"Slow to Respond" Funny? or sadly true? Scrappleface: “‘Katrina was a tragedy in itself,’ Rep. Pelosi said [not really] at a news conference in a neighborhood where moldy furniture still lay in front yards, ‘but it exposed a tragedy of greater proportions. Some people in this region have lost the spirit of our forefathers — the work ethic, the persistence, the determination to overcome adversity.’”

Pakistan Cuts Bin Laden Some Slack: So much for the Bush Doctrine, says Marisol @ Jihad Watch. (ABC News)

Acidman Lives! Samantha Smith, daughter of the late Robert Smith aka Acidman, is reposting some of Rob’s old words of wisdom, word of teh funny and the gross. Worth a read for the second time—or the first.

How to Guard the Borders, by an Army National Guard officer who is paid to think about this. (Major John Krenson @ One Hand Clapping)

Burkas Approved for Patients in the UK: Tammy Bruce comments on the decision, and says there may be some problems with that: “There’s absolutely no reason to be able to see the mouth and nose of a woman, you know, which might indicate whether or not she’s having a breathing problem. And that pesky skin—never, ever does a doctor or nurse need to see what’s happening with skin. Let’s say if a woman patient is having an allegic reaction to something, those hives that show up. Yuck. Nah, seeing skin is completely unnecessary.”

MidEast Crisis 143, September 5, 2006

[Coverage continues here]

Gilad Shalit to be Exchanged, for some 800 prisoners who are in Israeli custody. (Power Line)

Communication is it’s own reward: that’s what Bad Vibel notices about Israelis and Lebanese “who are reading and writing on each other’s blogs…[We] seem to be more tolerant of each other than those who don’t bother reading or talking to the other side.”

Israeli Blockade Could Be Lifted Soon: Kofi Annan hopes that “the next 48 hours would bring ‘positive’ news on the lifting of the Israeli embargo imposed on Lebanon’s ports and airport since July 13, the day after Hizbollah sparked a 34-day war by seizing two Israeli soldiers.” (Reuters)

Three Hamas members killed by IDF in Gaza: One by an IAF strike on a car in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. “Palestinian sources said that the two were apparently on their way to fire rockets at Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel.” The other two members were killed in a similar manner. (Ynet)

Now that the idea that ‘withdrawal from the territories’ would produce peace has been discredited, Treppenwitz doesn’t understand why Israeli PM Olmert and the Kadima party don’t simply ‘disappear.’

UN Accused of Collaboration in Hezbollah Abductions in 2000: A film presented by Lebanese television network LBC ‘clearly shows’ that UNIFIL forces collaborated with Hezbollah in the 2000 abduction of three IDF soldiers, says Haim Avraham, the father of one of them, Benny. The bodies of all three were returned to Israel in a 2004 “prisoner” exchange. (Haaretz)

Giuliani Wins, or at least that’s what a Haaretz panel of experts hopes happens in the 2008 US presidential election. “As part of a new project, ‘The Israel Factor: Ranking the presidential candidates’ the panel will rank the candidates every month, up until the 2008 election, awarding them marks out of 10 on a series of questions that will determine which candidates are ‘best’ for Israel.

[Previous coverage here]

Five Years After September 11: The Arab and Iranian View A ‘teaser,’ produced by MEMRI and narrated by Ron Silver.

"GOP Punts on Immigration" Quoting the New York Times which reports that “Congressional Republican leaders have all but abandoned a broad overhaul of immigration laws and instead will concentrate on national security issues they believe play to their political strength,” Marc Cooper isn’t surprised that “Republicans have decided it is more important to maintain a veneer of party unity than it is to work on a problem that keeps 12 million American workers in a permanent state of limbo.”

Rice Likens Iraq Wars Critics to Those of US Civil War: The US Secretary of State compares the critics of both wars, saying that, in spite of their respective nay-sayers, both struggles were justified. “I’m sure that there were people who said, ‘why don’t we get out of this now, take a peace with the South, but leave the South with slaves.’

“‘Just because things are difficult, it does’t mean that they are wrong or that you turn back,’ Rice told [Essence Magazine, which caters to African American women].” (AP)

UPDATE:

“[N]ot only patronizing to the overwhelming majority of blacks who opposed the American invasion in 2003, but it also draws attention away from the fact that whereas many atrocities were abated by our civil war, many atrocities — including a civil war — were caused solely by our invasion of Iraq.” (Jewschool)

“[T]o suggest, out loud, on the record, that critics of the war in Iraq are similar to those who would approve of slavery is perhaps the most breathtakingly stupid remark ever uttered by a Bush administration official.” (The Carpetbagger Report)

Tammy Bruce answers the above featured bloggers using statements of the Democratic Party of 1864 and a paper from Northern Illinois University Digitization Project entitled “Lincoln’s Challenge, 1864. “Many northerners had tired of war. Democrats began denouncing [Union General and later US President Ulysses] Grant as a ‘butcher.’ ‘Patriotism is played out,’ declared one newspaper. ‘Each hour is but sinking us deeper into bankruptcy and desolation’…Democrats attacked Lincoln as ‘Abe the Widowmaker’ and ‘Abraham Africanus,’ the proponent of miscegenation…In November of 1864 American voters returned Abraham Lincoln to office by a half-million vote majority.”

Cloaking Technology Next on Agenda: Aussie Dave has revealed the existence of the Zionist Death Incinerator.^TM (Israellycool)

Ahmadinejad Wants Liberals Out: “‘Today, students should shout at the president and ask why liberal and secular university lecturers are present in the universities,’ the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a meeting with students.” (AP)

Is Your Reality Real? Emanuele Ottolenghi debunks the conventional wisdom on the Israeli-Lebanese war: “This war’s myths are that Israel lost and Hezbollah won; that this was due to Israel’s reluctance to take casualties; and that Hezbollah’s victory in turn shattered the image of Israel’s military invincibility.” (NRO)

Fact or Fiction: Richard Clarke claims that a key scene in ABC’s upcoming “objective” 9/11 docudrama is completely false. (Think Progress)

Coming soon to a National Cathedral near you

Ahmadinejad and Khatami, holding hands

Mohammed Khatami - former Iranian president and putative reformer - will be delivering an address at the Washington National Cathedral Thursday evening at 7:30 Eastern. Requests for tickets are sold out. Although Pajamas Media doesn’t have a ticket either, we will be there with terrorism expert Richard Miniter and videographer Andrew Marcus, interviewing some Iranians who are not as sanguine as much of our mainstream media about Mr. Khatami’s reform credentials. Also, on Thursday morning at 9A.M. a press conference will be held at the National Press Club. Participants will include torture victims of the Islamic regime (from during Khatami’s presidency), former political prisoners, and opposition figures.

Best Antivirus: The best antivirus programs as tested against 147,000 viruses. There are a number of free options that are likely far superior to that program that came pre-installed on your system. (CyberNet)

First Punishment. Then Trial. “An Ohio legislative panel [August 28] rubber-stamped an unprecedented process that would allow sex offenders to be publicly identified and tracked even if they’ve never been charged with a crime.” — Toldeo Blade [HT: Positive Liberty]

Regarding Your Letter: Confederate Yankee responds in full to the congressional Democrats’ open letter to the President, “This letter indicates that winning is not now and perhaps never has been part of their plan.”

Coming Into Focus: Further Mysteries from the Optical World. A fascinating trick for enhancing your vision if you wear glasses. From Jason Kuznicki @ Positive Liberty.

That Joke Kills Me: An imam at a Georgia mosque is advocating doing whatever small thing you can to contribute to the jihad… like pretending to be a terrorist on your next flight to New York. Albert Brooks apparently never checked the South. (JunkYardBlog)

Where Am I? Texas Representative Al Green says the U.S. government is entrapping illegal aliens. Millions swear they thought America just wanted to be their girlfriend. (Allahpundit)

Ride em Kinky!: Ron Rosenbaum @ Ron Rosenbaum.com (A PajamasXPress Blog) officially endorses “Kinky Friedman for Governor of Texas.” Ron’s serious and so, apparently, is Kinky.

A urban legend? Maybe not: “You might have met them on the streets in big European and American cities, members of Falun Gong who try to convince us that the Chinese government is harvesting organs from imprisoned Falun Gong members while they were still alive. Shockingly, it turns out that they might be correct,” writes Johan Norberg pointing to an independent study on the subject (pdf file).

Divorce-casting: The latest Glenn and Helen Show covers non-legal issues relating to divorce: they talk to Russell Friedman, relationship expert and author of Moving On: Dump Your Relationship Baggage and Make Room for the Love of Your Life. “He offers a lot of good advice on dealing with divorces and breakups, and with relationships that you want to keep from facing a divorce or breakup, and when it’s best to pull the plug.”

There are no choices, and we are all at fault! The Chicago fire that killed six children raises a lot of questions about personal responsibility. (Classical Values)

Freudian politics: “According to a new book released today, Karl Rove’s stepfather came out of the closet and left his mother during Karl’s senior year in high school. The authors imply that this could have been what drove Rove’s mother to suicide and that the events may have shaped his opinions on gays afterwards. I find it truly disturbing that such baseless guesswork amounts to a political theory these days, but it’s no different than the limitless tabloids Regenry published throughout the Clinton era.” (Balloon Juice)

"If I can, anyone can:" Stephen Pollard -who just coined a new word for both male and female foodies- comments on so-called obesity epidemic and how he managed to slim down without blaming anyone else but himself for being fat.

But Does It Open and Split Down the Back? “A hospital in northwest England has introduced a new surgical gown modelled on the burka, allowing female Muslim patients to cover themselves completely in line with their religious beliefs.
The blue “Inter-Faith Gown” …. which covers the entire body from head to toe — provides extra comfort and cover for patients undergoing medical procedures and whose culture or religion requires more modest attire. They described the response from patients as “overwhelming….” (AFP)

Crikey's Last Tape: “Steve Irwin was videotaped pulling a poisonous stingray barb from his chest in his last moments of life, officials said Tuesday, as tributes poured in for TV’s “Crocodile Hunter.” — AP

It's "President Calderon", Mexico's top court rules: Mexico’s top electoral court has confirmed Felipe Calderon slim victory; his rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has vowed to ignore the ruling. Some background on the tense political atmosphere in the country, by A.M. Mora y Leon @ Publius Pundit.

Danish police arrest nine terror suspects: One of the nine is an ethnic Dane, the other eight have an “immigrant background”. All of them, of course, are Danish citizens. (Michael @ Liberty and Justice)

ADDENDUM. Arrests took place across the street where Per Madsen lives, in Odense.

Endgames: Patrick Porter points to an article by James Fallows in The Atlantic about the status of the fight against al-Qaeda: “he argues that because of [the] successes, now it’s time to declare victory in the ‘war’ part of the project, and redefine the project as one of policing, detection, intelligence and public relations.” Patrick is not convinced we can declare victory yet. (OxBlog)

Josh Marshall's father has suddenly passed away: our most sincere condolences.

A look at Europe's illegal immigration problem and whether it’s related with low fertility rates in the continent. (Edward Hugh @ A Fistful of Euros)

A tragic loss: Cori Dauber takes a moment to acknowledge the sacrifices of the Canadian army in Afghanistan the last few days: “While all losses in war are painful, few are more heartbreaking than those caused by friendly fire.” (RantingProfs)

Parents will be thrilled: Toddlers turn on the TV and actually learn. (NY Times)

Hilzoy is really, really happy to be a mammal, considering the mating rituals of other species. (Obsidian Wings)

Crackdown: Iraqi security forces killed 14 al-Qaeda operatives and arrested almost 200 suspects, in a follow-up to their earlier capture of Hamed Jumaa Faris Juri al-Saaydi, believed to be the organization’s No. 2 and the mastermind of the Golden Mosque attack in Samarra. (AFP/Middle East Times)

Et tu, Matt? Clayton Jones says Matt Drudge has been doing some Photoshopping. (Daily Pundit)

Traveling without divisions, you don't get no respect: Iran’s response to Kofi Annan’s visit it yet more nose-thumbing. (Neo-neocon)

MidEast Crisis 142, September 5, 2006

Israelis Pulling Out: Israeli troops turned over the care of 5 villages to Lebanese soldiers today. (AP)

Turkey is In: The Turkish parliament voted today to send troops to participate in peacekeeping in Lebanon. (AP)

Two states and then we’ll nuke one of them: Khatami says that Iran would accept a Palestinian state “ready to live alongside Israel” if the elected Hamas government agreed to it. (Financial Times)

Back to school, finally: Sderot kids return to the classroom, following parents strike over safety. (Ynet)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Lebanon is still under siege: Israel by sea and air, and Syria by land and through proxy political warfare. (From Beirut to the Beltway)

Jerusalem stabbing: A 60-year-old Jewish man stabbed and seriously wounded by an Arab assailant outside a cosmetics factory — police officials say it was terror-related. (JPost)

Geeks wanted: Israel’s secret service is head-hunting high tech whiz kids. (Haaretz)

Assassination attempt: Senior Lebanese police intelligence officer targeted in South Lebanon, roadside bomb killed four aides and bodyguards. (Haaretz) — ADDENDUM: Big Pharaoh thinks that Lebanese who were involved in the murder of Hariri are behind this: “Back in business in Lebanon,” he says.

Won’t get fooled again: Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz vows that “the IDF will never again find itself caught off guard as in some of the cases during the recent war in Lebanon.” (Ynet)

Shalit not in Egypt: Senior source in Shalit negotiations denies Gilad Shalit in is Egypt. (Ynet)

A voice from the past: Tonight, Israeli television will broadcast the Lebanese video in which Israeli captive Ron Arad is seen talking — the first time Arad’s voice will be heard since he was captured 20 years ago. (Ynet)

Now it’s the EU’s turn: After Kofi Annan’s unsuccessful trip to Tehran, a “last-ditch” meeting is scheduled between the EU foreign policy chief and Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator. (AFP)

Broke and bored: Unemployment surges in the Hamas-ruled West Bank. (Reuters)

Something they can agree on: Pieter Dorsman thinks it’s odd that European countries, who rarely agree in international policies, are “apparently on the same page” regarding their refusal to allow El Al planes carrying IDF supplies to refuel at their airports. (Peaktalk)

Israel Must Become Middle Eastern: Charles Malik says that Israel should set up a television channel to counter the coverage in the Arabic press. (Lebanese Political Journal)

Enough already: “Us people in the State of Northern Israel still have to put up with various dignitaries siren-wailing their way to another photo op, while life is back to normal. The dead are buried, mourned, the schools are open and work is recovered.” (Neither Here Nor There)

Hurry Up and Wait: Southern Lebanese want Israelis to leave already (Reuters)

Dream On: Lebanese officials scoff at Israeli call for peace talks (AP)

Abbas: Exchange Deal Has Been Reached: PA president told Bahraini paper that Shalit will be released as a “deposit” on future Palestinian prisoner releases. (Al Bawaba)

Gilad Shalit in Egypt? Arab newspaper Al-Hayat’s report that the kidnapped soldier was moved from Gaza to Egypt. Shalit’s father denies the story. (Ynet)

Appeasement time: Annan wants to “avoid confrontation” with Iran. He also tells Spanish newspaper El Pais that “the international community should count on Iran, not isolate it.” (Reuters) [Original interview @ El Pais, link in Spanish]

[Previous coverage here.]