What a day of news... If you aren't appaled, you haven't been paying attention!

Eric Haney, a retired command sergeant major of the U.S. Army, was a founding member of Delta Force, the military's elite covert counter-terrorist unit.
ince he has devoted his life to protecting his country in some of the world's most dangerous hot spots, you might assume Haney is sympathetic to the Bush administration's current plight in Iraq (the laudatory cover blurb on his book comes from none other than Fox's News' Bill O'Reilly). But he's also someone with close ties to the Pentagon, so he's privy to information denied the rest of us.

Q: What's your assessment of the war in Iraq?

A: Utter debacle. But it had to be from the very first. The reasons were wrong. The reasons of this administration for taking this nation to war were not what they stated. (Army Gen.) Tommy Franks was brow-beaten and ... pursued warfare that he knew strategically was wrong in the long term. That's why he retired immediately afterward. His own staff could tell him what was going to happen afterward.

We have fomented civil war in Iraq. We have probably fomented internecine war in the Muslim world between the Shias and the Sunnis, and I think Bush may well have started the third world war, all for their own personal policies.

---
The financial cost we are paying because of Bush and Cheney's no bid contracts, cronyism and incompetence: "US debt clock running out of time, space".

---
And what are we paying for? Two teams of government investigators using fake documents were able to enter the United States with enough radioactive sources to make two dirty bombs... Not much apparently.

Charlie

More fun Bush/Blair memos

"The US would put its full weight behind efforts to get another resolution and would twist arms and even threaten," Mr Bush is paraphrased as saying.

"But he had to say that if we ultimately failed, military action would follow anyway."

Interesting: The Planet of Unreality

Interesting article... Do they believe? Will history see this differently than most of us do now? Likely so. But I don't think history will be kind to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their cronies.

Thoughts?
Charlie

States and Countries I've been to

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.





create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands
--
Heh! FUN stuff, golly it makes me want to travel more... I can't believe I typed "golly". I'm a dork.

Charlie

Bayesan probability theory

Despite the esoteric symbols, the idea--roughly speaking--is simple: The likelihood that something will happen can be plausibly estimated by how often it occurred in the past. Researchers are applying the idea to everything from gene studies to filtering e-mail.
--
Interesting stuff with a good explaination. I do love that tv show Numbers, with a math professor being the lead character, using math to solve crimes. Heh, not exactly a traditional plot point. 8-)

After reading this article, it occurs to me that usability of something, be it a website, software app, car, vcr or any interface is greatly based on Bayesian theories. i.e. because users understand this popular (frequently used) interface convention, they are more likely to be successful on further use.
Wow, I'm a freakin' scientist! heh! 8-)

Charlie

Proof that people don't always die because they are being punished by G-d

Dana Reeve dies at 44 of lung cancer

Widow of actor Christopher Reeve fought for paralysis cure

Pretty sad stuff. Some may think/ask why G-d would do something like this... kill a very young mother/wife that supported her husband through paralysis and his passing. Is G-d punishing her and her family? What could she/they have done to see so much tragedy in their lives?

I think it's a (another) sign that G-d isn't punishing people when they die, it just happens as a natural part of life. That may not make it easier, but I think it's true. How else would so many evil-doers survive for so long?
--
A month or so ago, they husband of my wife's best friend died... he was 31. He was a cardiologist that had a minor issue with his heart. He was running and collapsed on the street in Buenos Aires.

We didn't get along spectacularly well, just hung out while our wives had a great time together. It's still a stark reminder that you can go at any time. I think it's a clear reminder to live your life to the fullest, don't push off the wonderful times you can have with your loved ones. Enjoy all you can now.

Shalom.

Charlie

Soldier pays for armor

Soldier pays for armor

Army demanded $700 from city man who was wounded

The last time 1st Lt. William “Eddie” Rebrook IV saw his body armor, he was lying on a stretcher in Iraq, his arm shattered and covered in blood.

A field medic tied a tourniquet around Rebrook’s right arm to stanch the bleeding from shrapnel wounds. Soldiers yanked off his blood-soaked body armor. He never saw it again.

But last week, Rebrook was forced to pay $700 for that body armor, blown up by a roadside bomb more than a year ago.

-- um WHAT?

Charlie

14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism

How many do you see?

Some here are a bit of a stretch, but most are spot on.

Shalom.
Charlie

Some interesting links...

Legislative watchdog groups wage war on earmarks and p--k
Although Republicans claim to be the party of small government and fiscal restraint, Schatz's group found that total earmarks rose to 13,997 in 2005, a huge increase from the 1995 total of 1,349.

--
Washington’s new ways spawn more pork
As barriers between lobbyists and lawmakers fall, ‘earmarks’ grow

--
Broadcaster says serious news at risk
Many Americans on the left and the right aren't interested in the truth, but simply want news that confirms their viewpoints, he said. "You'd think that it's no more complex than good vs. evil," he said.

Journalists have fallen short in presenting important news in ways that allow viewers to see how it matters in their lives. But viewers must take up the battle as well, he said. "It's not enough to say you want serious news. You have to watch it. It isn't enough to say you want serious debate. You have to engage in it."

--
A majority of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate in November's congressional elections who opposes President Bush, and 58 percent consider his second term a failure so far, according to a poll released Thursday.

Fewer people consider Bush to be honest and trustworthy now than did a year ago, and 53 percent said they believe his administration deliberately misled the public about Iraq's purported weapons program before the U.S. invasion in 2003, the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found.

Enjoy... and Shalom!
Charlie