Well knock me over with a straw…

LONDON – An 18-month attempt to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment collapsed Friday after a senior EU envoy failed to dent Iran’s resolve to expand the technology, despite the threat of new U.N. sanctions.

Really? You don’t say. I really thought they’d compromise this time. /sarcasm

And Iran is really concerned about those new sanctions.

“What did they achieve?” he asked about the two sets of sanctions already in place “Nothing. In fact, we made the greatest technology headway and breakthroughs in that specific period of time.”

What’s he talking about? The fact that despite the continuous sanctions and negotiations, Iran continues chugging along down the road.

He was alluding to advances in enrichment technology — Iran has set up and is running 3,000 enriching machines, or centrifuges, in the space of a year. That’s 10 times the amount it had when the Security Council passed its first set of sanctions in December 2006.

Oh, and all of those who think we should sit down with Iran?

U.S. criticism of Iran goes beyond the nuclear issue, with Washington alluding that Tehran foments terrorism in the region, but Jalili was dismissive of the “noise by the Americans,” adding: “We don’t pay much attention to them.”

Yeah, can’t wait to sit down for negotiations with these people.

Ace’s Krakatoa writes:

In other news, Michael Moore announces his 18 minutes of intense dialogue with “four rotisserie chickens, two racks of Applebee’s baby back ribs and a gallon of egg nog” ended “rather well”. Reports that he later turned down a waffer-thin mint have yet to be substantiated.

The suspect, Leeland Eisenberg, has been taken into custody by S.W.A.T.. He is in cuffs and has been placed into the back of a vehicle.

He was due in court today with his wife for divorce hearings.

Update: Bomb squad has apparently moved in on the device.

UPDATE: It’s 6:14 PM EST and both Fox and WMUR say another hostage, this time a young man, has been released.

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UPDATE: Carl Cameron says a woman was just escorted out of Clinton’s headquarters by law enforcement and placed in a SWAT vehicle.

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WMUR now reports:

Two hostages were released at about 3 p.m. WCVB in Boston reported that there were still two hostages remaining.

At a news conference, Rochester Police Capt. Paul Callaghan refused to release any details on the number of hostages, whether any hostages remained, the identity of the hostages or the identity of the hostage-taker. Police said there have been no injuries but described it as a “fluid situation.” “This is a hostage situation,” Callaghan said. “We’re confident we have the resources available to end this safely.”

Carles Cameron on Fox News says it’s possible there are two more, as well.

No injuries have been reported.

Reports and people familiar with the family say Stanley has been going through a divorce, has been drinking for hours, believes a bug has been placed in his head by the govt..

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The local police department is currently giving a press conference on the situation. He said “This is a hostage situation”. He “will not confirm how many hostages are (sounds like inside)”. He won’t say how many, if any, hostages are left inside.

This may not be over yet…Again, details sketchy thus far.

FNC is speaking to a young man who says he knows the son of the hostage taker. The suspect’s name is apparently “Troy Stanley”. Stanley’s son has apparently told police the “explosive” was actually highway flares.

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The man has a history of mental illness.

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Fox News’ Carl Cameron says he’s hearing reports that both hostages have been released. CNN:

Two people held hostage at Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire, have been freed, CNN affiliate WMUR said Friday.

Neither hostage was harmed, another affiliate, WCVB, reported on its Web site.

Indeed, WCVB:

The two campaign workers were released unharmed at about 3 p.m., according to a police officer. The hostage-taker remained inside the building. The man is a well-known local man with history of emotional issues, according to ABC News, who reported that the man told his son to watch the news.

So, basically, both hostages are believed to be released.

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UPDATE: WMUR says two hostages have been released, having been told so by Rochester police. Not clear if that means all are out, or if that’s two total. Very few details on that. No word on the hostage taker.

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UPDATE: Carl Cameron says S.W.A.T. had moved to directly in front of the headquarters building, talking through loud speakers.

It appears one woman may have been released.

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UPDATE: State bomb squad is on the scene. Live video from Fox News shows S.W.A.T. vehicles in the road, with officers traveling alongside them with shields and (apparently) guns drawn. They appear to be moving backwards down the road, however.

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Several sources report he wants to speak to Clinton.

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Edwards office in Rochester evacuated, too.

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MAJOR UPDATE: 2 campaign staffers are now reported to have been taken hostage. NBC6 reports:

Police said a man in his 40s, with salt-and-pepper hair, is in the building and has what appears to be an explosive device strapped to his body, TV station WMUR reported.

Witness Lettie Tzizik told the station that she spoke to a woman shortly after she was released from the office by the alleged hostage-taker.”A young woman with a 6-month or 8-mont-old infant came rushing into the store just in tears, and she said, ‘You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape.”

Traffic has been rerouted and local schools have been locked down. Obama’s Manchester office has been evacuated for precaution, with Republicans emailing Fox expressing concern.

Fox News’ Carl Cameron is broadcasting live from his news truck on the way to the scene.

Sharpshooters have been placed on the roof of nearby buildings.

CNN reports Clinton has canceled a scheduled speech.

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WMUR & MSNBC now report that the man claims to have a bomb.

“A young woman with a 6-month or 8-mont-old infant came rushing into the store just in tears, and she said, ‘You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape.”

A Clinton spokesman tells Fox that no one has been hurt yet.

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MSNBC is reporting, according to a poster over at Daily Kos, that it’s possibly a bomb threat. Indeed, WHDH reports that Downtown Rochester has been evacuated due to a bomb threat.

WMUR 9 reports:

An armed man has taken people hostage at the Hillary Clinton campaign office in Rochester, police said.

It was not clear how many hostages there were or what weapons the man has. Police have set up a command post near the office on 28 North Main St.

Praying everyone gets out of there safely.

More from WCVB:

The incident happened at about 1 p.m. Friday at 28 North Main St. in Rochester. Officials said that a man is holding people hostage at the office, but it is unclear how many people are being held.

The St. Elizabeth Seaton School and other surrounding buildings have been locked down.

How angry was Pelosi? Murtha’s felt the need to “clarify” his remarks.

Following a headline-grabbing uproar, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, moved swiftly Friday to clarify earlier remarks that seemed to suggest the Iraq surge policy was working.

The surge, he said in a statement, “has created a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government,’’ but so far the Iraqi government has “failed to capitalize on the political and diplomatic steps that the surge was designed to provide.”

“The fact remains that the war in Iraq cannot be won militarily, and that we must begin an orderly redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as practicable,” said the chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee.

Good thing he got back to his talking points there. He could’ve done damage to Democratic chances in ‘08.

Not that we didn’t know that already. Murtha is/was one of the staunchest anti-war, anti-surge Democrats. He denied, up and down, that the surge was working, even telling the Brookings Institute it was wrong. Now he says the surge is working. Unsurprisingly, that could be a problem for our friends on the Left.

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one of the leading anti-war voices in the House Democratic Caucus, is back from a trip to Iraq and he now says the “surge is working.” This could be a huge problem for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders, who are blocking approval of the full $200 billion being sought by President Bush for combat operations in Iraq in 2008.

Murtha’s latest comments are also a stark reversal from what he said earlier in the year…

But Pelosi, who is scheduled to speak to a Democratic National Committee event in Virginia on Friday, will surely face tough questions from reporters regarding Murtha’s statement on the surge.

“This could be a real headache for us,” said one top House Democratic aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Pelosi is going to be furious.”

Here’s one of the first comments on Politico’s entry:

Well, the surge may be working, but none of the political goals have been met, so we’re back to square one. Our men and women die, and the Iraqi Congress does absolutely nothing. Great. You have to be a serious simpleton to call that victory.

It went from “The surge isn’t working!” to “Despite what the troops on the ground and media sources are saying, the surge isn’t working!” to “Well, the surge may be working, but the Iraqi Congress hasn’t made enough political progress!”.

The lack of political progress isn’t something many people debate. It’s the same page Republicans are on. But the Iraqi Congress is relatively new. They just came out of decades of Saddam’s rule. Until recently, car bombs were going off all of the time, with the death toll steadily rising. I don’t think we can exactly expect it to be a well-oiled democracy machine. Our own Congress is over 200 years old and Washington is relatively safe for its members. Yet, it can’t manage to get higher than a 30% approval rating and has made almost no progress this year.

Via Glenn Reynolds.

One thing I wish I did more was stray off the path of politics every once in a while. Well, here ya go. It seems this year’s White House Christmas theme is “Holiday in the National Parks”.

The crispy steak fingers, served with creamed pan drippings, are just one item on a menu of treats from across America that will be sampled by an estimated 20,000 people at the White House this holiday season. The decorations, including 862 feet of garland, also reflect the nation from coast to coast to go with the theme, “Holiday in the National Parks.”

“The national parks are represented all over the White House, from the east entrance, when you’re greeted with Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from North Carolina,” Mrs. Bush said Thursday during a preview tour of the decorations. “You walk on in, you see the fabulous gold leaves of the aspens from the Appalachian Trail. … When you come upstairs in the Cross Hall, you’re met with that very famous Statue of Liberty.”

In a run-up to the National Park Service’s centennial in 2016, there are paintings of Hopi Point in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park and a waterfall rushing into the Virgin River in Utah’s Zion National Park. Downstairs, a terra cotta model of Mount Rushmore sits under a portrait of former first lady Barbara Bush.

Photos that normally hang in the East Wing have been replaced with photos of presidents visiting national parks. There’s President Eisenhower walking out of Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky in 1954 and President Kennedy visiting the Liberty Bell in the 1960s.

This year’s indoor White House official Christmas tree is 18 feet tall, featuring ornaments decorated by artists from 350 national parks, sea shores and monuments.

And if you thought you started early, the White House staff began right after Labor Day. Over 20,000 Christmas cookies, 700 cakes, 600 pounds of asparagus and 320 gallons of eggnog.

Along with the chicken-fried steak, there are 10,000 tamales; cheeses from Vermont and New York; 1,000 pounds of steamed shrimp from the Gulf; fresh salmon from Maine; Virginia ham; Maryland crab cakes; lamb; cheesy grits; and orzo salad.

Still hungry? Desserts include cakes, truffles, bread pudding, cherry cobbler and iced cookies in the shape of animals and tree leaves found in the national parks.

At the far end of the State Dining Room sits the traditional gingerbread house, a replica of the White House built with gingerbread and more than 300 pounds of white chocolate.

Replicas of the President’s dogs, Barney and Miss Beazly, are sitting in a sleigh on top of the gingerbread house.

UPDATE: Buy Danish at Hot Air links to this BBC piece. BBC asked AI for a remark.

The sentence is a mockery of justice and Amnesty International consider Gillian to be a prisoner of conscience.

She should be immediately and unconditionally released.

It only took them four days since her arrest. Still no results on their website, or a statement outside of some press sources. The other rights groups also still have no results on their websites.

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Um…zero. Literally not a single result about a woman spending 15 days in a hell hole jail for letting kids name their teddy bear after the Islamic prophet.

What makes their front page?

Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Annapolis talks must lead to immediate, concrete action on human rights

and

Breakthrough UN resolution on global moratorium on executions

Among other (non-teddy related) stories. AI’s selective international criticism is simply amazing. I actually wrote about this yesterday, so even after the conviction and sentencing they didn’t say anything.

Results for “guantanamo”? Er, 611.

More: Hot Air’s Entelechy has two more interesting search results. The National Organization for Women? Nada. United Nation’s WomenWatch? None.

Even More: Entelechy also searches MADRE. Again, none. AmnestyUSA. Human Rights Watch. ACLU has several Gibbons, but no Gillian that I can see.

Color me (not) shocked. CAIR’s even bragging about it.

Image via Michelle.

You can’t make this crap up.

A new display in the New York Public Library features left-wing propaganda. The display features fake mugshots of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rice, among other members of the administration. If that’s not enough, it comes complete with an audio display featuring select audio clips about the war in Iraq.

Lovely.

Video here.