Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets and mortar shells toward Israel on Tuesday and said they considered a five-month truce with Israel to have ended.
The rockets fell after nine Palestinians were killed in fighting with Israel over the weekend. Most of the dead were militants, but Palestinians said at least two civilians, including a 17-year-old girl, were killed.
There's always innocents killed when Israel strikes back, because the militants choose to operate in areas where civilians live and work. They launch their strikes from those areas, so as to invite retaliation, whereby innocents can and will be killed for propaganda purposes. No real surprise here.
A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing said the group considered the truce to have ended.
"The cease-fire has been over for a long time, and Israel is responsible for that," the spokesman, Abu Obeida, told the Voice of Palestine radio station.
Once again, Hamas breaks the truce, but somehow it's all Israel's fault. Israel sent rockets into Gaza completely undetected by a hostile world media? Now, the "peace loving" people that comprise the terror group Hamas want us all to believe that they were defending themselves, again? How can the anti-israel lobbies reconcile this?
If you read the rest of the article, you may reach the same conclusion on this situation, as me. Infighting among the Palestinians is usually best settled by drumming up a crisis with Israel. Fire rockets, invite an almost guaranteed response, and blame Israel more, that is the formula so often used by Islamic terror groups. It keeps the attention diverted from the real problems the Palestinians face, daily.
This facility has recently started accepting inmates from Arizona. Those inmates are kept separate from the Indiana inmates. It is being reported that it is the AZ offenders that are involved.
Fires are burning, it has also been confirmed that two prison employees have been hurt.
State Police are being mobilized. I am sure the E-Squads from around the state are in route.
More as it develops (and I have time to cover it).
Right now, it seems that things are dying out. But there are still inmates that are not in their areas, therefore the facility is not under control. This facility is not run by the Indiana DOC, but a company called GEO. They run facilities worldwide.
UPDATE II:
State Police have announced that the situation is in the process of being stabilized. As usual the press wants more. This appears to have started as a feud between the IN prisoners and the AZ prisoners.
UPDATE III:
Doesn't take long to hit the internet, does it? Here is the video of the event, at its height.
UPDATE Last One:
Well, things are slowly getting back to normal. The local media is trying to imply it too long to get things under control. Anyone with a basic knowledge of criminology, knows that you cannot storm a facility without knowing the situation, fully. There was no report of hostages, no reason to storm the place with guns a blazing. But I bet if they had, they'd be the first to condemn the use of excessive force.
That's the media for you. Now, you know why I they leave such a sour taste in my mouth.
Yesterday, I posted a piece on the prospects of Gore getting into the race. In the comment section I linked to this latest Rasmussen poll, which shows Hillary and Obama tied for support. According to this poll, both are currently at 32%. What was once a double digit lead has now evaporated, in just a few short weeks.
I suspect that transparency has been and will continue to be a problem for Sen. Clinton. Part of this may be because she creates the perception of being a chameleon. Her words and the way she says those words are as fake as a diamond from Wal-Mart.
For example, Hillary has never had a southern accent. Despite that fact, she seems to find one, each and every time she appears before a group of blacks. One was awhile back down in Selma, but this one was in front of the National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by Rev. Al Sharpton.
Now let's get one thing clear here. I have known many black people from NYC over the years, and I have to tell you, not one of them had a southern accent. If they had any accent at all it was African or Brooklynese. So, either Hillary has been receiving bad advice from her handlers or she reads the NY Times, specifically this article right here.
Only a few months ago, the vast majority of black elected officials in New York were expected to support the presidential candidacy of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. But no longer.
The officials described themselves as impressed with the strength of Mr. Obama’s campaign in recent weeks, saying it reflected a grass-roots enthusiasm for Mr. Obama that many noticed among black voters in their own districts. And that could signal trouble for Mrs. Clinton, forcing her to devote precious attention to her home state, where blacks made up 20 percent of the Democratic primary vote in 2004, just as she has had to scramble to keep black support nationwide.
Note the second paragraph. Anytime a politician has to concentrate on his/her home state, there is trouble for that candidate. In the 1992 election we saw that play out, when Dan Quayle spent and inordinate amount of time in his home state of Indiana.
This has to be disheartening for Clinton supporters. She has waited patiently for her chance. And with the administration's numbers looking like they are right now, one would have to figure this is the best chance the Dems will have to recapture the White House. But from the sounds of things, she is going to have a real primary fight on her hands.
As a person that has been involved with campaigns before, one thing should sound clear to Hillary (and all politicians for that matter):
Do not repeat the mistakes of those that failed before you.
Both Kerry and Gore blew their chances to solidify the support of the common people, because they both were champions at vacillation and condescending speeches that ultimately end up alienating common sense people.
In short, the chameleon strategy does not work. You cannot be all things to all people, therefore to try only insults the intelligence of those you need to win over. And right now, she is insulting the intelligence of many blacks, by trying to sound like she is a "down home" kind of gal.
By the latest polls shown and the the tone of the NYT article, it very well could be that she will blow her one and only opportunity to be the first woman President. If she wants to have any chance at all, she needs to stay away from the ropes, so that she can stick and move more effectively. Not everyone can be a Muhammed Ali and use ropa-dopa as a strategy. At times, it may work for a boxer. But it almost never works for a politician.
The siren is calling. Encase thy sword and follow the distant cry that says, "come to me, come to me, lay down and I will comfort thee". Madame Royal has made her move towards the center, in an effort to pick up the disenchanted Bayrou voters; and she is willing to triangulate somewhat, mainly because she has the most ground to make up, against the front-runner.
Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal jumped into their presidential run-off campaign Monday by wooing voters who deserted them for a farmer's son who championed the political middle.
Centrist Francois Bayrou didn't make the runoff, but his strong third-place showing in Sunday's first round of balloting could make him a kingmaker if he throws his support behind the law-and-order former interior minister or to the leftist with a chance of being France's first woman president.
Sarkozy wants to be a kinder, gentler kind of politician. Apparently, he can be a little gruff around the edges:
Sarkozy, who courted the far right during his campaign and is criticized by many for abrasive language, sought to soften his image as he appealed to voters in the middle, casting himself as "the candidate of openness."
"Openness of spirit is being able to take into consideration the positions of others, the ability to think that others might be right," he said at a rally in an eastern city, Dijon.
I'm sorry. But I do not recall DeGaulle being soft or gentle. And the last time I checked, he was still a hero. So what this has to do with running a country, I will never know.
But be that as it may, Bayrou is in a good position for both the short and the long-term. He can greatly influence this election in the short and with his new found name recognition (if he is smart), he can parlay this into a force or maybe even a movement, in the long-term scheme of things. But for now, the moment to be kingmaker has arrived. He holds the keys to the kingdom right now, and do not think for one minute that both Sego and Sarko do not know it. Just who will be giving the most, will be revealed in the coming days.
From the sounds of things, it may be a bit harder for Royal, even though some of Bayrou's support came from some of those disenchanted on the left:
Royal, who previously dismissed calls for an alliance with Bayrou, reached out to him Monday, saying she was available for a public dialogue.
"It is my responsibility to make this overture," she told supporters in the southern city of Valence. "I'm awaiting a response."
It's not good to turn your back on someone you may need later. I am sure that in hindsight, this now looks like a miscalculation on her part. Worse yet, she sounds like she knows she may still not get it. Note the emphasis on "I am awaiting a response". Like, Bayrou owes her something? It should be understood that not much context is given here, other than what we see. We cannot hear tone inflections in the print media, so I would caution against drawing the conclusion based solely on this. But, in the print media, it could be interpreted that she really expects something here. She will need to watch how she words things, from here on out.
That's one thing, but we have to consider other things as well. This thing may not only turn out to be a love-fest towards Bayrou, but may get to be a personality contest between the two remaining candidates:
Political analyst Dominique Moisi agreed: "There are very few 'extra troops' so to speak for Segolene Royal. The only thing she can dream for is to turn this election into a referendum against the personality of Nicolas Sarkozy."
That sounds like one thing the French election process has in common with it's American counterpart. When you cannot win the free exchange of ideas, you get personal. But what Sego needs to realize is, there are people that would be willing to complain about her management style too. In her campaign early on, her reputation suffered somewhat due to some problems along this line. Rumors have circulated on occasions that she is a micromanaging autocrat, as is her opponent.
So, I guess this should come as no surprise that both would have to tread lightly on making this an issue, at this late point in the game. If it didn't matter before, it's not going to matter now. But, if things start to go south for either candidate, I wouldn't be surprised if the gloves came off a bit.
But for now, it appears it's all about "establisment types" kissing someone's derrière. And that would be a "non-establishment type" someone named Francois Bayrou.
It has been announced that Boris Yeltsin had died at the age of 76. Much will be said about his tenure as the head of the Russian Republic, status post, Soviet Union. But a good review of his bio, can be found here. What he meant to the Russian people and the part he played in the world theater will be played out in editorials everywhere the next few days, worldwide.
I will be interested to see how the funeral and the eulogies will treat him. I would think they should be complimentary, despite not all that he did was worthy of the compliments. If we watch closely, we may be able to better gauge where Russia is really headed, based on what we hear the next few days.
If you are a follower of French politics, you'll know that in the last election, there was an anomaly of sorts. Far-Right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen won enough support in the opening round to shut out the Socialist candidate. But that's as far as he could get. You see, Le Pen is France's Pat Buchanan, who as most Americans know is a very divisive figure. Both can make sense at times, but both are incredibly anti-semitic and considered by many to be racist towards other groups, as well. Having Le Pen in the second round made Chirac, the winner by default.
But this time, we see things as most French seem to like it: Gaullist vs. Socialist, Right vs. Left. In a sense, we can see France's political scene as a reflection of the way politics have evolved here, in America. Sarkozy represents the more conservative (if that's possible) portion of the French electorate, with the obvious representative of the liberal portion being led by Royal. Both represent very different visions and goals for France.
Now, the shoring up of support from the candidates that didn't make it, becomes the biggest obstacle for either candidate. Here are the latest numbers from the election, you can take your pick as to where you want to read them: SuperFrenchie or the French Election Blog.
For the moment we'll go with the numbers used by th AFP (which is what Boz at the FEB is using):
Sarkozy 31.11%
Royal 25.84%
Bayrou 18.55%
Le Pen 10.5%.
These are the top four vote-getters. As I said earlier, the goal is now to get support from those that supported the other candidates, which may sound easy but isn't always.
In any political situation like this, a politician may endorse another. But that may or may not translate into votes. If Bayrou supported Royal tomorrow, Royal would hope that the votes would follow. But realistically, it doesn't always happen that way. Not all of the 18% would automatically swing over and vote for her (or Sarkozy, if he were to support him). Bayrou represents the swing vote and that vote, like here in America, usually gets split. Which way it gets split and by what margin, may very well determine the election.
But there's still a bit of a fly in the ointment here, in that Le Pen's supporters were at 10 %. What this means is not as clear as it may appear. Le Pen has little love for Sarko. So if one would automatically assume that Le Pen's supporters would go for Sarko, they may want to rethink. It's highly doubtful that Le Pen's base would even consider supporting a socialist, so that's out. The only other viable alternatives would be to vote Sarko or stay home and not vote at all.
Sarko would welcome half of Bayrou's followers, which would add another 9% to get him up to 40%. Le Pen's supporters would give him 50%. That would put him more into the driver's seat than Royal, if this scenario were to play out. But there are two weeks for the French to make up their minds. Two weeks for those that didn't vote for Sarko or Royal to decide whether they can find it in the hearts to support either of them, now.
Basically what it will come down to is whether or not Royal or Sarkozy can sell their vision of France to the "rank and file" French people. Who will avoid gaffes/blunders and who will close the deal, will be determined by these final two weeks of campaigning and a head to head debate.
The speculation seems to be growing. The suspense must be nerve-wracking.All is not well in Clintonville, right now. Hillary is not blowing people away.
In fact, she was stiffed for a prime photo-op and this wasn't just any old "daily grind" kind of thing, either. This was the Rutgers women's basketball team. Her handlers were trying to get some mileage on this story; and she probably would have pulled it off, if it hadn't been for the VT story. Suddenly, the Imus thing doesn't seem to be important anymore. Suddenly, she appears weaker.
Obama has raised as much money as Hillary, but yet, she still has more money in the till than he does. However significant that fact may or may not be, the one thing that stands out about this is, money does not necessarily mean a translation into votes. Obama is not going to go away easily, that's for sure.
If we look at the current poll numbers, we can see some other things that have to be troubling to Hillary and her campaign. First of all, Hillary has trended down a bit and Obama has trended up about twice as much, as she has gone down. The small dips and spikes are consistent with someone that is actively campaigning, but the overall trend tells the bigger story. But that's not all that can be troubling Sen. Clinton and I believe her people know it. (Note how she has started playing the "Bill" card, so soon.)
"I can't think of a better cheerleader for America than Bill Clinton, can you?" the Democratic senator from New York asked a crowd jammed into a junior high school gymnasium. "He has said he would do anything I asked him to do. I would put him to work."
People are not flocking to her in droves. Some are singing her praises, but there are many that will not forgive her for her war vote. In addition, there is a certain sector of people that just cannot, do not, and will not trust her. That has to weigh heavy on the minds of the Dems, if they want to have a realistic chance at this. They have to ask the question, can this candidate win? (If there is doubt, there is uncertainty.)
But, let's be clear about something here. There is one thing that can certainly stop the Hillary machine, before she gets stopped in the November election and the Dems have to regroup again in another four years. There is something that she or her campaign will not be so happy to see, much more so than a further trend up in Obama's numbers.
If you refer back to the polling data, you'll see that Al Gore has trended up almost four percentage points during this same time. And this he has done despite the fact, he is not a declared candidate yet. So with all of the setbacks (as minor as they may be), it's no wonder that someone is throwing out the possibility that Gore will run.
Here, the Telegraph is reporting that Gore is secretly assembling a team, before he throws his hat in the ring.
Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.
Is it wishful thinking, or do they have an "in" with someone that is in the know, and that person(s) wants to stick a toe in the water? Maybe that person wants to plant a seed or two and see if something sprouts up?
I know some of you think I don't know a damned thing about anything, and that's fine. But I firmly believe that Gore may very well run and win the nomination. In the end, I might be wrong. But if I had to bet, I wouldn't bet against it.
Generally when an old rock fan thinks of two great rock keyboard players, invariably two will consistently show up on the lists. Rick Wakeman of Yes is one that will get mentioned.
Wakeman was ahead of his time. However once he was convinced he was the star of the band, he had to buy new hats. His ego caused to leave the band for a while, for a solo career that didn't do so well. He finally made it back, but somewhat humbled. But all of this does not take away from his talent, one iota. Here is a live version of their first and best known hit, Roundabout:
The second keyboardist that will pop up, most assuredly would be Keith Emerson, of ELP. Keith's style was a little more cosmopolitan and jazzy, than Rick's. Rick was more classical. But both captured an art form in rock music. Whereas rock was primarily a blues-based genre with the central instrument being the guitar, both Yes and ELP took a calculated risk and fused a unique style with the keys prominent, or more prominent than the strings. It was like having two lead guitarists, only one was playing the keyboards.
At least two Buddhist monks were injured Friday in a street clash in Cambodia's capital between two opposing groups of monks during a protest against Vietnam, which some monks accuse of suppressing religious freedom.
Historically, Buddhists have taught peace, love, serenity, etc. But as we can see from this, human nature has its limitations. In all religions and cultures, there are those that allow their anger to fuel rage and the rage, violence. This isn't just an American thing, although we bear our share. It's a global thing.
Folks, you simply must give this piece a read. It is a scathing indictment on the MSM, written by a non-Islamist Muslim that has served in the the U.S. Military and actively works to draw a marked distinction between radical elements and moderates. His name is M. Zuhdi Jasser and here are a couple of the more pointed remarks, he makes in this essay:
The PBS/CPB censorship of Islam vs. Islamists exemplifies the dire need to begin to educate many in the MSM of the ideological realities of the Islamists. They may protect Islamists blindly out of ignorance, fear, infiltration, or minority politics. But, at the end of the day, if the MSM editors understood the type of society the protected Islamists would create if they became a majority, their support would vanish. Feminists, social liberals, and those that would separate religion from government would be entirely ignored under Islamist control. Just ask the feminists what type of equality they have in many Islamist controlled mosques around the country.
