Titled:  Saddam's Missing WMD

AlphaPatroit points to an interesting and potentially game-changing story about Saddam's WMD involvement. Not only is there now a new solid source that his WMDs were moved to Syria, but also that Iraq was preparing a chemical strike against Israel on the eve of the First Gulf War.

The NY Sun reports:

The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.

The flights - 56 in total, Mr. Sada said - attracted little notice because they were thought to be civilian flights providing relief from Iraq to Syria, which had suffered a flood after a dam collapse in June of 2002.

The book also says that on the eve of the first Gulf War, Saddam was planning to use his air force to launch a chemical weapons attack on Israel.

The most interesting thing here for me is what happens if this is proven true and the WMDs are recoverd - the left would have a lot of answering to do.

"Bush lied - people died" becomes "Bush told the Truth - people died because the lunatic left lied about it for political gain".

For the GOP, ideally this will all come to be in mid 2008, just prior to elections, when the dems will be repeating the "lied" mantra as loudly as they can.

The fact that suppport for military action in Iran is as high as 57% already, despite the left's hatred of the action in Iraq, points to further gains if the central plank of their anti-war ideology is removed.

Maybe the GOP already knows the facts but can't prove them yet. Letting the Dems continue to build their party around the WMD issue could by Rove's best move yet.
 

Titled:   Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Concealed Carry Bill

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle says he will veto a bill that would legalize the carrying of concealed weapons in Wisconsin.

"Violence is not the answer," said Doyle. "If we keep guns illegal, the police will know that whoever has a gun is a criminal."

Asked how victims should protect themselves, Doyle responded that they shouldn't. "We have to stop the cycle of violence," said Doyle. "Allowing victims to return fire only perpetuates the cycle. Victims should 'turn the other cheek' to their attackers."

Doyle asserted that most criminals will not shoot unarmed victims unless it is necessary to eliminate them as witnesses. "If you avert your gaze from your attacker he may see that you will not able to identify him and let you live," observed Doyle. "Even if the criminal does shoot you, we will have just a single casualty. If victims return fire we could have multiple casualties."

Where does one start? Perhaps by trying to understand how Wisconsin allows someone this detached from reality to be Governor.

He is quite clearly saying that if you are being shot at, you should remain passive in case the perpetrator gets injured. If, as a CCW holder, I get shot, then surely I am one person who can no longer stop the criminal from harming others.

As for averting your gaze in the hope that a psychotic killer might decide you didn't see anything and let you live - I think Gov. Doyle is just crazy. You cannot project your mindset onto another human who is already working outside of your own frame of thought. In other words, you can't expect someone acting abnormaly to think the same way you do, and have the same morals, ethics and thoughts as you. If you are not the type that routinely attacks innocents with lethal force, then what makes you think you can understand those that do. That is the major mistake people make when dealing with criminals, terrorists, drug users and downright crazies. You cannot assume they will do as you would do.

I refuse to become that "single casualty" whose life is in the control of someone who is deciding whether or not I'm a potential witness. And that's why I also refuse to visit Wisconsin, live in Wisconsin and invest in Wisconsin while people like Gov. Doyle are in power and its citizens support people like him.

 

Titled:   Legislator apologizes after accidentally firing gun in his office

An Henrico County legislator apologized to the House of Delegates on Thursday for firing his handgun in his legislative office.

Republican Jack Reid said the weapon went off accidentally about 9 a.m. while he was ejecting the clip from his .380-caliber Kel-Tec handgun.

The discharged round was stopped by a bullet-proof vest that was hanging on Reid’s office door. No damage was done to state property, according to a report filed with the Capitol Police.

From an earlier post:

As a public service to folks out there who have trouble with the obvious, here are a few laws to follow:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

Keep any ONE of these three and you are likely to be safe. Ideally, follow ALL three. And kids - just keep away and let an adult know.

So he was trying to complete Rule #3, probably broke Rule #2 but at least followed Rule #1, at least by accident. Pointing the gun at a bullet-proof (resistant) vest is likely to have been the safest place to aim it, if you have to shoot it in the office. At least it wasn't pointed at a member of staff or his head.

Proof again that following one of the three laws, even if by accident, will probably keep you safe.

 

Titled:   Judge lets 6,000-square-foot garage stand

Paul Piscopo's garage covers 6,000 square feet and has room for 28 full-sized trucks.

It seems that his neighbors weren't too chuffed to see what he had built in his yard.

Several of Piscopo's neighbors contended the 150-foot-long, 60-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall corrugated sheet metal building - which they dubbed the "Monster Garage" - has hurt their property values and ruined the residential feel of their sedate neighborhood.

Maybe they would have prefered vehicles all over his lawn?

... Oakland County Circuit Judge Michael Warren reversed a decision by the Troy Board of Zoning Appeals demanding the garage be reduced in size or torn down.

The court ruled that a garage of this scale was allowed under the Troy zoning ordinance as it and the house didn't cover more than 30% of the lot and was far enough from the boundaries.

 Now all he has to be worried about now is eminent domain abuse.

 

Following on from yesterday's voting theme, it appears that the newly-minted democracies have failed to learn one big lesson; that the people get the government they deserve. If they don't educate themselves about the options and just blindly vote, usually the result is far from optimal.

Take the recent polls in Palestine. Hamas wins 76 of the 132 seats and gets invited to form a new government.

The world's reaction: So far almost uniformly negative.

Israeli interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ruled out any talks with "an armed terror organisation that calls for Israel's destruction".

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that the US would not give any direct aid to a Palestinian government under Hamas, which it brands a terrorist organisation.

So already the decision is likely to lead to not only a huge step backward on the road to peace in the Middle East (assuming such a thing is even possible), but also a huge reduction in income for the country which wasn't exactly in the rich league to start with.

Already, news comes of clashes between Fatah and Hamas, showing that internally the country is anything but agreeable.

Sure, Hamas removed talk of eliminating Israel from its political campaign, and the process of democracy has the outside chance that it will civilize the group now they have some politcal power. But given the long term campaign of terror, the bus bombings, carnage and death, peace still seems a very long way off.

Of course the Palis aren't alone:

Islamist candidates were embraced in municipal elections in Saudi Arabia; Hezbollah, another US-declared terrorist organisation, was handsomely endorsed as the parliamentary voice of Shiites in Lebanon; the Muslim Brotherhood won 88 of the 150 seats it contested in Egypt; and Iran's newly elected president is a radical who seems to be thoroughly enjoying Western anxiety over Tehran's nuclear program.

Democracy is a double edged sword, increasingly a curved one.

 

Titled: Vote early, and often!

What a great country. They let you vote even when you're dead! It seems that in the fine State of Washington, 11,500 dead voters are still registered, and 36,000 are registered in two counties.

What the article didn't say was which party they usually vote for. I guess its a question of getting help to get to the polls.
 

Titled:   New Federal Police

UrbanSurvival.com brings us news of a new uniformed federal police force, as laid out in Section 605 of the USA PATRIOT IMPROVEMENT AND REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005.

This new development doesn't seem to be initially for general nation-wide use, but mainly for anywhere the President, VP or other home and foreign dignitaries may be stationed or visiting. The US SS Uniformed Division will be armed, carry police powers and will be at the command of the Director, United States Secret Service.

It also provides protection for former Presidents and their spouses. Look for pictures of Hillary flanked by the new secret police uniformed police soon.

 

Titled:   Italy approves self-defence law

The Italian parliament has passed legislation allowing people to shoot robbers in self-defence.

The new law will allow people to use legally registered weapons to protect themselves or others, and their property and the property of others, from harm.

It applies if there is a danger of aggression and the attacker does not desist.

Wow. It sounds like the Italians finally get it.

Justice Minister Roberto Castelli backed the new law.

"Today criminals will have more to fear while there will be fewer problems for honest people," said Mr Castelli, who belongs to the Northern League.

However, the centre-left opposition expressed concern that it would encourage violence and lead to increased use of firearms.

Hopefully it will encourage violence and the increased use of firearms towards the perpetrators, not the victims as has been the case.

We should keep an eye on the crime figures over the coming months.

(Hat-tip to John Lott)

 

Titled:   Police say man thought gun wasn't loaded

Police say a man who fatally shot himself in the head with a .45-caliber handgun did not think the gun was loaded.

This stunning piece of insight comes to you from the New Hampshire police. How they arrived at this conclusion is at this time unknown, although it may have something to do with the fact that this was clearly not a suicide but another stupid accident.

Rules of safe firearm handling might need a new rule:

Do NOT point a gun at your head (or anyone elses) and pull the trigger even if you KNOW the firearm is not loaded. Failure to follow this rule will probably result in a loud bang, a very brief headache and the even briefer, stunning realization that something is not quite right. Often, local police will make obvious statements about you in the press later.

As a public service to folks out there who have trouble with the obvious, here are a few laws to follow:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

Keep any ONE of these three and you are likely to be safe. Ideally, follow ALL three. And kids - just keep away and let an adult know.

 

Titled:   Poll finds surprising optimists

Iraqis and Afghans are among the most optimistic people in the world when it comes to their economic future, a new survey for the BBC suggests.

In Afghanistan, 70% say their own circumstances are improving, and 57% believe that the country overall is on the way up.

In Iraq, 65% believe their personal life is getting better, and 56% are upbeat about the country's economy.

Oh, how it must have hurt to write that. Of course the report was not without a dig too:

The experts at polling firm Globescan, who conducted the survey, venture the guess that war may have created a "year zero" experience of collectively starting again.

Yes - Afghans and Iraqis can't remember anything from before the war - it erased their memories. So they must all be deluded, the poor simple idiots, probably brainwashed by Carl Rove and mind control waves.

Zimbabwe and France appear to be at the bottom of the table with over 80% pessimism about the future.

The detailed findings also report a drop in the ratings for the UN, an average of ten points.

The US MSM takes a hard hit too:

No country was more negative about the news media than the United States. Sixty-four percent of Americans felt the media was a negative influence; only 28 percent saw it as positive.

On the self delusion front, Iran had the strongest majority positive about world public opinion with 68%. Yes - Iranians think that the world loves them.

By a substantial margin Americans have the largest percentage giving a negative rating of world public opinion—39 percent. This may be a reaction to polls revealing negative attitudes toward the US over the last few years.

Thank you MSM! We think everyone hates us. And thanks to some of the stories publishes in the last few years, they probably do.