South Florida Students Face Indictment for Carrying Explosives Across State Lines

Southern Baptists at it again.

WASHINGTON — Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.

Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives.

He and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding in Goose Creek, S.C., on Aug. 4, where they have been held on state charges.

Consumer Spending Rebounds in July

More good news that crAP chooses to spin with negative speculative qualifiers... although worries, but there are worries, however economists cautioned, however if incomes falter etc. etc. etc.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers returned to the malls in July after taking a breather in June, although worries about the future could make the rebound short-lived. The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending rose by 0.4 percent in July, double the June increase. The spending was supported by a solid 0.5 percent rise in incomes, the best showing in this area in four months.

Thompson's Announcement Today?

Lots of buzz on this.

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Dalton Thompson may be announcing his presidential candidacy formally at 4:30 pm EDT today. A reliable source close to Thompson's advisors told HUMAN EVENTS that today would be the actual announcement, not the announcement-of-the-announcement rumored earlier.

Thompson's move may have been accelerated by the August 29 editorial in the Manchester, NH Union Leader that said Thompson's failure to participate in the scheduled September 5 debate would be a snub to New Hampshirites.

Whatever motivated Thompson, the September 5 debate - with him in it - would be much more important than it would otherwise have been.

Update: BREAKING: Fred Thompson will announce his candidacy today at 4:30pm EDT

It's official: Fred Thompson will formally enter the Presidential race today, with an announcement to be made at 4:30pm.

For all who have waited for this for months -- here you go.

He's finally putting his money where his mouth is. Word is that he is making phone calls to supporters as we speak.

Economy Grows at Fastest Pace in a Year

Women and minorities hardest hit etc. etc....

The economy grew at its strongest pace in more than a year during the spring as solid improvements in international trade and business investment helped offset weakness in housing. The gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, expanded at an annual rate of 4 percent in the April-June quarter, significantly higher than the 3.4 percent rate the government had initially estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

But the growth spurt could be short-lived. There are concerns that the recent turmoil in financial markets, a result of a spreading credit crisis, could seriously dampen economic activity in the second half of this year.

GDP growth may have slowed to just above 2 percent in the current quarter and many analysts believe growth will slow even further in the final three months of this year as the full impact of the recent market turmoil is felt.

Remember this is crAP and all good news under a Republican administration MUST be tempered with negative speculation.

Survey: Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory

Well, what do you know.

In 2004, history professor Naomi Oreskes performed a survey of research papers on climate change. published on the ISI Web of Science database from 1993 to 2003, she found a majority supported the "consensus view," defined as humans were having at least some effect on global climate change. Oreskes' work has been repeatedly cited, but as some of its data is now nearly 15 years old, its conclusions are becoming somewhat dated.Examining peer-reviewed papers

Medical researcher Dr. Klaus-Martin Schulte recently updated this research. Using the same database and search terms as Oreskes, he examined all papers published from 2004 to February 2007. The results have been submitted to the journal Energy and Environment, of which DailyTech has obtained a pre-publication copy. The figures are surprising.

Of 528 total papers on climate change, only 38 (7%) gave an explicit endorsement of the consensus. If one considers "implicit" endorsement (accepting the consensus without explicit statement), the figure rises to 45%. However, while only 32 papers (6%) reject the consensus outright, the largest category (48%) are neutral papers, refusing to either accept or reject the hypothesis. This is no "consensus."

Iraqi Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Suspends Mahdi Army Activities

Strategic logistic 101....Armies don't initiate ceasefires if they are winning, unless of course, they are controlled by the left in this country. The Mahdi army has taken a beating and desperately needs time to regroup, we should not give it to them.

BAGHDAD — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered a six-month suspension of activities by his Mahdi Army militia in order to reorganize the force, and it will no longer attack U.S. and coalition troops, aides said Wednesday.

The aide, Sheik Hazim al-Araji, said on Iraqi state television that the goal was to "rehabilitate" the organization, which has reportedly broken into factions, some of which the U.S. maintains are trained and supplied by Iran.

"We declare the freezing of the Mahdi Army without exception in order to rehabilitate it in a way that will safeguard its ideological image within a maximum period of six months starting from the day this statement is issued," al-Araji said, reading from a statement by al-Sadr.

In Najaf, al-Sadr's spokesman said the order also means the Mahdi Army will no longer launch attacks against U.S. and other coalition forces.

Poll: Thompson/Guliani Still Knotted

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson on top of the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination. Giuliani earns 23% of the vote from Likely Republican Primary Voters while Thompson is also at 23%. Mitt Romney is favored by 16% and John McCain is the choice for 11%. Mike Huckabee tops the second tier at 5% (see recent daily numbers).

It appears we have a date certain....Fred Thompson's new campaign manager, Bill Lacy, forces out communications director Linda Rozett and suddenly we have a date for Fred's announcement:

Sources tell numerous outlets that Thompson will announce his campaign September 4th, and that he will participate in his first debate on September 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore. His first major appearance at a GOP event will be at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Michigan around a week earlier.

IRAN VOWS TO TAKE CHARGE IN IRAQ

From Drudge

A grand miscalculation on the part of Iran. If anything can turn around public opinion on Iraq, this is it.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Tuesday that a power vacuum is imminent in Iraq and said that Iran was ready to help fill the gap.

"The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran, referring to U.S. troops in Iraq. "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation."

Just keep talkin.

Update: Bush responds: Iran must halt Iraq actions 'at once'!

Iran protests over Swedish Muhammad cartoon

Oh those silly Swedes. Btw the Swedish ambassador to Iran is a women, bet that burns their beans.

Iran summoned a Swedish diplomat to its foreign ministry on Monday to protest against a cartoon in a Swedish newspaper depicting the head of Prophet Muhammad on a dog's body, Sweden's foreign ministry said.

"Gunilla von Bahr, Sweden's charge d'affaires, was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry today where she received a protest from the Iranian government," foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Björkander told AFP.

The Iranian government told Von Bahr the cartoon was "offensive to Prophet Muhammad," Björkander said, refusing to disclose any further details of the meeting.

Gonzales Resigns

Breaking: Just a headline, story to follow.

Update From the NYT Embattled Attorney General Resigns

WACO, Tex., Aug. 27 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not announced immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Latest rumor is that Chertoff will be the new AG.

Iraq leaders reach consensus on some benchmarks

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders reached consensus on some U.S. benchmarks on Sunday that are seen as crucial to healing the deep rifts in the country, Iraqi officials said.

Three Iraqi officials said the leaders had signed an agreement that would ease curbs on former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party joining the civil service and military.

Two of the officials also said consensus had been reached on holding provincial elections and releasing many detainees held without charge across the country.

Significantly more than what the Democrat Congress has achieved during their tenure as majority.

BBC has this: Iraqi leaders sign unity accord

Iraqi PM lashes out at Clinton, other U.S. critics

Maliki has failed in many areas but he's called this one right...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hit back on Sunday at Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton and other U.S. critics who have called for him to be replaced, telling them "to come to their senses."

Maliki is under mounting pressure from officials in Washington to show political progress towards reconciling his majority Shi'ite Muslim sect and minority Sunni Arabs. U.S. officials are frustrated by the negligible progress so far.

Clinton and fellow Democratic Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, have called for Maliki to be voted out because of his failure to find a political solution to Iraq's bitter sectarian violence.

"There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin," Maliki told a news conference

Thompson Wins Surprise Write-In Victory in HRCC Straw Poll

Hundreds of Republican activists gathered at the St. Paul River Center to cast ballots in a non-binding Presidential Preference Straw Poll Wednesday night. The poll was sponsored in conjunction with a House Republican fundraiser and included party leaders, Republican Legislators, Former Republican Lawmakers, party activists and boosters for various candidates.

Hmmmmmm

Iranian Troops Cross Into Iraq, Attack Villages

BAGHDAD -- Iranian soldiers crossed into Iraq on Thursday and attacked several small villages in the northeastern Kurdish region, local officials said.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said he couldn't confirm the attacks, but five Kurdish officials said that troops had infiltrated Iraqi territory and fired on villages.

The Iranian military regularly exchanges artillery and rocket fire with Kurdish rebels who have taken refuge across the border, but Iraqi Kurdish officials worried that Iran's willingness to cross the border raises the possibility of a broader confrontation that would draw the Iraqi government and U.S. forces into an unwanted showdown.

Unwanted showdown, for whom? For the left and MSM maybe but not for the informed of us who are sick and tired of Iran directly contributing to the deaths of our soldiers.

Democrat Talking Points

Iraq is a disaster.

We're losing in Iraq.

We can't win in Iraq.

The Surge can't work.

The Surge isn't working.

There's a civil war in Iraq.

The Surge isn't working that well.

The Surge is working but Iraq doesn't have a government.

Even if we win in Iraq we can't stay there.

Thanks JB

Incredible Shrinking Deficit, II

Three words....TAX CUTS WORK!

2004: $413 billion 2005: $318 billion 2006: $248 billion 2007: $158 billion

Close readers of this column may recall the top three numbers in the list above from our editorial of July 12, "Incredible Shrinking Deficit." It commented on the mid-session review released by President Bush's Office of Management and Budget, which projected the fourth number, the 2007 federal budget deficit, at $205 billion. Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released its own updated estimate for 2007, $158 billion, a deficit even smaller than the White House's July figure. The CBO yesterday also released its latest estimate of the 2007 deficit as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product, allowing us to update another list of deficit numbers:

2004: 3.6% 2005: 2.6% 2006: 1.9% 2007: 1.2%

The More They Know, the More They Like Thompson

Giuliani has been the frontrunner for the Republican nomination since the start of the year, and according to Gallup's latest poll (conducted Aug. 13-16, 2007) he leads Thompson, his chief rival, by 13 percentage points -- 32% vs. 19%, respectively. According to Gallup's analysis of the relationship between candidate familiarity and vote choice over the past three polls, Giuliani is the clear favorite among Republicans who are not familiar with all of the other candidates in the field. He leads this group with 38% of the vote, compared with 18% for McCain, 12% for Thompson, and only 6% for Romney. However, among the slightly smaller group of Republicans who are familiar with all four candidates, the leader is Thompson with 33%. Giuliani ranks second with 25%, followed by Romney and then McCain.

Arizona School Suspends 13-Year-Old Boy for Drawing Gun

Good grief.

MESA, Arizona — Officials at an Arizona school suspended a 13-year-old boy for sketching what looked like a gun, saying the action posed a threat to his classmates.

The boy's parents said the drawing was a harmless doodle and school officials overreacted.

"The school made him feel like he committed a crime. They are doing more damage than good," said the boy's mother, Paula Mosteller.

The drawing did not show blood, bullets, injuries or target any human, the parents said. And the East Valley Tribune reported that the boy said he did not intend for the picture to be a threat.

Iraq: Baathists 'disown al-Qaeda'

No small development this....

Baghdad, 22 August (AKI) - The leader of Iraq's banned Baath party, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has decided to join efforts by the Iraqi authorities to fight al-Qaeda, one of the party's former top officials, Abu Wisam al-Jashaami, told pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.

"AlDouri has decided to sever ties with al-Qaeda and sign up to the programme of the national resistance, which includes routing Islamist terrorists and opening up dialogue with the Baghdad government and foreign forces," al-Jashaami said.

Al-Douri has decided to deal directly with US forces in Iraq, according to al-Jashaami. He figures in the 55-card deck of "most wanted" officials from the former Iraqi regime issued by the US government.

What's that sound I hear? Could be heads exploding on the left side of the aisle on Capitol Hill.

Romney Encounters More Core Opposition Than Clinton

Last week we discussed how Hillary Clinton's negatives could preclude her from ever becoming POTUS. It appears that Mitt Romney may very well have a similar problem...

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has finally surpassed New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the polls. Unfortunately for Romney, it’s a poll measuring the number of people committing to vote against him.

The Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% of Likely Voters would definitely vote against Romney if he’s on the ballot in 2008. That’s a point higher than the 43% who would definitely vote against Clinton. Only one other possible candidate surpassed Clinton in this category all year (former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who is not considered a candidate at this time).

The continued mud slinging by Romney minions will do nothing but exacerbate this problem.