Newt and Zawahiri call for World War

First it was Newt's turn.

So first of all, it's clearly worldwide. I mean, what I just described to you is an initial survey of a worldwide war.

But the second point is equally important. It is a war. We have active enemies, actively trying to kill us, and we have to see the violence in the Middle East in the context of an active war.

And being Americans, we prosecute wars to win them, not to have "reasonable response," not to have "appropriate levels of retaliation." Our theory is you start bombing our cities; we're going to defeat you and make it impossible.

See? It's as simple as defeating the bad guys by killing them. They're bad because they bomb cities, so they must be destroyed, by bombing cities.

Then Zawahiri took his turn.

"All the world is a battlefield open in front of us," said the Egyptian-born al-Zawahiri, second-in-command to Osama bin Laden.
"The war with Israel does not depend on cease-fires...We will attack everywhere."
"The shells and rockets ripping apart Muslim bodies in Gaza and Lebanon are not only Israeli (weapons), but are supplied by all the countries of the crusader coalition. Therefore, every participant in the crime will pay the price," al-Zawahiri said.

See? It's as simple as defeating the bad guys by killing them. They're bad because they bomb cities, so they must be detroyed, by bombing cities.

If only we could all agree on one bad guy to fight together.
Mel Gibson?

Shock the conscience

This is ironic isn't it?

Shield sought for US personnel from 1996 war crimes act

An obscure law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters might be accused of committing war crimes and prosecuted in US courts.
...
That law criminalizes violations of the Geneva Conventions governing conduct in war and threatens the death penalty if US-held detainees die in custody from abusive treatment.

In light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that said international conventions apply to the treatment of such detainees, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has spoken privately with Republican lawmakers about the need for such protections, according to someone who heard his remarks last week.

Gonzales told the lawmakers that a shield was needed for actions taken by US personnel under a 2002 presidential order, which the Supreme Court declared illegal, and under Justice Department legal opinions that have been withdrawn under fire, the source said. A spokeswoman for Gonzales, Tasia Scolinos, declined to comment on Gonzales's remarks.
...
The aim, Justice Department lawyers say, is also to take advantage of US legal precedents that limit sanctions to conduct that "shocks the conscience."

Jeez, so you pass a law in 1996, then 10 years later when your president orders people to break that law and the Supreme Court upholds the law, you scramble to protect the people you've ordered to break the law.

Why don't we just shield everyone from every law? I'd sure like a shield for the granny on chemo who feels much better after smoking a joint. Wouldn't you like a shield for demonstrators that break, um, no laws? I'm sure we can apply the Gonzales shield equally, right? Especially to acts that don't shock anyone's conscience.

180's

Remember skateboarding? When you were just starting out, the first 'trick' you would learn was a 180? It looks like it's not just Israel pulling 180's in the parking lot.

The U.S. pulls a 180 on troop withdrawl.

The US administration has quietly reversed its goal from whittling down troop numbers in Iraq before the mid-term congressional elections in November.

The U.S. pulls a 180 on closing detention camps in Cuba.

The controversy over the US-run detention centre at Guantanamo Bay is to erupt anew with confirmation by the Pentagon that a new, permanent prison will open in the Cuban enclave in the next few weeks.

Camp 6, a state-of-the-art maximum-security jail built by a Halliburton subsidiary, will be able to hold 200 prisoners.

Thanks for all the hard work Halliburton. Now for your next trick, why don't you try another 180.

Psych!

Israel carries out airstrikes anyway.

Israel carried out airstrikes Monday in southern Lebanon despite an agreement to stop raids for 48 hours to investigate its bombing on Qana that killed at least 54 civilians.
...
An unidentified Lebanese emergency official -- speaking live on Al-Arabiya TV -- said rescuers lacked the heavy equipment to remove people trapped under the collapsed building.

"We can't do anything for them under the rubble because we do not have the right equipment," the official said.

So that's the reason for the suspension. They wanted to investigate 'what went wrong' in a bombing raid that destroyed a building with dozens of civilians in it. What's there to investigate? You released the bomb, it dropped, it detonated, the building fell, people died. End of investigation.

Besides, the suspension didn't last the whole two days. They just couldn't stop themselves.

Red Cross worker Sami Yazbak, who was helping to pull bodies from the building, said many of the children who were sleeping inside were handicapped.

Yow, that's damning, eh? Well, but I guess those handicapped children shouldn't have been fraternizing with terrorists. So they must have deserved it. Thankfully someone has finally held them responsible.

Here's what the 48 hours says to me

Israel is suspending air strikes over Lebanon for 48 hours.

Why?

Because recent air strikes killed 60 people in one go, half of which were children.

Right?

Does that mean they feel bad about it?
Well, no, they're caving to pressure from other countries.

But here's what's interesting. Why does it matter which of these reasons brought about the 48 hour suspension? The suspension, if it is indeed some sort of an "oops, my bad" situation, seems to be saying that killing a few people here and there is tolerable, but killing 60 at once (as opposed to over the course of a few days) just isn't. It's a strange standard indeed. Whether this is Israel's standard or that of countries pressing it to stop, it's the one that's being applied.

No matter, folks in southern Lebanon and Beirut can look forward to more of the same in a couple of days.

From Israel to Lebanon (with kisses)

Thanks to peacenow in the comments section at Crooks and Liars.

http://www.fromisraeltolebanon.com/

That about sums it up.

Update: In an attempt to balance this out, I wanted to also post something about Israeli casualties, preferably with pictures, but for the life of me, I can't find any. I know there are some civilian casualties. I just can't find pictures or stories. I can find stories about IDF casualties, but not civilians.

Update 2: Just now on CNN there was a Sanjay Gupta story about Russian immigrants being wounded in Haifa due to Katyusha rockets. Hopefully there will be a transcript posted later. It's amazing that it's so difficult to find stories or pictures of civilian casualties in Israel and that the only one that I can really find is about Russian immigrants and not Israelis themselves.

John Aravosis kills 34 children

I think it's well known to anyone who has ever logged on to John Aravosis's blog that he supports Israel right or wrong and has even written a neocon screed saying that Israel was just plain being too nice with those damned Arabs.

From AmeRicAVOSIS:

Israel is being too nice
Commentary, by John Aravosis, political consultant and freelance journalist.
About.com, March 29, 2002

While it's not very PC (politically correct) to say so, the region's only capitalist democracy has shown more restraint over the past 18 months than it's given credit for. While Palestinian terrorists have intentionally attacked civilian targets in Israel with the intent of killing as many innocents as possible - including recent attacks on a young girl's Bat Mitzvah, and a private Passover dinner - the Israelis have targeted their attacks at military and police and other governmental structures of the Palestinian authority, or at the individual terrorists themselves.
Have some civilians died as well in the Israeli attacks? Sure. But there is a big moral difference between intentionally targeting small children for death, and targeting known terrorists who hide among children.
...
Arab and European governments must put their own pressure on the Palestinians to stop the violence, now. Lest Israeli patience finally run out, and the Palestinians and their all-too-comfy Arab neighbors learn how bad things really can get when the region's only military superpower gets pushed too far.

I think that's enough.

I guess Israel must have read this and now they are taking his advice. "They kill our civilians so we'll kill theirs." Of course, that will stop them forever, eh?

So Israel has unleashed a blitzkrieg of sorts on just about all of Lebanon. But what does Johnny A-list say about all this? That Israel is STILL being too nice. They're not expanding this thing into a regional war.

Today, he tries to justify his earlier claims while abandoning the thought that killing civilians is bad.

Israeli air strike kills 34 children
by John in DC - 7/30/2006 01:00:00 PM

But...

Israeli said it targeted Qana because it was a base for hundreds of rockets launched at Israeli, including 40 that injured five Israelis on Sunday. Israel said it had warned civilians several days before to leave the village.

So here's the ethical question of the day. Someone is firing hundreds of missiles at your citizens each day, and launching them from civilians areas because think they think you won't hit back (or hope you do, and thus kill civilians, causing a storm of bad publicity). As for the civilians, it's an open question whether they are helping harbor the guys with the missiles or not, i.e., whether or not they have a say in telling Hezbollah to take a hike (and if they do have a say, would that change your answer)?

So the question is this, under those circumstances, what do YOU do as the leader of country that's receiving 100 rockets a day raining down on your cities?

Second question, which I've posed before. At what point does a local citizenry become responsible for the crimes it supports? When Israel is on the receiving end of bombs, I hear a lot of talk about how every Israeli is a legitimate target because they all support the government. So does the same apply to every Arab, every Muslim, every southern Lebanese, and every American?

I'd just like to see some real discussion of where the line is here, and why some folks seem to care less when the targets are Jewish civilians. Comment (155) | Permanent Link |

BUT? But what? The kids deserved it for supporting Hezbollah?
He's provoking debate, which is good, but he's doing it by hiding his true opinions behind "ethical delimmas" to be discussed. Maybe he is learning that he can only get stupid people to give him money under the right circumstances, yet his ego will NOT allow him to reverse his stance on Israel.

Let's just give the run down of all his pro-war posts that stirred up so much shit.

First, it was the post where he said he didn't have a problem with Israel bombing Tehran and Damascus. (What about Riyadh and Cairo?)

Is Israel going to attack Syria and Iran?
by John in DC - 7/15/2006 10:20:00 AM

Rumors have started.

A few weeks ago, Israeli had its fighters buzz the Syrian presidential palace. That was rather gutsy, and in-your-face. There's speculation in some circles that Israel may bomb Damascus or Tehran in the coming weeks, and I have to say, I'm not sure I'd have a problem with that.

My logic is this. Israel bombing civilians, bad. Israel bombing Lebanon when Hezbollah is the problem, bad (and I have a hard time believing Lebanon has the ability to do jack about Hezbollah). But the real culprits here are not the Lebanese, they're Syria and Iran who have been causing hell in Lebanon for decades.

If Israel has concrete proof that Syria and Iran are directly responsible for supporting Hezbollah and supplying them weapons, etc. (and I'd be surprised if they didn't), then it's difficult to say that Israel can't, or shouldn't, counterstrike against two countries that are attacking Israel via proxies.

Controversial, yes. But while I'm not 100% committed to this strategy, particularly because of the possibilities of any attack on Damascus or Tehran possibly spinning things out of control, it surely makes a lot more sense than the approach we took to dealing with Iraq. Perhaps a shot across the bow, or down their throat, could help "contain" Iran and Syria. It's not clear how letting them get away with murder, quite literally, is helping anything.

Thoughts?
Comments (835) | Permanent Link |

Yeah, he's got no problem with pre-emptive bombing campaigns. It's war and war is hell. And since the US is supplying bombs to Israel so they can carry out their devastation in Lebanon, I guess he's also got no problem with Iran sending some bombs over here. Maybe he wouldn't mind if some Iranians crashed a plane or two into the Pentagon. But, here he even says that Israel's bombing of Lebanon is bad and that their killing of civilians is bad. Gotta love his contradictory logic. But that didn't last long.

When a people support a government that does bad things, is it all right to hold the people responsible?
by John in DC - 7/16/2006 10:19:00 PM

It's a question much bigger than Lebanon:

The Western-backed, anti-Syrian prime minister Fuad Saniora held back tears as he vowed on Lebanese television Saturday night to curb the guerrillas, desperate to stop Israel's onslaught.

But on Sunday, President Emile Lahoud — a pro-Syrian and an ally of Hezbollah — pronounced that Lebanon "will not surrender" to Israel's attempts to batter it into submission.

Few believe Saniora could move against Hezbollah without throwing the country into further turmoil. The army he would have to send into the south has many Shiite members, who might balk at fighting their brethren in the guerrilla force. The country's large Shiite population would be outraged.

People like to talk, especially, I've found, in Europe and the Middle East, about how they hate the US government but like the American people. They say you can't hold a people responsible for what its government does. That's always struck me as odd, since we live in a democracy where the people are the government, and in the case of Bush, 50% or more of the American people, up until recently, supported the man's folly.

When the people support the government, as in this case the Shia in Lebanon likely don't want the government clamping down on Hezbollah and its missile attacks on Israel, at what point are the people responsible for the actions of their own government, and at what point should they be held responsible for those actions?

Meaning, if Hezbollah missiles are killing Israelis, and Hezbollah's actions are supported by Lebanon's Shia population, doesn't Israel have the right to retaliate against the Shia in Lebanon? At the very least against their utilities and their roads? Putting aside the wisdom geo-politically of such action, morally isn't it any country's right to strike back?

Or, if you think that the Shia in Lebanon don't share responsibility, then do you also believe that Americans who supported Bush, and who voted for him twice, and who supported the war in Iraq don't share any of the blame for the mayhem Bush has unleashed over the past six years?

Comments (333)| Permanent Link |

Even though he asks this as a question seemingly meant to provoke discussion, it sure seems like he's trying to justify his earlier statements supporting Israel's actions. I guess "being held responsible" to Johnny means killing them. And if the government of a country really is an extension of the will of the people (not likely) then I suppose by extension that Johnny A-list has killed at least a few dozen children by his support for Israel.

I was wrong. Israel is really really really bad.
by John in DC - 7/17/2006 01:45:00 AM

Apparently there's money in my future so long as I tailor what I write to reflect the views of my contributors. Just got the following email.

John,

I am one of your many silent regular readers. I read, but never post. Until the last few days I have highly respected your judgment and analysis, and have contributed to your blog more than once

Your posts on the Israel-Lebanon situation read as if they were written by a strident pro-Israeli.
I fully agree with Gilliard.

Unless you come to your senses, you have lost a contributor, and possibly a reader.

John P.

Not to mention, would there be something wrong if I were pro-Israeli? I didn't realize that was another category of free speech and free thought that we've now Dixie Chicked.

Comment (0) | Permanent Link |

Yes, this is the post that REALLY set his "base" off. Notice there are no comments because Mr. A-list deleted them all. How petty is it to publicly post a private email from someone who pays him for his lame opinions? And I suppose Johnny can be pro-Israel all he wants, if he's willing to live up to his standard of "being held responsible" for their actions.

But then he constantly contradicts himself when it's convenient.

Bush extends duty for thousands of US troops in Iraq. He was serious when he said there'd be no withdrawal.
by John in DC - 7/28/2006 10:57:00 AM

It's time the American people took George Bush at his word. Yes, he's incompetent and a bit dumb, but he's been pretty consistent with his foreign policy. And Bush said he wasn't going to withdraw from Iraq, and he means it. So if you like US troops being bogged down in Iraq for the next several years - Bush himself said the next president would have to decide if the US ever pulls out (nice cop out) - then keep voting Republican. They've already told us repeatedly that theirs is the party of war. You like war, vote for them.

Comments (72)| Permanent Link |

What? I thought you liked war, Johnny? Hold those Shia "responsible" for their support of Iran. Hold those Sunnis "responsible" for their support of Syria. Hold them all "responsible" for the poll that said most of them feel that attacks on US troops are justified. Hell, that's not even the government. That came straight from their mouths. I guess it's time to bomb them all to hell.

In conclusion, Johnny Aravosis, Mr. A-list, has, by his own logic, killed quite a few Lebanese children. Maybe someone should "hold him responsible."

Israel shuts'em up good like.

From Wayne Madsen:

Our intelligence sources report that the Israeli Defense Force attack on Lebanon is being carried out as a joint Israeli-U.S. military operation. Moreover, there are joint Israeli and U.S. war rooms coordinating the U.S.-supported Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The ultimate aim of Washington and Jerusalem is not only to eliminate Hezbollah as a political force in Lebanon but also to remake Lebanon as an American and Israeli client state.

Makes sense to me. Why the hell else would all this start? Remember the 2 Israeli soldiers were captured in Lebanese territory controlled by Hezbollah. Again, I'm not defending Hezbollah, I just want to keep straight who really started this. And soldiers weren't abducted in Gaza, so that has nothing to do with the bombings there.

The deliberate Israeli attack on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outpost in southern Lebanon was the result of that post gaining information of Israeli atrocities committed against the civilian Lebanese population.

Again, makes total sense. It reminds me of the deliberate bombing of Al Jazeera by US forces. I think this is a result of old style military tactics mixing with new style military tactics and the fact that information can be zipped around the world in a matter of seconds in almost real time. So the old school military tactics of bombing and raiding and killing news outlets and journalists is meeting the new information technology and everyone knows about it. In the past, you'd rarely if ever hear about these things and they were deftly dismissed by officials.

Friday. Time for Beer.

I guess I should give some props to some local beer.

Yazoo Brewing Company is probably the best beer made in Nashville.


It's sort of a microbrew, but they ship beer all over the place. Most places in Nashville, at least, have Yazoo on tap, even some movie theaters.

Their hefeweizen is actually some of the best I've ever tasted. It's right up their with Paulaner and Franziskaner maybe even better. It's very fruity and smells like bananas and strawberries. It's extremely smooth and tasty and quite alcoholic. (I'm not the type to ruin Hefeweizen by squirting lemon juice in it of all things. Why do people do that?) I also am quite fond of their Pale Ale. But it gives you a monster headache if you drink too much. I wish they would bring back their Belgian Ale. It was the best beer they ever made, IMO. I think it was something like 7.5% alcohol, which might not be entirely legal in Tennessee. Stupid beer laws don't make any sense.

Well, I'll be off to the Brewers' Festival tomorrow! If you're in the Nashville area, don't miss it. The weather is supposed to be nice (not super hot like last year.)

See you there!

Slow Day

While there are plenty of things to bitch about and/or ridicule, today is slow. Nothing postworth, IMO.

So I'll just post a video.
Love it or hate it.



The Black Dahlia Murder - Contagion
From - Unhallowed (2003)

Lyrics:

jaws -- dripping with disease
fingers for use of weaponry
mind spins in fervor of murder's design
unleashing our buried primal desires
return to instincts we had lost
our blades shall speak with eloquence what human words cannot
terror -- a world of terror we create
maddening howls fill the streets as further spreads the plague
gone -- the affinity to modern man
wavering faith falls to ravenous hands
unbridled malevolence reaches a boil
as strivings of mankind dissolve into fire
the will to conquer suffocates
a trail of shredded carcasses, our morals dissipate
now the end's drawing nearer
upheaval is at hand
animalistic biddings
a reverse evolution of man

terror -- a world of terror we create
maddening howls fill the streets as further spreads the plague
children -- we are the children of the beast
instinct counters reasoning, our rage shall be unleashed
the dreams of man engulfed in fire
this world a heap of burning flesh
the end is baring down upon us
the god of mortals lying dead

U-S-A! U-S-A!

Ah, I love the land of the free. Don't you?
Let's all hold hands and start singing, "I'm proud to be an Murkin. Where at least I know I'm on a terrorist watch list!"

TheDenverChannel.com

These unknowing passengers who are doing nothing wrong are landing in a secret government document called a Surveillance Detection Report, or SDR. Air marshals told 7NEWS that managers in Las Vegas created and continue to maintain this potentially dangerous quota system.

What do they know? Quotas never cause problems. Just ask potential speeders. Hey, they're going to speed at some point, just like anyone can become a terrorist at the drop of a hat. The more on the list, the better.

But what could possibly go wrong?

"That could have serious impact ... They could be placed on a watch list. They could wind up on databases that identify them as potential terrorists or a threat to an aircraft. It could be very serious," said Don Strange, a former agent in charge of air marshals in Atlanta. He lost his job attempting to change policies inside the agency.

Very strange, Strange. I see you're a maverick trying to rock this boat. Hey, you could even be a troublemaker.

Maliki: No Civil War

No that's not Peter Tosh singing "No Nuclear War."

It's the PM of Iraq saying that there is no civil war.

The Independent

Sure hundreds are being killed every day, but that's not civil war. It's just a "sectarian issue." To the tune of hundreds a day dying.

He admitted that 100 Iraqi civilians were being killed every day, though the real figure is probably much higher after a series of tit-for-tat massacres this month.

"There is a sectarian issue, but the political leaders ... are working on putting an end to the sectarian issue. Civil war will not happen to Iraq." But even top Iraqi officials are already privately admitting that central Iraq and in all parts of the country where there is a mixed population of Shia and Sunni - or, in the north, Sunni and Kurd - civil war is now raging.

What does he get from the US to say these things? Do they wrench his arm behind his back or waterboard him until he agrees to say shit like that? Or does he share the same rose-colorblindness that our dear Leader does?

Wingnut Daily channeling reasonable Congressman

INSIDE THE FEDERAL RESERVE

Titled "THE FEDERAL RESERVE: FRAUD OF THE CENTURY," Whistleblower documents authoritatively and with uncommon clarity how the "Federal Reserve" – which is neither part of the federal government, nor does it rely on monetary reserves – is an unconstitutional, unelected cartel that literally creates the devastating problems it was supposed to prevent.

"From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the burst of the dotcom bubble" in 2001, charges U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, "every economic downturn suffered by the country over the last 80 years can be traced to Federal Reserve policy."

You might remember Ron Paul (R-TX) from his speech on the House floor entitled, "The End of Dollar Hegemony." Also see, "What the Price of Gold is Telling Us."

Like I said, I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I like honesty in politicians and like to see genuine efforts to address real problems, not just tabloid soap opera issues, and I admire Ron Paul for speaking about a serious issue that most people are blind toward.

Also please read, "What Congress Can Do About Soaring Gas Prices." In it he basically lays out the premise that record high oil prices are a direct result of all our actions in the Middle East. (duh) And Ihink he subtly suggests that this is by design. (duh, When oil men become the president and vice president you think oil prices will go down?)

Before the Iraq war oil was less than $30 per barrel; today it is over $70. The sooner we get out of Iraq and allow the Iraqis to solve their own problems the better. Since 2002 oil production in Iraq has dropped 50%. Pipeline sabotage and fires are routine; we have been unable to prevent them. Soaring gasoline prices are a giant unintended consequence of our invasion, pure and simple.
...
We must end our obsession for a military confrontation with Iran. Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and according to our own CIA is not on the verge of obtaining one for years...We must quickly announce we do not seek war with Iran, remove the economic sanctions against her, and accept her offer to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the impasse. An attack on Iran, coupled with our continued presence in Iraq, could hike gas prices to $5 or $6 per gallon here at home. By contrast, a sensible approach toward Iran could quickly lower oil prices by $20 per barrel.
...

We must remember that prices of all things go up because of inflation. Inflation by definition is an increase in the money supply. The money supply is controlled by the Federal Reserve Bank, and responds to the deficits Congress creates. When deficits are excessive, as they are today, the Fed creates new dollars out of thin air to buy Treasury bills and keep interest rates artificially low. But when new money is created out of nothing, the money already in circulation loses value. Once this is recognized, prices rise-- some more rapidly than others. That’s what we see today with the cost of energy.

Ron Paul is one of the few politicians in DC that I respect. Damned honest politicians.

Check out The Money Masters.

Blogger.com is a thorough pain in the ass, btw. Their servers are routinely unavailable and sometimes it just won't upload a post or a pic. It's really frustrating.

The benefits of a liberal education

Jesus's General has an awesome post comparing Maoist propaganda with the current Culture Wars here in the US. Get ready for the revolution.

Canada decimates Seattle in order to destroy terrorist group

Intense bombing has destroyed most of the civilian infrastructure of Washington State in an effort by Canada to root out God's Party, a terrorist organization that they say has kidnapped two Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Hundreds of US civilians are dead and the civilian infrastructure of Washington has been utterly destroyed. Rockets have been flying from Washington over the border into British Comlumbia. Up to 20 Canadian civilians have been killed and some damage has been done to neighborhoods and train depots in Vancouver.

US officials and most of the United Nations have called for an immediate cease fire, but Canada says that a ceasefire is futile unless the terrorist group is out of operation. Meanwhile, civilian casualties continue to mount as Australia rushes shipments of guided munitions to Canada.

"We have to get the UK to get God's Party to stop doing this shit, and it's over," said Prime Minister Howard of Australia into a microphone he did not realize was open. He never indicated when shipments of bombs to Canada from his country would cease.

Although the Canadian government was initially very slow to evacuate its citizens from Washington, 5,000 of the 25,000 Canadian citizens there have now become departees as they lounge on cruise ships, sipping pina coladas and playing shuffleboard. Many US citizens remain in the area, depsite Canada's dropping leaflets telling them to get out.

Refugees Evacuees "Departees"

Well, it appears that the term "evacuee" had become quickly old and busted.

The new hotness is "departee."

Never mind that the original term, refugee, is correct in connotation and grammar.

People are seeking refuge and those that do recieve it are refugees.

Then came Hurricane Katrina and that word got replaced by "evacuee," even though people who evacuate are "evacuators." I would think anyone who took them in would be the "evacuees," but even that sounds wrong.

Now, we've got "departees." If they are departing then they are departers, not departees.
I guess my company is now my employee and when they sign my checks they are the payee?

Whatever. It's all the same. You can't dress up a desperate situation in newspeak and expect it to look like anything but a desperate situation.

But if you could, departee is the wrong word. I think to really sap the desperation out of the situation, just say they are all on vacation. Call them "vacationers." Or even "excursionists." Or maybe "wayfarers." Next year, they'll say, "Screw 'em. They're refugees." (Lauren Hill and Wyclef Jean would be proud.)

Troublemakers trying to make more trouble

Worcester Telegram:

After parking Weise's car, the three, dressed in professional attire and holding tickets obtained from their local congressman, arrived at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. Young cleared security, but Weise and Bauer were briefly detained and told by staff they had been "identified" and would be arrested if they tried "any funny stuff," according to court records.

And you know they had "funny stuff" in mind.

"I had every reason to attend that event, just as anyone else in the room had that day," said Weise. "If we raised security to a higher level just because we had an opinion different from the administration, I think that goes far beyond what is appropriate for this country."

Oh, and you know better than Our Leader what's appropriate for this country? He'd the Decider. You're not. Simple.

Lawsuits by protesters are not always embraced by the courts. In Pennsylvania, a federal judge dismissed a suit challenging the arrests of six men who stripped down to thongs and formed a pyramid to protest the Abu Ghraib scandal when Bush paid a visit to Lancaster.

Troublemakers never realize that there is a time and a plce for everything. The time for frat pranks like naked pyramids are for frat houses and prisons, behind closed doors with no photography. Photographs only make trouble. Don't be a troublemaker.

Gone are the days of candidates facing down hecklers or reacting to distractions like, the man who donned a chicken costume and pestered George H.W. Bush in 1991 after he balked at Bill Clinton's invitations to debate.

And good riddance. We don't need trouble in our 2 party political process. It needs to run smoothly and efficiently in order to have swift delgation of Decisions from the Decider.

So stop making trouble. After the Decider decides, that's America's decision. And it had better be yours, too.

Cindy Sheehan is a Ba'athist

And so is Hollywood.

Saddam is on a hunger strike in a publicity stunt to make us sympathetic to him.

Cindy Sheehan is on a hunger strike. She must love Saddam.

Hollywood joins her. They must love Cindy for loving Saddam.

Al Sharpton loves Saddam enough to lose a few inches.

Man, will these moonbats ever wake up?

Gays War Taking Toll on Marriage

Washington Post:

"Are you pure today?" the judge asked Nidhal, who nodded her assent to the standard question about whether she was not menstruating. Shiite Muslim women cannot participate in court proceedings during their periods.

Why don't we have those standards?

At least 301,446 divorces were registered in Iraq during the past two years -- nearly half the number of marriages recorded during that time -- according to statistics compiled by the Justice Ministry.

More than twice as many marriages are ending in divorce as before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, according to ministry and court officials, social workers and divorce lawyers, though no reliable data are available from the earlier period. The twin stresses of perpetual violence and a stagnant economy -- along with the loosening of certain social stigmas -- are taking a toll on one of Islamic culture's most sacred institutions.

I'll bet it was really all those Iraqi queers. Liberal media. Those Iraqis just need to accept Jesus into their hearts and they'll stay hitched until death (and then they get to go to heaven!)

Habash, a trained psychologist who works in a crowded conference room adjacent to Moussawi's chambers, said her main strategy to thwart divorce is to "threaten them and make them afraid of the future."

Hey, if it works there, it'll work here! Fear is the best motivator.

"He wants her to do sexual things not approved by our Muslim and Arab society," she said, declining to explain further. Lawyers said that because women are forbidden to discuss such issues, they turn an empty cup upside down on a table when appearing before a judge, a sign understood to mean they have been subjected to illicit acts.

"If this doesn't stop, the marriage should stop right away," Habash said she told the couple.

Now I wonder what the illicit things are? A blowjob? Or would it have to be midgets and leather?

Since finishing law school a year ago, Tammimi, who is unmarried, said she has handled at least 75 divorces. "It can be depressing," she said. "But I am hoping to get experience from all these cases, so I can do marriage 100 percent right."

You'll be fine. Just don't piss the bed, make sure you do all the nasty things your hubby wants, and, by God, don't let those damned queers get married.

Salvador Option investigation blocked

RAW STORY:

Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte is preventing a thorough examination by intelligence analysts of the civil war in Iraq, RAW STORY has learned.

A report at Washington Babylon, the blog of Harper's Magazine's Washington Editor Ken Silverstein, indicates that Iraq analysts at the CIA have been pushing to complete a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the political situation in the country. NIE's are the most authoritative intelligence documents produced by the CIA, and the last NIE on Iraq was rejected by the Bush administration for being too negative.

But since the calls to analyze the Iraq conflict have emerged, Silverstein reports, Negroponte has tamped them down. One of Silverstein's sources explained that Negroponte didn't want President George W. Bush to be confronted with a pessimistic assessment of the war in Iraq.

Negative Nancies. They are just trying to paint our Glorious Civil War started by Negroponte's Death Squads in a negative light for partisan political gain. Those triangulating bastards. Can't they see that this is being done to protect our freedoms? Like the freedom to learn skills for combat or civilian life.

I guess Porter couldn't purge out all the Democrats. Maybe Hayden will have a better time of it.

Iraq prisoner abuse 'was routine'

From BBC:

The torture of prisoners in US custody in Iraq was authorised and routine even after the Abu Ghraib scandal came to light, a US-based rights group says.

Soldiers who tried to complain about the abuse were rebuffed or ignored.

But a Pentagon spokesman said 12 reviews had found there was no policy condoning or encouraging abuse.

So it was more of an unwritten rule. More of a cultural thing than a legal thing. Peer pressure, that's it. All the cool kids are doing it.

An interrogator at Camp Nama said the use of abuse techniques was commonplace - authorisation forms could be easily prepared for commanding officers to sign. "I never saw a sheet that wasn't signed," the soldier said.

Yeah, because you wouldn't want to be a nerd.

HRW gives accounts of instances where soldiers who were concerned by the abuses were thwarted from reporting it. One military police guard at the facility near Qaim, who took his concerns to an officer, was reportedly told: "You need to go ahead and drop this, sergeant."

Yeah, what a dork! What's he trying to do? Get us all detention? Hell, we'd probably be tortured.

"It is now clear that leaders were responsible for abuses in Iraq," Mr Sifton said. "It's time for them to be held accountable".

What is he? The Preacher from Porky's II?

The Geneva Conventions, which were passed in the wake of World War II, are meant to guarantee minimum standards of protection for non-combatants and former combatants in war.

Human Rights, blah blah. Jeez, talk about your party pooper. Talk about your Debbie Downer.

I guess they'll start pulling the troops out now. If they can't have proper fun by nearly drowning people or beating them to near death, then I guess there's not even a good reason to stay. Damned human rights. They've gone and ruined it all. I guess the terrorists win.

Hotline? No, H.O.T.line!

This is rich (from Wonkette):

The number listed in the print edition of today’s Post? 1-800-407-4747.

Which we called. And we heard:

“Feeling horny? Try these red hot lines from National. Live hot fun at just 69 cents per minute.”

Kill'em All!

No, I'm not talking about Metallica's 1983 debut album. I'm talking about the Rules of Engagement handed down to our troops trapped in Iraq.


Soldiers Say Ordered to Kill Young Men

Four U.S. soldiers accused of murdering suspected insurgents during a raid in Iraq said they were under orders to "kill all military age males," according to sworn statements obtained by The Associated Press. The soldiers first took some of the men into custody because they were using two women and a toddler as human shields. They shot three of the men after the women and child were safe and say the men attacked them. "The ROE (rule of engagement) was to kill all military age males on Objective Murray," Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard told investigators, referring to the target by its code name.

Yeah, I can't possibly understand why they hate us so much. I mean, we liberated them. They're free now. Russia should be giving its left nut to have a Democracy like that.

I wonder if those ROE are also in place in Afghanistan, a country that we are losing control of in slow motion.

Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general

Nato commander's view in stark contrast to ministers'
Forces short of equipment and 'running out of time'

Now Afghanistan has been "close to anarchy" the entire time. I can't think of a time within my lifetime when Afghanistan wasn't close to anarchy. But that's not what's important to Cheney and Bush. Are the pipelines secure? That's what's important. That's the whole reason we are in Aghanistan. Osama? Taliban? Gimme a break. If we gave such a shit about people being oppressed then we'd be invading a whole slough of countries that oppress their people. Finding terrorists that attacked us? First, convince me, using evidence, that Osama had anything to do with 9/11, then I'll believe that's why we invaded Afghanistan. Second, if you can prove to me that Osama is resonsible (which you can't) then I get to bitch about not accomplishing the one ostensible goal for invading and occupying. Never mind the fact that right after the invasion, pipeline construction went into full swing and that the president of the presidential palace in Kabul once (once?) worked for Unocal, the original claimant of the pipelines.

I'm sure if there are any "military aged men" living around te pipelines, they won't be living for long.

By the way, did you know that God hates America?

Isreal had been planning this war for a year.

Remember when I said that the Israeli military action was so rapid that it looked pre-planned? Well, it was. All they needed was an excuse.

Both sides had been building up to this. The capturing of the two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah ( I guess that's the new standard spelling ) was merely the catalyst.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...

Israel's military response by air, land and sea to what it considered a provocation last week by Hezbollah militants is unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago.

In the years since Israel ended its military occupation of southern Lebanon, it watched warily as Hezbollah built up its military presence in the region. When Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli soldiers last week, the Israeli military was ready to react almost instantly.

So they'd been planning to bomb the crap out of the whole country of Lebanon for more than a year? Remember that Bush said that all that had to happen was Hezbollah to "stop doing this shit" and it's over. Well, if you plan for a year for a war on the slightest of provovations, surely you'll look for any excuse to set it off. The capturing of the soldiers isn't an excuse. Israel should definitley try to get their soldiers back. But even the Israelis know that bombing Lebanon back into the Dark Ages won't get those 2 men back. They're destroying an entire country and killing hundreds of people to retreive 2 soldiers? Hardly. Were the Pentagon and the Bush administration caught off gaurd by this war? Hardly.

More than a year ago, a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail. Under the ground rules of the briefings, the officer could not be identified.

If this had been in the works for a year and US officials knew about it, why wasn't an evacuation strategy in place for a year? If the Israelis were ready at a moment's notice to launch an all out offensive upon a country where 25,000 Americans are, and US officials (and journalists?) knew about that, what kept them from having a rapid evacuation plan in place ready to go?

This whole thing smells to high heaven. And if this Wayne Madsen Report (scroll down to July 20) is true, these "Americans" who were in the know are equally responsible

Update:

U.S. Speeds Up Bomb Delivery for the Israelis

The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran’s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah.

The munitions that the United States is sending to Israel are part of a multimillion-dollar arms sale package approved last year that Israel is able to draw on as needed, the officials said. But Israel’s request for expedited delivery of the satellite and laser-guided bombs was described as unusual by some military officers, and as an indication that Israel still had a long list of targets in Lebanon to strike.

FEMA camps, future detainment camps?

Is it just a case of a bureaucratic overshoot? Did they simply think that more people would need or want to live in these isolated trailer parks? Or are there future plans for these "camps?" I sent this in to Prison Planet, but they never posted it. So I'll post it here.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=17178

"If a resident invites the media to the trailer, they have to be escorted by a FEMA representative who sits in on the interview," Rodi told the newspaper for its July 15 report. "That's just a policy."

Hmm, nice policy there. Too bad it's completely illegal and unconstitional. What are these people prisoners? Can they leave whenever they like or not?

But then something else is strange about this story.

Officials in Morgan City estimate that FEMA has spent about $7.5 million to build the trailer park but that only about 15 of the 198 trailers are being used. "We all wonder why no one lives there," Matte said. FEMA officials refuse to say how much was spent to build the park or why 183 of the trailers are vacant.

There are camps like this all over the gulf south. My girlfriend's uncle had just opened up a trailer park and was planning on renting trailers and lots out to people. After Katrina and Rita, FEMA came in and rented out every trailer he had and is still renting them out to this day (he's making a killing for doing nothing). Yet, not one of the trailers is occupied. Not one. Like I said, there are camps like this all over the place and they are either mostly empty or entirely empty. Very few have a substantial occupancy rate.

And the people who are unfortunate enough to be stuck in these things are not "allowed" to talk to the press. Why? Is this some sort of conditioning? I doubt it and I hope it isn't.

I really hope that there aren't future plans for these places, especially in the event of another operation. As in another "terrorist" attack. It does make me cringe, though, when I think of all those unused FEMA trailers sitting in Arkansas, just waiting for a crisis. Maybe even waiting for marital law. Who knows?

A smidgeon of war

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/...

"We want the killing to be stopped, both in Israel and in Lebanon. We want everything to be back as it was before, no killing, no kidnapping, we want them back home."

The father of one of the captive Israeli soldiers called for an end to violence on both sides. What is he some kind of liberal? Doesn't be know that peace only comes from blowing the crap out of everything? Man, he needs to have a party with Daniel Berg.

Of course, stopping the violence isn't part of Israel's plan.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/...

Israel is sending tanks toward the Lebanese border village of Maroun al-Ras on Saturday in the latest part of its offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas. Troops are already on the ground in the area and the operation is considered a widening of limited Israeli action in southern Lebanon, not a signal that a full-scale ground invasion has begun.

All these peaceniks! They just don't get it do they? You can't have peace without a little war.
You know that's funny. A local radio guy here, Phil Valentine, said yesterday on his show that there is a time for peace and a time for war. Right now, that's whay Israel and Lebanon need,"a little war". Just a little bit. A dash, if you will. Or is it a pinch?

I'm sure old Phil wouldn't mind a little war in his backyard, eh? Just a little guided munition into his garage. Maybe it wouldn't kill him. Maybe it would just kill his wife or his children. But hey, it's just a little war. No biggie.

Is the keffiyeh trendy or what?

This isn't any kind of breaking news, but what's the deal with Americans wearing the keffiyeh?

Ricky Martin was duped into wearing ine inscribed with "Jeruselem is ours." Ironic that he was also wearing a gold cross around his neck.

(I dont' want to hear it, that boy is American.)


Then I come across a pic of Howard Dean wearing one.


Is this man insane? It would be like George Bush wearing a cape with the Star of David on the back. We know that Bush has picked sides in this conflict, but why would Howard Dean? You can say that he was just showing support for the Palestinian cause. Fine, but you can do that without wearing the keffiyeh, a show of solidarity, which makes it look like you entirely support everything they do. It provides much ammo to your opponents who can then simply say that you support terrorism, that you support bus bombings and cafe bombings. Wearing Isreali symbolism, however innocent it may be, makes it seem like you support apartheid, forcing people from their homes then bulldozing them, and shooting children.

I really wish American politicians would stop (appearing as though they were) picking sides in the Israeli-Arab conflict. It only creates more division.

Beer blogging!

Hey lots of blogs have gimmicks. Whether it's kittens, orchids, beaches, music, whatever, lots of blogs have some periodic theme post. Let's make this one BEER.

If you're in the Nashville area around July 29 don't miss the Music City Brewer's Festival.



There are brewers from all over the country dying for you to drink their beer. We went last year and despite the oppresive heat, it was great. Tons of beer, some of which I had never tried. Some were avoidable, like the blueberry flavored beer, but others were awesome.

This year Flying Dog brewery will be there. I love their IPA! A total hops extravaganza!



I've been buying this in bottles since it came out, but I have yet to have it on tap. Nashville has many many 100-tap pubs, but they always miss out on the truly great beers. When will someone put Mackeson XXX back on tap? The Flying Saucer in Little Rock had it on tap for a little while and then no more. The Flying Saucer here in Nashville has never had it to my knowlege. Much like Guiness, it's just NOT the same from a bottle.

I also hope that the Franziskaner tent will be there again. Their Weissbier on tap is heavenly. It's great in the bottle (one of the only Hefeweizen beers that still has that fruity aroma in the bottle) but on tap it's perfect.

If you have any favorite beers that I might not know about, please feel free to fill me in!

Americavosis: Great new "Aravosis Watch" blog

A lot of people are finally starting to see through John Aravosis's shilling.

Check it out:

AmeRicAVOSIS

I know I'm not really helping them since I've only gotten a total of about 100 actual hits on this blog. No matter.

A friend of mine showed me Americablog back during Katrina. I remember logging on to find the most ridiculous statements being thrown around. Then he sent some guy down there in a huge brand new Ford Expedition, a huge, expensive, gas guzzling beast. I wondered how these bloggers had the money to do this. What made it seem funny is that they were doing their best to play Junior Reporter and act like actual journalists getting to the heart of the story. It looked like what they were doing is sightseeing and getting in the way. Disaster tourists.

If anyone else has some gems from Americablog, please post them at Americavosis. Unfortunately Aravosisblog is no more. And it was shaping up to be such a great parody too. Good comedy there. O well.

God's plan?

Take a gander at this video compilation from Think Progress.

One guy says that the constitution states that marriage is for procreation. Um, where? Marriage isn't mentioned at all in the constitution.

Another guy says that "we'd better not be messin'" with God's plan.
I say we'd best not be messin' with the English language.

Why don't we just do what Al Sharpton (not really) proposes? Make the whole Bible the law of the land. What need to we have for a consitution when we have the Bible? Stonings all around! No more shrimp, pork, or Gillette razor blades for you. And you'd best not be messin' with masturbation!

This is all coming from the James Dobson/Jerry Falwell wing of the GOP and I hope all these dimwits go down because of it. they won't though.

Homeless blogging

There is a local Nashvillian who is homeless and blogging about it.

Check him out at http://thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/

He also has some pics to peruse.

He's got this Flickr page too.

I guess it's just interesting to me that a homeless guy has a blog.

I don't pretend to know anything about this man and I have no idea why he's homeless. He seems educated and quite articulate. He appears to be well groomed and clean. He doesn't seem crazy.

Why is he homeless?

His first post refers to depression. I guess I wouldn't understand how depression can make you homeless. I get depressed often and when I was younger my parents brought it upon themselves to stick me in a ward for 2 weeks because they thought I was clinically depressed. The doctors even gave me Prozac, which I think screwed me up. But I'd say my depression was less chemical than it was nihilistic.

I also get writers block and a sort of "work" block, where I just can't seem to bring myself to work on projects that need to be worked on or papers that need to be written. I'll find myself easily distracted and doing things that shouldn't be taking up my time (like surfing blogs and message boards, commenting and arguing). I worry that this little habit of distraction will get me fired one day. I hope not. I wouldn't want to end up homeless.

His hometown is San Diego. Now I went to SD for an ACS convention and I thought it was a great town. I saw plenty of homeless people hanging out in Balboa Park, which is a pretty nice park. I remember saying to myself, "If I were homeless, I'd want to be homeless here." If you must be homeless, at least do it where the weather is mild and there's nice scenery. I wonder why he doesn't try to get back there.

I don't understand why he thinks he should buy $45 Tom Waits tickets when he's homeless. Maybe he doesn't rely on any donations at all, and makes money through blogads and selling things. Who knows. But if I were homeless, I don't think I'd be worrying myself over concert tickets. I'd be worried about getting into a place to live. Each to his own. It's his life.

Again, I can't see why he is homeless. Since he's not crazy or stupid, it seems to be a choice he has made.

The cycle of violence will never end

It will never end until both sides stop teaching their children to hate and to find solutions in violence.

Tom Tomorrow has a post of some Israeli girls writing their messages to the victims of these artillery rounds.

http://thismodernworld.com/3005



I say this is pretty sick. These girls might grow up to regret doing this, but probably not.

I think everyone is familiar with pictures of Palestinian children with guns and masks.




http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/diplomacy/articles/dip_0036.htm

Is this what we have to look forward to? Both sides seek the utter destruction of the other. Both sides are raising their children to accept nothing less. I guess this means that this violence will go on forever.

How can we stop it?

If I were Bush, I guess I'd think the solution would be to kill all the children.
It could work.

Update: I just wanted to link to this post at lawrenceofcyberia.

It's both sides' fault

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/article...
Bush and all his minions are saying that the latest flare up between Israel and Hizbullah is an attempt by Syria to re-occupy Lebanon. This is absurd. Syria is calling for a cease fire. Why would they do that if they had ever wanted to re-occupy Lebanon?

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite...
Lebanese and Syrians are saying that this is an attempt by Israel to re-occupy Lebanon and Gaza. Well, Labanon must be just a grand place (I hear it's very nice) since everyone seems to want a piece of it. Gaza must be paradise.

Why are both sides so uncompromising? Is it the sun?

No. Both sides have wanted for a long time for the other side to become nonexistent. Neither side will rest until this is accomplished. I'm surprised that Jeruselem hasn't been nuked by now. ANd you'd think that the utter destruction of Jeruselem would be like an adult coming in to break up a fight between two children by taking away the candy they were both fighting over. Alas, they would still find something to fight about. Is it the sun?

Or could it be that religions that cannot live side by side together should be side by side together? Could it be that religion is the root of evil here? Or at least unyielding fundamentalism?

Fundamentalism is everywhere. When will it become a thing of the past? I guess when there is no more greed and corruption, there will be no more fundamentalism either. Human nature has to change before we'll ever see the end to war because the root causes, greed, revenge, and rigid dogma will not go away until the animalistic nature of humans is attenuated.

Blair knows the lingo too

Another GOP Porn Star Candidate

http://www.reviewjournal.com/...

Personally, I'd like to see all GOP candidates be porn stars. It's better than all the prostitutes they have for candidates now.



Meet Mimi Miyagi.
Star of "Deep Throat 6," "She's the Boss" and "Oriental Lust."
She gives lapdances at fundraisers.

"I want everyone to know that I'm here to bring back the roots of the Republican party: freedom, freedom of speech, freedom to party, free enterprise," Damayo said. "Now it's time to limbo!"

She quit porn with the 2003 film "Happy Ending."

Don't forget about Mary Carey.

Breakdown of Death Toll in Lebanon and Israel

There is someone in our department who is in Beirut right now. I really hope she doesn't end up on this list.

http://cbs2.com/worldwire/MideastFighting-Casua...

IN LEBANON:

At least 227 people have been killed and more than 450 wounded, according to figures reported by the Lebanese national police and the military. Among the dead are 20 Lebanese army soldiers and two Hezbollah guerrillas.

Among the civilian deaths are 8 Canadians, 2 Kuwaiti nationals, 1 Iraqi, 1 Sri Lankan, 1 Jordanian, police have reported.

Latest deaths:

11 Lebanese army soldiers in a strike on their base in Kfar Chima, south of Beirut.

Five civilians killed in a collapsed house during strike on Aitaroun in south Lebanon.

One Jordan killed when missiles hit trucks near Zahleh in the mountains above the eastern Bekaa Valley.

IN ISRAEL:

25 Israelis have been killed, among them 8 soldiers, according to authorities there. Nine soldiers have been wounded, and 326 civilians.

Latest deaths:

Hezbollah rocket fire killed an Israeli in northern town of Nahariya.

It looks like it will never end.

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=5159171

Syria and Iran say they're open to cease-fire and prisoner swap

...and Israel refuses to swap. There you have it.

Which side wants peace and which side wants war?

John Bolton - Morality Expert

Lebanon civilian deaths morally not same as terror victims -- Bolton

Someone just smack him in his stupid moustache, please?

John Bolton:

"It's simply not the same thing to say that it's the same act to deliberately target innocent civilians, to desire their deaths, to fire rockets and use explosive devices or kidnapping versus the sad and highly unfortunate consequences of self-defense."

And what part of what Israel is doing can be called "self-defense?"

Israel sent troops across the border. They were captured. A prisoner exchange was demanded. Isreal (extremely rapidly almost as if it was all pre-planned) enforced a naval blockade, and already had assets in position ready to strike at Hizbullah sites. They also destroyed most of the civilian infrastructure and about 200 civilians so far. I think they are getting ready for ground troops to swoop in and try to tighten the noose around Hizbullah "once and for all." What part of this is self-defense? Tell it to all the Americans still stranded there, being extorted by their own government and now have to rely on Syria to save them.

(Don't think I'm just anti-Israel. I think every regime in the region is guilty as sin. All sides commit atrocities and no side is innocent. The only innocent ones are the slain civilians. Maybe you could ask Johnny A-list if he doesn't have a problem with all the slain civilians that would have come from the expansion and escalation of this war that he seems to favor.)

Wingnut vs. Wingnut over WWIII

George Will, that starched collar of a man, writes an article that will be coming out tomorrow in the Washington Post. In it, he shits all over William Kristol and Condi Rice for their attempts to jibe us into war against Iran.

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/001542.php

Here's the article (registration required).

Transformation's Toll is the title and it says it all, to me. Call it code. Transformation was the idea that started all of this. Transformation is why PNAC exists, it's why we invaded Iraq so quickly after 9/11 instead of later (some say it's why 9/11 - The New Pearl Harbor - happened in the first place). It's why we are still in Iraq (besides the oil timeline). We're still testing and experimenting and engineering transformation. Sure we can take over an impoverished 3rd world country with 100,000 troops and stealth bombers and satellite networks, but can we also take out one guy with an RPG sitting under a bridge? Can we use a lean, mobile, networked force to do urban seek and destroy? This is important in the New World Order.

I think many who have been disturbed for the past 4-5 years, wondering where this country is headed, may start to feel some relief. Conservatives will start dissenting from all the war cheerleading comeing from the neocons (as George Will rightly labels them - radicals. They really should be called neolibs, but that's another story.) As you may know, many paleoconservatives, like William Buckley, started to poo poo the Iraq war (well after it was obvious that it wasn't working out, despite its immorality) and now some of these guys are also poo pooing the Fox News cheerleading section clamoring for more war war war! Thank the Mighty FSM.

There are many bits of ridiculousness in the piece though. Well, it wouldn't be George Will if not, would it? Referring to The Weekly Standard: "One envies that publication's powers of prophecy but wishes it had exercised them on the nation's behalf before all of the surprises -- all of them unpleasant -- that Iraq has inflicted." Ah, yes, prophecy, like Iraqis welcoming us with flowers instead of bombs and bullets.

Let's see if the paleocons team up with the liberals against the neocons.
Grab some popcorn.

Creationist Museum Tour

Just found this on You Tube by searching for creationism stuff.

The audio is terrible because it's a video camera recording of audio from speakers during the tour. Just turn up the sound a bit, but it'll still sound tinny.

They've got it all wrong, of course. Humans were created after mountains and a "midgit" (which may or may not be related to what we call midgets today) by His Noodly Appendage. Have you been touched?

Here it comes...

I was wondering how the US was going to get involved in the war between Israel and Hizbullah/Labanon and finally someone writes about it.

Urgent Warning: CNN prepares Israeli false flag war provocation vs. Americans in Lebanon

CNN and MSNBC coverage this Saturday morning has been stressing the situation of the 25,000 Americans now stuck in Lebanon. These Americans are being invited to register with the US consulates for possible evacuation. The State Department and the US military have been remarkably slow to begin such an evacuation.

One possible provocation scenario to bring the US into the war is that a helicopter carrying US citizens being evacuated out of Lebanon is hit by a missile and destroyed, killing all on board. The missile might be fired by the Israelis or by their allies among the fascist Lebanese Phalangists. The Israelis would announce that the helicopter had been destroyed by Hezbollah, opening the way for a hysterical campaign by Fox News and the rest of the neocon mass brainwashing apparatus to secure an early US attack on Syria and Iran.

-------------------------
That's entierly plausible.

I really hope something like this doesn't happen. I also hope that this war ends quickly and doesn't spill over into some World War the way Fox News, et al. have been peeing their pants hoping it wil happen.

Also, when I saw that Israel had set up a naval blockade and had artillery and rockets set up in strategic positions, I thought that this was all pre-planned. But, alas, maybe the Israelis are always in a state of alert and certain maneuvers are so well-planned and almost in place that it doesn't take them very long to mobilize if, say two of their soldiers that provocatively cross the border are captured.

This whole thing seems mapped out from the beginning and it sure looks like it was meant to start a regional war and draw many parties into it. I don't think Syria or Iran or Egypt are in the mood for full scale war, but I doubt they'd just back down once provoked. If this thing does escalate, FSM help us all.

We can't even keep our colonies in line. How can we possibly believe that we can take over the whole Middle East?

(Thanks to SunshineGreeny for the first two links.)

Bush's Lapdog or Babysitter?

People everywhere call Tony Blair Bush's Lapdog, but is that really the state of things? I'll bet that once Bush started showing up at international summits and meetings, leaders recognized that this is a man totally out of his element and who would probably never realize it or overcome it. Some of them had a talk with Tony Blair and asked him to take Dubya under his wing, coach him along and keep him out of trouble, all without Bush realizing that it was happening. Bush's fratboy-type dominance dancing makes him think that he's in control and that he's got sway with people. All the while, behind his back, world leaders sigh and shake their heads as Bush makes a complete ass of himself. Blair is always there, like a big brother, to reassure Bush and to make sure he doesn't do any real damage (other than to his own image, of course.)

So there's my theory. Blair isn't Bush's lapdog, he's his big brother figure, there to babysit him and keep him away from the adults while they are taking care of grown-up business.

Bush makes me embarrased to be an American, II

Yikes! This is all over the blogs.

Bush: Liebes-Attacke auf Merkel!

W.....T.....F?

First he won't stop asking her about "that pig" (wink wink) and then he attacks her to giver her a back rub. Was he high? I think he has the hots for Merkel. That's what it looks like.

Maybe they just had a toast with shots of Vodka in true Russian style. The combination of smelling bread and shooting Vodka went straight to his alcoholic head and he couldn't get enough Merkel to quench that fire down below. Down, pig, down!

Yet again, Bush embarrasses the entire USA.

This little happenstance came out right after Bush's open mic night. Now saying shit isn't a big deal and that's why the MSM ran with that one little part, and because he was on topic. But, all the other little soundbytes like, [prarphrasing]I'll just make it up right here. I don't want to talk too long like these other guys.-These guys all talk too long.-Move this thing along. I've got to get home. I've got something to do.[] (Terrible blog practise, I know, but I cannot find text, audio, or video of this. If anyone wants to send it in, please do, and you'll get your very own neck massage.)

We should just throw these little tidbits on the pile of other incidents that Bush has gotten himself into.

Please let the mighty FSM speak wisdom to this lad and ask him to resign.

If Israel never existed...

Some people wouldn't make stupid claims about what would happen if Israel never existed.

I'm not a Republican nor am I a Democrat. Both sides say stupid things all the time.

I actually don't know the affiliation, if any, of the writer here, but he's making some sweeping claims about what would happen if Israel had never been formed and most of them forget the rest of Middle Eastern history.

http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/32357

He gets it wrong from the very first element of the list:

1. The U.S. would not have any enemies in the Islamic World.

Is he kidding? Did he forget about the post-WWI imperialism/colonialism of Great Britain and even the United States after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, none of which has anything to do with the creation of the state of Israel?

2. There would be no Al-Qaeda Terrorist Network.

This is equally absurd, especially if you believe those who say that Al Qeada was actually formed and funded originally by the CIA.

3. Gasoline would be selling for less than $1 a gallon.

Uh, yeah. Which ass did you pull that out of?

4. There would have been no 9/11.

This is an attempt to further perpetuate the official story behind 9/11. It was all those angry Muslims and they were angry because we support Israel. Please. 5-8 are merely consequences of 9/11. No 9/11, no 5-8.

9. Iran would not be the next target for U.S. aggression. (No Israel. No “A Clean Break” document. No Israeli Lobby. No Neocons. No need for the U.S. to attack Iran.) [5]

Give me a break. Did he forget about our dictator that we installed in the 1950s? Remember him, the Shah? That's when the Iranians started hating us. We started hating them after they overthrew our dictator and held our citizens hostage. Then they hated us more when we shot down one of their airliners in 1988. Now we hate them because they have started selling oil for Euros instead of Dollars. So maybe I should say that if the European Union had never formed, we wouldn't want to attack Iran. That would be the same type of logic we have here with this writer.

12. Jerusalem would have a vibrant Christian population.

It has a Christian population right now. Is it vibrant? I guess that's a matter of opinion, isn't it?

14. The 2,544 Americans who have died in Iraq would be alive; and the 18,777, who have been seriously wounded there, would be fully participating in our Republic. U.S. taxpayers would have an additional $295 billion, (the cost of the war), in the treasury to use to serve the social needs of the people. Universal Health Care would be a real possibility and Social Security would not be in jeopardy. Iraq would be at peace. There would be no Gitmo Bay detention center, or an Abu Ghraib Prison, or a reason for the Bush-Cheney Gang to gut Habeas Corpus. No need for it to also employ torturers, or chemical weapons, or hold detainees without charges or trial. The Geneva Convention would be respected. The tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, who have died as a result of the war, would instead be alive today. (At the following footnote, see horrific photos of some of the Iraqi dead.)

Good god. The Iraq war has nothing, and I mean nothing, to do with Israel. Saddam was a dictator sitting on the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world. The US is a country where the strength of the curreny depends on the price of a barrel of oil and that eveyone buys and sells oil with it. This way countries must keep dollar reserves, which lose value through inflation, which in effect creates a way for the US to tax the rest of the world. This is why we are so rich, yet have $9 trillion in debt, with no one (yet) calling in all those loans (it would rock the world economy if that happened too quickly). The Iraq war was all about central banks, petrocurrency, and economic hegemony. It wasn't about WMD and it certainly wasn't about Israel.

15. The battle to save our planet, its fragile ecosystem, its fast vanishing animal life and plants and to combat global warming, would be issue “No. 1.” [10] Instead, we are perpetually bombarded with propaganda about defending “Israel’s security.”

At this point it's really hard to take this guy seriously. How does he know what the No. 1 priority would be? Does he honestly believe it would be something as altruistic as "saving the planet?" Also, Israel's security is not the priority that is being heaved onto the Murkin people, it's Murka's security that is being cynically used as a pretext for all the raping of the treasury and power grabs by those currently in power.

Well, his list gets lost in strange handwringing over what Israel has done for the past 40 years and just says that all these bad things wouldn't have been done by Israel of Israel had never been formed. You could point to any country on the map and do the same exact thing.

Well, if this guy is a lefty, then he's providing all sorts of ammo to righties who want to justify all of Israel's actions. And I hate when lefties do that. I hate it when lefties make dumb arguements based on some irrational notion that got built up in their heads. It's so easy to attack and dismantle an argument like that.

Suffice it to say, Israel or no Israel, the US and the UK would still have half of the Middle East hating them and burning their flags. They were doing it for decades before Israel even formed. It's been this way ever since WWI and the discovery of oil in the Middle East. Mind you the formation of Israel has definitely made things worse, but you can't say that it is the root of all evil.

Best argument ever

Very rarely do I come across an argument so watertight that nothing can break through it.

Republicans want to bring up things like gay marriage and flag burning to distract from the mess that is Iraq. Democrats also ignore Iraq in their campaign ads because most of them voted for it. Harold Ford, Jr. running for Senate here in Tennessee is running an ad focused on gas prices and alternative fuels. Does he realize that the high price of oil is a direct result of the war in Iraq, which he voted for as a Representative? Bob Corker, also running for Senate, has ads concentrating on the border, which is also a distraction, and a very effective one.

Well, Morning Martini has a post that takes one of the many distractions, the gay marriage distraction, and makes mincemeat out of it while immediately directing attention back to the Iraq disaster.

My own feeling is that the biggest possible threat and harm to heterosexual marriage is war. This war in Iraq is producing hundreds of widows and widowers. In addition many, many divorces are the result of a spouse’s deployment.

Bravo! Now you'd think that the genius political strategists working for the Parties would have come up with this a long time ago, and they probably did, but the Democrats don't want to talk too much about the Iraq war that they supported and still do, even though they make noises in attempts to fool people into believeing that they don't, and the Republicans, well, they're hopeless.

Morning Martini should also mention the fact that tens of thousands of Iraqi marriages and lives have been ended by the war.

Don't hold your breath for any politicians to use this argument, as great as it is. It's not their job to represent you anymore. Just get used to it.

Perfect

Doesn't this just sum it all up?

Strangers With Candy

Pretty decent movie Mr. Colbert put out.

Lets just say that was the first movie I've ever seen with butch lesbo tits swinging in the shower.

That's all I have to say about this one.

Go see it.

It was worth all $6 at the Belcourt Theater even if they didn't have the beer taps running today. Why, God?