Jessica Gomes Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011

Some weekend Rule 5.

I'm foregoing a big roundup this weekend, but if anyone wants their link added just drop it in the comments:

Congratulations to William Jacobson and the New Legal Insurrection!

If you've kept up with Legal Insurrection in recent months, William has mentioned periodically that he was shifting to the Wordpress platform. There's been a rollout this week at the old blog. And the new one went live sometime earlier today. It's one of the nicest switch-overs I've seen.

William's got his regular Saturday Night Card Game up, as well as an audio clip of Rush Limbaugh reading his recent post smacking down progressive lies about how the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher "dissed" Sarah Palin: "Rush reads LI post about Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher."

That's a pretty nice timing for the new blog. Congratulations:

EXTRA: And did you know Ann Althouse will also have a new blog soon? She's even got a Swedish domain: "Althou.se."

The big question: Will it be sweeter than the new Legal Insurrection? Inquiring minds want to know.

Mavi Marmara Will Not Sail in Second Gaza Flotilla

At Haaretz, "Gaza flotilla organizers disappointed by Turkish group's decision to cancel ship" (via Blazing Cat Fur).

Organizers of the flotilla that is set to sail for the Gaza Strip later this month expressed disappointment over the weekend that the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) will not take an active role in the convoy.

The IHH announced on Friday that the Mavi Marmara ship, on which nine Turkish activists were killed last May when it was intercepted by Israeli commandos on its way to Gaza, will not take part in the upcoming convoy.

RELATED: At Jerusalem Post, "US man seeks to seize flotilla ships using anti-piracy law":

Dr. Alan Bauer, an American- Israeli victim of a Palestinian terrorist attack, on Thursday filed a first of its kind lawsuit in an effort to seize ships to be used by Islamic and anti-Israel organizations to try to breach the blockade of the Gaza Strip later this month.

The suit, Bauer v. The Mavi Marmara, was filed in Manhattan federal court, seeking to confiscate 14 ships, which are scheduled to participate in the upcoming flotilla and which were outfitted with funds Bauer says were unlawfully raised in the United States by anti-Israel groups, including The Free Gaza Movement. Over the weekend, however, the Turkish IHH organization said the Mavi Marmara was still too damaged to sail for Gaza.

The plaintiff, a biologist from the Chicago area, and his son Jonathan, then aged seven, were seriously wounded when Palestinian suicide bomber detonated a bomb, packed with metal spikes and nails, in the center of a crowd of shoppers on King George Street in Jerusalem on March 21, 2002.

Three people were killed and 85 other people were also wounded.

Bauer alleges that The Free Gaza Movement and other American-based anti-Israel organizations have raised funds in the United States to outfit the Gaza flotilla ships. The lawsuit contends that furnishing and outfitting the ships, which are being used for hostilities against a US ally, violates American law.

The plaintiff rests his claim upon the rarely used 18th-century “informant” statute (18 USC Section 962) that allows a plaintiff (called an “informer”) to privately seize ships outfitted in the United States for use against a US ally.

The stature states: “Whoever, within the United States, furnishes, fits out, arms, or attempts to furnish, fit out or arm, any vessel, with intent that such vessel shall be employed in the service of any foreign prince, or state, or of any colony, district, or people, to cruise, or commit hostilities against the subjects, citizens, or property of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people with whom the United States is at peace; or Whoever issues or delivers a commission within the United State for any vessel, to the intent that she may be so employed – Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

“Every such vessel, her tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all materials, arms, ammunition, and stores which may have been procured for the building and equipment thereof, shall be forfeited, one half to the use of the informer and the other half to the use of the United States.”

Still more at the link above.

Rick Perry Energizes Conservatives in New Orleans

I just don't that much about him, so we'll see.

There's video at RealClearPolitics, and he sounds great. Love the accent.

And at CNN, "Perry wows at Republican conference amid 2012 buzz" (via Memeorandum).

As speculation mounts about his presidential ambitions, Texas Gov. Rick Perry delivered a rousing and unapologetic defense of conservative principles on Saturday at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

Perry repeatedly brought an audience of hundreds of Republican activists to their feet with a small government message reminiscent of the one that helped him win an unprecedented third term as governor last November.

Perry said there is "too much spending, too much interfering and too much apologizing" in Washington.

"Stand up!," Perry thundered. "Let's speak with pride about our morals and our values and redouble our effort to elect more conservative Republicans. Let's stop this American downward spiral!"

See also New Orleans Times-Picayune, "Rick Perry sounds every bit a candidate at Republican Leadership Conference." (More at Memeorandum.)

Michele Bachmann Glittered at Right Online

I found the clip at Instapundit, " Failed glitter attack on Michele Bachmann."

But see also, Gay Patriot, "Throwing glitter rather than debating gay marriage":

Yeah, well, throwing stuff is a lot easier than acknowledging your adversary’s points and countering them with well-thought out arguments.

But check the whole thing. Lots more links.

But the thing I notice at the video, is how easily the protester is able to get to Michele Bachmann. When I first saw Bachmann speak at Knott's Berry Farm in January 2010, she had a staff aide or body guard keeping people away, and she left quickly after making her speech. At this year's Horowitz retreat, however, she was meeting and greeting all the guests and taking pictures, etc. I imagine the ambience was like that at Right Online, being around a bunch of fellow partisans, but there are no metal detectors at these big conferences, and it's scary to think what could very well happen unless she's better protected by security.

VIDEO: Actor Reggie Brown, Obama Impersonator, Pulled From Stage at Republican Leadership Conference

I've never been comfortable with this kind of humor. A couple of jokes might be funny, but a whole routine is extreme. And whoever thought it was a good idea hiring this guy for a GOP presidential straw poll should ... well, I'll let readers finish the sentiment. Just plain stupid. Man.

At Washington Post, "Obama impersonator pulled offstage after making racial, gay jokes at GOP gathering" (via Memeorandum):

Additional video here, via Balloon Juice.

Again, the political stupidity boggles the mind.

Leon Panetta, U.S. Defense Secretary Nominee, Linked to Communist, Anti-Semitic Women's International League for Peace

A really interesting piece, from Aaron Klein, at World Net Daily, "Panetta Keynoted Pro-Soviet Group's Conference".

It turns out that Panetta honored Lucy Haessler, a founder of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

The WILPF homepage is here. WILPF is a longtime communist front group, with ties to various terror-financing operations: "Not In Our Name and the World Wide Terrorism Web." It's also an anti-Semitic organization: "WILPF Supports Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions for Israel." And "Blood Libel: NIF-Linked Group Blames Israel for Leukemia in Gaza."

See also New Zeal, "Panetta Report 1: Leon Panetta Paid Tribute to Two Longtime Communists," and "Panetta Report 2: Leon Panetta Paid Tribute to Pro-Communist Peace Activist."

Plus, at Anti-Liberal Zone, "LEON PANETTA LEFTIST STOOGE IN THE PENTAGON."

David Protess of the Innocence Project Now Defends Himself

Read this piece, at New York Times, "A Watchdog Professor, Now Defending Himself." (At Memeorandum.)

A key passage:

It is often said that academic politics are so vicious because the stakes are so low, but in the matter of Mr. Protess and the wrongly convicted men he helped to free, the stakes could not have been higher.

I know something about academic politics and high stakes. A few days back I mentioned that I'd have a report on some of the bloggers at Lawyers, Guns and Money, and not Dave Brockington (about which, here). I'm still waiting, because attorneys are involved, but this is going to be blockbuster when I can write about it.

Anyway, I don't know anything about David Protess, but I can see that he developed some powerful enemies in his work, people who want to destroy him. Again, I know the feeling, although I haven't gotten anyone released from death row. But some people have been extremely threatened by the things that I write here, and allegations and high-level threats have been made. I'm not kidding when I say high level. Seriously. Readers are going to be blown away when this comes out.

Stay tuned.

Presidential War Powers

Harry Reid's a blithering idiot. I have no idea how he was ever elected to public office. It's not so much his position on the War Powers Resolution, but that it's at odds with his claim that the public wants the troops home from Afghanistan. Frankly, Americans are weary of overseas commitments altogether, but at least the Afghan deployment enjoyed broad bipartisan support to begin with, back in the day. With Libya, the administration took the easiest route to do something --- anything --- in North Africa and the Middle East amid the wave of revolutions taking place in the "Arab Spring." And there's been little public consensus on major U.S. role in Libya.

This guy sucks:

Unfortunately, a Ron Paul wing in the GOP is joining with the Dennis Kucinich Demo-nuts to push for action on the Resolution. A lot of folks in the right blogosphere have made something out of this as well, and it goes to the lack of vital national interests at stake, and that's understandable. That said, John Yoo's got a new piece up on the Commander-in-Chief's authority on the use of force, "The GOP Plays Politics With the War Powers Resolution," and Yoo's the man:

Congressional Republicans should not try to outdo Mr. Obama in a game of unprincipled one-upmanship. But that's precisely what key GOP leaders have done. Earlier this week, House Speaker John Boehner sent a letter to the White House accusing Mr. Obama of violating the War Powers Resolution. "The Constitution requires the president to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed,'" he wrote, quoting the president's responsibilities under Article II of the Constitution. "And one of those laws is the War Powers Resolution, which requires an approving action by Congress or withdrawal within 90 days from the notification of a military operation."

Mr. Boehner's claim ignores the Constitution's fundamental nature as supreme law. As Chief Justice John Marshall declared in the foundational case of Marbury v. Madison (1803), the Constitution is "a superior paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means," and any act of Congress "contrary to the constitution is not law." If the Constitution gives the president the executive authority to use force abroad, Congress cannot take it away. Surely Mr. Boehner agreed with this proposition before the current president took office. He, for instance, never claimed that President George W. Bush's exercise of broad executive powers in the war on terror violated the Constitution. Nor does he appear to have thought that legislative authorization of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars was constitutionally necessary in 2001 and 2002.

Not to be outdone, House Republicans Roscoe Bartlett, Dan Burton, Howard Coble, John Duncan, Tim Johnson, Walter Jones and Ron Paul joined with Dennis Kucinich and other Democrats this week and filed suit in a D.C. federal court seeking to halt U.S. military operations in Libya. They may see themselves as purists, but they are not demonstrating fidelity to the Constitution by launching a legal effort that they know to be utterly futile ....

RTWT.

Added: See Allahpundit's write up on the New York Times' story, "NYT: Obama overruled top Pentagon, DOJ lawyers on Libya war powers" (via Memeorandum). And check JustOneMinute, "Obama Goes Shopping For Legal Advice." It's the hypocrisy that's stunning.

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner Interview with James Poulos at PJTV

Background at Jerusalem Post, "Lawyers, not IDF, at forefront of battle against flotilla."

Bush White House Sought CIA Probe for 'Damaging Personal Information' on Leftist Professor Juan Cole?

Wow.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Honestly, though, arrest him if there's evidence of aiding and abetting terrorism. But don't just smear the guy using the CIA. Sounds like something from the Nixon years.

At New York Times, "Ex-Spy Alleges Bush White House Sought to Discredit Critic":

WASHINGTON — A former senior C.I.A. official says that officials in the Bush White House sought damaging personal information on a prominent American critic of the Iraq war in order to discredit him.

Glenn L. Carle, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who was a top counterterrorism official during the administration of President George W. Bush, said the White House at least twice asked intelligence officials to gather sensitive information on Juan Cole, a University of Michigan professor who writes an influential blog that criticized the war.

In an interview, Mr. Carle said his supervisor at the National Intelligence Council told him in 2005 that White House officials wanted “to get” Professor Cole, and made clear that he wanted Mr. Carle to collect information about him, an effort Mr. Carle rebuffed. Months later, Mr. Carle said, he confronted a C.I.A. official after learning of another attempt to collect information about Professor Cole. Mr. Carle said he contended at the time that such actions would have been unlawful.

It is not clear whether the White House received any damaging material about Professor Cole or whether the C.I.A. or other intelligence agencies ever provided any information or spied on him. Mr. Carle said that a memorandum written by his supervisor included derogatory details about Professor Cole, but that it may have been deleted before reaching the White House. Mr. Carle also said he did not know the origins of that information or who at the White House had requested it.

Intelligence officials disputed Mr. Carle’s account, saying that White House officials did ask about Professor Cole in 2006, but only to find out why he had been invited to C.I.A.-sponsored conferences on the Middle East. The officials said that the White House did not ask for sensitive personal information, and that the agency did not provide it.

“We’ve thoroughly researched our records, and any allegation that the C.I.A. provided private or derogatory information on Professor Cole to anyone is simply wrong,” said George Little, an agency spokesman.

More at that link at top.

And what the heck? Check over at Juan Cole's, the freak: "Ret’d. CIA Official Alleges Bush White House Used Agency to “Get” Cole," and "Cole on Goodman & CIA Surveillance."

And, "Repeal the PATRIOT Act is the Lesson of Bush White House Spying."

Nope, not going that far. Patriot Act does not authorize CIA spying domestically. It simply allows coordination of intelligence gathering activities. Longstanding bureaucratic norms would still drive domestic surveillance operations, and frankly, the legacy of the 1960s and 1970s still contributes to a culture of legal safeguards that obviously make cases of spying --- like that alleged against Professor Juan Cole --- beyond the pale. Bust him if he's a treasonous dirtbag. Otherwise, let him spew his bilious hatred. No doubt he's earned some enemies on that basis alone.

Cloud Computing Vulnerable to Hackers

I love this idea of cloud computing, but it's not particularly safe.

Interesting piece at Los Angeles Times, "Hacker attacks show vulnerability of cloud computing":

As hackers continue their rampage against the world's largest banks, defense contractors and technology companies, executives and government officials are confronting a sobering truth: The bad guys are winning.

The seemingly unending string of high-profile attacks, most recently against Citigroup Inc. and Sony Corp., have shown that nearly every organization is vulnerable to a growing contingent of well-trained and agile attackers who are finding security holes faster than they can be plugged.

"It's gotten very dangerous out there," said Stan Stahl, a security consultant and president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Information Systems Security Assn. "There's an epidemic of this stuff going on right now."

The increase in high-profile attacks comes as companies are looking to move more of their business operations online, including to the "cloud," in which computing tasks are outsourced to firms that maintain huge data centers around the world.

Despite the cloud's potential for cost savings and reducing the hassles of running in-house computer servers, security analysts say it may not yet be as safe as advertised — a warning that many companies are taking seriously.

Alex Bermudez, the security manager for Beachbody, a Los Angeles company that makes the popular P90X workout videos, said that although his company is beefing up security as it expands overseas, he's held off on shifting operations into the cloud.

"There are a lot of good technology companies doing the cloud well," he said, but having his company's data stored remotely, alongside data from many other firms, "is a little scary."

More at the link.

NewsBusted: 'Bin Laden 'bounce is gone'

Via Theo Spark:

Ashton Kutcher Shares 'Victoria's Secret' Catwalk with Alessandra Ambrosio

In the news, at London's Daily Mail, "Considering a new career Ashton? Now Kutcher takes to the catwalk."

And E! Online, "Who's the Lucky Bastard Getting Touchy-Feely With a Topless Victoria's Secret Model?"

RELATED: At Just Jared, "Alessandra Ambrosio: Colcci Beach Shoot!"

New Ethical Standards in the House?

At National Journal, "Weiner's Fall Indicative of New Ethical Standards in House."

Read it all at the link. There's some interesting commentary suggesting House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was meeting some new ethical standard on sexual indiscretion established by House Speaker John Boehner. Perhaps. While I so far trust Boehner's integrity across the board, Nancy Pelosi? Not so much. See, "Capitol Hill’s Other Dirty Laundry":

The same congressional panel that launched a preliminary inquiry into Weiner-gate this week has been diddling around with several other Democratic ethics scandals for years. These aren’t foxes guarding the henhouse. They’re sloths guarding the foxhole.

The House Ethics Committee is now reportedly probing into Twitter-holic Democratic New York Rep. Anthony Weiner’s possible abuse of government resources while sending pervy messages and photos to young women across the country. The latest batch of Weiner’s leaked social-media self-portraits — more cheesecake than beefcake — showed him in various states of undress at the congressional gym. From what other public buildings has Ick-arus tweeted his junk? And how much time on the public’s dime did his government staff spend coaching Weiner girls to assist with damage control?

Don’t expect an answer from the House ethics watchdogs until after Weiner’s first child enters kindergarten. The wheels of justice grind more slowly there than a dial-up modem.

More at the link.

That's When We Fall in Line...

The Go-Go's are touring. My wife and I tried to get tickets for their Pechanga show (August 20th), but it sold out fast. The band played on the Dancing With the Stars finale, although this is an earlier clip:

'Mumbai-Style' Attacks Likely in U.S.?

Discussing today's arrest near the Pentagon, Walid Phares on possible Al Qaeda attacks similar to the 2008 Mumbai massacre:

Brooklyn Decker Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011

Lovely:

And at Blazing Cat Fur, "Because it's Friday...and it's 'Penny' from 'Lost in Space'."

Also, at Bob Belvedere, "A Little Hump Day Rule 5: Marianne Gaba."

Sarah Palin to Announce Candidacy Next Week?

There's a lot of speculation, stemming from Robert Stacy McCain's entry at American Spectator, "Palin Decision Expected Next Week."

The New York Times picked that up as a news item: "Is Sarah Palin Running for President?" And there's a huge buzz at Memeorandum. And I like the headline at Wizbang, "Rumor-Mongering: Sarah Palin Makes Her Presidential Decision Next Week?"

And of course McCain's milking it: "Thanks, Rush!:

One of the difficult things about reporting on Sarah Palin is that only Sarah Palin can speak for Sarah Palin, and she only talks to Fox News. So if you’re a reporter who doesn’t work for Fox News, you have to get what you can get where you can get it. Before I filed that brief report at the Spectator this morning, I made a call to try to confirm it with Palin’s people. But I guess if you don’t work for Fox News, they don’t take your call.

So damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Andrew Breitbart Swarmed by Progressive Mob at Netroots Nation

I don't know. Personally, I don't feel safe around progressives. I kept a low profile at the Noam Chomsky event at UCLA last month, because Students for Justice in Palestine, the event's sponsor, is a Hamas-styled organization. And it's not much different at Netroots Nation. Everybody does video-blogging nowadays, but this Kerry Picket viddy captures the mob's violent rage as Breitbart tried to make an exit:

Also at Gateway Pundit, "Andrew Breitbart GANG-RUSHED By Raging Leftist Mob at Nutroots 2011." And Journo-Lister Dave Weigel, "Netroots Nation: Your Convention Ticket Comes With A Free Andrew Breitbart Ambush."

And at Politico, "Breitbart crashes Netroots Nation":

As Breitbart struck up a conversation with Slate blogger Dave Weigel, Ryan Clayton, who works for US Uncut and blogs on 100ProofPolitics, accosted Breitbart and began screaming questions at him: “Have you kicked your cocaine habit?”

“I have no cocaine habit,” Breitbart told him.

“Have you ever slept with a prostitute?” Clayton asked, almost physically trembling as he worked himself up.

“You prove my point,” Breitbart told him, evidently satisfied that he was again the center of attention in hostile territory.

Another person asked Breitbart if he was credentialed to be there. He admitted that he was not. He tried to walk into the exhibition hall and was turned away by conference organizers.

As he walked back toward the escalator to leave, a middle-aged African-American woman walked toward him and began yelling: “You are racist! … It’s gonna come to light who you really are!”

Breitbart has a crew with him, but most other hot-button conservatives I've met --- David Horowitz, Michelle Malkin, for example --- travel with bodyguards.

Chomsky didn't need one at UCLA, of course. The place was filled with communists, hippies, and jihadis.

Added: Blazing Cat Fur links, and there's a thread now at Memeorandum and Wall Street Journal, "Breitbart Sparks a War of Words at Netroots Nation."