Ahem. It can't be coincidence that Instapundit keeps posting these. He would have been a good choice to snap the Ann Margaret USO tour pics in Full Metal Jacket. I'm quite sure we would have had some subtle low-angle stuff.

Not that I mind.

And from NRO: this is what you call a demonstration:

A while ago I bemoaned the fact that we conservatives don't have enough protest anthems of our own. With the world changing so quickly, it's time for an update to Jesus Jones' Right Here, Right Now.

Another Swipe From Instapundit: How did I miss this one?

Thanks to NickS for pointing out my loose shit.

An Actual Article to Go With the Cheesecake Pics: The New York Times is, strangely enough, covering this, and not even grudgingly:

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese jammed the center of downtown Beirut today, packing its central square and spilling out onto the surrounding roads, in the largest demonstration yet demanding the withdrawal of all Syrian forces from the country.

Nearly every available space around the square was filled with people flying the Lebanese flag, in what was probably the largest demonstration ever seen in Lebanon.

In the main mosque, still under construction, demonstrators crammed the tiny balconies high up on the four minarets, balconies that the muezzin traditionally use to sing out the call to prayer.

A few daredevils inched their way out along the huge construction crane looming over the square to drape a flag at the end.

There have been rallies in the center of the city on every Monday since former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed four Mondays ago, on Feb. 14, but organizers were determined to make this one especially large as an answer the pro-Syrian march last Tuesday that also filled the downtown with hundreds of thousands of mostly Shiite demonstrators.

And the AP too:

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators chanted "Freedom, sovereignty, independence," and waved a sea of Lebanese flags in Beirut on Monday, the biggest anti-Syrian protest yet in the opposition's duel of street rallies with supporters of the Damascus-backed government.

Crowds of Druse, Christians and Sunni Muslims flooded Martyrs' Square and spilled over into nearby streets — responding to an opposition call to turn out for the removal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

"We are coming to liberate our country. We are coming to demand the truth," said Fatma Trad, a veiled Sunni Muslim woman who traveled from the remote region of Dinniyeh in northern Lebanon to take part.

Andrew offers:

To paraphrase Jonah Goldberg: It appears that Lebanon is hell bent on a full tilt boogie for freedom and justice, and will NOT be denied.



You pull a knife, we pull a gun. You put one of our guys in the hospital? We put one of yours in a morgue.



You bring a couple hundred thousand in on buses from Syria? We'll bring in twice that number.



The fire's burning, it's getting hotter. Did you see Bashar's interview in TIME? He must be about ready to pass out right now. Time to get on the right side of history, or be history.

Full-Tilt Boogie? I'm more in the mind of Wang Dang Sweet Pootang.

I've got to say I'm finally becoming more comfortable with having given women the vote.

Posted by: Ace at 09:42 AM | Comments (31)
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I read him so you don't have to.

Well, actually, I don't read him either. Rather, other people read him and send me emails about what he's up to, and then I tell you what they read, so that you don't have to.

What's ol' Ollie up to now? Well, he's running a banner every day demanding that Brit Hume resign from FoxNews. He's up to day 32 or something.

Dog with a bone. Or, more accurately, Oliver Willis with a free Roast Beef Classic coupon from Arby's.

A while ago Slublog sent me this photoshop parody of Ollie's "Resign, Brit" banner.

I've finally gotten around to posting it... improving it, of course, with my most favoritest soundbite in the whole wide world:

Click on the pic to call him a dick.

Update: Celluloid Protein Wisdom covers this important story a little, before seguing into some trivial shit about Israel threatening to strike Iranian nuke facilities.

Dude, no one cares about that. All anyone wants to know is: "What's on Oliver Willis' mind, and what can we all collectively do to please him?"

Posted by: Ace at 05:24 PM | Comments (17)
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This time it's WaPo's Managing Editor Philip Bennet:

Yong Tang: In such sense, do you think America should be the leader of the world?

Bennett: No, I don't think US should be the leader of the world. My job is helping my readers trying to understand what is happening now. What is happening now is very difficult to understand. The world is very complex. There are various complex forces occurring in it. I don't think you can imagine a world where one country or one group of people could lead everybody else. I can't imagine that could happen. I also think it is unhealthy to have one country as the leader of the world. People in other countries don't want to be led by foreign countries. They may want to have good relations with it or they may want to share with what is good in that country.

That is also a sort of colonial question. The world has gone through colonialism and imperialism. We have seen the danger and shortcomings of those systems. If we are heading into another period of imperialism where the US thinks itself as the leader of the area and its interest should prevail over all other interests of its neighbors and others, then I think the world will be in an unhappy period.

Complex... complexities... colonialism... f'n' nuance.

Maybe it's time to Eason him out of his high-profile role.

I swear, any time one of these d-bags actually says something favorable about America I have a shock-induced grand mal seizure.

Click on the pic to call him a dick.

Thanks oh-so-much to Charles for sending that to me. I have little doubt it will get a lot of good use.

Posted by: Ace at 05:09 PM | Comments (29)
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The Ace of Spades WarPorn Weekend continues in full force.

Click on the video link and strap on your drool-cup-- an SUV with a retractable/extendable 40mm automatic cannon (with FLIR and nightvision optics and targeting, natch).

So much more satisfying than laying on the horn or giving a futile middle finger after someone cuts you off.

I've got the perfect tagline for this company: Drive Offensively. Come on, that's got to be worth some crazy blog-money.

We can't yet fulfill our James Bond fantasies, but we can at least satisfy our John Winger dreams.

Thanks to JimW.

Related News Update: This just in: Moby's head just exploded.

The weapon system only phased him. I think it was the 11 mpg gas mileage that blew up his brain.

Posted by: Ace at 04:50 PM | Comments (8)
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Iranian female police cadets, dressed in burkas, conduct a rappelling drill.

Thanks to Greg. How the hell does he find this stuff?

Posted by: Ace at 01:51 PM | Comments (28)
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EU: Europe's economy 20 years behind America's.

Sounds about right:

The US economy is 20 years ahead of that of the EU and it will take decades for Europe to catch up, according to an explosive new study published on Friday (11 March).

...

The EU's current performance in terms of employment was achieved in the US in 1978 and it will take until 2023 for Europe to catch up, the report shows.

The situation is scarcely better when it comes to income per person. The US attained the current EU performance in 1985 and Europe is expected to close the gap in 2072.

But the bleakest picture comes when comparing the two economic blocs in terms of research and development. Europe is expected to catch up with the US in 2123 and then only if the EU outstrips America by 0.5 percent per year in terms of R&D investment.

Pictured below, left to right: The US, Europe.

Sweeeeeeet.

Posted by: Ace at 10:50 AM | Comments (36)
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Anyone else have fond memories of that little robotic bird that Speed Racer could launch from his car?

This spybird isn't as neat and small and concealable as Speed's, but we're at least on the right track:

For those of you in the market for a small, relatively inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can be launched from your car (you know who you are), have a gander at the Bat 3. The aircraft operates autonomously, delivers high quality video, and fits into a couple of suitcase-sized cases. ItÂ’s got a telemetry range of about 10 miles and will fly for six hours before needing refueling. Amaze all your friends (and everone else, for that matter) by launching your UAV from your car-top, bungee-powered catapult.

Cool beans, but really, for the full James Bond/Speed Racer fantasy, it's got to be a little bit less obtrusive than this:

Next up: Extending/retracting buzzsaws that can cut down trees in your path even when driving at 60 miles per hour through a thick forest (and also seem to somehow clear the big stumps out of your path as well).

Thanks to Nathan.

Posted by: Ace at 10:42 AM | Comments (6)
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Sheesh, I'm getting sick to death of always being right. I've long maintained that the idea of Condi Rice is, like the abstract idea of any political candidate whose views remain a mystery, likely to be much more attractive than the reality.

Now, as many of you have guessed, I'm mildly pro-choice myself. Mildly, though I still maintain Roe v. Wade was an unscrupulous and unconvincing SC decision. I favor some abortion rights, but determined, as the Constitution provides, by the people actually chosen to legislate-- you know, actual legislators.

Still, this takes much of the wind out of the sails of a Condi bid for the Republican nomination, whether as President or Vice-President.

I suppose she could attempt a fudge position that holds that, while she favors as a policy matter a mildly pro-choice position, she believes that judges ought to remain out of this business altogether, and perhaps that will be enough to persuade pro-life conservatives to support her, or at least not desert her entirely in a general election.

But I think that sort of highly, ahem, nuaced position -- while making perfect sense as a matter of logic -- just doesn't really work in quick soundbites and "where they stand" bullet-points. And, alas, that's about as much about politics as most people care to know.

And I see I was wrong about one thing:

"I never wanted to run for anything — I don't think I even ran for class anything when I was in school," she said. "I'm going to try to be a really good secretary of state; I'm going to work really hard at it.

"I have enormous respect for people who do run for office. It's really hard for me to imagine myself in that role."

She was then pressed on whether she would rule out a White House bid by reprising Gen. William T. Sherman's 1884 declaration: "If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve."

"Well, that's not fair," she protested with a chuckle. "The last thing I can — I really can't imagine it."

Translation: she's running.

Pro-Lifers Okay With Condi?: This is only anecdotal, of course, but Josh doesn't have a problem with her position, at least as we can guess at it:

As an ardently anti-abortion Christian Republican, I really don't give a shit what Condi's (or any other GOP presidential candidate) position on abortion is (unless there's some evidence she intends to use the bully pulpit to drum up business for Planned Parenthood). So long as she promises to appoint judges who will repeal Roe and return the issue to the state legislatures where it belongs, I'm fine.

Trouble is that a mildly pro-choice candidate will probably balk at appointing that fifth vote on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

In fact, even announced pro-lifers seem to have trepidation about doing so.

Posted by: Ace at 10:37 AM | Comments (19)
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Can't say I'd blame them if they were, in fact, planning to hit Iran's nuclear reactors and research facilities.

But it's very bad timing for this leak. I don't think this strengthens the Euro-US bargaining position; I think it weakens it, but conjuring up again the "threat" of Israel attacks on Muslims and uniting the Iranian populace against the "Zionist entity."

True, the report says this plan will only go through should negotiations with Iran fail. Still, as Jacques Chirac said, Israel missed a good opportunity to shut up.

Posted by: Ace at 10:31 AM | Comments (10)
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The story's a little different this time: the subject, Tom Slade, is a key Republican organizer in Florida, and he knew he was being taped. However, he says he was told he was giving the interview for a book to be written at some later date, and didn't know his comments would be immediately dashed off to the press.

I don't think he has that much cause for complaint; after all, the comments easily could have been released in a book just before Jeb Bush's likely bid for president in 2008.

Still, a little bit of a hatchet job, and again demonstrating how the press-corps' hearts' beat just a little bit faster when they're up the noses of Republicans. Especially Republicans touted as possible presidential candidates.

In an interview in January, Slade said Bush ``does not have the maturity ... and wisdom'' to be president, and that Bush's administration has been marked by a ``dictatorial'' style and reluctance to take advice. That, he said, could prove a problem for the Republican Party in the future.

He said Jeb Bush and his brother President Bush ``are arrogant as hell.''

...

When Slade learned last week that his interview with Paulson would be the subject of a Tampa Tribune story, he said the comment about Jeb Bush's maturity referred not to his present opinion of Bush, but to the opinion he held earlier in Bush's political career, after his loss in the 1994 governor's race.

He said he has revised that opinion.

...

Most of his statements in the interview, though, are made in the present tense, and all seem to apply to the later Jeb Bush. Slade said, for example, that Jeb Bush ``just didn't have the maturity and wisdom to do his brother's job,'' meaning the presidency, which George W. Bush won in 2000.

Hate to say it, but the Trib seems right on the "present tense" point.

...

Paulson, himself a dedicated Republican, interviewed Slade Jan. 13 at Slade's Jacksonville home. He made a tape of their three-hour talk available to the Tribune.

Two points: First, the press loves claiming that those who involved in Republican hits are themselves "dedicated Republicans." Says who? Says Paulson? Is there any evidence of this apart from his say-so?

Second: Why is it that only alleged Republicans are identified by party affiliation in these hits? Seems to me that most hits come from, ahem, "dedicated liberals or Democrats," and yet the press, in those cases, does not see fit to reveal the partisan sympathies of the person involved.

A lot of this seems to have less to do with politics per se than personal politics:

...he relationship between Slade and Bush cooled after Bush assumed the governor's office.

In the Paulson interview, Slade recounts his opposition to the new chairman Bush chose, Al Cardenas of Miami, and the subsequent bad blood between himself and Cardenas as part of the reason for his break with Bush.
...

Slade [opined], ``They are both arrogant as hell. But George W. has the better part of wisdom.

``I finally came to the conclusion after a relatively short period of time that Jeb does not have the maturity to be president of the United States,'' he said. ``He was clearly smart enough, and probably smarter than his brother, but just didn't have the maturity and wisdom to do his brother's job.''

This seems to be the sort of thing that liberals take as deadly criticism but which many conservatives call "principled and determined leadership:

Bush ``is obviously bright, he is obviously highly principled,'' Slade said in January's interview, but is ``absolutely and uncompromisingly'' committed to his own ideas ``without any need for or tolerance for any advice. ... He is pretty dictatorial in the way he runs things.''

Slade seems to tip his hand as to his reasons for disatisfaction with Bush: Slade's a bit more liberal than Bush is.

Bush ``has been such a powerful figure there has not been any room at all for dialogue. That's not helping,'' he said. ``For us to sustain ourselves, the party's got to be a more inclusive party.''

When ostensible Republicans begin repeating the constant bleat of the New York Times editorial page and of every third Anna Quindlan column, I sort of tune them out as the sorts of observers I care much to consider.

And so the 2008 race is now not merely begun, but substantially engaged.

Posted by: Ace at 10:27 AM | Comments (3)
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