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Michael Yon

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:10:08 GMT

Omnious language from Tehran

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:07:00 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran — Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that it was "too late" to stop Iran's nuclear program and warned the U.S. and its allies not to push for new U.N. sanctions on Iran, which he compared to a lion sitting quietly in a corner.

In other words, Iran is capitalizing on the fact that the US is completely tangled and stretched to its near-limit around the world. They are posturing knowing full well the US has no intention of attacking or doing anything untoward other than complain to the UN. The UN has no other utility at hand other than the ability to impose sanctions...which, as we've seen in Iraq over the last 15 years, has very little effect on the GOVERNMENT, only creates unrest and suffering among the people. Many countries just flat out ignore UN accords anyway (*cough* France *cough*)

I would be very interested to hear what the audience has to say on this subject. Is this saber-rattling or does Iran fully intend to ignore the United Nations?

~Dubya

TB Patient claimed ignorance in airline scare

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 12:21:57 GMT

The TB patient apologized yesterday to plane passengers adding that he was told he wasn't a threat to anyone around him....

I'm going to have to cry foul on this one.

According to the news report on Fox news this morning, Andrew Speaker, infected with a severe and deadly form of tuberculosis, says he was only advised not to travel in his condition.

Who in the heck doesn't understand the dangers of TB? Especially a (supposedly) well educated lawyer!? You would have to have been living under a rock for most of your life to not understand that tuberculosis is a very dangerous disease!

Apparently the CDC contacted him immediately after the discovered his trip on an AIRPLANE to Italy and told him in no uncertain terms "DO NOT COME BACK", that he should be quarantined and removed from the population.

Instead, this guy selfishly takes a flight back to Canada and sneaks across the border (under the nose of a border guard who disregarded orders to stop him), travelling to Denver in order to seek treatment.

Is there not some sort of criminal level of endangerment going on here? Just imagine the tens of thousands of people he potentially exposed to this deadly strain by going to another country, travelling through what has to be several airports, and then on several AIRPLANES where the air is recirculated throughout the cabin.

This guy needs to be held accountable...unbelievable.

~Dubya

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Wed, 23 May 2007 16:40:37 GMT

At what point do we hold our media accountable? Perhaps you may have not seen the news report today detailing how President Bush has authorized covert activities against Iran. Maybe you did.

Brian Ross with ABC has presented, via a blog entry, a report discussing how the President has signed an order activating activities in Iran to attempt to destabilize their government, amid other covert acts.

My question...or rather, my comments have nothing to do with whether or not this order should have been given. There are pages and pages of comments to be made on whether or not we should move against Iran. I am personally not in favor of actions against the Iranian people, despite my opinion of their current idiotic government.

Leaking this kind of informaiton is BEYOND sensitive to the men and women involved in these operations. Not only that, it betrays any trust the Iranians have in the US...AND it completely undermines any conversation Condoleeza and the Iranians were going to have next week regarding Iraq.

This is reckless reporting and completely irresponsible, in my opinion. Whether or not you agree with the action, these "loose lips" are going to get the people on the ground killed; it's going to endanger far more people that it will inform.

Thoughts?

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/bush_authorizes.html

~Dubya

High Level Diplomats or High Schoolers?

Fri, 04 May 2007 12:55:14 GMT

Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt -

Is it just me or do these government representatives seem to act more like High Schoolers than diplomats? Perhaps its the media making a bigger deal of these "chance encounters" than they really are, but if you listen to the media (and I rarely do take it at face value), everyone at this conference for Iraq's stabilization is running around like it's the High School Prom:

"U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said handshakes were exchanged and the two sides did speak briefly on the need to stabilize Iraq. But he described the meeting as more of an encounter that lasted about three minutes.

"This was not a date," Crocker said, adding that the meeting ended with him saying, "have a nice day." - Foxs News

Likewise, from the highest level diplomats, Coni Rice and Manno Mattaki:

"After lunch, Egypt's Aboul Gheit told the Associated Press he would try to arrange a further informal meeting between Rice and Mottaki at a gala dinner being thrown by the Egyptians Thursday night on the beach of a nearby resort hotel.

"Why not?" Aboul Gheit said. "It is only one table." But asked if he would seat Rice and Mottaki next to each other, he said, "No, no."

As it turned out, Mottaki's place was set directly across the table from Rice. When Mottaki's delegation entered the dinner and saw the arrangement, they seemed displeased, said a U.S. official who accompanied Rice. Mottaki immediately told his hosts that he had to excuse himself because of the violinist was "scantily clad," the official said.

Mottaki complained that the Egyptian female violinist playing nearby was too revealingly dressed, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, also because the dinner was a closed affair." - Fox News

Honestly, what is wrong with these people? I realize this has happened throughout history, it just seems to me that at some point SOMEONE will say "Enough!" and just put their cards on the table. How does anyone ever expect to accomplish anything if they just sit around and play games throughout the whole affair?

~Dubya

WAR

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:46:11 GMT

Submitted by Tracy

It must be recognized that the cause of world unrest, of world wars which have wrecked humanity, and of widespread misery upon our planet, can largely be attributed to a selfish group with materialistic purposes, who have for centuries exploited the masses and used the labor of mankind for their selfish ends.

This group of capitalists has cornered and exploited the world's resources and the staples required for civilized living. They have made possible the vast differences existing between the very rich and the very poor; they love money and the power which money gives; they have stood behind governments and politicians; they have controlled the electorate; they have made possible the narrow nationalistic aims of selfish politics; they have financed the world businesses and controlled oil, coal, power, light and transportation; they control the world's banking accounts.

The responsibility for the widespread misery to be found today in every country in the world, lies predominantly at the door of certain major interrelated groups of business men, bankers, executives of international cartels, monopolies, trusts and organizations, and directors of huge corporations, who work for corporate or personal gain.

War can be, and is, mass murder, where the motive is wrong.

It can be sacrifice and right action, where the motive is right.

The slaying of a man in the act of killing the defenseless is not regarded as murder. The principle remains the same, whether it is killing an individual who is murdering, or fighting a nation, which is warring on the defenseless.
(paraphrased from the writings of A. Bailey).

"Obviously"

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 16:31:19 GMT

"Obviously we trespassed into their waters," Turney said. "They were very friendly and very hospitable, very thoughtful, nice people. They explained to us why we've been arrested. There was no harm, no aggression."

Leading Seaman Faye Turney, the only female UK Sailor in the group of 15 Sailors and Marines, was shown on Iranian TV "confessing" to trespassing in Iranian waters, "obviously".

The Brits have said over and over again they have GPS data concluding they were in Iraqi waters, no question. This is nothing more than a childish act by the Iranian government who is attempting to get the UK to capitulate. They had originally agreed to release Turney, but now, because of the British government's reaction to the incident and their "behavior", the Iranians have suspended that decision.

I don't know if the Iranians live in some sort of fantasy world or what, but the UK doesn't play that kind of ball game. The Falkland Islands, anyone? The British Crown sends an entire naval battlegroup across the planet to defend two miles of rock they call an Island with some 200 people living there?

That confession, if you can call it that, was "obviously" coerced. I can just imagine the gunman in a turbine behind the camera pointing his AK-47 at her head.

This is going to end badly.

~Dubya

Iranian Waters....

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:41:03 GMT

So last Friday (3/23/07), 15 sailors and marines from the Royal Navy (UK) were taken prisoner by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for "trespassing" in Iranian waters. Later that same day, the service men were said to have "confessed" to the trespass over a short Iranian television broadcast. As of this morning (3/26/07), the sailors and marines are still in Iranian custody despite having "confessed" and despite growing international pressure to let them go.

The sailors and marines were conducting a rather routine boarding operation aboard a vessel thought to have been possibly smuggling cars into Iraq; and from all reports, were clearly in Iraqi waters. The territory has been constantly contested for more than 30 years and was part of the reason for the Iran/Iraq war in the 80's. The ship the Royal Sailors had boarded was approached by several Iranian ships and the sailors and marines forced to surrender. No shots were fired.

My question is this: Why is Iran being so beligerent? Just this last week, the Ayatollah made some comment that basically sounded like everything else they ever say regarding our assured destruction, hell, and whatever else. Are they just that pissed off over the nukes? It surely seems to ME that Iran would be a very good ally in the Middle East if our two governments could see eye-to-eye on these issues. If they want to create a nuclear reactor for power, great! Let the U.N. come in a monitor it, let Russian do the enrichment, let the U.S. even provide some engineering support for it.

If that's TRULY what they are after; truly what they want to do, let the world HELP, don't continue to slap EVERYONE in the face. The Russians just pulled all their support out of Iran last week because the Iranians are being SO tough to deal with.

Don't get me wrong, I know it's not a simple solution; the Iranian Theocracy doesn't believe in working with anyone that doesn't bow to Allah and his Prophet Muhammad. How do you work with or compromise with a country or a religion that has no room whatsoever for people who do not believe the way they believe?

I don't particularly WANT to be enemies with Iran...but they don't really seem to leave it open to debate much of the time.

~Dubya

Another one bites the dust

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:02:10 GMT

On the 4th Anniversary marking the beginning of the Iraq War, the 4th sentence was carried out against the perpetrators of a 1982 slaughter of more than 145 Shiite muslims. Taha Yassin Ramadan, 70 was hanged by the neck at 3:05am Iraqi time (GMT +3). The Al-Malaki administration has been doing its best to tie up loose ends in the Iraqi crucible over the last year. The hangings have been a rather dark blotch, in my opinion, on an otherwise positive attempt by the Iraqis to form a new government.

I understand that will probably raise some hackles, but the effort put forth by the Iraqi people, an effort to bring stability and peace back to their country has nothing to do with the insurgency or the near civil war climate. External forces both presented by the U.S. and from the likes of Iran (among others in the rogue's gallery) have all contributed heavily to the destabilization.

(Note: Personal opinion regarding the necessity for U.S. forces to be there and the actual facts regarding how unstable Iraq is at the moment are mutually exclusive; My support is with the troops on the ground in the sandbox)

While I actually believe these 4 men were rightfully tried and convicted, I'm not sure I completely agree with the method of sentencing. Especially when you consider Hussein's half-brother was actually decapitated during his hanging. The sentencing might as well have been death by stoning...bury them up to their neck in the sand and throw rocks at their heads until they perish...that's basically how barbaric hanging seems to me.

My question comes in like this: Given the current climate, the near civil-war, the insurgency, al Qaida, U.S. vs. Iran, whatever....how do you feel the Al-Malaki government is holding up in its infancy?

~Dubya

More on Media Bias

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:11:31 GMT

I can (and will) talk until I'm blue in the face about media bias, especially on events in the Middle East.....but Al Jazeera has presented an article that fleshes out a little better what I've been referring to in the US media.

This is NOT to say that AJ doesn't do the same thing; because they most definitely do...it is, however to say that this is at least some thought-provoking information about the "outside looking in" on the US media monster.

Media Bias 'threat' to Iraq

Here is some actual information on some of the statistics in Iraq. The Shia do (according to virtually every source I've found) number about 60%...some suggest even as high as 65% in Iraq.

That DOES NOT, however matter much in light of the media's insistance upon holding Sunni Muslims and terrorist organizations on the same level.

A July 2005 estimate of the total Iraqi population is 26,074,906.

Seventy-five to eighty percent of Iraq's population are Arabs; the other major ethnic groups are the Kurds at 15-20%, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen and others (5%), who mostly live in the north and northeast of the country. The Kurds, Assyrians, and Turkmen differ from Arabs in many ways, including culture, history, clothing, and language. Other distinct groups are Persians and Armenians (possible descendants of the ancient Mesopotamian culture). About 20,000–50,000 Marsh Arabs live in southern Iraq.

Arabic and Kurdish are official languages. Assyrian and Turkmen are official languages in areas where the Assyrians and Iraqi Turkmen are located respectively. Armenian and Persian are also spoken but to a lesser extent. English is the most commonly spoken Western language.

Most of Iraqis are Shi'ite Muslims (60%), and Sunni represent one third of the total population (35%) made up of mostly Arabs and Kurds. Ethnic Assyrians (of the Chaldean rite) account for most of Iraq's sizable Christian population, along with Armenians. Bahá'ís, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, although the Faili (Feyli) Kurds are largely Shi'a.

Ethnic Composition:

Ethnic groups: Arab, 75–80%; Kurdish, 15-20%; Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%.
Religions: Muslim, 97%; Christian or other, 3%.

Proportions: There are no official figures available, mainly due to the highly politically charged nature of the subject. Source: Britannica: Shi'a 60%, Sunni 40% Source: CIA World Fact Book: Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%

Shi'a: mostly Arabs some Turkmen and Faili Kurds almost all are Twelver school
Sunni: composed of Arabs who are Hanafi school and Kurds who are Shafi school

~Dubya

Guns don't kill people; they just permanently maim idiots...

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 03:47:01 GMT

My God...just when you think you've heard everything, some miscreant shows you just how INCREDIBLY wrong you are.

For those of you who haven't heard the story, let's give you a minute or two to catch up.

Not only are these not-quite-teenagers attempting to KIDNAP someone over a dispute concerning stereo speakers, but THEN the guy puts the pistol back in his pants and blows his nuts off! Not just ONE misfire, but TWO!

WOW.

How did this moron get a gun in the first place? I'll tell you how....you have to have CONTROL in order to responsibly allow people to wield firearms. It's somewhat implied in the phrase Gun Control.

I'm never one to say do away with guns entirely. How could we possibly get rid of first-rate assholes like this? The simple fact of the matter is Gun Control does a great job of keeping the guns out of the hands of people who use the legal, legitimate channels.

Guess what?! Criminals don't use LEGAL CHANNELS! I can almost guarantee you this lugnut DIDN'T HAVE A PERMIT for the pistol that blew his gonads through the back of his pants.

We don't need new laws that place more restrictions on people who purchase firearms....we NEED police and the FBI and the ATF taking these weapons off the streets! Get rid of the weapons; there is no need for a person to carry around a .45 Desert Eagle. Self-defense? Bullshit! Get the illegal weapons off the street and there won't be a need for hand-cannons as a method of "self-defense".

An amusing quote from the Wichita Business Journal this week: "Any businesses that plan to prohibit concealed handguns in their buildings will have to display specific signs, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said Tuesday."

How..? What?.....WHAT? Again, this law doesn't necessarily affect the legal use of guns. Anyone following the law will have the appropriate training, licensing, etc. Those who aren't OBEYING the law won't care if they have the LEGAL right to carry a concealed weapon or not.

The PROBLEM is there is no need for it. Put more restrictions on gun MAKERS, limit or even eliminate the guns that get out onto the street and you won't NEED to carry a berretta in your coat pocket!

Am I the only one who sees this logic?

~Dubya