House of Bob

Funky Cat

2011-02-01T17:53:00.001-05:00

EMERGENCY BROADCAST FOR 2011

2011-01-01T03:44:00.001-05:00

54 Percival: Seasonal Update

2008-12-24T14:35:00.003-05:00

Taken with the cell phone camera shortly after shoveling out, it kind of appears as a representation in impressionism. You can almost make out the lights on the Christmas tree in the window.

54 Percival Street: Open for Visitors

2008-10-04T14:45:00.011-05:00

After parking, bring marshmellows in back for the chiminaea:

Have a seat!

Compost is functional:

No more cucumbers, however.

Tomatos have almost run their course:

But if you peek through, you can see a couple trying to escape:

Exit through the grape vine:

It's a Good Read!

2008-03-15T12:25:00.004-05:00

Ghetto Nation

2008-02-25T00:24:00.004-05:00

Isn't multi-culturalism wonderful?

Once upon a time, ignorant, uncouth behavior was something that we used to see and silently shake our collective heads at people doing stupid and self-destructive things.

Today, that same behavior (obnoxious swearing in public; baggy jeans hanging off your ass; rude, unwelcome, attention towards women) isn't only tolerated... it's celebrated. Cultural critics have been so completely cowed that they say nothing about ghetto behavior for fear of being labeled racist.

At least some maintain a sense of humor about it:

"I can't control my soldiers."

2008-02-24T18:07:00.004-05:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jun/18/congo.theobserver

If this were an operation conducted by joint Iraqi and American forces, we’d be saturated with comparisons to My Lai and calls for an immediate war crimes tribunal.

So where was the vocal outrage and condemnation by the One Worlders? The question becomes then and now: why the double standard, and in this case who has to gain by applying one?

Emergency Broadcast System

2008-02-20T22:01:00.002-05:00

Look there, he's coming!

All in a Weeks Work

2008-02-20T01:48:00.008-05:00

These are some of the more astounding pictures I’ve come across from the recent shuttle mission delivering the European Columbus Lab to the ISS:

I hope commercial spaceflight gets its act together before I kick the bucket because this would be one hell of an inspiring view to see in person.

High Flight

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds -- and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence.

Hovering there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or even eagle flew.

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Seller Beware

2008-02-20T01:14:00.016-05:00

So, I’ve been advertising this extra kitchen cart we have on craigslist. Anyone interested? Perhaps you there, with that butchers block, and handful of kitchen utensils with nowhere to go?

Our story begins when I got this response to the ad from Sarya yesterday:

“is this item still available? I can pick up tomorrow”

My follow up: “Hi Sayra, yes it's still available though there are several interested people. What time would you like to come tomorrow?”

Sarya: “does 5.30pm work for you??”

My reply, which makes clear that any commitment from her effects my own time and schedule: Yes, that works, but it can't be too much later than that because I'll need to leave the house around 6:30, at the latest.

Here's the address:

5000 Percival Street, 1st floor, Dorchester

Phone: 617.555.2009

If you can't make it or encounter a problem, please give me a call. I don't mind rescheduling for another time. And just as a reminder, I'm only interested in a cash sale.

Curiously, I didn’t receive a response to the last detailed email, so I issued a checkup on our date this morning:

"Hi Sayra, just confirming our meeting at 5:30?”

And her prompt confirmation: “yes, i'll be there”

Ok, great, someone that says they can do something and hopefully follow through with it. Because as we know, making a commitment that involves other peoples time and effort… well, I won’t go there, I’ll assume the best in people.

5:30 comes. And goes.

5:45

6:00

6:30

Did she show you ask? No. Better yet, did I receive a simple courtesy call? No, of course not. Because relations over the internet means never having to say you're sorry. People are suddenly just text on a screen. These are the joys of dealing with internet anonymity and its corresponding accountability void.

The lack of punctuation and capitalization should have been the tip-off to me that this selfish person isn’t too concerned with formalities, written or scheduled.

Gaza Strip Tease

2008-02-15T18:03:00.003-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gaza_explosion

Note how the article perpetuates the obfuscation of reality by referring to the dead as an "Islamic Jihad activist" instead of what he is, a terrorist.

What twist of reason is necessary to label as "activists" those that seek "reprisal attacks against Israel" for an event which was very likely the result of an accident that occurred producing home-made rockets used indiscriminately against the Israeli population?

Here is not here. Up is down. Nuanced nuance.

Perhaps the the Jew eating Hamas bunny Assud will help explain it all:

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1679.htm

Egypt-Gaza Border

2008-02-03T02:37:00.000-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/palestinians_egypt_border

Some highlights:

“On Saturday, Egyptian security forces arrested two Palestinians carrying a bomb in el-Massoura, a village about 2.5 miles west of the border with Gaza, a Sinai security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.”

“On Friday, a Sinai intelligence official said Egyptian security forces were looking for four Palestinians who slipped into the country from Gaza and were suspected of planning suicide attacks against resorts.”

“At least 17 Palestinians have been arrested in the past days carrying weapons and explosives near the border and other remote parts of the Sinai desert.”

“Earlier this week, Egypt and Abbas endorsed restoring a 2005 border arrangement in which European monitors were deployed on the Palestinian side to prevent smuggling of weapons and militants…”

What a joke. If these “monitors” observe smuggling of weapons and militants, what are they prepared to do, write a letter of condemnation to the UN Committee of Serious Concern?

An "Independent Non-profit" Study

2008-01-24T00:12:00.000-05:00

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, ourpurpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

So, you're sitting there as President, you're reeling in the aftermath of this (9/11 attacks), so, yeah, you want to go get bin Laden and do Afghanistan and all that. But you also have to say, well, my first responsibility now is to try everything possible to make sure that this terrorist network and other terrorist networks cannot reach chemical and biological weapons or small amounts of fissile material. I've got to do that. That's why I supported the Iraq thing. There was a lot of stuff unaccounted for. So I thought the President had an absolute responsibility to go to the U.N. and say, "Look, guys, after 9/11, you have got to demand that Saddam Hussein lets us finish the inspection process." You couldn't responsibly ignore [the possibility that] a tyrant had these stocks. I never really thought he'd [use them]. What I was far more worried about was that he'd sell this stuff or give it away. Same thing I've always been worried about North Korea's nuclear and missile capacity. I don't expect North Korea to bomb South Korea, because they know it would be the end of their country. But if you can't feed yourself, the temptation to sell this stuff is overwhelming. So that's why I thought Bush did the right thing to go back. When you're the President, and your country has just been through what we had, you want everything to be accounted for. –Bill Clinton, 2004

* * * * *

All told, I think I count at least 7 false statements in the above 2 quotes implying the threatening existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. If we were to go back over the entire presidency of Bill Clinton and review all of his his public statements, it's quite conceivable that we could come up with tens, if not hundreds of similarly false statements.

It is therefore the conclusion of this study that these false statements --along with similar statements by a majority of democrats who voted for war authorization-- were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.

Operation What and Huh

2008-01-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Briefing/2008/01/16/phantom_phoenix_shows_progress/4633/

What's a Phantom Phoenix? This operation has received little coverage in the regular press. I guess that's why it's a phantom operation.

Or: must not exist. And if it does, it surely isn't worth reporting about in any prominent way to the American public.

Identity Politics

2007-12-18T04:45:00.000-05:00

How will he vote after the transformation is complete?

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/17/america/NA-FEA-GEN-US-Turning-White.php

Dirty Bomb in the Making

2007-11-29T17:48:00.000-05:00

"The identity of the intended buyer for the uranium has not been released."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7119172.stm

I'm sure it's the usually suspects like the secular cult of elderly Scandinavian woman. And why is this not front page material? Would it be because it would be feeding too much into the Bush administrations "politics of fear"?

Annapolis: An Exercise in Futility

2007-11-27T20:08:00.000-05:00

And this is why peace in the Middle East, short of a military victory by one side or the other, is doomed to failure:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

"Today you are here to send a message to those who say the land of Palestine is not for sale," said Mahmoud Zahar, a fiery Hamas leader. "Whoever thinks we will recognize a Jewish state ... are deluding themselves. There will be no recognition of the state of Israel."

I agree with him. Anyone who thinks that these violent, religious extremists who belong back in medieval times can be reasoned with is deluding himself. Even if some so called "moderates" in the PA were willing to trade land for peace in a formal two state solution, they don't have either the compunction or ability to stop the extremists from launching terrorist attacks against Israel from either territory. Heck, they can't even get along among themselves as evident by the civil war between Hamas and Fatah. What makes anyone realistically think they could unite in peace with Israel?

Here's my favorite quote, and note the demographic:

"Annapolis is a disaster for us," said Amina Hasanat, a 37-year-old mother of eight who demonstrated in Gaza City. Dressed in a black robe and black and green headband, she predicted the conference would end in failure. "This will be an advantage for the resistance," she said.

On to the World Series

2007-10-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

I'd like to think in some small way our vigil for Mike Lowell, Mrs. Lowell's youngest son, made the difference in this series against the Indians.

Human Nature

2007-10-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Here is a series of recent photos that offers evidence that people are not rational creatures:

Poverty

2007-10-15T10:06:00.000-05:00

One more reason why I can't take much of the hip-hop community seriously:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/15/people.ti.ap/index.html

Here are my favorite quotes from the article:

KRS-One, whose real name is Lawrence Parker, said the fellow rapper's legal woes should not reflect on the industry as a whole.

"I'm saddened anytime I hear of a hip-hopper being locked up or somehow stunted in his life or his growth," he told The Associated Press. "I hope he wasn't into nothing crazy."

No, not at all! Those purchases were going to end up as trophy pieces above the mantle, I'm sure. There's no tradition of glorifying violence among rappers!

Notice too the objectification of the event as something external. T.I. was "locked up" or "stunted". You'd never think from these comments that it was something that this individual did to himself or was responsible for.

Chicago rapper Common, who won the CD of the year award along with T.I., tried to lend his support at the awards show.

"I salute my guy T.I., who also won, wherever he is," said Common, while raising up his trophy.

Exactly. Props for a convicted felon who's been caught buying machine guns and silencers. The subculture of protection and denial in the black community is extraordinary.

Bob, Bicycle Surveyor

2007-10-10T12:57:00.000-05:00

I ALWAYS go biking with the camera as you never know what you'll bump into, literally or otherwise. For you intelligence gathering types out there, here's a brief sampling of boats and ships recent to Boston harbor (as seen from Castle Island at least).

Where's that baggy pants ordinance???

2007-10-05T02:02:00.000-05:00

“Black-brown coalitions are tough to sustain.”

2007-10-03T12:19:00.000-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/03/roland.martin/index.html

Sure is when you have “the white man” working against your interests. What about white/brown coalitions? Are they anything like black/white coalitions?

If I'm white and I share political commitments with someone of a different color, does that mean we've formed a coalition, whereas if the other person were the same color as I, we simply have similar interests? Can only a "black" canidate represent a "black" constituency?

Have I got it all wrong this whole time in not realizing that my skin color and race inform my political interests?

“…neither group can afford to be egomaniacal and regard the other as irrelevant. Hispanics and blacks aren't going anywhere, and they better resolve their disputes, or watch both groups remain at a standstill.”

I’m sure Thomas Sowell would have a lot to say about this statement, but the excerpt does well to highlight the overhyped view that the only thing holding minorities back in America is underrepresentation and exlusion (white privilege), and the way to improve conditions and access is through political power.

“Blacks are not the enemy of Hispanics, and vice versa. The enemy is a lack of quality of education, being shut out of the economic levers, as well as poor health care. The resources of this nation should go where the need is.”

Wow, can’t get anymore implicit racism with that socialist statement. He means to say that black and brown people have got to band together to demand whitey open up the schools and the jobs to us.

The enemy of blacks, browns, or whites is a dysfunctional poverty of culture that doesn’t take advantage of educational opportunity, doesn’t prepare itself for participation in the work force, and makes poor life choices in diet, exercise, or family planning.

You’ll never hear a politician articulate that criticism. You know, because we’re all one people.

US 'terrorists'

2007-10-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

From the opening paragraph of Seymour Hersh's latest article:

October 8, 2007

Foreign Policy; Pentagon; Iranian Operations Group; Plans

Planning: In a series of public statements in recent months, President Bush and members of his Administration have redefined the war in Iraq, to an increasing degree, as a strategic battle between the United States and Iran. “Shia extremists, backed by Iran, are training Iraqis to carry out attacks on our forces and the Iraqi people,” Bush told the national convention of the American Legion in August. “The attacks on our bases and our troops by Iranian-supplied munitions have increased."

So, wait a minute. You don't have to go to a Bush speech as a source for proof of what Iran is doing in Iraq. If the Iranians are promoting instability by providing training and weapons to the insurgency in Iraq, a policy which has directly resulted in the death of our soldiers, isn't it Iran that has redefined the war in Iraq as a strategic battle between Iran and the United States?

I can't take articles like this seriously when in the opening comments a fundamental flaw in thinking has taken place.

Expected Delivery Date: Tuesday, October 2nd

2007-09-29T23:17:00.000-05:00

Man, look at that thing. Life as I know it changes after Tuesday.

******************UPDATE*****************

Package Progress
Location
Date
Local Time
Description
SHREWSBURY,MA, US
09/28/2007
2:45 A.M.
IN TRANSIT TO
ADDISON,IL, US
09/28/2007
1:44 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
ADDISON,IL, US
09/27/2007
7:21 P.M.
ORIGIN SCAN
09/27/2007
7:07 P.M.
FORWARDED TO THE FACILITY IN THE DESTINATION CITY
US
09/27/2007
3:42 P.M.
BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

*******************************UPDATE**************************************

BOSTON,MA, US
10/02/2007
7:57 A.M.
OUT FOR DELIVERY

Don't Eat Your Watch

2007-09-25T21:47:00.000-05:00

Just a friendly reminder.

Civilized vs Barbaric

2007-09-24T09:46:00.000-05:00

One approach involves an order based on a sense of fairness, the other, a free for all:

"In their cultures, they do not queue for buses where they live and there is a scrum every time a bus turns up, while in British culture there is a nice orderly queue."

But if the cultural relativists are correct, and are to be taken at their word, aren’t the Brits dominating and subjugating these foreign students with their “fairness”? How do we know that this "fairness' principle should have universal currency between both Brits and foreign students with all things being culturally equal?

It Has Begun

2007-09-19T00:06:00.000-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070918/sc_afp/peruhealthoffbeat_070918032309;_ylt=AlBiO8d5p4Vy5elkTKNDj5ETO7gF

What's wrong with this picture?

2007-09-07T13:44:00.000-05:00

Look closely...

A Certain Fashion Trend

2007-08-23T11:28:00.000-05:00

I love this; have you read about Atlanta's effort to ban saggy pants in public?

It's obviously a controversial measure, and I'm of mixed feelings about it, nothing of which has to do with denying a desire to see the stupid baggy pants syndrome removed from public sight.

But I do struggle with it. Consider that wearing the baggy sagging jeans started with young black males as a tribute to those in prison, so it is in a way a form of political protest. What can be more patriotic than dissent?

I'm reading an article with comments from Debbie Seagrave, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070823/ap_on_fe_st/atlanta_sagging_pants

"Seagraves said any legislation that creates a dress code would not survive a court challenge. She said the law could not be enforced in a nondiscriminatory way because it targets something that came out of the black youth culture."

"This is a racial profiling bill that promotes and establishes a framework for an additional type of racial profiling," Seagraves said.

Multiculturalism at its best! If a behavior --any behavior, even something as low as walking around with your pants falling down-- represents a "cultural" expression by a group, especially a minority group, then it MUST be a good thing, and cannot be judged.

You’re supposed to believe --condescendingly so-- that the inarticulate thug and the freelance slut are young black people in their natural state and in need of legal protection.

And so, we observe how indecency (defined by white, middle-class values, of course) and low trash culture (a term used by the dominant oppressor class to create “the other”) is transformed into a victimology. Efforts at public decency are examples of white oppression. Which is ironic since Councilman C.T. Martin, who is pushing the legislation, is black, but unauthentically so. He was brainwashed by them white folk into profiling his own kind.

The Nightly Neighborhood Circus Show Continues

2007-07-26T22:55:00.001-05:00

How are your neighbors doing? Oh my… there’s always something going on in our neighborhood. Every night, or nearly every night, it seems it’s got to be something. I always find myself running to the front window to find out what the latest calamity is about. Such exciting times we live in!

Tonight, we were treated to several individuals involved in a public display of what those in the therapy culture call “conflict resolution”. Conflict resolution occurs by listening to and providing opportunities to meet each side's needs, adequately addressing their interests so that they are each satisfied with the outcome. Here, let these fine young adults from our neighborhood demonstrate:

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2007-07-24T18:28:00.000-05:00

You may think that's a soundtrack put to the video, cracker, but you'd be wrong. It's hard to see, because the video is dark, but that's actually the volume level coming from a car stereo and the 5 individuals on the corner, across from our house, about a hundred plus feet away. The 5 individuals loudly refered to themselves as "niggahs".

Damn.... dat' shitz loud.

We were "treated" to this behavior nonstop for about an hour and half, sometime between 2 and 3 in the morning, before the cops showed up and dispersed these considerate, outstanding citizens, who of course gave the cops attitude while leaving, and in turn had to be threatened with arrest. You know, the police were harassing them because they were providing the neighborhood with free entertainment, drinking, breaking bottles, littering the corner with trash, and smoking their "stuff" out in the open. No wonder they were upset when they were told to leave.

Welcome to third world Dorchester.

Embrace Difference

2007-07-14T14:16:00.000-05:00

A very thoughtful neighbor (they’re all so civic minded around here) just drove by playing a lovely song for this summer afternoon. It’s now my favorite tune, whether I like it or not, because its sonic footprint has been imprinted on my brain by the 120 decibel, sub-bass delivery system that can probably communicate with elephants and whales hundereds of miles away.

In order to share the wealth of this great cultural experience, I present to you the lyrics of A.M. TO P.M. by CASSIDY from the album “I'M A HUSTLA”. Everyone sing along, you know the words!

I still move work, from the A.M. to the P.M. Niggaz got beef, I'ma spray 'em when I see 'em {*2X*}

[Cassidy] I punk on the street from the A.M. to the P.M. Nigga want beef, I'ma spray 'em when I see 'em Lay 'em when I see 'em, AK 'em when I see 'em Hop out the Bronco, I'll O.J. 'em when I see 'em Cut a bone out his skin, fish fo-lay 'em when I see 'em n' wire is real, Kanye 'em when I see 'em On their job, so I'll pay 'em when I see 'em Turn boys to men I'll wine Yayo when I see 'em Cause I'll be on the grid from the pm to the am Paint pictures with my rhymes, you can see 'em when I say 'em My songs like movies you can see 'em when you play them If a nigga want beef, when I see 'em I'ma spray 'em For six g's I could get your wip swiss cheesed I'm like a red nose, spic you a mixed bread Bitch please all 'em dudes in your cool ass I'll get you strangled with the strings on your doo-rag

[Chorus: repeat 2X] I still move work from the A.M. to the P.M. Niggaz got beef, I'ma spray 'em when I see 'em I still move work from the A.M. to the P.M. Niggaz got beef, I'ma spray 'em when I see 'em

[Cassidy] I'ma let you talk all stupid, till you get harked all stupid Sparked out stupid, outlined in charcoal stupid Dog I bite I don't bark all stupid, it is wat it is I'm in the coupe room droped all stupid Fitted hat cocked all stupid, gettin' top off stupid My clientele cop all stupid We excels on the block all stupid, it is what it is It's a fact that I rap all stupid Get your wig pushed back all stupid We strapped all stupid, I'll get you clapped all stupid Don't let the pills and the yack make you act all stupid Yeah I do my thinh all stupid, let my chain bling all stupid Ny ring all stupid and my earring all stupid I got them things and I swing all stupid

[Chorus] [Cassidy] Yo, with my flow you all amazed and astonished I've been hot since I got my first single with sonic Back in the days when Shawn Kemp played for the sonics I rocked the huge jeans and I played the atonics You know I blow A'z, I'll be blazing the chronic It got my mind scrambled the and egg and an omelette I talk to God every day, and he made me a promise Me and T like, Malcolm and Alasia mahomie Me and Swizz like Martin and Jessy But the fact that I can get assassinated, is startin to stress me I ain't tryna let the police department arrest me But I still keep the still tuff under the fresh tee And I ain't just rapin for my health So before you diss me, you be betta off laughin at yourself Cause I ain't tryna battle on the mic I have them goons hop out on you like they did Harrell at the light

Ghost Ship

2007-07-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

Today I went for my normal bike run from here in Dorchester to Castle Island in Southie, and along the way, something spooky happened. The shoreline was covered in dense fog and visibility was quite limited. I haven't seen such fog in a long time and I felt bad for pilots and passengers of the planes overhead on final approach to Logan.

Now, on a bike you get to experience everything you normally would on a walk -passing conversations, smells, etc.-- but at 4 times the speed. What was neat about today's ride was nearly every conversation encountered centered on how amazing the fog was. Everyone seemed transfixed by it, and now you will be too!

Pure Evil

2007-07-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.wpbf.com/news/13630001/detail.html

The father only sees his son Nathan "every few weeks", and he makes the admission that:

“Maybe he’s hanging around with the wrong crowd right now, I don’t know.”

...yet, he can't believe his shy, timid little boy would do something like this. Yeah, well, how would you know who he is, Dad?

This here might also give some background on the rich, home environment Nathan was raised in:

"His mother, Ruby Nell Walker, has been arrested nine times on charges that include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault with intent to do bodily harm. His father, also named Nathan Walker, has been arrested eight times."

Place your bets on whether or not the lawyer and family play the race card.

"I'm so tired of America" by Rufus Wainwright

2007-07-04T20:57:00.000-05:00

"I don't particularly like this country either."

"We are stuck in this never ending jingoist meme, where even the most innocuous self-examination is considered treason. Our President is clearly a bully and a moron - and no one seems to notice."

"I truly hate my fellow Americans - we are lazy, greedy self-indulgent warmongers."

"Peace Democrats"

2007-07-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

"During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Copperheads nominally favored the Union but strongly opposed the war, for which they blamed abolitionists, and they demanded immediate peace and resisted draft laws. The Democratic platform followed the Peace wing of the party, calling the war a "failure." They wanted Lincoln and the Republicans ousted from power, seeing the president as a tyrant who was destroying American republican values with his despotic and arbitrary actions."

See any parallels to the political situation today in regards to the war?

This, too, is amazing:

"On May 1, 1863, former Congressman Vallandigham declared that the war was being fought not to save the Union but to free the blacks and enslave Southern whites. The Army then arrested him for declaring sympathy for the enemy. He was court-martialed and sentenced to imprisonment, but Lincoln commuted the sentence to banishment behind Confederate lines. "

Clearly, the Patriot Act has nothing on Lincoln:

“During the Civil War, Lincoln appropriated powers no previous President had wielded: he used his war powers to proclaim a blockade, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, spent money without congressional authorization, and imprisoned 18,000 suspected Confederate sympathizers without trial.”

What Would Reagan Do?

2007-07-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

"Intelligence officials say Daqduq is one of Hezbollah's top special operations commanders, an expert in the use of roadside bombs. The Americans say he, along with the Iraqi militia commanders he worked with, has admitted working with Iran's elite Quds Force special operations unit."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/07/01/iraq.hezbollah/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlO-cUGGQPo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhotair%2Ecom%2Farchives%2F2007%2F07%2F01%2Fyou%2Ddont%2Dsay%2Dus%2Dcaptures%2Dtop%2Dhezbollah%2Dbombmaker%2Din%2Diraq%2F

Why is it that Iran will suffer no consequence of assisting in the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq? Where is our leadership?

Also, this from Bill Roggio, where he clears up a false impression with some distinctions that nobody saw fit to make:

"On June 4, The New York Times released partial data from a classified memorandum that stated only 29 percent of Baghdad was secured, and provided little context to the status of the remaining 71 percent of Baghdad. The article was widely interpreted as heralding the failure of the Baghdad Security Plan, as four months into the operation, less than one third of Baghdad was secured. "

"On June 29, Major General Joseph Fil, Jr., the commanding general of Multinational Division Baghdad and the 1st Cavalry Division, briefed on the status of Baghdad and provided the much needed context to the security situation in the city. Maj. Gen Fil noted there are 474 “mahalas” – or neighborhoods - and that operations go through four stages: disruption, clearance, controlling, and retention. Each phase can be understood as follows:

Disruption: U.S. and Iraqi forces do not have forces established in the region or have not conducted clearing operations. Security forces are conducting raids and other shaping operations to “disrupt” enemy activity and gain intelligence on the terrorist and insurgent networks.

Clearance: Security forces are in the process of conducting large-scale operations, sweeps, and searches to find and secure weapons caches, detain insurgents, and establish a permanent presence in the area.

Controlling: Security forces have a presence in the area, and neighborhood watches and police forces have been established. The areas are now considered secured.

Retention: Neighborhoods are under control and have been fully transitioned to Iraq control.

Maj Gen Fil compared the numbers from April to today. In April about 19 percent of Baghdad was secured, 41 percent of Baghdad was yet to be cleared, and about 35 percent of Baghdad was in the process of being cleared. In May, as The New York Times reported, the number of neighborhoods under control jumped to 29 percent, but there was no discussion of neighborhoods in the clearance and disruption phases."

Question: Are there any responsible adults left in the media?

Glad to have them back

2007-06-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

USS Cape Cod

2007-06-26T12:18:00.000-05:00

All that's fit to Print

2007-06-26T10:23:00.000-05:00

Thoughts: the largest scale operation since the fall of the Saddam regime in 2003 is underway, right now in Iraq, and what is our media focused on informing the general public about? This:

Aside from that spectacle, here's a survey of some of the other headlines after doing a search for "Arrowhead ripper". Arrowhead what you say?:

MSN = Nothing

CNN = Nothing up in headlines on their home page. Last article mentioning the offensive is three days old under "Nine U.S. troops die in Iraq" (Of course, you need to read 15 paragraphs into the article to find where they mention that these soldiers died in an operation that killed at least 68 al Qaeda militants.)

BBC = Nothing up in headlines on their home page . Last article on the offensive (you know, so you can keep an update on a critical ongoing operation in which our fellow countrymen are dying) was from the 22nd, 4 days ago.

Fox = Nothing in top headlines, last article was from the 23rd. Geeez, nothing from Fox??? And with their Republicon bias, too. So surprising.

ABC online news = A news story on how Senator Richard Lugar is breaking with Bush on his failed policy in Iraq. Iraq, the one thing ABC isn't giving up to date reporting on. No mention of Arrowhead Ripper, and why should there be when you're a news service that's committed to maintaining a narrative that Iraq is a failure?

CBS News = Top story is "Heavy Rains and Winds Slam Texas". No mention of Iraq at all in the headlines. Must not be anything going on there worthy of reporting.

LA Times = No mention of Iraq. No articles containing phrase "Arrowhead Ripper". Nothing.

The New York Times = Finally! A front page article with a picture even! Though at a closer look it is several days old and not up to date. The title is "For GI's in Iraq a Harrowing Day facing a Trap". No bigger picture of the operation, just a 2 pager on a platoon blowing up boobytraped houses. The jist of the entire article is captured in the last lines:

"Lieutenant Morton, the platoon commander, sought to put the hectic, anxiety-filled day in the arc of a long war. He said, “It is one of those days when you’re not doing anything, but stuff happens.” "

I've already posted the links to the likes of Michael Yon and Michael Totten.

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/operation-arrowhead-ripper-day-one.htm

Is it me here, or is something seriously deficient on how our media is reporting (or not reporting) this war? Michael Yon's observations with regard to the media are disturbing to say the least. With the exception of a few journalists, the media has all but abandoned the region:

"Alexandra Zavis from Los Angeles Times is down in the heat of the battle bringing home information. Michael Gordon from New York Times is still slugging it out.... CNN has joined the fight. AP came but will stay only a few days. Joe Klein from TIME was here on the 21st and his story posted the same day and was accurate."

That's it? But isn't now when we really need the media to report on the region and our ongoing efforts there? So we can really know about progress towards success or failure?

Evidently not.

If a parent phoned me continually asking for progress on how their son or daughter was doing in class, and I continually focused solely on the negatives without ever mentioning the successes, or where they've improved, I'd be willing to bet that parent would think that their child's progress was poor. On a similar note, here's a new poll presented by CNN on how the American public thinks the war is going:

Today's coverage on the war is the invariable anonymous deaths in unknown places for indeterminate reasons. That's it. That's the hopeless headline pounded home to the American public, that's the message they're supposed to absorb when they check on the daily news:

"More Deaths For No Discernable Cause"

There's something more than a bit absurd about CNN providing grossly inadequate and slanted coverage of the war, but then emphasizing the public's "perception" that progress is going poorly on the war, the very war that they don't really do a decent job of informing their subscribers to begin with. And when it does attempt to inform, it's just body-counts devoid of the cause involved, or what the sacrifices are for.

Can the effort to manipulate public perceptions of the war be any more transparent?

Tokyo Rose couldn't do better. Doubt me? Take a poll and ask your average Joe or Sally if they've heard that Paris Hilton was released from jail, and then ask them if they've heard of Operation Arrowhead. If in the rare chance that you get a positive answer, ask them what the specific goals are for the operation, and whether it's succeeding or not. Then get back to me.

Battle for Iraq

2007-06-20T15:44:00.001-05:00

Sadly, you'll never see coverage or read articles like this in the MSM:

http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/06/the_battle_of_iraq_2.php

Or this:

http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/be-not-afraid.htm

Be right back... stepping out for a moment...

2007-06-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

Religion of Peace

2007-06-19T11:00:00.001-05:00

Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Secretary of the Iranian Guardian Council, which aired on Iranian TV Channel 1 on June 1, 2007

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati: Today, we can see that even in America, people are increasingly inclined towards Islam. In other countries, the Islamic revival has begun. People are increasingly inclined towards the Koran, towards Islam, towards the Islamic Revolution and the Imam [Khomeini]. Just like this movement destroyed the monarchical regime here, it will definitely destroy the arrogant rule of hegemony of America, Israel, and their allies.
At the end of the day, we are an anti-American regime. America is our enemy, and we are the enemies of America. The hostility between us is not a personal matter. It is a matter of principle. We are in disagreement over the very principles that underlie our revolution and our Islam.

Uncivilized Cesspool

2007-06-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

Comments from the blog “Breath of the Beat” about a much underreported story concerning how “a huge, open cesspool, part of an immense network of festering waste products has burst this past week and swept away an entire Palestinian village of 25 houses”:

"My Father served in the Merchant Marine during WWII. He told me that at every North African or Eastern Mediterranean port he sailed into, he could smell it from 25 miles out at sea. That smell was the palpable odor of a people trying to live in the modern world with a governmental organization that was not up to the task of providing the services required. The stink that must be emanating from Gaza now is just more of the same."

Back in the day, tribal and incessant warfare was the norm in Europe. Think of the Germanic tribes before they encountered and absorbed the civilizing influence of Christianity. Today, many societies have learned how to live in relative peace and freedom as a result of the revolutionary ideas of the Enlightenment project.

When and how will this come to the Middle East?

The answer I feel will remain allusive so long as the explanation as to why the region remains violent and backwards is based on the notions of neocolonial meddling and generations of repression.

To further get my point, read this telling article:

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/11055.htm

Community Activist

2007-06-09T23:30:00.000-05:00

Stop crime with vapors!!

BushCo Sponsored GloboDoom

2007-06-03T23:34:00.000-05:00

John Edwards thinks the war on terror is an "ideological doctrine advanced by the Bush administration". You know, something invented by Karl Rove to produce fear in the voters, and get them to vote for the evil Republicons. I was wondering: has Edwards seen a complete list of attempted terrorist plots foiled since 9-11? Does he really believe that Bush or Karl Rove are the puppet masters pulling the strings behind the scenes? Does he really think that efforts by Muslim extremists -as individuals and groups- to kill Americans here and abroad is Bush propaganda?

I couldn't find an easily accessible list, so here's my attempt to create one. Feel free to add anything I've missed:

· December 22 2001: Richard Reid, attempting to destroy American Airlines Flight 63, is subdued by passengers and flight attendants before he could detonate his shoe bomb.

· July 4 2002: An Egyptian gunman opens fire at an El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles International Airport, killing two Israelis before being killed himself.

· The West Coast Airliner Plot: In mid-2002 the U.S. disrupted a plot to attack targets on the West Coast of the United States using hijacked airplanes. The plotters included at least one major operational planner involved in planning the events of 9/11.

· October 2002: John Allen Muhammed and Lee Boyd Malvo conduct the Beltway Sniper Attacks, killing ten people in various locations throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area from October 2 until they are arrested on October 24.

· The Jose Padilla Plot: In May 2002 the U.S. disrupted a plot that involved blowing up apartment buildings in the United States. One of the plotters, Jose Padilla, also discussed the possibility of using a "dirty bomb" in the U.S.

· May 12 2003: Bombings of United States expatriate housing compounds in Saudi Arabia kill 26 and injure 160 in the Riyadh Compound Bombings. Al-Qaeda blamed.

· Iyman Faris & the Brooklyn Bridge: In 2003, and in conjunction with a partner nation, the U.S. government arrested and prosecuted Iyman Faris, who was exploring the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Faris ultimately pleaded guilty to providing material support to al-Qa'ida and is now in a federal correctional institution.

· The East Coast Airliner Plot: In mid-2003 the U.S. and a partner disrupted a plot to attack targets on the East Coast of the United States using hijacked commercial airplanes.

· The 2004 U.K. Urban Targets Plot: In mid-2004 the U.S. and partners disrupted a plot that involved urban targets in the United Kingdom. These plots involved using explosives against a variety of sites.

· August 28 2004: Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay are arrested for planning to bomb the 34th Street–Herald Square subway station in New York City during the 2004 Republican National Convention.

· July 7 2005: London bombings – Bombs explode on one double-decker bus and three London Underground trains, killing 56 people and injuring over 700, occurring on the first day of the 31st G8 Conference. The attacks are the first suicide bombings in Western Europe.

· March 3 2006: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, an Iranian-born graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, drives an SUV onto a crowded part of campus, injuring nine.

* June 2006: The Canadian police foiled a homegrown terrorist attack by arresting 17 suspects, apparently inspired by Al-Qaida, who obtained three times the amount of an explosive ingredient used in the Oklahoma City bombing

* July 2006: A terrorist plot to attack transit tunnels under New York's Hudson River was broken up in its early planning stages. Three suspects were arrested overseas, including a Lebanese man the FBI said was an al-Qaeda follower.

· August 10: A major anti-terrorist operation disrupts an alleged bomb plot targeting multiple airplanes bound for the United States flying through Heathrow Airport, near London, UK.

· August 30 2006: An Afghani Muslim hit 19 pedestrians, killing one, with his SUV in the San Francisco Bay area.

· May 7: 2007 Fort Dix attack plot Six men inspired by Jihadist videos arrested in the US, in a failed homegrown terrorism plot to kill US soldiers.

· June 2007: Four men, including a onetime airport cargo handler and a former member of the Parliament of Guyana, were charged yesterday with plotting to blow up fuel tanks, terminal buildings and the web of fuel lines running beneath Kennedy International Airport.

Good Stuff

2007-06-01T12:29:00.001-05:00

I thought only in an alternative universe would one ever expect to see another Crowded House album. And yet, here we are:

http://www.crowdedhouseofficial.com/audio.php?id=1&format=wma

Opening w/ Peter Yorn in August at the Pavilion. ANyone?

A-1 Citizens

2007-05-26T08:23:00.000-05:00

Suspect Arrested For Shooting at Passing Car

Yesterday, Thursday, May 24, 2007 at approximately 7:55pm, officers from District C-11 (Dorchester) responded to the intersection of Quincy St. and Stanley St. for shots fired.
There, officers located ballistic evidence and observed the victim’s car to have numerous gunshot holes. Officers then spoke to the victim’s who indicated that the suspect was observed to have entered apartment two of 34 Stanley St. after firing several shots at their passing car. The Entry and Apprehension Team responded to 34 Stanley St. in hopes of locating the suspect from the shooting inside the house. Officers formed a perimeter around the house and secured the house by having all occupants exit to ensure their safety. Officers entered the house and located an individual inside the house matching the suspect description and detained him to ascertain whether or not he was the person that had fired the shots at the passing victims. The detained individual was positively identified by both victims. Suspect, Travis S. Kingsberry, 23, of Dorchester was placed under arrest and charged with Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, Discharging a Firearm within 500’ of a Dwelling, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition

Pigs are Flying!

2007-05-23T15:45:00.001-05:00

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1624697,00.html

Living in a State of Nature

2007-05-22T16:24:00.000-05:00

A chronicle of recent destructive behavior by those locals for whom the rules of society do not apply. This is all in the span of about a week:

Traffic Stops Ends In Gun Arrest

Last night at 9:58pm, members from the Youth Violence Strike Force were on patrol in the area of Washington and Dunlap Streets. Officers observed a motor vehicle with a broken brake light. Officers conducted a traffic stop, on approached to the vehicle officers noticed a strong smell of marijuana emanating from the vehicle. While exiting the vehicle the suspect tossed a small plastic bag of marijuana on the drivers seat of the motor vehicle. The suspect quickly looked to the ground and began to flee on foot down Dunlap Street. The suspect was apprehended at the corner of Wheatland and Whitfield Streets. Keon Barnes, 23, of Dorchester was arrested and charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Possession of Class D and Resisting Arrest. Officers did recover drugs and a firearm.

Bike Unit Makes Gun Arrest

At 11:54pm, members from the Mountain Bike Unit were on patrol in the area of Blue Hill Avenue. Officers received information that a black male walking up Blue Hill Avenue was believed to be in possession of a firearm. Officers were also informed that the suspect fired one round into the air while walking. The suspect was described as a black male wearing a black coat. Officers searched the area and observed a black male fitting the description walking across Blue Hill Avenue. When officers attempted to speak with the suspect he ignored officers and immediately placed his right hand into his waist area and changed directions. Officers observed the suspect drop an item and heard the sound of metal hitting the pavement. Leonard Nimmons, 31, of Brookline was arrested and charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Unlawful Possession of Ammunition. A firearm was recovered.

Suspects Arrested with “Fruits of the Crime”

At approximately 8:44pm, yesterday, officers from District D-4 arrested a 16-year-old from Roxbury and 17-year-old Jean C. Pena, of Dorchester and charged them with Armed Robbery.
Officers initially were dispatched to the area of 108 Peterborough St. for a robbery involving a firearm. On arrival officers met and spoke with the victim who reported that he was approached by two individuals while walking home. The victim that one of the two suspects approached him and put his arms around his shoulder and stated “Come take a walk with me, I think I know your brother.” The victim resisted the suspect’s advances and told the suspect that he did not have a brother. At this point, one of the two suspects lifted his shirt and displayed a firearm in his waistband. The suspects then took the victim’s jacket and fled.
Officers broadcast the description of the suspects while they were getting information from the victim, and were soon alerted that Northeastern PD had two individuals matching the suspects’ description. The victim was able to positively identify the suspect who was wearing his stolen jacket. Both suspect were placed under arrest and transported to the station.

Three Suspects Arrested for Shooting at Elm Hill Ave and Sonoma Street

About 5:36pm yesterday, Saturday, May 19, 2007, officers from District B-2 (Roxbury) responded to the intersection of Elm Hill Ave. and Sonoma St. for a person shot.
On arrival, officers located a 20-year-old black male victim suffering from gunshot wounds to the arm and leg. The victim was transported to Boston Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries by ambulance.

Conversation with witnesses and revealed that three described males had been observed entering a motor vehicle almost immediately after the gunshots were heard. Security officers in the area while attempting to make their way to the scene of the shooting were almost struck by the fleeing vehicle of the suspects. A description of the fleeing motor vehicle was broadcast along with the registration of the car.

Some time after the broadcast of the described suspect motor vehicle, officers located it in the area of 560 Shawmut Ave. in the South End. Surveillance was established on the vehicle and after some time three individuals were observed entering the suspect motor vehicle. Officers attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop after the three individuals entered the car but the car refused to stop until Lenox St. where the operator abandoned the car and fled on foot leaving two passengers in the car. Officers secured the individuals in the car while others pursued the operator. After a lengthy foot chase, officers were able to locate the operator of the car in a dumpster. All three individuals were detained and returned to the district. There, investigation and evidence revealed that the three in custody were the same ones responsible for the shooting.

Officers then arrested and charged William Pantoja, 20, of Dorchester, Nathanael Villalongo, 23, of Cumberland, RI, and Bolivar Marin-Torres, of Revere with Assault with Intent to Murder. Suspect Pantoja was further charged with Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon for trying to run over the security officers while fleeing from the scene and a host of other motor vehicle infractions.

Person Shot At Greenwood and Harvard Street

This morning at 12:56am, officers from District B-3 (Mattapan) responded to Boston Medical Center on a report of a walk in shooting victim. On arrival, officers located a 25-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim stated a black male wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt shot him. The victim was treated for a non-life threatening injury.

Two Juveniles Arrested for Unarmed Robbery of Pizza Delivery Man

Last night at 11:04pm, officers from District B-2 (Roxbury) responded to a radio call for a larceny in progress at 123 Alexander Street. On arrival, officers spoke with the victim who stated two black males robbed him. The victim stated that he knocked on the door and a black male stated, “I don’t want it, you took too long”.
The victim stated at that time two more black males appeared behind him and asked what was going on. At that time the two suspects grabbed him and took the food and ran around the right side of the house to a lot that’s leads to Magnolia Street.
As officers were standing outside talking to the victim, officers observed two black males on Magnolia Street staring in the officer’s direction. Officers drove to Magnolia Street and approached the two males. The victim positively identified both suspects as the ones who robbed him. The victim stated he just wanted the warming box that contained the pizza back. Officers were able to locate the victims warmer behind the house in the shed. Two juveniles from Dorchester, a 15-year-old and a 13-year-old were arrested and charged with Unarmed Robbery.

Congressional Job Approval

2007-05-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

We've been hearing for forever and a day how President Bush's approval ratings are in the tank. We've also been told that Bush' poor ratings are a reflection of a public sentiment for change on “failed” policy. If that theory holds true, then one must imagine that the lower public approval rating for Congress is a thorough rejection of their platform as well.

So, with all things being equal, I'm looking forward to the media's non-stop harping on how the numbers on Congress are now subterranean:

http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=27589

That is, provided all things are equal. What's that you say? You can't find mention of these poll numbers anywhere?

Disturbing

2007-05-13T19:38:00.001-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/us/2007/05/13/dennis.mi.91.year.old.beaten.wdiv&wm=10

BushCo Propaganda

2007-05-11T18:11:00.000-05:00

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070510-120705-6975r.htm

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070503-115739-2909r.htm

Down the Memory Hole

2007-05-09T15:17:00.000-05:00

Look at them... happy, content with each others company, unknowing of the forces controlling the information which shape their consciousness. Information that is helping to build a future utopia!

Enter six men --all foreign-born and described as "Islamic militants"—that have been arrested on charges of plotting to attack Fort Dix army base in New Jersey. These men planned to use automatic weapons to kill as many US soldiers as possible, prosecutors say.

But a day or so after this story comes to light, you'd be hard pressed to find it mentioned by any of the mainstream news organizations. It's like it never happened. It is now outside the public consciousness, or at least should be as far as those pulling the levers behind the mainstream media’s curtains are concerned.

However distracted, let’s remain focused. CNN is reporting as one of its top national stories that a Steakhouse refuses to serve O.J. Simpson.

MARXISM 2007: A Festival of Resistance

2007-05-07T06:11:00.000-05:00

Hello children. If you want to learn about and organize for a new world of peace, freedom and liberation, then don't miss :

http://www.carleton.ca/socialists/marxism/

With really alert, super-visionary guest stars!

Zafar Bangash
Wahida Valiante
Ausma Malik
Peter Leibovitch
Ali Mallah
James Clark, International Socialists

...speaking on subjects like, "Life under capitalism", "Indigenous resistance", and my personal favorite, "Building unity: Muslims and the Left".

One of the special speakers is listed as a "trans-activist".

???

Our World is Becoming Unhinged

2007-05-05T14:13:00.000-05:00

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/22_believe_bush_knew_about_9_11_attacks_in_advance

“Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure.”

I wonder sometimes if in 5 or 10 years time we’ll be having a debate about how the US govt planned a nuke attack inside the US to impose martial law.

Pigs can Fly!

2007-05-02T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well, almost. But look at the headlines at CNN. They're actually reporting about something other than daily body counts:

Iraq exit could spell disaster, experts warn

With the debate heating up over the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq, CNN analysts and other observers warn of the potential consequences of leaving too soon: an international terror hub for al Qaeda, extreme sectarian violence and the potential for a larger regional conflict that draws in Saudi Arabia, Iran and others.

_________________________________________________________________

UPDATE:

In an effort to convince the world of their intent to never die, and to stay in Iraq forever with endless numbers, the insurgency (with near-impenetrable armor-plated skin) has taken on the name of "Reptilicus".

Loose Nukes

2007-05-02T14:34:00.000-05:00

This is a comforting story:

http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070501-105445-4737r

Wait. Gertz could be a puppet disseminating propaganda from Rove's bunker in order to perpetuate the politics of fear. I almost fell for it again... those damn neocons!

Minorities fare worse in traffic stops

2007-04-29T19:36:00.000-05:00

This article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_re_us/traffic_stops

...explains that a new federal study has found that, "Black, Hispanic and white drivers are equally likely to be pulled over by police, but blacks and Hispanics are much more likely to be searched and arrested, a federal study found.” As well, "Police were much more likely to threaten or use force against blacks and Hispanics than against whites in any encounter, whether at a traffic stop or elsewhere, according to the Justice Department."

Well, why might this be the case?

This never seems to be the honest discussion people want to have, satisfied instead with accepting the equation of race + poverty = crime, which of course is an insult to those who are non-white and poor, and manage to make their way in society and up the social ladder without resorting to criminal behavior. By accepting this theory, it of course allows one to avoid the uncomfortable position of judging others, and taking the blame instead.

The report also speculates that the racial disparities uncovered "do not constitute proof that police treat people differently along demographic lines" because the differences could be explained by circumstances not analyzed by the survey. The 2002 report said such circumstances might include driver conduct or whether drugs were in plain view.

Well, if it's not racism and prejudice that primarily explains the disparities, then where else can we turn for causal explanations? What about, say, behavior, and bad choices, and the dysfunctional and violent thug culture that produces them?

I'm sure I'm being too judgmental in suggesting it, and ultimately I've got to realize that I'm probably to blame as a member of the dominant white culture that has oppressed others for so long.

I'll offer up a very recent blog entry by the BPD to the mix:

Daily Incidents For April 29, 2007Firearm Recovered During Traffic Stop

At 10:30pm, members from the Youth Violence Strike Force were on patrol in the Woodrow Ave area conducted a motor vehicle stop. Further investigation revealed the registration was canceled. The operator provided police with a driver’s license and a car rental agreement. The rental agreement showed that the vehicle was due to be returned on the 21st of April. Officers requested both occupants to exit the vehicle, as the vehicle was not allowed on the road due to a canceled registration. During and inventory search of the vehicle officers discovered a sock with a firearm protruding through a hole in the sock located in the pocket of the passenger seat. Jhett Ezedi, 23, of Hyde Park and Deshawn Parris, 24 of Dorchester were arrested and charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Unlawful Possession of Ammunition. Officers did recover a loaded firearm. Mr Ezedi will also be charged with Operating Unregistered Motor Vehicle.

One Clean Cat

2007-04-29T17:48:00.000-05:00

Gaining trust through dialogue:

I think I've convinced here it's in her best interest:

We have achieved willful compliance! Persy freely swims with the blue fishies!

The News is Excellent: Reports from Rove's Bunker underneath the White House

2007-04-25T20:27:00.000-05:00

Obviously, Cheney's the leader flanked by the two white guys in trenchcoats:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO3U6Ia2GLE&mode=related&search=

Up is Down

2007-04-25T14:45:00.000-05:00

The caption reads:

“Palestinians attend a demonstration against violence in Gaza April 23, 2007. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA)”

What’s wrong with this picture? If this is what this man brings to a peace rally, I'd hate to see what he brings to a pro-war rally.

It's Here! It's finally arrived!!

2007-04-24T16:27:00.000-05:00

"The War is Lost"

2007-04-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

Of course, you should be tempted to dismiss what follows as more propaganda from a warmongering lackey of the world Zionist neocon conspiracy. Still, did you know that Harry Reid once demanded that we go to war on the basis that Saddam had broken the 1991 armistice accords, but now claims he was duped about WMD by Chimpy?

This defeatist argument for withdrawal ("things have changed", or "the war is lost") is the one that disturbs me the most, not just for its false logic, but because of how it critically undermines morale and current efforts. Can you imagine being a soldier fighting in Iraq right now while a politician back home declares your efforts worthless?

Patraeus was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 81-0 in January of this year. And yet, now some of those same Senators that unanimous confirmed him for the position (presumably because they believed his expertise was necessary for achieving our goals in Iraq?) now support legislation that would cut funding the troops --while they are still in the field fighting. Something Reid said he wouldn’t do:

“As far as setting a timeline, as we learned in the Balkans, that’s not a wise decision, because it only empowers those who don’t want us there, and it doesn’t work well to do that.” –Reid, 2005

"Now he's the commander in chief, and we're not going to do anything to limit funding or cut off funds, even though there are some on the outside who suggest that,'' House leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said. "I think we want to make sure that the troops have everything that they need." -- Harry Reid, November 30, 2006

Absolutely shameless.

The original goals of the policy –to remove Saddam’s threat of WMD and affect a reform of the geopolitics of a backwards region that exports terror --remain as valid as when they were originally articulated, not just by the president, but by many democratic members of congress back in 2002. If we retreat, the enemy will not go gentle into that goodnight. They will take a withdrawal from Iraq as a sign of weakness, as they have in the past, and be emboldened to strike.

With the stakes involved, why isn't congress spending its energies supporting Patraeus's new plan instead of undermining it? How do democrats think things will play out if they succeed in their legislative aims???

Maybe the answer to that question is why they are so reluctant to engage in public dialogue about it.

The only thing that has changed from the original commitment by congress is their willingness to abandon our obligation to a policy they authorized for partisan, political gain. The Iraq insurgency, just as with the Vietcong, knows they can’t win militarily. Most of the attacks are basically publicity stunts aimed primarily at the MSM and American and western public opinion. America may very well lose the war through a collective loss of will and that is precisely the terrorist strategy for their success. Makes you wonder who Reid's constituency is.

Good times.

Religion of Peace

2007-04-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

AP caption: "Palestinians plant an olive tree in memory of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings, along the route of Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Maasarah, close to Bethlehem, Friday, April 20, 2007. Palestinians planted 32 olive trees, one for each victim at Virginia Tech."

How touching. Gee, I sure hope none of those killed at Virginia Tech were supporters of Israel.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian parliament speaker calls for the extermination of Americans and the Jews:

http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1426wmv&ak=null

Remember When

2007-04-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

"As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I firmly believe that the issue of Iraq is not about politics. It's about national security. We know that for at least 20 years, Saddam Hussein has obsessively sought weapons of mass destruction through every means available. We know that he has chemical and biological weapons today. He has used them in the past, and he is doing everything he can to build more. Each day he inches closer to his longtime goal of nuclear capability -- a capability that could be less than a year away.

I believe that Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime represents a clear threat to the United States, to our allies, to our interests around the world, and to the values of freedom and democracy we hold dear.

What's more, the terrorist threat against America is all too clear. Thousands of terrorist operatives around the world would pay anything to get their hands on Saddam's arsenal, and there is every possibility that he could turn his weapons over to these terrorists. No one can doubt that if the terrorists of September 11th had weapons of mass destruction, they would have used them. On September 12, 2002, we can hardly ignore the terrorist threat, and the serious danger that Saddam would allow his arsenal to be used in aid of terror.

The time has come for decisive action. With our allies, we must do whatever is necessary to guard against the threat posed by an Iraq armed with weapons of mass destruction, and under the thumb of Saddam Hussein.

The United States must lead an international effort to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein -- and to assure that Iraq fulfills its obligations to the international community. This is not an easy decision, and it carries many risks. It will also carry costs, certainly in resources, and almost certainly in lives. After careful consideration, I believe that the risk of inaction is far greater than the risk of action.

We must address the most insidious threat posed by weapons of mass destruction -- the threat that comes from the ability of terrorists to obtain them.

The path of confronting Saddam is full of hazards. But the path of inaction is far more dangerous. This week, a week where we remember the sacrifice of thousands of innocent Americans made on 9-11, the choice could not be starker. Had we known that such attacks were imminent, we surely would have used every means at our disposal to prevent them and take out the plotters. We cannot wait for such a terrible event -- or, if weapons of mass destruction are used, one far worse -- to address the clear and present danger posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

Senator John Edwards (Democrat, North Carolina) Addressing the US Senate September 12, 2002

http://edwards.senate.gov/statements/20020912_iraq.html

Is this really reporting?

2007-04-12T18:29:00.000-05:00

Bombings raise questions about `surge'

By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer 21 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi officials have voiced cautious optimism that the 2-month-old security operation in Iraq might be working. A suicide bombing at parliament and another that sent a Baghdad bridge crashing into the Tigris River delivered a powerful message that the American-led crackdown may be too late.

Why is a "reporter" using terms like "may be" or "might be"? Is his job to accurately identify and communicate events as they transpire to the public, or is it to speculate? In what universe is this considered a reflection of good journalistic standards for objective reporting?

Weapons of Mass Deception

2007-04-12T16:43:00.000-05:00

Why isn't this story, instead of the Imus flap, headline news???

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/NEWS03/304120012

Well, on second thought, this Christopher Paul character probably does take his orders from Rove as part of the administration's "Politics of Fear" covert program. Jee, I almost got suckered in there by BushCo again.

Quotes of the Day

2007-04-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

"If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism."

"It is bad enough that so many people believe things without any evidence. What is worse is that some people have no conception of evidence and regard facts as just someone else's opinion. "

It's So Simple

2007-04-04T19:54:00.000-05:00

On my morning commute the other day I snapped this quick photo of a lone, brave citizen providing an almost unheard of dissenting message. If only I could reduce my understandings to a bumper-sticker mentality...

I can't handle it anymore!

2007-03-21T20:03:00.000-05:00

Look! Unicorns and bunnies eating neapolitan banana splits on clouds made from spun sugar! Under a delicious lollipop rainbow! Quick! Somebody fetch the river dancing midgets. And the hookers!

How many jews did mamma kill?

2007-03-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1398wmv&ak=null

Can one really comment?

Letter to the Editor

2007-02-07T18:31:00.001-05:00

Greetings, CNN folk.

I feel obligated to leave a comment about your headlines for today. It has been established for some weeks now that there is an impending campaign to crackdown on security in Bagdad (you know, "the surge" currently debated in congress, in the media, and by the public), the locus for much of the sectarian violence. From other sources, it appears this surge is under way, yet, in visiting your news site, I find that “Nasa Love Triangle” is the leading story and the only reference to Iraq is a negative piece on a kickback scam run by US officers and the deaths resulting from a downed US helicopter.

What gives?

The American people have been constantly bombarded with stories and statistics about casualty rates (“grim milestones”), how the war is not going well and has been mismanaged, and is responsible for the president's and our country’s low approval ratings. And here we have a change in tactics and policy being implemented as I write this, measures that will have an enormous impact on whether the efforts for a stable democracy in Iraq has any success or failure, and CNN can’t be bothered to mention this development in their headlines? What else could you be waiting for, or consider more important? Ah yes, “NASA Love Triangle”.

Why would I not go elsewhere for my news in the future...

Sincerely,
Barbara Wester

"Our job is to bash the president"

2007-02-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

Wow. Did anyone hear about this?

On Friday night's edition of Inside Washington, the first topic was whether the media's been unfair to President Bush given his abysmal approval ratings. NPR reporter Nina Totenberg said Bush received a free ride for years, so now the worm has turned and the coverage is fierce. A free ride? As if we’ve never heard criticism leveled at the president before now? Then the host turned to Newsweek's Evan Thomas, who was up front in his assessment of the media's role:

Gordon Peterson: "What do you think, Evan? Are the mainstream media bashing the president unfairly?"

Evan Thomas: "Well, our job is to bash the president, that's what we do almost --"

Peterson: "But unfairly?"

I can’t take anyone seriously when they dismiss the notion that the media has a blatant bias, one that’s hostile to this administration and makes no pretense of objectivity.

The message is very simple: the mainstream media are the key players in shaping public opinion according to the political outcomes they would desire. This agenda has consequences since we are currently in a global war against an ideology whose principle objective to transform the world into an Islamic state. The West has to fight to reform Islam except that it has an academic elite and a media that are actively engaged in foiling any effective response to this threat. As well, the insurgency understands that the only way they can win in Iraq isn’t by tactical military success but by undermining the American public’s support for the war.

So, in the end, neither the insurgents nor the media here at home want the project in Iraq to succeed.

Presenting:

2007-01-29T20:05:00.000-05:00

"Daddy, why does my head disappear so easily into the television set? Daddy?"

So, my recent thoughts have been spent on the importance of a stable, supportive home-front on educational outcome, but also on the question of how do those few schools with poor students and unmotivated parents do it?

To begin answering those questions, I think it’s important to understand a student’s world according to the greatest influences. I think of students as existing in two spheres, each having the ability to shape their development for better or for worse. Education can make people at any age flower into well adjusted, fully functioning individuals, but if a students shows up at the school door unprepared to take advantage of this opportunity, there is a limit to what the establishment can do to reach them. How receptive they are depends on the other, second sphere of everything else: family, peers, television, computers and other media, much of which today I believe we should consider a cultural wasteland.

My experience has convinced me that society would be a different and better place on the whole if parents showed more philanthropy to the development their children’s character rather than spoil them materially, set few limits, and consider them their “friends”. Most of the behavioral problems in the classroom –in my opinion the largest factor obstructing academic progress- would largely disappear if students were taught how to exibit self-control and respect for authority, starting in the home.

But the $20,ooo question is and shall remain: How do you effect change within communities where the generational ethos is selfishness and irresponsibility?

I think the first answer to that tough question is: by sheer necessity. People should be protected from harming themselves and others, namely their children, but they should also be found accountable for their behavior. Decisions are meaningless if there aren’t consequences, and if you shelter an individual from this truth, they will not learn it and ardently resist learning it later in life. I know this from personal experience –studying my own personal behavior- as well as from watching that of others very closely.

In a related way, too, a reevaluation of what is commonly considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior and norms (witness the ongoing culture wars) is necessary. But that isn’t a conversation this country (Europe is gone) is easily willing to assume since so much of what is considered virtuous or wicked is regulated to the authority of opinion and therefore is usually off the table for public debate.

So, I ask again with a slight modification, and with the understanding that I do so as a lonely voice in the wilderness: How do you effect change within communities where the generational ethos is selfishness and irresponsibility, knowing it is politically incorrect to attribute causation to cultural factors that largely lay outside public education?

Letting in the Sunshine

2007-01-16T19:37:00.000-05:00

Jon Anderson and Steve Howe look like they’re straight out of a Tolkien work. This is quite possibly one of my most favorite pieces of enchanted music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7NlyzpGcnQ

Long distance runaround

Long time waiting to feel the sound

I still remember the dream there

I still remember the time you said goodbye

Did we really tell lies

Letting in the sunshine

Did we really count to one hundred

Cold summer listening

Hot colour melting the anger to stone

I still remember the dream there

I still remember the time you said goodbye

Did we really tell lies

Letting in the sunshine

Did we really count to one hundred

Human Shields

2007-01-15T13:43:00.001-05:00

The above picture offers some valuable insight into the intellectual collusion of the far left and anti-Western movements. In contrast, here's some insight into the conflict in Lebanon during July of last year from Michael Totten:

http://michaeltotten.com/

I turned on my voice recorder. Alan translated.

“So you stayed in Ain Ebel through the whole war?”

I said. “Yes,”

Jad said. “At what point did Hezbollah come to the village and fire their missiles?”

I said. “During the war they took some uninhabited houses at the edge of our village and stayed there.”

“Uninhabited?” I said.

“Yes, uninhabited. Nobody was there, so they took them. They were eating in there, sleeping in there, and maybe doing some reconnaissance.”

“Did they ever go into houses where people were still living?” I said.

“No,” he said.

“Okay,” I said.

I wondered if Hezbollah deserved credit for not encroaching on people’s personal space, but Jad answered that question before I could ask it.

“They chose specific houses because nobody was living there and nobody would know.”

“Did they choose to come to this town for strategic or tactical reasons?” Noah said. “Or was it because it’s a Christian town?”

“Strategically, of course,” Jad said. “It’s a high peak. It is very good strategically. But they could have chosen these parts, these lands...”

He gestured with his arm toward the valley below, the place Alan promised to take us next.

“It would have been more protection for them than this village. So why did they come here? I think it’s because it’s a Christian village. They do this.”

“Did anybody who lives here try to get Hezbollah to leave the village?” I said.

“We don’t have any arms,” Jad said. “Hezbollah has arms. But there was this incident that happened. Next to a guy’s place they were firing Katyushas – you know, missiles. They were firing from the house. This guy went out and said Please, do not fire from our home, from in front of our house. My father is very ill and there are some children in the house. They came to him and said Shut up, go in your house, this is none of your business.”

A Battle for Global Values

2007-01-14T18:22:00.000-05:00

Listen, I know that Blair is Bush's lap-dog, but let’s give him a chance and read his essay anyways:

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070101faessay86106/tony-blair/a-battle-for-global-values.html

Listening and reading Blair makes one long for an articulate leader skilled at oration, something critical in times like these.

Suicide of a Christmas Tree

2007-01-06T16:37:00.000-05:00

New York Times front page photo

2007-01-05T19:54:00.000-05:00

And we give moral weight to the opinions of people who do things like this because?

And in the information war, the Bush administration seems asleep at the wheel because?

"Rambo"

2007-01-04T14:27:00.000-05:00

I can't look away:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4EecWEFw_M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by5_8SpGX-E&NR

Change the Language to Change the Consciousness

2007-01-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/061230/ids_photos_wl/r3560459222.jpg

Is there an attempt here in the caption to imply global warming is not a natural occurrence?

"Australia's crippling drought, which some lawmakers have called the worst for 1,000 years, is a natural occurrence and has no link to global warming, the country's top science organisation said on Thursday."

If so, then a trans-Siberian land bridge and the conditions that made it possible never existed, and the Americas became populated during some other source migration, according to Reuters, David Gray, and the country's unnamed top science organization. Geology 101 tells us the planet has undergone numerous ice ages in the past 100,000 years due to a warming and cooling of the earth, not to mention the giant epochs before this modern period.

When did we escape this? And who is Reuters to rewrite natural history?

New World Regime

2007-01-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

Look who's taken over collective security. I bet if we could peek underneath every imperial helmet, we'd find the monstrous face of George Bush.

Brave New World

2007-01-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Good news everyone! I’ve decided to do the right thing concerning my bleak cultural heritage and interconnected benefits. It's the pragmatist in me: if it doesn't work, ditch it and move on to something else that does. That's why I’m going to move back into a pre-enlightenment state of nature. Yes, no longer will I reside in the realm of ideas; it will be enough to be a person who isn't engaged enough to do the critical thinking and is satisfied with being indignant instead.

Why the change you ask?

Simply put, I’ve grown so weary by the lack of progress this civilization has made in the last 400 years. We haven’t yet put an end to such things as human need, loss, and pain, and so, it must be considered a dismal failure, certainly nothing to honor or be thankful for. Besides, I’m so sick of being chased away from the polling stations by the political opposition armed with machetes that it’s no longer worth the struggle.

Won’t you join me?

Be honest: In order to maintain some sense of personal integrity, you should be willing to hold yourself accountable to your beliefs by actually disassociating yourself with a society so disgraceful and instead begin construction of your new world within your new unconstrained freedom.

Quote of the Day

2006-12-26T12:38:00.000-05:00

...comes from a French social theorist by the name of Jacques Ellul:

I am not criticizing or rejecting other civilization of societies... The thing that I am protesting against is the silly attitude of western intellectuals in hating our own world and then illogically exalting all other civilizations. Ask yourself this question: If the Chinese have done away with binding the feet of women, and if the Moroccans, Turks, and Algerians have begun to liberate their women, whence did the impulse to these moves come from? From the West and nowhere else! Who invented the “rights of man”?

The essential, central, undeniable fact is that the West was the first civilization in history to focus attention on the individual and freedom. The West, and the West alone, is responsible for the movement that has led to the desire for freedom. Today, men point the finger of outrage at slavery and torture. Where did that type of indignation originate? What civilization or culture cried out that slavery was unacceptable and torture scandalous? Not Islam, or Buddhism, or Confucius, or Zen, or the religious or moral codes of Africa and India. The West alone has defended the inalienable rights of the human person, the dignity of the individual. The West attempted to apply in a conscious, methodical way the implications of freedom.. The West discovered what no one else had discovered: freedom and the individual. I see no other satisfactory model that can replace what the west has produced.

Of course, it is important to note that these are merely a white, male, Euro-centric interpretation of things. The Western tradition is really a cloak of hypocrisy intended to conceal, rationalize, and legitimize the power, privileges, and preferences of white, male, European elites.

Carry on.

I have a rendezvous with Death (and I’m taking some Capitalist pigs with me!)

2006-12-24T16:37:00.000-05:00

This is what you get when you ally yourself with the Bush/Cheney/Rove/Halliburton cabal:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1978642,00.html

BREAKING NEWS!!!

2006-12-17T20:55:00.000-05:00

December 2006:
NASA Uses Somali Terror Camp as Test Target for SDI Weapon

Man of the Year

2006-12-17T09:47:00.000-05:00

Well, at least he was according to the wisdom of Time magazine in 1938. The article that accompanied that magazine cover is utterly priceless as a source document that offers insight into the pre-war mindset and realizations made too late. If you have never read this, I entreat you to do so now:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,760539,00.html

So then, why can't Time be honest and post Ahmadinejad today?

By the way, yesterday Ahmadinejad stated that Iran is ready to transfer nuclear technology to neighboring countries.

Media response? A yawn.

Some related thoughts: It is true that an inquiry is more about forming the right question than putting forth anything resembling a solution. I state the obvious but you have to have an accurate grasp of what you’re dealing with before you can formulate a proper response. This goes for understanding historical movements and actors as well as for inter-personal relations. Importantly, this included knowing who your friends and enemies are.

One of the fundamental problems right now is the inability of a great many people –in many cases a willful inability-- to recognize the existential question before us all: the Middle-East represents the crucible for western civilization; what is to be the extent of our role, if any at all? In an age of nuclear proliferation we do not have the luxury of reverting to a two-ocean isolationism. The worst, barbaric elements of the world will be coming for us whether we retreat to our shores voting Democrat all the way or not. I fear the understanding that the world has fundamentally changed hasn’t sufficiently sunk in yet, and I’ve already written on what I think it will take to open the eyes of the head-in-the-sand crowd. I'm not sure they would even recognize such a thing as barbarism as existing in the world among humanity; such a belief like that isn't what the multicultural contingent considers acceptable thought.

I have an unfortunate disdain –I say unfortunate because ideally I would rather be in a position not to disdain anything or anyone—for those that hold utopian views and goals but possess no realistic understanding of what it would take to achieve these goals. Maybe a lack of respect is a more apt posture. Why? Because being a good observer of the world around you and having a realistic assessment of what people are generally like are good first steps in any critical theory. Thomas Sowell says it best when he states that the underlying moral and social challenge is to make the best of possibilities given the constraints of reality, human nature, and knowledge.

For example: Marxism and Communism are berated as failed evil systems of oppression and rightfully so in my opinion given the CONSEQUENCES of these systems. But given that, these were still systems devised to bring into reality some very noble, human goals. Who doesn’t feel the romantic appeal behind the notion of a classless society with no government necessary and where all are equal and free from want, need, and conflict? I think it would be inhuman not feel some tug towards such a vision of peace and harmony on earth.

History, however, has produced examples of figures and inspired groups that felt that tug strong enough to sacrifice the lives of tens of millions at the alter of these unsustainable utopian goals. The controlling methods necessary in Marxism's attempt to bring revolution in consciousness and societal evolution are in themselves brutal, oppressive, and anti-democratic in the end. Marx did not take human nature into consideration when he created his historical theory.

Having a realistic view of the possible requires being informed by history, the record of human thought in action; therefore the study of history provides a long vista of the heights of human greatness and depths of depravity. Any policy prescriptions –on either the individual or state level-- made without a knowledge of these things is both naïve and dangerous and would relate in a way to a definition of insanity. How would one otherwise have the ability to gage what has worked and what has not?

Yet, utopian idealists who cling to the mantra of peace, love, and understanding usually lack this understanding and hold themselves morally superior to anyone that confronts reality with an idealism that’s tempered with a pragmatic approach. As if they have the right to wash their hands of the great moral issues of our times by claiming neutrality founded in a non-judgementalism?

This fake, enlightened consciousness is the height of intellectual arrogance and actually has more to do with the egotism of the proprietor than anything related with a genuine concern for a noble cause or alleviation of suffering. The elevation of non-violence as the highest virtue over other virtues and rights is perhaps the very things which will cause this civilization to wither. I would argue that it is doubtful whether now or in the near future we have the ability to make a moral defense of our values and way of life with a view towards its preservation.

And that is one of the reasons that people who should know better are willing to accept a nuclear armed Iran headed by a holocaust denying religious fanatic that calls for the wiping off the map of other democratic countries and believes in contributing to the coming apocalypse as defined by the Cult of the Hidden 12th Imam.

"Why shouldn't Iran have nukes, we do? Who are we to say who should and shouldn’t have them? You're fascist."

Our fate as a civilization rests on the resolution of conflict and reform of the middle-east. I see the potential for the erosion of the West physically (fanatical terror attacks w/ mass casualties) and spiritually (nihilism from loss of founding values). It’s hard news to take. Somebody should bring in the clowns and the eggnog please.

Sudanese-Israeli Friendship Association

2006-12-08T23:04:00.000-05:00

Can we send money to this woman?

http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1331wmv&ak=null

NYT’s front page photo

2006-12-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

Just kidding.

Shahida

2006-12-06T15:57:00.000-05:00

Creating heroes and role models plays an important socialization function in every society. Take a long and hard look at this photograph if you want to understand what’s so deeply disturbing and destructive about the culture of the Palestinian death cult.

"The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades claims the martyr operation carried out by Fatima Omar Mahmud al-Najar, aged 57, in the middle of a group of Zionist soldiers," an online statement said. The mother of nine and grandmother of 41 became the oldest Palestinian suicide bomber at the age of 57."

Her daughter Fathiya said that her family received the news gladly. "It did honor to her family and to her townspeople. She liked sacrifice," Fathiya said.

Wafa Idris, who in January 2002 became the first Palestinian woman suicide terrorist, said this before she committed her act:

"I always wanted to be the first woman who sacrifices her life for Allah. My joy will be complete when my body parts fly in all directions."

Ahh. The glorification of terror never sounded so endearing.

This is my thesis: cultural relativism and moral equivalency theory of the West prevents the clear understanding of the methods and the nature of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and therefore thwarts its potential resolution.

Meanwhile, overheard earlier today:

"They are angry with our nation. But we tell them 'so be it and die from this anger'. Rest assured that if you do not respond to the divine call, you will die soon and vanish from the face of the earth."

--Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

NEVER HAD A CHANCE

2006-12-03T13:37:00.000-05:00

Follow up to a headline from my last post. This is a picture I took of an M-5 Stuart displayed on the front lawn of the VFW hall where I park every day for work. Someone had commented on another board that they had inquired with folks at the hall as to the history of the vehicle, and were told that it was operational for parades and holidays up until a few years ago when some neighborhood kids were able to pry off the gas cap and poor in some anonymous liquid. This made the engine seize upon the next start up.

Anyways, here below the Stuart I have provided a German Tiger tank for contrast, something that was the last sight on earth for many a Stuart tanker.

I don't know: would crews inside the Tiger know they were being hit from a 37 mm Stuart round? The notion of targeting the thinly armored Stuart with the Tigers 88 mm cannon is analogous to using a shotgun to kill a fly. I imagine a complacent Tiger crew could have had the theoretical luxury of having tea while waiting for a Stuart to exhaust all it munitions, and then simply overrun and crush it without resorting to its main armament.

By the time the allies landed at Normandy after the campaigns in North Africa and Italy, the imbalance in armor was already apparent and the M-5 was prudently relegated to more of a reconnaissance role. Still, the under-armored and under-gunned Sherman was only a marginal improvement. Read here for a horrifying account of what happened when British Shermans came up against a lone, German tank commander who knew his vehicle well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Villers-Bocage

“On 8 August 1944, a single Tiger commanded by SS-Unterscharführer Willi Fey from the 1st Company of sSSPzAbt 102, engaged a British tank column, destroying some 14 out of 15 Shermans”

So then, what’s all this claptrap about how we sent our soldiers into Iraq “ill-equipped” with under-armored Humvees and not enough body armor?

There are pros and cons to every tactical decision concerning armor and mobility. When you add to one, you necessarily take away from the other. If you increase the armor on a vehicle that wasn’t originally designed as an armored vehicle, then you raise the risk of rolling the vehicle –and killing it’s occupants-- during combat maneuvering. By the same principle, when you increase the amount of body armor a GI has to wear, you decrease his agility which is a very critical thing to have when someone is shooting at you in close-quarters.

How many media stories has there been reporting on this aspect of armor vs. mobility concerns in Iraq? And what of the corresponding losses we sustained by up-armoring humvees and soldiers to avoid, in part, further political fallout from charges of negligence?

While we're at it, why don't we remember the intelligence failures over the hedgerows at Normandy, or how many GI’s were thrown into combat during the Battle of the Bulge wearing little better than summer fatigues. Did we have people in the media then calling for the resignation of President Roosevelt or Secretary of War Henry Stimson for incompetence with these and other failures of intelligence or planning? Is it perhaps partisan politics that promotes this double-standard?

Information Warfare

2006-12-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

This is what I've been contending the whole time:

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/news_print/index.php?relyear=2006&itemno=644

That we have a mainstream media that attempts to fashioning public opinions aligning with certain political commitments, rather than a press core that has a sense of responsibility to be politically indifferent when reporting on reality.

And here to emphasize my point is another episode (brought to you by the writers at StrategyPage) of “What If Today's Media Had Covered World War II?”

Headlines:

NAVY, WHITE HOUSE LIED ABOUT BATTLESHIPS
5, Not 2, Sunk at Pearl Harbor

HUNDREDS OF SAILORS STILL TRAPPED UNDERWATER
Victims' Families: Pearl Rescue Efforts "Disgraceful"

FDR DUMPS MACARTHUR FOR CHURCHILL
"Writing Off" Philippines, Sources Say

SECRET PAYMENT TO MACARTHUR
$500,000 from Manila Bigwigs

MIDWAY VICTORY DUE TO BROKEN JAP CODES
The Chicago Tribune did actually print this story. Fortunately, the Japanese didn't see it. Tribune owner Robert McCormick was sternly told never to let this happen again, and it never did.

FDR PLANS NORTH AFRICA INVASION
Critics Charge "Stunt" To Help Dems in '42 Elections

NORMANDY "IDEAL" INVASION SITE
Military Experts Agree This Is Where We'll Land

NEVER HAD A CHANCE (remember the picture I sent of the M-5 Stuart?)
GI’s sent into combat ill-equipped: German Tank Superiority Causes Morale Crisis

WHISTLEBLOWER REVEALS SUPERBOMB PLANS
Catholic Bishops Condemn Secret "Manhattan Project"

IKE ENRAGED
Monty to Be Fired in SHAEF Meltdown
British papers which did report, inaccurately, tensions between Ike and Monty, were stepped on hard by the British government.

"NO DEFENSE" AGAINST KAMIKAZES
Experts: Suicide Tactics May Be War-Winner – Fleet Demoralized

FDR WITH MISTRESS IN DEATH ROOM
Warm Springs Scandal – Old Flame Watches President Die
First Lady Outed As Lesbian

HITLER IN PARAGUAY
Soviets Have Proof Dictator Escaped Berlin

IWO JIMA FLAG RAISING "STAGED"
Bond Drive Collapses After Controversy

BURN BABY BURN
B-29 Crews Laugh, Take Photos as Thousands of Children Die

ATOM BOMB DROPPED TO COW SOVIETS
Sources Say Hiroshima Strike Had No Military Purpose

MACARTHUR-NIMITZ SURRENDER SHOWDOWN
Who Hosts Ceremony?
Whose Flag Flies Higher on Battleship's Mast?

Angelina Jolie romantically linked to Kim Jong Il

2006-12-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

More at 11:00. Right now though, we need to admonish bad bad Romney, not that I have any great political affinity or animus for him. The Boston Globe has finally uncovered his naturally exploitive ways (as a landed gentry) with their brave and unbiased reporting:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles
/2006/12/01/illegal_immigrants_toiled_for_governor/

He made a mistake that reveals a great callous hypocrisy between what he says and what he actually does. You see, Romney's crime is that he didn't assume in passing, like he should have, that by the race of the employees working for his lawn service company they were all here illegally. of course, upon seeing those trouble-making brown-skins he should have immediately demanded to see residency documentation, and then bussed them off to somewhere deserving like the Texas border, or Iraq, or somewhere.

Can you imagine the field day the Globe would have with a story like that?

Instead, why aren't they chronicling how the Globe seemingly as a policy seeks to conflate legal immigration with illegal immigration? Or how the legal enforcement failures of company owner Ricardo Saenz or Congress and the INS contribute to the irresponsibility surrounding this social dilemma?

Someone should inquire with the Globe if there's ever been illegal immigrants that have worked for them in the past, and then hold them to exactly the same standards that they’re holding Romney to.

Still, they -meaning the illegal immigrants, Romney, and the Globe-- are all better off than this flying Khazatkah sister:

You too for that matter. She doesn't have so many options right now, does she? So, let's all just keep this chatter in context and have a fun evening.

Iranian Weapons Arm Iraqi Militia

2006-11-30T15:12:00.000-05:00

http://abcnews.go.com/International/IraqCoverage/story?id=2688501

The fact that we've known about this complicity between Iran (and Syria) and the Shia militias alarms me because it does not seem to be factored in to the greater strategy for stabilizing Iraq. Cars cannot drive without being refueled. Insurgencies cannot be waged without material, external support. Yet, we’ve allowed it to occur knowing exactly where this support has been coming from and without exerting the greater diplomatic and military pressure necessary to stem it.

Even if just for the sake of our servicemen in Iraq: Why?

At least during the Vietnam War, we bombed the Ho Chi Minh trail in an effort to stop the Vietcong from being resupplied by the North. Bui Tin, a former colonel who served on the general staff of the North Vietnamese Army, was interviewed in 1995 by a western journalist. His answer to the question of ‘what could the Americans have done to have won the war’ is enlightening:

A: “Cut the Ho Chi Minh trail inside Laos. If Johnson had granted Westmoreland’s requests to enter Laos and block the Ho Chi Minh trail, Hanoi could not have won the war.”

Is this current administration serious about taking the lessons of history and doing what needs to be done to finish what it started?

Pompous, infantile, self-important, elitist jackasses

2006-11-29T17:21:00.000-05:00

This is my definition thereof.

Lincoln bedroom: “Wrecked the place”

???

Religious Solidarity of the Umma Cont.

2006-11-29T15:27:00.000-05:00

I, for one, bumble around all day finding the humor or irony in things. I also spend some time thinking about more serious considerations, such as reasons for being, politics, philosophy (good food?), and I somehow manage to not afflict my devotions upon any non-consenting neighbors.

So what then happened here?

http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20061128-122902-7522r

“Thousands of Muslims fly every day and conduct prayers in airports in a quiet and private manner without creating incidents.”

That’s very true, and this above observation demonstrates a plausibility for unselfishness within us all: one can experience religious freedom without insisting on commandeering the public square and forcing the rest of us to moderate what is and what is not appropriate social displays of religiosity. I wouldn’t think it a reasonable request if I went to my administration and demanded the license to pray loudly in the school halls at any time of my choosing during my days at work.

I wish zealots of any stripe would, as a natural impulse, consider some other forum more selective for expression, but if they had this impulse to begin with, I guess they wouldn't be zealots.

The imams have protested that the treatment they received was unfair because they were “merely praying” and the group “did everything it could to avoid suspicion”. But for them to characterize their behavior in such a narrowly benign way is I suspect intentionally misleading. There seems to have been a pattern of dubious behavior –loudly proclaiming “Allah” while boarding commercial jet in a post-9-11 world just being one of them.

We also know –and surely the imams know this too-- that their group switched from their assigned seats to a seating pattern associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks; asked for seat-belt extenders and placed the straps and buckles on the cabin floor (???); made two trips to the rear of the plane to talk during boarding; and lied about their tickets being upgraded. These are suspicious behaviors --not a cultural misunderstanding-- that would get any individual or group kicked off a flight, whether they’re the loud praying type or not.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Texas Democrat, said the September 11 terrorist attacks “cannot be permitted to be used to justify racial profiling, harassment and discrimination of Muslim and Arab Americans."

"Understandably, the imams felt profiled, humiliated, and discriminated against by their treatment," she said.

Stalin would have called her a useful idiot. I guarantee that if I boarded a flight tomorrow and presented the exact same behaviors as the Imams I would get booted from the flight, and so would you.

Humiliation, profiling, and discrimination are not liberal virtues that most Americans believe in. You don’t think these imams are appealing to these values to in order to manipulate or deceive, do you?

Religious Solidarity of the Umma

2006-11-27T14:12:00.000-05:00

Did anyone else read about this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbkrKH7SCio&eurl=

This is an instructive eye-opener as far as I'm concerned and should be front and center on the 6:oo news. It’s flabbergasting: Those within the Muslim community who are critical of the violent jihad are branded as "Islamaphobic".

Let me get this straight. This man, Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who lives in Tulsa, believes OBL should be brought to justice and espouses Islam as a religion of peace not violence. For this he cannot return to his Mosque until he apologizes for his "insults"??? Do we not consider this evidence that many within the Muslim community will defend the behavior of other Muslims, no matter how sociopathic?

I think this administration is well worthy of criticism in how it has prosecuted the Iraq war and the WOT, but terrorism started long before September 11th and this administration’s response to it. Or do people remember that? How long before the threat facing us is commonly recognized as having its causation not in a so called western imperialism (since when is promoting self-government synonymous with exploitation?), but in an iron-age religious ideology that is so endemic to the Middle-East? I think as long as so many in the West fail to realize that there are tens of millions of people in the Muslim world that are a lot more dangerous than Dick Cheney, then it is going to be hard to recognize let alone protect ourselves from our genuine enemies.

Maybe it’s simpler or more comfortable to remain in denial and instead whine about how unpopular we are in the world. Then again, I think to grasp the nature of much of the rest of the world is to also understand that it’s a good thing that many people don’t like us. It’s a vulgar notion to wish to be liked by everyone, even more vulgar to vie for a favorable light among tribal thugs and anti-Semites.

My least favorite “Blame America First” club member is the morally bankrupt intellectual who can’t or won’t make the distinction between how we (and Israel) seek to avoid murdering non-combatants as a rule, while many Muslims intentionally murder non-combatants and use civilians as human shields. These club members are so uncomfortable with the moral component that they wash their hands of any responsibility to level judgment on people and events by going to default setting and claiming it's all an equivalent "cycle of violence", everyone is equally bad for resorting to violence. Such vacancy dressed up as enlightened thought.

The dilemma of our age is this: which will be the greater threat to our downfall, the triumph of non-judgmental postmodernism or nuclear terrorism. I’d actually put my money on the former, but I think its success will intimately contribute to the latter's success too. It’s the 1930’s all over again. In this war against religious extremism, those that would crash planes into skyscrapers, behead journalists, and blow themselves up on busses have learned to use our values against us. I don’t think I’m being pessimistic in saying that realistically, it is going to take a mushroom cloud over New York City to really shake the public into some greater understanding of this civilizational crisis. The date it happens will have lots in common with September of 1939.

What do you think? I'll go and try to think happy thoughts now...

The Ultimate High Ground

2006-11-26T13:14:00.000-05:00

Two views of the same event: one from pedestrian level, and one taken from the International Space Station.

Mount Etna is a volcano on the east coast of Sicily and apparently it’s one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in almost constant state of eruption. I find the two above pictures of Etna amazing for the perspectives they offer when grasping the physical size of Earth, or something like that.

A great site for grasping:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/index.html