Like taking candy from a baby

How we duped the West, by Iran's nuclear negotiator:

The man who for two years led Iran's nuclear negotiations has laid out in unprecedented detail how the regime took advantage of talks with Britain, France and Germany to forge ahead with its secret atomic programme.

In a speech to a closed meeting of leading Islamic clerics and academics, Hassan Rowhani, who headed talks with the so-called EU3 until last year, revealed how Teheran played for time and tried to dupe the West after its secret nuclear programme was uncovered by the Iranian opposition in 2002.

He boasted that while talks were taking place in Teheran, Iran was able to complete the installation of equipment for conversion of yellowcake - a key stage in the nuclear fuel process - at its Isfahan plant but at the same time convince European diplomats that nothing was afoot.

"From the outset, the Americans kept telling the Europeans, 'The Iranians are lying and deceiving you and they have not told you everything.' The Europeans used to respond, 'We trust them'," he said.

Gormless twits.

What would Mohammed drive?

Apparently, a Jeep Grand Cherokee. When you go on a Jeep Jihad, you want to drive the best Sharia Utility Vehicle (SUV).

The Associated Press gets a new logo!

It sure fits in well with their journalistic standards, that's fer sure. First, they make up a bogus story attacking President Bush and then they sneak out a correction late on Friday:

So on a Friday night, the AP finally decides to issue this half-hearted retraction -- after its clients have run what turned out to be an entirely false story for most of the week. The AP has, over time, drifted from its initial mission to report news and instead has embraced partisan cheapshotting.

Much as I love to pick on the MSM, Powerline notes that not all are lying left wing shills:

Stephen Waters is the publisher of the Rome (NY) Sentinel. He writes this morning:

FYI, perhaps one reason that AP printed a clarification is that AP newspaper members like our newspaper hound our state bureau chiefs with emails like this: "Who's running AP and what are they trying to do with the brand? [provides link to John's post criticizing the AP's story on the Katrina video] It's really bad when Popular Mechanics is a more authoritative source than AP."

But there are still plenty who are apparently honors graduates of the Dan Rather Famous Journalists School. In fact, one of the authors of the AP article, Margaret Ebrahim, was apparently one of Captain Dan's producers on 60 Minutes II, just like everyone's favorite fabulist, Mary Mapes. "Fake, but accurate," eh, Maggie?

Oh and don't hold your breath that the MSM bigs are going to rush out corrections any time soon, as the Powerline reference amply indicates.

Today's Hoot!

Hillary Claims Bill Never Told Her He Was Lobbying For Dubai Deal:

She still doesn't believe it, and won't believe it until she sees Bill's DNA all over Dubai's blue dress.

Is it time yet to put Jimmy Carter in the home?

Jimmy Carter: Nut:

We've been following the proposed United Nations Human Rights Council to take the place of the disgraced and disgraceful United Nations Human Rights Commission. Last week Ambassador Bolton took a leaf from the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" and pronounced the proposed new Council the same as the old Commission. This week Secretary Rice confirmed that the United States opposed the new Council.

Just one problem. The New York Sun reports that Jimmy Carter had personaly promised the ambassadors from Egypt, Pakistan, and Cuba that the Council was a done deal.

No problem at all - just tell Jimmy he can run the shuffleboard tournament at the home.

Pondscum gets to visit the Big House

For an extended stay:

A federal jury has found six animal rights protestors guilty of using their website to incite attacks on the operations of animal testing company Huntingdon Life Sciences. They face jail time of up to 23 years and hefty fines.

The six were charged with violating the US' Animal Enterprise Protection Act. During the trial, held in New Jersey, defence lawyers argued the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) activists were not advocating violence on the site, despite listing names, home addresses and personal details of Huntingdon employees. However, prosecutors were able to satisfy the jury that although they could not directly prove the six had themselves participated in violence, they had celebrated it online and repeatedly claimed credit for action.

The website is no longer running. The URL now leads to a message saying: "I'm sorry the site has been shut down. You may wish to visit the UK site."

Prosecutor Charles B McKenna was also able to produce phone records showing that SHAC president Kevin Kjonaas, one of those convicted yesterday, called a man charged with bombing a California biotech lab soon after the explosion. The jury saw a protest video of group director Lauren Gazzola, also convicted yesterday, warning targets: "The police can't protect you!"

McKenna praised the decision, noting that the First Amendment does not give the right to incite violence.

A distinction that is lost on the thugs that inhabit the fever swamps of modern "progressivism". Speaking of which:

Outside court, new SHAC USA president Pam Ferdin said the verdict was an attack on free speech and that with its founders locked up the group would now likely disband. Ferdin - a former child star and the voice of Lucy in the Peanuts cartoon series - complained: "Anyone who writes anything in an email or on a website is being treated like we're in a fascist state."

In a fascist state, Pammy wouldn't even be holding a new conference, but then she knows that.

The republic was safe for a while

The ACLU justice on the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, took the opportunity to catch a few winks today during a hearing:

There was no word if there was any audible snoring echoing through the esteemed chamber, but the sleep session was noticed by Bader's colleagues who made a snap judgment to let their associate continue her slumber.

They could have least tied her robe to the chair.

More professional educator news!

Katherine Kersten at the Wall Street Journal astounds with a story about Minneapolis public schools:

Something momentous is happening here in the home of prairie populism: black flight. African-American families from the poorest neighborhoods are rapidly abandoning the district public schools, going to charter schools, and taking advantage of open enrollment at suburban public schools. Today, just around half of students who live in the city attend its district public schools.
...
Louis King, a black leader who served on the Minneapolis School Board from 1996 to 2000, puts it bluntly: "Today, I can't recommend in good conscience that an African-American family send their children to the Minneapolis public schools. The facts are irrefutable: These schools are not preparing our children to compete in the world." Mr. King's advice? "The best way to get attention is not to protest, but to shop somewhere else."

They can do so because of the state's longstanding commitment to school choice. In 1990 Minnesota allowed students to cross district boundaries to enroll in any district with open seats. Two years later in St. Paul, the country's first charter school opened its doors. (Charter schools are started by parents, teachers or community groups. They operate free from burdensome regulations, but are publicly funded and accountable.) Today, this tradition of choice is providing a ticket out for kids in the gritty, mostly black neighborhoods of north and south- central Minneapolis.
...
According to the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute, Minneapolis charter school enrollment is 91% minority and 84% low-income, while district enrollment is 72% minority and 67% low-income. Joe Nathan, the center's director, says that parents want strong academic programs, but also seek smaller schools and a stable teaching staff highly responsive to student needs. Charter schools offer many options. Some cater to particular ethnic communities like the Hmong or Somali; others offer "back to basics" instruction or specialize in arts or career preparation. At Harvest Preparatory School, a K-6 school that is 99% black and two-thirds low income, students wear uniforms, focus on character, and achieve substantially higher test scores than district schools with similar demographics.

Since the state doles out funds on a per-pupil basis, the student exodus has hit the district's pocketbook hard. The loss of students has contributed to falling budgets, shuttered classrooms and deep staff cuts, and a district survey suggests more trouble ahead. Black parents in 2003 gave the Minneapolis school system significantly more negative ratings than other parents, the two major beefs being poor quality academic programs and lack of discipline.
...
The school board has promised to address parent concerns, but few observers expect real reform. Minneapolis is a one-party town, dominated by Democrats, and is currently reeling from leadership shake-ups that have resulted in three superintendents in the last few years. The district has handled budget cutbacks and school closings ineptly, leading some parents to joke bitterly about its tendency to penalize success and reward failure.
...
Black leaders like Louis King have had enough. He has a message for the school board: "You'll have to make big changes to get us back." He says the district needs a board that views families as customers and understands that competition has unalterably changed the rules of the game. "I'm a strong believer in public education," says Mr. King. "But this district's leaders have to make big changes or go out of business. If they don't, we'll see them in a museum, like the dinosaurs."

The bad news is that the thugs at the teachers' union will undoubtedly issue a fatwa on Ms. Kersten. The good news is that maybe we can look forward to the day when folks like Moonbat Bennish can get back to their true calling of asking whether you would care for fries.

Nerd replacement technology?

Say, is that Bill Gates in that picture?

Another "professional educator" bites the dust

Out in Denver, Teacher caught in Bush "rant":

An Overland High School teacher who criticized President Bush, capitalism and U.S. foreign policy during his geography class was placed on administrative leave Wednesday afternoon after a student who recorded the session went public with the tape.

In the 20-minute recording, made on an MP3 player, teacher Jay Bennish described capitalism as a system "at odds with human rights." He also said there were "eerie similarities" between what Bush said during his Jan. 28 State of the Union address and "things that Adolf Hitler used to say."

The United States was "probably the single most violent nation on planet Earth," Bennish also said on the tape.

There's a fetching snap of Mr. Kumbaya in the article as well as the audio.

Superintendent Monte Moses, who received a copy of the recording on Monday from 850 KOA-AM radio show host Mike Rosen, said it
appears "a breach of district policy" occurred.

"Our policy calls for both sides to be present ... in the interest of intellectual discourse," Moses said. Bennish's presentation appeared to be unbalanced, he said.

There's unbalanced as in unfair and unbalanced as in Looney Tunes. Standby while Herr Bennish says, "That's all folks!"

Brokeback abused sheep!

It's not what you think:

The makers of the gay cowboy flick "Brokeback Mountain" were too rough on sheep, an animal-rights group charged yesterday.

Ruh Oh!

In a letter to director Ang Lee, The Humane Society also complained about the way the horses and elk were treated.

What, no goats?

Today's Hoot!

Media Whore Gets Schooled:

A READER sends me a tip that Cindy Sheehan is speaking at a local law school, so I head down there with my camera and audio recorder.

The room is packed to capacity with students, professors, and media. Cindy launches into her usual stump speech. War is bad; Bush is a terrorist; bring the troops home now; blah, blah, blah.

Then, foolishly, she takes questions.

And the baloney met the meat grinder.

Y'all hear about the big turkey shoot?

Yep, it's March 15 in Washington DC. I see that Rodger is ready and so am I:

Blogging officially jumps the shark with the arrival of Blogger phones

Sony Ericsson Unwraps Blogging Phones:

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications announced several new phones on Tuesday, including two that carry Sony's Cyber-shot brand and come with 3.2-megapixel cameras that are integrated with Google's Blogger application.

Users of the new K800 and K790 phones who don't already have a blog can set one up over the phone. They'll be able to take photos with the camera and then easily add them to their blogs, according to Sony Ericsson.

Since the phones seem to lack a keyboard, I'd say that the posts will be a little light on text.

"Lesson learned: Always be careful when hitting the ‘send’ button"

Accidental e-mail congratulates 7,000 on admission to UC Berkeley law school:

Edward Tom, director of admissions at the University of California, Berkeley, law school, was training a new office worker last week when it happened.

Tom was demonstrating the e-mail software used by the school and was highlighting several features, including how the user can filter mail and set it to send messages to one recipient or many at the same time.

That’s when he chose what happened to be a standard congratulatory message on being admitted to the university’s prestigious law school and accidentally sent it to all 7,000 students who have applied for admission to the law school. The problem, which the school quickly admitted, is that all of the applicants won’t be admitted. In fact, there’s only room for 800 to 850 of them.

Ruh Oh! Tom is the big cheese and not the one who normally demonstrates the software to new workers which accounts for most of the problem. However, he immediately (and apparently successfully) sent out an apology to everyone.

Tom said that about 10 applicants who received the errant e-mail informed him that were very distraught after learning that it was a mistake. About 90 others sent notes to him offering their understanding and accepting his apology.

Seeing as they are budding lawyers, when do you think the first lawsuit will be filed?

White House reporter syndrome? Aw, poor babies!

Who knew that the talking hairdos in the White House press corps were all stressed out?

Many reporters said they are mindful they are up against a White House that holds them in low regard. They point to a revealing article in The New Yorker from Jan. 19, 2004, in which Karl Rove, the president's closest adviser, told Ken Auletta, the author, that Mr. Bush saw the press as "elitist."

I think of them more as the east ends of horses heading west, myself.

Mr. Auletta concluded that "perhaps for the first time," the White House had come to view reporters as special pleaders, as if they were just another interest group and one that was "not nearly as powerful as it once was."

Ya think?

But here's the good stuff:

Renana Brooks, a clinical psychologist practicing in Washington who said she had counseled several White House correspondents, said the last few years had given rise to "White House reporter syndrome," in which competitive high achievers feel restricted and controlled and become emotionally isolated from others who are not steeped in the same experience.

She said the syndrome was evident in the Cheney case, which she described as an inconsequential event that produced an outsize feeding frenzy. She said some reporters used the occasion to compensate for not having pressed harder before the Iraq war.

"It's like any post-traumatic stress," she said, "like when someone dies and you think you could have saved them."

Gosh! I thought they were just in love with the sound of their own voices as they beat their chests for their favorite leftoid causes. Turns out they are really frustated "high achievers!" I would have classified them as excessively verbal low achievers, but I digress.

The best part is when they occasionally catch a passing clue:

White House reporters say they know the public hates them because they regularly receive abusive e-mail messages and read blogs that tell them so.
...
While the eruption from the White House press finally forced the vice president to discuss his accident on national television, he deftly portrayed the hubbub as a result of jealousy that a small paper in Texas was given the news first; reporters said they were upset because their questions were not being answered.

The message many perceived in Mr. Cheney's response was that the national media were no longer relevant, a point made and reinforced almost daily in certain blogs.

I think I'm going to need three hankies for this one. Those nasty bloggers are picking on the highly paid pressitutes again! Which reminds me - anyone seen Dan Rather lately?

More by following the link, but it's the NY Times so bring your salt shaker.