Dr. Sanity hits this nail right on the head as she shines her psychological spotlight on the political left and their totalitarian dreams.

When I wrote this post about the current, overt manipulation of news, I didn't imagine that this information would be coming out, which, if true, shows the levels to which the political left and the Democrats have been willing to sink to achieve their ideological agenda:

The antipathy that congressional Democrats have today toward President George W. Bush is reminiscent of their distrust of President Ronald Reagan during the Cold War, a political science professor says.

"We see some of the same sentiments today, in that some Democrats see the Republican president as being a threat and the true obstacle to peace, instead of seeing our enemies as the true danger," said Paul Kengor, a political science professor at Grove City College and the author of new book, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.

In his book, which came out this week, Kengor focuses on a KGB letter written at the height of the Cold War that shows that Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered to assist Soviet leaders in formulating a public relations strategy to counter President Reagan's foreign policy and to complicate his re-election efforts.

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The US navy, air force and marines have started to assemble in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the eastern Mediterranean to start practicing the prohibition of ships carrying weapons of mass destruction and missiles. U.S. allies Bahrain, Kuwait, France, Britain, and Canada are among those planning to participate in the exercise, while expectation are that Iran will not stand by and watch.

Just days ago the Iranian supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with automatic weapon in hand, delivered a speech to students at the Tehran University, spouting with total belligerence, that Iran will not wait passively for an American attack on it's nuclear facilities, but will instead go for preemptive strikes against any and all U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf and U.S. interest in the middle east in general.

DEBKAfile Exclusive - Khamenei Brandishes a Kalashnikov at US and Israel

The powerful spectacle of Iran’s be-turbaned supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei clutching an automatic rifle, displayed exclusively by DEBKAfile, drew on the belligerent imagery of Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein. The Iranian media suppressed this particular shot in its coverage of his sermon at Tehran University Oct. 13, the third Friday of Ramadan. But the AK 47 toted by the ruler of the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism was not missed by the political and military leaders in his audience and accentuated his war message.

DEBKAfile’s Tehran sources reveal that the Iran’s leaders took three fateful steps ahead of Khamenei’s performance:

1. They pointed up the tradition initiated by the father of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of marking the last Friday of Ramadan as International al Qods Day - “Jerusalem Liberation Day.”

2. Khamenei’s aides leaked word that his decision to hold the sermon of Oct. 13 was prompted by his discovery that the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was heading for the Persian Gulf and would be deployed in operational mode opposite Iran’s shores by Oct. 21.

3. In Beirut, Iran’s surrogate Hizballah announced the cancellation of its annual military parade on al Qods day, i.e. Oct. 20.

Military circles in the United States and Israel interpret these steps as meaning that Iran will be standing by in battle positions the day before the Eisenhower reaches its destination. DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources have been reporting since late August that Iran’s political and military leaders have resolved not to wait passively for an American attack but to go instead for a pre-emptive strike against US forces in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, as well as targeting Israel.

On October 7, DEBKAfile reported: Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a pre-emptive attack on Israel to ward off a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites – whether from Lebanon, or Golan, using Hamas to launch an offensive from Gaza, or a combination thereof. The Bush administration would then have to divide its attention and military might among three warfronts simultaneously.

DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly have exhaustively covered the Iranian Blow of Zolfaqar military exercise ongoing in the Persian Gulf from August and its military’s high war preparedness, as well the US naval, air and marine concentrations due to complete their deployment opposite Iran’s shores by the end of this month.

Khamenei devoted much of his sermon to the Lebanon war waged between Israel and Hizballah in July and August. “The war isn’t finished,” he said. “And the losers will certainly not remain idle. These evil forces are already hard at work to remedy their defeat and Islamic nations need to remain vigilant and ready to react with determination against any other potential attack.”

The supreme ruler continued: "One of the projects of the Americans, Zionists and their allies is to come to Lebanon under the United Nations, officially to defend the Lebanese from the attacks of foreign forces and then change the cards on the table and fight our Hezbollah brothers."

By smearing as fraudulent UN Resolution 1701 which expanded UNIFIL and enforced a ceasefire in Lebanon, Khamenei made a pointed attempt to discredit the world body ahead of the Security Council sanctions session called for this week to punish Iran for continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of UN resolutions.

He was also warning “the foreign forces” (UNIFlL) that “the war was not finished.” A central them of his sermon was therefore “resistance” as “the key to victory.”

The Supreme leader said the Hezbollah (armed by Iran and Syria) had achieved "a unique historic victory” for Islam over “arrogance and colonialism” (Americans and Israelis). "The Lebanon war changed the political equations in the region.”

Settling accounts with the British and the Americans, Khamenei commented, "The British are experts in pursuing that policy (of divide and rule) and they have taught the Americans how to sow the seeds of discord among Shias and Sunnis in Iraq.

Referring to the situation in Iraq, he said, "The crisis in Iraq preceded the one in Lebanon, and its intensity has aggravated today, because Iraq, Lebanon, and other events in the region are all rings of a broken American chain."

The Iranian ruler laid great stress on "International Qods Day” as the day of “resistance” for the entire Islamic Umma against “the oppression and injustice observed by the Zionists and their supporters."

DEBKAfile’s Iran and Islamic sources note that the Kalashnikov in the supreme ruler’s hand spoke louder than his bellicose rhetoric.

Also in the mix, Israeli intelligents are claiming the militant group Hamas has started taking delivery of Iranian made anti-aircraft missiles via Egypt.

Is this all mere coincidence, pure speculation or something large to be concerned about?

You can never really be sure when you're dealing with people of this ilk.

Will the rest of the Arab world stand by and allow Iran to start something that will obvious effect the entire region adversely for many years to come? I think yes.

Two Russian Chechen platoons, Vostok and Zapad, already deployed in Southern Lebanon, are setting up surveillance posts on the Lebanese border with Israel and are giving Russian, Syrian and Hezbollah intelligence agencies detailed and real time information on the movements of all military operations including the IDF in Israel.

Caroline Glick writes of the reappearance of past hostilities toward Israel by Russia and it's absolute support for Hezbollah in their recent conflict.

As the storm of war approaches

The clouds of the coming war are converging upon Israel. But our political and military leaders refuse to look up at the darkening sky.

The Russian bear has awakened after 15 years of hibernation. Under the leadership of former KGB commander President Vladimir Putin, Russia is reasserting its traditional hostility towards Israel.

On Tuesday, Russian military engineers landed in Beirut. Their arrival signaled the first time that Russian forces have openly deployed in the Middle East. In the past Soviet forces in Syria and Egypt operated under the official cover of "military advisers." Today those "advisers" are "engineers." The Russian forces, which will officially number some 550 troops, are tasked with rebuilding a number of bridges that the IDF destroyed during the recent war. They will operate outside the command of UNIFIL.

Mosnews news service reported on Wednesday that the engineers will be protected by commando platoons from Russia's 42nd motorized rifle division permanently deployed in Chechnya. According to the report, these commando platoons are part of the Vostok and Zapad Battalions, both of which are commanded by Muslim officers who report directly to the main intelligence department of the Russian Army's General Staff in Moscow. The Vostok Battalion is commanded by Maj. Sulim Yamadayev, who Mosnews refers to as a "former rebel commander."

With the deployment of former Chechen rebels as Russian military commandos in Lebanon, the report this week exposing Russia's intelligence support for Hizbullah during the recent war takes on disturbing strategic significance. According to Jane's Defense Weekly, the Russian listening post on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights provided Hizbullah with a continuous supply of intelligence throughout the conflict.

Much still remains to be reported about the impressive intelligence capabilities that Hizbullah demonstrated this summer. But from what has already been made public, we know that Hizbullah's high degree of competence in electronic intelligence caused significant damage to IDF operations. Now we learn that Moscow stood behind at least one layer of Hizbullah's intelligence prowess.

Moscow's assistance to Hizbullah was not limited to intelligence sharing. The majority of IDF casualties in the fighting were caused by Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles that made their way to Hizbullah fighters through Syria. Indeed, as we learn more about Russia's role, it appears that Russia's support for Hizbullah may well have been as significant as Syria's support for the terror organization. And now we have Chechens in Lebanon.

Russian backing of Hizbullah, like its support for Syria and Iran, has been matched by its extreme, Cold War-esque hostility towards Israel. On Tuesday, Channel 2 reported that for the past few months Putin has been obsessively demanding that the government transfer proprietary rights and control to the Russian government over the Russian Compound, which has served as a police station since the British Mandate, and other Russian historical buildings in central Jerusalem.

Putin's demand, which has no legal foundation or diplomatic precedent, exposes startling disrespect for Israeli sovereignty. According to Channel 2, Russian diplomats have been raising this obnoxious demand at the start of every meeting they have had with Israeli officials for the past several months. This most recently reported slap in the face joins a long list of diplomatic crises that Russia has fomented in the past few months.

Read the rest of her article.

Alexandra at All Things Beautiful has more with: The Russian Bear Awakes

"Thank you madam secretary... Thank you very much!

We never could have done it without you."



Secretary of State Albright: "I'm very glad to be here in your beautiful city."
Kim Dung Il: "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea will always be grateful."
Update:
Republican Sen. John McCain on Tuesday accused former President Clinton of failing to act in the 1990s to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. A charge many have made in the past.

"I would remind Senator (Hillary) Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a failure, the Koreans received millions and millions in energy assistance. They've diverted millions of dollars of food assistance to their military."

Audio interview from Hot Air: Waybacking the North Korea nuclear crisis

At Gitmo, detainees get La-Z-Boys, pastries

Hmm. I should say a word about "the practices at Guantanamo." As it happens, I've just got back from Gitmo. (That glitch on my green card was finally straightened out.) I've visited several prisons in several countries over the years and never seen anything like this one.

Granted, most of what I know about enemy detainee camps comes from what Rear Adm. Harry Harris, who runs Guantanamo, calls "bad movies and worse TV shows," and from a distance very little seems to have changed: the basic look -- barbed wire and watch towers -- would be recognizable to any World War II POWs. But, close up, pretty much everything else has been flushed down the toilet of history. Indeed, even the toilet has been flushed down the toilet of history: In the interests of cultural sensitivity, Gitmo cells were fitted with "Asian-style toilets," because "that's what the detainees prefer." Given that much of the matter that should be going down there ends up being flung over the guards, it seems that this sensitivity over choice of bathroom fixtures is not always appreciated.

When visitors like yours truly swing by, the camp likes to serve them the same meal the prisoners get. This being Ramadan, Adm. Harris was particularly proud of the fresh-baked traditional pastries his team had made for the holy month. And he was right: The baklava was delicious. "Baklava" is said by some linguists to come from the Arabic for "nuts" -- and, indeed, in that sense this entire war can sometimes seem like one giant baklava.

I wonder if Muslims in the U.S. penal system here in the states get the same treatment. Maybe we should talk to those running San Quentin Prison about this.

I mean...fair is fair. If they hear about this, they'll be hell to pay.

Apparently Kim Dung-il feels that he and his people have a lot to gain by testing a nuclear weapon and continuing with it's nuclear program in general.

With the majority of the North Korean people starving and living an horrendous life style, Kim Jong-il continues to pump millions and millions of dollars into a program that, in the end, will at best, have a devastating effect on the people and the country, and may bring total destruction in the event of an all out war if the U.S. and/or others feel a need to destroy everything first. I just don't see a good ending here.

Today the U.S. state department put out a statement to North Korea that left nothing to interpretation.

'No future' for nuclear Nth Korea: US

WASHINGTON'S senior envoy dealing with Kim Jong-il's regime has warned the US would "not live with a nuclear North Korea" under any circumstances, amid fresh signs of an imminent atomic test.

"(North Korea) can have a future or it can have these weapons," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told a Washington thinktank yesterday. "It cannot have both."

Mr Hill's words are likely to be taken in Pyongyang as a threat of military action.

He laid down the ultimatum, though without hint of what further measures the Americans might take against the regime, as unnamed US officials told several news outlets that new signs of activity had been detected at a potential explosion site.

Japan and others are urging the UN Security Council to come forth with a strong statement that would warn North Korea that any nuclear test would bring wide international condemnation and jeopardizes the stability and security in the region, not to mention other unspecified actions by the Council. But as usual the UN is dragging it's feet because Russia and China don't think any action is required.

Does this suprise anyone? Russia and China backing another nuclear madman.

I'm sure that Kim Dumb il thinks he can do the same thing he did to us several years back when he hosed the Clinton administration into believing that he would do what he said he would as long as the U.S. gave up the goods and money. He'll go to the brink than demand concessions from the U.S..

Well we did and look what it got us. From now on..."Just say NO!"

Update: Oct. 6, 2006

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea is "more or less ready" to conduct a nuclear test deep inside an abandoned coal mine but might hold off it can win concesssions from the United States, a Chinese source briefed by Pyongyang said on Friday.

Well I'm shocked and appalled...

This sounds like something we should do... dah! So every time they want something all they have to do is go to the button.

This is a scary thought knowing the Democrats could take over the government in a couple of weeks. They'll fall apart like a cheap suit under the threat of violence or war. It will be concessions for everybody, first N.Korea then Iran and then who, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela?

If the Democrats get the house back...be scared...be very scared.

You might as well start leaning the Koran.

You had to know this was coming! He-He!

Bobblehead Muhammed, who'd a thunk. Will the "Religion o' Peace show tolerance and be OK with this or will there be rioting in the streets again. I'm betting on riots, it's what they live for and do best.


Purchase here.

BY TINA MOORE - DAILY NEWS
A ceramic bobblehead doll of the Prophet Muhammed - created to resemble the infamous caricature published by a Danish newspaper - is being hawked online for $22.99 a pop by an ex-Marine.

The unapologetic creator, Timothy Ames, 28, said the bobblehead is similar to "dashboard Jesus" figurines that can be stuck with adhesive to flat surfaces. "I thought, 'If they flipped out over some cartoons what will they do with a dashboard Muhammed?'" Ames said from his home in Hawaii.

But Islamic experts are not amused, saying the bobbleheads could anger Muslims, whose religion strictly prohibits depictions of the prophet.

"No depiction of the prophet, even if it is positive, should be made ever - and certainly not one as ridiculous as the bobblehead Muhammed," said Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, an assistant professor at New York University. "I don't think it's about freedom of speech. This is the freedom to insult, which he shouldn't be doing."

Ames said several hundred people have purchased the dolls online, and he has paid a Chinese manufacturer to create 1,000 more. "I just think it's funny," he said.

Michelle Malkin has more with Bobblehead Rage!