Something New

SHARED DAILY MOVED

2005-03-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

SHARED DAILY MOVED RIGHT HERE.
SHARED DAILY MOVED RIGHT HERE.
SHARED DAILY MOVED RIGHT HERE.
SHARED DAILY MOVED RIGHT HERE.

Last Post.

2005-03-22T18:11:00.000-05:00

This will most likely be my last post on this blog. The reasons are many and at the same time just a few:

1. Google's obvious bias towards some mainstream blogs.
2. Google's preferreed stance of looking the other way for some and hindering others for their "right" to free speech also.
3. It would not be right to continue this blog here at this location in light of one and two above.

Hopefully, I will pop somewhere else soon in the blogosphere and will continue to blog and excercise my right to free speech and not support those through use of their tools or adds or email or through name brand recoginition to promote their brand.

I intend to leave this blog up as a reminder for me and for those who will come after and for the sake of archival of the few short posts I have written in 3 months and to support those of whom I intended to help in my own way.

PS: Their adds are gone and their search engine gone also.

2005-03-21T15:55:00.000-05:00

Protest Warrior

Code Pink MOAB

WoodStock over there---->

"8 Million Iraqi's gave Saddam the finger!"

The good guys of Free Republic, Rolling Thunder, Protest Warriors, Veitnam Veterans, Veterans, Families and Families of Veterans.

The kids have the Spirit of America also.

Who's watching who more?

Update to Fayetteville NC Anti Anti Protest

2005-03-20T12:23:00.000-05:00

Update: Images are now posted here on Image Station.

Still working on picture posting issues with Blogger and Hello in which quite a few other people are having also. Greyhawk has an excellent round up and some links I missed this morning from Fayetteville Online and protest coverage that didn't make the front page of local news. Local news gave only a few sentences to the counterdemonstrators. WRAL, WNCN and WTVD were all pathetic using the canned AP filed report. It's hard to believe all 3 major outlets in Raleigh NC used the same AP report as the only source of what happened yesterday.

The counterdemonstrators were a very good group who traveled from a far to show their support for the troops and the dislike of the anti-war crowd. See my earlier post for an on the ground write up of the days events.

Mission Success at Fayetteville NC Anti-Protest

2005-03-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

I love the smell of glue, duct tape and paint in the morning. A very good turnout of about 100 anti-protestors turned out today at the Rowan Street Anti-War protest today in Fayetteville, NC. The anti-war crowd drew in about 3000 according to one local station, other local coverage here and here but my guesstimate put the crowd about 1500-2000. The anti-war crowd was made of up the young misguided college set, the over the hill hippies, the handful of anarchist and some common folk who came along for the ride.

The good guys came from Free Republic, Rolling Thunder and Protest Warriors and some concerned veterans like myself. Vietnam Vets and Gulf War I Vets and other veterans and their families and families of some active duty spoke at the counter demonstration. If you were keeping score and decided that score on the number of American flags the two groups had the anti-protestors won hands down and the pictures below will prove this with out a doubt. I had two flags sticking out of my backpack and from the vast crowd of anti-war protestors I only counted two American flags. So one person was able to neutralized a whole crowd of barking, ranting, and the disrespectful anti-everything people.

There was one arrest from a Duke Univserity student who was to be a speaker named Rann Bar-On, hmm Duke again why does that university keep giving us grief locally. Sounds like we need an update over at Discover the Nework.

I listened to some of the anti-war protestors speeches over our crowd and one or two things struck me as a bit subversive at best. One comment made by a anti-war protestor was that "we need the troops here at home" not just bring the troops home but "we need the troops here at home". What was we trying to say? Did I hear it out of context? Only part of it? The main thing is that it did jump out at me as an attempt to plant a seed in the audience. What the intent of that seed was I don't know and I can only speculate. The other thing that jumped out at me was when one of the lady speakers was done she says" all of you flying back to New York tonight..." meet over there or something along those line.

It's not enough that a good percentage of these people are on the wrong side of the fight and war here at home and abroad is that these out of town blue county progessives come into our backyard and spread their filth of lies and undermining the war effort. They are here in the home town of our military families who need both of our support no matter what, but if they want to protest they should protest in Washington DC. and not here in Fayetteville.

A controversial banner was put up in the American Zone directed at Code Pink and it's leader Medea Benjamin who was there at the rally today. This is the same group who gave huge money to the other side fighting our men and women in Iraq. It became apparent that she was there today, when she walked up to the hill where the anti-protestors were and only came about 5o ft from the group before she turned back in the face of truth and opposition. The blowhorn was blaring at her and shouting at her and her group and she didn't like that very much when she got called out on it in front of her supporters. The other special guest I did not know was there today was Nick Berg's father Michael Berg and there is only so much I can say about this man and so I won't.

This is rush post and I hope everyone enjoys the pictures.

Did you see the Million plus people protesting in Lebanon today?

2005-03-14T17:07:00.000-05:00

Well neither did most of the US if you only use the boob tube for you news. It was all about that pro Damascus government and the lack of the full withdrawal of all Syrian forces and intelligence services from Lebanon and the pro Freedom, democracy and independence protesters who were not trucked/bused in and they had the BIGGEST pro democracy ever in the middle east.

They were marking the one month assassination of Rafiq Hariri which has sparked this nationalist movement and attempt to rid their country from the dogs of the Syrian Bathist operatives.

There are plenty pictures abound on most of the popular blogs so I wont post here but what I will say is this: these pictures are raining down from the heavens to all the homes of the middle east with a satellite dish or has access to international news or the internet and that my friends is priceless.

Note to Self.

2005-03-14T16:59:00.000-05:00

If in the future if you buy another All in One printer/fax/copy/camera combo that connects to your personal computer using a USB connection please ensure you RTFM first for any gotchas.

End of note.

A total of 24 man hours consumed/wasted/learned doing what I know best, geek stuff, to figure out that somehow Saturday morning that either my week old All in One printer combo somehow either died suddenly or my computer. The task at hand to figure it out and fix it as my better half was enjoying the scanning of old pictures and making them digital to save until time ends, that's a good thing.

What I learned from this is yet again is a lesson to understand it is advisable to never never never never never to trust Windoz to tell you the truth. Why? Well because the printer software or Windoz was lieing saying all was ok and it was not. In all my years working with DOS, starting I might add back in early 1982, and all versions of Windoz, NT, ME and XP, UNIX servers etc., is that they(computers) at this point in time 2005 should be smarter than we are and tell us what the problem is and how to fix.

You see this all comes down to my 6 on board USB ports and they all were reporting ok, printer was reporting ok, but during the final step of the two where they marry and live happily ever after neither wanted to consummate. All they both did really was: Hang. Sit there. Lie. Fail but not fail.

Well, what to do? Reinstall. Uninstall. Reinstall. Uninstall. Both the USB's and the printer software to no avail. How could this be? The initial install a week ago was painless, no tweaking, no errors all went perfect. What could it be?

Let's skip the technical support website and interactive chat as that would be a whole another post by itself. Let's just skip to what we did and back running.

By another cable and another 2 port USB PCI card to install. Tried cable first and all looked well it's gonna work, thinking that somehow the cable which was new went bad or got zapped(best technial term I could come up with) during the first week, possible, but nope back to square one.
Doubt myself again and dig and dig in Event Viewer for anything, nothing there. Last hope would be to install the new 2 port USB card and prove either 1) all 6 ports went bad or 2) the software. Earlier in the saga I proved the printer was still good by directly downloading a test picture directly to the printer via the USB cable and digital camera thus proving that still good and limiting the problem to the software or PC.

That installation of the new 2 port USB card, value $32 dollars, saved me probably hundreds of dollars and down time on our main family PC, all because Windoz lied. The problem was the on board 6 USB ports and that new 2 port USB card got me back and running.

Post mortem: turning off the PC and not turning off the printer and turning the PC back on while the printer was still on somehow smoked all the onboard USB ports. Windoz lied I wasted time.

So who is going to watch the ACLU?

2005-03-10T17:23:00.000-05:00

Watchdog groups have their place in a free democratic society and should be allowed to do what they can to protect the rights of all and not put one against the other, except when the others are the current "illegal alien" invasion on our southern border. Now the ACLU is going to go an instigate something from nothing on April 1st when the Minutemen Project starts to document all the illegal border crossings occurring on our southern border.

Over on Free Republic you'll find the latest on this with responses about this very subject.

What the people are doing at the Minutemen Project, of which I have no affiliation[sad state of affairs that I feel I must type that disclaimer], is exactly what other watchdog groups across the US and the globe do and should be able to do without hindrance and intimidation: observe, document and report.

I feel that ACLU's only reason to go and do this is to find that one incident and make a story out of nothing or atleast a small incident and create a dog and pony show for their Borg and drum more support for the extreme leftwing arm of the ACLU.

What does the ACLU hope to gain here? Protect whose rights? The rights of who American's or "illegal aliens" who have no US rights the last time I checked. Now if were talking about human rights as like not being shot or beaten up when trying to cross I'm all for that, but the point is they shouldn't be there in the first place. The border/immigration/security situation on the southern border is broken. Period. This leads me to think that during the Clinton years and the way NAFTA was explained south of the border led everyday Mexicans who want a better life for themselves and their children, who can blame them, to believe: it's all ok come on up, no problem at all, no checks, no documenation needed to prove who you are.

The ACLU serves just as much a function as the Mintuemen Project. Now who is going to watch ACLU? We are and there are plenty of us watching.

Goodnight Danny Boy

2005-03-09T16:44:00.000-05:00

Danny Boy lyrics

Oh Danny boy, the blogs, the blogs are calling
From east to west and across the digital hill side
The elections gone and all the dems are crying
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bye

But don't come ye back when the elections in '08
Or when the blogs multiply and expose what you sow
And I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow(s)
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy I loathe you so

But if he come and all the dems are crying
And I am read, as read I well may be
He'll come here and find the place where I am lieing
And kneel and say an ava there for the blogs

And I shall see, the soft "th" tread above me
And then my blog will be richer, sweeter be
For you will bend and tell me that you respect me
And I shall rest in peace when you say to me "I lied"

Sgrena's Story and the death of the Italian agent

2005-03-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

Much has happened the past 5 days with this story and the amount of information that has come out has been mostly spun by IL Manifesto the communist newspaper and from the newly released hostage herself with many contradicting statements. The photos of the car/truck that was fired at with "300-400" rounds has been found and from a first glance the hit rate was less than 0.05% on the car.

My earlier post I tried to give the impression and sincerity over the death Nicola Calipari when this was first reported Friday afternoon and Friday night and that still stands. Nobody wants to loose anyone to friendly fire or a good agent in the field. I'm sure he knew the risk as he had done this kind of op before.

This whole episode reeks of a flim-flam from her abduction to the tape of her recording to the Italian President and people for the withdrawl of Italian troops from Iraq, to her release whether with a ransom paid or not to the death of the Italian agent during the rescue.

I played the conspiratorist on one message board and wondered where the money went:

1. Iraqi insurgents
2. War profiteer
3. Foreign Terrorist
4. Local Criminals out for a buck
5. None of the above.

I'm still going with number 5. None of the above. Why? They would be killing multiple birds with one stone with the withdrawl of Italian troops, exposure for the communist newspaper and movement, show that journalist are in deed "targeted" by the US military and make the US look bad, make some money and write a book and live happily ever after. Now the death of the Italian agent did not fall into "their" plan but it did come out because of the abduction/ransom/release and it is what made the story. Other blogs have called this "catch and release" and I tend to agree.

However, I'm taking this story a step further with number 5 above and say that somehow Silvio Berlusconi's opposition in Italy ends up with the money along with a slice for the kidnappers in Iraq, whoever they are. It's a stretch I know but it would round out this whole story if you were writing a 21st century espionage novel that is and this would close out the loop on this one quite well and with a rather dramatic ending I might add.

Italian Journalist freed amid tragedy

2005-03-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

The Italian journalist who was taken almost one month ago in Iraq was released today but tragedy struck as the car raced to the airport and did not stop for a military checkpoint and one the agents rescuing her was killed and her wounded. Sad sad sad.

I found an Italian blog here who had recent commeents about this and I sent our sympathy and how sorry we are that this happened. So if you'd like to send them a word feel free.

I used Bablefish to do the translation so I hope it came across correctly. Not sure why I did this besides it being the right thing to do in my mind anyway.

Freedom Rock

2005-03-04T15:38:00.000-05:00

What can I say about this? You just have to go look for yourself.

HT: Family Friend

Where have I been?

2005-03-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

Following the same theme from Jenny:

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Wasted Effort

2005-03-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

The many groups, organizations and people aligned against the spread of democracy in the greater middle east disguised as Anti-War movements, peace movements, and bowel movements continues. Even after 50 million people no longer live under oppression and things are not perfect but with another 150 or 200 million people waiting in the wings is something truly to push our efforts.

Imagine, 150 or 200 million more human beings able to collectively choose their own path and place in the world all without firing a single shot. Amazing.

Some do not feel that way, the use of force will never be justified, ever. They would bow down to the enemy and let them overrun the whole world and then complain when it comes to our shores that we did not do enough to prevent it from ever happening in the first place.

The groups are many, Codepink and United for Peace and Justice are two that stand out. Let's take a look at the women first as women should always come first, but in another time and place that may not be so, they aim to stop the war by holding pathetic anti-war protests in San Diego and Fayetteville North Carolina on March 19th. I won't give them the satisfaction of linking to their websites.

These women of Codepink would not have a say in the world ever if it were not for men and women who give them and paid their lives for them to hold such protest under the disguise of anti-war protest to challenge corporate America and for that matter the world. You see they are not just anti-war protesters, they are anti-everything people they set up their anti-everything websites and form umbrella movements to hide and synergize their true purposes. What they do want? They want the power and prestige for themselves and to feel significant in a world they can not control and want for themselves. Yes. Power.

There are young punk kids who are anti-globalisationist who setup anti-war websites and say they are doing acts of civil disobedience. For what? For who? Themselves? This wasted effort would better serve the men and women and children of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt in the promotion of democracy which by design keeps the peace among it's members and hinders the development of extremist the world over.

Let me end this post by saying, I have been on foreign shores and have seen the plight of peoples from central America, Europe, Africa and the middle east and democracy there is our best hope for our future and peace there and here at home.

Road Blogging Today.

2005-02-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

On the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again. Drove from Raleigh south to the great small town of Raeford, N.C. , home of the Turkey festival, to visit a while with the in-laws, celebrate rug-rat birthdays and catch up on things.

Noticed one article this morning from Rantburg about a journalist killed in Mosul with coverage of the story from the BBC. Excerpt from the story:

Raiedah Mohammed Wageh Wazan was abducted Feb. 20 by several masked gunmen. Her corpse was found Friday, said her husband, Salim Saad-Allah. She had been shot in the head.

Why was this done? Could it be that they are telling the truth in Iraq on the news now of who some of the insurgents are:

This week, the station aired extensive interviews with alleged insurgents -including Syrians, Lebanese, Egyptians, Sudanese and Iraqis - that security forces captured in Mosul.

Now she was not the only news in the world broadcasting this information and showing the story of the alleged Syrian Intelligence chief and admitting the level of involvement from the Syrians. She was a local Iraqi who worked for the local news and was broadcasting what they thought important and not propaganda to the Iraqi people so they would understand that it was not just the ex-Bathist that are causing violence, terrorism and all out barbaric attacks on the innocent men, women and children of Iraq.

This attempt at silencing the free Iraqi people will not work and will only drive more an more Iraqi people to the side of a free press unafraid to report the truth and expose those who are aligned against them. The Syrians and Iranians have been put on notice and their alignment of shared interest to confront any threats is only talk, nothing more, nothing less. A warning and response will come from the Iraqi government, once the PM details are worked out I hope, that will directly let their Iraqi neighbors know without hidden meanings that they will not stand for interference from either of them. And if necessary, will take all appropriate actions to stem the flow of money and support and find the "source" of this support where it may lead and put an end to it once and for all.

Potential APB has been cancelled Sisyphus spotted.

2005-02-24T16:57:00.000-05:00

NewsFlash: Sisyphus of Sisyphean Musings has been spotted.

Welcome back.

Of Tragedy comes hope

2005-02-22T16:40:00.000-05:00

The recent deaths of four US military personnel has shown the courage of not only our own men and women but the Iraq people themselves. I read this earlier today on another news outlet and than ran back across again on Yahoo News.

This was a routine patrol that turned tragic when a Humvee overturned in a canal and the three members of 1st Brigade 3rd Infantry Div drowned in the extremely cold waters. Another member of the US military also died trying to rescue the first three and other in danger personnel during the rescue.

It's a hard read and may bring tears to your eye's but please read and remember them always both the US personnel and the Iraqi soldiers.

A quick post on what I'm seeing.

2005-02-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's been 5 full days since my last post and that's a stretch. I've been watching and reading the news and working on other commitments and a busy family schedule has allowed little room to post.

What I've been watching of late is the slow turn of the MSM and the news cycle and the "tone" at some of the major outlets, which is a good thing, it's a start.

Hopefully, the Presidents trip to EU and NATO will soften some of the trans-Atlantic squabbling that has been going on since the war in Iraq. The new focus of the EU/NATO should be on Iraq as the bigger picture has been painted for them quite clearly. Freedom and liberty in the heart of the middle east is a big goal, but you have to have a plan. Without one we are all doomed to fail and failure is not an option as the stakes are to high.

With this in mind the future success of Iraq relies on the Iraqi people but they need support and the end to the bickering here at home and abroad. The Iraqi people have shown the world their desire for freedom and liberty. So let us support them and put our own personal beliefs aside for now.

On that note, if you have the time and interest in supporting the Iraqi people please take a visit to Spirit of America's website and review their current needs. You can contribute by monetary contributions to projects, assist with projects, or become a member and just stay current on what Americans are doing to assist the Iraqi people to a brighter future.

Third North Carolina Soldier dies of flu like symptoms.

2005-02-17T19:37:00.000-05:00

Not sure what this is but I hope we are looking at this and much more emphasis into what's going on with these deaths. Could be any number of things but making it through 18 months of combat than to die from the flu has to be very hard on the family of this latest hero Sgt. Clay Garton. The other North Carolina veteran and hero is Staff Sgt. Christopher Rogers who also died of flu like symptoms. The other soldier Capt. Gilbert Munoz died from a bacterial infection after returning home and no further details have been provided.

These deaths are hard for the families so keep them in your thoughts.

Updated: Drudge is on it. Great minds think alike, just got done posting this.

Trouble in college?

2005-02-15T20:58:00.000-05:00

Are you having trouble in college? Do you feel nobody is looking out for you? Do you have a complaint and do not know where to go? Are professors giving you a hard time because of your political beliefs? Or is your college or university suppressing your free speech?

You are not alone and there are resources availabe to you. If you would like more information and help with any issues please take the time to review Students for Academic Freedom. From here you can read about the latest happenings and check on chapters in your area that provide support when dealing with college and univserity issues.

Our colleges and universities should not condone or support radical hate professors whose only goals are to sow seeds of hate and spew their twisted view of the world.

To see what your California Tax dollars do for your students higher education at UCLA. This is from a UCLA website. Scroll down to see 4 More Years a spinoff of JibJab. This is one of the professors official Webpage telling them to go view his BlogLeft blog. This is what SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED, you should teach not brainwash our kids. We are watching and taking note of your behavior.

If you have students there and would like to contact the dean here you go:

Aimée Dorr

Dean, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

Professor
Psychological Studies in Education
2320 Moore Hall -- (310) 825-1838 -- dorr@gseis.ucla.edu

Ph.D., Psychology, Stanford University, 1970

Update: HT Rantburg. Some how I missed this today but David Horowitz started a new website today. A Guide to the Political Left can be found here.

Iraqi Election Results are in and List 169 Wins.

2005-02-13T09:47:00.000-05:00

The votes are in and the Shia dominated list number 169 has almost 50% of the vote. Turn out stands at about 60% which is very good considering the on the ground situation. The Kurds will come in second and the Ayad Allawi's list will come in third. For updates and analysis go to the source. The Iraqi bloggers themselves: Iraq the Model, Hammorabi, or Iraqi Bloggers Central.

Early Morning Music

2005-02-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

Warning Warning this has R Rated lyrics. So be warned.

This a video/stills production with music showing some of the Battle of Falluja from some of our tankers. There is nothing really to add to this but our men/women did an outstanding job against a dug in enemy in an urban environment who had months and months to prepare.

HT: LGF poster jouth.

Eason Jordan Resigns

2005-02-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

The past 24 hours have seen a whirlwind of information, updates and posts across the blogsphere with some of the MSM finally picking up the story Wed and Thursday. Than at the end of the day on Friday the shoe dropped and Eason Jordan resigned.

As many bloggers are pointing out that Mr. Jordan's resigning was not the only objective in all of this but it was to see the videotape or transcript at the WEF conference in Davos where these comments were made. We all want to see the full context of the comments and exchanges between the panel the reaction of the audience etc.

Please continue to read the whole story and more background information on Eason Jordans past from Michelle Malkin, Cpts Quarters, La Shawn Barber, Powerline, LGF, Sisyphean Musings and Easongate.

While everyone writes and dissects this we should keep in mind that this was not done out of revenge or a show of force by the blogsphere it was done for the "truth" and the respect it deserves.

Operation Thank You!!

2005-02-11T16:41:00.000-05:00

A very good story from LT Smash and the Protest Warriors recent Thank You event over in San Diego and he goes on to ask if you live near a military base show them support. Well are you?

More information on showing your support for our military men and women can be found at America Supports You. And if you do not have a military base near you please visit the offical website of the USO where they have many locations at airports to hand out some coffee and a warm smile and to say Thanks.

Easongate Petition is online.

2005-02-10T17:41:00.000-05:00

Please direct your clicky thingy over here to sign if you wish. Blackfive has a post up also about why he is doing this and his motivation. The most important part of his post to me is:

This is the Chief News Executive of CNN that we are talking about here - not the left-wing rep on Crossfire or the latest radio line-up on Air America. And he's giving Al Qaeda and Al Jazeera propaganda ammunition.

I've written on this very subject before and it's how many of us feel.

Amazing essays.

2005-02-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

The amount of essays and writings on the internet continue to amaze me. Most are short but very insightful with their brevity of words. I stumbled across some work by way of the long road, two different blogs and ended up reading something that was quite interesting.

Defining the enemy in the GWoT seems to always move but what are the causes and their resentment of the US? Our western culture? religous beliefs? Capitalism? I've read the following lengthly post/essay from USS Clueless which has some interesting thoughts and actions of which I don't agree on all points but the insight to root cause was very well thought out and explained in detail. A full list of his essays can be found here.

Do you have a quarter Mr?

2005-02-08T16:58:00.000-05:00

Check your change cup you may have something good in it for a change. Somehow some of the Wisconsin Quarters in the 50 States collection were found with some flaws and collectors are grabbing them up at hefty prices.

I've only found one the Wisconsin quarters so far, that's bad, you see I've got 3 sets going for all three rugrats, and I still need the other two plus a couple more for padding. So if you see some of them take a look and start collecting.

What did Tony Blair say today?

2005-02-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

You would have to dig just a little below the surface to find this but it's there. PM Tony Blair made some comments today about Iran which are right on the mark:

Blair warned Iran and Syria not to assume it was in their interests to allow insurgents to cross into Iraq in order to weaken U.S. forces and reduce the chance of an attack on themselves.

"I think if they were to make that calculation it would be a very severe miscalculation," he said, The Associated Press reported.

Ya ya I know the source but I stumbled across this and did not want to let it go by. He says it more clearly than anybody from Europe by far and even better than we have to drive home the point to the mullahs to not use the Iraq as a delaying tactict and we can respond if we need. Bravo. Bravo.

Note: Did you see this anywhere? Nope.

Eason Fables continue and we still can't go to instant replay.

2005-02-08T16:14:00.000-05:00

Everyone following the Eason's Fables over the weekend than on Monday would have had to do nothing but keep on jumping from blog to blog to follow the story as it kept moving fast and furious the last 72 hours.

Myself included I got caught up in watching this unfold more of than active participant and doing updates and commenting on the latest. There has been a tremendous amount of work by some really committed and extremely bright people. It was encouraging to watch this unfold and the respect that was showed on the whole by all involved for the "truth".

Watching La Shawn Barbers Corner with all the latest really helped put everything in the right place and Sisyphus doing all he can so we go to the instant replay for ruling shows the real commitment for finding the whole "truth" and not just part of it. Easongate is up and running and trying to keep the focus of the issue with the media blackout still in affect and the lack of respect that is being shown the blogger community for that matter is really showing true colors I might add.

There is much much more out there about all of this, just go and find it.

Eason Jordans Comments. All I hear is shutup.

2005-02-06T18:13:00.000-05:00

Sitting and back and watching the past 36 hours about CNN's Eason Jordans comments in Davos at the WEF where he stated, "that he knew of 12 journalists who had not only been killed by US troops in Iraq, but they had in fact been targeted."

Taking all into account but when you start looking at the different blogs and big blogs and from some of the people that where there in the room. They start to spin this into more of blog and ethics question or mob thing.

Look at Rony's fiery come back today. Than take a look at Rebecca's response to Hugh. Take a left/right depends on which direction your coming to and read this from American Digest.

For a complete breakdown and timeline of events please take a visit to La Shawn Barbers Corner as she is doing and excellent job of keeping track of updates.

Also a small contingent of milbloggers has formed Easongate to ensure that this story does not just go without closure can be found here.

What do you get when you add all these up is shutup.

Today Saturday Feb 5th.

2005-02-05T16:12:00.000-05:00

Well did a quick rotation at work and now trying to settle down and review what I've noticed today and do a quick post.

Did you see the story from the AP where Mr. Churchill said, "I don't believe I owe an apology," well I sort of missed this because I don't watch that network religiously. You'll have to go read the whole thing from the AP here.

Also of note today former Vice Presidential candidate Mr. Edwards is moving from the red bastion of Raleigh for refuge in Chapel Hill, NC. He will be heading a poverty think tank at UNC. His wife is undergoing cancer treatment out of state and we wish them both the best and a speedy recovery.

Sisyphean Musings today covers the military and media which covers many different perspectives and the roles of each and interaction or lack there of. Another well put together post I might add.

Now I'm off to read a book which is 225 pages long. Anybody care to guess?

Update To CNN Eason's coments

2005-02-04T14:45:00.000-05:00

It looks like there is more and much more. Hugh Hewitt has an excellent update on the whole thing and includes an email exchanges with Roy which provides much more background. Note: We still want the videotape!!

Also of note is the frontpage of CNN at the moment:

Pentagon sites: Journalism or propaganda?

From Barbara Starr and Larry Shaughnessy
CNN

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to add more sites on the Internet to provide information to a global audience -- but critics question whether the Pentagon is violating President Bush's pledge not to pay journalists to promote his policies.

Go read the whole thing. My thoughts on this are many but lets just say timing is everything isn't it?

Moving Eason's comments forward Ron Abovitz responds to all and chose not too pick a side.

2005-02-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

In the light of comments that were off the scale at an international setting amongst world leaders, businessman and major media outlets from all over the world, this is Davos calling.

CNN Eason Jordan in an open debate made a claim that he knew that the US military deliberately targeted journalists in Iraq in which he back peddled and clarified his comments here.

One of the most saught after voices comes from Rony Abovitz and takes the issue further and asks some poignant questions at which I will try and take a look and provide my insight into this whole matter and how we have come to this point in Iraq.

Now this story is hard to keep up with as there have been emails and contacts made to the blogsphere as this story broke and continues to break, clarify and yet more questions.

Captain Ed has been covering this with many updates here.

First off I am not a journalist. Period. I am not associated with anybody who is referenced to this event, story or account.

My first question to Ron would be in the context of all the questions he has asked is this. Did the media coverage of Abu Grahib and it's rentless pursuit of the "truth" cause American casualties?

If so, how many? Did it increase the level of support the terrorist/insurgents received? Look at when the dramatic upturn in terrorist/insurgent violence in Iraq to answer that question. Yes, it needed to be told, but when? How? That's how I reflect about this as I can not quote or speak or link to anyone who has publicly said this or even a passing post to the same thought.

From Ron's post:

Here are the issues as I see them:

(1) What really did happen in Iraq to both the U.S. and foreign journalists killed while trying to cover the war? The posts by the readers, in particular a few from soldiers themselves, make this question even more compelling. And what is going to happen to journalists covering Iraq going forward? How does the truth ever become fully revealed and made public? Does the U.N. need to investigate what happened? Is there a major media organization reputable enough to present accurate information on a question which by definition here involves the major media?

Yes the major media should have contacted members of congress with documents first.

(2) What is the responsibility of the media, and of media chiefs in particular (such as Eason) when it comes to how the news is shaped (or not shaped) to meet the needs of their audience? Is the news a business that needs to market to their customers what they want to hear and see, or is there a higher set of ethical and moral responsibilities that come along with the business of news? What is interesting in this case is that I do believe that the exact, objective facts are available with respect to what was said. This particular discussion at the WEF 2005 was videotaped (hopefully it is in a complete and unedited form). The debate about exactly what was said is easily resolved if an accurate transcript of the tape, or the tape itself, can be produced and made public. This kind of transparency lends itself well to global issues where subjectivity can taint any side of a topic like this. It is possible in this case that the subjectivity on one part of this issue can be removed entirely (with the complete videotape and transcript of the discussion).

The question of shaping or slanting rings loud and clear and we all understand that but at
what human cost for only part of truth for the whole truth. We want the video tape and
transcripts of this and we will not rest until made available.

(3) What is the responsibility of those in major leadership positions when confronted with such issues? In the room with us were powerful men and women, including high ranking politicians, who could follow up in a serious and meaningful way. Where are those voices and where is the followup? This topic should not be buried away in the closet. Is what Eason said the problem, or should we be more frightened at the prospect of journalists being targeted and killed by U.S. soldiers. "I see no problem if the US snipers take them out" was a comment from one reader, as well as "If they chose to take the part of the Baathists and Al kayda (sic), and say, 'embed' themselves among them, they will be killed." At a minimum the data and confusion calls for at least someone of the stature of a U.S. Senator or Congressman to step in now and lead a robust investigation.

Yes there should be more people to come forward and provide there account of what

happened. This shouldn't stop or prevent the topic from moving forward.

(4) The role of the individual in society. In this debate and discussion I made the decision to say something - to speak out. That decision has sparked a lot of things, including some intense pressures coming from a lot of sides. But I now feel an obligation myself to not give in to any side, but to ask for, in fact to demand, an accounting of the truth.

I respect your decision on this and can not even begin to imagine how much noise was
coming your way. Your post in the open tells a lot.

Ron's, Further questions:

As a techie, I like to see problems solved. Here are some specific actions that should happen:

* independent, objective, and respected investigation into this topic in a timely way (now, not years from now).

* Disclosure of what is found to the global public.

* Better protections and neutrality status for journalists, subject to harsh, Geneva style accountability if violated.

* More voices should come forward now. The voices of the soldiers in Iraq, as well as of journalists on the ground, need to come out. Let us know in your own words, unfiltered, what has happened, and what is happening. Have courage.

While Ron's post adds more than what started this these are good questions and observations and could easily drown out the very heart of what of brought out this post and blogstorm.

Saying that the US Military "targets" journalist and making a statement like this in a global public forum as a US citizen and journalist is for lack of a better word: irresponsible. While the fog of war will always exist and there will be casualties in any armed conflict but failing to try and record and document history as it unfolds will always out weigh that cost. There are no frontlines in this conflict, there are barbaric an hideous crimes of humanity being carried out against human beings there, the enemy has crossed every line of human decency, and yet we find that the very brave people who are trying to keep all of us safe are constantly defending themselves from a global witchhunt.

Many have not agreed to take out Saddam and his sons, but we gave that man 48 hours(and 12 years) to respond and he choose not too. The dead are on his hands and nobody else.

President State of the Union address Feb 2nd 2005

2005-02-02T22:28:00.000-05:00

The president gave and showed us all that there is hope. And to all the oppressed people of the world and specifically Iran, he said" when you stand for your liberty we will stand with you".

Amazing speech probably better than any of Reagans.

Full transcript provided by Fox News. Thanks.

Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, fellow citizens:

As a new Congress gathers, all of us in the elected branches of government share a great privilege: we have been placed in office by the votes of the people we serve. And tonight that is a privilege we share with newly elected leaders of Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, and a free and sovereign Iraq.

Two weeks ago, I stood on the steps of this Capitol and renewed the commitment of our Nation to the guiding ideal of liberty for all. This evening I will set forth policies to advance that ideal at home and around the world.

Tonight, with a healthy, growing economy, with more Americans going back to work, with our Nation an active force for good in the world the state of our union is confident and strong. Our generation has been blessed by the expansion of opportunity, by advances in medicine, and by the security purchased by our parents' sacrifice. Now, as we see a little gray in the mirror or a lot of gray and we watch our children moving into adulthood, we ask the question: What will be the state of their union?

Members of Congress, the choices we make together will answer that question. Over the next several months, on issue after issue, let us do what Americans have always done, and build a better world for our children and grandchildren.

First, we must be good stewards of this economy, and renew the great institutions on which millions of our fellow citizens rely.

America's economy is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation. In the past four years, we have provided tax relief to every person who pays income taxes, overcome a recession, opened up new markets abroad, prosecuted corporate criminals, raised homeownership to the highest level in history, and in the last year alone, the United States has added 2.3 million new jobs. When action was needed, the Congress delivered and the Nation is grateful.

Now we must add to these achievements. By making our economy more flexible, more innovative, and more competitive, we will keep America the economic leader of the world.

America's prosperity requires restraining the spending appetite of the federal government. I welcome the bipartisan enthusiasm for spending discipline. So next week I will send you a budget that holds the growth of discretionary spending below inflation, makes tax relief permanent, and stays on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. My budget substantially reduces or eliminates more than 150 government programs that are not getting results, or duplicate current efforts, or do not fulfill essential priorities. The principle here is clear: a taxpayer dollar must be spent wisely, or not at all.

To make our economy stronger and more dynamic, we must prepare a rising generation to fill the jobs of the 21st century. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, standards are higher, test scores are on the rise, and we are closing the achievement gap for minority students. Now we must demand better results from our high schools, so every high school diploma is a ticket to success. We will help an additional 200,000 workers to get training for a better career, by reforming our job training system and strengthening America's community colleges. And we will make it easier for Americans to afford a college education, by increasing the size of Pell Grants.

To make our economy stronger and more competitive, America must reward, not punish, the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs. Small business is the path of advancement, especially for women and minorities, so we must free small businesses from needless regulation and protect honest job-creators from junk lawsuits. Justice is distorted, and our economy is held back, by irresponsible class actions and frivolous asbestos claims and I urge Congress to pass legal reforms this year.

To make our economy stronger and more productive, we must make health care more affordable, and give families greater access to good coverage, and more control over their health decisions. I ask Congress to move forward on a comprehensive health care agenda with tax credits to help low-income workers buy insurance, a community health center in every poor county, improved information technology to prevent medical errors and needless costs, association health plans for small businesses and their employees, expanded health savings accounts, and medical liability reform that will reduce health care costs, and make sure patients have the doctors and care they need.

To keep our economy growing, we also need reliable supplies of affordable, environmentally responsible energy. Nearly four years ago, I submitted a comprehensive energy strategy that encourages conservation, alternative sources, a modernized electricity grid, and more production here at home, including safe, clean nuclear energy. My Clear Skies legislation will cut power plant pollution and improve the health of our citizens. And my budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology from hydrogen-fueled cars, to clean coal, to renewable sources such as ethanol. Four years of debate is enough I urge Congress to pass legislation that makes America more secure and less dependent on foreign energy.

All these proposals are essential to expand this economy and add new jobs but they are just the beginning of our duty. To build the prosperity of future generations, we must update institutions that were created to meet the needs of an earlier time. Year after year, Americans are burdened by an archaic, incoherent federal tax code. I have appointed a bipartisan panel to examine the tax code from top to bottom. And when their recommendations are delivered, you and I will work together to give this Nation a tax code that is pro-growth, easy to understand, and fair to all.

America's immigration system is also outdated unsuited to the needs of our economy and to the values of our country. We should not be content with laws that punish hardworking people who want only to provide for their families, and deny businesses willing workers, and invite chaos at our border. It is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs Americans will not take, that rejects amnesty, that tells us who is entering and leaving our country, and that closes the border to drug dealers and terrorists.

One of America's most important institutions a symbol of the trust between generations is also in need of wise and effective reform. Social Security was a great moral success of the 20th Century, and we must honor its great purposes in this new century. The system, however, on its current path, is headed toward bankruptcy. And so we must join together to strengthen and save Social Security.

Today, more than 45 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, and millions more are nearing retirement and for them the system is strong and fiscally sound. I have a message for every American who is 55 or older: Do not let anyone mislead you. For you, the Social Security system will not change in any way.

For younger workers, the Social Security system has serious problems that will grow worse with time. Social Security was created decades ago, for a very different era. In those days people didn't live as long, benefits were much lower than they are today, and a half century ago, about 16 workers paid into the system for each person drawing benefits. Our society has changed in ways the founders of Social Security could not have foreseen. In today's world, people are living longer and therefore drawing benefits longer and those benefits are scheduled to rise dramatically over the next few decades. And instead of 16 workers paying in for every beneficiary, right now it's only about three workers and over the next few decades, that number will fall to just two workers per beneficiary. With each passing year, fewer workers are paying ever-higher benefits to an ever-larger number of retirees.

So here is the result: Thirteen years from now, in 2018, Social Security will be paying out more than it takes in. And every year afterward will bring a new shortfall, bigger than the year before. For example, in the year 2027, the government will somehow have to come up with an extra 200 billion dollars to keep the system afloat and by 2033, the annual shortfall would be more than 300 billion dollars. By the year 2042, the entire system would be exhausted and bankrupt. If steps are not taken to avert that outcome, the only solutions would be drastically higher taxes, massive new borrowing, or sudden and severe cuts in Social Security benefits or other government programs.

I recognize that 2018 and 2042 may seem like a long way off. But those dates are not so distant, as any parent will tell you. If you have a 5-year-old, you're already concerned about how you'll pay for college tuition 13 years down the road. If you've got children in their 20s, as some of us do, the idea of Social Security collapsing before they retire does not seem like a small matter. And it should not be a small matter to the United States Congress.

You and I share a responsibility. We must pass reforms that solve the financial problems of Social Security once and for all.

Fixing Social Security permanently will require an open, candid review of the options. Some have suggested limiting benefits for wealthy retirees. Former Congressman Tim Penny has raised the possibility of indexing benefits to prices rather than wages. During the 1990s, my predecessor, President Clinton, spoke of increasing the retirement age. Former Senator John Breaux suggested discouraging early collection of Social Security benefits. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan recommended changing the way benefits are calculated.

All these ideas are on the table. I know that none of these reforms would be easy. But we have to move ahead with courage and honesty, because our children's retirement security is more important than partisan politics. I will work with members of Congress to find the most effective combination of reforms. I will listen to anyone who has a good idea to offer. We must, however, be guided by some basic principles. We must make Social Security permanently sound, not leave that task for another day. We must not jeopardize our economic strength by increasing payroll taxes. We must ensure that lower income Americans get the help they need to have dignity and peace of mind in their retirement. We must guarantee that there is no change for those now retired or nearing retirement. And we must take care that any changes in the system are gradual, so younger workers have years to prepare and plan for their future.

As we fix Social Security, we also have the responsibility to make the system a better deal for younger workers.And the best way to reach that goal is through voluntary personal retirement accounts. Here is how the idea works. Right now, a set portion of the money you earn is taken out of your paycheck to pay for the Social Security benefits of today's retirees. If you are a younger worker, I believe you should be able to set aside part of that money in your own retirement account, so you can build a nest egg for your own future.

Here is why personal accounts are a better deal. Your money will grow, over time, at a greater rate than anything the current system can deliver and your account will provide money for retirement over and above the check you will receive from Social Security. In addition, you'll be able to pass along the money that accumulates in your personal account, if you wish, to your children or grandchildren. And best of all, the money in the account is yours, and the government can never take it away.

The goal here is greater security in retirement, so we will set careful guidelines for personal accounts. We will make sure the money can only go into a conservative mix of bonds and stock funds. We will make sure that your earnings are not eaten up by hidden Wall Street fees. We will make sure there are good options to protect your investments from sudden market swings on the eve of your retirement. We will make sure a personal account can't be emptied out all at once, but rather paid out over time, as an addition to traditional Social Security benefits. And we will make sure this plan is fiscally responsible, by starting personal retirement accounts gradually, and raising the yearly limits on contributions over time, eventually permitting all workers to set aside four percentage points of their payroll taxes in their accounts.

Personal retirement accounts should be familiar to federal employees, because you already have something similar, called the Thrift Savings Plan, which lets workers deposit a portion of their paychecks into any of five different broadly based investment funds. It is time to extend the same security, and choice, and ownership to young Americans.

Our second great responsibility to our children and grandchildren is to honor and to pass along the values that sustain a free society. So many of my generation, after a long journey, have come home to family and faith, and are determined to bring up responsible, moral children. Government is not the source of these values, but government should never undermine them.

Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society, it should not be re-defined by activist judges. For the good of families, children, and society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage.

Because a society is measured by how it treats the weak and vulnerable, we must strive to build a culture of life. Medical research can help us reach that goal, by developing treatments and cures that save lives and help people overcome disabilities and I thank Congress for doubling the funding of the National Institutes of Health. To build a culture of life, we must also ensure that scientific advances always serve human dignity, not take advantage of some lives for the benefit of others. We should all be able to agree on some clear standards. I will work with Congress to ensure that human embryos are not created for experimentation or grown for body parts, and that human life is never bought and sold as a commodity. America will continue to lead the world in medical research that is ambitious, aggressive, and always ethical.

Because courts must always deliver impartial justice, judges have a duty to faithfully interpret the law, not legislate from the bench. As President, I have a constitutional responsibility to nominate men and women who understand the role of courts in our democracy, and are well qualified to serve on the bench and I have done so. The Constitution also gives the Senate a responsibility: Every judicial nominee deserves an up-or-down vote.

Because one of the deepest values of our country is compassion, we must never turn away from any citizen who feels isolated from the opportunities of America. Our government will continue to support faith-based and community groups that bring hope to harsh places. Now we need to focus on giving young people, especially young men in our cities, better options than apathy, or gangs, or jail. Tonight I propose a three-year initiative to help organizations keep young people out of gangs, and show young men an ideal of manhood that respects women and rejects violence. Taking on gang life will be one part of a broader outreach to at-risk youth, which involves parents and pastors, coaches and community leaders, in programs ranging from literacy to sports. And I am proud that the leader of this nationwide effort will be our First Lady, Laura Bush.

Because HIV/AIDS brings suffering and fear into so many lives, I ask you to reauthorize the Ryan White Act to encourage prevention, and provide care and treatment to the victims of that disease. And as we update this important law, we must focus our efforts on fellow citizens with the highest rates of new cases, African-American men and women.

Because one of the main sources of our national unity is our belief in equal justice, we need to make sure Americans of all races and backgrounds have confidence in the system that provides justice. In America we must make doubly sure no person is held to account for a crime he or she did not commit so we are dramatically expanding the use of DNA evidence to prevent wrongful conviction. Soon I will send to Congress a proposal to fund special training for defense counsel in capital cases, because people on trial for their lives must have competent lawyers by their side.

Our third responsibility to future generations is to leave them an America that is safe from danger, and protected by peace. We will pass along to our children all the freedoms we enjoy and chief among them is freedom from fear.

In the three and a half years since September 11th, 2001, we have taken unprecedented actions to protect Americans. We have created a new department of government to defend our homeland, focused the FBI on preventing terrorism, begun to reform our intelligence agencies, broken up terror cells across the country, expanded research on defenses against biological and chemical attack, improved border security, and trained more than a half million first responders. Police and firefighters, air marshals, researchers, and so many others are working every day to make our homeland safer, and we thank them all.

Our Nation, working with allies and friends, has also confronted the enemy abroad, with measures that are determined, successful, and continuing. The Al Qaeda terror network that attacked our country still has leaders but many of its top commanders have been removed. There are still governments that sponsor and harbor terrorists but their number has declined. There are still regimes seeking weapons of mass destruction but no longer without attention and without consequence. Our country is still the target of terrorists who want to kill many, and intimidate us all and we will stay on the offensive against them, until the fight is won.

Pursuing our enemies is a vital commitment of the War on Terror and I thank the Congress for providing our servicemen and women with the resources they have needed. During this time of war, we must continue to support our military and give them the tools for victory.

Other nations around the globe have stood with us.In Afghanistan, an international force is helping provide security. In Iraq, 28 countries have troops on the ground, the United Nations and the European Union provided technical assistance for elections, and NATO is leading a mission to help train Iraqi officers. We are cooperating with 60 governments in the Proliferation Security Initiative, to detect and stop the transit of dangerous materials. We are working closely with governments in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and nine other countries have captured or detained Al Qaeda terrorists. In the next four years, my Administration will continue to build the coalitions that will defeat the dangers of our time.

In the long term, the peace we seek will only be achieved by eliminating the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder. If whole regions of the world remain in despair and grow in hatred, they will be the recruiting grounds for terror, and that terror will stalk America and other free nations for decades. The only force powerful enough to stop the rise of tyranny and terror, and replace hatred with hope, is the force of human freedom. Our enemies know this, and that is why the terrorist Zarqawi recently declared war on what he called the "evil principle" of democracy. And we have declared our own intention: America will stand with the allies of freedom to support democratic movements in the Middle East and beyond, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

The United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else. That is one of the main differences between us and our enemies. They seek to impose and expand an empire of oppression, in which a tiny group of brutal, self-appointed rulers control every aspect of every life. Our aim is to build and preserve a community of free and independent nations, with governments that answer to their citizens, and reflect their own cultures. And because democracies respect their own people and their neighbors, the advance of freedom will lead to peace.

That advance has great momentum in our time shown by women voting in Afghanistan, and Palestinians choosing a new direction, and the people of Ukraine asserting their democratic rights and electing a president. We are witnessing landmark events in the history of liberty. And in the coming years, we will add to that story.

The beginnings of reform and democracy in the Palestinian territories are showing the power of freedom to break old patterns of violence and failure. Tomorrow morning, Secretary of State Rice departs on a trip that will take her to Israel and the West Bank for meetings with Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas. She will discuss with them how we and our friends can help the Palestinian people end terror and build the institutions of a peaceful, independent democratic state. To promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for 350 million dollars to support Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms. The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace is within reach and America will help them achieve that goal.

To promote peace and stability in the broader Middle East, the United States will work with our friends in the region to fight the common threat of terror, while we encourage a higher standard of freedom. Hopeful reform is already taking hold in an arc from Morocco to Jordan to Bahrain. The government of Saudi Arabia can demonstrate its leadership in the region by expanding the role of its people in determining their future. And the great and proud nation of Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East.

To promote peace in the broader Middle East, we must confront regimes that continue to harbor terrorists and pursue weapons of mass murder. Syria still allows its territory, and parts of Lebanon, to be used by terrorists who seek to destroy every chance of peace in the region. You have passed, and we are applying, the Syrian Accountability Act and we expect the Syrian government to end all support for terror and open the door to freedom. Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium re-processing, and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.

Our generational commitment to the advance of freedom, especially in the Middle East, is now being tested and honored in Iraq. That country is a vital front in the War on Terror, which is why the terrorists have chosen to make a stand there. Our men and women in uniform are fighting terrorists in Iraq, so we do not have to face them here at home. And the victory of freedom in Iraq will strengthen a new ally in the War on Terror, inspire democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran, bring more hope and progress to a troubled region, and thereby lift a terrible threat from the lives of our children and grandchildren.

We will succeed because the Iraqi people value their own liberty as they showed the world last Sunday. Across Iraq, often at great risk, millions of citizens went to the polls and elected 275 men and women to represent them in a new Transitional National Assembly. A young woman in Baghdad told of waking to the sound of mortar fire on election day, and wondering if it might be too dangerous to vote. She said, "hearing those explosions, it occurred to me the insurgents are weak, they are afraid of democracy, they are losing. So I got my husband, and I got my parents, and we all came out and voted together." Americans recognize that spirit of liberty, because we share it. In any nation, casting your vote is an act of civic responsibility; for millions of Iraqis, it was also an act of personal courage, and they have earned the respect of us all.

One of Iraq's leading democracy and human rights advocates is Safia Taleb al-Suhail. She says of her country, "we were occupied for 35 years by Saddam Hussein. That was the real occupation. Thank you to the American people who paid the cost but most of all to the soldiers." Eleven years ago, Safia's father was assassinated by Saddam's intelligence service. Three days ago in Baghdad, Safia was finally able to vote for the leaders of her country and we are honored that she is with us tonight.

The terrorists and insurgents are violently opposed to democracy, and will continue to attack it. Yet the terrorists' most powerful myth is being destroyed. The whole world is seeing that the car bombers and assassins are not only fighting coalition forces, they are trying to destroy the hopes of Iraqis, expressed in free elections. And the whole world now knows that a small group of extremists will not overturn the will of the Iraqi people.

We will succeed in Iraq because Iraqis are determined to fight for their own freedom, and to write their own history. As Prime Minister Allawi said in his speech to Congress last September, "Ordinary Iraqis are anxious to shoulder all the security burdens of our country as quickly as possible." This is the natural desire of an independent nation, and it also is the stated mission of our coalition in Iraq. The new political situation in Iraq opens a new phase of our work in that country. At the recommendation of our commanders on the ground, and in consultation with the Iraqi government, we will increasingly focus our efforts on helping prepare more capable Iraqi security forces forces with skilled officers, and an effective command structure. As those forces become more self-reliant and take on greater security responsibilities, America and its coalition partners will increasingly be in a supporting role. In the end, Iraqis must be able to defend their own country and we will help that proud, new nation secure its liberty.

Recently an Iraqi interpreter said to a reporter, "Tell America not to abandon us." He and all Iraqis can be certain: While our military strategy is adapting to circumstances, our commitment remains firm and unchanging. We are standing for the freedom of our Iraqi friends, and freedom in Iraq will make America safer for generations to come. We will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq, because that would embolden the terrorists and make them believe they can wait us out. We are in Iraq to achieve a result: A country that is democratic, representative of all its people, at peace with its neighbors, and able to defend itself. And when that result is achieved, our men and women serving in Iraq will return home with the honor they have earned.

Right now, Americans in uniform are serving at posts across the world, often taking great risks on my orders. We have given them training and equipment; and they have given us an example of idealism and character that makes every American proud. The volunteers of our military are unrelenting in battle, unwavering in loyalty, unmatched in honor and decency, and every day they are making our nation more secure. Some of our servicemen and women have survived terrible injuries, and this grateful country will do everything we can to help them recover. And we have said farewell to some very good men and women, who died for our freedom, and whose memory this nation will honor forever.

One name we honor is Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood of Pflugerville, Texas, who was killed during the assault on Fallujah. His mom, Janet, sent me a letter and told me how much Byron loved being a Marine, and how proud he was to be on the front line against terror. She wrote, "When Byron was home the last time, I said that I wanted to protect him like I had since he was born. He just hugged me and said: You've done your job, mom. Now it's my turn to protect you.'" Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts, we honor freedom's defenders, and our military families, represented here this evening by Sergeant Norwood's mom and dad, Janet and Bill Norwood.

In these four years, Americans have seen the unfolding of large events. We have known times of sorrow, and hours of uncertainty, and days of victory. In all this history, even when we have disagreed, we have seen threads of purpose that unite us. The attack on freedom in our world has reaffirmed our confidence in freedom's power to change the world. We are all part of a great venture: To extend the promise of freedom in our country, to renew the values that sustain our liberty, and to spread the peace that freedom brings.

As Franklin Roosevelt once reminded Americans, "each age is a dream that is dying, or one that is coming to birth." And we live in the country where the biggest dreams are born. The abolition of slavery was only a dream until it was fulfilled. The liberation of Europe from fascism was only a dream until it was achieved. The fall of imperial communism was only a dream until, one day, it was accomplished. Our generation has dreams of its own, and we also go forward with confidence. The road of Providence is uneven and unpredictable yet we know where it leads: It leads to freedom.

Thank you, and may God bless America.

Medal of Honor SFC Paul Smith 3rd ID

2005-02-02T17:12:00.000-05:00

This will probably not be the last MoH awarded as we have all read the acts of heroism and stories of sacrifice from the milblogs with first hand accounts from the soldiers and Marines on the ground.

This post is a big Thank you to SFC Paul Smith for protecting our young men and women during a critical moment in the battle for the Baghdad airport.

Our thanks to Mrs Smith and her children for loving such a brave man and soldier. Our career volunteer soldiers know the value of human life and understand what they have chosen to do in a way that many do not.

More of the full story from Tampa Bay local news here.

A full multi-media of the battle is located here.

HT: Blackfive

Trouble South of the border, I mean way south

2005-02-01T19:37:00.000-05:00

It's interesting that more focus has not been placed on Venezeula's Chavez but we can all understand our focus on Iraq right now here in the US. Fox News ran a quick segment by Steve Harrigan and showed some detailed and disturbing events and even had their own news people, who looked like they were under duress, say they have to watch what they say, paradoxical at best.

Nice shirt huh?

Ya it was 2.99 at Walmart.

meg·a·lo·ma·ni·a

NOUN:

A psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.

An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.

Ran across a blog that looks like they are monitoring and reporting what they can and looking for some more support. Check them out. They've got some readership and that's always a plus.

Al-Jazeera to go public??

2005-01-31T19:42:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh. If I lived a 1000 years I would never ever want to see something like this happen. Then again, they could go public, all the short selling pros take this puppy down to penny stock status and we all get a great laugh. Or could they be bought by any major media outlet? Al-Reuters Al-AP come to mind and their editiorial staffs would fit right into together. That's a horrible thought. Ssssshhh.

Or maybe just maybe we're that diabolical that we have secretly taken over Al-Jazeera and have massed the masses in the middle east to keep tunning in, salivatating for more and more doom and gloom, then BAM, the switch gets turned in world domination central and Al-Jazeera starts a pro-western stance. Nah, that's way to dreamy.

Al-Jazeera getting kicked out of Iraq was probably one of the major highlights of 2004 and could have played a major role in making the Iraq elections successful.

Why my distaste you ask. Check out this story from Baghdad Dweller outing an Al-Jazeera idiot with some very inflammatory remarks and some proof on where the idiot came from. Go check it out you'll be impressed with her kung-fu it pretty good.

Moving Iraqi Election photo series

2005-01-31T16:03:00.000-05:00

A very good election photo series with music by Adam Keiper. Quite good work put out fairly quickly and propagated by the blogsphere.

You can find the photo collage here.

HT: Michelle Malkin

2005-01-30T09:46:00.000-05:00

Iraq the Model Mohammed and Omar "V" for victory!!

Let freedom reign

2005-01-30T09:36:00.000-05:00

What a joyous morning for all of the civilized world. The Iraqi elections proceeded and went off with minimal violence. What a great day.

Mohammed at Iraq the Model has a great post about todays historic vote:

I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box, where I wanted to stand as long as I could, then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world's tyrants. I put the paper in the box and with it, there were tears that I couldn't hold; I was trembling with joy and I felt like I wanted to hug the box but the supervisor smiled at me and said "brother, would you please move ahead, the people are waiting for their turn"

Iraqi's Start to VOTE Jan 30th 2005

2005-01-29T23:20:00.000-05:00

A truley historic day begins for the people of Iraq. Their bravery we will see today to defy the terrorist through the ballot box and not the gun gives us all hope of a better world.

"We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world." GWB 2005

Foreign Media Bias in Iraq

2005-01-29T11:44:00.000-05:00

By way of Belmont Club this morning which has a very detailed analysis of a very flagrant media biased report by way of Obisidan Order and a full collection of pictures and events of a car bomb going off near a school and Al-Reuters coverage and spin on what went on. A good sequence of pictures capturing the press at their best is also provided.

Why do they(foreign press and some national) continue to see what they only want to see? The battle for Iraq does not stop at it's borders or even in the Middle east at large. This is a global battle of information and reporting, the challenges are many and the task not easy but we must continue to point at the relevant and admonish those who continue to try and shape something out of nothing or fabricate a slice of "truth" at the cost of the whole "truth".

This goes along with my previous post of how very slanted media coverage in Iraq is and of what is chosen to be covered and over looked to what they actually say in their reports.

Doom and gloom and more of the same.

2005-01-28T23:54:00.000-05:00

As I sit here on a Friday night listening to a re-broadcast of an early news show, adult beverage in hand, I started scanning the web as usual to see what is new and found a gem.

This is an article from the Slate, which in my mind could easily be called the state(if you get this one let me know)...

"A report predicts that American global dominance could end in 15 years."By Fred Kaplan

"Who will be the first politician brave enough to declare publicly that the United States is a declining power and that America's leaders must urgently discuss what to do about it? This prognosis of decline comes not (or not only) from leftist scribes rooting for imperialism's downfall, but from the National Intelligence Council—the "center of strategic thinking" inside the U.S. intelligence community."

Note, the very same agency that is getting "reorganized". Now I haven't gone to see the report but I have seen the modest coverage also on some other blogs and MSM but the basic jist is covered in the artice by Kaplan. Will we still have "global" dominance in 15 years? Does that matter?

What matters more right now is the EU and the US coming to terms of our common enemies and kissing/making up with our trans-atlantic brothers and sisters.

What fuels this and what has taken the US off our kilter in the world view, Iraq of course. Not that is going bad or good it's just that we have decided to set our own course and will not let gathering threats emerge, no it is this global battle in the press and local media in each respective country which has been riddled with so many anti-American reporters, editors and publishers but Why?

Why is this? My interpertation and comes down to something basic, security and protection. Everyone wants to feel secure basic and simple. Oh, the security card. Yes. It seems that most in the world want to put their heads in the sand and want to make 9/11 go away as if it never happened. Everybody wants to go back to 9/10 and live happily ever after. They do not want to see the images of war on their TV's everynight and the damage and human loss.

Nobody can blame them. We all wish it never happened but it did and we must live with it and our actions and our response. The world acted as one after 9/11 and the "civilized" world came to our side to stand with people of peace. Yes, we are people of peace irregardless of our movies, video games and bad apples like there are everywhere.

The opposition to the war in Iraq mostly came from the EU and our trans-atlantic brothers and sisters. Why? They did not want leave their comfort and security which was somewhat restored after the war in Afghanistan which was carried out as probably one of the most affective campaigns in modern military warfare.

Leaving your "comfort zone" and security for sacrafice is hard on all of us, as we do not like it any more than you do, but who will take a stand? Will it be just up to the US as always to protect liberty and freedom? We may have too. Pres. Bush was right to say "We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world."

My question and challenge to you is this: Will you stand for your freedom and liberty?

HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: Billboard Blitz to Blast Hollywood

2005-01-28T18:04:00.000-05:00

Wow!! A big THANK YOU to Hollywood for W for four more years. And thanks for Human Events for bringing this out.

Yep yep.

Woo hoo

HT: LGF post.

MEMO TO INSURGENTS DONT SHOW UP FOR WORK SUNDAY

2005-01-28T16:21:00.000-05:00

This is a WARNING to counter the insurgent warning reported today and the last couple of days.

Here is a short memo to the insurgent terrorists in Iraq from the Iraqi people and the good people of the coalition of the willing.

* Dont show show up for work on Sunday Jan 30th.
* Proceed to you nearest coalition camp unarmed and turn yourself in by sundown Saturday Jan 29th.
* If you are a foreign fighter/terrorist in Iraq run for your life to the border or you risk getting caught and there may be no mercy shown your way.
* Clearly mark all ammo dumps with and orange flag and report them to local police.

Failure to comply with the above memo will result in the immediate ability to draw air into your lungs and for you heart to beat.

Iraqi Elections 3 days away and the MSM still not willing to support the Iraqi people

2005-01-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

The real horror of the war in Iraq is that is not being covered fairly to our men and women in uniform and to the Iraqi people. The MSM in this country must have attended the same school of dis-information and denial as Saeed al-Sahaf (Baghdad Bob).

RealClearpolitics.com today has done a commentary on this with provided front page covers from a few papers showing their lack of reporting and bias or better yet their lack of will to provide hope for the Iraq people that the American public is concerned, involved and supportive of this historic day.

With one working day left and it being Friday I dont expect a major splash of coverage tomorrow but the blogsphere will continue to point out where to go and find more information to follow the elections like the following blogs:

Friends of Democracy
Iraqi Election Newswire
Iraqi Bloggers Central
Iraq the Model

Michael Novak Positive Indicators

2005-01-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

Very good article on the upcoming Iraqi elections from Michael Novak. It touches on many points of what milbloggers and bloggers in general have been saying about the major media outlets and not reporting the whole "truth" from Iraq. Today is one of the sad days with "our" loss of 31 countrymen and women but let this not sway our core belief that we are in the right fight, right place and at the right place in time.

Michael Novak: "In much the same way, the press seems to be taking for granted a downward spiral in Iraq, and even longing for it. Many reporters in Iraq, especially but not only from the Associated Press, report the news that cheers our enemy, and leave out the stories that give comfort to our own troops. That is a constant complaint of military bloggers and military in the field sending e-mails to friends."

Britan turns GWOT into police action

2005-01-26T09:56:00.000-05:00

My friends this an example of cowering to our common enemies and one our staunchest allies is in my opinion taking a wrong turn, although hopefully driving to the same destination. Placing suspected terrorist on house arrest with electronic monitoring devices is sick and a appeasing gesture.

So lets take this another step. Why don't they just take their statements, fingerprints and pictures and send them on their way and ask them to "promise" to not leave their country. They might as well be doing this because that's what it sounds like.

Updated: The 4 British GITMO guest were released after one day of questioning. That's just about 2hrs ago. Well the clock is ticking now until we hear one of their names again possibly.

Iraqi Election is in 5 days.

2005-01-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

We are into the home strech and in the final days in the run upto the Iraqi Elections which are 5 days away we can only hope the violence is held in check. This will NOT stop the process of democracy and freedom from moving forward. I've taken the liberty to gather some links to to watch details late Saturday night and early Sunday morning here in the US.

Added these links for redundancy in case any of the popular blogs go down this weekend.

Friends of Democracy
Iraqi Election Newswire
Iraqi Bloggers Central
Iraq the Model

TED TURNER GOES OFF DEEP END- DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005

2005-01-25T17:14:00.000-05:00

Wow. One of the knights of the left guard is trying to rally his armies from all the far flung provinces back to the castle to defend the MSM monarchy. This escalation of words furthers all the bloggers points that the monarchy is in complete turmoil and not sure of direction and they need to choose a new king since their current king has been banished from the kingdom in disgrace. (we all get this last part right?)

I guess Ted is trying to drum support for this months Turner Classic Movies channel theme which is? you guessed right. Hollywood Takes on the Nazis. Un(#@$)@#$)believable.

Well I guess they just dont get it yet Ted. You tried all that you could, with all their might, with every trick in the book, with every false accusation, and could not, I repeat could not, bring down the president of the United States during a time of war. They used their own resources, they used our enemies information against us, they made up information and banged on the drum non stop for months and months on end to no avail.

If this was his futile and pathetic attempt to speak in *spit* Moore *spit* speak, to gain market share back he has lost grasp of recent history and still has not realized the fact that the throne has been over thrown. Your freedom of speech sir, is precious and not free and you have said things now that you can not take back, recant etc. ever.

UPDATE: Link to Broadcasting Cable with more information.

Opposition? Is this what this?

2005-01-24T23:34:00.000-05:00

Well come and see what the opposition has to say and here is where you'll find them. I'm not out for using names/titles/tags to place on "them" but yellow comes to mind. Now the use of the word oppostion is just a nice word to say foe, maybe? Lets take a look at the word oppostion from a web dictionary for brevity. Lets take a look at the below variations and the one that comes to mind to me is definition number one and three that were used tonight and will discuss that more below but just take a quick scan through.

op·po·si·tion (p-zshn) KEY

NOUN:

1. The act of opposing or resisting.
2. The condition of being in conflict; antagonism: "The history of men's opposition to women's emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself" (Virginia Woolf).
2. Placement opposite to or in contrast with another.
3. Something that serves as an obstacle.
4. often Opposition A political party or an organized group opposed to the group, party, or government in power.
5. Astronomy
1. The position of two celestial bodies when their longitude differs by 180°, especially a configuration in which Earth lies on a straight line between the sun and a superior planet or the moon.
2. The position of the superior planet or the moon in this configuration.
6. Logic The relation existing between two propositions having an identical subject and predicate but differing in quantity, quality, or both.
7. Linguistics Contrast in a language between two phonemes or other linguistically important elements.

Now if you go and read the article you may see a web advertisement on the middle page entitled bushblues.us that rotate much like all popular websites and blogs etc. This one that popped up for me and really had me laughing as they obviously can't drive or read a map to understand that you can not connect Washington State and Minnesota or Michigan to Pennsylvania for that matter.

What concerns me more is that this lady on the article had the nerve to use the word opposition on the program Scarborough Country (transcript not available as of this post) tonight which would align with defintion number four above but if you look at their website it's calling for outright secession. Now is it a more play on words? If you are going to say something come out and say it don't play with words and try and full you audience with innuendo. Don't be afraid. What are you afraid of? Just come out and say it for what it is.

Now there are Bush Country maps out there that show the county by county wins in the election but were past that now. Right? Or we are supposed to be and should be meeting in the middle I thought or was led to believe.

This is yet the continued drum beat that is being recorded and documented and acknowledged for all to see.

BLACKFIVE: Support Recruiter Threatened At Seattle Central Community College

2005-01-24T19:11:00.000-05:00

Support your local sheriff!!! If this story doesn't get me I dont know what does. What are these people thinking? If they feel that way why they don't send some donations to our enemies while they are at it. Blackive has a link to the story and the yahoo photos of this. Also, if you got the time drop this guy and email to show your support, I did.

War Of The Worlds

2005-01-24T18:10:00.000-05:00

We can only hope that this is a good, no, a great remake film. I've been able to find two of H G Wells Novels, this one War of the Worlds US Edition 1898 first US edition, although the UK Edition precedes this one according to some on Bookfinder.com sources. Plus I have another H G Wells classic, Tales of Space of Time (which is the source for the movie Time Machine)1899 US first edition in maroon boards which is apparently one of the harder copies to find with the errata slip on page 109. I'll have to make some digital pictures to post and show them off. There pretty "good" samples according to the Ray frugality guide. I'll have to get around and make a full digital catalogue of all my books, shouldn't take to long only have about 50 or 75 works worth all that work.

CNN.com Iraq government: Key bombing figure arrested - Jan 24, 2005

2005-01-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

A bit of very good news here. I'm sure most have read this today on all the major outlets. Significant arrest that will hopefully will lead to the arrest of a number one, the Zarqawi animal. Maybe they should have a spin off show like our America's Most Wanted but you guessed it already, Iraq's Most Wanted? Now that would be the TOP show in the market locally without a doubt. Anybody writing this down? Or maybe were already doing this and it hasn't been reported yet.

Today Jan 23rd

2005-01-23T13:21:00.000-05:00

Sunday mid-day and what to read or watch or do. Have done some light reading today at all my popular spots. Much conversation about the blogging conference and Sisyphean Musings has very well laid out essay, and I mean essay, about the currents rumblings of the blogspere and the conference and "the purpose" there of.

What I have been trying to do this with this blog is to try and find my "voice" and "publish" my voice for like minded and the not so like minded people. Why have I started blogging? I have failed to answer this at the beginning, so let me put it as plainly as I can for clarity and position:

Since 9/11 and the GWoT(clarification pending) and the war in Afghanistan and now Iraq I have felt a need to do what I can to support our country and our men and women in harms way. We were told this would be not easy, short and would have it's up and downs and the fronts would be many, including the blogsphere.

What bothers me most is the argument for or against the war in Iraq, whether there were WMD's etc. While we have all come to the realization that Saddam's deception was good and had all Western Intelligence agency's fooled into believing he had them at all. Or is it that we have not found them or they were taken out of the country is of importance but this was NOT the ONLY reason for removing Saddam from power and you only need to go look at history and all the past UN resolution violations and Sadam's proven links to support terrorist in the form of paying suicide bombers in Israel.

The steady rythmatic drum beat of failure, doom, anarchy by some in my country does not support or help the men and women on the ground or the Iraq people trying to quell the violence from the barbaric animals that have gathered. While Pres Bush, said "Bring them on" he was right and now says the choice of words could have been better, I don't think so.

This drum beat continues and the orchestration that is coming from all levels opposed to the war is what has me concerned. What they fail to see is that what they DO, SPEAK, PUBLISH, SHOW ON VIDEO gives more support to our enemies than what they receive in the Middle East from their own people and press. The terrorist are playing off our own news media and using that information against us(Art of War). Here is a thought provoking question: What would Iraq look like right now if all those opposed, albeit still having a small few opposed, were supporting our men and women and the people of Iraq 100%. Would that not send a single loud thundering voice to the terrorist and the Bathist, Syrians and Iranians supporters that we will not back down? Would this not speed up or lessen the human toll on all sides for a speedy conclusion to the war? Would this let not let our men and women no matter what they do, within the rules of war, that we support them and will not provide comfort and moral support to our enemies?

This is what bothers me above all.

What I have been trying to do of late when posting is to go out on the wild wild west of the web and find stories and reports that interest me and right about them in my own style, if there is one, and before going to read what other popular blogs right about for that day or choose to right about or notice. It's interesting to see that still most of the blogs use the major outlets ala Reuters, AP, YAHOO, CNN etc etc as a starting point for a topic of the day which will keep us limited on what to write about or dissect or attack. Now there are other blogs out there that do a great job and go out of there way to find the obscure, under reported, foreign news that provides us with very good topics on which to write and share with the blogsphere and goes un-reported.

MEMRI TV A collection of Iraqi Election commercials

2005-01-22T10:21:00.000-05:00

If you need to see something uplifting this morning than take a few minutes (4.5 min) to watch these Iraqi Election commercials. They are very powerful but I am watching from a different perspective and not sure how they are viewed there or how reaction to them is going. The battle for freedom continues on many levels and fronts as the blogsphere is one of those fronts we must continue to share information and provide more than spoon fed and slanted material.

Hattip to LGF where I found this this morning.

Text Messaging Lets Iraqis Tip Authorities to Attacks From a Safe Distance

2005-01-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

Yet another story from the AP and yes with more proof of the power of the internet. I have to say that we could only hope that one morning the Iraqi wake up to a day bright and ready to move forward and sit again at the worlds side as a nation made up of it's many different people and not afraid but optimistic and eager for what lies ahead. This story is great on many levels I just hope it doesn't give the bad guys the idea of wacking anybody with a phone, or go after that infrastructure, the very same infrastructure that allows those animals to post their bizzare and barbaric videos and messages that the world hates them for.

Text Messaging Lets Iraqis Tip Authorities to Attacks From a Safe Distance

By Ellen Knickmeyer Associated Press Writer
Published: Jan 21, 2005

ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq (AP) - The tip came in fast, telegraph-terse, and discreet. Maj. Mohammed Salman Abass Ali al-Zobaidi of the Iraqi National Guard scrolled down to read it: "Black four-door Excalibur. Behind cinema."

From cell phone screen to local authorities: Acting on the recent text message tip to the Iraqi National Guard commander, police in a nearby town tracked down a black car behind the theater, and arrested the driver for suspected links to insurgent attacks.

In the volatile Shiite-Sunni towns south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death," Iraqi civilians increasingly are letting their thumbs do the talking, via Arabic text messages sent from the safety of their homes, Iraqi security forces and U.S. Marines say.

At a time when U.S. and Iraqi security forces are desperate for information on attacks - preferably in advance - mobile phone text messages allow civilians to pass on information from a discreet distance, their identities shielded from security forces and their neighbors.

Although a cell phone displays the caller's number, phone records are so chaotic in Iraq that chances are slim anyone could track down a tipster. And text messages can be sent to the most trusted officer, a far safer avenue than calling a police station that might be riddled with informants.

"Many, many people tell us about the terrorists with this," al-Zobaidi said, tapping his black cell phone and thumbing down to show more messages.

"All the time, I hear his phone - beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep," said Sgt. Eddie Risner of Ocala, Fla., part of a Marine contingent working with guardsmen to try to block attacks and put a credible Iraqi security force on the street.

Iskandariyah, a mixed Shiite-Sunni city of about 100,000 that controls major transport links between Baghdad and southern Iraq, became notorious last year for its frequent bombings. Marines recorded as many as 200 car bombs and other attacks in a month, including a single bomb last spring that killed dozens of Iraqi recruits.

U.S. and Iraqi officials insist they are getting more tips from Iraqis about insurgent activity since the Americans transferred sovereignty to an interim government last June. Interior Minister Falah Hassan al-Naqib said recently that calls to an insurgency hot line have produced a number of arrests, although officials refuse to give figures.

In Iskandariyah, Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit say they've halved the daily attack rate - in large part through constant patrols devoted to hunts for bombs, weapons caches and possible insurgents.

On this day, Marines found three bombs the hard way - by running across them on patrols, and by having at least one blow up as they drove by. There were no injuries.

The fourth bomb of the day was the biggest: a vehicle packed with 10 to 15 100mm mortar rounds.

Marines found that the easy way - a teenager tipped off Iraqi police, who called the Marines. The Americans blew up the bomb remotely, creating a blast that stopped pedestrians and sent flocks of startled birds into the air.

Marines befriended the teenager later at a police station. It's the tips and the cooperation with local security forces that Marines want to encourage, they said.

But few Iraqi civilians want to risk being seen as informants.

That's where text messaging comes in.

"That way, they're not seen leaving their homes," said Marine Sgt. Justin Walsh, of Cleveland.

Al-Zobaidi, the Iraqi National Guard local commander, put up fliers when he took the position, succeeding a brother who had been assassinated in the same post.

The fliers had al-Zobaidi's cell number, and encouraged residents to get in touch if they knew of impending attacks.

The message is still getting out. In Iskandariyah on Friday, Marines urged a group of men on a street corner to come forward with information. One looked reluctant, and drew his hand across his throat to show why he wouldn't be providing his name.

"Do you have the chief of police's cell number?" he asked.

AP-ES-01-21-05 1415EST

What a read hot from the AP

2005-01-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

I posted the whole article just in case it changed or disappeared. I wont make this a habit but it's just that these stood out this afternoon. There are strong tones in here that call for policy and standards of blogging. While one or two good points are made and the one of two that stands out is "linking" or "sourcing" your information for follow up, confirmation and authenticity. That's fair and I believe most bloggers do provide those in an attempt to show the truth and provide background and to correct, which in my mind is just as important as finding the truth. Comments inline below:

Influence of Web Pundits Raise Questions About Ethical Standards

By Anick Jesdanun The Associated Press
Published: Jan 21, 2005

NEW YORK (AP) - When Jerome Armstrong began consulting for Howard Dean's presidential campaign, he thought the ethical thing to do was to suspend the Web journal where he opined on politics.

But to suggest others do the same with their journals, otherwise known as blogs? No way.

"If I'm getting paid by a client, I don't blog about it. That's my personal set of standards," Armstrong said. "I'm not going to hold anybody else to my personal standards. I'm not going to make that universal."

The growing influence of blogs such as his is raising questions about whether they are becoming a new form of journalism and in need of more formal ethical guidelines or codes of conduct.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 27 percent of adults who go online in the United States read blogs. And blogs have greater impact because their readers tend to be policy makers and other influencers of public opinion, media experts say.

Just wow! Wow! How could this happen? How did they get here? Imagine all those dark places in the world where now, just maybe some light can shine in?

So far, many bloggers resist any notion of ethical standards, saying individuals ought to decide what's right for them. After all, they say, blog topics range from trying to sway your presidential vote to simply talking about the day's lunch.

Blogging is more like a conversation, and "you can't develop a code of ethics for conversations," said David Weinberger, a prominent blogger and research fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "A conversation with your best friend would become stilted and alienating."

Agreed. A free form conversation with some bounds that most bloggers will and should enforce if the coversation gets out of line of what expected "norms" are.

Others, however, have pushed written guidelines.

Jonathan Dube, managing producer at MSNBC.com and publisher of CyberJournalist.net, modified the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics and urged fellow bloggers to adopt it. The principles: Be honest and fair. Minimize harm. Be accountable.

Longtime blogger Rebecca Blood circulated guidelines that call for disclosing any conflicts of interest, publicly correcting any misinformation and linking to any source materials referenced in postings.

"It seems pretty clear to me that having some kind of standard contributes to an individual blogger's own credibility," she said.

Yet Blood knows of fewer than 10 bloggers who have adopted her guidelines by linking to the document.

Well imagine that. Not to be to sarcastic but we dont want to fall inline.

How bloggers handle matters of ethics and disclosure vary greatly.

While Armstrong suspended his blog, a partner in his political consulting firm, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, kept his going and instead posted a disclosure about the payment. The Dean campaign had paid the pair $3,000 a month for technical consulting services.

Others saw no need to disclose at all. In South Dakota, blogger Jon Lauck said many people knew he was a paid consultant to John Thune's Senate campaign, but Lauck didn't believe he had to post any "flashing banner" on his site.

He said that unlike mainstream news organization, blogs like his never claim to be objective, and anyone reading a few posts would quickly know he was pro-Thune - with or without disclosure.

Beyond politics, marketers have turned to blogs as well.

A company called Marqui is paying about 20 bloggers $800 a month to write about the company and its products for managing marketing campaigns. Marqui says negative reviews are OK, and bloggers are permitted to disclose the payments.

Dr. Pepper/Seven Up Inc. took a similar tactic when it launched a new flavored milk drink called Raging Cow.

Many news organizations have formal guidelines separating editorial and business operations, and journalism schools and professional societies try to teach good practices.

Bloggers, though, tend to shudder at being called journalists, even as lines between the two blur.

I am not a journalist or care to be but make no mistake I do not want to "blur" the two. Lets just say our democracy and the freedom of the internet will allow there to be checks and balances.

When Apple Computer Inc. got court orders allowing it to subpoena bloggers for the identities of people who had leaked company secrets, two of the bloggers responded by claiming they were entitled to protect confidential sources the way traditional journalists do.

And in Cambridge, Mass., Friday and Saturday, a conference called "Blogging, Journalism and Credibility" explored the evolution of blogging and journalism and the influences of one on the other.

Many bloggers believe standards of practices are inevitable, even if they aren't something formalized in writing.

Who are the "many" in the above statement?

Zephyr Teachout, who was Dean's director of online organizing, likens it to crafting a constitution - not necessarily written as a formal code of conduct, but as a set of accepted norms.

"Do you do it through a code of ethics? Do you do it by just talking to a lot of people about it? I don't know," she said.

Teachout has been thinking about such issues for about a year, she said, and is "constantly changing my mind."

"Now, to some degree, bloggers are going through the same stages that professional journalism went through at the beginning of the 20th century," said Jay Rosen, a blogger and professor of journalism at New York University. That was when newspapers started becoming independent and severed ties with political parties.

In some sense, bloggers already have informally adopted norms that go beyond what traditional journalists do, Rosen said. For instance, bloggers who don't link to source materials aren't taken seriously, while traditional news organizations have no such policies.

Dan Gillmor, a former newspaper columnist now studying citizen-driven journalism through blogging, said bloggers who want an audience will voluntarily adopt principles of fairness, thoroughness, accuracy and transparency.

"No one's bound by these rules," Gillmor said, "but I think some norms will emerge for people who want to be taken seriously."

AP-ES-01-21-05 1433EST

Inauguration 2005 Photo Blog (Updated quite frequently)

2005-01-20T16:46:00.000-05:00

Good view of today events with some of the peace/antarchist loving crowd showing their respect can be found in action with photos. Had to work through the speech but read it and posted it below.

My thoughts on the speech, in a word: wow, no WOW! This will hopefully go down as one of the best inaugration speechs in modern times. Pres Bush hit all the right points, maybe a little of VDH was hidden in there, who knows. He laid out the course quite clearly and placed those on notice and gave comfort to the down trodden quite eloquently I thought. Having not heard the speech live or a re-broadcast as of yet I look forward to it.

Update: Hattip to Rantburg for me finding this quickly.

Bush's inaugural address

2005-01-20T15:32:00.000-05:00

Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President Bush, President Clinton, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow citizens:

On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.

At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire.

We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder - violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.

We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.

America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time.

So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.

The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.

My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm.

We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.

We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.

Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of our ideals. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery. Liberty will come to those who love it.

Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:

All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.

Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.

The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."

The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.

And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat.

Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens:

From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.

A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy … the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments … the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.

All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself - and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character.

America has need of idealism and courage, because we have essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty.

In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.

In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.

From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication, the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring credit to that cause?

These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives are set free.

We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner "Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.

When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.

May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America.

Yahoo! News - Video Shows Killing of Iraqi Hostages

2005-01-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

Two men working in Iraq for a better time and better prospects for their country are murdered for setting up internet access for the election. Yet these same animals, POS animals videotape the execution and post their barbaric execution on the internet.

Listen you POS vile, in-human, should have been an abortion, died at birth, hit by a bus, piano dropped on your head, choked to death on jello, had the flesh eating diseease that started at the neck and went up, you can never never never never never never never never never never stop freedom and liberty. Do you hear me? Is this coming through on AL-JIZZ channels? You have not even seen the gloves come off as of yet. Do not misunderestimate our will and resolve to see you and your kind purged from the face of the earth. Your actions only harden our commitment and determination to see the Iraqi election through. To see a country re-born free, proud and determining their own direction by the way of a ballot box and not by sword or gun.

Your biggest mistake so far has not that you have tried to undermind and spread fear through these barbarous acts. No, it is that you have failed to understand the mind of free people, truely free people, with no fear of what lies ahead.

Roundup of Todays news

2005-01-19T18:14:00.000-05:00

There was alot to blog about today. The confirmation hearings for Condi covered in very good detail. Chrenkoff does an outstanding job with a complete roundup. Over at BelmontClub a look at the Boxer shananigans and the "ghost" remarks during the confirmation hearings is covered.

Apparently the other side of aisle next week is not going to go for a quick vote and want to debate the nomination on the Senate floor possilby through next week. Now if this isn't party politics at it's best. They should be focusing on our troops and the upcoming Iraqi elections but they seem to feel that their beliefs and ideoloical importance matters more than 22 million people getting ready to give birth to democracy.

Now I'm seeing reports of a dirty bomb report on Drudge which I cant get too but Michelle Malkin has some on this and a back up location for more information.

Snow?? Flurries???

2005-01-19T18:02:00.000-05:00

Well let me decompress a bit, but sheesh. We get a little snow and a drive that normally takes 25 minutes took me 3 hours!! Luckily didn't run out of gas but it was close. We were only to get "flurries", but that turned into a bit more and everyone panicked to get kids etc etc and complete utter grid-lock. What's more, cell phone tower saturation and reports of some land line saturation also, that my friends is not good. The important part held up as I type now, the internet. Woo hoo!!!

Today's Events.

2005-01-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

In light of today's confirmation hearings for Condi Rice for Secretary of State I've concluded that the democratic drumbeat continues, although off beat. It was obvious for all the world to see that Boxer and Kerry carry their torch high and look for more of the limelight and ways to set the tone of their party for the next four years. While asking the tough questions that sometimes need to be asked, and answered, the way in which they are asked sometimes comes into question.

At this point time in history, and history records these events for all to see, will this be remembered? Will this fall by the wayside of hearings? Once such statement by Boxer today in an attempt to re-write history herself and lie in the hearings for the next Secretary of State of the United States. Boxer says that going to war in Iraq was for "WMD, period." Now as readers point out on LGF, and which knocks some dust off our collective memories, there were numerous reasons on why the resolution passed for invading Iraq and toppling Saddam. Now, she could have mis-spoke or was it deliberate? The later challenges between Rice and Boxer over integrity were also of note and basically Rice told Boxer not to challenge my integrity.

Intelsat Satellite Loss Cuts Links With World for Many South Pacific Nations

2005-01-17T23:59:00.000-05:00

Lost bird in the sky leaves some island countries and US territories in the dark.

From report.

The satellite's loss left the Pacific Island nations of Cook Islands, Western Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Tonga and the U.S. territory of American Samoa without communications links to other states, Telecom said. The other countries were also affected but could plug into backup systems.

lgf: Flipper Whines About Losing

2005-01-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

Note to John, come in John. Tap tap, is this thing on? John you lost and nothing you can say or do can change that. To make these remarks at this point in time and referring to the upcoming Iraqi elections does not help you, your party, the Iraqi people or the American Soldier on the ground. You would do better off using your time and efforts with your new ME friends and figure out away to help than make more of a mess for the DNC to keep cleaing up.

Red White and Blue by Rockie

2005-01-17T17:52:00.000-05:00

If your in the mood from some country musak and a photo tribute to our troops take a look and listen. Than proceed and check out the rest of the America Supports You website for more information on how to keep the home fires burning. Thanks Rocky!!!

If you want some Toby Keith jump on over here scroll down and listen
to American Soldier.

Enjoy.

Chrenkoff Good News from Iraq, Part 19

2005-01-17T15:26:00.000-05:00

The latest update and round up of good information from Chrenkoff's blog. These are always a good read and I always enjoy reading the updates to counter what else we see and read.

Also of note is a preface that Chrenkoff puts on these updates:

It has been a mission of this fortnightly column, now in its nineteenth edition, to bring to readers' attention all that "gets overlooked if not ignored" in Iraq: the advancements of the political and civil society, the rebirth of freedom, economic growth and reconstruction progress, generosity of foreigners and positive role played by the Coalition troops in rebuilding the country, and unremarked upon security successes. Contrary to some critics, the intention has never been to whitewash the situation in Iraq or to downplay the negative; the violence, bloodshed, disappointments and frustrations are all there for everyone to see and read about in the mainstream media on a daily basis. But to point out positive developments is not to deny the bad news, merely to provide a more complete picture. As voters faced with the defining foreign policy issue of the new millennium we owe it to ourselves to be fully informed about the state of affairs in Iraq. And that means both the car bombs and rebuilt hospitals.

Below is not the full picture of Iraq - merely that part of it you don't often see on the nightly news or the pages of newspapers. This does not automatically make it more - or less important in the scheme of things, merely equally important to consider.

Very well said indeed.

Yahoo! News - Tsunami Death Toll Now Exceeds 162,000

2005-01-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

This will probably keep rising and rising the coming weeks. We can only hope the Indonesia people have really appreciated what we have done and the government making requests that all foreign troops leave by March would be reconsidered, but it's their country.

Count Me Red via Michelle Malkin

2005-01-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

Ah a breath of fresh air and a counter to the buzz of the Blue Bracelets(what are they? Anti-Bush decoder ring stuff) that are coming. Go read the full article and check out the buzz. Plus more information and ordering the Color Me Red bracelets are right here. Thanks Michelle for the great of set of links for other gear.

Updated from Michelle Malkin. These are better bracelets for a better cause Hero Bracelets.

Black Blog Ops

2005-01-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

Good read with my first cup of coffee this morning. Hugh Hewitt has an interesting article which is dated but relevant to this weeks disclosure by some prominent Blogs were actually paid bloggers for their respective affiliations. Captains Quarters has more on this weeks events with much more details on this story which broke the same week as the CBS internal report. Timing is everything is it not?

Back to the jist of Black Blog Ops. IMHO the power of the internet and the conitinuing internet revolution, in the pure sense that anyone including me can join the debate and be heard on any subject at anytime and add value or be corrected on wrong points or false facts, greatly outweighs the bad that can seep into the forray.

NASA - Huygens-1 First Pictures from the surface!!

2005-01-15T01:04:00.000-05:00

TITAN!!
Wow. Wonder and amazment to see these pictures. Now this is one heck of a download or upload, no download, no upload. You get the idea but them bits traveled some miles and miles and than some more to reach your desktop. So enjoy them. They cost us all some bucks to see them but are well worth the time and money and dreams of all those people involved in the project I'm sure.

DefendAmerica News - Babil Province Police Recruiting Effort Draws 1,100

2005-01-14T23:26:00.000-05:00

This is "proof" real "proof" that the Iraqi people understand what is going in their country and STANDING UP to fight against the evil cancer.

"These individuals felt safe enough to come here and obviously safe enough to become Iraqi policemen," U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Matt Sasse

Does the AP report this? If you visit their AP Breaking News for today 01/14 at 8:19PM and 10:48PM they run the same story which if you dig you will discover that it would take multiple clicks to find this information and piece together their "insurgent" score card which they call A Daily Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

It took me only about 3 clicks to find, paste the above story about Iraqi's standing up for themselves and joining the fight for their country and democracy but if you look at AP it must have easily taken them about a dozen clicks and much more effort to further their agenda.

lgf: Fox TV Shari'a Watch

2005-01-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

It does not cease to amaze me that CAIR continues it's drum beat to attack and try and intimadate people in the guise that anything that bares any resembelance of casting any Muslim in a bad light makes me sick beyond words.

Fox TV's new season of 24 which I have watched so far, has caused this much attention from CAIR. Why do they need a PSA(Public Service Announcement)? Why? Go find the truth but it's not with CAIR.

BLACKFIVE: Aiding and Abetting the Enemy

2005-01-14T20:46:00.000-05:00

VIA Blackfive

"What we have here is a failure to communicate". Exactly. Is it not strange to watch the MSM and how their utter disregard for "their" fellows citizens in harms way? I wish one of my grandparents were still alive to compare the coverage of the ongoing GWOT and WWII. Would there be similarities? Would the appetite for the journalistic adage, "If it bleeds, it leads," still applies in Iraq, but why only when it's American blood? Would it? How would these news outlets be treated back then?

Please go read this brave mans complete letter. Excerpt:

Just yesterday, a major news agency's website lead read: "Suicide Bomber Kills Six in Baghdad" and "Seven Marines Die in Iraq Clashes." True, yes. Comprehensive, no. Did the author of this article bother to mention that Coalition troops killed 50 or so terrorists while incurring those seven losses? Of course not. Nor was there any mention about the substantial progress these offensive operations continue to achieve in defeating the insurgents. Unfortunately, this sort of incomplete reporting has become the norm for the media, whose poor job of presenting a complete picture of what is going on in Iraq borders on being criminal.

This goes to further this point. From Paula Zahn tonight at 8PM EDT. Tonight topic:

"We look at the struggle of U.S. veterans torn between their belief in serving your country and doubts about the war in Iraq."

What are we saying here? I have not watched the show and care not too for the very slant that makes up the title. This steady drum beat of bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad,bad and more bad, bad, bad, bad. Is there not any good? Not one piece of good?

Yes there is but they will not show this or report how an Iraqi child saved American soldiers lives.

Power Line: Mrs. Burkett Speaks, Sort Of

2005-01-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

Interesting piece on Powerline by Hindrocket. The news comes by the way of Yahoo Group called Texas Democrats. Apparently there is more going on in the background and what may pan out in the near future. It looks like everyone is jockying for position on what angle they can get in on with all the recent publicity with the story and the reverberizations(sp) on the blogsphere.

Aaaarrrrgghh. Adventures in blogging this afternoon.

2005-01-14T16:53:00.000-05:00

Shared daily, well almost.

Well let me preface this by saying, if you have been blogging a while and have done changes and saved backup copies of your blog and you still run into problems, your not alone.

Made major changes as didn't like the feel and mood of the page still need some adjustments on size of fonts etc but for the most part will do for now. I'll probably change it again later tonight or tomorrow or just because I can.

lgf: Kerry Kowtows to Despots and Islamists

2005-01-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

lgf: Kerry Kowtows to Despots and Islamists

Hot of the press from LGF and Charles with more information on our favorite son's world win ME trip. Has Senator Kerry no moral values, common sense, or atleast some respect for his own country? How can this man possibly say the things he does? Does he not think before he talks? It's easy, hold off for a few moments form a good thought or idea and think how you want to present it and than let it rip. Sheesh.

Charles writes " I am now feeling an immense sense of relief that John Kerry is not President of the United States."

Ditto Charles. Ditto.

Cox & Forkum Editorial Cartoons

2005-01-13T18:15:00.000-05:00

Cox & Forkum Editorial Cartoons

Come in earth? earth come in? Do you have someone down there named Dan Rather? Well if you do we'd like him back now.

THE MEMOS ARE FAKES

Haahahaha. They are just great!!!

This is to funny, I wish I had 1/2 their wit and artistic ability to create such work but atleast we get to enjoy them and that's not a bad to enjoy our free speech.

BookFinder.com: Search for New, Out of Print and Used Books

2005-01-13T18:03:00.000-05:00

BookFinder.com: Search for New, Out of Print and Used Books

This site is great for those of you looking for out of print, first edition and/or rare books. It does a multiple listing search and if you have some old books in a box in the attic, cellar or garage (shame on you first off) pull them out dust them off and start plugging away and finding out their $value$ you may be pleasantly surprised.

Collecting old books can start at any time I've been lucky to find some good finds through flea markets, garage sales etc. Some of my collection includes:

H G Wells
Anne Rice
Tom Clancy
Robert Ludlum
Christine Weston
Virginia Rowans
Irving Wallace
John Fowles
Leon Uris
Rev J S Watson
Albert Meras
Anthony Hope
Zane Grey
Marion Polk Angellotti

Most are from the 20th century with some from the 19th century, with my oldest being before the Civil War. I try to be frugal when I make my selections and choose good quality copies and always on the hunt for first editions. If you have any interest in any of these authors and titles drop me a quick note if you'd just like more information.

World Tribune.com -- Syria's Assad still plans to talk missiles in Moscow

2005-01-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

World Tribune.com -- Syria's Assad still plans to talk missiles in Moscow

Hmmm. Not smart at all for Assad if you ask me. Tell me Mr. Assad what do you need those missles for? Did Mr. sKerry tell you it was ok to go ahead with the purchase? Are they giving deep discounts these days? Come on now, play nice and we will too, otherwise Damascus may look like Beirut circa the 1980's. Dont be afraid of your hard-liners take a stand and stand up to them.

Victor Davis Hanson on Election 2004 The Therapeutic Choice

2005-01-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson on Election 2004 on National Review Online

Had to go back and find this article to reread it again. If you haven't had a chance to read this. It's a must read. VDH is probably one of the best or the best conservative writers of our time. He cleary and very eloquently speaks for many of us who struggle to find the "right" words and has the venue on which to share all of his thoughts. If only the Vulcan mind-meld really worked.

Hacker breaches T-Mobile systems, reads US Secret Service email | The Register

2005-01-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

Hacker breaches T-Mobile systems, reads US Secret Service email | The Register

Give a kid some internet access and he thinks he can change the world or steal it. Changing the world that's a good thing as long as it's for the good that is. What gets me about this is the final paragraph:

The same source also offers an explanation for the secrecy surrounding the case: the Secret Service, the source says, has offered to put the hacker to work, pleading him out to a single felony, then enlisting him to catch other computer criminals in the same manner in which he himself was caught. The source says that Jacobsen, facing the prospect of prison time, is favorably considering the offer.

Now doesn't that beat all? Why dont we let him spend his first prison term first with a nice fat pipe of internet access behind the gray bars.

HATTIP: Rantburg, check it on Blogroll. Good site with lots of tid bits from all over.

Support 3rd ID: Support 3rd ID

2005-01-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

Support 3rd ID: Support 3rd ID

Wow! All I can say is the world gets smaller and smaller. Since my brother-in-law is now deployed with 3rd ID I'd thought I post something about him. This will be his second deployment for OIF and were proud of him and all the men and women serving. If you take a trip over to their website you can see you are not alone and have other well wishers to talk to for support and to support our troops. Good luck guys/gals. See you all soon!!

PS Once he gets setup I'll try and get him to drop us all a line or two.

WorldNetDaily: No Kid Rock at Bush concert

2005-01-12T19:04:00.000-05:00

WorldNetDaily: No Kid Rock at Bush concert

You know what? Who cares? I've seen this guy do a Christmas special with country singer Leanne Ryhmes and from what I saw it was pretty 'durn' good. He supports our troops and does more than most people do in that regard. The far right conservative view I can undestand is that they do not want someone who uses profanity in their lyrics to be at the inauguration and I can sympathize with them also.

No worries Kid your still doing the right thing plus this party will probably be over way to early anyway.

Whew, so much to say and so little time.

2005-01-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

If only you were able to take all of you daily thoughts and streamed them to a blog it would save alot of keystrokes. This would have to be real time of course to keep up with your own points and counter-points and corrections etc. I've pondered starting this blog for a while now and finally came up with the nerve to join in and get my feet wet. I've always had this dream of writing something big for a very long time buried in the back cavities somewhere. It's pretty good story but a bit of strectch and I'll save that for another time.