Six Meat Buffet offers up this heartwarming story:

Moscow police intercepted a car packed with explosives in central Moscow on Saturday and said they had thwarted a terrorist attack, Russian media reported.

Police found a 200-gram block of TNT, two anti-personnel landmines and a 20-liter canister with gasoline along with detonators and an electronic operating device in an old Lada.

...

[The man driving the car containing the explosives] died in hospital six hours after questioning. Initial reports said the man had suffered a heart attack, but shortly afterwards it was reported that he had bean beaten to death, apparently during the interrogation.

I'm not even going to pretend I'm sorry about this. I'm not, and neither is any right-thinking American.

There's more at Six Meat Buffet's link, of course. Right on Red tipped me to the site.

Posted by: Ace at 07:54 PM | Comments (14)
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Better take care of these bastards now, because John Kerry sure won't:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Heavy fighting has erupted between U.S. troops and Shi'ite militiamen in Baghdad's Sadr City slum after car bombs earlier killed at least 26 people in two Iraqi cities.

Witnesses said American AC-130 aircraft pounded suspected rebel positions in Sadr City, but there was no immediate word on casualties and the U.S. military said it had no information on the fighting.

The attack on the slum, a stronghold of firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was part of an offensive by U.S. and Iraqi forces to crush a raging insurgency and take back all of Iraq before elections scheduled for January.

Residents said they could hear the sound of AC-130 rapid-fire cannons as blasts shook Sadr City, home to more than two million people.

"I hear explosions. AC-130 planes were firing," said a Sadr City resident.

He said he saw at least 12 tanks moving into Sadr City late on Monday.

Helicopters could be heard in Baghdad heading in the direction of Sadr City....

In further bloodshed, Islamic militants distributed a video to an international news agency showing the killings of two men who identified themselves as an Italian of Iraqi origin and a Turk. A militant in the video accused the two of spying.

They were shown blindfolded and kneeling in front of a ditch before being shot, a scene likely to raise fresh concern over the fate of foreign hostages in Iraq. They include British engineer Ken Bigley and two French journalists.

First of all, Reuters, a sentence about the distribution of videotapes should not be introduced by the clause, "In further bloodshed..." It's the executions that are further bloodshed, not the delivery of proof of this to the press.

Second of all-- "militants"? Ah yes. The militants who execute civilians.

I remember in 1999 when James Byrd was killed by three "Texas militants."

Posted by: Ace at 06:51 PM | Comments (2)
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I never thought I'd say this, but too bad Michael Fucking Moore isn't the anchor of CBS News.

It seems he's actually less partisan than Dan the Document Man.

Posted by: Ace at 06:39 PM | Comments (6)
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I'm glad I stayed out of that one.

Posted by: Ace at 03:18 PM | Comments (9)
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Geraghty says that the ABC/WaPo poll might have Bush up by five points tomorrow.

If true, then it looks pretty good for Bush. That would mean that his support is currently strong enough to resist a poor debate showing (and a good one by his opponent), and there's little that's likely to move more votes between now and election day. (Barring a terrorist attack, etc.)

I don't think we have the full story yet -- the full impact of the debate may yet to be felt -- but this just may be a case of the old rule that debates just don't move many votes. Kerry's performance was clearly stronger than Bush's -- but that's still just a performance. No one would vote for Bush just because he could win a game of horse; only a small number of people might become Kerry supporters just because he performed better in a verbal sparring match.

It brings to mind a debate that was held at the New School (I think) a long time ago. I think either Hitchens or Sullivan or both defended the war -- before the war, that is -- while some hack leftists gave the Give Peace a Chance spiel. Hitchens/Sullivan were clearly the superior debaters, and clearly had the better arguments and better command of the facts, and yet I'm guessing that that New School audience of very liberal/outright leftist New York intellectuals didn't change their opinion just because Hitchens/Sullivan handed the competition their lunch.

People have opinions on these matters already. A good debate performance is good to move some opinions, but most opinions are already firm and only new facts -- not new arguments -- will move them.

This brings up my peeve with the LLM always instructing us in that condescendingly pious manner of theirs that "this election ought to be about the issues." I think they say this because they believe that most of us are ignorant and/or stupid, and that if we merely have enough good liberal pedagogy on "the issues," with Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric patiently explaining to us all the myriad ways in which we are wrong/retarded, we'll suddenly slap our collective hand to our collective forehead and say, "Voila! Now I see what a stupid dick I've been, all along."

There's a reason that questions about lying, hypocrisy, inconsistency, etc. -- "character issues" -- are important. It's not because they're necessarily more important than "the real issues" I keep hearing so much about. It's that, contrary to the beliefs of the liberal legacy media and the DNC, the American public already has a fairly good idea where it stands on the "real issues." And so arguing over the "real issues" can only move so many votes -- it's all already baked into the cake. None of these arguments, no matter how well made or eloquently delivered, are new information which can change many minds.

Whereas "character issues," such as the SwiftVets charges, are actually a specie of new information. The SwiftVets' charges were new data the public had to process (despite the media's insistence that the public ignore the data entirely).

But rehashing "the war was wrong" -- everyone already knows where they stand on this, pretty much. Even the "undecided voters," who pollsters like Frank Luntz usually say are already pretty much decided. They just like calling themselves "undecided," because it makes them feel open-minded and important.

Update: The poll is now out. It shows the rumored 51-46-1 split. Bush lost some of his "very enthusiastic" support and Kerry gained some such support. But the horse race continues to show a good Bush lead.

Posted by: Ace at 02:33 PM | Comments (7)
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I had thought that this blog couldn't possibly get any sexier today.

I was wrong:

"He was overwhelmed with a feeling of tenderness, and was also aroused sexually, which his tight trousers made obvious to both of them."

Click to see Ace of Spades HQ's mystery soft-core pornographer of the day.

Update: Now this is just downright hot.

An Open Letter to Josh Marshall:

Dear Joshua,

I am overwhelmed with a feeling of tenderness, and I am also aroused sexually, which my tight trousers must certainly make obvious to both of us.

Give me a ringy-dingy.

Sincerely,

Ace of Spades

Posted by: Ace at 01:01 PM | Comments (6)
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Pew: 49-44, LV's, Oct. 1-3.

Battleground: 51-44, LV's, September 27-30. Note only a couple of days of post-debate polling are included, although, oddly enough, Bush seems to have gained ground after the debate:

Bush initially had a 3 point lead, 49 percent to 46 percent, in the four day rolling poll of 1,000 likely voters nationwide. Bush's lead increased to 50 percent while Kerry went up one point to 45 percent on Sept. 28.

The Sept. 29-30 data had Bush at 51 percent and Kerry down 2 to 44 percent. Five percent said they were undecided each night the survey was in the field.

I give up trying to figure this thing out. It's all too "nuanced."

Posted by: Ace at 12:57 PM | Comments (4)
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Even a broken clock wearing a duck costume is right twice a day:

LONDON (Reuters) - Pop veteran Elton John has taken a foul-mouthed swipe at Madonna, saying she cheats her fans by miming on stage.

But the American pop superstar was swift to rubbish his accusation, saying she does not lip-synch or criticise other artists.

While collecting a song-writing award from Q music magazine in London on Monday, John suddenly launched into a tirade against Madonna when he discovered she had been nominated for Best Live Act.

"Anyone who lip-synchs in public on stage when you pay 75 pounds to see them should be shot," John said in reference to ticket prices for Madonna's Reinvention tour.

"Madonna, best f***ing live act? F*** off," said the singer renowned as much for his outrageous outbursts as he is for his outlandish outfits.

"Since when has lip-synching been live?" he asked.

He ended his outburst by saying: "That's me off her f***ing Christmas card list but do I give a toss? No."

Pop Diva Madonna.

Pop legend Sir Elton John, frightening unidentified child.

Posted by: Ace at 12:35 PM | Comments (6)
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John Kerry claims he ran the Boston Marathon in the 70's or 80's, but ESPN seems to be unable to confirm he's run the Marathon, ever.

Now, I make fun of a lot of left-wing bloggers for being self-styled "internet detectives," thinking they can become the next Woodward and Bernstein by doing a little Yahoo-searching and then adding some daft left-wing conspiracy-theorizing.

But there are certain things that "internet detectives" can prove or disprove. Like, I don't know, determining whether a man called by Dan Rather an "unimpeachable source" really was so or whether he was in fact a rabidly-partisan Texas Democrat and all around crank with a five year history of making ridiculous allegations against Bush as well as likening him to Adolf Hitler

Another thing googling and yahooing could possibly prove is whether John Kerry ever actually ran the Boston Marathon, as he claims. Or even if he was physically present in Boston on Marathon day.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:08 PM | Comments (23)
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So I really can't be blamed for linking DaGoddess, who in turn links you to the third annual "Boobie Thon."

It's all for breast cancer.

There seem to be boobies involved. A veritable plethora of them.

And nudity. Lots of nudity.

DaGoddess is work-safe (sort of), but the Boobie-Thon link actually isn't.

Unless you want to try the old Phil Donahue type schtick of, "My God, man! This is about curing breast cancer! Don't talk about your bourgeois morality while lives are on the line!"

Actually, that could probably work.

Posted by: Ace at 11:31 AM | Comments (1)
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