April 30, 2005

Caption this photo of the return of Qetzocoatl to Iran. Winners announced next week.
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FYI-I've e-mailed Google News at least a dozen times now without a single response asking them exactly what was said here that qualified as 'hate speech' that got us kicked off.
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But, I have this lingering feeling that the alleged satellite images that CBS claims proves the U.S. version of the story are bogus.
Why? Well, because in order to calculate speed the satellite would have needed to take two seperate still images of the car's route within seconds of each other. That's how you measure speed. Speed = Distance x Time. In order to measure distance you need a start and a finish point.
That, or you're telling me that the CIA is now using live-image streaming from their satellites. And if the latter is the case then that satellite just happened to be broadcasting images of a road on the outskirts of Baghdad? At the very moment when Sgrena's car is speeding toward a checkpoint?
I'm sorry, this is just way too far-fetched to believe. As noted here at least umpteen bajillion times, Giuliana Sgrena is a serial liar who's sole purpose in life is to discredit the United States and who will do anything or say anything to that end.
A US satellite reportedly recorded a checkpoint shooting in Iraq last month, enabling investigators to reconstruct how fast a car carrying a top Italian intelligence official and a freed hostage was traveling when US troops opened fire.Again, I hate to be the one to point out the obvious that the satellite image claim seems dubious--especially since if such evidence would back up the claim I've been making since day one--but we all are very aware of just how sloppy CBS reporting really is.CBS, citing Pentagon officials, said the satellite recording enabled investigators to reconstruct the event without having to rely on the eyewitness accounts....
It said the soldiers manning the checkpoint first spotted the Italian car when it was 137 yards (meters) away. By the time they opened fire and brought the car to a halt, it was 46 yards (meters) away. CBS said that happened in less than three seconds, which meant the car had to be going over 60 miles an hour.
CBS said Italian investigators refused to accept that the Americans were justified in shooting so quickly, arguing among other things that the checkpoint was not properly marked.
Again, if someone has some better info on the capabilities of satellites, I'd love to hear from them. And by info, I don't mean 'I saw this JAG episode once where....'
I'm actually quite shocked that Captain Ed isn't questioning this story or the voice of moderation himself, Joe Gandalman. Look, I just don't want us all piling on to what very well may be a bogus story. Maybe CBS is being overzealous in disproving their bias in the same way they were overzealous in 'proving' that Bush was AWOL.
UPDATE: Charles 'Smack those bitches at CBS down' Johnson doesn't even question this report. Are all of us letting our wishful thinking get the best of us? The report could be true, I'd just like someone elses word besides CBS on this.
UPDATE II: Say Anything, Hyscience too.
UPDATE III: And Betsy's Page, Pirate King, Cracker Barrel Philosopher, Dangerous Dan, Vista on Current Events, The Knock Down Rule and others.
UPDATE IV 5/02: TRADERROB takes up the arguement here and does a good job rebutting me.
But here's something important, I think. I recieved an e-mail from USAF Intelligence Officer who has been on the job for 19 years, so I take it he knows what he's talking about. I'll leave his name out of the post since the e-mail he sent is from a .mil address and says 'Classified' in the signature. The crux of it is that I am right to be skeptical about the satellite claim, however, it may be that CBS simply inferred that the images were from a satellite and misreported that info.
He says, "The most obvious source of data on how fast a vehicle was moving would be a JSTARS using their Moving Target Indicator (MTI) radar. I don't know for a fact if they're still in the area but they were at the start of the war and I'd be willing to bet that they're still there. Piece of cake for them to record an entire mission and later analyze this type of thing."
He also sends a link to a site which explains how JSTARS and Global Hawk actually do give real time data. Pretty cool stuff. So, maybe we do have the goods on Sgrena and the data is their to prove it. more...
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04:54 PM
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USA Today via Blogs of War:
Pfc. Lynndie England, the Army reservist shown in some of the most notorious photos in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, will plead guilty to abusing Iraqi detainees in a case that sparked global outrage against the United States and its military.
England, 22, faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison as part of the plea deal, which still must be accepted by a military judge, her attorney, Rick Hernandez, said Friday. She had been facing up to 16 years.
The plea deal came four days before England was scheduled to go on trial in a military court in Fort Hood.
"This is in her best interests," Hernandez said.
England was one of seven members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged with humiliating and assaulting Iraqi detainees at the prison near Baghdad. She became a focal point of the scandal after photos of her surfaced, including one that showed her smiling and posing with nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid.
In another picture, she is smiling and pointing at a naked detainee's genitals while a cigarette dangles from the corner of her mouth.
England will plead guilty Monday to seven of the nine counts against her: two counts of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating prisoners and one count of dereliction of duty, Hernandez said. The other charges — committing indecent acts and failure to obey a lawful order — will be dropped, he said.
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04:09 PM
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Either way, things are not going that well for the Zaidis of Southern Yemen.
Jane has more. Jane is well on her way to getting her first death fatwa issued before I do.
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Matt Drudge objects to being called a blogger.
Ok, you're not a blogger. No, really, Drudge, YOU'RE NOT A FREAKING BLOGGER!
Whoever accused Drudge of being a blogger anyway? Seriously.
Me? I'm a blogger. And I really don't give a rat's ass if Drudge doesn't like it.
Trey Jackson has the video of Drudge's interview on C-SPAN. I actually watched it last night. Pretty good stuff, if you're interested in the alternative media.
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Thanks to Reliapundit for e-mailing me this. BBC:
Algerian authorities say they have arrested the leader of an Islamic rebel group suspected of killing 14 civilians in an ambush earlier thismonth.Boulenouar Oukil of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the interior ministry said in a statement.
It said the security forces also seized a large arms cache in the operation.
Dozens of people have died in recent attacks by militants who oppose the policy of reconciliation of Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
The interior ministry statement also said that another GIA member - Mohamed Chama - was also captured during the operation.
The civilians were ambushed by suspected militants on 7 April, when their cars were stopped at a fake roadblock near the town of Larba, about 30km (18 miles) south of the capital, Algiers.
The passengers were then forced out and shot dead. One driver escaped and alerted the security forces.
The attack happened soon after President Bouteflika had told Algerians that security had been "largely restored across the country".
The GIA and other militant groups waged a decade-long campaign of violence, following the annulment in 1992 of elections which Islamic groups were poised to win.
An estimated 150,00 people are thought to have been killed in the violence.
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April 29, 2005
According to Zarqawi [SITE]:
... the American war in Iraq has been a failure and as a consequence, fear forced "the American enemy to open a dialogue with the mujahideen...." The message calls for Muslim brothers to refuse capitulation to this "deceit" and continue to carry out jihad against American forces, stating: "Attack from your bases with the help of God. DonÂ’t let a convoy pass. Convert their nights to days."And according to Ted Kennedy:
By any reasonable standard, our policy in Iraq is failing. We are steadily losing ground in the war.What's interesting about these things is just how savvy Zarqawi and friends really are. They claim their jihad is against the Americans and that their goal is to get the U.S. out. This is something most Muslims would agree with since traditional Islam doesn't recognize the nation-state, but rather the umma, or Muslim community as a nation. It is generally agreed in traditional Islam that jihad is a religious duty to when foreigners attack the umma.
Of course, what Zarqawi shows by his actions is that his real goal is not simply get the U.S. out of Iraq. That's just phase I. Phase two is the setting up of a Taliban like state in Iraq. That is why most of his attacks are against Shia Muslims and Iraqi security forces.
Anyway, here's more from CNN: more...
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So many good entries, so little time. But seriously, judging them isn't half as fun as reading them.
Amicus Curiae: Inspired by the Iranian paratroopers, the suicide paratroopers in Iraq were a welcome development for US troops working on target practice.
Graeme: Praise Allah! With our state-of-the art parachute camouflage, the Great Satan will never see us coming!
No doubt inspired by Kit's earlier entry: In an effort to further discredit the American military, an Italian pro-terrorist group, led by journalist Sgrena, staged an attack on this mosque dressed as U.S. paratroopers. Unfortunately, their disguises didn't extend to their chutes.
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Aaron at Internet Haganah reveals that the al Qaeda publication is being distributed via sites in Japan and China. And Vlad tracks down distribution to....wait for it.....drumroll please.....Canada!
If you don't speak Arabic, it's not really worth your time downloading it. However, check out the cover page I'm making available below. I think the image just about says it all. more...
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03:14 PM
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02:33 PM
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Click pic for President Spicoli's reaction. Malkin remembers the victims. (Image stolen from Beaker)
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Where you gonna go for all your Bush=Hitler needs? The Gallery of "Bush = Hitler" Allusions is your one stop shopping mart!
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by Demosophist
I had a brief debate with Larry Johnson on the Jawa Report last week, that was recently referenced by an article in Mother Jones Blog. I expanded on the issue briefly here. To summarize, my position has basically been that:
1. The inference that State is somehow avoiding empirical evidence related to its policies is not justified by what we know and what Larry has reported. It's more likely that they are just tired of confounding policy with a report whose only real value is in a fruitless advocacy conflict; and
2. That the increase in attacks, even if specified and counted correctly, is not a meaningful indicator of whether we are "making progress" in the War on Terror, though Larry insists the data demand some negative inference.
In addition, I also suggested: more...
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