Tuesday, July 26, 2005

The stealth target

An interesting take by Holman Jenkins in WSJ’s Political Diary (no link, subscription required) that the targets of the London bombings are actually British Muslims. I had not thought of it this way, but it makes a lot of sense:


Based on scanty headlines, [July 21]'s disruptions in London suggest somebody may be trying to demonstrate just how little it takes to shut down a modern city's public transport network. Early reports indicate smoke bombs and the like, with few serious casualties. Who knows, but let's riff anyway: Sooner or later, it was bound to develop that the target of Britain's homegrown Muslim radicals isn't British foreign policy or U.S. "imperialism." The targets are British Muslims themselves and their peaceful relations with the rest of British society. The goal is to make all Muslims suspect in the eyes of their fellow Britons, to punish those Muslims who favor quiet assimilation, to make their lives impossible.

We're talking about something quite different than the Osama bin Laden dream of mega attacks that unite the Muslim world in a showdown with Christendom. [July 21]'s attacks seem more attuned to the Zarqawi playbook in Iraq -- and, for that matter, Tamil tactics in Sri Lanka, IRA tactics in Northern Ireland, etc. Domestic terrorists are usually trying to drive a wedge of fear between one ethnic community and the larger society. Whatever the facts behind [July 21]'s incidents, British Muslims may have to get used to the idea that they are being deliberately placed in the line of fire by their radical fellow Muslims, with the hope of defeating their intent to live happily, successfully and peacefully amidst a larger, polyglot world. This is their fight too, and perhaps most of all.

Monday, July 25, 2005

While on the subject...

Why is it that those who claim that Great Britain's support of the people of Iraq led to the attacks in London don't also claim that Egypt's support for the terrorists in Iraq led to the attack on their soil? It is, after all, a similar line of "logic."

John Howard is da man!

For those who missed it, here is the full text of Aussie PM John Howard’s devastating reply last week to one of those idiotic media questions about whether the attacks on Great Britain were a result of their participation in Iraq:

"Can I just say very directly, Paul, on the issue of the policies of my government and indeed the policies of the British and American governments on Iraq, that the first point of reference is that once a country allows its foreign policy to be determined by terrorism, it's given the game away, to use the vernacular. And no Australian government that I lead will ever have policies determined by terrorism or terrorist threats, and no self-respecting government of any political stripe in Australia would allow that to happen.

Can I remind you that the murder of 88 Australians in Bali took place before the operation in Iraq.

And I remind you that the 11th of September occurred before the operation in Iraq.

Can I also remind you that the very first occasion that bin Laden specifically referred to Australia was in the context of Australia's involvement in liberating the people of East Timor. Are people by implication suggesting we shouldn't have done that?

When a group claimed responsibility on the website for the attacks on the 7th of July, they talked about British policy not just in Iraq, but in Afghanistan. Are people suggesting we shouldn't be in Afghanistan?

When Sergio de Mello was murdered in Iraq -- a brave man, a distinguished international diplomat, a person immensely respected for his work in the United Nations -- when al Qaeda gloated about that, they referred specifically to the role that de Mello had carried out in East Timor because he was the United Nations administrator in East Timor.

Now I don't know the mind of the terrorists. By definition, you can't put yourself in the mind of a successful suicide bomber. I can only look at objective facts, and the objective facts are as I've cited. The objective evidence is that Australia was a terrorist target long before the operation in Iraq. And indeed, all the evidence, as distinct from the suppositions, suggests to me that this is about hatred of a way of life, this is about the perverted use of principles of the great world religion that, at its root, preaches peace and cooperation. And I think we lose sight of the challenge we have if we allow ourselves to see these attacks in the context of particular circumstances rather than the abuse through a perverted ideology of people and their murder."

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Common sense jurisprudence

In 2001, eleven illegal aliens died of dehydration while trying to cross the desert between Mexico and Arizona on federal land. Incredibly, family members represented by an activist lawyer filed suit against the federal government, claiming it was liable because it refused to allow an advocacy group to place water stations in the Arizona desert. On July 13, U.S. District Judge John Roll dismissed the suit, explaining that the government "owed no duty to affirmatively assist trespassers illegally crossing [federal land] in avoiding the obvious dangers of a hostile desert."

Bravo! It should be common sense that the federal (or any other) government has no moral or legal obligation to assist lawbreakers. Hopefully the decision will survive the appeals process and the inevitable fallacious claims that the verdict is "racist."

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Oh...my...God, PC math?

As the holder of a math degree, I was pretty confident that my undergraduate discipline would be able to avoid the noxious political correctness that infests today’s public and higher education. Alas, even something as pure as math is not safe in the 21st century, as seen in the Wall Street Journal via Don Luskin:


Now mathematics is being nudged into a specifically political direction by educators who call themselves "critical theorists." They advocate using mathematics as a tool to advance social justice. Social justice math relies on political and cultural relevance to guide math instruction. One of its precepts is "ethnomathematics," that is, the belief that different cultures have evolved different ways of using mathematics, and that students will learn best if taught in the ways that relate to their ancestral culture. From this perspective, traditional mathematics -- the mathematics taught in universities around the world -- is the property of Western Civilization and is inexorably linked with the values of the oppressors and conquerors. The culturally attuned teacher will learn about the counting system of the ancient Mayans, ancient Africans, Papua New Guineans, and other "non-mainstream" cultures.

Partisans of social justice mathematics advocate an explicitly political agenda in the classroom. A new textbook, "Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers," shows how problem solving, ethnomathematics and political action can be merged. Among its topics are: "Sweatshop Accounting," with units on poverty, globalization, and the unequal distribution of wealth. Another topic, drawn directly from ethnomathematics, is "Chicanos Have Math in Their Blood." Others include "The Transnational Capital Auction," "Multicultural Math," and "Home Buying While Brown or Black." Units of study include racial profiling, the war in Iraq, corporate control of the media, and environmental racism. The theory behind the book is that "teaching math in a neutral manner is not possible." Teachers are supposed to vary the teaching of mathematics in relation to their students' race, gender, ethnicity, and community.

Don't offend the enemy!

From the "Wish I'd said that!" files, this quote from Tony Blankley:

"Political correctness started out as an externally applied pressure placed by academic elites on regular people not to say certain things that were judged improper. But it has become a more dangerous phenomenon now. Government, law enforcement, military officials and many regular citizens are beginning to internalize the politically correct mentality. If government officials, the media and increasing elements of the public actually begin to believe that there is no relationship between Islam as currently practiced by some percentage of the Muslim population and the mortal threat of terrorism -- then it will be hard if not impossible to mount an effective defense. The first lesson of war is to know thy enemy. While we should never put people in that category who don't fit, it is suicidal to refuse to acknowledge the accurate nature of the enemy."

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Unintended consequences

So-called living wage laws have been around for a decade, giving researchers at least a beginning set of data to study their effects. And it turns out that the effects are exactly what common sense and a basic understanding of economics would lead one to expect.

A new study shows that the laws do, as hoped, correlate with a drop in poverty rates of close to 2 percent over the first year, with most of the gains coming from low-income families. So far, so good.

There is, of course, a price for this decrease in poverty, and that is an increase in unemployment among the same group. The study found that a 50% increase in minimum wages for the least skilled workers resulted in a 6% decrease in employment among those same unskilled workers in a given area over the first year.

Both the wage increase and employment decrease effects grow larger where the living wage ordinances are broader in scope.

I know what you’re thinking; this falls under the heading of “duh!” It would be shocking if companies who are forced to artificially raise wages to comply with regulations did not pay for it by decreasing hiring (and probably also benefits). But it is nice to have some concrete data to put to the issue.

In essence, it turns out that living wages are merely yet another government transfer program, in this case a transfer of money to one group of the poor at the expense of another group of the poor (as always, with the government confiscating some of the take for administration). Whether you support living wage comes down to whether you believe that the goal of elevating ~2% out of poverty is worth sinking ~6% deeper into poverty. That’s a debatable issue, but to pretend that you can do one without the other requires either disingenuousness or ignorance, neither of which is ever in short supply on either side of this kind of debate.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Man bites dog II

I’ve been hard on Daily Kos before, and with good reason. It’s the stereotypical cesspool of the far left, with the usually profane and always hysterical conspiracy mongering and hate speech that characterizes the extreme edges of political “thought” on both sides. With that in mind, I have to give credit where credit is due, as Markos recently posted:


“Today I did something I've never done before (not even during the Fraudster mess), and wish I'd never had to do.

I made a mass banning of people perpetuating a series of bizarre, off-the-wall, unsupported and frankly embarrassing conspiracy theories.

I have a high tolerance level for material I deem appropriate for this site, but one thing I REFUSE to allow is [lying] conspiracy theories. You know the ones -- Bush and Blair conspired to bomb London in order to take the heat off their respective political problems. I can't imagine what [expletive] world these people live in, but it sure ain't the Reality Based Community.”


I’m not sure why he’s picking now to take a stand on silly conspiracy theories, it’s the red meat of his site. This is a group that never met an anti-Bush (or Blair, or Isreal/Jew, etc.) fantasy they didn’t like, and he seems to be reinstating anybody who asks, but at least it is a positive symbolic step anyway.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Man bites dog

By any objective measure, the print and television media overwhelmingly tilt to the left. Even so, as James Taranto notes, it is interesting to hear complaints of liberal media bias from Bill Clinton, of all people:


"Former President Clinton, defending his senator-wife's statements on abortion, said Wednesday that Democrats are held to a double standard," the Associated Press reports from Washington:

He contended that Republicans have defined the abortion debate in a way that boxes in Democrats.

"So for example, if you're a Democrat and you have sort of normal impulses, you're a sellout, like when Hillary said abortion is a tragedy for virtually everybody who undergoes it, we ought to do all we can to reduce abortion," Clinton said.

"All of a sudden," he continued, the media began asking, " 'Is she selling out? Is she abandoning her principles?' But if John McCain, who's pro-life, works with Hillary on global warming, he's a man of principle moving to the middle."

"It's nuts," the former president said.

Clinton is absolutely right: The media cheer when a Republican moves to the left and boo when a Democrat moves to the right. For an even more extreme example, compare their treatment of Jim Jeffords and Zell Miller.

Conservatives have been complaining about liberal media bias for decades. Now they've found an unlikely ally in Bill Clinton.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

How to really help Africa

It is pretty clear that aid to African has done more bad than good in recent decades due to the culture of corruption and dependence throughout the continent. Thus, in the aftermath of the Live8 hysteria it was refreshing to see this interview with Kenyan economist James Shikwati (which also touches on AIDS hysteria) in, of all places, the ultra-left German periodical Der Spiegel. This should be required reading for the well-meaning but misguided Bob Geldofs of the world.


SPIEGEL: Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...

Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.

SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.

Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.

SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?

Shikwati: Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn't even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.

SPIEGEL: Even in a country like Kenya, people are starving to death each year. Someone has got to help them.

Shikwati: But it has to be the Kenyans themselves who help these people. When there's a drought in a region of Kenya, our corrupt politicians reflexively cry out for more help. This call then reaches the United Nations World Food Program -- which is a massive agency of apparatchiks who are in the absurd situation of, on the one hand, being dedicated to the fight against hunger while, on the other hand, being faced with unemployment were hunger actually eliminated. It's only natural that they willingly accept the plea for more help. And it's not uncommon that they demand a little more money than the respective African government originally requested. They then forward that request to their headquarters, and before long, several thousands tons of corn are shipped to Africa ...

SPIEGEL: ... corn that predominantly comes from highly-subsidized European and American farmers ...
Shikwati: ... and at some point, this corn ends up in the harbor of Mombasa. A portion of the corn often goes directly into the hands of unsrupulous politicians who then pass it on to their own tribe to boost their next election campaign. Another portion of the shipment ends up on the black market where the corn is dumped at extremely low prices. Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the UN's World Food Program. And because the farmers go under in the face of this pressure, Kenya would have no reserves to draw on if there actually were a famine next year. It's a simple but fatal cycle.

SPIEGEL: If the World Food Program didn't do anything, the people would starve.

Shikwati: I don't think so. In such a case, the Kenyans, for a change, would be forced to initiate trade relations with Uganda or Tanzania, and buy their food there. This type of trade is vital for Africa. It would force us to improve our own infrastructure, while making national borders -- drawn by the Europeans by the way -- more permeable. It would also force us to establish laws favoring market economy.

SPIEGEL: Would Africa actually be able to solve these problems on its own?

Shikwati: Of course. Hunger should not be a problem in most of the countries south of the Sahara. In addition, there are vast natural resources: oil, gold, diamonds. Africa is always only portrayed as a continent of suffering, but most figures are vastly exaggerated. In the industrial nations, there's a sense that Africa would go under without development aid. But believe me, Africa existed before you Europeans came along. And we didn't do all that poorly either.

SPIEGEL: But AIDS didn't exist at that time.
Shikwati: If one were to believe all the horrorifying reports, then all Kenyans should actually be dead by now. But now, tests are being carried out everywhere, and it turns out that the figures were vastly exaggerated. It's not three million Kenyans that are infected. All of the sudden, it's only about one million. Malaria is just as much of a problem, but people rarely talk about that.

SPIEGEL: And why's that?

Shikwati: AIDS is big business, maybe Africa's biggest business. There's nothing else that can generate as much aid money as shocking figures on AIDS. AIDS is a political disease here, and we should be very skeptical.

SPIEGEL: The Americans and Europeans have frozen funds previously pledged to Kenya. The country is too corrupt, they say.

Shikwati: I am afraid, though, that the money will still be transfered before long. After all, it has to go somewhere. Unfortunately, the Europeans' devastating urge to do good can no longer be countered with reason. It makes no sense whatsoever that directly after the new Kenyan government was elected -- a leadership change that ended the dictatorship of Daniel arap Mois -- the faucets were suddenly opened and streams of money poured into the country.

SPIEGEL: Such aid is usually earmarked for a specific objective, though.

Shikwati: That doesn't change anything. Millions of dollars earmarked for the fight against AIDS are still stashed away in Kenyan bank accounts and have not been spent. Our politicians were overwhelmed with money, and they try to siphon off as much as possible. The late tyrant of the Central African Republic, Jean Bedel Bokassa, cynically summed it up by saying: "The French government pays for everything in our country. We ask the French for money. We get it, and then we waste it."
SPIEGEL: In the West, there are many compassionate citizens wanting to help Africa. Each year, they donate money and pack their old clothes into collection bags ...

Shikwati: ... and they flood our markets with that stuff. We can buy these donated clothes cheaply at our so-called Mitumba markets. There are Germans who spend a few dollars to get used Bayern Munich or Werder Bremen jerseys, in other words, clothes that that some German kids sent to Africa for a good cause. After buying these jerseys, they auction them off at Ebay and send them back to Germany -- for three times the price. That's insanity ...

SPIEGEL: ... and hopefully an exception.

Shikwati: Why do we get these mountains of clothes? No one is freezing here. Instead, our tailors lose their livlihoods. They're in the same position as our farmers. No one in the low-wage world of Africa can be cost-efficient enough to keep pace with donated products. In 1997, 137,000 workers were employed in Nigeria's textile industry. By 2003, the figure had dropped to 57,000. The results are the same in all other areas where overwhelming helpfulness and fragile African markets collide.

SPIEGEL: Following World War II, Germany only managed to get back on its feet because the Americans poured money into the country through the Marshall Plan. Wouldn't that qualify as successful development aid?

Shikwati: In Germany's case, only the destroyed infrastructure had to be repaired. Despite the economic crisis of the Weimar Republic, Germany was a highly- industrialized country before the war. The damages created by the tsunami in Thailand can also be fixed with a little money and some reconstruction aid. Africa, however, must take the first steps into modernity on its own. There must be a change in mentality. We have to stop perceiving ourselves as beggars. These days, Africans only perceive themselves as victims. On the other hand, no one can really picture an African as a businessman. In order to change the current situation, it would be helpful if the aid organizations were to pull out.

SPIEGEL: If they did that, many jobs would be immediately lost ...
Shikwati: ... jobs that were created artificially in the first place and that distort reality. Jobs with foreign aid organizations are, of course, quite popular, and they can be very selective in choosing the best people. When an aid organization needs a driver, dozens apply for the job. And because it's unacceptable that the aid worker's chauffeur only speaks his own tribal language, an applicant is needed who also speaks English fluently -- and, ideally, one who is also well mannered. So you end up with some African biochemist driving an aid worker around, distributing European food, and forcing local farmers out of their jobs. That's just crazy!

SPIEGEL: The German government takes pride in precisely monitoring the recipients of its funds.

Shikwati: And what's the result? A disaster. The German government threw money right at Rwanda's president Paul Kagame. This is a man who has the deaths of a million people on his conscience -- people that his army killed in the neighboring country of Congo.

SPIEGEL: What are the Germans supposed to do?

Shikwati: If they really want to fight poverty, they should completely halt development aid and give Africa the opportunity to ensure its own survival. Currently, Africa is like a child that immediately cries for its babysitter when something goes wrong. Africa should stand on its own two feet.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

So I'm watching the All Star Game...

...and it turns out that Ranger pitcher Kenny Rogers had some kind of incident with the media a while back. You would think that something like that would have made the news at some point.

The Old Gray(ing) Lady

I finally found a New York Times editorial that makes sense:


"The Supreme Court, by its very nature, must be a conservative body; it is the conservator of our institutions, it protects the people against the errors of their legislative servants, it is the defender of the Constitution itself. To place upon the Supreme Bench judges who hold a different view of the function of the court, to supplant conservatism by radicalism, would be to undo the work of John Marshall and strip the Constitution of its defenses. It would introduce endless confusion where order has resigned [sic], it would tend to give force and effect to any whim or passion of the hour, to crown with success any transitory agitation engaged in by a part of the people, overriding the matured judgment of all the people as expressed in their fundamental law."


Of course, this was written and published in 1916, but never let it be said that the Times has never gotten anything right.

Hat Tip: Seth Lipsky in the New York Sun via James Taranto.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Staying the course

As you know, London yesterday became the third major western city (and second in the Anglosphere) in less than four years to be hit by terrorists in that most cowardly of acts of war, civilian mass murder.

Sadly but not surprisingly, the usual cast of America-haters, terror apologists and appeasers, anti-Semites, and other assorted loons are trying to point the finger of blame at US/British policy in Afghanistan and Iraq (and/or Jewish conspiracy), and as usual they could not be farther off the mark.

Like the others, it was an attack not on any particular people or nation, any action or policy, but on a way of life and a value system. They despise us for our individual freedoms, our human rights, our refusal to subjugate women and execute homosexuals, in short our culture. It’s not about grievances; it’s about hating those who will not ever submit to totalitarian theocratic rule.

It is interesting that, despite years of time between to plot, this was so much less damaging than New York. They can still land some blows, but an increasingly sophisticated defense makes their task much more difficult. And don’t discount the huge drain on their resources that is the Iraq “insurgency” (in that redefinition of insurgency that describes foreign forces attacking domestic interests as insurgents). With such a significant and elite portion of Al Qaeda concentrated in one small area, it is harder for them to wreak havoc elsewhere. And you have to figure that prospective state sponsors are just a bit reluctant to increase or maintain aid and risk the fate of Saddam.

This should once again remind all of us of why we fight and why our cause is just and moral. And that we should not become complacent just because our leadership has done such an amazing job in keeping us safe at home as to make us forget how we felt in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Our enemy is evil and committed; we must retain our resolve in the face of hostility, including the hysterical and relentless propaganda demeaning our country and our cause both at home and abroad.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Speaking of justice...

I previously blogged on the widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin last November, also mentioning without details the shenanigans in Washington state. I did not bring up the confirmed voter fraud in East St. Louis, Illinois, but last week convictions in that case were reached for all five defendants. Gateway Pundit has been on the case from day one.

Separation irony

Lee Harris points out that the concept of the separation of church and state is a purely Christian idea and that its inventor was Jesus of Nazareth, leading to the dilemma that those who advocate it are trying to impose Jesus’ teachings on their neighbors:


“Jesus separated church from state, and assigned to each its own proper sphere and domain.

This conclusion leaves the advocates for the separation of church and religion with a rather embarrassing dilemma. It was Jesus and Jesus alone who came up with a religion that insisted that the church and the state must be kept clearly separate. No one else taught this doctrine before Jesus did, and not many would teach it after him. The essential points of the Ten Commandments are shared by a myriad of different cultures; but the separation of church and state is a purely Christian idea, far more unique to it than the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation or the Virgin Birth -- themes that have abounded in other religions that did not insist on keeping church and state separate.

So we are left with a paradox. Those who advocate the separation of church and state are trying to impose Jesus's teachings on their community -- and if this doesn't violate the separation of church and state clause of the Constitution, what would?”


As Instapundit would say, read the whole thing.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Justice is served

Well, on the way to being served...let's hope this cretin gets a few years to think about the wisdom of stealing personal and financial information, not to mention mass e-mailing hate speech to the victims.

Chicago FBI agents raided and seized all electronic equipment in Jeremy Hammond's apartment in an investigation regarding the hacking of ProtestWarrior.com.

[…]

On March 17 2005, nine Chicago FBI agents raided and seized all electronic equipment in Jeremy Hammond's apartment.

[…]

[T]he FBI is threatening to charge him with unauthorized access and credit card fraud […] up to thirty years in federal prison […].


UPDATE 7/5/05 8:00pm: Much more detail from the founders of ProtestWarrior:

In January 2005, Jeremy Hammond and the hacker group collectively known as the "Internet Liberation Front" gained illegal access to the ProtestWarrior server. Thousands of customer credit card numbers were then stolen for the purpose of making millions of dollars in donations to various leftwing organizations. In early February, ProtestWarrior discovered the illegal breach and the identity of the criminals responsible.

Using the hacker recruiting ground www.hackthissite.org, Jeremy Hammond put together and led a team of politically motivated "hacktivists" to probe the ProtestWarrior server for months until an exploit was found. When an obscure vulnerability was discovered in the PW server's newsletter subscription code, they managed to upload malicious files that gave them the ability to execute commands on the server.

Upon discovering the hack, we immediately began collecting information on the breach and managed to penetrate Jeremy's inner circle. We then collected evidence that more than 5,000 credit card numbers had been stolen by Jeremy and the "Internet Liberation Front" and that they were planning on doing the following:

*charge hundreds of dollars per stolen credit card number as donations to various left-wing organizations by using an automated donation submission script

*send the entire ProtestWarrior HQ database (complete with usernames, passwords, and operation details) to left-wing groups hostile to ProtestWarrior (including the entire contents of our mail server)

*upload all credit card numbers and other sensitive customer information to hundreds of anarchist and left-wing sites (specifically Indymedia) as a downloadable zip file

*anonymously send press releases and material to thousands of media contacts to boast of the malicious hack and the millions of dollars defrauded, and to publish any and all sensitive information regarding the ProtestWarrior organization

*erase the entire PW server

*launch simultaneous attacks on other conservative sites

Upon discovering their plans, we contacted the FBI and the Secret Service, who immediately began investigating the case. We were able to provide them with a tremendous amount of evidence regarding the breach, the criminals responsible, and their plans to commit massive credit card fraud. We also reported the incident to all credit card companies involved to make sure that ProtestWarrior's customers were protected. With our help, the FBI was able to thwart Jeremy and his army of
"hacktivists".

After contacting the FBI, we immediately hired a security consultant and removed all sensitive information from the server. We eventually moved the server to a new box, where we blocked off the system and data files from the web server and changed the online store software to a super-secure system that stores zero sensitive customer information. In addition, we hired an internet security firm to run a series of vigorous vulnerability tests on our server, which our server all passed.

The reason we haven't made this announcement earlier is that our customers were already protected and we didn't want to jeopardize the ongoing FBI investigation of Jeremy and his "hacktivist" army.

The reason we're posting this now is that Jeremy, in a desperate move, is publicly appealing to the internet community regarding his pending FBI investigation. Using his site www.freejeremy.com, he is trying to solicit donations for his defense fund and generate public sympathy while spreading slanderous disinformation regarding ProtestWarrior and the events leading up to the FBI investigation.

We will soon be releasing much more information and details regarding the incident and the ongoing FBI investigation. Rest assured, justice will be served.

-Kfir and Alan
www.protestwarrior.com


[Me again]

Obviously, this Hammond is a low life and deeply emotionally disturbed piece of crap. Sadly, this is what the far left has been for most of my lifetime, from the old school terrorism of groups like Weather Underground to the new terrorism of people like this Internet Liberation Front. Same pathological hatred of this country and everything it stands for, different decade and (somewhat) different cast of radical individuals and associated hate groups.

Monday, July 04, 2005

7/4/1776

"[T]he flames kindled on the 4th of July 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them." --Thomas Jefferson