Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Katrina, 4 months Later
The Rude Pundit is posting a series on his visit to New Orleans this past week. Go read.
Insights into Osama
Vanity Fair has an excerpt from a book by Peter L. Bergen:
The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader
Essam Deraz, an Egyptian writer and filmmaker, covered the battle of Jaji: They picked the site at Jaji because it was on the front lines. In '87, it was a very important battle. The Arab group fought against Russian commandos. Not more than 50 or 60 young Arabs, 21, 22 [years old]. Most of them students at the universities. [Bin Laden] fought in this battle like a private. The Russian bombing went on for one week. It was clear now he'd be the leader. I was near him in the battle-many months-and he was really brave. That's why he got respect from Afghans and Arabs.
Khalid Khawaja, a former Pakistani air-force officer who fought alongside bin Laden: I participated in the Jaji battle. I was introduced to [bin Laden]. First of all he's not a genius. He was 30 when I met him. He prayed a lot, always smiling. As a personality I never thought he would make a place in history-he is not charismatic. He is not very intelligent, but he is the most dedicated and self-sacrificing person, to a degree that is unparalleled.
Just a Little Blurb
Remember how Iraqi oil exports were going to help finance the post-war reconstruction effort? Well here's a teeny little story about it buried in the international section of the Scotsman:
Nope, nothing wrong here.
Iraqi oil exports hit a low
IRAQI oil exports have hit their lowest level since the war according to the latest figures.
Iraq exported 1.1 million barrels per day of oil in December, a senior oil ministry official said - less than any month since exports resumed in mid-2003 and about half the level seen during sanctions under Saddam Hussein.
Sabotage is damaging plants and blocking investment, keeping exports at a fraction of targets officials say should be met if Iraq's vast reserves are to provide its people with prosperity and stability.
Nope, nothing wrong here.
Where's Waldo?
read this slowly and carefully... your objective - find every waldo hidden in this picture...
Prof. Marcus makes some points about Homeland Security funding.
Yeah, why?
Jaye at Blondie's asks a question:
That's what bugs me most (aside from the normal civil rights worries). With this administration's penchant for PR, why haven't all (or any) of these folks they've been 'monitoring' been drug before the cameras in irons? Look at what we heard about the 'Lakawanna Six', about the 'Paintball Seven', Jose Padilla, and that nut in Ohio who thought he could take down the Brooklyn Bridge with a blowtorch. All the noecons were dancing around like the Rockettes when those arrests became public. Don't you think Bush, with all his cowboy bravado, would have pointed to something to prove his illegal data mining was indeed "protectin' the 'murican people"; especially at a time when he desperately needs a PR coup?
Because, as I hope we will find out sooner rather than later, this illegal wiretap had nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with politics. The ghost of Richard Milhous is definitely haunting 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
...(Since the wire taps are allegedly on phone conversations between terrorist and American citizens, why aren't these terrorist part of the world wide round up against terror lead by Sheriff Bush?)...
That's what bugs me most (aside from the normal civil rights worries). With this administration's penchant for PR, why haven't all (or any) of these folks they've been 'monitoring' been drug before the cameras in irons? Look at what we heard about the 'Lakawanna Six', about the 'Paintball Seven', Jose Padilla, and that nut in Ohio who thought he could take down the Brooklyn Bridge with a blowtorch. All the noecons were dancing around like the Rockettes when those arrests became public. Don't you think Bush, with all his cowboy bravado, would have pointed to something to prove his illegal data mining was indeed "protectin' the 'murican people"; especially at a time when he desperately needs a PR coup?
Because, as I hope we will find out sooner rather than later, this illegal wiretap had nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with politics. The ghost of Richard Milhous is definitely haunting 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Monday, January 2, 2006
John McCain
S&M slave:
See post below.
...
Bush and pals have been delivering one huge, heaping helping of abuse on McCain's chocolate rosebud ever since the 2000 campaign. I guess the old man likes it, because he sure doesn't seem to object.
...
See post below.
Definitions
Ang reads the dictionary:
...
WhoreMain Entry: whore
1 : a woman who engages in sexual acts for money : PROSTITUTE; also : a promiscuous or immoral woman
2 : a male who engages in sexual acts for money
3 : a venal or unscrupulous person
...
More bullshit
I wonder how their followers feel about this?
If my spiritual leader sold out his principles to the Americans, I'd probably want to run him out of town. Hearts and minds indeed.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 - A Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work, according to current and former employees.
...
If my spiritual leader sold out his principles to the Americans, I'd probably want to run him out of town. Hearts and minds indeed.
Housekeeping
I've finally begun moving the blogrolls to Blogrolling. I have the 'Big Brass Alliance' and 'Liberal Coalition' already moved. Do me a favor, if you see something I fucked up with your blog link, or anybody else's links, please drop me an email and let me know. There are about 600 links so far and I don't have the motivation to check them all.
Oy, finally finished swapping links and updating things. My eyeballs are gonna fall out of my head.
The kid who went to Iraq #2
He finally made it home (I'd hate to be him now, I know what my folks would have done to me), but I hear all the talking heads, from the O'Brien Sisters (Soledad and Miles) to the GMA JV (Snow, Wier), saying how this isn't the way to do journalism. Guess what, idiots, he has better journalistic instincts than most of you pussies who hide in the Green Zone or sit in New York and Atlanta. One day, he'll probably have your job.
Losers
I never go to wingnut sites. Couldn't give a shit 'how the other half lives'. One of the few rules here at the Brain is I don't allow links to any right-wing sites. And I've said it a million times, I don't know how a lovely lady like Pam goes there for her 'Freeper Quotes' installments at the Blend, and still keep her lunch down.
That said, I was visiting the General this morning and I come across a post with pics of some of the 101st Keyboard Kommandos. To borrow a quote from my pal Jay, "are you effin' kidding me?"
What a buncha losers. They think their rifles make up for their deficiencies, judging by the way they hold 'em. Sorry to hear about your penises, guys (A favorite saying of Mrs. F's to men going through mid-life crises). Just an aside, don't look like any of these guys have seen their pricks in a long time.
Do they think they're soldiers? Do they think they're men because they shoot a Koran full of holes, stab it with a bayonet, and then set it alight? Real brave bunch they are. Just the guys I'd want to share a fighting hole with, if we could all fit in one. Yeesh, but this is what passes for 'men' on the right; same kinda 'men' who run the government. Fat clowns with too much time on their hands. Buncha chickenshits. It'd be something if they took all that fancy hardware and brought it to Iraq, maybe shoot at a few 'Hajis' instead of a defenseless holy book. Oh...sorry...I forgot...the 'Hajis' shoot back; don't they?
I wouldn't let one of these idiots carry my rifle. Losers.
That said, I was visiting the General this morning and I come across a post with pics of some of the 101st Keyboard Kommandos. To borrow a quote from my pal Jay, "are you effin' kidding me?"
What a buncha losers. They think their rifles make up for their deficiencies, judging by the way they hold 'em. Sorry to hear about your penises, guys (A favorite saying of Mrs. F's to men going through mid-life crises). Just an aside, don't look like any of these guys have seen their pricks in a long time.
Do they think they're soldiers? Do they think they're men because they shoot a Koran full of holes, stab it with a bayonet, and then set it alight? Real brave bunch they are. Just the guys I'd want to share a fighting hole with, if we could all fit in one. Yeesh, but this is what passes for 'men' on the right; same kinda 'men' who run the government. Fat clowns with too much time on their hands. Buncha chickenshits. It'd be something if they took all that fancy hardware and brought it to Iraq, maybe shoot at a few 'Hajis' instead of a defenseless holy book. Oh...sorry...I forgot...the 'Hajis' shoot back; don't they?
I wouldn't let one of these idiots carry my rifle. Losers.
My best decision
16 years ago today, Mrs. F and I went on our first date. Asking her out was the best decision I ever made.
American Manifesto
From our pal Badtux:
...
2. Real Americans know that real men don't hit first. Hitting first is the mark of a coward or a bully. A real man doesn't go in and beat the shit out of other folks just because those other folks might, at some time in the future, somehow be a threat. Those of you who still support going in and beating the shit out of Iraq and the Iraqi people for the audacity of not sucking George W. Bush's dick aren't real Americans, you're just a bunch of cowards and bullies not fit to lick Benjamin Franklin's petrified dick...
Sunday, January 1, 2006
Shit looking for a fan
Norbizness has a compendium of things just waiting to come apart. At the front end, it looks like 2006 is gonna be worse for the Republicans than 2005.
Thought Police
[WaPo]Information captured by the National Security Agency's secret eavesdropping on communications between the United States and overseas has been passed on to other government agencies, which cross-check the information with tips and information collected in other databases, current and former administration officials said.
...
At least one of those organizations, the DIA, has used NSA information as the basis for carrying out surveillance of people in the country suspected of posing a threat, according to two sources. A DIA spokesman said the agency does not conduct such domestic surveillance but would not comment further. Spokesmen for the FBI, the CIA and the director of national intelligence, John D. Negroponte, declined to comment on the use of NSA data. [my em]
...
To me, the word 'threat' has a very subjective meaning nowadays. Jane has a lot more to say on this.
More than corruption #2
Dave's got more on this. Looks like the old enemy is at it again:
Links aplenty.
Not one to toot my own horn, but I called this years ago. Anybody who's read my books, specifically Plain Sight, The Fourth Estate Lightning Crashes, and Technocracy knows my feelings about foreign corporate influence on the U.S. political system.
When I put up this post asking if maybe the "conservative movement" Republicans were really dupes of the Russians or the Chinese, I sure didn't expect to get my answer a few hours later.
...
It seems that everyone in the world understood that the Republican leadership was on the take. Do ya think maybe foreign intelligence services might have also known? Do ya think that maybe some of the really, really strange things these right-wing clucks have been doing to the country might maybe have been the result of a few (or more) million dollars changing hands? I suspect this is only the very first on foreign influence of the so-called "conservative movement."
...
Links aplenty.
Not one to toot my own horn, but I called this years ago. Anybody who's read my books, specifically Plain Sight, The Fourth Estate Lightning Crashes, and Technocracy knows my feelings about foreign corporate influence on the U.S. political system.
Happy New Year
Hope our fellow bloggers and readers have a happy and healthy New Year. We go into this new year more hopeful and optimistic for our cause than we did last year. Looking back at last year's post, I knew we had the potential for success:
Yes, we will. All the best.
...
Not many reflections on the Old Year. I like looking toward the possibilities of the future. We took a hit in November, but hopefully we'll learn and hit back in the mid-terms and beyond. We'll do better.
...
Yes, we will. All the best.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)