"We'll be ready," he says.

Iraq's National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie says Iraq's security forces are close to being able to deal with the insurgency.

...

He went on to say that the Iraqi security forces had reached a critical mass and would soon be able to deal with the insurgents. He said army, police and border guards now numbered approximately 250,000.

"They have reached a very good level in terms of their training and equipment and their readiness to combat terrorism," Mr Rubaie said.

"So I believe more of the foreign troops are going to withdraw from Iraq and we are not going to need them in a year or two."

Let's call it a year. Two years for air-support and the like. But boots on the ground-- a year. You have to step up yourselves at some point. Time to take the training wheels off.

Posted by: Ace at 10:41 AM | Comments (6)
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Wow. They're really putting up some big numbers now, huh?

France's economic growth accelerated in the third quarter as a rebound in exports and consumer spending helped lift gross domestic product after an anemic second quarter.

Accelerated from what? 0.2%? Negative 0.8%? The article doesn't say; but apparently it was "anemic" compared to the third quarter's scary-high 0.7% figure.

Paul Krugman called the "economic boom" a "triumph of managed capitalism."

More... Photo-blogging the French Economic Miracle.

Every picture just screams out, "KA-CHING, BABY!!"

And They're Fat Fucks, Too, Update: French kids catching up to Americans in obesity rates.

As the A-Man says-- "One less arrow in their anti-American quiver."

I don't think so. Once they overtake us in portliness, they'll start fetishizing it as a matter of national pride. "You stupid Americans, with your scarecrow-thin 320 pound bodies. You are so hung up on Puritan bourgeois ideas about self-denial you cannot, how you say?, really pig out at Arby's, which is the French way, the better way. I pity your not-quite-morbidly-obese culture as I sit on my E-Z-Boy stuffing Suzy-Q's into my face like I'm chain-smoking round, coconut-sprinkled Galoise zigarettes."

Posted by: Ace at 10:28 AM | Comments (8)
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Apparently following in the footsteps of notorious gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. I'm not 100% sure about the acid part, but given that his thesis is that the loss of freedom due to terrorism measures can be avoided simply by emigrating to the Moon and Mars and even the stars beyond, I think I'm on pretty sturdy ground.

Thus, the human prospect here on Earth: an all-knowing and all-powerful government. Not much room for dissent there.

So is that the end of the story? Human freedom snuffed out by the human capacity for evil and destruction? That's the bleak future here on Earth but not necessarily in the heavens, as distinct from heaven. Some will argue that true liberation is found only in the metaphysical hereafter, but those who seek to guarantee their liberty in corporeal terms will have to make their escape to other heavenly - make that celestial - bodies.

That's the plotline of Robert Heinlein's 1966 novel, "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress." In that far-seeing libertarian-utopian volume, humankind finds its political freedom in space, far from the surly bondage of Earth.

But aren't we a million miles, politically as well as technologically, from space emigration? Unfortunately, cursed by shallow, short-term thinking, we are nowhere close to fulfilling our potential destiny: living freely, spread out across the universe.

Sounds like Jim Pinkerton heeded the A-Man's advice to set aside an hour, spark up a bowl, and listen to Dr. K tell you how it will be in five years. He also might have been listening to Lennon's "Across the Universe" in the background, which is even better when you're baked off your ass.

Posted by: Ace at 10:22 AM | Comments (28)
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I imposed a partial moratorium on myself for BBM stuff -- too much heat from you retards -- but this (from the A-Man) is worth it:

JIM-BOB ZIMMERSCHIED is not a happy cowboy. "They've gone and killed John Wayne with this movie," he says angrily, beer in hand. "I've been doing this job all my life and I ain't never met no gay cowboy. It wouldn't be right."

...

The "gay cowboy flick", as it has been dubbed in America...

They always say that-- "the gay cowboy flick, as it has been dubbed" or "the so-called 'gay cowboy movie.'" Is that not accurate? What the hell else would you call it, if not that? "The movie about two guys tending sheep"?

Personally, I call it "the Gay Slingblade," because Heath Ledger's idea of an American Western accent is just to mimic Billy Bob Thorton's retarded character in Slingblade, down to the laconic lockjaw and strange grumbling noises. Rrrrmrr-hrrrmm, yeah-up, I'm a-fixin' to stick this here "stinkblade" into your secret nethers, rmmmrhm-hrrrm, hrrm-hrrrmm.

Anyway:

American critics have enthused about the film, but the subject matter has earned condemnation from the religious right - and caused considerable distress in rural Wyoming, bastion of the cowboy culture of unadulterated machismo.

...

Flushed by Bud Lite, Mr Zimmerschied, a squat walrus-moustachioed man in a hat and check shirt, was in full flow. "John Wayne and Will Rogers, they made real cowboy movies. They portrayed us like we are. There ain't no queer in cowboy and I don't care for anyone suggesting there is."

...

While the patrons in the Mint Bar may be convinced that they have never met a homosexual cowboy, the popularity of the gay rodeo circuit in America is proof that they exist. "I was born gay and I was born a cowboy," said Mike Yocum, a rodeo enthusiast from Oklahoma. "I grew up in a saddle. It's horseshit to say there's no such thing as a gay cowboy, but it's a very touchy subject."

Meanwhile, Mr Zimmerschied offered a suggestion for another film about same-sex romance on the range. "A movie about two women would be different," he said. "I wouldn't mind that at all."

No I wouldn't mind that much myself, hrrmmrhm-rrrmh, hrrrm-hrrrm.

They buried the lede. There's a "gay rodeo circuit"? For real? Or is that, like, a euphemism?

Posted by: Ace at 10:17 AM | Comments (32)
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...and Dirty Centaurs/Fort Awesome has a sneak transcript (not really) of his opening monologue:

STEWART: Wow, thank you so much! It's so nice to be here hosting the Oscars, where the winners are decided by an unbiased count of votes. That makes it a democratic process, unlike some institutions!

(the audience laughs and titters, amazed at Stewart's cutting-edge boldness)

STEWART: I'm referring, of course, to George W Bush, who stole the last two elections! Ha!

(audience ROARS with laughter already. Camera closes in on Cameron Diaz, with uncontrollable tears streaming down her hideous face)

STEWART: Thank you, thank you. You know, it's up for Best Picture, but one of the more disappointing performances at the box office was the remake of "King Kong." I guess that no one in America was really interested in seeing a movie about a monkey, since we've already had five years of George W Bush!

(audience ROARS with laughter again. Camera zooms in on Jake Gyllenhaal, who is, rather comically, braying like a donkey)

STEWART: Because, you know, George W Bush looks really silly! Like a monkey!

(Laughter repeats. Focus on Leonardo DiCaprio, who has just now gotten the joke and tries to make up for it by laughing really hard)

And there's more, of course.

Man, that Jon Stewart. How does he come up with this stuff? He's so brave. I mean, you're sitting there thinking "Oh no way will he go there," and before you know it, he's not only there already, he's there -- with bells on.

The most courageous man in comedy. The only truth-teller reporting on the news today (according to Fox News Watch's idiot lefty Neal Gabler).

Posted by: Ace at 10:01 AM | Comments (14)
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And what was that sculpture? A porcelain toilet titled "Fountain."

Kind of a red-on-red attack, huh? You kind of want to put down the "guerilla artist" for calling vandalism "art," and then you sort of say, "Well, okay... I guess I really don't care either way."

The entire nation of France is paralyzed over the difficult decision of which artist to side with as being "edgier."

Everything Can Be Compared To Lesbian Porn Update: Ilbis says--

Its like watching lesbian sex. Who ever comes out on top, you're satisified.

Incidentally, I just found out that "Ilbis" is an Arabic name for Satan.

Posted by: Ace at 09:55 AM | Comments (15)
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Are they sure it's a "cane"?

Thanks to Jack Straw.

Burying The Lede Again: Apparently he's not just walking with a cane. Nat says he's dressing like this.

Posted by: Ace at 09:52 AM | Comments (9)
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He claims Mission Accomplished in Iraq, and Afghanistan. I wonder if the media will pounce on him when his rosy predictions demonstrate his faith-based warmaking.

Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video aired on Friday that U.S. President George W. Bush's plans to withdraw troops from Iraq meant Washington had been defeated by the Muslims.

"Bush, you must confess that you have been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan and you will be too in Palestine soon," he said in the video broadcast by Al Jazeera television.

...

"I congratulate the Muslims on Islam's victory in Iraq. I said more than a year ago that the Americans departure from Iraq is only a matter of time," said the bespectacled Zawahri, who wore a white turban and sat next to an assault rifle.

Bush, who has refused to set a timetable for any withdrawal, said on Wednesday reducing U.S. troops in Iraq was possible in 2006.

That of course was always the problem with Bush announcing anything like a troop reduction -- a morale boost for Al Qaeda. But the Iraqi forces are taking over now, and it was going to happen some time. We never planned on being in Iraq forever.

Posted by: Ace at 09:30 AM | Comments (14)
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They're painting it as a mixed jobs report, but it's actually pretty positive:

Job growth slowed in December — following a big hiring spurt in November — with employers expanding payrolls by 108,000, underscoring the sometimes choppy path traveled by job seekers.

The Labor Department's fresh snapshot of the nation's jobs climate, released Friday, also showed that the unemployment rate dipped from 5 percent in November to 4.9 percent in December, as some people left the labor market for any number of reasons.

The 108,000 gain in payrolls registered in December followed a big pickup of 305,000 jobs added in November, according to revised figures released Friday. That was the most since April 2004 and was even stronger than the 215,000 job gains first estimated for November a month ago.

For all of 2005, the economy added 2 million jobs — a solid amount and about the same as the year before. The unemployment rate averaged 5.1 percent last year, an improvement from the 5.5 percent average registered in 2004.

So, there were 108,000 new jobs added in December, plus an additional 90,000 jobs added in November we previously didn't know about. These numbers are almost always adjusted upwards; since I've been posting about this the first friday of every month, I've only seen them adjusted downwards two or three times, and upwards about one half the time.

This:

...the unemployment rate dipped from 5 percent in November to 4.9 percent in December, as some people left the labor market for any number of reasons.

...seems to miss the point that people left the ranks of the unemployed not because they left the labor market but because there has been sustained jobs creation for three years now. But they're stuck on the idea that the unemployment numbers only go down because "discouraged workers" just finally throw in the towel. And do what, exactly? Move out to the street and die?

Certainly there must be some of that, but how about maybe the unemployment rate went down largely because more people are working?

"Discouraged workers" is the pessimistic economic mantra the media has decided on for the Bush Administration. I expected them to simply trot out "the Decade of Greed" again, but I guess they know that doesn't work (it conveys that people are making money, even if greedily, and the media doesn't want to admit that), so "The Era of Discouraged Workers" it is.

In fairness, this AP article is not especially pessimistic. The headline is "Job Growth Slows In Dec. After Nov. Spurt," which is true enough, and admits that "November spurt thing." And:

We have a sturdy job market," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. He expects another 2 million jobs to be created this year and that average unemployment rate for all of 2006 will move lower.

...

Economists said that the slower growth in payrolls in December was likely to be temporary and didn't suggest a serious backslide in the labor market.

...

Analysts pointed out that month-to-month job figures can be erratic but that the picture painted over the past year is a good one.

Look, if one month has a very high job creation number, generally the next month is going to be lower-- apparently those adding jobs chose November to do so. The average over the last two months 206,500, which is a strong number.

Thanks to Brian.

Posted by: Ace at 09:17 AM | Comments (25)
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...what happens to the champion t-shirts and hats for the team that doesn't win the big game? They're obviously already made, as the actual winner immediately dons its championship paraphrenalia; but what happens to the loser's almost-championship gear?

Slate answers the question. Part of the answer is obvious (some of that stuff gets shredded); part of it is also kind of obvious, but still nice to know (some of it gets donated to clothe poor folks in the third world; they don't know who won the 2005 Rose Bowl anyway).

Okay, it's not the most pressing question, but I did always sort of wonder. Slightly.

Posted by: Ace at 09:08 PM | Comments (82)
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