All posts by Ross

Immigration, Media, Politics, Russia, United Nations, War On Terror

UN Does Human Trafficking Too! And Putin Is Not Pleased.

Two (Russian) United Nations employees were busted for visa fraud. They were essentially writing letters of special permission for certain people to enter the country to ostensibly attend a special meeting or some diplomatic business at the UN. Neither happened, the people just came over.

Noteworthy in this news article is the fact that the MSM here in the US is mute on it. A google search right now shows a Reuters, VOA, and foreign media outlets. No NYT or LAT, no WaPo, no CBS, NBS, or ABS. Definitely does not fit the template.

The Reuters article is the most complete. Two are from Russia. And you ought to see how Pravda reports this. This is the Putin media talking with a Michael Moore twist. That’s President Vladimir Putin, the guy who put democracy in Russia into reverse.

update: The link to the Pravda story is gone. The story isn’t on the server, if the error msg is to be believed. Lesson here is, when it comes to Putin’s press, better capture it because the link won’t be there when you return.

What you missed is the whole tone of the article is different. As though it is a different story altogether. In Putin’s version, it is just trumped up charges on Russian citizens in order to further the anti-UN fervor in the US as an excuse to get out of the UN. And it goes on from there, tinfoil hat and all.

Putin characterizes the US negatively in such a way that he’s not speaking of an ally of Russia. He seems to use this topic as a means to launch on to other attacks. Like James Carville with hair. There is no anti-US reporting in the other Russian media accounts of this story. Well, not yet anyway. The other Russian media’s versions of this story are nothing of the sort of the Pravda version. They are all using a shorter version of the Reuters story.

From here it looks like Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to create some anti-US sentiment in his country. Why would this be? It is what he would need to justify (to the Russian people) his recent arms escalation and unwillingness to participate in a cooperative missile defense arrangement in that part of the world. That is presuming he gives a wit about the Russian people. Seems to me Putin has his sights on eliminating most, if not all, of the freedoms the Russian people are supposed to be able to enjoy. A ‘free’ media in Russia is on the endangered species list.

UPDATE: 8/8/07, the link is back but Putin and references to Putin are gone. His picture is gone. All of that was on the original story. For starters, here is the headline and sub-head.

USA arrests Russian UN officials to slander the organization

American authorities have been looking for a reason to get rid of the UN and obtain the absolute freedom

Media, Politics, War On Terror, Whiners

Congresswoman Bolts From Hearing, Of Progress

Qualifying for the most ridiculous item of the day try this. Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS) ran out of an Armed Services Committee hearing when retired Gen. Jack Keane described positive developments in Iraq. The purpose of the hearing was to inform Congress on the situation in Iraq. She then accused the General for further dividing the country by his assessment of progress with the war in Iraq. What’s wrong with this picture?

It’s what happens when your party is invested in defeat. I hope the good people of Kansas will make a different choice when Boyda’s term expires.

RealClearPolitics: Michael Barone

Politics, Race Relations

Not Much Diversity In The ‘Center’

The group claims to be the political center of the Democrat party. But people attending the Yearly Kos convention, a gathering of the wacko left blogosphere, noticed an elephant in the room. It’s pretty white.

“It’s mostly white. More male than female,” says the former high school math and science teacher turned activist. “It’s not very diverse.”

“I was completely surprised — shocked even. The political blogosphere isn’t as white as the people in this convention.”

“I hate using the word ‘diversity.’ I don’t know what we use there. But what we definitely need are voices from different communities,” she says. And the problem, she adds, stretches beyond ethnic and gender inclusion. There’s a socioeconomic gap, too.

Washington Post link

Immigration, Media, Pensacola, Politics

Republicans Hate Immigrants Says goLeftTV

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On the forefront of what they call progressive news, goLeft.tv1 host Farron Cousins discusses the passage of Homeland Security-related bills that pertained to the 9/11 Commission’s report. Adding that Republicans hate immigrants. Being a life-long republican, that’s news to me.

“Since Republicans seem to hate immigrants for some reason” is his explanation for the addition of $3 billion to provide for adequate border security. Because Republicans want “to keep new people from coming into the country to experience the American dream.”

“Progressives”2 can not distinguish between legal aliens and illegal aliens. Or they won’t. And that’s dangerous. It also gives them the so-called moral authority to say that Republicans hate immigrants. In their world, there are no borders so there are no illegal aliens. And that’s dangerous.

Then there’s the propensity to demagogue all issues to a political advantage and say outrageous stuff like republicans hate immigrants. But that’s not unusual for the rants of Mike Papantonio and other progressives.

1 goLeft.tv is a production of Air America radio host and BIG LAW trial attorney Mike Papantonio of Levin-Papantonio, Pensacola, FL.

2 a new label to replace “liberal”

Immigration, Media, Politics

Every Vote Doesn’t Count For Democrats

And especially so when you’re fighting for illegal aliens from Mexico like Democrats were Thursday night. Witness the actual stealing of votes in the House of Representatives.

You know, all the Florida recounts that included even the kind of recounts both Gore and the Florida Supreme Court wanted, showed that Bush won. Seven years later, you can see that facts never seem to matter when politics is involved. And Thursday night was a prime example.

Republicans argued afterward that they had secured a 215-213 win on their motion to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving any federal funds apportioned in the agricultural spending bill for employment or rental assistance. Democrats, however, argued the measure was deadlocked at 214-214 and failed, members and aides on both sides of the aisle said afterward.

This is what stealing a vote looks like. When they saw they had lost the motion, the Speaker gaveled the vote closed on a procedural measure and declared the vote to be tied, which leaves the bill as is. A video on this and a press release from my Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL) follow. Continue reading Every Vote Doesn’t Count For Democrats →

Fairness Doctrine, Pensacola, Politics, War On Terror

goLeft.tv, Progressives On Parade

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You have to see what the left is up to. The things they believe. This is what they call ‘progressive’ politics. Nice word, but that’s about it as far as anything progressive from this bunch. Please don’t take my word for it. See and hear it, in their own words.

The Mainstream Media Is Dead: The mainstream media is controlled by religious neo-cons. And the neo-cons created class warfare. They stole the key to the Supreme Court. Neo-cons got rid of the Fairness Doctrine. Capitalism is bad, unless it is regulated by government. Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter (who doesn’t even have a radio program) are monopolizing political speech. George Bush is committing murder in Iraq. He has learned that America is calling for ‘progressive talk’ radio. And like the civil rights movement, he sees Air America radio gathering steam and succeeding.

Pap on Fox and Friends- Iraq: You can’t tell soccer moms and NASCAR dads that we’re in Iraq for a good reason. No WMD’s. Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. (yawn) Can’t quite grasp the concept that a free and secure Iraqi government will deny al-Qaeda a safe haven which will make everyone else in the world safer. Of course, he doesn’t believe that al-Qaeda is in Iraq so from his standpoint, it’s a no-brainer. No pun intended. After criticizing everything about the Bush administration over Iraq, ‘Papantino’ (Papantonio) was asked only one question. You’ve criticized the administration’s plan, what is the Democrat’s plan? Which he didn’t answer. And won’t even answer on his goleft.tv website.

Media Fails on Iraq War: Dick Cheney put out orders that anyone shooting at us are to be called al-Qaeda. al-Qaeda in Iraq is completely false. And the media carries this message for Bush. And the military generals are under the same orders. It’s all a conspiracy.

The Toxic GOP: The GOP has poisoned 70,000 Katrina victims. And covered it up. Here’s where the class action lawyer-speak really shines. You can tell he is experienced in the class action and medical malpractice profit centers. Apparently he feels that if someone else was president that the manufactures of the FEMA trailers would have made them with different carpeting. He blames ‘the shrub’ (that his name for Bush) for that.

2008 Election, Media, Politics, War On Terror

What New Direction, What Plan B?

Hardly perceptible over the noise of the day, here is the ‘Plan B’ Democrats have been asking for. Of course they won’t like it either. Of course they haven’t given us their Plan A yet, let alone Plan B. Karen Hanretty on The Hill’s Pundit Blog sums it up like this . . .

Democrats who’ve been demanding a ‘Plan B’ from the administration just got it. Watching them whine about it will be interesting.

So what will the liberals denounce first?

Put to the test, it won’t be a new direction unless Democrats say it is. Yeah, that’ll happen.

Politics, War On Terror

When Good News Is Bad News Politically

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How would you like to be in the position that when good progress is made in the war, that it hurts your political party? Back in the old days, Americans of both parties would welcome good news and would celebrate a win together. But that’s not going to be the case where the war in Iraq is concerned. It must be tough to be a Democrat in Washington nowadays. Speaking of the Blue Dog Caucus in the House, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that if progress continues . . .

“I think there would be enough support in that group to want to stay the course and if the Republicans were to stay united as they have been, then it would be a problem for us,” Clyburn said. “We, by and large, would be wise to wait on the report.”

WaPo link: Clyburn: Positive Report by Petraeus Could Split House Democrats on War

Media, War On Terror

Progress In Iraq? Oh No.

From the New York Times to liberals’ eyes. I don’t know how this got past the filter but it did.

Yet now the administration’s critics, in part as a result, seem unaware of the significant changes taking place.Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

NYT link: A War We Just Might Win