Say What?

Spy Spy Away

2006-04-29T12:14:00.000-04:00

FBI secretly sought data on 3,501 people in 2005
Agency ramped up use of approach that requires no court approval

Updated: 6:40 p.m. ET April 28, 2006
WASHINGTON - The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday.
Full Story

Worlds going to hell and we're escalating spying on our own citizens. What's wrong with this picture? September 11th isn't billed as 'home grown' terror - yet it's being used to instill homegrown terror tactics by our own government on its citizens. There's something seriously wrong here. Something very very wrong here.

U.S. Reports a Surge in Global Terrorism
The count has soared since the Iraq invasion, but only now are attacks there being included.
By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer
April 29, 2006

WASHINGTON — The State Department's annual report on global terrorism, released Friday, concludes that the number of reported terrorist incidents and deaths has increased exponentially in the three years since the United States invaded Iraq, largely because of Iraq itself.

The report also said that although the United States had made some gains in fighting terrorism, Al Qaeda and its affiliate groups remained a grave threat to U.S. national security at home and abroad — both in Iraq and elsewhere.
Full Article

You mean not because of American citizens? That would blow that whole justification to HELL then, wouldn't it? And if it ever came to light, man people would be pissed ... what to do?

Feds Move to Dismiss Domestic Spying Suit
By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 50 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO - The Justice Department said Friday it was moving to dismiss a federal lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's secretive domestic wiretapping program.

The lawsuit, brought by the Internet privacy group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, does not include the government.
Full Article

And the sun came up this morning.

A court case would certainly shake the whole 'it's because of September 11th and terrorism' idea, because declassified NSA documents prove it was ordered by Tates before September 11.
Sticky situation, that whole truth thing. Bites you in the ass. Lovin the hell out of the small, nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation right now, in addition to supporting them financially.
I like putting my money where my mouth is. You're on shaky ground complaining about something you do nothing about.

Tates declared today, "...the enemies of freedom have suffered a real blow in recent days, and we have taken great strides on the march to victory."

Thousands of Shiites Displaced in Iraq
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sectarian violence has forced about 100,000 families across Iraq to flee their homes, a top Iraqi official said, and 16 Iraqis were killed Saturday, six of them tortured in captivity. -more-

Obviously 'terror' families are suffering a blow, deathsquads and a real housing shortage.

Ex-head of interrogation at Abu Ghraib charged
Lieutenant colonel is highest-ranking officer to face criminal abuse charges

Updated: 6:10 p.m. ET April 28, 2006
WASHINGTON - The Army on Friday charged the former head of the interrogation center at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq with cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty and other criminal offenses for his alleged involvement in the abuse of detainees at the notorious prison in 2003.
Full Article

The wages of sin, paid by the little guys. Let's not bring up the obvious fact that his bosses knew, approved and implemented these policies. If they 'claim' innocence, then they are too incompetent to command anyone in the field. Criminal or incompetent - I frankly don't care what they charge them with. But they need to clean house from the TOP DOWN, not the bottom to the knee. However, they are already honoring Army investigator Brent Pack honored for Groundbreaking Work on Abu Ghraib, which is very cool unless the investigation stopped right at the middle.

SuperDon_™ Corner (squeeeeaaaaaal!):

I'd like to answer this argument, other than pointing out the sky is blue, gravity works and oh yeah, the UCMJ:
"Where are the officers serving now? Where are the enlisted? Huh? Those Generals are retired!"
Right here:

Embassy, April 26th, 2006
COLUMN
By Richard Gwyn
A week ago, it was the generals. Now it's the colonels and majors and captains. Moreover, these officers are in uniform and have none of the security from retribution of the generals who have all already retired.

In a front-page story Sunday, The New York Times described an "extraordinary debate" now going on among younger American officers "in military academies, in the armed services staff colleges, and even in command posts and mess halls in Iraq."

This debate is about the war in Iraq, about the tactics and prospects of the American forces there, and, most particularly, about Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, already the target of stinging criticism by a half dozen recently-retired senior generals, most of whom had served in Iraq.

The names of these junior officers have all been withheld by the Times. If ever identified, they would be court-martialed. So readers have to take it on faith that the paper has described their opinions accurately.

But it's hard to doubt that the report is close to the truth. To heighten its credibility, by no means all of its findings are predictable.

Thus, while the younger officers overwhelmingly fault Rumsfeld, they are less critical of President George W. Bush.

Several thought their own generals were as much to blame as Rumsfeld, for having gone along silently with his bad planning.

The sense of malaise, though, is widespread.

FULL ARTICLE

Sucks to be an idiot, doesn't it?

Yunno, like this guy - who has declared The Iraq War is Over. Hey, I'll pass it along to the guys who died there this month, the deadliest month this year. Assclown.

Today, thousands marched in Manhattan.
I wish we could bring them home right this minute. But we've started something that we can't just walk away from. We invaded them. We caused this. This is our fault. We can't take out toys and go home. 'Sorry, too bad, so sad, now you can just go straight to hell and die horribly because of our mistakes.' It's called responsibility. And it's ours.
What we need are real military strategists, real planners, real policies and a real exit plan. We've got the finest military and finest military minds in the world. Let 'em get to work - away from the political screwup appointees and SuperDon_™ syncophants.

.

Yahoo for Iranian Rice Chinese Style

2006-04-28T00:18:00.000-04:00

Yahoo cited in jailing of China Internet writer
1 hour, 8 minutes ago

BEIJING (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) has been cited in a Chinese court decision to jail a dissident Internet writer for 10 years for subversion in 2003 -- the fourth such case to surface implicating the U.S. Internet giant.
-more-

That Yahoo, what a buncha practical jokers. They didn't really mean to ruin someones life. They were just ... cooperating with a tyrannical foreign power.

China launches "Remote Sensing Satellite No.1"
Ahhh, the good old days, when they would consider launching primates into space. You know ... before they started taking office.

Israel: NO to peace
The prospect of a peace summit between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was shot down by Israel Wednesday almost as soon as it was floated by the Palestinians.
-Full Story-

Coming Up: Those mean Palestinians don't want peace! All they care about is terror and suicide bombs! Let's launch missiles!
And they wonder why those people elected Hamas. Israel, come down off the cross and save yourself. Your fine people deserve it. Your leaders, on the other hand, should join ours for a nice War Crimes Tribunal.

She did not ask that...

Rice Says U.N. Must Act on Iran Nuke Plan
By ANNE GEARAN AP Diplomatic Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Iran seems determined to defy international demands to control its disputed nuclear program, so it is time for the U.N. Security Council to act, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday.

"Is the Security Council going to be credible?" Rice asked after meetings with NATO foreign ministers.
-Full Story-

Sweet Britches, glass houses and all that. Wait, here's a good idea. Get together a satellite presentation, head over to the UN, and show them all those suspicious trucks and weapons of mass destruction. I think there might be some leftover in Colin's old drawer.

We are the World. We think You're Idiots.

Pakistan: No violence against Iran
"We are against any resort to force," Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan said after a meeting with Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns.
-Full Story-

Brzezinski: Do Not Attack Iran
Brzezinski: Air Strike on Iran Could ‘Merit the Impeachment of the President’
In an op-ed titled “Do Not Attack Iran,” former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski today makes the case against launching an air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
-Full Story-

The problem is entirely a public relations one. What we need is a catchy tune, like say this one: Let's Bomb Iran.
Wooo! Catchy.

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

29 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 are current defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the past year

It must be Enron, huh?
This ‘company’ is called the US Congress.

Definitely Not Kansas

2006-04-28T00:09:00.000-04:00

House passes draconian intelligence bill
By Bev Conover
Online Journal Editor & Publisher
Apr 27, 2006, 00:37
The cretins in Congress better start using their gray matter, if they have any, because the repressive legislation they pass that bites the people today will also bite them tomorrow.
No one is immune from the horrors of a police state. No one. None. Fall out of favor with the ruling clique, for whatever reason, and your goose is cooked.
And a police state is what they are creating, all under the guise of "national security" and keeping us "safe" from "terrorists."
The latest nightmare is buried in the HR 5020, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, which the House of Representatives passed, 327-96, yesterday. Among its provisions are giving National Security Director John Negroponte authority to devise a plan for revoking the pensions of retired intelligence agency employees "who commit unauthorized disclosures of classified information." That takes care of any retired whistleblowers.
If that weren't bad enough, the Baltimore Sun is reporting "It also would permit security forces at the National Security Agency and the CIA to make warrantless arrests outside the gates of their top-secret campuses."
Plus, according to the Sun, "The measure also directs Congress to conduct a study of possible new sanctions against those who receive leaks of classified information, including journalists."
In effect, a total shutdown of any knowledge of the crimes your government has committed or is committing in your name.
Is this a sign that we are reaching the tipping point and the real terrorists in the executive branch and their fellow travelers in Congress are fearful of a rebellion? Is this a preemptive attempt to thwart an uprising?
It's better to put all the control mechanisms in place while most Americans are still preoccupied with the daily dose of lies and omissions dished out by their handmaidens in the corporate media. After all, how long can the Busheviks continue to trot out phony Osama tapes and Zarqawi videos, threatening mayhem, when things are going badly for the administration?
With Hitler, it was the Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and anyone else who opposed him. With Bush, it's darker complexioned people ("terrorists," possible "terrorists," and aiders and abettors or sympathizers of "terrorists") and anyone else who opposes him.
Fascism doesn't descend all at once. It comes creeping in, in seemingly benign ways at first. A little chip off your liberties here and a little chip there -- all for your safety and welfare, you're told -- and one day you wake up to find all your liberties are gone. We are nearly to that point.
The USAPATRIOT Act, which too many persist in calling the Patriot Act, has nothing to do with patriots or patriotism. The full title alone should have horrified people: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. As slickly as it was rammed through both houses, without being read or debated, in the wake of 9-11 and reauthorized this year, its provisions weren't harsh enough to keep us in line. So now the Congress critters have come up with HR 520 to punish anyone who discloses things the Busheviks want kept secret. The question is will the Senate also vote for this abomination?

The irony is that the chippers in Congress, in the state legislatures, in the city halls, fail to realize that one day they, too, make become victims of their chipping. Absolute power may corrupt absolutely, as Lord Acton noted, but power of the smallest degree is a siren song that tends to blind.

Copyright © 1998-2006 Online Journal
Original Article

Here’s the text of the Bill.

Here’s the roll call of who voted, note the shameful 'representatives' who voted in favor.

If this legislation passes in the Senate, it becomes Law.
Isn't it time to email, write and call your Senators before the Bill of Rights becomes a distant memory?

And while you're at it, send a clownbeating to those 'representatives' who aren't representing anything resembling America The Free anymore.

You cannot disagree:
Silencing The Squeaky Wheels
By Shane Harris, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, April 27, 2006

The CIA has imposed new and tighter restrictions on the books, articles, and opinion pieces published by former employees who are still contractors with the intelligence agency. According to several former CIA officials affected by the new policy, the rules are intended to suppress criticism of the Bush administration and of the CIA. The officials say the restrictions amount to an unprecedented political "appropriateness" test at odds with earlier CIA policies on outside publishing.
Full Article

Draconian measures, silencing critics. Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore.

You ever get the feeling we woke up in the Soviet Union via the Third Reich?

SuperDon™ goes to Iraq

2006-04-26T05:42:00.000-04:00

SuperDon_™ will be visiting a warzone near you! Be the first in your bunker to get an autographed sandbag! Ask about your nifty-difty stop loss plan!
Inquire into top placement in the next Ramadi all-fire-all-the-time billet! You,too, can be part of the SuperDon Squad*
*some restrictions apply; offer not valid to those in a free fire zone, all applicants must be at least certifiably insane for over 30 days, submit requests in triplicate signed in blood (preferrably your own). Please note: background in military and/or foreign policy not neccessary, proctological sobriquets preferred.

Rumsfeld Makes Surprise Visit To Baghdad
April 26, 2006 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Baghdad on an unannounced visit aimed at showing support for Iraq's emerging government.

Rumsfeld has so far held talks with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey. After the meeting, Rumsfeld stressed the importance of the new Iraqi government, calling the formation of the "first government that doesn't have a qualifier in front of [its name] ... another important milestone."
Full Story

So without a qualifier, would that make it un-qualified? A state which I'm sure he can fully empathize with. Because you know he's just going there to gloat because they tossed out the guy they didn't like.
But hey, anytime SuperDon's out of the country sounds like party time to me.

Let's do a Fun & Profit Edition!

Spying on people for Fun & Profit:

AT&T Sees Net Income, Sales Jump
Cingular's growth helps profit rise 63% in the first full quarter since SBC purchased the erstwhile Ma Bell.
By James S. Granelli, Times Staff Writer
April 26, 2006
AT&T Inc. on Tuesday reported a 63% increase in profit and a 54% jump in revenue, as the former SBC Communications Inc. released its first full quarterly results as a combined company. Full Story

You gonna share some of that with the National Spook Association? I mean, the NSA has to be one of your biggest customers by now.
Right after reading this, I made another donation to EFF. I sincerely hope their profits rise another 63%, so they can be sued silly.

Terorrism and Death for Fun & Profit:

Silverstein announces World Trade Center Deal
The developer Larry A. Silverstein announced yesterday that he had accepted the economic terms of a new deal at ground zero. The proposal reduces his overall role on the 16-acre site and clears the way for construction of the Freedom Tower, the tallest and most symbolically important of five towers planned for the site.

Larry Silverstein made the announcement at 7 World Trade Center.
The deal calls for Mr. Silverstein to surrender control of the $2 billion Freedom Tower, along with more than one third of the ground zero site, to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. But he would retain the right to build three office towers on the most valuable parcels there. Full Story

Wow, I'm all choked up. Let me wipe away the tear with one of Larry's billion dollar bills.

Schilling for Fun & Profit:

FOX Host to be named White House Spokesman
By TERENCE HUNT AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON Apr 26, 2006 (AP)— Conservative pundit Tony Snow will be named White House press secretary, Republican officials said Tuesday night, in the latest move in President Bush's effort to remake his troubled White House.Full Story

Stop. It's too easy. Snow jobs..Yellow Snow... TSno... there's no challenge.
I do think it would be economically wiser if Fox News just broadcast from Cheney's rectum.

Strawmen for Fun & Profit:

Iraqis Condemn Al-Zarqawi Video
Wednesday April 26, 2006 10:01 AM
By THOMAS WAGNER
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi politicians and citizens on Wednesday condemned terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as a foreigner determined to destroy their country, but they also seemed to take his new video promising more attacks as a serious threat.Full Story

Uh, guys, we don't all have the attention span of snap peas.

Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi
Jordanian Painted As Foreign Threat To Iraq's Stability
By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 10, 2006; A01
The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The documents state that the U.S. campaign aims to turn Iraqis against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, by playing on their perceived dislike of foreigners. U.S. authorities claim some success with that effort, noting that some tribal Iraqi insurgents have attacked Zarqawi loyalists.
Full Story

Workin on some serious credibility issues here. I mean, how can they honestly expect Americans to take anything the Pentagon claims seriously anymore?
Yeah, you wanna impress us? Find Waldo.

Hey listen up. I'm going to assist my loyal military psyops brigade and spell out just where you're losing us. We know there are militant groups. We know about the Mujahadeen and Radical Islam. For crissakes, why do you have to talk UP somebody? Aren't there enough real threats to go around? Stop invoking this already discredited puppet. And while you're at it, enough with all Al-Qaeda all-the-time. I mean, apparently Al Qaeda has a base in my laundry room - because they're just about everywhere else. If they're that omnipotent, I say we give up the ghost and move to the Outer Hebrides.
It is impossible to win a war that you're losing at home. (cough, Somalia, cough Vietnam) You want support? Stop lying to us. Stop pretending we're adolescents unable to comprehend that soldiers are going to die in war zones. Stop showing us Iraqi 'successes' and start laying it out on the table: good and bad.
Fallujah was a nightmare, Ramadi is under 24/7 siege, Baghad is a few ducks short of a revolving wheel, Al Anbar's official uniform has a moving target crest... as a matter of fact, just admit the whole Triangle has us in the crosshairs.
See, if there's one thing about honestly, it begets respect. While doling out happy horsepuckey wins you one free ride on the Magic Skeptical Garden Kingdom and a free all day pass to DelusionQuest:3D.
And increasingly waning support at home.
Or... you could keep dressing up AlQaeda leaders, hiding soldiers coffins, gagging military experts, promising draw-downs we can't afford, and telling us things are going swimmingly. Because it's working so well for you.
Bill O'Reilly and at least nine other people are thoroughly convinced.

As to seasoned experts, thanks to Mr. Goss, that's undergoing a nice purge:

Top leaders of CIA's clandestine service resign
From David Ensor
CNN Washington Bureau
Monday, November 15, 2004 Posted: 11:14 PM EST (0414 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Steven Kappes and Michael J. Sulick, the top leaders of the CIA's directorate of operations, resigned Monday morning, sources told CNN.

Their departures come in a period of turmoil at the intelligence agency as the new director, Porter Goss seeks to impose his control.
Full Story

Has anyone bothered to point out to Porter that he works for us? Or would that totally decimate his rampant God-complex? Clear indication, as Freud would say, of big egos coming with tiny packages. Not that he's alone in purging the best for the kiss assiest:
State Dept sees exodus of weapons experts, replaced by syncophants w/ no experience
Hey, let's not let experience get in our way:

Tehran insider tells of US Black Ops
By an Asia Times Online Special Correspondent

TEHRAN - A former Iranian ambassador and Islamic Republic insider has provided intriguing details to Asia Times Online about US covert operations inside Iran aimed at destabilizing the country and toppling the regime - or preparing for an American attack.

"The Iranian government knows and is aware of such infiltration. It means that the Iranian government has identified them [the covert operatives] but for some reason does not want to show [this]," said the former diplomat on condition of anonymity.
Full Story

Wow, what choices! Destabilize the country, topple the regime, or prepare for an American attack. Gimme a second here.

Okay, back. I'm not even going to point out that this has never worked. We've spent decades and decades toppling regimes and destabilizing countries. It coined the term 'blowback'. That invasion idea is fabulous. Here's an animated scientific presentation of what their limited nuclear strike on Iran would do: HAVE A LOOK. It's a quick animation, and will give you an idea of what they are considering a viable strategy.

And lest we forget another nuclear tragedy:

Chernobyl Horror Remembered
Ukrainians mark 20th anniversary of nuclear disaster
SLAVUTYCH, Ukraine -- Bells tolled across Ukraine and the families of victims carried red carnations and candles Wednesday to mark the 20-year anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl.

The April 26, 1986, pre-dawn explosion which spewed radioactive contamination across whole swathes of Europe was being marked in Ukraine with daylong events on a day of national mourning.Full Story

The victims of Chernobyl continue into this day, a lesson to all men who seek the possibility of winning against the Chaos Theory.

With a determination to leave you with the positive, I urge you to go watch this online Eagle cam, a nesting pair with eggs. It makes you realize what it it is we really stand and fight for. To preserve life at all costs, not to take it needlessly.

.

Witch Hunts & Green Zones

2006-04-24T23:56:00.000-04:00

Can you say Witch Hunt?

Mueller: FBI Probes Classified Data Leaks
By TIM WHITMIRE, Associated Press Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The FBI is conducting investigations similar to the one that resulted in last week's firing of a senior CIA analyst who acknowledged leaking classified information, director Robert Mueller said Monday.
Full Story

Hey, you could start at the White House.

Since this is all spurred on by the supposed 'leak' of CIA-agent Mary McCarthy, take a look at this article about her. Just to preempt any partisanship shots that should be coming from the LGF crowd. She protested a Clinton nonstrategy, too. Try again.
What do I mean 'supposed leak'? She leaked classified information, that's why she was fired! Well, according to one official at the CIA and Mary McCarthy, she didn't. It appears up for grabs at this point. One thing is certain, she did disagree with patently stupid neo-policy. Which makes her still fired.

Australian PM Howard: No indication US intends to draw down troops by end of year.
Would the clue be the biggest embassy ever built on foreign soil?

Let's take a look at the Green Zone:

One must keep in shape for dodging mortar rounds & IEDs.

Hey American food!

Delivered by third world slave labor!

I'm ready to sign up for dessert!

....except it comes with Guard Duty.

Here's a more Prophetic photograph taken at the Green Zone:

Remember the Alamo?

Yes, I know I know - we can't leave (thanks neojerks). But how's that Iraqi training going?

U.S. Military Warily Eyes Iraqi Forces
By ANTONIO CASTANEDA, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops aren't just training Iraqi forces, they're also keeping an eye on them, watching for signs they could be moonlighting in the Shiite death squads that target Sunnis.
Bound and tortured bodies — both Sunni and Shiite — turn up every day in the capital, dumped in the streets. Sunni Arabs say their people are the victims of Shiite militiamen who have infiltrated government forces, especially paramilitary commando units of the Shiite-led Interior Ministry.
Full Story

Maybe not so good.

Now considering there are Arab and Muslim coalitions and countries all around Iraq who would be more welcomed by them in offering diplomatic solutions, why are we not reaching out to them to assist in defusing the quagmire? Or should we wait until the last American is evacuated off the rooftop of Baghdad, then say, 'Wow, we should've done that differently.'

Weird, Wacky, Unexplained Links Day

2006-04-23T22:51:00.000-04:00

Apologies for the lateness: I couldn't connect today at all after a traffic accident interrupted service to our area. I also lost the first transfer of links I was posting and all the commentary at the time. Those of you who know me are unsurprised. The internets, frankly, hate me. They conspire to make my online existence virtual hell. Well, I've visited hell (and so did you in our Sundays links 2 weeks ago) - and frankly, I'm not impressed.

The Flat Earth Society
Giving us hope that the moon really IS made of green cheese.

Searching For the Chosen Ones
Featuring this disturbing tidbit:
You have the future, I have the past,
Together we create the world.
I had no idea the past was kidnapped. Where do you think he keeps it?

Stop Clown Porn Now
And you thought two unwinnable wars were bad.

The Toilet Museum
Urging us to grab popcorn and a drink is a bit much.

Money Origami
It's refreshing to know our money will be good for something.

9:05 - The Adventure Game
To start with, I typed: Answer Phone and hit enter. Hey, good start!
Then I got bored.

Super Robot Monkey
Your guess is as good as mine.

Extreme Elvis
Fatherland Security got here first. No, they really did.

Geek of the Day
Tell me 'Cino' doesn't look stoned. And 2Hot4U should be filed under 'Geek Dream', because odds are she's entirely photoshopped.

The Travel Brain™ guides you through Roadside America
I think the Merman is being comletely maligned. Mermen are a minority, after all. Ever since Caligula first declared War on Poseidon, these guys have been getting a bad rap. It's not all Chupacrabra and Sasquatch, yunno.

Adopt a Ghost
Whatever you do, don't tell Angelina Jolie. She'll give it a strange name and a mohawk.

I Hate Men.Com
Because Amazon.com was already taken.

Dead People Server
I wouldn't say this was macabre.... yes I would.

Sub Genius Recovery and Support Network
Damn, the cults you don't know about, huh? But here they are, and X-Day is rapidly approaching: X-Day: The End is Coming
July 5th. It figures, a day sooner and I wouldn't have to peel 10 lbs of potatoes for salad. It's just so unfair.

Great, now a violent thunderstorm complete with lightning just started. So I'll have to leave you with Bone Garden Estate - a virtual online haunted house, and real truth in advertising:

Who ever said labels were misleading?

The real reason we should buy American.

Until tomorrow...
Stay cool.

Unappealing Repeal

2006-04-22T15:23:00.000-04:00

After reading of the resolution to repeal the 22nd Amendment, that godsend which limits the President and Vice President to two terms, I was thunderstruck. What kind of chuckleheads would consider proposing this? Yunno, outside of Tojo's inner circle? So I thought it was time to do some snooping. I put on my Encyclopedia Brown hat and consigned myself to the dank backrooms and shadowy alleys of net sleuthing. Yeah, I went to Google.
Turns out, it's been a pretty popular idea, although thus far with nonidiot presidents:

109th Congress - HJ Res 24 (2005)
108th Congress - HJ Res 25 (2003)
107th Congress - HJ Res 39 (2001)
106th Congress - HJ Res 24 (1999)
105th Congress - HJ Res 39 (1997)
104th Congress - HJ Res 71 (1995)
103rd Congress - HJ Res 107 (1993)
102nd Congress - HJ Res 61 (1991)
101st Congress - HJ Res 84 (1989)
100th Congress - HJ Res 156 (1987)
99th Congress - HJ Res 687 (1986)

So it's not looking too extraordinary, right? Except we're talking about Bush & Cheney, possibly the worst criminal mental midgets to ever to suck a taxpayer paycheck off the public dole. Whereupon this idea (still in committee, I might add) becomes downright scary in a wholly sinister way. It's like substituting a placebo for Adolph's last bennie or asking Fritz Haarman to dinner. Something Mensa-centric like that. Not only baffling, but akin to political suicide. Face it, they didn't win the first two times, and Congress better count on having a theses hammered on their door if they think we're going to hand a third one over. Just won't happen - even with a lot of Tiannamen Square people mowers. Ask the students at Stanford, who didn't even want Tates on their campus, and faced down a 2 ton firetruck to prevent it. Students: 1 Firetruck: 0.
Or all over California, where protestors lined the streets to 'serenade' his motorcade - with catcalls. They greeted him Mussolini-style in Portland, him being Mussolini and they being wannabe Colonello Valerios. Even in hardcore redstate Utah, the mayor chose to attend the anti-Bush rally while the Tater was visiting.

Hell even nerds are protesting Bush. When geeks venture out of their basements into actual sunlight and voluntarily disconnect the CPU drip, you're in world of trouble. Right about now the Ku Klux Klan is getting a warmer reception in heartland America than Senor Slinky.
So rate this idea up there with New Coke and The Segway.

Fair. Balanced. The Good News.
In my fruitless search for good legislation to balance out the bad news that somewhere someone with opposable thumbs believed this an idea on a par with issuing Helen Keller a drivers license, nowhere did I discover a bill in Congress to Repeal Tates. A legislation which would receive widespread support, an outpouring of gift cards from BestBuy© and an offer to father my child . This could be attested to by Senator Feingold, the cojones con pelo who is pushing presidential censure, who has seen his campaign contributions double in the 4 weeks since introducting that legislation...and who could probably father my child if he's not busy anytime in roughly the next 99 years.

Congress - Cowering Or Never Getting Real Executive Stuff Signed

Meanwhile the bodycount mounts: Australia suffered its first loss, Canada lost four soldiers, a British engineer was beheaded, and five more were added to the American tally of soldiers coming home in hushed up, unphotographed flag draped coffins. Because if we saw a photograph, we'd say, 'Whoa, it must be real.' Yeah, otherwise we'd believe they were erecting those stone markers as some form of macabre art. Asshats.

Army suicides rose to the highest rate since 1999, the majority taking place in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.
And amidst all this death and destruction, the solution is to put the dissenters on trial. Like attempting to prosecute the peace-loving Granny Brigade into jail for 15 days.
We must stop terrorism at it's roots, people. Clearly, killing 2,385 soldiers is nothing compared to feisty senior citizens protesting to stop it. They pose a clear and criminal threat to being able to quietly kill 2.5 good soldiers daily.
This, then, is a national security issue of utmost importance. A Homerland Security issue, where the grants for good Nazis will get you clowns and gym equipment.

Eh, I don't even have reach here. It's like going to a tanning salon at the equator. Un-necessary.

It's the same deal with sending 'detainees' on CIA rendition flights so they can be tortured. Not a problem. Now daring to bring that illegal and immoral practice to light? You get fired and face pending prosecution. So if you think calling them Nazis is extreme, then here's a heads up - Harpers is already calling them the German Wehrmacht. Pota-toe, Pota-toh. You could dress it up and take two FDA-Certified PharmaProduced Vioxx....but that's just a quicker way to die believing in the overwhelming competency of private interests in your government. It won't change the facts and it certainly shouldn't make you feel any better.

It might help you forget Bush droning on about 'Free Speech' at Chairman Hu's visit - minutes before his SS (secret service for the Vioxx impaired) put their hand over the mouth of a doctor excersizing that very right. They hauled her off and charged her. Free speech, what a freakin concept in Bushworld. Then Tatertot goes and apologizes to Hu. Apologizes! Hey, dinkwad, apologize for this.(Warning: Graphic Photos) That's what happens in China when you're a dissenter.
Are you sure Vioxx is strong enough for you?

I can't leave you without hope, because there is hope. While there may be a few glimmers at the top like Feingold & Murtha, Kerry & Gore, there are even larger lights shining among the ordinary protestors and the principled whistleblowers, the gutsy Generals and the small organizations taking on the NSA and illegal spying, the Blackwater families taking on the private merchant armies, the soldiers coming back as Iraq veterans and running for office, the college students waking up and walking out, and the internet - where information is exchanged, shared, passed and disseminated so action can be undertaken.

And there are the cities and towns and states, the towns in Vermont and across this country that have already passed Impeachment proceedings. And the state of Illinois, who are about to rock the nation:

The Illinois General Assembly is about to rock the nation. Members of state legislatures are normally not considered as having the ability to decide issues with a massive impact to the nation as a whole. Representative Karen A. Yarbrough of Illinois' 7th District is about to shatter that perception forever. Representative Yarbrough stumbled on a little known and never utlitized rule of the US House of Representatives, Section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives, which allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of a state legislature. From there, Illinois House Joint Resolution 125 (hereafter to be referred to as HJR0125) was born.
The Illionis State Legislature is about to drop a Bombshell

There is a moral to this story. And it's very simple:
Don't Take on Heartland America.
That's where the real sleeping giant lives.
And once you wake up the Sleeping Giant ... there's no going back.

See you at Nuremberg II.

.......
Yes, tomorrow is Weird, Wacky and Unexplained Links day.

Technorati Tags: Bush, CIA, Democrats, Humor, Politics, America, War, Protests, Censure, Impeach,Cheney, Government

China, Cheney, Superpower

2006-04-22T00:23:00.000-04:00

Yes, we know Dick Cheney was sleeping during a crucial China meeting, but don't ever believe he's asleep at the wheel. Proof?

a Carlyle Group to be biggest ever foreign investor in China .
a Dick and the Carlyle Group
a Meet the Carlyle Group

Is China serious about being a superpower? Dead serious. And they'll employ any methods possible to gain it.

Chinese Military linked to Missile Smuggling
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
April 20, 2006
Court papers made public yesterday in the case of a California man who pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle anti-aircraft missiles into the United States show that a Chinese general and state-run manufacturer are linked to the crime.
more

The thing is, they don't really have to resort to strictly dirty tricks to succeed. They are doing it militarily, economically, and politically.

But still, we're superior to them militarily, right?
China has invested heavily in 'leapfrog' technology. They have an enormous nuclear arsenal of ICBMs(InterContinental Ballistic Missiles) with MIRVed warheads. MIRV, which stands for multiple independently targeted reentry vehicle, allows one warhead to carry multiple nuclear bombs with separate city destinations. Their Sunburn cruise missile is capable of 'ship killing' every one of our deployed aircraft carriers, battle groups, cruisers, and floating platforms. Once launched against them, our navy would have a scant 2.5 seconds to attempt a response. Suffice to say, it's not something that can be done.
They can hit us at land and at sea. Swift, silent, deadly. Done.

But still, we're superior to them economically, right?
China owns more of our national debt than anyone. Why would they want to buy debt? It's not profitable. But it is a powerful sway to hold over a nation's economy. If China decides to sell off their investment, our economy would collapse. While our trade deficit runs over year after year, China handily pockets surplus billions. China is invested in cheap goods, genetically modified foods, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, optoelectronics, and robotics just to name a few. Microsoft located a Research & Development facility in Beijing. Bad idea. China's modus operandi is to steal technology and then produce it cheaper and in larger quantities.
NEC & Intel better take note, though you know they won't.

But, we have the largest alliance with foreign powers, yes?
In April 2001, China's President (really Chairman - the President makes him seem all Western friendly) made a trip into our strategic Latin American backyard to cement alliances with Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela. He went to Mexico and pow-wowed with Vincente Fox. They've even reached out to Japan. By investing, buying goods and giving out hundred million dollar loans to these countries, they've built up goodwill relations for their 'New International Order'.

Yup, that's what they are peddling across the globe and they repeat it incessantly - a 'New International Order' - as opposed to what they view as the current American dominated one. All this is happening while we bomb third world countries and fearmonger. They are building blocks for global superiority and dominance one patient step at a time.
China is reknown for their patience. One need only to look to 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu for the strategic benefits of stealth and patience. And they are doing it very, very successfully.

A UK paper blared of the recent meeting, "US to meet the New Superpower".

Meanwhile, we've turned our spy agencies inward on our own people.
How brilliant is that?

.

Friday Fun

2006-04-21T17:02:00.000-04:00

I'm off to dinner, but I thought I'd post this before I leave. Weekends just need a little lightheartedness.
You can click on the image for an enlarged and clearer view.

Nibbles n Bits

2006-04-20T02:29:00.000-04:00

The Secretary of Statements issued this prophetic missive to the masses:

Condi: No VE day for Iraq
Even assuming Iraq forms a national government, there will be no sudden stop to violence such as the V-E Day that formally marked the end of World War II in Europe, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
Full Story

Yeah, and using that analogy, there was no Pearl Harbor either. Shh, don't tell Dick, he's still milking it for all it's worth.
China's President (really Dictator, thanks for the semantics though) Hu is here to meet with the guy who says he is President (and really wants to be Dictator) of the Free World, and my-oh-my there was a lot of speculatin going on:

US/China Meet 'Historical'

Awaiting China’s Hu, unavoidable topic is Oil

What an opportunity for American foreign policy to shine! So here's the summary of that historic meeting:

Uh, yay for historic meetings!

Which would cement the fact that things such as good friend Japan's problems weren't discussed:

Japan: 107 alerts on Chinese spy planes
By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press Writer Associated Press
April 20, 2006

TOKYO (AP) - Japan has scrambled fighter jets 107 times this year to intercept suspected Chinese spy planes, a top general said Thursday, amid growing concern in Tokyo over China's arms buildup.
The 107 alerts in the first three months of 2006 - the most in at least a decade - were a dramatic increase from the previous year, when fighters scrambled only 13 times against Chinese planes, said Gen. Hajime Massaki.
More

Good photo op, though.
I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he wanted to have serious talks, but as Senator Joe Biden says, "No one believes the President". He's talking specifically about foreign countries, but listen up, Joe, WE don’t believe him either.

However, let's look at a few things we should be concerned about with China:

China's alliance with Russia:
Russia, China join BRICS alliance

China allied with Russia, Russia's alliance with Iran:

Russia will deliver Air Defense system to Iran
MOSCOW, April 19 (RIA Novosti) - The chief of the General Staff said Wednesday that Russia would honor its commitments on supplying military equipment to Iran.

"We discussed supplies of military equipment to Iran, including the Tor M1, in the framework of bilateral cooperation, but it does not fall into the category of strategic weapons," Army General Yury Baluyevsky said after talks in Moscow with NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General James Jones.

"And I can assure you it will be delivered under the control of the relevant organizations," he said.
More

Iran ticked at the US, Russia ticked at the United States:

MOSCOW, April 18 (RIA Novosti) - The Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador in Moscow Tuesday to hand him a note of protest against a seminar in Washington which it said called for new terrorist attacks in Russia.

"The organization of such events in the United States contradicts the country's international obligations in the sphere of counter-terrorism," the ministry said.

A seminar entitled, Sadullaev's Caucasian Front: Prospects for the Next Nalchik, took place in Washington on April 14 under the aegis of Jamestown Foundation, an American non-governmental organization. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the floor had been given to speakers who called for new terrorist acts in Russia.

"Such concessions on the part of Washington to Chechen militants and separatists also run counter to the spirit of partner-based bilateral anti-terrorist cooperation, and damage bilateral relations," the Russian ministry said.

In October 2005, at least 150 militants attacked administrative buildings in the city of Nalchik, the capital of the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Russian officials say that during two days of fighting, 35 law-enforcement officers and 12 civilians were killed. A total of 92 militants were killed and dozens captured.
Article

The JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION that is mentioned in the article.
Now check this out on their own webpage under Connections:
Right Web connections
• American Committee for Peace in Chechnya

• Center for Security Policy

• Project for a New American Century <--------

• Freedom House

• Dick Cheney <---------

• Nicholas Eberstadt

• Laurent Murawiec

• Keith Payne

• Nina Shea

• John Tkacik

• Arthur Waldron

• R. James Woolsey

PNAC, Dick Cheney – nuff said, no?

So while we are appealing to Russia about Iran, Cheney's little buddies are muckracking terror hits in Washington against them. Smmmooooth criminals.

Back to Iran, and we find:

Iran Testing New Nuclear Centrifuges
April 19, 2006

TEHRAN: A claim by Iran's president the country is conducting tests on a more sophisticated type of nuclear enrichment centrifuge could – if true – mean Iran has a quicker ability to make fuel for either electrical plants or bombs, analysts feared yesterday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Islamic republic was testing the P-2 centrifuge – a more sophisticated type that has quadruple the capacity of the P-1 centrifuge. A day earlier, he had trumpeted Iran's success in enriching a small amount of uranium using a less-sophisticated type of centrifuge.

The president's words were Iran's first acknowledgement it is working with the faster centrifuge – after the country told the UN nuclear watchdog it had given up all such work three years ago.

It is not clear if Iran had been doing work all along on the more-sophisticated model, or had recently restarted such work.

Either way, Mr Ahmadinejad's assertion is sure to raise concerns that Iran might have a more sophisticated program than thought.
more

Iran->Russia->China->USA

So, is it possible that Bush's strategy since taking office been actually to contain China?
Taking Aim at the Sleeping Dragon
Well, if there has been such a strategy, the smart money is that George W. Bush had absolutely nothing to do with it. However, he does tend to surround himself with smarter-type individuals. (I know, I know, the pool is endless).

But even the 'smart' ones get caught sometimes.

Here's a fun new political game. Let's connect the following dots:

Libby, going down down in an earlier round....and sugar he's going down singing.

Okay, I have much more to update but as I am typing this Nikita is literally drooling on my knee. She's wants outside big time.

As Ahnold would say, nahhhh... just kidding. See you in a little bit.

DoD Question of the Day: When filling out forms, we are asked to use a No. 2 pencil because it's most popular. Well, what happened to No. 1? And how is that less popular?

Isn't it bubonic ironic?

2006-04-19T01:22:00.000-04:00

Ugh. It's official. I'm sick.
Which is awful, but at least it's not Bubonic Plague - which recently reared it's 'extinct' ass in LA. Now we dug up the 1918 Spanish Influenza victims in 2005 to 'resurrect' the virus:

Using lung tissue from long-dead victims, researchers hoping to prevent another flu pandemic said they have reconstructed one of history's deadliest pathogens - the 1918 Spanish flu virus.

The Spanish flu began as a virus in birds before jumping to humans and killing an estimated 20 million to 50 million people worldwide. Determining why it was so lethal and how it spread could help scientists blunt the threat posed by the avian flu in Asia and future variations. Full Story

Hold on, the Coincidence Fairy just knocked. Ostensibly this expedition was for research purposes lockstepped with Bird Flu fears. So digging up a virulent killer just seems like a - what am I searching for? Colossally stupid idea. Yeah that works. While the 1918 pandemic quickly hopped from birds to their victims, Bird Flu does not.

Fortunately so far, the H5N1 virus seems to only reluctantly infect people. Almost all cases of confirmed infection can be traced to close contact with birds, Stanford

Chances of aiding us? Well, 1 year later = Zero results. Chances of not being weaponized at Fort Detrick? I'd venture it's about the same chances as us discovering the source of that US military-milled weapons grade Anthrax that scared the living hell out of everyone 4 years ago.

Now I know I've missed a ton of news, so bear with the attempt at a recap tomorrow.

Unexplained Links

2006-04-16T04:36:00.000-04:00

HAPPY
EASTER

Once again, it's time for that weekly feature of stress relief. Although considering that I have to fix an entire Easter dinner in about four hours, I'm not so sure it's going to work in my case.

Everyone decided dinner was at my house and forgot to consult me. Thanks guys. The 24 hour notice thing is sah-weet. But I digress (and whine). I'm actually totally cool with it.
I've stocked up on real wine.

Enough about me, it's time for Weird, Wacky, Fun and Unexplained Links:

The Worst Sin: from 19th Century
Now this could be a real pandemic.

Play with Gee Dubya
I made him look a lot better. I did.

Rate My Kitten
Picture the oversexed 15 year olds who googled here... only to realize it really is all about cats. I dunno why, but I rated them all 1. Just cause I could.

Ghost Sites of the Web – Where dead sites live on
No ghosts...just an internet graveyard of sorts. Bring pixel wreaths for the HTML coffins. Actually overall pretty interesting.

Manson Family Picnic
Author of Dahmer Family Picnic: MIA

The TWINKIES Project
These snack cakes may or may not be filing a class action suit for extreme duress. Also, I may sue this website for bad haiku.
Famous People Punch steve
Who Steve is I have no idea. But after seeing these pictures, it seems like a good idea to punch him. Or at least it’s semipopular.
Wingmakers
The Wingmakers are something something and all about ancient tech or something future and people who left ancient-future stuff. Oh, and one of them is now living among us translating documents. Yeah, who did he piss off on another planet?
Dr Neruda Interview
They completely lost me during the Neruda interview – by the time I got to Blank Slate Technology it was more like Blank Stare Nephrology. Because I was brain dead.

Aliens abducted her panties
Gail, seriously – look in the dryer.

The Mars Times
And their journalists suck as much as ours. So much for Advanced Civilization.

What Should I put on the Fence?
This guy in the UK chains things to his fence.
And YOU can help him decide.
It seems he disappeared in about 2002, it could be someone suggested he chain himself to the fence. Just sayin.

American Atrocities
U-S-A! U-S-A!
REEMCO
Shopping as an Art...with crayons. Featuring:
CDC Ebola Outbreak ™ Action Playset
Now I love the whole catalogue, but who could resist that Action Set? Right?

Bun-O-Vision
Fuzzy theatre in 30 seconds. I particularly liked Titanic.
And Reservoir Dogs: The Unbleeped Version

The Best Page in the Universe
I hope he comes to MY state and eats all my food.

Kelly Hu
I don't know who she is, either, but David Arquette better stop leaving her phone messages he DOESN’T want posted on the internet..
The Teen Girl Squad
Because you can’t be popular AND smart.
Hey, thanks for sending back the cultural revolution 76 years.

Picture of the Week

Holy Hell

.... this is seriously disturbing.

That's all for this week.

Have a great, great day.
And for inspiration, make sure you watch this: Battle For America. Watch it. There will be a test.

Food and wine and friends and family. Today is gonna be.....

Technorati Tags: , HUMOR, WEIRD, STRANGE,UNEXPLAINED,INTERESTING, COOL, FUNNY,ODD, FUN

Snap Fun

2006-04-14T22:49:00.000-04:00

From MSNBC online: Read the Caption. View the Expression.

Mondo Updato (1)

2006-04-14T04:05:00.000-04:00

The sitch in Iran is heating up, and it's the ridiculously inept neoCondi hand on the dial. The UN date is April 30th for showing it has suspended any enrichment-related activities - so it doesn't mean anything to them if they prove they have not enhanced enrichment.

Iran says it will cooperate with nuclear agency
Uranium enrichment will continue, however, Ahmadinejad says

Thursday, April 13, 2006; Posted: 9:29 p.m. EDT (01:29 GMT)
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran has agreed to increase cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but did not commit to halting its uranium enrichment program, an agency spokeswoman said Thursday.
The announcement came after International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei met Thursday in the Iranian capital with two of Iran's top nuclear officials.
"I don't think the issue of enrichment right now, emotional as it is, is urgent," ElBaradei said. "So, we have ample time to negotiate a settlement by which, as I said, Iran's need for nuclear power is assured and the concern of the international community is also put to rest."
Full Story

Hear Condi say: Iran remains defiant over Nukes. Huh?
Hear the experts say:

Iran Is `Some Years Away' From Making a Nuclear Bomb, U.S. Says
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Iran is ``some years away'' from developing a nuclear bomb, said Thomas Fingar, deputy U.S. director of national intelligence.
Fingar, who chairs the National Intelligence Council, said that's the shared assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies. Fingar, one of three deputies who reports to national intelligence director John Negroponte, is in charge of intelligence analysis.
Full Story

Hear more experts say:

Military options against Iran carry big risks
Strategic and policy experts analyze tactics available--and possible retaliation--if the U.S. launches an attack designed to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions
Full Story

Hear Top US Strategists say:

Military options against Iran carry big risks
Strategic and policy experts analyze tactics available--and possible retaliation--if the U.S. launches an attack designed to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
-snip-
Military action against Iran could provoke an array of responses, experts said. The United States would have to prepare for an aggressive campaign of suicide bombings or other terrorist reprisals from such groups as the Iranian-linked Hezbollah. Oil prices might spike, either because of an Iranian cutoff of exports to world oil markets or harassment of shipping in the Persian Gulf. Iran could launch missiles--potentially armed with chemical weapons--against Israel, Arab allies of the U.S. in the Persian Gulf region or U.S. troops in Iraq.
-snip-
Violence in Iraq probably would increase, particularly in the Shiite-dominated southern regions that so far have been relatively calm. A strike against Iran would antagonize Shiite militias, which have close ties to Iran, and cleric Moqtada Sadr, who leads one such militia and has twice mounted uprisings against U.S. troops. Sadr already has threatened a revolt if Iran is attacked. A broad network of Iranian intelligence agents now in Iraq also could instigate or assist with attacks against U.S. troops.

U.S reprisals against Iraqi counterattacks, analysts suggest, could lead to a cycle of response and counter-response.
-snip-
"The critical thing is we should not start any shooting," Kirk said. "This is a political struggle as much as a military one, and I think the side that shoots first weakens its political case."
The Full Article You NEED to Read

Hear Lech Walesa say,

U.S. Needs to Reassert Moral Leadership
Thursday, April 13, 2006
MANHATTAN, Kan. — America's role as a global economic power is unchallenged, but it must reassert its role as a moral superpower, former Polish president and Nobel laureate Lech Walesa said Thursday.
"No one has the least doubt that you are the economic leader and the military leader to the world, but I have heard a lot of doubts regarding the moral and political leadership of the United States," said Walesa, speaking through an interpreter during a lecture at Kansas State University.
Full Story

Hear China say: Dialogue key on Iran and N.Korea. Now read another missive from Rice: Secretary of State-ments issued strictly by her handlers. Because no one, no one, could believe this is a winnable policy ... with the exception of, perhaps, Israel who has a long simmering feud that should be taken into account. Instead of doing things like barring American citizens and concerns from doing business with Palestinians. Now there's a fair, unbiased policy. Starve them out. It only affects innocent women, children and the elderly. What absolutely filthy excuses for human beings these neocon 'diplomats' are. I'm ashamed of them. Oh, but the illogic is priceless: "It said the decision was based on "existing terrorism sanctions."" Terror? You mean like, lobbing 300 missiles a day into a civilian sector? How is that not terror? What dictionary are they using? Because apparently it's one without fair, balanced, or diplomacy within it's pages. But it does have oil. And the surest sign a country has oil...

Massive US military exercises in the Caribbean
Hands Off Venezuela (Jorge Martin): According to a press release by the US Southern Command on Monday, March 27: "A U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group will deploy from the U.S. east coast to the Caribbean Sea to conduct Operation Partnership of the Americas from early April through late May 2006."
Full Story

The surest signs we're not winning the war we're in:

1 Marine, 1 Soldier bring death toll to 40 at halfway mark this month.

Troops step up Baghdad patrols

Bomb explodes at Mosul police station.

US, Afghan troops launch massive offensive Operation

2 injured in Afghanistan when suicide bomber hits convoy

9 killed; Iraq police convoy ambushed

6 Iraqi Policemen killed by insurgents

Keeping all this in mind, how about this for living on a planet that looks like earth but mustn't have a center of gravity:

Bush voices strong support for Rumsfeld
Remarks come after six ex-generals call for defense secretary to resign
WASHINGTON - Brushing aside an intensifying clamor among retired military commanders for Donald H. Rumsfeld’s resignation, President Bush said Friday that his defense secretary enjoys his full support and that Rumsfeld’s leadership of the Pentagon was “exactly what is needed at this critical period.” Tale of an Idiot

But I can see how SuperDon_™ would have your unconditional support, against those who are like military experts in the field and those who have actually served under his command.
It's in the rewards:

A Daily Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

Apr 13, 2006 (AP)— As of Thursday, April 13, 2006, at least 2,368 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 1,853 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

The AP count is four higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT.

The British military has reported 103 deaths; Italy, 27; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 17; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Slovakia, Denmark three; El Salvador, Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, two each; and Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, one death each.

It's in the policy:

US ‘optimistic’ about new base alignment in Japan
But Japan was expected to reiterate its opposition to US demands for it to pay 75 percent of the 10 billion-dollar bill to move the troops off the southern island of Okinawa.
Full Story
ed: Their position, 'Hell, no!'

It's in the scary proposals raising alarm bells across the spectrum:

America’s Secret Police?
Intelligence experts warn that a proposal to merge two Pentagon intelligence units could create an ominous new agency.
Full Story

It's in allowing the little guys to make all the apologies:

US offers Babylon damage apology
By Jonathan Charles
BBC World affrairs correspondent

A senior US marine officer says he is willing to apologise for the damage caused by his troops to the ancient Iraqi site of Babylon.
US forces built a helicopter pad on the ancient ruins and filled their sandbags with archaeological material in the months following the 2003 invasion.
Colonel Coleman was chief of staff at Babylon when it was occupied by the First Marine Expeditionary Force.

Babylon's Hanging Gardens were among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Full Story

But mayhaps it all comes down to simply following the script:

Rallying the troops with a timid cry
April 14, 2006
Good men always rally to the battle cry when the issue stands in doubt: "We have not yet begun to fight." Or this one: "Rally to the Virginians, boys, there stands Jackson like a stone wall." Or this one: "Remember Pearl Harbor."
But nobody rallies to this one: "Every man for himself."
The congressional Republicans have scattered now for two weeks, to return to their districts to convince skeptical constituents that they're still not as bad as the Democrats -- or even as bad as the president, if that's what their constituents want to think. "We're bad," they're saying, "but not that bad."
Full Story

In which case, SuperDon ™ is doing just swell.
Now make no mistake, the military's got the coolest toys in school:
US testing RPG ‘forcefield’. And Whoa - check out the testing. Shades of George Lucas and James Cameron! How 'bout this mini tactical UAV for your backpack.
As a matter of fact some things seem straight out of a Sci-Fi movie:

The new breed of soldier: Robots with guns
Updated 4/14/2006 12:19 AM ET
By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
Spurred by the risks from roadside bombs and terrorist ambushes, the military is aggressively seeking to replace troops with battlefield robots, including new versions armed with machine guns.
"There was a time just a few years ago when we almost had to beg people to try an unmanned ground vehicle," says Marine Col. Terry Griffin, manager of the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office in Huntsville, Ala. "We don't have to beg anymore."
Although the Pentagon initially focused on aircraft, such as the Predator drone, now new ground- and sea-based robots are being developed and tested, military records show. Full Story

Or maybe James Bond:

It may look a little like the fake dragon in the James Bond movie "Dr. No," but the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is actually the next-generation amphibious troop carrier for the U.S. Marine Corps. The EFV is due to go into service at the end of the decade, a higher-tech replacement for the Marines' aging workhorse, the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, originally fielded in 1972.
On Thursday, the Pentagon awarded General Dynamics a $44 million contract to complete the current phase of development.
Credit: U.S. Marine Corps
Full Story w/Pics Here
Another Pic Here

It's enough to send a geek into convulsions, I tellya.

Things to keep your eye on:

China, Singapore to boost military cooperation

Theft of Military Drives exposes larger problem.

China relaxes foreign currency investment:
The administration said each domestic resident may buy up to 20,000 U.S. dollars worth of foreign exchange from the State-owned banks each year, and they may apply to the banks for additional amount of foreign exchange with certificates that prove their needs. (600 million people is helluva lot of people who could now own US currency)

National Archives participated in document cover-up:
The National Archives agreed to seal previously public CIA and Pentagon records and to keep silent about U.S. intelligence's role in the reclassification, according to an agreement released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The 2002 agreement, requested three years ago by The Associated Press and released this week, shows archivists were concerned about reclassifying previously available documents - many of them more than 50 years old -but nonetheless agreed to keep mum.

US spies failed to warn of Indian nuclear tests
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US intelligence failed to warn of India's nuclear tests conducted in 1974 and 1998 despite tracking the Asian giant's atomic weapons potential for nearly half a century, according to documents.

The Indian nuclear activities scrutinized by the US intelligence agents are at the core of a current controversy over President George W. Bush administration's landmark civilian nuclear deal with New Delhi.

The National Security Archive, in releasing 40 secret documents covering the 1958-1998 period, said the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) and other intelligence groups had been monitoring and analyzing Indian civilian and military nuclear energy programs since the 1950s and could have provided decision-makers with "far more detailed assessments."

U.S., Iraq commanders protest policy that lets Iraqi troops leave
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq (AP) — U.S. and Iraqi commanders are increasingly critical of a policy that lets Iraqi soldiers leave their units virtually at will — essentially deserting with no punishment. They blame the lax rule for draining the Iraqi ranks to confront the insurgency — in some cases by 30% or even half.
Iraqi officials, however, say they have no choice but to allow the policy, or they may gain virtually no volunteers

Librarians win their challenge against the so-called ‘Patriot Act’
And across the pond: UK rules ‘terror laws’ illegal
Times Online April 12, 2006
UK terror suspect wins challenge against control order
By Sam Knight
The Government's system for monitoring terror suspects was thrown into jeopardy today when the High Court ruled that control orders were "conspicuously unfair".
In a judgment that threatens the entire anti-terror scheme, Mr Justice Sullivan declared that a British suspect's order was "incompatible" with the Human Rights Act, as it denied his human right to a fair hearing

Navy/NSA battle in Cyberspace
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Midshipmen at the Naval Academy took part in a simulated battle Tuesday, defending their computer systems against an attack by hackers from the National Security Agency in Fort Meade.

The Mids were guarding their network against intrusions by NSA experts, who were sniffing around on servers, sneaking into systems and adding fake users, complete with passwords, that could allow unauthorized access. The intruders even induced the dreaded blue screen of death on a Navy machine.

Wall Street bankers face insider trading probe
Workers at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch face charges that they were part of a $6.7m insider trading ring that used stolen magazines and exotic dancers to profit from future mergers

Investment bankers at two of Wall Street's leading firms have been arrested for allegedly participating in a $6.7 million international shares trading scam that involved stolen magazines, a stripper and a retired Croatian underwear seamstress.

Wasted Katrina funds could top – ONE BILLION

Joe Galloway: Ex-Generals show some spine

Going TOO far – again. The ATF (with picture)
This photo, taken by a student’s camera phone, shows ATF officials pinning down Jeremiah Ransom in front of Snelling dining hall. He was coming from a pirate vs. ninja event at the Wesley Foundation and was not arrested. (Kathleen Ruark The Red & Black).College kids playing Ninja – the new ‘terror’ threat

What happens when you wholeheartedly support the military but not the people who sent them there, the illegal war they are forced to fight, or the policies which threaten them? Try reading this. Excerpt:One of the main reasons that most of the American people have decided to passively oppose the Iraq war instead of joining active anti-war protests is that their children are no longer being involuntarily yanked from productive years of college and work onto the killing fields of war in a faraway land.
But shouldn’t Americans still be concerned about the death and dismemberment of young men who volunteered to “fight for all of us”?

Class action suit filed re: Sep 11 dust

UK AF Doc refuses 3rd tour in Iraq

Iraqi refugee population explodes

US building Massive Embassy in Baghdad
Military lags in spending to train Iraqis

Former AT&T technician Mark Klein has come forward to support the EFF's lawsuit against AT&T for its alleged complicity in the NSA's electronic surveillance. (I hope they get fried with a little butter and a side of some truffles and their illegal little program with them.)

Whew - end game! As always, I leave with...

DoD Question of the Day: You know that little indestructible black box that is used on airplanes .... well, why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance?

General Outrage

2006-04-13T05:40:00.000-04:00

Keep count with me, this is nine - count em - nine Generals coming out against SuperDon_™ and the policies being implemented in the Pentagon ... including the ex-Secretary of State (who also just happens to be a General):

Rumsfeld Rebuked By Retired Generals
Ex-Iraq Commander Calls for Resignation
By Thomas E. RicksThursday, April 13, 2006; Page A01
The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have harshly criticized the defense secretary's authoritarian style for making the military's job more difficult.
"I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005, said in an interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."
Batiste noted that many of his peers feel the same way. "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," he said earlier yesterday on CNN.
Full Story

Another general joins ranks opposing Rumsfeld
Defense secretary 'carries too much baggage,' Swannack says
Thursday, April 13, 2006; Posted: 6:53 p.m. EDT (22:53 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commander who led the elite 82nd Airborne Division during its mission in Iraq has joined the chorus of retired generals calling on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to leave the Pentagon.
Full Story

That brings together the score thus far to: Newbold, Eaton, Zinni, Batiste, Riggs, Clarke, DeLong, Swannack and Powell.
Unfortunately, Peter Pace - the current JCOS - seems intent on doggedly, if cannily, appearing to support the SecDef. His comment on the criticism,

"People can question my judgment or his judgment, but they should never question the dedication, the patriotism and the work ethic of Secretary Rumsfeld,"

Thanks, Pete, it seems a lot of people are anyways.
Officers appear to be speaking out as well. Recently, this group appeared on the Web:
West Point Graduates Against The War
Duty, Honor, Country, Indeed.
Note they are not against war - they are against this war. This unneccessary, poorly run, fatcat bank account swelling, dangerous, incompetently planned and devolving fiasco of a 'war'.

We must recall that while SuperDon did serve in the military, he was an aviator and flight instructor. His knowledge of grunts and ground pounders is vastly limited.
Recall also that the last time he was Secretary of Defense we had :drumroll: ... the panic of 'Swine Flu':

In 1976, a military recruit in New Jersey died from a flu that experts speculated might be the "swine flu". At Rumsfeld's urging, the Ford administration quickly produced and distributed large number of doses of the vaccine. However, some batches were contaminated and 52 people died while 600 fell ill. The program was stopped and nobody got swine flu.

Swine Flu, Bird Flu... imagine that. Oh, and Tamiflu - that just happens to be a SuperDon™ stock. Nevermind that it was debunked as effective. Or that in a world population of 6 billion, there have been 100 deaths. One hundred. Yes, it's virulent. It's SARS with wings. But banging the fear drum is a bit premature.

U.S. border computer crash caused by worm
WASHINGTON,
April 12 (UPI) -- A Homeland Security computer crash that stranded thousands of arriving passengers at U.S. airports last year was caused by the Zotob worm.
Full Story

The Security part appears to be a sidenote.

Bravo to Israel, kudos for sticking to your word...

Israel storms synagogues, removes holdout Gaza 'settlers'
Israeli forces have raided two synagogues in the Gaza Strip to remove hundreds of hardliners protesting against the removal of settlers. Police faced strong resistance from activists who had barricaded themselves behind barbed wire in Kfar Darom. On the second day of evictions in Gaza, troops also dragged protesters from the synagogue at nearby Neve Dekalim, the largest settlement in the territory. Israel is withdrawing its settlers from Gaza, which it has held since 1967.
The confrontation at Kfar Darom was the most violent incident so far in the two-day-old operation to evict settlers from Gaza. Full Story

See, I may be critical of policies (I'm critical of any policies that don't make sense), but I also always give credit where credit is due.

2 British Soldiers wounded in Afghan suicide bomb.
PC users are being urged to apply software patches that close "critical" vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows.
US investigates secret sale of data in Afghan market.

ForeignWatch Summary in Brief:

China's president makes his first visit ever to the WH next week. China is staunchly opposed to actions towards Iran. What will be offered to change/soften their attitude? Because you know it's certainly on the agenda. Will China give in?

N. Korea is just off the scale with real threats. But, no oil and they need to be kept viable to allow for the huge overhaul in nuclear facilities and the addition of a few hundred new nukes that are in the process. Paper tigers are too valuable on paper to be taken on.

Venezuela, sadly for them, does have oil - and right now we are staging 'military operations' right off their coast. Flex those muscles.

more to come...

Late Update Sans Most Commentary

2006-04-13T03:19:00.000-04:00

Our money's on a nice Jimmy Choo, size 7...

Rice Urges Security Council to Take 'Strong Steps' Against Iran
By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2006 – It's time for the U.N. Security Council to take action against Iran following its announcement yesterday that it has enriched uranium, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today.
Full Story

First it was Dragon Skin – now it’s Under Armour:

Synthetic Clothes Off Limits to Marines Outside Bases in Iraq
By Lance Cpl. Stephen Holt, USMC
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq, April 12, 2006 – Marines conducting operations outside forward operating bases and camps in Iraq can no longer wear synthetic athletic clothing containing polyester and nylon, Marine Corps commanders have ordered

The ban on popular clothing from companies like Under Armour, CoolMax and Nike comes in the wake of concerns that a substantial burn risk is associated with wearing clothing made with these synthetic materials, officials said

Full Story

Halliburton should be rapidly branching out into the 'approved' issue line any time now.

Afghanistan….so not over

Coalition Launches 'Operation Mountain Lion' in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2006 – Coalition forces, in cooperation with the Afghan National Army, began "Operation Mountain Lion" yesterday to establish security, deter the re-emergence of terrorism, and enhance the sovereignty of Afghanistan, military officials reported today.
Afghan and coalition forces killed six insurgents today while conducting offensive operations in the Marawara district of Afghanistan's Kunar province.
Full Story

Basically cause they keep finding weapons caches all over.

On the Iran front:

ElBaradei Visits Iran Seeking Controls on Uranium Enrichment
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is visiting Iran seeking to convince the government to agree to suspend its nuclear program producing enriched uranium.

ElBaradei arrived in Tehran late yesterday after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced two days ago Iran has produced enough enriched uranium to fuel a reactor and will accelerate enrichment to reach ``industrial-scale production.''

``We hope to convince Iran to take confidence-building measures including suspension of uranium enrichment activities,'' Agence France-Presse cited ElBaradei as saying. ``I hope that conditions will be created for all parties to return to talks.''
Full Story

Note: El Baradei is the one Bolton unleashed on because he was ‘too neutral’. He’s a Nobel Prize Winner. Boltons an asshole. You decide.

N Korea - the real scary Mofos:

Say they cannot compromise on Nuclear goals

And...

N Korea may boost military deterrent force
TOKYO Apr 13, 2006 (AP)— North Korea threatened Thursday to use the delay in six-party nuclear talks to bolster its military "deterrent force," a phrase the isolated communist nation often evokes in reference to its nuclear weapons program.

The Gaza strip is going buckwild and unnoticed:

Another innocent child dies in bombing

IDF kills two armed Palestinian ‘militants’

Keep your eyes on this:

Chinese President Hu Jintao will face hundreds of protestors when he makes his first visit to the White House next week, organizers said.

The four-hour demonstrations at Lafayette Park north of the White House will begin as Hu steps in for talks with President George W. Bush on April 20.
Full Story

Chances of discussing Iran: Fairly Certain with a definite cloud of too bloody likely.

and last of all...

DoD to Set Up Joint Intelligence Operations Centers Worldwide.

Joint is the new buzzword. God forbid one of them specialize in what they specialize in. Look how well it worked out in Operation Anaconda. (uhhh..)

So we have Special Forces in Embassies replacing the CIA pretending to be State Department personnel, the CIA in Abu Ghraib replacing the Army pretending to be military guards, the Navy replacing the Green Berets training Iraqi forces pretending to be Special Forces, and Marine's replacing Army Engineers and defusing IED's after a few weeks of shake-n-bake training pretending they are not scared witless.

SuperDon _™ ... he can believe it's not butter.

Iraqnam Redux - With a Rully Cool Mushroom Cloud

2006-04-12T23:53:00.000-04:00

So we hear simultaneously that any thought of a military strike on Iran is 'wild speculation'.

So...

US Fields New Nuclear Capability
The United States is now fielding a new tactical and strategic nuclear military capability that has already been used to threaten a non-nuclear country. This new capability was certified without nuclear testing, using an existing surrogate testing facility with capabilities much less than those under construction and planned. The weapon was developed and deployed in secret, without public and congressional debate, contrary to domestic and international assurances that no new nuclear weapons were being developed. Other new or "modified" nuclear weapons, earth-penetrating and otherwise, are planned.
Full Story

U.S. Rolls Out Nuclear Plan
The administration's proposal would modernize the nation's complex of laboratories and factories as well as produce new bombs.
By Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff Writer
April 6, 2006

The Bush administration Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for rebuilding the nation's decrepit nuclear weapons complex, including restoration of a large-scale bomb manufacturing capacity.

The plan calls for the most sweeping realignment and modernization of the nation's massive system of laboratories and factories for nuclear bombs since the end of the Cold War.
Full Story

Well pardon us if we aren't persuaded. Especially after you roll out stuff like this...

US: they can have nukes in '16 days'
April 12 (Bloomberg) -- Iran, which is defying United Nations Security Council demands to cease its nuclear program, may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days if it goes ahead with plans to install thousands of centrifuges at its Natanz plant, a U.S. State Department official said.

``Natanz was constructed to house 50,000 centrifuges,'' Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, told reporters today in Moscow. ``Using those 50,000 centrifuges they could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in 16 days.''
Full Story

Hell, God invented the World in 7 days, what's the hold up? I'm sure they could whip up a nuke all ready to launch in 384 hours.

Hold on, I'm unscrewing my eyes from the back of my skull.
Now if we recall those Bio Labs from Iraq, yunno...the scary ones that never existed. And put them together with a look at those advising you: National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and his Deputy Advisor Jack Crouch II, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone, William Schneider, who is Chairman of the Defense Science Board at the Pentagon, and who could leave out John Bolton, the raging maniac who represents us at the United Nations? Yeah, I'd say there's more than 'wild speculatin' going on. I mean there hasn't been this many dedicated hawks gathered since Tony reinvented skateboarding.

Space

WEAPONS

Command

Is anyone keeping an eye on India? Because they've decided to build a space weapons command system. Not that we haven't already let Indian advisors into top level systems in our DoD, but you might want to monitor where they are going, friendly democracy or not. Seems like wise policy. Uh, what am I saying?

Being the safety guy he is, Tates says okay - he was a Pentagon officer sworn to uphold the Constitution, and he turned over critical top secret information to a foreign government - but hell, let him free:

Esther Pollard: Bush is Willing to Free Pollard This Week
Monday, April 10, 2006 / 12 Nisan 5766

Jonathan Pollard's wife Esther said this morning that U.S. President Bush is ready to free the imprisoned Israeli - but that Prime Minister-designate Ehud Olmert has to make the request.
Jonathan Pollard was a U.S. Navy intelligence analyst in the 1980's when he came across information vital to Israel's security that was not being transferred to the Jewish state - contrary to an intelligence-sharing agreement between the U.S. and Israel. He then passed along the information to Israel, ultimately helping Israel to protect itself from Iraqi missiles. He was later caught while trying to find asylum in the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
Full Story

Jeez, the Rosenbergs were executed for this crap, and most people believed they were innocent.

DoD Question of the Day: If they were really smart bombs, wouldn't they defect and take up a condo in the south of France?

Today: All About the Military

2006-04-11T22:56:00.000-04:00

-This will be short today, but more analysis and indepth will follow. Schedules a bit hairy and the emails reflect that I didn't wrap the whole package as usual. I was feelin mighty snarky .... n'cest pas?

Iran Watch

Iran succeeds at enriching uranium, and Israel calls on everyone to go after Iran.
If you didn't see that coming, you aren't paying attention.

. Back at Lt. General Keyboards house, IsraPundit calls for the US to "Kick the Shit out of Them". He has no fear, he'll do without his cheetos if he has to!

Lt. General Keyboard is a manly man, and the loss of five more American troops is just the 'Cost of War'. The price is very cheap when you're not paying it. Blog on, O Englightened One.

Meanwhile several reports are out that special operations troops are already in Iran. Jeebus H Ceerist, get yer asses back to the two frickin wars we're already mired in now.

In our gee-we're-stupid category today we have:

U.S. Military Secrets for Sale at Afghan Bazaar

By Paul Watson, Times Staff Writer

April 11, 2006, 3:00 PM PDT

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — No more than 200 yards from the main gate of the sprawling U.S. base here, stolen computer drives containing classified military assessments of enemy targets, names of corrupt Afghan officials and descriptions of American defenses are on sale in the local bazaar.

-snip-

A reporter recently obtained several drives at the bazaar that contained documents marked "Secret." The contents included documents that were potentially embarrassing to Pakistan, a U.S. ally, presentations that named suspected militants targeted for "kill or capture" and discussions of U.S. efforts to "remove" or "marginalize" Afghan government officials whom the military considered "problem makers."
-more-

I'll be looking for my information to show up in a few years at Wal-Mart.

When Go-Pills backfire:

'Friendly Fire' Pilot sues Air Force
The U.S. pilot who dropped a bomb on Canadian soldiers in 2002, killing four of them, is suing his country's air force, saying it ruined his reputation.

National Guard Maj. Harry Schmidt says air force officials erred when they released the letter of reprimand that he was given for the bombing.

The military violated privacy laws when it released confidential personal information. It also violated a settlement agreement that he signed at the time.
-more-

To refresh your memory...

‘Go pills’: A war on drugs?
Air Force use of amphetamines raises questions
SEATTLE, Jan. 9, 2003
In conflict after conflict, whenever one of its most deadly enemies rears its head, the U.S. military employs a potent weapon: a little orange pill. The enemy is fatigue, a foe that claimed more deaths among military pilots in the past two decades than combat duty. The solution is selective use of amphetamines, an effective stimulant that has kept military aviators fierce-eyed and alert from the Battle of Britain to night strikes over Afghanistan. With air wings deploying again to the Persian Gulf, questions are surfacing about the safety of “go pills” in the cockpit.

Speed kills. Legal speed kills faster.

And now it's time for SuperDon's Corner_™(squueeaaaal) :

Rumsfeld: Recruiting Successes Reflect Troops' Caliber, Commitment
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today he's encouraged that the military services are exceeding their recruiting targets and called it an indication of the caliber of men and women joining and serving in the armed services.
"It is encouraging that so many outstanding young people are continuing to raise their hands and volunteer to serve our country," he told Pentagon reporters.
-more-

Using my Ultra-Secret-Super-Insider-Top-Level Access, I have uncovered the newest recruit for SuperDon's Army_™:

I have it on good authority that he's in it for the Snausages.

Unlike, say, Peter Pace, who apparently thinks the Marine Corp motto is 'Semper Fiction':

Top officer defends Rumsfeld from ex-generals
Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:15 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer on Tuesday defended Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld against three retired generals demanding his ouster, and denied that the United States invaded Iraq without sufficiently weighing its plan.

Standing next to Rumsfeld at a Pentagon briefing, Marine Corps Gen. Pete Pace said critics could legitimately question the defense secretary's judgment but not his motives. -more-

Hang on, Peter, Wendy will be along shortly to take you back to NeverNever Land.

And that's it for now. I didn't start out to make this all about the military, but somehow that's how it ended up.

DoD Question of the Day:

So where is Carmen Sandiego?

Update: Iraq

2006-04-11T02:34:00.000-04:00

It appears things are going very, very well in pacified Iraq.

From the Army Times:

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A month ago, areas of western Baghdad were testament to the U.S. strategy of handing over security responsibility. Iraqi soldiers manned checkpoints while U.S. troops carefully kept their distance.

But American soldiers have again hit the streets of west Baghdad neighborhoods such as Shula and Ghazaliyah, shouldering a larger security burden amid tensions between Sunnis and Shiites.

The shift in U.S. strategy is temporary, due to sectarian tension unleashed by the Feb. 22 bombing of a major Shiite shrine in Samarra, which triggered a wave of sectarian attacks.

Fewer attacks are directed against Americans, soldiers say. But the number of Iraqis found slain, apparently in tit-for-tat killings by Shiite and Sunni extremists, has sharply increased.

The U.S. mission has been refocused to confront sectarian death squads that have brutally tortured and killed hundreds. The new mission is a tacit acknowledgment that Iraqi troops had not been able to control sectarian violence on their own. -more-

As I've said over and over, and I repeat - the military are not the ones who are fooling themselves about the realities of the situation in Iraq. It is the neocon spindoctors, with Rumsfeld as Grand Marshall, who are parading the line up Mainstream Street. In the process, the put brave lives on the line.

But Iraq is just old news, now innit?

Been Here Before

2006-04-10T22:24:00.000-04:00

Last Standoff

The Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960's pushed America and Russia to the brink of nuclear annihilation. No one entertained anything as nebulous as 'tactical' strikes or considered it a successful plan of 'limited warfare'.

Australian news is reporting that Iran has shot down a US plane (later reports correct this to an unmanned 'surveillance drone' taking pictures along the Iranian border). More on that can be found here, here, and here. Now the question is - was this painted in UN colors? Cause a good plan for provocation needs to be recycled.

Yet more published accounts of simmering plans to attack Iran. Allright, simmer we can handle, but how long before they decide to move it to the microwave? I don't want to build a fallout shelter. I went here and discovered I'd end up off the Australian coast smack in the middle of the ocean. I don't do underwater well.

The SuperDon Squad has unveiled the latest wanktastic plan:

US blueprint for 125 nuclear bombs a year

THE Bush Administration has unveiled a blueprint for rebuilding the US's decrepit nuclear weapons complex, including restoration of a large-scale bomb manufacturing facility. The plan calls for the most sweeping realignment and modernisation of laboratories and factories involved in building nuclear bombs since the Cold War.
The US has depended on ageing bombs produced during that period. But now the Administration wants to be able to produce 125 new nuclear bombs per year by 2022, so the Pentagon can retire older bombs that it says are no longer reliable or safe. more

We need more nuclear bombs, there's just no question. Once we're all fried into carbon dust....the cockroaches are going to need to arm themselves with something.

Retired General and former Secretary of State Colin Powell joins the chorus of 'mistakes made in Iraq". Mention of humiliating forced shill to United Nations: none.
Bird Flu? Not Bloody Likely, says UK's top scientist. I look at it in simple math. World population: 6 Billion. Casualties from Bird Flu: 100. It's just not looking like an epidemic. It's looking a whole lot like fearmongering. But SuperDon's Tamiflu stock has skyrocketed. There's just no downside for these guys.

Ben Affleck gets jiggy with it on Bill Maher. Lookout, Jen, if I weren't all up in Russell Feingold's grill I'd be squidging all over this guy.

Hillary Clinton calls leak 'Nixonesque'. Ugh, still not my favorite Republicrat.

TERRORGOONS

Don’t cross school kids at a bus stop. No, you have to read this. I'm picturing a brown shirt with maybe a red armband and a fondness for Wagner. You?

And for God's sake don’t play the Clash. There is an approved list of music, dammit.

In summary, Keep your eye on ...
when he has

And I leave with the usual:

DoD Question of the Day: If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

Monday Madness

2006-04-10T15:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's one of THOSE days.

I'm trying this new upload software to enable me to post with less problems.
News and Current Events will be posted in the next few hours.

Note to new readers: Yesterdays links was a regular feature here. It does not reflect a change in direction for this blog. But we all need a break, and I take one day a week to providesome humor and oddities.....other than those we face in the news every day.

ALERT: An Australian, 2 Pakistan and several Iranian papers are claiming that Iran shot down an unmanned US drone that was on a photo reconnaisance mission on their border. There is no confirmation of this yet in Western Media outside the report in the Australian. So stay tuned.
I'm sorry I can't provide the link right now, but I am inside 'Picasa' and have no access to my closed bookmarked links. Jeez, sounds like I'm in a bubble now. Just giving a heads up to all of you, but I cannot say whether this is a real account or propaganda.

Fun, Weird, and Totally Unexplained Links

2006-04-09T22:13:00.000-04:00

[Note to new readers: This is a special Sunday feature and does not reflect a change in the direction of this blog. It is still a political/current events blog. Except...maybe on Sundays.]

I know I'm late today. I spent the whole afternoon outdoors, and then Mallory comandeered my computer after I bought Sims 2 in a fit of impulse buying last night.
I had to pry her off my keyboard with dinner and veiled threats of writing Orlando Bloom using her name and expressing deep stalker-inspired devotion. Needless to say, I have my computer now.

Death Clock
Enter your stats and you'll sit there staring...and staring...and staring...

Drunk Calls
You know when you've had too much to drink and you call your friends?
Bad idea.
But don't miss this one, where the guy actually announces, "I speak Lesbian!"

Pi Music
Make music online using the first notes of Pi. I guess because you can.

Hitman, Incorporporated
A privately owned company of assassins. When you care enough to kill the very best.

Rapture Letters
When the Rapture hits and you disappear, you definitely need to leave a note here so people realize they are the rotten sinners who have been left behind. Gloat a little.
Obviously the website owner has no shot at it, otherwise who would send the letters? I'm not buying the machine thing. I've seen Terminator.

If Fox News had been around throughout History
Too funny. Too true.

Crop Circles Show up on Google Maps
Aliens: AWOL or could be marching in Los Angeles.

Revenge Lady
And the lesson I learned is: Do Not piss this Lady off.

Online Card Games Special Edition
Freeper solitaire. Really.

Kevin Federline jams ... TO HIS OWN SONG
What. An. Idiot.

Filed under the Gilmore Girls at You Tube
Why? Why? WHY??? This has nothing to do with the Gilmore Girls, so like WHY?
Here's a direct quote ”I’m kinda boring today”. So you filmed it to share with US??
Omigod – and there's a whole freakin SERIES
More Its not the Gilmore Girls But I Filed it There
And here she tells us that she has her period. I kid you freakin not.

Crux Photos
She'll make a cross out of anything....including a picture of your truck.

Harry the Frog Puppet Productions
They act out everything, from Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire to something that looks like it aired on the BBC. Because there just isn't enough puppets in the Screen Actors Guild after Max Headroom retired.

Tracking Hurricane Wilma, a television viewer noticed the weirdass appearance of the number 2. See for yourself: Video and Pic.

Have a great and fabulous night....because we so deserve it.
And I leave with yet another:

Question of The Day: (from an actual Court Transcript by Attorney John E. Shemanski)
Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?

Leakers, Squeakers, Squawkers, Oh My

2006-04-09T01:17:00.000-04:00

Patrick Fitzgerald has unveiled the big guns ... and they are pointed right at Dick Cheney.

As he drew back the curtain this week on the evidence against Vice President Cheney's former top aide, Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald for the first time described a "concerted action" by "multiple people in the White House" -- using classified information -- to "discredit, punish or seek revenge against" a critic of President Bush's war in Iraq.

Bluntly and repeatedly, Fitzgerald placed Cheney at the center of that campaign. Citing grand jury testimony from the vice president's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Fitzgerald fingered Cheney as the first to voice a line of attack that at least three White House officials would soon deploy against former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV.
- more -

Apparently, Libby has no intention of 'taking one for the team'. Cheney, who is rumored to be 'leaving' the White House after November, is perfectly situated to fall on the sword for his production-in-chief.

Someone has to go down - and Karl Rove seems determined to cling to the belief he is the center of the solar system. Or that the only reason there is outer space is because it's afraid of sharing Earth with him.

IRAN
watch

a Nuclear inspectors arrive today in Iran - So undoubtedly these chuckleheads are just not cooperating. See Fox News for details.

a Israel ‘impatient’ with US not going after Iran - Me, I'm impatient someone hasn't told them to STFU and stay in their own politics. I'm going to dissect a little of this line by line directly from the source:

"President Bush says Iranians are behind the more lethal IEDs, the roadside bombs killing our troops in Iraq."
To start off with, Tates, IED means improvised explosive device. If Iran is manufacturing them, that would take away the improvised part, no? But I quibble. It appears your own top general, Peter Pace, has admitted there is no hard evidence of this whatsoever. Maybe it's like that Nigerian Yellowcake....all made-up like. Could you tell me again why our troops are in Iraq being killed? I'm sure it has something to do with Iran. Hey, those million people marching in solidarity with us after 9/11 .... I bet that was all just a ruse. I bet they secretly had something to do with it all.

Yesterday I played Clue. It came out: "George Bush. In the White House. With a Signing Order."

"Rumsfeld warns the Iranian Revolutionary Guard may now be in Iraq."
Rumsfeld, you can count on him to keep this shit up until 'Invasion USA' becomes a documentary.

"Cheney says Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."
What, no mangoes?

"McCain says, “the military option is on the table.” "
McCain, the only guy who can honestly say he peaked in Vietnam. Proving once again there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, because they are all in Washington.

"And Israel is getting impatient."
Well we wouldn't want that to happen. We're already behind schedule on 1984.

"Writes Yaakov Katz in the March 10 Jerusalem Post, “The United States has until now not done enough to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons..."
There’s an order to the universe: space, time, Israel.... Just kidding, Israel is first.

For an insight into another egregious error of Irans ways, have a peek at what they are daring to do by switching to a Euro Bourse. And what that effect will have on American money. Maybe there's a reason it now looks like it comes from Monopoly.

On a last Iran note, Seymour Hirsch believes the WhiteHouse attacking Iran is all sewed up. It seems they favor 'limited nuclear war'. I love semantics like that. It's like saying that you're 'mostly dead'.

More on Brian Doyle, Department of Homeland Safeness: Co-workers: DHS official had previous pornography incident - don't you love it when the people we pay to keep us safe have criminal tendencies? It totally cuts out the middleman.

Website exposes Air Force One defenses - And, to untold horror, exactly how they can be breeched. Bet I know whose phones are going to be tapped next. Look for this guy in their back yard:

And that's it for now. Tomorrow is Wacky, Weird and Unexplained Links day. Until then, I leave with...

DOD QUESTION OF THE DAY: So, like, where is Carmen Sandiego?

Catch Up

2006-04-08T14:32:00.000-04:00

New day, new attempt to update.

US will not join the UN Human Rights Council for United States

marking the first time in more than half a century that the United States has chosen not to pursue membership in the United Nations' principal rights organization

Well, guess that'll undercut any argument about our having to lead by example. Thanks, guys. It would be awful to have to address those charges of allowing human rights violations...only to be viewed as a hypocrite. This must be what 'America taking the global lead' means. Yunno, in subtext. 'We don't give a rats ass about human rights, why should you?'

There are other things that must be taken seriously. Such as
Katie Couric becoming CBS News Anchor. Which opens the door for Pamela Anderson to become president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Or, Rumsfeld to head up the DoD. Which brings us to....
Rumsfeld Corner

The Airborne Laser, or ABL, is a Boeing 747 aircraft being equipped with a high-powered chemical laser to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase. Chicago-based Boeing Co. is the prime contactor on the effort.=more=

Warning: Do Not Inhale.

Since 2005,backwards American flags with yellow fringe now mandatory on all military uniforms. Peculiar. Why does the military personnel have to wear our flags reversed (hey it’s not so we can see them in a mirror) – and with yellow fringe (the signal for martial law). Does the new uniform consultant have dyslexia and a color fetish?

When billions fall short...

Pentagon tells Congress of weapons cost overruns
Fri Apr 7, 2006 8:04 PM ET
By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two multibillion-dollar Northrop Grumman Corp. projects -- the Global Hawk surveillance drone and a weather satellite system -- are running more than 25 percent over budget, the U.S. Defense Department told Congress on Friday in a filing that could lead to program cancellations. -more-

...accountability must be demaded...

Pentagon still years from having books in order
Fri Apr 7, 2006 6:40 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department's finances may not be able to meet normal accounting standards for several more years, possibly not until after President George W. Bush leaves office, a Pentagon official said on Friday.
- more -

Or not.

See, the question of money is always very important militarily. Which is why we most probably are still funding Al Qaeda:

Mystery N.Y. Bank Allegedly Funnels $3B In Funds To Terrorists
Source: InstitutionalInvestor.com

A bank identified only as being one of the largest and most prominent in New York has been caught allegedly funneling an estimated $3 billion in profits from drug deals and other illegal activities to Mideast terrorists, The New York Post reports. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, the paper says, plugged the profits pipeline as part of an ongoing investigation of suspected funds flowing through local banks.

In the most recent scheme, according to The Post, the money originating from the so-called "tri-border region" of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, was transferred to an account at the New York bank through a money-transfer company in Uruguay and then on to accounts in the Mideast, where they were distributed over the past two years to the likes of Al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah. "I can't go out and arrest Osama bin Laden," the 84-year-old Morgenthau told The Post. "But I can try to cut off his money."
-more-

Guess that means we need to arm our enemies or something. Yunno, like how we're arming our own people:

Army prohibits personal armor
WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- A top Army official has said soldiers who wear a new, unapproved type of privately purchased body armor in Iraq could face discipline.

The service issued a safety message last week prohibiting the use of the armor, arguing it has not been shown to protect soldiers as well as the body armor and ceramic plates issued by the U.S. Army.

The message specifically prohibited Dragon Skin gear made by Pinnacle Armor Inc., of Fresno, Calif. -more-

except...

Defense Review: "Interceptor vs. Dragon Skin: Body Armor Fight Gets Ugly"
by David Crane
defrev@gmail.com

Everyone who’s been following the U.S. Army’s body armor drama involving Interceptor body armor program vs. SOV/Dragon Skin body armor is probably already aware that U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (Natick)/Natick Soldier Center and PEO Soldier (Program Executive Office Soldier) have essentially declared war on Pinnacle Armor. According to Major General Jefferey A. Sorenson, Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management, not only has Dragon Skin “not yet passed testing”, but it also “isn’t anywhere near” standard Interceptor body armor’s capabilities.

Really? That’s interesting, considering that Murray Neal, CEO of Pinnacle Armor, has told us that both Level III/III+ and Level IV (classified) Dragon Skin have undergone testing at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center (ATC) and Army Research Laboratory (ARL)--to Secretary of Defense Standards (military standards), no less--and passed those tests. This information would seem to be at direct odds the following statements made by Mr. Sorenson: "In some cases we haven't seen this capability ... has done anything to provide force protection we evaluate is even standard," and "all other claims being made (about Dragon Skin are) ... exactly what they are: claims." It’s our understanding that the DoD ballistic test standards mentioned above are more stringent than NIJ standards. In those tests (which did happen, by the way), Dragon Skin reportedly proved to be superior to Interceptor body armor. - more-

As long as we have our priorities straight. Because it's important that our brave men and women have the best armor and equipment available.

It's so important, in fact, that we need to outsource it to other countries.
Britain invests heavily in US military production Britain, now making our Bradley Fighting vehicles.

Ya see, it's importan that we get lessons in economy and spending delivered by people whose pork budget fails in the house.

After all, increased spending can help us do things like, I dunno, Spy on Americans... because Gonzales now suggests it's okay to do it domestically in the United States on innocent Americans. (from the guy who brought you Torture is acceptable)
And guess what? They're doing it:

Telecoms let NSA spy on calls
By Leslie Cauley and John Diamond, USA TODAY
The National Security Agency has secured the cooperation of large telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls by suspected terrorists, according to seven telecommunications executives. -more-

Thankfully, the EFF is standing up for us. They brought a class actionlawsuit against ATT.

AT&T provided National Security Agency eavesdroppers with full access to its customers' phone calls, and shunted its customers' internet traffic to data-mining equipment installed in a secret room in its San Francisco switching center, according to a former AT&T worker cooperating in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against the company.

Mark Klein, a retired AT&T communications technician, submitted an affidavit in support of the EFF's lawsuit this week. That class action lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco last January, alleges that AT&T violated federal and state laws by surreptitiously allowing the government to monitor phone and internet communications of AT&T customers without warrants. - more at link above-

Now it's important to understand that the EFF is small. Yet they've been in the trenches protecting our rights and privacy for 16 years. But as they are only a small non-profit group, they can only be as good as the resources they have. I donated yesterday and intend to do so every single chance I get. If you can't afford a large donation, don't worry! Five bucks when you have it will do. I gave $25 this time, and when my check comes there will be an earmarked portion every time. Someone has to stand up against this egregious abuse of power on civilians. And they can't do it alone. Take a look at all the good they have done silently protecting you and I. Their Victories. Their Cases. If we don't support fighters like these, then we lose without ever trying.
Yeah, anger talks...but money walks and prosecutes.
Please help them. Electronic Frontier Foundation.

How else could we find the new Osama video.

Iran Watch:
Iran fires THIRD missile

Iran said Wednesday it has successfully test-fired a "top secret" missile, the third in a week, state-run television reported.
more

Okay....now that I got a pure HTML post to work (I think) I'm going to try and finish up... more to come. And don't forget tomorrow is crazy and unexplained links day!

19 Times and Counting

2006-04-06T20:31:00.000-04:00

That's the count, folks. That is the official number of times in two days I've tried to post to this blog.
I'm cutting down the posts into nibbles and trying again.

updated: below are two posts - one which went through and was subjected to wacky formatting, then opened and re-uploaded only to get more wacky (in between takes of where the browser would close, or stall, or just sit and spin and need to be restarted and then restarted, you get the idea), and the one below that was literally eaten alive. Not even a tenth of the whole post made it through - and it was lost to saving in edit posts as well. So tomorrow I'm going to try and update both or combine and also put together the other posts. I'm not sure what to do right now, but I might just use Homesite like in my old webmeister days.

If anyone knows of any editor that works well for blogger, email me: kira *at* yahoo *dot* com