Brian Williams is set to replace Tom Brokaw as the anchor for NBC. Brokaw leaned “just a bit” to the Left and I had hoped they would bring in someone who is more of a moderate. Williams isn’t exactly a moderate though.

* On January 6, 2000, Williams anchored MSNBC’s analysis after a debate between the six Republican presidential candidates, a group that included John McCain: “It’s red meat for conservatives, the positions rather strident tonight: anti-gay, pro-Jesus, and anti-abortion and no gray matter in between.”

* On the May 3, 1999 The News, after Jesse Jackson helped get the release of three U.S. POWs captured by the Serbs, Williams presented Newsweek’s Howard Fineman with this premise: “Bottom line: No other American was able to do what Jesse Jackson did. Doesn’t the American political system need a Jesse Jackson?”

On the same program on October 11, 2002, Williams asked historian Marshall Frady to sum up Jimmy Carter’s value: “Is it fair to call him the best former President in, at minimum, modern American history, and perhaps, well, I guess, the last 200 years?” Frady needed no coaxing: “Which embraces the, all presidencies, I think. Absolutely.”

The Media Research has many more examples of bias coming from Williams, though I cannot say it actually surprises me. As many of my readers know, I took many journalism classes while in college. Journalism was not my ultimate degree, but I took some of the same classes for public relations. While I attended a relatively Conservative school, Texas Tech University, there did seem to be more Liberals in these classes than the campus represented. Why are Liberals attracted to journalism?

I believe one of the main reasons Liberals are attracted to journalism is that Liberals as a whole want change. Many are activists for some cause and I have yet to meet one Liberal who is not outspoken about some topic. The field of journalism has been painted in a very glamourous light with the great success stories of the past (Watergate and the coverage of the Vietnam War for two examples) and an area where hard investigation can result in swaying public opinion. This is exactly what many Liberals wish to do.

(more…)

The Politicker linked with NBC Is Tredding On Thin Ice

- Oregon Association of Nurseries

(AURORA, ORE.)- In an effort to thank the troops serving in the Middle East this holiday season, members of the Oregon Association of Nurseries’ Christmas Tree Chapter have made a donation of 1,000 Christmas trees and tree stands. The trees are destined to the children of U.S. military service personnel based at Ft. Hood, Texas, as part of “Operation Thank You.” Ft. Hood is the largest military base in the U.S.

This donation was made a possible by the following Oregon tree growers: Brooks Tree Farm in Brooks, Helmig Tree Farms in Molalla, Highland Farm of Oregon in Beavercreek, Holiday Tree Farms in Corvallis, Holiday Specialtrees in Woodburn, Noble Mountain Tree Farm in Salem, Silver Mountain Christmas Trees in Sublimity and Yule Tree Farms in Aurora.

The 5- to 6-foot, fresh-cut, Oregon Douglas fir Christmas trees are being shipped to the U.S. Army base at Fort Hood for distribution to the children of moms and dads who are serving overseas. Central Refrigerated Carriers of Salt Lake City has donated the transportation of the trees via a 53-foot refrigerated truck. VanCinco Plastics, manufacturer of water reservoir Christmas tree stands, is arranging the delivery of the trees stands from their facility in Houston directly to Ft. Hood. “We talked at the chapter level that we ought to do some good will for our troops, which is why we’re calling this ‘Operation Thank You,’” said Joe Sharp, owner of Yule Tree Farms. “Christmas is a sensitive time when families are apart, and we wanted to make their Christmases a little brighter.”

I’ve included every company name because the companies involved need some good publicity for their absolute gracious act. Perhaps the greatest venture of Christmas is the good will of the American people. There will be many companies, I presume, that will give a similar gift to either our soldiers and/or their families. I suggest you do the same.

One of the best sites I’ve found to send presents directly to our soldiers is Books for Soldiers. You are not limited to giving books. Soldiers request certain items (CDs, Books and DVDs mostly) and you ship the items directly to the division or soldier. I have personally set aside some of my Christmas money I usually spend on my family to send a care package to our soldiers. I feel it’s the least I can do.

- AFP

“What is needed is a comprehensive system of collective security, one that tackles both old and new threats, and addresses the security concerns of all states — rich and poor, weak and strong,” Annan said in an introduction to the report.

If the United Nations wants to improve the security council, it first needs to try to resurrect the reputation of the organization itself. It all keeps coming back to the UN Oil-for-food scandal and it’s far reaching implications that the UN Security Council was bribed into voting against the war in Iraq. France, Germany and Russia are all culprits in the bribery, but where it gets extremely testy for the UN is the fact that Kofi Annan’s son took payments as well.

I know I’m not the only American who has said this, but the UN is a complete joke as a governing body and equal to an Al Capone system of world justice. The UN has shown time and time again that they favor dictators over democracies by their inability to support burgeoning democracies or support for the overthrow of dictators. Why would the UN be pro-dictator? Because dictators pay off the UN.

If Kofi Annan is serious in wanting to reform the UN, his first step should be to resign from office. In fact, if he were to do so, I would refrain saying too much about him. He won’t though because Annan loves the spotlight and he and his family get paid very well for his post. It’s just not all of the money is legal.

- AP

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose name became synonymous with color-coded terror alerts and tutorials about how to prepare for possible attack, resigned Tuesday, saying he was confident the United States is significantly safer than before the 2001 terrorist strikes.

Ridge, who has warned that the country may face increased terror risks around the holidays and the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, said he will remain on the job through Feb. 1. He submitted his resignation to President Bush on Tuesday morning after attending a daily threat briefing with CIA and FBI officials.

As the nation’s first chief of the new Department of Homeland Security, Ridge presided over a collection of 22 disparate federal agencies and 180,000 employees. He acknowledged he could not prove the enormously expensive and complex security measures put in place since 2001 have foiled any terrorist attacks inside the United States but said he was certain America was safer.

“I am confident that the terrorists are aware that from the curb to the cockpit we’ve got additional security measures that didn’t exist a couple years ago, that from port to port we do things differently with maritime security,” Ridge said. “I am confident they know the borders are more secure. I am confident they know we have developed and are sharing information with state and local law enforcement.”

A job well done in my opinion. Ridge has helped this nation come back after a devastating attack on our homeland and has helped to prevent another terrorist attack on our soil. Ridge will be missed, and the legacy he has created will help form the position for years to come.

Diggers Realm linked with Good Riddance Tom Ridge

- Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran reiterated Tuesday it was only prepared to freeze its uranium enrichment activities for a few months and would not, as the EU and Washington want, permanently mothball facilities which could make atomic bombs.

The comments, made by Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, were a further blow to European Union efforts to persuade Tehran to scrap enrichment for good and were likely to fuel U.S. concerns that Iran secretly plans to produce nuclear weapons.

Iran, which insists its nuclear program is solely for electricity generation, Monday escaped possible U.N. sanctions after agreeing to suspend all activities which could be used to make bomb-grade material.

The EU hopes Iran will make the suspension permanent in return for trade deals and other incentives. But Tehran says it will never give up its right to develop a fully-fledged nuclear program, from uranium mines to reactors.

Way to go Europe. Keep on negotiating with rogue states and terrorists. It always works and they never come back to haunt you.

- Associated Press

FALLUJAH, Iraq – Leaflets urging people to “count all the American tanks you see and report them to us” were strewn across the courtyard of a two-story building that doubled as a hospital for those who fought U.S. troops in this former insurgent stronghold.

The leaflets were unsigned and unnoticed until the Marines’ Iraqi interpreter, nicknamed Sam, picked one up over the weekend as his unit was searching for weapons in the building, which was the local headquarters of the Iraqi Islamic Party.

“To stop American tanks, you must trust your religion,” the leaflets read. “Keep away from people who work for the American forces. Keep praying. Count all the American tanks you see and report to us.”

This makeshift hospital for terrorists was inside of a regular building. Inside the building Marines found several beds and medical supplies, most of them from aid organizations Red Crescent, the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

No, these aid organizations did not give the supplies directly to the terrorists, however it is interesting to note that the terrorists ended up with the supplies destined to the innocents and civilians in conflicts around the world though. This “hospital” was set up prior to the assault on Fallujah therefore the supplies were not brought in during or after the conflict started.

Also inside the building were posters depicting dead and injured Iraqi civilians with wording saying the United States killed or injured them. This is an interesting piece of propoganda that shows how the terrorists operating in Fallujah secured anti-American thoughts within the city.

This is yet another reason why I believe the United States is losing the propoganda war within Iraq. We need to combat these images with the images of civilians inside of Fallujah that were executed and used as human shields by the terrorists, however our media and the international media would rather focus on the incident involving the Marine shooting a dying terrorist inside of a mosque.

The Generals that we have on the ground are extremely capable of running a ground war, however they are not capable of running a propoganda war and this shows. It didn’t start in Iraq, rather it started before 9/11. If the United States wants to finish the war on terror, we must actively fight a propoganda war as well as a military war. Terrorists are on the run, however we need to reach the hearts of Iraqis in order to declare a complete victory.

Diggers Realm linked with Hospital For Terrorists Found In Fallujah

- Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt – Osama bin Laden’s top deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahri, said in a videotape aired Monday — but apparently taped before the U.S. presidential election — that there was no difference between the two candidates. He also vowed to keep fighting the United States until Washington changed its policies.

In a brief excerpt broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, al-Zawahri said: “As for elections in America, the two candidates are competing to win the satisfaction of Israel,” saying that fact proved “there will be no solution with America without forcing it to surrender to justice.”

President Bush won re-election over Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry in the Nov. 2 election.

In the tape, al-Zawahri said: “The results of the elections do not matter for us. Vote whoever you want, Bush, Kerry or the devil himself. This does not concern us. What concerns us is to purge our land from the aggressors.”

Could this be a sign of dissent among the Al Qaeda ranks? An Usama Bin Laden tape surfaced right before the U.S. elections where Bin Laden threatened any state that voted for President Bush as well as referenced a Democratic talking point of President Bush reading ‘My Pet Goat.’ The alleged second in command Zawahri now says that it didn’t matter who was elected President.

This is a clear contradiction to what Bin Laden argued in his tape. Could this be because the Al Qaeda leadership is spread thin? I would imagine the Al Qaeda leadership is seperated for a variety of reasons, some by Al Qaeda’s own accord and some following the assault by U.S., Afgan and Pakistani soldiers on former safe areas.

Al Qaeda must protect it’s leaders in a time of war and the leaders are targeted. Within the last three years, there have been many more Zawahri tapes released than Bin Laden tapes leading to the rumor that Bin Laden was dead. A few days before our election Bin Laden pops up and threatens the United States’ voters proving those rumors false. What is interesting is that Zawahri has been more active in the propoganda sphere than Bin Laden. Why?

I believe it is because the two are not in good communication with each other and are seperated, possibly each residing in different countries. Yes, there would be communication between each other probably in the form of couriers (based upon Zarqawi and Bin Laden communicating as such) however their messages contradicted each other.

We all should know that part of the Al Qaeda resentment towards the United States is the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Where Zawahri sounds a bit odd is that he argues “the two candidates are competing to win the satisfaction of Israel.” Many pundits here in the States remarked on how little was said regarding Israel during the election process and frankly, I don’t remember it ever being mentioned. I’m sure it was mentioned at some time, but it never was an issue that either candidate used as a reason for election. In this instance, Zawahri sounds much less credible to either be watching our elections or paying attention to the policies that the two candidates ran on.

For this reason, I believe the subject of this tape was to try to further seperate the United States with the rest of the world. The UN votes over the past year dealing with Israel went against Israel, whereas the United States was one of the only countries (if not the only one) who either voted for or vetoed sanctions against Israel. Zawahri seems to bring up an “old” Al Qaeda talking point for some reason, a reason in which I believe is trying to isolate the United States.

The Jawa Report linked with Schuer on Al Qaeda Tapes
Diggers Realm linked with Ayman al-Zawahri Releases New Tape
The Jawa Report linked with Al Qaeda Update

- AP

TEHRAN, Iran – The 300 men filling out forms in the offices of an Iranian aid group were offered three choices: Train for suicide attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, for suicide attacks against Israelis or to assassinate British author Salman Rushdie.

It looked at first glance like a gathering on the fringes of a society divided between moderates who want better relations with the world and hard-line Muslim militants hostile toward the United States and Israel.

But the presence of two key figures — a prominent Iranian lawmaker and a member of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards — lent the meeting more legitimacy and was a clear indication of at least tacit support from some within Iran’s government.

Since that inaugural June meeting in a room decorated with photos of Israeli soldiers’ funerals, the registration forms for volunteer suicide commandos have appeared on Tehran’s streets and university campuses, with no sign Iran’s government is trying to stop the shadowy movement.

I wish I could say this shocks me, but it doesn’t. Iran has a long history of signing up suicide bombers and supporting Hezbollah, which targets Israel. Iran also allowed 9/11 hijackers to cross through the country without interference and it is rumored that Usama Bin Laden is hiding out in Iran.

We do know for a fact that there are Al Qaeda terrorists inside of Iran being housed by the government of Iran and many terrorists cross the Iran-Iraq border to fight against the United States military in Iraq. We also know for a fact that Iran supplied Muqtada al Sadr and his militia with weapons and financing.

Iran has been a spur in our sides inside of Iraq and nothing has been done in regards to this. The United States has let Iran continue to undermine Democracy in the Middle East without even as much as stern words. The Mullahs of Iran have a legitimate right to fear Democracy in the Middle East which is the main reason they have supported terrorism and people like al Sadr because they fear Democracy in Iraq will cross the border to Iran.

In recent days, the government of Iraq has met with leaders of Iran in hopes of closing the border between the two countries. While this is a start, the government of Iran supports terrorist acts that are killing innocent Iraqis and Iraqi police/soldiers. Even if Iran attempts to close the border between the two nations, their government will probably allow terrorists to cross the border.

The international community is more concerned with Iran developing a nuclear weapon, and rightly so, however they cannot continue to look the other way while Iran is waging war against any hope of a peace inside of Iraq. An unstable Iraq equals an unstable Middle East and an unstable Middle East causes the entire world to be unstable in the very least economically.

The MUSC Tiger linked with Iran Funding Suicide Bombers
Backcountry Conservative linked with Iran Funding Suicide Bombers in Iraq

- AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s most feared terror group claimed responsibility Sunday for slaughtering members of the Iraqi security forces in Mosul, where dozens of bodies have been found. The claim raises fears the terror group has expanded to the north after the loss of its purported base in Fallujah.

A statement posted on an Islamist Web site in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for killing 17 members of Iraq’s security forces and a Kurdish militiaman in Mosul, where insurgents rose up this month in support of guerrillas facing a U.S.-led assault in Fallujah.

The claim could not be independently verified but the style of writing appeared similar to other statements by al-Zarqawi’s group, which is responsible for numerous car bombings and beheadings of foreign hostages in Iraq.

Mosul, a city in Northern Iraq, has been the site of over 50 killings within the past 10 days by terrorists. The Army of Ansar al-Sunnah is the main terrorist group that operates in Northern Iraq, however Zarqawi is the leader of Tawhid wal Jihad.

As noted before, the terrorist groups inside of Iraq are collaborating more and more instead of previously just respecting each others’ territories. What is interesting is that Tawhid wal Jihad seems to be given the green light to operate in a former Army of Ansar al-Sunnah stronghold with recognition. Whether this means the leadership of the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah has been killed or whether the two terrorist groups are in the process of merging remains to be seen. Most likely, the groups are not merging based upon their nationality differences as the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah are primarily Iraqis and Tawhid wal Jihad is full of non-Iraqis.

- BBC

The largest guerrilla group in Colombia ordered an assassination attempt on US President George W Bush during a recent visit there, a senior official says.

Colombian Defence Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe said Mr Bush was targeted in the city of Cartagena last Monday.

Informers and other intelligence sources revealed the attempt, he said.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have long accused the US of meddling in the country’s 40-year civil war.

The Farc’s seven-man ruling body ordered guerrilla units to make an attempt on Mr Bush’s life, Mr Uribe said.

When President Bush visited Colombia, it was reported that he had to exit a building to pull one of his Secret Service agents inside while a mob was forming outside the building. At the time, I thought this was kind of funny and was very symbollic of the character of President Bush. I still think it was indicative of his character, however now that an assassination plot has been revealed, it’s a bit scary.

Update:
So the story above seems a bit ficticious as I confused Colombia with Chile. Anyhow, it is reasonable to assume members of FARC are either in Colombia or could pay someone to assassinate President Bush in Colombia. I stand corrected.

Interested-Participant linked with Marxists Plotted to Kill President Bush