January 31, 2006
Fuck The Troops
The U.S. Army has forced about 50,000 soldiers to continue serving after their voluntary stints ended under a policy called "stop-loss", but while some dispute its fairness, court challenges have fallen flat.
Fifty Thousand! Who needs a fucking draft?
Posted by Eddie Tews at 11:53 AM
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According to one new poll, well over half of Americans "favor military intervention if Iran's Islamic government pursues a program that could enable it to build nuclear arms."
But of course, one could imagine far different results if the poll-answering public were fully informed of the consequences of such actions.
For starters, how many would favour a strike using nuclear weapons?
How many would favour a strike if it meant a doubling or trebling of the price of a barrel of oil -- thereby seriously constraining Americans not only at the gas pump, but, considering the importance of cheap oil to our food supplies, in the supermarket aisle as well?
How many would favour a strike if told that even were Iran to decide to enact a nuclear weapons programme, it is still many years away from actually producing even a single weapon?
Answers worth knowing.
January 30, 2006
The People Have Spoken
According to one new poll, well over half of Americans "favor military intervention if Iran's Islamic government pursues a program that could enable it to build nuclear arms."
But of course, one could imagine far different results if the poll-answering public were fully informed of the consequences of such actions.
For starters, how many would favour a strike using nuclear weapons?
How many would favour a strike if it meant a doubling or trebling of the price of a barrel of oil -- thereby seriously constraining Americans not only at the gas pump, but, considering the importance of cheap oil to our food supplies, in the supermarket aisle as well?
How many would favour a strike if told that even were Iran to decide to enact a nuclear weapons programme, it is still many years away from actually producing even a single weapon?
Answers worth knowing.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 05:00 PM
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"The 2006 budget was a time of significant achievement."
In the same press conference, Scottie waxes enthusiastic to the effect that tax cuts are a panacea to all Americans. However, he later acknowledges that it's difficult, politically, to enact further tax cuts in an election year:
Now, why would a programme so beneficial to the American people be a difficult sell in an election year? Anybody? Specifically, any reporter? Is that really such a difficult follow-up question to conceive of?
On another topic, though, one correspondent did, finally, throw some statistics into Scottie's the-President-realises-that-by-going-on-the-offensive-we-are-winning-the-"war-on-terror" jowls (the first time, to my knowledge, that a White House correspondent has raised this issue in such a pointed manner). While it did elicit a laugh-out-loud response, he wasn't, alas, allowed a follow-up:
Yeah, Scottie, just look at the motherfucking facts...
Brilliant Sentence Of The Moment
"The 2006 budget was a time of significant achievement."
In the same press conference, Scottie waxes enthusiastic to the effect that tax cuts are a panacea to all Americans. However, he later acknowledges that it's difficult, politically, to enact further tax cuts in an election year:
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't believe we have yet received a report from the Secretary of Treasury. But we do recognize the realities of an election year and recognize what can be accomplished in the context of an election year.
Now, why would a programme so beneficial to the American people be a difficult sell in an election year? Anybody? Specifically, any reporter? Is that really such a difficult follow-up question to conceive of?
On another topic, though, one correspondent did, finally, throw some statistics into Scottie's the-President-realises-that-by-going-on-the-offensive-we-are-winning-the-"war-on-terror" jowls (the first time, to my knowledge, that a White House correspondent has raised this issue in such a pointed manner). While it did elicit a laugh-out-loud response, he wasn't, alas, allowed a follow-up:
Q According to data currently available at the Department of Homeland Security Funded Terrorism Knowledge Base, the incidents of terrorism increased markedly in 2005: worldwide attacks were up 51 percent from the year before, and the number of people killed in those attacks is up 36 percent; since the year 2000, attacks are up 250 percent, and deaths are up 550 percent. How do you reconcile those numbers with your claim that you're winning the war on terrorism and putting terrorists out of business?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, just look at the facts. If you look at the facts, many of al Qaeda's known leadership have been put out of business. They've been brought to justice. They've either been captured or killed. No longer is America waiting and responding. We're on the offense; we're taking the fight to the enemy. We are engaged in a war on terrorism. The enemies recognize how high the stakes are.
Yeah, Scottie, just look at the motherfucking facts...
Posted by Eddie Tews at 12:39 PM
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Q Scott, what is Mr. Rapuano, or Ms. Rapuano's position?
MR. McCLELLAN: Mister.
Q Mister, okay. What is Mr. Rapuano's position?
MR. McCLELLAN: He's the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor.
Q Okay. And what specific --
MR. McCLELLAN: And he does a great job.
January 27, 2006
Is That Better That Doing A "Heckuva" Job?
Q Scott, what is Mr. Rapuano, or Ms. Rapuano's position?
MR. McCLELLAN: Mister.
Q Mister, okay. What is Mr. Rapuano's position?
MR. McCLELLAN: He's the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor.
Q Okay. And what specific --
MR. McCLELLAN: And he does a great job.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 03:25 PM
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So now it's not only al-Qaeda "people" on the international ends of the phone calls, but they're also "operating" inside the United States -- with our full knowledge -- and we choose not to arrest them.
A point this blog has brought up before now, but it seems so mind-boggling that the mainstream media are unable to grasp the simple logical fallacy: if the reason we don't arrest them, even knowing who and where they are (including that they are "very bad people who have a history of blowing up commuter trains, weddings, and churches") is that we want to gain information from them that will help us foil the next attack; then why not release all of the Guantanamo prisoners? Why not release Jose Padilla? Why not release everyone in Abu Ghraib, and Bagram, and all of our far-flung detention centers? Why not release everybody with a "history of blowing up commuter trains, weddings, and churches", and monitor them, too?
That way we can prevent even more attacks from happening, and thus claim even more convincingly that we're "winning this War On Terror".
Why, Scottie, why?
January 25, 2006
"An Al-Qaeda Person"
MR. McCLELLAN: If there is an al-Qaeda person operating inside the United States and talking to someone outside the United States, you bet we want to know what they're saying.
So now it's not only al-Qaeda "people" on the international ends of the phone calls, but they're also "operating" inside the United States -- with our full knowledge -- and we choose not to arrest them.
A point this blog has brought up before now, but it seems so mind-boggling that the mainstream media are unable to grasp the simple logical fallacy: if the reason we don't arrest them, even knowing who and where they are (including that they are "very bad people who have a history of blowing up commuter trains, weddings, and churches") is that we want to gain information from them that will help us foil the next attack; then why not release all of the Guantanamo prisoners? Why not release Jose Padilla? Why not release everyone in Abu Ghraib, and Bagram, and all of our far-flung detention centers? Why not release everybody with a "history of blowing up commuter trains, weddings, and churches", and monitor them, too?
That way we can prevent even more attacks from happening, and thus claim even more convincingly that we're "winning this War On Terror".
Why, Scottie, why?
Posted by Eddie Tews at 04:30 PM
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"Last Throes" Update
The US military reported that insurgents in Iraq had mounted more than 34,000 attacks last year on US and other foreign troops, Iraqi security forces, and Iraqi civilians, a jump of nearly 30 percent from 2004, according to the Reuters news service. US officials stressed that the effectiveness of insurgent attacks had declined.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 04:19 PM
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And fuck them yet again...
Fuck The Troops
Troops and civilians at a U.S. military base in Iraq were exposed to contaminated water last year and employees for the responsible contractor, Halliburton, couldn’t get their company to inform camp residents, according to interviews and internal company documents.
And fuck them yet again...
More than a quarter-million veterans considered to have higher incomes could not sign up for health care with the Veterans Affairs Department during the last fiscal year because of a cost-cutting move.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 02:05 PM
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Condi Rice says that the time for talking with Tehran has run out.
Dubya says he has "no beef" with the Iranian people (always a good indicator of impending cataclysm).
An Asia Times analysis lays out the geo-strategic background, while others consider the geo-economic background.
Though Muqtada Sadr promises to raise hell in the event of an attack upon Iran, and though an attack upon Iran probably isn't exactly what bin Laden had in mind for our side of the bargain when he offered his truce late last week; the Bush Administration's mind (we use the term loosely) appears to have been made up.
And so we appear to be standing upon the brink of another oil war. A war which we can prevent by refusing to pay our Federal Income Taxes, and by refusing to drive our motor-cars.
The choice is ours.
January 24, 2006
The Choice Is Ours
Condi Rice says that the time for talking with Tehran has run out.
Dubya says he has "no beef" with the Iranian people (always a good indicator of impending cataclysm).
An Asia Times analysis lays out the geo-strategic background, while others consider the geo-economic background.
Though Muqtada Sadr promises to raise hell in the event of an attack upon Iran, and though an attack upon Iran probably isn't exactly what bin Laden had in mind for our side of the bargain when he offered his truce late last week; the Bush Administration's mind (we use the term loosely) appears to have been made up.
And so we appear to be standing upon the brink of another oil war. A war which we can prevent by refusing to pay our Federal Income Taxes, and by refusing to drive our motor-cars.
The choice is ours.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 08:50 PM
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On January 16th, after having talked quite normally on the phone with at least two other people that same day, Douglas Barber, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) living in Lee County, Alabama, changed the answer-message on his telephone.
"If you're looking for Doug," it said in his Alabama drawl, "I'm checking out of this world. I'll see you on the other side."
He then called the police, collected his shotgun, and went out onto his porch to meet them. From the sketchy reports we have now, it seems the police wouldn't oblige him with a "suicide by cop" and tried to talk him down. When it became apparent he wasn't able to commit cop-suicide, 37-year-old Douglas Barber did an about face, rotated the shotgun and killed himself.
January 21, 2006
Fuck The Troops
On January 16th, after having talked quite normally on the phone with at least two other people that same day, Douglas Barber, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) living in Lee County, Alabama, changed the answer-message on his telephone.
"If you're looking for Doug," it said in his Alabama drawl, "I'm checking out of this world. I'll see you on the other side."
He then called the police, collected his shotgun, and went out onto his porch to meet them. From the sketchy reports we have now, it seems the police wouldn't oblige him with a "suicide by cop" and tried to talk him down. When it became apparent he wasn't able to commit cop-suicide, 37-year-old Douglas Barber did an about face, rotated the shotgun and killed himself.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 12:18 PM
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That's the Christian spirit, for you! Also, some good Christian logic: we "pray hard every night" -- but we "have to" have a back-up plan because, well, deep-down we know that "God" really doesn't give a fuck how hard we pray.
January 10, 2006
Quote Of The Moment
I like to leave signs like I'm living here. I'm just hoping police see it and know there's somebody living here. I pray hard every night, and I keep a gun loaded. It's sad to say, but I have to do it. -- A New Orleans Homeowner
That's the Christian spirit, for you! Also, some good Christian logic: we "pray hard every night" -- but we "have to" have a back-up plan because, well, deep-down we know that "God" really doesn't give a fuck how hard we pray.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 01:54 PM
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After a brief show of remorse over the helicopter-crash-deaths of twelve American soldiers in Iraq on the weekend, Scottie's next Press Briefing will feature plenty of his patented humourous asides and jibes.
Update: Well, there were no tears -- false or otherwise -- for the helicopter-crash victims. But there was well enough jocularity to go around:
And a side-note: while it's easy enough to disparage Scottie-boy for his good humour in such days of despair, one can't help wonder at the state of a Press Corps that not only laughs at his jokes, but ofttimes goads him into them in the first place.
January 08, 2006
Prediction
After a brief show of remorse over the helicopter-crash-deaths of twelve American soldiers in Iraq on the weekend, Scottie's next Press Briefing will feature plenty of his patented humourous asides and jibes.
Update: Well, there were no tears -- false or otherwise -- for the helicopter-crash victims. But there was well enough jocularity to go around:
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he talked about how Secretary Rumsfeld has been chewing on his -- no, I'm just kidding. (Laughter.) [...]
MR. McCLELLAN: I always enjoy spending time in Texas with the President -- and my mother. (Laughter.) [...]
Q You're going to campaign against your mother?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, look, of course not, Les. (Laughter.) I already addressed that question last week. She has my full support. She is someone who --
Q She has your full support?
MR. McCLELLAN: She is someone who cares deeply about the state of Texas. I've made that very clear.
Q But the President -- what about him? He's not giving your mother his support.
MR. McCLELLAN: I already stated the President's view on the election and that he would be supporting the Republican nominee. Thanks for trying the stir this one up. (Laughter.)
And a side-note: while it's easy enough to disparage Scottie-boy for his good humour in such days of despair, one can't help wonder at the state of a Press Corps that not only laughs at his jokes, but ofttimes goads him into them in the first place.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 04:15 PM
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This coming just a few days after the United Stated bombed an Iraqi family to smithereens. Nobody even knows how many people are bombed to smithereens every day -- we're told, simply, that the "Multinational Force" is running an ever-increasing number of sorties over Iraq.
But we'll wait in vain, one presumes, for the motherfucker to exhort the U.S. military to "shape up". Or for him to complain that it's going to be hard to convince the American taxpayers to continue to pour money into the leaky bucket inside the "Green Zone" -- though this particular bucket is missing billions of taxpayer dollars.
The Great Black Hope
A Midwestern congressional delegation that included Democratic rising star Sen. Barack Obama had a blunt assessment Saturday for Iraq's political leaders: Shape up, or America will ship out.
The continued U.S. commitment to Iraq is becoming a tougher sell back home, said the delegation of four legislators, and unless Iraqis can start showing visible signs of progress by creating a broad-based government and security forces inclusive of all of Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups, Americans will lose patience, they said.
"It's going to be hard to convince American taxpayers to pour water into a leaky bucket," said Obama, the first-term Illinois senator, speaking briefly with reporters inside Saddam Hussein's Republican Palace, now used as an annex for the U.S. Embassy.
This coming just a few days after the United Stated bombed an Iraqi family to smithereens. Nobody even knows how many people are bombed to smithereens every day -- we're told, simply, that the "Multinational Force" is running an ever-increasing number of sorties over Iraq.
But we'll wait in vain, one presumes, for the motherfucker to exhort the U.S. military to "shape up". Or for him to complain that it's going to be hard to convince the American taxpayers to continue to pour money into the leaky bucket inside the "Green Zone" -- though this particular bucket is missing billions of taxpayer dollars.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 12:43 PM
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How to retaliate against this son of a bitch...
...for calling bullshit on this son of a bitch...
...and this son of a bitch...
...after he's already been given a medal by this son of a bitch...
...? Probably, you just forget about the "pivotal role in great events" crap, on the assumption that the media won't notice your "flip flop".
January 07, 2006
Uh Oh
How to retaliate against this son of a bitch...
Paul Bremer, who led the U.S. civilian occupation authority in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, has admitted the United States did not anticipate the insurgency in the country, NBC Television said on Friday. [...]
When asked who was to blame for the subsequent Iraqi rebellion, in which thousands of Iraqis and Americans have died, Bremer said, "We really didn't see the insurgency coming," the network said in a news release.
...for calling bullshit on this son of a bitch...
The White House took exception yesterday to the characterization of the British memo. ''There was significant postwar planning," said spokesman David Almacy. ''More importantly, the memo in question was written eight months before the war began; there was significant postwar planning in the time that elapsed."
...and this son of a bitch...
"We always think ahead. We'll be fine," Rumsfeld said Sunday...
...after he's already been given a medal by this son of a bitch...
President Bush awarded the nation's highest civilian honor Tuesday to three men central to his Iraq policy, saying they had played "pivotal roles in great events". [...]
"For fourteen months Jerry Bremer worked day and night in difficult and dangerous conditions to stabilize the country, to help its people rebuild and to establish a political process that would lead to justice and liberty," Mr. Bush said.
...? Probably, you just forget about the "pivotal role in great events" crap, on the assumption that the media won't notice your "flip flop".
Posted by Eddie Tews at 01:19 PM
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Huhn, guess the UN doesn't need reforming after all.
Although perhaps Condi was too busy shopping for shoes ("an extraordinary year...an exciting year, a year that I've enjoyed very much", indeed) to notice that both China and Russia have major stakes in Iranian energy projects, and will veto or ignore any penalties that Condi and pals would seek to impose "at the right time, a time of our choosing".
Another word comes to mind, too: "racism".
Welcome To Condi's World
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the United States and its European allies have the votes to bring Iran before the UN Security Council for possible censure over its nuclear ambitions, signaling increasing skepticism that continued negotiations with Iran will ever succeed.
"The Iranians are digging their own hole of isolation deeper and deeper," Rice said at a breakfast with State Department reporters...
Huhn, guess the UN doesn't need reforming after all.
Although perhaps Condi was too busy shopping for shoes ("an extraordinary year...an exciting year, a year that I've enjoyed very much", indeed) to notice that both China and Russia have major stakes in Iranian energy projects, and will veto or ignore any penalties that Condi and pals would seek to impose "at the right time, a time of our choosing".
"The European-American consensus is very strong. Others are coming to that consensus," Rice said. "That's not saber rattling. That's diplomacy."
Another word comes to mind, too: "racism".
Posted by Eddie Tews at 01:02 PM
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Not too difficult, is it? Yet, even this simple task is too great for Bush's mental capabilities.
Can You Spot The Contradiction?
Boasting that the economy is strong and growing, President Bush urged Congress on Saturday to save tax cuts from expiring and adopt the first spending restraints in nearly a decade on such benefit programs as Medicaid, Medicare and student loans.
In his weekly radio address, Bush said the federal budget faces the challenge of long-term deficits driven by mandatory spending on those entitlement programs.
"We do not need to cut entitlements, but we do need to slow their growth," he said.
Not too difficult, is it? Yet, even this simple task is too great for Bush's mental capabilities.
Posted by Eddie Tews at 12:52 PM
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But not too fucking liberal:
In other words: "We would like to be able to allow you to torture with impunity, but because there could be political consequences arising if the tables are turned; we simply cannot allow it. We've enough trouble of our own making, we don't need you piling it on -- at least not in an election year."
January 05, 2006
Fucking Liberal Republicans
We believe the president understands Congress's intent in passing, by very large majorities, legislation governing the treatment of detainees. The Congress declined when asked by administration officials to include a presidential waiver of the restrictions included in our legislation. Our committee intends through strict oversight to monitor the administration's implementation of the new law.
But not too fucking liberal:
I do not believe that any political figure in the country has the ability to set aside any...law of armed conflict that we have adopted or treaties that we have ratified. If we go down that road, it will cause great problems for our troops in future conflicts because [nothing] is to prevent other nations' leaders from doing the same.
In other words: "We would like to be able to allow you to torture with impunity, but because there could be political consequences arising if the tables are turned; we simply cannot allow it. We've enough trouble of our own making, we don't need you piling it on -- at least not in an election year."