Not In Your Name Watch: “Democratic dawn in Iraq.”

When you’re losing The Guardian…

You’ve got a problem. From William Shawcross:

The weekend’s elections in Iraq were a huge success for the Iraqi people. The remarkably peaceful day of voting on Saturday – and the interim results – give good reason to hope Iraq really is on the way to building a decent society.

[snip]

The peaceful polling was remarkable and so were the results. All the Islamic parties lost ground, especially that associated with the so-called “Shia firebrand”, Moqtada al-Sadr, whose share of the vote went down from 11% to 3%. The principal Sunni Islamic party, the Islamic Party of Iraq, was wiped out.

The only Islamic party to gain ground was the Dawa party of the Shia prime minister Nouri al-Maliki – and even that party dropped the word Islamic from its name. The power of Maliki, who has emerged a stronger leader than expected, is further enhanced by these elections. Now no Islamic parties will be able to control any provinces on their own. The election is thus a big defeat for Iran which had hoped that Shia religious parties would control the south and enable Iran to turn them into a mini Shia republic.

(Via Hot Air Headlines)

Continue reading Not In Your Name Watch: “Democratic dawn in Iraq.”

I really do need my copy of Kung Fu Hustle back

I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but now that I have a personal blog with at least some traffic I might as well mention it again: to understand my mental processes, watch Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer.  The latter represents the kind of world I’d quite like to live in; the former represents the world currently going on inside my head. Which is kind of goofy and surreal, but ultimately quite fun.  In a disturbing sort of way.

Or, as Shaenon (noted webcomic artist who brought us Narbonic, and is currently bringing us Skin Horse*, both of which should be obsessively read by any person interested in mad science)  noted in comments here:

“Kung-Fu Hustle,” like “Sin City,” is one of those movies that made me wonder why other movies are always forcing me to look at boring things, when they could be showing me machine-gun-toting hooker armies or middle-aged landladies using the Lion’s Roar Attack against the World’s Greatest Killer.

One does wonder that.

Moe Lane

*It’s a Velveteen Rabbit reference, you perverts.

I do not say to Congress, “Do not pass a resolution condemning the Armenian genocide.”

…and the successor state to the one that committed said genocide has not adequately addressed the actions of its predecessor. The new President campaigned on the issue, and top foreign policy adviser Samantha Power (back from internal exile from her previously calling the new Secretary of State a “monster”) is known for her stance on it. And, at the end of things, there are a variety of reasons why we should make a policy of calling things by their true names, geopolitical awkwardness or no. So I do not ask that they do not pass this resolution.
Continue reading I do not say to Congress, “Do not pass a resolution condemning the Armenian genocide.”

Over/under on Daschle withdrawing?

He’s got the New York Times calling for his removal (check out Hot Air for appropriate scorn at the way that the Grey Lady is weaseling on this one), there was a quid pro quo between Daschle and the guy who gave him the car and chauffeur, and the best defense that Obama’s press sacrificial victim secretary could come up with?
Continue reading Over/under on Daschle withdrawing?

Swear to God, the default picture wasn’t a factor for this one.

Quite the opposite, really. But finding “traditional” songs on YouTube that don’t actually, you know, suck isn’t that easy…

Mingulay Boat Song: the best traditional, age-old, timeless, authentic folk song written within living memory by somebody not even from the area.

Rendition and The Doug Feith conference call.

I had the opportunity today to participate in a conference call with Doug Feith, whose book War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism will be available in a paperback version on Tuesday. Doug Feith is, of course, a controversial figure among the antiwar movement – which is to say, he’s the subject of some truly disturbing, quasi-sexual “rendition” fantasies originating from them; no word yet on whether that will change, now that it’s been reported that rendition will be resumed to Clinton-era levels under the new administration – so I looked forward to the call. Continue reading Rendition and The Doug Feith conference call.

Two examples why you need to read Cracked.com.

First is 7 Items You Won’t Believe Are Actually Legal. It starts with flamethrowers, and gets better from there.

But I wouldn’t have posted this just to let you know that. I’m posting this because one of my esteemed colleagues emailed me to inform me IN ALL CAPS that making him aware of “The 5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World” had wrecked his productivity in sheer horrified fascination. I saw that article, but had not watched any of the videos. So I clicked the first one, which was about the Japanese Giant Hornet.

(pause)

DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO HANDLE SEEING A HIVE OF BEES BEING RIPPED APART BY A SQUAD OF REMORSELESS, INSECTILE KILLING MACHINES. Below the fold.
Continue reading Two examples why you need to read Cracked.com.

Oh, my aching head: Time for a “study” on DADT.

I’m noting this in RedHot/my site because Brian has covered the basics of the thing itself; essentially, the President is going to wait until the military gets back to him before he tries to get the law repealed. Speaking as someone who actually favors allowing gays to serve openly in the military, let me correct two egregious errors in the article:

  1. Clinton was not “forced to back off”; he out-and-out caved on this issue at the first sign of pressure.
  2. A “comprehensive assessment” does not actually mean a “comprehensive assessment:” as Karl over at Patterico notes in a different controversy, it means something more like “to move an issue onto a back burner.”

In other words, don’t count on this changing this spring. Or this year. Or, quite possibly, this Presidential term.

Crossposted at RedState.

You know, I STILL can’t figure out if Land of the Lost is going to be worth it.

If you watch the video:

…you rapidly come to the conclusion that the basic principle is, well, kind of stupid.  Then again, so was the the original series.  I mean, let’s face it: it was crap, crap, crap, like much of Sid & Marty Kroft’s work (all hail James Lileks for coming up with the indispensable adjective “Lovekroftian,” by the way: I’d email it to Ken Hite, except he might run with it, God help us all).  Which would be a double-strength not-a-chance, except that Will Ferrell’s involved.  The guy has a talent for making the best of crap.

So it’s a hard call.  Maybe when it hits video.