US citizen in lese majeste scandal sues Internet provider

LONG BEACH, California: A US citizen at risk of a prison sentence in Thailand has sued an Internet company for allegedly handing over his personal data, in a legal case involving the lese majeste laws.Anthony Chai, a Thailand-born naturalised American who runs a computer store in California, said in a lawsuit that Canadian web service provider...

Priewpan's bumpy journey to the top

He's liked when Thaksin-backed regimes are in office, out of luck when they are not Incoming national police chief Pol Gen Priewpan Damapong claims to have suffered in politics because of his association with the Shinawatra family. Deputy Prime Minister...

Thawil vents ire over inactive post

Thawil: Unhappy Govt wears fallout over Priewpan's promotion A furious Thawil Pliensri, secretary-general of the National Security Council, has threatened legal action following his transfer to an inactive position as a result of the change in the police chief's...

Abhisit denies his govt spent all flood cash

Five provinces along the Chao Phraya inundated Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva is dismissing allegations by the Pheu Thai-led government that his government used up the entire fiscal year's budget to pay for flood relief.The government actually had billions...

If you look hard enough for something…

h/t Red St...

CIA Shifts Focus To Killing Targets Finally

Washington Post:Behind a nondescript door at CIA headquarters, the agency has assembled a new counterterrorism unit whose job is to find al-Qaeda targets in Yemen. A corresponding commotion has been underway in the Arabian Peninsula, where construction workers have been laying out a secret new runway for CIA drones.When the missiles start falling,...

A picture is worth 1,000 words: Sleepy Glenn edition

It’s been a long week…The 4th Hour hosts Stu & Pat discussed this picture and more behind-the-scenes details Thursday during a new educational radio/GBTV segment called “How to Be a Professional Broadcaster (with Glenn Beck...

Friday evening must-reads

More than 8 in 10 Americans believe we’re in a recessionUnemployment among blacks increases to highest level in 27 yearsAllen West: Congressional Black Caucus “avoids facts & is race baiting”U.S. publicly held debt up 59% on Obama’s watchObama admits his regulatory agenda is killing jobsJonah Goldberg writes the speech Obama should give next weekNancy...

Cash-strapped priest builds inflatable church

Father Krzysztof faced what seemed like an insurmountable dilemma. The Roman Catholic missionary had a tough time getting the permission and the cash needed to build a permanent place of worship in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula.So, he did what any other innovative religious leader would: He teamed up with his friend Robert Wojcik, an inflatable toy...

Rick Perry raises money off Obama’s golf game

Fore!Rick Perry’s latest fundraising appeal looks to raise some money off President Obama’s golf game. In an email to supporters Thursday, Rob Johnson, Perry’s campaign manager, asked potential donors to open their pocketbooks to the amount of $76 — exactly the number of rounds of golf Obama has played since entering the White House.“In...

Australia Bans Christ From Textbooks

Fox News:Christians in Australia are accusing national education officials of “Christian cleansing” in response to pending changes in school books that would remove references to the birth of Jesus Christ.The government would replace the terms BC, Before Christ, and AD, Anno Domini, with non-religious language. The new terms will be BCE (Before Common...

Rollercoasters and hijabs: Staged rage?

The following a guest post from Karen LugoEarlier this week in New York there was outrage from a Muslim American Society group over the no-headgear policy of the Rye Playland amusement park. Some members of the group had come to the amusement park to mark the end of Ramadan, and though they had been forewarned of the park’s safety policy with regard...

Rush Limbaugh: Obama Has “Shot His Wad” And Should Resign

...

Emails Prove White House Was More Aware Of “Fast And Furious” Than Previously Claimed

Los Angeles Times:Reporting from Washington— Newly obtained emails show that the White House was better informed about a failed gun-tracking operation on the border with Mexico than was previously known.Three White House national security officials were given some details about the operation, dubbed Fast and Furious. The operation allowed firearms...

World’s Ugliest Woman: Not Sure If Republicans “Children Breathe Air,” GOP Wants To “Destroy Gov”

...

ABC News: Sarah Palin’s Iowa Speech Tomorrow To Be A “Full Throated Defense Of The Tea Party”

ABC News:Two days before Sarah Palin’s much anticipated, on, off, and on again Iowa speech, details are emerging about what the former Alaska governor will say.A source close to Palin told ABC News that she’ll offer a “full throated defense of the tea party.”“Regardless of what she decides to do, this rally is for the tea party to kick off this campaign,”...

Progressives identify America‘s ’Top 5 Most Conservative Colleges’

Great news, high school juniors & seniors. In case you haven’t narrowed down which colleges you plan to apply to over the next year, the kind folks over at ThinkProgress have taken it upon themselves to compiles five of the best.Ok, that’s probably not exactly how the progressive bloggers view their new list of “America’s Top 5 Most Conservative...

Perry Asks All Republicans To Donate $76: A Dollar For Each Time Obama Has Golfed

ABC News:Rick Perry’s latest fundraising appeal looks to raise some money off President Obama’s golf game. In an email to supporters Thursday, Rob Johnson, Perry’s campaign manager, asked potential donors to open their pocketbooks to the amount of $76 — exactly the number of rounds of golf Obama has played since entering the White House.“In honor...

Historic President Shatters Another Record: National Debt Tops $10 Trillion For First Time Ever

CNS News:At the close of business on Aug. 31 — for the first time in the history of the country — the publicly held debt of the federal government topped $10 trillion, according to data released by the U.S. Treasury Department at 4:00 p.m. yesterday.Also, according to the most recent reports available from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, approximately...

Shock Pew Research Center Report: Blacks The Most Dangerous Muslims In America

Carlos BledsoeWND:The most dangerous Muslims in America may be black converts to Islam, according to a shocking new poll by the Pew Research Center.African-American Muslims tend to hold the most violent views among U.S. Muslims surveyed by Pew in a poll released this week.Fully 28 percent of U.S.-born black Muslim respondents said “suicide bombings...

Flashback: F. A. Hayek explains how unions foster unemployment

Classic conservative economic reasoning from the “Road to Serfdom” author and economist — worth a watch:The Foundation for Economic Education has more:Hayek’s two most detailed discussions of labor unions are found in The Constitution of Liberty and in 1980s Unemployment and the Unions (2nd edition, 1984). He argued that unions, because of the legislation...

Turkey Expels Israeli Ambassador, Plans To Cut Trade And Contracts

Ynet News:Ankara follows through on threat to impose independent sanctions on Jerusalem following its refusal to apologize for deadly Marmara raid: Top-level diplomatic staff expelled, key military contracts suspended. Turkish FM: Time for Israel to pay the priceIsrael-Turkey relations sink to a new low: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu announced...

Chuck Todd: GOP Establishment May Not Love Him, But Rick Perry’s ‘Built To Last’

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the econ...

It’s time for school!

If your local school district hasn’t already resumed class, chances are they will next week.  No more lazy summer days for America’s schoolchildren — it’s time to recharge their young minds and impart on them all sorts of new knowledge, or something.But let’s be honest — kids aren’t the only ones who eagerly anticipate the start of a new school...

Chicago Union Goon Receives Publicly Subsidized Six Figure Pension After Falsely Reporting $40K Salary

Chicago Tribune:Every month, Thomas Villanova gets a $9,000 reminder of how lucrative it can be to serve as a union leader in Chicago.The sum is part of a city pension that comes on top of the $198,000 annual salary he is paid to represent the interests of thousands of city workers.Villanova last worked for the city in 1989 as an electrical mechanic...

New Audit Shows Illegal Aliens Got Billions From IRS Last Year

Washington Post:The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago.Although undocumented workers are not eligible for federal benefits, the report released Thursday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes...

Paul Ryan: I’d like to see Chris Christie run in 2012

In an interview with CNN Thursday, Republican and tea party favorite Rep. Paul Ryan said he had no regrets in his decision to stay out of the presidential race, but that he’d like to see his friend, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, run. “It is not too late” for Christie to jump into the race, Ryan said.Ryan confirmed he and New Jersey Governor Chris...

Dick Cheney Talks Thick Skin And Sarah Palin: Wants More Explanation As To Why She Resigned

When asked by Laura Ingraham for examples of qualities “that are required, not constitutionally, but necessary” for the job of vice president, Cheney answered:Thick skin. You need the capacity to turn on the tube every night and watch the late night comedians make you the punch line, tell a lot of jokes, it goes with the turf and I’m not above telling...

Rasmussen: Obama’s Monthly Approval Index Hits All-Time Low

Rasmussen:When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.In August, the number who Strongly...

Ronald Reagan’s Friend Lesley Stahl Favorably Compares Michele Bachmann To Him

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the econ...

In A Victory For Cantor And America, Re-Election-Panicked Obama Forces Cass Sunstein To Cancel Planned EPA Emissions Regulation, Dealing Huge Blow To Church Of Global Warming

Cass SunsteinThe Hill:The White House announced Friday that it is shelving a major planned Environmental Protection Agency regulation that would have tightened smog standards, dealing a huge blow to environmentalists that had pushed the Obama administration to resist industry pressure to abandon the regulation.In a statement, President Obama said that...

Government gone wild: August‘s ’Nanny of the Month’ is…

Reason.tv has once again examined overreaching regulations from across the country — from banning pet pigs in Missouri to unlawful ice cream in Illinois. But the “Nanny of the Month” award for August 2011 is… payback.Starting this month, more than 500 Michigan restaurant and bar owners will begin banning state lawmakers from their establishments in...