Say Anything Blog

CNN confirms that the North Korean nuclear bomb test was a failure.  According to government sources, the design goal was 4 kT, but the actual yield was less than 0.5kT.  If this is a plutonium bomb as reported, then I would speculate the problem was an excess of isotope P240 (which causes pre-detonation and a marginal yield).  See this Wiki article for more details on that.

This probably explains why little or no radioactive emissions have been detected (the energetics of a full-throttled nuclear explosion makes the complete containment of radioactive gases highly problematic!)

I’ll also point out that building a weapon that can be detonated in a tunnel is a much easier job than building one that is payload compatible for an intercontinental missile.  This is good news to counter reports that North Korea may have enough fissile material for ten bombs.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and they use up their reserves trying to make a bomb that works.  Really, haven’t they learned anything from the United States?  They should outsource for the nuclear technology, just like Iran did.

Update: Thanks to Rob for pointing out my typo! I can now say with confidence that the problem of transvestite nuclear bombs in the North Korean Navy is relatively under control.

From Reuters, via Michelle Malkin:

DUBAI (Reuters) - A man believed to be a top al Qaeda militant who escaped from a U.S. jail near Kabul was shown in a new videotape broadcast on Tuesday exhorting followers in Afghanistan to fight on until they attack the White House.

“Allah will not be pleased until we reach the rooftop of the White House,” Abu Yahya al-Libi was shown telling fighters in the tape aired by the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television.

Read the whole thing

For all the terrorist apologists, who continue to insist, like Neville Chamberlain, that the terrorists just want us to leave the Middle East, and then they will stop wanting to destroy us.

Ronald Reagan, 1964

I have spent most of my life as a Democrat. I recently have seen fit to follow another course. I believe that the issues confronting us cross party lines. Now, one side in this campaign has been telling us that the issues of this election are the maintenance of peace and prosperity. The line has been used “We’ve never had it so good.”

But I have an uncomfortable feeling that this prosperity isn’t something on which we can base our hopes for the future. No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income. Today, 37 cents of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector’s share, and yet our government continues to spend $17 million a day more than the government takes in. We haven’t balanced our budget 28 out of the last 34 years. We have raised our debt limit three times in the last twelve months, and now our national debt is one and a half times bigger than all the combined debts of all the nations in the world. We have $15 billion in gold in our treasury--we don’t own an ounce. Foreign dollar claims are $27.3 billion, and we have just had announced that the dollar of 1939 will now purchase 45 cents in its total value.

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Stupid is as stupid Does:

PARIS—Mexico’s foreign secretary said Monday the country may take a dispute over U.S. plans to build a fence on the Mexican border to the United Nations.

Luis Ernesto Derbez told reporters in Paris, his first stop on a European tour, that a legal investigation was under way to determine whether Mexico has a case.

The Mexican government last week sent a diplomatic note to Washington criticizing the plan for 700 miles of new fencing along the border. President-elect Felipe Calderon also denounced the plan, but said it was a bilateral issue that should not be put before the international community.

Derbez said Monday after meeting with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy that it was a “shame” U.S. immigration policy had been used for what he claimed was a short-term political gain in the lead-up to midterm elections in the U.S. in November.

He said he discussed the issue with Douste-Blazy, and planned to bring it up in meetings with his Spanish and Italian counterparts during visits to Madrid and Rome. He vowed to work on the case until the “very last day” of President Vicente Fox’s term, which ends Dec. 1.

The U.S. Senate approved the border fence bill last month and President Bush has said he will sign it into law _ despite last-minute pleas from the Mexican government for a veto.

“What should be constructed is a bridge in relations between the two countries,” Derbez said.

What a bunch of fools.  In the case of the Mexico/US border it’s the United States that has a cause of action not Mexico. 

Mexico is helping thwart our laws and our sovereignty.  It’s time to make it clear the Mexico that we will pull out of Nafta if they do not respect our borders.  It’s time to let them know that we’ll reduce the number of LEGAL immigrants from Mexico if they don’t respect our borders.  There are good people all over the world that want to immigrate to the US legally.

If you’ve ever dealt with a lawbreaker they always blame the person that caught them.  It’s never their fault.

Of course you’re not, Scarlett, you delicious little flirt morsel.

“There does seem to be a mistaken belief out there that I am sexually available somehow — which is not to say that I’m not open-minded about sex,” she continues. “Yet I wouldn’t say I’m a serial monogamist, either. I mean, I went through periods of time when I was, ah, single. But when I’m in a relationship, I’m in a relationship.”

Rrrrarrr!  And besides, who are we to judge?

“I do think on some basic level we are animals, and by instinct we kind of breed accordingly.”

You make it sound so primal.  So. Primal.

“But as much as I believe that, I work really hard when I’m in a relationship to make it work in a monogamous way.”

Don’t fight who you really are.  Life is too short.

Chickungunya is considered to be a rare form of viral fever caused by a Alphavirus belonging to the Group IV Togaviridae family (Tiger mosquitoes) of virus. The disease is transmitted to the humans through the virus affected Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The disease is said to have first found its expression in Tanzania, in the east coast of Africa in 1952 and also in Portklang in Malaysia in 1999. The word is said to have found its derivation from the Makonde(a group or a sect in Tanzania and Mozambique) word meaning’ that which bends’ owing to the arthritis symptom of the disease. It is a human- mosquito-human transmission.

Warm and humid climate and water reservoirs serve as breeding ground for chickungunya.

From the beginning of 2006, the areas around the Indian Ocean underwent the outbreak of chickungunya. By the first week of March as many as 1,57,000 people were affected in the French island La Reunion and the disease has spread its wings to Seychelles, Mauritius, Mayotte (French) and has further traveled up to India, China and the European countries.

Symptoms:

The phenomenal symptoms of the disease include a sudden onset of chill, high body temperature that rises up to 102-103 degrees, Petechial(red or purple spots on the body) or Maculopapular rash(red spots or bumps) and Artharalgia meaning pain in the joints, Photophobia( sensitivity to sunlight or any light) and severe headache. The fever normally comes down in about a week’s time but however the prevalence of the other symptoms like insomnia, headache and particularly the joint pains are said to prolong for weeks. In older victims the joint pains are said to torture for even a couple of months. It may also rarely cause Hemorrhagic fever especially in children. The epidemic cycle resembles that of Dengue and yellow fever.

One can find some other dermatological symptoms of chickungunya in the southern and western parts of India include maculopapular ras, nasal blotchy erythema, flagellete, hyper pigmentation, multiple ecchymotic spots, lesions, utricaria etc.

Fetal contamination of chickungunya is uncommon before 22 weeks of gestation, but after 22 weeks the fetes can be affected if the mother is tested positive for viremia.

Treatment :

There is no specific treatment for Chikungunya but however ‘Chloroquine’ a drug used in treating malaria and also in arthritis problems is said to be of a promising cure to Chikungunya. The research by Italian scientist Andrea Savarino and his colleagues emphasizes on the fact that Chloroquine can be an effective cure in treating Chickungunya. A right amount of vitamins and antibiotics can help quicker recovery.

Analgesic and anticonvulsants are advocated in the treatment.

Preventive measures:

Cleanliness has to be advocated. A clean environment keeps the mosquitoes at bay. It is very essential to keep oneself safe from mosquito bites. Using mosquito repellents containing Deet or Permethrin can prove an effective cover from getting targetted by the mosquitoes. Both are chemicals used in keeping mosquitoes and ticks away. They are insect repellents that can be used on the clothes. They play an active role in blinding the senses of the insects to keep away from getting victimized. They can also be used on mosquito nets. They are effective participants in the prevention of mosquito borne diseases like dengue and malaria. Skin irritations owing to their usage are uncommon.

It is also very important to drain out any stagnated water around the residence. Any container or flowerpots containing water has to be emptied. Clothing that aids in minimal exposition of the body has to be adopted like full sleeves shirts or tops and pants. Victims should be safeguarded against further bites.

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So, North Korea’s Fearless Leader (or was that the guy from Rocky and Bullwinkle?) has decided to piss off the entire world, even those who kind of liked, or at least tolerated him before. He detonated a nuke he built from the plutonium extracted from the reactors Slick Willie (I love that nickname and all it’s connotations) sold him back in the nineties. And at least half of our government know exactly who is to blame. Clinton? Kim Jong Il? Don't be ridiculous.

Bush, of course.

The democrats and their accompanying hordes of screaming banshee lefties have finally decided that they can, with the aid of the Main Stream Media, blame Bush for, well...everything. A short list follows.

Global warming. Forget that whole Industrial Revolution thing and all the crap that’s been dumped into our atmosphere since the very first factories, smoke belching steam locomotives and river boats and such. It’s Bush’s fault. He dunnit in the short five years he’s been in office. He created the whole globalwarming/climate change horror that is now bringing us to the brink of doom. According to them he even had a hand in bringing Hurricane Katrina here.

And, of course, the countries of India, Russia, China, Australia, the entire European Union, as well as the developing Asian nations don’t pollute one iota. Nope. Clean as a pin. It all happens in America. Damn that man.

Gas prices. Yep, Bush was at it again. Forget that whole free market thing, OPEC, and the giant oil companies having a mind of their own. Nope. According to the libs Bush dunnit, either through his sheer incompetence or, worse, by picking up a phone and calling his pals in the oil companies just to stick it to the peasant classes. That Bush is a twicky one, Caspar.

The shortage of the flu vaccine. Yep, ol’ Dubya contaminated all those hundreds of thousands of doses himself and through the above mentioned incompetence made darn sure they couldn't be reproduced in time to meet the need of the American people. I'm choking up. It shouldn't have happened. The demos said so. It was Bush’s fault.

And, of course, the Queen Mother of all of the accusations. Somehow, after just eight short months in office, Bush was responsible for 9/11. Nevermind the fact that Clinton was in office for eight years prior to that day. It has somehow become rooted in the popular culture of the left that Bush was somehow at fault and maybe even complicit in bringing down those towers. You almost have to admire the sheer mind twisting stupidity and total lack of logic in that one. Amazing.

What’s next that they can blame Bush for? The cancellation of Arrested Development? Baggy pants? Paris Hilton?

If there’s a way, I’m sure they’ll find it. Blaming Bush has become a mindless obsession and a new art form for the left. If there’s a problem, just blame him. There is no shortage of people out there eager to believe that everything bad is Bush's fault. Hey, I’ve got this rash. I wonder...nevermind.

This makes sense:

Mickey Kaus started counting the days since Congress passed the bill and wondered whether the White House had decided to simply ignore the bill to death.

Congress has not formally sent the bill to the President. That means the clock has not started for his signature. The 10-day period starts only after Congress formally prints and delivers the bill for the President to sign into law.

Why has Congress waited? The Secure Fence Act, which requires that the border barrier be constructed, is a very high priority for Republican leadership in both chambers. They and the White House want to schedule the signing for what they see as the maximum impact to the midterm elections.  My source told me that the terrorist detention and interrogation bill will be signed on October 17th, and they want this to come after that.

Expect to see this get signed somewhere between October 24th and November 1st. The White House considers this bill a front-and-center accomplishment and wants the boost to last all the way through Election Day. Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress (especially Bill Frist, I’m told) want this to get as much coverage as possible. After the signing ceremony, expect to see this bill get trumpeted in the final advertising push for all Republican incumbents running for re-election.

No one on the Hill or in the White House has missed the message from the base.

Over the summer I had given up hope to get this accomplished.  The events of May had convinced me that we were better to get no bill than an amnesty bill. 

The conservative base has something to feel good about here.

Thanks to Captain Ed, one of the finest Bloggers on the planet.

Oh the humanity!  Another Republican is caught in a scandal with stocks that they own.  First, you remember that Bill Frist’s Blind Trust of Stocks was only blind to him.  Now, Senator George Allen has been caught not reporting stock options that he received for his work as Director to Congress.  This broke the rules that require Senators to disclose any deferred compensation, including stock options.  The reason that Sen. Allen didn’t report the options?  He thought that the options were “worthless” because the price for the stock now was lower than what he received the options at.

This is great.  A possible Republican nominee for President is getting beat on for ethical violations of congress.  While he was a Director for two companies, he violated SEC rules for not filing required reports on insider stock transactions.  Two of the three three companies that he was associated with after his term of Governor has received financial help with his backing.  He has helped Commonwealth, coming through with $4 Million of tax-exempt bonds for a new Headquarters.  Ericsson received $800,000 in state grants for expansion.  I wonder if he would have done the same things for companies that he didn’t serve on the board or be an advisor to.

If the lemmings (Republicans) are so moral and virtuous, then there should be an outcry from y’all about these transactions.  Of course there is not, because he is a Republican.  For being the party of Rightousness, the Republican Party doesn’t do a very good job of practicing what they preach.  Do one thing for me, figure out if the Republican Party is a Religious Party of a Secular Party.  You can’t be both.  Then tell me.  If you are a religious party, then why don’t you follow the teachings of Christianity?  If you are a secular party, then why do you continuously bring Religion into the debate?  Just wondering.

Human Events

One of the strangest things about North Dakota is that the Roughrider State has not had a Republican U.S. senator since 1986 and last had a Republican as its congressman-at-large in 1980.

That is particularly strange because not only has the state twice given its electoral votes to George W. Bush, but has filled all statewide offices save that of commissioner of agriculture with Republicans and given handsome majorities to the GOP in both the state senate and state house of representatives.

So why has North Dakota elected liberal Democrat Earl Pomeroy to its lone congressional seat since 1992?

“In large part, it’s because more than 90% of his sizable campaign funds come from political action committees outside the state and that has discouraged Republican contributors and strong candidates,” said Roger Timm, campaign manager for Republican hopeful Matt Mechtel, “and the result is a congressman who doesn’t represent the common-sense values of the businessmen, housewives, and farmers of North Dakota.”

As recent examples of this, Timm cites the votes of Pomeroy (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 24%) against the fence along the Mexican border, against warrantless anti-terrorist intercepts and against federal protection of religious monuments.

Such votes and such a record are finally coming under fire this year, as Pomeroy faces conservative Republican Matt Mechtel, a farmer from Cass County in the Northwest corner of the state. At 37, Mechtel has been a farmer for 20 years, launched a few successful small businesses, and is a gourmet cook. His political experience has been limited to donating money to the state Republican Party, but this has not stopped GOP powerhouses—notably Republican National Committeewoman Connie Nicholas and husband Gene, a 32-year state legislator—from weighing in strongly for the neophyte candidate.

Because of his lack of political experience and varied life in the private sector, Matt Mechtel is everything that Earl Pomeroy—who has been in elective office for 26 unbroken years—is not. Mechtel favors the Bush tax cuts and making them permanent, supports oil drilling in Alaska, and the tough, amnesty-free border-security measures passed by the House. A strong backer of the War on Terror, Mechtel wants a permanent Patriot Act as well as a declaration of war on terror itself.

As a political newcomer challenging a seasoned incumbent, Matt Mechtel follows in the tradition of another conservative Republican who was repeatedly questioned about his lack of political experience. That same Republican would concede that his opponent did indeed have many years of experience and quickly add: “That’s why I’m running.” And he won. His name was Ronald Reagan.

Aww:

A group of illegal immigrants who worked for Wendy’s International Inc. is suing the restaurant chain because the company fired them after discovering it had missed a deadline for joining a federal program that would have helped them attain legal status.

Between the two lawsuits, 40 illegal immigrants say they were fired after the company recently found that Boyar & Miller, the law firm Wendy’s had hired, never filed paperwork for a 2001 legalization program that allowed immigrants with employer sponsorship or an American spouse to apply for citizenship.

Once the discovery was made, Wendy’s was forced by law to fire the employees because of their illegal status. Immigrants in the program would have been insulated from being fired.

Olivares said he was risking deportation to speak up for himself and his former co-workers. He said he has not looked for other work because he’s afraid of being caught by the authorities.

“I’m not safe anymore,” said Olivares, who has been in the country 14 years

I’ve got news for you.  Follow the laws when y ou come to this country and you won’t have this kind of problem. 

What I don’t understand is that the illegals must have identified themselves as illegals in their court filing.  Why haven’t they been deported?

From the BBC:

(linked through Drudge)

The rally was on a scale not seen since 2004
Tens of thousands of people have marched through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in support of the main opposition candidate, Manuel Rosales.

Mr Rosales will face President Hugo Chavez in December’s presidential poll.

The march, which filled the main avenues of the city centre, was the biggest opposition rally Venezuela has seen since early 2004.

Then, protesters made an unsuccessful bid to oust Mr Chavez from power in a recall referendum.

Chance to unite

Young and old took to the streets to throw their weight behind the campaign of Mr Rosales, a middle-class Social Democrat who governs the state of Zulia, on the Colombian border.

Many claimed that they were seeking liberty and democracy and that made Mr Rosales their only option:

Rosales criticised Chavez’s policy on Venezuela’s oil…

Read the whole thing.

Hmmmm… I guess there’s trouble in “paradise”.

Back in December of 2005, as the first round of hysteria about the NSA’s terrorist surveillance program was in full force, I noted something odd about the way the activities of the FIS Court were being reported. This inspired me to go back to the raw data in an article on Bayosphere.

At the time I noted some interesting trends which seemed to indicate that:

The recent resignation of Judge Robertson and the immediately subsequent arrangement of the Bush Administration to brief the FISA Court on the full extent of the NSA’s current activities thus suggests (but does not prove) that the statistical anomaly (and very possibly the leak) was indeed Robertson.

I now present the 2005 figures for FIS court activity (in addition to the record since inception for the court):

Raw Data:

FISA Court Applications (from this source or as listed)

Year Apps Rej Changed

1979 199 0 0

1980 319 0 0

1981 431 0 0

1982 473 0 0

1983 549 0 0

1984 635 0 0

1985 587 0 0

1986 573 0 0

1987 512 0 0

1988 534 0 0

1989 546 0 0

1990 595 0 0

1991 593 0 0

1992 484 0 0

1993 509 0 0

1994 576 0 0

1995 697 0 0

1996 839 0 0

1997 749 0 0

1998 796 0 0 (source)

1999 886 0 0 (source)

2000 1005 0 1 (source)

2001 932 0 4 (source)

2002 1228 0/2(1) 0 (source)

2003 1727 4 79 (source)

2004 1758 0 94 (source)

2005 2074 0 61 (source)

New Reporting for 2005 Records Requests National Security Letters

Apps rej ch Persons Apps rej ch

155 0 2 3051 9245 0 0

(1) Two were initially denied by the FISA court and subsequently reversed on appeal to the FISA Court of Review.

Note the rate of both rejections and changes was 0 between inception and 1999.

2000 yields the first changes (which could be anomalous and at any rate is statistically insignificant).

2001 finds 4 modifications out of 932 applications (0.43%), which again could be anomalous.

2002 shows 2 outright rejections (reversed on appeal to the FISA Court of Review, but they would have been a 0.16% rate for the year and 0.01% cumulative rate) and no Changes.

2003 shows 4 outright rejections (0.23% for that year, 0.02% cumulative) and 79 Changes (4.57% for the year, 0.47 Cumulative)

2004 shows no rejections and 94 (5.35% for that year, 0.50 Cumulative) Changes.

2005 shows no rejections (though two were withdrawn by the government, and one of those two was subsequently re-submitted and approved) and 61 Changes (2.9% for that year, )

Note that all rejections and 173 (out of 238, or 72.68%) fall during the tenure of Judge Robertson.

This statistical evidence (the near halving of the rate of changes for 2005) tends to reinforce my suspicion that the resignation of Judge Robertson and the immediately subsequent arrangement of the Bush Administration to brief the FIS Court on the full extent of the NSA’s terrorist surveillance activities were indeed related, and it further strongly suggests (but does not prove) that the statistical anomaly (and very possibly the leak) was indeed Robertson.

Note also new reporting categories are included in the 2005 report:

Applications for Access to Certain Business Records (Including the Production of Tangible Things) Made During Calendar Year 2005 (50 U.S.C. § 1862(c) (2))


In his April 4, 2005 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Gonzales noted that the Justice Department was increasingly using business records orders to obtain subscriber information, such as names and addresses, for telephone numbers captured through court-ordered pen register or trap and trace devices. This information is routinely obtained in criminal investigations. The use of business records requests in conjunction with pen register applications accounts for much of the increase in the number of business records orders reported here as compared to statistics previously made public. Section 128 of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act specifically amended the pen register provisions of the FISA statute (50 U.S.C. § 1842) to authorize the disclosure of subscriber information in connection with such court-authorized collection. We expect that this new provision will result in a decrease in the number of requests for business records orders that are reported in the future.

and

Requests Made for Certain Information Concerning Different United States Persons Pursuant to National Security Letters During Calendar Year 2005 (USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, Pub. L. No. 109-177, § 118 (2006))


During calendar year 2005, the Government made requests for certain information concerning 3,501 different United States persons pursuant to National Security Letters (NSLs). During this time frame, the total number of NSL requests (excluding NSLs for subscriber information) for information concerning U.S. persons totaled 9,254. In other words, there were 3,501 different U.S. persons involved in the total of 9,254 NSLs that related to U.S. persons.

These totals reflects the Government’s good-faith effort to provide the most accurate numbers possible. However, because of a number of factors (for example, if a targeted individual’s name has more than one variant (e.g., John Doe and Johnny Doe) or the target uses one or more aliases), it is possible that despite this effort, the total number reported above could include instances in which one targeted individual was counted more than once. In addition, four statutes authorize the FBI’s use of NSLs. The FBI traditionally has tracked NSL totals separately within each category and does not cross-reference these categories so as to separately determine the total number of NSLs for an individual U.S. person. As a result, it is possible that, despite the best efforts of FBI personnel, the total number reported here could include circumstances in which one person is counted multiple times.

Conclusions

It seems clear that the Executive is keeping the Courts and Congress apprised of their surveilance activities. It also seems apparent that the FIS Court is being used as intended: to provide legal review and authorization of surveillance where criminal prosecution is viewed as the appropriate and likely end state.

Details of FIS Court Members and FISA Court of Review Judges below the fold. (more...)

Good:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Ailing Cuban leader
Fidel Castro is believed to have terminal cancer and is unlikely to return to power, Time magazine reported, citing US government officials.

Despite remarks by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque on Wednesday that Castro “continues to recover (and) we will have him back leading the Revolution,” Time reported on its website Saturday that many US officials are now convinced that Castro has terminal cancer and will never retake the reins of the Americas’ only communist-ruled country.

Castro turned Cuba into a hellhole for the last 46 years.  The world will be a better place without him. 

I wonder though, do you suppose that they operated on him at this fine example of Cuban medical care?

Langley Perry at Save the GOP

WASHINGTON - No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexico border last week than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts.

GOP leaders have singled out the fence as one of the primary accomplishments of the recently completed session. Many lawmakers plan to highlight their $1.2 billion down payment on its construction as they campaign in the weeks before the midterm elections.

But shortly before recessing late Friday, the House and Senate gave the Bush administration leeway to distribute the money to a combination of projects — not just the physical barrier along the southern border. The funds may also be spent on roads, technology and “tactical infrastructure” to support the Homeland Security Department’s preferred option of a “virtual fence.”

Shame on the Republicans, including President Bush, for pulling a bait-and-switch on this issue. Gambling with border security for political means is dangerous and opposite to the Republican Party’s principles… that’s assuming the Party has any left.

This is ridiculous. Will it even matter if the Democrats take control of Congress? They would pass bills, and Bush would veto them. I’m almost starting to like the prospects of a gridlocked government the more I hear of clownery on the Hill such as this recent maneuver in immigration enforcement (or lack thereof).