Yeah no shyte... nobody wants nuclear waste in their back yard. Oh wait... Yucca Mountain ISN'T in anyone's back yard, and the flaming communist hippies squealed about that one too.
When I become Energy Secretary of the United States I am going to do the only sensible thing and require an exponential increase in the use of pixie dust to meet our energy demands.
I wonder if he has a diagram of our favorite graphite-modulated open-roof model reactor.
Oh wait... the open roof now has a concrete sarcophagus over it. My bad.
Since when the hell did we right wingers get confused with the Earth Liberation Front? We are far too busy torturing Muslims, driving SUVs, dodging the tax code, executing a vast conspiracy, shooting assault weapons, and eating red meat to clarify that the Earth Liberation Front is a band of commie tree huggers.
Now that I have made this clarification, allow me to go back to eating my rare tenderloin steak and washing it down with a bottle of scotch worth more than your house.
Firstly, every state has different legal definitions of the age of consent to sex. Some states are 16 for full consent, while others are 14 so long as the other person is no more than 2 years older. Clearly here in this case, the definition of "child" varies from state to state as a reservation of rights to the states under the 10th amendment.
Remember that the film "Kids" was filmed with actors who were not minors... but they depict minors doing not-so-minorly things. The film may have received an NC-17 rating for its sexual content, but just because the actors LOOK below the age of consent did not make the film fall into the category of 'child pornography.'
So, it's already been determined in the courts so long as the actors of pornography/sex scenes are of the age of consent, it does not constitute child pornography because the person the doing the act, or having the act done unto them, is of the age of consent. How in the holy hell can this apply to cartoons? I don't recall fictitious characters created in the world of imagination having any legal protections other than copyrights.
What a bloody grand time to be a lawyer in our litigation-minded society.
You antiwar types are really funny... as if I'm pro-war, even though I'm the one with friends who never made it home, or came home severely injured. So that 30879 number listed as the "Official" number of wounded troops... we can account for that via medical records reporting to the DoD... that 100000+ estimated number is utterly bullshit. The military provides for psychological treatment to combat troops, and there isn't any reason to believe those wouldn't be included in the numbers. My unit was thoroughly screened when we came home by VA counselors... that is the standard practice these days.
OOooH GOODY! An anti-war activist! I love you guys... in your fervent shouting for an end to hostilities, you will often be hostile to guys like me, who being part of the great "military-industrial complex" are either viewed as baby killers, mother rapers, father rapers, or any other number of really bad things.
This past year, thousands of Christians in Iraq were able to celebrate Christmas as an official holiday for the first time in decades. I served my nation's military which through our actions helped make that happen, in addition to giving millions of people freedom from a brutal dictator... how's that protesting coming along?
Yeah, and 10% of the population also pays 90% of the tax burden. Quick question: Have you ever been hired and given gainful employment by a poor person?
No, it's not just "Republican propaganda." The CRA was a large factor in the current mess... you're very correct about it being a combination of greed, over-optimism, poor judgment and risk-taking. Real-estate securities have always been a stable investment because real-estate lending has always been of a very conservative and regimented nature. Before the CRA, the idea of lending to a sub-prime borrower was simply out of the question... banks wouldn't do it, because the business of foreclosing on houses owned by the bank is simply a write-off for the bank to stop the bleeding... not exactly a money-maker. The CRA fostered an environment in which borrowers who had poor credit, no down payment, and an income too low to be deemed a safe percentage of total income for payment were suddenly turned into victims of racism or bigotry because the banks wouldn't lend to them. The appetite for real-estate investments was also growing to huge levels due to the increase in many nations' government investment strategies to buy real-estate related investments.
Glad you bring that up. Driving is a privilege, not a right. As such, it is a reserved right of the states as per the 10th amendment to license drivers and establish standards of licensing. As with any license, there are certain terms and conditions of that license. The laws don't FORCE any driver to buckle up, or to stay sober... they simply establish punishments for failing to do so.
Owning, or rather, buying, a house is not a right endowed unto someone by their creator. While someone may have property rights (what the 'pursuit of happiness' clause has been often interpreted to be) once they OWN that house, it is not a right to be given the means in which to PURCHASE that house. When I bought my house, I could very easily have acquired a mortgage of about a quarter million, far beyond my means to pay on a 20 year loan. I instead opted for $75k, which bought the fixer-upper that I wanted, and is within my means. Yes, while it was unethical for lenders to seek giving out the biggest loans possible to a buyer, banks were essentially forced to do so or face penalty for not loaning to sub-prime borrowers. In the end, it's the responsibility of the individual to not try to live beyond their means.
Wow, killing Vietnamese people is now linked to voting for Sarah Palin... incredible! What astute political analysis! As far as the millions of dead Vietnamese are concerned, I think you will find that those numbers are due to the fact that 1) communists didn't like American forces defending a free South Vietnam, 2) picked up weapons to engage in hostilities with said American forces, and 3) were subsequently killed by their decision to fight a better trained, more disciplined, better equipped military force. The Communists and the Khmer Rouge really did a bang up job once we left. As far as your vague reference of war belonging to Republicans (I'm guessing by your rather obtuse Palin reference), it was Kennedy (a democrat) who started the war, Johnson (a democrat) who escalated the war, and Nixon (a republican) who ended the war. Just thought I'd remind you of those facts.
I'm sorry if I offend any of you pro-communists out there by debating your views... actually, no, I'm not. Communism killed more than 100 million people in the last century, and self-proclaimed intellectuals will still try and say that as an economic model "it can still work... it just needs this or that or those..." For those of you who took offense to my post about it being terrible that the U.S. withdrew from Southeast Asia even after militarily pummeling the various communist groups we faced, please read the words of this letter from Sirik Matak of Cambodia to American Ambassador John Gunther Dean. His words should haunt any true believer of liberty, and the absolute crime it was for our nation to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
---
Dear Excellency and Friend:
I thank you very sincerely for your letter and for your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you, and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection, and we can do nothing about it. You leave, and my wish is that you and your country will find happiness under this sky. But, mark it well, that if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is no matter, because we all are born and must die. I have only committed this mistake of believing in you [the Americans].
Please accept, Excellency and dear friend, my faithful and friendly sentiments.
Keep in mind that the credit crisis is due to government manipulation of the free market system. During Carter's tenure (he's not just peanuts), we had the Community Reinvestment Act, then doubled-down on it during Clinton's tenure because of this absolutely insane notion that you can create legislature that will foster individual responsibility. Well, all that legislation and bailout money, over 90% of the original foreclosures are still defaulting on their new fixed rate, low interest, low amount payments. Like I said, you can't force people to be responsible.
The fact that your post gets 5 informative for score only leads me to believe that the moderators are firm believers in leftist ideologies. To date, there has not been a single nation of "benevolent communism" like all you pro-Marxist lemmings like to believe. I've heard a million times how communism "is perfect on paper" but it "has never been executed properly or to its original intent like Marx modeled." Shall we go down the list? Of the nations who are or have at some point claimed to be communist, please tell me which one is a shining example of freedom while at the same time exercising this "economic concept." Read Marx himself, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." What happens when those of us with ability don't want to take care of others' needs before our own wants and ambitions? Oh, that's right... "There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521!"
Oh wise moderator... please do tell me what exactly is flamebait. If the moderator is a communist, and my anti-communism statements disagree with his philosophy, does that make me a troll?
Yeah, I have thought about the real situation in Vietnam: a small tin hat group of asshats who will stop at nothing to manage and control the society in which they govern. Being a "small" or a "weak" state militarily these days means nothing... good countries (as in the freedom loving kind) will always find friends amongst strong free states. Unfortunately, the same is true for communist states. Keep drinking the koolaid, friend. I know, communism just needs a little more tweaking and adjustment in order to work... it's sound in theory... ad nauseum.
"If you understood what Communism was, you would hope, you would pray on your knees that one day we would become Communist." (speaking to students at the University of Michigan in 1970)
Yeah, I'll bet the Vietnamese are really loving that communism now. Good thing the U.S. withdrew and left an entire region of the earth to the whims of that benevolent political philosophy.
One of the niftier missions I flew was delivering bomb-resistant vehicles to a few Army units (poor bastards... they didn't join my beloved Corps:-). The reason the Army wanted them was 1) Roadside bombs suck 2) Shortage of armored humvees and 3) armored humvees don't hold up for shit against anything but grenades and small arms fire. We always used to joke that the truly roadside bomb resistant humvee was the Abrams... which unfortunately holds true. So, the DoD, really in a very wise move decided that rather than trying to hob-job jerry rig humvees and the like to be minimally resistant to roadside bombs, it would be better to avoid the bombs all together by sweeping convoy routes just prior to a convoy deployment. Guess what? During the first few months' use of those vehicles, there was an over 90% drop in successful (ie bad for us) roadside bomb attacks. Bombs were being either 1) destroyed by the vehicle's raking action 2) dug up by the vehicle and detonated with little effect, or 3) discovered and dismantled by EOD personnel called onto the scene. When I was home after that deployment, I turned on 60 minutes to watch an ENTIRE segment they did about how we're ill-equipped for roadside bombs by showing the home-made armor guys were putting on their humvees. CBS completely ignored the bomb sweeping vehicles in use, and in so doing lied by the sin of omission.
As for the mod who gave me a -1, eh... I don't really give a shit. He is king of his little anthill, and would rather check -1 than debate my argument. Bravo, Mod, bravo.
Absolutely. Great post... I wonder why it only received a score of 1.
Oh, that's right, the scoring Gods of/. have about the same amount of objectivity as the Gray Lady.
When I was a young lance corporal, fresh out of MOS training and a newly minted crewman on the KC-130 in Iraq, I had my fair share of ferrying politicians, reporters, and high-ranking officers into Al Asad and Baghdad. This is purely anecdotal, but Fox reporters never carried an air of arrogance about them that I, my aircraft, and my fellow crew, where there for the reporters' benefit. I never had to remind a Fox reporter that yes, they did indeed have to strap in, because a tactical low level flight involves some serious cranking and banking, and if g-forces didn't toss them into a sharp object and kill them, I would. These are the kinds of things that those of us who served with reporters remembers. As a Marine, we also remember other news agencies immediately picking up the story of Haditha, and using Abscam Jack Murtha's statements that it was an open and shut case of unlawful murder on civilian targets-- before an NCIS investigation was even underway. We also remember the initial invasion, when all news outlets were attached to ground forces pushing up from Kuwait, and the Safwan Hill offensive displayed one of the most awesome displays of military firepower since the Second World War, and the reporters gained ratings, awards, etc. They also couldn't really spew much bs at the time, because their safety depended on staying with the extremely valiant, confident, and capable forces, and even the looniest of the bunch couldn't spin much.
By the time Fallujah came around, many media reports would make you believe that the Marines (that were effectively squashing all enemy resistance) had met their match against hardened "militants" (I love that catchphrase), and it was doubtful they would be successful. For those of us who have dug a little deeper into military history and engagements, we realize that Fallujah turned out to literally rewrite the book on the effectiveness of operations in an urban environment amongst an enemy established for ambush... the last historical example being Hue city in Vietnam. While we were out there doing our jobs with what we had available at the time (as the military has always done, in every war of our nation), that wonderful, benevolent, caring media reporting on us and using us for their purposes, could only talk about how thin we were stretched, how poor our supplies were, how ridiculous it was to expect us to do our missions with the numbers and supplies we had. When the political pressure mounted and twenty thousand additional pairs of boots were sent to help, along with massive increases in logistics, it was immediately spun as "putting more troops in harm's way" or "the war's not working so we're throwing more resources down a hole." In reality, having extra boots on the ground and rifles pointed downrange meant greater safety for everyone. Units could take more time off between combat patrols because there were more units to cycle in. Assaults could be handled with more fire support and faster evacuations for the wounded. As much as the mainstream media hates to admit it, "the surge" worked.
Lastly, I want to talk about the thing I hate talking about the most: friends who never made it home. While the moonbats at CBS, ABC, and (MS)NBC typically would have a segment at the end of their evening broadcasts showing the photographs of those killed in Iraq, with little other explanation than to senselessly display the fallen on television to stir animosity toward the war effort, Fox sends real men like LtCol North into the field to report on our units on the ground, how they are adapting and overcoming adversity, how they are still keeping their morale high in the face of a long and costly war.
These are the kinds of things that we veterans of this war will remember. We will also remember when bloggers use that "hard reporting" provided by the "big guys," and put it through basic smell tests to see if it passes. Reuters can thank Little Green Footballs for showing what a bunch of Hamas-friendly tools they were during the Israel-Lebanon war by doctoring
"Don't confuse security council resolutions for something representing world opinion.
It is the general assembly that is democratic and representative, the security council is a private club."
Yes, and it is the general assembly that contains such shining stars of freedom and prosperity that allow socialist authoritarian despotic hellholes like Zimbabwe to chair the Council on Sustainable Development (what's their inflation rate up to? One million percent? Gotta love shelling out a few hundred kilograms of paper for a beer.). The U.N., an international body with no internal corruption-busting mechanism (a prosecutor, if you will), has also allowed LIBYA to chair the Human Rights Commission. Hell, while they're at it, they should let Sudan chair something squishy feely-goody and human-rightsy too. You can obviously see the conflict of interest when Human Rights Watch makes a recommendation to the U.N. Group on Arbitrary Detentions to go into Libya. I'm no Bush supporter by any means... he trashed conservatism to the point where it became impossible for a true American hero to win the election, but I will always give credit where credit is due, and sending John Bolton to the U.N. was absolutely a good decision. After all, the U.N. is such a bang-up organization that they can funnel tens of billions of dollars through the oil for food "programme" (I love that spelling... makes it seem so... European), and not a single person is prosecuted and imprisoned for it. If there were a corrupt governmental bureaucracy studies field in universities, the U.N. would be the textbook example.
Most of the freaks and geeks (not that there's anything wrong with that) on/. are not military veterans, and as such, display the typical kind of juvenile disconnect from what really happens inside the terrible "military-industrial complex." I was part of the initial invasion, and sure as you're born, we had serious reason to believe that Chemical Ali would dump all sorts of nasty chicken-dance vapors on us, hence the entire first assault being performed at full MOPP protection in 110 degree heat. What else were we to believe? Surrendering Iraqi officers were telling our officers that they had chemical weapons at their disposal. As a commander, you HAVE to take such information as valid for the safety of your troops. As it turns out, it was merely a weak attempt to slow U.S. forces... because let me assure you, spending twelve hours straight in a chemical protection suit in the Iraqi heat sucks... a lot. No, really, it was about as fun as having your teeth drilled.
Invading Iraq was not about getting the WMDs, it was about removing a regime after it simply would not abide by the rules of the international community. Irregardless of how few weapons Hans Blix (what a raging wimp if I ever saw one) believed were in Iraq, the real issue was Saddam's constant manhandling of U.N. inspection teams that would often times be held at gunpoint for hours at road checkpoints and given access to sensitive and suspect sights only several hours or days after an attempted surprise inspection. As a comparison, if a police officer has every reason to believe is armed, because the guy is hiding something in his hand and says is a weapon, and when the suspect gestures it toward the officer the suspect gets killed, that officer acted in accordance with a proper escalation of force.
But, hey, I'm just a dumb Marine who remembers sitting in a cold squadbay out in the boonies of Camp Lejeune in February of 2003, and being with fifty other Marines huddled around a small radio, and listening to the news reports of Iraq's defiance of inspection demands and knowing that tomorrow we were heading over to supply to get issued most every piece of gear we rated. All those liberals out there who feel that Iraq "was about oil" or "was Bush's conspiracy" simply don't get it. They weren't the ones who helped civilian forensics teams load bodies onto the back of trucks as they were removed from mass graves, sweating their asses off in chemical protection suits, or geting intel reports from the S-2 NCO about the likelihood of nerve agents making you funky chicken dance in the sand.
Auto giant Ford Motor Company filed patent infringement suits against GM and Chrysler for their use of the round steering device, commonly known as the 'steering wheel', in their vehicles. The suit demands an immediate recall of all vehicles in question.
Motorcycle legend Harley Davidson is also suing Indian, Enfield, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki for patent infringements on the handlebar and the belt rear-drive system.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah no shyte... nobody wants nuclear waste in their back yard. Oh wait... Yucca Mountain ISN'T in anyone's back yard, and the flaming communist hippies squealed about that one too. When I become Energy Secretary of the United States I am going to do the only sensible thing and require an exponential increase in the use of pixie dust to meet our energy demands.
I wonder if he has a diagram of our favorite graphite-modulated open-roof model reactor. Oh wait... the open roof now has a concrete sarcophagus over it. My bad.
Monkey? No... Klingon? Yes.
Those who can't, teach.
Since when the hell did we right wingers get confused with the Earth Liberation Front? We are far too busy torturing Muslims, driving SUVs, dodging the tax code, executing a vast conspiracy, shooting assault weapons, and eating red meat to clarify that the Earth Liberation Front is a band of commie tree huggers. Now that I have made this clarification, allow me to go back to eating my rare tenderloin steak and washing it down with a bottle of scotch worth more than your house.
Remember that the film "Kids" was filmed with actors who were not minors... but they depict minors doing not-so-minorly things. The film may have received an NC-17 rating for its sexual content, but just because the actors LOOK below the age of consent did not make the film fall into the category of 'child pornography.'
So, it's already been determined in the courts so long as the actors of pornography/sex scenes are of the age of consent, it does not constitute child pornography because the person the doing the act, or having the act done unto them, is of the age of consent. How in the holy hell can this apply to cartoons? I don't recall fictitious characters created in the world of imagination having any legal protections other than copyrights.
What a bloody grand time to be a lawyer in our litigation-minded society.
You antiwar types are really funny... as if I'm pro-war, even though I'm the one with friends who never made it home, or came home severely injured. So that 30879 number listed as the "Official" number of wounded troops... we can account for that via medical records reporting to the DoD... that 100000+ estimated number is utterly bullshit. The military provides for psychological treatment to combat troops, and there isn't any reason to believe those wouldn't be included in the numbers. My unit was thoroughly screened when we came home by VA counselors... that is the standard practice these days.
OOooH GOODY! An anti-war activist! I love you guys... in your fervent shouting for an end to hostilities, you will often be hostile to guys like me, who being part of the great "military-industrial complex" are either viewed as baby killers, mother rapers, father rapers, or any other number of really bad things. This past year, thousands of Christians in Iraq were able to celebrate Christmas as an official holiday for the first time in decades. I served my nation's military which through our actions helped make that happen, in addition to giving millions of people freedom from a brutal dictator... how's that protesting coming along?
Yeah, and 10% of the population also pays 90% of the tax burden. Quick question: Have you ever been hired and given gainful employment by a poor person?
No, it's not just "Republican propaganda." The CRA was a large factor in the current mess... you're very correct about it being a combination of greed, over-optimism, poor judgment and risk-taking. Real-estate securities have always been a stable investment because real-estate lending has always been of a very conservative and regimented nature. Before the CRA, the idea of lending to a sub-prime borrower was simply out of the question... banks wouldn't do it, because the business of foreclosing on houses owned by the bank is simply a write-off for the bank to stop the bleeding... not exactly a money-maker. The CRA fostered an environment in which borrowers who had poor credit, no down payment, and an income too low to be deemed a safe percentage of total income for payment were suddenly turned into victims of racism or bigotry because the banks wouldn't lend to them. The appetite for real-estate investments was also growing to huge levels due to the increase in many nations' government investment strategies to buy real-estate related investments.
Glad you bring that up. Driving is a privilege, not a right. As such, it is a reserved right of the states as per the 10th amendment to license drivers and establish standards of licensing. As with any license, there are certain terms and conditions of that license. The laws don't FORCE any driver to buckle up, or to stay sober... they simply establish punishments for failing to do so. Owning, or rather, buying, a house is not a right endowed unto someone by their creator. While someone may have property rights (what the 'pursuit of happiness' clause has been often interpreted to be) once they OWN that house, it is not a right to be given the means in which to PURCHASE that house. When I bought my house, I could very easily have acquired a mortgage of about a quarter million, far beyond my means to pay on a 20 year loan. I instead opted for $75k, which bought the fixer-upper that I wanted, and is within my means. Yes, while it was unethical for lenders to seek giving out the biggest loans possible to a buyer, banks were essentially forced to do so or face penalty for not loaning to sub-prime borrowers. In the end, it's the responsibility of the individual to not try to live beyond their means.
Wow, killing Vietnamese people is now linked to voting for Sarah Palin... incredible! What astute political analysis! As far as the millions of dead Vietnamese are concerned, I think you will find that those numbers are due to the fact that 1) communists didn't like American forces defending a free South Vietnam, 2) picked up weapons to engage in hostilities with said American forces, and 3) were subsequently killed by their decision to fight a better trained, more disciplined, better equipped military force. The Communists and the Khmer Rouge really did a bang up job once we left. As far as your vague reference of war belonging to Republicans (I'm guessing by your rather obtuse Palin reference), it was Kennedy (a democrat) who started the war, Johnson (a democrat) who escalated the war, and Nixon (a republican) who ended the war. Just thought I'd remind you of those facts.
---
Dear Excellency and Friend:
I thank you very sincerely for your letter and for your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you, and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection, and we can do nothing about it. You leave, and my wish is that you and your country will find happiness under this sky. But, mark it well, that if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is no matter, because we all are born and must die. I have only committed this mistake of believing in you [the Americans].
Please accept, Excellency and dear friend, my faithful and friendly sentiments.
Sirik Matak
Keep in mind that the credit crisis is due to government manipulation of the free market system. During Carter's tenure (he's not just peanuts), we had the Community Reinvestment Act, then doubled-down on it during Clinton's tenure because of this absolutely insane notion that you can create legislature that will foster individual responsibility. Well, all that legislation and bailout money, over 90% of the original foreclosures are still defaulting on their new fixed rate, low interest, low amount payments. Like I said, you can't force people to be responsible.
The fact that your post gets 5 informative for score only leads me to believe that the moderators are firm believers in leftist ideologies. To date, there has not been a single nation of "benevolent communism" like all you pro-Marxist lemmings like to believe. I've heard a million times how communism "is perfect on paper" but it "has never been executed properly or to its original intent like Marx modeled." Shall we go down the list? Of the nations who are or have at some point claimed to be communist, please tell me which one is a shining example of freedom while at the same time exercising this "economic concept." Read Marx himself, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." What happens when those of us with ability don't want to take care of others' needs before our own wants and ambitions? Oh, that's right... "There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521!"
Oh wise moderator... please do tell me what exactly is flamebait. If the moderator is a communist, and my anti-communism statements disagree with his philosophy, does that make me a troll?
Yeah, I have thought about the real situation in Vietnam: a small tin hat group of asshats who will stop at nothing to manage and control the society in which they govern. Being a "small" or a "weak" state militarily these days means nothing... good countries (as in the freedom loving kind) will always find friends amongst strong free states. Unfortunately, the same is true for communist states. Keep drinking the koolaid, friend. I know, communism just needs a little more tweaking and adjustment in order to work... it's sound in theory... ad nauseum.
Yeah, I'll bet the Vietnamese are really loving that communism now. Good thing the U.S. withdrew and left an entire region of the earth to the whims of that benevolent political philosophy.
One of the niftier missions I flew was delivering bomb-resistant vehicles to a few Army units (poor bastards... they didn't join my beloved Corps :-). The reason the Army wanted them was 1) Roadside bombs suck 2) Shortage of armored humvees and 3) armored humvees don't hold up for shit against anything but grenades and small arms fire. We always used to joke that the truly roadside bomb resistant humvee was the Abrams... which unfortunately holds true. So, the DoD, really in a very wise move decided that rather than trying to hob-job jerry rig humvees and the like to be minimally resistant to roadside bombs, it would be better to avoid the bombs all together by sweeping convoy routes just prior to a convoy deployment. Guess what? During the first few months' use of those vehicles, there was an over 90% drop in successful (ie bad for us) roadside bomb attacks. Bombs were being either 1) destroyed by the vehicle's raking action 2) dug up by the vehicle and detonated with little effect, or 3) discovered and dismantled by EOD personnel called onto the scene. When I was home after that deployment, I turned on 60 minutes to watch an ENTIRE segment they did about how we're ill-equipped for roadside bombs by showing the home-made armor guys were putting on their humvees. CBS completely ignored the bomb sweeping vehicles in use, and in so doing lied by the sin of omission.
As for the mod who gave me a -1, eh... I don't really give a shit. He is king of his little anthill, and would rather check -1 than debate my argument. Bravo, Mod, bravo.
Absolutely. Great post... I wonder why it only received a score of 1. Oh, that's right, the scoring Gods of /. have about the same amount of objectivity as the Gray Lady.
By the time Fallujah came around, many media reports would make you believe that the Marines (that were effectively squashing all enemy resistance) had met their match against hardened "militants" (I love that catchphrase), and it was doubtful they would be successful. For those of us who have dug a little deeper into military history and engagements, we realize that Fallujah turned out to literally rewrite the book on the effectiveness of operations in an urban environment amongst an enemy established for ambush... the last historical example being Hue city in Vietnam. While we were out there doing our jobs with what we had available at the time (as the military has always done, in every war of our nation), that wonderful, benevolent, caring media reporting on us and using us for their purposes, could only talk about how thin we were stretched, how poor our supplies were, how ridiculous it was to expect us to do our missions with the numbers and supplies we had. When the political pressure mounted and twenty thousand additional pairs of boots were sent to help, along with massive increases in logistics, it was immediately spun as "putting more troops in harm's way" or "the war's not working so we're throwing more resources down a hole." In reality, having extra boots on the ground and rifles pointed downrange meant greater safety for everyone. Units could take more time off between combat patrols because there were more units to cycle in. Assaults could be handled with more fire support and faster evacuations for the wounded. As much as the mainstream media hates to admit it, "the surge" worked.
Lastly, I want to talk about the thing I hate talking about the most: friends who never made it home. While the moonbats at CBS, ABC, and (MS)NBC typically would have a segment at the end of their evening broadcasts showing the photographs of those killed in Iraq, with little other explanation than to senselessly display the fallen on television to stir animosity toward the war effort, Fox sends real men like LtCol North into the field to report on our units on the ground, how they are adapting and overcoming adversity, how they are still keeping their morale high in the face of a long and costly war.
These are the kinds of things that we veterans of this war will remember. We will also remember when bloggers use that "hard reporting" provided by the "big guys," and put it through basic smell tests to see if it passes. Reuters can thank Little Green Footballs for showing what a bunch of Hamas-friendly tools they were during the Israel-Lebanon war by doctoring
Yes, and it is the general assembly that contains such shining stars of freedom and prosperity that allow socialist authoritarian despotic hellholes like Zimbabwe to chair the Council on Sustainable Development (what's their inflation rate up to? One million percent? Gotta love shelling out a few hundred kilograms of paper for a beer.). The U.N., an international body with no internal corruption-busting mechanism (a prosecutor, if you will), has also allowed LIBYA to chair the Human Rights Commission. Hell, while they're at it, they should let Sudan chair something squishy feely-goody and human-rightsy too. You can obviously see the conflict of interest when Human Rights Watch makes a recommendation to the U.N. Group on Arbitrary Detentions to go into Libya. I'm no Bush supporter by any means... he trashed conservatism to the point where it became impossible for a true American hero to win the election, but I will always give credit where credit is due, and sending John Bolton to the U.N. was absolutely a good decision. After all, the U.N. is such a bang-up organization that they can funnel tens of billions of dollars through the oil for food "programme" (I love that spelling... makes it seem so... European), and not a single person is prosecuted and imprisoned for it. If there were a corrupt governmental bureaucracy studies field in universities, the U.N. would be the textbook example.
Most of the freaks and geeks (not that there's anything wrong with that) on /. are not military veterans, and as such, display the typical kind of juvenile disconnect from what really happens inside the terrible "military-industrial complex." I was part of the initial invasion, and sure as you're born, we had serious reason to believe that Chemical Ali would dump all sorts of nasty chicken-dance vapors on us, hence the entire first assault being performed at full MOPP protection in 110 degree heat. What else were we to believe? Surrendering Iraqi officers were telling our officers that they had chemical weapons at their disposal. As a commander, you HAVE to take such information as valid for the safety of your troops. As it turns out, it was merely a weak attempt to slow U.S. forces... because let me assure you, spending twelve hours straight in a chemical protection suit in the Iraqi heat sucks... a lot. No, really, it was about as fun as having your teeth drilled.
Invading Iraq was not about getting the WMDs, it was about removing a regime after it simply would not abide by the rules of the international community. Irregardless of how few weapons Hans Blix (what a raging wimp if I ever saw one) believed were in Iraq, the real issue was Saddam's constant manhandling of U.N. inspection teams that would often times be held at gunpoint for hours at road checkpoints and given access to sensitive and suspect sights only several hours or days after an attempted surprise inspection. As a comparison, if a police officer has every reason to believe is armed, because the guy is hiding something in his hand and says is a weapon, and when the suspect gestures it toward the officer the suspect gets killed, that officer acted in accordance with a proper escalation of force.
But, hey, I'm just a dumb Marine who remembers sitting in a cold squadbay out in the boonies of Camp Lejeune in February of 2003, and being with fifty other Marines huddled around a small radio, and listening to the news reports of Iraq's defiance of inspection demands and knowing that tomorrow we were heading over to supply to get issued most every piece of gear we rated. All those liberals out there who feel that Iraq "was about oil" or "was Bush's conspiracy" simply don't get it. They weren't the ones who helped civilian forensics teams load bodies onto the back of trucks as they were removed from mass graves, sweating their asses off in chemical protection suits, or geting intel reports from the S-2 NCO about the likelihood of nerve agents making you funky chicken dance in the sand.
I too have a new toy, Mr. Bond.
Auto giant Ford Motor Company filed patent infringement suits against GM and Chrysler for their use of the round steering device, commonly known as the 'steering wheel', in their vehicles. The suit demands an immediate recall of all vehicles in question. Motorcycle legend Harley Davidson is also suing Indian, Enfield, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki for patent infringements on the handlebar and the belt rear-drive system.