Minimal blogging until after new years

I'm heading to NY (state, not the city!) to wallow in the basements and attics of a couple of 100+ year old buildings rewiring them. I'm sure I'll meet lots of new 8 legged friends, and slugs the size of hot dogs. 100 years seems to be sufficient time for a sizable population of sizable slugs to develop in a building's basement.

Its not something I look forward to, but its something that needs to be done...

Murtha - clueless then, clueless now

Murtha urged disasterous Somalia pullout

How disasterous was it? Just ask the man who was in a position to know - OBL himself.

OBL "fatwa" : "...However, when tens of your solders were killed in minor battles and one American Pilot was dragged in the streets of Mogadishu you left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge , but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by Allah and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear. It was a pleasure for the ‘heart’ of every Muslim and a remedy to the ‘chests’ of believing nations to see you defeated in the three Islamic cities of Beirut , Aden and Mogadishu...

I'll say it again - A few decades in the marines doesn't mean you know anything about geopolitics. Indeed, the fact that he only rose to the level of colonel during that time is a fair indication that he didn't have "the right stuff" to play on a geopoltical stage. Retiring as a colonel is what happens to the guys who are passed over for promotion several times in a row. They don't get passed over because they're exceptional, they get passed over because they're mediocre talents.

H/T DANEgerous

You gotta be shitting me! Developer:0 Fairies:1

What else is there to say?

H/T Pambie

Genesis Properties ceased plans to develop a new housing community in St Fillans, Perthshire, because the locals believe they may be disturbing a small colony of fairies living under a rock.

Marcus Salter, head of Genesis: “A neighbour came over shouting, ‘Don’t move that rock. You’ll kill the fairies’. Then we got a series of phone calls, saying we were disturbing the fairies. I thought they were joking.”

The rock protrudes from Dundurn mountain, ancient site of St. Fillan’s attempts to convert the Picts.

Mr. Salter attended a community council meeting, and Jeannie Fox, council chairman, said: “I do believe in fairies but I can’t be sure that they live under that rock. I had been told that the rock had historic importance, that kings were crowned upon it. A lot of people think the rock had some Pictish meaning, it would be extremely unlucky to move it.”

Genesis relocated the entire project.

The Clueless Cavalcade! -- an ongoing Purple Avenger feature

I've decided to implement a running post that I'll update as new oblivions present themselves as ripe targets for scorn and derision.

I present to you Lt. Col. Alexis Fecteau. Weapons grade crazy. Industrial strength stupid.

...pleaded guilty Friday to defacing cars with bumper stickers supporting President Bush...pleaded guilty to felony mischief and must pay restitution to the owners of the damaged cars to clear his record.

H/T DBS

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Los Angeles school district has a 50% dropout rate.
WTF?!?! You thought Lousiana was tops in corruption and ineptness? Meet the new king of the hill folks - the LA School District. (H/T Nickie Goomba)

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WaPo's Dana Milbank - biased hack, liar and more!
Ace does the smackdown. Good stuff. Brent Bozell has another good Milbank smackdown too.

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One letter in Pravda in Paradise (i.e. The Palm Beach Post) today struck me as clueless in the extreme. This dude apparently thinks the US military is a bunch of amateur rubes who go off to war equipped like a cub scout troop. Apparently he's never heard of all the NBC gear we have that generally make chem weapons an annoyance rather than a deadly threat. Jeez, 30 years ago in BCT at Ft. Dix I learned how to deal with this stuff.

It should be noted that the Post's editorial staff could have used this letter as an opportunity to have a "teachable moment" for the readers -- but they chose otherwise.

Palm Beach Post letters to the editor

If Iraq really had WMD, Bush did the unthinkable

The president was very sure that there were no weapons of mass destruction and no danger of biological or chemical attacks on our troops in Iraq ("Bush blasts critics on Iraq," Nov. 12). He was so sure that he had no qualms about sending them in.

Patently, he believed the intelligence of other nations and that ours was flawed. He was so sure the troops would be safe that he did not need to let the inspectors finish their investigation. Not even a rabid Democrat would accuse the president of sending American forces in without assurance of their safety from these terrible weapons. It would be better for conservatives to admit that the president deliberately used intelligence that he knew was false than to accuse him of recklessly endangering U.S. personnel.

REV. SEBASTIAN MUCCILLI

Lake Park

Maureen Dowd caused the Paris riots

Funny stuff. Highly recommended!
Maureen Dowd caused the Paris riots

What's in ICSQ-2003-00025586 and why doesn't senator Levin want us to know?

Come on Carl - why are YOU "cherry picking" intel? IF this ICSQ-2003-00025586 doc supports democrat contentions, its is certain it would be front page news. That it is not is damning.

References:
Weekly Standard
Stephen Hayes
Stephen Hayes (page 2)

There are many such documents in a U.S. intelligence database known as HARMONY. One example: Document number ICSQ-2003-00025586 was captured by the U.S. military during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Here is the synopsis of that document that appears in the database:

Category: Al Qaida
Title: Letters, logbook, training manual from Al Qaida Chemical Plant regarding Chem Warfare
Short Description: Contains papers concerning Iraqi officials, prices of equipment, training plans, and actions by high level officers all concerning chemical warfare
Agency: DIA
Document Date: Feb-02
Document #: ICSQ-2003-00025586

What does it mean? I'm not sure. On the one hand, any document under the heading "Al Qaida" that mentions "chem warfare" and "Iraqi officials" is inherently interesting. On the other, we don't know what the document tells us. Just as it is possible that the document reveals Iraqi complicity in al Qaeda's efforts to secure WMD, it is conceivable that the "papers concerning Iraqi officials" include indications that Iraqis rejected al Qaeda overtures for assistance on chemical warfare. Although some HARMONY documents are flagged as being of suspect authenticity, this one is not flagged. Still, it is possible that it is a fabrication and was entered into the database without an assessment of its authenticity.

I can't answer these questions. Someone probably can.

As Sen. Roberts and Rep. Hoekstra push their proposal to declassify the untranslated Iraqi documents, the White House might seek to obtain and release those documents already translated and evaluated.

The document above has been translated. It has been summarized. It has been entered into HARMONY. We'd like to know: Is it authentic, and what else does it say?

This kid catches on quick!

Up Town Girl

...The teacher explained to him, kindly I might add, that at times he gets a bit out of line and if he’d work a bit harder he could win. This wasn’t acceptable to him as he reached into his pocket pulled out a dollar bill and offered it up to her stating, “Will this help”?

But don't question their patriotism!

Grey Eagle

Congratulations To Those Who Oppose The Soldiers

I wish to express my congratulations to the hackers, vandals, and anti-war visitors who successfully blocked my ability to post any further tributes to the soldiers. I am sure you find victory in preventing myself and others from having a place to read and pay our respects to the Fallen Female Soldiers, and my brother’s in arms, the brave soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division. I can only imagine your satisfaction in justifying the disgrace of men and women who died for this country. You may not feel it was justified, but they gave their lives believing in what they were doing. Apparently freedom of speech is merely a phrase to you, not something you believe, in unless it applies to you...

The democrats 2006 "plan": spend, spend, spend, spend

TIME

Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois had a nice moment on Meet the Press about a month ago. He said Democrats would run on their "ideas" in the 2006 congressional elections...

Expand support for higher education.

Create a National Institute of Science and Engineering

Use government contracts and tax incentives to boost solar and wind power

"You got a job, you got health care." Give the uninsured vouchers

Everything on the table—loopholes, pork, Bush tax cuts.

The Bush tax cuts have resulted in increases in treasury revenue, not decreases as predicted. Democrats won't cut pork - pork is what their whole existence depends on. With the major spending growth in politically "untouchable" entitlement programs, and democrat's historical aversion to pork elimination, this all sounds like quite a pipe dream to me.

Asian "superhighway"

The price of building materiels is going to go up even more now...

Ace Of Spades

...The treaty was signed by 23 nations at a UN meeting and outlines a network that will link the continents in some 140,000 km (87,000 miles) of roads...

File under weird shit - frat house full of dead critters

Jeff Dahmer was unavailable for comment...
Ball State Daily News

Authorities are still investigating why four dead animals – a doe, buck, coyote and possum – were found scattered throughout the house of an off-campus fraternity on Nov. 10....

The OSM Fraud Revealed

The nefarious nature of this OSM scam is revaled by Iowa Hawk (who is also a participant). Seriously, I don't blame any of them for cashing in on this obvious fraud while it lasts - I would too. I've been looking for a good scam for years that wouldn't land me a berth at Club Fed.

Apparently it works kinda like this: a bunch of bloviating blog whiners collectivize (Soviet Style) to extract serious jack from unwitting advertisers who were liberally plied with ruffies before contracts were signed. At some point, the advertisers wake up and realize their wallets have been raped and the perps have vanished into the ether. This is of no consequence of course. The deed is done, the cash extracted and distributed, and everyone on their way to Tahiti laughing like maniacs.

It is a thing of beauty.

Shocker: Aristide was corrupt

IOL

Port-Au-Prince - A probe of former Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide's administration turned up evidence of embezzlement and other irregularities, according to a report by the country's central economic and financial investigation agency...In July, another probe also found evidence of corruption and embezzlement within Aristide's administration, noting that nearly $20-million in public funds had been diverted to private accounts in Haiti and the United States between February 2001 and February 2004

Mayor candidate: homeless to work for crack

I don't know about the cleaning up the streets aspect of such a proposal, but I'm 100% certain any existing garbage dumpsters in the city will be picked clean in a heartbeat if this moron gets elected. When asked why he robbed banks Willie Sutton replied: "that's where the money is". Well...dumpsters is where the garbage is concentrated...and I'm quite sure street people are aware of this fact.
Edmonton Sun

Andrew Uitvlugt..."So what I propose to do is to possibly motivate people with drugs to do constructive work, like get them out there picking up garbage, and then we'll give them some crack,"

H/T The Jawa Report

Giant camels found in Syria

Modern camels are lothsome creatures as everyone knows. They smell, are stubborn, and can have vile dispositions. Were it not for their unique capabilities, most people would consider them no better than huge landroving wharf rats. Now we find that they used to come in a "super size" model as well?!? I'm having a hard time getting my head around the implications of a giraffe sized camel. Would you run away? Worship it? Harness it? Eat it? Maybe stake it out and use it for shade? The concept just shatters all notions of everyday prehistoric man's life as we have understood it thusfar. Giant. Freaking. Camels.
ADNKI

Swiss researchers say they have found the fossil remains of gigantic camels - as tall as giraffes - that roamed the steppes of central Syria some 100,000 years ago ... "We immediately realised that the bones belonged to a previously unknown, extinct species," ... found more than 20 fossil remains ... suggest that the prehistoric camels were almost double the size of their modern-day relatives.

More fun critter stories:

Beheaded Wiccan Parrot
Frat house full of roadkill
Dinosaur: Koolasuchus
Rampaging Moose
Thousands of rotting sea urchins
Cows tailcapitated
Vicious attack squirrels
Fairies under rock stop developer (I guess fairies are critters, right?)

Orange county NAACP chief makes switch to GOP

Orange county NAACP head defects to republicans

...As of this week, Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County's NAACP, has switched parties -- to become a Republican.

"I've thought about this for two years," Wallace said Tuesday afternoon, just a few hours after returning from the elections office. "This is not a decision I made yesterday."

It is, however, a decision that rang out like a shot among political circles.
...

A Romanian speaks out about the USA

I'm constantly amazed that we Americans appear to take for granted what others gaze at in wonder and awe. Why is it that they recognize that its worth saving and defending when many of our own citizens don't? We aren't perfect, but apparently it takes someone who lived under communism to realize that you could certainly do a lot worse.
READ IT

...What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace.

I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion...
Only freedom can work such miracles.

MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS AMERICA

Only freedom can work such miracles.

MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS AMERICA

General Vernon Chong's letter to the senator about WOT

Too long to reproduce here. Go READ IT ALL.

The general hits a home run. He "gets it".

H/T California Conservative

Iraq's WMD and terrorist ties revealed?

I know Newsmax is a flakey source...but... It is well within the realm of possibility though, because translating millions of documents takes time. There's still significant revelations coming out of the old KGB archives and they were opened up many years ago. We only got started on Saddam's stuff a couple of years ago.
NEWSMAX

Recently discovered Iraqi documents now being translated by U.S. intelligence analysts indicate that Saddam Hussein's government made extensive plans to hide Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. invasion in March 2003 - and had deep ties to al Qaida before the 9/11 attacks...

PRC car sales skid, reveal internal issues

XINHUA

...A rash of car purchases by Chinese individuals a few years ago have persuaded most global auto giants to pin their hopes on the Chinese market. But the sudden slowdown of car sales since last year, largely due to worsening traffic and rising oil prices, have made many of their ambitious capacity-expansion plans look like pipe dreams...

...Though some have recently scaled down their investment for the coming years, the forecast for the industry's output implies that most automakers are still reluctant to acknowledge reality...

...But the current Chinese conditions of a widening urban-rural income gap, poor urban planning and emerging problems of resources and environment all mean the market now, and in the foreseeable future, is not as huge as predicted...