War on Terror Sceduled to End in October 2008!

This is an article from the “In the Loop” column from the Washington Post. Apparent the Defense Department is planning to wind down the so-called “Global War on Terror” by October of 2008 — a month before the presidential election! Why doesn’t that surprise me?

Pencil In That End-of-War Date

By Al Kamen
Wednesday, February 28, 2007; Page A17

The Democrats and other cut-and-runners are in disarray over their next move on Iraq. And they keep jabbering that the administration has no plan for the war other than the same old, same old.

Nonsense. The Pentagon, in a series of recent memos, is making the fight against terrorism synonymous with Iraq (although it has been pretty much confirmed that Saddam Hussein wasn’t involved in the Sept. 11 attacks) and has issued a clear call for getting the job done by the end of next year.

In a Dec. 6 memo to top civilian and military folks, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England outlined the Pentagon’s eight priorities for this fiscal year, and No. 1 was “Win the Global War on Terror,” or GWOT.

The No. 3 goal was “Meet the Challenge of Improvised Explosive Devices.” No. 8 was “Improve Effectiveness and Efficiency Across the Board.” England warned that meeting these goals “will inform our decisions on individual senior employee performance ratings.” That means their paychecks.

In a Feb. 15 memo, England spotted a key fact that most everyone in this town has overlooked. “At noon on Jan. 20, 2009,” he wrote, “many of the civilian Department of Defense (DOD) leadership positions will transition to a new Administration Team. This change, coupled with the normal rotation of military leadership, could disrupt many of the management process changes currently underway in the Department.”

So “to ensure that warfighters and taxpayers receive maximum benefit from on-going initiatives,” England suggested, “it would be highly desirable to complete current projects by the summer/fall of 2008.”

There’s a handy “notional” grid with the memos, with the eight priorities down the left side and quarterly milestones for 2007 and 2008 across the top. Little triangles denote the “expected milestone conclusion date.”

Sure enough, the GWOT looks to be over around October 2008, a month before. . . .

First Marine Wounded in Iraq Comes Out of the Closet!

Bravo, Sgt. Alva! America needs more men like you! I particularly like two of his points: first, that gay men and women are being asked to defend the “rights” of their fellow Americans AT THE SAME TIME they are denied their own! How foolish! Second, that the military is dismissing skilled workers who could aid in the so-called “War on Terror” simply because they are gay! Firing an Arabic linguist because of his/her sexuality is the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face!

A true American hero.

From •The Washington Post•:

Defending His Country, but Not Its ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Once a Marine, always a Marine. That pretty much sums up the life of retired Sgt. Eric Alva, who was sworn into the Marine Corps at 19, stationed in Somalia and Japan and lost his right leg when he stepped on a land mine on March 21, 2003, the first day of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As the war’s first injured soldier, Alva was an instant celebrity. He was on “Oprah.” President Bush awarded him the Purple Heart. Donald Rumsfeld visited. And strangers in Alva’s native San Antonio still insist on paying for his dinner at Chili’s. Last fall Alva, 36, contacted the Human Rights Campaign, the gay rights group, and asked to be involved in its lobbying effort. Today he’ll stand alongside Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Mass.) when he introduces a bill to repeal the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay, lesbian and bisexual military personnel.

One of the Dumbest School Lessons I Have Ever Heard Of!

I am a fairly liberal person who often critiques the power-structure in the United States, but this is just plain rediculous! I found this article at •TechCentralStation•:

L’Eggo My Lego

By Maureen Martin : 28 Feb 2007

Lego Apocalypse

Some Seattle school children are being told to be skeptical of private property rights. This lesson is being taught by banning Legos.

A ban was initiated at the Hilltop Children’s Center in Seattle. According to an article in the winter 2006-07 issue of “Rethinking Schools” magazine, the teachers at the private school wanted their students to learn that private property ownership is evil.

According to the article, the students had been building an elaborate “Legotown,” but it was accidentally demolished. The teachers decided its destruction was an opportunity to explore “the inequities of private ownership.” According to the teachers, “Our intention was to promote a contrasting set of values: collectivity, collaboration, resource-sharing, and full democratic participation.”

The children were allegedly incorporating into Legotown “their assumptions about ownership and the social power it conveys.” These assumptions “mirrored those of a class-based, capitalist society — a society that we teachers believe to be unjust and oppressive.”

They claimed as their role shaping the children’s “social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity … from a perspective of social justice.”

So they first explored with the children the issue of ownership. Not all of the students shared the teachers’ anathema to private property ownership. “If I buy it, I own it,” one child is quoted saying. The teachers then explored with the students concepts of fairness, equity, power, and other issues over a period of several months.

At the end of that time, Legos returned to the classroom after the children agreed to several guiding principles framed by the teachers, including that “All structures are public structures” and “All structures will be standard sizes.” The teachers quote the children:

“A house is good because it is a community house.”

“We should have equal houses. They should be standard sizes.”

“It’s important to have the same amount of power as other people over your building.”

Alpha Cat Meets the New Puppy

This is why I am a cat person!

Why Americans Should Not Travel

I found this •really funny list at Trailfire.• Enjoy!

The following are actual stories provided by travel agents:

I had someone ask for an aisle seats so that his or her hair wouldn’t get messed up by being near the window.

A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, “Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?”

I got a call from a woman who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted me with “I’m not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts. “Without trying to make her look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, “Capecod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa.” Her response … click.

A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, “Don’t lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state.”

I got a call from a man who asked, “Is it possible to see England from Canada?” I said, “No.” He said “But they look so close on the map.”

Another man called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had a 1-hour lay over in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, “I heard Dallas was a big airport, and I need a car to drive between the gates to save time.”

A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of llinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!

A woman called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know who’s luggage belongs to who?” I said, “No, why do you ask?” She replied, “Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I’m overweight, is there any connection?” After putting her on hold for a minute while I “looked into it” (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

I just got off the phone with a man who asked, “How do I know which plane to get on?” I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, “I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them.”

A woman called and said, “I need to fly to Pepsi-cola on one of those computer planes.” I asked if she meant to fly to Pensacola on a commuter plane. She said, “Yeah, whatever.”

A businessman called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. “Oh no I don’t, I’ve been to China many times and never had to have one of those.” I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, “Look, I’ve been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express.”

A woman called to make reservations, “I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York” The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: “Are you sure that’s the name of the town?” “Yes, what flights do you have?” replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’ve looked up every airport code in the country and can’t find a Hippopotamus anywhere.” The customer retorted, “Oh don’t be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!” The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, “You don’t mean Buffalo, do you?” “That’s it! I knew it was a big animal!”

Presenting “Windows Vista!”

A humorous introduction to “Windows Vista” (a.k.a. Mac OS X)!

Pelosi Failing to Bring Real Change

Happy as I was to see the Democrats take power in Congress after November’s election, I spoke out against the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in the Senate. Thus I am not surprised to find that Pelosi has so far failed to bring real reform to the way in which the House of Representatives operates. You can read the entire article •HERE•.

Pelosi Falls Short On Election Promises

By: Daniel W. Reilly and Jim VandeHei
February 26, 2007 08:28 PM EST

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is discovering the cold truth about governing with a slim majority: It’s much easier to promise behavioral change for Congress than to deliver it.

Pelosi vowed that five-day workweeks would be a hallmark of a harder-working Democratic majority. So far, the House has logged only one. Lawmakers plan to clock three days this week.

The speaker has denied Republicans a vote on their proposals during congressional debates — a tactic she previously declared oppressive and promised to end. Pelosi has opened the floor to a Republican alternative just once.

Pelosi set a high standard for herself when she pledged to make this “the most ethical Congress in history” — a boast that was the political equivalent of leading with her chin. And some critics have been happy to hit it.

She is drawing fire for putting Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who had $90,000 in alleged bribe money in his freezer, on the Homeland Security Committee. And The Washington Post reported during the weekend that she is helping chairmen raise money from donors with business before their committees.

Ron Paul Continues to Impress Me

Faithful readers of Zalandria know that I despise the Republican Party for what it has become: a religous-oriented “party” held hostage by the extreme Religous Right and a proto-fascist organization. Constant readers also know that I am no fan of the South, which I believe created this situation.

Thus it continues to surprise me when I find myself agreeing with Representative Ron Paul, Republican of Texas. His recent blog post about American foreign policy in the Middle East reflects my views exactly. He offers a simple and coherent assessment of our ties and actions in the region. Kudos to Representative Paul!

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Hypocrisy in the Middle East

February 26, 2007

Hundreds of thousands of American troops already occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, a number that is rising as the military surge moves forward. The justification, given endlessly since September 11^th, is that both support terrorism and thus pose a risk to the United States. Yet when we step back and examine the region as a whole, it’s obvious that these two impoverished countries, neither of which has any real military, pose very little threat to American national security when compared to other Middle Eastern nations. The decision to attack them, while treating some of region’s worst regimes as allies, shows the deadly hypocrisy of our foreign policy in the Middle East.

Consider Saudi Arabia, the native home of most of the September 11^th hijackers. The Saudis, unlike the Iraqis, have proven connections to al Qaeda. Saudi charities have funneled money to Islamic terrorist groups. Yet the administration insists on calling Saudi Arabia a “good partner in the war on terror.” Why? Because the U.S. has a longstanding relationship with the Saudi royal family, and a long history of commercial interests relating to Saudi oil. So successive administrations continue to treat the Saudis as something they are not: a reliable and honest friend in the Middle East.

The same is true of Pakistan, where General Musharaf seized power by force in a 1999 coup. The Clinton administration quickly accepted his new leadership as legitimate, to the dismay of India and many Muslim Pakistanis. Since 9/11, we have showered Pakistan with millions in foreign aid, ostensibly in exchange for Musharaf’s allegiance against al Qaeda. Yet has our new ally rewarded our support? Hardly. The Pakistanis almost certainly have harbored bin Laden in their remote mountains, and show little interest in pursuing him or allowing anyone else to pursue him. Pakistan has signed peace agreements with Taliban leaders, and by some accounts bin Laden is a folk hero to many Pakistanis.

Furthermore, more members of al Qaeda probably live within Pakistan than any other country today. North Korea developed its nuclear capability with technology sold to them by the Pakistanis. Yet somehow we remain friends with Pakistan, while Saddam Hussein, who had no connection to bin Laden and no friends in the Islamic fundamentalist world, was made a scapegoat.

The tired assertion that America “supports democracy” in the Middle East is increasingly transparent. It was false 50 years ago, when we supported and funded the hated Shah of Iran to prevent nationalization of Iranian oil, and it’s false today when we back an unelected military dictator in Pakistan- just to name two examples. If honest democratic elections were held throughout the Middle East tomorrow, many countries would elect religious fundamentalist leaders hostile to the United States. Cliché or not, the Arab Street really doesn’t like America, so we should stop the charade about democracy and start pursuing a coherent foreign policy that serves America’s long-term interests.

A coherent foreign policy is based on the understanding that America is best served by not interfering in the deadly conflicts that define the Middle East. Yes, we need Middle Eastern oil, but we can reduce our need by exploring domestic sources. We should rid ourselves of the notion that we are at the mercy of the oil-producing countries- as the world’s largest oil consumer, their wealth depends on our business. We should stop the endless game of playing faction against faction, and recognize that buying allies doesn’t work. We should curtail the heavy militarization of the area by ending our disastrous foreign aid payments. We should stop propping up dictators and putting band-aids on festering problems. We should understand that our political and military involvement in the region creates far more problems that it solves. All Americans will benefit, both in terms of their safety and their pocketbooks, if we pursue a coherent, neutral foreign policy of non-interventionism, free trade, and self-determination in the Middle East.

Will Ferrell at the Oscars!

Last night’s Oscar ceremony was one of the worst in memory; bloated, boring, and lacking anything fun or interesting. With one exception. Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly sang a pretty funny song about comedians getting overlooked at the Oscars. Enjoy!

CoverFlow on the iPod?

It looks like a forthcoming firmware update for iPods will allow the use of CoverFlow! Check out this video….

The Best of Tina Fey

I am big fan of Tina Fey, for many reasons. I love “30 Rock,” and I always stayed up to catch her as the co-anchor of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.” Here is a collection of her greatest moments at the anchor desk!

**BONUS**
The best of “Sean Connery” on SNL’s “Jeopardy!”

Dude, WTF? #2

How could ANYONE believe this, let alone draw it?!?!

 

Donald Rumsfeld will go down as one of the worst Secretaries of Defense IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES! I just don’t understand some people.

$60,000 Worth of iPods!

80s Cartoon Openings

30 minutes of the opening credits of 1980s cartoons! I suggest you let it load, and then skip ahead at will. Loads of retro fun!

According to “Thundarr the Barbarian” (begins at 19:11), a “run-away planet” destroyed Earth in 1994, and darkness reigned for two thousand years!

Johnny G: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” starts at 23:51, and “Dungeons and Dragons” is at 26:50! I thought you’d like to know!

It is amazing how many of these shows were about “fighting for freedom” against the agents of Evil (e.g. Venger in “D&D”). Says alot about the 1980s, I think, and is significantly different from cartoons of the 90s, which I seem to remember were about saving the planet and being nice. Or something like that.

13 Greatest SNL Commercials!

I stumbled across a website that posted the •13 Greatest Saturday Night Live Commercial Parodies•! Be sure to check them out, they are definitely hilarious! “Happy Fun Ball,” “Schmitt’s Gay,” and “Bass-O-Matic” are my favorites!