Rocket Jones links to a report that Elena, the Chernobyl motorcycle chick, is a hoax.

Posted by: annika at 11:11 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Bill Whittle's latest, Strength, was posted this weekend. i'm still working through it, but i loved this bit (from part 2):

Let me clarify this if I may. Senator Kennedy claims Abu Ghraib is simply Saddam Hussein’s torture chambers 'under new management – U.S. management.' Taking him at his word – a somewhat iffy proposition right out of the gate – he apparently cannot see the difference between the humiliation and bullying of enemy combatants, which is shameful, disgusting and reprehensible, and the gleeful, mocking murder, torture and gang rape of over 300,000 innocent men, women and children -- which is something worse. So Senator, here is a helpful analogy which you may find useful: The difference is about the same as pulling over and leaving a young female secretary on the curb in the rain, which is shameful, disgusting and reprehensible, vs. leaving her trapped in the car at the bottom of a river while you look at the bubbles and ponder the political repercussions.

Which is something worse, Senator.

Posted by: annika at 04:15 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Candied Ginger is back online! Welcome back girls. And congratulations on graduation, Ginger. Now go kick ass on the bar! And happy birthday Candace! i missed you both, as you could maybe tell.

And to top it all off, they're having a short story contest, too!

Posted by: annika at 04:59 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Moxie's Memo to the Media is short and to the point:

RE: Abuse in Iraq, we get it. No really.

. . .

From here on out we only want to see news stories about who WASN'T abused or sexually humiliated in Iraq.

We think this should lighten up your workload and allow you more time with the bottle and redistribution of wealth to the po' folks.

Posted by: annika at 09:52 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Strange Women Lying in Ponds has a good piece on the problem with Bremer.

It pains me to write this, but one cannot escape the sense that the Bush Administration is adrift on what to do in Iraq. Bush has allowed the agendas of State, the CIA and DoD to become so alienated and compartmentalized that the acts and omissions of the former are headed toward completely undermining the achievements of the latter. If I were a U.S. soldier or Marine in Iraq right now, I would be very angry at the suits. Hell, I'm not there and I still am angry at the suits. But Bush owes our Armed Forces, who have sacrificed so much, better than this.

Posted by: annika at 09:43 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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A three hour tour . . .

Posted by: annika at 10:19 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Must . . . have . . . Candied . . . Ginger . . . can't . . . go . . . on . . . without . . .

Posted by: annika at 10:11 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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In case you didn't check DANEgerous this morning, let me point you to something you might not hear about on the evening news, this pullquote from Blaster's Blog:

Iraq never declared any binary 155mm artillery shells. In fact, they never claimed any filled with sarin at all in the UNSCOM Final report (Find on "Munitions declared by Iraq as remaining"). Not declared as existing at the end of the Gulf War, not having been destroyed in the Gulf War, not having been destroyed unilaterally. The only binary munitions claimed by the Iraqis were aerial bombs and missile warheads. Not in an artillery shell.

Posted by: annika at 09:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This is classic Kevin Kim, an example of why his blog is on my daily list.

You know how the whole world curdles after a major breakup? That's the culinary abyss I'm in right now. The angels aren't shitting any Strawberry Cheesecake on me; they're just shitting shit. It's a beautiful day outside, but my life has turned into the final act of a Samuel Beckett play. I'm living inside a fucking garbage can. I'm waiting for Godot. All around me, there's nothing but gloom. Demons cackle in dark corners. Squirrels with glowing red eyes wave their freakishly huge, forked dicks at me. Harmonious birdsong morphs into the cacophonous squalling of Satan's fanged, larval children. The Han River runs thick with pus and excrement-- no, wait, that's not a hellish vision; that's actually happening.

Posted by: annika at 09:21 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Another great, and historical reference laden, post at Belmont Club:

It was during the Vietnam War that the Left first discovered the potential war-winning ability of media coverage. The concept itself is merely an extension of the blitzkrieg notion that the enemy command structure, not his troop masses, are the true center of gravity on the battlefield. During the campaign of 1940, Heinz Guderian's panzers bypassed many French formations, leaving them unfought, knowing that if their command structure were severed, the whole musclebound mass would fall to the ground headless. What the Left gradually discovered during the course of the Vietnam war was that Guderian had not been bold enough. Guderian still felt it necessary to win on the battlefield. He had not realized that it was possible to ignore the battlefield altogether because it was the enemy political structure, not his military capability, that was the true center of gravity of an entire campaign. It was General Giap during the Vietnam War who first planned a military operation entirely around its possible media effect. The Tet offensive was a last desperate attempt to gain the upper hand in a war he was losing.

. . .

Although Giap failed in every military respect, he succeeded in providing the press with the raw material necessary to alter the dynamics of American domestic politics. While he could not alter reality, the Giap could alter the perception of reality enough to give anti-war politicians a winning hand which they played it to the hilt.

. . .

But whereas General Giap was forced to rely on the Western media to carry his message home, modern day Jihadis have decided to create their own media outlets like Al Jazeera to shape public opinion. Moreover, they have extended proven methods of intimidating the Western media, described by CNN's Eason Jordan in his article in the New York Times to a standard operation of war. This set up a clash between two forces, one enjoying a preponderance in every area of military capability and skill but failing to recognize news coverage as a strategic weapon; and another whose military strategy was literally made for television.

Link via the most evillest of professors.

Also, do check out Hugo's post on feminist responses to Abu Ghraib, very much worth your while.

Posted by: annika at 10:14 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Kevin Kim and the Air Marshal are talking about me. As usual with Big Hominid, it's a deeply philosophical conversation, and worth your time.

The usual Glogger permalink problem prevents a link to the Air Marshal's post, but it's directly above Kevin's on the main page.

Posted by: annika at 12:10 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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What's Brewing's Jennifer links to a column in the San Diego Union-Tribune by her brother, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer. It's entitled: "Gruesome act will strengthen America's resolve." Click here to read it.

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Lately, whenever i'm feeling a bit tired, confused, or overwhelmed by the news of the day and/or my own problems, i pay a visit to Rocket Jones' great blog. He's always got something posted that's worthwhile reading, friendly, never overwrought, and often worth a chuckle. Like this interesting little piece about the bald eagle. i don't know, there's something about Ted's writing that has a calming effect on my spirit, and i'm sure i'm not alone in that. He's the great elder statesman of Munuviana, after all.

Posted by: annika at 04:03 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Elder statesman, eh? I'll assume you mean in a Harrison Ford kinda way and not in a Wilford Brimley kinda way. Thanks for the kind words. You've got a full plate right now, so just hang in there and keep plugging, and things will work out just fine.

Posted by: Ted at May 10, 2004 06:39 PM (ZjSa7)

2 Dittos, Annika. Ted's a calm voice in a cyberstorm. That's why he's a daily read!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at May 10, 2004 09:40 PM (Y5TqK)

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