.............
Cassini Set to Ring Saturn Today
After nearly seven years of asking, "Are we there yet?" the Cassini-Huygens mission is poised to enter Saturn's orbit this evening.
"Getting into orbit means we have a mission. If we don't get into orbit then we have a flyby and that's not what we are here to do," said Dr. Dennis Matson, project scientist for the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We are confident that the Cassini team will get us there."
Although everything on the spacecraft is performing well, mission managers caution that this is not a slam-dunk by any means. There are risks as with any mission. One of those risks is the ring plane crossing. Although this area has been mapped extensively and is believed to be safe, there is still a risk of an impact to the spacecraft.
GooooooooOOOOOOOOOO NASA!!!!
Now about those NEO's.......
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
And they wonder why we don't watch Network news anymore.......................
........Some days I'm not suprised at all how incredibly condescending and elitist much of the major newsmedia is these days, particularly the major networks. Then some days they suprise even me.
(via LGF)
Here is a snippet from the interview of new Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi by NBC’s Tom Brokaw-
Brokaw: As long as the United States military remains a conspicuous presence in your country working hand in glove with the new Iraqi government, won’t you always be seen really as an instrument of the U.S. military and therefore of America?
Allawi: Iraq, as everybody knows, is the front state now — as the main theater to oppose and fight terrorism. And, with the help of international community and with the help of the region and with the help of the Iraqi people, we are going to win. We are going to prevail.
Brokaw: I know that you and others like you are grateful for the liberation of Iraq. But can’t you understand why many Americans feel that so many young men and women have died here for purposes other than protecting the United States?
Allawi: We know that this is an extension to what has happened in New York. And — the war have been taken out to Iraq by the same terrorists. Saddam was a potential friend and partner and natural ally of terrorism.
Brokaw: Prime minister, I’m surprised that you would make the connection between 9/11 and the war in Iraq. The 9/11 commission in America says there is no evidence of a collaborative relationship between Saddam Hussein and those terrorists of al-Qaida. [ed.-bald faced fucking lie-the commission said no such thing. But who's going to call him on it?]
Allawi: No. I believe very strongly that Saddam had relations with al-Qaida. And these relations started in Sudan. We know Saddam had relationships with a lot of terrorists and international terrorism. Now, whether he is directly connected to the September — atrocities or not, I can’t — vouch for this. But definitely I know he has connections with extremism and terrorists. [ed. See Tom? This is exactly what the 9/11 commission said, had you bothered to report it correctly. Thanks for being useless.]
Hey Tom, why don't you have a seat and take a nice long drink from this here cup of shut-the-fuck-up and listen to the new PM, who by the way, probably knows a whole hell of a lot more about Saddam and terrorism than you do. Asshole. And while you're at it, why don't you take some time to read some actual journalism from someone who doesn't seem to have their head up their ass. This one from Stephen Hayes would be a good start.
And Michael (no! I want the WHOLE COW!) Moore says the media is too soft on Bush? Christ, they almost fellated Saddam while he was still in power. Since this is a reasonable representation of your average American media source, I truly fear for us sometimes. There is a war going on still. But I get the feeling that few people realize it.
(via LGF)
Here is a snippet from the interview of new Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi by NBC’s Tom Brokaw-
Brokaw: As long as the United States military remains a conspicuous presence in your country working hand in glove with the new Iraqi government, won’t you always be seen really as an instrument of the U.S. military and therefore of America?
Allawi: Iraq, as everybody knows, is the front state now — as the main theater to oppose and fight terrorism. And, with the help of international community and with the help of the region and with the help of the Iraqi people, we are going to win. We are going to prevail.
Brokaw: I know that you and others like you are grateful for the liberation of Iraq. But can’t you understand why many Americans feel that so many young men and women have died here for purposes other than protecting the United States?
Allawi: We know that this is an extension to what has happened in New York. And — the war have been taken out to Iraq by the same terrorists. Saddam was a potential friend and partner and natural ally of terrorism.
Brokaw: Prime minister, I’m surprised that you would make the connection between 9/11 and the war in Iraq. The 9/11 commission in America says there is no evidence of a collaborative relationship between Saddam Hussein and those terrorists of al-Qaida. [ed.-bald faced fucking lie-the commission said no such thing. But who's going to call him on it?]
Allawi: No. I believe very strongly that Saddam had relations with al-Qaida. And these relations started in Sudan. We know Saddam had relationships with a lot of terrorists and international terrorism. Now, whether he is directly connected to the September — atrocities or not, I can’t — vouch for this. But definitely I know he has connections with extremism and terrorists. [ed. See Tom? This is exactly what the 9/11 commission said, had you bothered to report it correctly. Thanks for being useless.]
Hey Tom, why don't you have a seat and take a nice long drink from this here cup of shut-the-fuck-up and listen to the new PM, who by the way, probably knows a whole hell of a lot more about Saddam and terrorism than you do. Asshole. And while you're at it, why don't you take some time to read some actual journalism from someone who doesn't seem to have their head up their ass. This one from Stephen Hayes would be a good start.
And Michael (no! I want the WHOLE COW!) Moore says the media is too soft on Bush? Christ, they almost fellated Saddam while he was still in power. Since this is a reasonable representation of your average American media source, I truly fear for us sometimes. There is a war going on still. But I get the feeling that few people realize it.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
BUT IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE OIL!!!!!! NO BLOOD FOR OOOIIIIILLLL!!!!!
...........(typical uber liberal response)....."oh jeez, I didn't realize how bad Saddam was.......I mean wow....I guess, since we're leaving now it wasn't really about the oil huh. I'll be damned. "
Likely charges against Saddam
Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has said former leader Saddam Hussein will be transferred to Iraqi legal custody on Wednesday. BBC News Online looks at some of the key issues on which he could face charges.
Yep, all about the oil. You fucking morons. Go enjoy your Moore circle jerk while the US Military goes and disposes of yet another fascist dictator in the dustbin of history.
And here (via VodkaPundit) you can read what a Marine thinks about liberating Iraq. Thanks for your service Major Coerr.
President Bush, faster please...
Likely charges against Saddam
Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has said former leader Saddam Hussein will be transferred to Iraqi legal custody on Wednesday. BBC News Online looks at some of the key issues on which he could face charges.
Yep, all about the oil. You fucking morons. Go enjoy your Moore circle jerk while the US Military goes and disposes of yet another fascist dictator in the dustbin of history.
And here (via VodkaPundit) you can read what a Marine thinks about liberating Iraq. Thanks for your service Major Coerr.
President Bush, faster please...
Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated............Part IV....................
By NRO contributor, Michael Leeden
The Fears of the Terror Masters
If we want a peaceful Iraq we will have to confront the mullahs.
Late on the night of June 24th-25th there was an "accident" in southeastern Iran, near Zahedan, in that fascinating area of "Iranian Baluchestan" down where Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan merge. According to Agence France Press, quoting local Red Crescent sources, a fuel truck "lost control and crashed into a police post, with the explosion engulfing other trucks, cars and buses."
But the pictures of the incident are not those of a truck out of control. It all took place at a border crossing, at a customs inspection station. At the time of the explosion there were eleven trucks parked there, and several of them were carrying explosives for the construction of bombs. They were headed for Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they would be delivered to the forces of Gulbadin Hekhmatyar, the terrorist chieftain who has long killed on behalf of the mullahs.
The explosion engulfed the entire column, which is why — as some of the pictures show — the columns of the customs building were shattered. Friends of mine in Iran insist that the trucks were deliberately blown up by Iranians hostile to the regime. In any event, the next day — the 25th — Pakistani border police arrested some 18 men trying to sneak into Pakistan. Fifteen of them were traveling on false Bangladeshi passports; the other three were Iranian agents. All are currently being interrogated by Pakistani authorities.
Meanwhile, Iraqi authorities have rounded up eight Iranian intelligence officers in Najaf, and one other — a high-ranking officer in the Revolutionary Guards — was caught while attempting to sabotage an oil pipeline.
As you see, the Iranians are frantically increasing their efforts to drive Coalition forces out of Iraq, to wreck the Iraqi economy — and especially to inflate oil prices, which the mullahs hope will bring down the Bush presidency — and to destabilize the fragile Karzai government in Afghanistan. They, and their Syrian and Saudi allies, are doing this because the liberation of Iraq is indeed threatening the authority of the remaining terror masters in Tehran, Damascus, and Riadh. The entire region is bubbling from the heat of democratic revolution, and you can see the fears of the terror masters as they steadily increase the repression of their own people. Syrians can now listen to accurate news broadcasts and calls for freedom from the new radio station launched by the Syrian Reform Party, which has prompted new crackdowns from the Assad regime. And in Iran, despite the unfortunate claim of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that the mullahs preside over a democracy, one international organization after another has exposed the monstrosities carried out daily by the murders who govern the Islamic Republic. Hands of Cain, an organization fighting capital punishment everywhere, awarded the People's Republic of China its award as top executioner for 2003, with Iran solidly in second position. Hands of Cain noted that 98.7 percent of all executions in the world last year were carried out by dictatorial, illiberal, or authoritarian states.
Just as in the case of terrorism, if you want to win the war against the world's leading executioners, you must fight for the spread of freedom.
The same holds for an independent press. According to Reporters Without Borders, Iran again wins the laurels for the greatest enemy of a free press. More than 120 newspapers have been banned since 2001, more than 50 journalists have been detained and 11 are still in detention, making Iran the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East," the organization wrote in a letter to the European Union, which has appeased the mullahs for years. The letter bitterly continued. "One wonders what to make of the Iranian government's remark on 20 June that it is the European Union that should learn from Iran about human rights."
And, of course, there is the question of the Iranians' crash program to produce atomic bombs. It seems that no quantity of evidence, and no number of lies from Tehran, will convince France, Germany, and Great Britain to take any serious steps toward preventing this great catastrophe. Even our own leaders — by far the most aggressive in the so-called Western world — are only calling for stricter inspections and possibly a few additional sanctions, measures that would not seriously cripple the Iranian atomic project. But such proposals are indigestible to the feckless Europeans.
Western intelligence agencies are playing along. Just a year ago, our own experts along with those in Europe and Israel, were warning that Iran might conceivably produce an atomic bomb in three to four years, and possibly even less. I was warned by Iranians I respected that the ayatollahs had demanded a bomb by the end of last year, but that was clearly wrong. Now I am being told that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been promised success within a few months. Meanwhile, Western agencies have become more optimistic. They are now saying that Iran can't produce nuclear weapons until — at the worst — the end of the decade.
It is academically interesting, perhaps, to log the benchmarks so that we can evaluate the quality of such "intelligence," but it's madness to assume that we can fine tune this one. We have always been surprised at the speed with which others can build nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and South Africa all joined the nuclear club much faster than we anticipated. The Iranians are fully capable of fulfilling this project, and their deceptive abilities are extraordinary. No Western leader should rely on the projections of his spymasters. We elect governments to protect us against worst-case scenarios, not sooth us with cheery forecasts.
Whatever the timing of the bomb, the dimensions of the Iranian threat are already clear enough for all to see. We now believe that Abu Musab al Zarkawi is the deus ex machina of the terror war against us in Iraq. He is working hard in Iran where he has created yet another organization for the ongoing jihad. It is called Jamiat al Jihad wa Altawheed (the Jihad and Unity Society). Watch for it, it's a growth industry.
If we want a peaceful Iraq we will have to confront the mullahs. There is no other way.
Faster, please.
— Michael Ledeen, an NRO contributing editor, is most recently the author of The War Against the Terror Masters. Ledeen is Resident Scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute.
It has become all too clear that Iran will be the biggest hurdle to Iraqi autonomy, and the Mad Mullahs in Tehran are scared shiiteless (pun intended) that Iraq succeeds in removing the anti-western terrorists from their country.
It is time for us to discuss how to eliminate the Iranian Mullarchy. The majority of the country is anxiously awaiting the attention of Bush administration, which has shown that they will not back down from terrorist sponsoring regimes. Bush was very clear when naming Iran as part of the axis of evil. He is acutely aware of Irans support of the various terrorists killing innocent people in Iraq. The continued deception of the Iranian regime in terms of its nuclear weapons programs continues to make a mockery of the UN Nuclear Disarmament committee, as if that was even possible. If Iran is liberated and shown the way towards freedom and democracy, we may be able to drive one of the final stakes in the heart of Islamofascism.
Bush has shown he has no compunction against using military force to achieve his strategic goals in the War on Terror.
Mr Bush, Faster, please....
The Fears of the Terror Masters
If we want a peaceful Iraq we will have to confront the mullahs.
Late on the night of June 24th-25th there was an "accident" in southeastern Iran, near Zahedan, in that fascinating area of "Iranian Baluchestan" down where Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan merge. According to Agence France Press, quoting local Red Crescent sources, a fuel truck "lost control and crashed into a police post, with the explosion engulfing other trucks, cars and buses."
But the pictures of the incident are not those of a truck out of control. It all took place at a border crossing, at a customs inspection station. At the time of the explosion there were eleven trucks parked there, and several of them were carrying explosives for the construction of bombs. They were headed for Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they would be delivered to the forces of Gulbadin Hekhmatyar, the terrorist chieftain who has long killed on behalf of the mullahs.
The explosion engulfed the entire column, which is why — as some of the pictures show — the columns of the customs building were shattered. Friends of mine in Iran insist that the trucks were deliberately blown up by Iranians hostile to the regime. In any event, the next day — the 25th — Pakistani border police arrested some 18 men trying to sneak into Pakistan. Fifteen of them were traveling on false Bangladeshi passports; the other three were Iranian agents. All are currently being interrogated by Pakistani authorities.
Meanwhile, Iraqi authorities have rounded up eight Iranian intelligence officers in Najaf, and one other — a high-ranking officer in the Revolutionary Guards — was caught while attempting to sabotage an oil pipeline.
As you see, the Iranians are frantically increasing their efforts to drive Coalition forces out of Iraq, to wreck the Iraqi economy — and especially to inflate oil prices, which the mullahs hope will bring down the Bush presidency — and to destabilize the fragile Karzai government in Afghanistan. They, and their Syrian and Saudi allies, are doing this because the liberation of Iraq is indeed threatening the authority of the remaining terror masters in Tehran, Damascus, and Riadh. The entire region is bubbling from the heat of democratic revolution, and you can see the fears of the terror masters as they steadily increase the repression of their own people. Syrians can now listen to accurate news broadcasts and calls for freedom from the new radio station launched by the Syrian Reform Party, which has prompted new crackdowns from the Assad regime. And in Iran, despite the unfortunate claim of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that the mullahs preside over a democracy, one international organization after another has exposed the monstrosities carried out daily by the murders who govern the Islamic Republic. Hands of Cain, an organization fighting capital punishment everywhere, awarded the People's Republic of China its award as top executioner for 2003, with Iran solidly in second position. Hands of Cain noted that 98.7 percent of all executions in the world last year were carried out by dictatorial, illiberal, or authoritarian states.
Just as in the case of terrorism, if you want to win the war against the world's leading executioners, you must fight for the spread of freedom.
The same holds for an independent press. According to Reporters Without Borders, Iran again wins the laurels for the greatest enemy of a free press. More than 120 newspapers have been banned since 2001, more than 50 journalists have been detained and 11 are still in detention, making Iran the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East," the organization wrote in a letter to the European Union, which has appeased the mullahs for years. The letter bitterly continued. "One wonders what to make of the Iranian government's remark on 20 June that it is the European Union that should learn from Iran about human rights."
And, of course, there is the question of the Iranians' crash program to produce atomic bombs. It seems that no quantity of evidence, and no number of lies from Tehran, will convince France, Germany, and Great Britain to take any serious steps toward preventing this great catastrophe. Even our own leaders — by far the most aggressive in the so-called Western world — are only calling for stricter inspections and possibly a few additional sanctions, measures that would not seriously cripple the Iranian atomic project. But such proposals are indigestible to the feckless Europeans.
Western intelligence agencies are playing along. Just a year ago, our own experts along with those in Europe and Israel, were warning that Iran might conceivably produce an atomic bomb in three to four years, and possibly even less. I was warned by Iranians I respected that the ayatollahs had demanded a bomb by the end of last year, but that was clearly wrong. Now I am being told that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been promised success within a few months. Meanwhile, Western agencies have become more optimistic. They are now saying that Iran can't produce nuclear weapons until — at the worst — the end of the decade.
It is academically interesting, perhaps, to log the benchmarks so that we can evaluate the quality of such "intelligence," but it's madness to assume that we can fine tune this one. We have always been surprised at the speed with which others can build nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and South Africa all joined the nuclear club much faster than we anticipated. The Iranians are fully capable of fulfilling this project, and their deceptive abilities are extraordinary. No Western leader should rely on the projections of his spymasters. We elect governments to protect us against worst-case scenarios, not sooth us with cheery forecasts.
Whatever the timing of the bomb, the dimensions of the Iranian threat are already clear enough for all to see. We now believe that Abu Musab al Zarkawi is the deus ex machina of the terror war against us in Iraq. He is working hard in Iran where he has created yet another organization for the ongoing jihad. It is called Jamiat al Jihad wa Altawheed (the Jihad and Unity Society). Watch for it, it's a growth industry.
If we want a peaceful Iraq we will have to confront the mullahs. There is no other way.
Faster, please.
— Michael Ledeen, an NRO contributing editor, is most recently the author of The War Against the Terror Masters. Ledeen is Resident Scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute.
It has become all too clear that Iran will be the biggest hurdle to Iraqi autonomy, and the Mad Mullahs in Tehran are scared shiiteless (pun intended) that Iraq succeeds in removing the anti-western terrorists from their country.
It is time for us to discuss how to eliminate the Iranian Mullarchy. The majority of the country is anxiously awaiting the attention of Bush administration, which has shown that they will not back down from terrorist sponsoring regimes. Bush was very clear when naming Iran as part of the axis of evil. He is acutely aware of Irans support of the various terrorists killing innocent people in Iraq. The continued deception of the Iranian regime in terms of its nuclear weapons programs continues to make a mockery of the UN Nuclear Disarmament committee, as if that was even possible. If Iran is liberated and shown the way towards freedom and democracy, we may be able to drive one of the final stakes in the heart of Islamofascism.
Bush has shown he has no compunction against using military force to achieve his strategic goals in the War on Terror.
Mr Bush, Faster, please....
Monday, June 28, 2004
Conversation with myself.......................
(Idea shamelessly stolen from The Bottle Shop-hey they probably stole it from someone else)
My head: You seem a little down today
me: leave me alone, we had a rough weekend
My head: Hey! I got an idea- Let's think about our problems until they become festering pits in the bottom of our stomach!
me: Yeah, sounds great. Can't wait. Why not throw some repressed memories in there for good measure.
My head: Your wish is my command.
me: I hate you sometimes ya know.
My Head: You certainly didn't when we were smoking those Trivial Pursuit questions at the Bar on Saturday. You loved me then. You would be nothing without me.
me: I wouldn't have festering pits in the bottom of my stomach. And you should have known more of those answers.
My head: True. Hey! I've got an idea!
me: Not another one. Enough with your wonderful ideas.
My head: Let's go watch the Fat Mans movie this week! That'll cheer you up!
me: How could that possibly cheer me up?
My head: Because you'll see folks who will remind you how hopelessly ignorant you were in your younger years.
me: Great. A theater filled with 25 year old former mes. No thanks. I'm depressed enough lately.
My head: But we've changed! We actually read things now and form our own opinions instead of simply regurgitating what we have been told!
me: So what. You think we deserve a metal or something? Don't you have something important to be doing? Like getting these numbers on the screen to look better?
My Head: You're no fun at all. I was trying to get those festering pits in our stomach to turn in to full blown physical ailments, thus sending us in to a complete depression.
me: Thanks. Really, that's great. What would I do without you.
My head: This girl thing is really bothering you huh.
me: I thought we talked about this already. You aren't allowed to get involved with that. Everytime you get involved we end up with these festering pits.
My head: I bet we can think this through, don't you?
me: God you suck sometimes.
My head: Yep, we'll run through multiple various scenarios wherein you get your heart broken in a variety of ways. You think those pits are festering now, do you? Just wait.
me: See, this is exactly why we did those Jagers on Saturday. Once you get involved, the rest of us suffer.
My head: Ugh, that last shot at Chu was deadly. I'm suprised we could even walk down those stairs.
me: Serves you right. You wanted to start talking to that girl who bummed a smoke from us. She was trouble man.
My head: Exactly why I wanted us to talk to her.
me: I'm leaving you at home from now on. You bring me nothing but trouble.
My Head: And festering pits, let's not forget those.
me: Like you'd let me forget. Asshole. A lobotomy is beginning to sound good right now.
My head: You wouldn't DARE...
me: try me.
My head: You seem a little down today
me: leave me alone, we had a rough weekend
My head: Hey! I got an idea- Let's think about our problems until they become festering pits in the bottom of our stomach!
me: Yeah, sounds great. Can't wait. Why not throw some repressed memories in there for good measure.
My head: Your wish is my command.
me: I hate you sometimes ya know.
My Head: You certainly didn't when we were smoking those Trivial Pursuit questions at the Bar on Saturday. You loved me then. You would be nothing without me.
me: I wouldn't have festering pits in the bottom of my stomach. And you should have known more of those answers.
My head: True. Hey! I've got an idea!
me: Not another one. Enough with your wonderful ideas.
My head: Let's go watch the Fat Mans movie this week! That'll cheer you up!
me: How could that possibly cheer me up?
My head: Because you'll see folks who will remind you how hopelessly ignorant you were in your younger years.
me: Great. A theater filled with 25 year old former mes. No thanks. I'm depressed enough lately.
My head: But we've changed! We actually read things now and form our own opinions instead of simply regurgitating what we have been told!
me: So what. You think we deserve a metal or something? Don't you have something important to be doing? Like getting these numbers on the screen to look better?
My Head: You're no fun at all. I was trying to get those festering pits in our stomach to turn in to full blown physical ailments, thus sending us in to a complete depression.
me: Thanks. Really, that's great. What would I do without you.
My head: This girl thing is really bothering you huh.
me: I thought we talked about this already. You aren't allowed to get involved with that. Everytime you get involved we end up with these festering pits.
My head: I bet we can think this through, don't you?
me: God you suck sometimes.
My head: Yep, we'll run through multiple various scenarios wherein you get your heart broken in a variety of ways. You think those pits are festering now, do you? Just wait.
me: See, this is exactly why we did those Jagers on Saturday. Once you get involved, the rest of us suffer.
My head: Ugh, that last shot at Chu was deadly. I'm suprised we could even walk down those stairs.
me: Serves you right. You wanted to start talking to that girl who bummed a smoke from us. She was trouble man.
My head: Exactly why I wanted us to talk to her.
me: I'm leaving you at home from now on. You bring me nothing but trouble.
My Head: And festering pits, let's not forget those.
me: Like you'd let me forget. Asshole. A lobotomy is beginning to sound good right now.
My head: You wouldn't DARE...
me: try me.
Friday, June 25, 2004
The War on Terror..................a Review.............
Since it appears that many people in the US have somehow forgotten why we liberated Iraq and Afghanistan, I though I would perform a little public service and review this whole war thingy going on.
Islam does not mean peace. Islam means, literally, submission to god. And the main problem with that is that some people take this to mean we must FORCE people to submit to god, not "submit to god if you feel like it".
Don't believe me? Let's start with the latest message from a one Abu Masab al-Zarqawi-
"We will carry on our jihad against the Western infidel and the Arab apostate until Islamic rule is back on Earth"
That's not "we'll stop our Jihad once you folks elect John Kerry and stop supporting Israel". That's "we will either make you all submit to the God of the Koran or die trying". There isn't a whole lotta grey here, no need for nuance.
Praise Allah or Die.
Sound crazy?
Think again....
The Coming Islamic Takeover of the U.S.
Saudis often discuss the issue of the U.S. becoming a Muslim state in the future. On a March 17 broadcast on Iqraa TV, Saudi preacher Sheik Said Al-Qahtani discussed this issue, as well as the cases in which Muslims are permitted to declare a defensive Jihad: “... We did not occupy the U.S., with 8 million Muslims, using bombings. Had we been patient, and let time take its course, instead of the 8 million, there could have been 80 million [Muslims] and 50 years later perhaps all the US would have become Muslim... What should a Muslim do if he is attacked in his country, on his land? In this case, there is no choice besides defense, self-sacrifice, and what religious scholars call - Defensive Jihad... We attacked their country, and this caused them to wake the dormant enmity in their hearts... Especially since there is global Zionism, the enemy of Islam, and Judaism, and fundamentalist Crusaders... They interpret this whole incident as only the beginning and thus there is no choice but a preemptive strike.”
Al-Qahtani added on another Iqraa TV show on May 5: “Allah said, ‘prepare against them all the force and horsemen that you can.’ What for? In order to strike fear into their hearts... At the same time, [we should] establish strategies for the future, even if only for the short term, and prepare ... so that one of these days, even 100, 200, or 400 years from now, we will become a force that will be feared by the infidel states.”
So now ask yourself, when we have an entire religion dedicated to making people submit to god, and they have put Western Civilization in the crosshairs of their Jihad, how does blaming Bush or Republicans or Neo-Cons or Haliburton or Oil or WHATEVER BESIDES THESE JIHAD SPEWING PSYCOPATHS make any sense?
That big fat lying douchebag I spoke of below has decided to make a movie saying that Bush is basically too stupid to save us, too deeply in the pocket of the Saudis, etc.etc, despite the fact that Bush has exterminated two of the most repressive Arab regimes that previously helped support the same Jihadists trying to get us to praise allah or die. Now we find out that Hezbollah, yet another extension of the praise allah or die club, wants to help promote Moores new film. AND THE FAT DOUCHEBAG IS COOL WITH IT..
We did not start this war. We have been attacked. Yes, the enemy doesn't conveniently have one single country that we could just liberate and be done with it. It unfortunately has spread like cancer through various governments and states around the world. Therefore, Bush did the wise thing and told the world if you are supporting terrorists who are sworn to destroying Western Civilization, we are coming after you. The Taliban and Saddam qualify quite handily in that department. Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia are probably the next big three.
This war will not be over until the leaders of Islam and the Arab world come together and tell their followers that the US WILL NOT SUBMIT TO ISLAM. PERIOD. And the only way this is going to happen is if we are successful in seeding freedom and liberty in the heartland of the Arab world.
Iraq and Afghanistan were a good start. Both countries have highly dedicated citizens who have tasted freedom and liberty and aren't about to let things slip back to their medieval ways.
For their sake and ours, we must succeed.
Update:Once again, Victor Davis Hanson gives the Doctoral version of the preceeding post. Jeebus can this man write an essay....You go read NOW!!!
Islam does not mean peace. Islam means, literally, submission to god. And the main problem with that is that some people take this to mean we must FORCE people to submit to god, not "submit to god if you feel like it".
Don't believe me? Let's start with the latest message from a one Abu Masab al-Zarqawi-
"We will carry on our jihad against the Western infidel and the Arab apostate until Islamic rule is back on Earth"
That's not "we'll stop our Jihad once you folks elect John Kerry and stop supporting Israel". That's "we will either make you all submit to the God of the Koran or die trying". There isn't a whole lotta grey here, no need for nuance.
Praise Allah or Die.
Sound crazy?
Think again....
The Coming Islamic Takeover of the U.S.
Saudis often discuss the issue of the U.S. becoming a Muslim state in the future. On a March 17 broadcast on Iqraa TV, Saudi preacher Sheik Said Al-Qahtani discussed this issue, as well as the cases in which Muslims are permitted to declare a defensive Jihad: “... We did not occupy the U.S., with 8 million Muslims, using bombings. Had we been patient, and let time take its course, instead of the 8 million, there could have been 80 million [Muslims] and 50 years later perhaps all the US would have become Muslim... What should a Muslim do if he is attacked in his country, on his land? In this case, there is no choice besides defense, self-sacrifice, and what religious scholars call - Defensive Jihad... We attacked their country, and this caused them to wake the dormant enmity in their hearts... Especially since there is global Zionism, the enemy of Islam, and Judaism, and fundamentalist Crusaders... They interpret this whole incident as only the beginning and thus there is no choice but a preemptive strike.”
Al-Qahtani added on another Iqraa TV show on May 5: “Allah said, ‘prepare against them all the force and horsemen that you can.’ What for? In order to strike fear into their hearts... At the same time, [we should] establish strategies for the future, even if only for the short term, and prepare ... so that one of these days, even 100, 200, or 400 years from now, we will become a force that will be feared by the infidel states.”
So now ask yourself, when we have an entire religion dedicated to making people submit to god, and they have put Western Civilization in the crosshairs of their Jihad, how does blaming Bush or Republicans or Neo-Cons or Haliburton or Oil or WHATEVER BESIDES THESE JIHAD SPEWING PSYCOPATHS make any sense?
That big fat lying douchebag I spoke of below has decided to make a movie saying that Bush is basically too stupid to save us, too deeply in the pocket of the Saudis, etc.etc, despite the fact that Bush has exterminated two of the most repressive Arab regimes that previously helped support the same Jihadists trying to get us to praise allah or die. Now we find out that Hezbollah, yet another extension of the praise allah or die club, wants to help promote Moores new film. AND THE FAT DOUCHEBAG IS COOL WITH IT..
We did not start this war. We have been attacked. Yes, the enemy doesn't conveniently have one single country that we could just liberate and be done with it. It unfortunately has spread like cancer through various governments and states around the world. Therefore, Bush did the wise thing and told the world if you are supporting terrorists who are sworn to destroying Western Civilization, we are coming after you. The Taliban and Saddam qualify quite handily in that department. Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia are probably the next big three.
This war will not be over until the leaders of Islam and the Arab world come together and tell their followers that the US WILL NOT SUBMIT TO ISLAM. PERIOD. And the only way this is going to happen is if we are successful in seeding freedom and liberty in the heartland of the Arab world.
Iraq and Afghanistan were a good start. Both countries have highly dedicated citizens who have tasted freedom and liberty and aren't about to let things slip back to their medieval ways.
For their sake and ours, we must succeed.
Update:Once again, Victor Davis Hanson gives the Doctoral version of the preceeding post. Jeebus can this man write an essay....You go read NOW!!!
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated............Part III....................
Wretchard at the Belmont Club expands on the power struggle going on right now between the US and Teheran in Iraq......
An excerpt-
"As an aside, one might remark on the extremity of the Jihadi effort in Iraq. They are sending their best team, the team that harried the IDF out of Lebanon to no good effect. US forces have quietly become very efficient, with chemical test kits to screen suspects for explosive residue, aircraft which electronically detonate IEDs, a steady drumbeat of raids on explosives factories and other operational advances. The enemy is still able to kill Americans, but not in any decisive numbers. But how will America use its capability to achieve a strategic result?
The answer to that question will not be revealed until after the November Presidential election if George Bush is re-elected: whether America will go West to Syria and Lebanon or move its sights squarely on Teheran. The Al Qaeda operational bases in Afghanistan have moved, it said, to the Bekaa in Lebanon. So there is reason to clean that out. But Teheran threatens to become a nuclear power in the very near future and is, despite Sunni pretensions to the contrary, still the central star in the Jihadi firmament. For the present, it is actually in the Coalition's interest and probably no one else's to build up a truly independent Iraq. Iraq would become another player to the game to balance off Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. A strong Iraq, especially an independent Shi'ite Iraq would be a deadly threat to the Mullahs. A region so evenly divided could be tipped in any way by America and would complicate coalition building against it.
The week leading up to the formal transfer of power to the Iraqi interim government will be punctuated by heavy yet pointless violence. The event is as unstoppable as the Overlord invasion, Zarqawi or no. The enemy had better prepare his fallback position and prepare for the next phase of the campaign."
I simply do not believe that John Kerry has the fortitude to see this final chapter through to the end. Say what you want about Bush, I would probably agree with most of it, but the most important issue to me is getting this done properly in Iraq. If we lose this one, 9/11 will be peanuts compared to the next attack.
An excerpt-
"As an aside, one might remark on the extremity of the Jihadi effort in Iraq. They are sending their best team, the team that harried the IDF out of Lebanon to no good effect. US forces have quietly become very efficient, with chemical test kits to screen suspects for explosive residue, aircraft which electronically detonate IEDs, a steady drumbeat of raids on explosives factories and other operational advances. The enemy is still able to kill Americans, but not in any decisive numbers. But how will America use its capability to achieve a strategic result?
The answer to that question will not be revealed until after the November Presidential election if George Bush is re-elected: whether America will go West to Syria and Lebanon or move its sights squarely on Teheran. The Al Qaeda operational bases in Afghanistan have moved, it said, to the Bekaa in Lebanon. So there is reason to clean that out. But Teheran threatens to become a nuclear power in the very near future and is, despite Sunni pretensions to the contrary, still the central star in the Jihadi firmament. For the present, it is actually in the Coalition's interest and probably no one else's to build up a truly independent Iraq. Iraq would become another player to the game to balance off Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. A strong Iraq, especially an independent Shi'ite Iraq would be a deadly threat to the Mullahs. A region so evenly divided could be tipped in any way by America and would complicate coalition building against it.
The week leading up to the formal transfer of power to the Iraqi interim government will be punctuated by heavy yet pointless violence. The event is as unstoppable as the Overlord invasion, Zarqawi or no. The enemy had better prepare his fallback position and prepare for the next phase of the campaign."
I simply do not believe that John Kerry has the fortitude to see this final chapter through to the end. Say what you want about Bush, I would probably agree with most of it, but the most important issue to me is getting this done properly in Iraq. If we lose this one, 9/11 will be peanuts compared to the next attack.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
This should be a sitcom, but it probably wouldn't be as funny.......
............Enjoy the Bottle Shop, English humor you can understand.....
Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated............Part II
....................Recently, I posted about the absolute mess that Iran is turning in to right now, apparently most in Iran would say it's been this way for a while.
Well, I'm afraid it's about to get a whole lot worse. Some of you may have heard about the British Sailors "captured" by the Iranians.
One would think that the mad mullahs in Iran would know better than to upset one of their only friends in the western world.
One would be wrong.
Then we have the whole "we are going to have nukes and you can't stop us" problem, and it appears the mullahs are taking cues from Saddam. Maybe they didn't get the memo.
Note to Iranian Mullahs: Saddam didn't make out so well with that "we are going to have nukes and you can't stop us" deal.
Let's give some examples of the mullahs use of Saddams 23-switcheroo....
Iran razed nuclear sites: US
From correspondents in Washington
June 18, 2004
THE US today accused Iran of destroying nuclear sites to hide banned nuclear activity.
"It's deplorable but not surprising that Iran's deception has gone to the extent of bulldozing entire sites to prevent the IAEA from discovering evidence of its nuclear weapons program," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
"I can't give you any independent information, but commercial satellite photography shows the complete dismantling and the razing of a facility at Lavizan Shiyan.
"And that's a site that was previously disclosed as a possible Iranian weapons of mass destruction-related site," he said.
Let's observe.
Before.
After.
Um, don't these idiots get CNN?
Then we have Iranian expatriates protesting certain French officials, whom they accuse of conspiring with Iran's terrorist regime in exchange for lucrative trade deals.
Sound familiar?
Iran should be next. Period. The Iranian people have suffered for far too long, and until we do something to unseat the Mullahs in Iran, we will continue to reap the terrorist harvest bought and paid for by these same mullahs.
SIGN THE PETITION: TRUE SECURITY BEGINS WITH REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN!!!!!!!!
Update:In case you think I'm just some Tennessee nutcase in regards to Iran, here are the listings for the WORLDWIDE Schedule of Demonstrations Against The Mafia Islamist Regime of Iran in Europe, U.S. and Canada.
Well, I'm afraid it's about to get a whole lot worse. Some of you may have heard about the British Sailors "captured" by the Iranians.
One would think that the mad mullahs in Iran would know better than to upset one of their only friends in the western world.
One would be wrong.
Then we have the whole "we are going to have nukes and you can't stop us" problem, and it appears the mullahs are taking cues from Saddam. Maybe they didn't get the memo.
Note to Iranian Mullahs: Saddam didn't make out so well with that "we are going to have nukes and you can't stop us" deal.
Let's give some examples of the mullahs use of Saddams 23-switcheroo....
Iran razed nuclear sites: US
From correspondents in Washington
June 18, 2004
THE US today accused Iran of destroying nuclear sites to hide banned nuclear activity.
"It's deplorable but not surprising that Iran's deception has gone to the extent of bulldozing entire sites to prevent the IAEA from discovering evidence of its nuclear weapons program," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
"I can't give you any independent information, but commercial satellite photography shows the complete dismantling and the razing of a facility at Lavizan Shiyan.
"And that's a site that was previously disclosed as a possible Iranian weapons of mass destruction-related site," he said.
Let's observe.
Before.
After.
Um, don't these idiots get CNN?
Then we have Iranian expatriates protesting certain French officials, whom they accuse of conspiring with Iran's terrorist regime in exchange for lucrative trade deals.
Sound familiar?
Iran should be next. Period. The Iranian people have suffered for far too long, and until we do something to unseat the Mullahs in Iran, we will continue to reap the terrorist harvest bought and paid for by these same mullahs.
SIGN THE PETITION: TRUE SECURITY BEGINS WITH REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN!!!!!!!!
Update:In case you think I'm just some Tennessee nutcase in regards to Iran, here are the listings for the WORLDWIDE Schedule of Demonstrations Against The Mafia Islamist Regime of Iran in Europe, U.S. and Canada.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Michael Moore is big fat lying manipulative douchebag.....but I repeat myself...
...........Christopher Hitchens reviews the latest bile spewed forth from the great bovine. Needless to say, Moore is once again doing his damndest to make Bush and this administration look like either fumbling buffoons, or deceitful geniuses. Or both. I guess he figures if he throws enough shit against the wall something has to stick.
One of the main points in UnFairenheit 9/11 is the whole story with the Bin Laden family being allowed to fly around the country prior to other domestic flights being allowed back in the air following 9/11. I recommend this article from Snopes.com to get what I consider the most detailed summary of the entire episode. What Hitchens does point out is enough to give you an idea of what garbage the rest of the movie is-
And Richard Clarke, Bush's former chief of counterterrorism, has come forward to say that he, and he alone, took the responsibility for authorizing those Saudi departures. This might not matter so much to the ethos of Fahrenheit 9/11, except that—as you might expect—Clarke is presented throughout as the brow-furrowed ethical hero of the entire post-9/11 moment. And it does not seem very likely that, in his open admission about the Bin Laden family evacuation, Clarke is taking a fall, or a spear in the chest, for the Bush administration. So, that's another bust for this windy and bloated cinematic "key to all mythologies."
The only Michael Moore movie that will see any money from me this year will be this one.
One of the main points in UnFairenheit 9/11 is the whole story with the Bin Laden family being allowed to fly around the country prior to other domestic flights being allowed back in the air following 9/11. I recommend this article from Snopes.com to get what I consider the most detailed summary of the entire episode. What Hitchens does point out is enough to give you an idea of what garbage the rest of the movie is-
And Richard Clarke, Bush's former chief of counterterrorism, has come forward to say that he, and he alone, took the responsibility for authorizing those Saudi departures. This might not matter so much to the ethos of Fahrenheit 9/11, except that—as you might expect—Clarke is presented throughout as the brow-furrowed ethical hero of the entire post-9/11 moment. And it does not seem very likely that, in his open admission about the Bin Laden family evacuation, Clarke is taking a fall, or a spear in the chest, for the Bush administration. So, that's another bust for this windy and bloated cinematic "key to all mythologies."
The only Michael Moore movie that will see any money from me this year will be this one.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Spaceship One a success!!!........................
.....................Instapundit has a collection of details.
"
A rocket plane soared above Earth's atmosphere Monday in the first privately financed manned spaceflight, then glided back to Earth for an unpowered landing.
SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill was aiming to fly 62 miles above the Earth's surface. The exact altitude reached was not immediately confirmed by radar.
The ship touched down at Mojave Airport to applause and cheers at 8:15 a.m. PDT, about 90 minutes after it was carried aloft slung under the belly of the jet-powered White Knight. . . .
Burt Rutan, and the project was funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who would only describe the cost as being in excess of $20 million.
"Clearly, there is an enormous, pent-up hunger to fly in space and not just dream about it," Rutan said Sunday. "Now I know what it was like to be involved in America's amazing race to the moon in the '60s." . . .
NASA also is interested, said Michael Lembeck, requirements division director of the space agency's Office of Exploration Systems.
"We need people like Burt Rutan with innovative ideas that will take us to the moon and Mars," he said from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters. "Folks like Burt bring a different way of doing business."
I first heard of the whole X-Prize deal about a year ago when Bill Whittle spoke about it in this essay. It's long but definitely worth reading the whole thing..
An excerpt-
If I hear another soul talk about the death of American ingenuity, I will bring them out here to meet those normal, smiling, somewhat scruffy, every-day rocket scientists at XCOR. I will introduce them to test pilot Dick Rutan, and his brother Burt. Burt Rutan is one of those people whose work you cannot look at without the word genius escaping your lips in a hushed whisper, unconsciously. His company, Scaled Composites, a few doors down, has a working, flying spacecraft.
No, that’s not fair. They’ve got a working, flying space launch system. And they are going, by God! They are flying into Space. The whole lot of them: XCOR, Scaled, a few others.
This is the Trinity I wanted to show you. It’s not just aerospace – it’s all through the very fiber of this magnificent, brilliant country of ours.
These people are using their own money, their own freedom and their own ingenuity to do what governments wont give them the means to do: follow that ultimate dream, into and through that deep, delirious, burning blue and out into by-God outer space! Well, if you want to be an astronaut, here in America you can build your own spaceship and you can go.
These people, these private citizens, are the best people there are. Smart, dedicated, disciplined dreamers who have the guts and the savvy to do what all of Europe, or all of China, or Japan, have yet to do: fly in space. XCOR needs about $10 million to build a working space plane: that's about the promotional budget for Legally Blonde 2. No one knows what Burt as spent at Scaled. We only know it wasn’t tax money and no one has ever been killed working for him over the past quarter century of tearing out the foundations of what we thought we could do.
I have one thing to say to these people:
ME!! PICK ME!!
Today the folks on board Spaceship One successfully broke the 100KM barrier, without any government funding or assistance, proving again that no boundary is unbreakable as long as humankind is able to push the limits of their abilities.
Congratulations guys, after I win the lottery I want to buy the first ticket to space available. How cool would that be?
"
A rocket plane soared above Earth's atmosphere Monday in the first privately financed manned spaceflight, then glided back to Earth for an unpowered landing.
SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill was aiming to fly 62 miles above the Earth's surface. The exact altitude reached was not immediately confirmed by radar.
The ship touched down at Mojave Airport to applause and cheers at 8:15 a.m. PDT, about 90 minutes after it was carried aloft slung under the belly of the jet-powered White Knight. . . .
Burt Rutan, and the project was funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who would only describe the cost as being in excess of $20 million.
"Clearly, there is an enormous, pent-up hunger to fly in space and not just dream about it," Rutan said Sunday. "Now I know what it was like to be involved in America's amazing race to the moon in the '60s." . . .
NASA also is interested, said Michael Lembeck, requirements division director of the space agency's Office of Exploration Systems.
"We need people like Burt Rutan with innovative ideas that will take us to the moon and Mars," he said from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters. "Folks like Burt bring a different way of doing business."
I first heard of the whole X-Prize deal about a year ago when Bill Whittle spoke about it in this essay. It's long but definitely worth reading the whole thing..
An excerpt-
If I hear another soul talk about the death of American ingenuity, I will bring them out here to meet those normal, smiling, somewhat scruffy, every-day rocket scientists at XCOR. I will introduce them to test pilot Dick Rutan, and his brother Burt. Burt Rutan is one of those people whose work you cannot look at without the word genius escaping your lips in a hushed whisper, unconsciously. His company, Scaled Composites, a few doors down, has a working, flying spacecraft.
No, that’s not fair. They’ve got a working, flying space launch system. And they are going, by God! They are flying into Space. The whole lot of them: XCOR, Scaled, a few others.
This is the Trinity I wanted to show you. It’s not just aerospace – it’s all through the very fiber of this magnificent, brilliant country of ours.
These people are using their own money, their own freedom and their own ingenuity to do what governments wont give them the means to do: follow that ultimate dream, into and through that deep, delirious, burning blue and out into by-God outer space! Well, if you want to be an astronaut, here in America you can build your own spaceship and you can go.
These people, these private citizens, are the best people there are. Smart, dedicated, disciplined dreamers who have the guts and the savvy to do what all of Europe, or all of China, or Japan, have yet to do: fly in space. XCOR needs about $10 million to build a working space plane: that's about the promotional budget for Legally Blonde 2. No one knows what Burt as spent at Scaled. We only know it wasn’t tax money and no one has ever been killed working for him over the past quarter century of tearing out the foundations of what we thought we could do.
I have one thing to say to these people:
ME!! PICK ME!!
Today the folks on board Spaceship One successfully broke the 100KM barrier, without any government funding or assistance, proving again that no boundary is unbreakable as long as humankind is able to push the limits of their abilities.
Congratulations guys, after I win the lottery I want to buy the first ticket to space available. How cool would that be?
Friday, June 18, 2004
Cox and Forkum.................Need I say More?
............yes, I need. Why in the hell aren't these guys in syndication?
Cox and Forkum step to the plate and bash yet another one over the fence....
Osama and Saddam
Cox and Forkum step to the plate and bash yet another one over the fence....
Osama and Saddam
Thursday, June 17, 2004
9/11 Commission= Big fat politicized stinking waste of time..................
.......................The 9/11 Commission
The idea behind this 9/11 Commission was to try and pinpoint the specific reasons why our security organizations were unable to detect the terrorists in our country, and stop them from pulling off the worst attack on our shores in decades, as well determine the best ways to plug these holes so that it doesn't happen again.
Sounds like a good idea, right?
Yep, sure does.
Did it turn out this way?
Well, sort of.
If you read the reports, you will see that the commission did investigate the roots of the Al-qaeda shitbags, and as we already know, many of the roots of this organization stem from our support of the mujihadeen in Afghanistan during the soviet invasion, as well as the Iranian Mullahs and the House of Saud being generous benefactors. They trump up the Palestine issues to gain support amongst the arab masses and TA-DA! international terrorist group with a large following and lots and lots of money.
Thanks guys, but we knew this already. In fact, we knew this back in 93, the last time the WTC was attacked.
Then we get to Saddam and Osama. Where they lovers? Did they just pretend to like each other? Or did they absolutelypositivelyneverspeakatallatanytimenowaynohownosireebob......
This part I don't get.
Saddam Hated the US. Osama hated the US. Saddam was an insane rich tyrant who prostituted his religion to get what he wanted. Osama was an insanely rich goat herder who also prostituted his religion to get what he wanted.
Saddam had funded previous terrorist attacks against American targets at home and abroad ever since we booted him from Kuwait. Osama had funded previous terrorist attacks against American targets at home and abroad ever since we booted Saddam from Kuwait and left our troops in Saudi Arabia.
Saddam hated the Joooos. Osama hated the Jooooos.
Why is it so hard to fathom that two people with so much animosity in common would not combine efforts to inflict greater damage?
In fact, why WOULDN'T you assume that they were working together? People bring up the religious/secular issue between Saddam and Osama, but Saddam made overtures to the Islamic world all the time, and was in the process of building the largest Mosque in the world before the 2nd GW.
Andrew C. McCarthy, a former chief assistant U.S. attorney who led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others, elaborates here on this issue.
An excerpt-
Inconvenient Facts
The staff's back-of-the-hand summary also strangely elides mention of another significant matter — but one that did not escape the attention of Commissioner Fred Fielding, who raised it with a panel of law-enforcement witnesses right after noting the staff's conclusion that there was "no credible evidence" of cooperation. It is the little-discussed original indictment of bin Laden, obtained by the Justice Department in spring 1998 — several weeks before the embassy bombings and at a time when the government thought it would be prudent to have charges filed in the event an opportunity arose overseas to apprehend bin Laden. Paragraph 4 of that very short indictment reads:
Al Qaeda also forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in the Sudan and with the government of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezballah for the purpose of working together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States. In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.
(Emphasis added.) This allegation has always been inconvenient for the "absolutely no connection between Iraq and al Qaeda" club. (Richard Clarke, a charter member, handles the problem in his book by limiting the 1998 indictment to a fleeting mention and assiduously avoiding any description of what the indictment actually says.)
It remains inconvenient. As testimony at the commission's public hearing Wednesday revealed, the allegation in the 1998 indictment stems primarily from information provided by the key accomplice witness at the embassy bombing trial, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl. Al-Fadl told agents that when al Qaeda was headquartered in the Sudan in the early-to-mid-1990s, he understood an agreement to have been struck under which the jihadists would put aside their antipathy for Saddam and explore ways of working together with Iraq, particularly regarding weapons production.
On al Qaeda's end, al-Fadl understood the liaison for Iraq relations to be an Iraqi named Mahmdouh Mahmud Salim (a.k.a. "Abu Hajer al Iraqi"), one of bin Laden's closest friends. (There will be a bit more to say later about Salim, who, it bears mention, was convicted in New York last year for maiming a prison guard in an escape attempt while awaiting trial for bombing the embassies.) After the embassies were destroyed, the government's case, naturally, was radically altered to focus on the attacks that killed over 250 people, and the Iraq allegation was not included in the superseding indictment. But, as the hearing testimony made clear, the government has never retracted the allegation.
Neither have other important assertions been retracted, including those by CIA Director George Tenet. As journalist Stephen Hayes reiterated earlier this month, Tenet, on October 7, 2002, wrote a letter to Congress, which asserted:
Our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda is evolving and is based on sources of varying reliability. Some of the information we have received comes from detainees, including some of high rank. We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda going back a decade. Credible information indicates that Iraq and Al Qaeda have discussed safe haven and reciprocal nonaggression. Since Operation Enduring Freedom, we have solid evidence of the presence in Iraq of Al Qaeda members, including some that have been in Baghdad. We have credible reporting that Al Qaeda leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire W.M.D. capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to Al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs. Iraq's increasing support to extremist Palestinians coupled with growing indications of relationship with Al Qaeda suggest that Baghdad's links to terrorists will increase, even absent U.S. military action.
Tenet, as Hayes elaborated, has never backed away from these assessments, reaffirming them in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee as recently as March 9, 2004.
So, instead of the Commission being known for its great job at eliminating the gaps in our security services, as well determining the true history of the planning of the attacks we get stuff we knew already, and BUSH LIED!! PEOPLE DIED!!!
I want a refund.
The idea behind this 9/11 Commission was to try and pinpoint the specific reasons why our security organizations were unable to detect the terrorists in our country, and stop them from pulling off the worst attack on our shores in decades, as well determine the best ways to plug these holes so that it doesn't happen again.
Sounds like a good idea, right?
Yep, sure does.
Did it turn out this way?
Well, sort of.
If you read the reports, you will see that the commission did investigate the roots of the Al-qaeda shitbags, and as we already know, many of the roots of this organization stem from our support of the mujihadeen in Afghanistan during the soviet invasion, as well as the Iranian Mullahs and the House of Saud being generous benefactors. They trump up the Palestine issues to gain support amongst the arab masses and TA-DA! international terrorist group with a large following and lots and lots of money.
Thanks guys, but we knew this already. In fact, we knew this back in 93, the last time the WTC was attacked.
Then we get to Saddam and Osama. Where they lovers? Did they just pretend to like each other? Or did they absolutelypositivelyneverspeakatallatanytimenowaynohownosireebob......
This part I don't get.
Saddam Hated the US. Osama hated the US. Saddam was an insane rich tyrant who prostituted his religion to get what he wanted. Osama was an insanely rich goat herder who also prostituted his religion to get what he wanted.
Saddam had funded previous terrorist attacks against American targets at home and abroad ever since we booted him from Kuwait. Osama had funded previous terrorist attacks against American targets at home and abroad ever since we booted Saddam from Kuwait and left our troops in Saudi Arabia.
Saddam hated the Joooos. Osama hated the Jooooos.
Why is it so hard to fathom that two people with so much animosity in common would not combine efforts to inflict greater damage?
In fact, why WOULDN'T you assume that they were working together? People bring up the religious/secular issue between Saddam and Osama, but Saddam made overtures to the Islamic world all the time, and was in the process of building the largest Mosque in the world before the 2nd GW.
Andrew C. McCarthy, a former chief assistant U.S. attorney who led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others, elaborates here on this issue.
An excerpt-
Inconvenient Facts
The staff's back-of-the-hand summary also strangely elides mention of another significant matter — but one that did not escape the attention of Commissioner Fred Fielding, who raised it with a panel of law-enforcement witnesses right after noting the staff's conclusion that there was "no credible evidence" of cooperation. It is the little-discussed original indictment of bin Laden, obtained by the Justice Department in spring 1998 — several weeks before the embassy bombings and at a time when the government thought it would be prudent to have charges filed in the event an opportunity arose overseas to apprehend bin Laden. Paragraph 4 of that very short indictment reads:
Al Qaeda also forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in the Sudan and with the government of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezballah for the purpose of working together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States. In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.
(Emphasis added.) This allegation has always been inconvenient for the "absolutely no connection between Iraq and al Qaeda" club. (Richard Clarke, a charter member, handles the problem in his book by limiting the 1998 indictment to a fleeting mention and assiduously avoiding any description of what the indictment actually says.)
It remains inconvenient. As testimony at the commission's public hearing Wednesday revealed, the allegation in the 1998 indictment stems primarily from information provided by the key accomplice witness at the embassy bombing trial, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl. Al-Fadl told agents that when al Qaeda was headquartered in the Sudan in the early-to-mid-1990s, he understood an agreement to have been struck under which the jihadists would put aside their antipathy for Saddam and explore ways of working together with Iraq, particularly regarding weapons production.
On al Qaeda's end, al-Fadl understood the liaison for Iraq relations to be an Iraqi named Mahmdouh Mahmud Salim (a.k.a. "Abu Hajer al Iraqi"), one of bin Laden's closest friends. (There will be a bit more to say later about Salim, who, it bears mention, was convicted in New York last year for maiming a prison guard in an escape attempt while awaiting trial for bombing the embassies.) After the embassies were destroyed, the government's case, naturally, was radically altered to focus on the attacks that killed over 250 people, and the Iraq allegation was not included in the superseding indictment. But, as the hearing testimony made clear, the government has never retracted the allegation.
Neither have other important assertions been retracted, including those by CIA Director George Tenet. As journalist Stephen Hayes reiterated earlier this month, Tenet, on October 7, 2002, wrote a letter to Congress, which asserted:
Our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda is evolving and is based on sources of varying reliability. Some of the information we have received comes from detainees, including some of high rank. We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda going back a decade. Credible information indicates that Iraq and Al Qaeda have discussed safe haven and reciprocal nonaggression. Since Operation Enduring Freedom, we have solid evidence of the presence in Iraq of Al Qaeda members, including some that have been in Baghdad. We have credible reporting that Al Qaeda leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire W.M.D. capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to Al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs. Iraq's increasing support to extremist Palestinians coupled with growing indications of relationship with Al Qaeda suggest that Baghdad's links to terrorists will increase, even absent U.S. military action.
Tenet, as Hayes elaborated, has never backed away from these assessments, reaffirming them in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee as recently as March 9, 2004.
So, instead of the Commission being known for its great job at eliminating the gaps in our security services, as well determining the true history of the planning of the attacks we get stuff we knew already, and BUSH LIED!! PEOPLE DIED!!!
I want a refund.
Well, this is ONE way to beat depression.........not really recommended though...........
.......(via The Brothers Judd)
Without a Barrel
Surviving Niagara? No sweat. The real challenge is figuring out what drove Kirk Jones over the edge.
By Jake Halpern
ON A CRISP AFTERNOON last October, Kirk Jones climbed over the steel safety rail at the top of Niagara Falls and contemplated the troubled direction of his life. From his perch, Jones had a clear view of the Niagara River, where a frothing torrent of Class VI rapids roiled for several hundred feet before reaching the precipice beyond. A heavy mist swirled around him, and a dull roar filled his ears.
"I just couldn't let go of that railing," he recalls. "As much as I wanted to, a part of me said, No. No human being has ever done this and lived."
It was, oddly enough, a situation Jones had imagined many times before. "Ever since I was six, I've been fascinated by Niagara Falls," he says. "I wondered whether a human being could go over, without a barrel or a life jacket, and live. I've always thought there must be a way."
Jones had visited the falls a handful of times since childhood; now he was rapidly approaching middle age, without a job, a wife, or a home to call his own. As he puts it, "I was a 40-year-old man with no purpose." This grim realization prompted Jones to round up $300 and convince a friend, 52-year-old Bob Krueger, to make the five-hour drive from Detroit to Niagara Falls, New York. They arrived on October 19 and spent most of Kirk's money at local bars and a strip club before crashing at a cheap motel. The next day, as a skeptical Krueger stood by pointing a video camera, Jones vacillated above the water.
It was a stranger's voice that finally convinced him to go for it, that of an unidentified woman who happened to be taking in the view. "So, what are you going to do—jump?" she called out sarcastically.
"Yes, ma'am, I think I will," Jones replied. Right then, he let go of the railing, dashed down an embankment, and leaped into the current. Moments later, he flew feet first over the brink of Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian side of Niagara), plunging 170 feet into the water below.
And now for the explanation-
Jones explained his act as a dramatic remedy for boredom and chronic depression. It was a life-or-death test in which he tempted fate: If he died, his unhappiness would be over; if he lived, his life was bound to be charged with new meaning.
I imagine once you "tempt fate" (translation:do something that will kill you) you gain a new perspective on life, but somehow I don't see this new perspective contributing anything to solve this guys problems. Before he was a "40-year-old man with no purpose". Now he's a "40-year-old man with no purpose plus two fractured ribs and a couple of bruised vertebrae." I'm sure the fame he has received from the jump is exciting. I imagine they have great jello at the Niagara Mental Institutions, and now Jones has an exciting new career in the Circus industry.
But I dunno. Call the suicide help line or jump the falls? You make the call.
The guy is a poster child for wanna-be Darwin Award candidates, and I imagine he will have another shot at the title here soon.
Without a Barrel
Surviving Niagara? No sweat. The real challenge is figuring out what drove Kirk Jones over the edge.
By Jake Halpern
ON A CRISP AFTERNOON last October, Kirk Jones climbed over the steel safety rail at the top of Niagara Falls and contemplated the troubled direction of his life. From his perch, Jones had a clear view of the Niagara River, where a frothing torrent of Class VI rapids roiled for several hundred feet before reaching the precipice beyond. A heavy mist swirled around him, and a dull roar filled his ears.
"I just couldn't let go of that railing," he recalls. "As much as I wanted to, a part of me said, No. No human being has ever done this and lived."
It was, oddly enough, a situation Jones had imagined many times before. "Ever since I was six, I've been fascinated by Niagara Falls," he says. "I wondered whether a human being could go over, without a barrel or a life jacket, and live. I've always thought there must be a way."
Jones had visited the falls a handful of times since childhood; now he was rapidly approaching middle age, without a job, a wife, or a home to call his own. As he puts it, "I was a 40-year-old man with no purpose." This grim realization prompted Jones to round up $300 and convince a friend, 52-year-old Bob Krueger, to make the five-hour drive from Detroit to Niagara Falls, New York. They arrived on October 19 and spent most of Kirk's money at local bars and a strip club before crashing at a cheap motel. The next day, as a skeptical Krueger stood by pointing a video camera, Jones vacillated above the water.
It was a stranger's voice that finally convinced him to go for it, that of an unidentified woman who happened to be taking in the view. "So, what are you going to do—jump?" she called out sarcastically.
"Yes, ma'am, I think I will," Jones replied. Right then, he let go of the railing, dashed down an embankment, and leaped into the current. Moments later, he flew feet first over the brink of Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian side of Niagara), plunging 170 feet into the water below.
And now for the explanation-
Jones explained his act as a dramatic remedy for boredom and chronic depression. It was a life-or-death test in which he tempted fate: If he died, his unhappiness would be over; if he lived, his life was bound to be charged with new meaning.
I imagine once you "tempt fate" (translation:do something that will kill you) you gain a new perspective on life, but somehow I don't see this new perspective contributing anything to solve this guys problems. Before he was a "40-year-old man with no purpose". Now he's a "40-year-old man with no purpose plus two fractured ribs and a couple of bruised vertebrae." I'm sure the fame he has received from the jump is exciting. I imagine they have great jello at the Niagara Mental Institutions, and now Jones has an exciting new career in the Circus industry.
But I dunno. Call the suicide help line or jump the falls? You make the call.
The guy is a poster child for wanna-be Darwin Award candidates, and I imagine he will have another shot at the title here soon.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
ah Ha....ha, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!........................
ahee, hee hee.........Ho ho!
How great is this? The Larry O'Brien trophy returns to the Eastern Conference for the first time since Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls claimed it in 1998. They won through team defense, hustle, and a concept foreign to Kobe Bryant, PASSING THE BALL ON OFFENSE. I can't tell you how many times I watched Kobe in this series try and "be like Mike" when he should have passed the ball to Shaq. My hat goes off to Shaq, who once again proved he is the single most dominant force in Basketball today.
But one guy cannot beat five guys who played the way Detroit did. Larry Brown deserves huge praise for the way he kept the team focused and humble in the face of the travelling circus known as the LA Lakers. He deserves even more props for thanking Rick Carlisle and his former staff for putting together the team that won these finals, one that he was fortunate enough to inherit this year.
Rick Hamilton removing his mask with three minutes left in the game as he went to the bench became the new Victory Cigar, unless you count the Human Victory Cigar-Darko Milicic- who came in for him.
All in all, a great series, and few things make me as happy as watching the Lakers lose in the finals.
Congrats DEEEETROIT! A ring well earned.....
How great is this? The Larry O'Brien trophy returns to the Eastern Conference for the first time since Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls claimed it in 1998. They won through team defense, hustle, and a concept foreign to Kobe Bryant, PASSING THE BALL ON OFFENSE. I can't tell you how many times I watched Kobe in this series try and "be like Mike" when he should have passed the ball to Shaq. My hat goes off to Shaq, who once again proved he is the single most dominant force in Basketball today.
But one guy cannot beat five guys who played the way Detroit did. Larry Brown deserves huge praise for the way he kept the team focused and humble in the face of the travelling circus known as the LA Lakers. He deserves even more props for thanking Rick Carlisle and his former staff for putting together the team that won these finals, one that he was fortunate enough to inherit this year.
Rick Hamilton removing his mask with three minutes left in the game as he went to the bench became the new Victory Cigar, unless you count the Human Victory Cigar-Darko Milicic- who came in for him.
All in all, a great series, and few things make me as happy as watching the Lakers lose in the finals.
Congrats DEEEETROIT! A ring well earned.....
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
SpaceGuard Survey will be 75% complete by the end of 2004.....................
..........Which is good news.
Spaceguard: Current Progress and Future Capabilities
By: David Morrison
While the present Spaceguard Survey will be 75% complete by the end of 2004, much bigger survey telescopes such as Pan-STARRS in Hawaii and the DCT at Lowell Observatory are making progress.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the end of 2003, there were 2600 known Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), and of these 691 are brighter than absolute magnitude H=18, which is taken to correspond to 1 km diameter. Of these, 131 are classed as PHAs (potentially hazardous asteroids) larger than 1 km. These data are from Alan Chamberlin and are posted on the JPL/NASA NEO Program Office website.
For comparison, there are estimated to be a total of 1100 +/- 100 NEAs larger than 1 km. Thus at the end of 2003 we had found 63 percent of these NEAs.
Recently there appears to have been a modest slow-down in the discovery rate of NEAs larger than 1 km, perhaps reflecting the fact that we have already discovered nearly 2/3 of this population group. For the most recent three complete years (2001, 2002, and 2003), the numbers discovered are: 89, 95, and 67, respectively. We can check this effect by noting that the total discovery rate of all NEAs has not changed much, remaining at about 450/yr. Previously, improvements in the search systems more than compensated for the declining number of unknown asteroids bigger than 1 km waiting to be discovered.
The Spaceguard Goal is 90 percent completeness by the end of 2008. This corresponds to discovery of 990 NEAs brighter than H=18 for the nominal population. The survey passed its halfway mark of 495 in mid-2000 (see News Archive note for 08/01/00). The 75 percent objective is 742 NEAs larger than 1 km. If we anticipate 50 discoveries during 2004, then the survey should reach this milestone at the end of this year.
First we find them, then we need to figure out how were going to prevent one from smacking our planet. Fortunately, we are working on the problem, here's a story about the PAN-STARRS telescope, from the previous link-
COMING SOON: PAN-STARRS TO SEARCH FOR KILLER ASTEROIDS
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 25 April 2004 By Helen Altonn
If one of the thousands of asteroids hurtling through space crashes into Earth, the damage could equal 700 Hiroshima-size bombs blasted at once. The potential danger of a collision with a 198-foot asteroid was pointed out recently to a U.S. Senate science committee by astronaut Ed Lu, who calls Honolulu one of his hometowns. He said there is a 10 percent chance of this happening.
The first warning of a small killer asteroid could come from a special array of four small telescopes planned in Hawaii. The first telescope in the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, called Pan-STARRS, is scheduled to be operating in two years on Haleakala, Maui, to test the system.
"The project serves as a guardian," said Kenneth Chambers, of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. Chambers is principal scientist for the first prototype telescope. "We want to find them as far in the future as we can because it's much easier to do something about them," he said.
The full telescope array will either be at Haleakala or Mauna Kea, on the Big Island, depending on environmental and site studies under way. When it is completed, the scientists expect to detect about 100,000 asteroids a month, said UH astronomer Nicholas Kaiser, principal investigator for the estimated $50 million Pan-STARRS project. "Most of those will be harmless," he said. "We're looking for the odd, bad one."
Lu and astronaut Rusty Schweickart urged the Senate committee to use unmanned spacecraft to test methods of bumping an asteroid from an impact course with Earth. Lu said such capability could save the planet if space surveys warn of an approaching asteroid years in advance. [emphasis-ed.]
That is the prime mission of Pan-STARRS, Chambers said, describing it as a "time machine." The goal is to find 99 percent of asteroids that could significantly damage Earth, determine their orbits and predict what they will do in 20 to 50 years, he said.
The system will enable astronomers to detect objects as small as 330 yards in diameter and 100 times fainter than those observed by other telescopes. Instead of looking through telescopes to understand what happened in the past, Chambers said, astronomers will be looking at what will happen in the future. Repeatedly sweeping big patches of sky, he said, "we can find the ones that will be a threat in the future and those that will zoom by but are not going to do any harm, and only get worked up by those that are a threat."
Now someone remind me why we need to spend trillions of dollars going to Mars, but we can only find 1% of Nasa's budget to work on the NEO issue? Anyone? Bueller?
Then tell me what would be the point of having all of these fancy Mars or Saturn programs after our planet is sent back to the dark ages? Not much use in sending back pictures of the surface of Titus if there isn't anyone there to see them.
Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that we should spend ALL of our time and money on the NEO issue, but I most certainly don't think that we are spending nearly enough. This should be priority one for NASA, everything else should be either related or secondary.
And god said -Boom.
Update: Priorities aside, this Picture of Phoebe, one of Saturns Moons, is pretty freaking cool though......
Spaceguard: Current Progress and Future Capabilities
By: David Morrison
While the present Spaceguard Survey will be 75% complete by the end of 2004, much bigger survey telescopes such as Pan-STARRS in Hawaii and the DCT at Lowell Observatory are making progress.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the end of 2003, there were 2600 known Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), and of these 691 are brighter than absolute magnitude H=18, which is taken to correspond to 1 km diameter. Of these, 131 are classed as PHAs (potentially hazardous asteroids) larger than 1 km. These data are from Alan Chamberlin and are posted on the JPL/NASA NEO Program Office website
For comparison, there are estimated to be a total of 1100 +/- 100 NEAs larger than 1 km. Thus at the end of 2003 we had found 63 percent of these NEAs.
Recently there appears to have been a modest slow-down in the discovery rate of NEAs larger than 1 km, perhaps reflecting the fact that we have already discovered nearly 2/3 of this population group. For the most recent three complete years (2001, 2002, and 2003), the numbers discovered are: 89, 95, and 67, respectively. We can check this effect by noting that the total discovery rate of all NEAs has not changed much, remaining at about 450/yr. Previously, improvements in the search systems more than compensated for the declining number of unknown asteroids bigger than 1 km waiting to be discovered.
The Spaceguard Goal is 90 percent completeness by the end of 2008. This corresponds to discovery of 990 NEAs brighter than H=18 for the nominal population. The survey passed its halfway mark of 495 in mid-2000 (see News Archive note for 08/01/00). The 75 percent objective is 742 NEAs larger than 1 km. If we anticipate 50 discoveries during 2004, then the survey should reach this milestone at the end of this year.
First we find them, then we need to figure out how were going to prevent one from smacking our planet. Fortunately, we are working on the problem, here's a story about the PAN-STARRS telescope, from the previous link-
COMING SOON: PAN-STARRS TO SEARCH FOR KILLER ASTEROIDS
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 25 April 2004 By Helen Altonn
If one of the thousands of asteroids hurtling through space crashes into Earth, the damage could equal 700 Hiroshima-size bombs blasted at once. The potential danger of a collision with a 198-foot asteroid was pointed out recently to a U.S. Senate science committee by astronaut Ed Lu, who calls Honolulu one of his hometowns. He said there is a 10 percent chance of this happening.
The first warning of a small killer asteroid could come from a special array of four small telescopes planned in Hawaii. The first telescope in the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, called Pan-STARRS, is scheduled to be operating in two years on Haleakala, Maui, to test the system.
"The project serves as a guardian," said Kenneth Chambers, of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. Chambers is principal scientist for the first prototype telescope. "We want to find them as far in the future as we can because it's much easier to do something about them," he said.
The full telescope array will either be at Haleakala or Mauna Kea, on the Big Island, depending on environmental and site studies under way. When it is completed, the scientists expect to detect about 100,000 asteroids a month, said UH astronomer Nicholas Kaiser, principal investigator for the estimated $50 million Pan-STARRS project. "Most of those will be harmless," he said. "We're looking for the odd, bad one."
Lu and astronaut Rusty Schweickart urged the Senate committee to use unmanned spacecraft to test methods of bumping an asteroid from an impact course with Earth. Lu said such capability could save the planet if space surveys warn of an approaching asteroid years in advance. [emphasis-ed.]
That is the prime mission of Pan-STARRS, Chambers said, describing it as a "time machine." The goal is to find 99 percent of asteroids that could significantly damage Earth, determine their orbits and predict what they will do in 20 to 50 years, he said.
The system will enable astronomers to detect objects as small as 330 yards in diameter and 100 times fainter than those observed by other telescopes. Instead of looking through telescopes to understand what happened in the past, Chambers said, astronomers will be looking at what will happen in the future. Repeatedly sweeping big patches of sky, he said, "we can find the ones that will be a threat in the future and those that will zoom by but are not going to do any harm, and only get worked up by those that are a threat."
Now someone remind me why we need to spend trillions of dollars going to Mars, but we can only find 1% of Nasa's budget to work on the NEO issue? Anyone? Bueller?
Then tell me what would be the point of having all of these fancy Mars or Saturn programs after our planet is sent back to the dark ages? Not much use in sending back pictures of the surface of Titus if there isn't anyone there to see them.
Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that we should spend ALL of our time and money on the NEO issue, but I most certainly don't think that we are spending nearly enough. This should be priority one for NASA, everything else should be either related or secondary.
And god said -Boom.
Update: Priorities aside, this Picture of Phoebe, one of Saturns Moons, is pretty freaking cool though......
In Memory of an incredible Sportswriters Passing..............
........Ralph Wiley, columnist for ESPN, passed away this weekend at the age of 52. Wiley was perhaps one of the best sports writers around, and he had an uncanny ability to be hip yet incredibly prophetic at the same time.
He had recently written a column about the NBA which was amazing. Wiley could discuss racial issues more thoughtfully and productively than anyone I have ever read. I'll give you an example from this column.
The arrogance, not of the Lakers (although they have it, too) but of the Laker fans, was and is not unique in the annals of American sport. But it is the current rendition of American sport ... four black men, the Musketeers, and their D'Artagnan, Kobe Bryant. But, in the post-O.J. world, a racial dynamic will always pivot the national attention.
This is why I mention the "Two On Two" program airing tonight. It's always good to interview men such as Magic and Bird and Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, to see how they tick -- and from the league perspective, to see if such bounty as the Era of Bird and Magic spawned can ever be reproduced. David Stern would love it. Consciously or not, so would you. I myself once said on the L.A.-based show "Rome Is Burning" that everybody would probably get into it more if Carmelo Anthony, the foil for LeBron James, were a white kid instead of a black one. I didn't say it as an I-wish thing, or as a condemnation.
It is the first way people draw a rooting interest in our nation of fools.
But it is not the only way, as the Lakers joining the Pantheon of the Yankees, Notre Dame and the Dallas Cowboys as America's Teams shows.
Now we have Iceberg Jim asking Larry Bird, "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars, in your opinion?"
This, right after Bird is being one of the fellows, in his opinion, by saying he hated it when a white guy tried to guard him because he felt that was beneath him. There was laughter in this part of the segment, although it was nervous uncomfortable laughter from LeBron and 'Melo. Magic was laughing, but then he laughs at everything.
You know what's troubling about this? You and me. That's what the marketers think of us. Dangle the red meat of race in front of them, and they'll tune in and get the fruits and vegetables and all the stuff that's good for them but that they won't tune in for otherwise. That's No. 1.
No. 2, the timing. I mean, Gray asked this question, and elicits this answer, and there Luke Walton is! I mean, there he is, right in front of your eyes, as the only possible salvation of the Lakers in the NBA Finals! And you can't make a Luke Walton overnight. You can't I-wish up on one. It takes years and years and years of training, as well as many other variables falling exactly into place. It's just like when some of these know-nothings with ulterior motives ask, "Where are the American-born blacks in big league baseball?" And then I turn on the TV and there they are!
Somebody explain this to me.
It seems the only one who cares that Larry is white, is Larry.
No. 3, and somehow most disquieting: A couple of days before, in the run-up to Game 2 in L.A., Iceberg Jim Gray, who is a colleague of mine, a long-time acquaintance, was asking Shaquille O'Neal questions about the Finals and the Laker season, questions that don't get nearly as much media mileage as "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars, in your opinion?" Near the conclusion of Gray's interview with O'Neal, Gray asked O'Neal to characterize the Laker season; and O'Neal did, with the last word he used being "enigmatic."
Good word. O'Neal seemed to try to humorize his use of it by smiling and saying Jim might not feel the use of such a word was appropriate -- if, in fact, he knew what it meant. O'Neal was sort of diffusing his own use of the word, as if Jim would take it as inappropriate, not as a word -- it was exactly the proper word -- but inappropriate for Shaq to use.
The word seemed to throw Jim Gray, who said to Shaq, "Spell that."
I was stunned. Almost as stunned as when O'Neal almost defiantly spelled it perfectly. He's lucky Shaq responded. Responded? He's lucky Shaq didn't drill him. Luckily for Iceberg Jim, Shaq's not that type. Spell that? What is that supposed to prove?
Wait. Don't answer that. Somehow I think it's going to lead to a question about race. Iceberg Jim is not so innocent here; but then again, few of us are. I do wish we'd stop infecting others, though. The moral here, if we can find one under the pile of horsecrap: Don't ask people if they think there should be more white superstar ballers (when they are right under your nose) without asking if there should be more black superstar lawyers, doctors, and sports interviewers who can spell "enigmatic."
Good freaking word, Shaq. Thank you.
We will miss you Ralph Wiley, there is now one less voice out there to really tell it like it is. Rest In Peace.
He had recently written a column about the NBA which was amazing. Wiley could discuss racial issues more thoughtfully and productively than anyone I have ever read. I'll give you an example from this column.
The arrogance, not of the Lakers (although they have it, too) but of the Laker fans, was and is not unique in the annals of American sport. But it is the current rendition of American sport ... four black men, the Musketeers, and their D'Artagnan, Kobe Bryant. But, in the post-O.J. world, a racial dynamic will always pivot the national attention.
This is why I mention the "Two On Two" program airing tonight. It's always good to interview men such as Magic and Bird and Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, to see how they tick -- and from the league perspective, to see if such bounty as the Era of Bird and Magic spawned can ever be reproduced. David Stern would love it. Consciously or not, so would you. I myself once said on the L.A.-based show "Rome Is Burning" that everybody would probably get into it more if Carmelo Anthony, the foil for LeBron James, were a white kid instead of a black one. I didn't say it as an I-wish thing, or as a condemnation.
It is the first way people draw a rooting interest in our nation of fools.
But it is not the only way, as the Lakers joining the Pantheon of the Yankees, Notre Dame and the Dallas Cowboys as America's Teams shows.
Now we have Iceberg Jim asking Larry Bird, "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars, in your opinion?"
This, right after Bird is being one of the fellows, in his opinion, by saying he hated it when a white guy tried to guard him because he felt that was beneath him. There was laughter in this part of the segment, although it was nervous uncomfortable laughter from LeBron and 'Melo. Magic was laughing, but then he laughs at everything.
You know what's troubling about this? You and me. That's what the marketers think of us. Dangle the red meat of race in front of them, and they'll tune in and get the fruits and vegetables and all the stuff that's good for them but that they won't tune in for otherwise. That's No. 1.
No. 2, the timing. I mean, Gray asked this question, and elicits this answer, and there Luke Walton is! I mean, there he is, right in front of your eyes, as the only possible salvation of the Lakers in the NBA Finals! And you can't make a Luke Walton overnight. You can't I-wish up on one. It takes years and years and years of training, as well as many other variables falling exactly into place. It's just like when some of these know-nothings with ulterior motives ask, "Where are the American-born blacks in big league baseball?" And then I turn on the TV and there they are!
Somebody explain this to me.
It seems the only one who cares that Larry is white, is Larry.
No. 3, and somehow most disquieting: A couple of days before, in the run-up to Game 2 in L.A., Iceberg Jim Gray, who is a colleague of mine, a long-time acquaintance, was asking Shaquille O'Neal questions about the Finals and the Laker season, questions that don't get nearly as much media mileage as "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars, in your opinion?" Near the conclusion of Gray's interview with O'Neal, Gray asked O'Neal to characterize the Laker season; and O'Neal did, with the last word he used being "enigmatic."
Good word. O'Neal seemed to try to humorize his use of it by smiling and saying Jim might not feel the use of such a word was appropriate -- if, in fact, he knew what it meant. O'Neal was sort of diffusing his own use of the word, as if Jim would take it as inappropriate, not as a word -- it was exactly the proper word -- but inappropriate for Shaq to use.
The word seemed to throw Jim Gray, who said to Shaq, "Spell that."
I was stunned. Almost as stunned as when O'Neal almost defiantly spelled it perfectly. He's lucky Shaq responded. Responded? He's lucky Shaq didn't drill him. Luckily for Iceberg Jim, Shaq's not that type. Spell that? What is that supposed to prove?
Wait. Don't answer that. Somehow I think it's going to lead to a question about race. Iceberg Jim is not so innocent here; but then again, few of us are. I do wish we'd stop infecting others, though. The moral here, if we can find one under the pile of horsecrap: Don't ask people if they think there should be more white superstar ballers (when they are right under your nose) without asking if there should be more black superstar lawyers, doctors, and sports interviewers who can spell "enigmatic."
Good freaking word, Shaq. Thank you.
We will miss you Ralph Wiley, there is now one less voice out there to really tell it like it is. Rest In Peace.
Monday, June 14, 2004
SCOTUS punts on the Pledge Case....................
(via Jeff G at Protein Wisdom)
Supreme Court Decides Pledge Case on Technicality
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that California atheist Michael Newdow lacked the right to bring a constitutional challenge to the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, avoiding a decision on the key church-state issue.
By an 8-0 vote, the justices overturned a controversial decision by a U.S. appeals court in California that reciting the phrase amounted to a violation of church-state separation.
The ruling by the justices was based on the technicality that Newdow could not bring the case before the court because he did not have legal control over his daughter, on whose behalf he was arguing.
I kind of figured they would punt on this one. As Bill from INDC stated in the comments at Protein Wisdom- "Regardless of the potential outcome, they chickened out. I certainly would have liked to have read the justification for "under God" in the event of an affirmative ruling ... following that situational logic would have been like sniffing hairspray from a paper bag."
Under God is a religious term. Therefore, requiring someone to recite the pledge of allegiance, which refers to a God in the text (despite the fact that the original author of the text, who was a minister, didn't include "God" in the text)would be the government establishing religion. Not a religion, but RELIGION period.
Once again, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". Not "a" religion but religion period. The current version of the pledge clearly violates the 1st amendment.
We cannot strive to promote democracy in the middle east where Islamic theocracy reigns supreme if we can't maintain our own commitment to seperation of church and state.
Supreme Court Decides Pledge Case on Technicality
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that California atheist Michael Newdow lacked the right to bring a constitutional challenge to the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, avoiding a decision on the key church-state issue.
By an 8-0 vote, the justices overturned a controversial decision by a U.S. appeals court in California that reciting the phrase amounted to a violation of church-state separation.
The ruling by the justices was based on the technicality that Newdow could not bring the case before the court because he did not have legal control over his daughter, on whose behalf he was arguing.
I kind of figured they would punt on this one. As Bill from INDC stated in the comments at Protein Wisdom- "Regardless of the potential outcome, they chickened out. I certainly would have liked to have read the justification for "under God" in the event of an affirmative ruling ... following that situational logic would have been like sniffing hairspray from a paper bag."
Under God is a religious term. Therefore, requiring someone to recite the pledge of allegiance, which refers to a God in the text (despite the fact that the original author of the text, who was a minister, didn't include "God" in the text)would be the government establishing religion. Not a religion, but RELIGION period.
Once again, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". Not "a" religion but religion period. The current version of the pledge clearly violates the 1st amendment.
We cannot strive to promote democracy in the middle east where Islamic theocracy reigns supreme if we can't maintain our own commitment to seperation of church and state.
Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated............
.......So, does that sound pretty harsh?
Unfortunately, at this present time, we are left with fewer and fewer options, as the Iranian Mullahs foment more unrest in Iraq through terrorist/suicide attacks, the Iranian people continue to suffer under a regime that would make Saddam proud. It is abundantly clear that the Iranian regime is terrified that Iraq could become a successful democracy, because it would undermine their tyranny to have Iranians reading free press from Iraq. The Iranian support for the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr should be evidence enough.
First of all, in terms of their nuclear weapons programs, Iran Isn't Even Hiding It.
"Iran’s top diplomat said Saturday the country won’t accept any new internationally imposed obligations regarding its nuclear program and that the world must recognize Iran as a nuclear-capable nation.
“We won’t accept any new obligations,” Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters, suggesting a toughening of Iran’s position two days before the 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, meets to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
“Iran has a high technical capability and has to be recognized by the international community as a member of the nuclear club,” Kharrazi said at a press conference. “This is an irreversible path.”
Not good. Everyone chastised Israel for destroying the same type of reactor in Iraq (supplied by our -ahem- "allies", the French) that would have allowed Saddam to get nuclear weapons well before the first Gulf war. Does anyone doubt that Saddam would have used one by now if he had them? Even to attack his own country? I shudder to think of the possibilities of that scenario.
It is also no secret that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, including aiding and abetting al-qaeda, as well as their well known connections and support of Hezbollah.
Comfy yet? Good. Now for the really bad news.
Europe and Britain are dependant on Iran for a large percentage of their oil, no big secret there. Unfortunately, they are now forced with either helping the US make sure the UN keeps Iran nuclear-weapons free, or sit out the whole thing and continue to allow the Iranian mullahs to retain power and design and construct nuclear weapons. You can bet your ass that as soon as Iran is capable, these nukes will be aimed at Israel almost immediately. And Israel is well aware of that.
Hopefully we can support the Iranian people in their internal struggle to reform and promote equal rights and democracy over Islamic theocracy, thus preventing any need to include military support. I have signed this petition here , and I suggest that others do as well. If enough diplomatic and grass-root support is created, the destruction of the murderous Iranian theocracy could end without military involvement.
For more information relating to freedom for Iran, please visit here.
Unfortunately, at this present time, we are left with fewer and fewer options, as the Iranian Mullahs foment more unrest in Iraq through terrorist/suicide attacks, the Iranian people continue to suffer under a regime that would make Saddam proud. It is abundantly clear that the Iranian regime is terrified that Iraq could become a successful democracy, because it would undermine their tyranny to have Iranians reading free press from Iraq. The Iranian support for the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr should be evidence enough.
First of all, in terms of their nuclear weapons programs, Iran Isn't Even Hiding It.
"Iran’s top diplomat said Saturday the country won’t accept any new internationally imposed obligations regarding its nuclear program and that the world must recognize Iran as a nuclear-capable nation.
“We won’t accept any new obligations,” Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters, suggesting a toughening of Iran’s position two days before the 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, meets to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
“Iran has a high technical capability and has to be recognized by the international community as a member of the nuclear club,” Kharrazi said at a press conference. “This is an irreversible path.”
Not good. Everyone chastised Israel for destroying the same type of reactor in Iraq (supplied by our -ahem- "allies", the French) that would have allowed Saddam to get nuclear weapons well before the first Gulf war. Does anyone doubt that Saddam would have used one by now if he had them? Even to attack his own country? I shudder to think of the possibilities of that scenario.
It is also no secret that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, including aiding and abetting al-qaeda, as well as their well known connections and support of Hezbollah.
Comfy yet? Good. Now for the really bad news.
Europe and Britain are dependant on Iran for a large percentage of their oil, no big secret there. Unfortunately, they are now forced with either helping the US make sure the UN keeps Iran nuclear-weapons free, or sit out the whole thing and continue to allow the Iranian mullahs to retain power and design and construct nuclear weapons. You can bet your ass that as soon as Iran is capable, these nukes will be aimed at Israel almost immediately. And Israel is well aware of that.
Hopefully we can support the Iranian people in their internal struggle to reform and promote equal rights and democracy over Islamic theocracy, thus preventing any need to include military support. I have signed this petition here , and I suggest that others do as well. If enough diplomatic and grass-root support is created, the destruction of the murderous Iranian theocracy could end without military involvement.
For more information relating to freedom for Iran, please visit here.
Friday, June 11, 2004
The Day After in Tomorrow in Fifteen Minutes...................
(via Unscrewing the Inscrutable)
Some priceless friday humor- Cleolinda Jones does her 15 minute version of the new action/disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow.
And it is hi-larious. Click to read- drink warning-
An Excerpt-
Giant Room of Giant Computers (D.C. Office of Sciency Things, Possibly Including NASA)
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: NONE OF OUR THEORIES EXPLAIN WHAT’S HAPPENING AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!
JACK: Well, I have a non-Scottish professor in Scotland who says that the melting of the polar ice caps, as seen in my first scene in this movie, is causing a catastrophic desalinization of the North Atlantic, which in turn is screwing up the currents, which in turn is screwing up the rest of the weather.
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: Which means…?
JACK: Icy death.
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: OH NOES!
CLEO: Okay, so… if the problem is rapid desalinization… is there any way you could try to … resalinize the ocean?
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: So… what you’re suggesting is… we dump the world’s table salt reserves into the North Atlantic.
CLEO: I didn’t say… well, something like that. Only make it sciency.
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: …
CLEO: …
JACK: Ma’am, that idea is too stupid even for this movie.
Some priceless friday humor- Cleolinda Jones does her 15 minute version of the new action/disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow.
And it is hi-larious. Click to read- drink warning-
An Excerpt-
Giant Room of Giant Computers (D.C. Office of Sciency Things, Possibly Including NASA)
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: NONE OF OUR THEORIES EXPLAIN WHAT’S HAPPENING AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!
JACK: Well, I have a non-Scottish professor in Scotland who says that the melting of the polar ice caps, as seen in my first scene in this movie, is causing a catastrophic desalinization of the North Atlantic, which in turn is screwing up the currents, which in turn is screwing up the rest of the weather.
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: Which means…?
JACK: Icy death.
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: OH NOES!
CLEO: Okay, so… if the problem is rapid desalinization… is there any way you could try to … resalinize the ocean?
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: So… what you’re suggesting is… we dump the world’s table salt reserves into the North Atlantic.
CLEO: I didn’t say… well, something like that. Only make it sciency.
MOVIE SCIENTISTS: …
CLEO: …
JACK: Ma’am, that idea is too stupid even for this movie.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
So did anyone else read this Bill Russell column in the Wall Street Journal?....
...............Anyone?.........No?
See, since I only have time to read one paper every day, I choose the Journal. I choose the WSJ mainly because they don't pretend to be unbiased. The paper is primarily concerned with money, and what it's doing. You can elaborate, which the Journal does and say the philosophy behind the paper is Free Markets, Free people, and you would be right. It isn't a coincidence that those two go together. You could criticize it and say that it's conservative/republican biased. I would disagree. Albert Hunt bashes Bush worse than anyone in the New York Times. There is always a "this is good, but" media balancing act in every front page political briefing. Free markets, Free people, that's the only bias.
As a bonus, The WSJ somehow managed to get Bill Russell, the Hall Of Famer (who won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 13 seasons (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69)) to pen a column about the beauty of this years NBA Finals.
DEFENSE.
I'm not exactly sure if I'm breaking any laws here, but I want to post the whole article, with a link to the original, because after the absolute beating the Pistons gave the Lakers tonight, it almost writes itself. Keep in mind that Bill Russell rarely, if ever even grants interviews, never mind writing his own column.
Enjoy.........and buy a journal or something....
An NBA Finals Victory
Begins With Team Defense
By BILL RUSSELL
June 8, 2004; Page D14
As we saw Sunday in Game One of the NBA Finals (the most exciting time of the NBA season), defense is the tiebreaker. Tonight, as the Los Angeles Lakers meet the Detroit Pistons for Game Two, defense will continue to be the key.
I always would rather play in and win a close game with unrelenting defense and a final score of 84-83 than a game where one team scores 120 points and wins by 15. Dunks and great passes are always exciting, and even so-called low-scoring games have their share of them. But nothing compares to the subtle beauty of a winner absolutely taking away the other team's "game."
Defense is an action, not a reaction. Great defense attacks an opponent's offense vs. reacting to it.
When I was playing for them, the Boston Celtics won an unprecedented 11 championships in 13 seasons, from 1957 to 1969, by embracing a team strategy that I call "team ego." Team ego recognizes the collective alignment of everyone's individual talents for the benefit of the team. Team defense wins games. Team defense -- that is, the coordinated efforts of five individuals -- wins championships. From high school to the NBA, I played 21 years of organized basketball and won 18 championships, including the record 11 NBA titles, by focusing on our being the better defensive team.
How does one team become the better defensive team?
Game One of the NBA Finals.
The most successful defensive teams understand one critical reality: All players have patterns of play. Wilt Chamberlain was bigger, stronger and faster than almost any center to play the game. When his team was on offense, Wilt like every other player had one particular place he liked to start his offensive pattern from. By simply "nudging" Wilt a few inches (any more would have tipped him off to what I was doing) from that "starting" spot, I quietly took Wilt out of his comfort zone of play.
Great defensive teams study the offensive patterns of every team and every player they play against. Great defensive teams understand the predictability of their opponents' offensive patterns. All great offensive players are predictable. Still, it's inconceivable that any team can always take away its opponent's first shot option or favorite move or favorite starting offensive position. But in team defense, the core operating principle is to reduce efficiency. Our game plan never varied, we could let our opponent's star offensive player score 35 points, but if we could take away Jerry West, Oscar Robertson or Walt Frazier's preferred shot and cause him to miss three, four, five or six shots...we believed that we could convert those misses into Celtic points.
This week during The Finals, try watching the Lakers and the Pistons differently. Watch for the team that builds its defense around taking away its opponent's preferred shots (its first option) or preferred shooting positions. Watch Kobe Bryant or Ben Wallace try to force their opponents into their second or third options. As we began taking our opponents out of their offensive comfort zone, our team would subtly begin backing up each other to compensate for these defensive changes. This team defensive effort was singularly what created the Celtics' records.
The second characteristic of great team defense is a team that understands the power of invisibility. I can admit this now, some 35 years after my last game: I used to get this great joy from having my opponents "look for me." Why? Because it distracted them and took them out of their pattern of comfort. Defense is about breaking your opponent's offensive patterns, breaking its concentration and subtly modifying its offensive schemes. Blocking shots, stealing passes and causing turnovers all distract its concentration. Team defense is as much a psychological strategy as it is a tactical weapon.
In the end, an offense feeds off of its defense. And effective offenses begin with effective defense.
Our Celtic style of play is timeless and will always be relevant. I see a number of players and teams in the NBA who understand the subtle art and science of defense. Wallace of the Pistons comes to mind. Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers clearly earned the Defensive Player of the Year award. And while both Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bryant of the Lakers are known for their scoring ability, they also are among the best players in shutting down their opponent.
It is no mystery why the Lakers, Timberwolves, Pistons and Pacers were all within sight of The Finals. Four of the five players named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team made it to the Conference Finals -- Wallace, Bryant, Artest and Garnett. In fact, the past 15 NBA champions ranked in the top five in at least one of the two major defensive categories (points and field-goal percentage) during the regular season or postseason.
I don't know who will win tonight, or if it will be the Lakers or Pistons to emerge as the 2004 NBA champions. But I do know how the eventual champion will arrive at the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Since the Celtics transformed basketball, defense wins championships.
Mr. Russell, who played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969, was named Sports Illustrated's Greatest Team Player on the Greatest Team of the 20th Century and is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.
See, since I only have time to read one paper every day, I choose the Journal. I choose the WSJ mainly because they don't pretend to be unbiased. The paper is primarily concerned with money, and what it's doing. You can elaborate, which the Journal does and say the philosophy behind the paper is Free Markets, Free people, and you would be right. It isn't a coincidence that those two go together. You could criticize it and say that it's conservative/republican biased. I would disagree. Albert Hunt bashes Bush worse than anyone in the New York Times. There is always a "this is good, but" media balancing act in every front page political briefing. Free markets, Free people, that's the only bias.
As a bonus, The WSJ somehow managed to get Bill Russell, the Hall Of Famer (who won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 13 seasons (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69)) to pen a column about the beauty of this years NBA Finals.
DEFENSE.
I'm not exactly sure if I'm breaking any laws here, but I want to post the whole article, with a link to the original, because after the absolute beating the Pistons gave the Lakers tonight, it almost writes itself. Keep in mind that Bill Russell rarely, if ever even grants interviews, never mind writing his own column.
Enjoy.........and buy a journal or something....
An NBA Finals Victory
Begins With Team Defense
By BILL RUSSELL
June 8, 2004; Page D14
As we saw Sunday in Game One of the NBA Finals (the most exciting time of the NBA season), defense is the tiebreaker. Tonight, as the Los Angeles Lakers meet the Detroit Pistons for Game Two, defense will continue to be the key.
I always would rather play in and win a close game with unrelenting defense and a final score of 84-83 than a game where one team scores 120 points and wins by 15. Dunks and great passes are always exciting, and even so-called low-scoring games have their share of them. But nothing compares to the subtle beauty of a winner absolutely taking away the other team's "game."
Defense is an action, not a reaction. Great defense attacks an opponent's offense vs. reacting to it.
When I was playing for them, the Boston Celtics won an unprecedented 11 championships in 13 seasons, from 1957 to 1969, by embracing a team strategy that I call "team ego." Team ego recognizes the collective alignment of everyone's individual talents for the benefit of the team. Team defense wins games. Team defense -- that is, the coordinated efforts of five individuals -- wins championships. From high school to the NBA, I played 21 years of organized basketball and won 18 championships, including the record 11 NBA titles, by focusing on our being the better defensive team.
How does one team become the better defensive team?
Game One of the NBA Finals.
The most successful defensive teams understand one critical reality: All players have patterns of play. Wilt Chamberlain was bigger, stronger and faster than almost any center to play the game. When his team was on offense, Wilt like every other player had one particular place he liked to start his offensive pattern from. By simply "nudging" Wilt a few inches (any more would have tipped him off to what I was doing) from that "starting" spot, I quietly took Wilt out of his comfort zone of play.
Great defensive teams study the offensive patterns of every team and every player they play against. Great defensive teams understand the predictability of their opponents' offensive patterns. All great offensive players are predictable. Still, it's inconceivable that any team can always take away its opponent's first shot option or favorite move or favorite starting offensive position. But in team defense, the core operating principle is to reduce efficiency. Our game plan never varied, we could let our opponent's star offensive player score 35 points, but if we could take away Jerry West, Oscar Robertson or Walt Frazier's preferred shot and cause him to miss three, four, five or six shots...we believed that we could convert those misses into Celtic points.
This week during The Finals, try watching the Lakers and the Pistons differently. Watch for the team that builds its defense around taking away its opponent's preferred shots (its first option) or preferred shooting positions. Watch Kobe Bryant or Ben Wallace try to force their opponents into their second or third options. As we began taking our opponents out of their offensive comfort zone, our team would subtly begin backing up each other to compensate for these defensive changes. This team defensive effort was singularly what created the Celtics' records.
The second characteristic of great team defense is a team that understands the power of invisibility. I can admit this now, some 35 years after my last game: I used to get this great joy from having my opponents "look for me." Why? Because it distracted them and took them out of their pattern of comfort. Defense is about breaking your opponent's offensive patterns, breaking its concentration and subtly modifying its offensive schemes. Blocking shots, stealing passes and causing turnovers all distract its concentration. Team defense is as much a psychological strategy as it is a tactical weapon.
In the end, an offense feeds off of its defense. And effective offenses begin with effective defense.
Our Celtic style of play is timeless and will always be relevant. I see a number of players and teams in the NBA who understand the subtle art and science of defense. Wallace of the Pistons comes to mind. Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers clearly earned the Defensive Player of the Year award. And while both Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bryant of the Lakers are known for their scoring ability, they also are among the best players in shutting down their opponent.
It is no mystery why the Lakers, Timberwolves, Pistons and Pacers were all within sight of The Finals. Four of the five players named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team made it to the Conference Finals -- Wallace, Bryant, Artest and Garnett. In fact, the past 15 NBA champions ranked in the top five in at least one of the two major defensive categories (points and field-goal percentage) during the regular season or postseason.
I don't know who will win tonight, or if it will be the Lakers or Pistons to emerge as the 2004 NBA champions. But I do know how the eventual champion will arrive at the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Since the Celtics transformed basketball, defense wins championships.
Mr. Russell, who played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969, was named Sports Illustrated's Greatest Team Player on the Greatest Team of the 20th Century and is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.
Man what a bummer.........Ray Charles dies...........
...........Easily one of the most talented performers this country has ever produced. He worked his ass off to become as successful as he was, starting out at the bottom of the ladder. Ray also was able to play and record in just about any style of music he wanted to.
Music Legend Ray Charles Dies
My personal favorite Ray Charles song........(especially the back-up singers who wail the chorus)
LET'S GO GET STONED
Ray Charles
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
When your baby won't let you in
Got a few pennies, a bottle of gin
Just call your buddy on the telephone
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
When you work so hard all the day long
And everything you do seems to go wrong
Just drop by my place on your way home
Let's go get stoned
It ain't no harm
You're takin just a taste
But don't blow your cool
and start messing up the place
It ain't no harm you're faking just a nip
But make sure you don't fall down bust your lip
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
RIP Ray Charles, you will be missed........as they say, that concert in the Sky just keeps adding more acts....Now Ray can wail away in peace.....
Music Legend Ray Charles Dies
My personal favorite Ray Charles song........(especially the back-up singers who wail the chorus)
LET'S GO GET STONED
Ray Charles
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
When your baby won't let you in
Got a few pennies, a bottle of gin
Just call your buddy on the telephone
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
When you work so hard all the day long
And everything you do seems to go wrong
Just drop by my place on your way home
Let's go get stoned
It ain't no harm
You're takin just a taste
But don't blow your cool
and start messing up the place
It ain't no harm you're faking just a nip
But make sure you don't fall down bust your lip
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
RIP Ray Charles, you will be missed........as they say, that concert in the Sky just keeps adding more acts....Now Ray can wail away in peace.....
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
True Patriot, this is Tman's blog...........................
I don't need to speak for Mr Hanson, he does fine on his own. Much like the way I link to Cox and Forkum or others, I feel that what Mr Hanson has to say is eloquent and descriptive of the opinions I feel are not being expressed online or otherwise. So since I went to the trouble to make a blog expressing how I feel, I will link, post, excerpt, or display any damn persons essay I want. You like Chomsky or Zinn or something like that? You can do the same with them. Go nuts.
But this is Tman's blog.
TruePatriot wrote
in the comments-
"Is he not a member of this "common media"? (I'm not familiar with this term.) "
I read him occasionally printed in the WSJ, but he is by no means a familiar name in the major newsmedia. How many Hanson essays have you read in USA Today lately? Probably not many. And btw, "common media" was a reference to the liberal bias in media and elsewhere today, thought you would get it, sorry.
"You are aware that the widely read "National Review" isn't exactly printed on an underground press. "
Yes, I'm aware.
"You seem to think that I'm somehow in cahoots with this "common media" and an anti-semite at that."
No, and no. Show me where I accused you of either.
"Fuck you."
Nice. Glad you could visit the blog.
"Simplifying people, i.e. 'me', or events into pallatable, manageable bits helps nothing and is, at best, counter productive."
Say what now? When did I accuse you of anything? I asked you a question in this comment here, and I'll ask you again, who contributes more to the defeat of Islamic terrorism, Michael Moore or (since I can't say Pat Tillman without someone getting sick of hearing about it) a US Army Ranger in Afghanistan?
How you can twist that in to me calling you an anti-semite is quite a neat trick.
"Not unlike Hanson's analysis of the war."
What exactly did you find counter-productive about Hansons analysis of the war? Anything at all? One point maybe? Ad hominem and expletive free perhaps?
"How, by the way, does one fight a war "in both an economical and humane fashion"?
By being as efficient as possible. You show me another conflict where a Military as powerful as the US has was able to liberate and occupy a country the size of California in three weeks with as little collateral damage. The US and the Coalition spent enormous time and energy in trying to preserve the infrastructure and minimize casualties. And while doing it, we maintain the defense of Europe, Japan, South Korea and others. How they do that while spending a lower percentage of yearly budget than other large countries is an example of the economical aspects. Since you asked.
" If Hanson isn't on hand to post a comment I suppose one from Tman will do."
TP, this is Tman's blog.
But this is Tman's blog.
TruePatriot wrote
in the comments-
"Is he not a member of this "common media"? (I'm not familiar with this term.) "
I read him occasionally printed in the WSJ, but he is by no means a familiar name in the major newsmedia. How many Hanson essays have you read in USA Today lately? Probably not many. And btw, "common media" was a reference to the liberal bias in media and elsewhere today, thought you would get it, sorry.
"You are aware that the widely read "National Review" isn't exactly printed on an underground press. "
Yes, I'm aware.
"You seem to think that I'm somehow in cahoots with this "common media" and an anti-semite at that."
No, and no. Show me where I accused you of either.
"Fuck you."
Nice. Glad you could visit the blog.
"Simplifying people, i.e. 'me', or events into pallatable, manageable bits helps nothing and is, at best, counter productive."
Say what now? When did I accuse you of anything? I asked you a question in this comment here, and I'll ask you again, who contributes more to the defeat of Islamic terrorism, Michael Moore or (since I can't say Pat Tillman without someone getting sick of hearing about it) a US Army Ranger in Afghanistan?
How you can twist that in to me calling you an anti-semite is quite a neat trick.
"Not unlike Hanson's analysis of the war."
What exactly did you find counter-productive about Hansons analysis of the war? Anything at all? One point maybe? Ad hominem and expletive free perhaps?
"How, by the way, does one fight a war "in both an economical and humane fashion"?
By being as efficient as possible. You show me another conflict where a Military as powerful as the US has was able to liberate and occupy a country the size of California in three weeks with as little collateral damage. The US and the Coalition spent enormous time and energy in trying to preserve the infrastructure and minimize casualties. And while doing it, we maintain the defense of Europe, Japan, South Korea and others. How they do that while spending a lower percentage of yearly budget than other large countries is an example of the economical aspects. Since you asked.
" If Hanson isn't on hand to post a comment I suppose one from Tman will do."
TP, this is Tman's blog.
BUT IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE OIL!!!!!! NO BLOOD FOR OOOIIIIILLLL!!!!!
............."NO BLOOD FOR OIL!!!!
what's that? You mean it wasn't?
Well then. Nevermind."
How does that crow taste you useful idiot moonbats?
what's that? You mean it wasn't?
Well then. Nevermind."
How does that crow taste you useful idiot moonbats?
The BlackFive Original post- French General and the M1A1 .........
I was trying to tell this story about the French General reviewing the US M1A1 tank the other day, and I forgot exactly how it went. One quick trip through google later and here it is.
Hands down one of the best French military stories I have ever heard, and since so many Frenchies have decided to piss on the US during the D-Day anniversary, I feel it is my duty to post this story....enjoy...
Hands down one of the best French military stories I have ever heard, and since so many Frenchies have decided to piss on the US during the D-Day anniversary, I feel it is my duty to post this story....enjoy...
Venus Transit Pictures.........................
For those interested in seeing a black dot (Venus) in front of the sun, here's some good pics............Venus Transit Pics
Tampa Bay takes the Cup......................
Sorry Canada, maybe this was karmic retribution for letting your inbred cousins in Montreal boo the US national anthem when they played the Bruins in the playoffs this year, but Lord Stanleys Cup will remain stateside for at least one more year....
Lightning answer Lord Stanley's Call...
Cheers to Andreychuk, 22 years in the NHL and he never gave up his dream of winning the cup. Apparently he had never won any Hockey related championship before so add 13 years of youth and college hockey to his championship drought.
Also, cheers to Calgary for playing so hard and strong throughout this series. You hate to see either of these teams lose the way they were playing, but that's how it goes. Iginla and the rest will be back, that you can be sure of.
Hats off to Lightning Owner Bill Davidson, who has a chance to watch the second of his two pro teams compete for a title. Mr Davidson also owns the Detroit Pistons.
Another week or two of basketball, and then we sports fans go in to hibernation for the next three months until football comes back.
Baseball doesn't count if you're a Red Sox fan. Trust me on this, ok? Just trust me. I don't want to hear a damn thing about the worlds most depressing franchise until September, it's bad for my blood pressure.
Congrats Bolts, a cup well earned.
Lightning answer Lord Stanley's Call...
Cheers to Andreychuk, 22 years in the NHL and he never gave up his dream of winning the cup. Apparently he had never won any Hockey related championship before so add 13 years of youth and college hockey to his championship drought.
Also, cheers to Calgary for playing so hard and strong throughout this series. You hate to see either of these teams lose the way they were playing, but that's how it goes. Iginla and the rest will be back, that you can be sure of.
Hats off to Lightning Owner Bill Davidson, who has a chance to watch the second of his two pro teams compete for a title. Mr Davidson also owns the Detroit Pistons.
Another week or two of basketball, and then we sports fans go in to hibernation for the next three months until football comes back.
Baseball doesn't count if you're a Red Sox fan. Trust me on this, ok? Just trust me. I don't want to hear a damn thing about the worlds most depressing franchise until September, it's bad for my blood pressure.
Congrats Bolts, a cup well earned.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Tman Weekend roundup...............................
Many highlights.......
Friday Night- Went out with friends to Rumba, had many drinks of Zaya on the rocks, that is one fine Guatemalan rum right there. I wanted to get some sleep for the block party for the next day, so we had one more at Jacksons and called it a night.
Saturday- Met Ryan at Bonga Java, went back to apartment to cool off and watch some of Ike: CountDown to D-Day. The show did a great job of showing how tense everyone was leading up to D-Day, and spent plenty of time on the argument between waiting for June 6th or going early in May. Ike had to explain himself to Churchill, and that scene was pretty compelling. I'd say Selleck did a good job with the part, although I am by no means an Ike biographer. This along with many other D-Day specials on TV for the 60th anniversary put a humbling spin on the weekend, as we paused quite a few times to toast those who sacrificed so we could have our freedoms. We are forever in their debt.
Later that afternoon we went to the Belmont-Hillsboro annual block party on Sweetbriar and Belmont. For the past decade, Bill Ramsey has celebrated the birthday of Otha Turner, legendary fife and drum musician. Over the years the birthday party evolved in to a full blown block party with food, drinks and live music, as well as raising donations for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Sadly, Otha Turner passed away last year, so like last year, this years party was known as An Ode to Otha. Man, what a bash. Great food-BBQ, Catfish, BBQ'd Chicken, Jalapeno Cornbread, New Potato salad, Beans, on and on. ANd the $25 donation got you all the food and beer you could consume. Needless to say, we consumed quite a fair share of food and beer that evening.
Around 9:30, Ryan pulled up the NHL/Stanley Cup Game 6 score on his cell phone (handy, isn't it?), tied at 2 apiece going in to the third. So we went back to watch the third and inevitable DOUBLE overtime. Yet another incredible Stanley Cup series. St. Louis scores the game winner in the 2nd OT period, with what appeared to be a physics defying wrister over Kiprusoffs shoulder. Unbelievable. After that, it was sleep time.
Sunday Domestic responsibilities (laundry, clean the truck, etcetc.), followed by some Bongo coffee and breakfast. After that we went to watch the Pistons Lakers Game 1 NBA Finals at Sams.
Few things made me as happy this weekend as watching both the Calgary fans and the LA Forum fans quietly exit the building after the loss. Both places acted as if it was a preordained conclusion they were going to see victories, although more so in LA. I get more joy watching pampered movie stars have to shake their head in disgust as LA only scored 75 total points in the game. Detroit finally answered the question of whether or not they can hang with the three time champions, as they handed LA a 87-75 beating at the forum, shutting down the much-vaunted LA offense. After the game we went to Rumba again to help celebrate a friend of ours 30th birthday. The whole place was set up for his party, dj's included. I could only handle two beers and it was bedtime. Way too tired to hang and then work the next day.
All in all, a fabulous weekend, great sports, great food, and somber and humble moments in honor of those who died so I could have weekends like this....
Back to the regularly scheduled ranting soon.
Friday Night- Went out with friends to Rumba, had many drinks of Zaya on the rocks, that is one fine Guatemalan rum right there. I wanted to get some sleep for the block party for the next day, so we had one more at Jacksons and called it a night.
Saturday- Met Ryan at Bonga Java, went back to apartment to cool off and watch some of Ike: CountDown to D-Day. The show did a great job of showing how tense everyone was leading up to D-Day, and spent plenty of time on the argument between waiting for June 6th or going early in May. Ike had to explain himself to Churchill, and that scene was pretty compelling. I'd say Selleck did a good job with the part, although I am by no means an Ike biographer. This along with many other D-Day specials on TV for the 60th anniversary put a humbling spin on the weekend, as we paused quite a few times to toast those who sacrificed so we could have our freedoms. We are forever in their debt.
Later that afternoon we went to the Belmont-Hillsboro annual block party on Sweetbriar and Belmont. For the past decade, Bill Ramsey has celebrated the birthday of Otha Turner, legendary fife and drum musician. Over the years the birthday party evolved in to a full blown block party with food, drinks and live music, as well as raising donations for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Sadly, Otha Turner passed away last year, so like last year, this years party was known as An Ode to Otha. Man, what a bash. Great food-BBQ, Catfish, BBQ'd Chicken, Jalapeno Cornbread, New Potato salad, Beans, on and on. ANd the $25 donation got you all the food and beer you could consume. Needless to say, we consumed quite a fair share of food and beer that evening.
Around 9:30, Ryan pulled up the NHL/Stanley Cup Game 6 score on his cell phone (handy, isn't it?), tied at 2 apiece going in to the third. So we went back to watch the third and inevitable DOUBLE overtime. Yet another incredible Stanley Cup series. St. Louis scores the game winner in the 2nd OT period, with what appeared to be a physics defying wrister over Kiprusoffs shoulder. Unbelievable. After that, it was sleep time.
Sunday Domestic responsibilities (laundry, clean the truck, etcetc.), followed by some Bongo coffee and breakfast. After that we went to watch the Pistons Lakers Game 1 NBA Finals at Sams.
Few things made me as happy this weekend as watching both the Calgary fans and the LA Forum fans quietly exit the building after the loss. Both places acted as if it was a preordained conclusion they were going to see victories, although more so in LA. I get more joy watching pampered movie stars have to shake their head in disgust as LA only scored 75 total points in the game. Detroit finally answered the question of whether or not they can hang with the three time champions, as they handed LA a 87-75 beating at the forum, shutting down the much-vaunted LA offense. After the game we went to Rumba again to help celebrate a friend of ours 30th birthday. The whole place was set up for his party, dj's included. I could only handle two beers and it was bedtime. Way too tired to hang and then work the next day.
All in all, a fabulous weekend, great sports, great food, and somber and humble moments in honor of those who died so I could have weekends like this....
Back to the regularly scheduled ranting soon.
Friday, June 04, 2004
For True Patriot: Victor David Hanson on the New Defeatism...........................
The common media meme these days is that Iraq is total chaos, we've lost the war, Iraqis all hate us, we're killing the soldiers by making them stay, we'll never succeed in helping them in transition from dictatorship to democracy, it was all about oil (bleh), Bush lied to drag us in to HIS war, etc etc etc, ad freaking infinitum.
Since I can't possibly express the counterpoint to these arguments anywhere nearly as eloquent as VDH, I'll give you some stanzas from todays weekly column, "The New Defeatism"...
"In somber tones newscasters assure us of all sorts of bad things to come. But our soldiers have continued to fight in Iraq as the plans for transition have inched forward. So let us review the conventional ignorance and ponder what exactly is our national affliction.
No Plan? For those who think that we are either incompetent or disingenuous in Iraq, look at Kurdistan, where seven million people live under humane government with less than 300 American troops. How did that happen? The people of Kurdistan are Islamic, often quarrelsome folks — in the heart of the Middle East — now residing in relative safety and autonomy, and expressing good will toward the United States. They accept that we don't want Kurdish oil any more than we want to take over the sands and slums of the Sunni Triangle. So the problem in central Iraq is not us, but rather the fact that unlike Kurdistan — which had a decade of transition toward consensual society thanks to Anglo-American pilots — the country is reeling from 30 years of autocracy, in which Islamic fascism offered an alternative of sorts to an ossified Soviet-style dictatorship.
We have always had a "plan" in Iraq — it was to leave the country something like its northern third in Kurdistan. Precisely because it was costly, idealistic, and dangerous, we should expect a lot of killing and bombing in the next few months as an array of opponents tries to derail the upcoming transition and elections. Anyone who thinks thousands of Islamic fascists and out-of-work Baathists won't want to stop the region's first consensual government is unhinged. But, again, for all our mistakes of omission there was and is a plan — and it is now slowly coming to messy fruition. Even after the spring nightmare, we do not hear many Iraqis saying, "Leave right now and take your stinking $87 billion with you," much less, "Give us back Saddam" or "Quit stealing our oil for your cheap gas."
Reread this part......seven million people live under humane government with less than 300 American troops. .....gee, some quagmire......sounds almost like Germany now.
"Neoconservatives? Let us be frank. This appellation is no longer a descriptive term of so-called "new conservatives," those members of the eastern intelligentsia who were rather liberal on some domestic hot-button issues (tolerant of open borders, quiet about abortion, indifferent to gay marriage, etc.), but promoted a proactive neo-Wilsonian idealism in foreign policy (whether in the Balkans in taking out Milosevic or in trying to replace Saddam Hussein with democracy rather than a Shah-like proconsul).
Instead, face the ugly fact: "Neocon" is now a slur for "Jew." General Zinni (who once boasted that 600 to 2,000 Iraqis were eliminated from the air in his Operation Desert Fox bombing campaign) is now ubiquitous on television hawking his new book, criticizing the war (on Memorial Day, no less), and being praised in the Arab news as he talks about "Perle, Wolfowitz, and Feith" and all those who purportedly got us into Iraq.
"Cabal" and "Nazi-like" are also used by others and with increasing frequency to promote the old idea of crafty, sneaky people pulling the wool over honest naifs (no doubt aw-shucks, unsophisticated folks such as Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, and Rice). A shameful Senator Hollings has no apologies for claiming that our policy was misdirected for Israel's sake. Even a saucer-eyed Al Gore got into the spirit of things. Recently he screamed out the names of those who must walk his plank, and went into an exorcist-like trance when his vein-bulging, spinning-head got to spitting out the name "Woolfwoootizzzzz."
If there was advice from a "bloc" of so-called neoconservatives, it has not "failed," but is in fact already working even as we caricature it: We've taken out Saddam; we are on the eve of a transition to an autonomous reform government; and we are shooting the enemy 7,000 miles away, rather than being murdered at Ground Zero. And, by any historical standard, we are fighting in both an economical and humane fashion."
It ceases to amaze me how quickly anti-war forces will call Jewish foreign policy makers in the states who supported the war in Iraq "Nazis". Could they possibly be more ignorant of the true atrocities committed by the Germans in WWII? How many concentration camps have the Wolfowitz's put in place for Arabs? And if anyone says "Guantanamo" you need to read more history. Start here, and let me know when you get to Buchenwald..
"Israel? Most of us are tired of reading daily that Israel is making problems for us. It is a liberal democracy and currently in the throes of a national debate about whether to withdraw from a territory, Gaza, from which it was attacked in three wars. Its uniformed military targets terrorists; its main opponent's terrorists seek to kill civilians. We should have more confidence in its free press, elected officials, and voting citizenry to craft a humane policy — under threat of suicide murdering, no less — than in all the corrupt and fascistic regimes that surround it. It once took out — at great risk to itself — Iraq's nuclear reactor; it did not sell the reactor at great profit or take control of that country's oil.
If this caring world is worried about the injustice of a fence or Islamaphobia, then start slurring nuclear India for its $1 billion fence, which shuts off the entire (impoverished Muslim) country of Bangladesh — a far harsher blow to far more millions than Israel's so-called "Wall" aimed at stopping suicide killing.
If we hate the principle of "occupied lands," then let Europe cease trade with China and hector that dictatorial government about the cultural obliteration of occupied Tibet.
If we are truly worried about violence, then let the U.N. and the EU turn their attention to Nigeria, where thousands are murdered yearly.
If the death of tens of thousands of Muslims and the desecration of mosques bother the Arab League, then let them blast the Arabs of the Sudan, who are systematically and in the most racist fashion butchering black Muslims.
But if after all that we have still not gotten our bearings, then let us rail about Sharon and the "occupation," and thus enable the Arab world to forget its self-induced misery and find psychic reassurance, as Europe too often has, by blaming Jews.
Increasingly I find that the people around the world doing the most amount of finger pointing at the US for the worlds ills seem to have things in their closets that would put Abu-Ghraib to shame...I imagine it's so much easier to blame the jooooooooos.
And now for the big one.....
"No al Qaeda links? Equally bothersome is the old canard, "Saddam was a secularist and hated al Qaeda" — as though simultaneous enemies of America have always shared the same ideology. Just ask the Japanese and Germans, or the Chinese and Russians, who agreed to set aside their mutual hatred to fight us for being emissaries of freedom. Under the Clinton administration it was considered standard intelligence dogma that Osama and Saddam worked together; only the controversy over Iraq has post-facto questioned that former pillar of American and European intelligence doctrine — and for entirely political reasons.
There was a reason Abu Nidal and Abu Abbas were in Baghdad. And it was the same reason why al Qaeda was working in Kurdistan, why al Zarqawi went to Baghdad to Saddam's doctors, why there is good reason to believe that before the first World Trade Center bombing the culpable terrorists had ties with Iraqi intelligence, and why seized documents now coming to light in Iraq reveal a long history of cooperation between Islamic terrorists and Saddam's secret police. To think otherwise would be crazy, given the shared aims of both in attacking Americans and getting them out of the Middle East. The only puzzle is whether Saddam contributed to the 9/11 terrorist fund or simply was apprised of al Qaeda's general efforts.
"
Few things make me as irate as peoples ignorance of the connection Saddam had to international terrorism. I could give two shits about gay marriage when Saddam was financing people like Zarqawi. Big picture folks.
For the conclusion of this essay, please go and visit the site here-
Since I can't possibly express the counterpoint to these arguments anywhere nearly as eloquent as VDH, I'll give you some stanzas from todays weekly column, "The New Defeatism"...
"In somber tones newscasters assure us of all sorts of bad things to come. But our soldiers have continued to fight in Iraq as the plans for transition have inched forward. So let us review the conventional ignorance and ponder what exactly is our national affliction.
No Plan? For those who think that we are either incompetent or disingenuous in Iraq, look at Kurdistan, where seven million people live under humane government with less than 300 American troops. How did that happen? The people of Kurdistan are Islamic, often quarrelsome folks — in the heart of the Middle East — now residing in relative safety and autonomy, and expressing good will toward the United States. They accept that we don't want Kurdish oil any more than we want to take over the sands and slums of the Sunni Triangle. So the problem in central Iraq is not us, but rather the fact that unlike Kurdistan — which had a decade of transition toward consensual society thanks to Anglo-American pilots — the country is reeling from 30 years of autocracy, in which Islamic fascism offered an alternative of sorts to an ossified Soviet-style dictatorship.
We have always had a "plan" in Iraq — it was to leave the country something like its northern third in Kurdistan. Precisely because it was costly, idealistic, and dangerous, we should expect a lot of killing and bombing in the next few months as an array of opponents tries to derail the upcoming transition and elections. Anyone who thinks thousands of Islamic fascists and out-of-work Baathists won't want to stop the region's first consensual government is unhinged. But, again, for all our mistakes of omission there was and is a plan — and it is now slowly coming to messy fruition. Even after the spring nightmare, we do not hear many Iraqis saying, "Leave right now and take your stinking $87 billion with you," much less, "Give us back Saddam" or "Quit stealing our oil for your cheap gas."
Reread this part......seven million people live under humane government with less than 300 American troops. .....gee, some quagmire......sounds almost like Germany now.
"Neoconservatives? Let us be frank. This appellation is no longer a descriptive term of so-called "new conservatives," those members of the eastern intelligentsia who were rather liberal on some domestic hot-button issues (tolerant of open borders, quiet about abortion, indifferent to gay marriage, etc.), but promoted a proactive neo-Wilsonian idealism in foreign policy (whether in the Balkans in taking out Milosevic or in trying to replace Saddam Hussein with democracy rather than a Shah-like proconsul).
Instead, face the ugly fact: "Neocon" is now a slur for "Jew." General Zinni (who once boasted that 600 to 2,000 Iraqis were eliminated from the air in his Operation Desert Fox bombing campaign) is now ubiquitous on television hawking his new book, criticizing the war (on Memorial Day, no less), and being praised in the Arab news as he talks about "Perle, Wolfowitz, and Feith" and all those who purportedly got us into Iraq.
"Cabal" and "Nazi-like" are also used by others and with increasing frequency to promote the old idea of crafty, sneaky people pulling the wool over honest naifs (no doubt aw-shucks, unsophisticated folks such as Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, and Rice). A shameful Senator Hollings has no apologies for claiming that our policy was misdirected for Israel's sake. Even a saucer-eyed Al Gore got into the spirit of things. Recently he screamed out the names of those who must walk his plank, and went into an exorcist-like trance when his vein-bulging, spinning-head got to spitting out the name "Woolfwoootizzzzz."
If there was advice from a "bloc" of so-called neoconservatives, it has not "failed," but is in fact already working even as we caricature it: We've taken out Saddam; we are on the eve of a transition to an autonomous reform government; and we are shooting the enemy 7,000 miles away, rather than being murdered at Ground Zero. And, by any historical standard, we are fighting in both an economical and humane fashion."
It ceases to amaze me how quickly anti-war forces will call Jewish foreign policy makers in the states who supported the war in Iraq "Nazis". Could they possibly be more ignorant of the true atrocities committed by the Germans in WWII? How many concentration camps have the Wolfowitz's put in place for Arabs? And if anyone says "Guantanamo" you need to read more history. Start here, and let me know when you get to Buchenwald..
"Israel? Most of us are tired of reading daily that Israel is making problems for us. It is a liberal democracy and currently in the throes of a national debate about whether to withdraw from a territory, Gaza, from which it was attacked in three wars. Its uniformed military targets terrorists; its main opponent's terrorists seek to kill civilians. We should have more confidence in its free press, elected officials, and voting citizenry to craft a humane policy — under threat of suicide murdering, no less — than in all the corrupt and fascistic regimes that surround it. It once took out — at great risk to itself — Iraq's nuclear reactor; it did not sell the reactor at great profit or take control of that country's oil.
If this caring world is worried about the injustice of a fence or Islamaphobia, then start slurring nuclear India for its $1 billion fence, which shuts off the entire (impoverished Muslim) country of Bangladesh — a far harsher blow to far more millions than Israel's so-called "Wall" aimed at stopping suicide killing.
If we hate the principle of "occupied lands," then let Europe cease trade with China and hector that dictatorial government about the cultural obliteration of occupied Tibet.
If we are truly worried about violence, then let the U.N. and the EU turn their attention to Nigeria, where thousands are murdered yearly.
If the death of tens of thousands of Muslims and the desecration of mosques bother the Arab League, then let them blast the Arabs of the Sudan, who are systematically and in the most racist fashion butchering black Muslims.
But if after all that we have still not gotten our bearings, then let us rail about Sharon and the "occupation," and thus enable the Arab world to forget its self-induced misery and find psychic reassurance, as Europe too often has, by blaming Jews.
Increasingly I find that the people around the world doing the most amount of finger pointing at the US for the worlds ills seem to have things in their closets that would put Abu-Ghraib to shame...I imagine it's so much easier to blame the jooooooooos.
And now for the big one.....
"No al Qaeda links? Equally bothersome is the old canard, "Saddam was a secularist and hated al Qaeda" — as though simultaneous enemies of America have always shared the same ideology. Just ask the Japanese and Germans, or the Chinese and Russians, who agreed to set aside their mutual hatred to fight us for being emissaries of freedom. Under the Clinton administration it was considered standard intelligence dogma that Osama and Saddam worked together; only the controversy over Iraq has post-facto questioned that former pillar of American and European intelligence doctrine — and for entirely political reasons.
There was a reason Abu Nidal and Abu Abbas were in Baghdad. And it was the same reason why al Qaeda was working in Kurdistan, why al Zarqawi went to Baghdad to Saddam's doctors, why there is good reason to believe that before the first World Trade Center bombing the culpable terrorists had ties with Iraqi intelligence, and why seized documents now coming to light in Iraq reveal a long history of cooperation between Islamic terrorists and Saddam's secret police. To think otherwise would be crazy, given the shared aims of both in attacking Americans and getting them out of the Middle East. The only puzzle is whether Saddam contributed to the 9/11 terrorist fund or simply was apprised of al Qaeda's general efforts.
"
Few things make me as irate as peoples ignorance of the connection Saddam had to international terrorism. I could give two shits about gay marriage when Saddam was financing people like Zarqawi. Big picture folks.
For the conclusion of this essay, please go and visit the site here-
So you think you had a rough flight today?............
(Via the Vodkapundit)
Think again.......Todd McKenzie gives us this video of a not so perfect jet landing from China...........I would need to um, change me skivvies after that landing.....
Think again.......Todd McKenzie gives us this video of a not so perfect jet landing from China...........I would need to um, change me skivvies after that landing.....
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Tman Thursday Night Drunken Post....................continued today when I'm sober enough to finish writing it..
(post started last night, then I was too tired to finish so I passed out-continued today)........So I'm at Jacksons, comiserating with my best bud about the most depressing reality.
We watched perhaps one of the best hockey games I have ever seen, Tampa Bay losing to Calgary 3-2 in a series tied 2-2 game five.
Calgary won in overtime. Incredible game. St. Louis vs Iginla. Khabibulin vs. Kiprusoff. Unbelievable saves, shots, hits, speed, power, endurance, etc.etc.....You rarely get to see this kind of intensity in any sport.
All this may go the way of the dinosaur for the NHL.
For those who weren't aware, the NHL is in dire straits financially. The league as a whole lost somewhere around $300 million last year. The New Jersey Devils, last years Stanley Cup winner, lost $30 million as a team. When your championship team can't turn a profit, your league is in trouble.
NBC has "bought" the rights to televise next years NHL broadcast network games. I put quotation marks around "bought" because they didn't pay anything for it. They simply signed the contract to carry it. No fee was required. ABC paid about $120 million to broadcast this years games. Apparently the last few years the price tag for the games has dropped considerably. Now it's at zero.
As it stands now, there is a very distinct possibility that there will be no NHL next year. No Lord Stanleys Cup games. No Steve Yzerman with the Wings. No Thomas Vokoun in my beloved Predator blue. No Martin St. Louis skating like a magician on speed.
In the case of the league being suspended for one year, there is the possibility that the World leagues will cherry pick the stars and take them overseas. Perhaps Canada will start a full-pro league.
Either way, things are not looking good for next years NHL season.
Make sure you watch these games, because not only are they two incredible teams who are as well matched as one could hope for in a Stanley Cup series, but this may be the last time you see NHL hockey for a while at all.......
Last nights drinks of choice- Stout and Stone.....
We watched perhaps one of the best hockey games I have ever seen, Tampa Bay losing to Calgary 3-2 in a series tied 2-2 game five.
Calgary won in overtime. Incredible game. St. Louis vs Iginla. Khabibulin vs. Kiprusoff. Unbelievable saves, shots, hits, speed, power, endurance, etc.etc.....You rarely get to see this kind of intensity in any sport.
All this may go the way of the dinosaur for the NHL.
For those who weren't aware, the NHL is in dire straits financially. The league as a whole lost somewhere around $300 million last year. The New Jersey Devils, last years Stanley Cup winner, lost $30 million as a team. When your championship team can't turn a profit, your league is in trouble.
NBC has "bought" the rights to televise next years NHL broadcast network games. I put quotation marks around "bought" because they didn't pay anything for it. They simply signed the contract to carry it. No fee was required. ABC paid about $120 million to broadcast this years games. Apparently the last few years the price tag for the games has dropped considerably. Now it's at zero.
As it stands now, there is a very distinct possibility that there will be no NHL next year. No Lord Stanleys Cup games. No Steve Yzerman with the Wings. No Thomas Vokoun in my beloved Predator blue. No Martin St. Louis skating like a magician on speed.
In the case of the league being suspended for one year, there is the possibility that the World leagues will cherry pick the stars and take them overseas. Perhaps Canada will start a full-pro league.
Either way, things are not looking good for next years NHL season.
Make sure you watch these games, because not only are they two incredible teams who are as well matched as one could hope for in a Stanley Cup series, but this may be the last time you see NHL hockey for a while at all.......
Last nights drinks of choice- Stout and Stone.....
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Ray Bradbury to Michael Moore-"He is a horrible human being. Horrible human!"
Yet more famous authors join the ranks of those disgusted by Moore. This time it's Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451. Moore had the audacity to use Bradbury's title for his new film -Fahrenheit: I haven't seen my toes in ten years- oops-sorry- Fahrenheit 9/11.
(via Secular Blasphemy)
So what does Ray Bradbury, now 84 years old, think about Moore using his book title for his Bush-bashing movie project?
The answer is, as journalists in the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter found out when they called the author, that he is mighty pissed off. Here's my translation of the juicier bits of the interview.
"Michael Moore is a screwed asshole, that is what I think about that case. He stole my title and changed the numbers without ever asking me for permission.
Have you spoken to him?
- He is a horrible human being. Horrible human!
That Ray Bradbury thought Moore could take his Palme d'Or from Cannes and stuff it was extremely clear, even if he never expressed himself with those words, when DN reached the author in his home in Los Angeles. [...]
Do you disagree with his opinions...
-That has nothing to do with it. He copied my title, that is what happened. That has nothing to do with my political opinions.
Bradbury said that he had tried to discuss the issue with Moore, but that the director avoided him.
- I called his publisher. They promised he would call me the same afternoon, but he didn't.
When was that?
- A few months ago, when his plans about the movie was first made known.
The conversation touched politics when Bradbury mentioned that Moore had ruined general Wesley Clark's chances to become the democrat's presidential candidate. Like several American commentators Bradbury means that Moore's support to Clark was a kiss of death when Clark did not distance himself from Moore's claim that Bush deserted from his military service.
- He slandered the president to general Clark, and Clark allowed him to do it. Clark should have said: "Don't say that. It is not true." That day Clark lost his chance to become president.
I understand. And you supported general Clark?
- No. I support honesty.
According to Bradbury others have asked him about Moore's use of his title, but "I don't want to make a big story out of it."
- I detest all paparazzi journalism that is so common these days. If I just could make him change his title silently, that would be the best thing.
Do you think that is possible, I mean the movie is very famous under that title now?
- Who cares? Nobody will see his movie, it is almost dead already. Nevermind, nobody cares.
But it won the Palme d'Or in Cannes?
- So what? I have won prizes in different places and they are mostly meaningless. The people there hate us, which is why they gave him the d'Or. It's a meaningless prize.
Ray Bradbury was very clear that he considered Moore a dishonest thief, but refused to answer if he would press charges in any way.
Did I mention that Moore is fat? I mean that would be cruel to joke about his weight problem and all. But he is friggin' huge. I mean so fat when he gets on an elevator it only goes one direction-down.....So fat that........must stop the Moore fat jokes.
What an ass though. Use Bradburys title against his wishes? Smooth move moron.....
(via Secular Blasphemy)
So what does Ray Bradbury, now 84 years old, think about Moore using his book title for his Bush-bashing movie project?
The answer is, as journalists in the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter found out when they called the author, that he is mighty pissed off. Here's my translation of the juicier bits of the interview.
"Michael Moore is a screwed asshole, that is what I think about that case. He stole my title and changed the numbers without ever asking me for permission.
Have you spoken to him?
- He is a horrible human being. Horrible human!
That Ray Bradbury thought Moore could take his Palme d'Or from Cannes and stuff it was extremely clear, even if he never expressed himself with those words, when DN reached the author in his home in Los Angeles. [...]
Do you disagree with his opinions...
-That has nothing to do with it. He copied my title, that is what happened. That has nothing to do with my political opinions.
Bradbury said that he had tried to discuss the issue with Moore, but that the director avoided him.
- I called his publisher. They promised he would call me the same afternoon, but he didn't.
When was that?
- A few months ago, when his plans about the movie was first made known.
The conversation touched politics when Bradbury mentioned that Moore had ruined general Wesley Clark's chances to become the democrat's presidential candidate. Like several American commentators Bradbury means that Moore's support to Clark was a kiss of death when Clark did not distance himself from Moore's claim that Bush deserted from his military service.
- He slandered the president to general Clark, and Clark allowed him to do it. Clark should have said: "Don't say that. It is not true." That day Clark lost his chance to become president.
I understand. And you supported general Clark?
- No. I support honesty.
According to Bradbury others have asked him about Moore's use of his title, but "I don't want to make a big story out of it."
- I detest all paparazzi journalism that is so common these days. If I just could make him change his title silently, that would be the best thing.
Do you think that is possible, I mean the movie is very famous under that title now?
- Who cares? Nobody will see his movie, it is almost dead already. Nevermind, nobody cares.
But it won the Palme d'Or in Cannes?
- So what? I have won prizes in different places and they are mostly meaningless. The people there hate us, which is why they gave him the d'Or. It's a meaningless prize.
Ray Bradbury was very clear that he considered Moore a dishonest thief, but refused to answer if he would press charges in any way.
Did I mention that Moore is fat? I mean that would be cruel to joke about his weight problem and all. But he is friggin' huge. I mean so fat when he gets on an elevator it only goes one direction-down.....So fat that........must stop the Moore fat jokes.
What an ass though. Use Bradburys title against his wishes? Smooth move moron.....
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