Hedging Their Bets

East Asian economies must prepare for possible sharp US dollar slide - ADB. Hedging their bets.

The US propaganda machine: Oh, what a lovely war. It's slicker but never very original.

Sistani Blows off Bush
Excerpt:
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has blown off the president of the United States. Bush sent Sistani a letter asking him to intervene to help end the gridlock in the formation of a new Iraqi government. Asked about his response, an aide said that Sistani had not opened the letter and had put it aside in his office.

The presidency is not what it used to be.

Definition of the Day: Impotence.

Dangerous waters

Dangerous waters:

Many die in Bahrain ship disaster.

Pirates seize tanker off Somalia.

Riverbend saw on her TV screen: "The Ministry of Defense requests that civilians do not comply with the orders of the army or police on nightly patrols unless they are accompanied by coalition forces working in that area."

Definition of the Day: Decaffeinated Coffee. And to think that all this time I thought Decaffeinated meant something to do with a cow having an abortion.

Big Shock

US envoy 'calls for new Iraqi PM.' Is Iraq really sovereign?

William S. Lind: The Army’s Truth in Advertising. “The Army’s center of gravity is the resource process.” They don't even bother to saying otherwise. Big shock.

Definition of the Day: Viagra.

Security is Down, but Drug Use Is Up

IRAQ: Officials note rise in drug trafficking, consumption. Security is down, but drug use is up. Nothing better to do than stay home, get high and listen to the bullets whiz by?

Baghdad police discover 14 bodies. Which day is that again?

The continued madness of King George. The Idiot King. (Or is it King of the Idiots?)

Definition of the Day: Bisexual.

Up for Award

Baghdad Burning is up for non-fiction award. I hope she wins the £30,000 prize.

Redirecting Bullets in Baghdad. Excerpt: The streets now [have] a truly Liberian feel. Not good.

The Democrats' Daddy Warbucks. Like the Republicans, they don't represent me either.

Seattle Capitol Hill Massacre

Yesterday, a man named Kyle Huff killed six people and wounded two before turning his gun on himself. My wife once told one of the victims to "get the hell out of my way" at the coop he worked at near the shooting. I used to live only about four blocks away during the mid-1990s. Such things are tragic and can happen anywhere. None of these people deserved to die. However, my sympathy does start to wane when I hear residents say that this sort of thing shouldn't happen in their neighborhood. About five blocks to the south and a world away, murders are relatively common (although not on this magnitude). It's no big deal until it happens in your backyard.

Pile it on!

The Mogambo Guru Is Horrified By The Debt Outlook. Pile it on!

Russia helped Iraq during U.S. invasion. Russia is not the friend Bush sometimes claims it to be. See also Reheating the Cold War.

Tomdispatch Interview: Chalmers Johnson on Our Military Empire. He will be publishing a new book soon.

Definition of the Day: Hacker.

Fatally Incompetent

Revolution in the Pakistani mountains. While whining about Iran, the Bush Administration facilitates real fanatics getting hold of the Bomb. There are times when I'm tempted to wonder if they collectively have two brains cells to rub together. What else can one expect from the fatally incompetent? Their only strength is inspiring fear in Chumps.

Here's another such Gem: Not content with Iran, the Bush Administration decides to poke the bear and actively undermine the one country with enough influence to actually rein in Tehran's nuclear ambitions. It shows they are either very stupid, or don't really care about Iran. (I believe it's both.) Russia is the one country with no fear of American military power. They also could devastate the US economically by demanding payment for energy in Euros.

Here's a quote:

... while on a visit to Australia, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed concern over the "centralization of power in the Kremlin" and spoke about the danger that "by its very existence, a presidency that is strong without countervailing institutions can be subverted, can subvert democracy".

She would know. It's a good thing the Bush Administration is brainless.

Gentle Loansharks

5 ways to face our nation's Wimpy mentality. Loansharks come in many forms; some are just more gentle.

Bush calls for Iraqi government. Calling something a government does not make it so.

Change of Heartland. The lack of alternatives is depressing.

Definition of the Day: Quantity.

At Least It's Entertaining

Deleted Website for Justice Dept's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training. Check it out before it's gone.

William S. Lind: Through the Postern Gate. Fiddlin' while Rome burns.

Paul Craig Roberts: A Collapsing Presidency. At least it's entertaining.

Definition of the Day: Gang.

Fear There, Fear Here, Fear Everywhere

Death Squads on the Prowl; Iraq Convulsed by Fear. Fear there, fear here, fear everywhere.

Iraq: Lessons learned, lessons ignored. In government, ignorance is bliss.

Informant weighs in on U.S. law enforcement corruption in Colombia. One again, I am shocked!

Definition of the Day: Quantum Physics.

Can I Kick Their Teeth In?

Federal agents posed as Fox News reporters. If I don't know they're pigs can I kick their teeth in?

Bush's straw man arguments. Burn 'em.

Where's the Resistance Here on the Home Front? Mediocrity is everywhere.

Conspiracy Theorist Has Elaborate Explanation For Why He's Single. Too much of the "hidden hand?"

Definition of the Day: Jailbait.

Right in the Ass

The trade deficit's deep bite. Right in the ass.

U.S. military airstrikes significantly increased in Iraq. Winning hearts and minds through bombs.

The Pentagon wants AMERICAblog's help spreading propaganda about Iraq. Their desperation shows their inaptitude at propaganda.

Bush Increasingly Focused On How Revisionist History Will See Him. He needs something to do in his drunken spare time.

Definition of the day: Mad Cow Disease.

Down the Toilet

I couldn't get blogger to post this one on Thursday, so here it is.

The spiraling costs of Uncle Sam's deficits. Down the toilet.

Are Hamas' New Guidelines Abetting Israeli Hardliners? Aren't they always? Israel (and the US in part) encouraged its Creation to offset the secular PLO. Sometimes divide and conquer doesn't work.

New Poll Finds 86 Percent Of Americans Don't Want To Have A Country Anymore. Sell off the rest to the Chinese.

Definition of Day: Objectivist.

The West Is Blind

The West Is Blind to the Impact of Globalization on the Economy and on Morals. And Damn near everything else.

Taliban's Iraq-style spring is sprung. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Bush Approval Falls to 33%, Congress Earns Rare Praise. Pew!

Poverty-Stricken Africans Receive Desperately Needed Bibles. In English of course.

Definition of the Day: Kansas.

Vacuum

Scores of bodies found in Baghdad. Escalation.

Springtime for Kim Jong Il - gulags of Korea put on stage. No it's not from The Onion.

Check out Sudoku. See Also.

Definition of the Day: Vacuum.

Denial

80 Killed, over 200 Wounded in Black Sunday. Another horrible day.

How I learned to stop worrying and love chaos. Denial will make everything better.

A call for a New American Civil War. Well, maybe not.

Bush: Locking Horns with Being a Loser. He sure ain't no Tom Landry.

Today's Definition: Santa Claus.

Not every Jew is a Zionist

Anti-Israel rabbis support Iran. Not every Jew is a Zionist.

Republicans want little to do with Bush in this election. Just like anyone else who doesn't have shit for brains.

Deputies' Questions Unsettle University. The march of fascism continues.

Wonder Drug Inspires Deep, Unwavering Love Of Pharmaceutical Companies. I'm all a twitter.

Petty Theft Adds Up

Bush adviser charged with thefts. (What a shock.) Petty theft adds up.

A Government with No Military and No Territory. Calling something a government does not make it so. See Also.

'Iraqi Gandhi' Preaches Slightly Less Violence. "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind, so extract a pinky for an eye..."

Public Secrets

PINR: ''China Becomes Increasingly Involved in the Middle East.'' Never saw it coming?

US More Intent on Blocking Chavez. The spectacle continues.

The Lazarus Effect: rodent 'missing' for 11 million years is discovered in Laos. It was found through the use of milk carton photos.

Check out BUREAU OF PUBLIC SECRETS.

I'm thirsty

US warns of challenge from Iran. What, no "bring it on?"

The Dark Side of Liberal Imperialism. Liberal Democrats show their true stripes.

Water plumes spewing from 'ice volcano' seen on a moon of Saturn. I'm thirsty.

Bodies Found Garroted in Baghdad. Another lovely day in Iraq.

What did you expect?

The Catalan affair. More military intervention in Spanish affairs?

What did you expect? Delay won his primary. If I were in his district, I might vote for him. After all, if he lost, he might start sticking around full time. (This probably applies to others as well.)

The Meaning Of Chutzpah. Definition by example.

Read Modern Drunkard Magazine.

Fascism Continues

Revised Patriot Act targets allergy, cold meds. Fascism continues its mediocre march across the land.

Vermont Town Meetings Vote to Impeach. They know scum when they see it.

Gonzales May Be Recalled on Eavesdropping. The Democrats are so spineless enfeebled Republicans are all that's left on corruption hill.

Actions of A Mindless and Paranoid Fascist are Telling!

Bush declares war on freedom of the press. The actions of a mindless and paranoid fascist are telling.

Paul Craig Roberts: America's Bleak Jobs Future. Swirling down the shitter.

Body-snatching gang cut legs off Alistair Cooke 'to sell bones.' I have nothing to add here.

When China Derails. It'll be a rough ride for everyone.

NOT A Patron of Super Weenie Hut Jr.

Murtha calls Pentagon's top general a liar. Here's a Democrat that isn't a patron of Super Weenie Hut Jr.

Iranian in US campus 'car attack.' Nine counts of attempted first-degree murder. Did he have a Chump Fish on his car? (What would it be for Islam anyway?)

Check out Harmony and Disharmony: Exploiting Al-Qa'ida's Organizational Vulnerabilities via On War #154.

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

Paul Craig Roberts: How the Economic News is Spun. Statistics can always say what you want them to say (within reason--and possibly not when speaking to a mathematically Innumeric population).

Quantity v. Quality is a means of distorting data.

Excerpt:

(1) When the US Department of Labor, for example, releases the monthly payroll jobs data, the press release will put the best spin on the data. The focus is on the aggregate number of new jobs created the previous month, for example, 150,000 new jobs. That sounds good. News reporters report the press release. They do not look into the data to see what kinds of jobs have been created and what kinds are being lost. They do not look back in time and provide a net job creation number over a longer period of time.

Another examples is using raw data to draw conclusions without examining the underlying reality.

Excerpt:

Many economists mistake offshore outsourcing with free trade based on comparative advantage. As a result of this mistake, ideology speaks instead of economic analysis. For example, Matthew J. Slaughter, an economics professor at Dartmouth, commits a huge error when he writes: "for every one job that US multinationals created abroad in their foreign affiliates they created nearly two US jobs in their parent operations." If Slaughter had consulted the BLS payroll jobs data, he would have realized that his claim could not possibly be true. Slaughter did not come to his conclusion by examining aggregate job creation. Instead, he measured the growth of US multinational employment and failed to take into account the two reasons for an increase in multinational employment: (1) multinationals acquired many existing smaller firms, thus raising multinational employment but not overall employment, and (2) many firms established foreign operations for the first time and thereby became multinationals, thus adding their existing employment to Slaughter's number for multinational employment.

(Calling this a mistake is being charitable.)

Another distortion that comes to mind is unemployment statistics. Once someone becomes permanently jobless, and loses unemployment benefits, they are no longer considered to be unemployed!

Don't be a Chump; don't believe the hype.

Pity

Bush says he will not be Deterred from visiting Pakistan despite the Karachi bombing. Notice he didn't say, "Bring it on?" Pity.

Vehicle ban to combat Iraq unrest. Another day to rest and prepare for more killing.

Fabius Maximus: Paranoia and hubris will destroy ya.

Forgetting

Video: Bush, Chertoff Warned before Katrina. Why do politicians always seem to forget about cameras and microphones? They seem so in love with recording devices. Perhaps familiarity really does breed contempt.