Kip Hawley may or may not be an idiot

But some of his TSA goons obviously are.

Passengers are now allowed to take drinks and other liquids onto airplanes if they bought them in airport shops located inside the security checkpoint. Air travelers can also carry on toiletries in containers of 3 ounces or less if they’re in a zip-top bag no bigger than a quart.

It was just that kind of bag that got Byrd crossways with airport security officials. Inside were his hair gel and toothpaste. On the outside was the message critical of Hawley.

Even more jaw-dropping is the claim by a TSA superviser that “he had no free speech rights inside the airport’s security checkpoint.”

Time to buy a few more of these.

Patriot Post

The Patriot Post, formerly known as The Federalist is “a concise, informative and entertaining analysis of the week’s most important news, policy and opinion” that you can get for free in your inbox. I hope that all Buttle’s World readers already subscribe. If you don’t yet, you can remedy that by signing up here.

They’re not always right, but when it comes to constitutional matters they have a near perfect batting average.

Loyola on the NAM

Mario Loyola finds Chavez both dangerous and indicative of coming change

.For all their pitifully unintended comedy, last week’s events in the General Assembly represent an ominous milestone in modern history. Anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism have long been a hallmark of the General Assembly; and the world’s myriad of petty dictatorships have long found in that forum both real comfort and false dignity. But never before have their rants been so unified in content and purpose. And never have their international intrigues been so extensively coordinated, now along an arc stretching from South America, across the Middle East, and to the Pacific Rim.

He foresees a collapse echoing the one that went before.

Remember that the legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement’s first generation was largely wiped out by its second. Nasser was followed by the capitalist and ultimately pro-American Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. In Indonesia, Sukarno was followed similarly by Suharto, and then by democratically-elected presidents. Perón was followed eventually by (mostly) pro-American presidents who were decidedly capitalist, even if they weren’t very good at it. Ultimately, the inevitable failure of the collectivist experiment impels people toward democracy and liberalism.

He also calls for deft diplomacy. I hope the Bush White House is up to it.

Nurse Bloomberg Strikes Again?

Now the city of New York wants to limit trans fats at restaurants.

“Trans fat causes heart disease. Like lead in paint, artificial trans fat in food is invisible and dangerous, and it can be replaced,” New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said in a statement.

Yes, just like lead in paint.

I thought New York restaurants had a reputation for tasty food, but apparently it’s difficult to tell food from paint there. Or maybe it’s just that the New York City Health Commissioner doesn’t know sh*t from shinola.

QOTD

AllahPundit observes: “There’s nothing so pathetic, or entertaining, as someone stupid trying to sound smart…”

Calling Chris Wallace a monkey is only the beginning of this hilarious meltdown.

This is roll-on-the-floor funny it’s so unhinged. I was expecting his pea brain to pop out through his ears.

Afghanistan Heats Up

Bad news in Michael Yon’s latest dispatch.

There is a widespread notion that Afghanistan is safer for our troops than Iraq, yet Coalition and NATO combat deaths in Afghanistan are per capita nearly identical to those in Iraq. In 2007, per capita combat deaths will–-in my opinion–-likely be significantly higher in Afghanistan than Iraq. Why? There are many reasons, but one of the most important is that after years of neglect and dawdling, our European allies are awakening to the reality that a monster really is under the bed. But this awareness is not keeping pace with the threat. Our European friends are still not providing their people with proper equipment, all while the Taliban is getting stronger from the billion-dollar narcotics backwash that floods enemy coffers. As in Iraq, troop numbers are also dangerously low in Afghanistan, where the handfuls of friendly forces additionally lack sufficient air power to stretch their security resources.

NATO is tentatively confronting the proximate and growing threat by sending more troops into battle, but they are sending troops with insufficient force protection. During my trip, I visited several bases. Steve needed to meet some Danish engineers who were to fly into Tarin Kot the next day by helicopter. When Steve asked an Australian Special Forces officer how to identify which helicopter the Danish engineers would arrive in, the Australian officer grimly answered, “It will be the only helicopter flying alone.”

Al Qaeda Losing in Iraq

I don’t like polls. But this one does seem interesting (and the margins are wide enough to probably mean something.)

Iraqi confidence in Iraqi forces (as opposed to militias) is increasing while its confidence in US forces is decreasing. Given US policies there can be little doubt but that US forces have lost significant Shia support and gained some Sunni support. I suspect increasing number of Shia no longer believe that American forces are capable of protecting them and with increased confidence in their government’s capabilities no longer fear the consequences of an American withdrawal.

This is a case where decreasing confidence in the American Military is actually a positive sign – at least to the extent that it’s balanced by increased confidence in the Iraqi forces.

Married, with Children?

Odds are you’re living in Republican territory, according to a fascinating survey in USA Today. They find that the “fertility gap” may be an important factor in upcoming elections.

This “fertility gap” is crucial to understanding the differences between liberals and conservatives, says Arthur Brooks, a professor of public administration at Syracuse University. These childbearing patterns shape divisions over issues such as welfare, education and child tax credits, he says.

“Both sides are very pro-kids. They just express it in different ways,” Brooks says. “Republicans are congenial to traditional families, which is clearly the best way for kids to grow up. But there are some kids who don’t have that advantage, and Democrats are very concerned with helping those kids.”

From the Memory Hole

A Buttle’s World Geek-Out moment:

A FOIA request has resulted in the release of cumulative indices of four cryptological journals, and a crypto history monograph series published by the NSA. Bruce Schneier has the story.

Some of the sample titles are intriguing. The BS Attitudes: How Things Work in Bureaucracies, anybody?

Is This the Drip?

Michelle Malkin wonders if Paul Pillar is the CIA leaker who has been feeding cherry-picked secret data to the NYT. One does wonder what he was doing at the CIA. Apparently now he’s at Georgetown where, I hope, he no longer has access to secret documents.

Jeff Cooper, RIP

America has lost a great resource.

America lost a national treasure Monday, but most Americans will never know it.

Yet many of those Americans may be alive today because of John Dean “Jeff” Cooper, who died Monday afternoon at the Sconce, his beloved home near Gunsite, the shooting training center he founded about 10 miles north of Chino Valley.

Most people who know anything about guns and shooting know who Jeff Cooper was. They rightly called him “The Gunner’s Guru.” He was the world’s foremost expert on small arms (rifles, shotguns and handguns).

I’ve missed his fiery essays during these last years of his illness. You can bet my daughter will be learning his four rules. (In fact, she should know them already, but since we haven’t been to the range yet we only review them now and then.)

There is, of course, his apocryphal gunfighting rule. A footnote in the aforelinked article is classic Cooper:

Shortly after that interview with the top-drawer IPSC fellow, I wrote the item that Cooper published in Gunsite Gossip, to wit: “How do you tell the difference between a martial artist and a gamesman? Ask what kind of gun he carries for self defense. If he names a gun – any gun – 9mm, .45, .25, whatever – if he names any gun or caliber, he is a martial artist. But, if he says, ‘Huh?’ he is a gamesman.”

Britain Loses the War

Kiss England goodbye. They just caved. Surrendered. Gave up.

POLICE have agreed to consult a panel of Muslim leaders before mounting counter-terrorist raids or arrests. Members of the panel will offer their assessment of whether information police have on a suspect is too flimsy and will also consider the consequences on community relations of a raid.

Members will be security vetted and will have to promise not to reveal any intelligence they are shown. They will not have to sign the Official Secrets Act.

But it’s OK. At least all of the victims can be buried facing Mecca.

Citgo No, Por Favor

I buy from Chevron anyway. But if you live where there’s a Citgo station, you may want to know that it’s owned by the Venezuelan state-owned oil company. Shop accordingly.

Bolton Rocks

Check out a video and partial transcript of his speech at the pro-Israel rally.

President Bush has been very clear on this point to Iran. He has been very clear. He has said over and over again it is “unacceptable” for Iran to have nuclear weapons. And what he means when he says “unacceptable” is, that it is unacceptable. [Emphasis on last word by Bolton].

I mention this rally as though you’ve heard of it, of course. Since you’re a blog reader you probably have. But if you rely on the MSM, you may have missed this little gathering of 35-to-40 thousand people right in front of the UN.

Democratic Consistency

Or should that be, cognitive dissonance?

Redefining the “Moral High Ground”

The International Red Cross has admitted that they pulled the picture of the ambulance with the phony “Israeli rocket” damage. You’ll love their excuse.

When subsequently asked why the photo was removed, he replied to your correspondent that the ICRC held a meeting, at which it was decided that Zombietime would not be directly confronted. “The Institute in Geneva decided not to go into a controversy in order to keep the moral high ground on the issue”, he said.

Why these people think they can outmaneuver the internet’s memory is beyond my ken.

AP – the “So-called” news agency

A regular laff riot over on Michelle Malkin’s site. AP throws up a smokescreen around their apparent use of a terrorist collaborator as a stringer. They’re in full circle-the-wagons mode over there.

Your official Buttle’s World Advice is to mistrust everything you read, especially if it’s from anything calling itself a news agency. Or which refers to a “so-called blogosphere“.

You’re welcome.

How much lower can the UN go?

Check out Chavez, in full BDS mode courtesy of Allapundit.

We know that the UN is a corrupt, worthless, anti-American institution, so maybe this shouldn’t be so surprizing. But how is it we allow this kind of talk by a foreign tyrant right on our own soil? This will look really bad after we’re attacked by an Iran-Venezuela axis.

Oh, and Chavez is a Chomsky fan. That tells you about all you need to know about Noam, I guess.

Update:

Mario Loyola sounds right to me.

The White House responded only to say that the comments were not worth responding to. I do not agree. A latter-day Mussolini just referred to the President of the United States as “the devil” — to general applause, laughter, and merriment in the General Assembly of the United Nations — an organization we created to make the defeat of fascism permanent in our world. By insisting on the universality of the Organization, and not insisting on any standards for membership, President Harry Truman bequeathed a pulpit of “unique legitimacy” to our worst enemies, to mock us and incite the world against us, from right in the middle of our greatest city.

Come on, Mr. President. Put this clown in his place. Stand up.

Yet Another Update:

Hat tip to Power Line for this link to The Anchoress, with a pretty good apologetic for Bush’s silence.

But maybe some on the left finally understand that while they’ve been having fun and laughing while calling President Bush every manner of ugly name and insult, dangerous people have been watching. And they have made a calculation: We can disrespect Bush and America will laugh with us. Bush is weak. America is once again the appeasing “weak horse” it was throughout the 1990’s and even before…when we could attack anything and be accountable to no one.

…

And now, these tyrants and madmen sound eerily like the Democrats and the press and the left. One ideology, the world over, had completely lost its bearings, its self-control and its manners concerning one man who has never – not once -repaid them back in kind. Not in speeches. Not to the press. Not to “friendly audiences.” He came to town talking about “changing the tone,” and that’s what happened, in a perverse way. One side’s tone went rabid, the other side went nearly-silent, but this one man…kept his tone.

Cry Nazi

WND has another one of their advocacy pieces in drag. (This sort of “news” article is why I don’t read WND much anymore.) In this one the scare comes courtesy of Dr. Richard D. Ackerman of the “The Pro-Family Law Center”, a “California pro-family group”. He claims that a proposed FDA rule would allow doctors to perform “Nazi-like experiments” on patients without their permission.

“This is reminiscent of the days of Hitler and Dr. Mengele,” he said. “The idea that research can be performed on a human being without informed consent is antithetical to the very meaning of human self-determination and dignity.”

Once you invoke Nazis, your argument merits skepticism.

First, look at the proposed rule change.

Under the regulations in 21 CFR 50.24, and the conforming amendments contained in 21 CFR parts 56, 312, 314, 601, 812, and 814, an exception may be requested from the requirement to obtain informed
consent from each subject, or the subject’s legally authorized representative, prior to enrollment in a clinical investigation. The narrow exception applies to emergency research for which, among other things, the following conditions exist: (1) An investigational new drug application (IND) or investigational device exemption application (IDE) is required; (2) that involves human subjects who have a life-threatening medical condition (for which available treatments are unproven or unsatisfactory); (3) that involves subjects who because of their medical condition (e.g., unconsciousness) cannot give informed
consent; and (4) where, to be effective, the intervention must be administered before informed consent from the subjects’ legally authorized representative is feasible. Studies involving an exception from the general requirement of informed consent may proceed only after a sponsor has received prior written permission from FDA, and the IRB has found and documented that specific conditions have been met.

This sounds to me more like doctors are going to be given the option of taking extraordinary measures to save lives. If they determine that a patient is about to die, they’re being allowed to try something that might ordinarily be against the rules.

A friend, and regular reader of Buttle’s World, who happens to be a doctor running an ER at a major hospital, concurs. He points out that the above paragraph, where it references “investigational drugs” is key.

Investigational drugs and devices are those that have already passed animal trials and are ready for use in people. The doctors (and the FDA and the institutional review boards) are all working with a reasonable expectation of safety and efficacy. Hardly like lone-wolf Dr. Mengele at all.

It was by bending the rules (“compassionate use”) that AIDS drugs became available before FDA testing was complete. As we know, AIDS was a death sentence back then, so what was there to lose?

This very issue has been a sticking point in emergency medicine research. You’re doing CPR on a guy. Which drug is more likely to save him, A or B? He can’t give his consent to the trial, and the family hasn’t shown up yet.

There was talk (and I’m not sure of the outcome) of relaxing the informed consent rules in ER studies.

If the FDA is ready to relax rules to let doctors save more lives, I’m all for it.

Keen Grasp of the Obvious Department

Researchers have identified the “male warrior effect“.

New research has shown that men bond together and cooperate well in the face of adversity to protect their interests more than women, which could explain why war is almost exclusively a male business, according to Professor Mark van Vugt of the University of Kent in southern England.

Just imagine when those researchers discover “upper body strength” and “aerobic capacity”.

Is That All There Is?

LGF provided a link to an article which spills the beans on those horrible questioning techniques the CIA wants to use.

The techniques sought by the CIA are: induced hypothermia; forcing suspects to stand for prolonged periods; sleep deprivation; a technique called “the attention grab” where a suspect’s shirt is forcefully seized; the “attention slap” or open hand slapping that hurts but does not lead to physical damage; the “belly slap”; and sound and light manipulation.

I was OK with that, but this is obviously beyond the pale:

The New York Times recently reported that Abu Zubaydah, the first al-Qaida member captured after the September 11 attacks, was kept in a freezing cell until he went blue, and later assailed with loud Red Hot Chili Peppers music.

Red Hot Chili Peppers? Maybe McCain is right. This is obviously much worse than hacking someone’s head off.

Update:
Oh, this is just beyond the pale.

The Faux Shirt Stain: Interrogator points at suspect’s chest: “Look, you’ve got something on your shirt.” When suspect looks down, interrogator brings up index finger, tweaking suspect’s nose. Interrogator laughs. This grievous affront, a loss of honor in the eyes of Allah, administers massive psychic trauma to suspect. Repeat as needed.

There’s more, if you can stomach the cruelty.

Just Wondering

Would more people drink if, instead of seeing pink elephants, they saw Julie London?

I don’t know. But I do know what I’d do if I had a hammer.

Start drinking.

Somebody Syndicate This Guy

That’s what Jack Fowler said over on The Corner. Based on this column I’d have to agree that Mushnick rocks.

One gentleman, an Islamic community leader from New Jersey, compared 9/11 to the Oklahoma City bombing. He said that while Muslim-Americans are being targeted since 9/11, Timothy McVeigh was a Christian, thus, he asked, why haven’t Christian-Americans been targeted as security risks?

The man’s question was left to dangle, as if it were rhetorical, as if it made sense.

But where was the voice to say: “Wait a minute, brother, the Christian world, with only a microscopic exception, deplores McVeigh and his action. The Muslim world, to an enormous extent, not only excuses terrorism against Americans, it supports it, blesses the murderers and eagerly awaits the next attack.”

Just the other day I was thinking to myself that if the vast majority of terrorist attacks had been made by blond, blue-eyed, middle-aged white guys that I’d be worried if I weren’t singled out for more attention by airport security. Yes, I’d be miffed about it. But I’d be miffed at those blond, blue-eyed, middle-aged white guy terrorists, not at the people singling me out.

Where’s the TV interview with the Muslim at the airport who’s pissed at Mohammed Atta?

The Smoke Clears

The fog of war gradually burns off. Captain Ed surveys the landscape, and sees the Hezbos not so happy with how things went.

The war stripped more than a few masks from the players in the region. Nasrallah now has to contend with the fallout from his impatient attack on Israel, from the Lebanese and also from the Iranians who had wanted Hezbollah and their rockets as a threat to be feared, not an attack to be weathered and then discounted. His image as the protector of Lebanon has been shattered, and the Lebanese now see him as a threat instead of a savior. After years of Syrian control, they now have to recognize that a large portion of their country is under de facto Iranian occupation, and they’re not happy about it.

This has eroded the veneer of victory that Nasrallah placed on the cease-fire. Western commentators and no shortage of Israeli pundits pointed to Nasrallah’s claims to have prevailed as a devastating propaganda offensive that would make Israel and the West look weaker than ever. Arabs have taken a more realistic view of the war’s results, including the fact that Nasrallah has to make those claims from undisclosed locations to this day. They scoff at his bravado, noting that Nasrallah’s vaunted rocket attacks killed more Israeli Arabs than anyone else and proved singularly ineffective as a deterrent to the Israeli incursion.

A Deadly Kindness

Richard Minater visited Gitmo. He didn’t like what he saw.

The politically correct regulations are unbelievable. Detainees are entitled to a full eight hours sleep and can’t be woken up for interrogations. They enjoy three meals and five prayers per day, without interruption. They are entitled to a minimum of two hours of outdoor recreation per day.

Interrogations are limited to four hours, usually running two – and (of course) are interrupted for prayers. One interrogator actually bakes cookies for detainees, while another serves them Subway or McDonald’s sandwiches. Both are available on base. (Filet o’ Fish is an al Qaeda favorite.)

Interrogations are not video or audio taped, perhaps to preserve detainee privacy.

That, combined with word that the JAG corps may be metastasizing, makes for a less than cheery start to the weekend.

One Arab’s Apology

I’ve never been to New Jersey. But if I do go, I would like to shake this American Arab’s hand.

WELL, here it is, five years late, but here just the same: an apology from an Arab-American for 9/11. No, I didn’t help organize the killers or contribute in any way to their terrible cause. However, I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing.

Mr. Dabul’s op-ed is a ray of sunshine, a breath of fresh air. This is exactly the attitude that needs to be encouraged. It’s the attitude that will save civilization.

Notice the Pattern?

A fine column by George Will.

Liberals think their campaign against Wal-Mart is a way of introducing the subject of class into America’s political argument, and they are more correct than they understand. Their campaign is liberalism as condescension. It is a philosophic repugnance toward markets because consumer sovereignty results in the masses making messes. Liberals, aghast, see the choices Americans make with their dollars and their ballots, and announce – yes, announce – that Americans are sorely in need of more supervision by . . . liberals.

How to Look Like a Complete Idiot on TV

If you want to get really good at it, just watch the debate between the Loose Change wingnuts and two guys from Popular Mechanics.

For extra fun, see if you can count the fallicies.

Or you could just shake your head like a moron and call everybody a liar, like the “researcher” does.

Watching these two mental midgets at work made me a little more sympathetic for the Arab and Iranian nitwits in the MEMRI video. At least they grew up in a backwards, repressive, society, and have religious reasons for seeing anybody capable of building a skyscraper as their enemy. What excuse do these two kids have, who apparently grew up in the most advanced nation in the world? Have we seen the difference between circumstancial stupidity and willful stupidity?

Update:
Mat Lauer does a fairly good job of looking stupid on TV, only he got paid for it. So maybe he’s not quite as stupid. (And where has this President Bush been for the last few years?

Coincidence?

You decide.

9+11=20

MEMRI Delivers Again

MEMRI has a documentary, hosted by Ron Silver, that you should see. Look on their site for The Arab and Iranian Reaction to 911 Five Years Later. There are many viewing options there.

If it weren’t for the fact that these barbarians were actually killing people, they’d be quite funny. Some of their conspiracy theories almost make Michael Moore look sane.

Update:
Upon further viewing, I’m slack-jawed at what these guys are saying. Every time they say “bin Laden was incapable” of such a technological attack, and that “Zionist hands” are responsible, they are really saying, “We are stupid and backwards, but our enemies are smart and advanced.”

Living with that kind of cognitive dissonance could be enough to make you strap bombs to yourself. Or your children.