Haditha Coverup Report

The first report, regarding any possible cover-up of the Haditha deaths, has been completed and is being reviewed. The LA Times gives a leaked summary:

The general charged with investigating whether Marines tried to cover up the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha has completed his report, finding that Marine officers failed to ask the right questions, an official close to the investigation said Friday.

Nothing in the report points to a "knowing cover-up" of the facts by the officers supervising the Marines involved in the November incident, the official said. Rather, he said, officers from the company level through the staff of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Baghdad failed to demand "a thorough explanation" of what happened in Haditha.

The Times then moves on to discuss two other atrocity claims.

The man who compiled the report was profiled in the WaPo and sounds like a real soldier.

The 59-year-old general is seen as unlikely to bend to pressure to sway his conclusions, both by virtue of his character and because he plans to retire this year after nearly four decades in the Army. "He has unimpeachable integrity," said retired Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Lambert, a Special Forces officer who has known Bargewell for decades. "He has no constituency that could influence findings. Bargewell is his own man."

Bargewell is considered so unflinchingly candid that another officer suggested that military leaders "may be sorry they chose him" to lead the probe.

Overall, this is good news. We still need to wait for the report on whether the Marines did anything wrong. My gut feeling is that they will not be charged, but Rules of Engagement will be tightened.

Posted by: cbjohnson at 02:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 284 words, total size 2 kb.

Beer, Coffee, And PIZZA!

On top of the great news about coffee helping your liver, 17 beers per day helping your prostate, today we learn that pizza prevents cancer.

I can't think of any better news than this.

Friggin' Ace beat me to this post. I suck.

P.S. - What about cigarettes, don't they cure anything? Maybe watching football cures heart disease? Nachos cure sterility?

Posted by: cbjohnson at 02:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 69 words, total size 1 kb.

Bling for Baby

The text from the Consumerist is as good as the story:

If your Beverly Hills infant can't put one of your massive silicon jugs in its mouth without unhinging its jaw, it may be time to consider a pacifier. This will cease its incessant wailing as you dodge paparazzi in your Ferrari or pose naked for glamour shoots. But what self-respecting MILF would give her post-embryonic pimpfant anything less than a diamond encrusted binky?

While starving African villages erupt into ghoulish orgies of cannibalism, what better way to indulge your baby's sense of tacky entitlement and growing instinct for ceaseless attention whoring? And all for the low, low price of $17,000.00.

Posted by: cbjohnson at 02:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 117 words, total size 1 kb.

Cynthia McKinney Gets off Scot-Free

Remember, if you are I hit a cop its a crime; but if you are one of the select (or as the Calvanists would say "elect") you don't have to follow the law.

Posted by: Catholic at 04:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 43 words, total size 1 kb.

Ansar al Islam Gets Squeezed

Via email:

BERLIN (AP) - An Iraqi man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion he transferred money to a radical Islamic group in Iraq linked to al-Qaida, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The 36-year-old man, identified only as Burhan B., was arrested Monday at Frankfurt's airport. A federal judge ordered him to remain in custody Tuesday on suspicion of supporting a foreign terrorist organization and violating German export laws, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

They said the suspect was in contact with a man, identified only as Ata A.R., accused of playing a central role in the terror group Ansar al-Islam's European network. Ata A.R. is due to go on trial in Stuttgart next week as the alleged ringleader of a December 2004 plot to kill then-Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi during a visit to Germany.

No deutschmarks for you!

Posted by: Vinnie at 03:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 150 words, total size 1 kb.

Stick A Fork in Dan Rather

Dan Rather is done. He won't, however, admit that Rathergate was his undoing. I'm not surprised.

From USAToday.com:

Dan Rather, who stepped down as anchor of The CBS Evening News 15 months ago in the wake of the Memogate scandal, said Thursday that he'll soon leave the network after 44 years -- at the request of network executives.

"They wanted this resolution, and I'm willing to accept that and move on," said Rather, 74, whose contract expires in November.

It's not clear what Rather is moving on to. Maybe he can help O.J. find the killer of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 12:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 112 words, total size 1 kb.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali's "Submission 2"

If you thought the cartoon jihad was a big deal, wait 'til Ayaan Hirsi Ali releases her next political bombshell. Predictably, European leaders are trembling:

The Dutch authorities fear that “Submission 2,” Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s soon to be released new movie, might make the Netherlands a target of angry Muslims worldwide. The movie criticizes Muslims for their intolerance of gays. In a report published last Wednesday the country’s National Anti-Terrorism Coordinator (Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding, NCTb) warns that one must seriously take into account the possibility of an international Muslim boycott of the Netherlands, similar to the boycott of Denmark by the Islamic world earlier this year over the Muhammad cartoons.

more...

Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at 12:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 455 words, total size 3 kb.

A Little Competition for Michelle Malkin?

HotAir notes the arrival of RealVerse, a Christian vlog. Why would you care about this if you're not a Christian? Two reasons:

First, it's yet another excellent example of effective use of internet video in politics

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the RealVerse spokeschick is a hottie

more...

Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at 11:48 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 67 words, total size 1 kb.

Man Overboard

It appears that not waiting for actual charges isn't restricted to the Marines.

Man, you guys are ruthless.

Oh well, I guess you gotta keep up the phony appearance of purity.

Posted by: Vinnie at 10:31 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 35 words, total size 1 kb.

So Much for 'Elevating the Level of Discourse'

We often hear Bush-haters denounce the right for "hate speech" and preaching that we should raise the level of political discourse. Their comments would carry a lot more weight if they would lead by example. You'd have thought they would've learned their lesson after the negative reaction to Kerry-Edwards' attempt to use Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter as a wedge issue. Apparently, using personal issues and family tragedies is still considered clever by some. Former CIA officer and New York Times columnist Larry C. Johnson, who blogs at No Quarter has been a real sweetheart lately:

Karl [Rove] is a shameless bastard. This could explain why his mother killed herself. Once she discovered what a despicable soul she had spawned she apparently saw no other way out. It would be one thing if his vile tactics were simply mere smears of politicians like Kerry and Murtha. They are big boys and should be able to defend themselves quite ably against this turd. But Rove, like Josef Goebbels, has used fear and smear as his primary tools to keep George Bush in power. And to what end?

Nice. One could perhaps mark this nastiness up as the hateful ranting of a single individual and not reflective of lefty sentiment in general. Surely Larry's fellow Rove haters will take him to task for stepping over the line? Surely this is going too far, even for the lefty bloggers. Guess not. Check out these "enlightened" comments to his post: more...

Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at 10:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 574 words, total size 4 kb.

Bad News Is Breaking Out All Over

If you're a Kos Kid, that is...

Posted by: Vinnie at 09:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 21 words, total size 1 kb.

More on Zarqawi's Successor

From the Department of Defense:

BAGHDAD, June 16, 2006 – The new lead terrorist in Iraq is a founding member of al Qaeda in Iraq and had a close relationship with the now-killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, coalition officials said.

Officials revealed yesterday that Abu Ayyub al-Masri succeeded Zarqawi following the Jordanian terrorist's elimination June 7 in a precision-bomb attack on his safe house in Iraq. They said Masri fully bought into Zarqawi's bloody tactics that have left thousands of innocent men, women and children across Iraq dead or maimed.

Al-Masri - which means "the Egyptian" - is another foreign fighter who trained in Afghanistan like Zarqawi, coalition officials said. No one knows his real name.

The terrorist is said to be about 38 years old and got his beginning in Egypt, where he joined the Islamic Brotherhood. He fled from Egypt and moved to Afghanistan, where he trained in explosives at the al-Faruq Al Qaeda camp. There he met Zarqawi, officials said.

After the fall of the Taliban, Masri escaped to Iraq and set up with the Jordanian-born Zarqawi. The Egyptian specialized in vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. He helped establish the Baghdad cell of Al Qaeda in early 2003, officials said.

William Teach comments: more...

Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at 09:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 610 words, total size 5 kb.

I'd Like To Order 2,880 Virgins

Or is it raisins? I prefer to think they get 72 toothless French whores, myself.

Whatever, they're getting the job done in Afghanistan:

MUSA QALA, Afghanistan - Coalition forces killed 40 militants during combat operations linked to a large-scale anti-Taliban blitz launched across southern
Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

Note the inaccurate use of the word "blitz." But no, they're not biased.

And lest we get accused of just reporting on good news, a mosque is attacked in Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A shoe bomber blew himself up inside an important Shiite mosque during Friday prayers, killing at least 10 people and wounding 20, as violence persisted in the capital despite a massive security operation aimed at restoring order.

There is a nugget of good news in this piece, though. The fact that the bomber had to resort to a shoe bomb is evidence that the clampdown is having an effect.

Posted by: Vinnie at 09:41 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 163 words, total size 1 kb.

James Carville's Foot

While getting ready to go to work this morning I was listening to James Carville complain about the recent rise in George Bush's (and America's) fortunes. As part of his argument that we're applying the "soft bigotry of low expectations" to the Bush administration he made the comment that the Stock Market is currently 10% below what it was when Bush took office. I grew a bit skeptical of that claim, so looked it up. It appears that the DOW closed at either $10,088 or $10,078, depending on whether we're talking about Clinton's last day or the first market day of Bush's term. Yesterday the DOW closed at $11,015. Using the CPI deflator that is $5976 and $5440 in 1983 dollars, respectively. Carville is right to the extent that the average is down (after accounting for inflation), but 0.6% is a lot different than 10%. [See note below for--ahem--correction.] more...

Posted by: Demosophist at 09:18 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 319 words, total size 2 kb.

Bom Bom Bom Bah Ba Dom Bah Ba Dom

Yes the evil Darth Odie er uh Darth Howie needs to be educated in the moral complexities of simple matters. Like why fighting those who seek to dominate us through fear and terror is just wrong. Check out this loving tolerant piece of reader love mail.

On 6/15/06, leavenow iraq leavenowiraq@yahoo.com wrote:

nigger

I would take the time to educate you on our way of life and our constitution but how? and to what end- augustus bushie II /MacClinton & Heil Hilary Lady MacClinton/ at the end of the day these british socialist shitbags of the left and right that follow the sons and daughters of satan instead of jesus and are british instead of american are not to blame for perverting the american experiment in liberty and freedom into the frankenstein monster of a police state and empire- you are people who don't even want to think just kill f*ck kill f*ck kill f*ck oh yeah and eat and watch tv.

Yes I do watch the news and Andy every night. Next he will attempt to instruct me on how I can waste mental energy by over thinking how to start my car in the morning. Note the racial tolerance of this liberalÂ’s speech. Also note his assumption that we are pro war because we just donÂ’t know any better. A theme IÂ’ve noticed a lot lately," The unwashed masses need sophisticated liberals to look out for them because they are stinky and stupid. So we should take pity and get those foul smelly fools to vote for us. Then we can help them". Thanks but no thanks.
more...

Posted by: Howie at 08:45 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 494 words, total size 3 kb.

Isn't Irony Delicious?

This has to be the laugher of the day. Mr. Pot, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Kettle. You two should get along great together.

From the NY Daily News:

Here are some examples of Olbermann "confronting hate":

"Given how far you are from knowing your a- from your elbow about my industry, you couldn't be stupider, wronger, or dumber ..."

"Go f*ck your mother."

"You 'Americans' still watching that evil f*ck O'Reilly?"

Apparently, they are. Fox News' Bill O'Reilly draws six times the viewership of his 8 p.m. weekday rival.
- -
Ouch. Now you know why envy is one of the seven deadly sins.

Worst. Journalist. Ever.

ht: Michelle Malkin

Posted by: Good Lieutenant at 08:02 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 122 words, total size 1 kb.

Filipina Celeb - Anna Tan, Semi-Celeb

Anna is almost unknown on the web. She is apparently a model without a website or any advertising. Hmmm, maybe not really a celeb, but cute. More here. more...

Posted by: cbjohnson at 07:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 40 words, total size 1 kb.

Krauthammer Hammers Gaza Terrorists

Charles Krauthammer asks, "Who is to blame if Palestinians are setting up rocket launchers to attack Israel -- and placing them 400 yards from a beach crowded with Palestinian families on the Muslim Sabbath?"

This is another example of the Palestinians' classic and cowardly human-shield tactic -- attacking innocent Israeli civilians while hiding behind innocent Palestinian civilians. For Palestinian terrorists -- and the Palestinian governments (both Fatah and Hamas) that allow them to operate unmolested -- it's a win-win: If their rockets aimed into Israeli towns kill innocent Jews, no one abroad notices and it's another success in the terrorist war against Israel. And if Israel's preventive and deterrent attacks on those rocket bases inadvertently kill Palestinian civilians, the iconic "Israeli massacre" picture makes the front page ,of the New York Times, and the Palestinians win the propaganda war.

Being a terrorist who targets Israel seems like an easy job; you are never to blame for anything, you get to play with guns and rockets, and your victims give your government support. The whole "getting blown up by a missile strike" thing is definitely a downside, though...

Posted by: cbjohnson at 07:25 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 195 words, total size 1 kb.

The Media and Iraq

I read several good posts today regarding the phenomenom of poor reporting in Iraq. I will pull them together and provide a few excerpts.

First is JD Johannes via Wretchard:

I get a call (about a month or two ago) from a TV news director who had known what I had done in Iraq. He was hoping I was still there so he could hire me to go out and do what I had done in the past because there was a reserve unit from their area being deployed. But the parent affiliate said: "nope, we don't leave the Fortified Hotel -- ever." So a lot of the employers aren't willing to bear the risk. And that is the structural program that really tilts the war.

Also, and this is probably the most disturbing part, many journalists have not figured out that they're being targeted by the enemy on purpose to help shape the coverage of the war. The insurgents don't want the reporters out and about running around. They're completely satisfied with the "balcony" report and some video shot by a stringer of the daily car bomb. That's the message that the insurgents want to get out. They don't realize that warfare is both the kinetic and non-kinetic. And, therefore, they miss how they're being played by the insurgents. I wish more reporters realized that.

Reporting from the hotel balcony just isn't enough if you want to get the real story. Read the rest of the interview with Johannes to see what the MSM is missing.

The second is from Op-For:

Second, the U.S. mainstream media (MSM) who send reporters to the combat zone do not like to have their people embedded with our troops. They claim that the reporters get “less objective” when they live with the soldiers and marines – they come to see the world through the eyes of the troops. As a consequence, a majority of the reporters stay in hotels in the “Green Zone” and send out native stringers to call in stories to them by cell phone which they later write up and file. No effort is made to verify any of these stories or the credibility of the stringers. The recent serious injuries to Bob Woodruff of ABC and Kimberly Dozier of CBS makes the likelihood of the use of local stringers even higher.

It's not good to see the war through the eyes of American troops; you might understand that this is a war on America through the media. It also shows how easy it is to get an atrocity story into newspapers: just get your local Iraqi stringer a video and some interviewees and the scandal is in motion. The media can't leave the hotel to do any fact checking.

You want worse? I have worse. A study (pdf) shows that the media and terrorists have a symbiotic relationship. From the Washington Post:

The results, they said, were unequivocal: Coverage caused more attacks, and attacks caused more coverage -- a mutually beneficial spiral of death that they say has increased because of a heightened interest in terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001.

Even if we ignore any Left-ward bias in coverage, the media causes more deaths by their terrorist coverage. This should not be a surprise, since the goal of terrorism is to cause public pressure on the government through media coverage of carnage. It is interesting that the media gains as well, causing a spiral of violence.

There was a time that journalists were allies of the country and of our troops. Today, their objectivity extends to keeping neutrality between liberal values and fascist terrorists.

Update: Strategypage notes that the terrorists know all about manipulating the media:

Other documents stressed the need to manipulate Moslem and Western media. This was to be done by starting rumors of American atrocities, and feeding the media plausible supporting material. Al Qaeda's attitude was that if they could not win in reality, they could at least win imaginary battles via the media.

Powerline's view: "When it comes to Iraq, the news section of the Post has become an anti-war spin machine, and nothing more."

While it should, I doubt that the Iraq War will make it into journalism case studies as a lesson in media failure.

Posted by: cbjohnson at 05:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 720 words, total size 5 kb.

BBC : Documented Evidence of "Large-Scale Massacres" in Sudan

The BBC has an update on the Darfur Jihad:

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he has documented evidence of thousands of killings of civilians in Sudan's Darfur region.

Luis Moreno Ocampo, investigating alleged crimes against humanity, says the killings include large-scale massacres and hundreds of rapes.
. . .

more...

Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at 11:13 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 149 words, total size 1 kb.