Posted 7:09 PM by Blah blah

Britain's Daily Mirror Hires Peter Arnett

Well thank goodness Peter has found a home so soon! Home of the Free: Arnett Joins Mirror (Daily Mirror). It's a tabloid paper, though, that is strongly anti-war.

Sad that a naturalized American citizen like Arnett, a great Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who could work for any news organization, has to leave America to find a home for his voice.

Arnett speaks: This War is Not Working (Daily Mirror) "For me...to be criticised for saying the obvious is unfair. But it has made me a target for my critics in the States who accuse me of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. I don't want to give aid and comfort to the enemy - I just want to be able to tell the truth."

You may write to the Mirror to reach Arnett.

See video of Arnett talking to Matt Lauer on the Today Show this morning.

Posted 3:52 PM by Blah blah

War-Gamed: Why the Army shouldn't be so surprised by Saddam's moves (Slate):

Much has been made of Thursday's remark by Lt. Gen. William Wallace, commander of U.S. Army forces in the Persian Gulf. Talking about the fierce and guerrilla-style resistance of Iraqi militia groups, Wallace said, 'The enemy we're fighting is a bit different than the one we war-gamed against.'

In fact, however, militia fighters did play a crucial role in a major war game designed to simulate combat in Iraq—but the Pentagon officials who managed the game simply disregarded or overruled the militias' most devastating moves.

The war game, which was called Millennium Challenge 02, took place over three weeks last July and August. Planned over a two-year period, at a cost of $250 million, the game involved 13,500 personnel from all four services—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines—who waged mock war in 17 simulation locations and nine live-force training sites. The scenario envisioned a war in a fictitiously named Persian Gulf country that resembled Iraq."

Bush Advisers Divided. George Bush Sr.'s Advisers Disapprove

More on what Peter Arnett had been saying---i.e. the truth. Advisers Split as War Unfolds (Washington Post):
__________________
The first 11 days of the war have brought back with a vengeance the deep splits that have long existed within the Bush administration and the Republican Party over policy toward Iraq.

Already there 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....

Some within the group of former GOP officials were advocates last summer of going to the United Nations to win broader international support for confronting Iraq rather than moving unilaterally. The president decided to try to obtain U.N. backing -- a course Powell strongly favored -- after his father's national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, and secretary of state, James A. Baker III, went public supporting that approach. Administration officials, however, said that Bush always intended to go to the United Nations and was not influenced by his father's former aides.

Since that time, Scowcroft, who currently heads the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, has had limited access to the White House because of his public criticisms of the administration's policies toward Europe, NATO and the United Nations.

Posted 12:45 PM by Blah blah

Transcript of Peter Arnett interview on Iraqi TV (CNN). In war the first casualty is always the truth.

Correction: Peter Arnett worked for National Geographic's "Explorer" program (which airs on MSNBC), and NBC had struck a deal with National Geographic for him to cover the war for NBC News. MSNBC has deleted Arnett's Baghdad Diary from its website! I don't think I'll ever watch MSNBC again. Arnett was one of the few Western television reporters remaining in Baghdad providing coverage for a U.S. network.

Here's what National Geographic said about it. I called the National Geographic Society to complain: 800-NGS-LINE (800-647-5463). A person answered the customer service line. I couldn't get through with the NBC and Fox phone lines. I have never called or written a TV show or studio in my life.

Auto Email Reply from NBC

Just got this automatic reply to my letter:

Thank you for your thoughtful comments about Peter Arnett. He will not report for MSNBC again. Granting an interview to Iraqi TV was wrong and the commentary within the interview was disgraceful. As you may know, Arnett did not work directly for MSNBC and NBC. And now he will no longer even appear as an on-scene correspondent.

Sincerely,

Erik Sorenson
President, GM
MSNBC

My Letter to National Geographic Explorer, NBC News, and Fox News

To: Natgeoexplorer@msnbc.com, ngt@nationalgeographic.com, comments@foxnews.com, Today@NBC.com, weekendtoday@nbc.com, Nightly@NBC.com, Dateline@NBC.com, MTP@NBC.com, viewerservices@msnbc.com, countdown@msnbc.com
Subject: Upset at National Geographic and NBC's Firing of Peter Arnett
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 12:39:33 -0800 (PST)

Dear National Geographic Explorer, NBC News, Fox News:

I was very upset on reading your story about National Geographic Explorer, NBC, and MSNBC firing Peter Arnett.

For the record, I am a moderate and reluctantly pro-war. I support Blair's vision of the world, not Bush's. I am not rabidly for or against the war.

Yet this obvious flag-waving and censorship of Arnett, a great journalist who is loyal to neither side but the truth, SERIOUSLY bothers me. Also, if you check out MSNBC.com, most of the columnists there with blogs are very pro-war and pro-Bush.

I'm asking my friends to support me on this letter I'm sending to National Geographic, NBC News, and Fox News.

To me, what Peter Arnett said makes me TRUST him more. It's a sign of what makes him a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter. Journalists don't work for the U.S. government. They are not supposed to shade the truth or lie, like diplomats. They are supposed to say what they observe, whether it is favorable or unfavorable to you or NOT! What Arnett said was old news and had been widely reported in the New Yorker, New York Times, and Washington Post. It had been said by former U.S. generals commenting on national TV. People admit that U.S. officials underestimated the extent of Iraqi military resistance. Big deal.

Plus he said there was growing opposition to the war in the U.S. Again---not exactly anything that violates national security. Arnett never reported on secret troop movements, for instance. In fact, if American war planners had listened to Arnett's reporting beforehand, they might have avoided making some of their costly mistakes that we now must confront.

His only "mistake" was saying, on Iraqi TV, things that the U.S. press had been talking about for days! For me, to be able to report facts that might be unfavorable to your country is a sign to ALL Iraqis of the benefit of something we are supposed to have: a free press. That should be a POSITIVE thing and a proud thing for me as an American.

I also notice that most of the columnists for MSNBC, the ones with blogs, such as Glenn Reynolds, are strongly pro-war and pro-Bush.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle: "The interview sent Fox News' John Gibson into an apoplectic fit of moral outrage...'Is he on the Iraqi side?' Gibson demanded...'His comments seem to be supporting the Iraqi regime,' Gibson fumed, adding Arnett 'seems to be encouraging Iraqi resistance.' He ratcheted that up later with this: 'Arnett seemed to cheer the Iraqi resistance.' Gibson's less-than-veiled anti-American wink-wink to viewers continued as he suggested Arnett 'seems to have the run of Iraq.' Later: 'Peter Arnett is live in Baghdad and we may now know why.' "

I am shocked at and ashamed of National Geographic, Fox News, and NBC News. Unless National Geographic and NBC rehire Arnett, my friends and I refuse to watch NBC, MSNBC, and Fox for any more war coverage, and we refuse to read National Geographic because of their obvious pro-war, pro-Bush bias.

Posted 10:11 AM by Blah blah

NBC Fires Peter Arnett For Telling the Truth.
Help Me Boycott NBC News and Fox News.

I'm sending this letter to National Geographic Explorer, NBC News and Fox News now. Please email them too if you want to support more objective news coverage.

NBC Fires Peter Arnett Over Iraqi TV Interview (Reuters). This makes me SICK and ANGRY. He was called anti-American and fired for telling the truth:

"American television network NBC said on Monday it had severed its relations with veteran reporter Peter Arnett after he told Iraqi television that the U.S. war plan against Saddam Hussein had failed. 'Peter Arnett will no longer be reporting for NBC News and MSNBC,' NBC said in a joint statement with National Geographic, for whom the Pulitzer prize-winning reporter was also working.

'I said in that interview essentially what we all know about the war, that there have been delays in implementing policy, there have been surprises,' Arnett told NBC's Today show....

'It was wrong for Mr. Arnett to grant an interview with state-controlled Iraqi TV, especially at a time of war and it was wrong for him to discuss his personal observations and opinions,' NBC said in a statement.

Arnett told the Iraqi television that American war planners had underestimated the determination of Iraqi troops to fight U.S. and British troops and that the Pentagon seemed to be amending its original strategy.

'Now America is reappraising the battlefield, delaying the war, maybe a week and rewriting the war plan,' Arnett said in excerpts of the interview aired on U.S. networks. 'The first plan has failed because of Iraqi resistance. Now they are trying to write another plan.'

He added there was a 'growing challenge to President Bush about the conduct of the war and also opposition to the war.'

That view echoed similar comments in many U.S. media after the rapid advance of U.S. forces through southern Iraq slowed south of Baghdad amid disruptive attacks on its long supply lines persistent resistance, particularly in the towns.

Arnett's remarks were received with anger by the administration in Washington. One White House source said they were based on 'a position of complete ignorance.' "
_______________________
Arnett rattles hornets' nest with Iraqi TV comments (San Francisco Chronicle):

"Arnett's appearance has already solidified the argument that one network, Fox News, has no qualms about waving the flag during this war. On Sunday night, Fox News took sole possession of the Arnett interview and whipped it into a media story by saying his actions were aiding Iraq....

The interview sent Fox News' John Gibson into an apoplectic fit of moral outrage -- also not exactly breaking news for him or the channel. 'Is he on the Iraqi side?' Gibson demanded...

'His comments seem to be supporting the Iraqi regime,' Gibson fumed, adding Arnett 'seems to be encouraging Iraqi resistance.' He ratcheted that up later with this: 'Arnett seemed to cheer the Iraqi resistance.' Gibson's less-than- veiled anti-American wink-wink to viewers continued as he suggested Arnett 'seems to have the run of Iraq.' Later: 'Peter Arnett is live in Baghdad and we may now know why.'

If you thought this televised indictment couldn't get any more journalistically unsound, Gibson then let former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato unload this bomb on Arnett: 'He gives aid and comfort to the enemy.' "
_______________________
Bich Ngoc just told me she belongs to the MoveOn Media Corps, a group of "volunteers who will mobilize to push the media to fairly cover this war." We could join.

For Broadcast Media, Patriotism Pays (Washington Post):

"Now, apparently, is the time for all good radio and TV stations to come to the aid of their country's war. That is the message pushed by broadcast news consultants, who've been advising news and talk stations across the nation to wave the flag and downplay protest against the war.

'Get the following production pieces in the studio NOW: . . . Patriotic music that makes you cry, salute, get cold chills! Go for the emotion,' advised McVay Media, a Cleveland-based consultant, in a "War Manual" memo to its station clients. ". . . Air the National Anthem at a specified time each day as long as the USA is at war.'

The company, which describes itself as the largest radio consultant in the world, also has been counseling talk show stations to 'Make sure your hosts aren't "over the top." Polarizing discussions are shaky ground. This is not the time to take cheap shots to get reaction . . . not when our young men and women are "in harm's way." '

The influential television-news consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates recently put it in even starker terms: Covering war protests may be harmful to a station's bottom line."

Posted 8:25 AM by Blah blah

My Apologies to Anyone Offended

What I did with the "Ramona" thing was sort of an April Fool's Day joke. I'm sorry if anyone got offended. I was gently poking fun at the whole "high school popularity contest" way of thinking on Rice Bowl Journals, and I proved my point. I had no idea people would actually take the bait. I was always planning to post this photo for a short time only, change it back, and then report it here. Other people have had their fake photos up for MONTHS, but no one has said anything about them. I am upfront and open about what I did.

I think people are more offended because it reveals something that's TRUE. But most people, I'm sure, would be amused, just like they were at the whole lie of Joe Millionaire. Most girls, too, are interested in knowing whether people like them more for their brains or their boobs. That's one reason some girls never post their photos at all!

No harm done. To anyone offended, I owe you a thousand rice cakes in a burnt offering.

Posted 7:57 PM by Blah blah

#1 on RBJ Top 200. New Fox TV Show: Mr. Personality

Well well, I just proved something to myself. People have wondered why it seems like the blogs that get the most hits on the Rice Bowl Journals Top 200 are pretty girls.

Some of them, like Arnold's, aren't even girls! He just puts a torso of a naked girl for his avatar. That was in the Top 10 for a while. Some, like Miyuki's, have not been updated for months. Some don't even exist any more. Yet the guys keep-a-comin'.

So a few days ago, I tried a psychology experiment. I changed my avatar photo to that of a Japanese girl in a black bikini. And I changed my name, to "Ramona." :D I changed my site name to "Do you read the words?"

Guess not. Today, this blog reached #1 in the RBJ Top 200! Guys can be sheep.

No, Cyn, this isn't a bid to get more hits for my site. I get plenty, thank you. But when some of us put thought and effort into writing, we sometimes wonder how effective it really is at drawing people back. Or how much people really care.

On RBJ at least, I can proudly announce that people think more with their groin. Happy April Fool's Day! (I've changed it all back.)

Fox TV should take this idea for its next reality show! Actually they DO have a concept like this coming soon:

Mr. Personality: "a young, beautiful and single woman will court several eligible men who must rely strictly on their individual personalities to captivate her. Each man will be disguised throughout the dating process, keeping his looks hidden. While our beautiful heroine will not see the appearance of the men she is dating, viewers will. As the series progresses, the single woman ultimately narrows her choice to one man. Will she love her new mate after first setting eyes on him, or will she leave him?"

Guess who's hosting Mr. Personality? Monica Lewinsky!

Posted 7:12 PM by Blah blah

Bill Gates is ALIVE---Sounds Like a Bad Joke. Jian Shuo Wang Got Married!

Jian Shuo, who works for Microsoft in Shanghai and was one of my cowriters for Tiger Cafe, just freaked me out with his message in my tagboard to the left.

According to his blog, major media companies in China reported Saturday that Bill Gates had been murdered in Los Angeles.

THIS REPORT IS COMPLETELY FALSE. Sounds like a cruel April Fool's Day joke to me.

Some companies who said this reportedly included: CNN, China International Radio Station, Sina.com.cn, Sohu.com, Yahoo! China, CCTV 4, and Oriental TV. My jaw dropped. I can't believe journalists would report this in a blind frenzy without checking the facts!
___________
Hey, Jian Shuo just got married on March 17!!!

Photos of his new wife Fan Fan. Check out this slideshow he made of his wife, called Fan Fan's Video, at the bottom of the photo page. Includes a Chinese pop song. SWEET! Awww, many many warm wishes for a joyful and happy life together, Jian Shuo! He's been trying to start a software/consulting business on the side, too.

Here's a whole list of bloggers from Microsoft.

Posted 5:26 AM by Blah blah

Call 911! We Have a Supermodel Shortage

Read the joke article (Weekly World News):

America has been hit hard by a devastating shortage of supermodels -- and insiders say if this trend continues, it could have a crippling effect on the $140 billion fashion industry....

"But the original generation of supermodels is fading, and there are no new ones coming along to replace them. In a very short while, the supermodel as we know it may become extinct."...

At one time, it was hoped that the top supermodels in the world would have beautiful daughters that would carry on their legacy. This plan didn't work out. Gallows notes, "Many supermodels married ugly rock stars, which diluted the gene pool. "

Posted 4:59 AM by Blah blah

How the Bush People's Thinking Evolved into War

First Stop, Iraq (Time): How did the U.S. end up taking on Saddam? The inside story of how Iraq jumped to the top of Bush's agenda—and why the outcome there may foreshadow a different world order.

"F___ Saddam. We're taking him out." Those were the words of President George W. Bush, who had poked his head into the office of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. It was March 2002, and Rice was meeting with three U.S. Senators, discussing how to deal with Iraq through the United Nations, or perhaps in a coalition with America's Middle East allies. Bush wasn't interested. He waved his hand dismissively, recalls a participant, and neatly summed up his Iraq policy in that short phrase. The Senators laughed uncomfortably; Rice flashed a knowing smile. The President left the room.
______________
For more on this topic, see these PBS Frontline documentaries on the Net: The Long Road to War. Specifically: The War Behind Closed Doors, "the people, the clashes---and ultimately the 'grand strategy'---behind George W. Bush's determination to go to war with Iraq."

Posted 3:44 AM by Blah blah

Arrogant Donald Rumsfeld. More Arabs Get Pissed Off. The War Shifts Goals.

Sigh. Hubris again. Now our troops are suffering setbacks, delays, and danger because of the arrogance of this man. The war hawks call the peace mongers "unrealistic and naive." Yet who had the unrealistic expectations of Iraqi resistance and underestimated the difficulty of fighting guerilla warfare? I don't trust the hawks (Paul Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, etc.) and fear they will get to screw up the post-war reconstruction.

On the plus side, we HAVE covered a lot of ground with relatively few deaths. We have reduced the problem of Iraq, a country the size of California, to the size of Connecticut. In only one week.

Report: Rumsfeld Ignored Pentagon Advice on Iraq:

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld repeatedly rejected advice from Pentagon planners that substantially more troops and armor would be needed to fight a war in Iraq, the New Yorker reported.

In an article for its April 7 edition, which goes on sale on Monday, the weekly said Rumsfeld insisted at least six times in the run-up to the conflict that the proposed number of ground troops be sharply reduced and got his way.

"He thought he knew better. He was the decision-maker at every turn," the article quoted an unidentified senior Pentagon planner as saying. "This is the mess Rummy put himself in because he didn't want a heavy footprint on the ground."

It also said Rumsfeld had overruled advice from war commander Gen. Tommy Franks to delay the invasion until troops denied access through Turkey could be brought in by another route and miscalculated the level of Iraqi resistance.

"They've got no resources. He was so focused on proving his point -- that the Iraqis were going to fall apart," the article, by veteran journalist Seymour Hersh, cited an unnamed former high-level intelligence official as saying.
___________________
More problems from Rumsfeld's big mouth:
Arabs Shocked at Rumsfeld's Syria Threat (LA Times):

In newspaper headlines, street interviews and among the Arab elite, the response was at first surprise and then angry resignation to what Arabs view as the blind aggression of the American administration.

However, most people also expressed puzzlement at why Rumsfeld would make such an antagonistic statement at a time when the United States' stock in the Arab world is already so low.

"Only a madman would think of widening the circle of war," said Information Minister Adnan Omran, a former Syrian ambassador to Britain who also spent several years in the United States as a diplomat.

In a press conference Friday, Rumsfeld charged Syria with sending night vision goggles to Iraq, along with other items, saying, "These deliveries pose a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces. We consider such trafficking as hostile acts, and will hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments."

In the same press conference he accused Iran of aiding Iraq by allowing hundreds of fighters to cross its border into the country. His words were widely taken to mean that the United States was prepared to attack Syria and Iran unless they fell into line.

Rumsfeld's language seemed particularly oblivious to the public mood in Syria which has rallied enthusiastically behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's outspoken opposition to the war.
___________________
War's Military, Political Goals Begin to Diverge (Washington Post):

Top Army officers in Iraq say they now believe that they effectively need to restart the war. Before launching a major ground attack on Iraq's Republican Guard, they want to secure their supply lines and build up their own combat power. Some timelines for the likely duration of the war now extend well into the summer, they say....

But as time goes by, other factors could force the U.S. military to act sooner. In four to six weeks, "there could be real problems" with food supplies in major Iraqi cities, said Ken Bacon, the former Pentagon spokesman who is president of Refugees International.

A war that lasts months may also leave a vacuum that could encourage trouble elsewhere around the globe, some generals and strategists worry. If the Pentagon does deploy into Iraq all the troops currently scheduled to go, about half the combat power of both the Army and the Marine Corps will be in Iraq. One senior general at the Pentagon said he is especially concerned that North Korea, which has been locked in a confrontation with the United States over its nuclear program, will attempt to capitalize on the situation.

Posted 12:44 PM by Blah blah

Hunger

Arms Outstretched in Desperation (Washington Post). Vivid story of hungry people of Safwan, Iraq, fighting for Red Crescent food aid.

Iraqi civilians feed hungry US marines (AFP). Poor American troops! I wish them the best! "Sergeant Kenneth Wilson said Arabic-speaking US troops made contact with two busloads of Iraqis fleeing south along Route Seven towards Rafit, one of the first friendly meetings with local people for the marines around here.

"They had slaughtered lambs and chickens and boiled eggs and potatoes for their journey out of the frontlines," Wilson said....

As troops munched on their feast, one medic warned the food could have been deliberately contaminated.

He was quickly disregarded as the hungry marines forged ahead to make a fondue out of a donated tin of Australian processed cheese, but the potatoes were eaten before the cheese could melt.

"Man I never thought a boiled egg could taste so damn good," one burly marine observed.

New York Times' Bureau Chief, Kuwait City

Patrick Tyler answers a selection of readers' questions every day in the NY Times. Good!

Posted 8:54 AM by Blah blah

Internet Love Gone Wrong

While I've been overdosing here on war war war, Ellen talks about her new haircut, attending her friend's wedding, and feeling like a "muggle." :P

Boy do I have a HUGE gap with the "younger" female generation! Hahaha! Most of you are probably bored stiff by all my talk of war. To the 3 other people who actually read my war posts, you deserve a Purple Heart for Patience. Now Raymond is coming down to earth...

Ellen told this story about Internet love gone wrong:

The Philippine Daily Inquirer just wrote it up: Why do fools fall in love? OUCH! I'm not gonna give it away. Please read it.

The best site I've found with juicy horrifying stories of Internet love gone wrong is WildxAngel. Read and weep. She also gives lots of advice on how to protect yourself when starting Internet relationships. Some of the worst of their stories.

Posted 5:53 PM by Blah blah

War Aside, Bush and Blair Diverge on Key Issues (LA Times). This article lays it out well, Raven. Blair's worldviews are much more similar to Clinton's:
______________________
Blair has made it clear that his priorities in international affairs -- even his basic framework for organizing relations among the world's countries -- often depart starkly from Bush's.

Those differences reflect an underlying political distance that is even greater on domestic than international issues: Blair leads a left-of-center party that takes positions broadly similar to former President Clinton's "New Democratic" synthesis, while Bush has pursued an aggressive conservative agenda at home and abroad.

Blair and Bush diverge on the necessity of global cooperation in meeting environmental, economic and security challenges, and the proper role for the United States within such an international system.

Much like Democratic presidential contenders Sens. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Blair argues that the best way to confront such issues -- and for the U.S. to minimize resentment of its preponderant power -- is to bind the nation to the world through strengthened alliances and invigorated international institutions.

"The countries and the people of the world today are more interdependent than ever," Blair said last year. "That calls for an integrated approach."

Bush, by contrast, has rejected international treaties on issues from global warming to a war crime tribunal and placed much greater priority on maximizing U.S. freedom of action.

Those differences were apparent during the long struggle at the U.N. over Iraq; Blair always appeared more willing than Bush to make concessions, and to extend the negotiations, in the hope of winning broader international support for military action.

On other international issues beyond Iraq and the Middle East, the same instinct divides Blair and Bush. Bush has renounced the Kyoto treaty to reduce emissions of the gases associated with global warming; in late February, Blair not only reaffirmed his support for the pact but called it "not radical enough" and pledged to achieve massive additional reductions.
______________________
Would the real George Bush please stand down (The Guardian). Bush supporters, please DON'T read this. The rest of ya, enjoy with glee! It's a riot. :D

Posted 3:10 PM by Blah blah

Iraq Military Guide

Fascinating and comprehensive! Iraq Military Guide: covers everything you might want to know about Iraq. Iraqi leadership, including chilling portrait of Saddam's son, Uday Hussein.

Chris Allbritton Gets Closer to Northern Iraq

From Warblogging.com:

Christopher Allbritton, the Internet's first very own war correspondent, has gotten his Syrian visa, he reports on Back To Iraq. He is currently in Ankara, but will be departing for Syria — and then the Syrian-Iraqi border — tomorrow morning.

Chris is travelling to Iraqi Kurdistan to report on the war in an independent fashion, outside the controlling influence of the US Army or major media organisations. His trip is entirely funded by his readers, who have so far donated more than ten thousand dollars. Panisonic, Motorola and other companies have donated equipment such as a laptop and satellite telephone.

Chris e-mails reports from the field to those who have donated, and those reports then get posted to his weblog. He hopes to be in Duhok or Erbil in northern Iraq by tomorrow night.

Posted 2:50 PM by Blah blah

Missteps with Turkey Hurt U.S. Military Effort

General: A Longer War Likely (Washington Post). The story of unexpected resistance and setbacks that are delaying the U.S. military effort now.

Scott Rosenberg, managing editor of Salon.com, talks about all these dilemmas eloquently: "we're stuck in a no-win trap: Either we continue to do everything we can to minimize the bloodshed, quite possibly limiting our ability to bring the war to a successful close; or we untie the military's hands, let them bomb Baghdad and other cities to bits and not worry about the 'collateral damage.' In that case, we may well succeed at 'regime change' -- but emerge with a losing position on the global chessboard."

Missteps With Turkey Prove Costly: Diplomatic Debacle Denied U.S. a Strong Northern Thrust in Iraq (Washington Post). Here's the story of the soap opera the U.S. had with Turkey before the war:

"One week into the war, the administration's inability to win Turkey's approval has emerged as an important turning point in the U.S. confrontation with Iraq that senior U.S. officials now acknowledge may ultimately prolong the length of the conflict. It is a story of clumsy diplomacy and mutual misunderstanding, U.S. and Turkish officials said. It also illustrates how the administration undercut its own efforts to broaden international support for war by allowing its war plan to dictate the pace of its diplomacy, diplomats and other experts in U.S.-Turkish relations said."

Posted 12:45 PM by Blah blah

From SALTYT (the supermodel blog): At the After-Party, Less Cleavage, Unreal Tans and a Tossed Drink (NY Times). Breezy, bubbly account of the post-Oscar Vanity Fair party on March 23rd. I like the sweet photo of Adrien Brody with his parents:
______________
In was being nice. As when Janet Jackson was overheard asking Alana Stewart if Rod Stewart was her father. (Ms. Stewart is Mr. Stewart's ex-wife and was by all reports flattered by the question.) Or The New Yorker writer Susan Orlean and Meryl Streep hugging and chatting.

Out was being rude, as when the talent agent Ed Limato threw a cocktail at Richard Johnson. Two olives bounced off Mr. Johnson's nose. Mr. Johnson, who writes Page Six for The New York Post, said that Mr. Limato was angry about an item he had written about Mel Gibson.

Mr. Limato then asked Mr. Johnson if he would like to do something about it. Mr. Johnson demurred.

"I have better manners than that," Mr. Johnson said later. "At least it wasn't red wine."

Posted 10:30 AM by Blah blah

More of Our Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il

Oh hell. For you spoiled brats too lazy to click a link, I post this from Kim Jong-Il's LiveJournal:

License2KimJongill: ror
License2KimJongill: I mean, lol

Bush43: YOU ALWAYS DO THAT, HAHA

License2KimJongill: haha
License2KimJongill: it's still confusing for me
License2KimJongill: so what are you up to tonight

Bush43: NOT MUCH. I WAS ON THE FONE W/ TOMMY FRANKS
Bush43: WE DECIDED THE BEST WAY TO TAKE BAGDAD IS TO
Bush43: WAIT A SEC I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT, IT'S CONFISECRETIONARY

License2KimJongill: what?

Bush43: CONFIDENTIARY

License2KimJongill: that's not a word

Bush43: OH BUT ROR IS

License2KimJongill: shut up

Bush43: YOU SHUT UP
Bush43: YOUR DUMB

License2KimJongill: i thought it was supposed to be "you're" dumb

Bush43: I'M NOT DUMB YOU ARE. YOUR DUMB

License2KimJongill: no I'm saying I thought "you're" dumb is correct

Bush43: WELL IT'S NOT CORRECT CUZ I'M NOT DUMB. YOU ARE

License2KimJongill: shut up

Bush43: YOU SHUT UP

License2KimJongill: i will turn your house into a sea of flames
License2KimJongill: i hate you

Bush43: THEN WHY AM I STILL ON YOUR BUDDY LIST
Bush43: ???

Posted 6:46 AM by Blah blah

See Russell Wong in Black Sash

Premiering THIS Sunday at 9 pm/8 pm CST, on the WB network: what I wrote before. If Russell ain't YOUR love muscle, well TOUGH-ful!

Posted 5:19 AM by Blah blah

Paperdoll in Singapore sent me this. Thank you!

Our planet
is poorly equipped
for delight
One must snatch
gladness
from the days that are.
In this life
it's not difficult to die.
To make life
is more difficult by far.
-- Vladimir Mayakovsky, in a poem called "Sergei Yessenin"

Kim Jong-Il Speaks!

To prepare for one of our next wars, check these blogs by Kim Jong-Il (Salon.com profile), the leader of North Korea! Who'd have thought the next dictator on the list would also have a sense of humor? Kim's chat log with Bush is HILARIOUS.

- Kim Jong Il (the illmatic)'s LiveJournal
- KIMJONGILonline

Dear Tita

Val told me about this advice blog she reads, for Filipinas: Dear Tita. Listen to her streetwise voice, with Tagalog spice! I want to say something funny, but I exhaust all my humor when chatting with people like Val.

Posted 12:45 PM by Blah blah

Why Amanda Marsh Broke Up with Alex Michel. Alex Enters Soft Porn.

For all who keep coming to this site looking for "Amanda Marsh," here is why she broke up with Alex Michel, The Bachelor from the first ABC TV version.

- See video of Amanda Marsh talking about this on Inside Edition.

- BACHELOR-RAT (NY Post): "A 'bitter' Amanda Marsh says she ended her relationship with The Bachelor star Alex Michel when she discovered he had slept with runner-up Trista Rehn during the reality show last spring."
- Bachelor Breakup (Entertainment Tonight): "She was shocked to discover that her 'San Francisco-based management consultant' was desperate for fame, and had even auditioned for Survivor before turning his sights on The Bachelor for his big Hollywood break. Amanda concludes, 'I guess I really don't know him well at all.'...Amanda still speaks to Alex, but says she could see that without the cameras, the romance was growing strained."
- Winner Of First 'Bachelor' Talks About Life After The Show (Kansas City Channel).

Not only was Alex a jerk, he has now entered the world of soft porn disguised as independent film. Looking through my favorite independent film site, AtomFilms, my jaw dropped when I found Alex Michel's film debut: Our Very First Sex Tape. You may watch it on the Net if you wish. No nudity, dumb script, and tasteless.

Way to go with your Harvard and Stanford education, Alex!

Posted 11:57 AM by Blah blah

Do We Fight China Too? The World Fears Us.

Oh my God! What a way to start off relations with the new leader of China. What a way to stifle budding democracy there too. Damned American arrogance. This feels like Dr. Strangelove. Please, Bush people, improve relations with our allies NOW! China readies for future U.S. fight (CNN):
______________
The Iraqi war has convinced the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership that some form of confrontation with the U.S. could come earlier than expected.

Beijing has also begun to fine-tune its domestic and security policies to counter the perceived threat of U.S. "neo-imperialism."

As more emphasis is being put on boosting national strength and cohesiveness, a big blow could be dealt to both economic and political reform....

Of more concern to the LGNS [CCP's secretive Leading Group on National Security] is the perceived expansion of American unilateralism if not neo-imperialism.

As People's Daily commentator Huang Peizhao pointed out last Saturday, U.S. moves in the Middle East "have served the goal of seeking world-wide domination."

State Council think-tank member Tong Gang saw the conflict as the first salvo in Washington's bid to "build a new world order under U.S. domination."

Chinese strategists think particularly if the U.S. can score a relatively quick victory over Baghdad, it will soon turn to Asia -- and begin efforts to "tame" China.

It is understood the LGNS believes the U.S. will take on North Korea -- still deemed a "lips-and-teeth" ally of China's -- as early as this summer.

These developments have prompted China to change its long-standing geopolitical strategy, which still held true as late as the 16th CCP Congress last November.

Until late last year, Beijing believed a confrontation with the U.S. could be delayed -- and China could through hewing to the late Deng Xiaoping's "keep a low profile" theory afford to concentrate almost exclusively on economic development.

"Now, many cadres and think-tank members think Beijing should adopt a more pro-active if not aggressive policy to thwart U.S. aggression," said a Chinese source close to the diplomatic establishment.

He added hard-line elements in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had advocated providing weapons to North Korea to help Pyongyang defend itself against a possible U.S. missile strike at its nuclear facilities.

Posted 9:52 AM by Blah blah

All Too Funny

More from Saddam's Cyber Palace:

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

President Bush has announced that his war will cost at least $75 Billion. WOW!!!! I am quite flattered that he is spending all that money on me. I hope he's not going to expect anything in return. I mean, yeah, sure, I can be a flirt at times, but that's just talk. I'm really not THAT kind of despot.

:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:18 PM [+] ::

I have just received word that the citizens of Basra are revolting. So what? This is nothing new. Those Shi'ite Muslims have never been particularly fond of bathing.

:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 2:04 AM [+] ::

Sunday, March 23, 2003

My son Uday is not looking too good. I have had propped him up in a chair in the corner ever since we dug him out from under the 50 tons of collapsed concrete and steel. I had to use a bicycle pump to reinflate his body, which actually worked better than I expected. But now he just sits there. I talk to him, but he won't answer.

One of my cabinet aides, Abdullah, said that's because Uday has been dead since that initial missile strike Thursday morning. I thanked Abdullah for volunteering his opinion, then shot him. I don't need negative vibes like that. Not at a time like this.

On the bright side, I have been informed that we have captured some POW's. See? I'm feeling better already.

:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 8:56 PM [+] ::

Finally dug my way out of there and went to the store. Stocked up on some basic necessities like French fries, French bread, French dressing, French's mustard, and German chocolate cake. I also decided to splurge a little bit and bought the latest Dixie Chicks CD and a couple of Sean Penn movies. If you notice a pattern there, it's because I know who my friends are.

Needless to say, there was no Texas Pete Hot Sauce on my grocery list.

:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:26 AM [+] ::
________________
Here's the latest from Osama's Offerings:

Thursday, March 27, 2003

The war in Iraq has had the expected effect on our recruiting efforts. Applications at our terror schools have soared dramatically. This boom comes just as we are set to begin offering a new graduate program in biological terror. On the other hand, our new popularity is very much a double-edged sword. With more applicants, our quality of recruits obviously goes up. On the other hand, the smarter students quickly figure out that no matter how good you are at it, suicide bombing carries limited opportunities for career advancement.

:: Osama "binny" Laden 8:08 AM [+] ::

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

There are things in this world that even Allah would be hardpressed to explain....For example, we have been constantly on the run for months now. Every day we move to a new cave, or a new campsite, or a new mountain pass.

The world's top law enforcement agencies have been searching for us since the fall of 2001, but to no avail. Even the world's most powerful and technologically advanced military force has been engaged in a massive, unrelenting hunt for our hideouts. Yet they, too, have repeatedly failed to track us down.

Quite frankly, there are times even WE don't know where in the name of Mecca we are.

In light of all this, how is it that those cursed free AOL Version 8 disks continue to find us?

:: Osama "binny" Laden 10:43 PM [+] ::

Posted 9:29 AM by Blah blah

All Too Real

More on Salam Pax (Philadelphia Inquirer): "In Brazil and Sweden, in China and Australia, from California to Maine, the question flew across the borderless Internet: Where is Salam Pax?...On Friday, Pax - a gay man in a repressive society, an atheist in a Muslim land, a lover of democracy but a hater of war - filed a worried dispatch as he awaited the first shock-and-awe assault on the city he cherishes....'For many people, Salam is the face of this war. He articulates the anguish of being caught in the cogs of the wheel when it's out of control.'...

He appears to be well-off and well-educated [a 29-year-old architect], with eclectic musical tastes that embrace the Deftones, Amr Diab, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. His blog is named for a wealthy Jordanian friend he calls Raed. (Blog chat notes this is "dear" backward, perhaps a pseudonym to protect a lover.)...Pax says he speaks English, German and Arabic because his father's work required the family to settle abroad for 14 years....He's such a colorful character, so observant and bitterly humorous, that he seems to some too good to be true....

Visits to his site have intensified with the war. In December 2001, the blog's first month, Pax got 140 hits. A year later, there were 2,563. So far this month, there are 98,757."

If you wonder if he's real, he's been talking back-and-forth to Diana of Letters from Gotham. She said this about him being real. Paul Boutin, writer for Slate, checked up on Salam: Is the Baghdad Blogger for real?. Answer: YES.

Salam's blog from Baghdad, http://dear_raed.blogspot.com, is now one of the most linked blogs in the world. The Guardian, New York Times, and Washington Post all noticed him. The Guardian printed these excerpts from his blog. Since his site crashed from the surge of traffic, Blogger and Google helped create a mirror site for him, http://dearraed.blogspot.com.

The latest from Salam. I've edited his spelling/grammar:

March 22, 4:30pm (Day 3)

[H]alf an hour ago the oil-filled trenches were put on fire. First watching Al-Jazeera they said that these were the places that got hit by bombs from an air raid a few miniutes earlier, but when I went up to the roof to take a look, I saw that there were too many of them, and we heard only three explosions. I took pictures of the nearest. My cousin came and told me he saw police cars standing by one and setting it on fire. Now you can see the columns of smoke all over the city.

Today, the third day in the war, we had quite a number of attacks during daytime. Some without air raid sirens. They probably just gave up on being able to be on time to sound the sirens. Last night, after waves after waves of attacks, they would sound the all-clear siren only to start another raid siren 30 minutes later.

The images we saw on TV last night (not Iraqi, Jazeera-BBC-Arabiya) were terrible. The whole city looked as if it were on fire. The only thing I could think of was “why does this have to happen to Baghdad.” As one of the buildings I really love went up in a huge explosion, I was close to tears.

Today my father and brother went out to see what is happening in the city. They say that it does look that the hits were very precise, but when the missiles and bombs explode they wreck havoc in the neighborhood where they fall. Houses near Al-Salam Palace (where the minister Sahaf took journalist) have had all their windows broken, doors blown in, and in one case a roof has caved in. I guess that is what is called “collateral damage” and that makes it OK?

Posted 7:58 PM by Blah blah

McCarthy's ghost (The Guardian): "Democracy is under threat in the United States; anyone who objects to the conflict in Iraq is not allowed to say so....

The rally to smash the Dixie Chicks' CDs and much of the impetus for the boycott of their single came from radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications of Texas, which has close ties with Bush. The company's stations also called for the pro-war rallies that have cropped up in the past week....

[A]uthorities have been demanding records from Internet providers and libraries about what books people are taking out and which websites they're looking at.

The result is a symbiotic relationship between the mob and the legislature, whereby official repression provides the framework for public scapegoating with each gaining momentum from the other.

Most vulnerable are those who are most vulnerable anyway---Arab immigrants and non-white Americans. Men from countries regarded as potential sources of terrorism and who do not have a green card, are now required to be registered, fingerprinted and photographed by the immigration service. Many who have committed no crime but simply have their applications for a work permit pending are routinely arrested. 'Basically, what this has become is an immigration sweep,' said Juliette Kayam, a terrorism expert at Harvard. 'The idea that this has anything to do with security, or is something the government can do to stop terrorism, is absurd,' she told the Washington Post."

Here's to Moderation and Courtesy

On RBJ, Sarah started this talk about "damn the French" for their desire to have a commercial role in post-war Iraq.

Now regardless if you agree or disagree with the French, I despise all the vilifying and nastiness in America towards France and other Europeans the last few weeks, partly fueled by the Bush people. We need to work with them after the war. We need to heal the wounds that nasty words and arrogant acts have already caused. We need tact, something that is sorely lacking in both pro-war and anti-war zealots.

As Cyn said so nicely:

what if it were china instead? would it be damn the chinese? and that doesn't seem wrong to you, to damn a whole country for the action of their leaders, whether or not they support it? even if they do support it and it just happens to be against your own personal views.

see, i know there is a lot of damn those big headed shove down our throats with their democracy americans sentiments out there.

not only from 'the french'.

i think it's sad, and people at their worst, when we despise one another like this. it doesn't say much of humankind to me at all.

I replied: Hear hear, Cyn!

I say damn the EXTREMISTS on either the pro or anti-war sides.

Here's to moderation. Here's to not dehumanizing people simply because they disagree with you. Here's to having faith in others and not automatically resorting to cynicism and suspecting their motives.

Here's to respect for fellow human beings despite their opinions. Here's to courtesy.

While I'm at it, here's to Tony Blair and his push for the middle ground between two increasingly ugly, nasty sides. While I disagree with the French position, I love France and Europe.

Posted 2:23 PM by Blah blah

Adrien Brody Kissing Halle Berry. My Gun and Handcuff Story.

In the right lower part of this CBS page, see videos. The Sandra Hughes report includes brief parts from Adrien Brody's acceptance speech. The Jess Cagle report includes a brief clip of Adrien Brody kissing Halle Berry. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any longer clips on the Internet.

Watch the post-ceremony interviews here, in streaming video! Of course I had to see Michael Moore first. The director of Bowling for Columbine won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. He gave a scathing attack on Bush and the war during his acceptance speech (read it). I disagree with his style and thought it very bad taste, disrespectful to the occasion and the day in which people had just seen captured American soldiers paraded on Al-Jazeera. "[H]e couldn't resist the temptation to lump his antiwar stance in with the rest of his portfolio of grievances. As a result, he made a speech guaranteed to alienate even many people who are also against the war." Shame on You, Mr. Moore! Shame on You! (Time)

Plus see my favorite actor from last year, Adrien Brody of The Pianist! He joked that kissing Halle Berry (the award presenter) was his giftbag to her. "I took my shot!" Read Brody's acceptance speech and see video of his post-ceremony interview!
_____________________
I must watch Bowling for Columbine. This documentary is about the 1999 Columbine High School killings and America's love for handguns. My gun story:

In college, I went on a fun week-long trip to Redding, a town 500 miles north of San Francisco, with some international students from my dorm. (I was the only American student.) We stayed with different host families in that tiny community, surrounded by forests and acres of open spaces. Most people in Redding go there to retire from the fast pace of city life. They are mostly conservative Republicans, Christians, and Rush Limbaugh radio fans. My host dad listened to G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy is notorious for being the ex-FBI agent who helped plan the Watergate break-in under President Nixon. He spent 4.5 years in jail. Now he hosts his own right-wing radio talk show. Many in Redding own guns and hunt for sport. Our host families were all members of the Redding Chamber of Commerce, and my host dad was a bald, friendly guy who ran a business making hot tubs. He and his wife treated me very well!

Despite our vast differences in politics, my host dad and I got along well. We went shooting. This guy collected WEAPONS for fun. His home was filled with shotguns, police revolvers, lady's handbag-sized pistols, nanchucks, crossbows, Japanese swords, a fake grenade, and even handcuffs. That wasn't enough. He rubbed his hands, explaining how his latest gun was coming in the mail soon. He had given the specs to a manufacturer for a gun of extra power, and he couldn't wait!

That day, he took me out in his pickup truck. We went shooting, in a valley with a herd of grazing cows. We put some cans on rocks for target practice. I ended up shooting SIX different types of guns! *TWANG* *BOOM* The cows barely turned their heads and kept chewing grass. They were bored of gun noise.

You may think this guy was wacko, but he and his wife were very friendly and normal. They let me try their home hot tub. He gave me a tour of his business. They'd raised a sweet teenaged daughter who had left for college. The typical American family. I liked them. But Berkeley and Redding are two foreign countries to each other. He'd lived in Los Angeles before, and he argued for MORE guns in LA so people could protect themselves.

"What if some thief breaks into your home and takes some of your arsenal of weapons? What if he uses them against you and your wife?" I said.

"I'll be ready for him," said my host dad with a wink. "If necessary, I'll get with my friends and form our own militia," he grinned. He seemed serious.

Once he was showing off his handcuffs to me. Telling me to stand near the fireplace, he handcuffed me to the mantelpiece. (I thought it was all cool.) Then he looked for the key. "OOPS!" he said. He searched for a while but couldn't find it.

Then his cheerful wife walked in from the kitchen, where she was cooking dinner. "Now, honey, WHAT did you do to our guest??? Get the hacksaw and cut him out right away!"

"Yes, dear," he said sheepishly. He said that often that week.

Posted 1:25 PM by Blah blah

Thomas Friedman's Latest Column. No Post-War Arrogance, America

As usual, I agree with Friedman. Says it better than I could: Scorecard for the War (NY Times):

"How will we know if we are winning in Iraq?

(1) Have we occupied Baghdad — without leveling the whole city?
(2) Have we killed, captured or expelled Saddam?
(3) Have we been able to explain why some Iraqi forces are putting up such a fierce fight? Knowing the answer is critical for how we reconstruct Iraq.
(4) Have we won this war and preserved the territorial integrity of Iraq?
(5) Has an authentic Iraqi liberal nationalist emerged from the U.S. occupation to lead the country? My gut tells me the only person who is going to be able to rule Iraq effectively is someone who has lived through Saddam's reign, not sat it out in London or Washington, and who is ready to say no to both tyranny and foreign control in Iraq.
(6) Is the Iraqi state that emerges from this war accepted as legitimate by Iraq's Arab and Muslim neighbors?"

Now that unexpected setbacks and accidental killing of civilians have begun, and now public opinion has begun to shift, people need to clearly understand the scope and purpose of what we are doing. They must have realistic expectations for what we are in and for how prolonged this battle could get. Plus we should be more careful than ever about how to deal with post-war Iraq.

So far I STRONGLY disagree with this and this, as well as Bush's proposed $726 billion tax cut. Hello recession!

But to make Barbara Bodine one of the administrators of a post-war Iraq? What the hell are they thinking? As I wrote here, Barbara Bodine, former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, the lady in charge during the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, was THE person who denied the visa to John O'Neill, the FBI's counter-terrorism and Al-Qaeda expert in charge of the investigation, to return to Yemen. She was the one who effectively blocked the case. An ego thing. Thus they never found out the connection of the U.S.S. Cole bombing to Al-Qaeda till it was too late. John O'Neill, the one man who was THIS close to uncovering the 9/11 attack before it happened, ended up being killed himself in 9/11.

Now they don't get the U.N. involved from the START in post-war reconstruction? And they reward Bodine? Two dumb decisions.

As before, I agree with Tony Blair's priorities. Go Blair! "Whatever else the Europeans may disagree about, there is consensus that the United Nations must be involved in both the aid provisions and the establishment of a post-Hussein administration in Baghdad. 'We are quite clear that any such administration has to be endorsed by the U.N.,' Mr. Blair said."

I'm amazed several people signed my guestmap. I should offer pretty pictures more often! My Berkeley site has been down for the last few days---hence no pix. Patience.

Posted 1:49 AM by Blah blah

Sergeant Hook

Check out the blog of Sergeant Hook, who serves in Hawaii now as the "first sergeant of [an aviation] unit with over 120 soldiers." He signed my guestmap. I'm flattered that someone from the U.S. Army, a non-commissioned military officer, likes my blog! Best wishes to you, sir! Your blog is heartfelt and inspiring. Says he's been an officer for 16 years:

[W]ar is imminent. I listened with great anticipation to the Commander-in-Chief’s speech and am proud to be wearing the uniform under his leadership. I am also proud to be the father of four boys who made sure I had an absolutely great time on our outing this past weekend. I am equally proud to be married to the beautiful, intelligent, and compassionate Mrs. Hook...

My oldest son is Renegade Ryan, a rough and salty 10-year-old pirate of the high seas who quite frankly would sign on to any sea-going vessel provided there was plenty of fishing and no classrooms. Next is my 8-year-old, Typhoon Tyler of Trieste, a determined and crafty privateer whose passion for reading surpasses my own. Then there is Andrew the Adventurous, 5-years-old and a swashbuckler who is captain of his own vessel and eager to sail the seven seas. The youngest at 20-months is Castaway Conner, a savvy buccaneer who courageously sets sail with this handsome band of brigands every chance he gets. And last, but certainly not least, is the lovely and talented Mrs. Hook whom I adore as she expertly mans the helm somehow always keeping our ship on course.

Read of how he dealt with a soldier who told him he wanted to quit the Army.

Read his story about their attempts to rescue a pilot who had crashed his F-16 into the Adriatic Sea, near Italy and Croatia. This was an old assignment for Sgt. Hook, as he said on March 13.

Posted 10:55 AM by Blah blah

Most Popular Blog News Links: Technorati

Don't have time to review the news. Please go to Technorati: Current Events. Technorati is like Blogdex in listing the most popular links today in the blogging world, as well as who links to you. But "Current Events" is a new feature. It lists the most popular NEWS links people are talking about. Lots of goodies! The most popular blogs tend to be by conservative Republicans, except the Daily Kos, a political blog by a guy in Berkeley.

I need at least 4 more people to sign my guestmap!

Former CBS anchor [Walter] Cronkite voices disappointment in move to war (Daily Record). Cronkite: "Every little country in the world that has a border conflict with another little country…they now have a great example from the United States."

Posted 5:39 PM by Blah blah

Who Are You? Why Tattoos?

I've been getting all these new visitors to this page. Who are you? Please sign my guestmap up above, or send me a note if you want to stay private. C'mon, people from Sweden, Paypal, Seattle, New York, Connecticut, San Francisco, Northwestern University, Singapore, San Jose, etc. I see you come here every day! I don't bite. Say hi!

If at least 6 more people sign my guestmap, I will show you some fresh pics of hot Asian girls. It seems like the girls like female eye candy more than the guys. At least they respond!

I have a question: what is it with hot women and tattoos? Would someone please explain why some women feel the urge to mark their beautiful skin with tattoos? If they haven't done it, at least they've considered it. Case in point: Angelina Jolie. See How many of the world's top 100 sexiest women have tattoos? From the list by FHM, 37 out of the top 100 have 'em! The guys too.

Tell us where you have a tattoo already. Or if you ever got one, where on your body would you pick, and of what?

Even Thomas Edison had "five dots on left forearm in dice like design." He was one of my idols as a kid. The world's sexiest inventor! One time I met George Shultz. I was in this special program at Stanford, and he came from the Hoover Institution to speak to us. He was Secretary of State for President Reagan. Someone asked him why he had never run for President. He said, tongue-in-cheek: "Actually, I have a tattoo of a tiger on my butt, in honor of my alma mater, Princeton. I never wanted that to be a problem in a political campaign, so I never ran for President." Ha! I've read he actually DOES have a tattoo on his butt.

Posted 8:08 AM by Blah blah

Yay Adrien Brody! Roman Polanski is Vindicated

HAHA! My Oscar hope and prediction came true! Adrien Brody wins actor award (SF Chronicle). My two favorite movies from 2002 (The Pianist and Chicago) both won big time last night at the Oscars. The Pianist won Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Director (Roman Polanski), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood)! At the BAFTAs (British version of the Oscars), The Pianist won Best Film and Best Director (Polanski). At the Cesars (French Oscars), this film won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor (Brody). It also won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the top award at the Cannes Film Festival.

When this film premiered at Cannes, it won an "emotional 20-minute standing ovation...from a 3,500-member audience."

Brody was so excited at his Oscar, he rushed up to the stage and kissed Halle Berry hard on the lips! He is a great, unnoticed actor from New York whose time has come. He is also the youngest Best Actor winner ever, at age 29. He was the only American (I think) in the cast of The Pianist. He stole the night with his impassioned acceptance speech, in which he almost cried thanking his parents. He was the only person to defy the rules and keep speaking far past the allotted 45 seconds. He made a plea for the soldiers in Iraq that stirred the crowd to give him a standing ovation!

This is what I said about The Pianist right after seeing it:

"It gave me the chills. This Roman Polanski film is the most emotionally gripping and horrifying film I have ever seen since Schindler's List. In some ways it's MORE effective than Schindler. The Pianist and its main actor, Adrien Brody, richly deserve Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor of 2002. No one else comes close. I literally felt that I had just lived through the Nazi Holocaust. At the end of the movie, no one left until they finished playing the music of the last haunting credits. We all watched in stunned silence. This film is more scary than any horror movie I've ever seen."

After I left the theater, I went to the supermarket and marvelled at how much food we have in this country. The movie's starvation and poverty made me hungry, and all I wanted to do was pig out, gain 15 pounds, and bow down to the farmers of America. (Just kidding.)

Roman Polanski still may not return to the U.S, after fleeing to Paris in 1978. As soon as he enters, police may arrest him for his crime from 1978. What a vindication this is for him and for the idea of judging an artist's work independently of his personal life. I believe the same about people like Woody Allen.

Posted 10:44 AM by Blah blah

Saddam seriously injured, Cabinet told (Daily Telegraph). "Saddam Hussein was badly injured. He was so badly injured he needed a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, he was not critically injured. We think he is still alive. We also think his son Uday was killed or badly injured." Also, by Salam Pax: "the absolute biggest best most wanted brain-stuff-specialist (i am sure it has a name can't think of it now) [has been called] and taken to a location outside baghdad, he called his family and said he can't come back tonight. something has happened to someone."

Idealism Hits Reality

See the infamous video of Bush getting his hair combed by a female stylist before giving his speech about the start of the war. Ha! We Begin Combing in Five Minutes! (Washington Post)

I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam (Daily Telegraph):

"We just sat, listening, our mouths open wide. Jake, one of the others, just kept saying, 'Oh my God' as the driver described the horrors of the regime. Jake was so shocked at how naive he had been. We all were. It hadn't occurred to anyone that the Iraqis might actually be pro-war. The driver's most emphatic statement was: 'All Iraqi people want this war.' He seemed convinced that civilian casualties would be small; he had such enormous faith in the American war machine to follow through on its promises. Certainly more faith than any of us had.

Perhaps the most crushing thing we learned was that most ordinary Iraqis thought Saddam Hussein had paid us to come to protest in Iraq. Although we explained that this was categorically not the case, I don't think he believed us. Later he asked me: 'Really, how much did Saddam pay you to come?' It hit me on visceral and emotional levels: this was a real portrayal of Iraq life. After the first conversation, I completely rethought my view of the Iraqi situation. My understanding changed on intellectual, emotional, psychological levels."

Also, Lucky Break for Jordan (UPI):

A group of American anti-war demonstrators who came to Iraq with Japanese human shield volunteers made it across the border today with 14 hours of uncensored video, all shot without Iraqi government minders present. Kenneth Joseph, a young American pastor with the Assyrian Church of the East, told UPI the trip "had shocked me back to reality." Some of the Iraqis he interviewed on camera "told me they would commit suicide if American bombing didn't start. They were willing to see their homes demolished to gain their freedom from Saddam's bloody tyranny. They convinced me that Saddam was a monster the likes of which the world had not seen since Stalin and Hitler. He and his sons are sick sadists. Their tales of slow torture and killing made me ill, such as people put in a huge shredder for plastic products, feet first so they could hear their screams as bodies got chewed up from foot to head."

Posted 10:47 PM by Blah blah

28 baby girls found in suitcases on Chinese bus (AFP): Police in southwestern China discovered 28 baby girls hidden in suitcases on a long-distance bus and apparently destined to be sold, police and a state-run newspaper said. One of the babies had died by the time police, acting on a tip-off, found them Tuesday night on the bus at a highway toll gate in Bingyang, Guangxi province....

The oldest baby was no more than three months old, the newspaper reported. Some of the infants were two or three to a suitcase. The nylon suitcases were stacked on the luggage rack, the back row of seats and along the sides of the bus. The babies appeared to have been drugged to keep them from crying and being found....

"Most of the people arrested were middle-aged women from Bingyang. They probably wanted to make some money. They might have been headed for Guangdong," he said...

Child and female trafficking is a serious problem in China with cases regularly reported in Chinese newspapers. Children are sold to families who lack children or want more, while older girls or women are sold as brides to poor farmers. A report issued by UNICEF in 2001 said more than a quarter of a million women and children have been victims of trafficking in China in recent decades.

Protecting Children from Trafficking. (UNICEF)

Posted 10:05 PM by Blah blah

Blair's Speech Changed My Mind! Now I'm Pro-War

Wow! On C-SPAN, I just watched the British debate in the House of Commons before they finally approved the use of force in Iraq on March 18.

Tony Blair shook my brain and heart with his explosive speech. He is one of the most eloquent and articulate speakers I've ever seen. Politicians in the U.S. don't compare. Bravo! He gave a BRILLIANT performance. In his most dramatic moments, Blair reminded me of Winston Churchill.

Because of his speech, and from other things that have happened, I have now changed my mind about this war. Now I SUPPORT the war in Iraq.

Yes, that shows the power of one great speech. The clumsy, inarticulate Bush administration should have just broadcast Blair's speech nationally and let Blair do all the talking. It just doubles my already great admiration for him. I feel "shock and awe" of Prime Minister Blair. Really. Will explain in detail how my thinking has evolved, later.

In the meantime, please watch Blair's speech! Anti-war people, it will cause you to rethink your assumptions, and pro-war people, it will deepen some of your convictions with juicy details. But make no mistake. Blair does NOT think the same way as Bush. Which is one reason I support Blair's reasons for war over Bush's.

What the British papers later said about his speech, including papers like The Independent that had strongly opposed him: 'Blair played his cards brilliantly.' (The Guardian)

Watch Tony Blair's Speech. (RealPlayer. Fast foward to about 4 minutes into the recording to find the start of his speech.) You may also read his speech, but watching him speak and field an array of questions from fellow MPs is much better!

Thanks to Eric and Raven for linking this post. I will explain in detail what changed my mind. I will post excerpts from the speech which most influenced me. I strongly urge you to go to C-SPAN.org and find a way to WATCH the speech (in streaming video on RealPlayer). What I love about the British House of Commons is that Members of Parliament may interrupt a speaker with QUESTIONS during his speech. Blair was interrupted several times with questions, which he answered very well. Some of these questions were key doubts of mine. The text of his speech does not include the questions and answers. I loved how Blair dealt with key doubts head-on. He talked about the world fear of the U.S. being an arrogant bully. He gave his vision, different from Bush's, for what to focus on after Iraq. And he showed great respect for the views of the other side, unlike Bush.

See the articles I linked here for more on Blair's vision for the future and why it's better than Bush's or Chirac's.

Posted 4:54 PM by Blah blah

C-SPAN.org. War: The Ultimate Reality Show

I can't believe I missed this great news source. I love C-SPAN! Watch all videos of things like Saddam's speech after the initial attack, Gen. Tommy Franks' military briefing to the press, the British House of Commons Debate on Iraq, Bush's speech, Ari Fleischer's White House press briefing, and the U.N. Security Council speeches on Iraq. Listen to things like Bush's radio address, the Democrats' radio address, etc.

All are in streaming video/audio on C-SPAN.org.

On the Net, you may also watch C-SPAN broadcast live, as well as hear NPR.org (National Public Radio). One thing you cannot complain about in America is a lack of information. The government and media companies mobilized better than EVER in this war to bring you immediate and comprehensive coverage, especially on the Net. They have also helped soldiers keep in close Internet contact with their families. You can find great stuff on U.S. government websites and sites like U.S. Central Command.

I applaud the U.S. government and the world press for doing such a fantastic job to bring us news and keep us informed. This bounty of information probably helped shorten the war by keeping Iraqis informed, so they grew more courage to defy Saddam and surrender. Conscripts shoot their own officers rather than fight. (The Times) In terms of how open our leaders are to giving us information, and in how quickly we can get high quality unfiltered information, we live in a GREAT country! This makes me proud.

I tend to look at all these news links, as well as Google News. Then I look at Technorati to see what most blogs are linking to today. More exciting than Joe Millionaire or Survivor, Gulf War II Has Become the Ultimate in Reality Television (Agence France Presse).

Posted 10:39 AM by Blah blah

Saddam Speaks

The latest from Saddam's Cyber Palace:

Saturday, March 22, 2003
I never did get a chance to go to the store. Between the shrapnel, fireballs, flying body parts, and collapsing buildings, it just wasn't safe to venture out. But even in here, I couldn't sleep because of the racket. And when I don't get enough sleep, I get cranky. And when I get cranky, I gas the Kurds. That has never failed to make me feel better when I'm feeling down. But now I can't even do that! The phone lines have been cut, and my cellphone doesn't seem to work right either. Damn Verizon people deserve to be taken out and shot. Or did I do that last month....? No, no... I'm thinking of the Microsoft Tech Support team that was stationed here in Baghdad. Those people DEFINITELY deserved to be shot.

The Verizon people will be next, assuming I can eventually dig my way out of this bunker. Every time I try calling someone, all I get is this annoying voice that says, "Hey Saddam, can you hear us now.....? Good."

I knew I should have gone with T-Mobile. That Catherine Zeta-Jones is hot.
:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:56 PM [+] ::

Friday, March 21, 2003
Well, I've almost used up all my Scuds, which is actually pretty good, since I didn't have any to begin with. HA HA HA!!!! Fooled that dumb Swede, Hans Blix, though. You've probably heard that the Americans are meeting with light resistance, and that my troops are surrendering en masse. This is all part of my brilliant military strategy to lull the invading hordes into a false sense of confidence. Just wait till they get to Baghdad!! Or more precisely, what's LEFT of Baghdad.

Does Amazon.Com sell hearing aids? I need one after what happened in that bunker the other day. That was louder than that Who concert I went to back in '75.
Anyway, I better stock up for what promises to be a long seige. I'm going to head over to my favorite store for supplies.
:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:39 PM [+] ::

Thursday, March 20, 2003
There is some speculation as to whether or not I was killed last night. Poppycock!! If I were dead, don't you think I'd be the first to know about it? But if I am, in fact, now officially eligible to play the role of "the corpse" on Six Feet Under, then who appeared on Iraqi TV after the attack? Yes, I suppose it COULD have been one of my officially certified body doubles, but what would the point be?

For that matter, how do you know it's the REAL Saddam making these blog entries and not some imposter posing as me? I mean, posing as HIM, since if I was really me, I wouldn't be posing as me to begin with? Then again, I could ACTUALLY be me, but posing as an imposter posing as me in an effort to throw off the American intelligence services.

Then again, how do you know I'm not a 15 year old high school cheerleader in Poughkeepsie, New York? Some points for you to ponder....
:: Saddam "No Nukes Here" Hussein 7:47 PM [+] ::

Posted 9:06 AM by Blah blah

What the U.S. Military is doing to prevent harm to civilians. Leaflet Photos.
John Pendygraft. Military laptop.

How they try to prevent deaths of civilians, and how they decide on targets: see this Dept. of Defense talk with the press. See their presentation slides (Dept. of Defense).

See photos of the leaflets the U.S. has been dropping throughout Iraq, part of the "psych war" strategy. (U.S. Central Command)
____________________
Bah---CNN has told Kevin Sites to stop his personal blog. Christopher Allbritton has more. Chris is planning to go to Iraq soon.

Other cool blogs by the press in Iraq:

- John Pendygraft, photographer for the St. Petersburg Times (Florida). He is travelling with the HMM 365 Marine Helicopter Squad in Iraq now and posts photos. Very personal. I like this the best! Here's his blog without frames (big screen).
- BBC Reporters' Blog, a group blog by at least 12 BBC correspondents covering the war.
_____________________
The military's laptop of choice provokes shock and awe (Slate): "No wider than an entry-level ThinkPad but much thicker and heftier, the $4,500 GoBook MAX is a waterproof, vaporproof, shockproof piece of field equipment. 'We drop each one 54 times from one meter, bake it in an oven, chill it in a freezer, vibrate it, and submit it to a shower of hurricane proportions,' crows the GoBook's brochure."

Posted 10:59 PM by Blah blah

Saddam: Dead or Alive? Saddam's Favorite Mistress for Over 30 Years

Photos: Photo 1 and photo 2 of Parisoula Lampsos, his favorite mistress.

U.S. Officials: Saddam Seen on Stretcher After March 19 Strike (Fox News): "Saddam Hussein is seen being placed on a stretcher and into an ambulance in photographs in the possession of the U.S. government showing what is described as 'panicked digging' at the bunker/command-and-control facility that was struck in the first strike of the war March 19, U.S. officials told Fox News late Friday. Bodies are seen as they are removed, and these officials are confident that Saddam was seen being placed upon a stretcher."

‘Chemical Ali’ Dead? Three Key Iraqi Leaders Believed Killed; Explosions Shake Baghdad (ABC News): "ABCNEWS' Brian Ross reported that the three critical Iraqi officials — Taha Yasin Ramadan, Izzat Ibrahim al Douri, and Ali Hassan Majid, known as Chemical Ali — are believed to have died in Wednesday night's 'decapitation attack,' the opening salvo of the war. 'Chemical Ali,' Saddam's cousin and a key general and governor of southern Iraq, earned his chilling nickname by using chemical weapons to suppress a Kurdish rebellion in northern Iraq in the late 1980s, killing thousands....

Earlier today, U.S. intelligence sources told ABCNEWS that witnesses at the site of a Baghdad suburban residential complex told U.S. intelligence officials that Saddam was observed being taken from the bombed complex on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask over his face, on Thursday before dawn local time.

At a news briefing in Baghdad today, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said the first U.S. airstrikes had hit one of Saddam's homes, but he said the Iraqi leader had survived and was safe. But U.S. intelligence sources said there had been a significant lack of communication from the Iraqi leader to his government and military structure since the bombing."

U.S. Thinks Hussein, Sons Were In Bunker (Washington Post): "A third administration official said 'there is evidence that he [Hussein] was at least injured' because of indications that medical attention was urgently summoned on his behalf. The condition of Hussein's sons, and any others who may have been at the compound, was also unknown, officials said....

But the government also consulted Parisoula Lampsos, who the Defense Department believes has passed a polygraph examination in support of her claim that she was Hussein's mistress in Iraq for many years. Lampsos has previously distinguished Hussein from his doubles in more than a dozen cases, one official said, and this time she said he was not the man in the broadcast."

March 21, 2003: Portrait of a megalomaniac (Scripps Howard).

Some fascinating old news.

Sept. 8, 2002
Terror of tyrant's mistress in gilded prison (The Guardian): "He called her 'Shaqraa' - the blonde. When she married another man after their youthful fling, he had her husband thrown into prison and his assets seized. His son raped her daughter when she was 15. Now, after a terrifying escape from Baghdad and months in hiding, Saddam Hussein's on-off mistress for more than 30 years has finally broken her silence. In 13 hours of videotaped interviews conducted by her rescuers, the opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC), Shaqraa describes life in her gilded prison, a private villa in the grounds of Saddam's presidential palace. Plied with cars, jewels and designer clothes, she lived in a world where women were treated as mere possessions. Now in her early fifties, she seems vivacious on the tapes, with more than a trace of the youthful beauty which made her a burning sexual obsession for Saddam."

Sept. 12, 2002
Defector Says She Was Saddam’s Mistress (ABC News): "A woman who says she was Saddam Hussein's mistress describes a Viagra-fueled lover who enjoyed watching The Godfather and tapes of his enemies being tortured — but cried as the allies took Kuwait from Iraqi occupation during the Gulf War....Parisoula [Lampsos] said she was part of what she calls Saddam's 'collection' of women, which she said included three wives and over the years five other mistresses. She said she was his favorite mistress, and was friendly with his wives."

May 2002: Tales of the Tyrant (The Atlantic). Excellent, detailed profile of Saddam. Intimate details of his daily life: "The tyrant must steal sleep. He must vary the locations and times. He never sleeps in his palaces. He moves from secret bed to secret bed. Sleep and a fixed routine are among the few luxuries denied him. It is too dangerous to be predictable, and whenever he shuts his eyes, the nation drifts. His iron grip slackens. Plots congeal in the shadows. For those hours he must trust someone, and nothing is more dangerous to the tyrant than trust."

Oct. 23, 2001
You’ve Got Mail — From Saddam: American Swaps E-mail With Iraqi Leader (ABC News): "Christopher Love was familiar with the democratizing power of the Internet, but nothing could have prepared him for the shock he received when he logged onto his e-mail at work late last week." This was after the Sept. 11th attacks. Here's the 10-page long email Saddam sent him!

Posted 4:40 PM by Blah blah

New on my reading list: Rachel Lucas, a widely read Dallas woman who is pro-war, pro-military, and writes well in a saucy, ernest way I find appealing. See, Raven and Danny? I read both sides. Anyhow, I don't think we should lump everyone into either pro-war or anti-war.

Raymond's List: Types of Views About This War

1. The "bomb whoever don't like my twang" crowd, who are friends with the "send 'em all the hell back home, to places I would never try to find on a map even if you paid me" crowd. They tend to have crewcuts and go "Yessir!"
2. The "we would never hurt a fly, EVER" crowd, who stock lots of Beanie Babies in the back seats of their cars and tend to chain themselves to the doors of 7-Elevens, mistaking them for government buildings. They tend to have a poor sense of balance.
3. The "government is all a conspiracy, you suck, the world will be damned" crowd, who tend to favor anarchy and barricade themselves in armed compounds. When lonely they just marry a 5th wife and burn offerings to space aliens.
4. The "I just woke up, wha...?" crowd. They tend to spend most of their time retying their shoelaces.
5. The "we're fed up with Saddam, fuck the U.N. and get it over with" crowd. They feel for the civilians, but not THAT much. They like Tom Clancy and don't speak French.
6. The "we're fed up with Saddam but all need to be in this together, and by the way let's get Tony Blair for President in 2004!" crowd. They tend to wear cool sunglasses, spend time in Barnes & Noble sipping mochas and frappuccinos, like Woody Allen, and DO speak French. Sometimes they have a hard time deciding what to wear. Their friends like to tell them their problems because they listen well. This is MY category.

Poor Tony was more a #6, but he decided to act like a #5 just for the war. After the war, he'll return to #6 behavior again.