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Thursday, May 27, 2004
No link between Saddam and al-Qaeda?
One striking bit of new evidence is that the name Ahmed Hikmat Shakir appears on three captured rosters of officers in Saddam Fedayeen, the elite paramilitary group run by Saddam's son Uday and entrusted with doing much of the regime's dirty work. Our government sources, who have seen translations of the documents, say Shakir is listed with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
This matters because if Shakir was an officer in the Fedayeen, it would establish a direct link between Iraq and the al Qaeda operatives who planned 9/11. Shakir was present at the January 2000 al Qaeda "summit" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at which the 9/11 attacks were planned. The U.S. has never been sure whether he was there on behalf of the Iraqi regime or whether he was an Iraqi Islamicist who hooked up with al Qaeda on his own.
It is possible that the Ahmed Hikmat Shakir listed on the Fedayeen rosters is a different man from the Iraqi of the same name with the proven al Qaeda connections. His identity awaits confirmation by al Qaeda operatives in U.S. custody or perhaps by other captured documents. But our sources tell us there is no questioning the authenticity of the three Fedayeen rosters. The chain of control is impeccable. The documents were captured by the U.S. military and have been in U.S. hands ever since.
I believe that as this military operation drags on, there will be more and more compelling evidence found that the two were inexorably linked. Unfortunately, even hard evidence will not convince those who hate President Bush so much that they would wish failure for the American military if it would also mean a "regime change" in Washington.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:42 AM
Monday, May 24, 2004
On President Bush's speech:
I thought President Bush laid out the facts as they needed to be. He mentioned the five steps to "helping Iraq achieve democracy and freedom." These steps are as follows:
We will hand over authority to a sovereign Iraqi government, help establish security, continue rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, encourage more international support, and move toward a national election that will bring forward new leaders empowered by the Iraqi people.
John Kerry has been accusing the President of lacking any vision on how to turn over the government of Iraq to the Iraqis. The above steps are exactly that - a vision.
The President also told us that there will likely be "more violence before the transfer of sovereignty, and after the transfer of sovereignty. The terrorists and Saddam loyalists would rather see many Iraqis die than have any live in freedom." Again, the president needed to be forthright and say so. No one should have expected a cakewalk, and it should be projected that our leaders don't expect that either. I think President Bush did so in this speech.
The President ended with a sense of purpose:
These two visions -- one of tyranny and murder, the other of liberty and life -- clashed in Afghanistan. And thanks to brave U.S. and coalition forces and to Afghan patriots, the nightmare of the Taliban is over, and that nation is coming to life again. These two visions have now met in Iraq, and are contending for the future of that country. The failure of freedom would only mark the beginning of peril and violence. But, my fellow Americans, we will not fail. We will persevere, and defeat this enemy, and hold this hard-won ground for the realm of liberty.
After all was said and done, I was happy with the speech. However, here is my main objection. The mantra of "liberty and life", the outlines of the successes there, and the moral imperative of the war on terrorism need not be spoken only once per new moon. The president needs to be out there, every day, telling us what is going on, when it is happening, and why it is happening. He needs to emphasize the good that is going on in Iraq - comments such as these:
In preparation for sovereignty, many functions of government have already been transferred. Twelve government ministries are currently under the direct control of Iraqis. The Ministry of Education, for example, is out of the propaganda business, and is now concerned with educating Iraqi children. Under the direction of Dr. Ala'din al-Alwan, the Ministry has trained more than 30,000 teachers and supervisors for the schools of a new Iraq.
All along, some have questioned whether the Iraqi people are ready for self-government, or even want it. And all along, the Iraqi people have given their answer. In settings where Iraqis have met to discuss their country's future, they have endorsed representative government. And they are practicing representative government. Many of Iraq's cities and towns now have elected town councils or city governments - and beyond the violence, a civil society is emerging.
God knows the press isn't going to.
His critics are vocal, and many. If the President so believes in this mission, then he needs to proclaim it from the mountain tops. Such proclamations need to drown out the opportunism of the Kerrys and the vitriole of the Michael Moores. This speech was a good beginning, but it needs to be repeated and reinforced.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
9:39 PM
Fred Barnes on Michael Moore's predisposition to lying outright:
FEW YEARS AGO Michael Moore, who's now promoting an anti-President Bush movie entitled Fahrenheit 9/11, announced he'd gotten the goods on me, indeed hung me out to dry on my own words. It was in his first bestselling book, Stupid White Men. Moore wrote he'd once been "forced" to listen to my comments on a TV chat show, The McLaughlin Group. I had whined "on and on about the sorry state of American education," Moore said, and wound up by bellowing: "These kids don't even know what The Iliad and The Odyssey are!"
Moore's interest was piqued, so the next day he said he called me. "Fred," he quoted himself as saying, "tell me what The Iliad and The Odyssey are." I started "hemming and hawing," Moore wrote. And then I said, according to Moore: "Well, they're . . . uh . . . you know . . . uh . . . okay, fine, you got me--I don't know what they're about. Happy now?" He'd smoked me out as a fraud, or maybe worse.
The only problem is none of this is true. It never happened.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
9:11 PM
A Perplexing Baseball Scoring Rule:
I don't usually blog about the nuances of baseball scoring, but I'm really curious about this one.
Danny Graves, the Reds' closer, comes in for the 9th inning leading 7-4. It's a save situation. Graves allows the leadoff batter to reach, then gets a fly out, then allows a double. Second and third, one out.
At this point, he throws a splitter that Jason LaRue can't handle, and it allows the runner from third to score. Graves then gets a fly out, and a ground out to end the game.
Graves' line: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R... but the run was earned. Why? When I used to play baseball, the definition of an earned run was one that would not have scored were it not for the aid of some sort of fielding error. In the boxscore, a passed ball is not an error, but it is a fielding mistake per se.
Had the passed ball never occurred, Graves would have stranded the runners at second and third. Does anyone know why this was scored as an earned run?Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
9:04 PM
Are there really people who believe this sort of thing?
I believe President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld's thinking goes along these lines:
The American population is growing about 0.92 percent a year; 66.7 percent of that very same population is between the ages of 15 and 64 and these same people are having about 14 babies a year per 1,000. At this rate, we need to greatly reduce the male half of the population.
Without the males, females will slow down and, in some cases, stop breeding. This will move us in the direction of a more controllable number of people, mostly weak women. By sending large quantities of men to fight this war in Iraq that we've cooked up, we can eliminate many of the stronger ones.
The children who lose fathers in this war, especially the boys who won't have a father's guidance, will succumb to depression and have possible suicidal tendencies. The surviving female children will be hardened by losses and by their mothers who turn bitter and tough. We'll give these children one great thing to hold onto and strive toward, an absolute sense of patriotism; not just faith in our country, but unshakable faith in our president and other leaders since we are in fact guided by God himself.
We will make machines out of these children, willing to die for any course we decide to lay out for them. We will keep some of the weaker ones in the factories to build our weapons and machines for our continued plan of world domination.
I find it hard to believe that this woman is serious. Then again, there are lots of things that make no sense to me, so she probably is.
Hat tip to OpinionJournalLabels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
3:40 PM
Brian Arner got me thinking about John Kerry's constant claim that the best way to deal with high gasoline prices is to divert resources from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
From the Remarks by the President After Cabinet Meeting
The Cabinet Room:
Q Sir, Senator Kerry has suggested halting shipments to the emergency oil reserves. Your energy bill is a long-term strategy. What are some short-term steps that can be taken?
THE PRESIDENT: If people had acted on my energy bill when I submitted it three years ago, we would be in a much better situation today.
Secondly, we will not play politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That Petroleum Reserve is in place in case of major disruptions of energy supplies to the United States. The idea of emptying the Strategic Petroleum Reserve plays -- would put America in a dangerous position in the war on terror. We're at war. We face a tough and determined enemy on all fronts. And we must not put ourselves in a worse position in this war. And playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would do just that.
Brian wonders what the SPR has to do with the war on terrorism. I would argue that it has more to do with the eventuality of any catastrophe that might affect the international fuel delivery infrastructure. That is the purpose for which the reserve is intended. It is NOT intended to help curtail rising fuel prices.
Far be it from me to suggest that we follow the Bush agenda verbatim (there are pieces of it with which I disagree). However, the President has a point about his energy policy; specifically, the freedom to identify potential domestic fuel resources that would free us from the albatross of OPEC.
Kerry knows that opening the oil reserves during a non-emergency is foolish, and is just being a political opportunist. What would happen were there an actual disruption in fuel delivery rather than just a bit of turbulence as we are experiencing now? Then what would Kerry's solution be? I'm not sure there is one to offer, but Kerry certainly won't let that stop him from assailing the president for doing the practical thing here.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
1:45 PM
As seen at SayUncle...
1. Which political party do you typically agree with?
Libertarian
2. Which political party do you typically vote for?
Libertarian
3. List the last five presidents that you voted for?
I haven’t voted for 5 (not that old) but:
1988 - Bush v 1.0
1992 – Browne
1996 – Browne
2000 - Bush v 2.0
4. Which party do you think is smarter about the economy?
Both are fiscally irresponsible, but the Republicans are usually more pro-business (exceptions include the poorly conceived steel tariff), and I am much more inclined to agree with the GOP's tax policies. So, I reluctantly say Republicans are.
5. Which party do you think is smarter about domestic affairs?
Libertarian (live, and let live... neither Dems nor Reps can with a straight face make this claim).
6. Do you think we should keep our troops in Iraq or pull them out?
Stay, and finish what needs to be finished.
7. Who, or what country, do you think is most responsible for 9/11?
bin Laden, and his lieutenants
8. Do you think we will find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
Sarin gas, mustard gas, etc. have already been found, so that would have to be a "yes, duh."
9. Yes or no, should the U.S. legalize marijuana?
Equivalent to cigarettes, yes.
10. Do you think the Republicans stole the last presidential election?
No. See the electoral college in your history book.
11. Do you think Bill Clinton should have been impeached because of what he did with Monica Lewinski?
Well, even though perjury is an impeachable offense, I would have to say no, only because it really wasn't worth the effort, and besides... did we really want a President Gore? I didn't think so.
12. Do you think Hillary Clinton would make a good president?
Not a chance.
13. Name a current Democrat who would make a great president:
I can't really come up with one.
14. Name a current Republican who would make a great president:
None since Reagan circa 1980.
15. Do you think that women should have the right to have an abortion?
Yes.
16. What religion are you?
Christian, Seventh-Day Adventist
17. Have you read the Bible all the way through?
Yes.
18. What’s your favorite book?
The Bible, followed by Johnson's History of the American People
19. Who is your favorite band?
classic Boston.
20. Who do you think you'll vote for president in the next election?
George W. Bush, somewhat reluctantly.
21. What website did you see this on first?
Says Uncle.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
12:55 PM
Saturday, May 22, 2004
SBC union workers are striking here in Connecticut. Why? Among other things, the company is asking them to share the burden of paying health insurance premiums. How much do the SBC workers currently pay for their health insurance? Zero. Zip. Nothing.
The picketers seem to think that the public at large is sympathetic to their cause, but do they really think the average Joe, who pays part, if not all, of their health insurance premium, is going to identify with the SBC workers? For the record, I pay about 20% of my premiums. Also for the record, my level of sympathy is commensurate to the amount they presently pay for premiums. Zero. Zip. Nothing.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
5:02 PM
Think nothing good is happening in Iraq? Think again. Chrenkoff has a plethora of links.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
4:59 PM
I used to think that I wanted to live in the Netherlands. Stories like this one lead me towards changing my mind about the place.
AMSTERDAM — The prosecution demanded on Thursday a jail term of 1.5 years be handed down on a disabled 71-year-old man who shot and killed a robber at his business in Leidschendam last year.
But the prosecution also told a court in The Hague that the man’s time spent in remand detention should be subtracted from his jail term, newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Friday.
Cees Gardien — who is sick and spends most of his time in a wheelchair — reacted with disappointment. “I am not a murderer and I did not want to kill the man. I have never done something wrong and yet I am treated like this.”
I'm sorry, but if that had been me, I would have done the same thing. If anyone has any ideas how we could break Mr. Gardien out of that cesspool of justice, I'm all ears. This man deserves a medal, not a jail sentence.
Hat tip to Clayton Cramer.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
2:21 PM
As if I needed another reason not to send my child to a government school...
(When a) six-year old came home from school she reportedly repeated an exchange between two boys in her kindergarten class telling her mom that one boy asked another to perform a sex act on him in exchange for a Sponge Bob Squarepants toy.
The child’s mother, who wished to remain anonymous, couldn’t believe it: “I was shocked at first. I almost crashed the car because it was too much to absorb at one time.”
The girl’s grandmother, Priscilla Manzanet, recounts what was said: “If you suck my private - I mean he used that word - I'll give you my Sponge Bob."
”The teacher talked to people and that's when they be doing it...and ever time she come over there they act like they reading a book,” the girl told Fadal.
”It's just horrifying that this could actually go on in a school where a teacher was present in the classroom,” Manzanet stated.
The girl’s mother said when she asked what else happened her daughter told her: “A little boy went under the table, she had a skirt on that day, and touched her private parts.”
The boy, she says, was one of the same little boys involved in the oral sex incident.
The family was told the boy was removed from class but claim that it didn't happen for a week.
It's about time parents demanded more... FAR more... from their schools. In the meantime, I won't be darkening their doorstep.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
1:54 PM
Grouchy Old Cripple weighs in on who to blame for the rising cost of gasoline:
Do you want someone to blame for high gas prices? Blame an environmentalist. It's the environmental wacko's who will not let us drill in ANWR. It's the environmental wacko's who keep campaigning against offshore drilling. If you cannot drill for more oil, you cannot increase the supply.
Another reason we're paying more for oil is all the boutique blends we have to have for clean air. Atlanta is paying 5 cents more per gallon in the summer due to the special blend we have to use because of EPA mandates. Have you kissed an environmentalist today?
Even if we had more oil available, our refinery capacity is stretched to its limits. We have not built any new refineries in over thirty years. Have you hugged an environmentalist today?
Access to offshore drilling, ANWR, and removing the endless environmental regulations would do wonders for the situation. Somehow, we have to address this dependency on foreign oil sources, hopefully sooner before later.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
1:39 PM
In an ideal world, where Islam truly WAS a religion of peace, we would have seen this news story:
Arab Street Erupts in Rage Over Beheading Video
(2004-05-11) -- The so-called 'Arab Street' erupted in rage and grief today, as devoted Muslims crowded into public squares by the hundreds of thousands, in dozens of cities, to denounce the brutal videotaped beheading of American Nicholas Berg by Muslim extremists affiliated with Al Qaeda.
"This is an outrageous, disgusting and obscene act of evil done in the name of our peaceful religion and in our own backyard," said one unnamed Muslim cleric in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "We mourn with Mr. Berg's family at this horrible loss. We renounce not only this act of violence, but all acts of terror."
Somehow, I don't think we will see this anytime soon.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
1:06 PM
I often read Bill Whittle's insightful essays on the blog "Eject! Eject! Eject!". But his latest is a must read.
One snippet that I found particularly amusing was this:
Senator Kennedy claims Abu Ghraib is simply Saddam Hussein’s torture chambers “under new management – U.S. management.” Taking him at his word – a somewhat iffy proposition right out of the gate – he apparently cannot see the difference between the humiliation and bullying of enemy combatants, which is shameful, disgusting and reprehensible, and the gleeful, mocking murder, torture and gang rape of over 300,000 innocent men, women and children -- which is something worse. So Senator, here is a helpful analogy which you may find useful: The difference is about the same as pulling over and leaving a young female secretary on the curb in the rain, which is shameful, disgusting and reprehensible, vs. leaving her trapped in the car at the bottom of a river while you look at the bubbles and ponder the political repercussions.
Which is something worse, Senator.
Ouch. And quite appropriate, I might add. Go read the whole thing.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
1:02 PM
How much of a failure have international gun control laws been?
Internationally, dramatic gun control victories in countries such as England, Australia, and Canada are also unraveling.
Crime did not fall in England after handguns were banned in January 1997. Quite the contrary, crime rose sharply. Yet, serious violent crime rates from 1997 to 2002 averaged 29 percent higher than 1996; robbery was 24 percent higher; murders 27 percent higher. Before the law, armed robberies had fallen by 50 percent from 1993 to 1997, but as soon as handguns were banned, the robbery rate shot back up, almost back to their 1993 levels.
Australia has also seen its violent crime rates soar after its Port Arthur gun control measures (search) in late 1996. Violent crime rates averaged 32 per cent higher in the six years after the law was passed (from 1997 to 2002) than they did the year before the law in 1996. The same comparisons for armed robbery rates showed increases of 45 percent.
The 2000 International Crime Victimization Survey, the most recent survey done, shows that the violent crime rate in England and Australia was twice the rate in the US.
Canada has not gone anywhere near as far as the United Kingdom or Australia. Nevertheless, their gun registration system is costing roughly a thousand times more than promised and has grown to be extremely unpopular, with only 17 percent of Canadians in a poll release this week supporting the system. Nor does the system seem to be providing any protection. The Canadian government recently admitted that they could not identify even a single violent crime that had been solved by registration.
It doesn't take much sense to determine from the statistics what those of us who support the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution already knew - gun laws serve only to remove them from the hands of law-abiding citizens, and doing so only empowers the criminals who perpetrate violent crimes.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
12:26 PM
Good news for Palm handheld users like me who much prefer using the original Graffiti input mechanism to the less familiar Graffiti II:
A court has found that the patent that Xerox was using to sue Palm for its character entry method, and was developed in house, didn't infringe because the patent was invalid.
Also good news for Palm shareholders like yours truly.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:44 AM
Via the Blogfather comes this outrage:
'It starts off by being stripped naked in front of 10 police officers including two women, gratutious humiliation is used to break you down.' '... worst jail that you can possibly imagine.' 'Not even a hole to go to the bathroom. You have to piss against a wall and you sleep in piss on the concrete floor.' The torture victim demands 'the immediate shutdown of this secret underground prison'. It's not at Abu Ghraib, it's in Marseille, France.
I await the condemnation from the world community with baited breath.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:35 AM
Diana West, in the Wall Street Journal, discusses her decision to homeschool her kids:
I added my twin fifth-grade daughters this past year to the estimated 1.7 million to 2.1 million students who, according to the Oregon-based National Home Education Research Institute, are educated at home. (In 1999, the year of the most recent government survey, the U.S. Department of Education counted 800,000 home-schooled children.) "Secular" or not, the newish orthodoxy in the public schools is what ultimately sent me packing.
Ms. West is responding, in part, to the Southern Baptist Convention's resolution that encourages its members to pull their kids out of the public school system because of its "godlessness".
The author makes so good points that are worth noting. She questions the resolution itself, and wonders how "godless" the schools really are. I have to agree with that assessment, for I cannot recall any direct allusion to God in my grade school days. As they say, there will always be prayer in schools as long as there are exams, but as far as that directed by the school itself, there was none.
Further, the author points out the differences between "godless" education and "secular" education.
Thanksgiving, as described in a holiday assignment to read "multicultural stories of family and immigration," became "a time when families get together to celebrate their traditions and their heritage." It was the "their-ness" of the formulation -- as opposed to the "our-ness" of the holiday -- that could make any happy thanks-giver choke on the stuffing. Defining the holiday as an occasion for families to celebrate "their" separate traditions and "their" separate heritage gives the day of national thanksgiving an unmistakable international-night-at-the-community-center flavor.
Which was typical of the way the school framed all subjects, cropping anything universal for a clear shot at the ethnic label. Book reports for young readers, only just delving into decent chapter-books, were pegged to race or gender -- never writerly merit or imagination -- in such assignments as "Hispanic book month." (This fourth-grade assignment, not incidentally, revealed the slimness of identifiably "Hispanic" pickings. Most were insipid books from Mattel's American Girl doll company about Josefina, a child in 19th-century New Mexico.)
One daughter's big fourth-grade history project was to portray Tiger Woods in a "living wax museum" that the class created to mark Black History Month. (A handout went home prohibiting face paint and wigs in the children's costumes.) An honors unit in English -- sorry, language arts -- focused on Japanese internment during World War II. A "poetry" project lavishly turned classrooms into both a 1950s Greenwich Village coffee house and a "People's Park" -- children were asked to wear black -- but generated only lousy haiku. Colonial history morphed into a unit on immigration that included a field trip to a social-services center to "interview" mainly Hispanic immigrants.
That last tore it -- especially after a teacher instructed the class not to use "real names" in follow-up essays, lest the immigrants be in this country illegally. It sounded as if the teacher were making a bunch of 10-year-olds accessories to a crime. Anti-law and officially brainless, I call it.
It is this description that best epitomizes the reasons that my wife and I, too, have concluded that homeschooling is our only alternative insofar as educating our son. In the days where the "three Rs" were the focus of teaching, it made sense to send kids to public schools. However, those subjects seem to be taking a back seat to anything politically correct.
The situations Ms. West describe are completely foreign to me as a student, but seem to be common place in today's 21st-century classroom. As far as that goes, I want no part of it. Ms. West concludes by saying that "school isn't necessarily the best place for learning". I could not agree more.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:01 AM
Friday, May 21, 2004
The London Guardian has confirmed that Nick Berg's father has gone off the deep end. Saith the elder Berg:
People ask me why I focus on putting the blame for my son's tragic and atrocious end on the Bush administration. They ask: "Don't you blame the five men who killed him?" I have answered that I blame them no more or less than the Bush administration, but I am wrong: I am sure, knowing my son, that somewhere during their association with him these men became aware of what an extraordinary man my son was. I take comfort that when they did the awful thing they did, they weren't quite as in to it as they might have been. I am sure that they came to admire him.
I am sure that the one who wielded the knife felt Nick's breath on his hand and knew that he had a real human being there. I am sure that the others looked into my son's eyes and got at least a glimmer of what the rest of the world sees. And I am sure that these murderers, for just a brief moment, did not like what they were doing.
Mr. Berg, what are you thinking? Do you really blame Bush for the barbarism of these radicals? I understand that you are grieving, but shouldn't you blame the people who murdered your son? And do you think for one minute that someone capable of such things actually gives a damn about your son's character?
With all due respect, Mr. Berg, you've got it all wrong. And as for your suggestion that we listen instead of talk to these fiends, we did that for years, and that's why the cancer in the Middle East has festered to this point. Furthermore, the only thing that would please these people is a wholesale annihilation of the Jewish state. As a Jewish man yourself, would you endorse that platform, Mr. Berg? Somehow, I can't see you doing that.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:34 PM
SAP and My Time of Trouble:
If anyone ever tells you that they like SAP, they must work for SAP. No one else likes SAP. No one. Not one person. Even Satan hates SAP. God hates it too, but allows it to fester, much like sin. It will be thankfully eradicated come Judgment Day.
No kingdom can exist with SAP running its day-to-day operations. This is a fact ignored by King James when he published the KJV Bible. I tend to think that he was being paid under the table by SAP AG, an entity located within the borders of present day Germany.
Had there been no Dark Ages, the idea of anything like SAP would never have come to fruition. Only a group of isolated, poorly educated people could have devised a monolithic, feature-poor, and tedious ERP system such as this.
If there is a God, and I firmly believe in His mercy and kindness, He will destroy this system before any other companies are subjected to it. This is my weekly prayer, but one that has been amplified today in my encounters with it. The weekend looms; yet, I have not been able to escape this Beelzebub that is SAP. As such, I am left but to perform one more act of desperation - recite the SAP Prayer.
"Dear Lord, give me strength to fend off this nuisance until next week, when I go head to head with the Beast once again, and give me the strength to conquer it once and for all."
Amen.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
4:41 PM
And this from the Associated Press...
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi police have arrested four people in the killing of American Nicholas Berg, an Iraqi security official said Friday.
The suspects were former members of Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen paramilitary organization, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They were arrested a week ago in a house in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad.
The group that was involved in the killing of Berg was led by Yasser al-Sabawi, a nephew of Saddam Hussein, the security official said. He said American intelligence had asked Iraqi authorities to hand over the suspects, but they were still in Iraqi hands.
If this is true, it will be interesting to see if the perpetrators are extradited to the US, or dealt with in Iraq.
UPDATE:
Two of the four have been released:
Of the other two, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said: "We have some intelligence that suggests they had knowledge, perhaps some culpability."
But he added it was also possible they were not connected.
Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:39 AM
Today's Lesson in Personal Responsibility:
A top insurance executive racked up a whopping $28,000 American Express bill in one trip to the East Side strip club Scores.
Now Mitchell Blaser, the chief financial officer of Swiss Re's Americas unit, wants his money back - claiming in court papers that the $28,000 bill is almost as inflated as some of the mammary mecca's dancers.
Blaser and his two friends actually "only spent about $2,000," said his lawyer, Leonard Zack.
Scores spokesman Lon nie Hanover maintains Blaser went on a bosom bender.
"He partied like a rock star," buying $3,200 bottles of champagne and blowing $7,000 on strippers, Hanover said.
"If you want to live like Colin Farrell, you have to pay for it . . . The $28,000 bill is totally legitimate."
I wouldn't put it past a joint like this to overcharge, but, if they have the signature of Mr. Glaser, I don't see where he has a case. Besides, if you are going to play in the mud, you better expect to get dirty. Maybe Mr. Glaser next time will call AMEX before such an escapade and ask them to impose a limit on his spending, since he obviously doesn't have the self-discipline to do it.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:20 AM
Before everyone gets worked up about the Chalabi raids in Iraq, consider the facts. First, Chalabi is suspected of quite a few misdeeds, including funneling security secrets to Iran. Second, it was in fact an Iraqi judge who ordered the search:
The raids yesterday were ordered by an Iraqi Judge, Hussain Al-Moathin, after a corruption investigation linked seven questionable characters to Mr. Chalabi's party.
I've heard rumblings about conspiracies, such as this is some sort of Bush administration setup to stain the name of Chalabi. In fact, Chalabi's name is already stained (go read about the Petra Bank scandal). Raiding the offices of Chalabi is no Bush conspiracy. But then again, in an election year, and with the vitriol directed at Bush so highly escalated, anything is a conspiracy.
UPDATE: News reports are saying that the evidence against Chalabi is "rock solid". It will be interesting to see where this goes.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
7:50 AM
Town News:
Our town passed a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The state, because of the income tax surplus, has provided the town with an additional $800,000 in funds for that period. Instead of reducing taxes in the town, the council increased the tax rate by .81 mills. It would be nice, for once, to have some elected officials who would give our money back instead of finding new ways to spend it.
[end of rant]Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
7:46 AM
I read a lot on some blogs about companies cutting jobs here and there. If you believe some, you would think that the economic recovery is a mirage.
Well, consider the current business climate here in Connecticut, which is notorious for lagging behind the rest of the country in job creation:
In the state, a poll released this week by the CBIA showed executives upbeat about their companies' prospects and a growing percentage - now close to one third - saying they plan to make new hires this year.
So executives intend to increase their hiring for this year. Additionally, according to today's Hartford Courant, the state gained jobs for the first time since 2000. Couple that with the state income tax surplus, and I would say there is more positive than negative regarding the economy.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
7:39 AM
Thursday, May 20, 2004
The ever-reliable debunking site Snopes.com has weighed in on the "re-emergence" of Andy Kaufman.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
1:14 PM
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Chuck Freund compares Nick Berg's murder and Abu Ghraib:
The issue becomes whether the Zarqawi horror is capable of having any effect on the Abu Ghraib matter. The probable answer is that although the murder tape obviously doesn't make pictures of prisoner abuse any less disgusting or shameful, it does offer many of those who feel disgust and shame a different context in which to perceive those images.
Context, indeed. It's sickening how many are so disgusted about the prison abuse, but they utter nary a peep about Nick Berg's beheading. Let's be frank - there is no comparison, not one, between the two misdeeds. Further, I felt less incensed after the Berg murder about the prison abuse because, quite simply, the murder illicited so much more anger in me. Had an American band of thugs murdered an Iraqi prisoner in such a barbaric manner, I would have felt the same way.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
6:18 PM
Lots of comings and goings in the blogosphere... first, the RTB's own SmokyBlog calls it quits. Then I noticed that Rachel Lucas is back. Today, I read that Amish Tech Support is no more. However, for those of you who enjoy the edginess of Laurence Simon, here is his latest... the defacing (justifiably so) of Ted Rall.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
6:08 PM
I was too busy last month to have come across this brilliant article by Gregg Easterbrook:
AN ALTERNATIVE HISTORY: Washington, april 9, 2004. A hush fell over the city as George W. Bush today became the first president of the United States ever to be removed from office by impeachment. Meeting late into the night, the Senate unanimously voted to convict Bush following a trial on his bill of impeachment from the House...
Go read the whole thing.
Hat tip to Old Fishing HatLabels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
3:34 PM
It's an interesting trend to see older baseball players dominating the game. Some of the best players in the game right now are approaching, or over 40. Roger Clemens has won 7 games, and has been dominant. Kevin Brown is easily the ace of the Yankees' staff thus far. Barry Bonds is... well, Barry Bonds. And then last night, 40 year old Randy Johnson tosses a perfect game against the Braves. It's nice to see the guys I watched in high school still performing at such a high level.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:46 AM
Today, I filled up my truck for the first time since returning from Tennessee. Never have I paid $40.00 for a fill up before. Suffice it to say I was taken aback. When we left Connecticut on May 7th, the price of gasoline was $1.82. Over the weekend, the price leapt, as we saw several $2.09 prices posted in upstate New York. When we arrived in Tennessee, we saw the same $1.82 that we had originally spotted back home. So it was no surprise when we got back that gasoline was ranging from $2.03 to $2.21 per gallon.
Now, most people are bothered by this, and everyone wants to blame someone. Whether you want to yell at OPEC, Bush (incidentally, wasn't the war in Iraq over oil? - but I digress), Big Oil, or overdependence on fossil fuels, the fact is that something needs to be done to mitigate the causes for such rapid price increases on fuel.
Speculation is that OPEC is in no hurry to open their pipelines. Others have wondered if they even have the capacity. My take is that Americans should push their elected officials more and more to invest in domestic sources of fuel.
My personal life, like everyone else's, has been affected by rising costs. Last year, I started looking into solar heating for my house. We will likely forgo air conditioning this year in favor of fans. Also, we will likely take less day trips, and try to find more things to do locally. These are things that are necessary for us to meet our personal budgetary guidelines.
But what can the country do in the long term? Nuclear, hydroelectric, and wind power need to be more widely implemented. I'm not for mandatory fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, because I think if people want to buy a car that gets 10 MPG, they should have that right. All of this being said, I think the singlemost important thing our leaders could do to improve the fuel situation is to open up ANWR. Right now, opening ANWR isn't politically feasible. However, if a summer of high gas prices will change that, then I will gladly accept a few months of $40 fillups.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:26 AM
Atkins dieters rejoice...
Dieters following the low-carbohydrate, Atkins regime have two new studies that support their lifestyle. The studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that low-carb dieters lost just as much or more weight as low-fat dieters. Surprising some nutritionists, the Atkins group also showed lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
I have known this for a long time, even before it became a fad. When I used to eat mainly meats and vegetables, I was as thin as a rail, and my metabolism was sky high. When I went to processed foods, and carbs, it had the opposite effect.
The only problem with the Atkins' lifestyle is the lack of tasty alternatives. Nothing beats my wife's macaroni and cheese, or her biscuits, or her chicken casserole, or... er, never mind. I'm making myself hungry.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:17 AM
Those Crazy Indians:
When Sonia Gandhi threatened to quit as head of India's Congress party five years ago, a middle-aged Delhi housewife doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire.
"At that time, Soniaji visited me in hospital and told me never to do this again. I told her never to say she will quit again," cried Manju Sachdeva, sitting outside Gandhi's home after the Congress leader walked away from the prime minister's job.
"I'd like to remind her of that day. I could do the same thing again. Love can make you blind, deaf and even brainless."
So can fanaticism, something that many on the subcontinent seem predisposed to. Come to think of it, many Americans seem to be as well.
The question begs to be answered - will the Democrats act similarly if President Bush is re-elected? For that matter, will the Republicans do so if Kerry wins? Speaking for myself, I would have to say nothing would cause me to turn myself into a living inferno, unless if maybe Steve Spurrier returns to coaching the University of Florida football team.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:09 AM
With all of the debate about outsourcing, not many people seem to consider this fact: the movement of jobs is not a one-way street. Consider that between New York, California, Florida, and Texas, there are nearly 2,000,000 jobs from foreign companies. According to the Organization for International Investment:
"Over the last 15 years, total "insourced" jobs grew by 117% - at an annual rate of 7.8%; and total "outsourced" jobs grew by 56% - at an annual rate of 3.8%."
Yet, we don't often hear about the jobs being sent to America from abroad. It is dishonest to imply that America is losing X jobs due to outsourcing without acknowledging an opposing shift in jobs in the other direction. Yet, this being an election year, this should come as no surprise.
To see a map of America and the jobs insourced by state, click here.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:54 AM
Monday, May 17, 2004
The above picture is that of my son (then 3 months old) and my cat (then 6 years old). The cat, Smokey, was a precocious, friendly (mostly), and rambuctious sort.
I acquired Smokey several years ago when living in Collegedale. An ex-girlfriend owned him as a kitten, but he didn't seem much for confinement, and ran away soon after they cleaned him up. Three months later, he showed up at MY doorstep, three blocks away. To this day, I know not how he got there.
Since then, he has lived with me (until I moved to DC), and then my mom. My mom was particularly fond of Smokey.
Smokey's only problem was his temper. If he didn't get his way, he would bite you. For awhile, it seemed playful, and innocent. But two life events changed that. One as the arrival of a grandchild, my son. The above picture was indicative of Smokey's attitude toward the baby. Not once did he ever hint at biting him. But the second event led to our suspicion that Smokey might not always stay congenial towards the baby.
This past week, when we visited, Smokey bit my grandmother. This time, it wasn't so innocent. My grandmother, days later, couldn't walk. Her legs were swollen, and in pain. She actually asked to go to the hospital. Anyone who knows her knows that she would never ask to go unless she was in real pain. My grandma is better now, home from the hospital after two days.
It turns out that Smokey's bite exascerbated a previous condition. Coupled with the fears that he may bite the baby next, the decision was made. Smokey couldn't stay any longer.
Today, I called my mom in Knoxville. She was inconsolable. She had to leave Smokey at the animal shelter. If I was single, I would take that cat in an instant, but with the baby, I obviously could not.
I was in so much of a hurry this week that I forgot to say bye to my little kitty. I miss him already.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
3:41 PM
Finally, we have returned to Connecticut, with one more degree, a little more sun, and a lot more fatigue. We made it from Knoxville to Enfield in roughly 12 1/2 hours... not bad with an infant son along for the ride.
Regular blogging will return shortly... just as soon as I can get some much needed sleep.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
3:40 PM
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Well, at long last, graduation has come and gone. What a day. Long, sometimes tedious (try sitting sleepily as 300 graduates are introduced, one by one), but well worth the effort. Four generations of my family came together and it was indeed a pleasure.
I had intended to live-blog the event... I even have several posts stored on my Palm device. However, an XML malfunction in the server apparently rendered the posts useless. So, I'm just going to have to compile my thoughts here.
I arrived this morning at 7 am with graduation documents in hand, received my MSE regalia (orange, no less!), got dressed, and headed to the parking lot to await my family. After they arrived, I directed them to the gymnasium, went to my group, and off we went.
The commencement speaker was a young lady named Heidi Cruz, who had a cousin in our graduation group, and was once a student at an Adventist college, before moving onto bigger things (think, Harvard MBA). Currently, she is one of President Bush's economic advisors. I wanted to ask her about steel tariffs, but things were a bit busy, and I could not quite locate her at the end. Anyway, the speech was not as much about politics as it was a proclamation of opportunity and optimism. It is easy to get caught up in the events of the day; I do so almost hourly. Ms. Cruz spoke of the unprecedented opportunities that the youth of America have. She spoke of idealism, and how such limitations can hinder progress. She spoke of diligence in realizing evil exists today (as terrorism) just as it did in the 20th century (as totalitarianism and Naziism). And, she spoke of a world of endless possibilities that needs real leadership, instead of opportunism, and pessimism. It was refreshing to hear someone look forward to the coming days instead of telling us how gloomy they are going to be.
Once she concluded, the class president spoke, reminding us of the role Christ should have in our lives, and how nothing can truly be accomplished without His intervention. These are words to live by.
Finally, with the formalities concluded, we proceeded to the podium, one by one. This was the most tedious portion of the service, mostly because I was the next to last person in line.
It was very gratifying to receive a masters' degree, but more so because my grandmother, mother, wife, and son were all there to see it. Family means a great deal to me, especially regarding life accomplishments. Because of the loved ones surrounding me, this was one of the most special days of my life.
Thus far, the most traumatic event of the trip has been my retriever's prodigious acquisition of ticks, even after his grooming. So far, we have found six ticks. If this keeps up, he'll need a transfusion.
Anyway, we're here in Knoxville for a week. After the events of the last few months, I think the family deserves some R and R. I'm hopeful to interject some blogging activity into the trip here and there, but, if not, I'm sure I can find plenty about which to write when I get back to Connecticut. It's not everyday that I am in the most beautiful state in the country (even if the smog is thick... I prefer Tennessee smog to Connecticut smog).
And to those of you blogging the events of the week... relax. Take a break. Even if it doesn't seem like it, life is good. Go enjoy it.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
9:33 PM
Friday, May 07, 2004
At long last... finals are over. Projects are completed. All that is left to do is the marching, and the handshaking.
We're leaving for the Volunteer state today. The rental car with Connecticut plates speeding down I-81 is probably me. I'll likely be exhausted. So bear with me as I come barreling through on my way to Knoxville.
Ironically, I have a lot to blog about today, but it's just going to have to wait.
UPDATE: [rant] If people in the office would leave me alone, maybe I could actually get started on this trip. [/rant]
ANOTHER UPDATE: Finally turned off the phone, and put the vacation alert on my email client. I'm sneaking off to the door now...
[poof]Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
9:05 AM
U.S. payrolls rose at a rapid pace for a second month in a row, boosting expectations for an increase in interest rates. Job growth was widespread, with the manufacturing sector posting the biggest increase in nearly four years.
Nonfarm business payrolls grew by a net 288,000 jobs in April, raising the total to 1.1 million over the last eight months, the Labor Department said Friday. The government also reported 66,000 more jobs were created during March and February than initially estimated. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 5.6% in April.
Economists had expected payrolls to grow by only 150,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to remain stagnant, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC.
Detractors of President Bush like to say that he has "cost us millions of jobs", an argument which doesn't hold up on an intellectual level. Executive officers of corporations do affect job growth within their firms. The executive office of the US does not.
However, fiscal policies do affect the economy; companies will hire more people if they can justify the hiring, and making labor affordable and cost effective is how that is accomplished. What has contributed most greatly to this? Tax cuts. Especially in the middle, where companies are taxed at the personal income tax rates.
I would like to see government policy go further by lowering corporate rates to be more competitive globally. Among major countries, only Japan (42%) is higher than the US. (40%). This makes it more cost effective for multinational companies to do business in other countries, instead of in the United States. Were a cut in this rate coupled with the White House's current policies, the economic effect would be enormous.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
9:00 AM
Monday, May 03, 2004
Laugh of the day:
AUSTIN, Texas - Partygoers apparently hoping to catch a glimpse of nude sunbathers crowded on one side of a floating barge, prompting the ship to capsize and dump all 60 people into Lake Travis.
Two people were hospitalized with minor injuries Sunday after the rented double-decker barge sank near Hippie Hollow, a lakeside park and the only public nude beach in Texas.
The accident occurred during Splash Day, a semiannual event hosted at the clothing-optional area by the Austin Tavern Guild, a gay and lesbian bar association.
Witnesses said that all of the people aboard the barge moved to one side as it neared Hippie Hollow, creating uneven distribution and making it tilt. It sank in 50-foot-deep water.
There's not much I can add to this story, really. :-)Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:26 AM
Seven U.S. soldiers have been reprimanded in connection with the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners carried out by guards at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, a senior military official said on Monday.
On the orders of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, six of the soldiers -- all officers and noncommissioned officers -- have received the most severe level of administrative reprimand in the U.S. military, the official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A seventh officer was given a more lenient admonishment.
The military official said he believed investigations of the officers were complete and they would not face further action or court martial. But the reprimands could spell the end of their careers.
Does anyone in their right mind think that a reprimand is good enough for these people? This is outrageous, and I think most Americans agree. How can this behavior only be deserving of a reprimand? I would like for the press to ask General Sanchez why he believes a reprimand is adequate punishment. Also, I would like to hear from the president, and find out if he agrees.
There is no doubt that insurgency will increase because of this fiasco. How many lives will be lost as a result of increased response from disconsolate Iraqis? How much more outrage will surface in the Islamic communities in other countries, leading to scorn, strife, and violence? As a result of this, it can only get worse before it gets better.
The absence of a more harsh punishment communicates to the world one thing, and one thing only: American officials are implicitly condoning these actions. Once the hyperbole kicks in, we will hear that America is no better than the Hussein regime. There is no question that the actions of these servicemen have set our efforts back substantially. As such, they should be determined culpable for their actions. In my opinion, a simple reprimand is not enough.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:24 AM
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Today, we spent in beautiful New Hampshire. It was a much needed break from the grind. It was good to be able to go out with my son and wife, and enjoy just being a family. Sometimes, the work becomes overbearing, and too burdensome.
The two things I most look forward to in the day are the smiles that I see on the faces of my wife, and son. Today, I saw plenty of those smiles. Even though I have one intensive week left before I finally finish my work on my Masters' degree, when I see those smiles, I know it's all worth the effort. Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:44 PM
Tonight, my wife told me about a discussion she and her mother had regarding some visitors to their church today. They had learned about the church on the programming network 3ABN and wanted to see for themselves what the Adventist church was like.
During the service, the church traditionally takes some time to praise the Lord for things, and ask for prayer. A church family decides to discuss their "fasting" and "juicing" habits (which incidentally have nothing to do with anything doctrinal). Now, it is my contention that this sort of thing belongs in one's private prayers. Alerting the entire congregation to your success in pursuing a week of fasting is not appropriate prayer. Instead, I would call it grandstanding. It is as if you are saying "Look at me... I am a good Christian. Watch me as I fast, and you can admire my feat." Isn't that a tad akin to the high-chinned attitude taken by the Pharisees in Jesus' time? I would have to say so.
Were it my church, I would have definitely asked the family what relevance this topic had towards the service. More to the point, I would like to see the church use the time allotted during the service more wisely. I say this because I hear people complain about how long the service is.
Truth be told, it would be much shorter if the pomp and circumstance was replaced by actual delivery of a sermon from the pulpit. Ask yourself, do you get more out of the service when someone is singing an offkey song, or when a preacher is directing you through scripture to look into your heart? I believe most people would answer the latter. I also think that visitors would be much more prone to returning if they received a blessing from God via the sermon, than they would from hearing about others' exploits and habits.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:41 PM
One of the most controversial issues of the day in Tennessee is this U.T. season ticket fiasco. The administration, showing their usual acumen for public relations, decided to renege on a long-standing agreement with longtime season ticket holders who, in the past, have been allowed to keep their tickets sans donations. Apparently, this policy is going to change. And some aren't liking it.
Now, I'm not around the Vol nation like I once was. I used to hold season tickets myself, but decided that it was simpler just to pay the "man on the street" for the privilege of attending a Vol game. Well, there are expenses to be met, and U.T. never met a person in orange out of whom they didn't want to siphon some cash. So why not capitalize on the market and get what you can, right? After all, that's how free enterprise works.
Well, here's where I get upset like the rest of you Tennesseeans. We've never been much for being gouged on prices (which might explain the success of barter shanties like Green Acres, and that little hoedown they have on Highway 27 that they call the "Biggest Flea Market in the World.") It's obvious that this is becoming one big blunder for the U.T. athletic department.
Why do I think so? Read the News Sentinel, and you'll see that even some famous football alums are refusing to ante up as per the new policy:
Former University of Tennessee fullback Curt Watson is among many ticket holders who object to the new policy.
Watson, a FedEx pilot who lives in Florida with his family, sent Hamilton a letter last month saying he is not renewing six season tickets that have been in his family for decades.
Watson also said he will boycott a reunion of 600-700 UT football players at the Sept. 4 home opener at Neyland Stadium.
"I won't come to the games because of what they have done,'' said Watson, a Crossville native and former member of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flying team.
"It's a disgrace. I find it highly unethical they are going back against what they said in 1986. That's when they told all those supporters who had been to games for years, through thick and thin, that they could keep their grandfathered tickets without a donation as long as they kept buying them.
"When somebody breaks their word, you can't trust them anymore."
So, to those who don't give a rip about a silly game of football (ouch, it hurts just suggesting that), maybe you don't see the reason for the hoopla. But people like Curt Watson do. It's because the university made a promise, and now they are trying to back out of it. I was in high school back then, and I remember the university stating clearly that this would always be their policy. Need, or no need, it should remain so, if for no other reason than credibility.
Fortunately, Curt Watson has some perspective:
Watson said he hasn't attended any home games the last two seasons because he and his wife have two special-needs children and cannot leave their son unattended.
"Maybe we could afford the contribution UT is asking for, but we can't justify it,'' he said.
"I think it's more important to give it to juvenile diabetes, or to a learning center for kids with Down syndrome like my son has. I think they need it more than the athletic department does."
Well said, Mr. Watson. Well said.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:29 PM
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