Libby Jury Tainted

This article from Editor and Publisher, hardly a "right-wing" mouth-piece, reveals stunning conflicts of interests by the Libby Jury spokesperson. American justice at work. Even a fair minded liberal is going to have to ask WTF?:

NEW YORK Denis Collins, the juror in the Libby/CIA leak case who delivered a post-verdict commentary for the press, spent about a decade at The Washington Post. Today, after a night on cable TV shows, he re-appears with a massive recounting of his experience at the Huffington Post blog.

His story is billed as "INSIDE THE JURY ROOM: WHAT THE JURY THOUGHT, DAY BY DAY, WITNESS BY WITNESS, AT THE SCOOTER LIBBY TRIAL" by Denis Collins, Juror #9. It calls it "unedited" impressions, memories and facts. Other jurors' names are changed.

The New York Times today reports that he is a registered Democrat. He recalls that he revealed when considered for the jury that he had worked with Bob Woodward for three or four years and also with the Post's Walter Pincus, another witness at the trial. Until a year ago, Tim Russert was a neighbor and he even attended backyard barbeques at Russert's place. But attorneys at both tables merely offered "ain't this a small town" grins, he relates.

One of the lawyers asked him the subject of his 2005 book. "You wrote about the CIA?" Collins said yes, which along with his reporting connections amounted to the "perfect storm." He comments: "Yet here I am," on the CIA leak case jury.

He says that he felt he had "absolutely no chance to be selected" for the jury and may have even bet someone $1000 that he would not be.

He adds that he went to grade school with the Times' Maureen Dowd, who allegedly had a crush on Collins' brother. He later recommended to Bob Woodward that the Post hire her away from the old Washington Star, but he disagreed.

New York Times reporter John Tierney came to Collins' wedding and "in a red, lounge-lizard coat with fake velvet collar, recited 'Feelings' into a hand held microphone." Collins knew Mike Isikoff, now at Newsweek -- and co-author of the recent book partly about the case, "Hubris" -- when both were at the Post, and Isikoff once stayed with Collins in San Francisco.

Collins goes through witness by witness and offers opinions on the attorneys and the judge, and other jurors. He says most jurors considered Ari Fleischer "Slick Willie" and not believable. "I wondered if Libby's attorneys advised him to keep out of the sun, to emphasize the 'tireless worker for the public good' look," he recalls.

On Judith Miller: "The defense was so aggressive in attacking Miller's memory, it created sympathy among the jurors." One juror commented: "She was the most stressed-out witness, but had no motive to lie."

More: "As celebrities go, the jury favorite seems to be NPR’s Nina Totenberg. Everyday Nina."

He also writes about "the Runaway Juror" who was later bounced off the case: "She broke the first rule by flashing another juror a page in her notebook during court testimony. Fortunately the message, 'Look at that eye candy in the third row!' wasn't top secret stuff."

Yesterday, E&P published the first full report on Collins' background at The Washington Post, where he covered both metro news and sports, and spent time on the copy desk, according to editors at the paper.

The longtime journalist, 57, who has also written for The Miami Herald and the San Jose Mercury New, was recalled as smart,
hardworking and energetic, although not always "coloring within the lines."

The jury convicted Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief aide to Vice President Cheney, on four of five counts today, including perjury and obstruction of justice. Collins, whose identity was not known until today, came out of the courthouse and spoke to the press, saying that as a former reporter he felt this was the right thing to do.

Cable TV news commentators noted the irony of a former reporter becoming chief jury spokesman -- at least today -- in a trial where reporters played such a central role. Some also wondered how someone who had written a book on spying (including the CIA variety) had made it on this jury.

In the jury selection phase, before Collins name came out, he was identified as having worked with Bob Woodward at the Post and being a neighbor of NBC's Tim Russert. Both would later testify in the case.

"Every experience I had with Denis was absolutely positive and professional, a delightful person," recalled George Solomon, the former sports editor who retired in 2003 after 28 years at the Post. "Very flexible, willing to do
whatever it took to do the job."

A review of Post archives finds hundreds of stories by Collins dating back to the early 1980s, with many related to sports, but others involving travel, karate, Nerfball, a profile of comedian Bob Goldthwait, and a wide array of other subjects.

Solomon said Colllins was most interested in the outdoors beat, which he took over on occasion, although he also covered baseball and football. "His greatest interest was covering hiking and camping and running rather than the standard hunting and fishing fare," Solomon said.

Tom Wilkinson, a post assistant managing editor who has been at the paper since 1969, called Collins enthusiastic, and "not always coloring within the lines, which is okay...I remember him being a pretty good reporter, an independent guy," Wilkinson added. "He had his own sense of what stories are, occasionally hard to reel in."

Amazon.com lists at least two recent books by Collins, "Nora's Army," about a Bonus camp in 1932 Washington, D.C.; and "SPYING: The Secret History of History."

Asked if he would want Collins on his jury, Solomon said, "There are a lot of people who worked for me I would not want to decide my fate." But he then added, "he is a reasonable, smart and fair guy. Who else would you want on a jury?"

Later, on Larry King's CNN show, Collins said he would write about the trial, but "I'm not sure of format or where it will be." He added that he "never expected to be accepted to serve on the jury." He also admitted he was not "one of the lions" on the jury.

Fox News host John Gibson expressed surprise today that the defense allowed 1) a reporter and 2) someone who has written about the CIA, to be on this particular case.

Juror calls on Bush to pardon Libby
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Muslim-American sailor arrested on spying for Al Qaeda
Muslims Demand Beheading After Preacher Calls Them "Killers"
Merkel: 'attack on Jewish institutions, an assault on democracy’

Louvre goes franchise with Abu Dhabi outlet
2 Americans treated for poisoning in Moscow
Burqa-clad Taliban leader caught as NATO attacks
Times of London: Is it racist to condemn fanaticism?

The Libby Affair: An Outrage from Beginning to End

What kind of legal system would convict a husband and father, possibly to 30 years in prison who has served this country honorably for years, for "misrepresenting" facts (intentionally or unintentionally) that could only be ascertained through memory, in an investigation of a non-crime. What kind of disgusting human being would celebrate such a travesty? What kind of legal system punishes a man for failing to get his memory straight on a non-crime but would look the other way as a cold-blooded murderer like OJ Simpson is playing golf? What kind of legal system would look the other way as a former national Security Advisor is caught red-handed stuffing top secret documents down his pants and underwear and walking out the building, while convicting a man, possibly to 30 years, for "lying" about a non-crime. The sickness never ends

A Guilty Byproduct of a Nonexistent Crime

The President Should Pardon Scooter Libby Immediatly

A travesty of justice in every sense of the word. The President should pardon him immediately, and if he doesn't I (and I'm sure many more in his own camp) will loose all respect for him. Call the White House comments line at 202-456-1111. I also urge folks to contribute to the Libby Legal Defense Trust.

The trial that concluded in a guilty verdict on four of five counts conclusively proved only one thing: A White House aide became the target of a politicized prosecution set in motion by bureaucratic infighting and political cowardice.
None of this was a profile in courage on the administration's part, but the true insanity of the situation was withheld from the public until years later, when we learned that, long before the Justice Department had appointed Fitzgerald, it knew who had leaked to Novak. Early in the investigation, deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage informed investigators that he had told Novak about Mrs. Wilson (although he left out the fact that he had also leaked to the Washington Post's Bob Woodward). But like the savvy bureaucratic infighter that he is, Armitage kept quiet publicly, allowing the vice president's office to take the heat for something he had done.

So why did Fitzgerald go forward? Maybe someday he'll tell us, but we're not betting on it. Reasonable people can conclude that it was only Scooter Libby's imperfect memory-not willful deception-that gave rise to the charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice. Among the supporting players-including CIA officials, Bob Novak, Woodward, and Walter Pincus of the Washington Post, and Time's Matthew Cooper—no two participants in any conversation about Valerie Plame had the same recollection.

Whatever his motivations, Fitzgerald adopted the discredited Wilson's script and focused his three-year investigation on Cheney, Libby, and Rove-and not, inexplicably, on others. Not on Armitage. Not on Ari Fleischer, either. The recent trial revealed that the former White House press secretary was granted immunity from prosecution, and that he admitted to telling two reporters about Plame's employment. Those reporters were never even questioned. Nor did any charges arise from Fleischer's faulty memory, even though a third reporter (Pincus) testified that Fleischer had told him too about Plame-something that Fleischer denied under oath.

There should have been no referral, no special counsel, no indictments, and no trial. The "CIA-leak case" has been a travesty. A good man has paid a very heavy price for the Left's fevers, the media's scandal-mongering, and President Bush's failure to unify his own administration. Justice demands that Bush issue a pardon and lower the curtain on an embarrassing drama that shouldn't have lasted beyond its opening act.

NRO: Pardon Libby
Libby Verdict: Making sense of legal nonsense
The Libby Travesty of Justice
Libby Legal Defense Trust

France bans citizen journalists from reporting violence
Report: Missing Iranian general in US
Dead Russian reporter was investigating arms sales to Iran, Syria
Wired Iraqi man triggers scare at L.A. airport

LFG: CAIR Promoting Carters "Apartheid" Book to US Libraries

Click Image to enlarge.
In a great scoop, LFG got their hands on a CAIR letter to US libraries offering a free copy of Jimmy Carters sick book: "Israel, Peace not Apartheid." Immediate questions that come to mind, who is funding this campaign...Saudi Arabia comes to mind. The letter is skillfully crafted to appeal to a typically naive American...say... a librarian with very little grasp of Middle East political context, or of CAIR's agenda, ties to terrorism and radical Islam.

Gore's Crusade Ends at His Front Door
Hitchens: What people get wrong about Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Can the United States be made safe from nuclear terrorism?

Top Iranian General, Ali Reza Asgari, Disappears in Turkey. Should we Call the ACLU?

It's been a bad month for Iran:

The mysterious disappearance of an Iranian general in Turkey in early February has led to speculation he either was kidnapped or defected. Iran has reportedly asked Interpol to investigate the generals disappearance. One respected analyst with sources in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard says Gen. Ali Reza Asgari has defected and is now in a European country with his entire family, where he is cooperating with the U.S. Other reports have suggested that the general may have been kidnapped by the Israeli secret service, the Mossad.

"This is a fatal blow to Iranian intelligence," said the source, explaining that Asgari knows sensitive information about Iran's nuclear and military projects. Iran called tens of its Revolutionary Guard agents working at embassies and cultural centers in Arab and European countries back to Tehran out of fear that Asgari might disclose secret information about their identities, according to the analyst.

Asgari's years with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian defense ministry would make him an invaluable source of information. He was reportedly based in Lebanon in the 1990s and was in charge of ties with the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Asgari knows sensitive information about Iran's nuclear and military projects. Iran called tens of its Revolutionary Guard agents working at embassies and cultural centers in Arab and European countries back to Tehran out of fear that Asgari might disclose secret information about their identities

OK, so you have a man like that in custody. Do you 1) call your friendly local ACLU lawyer to make sure that his "civil rights" are protected? Or 2) Do you do everything possible to extract potential life-saving intelligence from the man and then trade him back for a concession? ....I'm going with #2.

Chavez: "CIA Out to Kill Me"
Report: CIA Rushing Resources to Bin Laden Hunt on new intel

Saudi gang-rape victim faces 90 lashes

RIYADH - A Saudi woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother has been sentenced to 90 lashes -- for a meeting man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported on Monday. In an interview with the Saudi Gazette, the 19-year-old said she was blackmailed a year ago into meeting a man who threatened to tell her family they were having a relationship outside wedlock, which is illegal in the ultra-conservative desert kingdom. After driving off together from a shopping mall near her home, the woman and the man were stopped and abducted by a gang of men wielding kitchen knives who took them to a farm where she was raped 14 times by her captors. But the judges also decided to sentence the woman, identified by the newspaper only as ‘G,’ and the man to lashes for being alone together in the car.

Again, where is Now when you really need them?

China to increase military spending. But who is the Enemy?
Video: UNC jihadi: "Death to Israel" during court appearance
American Airlines Flight 62: A Terrorist Probe?
Islamists Frustrated by Obama's Pro-Israel Stand
Poll: More Americans pro-Israel
Leave it to the BBC: Israel, Iran, U.S. have most negative image

Hillary Adopts Southern Drawl Down Yonder. Yaaaahoooo

Prominent French Scientist Reverses Belief in Global Warming - Now a Skeptic...

The Petition Project: It's hard to dismiss 17,000 Scientists dismissing Global Warming

These charming fellows not withstanding.

The Claim:
During the past 2 years, more than 17,100 basic and applied American scientists, two-thirds with advanced degrees, have signed the Global Warming Petition. Signers of this petition so far include 2,660 physicists, geophysicists, climatologists, meteorologists, oceanographers, and environmental scientists (select this link for a listing of these individuals) who are especially well qualified to evaluate the effects of carbon dioxide on the Earth's atmosphere and climate.

Signers of this petition also include 5,017 scientists whose fields of specialization in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, and other life sciences (select this link for a listing of these individuals) make them especially well qualified to evaluate the effects of carbon dioxide upon the Earth's plant and animal life.

Nearly all of the initial 17,100 scientist signers have technical training suitable for the evaluation of the relevant research data, and many are trained in related fields. In addition to these 17,100, approximately 2,400 individuals have signed the petition who are trained in fields other than science or whose field of specialization was not specified on their returned petition.

Of the 19,700 signatures that the project has received in total so far, 17,800 have been independently verified and the other 1,900 have not yet been independently verified. Of those signers holding the degree of PhD, 95% have now been independently verified. One name that was sent in by enviro pranksters, Geri Halliwell, PhD, has been eliminated. Several names, such as Perry Mason and Robert Byrd are still on the list even though enviro press reports have ridiculed their identity with the names of famous personalities. They are actual signers. Perry Mason, for example, is a PhD Chemist.

The costs of this petition project have been paid entirely by private donations. No industrial funding or money from sources within the coal, oil, natural gas or related industries has been utilized.

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This article in the UK Telegraph called: Sarko knows what's wrong with France. The voters know he knows. But they wish he didn't,
is a great rundown on the French Presidential campaign and good description of our favorite candidate Nicolas Sarkozy. I had no idea that London was "Frances seventh largest city." (It turns out that over 300,000 Frenchmen have moved to London, largely because of greater economic opportunities), so Sarkozy swung by London for a campaign stop to ask the ex-pats for their votes, the symbolism is powerful, and it illustrates the sickness of France's deeply ingrained socialist system and mentality.Great article.

Chavez calls Negroponte ‘professional killer’

Iran touts nuclear prowess with new banknote

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran is to issue a new high-denomination banknote marking the country's achievements in nuclear technology at a time of mounting tension with the West over its atomic programme, the IRNA agency reported Saturday. The new 50,000 rial note -- at around five dollars worth more than twice the value of any other note in circulation -- sports a picture of the standard nuclear insignia of electrons in orbit around an atom."If the science exists in this constellation, men from Persia will reach it," says the calligraphic legend beside the atomic orbit, quoting a saying (Hadith) from the Prophet Mohammed.

Sick Item of the day: National Council of Churches of Christ praises Ahmadinajad as pious and witty

Even Worse: Iraq's Mandaeans 'face extinction'

Analysis: What actually happened in Riyadh?

Six Meat Buffet has a different take on the Coulter affair

Hillary, May Allah Be With You

"Obama is great, but you my lady are the cream-de-la-cream. You have my full endorsement. May Allah be with you."


Clinton Pakistani donor wanted by FBI in scheme to funnel money: WASHINGTON - A Pakistani immigrant who hosted fundraisers in Southern California for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is being sought by the FBI on charges that he funneled illegal contributions to Clinton's political action committee and Sen. Barbara Boxer's 2004 reelection campaign. Authorities say Northridge businessman Abdul Rehman Jinnah, 56, fled the country after an indictment accused him of engineering more than $50,000 in illegal donations to the Democratic committees.
Newt Gingreich: Hillary is "a Nasty Woman"

Glick: If Iran Gets the Bomb
More "Global Warming": 15 Dead in Midwest Snowstorm

Bill Maher Sorry Cheney Didn't Die in Afghan Assassination Attempt

So Ann Coulter referred to John Edwards as a "faggot" in an inappropriate joke; an apology would certainly be in order. In fact, the Dems are demanding it loudly, not only from Coulter but from the entire Republican establishment, that's a stretch. Then came Bill Maher's show on HBO on the same day where the topic of the assassination attempt on Vice President Cheney in Afghanistan was raised.

Bill Mahrr: "I have no doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn't be dying needlessly tomorrow." (The audience applauds this line). He then went on to say: "I'm just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live, That's a fact."

So what's more serious, Bill Maher seriously expressing disappointment that the Vice President wasn't killed in an assassination attempt, or Ann Coulter in a tasteless joke referring to John Edwards as a "Faggot"? You make the call.

Note: Got a message from a reader who points out that Maher didn't actually say that he was "sorry" that Cheney didn't die. Really? OK, I'll stick with the headline as is, I simply don't see any other way to read Maher's words.

Edwards Campaign Turns Coulter Comment into Fundraising Effort

Ann Coulter Refers to John Edwards as a 'Faggot'. Howard Dean Demands Apology

Coulter, who was addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., said:

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I - so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards." Members of the audience seemed startled, some laughed and applauded.

OK, Ann went over the top and should apologize; no, the Republicans should not apologize for her, unless of course the Democrats are going to apologize for the daily slurs about President Bush ("murderer" for example) coming from folks like Cindy Sheehan etc... or for the expressions of sadness the other day when a suicide bomber failed to hit VP Cheney in Afghanistan. Lots of ugliness to go around, but Ann should apologize non-the-less.
Here's the tape:

National Geographic: Mars Polar Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human Cause of Global Warming, Scientist Says

Well, it seems that the data is in and Mars is warming too. Are Humans the cause of warming on Mars as well? [Per complaint, I removed a nasty partisan comment on this line]


Mars, too, appears to be enjoying more mild and balmy temperatures. In 2005 data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide "ice caps" near Mars's south pole had been diminishing for three summers in a row.

Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, says the Mars data is evidence that the current global warming on Earth is being caused by changes in the sun. "The long-term increase in solar irradiance is heating both Earth and Mars. Man-made greenhouse warming has made a small contribution to the warming seen on Earth in recent years, but it cannot compete with the increase in solar irradiance," Abdussamatov said.
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Update: (Coral Springs, FL) Americans Against Hate, the group that was responsible for Senator Barbara Boxer rescinding an award from CAIR leader Basim Elkarra, will be protesting CAIR outside the Broward County Convention Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where CAIR is holding its annual event. Featured at CAIR's event will be Siraj Wahhaj, an individual whose name is found on the U.S. Attorney's list of "unindicted co-conspirators" of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Wahhaj served as a witness for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the spiritual leader of the attack, during the bombing trial.

More: Holy ^%$#! Reuters announces that Bush is involved in a fatal crash with 6 confirmed dead...what's that...oh..oh.. It's just Reuters getting it wrong again...a typo.. OK. You will find more accuracy in the darkest corners of the Internet than you will find on the front page of Reuters:
Anatomy of Iraq: How did we get to this baffling scenario?

The Leipzig Declaration

It really is amazing how liberals try to advance public policy through the use of social intimidation. They tend to quickly declare a "consensus" and portray those who raise questions as oddballs, professional pariahs if you will. Take for example the signatory's of the Leipzig Declaration (below). Are we to believe "Dr." Al Gore that all of these highly educated people who signed Leipzig are nuts? Bottom line? There is a "consensus" on global warming...except for all of those people who disagree. An inconvenient truth.

The Leipzig Declaration:
As independent scientists concerned with atmospheric and climate problems, we -- along with many of our fellow citizens -– are apprehensive about emission targets and timetables adopted at the Climate Conference held in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997. This gathering of politicians from some 160 signatory nations aims to impose on citizens of the industrialized nations, -- but not on others -- a system of global environmental regulations that include quotas and punitive taxes on energy fuels to force substantial cuts in energy use within 10 years, with further cuts to follow. Stabilizing atmospheric carbon dioxide -- the announced goal of the Climate Treaty -- would require that fuel use be cut by as much as 60 to 80 percent -- worldwide!

Energy is essential for economic growth. In a world in which poverty is the greatest social pollutant, any restriction on energy use that inhibits economic growth should be viewed with caution. We understand the motivation to eliminate what are perceived to be the driving forces behind a potential climate change; but we believe the Kyoto Protocol -- to curtail carbon dioxide emissions from only part of the world community -- is dangerously simplistic, quite ineffective, and economically destructive to jobs and standards-of-living.

More to the point, we consider the scientific basis of the 1992 Global Climate Treaty to be flawed and its goal to be unrealistic. The policies to implement the Treaty are, as of now, based solely on unproven scientific theories, imperfect computer models -- and the unsupported assumption that catastrophic global warming follows from an increase in greenhouse gases, requiring immediate action. We do not agree. We believe that the dire predictions of a future warming have not been validated by the historic climate record, which appears to be dominated by natural fluctuations, showing both warming and cooling. These predictions are based on nothing more than theoretical models and cannot be relied on to construct far-reaching policies.

As the debate unfolds, it has become increasingly clear that –- contrary to the conventional wisdom -- there does not exist today a general scientific consensus about the importance of greenhouse warming from rising levels of carbon dioxide. In fact, most climate specialists now agree that actual observations from both weather satellites and balloon-borne radiosondes show no current warming whatsoever--in direct contradiction to computer model results.

Historically, climate has always been a factor in human affairs -– with warmer periods, such as the medieval "climate optimum," playing an important role in economic expansion and in the welfare of nations that depend primarily on agriculture. Colder periods have caused crop failures, and led to famines, disease, and other documented human misery. We must, therefore, remain sensitive to any and all human activities that could affect future climate.

However, based on all the evidence available to us, we cannot subscribe to the politically inspired world view that envisages climate catastrophes and calls for hasty actions. For this reason, we consider the drastic emission control policies deriving from the Kyoto conference -- lacking credible support from the underlying science -- to be ill-advised and premature.

Dr. John Apel, oceanographer, Global Oceans Associates, formerly with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Dr. David Aubrey, Senior Scientist, Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Massachusetts
Dr. Duwayne M. Anderson,Professor, Texas A&M University
Dr. Robert Balling, Professor and Director of the Office of Climatology, Arizona State University; more than 80 research articles published in scientific journals; author of The Heated Debate: Greenhouse Predictions vs. Climate Reality (1992); coauthor, Interactions of Desertifications and Climate, a report for the UN Environmental Program and the World Meteorological Organization; contributor/reviewer, IPCC.
Dr. Jack Barrett, Imperial College, London, UK
Dr. Warren Berning, atmospheric physicist, New Mexico State University
Dr. Jiri Blumel, Institute Sozialokon. Forschg. Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic
Bruce Boe, atmospheric scientist and Director of the North Dakota Atmospheric Resources Board; member, American Meteorological Society; former chairman, AMS Committee on Planned and Inadvertent Weather Modification.
Dr. C.J.F. Böttcher, Chairman of the Board, The Global Institute for the Study of Natural Resources, The Hague, The Netherlands; Professor Emeritus of physical chemistry, Leiden University; past President of the Science Policy Council of The Netherlands; former member, Scientific Council for Government Policy; former head of the Netherlands Delegation to the OECD Committee for Science and Technology; author, The Science and Fiction of the Greenhouse Effect and Carbon Dioxide; founding member of The Club of Rome.
Dr. Arthur Bourne, Professor, University of London, UK
Larry H. Brace, physicist, former director of the Planetary Atmospheres Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; recipient NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement.
Dr. Norman M.D. Brown, FRSC, Professor, University of Ulster.
Dr. R.A.D. Byron-Scott, meteorologist, formerly senior lecturer in meteorology, Flinders Institute for Atmospheric and Marine Science, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
Dr. Joseph Cain, Professor of planetary physics and geophysics, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute, Florida State University; elected Fellow, American Geophysical Union; formerly with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (scientific satellites) and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Dr. Gabriel T. Csanady, meteorologist, Eminent Professor, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.
Robert Cunningham, consulting meteorologist, Fellow, American Meteorological Society
Dr. Fred W. Decker, Professor of meteorology, Oregon State University, Corvalis, Oregon; elected Fellow, AAAS; member, RMS, NWA, AWA, AMS.
Lee W. Eddington, meteorologist, Naval Air Warfare Center
Dr. Hugh Ellsaesser, atmospheric scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1963-1986); Participating Guest Scientist, Lawrence Livermore Natl. Lab. (1986-1996), more than 40 refereed research papers and major reports in the scientific literature.
Dr. John Emsley, Imperial College, London, UK
Dr. Otto Franzle, Professor, University of Kiel, Germany
Dr. C.R. de Freitas, climate scientist, University of Auckland, New Zealand, Editor of the international journal Climate Research
Dr. John E. Gaynor, Senior Meteorologist, Environmental Technology Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado
Dr. Tor Ragnar Gerholm, Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Stockholm, member of Nobel Prize selection committee for physics; member, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, author of several books on science and technology.
Dr. Gerhard Gerlich, Professor, Technical University of Braunschweig.
Dr. Thomas Gold, Professor of astrophysics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Dr. H.G. Goodell, Professor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
James D. Goodridge, climatologist, formerly with California Dept. of Water Resources.
Dr. Adrian Gordon, meteorologist, University of South Australia.
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Grimmel, Professor, University Hamburg, Germany.
Dr. Nathaniel B. Guttman, Research Physical Scientist, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina; former Professor of atmospheric sciences/climatology; former Chairman, AMS Committee on Applied Climatology.
Dr. Paul Handler, Professor of chemistry, University of Illinois.
Dr. Vern Harnapp, Professor, University of Akron, Ohio
Dr. Howard C. Hayden, Professor of physics, University of Connecticut
Dr. Michael J. Higatsberger, Professor and former Director, Institute for Experimental Physics, University of Vienna, Austria; former Director, Seibersdorf Research Center of the Austrian Atomic Energy Agency; former President, Austrian Physical Society.
Dr. Austin W. Hogan, meteorologist, co-editor of the journal Atmospheric Research.
Dr. William Hubbard, Professor, University of Arizona, Dept. of Planetary Sciences; elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
Dr. Heinz Hug, lecturer, Wiesbaden, Germany
Dr. Zbigniew Jaworski, University of Warsaw, Poland
Dr. Kelvin Kemm, nuclear physicist, Director, Technology Strategy Consultants, Pretoria, South Africa; columnist, Engineering News; author, Techtrack: A Winding Path of South African Development.
Dr. Robert L. Kovach, Professor of geophysics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Dr. David R. Legates, Professor of meteorology, University of Oklahoma
Dr. Heinz H. Lettau, geophysicist, Increase A. Lapham Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin
Dr. Henry R. Linden, Max McGraw Professor of Energy and Power Engineering and Management, Director, Energy and Power Center, Illinois Institute of Technology; elected Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; former member, Energy Engineering Board of the National Research Council; member, Green Technology Committee, National Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Richard S. Lindzen, Sloane Professor of Meteorology, Center for Meteorology and Physical Meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. J. P. Lodge, atmospheric chemist, Boulder, Colorado
Dr. Anthony R. Lupo, atmospheric scientist, Professor, University of Missouri at Columbia, reviewer/contributing author, IPCC.
Dr. George E. McVehil, meteorologist, Englewood, Colorado
Dr. Helmut Metzner, Professor, Tubingen, Germany
Dr. Patrick J. Michaels, Professor and Director of the State Office of Climatology, University of Virginia; more than 50 research articles published in scientific journals; past President, American Association of State Climatologists; author, Sound and Fury: The Science and Politics of Global Warming (1992); reviewer/contributing author, IPCC.
Sir William Mitchell, physicist, University of Oxford, U.K.
Dr. Asmunn Moene, former chief of Meteorology, Oslo, Norway.
Laim Nagle, energy/engineering specialist, Cornfield University, UK
Robert A. Neff, former U.S. Air Force meteorologist: member, AMS, AAAS.
Dr. William A. Nierenberg, Director Emeritus, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, California; Professor Emeritus of oceanography, University of California at San Diego; former member, Council of the U.S. National Academy of Science; former Chairman, National Research Council's Carbon Dioxide Assessment Committee; former member, U.S. EPA Global Climate Change Committee; former Assistant Secretary General of NATO for scientific affairs; former Chairman, National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmospheres.
Dr. William Porch, atmospheric physicist, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.
Dr. Harry Priem, Professor of geology, University of Utrecht
Dr. William E. Reifsnyder, Professor Emeritus of biometeorology, Yale University; elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science; former Chairman, National Academy of Science/National Research Council Committee on Climatology; AMS Award for Outstanding Achievement in Biometeorology.
Dr. Alexander Robertson, meteorologist, Adjunct Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada; author of more than 200 scientific and technical publications in biometeorology and climatology, forestry, forest ecology, urban environmental forestry, and engineering technology.
Dr. Thomas Schmidlin, CCM, Professor of meteorology/climatology, Kent State University, Ohio; editor, Ohio Journal of Science, elected Fellow, Ohio Academy of Science; member, AMS.
Dr. Frederick Seitz, physicist, former President, Rockefeller University, former President, U.S. National Academy of Sciences; former member, President's Science Advisory Committee; recipient, U.S. National Medal of Science.
Dr. Gary D. Sharp, Executive Director, Center for Climate/Ocean Resources Study and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Integrated Ocean Sciences; contributed to the initial development of the Climate Change Program of the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration; investigated climate-related resource variabilities, sustainable development, and basic environmental climatology for the UN, World Bank, and USAID.
Dr. S. Fred Singer, atmospheric physicist; President, The Science & Environmental Policy Project; former Director, U.S. Weather Satellite Service; Professor Emeritus of environmental science, University of Virginia; former Chairman, federal panel investigating effects of the SST on stratospheric ozone; author or editor of 16 books, including Global Climate Change (1989) and Hot Talk, Cold Science: Global Warming's Unfinished Debate (1997).
Dr. A. F. Smith, chemical engineer (ret.), Jacksonville, Florida
Dr. Fred J. Starheim, Professor, Kent State University
Dr. Chauncey Starr, President Emeritus, Electric Power Research Institute, winner 1992 National Medal of Engineering
Dr. Robert E. Stevenson, Secretary General Emeritus, International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans, and a leading world authority on space oceanography; more than 100 research articles published in scientific journals; author of seven books; advisor to NASA, NATO, U.S. National Academy of Science, and the European Geophysical Society.
Dr. George Stroke, Professor, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Munich, Germany
Dr. Heinz Sundermann, University of Vienna, Austria
Dr. George H. Sutton, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii
Dr. Arlen Super, meteorologist, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lakewood, Colorado
Dr. Vladimir Svidersky, Professor, Sechenoc Institute, Moscow, Russia
Dr. M. Talwani, geophysicist, Rice University, Houston, Texas.
Dr. W. F. Tanner, Professor, Florida State University
Peter Arnold Toynbee, chemical engineer, F. Institute of Energy, London, England.
Dr. Christiaan Van Sumere, Professor, University of Gent, Belgium
Dr. Robin Vaugh, physicist, University of Dundee, UK
Dr. Robert C. Wentworth, geophysicist, Oakland, California, formerly with Lochheed Reseach Laboratory.
Dr. Robert C. Whitten, physicist, formerly with NASA.
Dr. Klaus Wyrtki, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii Sea Level Center



TELEVISION NEWS METEOROLOGISTS
(affiliation for identification purposes only)
Elliot Abrams, meteorologist, Senior Vice President, Accuweather, Inc.
Richard Apuzzo, meteorologist, WXIX-TV (FOX), Cincinnati, Ohio; member, AMS, NWA, SKYWARN; recipient of "Best Weathercast" awards from Associated Press and United Press International.
Andre Bernier, meteorologist, WJW-TV (FOX), Cleveland, Ohio
Sallie Bernier, meteorologist, WJW-TV (FOX), Cleveland, Ohio
Bob Breck, meteorologist, WVUE-TV (ABC), New Orleans, Louisiana
Matthew Bye, meteorologist, KPIX-TV (CBS) San Francisco, California
A.J. Colby, meteorologist, WICU-TV (NBC), Erie, Pennsylvania
Dr. Neil L. Frank, meteorologist, HOU-TV (CBS), Houston, Texas, former Director, National Hurricane Center.
Dick Gance, meteorologist, Weather Forecasting, Inc., Concord, Ohio
Dick Goddard, meteorologist, WJW-TV (FOX), Cleveland, Ohio
Shane Hollett, meteorologist, WJW-TV (FOX), Cleveland, Ohio
Mark Johnson, meteorologist, WEWS-TV (ABC), Cleveland, Ohio
Roy Leep, meteorologist, WTVT-TV (CBS), recently retired; Director, Gillette Weather Data Services, Tampa, Florida; elected Fellow, American Meteorological Society; former member, AMS Executive Council; among the group of TV meteorologists invited to the White House for a briefing on global warming.
Mark Koontz, meteorologist, WJW-TV (FOX), Cleveland, Ohio
Jon Loufman, meteorologist, WKYC-TV (NBC), Cleveland, Ohio
Dan Maly, meteorologist, WOIO-TV (FOX), Cleveland, Ohio
Ryan McPike, atmospheric scientist, WICU-TV (NBC), Erie, Pennsylvania
James T. Moore, meteorologist, KSWO-TV (ABC) Lawton, Oklahoma
Scott R. Sabol, meteorologist, WBOY-TV (NBC), Clarksburg, West Virginia
Dr. Joseph Sobel, meteorologist, Pennsylvania Public Television Network; Senior Vice President, Accu-Weather, Inc., State College, Pennsylvania; co-author, Changing Weather: Facts and Fallacies About Climate Change and Weather Extremes.
Brad Sussman, meteorologist, WEWS-TV (ABC), Cleveland, Ohio, AMS, NWA, Broadcast Seal Committee Chair NWA.
Brian Sussman, meteorologist, KPIX-TV (CBS) San Francisco, California; member, American Meteorological Society (served on AMS Education Committee), 12-time recipient of the "Best Weathercast" award from the Radio and Television News Directors Association and Associated Press.
Anthony Watts, meteorologist, KHSL-TV (CBS), Chico, California
Don Webster, meteorologist, WEWS-TV 9 (ABC), Cleveland, Ohio
Brian Westfall, meteorologist, Weather Forecasting, Inc., Akron, Ohio

Phili Imam gets 8 years for selling guns to informant
KSU professor accused of promoting Jihad

The Boeing 797? Gigantic Internet Hoax

I have recieved a number of e-mails from folks excited about this new Boeing aircraft. The story says that the Boeing Company is developing a radical new passenger jetliner that will carry 1,000 passengers. It's designated the 797 and is a "blended wing" design looking a lot like the old flying wing experiments of the 50's.

The Truth:
TruthOrFiction.com went straight to the source, the Boeing Company. A spokesperson said that it is not true that Boeing is developing a commercial blended wing aircraft and asked that 'Truth or Fiction' help stop the perpetuation of the story.

What is true, according to Boeing, is that Boeing Phantom Works, the company's advanced research and development organization, is doing research on the blended wing body design as a potential military aircraft. Boeing has built a scale model to test its low-speed flying characteristics in a wind tunnel. There are also plans (as of 7/13/07) to flight test a scale model.

Islam and the National Organization for Women (NOW). Where art Thou?

LA Jihad

McCain says U.S. lives 'wasted' in Iraq: The Neocon does not discriminate, we condemned Obama for making such an insensitive off the cuff remark, McCain should apologize as well. We have made mistakes in Iraq, as we have in every war, it's the nature of the beast. No bereaved family wishes to hear from an ambitious politician that that the life of their son has been "wasted."

Newt Gingreich: Hillary is "a Nasty Woman"
Kent State Professor Contributed "News" to Jihadi Site
Ahmadinejad: 'Zionists are the true manifestation of Satan'
Eurovision may ban Israeli entry due to lyrics on nuclear war
Right On!: Circumvent old media-go for the blogosphere
Actress' comment on Prophet leads to ban on KL talk show
Italy arrests Muslim man for locking up "lively" wife

UFO science key to halting climate change: former Canadian defense minister

Warning: This is not a joke. Another "Global Warming" Nut-job speaks up, move over Al Gore.

OTTAWA (AFP) - A former Canadian defense minister is demanding governments worldwide disclose and use secret alien technologies obtained in alleged UFO crashes to stem climate change, a local paper said Wednesday.

"I would like to see what (alien) technology there might be that could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels within a generation ... that could be a way to save our planet," Paul Hellyer, 83, told the Ottawa Citizen.

Alien spacecrafts would have traveled vast distances to reach Earth, and so must be equipped with advanced propulsion systems or used exceptional fuels, he told the newspaper.

Such alien technologies could offer humanity alternatives to fossil fuels, he said, pointing to the enigmatic 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico -- which has become a shrine for UFO believers -- as an example of alien contact.

"We need to persuade governments to come clean on what they know. Some of us suspect they know quite a lot, and it might be enough to save our planet if applied quickly enough," he said.

Hellyer became defense minister in former prime minister Lester Pearson's cabinet in 1963, and oversaw the controversial integration and unification of Canada's army, air force and navy into the Canadian Forces.

He shocked Canadians in September 2005 by announcing he once saw a UFO.

Wajeha Al-Huwaider: When You Are in an Arab Country...

'You Are in an Arab Country'
A Saudi poet’s lament, via MEMRI and Jules Crittenden who has an excellent blog and I encourage all to visit it:

In a satirical poem titled "When," posted on Arabic reformist websites including www.aafaq.org , reformist Saudi author and journalist Wajeha Al-Huwaider lamented what she regards as the conditions in the Arab world. In the introduction to this poem, she wrote: "'When' is an ode to the troubles of the Arab citizen. Both men and women participated in its [writing], and it is still open to additions. This ode will be hung on the walls of the palaces of the Arab rulers, [1] so feel free to add your contributions."

The following are excerpts from the poem:

When you cannot find a single garden in your city,but there is a mosque on every corner - you know that you are in an Arab country...

When you see people living in the past with all the trappings of modernity - do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country.

When religion has control over science - you can be sure that you are in an Arab country.

When clerics are referred to as ’scholars’ - don’t be astonished, you are in an Arab country.

“When you see the ruler transformed into a demigod who never dies or relinquishes his power, and whom nobody is permitted to criticize - do not be too upset, you are in an Arab country.

When you find that the large majority of people oppose freedom and find joy in slavery - do not be too distressed, you are in an Arab country.

When you hear the clerics saying that democracy is heresy, but [see them] seizing every opportunity provided by democracy to grab high positions [in the government] - do not be surprised, you are in an Arab count...

When monarchies turn into theocracies, and republics into hybrids of monarchy and republic - do not be taken aback, you are in an Arab country.

When you find that the members of parliament are nominated [by the ruler], or else that half of them are nominated and the other half have bought their seats through bribe... - you are in an Arab count...

When you discover that a woman is worth half of what a man is worth, or less - do not be surprised, you are in an Arab count...

When you see that the authorities chop off a man’s hand for stealing a loaf of bread or a penny, but praise and glorify those who steal billions - do not be too surprised, you are in an Arab count...

When you are forced to worship the Creator in school and your teachers grade you for it - you can be sure that you are in an Arab country…

When young women students are publicly flogged merely for exposing their eyes - you are in an Arab country...

When a boy learns about menstruation and childbirth but not about his own [body] and [the changes] it undergoes in puberty - roll out your prayer mat and beseech Allah to help you deal with your crisis, for you are in an Arab count...

When land is more important than human beings - you are in an Arab count...

When covering the woman’s head is more important than financial and administrative corruption, embezzlement, and betrayal of the homeland - do not be astonished, you are in an Arab count...

When minorities are persecuted and oppressed, and if they demand their rights, are accused of being a fifth column or a Trojan horse - be upset, you are in an Arab count...

When women are [seen as] house ornaments which can be replaced at any time - bemoan your fate, you are in an Arab country.

When birth control and family planning are perceived as a Western plot - place your trust in Allah, you are in an Arab count...

When at any time, there can be a knock on your door and you will be dragged off and buried in a dark prison - you are in an Arab country...

When fear constantly lives in the eyes of the people - you can be certain that you are in an Arab country.

neocon

A Few Fun Samples from the Fark Photoshop Contest

George Bush caught red-handed creating the Mohammad cartoons that caused all the rioting a while back. This could mean big trouble when the Arab masses discover the ture source of the images.
Participants in The annual pilgrimage to Mecca had the ba-jesus scared out of them as this giant thing suddenly popped out of that big black box that they like to pray to. A Zionist conspiracy is suspected.
Iranian President Ahamadinejad suffered a political setback when it was discovered that he has been moonlighting as Anna Nicole Smith's Attorney, and is the suspected biological father to the baby...