George Will Wisely Suggests a Non-Intervention Policy for Libya

The world is filled with evil governments run by evil people who do evil things to innocent people. Libya is a stark example of this tragic reality. But that does not necessarily mean it is the responsibility of the United States government to intervene in Libyan affairs – particularly if there is no clear mission or implication for U.S. national security.

George Will opines on this issue today, asking more than a dozen probing questions about the wisdom of another nation-building experiment in the Muslim world. This excerpt has a handful of the questions that I think are most important. I’m especially concerned that the U.S. government might intervene after asking permission from the kleptocrats at the United Nations – thus doing the wrong thing in the worst possible way.

Today, some Washington voices are calling for U.S. force to be applied, somehow, on behalf of the people trying to overthrow Moammar Gaddafi. Some interventionists are Republicans, whose skepticism about government’s abilities to achieve intended effects ends at the water’s edge. All interventionists should answer some questions:

The world would be better without Gaddafi. But is that a vital U.S. national interest? If it is, when did it become so? A month ago, no one thought it was.

Before we intervene in Libya, do we ask the United Nations for permission? If it is refused, do we proceed anyway? If so, why ask? If we are refused permission and recede from intervention, have we not made U.S. foreign policy hostage to a hostile institution?

Would it be wise for U.S. military force to be engaged simultaneously in three Muslim nations?

I’m surely not an expert on these issues, but my aversion to nation building does not mean I’m opposed to slapping around people who attack the United States. If the President happened to drop a cruise missile on Gaddafi and said it was a delayed response for the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing, I wouldn’t lose a second of sleep.
 

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Saudi Arabia Getting Ready For The "Day Of Rage"

When Will The Protests Hit Saudi Arabia? -- Haaretz

Group of Saudi intellectuals has already opened a petition on Facebook demanding to turn the kingdom into a constitutional monarchy and create division between the monarchy and the government.

It is quiet in Saudi Arabia - for now. No public square is crowded with thousands of protesters and no youths are busy tearing down pictures of King Abdullah in shopping centers. The slogan "The people want regime change" has been replaced there by the weaker "The people want reform."

Following three months in New York tending to his ailing back, and the tremendous headache that Lebanon caused, does anyone remember at all that Abdullah still has some unresolved problem's at home?

Read more ....

Posted by War News Updates Editor

Fossilized Alien Bacteria Found In Meteorite

Alien bacteria? Possibly. Noodle puking noodles? Probably.
A NASA scientist who's dreamed of having sex with aliens since adolescence claims he's found FOSSILIZED ALIEN BACTERIA in a rare form of meteorite. This discovery may or may yes lend credit to the Scientologist belief that meteorites are Xenu's sperm, raining life down on planets like pissing off a highrise. Admittedly, I don't actually know if they believe that or not, but I'm running with it. Also: scissors. Pirate eyes, makin' a comeback!

Hoover [no relation to the vacuum manufacturer -- except being a sucker!] discovered the fossils by breaking apart the CI1 meteorite, and analyzing the exposed rock with a scanning-electron microscope and a field emission electron-scanning microscope, which allowed him to detect any fossil remains. What he found were fossils of micro-organisms, many of which he says are strikingly similar to those found on our own planet.
"The exciting thing is that they are in many cases recognizable and can be associated very closely with the generic species here on earth," said Hoover. Some of the fossils, however, are quite odd. "There are some that are just very strange and don't look like anything that I've been able to identify, and I've shown them to many other experts that have also come up stump."

Every other scientist in the world is currently poring over Hoover's findings with the hopes of proving him wrong. Me? I'm currently poring over the Sunday funnies with the hopes somebody snuck a naked lady into a panel of Dilbert. I've only got one panel left though so it's not looking promising. *peeps* Damn. Maybe Garfield...

UPDATE: Apparently Hoover sucks(!) too much of the space-weed (which is actually just meth) and is a crackpot bullshitter. Also, still no luck on the nudie comic front and I'm getting down to the last few strips. COME ON, PRINCE VALIANT!

NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life [yahoonews]
Thanks to Kryptic Khaos, TOM, casey, Johnathan, April and Turbo the Mechanical Ape who encourage you all to tape your buttholes shut until we get to the bottom of this. Tape?! I glued!

Watch As Libyan Rebels Fire Machine Guns At Passing Gaddafi Planes

A day in the life of Ras Lanuf: Rebels fire machine guns at passing Gaddafi planes overhead as reporters hug the ground to avoid getting hit by bombs. And a concise eyewitness report: "We can see the tanks. The tanks are everywhere. They have surrounded the square with snipers and tanks. The situation is not so good. It's very scary. There are a lot of snipers," said a Zawiyah resident."

From a Reuters correspondent, who probably wishes he was somewhere else right about now:

Rebels were pinned down by tanks and snipers in the center of Zawiyah on Wednesday as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi closed in on their last redoubt in the western Libyan city, witnesses said.

"We can see the tanks. The tanks are everywhere," a rebel fighter told Reuters by phone from inside Zawiyah.

"They have surrounded the square with snipers and tanks. The situation is not so good. It's very scary. There are a lot of snipers," said a Zawiyah resident.

With the international community still hesitant about how to respond to the crisis in Libya, a counter-offensive by Gaddafi has halted a rebel advance in the east and left others stranded in Zawiyah and another western city, Misrata.

Rebels in the east, facing a fresh barrage of artillery fire on their desert frontline outside the oil port of Ras Lanuf, renewed an appeal for outside powers to impose a no-fly zone to at least shield them from air attacks.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear, however, that imposing a no-fly zone is a matter for the United Nations and should not be a U.S.-led initiative.

Gaddafi has said he would die in Libya rather than flee. But that has failed to stem speculation on his plans.

Well, the question is not whether he will die, but what he will do in the moment just before that...

David Davis Couldn’t Wait Until His Haircut Was Done To Stab Someone In The Back With A Pair Of Scissors

STAMFORD, Conn. — Police say a man was halfway through a haircut at an apartment in Stamford, Conn., when he grabbed scissors and slashed another man in the back. The Stamford Advocate reports that 21-year-old David Davis was arrested soon afterward when officers with a police dog found him in a nearby apartment. A police mug shot shows Davis with thick hair sticking up from only one side of his head. Authorities say the victim approached Davis during his haircut Tuesday in what he called “an aggressive manner.” He said he picked up the scissors in self-defense.

Double-neck tats and a busted hair do = classy. As pissed off as you might be because someone walked up on you in an “aggressive manner”, you should probably wait until your haircut is done before you go stabbing people. David has cemented himself in the mugshot hall-of-fame. Nice work.

St. Louis shoot-out leaves one U.S. marshal, dead, another wounded; suspect killed

www.nydailynews.com – A U.S. lawman was killed along with the shooter Tuesday when a wild gunfight erupted as federal marshals tried to serve an arrest warrant at a St. Louis home, authorities said.

Two federal marshals were shot along with a local cop, who was saved by his bullet-proof vest in the gunbattle with a man holed up in the house. Marshal John Perry, 48, later died from his wounds.
“Our people and our partners are well trained and prepared, but it is impossible to predict when a wanted individual will make a fateful choice that results in the loss of life or injury,” said Service Director Stacia A. Hylton. “Today, unfortunately, we again feel that pain.”

St. Louis police confirmed the suspect, Carlos Boles, was killed in the shootout on the city’s south side.
A woman at the scene, where blocks were cordoned off with police tape, said the dead man was her brother.
“All we know is they killed him,” Sannita Vaughan told reporters gathered near the shooting scene.
It appeared Boles opened fire on the trio serving the warrant in a neighborhood about a mile away from the Mississippi River.

A SWAT team entered the house where the suspect was hiding about two hours after the first burst of gunfire.

The second marshal, who was undergoing surgery, was shot in the ankle and listed in fair condition at the St. Louis University Hospital.

The wounded police officer, after taking a bullet to his vest, was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

by Staff

SAD! Daughter of Kandi Burruss’ Deceased Fiance Shot in Head

by Aleta Watson

In a shocking and fatal turn of events, “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kandi Burruss’ deceased fiance A.J. Jewell’s daughter was shot in the head on Saturday (Mar 5.)

15 year-old Asheley Jewell was riding around with a group of female friends when they noticed a vehicle chasing them. The car then opened fire on Jewell and her friends. She was shot in the back of the head and  is currently still in critical condition.

Police believe Jewell and her friends were the victims of road rage.
This is so sad! Let’s pray for her recovery guys!
[Source]

Catholic Church Suspends 21 Priests For Allegations of Child Abuse

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has suspended 21 priests for involvement in the sexual abuse of minors. The suspensions come after a grand jury found that 37 priests in the diocese were implicated in such abuse.


Cardinal Justin Rigali, previously insisted that there were no priests “who have an admitted or established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against them.”

Critics are saying that the Church fought to retain the priests and denied allegations of current priests with abuse histories. While on suspension, the priests cannot celebrate Mass publicly, wear collars or hear confessions.

This could open the door for significant civil liability for the Church in Philadelphia. Moreover, the delay in suspending the priests could become a major issue in court. These priests may also now have more of an incentive to implicate the Church in such civil actions.
Source: NY Times

The Hackers’ Cyber War

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Ex-Gov Blago Asks Judge to Cancel Retrial and Sentence Him

By Allan Lengel

For AOL News

In an unexpected move, the highly entertaining and often unpredictable former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has asked a federal judge to cancel his retrial and sentence him on the sole conviction in his first trial: lying to an FBI agent.

Blagojevich insisted that he is still innocent but said he was making the request in the interest of justice and saving taxpayers money, according to a motion filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. He was convicted in the first trial on one of 24 counts, and the government is slated to retry him April 20.

He has been given court-appointed attorneys paid by the government. However, the attorneys have yet to be paid.

“The federal budget is being drastically cut,” Blagojevich attorney Lauren Kaeseberg wrote in the five-page motion. “Specifically, the funds for lawyers to defend indigent defendants have been suspended.
To read more click here.

Tiki Barber Making A Comeback

"Barber's manager, Mark Lepselter, has informed the New York Post that his client's decision to attempt an NFL comeback was based upon "some overtures made to him recently." Lepselter would not divulge any more information on these "overtures (ESPN)."

Wow, I would've never have guessed this comeback, but apparently he has already filled out the paper work, and once there is a new CBA he will hit free agency. Tiki will be 36 in April, and I really doubt he has much left in the tank. I mean this guy hasn't play since 2006, so I really think this is asking a lot. Then again his last season he rushed for 1,662, and obviously will come in 100% healthy.

My guess is that a team brings him to camp, but then he gets cut, and either goes back to the booth or the UFL. That hasn't stopped Antonio Pierce from ripping him as a "leader"...

"Tiki Barber, the football player, great player, will be very productive probably in certain situations, third-down, maybe can help out a young quarterback, some young running backs, depending on who it is," Pierce said on ESPN's "NFL Live" per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. "Tiki Barber, the leader, the person in that locker room? He is not going to do anything for your team. Now if that is the guy you think you are bringing in, you might want to look in another direction (ESPN)."

So, I guess his comeback won't be with the Gaints.

Posted by Dueling Couches