Comments on life, love, and the pursuit of sanity from a two wheeled perspective.

 
Eeeeevil and Cold Steel
Excellent article concerning the "assault weapons" ban. Link via Fox News.
posted by Jeremy at 4:11 PM

 
Serves 'Em Right
Losers getting what's coming to them.

U.S. sales of Metallica's latest album, which fell off the pop charts earlier this month, are a "bummer," according to the veteran rock group's singer, James Hetfield.

Read the whole article for a revealing list of Metalli-excuses as to why the sales are down.

I say, "F 'Em." Link via Fark.

MORE: Excellent Metallica discussion thread on Fark.
posted by Jeremy at 1:48 PM

 
Dammit
Somebody jacked my blogroll. It's full of nothing now, but it was full of "Laura's Blog". The link appears to be farked, as I'm guessing this happened to a lot of blogrolling customers. I've emailed Blogrolling support to find out what's up.

More soon.

UPDATE: Changing my Blogrolling password seemed to fix the problem, or coincided with a server side fix. Still haven't heard back from Blogrolling, but I'm glad it's fixed. I'm not so glad about the implications of "changing password, fixing problem."
posted by Jeremy at 10:01 AM

 
Schadenfreude
Ouch. Sucks for you Mac guys.
posted by Jeremy at 12:04 AM

 
Shenanigans!
What a bunch of Barbara Streisand.

Without backing down from his comments about a black football player, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh resigned from his TV sports job, saying he regretted having caused "discomfort" to his colleagues at ESPN.

Limbaugh stepped down from the sports network's "Sunday NFL Countdown" late Wednesday, three days after making the statements that sparked outrage from Democratic presidential candidates, the NAACP (search) and the player himself.

The cable sports network accepted the radio talk show host's resignation.

"My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated," Limbaugh said in a statement Wednesday. "I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret.

"I love `NFL Sunday Countdown' and do not want to be a distraction to the great work done by all who work on it," Limbaugh said. "Therefore, I have decided to resign."

This kind of thing makes me sick to my stomach. How 'bout we start taking the Rev. Jesse Jackson to task for the wildly racial things he frequently says? Oh, wait, now I'm a racist too.
posted by Jeremy at 8:12 AM

 
Heh, heh
Irony defined.

Some of the first patients to smoke Health Canada's government-approved marijuana say it's "disgusting" and want their money back.

"It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, 58, an AIDS patient in Gibsons, B.C. "It gave me a slight buzziness for about three to five minutes, and that was it. I got no other effect from it."

Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat the nausea associated with AIDS, said the Health Canada dope actually made him sick to his stomach.

"I threw up," Dalley said Monday. "It made me nauseous because I had to use so much of it. It was so weak in potency that I really threw up."

Via Drudge.
posted by Jeremy at 5:02 PM

 
Johnny Cash 1932-2003
Johnny Cash has passed on. He will be missed.
posted by Jeremy at 7:47 AM

 
Mark Steyn 1, France 0
A la Mr. Green, I'm calling this scathing missive against EUroweenie hypocrisy and French bureaucracy today's "required reading".

'The US and British armies have entered the gates of hell," thundered George Galloway last month. "Soon it will be 100 degrees at midnight in Baghdad, but there will be no respite from the need for full body armour."

As usual, George was a little off. The gates of hell are on the périphérique and it's 100 degrees at midnight in the pissoir on the Metro. To date, two US soldiers are believed to have succumbed to the heat in Iraq, whereas over 10,000 people have succumbed to it in France.

That would make George's brutal Iraqi summer about one five-thousandth as lethal as the brutal Gallic summer, which has killed more people than the brutal Afghan winter (now 23 months behind schedule), the brutal Iraqi summer and the searing heat of the Guantanamo torture camps combined and multiplied by a thousand.

And it just gets better from there. Link via Inoperable Terran.
posted by Jeremy at 7:45 AM

 
Boilerplate

From a story about how Lockheed Martin got hit by LoveSan comes a quote that might as well be boilerplate for articles about massive virus infections.

Experts saw last week's worm coming, warning for weeks that a crucial flaw in Microsoft Windows needed to be patched. But the worm still wreaked havoc at companies and government because many had failed to take proper steps to protect themselves.

I've spent all day chasing this thing down myself. I'm getting really tired of the gatekeepers dropping the ball. Via Fark.

UPDATE: The problem in a nutshell.

...combine the typical ego-ridden virus writer -- who may have more time to kill with school out -- with sloppy Microsoft code. Factor in users who are slow to patch their computers yet manage to click on virus-laden e-mail attachments, and you have inboxes laden with garbage and networks choked with nonsense.

Security experts agree that ethics, better applications and educated systems administrators and users are the only way to stop virus and worm plagues.

(Emphasis added) Yeah....heh...indeed. Read the whole article.
posted by Jeremy at 5:55 PM

 
Damn
I know I've pretty much retired, but this was too funny to pass up.

A security flaw at a website operated by the purveyors of penis-enlargement pills has provided the world with a depressing answer to the question: Who in their right mind would buy something from a spammer?

An order log left exposed at one of Amazing Internet Products' websites revealed that, over a four-week period, some 6,000 people responded to e-mail ads and placed orders for the company's Pinacle herbal supplement. Most customers ordered two bottles of the pills at a price of $50 per bottle.

...

The file was viewable by anyone with a Web browser who truncated one of the Internet addresses published by the company.

Heh. Link via Fark.

UPDATE: As I was writing this post, I got an email from "SLEMP" with the subject, "Enlarge your manhood Guaranteed". I think I'll pass, thank you very much.
posted by Jeremy at 11:44 AM

 
Quote of the Day
I don't really post a "Quote of the Day", but if I did, Michelle over at A Small Victory would take the cake today.

IF MEAT IS MURDER THAN MURDER SURE TASTES GOOD WITH MUSTARD!

Heh heh. Here's the post.
posted by Jeremy at 12:28 PM

 
Post-Belgazor Government Scrapping War Crimes Law
In a move calculated to avoid the fate of the previous head of Belgium's government, newly elected Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt announces that the now infamous war crimes law will be round filed.

Belgian officials said today that they will scrap a controversial war crimes law under which cases have been launched against President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, said the move by his new government was aimed at preventing abuses of the law. "I think we have definitely solved this question," he said, hours after his government was sworn in by King Albert II.

The 1993 law gave Belgium jurisdiction over war criminals regardless of where their alleged crimes occurred. Human rights organizations hailed the law as a novel weapon that would put dictators and despots everywhere on notice, but critics, including members of the Belgian government, warned that it interfered with Belgium's foreign relations and could bring on a flurry of cases filed mainly for political reasons.

Yeah, and a flurry of death at the hands of Buck the Marine.
posted by Jeremy at 11:55 AM

 
Hell Yeah!
Wired's review of some of 2003's best electronic gadgets. Hmmm, where did I put that credit card?
posted by Jeremy at 11:37 AM

 
Now That's Comedy
Heh, heh.

Here at ShinySideUp, we give you 100% more "Heh" than Instapundit.
posted by Jeremy at 2:57 AM

 
Israeli Hardball
While the story itself deserves a good, old fashioned, boot party style Fisking, the news reported in its first two paragraphs deserves the attention, and the full support, of the world.

Israel could deport or arrest Palestinian President Yasser Arafat if he holds up his prime minister's efforts to implement a U.S.-backed "road map" to Middle East peace, Israeli diplomatic sources said Saturday.

"Israel conveyed to Washington that if Arafat continues to undermine Abu Mazen, we will reconsider his location and status," a source said, using Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas's nom de guerre. "By status we mean immunity."

Arafat has been askin' for the pimp hand for a good, long time. Israel may be about to give it to him. If the rest of the "international community" has the balls to back a move like this, perhaps this "road map" idea might gain a little credibility.

Link via Drudge.

UPDATE: A real road map to peace.
posted by Jeremy at 2:47 AM

 
All Hail IMAO
Today is the first blogiversary of IMAO, and in accordance with the edict issued by Frank J. (whose last name apparently doesn't being with "J"), I hereby officially link to IMAO and command all 4 readers per day to go visit Frank.

I would like to point out, however, that I have had IMAO on my blogroll for quite some time. I don't remember exactly when I first started reading IMAO, but my archives tell me that my first link to IMAO was posted on February 7, 2003, not even a month after the birth of ShinySideUp. Futher research reveals that although I started my IMAO linkage with a link to one of Frank's "favorite posts", I have never, ever, not once, gotten a link from Frank. Admittedly, the bloggage to be found here at ShinySideUp has slowed to a mere trickle, making this a very bad time to demand a link from Mr. NOT J., but I'm going to do it anyhow.

Link ShinySideUp Frank. Do it. We're fellow martial artists, freedom lovers, French haters, Moore bashers, and dammit man, you've linked my sister! More than once!

OK, enough of that. Happy Birthday Frank. ScrappleWhoever has never topped Nuke the Moon.
posted by Jeremy at 8:50 PM

 
Webcasters vs. RIAA, Game On
Via Wired, we find that the Webcaster Alliance is planning to take on the RIAA over a royalty agreement that could potentially put a lot of smaller webcasters out of business.

The Las Vegas-based Webcaster Alliance will send a letter today to the RIAA, threatening to sue the group for violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act unless the RIAA agrees to reopen negotiations over the royalty rates webcasters must fork over to artists and record labels, Webcaster Alliance attorney Perry Narancic said.

"We're trying to negotiate with these people, but with a big stick," Narancic said.

The existing royalty rates structure would force as many as 90 percent of small commercial Internet radio stations to close if left unchanged, Narancic said.

(Emphasis added) I'm not going to even pretend to understand all of the pro/anti RIAA stuff I hear on a daily basis, but I have a generally negative view of the RIAA, and I enjoy hearing about a lawsuit against them every once in a while.

Negotiate, with a big stick. I can deal with that.
posted by Jeremy at 7:53 PM

 
Happy 227 You Ol' Bastard!
It's the 4th of July, time again to reflect on the birth, growth, and present state of this great nation of ours. I really don't have any big plans other than hoisting a few red, white, and blue Pabst in the United We Stand coozie. I hope that you and yours have a safe and happy 4th.

Here's some advice aimed at helping you have a safe and happy 4th. Russell issues a timely warning, saying, "Don't put fireworks up your nose!" And Charles reminds those of you who might be less than enthused about these great United States, "it is probably not wise to cheese us off." Yeah.
posted by Jeremy at 11:49 AM

 
Good People
When one of your favorite personalities is also "good people", that's a bonus.

[Stephen King] bought all 275 tickets to the 7:45 p.m. showing at Clearview Cinemas on East 62nd Street Friday night. "When one couple rushed up to the theater and audibly groaned at the 'sold out' sign, King called out, 'Which movie did you want to see?' " our witness reports. "As the pair were telling him, they realized who they were talking to - and he generously handed them two tickets." King kept distributing tickets until right before the trailers started, then sat down with a group of friends.

Makes me feel good, reading that story, and makes me think, "If I were a gozillionaire, that's the kind of guy I'd like to be." Link via Lileks through Gawker.
posted by Jeremy at 3:51 PM

 
Double Standards and Racism
Being a blond haired, blue eyed Republican can be mighty dangerous in the People's Republic of California.

Hinkle told UPI that at the Feb. 19 hearing, Vice President for Student Affairs Cornel Morton called attention to Hinkle's blond hair and blue eyes and the fact that Hinkle was a white male member of the Republican club. Morton said that to students of color, this could represent "a collision of experience." The chemistry of the situation has racial implications, Morton said, and Hinkle was naive not to acknowledge this.

Collision of experience my ass. Link via Inoperable Terran.
posted by Jeremy at 8:27 AM

 
Hell Yeah!
Now here's a move that needed to be made.

The United States has cut military aid to 35 countries over their refusal to exempt US troops from prosecution by the new International Criminal Court (ICC).

...

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the US government will never accept the court.

posted by Jeremy at 7:13 PM

 
Hubba, Hubba
Chris Lawrence has a bold new look over at Signifying Nothing. It's much nicer than the old setup, IMHO. He's also been kind enough to blogroll me. Thanks, Chris.
posted by Jeremy at 11:36 PM

 
Dean Continues His Plunge into Irrelevance
From the Washington Post, via Drudge.

Presidential candidate Howard Dean is berating himself for saying he wanted to break into the country club of Democratic Party insiders.

The remark to Vermont reporters Monday came several days after Dean's 17-year-old son, Paul, was charged with aiding in a burglary at the Burlington Country Club.

...

"It is a bit of a club down there," he said. "The Democratic Party, all the candidates from Washington, they all know each other, they all move in the same circles, and what I'm doing is breaking into the country club."

Not exactly a brilliant bit of strategery, eh?
posted by Jeremy at 3:33 PM

 
And There Was Much Rejoicing in the Land...
Stephen Green is back, folks. Keep a close eye on the VodkaPundit, as he promises "to get all snarky and sardonic again." Thank God. I thought we'd lost him.
posted by Jeremy at 1:16 AM

 
Moment of Silence
June Carter Cash has died. Our thoughts are with you Johnny.
posted by Jeremy at 10:03 AM

 
Another take on SARS
Something Awful tackles SARS in today's update (no permalink that I can figure out. Scroll to "Reach For the SARS").

Although the first case of SARS was diagnosed in November 2002, little is known about this mysterious and deadly disease which contains properties that make it simultaneously mysterious and deadly. I have used The Internet (tm) to collect and list all the known facts about SARS so you, the reader, could look at them while you contract the disease and begin dying in an ironic twist of events:

FACT #1: Nobody knows how SARS originated.
FACT #2: Nobody knows how SARS is transmitted.
FACT #3: Nobody knows how SARS can be stopped.
FACT #4: The Kansas City Chiefs were retarded to choose Larry Johnson in the first round of the NFL draft.

I hope you copied and pasted all that important information to the Notepad document of your choice, as this knowledge may save your life. Well, I mean it won't save you from contracting SARS obviously, but if some fat guy comes up to you on the street and says "tell me three facts about SARS or else I'll shoot you in the face," then I might just have saved your life, assuming you don't bring up fact #4 (although he obviously wouldn't be able to argue with you).

Mr. Kyanka goes on to give 6 handy tips on avoiding infection.

TIP #4: Avoid suspicious-looking molecules. I'm no scientist, but I think SARS has something to do with molecules or atoms or some crazy shit like that. You know, electrons and crap. If you see an odd-looking molecule floating around your neighborhood, call the authorities at once, as it may be "casing the joint" and looking for "soft targets" to hit. If you are driving down a residential street and see some shady molecules following in a rust-colored Chevy behind you, tracking your every move, then accelerate to 90 miles an hour and head to the nearest Police station. Don't bother stopping when you get there, as that will only give the SARS a chance to catch up.

Head over to Something Awful for a good, hearty, taste-less laugh before we all find out just how serious SARS is. It's a lot funnier right now, I'm sure.

LATER: In order to be more helpful (and perhaps assuage my conscience... nah), here's a roundup of SARS blogs. Link via InstaPundit.

UPDATE: Here's the "Reach For the SARS" permalink.
posted by Jeremy at 4:00 PM

 
Skullbone Bound
I won't be posting again until Monday-ish. I'm off to Skullbone 3, a big motorcycle rally a little north of Jackson, TN. I'll report on it over at 1Down4Up Monday-ish.
posted by Jeremy at 4:20 PM

 
Good News
Grokster, Morpheus, and Gnutella are out of hot water, at least for the time being. Link via InstaPundit.

In a case that could turn the tide on online piracy, a Los Angeles judge ruled Friday in favor of online file-sharing services Grokster and Morpheus, saying the two companies are not liable for online piracy by users of their service. The follow-on services to Napster -- which was forced to give up sharing of music files -- were sued by several major entertainment companies who sought to take the firms to trial.

posted by Jeremy at 4:16 PM

 
Are You Kidding?
Now what in the hell kind of advice did Blair expect to get from Clinton? Considering Blair's public support for the war, and Clinton's public opposition, I can't begin to comprehend any rational reason the British Prime Minister would seek Clinton's counsel.

Tony Blair took repeated secret advice from the former American president Bill Clinton on how to unlock the diplomatic impasse between Europe and the US in the build-up to the war on Iraq, the Guardian can reveal.

In the crucial weekend before to the final breakdown of diplomacy in March, Mr Clinton was a guest of Mr Blair's at Chequers where the pair discussed the crisis.

Link via Drudge.

SIDE NOTE: Is it just me, or is this Guardian story a confusing piece of journalistic mish mash?

Blair and Clinton meet in secret! BREAK

Something about Chile BREAK

Blair has a hard on for Clinton BREAK

Something else about Chile BREAK

Blix wanted more time BREAK

Pinochet BREAK.

France BREAK.

The funniest thing about this utterly incomprehensible piece is that even the Guardian, while ham handedly inferring that Clinton was 10 times the President that Bush will ever be, just has to throw in a paragraph or two about how the French really screwed the pooch on the whole Iraq thing.
posted by Jeremy at 12:47 AM

 
Eco Footprint
Many in the blogosphere have taken note of the asinine Ecological Footprint Quiz, but Lileks has the best take on it yet.

...[T]oday I read an article about the Ecological Footprint Quiz, You can find out how many acres it takes to sustain your lifestyle, and how many planets it would take if everyone lived as you did. My score: Six point six planets! Whoo-hoo! I’m supposed to be chastened by this, but to be honest my first reaction is start working on that warp drive, Zephraim; we’re going to need lots of class M planets.

He goes on for a few paragraphs. Read it all.
posted by Jeremy at 4:48 PM

 
Wow
Frank J. really hates Michael Moore. And leprechauns.

...[If] I caught one of those hippy leprechauns and he told me, "If you don't harm me and let me go, I'll give you three wishes," (that would be in Irish brogue; I don't know how to represent that typing) I wouldn't let him go, because the only thing I would want would be to give that stupid pinko leprechaun a beating. To be clear, I wouldn't beat him as much as a regular size hippy, because that would be like a huge beating to him because of his small size, which isn't his fault. But I assure you it would be a sound beating, and, when he went back to his leprechaun home, he'd tell the other leprechauns, "Aye, what a sound beating I received; quite proportionate to my size."

Geez.
posted by Jeremy at 1:13 PM

 
Piss Beer Still Rules the World
The "King of Beers" (NOT) is still making a killing off of people who would rather drink mediocre swill than Pabst.

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (BUD), the world's top brewer, said Wednesday quarterly profit rose 6.3 percent, led by U.S. price increases on beer.

New products such as Michelob Ultra and Bacardi Silver, which customers pay a premium for compared to typical beers, have keyed Anheuser-Busch's profits during the past several quarters.

The company's stock rose 2 percent following the release of its results.

The St. Louis-based company, which makes beers, including Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob, said first-quarter profit reached $485 million, or 57 cents a share, up from $456 million, or 51 cents a share, last year.

Frankly, I'm dissapointed that America isn't stepping up and refining the collective palate a bit. Oh well, more PBR for me.
posted by Jeremy at 8:23 PM

 
Frogs in Trouble
Well, it's as official as it gets. We're going to bust those sorry Frogs and make them rue the day they stood in the way of the might of the United States of America. Of course, Colin didn't say it quite that way.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is warning France that there will be consequences for its refusal to support war with Iraq as the White House considers ways to punish the fair-weather ally.

posted by Jeremy at 8:15 PM

 
New Favorite Quote

"Teetotalers may be the spine of the nation, but drinkers are its heart and balls." -- Camille Paglia

(via The Corner).

Considering how much I liked the quote, I decided to Google it, and found this Paglia column from '97 in Salon. The relevant portion of the column discusses young people in college, and whether or not they should be allowed to run wild and free during their college days. As far as I can tell, the answer to that question boiled down to another favorite quote of mine, this time from Chef.

"There is a time and a place for everything, children, and that place is college."

posted by Jeremy at 8:21 AM

 
Deadbeat Blogger
Yeah, I've got a blog, but I'm not posting lately. I just haven't had anything good to say, so I haven't said anything at all. My blogroll speaks in my absence.

I have done some posting over at 1Down4Up lately, but unless you're a biker, you won't dig it (except perhaps the "Fight Terrorism, Ride a Bike" post, but the archives are hosed, so I can't really link it, can I? Just scroll down 'till you find it).

posted by Jeremy at 9:26 PM

 
This Does My Heart Good
I'm still sick as a dog, but I had to post on this right here, found over at Dustbury.

America has discovered a new beer, one that seems right for a country facing bad times.

Pabst Blue Ribbon, a forgotten if not forsaken brand, once the solace of the beleaguered working man, and, regrettably, a beer often associated with what people in polite company call "trash," has staged a surprising comeback.

...

While most young consumers buy clothes and cars to make themselves seem as affluent and desirable as possible, the materialism of many of today's counterculture youth is just the opposite. It is meant to reflect the economics of "reality," of working-class thriftiness, of the notion of America at its best, at its most optimistic, at its blue-collar prime. Of course, this is not America. This is Americana -- and an appetite for what was good when things are going bad.

Thank God America is rediscovering my favorite beer. Maybe now it'll be easier to get. I've always worn my Pabst work shirt with pride, but now, maybe it'll get me some chicks.

UPDATE: I've also found this story on Fark and on the Inoperable Terran. In honor of the national media attention, blogosphere coverage, and the Farking of Pabst, I'm going to have one right now (I know I'm sick, so I'm just having ONE). OK, over to the fridge, yes, there they are, pop the top, and mmmmmmmmmmm, Pabst.
posted by Jeremy at 11:54 AM

 
Hack. Cough
Sick. As. A. Dog. I'll be resting for a while. Blogging will be extremely light.
posted by Jeremy at 5:37 PM

 
"Unilateralism! Whiskey! Sexy!"
Tiny Little Lies comes up with our new economic policy regarding the Axis of Weasel's. Link via the Emperor.
posted by Jeremy at 9:33 AM

 
Questions about the Russians
We've heard a lot about Russian perfidy lately, and the VodkaPundit asks some questions about the rumors (VodkaPundit. Russia. That's kinda funny).

My first instinct is to doubt the report’s authenticity, or rather, the authenticity of the papers. Putin is a cool, smart operator, unlikely to overplay Russia’s weak hand.

...

Nothing here makes sense, other than the papers are a forgery aimed at spoiling postwar US-Russian relations.

Unless there’s an angle I missed. Ideas, anyone?

I've been asking myself similar questions. While I don't doubt that Russia is involved in some sort of underhanded dealings with Iraq, I don't understand exactly what the motivation is.

MORE: Possible motivation (from an August, 2002 story)?

Iraq's ambassador to Russia, Abbas Khalaf, said Saturday that Russia and Iraq are planning to sign a five-year, $40 billion economic cooperation agreement.

The article goes on to detail roughly $8 billion in Soviet era Iraqi debt.

MORE: A story from January '03 detailing Russia-Iraq intelligence ties. Seems to lend creedence to the cloak and dagger stories that are coming out now.

Here's a Reuters story from February of '03 that discusses Russia's attempts to land oil contracts immediately before the war and their plans to "invoke international law to protect their oilfield contracts in the event of a change in the government of Iraq." The story notes that "Russian companies have the most to lose in Iraq should any new government seek investment from leading U.S., French and British oil majors to develop crude reserves that rank second in the world in size to Saudi Arabia's."

MORE: Now we have this coming out of Russia, which seems to me to be a little, er, two faced. Unless, of course, I'm missing something here.
posted by Jeremy at 1:07 AM

 
Psy-Ops and GWII
Newsweek has an excellent article covering Special Operations in GWII.

Supersecret sniper teams were operating in Baghdad itself, looking for leadership targets. Saddam may have made a fatal mistake by showing his defiant tour of the streets on Iraqi TV. Intelligence analysts were able to determine that he was walking about Mansour, an upper-class enclave near downtown. (The timing of the film was unclear; the men were wearing warm winter clothes; on the other hand, smoke loomed in the background, suggesting that the bombing had begun.) The CIA flooded the area with agents, one of whom reported spotting Saddam and his entourage entering a house last Monday. Less than an hour later there was a large crater where the house had been standing, thanks to four bunker busters dropped by a B-1 bomber.

Supersecret sniper teams. Hell yeah.

M3 and Den Beste offer commentary. Link via M3.

On a personal note, space aliens blaring "The Chicago Bears suck!" just might have been enough to get me to give away my position. I only pray that I never find myself in that situation.
posted by Jeremy at 10:55 PM

 
The Fat Lady is Singing

From a field just outside the town, the final battle for the last stronghold of Saddam Hussein's empire could be seen unfolding.
The attack from the sky was terrifying and relentless. Every few minutes fresh clouds of black smoke puffed above the western bank of the Tigris river, as the bombs fell. American Cobra helicopter gunships and F-18s were eating away at the last remnants of Iraq's once-mighty army.

By late yesterday afternoon, Saddam's regime consisted of one provincial city - much of it already destroyed - and a handful of mud villages set amid the rolling brown desert. It was not perhaps the ending he had envisaged.

As American troops last night entered Saddam's hometown, no one was suggesting that the war in Iraq was over. But it was clear as US warplanes pounded Tikrit that we were now deep into the final act.

Article here. Link via The Corner.
posted by Jeremy at 10:44 PM

 
Weasel's WMD Supply and Service
Remember the Road Runner cartoons? Remember how all of Wile E. Coyote's gadgets had Acme stamped on the side? Apparently most of Wile E. Hussein's "gadgets" have France stamped on the side. Glenn discusses the embargo busting weasels here.

The French? Violating United Nations sanctions? Why it's almost as if the United Nations were merely a joke or something.

Add Russia and Germany to the mix and we have Weasel's WMD Supply and Service. I can see their cheap, used-car-sales style commercial now. "Bankruptcy, divorce, bad credit, UN Sanctions??? We don't care!!! We've got the best in new and pre-owned conventional, chemcial, biological, and nuclear weapons and supplies!!! Come on down on Tuesday when we'll be giving away free hot dogs, cokes, balloons, and sidearms for your trusty henchmen!!!"

MORE: Oki has the dirt on the Russkies. I'm sure this is just the tip of the dirty little iceberg.
posted by Jeremy at 11:06 AM

 
Thanks
Adela, you are too kind.
posted by Jeremy at 4:47 PM

 
N. Korea Wising Up
North Korea is changing it's tune.

An official from North Korea's foreign ministry has hinted the secretive communist state will accept United States demands for multilateral talks.

Quoted by the country's official KCNA news agency, the spokesman said talks on North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons programme depended on the attitude taken by the US.

Pyongyang has previously offered only bilateral talks with the US, while Washington has insisted on multilateral discussions that include North Korea's neighbours, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.

(Emphasis mine) I think it's quite clear what kind of "attitude" that Kim "Crazy Pants" Jong-il is responding to here. We asked Saddam quite politely to stop being an asshole for 18 months (or 12 years, however you want to look at it). When he didn't cease and desist in his assholery, we put the international judo chop of freedom on him. He crumpled in three weeks. While Glorious Leader Kim "Loony Toons" Jong-il might be a fool, he's not so much of a fool that he can't see the handwriting on the wall. The US wants you to start playing nicely with others. If you don't, well, I guess we may just have to come and destroy your little dictatorship as well. Even China, a long time passive (and sometimes active) supporter of North Korea, has gotten the message loud and clear.

This situation reminds me of that scene that goes on in every bar in on every Friday night of any given weekend. The US is sitting quietly at the bar with its drinking buddies Britain and Australia. In comes Iraq, North Korea, and China. While the US, Britain, and Australia are minding their own business, Iraq and North Korea get good and schnockered and start making a big scene while China sits back and watches. Things get so bad that the US, Britain, and Australia finally decide they've had enough and put a hot one into Iraq's chin, knocking him unconcious on the floor. Not getting the hint, North Korea keeps making a big scene, spilling drinks everywhere, being a big nusiance, and poking its pudgy little fingers into the US's chest. When the US pushes its barstool back to finally take care of the North Korea problem, China jumps up and says, "Hey guys, look, I know my diminutive buddy here is being an ass. How 'bout I just buy you guys a round of drinks and get my drunk friend out of here. I'll make sure he doesn't cause anymore trouble tonight."

The decision is now ours. Do we, the US, choose to let North Korea off the hook and walk out of the bar? Should we use our influence with the bouncer to make sure he never comes back? Should we give him a good punch to the sternum and knock the wind out of him a little? Or should we knock him out like we did Iraq? It's up to us to decide, and the consequences of our actions will impact the world for many years to come.

I say we knock him out.

posted by Jeremy at 8:29 AM

 
Ya Think?

An Egyptian immigrant's deadly attack on an Israeli airline ticket counter last year has been ruled a terrorist attack related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an FBI spokesman said Friday.

"Given his political views and the fact that El Al is an Israeli government-owned airline, that met the criteria for a terrorist attack," said Matthew McLaughlin, a spokesman for the Los Angeles field office of the FBI.

Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, 41, opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport's El Al ticket counter on July 4 last year, killing two people before being shot dead by an airline security guard.

The Department of Justice had withheld characterizing the shooting while federal agents launched a worldwide probe to determine whether it was a terrorist attack, hate crime or motivated by personal reasons.

Geez guys, great work here. Glad you finally figured this one out. You know, I'd like to offer myself up as a consultant for the FBI. I could've come up with this one on July 5th, saving untold thousands, or maybe even millions, in taxpayer dollars that were surely squandered on this investigation.

Read the whole story here, if you feel like it.
posted by Jeremy at 7:51 AM

 
CNN's Shame
Here's the biggest story of the day.

Over the last dozen years I made 13 trips to Baghdad to lobby the government to keep CNN's Baghdad bureau open and to arrange interviews with Iraqi leaders. Each time I visited, I became more distressed by what I saw and heard — awful things that could not be reported because doing so would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particularly those on our Baghdad staff.

Oh really? Bullshit. CNN didn't report because CNN wanted to stay in Baghdad. Revolting isn't a strong enough word for what you and your cronies at CNN have done in this case.

LINKAGE:

• Glenn's update on the subject with some heavy linkage.
  
• LGF's aptly titled "Outrage of the Day".
  
• Bill Hobbs weighs in here.
  
• My kid sister puts in her two cents.
  
• Rachel Lucas rightly refers to this as an "Obstruction of Justice".
  

posted by Jeremy at 2:24 PM

 
NRO Brilliance
Stop what you're doing and go look at NRO. There's really no need for me to link a specific story, you'll find the one that's right for you. Just look at that top bar, (currently) featuring General McCaffrey, Maureen Dowd, and Chris Matthews. Roll over their names. Bask in the neo-conservative, eat-this-you-scum-sucking-liberals glory of it all. Look, and see that it is good.

MORE: Wow, it's is even better than I thought.

So many pundits, pols, and, yes, celebs, said so many wrong — and downright silly — things about the war in Iraq, prewar. We knew that back then, but now that Baghdad has effectively been liberated by the U.S.-lead Coalition, we provide a handy snapshot of what was said by some of those who should be looking down and making their apologies.

Thanks Guys.
posted by Jeremy at 10:17 AM

 
I Just Became a Hardcore Dr. Laura Fan
I listen to the news on Memphis' AM 600 in the mornings. Right as I'm about to leave for work, the programming switches over to Dr. Laura. I've never been a fan of Dr. Laura, it's just background noise really, but this morning I heard something incredible.

A woman called in complaining that her husband never helps wash the dishes or clear the table after dinner, etc. Dr. Laura told her, "Of course he doesn't. He works all day, you stay home. It's your job. Quit being a nag."

I love you Dr. Laura.
posted by Jeremy at 8:43 AM

 
Overload
As I'm checking the news and blogosphere this morning, I'm finding so many incredible items I couldn't possibly post on them all, or could I?

• Stephen Green's if-Bush-were-Hitler post.
  
• K-Lo points us to a story on the crushing defeat of ABC, CBS, NBC, the BBC, et al. at the hands of the Coalition.
  
• Derb points out yesterday's "Conventional Wisdom". Those guys at Newsweek can be real assclowns.
  
• VodkaPundit says that I'm suppossed to read this. Yes sir!
  
• K-Lo again, with a story from CNN on Al-Samouds and soccer stadiums. When you check this one out, pay special attention to the second and last paragraphs. I can just hear the guys at CNN mumbling, "You know, this missile probably falls well within the 150km guidelines, and Blix would've found it anyways if Bush had given him half a chance."
  
• Glenn sends us over to the WaPo for a discussion on blogging and ethics that's an effective roundup of the Agonist scandal and its repercussions.
  
• Again with the Corner, we find Lowry on Aldouri and Steve Martin. The game is over indeed.
  

posted by Jeremy at 8:13 AM

 
On Giving Inspections More Time
Reported by Fox.

...U.S. intelligence officers with the CIA are on the ground in Baghdad and throughout Iraq trying to find scientists who would be able to point out where Iraq's weapons of mass destruction are or where they were made.

I'm guessing that the Special Ops, U.S. intelligence, CIA weapons inspectors will be slightly more effective than Blix's boys. Link via Command Post.
posted by Jeremy at 11:20 PM

 
And All God's People Said, "Amen!"
Wow. Scott over at AMCGLTD hits the nail on the head with Axioms.

The citizens of the United States strongly believe in the concept of the blood of the innocents. We want justice, even victory, not destruction, and never slaughter. We have spent trillions of dollars over the past sixty years creating weapons so accurate that nowadays we sometimes don't even bother to attach explosives to them. A quarter-ton lump of concrete dropped from 25,000 feet has enough inertia to quite handily crush an antiaircraft battery, APC, or tank, and leave an adjacent house standing, as long as you can put that rock right down the tube of the gun. We can, and so the "concrete bomb" is a real, effective, weapon.

(Emphasis original) Definitely worth reading the whole thing. Link via the Emperor.
posted by Jeremy at 5:21 PM

 
This is Why We Went to Iraq
Read Virgina Postrel's post on the Iraqi Jail for Adult Reeducation. It's chilling. Link via InstaPundit.

MORE: The details regarding the jail are chilling indeed, but I stopped short of the real feeling I have and what I know the real story here is. I'm in awe of what has been accomplished in Iraq. As I hear the days news of victory (sure, we're close enough), rejoicing, prisons being emptied, and the Ba'ath regime in tatters, I feel proud. I'm proud that our President and our allies had the wherewithal and courage to crush the iron grip of Saddam Hussein and free the people of Iraq. I'm proud of our troops and I'm grateful for their sacrifice and dedication. I'm proud to be an American.

In going to war with Iraq, we made the right choice. We've fought the fight, we've stayed the course, and now it's time to rebuild Iraq. Let's hope that our leadership and our allies are as committed to the job at hand as they were to winning this war.
posted by Jeremy at 12:29 PM

 
Spam Humor
OK, I just got the hands down funniest piece of spam I've ever received.

From: Pray
Subject: Free penile enhancement without exercise

posted by Jeremy at 10:03 AM

 
It's Almost Here!
The first report I've found on A Mighty Wind. I can't wait.

See my first post on the new Guest flick here.
posted by Jeremy at 5:52 PM

 
Academy Awards for War
See Frank J.'s synopsis of GWII. Heh.
posted by Jeremy at 8:34 AM

 
ChemicalAli127 not on IM
Saddam's cousin isn't showing up on IM. Saddam is getting worried. I wonder if this might be why?
posted by Jeremy at 12:27 PM

 
The Agonist and Plagarism
Wired reports today that Sean-Paul Kelley of The Agonist has frequently pulled intel reports from Stratfor word for word and tried to pass them off as his own.

Kelley's insightful window on the details of the war brought him increasing readership (118,000 page views on a recent day) and acclaim, including interviews in the The New York Times and on NBC's Nightly News, Newsweek Online and National Public Radio.

The only problem: Much of his material was plagiarized -- lifted word-for-word from a paid news service put out by Austin, Texas, commercial intelligence company Stratfor.

Not cool. The blogroll has been updated accordingly. Thanks to the InstaMan for the heads up.

MORE: Head back to InstaPundit for some heavy linkage on the Sean-Paul Kelley story.
posted by Jeremy at 11:10 AM

 
On the Home Front
The RIAA may be coming for you.

On April 3, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed copyright-infringement lawsuits against four college students, accusing them of using their colleges' computer networks to distribute millions of copyrighted songs. The four students—two from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (RPI), one from Princeton University, and one from Michigan Technological University (MTU)—allegedly used peer-to-peer platforms similar to Napster, the startup that was crushed by the weight of litigation brought against it by the RIAA. The lawsuits were filed in federal courts in New York, New Jersey, and Michigan.

posted by Jeremy at 8:00 AM

 
Eat This, Blix!

Chemical tests for nerve agents in the warehouse came back positive for so-called G-Series nerve agents, which include sarin and tabun, both of which Iraq has been known to possess. More than a dozen infantry soldiers who guarded the military compound Saturday night came down with symptoms consistent with exposure to very low levels of nerve agent, including vomiting, dizziness and skin blotches.

A hand-held scanning device also indicated the soldiers had been exposed to a nerve agent. Two tests at the compound were negative, but further testing indicated sarin was present.

It was only a matter of time. Read the full report here.
posted by Jeremy at 10:37 PM

 
Frightening
LOR posts and comments on "Homeland Security".

... exactly why does the government want all the additional surveillance and police powers it says it needs to protect us from future terrorist attacks?

They don't seem to be using the powers they have now to do a damned thing about what may be real threats today.

(Emphasis original) It's a must read. This is the kind of thing that highlights just how closely we must watch our elected officials here at home while our nation's attention is focused abroad.
posted by Jeremy at 2:59 PM

 
Blairabia
Read Goldberg's proposal on renaming post-war Iraq. It's a beauty.
posted by Jeremy at 5:20 PM

 
The Picture Worth 11 Words
Stephen Green has the pic, and the carefully chosen, easy to understand 11 words.
posted by Jeremy at 12:08 PM

 
The Scoop on "Unconventional" Tactics
Frank J. has a crack research staff, as evidenced by this report on the unconventional tactics that the Iraqis may well use against us as we overrun Baghdad.
posted by Jeremy at 12:04 PM

 
World War IV?
Former CIA director James Woolsey seems to think so. Check out the excerpt at LFG and follow the link if you feel like more. An interesting perspective, to be sure.
posted by Jeremy at 4:17 PM

 
Helen Immortalized

I once met a man in pajamas
Who asked "hey, would you bone Helen Thomas?"
I thought for a bit,
Said "Man, screw THAT shit,"
"I'd rather be raped by ten Llamas"

See A Small Victory for the rest. Thanks to VodkaPundit for the link.
posted by Jeremy at 12:44 PM

 
M3 has Outdone Himself
Refer to the following entry for cheese-eating surrender monkey.
posted by Jeremy at 9:45 AM

 
Get out the Hanky
And then go read this from Lt. Smash. Link via InstaPundit.
posted by Jeremy at 8:24 AM

 
Indiscriminate Bombing?
Thanks Glenn. More proof positive of the care and concern the Coalition is taking during GWII.

"[A] a landscape of death and wanton devastation, all stamped 'Made in America.'?"

I think not. Eat your hearts out, you scum-sucking liberal pig-dogs.
posted by Jeremy at 11:55 PM

 
Scattered Thoughts

• Union Planters sucks. I just opened a checking account with First Tennessee. We'll see how that goes. I'm going to instantly save about $14 a month, as the First Tennessee checking account, which includes online bill paying, is free. Finally, free of UP.
  
• David Gray's music is worth checking out. Very Dylan/Van Morrison-ish, in the best way.
  
• I'm honored by those who come by on a regular basis. I don't get too many visits, but I'm eternally grateful to those of you who do come by. I'd love it if you dropped me an email to say hey. Then I could put a name with a Site Meter visit detail.
  
• This is happening all over Iraq. And we're the aggressors, eh? (Archives aren't working. Scroll to "OH, YES, HE'S DEFINITELY AS POPULAR AS STALIN")
  
• Attn. Squids: T-shirts and sandals are not appropriate riding gear.
  

I'm super busy at work today. More later...
posted by Jeremy at 3:38 PM

 
Mullahs Suck

It's time for the out-of-touch blockheads in the mosques and madrassahs to grow the hell up and get with the program. These one-eyed hook-handed freaks are all "You go and fight the infidels, call me on my cell if you need spiritual guidance, mmm'ok?", but when the awful consequences of their stupid jihads inevitably come to pass, they're all "Oooh, your faith wasn't strong enough or Allah would've brought you victory." Or maybe Allah's telling us, "Hey, stop listening to those idiot mullahs or I'll blow your ass up too."

Read the whole thing. Thanks to VodkaPundit for the link.
posted by Jeremy at 12:17 PM

 
Geraldo Booted
Geraldo's "voluntary" one way trip out of Iraq is back on. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
posted by Jeremy at 7:57 AM

 
Ahem
I. hate. the. French.

MORE: "The next time France is attacked, let them defend themselves without foreign help, for they deserve none." Read Den Beste's piece.
posted by Jeremy at 7:52 AM

 
My Favorite Words
And in the same sentence no less, free and beer. Thanks Sgt. Stryker.
posted by Jeremy at 11:42 PM

 
Antiwar Asshats Activists
Activists chain themselves to munitions convoy (or lay down in front of it, or under it, or something equally retarded) and the convoy keeps on rollin'. Link via LGF.
posted by Jeremy at 5:42 PM

 
Of Media Lies
Using the Arnett story as a jumping off point, Tim Graham tackles the media lies pouring out of Baghdad.

[In 1991] ABC’s Bill Blakemore, CBS’s Betsy Aaron, and NBC’s Jeremy Levin (borrowed from the BBC) all reported from Baghdad. In 45 stories from February 1 to February 27, 1991, not one of their reports suggested that Saddam Hussein was the slightest bit unpopular. Aaron reported, "The average citizen...thinks the Iraqi government has made every concession that it can make for a peace with honor." Bowen reported, "The people we met blamed the Americans for continuing the war."

But as soon as these reporters came out of Baghdad, they renounced their own presentations. "The one thing people have to know is that this man, privately, Saddam Hussein, is a hated man," Betsy Aaron told Dan Rather on March 7. On NBC News at Sunrise the next morning, Jeremy Bowen conceded: "The message that came from them very strongly in Baghdad was that they're pretty sick of Saddam Hussein. They don't like the man, they don't like what he's done to their country, and they'd like to be rid of him."

The lies and distortions continue to this day, most vividly and most recently portrayed by Arnett. These people make me want to puke.
posted by Jeremy at 4:27 PM

 
VDH on NRO
Go read this ASAP. It's A O.K., IMHO.
posted by Jeremy at 4:10 PM

 
Saddam is Alive and Blogging
Heh. I can't remember where I got the link from, but this is some funny stuff. This is the kind of warblogging I can get into.
posted by Jeremy at 3:51 PM

 
Islamo-facists in American Uniforms
Following up on the Akbar story (here and here), Slate researches and documents some frightening facts about radical muslims in America's military. Charge led by Dixie-Flatline.
posted by Jeremy at 3:49 PM

 
War and History
Read Bill Whittle's latest, "History". 'Nuff said.
posted by Jeremy at 11:42 AM

 
I'm Not Warblogging, but He Is
I'm not warblogging much anymore, a bit of explanation to come a little later. I've already recommended the Agonist and Command Post (see blogroll), but now I'd like to add Sgt. Stryker to the list of "must reads". How did I ever miss that guy?
posted by Jeremy at 11:33 AM

 
Housekeeping
I've rearranged the blogroll alphabetically. The list is getting so long that sometimes it's hard to find exactly what I'm looking for when I use my own blogroll. Also, you may have noticed that the blogroll adds an asterisk to recently updated blogs, but not all of the links on the blogroll ping weblogs.com. We all know who the big dogs are, so head over there when you see an asterisk. If you don't recognize the link and there's no asterisk, chances are that they don't ping weblogs.com, so head over anyhow. Every blog on the blogroll is B. approved, Grade A, Prime Blog.

You will now be returned to your regularly scheduled blathering.
posted by Jeremy at 9:27 AM

 
Dodging A Bullet
It's no surprise that my Bears aren't on the Top 5 off-season list, but thank God we didn't make the "Bottom" 5 list. Whew. Links via Inoperable Terran.
posted by Jeremy at 2:03 PM

 
C.S. Mustard
The best yet on the Arnett fiasco.

MORE: VodkaPundit on Arnett.
posted by Jeremy at 1:17 PM

 
Who's got the Sharp Knife?
Kudos to this old lady. Oh, and read as much of the Knife as you can while you're there. It's incredible.
posted by Jeremy at 9:55 AM

 
China tells N. Korea To Behave
China cut off N. Korea's oil supply for three straight days. Oops, technical problems guys. Oh, by the way, shape up or face the consequences.

I know everyone has blogged this already, but it's an important development in the "N. Korea problem", especially considering the fact that the U.S. is involved in full scale war in the Middle East. I'm linking to the InstaMan's post on the event.

"...nobody, but nobody wants a regime as kooky as North Korea's on their border, armed with nuclear weapons."

posted by Jeremy at 8:21 AM

 
Sunday, the Day of Rest
I'm resting. Be back Monday.
posted by Jeremy at 5:35 PM

 
More on NOLA
Misanthropic Sylvia has posted NOLA 1.5, details on some of our tamer exploits in the French Quarter.
posted by Jeremy at 11:38 AM

 
Wow
Victor Davis Hanson hits a thoughtful, encouraging, and insightful home run over at NRO.
posted by Jeremy at 3:23 PM

 
Better than the Vic's Secret Catalog
My Aerostitch RiderWearHouse catalog came in the mail the other day. It was a special surprise as the catalogs are published incredibly infrequently. You never know when a mailing from Aerostitch is going to show up in the mailbox.

Needless to say, it got my blood pumping just like it used to. In the days of yore, before I owned my first motorcycle, I would go over to my moto-mentor's house and dig through all of his motorcycle books, magazines, newsletters, and of course, his tattered Aerostitch catalog. I've now been riding for about 3 years, I'm on bike number two, and the Aerostitch catalog still makes me salivate. Mmmmmm, Aerostitch.

The list of things I want from the catalog this time is far too long to list here, and would probably bore you to death anyhow. I'll just stick to the one I can't resist, and will order as quickly as I can find out how many pennies I have to spare. It's a clear plastic map pocket that will velcro to the left upper thigh of the Roadcrafter suit. I can't tell you how many times I've needed to write some directions down and have them handy for me on the road. Going to the new girl's house, visiting my brother's new apartment, or heading over to somebody's place to fix a computer all require directions, at least the first time. There's no way I'm going to strap on the tank bag and use that map pocket for a quick trip across town, and I can't exactly throw the directions on the passenger seat for quick reference now can I? With this thigh map pocket, I can jot down some quick directions, pop them in the see-through sleeve, velcro it right to the suit, and I'm out. Beautiful.
posted by Jeremy at 5:57 PM

 
More on Media
The InstaMan provides further commentary and linkage on the mediocre media coverage of GWII.
posted by Jeremy at 5:28 PM

 
Synopsis of TV War Coverage
This is why I can't watch the War on TV anymore. Thanks to Emperor Misha I for the link.
posted by Jeremy at 12:15 PM

 
Support for the War
Support for the War in Iraq is still at 70% here in the States (last paragraph), and Command Post is reporting that public opinion in support of the war in Britain is up to 59%.
posted by Jeremy at 7:09 AM

 
News Coverage
The Atlanta correspondent emailed me this comment early this morning.

Actually heard on my former favorite Atlanta radio station, News-Talk
750 WSB:

"We interrupt live CNN coverage of the War With Iraq (tm) to bring you
local news, weather, and traffic."

posted by Jeremy at 6:56 AM

 
Al Qaeda in Iraq?
Head over to InstaPundit for the scoop.
posted by Jeremy at 6:53 AM

 
Is Frank Writing for The Onion?
This Onion article about the U.S.U.N. sounds suspiciously similar to some IMAO offerings.

WASHINGTON, DC—Frustrated with the United Nations' "consistent, blatant regard for the will of its 188 member nations," the U.S. announced Monday the formation of its own international governing body, the U.S.U.N.

...

"We gave the old U.N. a go for I don't know how many years, but it just wasn't working," said Dick Cheney, a U.S. delegate to the U.S.U.N. "Really, I have no idea what we were doing sacrificing all that power and autonomy in exchange for a couple of lousy troops from New Zealand."

Added Cheney: "I can't tell you how much easier it is to achieve consensus when you don't have to worry about dissent."

Heh. Sounds good to me.

Thanks to my hetero lifemate Misanthropic Sylvia for reminding me about The Onion in the midst of our shared frustration over the media coverage of GWII.
posted by Jeremy at 4:04 PM

 
My Feelings Exactly
Wow. I love Rachel Lucas. She comes really close to summing up my frustration with the war in one of her posts from yesterday.

It's fascinating to see so much happening in real time, and to have access to 24-hour-a-day updates, and to hear from all those embedded reporters, but the fact remains that you and I, here in our homes in America, don't know the half of it. We don't even know the tenth of it, I'd guess.

So what I hear is often incredibly frustrating, because I just want to know what else is going on. I want to hear, "Thousands of Iraqis are trying to march out of Baghdad, but coalition forces are bombing the hell out of them so they can't get close enough to our troops to inflict any damage." It's all so misleading and so incomplete, and I know that. No big deal. I just wonder if I'm the only one who's feeling rather irritated with the war coverage right now.

No Rachel, you're not. I'm right there with you.
posted by Jeremy at 2:32 PM

 
Ho Hum
Not much catching my attention today. You might check out CDI for some interesting "public consumption" Intelligence related reports. Their Eye on Iraq section is especially interesting. Link via The Agonist.
posted by Jeremy at 2:14 PM

 
Scattered Thoughts

• The Michael Moore Academy Award is causing quite a stir on the 'net. I'm getting search engine referrals for things like +"academy award" +"rule 11".
  
• The war doesn't seem to be going "according to plan". Feh. See "Disinfo" below.
  
• Paving France is a cause we can all get behind. Via the comments at LGF.
  
• PBR is good for you.
  
• Is anyone else wondering what's happening in the world besides war? That kind of news is hard to come by nowadays. Scary. Lots of weird stuff gets pushed through legislatures when no one is watching.
  

More later...
posted by Jeremy at 3:53 PM

 
Happy 1,000th Hit To Me!
That's not many, but it's huge for a little dog like me. Thanks to the ShinySideUp loyal, Clubbeaux, VodkaPundit, and Emperor Misha I.
posted by Jeremy at 9:39 AM

 
Disinfo
Instapundit has a great post that points out that "there is so much disinformation about that it is impossible to assess the actual progress of the war." After watching the first night of war coverage on Fox News, I got this message loud and clear. As the week has progressed, it has become increasingly difficult to formulate a picture of exactly what is going on in the war, especially if TV is your main news source. To tell you the truth, the TV coverage is so frenetic that I can't even watch it anymore. Makes my brain hurt.

Here's what I think is happening, and what I think is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. How it will happen and how it will be reported is anyone's guess.

1. We're kicking ass.
   
2. We've been kicking ass for a long time.
   
3. We will kick Saddam's ass decisively.
   
4. Saddam's ass will be ours.
   

That's about it. There will be setbacks, casualties, stiff resistance, international "outrage", and all around hard times in the days and weeks to come. There will also be great rejoicing by the Iraqi people, incredible battles, and massive American/Coalition victories.

For the sake of my sanity, I think I will forego almost all TV coverage, hit the Agonist and the Command Post for the war updates, and reinforce what I read there with mostly well reasoned commentary from the rest of the blogosphere (check out my blogroll to the left). We'll find out what really happened in this war, and the brilliance of the much maligned war plan, in a couple of years.

I'll leave you with a sanity saving comment from Emperor Misha I, posted sometime yesterday.

Every time you hear the statement "the war isn't proceeding according to plan" or some such variation of that, such as "the Administration's expectations have been thwarted", ask yourself this one simple question:

Which ACTUAL Administration Official's "expectations" and "master plan" are they referring to? Do they offer an actual SOURCE or are they merely referring to some retired has-been "expert"'s best guess?

Now go forth, be ye encouraged, and maintain thy sanity.
posted by Jeremy at 8:33 AM

 
Akbar Roundup
Good info and commentary on Sgt. Akbar over at Intel Dump. Link via Command Post.
posted by Jeremy at 5:36 PM

 
Crazy Day
Work has been really nuts today. I'm getting really tired of blogging on the war too. Command Post and Agonist have me beat on that anyhow. Check them out for breaking news, I'll be around with something new soon.
posted by Jeremy at 4:17 PM

 
Hippies and Monty Python
Go see Misha for some "lovely filth" on hippies.
posted by Jeremy at 8:12 AM

 
Food Not Bombs
I just got a Google referral for "food not bombs shirt". Here's the relevant post. Heh.
posted by Jeremy at 9:34 PM

 
New Roommate
Looks like I'm getting a new roommate in the form of my sister's cat, Boo, A.K.A. "Gangsta Boo", "Boo Radley", and a bevy of nicknames I know I'll come up with for her. Boo is a badass, a good friend of mine, and needs a place to stay for a while. I'm glad she'll be keeping this young, available, moderately good looking bachelor company for a while (ladies?).

Along with helping Boo settle in and softball practice tonight, I think I'll be taking a break from blogging until later this evening (if my cable modem service is running again).
posted by Jeremy at 5:35 PM

 
So is it a Chemical Plant or Not?
We may not know for a while, according to some insight from Jonah Goldberg.
posted by Jeremy at 11:03 AM

 
Take That You French Assclowns!
The Sun assaults a French military ship on the Thames. Via K-Lo of The Corner.
posted by Jeremy at 11:00 AM

 
Back to Work
I'm up to my elbows in a malfunctioning NEC Versa 6060 (blech) and a fiber documentation project. My internet is on the fritz at home, and my TV started acting up again. Updates througout the day as I get an opportunity.

posted by Jeremy at 10:11 AM

 
The Human Shields are Coming Around
From the UK Telegraph: I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam.

The Yankee Herald comments on the UPI story of human shields shocked back to reality.
posted by Jeremy at 10:55 PM

 
The 101st Tragedy
Goldberg on Akbar in the Corner.

It seems to me, if Akbar has confessed -- and it sounds like he has -- it's hard to see why he shouldn't have a field court-martial and be executed.

Amen.

MORE: The inimitable Derb chimes in with this link.

EVEN MORE: Keep an eye on the Corner for updates on the Akbar issue. The gist of the posts is dissapointing. Looks like this'll go more like a civilian trial rather than a battlefield courtmartial.

MORE: Why is Fox News reporting "resentment" as the motive of the attack?

MORE: Imperial Researcher Oki reports on the A.I.R. that the spin has begun.
posted by Jeremy at 9:56 PM

 
Oscar Watch
Who gives a rip about the Oscars? Well, maybe you do, but I sure don't. This year however, Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine is nominated in the Documentary Feature category. In a piece that I linked earlier (and many others have linked as well), David Hardy clearly shows that Bowling... is by no means a documentary, and violates the Academy's own rules for what constitues a documentary.

...the Academy Award rules here are specific. Rule 11 lays out "Special Rules for the Documentary Award." And it begins with the definition: "A documentary film is defined as a non-fiction motion picture . . . ." It goes on to say that a documentary doesn't always have to show the "actual occurrence": it can employ re-enactment, etc., "as long as the emphasis is on factual content and not on fiction."

Of course, the Hollywood left has never cared about the truth before, and there's no reason to believe that they'll care tonight.

I'm keeping my eye on IMDB's Live Oscar Results being posted on their home page. Of course, it won't be any shock at all if Bowling... wins. What it will be is empirical evidence of Hollywood's pervasive lean to the left and their utter disregard for anything that resembles the truth.

UPDATE: Well, that didn't take long. IMDB just updated, and Bowling... is the winner in the documentary category. May I say it again? BULLSHIT.

MORE: Well, this is encouraging. MooreWatch is reporting that Moore has been booed off the stage. Sure wish I had been watching.

MOORE IN THE CORNER: Start here and see the next 2 posts as well.

MORE: Yahoo is covering the "Booing of the Moore".

HOW MUCH MORE? Via MooreWatch, another debunking of Bowling.... My favorite line? "Nothing was checking out. Emphasis original. My favorite twist? The author is, or was, a Moore believer.

FINAL: Text of Moore's acceptance speech.
posted by Jeremy at 9:25 PM

 
Nice Break from the War
"The New Adventures of Mr. T" on Saturday Night Live is playing on Comedy Central.

Crazy gymnastics kid w/ Mr. T: I'm hungry Mr. T.

Mr. T: Stop that jibba-jabba. You'll eat when I find work. Stay in school.

Heh.
posted by Jeremy at 8:29 PM

 
F the Russians
I wondered why the Russians were so oppossed to this war, especially considering the much touted "friendship" between Putin and Bush that we've been hearing about for the past couple of years. Now I know.

The United States delivered a protest to the government of President Vladimir Putin yesterday for refusing to stop Russian arms dealers from providing illegal weapons and assistance to the Iraqi military.

Bush administration sources said one Russian company is helping the Iraqi military deploy electronic jamming equipment against U.S. planes and bombs, and two others have sold antitank missiles and thousands of night-vision goggles in violation of U.N. sanctions. The sources said Moscow has ignored entreaties from senior Bush administration officials concerned about the threat to U.S. forces.

Wtf?
posted by Jeremy at 5:48 PM

 
BULLSHIT Confirmation
Here's the reason I just said BULL-FRIGGIN-SHIT.
posted by Jeremy at 5:33 PM

 
F the French
And don't forget to F the Germans too.
posted by Jeremy at 5:29 PM

 
Report from the Rally
From the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

The event, organized by American Legion Post 252, brought military family members, veterans of other wars and citizens together. It began more than 30 minutes after its scheduled noon start to allow the traffic jam of those still arriving to clear. Even after the speaking began, cars streamed into the stadium parking lot for 45 minutes.

The participants came from throughout the region, in flag-adorned cars, on Harleys, in wheelchairs and strollers, bearing yellow ribbons and red-white-and-blue banners.

They carried posters bearing soldiers' pictures. They wore uniforms bearing medals.

And they wore sunglasses to shield their emotions as much as the ultraviolet rays. Vietnam veteran Phil Waldon of Memphis pulled off his glasses to explain.

"You see my eyes don't you?" he said, exposing eyes reddened by the emotion of the event.

Waldon and several other Vietnam veterans expressed gratification that today's soldiers are getting more support than they believe they did more than 30 years ago.

The rally in Millington yesterday was called "Rally for America", but that generic name belies the real purpose of the rally, to show support for our troops where ever they may be.

I rode up with a couple of guys from Bikers Under the Son and a big group from Southern Cruisers. The hour long ride was absolutely beautiful, and the rally itself was incredible.

The message of the rally was delivered by war veterans themselves. We got to hear from an 82 year old Navy retiree, a young Army Sergeant about to be deployed, and a corpsman who was paralyzed from the waist down during Gulf War I (to name a few). The message from all of the servicemen and women was the same, our troops need our support. We must not repeat the mistakes that we as a nation made when our troops returned from the Vietnam war. We can show our support by mail, email, telephone, giving aid to the military dependents who are here at home, eagerly awaiting the return of their loved ones.

Let me paraphrase a couple of stories that I heard at the rally that demonstrate the impact that we can have on our troops in the field. The first comes from an Army Sergeant, a veteran of Gulf War I who is about to be deployed to Gulf War II.

"When the first mail shipment showed up in the Gulf, it was lined up on the flightline in box after box. The majority of the mail was addressed to 'Any Soldier', 'Any Airman'. I took a handful of these letters back with me, read them, and answered every question in them.

"One of my favorites came from a second grader. In his letter, he asked me what food I missed the most while I was in the field. Trying to stay on a second grade level, I answered that the food I missed the most was Doritos.

"About six weeks later, I heard my name called during mail call. I was told that there was a box waiting for me on the back of the truck. The second grader that received my reply had shared with his class that I missed Doritos more than any other food. The whole class got together and chipped in and shipped me six cases of Doritos. Until that day, I had no idea that Doritos could make a grown woman cry."

From USAF Major Tony Lopez (Ret.), an OV-10 Bronco pilot in Vietnam.

"I was flying a mission and got a radio call telling me to return to base. When I returned to base, I was disarmed and then taxied over towards the hangars. When I got out of my plane, the company chaplain came over to me and told me that my mother had died, and that my family was holding the funeral until I got home. My company commander told me that my bags had already been packed, my uniform was waiting for me, and that his plane was waiting for me on the tarmac to take me to a military transport that was waiting on my arrival. I was going home to be with my family and to be at my mothers funeral.

"After a flight that took me from Vietnam to Tokyo and to Anchorage, I finally arrived in San Francisco. I was to catch a bus there to head to Lompoc and be with my family.

"As I was waiting in the terminal for my bus, a hippie came up to me, breath stinking of marijuana, eyes horribly bloodshot, and began screaming, 'Baby killer, baby killer!' Now you know I'm a latino, and I have a temper. I grabbed him by his fingers and pulled him down to my level, pulling off my sunglasses so that he could see that my eyes were as bloodshot as his. I said, 'Look you sorry so-and-so, 19 hours ago I was killing people in the country of Vietnam. It won't hurt my feelings one little bit to kill one more.' I turned and got on the bus.

"As I got on the bus, the bus driver shook my hand and thanked me for my service to my country. He showed me to an empty seat and said, 'That fella won't bother you anymore.' Then the entire bus stood and clapped for me."

These two stories demonstrate clearly the importance of supporting our troops. Emails, letters, handshakes, cookies, Doritos, and demostrations are all ways we can show our troops how much we appreciate their sacrifice that we may be free. It's our responsibility, our duty, and we're honor bound to ensure that the tragic events that occurred upon our troops return from Vietnam never happen again.
posted by Jeremy at 3:13 PM

 
101st Airborne Tragedy
Fox News is reporting that the Muslim coward that attacked his commanding officers was disgruntled that he wasn't being sent to the front lines.

Ahem.

BULLSHIT.
posted by Jeremy at 3:06 PM

 
It's Time for Bed
I can't seem to recover from my NOLA Trip (Sylvia has Part 1.2 of our trip posted). I'm going to watch a movie with my neighbor and call it a night.

Thanks to Emperor Misha I for the links. See you guys tomorrow.
posted by Jeremy at 10:43 PM

 
No, No, No
101st Airborne attacked from within? Dixie-Flatline has the first I've seen on it, Fox News is reporting on it RIGHT NOW. Fox News verifies that the attacker is a Muslim.

MORE: You know, I couldn't figure out how an attacking force hit this 101st camp within Kuwait. This makes sense, but it is the most horrible answer to the question of how this happened. The terrorist infiltration of our armed forces is even more complete than we thought.

God be with the wounded, and may the flaming piece of shit that attacked them be sent straight to hell so the Devil may give him his due.

MORE: Fox News needs to quit calling this sorry piece of trash a "Muslim-American".

MORE: Thank God none of our soldiers have died as a result of this attack.

MORE: This from Command Post is chilling.

NOTE: It is entirely possible that this is a criminal occurence and not a terrorist infiltration. I hope with all my heart that the former is the case, but I'm betting on the latter.

MORE: InstaPundit has a lot of good linkage on the story.

MORE: Analysis and rebuttal by Dixie-Flatline. Thanks to Dixie for his excellent and cogent coverage of this story.
posted by Jeremy at 8:03 PM

 
Back from the Rally, Going to Bed
I got about 3 hours of sleep last night, rode a 100 mile day on the motorcycle, sat in the hot sun for 3 1/2 hours, all without any food or drink since dinner last night. The rally was incredible. I'll report when I wake up.
posted by Jeremy at 4:33 PM

 
Off to the Rally
I'm off to the Millington Rally for America. Hope to see my fellow Memphians there. Full report upon my return.
posted by Jeremy at 8:18 AM

 
Rally for America
Sister stations 600 WREC and 990 KWAM are hosting a Rally for America tomorrow at USA Stadium in Millington, TN. Full details here. Be there at noon!

I'll be meeting a group of fellow patriotic bikers tomorrow at 9 AM (that's way early, but not too early to show support for our troops). We'll be riding out to Collierville and then on to Millington. Shoot me an email if you're in the Memphis area and would like to ride with us. See you tomorrow.
posted by Jeremy at 9:36 PM

 
Saddam is What?
The debate rages on regarding whether or not Saddam is still alive. Fox News just reported that Iraqi TV says Saddam is coordinating the Iraqi defense. Is it true? Is he alive? Or is it just propaganda? Who knows. We'll find out soon enough.

My question is why Iraqi TV (or Saddam, if he's alive) would broadcast that the reincarnation of Saladin is the one responsible for this piss poor excuse for a military response. Maybe I've missed the relevant report, but as far as I can tell the Iraqis aren't putting up much of a fight at all. If I were Saddam, and if I were alive, I'd blame this weak defense on traitorous General with a desire to buddy up to the Great Evil.

Just a thought.
posted by Jeremy at 9:12 PM

 
Idiotarian Appeasnik Gets One in the Nose
Let me set the scene. My friend, who shall go nameless, is a hot, tattooed chick with a high ranking father deployed in the field. An Idiotarian Appeasnik is wasting the thinking world's time and ruining a beautiful spring night by handing out flyers that say "No Blood for Oil!". Let's listen in.

Idiotarian Appeasnik: Here you go (hands my friend a flyer).

Hot Tattooed Chick: (Reads the flyer) Talk to me when you get a clue.

IA: What's that supposed to mean?

HTC: If you think this war is about oil, then you don't know anything.

IA: Well that's what we fought over the first time.

HTC: The first time it was oil, it's not about oil today. Can I ask you a question?

IA: What question?

HTC: It must be nice.

IA: What's nice?

HTC: Is ignorance really bliss?

IA: Our troops are over there fighting for (at this point the Appeasnik begins blathering something about oil or a police state or something braindead).

HTC: Like I said, when you get a clue, we'll talk.

At this point, Hot Tattooed Chick turns to leave. As she's trying to walk off, this Appeasnik proves his complete and total ignorance by coming up behind her and grabbing her arm. Now, my friend is a tough girl, and she grew up in one of the toughest cities in the US. She's developed instictive reactions to men grabbing her from behind at night. I'll bet you can guess what happened next.

WHAP!

Down goes the Appeasnik, with what Hot Tattooed Chick reports must have been a broken nose. Of course, Hot Tattooed Chick didn't stick around to find out.

Listen you little neo-hippie, Marxist assclowns, feel free to protest. Feel free to speak what little is on your minds. Feel free to regurgitate your asinine, Marxist/Socialist/Communist, pre-packaged, cliche talking points. But cross the line and assault those who don't want to waste their time on you and you may just end up with a broken nose and blood dripping all over your homemade "Food Not Bombs" shirt. Consider yourselves warned.
posted by Jeremy at 8:43 PM

 
More on Moore
A great piece on the lies and distortions in Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. The article specifically addresses the supposition that Bowling is a documentary.

Bowling fails the first requirement of a documentary: some foundation in the truth. In his earlier works, Moore shifted dates and sequences for the sake of drama, but at least the events depicted did occur. Most of the time. Bowling breaks that last link with factual reality. It makes its points by deceiving and by misleading the viewer. Statements are made which are false. The viewer is invited to draw inferences which the producer must have known were wrong. Dates are transposed and video carefully edited to create whatever effect is desired. Indeed, even speeches shown on screen are heavily edited, so that sentences are assembled in the speaker's voice, but which he never uttered.

These occur with such frequency and seriousness as to rule out unintentional error. Any polite description would be inadequate, so let me be blunt. Bowling uses deliberate deception as its primary tool of persuasion and effect.

(Emphasis original) The essay is well worth a read. F Moore.
posted by Jeremy at 5:40 PM

 
The News Just Keeps Getting Better
From the NYT.

The commander of Iraq's 51st division and his top deputy surrendered to United States Marine forces today, according to American military officials.

It was the first time that the commander of an Iraqi division has surrendered to allied forces. The 51st is a Regular Army unit that was deployed in southern Iraq directly in the path of the allied invasion.

The rate of surrender should only accelerate from this point on.
posted by Jeremy at 3:57 PM

 
Those Wacky Marines
Right on, boys!
posted by Jeremy at 3:52 PM

 
Attn. Peacenicks
How 'bout a nice yummy plate of good ole American crow?
posted by Jeremy at 3:26 PM

 
Wow
"Shock and Awe" has begun. I haven't seen fireworks like this in my entire life.
posted by Jeremy at 1:30 PM

 
Tired of Reading About War?
Then head over to Dixie-Flatline for a stunning series of pictures that will make you proud to be an American and proud as hell of our boys in the field.

I'm not linking any one particular post as Dixie keeps adding pictures. The display currently starts with TRIUMPH.
posted by Jeremy at 10:16 AM

 
Prediction
Well, give up warblogging for the next few days. Adela just posted her prediction for the next week or so of the war. Sounds about right to me.

UPDATE: Blogspot archives hosed. Again. Check Adela's page for the post War News for the Next Few Days.
posted by Jeremy at 8:39 AM