Susan Hallums, ex-wife of former hostage in Iraq Roy Hallums, left this comment on my post here:

I was deeply saddened to hear that more hostages were taken. These men were good Christian men trying to help promote peace in Iraq. I will pray for their safe release and for their families. There is such devastation to the families , I know this horror... I pray for them , I wish I could help in some way.

I replied to Ms. Hallums via email, here is what I wrote:

Please do not take any criticism I have for the CPT organization as a whole to mean that I have no empathy for the plight of these people.

I do not believe for one minute, no matter what brought them to Iraq, that anyone should be subjected to what Mr. Hallums went through.

I've watched what happened to Nick Berg and the others, I know full well what these people are capable of, and I wish that on no human being.

I still pray for Mr. Hallums', and your, good health, although I know you may never fully recover from his ordeal.

Ms. Hallums was kind enough to reply, however, since I don't have permission, and it's irrelevant to this post anyway, I won't publish it.

Look, kids, I spent a healthy chunk of my dwindling free time yesterday perusing the CPT website, and I wholeheartedly disagreed with just about, well, no, absolutely everything they do. From the Adopt a Detainee campaign to opposing any kind of enforcement of our national sovereignty on the border.

But I still won't wash my hands of these hostages. Here's another nugget I found this evening:

The organization is supported by several Protestant denominations, including the Mennonite Church, that believe Christianity forbids all war-making and violence. It has sent activists into war zones, including Bosnia and Haiti, since the late 1980s. It has about 160 members around the world and about a dozen in Iraq.

Folks, based upon their website, I was under the impression that this group was far larger than it really is. Had I known this, I wouldn't have spent so much time on that website. The influence they wield is precisely nil. Jane Novak, one woman with a blog, has had more global impact in a year than these people have in 20.

So what is the lesson here? First off, as Rusty said in his reply to Ms. Hallums' comment, and I paraphrase, "I believe they're misguided, but they're victims nonetheless." Second, I draw from my own experience. I've written posts about local stories on my home blog about murdered children, and twice the mothers of those children, like Susan Hallums, commented on my post. And like Susan Hallums, I've had a nice exchange of email.

These hostages, whose politics and ideology I may wholeheartedly disagree with, are still human beings. They have, from what I know right now, committed no evil acts that have placed them in the situation they're in. Granted, running around in Iraq as a member of the Christian Peacemakers may not be the smartest thing to do in this day and age, but it's surely not evil.

There's that, and there's what I've been alluding to this whole time. These people have families and friends. They more than likely have family and friends who, like me, totally disagree with the mission they undertook, or the views they hold. But, be that as it may, the loved ones of these people probably don't care one whit about those political views right now. They surely don't believe that these people deserve to be in the place they are.

And neither do I. Granted, this all may turn out to be one big stunt, but at this point, I could care less. If it is, all I'm out is the fact that maybe I cared a little too much. I can live with that.

What I couldn't live with is if I were making statements like the ones I've read, on this blog and others. Glib, making flip comments, only to see these people get the Nick Berg treatment. If it were my brother (quite a moonbat in his own right, I must say) over there, and I stumbled upon some of what I've read both here and elsewhere, I would be disgusted.

If you still can't find empathy for these four based on their ideology, that's fine, I can't control what you think or feel. But at least pause for a moment and consider their families.

F.E.T.E

Posted by: Vinnie at 11:51 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Fox News Store is now selling Christmas ornaments for Christmas trees.

Real Teen has tipped me off to a story that is just somewhat baffling. The FOX News Shop is selling ornaments this year but not just any ornaments holiday ornaments; not Christmas tree ornaments:

You'd think a cable news channel with Bill O'Reilly who has been saying that Christmas is under attack and that he doesn't think it's right and then you have John Gibson who has a published book titled, The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought would be smart enough to have Christmas tree ornaments for sale.

The ultra-liberal blog, Daily Kos is calling Bill O'Reilly a hypocrite and thinks that all of us Conservatives will follow suit giving Fox News a pass on this one. I have to say that those Kos readers will be sadly disappointed when they realize that Christmas is here to stay and that no store or news network will get a pass on this one.

Real Teen is lobbying bloggers to call for a boycott of the Fox News Channel if they don't change the wording from holiday tree and holiday ornament to Christmas tree and Christmas ornament. The boycott will start on Saturday, December 3, 2005 at 1930 EDT. You should express your concern to those at Fox News via one of these methods:

Fox News Contact Page
(88 369-4762
comments@foxnews.com
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

I'm sure if reilly@foxnews.com">Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson were alerted to this they'd be furious too so you might as well drop them a line.

Merry Christmas,
Chris Short

UPDATE: PROGRESS! Already the titles of the products have been changed to Christmas Ornament but the term holiday tree still exists. The boycott stands until holiday tree is changed to Christmas tree:

Originally Posted at

Posted by: Chris Short at 07:43 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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A senior delegation of U.S. lawmakers, led by Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the powerful chairman of the House International Relations Committee, was snubbed by Venezuelan authorities at Maiquetia International Airport in Caracas. The delegates were not allowed to disembark from their plane and eventually left.

Venezuelan officials denied reports that the incident happened, however, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Venezuelan government had in fact apologized for the incident.

It's my perception that Hugo Chavez's attitude toward international diplomacy will soon be indistinguishable from the attitude of North Korea's Kim Jong Il.

 

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 06:12 PM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
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Indication #1: 50 Cent plays a bat mitzvah

Indication #2: Celebration of absolutely dreadful writing

Indication #3: Sen. Kerry still sees himself as an important voice for policy matters (ha, the joke's on him though... he was never important)

Indication #4: Rusty gives me the key to this place. Certainly some will recognize me, as I have been around here since the beginning. My comments usually make no sense and involve the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy in some way, or are latent with extreme hostility.

In order to prevent the fall of the west, I will do the one thing I know how. I will rant with furious anger, babble with furious anger, and bring this blog back to it's core and true foundation -- ethnic slurs and Star Wars. Expect lots of both. You have been warned.

Wine-aholic

UPDATE: Rusty reminds me that I should always make room for "religious slurs" as well as ethnic ones. Tally-ho, sir. I couldn't agree more.

Posted by: wineaholic at 03:43 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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I just downloaded Firefox 1.5 and although I try to keep personal stuff out of this blog, can I just say how much I love Firefox. The Jawa Report looks so sweet with Firefox 1.5. That little glitch which doesn't allow IE users to copy and paste text from The Jawa Report is fixed in Firefox 1.5. Even writing this post seems like a better experience. And it is soooo much faster than my IE browser ever was!

And the best part? This little Jawa logo that the good folks at Mozilla have somehow managed to add to The Jawa Report url field:

Posted by: Rusty at 03:06 PM | Comments (24) | Add Comment
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1 Dude, it doesn't take much to please you. Firefox didn't put that little icon there. Your webmaster did. Firefox just allows it to be displayed. IE will too if it's coded right in the head of your HTML.

Posted by: Oyster at November 30, 2005 03:16 PM (fl6E1)

2 Really? Cool. I didn't know that.

Posted by: Rusty at November 30, 2005 03:17 PM (JQjhA)

3 Konqueror is my browser of choice, it has a lot of the features that Firefox has, plus a whole lot more: 1. on the fly disabling/enabling of Java/Javascript/cookies via click on the toolbar, or a global per domain ACL of the above. 2. icon on toolbar allows me to change browser string, or I can configure it to do it on only certain sites (e.g sites that insist you use IE) 3. w3 tools (via konqplugins) ! 4. enable/disable caching using toolbar icon. 5. Tabs configured to have a close button, or favicon, can arrange tabs with Ctrl and configure to open new tab after current window or before. etc 6. Autorefresh, can select from toolbar menu to refresh page in 1/2/3/4/5/ minutes etc. good for webmail. 7. Speaking Plugin: sounds like a cross between Alf, and Robby the robot but speaks webpage! pretty small footprint in ram too, which is one of the reasons I do not use Mozilla, its quite a memory hog.

Posted by: dave at November 30, 2005 03:25 PM (CcXvt)

4 You what on the what?

Posted by: Rusty at November 30, 2005 03:31 PM (JQjhA)

5 One thing to remember about Firefox is that every so often it will spontaneously download and install the latest version, and if you don't have your bookmarks backed up, it will wipe them, and months of links to the best interracial tranny midget horse pr0n will be lost. Or so I've heard...

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at November 30, 2005 03:46 PM (0yYS2)

6 I also forgot the fact that it will store each of my bookmarks with the favicon (like the cool little jawa) which makes it really easy to visually go through the bookmarks to see what I want to select. It also has a built in "link checker" that goes through my bookmarks and shows me when the last time a page was updated, or if it's a 404 and needs deleting etc.

Posted by: dave at November 30, 2005 03:48 PM (CcXvt)

7 Welcome to my world Rusty.

Posted by: Chris Short at November 30, 2005 04:01 PM (0OCQY)

8 Been using Firefox for a while now, much better than IE.

Posted by: MathewK at November 30, 2005 04:02 PM (pVHqF)

9 I can see we'll have a lively discussion here on the merits of each browser - except Rusty. ;-)

Posted by: Oyster at November 30, 2005 04:53 PM (YudAC)

10 Admiral Rusty, Seven times we have come to you, olive branch in hand, only to be rebuffed and to meet you on the field of battle. We come now before you, the eighth time. If you rebuff us again you might consider the following: The life of an insur-gent is cheap by your standards. American lives have much more value, even to an insur-gent. You have your high tech gadgets and we, our toys. But we are willing to die by the millions if necessary. 5 digits and you're out. So it's a situation of bidirectional asymmetry. Ultimately, you will feel the weight of our penal code if you persist in your ways. We bring the convicted to the main square, in a cage. The children and elderly then pelt the convict repeatedly with water balloons. Kids, huh, huh. Sometimes they fill the balloons up with urine. The women stay home. They have seen it before and have better things to do. The men look on, smoking their pipes and taking in the scene. They remark on the athletic skills of little Billy or Bobby. We are a peaceful people but we will take up the balloon if provoked. We offer the following suggestions: 1). Come up with a clear set of rules. Define the limits of discourse. Delineate acts that are grounds for banishment. (Might we suggest that Posing should be one such act.) 2) Enforce the rules even-handedly. We will think you just and you will have our blessings.

Posted by: Insur-gent at November 30, 2005 05:12 PM (KzOsW)

11 this is his site faggot he doesn't have to do one thing you suggest, if he does not like you he can moderate you, ban you or whatever he feels fit. if you don't like how he runs his site feel free to go elsewhere. You would be better over in the echo chamber of dailykos anyway, where you could feel free to don your tinfoil hat and talk about the j00o0s and 9/11 and whatever nutcase conspiracy theories you all have.

Posted by: dave at November 30, 2005 05:22 PM (CcXvt)

12 If we're taking a vote, off with his head, I say. I assure you, the "olive branch" has thorns. He has no honor.

Posted by: Oyster at November 30, 2005 05:29 PM (YudAC)

13 Greg is nothing but a troll, and should have a lifetime ban imposed on him.

Posted by: jesusland joe at November 30, 2005 05:40 PM (rUyw4)

14 So now I can copy and paste from Jawa and pretend it came from me? I wondered why I couldn't do that before. Schweet! PS Thank you for the nomination of honorable mention for my Cindy Sheeman caption. It's an honor. *tears of joy* Did I win any cash or something cause I've been waiting to hear back?

Posted by: thirdee at November 30, 2005 05:44 PM (WE00T)

15 Thirdee: "Sheeman"? Did you do that on purpose? Because it's pretty funny.

Posted by: Oyster at November 30, 2005 05:49 PM (YudAC)

16 Gregorio, Dude, what is your fascination with my blog? We enjoyed having you around for awhile, but you have overstayed your welcome. Your childish antics were annoying but your comment spam is abusive. I have unbanned you in the past, but your present abusive behavior is too much.

Posted by: Rusty at November 30, 2005 07:40 PM (JQjhA)

17 Give me all the info you have on him Rusty, I'm gonna make a road trip to Vegas next year, and I could swing by his way to personally limit his internet usage capabilities.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at November 30, 2005 08:01 PM (0yYS2)

18 Rustito, There are too many lies to discredit. The 9-11 truth movement was recently bolstered by a paper in press, authored by Dr. Jones of BYU. http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.html He has a testable hypothesis that explosives, such as thermite or RDX, were pre-positioned in WTC1, 2 and 7, thus, bringing them down on 9-11. He actually proves the hypothesis in the course of his paper. The official version of 9-11 is a lie. Americans must understand the nature of the beast that governs them.

Posted by: Insur-gent at November 30, 2005 08:43 PM (KzOsW)

19 Hmmm...could have sworn this was a comment area on the browser topic...Or did I miss the sign that said "Idiot Libs with no balls to comment in other posts for fear of getting ripped a new one post here" sign?... The site looks great in SAFARi as well Rus !

Posted by: Tarheel at November 30, 2005 09:13 PM (GYxT8)

20 I get all of that with Safari...

Posted by: Ariya at November 30, 2005 10:10 PM (noCGr)

21 Ariya: Of course you do, and here's why: In kicking off the Macworld Expo keynote, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a new Macintosh web browser named Safari. Jobs said the browser was "based on standards", "works with any Web site", has much-improved performance over IE (page-loading speed is "three times faster", JavaScript performs twice as fast and it launches "40% faster" - comparisons to Netscape 7.0 shows similar performance gains on the Macintosh platform). The KDE connection: "[f]or its Web page rendering engine, Safari draws on software from the Konqueror open source project. Weighing in at less than one tenth the size of another open source renderer, Konqueror helps Safari stay lean and responsive." The good news for Konqueror: Apple, which said that it will be "a good open source citizen [and] share[] its enhancements with the Konqueror open source community"

Posted by: dave at November 30, 2005 10:31 PM (CcXvt)

22 The 9-11 truth movement was recently bolstered by a paper in press, authored by Dr. Jones of BYU. Yes Greg, along with his paper about Jesus being in North America? http://www.physics.byu.edu/faculty/jones/rel491/handstext and figures.htm Im guessing that means it happened to right? because the illustrious Dr. Jones "bolstered" the theory by writing a paper on it. damn you're a moron.

Posted by: dave at November 30, 2005 10:38 PM (CcXvt)

23 Well, at least greg finally gave himself a befitting name.

Posted by: Oyster at December 01, 2005 08:41 AM (fl6E1)

24 McGovern attacks the press. More importantly, he goes further than any high ranking government official has gone before on 9-11, and on identifying the real criminals behind our money system and our government. Note: This audio interview was not available live on the 29th due to "problems with the computers", so it was rebroadcast on the 30th, but again "problems" occurred. And it is not available on the GCN archives as of the 30th! Could it be that some group is worrying that too much serious information is making it to the public? Please download and post these audio files! http://www.iamthewitness.com/DarylBradfordSmithInterviewsMcGovern.html

Posted by: Insur-gent at December 01, 2005 12:52 PM (KzOsW)

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Far too many people are unclear on the concept of propaganda. In their minds, propaganda is equated with intentional lies spread by governments. This is wrong. From Merriam-Webster we learn that propaganda is:

2 : the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3 : ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect

Propaganda is not a problem, it is what that propaganda is used for that is a problem.

So, when the Left villifies the use of propaganda in furthering the goal of winning the war in Iraq, they are a) unaware of how to use the term properly, b) unaware that all armies--by definition--must engage in the spread of propaganda because facts are meaningless without some context, c) are hypocritically comfortable with a Marine killing a terrorist but not with a Marine paying a newspaper to say that the terrorist is bad, or d) are only comfortable when propaganda is prepared by them--in which case they don't believe the propaganda is really propaganda, because we all know that the objective truth is whatever the Left says it is--in which case we return to (a) since this means that they are unclear on the definition of propaganda.

Earlier today a Leftist reader e-mailed me a story from the L.A. Times which claims the U.S. pays Iraqi newspapers to publish stories favorable to the U.S. By definition this is propaganda. What is vexing, though, is why any one would have any objections to this unless they are making any of mistakes a-d listed above?

Jeff Goldstein is always a good man to go to in a pinch when semantics are at issue.

I’m not so sure I see “largely factual” pro-American “propaganda” as too much of a problem if it helps to burnish the image of Americans in the eyes of skeptical Iraqis long under the boot heel of a tyranical dictator—and in doing so, helps save soldiers lives and expedites the victory on the ground and the establishment of a strong and viable Iraqi government.

Also, it bears noting here the the US military is working with willing Iraqi newspapers in an effort to thwart the insurgency by defeating them not just on the battlefield, but in the sphere of public perception.

Questions: have we used these same techniques in other wars? Certainly. Should we? Absolutely—particularly if it could save US soldiers’ lives and help end the insurgency. [READ THE REST]

Except, of course, the news isn't "fake." Biased? Yes, but it's supposed to be - it's part of the propaganda campaign. Propaganda is important in any war, but it's vital in a media war.

That's not fascism; that's fighting a battle where no one gets shot at and no one gets killed.

What made the Nazi propaganda of Josef Goebells and Tokyo Rose so wrong (and why both were legitimate military targets) was not that it was propaganda but that it was propaganda meant to undermine the victory of the United States millitary.

Propaganda is a weapon in war. When any weapon is in the hands of our military, it is an asset. Weapons are bad only when they are in the hands of the enemy.

Which makes one wonder why Leftists, so-called 'moderates', or even some on the Right, would consider a weapon in the hands of the U.S. military a bad thing? Unless, of course, they considered the real enemy to be.......

Not that I would ever question anyone's patriotism....

(via Glenn, who I'll hat tip even though I would have got to Steve and Jeff's post had not "I" come before "P" and "V" in my RSS reader)

More below if you're really into the philosophy of contextualized and hierarchical rights in a state of war. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 02:23 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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1 the trap of depending on propaganda is that it seems to validate the lie that the deception that the will is free and within that 'freedom' the emotions of another can be manipulated for the desired result: more words as 'info'/'intel' as grist for the mill of a supposed 'free' will intelligence community. Which is merely a set up for worse evils down the road.. the 'propaganda' on-going in the US as policy both secretly and openly is the anti-Christ that Islam is real faith and not an outight deception/lie. The US is psy-oping itself with a lie and all other 'propaganda' proceed from that one lie. Proverbs 10:24 The fear of a wicked man , it shall come upon him; but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Posted by: here and there at November 30, 2005 03:39 PM (6krEN)

2 My RSS reader lets me sort unread items by date. Which is usually good, except that a lot of feeds out there don't have proper dates!

Posted by: IO ERROR at November 30, 2005 03:46 PM (iQUq8)

3 From one Burkean libertarian to another: outstanding. Imagine what the left, or Reason magazine, would have had to say about Abe Lincoln, who simply closed presses and locked editors in prison. That all ended when the Civil War did, and appears to have been necessary at the time. War has its own imperatives, and we are at war. Again, superb post.

Posted by: Mona at November 30, 2005 03:48 PM (FUJZ7)

4 Good point Mona; Lincoln understood that the freedom of the press means freedom to express opinion and report fact, but not advocate for the enemy.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at November 30, 2005 03:57 PM (0yYS2)

5 While I agree with your philosophy here, more than you can know, the idea of censorship is an much larger hurdle today. Why? The Internet.

Posted by: Oyster at November 30, 2005 03:57 PM (fl6E1)

6 I tell you, Rusty, you have attracted some 'dandies' with these posts on the CPT hostages. Whoa! And that 'here and there' guy is more there than here, if you know what I mean.

Posted by: jesusland joe at November 30, 2005 04:00 PM (rUyw4)

7 Joe, I was gonna say that. I don't understand what it is he's trying to say: What's that, Lassie? There's a rabbit trapped in the well?

Posted by: Oyster at November 30, 2005 04:57 PM (YudAC)

8 Yeah, I just figure incoherent comments like here and there's are kinda par for the course.

Posted by: Rusty at November 30, 2005 05:00 PM (JQjhA)

9 Rusty: The idiosyncratic use of the term "propaganda" by the left is entirely consistent with the doctrinaire Marxist use of the term "ideology." In Marxist parlance, "ideology" is strictly something that the ruling class uses to pull the wool over the eyes of the unsuspecting proletariat, creating what Marx called "false consciousness." Thus, the term "ideology" can't be used to refer to Marxism, since it is simply the truth, and is about the reinstatement of "true consciousness." So it isn't that the don't understand the term, it's that they have a very idiosyncratic meaning of which they are well aware, provided they're well schooled in their own basic principles.

Posted by: Demosophist at November 30, 2005 06:04 PM (7sM+R)

10 Not that I would ever question anyone's patriotism ... Whyever not? Surely by refusing to even consider the possibility, you are ceding the playing field to those who define 'patriotism' rather loosely. There is nothing wrong with questioning someone's patriotism. There is something wrong in not defining what you mean by the term and then accusing others of not measuring up. For example I think the LA Times story was un-patriotic in the most fundamental sense as it deliberately undermined its own Nation in a time of conflict. And for no good reason to boot.

Posted by: dougf at November 30, 2005 08:44 PM (STFua)

11 Agent Smith says beware of anyone who finishes any statement that ends with "in the name of Jesus". Agent Jones says, "including Agent Smith".

Posted by: Agent Smith at December 01, 2005 06:45 AM (Ww5es)

12 Agent Jones in a "Frenchman Moment" discovered this in an article from Salon.com: "The notion that reporting on the guerrilla war in Iraq abets terrorism is typical of the logic of any extreme right-wing political movement. All censorship by all military regimes in the Middle East has been imposed on the grounds that journalists' speech is dangerous to society and could cause public turmoil (fitna). Rumsfeld's reasoning in this regard would be instantly recognizable to any Arab journalist from their experience with their own governments." http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/113005Q.shtml

Posted by: Agent Smith at December 01, 2005 06:55 AM (Ww5es)

13 "The notion that reporting on the guerrilla war in Iraq abets terrorism is typical of the logic of any extreme right-wing political movement." (For one thing, let's look at the author, Juan Cole. Partisan extraordinaire.) It's horsesh*t and you know it. It's not the reporting. It's the one-sided reporting that abets them. Nice how you bought into that so quickly and used it as an argument. That's so "typical of the logic of any extreme left-wing political movement". But I'm not questioning your patriotism ...

Posted by: Oyster at December 01, 2005 07:35 AM (YudAC)

14 There is a compelling argument for propaganda during war, but Bob Steele makes an even more compelling counter argument for modern information operations which is the following: "Modern IO is not about the old messages of PSYOP, but rather about empowering billions of people with both information tools and access to truthful information. It is about education, not manipulation. It is about sharing, not secrecy. It is about human understanding to create wealth and stabilize societies, not about the threat of violence and the delivery of precision munitions. IO substitutes information for violence." Education would be to accurately represent the merits and disadvantages of BOTH sides of any argument. You don't get this with Propaganda. You only highlight the benefits of your idea and the disadvantages of the other idea while suppressing the disadvantages of your idea and the advantages of the other ideas. And so it is an issue of proportionality and emphasis that makes propaganda deceptive and manipulative. So while you may be able to gain some short-term advantage with propaganda as a communications strategy, in the long-run it's a losing battle in winning the hearts and minds of the people as well as empowering them with the critical thinking skills necessary to be able to govern themselves as a viable democracy. There's also a lack of transparency that eventually makes your strategic message less credible as soon as people realize that they are being propagandized and not educated. In war, you could make an argument that the benefits of that short-term time period are critical to the mission. And that may be true. But as soon as you reach a critical mass of Iraqi citizens who realize that they're not getting a full picture of reality, then the messenger really starts to loose credibility. In an online draft of his book called "INFORMATION OPERATIONS: All Information, All Languages, All the Time" Bob Steele advocates that Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) should be the backbone to any type of Information Operations (IO) -- and that Strategic Communications has to be based upon this "ground truth." "IO content can be thought of in two parts: Strategic Communication (the message) and OSINT (the reality). The first cannot be effective without the second. It is not possible to craft the right message, nor to deliver that message to the right person at the right time in the right context, without first understanding “ground truth” at a sub-state level of granularity (tribes, villages, neighborhoods). OSINT is the horse seeing the path, Strategic Communication is the cart carrying the message. One before the other." The problem with propaganda is that is prioritizes strategic communication above and beyond the ground reality.

Posted by: Kent Bye at December 01, 2005 10:45 AM (IOLlO)

15 I understand the argument, but it's all just pie in the sky stuff. As long as there are those who use propaganda nefariously, ie laced with lies or half truths, then being honest more often just gets lost in the wind. Plus, people hear what they want to hear and have no problem with refuting absolute truths. And I hope no one is criticizing the propaganda we employ in Iraq without knowing any of the content. Oh wait ... of course they are. Even though, I suspect any propaganda we use is simply to counter what has been wrongly portrayed already.

Posted by: Oyster at December 01, 2005 02:04 PM (fl6E1)

16 Rusty wrote:As long as we are in a state of war, the media must act in ways consistent with winning and bringing back a state of peace. If they cannot do it themselves, they must be forcibly censored... To think that content censorship would continue after we have defeated the threat of Islamofascism is to overlook WWI and WWII. In both cases we had direct censorship. In both cases the censorship eventually ended. Of course that brings us back to the fact that this war, unlike any other war the U.S. has ever waged, could drag on for decades or even several generations, which still leaves the Left with the same argument it uses against detaining captured enemy combatants until the war is over - specifically, that we're talking about holding these prisoners, and curtailing the media's free speech, for, well, decades or even several generations on end. The problem is that the American public is likely to be a good deal more sympathetic to the Left's argument when applied to free speech in wartime, than they are to the same argument applied to enemy prisoners. In other words, most Americans probably couldn't care less that we might let a bunch of Islamofascists rot in Gitmo or wherever for 50 or 100 years, if the war drags on for that long - but they won't necessarily put up with restrictions on speech/media for the same 50 or 100 years, even if those restrictions are geared toward the same goal. If the war doesn't end until after everyone alive today has passed on (a very strong possibility), then any wartime restriction of speech/media enacted today would not be merely a temporary measure; it would, for all intents and purposes, be permanent, at least from the perspective of everyone alive today. It would also have an unpredictable effect on the attitudes of not-yet-born children who would grow up, and quite possibly live out their entire lives, in an America that pays lip service to a free press, but does not practice it due to the ongoing war. And when the war does finally end, will the American people really be that anxious to restore those press freedoms when they've never known what it's like to have them in the first place? Mind you, this is not an attack on Rusty's position, with which I otherwise have no argument whatsoever; rather it's to point out that there's a good deal more to consider than just the role of the press in time of war when the war is likely to replace peace as the new "normal" state of American life for the foreseeable future.

Posted by: Joshua at December 01, 2005 02:39 PM (2c7xL)

17 I totally agree with Joshua. And I concede to Oyster that I haven't seen the actual propaganda being used in Iraq. And you could argue that it's a realist perspective to say that "being honest more often just gets lost in the wind" -- but isn't this what democracy is supposed to be about? I mean, I know our own politicians have rationalized themselves into corner by valuing spin and perception over truth, but can't we do better than this rather cynical take on the truth? I also think that only focusing on violent conflict resolution as being rather short-sighted as well. Again, I quote Robert Davis Steele who has been pushing for Open Source Intelligence for the last 17 years. "In an era when information converted into intelligence and knowledge is a substitute for wealth, violence, energy, water, and everything else, only the: the United States of America has the power to execute this practical vision. DoD is the catalyst for its achievement." Steele argues that we're at a strategic dead in that: "the United States of America finds itself with a military optimized for force-on-force confrontations between nation-states, and a national intelligence community optimized for stealing secrets through technical means, with an extremely narrow range of focus and almost no flexibility." So Steele is advocating for a complete paradigm shift in how we resolve conflict with what he calls information peacekeeping -- and with information operations (IO). "Modern IO is the seed crystal for a total transformation of the American way of war, a new American way that practices information peacekeeping, and reflects a new commitment by America to stabilize the world intelligently rather than violently. It is a holistic mission that must be accomplished by the J-3 using a civil affairs mind-set, with the J-2 limited to internal validation and support. There are not enough guns on the planet to force our will upon other or to protect our quality of life for future generations. IO is the new way of war, and of peace." At the root of IO is open source intelligence and a grounding in truth and education. So even though there may be some compelling arguments here in this thread for using Propaganda within the context of a traditional war, I don't think that this it's a winning strategy for the long-term challenges that we're facing. It's the 21st century, and we're in the information age now. It's time for our political culture and defense strategy to start catching up with the technical innovation and new media revolution.

Posted by: Kent Bye at December 01, 2005 04:54 PM (IOLlO)

18 Hrrmmm.... Gee Rusty, I hope you won't call me a "Lefty" for this, but I keep reading your post and every time I get to the implicit "There's nothing really *wrong* with paying news sites to lie for you in a Good Cause", this little voice in the back of my head has a *cough cough* bulllshit! *cough cough* moment. Ah'm jest sayin', is all. I've heard of "surrendering the Moral High Ground", but it's been a long time since I've seen so many bloggers leap to their deaths from it. It's almost as amusing as Pajamas Media. ;]

Posted by: Ironbear at December 04, 2005 12:04 AM (2qhVP)

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The first female Chancellor in German history has come out shooting. In a 180 degree turnaround from her predecessor, the first words out of Angela Merkel's mouth to the newly constituted parliament:

"This government, this parliament will not let itself be blackmailed," Merkel said. "It (terrorism) is directed at everything that is important to us, at the core of our civilization. It is directed against our entire value system."

Can some one please tell me how any one in the MSM--in even the most conservative of publications--can call a group or an individual threatenting to murder a hostage a 'militant'?

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Rumors of Osama's death in the Kashmir earthquake are nothing new and nothing secret. I had heard this a long time ago and it's not surprising Harry Reid did as well.

The video clip linked from Pajamas Media has an anchor indicating that Reid is just speculating here, and then shows him saying, "Well I'm not sure he's alive anymore. I think it's possible that the earthquake in Pakistan...took him down as well."

No law against his saying that. Even if he were briefed at a top-secret level about Osama's demise, what he said is available through open sources and therefore fair game. But I think he's just speculating.

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Although I'm not sure what this 'Christmas' thing every one seems to be supporting these days, I have always been a big fan of X-mas. Except for that killer robot Santa. Anyway, I'll axe all of you to sign the petition to save X-mas.

I, for one, welcome our new Messiah overlord in Iran.

Osama bin Laden is dead. I know becaue Harry Reid told me.

I've been following the case of Joel Henry Hinrichs closely and have read all of the documents released from the FBI which Michelle Malkin has archived. Although I agree with Michelle and Jason that the MSM reaction to Hinrichs was baffling, to say the least, given the context of a hot war against Islamist extremists, I find that the documents are exculpatory rather than damning. In fact, given the large number of e-mails read by the FBI in Hinrich's Yahoo account, you would expect that if a larger Islamist plot existed that it would be in these e-mails that such a plot would be revealed. The FBI--at least in its public statements--have found no such evidence. Further, the documents reveal that Hinrichs Muslim room mate cooperated with the FBI and allowed them to search his room. So, in my opinion: case closed.

Happy Birthday Winston Churchill

Saddam's top prison complaints include: "The rape rooms in this prison are way different, and far less enjoyable, than the ones I used to run."

A new pro-Iraqi democracy blog written by Nibras Kazimi. Cool.

Need I remind you that failure is not an option in Iraq?

The Man has evidence of photoshopping by Moveon.org to cover up their ignorance of the American military. Personally I'm glad they replaced those gay British shorts with some American pants.

Fwance imploding.

New Orleans to become largest free-porn city in America in effort to attract residents to move back in.

Bill Moyers believes that it is a myth to call the media 'liberal' since, you know, focusing reporting on how the government ought to spend more on welfare programs is just 'good reporting'. (hat tip: Joe Goat)

Rusty Shackleford is hoping to displace his Imperial Highness as Most Annoying Right-Of-Center Blogger. So any blogger involved in this year's RWN poll, please remember just how annoying I have been this year.

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Yeah I reckon I had best rant about something. So first of all my dog who is black as coal but won’t leave me alone since I put that deer in the freezer. He says he wants a deersicle. Bad dog, daddy’s deer meat, go lay down!! Then we have old DUKE who is not a dog but forgot who his master is. Really DUKE who did you work for? Can’t say much for the way the system is running right now look what it did for old DUKE. I pretty much figure that about 534 others need to take a look at this. I can understand the salary that “we the people” pay you pales in comparison to the real money in politics. That might lead to a little confusion about who you are working for, so let me remind you. It’s the people who you represented dipshit. Nothing pisses me off like scraping around all year for nickels and dimes only to see this crap. And it’s not just one side of the isle. People like Jackass Abramof lobby both sides. Maybe the people should put a boot up both sides ass to you know kind of remind them. It’s hard to forget who you are working for when he has a size 13 shoe up your rectum. Speaking of rectum, DUKE a word of advice I hope you saved back a few bucks for rectum protection. So look at what greed has done in this case. Taken a fine man and 8 term congressman and made him into a slave to the money and left the people holding the bill.

So while IÂ’m all pissed and stuff we have another big giant rectum out there somewhere hacking Grey EagleÂ’s site. Mr. Right emails again today that Anna, his co-blogger (see got that right this time), is calling our attention to Grey Eagles plight again. So another size 13 boot should be fit snugly in some hack bastardÂ’s sphincter.

Here are your White Trash Wednesday bloggers

more...

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Yes vacation over. I could have taken another year or so off cept for I need the money. But look what falls into my lap this AM on MYYAHOO. Plus I see we have a new font. Wow I did miss a lot. Whew I'm worn out from all that resting.

Updated : Howie has picked a winner for this one tough job.

Caption this pic of Cindy's book signing last week in Crawford Texas. I mean just look at the line.

Winner Graeme :

Even during moments of mind numbing boredom, Cindy Sheehan still wasn't willing to read her own book.

Honorable mention Thirdee:

We should've had refreshments.

00:15:01

V the K does not win cause his captions are on his blog not here, but read em here anyway. Good title too.

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The 'news' site uruknet blames the CIA:

One look at the CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) in Iraq website and it becomes obvious who abducted Kember and his associates and why....No doubt all of this Christian activity sincerely upsets the Pentagon and the Bushcons.

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Now this is fascinating. From the CPT History/Mission page:

Iraq – a Baghdad-based presence since October 2002. Team members accompanied the Iraqi people through the U.S.-led 2003 war and continue during the post-war occupation to expose abusive acts by U.S. Armed Forces and support Iraqis committed to nonviolent resistance.

This organization went into Iraq while Saddam Hussein was still in power.

Yet, I still hope for the hostages safe release.

UPDATE: Geez, 18 comments on this post and no one noticed that I spelled "history" as "hisory." With friends like you, who needs enemas?

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The 'Christian Peacemaker Teams' organization has confirmed the identities of four Westerners kidnapped in Iraq after The Jawa Report first revealed their names earlier today. In addition, the group blamed the U.S. and U.K. governments for the terrorist abductions of their team members. Like many Left wing 'peace' activists, the group decided to condemn the unintended consequences of the U.S. invasion while overlooking the very intentional acts of violence against civilians by terrorists.

Sources tell The Jawa Report that the "The Swords of Righteousness Brigade" may be an offshoot of The Islamic Army in Iraq. The announcement and video were posted on that group's website earlier today. The Islamic Army in Iraq has murdered foreign hostages in the past, including Italian Red Cross worker Enzo Baldoni, and has worked with Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq in the past. The group routinely murders those suspected of being 'collaborators', 'apostates', and 'spies'.

This is bad news for the hostages if confirmed. If the mesage from the Christian Peacemaker Teams is meant to garner sympathy from the Salafist terror organization, then they are barking up the wrong tree. The only hope for the four Westerners is if the U.S., British, or Iraqi armies find them and liberate them--as they did former hostage Roy Hallums. Ironic, since these are the very people who are risking their lives yet who are blamed by the pacifist organization for the plight of their representatives.

Despite the misguided efforts of the pacifist organization, these four activists are victims of Islamist aggression. We condemn the hostage takers and pray for the immediate release. And, unlike the 'Christian Peacemaker Teams', we hope that the terrorists die at the hands of an angry Marine.

Their press release is below: more...

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The Christian Peacemaker Teams organization to which the 4 hostages belong just recently suspended their Adopt-a-Detainee program.

You read that right. Adopt-a-Detainee:

After a year and a half of coordinated advocacy for Iraqis detained by U.S. and other occupying forces, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is ending its Adopt-a-Detainee Letter-Writing Campaign. CPT's Iraq project will, however, continue to monitor the situation of Iraqis captured by the Multinational Force in Iraq (MNF) and by the new Iraqi Forces.

The Adopt-a-Detainee Letter-Writing Campaign, beginning in March 2004, matched individual detainees with congregations, mosques, synagogues, and peace groups in North America and around the world. These groups wrote letters to U.S., Iraqi and other relevant officials on the detainees' behalf. The campaign grew out of CPT's investigation of and reporting on abuses within the U.S.-run detention system in Iraq during the fall of 2003. The Adopt-a-Detainee Letter-Writing Campaign included a total of twenty-seven detainees, nine of whom U.S. officials released during the campaign, ten of whom were still detained at last word, and seven of whom U.S. officials never confirmed as detained (i.e., the "disappeared.")

They're still running the Campaign For Secure Dwellings though:

Since 1995 the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron has provided a violence-reduction presence with street patrols, responding when we hear word of trouble, and staying with people in tense times and places. The team also supports Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers in their work. It is clear to us that there can be no security for Israelis or Palestinians as long as the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip continues.

Hm, guess no one bothered to tell them about the Gaza withdrawal earlier this year.

I still hope the hostages are released unharmed.

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Clinton Taylor's latest from Townhall:

WP is a terrible weapon, but it isnÂ’t illegal, and the charges are ably refuted in this essay by Scott Burgess. All that needs to be added to BurgessÂ’ analysis is some context: Fallujah was Al-QaedaÂ’s vision of paradise on earth, their ideal Taliban-style Islamic government, and it was hell. It was a nest of insurgent command and control, a site for making suicide vests and IEDÂ’s, and a slaughterhouse where beheadings were filmed and sent over the Internet to recruit more terrorists. (This slide show offers a chilling retrospective.)

Our troops are there to kill the enemy efficiently, not to inflict pain on them. When a bullet or a conventional explosive can do the job, it makes moral, tactical, and public-relations sense to employ it instead of WP. In this case, though, more Marines would have been killed had the Fallujah jihadists not been routed from their fortifications by the Willie-Peter rounds. Most of America sheds no tears for the head-hacking ghouls of FallujahÂ’s dungeons, who got no worse than they deserved, and who now reside where white phosphorus feels like a cool shower.

Let's not forget that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had turned Fallujah over to 'Shura councils' that were enforcing Taliban-like Sharia law. Crimes such as owning Western CD's were punished in Fallujah with execution for the unrepentant.

And the Left still thinks liberating that city was a mistake? Perhaps they also think Europe should have been left to the Nazis since, you know, invading the Continent caused so many civilian casualites......?

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A convert to the ROP left France Junior (Belgium) to become a suicide bomber in Iraq. Here's the saddest part: her Muslim husband is said to have talked her into it.

UPI:

A woman who carried out a suicide attack in Iraq two weeks ago was identified Tuesday as the first European female suicide bomber.

The Belgian anti-terrorism unit has confirmed that the woman was a Belgian citizen who converted to Islam after her marriage to a Muslim fundamentalist, news service RTL reported Tuesday.

American military forces identified the woman at a combat scene in Baghdad. She was carrying recently issued Belgian identity papers which revealed she had traveled via Turkey. There are no traces of her radical husband who is believed to have organized her trip.

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**Jawa Report Exclusive**

***The Jawa Report releases names of four Western hostages.***

A hostage video has been released of the four Western peace activists taken hostage in Iraq. The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video. Images from the video and links to video posted below. The video shows American Thomas Fox of Clear Brook Virginia, Canadian Harmeet Singh Sooden, who resides in Auckland, New Zealand, British citizen Norman Kember, and some one who appears to identify himself as James Loney(spelling confirmed) of Canada.

Previously only Norman Kember had been identified. The Christian Peacemaker Teams organization has confirmed to The Jawa Report in an e-mail that the four hostages were working for that group.

The copy of the video I have makes no ransom demands, although a voice can be heard directing the hostages in the background. UPDATE: Ian at the Political Teen is hosting a segment of the video here.

Here is a transcript of the video:

My name is Norman Kember. I am 74. I am a member of the Christian Peacemaking team in Iraq.

My name is Harmeet Sooden. I am 32 and I am working..I'm a volunteer for the CPT in Iraq.

My name is James Loney. I am 41 years old. I am from Canada and I am part of the Christian Peacemaker team in Iraq.

My name is Tom Fox and I am 54 years old. I am from the United States and I am a member of the Christian Peacmakers team in Iraq.

Here is a rough translation of the statement accompanying the video--again, thanks to Doubletap:

foreign arrest of four spy

Praise be to God god of the scientists and the prayer and the faithful peace on the prophet, and on his family and accompanied him ['ajme'yn]

As for after. Losing managed your brothers in secrecy of swords the truth from arrest of four spy is foreign forces of the occupation under cover do for what Christian team the peace rises in, [wllh] the praising god of the scientists.

Secrecy swords of the truth

The original announcement in Arabic can be downloaded here if some one would like to offer a better translation.

UPDATE: Flip from Suitably Flip has a different machine translation here which is a little clearer.

UPDATE II: Shawn of Bareknucklepolitics points us to these dispatches from Iraq written by hostage Thomas Fox who wonders if Americans are inheritly racists and have colonialist attitudes. We pity people like Tom who have such low regard for the men who will now risk their lives to save his.

UPDATE: Jawa Report revelations force CPT to confirm identities of hostages.

We can confirm the identities of those who are being held as follows:

Tom Fox, age 54, is from Clearbrook, Virginia and is a dedicated father of two children. For the past two years, Mr. Fox has worked with CPT in partnership with Iraqi human rights organizations to promote peace. Mr. Fox has been faithful in the observance of Quaker practice for 22 years. While in Iraq, he sought a more complete understanding of Islamic cultural richness. He is committed to telling the truth to U.S. citizens about the horrors of war and its effects on ordinary Iraqi civilians and families as a result of U.S. policies and practices.

Mr. Fox is an accomplished musician. He plays the bass clarinet and the recorder and he loves to cook. He has also worked as a professional grocer. Mr. Fox devotes much of his time to working with children. He has served as an adult leader of youth programs and worked at a Quaker camp for youth. He has facilitated young people's participation in opposing war and violence. Mr. Fox is a quiet and peaceful man, respectful of everyone, who believes that "there is that of God in every person" which is why work for peace is so important to him.

Norman Kember, age 74, is from London, England.He and his wife of 45 years have two married daughters and a 3-year old grandson. He has been a pacifist all his life beginning with his work in a hospital instead of National Service at age 18. Before his retirement he was a professor teaching medical students at St Bartholemew's Hospital in London. He is well-known as a peace activist, and has been involved in several peace groups. For the past 10 years he has volunteered with a local program providing free food to the homeless. He likes walking, birdwatching, and writing humorous songs and sketches. In his younger days he enjoyed mountaineering.

James Loney, 41, is a community worker from Toronto, Canada. He has been a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams since August 2000, and is currently the Program Coordinator for CPT Canada. On previous visits to Iraq, his work focused on taking testimonies from families of detainees for CPT's report on detainee abuse, and making recommendations for securing basic legal rights. James was leading the November 2005 delegation in Iraq when he went missing.

James is a peace activist, writer, trained mediator, and works actively with two Toronto community conflict resolution services. He has spent many years working to provide housing and support for homeless people.

In a personal statement from James to CPT, he writes: "I believe that our actions as a people of peace must be an expression of hope for everyone. My hope in practising non-violence is that I can be a conduit for the transformative power of God's love acting upon me as much as I hope it will act upon others around me."

Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32 is a Canadian electrical engineer. He is studying for a masters degree in English literature in Auckland University in New Zealand to prepare for a teaching career. He enjoys art, is active in squash and worked part time as a local squash coach. His family describes him as peaceful and fun-loving and he is known to be passionate about the plight of the underprivileged around the globe. He works tirelessly in his spare time to educate and help others.

I was deeply saddened to hear that more hostages were taken. These men were good Christian men trying to help promote peace in Iraq. I will pray for their safe release and for their families. There is such devastation to the families , I know this horror... I pray for them , I wish I could help in some way.

-Susan Hallums

Developing.....

Images below. more...

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The Jawa Report has learned that the name of the German woman shown in a hostage video is Susanne Osthoff. Osthoff is an archaeologist working in Iraq and was abducted with her driver last Friday. Osthoff was presumably working on a dig at the ruins of Isin when she was abducted.

UPDATE: Chad at In the Bullpen e-mails me about a NY Times report that Osthoff had been targetted by Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq over the summer. If she has been abducted by al Qaeda then her only hope lies in a quick rescue and your prayers.

After news of Ms. Osthoff's kidnapping became known here, a German newspaper, the Neue Osnabrücker Zeiting, reported that Ms. Osthoff had been targeted by extremist groups close to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi during the summer, when she was living in Mosul in northern Iraq. At the time, the newspaper said, Ms. Osthoff was escorted by American soldiers to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Since then, Ms. Osthoff has been negotiating both with the German Embassy in Baghdad and the local Kurdish-dominated government in the northern town of Arbil to build a German cultural center there, the newspaper said.

More information about Susan Osthoff below and in the Susan Osthoff archives. more...

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(Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Authorities raided a hotel and arrested 26 men for alleged adultery and prostitution during a mass homosexual wedding. The men were UAE nationals, Arabs, and Asians. Some were dressed as women, with make-up and hairstyles, and the others were dressed in Arab attire.

A rash of Muslim Arab homosexual gatherings and group arrests has occurred recently and the country's leadership is alarmed. According to Interior Ministry spokesman Issam Azouri, the men will probably be tried under Sharia Law and they could be sentenced to receive government-ordered hormone treatments, jail and lashes. However, Islamic scholar Abdul Salam Mohammad Darwish said that a man who has intercourse with another man "should be executed" under Sharia Laws.

From LATimes.com:

Police acting on a tip raided the hotel in Ghantout, a desert region on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway, and found a dozen men dressed as female brides and a dozen others in male Arab dress, apparently preparing for a ceremony that would join them as husbands and wives, Azouri said.

"It was a real party with balloons and champagne," he said.

The 26 men arrested include those from the Emirates as well as an Indian disc jockey and three men from neighboring Arab states. One of the arrested was to perform the wedding ceremony. Azouri said some of the group told police they worked as prostitutes. Others had been arrested before.

"There are so many others like these guys," al-Kumaiti said. "The police and rulers need to do more than just lash them and let them go."

As would be expected, the Arab and Muslim media have been very reluctant to report on the homosexual clusterings out of fear that tribal leaders will become incensed by the appearance that homosexual behavior is tolerated. Homosexuality among Muslims in an Arab country is deemed too "delicate" a matter to be reported to the public. Consequently, if people in Muslim countries want to know what's going on in their gay communities, they won't find it in the local newspaper. They'll have to backdoor it from the Western media.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

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