musing minds

Dad would have been 71 years old today. He died September 4, 2002 of esophageal cancer. We miss you Daddy.

Below I posted about the Italian journalist Sgrena. According to the Washington Times, the U.S. may have been kept in the dark about the release because the Italians were paying a hefty ransom. The U.S. (the adult in the family) disapproves of such practice because it only serves to create a “market” for hostages in the future. Not to mention the fact that now the terrorists have that much more money with which to buy explosives.

If I’m a journalist in Iraq right now I’d be thinking how much I’m worth on this market…..and wondering if my government would be willing to pay that price. Be sure to check out the links to the post below, there’s lots more.

You would think Assad was in a strong bargaining position by the way he’s currently acting. As reported by the LA Times:

Speaking to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, a defiant Assad seemed determined to display Syrian imperviousness to foreign pressure, refusing to say how soon the soldiers would pull out. The troops would first move to the Bekaa Valley, a strip of villages and farmland near the Syrian border, the president said. Then the Syrians and Lebanese would negotiate a move to the frontier between the two countries, but Assad didn’t say which side of the border they would occupy.

I like this quote from Assad:

“They may say this isn’t enough,” Assad told lawmakers. “But we say it’s enough.”

Really. I suggest Assad contact his real estate agent to start looking for a nice luxury spider hole because if Bush is willing to stand up to France, Germany, Russia (and a whole lot of other countries) to oust Saddam Hussein, he sure as heck isn’t going to back down against little Assad here, especially when Assad’s only backer appears to be our international darling Iran.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, a French commando supply ship has quietly slipped into the region. Hat tip Instapundit.

There are a lot of really good questions being asked about the Sgrena “abduction” and release. Check out Malkin, Jeff Goldstein and the Jawa Report. Hat tip PoliPundit.

Regardless as to what the facts ultimately show, what is remarkable (though not surprising in the least) is the complete lack of scrutiny Old Media is giving Sgrena. Given that she appears to be a radical anti-American communist whose track record indicates she’s more of a propagandist than a reporter, one would expect some mention of this by the media in recounting her position. But her position comes from the left, the same direction as her mainstream colleagues, and she’s telling the story that her colleagues desperately want to re-tell.

On the other hand there’s the scrutiny given the Swift Vets. Many had no track record whatsoever which would cast doubt on the veracity of their statements. Some even swore affidavits under oath, in effect putting their collective careers and reputations where their mouths were.

Yet completely opposite to the media’s treatment of Sgrena, not only were the motives of the Swift Vets discussed, they were the centerpiece of the story. The facts of the story were delved into only so much as to provide a background on which to base an attack against them. In the case of the Swift Vets, it was the story they were telling that made them unbelievable to Old Media and nothing more. No doubt if those very same individuals had come out with some revelations against the Bush administration instead of against Kerry they would be treated exactly as Sgrena is being treated today. Except unlike Sgrena, the Swift Vets would be deserving of such treatment.

UPDATE: Check out OpiniPundit, lots of goods stuff on this subject.

UPDATE II: LGF has pictures of the “bullet riddled car” except that there’s no bullet riddles – not any visible ones anyway and the windshield is completely intact. Sgrena claims that U.S. troops fired between 300 and 400 rounds. Lets see, a history of anti-US bias and now what seems to be an obvious misstatement. Oh, yes, she’s also claiming the troops intentionally targeted her.

UPDATE III: Apparantly the picture that the Associated Press used in its report was not the car that was shot at, but the car from which Sgrena was first taken. I’d still like to see that “riddled car” though.

Lorie Byrd at PoliPundit has been all over the false story of the Palestinian boy being shot by Isreali security forces. Powerline is now onto to it as well. This isn’t just a run-of-the-mill biased story. It may have been staged. What’s worse is that this story was a trigger point of the Palestinian intifada.

Setting off an uprising in a political tinderbox – I thought trying to influence a U.S. presidential election with forged documents was rock bottom. How low will it go?

Via RCP is an article by The Daily Star about ordinary Iraqis increasingly speaking out against the terrorist attacks. I’m glad the media is starting to report on this, but I don’t buy this “tired of terrorism” stuff. The article included the following:

While it may be too early to say public opinion has shifted, one thing is clear: Many Iraqis have grown tired of two years of constant insecurity, and some are directing their anger at insurgents for the first time.

As if the average Iraqi is thinking “hey, I didn’t mind watching my fellow countrymen get blown to bits on a daily basis, but this is getting a little tiresome.” As for “public opinion”, well we don’t have to rely on that elusive concept in Iraq any more. Iraqis actually voted and did so in spite of terrorists’ calls to stay away. Every Iraqi now knows he or she doesn’t stand alone against the tyranny. In a democracy people are allowed to speak their minds, and so they are.

The Democrats are predicting economic devastation as a result of Bush’s budget. How surprising. My question is this: aside from core Democrats who’ll drink any flavor of Kool Aid offered up by the liberal leadership, who’s actually going to take this attack seriously.

Leading up to the elections we heard the Dems compare the economy to the Great Depression. I’m no economist but a 5.4% unemployment rate and a growth rate over three percent is kind of the opposite of a depression. In Afghanistan the Dems warned that we would suffer the same fate as the Russian forces, but instead we got successful elections. Iraq and the greater Middle East…well, need I say more?

It also wasn’t as if the Dems were merely offering skepticism, reservation or another perspective that is a healthy part of democratic debate. No, it was blindingly rank, partisan bitterness that drove the Dems further and further away from reality.

Now we’re facing Bush’s budget. There’s no doubt that the deficit is a concern to any economist worth his salt. Instead of a healthy debate towards a reasoned solution, again the Dems will claim the sky is falling. Oh yes, except Social Security, that part of the sky is rock solid up there.

This is a photo of a seven month fetus, part of a National Geographic Channel Special In The Womb, to be shown Sunday evening at 8 pm Eastern/9 pm Pacific.

We are now Large Mammals in the TTLB Ecosystem.
>here.

There’s a certain mystique surrounding the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When living in America a few years back I recall a discussion I had with some collegues about their perception of the Mounties. Were they these brave, dedicated professionals driving to “always get their man”? “That’s what they say” was my response. I didn’t really know any.

After moving back to Canada over the last couple of years I was lucky enough to get to know quite a few “members” (that’s what the Mounties call themselves). To a person, they fit the stereotype.

Yesterday some scumbag killed four members.

They died getting their man.

Note: this post has been bumped/kimsch