Rep. Jane Harman, calls spy program illegal. Time to get used to the Democrats.

For six years we have heard many such criticisms from Democrats. There is a difference this time. They can do something about the things that they are criticizing.
Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told a gathering of the American Bar Association on Friday that the Bush administration's secret wiretapping program for suspected terrorists is illegal.

That statement to the ABA sets the tone for a sea change in the US strategy in the fight against terrorism. The Bush Administration with the Republican Congress has chosen to take on the jihadis by the use of intelligence and military action. The Democrats have been increasingly critical of the Administration seeming to prefer the use of the criminal court system.

Harman, once a supporter of the WOT, has become increasingly critical of President Bush's policies. Recently, her initial support for the Iraq war and her defense of the Patriot Act, has wained. Harman, who had been backed for the chairmanship by conservative Democrats, lost to more liberal Democrats. That was punishment for being too kind towards Bush policies.

House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, bypassed Harman in announcing that Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, will become chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the new Congress.

Yet in her speech Friday, she said, "The term 'war on terror' is a misnomer," Harman said. "Wars are fought and won with military power; but the era of terror will not be ended by military force alone. In addition, the very designation of the struggle against terror as a 'war' enables the president to invoke commander-in-chief authorities to circumvent Congress, legal precedent and many constitutional requirements."

She repeated the usual nonsense about how our fighting style does not go down well in more refined circles:"How we treat people in U.S. custody says a lot about us and what we're fighting for. Holding detainees for years with no status determination, or using interrogation practices that go over the line, erodes our moral authority and ultimately harms our effort in the struggle for the hearts and minds of the moderate Arab and Muslim world."

So it looks like we will be doing a hearts and minds thing.

Although passed over for top billing, Harman, as a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Homeland Security Committee can make havoc for Bush. She also had this to say:

"For the first time in 12 years, Congress will have the opportunity to conduct meaningful oversight. The days of 'just trust me' are over," she said. "The president should seek legal consensus on these questions."

I preferred her tone when in April she In her keynote address to the Duke Law conference on April 7th and 8th. "Strategies for the War on Terrorism: Taking Stock" , she said:

"It's not a ‘war on terrorism,' a notion which connotes a finite adversary against whom we will win or lose. We live in an era of terror," said Harman, likening the use of force against terrorists to "hammering jello".

"You can hit as hard as you want, but they just squirt out-disperse-and they reconnect with their networks in other locations, and literally plug into a wider and growing jihadist movement."

Good intelligence, diplomacy, and public diplomacy-"a broader public effort to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world"-are also necessary to defeat the threat, Harman noted, before launching into a critique of the administration's policies towards detention and interrogation of terror suspects, the result of its "one-dimensional view" that the United States is embroiled in "simply a ‘war.'"

That talk then lost her the top job. The Democrats have something else in mind.

Antonio Stradivari's secret and George W. Bush.

An interesting article on the Stradivarian violin caught my attention. It got me thinking about some other things.

For some time scientists and music officianados have been attempting to discover the secrets to the Stradivarius violin. In a broader sense it is a question we all ask from time to time about how certain people achieve remarkable success, whether they be a Don Imus, Bill Gates or Antonio Stradivari.

Usually in most human endeavors the results of success are obvious at the time of their accomplishment. That is not often so in areas of philosophy, politics or diplomacy.

Truman and Nixon were hated. Eisenhower and Reagan disparaged and Winston Churchill was hated and reviled by the English voters before and after WWII.

Today George Bush is a much reviled man, yet George W. Bush is not an evil man. He may be naive. IMO he has put too much trust and faith in friends and advisers and has a stubbornness that borders on denial. His plunge into Iraq uncovered a mess that existed before he got there with American forces and our allies. Only time will tell if any good comes from this and that will be constantly debated.

In general, time is not very kind to politicians in the short term, but later even a rough wine can develop into something worthy. Remember that. I try to do so.

Would I bet that the Bush Administration will mellow into a Stradivarian time in US politics? No. But will some of us, rightly down on him now, someday think, "Good old George?' Maybe. Stranger things have happened. More about the violin.

Row over Stradivarius 'secrets' BBC

In May, a Stradivarius violin called The Hammer sold for $3.5m. The professional descendants of "the king of violin-makers" have dismissed research that claims to have unmasked Antonio Stradivari's secret. The Italian crafted over 1,000 violins, violas and violoncellos in the 1700s.

Experts have struggled to explain why the instruments sound so much better than anyone else's.

Researchers in the US said this week they believe a Stradivarius owes its distinct sound to a chemical treatment designed to kill woodworm and fungi.

But the BBC's Mark Duff in northern Italy says today's violin-makers in Stradivari's hometown Cremona - a small city in the floodplain of the river Po - are unimpressed.

One current violin-maker and restorer said it was absurd to try and reduce Stradivari's unique musical gift to a chemical reaction.

"What was the point of trying to dissect the beauty of a Strad?" asked another.

"To do so would be like trying to fathom the depths of Michelangelo's genius."

Mr Litvinenko had converted to Islam.What was the dead Russian ex-spy up to?

The Daily Telegraph has been told that Mr Litvinenko had converted to Islam.

Akhmed Zakayev, the leading Chechen dissident who lived next door to Mr Litvinenko, said: "He was read to from the Koran the day before he died and had told his wife and family that he wanted to be buried in accordance with Muslim tradition."

This is startling. Doug, here at the EB posted a link yesterday that caught my attention at Whit's post on Lies etc.. Later in the day, Wretchard, over at The Belmont, posted a story that was tangential to the big story pointed out by Doug. I put up a comment at the Belmont alerting Wretchard to Doug's post. Wretchard took another look at the article and as he is wont to do, developed a concise and I believe accurate assessment of the incident based on what is known at this time.

wretchard said...
There's too little hard information to judge what's happening here. Litvinenko himself categorically accused the Russian state on his deathbed, when a human being has nothing much to lose or gain either way.

But even if we completely discount Litvinenko's testimony we are still left the poison and the track from Russia. If Litvinenko's death were a work accident and he was not himself an actual target, the existence of the poison and the track means someone else is target. It is the existence of the weapons system and its probable source that is the key fact. Litvineko is incidental.

If AJ Strata's theory is correct, then the poison was being sold to parties who planning to poison someone else. As I said, it is the discovery of the operational capability that is the bombshell.

The clear implication of AJ Strata's speculation is that someone was buying the radioactive poison from the Russians and that perhaps the poison is still in the UK. It doesn't take a genius to speculate who that "buyer" may be. Pakistanis in the UK with access to al-Qaeda funds would be one obvious set of suspects. And with a poison so potent and incurable, it could be delivered to a statdium catering event, a hospital, an office building, a school or a church gathering.

But the alternative -- that the bulk supplies still aren't in London but still in Russia -- isn't very comforting. Because the radioactive poisoning capability is now known to exist, its small size means it can be delivered in the world within hours. Whether or not it is now in the UK is not particularly significant.

Collateral evidence suggests that a chemical warfare unit exists. Other people have ben poisoned. Nor is there any reason to think the available toxins are limited to polonium. And nothing in principle prevents the mass poisoning scenario from being implemented directly from Russia to anyplace in the world. Tokyo, New York, Flagstaff -- wherever.

Effectively we've just stumbled on a new weapons system with absolutely wonderful properties in the realm of terrorist warfare. I'm going to speculate that the bulk supplies are under positive control in Russia. They won't let the merchandise out until its ready to be used. It will be delivered just in time for the same reason nukes are kept under strict control until they are ready to be used. Even murder has logic.

But since any reasonable mass radioactive poisoning scenario will be effectively the equivalent of a unclaimed small tactical nuke or dirty bomb, the incident reveals our lack of a doctrine to deal with such threats. And if thousands of kids were poisoned with polonium tomorrow, would Blair nuke Russia? Or Pakistan? Would Pelosi even countenance the suggestion? Not as far as I can see.

We are in a war for our lives, whatever alternate universe certain people think they live in. And as Karen Carpenter said, "we only just begun".

12/02/2006 12:12:43 AM

Two comments. The story speaks for itself in some very disturbing tones.It is far bigger than most first thought. Pat Buchanan was quick to hypothesize that Putin was being framed. To my way of thinking the "death ded statement" is now suspect. Was Mr Litvinenko on a martyr mission? Never underestimate the zealotry of a convert. Are Muslim converts going to lead the next wave? This is very speculative at this time, but something that has bothered me since the shoe bomber incident.

My second point is this. The format here at The Elephant with the wide open, often off-topic running commentary by some of the outstanding news junkies and insomniacs on the planet often catches events well before the MSM sees the total significance. The information on the internet, combined with some of the exceptional sites linked here is a remarkable thing to behold. Damn good job all of you. Daily, I look forward to your input and to welcome new players. Hat tip Doug.

Subterfuge and Prevarication by CAIR

Lies, Subterfuge and Propaganda

If al-Reuters isn't on the Mohammedan payroll it's because they have a contract with them and if this isn't pure propaganda designed to gin up hatred in the Islamic world, I don't what it is.

In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep
by By Bernd Debusmann, Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters)- When radio host Jerry Klein suggested that all Muslims in the United States should be identified with a crescent-shape tattoo or a distinctive arm band, the phone lines jammed instantly.

The first caller to the station in Washington said that Klein must be "off his rocker." The second congratulated him and added: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their forehead but you ship them out of this country ... they are here to kill us."

Another said that tattoos, armbands and other identifying markers such as crescent marks on driver's licenses, passports and birth certificates did not go far enough. "What good is identifying them?" he asked. "You have to set up encampments like during World War Two with the Japanese and Germans."

At the end of the one-hour show, rich with arguments on why visual identification of "the threat in our midst" would alleviate the public's fears, Klein revealed that he had staged a hoax. It drew out reactions that are not uncommon in post-9/11 America.

Klein's show followed a week of heated discussions on talk radio, including his own, and online forums over an incident on November 22 involving six Muslim clerics. They were handcuffed and taken off a US Airways flight after passengers reported "suspicious behavior" that included praying in the departure gate area.

The clerics, on their way to a meeting of the North American Imams Federation, were detained in a holding cell, questioned by police and FBI agents, and released. Muslim community leaders saw the incident as yet more evidence of anti-Muslim prejudice.

The propaganda in point (or if we really want to be generous, the sloppy journalism) is -"They were handcuffed and taken off a US Airways flight after passengers reported "suspicious behavior" that included praying in the departure gate area."

Fortunately, for those seeking the truth, Audrey Hudson has a more accurate story Imam disputes tie to Hamas in today's Washington Times. Ms. Hudson interviewed a Mr. Omar Shahin, one of the Imams involved in the incident and writes:

Mr. Shahin says they were not led off the plane in handcuffs, as reported, nor were they kept in handcuffs during their five-hour detention, and they were not harassed by dogs.

The issue of whether they were led off the plane in handcuffs may seem irrelevant or of little consequence but a painting is done one brush stroke at a time. Personally, I thought the Abu Ghraib "scandal" was overblown nonsense but what I thought was irrelevant in light of the mileage the issue provided to the other side. This incident will be portrayed throughout the Islamic world as an example of how devout praying Muslims are mistreated and scorned in the "Great Satan."

The article goes on to discuss recent polls by the Gallup organization and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) showing widespread anti-Muslim sentiment. The CAIR poll indicates that 33% of the American people associate the word "Islam" with "war, hatred and terrorists." Debussmann writes, "The war in Iraq has contributed to such perceptions." Oh really? Events throughout the Islamic world have nothing to do with forming those opinions? Apparently not. CAIR's Executive Director, Nihad Awad, said on The Factor, "there is no link between Islam as a religion and fascists." This is the latest Mohammedan meme - that the "terrorists are not Muslims and no Muslims are committing these heinous acts that we see happening all over the world." The problem is that too many Muslims like Awad will not acknowledge that the terrorists invoke the name of Allah when committing their terror. Instead, when confronted, they usually deflect the issue to the huge worldwide terror problem of "fanatical Christians" or claim that "it's all the fault of the US and of course, the Jews." Lie by lie, the hatred is sown and carefully cultivated. As the lies continue, the poll numbers will get worse.

American people can see through the subterfuge.

Ugly & Dangerous. Governmental invasiveness into your private business.

Every governmental intrusion starts the same way. It is narrowly focused on a few. The few will have in common some degree of ill-repute or
are a focus of general envy by the public. The formula is used by every tyrant since the beginning of human society. Those not immediately affected take solace in the hope and naive believe that it will never affect them, but it always does.

This is only the beginning. Here is what is happening.

Certain U.S. companies will need to keep track of all the e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents generated by their employees, in accordance with new federal rules. In April the Supreme Court began requiring companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce 'electronically stored information' as part of the discovery process of a trial. That could mean a lot of companies. Under the new rules, an information technology employee who routinely copies over a backup computer tape (or hard drive or possibly a flash card) could be committing the equivalent of 'virtual shredding,' said Alvin F. Lindsay, a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP and expert on technology and litigation.

There are now hundreds of "e-discovery vendors" and these businesses grossed approximately $1.6 billion in 2006. This is an example: November 28, 2006

New Tools for New Rules Byte and Switch

With revisions to the U.S. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) set to go into effect Friday, it's no surprise we're seeing products aimed at facilitating e-discovery and compliance this week.

Today, CommVault released a potentially useful addition to its archiving product, and newcomer InBoxer rolled out a more off-beat approach to sifting through email.

Both products are aimed at making it easy for lawyers and compliance officers to search electronic documents, without requiring a lot more effort on the part of IT. That's because the new rules call for corporate officers to produce electronic documents as part of the pretrial process as well as during litigation, or face hefty fines.

You have the beginning of the perfect storm of privacy invasion, intrusive government, lawyers and companies out to make lots of money. You should be very concerned. Most will not be. Like sheep going to slaughter.

UK Report: Road tolls; Reducing demand for imported oil or big government spending?

Reducing highway congestion and the demand for imported oil is an idea that most everyone would support. In theory of course. In practice, many would part company. That is human nature. I want you not to drive so that I can, unimpeded.

Use taxes in general are about as fair a tax as has been devised. Do not use, do not pay is about as sensible as you can get. Like all conceptual ideas, we have to ask the question:

How do we get from here to there? Here is one idea from the UK.

Government report backs 'pay as you drive'

By David Millward, Transport Correspondent The Telegraph
Last Updated: 2:36pm GMT 01/12/2006



Motorists should pay at least £1.28 a mile to drive on the country's busiest roads at the height of the rush hour, the Government's transport adviser said in a report published today.


Tolling on motorways could become routine

In his long-awaited report, Sir Rod Eddington said that without such a scheme in place by 2015 the taxpayer would face a vast bill for a new highway building programme to cope with the mounting congestion.

"For me in the end, road pricing is an economic no-brainer," the former British Airways chief executive said today.

A national road pricing scheme would be worth £28 billion to the economy by 2025 and congestion would be cut by half, which alone would be worth £22 billion.

Sir Rod has called for pilot schemes to be set up as fast as possible, examining the impact road pricing would have on congestion within as well as between towns and cities.

An additional solution to road congestion would be the encouragement of car pooling and sharing schemes as well as the use if dedicated buses to reduce the traditional "school run".

Sir Rod also called for extra spending on airports and strategic roads.

But his report was dismissive of calls for the development of new high-speed rail lines within Britain.

Advocates claim they would bring economic and environmental benefits to the country. But such schemes, Sir Rod says, would not bring distant cities much closer together than with existing air links.

The Government should also take into account that faster trains could create higher CO2 emissions, he said.

Sir Rod has also called for significant spending on the busiest commuter rail lines and investment to relieve overcrowded stations.

Train operators should also try to ease rush-hour congestion by offering bigger discounts for those who travel at other times.

Art, Jeff Mihalyo
"Overpass Fragment"

Iraq's Fortunes Under the Domination of Moqtada al-Sadr- Regrets Part II.

An ominous sign of things to come in Iraq?

Baghdad (AINA) -- Followers of Moqtada al-Sadr have issued a fatwa concerning school girls, according to an Assyrian priest in Baghdad. The fatwa requires all girls to wear the veil while attending school. In an unusual twist of logic, the fatwa implies that failure to wear the veil would be tantamount on the girls' part to complicity in the death of the Imam Husayn ibn Ali (killed in 680 A.D. in Karbala in a battle with the army of the Caliphate.)

The priest indicated the fatwa was at least for the New Baghdad neighborhood, where many Christians live, and that he feared for the safety of the Christian girls in the area.

The fatwa appears to be an attempt by Sadr and his followers to establish a Taliban style Islamic theocracy in Iraq. According to an article in the Middle East Journal, "Muqtada called on May 2 [2003] for strict Islamic law to be applied to Iraq's Christians, as well, including the prohibition on bars and on allowing women to appear unveiled. This ruling appears to be a restatement of one of his father's fatwas, but this time the al-Sadr family had the authority to make it stick in some parts of Iraq. In contrast, Grand Ayatollah Sistani issued a statement saying that the Najaf establishment had not called for forcible veiling."

Editor's note: AINA has withheld the name of the priest to ensure his safety.

Newsweek has put together a very sobering issue on the rise of Moqtada al-Sadr.

Dec. 4, 2006 issue - One way to understand Moqtada al-Sadr is to think of him as a young Mafia don. He aims for respectability, and is willing to kill for it. Yet the extent of his power isn't obvious to the untrained eye. He has no standing army or police force, and the Mahdi Army gunmen he employs have no tanks or aircraft. You could mistake him—at your peril—for a common thug or gang leader. And if he or his people were to kill you for your ignorance, he wouldn't claim credit. But the message would be clear to those who understand the brutal language of the Iraqi Street.

American soldiers who patrol Sadr's turf in Baghdad understand. They can spot his men. "They look like they're pulling security," says First Lt. Robert Hartley, a 25-year-old who plays cat and mouse with the Mahdi Army in the Iraqi capital. The Sadrists use children and young men as lookouts. When GIs get out of their Humvees to patrol on foot, one of the watchers will fly a kite, or release a flock of pigeons. Some of Sadr's people have even infiltrated top ranks of the Iraqi police. Capt. Tom Kapla, 29, says he knows who they are: "They look at you, and you can tell they want to kill you."... Read all of it



Oil painting by S. Caballero