Late Night Laugh: Tiny

Bloody Syrian Jail Riot: Where Is The MSM?

From The Financial Times:

A riot in a Syrian jail may have cost the lives of dozens of prisoners, say human rights groups in Damascus. The authorities on Sunday acknowledged that they had put down an uprising in Sidnaya prison that started on Saturday but did not mention any casualties.

“Prisoners sentenced for crimes of terrorism and extremism caused trouble,” said a report carried by the state news agency Sana. The authorities later said they had restored calm but this was disputed by some human rights activists.

“Nobody knows what is going on in there but it seems that the security forces want to finish off a lot of the prisoners who rose up,” said a human rights lawyer in Damascus.

He said a stream of ambulances was taking casualties to the Tishreen military hospital but that roads to the prison and the hospital had been cut off.

Syria is holding thousands of prisoners on political and security charges, most “because of their Islamic beliefs”, said the lawyer.

In recent years, the government of President Bashar al-Assad has also arrested dozens of liberal dissidents.

Heads Up!

It looks like gas prices are going up again- and soon- and if prices are going up in Europe, they will be going up here as well.

British Gas, the country’s largest energy supplier, is preparing for a fresh round of energy price rises of at least 15 per cent, which could hit its 16 million customers within a matter of weeks.

Centrica, the owner of British Gas, is struggling to maintain profitability in its retail energy business as gas prices have trebled over the past year. Wholesale gas prices soared to a fresh record last week, adding to the pressure on Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive, to act swiftly to ensure the business is not forced into a loss this year.

UK forward gas prices for delivery in January 2009 touched a high of £1.13 per therm last week, up from 50p per therm a year ago. The price of gas is closely linked to crude oil, which rose to a new record of nearly $146.69 a barrel on Thursday.

Compounding the pressure on Britain’s power companies, wholesale coal prices were also driven to record levels last week. The price of the benchmark contract for a tonne of coal for European delivery in the third quarter of this year hit $225 this week, up from less than $80 a year ago. Coal is still used to generate 30 to 35percent of UK electricity.

All of Britain’s big power companies – E.ON, EdF, Scottish Power, N-Power and Scottish and Southern Energy – are facing similar pressures and all of them are expected to raise prices over the next few months.

Centrica, however, is particularly exposed to soaring wholesale prices because it suffers from a shortage of its own gas and power supplies, forcing it to pay premium prices on the open market. It is expected to be among the first to raise prices.

One senior industry source said: “They are really feeling these prices… so it is just a question of how long they can hold on without being forced to issue a profit warning. Nobody wants to be put in that position.”

Another source added: “By the time you get into September, the volumes of gas being used increases sharply which magnifies the losses, so the end of August would be the very latest.”

Senior management is discussing the timing and scale of a price rise. Raising prices in July could protect margins but invite greater popular hostility than an increase in August. It may stagger smaller increases – totalling 30-40 per cent – between now and January 2009. This is thought to be the favoured option but there has been talk of a single very large rise. “It’s inevitable that we will see retail prices increasing,” said Andrew Horstead, energy analyst at Utilyx, a consultancy.

Gas prices are also being driven higher by fears of a shortage of North Sea supplies this winter. A National Grid report suggested domestic gas production is falling faster than expected. The shortfall means that more liquefied natural gas will need to be imported from overseas this winter. Centrica said it monitors the market carefully but declined further comment.

Barack In The Middle

MHNN (Ann Arbor, MI)- Pat M Santy author of Carnival Of The Insanities (COTI) met with Barack Obama and Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos.

Moulitsas publicly announced he would withhold support of the candidate because Obama refused to condemn the Administration’s handling of FISA, which allows for telecom companies to monitor and provide information on the communication between suspected terror suspects.

Since becoming the nominee, Obama has flip flopped on the issue and in doing so, he has outraged many on the far left who have opposed the current administration at every opportunity.

Senator Obama (BO) requested that Pat Santy (PMS) moderate a meeting between between himself, Moulitsas of Daily Kos (Kos) and Jane Hamsher(JH) and Christy Hardin (CH) of Firedog Puddle.

PMS- Thank you all for coming.

JH, CH- Aren’t you that conservative psychiatrist?

PMS- I am a psychiatrist, yes.

CH- You know, everyone hates you. I’m a lawyer- I know these things.

JH- Shut up Christy. Stay on focus. There’s a reason your legal track record at is so lousy.

CH- Look who’s talking, Miss Ned Lamont supporter. You got Lieberman elected all by yourself.

BO- Look, this meeting isn’t about you.

PMS- Senator Obama is right. Ms Hardin, he’s a real lawyer. Pay attention and learn something.

KOS- I like cat fights. Something about two bitches going at it, you know?

PMS- KOS, why are you really withholding support from Mr Obama?

KOS- Because my support was and is conditional. The senator does it my way or no support.

BO- Excuse me? You want me to dance to your tune? I’m not sure I like where this is going.

CH- Tough shit, big boy. You dance or you don’t get our support.

BO- How white of you! You think you can make this black man dance to your tune?

JH- Wait a minute- that’s not what we meant-

BO- That is exactly what you meant! Every time a white liberal doesn’t like it when a black man thinks differently than they do, he becomes a ‘house nigger’ or ‘uncle tom.’

KOS- Now wait just a minute-

BO- No, you wait, white boy- I am the nominee for the Democrat part. Talk to me with some respect, cracker.

KOS- That’s not what I meant-

BO- Of course it is! You are part of the same lynch mob over at MoveOn. You think you ‘own me.’ Well, you don’t. I’m not your ‘boy’ this election. You see me as someone you can use for your own purposes.

JH- Senator, I don’t think you understand. What we mean to say is that we supported you because we believed that you shared the same agenda as we do.

CH- And we believe we can help get you elected. There are a lot of very smart people among the ‘progressives.’

BO-What? Do you believe I’m going to buy into your crap? I don’t need you to get elected. I need Middle America! I needed you to get nominated! I needed you to make me look more attractive as a candidate that Hillary. That’s all I needed you for. If I’m going to get elected, I need Middle America. I need people who love America. They may want changes, but they love the country you love to hate-

KOS- That’s unfair-

BO- Unfair? I’ll tell you what’s unfair. For decades, the liberals have fostered racism in this country. What do you think Democrat gerrymandering was about? To disenfranchise the black vote! Have you forgotten Bull Conner? Have you forgotten he was a popular Democrat? George Wallace was elected 4 terms as Democrat? He made Jesse Helms look like Frederick Douglas! The progressives have made identity politics the game- and blacks are the poorer for it. Why do you think Bush was elected to the Texas Governor’s Mansion, twice? Why do you think minorities supported him in unprecedented numbers? I’ll tell you why. George Bush pushed education hard in Texas and minorities found out their kids could succeed in school and were not destined to failure the way the Democrats said they were.

JH- Racism is rampant in America-

BO- Shut up, you moron! Is there racism in America? You bet! SO WHAT? So there are stupid people- what’s the big deal? You want overcome racism? Do what other mono9rities have done- SUCCEED. Work hard and succeed. That worked for the Asians, the Jews, the Italians, the Greeks-

CH- But blacks were beaten!-

BO- Yes, they were. And when Italian and Greek and Jews immigrated to this country, they were met by Irish thugs who beat them with bats as they got off the boats. Kids were ripped from theri parents and shipped off in trains as slave labor to the Midwest. You don’t see any of that in Norman Rockwell paintings.

KOS, JH- So you agree- America is racist!

BO- No you morons, America is not racist- she may not be perfect, but she is not racist. There are some people who are racist- you know, the one’s who call Clarence Thomas an ‘Uncle Tom’ or Condaleeza Rice a ‘House Nigger’- they are racists- and racists of the worst kind.

CH- Why are they worse than the everyday racist?

BO- Because everyday racists are fools, idiots and no more. Progressives are worse because they claim to speak for diversity but they don’t mean it. You talk about racism as if you know what it’s all about. You don’t. You are like the armchair Jihadis. You talk a good game but you know nothing.

KOS- This country has a history-

BO- Don’t be a bigger ass than you already are, Markos. I know what racism is- and I know that as tough as I had it, Condi and Clarence had it even tougher! Who the hell do white progressives think they are calling any blacks ‘Uncle Tom’s’ or ‘House Niggers’?

JH- Well, even other blacks-

BO- Other blacks? You mean people like Jesse Jackson who make a fortune off of us? He and his ilk- including you white ‘progressives’ are worse than any plantation slave owners.

KOS- What are you talking about??

BO- Pay attention, white boy. Back then, we knew we were slaves in chains. We knew. Nowadays, we put on the chains happily and stay on the plantation, all because you tell us you care. all because you convinced us we were victims. The plantations earned power off our backs. You make earn your power off our souls.

KOS, JH, CH- But we want to support a black candidate!

BO- You should want to support the best candidate. You think I want to heart that Bush-Hitler stupidity, or the 9/11 ‘truthers’ or the racists and anti semites that have found a home in the progressive community? You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!

CH- But that’s not who progressives are!

BO- Listen up, legal eagle! You can sell that to anyone but me. The fact is, that is exactly what progressive poltics is. You guys sound like the Nazi party ideologues in the 30’s.

KOS- Now wait a freakin minute-

BO- Shut up, white boy- and I mean that in every sense of the word. You see ‘progressive’ politics in the same way the Nazis saw Aryan politics- as a way to ’save the nation.’ Every freaking whack job, militant, anti semite, conspiracy theorist has found a home in the land of the progressives and you care little about who gets hurt or about the truth. Right now, you sound like teh Nazis did in 1933. I give you a few more years and you’ll sound like them in the late 30’s and 40’s- hate always escalates. I don’t need or want you- I need middle America. You see, you thought you were using me- and in the end, I used you.

KOS, JH, CH- Screw you.

BO- Come on, call me an Uncle Tom or a House Nigger! You know you want to.

KOS, JH, CH, leave the room.

PMS- You haven’t fooled me. You are still are a hard leftist. You just have more polish- and brains- than they do.

BO- True- but I can make lefist ideology seem very palatable.

PMS- You are a piece of work.

BO- You too, doc. I saw the Carnival Of The Insanities. Nice work this week.

PMS- You know Barack, you could be someone very different- I saw that today.

BO- We’ll talk later.