Details of Dramatic Final Attack at Algeria's In Amenas Gas Plant

At the Guardian UK, "Algerian crisis over after assault ends with death of seven remaining hostages":

El Watan - quoting official sources - hostage takers had given up hope of escaping and started killing hostages then the assault launched
— peter beaumont (@petersbeaumont) January 19, 2013

A final assault by Algerian special forces on the group of jihadist hostage-takers who seized the In Amenas gas facility ended on Saturday with the deaths of the seven remaining foreign hostages. Also killed was the Niger terrorist believed to lead the al-Qaida splinter group's leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri. Five Britons and one UK resident were believed to be among the 23 hostages killed during the standoff

Sixteen foreign nationals – including two Americans, two Germans and a Portuguese – were freed during Saturday's operation.

After a day of desperate uncertainty over the fate of the remaining British captives, David Cameron said the deaths would unite world leaders in the cause of defeating global terrorism. The prime minister added: "Our determination is stronger than ever to work with allies right around the world to root out and defeat this terrorist scourge and those who encourage it."

The White House released a statement from Barack Obama, in which the US president said: "The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the families of all those who were killed and injured in the terrorist attack in Algeria. The blame for this tragedy rests with the terrorists who carried it out, and the United States condemns their actions in the strongest possible terms. We have been in constant contact with Algerian officials and stand ready to provide whatever assistance they need in the aftermath of this attack.

Announcing the latest casualties, foreign secretary William Hague said: "We believe that there are five British nationals and one British resident who are either deceased or unaccounted for, in addition to the one fatality that we had already confirmed."

He added: "We are working hard to get definitive information about each individual. We are in touch with all of the families concerned."

Continue reading.

'How to Be a Heartbreaker'

From Marina and the Diamonds:

Erik Loomis Back on Twitter (and Still Making an Idiot of Himself)

I posted on Amanda Marcotte yesterday, "This Over-the-Top Amanda Marcotte Anti-Rush Limbaugh Rant Demonstrates Just How Far Apart are Left and Right in American Politics." Check the thread there for a brief back and forth between me and Professor Dan Nexon. Somehow Rush Limbaugh is being compared to Erik Loomis and the big controversy over those "death" tweets and retweets he was sending out late last year. He almost got himself fired. And he's still facing tenure review and no doubt these issues will come up.

In any case, Twitchy has this, "Death threat retweeter Erik Loomis claims Rush Limbaugh incites violence, accuses Michelle Malkin of hypocrisy."

After attacking me for metaphor, Malkin is ANGRY that @amandamarcotte calls out Rush's violent anti-women "metaphors." lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/01/metaph…
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) January 19, 2013

Look, there's partisan polarization and people take sides. Still, I think Loomis should have thought twice about retweeting this, "“First fucker to say the solution is for elementary school teachers to carry guns needs to get beaten to death”." That's not so metaphor-ish.

Gun Appreciation Day

At Sooper Mexican, "“Gun Appreciation Day” Rallies All Across America!! Whiny Liberals Hardest Hit."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "5 Hurt in Shootings at U.S. Gun Shows."

And from Ann Althouse, "Video from the "Guns Across America" rally here in Madison, Wisconsin today." She's got a description of that sign at the post, commenting about how it's hard to read.

Althouse photo via Flickr.

Dear Leader Barack Hussein: Child Exploiter-in-Chief

Fresh off our Dear Leader's child exploiting press conference earlier this week, Comrade Obama's now getting some push back from former President Bill Clinton, "Bill Clinton to Democrats: Don't trivialize gun culture." (Via Memeorandum.)

Bless old Bill's heart. Before Hillary's even out of office he's preparing for her centrist re-positioning for 2016. Well, we're so far left now that it's going to take a lot more than rejecting Obama's culture-destroying and Constitution-crushing power grabs. We need a political revolt of Americans. People who understand and practice our values. The Clintons long ago went over to the other side. Screw 'em. (More at Memeorandum.)

IMAGE CREDIT: PEOPLE'S CUBE.

Assassination Attempt on Bulgarian Opposition Leader (VIDEO)

That's Ahmed Dogan, the founder and leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a liberal party representing Turkish interests in Bulgaria. He's lucky to be alive:

Details at London's Daily Mail, "Heartstopping moment would-be assassin aims gun at Bulgarian opposition leader's head and pulls the trigger... but victim survives after weapon misfires."

In Panetta's Final Stretch of Tenure, a New Crisis Emerges

He's been showing some resolve, with comments way more in line with protecting national interests than what the president usually has to say. But he's on the way out, so not much good it's going to do.

At the New York Times, "Panetta, in His Last Lap as Defense Secretary, Navigates a Crisis":

LONDON — Leon E. Panetta’s final weeklong trip to the old capitals of Europe initially had the feel of a valedictory lap, one that would nurture the trans-Atlantic alliance and give him the chance to dine in the Italy of his heritage. His staff had to insist it was not a junket.

But by the time Mr. Panetta, the defense secretary, arrived in Rome on Wednesday, news had broken about the hostage-taking in Algeria as Pentagon officials, frustrated and alarmed, scrambled to get basic information out of Algiers.

Mr. Panetta learned of the seizure of the Algerian gas facility after a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy. He declared it a “terrorist act,” cut short a dinner that night with the Italian defense minister and was up until midnight in his hotel room in briefings.

By Thursday, he was overseeing plans to deploy American military cargo planes to ferry French troops and equipment to Mali, where the government of neighboring Algeria said France’s armed intervention was the cause of the abductions.

On Friday, he trundled into a hastily scheduled meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain as snow fell outside 10 Downing Street. “Let’s start with Algeria,” Mr. Cameron said.

Earlier, Mr. Panetta inserted language into a set-piece speech on the United States’ relationship with Europe, telling students at King’s College London that “terrorists should be on notice that they will find no sanctuary, no refuge, not in Algeria, not in North Africa, not anywhere.”

But the reality is that pursuing those terrorists and any others is now to be the job of the next defense secretary. Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for the post, is encamped down the corridor from Mr. Panetta’s Pentagon office, preparing for his Jan. 31 confirmation hearings. If Mr. Hagel, 66, is confirmed, Mr. Panetta is likely to exit in mid-February, leaving a NATO meeting later that month in Brussels to his successor.

“The time has come for me to go home,” Mr. Panetta told the students in London.

Chuck Hagel the "realist."

Boy, this ought to be interesting. Maybe Hagel will convince Obama to stop saying that the terrorists are "de-capacitated." Or, well, probably not.

No Sweeping Generalizations!

I don't know?

I try to block these stalking asshats, but no doubt by now these these f-kers have multiple accounts. It's definitely the same MO:

@ampowerblog @rsmccain There's good and bad people in every sect so please dont generalize a whole religion because of actions of some few.
— #PrayForGaza (@WeLovePalestina) January 19, 2013

Meanwhile, Kevin Robbins, the flaming "backside boogie" baker boy at American Nihilist, is keeping teh stupid alive. Get a life you freak. (And be careful at that link ---- Kevin's "backside boogie" bros are [YMCA] NSFW.)

BONUS: Evil Blogger Lady comments on "troll-rights" ringleader Walter James Casper III:

He would make a good partner for Andrew Sullivan. I know Sully is married now but apparently they are into swinging...

Shoot, he's probably already made a "good partner" for Andrew "RAWMUSCLEGLUTE" Sullivan!

If it feels good do it!

They're animals. Depraved f-king animals.

Deadly Conclusion in Algeria Hostage Crisis

Well, the terrorists freaked out and started killing hostages, and then the final assault began.

At Telegraph UK, "Algeria hostage crisis: desert siege ends in bloodshed":

The hostage crisis in Sahara desert has been brought to a bloody end following an assault by the Algerian military, Philip Hammond, the British defence secretary has confirmed.

It was not immediately clear how many of the hostages being held by the terrorists at the In Amenas gas complex had survived the battle between Algerian special forces and the al-Qaeda-linked militants.

BP said that four of its staff who were working on the site were still missing while 14 were safe. Two of their employees were injured, according to Bob Dudley, the companies chief executive.

William Hague, the British foreign secretary, had earlier warned that "fewer than 10" Britons were still "at risk or unaccounted for" as the Algerian forces began their final assault on the gas plant.

He warned the country had to "prepare for bad news".

There had been earlier reports that seven foreign hostages died while 11 terrorists had been killed in the fighting at the plant.

Continue reading.

Also at the Australian, "Algerian forces storm gas field, militants execute seven hostages before being killed."

And check for live updates at the Guardian. UK.

ObamaCare Slams Part-Time College Professors

Well, I wonder if part-timers will rail against their "unjust" college administrators cutting them loose, or the clusterf-k administration in Washington causing a wave of layoffs and cutbacks around the country. Actually, I don't wonder. Obama walks on water, even for the idiot progressive educators paying the price for the health care monstrosity.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Health Law Pinches Colleges: Some Schools Cut Hours of Hard-Pressed Adjuncts to Avoid Rules on Insurance":

The federal health-care overhaul is prompting some colleges and universities to cut the hours of adjunct professors, renewing a debate about the pay and benefits of these freelance instructors who handle a significant share of teaching at U.S. higher-education institutions.

The Affordable Care Act requires large employers to offer a minimum level of health insurance to employees who work 30 hours a week or more starting in 2014, or face a penalty. The mandate is a particular challenge for colleges and universities, which increasingly rely on adjuncts to help keep costs down as states have scaled back funding for higher education.

A handful of schools, including Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania and Youngstown State University in Ohio, have curbed the number of classes that adjuncts can teach in the current spring semester to limit the schools' exposure to the health-insurance requirement. Others are assessing whether to do so, or to begin offering health care to some adjuncts.

In Ohio, instructor Robert Balla faces a new cap on the number of hours he can teach at Stark State College. In a Dec. 6 letter, the North Canton school told him that "in order to avoid penalties under the Affordable Care Act…employees with part-time or adjunct status will not be assigned more than an average of 29 hours per week."

Mr. Balla, a 41-year-old father of two, had taught seven English composition classes last semester, split between Stark State and two other area schools. This semester, his course load at Stark State is down to one instead of two as a result of the school's new limit on hours, cutting his salary by about a total of $2,000.

Stark State's move came as a blow to Mr. Balla, who said he earns about $40,000 a year and cannot afford health insurance.

"I think it goes against the spirit of the [health-care] law," Mr. Balla said. "In education, we're working for the public good, we are public employees at a public institution; we should be the first ones to uphold the law, to set the example."

Irene Motts, a spokeswoman for Stark State, a two-year community college, said the new rules were necessary "to maintain the fiscal stability of the college. There are a lot of penalties involved if adjuncts go over their 29 hours-per-week average. The college can be fined and the fines are substantial."

Nationally, colleges through trade groups such as the American Association of Community Colleges are asking the Internal Revenue Service to write special rules for adjuncts. The IRS recently acknowledged the issues in higher education, but so far hasn't agreed to take further steps.

That's a slap in the face for Professor Balla, who sounds pretty idealistic about the role that professors are supposed to be playing. He's probably a progressive. What a harsh awakening for the dude. And isn't it funny that community colleges are looking to get a waiver from the IRS, only so far to be blown off by this president's administration, which has ruthlessly exploited community colleges as part if its jobs and retraining agenda?

But progressives still love him. We could have hundreds of thousands of layoffs from ObamaCare ---- and we probably will ---- and Democrats will still worship this gobsmacked idiot presidential freak. I'm looking ahead to 2016. The pendulum may well swing back to the GOP, and with a vengeance.

Sniper Kills Al Jazeera Reporter in Syria

At Blazing Cat Fur: "Video: Al Jazeera Reporter Picked Off By Sniper In Syria." That's graphic.

And from Al Jazeera, "Al Jazeera reporter killed by sniper in Syria."

Also at the Committee to Protect Journalists: "In Syria, Al-Jazeera reporter killed in Daraa."

Gallup Parts Ways With USA Today

This is interesting.

At the Washington Post, "Gallup and USA Today part ways."

Remember Gallup had Romney leading Obama in the final weeks of the campaign. I was routinely flagging Gallup's polls. But they were wrong, not wildly, but they were too bullish on Romney's standings. Neither Gallup nor USA Today mention the election polling issues, but those are definitely in the background. It was a strange year.

FLASHBACK: Frank Newport's post-election "statement" on Gallup's 2012 reliability is here: "Polling, Likely Voters, and the Law of the Commons."

Sergei Filin, Bolshoi Ballet Director, Is Victim of Acid Attack

At the New York Times,"Harsh Light Falls on Bolshoi After Acid Attack":

MOSCOW — The stories about vengeance at the Bolshoi Ballet go back centuries: The rival who hid an alarm clock in the audience, timed to go off during Giselle’s mad scene, or who threw a dead cat onto the stage at curtain in lieu of flowers. There are whispers of needles inserted in costumes, to be discovered in midpirouette, or — the worst — broken glass nestled in the tip of a toeshoe.

But this ballet-loving city awoke on Friday to a special horror. A masked man had flung acid in the face of Sergei Filin, the artistic director of the Bolshoi, causing third-degree burns and severely damaging his eyes. Video from the hospital showed Mr. Filin’s head covered entirely in bandages, with openings for his eyes and mouth, his eyelids grossly swollen.

Though police officials said they were exploring theories including disputes over money, Mr. Filin’s colleagues at the Bolshoi said they suspected professional jealousy. In recent weeks Mr. Filin’s tires had been slashed, his car scratched, his two cellphones disabled, his personal e-mail account hacked and private correspondence published, according to Bolshoi officials. On the day of the acid attack, Mr. Filin had met with the Bolshoi’s general director, Anatoly Iksanov, and confided that he was beginning to worry about his children’s safety.

“Sergei told me that he had the feeling that he was on the front line,” Mr. Iksanov said at a news conference on Friday. “I told him, ‘Sergei, I’ve already been on the front line for the last two years, it is part of our profession, the profession of the leadership, so it’s normal.’ ” Then Mr. Iksanov paused. “No, no, it’s not normal,” he said.

Wow, I had no idea.

Continue reading.

Andrea Alarcon Resigns

I reported on this previously, so here's an update, via the Los Angeles Times, "Andrea Alarcon resigns powerful L.A. Board of Public Works post."

Obama Picks a Target and Freezes It: Permanent Campaign Re-Election Machine to Target NRA

Oh, love that title!

At Nice Deb.

BONUS: At NewsBusters, "Poll Shows NRA More Popular Than President Obama; As Usual, Media Ignore."

Gun Control Debate Brings Bitter Dispute Over Constitution

From Victor Davis Hanson, at IBD, "Gun-Control Debate Pits First Amendment Against the Second Amendment":

The horrific Newtown, Conn., mass shooting has unleashed a frenzy to pass new gun-control legislation.

But the war over restricting firearms is not just between liberals and conservatives; it also pits the first two amendments to the U.S. Constitution against each other.

Apparently, in the sequential thinking of James Madison and the Founding Fathers, the right to free expression and the guarantee to own arms were the two most important personal liberties. But now these two cherished rights seem to be at odds with each other and have caused bitter exchanges between interpreters of the Constitution.

Many liberals believe there is no need to own semi-automatic assault rifles, magazines that hold more than 10 bullets, or even semi-automatic handguns. They argue that hunters and sportsmen don't need such rapid-firing guns to kill their game—and that slower-firing revolvers and pump- or bolt-action rifles are sufficient for home protection.

More Bullets, More Deaths?

Implicit to the liberal argument for tighter gun control is the belief that the ability to rapidly fire off lots of bullets either empowers — or indeed encourages—mass murderers to butcher the innocent.

Most conservatives offer rebuttals to all those points. Criminals will always break almost any law they choose. Connecticut, for example, has among the tightest gun-control laws in the nation. A murderer can pop in three 10-bullet clips in succession and still spray his targets almost as effectively as a shooter with a single 30-bullet magazine. Like a knife or bomb, a gun is a tool, and the human who misuses it is the only guilty party. An armed school guard might do more to stop a mass shooting on campus than a law outlawing the shooter's preferred weapon or magazine.

Homeowners should have the right to own weapons comparable to those of criminals, who often pack illicit semi-automatic handguns. If mass murders are the real concern, should ammonium nitrate be outlawed, given that Timothy McVeigh slaughtered 168 innocents in Oklahoma City with fertilizer? Banning semi-automatic weapons marks a slippery slope — each new restriction will soon lead to yet another rationalization to go after yet another type of gun...

Continue reading.

Superior reason's not going win this battle over guns. Notice how White House shamelessly exploits children. Democrats are going for emotion not reason.

More from Matt Welch, at Reason, "White House Gun Policy: Like Ignorant Emotional Appeals From 8-Year-olds."

Women in Bushwick Keep on Alert

From the New York Post:

This Over-the-Top Amanda Marcotte Anti-Rush Limbaugh Rant Demonstrates Just How Far Apart are Left and Right in American Politics

Amanda Marcotte now hosts her blog at Raw Story, "Rush Limbaugh Incites Violence Against Women Seeking Abortion."

She fails to quote Limbaugh in full, and thus there's no logical context to his mention of guns. I'd point this out to her on Twitter but she blocked me long ago, pathetically unable to take it just like she dishes it out.

And if you know the radical left's abortion freaks, the life of an unborn child matters not one whit. It's all about the "rights" of women to do whatever the f-k they want with their bodies. Anything else is "oppression." This is one reason why feminism literally makes me sick to my stomach.

Via Memeorandum and Weasel Zippers, "Leading Feminist: Rush Limbaugh Wants Women Seeking Abortion to Be Shot…"

'Adorn'

Miguel, nice haircut:

The Undefeated Terrorists

At the Wall Street Journal, "Al Qaeda, Again":

Between his Inaugural address Monday and the State of the Union speech next month, we hope President Obama finds space to include some comments on Algeria. And Mali. And Benghazi. This isn't an attempt at foreign-policy snark. It's an effort to see the world as it is.

Mr. Obama of late has been doing what can only be described as a mission-accomplished riff on Iraq and Afghanistan, announcing last week an accelerated timetable for getting U.S. troops out of the Afghan theater. From his election campaign through the transition, Mr. Obama has tried to keep the world and its troubles at arm's length. But with the hostage mess at a remote gas plant in Algeria, it is impossible to blink from the reality that the post-bin Laden al Qaeda is still with us and an active threat to U.S. interests.

When the French sent troops and planes to Mali last week to resist a seizure of that nation by al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM), the U.S. support it expected didn't come. Among the sotto voce reasons offered for the turndown was that no immediate U.S. interests are at stake in Mali. It's a point often pressed of late by the neo-realpolitik school of American foreign policy. Absent obvious U.S. interest, the world is on its own.

The geopolitical strategists at al Qaeda promptly upped the ante of national interest. In what's described as a well-planned offensive, they grabbed nationals from 10 countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Austria, Japan and Malaysia. With the Algerian government tightly controlling information, news of the hostages and their fate has been uncertain.

An official with the Obama Administration said the U.S. government urged Algeria to be "cautious" and mindful of the hostages' safety. Who could disagree? But let us also posit that the Administration's attitude toward these recent events looks increasingly unworldly.

In September, terrorists murdered U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, and it's now clear that the U.S. policy of a "light footprint" in Libya underestimated that threat. Earlier last year, al Qaeda seized the northern half of Mali. Now the Algerian raid shows how committed terrorists can squeeze the tails of the world's big dogs.

No doubt.

PREVIOUSLY: "We've Got al Qaeda on the Run Alright ... In Africa, Stronger Than Ever!"

Freed British Hostages Interviewed

At the Mirror UK, "We hid from al-Qaeda in ceiling for two days: Freed British hostages tell how they escaped terrorists."

And at The Lede, "Algerian TV Interviews Workers Freed From Gas Facility."

EXTRA: At Telegraph UK, "Algeria hostage crisis: SAS on standby."

The Next Battlefield: Britain Responds to Terrorism in North Africa

Prime Minister Cameron's ready send in some British commandos.

At Independent UK, "Cameron wants 'robust response' as 12 Britons are feared dead or missing," and "PM signals support for anti-terror action in North Africa."

Smokin' Ashley Greene at Egotastic!

Well, here's a little break from terrorism blogging: "Ashley Greene in Leather Flashing Legs; Be Still My Beating Body Part."

BONUS: "Ashley Greene Bikini Pictures Stunning, Sextastic, and So Effin’ Hot!"

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Statement on Algerian Hostage Crisis

Secretary Clinton's comments came during her meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister: "Remarks With Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida After Their Meeting."

My updates are here: "Algerian Hostage Crisis — Updates : Americans Still Being Held."

Texas Twang Fades

So says the Los Angeles Times, "Texas talk is losing its twang":

AUSTIN, Texas — Don Graham, an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin, likes to tell the story of a student who once worked as a cowboy. "Wore hat and boots," Graham says. "He was the real deal."

At the end of the academic year, the student told Graham, "You were the only professor at UT I ever had who spoke English."

"What he meant," Graham says, "was I was the only one who spoke his language."

And by language, the student meant talking Texan — the distinctive twang and drawl that becomes almost an attitude, from the first "howdy" to the last "thank you, kindly." Conversation can be as extreme as the landscape in Texas, where locals will tell you it gets hotter than a stolen tamale and the wind blows like perfume through a prom.

The former cowboy had noticed what Graham, a Texas native who grew up outside Dallas, had also detected over the years. "Texas has always had its own almost national identity," Graham says. "Language was one of the commonalities that bound people together. More and more, I hear fewer people that I talk to who sound like myself."

Research bears out his suspicion: Urbanization, pop culture and an influx of newcomers — including Californians, with a Valley Girl dialect that has wormed its way into American speech since the 1970s — are all eroding the iconic Texas twang.

More at that top link.

Many years ago, when I was just a kid, we had a family from Odessa, Texas, move into our neighborhood in Orange, California. This family, named the Bartletts, spoke with the most profound accent I'd ever heard. Unfortunately, the children, faced enormous ridicule because they sounded so different from everyone else. I felt bad for them. They lived just two doors down and we used to pitch and bat tennis balls up against their garage. These people personified "Texan." I don't think they cared much for California; the old man obviously moved out this way to take a job. Maybe they moved back to Odessa. I never heard either way but Lord knows they'd long to return.

In any case, Joshua Treviño's been tweeting up storm about Texas' distinct political culture, but when the language of a region fades, so does much of the cultural uniqueness. I'll tweet this over to Joshua to see what he thinks.

Frederick Buttaccio: Texas American Dead in Algeria Hostage Crisis — UPDATED

The Huffington Post has this Associated Press report, "Frederick Buttaccio Dead: One American Has Died In Algeria Hostage Crisis, U.S. Officials Say."

And here's my live blog: "Algerian Hostage Crisis — Updates : Americans Still Being Held."

UPDATED: I'm adding this report from CBS Houston, "Texas Man Among Hostages In Algeria; Reported To Be ‘Alive And Well’."

Hopefully this is the same man identified as dead in AP's reporting, although a number of Americans were taken hostage, so we'll see.

Prime Minister David Cameron Statement on Algerian Hostage Crisis

Here's the full statement from 10 Downing Street: "Prime Minister's statement on the hostage situation in Algeria."

Here's my morning live blog: "Algerian Hostage Crisis — Updates : Americans Still Being Held."

Expect updates...

How Fallen Stars Earn Forgiveness ... or Not ...

At USA Today, "Can you forgive Lance Armstrong?":

Gore Vidal called us "the United States of Amnesia." And now Lance Armstrong's televised cheating confession raises the question of whether, when it comes to fallen heroes, there's anything Americans won't forgive and forget.

From Bill Clinton (again toast of the Democratic Party) to Charlie Sheen (again a sitcom TV star) to Michael Vick (again an NFL quarterback), the bar for public redemption seems to have gotten lower and lower. Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te'o — embroiled in his own personal drama over a fictitious girlfriend — could be next up in the groveling line.

"America," says Frank Farley, former president of the American Psychological Association and a student of hero worship, "is the land of second chances." All you have to do is ask — especially if you can throw a ball, sing a song, make a speech, coach a team or hold the camera.

Armstrong, though, tests even Americans' capacity for forgiveness; in addition to doping, for years the cyclist bullied others to dope; vilified his accusers and investigators; and used his cancer survivor-cum-superman-athlete saga to enrich himself and raise money for charity.

As a cyclist, Armstrong has climbed many hills. As a candidate for forgiveness, says John Cirillo, public relations consultant and former New York Knicks spokesman, "he has a Mount Everest to climb. He's become one of the most notorious liars in American sports history."

Yet experience suggests there is hope even for Armstrong. He just has to repent — or appear to.

Continue reading.

This scandal is completely ho-hum, since people must be dopes to be surprised that Armstrong was doping. And so far, folks aren't too impressed with this dude's mea culpa, but we'll see. Check the New York Times, "Those Wronged by Armstrong See Little Right in Interview."

Algerian Hostage Crisis — Updates : Americans Still Being Held

I can't confirm the deaths of any American hostages. This France 24 clip offers a decent update:

And here's the live update at the Guardian UK, "Americans among hostages still held in Algeria, AP reports - live updates."

Check back for regular updates throughout the day...

12:53pm Pacific: Maggie's Notebook reports, "Hostage Update: Texan Feared Dead – 4 Unknown: Demands to Release Blind Sheik."

And this report at LAT notes how the hostages were killed, "Algeria raid puts a lawless region in the spotlight":

A Mauritanian news organization quoting a militant spokesman suggested that gunfire from Algerian military helicopters struck two vehicles attempting to flee the compound, killing 35 foreigners and 15 kidnappers, including the militant group's commander. The differing accounts were impossible to confirm or reconcile and epitomized a chaotic day that appeared to raise questions from Western leaders over the operation's planning.

1:20pm Pacific: Associated Press tweets:

BREAKING: AP sources: One American dead in Algerian hostage standoff.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 18, 2013

And at Fox News, "One American reported dead in hostage siege in Algeria."

However, there are no details on the death, which is I why I've been waiting to report on this. Information is just trickling in and casualty numbers are fluid. The dead individual could be the Texan mentioned yesterday in my reporting and at Maggie's Notebook linked above.

2:05pm Pacific: Updates from here at the blog, "Prime Minister David Cameron Statement on Algerian Hostage Crisis," and "Frederick Buttaccio: Texas American Dead in Algeria Hostage Crisis."

3:10pm Pacific: Charles Krauthammer again provides outstanding analysis on what's happening in U.S. national security, seen on yesterday's Fox News All Stars with Bret Baier, "Algeria Hostage Situation..."

6:11pm Pacific: The Wall Street Journal has an excellent report, "Death Toll Mounts in Algeria Siege."

And at London's Daily Mail, "'We don't do deals with terrorists': State Department REJECTS 'Battalion of Blood' gang offer to swap two U.S. hostages seized in Algeria for jailed extremists," and "Frantic hunt for ten UK hostages: SAS on standby to rescue Brits still held by Algeria gas plant jihadists."

6:23pm Pacific: "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Statement on Algerian Hostage Crisis."

PREVIOUSLY:

* "British Hostages Killed in Algerian Bloodbath."

* "Algeria Hostage Crisis Brings World to North Africa's Anti-Islamist Fight."

* "Death Toll Unclear in Algeria Hostage Crisis — British Prime Minister David Cameron Warns of 'Bad News'."

* "Mokhtar Belmokhtar: The One-Eyed Jihadi."

* "Can Mali Be Saved From the Islamists?"

* "Algeria Rescue Raid Reported Over — Hillary Clinton: Algeria Hostage Situation 'Very Fluid'."

* "Reports: 35 Hostages Killed in Algeria."

* "Obama White House is Missing in Action in Mali."

* "Militants Seize U.S. Hostages at BP Plant in Algeria."

* "Islamists Holding Americans Hostage in Algeria."

* "Britain's Defense Chiefs Warn Against Escalation in Mali."

* "War in Mali: France Boldly Goes Where the U.S. Fears to Tread."

* "French Mission in Mali 'Is Not Without Risk'."

* "Behind France's Botched Hostage Rescue in Somalia."

* "French Hostage Crisis in Somalia."

* "French Pilot Killed in Mali Helicopter Raid."

It's KAP-er-nick: Forty-Niners QB Knew He Was Headed for Big Things

At the Los Angeles Times, "Kaepernick is suddenly a big name, and now we know how to say it":

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — There are all sorts of benefits to having a kid brother who's playing quarterback in the NFC championship game.

For the older brother of San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick, there's also been an unexpected perk.

"People know how to pronounce our last name now," said Kyle Kaepernick (KAP-er-nick), who is 10 years older than Colin. "My whole life, I've heard a lot of 'CAY-per-nick,' because of the E, and for some reason, a lot of 'KAP-er-NACK,' but I don't know why. Now people know."

But Kyle and the rest of the family have largely tried to fly under the radar during this, the most exhilarating of seasons. They wear No. 7 Kaepernick jerseys to 49ers games, although with the rocketing popularity of the second-year quarterback those jerseys are becoming increasingly common.

Kaepernick is coming off a record-setting performance in a 45-31 divisional playoff victory over Green Bay in which he rushed for 181 yards in 16 carries — a postseason record for a quarterback — and accounted for two rushing and two passing touchdowns.

He is the lone remaining truly mobile quarterback in a playoff field that includes New England's Tom Brady, Atlanta's Matt Ryan, and Baltimore's Joe Flacco.

The 49ers play at Atlanta on Sunday with a chance to advance to the Super Bowl for the sixth time in franchise history. And Kaepernick, who replaced an injured Alex Smith at midseason and never relinquished the starting job, is the centerpiece of a formidable (and confounding) San Francisco offense.

Kaepernick, the 36th pick in the 2011 draft from the University of Nevada, is the only player in NCAA history to throw for more than 10,000 yards in his career and run for more than 4,000.

"It's a nightmare, especially when you have a guy that can run 4.4, 4.3, that can outrun defensive backs and linebackers," 49ers safety Donte Whitner said of facing the double-threat quarterback who can sprint 40 yards in that many seconds.

Continue reading.

When the dude was in 4th grade he wrote a letter to himself predicting that he'd be a quarterback at San Francisco (or Green Bay).

Pamela Geller Beats Back Bullying and Harassment by Council on American Islamic Relations

It's actually astonishing the kind of abuse that Pamela deals with on a daily basis. If anyone's over the target these days, she's the one.

See, "SHARIA THUGS KO'ED IN MARYLAND," and "GREAT AMERICAN MOMENT."

And see Ann Corcoran of the Maryland Conservative Action Network, at the Baltimore Sun, "The Sun prints an attack on free speech":

Organizers of the Maryland Conservative Action Network conference (Turning the Tides 2013) were profoundly disappointed that The Sun ran an attack on our conference and our speakers on the very morning of our conference ("The tide of Islamophobia," Jan. 12).

You did a huge disservice to your readers by posting this polemic in a complete vacuum and without an opportunity for response from those, especially Pamela Geller, whose characters were impugned by a writer with an obvious ax to grind. But perhaps we should be grateful because, in fact, by printing the opinion of Zainab Chaudry as you did with its inflammatory title, you demonstrated exactly the point Ms. Geller made to an audience of over 270 in Annapolis that morning.

Her presentation was on free speech and included a discussion of media bias (or even blackout) against anyone who would question the bullying and name-calling tactics of Islamists, such as those associated with CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations).

There's more at the link.

And then head back over to Pamela's, "HAMAS-CAIR LIBELS PAMELA GELLER IN THE BALTIMORE SUN: REBUTTAL."

British Hostages Killed in Algerian Bloodbath

At Independent UK, "Algeria crisis: British hostages killed in Saharan bloodbath":

Thirty hostages, including two Britons, were reported killed when Algerian forces defied international pleas for caution and stormed a BP gas field in the Sahara today.

Eleven or more Islamist militants were said to have died when Algerian special forces, helicopters and – according to one account – warplanes launched a series of attacks on the sprawling complex seized by an Islamist group linked to al-Qa'ida on Wednesday. Twenty Britons remained unaccounted for, British sources said.

David Cameron said earlier that Britain “should be prepared for the possibility of further… very difficult news” following the death of a British oil worker in the initial Islamist attack. He postponed a speech he was due to give in Amsterdam today on Britain's future in Europe, saying he “simply cannot be away” until the crisis is resolved.

Continue reading.

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Algeria Hostage Crisis Brings World to North Africa's Anti-Islamist Fight."

* "Death Toll Unclear in Algeria Hostage Crisis — British Prime Minister David Cameron Warns of 'Bad News'."

* "Mokhtar Belmokhtar: The One-Eyed Jihadi."

* "Can Mali Be Saved From the Islamists?"

* "Algeria Rescue Raid Reported Over — Hillary Clinton: Algeria Hostage Situation 'Very Fluid'."

* "Reports: 35 Hostages Killed in Algeria."

* "Obama White House is Missing in Action in Mali."

* "Militants Seize U.S. Hostages at BP Plant in Algeria."

* "Islamists Holding Americans Hostage in Algeria."

* "Britain's Defense Chiefs Warn Against Escalation in Mali."

* "War in Mali: France Boldly Goes Where the U.S. Fears to Tread."

* "French Mission in Mali 'Is Not Without Risk'."

* "Behind France's Botched Hostage Rescue in Somalia."

* "French Hostage Crisis in Somalia."

* "French Pilot Killed in Mali Helicopter Raid."

The Truth About 'Slut Shaming'

Listen to Anna Maria Hoffman, via Kira Davis, "Counter Culture Conservatism: “Slut Shaming” Edition."

And follow Anna Maria on Twitter.

HAT TIP: Right Wing News.

Ira Isaacs Gets 4 Years in Prison in 'Fetish Porn' Obscenity Case

The court decided he wasn't protected by the First Amendment.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Producer of pornographic fetish films gets 4 years in prison."

And at London's Daily Mail, "Fetish porn producer sentenced to four years for obscenity over extreme bestiality videos."

Algeria Hostage Crisis Brings World to North Africa's Anti-Islamist Fight

At the Christian Science Monitor:

U.S. confirms it deployed drones to monitor the fast-moving Algeria hostage crisis, which thrust Algeria onto center stage of the regional battle against radical Islamists.

WASHINGTON - Islamist militants’ mass hostage-taking at a natural gas facility in southern Algeria remains murky, as do the Algerian military’s efforts Thursday to free the captives, but one result of the violence is already clear: The episode expands the scope of the battle with Al Qaeda-affiliated Islamist extremists in North Africa.

The hostage crisis drags Algeria, a major oil and gas producer with a bloody history of fighting home-grown Islamist militants, onto center stage in the regional battle – a place it has tried to avoid in recent months.

And in part because of the large number of nationalities among the hostages, the international community is now involved in North Africa’s anti-Islamist fight in a way that France’s intervention last week in Algeria’s neighbor Mali – an intervention designed to head off Mali’s fall to radical Islamists – had not immediately provoked.

With reports Thursday afternoon that at least two of perhaps seven American hostages had escaped their captors and were on their way home, the United States was involved in the crisis both on the ground and diplomatically. Pentagon officials confirmed that the US had deployed unmanned drones to monitor and report on the fast-moving crisis, while Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has kept informed through phone conversations Wednesday and Thursday with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal.

Secretary Clinton said the US wanted to be “helpful” and discussed what assistance the US was prepared to provide, according to State Department officials. The US offered to dispatch specially trained hostage-rescue teams, according to some Pentagon officials, but Algeria reportedly declined.

Continue reading.

Death Toll Unclear in Algeria Hostage Crisis — British Prime Minister David Cameron Warns of 'Bad News'

The West's worst hostage crisis in decades, and things went badly. Quite badly

From USA Today, "Algeria hostage crisis ends; death toll unclear":

Algerian special forces completed an operation to free hostages from a natural gas complex deep in the Sahara Desert, but the army provided no information on the death toll, Algeria's state news agency reported Thursday.

Reports on the crisis have been conflicting.

A U.S. official said late Thursday that while some Americans escaped, other Americans remained either held or unaccounted for, the Associated Press reported. The official spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The attack by Algerian forces killed the leader of the Islamic terrorist group that orchestrated the hostage-taking as well as at least 14 other terrorists, according to Mauritanian news agency ANI. The kidnappers come from Algeria, Canada, Mali, Egypt, Niger and Mauritania, ANI said.

The Algerian state news agency ANP said the operation involved airstrikes and a ground operation to free the hostages, some of whom were picked up by military helicopters. Algerian TV had said that four foreign workers — two Britons and two Filipinos — died in the operation and that 600 hostages were freed.

However, a spokesman for the terror group Qatiba told a Mauritanian news outlet that Algerian military helicopters strafed the gas complex, killing 35 foreign hostages — including five Americans — and 15 militants, the Associated Press is reporting. Seven survived, including two Americans, the spokesman told AP.

Reuters, citing an Algerian security source, is reporting that 30 hostages were killed, including seven foreigners and eight Algerians. Among the foreigners were two Britons, two Japanese and one French national.

The source also says 11 militants died, including the group's leader, Tahar Ben Cheneb, described as a "prominent commander in the region."

Adding to the confusion was an earlier AP report, citing an unnamed Algerian official, that as many as 20 foreign hostages, including an unknown number of Americans, had escaped their captors.

Stephen McFaul, an Irish engineer who escaped, reported seeing Algerian forces attack Jeeps containing hostages who were being moved inside the complex, his brother told Reuters. Four vehicles blew up, and McFaul's vehicle crashed, allowing him to flee.

McFaul said the militants hung explosives around the hostages' necks.

Here's the report at Reuters, "Thirty hostages reported killed in Algeria assault."

And see London's Daily Mail, "Bloodbath in the desert: Two Britons among 30 hostages killed as Algerians botch raid on Al Qaeda terrorists."

Also at Telegraph UK, "Algeria hostage crisis: Britons die in bungled rescue." And Guardian UK, "Algeria: many hostages feared dead as special forces move in."

Mokhtar Belmokhtar: The One-Eyed Jihadi

From Peter Beaumont, at Guardian UK, "Mr Marlboro: the jihadist back from the 'dead' to launch Algerian gas field raid":

For a man whose death in combat in the Malian city of Gao was announced last June, Mokhtar Belmokhtar – the Islamist militant allegedly behind the raid on the Ansema gas field in Algeria – has been surprisingly busy.

Since that raid – which saw the deaths of several foreign oil workers, including a Briton, and the kidnapping of 41 more – Belmokhtar has been described in journalistic shorthand as "al-Qaida".

On Thursday, as it was reported that some 25 of those captives had escaped, the real motives behind Belmokhtar's raid – and his relationships with other Islamist groups in the Sahel – began to emerge as far more complex than first reported.

The standard version of Belmokhtar's career as an Islamist leader is easy to summarise. The man dubbed the Uncatchable, as well as Mr Marlboro for his involvement in cigarette smuggling, was born in Ghardaia, Algeria, in 1972, starting his jihadist activities early.

By his own account – given in an interview at a time he was trying to shore up his leadership credentials – Belmokhtar, also known as Khalid Abu al-Abbas, travelled aged 19 to Afghanistan, where he claimed he gained training and combat experience before returning to his homeland in 1992.

This launched him into a two-decade career of Islamic militancy, first as a member of Algeria's Islamic Armed Group (GIA) in the country's civil war, then as a joint founder of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which started extending its attacks against security forces into countries of the arid Sahel, which forms the southern fringe of the Sahara.

That group evolved into al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a group as much interested in the financial benefits of kidnapping and smuggling as building an Islamic caliphate.

Despite the claims that Belmokhtar's latest actions were carried out on behalf of AQIM in response to the French military action in Mali, his real agenda is likely to be more complicated and opaque.

"He's one of the best-known warlords of the Sahara," said Stephen Ellis, an expert on organised crime and professor at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands. The reality is that Belmokhtar's relationship with the AQIM leadership – all Algerian like him – had become deeply strained even before this week's attack.

Well, U.S. forces should be tasked to track this f-ker down and kill him. Instead, the administration's flip-flopping back and forth on whether or not to give France logistical aid. It's painful watching this White House feel its way through one crisis after another. On CNN's Erin Burnett "Out Front" shortly ago, reports indicated that at least one American is still being held hostage in Algeria. Official sources won't confirm it for obvious reasons and CNN's withholding any identifying information for safety concerns.

I'll have more in updates.

IMAGE CREDIT: Jawa Report.

The Use and Abuse of Kiddie Human Shields

From Michelle Malkin, "Prop-a-palooza: The Use and Abuse of Kiddie Human Shields"

The president of the United States will release a binder full of new gun-control executive orders on Wednesday. Instead of standing alone, bearing full responsibility for the imperial actions he is about to take, President Obama will surround himself with an audience of kids who wrote to him after the Newtown, Conn., school massacre. This is the most cynical in Beltway theatrical staging — a feckless attempt to invoke “For the Children” immunity by hiding behind them.

What has happened to the deliberative process in this country? Public debate in Washington has deteriorated into Sesame Street sing-a-longs. We are already inundated with logical fallacies: argumentum ad populum (it’s popular, therefore it’s true); argumentum ad nauseam (if you repeat it often enough, it’ll become truth); argumentum ad hominem (sabotage the person, sabotage the truth); and argumentum ad verecundiam (if my favorite authority says it’s true, it’s true).

To that list we can now add “argumentum ad filium”: If politicians appeal to the children, it’s unassailably good and true. The Obama White House has shamelessly employed this kiddie human shield strategy at every turn to blunt substantive criticism and dissent.

Well, Obama's the Child-Exploiter-in-Chief.

But continue reading.

Video c/o Hot Air, "It’s come to this: White House releases videos of young kids asking Obama for more gun control."

Can Mali Be Saved From the Islamists?

From Con Coughlin and David Blair, at Telegraph UK:

France's President François Hollande is sending in troops in to prevent the creation of a terrorist super-state, but can they do it alone?

As hundreds of French troops are deployed to Mali to do battle with al-Qaeda-backed terrorists and another chapter in the long-running war against militant Islam develops, it is hard not to feel a sense of déjà vu.

It is now more than a decade since the UN Security Council unanimously approved the American-led campaign to destroy the terrorist infrastructure al-Qaeda had assembled in southern Afghanistan. There is nothing the world’s most notorious terrorist organisation likes more than to move into the ungoverned space of failed Islamic states, and southern Afghanistan proved the perfect hide-out from which Osama bin Laden and his cohorts could plot their diabolical attacks against the West.

Thanks to the success of Nato’s military intervention in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and its allies no longer enjoy that freedom: its terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed and the few survivors of bin Laden’s original organisation have sought refuge in mountain retreats.

But arguably the most depressing aspect of what used to be known as the war on terror is that no sooner has one group of Islamist terrorists been dealt with than another pops up. Since the elimination of al-Qaeda from southern Afghanistan in late 2001 we have seen variations of the movement take root in failing Islamic states such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, and large tracts of North Africa.

Indeed, the ease with which groups of al-Qaeda operatives were able to set up new terrorist operations prompted General David Petraeus, the former CIA director, to liken the agency’s counter-terrorism campaign to a “whack-a-mole” policy, saying that “you need to hit all the moles at once”.

Continue reading.

Algeria Rescue Raid Reported Over — Hillary Clinton: Algeria Hostage Situation 'Very Fluid'

My previous aggregation is here: "Reports: 35 Hostages Killed in Algeria."

And here's Secretary Clinton's statement:

CNN's Wolf Blitzer is updating regularly on the story. There's word that the White House is changing its tune on aid to France. And Jill Dougherty reported that we should expect "bad news" when the full number of casualties is reported. I'll have more as things develop.

EARLIER:

* "Obama White House is Missing in Action in Mali."

* "Militants Seize U.S. Hostages at BP Plant in Algeria."

* "Islamists Holding Americans Hostage in Algeria."

* "Britain's Defense Chiefs Warn Against Escalation in Mali."

* "War in Mali: France Boldly Goes Where the U.S. Fears to Tread."

* "French Mission in Mali 'Is Not Without Risk'."

* "Behind France's Botched Hostage Rescue in Somalia."

* "French Hostage Crisis in Somalia."

* "French Pilot Killed in Mali Helicopter Raid."

Transsexuals Row: 'One of these days, not too far away, the entire bourgeois bien-pensant left will self-immolate entirely leaving behind nothing but a thin skein of smoke smelling slightly of goji berries. Please let that day come quickly...'

From Rod Liddle, at Spectator UK, "How Moore, Burchill and Featherstone all had a lovely bitch fight" (via BadBlue)::

‘Women … are angry with ourselves for not being happier, not being loved properly and not having the ideal body shape — that of a Brazilian transsexual.’ — Suzanne Moore

One of these days, not too far away, the entire bourgeois bien-pensant left will self-immolate entirely leaving behind nothing but a thin skein of smoke smelling slightly of goji berries. Please let that day come quickly. In the meantime let us simply enjoy ourselves watching them tear each other to pieces, mired in their competing victimhoods, seething with acquired sensitivity, with inchoate rage and fury, inventing more and more hate crimes with which they might punish people who are not themselves.

That quote above comes from the very talented feminist writer Suzanne Moore. It is a sentence from a piece she wrote for the New Statesman. You would not believe the trouble it has caused. The Twittersphere immediately started roaring like a pre-menstrual velociraptor, there were demands for an apology and a rebuttal, there was a somewhat robust defence of the original sentence and then, as a consequence, a government minister called for the editor of an august — well, not quite august, more like late June — national newspaper to resign. The debate is still howling around. It may be — in terms of national importance — nothing more than 5,000 bald women and bald quasi-women arguing over a comb. But it gives you an insight into the metro left’s bizarre psychosis. Oh, and it’s fun, it’s fun. It’s certainly that.

Continue reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "The Observer Caves to Transsexual Mob, Pulls Julie Burchill Column Slamming 'Bed-Wetters in Bad Wigs'."

Also, "The 'Bonkers' Radical Left — The Suzanne Moore-Julie Burchill Uproar," and "Why Are Trans People So Angry?"

Reports: 35 Hostages Killed in Algeria

From Al Jazeera on Twitter, "BREAKING: 35 hostages and 15 hostage takers killed in Algeria as they tried to move from one plant location to another."

And Telegraph UK has live updates, "Algerian gas field crisis: 35 hostages 'killed by air strikes'."

And France 24 has background on Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings:

Expect updates...

ADDED: At Jawa Report, "Algeria: Some Hostages, Including Americans, Escaped Captors; Unconfirmed Report: Several Hostages & Their Kidnappers Killed In Algerian Airstrike; FRANCE 24: Hostages Forced To Wear 'Suicide Belts'?"

Also, updates at the Guardian UK, "Fears for hostages as Algeria launches raid." And at the New York Times, "Hostages’ Fate Is Unclear as Algeria Mounts Rescue Attempt."

More, at background analysis at the New York Times, "U.S. Sees Hazy Threat From Mali Militants."

Here's this from the Guardian, "David Thomson of France24 flags images circulating on jihadist web sites that glorify Mokhtar Belmokhtar, believed to be behind the raid on the Amenas facility":

Les montages glorifiant M.Belmokhtar se répandent sur le web jihadiste qui annonce 15 morts dans ss rangs en #Algerie twitter.com/_DavidThomson/…
— David Thomson (@_DavidThomson) January 17, 2013

I'm updating on Twitter as well:

#Obama White House "condemns" hostage taking --- while ruling out aid to France! youtu.be/0tikYuftz8I #Algeria #TERRORISM
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 17, 2013

And at London's Daily Mail, "'Al-Qaeda have got me': Trapped oil worker's desperate phone call to family from Algerian gas siege where '35 hostages were killed'."

12:11pm Pacific: Bad Blue links. Thanks!

Also, Hillary Clinton spoke on the crisis, via CNN, "Algeria: Military operation against hostage-takers still happening." I'll link the video of her statement later, but she didn't say much.

12:56pm Pacific: The Other McCain has a report and links, "Crisis in Algeria: More ‘Arab Spring’ Consequences; U.S. Hostages Seized."

And I just updated on Twitter:

Catherine Herridge reporting Algerian crisis a "pre-planned" attack. Members of Congress now speaking out. Updates: is.gd/rbVr6p
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 17, 2013

1:22pm Pacific: At Reuters, "'We'll kill infidels,' Algeria gunmen told hostage."

And at Foreign Policy, "White House: We don't know if American hostages in Algeria are alive or dead."

3:26pm Pacific: From Christiane Amanpour:

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Irish Hostage forced to wear semtex explosives Ireland’s Deputy PM tells me on.cnn.com/13JobDR
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) January 17, 2013

We're still waiting for news on the number of Americans killed, not to mention those of other nations. Say a prayer for the families.

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Obama White House is Missing in Action in Mali."

* "Militants Seize U.S. Hostages at BP Plant in Algeria."

* "Islamists Holding Americans Hostage in Algeria."

* "Britain's Defense Chiefs Warn Against Escalation in Mali."

* "War in Mali: France Boldly Goes Where the U.S. Fears to Tread."

* "French Mission in Mali 'Is Not Without Risk'."

* "Behind France's Botched Hostage Rescue in Somalia."

* "French Hostage Crisis in Somalia."

* "French Pilot Killed in Mali Helicopter Raid."

Obama White House is Missing in Action in Mali

This is exactly what I was thinking all day yesterday, as we were being subjected to Obama's excruciating child exploitation gun-grab horror show.

At the Wall Street Journal, "MIA in Mali":

French troops have launched a ground offensive to stop Islamists from overrunning the North African state of Mali, and Britain, Canada and other African nations have lent a hand. Notably missing? France's oldest ally, the U.S.A.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Monday that "what we have promised them is that we would work with them, to cooperate with them, to provide whatever assistance we can to try and help" French forces. "We have made a commitment that al Qaeda is not going to find any place to hide," he added. Then the White House stepped in and blocked any immediate U.S. help, according to a report in Wednesday's Journal.

The French have a right to be angry. France doesn't want U.S. ground troops, but it does need planes to deploy soldiers and refuel strike aircraft, as well as intelligence from U.S. drones and satellites.

Administration officials are offering various lousy not-for-attribution excuses. U.S. law bars direct assistance to a government formed by a military coup, as in Mali, but that shouldn't preclude helping a fellow NATO member. Others say the U.S. shouldn't get involved because these Islamists aren't targeting the U.S., but that's also what everyone said in the 1990s about Afghanistan.

An Islamist takeover in Mali would threaten more than Africa. Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) and another regional Islamist force, Ansar Dine, took control of northern Mali after the military coup in March. Pentagon officials say AQIM works closely—on recruiting and tactics—with the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia's al Shabaab. The U.S. says all three are terrorist organizations. In late September, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blamed the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi on "violent extremists" possibly linked to AQIM. On Wednesday, another group took dozens of Westerners, including Americans, hostage at a gas facility in Algeria.

Some who oppose U.S. help for the French say Mali is only in trouble because the West intervened in Libya. But the U.S. has been trying to stem the Islamist rise in northern Africa for several years by training and arming local militaries. This support backfired in Mali when U.S.-trained officers led the coup. The mistake wasn't the NATO-led intervention against Moammar Gadhafi, but the West's later near-total disengagement, which created a vacuum that terrorists filled.

Despite White House spin that al Qaeda is defeated, the reality is that it is an evolving threat that reconstitutes itself when and where it can. As al Qaeda was pushed out of South Asia and Iraq, it found new havens in Yemen and most recently in northern Africa.

Continue reading.

I hit on this a bit in my previous entry, "War in Mali: France Boldly Goes Where the U.S. Fears to Tread."

Dana Loesch Destroys Piers Morgan in CNN Gun Debate

Dana is far more knowledgeable on these issues, and it shows:

More at RCP, "Piers Morgan vs. Gun Rights Advocate Dana Loesch."

It's All About 'Race, Class, and Gender' at America's Colleges and Universities

I must have been extremely lucky back in college. In the course of both my undergraduate and graduate training in political science, I was taught by mostly mainstream scholars with mainstream areas of expertise.

I was thinking about this last month when Eric Loomis had his big Twitter meltdown, and Robert Stacy McCain featured a guest post from Badger Pundit, "He’s a Lumberjack, and He’s OK: The Wobbly Scholarship of Erik Loomis, Ph.D." Loomis earned his Ph.D. with a dissertation entitled, "The Battle for the Body: Work and Environment in the Pacific Northwest Lumber Industry, 1800-1940." He apparently dealt with homosexual lumberjacks and castrated Marxists --- some bizarre subject material, no doubt of such "marginalized" significance that his committee thought it fine and dandy. The history profession has been intensely focused on social history in recent decades, weeding out the work of earlier traditional historians who are now dismissed as racist, sexist, or what have you.

Loomis finished in 2008, nine years after I graduated from UCSB. I wrote my dissertation on the domestic sources of "under-balancing" in Interwar Europe, entitled "Political Structures, Public Opinion, and the Limits of Great Power Balancing: The Western Democratic Response to German Expansionism, 1933-1941." (Abstract here.) In security studies there were a considerable number of scholars working on the margins of the specialty, bringing in diverse perspectives and methods. But for the most part things were --- and still are --- pretty traditional. Consequently, I've dealt more with race, class, and gender issues (in the humanities and social sciences) through teaching and working on campus committees (and blogging). It's a far left-wing paradigm in the academy, and the cumulative effects have been to rob students of enormous amounts of fundamental knowledge about history, politics, and society.

In any case, Hoover Institution scholar Peter Berkowitz has his latest on the collapse of mainstream, traditional learning in higher education, at RCP, "Failing History: Colleges Neglect Core U.S. Principles."

It's going to take a lot of work to turn things around, and time is of the essence.

Obama at the Gun Rack

The lead editorial from tomorrow's Wall Street Journal:

President Obama isn't one to shy away from policy ambition, so it was telling on Thursday that he thought it necessary to caution that "there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely" when he wheeled out his vast gun-control agenda. Some of the new laws he desires are reasonable and may do modest good. Others are counterproductive or unworkable in practice or legally dubious, sometimes all three.

After Newtown, the most important policy goal ought to be keeping firearms away from the mentally unstable and other people who pose a danger to society. There Mr. Obama moved the needle by appealing for better mental health care, even if it seemed like something of an afterthought. The gun-control lobby believes mass shootings and the broader matter of U.S. gun violence (which are not the same problem) can be solved by regulating firearms alone.

Mr. Obama's raft of suggestions was wise to focus on mentally troubled young people. Disorders of the mind and perhaps of brain chemistry usually manifest in adolescence or early adulthood, and the focus of a reformed system should be identifying them as sickness emerges. The Administration wants to fund a $75 million project to support innovative state programs to identify high-risk kids and train more mental health professionals specialized in treating youths.

A good place to start is Colorado, which is showing more restraint than Washington on guns and more wisdom on mental health. States that develop so-called assisted outpatient treatment laws and programs are showing progress in mitigating violence among the mentally ill.

It was also useful for Mr. Obama to mention the federal health privacy law known by the acronym Hipaa, even if he claimed that there was "confusion" about what it requires. There is no such confusion. Hipaa's onerous mandates often prevent health-care providers and college counsellors from communicating with each other and law enforcement about troubled patients, which Congress would be wise to relax and reform.

Continue reading.

List: Obama's 23 Executive Actions on Gun Violence

At the Wall Street Journal.

Militants Seize U.S. Hostages at BP Plant in Algeria

I posted on this story as it was breaking this morning.

And now there's this from the Wall Street Journal, "Militants Grab U.S. Hostages: About 40 Foreigners Taken in Algeria; Islamists Claim Responsibility, Blame French":

Militants with possible links to al Qaeda seized about 40 foreign hostages, including several Americans, at a natural-gas field in Algeria, posing a new level of threat to nations trying to blunt the growing influence of Islamist extremists in Africa.

As security officials in the U.S. and Europe assessed options to reach the captives from distant bases, Algerian security forces failed in an attempt late Wednesday to storm the facility.

A French effort to drive Islamist militants from neighboring Mali that began with airstrikes last week expanded on Wednesday with the first sustained fighting on the ground. France's top target, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, claimed responsibility for the Algeria kidnappings, calling it retaliation. The claim couldn't be verified, although AQIM has its origins in Algeria and operates across a swath of Africa.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. would take "necessary and proper steps" in the hostage situation, and didn't rule out military action. He said the Algeria attack could represent a spillover from Mali.

More at the link.

I'll be updating regularly on developments in Africa.

Obama Unveils Sweeping Push on Gun Control (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "Obama Unveils Gun-Control Push":

President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled an aggressive set of gun-control measures as he launched a push for the most sweeping changes to firearms laws in nearly two decades and called on the American public to join his fight.

The president—rolling out his plan at a White House event where he was joined on stage by children who wrote him in the aftermath of the shooting spree last month at a Connecticut elementary school—urged Congress to ban certain types of semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. He also called for universal background checks for all gun buyers—a measure that would eliminate a loophole in the law that allows individuals to buy guns from nonlicensed sellers without a check.

Mr. Obama acknowledged that many of the proposals will be difficult to get through Congress, but he said he would use "whatever weight this office holds" to get gun laws changed and urged citizens across the country to reach out to lawmakers to bring about changes to gun laws.

He said the killings of 20 first-graders and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., demands action. "This is our first task as a society—keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged. And their voices should compel us to change," Mr. Obama said as parents of some of the children killed stood by him. He added, "I will put everything I've got into this…but the only way we can change is if the American people demand it."

The president also unveiled 23 executive actions he signed after his remarks, including requiring the federal government to trace weapons recovered in criminal investigations and providing incentives to schools to hire health counselors and police officers. All told, the president's actions and proposals would cost about $500 million, according to a senior Obama administration official.

Banning certain types of weapons and high-capacity magazines, among other steps, will face a battle in Congress. National Rifle Association officials have predicted that Congress won't pass legislation to ban high-capacity magazines and a group of semiautomatic rifles often called assault weapons, and many lawmakers have said many of the president's recommendations will face strong opposition.

The president sought to blunt criticism from gun-rights groups. He said he respects the country's "strong tradition of gun ownership" but that the recent spate of mass shootings required action. "We can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible law breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale,'' he said.

Continue reading.

As always, there's a huge response at Memeorandum.

PREVIOUSLY: "Governor Rick Perry Responds to President Obama's Executive Orders on Guns."