Pakistani Teen Arrested In Connection With Bhutto Assassination

A teenager who said he was part of a team of assassins sent to kill former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was arrested near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials said Saturday.

The teen also confessed to taking part in a plot to attack Shiites during Ashoura, even as police in Pakistan's far south said they had foiled suicide attacks planned for the Shiite Muslim festival.

In Karachi, police chief Azhar Farouqi said officers detained five men who were in the possession of explosives, detonators and a small quantity of cyanide intended for attacks on this week's Ashoura processions.

"With these arrests we have foiled major attacks," Farouqi said.

The intelligence official said the 15-year-old told investigators that the five-person squad was dispatched to Rawalpindi, where Bhutto was killed, by Baitullah Mehsud, a militant leader with strong ties to al-Qaida and an alliance with the Taliban in nearby Afghanistan, on Afghanistan's northwest border.

The senior official from Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the teen was arrested Thursday and was involved in a plot to attack Shiites during an Ashoura festival on Sunday.

Pakistan's Sunni extremists, who regard Shiites as heretics, often attack the community during Ashoura. On Thursday, 11 people died and 20 were injured in a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province.

The Islamists indoctrinate children to take up the cause of jihad, and tribal and familial pressures reinforce the indoctrination so you get instances where children are taught that killing and mass slaughters are acceptable behavior.

Of course, Mehsud's thugs offered up that this is nothing less than government propaganda and that Mehsud's thugs had nothing to do with the assassination. It's always curious how the press is so quick to get feedback from Mehsud and other Taliban thugs. Are they on speed dial?

It also ignores the evidence proffered that suggests that Mehsud's thugs were deeply involved in the assassination. Scotland Yard and the CIA have both pointed at Mehsud's group as being behind the assassination.

Why Did British Airways Flight 38 Crash?

All the heroics of the flight crew aside, the real question is why did the British Airways Boeing 777 lose power to both of its engines with less than 2 minutes before landing at Heathrow Airport outside London?

Investigators have little to go on at this point.

Theories about the cause of the crash include mechanical or electronic failure, or water somehow contaminating the fuel. Aviation sources at Manchester Airport said a BA ground engineer told them: "We've been told to carry out checks to make sure that any water in our fleet's fuel tanks is removed. Water contamination is a constant and common problem in fuel."

Air accident investigators said yesterday that the plane had been on autopilot and autothrottle at 600ft, over West Hounslow, and in its landing approach after a normal and uneventful flight. At that point, the autothrottle had demanded an "increase in thrust", meaning more power, from the engines but they failed to respond.

With time running out, the flight crew then tried to move the throttle levers manually and the engines again failed to respond.

By then, the plane was seconds from the ground with Mr Coward at the controls and so sudden and dramatic was the failure that the crew did not have time to sound a warning. It would have taken less than 40 seconds for the plane to travel the last two miles.

It's a mysterious crash that has ramifications for the rest of the industry if the plane lost power for some reason other than water contamination in the fuel systems.

The Insanity of Using Food For Fuel

The push to use ethanol and other food based products as fuel is as inane and insane as one can get. It not only increases the costs for food - consider that corn-based products have seen significant price increases because more corn is being devoted to produce ethanol, but it reduces availability of those food products, especially in the Third World.

It also gets those regions that are already distressed environments, like in Central and South America, to expand cutting down forests to plant crops with the purpose of growing them to use as fuel. How exactly is that environmentally conscious? It isn't.

The use of food crops for fuel has turned into the worst of all possible solutions - skyrocketing prices for both fuel and food:

This is the other oil shock. From India to Indiana, shortages and soaring prices for palm oil, soybean oil and many other types of vegetable oils are the latest, most striking example of a developing global problem: costly food.

The food price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, based on export prices for 60 internationally traded foodstuffs, climbed 37 percent last year. That was on top of a 14 percent increase in 2006, and the trend has accelerated this winter.

In some poor countries, desperation is taking hold. Just in the last week, protests have erupted in Pakistan over wheat shortages, and in Indonesia over soybean shortages. Egypt has banned rice exports to keep food at home, and China has put price controls on cooking oil, grain, meat, milk and eggs.

According to the F.A.O., food riots have erupted in recent months in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

“The urban poor, the rural landless and small and marginal farmers stand to lose,” said He Changchui, the agency’s chief representative for Asia and the Pacific.

A startling change is unfolding in the world’s food markets. Soaring fuel prices have altered the equation for growing food and transporting it across the globe. Huge demand for biofuels has created tension between using land to produce fuel and using it for food.

You could reduce the amount of land disturbed for fuel production by relying on oil and gas wells using modern technology. For example, an oil rig facility only a couple of acres in size could actually pump oil for many miles around.

The same goes for a nuclear power plant, but those facilities are opposed by many environmental groups, not to mention the NIMBY types.

So, the end result is an energy policy of bad choices forcing even worse choices on economies that can ill afford to make any bad choices - such as those in the Third World.

What About Israel's Human Rights

Human rights groups, including the International Committee for the Red Cross, and the UN are busy playing their moral equivalence games.

They're busy equating Palestinian terrorist attacks with Israel's inalienable right to defend itself from attack by going after those terrorists.

From the UN:

The U.N. Human Rights Council is to hold an emergency session next Wednesday to examine alleged violations in Gaza after Israel closed border crossings and carried out attacks on the strip, a U.N. source said on Friday.

The special one-day session, requested by Arab and Muslim countries, is the third on the Palestine issue since the 47-member state forum was set up in June 2006.

The Arab-Muslim request called for action on "human rights violations emanating from Israeli military incursions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the recent ones in occupied Gaza and the West Bank town of Nablus", according to a copy obtained by Reuters.

But for the incessant terrorist attacks - more than 3,000 since 2005, and more than 200 since January, Israel would not need to shut its border with Gaza nor take military action against Hamas and other terrorist groups operating in Gaza. That gets ignored, as the Arabs and other morally bankrupt types equate Israel's self defense with terrorists' rights to attack Israel.

The Palestinians themselves are playing this to the hilt. They're repeatedly using the term massacre to describe a gunfight that Hamas initiated and lost. Abbas claims that Israel's airstrikes are brutal, ignoring the terrorist attacks on Israel. As always, Abbas gives Palestinian terrorism a complete pass.

Amtrak Strike Averted

NJ Transit, LIRR, and Metro North commuters can breath a sigh of relief and it's good news for hundreds of thousands of commuters around the nation who would have been adversely affected by an Amtrak strike that would have begun January 30. The union and the railroad have apparently come to terms on a new contract.

People familiar with the agreement, speaking on condition of anonymity because it had not been formally announced, said the labor agreement adopts the recommendations of a presidential emergency board report issued Dec. 30.

A public signing ceremony for the deal was tentatively scheduled for Friday morning.

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said Friday morning that he did not have any information to release.

The unions had been negotiating with the railroad over a new contract since the terms of the last one ended in 1999. The PEB had recommended that wage increases be made retroactive and under the Railway Labor Act, most disputes are usually resolved with a contract based on the emergency board's report.

It isn't entirely clear how Amtrak will actually pay for the retroactive wage increases, and I'm sure that details will have to be worked out.

Derision, Scorn or Pity

How should you feel about the ongoing violence perpetrated by the Palestinian terrorists on Israel? Dozens of rockets fired at Israel with the intent to kill and maim, and the media reacts only when Israel takes action to defend itself. It portrays the Palestinians with pity, and nothing but derision and scorn when Israel defends itself.

Why should I feel pity for Palestinians when Israel closes its borders with Gaza and says that it will limit humanitarian aid into Gaza? Palestinians have used and abused those border crossings. They've smuggled in arms and personnel to carry on their war with Israel. Israel has no obligation to provide a mortal enemy with the very tools needed to bring about Israel's defeat and destruction. Yet, the media reports seek to do just that.

Israel strikes at abandoned ministry buildings, as though that will somehow convince the Palestinians that the Israelis mean business. The only thing that will convince the Israelis that they mean business is if the Israelis commit themselves to unconditionally defeating the Palestinians.

CNN wants you to feel pity for Palestinians. Why else include photos of Palestinian women crying alongside the article? They're crying because the Israelis killed their terrorist relative. I'm supposed to be moved by this?

Israel continues to get hit by kassam rockets and mortars, and those barely get a mention in the article, and invariably in the passive voice, while Israel's response is always in an active voice. It is propaganda in its most insidious form.

Israellycool has been liveblogging events. He's counted 9 kassams and 8 mortars today. Meanwhile, Egypt and Jordan are both looking to put pressure on Israel to curtail its self-defense.

UPDATE:
Jammie weighs in on the ongoing media coverage. I pity the media.

UPDATE:
Now the EU is getting into the game of trying to pressure Israel to loosen its restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank. Right, because letting up your guard while Palestinian terrorists continue operating there makes perfect sense.

The Syrians, meanwhile trot out a bunch of Palestinians to protest a massacre that never happened. They're engaging in agitprop based on claims that Israel massacred a bunch of Palestinian terrorists who were actively engaged in a gunbattle with Israeli forces after Palestinian snipers killed an Ecuadorian volunteer on an Israeli kibbutz. The Arab regimes around the region latch on to every action - real or imagined to bludgeon Israel in the media, and the media dutifully reports this without so much as a moment of critical thought or fact checking.

UPDATE:
To clarify on a point above. Hamas claims that the ministry building was abandoned. Well, it probably was - if you consider its intent as a government building. Hamas has no interest in administering Gaza - it is intent upon killing Israelis, and the building was likely cover for those operations. I suspect that the reason the Israelis struck the building was because it was most likely an ammunition depot or equipment storage facility for the terrorist group, and Hamas likely lost quite a bit of their equipment in the process. They'll probably have to explain the losses to their bosses in Syria and Iran.

The Israelis also flattened a Hamas' naval facility along the coast in Central Gaza.

Hamas purposefully places their terrorist facilities, ammo dumps, and terrorists in the middle of civilian areas, so it should come as no surprise that Israel's response will be against those facilities. The onus is on the terrorists for all those casualties, but they see the body count as something to be proud of. They'll trot out the civilian victims as martyrs for the cause, which is the destruction of Israel. Anything to undermine Israel's right to exist is highlighted and pushed into the media reporting.

Star Trek Teaser Released

JJ Abrams is going to have one heck of a year. He's starting the year with a bang. Cloverfield, which opens today, is an Abrams production and the reviews have been pretty good so far.

He's going to end it with a new Star Trek movie, which includes some of the characters we've come to love, including Kirk, Spock and the gang on the original series - with new actors assuming those roles. I'm sure a whole lot of Trekkies out there are looking forward to it and a built in fanbase is sure to come out for it given it has been a few years since a good Trek movie came out - First Contact being the last.

The teaser itself isn't exactly one to rave about, so I hope that the later releases bring it.

Dropping the Ball

Carl in Jerusalem has been following this story for some time now, and it's simply a travesty of justice. Four years ago, US State Department contractors John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Absolutely no attempt has been made to bring those responsible to justice.

The latest nonsense is that investigations can't proceed because Hamas is in control of Gaza. When the attack occurred, Gaza was under a combination of Israeli and Palestinian Authority control. The FBI was sent to investigate the attack, and they processed evidence from the scene. That no action has been taken since then suggests that they were concerned, even at that juncture, with covering for Fatah.

It is unconscionable for the US to continue with this charade. Fatah has done nothing to warrant any kind of support of the US, and yet here we are witnessing the US government failing to fully investigate and prosecute a case against the Palestinian Authority and Fatah.

Canadian Jihadi To Be Sentenced Friday For Plotting Mass Casualty Attacks

A Canadian who has pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to kill Americans and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. property will be sentenced Friday, his lawyer said.

Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, 25, pleaded guilty shortly after his arrest in 2002. His indictment and plea were unsealed late Thursday at the U.S. District Court in New York.

Prosecutors recommended last June that he be sentenced to life in prison.

Jabarah, also known by the nickname "Sammy," also allegedly pledged allegiance to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The government had been investigating Jabarah since his arrest overseas. Court papers allege he was trained in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.

He initially provided assistance to investigators, but then was discovered to be secretly plotting to carry out attacks against American agents and prosecutors, according to U.S. officials. Expect some more details to come to light tomorrow.

NJ Transit To Commuters: You're Screwed If Amtrak Strikes

NJ Transit simply doesn't have the capacity to handle the rush hour commute if Amtrak goes on strike January 30. They've pretty much admitted that their preparations for the strike involve nothing more than wishful thinking and prayers, because they can't do anything if Amtrak goes on strike - shuttering the Northeast Corridor and related facilities.

"A strike of any duration that shuts down the Northeast Corridor will cause severe disruption to our service and inconvenience to tens of thousands of commuters in New Jersey, as more than half of our 740 daily trains rely on the Northeast Corridor for all or part of their trips," Sarles said during the transit agency's monthly board meeting today in Atlantic City.



Amtrak operates the Northeast Corridor, and about 10,000 Amtrak employees from nine separate unions have been working without a contract since the beginning 2000. They have set a strike deadline of Jan 30, 12:01 a.m.

Four NJ Transits lines run on Amtrak tracks: Northeast Corridor, Raritan Valley, North Jersey Coast and Atlantic City.

NJ Transit officials remain optimistic a strike can be avoided. But they urged riders to consider arrangements to carpool or telecommute. They are working on contingency plans of their own, which would include directing Midtown Direct trains through Hoboken and running shuttle buses from rail stops to PATH stations in Newark, Hoboken and Harrison.

Nevertheless, an Amtrak strike would hobble local service, leaving NJ Transit able to handle just 40 percent of riders during peak hours, officials said.

New Jersey Economy To Lag Nation For Foreseeable Future

What would you expect when you're in a high tax, high cost of living state where the first impulse of the politicians is to tax and spend? It's not strong economic growth. It's stagnation and an increasingly crushing tax burden on those who remain.

New Jersey's economic growth will lag the nation's through 2017, a Rutgers economist predicted yesterday during a 10-year economic outlook conference in New Brunswick.

Nancy Mantell, director of the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service, is forecasting a 2.2 percent rate of annual state output growth between 2006 and 2017, slightly below her nationwide forecast of 2.5 percent in annual gross domestic product expansion.

"This differential is due to the relatively higher cost of living and doing business in New Jersey, as well as our lower rate of population growth, expected to average 0.6 percent," Mantell said.

Today, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said New Jersey added 29,400 jobs last year. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent in December, but averaged 4.3 percent for the full year.

The unemployment rate is helped because many find their jobs in Manhattan or Philadelphia.

The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 14

Bovis Lend Lease is in serious trouble. After a worker was killed after a major accident at its Trump SoHo work site, investigators have uncovered a trail of problems that mirrors that which was found at the Deutsche Bank building, for which it was the general construction contrator. The company is one of the largest construction firms in the City, and has worked on major projects including the Time Warner Center.

If a fire had broken out in the Trump SoHo building, the site of a construction accident that left one person dead this week, firefighters would have been unable to access one of the standpipes to carry water to the upper floors, according to detailed list of fire safety violations at the site that was obtained by The New York Sun yesterday.

After the accident Monday, Department of Buildings inspectors issued the violations to a general construction contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, the same company that is under criminal investigation after a broken standpipe in the former Deutsche Bank building led to the death of two firefighters six months ago.

The standpipe carries water from firefighters' hoses to upper floors in the event of a fire.

In the August incident, the standpipe had been broken off in the basement of the building and exits were blocked, leaving firefighters battling a blaze with insufficient water and few escape routes out of the toxic ground zero building.

Despite these findings, the City wants to cut back on the inspection schedule for construction sites. How many people are needlessly put in jeopardy because of that policy? The city should be increasing its work-site inspections, not decreasing them during times of economic growth because of the possibilities that workers are cutting corners and that companies are not using safe work practices including putting workers who are inexperienced into positions that pose hazards to themselves and others.

Meanwhile, work continues at Ground Zero as a series of controlled explosions will take place today to speed along the excavations at the site. Here are some more photos of the site taken within the last few weeks. Construction is proceeding for the Freedom Tower, along with the bathtub work along the South and East side of where 3 and 4 WTC are to be built.

UPDATE:
If you were expecting the Fulton Street Terminal to be build by 2008, you've got another thing coming. You're not going to see construction completed until 2010 at the earliest. Nice. That's the MTA for you. Actually, given that this is the MTA, expect the budget to soar, and the one redeeming architectural feature to be squashed like a bug.

UPDATE:
The Survivors Staircase is about to begin the slow process of being relocated from its current position (where Tower 2 is to rise) to the 9/11 Memorial.

In August, Avi Schick, the chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, proposed to extract the staircase whole from the surrounding concrete bulkhead, then reinstall it in the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum at ground zero.

Preparations are under way to do just that.

By late February, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, expects to build a steel framework beneath the five-foot-wide staircase.

That will permit workers to isolate the stairs from the rest of the remaining Vesey Street structure, which includes a fragment of terrazzo paving from the Tobin Plaza, a sloping surface where two escalators once ran and an entrance to the Cortlandt Street station on the No. 1 subway line, which has been closed since 2001.

Besides the staircase, workers will salvage part of the plaza pavement. A plywood barrier and several columns from the subway station will be taken to Hangar 17 at Kennedy International Airport, where large-scale 9/11 artifacts are kept.

The rest of the structure will be demolished.

“You have to do it with an extraordinary amount of care,” said Stephen Sigmund, chief of public and government affairs at the Port Authority.

Once the staircase is atop its steel cradle, it will be jacked up and rolled to Vesey Street. It will stand opposite the small park outside 7 World Trade Center until it is lowered by crane to the museum’s principal floor, almost at bedrock.

UPDATE 1/18/2008:
The Port Authority has announced that they will be conducting more controlled blasts at Ground Zero to prepare the site for foundation work.

Rocket Trails

Israeli Prime Minister Olmert says that Israel will not tolerate rocket fire. Where has he been for the past three years? Israel has been hit by more than 3,000 rockets since the Gaza withdrawal. Hundreds have slammed into Israel and injured Israeli civilians in the weeks leading up to, and subsequent to, the Annapolis peace conference. It is nice, however, to see that Olmert is realizing that the situation in the south is a war of the Palestinians' intent.

The Palestinian terrorist groups, including Fatah's al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PRC, and other spin off groups are continuing their ongoing rocket war against Israel.

The media seemingly only pays attention when Israel accidentally hits someone who isn't a terrorist. They write laudatory commentary about the death of a son of a terrorist - who was killed alongside more than a dozen of his father's terrorist minions, but gloss over the murder of an Ecuadorian volunteer who was murdered by a Palestinian sniper as he and a group of Israelis were trying to retrieve vehicles from a field after their kibbutz came under rocket and mortar fire. Gilad Shalit's father sent his condolences to Zahar over the death of his son. I would never expect to see Hamas do the same to an Israeli family whose child was killed by a Hamas thug or any terrorist. That's what separates the Israelis from the Palestinians. Israelis feel sorry for civilian casualties, while Hamas seeks to inflict as many civilian casualties as possible.

More than 15 rockets slammed into Sderot again, although Israel did manage to kill one of the leaders of Islamic Jihad along with his wife as they were driving.

Palestinian mouthpiece Saeb Erekat says that Israel's military actions in Gaza jeopardize the peace process. Let's just ignore all those rockets, shall we? Israel has been far too restrained in dealing with the terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank, and they've been far too complacent in understanding that negotiating with the terrorist groups while under fire will be mistaken for weakness and exploited. That's exactly what the Palestinians have been doing for years, and yet Olmert and other Israeli leaders have sought out negotiations with the terrorist groups despite the fact that they have yet to fulfill their obligations under Olso.

If and when these latest overtures of a peace process fail, fault should rest firmly with the Palestinians and the terrorist groups, but the media and the diplomats will spin this as Israel's fault, just as they usually do.

The media, and most certainly the Palestinians, will latch onto reports such as this, claiming that Israel is engaging in ethnic cleansing. Last time I checked, the only group excluded from living in Gaza is Jews. Israelis were forcibly removed from Gaza in 2005, and since then, the Palestinian terrorists have waged war against Israel, hoping to rid the region of Israelis.

UPDATE:
Israellycool has been liveblogging the situation over the past few days, and today is no exception.

Abbas is now threatening to resign if Israel doesn't stop with the escalations. Right. You go ahead and do that as if it's going to make any difference to the ongoing terrorism which you conveniently ignore when declaring that Israel is escalating the situation. Abbas would much rather Israel sit back and absorb all the rockets, mortars, and casualties, and thank the Palestinians for all that and more by giving up Israel's right to exist and dominion over Jerusalem and Israeli territory in general. Nowhere in his diatribe does he mention the rockets or mortars, which is the reason Israel is operating in Gaza in the first place.

Abbas is using this threat to not only puff up his feeble resume among Palestinians who have flocked to Hamas in the past, but to try and get the US to put pressure on Israel to stop going after Hamas. No matter how you slice and dice it, this is bad news for Israel and it once again points out how Abbas is no partner in peace.

UPDATE:
Elder of Ziyon has compiled a running tab of kassam rockets fired at Israel. Keep in mind that this is far from a complete list, and that each rocket attack is indicative of Palestinian terrorist intent to kill, maim, or injure Israelis and/or knock out Israeli infrastructure, including power grid.

UPDATE:
Sheik Yermami notes that 103 rockets have fallen in the last 36 hours alone.

UPDATE:
Israel has locked down Gaza. Well, that's been a long time in coming.

Late Thursday night, Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the closure of all border crossings between Israel and Gaza.

In announcing the measure, a ministry official said it would remain in effect for several days and would affect both commercial traffic and individual travelers. He added that, in the meanwhile, crossings would be authorised to respond to "exceptional humanitarian needs."

Expect the usual suspects to complain that Israel is engaging in collective punishment for the ongoing attacks against Israel, ignoring that the terrorists have repeatedly used those same border crossings and humanitarian aid shipments to smuggle in arms and weapons. Israel continues to provide its enemies with power, water, and food.

New Violence Flares In Kenya After Opposition Protests

Opposition protests resumed in Kenya on Wednesday, and as many people here feared, violence erupted across the country once again.

The worst clashes were in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city and an opposition stronghold, where mobs of furious young men hurled stones at police officers, who responded by charging into the crowds and firing their guns.

One of Kenya’s television stations broadcast images of a police officer in Kisumu shooting an unarmed protester who was dancing in the street and making faces at security agents. After the protester fell to the ground, the officer ran up to him and kicked him several times. Witnesses said the protester later died.

“There’s been war since the morning,” said Eric Otieno, a mechanic in Kisumu. “The police are whipping women, children, everyone. We were just trying to demonstrate peacefully.”

Eric Kiraithe, a spokesman for the Kenyan police, said the only people wounded by police officers were hooligans destroying property and robbing people.

“What we are seeing are teams of young men trying to commit crimes,” Mr. Kiraithe said. “You cannot call this a demonstration.”

Opposition leaders have vowed to carry on protests for two more days, and it seems that Kenya’s security forces, which have deemed all protests illegal, are cracking down harshly. On Wednesday afternoon, police officers in padded suits sealed off downtown Nairobi, the capital, and ordered everyone out, sending wave after wave of bewildered office workers trudging down the roads leading to the suburbs.

Fourteen of Kenya’s leading donors, including the United States, issued a statement this week warning the Kenyan government that they were reviewing foreign aid in light of the crisis. The United States gives the country more than $600 million in aid each year.

More than 200,000 have been displaced so far, and the situation is not going to improve anytime soon. The opposition refuses to accept the election results, which declared incumbent President Kabaki the winner. US officials attempted to conduct a count, but found the process hopelessly flawed. They couldn't figure out who won because of widespread fraud and accounting irregularities.

Boeing's Dreamliner A Nightmare In Disguise?

I've been critical of Airbus in the past for missing production deadlines with its A380 superjumbo, but Boeing has succumbed to delays as well on its 787 Dreamliner.

After a six-month delay announced last October, Boeing had been aiming to start test-flying the new midsize, long-haul plane by the end of March and deliver the first one to Japan’s All Nippon Airways Co. by the end of the year.

The new schedule calls for test flights to begin by late June. The company did not say how soon in 2009 it believes it can start delivering the plane, which has won more than 800 orders so far.

One of the first key milestones for the first plane — turning on its power — has been delayed until early in the second quarter, said Pat Shanahan, general manager of the 787 program. After that, it will take two to three months to run all the ground tests needed before the plane can fly.

Carson said the delay will prevent the company from meeting its ambitious goal of delivering 109 planes by the end of next year. He said the company will spend the next few months analyzing the status of the program before specifying how much it is lowering that target.

This is going to hit the company hard on its bottom line, and airlines may reconsider purchases down the road if the company can't meet its deadlines.

One of the reasons for the delays is the inability to get parts from its multiple subcontractors - including fasteners needed to link together pieces of the fuselage.

Former GOP Congressman Indicted For Funding Terrorism

A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

He was a representative from Michigan's Fourth Congressional District from 1981 to 1987. He was subsequently selected by President Ronald Reagan to serve as alternate representative to the United Nations General Assembly.

If these charges pan out, he should be sentenced to the maximum sentence. It's somewhat surprising that he wasn't brought up on charges of treason considering that he was actively funding sworn enemies of the United States.

UPDATE:
More on his background here.

UPDATE:
He's facing a 42-count indictment in federal court in Kansas City.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying _ money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Siljander, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was appointed by President Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.

He could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

The charges are part of a long-running case against the charity, which was formerly based in Columbia, Mo., and was designated by the Treasury Department in 2004 as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists.

In the indictment, the government alleges that IARA employed a man who had served as a fundraising aide to Osama bin Laden.

The indictment charges IARA with sending approximately $130,000 to help Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated as a global terrorist. The money, sent to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, was masked as donations to an orphanage located in buildings that Hekmatyar owned.

UPDATE:
A couple further points. He's been a lobbyist since he left government and the charges are directly related to his lobbying efforts. These charges also go back to 2004, and I can only hope that the prosecutors in this case learn a bit from the Holy Land Foundation debacle and have a rock solid case against him and his cohorts.

UPDATE:
Also, isn't it interesting how you don't have to play name that party?

UPDATE:
Debbie Schlussel weighs in on her former boss and is shocked and appalled.

Mark enlisted me to help him write a tough bill espousing sanctions against the Soviet Union because of its persecution of Soviet Jews. And he enlisted my help in pro-Israel and anti-PLO legislation.

That's why it's so hard for me to read that he may have played for the opposite team--for the enemy.

I'm truly shocked. And I hope it's not true. But--while I have a lot of distrust in the Department of Justice--on this one, I think there must be something there.

If Mark Siljander was helping Islamic terrorists against America, then no-one is immune from doing it. If true, it's extremely disappointing and demoralizing to me.

UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin and Jammie link. Thanks!

Macranger points out that Siljander helped found Global Strategies, Inc., which is a major security protection outlet.

Rusty at the Jawa Report has the press release on Siljander's indictment.

Top Cyber-Jihadi Is Son of Moroccan Diplomat

A computer nerd from Shepherd's Bush, West London, became al Qaeda's top internet agent, it can be revealed today.

Younes Tsouli, 23, an IT student at a London college, used his top-floor flat in W12 to help Islamist extremists wage a propaganda war against the West.

Under the name Irhabi 007 — combining the James Bond reference with the Arabic for terrorist — he worked with al Qaeda leaders in Iraq and came up with a way to convert often gruesome videos into a form that could be put onto the Web.

Videos he posted included messages from Osama bin Laden and images of the kidnapping and murder of hostages in Iraq such as American Nick Berg.

His capture led to the arrest of several Islamic terrorists around the world, including 17 men in Canada and two in the US.

Associates linked to Tsouli in the UK have also now been detained. His 10-year jail sentence was increased to 16 years last month.

At first intelligence operatives who came across his activities dismissed him as a joke. It was only when anti-terrorist detectives began trawling through files on his computer after his arrest that they realised his true significance.

When he was seized, forensic science officers found that Tsouli had been creating a website called YOUBOMBIT.

At his trial at Woolwich crown court a jury heard how the Met trawled through a “hugely gigantic'' amount of material — computers, CDs and memory sticks — to bring Tsouli and two other men to justice.

Detectives found literature urging Muslims to take up the fight against other religions. It was the first time anyone in Britain had been prosecuted for inciting terrorist murder purely based on the internet, the court heard.

Al Qaeda and Islamic terrorists around the world have been quite adept at using the Internet to communicate and disseminate propaganda. Nailing Tsouli put a crimp in the jihadi propaganda efforts

Israel Continues Under Siege

The ongoing situation in Gaza has prompted one of Olmert's allies to withdraw from the coalition. Israel Beitienu has pulled out of his ruling coalition. Olmert's party needs to keep 60 seats in order to remain in power. If it drops below that number, a new government would be called for under Israeli law. After the withdrawal, Olmert's Kadima has 67 seats and is relying on the religious party Shas to remain in power. Shas has been balking at staying in the coalition, which means that Olmert's grasp on power is shaky at best.

As expected, Israel Beitienu will quit Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition due to the commencement of talks on core issues such as Jerusalem, the refugees and the contours of a future Palestinian state, the party's chairman Avigdor Lieberman announced at a press conference Wednesday.

After Israel Beiteinu's 11 MKs leave, Olmert's coalition will number only 67 MKs and will be propped up on Shas, which has also threatened to leave the coalition.

"I want to thank Ehud Olmert for his candor, we have always been open with one another," Lieberman said. "It was obvious that we would not agree on fundamental issues."

The incessant rocket attacks against Israel (which occurred yet again today) - and Sderot in particular may be starting to have an effect on the Knesset. Politicians in the Israeli government are starting to realize just how badly Olmert is running things and that Israel's national security is severely hampered by Olmert's incessant attempts to make peace with the Palestinians who want nothing less than Israel's destruction.

Still, the Israeli government continues to make ovetures to Fatah's Abbas, by withdrawing from two outposts on the West Bank. Palestinians see such actions as a sign of weakness to be further exploited, and it only serves to undermine Israel's security posture. I'm sure that complaining to the UN about the rocket attacks will result in improving Israel's security situation-NOT.

Israel continues to send mixed messages because it continues to take military action against the various terrorist groups operating in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel killed one of Islamic Jihad's leaders, who had been wanted since 2002. Two of his bodyguards were wounded and captured by the Israelis.

Obeidi, who lived in the village of Burkin, was wanted by the IDF since 2002. He is responsible for a Tel Aviv terrorist attack in April 2006 that left 11 people dead

Islamic Jihad has carried out several suicide attacks in Israel in recent years, killing dozens.

Meanwhile, the IDF arrested 25 suspected terrorists in operations in the West Bank overnight Tuesday.

Capturing terrorists is a job that the Palestinian Authority should be doing, but isn't. Instead, the PA is busy complaining that yesterday's firefight in Gaza where 14 Hamas thugs were killed was a massacre that undermines the negotiations. Well, Fatah has to say that in order to curry favor with the masses, but it once again shows just how disinterested Fatah is in peace with Israel. They can't stop spinning.

The terrorists fired 30 kassams at Israel in all so far today, and Israel returned fire, and accidentally hit a vehicle carrying three civilians who were killed. Guess which part is going to get the most play in the media. Hamas claimed responsibility for 16 of the rockets fired.

UPDATE:
More than 50 rockets have been fired at Israel, and yet the media isn't exactly jumping through hoops to cover the barrages that keep slamming into Sderot and areas near Gaza. Meryl Yourish has been all over this for some time, and she was the one who coined "Israeli double standard time," which is just as applicable to today's events as ever.

UPDATE:
Israellycool is liveblogging the ongoing violence against Israel.

Meet the New Frontrunner; Same as the Old Frontrunner

It's quite entertaining watching the pundits and political junkies try to spin Mitt Romney's victory in Michigan as the event that kept his campaign afloat and that it keeps him from dropping out.

As I've been saying for some time now, there's no way that any of the leading candidates are going to drop out before Super Tuesday. There is simply too much on the table yet to come before you can write any of the candidates off.

Romney, despite not having won a state before Michigan, was still leading in the total number of delegates - the only fact that matters. Huckabee and McCain trail him badly. Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson aren't even on the map yet. Giuliani is hoping that Florida catapults him ahead of Romney and energizes his campaign going into Super Tuesday. Thompson needs a win sometime soon to show that he's got the staying power for the long haul.

Right now, it is Romney's race to lose, and he's holding off his challengers.

For McCain, losing Michigan isn't the end all, but it shows that momemntum doesn't count for much in primaries. He's got to do better than win an open primary in New Hampshire in order to win the nomination. Winning South Carolina would help, but he'd still need to show well during Super Tuesday. I don't know if he can, because too many people within the party see McCain for who he is - an opportunist who cares nothing about the Party, and cares only about his own personal advancement.

Meanwhile, over in the Democrats race - Hillary won Michigan unopposed. How was that possible? Well, Michigan was sanctioned by the Party for jumping ahead in the slate of states to hold primaries, and told the candidates not to go on the ballot there. Obama and Edwards listened to the Party - Hillary didn't. She won because the others chose to listen - and voters ended up with no choice. They could either vote for Hillary or vote not committed. They could not write in a candidate. That was not an option. So, Hillary got to extend her lead in delegates without even trying.

Corzine's Latest Laws

Jon Corzine signed the last bit of 2007 legislative leftovers yesterday, and I'm sure it will leave a bad taste in the mouth of some. Among the bills signed into law today was a pay hike for state judges and prosecutors, and a bill authorizing red light cameras.

He signed 80 other bills on Sunday, including such priorities as authorizing Newark to impose as much as a 5 percent tax on ticket prices to events at the new Prudential Center.

Other bills signed into law include one that would reduce electronic waste and promote recycling, and one that would require mandatory audits of state and federal election results in random districts. He utilized the pocket veto to reject amending the wrongful death act to allow recovery for mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of society and loss of companionship. Similarly, Gov. Corzine used the pocket veto to kill a bill that prevent certain law enforcement officers from being suspended without pay for more than 120 calendar days.

Corzine had until Monday to sign the legislation, or else it would be deemed vetoed under state law and the legislative process would need to begin anew on those issues.

Restaurant Review: Hacienda Bar and Restaurant

Paterson, New Jersey isn't the first place you think of for a good restaurant, but you'd be surprised to find a hidden gem of authentic Mexican cuisine on MacLean Boulevard next to the Passaic River. Just a stone's throw from Route 4, the restaurant serves up great food at a good price.

Service can be a little slow and uneven at times, but if you're not in a hurry, you can partake in a good selection of Mexican beers and spirits while waiting for dinner to come.

At a recent dinner, I had the pollo mole, which was spiced to near perfection and had just the right amount of heat. Mrs. Lawhawk's Hacienda combo, which included chicken and beef, was quite good, though the cheese offering was just on the cool side.

The restaurant is always busy, and for good reason. If you're coming with a larger group, consider reservations.

The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 13

Santiago Calatrava's transit hub may have its wings clipped according to some reports out of the Port Authority.

What matters most is whether the terminal's soaring, bird-like design will survive as Calatrava drew it.

Last week, Real Estate Weekly's Daniel Geiger quoted PA Commissioner Bruce Blakeman as suggesting changes might be in the works that would undercut Calatrava's vision.

Geiger wrote that the PA "is considering shrinking the dimensions of the station's glass pavilion and possibly also eliminating a mechanism that was to allow the structure's wing-like roof to retract."

It certainly wont be delivered on time - those same reports put the completion date in 2011, instead of 2009 as previously hoped.

Too much of the site remains mired in delays and controversy. The Port Authority continues to rack up $300,000 in penalties per day as they have failed to turn over the Eastern portion of the site to Larry Silverstein so that he can build 3 and 4 WTC. Every day of delays now means additional costs down the road as construction costs continue to increase due to demand both in the New York metro area and worldwide.

The Port Authority is also looking at ways to make construction at the site quieter. The sounds of jackhammers and other heavy equipment is taking its toll on nearby businesses and residences.

The Port Authority announced a six-point noise mitigation plan yesterday that includes reducing blasts from rock-breaking equipment, limiting the hours of really ear-splitting work to before 11 p.m. and soundproofing apartments facing the site within 100 feet. The agency will add jackhammer covers and stop whistle blowing below residential towers.

“We’ve been listening to you for quite some time on the issue,” Port Authority spokesman Glenn Guzi told the crowd at last night’s Community Board 1 meeting. “We know this is the right thing to do.”

But many felt the mitigation doesn’t go far enough. Residents who live beyond the hundred feet or whose windows don’t face the site want soundproofing, too. The area’s City Councilman Alan Gerson wants work stopped from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“We’re trying to achieve severely limited heavy construction activity after 11 p.m.,” Guzi said, noting that the new windows should reduce noise by 80 to 90 percent. “Unfortunately there will be times when the work can’t stop by 11 p.m,” he said, citing the Port Authority’s missing a Dec. 31 construction deadline which is costing them $12,500 an hour.

The faster the construction is done, the sooner the disruption to local businesses will end. It is a conundrum since you can't finish the work quickly by restricting the hours, but you can't have the work disrupting the sleep of everyone living nearby for years on end.

Attempting to Buy Off Voters In Hackensack

Gov. Jon Corzine was in Hackensack, New Jersey last night to try and convince some 800 people that his plan to more than double tolls in the state was a good idea. Mrs. Lawhawk pointed out that it was most curious that an annoucement yesterday that the State Department of Transportation would begin studying widening Route 17 between Hasbrook Heights and Paramus in 2009. No coincidence there. Of course, widening that stretch of road has been discussed and debated for years and had the Transportation Trust Fund been fully funded in the past, it could have been fixed for far less than the $350 million projected.

It's a bottleneck on the heavily travelled road through the heart of Bergen County and the traffic is absolutely awful during bad weather and the holiday season as the road alternates between two and three lanes before and after that stretch.

Work is currently being done to replace the Essex Street interchange, and while the road will be widened to three lanes at that point, the bottleneck will occur just to the North.

The widening project is expected to cost more than $350 million, though I think the costs will be significantly higher because the study is only the first step. There is the need to buy land from those adjacent to the highway for easements and to realign the road and there are few places in the country where land is more expensive than in Bergen County.

The actual expense of widening the road will include rebuilding bridges and overpasses as well.

Charles Stiles thinks this is the first of the pork projects to help get the toll hike approved. He's right, but New Jersey residents will take this kind of pork since it will help them in their daily lives. Politicians are more likley to be reluctant to stand in the way of the plan because it plays very well with unions whose construction jobs are likely to see continued stability with new projects in the works or underway:

That strategy cuts to the concrete heart of his complicated toll hike scheme. Accept my plan, Corzine is telling lawmakers, and you will be blessed with highway largesse in your districts. Your constituents will see rush-hour parking lots transformed into stress-free macadam carpets. Voters will thank you for having the foresight and the courage to support the plan. Those self-congratulatory signs with shovels saying "this work is paid by your tax dollars" (and toll hikes) will line the highways.

Corzine is correct that the state needs to improve its funding of transportation and to relieve the state's crushing debt load, but the toll plan siphons off most of the toll hikes to the general fund and for items other than transportation. That's a recipe for continued fiscal irresponsibility.

Creating a new public benefits corporation will not solve the problem either, since the Turnpike Authority is supposed to do the same job - and if that organization is rife with bureaucratic inefficiencies, how is a new layer of bureaucracy supposed to fix things? It can't; and it wont.

He thinks bondholders will go for his plan, but it ignores the fact that a new public benefits corporation will face higher costs until it has a record under its belt.

The Times points out that the Turnpike Authority has been reluctant to raise tolls in the past, as if that is a bad thing in and of itself. The purpose of the tolls was to pay for capital construction costs over time. By changing the purpose of the tolls, Corzine is turning them from a user fee into a burdensome tax.

US Diplomats Targeted By Terrorists In Beirut

An explosion ripped through a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday as it traveled along a coastal highway north of Beirut, killing four Lebanese civilian bystanders, a U.S. State Department spokesman told CNN.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the driver of the vehicle was slightly injured and the only passenger -- a foreign service national -- was not hurt.

McCormack could not confirm that the vehicle was the target of the blast, or if it tripped a roadside bomb intended for a different target.

A Western diplomatic source said an American, an Iraqi and three Lebanese were among those wounded in the blast, which happened around 4:45 p.m. (9:45 a.m. ET).

Lebanese media reported about 20 people were injured in the blast, which appears to be the latest in a series of attacks against pro-Western, anti-Syrian targets in the Lebanese capital.

Most recently, an explosion in Beirut's Christian suburb of Baabda killed Brig. Gen. Francois Al-Hajj, the head of operations for the Lebanese army, and his bodyguard on December 12.

My guess is that Fatah al Islam or Hizbullah was behind the attack.

With Emphasis

Palestinian terrorists murdered an Ecuadorian volunteer who was staying in Israel after he and several other workers on a kibbutz came under sniper fire as they were trying to retrieve tractors that were abandoned after mortars and rockets fell on the kibbutz. His name is Carlos Andres Chavez. He was 20. MSNBC didn't bother with those details. That should be the headline, but it isn't. Israel's response against the terrorists operating in Gaza was the headline and it was the bulk of the story.

Israel killed 14 of them. Three civilians were killed, and 48 were injured in the fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces. Yet, MSNBC sees fit to focus on Israel's response, and not what precipitated it. It gives short shrift to the incessant terrorism, and thinks that coverage of the situation in Israel is appropriate only when Israel conducts military operations against Palestinian terrorists.

The 48 others were hurt because the Palestinian terrorists think nothing of using civilians as human shields.

The clashes Tuesday began when undercover Israeli troops moved several hundred yards into the territory to strike an abandoned house east of Gaza City that militants used to launch rockets, Hamas said.

When Palestinian militants discovered the force, an exchange of fire erupted, the militants said. In the ensuing clashes, Israeli tanks fired shells and aircraft struck twice, Hamas said.

“Israel is acting to protect its civilian population from these daily rocket barrages,” Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said.

In all, 14 Palestinian fighters and three civilians, including a 65-year-old man, were killed by the time the operation wound up in early afternoon, militants and doctors said. Forty-eight people were wounded, among them an 8-year-old boy who was seriously hurt, medical officials said.

Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry said many of the dead and wounded lost limbs. Because of the high number of casualties, Hassanain questioned whether Israeli troops were using tank-fired flechette shells, an anti-personnel weapon that throws out thousands of metal darts.

The Palestinians think nothing of using rat poison in their explosives, to reduce the ability of those injured to clot. Yet, they're quick to trot out theories over the kind of weapons used by the Israelis to defend themselves against terrorists who have tried to kill and main Israelis for years.

Israel is barely doing what is sufficient to protect itself from Israel's enemies - a lack of political leadership will do that. Olmert is incapable of doing what is necessary to eliminate the terrorist threat in Gaza and West Bank, and thinks that his salvation rests in negotiating with the terrorist group Fatah.

Hamas has taken credit for the murder on the kibbutz. Among those killed by the Israeli forces was the son of Hamas thug Mahmoud Zahar. Of course, Abbas thinks that Israel's actions of self defense are nothing less than a slaughter and barbaric operation.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas described the operation as an "Israeli slaughter in Gaza." Abbas said Israel was carrying out barbaric operations that undermined the peace process

If only he would speak of the Palestinian terrorism emanating from Gaza and West Bank on a daily basis in such terms. Of course, he wont, and he has no problem with the Palestinian body count - because it furthers his media war against Israel.

Meanwhile, President Bush thinks that the failure of past peace overtures was because of the lack of Arab involvement. Here's a clue Mr. President - it has nothing to do with Arab involvement and everything to do with the fact that the Palestinians do not want a two-state solution. They want nothing less than the destruction of Israel, and the incessant terrorist attacks are proof-positive of this. The attacks actually increase every time there's a push for peace - complete with Israeli concessions that are rebuffed by Palestinians without even the courtesy of a counter proposal.

Arab Members of the Knesset are busy undermining Israel as well - complaining that Israel's actions in Gaza are nothing less than war crimes. If only they would complain about Palestinian terrorism in such terms.

The terrorists continue firing missiles at Israel, including a Grad missile that hit Ashkelon. Kassams and mortars also slammed into the Negev.

UPDATE:
Israellycool notes just how badly the Palestinian thugs massacre the meaning of the word massacre. They've got a willing and compliant media that pushes their agitprop daily.

This was not a massacre. It was a pitched gun battle started when Palestinian terrorists opened fire on Israeli civilians and the Israeli military responded by going after those terrorists and a firefight ensued. Tank and air support assisted the Israelis in killing a number of terrorists. No massacre - only just desserts for terrorists who sought to kill as many Israelis as possible in their incessant attacks.

And through it all, the terrorists continue firing rockets at Sderot.

UPDATE:
The rocket war continues, and so do the Israeli casualties.

This makes for interesting reading (translated via hartabuna at LGF), but it is of little comfort to Israelis living in range of the terrorist rockets and mortars. If you're living in Sderot or near Gaza, those words aren't nearly as comforting knowing that the rockets continue flying overhead or slamming into your homes and businesses and schools. Palestinian terrorism remains very real and very deadly. Israel has still not determined that it is in its best interests to go after the terrorist groups will full force, thinking that something less than full force could defeat the terrorists.

This decision gives the terrorists hope, which is powerful indeed. It is not the language of the defeated, but one that thinks that the Palestinian cause can outlast Israel.

Another Budding Democrat Campaign Finance Scandal

What is it with Democrats and their shady cash cows who bundle money from various illicit sources, or illegally bundle the money, that somehow make Jack Abramoff look like an amateur, and yet gets a fraction of the press? That was the case with Norman Hsu, but it appears that Hsu wasn't the only one.

Junkyard Blog has the curious case of the lawyer who wasn't, Mauricio Celis, but instead was a mule for bringing in all kinds of money for various Democrats, including Hillary Clinton.

The state searched a U.S. Treasury database and border crossing data to determine that Celis went to Mexico frequently after withdrawing large sums of cash, according to an affidavit accompanying the warrant.

"Celis is rumored to be associated with questionable criminal element (sic) possibly related to drug trafficking," the affidavit states.

The affidavit, by Capt. Alex Pena of the Attorney General's Office, states that Pena "believes that Mauricio Celis has committed the felony offense of money laundering."

A document the state obtained from Frost Bank showed a joint account signed by Celis and Raul Armando Winder, a Mexican citizen and former police officer who has been employed as a pilot by individuals linked to narcotic trafficking, according to the affidavit. The account was for a business called Pegasus Air Services, which Celis owned from 2002-05, according to the Texas Secretary of State. Winder is listed as vice president on the bank application.

A search of campaign contributions found him giving money to the Clinton campaign, the DSCC, Ken Salazar, Democratic Party of Texas, and John Edwards, among others. The total amount donated to Democrats is over $118,000.

It remains to be seen what the candidates do with the money and how they deal with what appears to be yet another budding scandal.

Whither NATO?

NATO, which is made up of European nations and the US, can't seem to find the troops to field in Afghanistan. It's a problem that has been a long time in the making since the Europeans simply haven't been funding their respective armed forces in a way that enables them to handle peacekeeping duties, let alone national defense. They've skated for far too long on the hope that the US would shoulder the burden.

Once again, the US will shoulder the burden - and is sending another 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan to deal with the ongoing problems with the Taliban, who continue to use the border region with Pakistan as a safe haven from which to launch destabilizing operations. NATO allies bristle over their mission, complaining that they're seeing more combat operations than US troops in Afghanistan and that the US forces are in a safer part of the country.

After more than six years of coalition warfare in Afghanistan, NATO is a bundle of frayed nerves and tension over nearly every aspect of the conflict, including troop levels and missions, reconstruction, anti-narcotics efforts, and even counterinsurgency strategy. Stress has grown along with casualties, domestic pressures and a sense that the war is not improving, according to a wide range of senior U.S. and NATO-member officials who agreed to discuss sensitive alliance issues on the condition of anonymity.

While Washington has long called for allies to send more forces, NATO countries involved in some of the fiercest fighting have complained that they are suffering the heaviest losses. The United States supplies about half of the 54,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, they say, but the British, Canadians and Dutch are engaged in regular combat in the volatile south.

"We have one-tenth of the troops and we do more fighting than you do," a Canadian official said of his country's 2,500 troops in Kandahar province. "So do the Dutch." The Canadian death rate, proportional to the overall size of its force, is higher than that of U.S. troops in Afghanistan or Iraq, a Canadian government analysis concluded last year.

British officials note that the eastern region, where most U.S. forces are based, is far quieter than the Taliban-saturated center of British operations in Helmand, the country's top opium-producing province. The American rejoinder, spoken only in private with references to British operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is that superior U.S. skills have made it so.

There is another difference between regions in which the US operates and those of its NATO allies - the US engages in offensive operations against the Taliban - taking the fight to the enemy, while the NATO allies are largely engaged in defensive operations, which enables the Taliban to slowly wear down the coalition forces.

British forces are stretched thinner worldwide than US forces (the entire British Army is smaller than the US Marine Corps), with a larger percentage of troops engaged in operations overseas. That also means that they're lacking the force to hold territory, and when combined with a lack of reconstruction and development assistance that was supposed to consolidate military gains, means that the situation will remain troubled.

It also means that the British commanders are looking at all kinds of strategies, including dividing and conquering the Taliban - working with some Taliban thugs to fight off others. It's a strategy that both the British and Afghan officials are pushing, despite reservations from American officials.

Good Luck Bobby J.

Today is a historic day in Louisiana. Bobby Jindal was sworn in as Governor of Louisiana. He's the first Indian-American governor in the US. He also happens to be a Republican. Pretty impressive stuff for a state that is a bastion for Democrats. And corrupt-a-crats.

He's got a huge task ahead of him. Gargantuan even.

He's got to help the state recover from Hurricane Katrina. It's as much about changing the mindset as hammers and nails and concrete and steel.

Louisiana politics is long known for being a wretched hive of scum and villany (eclipsing even New Jersey). Politicians in Louisiana are corrupt, inept and have done the people of Louisiana wrong for far too long. The mess that was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is living proof of the problems.

Jindal has made changing this his top priority.

"We have the opportunity — born of tragedy but embraced still the same — to make right decades of failure in government," Jindal said.

"In our past, too many politicians looked out for themselves. Too many arms of state and local government did not get results. And the world took note," the new governor said.

Jindal's election puts a new public face on Louisiana politics, often stereotyped as a haven for backslapping good 'ol boys who hold office for decades. The 36-year-old son of Indian immigrants, Jindal is the nation's youngest sitting governor, and many of his top administrators are new to the halls of the Louisiana Capitol.

He takes over from Democrat Kathleen Blanco, who had defeated him four years earlier but whose image was battered by the state's response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She did not seek re-election.

Blanco attended the inaugural ceremonies with three other former Louisiana governors. The state's only other living ex-governor is Edwin Edwards, who could not attend because he is serving a federal prison sentence on corruption charges.

I wish him luck. He's going to need it.

Facts Cut Against Gov. Corzine's Massive Toll Hike Plan

Imagine that. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine (D) has been claiming that the toll hikes wouldn't affect state residents nearly as much as it would those who simply drive through the state. Toll records indicate something quite different.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority last night released E-ZPass data that seems to confirm the fears of critics who've spoken out against Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to use steeply higher tolls on the Turnpike and the Parkway to help fix the state's financial problems.

The data show that it is people who live in ZIP codes near the Turnpike and Parkway who paid the most in tolls between June 2006 and May 2007.

Far from spreading the tax burden, Corzine's plans would make an already crushing tax burden even worse - at least among the sample of EZ-Pass users (the Turnpike Authority doesn't have a breakdown of origin of those who pay by cash, nor does it differentiate between commercial users and passenger cars).

Corzine's proposal is to use the toll hikes to reduce the state's debt load, which is among the worst in the country. It's a laudable goal, but he's playing with only one side of the equation - taxing. Spending is never addressed in Corzine's proposals, which means that the structural deficits will continue unless and until spending is brought under control. That means cutting state workforce in areas that are not vital to state operations and focusing on cutting the fat from education spending - a major reason for the crushing tax load in the state. It's one thing to ensure a stable funding source for transportation infrastructure, but Corzine has previously sought to raise hundreds of millions for stem cell research centers through debt financing (the state voters killed that referendum thankfully).

Let's put some numbers to Corzine's toll hike plan:

The governor proposed during his State of the State speech on Tuesday raising money to pay down the state's debt and pay for a few expensive highway, bridge and rail projects by creating a public benefits corporation to run the Turnpike, Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway.

The company would have the authority to adopt toll hikes of up to 50 percent four times between 2010 and 2022.

An average passenger car trip on the Turnpike would go from $1.20 today to $9.85 in 2022 under Corzine's plan, assuming annual inflation of 3 percent. An average truck trip would go from $5.05 to $41.10. An average trip on the Parkway would jump from $.35 to $2.70.

Corzine said Thursday he would consider some type of discount for regular users of the toll road.

Those affected most would be commuters who rely on the Turnpike or GSP to get to their jobs on a daily basis. I have no doubt that salaries will not increase as much as the toll hikes. Corzine claims that there will be some kind of discount for regular users, but provides absolutely no details as to what that means.

UPDATE:
Public opinion cuts against the toll hikes, and even suggests that the state taxpayers are fed up with the size of the state budget and are willing to look at cutting the state workforce and spending before considering toll hikes:

The poll also found that New Jerseyans would rather see cuts in state programs and layoffs before toll increases by the overwhelming margin of 78 percent to 14 percent.

The Governor's office flacks would love to spin the part about how some 40% of state voters appear to approve the toll hikes. I'm guessing that they're among the few people in the state that do not rely directly on the Turnpike or GSP, but would still be affected because the cost of doing business would rise exponentially.

The costs of transportation and tolls in the state will be passed on to the consumers - they're certainly not going to be absorbed by the truckers and long-haulers. That means that the cost of goods and services in the state will rise, an indirect hit to the state economy.

The toll hikes will also mean that drivers will look for alternative roads to avoid paying tolls, increasing traffic on local roads that are ill equipped to handle more traffic.

Authorized Talks

Once again, the pseudorealists and diplomats think that Abbas is any position to negotiate with Olmert. Abbas and Olmert have authorized new talks.

Abbas is hoping that a charade by creating a West Bank Palestinian parliament will change matters. It will not. Nor will new elections, which are sure to be contested by Hamas who will most assuredly call them illegitimate should Hamas not win them.

The PLO Central Council, which met in Ramallah on Sunday, is expected to vote to dissolve the current Palestinian Legislative Council [PLC], which is dominated by Hamas. The council is also scheduled to call for early parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories.

However, it's unclear how such elections would take place in the Gaza Strip, which is entirely controlled by Hamas.

Several Fatah officials have also called to dissolve the PLC, which has been paralyzed since Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip in June.

The move is set to deepen divisions among the Palestinians and further consolidate the split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is also likely to hamper efforts by some Arab countries to patch up the differences between Fatah and Hamas.

Carl in Jerusalem calls this the two reichlet solution - that Hamas and Fatah will each control their own Jew-free zone in the territories, and each bent on destroying Israel on their own timetables. The only thing that gets in the way is that Hamas and Fatah cannot tolerate the other, and it is quite likely that the Palestinian civil war will get in the way.

Meanwhile, the IAF continues going after the Palestinian terrorists responsible for firing rockets at Israel, killing two terrorists. The airstrike happened to be right outside Hamas leader Haniyeh's home. I doubt that he got the point of the airstrike.

The terrorists continue firing rockets and mortars at Israel, and it is only by luck that more Israelis aren't injured or killed. It certainly isn't from lack of trying. Where any other country would face this kind of daily attack, they would not respond by negotiating with a terrorist entity, but declare war on it and seek to eliminate the threat militarily. Israel is not capable or able to do so because of international pressure to limit Israel's military response, and Israel's political leaders are so beholden to a peace process that lacks a partner for peace that they enable terrorists to continue attacking Israel by their failure to prosecute the war launched by the terrorists against Israel.

The Palestinians continue doing whatever they can to obtain weapons and equipment, including hiding explosives among humanitarian aid shipments.

Developing: Explosion At Kabul Hotel

This is a developing story as reports are coming in of an explosion at a hotel frequented by foreigners in Kabul. This particular witness suggests that there might have been a series of explosions and gunfire:

Vanessa Valentino, an American working in the Afghan capital, was at a meeting at the central bank around the corner when she heard a series of explosions and gunfire.

Valentino described an explosion faraway, then gunfire, another distant explosion followed by a large explosion very close -- all within a "couple of minutes.''

"I think it shook the building,'' Valentino said. "We're just not leaving the building, and we can't figure out what's happened, so we decided to stay inside.''

That would appear to corroborate other reports that suggest that security at the Serena Hotel challenged a suspicious looking individual, who then blew himself up.

UPDATE:
An employee with the hotel says that there was an explosion in the carpark, but there were no injuries. I hope his statements turn out to be accurate.

UPDATE:
AP is reporting two dead in a coordinated attack involving gunmen and suicide bombers on the Serena Hotel.

The 6:12 p.m. attack came on a night the Norwegian embassy was holding a meeting at the Serena Hotel. An American inside said she saw a body she believed to be dead and pools of blood in the lobby, and hotel employees reported two dead. She said three foreigners were wounded.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told The Associated Press that four militants with suicide vests attacked the hotel — one bomber who detonated his explosives and three militants who threw grenades and fired guns and then fled. The claim could not be verified but came very soon after the attack.

Five ambulances and U.S. troops in Humvees rushed to the hotel. Police kept journalists and onlookers far from the building.

Stian L. Solum, a photographer from the Norwegian photo agency Scanpix, said a Norwegian journalist from the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet and a Norwegian diplomatic staff member were injured in the explosion. He said Norway's Foreign Minster Jonas Gahr Stoere, currently visiting Kabul, was not injured and was safe in the hotel basement.

UPDATE:
The Taliban has the western media on speed dial, just in case they manage to succeed in one of their deadly attacks. They're also quick to respond to reports that show just how badly the Taliban are getting pounded in other areas of the country.

Note that one Taliban bigwig got his ticket punched yesterday. Let's also not forget that negotiating with the Taliban will produce no winning scenarios. This is an enemy that must be defeated.

UPDATE:
Here's the hotel's website. Room accomodations look nice, especially considering the situation in the country. Someone clearly thinks that there's a market for an upscale hotel in Kabul.

Here's a map of where the hotel is located.

UPDATE:
The death toll continues to climb from the terrorist attack. It is now six.

The militants killed six people and wounded six, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary.

One of the attackers was shot to death and the Taliban spokesman said a second died in the suicide explosion.

More than 30 U.S. soldiers in a half dozen Humvees rushed to the hotel as part of a quick reaction force.

Suzanne Griffin, an American who works with the aid agency Save the Children, said she was in the gym's locker room when the attack started.

"Thank God I didn't get into the shower because then we heard gunfire, a lot of it. It was very close, close enough that plaster came off the ceiling," said Griffin, her voice shaking. "We all just sat on the floor and got as far as we could from any glass and huddled on the floor. We turned our phones on silent."

UPDATE:
Speculation abounds that Norway's Foreign Minster was the target of the attack. A total of five people were killed, not counting the suicide bomber. There is some confusion over whether the casualties were due to the bomb or gunfire, but the latest reports suggest that they were killed by gunfire, and the suicide bomber then conducted his attack.

Video of the Day

All I can say is boo hoo. The Giants won that game fair and square and it actually had little to do with Romo and everything to do with the fact that the Cowboys defense couldn't stop the big play involving Amani Toomer. Romo was merely average yesterday, and yet they were able to control the ball for 2/3 of the game. They simply couldn't get in the end zone. That's not all on Romo. It is, however, on the coaching staff, and on the Giants ability to stiffen up when they needed to make the big plays.

They Might Be Giants...

Giants 21 - Cowboys 17.

A mild upset, but those who are most upset are those Dallas fans who thought that their Cowboys would beat the Giants for the third time this season. Sorry to burst the bubble, but the Giants can bring it, and Eli Manning did just a wee bit better than Tony Romo.

With the clock running down, Romo threw an interception that sealed the Cowboys fate, and with it the questions will swirl as to whether Romo's relationship with Jessica Simpson had anything to do with the loss and everyone will wonder what will happen to the coaching staff.

The problem wasn't solely Romo, who had a 50% completion percentage and 1TD/1INT. I'd say the inability of the Cowboys secondary to stop Amani Toomer was a bigger problem. Despite a ball control offense that kept the Giant offense off the field for most of the game, Manning made the most of his chances, and going to his Mr. Dependable made the difference.

Dallas' failure is huge, much bigger than last season's flop in Seattle when Romo botched the hold on a go-ahead field goal in the final minutes.

The Cowboys just wasted a 13-3 season, which matched the best in team history. They're the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in this round since the NFL went to the 12-team playoff format in 1990. They also became the seventh team to lose a playoff game against a team they'd beaten twice in the regular season -- joining Dallas' 1998 club.

Worst of all is the extension of all the skids: Romo now 0-2 in the playoffs, coach Wade Phillips 0-4 and the team 0-for-the-postseason since winning a wild-card game in 1996. The Cowboys have dropped five games since then.

The Cowboys might be headed into a stormy offseason. Team owner Jerry Jones said Thursday he would keep Phillips regardless of what happened in the playoffs. Now that will be tested, especially with highly valued assistant coaches Jason Garrett and Tony Sparano interviewing for jobs elsewhere.

Critics may point to Romo's trip to Mexico last weekend with his latest celebrity girlfriend as a disruption, but the problems went a lot deeper. There were all kinds of penalties that hurt Dallas drives and helped New York's, sloppy tackling on defense and special teams, dropped passes and wasted timeouts.

The Giants will next play Green Bay, who is coming off one of the more entertaining games I've seen in quite some time. There is something to be said for watching football with the snow flying. Now, if only they could play the Super Bowl in the snow.

Old Dog: Same Old Trick

Once again, [T]hugo Chavez is attempting to seize personal property in the name of improving a moribund economy. He's threatening businesses with nationalization if it's found that they're hoarding products.

President Hugo Chavez threatened again on Friday to seize property from businesses if they are caught hoarding products, as Venezuela struggles with shortages of some basic foods and high inflation.

Chavez warned that price speculation is occurring "at all levels of society, from the big capitalists to the small shopkeepers," and said his government could expropriate property from individuals or companies that purportedly sit on goods for months to sell later them at inflated prices.

"I ask the ministers and lawmakers to pay a lot of attention to this because it's one of the causes of inflation," he said during a marathon address to legislators.

Annual inflation soared to 22.5 percent in 2007 — the highest official rate in Latin America — according to the Central Bank.

Chavez — a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro — has made similar threats in the past. No such takeovers have occurred so far, however, and Venezuela continues to have many private supermarkets and food distributors.

Some food staples covered by price controls — sugar, cooking oil, milk, black beans, eggs and chicken — are sporadically hard to find in supermarkets, and Chavez's critics warn shortages are likely to persist as long as the price controls are maintained.

Chavez's economic policies have already caused the worst inflation in Latin America, and he's gunning to make it the worst anywhere. Give him time. He doesn't get the concept of supply and demand, and instead seeks to demand businesses operate at losses by governmental fiat.

He thinks that businesses are going to sell items at a loss. No business will stay in business if they continually sell at a loss. He thinks that businesses are not releasing their goods to the public because they want to sell them at a later date at inflated prices. No business is going to want to sit on a product that people wants now. They try to meet demand, but because prices keep spiraling out of control, the public can't afford them. Since the public can't afford them, businesses will not create the product in as great numbers. When you're dealing with food, that means that you get less food production.

When Will NYT Run Expose On Illegal Aliens

The New York Times began running a series of articles about crimes committed by US military war veterans, which suggests that members of the US Armed Forces come home to commit crimes. The Times' methodologies are suspect, and ignores the fact that crimes committed by members of the US Armed Services is below that of the general population. In other words, it's agenda "journalism" that seeks to undermine support for the US military.

I wonder whether the Times would do a similar report on criminality of illegal aliens, seeing how they are not only here in the country illegally (a violation of federal law), but engage in a significant number of violent crimes that are shocking and deplorable (recall the Newark triple execution murders committed by MS-13 thugs). One such recent case is reported by Dan Riehl. This particular individual was arrested and deported twice. His crimes? Serial rapes of 25 teenagers. In other words, he was a one-person crime spree.

But sadly, it's not just a one-person spree. How about law enforcement officers murdered or assaulted by illegal aliens. Or the victims of illegal aliens in general, which is just the tip of the iceberg.

How about the fact that the nearly 55,000 illegal aliens incarcerated in 2003 were arrested some 460,000 times and were responsible for some 700,000 criminal offenses (see pages 8 through 10) for the year studied - 2003. Among the caveats of the report - it may not capture all illegal aliens in the system nor does it capture all the arrests. It makes for a most interesting read.

That's just a small sampling of the problem, and yet the Times sees fit to focus elsewhere. It isn't curious, because the Times has regularly sought amnesty for illegal aliens and has refused to consider enforcement of existing laws as a solution to deal with illegal aliens in the country. The editors refuse to recognize the serious disruption caused by illegal aliens on the nation, and the huge burden on the nation as a result of illegal aliens. Further, the problems are exacerbated by the likes of MS-13 and other gangs that are made up of illegal aliens that terrorize inner cities and suburbs alike around the country.

Never Forget

The USS New York was launched last week by Northrop Grumman shipyards in Avondale, Louisiana. The ship is the fifth in the San Antonio class of amphibious assault ships. The image is a computer generated depiction of the ship in action.

The New York will be christened in a ceremony in Avondale on March 1, 2008, and is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2009.

In 2003, New York's keel was laid and in 2004, the Amite Foundry melted tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center to cast the ship's bow stem. The bow stem was eventually joined to the remainder of the bow section and last year became a part of the ship's hull. With the launching, World Trade Center steel will always lead the ship wherever the future USS New York sails, according to Northrop Grumman.

The ship's motto is Never Forget. It was built using 24 tons of steel recovered from Ground Zero and melted down to help form the bow stem.

HT: Doug Ross.

From Light Bulbs To Thermostats

If at first you can't succeed, the environmentalists in California will try and try again to force their agenda on everyone. Even in defeat, the environmentalists are winning while everyone else is losing a bit of their freedom and rights.

California legislators have tried to essentially ban the incandescent light bulb by mandating that all bulbs sold in the state meet certain efficiency requirements. That bill died a quick death, but the cause was taken up in Congress such that it was eventually included in the energy bill of 2007.

Lighting designers and many people are disgusted with the light produced by the CFLs. I'm not among them. I think the light from the CFLs I've installed have been pretty good. However, I can understand where they're coming from. That doesn't even begin to address the concerns over disposal of CFLs, which varies from municipality to municipality - some treat them as hazardous waste because of the trace amounts of mercury present in the bulbs.

When a technology appears that beats the light bulb, people will gravitate to it. It will become obsolete because of market forces, not because government intervened and possibly fostered a poor technological replacement for the incandescent light bulb.

Then, you have California's latest gambit - to require that all new thermostats installed in the state have a feature that enables utilities to regulate the temperature of homes and businesses remotely in an effort to reduce energy consumption during peak periods.

State energy officials are considering a proposal that would allow utilities to change a building's temperature by remote control.

Supporters say the installation of thermostats fitted with remote-control technology could help ease summertime power emergencies by allowing officials to limit the use of air conditioning.

However, privacy advocates and some lawmakers say going into people's homes to control their electricity is going too far. They say the state should provide incentives and education so people limit energy use on their own.

Energy officials, hoping to ease misgivings, are now proposing a revised regulation that would allow homeowners to block outside control of their thermostats.

Here's a better idea - instead of allowing homeowners to block outside control - that should be the default. If someone wants to enable the utilities to control their energy usage, they must take an affirmative step to do so. The problem for the environmentalists and leftists is that too many people will simply choose not to go along with their agenda and maintain their thermostats as their predetermined levels.

Businesses already engage in programs around the country where they voluntarily reduce their consumption during peak times. Some consumers do likewise. Enabling this additional level of control is disconcerting and troublesome.