On the Third Hand

Speaking of Iran...

Iran 'has secret atomic bomb project'

America has convincing new evidence that Iran is hiding an atomic bomb project despite Teheran's promise to open up all of its nuclear facilities to international inspectors, a senior US official has told The Telegraph.
He said the Teheran regime was secretly trying to build a second and more advanced uranium enrichment plant in parallel to the large facilities in the town of Natanz revealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last year.

Of course, a "senior US official" could be anyone from the President to a really old janitor. However; I find this only too believable. If it does prove to be true, I shan't be at all surprised.

Hat tip: Blog Iran

"THEY" have won for now, but what have they won ??

A Scream From The Den........

A theocracy is probably the worst kind of dictatorship, for it functions and retains control by dint of purported religious dogma, thus strangling any hope of rational debate. The too-tightly-twisted-turban-crowd™ have once again imposed their will on the subjects of their dictatorial ways.

Two items of news today spell the total doom of reforming Iran by peaceful means...at least in the short term. One brings word that any member of the parliament who resigned for the purpose of impeding the election process will be prosecuted. The second one indicates that those who hoped to change the banning of many candidates have lost their last chance of bringing that about and have indicated that they will simply boycott the election, thus guaranteeing the continutaion of the death-grip on government by the hard-liners.

Is there never to be any change or hope for the Iranian people?!

Best advice, yet !!

A Nod Of Approval From The Den........

Donald Sensing has a set of rules to teach to young girls, particularly, but they would well apply to ALL children. In light of that abduction in Florida, they bear reading and applying by all parents. This one is the most important:

If a man or woman physically attempts to take you away, fight back instantly and loudly. Become a screaming, clawing banshee. Fight dirty! Immediately hit and kick everywhere you can, especially go for eyes and groin. If s/he is wearing glasses, rip them away. Yell for help at the top of your lungs all the while. Yell specifically, "This is not my dad (or mom)! I'm being kidnapped!"

The moral bankruptcy of the Islamist philosophy

Abusing Islam By Amir Taheri

Consider the case of Abdul Qadeer Khan, known to his compatriots as AQK — the physicist regarded as the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb.
Some Pakistanis consider him a second father of the nation (after Muhammad Ali Jinah, who led Indian Muslims into secession at the end of British colonial rule).
Until recently, AQK was worshiped as almost a saint by quite a few Pakistanis. Last month, however, he was arrested and charged with the illegal transfer of Pakistani nuclear technology and materiel to Iran, Libya and North Korea. This week, he made a televised confession, admitting the charge and taking sole responsibility. The confession came after a tete-à-tete with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
...
What is alarming, however, is the reaction of many Pakistanis. AQK has received thousands of emails and letters telling him that, regardless of what the law might say, they approve of what he did. Pakistani media are full of op-ed pieces and editorials praising his devotion to Islam and claiming he was "doing his duty as a Muslim" by helping other Muslim states acquire weapons available to "Jews and Crusaders."

Highly recommended reading.

So?

Authorities accused of using juveniles to catch illegal families

Almost nothing can stop a mother from rushing in to help her child in trouble -- and immigration advocates are concerned that federal authorities in this state are exploiting that most basic human response to apprehend entire families of illegal immigrants for deportation.
"I get calls on this almost every month," said Matt Adams, directing attorney for the Northwest Immigrant Rights project in Granger. "A juvenile is being detained and (immigration officials) bring in the rest of the family."

If it works...

U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities dismiss the idea that agents detain juveniles as "bait" for parents who may be living in the United States illegally -- but they acknowledge that in many circumstances, parents who are illegal aliens are put in deportation proceedings as a result of securing their delinquent children's release.
"It's not a priority, but because of regulations regarding juveniles, we can't release them to just anybody," said Aaron Wilson, associate special agent in charge of the bureau's Seattle office. Juveniles detained on immigration violations must be released into the custody of a parent, legal guardian or state child protective services. Parents and legal guardians must provide valid identification to claim their children -- which often provides immigration agents the opportunity to question their residency status.
"Non-criminal aliens are not a priority but that does not make them exempt from removal charges if they are here illegally," Wilson said. "We may take them into custody or initiate deportation proceedings."

Erm, excuse me? Something about the idea of a non-criminal illegal alien just doesn't work. They are here illegally, that makes them a criminal.

Someone gets it...

CIA chief defends his analysts

WASHINGTON — News flash: Intelligence isn't magic.

That's my quote of the day. I wish people would remember it. There seems to a subconscious expectation among many pundits (and bloggers) that intelligence agencies should know exactly what is going on. That's not the case.

Read the rest of the story, too, it's a good overview of what Tenet said.

Which one?

Saddam In 'Terror Tape'

New footage has been released purporting to show Saddam Hussein paying large sums of money to a terrorist group.
Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Nicholson says the footage is "incontrovertible proof" of the former Iraqi dictator's links to international terrorism.
It appears to show the former Iraqi President plotting crimes and paying money to members of an international terrorist group.
Baroness Nicholson says the group of men in the footage looked after Saddam's chemical and biological warfare.
The footage given to Sky News was reportedly looted from one of Saddam's palaces.
There has been no independent confirmation of the tapes and Sky News cannot verify their veracity.

"A terrorist group", it says. We know he gave lots of money to the 'Palestinian' terrorists. If it's them, this isn't really news. I hate vague reports...