A bad rap for Gen. McCaffrey......
The gloating and "We told you so's" about the outcome of the effort in Iraq have already started. The pro-war BlogWorld [count me one] and some TeeVee news spots have zeroed in on anti-war groups, weasel countries, leftists and assorted naysayers of the principals and plans of the war. Many of these are dead on and the recepients are deserving of the reminders of how out of touch with reality they were. There were no mass floods of starving refugees, no hundred's of thousands of civilian casualties, no bombed baby hospitals, and mercifully our coalition casualties have been relatively light. And it appears now that the average Iraqi was indeed glad to see our military forces oust their tyrannt.
However, when I read these lists of the lame, it disturbs me to see the name of Gen. Barry McCaffrey listed with the Peter Arnett's, the human shields and the Not in My Name crowd as deserving of an "I told you so". Gen. McCaffrey is one of the nations most respected war fighters, a leader who led the 24th Division through the desert in Gulf War I, this after decades of good and true service. McCaffrey's name is brought up because he questioned, not the outcome of the war or it's purpose, but the military details in the plan of it's execution.
What needs to be said is that there were many professionals in the military who questioned the structure of the operation and the size of the force, and not just in the retired General Officer corps, but many of the same people who are at this very moment carrying out the plan. I have this on good authority from senior men and women I know who are wearing the uniform today and from correspondents who were covering the military before it became fashionable in the last several months. They questioned the plan not because they were negative defeatists or complainers, but because it is their job to make sure that our military does triumph. And to triumph on the battlefield one does not leave things to wishful thinking, to luck or to assumption, which is the feeling some of us had about the Iraqi war plan. Had the active duty questioners of the plan spoken up....yes they would have been out of line. Not so the retired officers who had a genuine concern and I think felt an obligation to lay the facts out as they saw them. Our military training says to use overwhelming force when you have it, not just enough to get by if all the assumptions work in our favor.
The last of the Vietnam era soldiery is leading the war in Iraq, and those of us of that period remember another self confident, don't question my plan Secretary of Defense named McNamara, a guy who had all the facts and data figured out. Everything but the most important. An enemy who didn't fight the way he had planned and who didn't give up even when slaughtered by the tens of thousands. Don't worry he said, the data is on our side, we have a plan.
I'm sure that Gen. McCaffrey will be the first to say that he is glad to see some of his estimates and worries did not come true.....yet. But for one, I'm glad we have this type of honesty at the highest level of the military. Or perhaps you would rather take the overly optimistic word of the paid "expert" ex-army captain with eight years service on Fox News? I'd rather have Gen. McCaffrey's opinion, thank you, and be glad luck was with us this time.
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
BBC Report....
One has to be very careful these days when listening to the media, and even more so when talking to the media. Thus it was last week when we hosted the BBC crew in our home in Midland, Texas. In my BlogWorld the BBC has the rap of being on the liberal side of things, which I generally believe to be true. Opinions of other Bloggers aside, I've just read too many BBC online articles that ignore the facts or slant them to the left.
Having said this, our Midland Texas online article came out today. The article is dead on with our comments without slant or innuendo. I couldn't be more pleased, as I personally liked the two reporters, Matthew Wells and Kevin Anderson, very much. We had a great time showing them our world, and it is nice to see our comments stated with veracity and without sly hints that we might some hidden agenda. I cannot say whether Kevin and Matt agree with all or any of our principles or our comments; they are good reporters, they didn't let their personal views get in the way of their reporting on how we perceive the world. We were truthful in our thoughts to them, and they were truthful in their reporting.
Once again I learn the lesson that, "contempt prior to investigation" is a trap that is all too easy to fall into and one that can lead to a closed mind. Thanks Matt and Kevin, and I hope our paths cross again.
BBC Midland Texas Article
One has to be very careful these days when listening to the media, and even more so when talking to the media. Thus it was last week when we hosted the BBC crew in our home in Midland, Texas. In my BlogWorld the BBC has the rap of being on the liberal side of things, which I generally believe to be true. Opinions of other Bloggers aside, I've just read too many BBC online articles that ignore the facts or slant them to the left.
Having said this, our Midland Texas online article came out today. The article is dead on with our comments without slant or innuendo. I couldn't be more pleased, as I personally liked the two reporters, Matthew Wells and Kevin Anderson, very much. We had a great time showing them our world, and it is nice to see our comments stated with veracity and without sly hints that we might some hidden agenda. I cannot say whether Kevin and Matt agree with all or any of our principles or our comments; they are good reporters, they didn't let their personal views get in the way of their reporting on how we perceive the world. We were truthful in our thoughts to them, and they were truthful in their reporting.
Once again I learn the lesson that, "contempt prior to investigation" is a trap that is all too easy to fall into and one that can lead to a closed mind. Thanks Matt and Kevin, and I hope our paths cross again.
BBC Midland Texas Article
Monday, April 07, 2003
Gen. Ali Hassan al-Majeed
The Minister of Information, People's Republic of Iraq announces with deep regret the untimely demise of Gen. Ali Hassan al-Majeed. Ali died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes related to recurring heart problems. Because of his tireless work in humanitarian assistance, the Iraqi people affectionately knew Ali as "Chemical Ali".
He will be deeply missed by his many friends, supporters and relatives, among them his beloved cousin Saddam. Speaking on behalf of the family his nephew LeRoy Hussein said, "Uncle Ali had a deep and abiding interest in helping mankind thru chemistry. I remember from the youngest age, when Ali got his first "My Lil' Scientist" chemistry set he would always push his experiments to the limit...and he could make the best "Stink Bombs" with only his limited knowledge".
Many friends and close observers had noted that recently Ali had not been looking well, with many of his facial features running with pus laden sores and blister like scabs. The Minister of Information noted that these symptons are common in patients with advanced heart disease.
Friday, April 04, 2003
BBC Oil Field Interview
In the field with the BBC
In the oil field that is. My second day with the BBC film crew allowed me, and partner Del Sloan [above], to give reporters Matt and Kevin a basic primer in the oil business, a tour that they had requested. We ate breakfast at JoJo's Cafe, a good ol' bubba kind of place where Matt was not to impressed with the grits, but Kevin loved the Huevos Rancheros. With their complimentary hard hats in hand and a warning about the dangers of hydrogen sulfide gas, we set off on a world of discovery for them.
We visited pulling units and pumping units, saw a frac job in progress and visited an oil gathering system. We spoke of how, we as lovers of the environment, are fastidious about cleaniness and how if we weren't the State of Texas is, and the amount of fines involved in errant pollution. We talked of the costs involved in drilling one well, a well that usually has a 1 in 5 chance of being really commercially viable. We talked of the geology of the region that is an ancient seabed, a region that produces 20% of all the oil and gas in the continental U.S. Being the digital guy, I explained to Kevin, the BBC digital guy, the slick solar powered metering systems we have, which allow us to see on our office computers what's happening at each well on an instantaneous basis. I think he was impressed.
I believe that Matt and Kevin came away with a new understanding of where the gasoline for their Austin Mini-Coopers comes from, and that being in the oil business is not necessarily evil, is not a ticket to instant riches and that there are many hard working average people involved. But most of all, Del and I and these two BBC guys just had a good time driving around West Texas being guys from different cultures explaining our points of view and discovering that even living an ocean away, we are still pretty much the same. A good sign for humanity.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
BBC crew at my Blog station
Blogging with the BBC
The BBC has had a radio, television and online media crew traveling the US talking to the citizens of the Blogosphere, taking the measure of the common folks thoughts about the war and current events. Today they were in my home, thanks to a referral from Jessica' Well. Julie and I were pleased to have them, if not somewhat apprehensive due to the liberal reputation that they have garnered.
They were interested in speaking with us in Midland, Texas as we are the hometown to two people figuring prominently in world events today.....our President George W. Bush and our commander in Iraq, Gen. Tommy Franks. When I spoke to reporter Matt, on the phone earlier in the week, I thought that he would be awed by my grasp of events both political and military and I would be the star of the show. However, when I told him that Julie had once worked directly for George W., my time in the limelight faded quickly.
We did interviews with Matt and Kevin for both TV and radio consumption, and to be put into text online very soon. Although we both were cautious about our comments, especially Julie's personal thoughts on rememberances of the President, we found Matt and Kevin to be very likeable, asking pertinent questions while seeming to be truly interested in our thoughts without any noticeable traps or leading questions. I hope the final product reflects that.
Monday, March 31, 2003
A Fishing Break
Streams commentary has been on a needed break these last days. I've been fishing. I have just returned from the big annual fishin' trip with fraternity brothers, a trip that has been made now for the last 28 years without fail. Not that I've been to every one of those, but I try. There is something about the continuity and being with guys that you've known since you were 17 years old that is comforting. If you are guessing, I've known this group for 36 years now. We've all been through good times and bad. Divorces, addictions, health problems, richer and poorer, but the fishing group survives.
I welcomed the break after a week and a half of continuous war news. At the Greenwood Ranch, there is no television and no cell phone service. So we had to resort to something that modern men don't get enough of.....long periods of conversation with real time to contemplate what is being said including enough time for silent reflection in between. Having lived in Dallas for a good portion of my post army adult life, I also get to catch up on what's happening in that big city and to find out that after being gone for 12 years, really it's still pretty much the same without me. I learn that many of my old friends are in the same jobs and careers, eating at the same restaurants and that the traffic is now even worse than in my days there. I try and explain that it takes me five minutes to get to work, I come home for lunch and that I can be on an airplane thirty minutes after leaving the house. I am met with those looks that say I'm making this up to justify my life in a smaller city. I am not. I love my life here, but I sure do love seeing those old familiar faces once a year.
Streams commentary has been on a needed break these last days. I've been fishing. I have just returned from the big annual fishin' trip with fraternity brothers, a trip that has been made now for the last 28 years without fail. Not that I've been to every one of those, but I try. There is something about the continuity and being with guys that you've known since you were 17 years old that is comforting. If you are guessing, I've known this group for 36 years now. We've all been through good times and bad. Divorces, addictions, health problems, richer and poorer, but the fishing group survives.
I welcomed the break after a week and a half of continuous war news. At the Greenwood Ranch, there is no television and no cell phone service. So we had to resort to something that modern men don't get enough of.....long periods of conversation with real time to contemplate what is being said including enough time for silent reflection in between. Having lived in Dallas for a good portion of my post army adult life, I also get to catch up on what's happening in that big city and to find out that after being gone for 12 years, really it's still pretty much the same without me. I learn that many of my old friends are in the same jobs and careers, eating at the same restaurants and that the traffic is now even worse than in my days there. I try and explain that it takes me five minutes to get to work, I come home for lunch and that I can be on an airplane thirty minutes after leaving the house. I am met with those looks that say I'm making this up to justify my life in a smaller city. I am not. I love my life here, but I sure do love seeing those old familiar faces once a year.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Europe reacts.....
French President Jacques Ch-Iraq, in anticipating an anglo coalition victory in Iraq, is vowing that the U.S. and the U.K. will not have a leading role in the reconstruction of the country. Jacques is tres irate. Insiders say that if the US and it's allies persist in thwarting his efforts he will consider military action. He has made secret plans to call up his elite troops including Le Brigade d' Ballet, the Coq d' Vin Corps and the Royal Grenadiers d' Frommage. He is quoted as saying, "If the US and UK are itching for a fight, we'll give it to them.....just let them try and get through the Maginot Line!".
And in Germany the alert citizenary are starting to boycott American goods. Notably mentioned in the boycott are Budweiser, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Marlboro products. And so, in another gift to the Germans from America we just might turn these chain smoking, pale, flabby, beer guzzling Aryan smarms into healthy people!
And from Dave Barry, an example of the trouble with the Germans
French President Jacques Ch-Iraq, in anticipating an anglo coalition victory in Iraq, is vowing that the U.S. and the U.K. will not have a leading role in the reconstruction of the country. Jacques is tres irate. Insiders say that if the US and it's allies persist in thwarting his efforts he will consider military action. He has made secret plans to call up his elite troops including Le Brigade d' Ballet, the Coq d' Vin Corps and the Royal Grenadiers d' Frommage. He is quoted as saying, "If the US and UK are itching for a fight, we'll give it to them.....just let them try and get through the Maginot Line!".
And in Germany the alert citizenary are starting to boycott American goods. Notably mentioned in the boycott are Budweiser, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Marlboro products. And so, in another gift to the Germans from America we just might turn these chain smoking, pale, flabby, beer guzzling Aryan smarms into healthy people!
And from Dave Barry, an example of the trouble with the Germans
Monday, March 24, 2003
Patience...
Today is Monday. It was one week ago tonight that President Bush drew the line in the sand for Saddam..."you have 48 hours to vacate the premises or else". It was another two days before hostilities began with a shot to the Tyrannts embunkered backside. Five days since the war began. And already the plethora of talking heads are asking "what's taking so long?" Sunday was described as a "day of setbacks". The stock market is down 300 points today because "traders are nevrous" that this could be a long struggle....perhaps months.
It would be easy to simply blame naive talking heads or nervous traders....but these mirror, in some sense, the general public. A youngish general public who relate a war with our high tech gear to playing video games resolved in an hour, and whose memory of a "real war" was Gulf War I. Neither of these have any resemblence to the present situation.
Let me shed some perspective from my days when I was in the "young public" category. 1965 was the year of the first real combat for American forces in Vietnam. I was a sophomore in high school. I watched [a misnomer...in those days we read] the events in Vietnam fthrough two more years of high school. I continued to read and watch through four years of college. In 1971 I became a member of the "Green Machine" and the war was still going on. Although the American combat phase was for the most part over and done by 1972, the US was still involved until 1975. That is ten years of war dispatches, news coverage, killed in action reports, demonstrations and heart felt grief.
In Vietnam we lost over 58,000 brave young Americans, the preponderance between the years 1965-1970. In rough averages that is 10,000 young American lives each and every year. Again in rough averages approximately 30 human lives each and every day, with perhaps three times that number wounded, and some percentage captured, tortured and executed by enemy forces. Every day for fiive years.
In those days most of us got the details of the day old news through newspapers and then the dreadful, Evening News, which would cram the days events into 30 minutes of video bites with short commentary in summation. It became a way of life for years. The deaths in ones, two's or three's did not even make the newspapers unless the death had a connection to your hometown. Deaths in large numbers took up a 2 minute segment on the TV news, and then on to other events.
I'll have to be honest and say that as an ex professional soldier, I am as transfixed by the continuous news flow of today as the general "general public". The wild rides through the desert with the good ol' 7th Cav, the images of the attack helo's pummeling the bad guys, the massive precision bomb strikes. It's not all a bad thing for people in our protected society to see the competance of our forces and to face the reality that war does mean death and destruction, both for "us" and "them". Seeing this makes us feel like we are right there. The problem is that 95% of our population is not right there, really. We are sitting comfortably at home just as if we've watching the next Ultimate Reality Game Show. We can turn the action off and go eat a pizza in our cozy beds. Our guys and girls in Iraq can't.
We at home can nitpick ourselves to distraction with the details, while missing the big picture. We are attacking all the way across an enemy country. In five days we have gone hundreds of miles across his own defended home terrain with minimal casualities. We are closing in on his capital and his leader may be dead or injured. I can tell you that from a military standpoint, this is miraculous. But there are rough days ahead, perhaps with more dead and wounded than we have seen since the worst days of Vietnam. We must keep our eyes on the prize, because the outcome will be decided in our favor.
Today is Monday. It was one week ago tonight that President Bush drew the line in the sand for Saddam..."you have 48 hours to vacate the premises or else". It was another two days before hostilities began with a shot to the Tyrannts embunkered backside. Five days since the war began. And already the plethora of talking heads are asking "what's taking so long?" Sunday was described as a "day of setbacks". The stock market is down 300 points today because "traders are nevrous" that this could be a long struggle....perhaps months.
It would be easy to simply blame naive talking heads or nervous traders....but these mirror, in some sense, the general public. A youngish general public who relate a war with our high tech gear to playing video games resolved in an hour, and whose memory of a "real war" was Gulf War I. Neither of these have any resemblence to the present situation.
Let me shed some perspective from my days when I was in the "young public" category. 1965 was the year of the first real combat for American forces in Vietnam. I was a sophomore in high school. I watched [a misnomer...in those days we read] the events in Vietnam fthrough two more years of high school. I continued to read and watch through four years of college. In 1971 I became a member of the "Green Machine" and the war was still going on. Although the American combat phase was for the most part over and done by 1972, the US was still involved until 1975. That is ten years of war dispatches, news coverage, killed in action reports, demonstrations and heart felt grief.
In Vietnam we lost over 58,000 brave young Americans, the preponderance between the years 1965-1970. In rough averages that is 10,000 young American lives each and every year. Again in rough averages approximately 30 human lives each and every day, with perhaps three times that number wounded, and some percentage captured, tortured and executed by enemy forces. Every day for fiive years.
In those days most of us got the details of the day old news through newspapers and then the dreadful, Evening News, which would cram the days events into 30 minutes of video bites with short commentary in summation. It became a way of life for years. The deaths in ones, two's or three's did not even make the newspapers unless the death had a connection to your hometown. Deaths in large numbers took up a 2 minute segment on the TV news, and then on to other events.
I'll have to be honest and say that as an ex professional soldier, I am as transfixed by the continuous news flow of today as the general "general public". The wild rides through the desert with the good ol' 7th Cav, the images of the attack helo's pummeling the bad guys, the massive precision bomb strikes. It's not all a bad thing for people in our protected society to see the competance of our forces and to face the reality that war does mean death and destruction, both for "us" and "them". Seeing this makes us feel like we are right there. The problem is that 95% of our population is not right there, really. We are sitting comfortably at home just as if we've watching the next Ultimate Reality Game Show. We can turn the action off and go eat a pizza in our cozy beds. Our guys and girls in Iraq can't.
We at home can nitpick ourselves to distraction with the details, while missing the big picture. We are attacking all the way across an enemy country. In five days we have gone hundreds of miles across his own defended home terrain with minimal casualities. We are closing in on his capital and his leader may be dead or injured. I can tell you that from a military standpoint, this is miraculous. But there are rough days ahead, perhaps with more dead and wounded than we have seen since the worst days of Vietnam. We must keep our eyes on the prize, because the outcome will be decided in our favor.
Sunday, March 23, 2003
The hard facts....
"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell."
Gen. William Tecumsah Sherman
Refugees flood in....
Just as predicted by the anti-war demonstrators, a virtual tidal wave of refugees have flooded into Syria by the tens of thousands. NO wait, make that 14 refugees. Another big disappointment for the "antis".
Eternal French Optimism....
In a bold statement, the economic minister of France, Frances Mer, thinks that the backlash against his country is over.
"In the last year, or rather in the last six months, I think the Iraqi events have already created negative consequences that France regrets now," Francis Mer told LCI television and RTL radio. "I'm not saying that to deny the intensity of the Iraqi problems, but the main part of the negative consequences from the Iraqi crisis is behind us," he said.
Think again Frog Face.... as we will no doubt discover more examples of French duplicity in Iraq.
"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell."
Gen. William Tecumsah Sherman
Refugees flood in....
Just as predicted by the anti-war demonstrators, a virtual tidal wave of refugees have flooded into Syria by the tens of thousands. NO wait, make that 14 refugees. Another big disappointment for the "antis".
Eternal French Optimism....
In a bold statement, the economic minister of France, Frances Mer, thinks that the backlash against his country is over.
"In the last year, or rather in the last six months, I think the Iraqi events have already created negative consequences that France regrets now," Francis Mer told LCI television and RTL radio. "I'm not saying that to deny the intensity of the Iraqi problems, but the main part of the negative consequences from the Iraqi crisis is behind us," he said.
Think again Frog Face.... as we will no doubt discover more examples of French duplicity in Iraq.
Friday, March 21, 2003
From Kosovo....
By Bajram Rexhepi, prime minister of the coalition government of Kosovo.
From The Washington Post.
March 20, 2003
There are moments in history when the world is confronted with an age-old question: Do you stand united in the face of evil, or do you close your eyes and hope for the best?
A cruel and cowardly dictator used his military and security forces to brutalize civilians. He flouted every international convention and norm relating to the protection of human life and liberty. He played on the good intentions and patience of the international community to buy time while his reign of terror prevailed across the land. He played the international community for fools.
We in Kosovo know something about facing evil, because that dictator was Slobodan Milosevic, and we were his victims.
For 10 years, our people faced the brutality of his police state. Villages were burned, women and children were killed, and all the while the dictator was given one chance after another by the international community to reform his ways. While they talked, our villages burned.
The UN Security Council could not agree on what to do. But our voice was heard, and under the leadership of the United States, a coalition of the forces of freedom confronted the dictator with an ultimatum. This coalition acted with the courage of its convictions, backed up by the promise of the use of force in the defense of human rights. In our hour of need, the United States, Britain and the rest of the coalition took on the dictator and liberated a nation.
We Kosovars know firsthand that peace is not simply the absence of war. Dictators will use the goodwill of the international community to buy time while they continue to crush the people under their control. Wherever men are denied freedom, there is a threat to peace. Whenever we leave them in bondage, there is a threat to our own dignity. Whenever we fail to act in the face of evil, a shadow is cast across the future of humanity.
Today the world is faced with the age-old question: Do we stand united in the face of evil, or do we close our eyes and hope for the best? We Kosovars stand with the forces of freedom. We know that when confronting evil, there is no compromise.
And so, in the coming conflict with Saddam Hussein, we stand with you, America. We are here to tell you that your sacrifices for the cause of human freedom are remembered. We are here to bear witness to the fact that the day of the dictator is over - and that peace can be ensured only when all are free.
By Bajram Rexhepi, prime minister of the coalition government of Kosovo.
From The Washington Post.
March 20, 2003
There are moments in history when the world is confronted with an age-old question: Do you stand united in the face of evil, or do you close your eyes and hope for the best?
A cruel and cowardly dictator used his military and security forces to brutalize civilians. He flouted every international convention and norm relating to the protection of human life and liberty. He played on the good intentions and patience of the international community to buy time while his reign of terror prevailed across the land. He played the international community for fools.
We in Kosovo know something about facing evil, because that dictator was Slobodan Milosevic, and we were his victims.
For 10 years, our people faced the brutality of his police state. Villages were burned, women and children were killed, and all the while the dictator was given one chance after another by the international community to reform his ways. While they talked, our villages burned.
The UN Security Council could not agree on what to do. But our voice was heard, and under the leadership of the United States, a coalition of the forces of freedom confronted the dictator with an ultimatum. This coalition acted with the courage of its convictions, backed up by the promise of the use of force in the defense of human rights. In our hour of need, the United States, Britain and the rest of the coalition took on the dictator and liberated a nation.
We Kosovars know firsthand that peace is not simply the absence of war. Dictators will use the goodwill of the international community to buy time while they continue to crush the people under their control. Wherever men are denied freedom, there is a threat to peace. Whenever we leave them in bondage, there is a threat to our own dignity. Whenever we fail to act in the face of evil, a shadow is cast across the future of humanity.
Today the world is faced with the age-old question: Do we stand united in the face of evil, or do we close our eyes and hope for the best? We Kosovars stand with the forces of freedom. We know that when confronting evil, there is no compromise.
And so, in the coming conflict with Saddam Hussein, we stand with you, America. We are here to tell you that your sacrifices for the cause of human freedom are remembered. We are here to bear witness to the fact that the day of the dictator is over - and that peace can be ensured only when all are free.
Thursday, March 20, 2003
War Chronicle Tidbits......
Thank you to CNN for this detailed and graphic picture of the battle as it is shaping up! Note: we are winning, notice blue line is longer than red line.
Here's......Hans:
In a very short but very interesting interview on ABC news with Hans Blix, he gave his personal thoughts on Iraq. When asked whether Iraq had WMD, Dr. Blix said, "well we didn't find any, but undoubtedly they do". About his personal relationship with Saddam, Blix, chuckled and said, "Well I never met the man, he thinks that he is the Emporer of Mesopotamia and would not deign to talk to someone as lowly as me".
Dan Rather:
It is now being reported that U.S. Marines have crossed from Kuwait into Iraq, somewhere near the Iraqi border.
Huh, how's that Dan?
Reporter to SecDef Rumsfeld:
Sir, now that the scheduled plans for the start of the war have changed, is this upsetting things?
SecDef Rumsfeld:
Well, I don't really believe we made you a party to the plans have we? Next question.
Thank you to CNN for this detailed and graphic picture of the battle as it is shaping up! Note: we are winning, notice blue line is longer than red line.
Here's......Hans:
In a very short but very interesting interview on ABC news with Hans Blix, he gave his personal thoughts on Iraq. When asked whether Iraq had WMD, Dr. Blix said, "well we didn't find any, but undoubtedly they do". About his personal relationship with Saddam, Blix, chuckled and said, "Well I never met the man, he thinks that he is the Emporer of Mesopotamia and would not deign to talk to someone as lowly as me".
Dan Rather:
It is now being reported that U.S. Marines have crossed from Kuwait into Iraq, somewhere near the Iraqi border.
Huh, how's that Dan?
Reporter to SecDef Rumsfeld:
Sir, now that the scheduled plans for the start of the war have changed, is this upsetting things?
SecDef Rumsfeld:
Well, I don't really believe we made you a party to the plans have we? Next question.
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Wings over Baghdad.....
8:35 local time and it's on. No sane person wishes war, but in this day and time no sane person can allow an insane tyrannt to flaunt international law, persecute his own people and build weapons of mass death. God Bless our Troops. And as my old commanders taught me years ago.....this is war give 'em everything you have.
8:35 local time and it's on. No sane person wishes war, but in this day and time no sane person can allow an insane tyrannt to flaunt international law, persecute his own people and build weapons of mass death. God Bless our Troops. And as my old commanders taught me years ago.....this is war give 'em everything you have.
Into action.....
Tonight, undoubtedly some action will begin in the long overdue military action against the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. My prayers are with the young men and women who will be asked to put their lives at risk. Here is my conjectured chronology of events.
Week 1: The bombardment will be unparalleled and by the end of the first week coalition forces will control 80% of the Northern and Southern regions of Iraq. Many large Iraqi units will surrender outright and will be found to be virtually combat ineffective, having plenty of ammuniton but no food. Chemical weapons will be used, but Uday will misjudge the wind direction wiping out his own Republican Guard. Hans Blix will say that he would have found these, eventually. The United Nations will put forth Resolution 1550 asking that inspections be given more time.
Week 2: 90% of Iraq will be in coalition hands, and special operations units will be immersed in Baghdad. Saddam is on the run seeking to return to his hometown of Tikrit, which doesn't exist anymore. Huge stores of chemical and biological weapons are discovered, all in packaging labeled, "Made in France". The UN discusses Resolution 1557, which asks for negotiations in order to avert war. France vetoes Resolution 1600 which hasn't been presented yet.
Week 3: Baghdad is effectively occupied. Saddam is spotted at a pay phone at the Saddam-11 convenience store and the chase is on! First he motors down Saddam Rd., taking a left on Saddam Dr. then a sharp right on Saddam Blvd. and quickly onto the Saddam Expressway over Saddam Creek trying to reach the Saddam International Airport. He is finally captured while trying to disguise himself as one of the 25,000 Saddam statues in the city. He claims he is a Saddam double. France enters the frey sending it's elite Mess Hall Unit, the Legion d'Escargot.
Week 4: Hostilites come to an end with the United Nations declaring a great victory. Kofi Annan says, "I knew that war was the answer, madmen like Saddam are never dissuaded by such things as negotiations or inspections". Hollywood actor Martin Sheen urges the Iraqis to fight on to prove that war is not the answer. On the home front, protestors urge President Bush to declare war on North Korea, they already have their "No Blood for Kim Chee" banners ready.
Tonight, undoubtedly some action will begin in the long overdue military action against the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. My prayers are with the young men and women who will be asked to put their lives at risk. Here is my conjectured chronology of events.
Week 1: The bombardment will be unparalleled and by the end of the first week coalition forces will control 80% of the Northern and Southern regions of Iraq. Many large Iraqi units will surrender outright and will be found to be virtually combat ineffective, having plenty of ammuniton but no food. Chemical weapons will be used, but Uday will misjudge the wind direction wiping out his own Republican Guard. Hans Blix will say that he would have found these, eventually. The United Nations will put forth Resolution 1550 asking that inspections be given more time.
Week 2: 90% of Iraq will be in coalition hands, and special operations units will be immersed in Baghdad. Saddam is on the run seeking to return to his hometown of Tikrit, which doesn't exist anymore. Huge stores of chemical and biological weapons are discovered, all in packaging labeled, "Made in France". The UN discusses Resolution 1557, which asks for negotiations in order to avert war. France vetoes Resolution 1600 which hasn't been presented yet.
Week 3: Baghdad is effectively occupied. Saddam is spotted at a pay phone at the Saddam-11 convenience store and the chase is on! First he motors down Saddam Rd., taking a left on Saddam Dr. then a sharp right on Saddam Blvd. and quickly onto the Saddam Expressway over Saddam Creek trying to reach the Saddam International Airport. He is finally captured while trying to disguise himself as one of the 25,000 Saddam statues in the city. He claims he is a Saddam double. France enters the frey sending it's elite Mess Hall Unit, the Legion d'Escargot.
Week 4: Hostilites come to an end with the United Nations declaring a great victory. Kofi Annan says, "I knew that war was the answer, madmen like Saddam are never dissuaded by such things as negotiations or inspections". Hollywood actor Martin Sheen urges the Iraqis to fight on to prove that war is not the answer. On the home front, protestors urge President Bush to declare war on North Korea, they already have their "No Blood for Kim Chee" banners ready.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
True friends and mates....
An old adage but eternal......you find out who your true friends are when times are tough and crisis looms. One of the truest friends and allies the United States has is Australia. Their Prime Minister, John Howard, has put up with double rations of crap from some of his constituents who see appeasement of dictators as the way to lasting peace, but PM Howard has stayed the course and is sending young Aussies to help in the cause of freedom. If you appreciate this as much as I do, please drop Mr. Howard an email note thru the following link:
G'day and Thanks Mr. Howard.
Oh Canada.......
I wish I was including a link sending thanks to the Canadian PM here also. If Australia is our close first cousin in the world, then Canada is our brother. Even though I live only 150 miles from Mexico, I still consider Canada our "real" neighbor. We are cut from the same cloth, our histories are parallel, our natural habitat generally similar and our love of personal freedoms paramount. There are many Canadian expatriates living in my oil field oriented home town and they are great folks. Obviously not all the world supports or likes the US, especially at this moment, but I thought we could count on Canada for support, if not in troops, at least in moral backing. Apparently I was wrong. Not that I will hold this against the majority of Canadian people, after all they are now under the thumb of a Francophile in Ottawa, but the electorate did speak in that decision.
But here is a thought for Canadians. We in the US have learned much in the last two years about who we are fighting and why. Have you? By offering up the apparent high moral ground of peace by appeasement you are only delaying the inevitable and buying time for yourselves. Read this carefully: The people we are fighting don't like you either! In their eyes, you are a rich, decadent, immoral and generally Christian country just like the US.
Read this again: They don't like you either.....!!
Wrath of the Vikings.....
And a very special unexpected thanks to Denmark for standing tall in the fight against tyranny. Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has decided to send a submarine, the Saelen, a corvette, the Olfert Fischer and a corps of elite soldiers into any conflict with Iraq. "The time has come to take a stance," Rasmussen said, in a statement released after US President George W Bush gave Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein until Thursday to leave the country or face war. [from Tim Blair]
Late Breaking News...!
In what may be the story of the century it has been announced that Saddam Defies U.S. Demand to Leave Iraq. This is stunning news! Saddam defies someone, what next? In a show of their massive support 5,000 people rallied around Saddam. 5,000? After millions protested in support of Saddam around the free world, the best these people can do is 5,000? Can this be telling?
An old adage but eternal......you find out who your true friends are when times are tough and crisis looms. One of the truest friends and allies the United States has is Australia. Their Prime Minister, John Howard, has put up with double rations of crap from some of his constituents who see appeasement of dictators as the way to lasting peace, but PM Howard has stayed the course and is sending young Aussies to help in the cause of freedom. If you appreciate this as much as I do, please drop Mr. Howard an email note thru the following link:
G'day and Thanks Mr. Howard.
Oh Canada.......
I wish I was including a link sending thanks to the Canadian PM here also. If Australia is our close first cousin in the world, then Canada is our brother. Even though I live only 150 miles from Mexico, I still consider Canada our "real" neighbor. We are cut from the same cloth, our histories are parallel, our natural habitat generally similar and our love of personal freedoms paramount. There are many Canadian expatriates living in my oil field oriented home town and they are great folks. Obviously not all the world supports or likes the US, especially at this moment, but I thought we could count on Canada for support, if not in troops, at least in moral backing. Apparently I was wrong. Not that I will hold this against the majority of Canadian people, after all they are now under the thumb of a Francophile in Ottawa, but the electorate did speak in that decision.
But here is a thought for Canadians. We in the US have learned much in the last two years about who we are fighting and why. Have you? By offering up the apparent high moral ground of peace by appeasement you are only delaying the inevitable and buying time for yourselves. Read this carefully: The people we are fighting don't like you either! In their eyes, you are a rich, decadent, immoral and generally Christian country just like the US.
Read this again: They don't like you either.....!!
Wrath of the Vikings.....
And a very special unexpected thanks to Denmark for standing tall in the fight against tyranny. Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has decided to send a submarine, the Saelen, a corvette, the Olfert Fischer and a corps of elite soldiers into any conflict with Iraq. "The time has come to take a stance," Rasmussen said, in a statement released after US President George W Bush gave Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein until Thursday to leave the country or face war. [from Tim Blair]
Late Breaking News...!
In what may be the story of the century it has been announced that Saddam Defies U.S. Demand to Leave Iraq. This is stunning news! Saddam defies someone, what next? In a show of their massive support 5,000 people rallied around Saddam. 5,000? After millions protested in support of Saddam around the free world, the best these people can do is 5,000? Can this be telling?
Monday, March 17, 2003
Chicken dinner cancelled...
Well apparently the offer by Saddam of further inspections and a free chicken dinner did not pass muster with the Azore's conventioneers. The gauntlet is now thrown down, though who threw it is up for debate. Saddam by refusing to stop lying, or the Western Powers [minus] who have said "enough is enough" no more negotiating stunts, it's time to "lock and load" and rock n' roll.
Looking in hind sight on the last six months there are two things that strike me. I have felt for some time that if GWB had been a little less bellicose in public but instead had made the diplomatic circuit on the QT drumming up support from the doubters and undecideds, he would have come out in a better spot today. As one of my favorite Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, said, "Talk softly but carry a big stick". Not that they would have all joined....hardly, but it might have cut down on much of the negative chatter from the ignorant.
Secondly, had the main body of weasels, Germany, France and Russia, put forth a solid front with the coalition of the free, perhaps Saddam might have been much more inclined to give the game up and retire to Corsica or some other vacation spot. But with three of his long time economic sponsors pledging peace at any cost, in additon to the peace marches by the naive and ignorant, he felt that once again he could worm his way out of a tight spot. Now because of the Weasels and peace marchers giving heart to Saddam, war is quite inevitable.
Of Course, this is all hindsight and speculation. But while I'm in that mode, my observation on how hostilities may begin. As of this writing the administration is deciding whether or not to give Saddam a deadline, 72 hours, to comply. Whether this limitation is set or not, is really unimportant. Saddam thinks, one way or the other he as 72 hours. And his experience in Desert Storm I was that immediately after the deadline passes, the bombs start to fall. I would let him think just that and perhaps carry out a few heavy sorties around the country every night to make him wonder, "is this it?" But the moon is full now, not a good environment for our night fighting armies and air forces. So make him keep his troops on high alert for weeks, and then deliver the main thrust. Nothing wears troops in defensive postions out quicker than being on alert for weeks on end.
There are two military geniuses from Midland, Texas.....myself and Gen. Tommy Franks and Tommy has the reins so I'll leave the details to him. He is up to the job!
Well apparently the offer by Saddam of further inspections and a free chicken dinner did not pass muster with the Azore's conventioneers. The gauntlet is now thrown down, though who threw it is up for debate. Saddam by refusing to stop lying, or the Western Powers [minus] who have said "enough is enough" no more negotiating stunts, it's time to "lock and load" and rock n' roll.
Looking in hind sight on the last six months there are two things that strike me. I have felt for some time that if GWB had been a little less bellicose in public but instead had made the diplomatic circuit on the QT drumming up support from the doubters and undecideds, he would have come out in a better spot today. As one of my favorite Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, said, "Talk softly but carry a big stick". Not that they would have all joined....hardly, but it might have cut down on much of the negative chatter from the ignorant.
Secondly, had the main body of weasels, Germany, France and Russia, put forth a solid front with the coalition of the free, perhaps Saddam might have been much more inclined to give the game up and retire to Corsica or some other vacation spot. But with three of his long time economic sponsors pledging peace at any cost, in additon to the peace marches by the naive and ignorant, he felt that once again he could worm his way out of a tight spot. Now because of the Weasels and peace marchers giving heart to Saddam, war is quite inevitable.
Of Course, this is all hindsight and speculation. But while I'm in that mode, my observation on how hostilities may begin. As of this writing the administration is deciding whether or not to give Saddam a deadline, 72 hours, to comply. Whether this limitation is set or not, is really unimportant. Saddam thinks, one way or the other he as 72 hours. And his experience in Desert Storm I was that immediately after the deadline passes, the bombs start to fall. I would let him think just that and perhaps carry out a few heavy sorties around the country every night to make him wonder, "is this it?" But the moon is full now, not a good environment for our night fighting armies and air forces. So make him keep his troops on high alert for weeks, and then deliver the main thrust. Nothing wears troops in defensive postions out quicker than being on alert for weeks on end.
There are two military geniuses from Midland, Texas.....myself and Gen. Tommy Franks and Tommy has the reins so I'll leave the details to him. He is up to the job!
Sunday, March 16, 2003
Come for Sunday dinner.....
In a surprising new development, Saddam Hussein has invited UN inspectors back to look around one more time and then come for a chicken dinner at one of his 400 palaces [to be decided later]. At U.N. headquarters in New York, Chief Inspector Hans Blix said he would study the invitation and discuss it with the council. Asked if the Iraqi invitation was a stunt, he told CNN,"I certainly wouldn't call it a stunt, Saddam has never been known to pull stunts. ... I think that they will actually serve chicken, but we will of course inspect it also".
Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Saddam's science adviser, Lt. Gen. Amer al-Saadi - the point man on disarmament - had invited the two chief inspectors to come to Baghdad at the "earliest suitable date to discuss means to speed up joint cooperation, but please not for another week, as we are still moving some items". Amer al-Saadi pledged to take inspectors to all locations where chemical and biological labs had been to show them that they are no longer there.
In another bid to show cooperation, Iraqi authorities gave inspectors the names of 183 more scientists involved in Iraqi chemical weapons programs, U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki said Saturday.These, of course, were due five months ago and Iraqi officials denied ever having kept names from the UN, but chief inspector Blix hailed this move as a show of real cooperation.
In Saddam's hometown, Tikrit, thousands of people including Baath Party officers armed with Kalashnikovs and men in Arab dress, carried portraits of the Iraqi leader and chanted "We love Saddam," as they filed past a local dignitaries in a reviewing stand. We seek one of two things: victory or martyrdom," said one demonstrator, Abdullah Rasheed al-Haza'a. To show their willingness to negotiate even at this late date, US officials pledged assistance in the martyrdom.
In a surprising new development, Saddam Hussein has invited UN inspectors back to look around one more time and then come for a chicken dinner at one of his 400 palaces [to be decided later]. At U.N. headquarters in New York, Chief Inspector Hans Blix said he would study the invitation and discuss it with the council. Asked if the Iraqi invitation was a stunt, he told CNN,"I certainly wouldn't call it a stunt, Saddam has never been known to pull stunts. ... I think that they will actually serve chicken, but we will of course inspect it also".
Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Saddam's science adviser, Lt. Gen. Amer al-Saadi - the point man on disarmament - had invited the two chief inspectors to come to Baghdad at the "earliest suitable date to discuss means to speed up joint cooperation, but please not for another week, as we are still moving some items". Amer al-Saadi pledged to take inspectors to all locations where chemical and biological labs had been to show them that they are no longer there.
In another bid to show cooperation, Iraqi authorities gave inspectors the names of 183 more scientists involved in Iraqi chemical weapons programs, U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki said Saturday.These, of course, were due five months ago and Iraqi officials denied ever having kept names from the UN, but chief inspector Blix hailed this move as a show of real cooperation.
In Saddam's hometown, Tikrit, thousands of people including Baath Party officers armed with Kalashnikovs and men in Arab dress, carried portraits of the Iraqi leader and chanted "We love Saddam," as they filed past a local dignitaries in a reviewing stand. We seek one of two things: victory or martyrdom," said one demonstrator, Abdullah Rasheed al-Haza'a. To show their willingness to negotiate even at this late date, US officials pledged assistance in the martyrdom.
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Why did the Chick cross the road?......
The Dixie Chicken's singer Natalie Mange is now singing a different tune. In a case of what came first, the Chick or the egg, Natalie has appologized for her recent statement in which she said that she was sorry that President Bush is from Texas.
The Chick, apparently being of a lower mental caliber, didn't realize that statements made in Europe could be transmitted back to the US. Realizing that she now has to come back to America, and presumably her home in Texas, Natalie wished to rephrase her statement. She indicated that what she really meant to say was, "I love George W. Bush, worked on his campaign, and would be his love slave if he weren't an honorably married man. And I just want my Texas fans to know that I have purchased an AR-15 rifle and 300 rounds of .223 ball ammunition and have offered to go to Iraq and pick off a few human shields". The fact that almost every radio station in Texas has been bombarded with hate mail against the Chicks was also viewed as a factor in this latest statement.
This is a nice attempt Natalie, but the egg is out of the cartoon, the true nature of your feelings is exposed. Perhaps you and the other Nitwits of Fame will heed a proverb that I learned long ago........."Never miss a good chance to shut up!"
The Dixie Chicken's singer Natalie Mange is now singing a different tune. In a case of what came first, the Chick or the egg, Natalie has appologized for her recent statement in which she said that she was sorry that President Bush is from Texas.
The Chick, apparently being of a lower mental caliber, didn't realize that statements made in Europe could be transmitted back to the US. Realizing that she now has to come back to America, and presumably her home in Texas, Natalie wished to rephrase her statement. She indicated that what she really meant to say was, "I love George W. Bush, worked on his campaign, and would be his love slave if he weren't an honorably married man. And I just want my Texas fans to know that I have purchased an AR-15 rifle and 300 rounds of .223 ball ammunition and have offered to go to Iraq and pick off a few human shields". The fact that almost every radio station in Texas has been bombarded with hate mail against the Chicks was also viewed as a factor in this latest statement.
This is a nice attempt Natalie, but the egg is out of the cartoon, the true nature of your feelings is exposed. Perhaps you and the other Nitwits of Fame will heed a proverb that I learned long ago........."Never miss a good chance to shut up!"
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Don't leave the light on...
In a move that was not unexpected, the French hotel chain Sofitel surrendered it's Manhattan hotel today. The French tricolor was lowered and was quickly replaced on the flagstaff with the Stars and Stripes. Sofitel chairman Paul Charoy, by all accounts a Frenchman, said, "This is not a political consideration, the move is temporary and we just wanted to be safe." Of course the French are well known for switching sides temporarily and putting their own safety above political considerations, morals and world wide responsibility.
For you traveling budget minded Gaelic Boycotters, Sofitel is owned by Accor, whose units include U.S. motel chains Red Roof Inn and Motel 6. So tell them not to worry about leaving the light on for you, you'll be down the road at the Holiday Inn where the flag of the United States flies proudly all the time.
In a move that was not unexpected, the French hotel chain Sofitel surrendered it's Manhattan hotel today. The French tricolor was lowered and was quickly replaced on the flagstaff with the Stars and Stripes. Sofitel chairman Paul Charoy, by all accounts a Frenchman, said, "This is not a political consideration, the move is temporary and we just wanted to be safe." Of course the French are well known for switching sides temporarily and putting their own safety above political considerations, morals and world wide responsibility.
For you traveling budget minded Gaelic Boycotters, Sofitel is owned by Accor, whose units include U.S. motel chains Red Roof Inn and Motel 6. So tell them not to worry about leaving the light on for you, you'll be down the road at the Holiday Inn where the flag of the United States flies proudly all the time.
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
TeeVee Land.....
Tonight, world events were put on hold for the extravaganza presentation of the First Annual TV Land Awards. Oh what memories of happy times! It was good to see all the stars of years gone by in this gala event. Some impressions.
*Sally Struthers is just about as big around as she is tall. When did this happen? The last time I saw her raising money for starving waifs, she looked like one of them herself. She must have raised a lot of money....and bought her own food supply.
*Rob Reiner is still a Meathead. Parodying Michael Stivic, he had to sing a little anti-war song. Where's Archie when we needed him?
*Lee Majors, the 6 Million Dollar Man, now looks like about a dollar and change. I wouldn't have recognized him, looking this very old. But, receiving the Super Hero Award he countered the Meathead by offering a tribute "to the real heroes, our Armed Forces". Way to go 6 Million!
*Barbara Eden at whatever age.....still looks like a babe to me. I Dream of Jeannie!
*Best award: Don Knotts as the "Best Sidekick". It's strange seeing him so old, when every night at 9:00 pm. he's a young Barney.
* It was good to see many of the Star Trek crew back together! By the looks of them, William Shatner seems like he could pop at any minute and if Scottie survives another week we'll be lucky. And I thought he was so young.
* Agent 99, Barbara Feldon, is a really classy chick.
*David Cassidy, aka Keith Partridge, has grown up to look exactly like his dad, actor Jack Cassidy.
*Oh my God, even Larry Matthews, little Richie Petrie, is an old guy now. Where has time gone?
*Shocking: Leave it to Beaver was virtually ignored, though June Cleaver, Barbara Billingsley did make a guest appearance. Where are awards for Lumpy, Eddie and Larry Mondelo?
*And in the big surprise of the evening, Carl Reiner announced that he is writing one final episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show for the remaining original cast, Sally Rogers, Richie, Dick and Laura! Tune in to TeeVee Land.
Tonight, world events were put on hold for the extravaganza presentation of the First Annual TV Land Awards. Oh what memories of happy times! It was good to see all the stars of years gone by in this gala event. Some impressions.
*Sally Struthers is just about as big around as she is tall. When did this happen? The last time I saw her raising money for starving waifs, she looked like one of them herself. She must have raised a lot of money....and bought her own food supply.
*Rob Reiner is still a Meathead. Parodying Michael Stivic, he had to sing a little anti-war song. Where's Archie when we needed him?
*Lee Majors, the 6 Million Dollar Man, now looks like about a dollar and change. I wouldn't have recognized him, looking this very old. But, receiving the Super Hero Award he countered the Meathead by offering a tribute "to the real heroes, our Armed Forces". Way to go 6 Million!
*Barbara Eden at whatever age.....still looks like a babe to me. I Dream of Jeannie!
*Best award: Don Knotts as the "Best Sidekick". It's strange seeing him so old, when every night at 9:00 pm. he's a young Barney.
* It was good to see many of the Star Trek crew back together! By the looks of them, William Shatner seems like he could pop at any minute and if Scottie survives another week we'll be lucky. And I thought he was so young.
* Agent 99, Barbara Feldon, is a really classy chick.
*David Cassidy, aka Keith Partridge, has grown up to look exactly like his dad, actor Jack Cassidy.
*Oh my God, even Larry Matthews, little Richie Petrie, is an old guy now. Where has time gone?
*Shocking: Leave it to Beaver was virtually ignored, though June Cleaver, Barbara Billingsley did make a guest appearance. Where are awards for Lumpy, Eddie and Larry Mondelo?
*And in the big surprise of the evening, Carl Reiner announced that he is writing one final episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show for the remaining original cast, Sally Rogers, Richie, Dick and Laura! Tune in to TeeVee Land.
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Axis of almost evil....
I saw this item today posted on Sgt. Stryker's website and they credit the original to Andrew Marlatt, of SatireWire, so I'll take their word for it. In any event it's just too good not to pass on.
-------------------------------------
Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be more evil than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address. Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil...in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil...we're the best."
Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.
"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So, you can only have three, and a secret handshake. Ours is wickedly cool."
International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered. Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the "Axis of Somewhat Evil," forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the "Axis of Occasionally Evil," while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the "Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable."
With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up...Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the "Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host he Olympics."
Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the "Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Some Nasty Thoughts About America," while Scotland, New Zealand and Spain established the "Axis of Countries That Be Allowed to Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick." "That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.
While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axis, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.
Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.
I saw this item today posted on Sgt. Stryker's website and they credit the original to Andrew Marlatt, of SatireWire, so I'll take their word for it. In any event it's just too good not to pass on.
-------------------------------------
Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be more evil than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address. Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil...in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil...we're the best."
Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.
"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So, you can only have three, and a secret handshake. Ours is wickedly cool."
International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered. Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the "Axis of Somewhat Evil," forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the "Axis of Occasionally Evil," while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the "Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable."
With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up...Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the "Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host he Olympics."
Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the "Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Some Nasty Thoughts About America," while Scotland, New Zealand and Spain established the "Axis of Countries That Be Allowed to Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick." "That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.
While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axis, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.
Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.
Monday, March 10, 2003
No Blood for Cash...
With a variety of talk floating around about just what interest the UN Security Council naysayers have in Iraq, I thought you would like to see some of the facts submitted by alert reader Joe Hannon. The information is from the conservative Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at The Heritage Foundation, so factor that in...but facts is facts.
WHO BENEFITS FROM KEEPING SADDAM IN POWER?
FRANCE
• According to the CIA World Factbook, France controls over 22.5 percent of Iraq’s imports. French total trade with Iraq under the oil-for food program is the third largest, totaling $3.1 billion since 1996, according to the United Nations.
• Roughly 60 French companies do an estimated $1.5 billion in trade with Baghdad annually under the UN oil-for-food program.
• Total Fina Elf, France’s largest oil company, has negotiated a deal to develop the Majnoon field in Western Iraq. The Majnoon field purportedly contains up to 30 billion barrels of oil.
• Total Fina Elf also negotiated a deal for future oil exploration in Iraq’s Nahr Umar field. Both the Majnoon and Nahr Umar fields are estimated to contain as much as 25 percent of the country’s reserves.
• From 1981 to 2001, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), France was responsible for over 13 percent of Iraq’s arms imports.
GERMANY
• Direct two-way trade between Germany and Iraq amounts to about $350 million annually, and another $1 billion is reportedly sold through third parties/countries.
• It has recently been reported that Saddam Hussein has ordered Iraqi domestic businesses to show preference to German companies as a reward for Germany’s “firm positive stand in rejecting the launching of a military attack against Iraq.” It was also reported that over 101 German companies were present at the Baghdad Annual exposition.
• During the 35th Annual Baghdad International Fair in November 2002, a German company signed a contract for $80 million for 5,000 cars and spare parts.
• German officials are investigating a German corporation accused of illegally channeling weapons to Iraq via Jordan. The equipment in question is used for boring the barrels of large cannons, and is allegedly intended for Saddam Hussein’s Al Fao Supercannon project.
RUSSIA
• According to the CIA World Factbook, Russia controls roughly 5.8 percent of Iraq’s annual imports. Under the UN oil-for-food program, Russia’s total trade with Iraq totaled somewhere between $530 million and $1 billion for the six months ending in December of 2001.
• According to the Russia’s Ambassador to Iraq, Vladimir Titorenko, new contracts worth another $200 million under the UN oil-for-food
program are to be signed over the next 3 months.
• Soviet-era debt of $7 billion through $8 billion was generated by arms sales to Iraq during the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq war. (February 28, 2003 Fact Sheet No. 1.)
• Russia’s LUKoil negotiated a $4 billion, 23-year contract in 1997 to rehabilitate the 15 billion–barrel West Qurna field in Southern Iraq. Work on the oil field was expected to commence upon cancellation of UN sanctions on Iraq. The deal is currently on hold.
• Russia’s Slavneft company is believed to have signed a deal around October 2001 with Iraq for a $52 million service contract to drill at the Tuba field in Southern Iraq.
• In October 2001, Slavneft, a Russian–Belaruscompany, negotiated a $52 million service contract or the Suba–Luhais field in southern Iraq. The oilfield is believed to hold at least 2 billion barrels. The contract is pending approval from the UN for additional drilling at the Luhais field.
• In April 2001, Russia’s Zaruezhneft company received a service contract to drill in the Saddam, Kirkuk, and Bai Hassan fields to rehabilitate the fields and reduce water incursion.
• A future $40 billion Iraqi–Russian economic agreement, reportedly signed in 2002, would allow for extensive oil exploration opportunities throughout western Iraq.
• Russia’s Gazprom company over the last few years has signed contracts worth $18 million to repair gas stations in Iraq. (Houston Chronicle).
• The former Soviet Union was the premier supplier of Iraqi arms. From 1981 to 2001 Russia has supplied Iraq with 50 percent of its arms.
CHINA
• According to the CIA World Factbook, China controls roughly 5.8 percent of Iraq’s annual imports.
• China National Oil Company has negotiated a deal for future oil exploration in the Al Ahdab field in Iraq. Total estimate of the contract is unknown.
• In recent years, the Chinese Aero-Technology Import–Export Company (CATIC) has been contracted to sell “meteorological satellite” and “surface observation” equipment to Iraq. This contract was approved by the UN oil-for-food program.
• CATIC also won approval from the UN in July 2000 to sell $2 million worth of fiber optic cables. This and similar contracts approved were disguised as telecommunications gear. These cables can be used for secure data and communications links between national command and control centers and long-range search radar, targeting radar, and missile-launch units, according to U.S. officials. In addition, China National Electric Wire & Cable and China National Technical Import Telecommunications Equipment Company are believed to have sold Iraq $6,104,000 and $15.5 million worth of communications equipment and other unspecified supplies, respectively.
• According to a report from SIPRI, from 1981 to 2001, China was the second largest supplier of weapons and arms to Iraq, supplying over 18 percent of Iraq’s weapon’s imports.
With a variety of talk floating around about just what interest the UN Security Council naysayers have in Iraq, I thought you would like to see some of the facts submitted by alert reader Joe Hannon. The information is from the conservative Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at The Heritage Foundation, so factor that in...but facts is facts.
WHO BENEFITS FROM KEEPING SADDAM IN POWER?
FRANCE
• According to the CIA World Factbook, France controls over 22.5 percent of Iraq’s imports. French total trade with Iraq under the oil-for food program is the third largest, totaling $3.1 billion since 1996, according to the United Nations.
• Roughly 60 French companies do an estimated $1.5 billion in trade with Baghdad annually under the UN oil-for-food program.
• Total Fina Elf, France’s largest oil company, has negotiated a deal to develop the Majnoon field in Western Iraq. The Majnoon field purportedly contains up to 30 billion barrels of oil.
• Total Fina Elf also negotiated a deal for future oil exploration in Iraq’s Nahr Umar field. Both the Majnoon and Nahr Umar fields are estimated to contain as much as 25 percent of the country’s reserves.
• From 1981 to 2001, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), France was responsible for over 13 percent of Iraq’s arms imports.
GERMANY
• Direct two-way trade between Germany and Iraq amounts to about $350 million annually, and another $1 billion is reportedly sold through third parties/countries.
• It has recently been reported that Saddam Hussein has ordered Iraqi domestic businesses to show preference to German companies as a reward for Germany’s “firm positive stand in rejecting the launching of a military attack against Iraq.” It was also reported that over 101 German companies were present at the Baghdad Annual exposition.
• During the 35th Annual Baghdad International Fair in November 2002, a German company signed a contract for $80 million for 5,000 cars and spare parts.
• German officials are investigating a German corporation accused of illegally channeling weapons to Iraq via Jordan. The equipment in question is used for boring the barrels of large cannons, and is allegedly intended for Saddam Hussein’s Al Fao Supercannon project.
RUSSIA
• According to the CIA World Factbook, Russia controls roughly 5.8 percent of Iraq’s annual imports. Under the UN oil-for-food program, Russia’s total trade with Iraq totaled somewhere between $530 million and $1 billion for the six months ending in December of 2001.
• According to the Russia’s Ambassador to Iraq, Vladimir Titorenko, new contracts worth another $200 million under the UN oil-for-food
program are to be signed over the next 3 months.
• Soviet-era debt of $7 billion through $8 billion was generated by arms sales to Iraq during the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq war. (February 28, 2003 Fact Sheet No. 1.)
• Russia’s LUKoil negotiated a $4 billion, 23-year contract in 1997 to rehabilitate the 15 billion–barrel West Qurna field in Southern Iraq. Work on the oil field was expected to commence upon cancellation of UN sanctions on Iraq. The deal is currently on hold.
• Russia’s Slavneft company is believed to have signed a deal around October 2001 with Iraq for a $52 million service contract to drill at the Tuba field in Southern Iraq.
• In October 2001, Slavneft, a Russian–Belaruscompany, negotiated a $52 million service contract or the Suba–Luhais field in southern Iraq. The oilfield is believed to hold at least 2 billion barrels. The contract is pending approval from the UN for additional drilling at the Luhais field.
• In April 2001, Russia’s Zaruezhneft company received a service contract to drill in the Saddam, Kirkuk, and Bai Hassan fields to rehabilitate the fields and reduce water incursion.
• A future $40 billion Iraqi–Russian economic agreement, reportedly signed in 2002, would allow for extensive oil exploration opportunities throughout western Iraq.
• Russia’s Gazprom company over the last few years has signed contracts worth $18 million to repair gas stations in Iraq. (Houston Chronicle).
• The former Soviet Union was the premier supplier of Iraqi arms. From 1981 to 2001 Russia has supplied Iraq with 50 percent of its arms.
CHINA
• According to the CIA World Factbook, China controls roughly 5.8 percent of Iraq’s annual imports.
• China National Oil Company has negotiated a deal for future oil exploration in the Al Ahdab field in Iraq. Total estimate of the contract is unknown.
• In recent years, the Chinese Aero-Technology Import–Export Company (CATIC) has been contracted to sell “meteorological satellite” and “surface observation” equipment to Iraq. This contract was approved by the UN oil-for-food program.
• CATIC also won approval from the UN in July 2000 to sell $2 million worth of fiber optic cables. This and similar contracts approved were disguised as telecommunications gear. These cables can be used for secure data and communications links between national command and control centers and long-range search radar, targeting radar, and missile-launch units, according to U.S. officials. In addition, China National Electric Wire & Cable and China National Technical Import Telecommunications Equipment Company are believed to have sold Iraq $6,104,000 and $15.5 million worth of communications equipment and other unspecified supplies, respectively.
• According to a report from SIPRI, from 1981 to 2001, China was the second largest supplier of weapons and arms to Iraq, supplying over 18 percent of Iraq’s weapon’s imports.
Sunday, March 09, 2003
God Speed..!
I received the email below from Tim Millar today, a friend from the Ia Drang Vietnam, We Were Soldiers, bunch with whom I am connected. The email is from a friend of his, Linda, a Senior Flight Attendant with American Airlines who volunteered to work troop shuttle flights to the Middle East. Her idea is to line the inside of the aircraft with printed emails of support for our young men and women who may soon be in harms way. What won’t fit on the walls will be passed around so that every soldier on that plane will know that we are all behind them 100%. Hope you can help........!
-----------------------------------------
"I am one of thousands of volunteers who are working military charters to fly our troops over to the Middle East. On my last trip the one thing that stood out to me is how important it is for our troops to know that we care. Protests are making a big splash in the media and that's what they are leaving home with. Regardless of our position on war itself, I believe it is important to thank all these men and women who are putting their lives on hold and heading for the dangers on the tip of the spear.
I would like to collect as much e-mail as possible to print out and take with me on the next trip and display them on our aircraft walls for the troops to read. I know it would be so uplifting for them. Veterans, parents with children, teachers with students -- anyone who wants to express their support for our men and women, please send your e-mails to drkbay@charter.net".
Thank you one and all,
Linda
I received the email below from Tim Millar today, a friend from the Ia Drang Vietnam, We Were Soldiers, bunch with whom I am connected. The email is from a friend of his, Linda, a Senior Flight Attendant with American Airlines who volunteered to work troop shuttle flights to the Middle East. Her idea is to line the inside of the aircraft with printed emails of support for our young men and women who may soon be in harms way. What won’t fit on the walls will be passed around so that every soldier on that plane will know that we are all behind them 100%. Hope you can help........!
-----------------------------------------
"I am one of thousands of volunteers who are working military charters to fly our troops over to the Middle East. On my last trip the one thing that stood out to me is how important it is for our troops to know that we care. Protests are making a big splash in the media and that's what they are leaving home with. Regardless of our position on war itself, I believe it is important to thank all these men and women who are putting their lives on hold and heading for the dangers on the tip of the spear.
I would like to collect as much e-mail as possible to print out and take with me on the next trip and display them on our aircraft walls for the troops to read. I know it would be so uplifting for them. Veterans, parents with children, teachers with students -- anyone who wants to express their support for our men and women, please send your e-mails to drkbay@charter.net".
Thank you one and all,
Linda
Saturday, March 08, 2003
World Bites....
President Bush has imposed sanctions against the leadership of the anti-white Mugabe government in Zimbabwe and immediately they fire off the ulitimate and predicted "racist" charge against the US. The same US that feeds half of impoverished black Africa....and recently announced a 1.5 billion dollar AIDs package aimed at Africa including.......Zimbabwe.
And almost forgotten Chelsea Clinton gets a six figure job right out of college....as a consultant. Sources say the job offer was based strictly on merit and not on her looks or connections. In a note of wonderment, I've always pondered how anyone coming straight out of college can be a consultant on anything?
In business news the US economy could be permanently crippled....Broadway Musicians are on Strike. This is a vital sector of the US GNP affecting possiby .00000003% of the population. The French have urged Bush not to launch strikes and are sending violins. But thanks to "virtual music" the strike did not affect plays, and such productions as "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "Take Me Out" and "Vincent in Brixton". I suppose this is good news, but it beats me, having never heard of any of these. My "broadway" exposure is limited to a high school production of Les Miserables I saw just last week. We had live musicians.
In very troubling news close to home, the Alamo is under seige by termites! The UN has urged restraint in handling the situation and wants to give Terminex inspections time to work. The termites are reportedly a virulent Mexican strain.
And in the most astounding development on the digital scene......the Blogger Template server is now working......... weeks after they announced that they had installed new miracle hardware that would prevent any further problems!
President Bush has imposed sanctions against the leadership of the anti-white Mugabe government in Zimbabwe and immediately they fire off the ulitimate and predicted "racist" charge against the US. The same US that feeds half of impoverished black Africa....and recently announced a 1.5 billion dollar AIDs package aimed at Africa including.......Zimbabwe.
And almost forgotten Chelsea Clinton gets a six figure job right out of college....as a consultant. Sources say the job offer was based strictly on merit and not on her looks or connections. In a note of wonderment, I've always pondered how anyone coming straight out of college can be a consultant on anything?
In business news the US economy could be permanently crippled....Broadway Musicians are on Strike. This is a vital sector of the US GNP affecting possiby .00000003% of the population. The French have urged Bush not to launch strikes and are sending violins. But thanks to "virtual music" the strike did not affect plays, and such productions as "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "Take Me Out" and "Vincent in Brixton". I suppose this is good news, but it beats me, having never heard of any of these. My "broadway" exposure is limited to a high school production of Les Miserables I saw just last week. We had live musicians.
In very troubling news close to home, the Alamo is under seige by termites! The UN has urged restraint in handling the situation and wants to give Terminex inspections time to work. The termites are reportedly a virulent Mexican strain.
And in the most astounding development on the digital scene......the Blogger Template server is now working......... weeks after they announced that they had installed new miracle hardware that would prevent any further problems!
Friday, March 07, 2003
Tidbits....
Nothing says "no war, peace in the Middle East" like protesters ransacking and looting the store of a Middle Easterner...
Peace Protestors Riot
Nothing says "no war, peace in the Middle East" like protesters ransacking and looting the store of a Middle Easterner...
Peace Protestors Riot
Thursday, March 06, 2003
Nine years...
It was nine years ago today that I gave up alcohol. That's a long time between cold beers. I didn't give it up easily or without a fight. That's the way addictions are. You go down swinging. And far down I had gone. From losing almost everything I owned and everything I was to almost losing my life, I had sacrificed everything for the next drink. It now seems completely crazy that a high achieving, positive personality, well educated individual could have come to that point. And it is insane but that's what unchecked chemical addictions will do...to anyone no matter his personal strength, character or best of intentions.
The entire story, like most, is a long one and you won't be bored with it here. But suffice it to say that I lived five or so years of sheer hell and that AA saved my life along with the help of friends and family. Not only saved it but embued in me an entirely different outlook on life based on gratitude for things both big and small. And not that this came easily either. Through those years of selfishness I had imagined that I could solve my problems alone and by my force of will. So I drove just about every human who offered help away. At some times the only true friend I had was my golden retreiver "Ranger". In no small way he helped save my life, giving me that one small spark to continue on so I could take care of him. Thus the name of my website Big Gold Dog.
AA is more well known and accepted today than in earlier times. Society has come to grips with the notion that addictions are a sad fact of life, and it is rare that any family today is not touched by them in some fashion. But AA is still somewhat misunderstood. As we say, it is not a program of promotion, but one of attraction. It is not about or against drinking or alcohol, it is about finding a way to live life on life's terms without alcohol or drugs for me or anyone else attracted to that notion. It is not about fighting the battle everyday, it is about giving up the battle entirely. Once I truly surrendered to the fact that I had lost control over alcohol the battle was over. I can honestly say that the hell I lived through was in most ways worth it. I see things as I did not before.
And finally a word of thanks and gratitude to all those who stuck with me during those dark ugly years and those who came later who gave me the opportunity to live a new life. This Pepsi's for you!
It was nine years ago today that I gave up alcohol. That's a long time between cold beers. I didn't give it up easily or without a fight. That's the way addictions are. You go down swinging. And far down I had gone. From losing almost everything I owned and everything I was to almost losing my life, I had sacrificed everything for the next drink. It now seems completely crazy that a high achieving, positive personality, well educated individual could have come to that point. And it is insane but that's what unchecked chemical addictions will do...to anyone no matter his personal strength, character or best of intentions.
The entire story, like most, is a long one and you won't be bored with it here. But suffice it to say that I lived five or so years of sheer hell and that AA saved my life along with the help of friends and family. Not only saved it but embued in me an entirely different outlook on life based on gratitude for things both big and small. And not that this came easily either. Through those years of selfishness I had imagined that I could solve my problems alone and by my force of will. So I drove just about every human who offered help away. At some times the only true friend I had was my golden retreiver "Ranger". In no small way he helped save my life, giving me that one small spark to continue on so I could take care of him. Thus the name of my website Big Gold Dog.
AA is more well known and accepted today than in earlier times. Society has come to grips with the notion that addictions are a sad fact of life, and it is rare that any family today is not touched by them in some fashion. But AA is still somewhat misunderstood. As we say, it is not a program of promotion, but one of attraction. It is not about or against drinking or alcohol, it is about finding a way to live life on life's terms without alcohol or drugs for me or anyone else attracted to that notion. It is not about fighting the battle everyday, it is about giving up the battle entirely. Once I truly surrendered to the fact that I had lost control over alcohol the battle was over. I can honestly say that the hell I lived through was in most ways worth it. I see things as I did not before.
And finally a word of thanks and gratitude to all those who stuck with me during those dark ugly years and those who came later who gave me the opportunity to live a new life. This Pepsi's for you!
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
Not my Daddy's Army any more......
In a "slap in yo face!" for future blonde jokes and a kick in the butt for the Islamonazi's I hope that you will take a long look at this proud photo and then come back to read....the rest of the story.
Ok, a great picture.....and these proud Americans are a first. The first all female crew to man [no pun intended, it's just a word] a KC-135 aircraft in a combat zone. The women are: Clockwise from lower left) 1stLt Alison, Capts Heather and Waynetta, and Senior Airman Lyndi [Last names withheld for operational security.] of the 376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron of Robins Air Force Base, Ga. The story in the press release reads.
--------------------------
......."They have been deployed here since Dec 9. Once inside the tanker, the women began their pre-flight and take-off duties with an ease borne of plenty of experience and skill. Most of them have deployed before, to places like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iceland and Thailand.
Between the four of them, they total almost 4,000 flying hours in the KC-135. The flight path to Afghanistan traversed three of the "Stans." The country itself remains a dangerous place. Just a few days before the historic flight, coalition forces on the ground encountered the heaviest fighting since Operation Anaconda last year. Norwegian F-16s from Ganci dropped munitions in support from the air.
Once over Afghanistan, the crew got down to business, refueling F-16s from the European participating air forces of Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. Based at Ganci, the aircraft provide combat air support to coalition ground forces.
In the refueling world, the motto is, "Nobody kicks ass without Tanker gas." The crew emulated that motto when the boom operator connected two moving aircraft together on a night with 1 percent moon illumination.
"It's awesome knowing that I'm having a direct impact on the mission," said Lyndi on her 17th combat mission over Afghanistan. "The fighters couldn't put bombs on target without gas, and I'm the one who gets it to
them," she said. More than 50,000 combat missions have been flown in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In all, Lyndi refueled 10 European F-16s during the flight, off-loading 63,000 pounds of fuel. "I'm accomplishing something with my Air Force career," said Alison. This is especially true in the case of OEF, an operation that more than 1,800 women support, according to the public affairs office at Central Air Forces, the air component of U.S. Central Command.
"I've always thought the greatest thing I could do with my life was to serve my country and be willing to die for it -- for my family, my neighbors, people I don't even know," Waynetta said. "Now, we're here supporting troops in Afghanistan who are defending our freedom and way of life." Basking in the early morning sunlight, the tanker headed
back to Ganci. As the snow-capped mountains poked out above the clouds, the women reflected on the significance of the flight. "All we wanted was to fly together," said Lyndi. "I'm so excited we got to do it."
"We believe in equality," Waynetta said. "But, the fact of the matter is, we're still girls and we're doing something our grandmothers couldn't do."
---------------------------
You go girls.....we're damn proud of you....no blonde jokes from me. The only question I have is, "Are you old enough to drive?"
In a "slap in yo face!" for future blonde jokes and a kick in the butt for the Islamonazi's I hope that you will take a long look at this proud photo and then come back to read....the rest of the story.
Ok, a great picture.....and these proud Americans are a first. The first all female crew to man [no pun intended, it's just a word] a KC-135 aircraft in a combat zone. The women are: Clockwise from lower left) 1stLt Alison, Capts Heather and Waynetta, and Senior Airman Lyndi [Last names withheld for operational security.] of the 376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron of Robins Air Force Base, Ga. The story in the press release reads.
--------------------------
......."They have been deployed here since Dec 9. Once inside the tanker, the women began their pre-flight and take-off duties with an ease borne of plenty of experience and skill. Most of them have deployed before, to places like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iceland and Thailand.
Between the four of them, they total almost 4,000 flying hours in the KC-135. The flight path to Afghanistan traversed three of the "Stans." The country itself remains a dangerous place. Just a few days before the historic flight, coalition forces on the ground encountered the heaviest fighting since Operation Anaconda last year. Norwegian F-16s from Ganci dropped munitions in support from the air.
Once over Afghanistan, the crew got down to business, refueling F-16s from the European participating air forces of Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. Based at Ganci, the aircraft provide combat air support to coalition ground forces.
In the refueling world, the motto is, "Nobody kicks ass without Tanker gas." The crew emulated that motto when the boom operator connected two moving aircraft together on a night with 1 percent moon illumination.
"It's awesome knowing that I'm having a direct impact on the mission," said Lyndi on her 17th combat mission over Afghanistan. "The fighters couldn't put bombs on target without gas, and I'm the one who gets it to
them," she said. More than 50,000 combat missions have been flown in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In all, Lyndi refueled 10 European F-16s during the flight, off-loading 63,000 pounds of fuel. "I'm accomplishing something with my Air Force career," said Alison. This is especially true in the case of OEF, an operation that more than 1,800 women support, according to the public affairs office at Central Air Forces, the air component of U.S. Central Command.
"I've always thought the greatest thing I could do with my life was to serve my country and be willing to die for it -- for my family, my neighbors, people I don't even know," Waynetta said. "Now, we're here supporting troops in Afghanistan who are defending our freedom and way of life." Basking in the early morning sunlight, the tanker headed
back to Ganci. As the snow-capped mountains poked out above the clouds, the women reflected on the significance of the flight. "All we wanted was to fly together," said Lyndi. "I'm so excited we got to do it."
"We believe in equality," Waynetta said. "But, the fact of the matter is, we're still girls and we're doing something our grandmothers couldn't do."
---------------------------
You go girls.....we're damn proud of you....no blonde jokes from me. The only question I have is, "Are you old enough to drive?"
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
Mid-East TV Guide...
Not wanting to appear to be culturally insensitive I thought I would publish this weeks TV fare for Middle Eastern readers.
SUNDAY
7:30 - My 33 Sons
8:00 - Osama Knows Best
8:30 - Let's Mecca Deal
9:00 - I Dream of Jihad
9:30 - The Kabul Hillbillies
MONDAY
7:00 - Husseinfeld
7:30 - Mad About Everything
8:00 - Monday Night Stoning
8:30 - Win Bin Laden's Money
9:00 - Allah McBeal
TUESDAY
7:30 - Wheel of Terror
8:00 - The Price is Right.... if Saddam Says It's Right
8:30 - Children are Forbidden from Saying the Darndest Things
9:00 - Taliban's Wackiest Public Execution Bloopers
9:30 - Buffy the Yankee Imperialist Dog Slayer
WEDNESDAY
7:00 - Beat the Press
8:00 - When Kurds Attack
8:30 - Two Guys, a Girl, and Pita Bread
9:00 - Just Shoot Everyone
9:30 - Veilwatch
THURSDAY
7:00 - Fatima Loves Chachi
7:30 - M*U*S*T*A*S*H
8:00 - Survivor Iraq [chemical attack episode-repeat]
8:30 - Married with 139 Children
9:00 - Eye for an Eye Witness News
FRIDAY
7:00 - Judge Saddam
7:30 - Suddenly Sanctions
8:00 - Who Wants to Marry a Terrorist Millionaire
8:30 - Cave and Garden Television
9:00 - No Witness Left Alive News
SATURDAY
8:00 - Spongebob Squareturban
8:30 - Who's Koran Is It Anyway?
9:00 - Teletalibans
9:30 - Camel 54, Where Are you?
If you know of any programs we have omitted please add them in the "comments" section.
**Courtesy of alert TeeVee viewer Don Dulin
Not wanting to appear to be culturally insensitive I thought I would publish this weeks TV fare for Middle Eastern readers.
SUNDAY
7:30 - My 33 Sons
8:00 - Osama Knows Best
8:30 - Let's Mecca Deal
9:00 - I Dream of Jihad
9:30 - The Kabul Hillbillies
MONDAY
7:00 - Husseinfeld
7:30 - Mad About Everything
8:00 - Monday Night Stoning
8:30 - Win Bin Laden's Money
9:00 - Allah McBeal
TUESDAY
7:30 - Wheel of Terror
8:00 - The Price is Right.... if Saddam Says It's Right
8:30 - Children are Forbidden from Saying the Darndest Things
9:00 - Taliban's Wackiest Public Execution Bloopers
9:30 - Buffy the Yankee Imperialist Dog Slayer
WEDNESDAY
7:00 - Beat the Press
8:00 - When Kurds Attack
8:30 - Two Guys, a Girl, and Pita Bread
9:00 - Just Shoot Everyone
9:30 - Veilwatch
THURSDAY
7:00 - Fatima Loves Chachi
7:30 - M*U*S*T*A*S*H
8:00 - Survivor Iraq [chemical attack episode-repeat]
8:30 - Married with 139 Children
9:00 - Eye for an Eye Witness News
FRIDAY
7:00 - Judge Saddam
7:30 - Suddenly Sanctions
8:00 - Who Wants to Marry a Terrorist Millionaire
8:30 - Cave and Garden Television
9:00 - No Witness Left Alive News
SATURDAY
8:00 - Spongebob Squareturban
8:30 - Who's Koran Is It Anyway?
9:00 - Teletalibans
9:30 - Camel 54, Where Are you?
If you know of any programs we have omitted please add them in the "comments" section.
**Courtesy of alert TeeVee viewer Don Dulin
Monday, March 03, 2003
Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes...
Whatever the final outcome of the campaign to rid Iraq and the world of a mass murderer, I sincerely hope that the leadership in the USA will at long last change the way we use our wealth and bounty. Since the end of WWII the US has been the leading nation in the world's supply of foodstuffs, medicine and humanitarian assistance to the more needy, if not unappreciative, flotsam on the globe. In truth, the reason was partially selfish and self serving. In the mid part of the twentieth century there was a serious and real threat that Russia and China would spread their communist influence to less developed and unstable nations. They did this by handing out money and protection. We needed to "compete" with the red menace for the affections of the disadvantaged by in effect buying their loyalty, or at least their compliance. Right or wrong, this was the way it was for 50+ years.
But the world has changed with the new millenium. In the Western World, Russia spent itself out, literally and figuratively, and their former client states are now thirsting for capitalistic democracy. In the East, China has made some small steps towards capitalism or at least a more moderate form of communism, while robust capitalism in Japan and Korea acts as a blunting force to whatever communistic urges may linger in the Red Dragon. The young people in China are on the Internet. They have had a taste of capitalist decedance...they won't go backwards. And for all the angst and blood over Vietnam, it is becoming more clear that it had the desired effect on ambitions of tyrannts in the East. We lost that campaign, but we are winning the war.
For several decades, I believe, the middle majority of America has had a gnawing feeling that the global pigs had been feeding at our trough for too long. In the past we could see the benefit of slopping the hogs to keep some order, if not status quo in the world. This has changed with the campaign against Saddam, visibly changed, and the middle of America can feel and taste it. The US supplies half of all the world's relief in the form of food supplies to the weak and wandering. Half. And we get 2/3rds of the worlds hate directed back towards us. We announce that we will contribute billions of dollars to help relieve Africa's AIDS sorrows and we are derided in the major capitals of Europe as having designs on conquering the world. Through monetary and military assistance to Turkey we have helped them in becoming a modern nation, and they repay this with a vote of no assistance, even though we are trying to rid them of a murderous neighbor on their very border.
The time for change has come. Big changes. How well we could use some of the trilions we give away each year if we were to dedicate this money in helping our own citizens to have better lives through lower taxes, better schools, feeding the poor and a modern healthcare system for all. So....Turkey, you are a democracy, we acknowledge your right to vote as you see fit, but don't expect another dime from us. No credit either. Hey "non aligned" nations of central Africa, we hate to see it, but seems you may well starve because our breadbasket is closing and those who don't starve may die of AIDS, it's not really our problem. Germany, we are putting a "For Sale" sign on our bases in your country, closing the doors and moving to Lithuania or Estonia. They appreciate the cost of freedom there, and they'll also appreciate the extra billions in their treasury.
The time has come to stop giving money to people who don't like us. To not like us is their privelage, but we don't to have clothe and feed them so that they can throw stones at us. It's time for us to cut the marginal nations of the world free to swim, sink, die or get their bread from France. It's time to start developing better relations with countries who are among the up and coming. And not just coming up with their hands out. Countries in our own hemisphere like Brazil and Mexico where, though with their own troubles, they are making strides in democracy and workable capitalism. Countries in the East like the Phillipines and India. These are countries that have promise, countries who for the most part appreciate a capitalist democracy and moreover know that sometimes you must fight to preserve it.
I can only hope that our legislators, in the coming years, won't let our American spirit of generorsity override the treatment we have been accorded by much of the world in the last 9 months. Tell them, "Uncle Sugar's" checkbook is closed. Let the hogs get their slop courtesy of another trough.
Call it tough love.
Whatever the final outcome of the campaign to rid Iraq and the world of a mass murderer, I sincerely hope that the leadership in the USA will at long last change the way we use our wealth and bounty. Since the end of WWII the US has been the leading nation in the world's supply of foodstuffs, medicine and humanitarian assistance to the more needy, if not unappreciative, flotsam on the globe. In truth, the reason was partially selfish and self serving. In the mid part of the twentieth century there was a serious and real threat that Russia and China would spread their communist influence to less developed and unstable nations. They did this by handing out money and protection. We needed to "compete" with the red menace for the affections of the disadvantaged by in effect buying their loyalty, or at least their compliance. Right or wrong, this was the way it was for 50+ years.
But the world has changed with the new millenium. In the Western World, Russia spent itself out, literally and figuratively, and their former client states are now thirsting for capitalistic democracy. In the East, China has made some small steps towards capitalism or at least a more moderate form of communism, while robust capitalism in Japan and Korea acts as a blunting force to whatever communistic urges may linger in the Red Dragon. The young people in China are on the Internet. They have had a taste of capitalist decedance...they won't go backwards. And for all the angst and blood over Vietnam, it is becoming more clear that it had the desired effect on ambitions of tyrannts in the East. We lost that campaign, but we are winning the war.
For several decades, I believe, the middle majority of America has had a gnawing feeling that the global pigs had been feeding at our trough for too long. In the past we could see the benefit of slopping the hogs to keep some order, if not status quo in the world. This has changed with the campaign against Saddam, visibly changed, and the middle of America can feel and taste it. The US supplies half of all the world's relief in the form of food supplies to the weak and wandering. Half. And we get 2/3rds of the worlds hate directed back towards us. We announce that we will contribute billions of dollars to help relieve Africa's AIDS sorrows and we are derided in the major capitals of Europe as having designs on conquering the world. Through monetary and military assistance to Turkey we have helped them in becoming a modern nation, and they repay this with a vote of no assistance, even though we are trying to rid them of a murderous neighbor on their very border.
The time for change has come. Big changes. How well we could use some of the trilions we give away each year if we were to dedicate this money in helping our own citizens to have better lives through lower taxes, better schools, feeding the poor and a modern healthcare system for all. So....Turkey, you are a democracy, we acknowledge your right to vote as you see fit, but don't expect another dime from us. No credit either. Hey "non aligned" nations of central Africa, we hate to see it, but seems you may well starve because our breadbasket is closing and those who don't starve may die of AIDS, it's not really our problem. Germany, we are putting a "For Sale" sign on our bases in your country, closing the doors and moving to Lithuania or Estonia. They appreciate the cost of freedom there, and they'll also appreciate the extra billions in their treasury.
The time has come to stop giving money to people who don't like us. To not like us is their privelage, but we don't to have clothe and feed them so that they can throw stones at us. It's time for us to cut the marginal nations of the world free to swim, sink, die or get their bread from France. It's time to start developing better relations with countries who are among the up and coming. And not just coming up with their hands out. Countries in our own hemisphere like Brazil and Mexico where, though with their own troubles, they are making strides in democracy and workable capitalism. Countries in the East like the Phillipines and India. These are countries that have promise, countries who for the most part appreciate a capitalist democracy and moreover know that sometimes you must fight to preserve it.
I can only hope that our legislators, in the coming years, won't let our American spirit of generorsity override the treatment we have been accorded by much of the world in the last 9 months. Tell them, "Uncle Sugar's" checkbook is closed. Let the hogs get their slop courtesy of another trough.
Call it tough love.
Saturday, March 01, 2003
Mr. TeeVee.....
My good friend, business partner and fellow bon vivante Joe Galloway sends me this note about his next TeeVee appearance tonight on CNN....
"I taped a little spot as the Newsmaker of the Week to broadcast Saturday night on CNN Capitol Gang with Al Hunt. Show goes on at 9pm est; my segment shortly after 9:30pm est. Watch. They gonna use some movie clips, pix of me with the gun etc etc as background".
The picture he refers to is one of him from Vietnam, sporting his correspondents beret and totin' a Swedish Automatic rifle. I sent them this picture from our files the last time he appeared on CNN......glad to see they're getting the mileage out of it.
My good friend, business partner and fellow bon vivante Joe Galloway sends me this note about his next TeeVee appearance tonight on CNN....
"I taped a little spot as the Newsmaker of the Week to broadcast Saturday night on CNN Capitol Gang with Al Hunt. Show goes on at 9pm est; my segment shortly after 9:30pm est. Watch. They gonna use some movie clips, pix of me with the gun etc etc as background".
The picture he refers to is one of him from Vietnam, sporting his correspondents beret and totin' a Swedish Automatic rifle. I sent them this picture from our files the last time he appeared on CNN......glad to see they're getting the mileage out of it.
Thursday, February 27, 2003
Fountain Pen of Memories...
Call me an ignorant West Texas yokel, but what the hell are the people in New York thinking about when they want to build something like this as a memorial to September 11th victims? From this angle it looks like a fountain pen with fungus.
The project features "....a tower 1,776 feet tall, symbolic for the year of American independence, that would demonstrate the durability of democracy, while the top floors would be filled with indoor gardens as a "confirmation of life." The tower would be the world's tallest". Excuse my naive thinking but a monstrosity like this, an expensive fairly useless monstrosity at that, doesn't demonstrate the durability of squat except stupidity and having plants growing 1500 feet in the air confirms only my belief that good sense in New York is still a rare commodity. And here we go again with the having the "world's tallest building" syndrome...this just two years after the worlds second tallest twin towers came tumbling down. I suppose that the thinking is that terrorists won't be interested in flying planes into a building full of plants.
I have been to a fair number of memorials in my life and I think that the most "memorial" of all of these is the Arlington National Cemetary. Plain, pastoral and unadorned except for the graves of those who have served their country well. This tells it all, and has never failed to bring a tear to my eye. Tears of saddness and of pride. The thousands of simple markers tell the story of the Nation's sacrifices far better than a plant filled fountain pen.
"No blood for Megabucks Memorials"
Call me an ignorant West Texas yokel, but what the hell are the people in New York thinking about when they want to build something like this as a memorial to September 11th victims? From this angle it looks like a fountain pen with fungus.
The project features "....a tower 1,776 feet tall, symbolic for the year of American independence, that would demonstrate the durability of democracy, while the top floors would be filled with indoor gardens as a "confirmation of life." The tower would be the world's tallest". Excuse my naive thinking but a monstrosity like this, an expensive fairly useless monstrosity at that, doesn't demonstrate the durability of squat except stupidity and having plants growing 1500 feet in the air confirms only my belief that good sense in New York is still a rare commodity. And here we go again with the having the "world's tallest building" syndrome...this just two years after the worlds second tallest twin towers came tumbling down. I suppose that the thinking is that terrorists won't be interested in flying planes into a building full of plants.
I have been to a fair number of memorials in my life and I think that the most "memorial" of all of these is the Arlington National Cemetary. Plain, pastoral and unadorned except for the graves of those who have served their country well. This tells it all, and has never failed to bring a tear to my eye. Tears of saddness and of pride. The thousands of simple markers tell the story of the Nation's sacrifices far better than a plant filled fountain pen.
"No blood for Megabucks Memorials"
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
Duct tape still available...
In West Texas we still know how to conduct a trial.
Judge duct tapes defendant's mouth shut
In West Texas we still know how to conduct a trial.
Judge duct tapes defendant's mouth shut
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Down with [fill in blank here] Now! ...............
From Lisa at A Blog From A Broad come these photographs* of British protesters angry in their indignation about [fill in blank here]. One can hope that they know what they are protesting and that it is just their typical British reserved demeanor that prohibits them from actually wanting to offend anyone by mentioning their cause on their banners. Personally, I hope that they are protesting the habit of wearing underwear....one of the scourges of the 21st Century.
*Official [fill in blank here] protest photos courtesy of Mr. Chris Walsh , an actual person from Britain [not to be confused with Chris Gissing, another British subject].
From Lisa at A Blog From A Broad come these photographs* of British protesters angry in their indignation about [fill in blank here]. One can hope that they know what they are protesting and that it is just their typical British reserved demeanor that prohibits them from actually wanting to offend anyone by mentioning their cause on their banners. Personally, I hope that they are protesting the habit of wearing underwear....one of the scourges of the 21st Century.
*Official [fill in blank here] protest photos courtesy of Mr. Chris Walsh , an actual person from Britain [not to be confused with Chris Gissing, another British subject].
Monday, February 24, 2003
Weather Awards.....
....and in the category of "Best weather forecast by a drunk, or obviously mentally deranged weatherman", the winner is.........The Weather Channel. A portion of the award reads, "....for the distinction of predicting that the high temperature in Midland Texas on February 24th would be 60° with sunny skies, when in fact the actual daytime high reached only 21° at 5 a.m. and then sank to 18° in the afternoon with intermittent snow squalls, few true weathermen can match this abyssmal record."
I agree and it would be funny, except that acting on their late evening forecast of the previous day, many dupes did not bring their much loved house plants back inside and they now look like a two week old withered green salad. The Weather Channel, in my eyes, are nothing more than plant mass murderers and I urge you to protest and boycott the Weather Channel, and weather in general.
....and in the category of "Best weather forecast by a drunk, or obviously mentally deranged weatherman", the winner is.........The Weather Channel. A portion of the award reads, "....for the distinction of predicting that the high temperature in Midland Texas on February 24th would be 60° with sunny skies, when in fact the actual daytime high reached only 21° at 5 a.m. and then sank to 18° in the afternoon with intermittent snow squalls, few true weathermen can match this abyssmal record."
I agree and it would be funny, except that acting on their late evening forecast of the previous day, many dupes did not bring their much loved house plants back inside and they now look like a two week old withered green salad. The Weather Channel, in my eyes, are nothing more than plant mass murderers and I urge you to protest and boycott the Weather Channel, and weather in general.
Friday, February 21, 2003
Voices of the past......
From British historian and commentator Allistair Cooke.....worth the read.
Appeasing Hitler and Saddam
"I must tell you that throughout the past fortnight I've listened to everybody involved in or looking on to a monotonous din of words, like a tide crashing and receding on a beach - making a great noise and saying the same thing over and over. And this ordeal triggered a nightmare - a day-mare, if you like. Through the ceaseless tide I heard a voice, a very English voice of an old man - Prime Minister Chamberlain saying: "I believe it is peace for our time" - a sentence that prompted a huge cheer, first from a listening street crowd and then from the House of Commons and next day from every newspaper in the land. There was a move to urge that Mr. Chamberlain should receive the Nobel Peace Prize. In Parliament there was one unfamiliar old grumbler to growl out: "I believe we have suffered a total and unmitigated defeat." He was, in view of the general sentiment, very properly booed down. This scene concluded in the autumn of 1938 the British prime minister's effectual signing away of most of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. The rest of it, within months, Hitler walked in and conquered. "Oh dear," said Mr. Chamberlain, thunderstruck. "He has betrayed my trust."
During the last fortnight a simple but startling thought occurred to me -- every single official, diplomat, president, prime minister involved in the Iraq debate was in 1938 a toddler, most of them unborn. So the dreadful scene I've just drawn will not have been remembered by most listeners. Hitler had started betraying our trust not 12 years but only two years before, when he broke the First World War peace treaty by occupying the demilitarised zone of the Rhineland. Only half his troops carried one reload of ammunition because Hitler knew that French morale was too low to confront any war just then and 10 million of 11 million British voters had signed a so-called peace ballot. It stated no conditions, elaborated no terms, it simply counted the numbers of Britons who were "for peace." The slogan of this movement was "Against war and fascism" - chanted at the time by every Labour man and Liberal and many moderate Conservatives - a slogan that now sounds as imbecilic as "against hospitals and disease." In blunter words a majority of Britons would do anything, absolutely anything, to get rid of Hitler except fight him. At that time the word preemptive had not been invented, though today it's a catchword. After all the Rhineland was what it said it was - part of Germany. So to march in and throw Hitler out would have been preemptive - wouldn't it?
Nobody did anything and Hitler looked forward with confidence to gobbling up the rest of Western Europe country by country - "course by course," as growler Churchill put it.
I bring up Munich and the mid-30s because I was fully grown, on the verge of 30, and knew we were indeed living in the age of anxiety. And so many of the arguments mounted against each other today, in the last fortnight, are exactly what we heard in the House of Commons debates and read in the French press. The French especially urged, after every Hitler invasion, "negotiation, negotiation." They negotiated so successfully as to have their whole country defeated and occupied. But as one famous French leftist said: "We did anyway manage to make them declare Paris an open city - no bombs on us!"
In Britain the general response to every Hitler advance was disarmament and collective security. Collective security meant to leave every crisis to the League of Nations. It would put down aggressors, even though, like the United Nations, it had no army, navy or air force. The League of Nations had its chance to prove itself when Mussolini invaded and conquered Ethiopia (Abyssinia). The League didn't have any shot to fire.
But still the cry was chanted in the House of Commons - the League and collective security is the only true guarantee of peace. But after the Rhineland the maverick Churchill decided there was no collectivity in collective security and started a highly unpopular campaign for rearmament by Britain, warning against the general belief that Hitler had already built an enormous mechanised army and superior air force.
But he's not used them, he's not used them - people protested. Still for two years before the outbreak of the Second War you could read the debates in the House of Commons and now shiver at the famous Labour men - Major Attlee was one of them - who voted against rearmament and still went on pointing to the League of Nations as the saviour.
Now, this memory of mine may be totally irrelevant to the present crisis. It haunts me. I have to say I have written elsewhere with much conviction that most historical analogies are false because, however strikingly similar a new situation may be to an old one, there's usually one element that is different and it turns out to be the crucial one. It may well be so here.
All I know is that all the voices of the 30s are echoing through 2003. . . ."
From British historian and commentator Allistair Cooke.....worth the read.
Appeasing Hitler and Saddam
"I must tell you that throughout the past fortnight I've listened to everybody involved in or looking on to a monotonous din of words, like a tide crashing and receding on a beach - making a great noise and saying the same thing over and over. And this ordeal triggered a nightmare - a day-mare, if you like. Through the ceaseless tide I heard a voice, a very English voice of an old man - Prime Minister Chamberlain saying: "I believe it is peace for our time" - a sentence that prompted a huge cheer, first from a listening street crowd and then from the House of Commons and next day from every newspaper in the land. There was a move to urge that Mr. Chamberlain should receive the Nobel Peace Prize. In Parliament there was one unfamiliar old grumbler to growl out: "I believe we have suffered a total and unmitigated defeat." He was, in view of the general sentiment, very properly booed down. This scene concluded in the autumn of 1938 the British prime minister's effectual signing away of most of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. The rest of it, within months, Hitler walked in and conquered. "Oh dear," said Mr. Chamberlain, thunderstruck. "He has betrayed my trust."
During the last fortnight a simple but startling thought occurred to me -- every single official, diplomat, president, prime minister involved in the Iraq debate was in 1938 a toddler, most of them unborn. So the dreadful scene I've just drawn will not have been remembered by most listeners. Hitler had started betraying our trust not 12 years but only two years before, when he broke the First World War peace treaty by occupying the demilitarised zone of the Rhineland. Only half his troops carried one reload of ammunition because Hitler knew that French morale was too low to confront any war just then and 10 million of 11 million British voters had signed a so-called peace ballot. It stated no conditions, elaborated no terms, it simply counted the numbers of Britons who were "for peace." The slogan of this movement was "Against war and fascism" - chanted at the time by every Labour man and Liberal and many moderate Conservatives - a slogan that now sounds as imbecilic as "against hospitals and disease." In blunter words a majority of Britons would do anything, absolutely anything, to get rid of Hitler except fight him. At that time the word preemptive had not been invented, though today it's a catchword. After all the Rhineland was what it said it was - part of Germany. So to march in and throw Hitler out would have been preemptive - wouldn't it?
Nobody did anything and Hitler looked forward with confidence to gobbling up the rest of Western Europe country by country - "course by course," as growler Churchill put it.
I bring up Munich and the mid-30s because I was fully grown, on the verge of 30, and knew we were indeed living in the age of anxiety. And so many of the arguments mounted against each other today, in the last fortnight, are exactly what we heard in the House of Commons debates and read in the French press. The French especially urged, after every Hitler invasion, "negotiation, negotiation." They negotiated so successfully as to have their whole country defeated and occupied. But as one famous French leftist said: "We did anyway manage to make them declare Paris an open city - no bombs on us!"
In Britain the general response to every Hitler advance was disarmament and collective security. Collective security meant to leave every crisis to the League of Nations. It would put down aggressors, even though, like the United Nations, it had no army, navy or air force. The League of Nations had its chance to prove itself when Mussolini invaded and conquered Ethiopia (Abyssinia). The League didn't have any shot to fire.
But still the cry was chanted in the House of Commons - the League and collective security is the only true guarantee of peace. But after the Rhineland the maverick Churchill decided there was no collectivity in collective security and started a highly unpopular campaign for rearmament by Britain, warning against the general belief that Hitler had already built an enormous mechanised army and superior air force.
But he's not used them, he's not used them - people protested. Still for two years before the outbreak of the Second War you could read the debates in the House of Commons and now shiver at the famous Labour men - Major Attlee was one of them - who voted against rearmament and still went on pointing to the League of Nations as the saviour.
Now, this memory of mine may be totally irrelevant to the present crisis. It haunts me. I have to say I have written elsewhere with much conviction that most historical analogies are false because, however strikingly similar a new situation may be to an old one, there's usually one element that is different and it turns out to be the crucial one. It may well be so here.
All I know is that all the voices of the 30s are echoing through 2003. . . ."
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Famous Visitor..........
I am blessed to be visited by well known veteran Dick Ackerman and his wife Kay. Dick is mentioned prominently in the best seller, We Were Soldiers Once, and Young and witnessed some of the most vicious fighting of the Vietnam War. Dick was walking point for the column that was the 2/7th Cavalry as they made they way through the jungle to Landing Zone Albany where they were ambushed by overwhelming North Vietnamese forces which resulted in close hand to hand combat and the death of 155 American troops and an uncounted, but certainly higher number of North Vietnamese forces.
I admire Dick for his courage and honesty in talking about overcoming the demons that have haunted him since this life changing experience and for the gentle person he is today. He is a pleasure to be around, and certainly has a grateful perspective on life today.
I am blessed to be visited by well known veteran Dick Ackerman and his wife Kay. Dick is mentioned prominently in the best seller, We Were Soldiers Once, and Young and witnessed some of the most vicious fighting of the Vietnam War. Dick was walking point for the column that was the 2/7th Cavalry as they made they way through the jungle to Landing Zone Albany where they were ambushed by overwhelming North Vietnamese forces which resulted in close hand to hand combat and the death of 155 American troops and an uncounted, but certainly higher number of North Vietnamese forces.
I admire Dick for his courage and honesty in talking about overcoming the demons that have haunted him since this life changing experience and for the gentle person he is today. He is a pleasure to be around, and certainly has a grateful perspective on life today.
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Thought for the Day....
Though it appears that the "protesters" are large in number.....they are mostly naive nitwits and they are still the minority. But the numbers of fact thinking sane individuals who believe that Saddam is a real menace, is much larger, much larger! It would just not seem right to have the majority marching, "For War".
And what about those "human shields"? The thought among sane fact thinking individuals is that they are the lowest of the low. But what, just what if they are working for the CIA? This thought has crossed my mind. This would be he ultimate "cover", Saddam welcoming his comrade allies and they placing Peace Banners on the bridges, public works and buildings. Banners with microchips embedded so that smart weapons could home in on them. Just a thought. A pleasant thought, instead of just thinking that they are the naive scum they probably are.
Though it appears that the "protesters" are large in number.....they are mostly naive nitwits and they are still the minority. But the numbers of fact thinking sane individuals who believe that Saddam is a real menace, is much larger, much larger! It would just not seem right to have the majority marching, "For War".
And what about those "human shields"? The thought among sane fact thinking individuals is that they are the lowest of the low. But what, just what if they are working for the CIA? This thought has crossed my mind. This would be he ultimate "cover", Saddam welcoming his comrade allies and they placing Peace Banners on the bridges, public works and buildings. Banners with microchips embedded so that smart weapons could home in on them. Just a thought. A pleasant thought, instead of just thinking that they are the naive scum they probably are.
Sunday, February 16, 2003
From the source..
From the British newpaper, The Guardian, comes a letter to the editor that should be read by all human shields, "No Blood for Oil" nitwits and Frenchmen.......but probably won't be.
--------------------------------------------------------
Dr B Khalaf
Friday February 14, 2003
The Guardian
I write this to protest against all those people who oppose the war against Saddam Hussein, or as they call it, the "war against Iraq". I am an Iraqi doctor, I worked in the Iraqi army for six years during Iraq-Iran war and four months during Gulf war. All my family still live in Iraq. I am an Arab Sunni, not Kurdish or Shia. I am an ordinary Iraqi not involved with the Iraqi opposition outside Iraq.
I am so frustrated by the appalling views of most of the British people, media and politicians. I want to say to all these people who are against the possible war, that if you think by doing so you are serving the interests of Iraqi people or saving them, you are not. You are effectively saving Saddam. You are depriving the Iraqi people of probably their last real chance get rid of him and to get out of this dark era in their history.
My family and almost all Iraqi families will feel hurt and anger when Saddam's media shows on the TV, with great happiness, parts of Saturday's demonstration in London. But where were you when thousands of Iraqi people were killed by Saddam's forces at the end of the Gulf war to crush the uprising? Only now when the war is to reach Saddam has everybody become so concerned about the human life in Iraq.
Where were you while Saddam has been killing thousands of Iraqis since the early 70s? And where are you are now, given that every week he executes people through the "court of revolution", a summary secret court run by the secret security office. Most of its sentences are executions which Saddam himself signs.
I could argue one by one against your reasons for opposing this war. But just ask yourselves why, out of about 500,000 Iraqis in Britain, you will not find even 1,000 of them participating tomorrow? Your anti-war campaign has become mass hysteria and you are no longer able to see things properly.
Locum consultant neurologist, London
-----------------------------------------------------
Additionally, this statement from the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish leader is profound.
And for a great bit of parody on the world scene, read Restaurant Inspections Fail
From the British newpaper, The Guardian, comes a letter to the editor that should be read by all human shields, "No Blood for Oil" nitwits and Frenchmen.......but probably won't be.
--------------------------------------------------------
Dr B Khalaf
Friday February 14, 2003
The Guardian
I write this to protest against all those people who oppose the war against Saddam Hussein, or as they call it, the "war against Iraq". I am an Iraqi doctor, I worked in the Iraqi army for six years during Iraq-Iran war and four months during Gulf war. All my family still live in Iraq. I am an Arab Sunni, not Kurdish or Shia. I am an ordinary Iraqi not involved with the Iraqi opposition outside Iraq.
I am so frustrated by the appalling views of most of the British people, media and politicians. I want to say to all these people who are against the possible war, that if you think by doing so you are serving the interests of Iraqi people or saving them, you are not. You are effectively saving Saddam. You are depriving the Iraqi people of probably their last real chance get rid of him and to get out of this dark era in their history.
My family and almost all Iraqi families will feel hurt and anger when Saddam's media shows on the TV, with great happiness, parts of Saturday's demonstration in London. But where were you when thousands of Iraqi people were killed by Saddam's forces at the end of the Gulf war to crush the uprising? Only now when the war is to reach Saddam has everybody become so concerned about the human life in Iraq.
Where were you while Saddam has been killing thousands of Iraqis since the early 70s? And where are you are now, given that every week he executes people through the "court of revolution", a summary secret court run by the secret security office. Most of its sentences are executions which Saddam himself signs.
I could argue one by one against your reasons for opposing this war. But just ask yourselves why, out of about 500,000 Iraqis in Britain, you will not find even 1,000 of them participating tomorrow? Your anti-war campaign has become mass hysteria and you are no longer able to see things properly.
Locum consultant neurologist, London
-----------------------------------------------------
Additionally, this statement from the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish leader is profound.
And for a great bit of parody on the world scene, read Restaurant Inspections Fail
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Lucky Pierre...
Today's submission let's you participate in the Glory that is France! Retired Army Colonel and noted historian Blair Craig gives us a "heads up" on a brand new computer game in Beta testing by the French Army. Sounds magnifique!
----------------------------------------------------------
Paris - Inspired by the commercial success of the United States Army’s "Boot Camp" video game, the General Staff of the French Army has announced plans to market "Ultimate Surrender," a video game based upon the proud military traditions of the Gauls.
In the game we follow the exploits of Lucky Pierre, an apprentice garlic salesman from Marseilles, as he joins the French Army and begins a rigorous course of combat training. The First Level of the game is called "Survival School," and the players have to help Lucky Pierre survive 24 hours without red wine or crème brulé. The Second Level is "Capitulation," and the goal here is to see which player can have Lucky Pierre surrender the fastest without firing a shot or getting his uniform dirty.
Level Three is "Collaboration." Here the players battle to see who can collect the largest numbers of pairs of nylon stockings and packages of chocolates by having Lucky Pierre perform sexual favors for members of the occupying forces. Level Four is "Be Ungrateful to America for Rescuing Your Sorry French Ass Once Again." In this extremely challenging part of the game contestants vie with one another to see who can make Lucky Pierre behave in the surliest manner when the United States inevitably comes to the rescue of the defeated French. The Final Level is "Pretending to Have Been in the Resistance." Here contestants compete in a battle of tall tales and whoppers as they try to protect Lucky Pierre from treason charges.
Marketing tests show that "Ultimate Surrender" is a big hit with French teenagers and young adults who are too young to have experienced France’s lightening surrender to the Germans in 1940 or its defeat by the Vietnamese in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. "Zees is a great tool to inspire ze patriotism in ze youths, n’est ce pas?" said General Jean-Jacques Loseur, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, during his weekly press conference. "Since ze end of ze Cold War we French have not had many opportunities to surrender or to show great cowardice in the face of much weaker opponents."
Friday, February 14, 2003
Shields-R-Us.....
Well it seems as if the massive "human shield" effort has arrived in Iraq. Well 14 shields have arrived. Here are some comments from these rocket scientists.
Canadian Roberta Taman said. "I'm here because I believe that the world wants peace and that we can achieve peace." But she added, "I'm outa' here in case of war, I'm no martyr". That's the spirit Roberta, moral committment!
Worried about Iraq's water supply European ignoramus, Ignacio Cano of Spain says, "A country that can hardly provide water for its citizens cannot be a threat to the world," Well gee whiz you dumb Spanish dirtball, maybe they would have a water supply if Saddam didn't spend all his money on palaces, statues of himself and military hardware. And this from a Euromoron whose country still allows torturing of animals for sport.
Standing on the bridge, Iraq Peace Team leader Kathy Kelly of Chicago said, "You can imagine what this city would be like if it were cut off when some people need desperately to get to a hospital or to connect with the people on the other side". OOOOO scary thought Kathy, war is hell when people can't get to the other side of a bridge to connect, this completely changes things and the administration may now have second thoughts about purging the world of a crazed psychopath.
HEADLINE NEWS: George Bush didn't realize that war might mean people couldn't connect....orders troops home!
Some of the activists charge that the Geneva Conventions governing the practices of war make it a crime to attack facilities essential to civilian life.
Dear Shield: would this include the Kurdish human body and Kurdish homes. Just a thought for you to consider.
But on the positive side for the forces of good, "The campaigners, organized as the Iraq Peace Team, have been draping banners over public facilities in Baghdad this week — an electricity station, a water treatment plant and, on Thursday, the Martyrs Bridge over the Tigris.
Dear Shields, thank you, draping large banners over the public facilities surely helps in target acquisition.
Well it seems as if the massive "human shield" effort has arrived in Iraq. Well 14 shields have arrived. Here are some comments from these rocket scientists.
Canadian Roberta Taman said. "I'm here because I believe that the world wants peace and that we can achieve peace." But she added, "I'm outa' here in case of war, I'm no martyr". That's the spirit Roberta, moral committment!
Worried about Iraq's water supply European ignoramus, Ignacio Cano of Spain says, "A country that can hardly provide water for its citizens cannot be a threat to the world," Well gee whiz you dumb Spanish dirtball, maybe they would have a water supply if Saddam didn't spend all his money on palaces, statues of himself and military hardware. And this from a Euromoron whose country still allows torturing of animals for sport.
Standing on the bridge, Iraq Peace Team leader Kathy Kelly of Chicago said, "You can imagine what this city would be like if it were cut off when some people need desperately to get to a hospital or to connect with the people on the other side". OOOOO scary thought Kathy, war is hell when people can't get to the other side of a bridge to connect, this completely changes things and the administration may now have second thoughts about purging the world of a crazed psychopath.
HEADLINE NEWS: George Bush didn't realize that war might mean people couldn't connect....orders troops home!
Some of the activists charge that the Geneva Conventions governing the practices of war make it a crime to attack facilities essential to civilian life.
Dear Shield: would this include the Kurdish human body and Kurdish homes. Just a thought for you to consider.
But on the positive side for the forces of good, "The campaigners, organized as the Iraq Peace Team, have been draping banners over public facilities in Baghdad this week — an electricity station, a water treatment plant and, on Thursday, the Martyrs Bridge over the Tigris.
Dear Shields, thank you, draping large banners over the public facilities surely helps in target acquisition.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Earth shaking news....
I'm shocked that this could have happened in the world of TeeVee entertainment. Just shocked!
Read this
I'm shocked that this could have happened in the world of TeeVee entertainment. Just shocked!
Read this
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Buy Croatian....
Now is the time for Americans to put up or shut up concering the neferious slitherings of our erstwhile allies, France, Germany and now Belgium. We liberated two of these countries in 1944 and completely rebuilt the other after whupping their ass fair and square, and we didn't have to do that. Now they say they're not interested in helping us out in destroying a demon state, because they just remembered that they don't like us and what have we done for them lately. OK, but now we Americans must do what we do best, which is apply economic pressure...and you can help. Do your best not to buy products from these jellyfish. As we say in Texas, "money talks, and bullshit walks".
I intend to boycott products from these countries and am compiling a mental list of things I intend not to buy from them. But you know it's a fairly tough job, especially concerning France and Belgium. I don't buy anything that I am aware of from France or Belgium anyway. I suppose I'll have to Google up some dot.FR domains, and write to them and tell them that although I've never heard of their product and wouldn't buy it anyway, now I'm really not gonna' buy it. The French pride themselves on wine, cheese and women's underwear and I don't need any of these, but if I did we have great women's undergarment businesses here in the States. They make cars, at least I think they still do, but Puegeot's and Renault's were, no offense intended here, worthless pieces of scrap, the Renault's being only a small step up from a Vespa. I'm really searching here to remember anything that France does make, that is of neccessity. Help me out, if you think of anything, drop me a wire.
Now the economy of Belgium is an even more mysterious subject. I know that they used to be famous for lace. And in fact, I have a beautiful lace table cloth from Belgium that was my grandmothers, it's a work of art. And I have a small crystal duck from Bruge purchased for me long ago by friends who visited Belgium. So...I know that they make lace and crystal ducks. What else do they do? Export drugs I believe, but I don't think they should do that. I hope that someone reads this and can point me in the direction of a company in Belgium that actually makes something that we use and couldn't do without. Then I'll have the pleasure of emailing them and telling them that I just found out that they make a product that I can't do without, but I will because I'm not buying it.
German goods are more obvious in their boycottablity, for the Germans actually do make some useful products. Overpriced but useful. The Germans are technicians, engineers and builders. They have some quality items on the international market and ones that I could use. For example, we recently looked at some German electric generating equipment which was state of the art and a thing of beauty, overpriced but great equipment. I hope we still have the email address of the company who tried to sell it to us, I'd like to write them and tell them that due to their national government policy, we won't be buying it. Of course, we weren't going to anyway...it was overpriced.
I would like to think that recent German actions and opinions on the world stage are merely a lapse during a bad time in their national consciousness, a final cleansing action concerning their angst at starting several world wars. But I'm still boycotting their products. That's why I'm emailing the Mercedes-Benz headquarters and telling them that I was going to buy 2 or 3 of their cars this year, but due to their government policies they can just kiss that order adios, I've decided to buy an Austin Mini-Cooper from our good true friends the English.
The next phase of the boycott is to find products to buy that come from our new good friends in Denmark and the Baltic States. I think the Danes make some neat stuff in the "artsy" area and of course they have great dogs. I'm sure I'll find something useful from Croatia also, it may take some searching but I just know there is some product that the Croats are famous for, and I'm gonna' buy me some of it.
Now is the time for Americans to put up or shut up concering the neferious slitherings of our erstwhile allies, France, Germany and now Belgium. We liberated two of these countries in 1944 and completely rebuilt the other after whupping their ass fair and square, and we didn't have to do that. Now they say they're not interested in helping us out in destroying a demon state, because they just remembered that they don't like us and what have we done for them lately. OK, but now we Americans must do what we do best, which is apply economic pressure...and you can help. Do your best not to buy products from these jellyfish. As we say in Texas, "money talks, and bullshit walks".
I intend to boycott products from these countries and am compiling a mental list of things I intend not to buy from them. But you know it's a fairly tough job, especially concerning France and Belgium. I don't buy anything that I am aware of from France or Belgium anyway. I suppose I'll have to Google up some dot.FR domains, and write to them and tell them that although I've never heard of their product and wouldn't buy it anyway, now I'm really not gonna' buy it. The French pride themselves on wine, cheese and women's underwear and I don't need any of these, but if I did we have great women's undergarment businesses here in the States. They make cars, at least I think they still do, but Puegeot's and Renault's were, no offense intended here, worthless pieces of scrap, the Renault's being only a small step up from a Vespa. I'm really searching here to remember anything that France does make, that is of neccessity. Help me out, if you think of anything, drop me a wire.
Now the economy of Belgium is an even more mysterious subject. I know that they used to be famous for lace. And in fact, I have a beautiful lace table cloth from Belgium that was my grandmothers, it's a work of art. And I have a small crystal duck from Bruge purchased for me long ago by friends who visited Belgium. So...I know that they make lace and crystal ducks. What else do they do? Export drugs I believe, but I don't think they should do that. I hope that someone reads this and can point me in the direction of a company in Belgium that actually makes something that we use and couldn't do without. Then I'll have the pleasure of emailing them and telling them that I just found out that they make a product that I can't do without, but I will because I'm not buying it.
German goods are more obvious in their boycottablity, for the Germans actually do make some useful products. Overpriced but useful. The Germans are technicians, engineers and builders. They have some quality items on the international market and ones that I could use. For example, we recently looked at some German electric generating equipment which was state of the art and a thing of beauty, overpriced but great equipment. I hope we still have the email address of the company who tried to sell it to us, I'd like to write them and tell them that due to their national government policy, we won't be buying it. Of course, we weren't going to anyway...it was overpriced.
I would like to think that recent German actions and opinions on the world stage are merely a lapse during a bad time in their national consciousness, a final cleansing action concerning their angst at starting several world wars. But I'm still boycotting their products. That's why I'm emailing the Mercedes-Benz headquarters and telling them that I was going to buy 2 or 3 of their cars this year, but due to their government policies they can just kiss that order adios, I've decided to buy an Austin Mini-Cooper from our good true friends the English.
The next phase of the boycott is to find products to buy that come from our new good friends in Denmark and the Baltic States. I think the Danes make some neat stuff in the "artsy" area and of course they have great dogs. I'm sure I'll find something useful from Croatia also, it may take some searching but I just know there is some product that the Croats are famous for, and I'm gonna' buy me some of it.
Sunday, February 09, 2003
Saturday, February 08, 2003
More of, "L'Amour d' France"
The emails are thick with paeans for the French, more today........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So the French still aren't on board with us spanking Iraq. Oh boo hoo. Let's take a look at the mighty French military prowess, shall we?
Gaellic Wars - Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian.
Hundred Years War - Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare: "France's armies are victorious only when not led by a Frenchman."
Italian Wars - Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose two wars when fighting Italians.
Wars of Religion - France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots
Thirty Years War - France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
War of Devolution - Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.
The Dutch War - Tied
War of the Augsburg League/King William's War/French and Indian War-
Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French military power.
War of the Spanish Succession - Lost. The War also gave the French their first taste of a Marlborough, which they have loved every since.
American Revolution - In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome", and leads to the Second Rule of French Warfare: "France only wins when America does most of the fighting."
French Revolution - Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also French.
The Napoleonic Wars - Lost. Temporary victories (remember the First Rule!) due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up being no match for a British footwear designer.
The Franco-Prussian War - Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunk Frat boy to France's ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
World War I - Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to not only sleep with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein." Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French bloodline.
World War II - Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
War in Indochina - Lost. French forces plead sickness, take to bed with the Dien Bien Flu.
Algerian Rebellion - Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule of Muslim Warfare: "We can always beat the French." This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux.
War on Terrorism - France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders to Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to Vietnamese ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald's.
The question for any country silly enough to count on the French should not be "Can we count on the French?", but rather "How long until France surrenders?"
The emails are thick with paeans for the French, more today........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So the French still aren't on board with us spanking Iraq. Oh boo hoo. Let's take a look at the mighty French military prowess, shall we?
Gaellic Wars - Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian.
Hundred Years War - Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare: "France's armies are victorious only when not led by a Frenchman."
Italian Wars - Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose two wars when fighting Italians.
Wars of Religion - France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots
Thirty Years War - France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
War of Devolution - Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.
The Dutch War - Tied
War of the Augsburg League/King William's War/French and Indian War-
Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French military power.
War of the Spanish Succession - Lost. The War also gave the French their first taste of a Marlborough, which they have loved every since.
American Revolution - In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome", and leads to the Second Rule of French Warfare: "France only wins when America does most of the fighting."
French Revolution - Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also French.
The Napoleonic Wars - Lost. Temporary victories (remember the First Rule!) due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up being no match for a British footwear designer.
The Franco-Prussian War - Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunk Frat boy to France's ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
World War I - Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to not only sleep with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein." Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French bloodline.
World War II - Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
War in Indochina - Lost. French forces plead sickness, take to bed with the Dien Bien Flu.
Algerian Rebellion - Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule of Muslim Warfare: "We can always beat the French." This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux.
War on Terrorism - France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders to Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to Vietnamese ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald's.
The question for any country silly enough to count on the French should not be "Can we count on the French?", but rather "How long until France surrenders?"
Friday, February 07, 2003
Thursday, February 06, 2003
Frogs have change of heart......
More from the email wires....this from alert reader, retired army Colonel, Dave Fletcher.
----------------------------------------------
French to Send Surrender Advisors to Iraq
02/04/2003 - William Grim
Paris - In a stunning reversal of policy, French President Jacques Chirac announced today that the French government will be supporting the War on Terror after all. Five hundred soldiers from the elite L'Abandonnement du Field d'Honneur Battalion (French Surrender Battalion) of the Legion Etrangere (Foreign Legion) are in the process of shipping out to Iraq where they will assist the elite Iraqi Republican Guards in their inevitable surrender to the overwhelming might of the American Armed Forces.
"Eet ees important to be haughty and insufferable when surrendering," said General Philippe de Peepee, the Commanding Officer of the Surrender Battalion, who has personally surrendered in over 200 battles going back to Dien Bien Phu in 1954. "We French are ze world masters at surrendering, n'est ce pas, not like you arrogant Americans who never surrender. Ha, I spit on your filthy American victories."
President Chirac also announced that his government will be sending 3000 advisors from the elite Force du Collaborateur Francaise (French Collaboration Force) to assist the Iraqis in collaborating with the Americans while pretending to be part of a non-existent resistance movement.
More from the email wires....this from alert reader, retired army Colonel, Dave Fletcher.
----------------------------------------------
French to Send Surrender Advisors to Iraq
02/04/2003 - William Grim
Paris - In a stunning reversal of policy, French President Jacques Chirac announced today that the French government will be supporting the War on Terror after all. Five hundred soldiers from the elite L'Abandonnement du Field d'Honneur Battalion (French Surrender Battalion) of the Legion Etrangere (Foreign Legion) are in the process of shipping out to Iraq where they will assist the elite Iraqi Republican Guards in their inevitable surrender to the overwhelming might of the American Armed Forces.
"Eet ees important to be haughty and insufferable when surrendering," said General Philippe de Peepee, the Commanding Officer of the Surrender Battalion, who has personally surrendered in over 200 battles going back to Dien Bien Phu in 1954. "We French are ze world masters at surrendering, n'est ce pas, not like you arrogant Americans who never surrender. Ha, I spit on your filthy American victories."
President Chirac also announced that his government will be sending 3000 advisors from the elite Force du Collaborateur Francaise (French Collaboration Force) to assist the Iraqis in collaborating with the Americans while pretending to be part of a non-existent resistance movement.
Wednesday, February 05, 2003
Viva la Frogs.....
And this in the email bin today from Joe Galloway.........
--------------------------------------------
January 24th, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial critical of the French position vis-a-vis American policy toward Iraq. This generated several comments from readers. Here are two published on Tuesday, February 3rd:
"The 20th century will remember France as the only nation that failed to fire a shot in defense of its capital, that while under occupation rounded up its Jews for the Nazis without even being ordered to do so, that scuttled its navy rather than flee to the Allies to continue the struggle, that produced films and sang in night clubs for Nazis so as to live happily ever after as a Vichy ally of the Nazis while millions of others fought for their liberation (after the war we were told that all Frenchmen were in the Resistance), that tried to build a nuclear reactor (read nuclear bomb) for Iraq, that is so filled with self-doubt that the use of a couple of foreign words like telephone or drugstore causes a national stroke, that threatens to use a veto right against the very nation that granted it that right as a sop gift, that is so obsessed with international impotence that it openly wishes for death and destruction upon a stronger ally, but in the guise of a higher morality (read appeasement).
Jacques Chirac recently declared that "war is total failure." Luckily for him and France the Allies felt differently in his own lifetime or there wouldn't be a nation called France today. After a century of abysmal decisions, for which tens of thousands of American lie dead in that country, France should have the decency to keep quiet and the U. S. should have the good sense not to listen."
Another writer was more succinct:
"God bless France! She's always there when she needs us."
And this in the email bin today from Joe Galloway.........
--------------------------------------------
January 24th, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial critical of the French position vis-a-vis American policy toward Iraq. This generated several comments from readers. Here are two published on Tuesday, February 3rd:
"The 20th century will remember France as the only nation that failed to fire a shot in defense of its capital, that while under occupation rounded up its Jews for the Nazis without even being ordered to do so, that scuttled its navy rather than flee to the Allies to continue the struggle, that produced films and sang in night clubs for Nazis so as to live happily ever after as a Vichy ally of the Nazis while millions of others fought for their liberation (after the war we were told that all Frenchmen were in the Resistance), that tried to build a nuclear reactor (read nuclear bomb) for Iraq, that is so filled with self-doubt that the use of a couple of foreign words like telephone or drugstore causes a national stroke, that threatens to use a veto right against the very nation that granted it that right as a sop gift, that is so obsessed with international impotence that it openly wishes for death and destruction upon a stronger ally, but in the guise of a higher morality (read appeasement).
Jacques Chirac recently declared that "war is total failure." Luckily for him and France the Allies felt differently in his own lifetime or there wouldn't be a nation called France today. After a century of abysmal decisions, for which tens of thousands of American lie dead in that country, France should have the decency to keep quiet and the U. S. should have the good sense not to listen."
Another writer was more succinct:
"God bless France! She's always there when she needs us."
Sunday, February 02, 2003
The Day After....
Always, in momentous events, the day after brings more reality into the picture. The reality is that the Columbia is gone, the crew is gone, and we won't know for quite a while, if ever, what truly happened. Theories will abound, congressional hearings will point blame, perhaps even lawsuits will be filed. But the overidding reality for me is that space travel is, and always has been a mighty dangerous business.
I reminded myself of that by looking thru pictures I took of a shuttle launch I attended in 1996. Being on the VIP guestlist, we got to get a closeup view of the shuttle mere hours before it was to liftoff [above]. We rode in buses around the base of the launch platform, attended the prelaunch briefing four hours before blastoff and then viewed the launch from a very close three miles away. The magnitude, size and complexity of the launch platform with the shutte resting there is staggering. The whole affair is as big as some of the largest 20 story office buildings in our city, and with tubes, pipes, vents and electrical equipment twining throughout. The shuttle itself has millions of individual parts and holds within itself some of the most volatile chemical compounds known to man. And this whole array of parts, vents, wiring, electronics and explosives has to work perfectly, everytime.
I remember in 1996 while at the 10 second mark or so of the countdown, flashing back to 1986 and the Challenger disaster and thinking, "Please God, don't let it happen again, while I'm here". It was still very much on everyone's minds even ten years later. But the launch was flawless and the shuttle streamed away into the night sky while we listened to radio traffic from the ground controllers. "Columbia, you are 30 seconds into flight, 10 miles altitude, 18 miles downrange and you are doing 2800 m.p.h." Everything was working fine, and in 30 seconds they're doing 2800 m.p.h. I still get goosebumbs. Only eight minutes later we heard, "Columbia, you are cleared for orbital insertion, you are doing 17,500 m.p.h. and are over Africa". In eight minutes I'm still standing at the launch site, with the smoke not even cleared from the lauchpad, and they are doing 17,500 m.p.h. over Africa, we could still see the rocket motors dimmly twinkling in the eastern sky. They were around the world once already by the time I made it the 22 miles back to the hotel in Cocoa Beach.
One of the philosophies I have come to live by is one of Acceptance. Acceptance of the things we cannot change, the Courage to change the things we can, and the Wisdom to know the difference. We must accept that spaceflight is dangerous, we need to find, fix and change the things we can to make it less risky. But we must have the wisdom to know that many things in life that are worthwhile are not easy, are indeed risky and move ahead. The last thing that the seven newly departed astronauts would want if for there to be exessive blame, fault finding and delay. But somethings, even though dangerous, are worth doing. They would want us to get flying again, they gave their lives for that.
Saturday, February 01, 2003
God Bless You....
God Bless the brave, dedicated souls who lost their lives today, and Bless the families they have left behind. Thank you for your service!
These tragedies always hit us the hardest. In America we lose 1000's of lives daily due to car wrecks, fires and other accidents, but tragedies such as the Columbia hit us in the gut. And rightly so. Much of the reason is I think, that somewhere in us, we realize that the astronauts and scientists who test the reaches of space are among our best and brightest. As has been said before, "Where do we get such people"? These were in the main, ordinary people who had a desire to find out new things, to see how things worked and to push the envelope of science from earth into space. They worked hard advancing their knowledge and skills in space travel, where their work was to be done and then paid the ultimate price for the chance to live their dreams. It is an old cliche, but they died doing what they loved.
This personal national tragedy comes at a strange times in our collective thoughts as a nation. The debate, worry and fear of a possible war with Iraq has to a great degree occupied our sentiments. And now this. It also involves something very personal for me. My brother has been with N.A.S.A. for over 30 years and was in the shuttle design program at it's inception. He knows some of those who died today. I have had occasion to meet astronauts and scientists in NASA programs and I know what a dedicated and close knit group they are. They will all take this event as a death in the family. And the tragedy unfolded quite literally in the skies above my home where as I was safely drinking my morning coffee, they were risking and giving their all for us.
Whle trying to put this in perspective, to understand it and I think to ease the grief, I have realized that these sorts of things are nothing new. Mankind has been exploring here on earth since the beginning. Men would set out on foot to see what was on the other side of the horizon and never return. As technology progressed, crews of men in ships would sail off never to be heard from again, dying anonymously, but in equally tragic ways as the crew of Columbia did today. The difference is that today we instantly know the circumstances and view it moments after the fact. And to some degree because of this we have become hardened to tragedy. But to see people of science, knowledge, exploration and bravery perish while only moments from home, is something that is almost to much to bear.
God Bless the brave, dedicated souls who lost their lives today, and Bless the families they have left behind. Thank you for your service!
These tragedies always hit us the hardest. In America we lose 1000's of lives daily due to car wrecks, fires and other accidents, but tragedies such as the Columbia hit us in the gut. And rightly so. Much of the reason is I think, that somewhere in us, we realize that the astronauts and scientists who test the reaches of space are among our best and brightest. As has been said before, "Where do we get such people"? These were in the main, ordinary people who had a desire to find out new things, to see how things worked and to push the envelope of science from earth into space. They worked hard advancing their knowledge and skills in space travel, where their work was to be done and then paid the ultimate price for the chance to live their dreams. It is an old cliche, but they died doing what they loved.
This personal national tragedy comes at a strange times in our collective thoughts as a nation. The debate, worry and fear of a possible war with Iraq has to a great degree occupied our sentiments. And now this. It also involves something very personal for me. My brother has been with N.A.S.A. for over 30 years and was in the shuttle design program at it's inception. He knows some of those who died today. I have had occasion to meet astronauts and scientists in NASA programs and I know what a dedicated and close knit group they are. They will all take this event as a death in the family. And the tragedy unfolded quite literally in the skies above my home where as I was safely drinking my morning coffee, they were risking and giving their all for us.
Whle trying to put this in perspective, to understand it and I think to ease the grief, I have realized that these sorts of things are nothing new. Mankind has been exploring here on earth since the beginning. Men would set out on foot to see what was on the other side of the horizon and never return. As technology progressed, crews of men in ships would sail off never to be heard from again, dying anonymously, but in equally tragic ways as the crew of Columbia did today. The difference is that today we instantly know the circumstances and view it moments after the fact. And to some degree because of this we have become hardened to tragedy. But to see people of science, knowledge, exploration and bravery perish while only moments from home, is something that is almost to much to bear.
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