Not so unexpected, but still wacky.

"That Hussein and other former Iraqi officials must have lawyers of their choice to assist them in defending against the criminal charges brought against them ought to be self-evident among a people committed to truth, justice and the rule of law.

"Both international law and the Constitution of the United States guarantee the right to effective legal representation to any person accused of a crime," he wrote.

"This is especially important in a highly politicized situation, where truth and justice can become even harder to achieve. That's certainly the situation today in Iraq," Clark wrote.

Hmmm, yes, as opposed to recent yesteryear, when in an unpoliticized Iraq, justice was achieved when the accused were permitted to choose whether they'd like to go feet or head first through the shredder.

Oh wait, no, my bad. They didn't choose.

Posted by: LauraW. at 03:10 PM | Comments (52)
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Heh.

Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays the spoof Kazakh television reporter in his "Da Ali G Show," incurred the wrath of Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry this month after appearing as Borat at the annual MTV Europe Music Awards.

Did anybody else's eyes lock right onto the name 'Cohen' and say to themselves, "Ohhhh. Right."
No?
Just me?

Responding in character as Borat, Cohen, who is Jewish, said: "I like to state, I have no connection with Mr Cohen and fully support my government's position to sue this Jew."

If Kazakhstan goes for it, this guy's career will be catapulted to great new heights.

Posted by: LauraW. at 02:01 PM | Comments (17)
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44% say that such criticism hurts troop morale "a lot."

Boy, the MSM love citing Bush's approval numbers, don't they? This, not so much.

In fairness, the WaPo does report it, but only as a brief item in a news-roundup sort of article. The MSM won't be doing major analysis of the poll or running stories about past wars in which relentless negativism undermined troop morale.

Thanks to EddieBear.

Posted by: Ace at 09:31 AM | Comments (21)
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Very cool guy.

Unfortunately, I've seen a leaked copy of the script, and the Hollywood executives have changed it so that Bruce Willis will no longer be fighting Muslim terrorists in Iraq. In the new story, terrorism in Iraq is due to European Neo-Nazis and American defense contractors who are creating a "fictitious war" to sell more munitions.

Just kidding. But don't be surprised if the cost of getting this made is the insertion of a sympathetic "insurgent" who speechifies about the evil of American invading his sovereign country.

Thanks to Bob B.

Posted by: Ace at 09:20 AM | Comments (18)
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We all know that Andrea Mitchell said, early in the Plamegate silliness, that it was "widely known" among those who worked the intelligence beat that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA.

She has lately recanted that, claiming she was confused about the question. As Tom Maguire notes (as have many other people), it's hard to believe she was "confused," because the question was quite clear. Her claims that she thought she was being asked about someone else (Joe Wilson!) are simply not credible.

Worth reading. Maguire speculates maybe she just wants to avoid a subpoena.

Here's another possibility: She understood the question when posed to her, but she lied about knowing Plame was a CIA agent. Why? To demonstrate she was more in-the-know than she actually was. After all, this is her beat, and it had been suggested that it was known among reporters; so perhaps she just wanted to say that yes, she was among those well-connected, inside-information reporters who knew about Plame.

Now that there may be legal ramifications for her statement, she's forced to retract it. Clumsily, and dishonestly.

I don't know why she either lied then or is lying now, but her explanations on the point are nonsense, pure dogfood. She should state plainly at which time she was lying. Then, or now.

If she were lying back then, that doesn't help Scooter Libby or the administration any, of course. It would only speak to Andrea Mitchell's veracity as a reporter. But whatever the reason, it's time for her to be pressed doggedly on this point and get her past her I'm-Just-A-Girl Gwen Stefani bubblehead act.

Posted by: Ace at 09:02 AM | Comments (8)
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A little at least. I hate doing this. But...

TigerHawk argues that Al Gore is being disingenuous on the subject of "extraodinary renditions," because he previously (as VP) expressed strong support for the practice. And now of course he speechifies against it.

The trouble is that there are two sorts of actions described by the jargon/euphemism "extraordinary rendition." One is an illegal snatch of a terrorist or other criminal. There's no arrest by the host country, no agreement for rendition to the US. We just grab him off the street and stuff him into a CIA plane (hopefully not one of the dozens outed by the NY Times as part of the nation's covert airwing.)

Thus "extraordinary rendition" means an extralegal rendition.

The second sort of extraordinary rendition is a clandestine, not-quite-legal (in the sense that typical legal formalities aren't observed) delivery of a terrorist to a third country, one which has a less squeamish view of the efficacy of coercion as an interrogation tool.

The quote TigerHawk has dug up (from Richard Clarke's book) shows him in favor of the first sort of extraordinary rendition ("He's a terrorist. Go grab his ass") but his speechifying on the subject seem to concern the second sort.

One involves taking someone (illegally, but justifiably) into US custody. The other involves delivering someone (again, somewhat illegally but justifiably) out of US custody and into the tender mercies of, say, Saudi Arabia's secret police. We have evidence no smoking-gn quote to prove he's ever been a strong supporter of the second.

Well, at least TigerHawk's quote doesn't establish that. Certainly, though, continuing to serve in an administration that admitted it had performed the second sort of E.R. is evidence of a tacit acceptance of the practice, at the very, very least.

But that doesn't advance the ball much. We already knew all of that. We've known for years that Clinton performed the second sort of ER, and no one in the liberal press made much of an issue about it. Far from it-- the practice was put forth as evidence that, contrary to public perception, Clinton really was "tough on terrorists."

And while Clinton did this without much criticism -- from Gore, from Kennedy, from the rest of the yowling, yapping puppies of the not-entirely-loyal opposition -- suddenly when Bush does it it's a major breach of international law and proof that we've "lost our country" and are degenerating into a 21st Century Gestapo state.

Posted by: Ace at 08:47 AM | Comments (7)
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They will be 'disciplined,' but escape prosecution.

The U.S.-led coalition's operational commander, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, said two junior officers who ordered the bodies burned would be reprimanded for showing a lack of cultural and religious understanding, but that the men had been unaware at the time of doing anything wrong.

Kamiya also said two noncommissioned officers would be reprimanded for using the burning of the bodies to taunt the rebels. The two men also would face nonjudicial punishments, which could include a loss of pay or demotion in rank.

"Our investigation found there was no intent to desecrate the remains but only to dispose of them for hygienic reasons," Kamiya said. He added that the broadcasts about the burned remains, while "designed to incite fleeing Taliban to fight," violated military policy.

The article is worth reading. The statement from "a purported Taliban commander" is priceless.
He's all about the sensitivity.

Posted by: LauraW. at 09:07 PM | Comments (21)
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Probably natural causes, but police are interviewing members of the Cobra Kai karate school.

Posted by: Ace at 05:59 PM | Comments (17)
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Man pulls truck with penis.

Grandmaster Tu Jin-Sheng, best known for his Iron Crotch, attached himself not once, but twice, to a rental moving truck and pulled it several yards across a parking lot in Fremont. In lace-up leather boots and a black tank top, the 50-year-old tied a strip of blue fabric around the base of his penis and testicles and tugged to make sure it was on tight. An assistant kicked him hard between the legs before he lashed himself to the vehicle.

He groaned, grunted and pressed against two men for resistance.

Then, slowly, the truck began to roll forward.

Laugh all you like, but "Iron Crotch" is a pretty cool nickname.

Thanks to Craig.

Posted by: Ace at 11:40 AM | Comments (53)
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Good stuff:

"What a bitch!" declared one entry that claimed Jennifer Lopez's tipping habits were less generous than her derriere, after she allegedly left only $1.27 as a tip on $350 bill at an unnamed Manhattan eatery.

The entry claimed that the measly tip came after J.Lo complained that her water was cold and asked the staff to warm it up.

Another entry claimed that fellow diva Barbra Streisand was equally parsimonious in her tipping habits — allegedly giving only $10, or roughly 2 percent, for a $457 bill.

"She demanded the best table, acting rude to everyone, and then barely tipped," the entry said.

More: The American Thinker has read a bit of the site (www.bitterwaitress.com), and digs up some other celebrity skinflints.

Michael Moore? 3% tipper. What a hero.

Posted by: Ace at 11:23 AM | Comments (27)
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