juan cole

has the top ten myths of 2007

to start off with, here's number 10 (go to the link for the other 9)

10. Myth: The US public no longer sees Iraq as a central issue in the 2008 presidential campaign.
In a recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll, Iraq and the economy were virtually tied among voters nationally, with nearly a quarter of voters in each case saying it was their number one issue. The economy had become more important to them than in previous months (in November only 14% said it was their most pressing concern), but Iraq still rivals it as an issue...

cv rick

wrote a post yesterday about our democratic leadership. please stop by and read it. it's EXACTLY how i feel as well

this is not only absurd BUT obscene

we're 'winning' both the war on terror AND the war in iraq (or so 'they' say). why then are billions more requested than was requested in 2007 and 2006?

what are we allowing 'them' to do? is it too late, i wonder?

we've literally killed an entire country and now we're working on killing our own
Wars Cost $15 Billion a Month, GOP Senator Says

By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer
The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worldwide battle against terrorism -- nearly $15 billion a month -- came last week from one of the Senate's leading proponents of a continued U.S. military presence in Iraq.
"This cost of this war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the Army spending $4.2 billion of that every month," Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations defense subcommittee, said in a little-noticed floor speech Dec. 18. His remarks came in support of adding $70 billion to the omnibus fiscal 2008 spending legislation to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, as well as counterterrorism activities, for the six months from Oct. 1, 2007, through March 31 of next year. ............

merry christmas

i collect ornaments. i love ornaments. here are some of them. lots are blown glass and wonderfully tacky - take for example the christmas mermaid (you can't see her tail from the angle but she's the pink and green one)! i had a blue space man that was my favorite but he's not on the tree this year (my sister decorated and i didn't feel like going to find him). the one with the carrot and moon also has the little bell in the picture. that bell ornament is as old as i am. it's beat up but it's special. my grinch (glass) and my ostrich and my purple moon pictures didn't come out. perhaps next year.

anyway, please have a merry christmas, joyous holiday season and safe and prosperous upcoming new year

an ordinary boy and his ordinary dad?

no. an extraordinary boy and an even more extraordinary dad.

GI saves Iraqi boy in unlikely adoption
After Meeting Disabled Iraqi Boy in Baghdad Orphanage, American GI Adopts, Brings Him to US
CARRIE ANTLFINGER
Capt. Scott Southworth knew he'd face violence, political strife and blistering heat when he was deployed to one of Baghdad's most dangerous areas. But he didn't expect Ala'a Eddeen. Ala'a was 9 years old, strong of will but weak of body — he suffered from cerebral palsy and weighed just 55 pounds. He lived among about 20 kids with physical or mental disabilities at the Mother Teresa orphanage, under the care of nuns who preserved this small oasis in a dangerous place.
On Sept. 6, 2003, halfway through his 13-month deployment, Southworth and his military police unit paid a visit to the orphanage. They played and chatted with the children; Southworth was talking with one little girl when Ala'a dragged his body to the soldier's side.
Black haired and brown eyed, Ala'a spoke to the 31-year-old American in the limited English he had learned from the sisters. He recalled the bombs that struck government buildings across the Tigris River.
"Bomb-Bing! Bomb-Bing!" Ala'a said, raising and lowering his fist.
"I'm here now. You're fine," the captain said.......

how does this work?

let's see. 700 million get taken away from our children and our needy. then king george turns around and gives pakistan 5 billion (to build weapons to threaten india)???????? so our kids and elderly and our needy get thrown down the sewer and pakistan gets big guns courtesy of the united states of america.

why aren't people shouting from their rooftops? why are we allowing this to continue? when will we wake up?

Medicaid Funding for Schools Cut
The Bush administration yesterday eliminated about $700 million a year in Medicaid reimbursements to schools, sidestepping an attempt by Congress to block such a move.
The new rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is expected to save the federal government $3.6 billion over five years, transferring those costs to school districts.
Lawmakers this week passed legislation to place a six-month moratorium on Medicaid implementing the rule change, but President Bush had not signed the bill.
A wide range of medical services, such as speech and physical therapy, are furnished to students in schools. Medicaid, the government's health insurance program for the poor, will continue to pay for those services for low-income children............


Billions in Aid to Pakistan Was Wasted, Officials Assert
By DAVID ROHDE, CARLOTTA GALL, ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money. The strategy to improve the Pakistani military, they said, needs to be completely revamped. In interviews in Islamabad and Washington, Bush administration and military officials said they believed that much of the American money was not making its way to frontline Pakistani units. Money has been diverted to help finance weapons systems designed to counter India, not Al Qaeda or the Taliban, the officials said, adding that the United States has paid tens of millions of dollars in inflated Pakistani reimbursement claims for fuel, ammunition and other costs........

holy shite

another referral from feministing

i am at a loss here. not only did they commit a heinous act, it sounds like they have NO IDEA WHAT THEY DID WAS BEYOND WRONG. they wanted her to 'take one for the team'??????

six or seven other men standing around and not doing a THING? some of those men must have mothers and wives and girlfriends and sisters and aunts. would they want the women in THEIR lives to be forcibly held down and have her underwear chopped off with a knife? i just don't understand. i don't

2 arrested after woman's underwear cut off in bar 'joke'
By Paul Walsh, Star Tribune
Two men thought it was just a joke - cutting off a woman's underwear as other men in the bar laughed and the bartender turned down her plea to come to her rescue, authorities allege.
Now, the two are facing years in prison if convicted.
Michael S. Puhalla, 39, and Russell J. Baumgardner, 40, are accused of holding down a woman against the bar in Sartell, Minn., and cutting off her underwear with a pocketknife and placing it on a fan in the bar.
They were charged Wednesday in Stearns County with second-degree sexual assault with a dangerous weapon and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in the incident Sunday.

Puhalla, when questioned by police, said that he and Baumgardner were joking around when the topic of underwear came up. Puhalla, referring to the incident, said it was time for the woman "to take one for the team."

these people are TERRORISTS

Contractor Opens Up About Abortion Protesters

hat tip to feministing for the link to the video

THEY ARE TERRORISING WHOLE NEIGHBORHOODS WITH PICTURES NO THREE YEAR OLDS SHOULD SEE. THEY ARE TERRORISING FAMILIES WHO ARE DOING THEIR JOBS (CONTRACTORS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS). THEY ARE TERRORISTS AND WE SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM THEM

the nutmeg grater: i had surgery a few years back#links#links

the nutmeg grater: i had surgery a few years back#links#links

this is NOT right

it's all shite. i don't have a complaint against someone in the service wanting to worship or wanting to worship ON BASE. i DO have a giant complaint about published materials including this VERY frightening video (click the link to see it) FLAUNTING ONLY a christian based evangelical type of worship that will 'save your life AND your soul. it would appear from this video the air force academy ONLY exists to promote evangelical christianity. again, it's just plain WRONG
Evangelical video shows cadets pressured to be missionaries
Katie Baker
A video made by Campus Crusade for Christ, a Christian ministry group, shows Air Force Academy cadets being pressured to participate in religious activities and become "government paid missionaries when they leave."
Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), which released the video this week, says the video is "absolutely out of control."
"You cannot engage the U.S. government to propel your religion," said Weinstein.
The video, filmed in the summer of 2002, opens with tranquil shots of "Colorado's most frequently visited man-made attraction." The unnamed narrator describes the chapel in detail, which "resembles a formation of fighter jets shooting into the sky."
While the narrator says that students receive a "well-rounded education" at the Academy, the video focuses mainly on how stressful the environment is and not so subtly suggests that cadets can find solace in religion. ...........

i've written about this before

and i'll continue to write about it.

i have been fingerprinted for work. they're on file somewhere (as a matter of fact, i was fingerprinted in kindergarten. i don't know why. we're talking WAYYYYYYYYYYYY back in the day. there were NO amber alerts. it wasn't for that reason. odd, no?). there was a reason i was fingerprinted for work (i used to sign checks. BIG checks. that was my OLD department. i don't sign checks now). i consented. i KNOW about it.

i'm a law abiding citizen. i pay my taxes (and i really don't cheat). i don't steal. i don't own a gun nor do i want to. i don't beat any one up (although i must admit the thought has crossed my mind from time to time). i don't play loud music in my house OR my car (sometimes i do crank it up but never where anyone can be annoyed by it). i come to a full stop at stop signs (yes, even at 3 am when i am usually leaving for work). i drive the speed limit (well, ok, i TRY to drive the speed limit). i am polite and i MEAN it. i say excuse me (which, i think is something LACKING in our country. not enough say EXCUSE ME. that is a whole other story) and please and thank you. i hold the door for the person in back of me (ah, we relocated to our new building for work. we have wickedly high tech revolving doors at a couple of the entrances. i'll talk about them sometime too). i apologize if i accidentally let a door close on someone or cut across their path or whatever.

i am NOT a criminal. i am NOT a terrorist. i do NOT want secret organizations in the united states having a pattern of how i walk or knowing who i email or talk to on the phone (that's easy - not too many people i HATE HATE HATE the phone). i don't want to be spied on by my OWN country.

FBI Prepares Vast Database Of Biometrics
$1 Billion Project to Include Images of Irises and Faces

By Ellen Nakashima Washington Post Staff Writer
CLARKSBURG, W. Va. -- The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.
Digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are already flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement here. Next month, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives. And in the coming years, law enforcement authorities around the world will be able to rely on iris patterns, face-shape data, scars and perhaps even the unique ways people walk and talk, to solve crimes and identify criminals and terrorists. The FBI will also retain, upon request by employers, the fingerprints of employees who have undergone criminal background checks so the employers can be notified if employees have brushes with the law. ........

chris,

i love you dearly but there is NO need for this. it's just WRONG

(how often DO you go snowboarding?)

2007 Burton Audex Down Jacket - True Black

Burton teamed up with the tech gurus at Motorola® to create the world's pinnacle wearable communication and entertainment system.
This breakthrough Bluetooth Stereo technology creates a seamless communication link with Bluetooth-compatible mobile phones. Bluetooth Stereo even allows you to stream downloaded music wirelessly from your phone to your jacket. No music phone, no worries – the jacket comes with an iPod®-compatible cord.
Built-in DJ-style speakers in the hood, or the integrated headphone jack, let you crank up the music and pick up phone calls without ever taking off your gloves or unzipping any pockets.

hmmmmmm

fixing trains AND table dancing? now THAT'S a reneissance man woman BOT

Russian railways seek help from dancing robots
Russian railways want tiny robots to replace humans in difficult maintenance work, and they want Russian-made androids that can dance and talk.
Prototypes of tested Russian robots "surpass foreign-produced robots with their technical characteristics," according to a statement from Russian railways on Thursday...........

.............Russian television on Thursday showed the robots dancing on tables in front of amazed members of the public. One robot said "Hello" and a few words on its capabilities. ........

makes ya wanna go

w t f ?????????????????????

IRS paid $188,000 for $38,000 clerk
IRS Paid Contractor $188,000 to Provide $38,000 Clerk
JIM ABRAMSAP News
The Internal Revenue Service paid a contractor $188,000 to provide one person to do clerical work over 11 months
The contract was included as one example of financial waste in a government report Thursday on the tax agency's involvement in a new program ordered by President Bush in 2004 to develop more secure ID cards for federal workers.
The Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration said the IRS also needlessly spent almost $2 million on a computer security system that the tax agency doesn't plan using at this time.
The IRS was responsible for developing and implementing the program for providing more secure identification cards to some 150,000 employees at the Treasury Department. The projected cost of the Treasury program was put at $421 million over 14 years.............

tell the truth?

we can't handle the truth! apparently if you DO tell the truth, you get kicked in the 'junk'

(oh i MUST add this now - THE US DOES NOT TORTURE [yeah right])
CIA Seeks Investigation Of Ex-Officer's Claims
Waterboarding Statements Raise Concern

CIA Seeks Investigation Of Ex-Officer's Claims
Waterboarding Statements Raise Concern

The CIA has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether a former agency officer illegally disclosed classified information in describing the capture and waterboarding of an al-Qaeda terrorism suspect, officials said yesterday.
In interviews last week with The Washington Post and other news organizations, former CIA officer John Kiriakou discussed details of the capture of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein alleging that he resisted cooperating with interrogators until he was subjected to waterboarding, which makes a captive believe he is being drowned. ........

please at the VERY LEAST

we must protect and help ALL of our men and women serving. there should never again be another Pvt. 1st Class Jason Scheuerman. it is our duty and responsiblity to care for ALL of our service people AND veterans too.

this is a wicked sad story. i am sorry for this loss (as well as every other one)

AP Special Report: Soldier Who Killed Himself in Iraq Had Been Ignored and Mistreated
SANFORD, N.C. -- Pvt. 1st Class Jason Scheuerman nailed a suicide note to his barracks closet in Iraq, stepped inside and shot himself.“Maybe finaly I can get some peace,” said the 20-year-old, misspelling “finally” but writing in a neat hand.His parents didn’t find out about the note for well over a year, and only then when it showed up in a government envelope in his father’s rural North Carolina mailbox.The one-page missive was among hundreds of pages of documents the soldier’s family obtained and shared with The Associated Press after battling a military bureaucracy they feel didn’t want to answer their questions, especially this: Why did Jason Scheuerman have to die?What the soldier’s father, Chris, would learn about his son’s final days would lead the retired Special Forces commando, who teaches at Fort Bragg, to take on the very institution he’s spent his life serving — and ultimately prompt an investigation by the Army Inspector General’s office.The documents, obtained by Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Chris Scheuerman, reveal a troubled soldier kept in Iraq despite repeated signs he was going to kill himself, including placing the muzzle of his weapon in his mouth multiple times................

just don't let the good ol' boys

and grrrls from blackwater near 'em (see a couple of postings ago where blackwater blew away a dog belonging to the nyt)

US troops in Iraq to get some doggie love
The US army will for the first time send skilled therapy dogs to Iraq to help comfort traumatized soldiers struggling to overcome mental health problems.
Black labrador retrievers, Boe and Budge, who have been in training for months, will be stationed with the Army's combat stress units in the Iraqi towns of Tikrit and Mosul to provide "emotional comfort" to the troops.
The two dogs were given to the 85th Medical Detachment by America's VetDogs, a subsidary of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, which provides dogs to veterans.
"Dogs have been the unsung heroes of our war efforts. Bringing therapy dogs into Iraq will take dogs to the next level on the battlefield," said Major Stacie Caswell, the commander of the 85th.
"The therapy dogs will be another method that our Combat Stress teams can use to break down mental health stigma -- to assist soldiers so that when they go home 'Iraq is not on their backs.'"............

how many times

does this have to be printed (in little headlines, off of front pages, NOT on the front pages of the nyt or wapo or whatever) for us to finally (well not US, i say it out loud. i guess by us i mean king george and his court AND the bulk of the american peeps) say al qaeda is full of saudis? the 9/11 terrorists (most of them) were trained in saudi arabia. saudi arabia not only doesn't allow women to drive OR HAVE SURGERY WITHOUT THEIR HUSBAND'S PERMISSION but JAILS AND PUNISHES FEMALE VICTIMS OF RAPE? why did we attack iraq? why aren't we making king george AND his buds in places like saudi arabia accountable? why are WE suffering? why are our men and women dying? why did we allow millions of iraqis to be displaced? why did we systematically destroy their country? why are we allowing them to be killed and tortured? WE DID ALL OF THIS. WE DID

yet we are turning a blind eye and allowing all of this shite to continue

Saudis biggest group of al Qaeda Iraq fighters-study
By Kristin Roberts
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Most al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and Libya and many are university-aged students, said a study released on Wednesday by researchers at the U.S. Army's West Point military academy.
The study was based on 606 personnel records collected by al Qaeda in Iraq and captured by coalition troops in October. It includes data on fighters who entered Iraq, largely through Syria, between August 2006 and August 2007.
The researchers at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center found that 41 percent of the fighters were Saudi nationals.
Libyan nationals accounted for the second largest group entering Iraq in that time period with about 19 percent of the total, followed by Syrians and Yemenis each at 8 percent, Algerians with 7 percent and Moroccans at 6 percent...........

is this the REAL

DON'T ASK - DON'T TELL???

Mukasey Limits Agency's Contacts With White House

By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey issued new restrictions yesterday on contacts between Justice Department and White House officials regarding ongoing criminal or civil investigations, implementing his first major policy revision since taking office on Nov. 9.
Mukasey had promised to institute new guidelines in the wake of the U.S. attorney firings scandal, in which lawmakers and some prosecutors alleged that White House political aides and other officials were inappropriately informed about details of criminal or civil probes. .........

am i on crack?

i swear i am NOT on crack.

how come i NEVER KNEW ABOUT THIS? i swear i never did.

i accidently JUST came across this.

i have to go now - i need some crack

(it's a man's world, BUT it wouldn't be nothin' NOTHIN' without a woman or a grrrrrrrrrrllllllll)