Westerners warned stay away from malls, night clubs

From AFP, "Grenade attack on Nairobi bar injures 14" Oct. 24:

A grenade thrown into on a bar in the Kenyan capital Nairobi has wounded 14 people, all Kenyans, in an attack police linked to recent threats made by Somali Al-Shebab insurgents.

"We are linking the grenade attack to the threats that have been issued by Shebab, and that is why I am appealing to city residents to be vigilant and cooperate with our officers," said Nairobi police chief Antony Kibuchi.

The US embassy in Nairobi had warned on Saturday of an "imminent threat" of attacks...

The embassy cited "credible information of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks directed at prominent Kenyan facilities and areas where foreigners are known to congregate, such as malls and night clubs".

Editor's note - There is no reporting on other so-called "libertarian" sites of Muslim attacks on alcohol establishments. We libertarians proclaim to be against prohibition. But in instances of Muslim prohibitionist acts, outside of this website, the rest of the libertarian movement is strangely silent.

Bombing kills 5

From Eric Dondero:

Thailand's civil war in its southernmost provinces continues, with Islamic rebels now resorting to bombings of civilians. The latest in late September, according to the Global Post "Thailand: Terror in the red-light district" Sept. 23:

Shortly after sunset on Sept. 18, in the gritty Thai border town of Su-Ngai Golok a series of explosions erupted on a busy lane lined with hotels, food stalls and karaoke joints... a bloody Sunday night bombing spree in their favored brothel town...

Though Malaysian tourists have been targeted before, such strikes are rare and have never caused so many foreign deaths in one night.

Five were killed in the bombings, four of them Malaysian. Roughly 110 were wounded, some severely.

An observer of the Thai civil war was quoted:

“They feel an ideological justification to target vice: brothels, karaoke joints, nightclubs," Sunai [Phasuk, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch] said. “They want to send a message that, as a Muslim, you shouldn’t get involved in dirty activities.”

Editor's note - We libertarians favor legalized prostitution. But for some reason, there doesn't seem to be any outrage from many so-called "libertarians" when it comes to Muslim violence against those engaging in the sex business. If it was a Christian Right group doing this? Photo credit - girlservesworld

“It would be irresponsible not to assume the risk.”

by Clifford F. Thies

Remember Bawny Fwank, the fellow who rolled the dice on mortgages and set us up for the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression?

Well, Chancellor Angela Merkel may now be rolling the dice on Greece.

Saying "It would be irresponsible not to assume the risk," Merkel has apparently succeeded in cobbling together a bail out of the irresponsible little corrupt and socialist state of Greece. As to why Spain or Italy should join Portugal in actually reducing their deficits is now an open question. If Greece can, year after year, cook the books, lie to its fellow Europeans, offering cradle to grave benefits, including early retirement to its uncivil workers, and then be bailed out, why can't others? All the honest businessmen have already left the country, so who is left to pay the bills other than the taxpayers of Germany?

At some point, the Euroskeptics will gain the upper hand in the polls, and the countries that actually are financially responsible will slip out of the Euro and perhaps also the EU.

Such is the cost of expansive federal governments. They eventually bankrupt even the wealthiest and most powerful nations. How long will Ontario subsidize Quebec and the Maritime Provinces so as to color so much of the map its color? How many wars will the U.S. become involved in, outside of defending American interests, before we go down the tubes? How much of the debts of the European periphery will the Germans have to absorb before the German people say out - vit der Christian Democrats?

Let Greece become the Detroit of Europe. Then, we can have virtual tours of the place so as to remind ourselves of what democracy results in when it is unrestrained by a Constitution.

Photo credit - Bundestrieg.de

Bob McDonnell comes to the defense of the Republican challenger

From the Charlottesville Examiner, "Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell says GOP stands for ‘equal opportunity for all’":

According to press reports, the reelection campaign of Democratic state Senator Janet Howell, a 20-year incumbent from Virginia’s 32nd senate district, has been appealing to anti-gay prejudices as a tactic against Republican challenger Patrick Forrest.

In an audio recording obtained by the Washington Blade, Howell campaign volunteer is heard exclaiming: “What my campaign is saying is here’s your Republican candidate. He’s a homosexual. Why would you want to vote for someone who’s a homosexual and is going to push his agenda in your schools?” (Excerpts of the recording were published in the Blade on October 14.)

Governor McDonnell interviewed by the Examiner:

“I don’t know what she’s doing but I can only say that Patrick and I -- and I think all of us in our party -- stand for equal opportunities for all people. I think you heard his message about job creation. He’s not focused on divisive social issues. He’s focused on the two things that really matter, getting people back to work and getting our spending and our government under control, and I think that’s what people care about, especially independent voters right now.”

OVERSEAS NEWS...

Muslim group calls him a "hedonist"

From Phuketwan.com:

Members of an opposition Islamic party have called on Muslim-majority Malaysia to ban next month's concert by Elton John, saying that the gay singer promotes "hedonism".

Editor's note - Curiously, there is zero coverage of this story in the American gay media, and zero coverage on so-called "libertarian" news sites. Muslims attacking gays. Must not fit the template?

Never too late to Go GOP!!

From Eric Dondero:

An 86-year old eastern Oklahoman makes the switch to GOP. He's a WWII veteran. And last week at a campaign function in McAlester for Republican congressional candidate Dustin Rowe, he officially signed the card to switch his affiliation.

Rowe introduces Floyd Miller (2:00 minute mark) to a hearty round of applause.

Ed Coleman is seeking re-election to the Indianapolis City-County Council. This ad has run in his district for all of October, and up until Election Day. Check it out!

As you are aware, the 2012 national LP convention will be held on the first week of May in Las Vegas, Nevada. Delegations will be credentialed from each state. How big and how important do you want Region 3 to play in this? YOU DO have influence on our standing at the national convention. HOW? [...]

Time: Saturday, October 29 · 9:30am – 12:30pm Location: Heine’s World Famous Roast Beef 7040 Madison Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46227 More Info: We’re down to the last two weeks. Come out and help Ed Walk his District! We will be meeting at a supporting business, Heine’s Roast Beef at 9:30am We had a record number [...]

Matt Hisrich, Libertarian Candidate for Richmond Common Council (D-1), received the endorsement of the Richmond Pal-Item. The local newspaper stated, “[He is a] challenger whom we think possesses the talent, know-how and commitment to help move this city forward.” Hisrich previously worked for the Pal-Item, but did not recieve their endorsement when he ran for a Wayne County office in 2010. [...]

Our Video of the Day returns this week with Are We Really Less Free Today? Sheldon Richman on the State of Liberty, courtesy of Reason.tv.

On burqas and Western holidays

From Eric Dondero & Right Guy:

If you've never seen a Pat Condell video, this will be a great treat. Of course, proud Britisher Condell goes out of his way not to offend the "religion of peace." Enjoy!

Al-Awlaki implicated

by Eric Dondero

Pro-Liberty/Anti-Islamist Republican Congressman Peter King, is opening up a whole new line of investigations into the Islamist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Al-Awlaki, killed by a U.S drone attack in September, is a major target of the investigation.

From Fox News "Congressional Investigators Want 9/11 Suspects Questioned About Awlaki":

In the first letter, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, wrote to Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is responsible for directing interrogations of detainees in military custody at Guantanamo, including the self-described architect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

King asked the agency to question detainees involved in plotting 9/11 about the possible roles of Eyad al-Rababah of Jordan, Daoud Chehazeh of Syria and Awlaki in the terror attack.

"I understand that these detainees have not been interrogated in several years, and certainly not since Awlaki's role within Al Qaeda became widely acknowledged in 2009," King wrote.

It also presented new and compelling evidence that Awlaki was an overlooked player in the Sept. 11 plot who slipped through the FBI's grasp after the attack.

Al-Rababah and Chehazeh, who had direct contact with al-Awlaki at his mosque in suburban Washington D.C., helped the hijackers settle in Virginia and eventually drove them to Paterson, New Jersey -- the hijackers' final stop before the attacks.

(Emphasis added)

Predator Drone attacks on Islamists justified even further

The House Special Investigations Committee into the attacks in 2004/05, criticized by many on the Anti-Islamist Right for putting political correctness over national security, refused to consider evidence of a wider involvement of Islamist terrorists.

Former NYC Mayor and an ally of King's Ed Koch takes it a step further. He posits that more than 200 Islamist operatives may have been planning follow-up attacks but were impeded successfully by ongoing FBI investigations.

From thealgemeiner "What if?" Oct. 17:

What if the government and U.S. law enforcement authorities had not impeded by prosecution the “more than 200 individuals” referred to in the report, and they had successfully carried out their terrorist acts? How many Americans and resident aliens would have been murdered and how many would have been injured? Thank God the government and law enforcement successfully intervened.

If Koch is right, this has enormous implications for national security. In retrospect, Bush's actions in Iraq are even more justified. Of course, ongoing predator drone attacks on Awlaki and other top Arabist leaders by the US Military are justified, as well, despite the vociferous protestations of hard leftists, pacifists, 9/11 Truthers, and even the antiwar faction within the libertarian movement of Ron Paulists and other non-interventionists.

No doubt, typical deniars that they are, they'll write off this new evidence as some "NeoCon conspsiracy" to "protect the Jews."

From Eric Dondero:

Overwhelmingly strong approval numbers for Maine's Republican Governor Paul LePage

From Critical Insights (via Hedgehog):

GOVERNOR PAUL LEPAGE – MAINE – JOB APPROVAL (Critical Insights)
Approve 47%
Disapprove 31%

Note - A great many libertarian Republicans were active in the LePage campaign in 2010 (including myself as a volunteer for 2 weeks). He was endorsed by the ME Republican Liberty Caucus. ME RLC Vice-Chair Stravos Mendros of Lewiston remains a top unofficial advisor to the LePage administration.

Time for Israel to decide its own Borders

by Clifford F. Thies

In the National Review, columnist Mona Charon verifies the outright rejection of the peace offer made by then Israeli P.M. Ehud Olmert during the Clinton Administration. The deal was eminently fair. It was all the Israel could ever offer. There could never be any further concession. Most significantly, a divided city of Jerusalem would be the capital of both Israel and Palestine, and an international commission would oversea the Old City.

It is, at this time, absolutely clear that there will never be a negotiated settlement with the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas, who may actually be in favor an end to the conflict between Israel and Palestine and willing to negotiate, is today merely a figurehead propped up by U.S. foreign aid. He does not represent the majority of the people of Palestine. Instead, Hamas, which doesn't even recognize the legitimacy of Israel, represents the majority.

So, what is there to do?

We suggest the method employed by the late Ariel Sharon for Gaza: Israel decides what the borders will be, with some help from third parties to try to make this as fair as possible, and that's that. In a show of generosity, Israel and the third parties could offer to leave the Jewish settlements on the Palestinian side of the borders intact to facilitate the return of Palestinian refugees scattered throughout the Middle East and the world, offer crossing rights to connect the two parts of Palestine, and offer an international commission to govern the Old City, in return for acceptance of the offer by the other side. The offer will, of course, not be accepted. Then, Israel should bulldoze the settlements to be abandoned, deny crossing rights, and declare sovereignty over the Old City.

From Eric Dondero:

Drastic reductions in spending. Low flat tax. Perry comes out forcefully on a limited government economic agenda.

Endorsements for his economic plan from Steve Forbes, Rush Limbaugh and Paul Ryan.

From Eric Dondero:

Lack of staff, and serious disorganization has been rumored for months with the Gary Johnson for President campaign. Now, the rumors have proven true.

From MSNBC:

Gary Johnson -- who failed to file by proxy today while he was campaigning in Arizona -- is taking a red eye to New Hampshire and will file in person first thing in the morning at the State House in Concord.

"The technical term is that we screwed up," Johnson's communications director Joe Hunter told NBC by phone last night.

Editor's note - We report on the good, bad and ugly here at LR. We like Johnson. But this is a major fail.

From Eric Dondero:

A news poll out of Arizona shows Herman Cain now tied with Mitt Romney, 20 - 20. And Cain seems to be gaining among a key set of voters for AZ - libertarians.

From the Business Journal - Phoenix Bizjournals.com "Cain ties Romney in Arizona poll":

Cain has surged in the Republican presidential race with his 999 tax plan that includes flat taxes and a national sales tax and his more libertarian-conservative stances. He is the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza.

The Arizona poll solidifies Romney as one of the GOP front-runners but also shows his challenge of getting more than 20 to 25 percent in polls. Cain is making gains with tea party activists, libertarian Republicans and evangelicals.

Editor's comment - Should anyone be surprised that a libertarian-conservative is gaining support among libertarians?

From Cliff Thies:

(Okay, that's not really him.)

Smoking issue a "dog-whistle" for libertarians

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution AJC.com "Cain ad catches fire -- or blows smoke":

the grainy 55-second video has been a raging success, generating more than 1 million hits on YouTube by tweaking liberal outrage at the taboo cigarette habit -- and libertarian delight in liberal outrage.

The use of the cigarette was a calculated ploy, said Marty Kaplan, a professor of entertainment, media and society at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

"Smoking is a dog-whistle to libertarians, Ron Paul supporters, people mad at the ‘nanny state,' " said Kaplan, who was deputy campaign manager for presidential candidate Walter Mondale in 1984.

"Plus, it vouches for Cain's ‘authenticity.'" Kaplan said in an email, "The subtext is that only a real guy, not a cautious and opportunistic pol -- [like Cain rival Mitt] Romney -- would do something like this."