Why rent when you can own?
November 30, 2005
WB: Land of Lincoln
WB: A Strategy for Victory
O T
News and views …
WB: Strawberry Fields +
November 29, 2005
WB: Second Thoughts
Red Flags
The Washington Post reports:
That headline hints to a bureaucracy error or the usual cronyism. But there is some serious and maybe sinister background and a longer story.
Is the DoD hiring new personal for Abu Ghraib or the Salvador option?
From the WaPo piece (all following emph. mine):
WB: Riding With the Bad Boys
November 28, 2005
Nature’s Force
We had a bit of a surprising winter arrival in Germany. Some weird weather conditions led to never experienced ice growth especially on overland electric cables.
Those electricity towers are supposed to take hurricane winds, but some eight inch of ice around six or so two-inch cables along some 600 yards between poles results in a load of about a hundred (metric) tons between those poles.
Add some storm level wind that induces critical resonance swing on the cables and you get the above.
In the end some 100,000 folks are without electricity for the third day now, but emergency services have made sure that everybody had a warm meal and enough candles at home or some shelter so nobody will be really hurt.
Things like this make you value a prepared and well financed state emergency service.
Another Video and it is Worse
You may by now have seen yesterdays Telegraph story about a video filmed through the rear window of a private security company car in Iraq. It shows some random looking shooting with automatic weapons on cars coming up from behind. People seem to get hurt.
You can watch that video here and here, but there is another one and it is worse.
November 27, 2005
Plan for Victory
The White House released:
Setting the Record Straight: Sen. Biden Adopts Key Portions of Administration’s Plan for Victory in Iraq,
Nov 26, 2005
Victory, interesting. But first let us look at some news headlines, mostly from last week, to understand what is victory is not:
Time For a Walk
Some Sunday morning reads:
Frank Rich’s column is liberated here. Why is he the only one in the major press writing this strong?
[E]ach day brings slam-dunk evidence that the doomsday threats marshaled by the administration to sell the war weren’t, in Cheney-speak, just dishonest and reprehensible but also corrupt and shameless.
A NYT story on how the administration makes up rules in "enemy combatant" cases. Short conclusion: There ain´t no rules.
The Washington Post’s Pincus writes about the expending Pentagon spying within the U.S..
Blair to be investigated?
Allawi says human rights in Iraq are worse than under Saddam. Al Hakim wants more leeway to torture.
Iraq is really worse than Vietnam. Maybe that´s why Col. Westhusing killed himself – or was he killed?
It´s a bit cold here, but the sun is shining. Time for a walk.
November 26, 2005
Open Thread 05-121
News & views …
November 24, 2005
The Plan?
Bush is in trouble. Three years to go and already on the historic low side of every poll – and falling.
Some papers suggested a serious house cleaning. Throw out the overworked and almost indicted staff (Rove, McClellan, Card, Haley etc.) and get in some "wise guys" to run the shop.
But that isn´t the plan.
November 23, 2005
Turkee
Two years ago, it was high tide for Bush’s popularity. Though the picture might be a year or two too early, the military folks will sure be happy when it becomes real. The tide has changed.
Happy Thanksgiving.
And Again and again
News and views … an open thread …
November 22, 2005
The VP
Why is Cheney so full of hate?
November 21, 2005
Open Threadddd
News and views …
WB: No Exit
"Hell is other people!"
November 20, 2005
WB: The Salvadoran Option II
Meanwhile, back here in the good old U.S. of A (the A is for assholes) the ruling party is reliving Joe McCarthy’s glory years, while the leaders of the so-called opposition party try to hide their worthless carcasses behind an ex-Marine congressman who finally saw one too many broken bodies warehoused at Walter Reed and suffered a temporary fit of sanity, causing him to blurt out the ugly truth that the war is hopelessly lost.
November 19, 2005
USACTC
The U.S. Defense Department finally finds that during and after a war, you will need to take some care for a stable aftermath.