and the PA needs to paper over the reality so that the West and the US don't put the screws on what economic aid has been forthcoming.

UPDATE:
Someone in Israel seems to have a functioning neuron, and has noted the same thing I've been saying for some time now. The Palestinians keep mistaking restraint for weakness. The latest Hamas barrage includes 12 rockets and 20 mortars. Thankfully no one has been injured, but the point of that fire was to cause injury and carnage.

The Battle For Ground Zero, Part 225

Mayor Bloomberg released his plans for the City that stretch into 2030. Very little was actually said about the one place that should be a focal point for redevelopment - Ground Zero. Steve Cuozzo takes him to task for that oversight.

Cuozzo has been slamming the Transit Authority as well, for making Lower Manhattan impossible to live and work in because of all the construction and very little to show for it. Streets are torn up in a haphazard manner and businesses suffer because people are reluctant to go to area restaurants because of all the construction.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jerrold Nadler is calling on the EPA to widen its study of health effects as a result from the collapsing towers beyond just those workers who toiled on the pile and include thousands who lived downwind from the burning wreckage for weeks and months.

Speaking at a Congressional hearing held in Brooklyn Borough Hall, they said that with the recent focus on the deaths and illnesses of people who worked at the World Trade Center disaster site, effects on those farther from ground zero were being overlooked.

Several experts presented evidence that they had gathered in recent years of increased asthma rates and widespread home contamination in Brooklyn, and urged more research to at least determine the extent of the problems.

Representative Jerrold L. Nadler, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, said that having already misled ground zero workers that the air they breathed was safe, the E.P.A. was now engaged in a “second cover-up.”

“This,” Mr. Nadler said, “is that the people in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City and Queens are still being poisoned daily.”

The hearing was conducted by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform and was presided over by Representative Edolphus Towns, a Democrat of Brooklyn.

Nadler is also engaging in quite a bit of embellishing considering that there is no evidence that anyone is being poisoned on a daily basis nearly six years after the attacks. There's no reason to exaggerate an already serious situation and all Nadler does is undermine the legitimacy of need for additional science to be conducted.

Rapping the Ban and Banning the Rap

Russell Simmons, who heads up one of the most influential music companies in the country, is calling for a ban of three words from radio airplay.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons said yesterday that the recording and broadcast industries should consistently ban three racial and sexist epithets from all so-called clean versions of rap songs and the airwaves.

Currently such epithets are banned from most clean versions, but record companies sometimes "arbitrarily" decide which offensive words to exclude and there's no uniform standard for deleting such words, Mr. Simmons said.

The recommendations drew mixed reaction and come two weeks after some began carping anew about rap lyrics after radio personality Don Imus was fired by CBS Radio and NBC for referring to the players on the Rutgers university women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."

Expressing concern about the "growing public outrage" over the use of such words in rap lyrics, Mr. Simmons said the words "bitch," "ho," and "nigger" should be considered "extreme curse words."

Are you kidding me? Does he honestly think that this will get the rappers to change their wordsmithing to something else?

Let's be absolutely clear here. These artists have the right to say whatever they want, and the government should not be involved in limiting what they have to say, regardless of whether it may offend the sensibilities of those who listen. There's a cure for that - change the station. George Carlin would be quite amused at all this.

As for the consideration that some words should be treated as extreme curse words, will Simmons take a step that he knows would cause an immediate change in how artists write their lyrics? Will he fire those rappers who use the words? Will he stop promoting them? Will his company stop profiting from their sales? You know, those are truly steps that would get the rappers to actually pay attention and change what they say and rap about. However, as you and I know, this isn't going to happen.

It wont happen and the reasons go beyond Simmons. Other music companies aren't likely to stop making money off artists who use these lyrics because they sell lots of records. We've seen how music companies get to adjust the image of artists in their stables - just look at what they do on American Idol to adjust and tweak an image to get the musicians to appeal to a wider audience. The same goes for other artists who do everything from changing their name (John Mellencamp) to changing their look and sound from album to album. So, we know that they've got the ability to impose change if they want to.

They don't want to, no matter how much some might protest - and it is interesting to note that the protests fall short of demanding people be fired as was the case with Don Imus and his staff.

Thus, the simple answer is really an excuse. They can hope that the government takes to banning certain words, and they can slap parential warning stickers on the albums, but they'll keep selling and the words still get spoken and heard.

The music companies, including Simmons' will keep making money off records that include themes that denigrate minorities and women.

Upgraded

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has been upgraded from critical condition to stable condition. He's now eating regular food and doctors expect that he'll be released from the hospital in about a week. He's facing months of rehabilitation and a painful recovery as the numerous broken ribs meant a much longer stay in the ICU than first anticipated.

Corzine wont resume his duties as governor while in the hospital. That means that Gov. Codey gets to play governor for just a bit longer.

Surrounded?

it seems that the Afghan military has holed up 200 Taliban and demanding their surrender or face the consequences. Among those suspected of being in this group is Mullah Dadullah, Mullah Omar's top thug.

I wouldn't give them the opportunity to consider surrender or a way out, since it is always possible for groups to slip out under the cover of night. However, Allah at Hot Air notes that Dadullah would be an intel goldmine of significant proportions and it would help the effort against al Qaeda and the Taliban in the region. Dadullah's been compared to Zarqawi in his depravities and fondness for snuff films.

Also, some additional context may be necessary in light of the recent killings of eight Afghan intel officers killed last week. Those eight intel officers may have had information relating to this gathering or were tracking information relating to the expected Taliban spring offensive and suggests that the Afghan intel/military establishment is penetrated by Taliban spies. That's yet another reason to not let up on the pressure.

NJ Politicos Getting Act In Gear For Disaster Relief

More than a week later, New Jersey politicians are finally catching up to their New York brethren. They're finally getting out and about and holding pressers to push for federal disaster relief.

U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, both Democrats, and state police Superintendent Rick Fuentes are expected to join acting Gov. Richard Codey for the FEMA meeting. Officials said Paulison might fly over North Jersey.

Codey on Friday asked Bush, for the second time, to declare parts of the state a disaster area, said Michelle Presson, chief of staff to Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage.

Such a designation would allow the state to get FEMA assistance. It would include help for individuals who lost property and for municipalities whose infrastructure was damaged in the disaster.

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, said the state congressional delegation on Friday sent another letter to Bush -- the delegation's second -- urging him to grant the designation. Like Codey's letter to Bush, the congressional missive narrowed an earlier request for a disaster designation across the whole state, to one focused on certain counties. Among them were Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Hudson counties.

"Federal inspectors have been working through the weekend to collect enough data to present Bush so he can issue a disaster declaration by [today[ or Tuesday," Rothman said.

Asked if it appeared that Bush would grant the designation, he said, "I'm hopeful."

Menendez and Rothman are expected to tour flood areas in Lodi. They will meet with Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney and mayors whose towns were affected by the nor'easter.

It's quite interesting to watch the difference in how Sen. Schumer has been at the forefront of pushing for disaster relief in New York areas affected by the Nor'easter and the cloak of invisibility that surrounds New Jersey's tag team duo of Lautenberg and Menendez. Those two should have been getting in front of televisions on a nightly basis considering that the worst flooding in the region occurred in New Jersey and the Passaic River is finally falling below flood stage for the first time in a week. Paterson was among the most heavily affected areas, as was Bound Brook, and the local representatives were missing from much of the nightly news broadcasts pushing to ensure that their constituents knew where to go, what to do, and who to deal with to get the information and aid they desperately needed.

Boris Yeltsin: 1931- 2007

Former President Boris Yeltsin, who engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy, has died, a Kremlin official said Monday. He was 76.

Kremlin spokesman Alexander Smirnov confirmed Yeltsin's death, but gave no cause or further information. The Interfax news agency cited an unidentified medical source as saying he had died of heart failure.

Although Yeltsin pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy, many of its citizens will remember him mostly for presiding over the country's steep decline.

He was a contradictory figure, rocketing to popularity in the Communist era on pledges to fight corruption - but proving unable, or unwilling, to prevent the looting of state industry as it moved into private hands during his nine years as Russia's first freely elected president.

He steadfastly defended freedom of the press, but was a master at manipulating the media.

He amassed as much power as possible in his office - then gave it all up in a dramatic New Year's address at the end of 1999.

Yeltsin's greatest moments came in bursts. He stood atop a tank to resist an attempted coup in August 1991, and spearheaded the peaceful end of the Soviet state on Dec. 25 of that year. Ill with heart problems, and facing possible defeat by a Communist challenger in his 1996 re-election bid, he marshaled his energy and sprinted through the final weeks of the campaign. The challenge transformed the shaky convalescent into the spry, dancing candidate.

But Yeltsin was an inconsistent reformer who never took much interest in the mundane tasks of day-to-day government and nearly always blamed Russia's myriad problems on subordinates.

Yeltsin damaged his democratic credentials by using force to solve political disputes, though he claimed his actions were necessary to keep the country together.

He sent tanks and troops in October 1993 to flush armed, hard-line supporters out of a hostile Russian parliament after they had sparked violence in the streets of Moscow. And in December 1994, Yeltsin launched a war against separatists in the southern republic of Chechnya.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in the Chechnya conflict, and a defeated and humiliated Russian army withdrew at the end of 1996. The war solved nothing - and Russian troops resumed fighting in the breakaway region in fall 1999.

Actually, the AP article gets it wrong. He didn't engineer the final collapse so much as manage its collapse in fits and starts. Yeltsin attempted to fill the shoes of Gorbochev, and did so quite unevenly.

There were moments where he shone - such as diffusing the attempt to take over the government in 1991 and again in 1993, but his refusal to deal with corruption and the heavy handed tactics utilized in Chechnya diminish his stature considerably.

The ongoing mess in Chechnya is one that the Russian government is still trying to deal with. Chechnya is a major thorn in the side of the Russian government and hundreds of thousands have died and been displaced as a result of ongoing fighting in the region. It has become a terrorist haven, some with links to al Qaeda.

Islamists In America

The Islamists called for the death of Salman Rushdie for his book the Satanic Verses. Those Islamists were the ruling mullahs in Iran, and their disciples around the world forced Rushdie into hiding and around the clock security.

Well, we've got an Islamist in Pittsburgh, PA, calling for the death of a leading critic of the Islamists, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Go ahead, say anything that comes into your mind -- even if you don't agree with your minister, your priest, your rabbi. Even if you think you're right and they've got it all wrong, as long as you're not making a direct threat to someone, you can disagree or turn your back and walk away to another faith or to no faith at all.

Here, in America, it's OK. In a land of more than 3,000 diverse religions, your right to religious liberty is a guaranteed protection under the First Amendment.

"The key in the U.S. from the beginning has been to make sure all religious groups not only understand freedoms, but connect them to their own commitment," said Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar and director of educational programs at the First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va., and Nashville.

A community debate over religious freedom surfaced in Western Pennsylvania last week when Dutch feminist author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee who has lived under the threat of death for denouncing her Muslim upbringing, made an appearance at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

Islamic leaders tried to block the lecture, which was sponsored through an endowment from the Frank J. and Sylvia T. Pasquerilla Lecture Series. They argued that Hirsi Ali's attacks against the Muslim faith in her book, "Infidel," and movie, "Submission," are "poisonous and unjustified" and create dissension in their community.

Although university officials listened to Islamic leaders' concerns, the lecture planned last year took place Tuesday evening under tight security, with no incidents.

Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of the Johnstown Islamic Center, was among those who objected to Hirsi Ali's appearance.

"She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death," said ElBayly, who came to the U.S. from Egypt in 1976.

Hirsi Ali, an atheist, has been critical of many Muslim beliefs, particularly on subjects of sexual morality, the treatment of women and female genital mutilation. In her essay "The Caged Virgin," she also wrote of punishment, noting that "a Muslim's relationship with God is one of fear."

If you speak ill of Islam, the Islamists demand your death. This is what happened with the cartoon riots, and this happens every day around the world where Islamists seek to force the submission of non-Muslims. They do not tolerate any criticism of their religion, and will engage in violence at even the most obscure slight.

One really has to wonder how is it possible that a religion could have such a thin skin. After all, we don't hear about riots when Arabs repeat age-old blood libels against Jews in Israel. We don't hear about Christians rioting and looting after a Virgin Mary is desecrated with dung or an image of Jesus Christ on a crucifix is submerged in urine.

No, we do hear about Muslims rioting when someone draws cartoons satirizing the violent nature of the Islamists themselves. These cartoons became a self-fulfilling prophesy, and underscored the problems within Islam and those that push the most violent tendencies within the religion.

Destined to Fail Rail Commuters

This is going to be a major reason why this second rail tunnel will not be built anytime soon. New York City is reportedly agreeing to fund half the cost of a second rail tunnel into Manhattan from New Jersey and would use the proceeds from a congestion pricing scheme to do so.

New York City has agreed to fund nearly half the projected $7.2 billion cost of a second trans-Hudson River rail tunnel under Mayor Michael Bloomberg's new 25-year transportation improvement plan, according to a high-ranking transportation official familiar with the arrangement.

Proceeds from the Bloomberg administration's proposal to charge as much as an $8 congestion fee for cars entering much of Manhattan would help fund the city's $3.5 billion commitment to the long-awaited tunnel, the official said.

But there is a major catch: The city will follow through on the commitment only if the congestion pricing plan becomes reality -- and that will require the New York Legislature's approval, according to the official.

Congestion pricing, which has gained momentum worldwide in recent years, would generate upward of $500 million per year for the city, while, hopefully, reducing traffic. It would be in effect during workday hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and apply to vehicles entering the city below 86th Street.

Cars and trucks coming from New Jersey via the Holland and Lincoln tunnels and George Washington Bridge would get a credit for their toll against the congestion fee. For example, if the congestion fee is $8, then cars paying the typical current maximum toll of $6 would only pay an additional $2.

Bloomberg said "there's no magic number" for setting the fee, but it has to be high enough to get people to switch to mass transit and low enough to remain affordable.

For starters, there is already tremendous opposition against yet another regressive tax on residents and those who commute into Manhattan. A fee of $8 per day to commute into the heart of Manhattan translates into more than $3,000 per year. On a tight budget, that is more than enough to force commuters to look for jobs elsewhere.

You might get less congestion, but that's because the economy will slow to a crawl or begin to shrink. With fewer businesses operating in the city, you'll get your reduction in pollution and congestion, but far fewer people priming the economy with their expenditures within the City.

So, the badly needed rail tunnel is going to be dependent upon a tax that has next to no chance of ever being passed.

This is some way to improve access to the region's core and improve the economic vitality of the entire region.

It's based on wishful thinking and a mass transit system that is already overburdened. The reason why a second rail tunnel is being built into Manhattan from New Jersey is precisely because there is no additional capacity on the Northeast Corridor and therefore no additional trains can enter Manhattan during peak hours.

How would all those people who would supposedly be deterred from entering Manhattan as a result of congestion pricing enter the City to go to work and do business in the City if they've been priced out of driving?

And to further salt the wounds of this ongoing plan is the fact that New Jersey is going to contribute $500 million towards the needed rail tunnels. That's the rough cost of what it took to build the Secaucus Transfer, which would be rendered virtually obsolete because the additional rail tunnel into Manhattan would enable one-seat rides into Manhattan from the Bergen/Main and Pascack Valley lines. So, not only has New Jersey Transit spent hundreds of millions on a project that is going to be considered obsolete, but the money that could have gone to build an absolutely crucial rail tunnel into Manhattan is now sunk into a project and fare increases were needed to help defray the debt servicing.

Instead of building a bare bones facility to permit commuters to switch between the rail lines at Secaucus, NJ Transit went with the gold-plated option, knowing full well that they would be working on a long term plan that would render the station obsolete. It is this kind of short sighted planning that has meant a mass transit system that is cash strapped and unable to fulfill its missions.

Somalia in Crisis

The New York Times reports that Somalia is heading towards its worst crisis yet. That's a curious position to take considering that the country has seen no functional central government in decades and the lawlessness has been a way of life for a generation.

Hundreds of thousands have sought sanctuary in squalid refugee camps.

Fatality figures vary widely, but the most conservative estimates put the toll from the past month near 1,000, with 200 people killed in the past week.

Most of the victims are civilians caught in a cross-fire of shelling between insurgents and government troops. Entire city blocks and countless homes have been leveled.

The shelling in some of Mogadishu’s neighborhoods was so intense on Sunday that many residents were unable to get to hospitals — or cemeteries. Some people buried their relatives in makeshift graves, along streets under mounds of gravel.

“They are pounding us,” said Fadumo Ali Hussein, a mother of eight children.

Ms. Hussein said her sister bled to death on Sunday after she was hit by a piece of shrapnel.

“We couldn’t get her to a doctor,” she said.

Diplomatically, things look grim, too. On Saturday, Eritrea, a neighbor widely suspected by Ethiopian intelligence agents of supporting Islamists in Somalia, pulled out of a regional organization that had been acting as a counterweight to rising tensions in the region.

The organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which included Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea, was trying to broker peace in Somalia and address the combustible rivalry between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The two countries recently fought a costly border war, and many diplomats fear that Somalia could turn into a proxy battle, with Ethiopia supporting Somalia’s weak transitional government and Eritrea backing the insurgents.

The Foreign Ministry of Eritrea issued a short statement saying that it had “suspended membership” in the regional organization because of “a number of repeated and irresponsible resolutions.”

The African Union has also tried to intervene in Somalia and earlier this year promised to quickly dispatch 8,000 peacekeepers. But so far, only about 1,500 Ugandan soldiers have arrived, and they are mostly hunkered down at the airport in Mogadishu.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations said in a report released Friday that more drastic steps might need to be taken, including forming a “coalition of the willing” to step into Somalia to restore order.

But Somalia’s government seems to be in no mood to stop the fighting. Ali Mohamed Gedi, the transitional prime minister, warned Mogadishu’s residents, thought to number around two million before the recent clashes, to clear out of the city because there was no cease-fire in sight.

“Until the terrorists are wiped out from Somalia, the fighting will go on,” Mr. Gedi said in a radio interview broadcast this weekend. “The battle is clearly between terrorists linked to Al Qaeda and the government supported by Ethiopian and A.U. troops.”

Ah, another coalition of the willing. Who will step up? Count on the US being asked to do the heavy lifting once again? Somalia's government recognizes the ongoing threat posed by the Islamists who seek to reimpose their dominion. They're engaged in an insurgency designed to maximize casualties and have no interest in peaceful coexistence.

Bloomberg's Tree Planting Policy

It's a good idea to plant trees, and Mayor Bloomberg is looking to plant 1 million new trees in New York City over the next decade. That's going to have a huge effect on the microclimate that is created by the City's streets, buildings, and residents who inhabit such a densely built area.

Trees not only reduce air pollution, but they help moderate air temperatures.

The city estimates it has about 5.2 million trees, covering about 24 percent of the five boroughs’ land mass. The national average for cities is about 27 percent. A little more than 592,000 of New York’s trees are planted along the street, and the city would like to increase that number by 210,000 during the next decade.

Joshua Laird, assistant commissioner of planning for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said it will cost about $37 million annually to plant and maintain 1 million more trees.

In addition to cleaner air and reduced energy demands that new trees would bring, Mr. Laird said they also would capture more storm water runoff, reducing pollution in the rivers.

The plan also would require trees to be planted at new developments.

Officials said they hope the program will stop the city’s long history of losing trees to development. Between 1984 and 2002, New York lost some 9,000 acres of vegetative cover, according to city estimates.

So what is the problem?

Follow through.

Will the Mayor's tree planting proposals actually get implemented and fully funded over the life of the initiative or will it fall by the wayside the moment the first budget crisis hits?

End The War: Start Demonstrating Against the Bad Guys

It's an amazing thing watching the anti-war types and leftists continually calling for an end to the war in Iraq. Nowhere in their ongoing calls do they call on the terrorists to stop their suicide car bombings and mass murder of Iraqis and instead heap nothing but blame on the Bush Administration as if suicide bombers is something that the Bush Administration invented.

It did not. Iraq is a battlefield precisely because there are jihadis and insurgents who are causing mayhem and carnage. Why not focus the efforts on undermining the jihadis and insurgents instead of the US and Iraqi efforts to quell the violence.

After all, but for the jihadi, al Qaeda and insurgent violence, the US could begin reducing troop numbers.

But don't take my word for it, consider someone who lives in Iraq:

Even more appalling I see and hear some people who think the solution is to end the war from our end and I can't find an argument more naïve than this—I've seen enough wars in my life that I can't remember a day when there was peace and I hate wars more than they can imagine. But we didn't start his war; it's the terrorists who started this war against life.

Instead of telling us to stop fighting back, I'd like to see some people stand up and protest the crimes of the terrorists and tell them to stop the killing and destruction…turn the stop-the-war campaign against the terrorists, is that too much to ask for?

Tell the criminals to stop killing us and stop attacking the people who are risking their lives fighting for liberty and equality.

We're not asking the media and the stop-the-war crowd to carry arms and shoot the terrorists; we just want them to stop shooting at us.

It's a real simple thing really - if leftists truly abhor violence and war, demand the jihadis and insurgents stop the carnage. It is not the US that is busy killing scores of people in car bombings and suicide bombings but the jihadis and insurgents.

The problem is that the anti-war types are not interested in peace, but ensuring that the US loses. The anti-war types and leftists think that the US is the bad guys, not the jihadis and insurgents who have no problems making videos showing beheading of their victims, car bombing marketplaces, attacking police stations, blowing up mosques to incite sectarian conflict, and otherwise trying to destroy infrastructure and a nascent government's capability to govern and manage a country still trying to find its footing in a very dangerous part of the world.

HT: Michelle Malkin

Into the Mind of a Killer

What was Cho Seung-Hui Cho thinking in the days and weeks leading up to the massacre at Virginia Tech? That's the big question that investigators are trying to figure out.

Was he taking a page out of the demented playbook of other mass killers like the Columbine school massacre duo?

He was definitely training for something major in the days and weeks before the massacre as he went to a rifle range to train.

Cho honed his deadly skills during at least two visits to an outdoor public firing range in the Jefferson National Forest, a short drive from the university campus, and a separate session in Roanoke, Va., in mid-March.

"When I saw him up here, he was kind of mediocre," said Randy Elmore, 54, of Pembroke, Va., who regularly visits the range.

"He wasn't that great of a gunman."

Once he wore camouflage, Elmore recalled. He would occupy shooting stalls at the edges, in either the first or 10th of the 10 booths. He never brought a target and mostly shot aimlessly at an open range, Elmore said.

Karan Grewal, 21, a Cho suitemate, told The Post the troubled gunman started working out in February - making daily visits to the university gym to pump iron.

"Even when I didn't go, I saw him getting ready to go to the gym," Grewal said.

But the loner never used free weights, since he had no one to "spot" him. "I didn't see him bench-press, ever," Grewal said.

At around the same time his workout regimen began, Cho began stockpiling guns and ammo.

On Feb. 2, he ordered a Walther P22 pistol from a Green Bay, Wis.-based Web site, thegunsource.com, paying $267 with a credit card. The gun arrived six days later at JND Pawnbrokers, across the street from the university. Cho picked up the weapon on Feb. 9.

Around March 12, Cho bought a Glock 9mm from Roanoke Firearms.

Investigators also believe Cho used eBay to buy ammunition for his slaughter.

The eBay account for Blazers5505, which has been linked to Cho, bought two 10-round magazines for the Walther P22 - one of the weapons used in the massacre. The clips were bought from a gun shop in Idaho.

Once again, we see that there is no mention of extended ammo magazines. The question still remains how Cho's mental health status was not entered into the FBI database that would have flagged him as being ineligible to purchase firearms.

More details have also come out about his family life, and the continue to reinforce the impression that he was a loner and very quiet in most aspects of his life.

In Seoul, there was never much money, never enough time. The Cho family occupied a shabby two-room basement apartment, living frugally on the slender proceeds of a used-book shop. According to relatives, the father, Seung-Tae Cho, had worked in oil fields and on construction sites in Saudi Arabia. In an arranged marriage, he wed Kim Hwang-Im, the daughter of a farming family that had fled North Korea during the Korean War.

Their son was well behaved, all right, but his pronounced bashfulness deeply worried his parents. Relatives thought he might be a mute. Or mentally ill. “The kid didn’t say much and didn’t mix with other children,” his uncle said. “ ‘Yes sir’ was about all you could get from him.”

In 1984, relatives who had moved to the United States invited the family to join them. It took eight years to get a visa. In 1992, they arrived in Detroit and then moved on to Centreville, Va., home to a bustling Korean community on the fringe of Washington. They found jobs in the dry-cleaning business and worked the longest of hours. Dry cleaning is a favored profession among Koreans — some 1,800 of the 2,000 dry cleaners in the greater Washington area are run by Koreans — because it means Sundays off for church and sparse need for proficient English, exchanges with customers being brief and redundant.

The goal, of course, was to own one’s own business. But it did not happen for Seung-Tae Cho. He began as a presser — an 8 a.m.-to-10 p.m. job — and that is what he is today. His wife worked in the same capacity until a few years ago, when she accepted a job in a high school cafeteria so the family could have medical insurance.

They lived in a nondescript row house in a modest section of town, friendly but not overly sociable. Jeff Ahn, president of the League of Korean-Americans of Virginia, said the family was uncommonly private among the throbbing Korean-American community of about 200,000 in and around Washington. They shunned the more prominent Korean-language Christian churches, and prayed at a small church outside of town.

High school did not help Seung-Hui Cho surmount his miseries. He went to Westfield High School, one of the largest schools in Fairfax County. He was scrawny and looked younger than his age. He was unresponsive in class, and unwilling to speak.

And that haunted face.

Classmates recall some teasing and bullying over his taciturn nature. The few times he was required to speak for a class assignment, students mocked his poor English and deep-throated voice.

Gore's Not So Secret Campaign Run?

How is it that anyone can say with a straight face that Gore is assembling a campaign committee to explore yet another run for the President in secret? He might keep saying that he has no intention of running, and the poll numbers stand in stark opposition to his running, but that doesn't mean he doesn't think about running all the time and what could have been.

He's getting plenty of free publicity simply by not running at this point. One of the problems of declaring as early as so many candidates have done on both sides of the aisle is that they have to burn through the contributions they've raised thus far to stay even with other candidates. Gore has no such problem given that he's got a critically acclaimed movie that has kept him in the public eye and a new book coming out later this spring to again curry free publicity.

The idea that Gore might run is the same kind of seductive logic behind a draft Fred Thompson run among GOPers. It seems that the candidate that isn't running is the one that people want to vote for - until they actually begin reading through their positions and getting to know what he's all about.

And in that respect, people will quickly realize that all the negatives that dogged Gore in the past are going to return.

Palestinians Always Calling For Israel's Destruction

The headline on Fox makes it seem as though this is a sudden turnaround in Hamas' position. It is not. Hamas has been calling for Israel's destruction ever since it was founded.

The Hamas Charter demands Israel's annihilation as a political and religious obligation.

Hamas leaders recite these calls to destruction on a near daily basis.

That Israel would take actions to defend itself from a terrorist group that seeks its destruction should be self-evident and unremarkable. However, since it is Israel, these issues are raised and debated as though there is some level of acceptable violence against a nation-state that should be imposed upon it.

Hamas says that Palestinian blood isn't cheap. Funny, but the Palestinian terrorists have no problem putting children in the line of fire, recruiting them to become suicide bombers, and sending them to their deaths in a futile effort that is designed to curry international media attention because if Israelis wound Palestinian kids who have been placed in the line of fire, the situation is not blamed on the terrorists who cruelly and purposefully seek such engagements, but the Israelis, who often take gunfire from terrorists placed behind the kids throwing rocks.

But while Hamas thinks Palestinian blood isn't cheap, they can't get enough of drawing Israeli blood. After all, that's part of their creed - to destroy Israel and there is no surer way than to kill as many Israelis as possible.