The skepticism of Annika Sorenstam's chances at the Colonial is spreading. From the AP: Cracks show in Sorenstam's game.

Sörenstam may be the dominant player in women's golf, but the simple truth is she routinely makes the kind of short game mistakes that force PGA TOUR players to spruce up their resumes and look for jobs as club pros. She leaves long putts 20 feet short, flubs chips from the rough and doesn't seem to be able to master the flop shot. Under pressure, she's jumpy. When the wind blows, she's erratic. And when she needed to pump a long drive to get home in two on the 18th hole of the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Sunday, she swung as hard as she could only to hit it weakly into a bunker well right of the fairway.

Even some LPGA players are having serious doubts: "If she misses the cut, then people will decide that the only reason she dominates our tour is because the rest of us stink," Stanford said.

That is the ugly truth. LPGA golfers do stink ... compared to PGA golfers. Golf fans have been quite content for 58 years to not make serious comparisons of talent between the two tours - Annika crossing over will change all that. The result of that comparison may just drive the LPGA into further obscurity.

A sure sign Martha Burk's crusade against Augusta National isn't going well - she's claiming that her war comments were taken out of context. Last week, Burk said, "It's appalling that the women who are willing to lay down their lives for democratic ideals should be shut out of this club. Democratic ideals do not include discrimination." No, they don't. But they do include the right to free association.

I think the war has made those on the fence realize just how insignificant the issue Burk is trumpeting really is.

Augusta National has announced a change in their policy. A group previously excluded on the basis of an anti-discrimination protected trait is being let inside the gates. But its not women - its the old geezer past champions.

The new Dustin Hoffman movie - Confidence looks good. Though after watching the trailer, I think its better referred to as the new Edward Burns movie. I'll pay money to see this one.

Robin Cook, the British cabinet minister that resigned because he didn't agree w/ the war in Iraq is still talking. "They owe us an explanation why the resistance has been greater than planned for and they owe British troops an explanation of how they are going to take Baghdad without further casualties."

To the first part of the statement, I'd agree. Though the answer is pretty easy - Almost 85% of the British soldiers killed so far in Iraq have died in accidents or "friendly fire. That fact rather disputes Cook's claim that the resistance has been greater than 'planned for'. Greater than the news analysists expected - yes; but not greater than the military planned for.

The 2nd part - taking Baghdad without casualties is just plan idiocy. Its a war. People will die. Even if all but 1% of the Iraqi Republican Guard surrenders, that 1% will kill someone. For Cook to make that statement just shows that he's not seriously interested in the answer - he's looking to score 'gotcha' points by asking questions from a ridiculous premise.

And then the big finish: Mr Cook said that US President George W Bush and his Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld did not appear to know what to do now that their hopes that Iraq would swiftly capitulate had proved unfounded.

If you ever wonder what happened to the HIV positive boxer Tommy Morrison - its all right here. It may be one of the more sad stories in the history of sports. This guy just destroyed himself:

Five years ago, when The Magazine profiled him in its inaugural issue, Tommy Morrison was wasting away. His T-cell count had dropped to 3. (Normal is 700-1,000. Under 200 is considered AIDS.) He was doing crank. He refused to take his HIV pills. He was married to two women at once. He refused to use condoms. He carried a gun. Five years ago, he bought an acre of land with a cave on it because he thought the world was going to end at the stroke of midnight, Y2K.

Two games in a row, my Jayhawks suprise me by actually winning a big game. They had a chance to blow out Arizona, but just weren't consistent enough to pull it off, but a win is a win. Time to go spit into the Mississippi River.

I love the guy as an actor, but he's not exactly a good luck charm on the bar scene. He was there when Steve Buscemi got stabbed, and now Vince gets sucker-punched outside an LA bar on his birthday. Get him off the streets and into his own talkshow please.

Funny that Annika feels the need to test herself against men while she's only 1 stroke ahead of a 13 year old, and 2 strokes behind a largely unknown French player. Hell, thats redundant. There is no such thing as a well known French golfer.

Note: This post is in response to the ongoing discussion about the United Nations from a March 27th post. My reply to Nate's comments [item #6] turned out to be so lengthy, they were more appropriate on the front page. Generally, the topic is the usefulness of the United Nations:

Thousands will die because nobody at the UN thought it their duty - don't go putting all the blame on the USA.

Who spearheaded getting 1441 passed and the inspectors back in Iraq? The US. That was a solution short of war. That solution failed.

It is not the duty of the USA to offer resolutions that can win support and get everyone involved. It is our duty to offer resolutions that: (1)Solve problems and (2)Protect US Security.

I don't believe that more severe inspections would have fully disarmed Iraq. And I also don't believe that had we gone that route for 3-6 months, France would have had no choice but to support the war. They could have then pushed for even more intrusive inspections, lauded 'progress' and at the very end, promoted the notion that while not fully disarmed, Saddam was sufficiently disarmed to pose no threat.

The bottom line for me is this: If the UN is simply going to be a body to 2nd guess (or to rubber stamp) the USA's solutions, they are worthless. Worthless because the US isn't always right, and without real alternatives - not just criticism of our ideas - some of our wrongheaded ideas will go unchecked and cause harm. Worthless because they have no solutions of their own to bring to the table. The UN didn't solve Kosovo, it didn't solve Afghanistan, and it didn't solve Iraq.

As a humanitarian organization, the UN has potential; but as a security agency, its track record is horrible. We had allies before the UN existed, and if it went away, we'd have allies without it.

Please, please, please ... this has to happen. Get a load of this question to the French State Secretary:
Q - France and Kuwait signed a defense agreement at the end of the Gulf War. What impact are these dozens of Iraqi missile attacks against Kuwait having on that agreement? What is your reaction to these attacks and should the defense agreement be invoked?
A - I have nothing to add to what the spokesman said yesterday.
Q - Why can’t such a simple question get an answer for a week?
A - Quite simply, if I may say so, because we have no specific, verified information about the dozens of Iraqi missile attacks against Kuwait that you refer to.

What I want to happen is for Kuwait to ask France for help defending herself against Iraq. Nothing would make my day more than France being forced to either back out of their defense agreement or ostensively join the coalition in the war against Iraq.

I have a feeling I'm a bit slow with this story, but for you KazaaLite users, I just bumped into VerifiedDownloads.com. It sure makes it easy to find movies and games.

It sure is comforting to see that the war dissenters are sticking to simple 'civil disobediance' ain't it?
Teenagers throw rocks at female National Guard member
Pro war guy gets his house vandalized. Vandals threw red paint on his house, scrawled the word "fascist" on a Bush/Cheney sign in his front yard, dumped oil on his lawn, and left a note reading "blood for oil." His car was also broken into, and someone stole a flag from his roof.

I'm shocked. My alma mater - Kansas Jayhawks - actually beat Duke in a game that mattered. I certainly can't remember it happening since I first enrolled there in 1991. Next up is Arizona, who we had down 20 points in the 1st half earlier this year only to lose by 17 or 18. I doubt we'll choke that badly twice, but I also doubt we'll get up by 20 either.

Oh, and though he gets very little mention as a major prospect in the NBA, Nick Collison is the 2nd coming of Tim Duncan. Big, not overly athletic, can shoot well, great low post game. All he needs is about 20 more pounds of muscle on him and he'll be a force in the league.

The US Ambassador to the UN walked out today after the Iraqi Ambassador accused the US & Britian of starting a war of extermination against the Iraqi's. Here's hoping we don't go back.

As an aside, anybody have predictions as to what will come of the latest UN meeting? A resolution against the war? Against the US only? Nothing?

Its just one thing after another with Martha Burk. Get a load of this statement: "When the Ku Klux Klan came out for the club, the silence was telling," Burk said in the interview. "Not a single C.E.O. renounced his support for the club."

Hello guilt by (indirect) association. Expecting CEO's to denounce the club because of what some 3rd party does is crazy. This would be the equivalent of the USA renouncing its adherance to the Geneva Convention because Saddam came out and said that he would adhere to them.

A masked robber chased another man into the main breezeway of an elementary school and shot him in the back with a .45-caliber handgun. Outrage! Oh wait. No children witnessed the shooting. Well, I guess that makes it all better then. As long as the kids don't see the guns, then they can't be hurt by them. Whew, I feel better now. [link via Udink.org]

Only 1 in 9 school board members think violence in schools is a 'major' concern.

Found via Instapundit, but worth reposting here: Top 10 Myths About the War in Iraq.

4-The United States armed Saddam. This one grew over time, but when Iraq was on it's weapons spending spree from 1972 (when its oil revenue quadrupled) to 1990, the purchases were quite public and listed over $40 billion worth of arms sales. Russia was the largest supplier, with $25 billion. The US was the smallest, with $200,000. A similar myth, that the U.S. provided Iraq with chemical and biological weapons is equally off base. Iraq requested Anthrax samples from the US government, as do nations the world over, for the purpose of developing animal and human vaccines for local versions of Anthrax. Nerve gas doesn't require technical help, it's a variant of common insecticides. European nations sold Iraq the equipment to make poison gas.

I'd never heard of this before, but apparently April Fools' Day is a French creation. The French connection to April Fools' Day is no joke. It all started in 1564, when King Charles IX of France adopted the Gregorian calendar, thereby switching the New Year's Day to Jan. 1. Its a long story, I won't quote it all here.

Anyhow, Buck Wolf makes a very modest suggestion Let's just give the French proper billing and send a message to gay Paree. From now on, let April 1 be known as "Franco-Fools' Day."

Maxim, Stuff and Sports Illustrated (among others) are sending free magazines to our troops in the Middle East. The Maxim & Stuff magazines ought to be included in the humanitarian aid we give to liberated Iraqis. Or better yet, drop the mags on top of the yet-to-be-liberated Iraqi's with a promise that this is what women look like in free countries. You can bet the 'uprising' would start in minutes - they might actually rise up against the Hussein regime as well. ;)

Oh, those pesky French. Some humorless Americans (and lawmakers) rename French Fries to Freedom Fries and the French get all in a tizzy. Their response though is downright criminal: burn a replica Statue of Liberty and crack a 9/11 memorial plaque in France. Oh, and vandals have ransacked McDonald's restaurants in Paris and Strasbourg, targeting the fast food chain as a symbol of American influence.

The ending to the Oscars that everybody really wanted to see - Office linebacker Terry Tate makes a b-line for Michael Moore. ... If only.

Is it a mistake? Martha Burk is going to drag the war into her fight against Augusta National. Broadcasting The Masters now and showcasing a club that discriminates against women is an insult to the nearly quarter million women in the U.S. armed forces," Burk said. I'm guessing that trying to make political hay out of our women's troops currently in a combat zone isn't a very good idea - playing politics with war never is. It looks to me like she's getting desparate.

UPDATE: Looks like ESPN's Page 2 has the same thoughts: However you feel about discrimination at Augusta National, Martha Burk is eroding her own cause by now taking the position that the Masters is an insult to women in the military. (First two words of protest, Martha: Message. Discipline.)

Fox News just reported (from senior Defense officials) that Saddam's special security forces have now put on the American military uniforms they were reported to have and are 'accepting surrender' of some regular Iraqi military units - followed up by executing them. I mentioned this possibility in early March.

Here's my contribution to Tim Blair's invitation to Photoshop Michael Moore's anti-war tag from the Oscars.

It appears that one of the Americans maintenance workers taken POW in Iraq over the weekend - PFC Patrick Miller - is from right here in Wichita, Kansas. Here's to hoping that he comes home safe and soon. And that his half-brother stops blaming the USA for terrorism. "I feel action should be taken for terrorists, but I think the U.S. government only has itself to blame for terrorists feeling the way they do," he said. "(The United States) puts themselves in other people's business that they shouldn't have been in."

UPDATE: PFC Patrick Miller, and 6 other American POWs have been rescued.

This is a bit off topic of late, but I thought it was an interesting viewpoint on the power of weblogs in the whole media picture. From the comments section of Matt Welch's site:

Mike G: I will just say that since I started reading blogs so obsessively my newspaper has become nearly useless. Anything that's in it I knew days ago, any commentary seems desperately stale, full of tired unexamined ideas (NATO is threatened by this war! Well, since it's certainly not threatened by the USSR any more, who gives a flying F?) and arguments that I've already read deconstructed 500 times (according to last Sunday's Chicago Tribune, this war may increase Muslim resentment of the US). It has much less to do with my wanting a particular ideological stripe than with the fact that the paper is just dumbed down and kind of boring.

If you asked me, I'd say that Saddam has joined Bin Laden in the afterlife. The fact that he's referring to a commander who surrendered early in the war as 'heroic' doesn't lend much credibility to him having knowledge of whats going on in the war. And when he cited several units and commanders, saluting them “for their heroic feats in the battlefield,” he named the commander of the 11th Iraqi Brigade in Basra, who surrendered along with many of his troops in the early hours of the war.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Naji Sabri says that US POWs will will be treated in accordance with "the teachings of Islam" first, and the Geneva Convention second. I suppose this means that where the 2 disagree, the 'teachings of Islam' take precedent. I wonder if the 'teachings of Islam' to be used include the whole 'kill the infidels' theme. Naji then gets off this gem of a quote:

"We are the people who created law when the grandfathers of Mr Blair and Mr Bush (British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush) were living like animals in the caves," he said. He's right of course. Its just too bad that thousands of years later, its the Islamists that are still living in caves while the rest of the world has become civilized.

Nerve has an interview with Thomas Walter Laqueur about his new book Solitary Sex: A History of Masturbation.

In the interview, we get an answer to the question that everybody has on their mind: Can you place the term "choking the chicken" in historical context? I'm guessing that not many people get to ask that question in a serious manner during their lifetime.

We already knew France was passing banned military equipment to Iraq as late as last year, and now comes the news that Russia is also passing military equipment to Iraq. One Russian firm is helping the Iraqi military deploy electronic jamming equipment against U.S. planes and bombs, while two other Russian firms have sold antitank missiles and thousands of night-vision goggles in violation of United Nations sanctions, The Washington Post reported in Sunday editions.

And then they have the gall to complain about our U2 flights.

UPDATE: Not suprisingly, Russia is denying everything. The allegations seem awfully specific for this to just be a bogus report though.

Regarding the apparent Muslim US soldier who threw the grenades into his commander's tents in Kuwait - does anybody know the process that needs to happen to get certain sects of Islam or certain mosques officially recognized as religious cults? Oh, and since this came just a day or so after anti-war protesters started using posters like this ["We Support Our Troops When They Shoot Their Officers"], I'll bet the anti-war folks are proud proud people tonight. That little slogan probably sounded clever as they were painting up that banner - how does it sound tonight? Keep an eye out for any mention of the US deserving this attack - there's plenty of idiots that'll say it.

UPDATE: Not suprisingly, the Indymedia crowd is first to applaud the grenade attack.

An interesting perspective on the San Francisco anti-war protests: What's also interesting is that the costs of arresting and prosecuting thousands of demonstrators is going to come home to haunt the left. Where is the money going to come from? California is already in deep trouble financially. San Francisco isn't going to be able to raise taxes. Instead, they will have to cut services. Every arrest is dozens to perhaps hundreds of dollars that will come out of social service programs over the next year or two.

A peaceful, lawful protest shouldn't take any money out of social service programs. Getting yourself arrested is a theft from hungry children, homeless people, and mental illness treatment. If conservatives cut these budgets, there would be rage and screaming about it. But when leftists, without any debate or discussion, force these sort of budget cuts, where's the rage?

I finally spent the hour that was necessary to get the in-site search functionality set up within Movable Type. So if there's something you've been unable to find around here, the form is in the left sidebar.

When are police going to start really arresting the anti-war vandals/protesters? Today, Donald Rumsfeld's house was vandalized in New Mexico. Here's a description:

War protesters trashed the grounds around a northern New Mexico home owned by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, placing "No War" stickers and throwing children's clothes around the property, authorities say.

No arrests were made. And here's what the police had to say: "They got onto his property, and that would be trespassing," he said. "There's issues and laws they need to understand. If their choice is a peace demonstration, then they should keep the peace."

One question for the cops, why? Why should the protesters bother knowing the law or worry about the consequenses if you are going to sit back and not arrest anybody when they are tresspassing onto private property and vandalizing?

This kind of crap ought to just embarass the true anti-war folks.

UPDATE: Thinking Meat is saying pretty much the same thing, but with a bit more attention to detail.

We're fighting a war with roughly 35 other partner nations and Chirac is doing this: Jacques Chirac says France will not authorize a U.N. resolution allowing the United States and Britain to administer postwar Iraq.

I'd like to know how he intends to enforce this idea. Oh wait, he's never enforced any resolution before so why should he start now.

Chirac is turning the UN into a complete joke.

One guess as to how accurate the civilian death toll from IraqBodyCount.net will be. They've got a whole methodology that goes thru great pains, but fails to answer the one question I went there to look for - how do they define a civilian. As most reporters in Iraq are either embedded w/ troops (and likely censored), or are on top of a hotel in Baghdad (and unable to really do damage assessments) or are Iraqi state media or Al Jazeera hacks out to make the US look bad - where are good numbers on civilian deaths going to come from?

I rather liked System of a Down's last album (prior to 'Steal This'). And I'm aware that their political views don't match mine - usually that doesn't make a damn difference to me. But, sometimes it just goes too far. And System has gone too far by having Michael Moore do their latest video. You can watch it over here if you must.

The hypocricy of some people never ceases to amaze me. Further down on that SOAD 'montage' page you'll find Serj imploring people to go see a movie about the Armenian Genocide in Turkey in the early 1900's. Here's a little snippit: "The horror of the Armenian Genocide is not only the brutality of what occurred but also the continued denial of that crime against humanity. When you have something as horrendous as the death of over a million innocent men, women and children and have no justice, there is no other choice but to continue to speak out against its denial."

Replace Armenian with Kurds or Iraqis who've died at Saddam's hands, and you've got a pretty good synopsis of why were at war right now. Apparently, the irony of this is lost on Serj and SOAD. Its not lost on me; and as such SOAD now has one less 'fan' than it did 30 minutes ago.

Maybe its just me but all this talk being reported on Iraqi TV of GW Bush being referred to as 'little Bush' by Saddam and other govt spokespersons seems to me to be a misintrepretation. I can't be positive, but I think the Iraqi's are trying to call him 'Shrub'.

Oh, and if you want a little 'Support the Troops' button like the one in this post, Marc's made a few for you to use.

Quick, whats the first thing you'd do if you were convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to 8 years in the slammer? How about moon the judge. Yeah, me neither. But now its 8 1/2 years in the slammer.

Augusta National is now fighting back with a professional media consultant - Jim McCarthy, and he's going for Martha's throat. Just because she can craft a pithy quote does not make her a philosopher. She doesn't simply say, 'Here's my view, and you are mistaken.' She says, 'Here's my view, and you are morally tainted.' That's no way to have a discourse." Can't argue with that.

And he does a good job of answering the one legit complaint that Burk does have - that the club isn't completely private because of its interaction w/ the public during Masters week. "Private groups interact with the public in all sorts of ways, and any legal expert knows that does not change the fundamental nature of the private group. "Anyone who looks at the nature of single-gender clubs knows they interact with the public in several ways," McCarthy said. "Smith College, for example, and other all-women's colleges, take federal funds. The Junior League holds public events and charities. Girl Scouts sell cookies. "

It appears to me that the Saddam tape does indeed feature Saddam Hussein, and not one of his body doubles. Just one look at the pocket of fat hanging from just to the left of his chin confirms that for me. But, that still doesn't answer the question as to whether he's dead since he very easily could have filmed this thing last week - doing multiple takes using different dates so that the appropriate tape could be shown depending on when the war actually started.

Oh, and I guess we have to add this to the cost of the war: War to cost millions in Oscar revenues. No wonder all the Hollywood types are against the liberation of Iraq.

UPDATE: Aaron disagrees

I've been doing some site design on the side over the past couple of months, and here is one of the finished sites - Jeff Weis Photography. Its a small site for a black & white photography business that is just getting started in Kansas City.

1998: "Look, we have exhausted, virtually, our diplomatic effort to get the Iraqis to comply with their own agreements and with international law. Given that, what other option is there but to force them to do so?"

2003: I'm saddened, saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war," Daschle said in a speech to a labor group

Daschle is no longer concerned about American unity. When I asked him last month why he now opposes policies he supported under President Clinton, he claimed: "At that time, of course, President Clinton enjoyed broad-based international support. It is essential for us to consult with the international community now."

But the "small coalition of nations"--34 at last count--that Daschle finds underwhelming is larger than the one that supported Clinton in 1998. Then as now, France, Russia, and China opposed doing anything about Iraqi intransigence. And then, as now, several allies supported our efforts. Most of the countries that supported President Clinton in 1998 support President Bush today--the notable exception being Germany.

Stacy managed to find out some info about the exotic wildlife park that is located just about 1/4 mile from our house (their property is adjacent to our housing development). I'd seen the giraffes and zebras and llama's when driving by their front gate, but never knew what the place was called or what exactly they did - other than a rumor that Michael Jackson purchased his chimp 'Bubbles' from them.

Anyhow, it turns out the place is a non-profit breeding facility for rare and endangered species, as well as a rehabilitation center for native birds of prey. There is actually a whole bunch more animals at this place than I ever imagined. It may be a neat place to have my daughter's birthday party this summer.

Would you believe that Susan Sarandon's mom is a pro-war Republican who voted for Bush. And apparently, her mom tries to avoid political discussions w/ her daughter: We don't agree, but I respect her -- more than she does me." But surely, we suggested, Tomalin's 56-year-old eldest child respects her mother's opinions. "Wanna bet?" Tomalin scoffed. "When I visit Susan, I tread on eggs," Tomalin said. Dear-old-mom also refers to Susan's teenage son as brainwashed. She must be so proud of her daughter

Tony Blair sure is better at getting a point across than GW Bush: He went on to paint a graphic picture of the consequences of retreat, the United Nations reduced to "a talking shop"; Saddam Hussein triumphant; other tyrants encouraged - and the Iraqi people condemned to continued oppression. And he demanded bluntly: "Who will celebrate and who will weep if we take our troops back from the Gulf now?" Who indeed.

UPDATE: The full text of Blair's speech. Bush would have done well to have borrowed a few of Blair's paragraphs.

Annika Sorenstam played a practice round at Colonial on Sunday [free reg. required] with David Frost to try and get to know the course she's going to try and play against the men on. While she didn't keep score (pro's rarely do in practice rounds), she only made two birdies and lost a little money in the process. For what its worth, Frost didn't seem too impressed with her chances to make the cut:

“The best score of the day is usually 65, 66, 67,” said Frost, who had played with Sorenstam before, in a mixed-team event. “I think it will be hard for her to break par. She’s going to have to play very well to make the cut. There are certain holes where guys can go at the flag with a wedge where she can’t with a 7- or 8-iron because the ball won’t spin and stop. Colonial is the kind of course you can’t go at flags because the greens are so hard.

70% of Americans now support a war in Iraq without a UN resolution. Overall support for a war with Iraq also surged from 59 percent two weeks ago to 71 percent today.

Mexico regrets the war

France calls it unilateralism and says that "only the Security Council has the authority to justify the use of force".

Tom Daschle blames it all on Bush.

Canada's Prime Minister simply wants to sit it out, while the Canadian Premier supports the war - even without a UN resolution sanctioning hostilities.

And finally, here's an editorial that claims its still all about the oil - just like Hitler. This war is about trading blood for oil. But only Iraqi blood, because the United States and Great Britain will be striking very hard from very vast and therefore totally safe distances -- before taking over the country and milking it dry. For the US fully intends to make the Iraqis pay for the destruction and reconstruction of their country -- the more of one, the more of the other -- to the greater profit of Richard Cheney’s companies.

Here's the first little piece of blowback from the mess that was created in the United Nations: Russia Puts Off Ratifying U.S. Arms Pact Due Iraq

It also appears that Bill Clinton is blaming this mess - not on GW Bush - but on Russia, France and Iraq. But if we leave Iraq with chemical and biological weapons, after 12 years of defiance, there is a considerable risk that one day these weapons will fall into the wrong hands and put many more lives at risk than will be lost in overthrowing Saddam. I wish that Russia and France had supported Blair's resolution. Then, Hans Blix and his inspectors would have been given more time and supprt for their work. But that's not where we are. Blair is in a position not of his own making, because Iraq and other nations were unwilling to follow the logic of 1441.

I only put this link up to Robin Cook's resignation because the BBC Political Editor called his speech Without doubt one of the most effective brilliant resignation speeches in modern British politics. Thats a pretty strong statement or a resignation speech that included the following:

It was illogical to argue, therefore, that Iraq presented a threat and moreover that that threat justified war. Furthermore, he said, Iraq probably had no weapons of mass destruction in the "commonly understood" sense of being a credible threat that could be delivered on "a city target."

It appears that we will very shortly find out whether Cook's speech was as accurate as it was 'brilliant'.

No, I'm not referring to the UN; but rather the American left? What if Bush manages to provide the US economy with an easy way to grow (in a new market), and thus leads the US economic recovery by relying on private US industry to rebuild Iraq instead of the UN humanitarian type organizations. The stock market is already showing some signs of life now that a decision has been made about liberating Iraq. Stranger things have happened.

Interesting story in the Sun Herald that apparently a guy has started to copy the fake choking incidents from Chuck Palahniuk's book 'Choke'. performances in Charlotte and Lee counties by a character dubbed "Choking Man." He stages realistic choking incidents, gets women to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him, then shares his gratitude for the "rescue." It doesn't come out and say it in the article, but I'm guessing that 'his gratitude' is just code for a kiss and some inappropriate touching.

"The Ted Bundy of choking incidents," Palahniuk called him. "I wonder how he ensures, or stacks the deck, so his rescuers will be women?" Indeed.

I don't have the time to write it up at the moment, but tonight I'm going to have a somewhat long post about the following four articles:
China blocking major powers from discussing the North Korea crisis at the United Nations
Chirac has moral high ground
Its your mess, say the French with disdain
What the French want
France, China, Syria selling banned weapons to Iraq
Hans Blix thinks global warming a bigger threat than major military conflict
USA: The Arrogant Empire Continue reading this entry...

Since I just paid $1038.43 to get my car fixed, feel free to help me out by signing up for an Amazon.com credit card. For every person who signs up, I get $20. And for signing up, you get a $20 gift certificate from Amazon.

Its one of those cards that you earn points towards Amazon gift certificates as you buy stuff. I've got one of these, and get free shit from Amazon because of it all the time - paying that damn car repair bill actually just earned me $10.38.

I've been so busy with work, and car trouble this week that I missed this gaff from the French: President Chirac said on Monday: "No matter what the circumstances, we will vote No." Those were not the words of someone who wants to make the international system work; Mr Blair's words were.

I know that Nate thinks its insane, and I'm certainly not wild about the idea - but I think there's a good chance that the UN is finished as a serious institution from the US perspective within a month. Whether Bush formally withdraws or simply ignores the UN from this point forward won't make much difference - the effect will be the same.

"Under no circumstances..." And here I was convinced that Bush was the cowboy. Can you imagine the sheer outrage if Bush had said that under no circumstances would be accept anything but a war in Iraq?

And whats the point of continuing to deal w/ the Security Council when France has assured us that no matter the circumstances, no matter if we manage to convince 8 other nations to support a new resolution explicitly authorizing force, that they will simply bring the proceedings to a halt. Thats not diplomacy - its obstructionism; and when it arises in a nation that has a veto in the Council that Council becomes an ineffective body.

I don't know how to solve that problem. I certainly don't think removing veto power is an option - I certainly wouldn't want to give up ours. What a mess.

What in the world is Don Johnson doing walking around Germany with $8 billion in a suitcase? His story to the customs official that he was "going to buy a car" is just about the most laughable excuse he could have come up with.

Former Miami Vice star Don Johnson is under investigation by German authorities after $8 billion (US) worth of credit notes, cheques and securities were found in the trunk of his car. German custom officials found the documents crammed in a suitcase after stopping the 53-year-old actor when he crossed the Swiss border last November.

UPDATE: Johnson is denying the whole thing.

Ugh, I'm going soft in my old age. I actually find myself enjoying a song called 'Rock Your Body' by ... wait for it ... Justin Timberlake. It reminds me alot of old Prince mixed w/ a bit of Michael Jackson back when everybody thought he was cool. The only saving grace for me liking a song like this is that I don't think its my fault. Timberlake went and stuck a modified version of the bass groove from 'Another One Bites The Dust' in this song. I swear (hope) thats the only reason I like the song.

Now excuse me while I go listen to some 50 Cent, Chevelle and Weezer in an attempt to get my street-cred back.

Jesse Jackson just may get himself sued for slander after he claimed on national television last week he had evidence the Masters is named for "white male slave masters" who were given exclusive use of the course in its early days. Lets try to follow Jesse's logic.

Slavery was outlawed in 1863, so any slave owners would have had to been an adult (lets say 15 years old since this is the South) at that time. When Augusta National was founded in 1931, that 15 year old slave owner would have been 83 years old.

Is there any chance that Jesse actually believes that Augusta National was crawling with 83 year old former slave owners playing golf for free? I sincerely doubt it. Rather, I think Jesse just decided to make some shit up (or believe in some shit somebody else made up), and didn't bother to even do the math on how old these slave owners would have been. Now, he's left holding the bag of shit and looking like a fool.

For those of you still on the fence of the whole Iraq debate - maybe this will make up your mind:

Pro-war women's slogan: Fuck For Freedom
Anti-war women's slogan: No Peace, No Sex

I think the decision is obvious now.

I'm a bit confused by this whole David Wells fiasco. He's written a book where he admits to being half-drunk when pitching a perfect game, and discusses some other current baseball issues ... and now the league wants to fine him $100,000 because of the book. Is this right? MLB apparently thinks its just fine that Wells was drunk on the mound, hurling a baseball 12 inches from batters heads, and think its just fine that players use steroids - there's no fine for any of that. No, you'll only get fined when you speak out about it.

If ever there's been required reading for this website - this is it. Its not so much what I'm about to quote, but the reasons behind it that you ought to read:

The UN is about to come apart. On the one side, it's taken an explicit stand against a member country doing what it's made clear it needs to for its security, and on the other side, a member country is about to go against its explicit wishes. The organization cannot survive such a breach as anything more than a shadow, and maybe not even as that.

Oh, and apparently Bush intends to take his ball and go home - by withdrawing from the UN - if he doesn't get his way on the vote Tuesday. Thats an awfully harsh reaction, which I hesitantly support, only because I can see no way of broaching the differences that are explained in the first link.

Is Hans Blix holding info damning to Iraq back from the Security Council? It would appear so. A REPORT declassified by the United Nations yesterday contained a hidden bombshell with the revelation that inspectors have recently discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone with a wingspan of 7.45m, suggesting an illegal range that could threaten Iraq’s neighbours with chemical and biological weapons.

And North Korea continues to act like a maniac - unofficial spokesman says that if the US struck their nuclear reactor, they'd bomb Chicago, DC & New York. Two things here - where are they getting their presumption that we will bomb their nuclear reactor? It would appear they are just making up possible scenerios under which they would retaliate. And secondly, where the hell is the almighty UN on this issue?

The left would have us believe that Bush cannot act in Iraq without UN approval - yet the UN is doing nothing in regards to North Korea's agressive talk and the left derides Bush for not pursuing the issue himself. Either the UN is important, or it isn't. Either North Korea is a threat, or they aren't. It currently doesn't seem logical to claim that both the UN is important and North Korea is a threat - otherwise, wouldn't the UN have done something, anything, about NK at this point?

From the recently returned Camworld: I am an American. It's a fact I used to be proud of, but now I am ashamed. In Russia I had to repeatedly state to my Russian friends that I was not a supporter of the Bush administration and do not agree with its current push for war in Iraq. I had to reassure them that it is likely one of three things will happen within the next two years: either Bush will not get re-elected, he will be assassinated or he will be impeached. Given the current direction of the administration, one of these these three choices will certainly come true. I am an American, but I dread the day I will look in the mirror and wish that I were not.

The radical right had themselves convinced that the same fate Cam thinks will fall on Bush would fall on Clinton. Even when it sort of happened (the impeachment), it didn't turn out the way they expected. Bush's presidency will be no different. To expect otherwise is only to set yourself up for continued frustration.

Also, the idea that someone's pride in the USA could be so affected by who the president is just floors me. From slavery to prohibition to civil rights to the drug war, this country's politicians don't have the market cornered on well thought out, morally superior policies.

This country is not great because of its political leadership. This country is great because of the freedoms we enjoy (often despite the best efforts of our politicians), and because of the enormous accomplishments of the individuals who inhabit this country.

A California judge granted a summary judgement for the firearm industry in the lawsuit filed against them by 12 California cities dealing a crushing defeat to those seeking to blame makers and sellers of legally produced and non-defective products for the behavior of criminals. I haven't paid super close attention, but I think there are still a few more of these lawsuits out there - in New Orleans for instance.

If there's one word that best describes the current Iraq debate (for both the pro and anti-war sides) its frustration. Frustration that the other side can't seem to grasp what seems so obvious. Frustration that the other side stopped listening to reason. I think pretty much everybody who's paid attention to this issue feels this way about those that disagree with them.

It frustrates me to see people that I respect take some very radical positions. I don't mean to pick on Oliver, but I read him all the time, so I see when he slips into occasional craziness, it irks me. A couple of prime examples:

Pentagon says Iraq is getting military uniforms identical to American/British forces: OW's reaction is to label it disinformation and to suggest that the US will use this disinfo to cover up any war crimes we may commit. Sure, thats a possibility - but is it more likely than Saddam using them for exaclty what the Pentagon says? It irks me that of all the possible angles to cover this news with, he chooses the one that paints the US as the most sinister.

Dept of Defense contracts w/ Haliburton subsidiary to put out possible oil fires in Iraq. Again, the most sinister intrepretation for the US from Oliver. Since this is a Haliburton subsidiary, and Cheney used to work at Haliburton - OW implies this is just some good-ol-boy kickback. Nevermind that to let the oil fields burn would be an environmental mess in Iraq and could destroy one of the few natural resources that country has. Nevermind that we are going out of our way to make sure that Iraq will not be economically devastated by Saddam on his way out. Nah, its all about 'getting the oil'.

Fearing that he would be 'jumped' at school, a 14 year old took a 16 gage shotgun to class with him for protection. Not suprisingly, he was subsequently arrested for wearing and carrying a dangerous and deadly weapon on school property, and wearing and carrying a concealed weapon under his clothes. Interesting trick there - concealing a shotgun under your clothes. [link via Jeff]

Only 1 in 9 school board members think violence in schools is a 'major' concern.

Well, I made it back from Houston (barely), but I'm swamped with work. I'll probably have something later tonight, but I think its going to get really slow around here for a while - unless anybody wants to take over guest blogging duties for a couple of weeks (longer if you aren't burned out by then). Send me an email if you're interested.

I'm off to Houston in a couple of hours. I'll be back Wednesday night, but there likely won't be any updates until Thursday.

I made the switch from IE6 to Mozilla a few months ago, but didn't really talk about the reasons too much here. Now, I don't have to because Matt wrote a whole article about what makes Mozilla great - both for people who write weblogs, and for those that read them.

A Colorado middle school student got suspended and may be expelled for 'shooting' another student with a cap gun. DPS spokesman Mark Stevens said that expulsion is appropriate disciplinary action against a student with a gun, even if it wasn't real.

Of course its appropriate considering that elsewhere in Colorado, a student was expelled for a year after being caught with a laser pointer in class.

Is it really the kids that are the cause of violence in schools? Seems to me that the media and the school administrators just ignore all the teacher violence: School principal remains on the job despite threatening to shoot other staff members. Cynthia Kendrick, who was Clarkston High School Principal Larry Jester's secretary until she lodged complaints against him last month, said Jester repeatedly spoke of death, suicide and wanting to kill other staff members. District officials are investigating the complaint, but have determined Jester does not present a threat to anyone at the school.

If a student had done that, they'd have likely been expelled and arrested for making threats.

Employees say Jester has blared gospel music and sermons from his office and speaks frequently of needing to rid the school of demons. Heck, if kids try to push religious messages in school, they get suspended.

"He said, 'I'm just going to get my gun, shoot the whole staff and shoot myself,' " Kendrick said. "I said, 'Mr. Jester, do you know how much trouble you could be in just for saying that?' He looked up at me with this bizarre look and said, 'Mrs. Kendrick, I'm going to shoot you first.' "

Only 1 in 9 school board members think violence in schools is a 'major' concern

Just the continuing saga of the supression of any and all political speech in public schools: Student of Lebanese descent suspended from school for wearing a T-shirt with a drawing of two towers, an airplane and a man in traditional Arab headdress. Given that description, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Would they suspend a kid if he had a drawing of Pearl Harbor being attacked with a Japanese man on the back? Seems to me the t-shirt is just a depiction of a historical event - with no policital message at all.

This could get interesting - Madonna is going to write children's books aimed at girls age 6 and over. Will she adapt her songs to story format, or just make up new stuff? Like a Virgin and Papa Don't Preach would work well for the teen crowd, but what will she do for the younger girls?