I have nothing to say about this other than to say, my hopes and prayers are with the survivors. Here's a link to the American Red Cross.
http://www.redcross.org
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
No WMD? You just don't understand WMD!!!!
The press, and the left love to say that there was no WMD in Iraq. The following is a tally of all of our findings since we invaded, that have been ingnored by our press. And thanks to our mostly inept president, they are almost completely unbeknownst to most people. Here's a list I lifted from a newsmax story. And for all you libs who would impugn Newsmax's credibility, I have listed alternate sources for each key piece of evidence at the bottom. So there!
Among the WMD evidence discounted by the press [and almost never noted by the Bush administration]:
500 tons of yellow cake uranium stored at Saddam's al Tuwaitha nuclear weapons development facility, which was secured by U.S. troops after the invasion.
1.8 tons of partially enriched uranium discovered at al Tuwaitha, which was removed by the U.S. Energy Department in June 2004 amidst warnings it could be used to produce a dirty bomb.
Centrifuge parts and blueprints hidden by one of Saddam's top nuclear scientists, who told U.S. interrogators that he was ordered to keep the bombmaking tools ready to resume production at a moment's notice.
Satellite photos from 2002 that showed new construction at al Tuwaitha, which had been largely destroyed in U.S. bombing raids during the first Gulf War and Operation Desert Fox.
The discovery of nearly two dozen artillery shells loaded with Sarin and mustard gas, which was reported in June 2004 by Iraq Survey Group chief Charles Duelfer.
Before we move on, I'd like to call to your attention to the Duelfer Report. For all you liberal moonbats, here's the Wikipedia description:
The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was a fact-finding mission sent by the coalition after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs developed by Iraq under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. It consisted of a 1,400-member team organized by The Pentagon and CIA to hunt for Saddam's suspected stockpiles of WMD, such as chemical and biological agents, and any supporting research programs and infrastructure that could be used to develop WMD. The search uncovered numerous banned weapons-related programs, but failed to find stockpiles, which were the main stated reason for United States President George W. Bush ordering the invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam.
Did you get that? They found that he had programs to develop wmd, but no stockpiles of weapons. Come on, people! If he actually had stockpiles of nukes or chemical weapons, then that would be a good reason NOT to invade! Why wait until they have the weapons, if you know they're trying to develop them? This is why Americans think Democrats are weak on national security! And damn it, Bush never said that there were huge stockpiles of these weapons. He just said that Saddam had failed to account for his wmd. Which could mean anything. It could mean that he failed to account for his programs. Intellectual capital means a lot in the world of technology. Just check out the story of Francis Cabot Lowell, if you disagree. He was the man who committed the famous act of industrial espionage responsible for ending England's monopoly on the textile industry. And he didn't do it by stealing one of their mills. He did it by touring their facilities, and learning how the mills work. In essence, he stole the technology. Destroying the weapons facilities, and indeed the weapons themselves, would be meaningless if you leave the technological ability to develop them, whether it's the blueprints for the devices, or the nuclear scientists with the knowledge of how they work.
Basically, the conclusion I draw is that Saddam wanted these weapons, and nothing could stop him from getting them. The inspections would only have delayed him. Why contain a problem, when you can eliminate it?
And as promised, here is the list of alternate sources:
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIraq/IraqUNSC14072003.pdf
http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/08/10/news/local/news03.txt
http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/020906-iraq2.htm
http://www.npr.org/programs/wesat/features/2002/oct/iraq/
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/2004/isg-final-report/isg-final-report_vol3_cw-anx-f.htm">
Among the WMD evidence discounted by the press [and almost never noted by the Bush administration]:
500 tons of yellow cake uranium stored at Saddam's al Tuwaitha nuclear weapons development facility, which was secured by U.S. troops after the invasion.
1.8 tons of partially enriched uranium discovered at al Tuwaitha, which was removed by the U.S. Energy Department in June 2004 amidst warnings it could be used to produce a dirty bomb.
Centrifuge parts and blueprints hidden by one of Saddam's top nuclear scientists, who told U.S. interrogators that he was ordered to keep the bombmaking tools ready to resume production at a moment's notice.
Satellite photos from 2002 that showed new construction at al Tuwaitha, which had been largely destroyed in U.S. bombing raids during the first Gulf War and Operation Desert Fox.
The discovery of nearly two dozen artillery shells loaded with Sarin and mustard gas, which was reported in June 2004 by Iraq Survey Group chief Charles Duelfer.
Before we move on, I'd like to call to your attention to the Duelfer Report. For all you liberal moonbats, here's the Wikipedia description:
The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was a fact-finding mission sent by the coalition after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs developed by Iraq under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. It consisted of a 1,400-member team organized by The Pentagon and CIA to hunt for Saddam's suspected stockpiles of WMD, such as chemical and biological agents, and any supporting research programs and infrastructure that could be used to develop WMD. The search uncovered numerous banned weapons-related programs, but failed to find stockpiles, which were the main stated reason for United States President George W. Bush ordering the invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam.
Did you get that? They found that he had programs to develop wmd, but no stockpiles of weapons. Come on, people! If he actually had stockpiles of nukes or chemical weapons, then that would be a good reason NOT to invade! Why wait until they have the weapons, if you know they're trying to develop them? This is why Americans think Democrats are weak on national security! And damn it, Bush never said that there were huge stockpiles of these weapons. He just said that Saddam had failed to account for his wmd. Which could mean anything. It could mean that he failed to account for his programs. Intellectual capital means a lot in the world of technology. Just check out the story of Francis Cabot Lowell, if you disagree. He was the man who committed the famous act of industrial espionage responsible for ending England's monopoly on the textile industry. And he didn't do it by stealing one of their mills. He did it by touring their facilities, and learning how the mills work. In essence, he stole the technology. Destroying the weapons facilities, and indeed the weapons themselves, would be meaningless if you leave the technological ability to develop them, whether it's the blueprints for the devices, or the nuclear scientists with the knowledge of how they work.
Basically, the conclusion I draw is that Saddam wanted these weapons, and nothing could stop him from getting them. The inspections would only have delayed him. Why contain a problem, when you can eliminate it?
And as promised, here is the list of alternate sources:
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIraq/IraqUNSC14072003.pdf
http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/08/10/news/local/news03.txt
http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/020906-iraq2.htm
http://www.npr.org/programs/wesat/features/2002/oct/iraq/
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/2004/isg-final-report/isg-final-report_vol3_cw-anx-f.htm">
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Fair Trade or Free Trade?
I'd like to get a debate started about the issues of fair trade and free trade. I'm not sure which way I stand on this issue, because I've seen some pretty logical arguments on both sides. Anybody interested?
Friday, August 12, 2005
The White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling
The White Man's Burden
Take up the White man's burden --
Send forth the best ye breed --
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild --
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.
Take up the White Man's burden --
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times mad plain.
To seek another's profit,
And work another's gain.
Take up the White Man's burden --
The savage wars of peace --
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hope to nought.
Take up the White Man's burden --
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper --
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead!
Take up the White man's burden --
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard --
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light: --
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
"Our loved Egyptian night?"
Take up the White Man's burden --
Ye dare not stoop to less --
Nor call too loud on freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.
Take up the White Man's burden --
Have done with childish days --
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!
Take up the White man's burden --
Send forth the best ye breed --
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild --
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.
Take up the White Man's burden --
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times mad plain.
To seek another's profit,
And work another's gain.
Take up the White Man's burden --
The savage wars of peace --
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hope to nought.
Take up the White Man's burden --
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper --
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead!
Take up the White man's burden --
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard --
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light: --
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
"Our loved Egyptian night?"
Take up the White Man's burden --
Ye dare not stoop to less --
Nor call too loud on freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.
Take up the White Man's burden --
Have done with childish days --
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!
I'm in a poetic mood
Rudyard Kipling should be required reading these days.
THE YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER
When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
So-oldier ~OF~ the Queen!
Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
A soldier what's fit for a soldier.
Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . .
First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --
An' it's bad for the young British soldier.
Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .
When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
An' it crumples the young British soldier.
Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .
But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You ~must~ wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .
If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.
Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .
Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.
'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .
If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! --
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.
Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .
When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.
Front, front, front like a soldier . . .
When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .
When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.
Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .
If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier ~of~ the Queen!
THE YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER
When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
So-oldier ~OF~ the Queen!
Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
A soldier what's fit for a soldier.
Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . .
First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --
An' it's bad for the young British soldier.
Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .
When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
An' it crumples the young British soldier.
Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .
But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You ~must~ wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .
If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.
Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .
Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.
'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .
If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! --
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.
Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .
When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.
Front, front, front like a soldier . . .
When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .
When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.
Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .
If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier ~of~ the Queen!
Monday, August 08, 2005
Left Wing Monster #2
Here's an educational post for you young 'uns who don't remember Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. It's an article from discoverthenetwork.org, David Horowitz's much vilified attempt at understanding the network behind the left. This one is number two in the Left Wing Monster series. It's a story that is so extreme, in a sick way, it borders on comical. This one goes out to all you teenage hippie types passing out International A.N.S.W.E.R. literature. Your ignorance could someday destroy you.
Cult of 7G Crosses Over to The Dark Side
Today is a day that shall forever live in infamy. The Cult of 7G, has sworn allegiance to Emperor Darth Misha I, and has joined the ranks of loyal citizens of the Empire at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller. All hail Darth Misha I!! Death to Idiotarians!!
Friday, August 05, 2005
De-mystifiying the Left
I read this excellent article by Barry Loberfeld at frontpagemag.com. Truly a scholarly, and at times humorous critique of the left. It basically says everthing I've been screaming for years about leftists, only in a way far more articulate and scholarly than I could ever manage. They don't believe in freedom or equality. They sneer at the concept of freedom, and believe in hedgemony. How dare these unwashed masses determine the course of their own lives? How dare they not take the advice of their betters? If they won't listen to us, we'll take away their property and their rights and force them to listen! What the left actually seeks is their position on top! Under capitalism, Noam Chomsky is just another member of the peanut gallery. He has no control over me and my property, and thus I am left to my own evil devices, like the rest of the evil masses. Under communism, old Noam will get just what he wants, a position amongst the party elite, and the power to control us unenlightened heathens.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Screw Yahoo!
I've decided I'm going to stop using Yahoo as a source for news. I'm convinced that they intentionally change the url's of their news stories to confound bloggers. None of my hyperlinks to yahoo news stories work any more. I don't see why they shouldn't welcome the traffic I direct to their sites, but screw 'em. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. When I do see something in yahoo news that interests me, I'll do my best to find an alternative source to cite. Ya hear that, Yahoo? I say screw you blue, and your auntie too!
America Needs Another Patton
I've seen this quote circulating in conservative sectors of the blogosphere all week. It comes from Patton's famous speech to the 3rd army on the eve of D-Day.
We’re not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we’re going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We’re going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You’ve got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it’s the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you’ll know what to do!
You can read the whole speech here.
We’re not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we’re going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We’re going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You’ve got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it’s the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you’ll know what to do!
You can read the whole speech here.
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