8/31/2005
695 Dead, 180 injured
I'm of two minds as to the cause of the human stampede that lead to the deaths of so many people. My first thought is that is was a case where someone half overheard someone nearby in the crowd worrying about the damage a suicide bomber could do in a crowd of several hundred thousand. My second thought is simply that it was a brilliant piece of psychological warfare on the part of some insurgent leader. Either way the largest mass death in Iraq since the invasion has occurred and there's little to indicate it couldn't happen again.
8/30/2005
Look! Look what they are doing to those children!
Oh the feinds!
U.S. Army Soldiers build playground equipment at a local school in Baghdad,
Iraq, on Aug. 26, 2005. The Soldiers are from 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry
Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Russell E.
Cooley IV, U.S. Air Force. (Released)
Photo by: TSGT RUSSELL COOLEY, 1ST COMBAT CAMERA SQ.
Record ID No. (VIRIN): 050826-F-9712C-095
8/29/2005
Am I the only one? Starbucks, CWA, and an MSN award
Am I the only one who see's the irony in complaining that a company is not reflecting the diversity of their customers when they complain that said company mentions someone else's viewpoint? True, its a viewpoint that is the opposite of what the complainers is advocating, but this is just silly. The group, claiming to be a watchdog for all America expresses its contempt for everyone else quite efficiently in the following statement.
"I think it's wiser for them to stay out of these issues so that they don't offend conservatives and people of faith."
For this, The Concerned Women for America get the latest of my MSN (More Strokes Needed) Awards. Display it proudly.
Somethings just bring a smile to my face
It seems the folks of Reverend Phelps Westboro Baptist Church met with a teeny tiny bit of opposition when they went to the wrong funeral in Tennessee the other day. The were jeered, chased, and met with chants of God Bless America.
Suge Knight
It seems the Black Knight very nearly got a dose of what some have said is his own medicine. Long rumored to be involved in the deaths of both Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. Suge Knight was shot in the leg at a party in Miami Beach being hosted by one of raps newest stars Kanye West. The shooter is still at large. One must wonder if this was a real attempt on the life of the most infamous man in rap or simply a very elaborate publicity stunt to draw attention to Knights struggling record label.
8/19/2005
More evil military types
U.S. Marines watch the excitement from girls of the Aicha Bogoreh Orphanage in Djibouti City, Djibouti, Africa, as they open their bags filled with school supplies and bubbles on Aug. 11, 2005. Marines and Sailors of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) are assisting Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa in their mission to provide humanitarian aid and training to areas susceptible to transnational terrorist influence. DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Lowndes, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)
Photo by: LCPL DANIEL R. LOWNDES, 26TH MEU (SOC)
Record ID No. (VIRIN): 050811-M-5900L-032
8/18/2005
And yet...
Russia has spent several years, and tens of thousands of lives failing to end the separates movement in the breakaway Chechyan Republic. And yet there are people worried about the footsie that Russia and China are playing in their war games.
8/17/2005
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King has been hospitalized after canceling several recent public appearances. Reasons behind the hospitalization are not yet public. The Atlanta Journal Constitution claims it was a stroke, the Washington Post quotes Rev. Joseph Lowery as saying:
"My information was that she didn't have a stroke, and that was from someone in her office,"
Whatever her condition, good luck to the lady.
8/11/2005
Much ado about numbers, military recruiting.
Much has been made in the past couple months about the military recruiting numbers, and even the occasional slam against the military when some ass who made it into uniform does something so far outside policy that it brings the whole system to a halt. Well, it looks like most of the nay-saying predictions are out of whack by a good bit.
8/07/2005
Successes in Iraq
One of a series of successes in Iraq in the last few days has caused the Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver to say:
This was after the Iraqis twice defeated terrorist attacks with small arms in a single morning.
"I am absolutely proud of the strong determination shown by the Iraqi army,"... "They are true patriots defending their homeland. "
This was after the Iraqis twice defeated terrorist attacks with small arms in a single morning.
8/05/2005
Bush shows all the intelligence of his namesake
Despite his own admittance that the federal government has no real place in educational decisions, Bush stated that he believes that 'intelligent design' should be taught in schools. He believes this is needed to "understand what the debate is about". Why there is debate is beyond me. Evolution, is a scientific theory backed by research and observable, repeatable, verifiable experiment. "intelligent Design" is nothing more than creationism tarted up like a cheap whore and given what appears to be a politically correct name, hence, it is not science. If a school is offering a course on religion "intelligent Design" can be taught there, along side African Animist beliefs, Wiccan beliefs, and Zoroastrianism.
8/02/2005
Remember.
Good teachers, bad teachers, new award.
First the good teachers. All parents qualify as teachers, some of them do a good job, some do a poor one. I've met the little heartbreaker to the right. She's well behaved, she pays close attention to what's going on around her, and she shoots better than a lot of adults. Smart young lady. Victimizers would be well advised to stay out of range of whatever weapons she happens to be toting.And then of course there are the bad teachers. The first of which is merely normally bad:
A large number of teachers in Texas and elsewhere throughout the nation are teaching a course that even other Christians are crticizing for its utter lack of accuracy, sadly school districts are still adding it.
And the second group of bad teachers is actually bad enough to earn the first in my new award series. The Z.I.T., that's right, the Zero Inteligence Trophy (actualy trophy forthcoming), this award goes to the "Scotish Qualifications Authority" who failed over one hundred students for merely having their mobile phones with them. It should be noted that they did not tell the students about this ahead of time, nor was there any evidence of cheating, they were failed for being part of the 100% or so cell phone penetration in Scotland.
Garang gone
John Garang who went from his quiet home in southern Sudan, to quelling a rebellion, earned a doctorate, became a rebel, and eventually gained the second most powerful position in his nation has died. This brings ups several very interesting points if you assume this was not an accident (I'm undecided).
- How did his flight crash? I can think of a half dozen rather plausible ways to make it look like an accident. The list of people that could benefit from Garangs departure is probably longer than my arms.
- Will this restart the civil war? There has already been rioting in which dozens were killed and injured.
- Who will succeed Garang? And is this the start of the central governments attempts to purge the former rebels, or simply an attempt to rob them of leadership so that the southern region doesn't rally around Garang and go independent in a few years?
8/01/2005
Posts worth reading
American Regression has something interesting to say today.
This was by first taste of the apple offered by a "neo-neo-con", it will not likely be the last.
Andrew Quinn has an interesting take on the Daily Kos's view of eminent domain.
This was by first taste of the apple offered by a "neo-neo-con", it will not likely be the last.
Andrew Quinn has an interesting take on the Daily Kos's view of eminent domain.
