Everyone on both sides of the war debate will be pleased to note that according to Iraq Body Count there has only been ONE reported civilian casulty since the beginning of strikes Wednesday night. Not that any losses are good, but it is certainly a lot less than anyone on either side has been predicting. Yes, the war has just begun, but I think this is a good way to start.

And how is Iraq holding up? Well, considering I’m a day behind on posting, none of this is new, but US Intellegence is seeing a leadership vacume in Baghdad, leading to a lack of a coordinated by the Iraqi military. Some are reporting that Saddam may indeed be dead after the first strike Wednesday night. His son Uday may be suffering from a brain hemmorage after being attacked Thursday by a member of Saddam’s Fadeyeen and his other son Qussay may be dead.

Supposedly Iraq has fired SCUD missiles into Kuwait, which is interesting because they’re not supposed to have SCUDs…

Time’s up!

You can get info on the war straight from the source here at the US Central Command website.

Iraq Body Count says they’ll give you up to date counts on Iraqi civilian casulties. Now, they say they’ll be basing it off of news accounts and eye witness acounts and give a max/min comparrison, but based off of it’s front page, I’m not sure how accurate this is getting:

The B-2 bomber carries sixteen 2′000 lb. JDAM bombs. If all goes 100% as planned (the bomb does not fall outside of its specified margin of error of 13 meters, and the GPS guidance system is not foiled by a $50 radio jammer kit, easily purchased), then here is what one such bomb does :

everyone within a 120 meter radius is killed;

to be safe from serious shrapnel damage, a person must be at least 365 meters away;

to be really safe from all effects of fragmentation, a person must be 1000 meters away, according to Admiral Stufflebeem.

But this is not taking into consideration that the bomb will be dropped in a city with buildings and other things in the way of debris and explosions. These facts are correct, but on a desert field with nothing to stop the blast’s impact.

Based on this and other propoganda on the site, you can be sure that they are opposed to war. No matter what, though, it will be interesting to keep an eye on their figures and sources.

Some idiots are petitioning to return the Statue of Liberty. I hope this is a joke.

Red alert? Stay home, await word

If the nation escalates to “red alert,” which is the highest in the color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, the state’s anti-terror czar says.

“This state is on top of it,” said Sid Caspersen, New Jersey’s director of the office of counter-terrorism.

Caspersen, a former FBI agent, was briefing reporters, alongside Gov. James E. McGreevey, on Thursday, when for the first time he disclosed the realities of how a red alert would shut the state down.

A red alert would also tear away virtually all personal freedoms to move about and associate.

“Red means all noncritical functions cease,” Caspersen said. “Noncritical would be almost all businesses, except health-related.”

A red alert means there is a severe risk of terrorist attack, according to federal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security.

“The state will restrict transportation and access to critical locations,” says the state’s new brochure on dealing with terrorism.

“You must adhere to the restrictions announced by authorities and prepare to evacuate, if instructed. Stay alert for emergency messages.”

Caspersen went further than the brochure. “The government agencies would run at a very low threshold,” he said.

“The state police and the emergency management people would take control over the highways.

“You literally are staying home, is what happens, unless you are required to be out. No different than if you had a state of emergency with a snowstorm.”

So, wait, where does this guy say “you will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home”? All I see is state of emergency. And, I mean, I don’t think you’re labled a terrorist when you drive in a snow emergency. Unless I missed something in the Patriot Act…

Judge: Canadian company can be held liable for genocide

Canada’s largest independent oil producer can be held liable for genocide if it can be proven it cooperated with the Sudanese government to wage war on civilian populations near oil fields, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Talisman Energy Inc. cannot escape trial on the civil claims contained in a class-action lawsuit filed on Nov. 11, 2001, U.S. District Judge Allen G. Schwartz said. A lawyer for the company did not immediately return a telephone message for comment.

…

The lawsuit accused the company of collaborating with Sudan to commit gross human rights violations, including murders, forced displacement, war crimes, confiscation and destruction of property, kidnapping, rape and enslavement.

It described the current Sudanese government as a “Taliban-style Islamic fundamentalist movement” that was engaging in a “war of genocide” that has already claimed two million lives and displaced four million people, with the violence aimed at wiping out Christians and those practicing religions other than a strict form of Islam.

The lawsuit said the government became interested in its oil reserves as potential sources of capital to buy missiles, tanks, bombers, helicopters and other armaments needed in its war against people in the southern half of a nation of 37 million people.

American companies are just irresponsible towards the environment and blamed for causing wars for oil lines. Canadian companies, on the other hand, directly help commit genocide. Huh.

See men shredded, then say you don’t back war

?There was a machine designed for shredding plastic. Men were dropped into it and we were again made to watch. Sometimes they went in head first and died quickly. Sometimes they went in feet first and died screaming. It was horrible. I saw 30 people die like this. Their remains would be placed in plastic bags and we were told they would be used as fish food . . . on one occasion, I saw Qusay [President Saddam Hussein?s youngest son] personally supervise these murders.?

This is one of the many witness statements that were taken by researchers from Indict ? the organisation I chair ? to provide evidence for legal cases against specific Iraqi individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. This account was taken in the past two weeks.

French U-Turn on Iraq War

France has announced it could assist any US-led military coalition if Iraq uses chemical and biological weapons.

The turnaround comes after strong French opposition to a war in Iraq, including threats to veto a UN Security Council resolution paving the way for armed conflict.

French ambassador Jean-David Levitte said: “If Saddam Hussein were to use chemical and biological weapons, this would change the situation completely and immediately for the French government.”

Mr Levitte said a decision on any French participation in the war would be made by French President Jacques Chirac, if and when biological or chemical weapons were used.

Although he declined to give details on the possible shape of French participation, Levitte said, “We have equipment to fight in these circumstances.”

Is that really a u-turn? I mean, France didn’t say it would never fight. It said it wanted inspections and probably stated that they believed Iraq when it said it was clean. But, if they use biological and chemical weapons, well, Iraq would have been lying and in blatant violation of UN sanctions (more so than they are now). So, nah, it’s not a u-turn, simply a matter of saving face.

Yep, unilateral actions.

I wrote this at ten this morning. This mess is still happening.

Washington DC is in gridlock. Traffic is at a standstill. Downtown DC is a sea of cars, every bridge to DC is packed with cars.

All because one man drove a tractor onto the Mall and said he had explosives.

And he did this over 18 hours ago!

Ten blocks of downtown DC are shut down while the police deal with this guy. We have cops on every corner, yet not a single one is bothering to direct traffic. So we’re gridlocked while our country sits at terror alert level orange. Smart.

And I’m supposed to believe that we’re going to be able to stop a terrorist from attacking us when we can’t keep a guy from unloading a tractor off of a trailer and driving it into a pond on the National Mall? Where’s our heightened security?

The city roads are practically shut down, it took an hour to get from one end of Memorial Bridge to the other. And we’re supposed to be able to evacuate this town in the even of a terrorist attack?

Man, we’re screwed.

The Great God Contest

Saddam Hussein’s LiveJournal

I’m ready for action. My generals have authorization to use any weapons necessary, and I’ve got my fanny pack. No dictator on the run can be without his Evian and Bengay. While bombs rain over Baghdad, I’ll be hiding in a civilian home with my laptop.. chilling. Well, I must make final preperations for the invasion.

Chirac Hard At Work

The Other Side of the Debate and other nutty things.

Pentagon Threatens to Kill Independent Reporters In Iraq

Kate Adie: “The Americans… and I’ve been talking to the Pentagon …take the attitude which is entirely hostile to the free spread of information.”

” I was told by a senior officer in the Pentagon, that if uplinks –that is the television signals out of… Bhagdad, for example– were detected by any planes …electronic media… mediums, of the military above Bhagdad… they’d be fired down on. Even if they were journalists ..’ Who cares! ‘ said.. [inaudible] ..”

Tom McGurk: “…Kate …sorry Kate ..just to underline that. Sorry to interrupt you. Just to explain for our listeners. Uplinks is where you have your own satellite telephone method of distributing information.”

Kate Adie: ” The telephones and the television signals.”

Tom McGurk: ” And they would be fired on? ”

Kate Adie: ” Yes. They would be ‘targeted down,’ said the officer.”

Tom McGurk: ” Extraordinary ! ”

Yes, wow, how extraordinary that the US would target unidentified communication signals inside a country they are attacking. My, I mean, it’s not like the Iraqi miliary would be using such technology.

US Readies Nuke Option as WW3 Erupts in Serbia

The assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic marks a grave deterioration in international relations over US plans for a Gulf invasion. Meanwhile, the testing of a high power bomb by the US is a smokescreen for its preparedness to use theater nuclear weapons in the forthcoming conflict.

NATO political gains in Eastern Europe were in disarray today after the murder of the Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic. The killing is clearly the opening of a second front in the international power struggle currently centered on the Gulf region.

Clearly. Cause, you know, this had nothing to do with political infighting dealing with a Prime Minister who turned over a popular former Serbian president to the War Crimes Tribunal and EVERYTHING to do with the middle east. Yep.

And NATO gains “in disarray“? The article linked to is about no clear line of succession, not NATO’s plans in Eastern Europe, which are not limited to Serbia. If anything, the assassination simply marks the continuation of a cycle of violence that has surrounded the Balkans for centuries.

Anyways, let’s continue with this ‘Nuke Option’ article.

Underneath the veneer of civilized debate at the United Nations, the world has just lurched sharply towards World War III.

“Europe has lost a friend… who fought hard for democracy,” an EU statement said. But, Europe lost more than a friend and ally, it just lost the plot. Djinjic was the West’s man in Serbia, and it was he who handed over Yugoslavia’s former leader, Slobodan Milosevic to Western justice. His murder is eerily reminiscent of the killing of Franz Ferdinand, who was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo in June 1914. The assassination precipitated a crisis which led to the outbreak of World War I.

Yes, let us ignore the whole political situations not only surrounding that assassination, but the mood in Europe and alliances at the time. Ferdinand was Archduke as appointed by the Hasburg empire’s remains in Austria-Hungary, an empire seen as ruling over the Serbian people who wanted to be free from the Hasburg empire. The assassination was a continuation of their struggle against this government. Austria-Hungary was allied with Germany while Russia supported Serbia and France and England tried to talk some peace into the situation. Germany’s efforts to delay the Austrian government from an invasion as to not provoke a Russian advance proved to be the cause of the war because Austria’s delay created the sense that their attack was almost unprovoked. Anyways, that part being neither here nor there, the circumstances surrounding the assassination were quite different than those around Djindjic’s in that the Prime Minister’s assassination can be seen as more of an internal struggle than that of international politics.

Even before the Serbian killing, the US test of a high power Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB bomb in Florida, was a clear sign it is readying the nuclear option in the coming Gulf conflict. Although the 21,000 bomb used conventional munitions, it was universally described in Western media as having an explosion signature indistinguishable from a nuclear weapon mushroom cloud. That emphasis achieved two purposes:

For US public consumption, it served as convenient cover should such bomb signatures be detected as a result of the use of theater nuclear weapons in the Gulf conflict. The widely publicized bomb test allows these to be dismissed as MOAB effects. An unconvincing cover, as in fact the signature was nothing like a nuclear mushroom –but a cover nonetheless.

Actually, signatures from a nuclear explosion are quite distinct from any other by not only, oh, what’s it called, RADIATION but also an electro magnetic pulse, which the MOAB cause neither of. The mushroom cloud is simply the result of a huge ass explosion and has simply been associated with a nuclear explosion because, at the time, that was the biggest ass explosion of them all and quite possibly still is.

For international geopolitical elite consumption, the “mushroom” references were a clear sign to US enemies, that faced with possible conflicts on multiple fronts, the US will not risk depleting it’s forces and resources in protracted battle in any individual region, but will seek quick victories by means of battlefield nuclear weapons.

Indeed, comments by Donald Rumsfeld that Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein might use chemical weapons on his own people was a sign that the US is prepared to use such weapons itself.

“His regime may be planning to use weapons of mass destruction against its own citizens, and then blame coalition forces,” Mr. Rumsfeld said. Given the little publicized US chemical warfare capabilities, that comment is more than a little disingenuous.

Oh yeah, I forgot, anything Saddam does to his people is really just a cover for what we did. We’re gonna slaughter the whole country with our weapons and stuff and say Saddam did it. And because we said he would, everyone will believe us, right? Yeah, especially with journalists all through the country. Oh, wait, no, the only journalists in the country will be those state run deals like CNN and FoxNews and stuff and they don’t show anything the government doesn’t want us to see. Nope. Too bad the military’s gonna kill off all those indie guys, now we’ll never know the truth.

I’m sorry, was that a bit much?

UN - Secretary-General Clinton?

Once again the future of Bill Clinton has become a hot topic that rivals ? or perhaps supplements ? “Plan Hillary,” which now is being massaged by New York’s junior senator. Keeping his plans as secret as the flight plan of a stealth bomber, Bill has been scheming to prepare his next leap into the spotlight.

Quite often when a bad situation is allowed to continue in the hope that it will go away, it just gets worse; and what he now is planning is beyond worse ? it is outrageous. With war in Iraq, weapons inspectors, meetings of the U.N. Security Council, conflicts between one-time allies and a new emergency every day or two, most of us are concentrated on the events of the day or even the hour.

Yet there is a need to lift our eyes from the clock and look at the calendar. Early in the fall, some seven months from now, the U.N. General Assembly may select a new secretary-general. Kofi Annan is under pressure to resign before the end of his second term in 2006. If he does, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the U.N. Security Council, will approve a replacement.

COULD IT BE?

Over the years, there have been secretaries-general from Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, but never from North America. Add to that fact the interesting detail that the U.N.’s towering Secretariat Building on Turtle Bay (First Avenue and 42nd Street to New Yorkers) is more than 50 years old, crumbling and is overdue for rebuilding. That takes money ? the kind of money only the long-suffering U.S. taxpayer can give, plus a cash-grabbing fund-raiser.

Add one more fascinating fact: a well-known (notorious to most of us) American is looking for the secretary-general’s job ? William Jefferson Clinton.

While it is still early, there is a major international move under way to make Bill Clinton the chief executive of the United Nations. Unbelievable? You had only to watch Clinton’s performance on a recent “Larry King Live” program. There, Bill, with his new haircut and coiffure blued to a snowy-white perfection, made repeated adulatory references to the United Nations.

Not because the UN is in the news. Nope, he’s obviously up to something. Oh, Bill.

Breakway march storms World Bank

As part of one of the breakaway marches during today’s demonstrations against the war, a group of 25-30 anarchists stormed the World Bank building. They ran through the building, spraypainting slogans and knocking over statues. Most of the group escaped out the back door.

There were six people arrested at the World Bank. One or two are juveniles. The arrestees are being held at the First and Second District precincts.

Yeah, way to get your message across, morons. Someone who was involved in the anti-war protest made a damn good post:

So let me get this straight… you’re patting yourself on the back for getting away with rushing into the World Bank, spray painting slogans, and knocking down art?

Maybe the World Bank wasn’t wildly difficult to get in (most days it really isn’t) because the World Bank and global capitalism wasn’t seen as the purpose of the protest march. Sure it’s related… but name a significant activist issue that isn’t related to war. The World Bank probably wasn’t thinking it was a likely target for civil disobedience but it shouldn’t have been.

As a participant in the peaceful march, I’m glad this “splinter group” hasn’t gotten much coverage. It’s an embarassing example of using meaningful social protest as a cover for carrying out petty acts of teenage-boy violence. (And no, you don’t have to be a teenage boy to be sadly engaged in teenage boy violence…)

Again, as a participant in the march, I wish Indymedia didn’t link story to the mainstream march feature. The vast majority of people who gathered for the march didn’t do so with any intention that it would somehow be used to legitimate or help publicize these acts of petty property violence.

Yep, have to agree, way to trivialize your movement, guys. I hope they arrest everyone of you. And I don’t want to hear any “they didnt’ tell us to disperse” bullshit either.

Pictures!

Bigger is Better?Size Does Matter

Cause, you know, this has everything to do with the war in Iraq.

Crap, busted!

Let’s see, one, two, three, ah, hell, there are eight people in that picture. Eights of thousands! And what the hell are you protesting here? The number of people against the war? The vote count for president (which did say Gore had a majority votes, but Bush had a majority in the Electoral College)? Or just the number of folks showing up at the protest? Because, well, don’t you have some other message you could have used the poster, ink and gentle curse word for?

English Sans French

The Franco-American dispute falling out over the best approach way to disarming Iraq take away Iraq’s weapons has resulted in perhaps the highest level of anti-French feeling in the United States Lands since 1763.

A French-owned hotel innkeeping firm, Accor, has taken down the tricolor three-hued flag. In the House of Representatives Burghers, the chairman leader of the Committee Body on Administration Running Things has renamed named anew French fries “freedom fries” and French toast “freedom toast” in House restaurants eating rooms.

To which the question asking arises: Why stop with Evian, Total gasoline, and the Concorde (just only the Air France flights)? Let’s get to the heart of the matter thing: A huge big percentage of the words in modern today’s English are of - gasp! - French origin beginnings. What if, as a result of the current diplomatic dispute today’s falling out between lands, the French demand ask for their words back? We could all be linguistic hostages captives.

Kevin Sites Blog and Back 2 Iraq are a couple blogs by journalists on the front line.

Say it ain’t so!

Democrat - You believe that there should be a free
market which is reigned in by a modest state
beaurocracy. You think that capitalism has
some good things, but that those it helps
should be obliged to help out their fellow man
a little. Your historical role model is
Franklin Rosevelt.

Which political sterotype are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Been blogsurfing…

Superblitzkrieg: Iraq war to last 1 week?

Pentagon: Iraq invasion will take a week says the headline. There’s a technical term for this: superblitzkrieg. I know it’s technical, because I made it up.

McDonald’s: Better for your wallet and your waist-line. Aaron Bailey shows how McD’s WiFi set up is better than Starbucks (I started typing Starfucks and I don’t know why. I’ve never typed Starbucks before, or Starfucks for that matter, but that was weird…)

France hints at softening Iraq stance

In an apparent softening of France’s position on Iraq, the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, said tonight that Paris wanted to achieve a consensus in the UN security council.

“Everything should be done to preserve the unity of the council, and that is what we are working toward. France confirms its openness to seize all opportunities,” Mr De Villepin told reporters in Paris.

It was the first slight hint that France may be prepared to come to an agreement on a new resolution, which is being pushed for by Britain, the US and Spain. Earlier, however, Mr De Villepin stated France’s opposition to Britain’s six tests for Iraqi disarmament, dismissing them as “part of the logic of war”.

It’s cause we renamed those fries, you see…

Where is Raed ? is a Baghdad based blog worth keeping an eye on. Usually has some interesting stuff, whether or not you agree.

You know, I’m really regretting that whole American Idle thing I did. 90% of my hits are Google, most of those are people who can’t spell ‘idol’ and they don’t even stick around. Oh well, I know who my five visitors are and I appreciate your bothering with me.

Alright, that’s it.

Bill proposed to allow return of U.S. vets buried in France

In another swipe at the French, a Florida congresswoman has proposed that the government pay for families who might want to bring home from France the remains of Americans who fought and died in the world wars.

“I, along with many other Americans, do not feel that the French government appreciates the sacrifices men and women in uniform have made to defend the freedom that the French enjoy today,” Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite said in introducing legislation providing financial help for the reburial of veterans from the two world wars.

The legislation, which faces uncertain prospects, is the latest show of congressional frustration over French threats to veto a U.N. resolution that would open the way for U.S. military action against Iraq.

Where’s my middle finger? Oh, here it is.

Look, don’t you all have better things to do with your time and my money than make digs at the French? That’s our job, we the people will make digs at the French, you guys worry yourself with legislation that matters like a budget or judge approvals.

Now, I’m not completely against a bill like this, it’s something the government should have offered years ago to allow families to get their loved ones here if they wanted to, but to do it just because you want to moon France? Christ, grow the fuck up, people.