The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Holy Crap! North Korean Opens Artillery Bombardment on South Korean Island

Posted on | November 23, 2010 | 4 Comments

This is kind of scary:

North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire on Tuesday after dozens of shells fired from the North struck a South Korean island near the countries’ disputed maritime border, South Korean military officials said. Two South Korean soldiers were killed, 15 were wounded and three civilians were injured, said Kiyheon Kwon, an official at the Defense Ministry.
The South Korean military went to “crisis status,” and fighter planes were put on alert but did not take off.
South Korean artillery units returned fire after the North’s shells struck South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island at 2:34 p.m., said Mr. Kwon, adding that the North also fired numerous rounds into the Yellow Sea. Television footage showed large plumes of black smoke spiraling from the island, and news reports said dozens of houses were on fire.
The official North Korean news agency said in a brief statement Tuesday night that the South had started the fight when it “recklessly fired into our sea area.”

Sydney Morning Herald:

NORTH KOREA has burnished the leadership credentials of its 26-year-old dictator-in-waiting with a deadly artillery attack on South Korean territory, causing its neighbour to return fire and scramble F-16 fighters. . . .
A North Korea expert at Beijing’s Central Party School, Zhang Liangui, told the Herald that Kim Jong-un was deliberately destabilising the environment in order to mobilise the military and consolidate his power.

Hat-tip: Gateway Pundit.

UPDATE: “Gird your loins!” says Michelle Malkin, quoting Jim Geraghty: “I can’t believe the president’s personal letter to Kim Jong Il didn’t work.”

UPDATE II: Via Memeorandum, more from Da Techguy’s Blog, Ruby Slippers, Richard Fernandez, Hot Air, Donald Douglas at American Power and AmSpecBlog

Category: North Korea

Debt Causes Collapse of Irish Government

Posted on | November 23, 2010 | 1 Comment

Something here I can’t quite put my finger on:

The Irish government faced imminent collapse on Monday, only a day after it signed off on a $100 billion bailout, setting the stage for a new election early next year and injecting the threat of political instability into a European financial crisis that already has markets on edge.
Confronted with high-level defections from his governing coalition, Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he would dissolve the government after passage of the country’s crucial 2011 budget early in December.
His announcement capped a grim day for Ireland, as protesters tried to storm the Parliament building in Dublin, and Moody’s Investors Service, the ratings agency, lowered the rating on Irish debt by several notches.

Hmmm. Deficit spending and a giant bailout leads to angry protests and “political instability” . . . Why does all this sound so familiar?

Category: Economics, Ireland

Alex Pareene: Expert on Hackdom

Posted on | November 23, 2010 | 3 Comments

Takes one to know one:

These are the most predictable, banal, intellectually dishonest and all-around hacky newspaper columnists, cable news shouting heads and political opinion-mongers working today. . . . We cut the list down to 30 people whose continued employment most baffles us, and then we ranked them in order of shamelessness.

When I think of a “hack,” I think of someone who habitually pushes second-hand partisan talking points or, alternately, an untalented writer who recycles cliches. Either way, it is the lack of originality that defines genuine hackery.

We’ll wait to see the full list before assessing how well Pareene has ranked these pundits. But right off the bat, I’m perplexed by this question: Exactly how the hell does Pareene — who has never done anything except sling snark from the sidelines — presume to apply the label “hack” to a political reporter like Matt Bai? And what the hell kind of criticism is this?

[Bai’s] sins are largely the sins of most professional campaign reporters. . . Because he covers campaigns, he privileges campaigns . . . as the single most important factor in deciding elections.

Excuse me? Is Pareene trying to say that campaigns are a secondary factor in deciding elections? Has Pareene ever done any reporting himself? Does he think that campaign reporters — i.e., the journalists most directly acquainted with the facts on the ground — should be disqualified from offering analyses of elections?

Bai has done some excellent work for the New York Times, including a very informative pushback against the Left’s absurd claim that Democrats lost because of moderate “Blue Dogs.” Having covered several Republican candidates (including Morgan Griffith and Ray McKinney) who were campaigning against incumbent Blue Dogs, I fully understand how valuable such centrists were to Democratic Party control of Congress. If Pareene doesn’t understand that, it’s his problem, not Matt Bai’s.

And why is Howard Kurtz No. 23 on the list? If Kurtz is not the best “inside media” reporter in the country, who is?

Category: Journalism

LIVE AT FIVE – 11.23.10

Posted on | November 23, 2010 | 3 Comments

TOP NEWS

300 Killed In Stampede At Cambodian Water Festival

People jammed onto a bridge in Phnom Penh Monday

Worst tragedy since the Khmer Rouge, says Cambodian PM

UK To Join EU, IMF In Propping Up Irish Banks
No change in Irish corporation tax sought




Gas Levels In NZ Mine Too High For Rescuers To Enter
Coal may also be burning in the mine



POLITICS

Quinnipiac Poll: Palin Would Lose To Obama, But Romney Could Win

Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney on the campaign trail in 2008

A little early for this nonsense, isn’t it?

It’s Not Over In Alaska: Miller Sues To Force Compliance With Voting Law





2010 Electorate Old, White & Republican, According to “Nonpartisan” Project Vote

Solomon Ortiz (D-Tex) Concedes To Blake Farenthold; GOP Chalks Up Another House Seat



THE ECONOMY, STUPID

HP Posts Gains In Sales, Profit

Netflix Introduces Streaming-Only Service; Raises Price On Rent-by-Mail Service

Is Black Friday Worth It?

What Next For Novell?

Nissan Leaf Rated at 99 MPG (Yes, It’s Electric)



SPORTS

Reds Slugger Joey Votto Near-Unanimous NL MVP Pick

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, 2010 NL MVP

Only the third Canadian to win the MVP award

Childress Canned As Vikings Coach
Real news is that Sid Hartman says it’s the players who should have been fired


Heat’s Haslem To Have Surgery, Out For Five Months

Titans Lose QB Vince Young For Season With Thumb Injury

Devils Ambush Caps, Extend Division Leaders’ Skid To Three With 5-0 Win



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS

“Buffy The Vampire Slayer” Reboots – Without Joss Whedon?!?

Whit Anderson: former fangirl, current screenwriter for the "Buffy" reboot

Whedon: “I Have Strong, Mixed Emotions”

Death Threats For Bristol Palin, Mark Ballas

Bieber Bust: AMA Ratings Hit All-Time Low

Parker’s Posse Say Longoria’s Been No Angel Either

Capri Anderson Describes Infamous Date With Charlie Sheen

“Gossip Girl” Sidelines Taylor Momsen

“Fantastic Four” Almost Made Jessica Alba Quit Acting


Lindsay Lohan Gets Her Road Privileges Back

Emma Watson Doesn’t Understand Guys



FOREIGNERS

Irish Debt Crisis Brings Down Government

UN Meeting To Tackle Smaller Climate Issues

Burma Democracy Leader Reunited With Son

Saudi King Arrives In U.S. For Surgery



BLOGS & STUFF

Hugh Hewitt: Nice Job Shilling For The TSA On Gate Rape, Marc

WSJ: GOP Ranks Fray On Debt Limit Increase

Moe Lane: Al Gore Goes To War On Ethanol

Atlas Shrugs: Ground Zero Mosque Hits Up 9/11 Rebuilding Fund For $5 Million

Hit & Run: Abandon Medicaid, All Ye Who Enter Here?

Sister Toldjah: Yes, Meggie, Do Become A Political Consultant  – For The Democrats


— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five, Uncategorized

Oritz Concedes TX-27 to Farenthold; GOP Reaches Historic 241 Seats in House

Posted on | November 22, 2010 | 25 Comments

Most House seats held by the Republicans since 1949:

U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz conceded late Monday to Congressman-elect Blake Farenthold.
Noting that the recount of more than 106,000 votes had been completed in the district, Ortiz said: “Therefore, with great respect and admiration in the Democratic process, I congratulate my opponent, Mr. R. Blake Farenthold, in his election to the 27th Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives.” . . .
During the recounts, Farenthold, the Republican challenger, continued his lead over Ortiz by nearly 800 votes.
For his part, Farenthold said that, “it’s a great relief to have the uncertainty gone.”
Farenthold also told The Brownsville Herald that he is “very happy” and that Ortiz had been “very gracious.”

Politico writes: “Republicans have now won at least 62 House seats. The GOP leads in one of four unresolved races.” Meanwhile, in NY-25, where Republican Ann Marie Buerkle leads by 567 votes after the absentees were counted, the chairman of the Onondaga County GOP called on Democrat incumbent Rep. Dan Maffei to concede:

“It’s over. Dan Maffei has no chance to win the 25th congressional seat and it’s time for him to stop wasting taxpayer dollars and do the honorable thing and right thing for the residents of the 25th District and concede.”

A court hearing originally scheduled for Tuesday on Maffei’s request for a hand recount has been postponed to Wednesday. Over on Long Island, meanwhile, the count in NY-1 continues seesawing back and forth, as Jim Geraghty points out, linking our friends at Left Coast Rebel. The latest count seems to have Democrat Rep. Tim Bishop leading GOP challenger Randy Altschuler by about 200 votes and, pending “challenged” ballots, that one might not be decided until after Thanksgiving.

So the GOP has scored a net gain of at least 62 seats and possibly as many as 64. Yet with the Republican victory in TX-27, Republicans have now crossed the threshold to 241 House seats — the most they’ve held in more than 60 years.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers!

UPDATE II: Welcome, Gateway Pundit readers! Up near Syracuse, N.Y., the Lonely Conservative is angry:

Rep. Dan Maffei (D) continues to deny the obvious. I suppose he’s thinking that perhaps a few voting machines or bags of ballots will magically appear so he can continue with his Keynesian fantasy. . . . No matter how you slice it, Ann Marie Buerkle has won the election. Yet Dan Maffei still refuses to concede.

Dan’s clinging. Bitterly.

UPDATE III: Guy Benson at Townhall has been riding the NY-1 roller coaster. If Altschuler wins there — and if Maffei ever concedes — Republicans will have gained an impressive seven House seats in New York alone. Not like there’s any kind of “mandate” there or anything.

UPDATE IV: One of the most-overlooked results of the national GOP landslide was that the state legislature in Alabama, which had been controlled by Democrats since . . . . well, since forever, was swept by Republicans. And now four Democrat incumbents who managed to get re-elected Nov. 2 have switched parties to join the GOP majority.

Category: Ann Marie Buerkle, Congress, Election, New York, Texas

Charlie Sheen Countersues Porn Star for ‘Shakedown,’ Calls Her ‘Scam Artist’

Posted on | November 22, 2010 | 6 Comments

Hey, can I spot the hot stories or what?

Charlie Sheen filed a lawsuit Monday for extortion and two other counts against the porn star who claims he tried to choke her during a bizarre meltdown in a New York hotel last month.
In the lawsuit . . . Sheen alleges that Christina Walsh, aka Capri Anderson, demanded $1 million from the Two and a Half Men star to keep quiet. The suit also alleges that Walsh works as a prostitute.
Sheen’s lawsuit was filed by L.A. power attorney Marty Singer and says Walsh engaged in “an attempted shakedown and extortion of the internationally known actor and celebrity Charlie Sheen.”
She is described as “an opportunistic pornographic film star and publicity hungry scam artist”.

Best quotes from the court filing (PDF):

After a consensual encounter . . . Walsh decided that this was her chance to become rich and famous. To that end, she fabricated a story about being assaulted, battered and held against her will. . . .
Walsh, a young and relatively unknown pornographic film actor . . . has an unrelenting desire and goal to be wealthy and to appear on television and achieve her fifteen minutes of fame. . . .
Shortly after they had gotten into the room [at the Plaza Hotel], Sheen discovered that a very expensive Patek Philippe watch which he had purchased in May 2010 for $165,000 was missing. Sheen asked Walsh to return the watch, and when Walsh refused and falsely denied she had taken the watch, Sheen became extremely upset.

(Via TweetDrudge.) So this guy with the $165,000 watch (allegedly) decided it was a smart idea to hire this “young and relatively unknown” woman as his dinner date for $3,500 and bring her up to his hotel room for a “consensual encounter.” And when the situation spins out of control, Mr. Patek Philippe hires a big-shot lawyer to bully her into shutting up.

Exit Questions: If Charlie was so sure this chick stole his watch, why didn’t he report the theft to the cops when they showed up at his hotel room? Does Charlie expect the court to uphold his right to commit a crime — e.g., solicitation of prostitution — without risk of embarrassment?

PREVIOUSLY:

Category: Celebrities, Crime, Scandal, Sex

Shrieking Outrage in 3, 2, 1 . . .

Posted on | November 22, 2010 | 7 Comments

“The women’s movement used to be about honoring for women the same God-given rights that our country honored for men. It used to be about dignity and hope. It used to be about respecting women by respecting their choices — whether it is to be a nuclear engineer or a stay-at-home mom — not denigrating them when they aren’t sufficiently like men. And it used to be about respecting women’s unique role in creating and sustaining life.”
— Sarah Palin, America by Heart

Category: Books, Feminism, Sarah Palin

FBI Report: Remember That Predicted Wave of Tea Party Hate Crimes?

Posted on | November 22, 2010 | 9 Comments

Despite warnings about “right wing extremists” from the Department of Homeland Security, the Great Hate Tsunami of 2009 failed to materialize:

The number of hate crime incidents in the United States reported for 2009 came down from 2008, according to data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday.
“While the number of law enforcement agencies submitting data to us increased — topping off at 14,222 — the number of hate crime incidents reported for 2009 (6,604) was down from 2008,” the agency reported.

The Southern Poverty Law Center — which has spent the past two years shrieking about an alleged proliferation of anti-Latino, anti-Muslim and anti-black hate groups — today expanded its list of anti-gay hate groups to include both the American Family Association and the Family Research Council.

Something about a little boy who cried wolf . . .

UPDATE: Longtime readers will probably not be surprised to see Charles Johnson use the SPLC list (which applies its “hate” label to the Massachusetts conservative group MassResistance) as an excuse to take a cheap shot at Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit:

Let’s pause to consider this typically stupid ad hominem — i.e., Jim/”Dim” — before moving on to examine how utterly false is Johnson’s characterization of MassResistance.

The “teach school kids to fist” remark relates to the role of MassResistance in publicizing a 2000 conference at Tufts University, sponsored by the Boston chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). What transpired at that event — with state officials telling an audience of high school and middle school students about the practice of “fisting” — was described in a Weekly Standard article by Rod Dreher.

The 2000 Tufts conference became newsworthy in 2009 after Obama named as his “safe schools czar” Kevin Jennings, who had been keynote speaker at that event.

So you see that Johnson’s characterization of MassResistance as “the ‘gays teach school kids how to fist’ bunch” — as if the group were demonizing all homosexuals for the actions of GLSEN activists — is completely inaccurate. MassResistance is a parent-sponsored organization arguing (as they have every right to do) about educational policy in Massachusetts public schools.

Surely parents ought to be able to object to teaching school kids about “fisting” without being accused of “hate.” And surely Jim Hoft ought to be able to blog about the controversy surrounding the czardom of Kevin Jennings without being derogated as “Dim.”

UPDATE II: Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch notes this from another story about the FBI report: “Anti-Muslim crimes were a distant second to crimes against Jews, making up just eight percent of the hate crimes driven by religious intolerance.” Dan Blatt at Gay Patriot awaits MSM headlines about “the rising tide of anti-Semitism.”

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Category: Crime, Education, Gateway Pundit, Gays, Massachusetts, Racism, Tea Party
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