Volume 2 Issue 38
March 26, 2003
Stormin'
War on hold for the weather, Ohio is up to something strange, and fried cats in Norway
So I was flipping through Newsweek the other day, when I came across this quote:
“My dad passed away the year before and I didn't’t have anybody really around, so I really latched onto him when I was a kid.” Optimus Prime, a member of Ohio’s 5694th National Guard Unit, on why he legally changed his name to that of the leader of the Autobots Transformers
A few things here. First, who let this guy in the Army? Are we really that hard up for soldiers we need people who name themselves after cartoon characters? Secondly, is there something wrong with Ohio we don't know about? Is there really any reason that Ohio needs 5,700 National Guard units? Are they planning to invade Indiana or something like that? Yikes...I always knew there was something about those Ohio people...
So obviously today I'm taking a lighter approach to things, but you can still get your shock and awe in the insanity section! Remember, e-mails and comments are always welcome as well!
Finally, anyone see Bill Cosby hosting Letterman last night? (By the way, he's still out sick? What does he have, anthrax or something?) I hadn't seen Cosby in a while, but he was fantastic, especially when he was on with the new idiot guy from "The Bachelor". I'll tell you, guest hosting is somewhat of a lost art nowadays, I guess in the entertainment world now everyone's job is so tenuous they don't want to expose themselves (See Chung, Connie below...), but it's better than reruns, and can be really entertaining too.
Onward to the sands of war...
OK, new plan: The US will delay the Battle for Baghdad in order to try to gain control of the South -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/international/worldspecial /26STRA.html
The Siege of Basra: Is there an uprising among the people of Basra? Or is it another trick from the Iraqi defenders?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-624002,00.html
Looks like the British have begun to go in -
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-War-Battling-for-Basra.html
Major mistake? Was the US unprepared for guerrilla warfare? After Vietnam, is there any excuse for them to be unprepared for it?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-623960,00.html
The Iraqi's studied Vietnam -
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-623866,00.html
"Shock and Awe" wasn't as shocking or as awesome as intended -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/international/worldspecial /26AIR.html
Urban warfare can be ugly -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2882295.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/international/worldspecial /26CND-URBAN.html
What do we need to do to win? Some authors share their view on what will constitute a US victory. Thomas Friedman sets out some conditions -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/opinion/26FRIE.html
Fred Kaplan looks at the setbacks so far -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2080698/
Whoops: Looks like we bombed a market in Baghdad, killing scores of civilians -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2887555.stm
Live from Baghdad! The US finally took out part of Iraqi TV yesterday, but it was only off the air for a few hours -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/25/sprj.irq.tv.strike /index.html
The Turks: Apparently the Turks have wised up and will stay out of Northern Iraq for now. But will they stay out?
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/opinion/24SAFI.html
The Arabs: Most Arab nations would like to see Saddam go, but they'd like to see him give us some trouble too -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/international/worldspecial /26ARAB.html
The US Media: The embedding program seems to have been a great success for the US Media and the military -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2080699/
Oh, and bye Connie Chung! Yea, I can watch CNN again! -
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2003/03/26/financial0758EST0021.DTL&nl=fix
In other nuclear proliferation news today: Pakistan and India staged missile tests yesterday, giving rise to fears they may be upping the crisis level there too -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2887931.stm
And the US and North Korea got closer to war yesterday with the North Korean military breaking off normal security discussions at the border -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2887097.stm
And the rest of the insanity...
Ungrateful Bastards: New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg is pissed at his own Democratic colleagues for not crediting him for the seniority he had from his first stint in the Senate, instead relegating him to crappy committee assignments and giving him an office in a storage room. Treatment like this for someone who saved a Senate seat is stupid for the Dems, especially as they try to recruit new candidates for the 2004 races. I mean, the man actually paid for his campaign too! I for one won't support the DSCC until they give Frank what he deserves! -
http://www.thehill.com/news/032503/lautenberg.aspx
Space Shuttle Update: A new NASA report says the agency should expect to lose at least one more shuttle in flight if the orbiter flies until 2020 -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/03/26/nasa.safety.report. ap/index.html
With God as my handicapper: A poor Catholic school in LA run by an order of nuns needed money quick. So they said some prayers and went to the track...and won $200,000. -
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-picksix25mar25,1,2812289.story
Air Raid: Folks in Norway thought they were seeing a UFO, or an errant missile. But no, just a cat being electrocuted -
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_764488.html?menu=news.l atestheadlines
