Monday, March 31, 2003

Night of the Short Knives. Terry Egan passes this along to me; lunacy from the European Union: The Adam Smith Institute has denounced the latest... [Survival Arts] It seems the EU has decreed "that the maximum length of knife blades permitted within the EU after 1 January 2004 will be 10cm (approx 4 inches)." I wonder if this is some bizarre roundabout scheme by vegetarians to reduce meat consumption, by forcing butchers to make do with totally inadequate tools? 11:40:39 PM    comment () U.S.: Troops Killed at Least 7 Civilians [AP World News] I expect we'll be seeing more of this, since the troops have to worry about civilian kamikazes. Every time it does the chance of the Iraqis actually welcoming the invasion goes down--and that is, tragically, necessary. The troops are quite understandably going to be more concerned with protecting their own lives and getting home to their families than they are with helping some politicians in Washington score propaganda points. 11:28:25 PM    comment () Today's Los Angeles Times had a lengthy article with a front page lead-in on who "Salam Pax" is and whether he's real, with a few excerpts of his posts (censored, of course). The article doesn't say anything new or interesting, but it is significant that a weblog is getting this kind of coverage. 11:20:53 PM    comment () Raid Finds Al-Qaida Tie to Iraq Militants [AP World News] The title is a bit misleading. The "Iraq militants" mentioned are Ansar al-Islam, the terrorist group located in the Kurdish territory. The article mentions that no link to Saddam had been found, but they were apparently receiving aid from Iran. No doubt the Crusaders will use that as part of their propaganda effort to promote was with Iran. 5:20:50 PM    comment () Yet another sealed room death. Newsday.com: "Two elderly Israeli Arab sisters were found dead Monday in a room they had sealed against a possible Iraqi... [The news, Uncensored.] This is an example of why the government's advice about plastic sheets and duct tape is not just a bad idea, but actually dangerous. 5:16:43 PM    comment () Why Do Marines Wear Green in the Desert? [Soldiers For The Truth] A look at why the Marines in Iraq are wearing the wrong camouflage pattern. 12:59:22 PM    comment () Newsday.  The internally conflicted US policy on Iraq continues to do damage.  On the one hand we need local support (particularly from the Shiites in the south and central Iraqi cities), yet we aren't willing to talk, negotiate, or work with the person that that could make this happen (and the person who will likely be a major political player in a post-Saddam Iraq):  Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim.  Our inability to work with this spiritual and political leader of Iraqi Shiites has resulted in the following: ... al-Hakim has sent instructions to his supporters and secret cells in Basra, Najaf, Karbala and other southern Iraqi cities not to start an uprising or support the American-led coalition in any way, according to two of his top advisers. Al-Hakim also issued a "message to the Iraqi people" last week urging them not to side either with the United States or the Iraqi regime. This has not stopped the Kurds from working with al-Hakim's forces, the Iranian-housed Iraqi Shiite Badr Brigade: A senior Kurdish official said the Badr forces were invited by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which controls the eastern part of the Kurdish self-rule area. The group invited al-Hakim's forces in preparation for sending Iraqi opposition militias into the strategic northern city of Kirkuk, which is home to some of Iraq's richest oil fields. The Kurds want to send some Arab fighters into the city so that it would not appear that they are trying to take it over for themselves, the official said. It's disheartening to think that the US military and political leadership assumed that there would be popular support for US military action in Iraq without working hand in glove with extremely popular opposition leaders.  Granted, these meetings are starting to occur, but they are in many ways too little, too late.  In my view, a face-to-face meeting between Bush, Barzani, Talabani, Chalabi, and al-Hakim should have been a prerequisite for any military action in Iraq.  [John Robb's Radio Weblog] I think it's good for the Iraqi people that the Shiites and Kurds are working together like that. Together the two groups represent about 80% of Iraq's population, and it's nice to see signs that they don't intend to start killing each other the first chance they get. On the other hand, this is bad news for the US government. If the main Iraqi opposition groups are already working together, it doesn't bode well for the Proconsul's rule once the conquest is complete. 10:52:39 AM    comment () U.S. Moves to Within 50 Miles of Baghdad [AP World News] Are we supposed to have forgotten that they've been saying that for several days now? 9:46:13 AM    comment () Peter Arnett Can't Win. First he gets fired for doing a story that was false. Now he's been fired for saying what everybody knows is true. The brickbats keep coming. In this Howard Kurtz story, decorated former Marine Rich Lowry, who has spent decades traveling the Middle East and mastering the region's political and cultural nuances, gives the canned Kiwi what-for. [Hit & Run] Hopefully this will discourage journalists from their annoying habit of interviewing each other and pretending it's news. 9:37:23 AM    comment () War Advisors. Reports today's Washington Post (without naming names): [T]here is a behind-the-scenes effort by former senior Republican government officials and party leaders to convince President Bush that the advice he has received from Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz -- a powerful triumvirate frequently at odds with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell -- has been wrong and even dangerous to long-term U.S. national interests... "The only one who can reach the president is his father," one former senior official said. "But it is not timely yet to talk to him." [Hit & Run] Good luck to them. However, I don't buy the theory that Bush is a puppet for his advisors. I think he knows full well what he is doing, and is just as guilty as they are. 6:03:39 AM    comment () Politician Urges Bush War Crimes Trial [AP World News] The United Nations must try President Bush (news - web sites) and his allies as war criminals, a top Indonesian politician demanded Monday as protesters elsewhere denounced the war in Iraq as illegal and voiced concern for its victims. The UN and their "war crimes" nonsense can get lost, but the President, his cabinet, and all of Congress (except Rep. Ron Paul) should be impeached for violating their oaths of office. 6:00:47 AM    comment () I lay in bed most of yesterday and read the entire 409 pages of Jeff Head's Dragon's Fury - High Tide. It covers the cresting and turning back in 2008 by American allies of the high tide of the Chinese and Islamic forces by cruise missiles firing hundreds of thousands of .17 caliber hyper-velocity depleted uranium projectiles. It includes fictional scientific proof that life begins at conception and the reversal of Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court. All-in-all an entertaining read. [End the War on Freedom] That sounds about like what I'd expect. I read the first two books, and found them to be ridiculously improbable. 5:51:25 AM    comment () Big Brother Is Watching You Shop. Commercial databases, such as credit card records, grocery purchases and hotel bills, are the latest pool of information the government says it has a right to collect. Merchants and lenders have been doing it for years. [Wired News] A good reason to pay cash whenever possible, and avoid using those grocery store "discount" cards. 5:48:00 AM    comment ()

© Copyright 2006 Ken Hagler. Last update: 2/15/2006; 1:52:55 PM.