Funniest Whose Line Ever

Obsession: What The War on Terror Is Really About

The war on terror has two sides.

I Always Thought This Was Jason Leopold in the Middle of a Bush Derangement Syndrome Episode

But as it turns out, it's just some German kid angry at a video game that loads slowly.

The Vocabulary of Untruth

A few excerpts from the ever-brilliant Victor Davis Hanson's latest:

A “ceasefire” would occur should Hezbollah give back kidnapped Israelis and stop launching missiles; it would never follow a unilateral cessation of Israeli bombing. In fact, we will hear international calls for one only when Hezbollah’s rockets are about exhausted.

“Civilians” in Lebanon have munitions in their basements and deliberately wish to draw fire; in Israel they are in bunkers to avoid it. Israel uses precision weapons to avoid hitting them; Hezbollah sends random missiles into Israel to ensure they are struck.

“Cycle of Violence” is used to denigrate those who are attacked, but are not supposed to win.

“Deliberate” reflects the accuracy of Israeli bombs hitting their targets; it never refers to Hezbollah rockets that are meant to destroy anything they can.

“Deplore” is usually evoked against Israel by those who themselves have slaughtered noncombatants or allowed them to perish — such as the Russians in Grozny, the Syrians in Hama, or the U.N. in Rwanda and Dafur.

“Disproportionate” means that the Hezbollah aggressors whose primitive rockets can’t kill very many Israeli civilians are losing, while the Israelis’ sophisticated response is deadly against the combatants themselves. See “excessive.”

Anytime you hear the adjective “excessive,” Hezbollah is losing. Anytime you don’t, it isn’t.

“Eyewitnesses” usually aren’t, and their testimony is cited only against Israel.

“Grave concern” is used by Europeans and Arabs who privately concede there is no future for Lebanon unless Hezbollah is destroyed — and it should preferably be done by the “Zionists” who can then be easily blamed for doing it.

“Innocent” often refers to Lebanese who aid the stockpiling of rockets or live next to those who do. It rarely refers to Israelis under attack.

The “militants” of Hezbollah don’t wear uniforms, and their prime targets are not those Israelis who do.

“Multinational,” as in “multinational force,” usually means “third-world mercenaries who sympathize with Hezbollah.” See “peacekeepers.”

“Peacekeepers” keep no peace, but always side with the less Western of the belligerents.

“Shocked” is used, first, by diplomats who really are not; and, second, only evoked against the response of Israel, never the attack of Hezbollah.

“United Nations Action” refers to an action that Russia or China would not veto. The organization’s operatives usually watch terrorists arm before their eyes. They are almost always guilty of what they accuse others of.

EPA to Mandate Reductions in Emissions from Volcanoes

Emission from volcanoes in the future could be greatly restricted under new rules that are part of the Clean Air Planning Act.

(Mt. St. Helens, Washington State) Under new rules that are part of the Clean Air Planning Act, volcanoes, long responsible for more particulate and sulfur dioxide pollution than all human-caused emissions, might not get a pass any longer.

The volcanic emissions portions of the legislation was finally agreed upon by congressional negotiators after congress decided to allow states in which eruptions occur to come up with their own enforcement mechanisms.

"We realize that it might be difficult for the states to come up with efficient and cost-effective measures for achieving volcanic emission reductions", said EPA Assistant Administrator Dr. Susan Vulcan. "That is why the reduction requirements are implemented gradually over time...only 5% each year".

Dr. Vulcan said that state officials will have a much easier time than some countries will have if the United Nations Volcanic Emissions Negation Treaty (UN-VENT) is ratified. She explained that volcanoes in the United States are not nearly as explosive as volcanoes in other countries. For instance, the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Phillipines in June of 1991 emitted millions of tons of sulfur, a pollution event that is well beyond what can be cleansed by scrubber technology now widely used at coal-fired power plants.

Amazing Video of the Day

Nobelist Absurdity of the Day

Scientist: Inject Sulfur into Air to Battle Global Warming
By Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer

Injecting sulfur into the second atmospheric layer closest to Earth would reflect more sunlight back to space and offset greenhouse gas warming, according to Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego.

Crutzen suggests carrying sulfur into the atmosphere via balloons and using artillery guns to release it, where the particles would stay for up to two years. The results could be seen in six months.

Great plan, Paul. On the plus side, at least one member of the NAS thinks there is still a reason for not melting down all artillery on the planet quite yet.

In a prior thread, d-day comments:

Your last two posts kind of contradict one another.

Volcanos and earthquakes and fires and anything that spews ash into the atmosphere absolutely have global cooling effects on the climate.

They can reasonably account for all the vast historical changes of the last million years, in fact. High volcanic activity and global Ice Ages correlate. The difference is that, all things being equal, industrial production has coincided with a warming trend that has a far greater probability of being manmade. Indeed, Pinatubo erupted in 1991 and dropped climate a tad, but failed to stall the warming trend.

Au contraire, mon frere. Read your own post back. Yes, volcanos and anything else spewing ash into the atmosphere can cause global cooling. But that does not account for all of the 'vast historical changes' in global climate. You've covered the cooling side, but then, what makes it warm back up?

There is of course no simple answer to that question, though, as I've pointed out before, cyclically -variable solar output is the most logical prime factor (and would also go some way toward explaining why the polar caps are also melting on Mars), which m12edit summarized so succinctly in his response:

m12edit said...

so why is it that we're approaching the high temperature in both the 110k year cycle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Co2-temperature-plot.png) and in the 700 yr cycle (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7149/2767/1600/Spotlight_281_Page_2.jpg), not forgetting the 22k year cycle between ice ages. I think the point is that Gore is a hysteria monger, there's more going on than we have a clue about, all signs point to the Earth warming on all short and long term time scales, and that the sky isn't falling. BTW, note that 110k years ago it was 1.5 degrees C (almost 3 degrees F) warmer, and 330k years ago it was about 1.25 degrees C warmer. Also check out this link http://www.geo.arizona.edu/palynology/geos462/21climastro.html regarding orbital varience and climate change. Now, with all this, and though I agree we should limit pollution (everybody's pollution including developing nations--which is why Kyoto is terrible), can you say with certainty, even probability that global warming is happening primarily because of us? What really scares me are the scientists who are devising plan to deliberately cool the atmosphere. I feel like a plan to influence global warming/cooling directly and specifically could really screw things up--road to Hell being paved with good intentions and all.

I am with m12 on this: I consider myself an environmentalist and think MUCH more pressure should be brought to bear on Russia and China (and Mexico, and...) to stop treating the planet like their personal garbage disposal, but I also think that Kyoto was a farce as it held 'developing nations' to almost no standards, while espousing draconian limits on 1st world nations that would effectively cripple our economies.

And therein lies my annoyance with the global-warming crowd. Their war is not so much against the potential 1 degree F increase over the next 100 years so much as it is channeled hostility against modernization, industrialization, and mankind itself, and more specifically against what they perceive to be 1st world exploitative capitalism (whose benefits they so obliviously enjoy while simultaneously railing against -- all the gratitude and realism of a spoiled, Ché-t-shirt-wearing rich kid screaming quotations from Chairman Mao's little red book at bourgeois Daddy while in the safety and air-conditioning of their Calabasas cul-de-sac home with kidney-shaped pool).

The other thing that annoys me is that, for a crowd who sneers at Bush as a simpleton who doesn't understand "nuance," they are themselves guilty of incredibly simplistic thinking when blaming seemingly all the world's ills on SUVs -- while ignoring the (literally) blindingly obvious other explanation up in the sky.

I would argue that their obsession with SUVs again is a mask - that the real object of their hatred is families and power and masculinity and all the other things we learned were Evil in PoMo indoctrination camp college, but I'm late on deadline and that's a discussion for another day.

Global Warming on Pluto & Mars! Damn you, Bush!

First Mars' polar ice caps start melting. And now Pluto is following suit.

It might have something to do with cyclically variable solar output. Someone should make a movie to try to figure it all out.

San Francisco Cheese Smugglers

No, that's not a derogatory homophobic slur, it's an accurate description of the latest Sockin' It To The Man/effete status symbol in oh-so-rebellious San Francisco...

“Illegal cheese is a status symbol,” says Jesse. “If you can bring a fresh raw milk brie or camembert to the table, it says something about your wealth and mobility.”

The whole tawdry tale is here: Cheese-Smuggling Surrender Monkeys and their Felonious Fromage

Solla Solla Enna Perumai - Best Music Video Ever?

via Foxy Bronx

Megiddo: the Movie. {Act 1, Scene 1}. Fade up on...

Medieval book of psalms unearthed
First millennium manuscript, open to Psalm 83, found in Irish mud

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- Irish archaeologists Tuesday heralded the discovery of an ancient book of psalms by a construction worker while driving the shovel of his backhoe into a bog.

The approximately 20-page book has been dated to the years 800-1000. Trinity College manuscripts expert Bernard Meehan said it was the first discovery of an Irish early medieval document in two centuries.

"This is really a miracle find," said Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, which has the book stored in refrigeration. Researchers will conduct years of painstaking analysis before putting the book on public display.

"There's two sets of odds that make this discovery really way out," Wallace said. "First of all, it's unlikely that something this fragile could survive buried in a bog at all, and then for it to be unearthed and spotted before it was destroyed is incalculably more amazing."

Okay, let's review good old Psalm 83:

(Ahem, cue Tubular Bells)

"For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth."

If I were fighting the Jews and were "dedicated to making their name no more in remembrance," I would take this as a very bad sign. Just sayin'....

Is Bill Keller a Terrorist?

If you haven't already done so, I recommend you read Michelle Malkin's and Bummer Dietz's great posts about the NYT disclosing troop movements and armament shipments on page 1.

But there's another piece I think is also relevant reading: Steven Den Beste's seminal piece, Theory and Practice of Terrorism. I really think it helps elucidate the why behind the New York Times recent (and seemingly treason-definitional) disclosures of national security secrets.

Den Beste writes:

Terrorism is much misunderstood. Like any form of warfare it can have horrible results. But the behavior of terrorists is not inexplicable. When a terrorist campaign is run well, there's a purpose behind everything they do...

"Terrorism" is actually misnamed, because the goal of it is not to sow terror (though that is a common tactic). The goal of terrorism is to sow discord and disruption and to provoke reprisals from your much stronger opponent. One of the paradoxes of terrorism is that when your opponent commits a major act of violence against your people, you (the terrorist) win and you become stronger.

In our campaign as terrorists, our goal is to continually strengthen ourselves and to continually weaken our enemy, so as to redress the inequality of power between us. We want to recruit our people into our forces. We want to recruit international neutrals to become allies. We want to convince powerful neutrals that it is in their best interests to impose a solution on our enemies. These are all desirable and efforts will continue on all of these simultaneously, as long as the struggle continues. All of these require propaganda, and a successful terrorist campaign will always involve a cagey relationship with the international press. The ultimate and essential weapon of terrorism is publicity...

...When we commit a terrorist act, our goal is to invite violent reprisals from our opponent's forces. But since they don't know who we are, they will make their reprisals against our people -- which will increase the will of our people to resist, and make them more open to joining our forces. Thus each time we successfully inspire a major reprisal, our recruitment will become more successful and our forces will grow.

Think about this for a moment in respect to Keller and the NYT. Is his goal to "invite violent reprisal" from Bush? Why would he want to do such a thing?

Well, what better way to show the evil Rethuglikkkan fascistic theocracy for what it really is than to force Chimpy to show his true colors by arresting the editor of the New York Times and charging him with treason? And what better way to show your own nobility, and your side's moral superiority, than jutting out your chin and shouting, "Innocent!" as you are dragged in shackles into the courtroom? Oh, think of all the things you could yell...

"See?! They are stifling dissent! They are trampling on the First Amendment! Everything we've said about the Bush Administration is true! Martyrdom is ours! Ellsberg Akbar!"

Makes a certain amount of sense, doesn't it?

Do you think they grow annoyed that each time they commit treason, that each time they publish the words of government employees who are committing treason, that each time they dare BushCo to arrest them that nothing ever seems to happen?

No reprisal. No response. No grist for the propaganda mill. No proof of right-wing Evil. It's enough to make a terror-journalist cry. Or try harder next time.

Volcano As Seen from Space

Shot of a volcano in Alaska going off, as seen from space.

More information on the effects of volcanos on global climate change here.

An Inconvenienter Truth

Putting Global Warming in World-Historical Context.

A meteorologist with the oh-so-excellent name of Joe Bastardi, puts things into perspective.

Our knowledge of the past should serve as a foundation for actions in the present. While not dismissing those who are concerned about global warming, I am disturbed that they often base their conclusions on data that, in the context of time, are only a grain of sand on the beach. They cite temperature changes from the last 10, 50, or 100 years, ignoring the fact that climate history and cycles didn’t start 10 years or even 10 centuries ago.

Nothing that is happening today is new or different. I have yet to have a global warming "true believer" tell me why over the past hundreds and thousands of years, before any significant or even detectable human influence, there were periods where carbon dioxide and temperature levels were well above those of recent experience. There are also places in our northern plains that have been covered with glaciers at one time and tropical rain forest at others, all without man’s influence. There is no reason to think that this can’t happen again no matter what we do. Anyone with a true understanding of climate history knows that the relatively small changes experienced over the last 100 years could easily be "natural."

Babar and Friend Arrested on Terrorism Charges

As a longtime reader, got to say I'm disappointed.

Hyper-Reality Mountain Simulacrum in China

Google Earthlings have found the most bizarre military installation on earth:

In the remote Chinese village of Huangyangtan is a perfect scale-model of a disputed mountainous area along the China/India border, complete with lakes, valleys and snow-capped peaks.

The picture on the bottom to the left shows the simulacrum and that which it is simulating (click to enlarge).

Ms. American Spy

from Mr. Right at In The Right Place, a bit of extended brilliance...

Ms. American Spy
(Sung to the tune of Don McLean's American Pie)

A short, short time ago
I can still remember
How the "Plame Game" used to make me smile
And as I read those D-Kos rants
I got a big bulge in my pants
And thought maybe we'd get "Chimpy" for awhile

But then June 12th made me shiver
Fate became an "Indian Giver"
Bad news on the Internet
Precisely what I had fret!

Oh, I remember how I cried
When I thought of Wilson's "outed" bride
Something deep within me fried
The day that Fitzmas died

So don't cry, Ms. American Spy
We'll get Libby for his fibby
And then Cheney will fry
And that smirking chimp will finally wave us goodbye
Singin', this'll be the day donkeys fly
This'll be the day donkeys fly

Did you see the film Loose Change?
And do you have faith you're not deranged
Though ev'rybody tells you so?
Do you believe in "Downing Street"
The "Memo" that'll get Shrub impeached?
And can you prove Kerry won O-hi-o?

Well, I know that Diebold rigs machines
'Cause the exit polls are all I need
Vote counts are just a ruse
I'd Ra^ther trust CBS News!

I was a lone mid-thirties ne'er do well
In my Mommy's basement on her old-school Dell
But I could have sworn I was in Hell
The day that Fitzmas died

I started singin':
Don't cry, Ms. American Spy
We'll get Libby for his fibby
And then Cheney will fry
And that smirking chimp will finally wave us goodbye
Singin', this'll be the day donkeys fly
This'll be the day donkeys fly

For nearly six years, we'd been overthrown
Reading psychotic rants in Rolling Stone
Believing every conspiracy
Will Pitt had to vent his spleen
With a quote he borrowed from Howard Dean
And a scream that came from you and me

Oh, and while Chimp's polls were looking down
Fitz dropped the ball and lost his crown
The Grand Jury was adjourned
No indictment was returned
And while Markos read a book on Marx
Code Pink protested in the park
Neil Young sang dirges full of snark
The day that Fitzmas died

We were singing:
Don't cry, Ms. American Spy
We'll get Libby for his fibby
And then Cheney will fry
And that smirking chimp will finally wave us goodbye
Singin', this'll be the day donkeys fly
This'll be the day donkeys fly

Bash 'em, smash 'em, gut 'em all and trash 'em
Repukes get off, seems we just can't thrash 'em
All our hopes are fading fast
Nancy's built a House of glass
Those frozen assets could bite our ass
Didn't need that freezer full of cold hard cash

Thought TruthOut's scoop meant Karl Rove's doom
We envisioned his frog-marching gloom
Our cause it would advance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause Leopold's tale was far afield
Those "business hours" refused to yield
Do you recall "Sealed Versus Sealed"?
The day that Fitzmas died

We started singing:
Don't cry, Ms. American Spy
We'll get Libby for his fibby
And then Cheney will fry
And that smirking chimp will finally wave us goodbye
Singin', this'll be the day donkeys fly
This'll be the day donkeys fly

Oh, and there we were all in one place
Moonbats lost in cyberspace
With no chads left to count again
So come on, Fitz be nimble, Fitz be quick
Indict some Rethug and make it stick
'Cause indifference is the fascists' only friend

And as I watched him on the news
My lips were clenched 'round some cheap booze
But no drink the store would sell
Could break Bushitler's spell
And as the "Plame Game" died out in the light
To cheers from the "Religious Right"
I saw Freepers laughing with delight
The day that Fitzmas died

We were singing:
Don't cry, Ms. American Spy
We'll get Libby for his fibby
And then Cheney will fry
And that smirking chimp will finally wave us goodbye
Singin', this'll be the day donkeys fly
This'll be the day donkeys fly

I met a girl who'd popped some 'ludes
And I asked her to improve my mood
But she told me that she was gay
I went down to the DU board
Where I'd read the good news weeks before
But the threads there said the indictment wouldn't play

And in the streets Mother Sheehan screamed
Franken cried, and Al Gore schemed
No "truth to power" spoken
Air America was broken!
And the blogger I admired most
Armando from the Daily Kos
He hopped a Lear Jet for the coast
The day that Fitzmas died

And they were singing:
Don't cry, Ms. American Spy
We'll get Libby for his fibby
And then Cheney will fry
And that smirking chimp will finally wave us goodbye
Singin', this'll be the day donkeys fly
This'll be the day donkeys fly

They were singing:
Don't cry, Ms. American Spy
We'll get Libby for his fibby
And then Cheney will fry
And that smirking chimp will finally wave us goodbye
Singin', this'll be the day donkeys fly!

NYT Courage vs. US Army Courage

The New York Times captioned this photograph, taken by Jaoa Silva (who, on his website, extols the "faith, sacrifice, war and martyrdom" of Shi'a Iraqis) as an example of "incredible courage," on the part of the photographer.

Here's the caption:

A sniper loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr fires towards U.S. positions in the cemetery in Najaf, Iraq.

Michele McNally: “Right there with the Mahdi army. Incredible courage.”

Now compare that definition of "courage" (taking a propaganda photograph while a terrorist aims at one of your fellow countrymen), with this one:

NARRATIVE NOMINATING SSG DAVID BELLAVIA FOR THE MEDAL OF HONOR DURING OPERATION PHANTOM FURY FALLUJAH, IRAQ

On the night of 10 November 2004 Third Platoon, A Company, Task Force 2-2 IN near OBJ Wolf in Fallujah, Iraq, was ordered to attack to destroy six to eight Anti Iraqi Forces (AIF). 1LT Edward Iwan, the A Company Executive Officer, had identified six to eight AIF who had entered a block of twelve buildings. These AIF had engaged A55 and tanks from Team Tank with automatic weapons and rocket fire. Having a 25 mm cannon malfunction, 1LT Edward Iwan cordoned off the area and called Third Platoon to enter and clear all buildings until the AIF were killed or captured.

The first nine buildings yielded many AK47s, Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers, rockets, assorted ammunition, and flak vests. When they came to the tenth home, SSG Colin Fitts, 1st Squad Leader, led his squad of soldiers into the house, with four soldiers from SSG Bellavias 2nd Squad. SGT Hugh Hall, 1st Squad, B Team Leader and SGT Warren Misa 1st Squad, A Team Leader, established a quick foothold in the interior of the house. When SGT Misa attempted to clear the second room he encountered heavy enemy fire. Two AIF were under a stairwell, well covered behind a three-foot barrier, engaging SGT Misa and SPC Lance Ohle as they attempted to move into the room. At that point, multiple bursts of automatic and semi-automatic gunfire were exchanged from extremely close quarters. As rounds impacted near the entry point of the house, nine Third Platoon soldiers became fixed inside the house. At that moment, fire erupted from a kitchen ground floor window onto the inner cordon in th e carport of the house. At one point, gun fire was being exchanged inside and outside of the house, as a total of three dismounted squads from Third Platoon were in contact.

SSG Bellavia quickly requested a M240B machine gun and a M249 SAW to suppress the AIF under the stairs in an effort to break contact and consolidate the platoon. Rounds from the insurgent side of the wall began impacting through the poorly made plaster. Multiple soldiers were bleeding from the face from flying debris. Two soldiers had glass and metal shards in their face, one soldier had been grazed on the side of his stomach underneath his vest and at least six others were bleeding from some cut or scrape from the point blank fire they were receiving. As two soldiers answered the request for support, it became apparent that the entrance to the building was extremely dangerous from ricocheting rounds.

Rather than place his soldier at risk, SSG Bellavia moved quickly to come to the aid of the squad. He exchanged weapon systems with a M249 SAW gunner and entered the fatal funnel of the room. The enemy was crouched behind the barrier and continued to fire at the doorway of the house where SSG Bellavia was positioned. With enemy rounds impacting around him, he fired the SAW at a cyclic rate of fire, forcing the enemy to take cover and allowing the squad to break contact and move into the street to consolidate. SSG Bellavias actions undoubtedly saved the lives of that squad.

As the platoon gathered outside to get accountability of personnel, two or more AIF engaged Third Platoon from the roof. Rounds ricocheted off the ground and SSG Fitts moved his squad to an adjacent building to over watch the AIF on the roofs. SSG Bellavia grabbed an M16 rifle and headed back to the outside of the house. SSG Bellavia called for a Bradley Fighting Vehicle to come up and suppress the outside of the building. The high walls of the enemy strong point made it difficult at close proximity to get well-aimed 25mm cannon fire into the actual building. AIF again engaged Third Platoon from windows.

After the BFV suppressed the house, SSG Bellavia decided to move back inside the house to determine the effects of the BFV fire and whether the AIF still occupied the bottom floor of the house. He placed two SAW gunners and SSG Scott Lawson into the courtyard as the inner cordon. Michael Ware, a TIME magazine journalist, entered the house with SSG Bellavia.

SSG Bellavia entered the house and told SSG Lawson to stay outside until he was needed in the second room. The only two people that went into the house at first were Michael Ware and SSG Bellavia. SSG Bellavia heard AIF whispering from the other side of the wall. Mr. Ware was told to run out if anything happened inside the second room. The journalist insisted on going into the second room. SSG Bellavia got in a low crouched fighting position and quickly pie wedged the first room and fired his M16A4. The enemy immediately fired back with a belt fed RPK machine gun. SSG Bellavia quickly turned away from the fire. The AIF had fire superiority and SSG Bellavia didnt have time to get off well-aimed shots.

As SSG Bellavia moved again to get eyes on the room and determine the enemy disposition, he identified one of the AIF loading an RPG launcher. Understanding how devastating this weapon could be to his platoon, he moved quickly to eliminate the threat. SSG Bellavia told Mr. Ware to remain in the first room. As debris and smoke filled the room the insurgent with the RPG was killed first near the stairwell. A second AIF with a PKC machine gun fired as he ran for the kitchen. SSG Bellavia shot and wounded him in the back of the shoulder. He was heard screaming from outside the building. At that point an AIF yelled from upstairs. SSG Bellavia quickly realized how many insurgents were in the house. Despite the odds he continued the assault.

SSG Lawson entered the room with SSG Bellavia. He was armed with only a 9mm pistol. SSG Lawson was across the room firing into the kitchen door, and SSG Bellavia was near the doorway of the master bedroom using the stairs as his cover. The wounded AIF was firing back, this time with an AK47. The insurgent was screaming loudly as he fired. SSG Lawson fired an entire magazine toward the kitchen, when a piece of debris lodged in his right shoulder. Thinking he was shot and with only one 9mm magazine remaining, SSG Bellavia told him to leave to get medical aid and to retrieve a shotgun with buckshot and other soldiers. SSG Lawson and Mr. Ware exited the house.

SSG Bellavia realized that his back was facing a room he had not cleared. In order to secure his position he entered the master bedroom of the house. SSG Bellavia heard movement in the room and fired into the dark corners to clear them by fire. There was a closet directly in front of him with six closed doors, and multiple areas of dead space. At that point an insurgent ran down the stairs and started firing into the room. SSG Bellavia moved behind a protruding corner of the wall to acquire cover. Over the loud noise of small arms fire from across the hall, he could hear screaming from upstairs and to his immediate left. Confused and trying to locate if another insurgent was in the corner of the room, SSG Bellavia began to scan the room with his PEQ-2A. Thinking the noise originated from the closet, SSG Bellavia took a few steps to his left and began to fire into each door from left to right. Before he could finish clearing the closet the wounded AIF from the kitchen ran t oward the bedroom door and began blindly shooting at him from outside. Finding his position of cover behind the elbow of the wall, SSG Bellavia fired back. As the enemy fire came closer, he moved his position into the far opposing corner of the room. The AIF exposed his shoulders as he fired into the bedroom and SSG Bellavia fired wounding and then killing him.

He then noticed a closet door was open and he witnessed tracer fire hit the side of the room. Unsure of where the fire originated, SSG Bellavia looked for a target. Suddenly the insurgent on the stairs began shooting at him again. As the wounded AIF turned and exposed his position in the doorway he was hit and fell near the stairs. He was moaning and slowly moved away from the door, mortally wounded. Simultaneously, a closet door opened and clothing flew everywhere, as an insurgent leapt out and fired wildly all over the room. In his rush out of the closet he tripped on something in the closet and the entire wardrobe fell down resting on the open doors. This actually was a benefit to SSG Bellavia as it provided more cover. When the AIF attempted to cross over the bed, he lost his balance on the mattress and was shot multiple times. The insurgent fell to the ground and with his back to the front door, fired an accurate burst directly into the closet and the wall near SSG Be llavia. SSG Bellavia crouched low to the ground, the insurgent was screaming loudly in broken English. Someone from upstairs was yelling back in Arabic. SSG Bellavia responded in Arabic in an attempt to intimidate the men into surrendering. The insurgent then picked himself up and ran out of the room and up the stairs. SSG Bellavia fired, missing the insurgent and then pursued him as he fled up the stairs. Blood was soaked all over the stairs causing SSG Bellavia to slip, nearly catching a burst of AK fire. The wounded AIF turned and shot an automatic burst from the first landing of the stairs but once again missed SSG Bellavia, who was now well behind cover.

Tracking the blood, SSG Bellavia followed the AIF into a room immediately to the left on the second story. He heard the AIF inside and tossed a fragmentary grenade into the room. The blast sent the screaming AIF onto the second story roof. The AIF began shooting his weapon in all directions, until it was empty of ammunition. Bellavia noticed the AIF was seriously wounded in the right side of his body from the blast of the grenade. The insurgent stumbled back into the room and began to dry fire his weapon. As SSG Bellavia scanned the inside of the room, it was quickly filling with thick smoke from burning foam mattresses ignited from the blast. Two AIF could be heard screaming at each other from a third story of the building. Not wanting the AIF to give away his position, SSG Bellavia quickly grabbed the wounded AIF in a choke hold to keep him quiet. SSG Bellavia met resistance as he attempted to quiet the screaming AIF. Bellavia was bit on the arm and struck in the face wi th the barrel of the wounded insurgents small AK47. A .45 caliber pistol shot off against the wall and SSG Bellavia, whose helmet was loosened when it was jarred by the barrel of the AK, began to thrash the AIF in attempts to pacify him. Exchanging blows in the struggle, SSG Bellavia fearing that the screaming insurgent was issuing instructions to his peers upstairs, opened his IBA vest and attempted to use his front sappy plate to forcibly subdue the insurgent into compliance. Hearing multiple foot steps over his position, Bellavia used his Gerber tactical blade and cut into the left side of the insurgent’s throat. Not wanting to discharge his weapon as to give away his position and in fear of the many propane tanks near the wall, SSG Bellavia bled the insurgent with applied pressure as he was spastically kicked and scratched in the melee. Two other insurgents, only feet away yelled to their comrade in Arabic, simultaneously firing their weapons. SSG Bellavia confirmed the insurgent was dead and exited the room as his eyes and the fresh scratches on his face were stinging from the smoke and heat of the growing fire.

SSG Bellavia moved to secure the two doors to his right. Suddenly an AIF dropped down from the third story roof, onto the second story roof. The AIF dropped his weapon as he fell to his knees. SSG Bellavia moved to the window and as the AIF went to grab his weapon SSG Bellavia shot in his direction multiple times, wounding him in the lower back. The AIF was prone and SSG Bellavia assumed he was dead. He moved to the door leading to the roof and found the insurgent straddling a large water tank at the edge of the roof. He shot the remainder of his ammunition into the insurgent’s legs and went back inside to grab a dead insurgent’s weapon. As he moved inside the house the insurgent fell off the roof and into the garden. Moments later, five members of Third Platoon entered and secured the downstairs of the house and yelled up to SSG Bellavia who was still on the second floor.

SSG Bellavia moved to link up with the rest of his platoon. However, before the search could begin for the fifth or sixth insurgent the platoon was ordered to move out of the area due to a close air support mission called in by an adjacent unit.

SSG Bellavia single handedly saved three squads of his Third Platoon that night, risking his own life by allowing them to break contact and reorganize. He then entered and cleared an insurgent strong point, killing four insurgents and mortally wounding another.

How to Make Modern Islamic Warfare

Ingredients:

1. Acquire non-state terrorists, funded and supplied by states who claim deniability

2. Mix into civilian populations

3. Add huge propaganda machine enabled by the western media.

4. Enjoy.

Israel Hits Beirut Airport

As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "Sweet."

9/11: What Who Went Wrong

Sweetness and Light brings attention to what one of the "root causes" of 9/11 is up to these days: getting removed from a case he was adjudicating.

Appeals Panel Removes Judge Presiding Over Indian Lawsuit

By JOHN FILES
Published: July 12, 2006

WASHINGTON, July 11 — A federal appeals panel on Tuesday ordered the removal of the judge from a decade-long lawsuit involving trust accounts that the Interior Department administers for Indians.

The panel found that the judge, Royce C. Lamberth of Federal District Court here, lacked objectivity and ordered the case reassigned.
[snip]
Judge Lamberth issued a ruling last July that called the Interior Department a dinosaur, adding that it was “the morally and culturally oblivious hand-me-down of a disgracefully racist and imperialist government that should have been buried a century ago.”

I've always had very little patience for the braindead DNC/Kos talking frothing point that 9/11 happened "on Bush's watch!!!" because 1) bin Laden and Khalid Sheik Mohammed's 9/11 plan had been in the works since 1996 when Bush was still playing with his baseball cards in Texas; 2) due to the contested election, Bush was not able to actually have his first cabinet meeting until June of 2001, and even then, had left in place George Tenet, a Clinton legacy, at the CIA; and 3) even Leftist uber-hero Richard Clarke's candid admission before the 9/11 commission exonerated him from culpability:

SLADE GORTON, Commission member: Now, since my yellow light is on, at this point my final question will be this: Assuming that the recommendations that you made on January 25th of 2001, based on Delenda, based on Blue Sky, including aid to the Northern Alliance, which had been an agenda item at this point for two and a half years without any action, assuming that there had been more Predator reconnaissance missions, assuming that that had all been adopted say on January 26th, year 2001, is there the remotest chance that it would have prevented 9/11?

CLARKE: No.

Six months after 9/11, noted RNC party organ/Rovian propaganda peddler Newsweek summarized Judge Lamberth's culpability thusly:

NEWSWEEK has learned there was one other major complication as America headed into that threat-spiked summer. In Washington, Royce Lamberth, chief judge of the special federal court that reviews national-security wiretaps, erupted in anger when he found that an FBI official was misrepresenting petitions for taps on terror suspects. Lamberth prodded Ashcroft to launch an investigation, which reverberated throughout the bureau. From the summer of 2000 on into the following year, sources said, the FBI was forced to shut down wiretaps of Qaeda-related suspects connected to the 1998 African embassy bombing investigation. “It was a major problem,” said one source familiar with the case, who estimated that 10 to 20 Qaeda wiretaps had to be shut down, as well as wiretaps into a separate New York investigation of Hamas. The effect was to stymie terror surveillance at exactly the moment it was needed most: requests from both Phoenix and Minneapolis for wiretaps were turned down.

But, whatever, 9/11 happened on Bush's watch, yada yada yada....

Syria's Next.

Batter up.

(hat-tip:
Emmanuel Goldstein)

Michael Moore'e Minutemen Glorify Their God Again

Their culture glorifies this, their religion glorifies this, and some of our own Left glorifies them.

Can't someone at the UN write a strongly-worded letter urging them to stop this right now?

Pigs.

Must-Pee TV

File under: Best of YouTube:

The Japanese seem to have very different emotional distress lawsuit thresholds than us.

And they seem to go to the bathroom in a totally different way.

Hang in there - the biggest laughs are in the last couple of minutes.

Wolfie's Better Half

Photo of Mozart's widow found

A print of the only photograph of Mozart's widow, Constanze Weber, has been found in Germany (front left).

The photograph was taken in 1840 in the Bavarian town of Altoetting when she was 78. She died two years later.

The local authorities say detailed examination has proved the authenticity of the image, which is a copy of the original daguerreotype.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at the age of 35 in 1791, when Constanze was 29. She later married a Danish diplomat.

The print is one of the earliest examples of photography in Bavaria. It was found in the town archives.

The daguerreotype was taken at the home of the Swiss composer Max Keller, whom Constanze used to visit regularly.

At bottom is Mozart's death mask. Other death masks here.

Complete List of Ann Coulter's Plagiaristic Plagiarizing!!!

I am outraged! Ann Coulter is a PLAGIARIST!!!

Never before have I seen fact-scenarios repeated so exactly as those repeated by Ann Coulter!!!

TPM is hot on her trail, exposing her THIEVERY!!! After reading their in-depth analysis, you will see how it's like she just opened up a remedial book on legal writing, turned to page two, and instead of learning how to write a fact scenario, just skipped over that page, and instead STOLE the HARD WORK of others who had actually READ that page, and created their OWN fact-scenarios! I cannot repeat how strongly I think that such a theft of carefully articulated basic facts represents journalistic plagiarism to the highest degree!!!

Here is TPM's #1 example of Ann Coulter's INTELLECTUAL THEFT!!!:

Example 1: "As New Hampshire attorney general in 1977, Souter opposed the repeal of an 1848 state law that made abortion a crime even though Roe v. Wade had made it irrelevant, predicting that if the law were repealed, New Hampshire 'would become the abortion mill of the United States.'"

Alleged Source: "In 1977, Souter as state attorney general spoke out against a proposed repeal of an 1848 state law that made abortion a crime -- even though the measure had been largely invalidated by the Supreme Court in Roe. vs. Wade… 'Quite apart from the fact that I don't think unlimited abortions ought to be allowed . . . I presume we would become the abortion mill of the United States[.]'" ("Liberals Leery as New Clues Surface on Souters Views," Los Angeles Times, Sept. 9, 1990)
(Identified by John Barrie/New York Post)

Yes, I know it is strange to think that Ann Coulter, whose distinctive authorial voice, whatever one may think of it, is a FRAUD, but there it is: the fact-scenario she referenced is almost exactly the words of, um, the fact-scenario she referenced when opining on it!!!

An outrage!

Read the whole list! Disgusting! Plagiarist! Thief! Hot! Blonde! Best! Selling! Author! Um! She! Sucks! We! Hate! Her! Won't! She! Please! Just! Shut! Up!

I love the smell of desperation in the morning.

Didn't TPM used to be a good blog, or was that just me remembering what I used to think like before 9/11?

UPDATE - from my former editor at UPS: "There are only so many ways you can rewrite a fact and minimal matching text is not plagiarism," Lee Salem, editor and president of Universal Press Syndicate, said Monday in a statement.

Man Sues Michael Jordan, and Nike, Because He Looks Like Michael Jordan

A Portland, Ore. man has filed a lawsuit for $832 million, saying he is tired of being mistaken for Michael Jordan, according to KGW-TV.

The television station's Web site says Allen Heckard filed the suit against His Airness and Nike founder Phil Knight on June 29 in county court, claiming to have been mistaken for the basketball legend nearly every day for the past 15 years.

"I'm constantly being accused of looking like Michael and it makes it very uncomfortable for me," Heckard reportedly said.

Heckard apparently is suing Jordan for defamation and permanent injury, emotional pain and suffering. He is suing Knight for defamation and permanent injury for promoting Jordan and making him one of the world's most famous athletes.

Heckard, who stands slightly taller than 6 feet, says many people miss the fact that he is roughly six inches shorter than Jordan.

But Heckard bears a physical resemblance to Jordan because he has a shaved head, an earring in his left ear, and is in good physical shape — from playing basketball.

"Even when I go to the gym I'm being accused of playing ball like him (Jordan)," Heckard said.

Wouldn't most people consider that a compliment?

"Yes, don't get me wrong it's definitely a positive thing, because Michael, like I say is one of the best ball players that I've known to play the game. But then again, that's Michael and I'm me. So I want to be recognized as me just like Michael's being recognized as Michael."

The television station apparently caught Heckard wearing blue Air Jordan tennis shoes.

Is Heckard trying to look like Jordan?

No.

"They're very comfortable shoes to play ball in," said Heckard. "I play a lot of basketball and any other shoes I try to play in tend to hurt the bottom of my feet."

What made Heckard decide to file suit against Jordan and Knight for $416 million each?

"Well, you figure with my age and you multiply that times seven and then I turn around and I figure that's what it all boils down to."

MSNBC: "AHA!!! We Got You!!! Bush is a Lying Liar!!!"

This Just In from MSNBC: Bush is a Lying Liar Who Lies and Takes Money from Criminals!!!

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service on Friday revealed four more visits to the White House in 2001 by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, including one to see a domestic policy aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.

A domestic policy advisor to Cheney??

Shah!!! Right!!! And how much do you want to bet that that certain "unnamed domestic policy advisor" to Cheney has an office with A SECRET PASSAGEWAY RIGHT INTO THE OVAL OFFICE ITSELF!!!

But wait: it gets even worse!!!

One log entry indicates Abramoff visited the White House residence on Dec. 10, 2001, for two hours, as part of a large holiday party.

The Secret Service entry for Abramoff’s name that day reads, “POTUS,” “WH,” “RESIDENCE,” and lists the number of people present as 326, according to the documents. POTUS refers to the president of the United States.

Damning!!! Damning, I say!!! Abramoff was there for a Christmas party, along with 365 other Zionazi Christhitler Illuminati accomplices??? Do the math, people!!! Assuming Bush spent an equal time of the two hours with each person at the party, Bush may have been bribed to the tune of ... (sound of adding machine) ... hmm, 120 minutes x 60 seconds... divided by 366 people yielding an average of 19.672 seconds per guest... 19.672 seconds with Abramoff!!! And that was more than enough time for Chimpy McHitlerburton to pocket MUCHO DINERO, assuming that Abramoff had them in neat bundles of of 100 bills x$100 per bill = Ten thousand dollars per bundle x one bundle per second x 19.672 seconds = $200,000 oil-blood-soaked-dollars, mi amigos! Repukelikkkans are all CRIMINALS, and this proves it!!!

Tell me more, you say!!! Okay, here's more of MSNBC's breathless report:

Abramoff’s other previously undisclosed trips to the White House complex in 2001 were on March 1 and May 17. Both were to meetings in the Old Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.

Adjacent??? Why, that's practically NEXT DOOR!!!

Can you say, "FROGMARCH"??? I know you can.

Of course, Scrappleface was all over this story, months ago. Thank heavens everyone's not in on the coverup.

In a related story, MSNBC continues to show much improved ratings, beating The Knife Show in several markets during May sweeps this year.

Revenge is a dish best served...comfy!

The perfect gift for The Godfather fan in your life.

A great conversation piece for
the wannabe wise guy who has everything,
and whose wife won't let them
own a revolver.

Floating Mag-Lev Bed

Sign me up.

If you ever wanted to sleep in the air and have loads of money to spend, you may consider buying this. This Floating Magnetically Levitating Bed is invented by a Dutch architect, Janjaap Ruijssenaars and costs 115,000 Euros (US$146,953) for a scale model and 1,200,000 Euros (US$1,533,419) for the complete one which can hold up to 900 kilos.

Dhimmi Carter: "We Need Fewer Secrets"<

Here are some other things we need, Jimbo.

1. Puppy dogs who smell like raspberries.

2. Unicorns who will visit us on our birthdays.

3. Chocolate draperies.

4. Scalp-massaging car seats.

5. Air containing the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals.

6. Toilet-trained newborns.

7. The Six-Hour work-week.

8. Muslims who don't think the Jews or Bush orchestrated 9/11 and don't think Infidels should either be killed or converted.

9. Human DNA without the messy Anger, Jealousy, Irrationality and Murder stuff in it.

9a. In fact, let's just make it so that everyone has all the same amount of money and stuff, so everyone gets along great!

10. Ex-Presidents who don't propagandize for the Enemy during times of war.