31 January 2005

Blog Break

I'm still watching the aforementioned Frontline program, and I have some administrative tasks to take care of, so I'm done for now. More later.

Frontline: al Qaeda's New Front

Right now I'm trying to watch a PBS Frontline special over the Internet entitled al Qaeda's New Front. If you have a fast connection, check it out; even though I'm on campus, mine seems to keep cutting out. Very annoying.

Drawing Down

There's good news out of Pakistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said he will propose a series of confidence-boosting joint projects with India.

He plans to put them to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a regional summit in Bangladesh next weekend.

Mr Aziz made his comments in an interview with the British newspaper, the Financial Times.

He said he hopes the projects will help ease tensions between the two countries over issues like Kashmir.

Mr Aziz said that a gas pipeline to connect India with Iran via Pakistan and a move to open banking links were among possible measures which could improve relations.

Any move by India and/or Pakistan to ease tensions and make the two countries more dependent on each other is a good thing. The United States has disputes with any number of countries (China being the biggest example), but out economic and strategic connections with China help to maintain a level of stability and peace. That's exactly what Pakistan and India need more of.

An Occasion to Swear

According to the United Nations, genocide has not occurred in the Darfur region of Sudan.

A genocide has not been committed in Darfur, a keenly awaited United Nations report says, according to Sudan's foreign minister.

If genocide was found to have taken place, signatories to a UN convention are legally obliged to act to end it.

The report has been given to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who said it would be published shortly.

More than 70,000 people have been killed and two million forced to flee their homes in Darfur.

"We have a copy of that report and they didn't say there is a genocide," said Mustafa Osman Ismail.

Bullshit. Complete and total bullshit. This is precisely why the United Nations should be abandoned.

Taken Down

al Jazeera has posted a video that's been carried by the major news outlets of what appears to be a terrorist group shooting down a British C-130 Hercules cargo/transport plane.

(CNN) -- U.S. and British investigators are seeking the cause of Sunday's crash of a Royal Air Force C-130 transport plane as a video surfaced of what appeared to be the aircraft's wreckage.

Nine RAF service members and a soldier were missing and presumed dead after the crash, British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said in a written statement on Monday.

Hoon acknowledged reports that the Hercules plane may have been shot down, but added that "we are not in a position to come to any conclusions until the investigation is complete."

The militant group Ansar al-Islam posted a statement on a Web site claiming responsibility for the crash. The group said its fighters tracked the aircraft and "fired an anti-tank missile" at it before downing the plane.

Not good. Whether they did it or not, people are going to believe they did.

Ozone Dissolve

The Ozone layer above the North Pole is degenerating, and it's not George Bush's fault.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Record low temperatures over the North Pole are thinning the protective ozone layer, a condition which could affect human health in northern countries and even central European nations, the European Union warned Monday.

"Large ozone losses are expected to occur if the cold conditions persist," said European Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik.

He said the first signs of ozone loss have been observed after an extremely harsh winter above the Arctic.

Now let's review, folks. They're blaming this reduction on a record cold winter (note: not CFCs, which basically don't exist anymore), and the two major Ozone depletions are where? Above the two coldest parts of the planet: the North and South Poles. And yet it's the industrialization and emissions of the world that are supposed to be causing it?

If you ask me, and your accessing of this page implies that you are, this is just further proof that the "global warming" hype is just that: hype.

Clintonian Collapse

Senator Clinton has collapsed while giving a speech in Amherst, NY.

Academic Terrorism

Why am I not surprised?

DENVER — The University of Colorado's (search) regents have scheduled a special meeting to consider a professor's essay that said victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks deserved to die because they were a willing part of "the mighty engine of profit."

The essay by Ward Churchill (search), chairman of the ethnic studies department and a longtime Indian activist, was written in the aftermath of the attacks. Its contents became known when he was invited to speak at Hamilton College (search) in Syracuse, N.Y.

Some relatives of Sept. 11 victims have protested the college's decision to allow Churchill to speak on Thursday, the same day the Colorado regents will meet on the university's Fitzsimons campus.

CU Provost Phil DiStefano last week said Churchill's views do not represent the university, but he had a right to express them.

A critic, U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez (search), R-Colo., said that because Churchill is tenured he apparently is immune from any sanctions by the university but should apologize. There was no answer at Churchill's office phone Sunday, and his private phone is not listed.

I wish I could claim to be surprised. Unfortunately, after five years at university, I can't.

Iraqi Election Coverage

Aaron over at Free Will has continued coverage of the Iraqi election, which is an overwhelming success for the Iraqis and supporters of the regime change, an abysmal failure for Democrats, terrorists, and other ne'er-do-wells around the world.

There's a bit more coverage over at Black Five, and in an amazing upset, even Bane is reconsidering his opinion of "mooselums" in general.

In the words of rock and roll freak Michael Stipe, "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." Better than fine, actually.

Undersea Planning Revision

According to Jane's Defence Weekly, the Department of Defense/Department of the Navy are looking to restructure the Virginia-class submarine project due to budgetary concerns.

For more information on the project/USS Virginia:

* U.S. Navy Fact File - Attack Submarines
* USS Virginia official webpage
* Global Security - Virginia class NSSN

Historic Continuation

And the good news continues.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel will transfer security control over several West Bank towns to the Palestinians in coming days, Israel's defense minister said Sunday, hours after he met with a top Palestinian security official to work out the details of Israel's troop redeployment.

Israel has informed Palestinian officials that it is ready to withdraw gradually from all West Bank towns and to return to positions it held before the outbreak of fighting in September 2000, said Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat.

Such a pullback is part of the long-stalled "road map" peace plan, which both sides now say they are ready to implement.

And who came up with the "road map" peace plan? Bingo. President Bush.

This is great news. The turnover of security to the "Palestinian" security forces in Gaza has been successful so far, attacks have been drastically reduced, the Israelis and their "Palestinian" counterparts are working together... It's nothing short of amazing.

The land rightfully belongs to Israel, don't get me wrong. Honestly, there's not a reasonable possibility of it being restored and reunited as a unified Israel anymore. A major part of the only legitimate solution to this conflict is to give the "Palestinians", who really belong in Jordan, an independent state of their own in the areas they now inhabit. I think the process has officially begun.

All this, Iraqi elections, a hot cup of tea, and elk stroganoff in the same day. Plus President Bush was reinaugurated a week and a half ago, he gives the State of the Union address on Wednesday (don't miss it!), Afghanistan is free and stable... I think the only thing that could make today would be a good old fashioned pole polishing from Lindsey Lohan, and even that would only be a minor improvement.

Buzz Buzz Buzz Sting

Interesting.

Afghan authorities are launching a new push to persuade people to hand in Stinger missiles dating back to the war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

The country's intelligence service will pay an undisclosed sum to those who turn over their weapons.

The US Central Intelligence Agency gave Stinger missiles to mujahideen fighters in the 1980s to aid their battle against the Soviet occupation.

I've heard from semi-reliable military contacts that 1980's era Stinger missiles make better door stops these days than surface-to-air missiles.

War Wire

Here are two more articles from the AFP's SpaceWar/War Wire about Iran.

* Rice criticizes actions of Iran, Syria in Iraq
* US says Iran nuclear programme threatens Mideast allies

In other news (also on SpaceWar), the Iraqi Interim Interior Minister thinks that the Coalition will be able to leave within eighteen months.

Flush with the successful voting in Sunday's elections, Iraq's interim interior minister said US and British troops would not be needed anymore in as soon as 18 months from now.

"I think we will not need the foreign forces in this country within 18 months," interim interior minister Falah al-Nakib told Britain's Channel 4 television.

I don't think that this is an unrealistic estimate, though I agree that putting a timetable on withdrawal is a dangerous thing to do, and only encourages the "insurgency". The Iraqis, and the rest of the world, need to know that we will be there to back them up until the job is done, and we won't leave them hanging.

And the money shot?

The UN Security Council has set the end of 2005 as the target date for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

The same Security Council that keeps failing completely in everything it tries to do? You'll excuse me if I ignore their "target dates".

Empty Diplomacy

Following up on the last post, Mohamed El Baradai, wants the foolish American cowboys to negotiate with Iran.

The chief UN nuclear inspector on Sunday urged the United States to engage in dialogue with Iran over its nuclear program as he implicitly rebuked US leaders for discussing military options against the Islamic republic, saying such talk was "very unhelpful."

The comments by Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, followed remarks by US President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney earlier this month, in which they raised the possibility of military action in response to Tehran's alleged nuclear ambitions.

Bush told NBC News he "will never take any option off the table" when asked whether his administration was willing to consider a military solution if Iran continued to stonewall the international community about its suspected nuclear weapons program.

Cheney, appearing on a popular radio show three days later, suggested Israel might strike to shut down the country's clandestine nuclear facilities "without being asked."

"Very unhelpful"? Hear me now and believe me later, American threats of military action are crucial to the negotiations. It's the classic game of good cop, bad cop; in fact, I almost suspect that that's the whole point of it all. The nice, fun, moderate, good cop forces of Britain, Germany, and France tell the mullahs: "Hey, you guys have to give up your nuclear weapons programs. If you don't, we can't stop that crazy cowboy, Bush, from doing something crazy. Come on, we're your friends, let's settle this peacefully." On the other side of the world, rumors of what is or isn't being done by American military forces in preparation for military action in Iran circulates around the world, while President Bush and Vice President Cheney say: "Hey, you! Moolahs! Give up your weapons or we'll come over there and smite you! We'll do it, too. Just look at Afghanistan and Iraq! If you're not careful, we'll teach your women to read!"

The mullahs aren't any different than Saddam. Saddam knew from years of experience that nobody was going to come into his country and hold him responsible for suppressing dissent, breaking international law, and stomping all over the inalienable rights of his people, so he did whatever he possibly could to circumvent the sanctions and get a hold of things he wasn't supposed to have. The mullahs think that the filthy American infidels can't do anything to them because the Americans are bogged down in the Iraqi "quagmire." In fact, the Iranian government, under these same mullahs, fund and train the "insurgents" that are killing people in Iraq on a daily basis, and all the while they develop their nuclear programs.

Am I saying that military intervention in Iran is necessary? Well, it might be, but for now, the mere fact that force is a credible threat will make the mullahs think twice about doing what Saddam Hussein and Colonel Muammar Qaddafi were doing before the cruise missiles starting flying into Baghdad in March of 2003. It's a credible threat of force that makes diplomacy credible in the first place.

Moolah Tough Talk

Following up on statements from Cuba and North Korea in the last month or so, Iran has joined the club.

Iran's top national security official Hassan Rowhani has said the armed forces are fully prepared for any military attack by the United States, press reports said Sunday.

"Our plans are ready, and although an attack is very unlikely the plans have been approved by the Supreme National Security Council and given to the military forces," Rowhani was quoted as saying.

I believe them, really I do.

30 January 2005

Freedom Razes the Walls

I could talk about the power of freedom, and I have, but I'll be quite honest in saying that none can truly understand the sweet taste of freedom if they have never lived without it. Mohammed and Omar of Iraq the Model write their experience of voting, and post an image of their fingers, covered in the purple ink that ensures they only vote once.

The revolution returns, the reformation lives on
The Great Awakening is now, sleepers, open your eyes
A war is on, our rally cry is "No compromise"
No compromise, yeah, no compromise
A war is on, our battle cry is "No compromise"
Throw your fist up and pray the revolution rise
A war is on, our rally cry is "No compromise"
- Matt Morginsky and Tony Terusa

Today the Iraqis joined the Afghans and a brotherhood of peoples around the world in declaring their freedom from oppression and terror. The world will never be the same again.

Update: In case you're too lazy to go check it out, here's a blurb from Omar and Mohammed's writeup that struck me as very encouraging.

The first thing we saw this morning on our way to the voting center was a convoy of the Iraqi army vehicles patrolling the street, the soldiers were cheering the people marching towards their voting centers then one of the soldiers chanted "vote for Allawi" less than a hundred meters, the convoy stopped and the captain in charge yelled at the soldier who did that and said:

"You're a member of the military institution and you have absolutely no right to support any political entity or interfere with the people's choice. This is Iraq's army, not Allawi's".

This was a good sign indeed and the young officer's statement was met by applause from the people on the street.

Absolutely right. Absolutely right. Absolutely amazing.

Policing the Internet

Tech Central Station has an article about the 'information literacy movement' and why it's nonsense. The article's absolutely and unequivocally correct in its approach.

I've majored in research history for about five years now. There are a number of professors in my department, particularly Dr. Bennstein, who have an extremely low tolerance for Internet use of any kind when one is doing research, claiming that most information on the web is "introductory level information", "not subject to peer review", and otherwise unreliable in all respects.

Having worked with the Internet now for half of my life, and having read a lot of books in my twenty-two years, I take real issue with that. Either someone can find reliable information, or they can't. It doesn't matter if the information is in a book or stored on silicon and copper in some basement at Fordham University (like this information). If someone's too stupid to sort through information, forcing them to take eight hours to fail at sorting through printed books isn't going to make them any more intelligent than allowing them to sort through thousands upon thousands of webpages will. Stupid and lazy is stupid and lazy, no matter how slow or fast you do it.

The other problem with the Internet is that those crooked politicians want to legislate it and use their power to protect it, and protect everyone from hit. That's the job of the parent and the individual, gentle reader. The Internet may have started off as a government network, but now most of the developments, most of the bits and pieces, have been made by private companies and individuals. The Internet is the quintessential free market on information and services, and should be left as such.

Unfortunately, I see far more control from infofascists and government heavies in the years to come. It's a shame, too; as the capabilities increase exponentially, so will the artificial controls over them.

Life's Little Pleasures

I've been drinking tea like it's going out of style. I finished my current cup of tea, and I'm distraught at the realization that it will be at least three hours, probably longer, until I can have another.

What wonderful stuff.

Balochistan Blues

The Christian Science Monitor has an in-depth article about Balochistan, one of the large, semi-autonomous, problematic provinces of Pakistan.

Here is a map of the provinces of Pakistan. When you observe the size of the Balochistan province, it's a bit disconcerting that the Pakistani government has only limited control over such a wide area, particularly when that wide area borders Iran.

Also, just for your information, I believe the "Federally Administered Tribal Areas" are where Waziristan is. Waziristan is the area where Usama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zwahiri, and Mullah Mohammed Omar are believed to have hidden or remain in hiding.

Super Freak Begging

Hmmm. Yeah, I'm not buying it.

Michael Jackson has made an impassioned plea for a fair hearing on the eve of his trial for child abuse.

The pop icon said he would be "acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told", in a statement made on his website.

Mr Jackson, 46, has denied 10 counts of child molestation and conspiracy. (...)

In a brief video statement the singer condemned recent media leaks in his case as "disgusting and false".

Mr Jackson said he allowed the alleged victim into his Neverland Ranch only after the boy's family said he was battling cancer and needed help.

The events have caused "a nightmare", he said.

"I have great faith in our justice system... [and] deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen," he added.

Fox News has another article. Basically, a "fair trial" is going to find Michael Jackson guilty and drop him into the general population in some very nasty California prison. Since Governor Schwarzenegger has done some great work to clean up the crooked prison system, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Michael Jackson won't last long, just like the child molester in this story.

Symbols of Rubbish Digestion

This story is just one more reason why Bono is my Pontiff.

Basque Terrorism

ETA has detonated a bomb in a Spanish hotel.

MADRID, Spain — A bomb exploded Sunday in a Mediterranean resort hotel in southeast Spain after a telephone warning from the Basque separatist group ETA, Interior Ministry officials said.

The ministry office in the southeast Alicante region said it did not know whether there were any casualties.

The bomb detonated in the Hotel Port Denia around 3:15 p.m., the news agency Efe reported. The town of Denia is located in the Spanish region of Alicante on the Costa Blanca and is popular with tourists.

Efe quoted police as saying the warning call was placed to police in the Basque region. The hotel was immediately evacuated and the bomb exploded about 30 minutes later.

If I were ETA, I'd start using politics, not bombs, to settle the dispute over the Basque region.

George Soros is a Tool

That's right folks, you read the title of this post. George Soros is a tool.

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor George Soros, the biggest financial contributor to the failed effort to defeat President George W. Bush in November's election, said Democratic challenger John Kerry was a flawed candidate.

Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC, spent $26 million in last year's campaign that he said was undermined by the candidate he supported.

``Kerry did not, actually, offer a credible and coherent alternative,'' Soros, 74, said yesterday in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ``That had a lot to do with Bush being re-elected.''

The comments by the Hungarian-born Soros marked his sharpest criticism of Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran who later spoke against the war and focused his campaign against Bush on the war in Iraq. Republicans gained four seats in the Senate, including the defeat of the Senate's highest-ranking Democrat, Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Republicans have 55 seats in the 100-seat chamber.

The Kerry campaign ``tried to emphasize his role as a Vietnam War hero and downplay his role as an anti-Vietnam War hero, which he was,'' said Soros. ``Had he admitted, owned up to it, I think actually the outcome could have been different.''

You mean Senator Kerry wasn't credible, being the most liberal member of the Senate? You mean his horrible attendance record and the fact that he stabbed our veterans in the back was a bad thing?

The cognizant powers of George Soros are astounding. For the good of the country, he should retreat from politics and become the next Miss Cleo.

Super Spies

The Russians must be looking for Lincolns gold... Maybe?

(Link via Drudge.)

Transnational Wisdom

"A brave man dies only once, but a coward dies a thousand times."
- Iraqi proverb

G'night, folks. More tomorrow.

Home Grown Terrorists

Hmmmm...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland has a special place in the nation's struggle against terrorism, but some city officials wonder if the threat that has hung over the city has been exaggerated.

FBI (search) agents believe known jihadists who trained in Afghan terrorist camps are living in Oregon and have taken oaths to kill Americans. But Robert Jordan, the highest-ranking FBI official in the state, acknowledges there is no imminent threat. (...)

Still, some Portland officials believe the terror threat there has been overblown. City Commissioner Randy Leonard is blasting the FBI for frightening people in order to keep Portland from pulling out of a joint terrorism task force.

“I think this is a campaign of spreading fear ... not unlike what was done before we invaded Iraq,” Leonard said.

The Portland City Council is expected to vote next month to withdraw from a post-Sept. 11 joint terrorism task force. The FBI opposes the move, saying it would weaken the agency’s anti-terrorism efforts.

So Portland is full of anti-American lunatics and criminals, and their no talent hacks in city political positions are soft on terrorism. And this is news?

Anti Passenger Liner Defense

This is ironic...

The military has begun to deploy mobile launcher trucks installed with fixed-base missiles around Taiwan to counter Chinese weapons trained on the island, it was reported Sunday.
The trucks carry home-grown Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles which are difficult to detect by aerial reconnaissance, the Liberty Times said.

... particularly when you consider this.

Direct commercial flights have resumed between historic foes China and Taiwan for the first time in 55 years.

Six flights from mainland China touched down in Taipei, and a Taiwanese airliner landed in Beijing on Saturday.

Dancing lions and dragons greeted the first flights to arrive on both sides, and beaming passengers said they hoped the flights would become permanent.

I'm pretty worried about China's continued suppression of democracy in Macau and Hong Kong under the "One Country, Two Policies" scam... I mean, uh, "plan." More on this as it develops.

And So It Begins

What's the wicked sweet Middle Eastern country that's a democratic model to all the Arabs? Iraq!. You daaaaaaamn right.

Watch for Falling Sky

This is pretty cute. I'll add Italics where appropriate.

Dangerous levels of climate change could be reached in just over 20 years if nothing is done to stop global warming, a WWF study has warned.

At current rates, the earth will be 2C above pre-industrial levels some time between 2026 and 2060, says the report by Dr Mark New of Oxford University.

Temperatures in the Arctic could rise by three times this amount, it says.

It would lead to a loss of summer sea ice and tundra vegetation, with polar bears and other animals dying out.

It would also mean a fundamental change in the ways Inuit and other Arctic residents live.

Dr New said: "A very robust result from global climate models is that warming due to greenhouse gases will reduce the amount of snow and ice cover in the Arctic, which will in turn produce an additional warming as more solar radiation is absorbed by the ground and the ocean."

I want you, gentle reader, to note all of the "ifs" and "coulds" in there, as well as the note that this based on the "global climate models." The "global climate models" can't even tell whether or not it will rain next week, and we expect them to give us accurate doom and gloom messages based on a few years of controversial, incomplete data?

Let's just say that I'll be laughing all the way to my SUV.

Oil in the Desert

In another under-reported dividend story from Operation Iraqi Freedom, American commerce is returning to Libya.

US oil companies have been awarded most of the contracts on offer at the first open licence auction in Libya.

Companies like Occidental and Chevron Texaco will return to Libya for the first time in more than 20 years.

European oil and gas companies were not awarded any of the license to explore 127,000 sq km (51,000 sq miles).

Libya - which has Africa's largest oil reserves - is seeking massive foreign investment now that sanctions against Tripoli have been lifted.

You know, as rough as today was for me, it's been amazing throughout the rest of the world.

Who Dares Wins

This is outstanding.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and newly elected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been tentatively scheduled for February 8, Abbas' spokesman, Hassan Abu Libdeh, has said.

He added that the date depends, however, on the outcome of talks between officials representing both leaders.

David Baker, an official in Sharon's office, did not give an exact date.

"The meeting would be in order to make further progress, and it's contingent on Palestinians continuing to fight terror," Baker said Saturday.

Everything reminds me of something from pop culture, and this reminds me of Gladiator, when Marcus Aurelius (played by Sir Richard Harris) states that once Rome was but a dream, so fragile that you could only whisper it, for fear that it would vanish. That's how I feel right now. This truce, this uneasy ceasefire... It's so fragile, that the merest whisper could shatter it into a million pieces.

I dare not hope that this truce will last. I dare not hope that the truce might turn into peace and understanding, and that such a resolution of this issue might lead to the resolution of the related conflicts that have spread almost worldwide... But I must dare to hope.

Communist Minority Leader

I'm not sure exactly how to take this story, but I do know that Ms. Pelosi is a complete tool. Read on.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi joined a gathering of Chinese community and human rights groups Saturday to honor the late Zhao Ziyang, former premier of China.

Zhao, who had been under house arrest for refusing to shoot participants in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, died January 17 in Beijing.

About 100 people held a moment of silence for Zhao on Washington's Mall and hailed him as "a great leader of China."

Tao Wang, spokesman for the groups, said international rallies were being held to say goodbye to Zhao and to "bid farewell to the Chinese Communist Party."

Pelosi said that the Chinese government has kept the circumstances of Zhao's death a secret from its people "but the more they tried to suppress his message and his courage, the stronger they make him."

You'll excuse me if I'm skeptical of this. A former Premier of China (read: high level Communist dictator) refuses to crack down on one protest (likely because it was so public; the EU is only now considering an end to the arms sanctions that resulted from Tiananmen Square), and suddenly he's a great leader and some sort of champion of human rights and democracy?

Riiiiight...

Respect

Stories such as these absolutely astound me.

With Iran's vice-president and foreign minister in the room, the organizers of the dinner on Friday night began by announcing they had disinvited Swiss cartoonist Patrick Chappatte, one of the listed panelists, because the issues were too serious.

The star guest, U.S. Senator Joe Biden, ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, was missing. The organizers kept saying he was on his way.

Moderator David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist, apologised for the fact that wine had been served, upsetting the Muslim guests. Waiters cleared the offending glasses.

They also removed the menus since the hotel had planned to serve non-hallal meat, breaching Islamic dietary rules. Even the soup spoons were withdrawn -- erroneously, it transpired.

One participant asked whether different cultures could not tolerate each other's dietary customs. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi responded that tolerance was fine but it did not mean people should not respect each other's religious values.

If wine was served, his delegation could not participate in the meal, he said.

So basically, "Yes. You can tolerate our dietary customs, you infidel dogs." But wait, it appears to get even better, particularly when it mentions the nonsense that Senator Joe Biden had to say. After his little outburst about Secretary Rumsfeld at Dr. Rice's Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, I'm getting pretty sick of Biden. Anyway, read it all.

29 January 2005

Mail Call

One of the greatest actors in film history is R. Lee Ermey, a retired United States Marine who played one of Colonel Kilgore's pilots in Apocalypse Now, a crazy football coach in Saving Silverman, and most famously, a Marine Corps drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket.

I've just gotten done watching two episodes of Mail Call on the History Channel (hosted by R. Lee Ermey). What an outstanding idea for a show. Anyway, I'll watch Battlestar Galactica for the next hour, then I'm off to bed. I've got a lot to accommplish tomorrow, but I'll post if there's anything worth posting. G'night, wankers.

Mild Mannered Imaad

Via Free Will, Tim Blair analyzes a Washington Post article about a 5th January raid in Baghdad. Both Aaron and Tim will, I hope, forgive me for reprinting their edits of the original article (available as a link on Tim's site) in its near entirety (with my own commentary tossed in where necessary).

By all accounts, Imaad, 32, was a typical, mild-mannered college graduate who spoke English well and had quietly supported the U.S. presence in Iraq—until Jan. 5, the night the soldiers came.

His story about that night, told days later in his small living room, is the story of how the U.S. military made an enemy of one man during a 20-minute encounter.

On the night of Jan. 5, Imaad and his mother, Um Imaad—both of whom declined to give their full names for fear of retribution—were watching a movie in the living room. Imaad said they were startled by a loud banging at the door. He went quickly to open it. When he did, Imaad said, there were about a dozen U.S. soldiers standing with their guns pointed at his head.

Imaad and his mother said the soldiers rushed in, ordering them to sit together while they searched the house. “You look poor,” Imaad recalled one of the soldiers saying. “Why?"

Imaad answered in English: “I have not been able to find a job, although I’m a graduate of the College of Arts.” His heart was pounding, Imaad said.

I wish I could fabricate dialogue that believable. Imaad has my sympathy, though; I'll graduate with a history degree in June, and I'm all but unemployable with it, too. As Tim Blair notes, perhaps this soldier was a sociology commando.

The soldiers went to search his bedroom. He heard laughing, and then they called for him, he said. Imaad went to his room and saw that the soldiers had found several magazines he kept hidden from his mother. They had pictures of girls in swimsuits and erotic poses. Imaad said the soldiers spread the magazines on his bed and put his Koran in the middle.

"It was a nightmare,” he said. “I will never forget those bad soldiers when they put the Koran among the magazines."

Within 20 minutes, the soldiers left without arresting him or his mother.

While the soldiers went next door to search his neighbor’s house, Imaad began to slap his mother, he said. “The American people are devils,” Um Imaad recalled her son repeating.

I'll point out, folks, that the only violence in this article comes from Imaad slapping his mother. That's right, folks. An unemployed thirty-two year old who was hiding porn from his mother gets physically violent with her, and it's the Americans who are devils.

He left her and went to a mosque to spend the night. “I asked God to forgive me,” Imaad said, “because I could not prevent American sins."

Yeah, you might want to talk to Allah about the porn and the parental abuse, too.

Army Lt. Col. Daniel Baggio, another military spokesman in Baghdad, said he also could not confirm a raid took place that night. “That sort of behavior is not condoned by the U.S. military, and I find it hard to believe U.S. soldiers would do that,” he said. “I’m not saying it didn’t happen. It just seems odd."

Um Imaad brought Imaad pills from the doctor to try to calm him. He looked at the yellow ones, then the red ones and refused to take them. “All these belong to Jewish people,” he said, pushing one set aside. “And these others are from bad or foreign people."

Strangely reminiscent of the South Park movie...

Kyle: Let me have some candy, Cartman!
Cartman: Oh, let's see.....uh.....Nope, I don't have any Jewish candy!
Kyle: Like you need all that chocolate, fat boy!

"I can't take those pills! Those are Jewish pills! And these other pills are from bad people!" This guy sounds like a real rocket scientist, let me tell you. Anyway...

Imaad said that two weeks after the raid, he was still struggling to return to normal. He was no longer hitting his mother, but he still would not allow her to watch foreign television or buy products made outside Iraq.

Imaad said he was embracing his Muslim faith as never before. He spends most of his time at the mosque praying or reading the Koran. He is also looking for a job.

"I used to have a good opinion of the Americans,” Imaad said. “But they are the enemy. They are bad."

Funny, I would have been looking for a job all along. Maybe they had some want ads in those lad rags he was reading!

Luckily, I get the impression from the guys I talk to who have come back from deployments in Iraq that most Iraqis are more grateful than this bottom feeder.

Jacko Porno

Things don't look good for America's washed up, racially ambiguous, heavily indebted, paedophile lunatics.

SANTA MARIA, California (AP) -- Dozens of adult-oriented books, magazines and DVDs seized at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch -- one with the fingerprints of Jackson and his accuser -- can be used as evidence in the singer's upcoming trial, the judge ruled Friday.

The judge also ruled that Jackson's accuser should testify in open court instead of in a closed courtroom with an audio hookup for the media.

At a hearing just three days before the start of jury selection, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville permitted most of the proposed evidence to be used at trial but said the prosecution could not refer to the material as pornography, obscenity or erotic. Instead, the words "adult" or "sexually explicit" can be used, he said.

Well, on the last paragraph, I think we should be able to call a spade a spade. The important part, though, is that this evidence is seen by jurors and admissible in court. Michael Jackson deserves to be thrown into a prison cell, or straight-jacketed and locked in a mental institution for these crimes. If anyone doubts his guilt, they're fooling themselves.

Unwinding

You know how you tend to start off on Monday, rested and relaxed, and by Friday you're wound tight like a spring? Well, right now I'm at work, but I'm at work with a belly full of MRE pasta and vegetables, and I'm enjoying a delicious cup of tea. I've lost count of how many cups of tea I've had this week; I may have to go without over the course of the weekend and make sure I'm not getting addicted. It's been a long week, but I've gotten a lot accomplished. Now it's time to relax.

I'm supposed to get a phone call from a buddy of mine who I haven't seen since July of 2003 (he lives in Metropolis, I live in College City, he's in his early thirties, married with two sons and another on the way, I'm an unmarried young buck), but I wouldn't be surprised if the call never comes. I may very well sit in my papasan chair tonight, like I should be able to do every night, and drift off into a temporary vegetative state.

(I'd imagine I'll make a few posts before then, though; don't worry!)

A Nation Cursed

The fact that this is such a massive issue is absolutely comical.

Sports officials and top football clubs in Greece have called on the government and police to take much tougher measures against football hooligans.

Greece has one of the worst records in Europe for football violence and officials complain the riotous fans are ruining the country's national sport.

Now Greece is turning to another country which has suffered similar problems in the past - England.

The English Football Association and UK police are trying to help.

Just six months ago, a single goal sparked massive celebrations across the whole of Greece. The Greek football team had won its first major international tournament: Euro 2004.

But this moment of triumph and national unity was short-lived and it was soon back to the more common form of expression at football matches: violence.

Remember, folks, it's these morally superior, enlightened European nations, populated by these intelligent, moderate citizens that condemn American actions abroad. We're supposed to base our foreign policy on the same nations that riot over soccer? You'll excuse me if I decline to take their advice.

28 January 2005

(Royal) Marine One

Well, at least it didn't go to the French.

A trans-Atlantic bid spearheaded by US defence firm Lockheed Martin has won the contract to build new helicopters for US President George W Bush.

Lockheed Martin beat off competition from Sikorsky, which has built Marine One helicopters for about 50 years.

Victory for the Anglo-Italian design is expected to help Lockheed's bids for up to $6bn in upcoming defence contracts.

Now, if the article were fair, it would note that the helicopters aren't specifically for President Bush, they're for whoever happens to be holding the office of the American Presidency at any given time. President Bush currently rides on the same helicopter(s) that Clinton rode on, and Bush, Sr. rode on, et cetera. The current Marine One design is fairly old.

But that's the BBC for you.

UPDATE: For crying out loud, the bias and unrelated information in this article is just astounding.

The Lockheed bid, designed by AgustaWestland, was backed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi, both supporters of the US-led military campaign in Iraq.

What do Blair and Berlusconi and their collective participation in the Coalition of the Willing have to do with these helicopters? Absolutely nothing.

Missiles for Mohammed Revisited

Following up on this post, BBC News reports that Russia is still considering selling missiles to Syria.

Russia is still considering the sale of missiles to Syria despite opposition from Israel and the US, President Vladimir Putin has said.

He told the Jerusalem Post newspaper that the SA-18 anti-aircraft missiles would only be used in self-defence.

Israel fears the arms could be acquired by Palestinian militants or by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, whom Syria backs.

Moscow recently excused Syria from having to repay billions of dollars of Soviet-era debt for military purchases.

Visiting Mr Putin earlier this week, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad called for Russia to play a bigger role in the Middle East.

He said "military and technical" co-operation with Russia was on the agenda of his visit, but no specific contracts would be discussed.

He stressed that Syria needed missiles only to protect itself from Israeli air raids.

Only in self-defense, huh? Yeah, I believe that one, really I do.

This is bad news, even worse than the Israelis making arms deals with the Chinese. (Link, link)

Cat and Mouse

This is pretty smart, and somewhat entertaining when you consider it..

The U.S. Air Force is playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Iran's ayatollahs, flying American combat aircraft into Iranian airspace in an attempt to lure Tehran into turning on air defense radars, thus allowing U.S. pilots to grid the system for use in future targeting data, administration officials said.
"We have to know which targets to attack and how to attack them," said one, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The flights, which have been going on for weeks, are being launched from sites in Afghanistan and Iraq, and are part of Bush administration attempts to collect badly needed intelligence on Iran's possible nuclear weapons development sites, these sources said, speaking on condition of strict anonymity.

"These Iranian air defense positions are not just being observed, they're being 'templated,'" an ad ministration official said, explaining that the flights are part of a U.S. effort to develop "an electronic order of battle for Iran" in case of actual conflict.

However, a Pentagon spokesman told UPI he was unaware of any such actions.

"We are not aware of any incursions into Iranian air space," said Cdr. Nick Balice, chief of media at the U.S. Central Command.

There are conflicting reports. An "administration official" says they're happening, but a "Pentagon spokesman" says he doesn't have any knowledge of it. I tend to think that this is a lot like the allegations from Seymour Hirsh that I posted about last week. There are several possibilities.

* The overflights are happening in conjunction with the British/French/German negotiations. "Hey, Iran, stand down your weapons programs or else that crazy Mofo Bush will smite you! We can't control him, he's already patrolling in there with commandos and airplanes!" In this case, perhaps the information is being leaked on purpose in order to influence Iranian officials over the grapevine.
* The overflights are happening, they're supposed to be classified or low key, and traitors in the American government are leaking information to try to influence American foreign policy.
* The overflights aren't happening at all, and it's just another demonstration of the lack of journalistic/overall integrity by journalists or traitors within the government who are trying to influence American foreign policy.

If it's happening, I wish those Air Force boys a hearty Godspeed.

Another Work Update

Well, it's the end of the week, and I've finally completed and submitted the aforementioned article. I did enough reading to do reasonably well on both of my reading quizzes yesterday, and I think I nailed my Excel quiz in Class 2.

I've got one lecture, one makeup assignment, and one meeting with a TA today, and then it's the weekend. I'll try to post a few bits and pieces later today, if there's anything worth posting.

Prison Party

Unlike the Department of Defense, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi might have to start a terrorist draft. Three more aides have been captured.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Authorities in Iraq have arrested three close associates of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, including the chief of the terror mastermind's Baghdad operation, the government said Friday, two days ahead of historic elections that extremists have vowed to subvert.

Doom on you, Zarqawi. Doom on you.

Hmm... Weird

That's very strange... The article about the Israelis and "Palestinians" was the first one I posted.

At any rate, I'm going to the gym. I may post more in a couple of hours, but I've likely covered just about everything I wanted to for the day. We'll see.

More Good News

There's more good news out of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he is "very pleased" with measures Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has taken to lessen the threat of violence.

Mr Sharon said conditions were right for a "historic breakthrough" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr Abbas has brokered a temporary ceasefire with militants and banned Palestinians from carrying weapons.

Not all the news in the article is good, but this just strengthens what many of us in conservative circles have been saying for a long time: Yasser Arafat was the problem, not the solution.

Crisis in Korea

Following up on this post from about a week ago, the Christian Science Monitor has an article about the food crisis in North Korea.

Not good. Not good at all.

A Family of Voters

The Christian Science Monitor has an article about a family of new voters in Iraq.

Uniform Updates

The Navy's got a big website to showcase the process of redesigning their uniforms. Some of the stuff looks pretty good, but a lot of it's pretty horrendous.

Damage Control

Sweet merciful glaven. What an attrocious wound for a submarine.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Navy has published the first photographs of the damaged nuclear attack submarine USS San Francisco now in dry dock in Guam.

The submarine's front end was severely damaged when the submarine struck an undersea mountain 350 miles south of Guam on January 8.

Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died of injuries suffered in the accident, which occurred when the submarine was en route to Brisbane, Australia.

A Navy official said the submarine went into dry dock on January 26.

Divers cut off the sonar dome from the front end beforehand because it was "hanging," the official said, but otherwise the damage visible on the submarine occurred in the accident.

Look at the damage to that bow. Compare this to the damage on USS Greenville after it struck the Ehime Maru. Wow.

A Sort of Homecoming

An American hero is finally coming home.

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Pvt. Odell Sharpe, killed during World War II, is finally coming home.

The remains of Sharpe — presumed slain on Christmas Day 1944 when he as only 19 — were recently identified from a skeleton found in a foxhole near the Belgian-German border.

Now his family is preparing for something long overdue: a funeral.

"I had just made up my mind that I would never know what happened to him, and believe you me, there was many a day I wondered," his sister, Mary Miller, said Wednesday from her home in the farm town of Uvalda.

Three Belgian civilians working for a non-governmental group that searches for lost World War II casualties discovered the remains in September 2003. They found pieces of an infantry soldier's uniform, a skeleton, upper and lower jawbones and dog tags bearing Sharpe's name.

The military did not notify Sharpe's family until more than a year later, after thoroughly analyzing the bones and teeth to make sure they matched Sharpe's medical records.

This reminds me of the old anecdote in which Charles de Gaulle demanded that all American troops leave France, and either President Eisenhower, President Johnson, or Secretary of State Dean Rusk (I've found conflicting reports on the web) angrily replied with something to the effect of "Alright, but it might take us a while to dig them all up."

A Failure to Communicate

It appears that Egypt wasn't so compliant with the IAEA after all.

Egypt admitted Thursday to failing to report a "number of research experiments" to the UN atomic energy agency, after diplomats said the agency was investigating an Egyptian lab that could be used to make plutonium, a nuclear weapons material.

But "Egypt is cooperating with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)" and feels the "research experiments and activities ... most of which took place in the distant past are consistent with the NPT," the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Egyptian embassy said in a statement released in Vienna.

The statement said stronger safeguards measures by the IAEA "since the 1990's have resulted in not reporting to the agency, in an appropriate and timely manner, a number of research experiments and activities."

I'm sure they meant to report the "experiments."

Spook on the Loose

Whenever I can post an article about the intelligence community, I do, so here's today's last BBC article about a KGB defector on a hunger strike.

Junk Reclamation

Afghanistan to Pakistan: Can we have those old Soviet helicopters back?

Pakistan is considering an Afghan request to hand back military aircraft flown out of Afghanistan by defectors in the 1980s war against Soviet troops.

The fleet of aircraft includes helicopters and Russian fighter jets.

The Afghan defence ministry sees them as an important component in efforts to rebuild the country's armed forces.

But the Pakistan military says the aircraft are of questionable value after standing idle at undisclosed military airfields for so many years.

It'll be too bad if these things aren't salvageable; Afghanistan sure could use the equipment. One would hope that all that time sitting idle, they'd just be a little rust damaged or something, but I suppose that kind of time (about fifteen years at least) could be murder on such sensitive equipment.

Libyan Lunacy

Proving that not all news can be good, this story out of Libya is an absolute travesty.

Malaysia Onboard

More good news out of Malaysia.

Malaysia's prime minister has urged Muslim nations and scholars to speak out against Islamic extremism.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also chairman of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, said Muslims had to "close the great divide" with the West.

He said Muslims were as much to blame as others for misinterpreting Islam and seeing it as justifying violence.

Mr Abdullah was addressing a meeting in Malaysia bringing together academics and diplomats from OIC nations.

"It is our duty to demonstrate, by word and by action, that a Muslim country can be modern, democratic, tolerant and economically competitive," he told the gathering in the country's administrative capital, Putrajaya.

Outstanding.

27 January 2005

Somebody Save Me

Okay, remember this post from a couple of days ago? Well, here's the update.

* six page midterm DONE
* thousand word article on Iran - about four hundred words remaining, no work done since Sunday night
* about eighty pages of Quran/Islam For Dummies reading due (with notes) - partially done, less pressing since I've reviewed what I had with my prof

Now, for the second half of the week, I have some additional requirements.

* update and resubmit Microsoft Word project for Class 2 for full credit (missed recitation for the funeral)
* re-skim sixty pages of reading in Class 3 in preparation for quiz
* print (about $2) whatever the extensive readings are for Class 5 and skim in preparation for quiz

I think maybe there's some more. Basically, I'm inundated with work as it is, and it just keeps piling up, and all I want to do is sit in my papasan chair at home with a cup of tea (or better yet, a bottle of Guinness) and drift into a state of semi-anger, semi-indifference with a really tenacious look on my face. I have no energy to speak of.

Saturday can not come soon enough. I'll most likely go shooting, and pretty much put rounds down range for a good hour or so as stress relief. It's safer and more productive than drinking, which I don't do on account of it being unsafe and unproductive.

Right then, I'm going to print out my asinine "White Men are Evil" readings for Class 5 now. Bloody wankers the University administrators are. Empty talking heads, the whole lot of them.

eBay Strikes Again

This is hilarious.

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A British man trying to sell a deactivated Soviet-era missile on eBay was forced to delete it after Web site staff contacted him for breaching company rules.

But eBay told Richard Moore, from Cambridgeshire, to remove the missile because he broke eBay regulations by listing it alongside its vehicle launcher, which should have appeared as a separate item -- and not because it was a weapon.

Quite the conversation piece, don't you think? I'd love to have the vehicle launcher more than the missile itself. Imagine trying to park that on campus!

Optimism

Tech Central Station has an article about why we should be optimistic about the Iraqi elections. Have a look.

Psuedo Science Strikes Again

Last BBC article, I promise.

This little "study" sounds like a lot of what ifs, a lot of subjective computer models, and not much hard science if you ask me.

UPDATE: Tim Worstall over at TCS puts it much better than I did, right here.

Stronger Ties

Wow. Just... Wow. I can't believe I'm actually alive to see this.

Israeli and Palestinian officials have met in Jerusalem amid what appear to be improving ties between the two sides.

Head Israeli adviser Dov Weisglass held talks with Palestinian Negotiations Minister Saeb Erekat, officials said.

It follows Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's decision to lift a ban on diplomatic contacts, and may lead to a summit with new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Wow. The rest of the article doesn't paint a pristine picture, but the whole point of all of this is that the two sides are working together to maintain security, and discussing their shared issues. This is absolutely astonishing.

Tehran Bob

I think that the Iranians may have hired the Iraqi Information Minister to do their press releases. For example...

Iran has rejected a warning by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency that it could have a nuclear bomb within three years as "baseless".

Iran's foreign ministry insisted its nuclear regime was peaceful and accused Israel of misleading world opinion.

Meanwhile Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said Israel could not accept a nuclear-armed Iran but played down the possibility of air strikes.

I can just see good ol' Baghdad Bob in a black turban on Iranian television.

There is no Mossad, and even if Mossad existed, they would not know that we will have the bomb in far less than two years. I mean, well, what I meant to say is that we are not developing a bomb. Praise be to Allah, the Mossad agents are committing suicide at the walls of Tehran, or they would be if they existed, which they don't.

Book 'Em, Lucian

Little boy to Encyclopaedia Britannica: You're stooges.

A schoolboy has uncovered several mistakes in the latest edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica - regarded by readers as an authority on everything.

Lucian George, 12, from north London, found five errors on two of his favourite subjects - central Europe and wildlife - and wrote to complain.

The book's editor wrote back thanking him for "pointing out several errors and misleading statements".

A Britannica spokesman said the company was "grateful".

Am I surprised? I wish I were.

Old Dirty Linen

Fascinating.

The Shroud of Turin is much older than suggested by radiocarbon dating carried out in the 1980s, according to a new study in a peer-reviewed journal.
A research paper published in Thermochimica Acta suggests the shroud is between 1,300 and 3,000 years old.

The author dismisses 1988 carbon dating tests which concluded that the linen sheet was a medieval fake.

The shroud, which bears the faint image of a blood-covered man, is believed by some to be Christ's burial cloth.

Now, there are several things that the reader should take away from this story. First, it should be noted that efforts were taken to discredit the cloth in the first place, by scientists. The second is that those tests were horribly erroneous. The third is that, even with a revised (and more appropriate) sample, the age range of the Shroud through notoriously inaccurate radiocarbon dating is still seventeen hundred years.

Woe to he who puts blind faith in science.

Babies on the D-Klyne

According to a United Nations report, worldwide birth rates are dropping.

Women in the developing world now give birth to fewer than four children on average, according to a major United Nations study on fertility.

The average number of births has fallen from 5.9 children in the 1970s to 3.9 in the 1990s, it says.

In 20 countries, births have now fallen beneath the number needed to maintain current population levels.

The UN Population Division's World Fertility Report says improved contraception is behind the fall.

So maybe all those doom and gloom reports about Soylent Green and food riots are far-fetched? Yeah, I thought so.

Testicular Reduction Reading

This article over at MSN/Match.com is absolutely ridiculous.

Be sensitive? Don't take your girlfriend to dinner and a movie? Honestly, who do they think men are, prissy little girlie-men?

26 January 2005

Pierre Cracks Down

A report has come in that France has made a number of arrests, including four suspected terrorists six others who were allegedly planning to go to Iraq to join the "insurgency" (terrorist killing squads).

Natural Beauty

It appears that fans of 80's music and the gorgeous women who created it are in for a treat.

Debbie Gibson, the Britney Spears of the 1980s, is launching her pop comeback by shedding her togs for Playboy. Take note, Christina.

No, there's none of that Kylie-esque targeting of the gay market for Miss Gibson.

Gibson, who is unbelievably still just 34-years-old, has decided that dropping her knick-knacks is the best way to promote her comeback tune, Naked.

I'll be quite honest, I'm going to be very tempted to pick up a copy of this issue. For the article, right? Right!?

(Link via Kilroy from over at Right Thinking.)

Expansion

If you ask me, this is good news.

The Pentagon wants to build three new US army brigades and to train and equip Iraqi forces with 75 billion dollars requested Tuesday, while funding deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, a top US defense official said.

President George W. Bush asked Congress for 80 billion dollars in emergency funds in fiscal 2005 earlier Tuesday. All but five billion dollars would go to the Defense Department.

More than two thirds of the Defense Department's 75-billion-dollar share will cover the normal incremental costs of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the defense official said on condition he not be identified.

He said the request departed from past practice, however, by adding funding to the army's program to overhaul its division-based force structure and replace it with a more deployable, combat-ready force built around brigades.

It's about friggin' time.

Return to Haiti

Oh good, it looks like the Marines may get another nice deployment to tropical Haiti.

Capitalism Strikes Back

Score one for the good guys.

The foundation run by Microsoft magnate Bill Gates has announced it is dedicating $750m (£400m) to a worldwide infant vaccination programme.
Mr Gates said the donation would help save millions of children's lives.

"Supporting children's immunisation is undoubtedly the best investment we've ever made," he said in a statement.

At the same time, it was announced that Norway was donating $290m to the same organisation, the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (Gavi).

Mr Gates' pledge is to run over 10 years, and Norway's over five.

Let's keep in mind, folks, that Bill Gates could easily use his money to build a fleet of solid gold dump trucks, and still probably have enough money left over to fill all the dump trucks with quarters, and still probably have enough money left over to be richer than you or I will ever be.

What does he do instead? He spends nearly three times as much as the entire country of Norway, to last twice as long as the donations of the entire country of Norway, to immunize infants.

My hat goes off to you, Mr. Gates.

Building a Bridge, and a Wall

I never thought I'd see a story as encouraging as this one.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has sent bulldozers to demolish buildings put up illegally in Gaza City in the start of a crackdown on lawlessness.

Many buildings have been illegally built on public land by militants, security men and unlicensed traders.

About 200 Palestinian policemen were on the streets to protect the bulldozers.

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials said their forces would be deployed across southern Gaza by mid-week, in a move to prevent rocket attacks by militants.

Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said Israeli and Palestinian generals would meet later to complete the plan for the deployment, with officers expected to take up their positions within 24 hours of its approval.

Meanwhile, there's doin's-a-transpirin' in Israel.

Israel has resumed construction of one of the most controversial parts of its separation barrier in the West Bank - deep inside the occupied territory.

The attorney general approved the work near Ariel settlement on Monday, four months after a court order halted it.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei accused Israel of bad faith by resuming construction during ceasefire talks.

I'm going to take this rare opportunity to congratulate the "Palestinians" while criticizing the Israelis. To the "Palestinian" government, I wholeheartedly support your crackdown on lawlessness.

To the Israelis: I agree with you in principle. However, I'd encourage you to nurture the newfound relationship with President Mahmoud Abbas before resuming this kind of activity. Is it legal? Of course. Will it anger the "Palestinians" and discourage the peace process? Most certainly.

I do want to point out a money shot, though, from the first article. It's very telling of the situation over the past several years.

Correspondents said the operation was redolent of the Israeli military raids in which hundreds of Palestinian buildings have been destroyed by armoured bulldozers during the four-year intifada or uprising.

Translation? "What the Israelis have been doing, bulldozing buildings and such, was completely legal all along; it was just condemned by the 'Palestinians' at the time because it was the Israelis doing it."

Terrorist Capitalism

In a follow-up to this post about Australians, here's another article... About Australians!

Australia's government is checking if it can stop one of its citizens held by the US in Guantanamo Bay from making money from his story when he is freed.

Mamdouh Habib, who was accused of training with terror groups, is due to be released from the US camp in Cuba in the next couple of weeks.

He is being released without charge but Canberra said Mr Habib may be affected by laws targeting proceeds from crime.

Mr Habib, who was born in Egypt, had lived in Australia since 1980.

The Australian government is taking legal advice over whether new laws, which bar anyone linked to a crime from making money from their story, applied to Mr Habib, a spokesman for Attorney General Philip Ruddock said.

"We will examine closely the implications and if there is an obligation under law it will be pursued," said Steve Ingram.

Yeah... Okay, see, if I was in Habib's situation, my first priority would not be calling attention to my story.

Arrested Development

Wow. This is a great week if you enjoy seeing terrorist sociopaths arrested.

Pakistan has handed over to the United States a key suspect in the bombings of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998, Pakistani officials say.

Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, an alleged al-Qaeda militant who had a $5m American bounty on his head, was arrested last July.

It is not clear when he was handed over to the US or where he is now held.

Things are going well in the Middle East/South Asia. Who'da thunk it?

A Time to Gloat

I don't know why I find this story so funny, but I do.

A 45-year-old man is believed to have become the last Jew in Afghanistan after the death of the caretaker of the only functioning synagogue in Kabul.

It has emerged that the caretaker, Ishaq Levin, aged about 80, died of natural causes about a week ago.

His Jewish neighbour, Zebulon Simentov, lived with Mr Levin in the synagogue.

Correspondents say that around 5,000 Afghan Jews left the country after the creation of Israel in 1948, with others leaving after the 1979 Soviet invasion.

The death of the man believed to be his only co-religionist does not seem to be a source of grievance for Mr Simentov.

"He was a very bad man who tried to get me killed," he told the Associated Press news agency, "and now I am the Jew here, I am the boss."

Correspondents say that the two men were at loggerheads for some time, with both vying for control of the synagogue and both saying that they had been tortured under Afghanistan's hardline Taleban regime.

I remember seeing this story on the Daily Show, of all places, where it was noted that the only two Jews in the entire nation of Afghanistan hated each other.

25 January 2005

An Update on the Whores

Remember this post from yesterday? Well, Aaron over at Free Will has found out that the picture shows the girl, aged sixteen (wow), is wearing the dress backwards.

To be quite honest with you, I have a lot less problem with the correctly-worn dress. Still too skimpy for a high school girl, but on a college girl with the right body, I'd say it's moderately acceptable.

Work Update

Okay. For some reason, I've been able to finish up my Class 1 take-home midterm, which is what I'd been stressing about the most. At any rate, that means that I still have a metric ton of reading to do between now and about 15:30, and the article to worry about, but finishing up the midterm is a pretty big accomplishment.

I'm off to get myself a cup of tea and something to settle my stomach. I may post something tonight if I have the opportunity. Until then, it's the Quran! (And about five hours of lecture.)

Assad State of Affairs

And finally, the post I've been trying to make since this morning. After this, I'm off to bed to rest up (ha!) for tomorrow. Anyway...

Lebanon to Syria: Get out.

Lebanese opposition figures have criticised Syrian comments that troops could remain in Lebanon for another two years despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for their withdrawal.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara told CNN television on Sunday that he expects his country's troops to remain in Lebanon for "only a couple of years" more. "Not for good, certainly," he said.

General Michel Aoun, who was driven into exile in 1990 after a bloody "war of liberation" against Syrian troops, said on Al-Arabiya satellite television that "nobody has asked the Lebanese if they will accept another two years"

A repressive state sponsor of terrorism, violating U.N. Security Council resolutions? Perish the thought.

Requiem for Hubble

The space science community is lamenting the current version of the 2006 federal budget, which has eliminated a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

There's an article on CNN, and two at Space.com (link, link). Astronomers still have hope, but my guess is that there are more tax-paying constituents to worry about than disgruntled astronomers.

My reaction? I've been a space nerd since I was a kid. I'd love to see the Hubble serviced one last time. On the other hand, it would cost a rather impressive sum of money to extend the Hubble's life. Considering the fact that the HST's purpose is purely scientific, with little or no tangible benefit beyond the employment of scientists, I have a hard time justifying its restoration to myself. I believe I also read that the HST has outlived its design lifetime already.

It's unfortunate, but I think that eliminating the Hubble is the right thing to do.

Terrorists on a String

If the Quran forbids the faithful from killing themselves, how much more heinous a sin would it be if they killed themselves without taking any American infidels with them?

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Twenty-three terror suspects tried to hang or strangle themselves at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay during a mass protest in 2003, the military confirmed Monday.

The incidents came during the same year the camp suffered a rash of suicide attempts after Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller took command of the prison with a mandate to get more information from prisoners accused of links to Al Qaeda or the ousted Afghan Taliban regime that sheltered it.

Between Aug. 18 and Aug. 26, the 23 detainees tried to hang or strangle themselves with pieces of clothing and other items in their cells, demonstrating "self-injurious behavior," the U.S. Southern Command in Miami said in a statement. Ten detainees made a mass attempt on Aug. 22 alone.

This is why taking Usama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zwahiri, Mullah Mohammed Omar, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi alive would be such a propaganda victory. This behavior, if properly publicized in the Middle East, would be a pretty tangible public relations defeat for the enemy.

Simpsonian Gems

"Hey, yutz! Guns aren't toys. They're for family protection, hunting dangerous or delicious animals, and keeping the King of England out of your face."
- Krusty the Klown

"I felt this incredible surge of power, like God must feel when he's holding a gun."
- Homer J. Simpson


Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Confirmed Spies

The BBC is confirming the existence of the Strategic Support Branch.

Seriously, folks. Is this even news? Of course not. Has anyone heard of the Defense Intelligence Agency? Has anyone ever heard of Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance? The Pentagon has semi-clandestine intelligence capabilities, why is is such a stretch believe that they have, and require, something beyond what the CIA can provide?

24 January 2005

Bogus Objections Slammed

Earlier today, Thus Saith the Fly suffered from yet another case of drive-by ignorance:

The long-term consequences of the war in Iraq remain to be seen, both for Iraq and the United States. What we do know is that we've spent over 200 billion in a war that seems to have accomplished nothting other than planting our troops in a Vietnam-style quagmire for the forseeable future. The false pretense of WMDs doesn't bother you, but it undermines our standing in the world.

And you want another war? Go fight it yourself.

Not surprisingly, "Steve" didn't see fit to leave any personal or contact information; his Blogger profile isn't set to public sharing.

Well, Tech Central Station has an insightful (and historical) retort to ignorant leftist naysayers like "Steve": The Iraqi Election and the Bogus Objections to It by Stephen Schwartz. Go check it out, and read the whole bloody thing.

Remnants

Although my guess is that CNN is attempting to stick the spectre of Vietnam in our heads by publishing this, it's actually a touching story.

WHEATON, Illinois (AP) -- V.R. Roskam didn't know anything about the men whose names were stamped on the small, thin pieces of metal. He didn't know one belonged to a young Marine killed by a land mine. Or that one flew off a teenage soldier's neck when he jumped from a helicopter into a firefight.

But Roskam fought in Korea, and the way he saw it, 37 dog tags didn't belong in a wicker basket in some Ho Chi Minh City souvenir stand -- they belonged in the hands of men who lost them fighting the Vietnam War.

"It's a matter of honor," said Roskam, 75. "They fell into our hands and they need to be returned to the right people."

Good to go.

American Spydol

Following up on yesterday's story, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and a number of Democrats want hearings on the alleged "Strategic Support Branch".

Mediocre Argumentation

This is absolute lunacy.

Iran has accused the US government of ordering an American internet service provider to stop hosting the website of an official Iranian news agency.

The Iranian Student News Agency said no explanation had been given by the server, called The Planet, for its abrupt move to terminate the contract.

Isna, which is widely read in Iran, says it has moved to another server, which it did not name.

The Planet was unable to comment immediately on the allegations.

The row has led to calls for Iran to develop its own satellite technology.

And the money shot?

A senior official in the Iranian ministry of Islamic guidance, which handles the media, accused the US government of breaching human rights by allegedly ordering the move.

Gentle reader, not being stoned to death for having been sold into prostitution at the tender age of eight is a fundamental human right. Not being captured without justification for accidentally straying into the limits of sovereign territorial waters is a fundamental human right. The Geneva Convention says that not being forced to give a videotaped confession is a fundamental human right.

Having your student group's website hosted by an American service provider is not a fundamental human right.

Mullahs Strike Back

The Mullahs aren't happy.

Iran ruled out direct talks with Washington on Monday as Israel urged the world to take action against the Islamic republic's nuclear programme, warning it could destablise the Middle East.

US President George W. Bush, just into his second term of office, has warned Tehran not to develop nuclear weapons or risk possible military action, in an escalating round of tit-for-tat rhetoric between Iran and its archfoe.

"We have said before that if anyone wants to talks to us in a threatening language, we will adopt the same tone," Iranian government spokesman and cabinet secretary Abdollah Ramazanzadeh told reporters.

Basically, the way this whole thing works is that Britain, France, and Germany play the good cop. "Give up your weapons programs, we know you have them. If you don't, we won't be able to stop that crazy mofo Bush from smiting you." Israel and the United States play the bad cop. "Hey, you Moolahs over there, give up your weapons or we'll smite you!"

Iran will be no different than Iraq was. Without a credible threat of force, Saddam Hussein ignored seventeen UNSC resolutions and did whatever he possibly could to reconstitute his weapons programs. Suddenly a bunch of terrorists crashed airplanes into buildings, and the option of using military force was back on the table for Republicans; if you'll remember, the option of military force was always on the table for Democratic playboy President Clinton, Bill Clinton. At any rate, Iran will be the same way. Without a credible use of military force, there is no motivation for them to discontinue their nuclear programs.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I envision a free Iran within five years, but with some of the recent developments in Iran and here in the States, I wouldn't be surprised if it happens sooner.

Cautious Optimism

I'm not reserving my ski vacation in Hades just yet, but I have been to Travelocity and Orbitz to compare prices. Sweet merciful glaven!

A senior Palestinian official has said militant groups have agreed to suspend their attacks on Israel and are now waiting for Israel's response.

It follows a week of talks between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and militants aimed at ending the violence.

The militant groups insist they will not actually announce a ceasefire unless Israel makes concessions on halting military operations.

Israel has said its armed forces will hold fire if calm prevails.

There are basically three things that could happen at this juncture.

* The murderous Islamofascist terror groups Hamas and "Palestinian" Islamic Jihad could break the truce, and the "Palestinian" Authority could "pull an Arafat" and do nothing, forcing Israel to retaliate and ending this brief ceasefire.
* The murderous Islamofascist terror groups Hamas and "Palestinian" Islamic Jihad could break the truce, resulting in a joint retaliatory/preventative campaign by both the Israeli Defense Force and the "Palestinian" security forces, thus strengthening the currently weak diplomatic ties between the two governments.
* The murderous Islamofascist terror groups Hamas and "Palestinian" Islamic Jihad could observe the truce, allowing Israel to stand down, thus paving the way for further negotiations and a reasonable chance at peace in the region.

For some reason, I'm holding out hope for that third option. I will, of course, keep you all posted.

"But first, the whores!"

In my continuing coverage of the decline of morality and common sense in the world, I present Exhibit A.



Sure, she's fun to look at, but let's be honest here. Would you expect anything less than a lap dance from any girl who wore that thing?

(The title comes from this sketch from the Kids in the Hall.) Story link via Right Thinking.)

Getting Closer

Apparently another one of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's aides has been apprehended, this time by Iraqi security forces. Apparently this savage is the guy behind most of the terrorist bombings that have occurred since the invasion in 2003. This could be who they actually captured a few weeks ago when it was reported that Zarqawi had been apprehended.

It seems that they've caught a number of Zarqawi's "top aides" in recent weeks. Here's hoping that these Islamofascist murderers will help us grab Zarqawi himself, so that we can cut his head off.

Oldest Catalogue Ever

Continung with the theme of archaeology, this story is pretty cool.

The long lost star catalog of Hipparchus has been under our noses – or, more accurately, slightly above them – for more than 1,800 years.

Sitting atop the broad shoulders of a seven-foot statue known as the Farnese Atlas is a sky globe depicting the nighttime sky. Scientists have been able to match the constellations shown on the globe with descriptions from Hipparchus’s only surviving work, Commentaries, and have concluded that this is a marble copy of his star catalog.

Hipparchus, who was Greek, was one of the greatest of the ancient astronomers and did his most important work between 140-125 BC. He calculated the length of the year to within six and a half minutes, developed a scale to rate the brightness of stars, was the first to record a nova, theorized on the motions of the Sun and Moon, provided high quality planetary observations and created the first ever catalog of 1,000 stars.

Totally cool, and not surprising that it took scientists thousands of years to put two and two together.

Discomfort... Nevermind

This is going to be one of those days. I have a six page midterm due tomorrow in Class 1 on various aspects of the Ottoman Empire, a thousand word article on Iran due last night, and about eighty pages of Quran/Islam For Dummies reading due (with notes) for tomorrow afternoon. I'd give you wankers the website for the paper I write for, but that would compromise my position.

I'm in the computer lab, in one of the most uncomfortable seats in the room (it has one of those pull-out keyboard trays that nobody uses because the aisles are so tightly packed; my normal, roomy machine is currently inhabited by some bottom feeder who doesn't have enough class to remove his ballcap A) indoors and B) in the presence of ladies.

Basically, I'm going to make a couple of posts, quickly check the news, and then evacuate this place... Okay, it's amazing how much thirty seconds can change things. Ballcap Boy didn't leave, but the guy next to him did, so I'm in a much more comfortable position despite the crowded, overly warm environment in the lab this morning.

Anyway, I have a lot to accomplish today and tomorrow, so expect posting to be light today. I'll throw in a couple of things before I leave the lab, and there's a story I tried to post earlier before being disconnected. Blogger lost the post in transit, but the link should still be in my history at home, so I'll post it tonight.

Right then wankers, a couple of posts and then I'm off to save the world as usual.

Trimming the Fat

Bad news for North Koreans: there's been a reduction in daily rations.

North Korea has cut food rations to just half the amount recommended by the World Food Programme, the UN food agency says.

WFP monitors say government handouts have been cut from 300g (10.5oz) of cereals a day to 250g.

The UN says 16 million North Koreans rely on the rations.

A WFP spokesman told BBC News that many people would be unable to supplement their allocation of maize, rice and potatoes with any meat or vegetables.

This follows up on an earlier post I made about North Korea's recent order for citizens to keep their hair short.

Hear me now and believe me later, that country is going to implode.

Kiss the Cook

I'm sure I wasn't the first one to do this, but about an hour ago I tried something new: Hamburger Helper with elk. Having never cooked hamburger before, I was a bit worried, but I'm rather impressed. Fettucine Alfredo isn't really a "meat" kind of dish, but this works.

Sometimes I even impress myself.

23 January 2005

An End to Ignorance

For a while I've been meaning to post this: Dispelling the CIA-bin Laden Myth.

Politicized Science

Whenever possible, I post about the pseudo-science/junk science phenomenon. Tech Central Station has a good article about junk science and amphibian research by Alex Avery. They also have a review of Michael Crichton's new book, State of Fear.

Spooks Unlimited

Apparently the Pentagon has a new department.

You'll forgive me if I take this one with a grain of salt.

War on Democracy

This is interesting.

Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has reportedly declared war on next Sunday's election in Iraq.

An audiotape on an Islamist website purportedly voiced by the Jordanian-born militant calls on Sunni Muslims to fight against the vote.

"We have declared a bitter war against the principle of democracy and all those who seek to enact it," the speaker says.

A few weeks ago, Usama bin Laden released a similar message condemning the elections in Iraq. Now, let me run this simple concept by you. If bin Laden and al-Zarqawi thought that giving the Iraqi people, and all other Muslims, freedom, self-determination, and democracy would result in those people supporting them and subscribing to their ideas and beliefs, and emulating their lifestyle, do you think that they'd support or condemn free elections? The answer, of course, is that the Islamofascist terrorists know for a fact that the people of these countries, under a free and democratic society, would see them for the infidel terrorists they are.

Afghanistan went from the Taleban to a free and democratic society in less than three years. The Palestinians just voted without incident, and because Mahmoud Abbas is working with the Israelis, there is a legitimate hope for peace, stability, and prosperity. The Iranians are climbing the walls at what they perceive to be President Bush's inaugural promise to give them freedom, and the mullahs are confused to the point of Kerry-esque flip-flopping.

The Iraqi elections will happen next week, and the world will never be the same.

(Additional information via The Jawa Report.)

Anachronistic History

If this isn't a long article that says almost nothing new, and seeks to blame people who've long been dead for something that's likely misunderstood, I don't know what is.

Should the Allies have heeded calls to bomb Auschwitz when they learnt the full horror of the Nazi Holocaust?

It is one of the enduring controversies of World War II.

By the summer of 1944, detailed information about the true nature of the death camps had reached the West, but it was not until months later that Auschwitz was finally liberated by the advancing Red Army.

During that time, thousands more had perished in the gas chambers.

For one of the "enduring controversies", this is the first time I've heard about it. And how about this priceless little gem?

The SWC says the UK and the US could have relaxed stringent immigration policies to allow refugees a safe haven, and sent frequent and unequivocal warnings to Germany that its leaders would be held accountable.

This reminds me of a scene from Team America: World Police...

Hans Blix: Then let me look around, so I can ease the UN’s collective mind. I’m sorry, but the UN must be firm with you. Let me see your whole palace, or else.

Kim Jong Il: Or else what?

Hans Blix: Or else we will be very, very angry with you, and we will write you a letter telling you how angry we are.

Kim Jong Il: Oh, Okay.