Thomas Sowell: It’s hard to see how the country benefits from Senate Democrats’ report on CIA interrogations.

The Taliban appreciated the Democrat CIA report

The True Victims of Torture; The Democrats, suddenly shocked by the CIA’s tactics, dishonor the people who died on 9/11.    "Democrats’ highly convenient collective amnesia has erased their memories of being briefed on these probes.

 

"As a giant hole replaced the World Trade Center and Americans feared follow-on attacks, top congressional Democrats did not wail that interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects “are a stain on our values and our history,” as Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) now moans. Instead, top Democrats told the CIA to squeeze these scum even harder.

 

"As the December 9, 2007, Washington Post explained, congressional leaders from both chambers and parties — including then-House Democratic boss Nancy Pelosi of California — received “graphic and detailed” updates on the CIA’s questioning efforts, including waterboarding, as early as September 2002. While then-representative Jane Harman (D., Calif.) counseled caution, the overwhelming response was applause.

 

“ 'Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing,” Porter Goss, former House intelligence chairman and then director of Central Intelligence from 2004 to 2006, told the Post. “And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement.”...

Deroy Murdock

 

http://www.investors.com/editorial-cartoons/michael-ramirez/730651

 

 Thomas Sowell: Tortured Reasoning    "Critics and defenders of the harsh interrogation methods applied to captured terrorists can argue forever over whether those methods were “torture.” But any serious discussion of a serious issue — and surely terrorism qualifies as serious — has to move beyond semantics and confront the ultimate question: “Compared with what alternative?' ”...

 

Photos from the Battle of the Bulge

NRO Slideshow

"On December 16, 1944, eight German infantry divisions and five armored divisions comprising more than 200,000 troops struck Allied forces across an 85-mile front in the Ardennes forest of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. (German Federal Archives)"

Dec 16, 1944: the Germans launch attacks on the US 106th Division

From the Jewish Virtual Library:  Germany & the Nazis Maps: German Counterattack in the Ardennes - The Battle of the Bulge  

German 1944 Propaganda Film From Battle of the Bulge  "The German troops refer to this area as the battle for Ardennes. It's interesting to see the news on the battle from the German perspective. The Battle of the Bulge was very hard on both the Germans and Americans is commonly referred to as the turning point of the war."\

The Nazi film shows US troops of the 106th Division surrendering after the initial attack on the Schnee Eifel.  More videos here
 

 

Pictured below:  "A silent reminder of the war in the Ardennes. A shallow foxhole dug by members of the 422nd Infantry Regiment. " 

 

The German attack opens on the 106th Division  "The frontline to be covered by the 106th extended for 21 miles and bulked some 8 miles into Germany.  This was a lot of ground to cover, about three times the normal distance.  Fact was that the division was spread to thinly.
"Prior to the 16th, movement could be heard by men on the frontlines.  Sounds of tanks, trucks and heavy equipment assembling on the German side.  GI's of the 422nd regiment reported the movement promptly to their commanding officers, who did the same thing to divisional HQ.  Little response followed, the men were told that the Germans were playing phonograph records to scare the young, green Lions.  The warning was dismissed.  The testimony of a Russian deserting Volksgrenadier also ended up discarded in the bin of the higher echelons.  But there was action on the "Ghost front."....
The Schnee Eifel photo gallery


The 106th: The Story of the 106th Infantry Division  " 'The 106th: The Story of the 106th Infantry Division" is a small booklet covering the history of the 106th Infantry Division. This booklet is one of the series of G.I. Stories published by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in 1944-1945. "

Ken Beaton: 70th anniversary of first day of Battle of Bulge  ... "The Battle of the Bulge was the largest [Western front] battle during the war from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 31, 1945, and 610,000 American GIs fought. We had 89,000 causalities which included 19,000 telegrams sent to parents/spouses, “The Secretary of the War regrets the loss of your son/husband.” Thousands of families and tens of thousands of friends grieved. Nineteen thousand new gold stars replaced the blue stars that were proudly displayed in a front window in the US. A gold star was the symbol for the loss of a son, daughter or spouse in the war.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, is the 70th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Bulge. Visit with a World War II veteran, firmly shake their hand and tell them in a firm voice while maintaining eye contact, “I want to thank you for your service. I speak English today because of you and 16 million GIs who served. Thank you, sir /madame.”...

US veterans of Battle of Bulge join 70th anniversary commemoration  ... "Restored vintage American war machines rolled up and down the streets under strings of Christmas lights. The mellow sounds of the Glenn Miller Orchestra belted out of a sound system in the town’s McAuliffe Square.

"The square was named for Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, who refused the Germans’ request to surrender here after they’d surrounded the town, famously responding “Nuts,” which an officer explained to the Germans meant they could go to hell."

 

"In the besieged town, along with the villagers, were the bulk of the forces of the 101st Airborne Division and the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.

"The siege of Bastogne is among the most remembered battles of the war and for many in Belgium a symbol of the American sacrifice for the country’s freedom.

"A disabled U.S. Sherman tank, a shell hole bitten cleanly into its left flank, sits on a corner of McAullife Square to remind people what the Americans sacrificed to ensure Belgium’s freedom." ...

Great song in a mediocre movie: the Wermacht Panzer song.  Said to be Erwin Rommel's favorite song 

70 years ago today: The Battle of the Bulge

The United States Army Center of Military History

"Early on the misty winter morning of 16 December 1944, over 200,000 German troops and nearly 1,000 tanks launched Adolf Hitler's last bid to reverse the ebb in his fortunes that had begun when Allied troops landed in France on D-day. Seeking to drive to the English Channel coast and split the Allied armies as they had done in May 1940, the Germans struck in the Ardennes Forest, a seventy-five-mile stretch of the front characterized by dense woods and few roads, held by four inexperienced and battle-worn American divisions stationed there for rest and seasoning.

"After a day of hard fighting, the Germans broke through the American front, surrounding most of an infantry division, seizing key crossroads, and advancing their spearheads toward the Meuse River, creating the projection that gave the battle its name." ....

More to come on this.

Late comments on the Sydney jihadist and peace activist. No joke.

Terror in Sydney "It’s time to get serious about destroying the Islamic State."   ... "Third, while standing against bigots who would spread terror against law-abiding Muslims, we should empower Muslim leaders to wage a war of ideas against the Islamic State’s ideology and the rot within political Islam that it represents."

I doubt that this form of Islamism so deeply ingrained into the culture and psyche of the Muslim world can be stopped by means at our disposal at present.  This is a threat to the world that I feel can only be controlled by the One who directs the course of  History; the One who guides the thoughts of humanity. TD

The man himself who claimed Islam is the “Region of Peace” and called on Muslims to become “peace activists”:

Slideshow of the hostage crisis.

MSNBC’s Race Baiter Toure On Sydney: “Is This Really About Islam?”…

Vox: “Asking Muslims To Condemn Terrorism Is “Bigoted And Islamophobic”…
... "This sort of thinking — blaming an entire group for the actions of a few individuals, assuming the worst about a person just because of their identity — is the very definition of bigotry." ...
However if one idiot who seems right-wing shoots up a school, every conservative or gun owner will be condemned by these very same people..

Where’s the Condemnation?

 

Muslim terrorist Sheikh Haron’s girlfriend, Amirah Droudis, admits to being a terrorist in video  "He was out on bail on a charge of colluding with girlfriend, Amirah Droudis, to murder his ex-wife, who was stabbed 18 times and set on fire in 2013, allegedly by the girlfriend."

Islamic preacher: ISIS beheads 'to save American lives'

WND

"The Islamic State’s bloody campaign of public beheadings is actually intended to save American lives, Britain’s most notorious Islamic cleric declared in a radio interview Sunday.

“ 'One of the primary reasons why you see what you are seeing on your own television and Internet is to try to end the war quickly,” stated radical preacher Anjem Choudary when asked to justify the ISIS beheadings.

“ 'This kind of terrorizing and horrifying the enemy is saying to them, ‘Look don’t engage with them. Stay away.’ This is supposed to be something which drives the enemy away and therefore saves many lives.”

"Choudary was speaking on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on New York’s AM 970 The Answer, audio of which was obtained in advance by WND.

"Choudary, founder of the banned terrorist supporting group Al Muhajiroun, attempted to use the Quran to justify the ISIS beheadings, which until now include the public executions of two American journalists as well as one American and two British aid workers.


"On Friday it was reported ISIS beheaded four Christian children in Iraq for refusing to denounce Jesus and convert to Islam, according to the leader of the Anglican church in Baghdad.

"Speaking to Klein, Choudary quoted chapter 8 verse 60 of the Quran, which states:
“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.”

"Choudary continued: “I mean, you may see in Somalia with the film ‘Black Hawk Down’ that the Americans withdrew because they could not tolerate what was taking place to their own soldiers.
“And you now however gruesome it may seem, you know, the propaganda element and the kind of terrorizing effect of this cannot be denied … it is intended to have that effect. To say, ‘Look don’t come to the area.’”

"Choudary praised France, Italy and Turkey for engaging in hostage exchanges.  And yet,” he added, “the Americans and British refused and obviously you can see the consequences of that.”

 

Dramatic end to Sydney siege as police storm cafe with guns and stun grenades as terrified hostages run for their lives

Gunman said to be killed

Jewish community ‘in lockdown’ following Sydney attack  "Jewish schools across Australia sent students home in the wake of an ongoing hostage crisis in a Sydney cafe Monday morning, where at least one gunman took multiple people captive in an apparent politically motivated attack."
 Times of Israel

UK Daily Mail

Man Haron Monis was named as the gunman.

 Arriving as a refugee in Australia in 1996, the hostage-taker was charged as an

 accessory  to the murder of his ex-wife - who was allegedly stabbed and set

 on fire on a flight of stairs in her western Sydneyapartment block in 2013

 

"Police stormed the cafe in central Sydney where a gunman held hostages for more than 16 hours"

•  Police moved in firing automatic weapons and throwing grenades as hostages were seen fleeing in terror from the café
• Live TV footage showed hostages running frantically from the cafe at shortly after 2am in small groups 
• It came hours after Man Haron Monis was named as the gunman holding people hostage in a Sydney café
• The 49-year-old man lives in southwest Sydney, but is originally from Iran and a self-proclaimed sheik 
• He was charged with accessory in the murder of his ex-wife - who was allegedly stabbed and set on fire on a flight of stairs in her western Sydney apartment block
• He was also arrested for the sexual assault of a 27-year-old woman in 2002 in April this year after luring her to his clinic following claims he was as 'spiritual healer' 
• Monis was slapped with an additional 40 charges in October after more victims to come forward 
• Monis received 300 community service hours for sending hate mail to the families of Australian dead soldiers  (Somewhat like the Westboro Baptist Church does)
• The seige follows an unsuccessful attempt to have these charges overturned in the High Court on Friday   
• He stormed the Lindt cafe in Martin Place during the morning rush hour on Monday stopped anyone fro
• He forced hostages to hold up black flag with white writing in Arabic, an emblem linked to terror groups 

 

"Police firing automatic weapons and lobbing stun grenades stormed the cafe in central Sydney early on Tuesday where a gunman had been holding more than a dozen hostages, bringing a dramatic end to a siege lasting more than 16 hours.

 

"There were reports that two people were killed and at least three others were injured, but this could not immediately be confirmed.

 

"Live television coverage showed at least two people being taken away from the scene on stretchers. One hostage was seen being carried out of the building. She appeared to be in pain, and blood flowed down her legs.

 

"Nine News reported that eleven hostages had been accounted for after the police raid, which occurred shortly after 2am."

Brief headlines

Berkeley protesters bum rush stage, shut down speech because #Ferguson
"This is what America could look like."

 

2 Years After Newtown, Small Steps Toward Healing

 

ISIS Is Trying To Sell The Body Of U.S. Hostage James Foley For $1 Million  "Middlemen in touch with ISIS or its associates say the group has turned a grim new page in its deadly hostage trade — by trying to sell the remains of at least one of the U.S. citizens it has executed in Syria."

Moonbats defend fable not the facts

... "Now, not so much. As the UVA rape story in the rag known as Rolling Stone has fallen apart, the “rape advocates” and moonbats have closed ranks, defending the fable rather than the facts." ...
Plus: Fake but accurate revisited  ... "We are inundated with BS courtesy of the Democrats and their mainstream media adjunct. It is amazing how little has changed. From inside CBS News itself, we now have the testimony of Sharyl Attkisson in Stonewalled and elsewhere." ...
 

 Germans Rise Up Against Islamization [Wake-up call to America's Left"]

"Notice to America’s “Left”.  Like these Germans, Americans will reject your radicalism, hatred and destruction. " 

 

 "Elizabeth Warren is catching fire."   traditionalguy said...

"Warren has that hard to find cross regional appeal a President must have to get elected. Hillary has never had that without selling Bill's personality in a siamese twin deal. So Hillary shows no personality and just grins an entitled grin at people
"Warren will be nominated. "

 

United We Distrust  "President Barack Obama recently spoke of the "simmering distrust" between many police departments and minority communities. The president is correct in his assessment, but dramatically understates the problem." ...
..."Whether it's the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, regulators targeting small businesses or NSA officials using the agency's excessive spying capabilities to spy on love interests, the abuse of power creates legitimate distrust."

 

 

Dianne Feinstein's Travesty  ... "The committee portrays Gen. Hayden, the former CIA director, as a liar who deceived Congress about the agency’s interrogation program, yet the committee couldn’t be bothered to interview him."

Between the crumbling of a landmark Rolling Stone story and the dynamiting of The New Republic, these have been a bad couple of weeks for journalism

 

How this week looked to Mark Steyn   "On Monday, Mark celebrated the fact that, while America may no longer be the world's leading economic power, it's still Number One in the length of its presidential motorcade: Even if you ain't got it, flaunt it, baby!" ...

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anti-Anti-Underground/500213673410703

Sharpton Visited the Obama White House 61 Times

White House Dossier   "And counting, of course.

"My God, the guy probably has his own desk in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
President Obama’s embrace of Al Sharpton, as National Review points out, has helped legitimize Sharpton as the preeminent black leader. Sharpton and his idiotic rantings, his message of victimization instead of self-help, and his fomenting of racial divisions, now takes the place of Martin Luther King Jr., thanks to Obama.

"According to National Review:

Thirty-four of Sharpton’s visits were for White House events like high-profile nominations, bill signings, and soirées. Some, like the February 9, 2010, “Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” seem well within Sharpton’s wheelhouse. But many more — including a March 18, 2010, signing ceremony for a “jobs bill” and a May 19, 2010, event honoring visiting Mexican president Felipe Calderón — leave one wondering where Sharpton’s expertise enters the picture. Others — such as the Obamas’ 2011 Super Bowl party, small-scale movie screenings in February 2011 and April 2013, and especially the president’s birthday party in August 2011 — speak to a close personal relationship between Sharpton and the first family.

"The nation’s first black president could have brought us together. He could have pounded home the message to the black community that it’s time to stop complaining about insults, perceived and real, and go about claiming their rightful place in society.

"Instead, Obama feeds the mindset that demands help from the state and coaxes anger from the aggrieved. What a waste.

Network Wars? CBS's "Blue Bloods" takes a great shot at Al Sharpton and MSNBC

It was pretty obvious on a second-season rerun this weekend.

The protagonist is a black minister, a community organizer who heads a church in Harlem that more closely appears to be a parody of Louis Farrahkan/Nation of Islam. Unlike Rev Al, this guy is tall, thin, AND bald (can't risk being accused of type casting here, eh?)

They stage an incident to provoke a confrontation between church members and the NYPD, and two officers are injured.

It turns out that the Rev is trying to "resurrect" his career after being accused of stealing several millions from a community organization that he heads. ( sure sounds like Rev Al and his National Action Network, doesn't it?)  

To make sure EVERYONE get the point, towards the end, while discussing the Rev's latest rabble-rousing efforts to get the PC fired, Selleck's character says.."he just wants to get his own talk show on MSNBC."
 

A little snarky reflection on the Cromnibus bill

http://terrellaftermath.com/

It’s (Still) a TARP!  "Elizabeth Warren, corporate-welfare queen."
... "Senator Elizabeth Warren, the millionaire Massachusetts class warrior who has made the vilification of Wall Street bankers her second-favorite pastime (right behind prospering on the largesse of Wall Street lawyers, the gentlemen and scholars who funded her very generously compensated position at Harvard and fill her campaign coffers) did not exactly make the issue her hill to die on, but the fight did provide her an excellent opportunity for grandstanding. " ...

11 Other Things You Can Use a Cromnibus For   "This week, GOP House leadership passed a controversial $1.1 trillion spending bill infamously known as the “cromnibus.” The bill, supported by the Obama administration, is 1,600 pages long. So how big is that really? Like in real life?"

 
"This is what a cromnibus looks like printed out:"
"For reference, it’s just a little taller than a Starbucks Venti."

7. A passenger so you can ride in the HOV lane

 

And this is what it sounds like when you drop it on the floor:  

 

 

More here.    "Now that the bill has passed the House and will odds-on end up on the president’s desk, what other uses could you have for your cromnibus? "

 

Freedom of speech? Juan Williams: Hacked Sony e-mails expose white liberal hypocrisy on race; Star chamber justice at Smith College

drawfortruth

Fear liberals; they are watching and listening.

Hot Air  "And Juan Williams should know — he’s had first-hand experience with the phenomenon. NPR fired Williams four years ago for admitting in a segment on The O’Reilly Factor that travelers boarding commercial flights in “Muslim garb” cause him to “get worried … get nervous.” Never mind that Williams and our own Mary Katharine spent the entire segment arguing that Bill O’Reilly was painting Muslims with too broad a brush and that a distinction had to be made between moderate and extremist Muslims; NPR cashiered Williams for the one sentence he uttered, calling it “inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.” The experience became an epiphany for Williams about which side of the political spectrum actually practices the tolerance that the other preaches, although Williams himself remains as liberal as ever." ...
 

College president apologizes after offending students by saying “all lives matter”  ... "Could be that she was genuinely sorry for the misunderstanding, but maybe not; maybe the impetus to grovel was less about sincere regret than about quickly short-circuiting any nascent attempts by junior Social Justice Warriors to turn this into an excuse to protest her office, hold sit-ins..."

Who is Al Sharpton?

Andrew Klavan    "In which our politically correct host, Andrew Klavan, takes a look at the disturbing history of the Reverend Al Sharpton – called reverend because he is revered, by Al Sharpton. [Full transcript here.]