Ahmadinnerjacket is crowing over a new Iranian missile with a supposed range of 1,200 miles. That gives it a range that includes Israel and a bit of Europe.

"Defense Minister (Mostafa Mohammad Najjar) has informed me that the Sajjil-2 missile, which has very advanced technology, was launched from Semnan and it landed precisely on the target," state radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. He spoke during a visit to the city of Semnan, 125 miles east of the capital Tehran, where Iran's space program is centered.

Ahmadinejad is running for re-election in a June 12 vote and has been criticized by his opponents and others for antagonizing the U.S. and mismanaging the country's faltering economy.

President Obama has vowed to keep talking at Iran no matter what the belligerent state does. Talka-talka-talka. Israel PM Netanyahu, like his predecessors, has not ruled out a preemptive attack to curtail Iran's missile and nuclear threat.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 04:10 AM | Comments (156)
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Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 03:47 AM | Comments (40)
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Item #1: “A False Hope.” On one of last week’s overnight threads I posted a heartwarming story about “Love Land,” China’s first sexually explicit theme park. All was not well though due to opposition from people who’ve never been laid and see no possibility of such happening in the remainder of their lifetimes. Much like all of you. But who am I to judge? Here’s the backstory, thread and link to the original article.

From the same source as the original story (ABC News, Australia) a chill wind is blowing across China as officials have ordered the theme park closed down (The chill wind is also causing shrinkage. They know about shrinkage, right? DonÂ’t they?):

“China's first sexually explicit theme park has been torn down before it even started, after an outcry from officials, a Chinese newspaper has reported. Love Land, set to open in October in the south-western city of Chongqing, featured exhibits on sexual history and how-to workshops, the China Daily newspaper reported last week. A picture of the park entrance showed a signboard with the park's name straddled by a giant pair of women's legs topped by red underwear.”

Lots more fun to be had below the foldÂ…
more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:08 PM | Comments (508)
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Governator FAIL:

Updated Numbers:
As of 9:21pm with 23.7% of precincts reporting:

Prop 1A (spending caps, taxes)
Yes 36.8% No 63.2%
Prop 1B (payments to schools)
Yes 40.3% No 59.7%
Prop 1C (lottery borrowing)
Yes 38.7% No 61.3%
Prop 1D (diverting child development funds)
Yes 38.2% No 61.8%
Prop 1E (reallocating mental health funds)
Yes 37.7% No 62.3%
Prop 1F (elected official pay)
Yes 76.8% No 23.2%

The girly-man governor has to be hurting.

The Secretary of State's office has confirmed that all props except 1F have failed.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:44 PM | Comments (113)
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Still doesn't care for mortars and rocket attacks.

Noteworthy, only 175 rocket and mortar attacks since the Jan 18 ceasefire.

Still, the WaPo today explained that Bibi came to see Obama without that big damned "chip on his shoulder" that he had back in '96. This gets him Obama's "goodwill", not Bill's ire.

Hamas is uncharacteristically optimistic.

"Obama's remarks and expressions of hope were intended to deceive the international community regarding everything connected to the continuing behavior and existence of the racist and radical Zionist entity," a spokesperson for the group said in a statement published early Tuesday morning.

The spokesperson added that Obama's remarks were nothing but an "ensemble of wishes" on which the group hangs little hope.

I sure thought the world would have been lovin on us by now.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 06:43 PM | Comments (12)
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U.S. District Court Judge John Bates has held that "substantial support" for Al Qaeda or Taliban activities is not a sufficient basis for the U.S. government to take prisoners in the War on Terror. Neither is "directly supporting hostilities." Rather, according to the judge, only membership in Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and "associated forces" justifies indefinite detention.

I can think of no more astounding conclusion that the judge could have come to. But there it is (PDF).

I'd write more, but the news has given me an overwhelming need to get drunk. I advise you to do the same.

Thanks (sort of) to DrewM. for the tip.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:01 PM | Comments (76)
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Usually 2 out 3 ain't bad but it depends one what the one is. In this case the AP has a little fun out of Harry Reid giving some incorrect information about the health of Senators Byrd and Kennedy. Now that's not that big of a deal (unless you are Byrd or Kennedy) but the third subject is a little more important to the nation as a whole.

Reid also mangled his party's position on the congressional news of the day, that Senate Democrats would join their House counterparts in withholding the money President Barack Obama needs to close the Guantanamo Bay prison until Obama comes up with a plan for relocating its prisoners.

But Reid went further than saying he wanted to see a plan for the money before Congress approves it. "We will never allow terrorists to be released into the United States," he said.

No one, of course, was talking about releasing terrorism suspects among the American populace. Imprisoning them, perhaps, but not releasing them.

That's not what one might term, um, accurate.

The administration is most certainly talking about releasing a number of Uighur terrorists in the US.

Contra the AP's happy talk, it's clear the Uighurs are terrorists.

Some lawmakers and top counterterrorism officials, however, are alarmed by the detainees' ties to a terror group that recently aligned itself publicly with Al Qaeda.

The militant Turkistan Islamic Party, or East Turkistan Islamic Movement, ran the Afghan camp the detainees fled. In a jihad video released last month, that group praised Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Uyghurs' former hosts, the Taliban government that ruled Afghanistan.

"It's more than just solidarity, it's inspiration," said terror hunter Rita Katz of the SITE Intelligence Group, who provided the new tape to the Daily News.

The video mentions its operatives "took military training in Afghanistan" before 9/11, until the Taliban government "was overthrown by the Jewish and Christian forces under the commandment of America."

Attorney General Eric Holder indicated last week he regards the Uyghurs as former militants with no ill will to the U.S.

I guess we can have an ontological argument about when one becomes a terrorist. I'd say going to a terror training camp affiliated with al Qaeda meets the standard. It seems the AP thinks a terrorists only busts his cherry when he actually kills someone.

But hey, Harry botched his medical updates so no need to pay any attention to those terrorists being released in the US.

Posted by: DrewM at 04:06 PM | Comments (61)
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Not just stupid but insulting as well.

A taste.

I believe so strongly, as you may recall when I was here in October, not in you particularly but your generation, that I donÂ’t have a single doubt in my mind weÂ’re on the cusp not only of a new century but a new day for this country and the world.

Aside from the insulting hilarity, that bit actually sums up liberals pretty well. They are enamored of groups but not so much the individuals that make them up.

There's more Joey goodness at The Corner.

Posted by: DrewM at 12:08 PM | Comments (391)
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Yes because Hollywood producers never ever cast hot chicks in movies.

Thank God we've been blessed through the years with such ugly women like Scarlett Johansson, Kate Beckensale and Judy Greer (hey, my post, my fantasy) to fill in the gaps left by the roles Jessica is simply too hot for. Let's not even think about all the historically ugly women like Myrna Loy, Vivien Leigh and Ingrid Bergman, fortunately none of them were held back by what one might think of excessive beauty or anything.

Of course, all of this is just an excuse to post a picture of Ms. Biel. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 12:01 PM | Comments (164)
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Ze Germans have found what they are calling the most complete primate fossil ever. It has the science types whipped up because it has both non-human and human-like characteristics. They've named the the racoon-sized thing "Ida" and they estimate it was only nine months old when it died.

It has, among other things, opposable thumbs, similar to humans' and unlike those found on other modern mammals. It has fingernails instead of claws. And by examining the structure of its hind legs (one of which is partly missing), scientists say they can see evidence of evolutionary changes that would eventually lead to primates standing upright.

Ah, but the game's afoot (pun intended). The scientist admitted that he's played up Ida's missing linkiness for publicity's sake:

In response to a reporter's question, Hurum also agreed it would be hard to call "Ida" a direct human ancestor. But he said he was comfortable with the publicity surrounding it.

"That's part of getting science out to the public, to get attention," he said. "I don't think that's so wrong."

They also named the species Darwinius masillae. No, there's no leap to conclusions here, nuh uh.

Ida is 47 million years old. That's an order of magnitude older than the next known pre-human fossil.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 11:54 AM | Comments (87)
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