baldilocks

For Those Gone On

We remember you.

UPDATE: SoCal Pundit did some photoblogging at the Veterans Historical Plaza Grand Opening in Newhall, CA.

UPDATE: CSPAN is doing interviews with injured GIs who are recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC.

A Bear Flag League Union

Master of Spork? The Daily None?

Anyway, another blog marriage is in the offing. And I was there when they met: election night 2004! Something else for which to blame President Bush. :-)

Deep Doo Doo

I have an idea!

The Bush administration said yesterday that Democratic senators should not expect to get the [classified] documents they are seeking before they will allow an up-or-down vote on John R. Bolton, whom the president nominated to be ambassador to the United Nations. [SNIP]

The documents sought by Democratic Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut are e-mail messages and other background material for congressional testimony Mr. Bolton was to give in 2003 about Syria's weapons programs and 10 foreign communications intercepts the nominee requested in his current role as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.[SNIP]

The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee have seen redacted versions of the intercepts, and concluded nothing could be learned from allowing Mr. Biden to see censored versions.

Simple solution for the Democrat senators: send Sandy Berger in to get those Bolton classified docs. However, the good senators might want to wear a mask while reading the info; after the heist, the papers might not smell too good. Of course, neither does anything else in Washington, so our fair legislators might not notice the stench. Especially not this one:

Meanwhile Thursday night Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, raised another possible objection: She said she wants to see a list of clients of an outside consultant Mr. Bolton has employed in his current position.

Bow Your Heads

Since it has been rumored that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi—the scourge of freedom-loving Iraqis--has been shot, Arthur Chrenkoff has provided a post for you to voice your…um…prayers for Zarqawi’s…um…recovery.

So It Goes

Francis W. Porretto is the first person that I've seen even barely touch on the morality of the fact that the "discarded" embryos—wanted for use in stem-cell testing--exist at all. For that is the dirty little "secret" of the fertility industry; the detritus of the "agony of infertility," as if one must have progeny from her body at all costs; even the cost of her other *existing* progeny.

One is reminded of the well-to-do woman who, pregnant with triplets, aborted two of them. Too inconvenient, you know.

Sophie’s Choice, perverted.

It's this type of stuff that makes me tired.

Burnt...

..Out. Political overload.

I Don't Drink Soda Anyway

Sorry, Big Boys and Girls. I read Pepsico CFO Indra Nooyi's whole Columbia University commencement speech--.pdf file via Powerline--and I don't see what the big deal is. Aren't we always lamenting the leftist tendency to quote/take stuff out of context?

There are better incidents over which to form a blogswarm.

Incredible Venality

This is wrong and whoever is responsible should be punished.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Tabloid photographs Friday of an imprisoned Saddam Hussein naked except for his white underwear prompted a U.S. military investigation and condemnation from the Red Cross. President Bush said he did not think the images would incite further anti-American sentiment in Iraq.[SNIP]

''It is clear that the pictures were taken inside the prison, which means that American soldiers have leaked the pictures,'' said Saddam's chief lawyer, Ziad al-Khasawneh.

(Emphasis mine.)

And, yes, it’s as bad as the Newsweek debacle; worse. Those responsible should know better. And, apparently, the Sun (UK) and the New York Post (subsidiaries of FNC) learned nothing from the Newsweek incident.

Sun managing editor Graham Dudman told The Associated Press that the newspaper paid ''a small sum'' for the photos. He would not elaborate except to say it was more than 500 British pounds, which is about $900. The paper said it would publish more photos Saturday.

:::Spit::: Some military personnel were Judases for a lousy 900 dollars. I hope they can live with the fallout.

UPDATE: Jeff Goldstein agrees.

His Highness

Marty Johnson was interviewed by CQ about finding his biological parents, finding out that he is Nigerian royalty and about his trip back to his other home. I must say, I'm a little envious (about the trip, not the interview). Go check it out.

UPDATE: Marty's new name is Chinenye Ogike. It has a certain ring to it. :-)

Sounds Like Fun

Babalu is blogging for the Cuba Nostalgia Convention for the next few days. Go check him out.

Stupid Quiz Time

What a surprise.

What Is Your Animal Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla

Is that how 'truly' is spelled? Guess not.

(Thanks to Acidman)

Does Newsweek Hate the Military?

Make up your own mind.

An indictment: read why Blackfive hasn’t read Newsweek in two years.

Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington

It’s interesting to observe the body language of people on television when one is watching it with the sound down. British MP George Galloway, oustee from the UK’s Labor Party and staunch opponent of the Iraq War testified voluntarily, of course--before the US Senate in the wake of accusations that he had been a recipient of proceeds from the scandal-plagued United Nations Oil-for-Food program.

Unfortunately for me, the hearings started while I was in the gym so I had to read Mr. Galloway’s opening statement--rather than listen to it—on one of the two TVs situated in front of the treadmills and the stationary bikes (I was on one of the bikes). The TVs were set to CNN and FNC as the broadcast began and as I read the sarcastic words of Mr. Galloway—and, as anyone who reads me regularly can attest, I know my sarcasm—I couldn’t help but notice the hostility practically oozing out of Mr. Galloway’s pores: “…right-wing sites who are so enamored of you, Senator [Norm Coleman, R-MN]…” I wonder which “right-wing” site Mr. Galloway had in mind. :-)

Anyway, I’ll have to catch the rebroadcast on CSPAN, assuming they show it. For the record, both CNN and Fox cut into the broadcast, however CNN cut in as soon as Senator Coleman—who is presiding over the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations--started speaking. Coincidence? Maybe. Senator Coleman’s demeanor—observed on FNC, obviously--was a perfect 180 from that of Mr. Galloway: smooth, laconic, unflappable.

And, yes, FNC does lean to the right. This is more apparent when the words are read.

More to come after one of the rebroadcasts. ::::fingers crossed::::

UPDATE: I finally got around to watching British MP George Galloway’s rant before the US Senate. It went pretty much as expected. Mr. Galloway certainly knew that he had a golden opportunity to take cheap shots at the Coalition efforts in Iraq and he made the most of it, while vehemently denying the accusations and belittling the accusers. Fair enough. I just wish that I could find a video of the entire hearing. Each one that I’ve found cuts off after Senator Norm Coleman mildly says, “thank you, Mr. Galloway.”

Remorseless

"There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States.”

--Mexican President Vicente Fox

In answer to La Shawn, of course President Fox is a racist! Aside from the statement being the truth when not considered within its context, people from other countries feel much freer to make racist statements about perceived inferior groups than do Americans. And unlike most Americans, the rest of the world refuses to feel guilty about its racism. They’d rather beat up on America for it. That’s one of the many dirty little secrets of the world. Don’t believe me? Look at these statements found on a Chinese web forum regarding Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:

"How come the United States selects a female chimpanzee as Secretary of State?"

"This black woman thinks rather a lot of herself."

"She's so ugly she's losing face. Even a dog would be put off its dinner while she's being fed."

There was not one bit of uproar about the “uncivilized” Chinese and their “horrid racism,” not to mention their ill manners. Why not? Because the Chinese wouldn’t give a hairy fig, that’s why. And neither does the Mexican President, nor do countless other world leaders and officials that let racism flow freely from their lips. As a matter of fact, President Fox's remark was mild in comparison to all too many others, especially when the subject is Jews.

By the way, President Fox wants his country’s “inferiors,” that is, those Mexicans of more Indian heritage, to migrate to this country. Why do you think his government encourages illegal emigration? Better than what many other leaders have done with their “inferiors,” don’t you think?

(Thanks to Dennis Prager)

UPDATE: Solomon concludes that Vicente is no Jamie.

A 'Professional' Job

There was a riot this week in Afghanistan; one which resulted in a lot of Afghani deaths and one which was sparked by a Newsweek report of a Koran being put into a Guantanamo Bay toilet.

It turns out, however, that the incident was not verified, and that Newsweek is forced to tender an apology.

Newsweek magazine said on Sunday it erred in a May 9 report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article.

Editor Mark Whitaker said the magazine inaccurately reported that U.S. military investigators had confirmed that personnel at the detention facility in Cuba had flushed the Muslim holy book down the toilet.

Of course, Newsweek/MSNBC and the authors of the article--Michael Isikoff and John Barry--€”are being denounced far and wide for the deaths resulting from the riots (which are still going on). Isikoff and Barry certainly deserve the shellacking they are getting and will get.

I’ve been saying for a while now that the leftwing media has it in for the military. They condescended to military members before last year'€™s election: "poor little GIs; they know not what they do." However, since they were unable to peel off a significant portion of George W. Bush's majority approval among veterans, the media disdain for GIs has lost its passive-aggressive flavor and taken on a more overt form of hostility.

Publishing a report on an unverified desecration of Islam'€™s holy scripture was merely a tool meant to undermine the military'€™s mission in the War on Terror(ists) and thereby discredit the war's author, the president. But like many tools wielded by unskilled "€œwarriors," it missed the mark and hit the wrong targets: at least 15 Afghanis, now dead.

Nice shooting, clowns.

Note to those who are blowing the intentions of the "€œreligious right"€ out of proportion: if Christians were to riot the next time some so-called artist puts a crucifix in a bucket full of urine, that would be religious extremism and then it would be time to worry about Christians. Wake me when it happens.

(Thanks to that heathen, Acidman, who has seen what's behind the J-School curtain)

UPDATE: Roundups:

La Shawn Barber

Tom Maguire

Michelle Malkin

Grace

Also known as unmerited favor. Today, I received plenty of it.

Gerard Van Der Leun knows a little something about it as well. While you’re at it, read everything he’s written for the past week or so.

Rumors of Wars...and of Fault

CBS has this headline about civil unrest in a country not the USA.

U.S. Ally Fires On Its People

Let me see if I can guess which US ally would that be. Hmmm. Australia, Japan or the UK? Or maybe it’s France, Germany or Spain. (They are still calling themselves allies of ours, right?) Or perhaps it's El Salvador; or Estonia. Or Mexico. Or India.

Say what? Uzbekistan? Oh, okay.

Thousands of terrified Uzbeks waiting to flee across the border into Kyrgyzstan stormed government buildings, torched police cars and attacked border guards Saturday in a second day of violence spawned by an uprising against the iron-fisted rule of U.S.-allied President Islam Karimov.

Can’t beat the irony of having that given name.

The Uzbek leader blamed Islamic extremists for the revolt and said his troops were forced to shoot demonstrators Friday as they tried to break through police lines. Witnesses counted more than 200 civilians dead.

Do you suppose that CBS has a point in stressing the Uzbek president’s alliance with the US while his country is in turmoil and Islamic extremists are allegedly to blame? Is a major American news organization trying to stir up even more anti-Americanism in the Muslim world?

Nah. That could never happen, even if most people will only read the title and the first paragraph of this article. /sarc

Anyway, this looks like another ugly 'he-said, he-said' with dead civilians thrown in for good measure.

Karimov said Saturday that authorities tried to negotiate a peaceful way out but would not yield to the protesters' demand for freedom for all their followers across the Valley. He termed that demand excessive.[SNIP]

He said troops were forced to open fire when demonstrators who seized a government building attempted to break through an advancing line of Uzbek police and soldiers. The Uzbek leader also denied that forces targeted innocent civilians. [SNIP]

But protest leader Kabuljon Parpiyev said Interior Minister Zakir Almatov did not sound willing to negotiate in a Friday phone call.

"He said, 'We don't care if 200, 300 or 400 people die. We have force and we will chuck you out of there anyway,"' Parpiyev quoted Almatov as saying.

(Thanks to LGF)

AFTERTHOUGHT: I wonder why we didn’t see this headline from CBS a couple of summers ago:

US Ally Allows Thousands of its Seniors to Die from Neglect

Bright Lights, Big City

Great. Another LA-car-race-shooting drama.

The LA County Sheriff Department shoots up a Compton neighborhood to get a guy—Winston Hayes--who isn’t exactly public enemy number one, but is stupid (or drugged up) enough to keep driving when the long, if inaccurate, arm of the law has him cornered. I don’t blame the officers for shooting at him. For heaven’s sake, Hayes was driving up on the sidewalks and into other cars including the police cars! Being in front of an SUV driven by a crazy man will make a person as dead as a bullet will.

The deputies, however, were no less of a hazard to the health of the neighborhood. They fired 120 rounds at the guy, but he barely gets scratched. Plenty of collateral targets, like houses and windows belonging to same are hit, however. One of the deputies even stops one of his buddy's bullets with his vest; 'friendly fire.' (The phrase sounds so benign, doesn’t it?) And no gun was found on the suspect.

So, now the community is in an uproar--and justifiably so. On the front page of yesterday’s internet Los Angeles Times there was a photo of Compton councilman Isadore Hall, a young, squared-away looking man; his mouth is open and he is gesturing in outrage and I’m there with him…I used to live not far from the area in question. Couldn't they have trapped the guy near one of the numerous freeway underpasses or the like? One wonders whether a crazy driver would have had 120 rounds fired at him in a less black and Hispanic residential neighborhood in, say, Santa Monica. (And, believe me, there are plenty of nuts in that fair city driving SUVs.)

But while no one died or was seriously hurt from this latest LA drama, another drama ended with the funeral of a brutally murdered man this past Saturday—like Winston Hayes, a black man. But, this man, Tommy Edward Scott, won’t have the likes of Councilman Hall holding press conferences on his behalf; no marches will be held to protest the unjustifiable and gruesome nature of his death. See if you can guess the reason.

Officer Tommy Edward Scott became the first Los Angeles airport policeman to die in the line of duty in the department's 59-year history when he tried Friday to stop a pedestrian from commandeering his patrol car near LAX.

Scott, a 3-year veteran of the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, was trying to regain control of his car by hanging onto the driver's side door when the vehicle crashed into a fire hydrant, Deputy LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore said.

"As the suspect drove away at a very high rate of speed, the officer attempted to disable the vehicle," Moore said. "The suspect hit the hydrant, and that led to the horrific crash."

I found out about the latter incident from Cobb who contrasts reactions to the Scott murder with that of the Stanley Miller beating.

My brother Doc was furious at the Fungibles and the 'black community' because of this relative silence. I suffered through his tirade against LA Urban League Mogul John Mack whose opinion on the matter was probably not sought by local media, but he sure did make enough noise about the flashlight upside Stanley Miller's head. No charges were brought against the arresting officers in the Miller case because of a lack of evidence. If that sounds too technical, understand this: Miller didn't bleed. He took an aspirin. The LAPD officer's blood was all over the car door, and the sidewalk, and the windshield. [SNIP]

I wonder what would happen if for once in the entire history of Los Angeles, somebody would think something of this nature would merit a big turnout from the people who live where I grew up. It's not a revolutionary idea, but it's a good one.

My condolences to the Scott family.

And mine.

Meanwhile, I sit in the back of the house.

Now This How the Right Neocons Treat its Their Wingnuts

Stephen Green refers to Pat Buchanan as a Nazi Apologist and fisks Buchanan down to his shorts on World War Two history.

Green:

These are historical facts. Buchanan knows them. He's hoping you don't.

My thoughts exactly.

BTW, the Greens are going to be parents at the end of the year; no vodka for the Missus for a bit. Congratulations!

(Thanks to Instapundit)

UPDATE:

Maybe history will just rename WWII as the Fifty Years War, 1939 to 1989.

--one of Stephen's readers

Men, Women and the Church

Men…:::insert exasperation here::::….Don’t ask. Just trust me.

*****

On the other hand…

Michael Totten is back from Lebanon and has another post featuring more of the now-famous Cedar Revolution Protest Babes. As everyone knows, even heterosexual women—secure ones, that is--like looking at attractive women, if only to say “you go, girl(s)” or to get ideas on how to do their own hair and make-up.

Men liking women; all is right with the world.

In Michael’s comments, Will Franklin links to his own Babe Theory of Political Movements from a couple of months ago, in which he posits that where beautiful women lead, success (not to mention men) will follow.

Where and when there are hot babes, an exponential number of men will show up. If 100 cute girls with voluptuous bodies are protesting for freedom, you can count on a thousand men being there as well.

If sexy babes are involved in a peaceful political movement, it has a far greater chance of succeeding. If there are no good-looking women involved, the odds of a successful (and peaceful) movement fall dramatically.

Where and when alluring women are excluded from demonstrations, you can expect greater chances of strife, rioting, and failure.

*****

Turning Will’s theory upside down, I have this theory about church congregations; if there are too many women in the congregation, say more that 55%, the pastor has likely has too much “praise and worship” in his service and not enough teaching of the word and some of its less “uplifting” aspects. Recall Doug Giles’ words about the inability of many churches to attract men.

So why do most men avoid church? Here’s the veneer stripped-away answer: going to church for the majority of men is an exercise in unwanted effeminacy. Church, for most men, has not only become irrelevant; it has also become effeminate. Hanging out in church for most extra-Y chromosomes seems unmanly and most men more than anything want to be masculine!

In some of the churches I’ve attended, one would be hard pressed to find a man under seventy or a male child over twelve. Men don’t want to sit around on Sunday in church if all they are going to listen to is each member of the choir getting to sing solo in as many songs and a little bit of hollering preaching afterward. If guys are going to miss that football game, they’re going to do it because the pastor is

“serv[ing] up the solid meat of the scripture … the stuff that prods the congregation to biblical maturity rather than prolonging their [sic] infancy.”

Guys want you to tell them what, how, why and--most important—Who, without the pretty pink bow wrapped around it.

And, frankly--to acknowledge my less spiritual side--sitting around with a bunch of women for a couple of hours listening to bad singing and a little bit of shouting and watching a lot of jumping up and down puts me in a foul mood.

I’m willing to bet it does that to a lot of guys too.

This Should Be Interesting

Speaking of human fallibility, some people are still under the illusion that human beings are capable of carrying out any flawless endeavor--especially one involving millions of people--and, on this VE Day, one of them laments the “tainted triumph” of World War Two.

[W]e would do well, this V-E Day, to face some harsh realities about the nature of the Allied victory — if only to remind ourselves about the nature of all wars. To win World War II, we joined forces with a despot who was every bit as brutal a tyrant as Hitler; we adopted tactics that we ourselves had said were depraved; and we left too many of those we set out to liberate firmly in the grip of totalitarianism.

Armed Liberal isn’t surprised.

The first question - as compared to what? - is a critical one. I genuinely think that some people somehow believe that the world is a lab where perfect wars can be fought, or perfect legal cases made - or perfect businesses run, or perfect marriages maintained, or children can be perfectly raised. And if you can't - if in retrospect, your parents damaged you, or the business execution was clumsy, or if a war was fought by soldiers who were on occasion brutal or if decisions were made in weakness, fear or anger that were - again in light of historical omniscience, bad - then the whole enterprise is certainly subject to question and certainly shouldn't be celebrated.

I have a question for any World War Two naysayers (!) out there: after realizing that they should have slapped him down earlier, what should the Allies have done in the face of Hitler’s aggression in Europe? Another way of asking: what strategic move(s) should have been taken that wasn't or vice versa?

(Thanks to Austin Bay)

From the Whirlwind

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.

--God clownin' Job (NLT, Job 38:4); Job, having gone through earthly Hell, still had enough sense to STFU.

Is there anything more mind-numbingly boring than a discussion centering on creationism versus evolution versus intelligent design?

I submit this: don’t know, don’t care.

Why aren’t any of the various proponents of these theories—especially those that believe in a Divine Creator--content with not knowing everything?

Believers: if you knew everything, you’d be God.

Atheists, you definitely aren’t God. Since you don’t believe in an omnipotent being, it should follow that man isn’t one.

This is not to say that the questions shouldn’t be asked. It is to say that those who find the discussion so fascinating shouldn’t be so arrogant about an answer they don’t actually have. I-Don’t-Know isn’t an obscenity.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my mom(s) and yours. In case you don't know, displaying a white rose means that your mom has gone to her reward; displaying a red one means she's alive and kicking.

Mine had a scare a few years back, but she's still here, thank God.

One of the most interesting things about this day is that people say "Happy Mother's Day" to every female who appears to be over fourteen. Having no children, I used struggle my "but..." reflex down in a nanosecond when people wished me Happy Mother's Day and say thanks. After my mother beat cancer, I don't have that reflex anymore.

Problems

The Reverend Donald Sensing has a problem with the portrayal of Christians in the movie Kingdom of Heaven; but it may not be the problem that you suspect.

Paul Jané has a problem with a couple of paintings at the Canadian War Museum; so do many Canadian warriors.

David Anderson had a problem with his website, so he’s regrouped and redesigned.

Greyhawk presents evidence that the alleged religious problem at the Air Force Academy is bogus.

Rusty Shackleford is a problem—for at least one terrorist.

And in Aaron’s version of Star Wars, Obi-Wan’s got a problem with weapon appropriateness.

UPDATE: Jeff has a whole list of professional whiners critics that have problems with Kingdom of Heaven.

Karpinski Demoted

Well, I came back early.

I’ve seen plenty of complaints about the Abu Ghraib punishments regarding rank: that only the lower ranks were feeling the heat, like Abu Ghraib poster girl Lyndie England (whose guilty plea has been thrown out). Well, it seems that those complaints were premature.

WASHINGTON — The Army said Thursday that only one general will be disciplined for failed leadership in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and that more than a dozen lower-ranking officers have received a variety of punishments.

The Army said it demoted Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski [one star] whose Army Reserve unit was in charge of the prison compound when Iraqi detainees were physically abused and sexually humiliated by military police and intelligence soldiers in the fall of 2003.

It takes a presidential approval to demote a general. What this means, basically is that the now-colonel must retire in disgrace.

Additionally, other officers are being punished for incidents regarding prisoners, though the article doesn’t specify whether those incidents occurring in Iraq were at Abu Ghraib or not.

Without providing their names, the Army also said Thursday that one colonel and two lieutenant colonels linked to detainee abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan were given unspecified administrative punishment. Also, two other lieutenant colonels were given letters of reprimand.

More than a dozen other lower-ranking officers, whose names were not released, also received various punishments.

— Three majors were given letters of reprimand and one of the three also was given an unspecified administrative punishment.

— Three captains have been court-martialed, one captain was given an other-than-honorable discharge from the Army, five captains received letters of reprimand and one was given an unspecified administrative punishment.

— Two first lieutenants have been court-martialed, another got a letter of reprimand and one was given administrative punishment.

— One second lieutenant was given an other-than-honorable discharge and another was given a letter of reprimand.

— Two chief warrant officers have been court-martialed.

The Army said other cases involving officers linked to detainee abuse are still open, but it did not say how many. Among the open cases are those of Col. Thomas Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade at Abu Ghraib, and Lt. Col. Stephen Jordan, who directed the prison's interrogation center. Both face possible criminal charges, Army officials have said.

If I’m not mistaken, any of the above punishments basically ruins an officer’s career.

Also imbedded in the article was this curious item.

A U.S. government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Karpinski was accused of shoplifting a cosmetic item from a shop at a domestic Air Force base while she held the rank of colonel.

Saw then-General Karpinski on CSPAN a few weeks ago speaking before some left-wing organizational gathering. She disavowed all responsibility for Abu Ghraib, but her explanation sounded logical, though I can’t vouch for its plausibility (too far above my pay grade). Basically, she claims that the Army filled that command slot with a female Reserve general for PC purposes, but limited her mobility and authority in her command because she was a woman.

Did it happen that way? Maybe so, but the mere sight of a general passing the buck rather than taking responsibility for her men and women turned my stomach. Most people make fun of England, but to me that's like making fun of a juvenile delinquent (though England is an adult, of course). It's the newly-minted colonel who makes my blood boil.

Glad I don't have to salute her.

Random Thought

Lileks:

…the Buster-Has-Six-Daddies argument …

James uses this phrase while talking about this nut’s desire to ban all works which have either homosexual authors/composers or homosexual characters from Alabama public school libraries. (I guess that Alabama kids wouldn't even be able to read Inferno at school, although Dante has the sodomites burning in Hell.)

But, besides making me laugh, the phrase made me reflect on how its turn might have been perceived in another context. Back in the day, such a phrase would have been construed as an insult against one’s mother; a ‘dozens’ shot. Buster’s mom is such a whore that six different guys could be his daddy, as opposed to the twenty-first century connotation: that Buster’s dad lives with all of his boyfriends.

Either way, Buster's house is rockin'.

Back in a couple of days.

UPDATE: Thanks to Right on the Left Beach for the new photo. I'm not terribly photogenic; that's photo skill!

Yummy!

For the woman who has everything but that special man. And I do mean special.

(Blame Russell Wardlow and Jeff at Beautiful Atrocities)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Remember the stories about Afghanistan’s Taliban regarding women? Remember how it was reported that a woman could be executed due to showing too much ankle or even for having squeaky shoes? Well those days are definitely over.

Even before they step onto the pitch at the Banuwan women's competition in Iran in August, the women of Kabul Selected will have overcome more obstacles than most athletes.

The team has been playing in organised [soccer] leagues for a little more than a year. When they began, most training took place behind closed doors. While they still lack the amenities available to male players, the best players from the capital's 12 girls' teams have moved into the open.

Ranging in age from 12 to 18, they train on the concrete apron next to the grass field at Kabul Athletic Stadium, where the Taleban once conducted public executions. The grass is usually reserved for male teams, so the women make do with a practice area smaller than a regulation pitch. [SNIP]

[T]here are the neighbourhood gossips who can't accept the idea of female athletes.

"The neighbours haven't said anything to me directly, but my father was asked, 'Why is your daughter playing football?' " said Shamila.

"'I myself told her to play football,' my father told him, Shamila continued with a trace of pride in her voice.

Pretty cool, eh? There’s a lot more in the latest post from Arthur Chrenkoff’s series “Good News from Afghanistan,” and don't forget to read other his on-going series "Good News From Iraq" (twenty-six parts so far). Call him the anti-Herbert.

Tell Me What You Think (UPDATED)

Alright. I know there are some Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans that read this blog; and a few who are reading from in-theater. Tell me, gentlemen and ladies; how realistic does this sound to you?

[OIF vet and conscientious objector Aidan Delgado] said: "Guys in my unit, particularly the younger guys, would drive by in their Humvee and shatter bottles over the heads of Iraqi civilians passing by. They'd keep a bunch of empty Coke bottles in the Humvee to break over people's heads."

Does Coca Cola still use glass bottles? (Perhaps it’s an overseas practice.)

What about this?

Mr. Delgado said he had witnessed incidents in which an Army sergeant lashed a group of children with a steel Humvee antenna, and a Marine corporal planted a vicious kick in the chest of a kid about 6 years old. [SNIP]

Mr. Delgado, an extremely thoughtful and serious young man, balked at the entire scene. "It drove me into a moral quagmire," he said. "I walked up to my commander and gave him my weapon. I said: 'I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to kill anyone. This war is wrong. I'll stay. I'll finish my job as a mechanic. But I'm not going to hurt anyone. And I want to be processed as a conscientious objector.' " [SNIP]

Mr. Delgado, who eventually got conscientious objector status and was honorably discharged last January, recalled a disturbance that occurred while he was working in the Abu Ghraib motor pool. Detainees who had been demonstrating over a variety of grievances began throwing rocks at the guards. As the disturbance grew, the Army authorized lethal force. Four detainees were shot to death.

Mr. Delgado confronted a sergeant who, he said, had fired on the detainees. "I asked him," said Mr. Delgado, "if he was proud that he had shot unarmed men behind barbed wire for throwing stones. He didn't get mad at all. He was, like, 'Well, I saw them bloody my buddy's nose, so I knelt down. I said a prayer. I stood up, and I shot them down.' "

I wonder about the veracity or the completeness of these incidents that Delgado is transmitting via columnist Bob Herbert—who has gotten things willfully wrong before. Oh, not merely because the incidents don’t sound like the behavior of the average American GI, but also because such widespread behavior would be impossible to keep secret and it's hard to believe that it would go unpunished. We have soldiers armed with digital cameras and email. We have imbedded journalists, some of whom would be only too eager to get a hold of the types of stories that Mr. Delgado tells; journalists with the same mindset as Mr. Herbert.

(An aside: Mr. Delgado enlisted in the Army on a rather interesting morning: September 11, 2001, probably doing so just as one of the airplanes was hitting its target or as one of the towers fell. They tell me God is the Great Comedian.)

But let’s assume Mr. Delgado is telling the truth. He does not mention to Mr. Herbert whether such soldiers are punished or not. Perhaps he doesn’t know. Or perhaps he does, but chooses not to mention it.

One thing is for certain: Mr. Delgado knew he’d have a receptive audience in Mr. Herbert. The latter’s disdain for the military and for OIF is palpable.

He stayed with his unit and endured a fair amount of ostracism. "People would say I was a traitor or a coward," he said. "The stuff you would expect."

Perhaps Mr. Herbert would expect it, but those who are familiar with military culture would think it rings false. However, I’m open to correction.

So, GIs, tell me. What do you think of these stories?

UPDATE: More from BlackFive and from Lorie Byrd at Polipundit. Both are skeptical of Mr. Delgado's stories and wonder what he might have to gain by telling them.

UPDATE: Rich Lowry at the Corner notes an interesting discrepancy between two of Delgado's tellings of the same story; as told to Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now. Compare this to what he told Bob Herbert.

And I remember just sort of questioning the guy, saying, “Do you really feel proud of having shot an unarmed man who threw a stone?” He was like, “Well, I'm doing my job.” It was a very machismo thing, to have killed someone. I felt this immense loathing and this immense disgust for the whole incident.

(Thanks to Michelle Malkin)

UPDATE: Blackfive sends a link to a Milblogger, Sgt Ted, who was also present at Abu Ghraib during the events detailed by Aidan Delgado. Sgt Ted, however, isn't a mechanic.

The compound where the riot took place, compound 8, was run by my Company, the 870th MP [Military Police] Co. The riot also was an escape attempt. It wasn't just a few stone throwers; the sky was black with throw debris, which effectively suppressed the compound towers from their overwatch duties. The stones being thrown represented a deadly force threat. Some of them were head size. It was only when the riot became a danger of a serious breakout attempt and less than lethal force(rubber shot from M203 and rubber point munitions from 12 GA shotguns) had been applied to no effect was the request for deadly force made. When permission was granted, two soldiers fired on the ring leaders. 3 were killed outright, ending the riot immediately. One more died later and 12 more were wounded. I know both of the soldiers who fired; they are good people and only did what they had to do to keep others from further harm. Given that one of the soldiers was using a M249, it could have been a bloodbath. [SNIP]

This Delgado guy was a mechanic; he was no where near those compounds. I also highly doubt he "confronted" the SGT who fired; he wouldn't have even known who he was. Different unit, not working anywhere near the compounds.

Hmm, who to believe? (snark)

A Little Linkage

Solomon on “The Culture of Disrespect.”

Beth has gathered a lot of the South Park portraits in one place. Hilarious and cute!

Kelley of Suburban Blight is back!

One of these lives right across the street. Another lives two blocks away with the same house number as mine. Of course, this is LA; doors and windows stay locked anyway. I’ve ceased power-walking in the area.

I wish I had thought of this sort of thing when I was a kid.

Cal Tech Girl is hosting this week’s Carnival of the Recipes.

And Varifrank reminds us that commies are against having fun.

Let’s amend that last sentence to ‘most commies.’ What’s that sound? It’s the sound of a joke flying over the head of some of the Commissar’s readers.