Mom’s Assessment of the Birdcage Liner

After “having my needle bent” all day about the egregious actions of the NY Times in publishing details of a classified program that the United States had successfully been using to thwart financial support, through overseas banks, of the terrorists whose goal in life is to destroy as many Americans as they can, I came home and was perusing the many posts and comments on LoneStarTimes. There I found a link to a blog called “Some Soldier’s Mom” and this lady put my feelings into words as only the mother of a soldier who has been there could. I feel that my ire over this incident is so trivial by comparison to the justifiable outrage of this woman whose family has been in harm’s way that I’ll just give you a taste of her eloquently worded “rant” and a link to the whole thing, which is definitely worth a click and a minute or two to read.

You (Keller) have this grossly inflated image and idea that you are somehow above the law and would have us all believe that you and your paper are “guardians” for the American people and that you are there to protect the average American by “exposing” these programs. If anyone is buying this malarkey, I have a bridge to sell them. And, Bill, I have more news for you: you are a no one. You are a citizen just like me. You have no higher right or authority — implicit or explicit — to be the arbiter of what is or is not in the interest of national security than any of the rest of us. I don’t get to make that determination and neither do you. In actuality, because you have the power of the press, I hold you to an even greater standard to err on the side of caution in cases of national security and to not use the newspaper as a pulpit to push your own personal agenda. And like the Emperor and his clothes, some may pat you on the back and “oooh” and “ahhhh” over your position, but I’m here to tell you, Bill, that you are naked as a blue jay.
Some Soldier’s Mom: If Dirt Were $$$$

Mom, I apologize for the title. I don’t think you’d approve of exposing a poor defenseless bird to the drivel called the NY Times.

As The Needle Bends

Technorati Tags: Life and Ramblings, Some Soldier’s Mom, If Dirt Were $$$$, NY Times, Bill Keller

If this isn’t proof Hussein is insane…

Saddam Hussein believes that the United States may reinstate him as president of Iraq? That sounds pretty crazy to me; but according to Hussein’s chief lawer, that is exactly what he believes. In a sad commentary on the ability of the newly forged Iraqi government to quell the insurgencies, which some call a Sunni-Shiite Civil War, Saddam reportedly believes that, in spite of the death sentence he is sure he’ll receive for his crimes against the Iraqi peoples, we’ll decide he is the last resort to establish peace in the country of Iraq.

NEW YORK (Reuters) –  Saddam Hussein is certain his trial for crimes against humanity will result in the death penalty, but clings to the hope that Washington will use the sentence as leverage to enlist his aid to tamp down the insurgency in Iraq, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Saddam’s chief lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, told the newspaper in an interview conducted last week in Amman, Jordan, Saddam “knows the sentence has been issued from Washington, and if there is an even greater punishment than the death sentence, he’ll get it.”

But Saddam clings to hope, believing the way out is to become the United States’ “last resort; they’ll knock on his door,” the lawyer said. “The United States will use this sentence to pressure Saddam to save it from its mess.”

Saddam even believes the United States might reinstall him as president of Iraq, al-Dulaimi told the Times.

Deteriorating relations with Iran figure into Saddam’s reasoning, the lawyer added. “The Iranian influence is a threat to American interests. … The only person standing in the face of Iran, which is the enemy of America, is Saddam Hussein.”

I have only one retort to that idea, Mr Hussein….

 

IN A PIG’S EYE!

 

As The Needle Bends

Technorati Tags:  Life and Ramblings, Saddam Hussein, Khalil al-Dulaimi, Iraq, Iran, Insurgency, Sunni, Shiite

Why the MSM makes me sick

As I was in the midst of my morning routine, sipping coffee and checking email before getting dressed and heading out for my morning commute, I caught a "Breaking News" alert on one of the local Houston channels. I am not naming the channel, nor the newsperson, because I am so angry that I can’t find a link to the story, if it’s up yet.

They found it necessary to try to be the first to announce bad news, related to the 3 American soldiers from this story:

The Mujahedeen Shura Council did not make threats or demands in the abduction of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., saying only that “we shall give you more details about the incident in the next few days, God willing.” Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack on the checkpoint at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River.

According to this miserable excuse for a newscaster, the Iraqi military has issued a statement that they found the bodies of the two missing soldiers; but the U.S. military could not or would not confirm. WHAT THE HECK EVER HAPPENED TO NOT RELEASING INFORMATION UNTIL THE NEXT OF KIN HAS HAD A CHANCE TO BE NOTIFIED? Did it ever cross your pea-sized brain that MAYBE that was the reason the U.S. military would not confirm the statement? Maybe they wanted to be able to tell the parents of these soldiers, one of whom is from the Houston area (and whose brother was interviewed on the same channel, in the same newscast).

And now they are repeating the news… as I’m sure they will over and over and over again.

As The Needle Bends

Technorati Tags: Life and Ramblings, MSM, Iraq, Iraqi military, US military

North Korean Missile Test Update

UPDATE: SUNDAY 06/18/06 9:38am

(Agencies)North Korea appears to have completed pumping liquid fuel into a long-range ballistic missile, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday in a dispatch from Washington. In Pyongyang residents were told to hoist flags and turn on radios for a government announcement this afternoon. North Korea was likely to claim it had launched a space shot, the lie it broadcast on its last missile test. The South Korean report, quoting multiple diplomatic sources and monitored in Seoul, said the fuel injection into the Taepodong-2 missile may have been completed. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday it will be inevitable for the United Nations Security Council to consider imposing sanctions on North Korea if Pyongyang conducts a missile test. Mr Aso, who made the remarks during a television program, later told reporters that Japan will seek an immediate convening of the UN Security Council if North Korea goes ahead with a test-firing of a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile.

What is North Korea’s version of the story? The closest I could find was this, on FoxNews.com:

"The [North] Korean army and people will do their best to increase the military deterrent with sharp vigilance to cope with the moves of the U.S., which is hell-bent on provocations for war of aggression" on North Korea, said Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea. "If the enemies ignite a war eventually, the Korean army and people will mercilessly wipe out the aggressors and give vent to the deep-rooted grudge of the nation," Choe was quoted as saying by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

UPDATE: Sunday 06/18/06; 8:24p.m.

N.KOREA ’A BUTTON CLICK FROM FROM LAUNCHING MISSILE

Warnings that North Korea appears close to test-firing an intercontinental missile are escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea appears to have completed injecting liquid fuel into a long-range ballistic missile, the final stage before the launch, intelligence authorities in the U.S. and Korea said Sunday. That signals a turning point this week since the missile should either be fired or the fuel removed within 24 hours of fuel injection. All that remains is ’the click of a button,’ a Foreign Ministry official said.

But bad weather near Musudanri, North Hamgyong Province where the launch pad is deployed is reportedly making it difficult to conduct an immediate test launch of the Taepodong 2-type missile. It’s likely that weather conditions will remain unfavorable to a test on Monday, a military official said.

Needless to say, the US is not pleased with these developments, and unease over the situation seems to be escalating.  White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, on Fox News Sunday:

"We do not want to have a missile test out of North Korea," Tony Snow told "Fox News Sunday." "The North Koreans themselves decided in 1999 that they would place a moratorium on this kind of testing, and we expect them to maintain the moratorium."

But by this evening, the rhetoric seemed to have racheted up a notch:

"If they go ahead with a test, then we will have to respond properly and appropriately at the time," Snow told CNN’s "Late Edition." Asked if he could explain what that meant, Snow replied, "No."

As The Needle Bends

Technorati Tags: Life and Ramblings, North Korea, Long range missile, Taepodong, Taro Aso, Pyongyang, Choe Thae Bok, Kim Jong-il, Nuclear, White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow

 

North Korean Long-Range Missile Being Prepared for Test

North Korea is preparing for another test of its long-range Taepodong-2 three-stage missile, something they’ve not done since 1999. Why else would they have moved the missile to the launch pad, along with 10 tanks of liquid fuel? I seriously doubt that this is just an exercise to check out their logistics capabilities for moving these things.

North Korea loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad and moved about 10 fuel tanks to a launch site in preparation to test-fire a long-range missile that could reach as far as the US mainland, a newspaper reported Saturday.

[…]

On Saturday, North Korea accused the United States of repeatedly flying reconnaissance planes to spy on "strategic targets" along its east coast, where the missile launch site is located. The reports of a possible launch come after a prolonged hiatus in six-party nuclear disarmament talks designed to create a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

Pardon my English, but WELL, DUH!!!!! Let’s suppose that you hear rumors that someone doesn’t particularly like you, and wants to do something that has the potential to totally disrupt your whole world, then you hear/see that they are actively taking actions which appear to be preparations to actually carry out that "something." Do you pull the covers up over your head, sit idle while watching Portugal kick Iran’s tail out of the World Cup, or do you do everything in your power to find out what "the bad guys" are actually up to?