Links and Minifeatures 08 17 Thursday

RINO Sightings



Carnival of The Capitalists



Carnival of The Vanities, which I'm tempted not to link due to host impatience. Recommended: Adam's Blog (Wheel of Allegations), Random Yak (the limitations of statistics)

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Well, they didn't quite say they claimed the right to blow up any infidels they wish, but things are not looking better with Iran. Iran says won't back down over atomic rights



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This is an outrage



Sign a Petition to help them out here.



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This goes to show that if you file a sufficient number of lawsuits, you'll find a judge stupid or prejudiced enough to go along with you, even if the Supreme Court has ruled otherwise. Judge Nixes Warrantless Surveillance

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

Contrary to higher court precedent. The Fourth and Fifth Amedment guard against criminal incrimination, not against the government finding out somebody intends to blow up a building before you do it. If they try to arrest you, the evidence is tainted and so they can't use it. But if they don't arrest you or charge you with a crime, such surveillance is irrelevant.



I'm a big non-believer in conspiracy theories. They're just a non-starter with me. But I have one that fits the observed facts. The current President's political enemies are doing all they can to throw roadblocks in the way or preventative measures, so that when (not if!) the terrorists succeed in another attack, they can use his "failure to prevent" it against him politically to garner votes.



Please debunk it with facts if you can. I'd like to not believe that Americans would do that sort of thing.



Powerline has more.



Volokh Conspiracy dissects it.



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Promotion Time! Plan Would Add Planets to Solar System. Pluto stays, and UB313 and Charon get added, as does Ceres.



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Whoever came up with that quote about capitalists selling people rope which will be used to hang them was probably thinking of France: France Calls for End to Lebanon Blockade



Meanwhile, Hezbollah is reneging upon a key component of the cease fire Lebanese Cabinet OKs Troop Deployment to the South, but Skirts Issue of Disarming Hezbollah



Remember the research on the most effective way to lie? Syria is certain being selective in how much of the truth to tell. Nor is "Baby Dentist" Assad high on the list of people I would consult about who's an object of ridicule.



This I view as a hopeful sign: At war, Israeli reservists wield new weapon: opinion polls

"It's the first time ever it's been done, and I think it's a new tool," he says. "It's not refusal of orders or officers. If you do that, you abandon your friends in the field,..."

(snip)

"It's not supposed to be a moral dispute. There weren't any villagers left there at that point, just Hizbullah men," says Yannay. The soldiers began to question the wisdom of their orders.

Scrappleface has it's own take on the issue.



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Homeowners lose Katrina insurance flood case



Flood is specifically excluded from homeowner's insurance. I'm sorry for the folks who were told they didn't need flood insurance, and I hope they have a case against the agent who told them that. But this decision is correct, as I indicated in this article almost a year ago.



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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060817-0819-bn17cartel.html"target="_blank">Coast Guard delivers Arellano Felix to San Diego Caught him in International Waters.



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The only poll that matters is in November, but Poll: Lieberman Ahead, High Favorability



Basically, now that we're out of the hothouse of Democratic activists, Lieberman is significantly ahead and the numbers don't look good for Lamont, who actually has very high negative perceptions, especially with Republicans and Independents. Gee, I wonder why.



Big Lizards thinks the Donkeys are doomed in national elections.



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Via Powerline,

Vital Perspective notes that the Iranian government is going house to house smashing satellite dishes.



Now why would they want to cut their citizens off from listening to foreign media?



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Belmont Club has printed the entire text of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's address to Harvard in 1978.

A Decline in Courage ...



may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days. The Western world has lost its civil courage, both as a whole and separately, in each country, each government, each political party and of course in the United Nations. Such a decline in courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling groups and the intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society.

more

no weapons, no matter how powerful, can help the West until it overcomes its loss of willpower. In a state of psychological weakness, weapons become a burden for the capitulating side. To defend oneself, one must also be ready to die; there is little such readiness in a society raised in the cult of material well-being. Nothing is left, then, but concessions, attempts to gain time and betrayal.

neo-neocon has some noteworthy thoughts.



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Hurray! Lebanese army to be only force to bear arms.

An official in the Prime Minister's Office warned on Tuesday that the IDF would have to resume operations in Lebanon if Hizbullah is not disarmed.



Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah reportedly reached a deal allowing Hizbullah to keep its weapons but refrain from exhibiting them in public. Israeli officials called the arrangement a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which passed over the weekend and was approved on Sunday by the cabinet.



"The resolution is clear that Hizbullah needs to be removed from the border area, embargoed and dismantled," the official said. "If the resolution is not implemented, we will have to take action to prevent the rearming of Hizbullah. I don't think backtracking will serve any useful purpose. There has to be pressure on Hizbullah to disarm or there will have to be another round."

Captain's Quarters notes a Lebanese general jailed for having tea with an Israeli officer.



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Captain's Quarters has a good article on observing the people rather than intensive searches of carry on objects.



I think profiling is rather unlikely to be really successful as long as people like this are walking around loose.



Related article here.



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In case you hadn't noticed, things are kind of hectic right now.