Monday, January 03, 2005

DEBKAfile: Saddam Hussein Speaks



Click here for AmazonThe Israeli strategy and intelligence site Debka had an interesting, second-hand interview with Saddam Hussein based upon conversations with one of his attorneys. Topics covered included the ex-dictator's health; complaints about his American guards and the Red Cross; and his impressions of the war and postwar insurgency. Granted, it's hearsay, but worth reading nonetheless.

For me, the most interesting segment came at the end.

...When Duleimi [ed: his attorney] informed him that five million Iranians infiltrated Iraq in advance of the January 30 elections to register as voters, Saddam retorted: "This is nothing new as far as the Persian traitors are concerned. We always knew they wanted to grab southern Iraq and that this was the objective of the Badr Brigades. Now the Americans are discovering this for themselves."

But, he added, in any case, the Americans and Allawi will not succeed in bringing the elections off. They will fail, he declared.

Finally, the former Iraqi president said: “I fear for Syria. I warned Bashar Assad that the Americans had not only targeted Iraq, but Syria too.”

DEBKAfile’s military sources add:

Saddam Hussein touched inadvertently on the most burning issue between the Bush administration and Iraq’s interim prime minister Iyad Alawi. Ever since the December 21 suicide attack on the US forward base in Mosul, when 22 Americans were killed, Allawi has been urging Washington to launch attacks from Iraq on points in Syria – singling out military locations known to intelligence as bases used to assist and train terrorists preparatory to their infiltration of Iraq. The Iraqi prime minister believes that without military action against Syria, three key goals will remain out of reach:

1. A general election on January 30 orderly enough to be a success.

2. An effective deterrent to Tehran’s meddling in Iraq.

3. Victory in the war against the guerrillas.

Sunday, January 2, US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage arrives in Damascus with a final warning from Washington. The Syrian ruler will be informed that the administration is closer than ever before to acceding to Allawi’s demand.


DEBKAfile: Saddam Hussein Speaks

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Half the Story



Click here for AmazonIn propagandizing the "Iraq = Vietnam" meme, some in the mainstream press have forgotten one teensy, tiny detail. Our side (we'll call them the good guys) are fighting for a Democratic government against extremist, suicidal Islamofascists who would like nothing better than to kill Americans (and for that matter, anyone who is not their co-religionist), either here or abroad. Nothing to do with the situation is similar to that in Vietnam, and the sooner the MSM picks up on that fact, the better for everyone. You'd think their arthritic circulation numbers would have provided the hint.

Haider Ajina sent us this translation of an article that appeared today in the Iraqi Arabic newspaper Nahrain:

A press release by the Iraqi ministry of defense.

1. At 1 am Iraqi National Guard (ING), the Mahmudih division, arrested 217 individuals suspected of being terrorists and confiscated a large cache of light and heavy caliber weapons and ammunition.

2. At 2 am the same ING division arrested Hatem Alzobaae, a suspected terrorist cell leader.

3. At 2:30 am ING in Hillah arrested the terrorist Ali Mehsan Ghnajar. In his possession were 19 grenades, three 28mm mortars.

4. At 4 am, based on a tip that he had returned from Syria, the criminal Ali Latief was arrested by the ING. Four men who are part of his cell were also arrested.

5. At 4 am 10 terrorists were arrested after returning from Mosul by the ING Mahmudiah division.

6. At 4 am ING raided the Hai Alaskari area based on a tip. As a result of the raid the ING arrested 10 terrorists one of which resisted and was wounded and arrested.

7. At 4 am terrorists attacked the Hadbaa police station and were repelled with 2 terrorists killed and their weapons confiscated.

8. At 5 am ING started a security clean sweep of Bab Shams. They confiscated a large number of hand grenades and mortar weapons and rounds.


Haider adds these comments:

I keep seeing more and more of this type of terrorist cleansing activity. What is more interesting is that the Iraqi National Guard is more and more active in these arrests. I have also noticed that more and more actions based on tips are being reported.


Check your local newspaper tomorrow morning and see whether these successes by the Iraqi National Guard have been reported. Then ask yourself whether any successful terrorist attack, whether via car bomb, attack on a police station, kidnapping, or whatever, has ever gone unreported in your local paper. Then ask your local paper why half of the story is missing.


Powerline: Half the Story

Of Car Bombs and Spectrometers



Click here for AmazonThere's something that's been eating away at me regarding the security situation in Iraq. Too many good people are being killed or maimed by car bombs in Iraq. I'm definitely no physicist, but doesn't it seem feasible to position spectrometer-based sensors on major intersections in the Sunni triangle to detect these fascists?

Heck, maybe this already exists. But, if so, it would be good to hear about some successful interceptions (or, as I like to call them, "premature detonations") of car bombers.

Use the Comments feature, below, if you have an idea why this is so difficult to achieve.

Fave Blog Moment '04: Hugh Hewitt, Calm in the Storm



Click here for AmazonThis is probably a bit esoteric, but one of my favorite blog moments was election day. Specifically, when the exit polls were pointing towards a stunning Kerry victory.

What the heck was happening? How could that be?

More than anyone else, Hugh Hewitt provided the calming rally point first; marshalling the forces of good through his insistence that the exit poll data was bogus.

The facts rolled in and PoliPundit and others provided the quantitative basis for disputing the polls.

On that day, Hewitt, PoliPundit, and others demonstrated the mettle that only true leaders possess. The calming influence they exerted may very well have turned the tide in Ohio.

I'll explain the picture... I simply did a Google image search for "Hewitt" and that's what I came up with. Odds are that's Jennifer Love and not Hugh.

Whither Old Media?



Click here for AmazonPoliPundit has the answer.

In a nutshell: catastrophic losses in readership for newspapers. And the demographic trends must truly be frightening. Younger readers are ignoring newspapers in ever greater numbers.

Where are readers turning? You know the answer as well as I. Blogs.

Study: Blog creation, readership jumped in ’04

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Ocean's Twelve



Click here for AmazonI saw Ocean's Twelve a couple of days ago and was, as most critics were, very underwhelmed. All that talent and so little story. Let's count the plot devices, many of which were flimsier than Scott Peterson's alibi...

Warning: spoiler alert!

Skip to the next section (in which I rewrite the plot of Ocean's Twelve) if you have not, and intend to, see the current movie. These are the things that really, really pissed me off about the screenplay:

1) Okay, so how does the Nightfox steal the priceless, incredibly well-protected treasure from antiquity, the Faberge Egg? Yes, that's right - he dances over randomly oscillating "laser beams" using a combination of yoga moves and Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning exercises. Let's not even mention that this plot device is a recurring theme in Catherine Zeta-Jones movies, given that she used an identical set of moves in the stunningly underwhelming Entrapment. That's it. The entire Nightfox plan for stealing the egg. And it works! Oh, and let's not even get into the nom de guerre of Nightfox. Let's just say that David Hasselhoff and the Chevrolet Camaro factory are considering separate lawsuits.

2) In a matter of two days' time, Ocean's team (a) acquires six (6) huge, highly sophisticated, computer-controlled hydraulic jacks (that, by the way, must be capable of operating underwater); (b) installs said jacks underneath a house in Amsterdam in pitch black water; and (c) commandeers a submarine -- in the middle of downtown Amsterdam, mind you -- from which to coordinate the house lifting operation. Uhmm, how about using a f**king ladder on the rooftop to get the bow angle they need... instead of jacking the house up? I guess jacking the house up was... easier?

3) Julia Roberts playing Tess, who then pretends to be Julia Roberts? Bruce Willis playing Bruce Willis? 'Nuff said. I know many reviewers picked on this outrageous escape valve, claiming that it was effective as a 12-foot sailboat in a hurricane. Or that it was an "egregious, ineffective plot device that highlighted the writers' complete lack of ability and creativity". Okay, maybe they didn't say any of that, but they should have said it... and worse.

I could go on... but, thankfully, I won't. What I will do, dear reader, is tell you how I would have plotted Ocean's Twelve. So sit right back and you'll hear a tale... a tale of a fateful robbery...

Ocean's Twelve: the Remake

Terry Benedict has never forgotten the humiliating and monstrously large theft at his casinos. It tarred his reputation, diminished his ego, and made him, for a time, the laughingstock of the casino industry.

His minions have been searching for Daniel Ocean for months, offering an immense reward to those who might provide information on his whereabouts. Knowing Ocean's central weakness - a propensity for "visiting" high-end jewelry stores -- Benedict's team mass mails every jewelry store in the country with a flyer of Ocean and an offer of reward: one million dollars.

Sure enough, Ocean is spotted perusing diamond earrings in Tiffany's at Copley Plaza in Boston. Benedict's goons grab Tess and hold her as ransom while a startling ultimatum is delivered to Danny: repay the stolen money, with interest, in six months' time. Otherwise, Tess is toast and Benedict will track down the entire team -- and their families -- and kill them all. Their total tab? $190 million.

Ocean assembles his original team... even Sol, who realizes that his beloved wife may pay the ultimate price for his crimes. But it is Rusty (Brad Pitt) who has the best idea. It evolved as he courted Amsterdam's leading stolen art detective, Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Amsterdam is home, of course, to the world-famous Van Gogh museum, which possesses many of Van Gogh's finest works. Rusty knows the ins and outs of not only the museum, but also the identity of a mysterious Japanese art collector willing to pay for the entire Van Gogh collection. The amount? How does a quarter of a billion dollars sound? Best of all, there are... no questions asked.

An escrow account is arranged with the Japanese principal. And the meticulous planning, a hallmark of Danny Ocean, begins. The heist itself is a doozy: the Van Gogh museum possesses triply redundant security systems and two completely independent teams of security guards. The latter team is a quick-react force possessing all the tactical equipment of a major city SWAT team, including night vision.

There are perimeter alarms at every door and entry-way... motion detectors... pressure-sensitive switches... and even infrared sensors that can detect body temperature changes through the museum. All must be dealt with.

Ocean dispatches two members of his team to Las Vegas; they are tasked with filming the faces of Benedict's key security personnel and gaining access to Benedict's personal safety deposit box at the Belaggio.

He also sends two of the team to the Rembrandt House, Amsterdam's premiere historical venue, to perform reconaissance. The Rembrandt House was home to the immortal Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn and his wife Saskia from 1639 to 1658; this is where the master painted some of his most memorable works, including "The Night Watch".

On the critical night, a burglar alarm and a fire alarm both go off at the Rembrandt House, occupying the Fire and Police departments. During the hullabaloo, three police cruisers pull up at the back entrance of the Van Gogh Museum. The police officers alert the security guards to the ongoing emergency at the Rembrandt house and gain access to the museum. And then they take over, handcuffing the security guards and stripping the place clean of Van Gogh's works.

As far as the security cameras are concerned, Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle) has seamlessly spliced the facial images of Benedict's goons on the museum's security tapes using advanced, computer-generated imaging. Ocean also anonymously alerts the authorities to the fact that a stolen Van Gogh painting is in Benedict's personal safe at the Bellagio.

Closing scene: Terry Benedict is led off in handcuffs, with bail certain to be denied by the man who orchestrated the theft of dozens of Van Goghs. With Benedict behind bars, Ocean's Twelve is now safe and sound. And, oh by the way, in possession of $250 million. Roll credits!

Friday, December 31, 2004

Whither the Blogosphere, Nick Coleman?



Click here for AmazonIit's been only a few days since The Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Nick Coleman suffered a very public, very embarassing end-of-year breakdown. His attempt to insult Time Magazine's blog-of-the-year, Powerline, and tar them as insecure, highly compensated GOPeratives worked out about as well as a Denny McClain comeback attempt.

The blogosphere responded with a punishing barrage. The Powerline gang responded, of course, and a host of other bloggers took up the cause as well.

Given everything that's happened in 2004... heck, given just the real-time mobilization of the blogosphere to report upon and respond to the tragic aftermath of the tsunami, one would think that even Nick Coleman could grasb the obvious:

Comparing the blogosphere with the mainstream media...

o The blogosphere is more nimble, able to array credible reporters on every street corner and in every village
o The blogosphere is more scalable, able to redeploy resources at a moment's notice
o The blogosphere is more accurate, with every story of significance fact-checked and vetted by hundreds or thousands of competitors, hoping to uncover a gaffe or scandal (with experts ranging from forgery analysis *ahem* to military tactics)
o The blogosphere is more comprehensive, achieving more sensors, reporters, analysts and editors than the MSM could ever hope to amass

Whither the blogosphere, Nick?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind. Oh, and Nick, don't you love the smell of napalm in the morning?

Patterico on the LA Dog Trainer Times



Click here for AmazonThis is required reading for all media watchers. Patterico has compiled a litany of partisan hackery on the part of the LA Times for '04... and he's just getting started.

The LA Times: with all the credibility of Art Schlichter at the dogtrack... holding a Mastercard in the name of Pablo Rodriquez. I laughed, I cried, it changed my life.

Here's a quick taste:

...When CBS's "60 Minutes" program relied on forged documents to support allegations that Bush had been AWOL, the Los Angeles Times ran another front-page story, trumpeting the existence and content of the documents. But when the Washington Post (taking its cue from the blogosphere) ran a Page A01 story reporting that the documents were probably fake, the L.A. Times buried the news on Page A18. That's right: when documents damaging to Bush appeared authentic, that was front-page material -- but genuine questions about their authenticity were buried in the back of the paper.

Worse still, the L.A. Times portrayed the controversy about the forged documents as a "partisan" issue, and quoted Col. Killian's daughter as saying that Killian's family knew nothing about the authenticity of the documents. This was false, as the paper's editors should have known. The Times didn't tell its readers that the previous day, Col. Killian's son and widow had both publicly questioned the documents' authenticity.

When the Times finally put this story on the front page, no variant of the word "forgery" appeared in the entire piece, and the front page didn't contain even a hint that the documents might not be authentic. All the information showing the documents were probably fake was carefully buried on the back pages, on Page A18 -- the Page of Choice for embarrassing revelations about the forged documents.

While the rest of the media slowly accepted the fact that CBS had relied on forged documents, the L.A. Times followed Dan Rather's lead, and kept looking for that partisan connection. The results were occasionally comical...


Patterico: Los Angeles Dog Trainer Year in Review '04 (and don't miss Part II)

The Rise of the Blogs



Click here for AmazonHugh Hewitt:

[Some bloggers on the Left] ...are missing the most important developments because they are focused on one symptom of the change --the fact that way left MSM gets clobbered pretty much every week for agenda journalism and undisclosed bias, as well as simple venom like Coleman's weird rant. When television arrived, radio got clobbered pretty much every week. If radio had been right wing, the rise of the box would have at first appeared as an attack by the left on the right, when in fact it was just the rise of a new technology.

Let me try one more time: William Safire and David Brooks are losing too, not just Dan Rather and Nick Coleman. I have argued before that Brooks' ascension to NYT columnist is like the French colonel being told in June, 1914 that he'd been given command of one of the fortresses of the Maginot Line. It looked like a plum assignment at the time...


Hugh Hewitt

IowaHawk's Predictions for 2005



Click here for AmazonHere are my favorites, but read the whole thing. IowaHawk contends that Barry Bonds is in for a rough '05 and that a John Madden wardrobe malfunction will mar the Superbowl...

January 19 - Presidential inauguration ceremony interrupted by masked ninja legal paratroopers from MoveOn.org; ailing William Requist pummels helpless assailants with famed gavel 'El Diablo'

February 6 - Pittsburgh edges Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXIX; Steelers' big win overshadowed by controversial John Madden 'wardrobe malfunction'

April 5 - New DNC chairman Howard Dean announces official party name change to "Progressive Berserkers"

April 18 - Saddam Hussein convicted of crimes against humanity; Kofi Annan offers space in UN "Scared Straight" deliquent dictator program

April 23 - Barry Bonds passes Ruth with 17th homer; torso explodes

May 2 - Barry Bonds caps amazing comeback by winning Kentucky Derby; pays $18.50-$12.20-$6.40

May 22 - Martha Stewart appears on Today Show interview sporting teardrop tattoo, spurs homemaker fashion craze

July 20 - Iraq descends into chaos as I-25 construction, HOV lanes snarl Basra morning commute; Rumsfeld blamed for lack of Morning Zoo Crew traffic copters

August 9 - Violence wracks Iraq as US Marines battle insurgent Reuters staffers in Fallujah

November 28 - Chicago marks 500th homicide of the year, renewing calls for US withdrawl from Illinois quagmire


IowaHawk: Predictions for 2005 and Nick Coleman's First Draft

Thursday, December 30, 2004

The Future of the Left: The Tar Pits



Click here for AmazonIncredible essay by Victor Davis Hanson. Read the whole thing.

The old critique of American policy in the Middle East was driven by charges of petro-imperialism — that we would do any and all things to secure fuel for our gas-guzzlers. But China now satisfies most of its skyrocketing oil appetite from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Oman. Unlike the United States, there is no internal Chinese opposition to question the new superpower's oil politics, which are heating up global energy markets. The so-called Peoples Republic cares only about price and availability. It worries not at all about its petro-trade’s subsidizing Wahhabism, theocracy, or Islamic extremism.

We may still rant about the American rejection of Kyoto. But is anyone alarmed over the hundreds of coal plants sprouting up in India and China to ensure billions of people that there will be enough energy for a possible future lifestyle of the type we now take for granted in Santa Barbara and Nantucket? In short, we will soon enter an age in which China may well change the world's environment, affect the price of oil, and govern the world's trade as much as the United States — and will care almost nothing about what Western liberals say, secure either that its fraying socialist veneer or sheer size and power will earn it a pass from the censure of Western intellectuals.

If we thought indigenous liberationist movements of the Islamic world — who have beheaded and killed to be free of Western religious tolerance, equity for women and homosexuals, and voting and human rights — put an enormous strain on the ossified Left, wait until Mao's old socialist utopia begins to send ultimatums to the democracies of the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. What will Earth First do when this socialist behemoth sprouts its oil rigs in the Arctic tundra and pristine seas?

...Consider further: The United States runs staggering trade deficits with most of the world. Its dollar is at an all-time low. Its postwar international protocols — from the World Trade Organization to the United Nations — either favor the non-West or look unkindly toward the United States. The American military, at great risk and cost, alone in the world saved Kosovars, Afghans, and Iraqis from tyranny. For all the Vietnam-era rhetoric about American meddling, the elected Karzai and the provisional Allawi are a far cry from the Shah, Pinochet, or Somoza. We are doing things in the Middle East that make no sense in terms of traditional economic or political advantage — and yet still bring out 1960s-era stegosauruses alleging imperialism and hegemony...


Victor Davis Hanson: Into the Tar Pits

Arabs Fighting for Israel



Click here for AmazonA recurrent theme among what Clifford May has dubbed the "posthumanitarian left," often echoed by "realists" on the right, is that Arabs are congenitally or culturally incapable of democracy. But there are in fact some one million Arabs living in the Middle East under a democratic government. We refer, of course, to the Arab citizens of Israel.

Israeli Arabs, unlike Jews, are not subject to military conscription. But they can volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces, and Ha'aretz reports increasingly many are doing just that:

While Bedouin have been volunteering for the IDF, primarily as trackers, for dozens of years, Muslim and Christian Arabs have been doing so, on a very small scale, only since the 1990s. . . .

The number of Muslim volunteers in 2003 was 64.5 percent higher than in 2000, while the enlistment of Christians increased by 16 percent over the same period.

A senior source at the IDF's Personnel Directorate notes that incomplete figures for 2004 show a further increase, at a rate of some 20 percent, in the enlistment of youth from both sectors.


The numbers are still small; "it appears that the annual number of volunteers from both sectors together does not exceed 150." But if Arabs in Israel are willing to risk their lives for democracy, why should we expect any less of Arabs in Iraq or elsewhere?


Best of the Web: Arabs Fighting for Israel

It’s Just a Flesh Wound



Click here for AmazonNo Democratic nominee for president has won even the slightest bare majority of the national popular vote since Jimmy Carter won 50.1 percent – in 1976.

Since WWII ended, Republicans have won nine of the fifteen presidential contests; six of which by enormous, national landslides.

Over the past 14 years, the Democratic Party has lost: (i) sixty-six net U.S. House seats, (ii) twelve net U.S. Senate seats (despite the “Torricelli switch” and Mary “bring out the dead” Landrieu), and (iii) eight state governorships (including their recent “win” [wink, wink] up in Seattle).

What’s the relevance of all this?

Writing in the American Prospect, John Judis and Ruy Teixeira explain to their reality-denying followers that the “emerging Democratic majority” is not a myth they simply pulled out of their asses, but instead is a very slowly emerging Democratic majority, thank you all very much.

In other words:

Reality: “Your arm’s off.”
Judis/Teixeira: “It’s just a flesh wound.”


PoliPundit: It’s Just a Flesh Wound

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Dodged a bullet...



Click here for AmazonThis appears to be good news. The illustration represents, the 'Updated Set of Possible Positions of 2004 MN4 on April 13, 2029'. A letter on Jerry's Pournelle's site asks a very interesting question.

"Predictions are that it's going to miss us by about 25,000 to 50,000 miles with a relative velocity of about 4 miles per second with a mass estimate of about 100,000,000 tons (9.4e+10 Kg). With 25 years to prepare the least we could do is land a probe or two on it, but what would it take to deflect it into either an Earth or a Lunar orbit?"

Possibility of an Earth Impact in 2029 Ruled Out for Asteroid 2004 MN4
Don Yeomans, Steve Chesley and Paul Chodas
NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office
December 27, 2004

Over the past week, several independent efforts were made to search for pre-discovery observations of 2004 MN4. These efforts proved successful today when Jeff Larsen and Anne Descour of the Spacewatch Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, were able to detect and measure very faint images of asteroid 2004 MN4 on archival images dating to 15 March 2004. These observations extended the observed time interval for this asteroid by three months allowing an improvement in its orbit so that an Earth impact on 13 April 2029 can now be ruled out.

As is often the case, the possibility of future Earth impacts for some near-Earth objects cannot be entirely ruled out until the uncertainties associated with their trajectories are reduced as a result of either future position observations, or in this case, heretofore unrecognized, pre-discovery observations. When these additional observations were used to update the orbit of 2004 MN4, the uncertainties associated with this object's future positions in space were reduced to such an extent that none of the object's possible trajectories can impact the Earth (or Moon) in 2029.

In the accompanying diagram, the most likely position of asteroid 2004 MN4 is shown at the end of the blue line near the Earth on 13 April 2029. However, since the asteroid's position in space is not perfectly known at that time, the white dots at right angles to the blue line are possible alternate positions of the asteroid. Neither the nominal position of the asteroid, nor any of its possible alternative positions, touches the Earth, indicating that an Earth impact in 2029 is ruled out.


NASA JPL: Possibility of an Earth Impact in 2029 Ruled Out for Asteroid 2004 MN4

The Tsunami and the Blogosphere



Click here for AmazonOne thing that stands out about this fact is where the blogosphere has weighed in on this. This blogHugh Hewitt, and literally thousands of other center-right bloggers have been advocating for people to donate and give to the relief efforts.

Out of curiousity I wanted to see what the major center-left blog voices had to say about the disaster.

TALKING POINTS MEMO - Joshua Micah Marshall has spared nary even a word about the disaster...

WONKETTE - could not find time to discussthe disaster nor ask her very large readership to generously donate to any of the fine organizations listed above...

THE DAILY KOS - Kos himself has not mentioned the disaster. Though Armando (one of Kos' regulars) has posted twice on the subject in the last 3 days. It should also be pointed out that Kos did not ask his readers to assist - though some of the readers of the site eventually DID mention the International Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Without question these are three of the most heavily read blogs and for the lack of compassion that they communicate is disgusting in and of itself. But couple that with all the claims that they make year after year about how it is ONLY the left in America that "truly" care about the poor and disadvantaged and you begin to see what a huge lie this truly is.

WIZBANG, SLANTPOINT, REALCLEARPOLITICS, RADIOBLOGGER, POWERLINE, MICHELLEMALKIN, BLOGSFORBUSH, CAPTAINSQUARTERS, BROKENMASTERPIECES... (and many others) are good examples of significant center-right voices that are asking their readerships to make donations and help during this worst humanitarian disaster since Noah.

The observation for me is what I have always believed to be true. When push comes to shove - it is the compassion of the right that demonstrates the flimsiness of the claims of the left. The center-right's willingness to "act" to help others stands in stark contrast by the center-left to merely "talk" about it...and thereby enrich their political powerbase.

WORLD VISION, SAMARITANS PURSE, FEED THE CHILDREN



Crosswalk: Tsunami and the Blogosphere

What's the Baddest Tank of All?



Click here for AmazonDebate on which is the best tank in the world continues. Much of it has focused on western tank designs (the M1 Abrams, the Challenger, the LeClerc, and the Leopard 2), which are much better on a tank-for-tank basis than Russian designs like the T-64 and its descendants (the T-72, T-80 and T-90).

...The Leopard 2’s diesel is more efficient, giving the German tank more range (550 kilometers to 426 kilometers for the Abrams). That said, the gas turbine on the Abrams is quieter, meaning that opponents without infrared systems will have a harder time detecting the Abrams at night, which can mean their only warning an Abrams is around could be when the Abrams sends a 120mm candygram their way – most of the time, the result will be a direct hit.

...The matter of auxiliary power is another thing not always mentioned in the specs. The Leopard 2 has none. The Abrams features an auxiliary power unit, which allows it to shut off the turbine in some instances, allowing it to conserve fuel. In situations where the Abrams is on defense, this is a huge advantage – not only because the Abrams saves fuel, but because infrared sensors have a harder time picking it up. Again, the first indication the Abrams is there will be when it fires – and well-trained Abrams crews are very accurate. If you see an Abrams firing at you, it is probably the last thing you will see.

...The Abrams keeps its main gun ammo in a separate compartment and has a spall liner while using aluminum, reducing casualties when an Abrams is hit. This is important – an uninjured crew can fight back even if the tank is damaged. This was proven In Desert Storm, when an Abrams stuck in the mud continued fighting despite taking three hits from the main guns of Iraqi T-72 tanks – and promptly dispatched the offending T-72s. The tank defied American efforts to destroy it in place, and after being recovered had the turret replaced and was back with its unit in 24 hours. The damaged turret was sent back to the United States for analysis...


StrategyPage: ARMORED WARFARE: What’s the Baddest Tank of All?

A Unified Theory of the Old Media Collapse



Click here for AmazonHugh Hewitt pounds another nail into the MSM coffin. It's amusing to watch the icons of years past circle the drain and it reminds me a bit of Monty Python and the Holy Grail... as the MSM asserts that it isn't quite dead yet all the while being carted off to the morgue.

IF OLD MEDIA -- the "legacy media" of the big papers and old networks plus the newsweeklies -- was a city and not simply a set of gasping institutions, it would look like Stalingrad circa 1944. Parts of most of the virtual buildings are still standing, but the devastation is pretty complete.

And the pummeling just keeps coming. On Sunday last, Power Line's John Hinderaker undressed the New York Times biggest big foot, Thomas Friedman, for all the blogosphere to see, The Belmont Club was scissoring the Associated Press's credibility, and I was pointing out the many defects in a Washington Post front-page story on an "Intelligent Design" controversy -- in the process discovering that reporter Michael Powell, who came from a background of tenants' advocacy, had written extensively on tenants' issues without disclosing to the reader his past background.

And that was just three posts on a single day of the new world of accountability for the old media...

...In legacy media there is now much dismay. Many of their biggest names appear not too understand that they are distrusted by more than half of America, and don't even seem to recognize their own contempt for majoritarian positions...


Read the whole thing.

Hugh Hewitt: A Unified Theory of the Old Media Collapse

Oh, that liberal media



Click here for AmazonHerein I present several diverse but related missives, which may prove of interest to media watchers, pundits, journalists, editors, and to those who, whether by good fortune or ruinous happenstance, may work with them in various capacities.

Poll: Few See Crisis in Social Security
Body of article, 12 paragraphs in: "[In the poll...] 25 percent say Social Security is in crisis... Another 49 percent, though, do say the system has "major problems," adding up to a net negative diagnosis from 74 percent of the public.
ABC News: Few See Crisis in Social Security


Election Season Opens for the Palestinians
His full beard signaled his affiliation with a radical Islamic movement that rejects the existence of Israel, but Ayyad also sounded like a garden-variety grass-roots policy wonk who said he wanted to "bridge the gap between the citizens and the local authorities."
Washington Post: Terrorist, Wonk... whatever


Time Selects Bush as Person of the Year
...Bush has changed dramatically since he was named Person of the Year in 2000 after the Supreme Court awarded him the presidency... (Ed: refresh my memory, how many recounts did Al Gore win?)
AP: Time Selects Bush As Person of the Year


The Naivete Award Winner
On Sept. 11, 2001, the World Trade Center towers collapsed and angry clouds of dust chased U.S. citizens through the streets of New York City... (Ed: They just "collapsed"? The clouds were angry, and hunted down US citizens? I can just imagine your description of Pearl Harbor: "A boat sank and angry water drowned sailors.")... So, why did they do it? Because "they hate freedom?" Come on -- that's ridiculous... (Ed: Oh wait, did you mean you think they don't hate freedom? Hmm. You might want to try to tell Osama you're bringing a Bible to Mecca some time. You might try to tell Al Qaeda that the women of Saudi Arabia should be allowed to drive or remove their abaya cloaks)... The United States' overwhelming global dominance is unprecedented in human history. Many Muslims fear the Americanization of their culture... (Ed: Guess they might try not seeing our movies, buying our CD's, etc., then, eh? While they're at it, stop using our medical research, foreign aid, technological advances)...

In addition, the United States declares natural resources (such as oil) in Muslim countries "vital to its national security." ... (Ed: Are you suggesting they don't want to sell the oil? OPEC begs to differ. What would the Middle East do for its economy without it?)... It's clear that maintaining our dominance by force is costly in civil liberties, our moral standing in the world, tax dollars and human lives. (Ed: By all means, let's take a back seat. Cultivating weakness will surely preserve our civil liberties, tax money, and our lives. It's always worked before in history, right?)...

So my Burning Question is: Could we more effectively fight terrorism by understanding what motivates it and then taking away the source of the anger? Wouldn't it be cheaper and wiser to just face our enemy, ask "Why?" and respond constructively? (Ed: hands-down winner, 2004 Naivete Grand Slam!)
Seattle PI: Can we fight terrorism constructively?


Oh, That Liberal Media

Drug Companies on Lookout for Michael Moore



Click here for AmazonLos Angeles - Some pharmaceutical companies are telling employees to keep an eye out for filmmaker Moore, according to published reports in the Los Angeles Times.

Moore's next film, "Sicko," will reportedly focus the American healthcare industry -- including HMOs, insurance companies, the FDA, and drug makers -- prompting several companies to issue internal memos to deny access to him and his cameras.

"If you see a scruffy guy in a baseball cap, you'll probably know it's him," read one internal memo from drug giant Pfizer. "If you want to make perfectly sure, look for speckles of congealed alfredo sauce sparkling in the wispy beard growth on his enormous 30-pound neck goiter."

A memo from Astra-Zeneca instructed building security to "be on the lookout for a disheveled man with a camera, microphone, and man-boobs the size and consistency of the bags inside a cheap bag-in-box wine, after drinking three or four glasses." The memo goes on to suggest that "oh, yeah, there's also a kind of a not-so-good peanut smell."

At Glaxo Smith Kline, an internal security memo set out a precise screening protocol for Moore. "If subject fits profile, request him to lift shirt," reads one item on the flowchart. "If visual inspection identifies buttcracks in front AND back, escort out."


Iowahwak (Satire): Drug Companies on Lookout for Michael Moore

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

The Big Picture



Click here for AmazonBill Roggio provides an outstanding overview of the current war on terror, framed by his agreement with liberal pundit Juan Cole. Yes, that Juan Cole. The bottom line? Bin Laden's latest message demonstrates all the strength of Pee Wee Herman on Vicodin. The war on terror... Iraq... and the Bush Doctrine of extending democratic freedom to Arab lands... are all synonymous. Even an ultra-liberal like Cole is starting to get it. Check and mate, my liberal friends.

It is a rare occasion when I agree with Juan Cole, Professor of History at the University of Michigan and Middle East scholar, as he has done much to damage his credibility of late. In the past few months alone he has threatened a lawsuit against MEMRI’s Martin Kramer and Daniel Pipes for compiling his writings and statements (under the pretext of harassment); labeled the assault on Fallujah as counterproductive; misrepresented the history of British action in Fallujah (debunked by Ali of Iraq The Model); insinuated the intrepid bloggers Mohammed, Ali and Omar of Iraq The Model are tools of the CIA and outside of the mainstream (by using an April poll) in the Iraqi political sphere (debunked by Iraq The Model's Ali and Armed Liberal); issued a tepid back down from his accusations against the Iraq The Model bloggers; and advocated setting aside “a generous 25 percent of seats [in the Iraqi assembly] for predominantly Sunni Muslim parties,” even if they boycott the election.

Despite my many disagreements with Professor Cole's views on American foreign policy, Iraq and the Middle East in general, he provides an excellent analysis of the impact of Osama bin Laden’s latest tape calling for a boycott of the upcoming Iraqi elections. He states that Osama bin Laden's admonishment for Iraqis to boycott the elections will backfire badly on al Qaeda.

Bin Laden's intervention in Iraq was hamfisted and clumsy, and will benefit the United States and the Shiites enormously. Most Iraqi Muslims, Sunni or Shiite, dislike the Wahhabi branch of Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia, and with which Bin Laden is associated. Nationalistic Iraqis will object to a foreigner interfering in their national affairs.... It appears that Bin Laden is so weak now that he is forced to play to his own base, of Saudi and Salafi jihadists, some of whom are volunteer guerrillas in Iraq. They are the only ones in Iraq who would be happy to see this particular videotape.... It is a desperate, crackpot hope. The narrow, sectarian and politically unskilfull character of this speech is the most hopeful sign I have seen in some time that al-Qaeda is a doomed political force, a mere Baader-Meinhof Gang or Red Army Faction with greater geographical reach.


Critics of the Iraq War fail to recognize Iraq is a major component in the overall war on terror, and Iraq has presented the opportunity to draw al Qaeda out into the open and fight the United States military in a theater of our choosing. The American invasion of Iraq has forced al Qaeda’s hand, as the organization was obligated to resist an American incursion into the heart of the Middle East and fight any attempts to establish democracy.

Events over the past two months demonstrate al Qaeda's operations in Iraq are having a negative impact the organization. The loss of the terror bastion of Fallujah demonstrated that al Qaeda is unable to occupy territory and is in reality the weak horse in this race. Leaders of jihad are livid over the unwillingness of young Muslims to fight against the infidels; proof that the power of the Arab Street is nothing but a myth. Al Qaeda is having manpower problems after being forced to fight against the Americans in two major theaters. Al Qaeda has become unpopular among the indigenous Iraqi insurgents. Osama’s speech inciting violence in Saudi Arabia indicates his organization is taking a beating in the country and now has no alternative but to advocate the overthrow of the House of Saud.

Professor Cole has been a major critic of the invasion of Iraq, the actions of American soldiers in country and American policy in the Middle East in general. It is high time he recognize the invasion of Iraq, coupled with the invasion of Afghanistan and military actions elsewhere, have set up the conditions for Osama bin Laden's political and military failures.


Bill Roggio's The Fourth Rail: Osama bin Hamfisted