Bloggledygook

France Votes "Non."

Okay, maybe one post.

PARIS, May 29 (AFP) - French voters Sunday massively rejected the first-ever EU constitution in a historic referendum that deals a devastating blow to Europe's grand integration project, according to exit polls giving the "no" camp about 55 percent.   

The vote was also a political slap in the face to President Jacques Chirac who had staked his prestige on the campaign for the treaty.   

The CSA polling institute said the "no" camp had won an estimated 55.6 percent of the vote, the Ipsos institute put the figure at 55 percent, while Sofres said 54.5 percent had voted "no".

Chirac has heard the voters, but he just can't help lecturing:

PARIS (AFX) - President Jacques Chirac said he has taken note of the 'sovereign decision' of the French people to reject the EU constitution, but argued the result will make it harder for France to defend its interests in Europe.

In a television address after exit polls showed a clearer-than-expected victory for opponents of the constitution, Chirac said: 'The decision of France inevitably creates a difficult context for defending our interests in Europe.'

    Chirac also said he would take a decision on the future of his center-right government 'in the coming days' after the vote.

The overwhelming rejection of the treaty by about 55 pct of voters constituted a slap in the face to Chirac, who had repeatedly made personal pleas to the electorate during the campaign for a 'yes' vote.

Commentators have suggested that Chirac would dismiss Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, whose popularity rating stands at about 20 pct, no matter what the outcome of the referendum.

Observers have tipped Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin and Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie as possible replacements.

Obviously, this is a big rebuff to Chirac by the voters. I don't see how he can continue with Raffarin or how he can consider a run for another term.

So Chirac is the big loser in this, but European, and specifically French, democracy is a winner.

If I hear anything earth-shattering, I'll log back on.

à bientôt.

Blogging The Light (not so) Fantsastic.

I have been making preparations for a long trip tomorrow and as anyone can tell, blogging has been next to dead. I did get some of the "back forty" planted today, so I have that going for me. Tomatoes, lots of chilies, basil, other assorted herbs for now. We'll see what we can get when I get back.

I'll try to find someplace to blog in Las Vegas, but I'm not very hopeful. We'll see. Have a great Memorial Day and a great week, everybody.

In between cookouts it would be a nice thing to stop and remember all those who have served to keep out nation the wonderful place that it is.

Happy Memorial Day to all our Armed Services members.

John Conyers Wants Shari'a.

Dhimmi Watch posts the full text of Rep. John Conyers effort to pander to his Muslims constituents. It is House Resolution 288 and it's a doozy. On its face it reads like a We Are The World type of claptrap--vacuous and designed for the weak minded. But it is more than that. Conyers has drafted a resolution that actually is incredibly intellectually dishonest and singles out Islam and the Koran for special treatment in this country. That, my friends, what judges and lawmakers in Canada, France and now Italy have fallen trap to. Excerpted text:

Whereas believers of all religions, including the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, should be treated with respect and dignity;

Whereas the word Islam comes from the Arabic root word meaning “peace” and “submission”;

Whereas there are an estimated 7,000,000 Muslims in America, from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, forming an integral part of the social fabric of America;

Whereas the Quran is the holy book for Muslims who recite passages from it in prayer and learn valuable lessons about peace, humanity and spirituality;
Whereas it should never be official policy of the United States Government to disparage the Quran, Islam, or any religion in any way, shape, or form;

[...]

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) condemns bigotry, acts of violence, and intolerance against any religious group, including our friends, neighbors, and citizens of the Islamic faith;

(2) declares that the civil rights and civil liberties of all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith, should be protected;

(3) recognizes that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as any other holy book of any religion, should be treated with dignity and respect; and

(4) calls upon local, State, and Federal authorities to work to prevent bias-motivated crimes and acts against all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith.

Can anybody imagine such a resolution being passed mentioning any other religion or religious scriptures--and getting such a warm reaction from the left as witnessed in these comments?

Even though this is only a resolution, this is the first step toward giving Islam special status in this country and must be defeated.

But that is not enough. It must be reestablished that government and religion do not inhabit the same sphere of influence in America. In a way, those pushing for "faith-based initiatives" have helped bring this kind of thing on themselves. There is, never was and never will be (I hope) a law or policy against the "desecration" of a book. It is irrelevant how many people consider it sacred. If I want to buy a Koran just so I can toss it in the sewer, that is my right and there's nothing that anybody can do about it.

Again, why is the government dictating how the Koran is to be treated? The only thing that this has done is make throwing a Koran around a punishable offense that the government is now obligated to enforce, which is stupid and dangerous. The United States is saying that the Koran deserves special "delicate" "respectful" "reverent" treatment.

This is nothing short of an effort to establish a religion. It must be stopped.

Zarq The Sharq Ain't Moving.

Yeah, Ken. "Zarqawi Has An Owie" IS funnier. You win.

Gateway Pundit has the latest on the rumors that Zarqawi is tits-up. Scroll around for some of the back story. Seems as if Zarq's family is lining up the virgins for some necro-nookie.

David Rosen Off The Hook.

No surprise, here:

LOS ANGELES May 27, 2005 — The former national finance director for Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign was acquitted Friday of lying to the government about a lavish 2000 Hollywood fundraising gala.

David Rosen was charged with two counts of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission about the cost of the star-studded gala, which attracted such celebrities as Cher, Melissa Ethridge, Toni Braxton, Diana Ross, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

The fundraiser took place at a tony, 112-acre private estate, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Zeidenberg told jurors it cost $90,000 just to get the celebrities and their entourages there. Zeidenberg said organizers spent $35,000 more to provide attendees with souvenir director's chairs from the event and another $50,000 to produce CDs that were included in the gift bags.

Rosen testified that he mistakenly thought some in-kind contributions, including the Porsche he used while in Los Angeles to organize the event, were simply gifts.

"If I executed poor judgment in that decision, I made a mistake, but I certainly didn't intend to hide anything," he testified.

Rosen also said he was mainly involved in raising money for the event and left the actual organizing to others.

I'll say only two things about this.

These charges were doomed from the start and a waste of taxpayer money.

Second, ignorance of the law is no excuse, right?

Slacker, Inc.

Yeah, not much happening on the old site today. Sherry has been off all week on a well-deserved at home vacation while I have been scrambling with job stuff and getting ready fro a week-long biz trip to Las Vegas. So today we took advantage of the first nice day in a month a went for a long lunch on Mt Washington, overlooking the city. It is a spectacular sight from this tiny, hard-up riviera we have.

Before anybody starts making "what happens in Vegas"-type comments: it will NOT be fun. 1: I will be working constantly and B: I will be without my wife. I have no idea if the hotel has Internet access (they like to get you out of the rooms, for some reason) so I'll try to find a Starbucks or something (no recriminations, please) and blog from there.

More later. Maybe.

Can I Take It Til I Need Glasses?

Is there a Viagra-blindness link:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified 50 cases of the condition, which can occur in men with heart disease or diabetes.

The FDA says it has as yet found no evidence that Viagra is to blame for the condition.

More than 20 million men worldwide have used the drug since its launch in 1998.

A spokesman for Pfizer, the makers of the drug, said the company was considering changing its warning on the drug label.

"We are in discussions with the FDA to update our language to reflect these rare ocular events that have occurred," said Daniel Watts.

He said that men who took Viagra often already had those types of diseases that could cause blindness.

Just about everybody is referring to this as a probe. What we men won't do for love.

 

French Kiss-off.

The French say "no" better than any culture on Earth. It is a most beautiful thing when a Frenchman really gets behind a good "no" and lets loose the dogs of disagreement. But that is usually an individual performance. We may be on the verge of watching a majority of the nation's population say "no" with panache this Sunday. Oh to be in Paris now that Spring and disaster are here:

THE leader of France’s ruling party has privately admitted that Sunday’s referendum on the European constitution will result in a “no” vote, throwing Europe into turmoil.

“The thing is lost,” Nicolas Sarkozy told French ministers during an ill-tempered meeting. “It will be a little ‘no’ or a big ‘no’,” he was quoted as telling Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the Prime Minister, whom he accused of leading a feeble campaign.

Although Europe would be thrown into disarray, the Government would be greatly relieved if M Sarkozy were right.

Ministers have privately told The Times that Britain is prepared to ditch its commitment to a referendum if France, or the Netherlands next Wednesday, vote against the constitution. They believe that if the French say “no”, President Chirac will have to declare the constitution dead or promise a renegotiation.

Because French voters consider that the treaty has already given too many concessions to Britain, ministers see no likelihood of the Government being able to put a renegotiated treaty to the country.

Tony Blair would instead have to use Britain’s imminent EU presidency to try to save those parts of the constitution that can be enforced without a treaty. That could mean that mechanical changes, such as ending the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, could go through.

Both President Chirac and Valéry Gisgard d'Estaing, who drafted the document, are conceding that the "nos" have it. For his part d'Estaing is blaming the failure of Chirac's government, saying in a surprising bit of honesty that “Our current leaders are of course believers in the idea of Europe but in their heart of hearts they are not men and women who are inspired by a European feeling.”

This would seem to weaken Chirac beyond repair and force an overhaul of the government. If anyone comes out of this stronger, it would be Sarkozy. As leader of the UMP, he stands to gain most from Chirac's failure.

British PM Tony Blair isn't saying exactly what his next step will be, but it hardly seems rational for there now to be any more referenda in Europe. But then again, not much of this process has been rational.

The Mullahs Get A Prize. Sort of.

The US has dropped its objections to Iran beginning talks to join the WTO. On the face of it, this agreement looks like another instance where EU negotiators undermine and wear down the US. But this now looks more like a shrewd move on the part of US officials. The final approval for talks came after an Iranian pledge (which is not worth the papyrus it's imagined to be written on) to continue a moratorium on uranium enrichment.
So the US gives up something it really didn't need to get Iran to further pin itself down under its own dishonesty. Accession to the WTO can take at least five years (so far it's taken Russia ten) and requires that the country requesting membership engage in bilateral negotiation with any member nation that requests it. This would give the US another opportunity to frustrate Iranian ambitions while keeping closer tabs of what's up with the Mullahs.

This will take some deft handling, but the US can use this latest development to further undermine the Mullahs while demonstrating a more pragmatic side in dealing with Middle East dictatorships.

Zarqawai Has A Hurtie.

So the rumors are true. Maybe. Both Iraq's Defense and Interior Ministers say so. It would be nice to see Abu go down slow, but I'm not convinced that being rid of the latest most evil man in the world would make much of a difference.

However, this is progress.

Iraq's defence minister announced a massive security operation on Thursday that will see more than 40,000 Iraqi troops deployed in the capital to hunt down insurgents and their weapons.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabor, appearing at the same news conference, said the operation was designed to change the government's stance when it came to the two-year-old insurgency.Sadoun al-Dulaimi said the force would include troops from the interior and defence ministries. It would be by far the largest anti-insurgent operation carried out in Baghdad by Iraqi security forces.

"We will divide Baghdad into seven main areas, and the number of the forces who will take part in the operation from the interior and the defence ministry will be more than 40,000 security men," he told a news conference.

He said it would be the first phase of a security crackdown  that could eventually cover the whole country.

"We will also impose a concrete blockade around Baghdad, like a bracelet around an arm, God willing, and God be with us in our crackdown on the terrorists' infrastructure. No one will be able to penetrate this blockade," Dulaimi said.

"You will witness unprecedentedly strict security measures."

"These operations will aim at turning the government's role  from defensive to offensive," he said.

This development will probably do much more is going to secure Iraq. If this operation is a success, we may be rid of dozens of Zarqawis. The fact that this is being executed by Iraqis is a very big deal.