U.S. War on/of Terror will end in Oct. 2008

The Department of Defense’s number two official appears to imply in a memo that the Global War on Terrorism will end just in time for the presidential election in November 2008.

LINK

Previously on ChenZhen’s Chamber: “War on Terror” Comes To Your Living Room

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This Is Your Brain On Kool-Aid

I almost feel sorry for those who have been played so hard by this administration that they actually think that reelecting Bush will show the terrorists that “we mean business”: George W in 2008, how to make it happen

Did you know it’s legal for George W Bush to run as Vice President in 2008? Did you know the Presidency is capped at 10 years, not 8? Let the Terrorists know we mean business, and that we’ll keep the leaders who are kicking their asses! Let freedom ring! We voted Bush / Cheney two elections running, now let’s vote Cheney / Bush in 2008!

Anyway….visit, and prepare to be dazzled.

Great SNL Commercial: Urigrow

I don’t watch SNL as much as I used to , but I did catch one a couple of weeks ago that made me laugh pretty hard.  This is one of their clever little commercial spoofs:

See, I do have a sense of humor!  I can’t be grumpy and cynical all the time.  Besides, the blog was due for a nice vid.

The Official 11 Point Plan for Victory in Iraq

I saw this on Digg, tell me what you think (from Pat Dollard)

EXCLUSIVE: THE FULL 11 POINT PLAN FOR VICTORY IN IRAQ by General David Petraeus Commander of all U.S. Forces in Iraq, Admiral William Fallon, Centcom Commander, Middle East, and Ryan C. Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.

1. U.S. troops are to be gradually pulled back from all Iraqi cities and towns and sent to seal the borders with Iran and Syria. The real insurgency is not indigenous to Iraq, but being pumped in through Iran and Syria.

2. Ramadi and Baghdad will be two of a handful of initial principle exceptions, as major U.S supported military engagements are in process in Baghadad and gearing up in Ramadi.

3. Iraqi Military Units meeting standards of “militia cleansing” ( ie militia free ) and ideologically dedicated to a United Iraq will be upgraded to Elite Status and given full operational autonomy.

4. Generals and leaders from Saddam’s Baath party, many out of work for three years, will be encouraged to rejoin the military enticed with high-pay and bonuses designed to serve as retrograde pay for their time off. The Baath party generals will be key to victory in Al Anbar Province, as I will lay out later today or tomorrow.

5. The state of security in each Area of Operations will dictate the tempo of U.S. pullback from towns to the Iranian and Syrian borders.

Glenn Greenwald investigates “The Victory Caucus”

• While Tucker Carlson did a puff piece story on “The Victory Caucus”, he didn’t investigate very deeply. He didn’t note the tiny size of the Caucus or its sudden growth, or the fact that the Caucus is not doing anything to aid the troops militarily or with their provisions, but is solely concerned with promoting the administration’s efforts….Salon.com

It was interesting to see Greenwald’s analysis on this, since I just blogged about the way the Victory Caucus was being hyped last week.  In fact, the day I posted about it (Feb. 16th) was the day that their hits peaked.  So, I guess what I’m saying here is that it appears that the “Victory” people embarked on an aggressive media blitz that even I got sucked into, then hoped that the pom-poms would be enough to keep people there.  Too bad.

digg story

Righty Blog Of The Week: Liberals Must Die

I saw this pop up in the Digg ‘offbeat’ section.  Liberals, enter this site at your own risk:

Liberals Must Die

The tag section alone has a dozen laughs in it.  In fact, when you see a tag like  Muslum Terrerists (21), you gotta wonder if the thing is for real or just a Colbert-like parody.  I guess it doesn’t matter.  Enjoy!

digg story

Racy Idol Photos: Brilliant!

Just for the record, I don’t watch American Idol.  I don’t care who wins.  I’m only commenting on a story that’s been hard to avoid in the media (mostly the net).

I thought I’d comment on a subject that I normally wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole because I couldn’t help but notice a few interesting details in this Antonella Barba ‘scandal’. 

First, Barba is unarguably a beautiful young woman.  I didn’t see much of the show, but it’s hard to imagine many other contestants scoring higher in the looks department.  Or, look at it another way, and say that if one had to chose which contestant they’d want to see racy photos of, she’d be at the top of the list.  Yep, I’m going somewhere with this.

Second, the timing.  These photos came out at the beginning of the semifinal round, and as I understand it, that’s when the audience (anyone with a phone) plays a role.  I imagine this portion of the competition marks the beginning of a hike in ratings for Fox as well.

Third, the photos themselves, and how they were released (won’t link to them here, but they are easy to find).  The first pictures that came out were what appeared to be taken by friends at various parties.  The newer “wet t-shirt” photos are noticeably more revealing, and were more akin to a pro model photo shoot than casual party pictures.  ( I’m not sure if those pics of the you-know-what are actually her).   In other words, the photos ‘leaked’ have become increasingly racy.

 My conclusion?  Either Fox is behind it, or Barba, or both. 

 Undoubtedly, the ‘scandal’ increases the chances that people who wouldn’t ordinarily care to watch the show will tune in.  That would point the finger towards Fox.  Nothing boosts ratings like a subplot with plenty of sex and drama, especially when it appears they had nothing to do with it.

However, it’s possible that Barba realized (on her own) that the photos would likely help her if and when it came time for the audience to decide her fate, and went ahead and leaked some more revealing pics of herself after she witnessed the initial reaction to the first batch.  Even if she gets booted from Idol, she took advantage of the timing to virtually guarantee that a call from Playboy was right around the corner.  She is obviously not camera shy, after all.

Or, it could be that someone high up in Fox’s Ratings Engineering Dept. decided that this would be a great way for this season to play out, and contacted Barba about making it happen (if not for the first batch of pics, but the second), after noticing a bump in viewership.  Many popular expressions include ‘take it and run’ and ‘roll with it’ I believe.

Maybe I should feel ashamed that I even put thought into this, but there ya go.  What do you think?

Update:  If you want a little more on this, Bastardly has a thread up analyzing the pics…for authenticity.

Update:  Another blogger’s take on the whole affair: Sky Windows

My Take On The New Digg Feature

I’d just like to give a big thank you to Mark in the WordPress support room for doing such a good job with this.  It really is pretty cool.  If you haven’t signed up yet, I think you should: Digg.com  My first impression of the Digg community is that it’s kind of like a bloggers ‘lounge’.

This tool allows me to post my entries to the entire Digg audience, like here , and quickly import other bloggers’ stories to my blog (called “Blog it!) with a couple of clicks.  My previous two entries were done in this fashion (I added the logos and had to change the categories).

For entries that I submit, I can add a button here that allows visitors to ‘digg’ it (like a recommend tab; scroll down to the ‘Bachmann’ post to see one), thereby moving the post up a bit within Digg’s hierarchy.  All in all, a very nifty tool that I can use to share my thoughts with the world and interact with my fellow bloggers.

Update:  There are a lot of complaints out there about stories being “buried” or labeled as “inaccurate” by what LGF and others claim are rabid mobs of “leftist” Diggers, so it would be important to note that there was a site created to track Digg and buried stories (a result of an apparent design flaw in digg; you can’t tell who’s burying the stories): Dugg Trends

Nine reasons why a Democratic president can’t handle the war on terrorism

Many people assume that the Democrats’ opposition to the war on terrorism and their unwavering determination to undercut the war in Iraq are solely an outgrowth of their dislike of George Bush. But the Democratic Party is simply no longer capable of dealing with a conflict like the war on terrorism.

read more | digg story

Bush’s “delusion”: A psychiatrist’s perspective.

References to Bush’s “delusions” have appeared in the MSN (notable on “Scarborough Country”) and throughout the blogosphere. As a psychiatrist, I understandably get concerned when I see clinical terminology bandied about in political discourse, and thought it might be of interest to share my own perspective on this question.

read more | digg story

Michelle Bachmann Said What?

Lots of buzz on the blogs about a comment made by Michelle Bachmann, the recently elected Republican Rep. from Minnesota’s 6th (just north of me). Bachmann on Iran: “There’s already an agreement made. [Iran is] going to get half of Iraq and that is going to be a terrorist safe haven zone.” 

Pretty interesting.  Speaking of geopolitical boundaries:

They must be so proud.

Jokes aside, I think I know what Bachmann was trying to say.  Wait, maybe I don’t: Bachmann: “I am sorry if my words have been misconstrued”

I’m not going to pretend that I know a lot about Bachmann, since she wasn’t in my district and I didn’t really follow her.  The interviews I’ve seen, it’s pretty clear that she comes from the Evangelical right and really, REALLY likes Bush.  As for this verbal gaffe (if you want to call it that) goes, well, even the conservative blogs are telling her to come back to earth.  As for me, I’ll just shrug my shoulders again.

GQ Magazine Articles Of Impeachment For Dick Cheney

Resolved
That Richard B. Cheney, vice president of the United States, be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors; that the evidence hereinafter set out sustains six articles of impeachment justifying immediate removal from office; that said articles shall be adopted by the House of Representatives; and that the same shall be endorsed by the Senate, to wit:

Whatever Cheney Says, Conclude The Opposite Is True

I think that much is obvious at this point.  After years of being dealt spinmeister classics such as “greeted as liberators“, “last throes“, and the ever-famous “simply stated, there is no doubt“, Cheney still makes a lot of headlines when he speaks.  It’s pure blog fodder for everyone, and I’m not exactly sure why I’m choosing to imbibe today, but nobody really takes him seriously when he says things like this (about Britain declaring victory):

“Well, I look at it and see it “is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well,”*

*Wink, Wink

Update:  Low and behold, Cheney managed to give us two in a row:

Karl: Back in 1991, you talked about how military action in Iraq would be the classic definition of a quagmire. Have you been disturbed to see how right you were? Or people certainly said that you were exactly on target in your analysis back in 1991 of what would happen if the U.S. tried to go in —

Cheney: Well, I stand by what I said in ’91. But look what’s happened since then — we had 9/11. We’ve found ourselves in a situation where what was going on in that part of the globe and the growth and development of the extremists, the al Qaeda types that are prepared to strike the United States demonstrated that we weren’t safe and secure behind our own borders. We weren’t in Iraq when we got hit on 9/11. But we got hit in ’93 at the World Trade Center, in ’96 at Khobar Towers, or ’98 in the East Africa embassy bombings, 2000, the USS Cole. And of course, finally 9/11 right here at home. They continued to hit us because we didn’t respond effectively, because they believed we were weak. They believed if they killed enough Americans, they could change our policy because they did on a number of occasions. That day has passed. That all ended with 9/11.

I know, there’s really nowhere to begin with that statement.  Not only does he not answer the question, he just doesn’t make any sense.  But, hey, we’re talkin’ about 9/11 here, OK?  Everyone knows that any argument makes sense as long as you slip it in there.

I’ll give it a quick, token try though:  He’s either saying that the best way not to appear “weak” after 9/11  was to choose a quagmire in that “part of the globe”, or he’s saying that 9/11 has “happened since then” and has somehow changed the dynamic in Iraq so that his quagmire assessment is now invalid.  This response looks to be more like a simple hodgepodge of mismatched talking points than a coherent argument.  He continues:

In Iraq, what we’ve done now is we’ve taken down Saddam Hussein. He’s dead. His sons are dead. His government is gone. There’s a democratically elected government in place. We’ve had three national elections in Iraq with higher turnout that we have in the United States. They’ve got a good constitution. They’ve got a couple hundred thousand men in arms now, trained and equipped to fight the good fight. They’re now fighting alongside Americans in Baghdad and elsewhere. There are — lots of the country that are in pretty good shape. We’ve got to get right in Baghdad. That’s the task at hand. I think we can do it.

I ask again, why even bother interviewing him?   

Other bloggers are scratching their heads as well: Carpetbagger: Cheney debunks himself 

Fear Of Clowns Turns Deadly?

This story has got to be one of the weirdest murders I’ve ever heard of: Colombia clowns killed on stage. (Hat Tip: reffric)

Two circus clowns have been shot dead during a performance in the eastern Colombian city of Cucuta, police say.

The attacker jumped into the arena and fired before fleeing, police chief Jose Humberto Henao told Efe news agency.

Local reports say the audience of about 20 people, mostly children, thought the shooting was part of the show before realising both men had been killed.

Maybe this was a case of some gambling debt or some love triangle, but the fact that it was done in plain sight makes this a weird case.  I think that detail, plus the fact that there were two clowns shot, makes me want to look at coulrophobia as a possible element:

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns.[1] In discussions of causes of coulrophobia, sufferers seem to agree that the most fear-inducing aspect of clowns is the heavy makeup, often accompanied by the bulbous nose and weird color of hair, that conceals the wearer’s identity.

One possible suspect would be SNL’s very own Jack Handy, who famously pondered:

To me, clowns aren’t funny. In fact, they’re kind of scary. I’ve wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.

Or, you might want to check out these people: ihateclowns.com