Insight is reporting

Senior GOP sources envision the retirement of Mr. Cheney in 2007, months after the congressional elections

In their article Cheney seen retiring after midterm elections They go through the same stuff we have heard time and again.

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Gateway Pundit put up a post yesterday titled Poland Introduces “Martyrs of Our Time” Ad Campaign

one of the major Polish cities - Poznan will place posters in public transportation vehicles in a campaign designed to illustrate just who is being killed by Islamofascists around the world. The action was started by the Foundation of St. Benedictus and was approved by local government. The Foundation’s director is Zbigniew Czerwinski who is also member of PiS and president of the Regional Council.

PiS is now also the ruling party in Poland. PiS means in Polish “Law and Justice”. It’s a right-wing conservative party. Also, Polish President Lech Kaczynski is from PiS.

You have to go to Gateway Pundit and look at the actuall posters they are very moving.

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Instapundit has a link to an article in the times online titled We should fear Holland’s silence by Douglas Murray

This is a chilling account of the self censorship that is already entrenched in Europe.

All across Europe, debate on Islam is being stopped. Italy’s greatest living writer, Oriana Fallaci, soon comes up for trial in her home country, and in Britain the government seems intent on pushing through laws that would make truths about Islam and the conduct of its followers impossible to voice.

Those of us who write and talk on Islam thus get caught between those on our own side who are increasingly keen to prosecute and increasing numbers of militants threatening murder. In this situation, not only is free speech being shut down, but our nation’s security is being compromised.

You must read the whole thing.

If not then you need to read Mark Steyn’s latest article titled Needing to wake up, West just closes its eyes

Here are a few highlights:

In five years’ time, how many Jews will be living in France? Two years ago, a 23-year-old Paris disc jockey called Sebastien Selam was heading off to work from his parents’ apartment when he was jumped in the parking garage by his Muslim neighbor Adel. Selam’s throat was slit twice, to the point of near-decapitation; his face was ripped off with a fork; and his eyes were gouged out. Adel climbed the stairs of the apartment house dripping blood and yelling, “I have killed my Jew. I will go to heaven.”

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I have just read something that makes me so angry I say we declare war on Canada and invade tonight!

Ok seriously my buddy Tiberius over at DSOTW dug up this story somewhere.

It seems this woman named Judith went to Hawaii on vacation and lost her expensive camera with over 500 of the pictures she had taken on her trip. So she created a blogspot blog called “Lost Camera” (another great blog name!) and loaded up a bunch of pictures that strangers had taken of the places she visited to kinda sorta keep a journal of the places she had seen.

Then the story takes an interesting twist. Her next post about 2 weeks after the original starts like this:

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As I have already said I am against this. Not because it is the UAE I just don’t think it is a good idea to let any foreign government operate portions of our ports. A lot of information has come out since this was first blatantly misreported. Today Wizbang and Big Lizards have some very interesting information and supposition. That when combined with what I have learned from several sources including an excelent interview on Hugh Hewitt’s show with Robert Kaplan (transcript here, audio here) and two fantastic posts by All Things Beautiful (the second here) has me much more open to allowing this deal to happen.

My position was and is We should not allow foreign governments or foreign companies to operate parts of our port system. However we already allow Chinese companies (owned by the Chinese government) a and several other foreign companies to operate parts of our ports all over the country. So I will now say I am open to allowing DPW to operate in this 6 ports if we are going to continue to allow other foreign companies to do the same thing.

Now on to Wizbang and Big Lizards. In Jays post today titled Enemies to Port says a wise crack he made got him to thinking:

After I heard a few details, I felt a little better about the deal. I dismissed the security concerns, saying that the UAE wouldn’t be running security. The docks themselves would continue to be run by the Mob, and I wasn’t concerned about their ability to affect THAT. Little did I know how significant that wisecrack was.

So, just what was behind this explosion? What are the bigger issues behind it? And what have we learned about it?

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The LA Times finally did its job and pointed out the shenanigans Rob Reiner has been pulling with public money.

Marc Cooper one of my favorite liberal bloggers praised them for it.

However it did so on the editorial page not the news pages. Marc also seems completely unaware that they only did this after Hugh Hewitt had been hammering them for days including having the original reporter Dan Morain on his program and pointing out Morain’s blatant laziness, incompetence, or bias. (It has to be one of the three)

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Should we believe TIME, and MSNBC who tell us a low grade civil war is already underway and about to explode into mass violence?

Or should we believe the numerous bloggers, and reporters (who are not hiding behind the green line) on the ground in Iraq who say this reporting is way way overblown?

Like this post from 24 steps to Liberty (what a fantastic name!)

You guys always said you don’t get all the news from Iraq. And I always agreed with you!

I was shocked today when I read the news in the foreign newspapers. No one emphasized the marvelous cooperation and solidarity between the Shiites and the Sunnis in Iraq yesterday after the bombing of one of the most respected and visited holy sites in Islam, the Askariyah shrine, which is in Samarra city north of Baghdad.

The first reaction to the bombing which “targeted a Shiite” shrine came from the Sunni residents of Samarra. The first demonstration to condemn the attack was held spontaneously by Sunnis in the area where the shrine is. Almost all Sunni leaders went on TV to condemn the attack and show solidarity and unity with the Shiites.

What about the experts like Victor Davis Hanson who explains in his must read article Standoff In Iraq That we are training tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers and policemen who are systematicly taking over the security responsibility in Iraq?

You have to read the entire piece where Hanson lays out our and Al Qaeda’s strategy for Iraq and what will decide who wins or looses.

Again, the question now is an existential one: Can the United States — or anyone — in the middle of a war against Islamic fascism, rebuild the most important country in the heart of the Middle East, after 30 years of utter oppression, three wars, and an Orwellian, totalitarian dictator warping of the minds of the populace? And can anyone navigate between a Zarqawi, a Sadr, and the Sunni rejectionists, much less the legions of Iranian agents, Saudi millionaires, and Syrian provocateurs who each day live to destroy what’s going on in Iraq?

The fate of a much wider war hinges on the answers to these questions, since it would be hard to imagine that bin Laden could continue be much of a force with a secure and democratic Iraq, anchoring ongoing liberalization in the Gulf, Lebanon, and Egypt, and threatening by example Iran and Syria. By the same token, it would be hard to see how we could stop jihadism from spreading when an army that is doing everything possible still could not stop Islamic fascism from taking over the ancestral home of the ancient caliphate.

Since MSNBC, CNN, TIME, et al have been telling us for the last 3 years that Iraq is headed for a civil war I will go with the people who are there and who know about these kind of things. Yes this could still go either way but for now calling this a Civil war is a great exageration and iresponsible.

Dr. Sanity thinks Hanson strikes the perfect balance in his piece.

Maxspeak thinks Hanson is crazy. I wonder if he has ever read 24 steps to liberty?

A Blog For All would like to hear Sunni’s calling for Unity.

Expose The Left Wonders as I did if the MSM is Hyping the unrest in Iraq. I directed them both to 24 Steps To Liberty

****update ***

the Guardian is reporting Civil war is definitely coming but it will be the Iraqi’s attacking Americans.

The shattered golden dome of Samarra is yet another milestone in George Bush’s “long war” - in which a civil war in Iraq shows every sign of being a devastating feature. But what sort of civil war? I am convinced it is not the type of war that politicians in Washington and London, and much of the western media, have been anticipating.

The past few days’ events have strengthened this conviction. It has not been Sunni religious symbols that hundreds of thousands of angry marchers protesting at the bombing of the shrine have targeted, but US flags. The slogan that united them on Wednesday was: “Kalla, kalla Amrica, kalla kalla lill-irhab” - no to America, no to terrorism.

Wait the Gaurdian is predicting this will all be blamed on the US? This is a shocking revelation coming from them.

************Update 2************

Healing Iraq is reporting fighting outside his home earlier today. HT/Michelle Malkin

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This is the weekend Open Trackback post. If you have something interesting or something funny to share between now and midnight Sunday evening please leave a track back using THIS LINK. Be sure to leave a link to THIS POST in the main body of your post or your trackback will be deleted.

Linkfest Haven has a list of all the other blogs hosting open Trackbacks this weekend. Be sure to visit them.

This post is linked to these fine blogs who are also hosting open trackbacks this weekend: Stuck On Stupid, Blue Star Chronicles, Third World County, Rhymes With Right, Voteswagon, TMH’s Bacon Bits, Adam’s Blog, The Liberal Wrong Wing, Stop The ACLU,

I have been meaning to get this posted for almost a week now. If you haven’t noticed posting has been sparce the last several days as work has been very busy with out of town meetings and a family emergency. So I have been dealing with more important things.

Before you ask, everything is ok.

So on to the main purpose of the post. Last Saturday Dave over at Third World County tagged me with one of these internet chain letter deals. Here is the question:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

Dave asked if one of my tunes was the Marine Core Hymn. Sorry Dave no.

I don’t listen to one song from any particular band I listen to the whole album/8 track/tape/CD. Now most of the time I listen to talk radio (both left and right) more than any music station since they all suck.

So here is what is in my cars CD player right now.

1: Judas Priest Sad Wings of Destiny (best metal band ever and don’t argue)
2: Rush Caress of Steel
3: Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy
4 Soul Coughing Irresistible Bliss
5. Tenacious D ( I have listened to this CD over and over for about 2 years now and can’t wait for the Pick of Destiny movie to be released. The wife has us signed up for these cool email updates we get every few weeks)
6. Pimsleur German 1 (This is a 12 CD set. I think I am on #8 right now. Trying to learn German for work. I listen to these more than all the others combined).

I only have a 6 CD changer.

As for tagging other bloggers I would be curious to know what these folks are listening to.

1. Tiberius Grachus at Dumb Shit Of The Week
2. Alexandra at All Things Beautiful
3. Glenn Greenwald of Unclaimed Territory
4. George at GM’s Corner
5. Angel at Woman Honor Thyself
6. Doug at Reverse Vampire
7. Pat from Brainster

I bet this is a diverse group

So the email has been sent. If you folks have some time tell us what your listening to right now.

Pat at Brainster has complied and kept the chain letter going but his link failed for some reason . His current favorite tunes can be found here

*****Update**********

Gary at Ex-Donkey has now tagged me with this damn meme! Since none of the songs in my CD player have changed my answers remain the same.

This is a new feature I am going to try out bringing you the best posts that I find each day from my blog roll. I am going to try and do it every day but if I miss a day here and there sue me.

All Things Beautiful has a fantastic post that covers the real questions and issues about DPW taking over the operations for 6 US ports. It also points out several myths about this story including this one:

Myth #3: American ports should be American.
Well, it’s too late, baby. According to James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation (a place really known for its Arab-loving, soft-on-terror approach), “Foreign companies already own most of the maritime infrastructure that sustains American trade…” Thirty per cent of the countries port terminals are operated by companies that are, um, unAmerican.
At the port of Los Angeles, 80 per cent of the terminals are operated by foreign companies. Chinese companies operate more than half the terminals. So why is this suddenly a threat? After all, political outcry managed to scupper the deal a few months ago in which a Chinese company was going to take over the Unocal oil company.
Remember the global economy? Internationally, 24 of the 25 largest companies that operate port terminals aren’t American. That means just about every container that enters a U.S. port has come from a foreign-controlled facility.
Go to any port in the country and you’ll be lucky to see a single giant vessel with U.S.A. on its stern. Foreign-owned airplanes fly into American airports every hour. Many U.S. companies have foreign entities among their largest shareholders.
My colleague Charlie Wolfson reports that State Department sources say Dubai Ports World already handles port calls for U.S. Navy ships from the 5th fleet for their regular port calls in the United Arab Emirates — a pretty high measure of trustworthiness.

Decision08 is covering the Larry Summers resignation as President of Harvard University.

Summers is from the sane side of the Democratic Party (yes, there is one). These moderate Democrats want to bring the academy closer to the center of the country. But when push came to shove, the leftist faculty wouldn’t play along.

GM’s Corner answers the question Are We Fighting Islam Or Islamofascism? There Is A Difference!

Glenn Greenwald is on a roll with yet another post chock full of faulty logic where tells his readers that people on the right have no right to criticize the press for their hypocrisy.

As I’ve said before, I believe the press ought to publish those cartoons as a means of defending their right to publish ideas free of intimidation and attack. But the very last people from whom we ought to be hearing sermons about the importance of free expression and a free press — and about the accompanying duty of the press to publish even those ideas which provoke controversy, outrage and offense — are Bush supporters, who are plainly engaged in a serious crusade to punish any journalists who express ideas which they dislike or which they believe produce undesirable consequences.

I hope you find these posts as interesting as I did.