Military's own satellites expose "Surge" as futile exercise

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Friday September 19, 2008 · 3:51 PM PDT

2008/09/19 · 15:51

This is a short diary, for which you can falme if you like.

But it's an important piece of concrete evidence in the very pertinent debate over the putative success of The Surge, aka McSame/Quaylin's one halfway effective bleating point in the national conversation over Iraq.

Was it the introduction of extra troops that pacified Iraq's multi-ethnic cities? Or did the violence simply stop because its purpose--ethnic cleansing--had already been achieved?

Today, geography professor John Agnew of UCLA has an answer for us.

turbonium

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Friday September 05, 2008 · 2:34 PM PDT

2008/09/05 · 14:34

Here's Rudy 9iu11ani's searing indictment of Barack Obama's experience from the RNC:

Giuliani: But [Obama]'s never -- but he's never run a city, he's never run a state, he's never run a business, he's never run a military unit, he's never had to lead people in crisis.

Barack's a real ZERO, as the crowd helpfully informed us just then. But wait! When has John McCain ever been a city mayor, a state governor, or a CEO? When has he "led people in a crisis"? (Granted, you could argue that running his own campaign qualifies...)

turbonium

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Thursday February 07, 2008 · 11:36 AM PST

2008/02/07 · 11:36

### CIA interrogation transcript 5BX-1131 02-March-2008###
***EYES ONLY***

Bush held up the water jug, its spout poised over the rough-textured woven cloth that overlaid the supine Durbin's upturned face "Is waterboarding torture, Senator?"

"Yes."

"And if I, the Decider, say that it is not--then?"

"Ye--"

The word ended in a choked, gurgling gasp. Water had surged into his nostrils, shockingly cold as it filled his sinuses and pooled at the back of his throat. He set his teeth then, and could almost count the molecules of precious oxygen as they ebbed from the meager store locked within his chest. Strain wracked the senator’s body as the compulsion to breathe became irresistible.

turbonium

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Tuesday June 12, 2007 · 1:09 AM PDT

2007/06/12 · 01:09

We've all heard of gaydar, the sophisticated apparatus that allows modern civilizations to detect homosexuals from afar--and neutralize them before they can threaten our precious bodily fluids, aieeee!

Gaydar is not widely used in military circles, as the top brass have turned instead to Managed Ignorance (A.K.A. "Don't ask, don't tell") to protect the precious bodily fluids of those in uniform. (Except, of course, when they serve with British, Australian, and other 'coalition' troops whose nations allow gays to serve openly...)

But imagine if, instead of just passively defending against the Gay Menace, or pretending it doesn't exist, you could use it as an offensive weapon in the War on Terra! Suppose your arsenal included a precision-guided HOMOSEXUAL LUST BOMB that would turn your enemies gay right in their boots!

One minute, a formidable, armed opponent; the next, a mere limp-wristed caricature, a harmless little poof, a mincing gay-bar loiterer, a winnet-covered walking perfume shop, and an ardent perverter of the guy in the next bunk!

Wouldn't that be worth a few taxpayer millions?

Turns out someone in the U.S. Air Force thought so...

turbonium

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Thursday May 03, 2007 · 12:56 PM PDT

2007/05/03 · 12:56

I heard Sen. Snowe on NPR yesterday fleshing out the next ~~bipartisan way forward in Iraq~~ smoke-and-mirrors strategy for her party's survival. In a nutshell, they want to distance themselves from Bush rhetorically, yet give him free rein until September, when they will take advantage of the shiny new lightning rod they have in Gen. Petraeus.

Petraeus, of course, is nothing but a front-man for the WH, swapped in as a "Surge" advocate the moment it looked like Bush might be in disagreement with his Commanders on The Ground{tm}. It was a shrewd move: Petraeus now enjoys the highest public trust rating when it comes to talking about what's going on in Iraq--much higher than anyone else in government.

That trust is a critical element of what's to come next. (more below)

turbonium

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Friday November 17, 2006 · 4:43 PM PST

2006/11/17 · 16:43

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The U.S. military on Friday said it plans to build a $125 million compound at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base where it hopes to hold war-crimes trials for terror suspects by the middle of next year. The new state-of-the-art facility will also usher in a sweeping revision of the way in which detainee legal rights are handled in the military prison system.

A White House spokesman outlined features of the new initiative, one strongly backed by the Bush administration. "Under the old 'one-size-fits-all' system, the various rights and freedoms were simply provided by the government. You didn't have to pay a dime for any of them, but you didn't have any choices, either."

[continues...] Read More

OH MY GOD THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!! (not.)

turbonium

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Tuesday October 24, 2006 · 4:21 AM PDT

2006/10/24 · 04:21

Damnit, people, I've had enough. Last night I read one too many diaries chiding "premature" optimism and spinning cautionary tales about the big scary GOP GOTV machine and the confounding self-assuredness of Rove and Bush. The money's scarce, the machines are rigged, the party's divided, there's still work to do, Osama's in a meat locker somewhere and Iran's next in line—so be afraid, very afraid, and let no one see you smile!

We hear the same tired double standard over and over again: if Bush is smirking, if Rove sounds subtly assured, then the almighty GOP must have an ace hidden away; just biding time until November 6 when they can pull the thread and chortle as they watch the entire Democratic Party unravel in a heap. But if Democrats appear confident, why, it's a sure sign of laurel-resting complacency, giddy poll-intoxication, and impending electoral oblivion! Yea, brethren, your foolhardy ebullience is as a yawning maw of DOOM, the panther lying in wait to devour ye! Sound the alarum, turn out the palace guard: someone, somewhere is CELEBRATING TOO EARLY!!!

turbonium

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Saturday October 21, 2006 · 3:34 AM PDT

2006/10/21 · 03:34

October 21, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (AP)—The City's orthodox gay Castro District was rocked late Friday by stunning allegations that one of its leading lights has in fact long been living a sordid, "double life" on the opposite coast.

Internet and phone records, as well as Capitol parking stubs, NSA wiretap transcripts, and certain hair samples from communal baths in the Rayburn Building, were provided to the Associated Press by an anonymous source. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that Big Gay Al, a well-known spokesman for the queer movement, has been serving clandestinely as a member of Congress since 1996.

Typical of the nebulously damning material provided by the source was the following internet chat exchange, deemed "quite possibly authentic" by our font-kerning experts: Read More

White House admits it has no clue in Iraq

turbonium

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Monday October 16, 2006 · 4:55 PM PDT

2006/10/16 · 16:55

This is going to be short and sweet, but ought to be highlighted big-time. From comments today by WH Press Secretary Tony Snow:

Q: One on Iraq again. Sorry. Just the simple question: Are we winning?
MR. SNOW: We're making progress. I don't know. How do you define "winning"?

Good question, Tony. But don't you think you ought to be telling us the answer?

Snow went on to spout the usual empty rhetoric about making Iraq into a "safe, secure ally", minus any concrete explanation of how we might get there beyond "stay the course". His remark, in all its elegantly distilled Freudian stupidity, deserves to be held up for ridicule much like Bill Clinton's infamous "it depends on the meaning of 'is'" gaffe--because it perfectly captures the fundamental cluelessness that's landed us in the biggest fiasco since Vietnam. Read More

SF Bay Kossacks: Please help this dog! (It'll be music to your ears.)

turbonium

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Wednesday September 06, 2006 · 4:42 PM PDT

2006/09/06 · 16:42

Daily Kos, meet Fresca! She's cute. She's friendly. She's well-behaved.

She has no megaphone. No flight suit. No image consultants. No focus-tested speeches--no words at all, in fact. Yet a single bark, just one lick on the face from her could be a gift beyond price...because it probably means she's just saved your life.

And she needs your help. Read More

The Last Refuge of Scoundrels

turbonium

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Sunday September 03, 2006 · 7:38 PM PDT

2006/09/03 · 19:38

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"
--Samuel Johnson

Not so fast, Sam. As Jim Hoagland's latest column illustrates, Johnson got it wrong.

President Bush made headlines recently by adopting a more somber, realistic tone on Iraq. Then Bush, his vice president and his defense secretary stepped all over that message with unduly harsh assaults on the war's critics last week. What gives?

What gives, indeed? How on earth could such earnest, benign leaders send us such confused signals? Read More

The worst Pollack joke ever.

turbonium

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Sunday August 20, 2006 · 2:36 PM PDT

2006/08/20 · 14:36

From the Byman/Pollack article in today's WaPo:

How Iraq got to this point is now an issue for historians (and perhaps for voters in 2008); what matters today is how to move forward and prepare for the tremendous risks an Iraqi civil war poses for this critical region.

I just love how the erstwhile author of The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq assures us that the question of "how Iraq got to this point" is the exclusive province of academics and partisans in some far-off presidential election.

Don't sell yourself so short, Mr. Pollack. Read More

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Military's own satellites expose "Surge" as futile exercise

When has John McCain led anything???

Durbin, Dems to ratify use of waterboarding

Pentagon considers developing 'Gay Bomb' (REALLY)

Iraq Veto & The Coming GOP Snowe Job

Guantanamo to Become Latest Bastion of Ownership Society

OH MY GOD THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!! (not.)

BREAKING: Prominent Queer Outed as Member of Congress

White House admits it has no clue in Iraq

SF Bay Kossacks: Please help this dog! (It'll be music to your ears.)

The Last Refuge of Scoundrels

The worst Pollack joke ever.