NASA says some 'Iraq' photos are shuttle victims

CNN.com

Outta here.

I'll be back Monday. See ya then. Tim, here's your chance to write all those nasty things about me that you've always wanted to!

Tent Cities

There's a Tent City in Seattle, set up by the homeless. It moves around from time to time, aided and abetted by the local politicians. And yes, I meant to use those words.

If anyone needs a reminder how I feel about the homeless, fine. I've also extrapolated on that issue here. As far as I'm concerned, the moonbats are simply enabling the homeless to remain homeless. But they're not homeless, trust me. I drive past Tent City on my way to the dogpark. Read all the nice things that the local politicians have to say. I just have one question -

If these "homeless" people are able to organize a law abiding settlement (according to the Politicians!), and if they are able to get legal council to represent them in King County, WHY FOR FUCK'S SAKE CAN'T THEY GET A FUCKING JOB?!?!?!?!?!

Trust me, folks. There are HUNDREDS of organizations in King County who's sole purpose is to assist the homeless. One of my co-workers was truly homeless for a short time. She keeps the list of organizations just to show people how many there are. It's not one or two pages, it's a frigging book, and they're available to anyone who needs help.

The only reason to be homeless in Seattle right now is from CHOICE. And if it's your CHOICE to live in a tent, if it's your CHOICE to not work, if it's your CHOICE to drink all day, if it's your CHOICE to suck off the government's teat, then it's MY CHOICE to tell you "FUCK OFF, YOU LAZY BUM!" Rot in the street for all I care. You choose not to work, then I choose not to help your lazy ass. The government already takes assloads of my money, you're not getting another damn dime of it.

Opinion of the UN

I was watching some academic battle of the high schools type thing on TV this week. One of the teams was from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The moderator was interviewing the contestants and there was this one kid he was talking to who had participated in a mock UN meeting with young people from across the world at the UN building in New York City. The kid described the meeting and then moderator asked him:

"So what do you think - is the UN still a force for peace in the world?"

And the young man replied:

"No. It's irrelevant."

I almost fell out of my chair. There are Democratic politicians across the States stating that the way to fix Iraq is to "go to the UN and let them police it". And they're supposed to be the learned ones.

Get me my Cluebat....

Because someone is in need of a major clue infusion.

United States soldiers at a prison outside Baghdad have been accused of forcing Iraqi prisoners into acts of sexual humiliation and other abuses.

The charges, first announced by the military in March, were documented by photographs taken by guards in the prison.

Some of the photographs, and descriptions of others, were broadcast in the US on Wednesday by a CBS television news program and were verified by military officials.

Of the six people reported in March to be facing preliminary charges, three have been recommended for courts martial.

OK, follow my logic here, if you will. First of all, let's look at this from the Geneva Convention, shall we? Hmmmmm.... Yep, torturing prisoners is ILLEGAL! What in G-d's name were they thinking? Oh, that's right, THEY WEREN'T! I can't think of a single time in my military experience when one person thought that torturing prisoners was OK. In fact, the Geneva Convention was drilled into our heads so damn often that I can still recite parts of it! And torturing prisoners is definitely not on the list of good ideas!

"The pictures show Americans, men and women, in military uniforms, posing with naked Iraqi prisoners," a transcript said.

"And in most of the pictures, the Americans are laughing, posing, pointing or giving the camera a thumbs-up."

The program's producers said the army also had photographs showing a detainee with wires attached to his genitals and another that showed a dog attacking a prisoner.

The photographs were taken inside Abu Ghraib prison, near Baghdad, where US forces have been holding hundreds of Iraqis.

Do a Google search on "Abu Ghraib". It's one of Saddam's most notorious prisons, where unspeakable acts occurred on Saddam's orders. This just gets worse and worse.

Gary Myers, the lawyer for one of the enlisted men who has been charged, said the military had treated the six enlisted soldiers as scapegoats and had failed to deal adequately with the responsibilities of senior commanders and intelligence personnel involved in the interrogations.

Officers at the prison, including a brigadier-general, faced administrative review, officials said.

Mr Myers said that the accused men, all from a reserve military police unit, were told to soften up the prisoners by more senior interrogators, some of whom they believe were intelligence officials and outside contractors.

"This case involves a monumental failure of leadership, where lower level enlisted people are being scapegoated," Mr Myers said. "The real story is not in these six young enlisted people. The real story is the manner in which the intelligence community forced them into this position."

Fuck you Mr. Myers, the enlisted men knew that what they were doing was wrong, and they did it anyway. And the pictures show them having a good fucking time. Lock their asses up and throw away the key, as far as I'm concerned. Those men and their entire chain of command need to spend the rest of their lives in Leavenworth.

Look, war is a nasty, brutish, horrible business, there's no doubt. But one thing that separates us... the one thing that we need in order to hold our heads up high when all is said and done is the fact that WE ARE BETTER THAN THE ENEMY. We don't torture prisoners, (at least, not the majority of us!). We don't cause needless pain and suffering. We have MORALS, even when we're at war. The acts of one small group endanger all of that. It also aids the enemy, both there and at home. I can hear the moonbat's hysterical shrieking from New York to Seattle. We're already facing an enemy who doesn't care about rules, they'll use anything they can in order to hurt us. Giving them ammo like this hurts EVERYBODY on our side. We're supposed to be the good guys, but it's going to be damn hard to convince people when they see pictures like this!

This isn't the heat of battle. This isn't something that happened accidentally. This was deliberate mishandling of prisoners under the US Army's care. Those soldiers need to be kicked out, their commanders need to be stripped of their commissions, and that entire unit needs to be brought home and shut down. And everything needs to be done in full view of the Iraqi's who might now be questioning just who the good guys are.

What they did is unacceptable, and cannot be tolerated in the slightest.

Found the link at Right Thinking.

CODA: If this turns out to be horribly mis-reported by the US media, that company should be barred from every setting foot in Iraq again.

Speaking of Colin Powell...

Rumsfeld’s plan was to train and equip and then transport to Iraq some 10,000 Shia and Sunni freedom fighters led by Shia exile leader Ahmed Chalabi and his cohorts in the INC, the multi-ethnic anti-Saddam coalition he created. There, they would have joined with thousands of experienced Kurdish freedom fighters, ably led, politically and militarily, by Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani. Working with our special forces, this trio would have sprung into action at the start of the war, striking from the north, helping to drive Baathist thugs from power, and joining Coalition forces in the liberation of Baghdad. That would have put a proud, victorious, multi-ethnic Iraqi face on the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and it would have given enormous prestige to three stubbornly independent and unashamedly pro-American Iraqi freedom fighters: Chalabi, Talabani, and Barzani.

Rumsfeld's War, Powell's Occupation

Al Sharpton to Address Democratic National Convention?

After all he said at the DhimmiDonk "debates"?

Kerry: "I hope so. Sure ... That's my call ... If he wants to do it, he
can do it ... Let me just say to you ... if he wants to do it, I'd like him to
do it. I think he'd do a terrific job. I think he'll add something ...
there's no plea necessary. It's my invitation."

And they call Colin Powell a Tom.

Presidential Candidate John Kerry Opens Door for Rival Sharpton to Address Democratic National Convention

Pat Tillman "got what was coming to him"

Boston.com

First they said there wasn't enough time...

..then they left early. It is tempting to believe that the Bush Administration are buffoons when you read and watch opinion like that every day. But they said the 9/11 Commission would be politicized, didn't they? And they were right, weren't they?

Maybe that's no great feat; predicting that a bunch of DC politicos would get political is like predicting that when Barbara Boxer opens her mouth, something stupid will come out.

The Council Has Spoken!

This weeks winning Council entries are: Creating Terrorists by King of Fools, and Dubya the Dummy by Kim du Toit. You can find all the results here. However, I'm going to try something different this week - instead of just linking to the results, I'm going to post them all. There's so much damn good writing out there, it's almost unimaginable. So, from top vote getter to bottom, here are the results for this week.

Council Links -
Creating Terrorists - King of Fools
Found It... - Four Right Wing Wackos
The California Legislature: Granola-eating Surrender Monkeys - e-Claire
How Not to Defend a Lie - The SmarterCop
Dog Trainer Distorts Coverage of Three Strikes Decision - Patterico's Pontifications
Surrender Now - Free Will
Deserve Victory - Exultate Justi
Buh-Bye Specter? - Alpha Patriot
Another Corrie Cantata - Damnum Absque Injuria

Non Council Links -
Dubya the Dummy - Kim du Toit - Weekly Rant
Medals or Ribbons; Who Cares? - Hog On Ice
Military Draft Negates the Right to Life - Capitalism Magazine
Note to Whoopi: It's Not All About Religion - News From the Great Beyond
John Kerry: The Next Wesley Clark? - Soundfury
Old Women For Abortion - Michael Williams -- Master of None
The Strange Odyssey of John O'Neill - Cavalier's Guardian WatchBlog
JFK on WMD: WTF? - Captain's Quarters
Asymmetric Journalism: Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Context - Davids Medienkritik
Victims' Rights and Punishment - Michael Williams -- Master of None

Joke

A wife decides to take her husband to a strip club for his birthday. They arrive at the club and the doorman says, "Hey, Mike! How ya doin?" His wife is puzzled and asks if he's been to this club before.

"Oh no," says Mike. "He's on my bowling team."

When they are seated, a waitress asks Mike if he'd like his usual and brings over a Budweiser. His wife is becoming increasingly uncomfortable and says, "How did she know that you drink Budweiser?"

"She's in the Ladies' Bowling League, honey. We share lanes with them."

A stripper then comes over to their table, throws her arms around Mike, and says, "Hi Mikey. Want your usual lap dance, big boy?"

Mike's wife, now furious, grabs her purse and storms out of the club. Mike follows and spots her getting into a cab.

Before she can slam the door, he jumps in beside her. He tries desperately to explain how the stripper must have mistaken him for someone else, but his wife is having none of it. She is screaming at him at the top of her lungs, calling him every name in the book.

The cabby turns his head and says, "Looks like you picked up a real bitch tonight, Mike."

OSI Pharma soars on positive Tarceva study

I have held OSI Pharmaceuticals for about four years. I'm not about to be listed on some Fortune Magazine list between Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, you know. In fact, I am likely worth less than the contents of their garages.

Whatever.

If I ever get to Seattle, ammo's on me.

I will note an opinion here: if every single person here had lived on hot dogs, generic cereal, and water during 1998 and 1999, and had put all that cash that went into beers and TVs and football games into Linux stocks, every single one of us would be affluent today. I often give myself just a tiny kick since I missed that wave. Watched it go by, in fact.

The next wave is anti-cancer biotech. I expect mortality rates to fall by half or more in the next decade. Anti-cancer technology is the next dotcom boom.

DISCLAIMER: I am usually wrong.

This Just In Tonight

Next Show Time: Thursday April 29, 11:30 PM (ET/PT)

Slow Weekend

I'm heading over to Idaho this weekend, so unless Tim comes out of hiding, you won't see much of anything. I'll be leaving tomorrow evening and returning on Monday. So I'll post a bit tomorrow morning, but after that, it's road-trip time.

Family before blogging.

Cleland the Puppet

I was able to watch some CNN yesterday. Ugh. I'm glad that my TV is already broken, so that I don't pipe this crap into my home. They had Max Cleland on with Wolf Blitzer, whining and bloviating about President Bush. "He attacked my patriotism! He's attacking Kerry's patriotism!" Blah blah blah, whine puke snivel vomit.

I'm tired of the Donks pulling out Cleland every time they need their token Viet Nam Vet. Look, you insufferable snotwad, I haven't seen one memo, TV ad, or piece of writing from the White House that attacks Kerry's patriotism. Got it? Not. A. Single. One. You want to know who's been attacking Kerry's Patriotism?

We are. The people who have seen his actions and are disgusted by them. The Viet Nam vets that he stabbed in the back over three decades ago. The military members, both prior service and current, who have seen Kerry vote against every weapons upgrade, pay raise, and Cost Of Living Allowance. The Americans who have seen Kerry kow-tow to every anti-American leader, country, and organization recently. We're the ones questioning his patrotism, you fat oaf. Bush has done nothing but bring up Kerry's track record, and you know what? When you bring up Kerry's track record, he's screwed. Fucked. Shot down. Gutted. Bush doesn't need to question Kerry's patriotism, because Kerry has handed Bush so much ammo on his own that Bush doesn't NEED to do any such thing.

When Bush's TV ads use actual live clips of Kerry giving a speech, unedited, you know that Kerry doesn't have a chance with anyone that has an IQ over room temp, OK? "I voted FOR that $87 billions BEFORE I voted against it." WTF?

For G-d's sake, the VILLAGE FRIGGING VOICE has op-eds against John Fonda Kerry! What more do you need to know? He's vilified by his own damn party!

Bush doesn't have to question Kerry's patriotism. Kerry has already proven to the American People that he has none. Bush is just driving that point home with Kerry's voting record.

Handguns and bullets

Via Kim tu Toit we find out that some people are surprised that hundgun usage by the military is higher than expected in Iraq.

DUH!

It's urban combat; you don't want to be swinging a rifle the size of a broom handle around in cramped quarters! It impedes your ability to do your job, runs the risk of having you spotted by the enemy, and is unwieldy when you need to be quick.

Unfortunately, our troops are saddled with the 9mm pistol, which I loath with every fiber of my being. The M9 pistol has to be one of the worst guns I've ever fired, and NOT just because it's 9mm. The slide is steel, but the frame is aluminum, causing the gun to have more recoil than my .45 ACP, without any of the benifits of the larger caliber. Target reaquisition sucks. Don't even try to double tap, your second round will be more dangerous to any low-flying birds than to your target. And since the military uses ball ammunition instead of hollowpoints, the 9mm load looses any kind of advantage you would get with a smaller round. So although I doubt that any high ranking member of the Pentagon will read this, I'm still putting it out:

Bring back the M1911. I'm begging you.

Here are a few charts from Chuck Hawks to emphasise my point. The Beginners Guide to Stopping Power illustrates a few things that every firearm user should know. The Handgun Cartridge Power Chart lays out the test results in black and white. My only quibble is that the tests done with the 9mm only used hollowpoint ammo, not the ball ammo that the US military uses. But in comparing "One Shot Stop", the 9mm (+P) JHP OSS ran at around 83%-91% with hollow points. The .45 ACP JHP? 94%. Nuff said. In combat, every last little bit of power helps.

Fifty Grand

Fifty thousand dollars. Five-oh Large. That's the goal put forward by the three groups involved in the Spirit of America fundraisers. There is more than $30,000 is SoA's account right now, but we want to push it up over the big 5-0 mark. So, Wizbang put up a list of everything being offered by all three groups.

Can you imagine being able to hand over 50 g's to SoA? Hot damn!

I'm a sucker for the underdog....

I hope by now that you've heard of the Spirit of America fund-raising drive. I hope you've given as much as you can, but just in case you haven't, I'm giving you one more reason.

Dean Esmay's Liberty Alliance is trailing in the fund raising, so I'm going to toss my hat in their ring. The auction ends real soon, (Thursday at 1201 hrs) so this is going to be a short auction. I'm going to auction off a gunbelt, hand made by yours truly. The winning bidder sends me their waist size (I'll keep it private, don't worry), color preference, and confirmation of his donation, and I'll make the belt and send it to them. Just to give you an idea of what you'll be bidding on, here's the belt that I made for myself.



Two straps of 6-7 oz leather, 1¼ to 1½ inches wide.

Now, the belt I make for the auction will have a regular bar buckle on it, not a trophy buckle, but the rest of the belt is the same. Hand cut, hand punched, hand sewn. I can dye it black, brown, british tan, forest green, blue, navy blue, red, or purple. It's your choice. (My belt is British Tan) I can also stamp your name on the belt if you wish, either inside or outside. How's that sound?

Here's the belt with my holster and mag pouches on it.



Yes, everything was made by hand. I'm too broke to pay for the high-end gun gear, and too snobby to buy cheap shit that'll break in a year or less. So I make my own, and I end up wearing it for years. Most of my belts are pretty old, but I made them myself and they still look good and function perfectly. No, you don't get a holster and mag pouch with your belt, unless you donate enough money to make me snotch it.

So, leave your bid in the comments. The winner can donate here. You have to use that donate page so that the Liberty Alliance gets the credit. If you don't win, you don't have to donate (although I know that you WILL, right? Five bucks or so? C'mon, it's for a good cause!)

Remember, the auction closes at 1201 hrs, Thursday, so this will be a one-day auction. Yes, I know I got in the action late, so sue me. I've had a lot on my mind the past few weeks.

UPDATE (20040429, 1139hrs.): Not a single bid? Do the pictures suck that bad, or did I just put it out too late?

UPDATE 2: OK, Haloscan seems to be dying a painful death, so the comments may be crapped out. Email me your bid, and I'll list them off. And how about I do this: If the bidding gets above $60, (the average price for a normal gunbelt) I'll toss in that flag buckle you see in the picture if the winner wants it.

UPDATE 3: Um, people, you DO know that a $5 bid gets you a gunbelt right now, don't you? (At least until someone puts in a $6 bid. heh) I'm not asking for massive amounts of cash, just whatever you can spare. It's for a good cause, and I guarantee you won't find a $5 belt at any gun shop! (However, $5 doesn't get you the spiffy American Flag buckle, just a normal one.) The auction is over tonight, so if you know of anyone who needs a good belt, let them know! They can get a handmade belt right here!

CLOSED: It's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. So, I'm closing the auction - David K. is the winner! Expect an email from me, David. Since I'm closing it down about an hour early, but I don't want to cheat anyone, here's the deal: If you can prove to me that you donated a higher bid before midnight PST, I'll make you a belt as well. Yeah, I'll take it up the tailpipe in leather costs, but it's worth it.

Home Repair

Spring is coming up, and that means it's prime time for fixing up your house. I've found a helpful video that teaches you how to -

1. replace a garbage disposal
2. replace a shower head
3. change a dryer vent
4. install a ceiling fan
5. repair drywall
6. replace a toilet
7. use power tools
8. practice safety

Anyone who is somewhat tool-challenged might want to check it out (not safe for work!). Hat tip to ALMTTR.

War is not pretty.

You can see for yourself. (Possibly not safe for work, depending on the sensibilities of your workplace).

Indeed, it's not pretty. It can be gory, violent, horrible, shattering, and bloody. Why then do people such as myself support it? Why are there so many military veterans, who have seen first hand the horrors of war, supporting this one that we're in?

I'll tell you why. Because despite all the horrors that may arise out of war, the alternatives are worse.

A life of living under the thumb of Jihadist Islam is worse than war.
Forcing women to wear black burkahs for the rest of their lives is worse than war.
Killing people because of their sexuality is worse than war.
Killing women for being seen with a man who is not related to them is worse than war.

Allowing any of the above to happen to America is worse than war. And that is a small list.

We have been given a choice by the Islamic thugs who currently rule the terrorist networks of the Middle East: We can either submit and live under Shari'a law, or we can die. America has chosen a third option, thankyouverymuch. We'll fight for our way of life. That is, SOME of us will fight for our way of life. And I think that the many military vets, those who have seen what the alternative is, support this war because they know it's the right thing to do. Some of the country will continue to wail and moan about how horrible America is. Some of these spoiled, snotty, ignorant, uneducated, gutless, spineless, treasonous, cowardly parasites will continue to fight America from within. And we will fight them as well.

The alternative is worse. Look at those pictures, and remind yourself of that. Those pictures pale in comparison to what Saddam Hussein did on a daily basis. Those pictures cannot touch the horror that would be visited on America should we fail.

The alternative is worse.

Link found at Right Thinking.

Foul Mood

Don't expect any real nice posts from me for a while. Just reading the news makes me sick to my stomach these days. If the Democrats get any more unhinged, we're just going to have to rename them the American Communists.

They already play fast and loose with the truth. Lenin and Stalin would be proud.

Let's Play a Game

Let's say that there's a criminal in your town. A really bad guy. He's killed people, beaten people to death, burglarized homes, and been an all around bad guy. Now, he's on parole, but only if he doesn't own any guns or bullets. This guy is not allowed to own anything that might have to do with guns. In accordance with his parole, the authorities are allowed to go in and search his house to ensure that he doesn't have anything. This guy is also supposed to show evidence that he's gotten rid of all his guns, from .380 pistols to 30-06 rifles.

Following me? Good.

Now, let's say that every time the cops show up at his door, he lies to them. He plays games. He never shows them both hands at the same time, one hand is always hidden behind is back. He won't let the cops search his bedroom or his library, claiming that they're "private" rooms. He does this for years. Do you think the cops would put up with that?

No, of course not!

So the cops take him down. He's locked up in jail. Once he's in jail, the cops search his house and find:

Black powder, suitable for making bullets or explosive devices.
Barrels for rifles and pistols.
Internal mechanisms for firearms (i.e. sear assemblies, recoil assemblies, firing pins, ect.)
A reloading press for making cartridges.
Various other items of a criminal lifestyle, drugs, knives, little black books with addresses of victimized houses, stolen items, and to top it all off, computer disks filled with kiddie porn.

So here's the real question: Was the cops arresting this guy unwarranted? He refused to follow the terms of his parole, and was in possession of items he wasn't allowed to have, right? The guy should be in jail.

Why then does the Left in this country call the Battle of Iraq a criminal action? Let's look at what Saddam had, shall we?

A prison laboratory complex that may have been used for human testing of BW agents and "that Iraqi officials working to prepare the U.N. inspections were explicitly ordered not to declare to the U.N." Why was Saddam interested in testing biological-warfare agents on humans if he didn't have a biological-weapons program?

"Reference strains" of a wide variety of biological-weapons agents were found beneath the sink in the home of a prominent Iraqi BW scientist. "We thought it was a big deal," a senior administration official said. "But it has been written off [by the press] as a sort of 'starter set.'"

New research on BW-applicable agents, brucella and Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever, and continuing work on ricin and aflatoxin that were not declared to the United Nations.

Why have research on Bio-Weapons if you don't have them and are not trying to obtain them?

A line of unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, or drones, "not fully declared at an undeclared production facility and an admission that they had tested one of their declared UAVs out to a range of 500 kilometers [311 miles], 350 kilometers [217 miles] beyond the permissible limit."

"Continuing covert capability to manufacture fuel propellant useful only for prohibited Scud-variant missiles, a capability that was maintained at least until the end of 2001 and that cooperating Iraqi scientists have said they were told to conceal from the U.N."

"Plans and advanced design work for new long-range missiles with ranges up to at least 1,000 kilometers [621 miles] -- well beyond the 150-kilometer-range limit [93 miles] imposed by the U.N. Missiles of a 1,000-kilometer range would have allowed Iraq to threaten targets throughout the Middle East, including Ankara [Turkey], Cairo [Egypt] and Abu Dhabi [United Arab Emirates]."

The Democrats, through their capitulation to the fringe elements in their party, have completely forsaken any kind of common sense when it comes to international affairs. Period. End. Stop. They have no credibility when it comes to foreign affairs at all. The Battle of Iraq merely clarified that point.

Many thanks to Drumwaster's Rants for the link

Time for a break.

My co-worker, Jim, died today. Cancer finally got him. Don't expect much from me for the next few days. I'll post when I feel up to it again.

Busy Day

Sorry about the lack of posting. I have enough time to check my email and gulp coffee, then I'm off running again.

So until then, the only thought I can leave for you is this: Eli Manning is a self-absorbed prick. Any creds he might have had coming into the draft are now gone, and all references to his name shall be preceded by "Fucking" or "That Prick".

No, I don't root for the Chargers, I'm a Seahawks fan! Still it's the principal of the thing, you know?

How'd your teams do? The Seahawks look to have had an OK draft, but nothing spectacular. As long as they fill the holes they had, I don't care what other people think.