Fom the guys who did "Silence of the Lambs: the Musical."

Thanks to rng.

Posted by: Ace at 08:35 AM | Comments (3)
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A pretty clever ploy by Maverick. Not game changing but clever nonetheless

Republican John McCain on Monday sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for not having been to Iraq since 2006, and said they should visit the war zone together.

"Look at what happened in the last two years since Senator Obama visited and declared the war lost," the GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting told The Associated Press in an interview, noting that the Illinois senator's last trip to Iraq came before the military buildup that is credited with curbing violence.

"He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time," the Arizona senator added. "If there was any other issue before the American people, and you hadn't had anything to do with it in a couple of years, I think the American people would judge that very harshly."

McCain needs this election to be about Iraq and security and whether or not Obama takes him up on it, this is a good way to get some well deserved attention for the progress thatÂ’s being made there.

What can Obama do? If he goes, he changes the issue from bugging out to the progress being made. All his talk about withdrawing while the facts show we may be on the cusp of victory isnÂ’t going to play well with those bitter, gun clinging people he needs so badly.

If he doesn’t go, what happens to his ‘I am the only one who can unite the world’ talk? He’s willing to go talk to every tin pot thug in the world but not American troops? Yeah, that’s a winning plan.

What about Obama's bi-partisan happy talk? Well, itÂ’s mostly just that, talk. McCain, for better or worse does have an actual record of working with Democrats. If thatÂ’s your kind of thing and lots of people say it is (in theory anyway), then McCain is your guy.

Either way, Obama should go to Iraq (He hasnÂ’t been there in two years? Things have changed). I doubt the reality of the situation will matter to him but he should be forced to deal with the reality of the situation.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:06 AM | Comments (97)
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In one of his more egregious and easily demonstrated lies, made even more so by the day he decided to let it loose on, Obama has rewritten WWII history such that the allies liberated Auschwitz.

...Obama also spoke about his uncle, who was part of the American brigade that helped to liberate Auschwitz...

The Allies were wrapping up the battle of the bulge in late January of 1945 -- the Rhine crossings were still well into the future when Auschwitz was liberated. The first, the Remagen railway bridge which was discovered intact, was crossed on March 7 1945.

Of course it goes without saying that the media has thus far failed to call the Messiah on this apparently obviously outrageous lie. Unless Obama's "uncle" was serving in the Red Army, its a pretty safe bet he was many hundreds of miles from Auschwitz on its day of liberation.

Update [ace]: The WaPo quotes him as claiming his uncle was one of the first US troops to enter Auschwitz, with no claim of liberating it:

"In World War Two we didn't have the concept of post traumatic stress syndrome. People had to basically handle it on their own," he said. Referring to an uncle who had been one of the first U.S. troops into Auschwitz, the concentration camp, Obama said: "The story in the family is he came home and just went up in the attic."

Update [ace]: Duh. Rather than rely on a paraphrase from the WaPo I should have just watched the video, below. He does claim his uncle was one of the first troops to "liberate" Auschwitz.

Apologies for getting this wrong and also for undermining Purple Avenger without doing sufficient checking.
UPDATE: VIDEO BELOW THE FOLD [lauraw]: more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 05:11 AM | Comments (452)
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Posted by: Open Blog at 12:49 AM | Comments (19)
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Just wanted to slip this over the transom before the Big Guy wakes up, and while itÂ’s still Memorial Day (at least in Hawaii, our 57th state.)

AP story courtesy of an obscure website.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last known living American-born veteran of World War I, was honored Sunday at the Liberty Memorial during Memorial Day weekend celebrations.
"I had a feeling of longevity and that I might be among those who survived, but I didn't know I'd be the No. 1," the 107-year-old veteran said at a ceremony to unveil his portrait.

Buckles sailed for England in 1917 on the Carpathia, which is known for its rescue of Titanic survivors, and spent his tour of duty working mainly as a driver and a warehouse clerk in Germany and France. He rose to the rank of corporal and after Armistice Day he helped return prisoners of war to Germany.
Buckles later traveled the world working for the shipping company White Star Line and was in the Philippines in 1940 when the Japanese invaded. He became a prisoner of war for nearly three years.

Federal officials have also arranged for his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Posted by: Open Blog at 12:35 AM | Comments (15)
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I've never understood how You Tube has survived as long as it has, much less why Google thought it was a good investment. Nevertheless, they continue to fight.

A $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit challenging YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off its popular video-sharing site threatens how hundreds of millions of people exchange all kinds of information on the Internet, YouTube owner Google Inc. said.

It seems like a really clear case of copyright infringement to me.

But I'm no lawyer, so I'll leave it to the experts. I do find one statement by Viacom to be just absolutely incredible:

Viacom said it had identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of copyrighted programming — including "SpongeBob SquarePants," "South Park" and "MTV Unplugged" episodes and the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" — that had been viewed "an astounding 1.5 billion times."

1.5 Billion. With a "B".

Damned if L. Ron Hubbard hasn't just started spinning in his cryogenic chamber.

Update and correction:

John J and sandy burger tag-team to tighten up my loose shit. (Does that sound as queer as it looks? Stupid grammar-nazi's get what they deserve I sez.)

John J: It doesn't say that An Inconvenient Truth has been viewed 1.5 billion times. It says that the 150,000 "illegal" clips have been viewed a total of 1.5 billion times.

sandy b: As I read it, this does not mean that Al Gore's movie has been viewed 1.5 billion times. This means that these copyrighted clips have been viewed 10,000 times each, on average.

So I guess L. Ron's reaction is more of a bored yawn. I'm pretty certain Tom Cruise is still a manic couch hopper though.

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:31 PM | Comments (23)
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Of course Memorial Day is to remember and honor all those who have given their lives defending this country throughout its entire history. It is however only natural to focus a bit more on those newest heroes who gave the last full measure defending this country in the on going Global War on Terror.

These men and women are worthy heirs to a heritage dating back to Lexington and Concord. ItÂ’s a heritage that continued through the Civil War, on to WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam as well as Cold War battlefields unnamed and dozens of other actions large and small that contributed to the betterment of this country and the world.

Too often we hear the numbers of the those killed and wounded without any context of why they fought and what they accomplished. As this Memorial Day weekend winds up, IÂ’d like to take a moment and point out what those 4,500 Americans helped to accomplish in Iraq alone.

US ambassador: Al-Qaida close to defeat in Iraq

U.S Ambassador Crocker spoke as he visited reconstruction projects in the southern city of Najaf.

"There is important progress for the Iraqi forces in confronting the Sunni and Shiite militias," he said, speaking Arabic to reporters. "The government, the prime minister are showing a clear determination to take on extremist armed elements that challenge the government's authority ... no matter who these elements are."

"You are not going to hear me say that al-Qaida is defeated, but they've never been closer to defeat than they are now," Crocker said.
The U.S. military says attacks have dropped dramatically — down to an average of 41 a day across the country, the lowest rate since 2004 — amid the crackdowns and truces. The U.S. military, backed by Sunni Arab tribal fighters, have scored successes in battling al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents in western parts of the country.

We shouldnÂ’t get too far ahead of ourselves in this sort of thing but you have to think when a man as cautious and knowledgeable as Crocker is, is willing to go this far, things must be very bleak indeed for the terrorists.

I don’t care if people claim this isn’t the ‘real’ al-Qaida or the one that attacked us on 9/11. The fact is Iraq is where Islamists from around the world went to fight and kill Americans. They wanted to prove that America was still the same paper tiger that turned and ran like we did in Somalia. They paid a very high price to learn that America wasn’t going to do that this time.

There's never going to be a VI or VA Day but the fact that the organization and ideology that lead to September 11, 2001 have been dealt such a blow is something to be grateful for.

As bin Laden himself said, "When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, naturally they will like the strong horse."

Thanks to the courage, skill and sacrifice of the fallen and those left behind carrying on the fight, there is no doubt who the strong horse is.

Posted by: DrewM at 03:40 PM | Comments (20)
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UPDATE: Okay, we're one hour in and this is bad, bad, BAD. The actual story--a killer virus and the effort to figure it out--is completely lost in a seriously boring Conspiracy Theory plot with too many characters that we don't care about at all. I don't know what it is about Hollywood--or viewers--who think that a government conspiracy theory is per se compelling television, but I wish they'd all knock it off. One shadowy conspiracy too far made me quit Prison Break and Jericho. This one just made me switch off Andromeda Strain.

Don't watch this. I'm sorry I brought it up.

Original Post:
A&E's reenvisioned Andromeda Strain is on tonight at 9/8 Central. The story has been updated for the 21st century. Though it's been somewhat panned, I'll be watching just because the novel scared the crap out of me as a kid.

Come to think if it, I used to love all that "biological thriller" stuff. Richard Preston's The Hot Zone comes to mind, as well as a MacGuyver episode rip-off of Andromeda Strain that kept me from falling asleep for a week. Anyone have suggestions for more recent novels in the genre?

Personal Anecdote: Preston's books The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event had a hand in inspiring me to major in cell and molecular biology when I started school. A few years later I graduated with a double major, neither of which constituents were science-related. I did have a helluva lot of extra biology and chem credits, though.

This will be my last post of the day, so please consider it an Open Thread.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 01:13 PM | Comments (65)
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100% of Aussie men replied "Oi! That's only because they haven't been had by me!"

According to the shrinks:

The survey found rates of sexual desire were similar to those shown in international studies, but Australian women appeared to have more problems with arousal and orgasm.

Whoa... since when is female sexual satisfaction tied to the mythical female orgasm? I fear they are going down a road here that will lead to heartache and chafing for everyone.

"It seems women go into the bedroom and expect it will happen quickly, automatically, with orgasm, even be multi-orgasmic..."

Seriously - ladies? Get a grip. I've bedded many women in my life, and none of them ever even talked about an orgasm, much less a "multiple" orgasm. Their concern was solely for my well being, as it should be.

Their tender words were almost always something to the effect of "what else can I do to help you achieve sweet release?".

Actually I think it was more like "are you done yet?". Same difference.

Posted by: Open Blog at 12:26 PM | Comments (35)
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Though the Democratic presidential candidates are breaking records, the DNC is struggling to raise money this year and the lack ensures that Democrats will do what they do best: blame each other.

DNC supporters say several factors have contributed to the shortfall. Among them, they say, are that the protracted race between Obama and Clinton has soaked up funds that would otherwise go the party committee; DNC Chairman Howard Dean's commitment to his "50 State Strategy" has been costly; and that House and Senate Democrats have aggressively pitched donors on efforts to expand their congressional majorities.

Whatever the cause, there is broad agreement that the DNC's cash position will put significant pressure on the party's nominee -- probably Obama -- to raise vast sums quickly for the national committee to compete with Republicans during the late spring and summer.

There's good news for Republicans, too. According to the article, the DNC had only $4.4 million on hand at the end of April. The RNC has $40.6 million. Now if only we had a strategy on how to spend it.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 12:19 PM | Comments (17)
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