JENNINGS: US intelligence officials told us today that a videotape we've had in our possession for several days appears to have been produced by an organization connected to Al Qaeda. Our investigative unit has spent several days analyzing the tape. We also gave a copy to the FBI and CIA who have been checking it as well.

And ABC's Bryan Ross joins us tonight to tell us what the intelligence officials in the government have decided.

ROSS: Peter, we acquired the tape last Friday in Pakistan and now after days of anlaysis US officials say while they still cannot authenticate the voice on the tape, it has all the trademarks of an Al Qaeda production.

VIDEO OF TYPICAL HOMOSEXUAL-PANIC LUNATIC GRIPPING AK-47 LIKE IT'S HIS LOCKER-MATE'S SCHLONG, RANTING AND RAVING, BUT IN ENGLISH.

The tape features someone speaking English who claims to be an American, identified only as "Assam the American."

LUNATIC: No, my fellow countrymen, you are guilty. Guilty, guilty, guilty. You are as guilty as Bush and Cheney.

ROSS: His face is never fully visible and he makes no reference to where in the US he might have lived, if he ever did. The 75-minute long tape is marked with the logo and graphics of the same shadowy group called As-Sahab which as produced numerous audio and video tapes for Al Qaeda.

The threats are familiar but now in English, with a slight accent which law enforcement officals believe indicates that English is not his mother tongue.

LUNATIC: People of America, I remind you of the weighty words of our leaders Sheik Osama bin Ladin and "Dr." Ayman Al-Zawahiri, that what took place on September 11th was but the opening salvo of the global war on America, and that, Allah willing, the magnitude and ferocity of what is coming your way will make you forget all about September 11th.

ROSS: US officials believe there are several Americans working with Al Qaeda but that the voice of this man does not match any of them, making it impossible to fully authenticate the tape. The man on the pate appears to be well-educated, and well-versed in current and cultural events. He makes references to American television shows (VIDEO: BILL MAHER SHOUTING LIKE A JACKASS) and even the 9-11 commission (VIDEO: Tom Kean lowers the gavel).

He criticizes Muslims who have abandoned their faith and says Muslims are fighting a defensive war against the US and warns Americans the next wave of attacks could come at any moment.

LUNATIC WHO MISTOOK A PICNIC BLANKET FOR A HAT: After decades of American tyranny (prounounced TIE-ranny) and oppression, not it's your turn to die. Allah willing, the streets of America shall run red with blood matching drop for drop the blood of America's victims.

ROSS: The US is taking the tape very seriously. Copies are being provided to all thirteen current officials mentioned by name on the tape and the tape is being shown to captured Al Qaeda suspects in US custody to see, Peter, if they can Identify the man who calls himself Assam the American.

JENNINGS: Many thanks, Bryan.

Couple of points.

1. Without Al Qaeda's express endorsement of John Kerry, this tape simply isn't news at all. An imbecile speaking in florid but bad English about "streets running red with blood" is not news. They embargoed the only newsworthy part of the tape.

2. They seemed very careful to not let on that Al Qaeda has endorsed John Kerry-- that's a "political implication" they wanted to avoid -- and yet they had no problems whatsoever with leaving the impression that Al Qaeda is angry at Bush and Cheney personally, rather than America, the West, and modernity generally.

3. The cute distribution to only the 13 officials specifically named on the tape, while otherwise holding the video close, is a rather obvious attempt to keep the tape from being used in a campaign ad against Kerry. If there are only 13 persons who have the tape outside of ABCNews, they figure, any use of the tape for informing the public about Al Qaeda's presidential preference can be traced directly back to the 13 Republican officials, thus blunting the attack.

Hey, assholes-- it's a tape. Release it generally. Stop playing games.

"No Kerry Endorsement": A commenter says that FoxNews obtained the tape "independently of ABC" and did not mention an endorsement of Kerry (or, more accurately, a condemnation of Bush-Cheney and the promise of further violence should they be elected). The poster's implication seems to be, Therefore there is no endorsement.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. That is possible, of course. I haven't seen the tape, so I don't know. But the story reported by Drudge is that ABC released the tape to the government with the arguable Kerry endorsement missing or edited out. FoxNews certainly received its copy from a government source (who had, in turn, gotten it from ABC); it is hard to believe that within just a few days FoxNews contacted the man peddling the same video in Waziristan and purchased an original copy.

So the fact that FoxNews has an expurgated copy does not mean the true copy possessed thusfar only by ABCNews does not contain the reported -- and undenied -- endorsement of John Kerry for president.

Posted by: Ace at 03:55 PM | Comments (21)
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Okay, I guess it's okay to watch for five minutes. Airing it now, they promised.

Update: I nailed it perfectly. They're so predictable. The tape says "You [Americans] are as guilty as Bush and Cheney," but they do not air the part specifically threatening attacks if Bush and Cheney are re-elected.

Oddly enough, ABCNews didn't seem to mind if the tape could be used as anti-Bush propaganda. But they sure did want to avoid letting it be used as anti-Kerry propaganda.

Posted by: Ace at 02:44 PM | Comments (5)
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Don't take this as a tip-off as to my endorsement (as Sullivan's 6000 Kerry-endorsement-links turned out to be a tip-off to his), but here's one Guiliani-Schwarzenegger-South-Park-Republican eagle who will actually be be voting for Bush this November.

Posted by: Ace at 02:36 PM | Comments (2)
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My evidence is the Rasmussen Reports, er, report cited by Bill from INDC.

And this Kerry Spot post is worth reading for four or five different reasons, but specifically for the finding that Bush is getting 50% or slightly more of late-deciding undecideds.

Posted by: Ace at 02:31 PM | Comments (4)
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Just a headline on Drudge at the moment.

I rather doubt it, myself. I think ABCNews will run a portion of the tape, then make an oblique reference to possible "consequences" depending on the election. They will not allow the tape to speak for itself, nor will they report that Al Qaeda has formally demanded the election of Mr. Bad-Ass Terrorist Hunter himself, John Forbes Kerry.

This is a ratings stunt. It's also a modified limited hang-out-- they think if they air some parts of the tape that don't hurt John Kerry, then they can reduce the pressure to air all of it, and withstand charges of liberal bias.

Will this stand? I'm afraid it will. ABCNews is in the tank for Kerry and of course always has been. They can hold up for four or five days, and take whatever criticism is thrown at them.

The only hope is that someone with some balls at ABCNews copies the tape and sends it along to someone who will air it.

Like, for example, me.

I don't know how to air a videotape, but believe me, I'll learn quick.

Posted by: Ace at 01:57 PM | Comments (8)
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Just stating the obvious. Apparently only liberal October Surprises are fair.

Remember:

The LA Times held off on an expose of Arnold Schwarzenegger's decade-old boorish behavior until right before the recall vote, then ran it, with multiple updates.

In that case, remember how the liberal media whined that they had a duty to report no matter what the political consequences might be?

Isn't it funny how these objective rules seem to be rendered inoperative when the shoe is on the other foot?

To All My Psychopathic Jihadist Readers: Give me the video, boys. Or give it to Al Jazeera, or on one of your murder-porn chatsites. And then give me the URL.

You have an important message to get out, boys, and the evil Christian Crusader ABCNews organization is "humiliating" you by refusing to air it.

So give it to me. Or give it to someone who will air it. You and me together-- we'll show that haughty Jew-loving (ahem) infidel Peter Jennings what's what!

Posted by: Ace at 01:51 PM | Comments (2)
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But the shocks continue: Unbiased, objective ABCNews Withheld That Part of the Tape from the CIA

Gee, you'd think that if Al Qaeda were in favor of John Kerry, they'd just come out and say so.

Oh, right, they just did.

And don't give me that crap that they didn't endorse John Kerry. There are only two men on the ballot, and if they don't want one, they by necessity favor the other.

Kinda shoots to hell John Kerry's argument that Bush hasn't been effective against Al Qaeda. Apparently Al Qaeda begs to differ.

And isn't awfully funny that ABCNews -- a news organization, mind you, dedicated, ahem, to reporting news to the public -- chose to not just embargo the tape, but to withhold that Kerry-harming part of the tape from the freaking CIA?

It's their "news-judgment," you know. "News-judgment" is their ability to know better what you need to know, or what you should believe, than you do.

They teach them that in their one and a half years of J-school. J-school is just amazing. It turns our little corps of talentless, half-smart jackass college newspaper wannabees into erudite Philospher Kings and chartered members of the Revolutionary Vanguard.

Doctors and lawyers, on the other hand-- stupid. Don't listen to them.

Just reporters.

Because they're better than you are.

PS: What becomes now of Mickey Kaus' ludicrous spinning that Al Qaeda really wants George Bush elected president?

Will he revisit the question? Or just pretend he hasn't been making this case for the past year, or that this tape somehow doesn't accurately reflect the terrorist mindset?

Update: ABCNews Worries Over the "political implications":

"This is not something you just throw out there while people are voting," the ABC source explained.

Isn't that terribly funny? They sure seem to fret about the political implications a hell of a lot more when the political implications aid a Republican.

When the implications hurt a Republican-- well, then, they have a duty to report, no matter what the consequences.

Posted by: Ace at 01:09 PM | Comments (18)
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I invite everyone interested in erudite political comments and correct information to read the November 1, 2004 NEW YORKER. The first article in this issue is by "The Editors,"; and if it doesn't make you think twice about George W. Bush and decide to NOTE VOTE for Bush, I suggest you get your head examined! Bush is definitely trying to ruin the country--either consciously or unconsciously. He is frightening.

The New Yorker you say? Well, that certainly changes everything, Cindy. I had no idea.

Get back to me with Michael Moore's analysis, and then maybe we can talk further about these issues.

Tony educates us further:

The coke-snorting, death-row mocking, drunk-driving, duty-shirking stuff... All of that does makes him look more human (like a lot of other human jack-asses). But he only LOOKS more human. He really is just a dry-drunk chimpanzee.

Ummm... Again. I would say you should probably vote. Unless you want the country run by the likes of Tony.

And it would be-- all Presidents cater to their base. Of course Kerry would never have invaded Iraq; how on earth could he have secured the support of his Blame-America-First Fifth-Columnist Global-Citizens base? He couldn't have, and he wouldn't have.

If Kerry's elected President, Tony and Cindy are the, ahem, Americans Kerry will be playing to.

Posted by: Ace at 12:50 PM | Comments (2)
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Tom Brokaw is all upset about the mean, mean bloggers waiting to criticize him.

Let me state the obvious. Again. The press is forever puffing itself as the national watchdog. They pompously spout off about how they provide a vital role in keeping our democracy relatively clean, and fostering the national debate.

But again and again, these whiny, arrogant bitches complain when any outside scrutiny whatsoever is cast upon them. They apparently claim to be the only institution in America capable of self-policing, and furthermore that any attempt of outside policing consists of something very close to an unconsitutional "chilling of their First Amendment rights."

I'm trying to curse less now, but I feel a stream of vicious profanity just dying to get out. But I won't.

I just cannot. Understand. The arrogance.

I don't understand how someone can go through their lives with such arrogance, condescension, hypocrisy, and feeling of entitlement and never once question it.

They don't question themselves-- ever. Others they question, and when they do, they clap themselves on the back for "daring" to ask the tough questions (as if this were Cuba, which, by the way, they're big fans of, mostly).

But when you presume to question them -- when you assert your rights as American citizens to question and dissent -- they get pretty snippy, don't they?

This election isn't just about Kerry. It's also about these arrogant, hypocritical cowards. If we beat Kerry, we beat Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, and Dan Rather too, and quite frankly, it's the latter victory I yearn for especially.

Vote. I'm not kidding here. For once, it actually is important, and yes, every vote will count.

Posted by: Ace at 12:44 PM | Comments (6)
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If you can believe that.

Which I'm starting to, actually.

Johnny Coldcuts really does have The Gift, doesn't he?

Posted by: Ace at 12:35 PM | Comments (3)
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