Supposedly by a recording device inside a "spy pen" provided to him by French intelligence.

(Can't you buy those at any high-end gadget shop?)

At any rate:

"It is useful for you to know that Lahoud's term will be extended no matter what. I shall not allow you to replace him with anyone else," the recording pen quoted Assad as telling Hariri. "You have to bear in mind that I am capable of destroying Lebanon, you included."

"If I am forced to leave Lebanon, I will leave it a pile of rubble. Your ally Walid Jumblatt must realize the fate awaiting him. The death of his father is the best lesson for him," Assad was reportedly recorded as telling Hariri.

I'm going to call bullshit on this story, provisionally, based upon the sourcing (Al Bawaba) and the too-good-to-be-true claims (as Woody Allen said in Annie Hall, "Don't you wish life really worked like this?")

Still, something to watch.

If it is true... I do wonder what the world reaction will be regarding Assad's assassination of a foreign leader.

Gee, I wonder if the BBC and socialist left will squeal as loudly as they did about George Bush deposing Saddam Hussein.

Of course, there are bad implications for America. I think America would almost be forced to take potent military action against Syria (of the airstrike nature), but I don't think Bush wants to, and I think the world hysteria would be enormous.

Funny. Assad can take out who he likes but we can't take out an assassin.

Posted by: Ace at 04:51 PM | Comments (62)
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Ringleader “El Jefe”, leading a disciplined assault on refineries and supply lines.

Straggler, later seen carrying off late model Dodge Durango.

Okay, maybe not flight exactly, and no documented attacks (yet), but still, ominous doins in the Sea of Cortez.

(h/t BoingBoing)

Posted by: Dr. Reo Symes at 02:37 PM | Comments (16)
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Sure, it sounds like a good idea to leave the wheel of your moving truck to try to get on its roof, but...

You can hardly blame the guy. I mean, what were the odds an unmanned truck moving at 40 mph would crash into something? No higher than 99.999998%, I'm thinking.

Thanks to Ogre Gunner.

Posted by: Ace at 12:25 PM | Comments (8)
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Well, crazy-blog money didn't pan out, so I'm now on to crazy mechanical male "marital aid" money. I'll be the first investor, and second customer.

Caution... A link to a US patent application for a sex aid.

350 cycles per minute? This gadget has got some skillz.

As Nietzche said, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

Thanks to cutaway.

Posted by: Ace at 12:15 PM | Comments (16)
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Merkel won, but apparently did not take enough seats to form the center-right coalition government she envisioned.

Schroeder can still deal himself into power by forging alliances with fringe groups.

Posted by: Ace at 10:51 AM | Comments (17)
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Regime change-- the choice of a new generation.

Merkel is much more pro-American than the socialist Schroeder was, but she's not winning on that point. She's winning on Schroeder's inability to right his country's moribund economy. The German people remain pretty much as anti-American as they were in 1944.

Still, it can't hurt to have a friendly government keeping the Huns in line.

Posted by: Ace at 09:01 AM | Comments (14)
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UPDATE/Bumped For Serendipity: For those who missed it, the debate is being rebroadcast on CSPAN2 right f'n' now. Just started at 12pm ET.

It should keep you busy until the 1:07 kickoffs. Thanks to Alex.

Substance aside, Galloway was hot, hectoring, and Hitleresque, while Hitchens managed to remain puckish, ironic, and cool.

Even when he was hinting that the idea of beating the shit out of Galloway would not greatly displease him, he managed to do so in a calm way.

Recap of the debate: Hitchens levied proveable and serious charges against Galloway. Galloway responded chiefly with lunkheaded personal attacks.

In point of fact, having quoted Mr Galloway's recent speech in Damascus ("The Syrian people are fortunate in having Bashar al-Assad as their leader") and having further pointed out that Mr Assad decided not to show his face in New York last week, as the UN investigation into the murder of Rafik Hariri rolled up more and more Syrian agents, I was given a full answer by being told that I had metamorphosed back from a butterfly into a slug, with a consequent trail of slime in my wake. I did not have the lepidopteral presence of mind to point out, at that moment, that butterflies pupate from sturdy and furry caterpillars.

Hitchens made the point several times that these sorts of insults are "fun knockaround stuff," but really have little to do with the actual discussion at hand. But that's all Galloway had, really, and he just kept playing to the cheap seats occupied by rabid fire-breathing retards.

Posted by: Ace at 08:08 AM | Comments (9)
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There's a quickly-produced rap song about Kanye West's infamous bit of cluelessness.

Special guest rap by Wolf "They're so poor and soooo black" Blitzer.

I hate to say it, but while I think the basic message is idiotic, I kinda like the song.

Posted by: Ace at 07:58 AM | Comments (4)
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Heck, all they did was break into a military recruiting office, destroy and damange property, and smear blood all over the place, including on the American flag.

Peaceful? Well, in the sense that no one was physically injured. But burglarly has always been on the cusp of being a "violent" crime, given the great many bad things that can happen when you break into someone's office or home at night.

I understand the ACLU's mission to be the defender of last resort for the politically unpopular. But these are criminals, not protestors. They should cool their heels in the iron bar hotel for a spell.

Posted by: Ace at 07:38 AM | Comments (8)
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"Sexually confident" was the phraseology the Washington Post used to describe teens' increasing indulgence in oral sex.

Before the WaPo deleted the phrase from the website.

Liberalism is weird. In many ways, it does seem to be the ideology parodically assigned to Repubicans on the Simpsons -- "We want what's worst for everybody!"

It is simply bizarre that adults should appluad teenagers' increasing acquaintance with sex and oral sex as a sign of growing "sexual confidence."

I suppose I get the liberals' basic point on this issue: It's not the worst thing in the world that could happen, and perhaps conservatives do spend too much time and energy fretting about it. (Although I suppose many people with teenaged kids would disagree.)

But even if one finds some agreement with that basic point -- "let's not go crazy and start saying this is the end of civilization" -- how does increased sexual activity among teens barely removed from childhood constitute a good thing to be applauded by the nation's cultural elites?

The worst possible thing? Perhaps not. But a good thing? A sign of "confidence"?

Maybe we should just label it a sign of "maturity and sophistication," too. Like smoking cigarettes!

Because, you know, everyone says that smoking makes you look "cooler" and "older." And damnit, aren't they right?

Next in the WaPo: Condoms Are For Cowards!!!

Posted by: Ace at 10:13 PM | Comments (48)
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