Twirling Toward Oblivion

Conditions: Hot, dry.


Iraq Oil Belongs To Whom, Exactly?

Surely we can accept by now the obvious truth that the Iraq war was about the West securing a significant chunk of the worlds oil supply? I mean, duh. One of the things the Americans have been trying to set up since the invasion is a plan to effectively control the Iraqi oil infrastructure for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately (for the Americans), that pesky Iraqi democratic government they've propped up actually has the gall to want to run their own oil themselves. The nerve.

The oil game in Iraq may be almost up. On September 29th, like a landlord serving notice, the government of Iraq announced that the next annual renewal of the United Nations Security Council mandate for a multinational force in Iraq - the only legal basis for a continuation of the American occupation - will be the last. That was, it seems, the first shoe to fall. The second may be an announcement terminating the little-noticed, but crucial companion Security Council mandate governing the disposition of Iraq's oil revenues.

By December 31, 2008, according to Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, the government of Iraq intends to have replaced the existing mandate for a multinational security force with a conventional bilateral security agreement with the United States, an agreement of the sort that Washington has with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and several other countries in the Middle East. The Security Council has always paired the annual renewal of its mandate for the multinational force with the renewal of a second mandate for the management of Iraqi oil revenues. This happens through the "Development Fund for Iraq," a kind of escrow account set up by the occupying powers after the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime and recognized in 2003 by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483. The oil game will be up if and when Iraq announces that this mandate, too, will be terminated at a date certain in favor of resource-development agreements that - like the envisioned security agreement - match those of other states in the region.
[...]

Even with Iraqi expertise duly factored in, oil remains a complicated business, and foreign expertise and capital will remain indispensable in Iraq. Still, for the Shiite-dominated central government, the most trusted foreign supplier of supplementary expertise, manpower, and even capital would seem to be Iran. For now, the United States is paying many of the salaries in Baghdad; but Iran's president, predicting an American withdrawal, has lately declared his readiness to "fill the [regional power] gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation." This invitation to regional collaboration will surely strike the less populous, militarily more vulnerable Saudis as disingenuous in the extreme, but Iran may be hard to stop. As former ambassador Peter Galbraith has explained: "Since 2005, Iraq's Shiite-led government has concluded numerous economic, political, and military agreements with Iran. The most important would link the two countries' strategic oil reserves by building a pipeline from southern Iraq to Iran, while another commits Iran to providing extensive military assistance to the Iraq government." On Oct. 17, the al-Maliki regime flexed its supposedly non-existent muscle yet again by awarding $1.1 billion in contracts to Iran and China to build enormous power plants in Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City and between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

The prospect that, in the endgame for Iraqi oil, the victor might be Shiite Iran (and indirectly Communist China) may help explain recent American calls for the replacement of the devoutly Shiite Prime Minister al-Maliki. Yet, even if American pressure leads to al-Maliki's ouster, the Iraqi parliament cannot be ousted with him. The prime minister's announcement that the next renewal of the multi-force mandate would be the last came, in fact, in response to a binding resolution in parliament that the next renewal, unlike previous ones, may not be at the request of the prime minister alone, but only with the advice and consent of parliament. It has voted once already, in a non-binding resolution, to require the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal.

- Truthout.org

So, with the peace and security part of the equation in tatters, the only real attainable asset is the massive oil stocks that lie under the soil. With but a year left in President Bush's term of office, is there anything he can do to thwart the likely Iranian partnership with Iraqi leaders?




2008 Election Still Under Threat.

I've read enough over the years to be reasonably sure that the 2004 election was not, as we say in the news business, "on the level." Something fishy happened in Ohio, at least, and the voting machines have been proven to be about as reliable and as safe as wet tissue paper. The fact the the results were not challenged in any significant way stands as a black mark against the American people, who demonstrated their true character by swallowing the lies, ignoring the actual issues, and hoping for the best. So, how goes the runup for the 2008 election?

Thus it should come as no surprise that our exclusive investigations into the firings of eight federal prosecutors who refused to execute Rove’s plans for massive disenfranchisement of Democratic voters reveal a pattern of illegalities and fraud aimed at reducing the number of minority, poor and young voters at the core of Democratic support. In the wake of major news breaks, two felony convictions have come from the rigging of the illegal Ohio 2004 vote count and recount that gave George W. Bush a second illegitimate term. Stunning new admissions from county election boards that illegally destroyed voter records will almost certainly lead to new convictions. And the multi-million-dollar electronic voting machine scam that made possible the biggest electoral frauds in US history is under massive new attack, with key states moving to scrap the machines altogether in a desperate attempt to restore American democracy - but with the job far from done.
[...]

Unmonitorable DRE (direct record electronic) voting machines have been center stage at every Bush-era stolen election. In Florida 2000, some 16,000 votes that "disappeared" from Al Gore’s tallies in Volusia County helped turn the tide for Bush at a key election night moment, even though they were later reinstated. In 2002, fraudulent electronic vote counts in Georgia almost certainly deprived Vietnam war hero Max Cleland of his US Senate seat in a race which all credible polls showed him winning by a substantial margin.

The spread of DREs is at the core of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) pushed through by then-Congressman (now jailbird) Bob Ney. High-powered studies from the likes of the Government Accountability Office, the Brennan Center on Voting Rights, the Carter-Baker Commission on Voting Rights, Princeton University and US Representative John Conyers all conclude that DRE’s can be easily manipulated, with entire elections illicitly shifted by a few keystrokes.

The GOP's HAVA means to put the nation on DREs as thoroughly as possible by 2008. But a public rebellion has slowed that plan. In Ohio, grassroots campaigners stopped Blackwell from giving Diebold an unbid $100 million contract to put virtually the entire state on DREs. Elsewhere, state and local election boards rebelled against the high cost of maintaining the machines, which often must be kept air conditioned around the clock, resulting in huge electric bills. Programming and other costs make administering elections on DREs far more expensive than doing it on paper ballots. The DREs have become infamous because of widespread testimony in Ohio that 2004 voters were pushing John Kerry’s name, only to see George Bush’s name light up, or to have their Kerry vote simply disappear moments later.

In response to nationwide opposition, US Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) proposed federal legislation that would have forced all electronic voting machines to be fitted with devices that would produce a paper trail. An accredited scientist, Holt also wanted to force manufacturers to make public the software that ran their machines.

Holt’s proposed House Bill 811 divided the election protection movement, much of which saw it as an endorsement of DREs. And as the bill progressed, the GOP gutted it, killing the software transparency requirements and settling for unworkable paper trail provisions.

- Truthout.org

I have to think that the somewhat complicated nature of the story, involving computers rather than cartoonish evil dictator warlords, meant that regular folk either didn't get it, or didn't care. How else to explain the lack of public outrage at the very obvious evidence of a rigged election? The coming election promises to have more people taking a closer look, but when the results can be changed in the blink of an eye, will people be prepared to think the (apparently) unthinkable?



Well, At Least They Can't Wash Their Hair.

Over the years, airports have become less like transportation hubs, and more like federal penitentiaries, where all are guilty, and all must prove themselves innocent. Such practices include having officials rummage through your luggage, confiscating your shampoo bottles, and requiring you to remove your clothing. One gets the feeling this is all some elaborate prank instigated by airport security companies. Anyway, the purpose is to catch the bomb-smuggling terrorists. LAX in particular has been checking it's procedures. So, how's that been going?

Despite all these precautions, security screeners missed 75% of fake bombs and explosives that passed through the airport during undercover terrorism drills.

Citing a classified memo, USA Today reported that Chicago's O'Hare International Airport fared slightly better than LAX, failing to detect about 60% of the simulated bombs, and San Francisco International missed 20%.

"They almost undress you in there, and they can't get their stuff straight," said Huntington Park resident Maria Gonzales, 32, as she prepared to catch a flight Thursday morning from LAX to Las Vegas.

Transportation Security Administration officials would not confirm or deny details of the newspaper report. But they defended the screeners, saying the tests were conducted two years ago and were designed to trip up security personnel.

- LA Times.com

Oh, yes it wasn't a fair test due to the 'terrorists' actually trying not to get caught! In real life, the terrorists will be wearing army fatigues, and will carry their bombs strapped to their belts, like in the movies. Sheesh.



Hiding Is The Battle.

Since the dawn of time, mankind's response to a threat will fall into two categories, flight or fight. And these days, the general attitude is to fight. Fight the muggers, fight the bullies, fight the cops, fight fight fight! Well the Japanese have been putting a little thought into the opposite tactic, and have come up with something quite wonderful. See if you can spot the person:

Deftly, Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, lifted a flap on her skirt to reveal a large sheet of cloth printed in bright red with a soft drink logo partly visible. By holding the sheet open and stepping to the side of the road, she showed how a woman walking alone could elude pursuers — by disguising herself as a vending machine.

The wearer hides behind the sheet, printed with an actual-size photo of a vending machine. Ms. Tsukioka’s clothing is still in development, but she already has several versions, including one that unfolds from a kimono and a deluxe model with four sides for more complete camouflaging.

These elaborate defenses are coming at a time when crime rates are actually declining in Japan. But the Japanese, sensitive to the slightest signs of social fraying, say they feel growing anxiety about safety, fanned by sensationalist news media. Instead of pepper spray, though, they are devising a variety of novel solutions, some high-tech, others quirky, but all reflecting a peculiarly Japanese sensibility.

- NYTimes.com

It's probably not practical, but I love the mindset that thinks things like that up. Kudos.



Planet To Humans: You're On Your Own.

In a shock move, reports coming in indicate the land and oceans have reduced the amount of carbon they absorb every year. Added to that is the point that we're actually producing more carbon every year than we used to. I'm no mathematician, but that shit don't add up too good.

A team of scientists has found that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) growth has increased 35 percent faster than expected since 2000.

Lead author and Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project, CSIRO’s Dr Pep Canadell, says the acceleration is due to three factors: global economic growth; the world’s economy becoming more carbon intense (that is, since 2000 more carbon is being emitted to produce each dollar of global wealth); and a deterioration in the land and oceans’ ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere at the required rate.

“What we are seeing is a decrease in the planet’s ability to absorb carbon emissions due to human activity,” Dr Canadell says.

“Fifty years ago, for every tonne of CO2 emitted, 600kg were removed by land and ocean sinks. However, in 2006, only 550kg were removed per tonne and that amount is falling.”

- ScienceDaily.com

Hmmmm. What we need is some kind of engine that burns carbon and puts out ice blocks. Someone get on that.

Related: We're All Going To Die.


Related: Simple things like dry conditions and hot temperatures set off statewide fires in CA that cannot be stopped without rain.



To The Moon, China!

In one right out of the history books, China has launched it's own lunar orbiter, to spend a year exploring that great unknown, the moon.

The satellite, named Chang'e 1, took off from the Xichang Centre in south-west China's Sichuan province at 1800 local time (1000 GMT).

Analysts say it is a key step towards China's aim of putting a man on the Moon by 2020, in the latest stage of an Asian space race with Japan and India

Earlier this month, a Japanese lunar probe entered orbit around the Moon.

India is planning a lunar mission for April next year.

- BBC

I'm not entirely sure what the point of it all is, it reminds me a bit of what rich tycoons start doing once they get tired of working all the time. Maybe next China will buy a yacht and sail it to the Bahamas.



Film Review: The Brave One.

Back in the eighties, Charles Bronson made a series of vigilante films where a brother or a wife or a daughter or a pet dog of his would get killed by a bunch of hoodlums, causing Bronson to take the law into his own hands, hunt the bad guys down and kill them quite brutally, until they were dead. Clint Eastwood did some of the same stuff, and Steven Segal took up the mantle in the 90's. It's a well-respected template, the revenge movie, and it's been remade again here with a woman as the lead.

Jodie Foster is a very talented actress, managing to be both petite and as hard as iron. She brings a sensitiveness and an emotional depth to the character that helps make the whole thing tick. Set in New York (of course), her character goes through an enormous change that brings out a side of her she never suspected. The film never flinches from the moral choices she makes, in fact even dwelling on them.

If you're prepared to accept that, all of a sudden, a New Yorker could find herself in two life or death situations in the space of a few days (possible, I guess), then then film works quite well. The lead character's unwillingness to be a victim in the aftermath of a shattered life forces her on to the offensive, and things start building toward a conclusion. The involvement of a good cop who pretty much figures it out tends to muddy the moral waters even more, but that's what a film about morality is supposed to do. Three and a half fingerprints out of Five.




End Transmission.

I Miss My VCR.

Conditions: Sunny, Kind of Warm.


Hillary Drinks The Kool-Aid.

Being a Democrat, you'd think Hillary Clinton would consider a different approach to things like military aggression and war than the Republican candidates, each of whom are engaged in a battle of oneupmanship, seeing who's the biggest asshole in the 'torture/kill/destroy' category of American leadership. (How many more Guantanamos are you going to build this week, Mitt?) Anyway, Hillary has decided that being the only women candidate, like, ever, isn't enough to distinguish her from her fellow democratic candidates, so she's also decided to be the most Republican of the Democratic candidates as well.

In an article for Foreign Affairs magazine intended as a blueprint for the foreign policy of a future Clinton White House, the Democratic frontrunner argues that Iran poses a long term strategic challenge to American and its allies, and that it must not be permitted to build or acquire nuclear weapons.

"If Iran does not comply with its own commitments and the will of the international community, all options must remain on the table," Ms Clinton said.

- The Guardian

Now on the surface it sounds somewhat tame. Not even any mention of blood. But diplomatically, this is essentially the same as taking out a gun and putting it on the desk. "All options on the table" is diplo-speak for "If I feel like it, I will kill you and everyone you know", and frankly it's the exact attitude from the American Political Elite that I'm sick to death of. Tough-talking is bullshit. Posturing is childish. And, perhaps most importantly, military invasions are worthless. Or are we all idiots? Don't answer that.



Radiohead Crazy Like The Fox.

So, a while ago I mentioned about how RadioHead's latest album was coming out digitally on their website, and you could pay whatever you wanted. There's an uncertainty about this being either a brilliant idea, or a profoundly stupid one. But the word is now that it was in fact, a low-quality appetizer, rather than the succulent main course.

The sentiment among many fans seems to have gone from admiration for the group's willingness to let the consumer decide how much to pay for the new album to anger over the low quality of the downloads — and dismay over the band's manager's statement that the you-choose-the-price downloads were just a promotional tool for the release of the physical CD.

The first bone of contention arose October 9 — the day before Rainbows became available for download — when fans who ordered the album (either in its download-only form or as a deluxe, $81 "discbox" version) received an e-mail from Radiohead's official online store, announcing that "the album [would] come as a 48.4 MB ZIP file containing 10 x 160 [kilobits per second], DRM-free MP3s."
[...]

And, as it turns out, the latter speculation seems to be true — especially after comments made by the band's managers, Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge, began to make their way around the Internet on Thursday (October 11) — which brings us to bone of contention number three.

In an interview with U.K. trade publication Music Week, Hufford and Bryce spoke at length about the downloadable version of Rainbows and how it plays into the larger plan of releasing a physical copy of the album in stores next year.

"In November we have to start with the mass-market plans and get them under way," Hufford told the magazine.

"If we didn't believe that when people hear the music they will want to buy the CD, then we wouldn't do what we are doing," Edge said.

- MTV.com

So, it turns out the band wasn't interesting in committing financial suicide after all, in fact it wanted to use the new media to generate interest in the old one. And that then explains the 'pay what you want' strategy for the download. Well played, Radiohead. Well played.



The Navy Fights The Right Fight?

The American Navy tends to get overlooked in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean, they're out there, 24/7, but they're kinda out of sight. And with no enemy navy to deal with, it's a bit of an easy battle. But a new strategy announced today points to the Navy deciding that instead of just blowing things up all the time, there might be a better way to fight terrorism.

The strategy, shaped by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the wars that followed, stresses preventing conflict as much as winning wars, and recognizes that "no one nation" can secure the world's waters against terrorism and other threats.
[...]

The new approach marks a stark departure from the last U.S. maritime strategy, conceived by the Navy in the 1980s, which focused heavily on offensive operations against the Soviet Union. "This isn't just a strategy about putting ordnance on a target or sinking someone else's fleet," said a senior Navy official, who like some others spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Soft power, the humanitarian and economic efforts, have been elevated to the same level as high-end naval warfare," said another Navy official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity because the strategy had not been officially unveiled.

The 16-page document was developed over two years and outlines six imperatives. These include the traditional missions of concentrating major combat forces in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Western Pacific to deter or fight potential conflicts. Protecting vital sea lanes represents a growing priority, it said, as seaborne trade has more than quadrupled over the last four decades and now accounts for 90 percent of all international commerce and two-thirds of global petroleum trade.

- Washingtonpost.com

My natural wariness of the armed forces makes me skeptical, but as far as I can tell, they're saying all the right things, at least.



The Folly Of Man.

Through the course of human history, mankind has proven himself adept and building dangerous things, and then killing himself with them. Sometimes on purpose, mostly not. It's basically a sad indictment of our innate stupidity, stubbornness, and unwillingness to learn. To think we're really no different to ancient man accidentally falling into his own fire, makes you want to wash your hands of the whole damn species.

[ Johannesburg, 16 October 2007 ] - The National Defence Force is probing whether a software glitch led to an antiaircraft cannon malfunction that killed nine soldiers and seriously injured 14 others during a shooting exercise on Friday.

SA National Defence Force spokesman brigadier general Kwena Mangope says the cause of the malfunction is not yet known and will be determined by a Board of Inquiry. The police are conducting a separate investigation into the incident.

Media reports say the shooting exercise, using live ammunition, took place at the SA Army's Combat Training Centre, at Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape, as part of an annual force preparation endeavour.

Mangope told The Star that it “is assumed that there was a mechanical problem, which led to the accident. The gun, which was fully loaded, did not fire as it normally should have," he said. "It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion, and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."

Other reports have suggested a computer error might have been to blame. Defence pundit Helmoed-Römer Heitman told the Weekend Argus that if “the cause lay in computer error, the reason for the tragedy might never be found”.

- ITweb.co.za

Oh yes, because lord knows those software glitches are caused by the Angry Mountain Demon, and there's simply nothing we can do about them, except maybe sprinkle some chicken blood on the keyboard while hopping on one foot and singing 'purple rain'.

- More.



Have We Learned Nothing?

And continuing the theme, the Americans are still pushing their Missile Shield on a flat-out suspicious Russia. Gee, American missiles on a hair trigger sitting right on the border of your country? What's not to like about that? I mean, surely the Americans wouldn't mind Russia setting up missiles in, let's say, i don't know, Cuba maybe? They'd be cool about that, right?

President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia was developing a new generation of nuclear weapons as part of a "big, grandiose" plan to boost the country's defences against the US.

Speaking during his annual live question-and-answer session, Mr Putin said Russia was upgrading its nuclear arsenal, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines and strategic bombers. It was also developing "completely new strategic [nuclear] complexes", he said.

"Our plans are not simply considerable, but huge. At the same time they are absolutely realistic. I have no doubts we will accomplish them," Mr Putin said, during a three-hour phone-in programme shown across Russia on state-run TV.

Mr Putin said Russia would defend itself if the US goes ahead with its plan to install elements of its missile shield in central Europe. "I can assure you that such steps are being prepared and we will take them," he said.

His comments follow unsuccessful talks last week with the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates. Mr Putin began their meeting in Moscow by signalling that Russia might dump the intermediate-range nuclear missiles treaty.

- The Guardian

Holy Tapdancing Crap! Son of a Well-Build Whore! Great Freaking Scott! Oh that's great, that's just fracking great. Sometimes you just want to take everybody and slam their heads together.




Right Back Atcha, Buddy.




Assuming we should even bother at this point, a bunch of Scottish Researchers think that, were the Earth to be threatened by a giant space rock, we could knock it out of the way using a bunch of orbiting mirrors.

Up to 5,000 could be used to focus sunlight on to the asteroid, melting the rock and altering its orbital path away from the Earth.

The doomsday scheme was devised after a team at the university compared nine methods of deflecting near-Earth objects - asteroids and comets. The results were unveiled at the Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire as part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1, which marked the start of the space age.

The research team compared the mirror technique with eight others, including different types of nuclear explosion and fixing a propulsion system to the asteroid.

The nuclear options and the mirrors would be more effective than the others, but scientists fear the risk of flying debris from a nuclear blast.

The orbiting mirrors would be used to focus sunlight on an area of the asteroid between 0.5 and 1.5 metres wide, heating the rock to around 2,100C - hot enough to melt the surface of the asteroid and create a thrust which would nudge it off course.

- Scotsman.com

In a few days, this system could alter the course of a small asteroid, but for something big enough to threaten the race itself, 3 or more years of sunlight-aiming would be required. That's a lot of time for something to go wrong, or get sabotaged. I mean, why not get knocked out of existence at this point? We seem to be in a race to do it ourselves, anyway.



VCR Still Gone.

I took my VCR to one of those big up-market appliance fixit joints, only to pick it back up later once they realized it was "old". Why own an old thing when you can buy a shiny new one, they seemed to be saying. Actually, that's exactly what they said. So, cursing their name and shaking their dust from my shoes, I crossed town to a small shabby repair store, stuffed full of old stuff and manned by an older guy wearing coveralls. He seemed much more hopeful of effecting repairs, so my fingers are crossed. Hell it's tough living without a VCR, though. How do the homeless do it?



Car Update!

After getting it repaired and re-tyred this week (which wasn't as expensive as I feared. thank you, Japanese mass tyre exporters!), we're all set for another attempt at a warrant. Fingers crossed!



And Finally.

Most hobbies are meaningless, but this one has a special pointlessness all it's own.







End transmission.

And The Horse You Rode In On.

Conditions: Clear, Finally!


Iraqis Walk The Desert.

A key element of any country is how it manages it's people. A country like Iraq, if it can still be called that, has more trouble than most, what with the enormous refugee crisis that is accelerating. Refugees not just leaving Iraq altogether, but also just leaving their homes to go to another province. A recent article states:

There are now an estimated four million Iraqis who have been forced to flee their homes, and the numbers continue to rise, according to the UN refugee agency.

Neighbouring Jordan and Syria, which have borne the brunt of the problem after receiving some two million refugees over the past few years, have now restricted access because they can no longer cope with the influx.

The plight of those who have fled their homes but have not been able to leave the country is dire, says the UN refugee agency.

The head of the Iraq Support Unit, Andrew Harper, told the BBC that an increasing number of provinces were turning the refugees away because they lacked resources to look after them.

He said with so many people in desperate need of shelter and food, Iraq was like a pressure-cooker.
[...]

Mr Harper said the UN agency had raised the issue with the central government in Baghdad, but was told that the local authorities had been urged to shelter the fleeing Iraqis.

This means that local governments are in effect ignoring directives from Baghdad.

- Truthout.org

With control from Baghdad gone, things are getting ever more grim for the outlying areas of the country, and displaced refugees showing up makes things worse, rather than better. I wonder what happens to the refugees who come across one of those giant American military bases they built out in the desert. Do you think they get taken in?



Marines Tired Of Fighting The Wrong War.

The Marines, reasonably tough hombres that they are, have decided that skulking around the streets of Baghdad, shooting people and getting blown up is not a productive use of their time. So they're pressing to go back to Afghanistan. Talk about frypans and fires.

The idea by the Marine Corps commandant would effectively leave the Iraq war in the hands of the Army while giving the Marines a prominent new role in Afghanistan, under overall NATO command.

The suggestion was raised in a session last week convened by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and regional war-fighting commanders. While still under review, its supporters, including some in the Army, argue that a realignment could allow the Army and Marines each to operate more efficiently in sustaining troop levels for two wars that have put a strain on their forces.

As described by officials who had been briefed on the closed-door discussion, the idea represents the first tangible new thinking to emerge since the White House last month endorsed a plan to begin gradual troop withdrawals from Iraq, but also signals that American forces likely will be in Iraq for years to come.

- Truthout.org

That's it? That's the first big new idea that's come across, to put the better forces into the more important war? You've got to wonder if Homer Simpson really is running the power plant at this stage.



America Still Not "America".

America, as we all know, doesn't torture people. That's what evil nations do. So it's been with something of a difficulty that we've had to accept the reality that the good guys actually do torture people. I think. Or that America isn't good? What do you think, former President Jimmy Carter:

Washington - The United States tortures prisoners in violation of international law, former President Carter said Wednesday.

"I don't think it. I know it," Carter told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

"Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of human rights," Carter said. "We've said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an accusation of a crime to which they are accused."

Carter also said President Bush creates his own definition of human rights.

Carter's comments come on the heels of an October 4 article in The New York Times disclosing the existence of secret Justice Department memorandums supporting the use of "harsh interrogation techniques." These include "head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures," according to the Times.

The White House last week confirmed the existence of the documents but would not make them public.

Responding to the newspaper report Friday, Bush defended the techniques used, saying, "This government does not torture people."

I'm so confused. The government doesn;t torture, but America does, but good guys don't, but apparently they do? Either this is something good guys do, or there are no good guys. And there never was.

Asked about Bush's comments, Carter said, "That's not an accurate statement if you use the international norms of torture as has always been honored -- certainly in the last 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated.

"But you can make your own definition of human rights and say we don't violate them, and you can make your own definition of torture and say we don't violate them."

After reading a transcript of Carter's remarks, a senior White House official said, "Our position is clear. We don't torture."

- Truthout.org

Oh wait, I get it. Since members of the White House don't physically torture people (except possibly Cheney), then they can say that the Govt, and therefore the people, do not torture. It the exact same way I can say 'I don't repair my VCR.', because I pay people to do it. Or not.


La la la, not listening to Geoffrey!



American Soldiers Screwed Over. Again.

Apparently, it's not enough to get sent off to fight an illegal, bullshit, unwinnable war in Iraq, you also have get screwed out of an education through bullshit administrative rules.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (NBC) -- When they came home from Iraq, 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard had been deployed longer than any other ground combat unit. The tour lasted 22 months and had been extended as part of President Bush's surge.

1st Lt. Jon Anderson said he never expected to come home to this: A government refusing to pay education benefits he says he should have earned under the GI bill.

"It's pretty much a slap in the face," Anderson said. "I think it was a scheme to save money, personally. I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership... once again failing the soldiers."

Anderson's orders, and the orders of 1,161 other Minnesota guard members, were written for 729 days.

Had they been written for 730 days, just one day more, the soldiers would receive those benefits to pay for school.

"Which would be allowing the soldiers an extra $500 to $800 a month," Anderson said.

That money would help him pay for his master's degree in public administration. It would help Anderson's fellow platoon leader, John Hobot, pay for a degree in law enforcement.

- wcsh6.com

Wow, what a uniquely spiteful way of getting spat in the face for doing your duty.



Missing A Mechanical Arm.

Do you have something in your house that you totally rely on, and have done so for a number of years? Of course you do, and for me it's my super-duper VCR, which has now developed some kind of unfixable fault. I feel like I'm missing a limb.



America's Next Top Model Democracy.

As always, Satire can help cushion the blow of coming atrocities. Come now, take in the melding of regime change, and reality television.

americas next top model democracy.php




Gettin' Chased.

Q: What could be better than being chased down a busy highway by a bunch of trigger-happy cop cars? A: Rocket Launchers!

south-park-alien-chase.html

Film Review: The Kingdom.

The Kingdom is essentially an episode of C.S.I, set in Saudi Arabia. A terrorist attack in an American compound causes an FBI team to get themselves sent there to help with the investigation. Tensions ensue since a lot of Saudis apparently don't like Americans, and don't want them interfering. So they interfere anyway and before you know it, the day is saved. The flaw in the film is that the only reason the 'bad guys' are 'caught' is that they're stupid, and practically invite the Americans to chase after them in order to kick off an exciting final 20 minute action sequence that caps off the film.

What is this film? It's starts with a pretty terrific political lecture that sums up the history of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and America. But it rapidly declines into a standard procedural drama, ramping itself up to end as an action film. The bad guys are never given any time at all, we have no idea who they are and what they want, besides the cartoonish and too-simplistic 'hate America' shit. Since the bad guys are practically invisible, the film is unbalanced, one-sided. It also has the sense of a missing lead actor, perhaps because the leads play things so quietly.

Perhaps they're just being drowned out by the camera. Director Peter Berg shakes the camera with the intensity of the true believer. Must ...Show ...More ...Drama! The picture bounces, jerks and rolls as if it's caught in a hurricane. It's annoying, distracting, frustrating and ridiculous. The film loses out greatly in desperately trying to shake some drama into itself, and nearly caused me to walk out in frustration.

The film ends on a note that is particularly jarring. After enticing us into a violent, exciting and even cathartic finale, we are left with a twinned line of dialog that essentially chides us for enjoying it. Perhaps if the preceding two hours had actually been about the true differences in cultures, and an analysis of who the terrorists really are, and why they do what they do, not to mention a tough look at America's foreign policy, and who it victimizes in Saudi Arabia, then it could justify the tone of the ending. Ironically, the film itself seems to endorse what is the best way to solve terrorism: through police investigations rather than military action. It's only the standard Hollywood Guns-Ahoy finale that makes the chiding morale of the film so poignant. It still comes across as troubling, yet also a bit undeserved. Two children out of Five.




End Transmission.

Give Me A ...Tiger!

Conditions: Hot and Blustery.


Iran Just Wants To Talk.

It seems to me, a humble observer, that the more the U.S rattles it's saber and rants about how dangerous Iran is, the more Iran tries to calmly open international talks and explain itself. It's probably just an altered perspective, what with Iraq and all, but there's an image problem the U.S is definitely suffering from.

Iran is ready to help the US stabilise Iraq if Washington presents a timetable for a withdrawal of its troops, Tehran’s top security official said on Sunday.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, which answers to Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, rejected Washington’s accusations that Tehran is providing weapons to Iraqi militias, insisting the trouble with Iraq was that the US administration was pursuing a “dead-end strategy”.

Mr Larijani maintained it was time world powers realised Iran’s nuclear progress could not be reversed and that they should enter into negotiations with Tehran without preconditions.
[...]

Mr Larijani suggested that both the US Democratic party and the British were getting it right in Iraq. The Democrats’ push for a timetable for withdrawal “seems to be logical”, he said, and the British were “more intelligent than the Americans”, having made the “necessary adjustments” and retreated to Basra airport.

“If they [the Americans] have a clear definition of a timetable we’ll help them materialise it,” Mr Larijani said. “If the US is persisting with its mistakes, it shouldn’t ask for help from us.”

- FT.com

Whether Bush likes it or not (...not), Iran is a major player, and they are going to have to be co-operated with. And Iran knows this, they know they're sitting in a seat of power right now, with Iraq a mess, and America over-committed in it's great Oil Gamble. Iran wants to help, but you've got to let them help on their terms. Either keep sinking into the quagmire, or start realising that the way out is to stop treating the dangling jungle vines as vicious snakes. So to speak.



Thompson's An Idiot.

Fred Thompson, the actor turned Republican Presidential Candidate, made some statements this week about Saddam Hussein, WMDs, and the war in Iraq. I'll leave it to you to judge the man based on what he says.

Newton, Ia. — Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson said Monday he was certain former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction prior to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a point of contention in the 41/2years since the war began.

“We can’t forget the fact that although at a particular point in time we never found any WMD down there, he clearly had had WMD. He clearly had had the beginnings of a nuclear program,” Thompson told an audience of about 60 at a Newton cafe.
[...]

Thompson made the original statement while explaining why he felt the war was justified, despite the Bush administration’s chief justification for the invasion turning out to not be verifiable.

“In my estimation, his intent never did change,” Thompson said. “And by today, he clearly would have had that (weapons program) rejuvenated.”

- Desmoines Register.com

Wearing Their Keyboards A Little Too Tightly?

You know, back in the day, it wasn't that difficult to be a (lowercase) god. You had to look the part, of course. Some paint, a crown and a cape would go far. A little bit of huckster-ism came in handy, some street-magician stuff, knowing when an eclipse would occur, or the shift of the seasons, things like that. Some luck and some gullibility could see you through. It's a bit different now. Now it's all about creating universes and saving babies from burning buildings and whatnot. Unfortunately buildings catch on fire every day, and the universe seems to be taking care of itself, so where do our modern, hip, internet-savvy kids look for god nowadays? Where they look for everything else.

Google is the closest thing to an Omniscient (all-knowing) entity in existence, which can be scientifically verified. She indexes over 9.5 billion WebPages, which is more than any other search engine on the web today. Not only is Google the closest known entity to being Omniscient, but She also sorts through this vast amount of knowledge using Her patented PageRank technology, organizing said data and making it easily accessible to us mere mortals.

- The Church Of Google.org

Online Music For All?

Two stories from the music industry mark a changing point in the business, an industry that until now has been constrained by the need for the producers to control the content, so users can't just give copies to their friends at the click of a button. Story A:

WASHINGTON, DC--(MARKET WIRE)--Oct 4, 2007 -- Sending shockwaves through the industry and the crowd of the Digital Music Conference in Los Angeles yesterday, Microsoft became the latest and largest music retailer to offer DRM-free digital music. Yesterday's announcement comes less than two weeks after Amazon.com launched its own DRM-free digital music store. The Microsoft Music Store will offer consumers more than one million DRM-free songs.


"The industry standard has shifted in the past six months and the tide has turned in favor of consumers," Maura Corbett, a spokesperson for the Digital Freedom Campaign said. "The number of digital music retailers offering DRM-free music will soon outnumber those that do not, and consumers will soon live in a world where they can listen to legally purchased music when, how, and where they want. We congratulate Microsoft for joining the growing number of retailers and labels that have realized the best way to increase the sales of digital music, is to listen to their customers."

- Yahoo.com

And, as a companion, Radiohead's next album ('In Rainbows'), to be released this month, has a somewhat revolutionary pricing structure.

In Rainbows will be released as a digital download available only via the band's web site, Radiohead.com. There's no label or distribution partner to cut into the band's profits — but then there may not be any profits. Drop In Rainbows' 15 songs into the online checkout basket and a question mark pops up where the price would normally be. Click it, and the prompt "It's Up To You" appears. Click again and it refreshes with the words "It's Really Up To You" — and really, it is. It's the first major album whose price is determined by what individual consumers want to pay for it. And it's perfectly acceptable to pay nothing at all.

Radiohead's contract with EMI/Capitol expired after its last record, Hail to the Thief, was released in 2003; shortly before the band started writing new songs, singer Thom Yorke told TIME, "I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say 'F___ you' to this decaying business model." On Sunday night, guitarist Jonny Greenwood took to Radiohead's Dead Air Space blog and nonchalantly announced, "Hello everyone. Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days. We've called it In Rainbows. Love from us all."

- TIME.com

So, is this the end for RadioHead, and for the various labels associating with Amazon and Microsoft? Or is this the end of companies trying to control who can and can't play the music they've purchased? Honestly, I can't imagine just giving software that I've written away, to be used by anyone. How are people supposed to make a living in that business model? Perhaps the music industry can survive due to it's size, but I sincerely believe this is a move that will hurt them financially.



Car Update!

Okay, so we failed the first attempt at getting a warrant (which was a bit galling since I followed an even older car, which passed with flying colours), now we have to purchase new parts to replace worn ones, and schedule someone to do the heavy lifting. Sigh. Could be worse, I suppose. At least I can still get parts.



Human LCD.

Time was when you could sit in a grandstand and, apart from the occasional Mexican Wave, just sit there and watch the field. Well, a video here of some spectators in South Korea watching a soccer game really changes the dynamic. Watch the video at the link, it's literally more effort being put in than the players on the field.



- LiveLeak.com




Film Review: Rush Hour 3.

There's nothing wrong with the buddy-cop movie. Two disparate characters who team up to take on a tough case and a cadre of bad guys has been a well-regarded staple of Hollywood for God knows how many years. The teaming of stunt man extraordinare Jackie Chan and Chris 'The Mouth' Tucker is yet another smart iteration of this category of film. And despite being directed by Brett Ratner, Rush Hour's 1 and 2 were reasonably good films, exciting and funny. Rush Hour 3, though, is where the wheels have come off the bus.

They're just really not trying any more. The plot is a hackneyed bit of fluff. The characters are stereotyped to soap opera levels, and the actors all seem to be going through the motions, just racking up another film, with the only point being that this time they're in Paris. That's really it. I have to say, the level of cliche at every point of the story are very surprising, as if the script was pulled out of a drawer somewhere, and everyone figured it was good enough. I realise Jackie's not as young or as fast as he was, and he still puts together a pretty good sequence, but he's got nothing to work with here. And you can almost see it in his performance. It comes across as Smokey and the Bandit 2. Everyone's having fun, but the picture suffers for it.

I know it's odd to want some quality from Rush Hour 3, but the previous films managed to dig out some drama from among the cheese. This time around they're not really looking. It's still fun to an extent, but the paint has peeled badly. Two doors out of five.


So what does Jackie think?
Jackie Tells It Like It Is.





Peace out, y'all.