Presto Agitato

No Suspicious Circumstances

At least one coroner isn't buying the official nothing-to-see-here line at the UN:

A British nuclear expert who fell from the 17th floor of a United Nations building did not commit suicide and may have been hurled to his death, says a doctor who carried out a second post-mortem examination.

And let's not forget that this is the second time this has happened in the same building. 

Case Closed

Ali Soufan, former FBI interrogator, claimed this April in the New York Times that it was him and his partner 'Agent Gibson' who got the information from Abu Zubayda regarding 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and the American al Qaeda sleeper Jose Padilla, without any need for the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation techniques.'  Not so, says the Justice Department Inspector General:

On Friday, the Justice Department released reams of newly declassified documents on the CIA interrogation program.  Among the documents is a revised, October 2009 version of the Justice Department Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s involvement in detainee interrogations.  

This report proves, once and for all, that FBI interrogator Ali Soufan lied about his role in the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah. 

...

The IG report ... declares that 'Gibson stated that during the CIA interrogations Zubaydah "gave up" Jose Padilla and indentified several targets for future al-Qaeda attacks, including the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.'

So Soufan lied.  Who does he think he is, Joe Wilson?  (Or maybe he's running for Speaker of the House!)

 

UN Reason

Why do I despise the UN?  Exempli gratia:

US drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be breaking international laws against summary executions, the UN's top investigator of such crimes said.

'The problem with the United States is that it is making an increased use of drones/Predators (which are) particularly prominently used now in relation to Pakistan and Afghanistan,' UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston told a press conference.

...

'The onus is really on the United States government to reveal more about the ways in which it makes sure that arbitrary extrajudicial executions aren't in fact being carried out through the use of these weapons,' he added.

Ah, yes: Instead of unlimbering our cannons, we should unleash the 3rd Lawyers' Brigade in South Waziristan!  That'll straighten them out!

Does Mr. Alston think there's some doubt about what these guys are up to?  And under what laws (and whose laws!) would such terrorists be prosecuted?  In the absence of Hellfire and brimstone, who does Mr. Special Rapporteur think is going to arrest these sons of Allah to bring them to justice?  Oh, that's right: The military — American, Afghani, or Pakistani — armed and ready to kill or be killed, which is exactly how it will go down.  And this is not 'summary'?

But unhinged as Mr. Alston's argument is from reality, how is it different from the Obama Administration's dedication (and that of candidate Kerry before him, the Clinton Administration, and several American courts) to the 'rule of law' — civilian law — in prosecuting international terrorism?

Quote of the Day: Beat Down

If al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the rest of the Looney Tunes brigade want to kick America to death, they had better move in quickly and grab a piece of the action before Barack Obama finishes the job himself.  Never in the history of the United States has a president worked so actively against the interests of his own people – not even Jimmy Carter. — Gerald Warner

Yeah, this is the same guy who called Obama 'President Pantywaist.'  I like him!

(And do read the whole thing!)

Nuclear Fallout

It's very dangerous to 'know too much' at the UN:

A British nuclear expert has fallen to his death from the 17th floor of the United Nations offices in Vienna.

The 47-year-old man died after falling more than 120ft to the bottom of a stairwell. He has not been named.

He worked for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, an international agency charged with uncovering illicit nuclear tests.

A UN spokesman in the Austrian capital said there were no "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the man's death...

Four months ago another UN worker also believed to be British fell from a similar height in the same building, it has been reported.

No, no suspicious circumstances at all.  La, la, la, la, la.....

The Reluctant Hegemon

The question is whether we become just one among many because they have risen to America's example of liberty, or because America has declined to the global standard of statism.

(Full speech here.  Essay here.)

Quote of the Day: Your Milage May Vary

BREAKING NEWS: Barack Obama has been selected as the Motor Trend Car of the Year! — Some racist right-wing blog commenter

Oh, the Humanity!

In other news, I am officially no longer Norwegian.  I'm pretty sure my ancestors were Swiss.  Yeah, Swiss.  That's the ticket.

Ignobel

So, now: Yasser Arafat got the Nobel Peace Prize for agreeing to a peace he had no intent to honor.  Jimmy Carter got the Peace Prize for speaking out against the Bush Administration's war in Iraq.  Al Gore got the Peace Prize for, um, his movie on 'global warming.'  (?!)  And now Obama has gotten it for working to be more like Europe, and for 'diplomacy' that has accomplished nothing and has been mocked in Europe, including by the President of France as missing the point and ignoring the real problem.  (Apparently, he didn't get the 'hope and change' memo.)  One would think that the very public reminder of the real problem — of Iran's nuclear ambitions — only days later, would have served to discredit Obama's approach.

Could it be that the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is responsible for the Peace Prize, is extremely naïve (as shown by the award to Mr. Arafat) and utterly political?  Let them speak for themselves:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee countered that it was trying 'to promote what he stands for and the positive processes that have started now.'  It lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations, and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.

The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners.  The Nobel committee acknowledged that they may not bear fruit at all.

'He got the prize because he has been able to change the international climate,' Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said.  'Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature?  Too early?  Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now.  It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us.'

Translation: You can't give the Prize for something that didn't work out, so let's give it now and hope it works out.

Well, so long as we're clear on the point....

Jack Squat

But that's a good thing. Well, except for Afghanistan. And Iran. And the economy.

Sigh.