By Debbie Schlussel
Remember how I wrote about the Pentagon report detailing Canadian spy coins found on U.S. contractors and believed to be produced by Russians or Chinese? The coins were said to contain tiny transmitters. I thought it was the coolest new espionage technique.
Well, apparently, it’s so cool, so new, that it doesn’t really even exist. Today, AP reports that the Pentagon says that the spy coin portion of a 29-page report on espionage concerns could never be substantiated by the Defense Security Services, which published the report.
More proof that you can’t believe everything you read. But, mark my word, while transmitters may be the stuff of James Bond and The Jetsons, today, someday, they’ll be able to produce them.

CIA Rendition of a Spy Coin That Never Existed

By Debbie Schlussel
**** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ****
Never pick up strangers. That’s not news.
But it is the tag-line of this weekend’s new horror-thriller hitchhiker flick, “The Hitcher.” It’s also the URL of the movie’s website, neverpickupstrangers.com. Well, it’s not actually “new.” It’s a remake of the 1986 Rutger Hauer/C. Thomas Howell/Jennifer Jason Leigh movie.
This is one of those movies they screen only on the Thursday night before the movie, so newspaper critics can’t review–and pan–it in time for the Friday opening. But internet reviewers, like me, aren’t so precluded.
My conclusion: It is what it is–an okay B or C movie horror flick. Not a great movie, but entertaining for those who want to be scared and disturbed, nonetheless. Still, this is one of those many movies out there, today, that uses violence and gore and blood to scare people–a bad trend getting worse. The better horror flicks don’t need those props to scare you. They do it with suspense. The rest, as this one partially is, are lazy and uncreative.

It’s the story of a boyfriend and girlfriend–played by the beautiful Sophia Bush of TV’s “One Tree Hill”–driving to Spring Break in Lake Havasu. They pick up a crazy, murderous hitchhiker. And you know the rest. Killing, blood, suspense, multiple-scaregasms.
Although this is made by the producers of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and “The Amityville Horror,” it is not as bloody or gory as I was fearing it would be. I’m kind of squeamish and I only had to cover my eyes for two extremely disturbing/disgusting scenes.
Many parts of it are very predictable. And I’m sure my many cop friends might not buy into the incompetence of legions of police in the face of one killer. Yet, it’s still scary.
Not for anyone under 17. Do not take your kids.
**** UPDATE, 01/22/07: On readers’ recommendations, I watched the original 1986 version of “The Hitcher,” starring Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It’s almost exactly the same. Yes, it’s been updated–cell phones weren’t commonly around in ’85, and other things have been altered. But those who made this year’s remake copied the original very closely.
The newer version has more blood and gore, but not much more. It’s a toss up, but I think I like the original better. It does, however, move much more slowly than the re-make. Thanks to readers who suggested it.

By Debbie Schlussel
**** UPDATE, 01/25/07: Barack Hussein Obama’s alleged debunking of Islamic background raises even MORE questions. ****
Well, after all of the left-wing websites and their readers’ hate-mail attacking me for pointing out Barack Obama’s Muslim background, in “Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always a Muslim,” I wonder if they will now attack their little darling, Hillary Clinton, who is now pursuing the legitimate questions I first asked on this site.
Looks like her camp agreed with my take and is going even further, according to an Insight Magazine article sent to me by my friend, Ruth King:

Hillary’s Team Has Questions About Obama’s Muslim Background
Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?

This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama.
An investigation of Mr. Obama by political opponents within the Democratic Party has discovered that Mr. Obama was raised as a Muslim by his stepfather in Indonesia. Sources close to the background check, which has not yet been released, said Mr. Obama, 45, spent at least four years in a so-called Madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia.
“He was a Muslim, but he concealed it,” the source said. “His opponents within the Democrats hope this will become a major issue in the campaign.”
When contacted by Insight, Mr. Obama’s press secretary said he would consult with “his boss” and call back. He did not.
Sources said the background check, conducted by researchers connected to Senator Clinton, disclosed details of Mr. Obama’s Muslim past. The sources said the Clinton camp concluded the Illinois Democrat concealed his prior Muslim faith and education.
“The background investigation will provide major ammunition to his opponents,” the source said. “The idea is to show Obama as deceptive.”
In two best-selling autobiographies-“The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” and “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance”-Mr. Obama, born in Honolulu where his parents met, mentions but does not expand on his Muslim background, alluding only to his attendance at a “predominantly Muslim school.”
The sources said the young Obama was given the name Hussein by his Muslim father, which the Illinois Democrat rarely uses in public.
His father was black and came from Kenya. Mr. Obama’s mother, the daughter of a farmer, came from Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Obama’s parents divorced when he was two years old. His father returned to Kenya.
Later, Mr. Obama’s mother married an Indonesian student and the family moved to Jakarta. . . .
The sources said the background check concerned Mr. Obama’s years in Jakarta. In Indonesia, the young Obama was enrolled in a Madrassa and was raised and educated as a Muslim. Although Indonesia is regarded as a moderate Muslim state, the U.S. intelligence community has determined that today most of these schools are financed by the Saudi Arabian government and they teach a Wahhabi doctrine that denies the rights of non-Muslims.
Although the background check has not confirmed that the specific Madrassa Mr. Obama attended was espousing Wahhabism, the sources said his Democratic opponents believe this to be the case—and are seeking to prove it. The sources said the opponents are searching for evidence that Mr. Obama is still a Muslim or has ties to Islam.
Mr. Obama attends services at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago’s South Side. However, he is not known to be a regular parishioner.
“Obama’s education began a life-long relationship with Islam as a faith and Muslims as a community,” the source said. “This has been a relationship that contains numerous question marks.”
The sources said Mr. Obama spent at least four years in a Muslim school in Indonesia. They said when Mr. Obama was 10, his mother and her second husband separated. She and her son returned to Hawaii.
“Then the official biography begins,” the source said.

Barack Obama very conspicuously omits these important facts. He’s never directly addressed them and didn’t return the Insight Magazine’s reporters queries about his Muslim background. Why? Why can’t he acknowledge his Muslim background and disavow it? Don’t watch for him ever to do that. And that’s why it’s suspicious.
The facts about Obama’s Muslim background raise a LOT of questions. Legitimate questions about a religion dominated by extremist strains that openly call for the destruction of America and the West.
Anyone who does not want to look into the questions and, instead, attacks those who ask them, is equally suspect in their intentions and attitudes toward the continued freedom of this country.

By Debbie Schlussel
The greater Detroit area is the major northern border crossing point. Combining traffic in and out of Canada at the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and the bridge crossing near Port Huron, Michigan/Sarnia, Canada, there is more international traffic than at any border point in the United States per day.
Given that and the fact that this international traffic includes smuggled drugs, illegal aliens, and assorted other maladies, you’d think the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would have visited long ago. But you would be wrong.
On Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, after more than a year on the job, ICE Chieftess Julie L. Myers a/k/a “The ICE Princess” made her very first visit to Detroit. We contrast this to her predecessors Michael Garcia and Asa Hutchinson (who didn’t hold the same job title, but oversaw ICE in his responsibilities) who were frequently in Detroit.

“Driving Miss Julie” artwork by David Lunde
As is apparently Princess Myers’ usual tactic, the event was not really planned in advance, and Michigan ICE agents were suddenly called on a federal holiday and ordered to show up to work. After all, The ICE Princess needs a retinue to show us all how important she is. Agents had to work on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, not to round up illegal aliens or smuggled drugs, but TO BE IN JULIE MYERS’ MINI-MOTORCADE!!!!
And agents were told that Julie Myers’ hotel room refrigerator must be stocked with Diet Coke. An agent was called in on MLK Day to get Myers Diet Coke. Forget Van Halen’s legendary concert rider for no green (correction/update: it was brown, not green) M&Ms in their dressing room. We know who the real rock star is. Our money meant for enforcing federal immigration laws is being spent on overtime for agents to get Diet Coke for The ICE Princess. Agents had to spend money out of their own pocket for Myers’ hotel fridge to be stocked. Making between $140,000 and $200,000, she apparently cannot afford her own soda and can’t be bothered to lift a finger to go down the hall to the Coke machine and guy one herself.

“Julie Myers’ Diet Coke Rider” artwork by David Lunde
The motorcade, the Diet Coke for this incompetent, unqualified, self-important Veruca Salt–it all reminds us of Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy in “Anchorman” telling people–who have no idea of his identity and don’t care–how important he is:

I’m kind of a big deal.

Our favorite part of the whole event is that, on Tuesday, our favorite ICE Special Agent in Charge, Brian Moskowitz a/k/a “Abu Moskowitz,” got to play the chauffeur in “Driving Miss Julie” for the day. Imagine: You’re a high-ranking federal agent in charge of agents investigating immigration and customs law violations in two Midwestern states. And yet, despite all that, you are now reduced to Morgan Freeman’s role driving Miss Julie–your incompetent, unqualified boss-ette with connections. Now, Abu Moskowitz knows how it feels when his agents are called to chauffeur him home after he gets drunk at a party in Canada or must chauffeur one of his Assistant Special Agents in Charge, John Batastelli (sp?), and his family to the airport for family trips.
Glad our tax money is being spent so wisely on these important immigration enforcement tasks.
While many companies are open for business on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, all government agencies are closed. Driving Miss Julie in an unnecessary motorcade and getting her Diet Coke are hardly reasons call agents in from a day off and disrespect the memory of Dr. King and the observance by the many Black agents in ICE.
While we are highly opposed to quotas and affirmative action, we have to give the Democratic leadership in Congress “their kind of info” on The ICE Princess. And it bears noting that Ms. Myers not only disrespected MLK Day, she doesn’t promote any Black male agents to leadership positions, only her preferred group–women. The only Black employee in leadership is a woman in charge of–what else?–“equal employment opportunity.”
Just an insight into a day in the life of the incompetent Julie Myers, self-anointed rock star. She’s kind of a big deal.

By Debbie Schlussel
Meet Andrea Fischer-Newman, Vice President of Government Relations for Northwest Airlines.
She’s also the airline’s Dhimmi-in-Chief, a role she also plays as a very liberal Republican Regent at the University of Michigan. She’s the reason why I knew immediately that Northwest would give in to Hezbollah-supporting whining Muslim Hajjis who arrived late for their flight and threatened a boycott of Northwest. This week she’s busy holding meetings and phone conferences with the extremist Muslims to whom she just caved, CAIR and all.

Andrea Fischer-Newman, Dhimmi:
Northwest Airlines’ Official Caver to Islamic Terrorists
You see, I’ve known Andie Fischer for a few years now as a woman who will always capitulate to extremist Muslims, no matter how trumped up their complaints. In 2002, when The University of Michigan hosted the Divestment (from Israel) Conference at which Islamic Jihad terrorist Sami Al-Arian was the keynote speaker, she was at the forefront of protecting his “freedom of speech.”
When she was made aware that the organizer of the Divestment Conference, Palestinian Muslim Fadi Kiblawi, wrote in a student newspaper that he wanted to “strap on a bomb and kill” Jews, she did nothing to protect the safety of students. It’s the free speech, stupid, was basically her mantra.
No matter that she and the other Michigan Regents don’t care as much about the freedom of speech of Michigan’s non-terrorist students, who were banned at basketball games from taunting a convicted rapist basketball player at another Big Ten school with “No Means No” chants.
In contrast to Ms. Newman’s do-nothing, see-nothing, hear-nothing, defend-everything-for-Islamists mode, the following year, Rutgers University’s courageous regents refused to allow the same Palestinian Students’ Divestment Conference to take place on their campus.
I was the lawyer for Jewish students at Michigan who were upset with Ms. Newman’s defense of a terrorist’s “right” to endanger students on campus–when that terrorist, Al-Arian’s right to free speech on his own campus was taken away by his employer, University of South Florida’s President.
Because I attacked Ms. Fischer-Newman’s outrageous defense of Al-Arian and her enthusiasm for allowing a convention at which “Annihilate the Jews” was chanted by participants, she had Republican U.S. Congressman David Camp personally call me at home (of whom I was a fan . . . until that call) and leave an intimidating message asking why I was attacking his “friend,” “Andie.”
I’ve been following Ms. Fischer-Newman’s career at Northwest Airlines, and it’s marred by constant pandering to Islamists. She is the person behind regular free tickets to “former” Islamic terrorist Imad Hamad and his terror-supporting group. When I asked her why, after whining by Hamad, Muslims were rehired by the airline after they were fired for lying about sick days they took off to go to a wedding, she couldn’t give me a satisfactory answer, but confirmed that the policy of firing employees for lying about sick days will not be changed (except if you’re Muslim, apparently).
I knew Andrea Fischer-Newman would be the force behind an immediate Northwest Airlines cave-in to the latest extremist Muslim whining–by Muslims who came late to their flight and should have faced the same consequences as everyone else, but now will not.
Ms. Fischer-Newman can always be counted on to do the wrong thing, never the courageous thing. As a Regent at Michigan, she’s steadfastly supported affirmative action and the University’s current efforts to avoid abiding by Michigan voters’ overwhelming decision to get rid of it (the same Michigan voters who elected her in a much smaller margin), the rights of terrorists, even an Islamic student who announced in a student newspaper that he is willing to become a homicide bomber against Jews anywhere–which, presumably includes Ms. Newman and Jewish students on campus.
So why did Michigan Republicans nominate this liberal with no backbone for election to the University of Michigan Board of Regents? It goes back to her extraordinarily close relationship with former Michigan Governor John Engler (which is also the reason for her Northwest Airlines job).
But after raising taxes on the people of Michigan and giving us one of the highest gasoline taxes in the country, Engler is gone, and conservatives in Michigan have finally tired of Fischer-Newman’s liberalism. And, one day, soon she will likely not be renominated to the Michigan Board. Or she may be voted down in Michigan elections.
That day cannot come soon enough.
While the spineless Fischer-Newman cannot be defeated in election from her position as chief dhimmi at Northwest Airlines, one thing’s for certain.
Her and her airline’s capitulation to terror-supporters’ every whine, her airline’s special treatment of Muslim employees and passenger customers at every turn is starting to be noticed by the rest of us.
While Muslims in Michigan (where they have their greatest North American concentration) really wouldn’t be able to carry out their threatened boycott of Northwest, since it controls most flights out of Detroit Metro Airport, plenty of Infidels around the country certainly can.
And they will vote against Northwest with their pocketbooks. People are beginning to realize what I’ve known for a while now.
Northwest is not just bankrupt financially. It’s bankrupt, morally, too.
****
Don’t forget US Airways still hasn’t caved to whining Islamists who threatened a boycott over the Six Flying Imams. Vote with your pocketbook and pick the airlines that stick to your safety over the whining of the “Religion of Peace.”
Here in Detroit, I don’t have that choice in most cases. But you do.

By Debbie Schlussel
Hmmm . . . a “Middle Eastern man” crouches down and deliberately spills poisonous mercury onto the Los Angeles subway lat at night around Christmas-time and then disappears without getting on a train.
But it has nothing to do with terrorism, right? It’s just “an accident.”
Hardly seems like it, according to CNN’s coverage (there is video, at this link, too):

The Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating an incident involving an unidentified man who spilled a vial of mercury inside an L.A. subway station just before Christmas and then disappeared after reporting it to transit authorities.

L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. Ignored Mercury Dry-Run for 8 Hours

A statement released by the JTTF Wednesday evening shows a picture of the man taken from a frame in a surveillance video. The caption reads: “Wanted for questioning in connection with unexplained activity.”
That activity can be seen in a copy of the surveillance video — obtained exclusively by CNN — which shows the Pershing Square subway station in Los Angeles late on the evening of December 22, the Friday before Christmas.
In it, the man crouches on the train platform and spills about five fluid ounces of mercury from a small bottle. He then goes to a Metropolitan Transit Authority call box to report what happened.
An accident? Maybe, but authorities would like to know more. And a counterterrorism expert told CNN the incident should set off warning bells.
“It doesn’t make sense,” said Ken Robinson, who used to work in intelligence for the Pentagon and has analyzed dozens of al Qaeda tapes for CNN. “He’s got a heavy metal and he’s taking it into a subway. There’s no good reason to do that. None.” . . . .
Shortly after the spill in late December, the [L.A. County] sheriff’s department sent out an alert, saying to be on the lookout for a man described as being “white or Middle Eastern,” who is wanted in connection with a “possible act of terror.”

But the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department thinks it’s just an “accident.” Move along. Nothing to see here:

The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, the lead agency in the investigation, believes the spill was just an accident and not terror-related. Also, the man who spilled it placed a call moments afterward from a call box, alerting authorities to the spill.
“At this point we are relatively confident that it is not a credible threat,” said L.A. County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Yes, people kneel over tracks and dump mercury onto them by accident all the time. I’ve done it, haven’t you? (Note to law enforcement authorities: I haven’t really done it. I was being facetious.)
But the FBI and Homeland Security–usually part of the “nothing to see here, move along, no ties to terrorism” crowd–are suspicious. In the past, they’ve warned that this kind of behavior is done as a test run to guage police reaction time. And that’s what this appears to be:

A joint FBI and Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin released in 2005 warns that terrorists may make calls to test police reactions.
In the case of the spilled mercury, according to the HAZMAT cleanup report read to CNN, law enforcement did not respond for a full eight hours.
Pat D’Amuro, now a CNN analyst, was a top FBI counterterrorism agent. He says it’s premature to rule out terror. . . .
In Thursday’s statement, the terrorism task force said that although there is “no evidence to suggest these activities are terrorist-related, or even criminal in nature, we are seeking to resolve questions as to the reason and/or motivation of the mercury spill and why the unidentified male had the vial in his possession.”

Thanks to Reader Mary, who sent the tip and wonders why the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is seeking a “White OR Middle Eastern” in the description, when it is clearly a Middle Eastern Arab in the video:

I watched the surveillence tape and that guy was an Arab. I’ve lived in Detroit long enough to be sure on that fact.

Memo to the L.A. County Sheriff, who should be recalled for allowing his men to take EIGHT HOURS to respond to the mercury spill: They are here and planning their attacks on us from within. We must finally begin to take them seriously.
Hello . . . ? Wake up.

By Debbie Schlussel
I know my airlines.
Earlier today I wrote about Muslims who arrived 20 minutes before a Northwest Airlines flight from Germany back to America, and were not allowed on board. They held press conferences, yesterday, threatening a Muslim boycott of Northwest.
I predicted that Northwest Airlines a/k/a “Dhimmi Air” would capitulate to the Hezbollah-supporting extremist shakedown artists. And guess what? It only took a few hours. CAIR announced today that NWA is giving the Muslims an apology and compensation. CHA-CHING!

Northwest Dhimmi Airlines Gives in to Whining Hezbo Muslims
Contrast this with USAir, which refused to apologize or cave-in to these same groups of Islamist shakedown artists, over the whole Six Flying Imams controversy. And keep that in mind when choosing which airline to fly.
Here’s the press release from HAMAS-front group CAIR announcing the quick cave-in:

MI MUSLIM PILGRIMS OFFERED APOLOGY, COMPENSATION BY NW AIRLINES
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 1/17/07) – The Michigan office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) announced today that Northwest Airlines is offering an apology and limited financial compensation to a group of 40 American Muslim pilgrims who were allegedly denied passage on a January 7th flight returning to Michigan.
The pilgrims say they were denied boarding on a Northwest Airlines flight from Germany to Detroit while returning from the recently-concluded annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Northwest Airlines says the Muslim travelers arrived too late to make the connecting flight. That claim has been refuted by the pilgrims who say they arrived at the gate with time to spare and that they were mistreated by airline representatives.
CAIR-MI held a news conference in Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday to demand an investigation of the incident. Today, an official of Northwest Airlines told CAIR that the Muslim travelers would receive an apology for the inconvenience they suffered and would be compensated for any extra flight or hotel costs they incurred.
“We welcome Northwest Airlines’ apology and offer of limited compensation as a positive step toward addressing the concerns of the Muslim passengers,” said CAIR-Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid. Walid also said some of the travelers are considering legal action against the airline.

Game. Set. Match. Northwest Airlines always lets the Islamists win.

By Debbie Schlussel
Some Black workers at Smithfield Foods hog-slaughtering plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina skipped the first shift, Monday, in protest of the company’s refusal to give them a paid day off for Martin Luther King, Jr Day.
At first blush, you might say they were unjustified since most companies do not give that day off to workers, nor do they on other national holidays, like Veterans Day, Presidents Day, etc.
But a closer look shows they may have been justified in their protest. I did a little research. And it appears that Smithfield treats its illegal alien workers better than these workers who are American citizens.

That same Smithfield plant in Tar Heel knowingly employs many illegal alien workers. Remember “A Day Without An Immigrant” in May, when illegal aliens walked off the job and spent the day protesting?
Smithfield gave the illegal aliens employed at all of its plants nationwide the day off and encouraged and assisted its

employees to write their senators and representatives in Congress to ask them to pass just legislation that includes protections for legal immigrants and their employers, provides a path to citizenship for those who are willing to work, and does not separate family members. We believe this is the most effective action our employees can take to persuade Congress to make the right choices.

No such events for Black employees who are U.S. citizens. So, who can blame them for being upset?

By Debbie Schlussel
Here are are a few showbiz items of interest:
* Did you see Jack Bauer’s Dracula moment on “24,” Sunday Night? In a novel kill, he bites part of the Islamic terrorist’s neck off. Reports today’s USA Today:

Sutherland relished the neck-biting escape in Sunday’s opener – “I liked that,” he says with a grin – and reveals a chunk of cantaloupe substituted for his captor’s Adam’s apple he spat out before his exit.

Coming soon to the show, real-life conservative and “Silver Spoon”ster Rick(y) Schroder (who also left acting for several years to raise his family in Western America). Unfortunately, also coming soon, annoying actor and ex-Mr. Hilary Swank, Chad Lowe. Was on “Politically Incorrect” with him, once. Oy!

PC “24” Artwork by David Lunde/Lundesigns
* So much for in-your-face “Gays Reform the Straights” shows. Bravo’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” will end after this summer.
* Remember Rosie O’Donnell’s anti-Asian “ching chong” routine on “The View”? Michelle Malkin was all over it, saying the ethnic slur was used against her as a kid. Well, now, Chinese-American rapper Jin has a new rap against Rosie, part of it in Cantonese. Nichi Bei Times, a Japanese-American newspaper, reports that it includes voice samples from Donald Trump.
* Divorce Superbowl Karma?: The NFL rejected slutty-mom-with-no-underwear, Britney Spears’, offer to appear in a Superbowl commercial for the NFL Network, the NY Daily News says. Her crotch-flashing was the reason: “She’s too much of a train wreck,” an NFL insider tells the paper.
But Spears’ slacker soon-to-be ex, K-Fed a/k/a Kevin Federline, will star in a self-deprecating Superbowl ad for Nationwide Mutual Insurance, as a fast-food employee dreaming of rapping in a slick video, USA Today reports. And K-Fed’s ad garnered a front-page-of-the-Money-Section article in the nationwide paper.
Unfortunately, Paris Hilton will also be in a Superbowl ad. Eeuuw!

By Debbie Schlussel
Just got back from screening “The Astronaut Farmer.” It is fantastic!–a great celebration of the can-do spirit of the American individual to pursue his dreams in the face of big government.
Consider it “The Right Stuff” of the decade. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, it’s about an American cowboy who dreams of becoming an astronaut. But it’s better than that description.
Shaping up to be the best movie of 2007. Stay tuned for my full review when it debuts Friday, February 23rd.