Update

Welcome LaShawn Barber readers! Thanks to LaShawn for the link. Go check out the post, and be sure to read the comments. I'm planning to post on anti-Semitism and the Left soon.

Tiger rocks. I am not an "early adopter" and I'm not prone to enthuse over every brand-new, bug-ridden gadget (or widget) that the software geeks think we can't live without. I'm not even a hardcore Mac fan, either - I think Apple makes a good product, but I'm not an Apple-kool-aid-drinking Microsoft-hater; I'm a dual user (Windows/Mac) and don't have a strong brand loyalty to either. So when I say I'm officially impressed with Mac OS 10.4 "Tiger", you can be sure I'm not just talking off the top of my head. I upgraded last weekend (late adopter, remember), and I'm really glad I did. The new OS is noticeably faster, both on internet browsing and on local applications - including, and perhaps most noticeably, Microsoft Word for Mac. Best of all, from a blogging standpoint, is the built-in RSS feature. This alone is worth the price of admission. One click and I can view all new posts from all the blogs I follow, and it's so easy to use, even a tech idiot like me can figure it out. And if you're worried about reliability, I would say it isn't perfect but it's pretty good - beachballs and unexpected quits are rare, and the number of oddball new-product glitches is small. So if you're a Mac user and you're holding off on upgrading to Tiger, this skeptic says: Go for it.

School's in - the blogging will go on. I'm finishing my first week of classes for the fall term. It's going to be fun. Physics, Women's Literature, and Calculus, all with great profs. I'm going to revise my topical posting schedule, with the new version hopefully going up this Sunday. I'm going to shoot for four or five Morning Reports a week; no MR today, next one Sunday morning.

Tammy Bruce. A couple of people have asked me whether I'm going to be linking to Tammy Bruce. Yes. She's joining Pajamas Media! Go to the link to read her interview.

Intelligent Design

I blame Michael in San Francisco for sending me this.

Day No. 1
And the Lord God said, “Let there be light,” and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, “Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?”
“I’m loving that,” said Buddha. “It’s new.”
“You should design a restaurant,” added Allah.

Day No. 2:
“Today,” the Lord God said, “let’s do land.” And lo, there was land.
“Well, it’s really not just land,” noted Vishnu. “You’ve got mountains and valleys and—is that lava?”
“It’s not a single statement,” said the Lord God. “I want it to say, ‘Yes, this is land, but it’s not afraid to ooze.’ ” ...

Paul Rudnick - Intelligent Design
Read it all at the link.

Morning Report: September 28, 2005

CTB: Terror threats in Italy, Muslim Brotherhood in France. The Counterterrorism Blog: 'Senior analysts at The Investigative Project on Terrorism have produced two new studies of importance. Lorenzo Vidino's "Is Italy Next In Line After London?," published by The Jamestown Foundation, discusses the potential targeting of Italy by al-Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups operating in Europe. As Lorenzo points out, the number of hardcore militants operating in Italy number in the hundreds; suicide bombers recruited in Italy have carried out attacks outside Italy; and Italy, like the UK, was unable until recently to pass effective anti-terrorism legislation or effectively enforce immigration and terrorism laws. ... Glen Feder's "The Muslim Brotherhood in France," published by "In the National Interest," discusses how the Muslim Brotherhood "has taken hold of the most powerful Muslim organization in France today, and is quickly penetrating into the political and social fabric of secular France." It is a detailed and excellent account of the history of the Brotherhood in France ...' Read Steven Emerson's full post at the link. (CTB)

Portland Coffee House, Trinity

Also known as One Way Coffee House, may be found at 1951 West Burnside. It's still the best coffee shop in the neighborhood. And now I can announce their CORRECT phone number: it's 503-248-2133.

Morning Report: September 27, 2005

Terrorist killed in Baghdad; identity in dispute. According to Debka, 'The Abu Azzam reported killed in Baghdad is not Zarqawi’s most notorious senior lieutenant. DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources strongly doubt that the man reported dead is in fact the Abu Azzam believed in charge of financing and arranging the movement of foreign fighters into western Iraq from Syria and other countries. His death has in fact not been officially announced. On March 19, coalition forces announced his capture in Baghdad. it was reported in DEBKA-Net-Weekly in the same week. He was then commanding Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s forces in the capital. Since then, according to our information, he has been held and interrogated by US forces.' The Counterterrorism Blog warns: 'Abdullah Abu Azzam, the Al-Zarqawi lieutenant killed in Iraq on Sunday, is being labeled "the #2 Al Qaeda in Iraq" by the Pentagon and in media reports. Counterterrorism experts and students have learned, often the hard way, to never take claims of important tactical victories or defeats without skepticism and objective review.' CTB promises more analysis soon. (Debka, CTB)

Belmont Club: Tables turned in Fallujah. Wretchard writes: 'Analysts who talk about the 'unstoppable IED' should consider the problems posed to the enemy by the American precision strike, which is in its way the rival "weapon from hell". If a modified cell phone represents a detonator to a triggerman lying in wait for an American target, a regular cell phone in the hands of an Iraqi working for American intelligence is a means to rain down certain destruction on any safehouse, hideout or enemy installation.' Read the full post at the link. (Belmont Club)

Voice of Reason

A sapphic reconsideration. A few of the anti-war protesters actually seemed to respond reasonably when approached reasonably. Global Cop's photo roundup reports that this "Dykes for Peace" demonstrator thought better of her part in the protest when she was gently reminded that "she wouldn't be very welcome in most Islamic societies".

This is why I like to stress the importance of talking to people one-on-one. Blogs and internet activism are good; demonstrations are good; but there's no substitute for just having a friendly, civilized conversation with your left-leaning friends and neighbors.

Our protestor might also be interested to learn that some activists like Irshad Manji are taking on the challenge of reforming the Muslim world from within. And don't miss this:
Irshad - the definitive interview

Iran Report

Iranian Nuclear Chief Ali Larijani: The West Should Learn the Lesson of North Korea (MEMRI)

"In my opinion, any reasonable person will understand that although Iran proposes these peaceful conditions, if you want to use aggressive language, Iran will have no choice but to protect its technological accomplishments by withdrawing from the NPT and from the regulations of the [Additional] Protocol, and to begin enrichment."

Anne Bayefsky: Impotent IAEA (NRO)

Working against referral to the Security Council, and for giving this state sponsor of terrorism more time to develop weapons of mass destruction, was U.N. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei from Egypt. ElBaradei said, after the failed U.S. and EU attempt to send the issue immediately to the Security Council: “I am encouraged that the issue has not been referred to the Security Council, precisely to give time for diplomacy and negotiation…” He continued, “time is still available for diplomacy to resolve outstanding issues, for Iran to build confidence, and that the question of reporting to the Security Council could only be discussed at a later date.”

For years, “lack of consensus” was trotted out as the main stumbling block to Security Council involvement. When it finally became clear that a vote at the IAEA would be the only way to move the issue forward, the size of the margin became the new obstacle. In an effort to minimize the opposition, the final resolution stated that Iran had breached the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, its claim of merely peaceful purposes was not credible, but that “the timing and content of the report…and the notification required” to the Security Council would be discussed at an unspecified later date. ...

The IAEA statute actually makes referral to the Security Council after a clear finding against Iran mandatory ...

ADNKronos: US Financing Radar Station on Iran-Azerbaijan Border

Tehran, 26 Sept. (AKI) - The Iranian media has reported a decision by the United States to finance radar stations in the central Asian republic of Azerbaijan, that the government in Tehran says are part of a military strategy by Washington to encircle the Islamic Republic. One of the stations is reported to be 20 kilometres from the Iranian town of Astara, while another is situated in Khizi, 50 kilometres from the border with Russia.

The construction of the two stations is part of the Caspian Guard Initiative, an American project which aims to guarantee the security of the 3.6 billion dollar, 1,600 kilometre-long Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that runs from Baku in Azerbaijan to the Turkish port city of Ceyhan. ...

Read full articles at the links. First and third items come by way of Regime Change Iran.

The Arabs are coming! The Arabs are coming!

Arab dissident bloggers make the LA Times! Discarded Lies links to a story on anti-regime bloggers in the Arab world. Evariste writes:

It's interesting to read about how dissident Arab bloggers are networking and making the promise of the world wide web-unstoppable freedom-come true. Their tenacity in overcoming heavy-handed state censorship is admirable and courageous.

From the LA Times article by Megan K. Stack:

"The government gives herself the right that she's more mature than you," an indignant Abdel Nour said on a recent morning as sunlight flooded his apartment in Damascus, the Syrian capital. "She will decide for you which site you can see and which is forbidden."

A 40-year-old gadfly and childhood friend of President Assad, Abdel Nour had been courting trouble for months. His writings call for the dismissal of officials, citing them by name and listing their shortcomings. He castigates Syrian intelligence and scoffs at the Baath Party, even though he is a member. By his count, his vitriol reaches 15,200 readers every day.

"They [government officials] are very much angry because they don't have any qualified people or intellectual people to respond or explain or defend," Abdel Nour said. "So they just stand there taking bullets, with nothing to respond. They've never had this situation before."

Abdel Nour fought the crackdown.

Nadz hands out the awards. Palestinian-American blogger Nadz passes out the Mad Mullah Awards:

I was going to do this at the end of the year, but we have witnessed so much stupidity, misogyny and religious fanaticism that I couldn't resist doing an early roast of the people I love to hate. So, without further ado, I bring you the Mad Mullah Awards!

Go to the link for the lucky winners in the Leftist-Nutcase, Leftist-Nutcase-Tools, Sexist-Blame-Rape-Victims, Cheerleader-for-Patriarchy, and other coveted awards.

Sandmonkey takes on stupidity. Egyptian Sandmonkey isn't impressed with the Christian values displayed by the Ontario Christian School, which expelled a 14-year-old student for having lesbian parents: 'What the girl had to do with her "parents" sinful lifestyle is beyond me. What was she supposed to do, force them to seperate? Preach every day to them? She is 14. Not to mention, Mr. Christian teacher, do you realize what opprutunity you lost yourself here? Here is someone who, according to you, lives in a sinful household. Do you reach out and try to "save her"? Nope, You kicked her out and sent her back in it. I am sure that's what Jesus would've done, no? All I see is stupidity around me!' There's some relief from the stupidity, though, when Sandmonkey posts his favorite hawk sighting.

What do Egyptians really think? Freedom for Egyptians has some answers:

But in fact, I do not think that the US is unpopular, it is extremely popular that if a traffic light in Egypt stops working, many would lay the blame on the US. As when any earthquake happens in Egypt, they believe that the US is supporting Israel to do the nuclear tests that would shake our Egypt. The earthquake is tailored in a very special way that does not shake Israel. And they do not ask why the US is not capable of stopping any California earthquakes? The answer is pretty simple; it is the earth not the US that takes the liberty in moving in some areas. There are hundreds if not thousands of situations when the US has to stand as the sole reason behind anything. If a woman cannot get pregnant it is because the US gave Israel a spray (could be a pesticide or even a perfume) to export to Egypt to prevent women from conceiving. Yes, it gets funnier by the minute.

But this does not mean that Egyptians do not like the US but actually they are obsessed by the US. It was so funny to see all those Egyptians that literally talk about the American elections more than about our referendums. They talk about President Bush more than about President Mubarak. The only thing they do not do is that they do not go to the polling stations with the Americans. ...

Ignatius said in his article “Indifference is not an American trait. Part of our Benjamin Franklin heritage of industry and self-improvement is that we want to be admired, applauded -- and, yes, loved.” And I would add something else that should make us believe in the US whic also intrigues me if does not leave me stunned is that the US is among very few countries if not the only one that succeeded in bringing hundreds of nationals from all over the world where everyone feels home. Arabs are very nationalistic people, hence they fail to see other peoples’ best. The US brought the best from all over the world to live under one flag.

The reason of the “unpopularity” of the US is that many Egyptians believe that their oppressors and US are one. ...

Read the rest at the link.

Miss Mabrouk: What's going on? Ritzy wants to know what's going on in those madrassas: 'Where is that hand going? I really don't know what is going on here or where Dangerous got the picture from. Just as worrying is this report ...' Go to the link for the disturbing photo, and the report on Islamic schools. Also, read Ritzy's post on Sharon.

Amsterdam nights. Mahmood has a video blog from Amsterdam.

The sweet taste of exile. Syrian heretic Amarji writes about Day 17 in Washington, DC: 'On the Seventeenth Day of Exile my True Love brought to me ingredients for a traditional Syrian dish. Oh I absolutely adore my One True Love. Indeed, this is our seventeenth day in Washington DC and exile couldn’t smell or taste any sweeter. But this is only “me” talking – I who logs my exile around like a cross, a simultaneously cherished and reviled possession. For Khawla, too, exile is a cross. To her, I am a cross, it seems. Years ago, when we first met, I doubt she knew that one day she would have to pay this price for our love. I hope it was worth it. I hope I was worth it. I know I have to spend the rest of my life showing her that it/I was worth it. But that is not too much of a cross really. It feels more like the natural commitment that comes with marriage ...'

Driver needed: The road of Good Intentions. The Religious Policeman posts excerpts from a would-be suicide bomber:

You remember Ahmad, our young failed suicide bomber , the one who was still waiting for his brain cells to be delivered? Well, the good news is that he's now appeared on Saudi TV, to tell us his heroic tale. (Thanks to "Ash" for this news and URL). If you go to the MEMRI site, you can see the full interview, with subtitles, and a transcript.

The interview is obviously intended to deter future wannabe Jihadis, by showing them the terrible fate that can befall them. After all, they might get a bit singed round the extremities, but they'll end up in this extremely nice hospital room, with their own telephone, and a big bunch of flowers. In fact I would hazard a guess that it's one of the really nice military hospitals, it's certainly better than my memories of the best civilian hospital in Riyadh, the Kingdom hospital. And the interviewer is very nice as well, doesn't ask him any nasty questions, even when Ahmad trots out what you can see on the screen, "my intentions were good". ...

As always, read the whole thing at the link.

Highlander is a woman blogger in Libya. In this post, she goes snooping around the Libyan blogs: 'Being the eternal sleuth as usual ;) I went on a search for some more Libyan blogs for my dear readers . Because you don't want to have only my opinion about all things Libyan don't you ? That won't be fair or balanced ... but also because I'm curious about my fellow Libyans. Well a fresh crop of blogs have turned up, I arbitrarily chose the most interesting among them to display here , the rest will be advertised when they start updating - not just having a "testing" sign on their website...' Go to the link for the rest, and don't forget to blogroll Highlander "From the Rock" - she's joining our blogroll now.

Morning Report: September 26, 2005

Al-Jazeera reporter convicted of terrorism. ITM: 'Al-Jazeera's reporter in Spain, Tayseer Alluni has just been sentenced to seven years in jail after a Madrid court found him guilty of joining a terror cell and facilitating money laundry. This is bad news for Al-jazeera who's been defending and campaigning to protect their reporter and they obviously failed in eluding justice but the question that we must think about is; was Alluni working on his own using his media credentials as a cover or could it be that Al-jazeera itself is involved?' The sentence came as part of Spain's largest terrorism trial, which featured the conviction of a cell leader. CNN: ' A suspected al Qaeda cell leader has been convicted in a Madrid court in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Two other suspected al Qaeda members were acquitted of charges they helped plot the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, the accused cell leader, was sentenced to 15 years on charges of conspiracy in the attacks and 12 years for being a leader of a terrorist group. The court cleared him of being an accomplice to murder in connection with the attacks. Yarkas, 42, faced nearly 75,000 years in prison if convicted on those charges -- 25 years for each of the nearly 3,000 fatalities in the 9/11 attacks.' (ITM, CNN)

Canada: Iran regime violates human rights. Perhaps recalling the brutal murder of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi at the hands of IRI thugs, Canada's foreign minister said he had prepared a resolution to condemn Iran for human rights violations. Rooz: 'While the pro hardline government media in Iran called the meeting between the Iranian and Canadian foreign ministers successful, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, said, after meeting with his Iranian counterpart that his country had prepared a new resolution to condemn human rights violations in Iran and would propose it to the United Nations General Assembly. The new resolution condemning Iran's human rights record followed by IAEA resolution last week, which paves the way for referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council, has already created new challenges for Iran's foreign policy makers.' (Rooz)

IRA puts weapons "beyond use". Another brave Canadian official, retired general John de Chastelain, played a key role in the negotiations which have resulted in the Irish Republican Army's formal surrender of all its weapons. CBC: 'The Irish Republican Army has completely disposed of the weapons it used during its armed campaign against British Rule in Northern Ireland. According to international monitors, "We have now reported to the British and Irish governments that we have observed and verified events to put beyond use very large quantities of arms which we believe are all the arms in the IRA's possession." "We are satisfied that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal," said John de Chastelain on Monday. De Chastelain is the retired Canadian general who since 1997 has led efforts to disarm the outlawed IRA on Monday.' (CBC)

Freedom's Warriors

Military roundup. Countercolumn on body counts: 'Maj D notices that coalition casualties this month are way down. In fact, the casualty rate for September is less than half of what it was in August and the lowest since March - "despite" a series of offensive operations in the north and west. I put "despite" in quotation marks because I would argue that the low casualty figures are BECAUSE of the offensive operations, not despite them. What explains the difference? I would venture that the increasing prominence of Iraqi forces is largely behind the lower casualty figures. As the Iraqi forces develop, they take on more of the burden of combat operations themselves, and so represent a lower portion of casualties.' We need to start paying attention to the sacrifices made by our Iraqi allies. Go to Mudville Gazette - Dawn Patrol for links to the latest on washroom facilities, a Lincolnesque eulogy for the fallen, and much more. And in a timeless photograph, a Marine pays a tribute across the battlefield: Gunny Burghardt says hi.

Hawk sightings. Refusing to let the peaceniks have all the fun, pro-military demonstrators managed to grab some headlines: Mudville Gazette on counter-protests links to GlobalCop's round-up of photos from "embedded" sources.Jonah's military guys link to "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" Don't let the title fool you at Blackfive: Media covers pro-military families - the MSM are "covering" the event in about the way you'd expect. But at lest they're covering it.

Corporal Tibor Rubin, Medal of Honor. Jason's post at Countercolumn - NYT on Rubin has a few words for the Times' perfunctory coverage of this event: 'Perversely, the allegations of anti-semitism in the Army receive more space in the article than Rubin's own heroism. These guys just HATE anything that has to do with the virtue of the America Fighting Man.' Alcibiades at Kesher Talk has more on this concentration camp survivor who became a hero to his fellow POWs in the Korean War. Rubin, now 76, is now entitled to receive salutes from even the highest-ranking military officers.

"The hills were covered with the sort of trees you buy at Christmas, but bigger."

Nancy Rommelmann, a New York native and recent immigrant from Los Angles, muses on the strange beauty that is Portland, Oregon. Read her post for some appalling stories of anglocentric chauvinism from well-off, "liberal" people in southern California. (I could tell you some stories too), and the contrasting experience of a wine dinner at a winery in the Willamette Valley. (Key concept: relaxed - not "mellow".) Hat tip: the invaluable Michael Totten.

Personal tidbit: When I first moved up to Portland from San Francisco in February 2000, one thing struck me: Portlanders always greet the bus driver when they board, and they say "Thank you" when they disembark. I really like that.

Morning Report: September 25, 2005

ITM: Constitution and elections. Omar at Iraq the Model discusses the gap between the delegates and their electorates in Iraq: 'What is noticeable now is that no clear majority can be said to be on either side and although the draft was written and agreed upon by the largest two blocs in the National Assembly, followers and supporters of these blocs do not seem equally willing to vote with 'yes'. And while no opposition to the constitution is coming from the Kurdish people, the division is more pronounced in the Sheat population as there's a sizeable percentage that opposed the federal state. The Sunni politicians and parties also are pushing towards rejecting the constitution. However these politicians and parties are not representative of the Sunni Arabs and what they say may not reflect what the people want but in general it seems that more Sunnis are going to vote with 'no' on the October referendum. The above distribution is supposed to cover roughly 90% of the population but in fact it does not as there are the secular trends, the communists and many independent people who do not follow this party or that faction. The secular trends themselves have different opinions; some believe that the constitution is a step back to the dark ages and allows religion to take a bigger role than it should, thus these seculars want to vote the constitution down ... The other secular trend has another point of view; they see ratifying the constitution as a step forward as to the democratic process in general, so they seem more inclined to support the constitution as a first step but only to amend it later. ... There are also other religious and ethnic minorities who don't seem happy with what's been stated in the draft and they think their rights will be severely eroded under this constitution. Here we have mainly the Christians, Turkmen and the Shabak (who complained about their ethnic rights being ignored). The Turkmen's opposition to the constitution comes from their age-old conflict over Kirkuk which is home town for people from both groups; still there are some Turkmen who sided with the Kurds and even others who sided with the Sheat alliance following their sectarian background. ... So all I can say now is that the results of the referendum can not be accurately predicted at the moment and the outcome will depend to a great extent on the geographic distribution of votes throughout the country.' Post continues with an analysis of the upcoming elections, in which the numerous small parties - including the Fadhils' IPDP (Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party) - are coalescing into larger ones. (ITM)

IAEA finds IRI non-compliant. And the Iran regime isn't happy about it. CNN reports: 'Iran has rejected as "political" and "unjust" a resolution passed by the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency calling for the country to be reported to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program, state-run television reported. ... The resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors accuses Iran of failing to comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But it does not specify when Iran would be referred to the Security Council. The board will have to vote a second time to determine that. The resolution, drafted by Britain, France and Germany and backed by the United States, passed with 22 votes in favor, 12 abstentions and one vote against by Venezuela.' Full article at the link. (CNN)

Taheri: IRI walking into a trap. Via Regime Change Iran, Amir Taheri at Arab News writes: 'Ahmadinejad’s speeches and interviews represented an improvement over his predecessor Muhammad Khatami, a mulla, who amused UN audiences by trying to show off his knowledge of Hobbes and Hegel. Unlike Khatami, Ahmadinejad did not pretend to be what he is not, that is to say a liberal democrat. Instead, he spoke as a radical Islamist revolutionary representing a radical Islamist revolutionary regime. ... Before Ahmadinejad arrived in New York many in the UN saw Iran as a poor developing nation being bullied by big powers on spurious grounds. Ahmadinejad replaced that image with one of a cocky midsized power trying to punch above its weight regardless of the consequences.' Full article at link. (Amir Taheri at Arab News, via RCI)

CTB: Daylight at last? The Counterterrorism Blog sees 'growing indications that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his Al-Qaida acolytes may be facing the most serious political and operational challenges they have encountered since they first joined the anti-coalition insurgency in mid-2003. The deadly glut of suicide bombings that began on September 8 has undoubtedly caused destruction and chaos--but militants were neither able to undermine the anti-insurgent operation in Tel Afar nor deter Iraqi government efforts to formulate a constitution.' The CTB cites a stinging rejection by the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) as a major setback for the terrorists of al-Qaeda. (CTB)

Britain's quiet war in southern Iraq. An article at the Sunday Times via Iran Focus sheds light on Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) and its "secret war" against the Iranian regime in Basra and southern Iraq. 'TWO SAS soldiers rescued last week after being arrested by Iraqi police and handed over to a militia were engaged in a “secret war” against insurgents bringing sophisticated bombs into the country from Iran. The men had left their base near the southern Iraqi city of Basra to carry out reconnaissance and supply a second patrol with “more tools and fire power”, said a source with knowledge of their activities. They had been in Basra for seven weeks on an operation prompted by intelligence that a new type of roadside bomb which has been used against British troops was among weapons being smuggled over the Iranian border. The bombs, designed to pierce the armour beneath coalition vehicles, are similar to ones supplied by Iran to Hezbollah, the Islamic militant group. “Since the increase in attacks against UK forces two months ago, a 24-strong SAS team has been working out of Basra to provide a safety net to stop the bombers getting into the city from Iran,” said one source. “The aim is to identify routes used by insurgents and either capture or kill them.” The forces have tried to seal the notoriously porous border using high-technology sensors that monitor movement by night. They report to a major based in Baghdad in an unmarked building known as the “station house”. ...' Meanwhile, The Belmont Club reports on some second thoughts in London: 'British Tory Michael Portillo has begun to express doubts about the British 'softly-softly' approach in Iraq in the London Times. ... Those who been closely following events in Iraq will immediately remember April 2004 in the US sector, when the hands-off approach and the reliance on poorly trained Iraq civil defense forces were shown to be inadequate by the simultaneous uprisings among the Sunnis and the Shi'a. As Yogi Berra said, "it's deja vu all over again". So it is no surprise that the British are reacting in much the same way as the US did in April 2004. In some respects, the British will be starting a year and half behind the United States. 'Softly, softly' as the history of the last days of the Clinton administration and recent events in Gaza show, often means 'ouchly, ouchly' in the end. But several things will make the British recovery easier. The first is establishment of the Iraqi government and the creation of its major combat units. Secondly, the British have probably built up intelligence on the opfor, which is something they do as a pastime whenever they are not otherwise occupied. Thirdly, they don't have to fight a two-front war since the US has taken charge of the Sunni front. Lastly, the US has made the major investments in robotics, electronic warfare and supporting fires that will provide the British Army with whatever precision firepower it needs to get out of a jam. GIs rarely shoot from the hip, whatever Portillo believes, and have invested billions investing in technologies that are wholly the opposite of this cinematic approach.' (Iran Focus, Belmont Club)

Answering ANSWER. Judith at Kesher Talk has some links to the pro-Iraq demonstrations, and Baldilocka observes leftists in their natural habitat. (Kesher Talk, Baldilocks)