They blowed up that shit real good.

I know. I'm easily amused, and played with gunpowder at the age of nine. Short clip, the splosion happens pretty fast (weapons cache in Iraq, vid uploaded a few days ago but no date certain on the blowin up).

Bonus round: They blowed up the parking garage at the Sands in Atlantic City. It ain't an enemy weapons cache, not as far as I can tell. more...

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 06:59 PM | Comments (20)
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Some religious conservatives are back to trying to push the rest of the party around. Because that worked out so well the last time they did it.

Back in December, some outspoken social cons decided that Rudy Giuliani is a deal breaker, declaring that they would encourage Christian Republicans not to vote if he became the GOP nominee. They're at it again, only this time they're trying to influence who John McCain chooses for vice president, declaring that Mitt Romney is unacceptable. They threaten (PDF):

If Governor Romney is on your ticket, many social conservative
voters will consider their values repudiated by the Republican Party
and either stay away from the polls this November or only vote down
the ticket. For the sake of your election, the health of your party, and
the future of America you must not allow the obvious electoral
consequences of that to occur.

Allah has more links, including some debunking of the flyer's claims. But to answer his question: these people would like a social conservative in their mold to be vice president, which is quite understandable. It's not that they suddenly have a problem with Romney. Rather, they've realized that John McCain most definitely isn't their kind of conservative. Since he started making noise about a VP pick this week, this is their last chance to influence him and Romney serves as a convenient (although inaccurate) proxy for the two things they hate most: abortions and gays.

I suspect that John McCain doesn't react well to attempts to be pushed around. And I'd be pleased to see him choose Romney. As I said before, this type of thing is a bluff. These folks don't have the following to direct social conservatives not to vote. And when it comes down to it, I don't think they have the stones to do it. They put social cons in a horrible position where they can be perceived as having sunk an election because they refused to compromise. More than that, they face irrelevancy if it turns out that McCain wins in spite of their little tantrum.

UPDATE: A bouquet of flowers was just delivered to the Straight Talk Express along with this card: more...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:53 PM | Comments (101)
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Why might Obamessiah turn down such a free advertising and outreach opportunity? I have no idea.

...Philadelphia Gay News Publisher Mark Segal said Thursday...

...The newspaper offered to interview both candidates, offering the same questions in the same order with no follow-up to each. "Obama did not take up that request, Hillary Clinton did," Segal said.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 04:54 PM | Comments (43)
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I first heard that Brett Favre was sniffing around for a new team on Tuesday so I did what any reasonable person did that day and assumed it was an April Fools joke. But L.A. Times writer Sam Farmer reported on it this morning:

According to NFL sources, Favre's agent has quietly inquired with teams about their interest in trading for the three-time NFL most valuable player.

Favre, 38, has yet to give written notice of his retirement to the league or the players' union, although that's neither required nor irrevocable. It's also not uncommon for players to delay in doing so, particularly if they are not in immediate need of their pension money.

Sure Favre didn't seem wild about retiring (ahem), but that was a pretty fast turnaround. His agent says, "That is absolutely false. Absolutely false, and you can quote me on that."

What do you guys think? Fact or fiction?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:45 PM | Comments (20)
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I was surprised at how calm the elections in Zimbabwe were this week. A peaceful transition is probably the last thing anyone would have predicted. Negotiations have been underway for a run-off election which would confirm that Mugabe had lost the presidency. He could settle into a quiet, but wealthy, retirement.

Unfortunately, the Mugabe we know has appeared. Government forces have begun harassing Mugabe's political opposition and foreign journalists covering the situation.

Paramilitary police raided opposition offices at a hotel in central Harare, ransacking rooms as riot police moved in to arrest foreign journalists at a guest house in the capital.

Diplomats said that as many as five journalists were arrested, including a reporter from the New York Times and one Briton.

The moves, described by opposition leaders as the beginnings of a “crackdown”, came after a day in which the besieged octogenarian leader appeared in public for the first time since the polls in which he was defeated by his challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Zimbabwean law provides that a runoff election will be required if the challenger does not get 50%+1 vote. The opposition claims they got 50.3 percent, but no official count has been released. The fear is that Mugabe will put off announcing the official results so as to give himself more time to intimidate the opposition before any runoff.

Meanwhile, the average Zimbabwean is too poor to care.

[UPDATE PA]
More here on the NYT reporter's arrest.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:14 PM | Comments (19)
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What's the best way to show how much you care?
Flowers, candy, a nice romantic dinner for two...
Umm, apparently not.

There is no better way to say "I Love You, Dear" than this.

she said. "He would have dragged me, death rolled me and killed me. He just grabbed me by the leg, if he would have grabbed me up towards my stomach, I reckon I would have been dead."
She said the croc gave up on trying to make her into a snack after her husband, Norm Moreen, jumped on the beast and attacked its eyes. Petherick said she likely would have died without the rescue.
"There's no time for fears you see, when you want to save someone, especially the one you love," Moreen said.

I'm not saying that most of us wouldn't do something like this under the same circumstances, but wow, jumping on the back of a 6 1/2 ft monster and poking it in the eye.
Who says chivalry is dead.

Posted by: Open Blog at 01:35 PM | Comments (34)
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The Japanese love anatomically correct female robots. Japan's scientists design them to perform many of the unpleasant tasks that humans simply will not do. Regardless of the need, whether it be care of the elderly or ensuring the integrity of door vents, rest assured some scientist, somewhere in Japan is working feverishly to fill the void with a female robot. Below is a prime example of this insatiable desire, the creation of an android dental patient. Complete with a mouth permanently agape , terror filled eyes, and painful whimpers, this robot lays ready to discharge her dental duties for years to come.

Posted by: Open Blog at 01:02 PM | Comments (29)
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Many of the beta male morons who have nothing better to do than comment here can give up any hope of getting married. Arkansas has fixed the error in its law that allowed anyone of any age to marry with parental consent has been changed.

"In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (1 years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage."

I know dozens of regular readers are weeping.

Posted by: Open Blog at 12:21 PM | Comments (20)
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A week of crappy blogging by me continues. Maybe you can do better.

Posted by: Ace at 11:51 AM | Comments (27)
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Reuters, filling you in:

If you are male and a Led Zeppelin fan, chances are you may be leaning toward voting Republican in the U.S. presidential election, according to a survey of rock radio fans released on Wednesday.

The Jacobs Media's Media/Technology Web Poll IV of more than 27,000 respondents cited stronger than expected interest in the November 2008 election among fans of rock, classic rock, and alternative radio stations.

It also found that John McCain, the Republican candidate for U.S. president, was the top pick for the Oval Office for men and classic rock partisans -- those people who tune in to stations playing music from the "original classic rock era" of 1964 to 1975, comprised of bands like Led Zeppelin, The Who and Pink Floyd.

Posted by: Ace at 11:49 AM | Comments (82)
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