Theodore's World

Pakistan’s Bhutto assassinated at rally
By SADAQAT JAN and ZARAR KHAN Associated Press Writers
Article Launched: 12/27/2007 02:15:23 AM PST
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan—Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at the end of a campaign rally, aides said.
The death of the 54-year-old charismatic former prime minister threw the campaign for the Jan. 8 election into chaos and created fears of mass protests and an eruption of violence across the volatile south Asian nation.
The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, 8 miles south of Islamabad. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, said, Rehman Malik, Bhutto’s security adviser.
At least 20 others were killed in the attack.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery.

“At 6:16 p.m. she expired,” said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto’s party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital.

“The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred,” Bhutto’s lawyer Babar Awan said.

Bhutto’s supporters at the hospital exploded in anger, smashing the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit. Others burst into tears. One man with a flag of Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party tied around his head was beating his chest.

Some at the hospital began chanting, “Killer, Killer, Musharraf,” referring to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Bhutto’s main political opponent. A few began stoning cars outside.

“We repeatedly informed the government to provide her proper security and appropriate equipment including jammers, but they paid no heed to our requests,” Malik said.

Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto’s body. Earlier on Thursday, four people were killed at a rally for Sharif when his supporters clashed with backers of Musharraf near Rawalpindi.
TV channel in English-Dawn News from Pakistan.
Link is:
http://wwitv.com/a1/b4086.asx
This happened just the day before……….
PAKISTANI LEADER ESCAPES ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION

President Pervez Musharraf escaped an assassination attempt here on Thursday, the second in 11 days, when two suicide bombers plowed their vehicles into his motorcade and detonated car bombs.
He was unhurt, but Pakistani officials said the bombs had killed at least 14 people, including both bombers. At least 46 other people were wounded, they said.
It was the deadliest attempt on General Musharraf’s life since he reversed Pakistan’s support for the Taliban in Afghanistan and sided with the United States in 2001. The Bush administration relies on the general as an important ally in the fight against terrorism. But he has also been criticized for delaying the re-establishment of democracy in the country, failing to crack down on the Taliban and other Islamic militant groups and harassing critics.
Visibly shaken, General Musharraf appeared on national television Thursday night and blamed ”terrorists and extremists” for the attack.

Pakistan: Al-Qaeda claims Bhutto’s death
Karachi, 27 Dec. (AKI) – (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) – A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.

It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.
Death squads were allegedly constituted for the mission and ultimately one cell comprising a defunct Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Punjabi volunteer succeeded in killing Bhutto.
Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally on Thursday in the garrison town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.
She had come to Rawalpindi after finishing a rapid election campaign, ahead of the January polls, in Pakistan’s volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) where she had talked about a war against terrorism and al-Qaeda.

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Wild Thing’s comment……..
I put the second photo here, yes it is vile, horrible and hard to look at. BUT this IS the enemy and what they do. Too many, NOT at this blog, but too many simply read an article and go about their day. The reality of what an attack does like this is something unimaginable. But the truth is this is the kind of destruction that is on the agenda for America, our troops and all Christians and Jews, as well as their own fellow Muslims.
These followers of Islam do NOT value life at all, not even their own. That is what makes them more dangerous IMO then any other enemy the world has ever known. Parents being proud of their suicide bomber children, bragging about it, encouraging it from their own flesh and blood, young children being taught hate and how to kill as easily as our own American children are taught how to color in a coloring book and play the Twister game or jump rope.
“If we lose freedom here in America, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth.”
– President Ronald Reagan
October 27, 1984

Elect me and oil prices instantly drop, says Hillary Clinton in Iowa
NY Daily News
MANCHESTER, N.H.
Hillary Clinton predicted Saturday that just electing her President will cut the price of oil.
When the world hears her commitment at her inauguration about ending American dependence on foreign fuel, Clinton says, oil-pumping countries will lower prices to stifle America’s incentive to develop alternative energy.

“I predict to you, the oil-producing countries will drop the price of oil,” Clinton said, speaking at the Manchester YWCA. “They will once again assume, once the cost pressure is off, Americans and our political process will recede.”

Clinton argued that former President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s actually started moving in the right direction toward energy independence, but his successor, Ronald Reagan, “dismantled” that work.

“Because costs were low, people didn’t care, didn’t complain,” she said.

She warned that folks shouldn’t be grateful now if oil countries cut prices from near $100 a barrel to $60 or $70, and compared it to trying to boil a frog.

“You put him in hot water, it jumps right out, you put him in cold water and turn up the heat – he’s a goner,” she said. “We’ve got to figure out how were going to not be the frog in the cold water anymore.”

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Please, PLEASE! Someone tell me people aren’t dumb enough to believe this tripe! Yes I know, the reality is that there are people that do believe this baloney! How scary is that!
Said the Beast: “Elect me and oil prices will drop as fast as Billys pants drop when an intern enters the office.”
I am amazed at how much contempt this filth has for her/its countrymen.
Down Home accents to Black audiences, the transparant New York Yankees outrage, etc., ALL the clumsy fakery that would be ridiculed and reviled in the Press, if it were anyone else. When will it stop?
What next I wonder, will she turn water into wine or heal lepers?

Felons removed from Clinton’s TN steering committee
wbir.com
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has revised its list of Tennessee supporters on its statewide steering committee to remove the names of two convicted felons.
The original list of more than 100 committee members had included former state House Majority Leader Tommy Burnett and West Tennessee Democratic Party activist Gladys Crain.
Both are familiar names, with familiar rap sheets, in Tennessee political circles. Both have been politically active for decades, both before and after their convictions.
Gladys Crain, of Halls, was convicted in 1981 on federal charges connected with a scheme to rig bids on a state highway construction project.
Former state House Majority Leader Tommy Burnett, of Jamestown, was imprisoned in 1984 for failure to file an income tax return.
Burnett was re-elected from his jail cell, but was later caught up in Operation Rocky Top federal corruption probe and went back to prison for another year on federal conspiracy and illegal gambling charges.
He currently works as a state House lobbyist.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
LOL The party of Bill and Hillary Clinton IS the party of criminals and if she gets in the White House all their crimes will continue. How about removing the felon for whom they are working! Maybe they will also remove the dead people from the dumb-o-crats voters list too. Naw, that would have them being too honest and they might shrivel up and die from so much honesty.

Edwards says he sounds like a president
CONWAY, N.H.
John Edwards tried to shore up his New Hampshire support Wednesday with promises of fighting the establishment, changing Washington — and even speaking with a Southern accent.
The former North Carolina senator, on a 300-mile, one-day campaign tour through New Hampshire, stuck to populist themes for what he hopes will be an Edwards presidency.

“You’d better choose someone as your candidate who’s ready for this battle. Nice words will not change anything,” Edwards said in this northern New England town.

He also cited his small-town, Southern roots as an asset.
“The last two Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter,” he said in his Carolina twang, “both talk like me.”

While Edwards said he was talking about fighting “big business” and “corporate greed,” he’s in a tight race with rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in Iowa — where he was heading next.

“It’s a very competitive race. From everything I see, it’s a dead heat between the three of us,” Edwards told reporters after going door-to-door looking for votes in Nashua.

“This is my last day here. We’ll go from here to Iowa very late tonight. … I, Elizabeth, my kids, my parents — everybody will be stationed in Iowa between now and Jan. 3.”

Wild Thing’s comment……..
He can record his voice and listen to it all he wants. LOL not such a great idea to compare yourself to Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter…..no I don’t think so. Edwards wants to do is spend more of our money on programs that do not work.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
I love this song by Twisted Sisters. I was looking at some other video’s using this song and they were great, then I saw this one also listed and loved it!!
To Murtha, Reid, Pelosi, Ron Paul, and anyone else that does not get it, turn up the volume and eat sand! Our troops ROCK and they are doing an awesome job. You think you can stand there and say we should not fight back, we should let the enemy keep attacking us and then expect us to just have a sit down with them and do lunch? OMG you are totally insane and that is just for starters.
You want Kumbaya and my answer to you is MORE FIREPOWER. So just get out of the way because we have the most powerful military in the whole world and they DO have an answer to people like you. Listen to the words to the song and get a clue!

Engines fit devices that disperse bomb-hiding debris
Modified debris sweepers with Kohler engines are helping save the lives of U.S. troops in Iraq.
JS ONLINE
The machines, mounted at the front of military trucks and mine sweepers, blow away roadside debris to expose bombs planted by insurgents. Often they trigger the bombs and take the brunt of the explosion.

“But I would love to see plenty of engines taking the hits rather than soldiers getting killed,” said Rich Koehl, director of marketing and quality at Kohler Co.’s engine division.

Insurgent attacks on vehicles have accounted for more than half of U.S. combat fatalities in Iraq, according to the military.
As the improvised explosive devices have become more deadly, the Army and Marines have stepped up efforts to get safer vehicles.
They’re also using products such as Cyclone debris blowers made by Buffalo Turbine Co., of Springville, N.Y., with Wisconsin-made Kohler engines.
The Cyclone blows a broad, 180-mph jet of air to expose roadside explosives. The military has more than 100 of the machines in use in Iraq, with more on the way, said Paul Syracuse, general manager at Buffalo Turbine.
In the civilian world, the giant blowers are used to clean debris from streets, golf courses and race tracks. They’ve also been used at the last eight Super Bowls and in city parks.

“They’re a rock-solid leaf blower,” said Tom Tiernan, a Kohler distributor in Pennsylvania.

In Iraq, the blowers have been modified with armor plating and diesel engines. Mounted on the front of a vehicle, usually about 10 feet from the operator’s cab, they blow away garbage and other debris used to hide roadside bombs.
Dozens of bombs found
The bombs are triggered a variety of ways, including electric eyes, infrared sensors and ordinary springs.

“Garbage is the main hiding place,” Syracuse said. “The blowers either trigger the bombs or expose them.”

No soldiers have been killed while using the debris blowers, according to Buffalo Turbine. In about two years of use, the machines have exposed or detonated dozens of roadside bombs.
The idea came from former U.S. troops working for an equipment contractor. Now, the machines are an important part of military convoys in Iraq.

“They cruise alongside the road, sometimes leading a convoy,” Syracuse said.

The U.S. military uses thousands of Kohler portable generators in Iraq in addition to the engines used on debris blowers.

“I would call it the NASA effect. If the military finds a use for one of our civilian products, we will help them develop a special application for it,” Koehl said.

Normally, it can take years for the military to develop and acquire field equipment.
But in 2002, the Army launched an effort to speed things up through a program aimed at identifying unmet needs of combat soldiers and satisfying those needs in 90 to 180 days.
The Army now buys small quantities of equipment and tests it in the field.
Other gadgets
One of the success stories was a remote-controlled robot that looks something like a radio-controlled toy car and is used for detecting roadside bombs. It has a video camera mounted on a retractable arm and headlights to see in the dark.
Another was the use of laser pointers like those used in classrooms as a nonlethal way of dissuading drivers from ignoring security checkpoints in Iraq.
In the past, the bright lights shone at drivers did little to stop erratic behavior. But the green laser pointers, about 50 times brighter than pointers used in classrooms, have proven to be startling and nearly blinding to drivers coming straight at them.
Unlike red laser pointers, the green ones can be seen in midair in the dark. And the unusual color makes them more noticeable.
Initially, at least, aggressive driving was reduced 60% to 80% when the laser pointers were used at checkpoints, according to the Army.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
This is so neat, I love to see a business advertising that they provide equipment used in Iraq. Like the ads long ago my Dad had in a book of saved things from WW11. Things like:
* from “Dodge PowerWagons in Burma”
* “On the Battle lines or the Transposrt lines – GMCs are out in front”
* “Pontiac Reports to the Nation on Arms Productivity”
And so on – back then businesess were proud to get a piece of both the ‘action’ and the contracts.
For more ads there is also a link to some here.
From the CBI website
This ad is not related to CBI but interestingly illustrates what could be called “Censored Advertising.”
It looks like Pontiac submitted the copy for the ad to a military censor who crossed-out any information that might be of help to the enemy. They then prepared the ad with the censored information blacked-out.
The result is doubly patriotic advertising: Pontiac is building arms for the war effort and also will not jeopardize that effort by bragging about it in magazines.
In case the reader did not get the message, it was spelled out for them near the bottom of the ad:
“Seeking to cooperate fully in the war effort, Pontiac has voluntarily censored this advertisement.”
Compare that to todays media who, it seems, cannot wait to leak the latest SECRET and risk the lives of our troops. Back then, the USofA was at War. Today, the Marines are at War, the US is at the Mall. Or as the left keeps saying it is Bush’s war. GRRRRRRRRRRRR

Since liberals detest Christmas, Hillary, Al, DiFi, and the rest of the left-wing gang have come up with a Grinchy (and off-key) carol to celebrate the secular season. Based on the book “Help! Mom! The 9th Circuit Nabbed the Nativity” by Katharine DeBrecht.

….Thank you Mark for sendnig this to me. This is good! The left needs to have how they are in their face as much as possible and this is good for that.

‘Twas the week before Caucus
from The Federalists

Wild Thing’s comment……..
I thought this was clever in how it is written.

And a close up of Santa’s sleigh shows he supports the troops.