Sarko gets tough

Well, by French standards. In a Pavlovian reflex, the Left howls.

bad news for JJ

seems like even therapy is unlikely to help these unfortunate Bovidae.

NPR Interviews Hitchens

While ouzo has been thoroughly documented (at least in this motley group) as being the remedy to ignore the scimitar slicing through the neck of decency and civility, Hitchens uses the whiskey, scotch and cigarettes for assistance in defending his old Anglo isle and new Yankee Continent.

Hitchens: "We now know we're at war today and so do they and they will pay and pay and pay for it," Hitchens says of proponents of what he calls nihilistic Islamism. "They will rue the day when they decided to challenge civilization and democracy and attempt to replace it with theocracy and barbarism."

Thank you Hitchens. Seriously.

Binnie wins another round

Before the Supreme Court. Just damn!

Canadian chatter

Oh, how the multiculti fetishists love these sweet murmurs! Makes them feel all warm and cuddly.

Pooty smooch

no comment

From the memory hole

The Gray Old Lady was singing a different tune on 9/24/01. But then was then, now is now, and the heck with Amerikkka and the War on Terror -- what next, flag burning in the NYT foyer?

Organizing the hijacking of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon took significant sums of money. The cost of these plots suggests that putting Osama bin Laden and other international terrorists out of business will require more than diplomatic coalitions and military action. Washington and its allies must also disable the financial networks used by terrorists.

The Bush administration is preparing new laws to help track terrorists through their money-laundering activity and is readying an executive order freezing the assets of known terrorists. Much more is needed, including stricter regulations, the recruitment of specialized investigators and greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities. There must also must be closer coordination among America’s law enforcement, national security and financial regulatory agencies.

Dakota Drinking and Bismarck Cops

What is your take on this matter?

Paraphrasing from the article: Attorney Justin Vinje said "it is not necessary for police to have to break the law" to find out if bartenders or store clerks are selling alcoholic beverages to underage customers.

I don't want Officer Bismarck to do this. The problem with underage drinking stems more from the way it's kept away from "minors," and what Officer Bismarck did, and is still doing, is a poor solution.

I discussed this some time ago with AA, JJ, and AI, and I'm still of the school of thought that if an American is old enough to be drafted, or old enough to enlist and fight a war, then they are certainly old enough to have a beer and whiskey.

World Cup slate.com back-log

Upon returning from the field I find that a bit of time and at least one cup of coffee will be necessary to catch up and read over what I missed. Our good Portuguese friend is visiting Boston, and has let the reigns go anticipating full-on anarchy, or what I like to call true Libertarianism. Anyhow, here is a belated social commentary regarding Her Majesty's Fans and the You-Know-Whos:

I thought this was a nice way to put it. William Saletan: At Cambridge, you see the tea-sippers and after-dinner speakers. But in pubs and vehicles packed with football fans, you see the sort of Brits who flew the RAF missions.

gringos estupidos

beautiful

what's your take on this?

Euro-bus

There were some forty people on the bus. Demoor asked the “youths” to calm down, whereupon they turned on him, savagely beating and kicking the man. At the next stop thirty passengers fled the bus. The thugs kept beating Demoor. They then pulled the emergency brake and jumped from the bus leaving their victim to die.
...
Belgians do not have a constitutional or legal right to bear arms, not even purely defensive arms such as peppersprays. With the police and the government failing to protect law-abiding citizens the latter are, however, totally unprotected.

Yes, but that allows them to act oh so superior to the stoopid Ricain cowboys. I'd rather have the Second Amendment.

Love for submission

This rather effete (and eerily French) inclination to seek defeat has a rich history in the Democratic party, going back at least to the Kennedy administration.

Wasn't the Marquis de Sade a Frenchman?

Brown bear

Poor JJ1 bites the dust. Chasing one too many sheep, eh?

Moonbat central

The magnificent consistency of the Progressive Left: Amerikkka is bad, Stalin is good.

sexless marriage?

do they mean all marriages aren't sexless ?

Potent steroids or petard mouille?

The Aksa Martyrs Brigades announced on Sunday that its members have succeeded in manufacturing chemical and biological weapons. In a leaflet distributed in the Gaza Strip, the group, which belongs to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party, said the weapons were the result of a three-year effort. According to the statement, the first of its kind, the group has managed to manufacture and develop at least 20 different types of biological and chemical weapons.

It's all Bush's fault!!

"From an Anglo-Saxon point of view, food is just fuel to give energy to your muscles and if you take no pleasure in it, you're breaking all the rules of eating, and if you eat at your desk or too fast, your brain doesn't know when you're full."

Yeah, right. Have more choucroute.

Angry Lefty soulmate

"How is it, we really have an intercontinental rocket?" asked one 50-year-old diner in a Pyongyang restaurant, sporting a lapel pin of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il. When informed of the missile's existence, his face lit up in anger. "In this case we should fire it at United States, right to the White House, in Bush's window."

Another JJ sighting

Man, is he travelling a lot! But where would that be (with distances measured in km)?

of boogeymen

Damien, Demons And Dubya
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By MAUREEN DOWD (NYT) 765 words
Published: June 7, 2006

WASHINGTON - As I write this on 6-6-06, with a new Damien demonically wheeling through movie theaters trying to kill his mom in a remake of ''The Omen,'' let us now speak of famous bogeymen.
The Bushes have always been good at using bogeymen to their political advantage.


Lee Atwater, the devilish strategist for Bush Senior, turned an obscure criminal named Willie Horton into the Candyman in 1988, whipping up the fear that if Michael Dukakis were elected, hordes of swarthy skels would be freed on weekend parole and swarm into your neighborhood.

W.'s supporters beat back the McCain threat in the 2000 South Carolina primary by spreading gossip that the Arizona senator had fathered a black baby -- a creepy distortion of the fact that he and his wife had adopted a little girl from Bangladesh.

Karl Rove, an Atwater acolyte, had a closetful of bogeymen whisking W. past the finish line in 2004: terrorists who might strike again, gays who wanted to get hitched, stem cell research, Darwin, Dan Rather, and a Swift-boated John Kerry.

W. prefers tactical bêtes noires to real ones. (Hillary followed his lead by joining conservatives to support a constitutional ban on flag burning.)

The president had a truly terrifying bogeyman in Osama but instead conjured up a fake nuclear villain in Saddam. He has played down bin Laden, first diverting the resources needed to capture him and now diverting the money needed to protect against his likely targets, letting homeland security funds be moved from New York and Washington. (Jon Stewart has said that Omaha got a lot of homeland security money because it was under threat by the ''renowned Midwestern terrorist Omaha bin Laden.'')

As Mike Crowley of The New Republic notes, the F.B.I. does not even mention 9/11 in its ''Ten Most Wanted Fugitives'' profile of Osama. The poster, updated in November 2001, says bin Laden is wanted in the bombings of the United States Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 200 in 1998, and ''is a suspect in other terrorist attacks.'' No word of the nearly 3,000 killed on Sept. 11.

Fearing that their monopoly on Washington power could be coming to an end, with voters grumpy at Republicans over Iraq, gas prices, Medicare, Social Security, corruption, wild spending and general incompetence, Bush strategists have revived the gay marriage Frankenstein to scare the base into turning out for midterms. (That bride of Frankenstein had better be female.)

Same-sex marriage is far less spooky than the 17 severed heads recently found in a village northeast of Baghdad, or the terror suspect accused of conspiring to behead the Canadian prime minister.

W. ignored the gay marriage issue in the 19 months after he used it to help him stay in the White House. To reprise it now, knowing it has no chance of passing, is so transparent that surely even the most blinkered ''values'' voters see through it.

When pollsters ask Americans their top priorities, gay marriage does not leap onto the list. In a new ABC News poll, only four in 10 surveyed were in favor of rewriting the Constitution.

Even as W. gave a speech here promoting a constitutional amendment designed to demonize and discriminate against a group of Americans who have done nothing wrong, his heart did not seem in it. A Democratic strategist noted on CNN that the president looked as cowed as ''a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.''

Wrestling with Iraq and Iran have worn down W., and he knows, as we do, that a couple of middle-aged guys who want to tie the knot in Provincetown is not the worst threat America faces.

With our marines needing refresher courses in ''core values'' and with Dick Cheney promoting values like torture, government snooping and pre-emptive war, it rings hollow to opportunistically proselytize on family values. (Mary Cheney, the gay daughter of the vice president, told interviewers recently that her father opposed the marriage amendment.)

As a Times reader who sometimes e-mails me put it: ''The 'values' voters turn out to be opinion voters. They believe that God hates homosexuals, that superstition trumps science every time, that all those foreigners ought to be sent back where they came from, and that all government programs are wasteful and immoral, except, of course, for the government programs which benefit them. Those are opinions, not values, and willfully ignorant opinions at that.''

I know Republicans are desperate. But does it make sense to use gay love to hatemonger here when we have so much real hate coming at us from abroad?

was jj in London last week?

could anyone else have distracted this fine soldier of HRH ?

The Gospel according to Sullivan

Liberal orthodoxy, masquerading as free spirit.

The Sears plot explained

In pidgin-liberalese.

Where is Dick's head?

Deutschland-Sveridge

To think I was bored with soccer

The NYT takes sides

Exposing the program would tell the public nothing about official misconduct. It would accomplish only the educating of al Qaeda — the nation’s enemy in an ongoing war; an enemy well-known to be feverishly plotting new, massive attacks — about how better to evade our defenses. About how better to kill us.

Sounds like the mission statement for the Gray Old Lady.

The blunt reality here is that there is a war against the war. It is the jihad of privacy fetishists whose self-absorption knows no bounds. Pleas rooted in the well-being of our community hold no sway.

Of course.

Advice for JJ

Also, don't use the cell phone while chasing mountain goats up in the alpages.

tout s'explique

interesting article

particularly the bit about democrates and racism. who woulda thunk.

Have some more ouzo

Says the Economist.

Hitch blows smoke

A bout de souffle?

yet another petard mouille

The key thing in this story somewhat reminiscent of Padilla/Moussaoui hype is the distinction between intent and means. Yet another bunch of happless losers fall in the justice dept's boogeyman machine.

Bad empire back?

This Wanna-Be-Again empire's Achilles heel, though, is demographic. With Russians' current tiny birth rate and short male life expectancy, by mid-century Russia could have under 100 million people, a large minority of them Muslim -- not a good prospect for maintaining even a scaled-back empire, or perhaps even for holding on to Russia proper.
Well, well, well...

Mafia on steroids?

Federal agents, including the FBI, are launching a series of raids tonight targeting a suspected terror cell based in Miami. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the group allegedly planned to bomb the FBI building in Miami and the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Aahhh, don't worry, be happy, say the dolce-far-niente advocates. Whatever, dude.

kosola

Fun-and-games in the "reality-based community". Hey, as long one is reliably moonbatty, what's a little payola on the side? Surely the MSM will wink and nod.

China=Japan

According to the MSM, at least. (Note: they changed the flag now -- oh, well.)

nanny computers

That's the problem with modern techno-society. We have allowed ourselves to become dependent on technology to the extent that it has reduced our confidence and, indeed, our ability, to perform basic tasks without it. Just as the Welfare State has nefariously bred dependency and atrophied pride, self-reliance, and the work ethic in many, the marvels of modern technology are a lure to mental and physical sloth.

the joys of a spirited debate

We have finally resolved to import this fine british palimentary habit that is so entertaining to TV watchers. Sock'im in the eye Domi ! Kick'im in the nuts Francois !

Last Words of The Anti-Nostradamus until Independence Day at the WC

Wednesday, trusting to the safety of the American skies, I travel East for a fortnight. In that period, being substantially cut off from the high-powered lifestyle that is freecounterpoint blogging, I must be silent on the Round of 16 and the Quarterfinals [perhaps even the Semifinals]. Thus I hereby abdicate, after today's predictions on the remaining games of Group Round, all title, rank, and privileges pertaining to being The Anti-Nostradamus.... I ask one of you regular bloggers, at least one of you, whether AI, or Pepe, or MFT, to assume the Bully Pulpit of Prognostication. If you cannot, then perforce the throne lies vacant and this WC falls into anarchy, even chaos.....so, pretty please? Of course if more than one wants to assume the throne, then by all means make your predictions and let's see who be the finer seer!
Ok, June 21:
Portugal vs. Mexico: Scolari seems to want to rest everybody on the Portuguese side, almost as if he WANTS to play Argentina. Mexico, on the other hand, absolutely does not want to face Argentina [particularly as LaVolpe is Argo]. So I predict Lusitanian sloth meets Mexican desperation, and result is Mexico 2- Portugal 1. [to my undying shame]
Ivory Coast vs. Serbia. Both teams are already out of the WC, and play for pure pride. The Ivorians are the better team, but who the hell can best Balkanites when it comes to pride? Once the mist and blood clears, we'll see Serbia 2- Ivory Coast 0.
Iran vs Angola. Iran is kaput. Angola still has a mathematical chance, albeit a very slight one. Will the Persians fear the wrath of the Ayatollahs if they go Qom with a 0 for 3 record against Kufr? Will Angola, after two strong efforts against Mexico and Portugal, be able to keep the emotional edge?? I dunno.....Prediction, Angola 1- Iran 1.
Holland vs Argentina. Both teams have made it out of the group round, and both will face teams they may respect but do not fear. So not much incentive to go all out, and risk injuries, in what is more a practice match than anything meaningful. So very hard to predict....My guess is that Argentina will try for victory, simply because it keeps momentum going into the Round of 16. So, how about Argentina 2- Holland 1?

June 22:
Italy vs. Czechs. I HOPE Italy wins, at least really tries to win. For the Yanks need for the Czechs to lose in order to have a realistic hope of going through. Ordinarily, I would expect a wink and a nudge between the two teams, a little sneer at the Yanks' expense, and a cynical draw. But, in this case, if they did so, and Ghana won the Czechs would be out. So the Czechs have to strive for victory. Italy, in turn, would be then forced to play Brazil [if Ghana won], and that is something they do not want to do in the Round of 16. So there is a reasonable hope of a genuine game. we'll see]. Still, I predict Italy 1-Czechs 1.
USA vs. Ghana. This should be a tense, hardfought, match. Because of goal differential, a tie would risk giving the edge to Czechs, so Ghana must go for victory. The USA must go for victory, a tie simply hangs them. As Eddy Johnsons said, "the game will be like war" . Perhaps not quite as sonorous as Jimmy Carter and his "Moral Equivalent of War", but the kid makes a better point. Prediction: [admittedly a prediction weighted by my listening to my heart's command] USA-2, Ghana 1.
Japan vs. Brazil: Japan is out, but will play hard for pride. Brazil is in, and will only try marginally hard. Predicition. Brazil 3- Japan 2.
Croatia vs Australia. WAR! The winner goes on , the loser leaves in tears. .Neither Croats nor Australians are a crying people, in fact both hate to cry. The Croatian team has a number of Australians on its squad. The Australian team has a number of Croatians on its squad. So, CIVIL WAR! Prediction: Australia 2- Croatia 1.

June 23:
EOF&A-The Saudis vs. Spain. The Mamelukes of Whabhism vs the Andalusia they covet. Prediction: Spain 4- Saudis 0.
Ukraine vs Tunisia- If Tunisia wins, they go on. If Ukrain wins or ties, it goes on. One will go home in tears. Tunisians do cry, but Ukainians don't dare. Prediction: Ukrana 2- Tunisia 1.
Switzerland vs Korea. If either team wins, they go on. If they tie, they may go on, depending on what happens with France. At least one of Switzerland and Korea go on. Both teams are quite good, and well composed. The Koreans have more aggressive determination, the Swiss are more stoical in defense...Prediction" Switzerland 2- Korea 2.
France vs Togo. Togo is out, so what to aim for? Easy for France, eh? Nah! Togo would love nothing better than sending one huge Bronx Cheer back to their old masters in Paris. They will give everything they have for the sweet salvation of their honor. France must win to go on, has the talent to go on, but has played listlessly for two matches....Prediction: France 1- Togo 1. Paris weeps. Les Bainlieues do not, for there is no weeping in Car Torching.
THUS ENDS THE GROUP ROUND>

NOW, WHO WANTS TO TAKE OVER THE MANTLE FOR ROUNDS OF 16 AND YONDER??

is it worth it?

and, if so, how many more such incidents before you decide it isn't ?

A hero of the Left

Moonbat central casting, yes?

Begins the final group round at the WC.

OK, four matches tomorrow. Played two at a time.
Sweden vs. England. Winner takes group [if tie, England first, Sweden second]. There is a small chance T&T could make it, with a Swedish loss and a T&T victory over Paraguay by two goals, but I would bet only my enemy's life on that one! Why care about winning the group? Because probably Germany will win their group, and the second placed team would have to face them....neither the Swedes nor the Limeys really want to do that. Prediction: Sweden 2- England 2.
Paraguay vs. T&T. The Caribs are not yet mathematically eliminated, and so should try to make this an attacking game. Heroic defense got them this far, but they must defeat Paraguay if they have a hope of going on. Paraguay absolutely does not want to leave this WC with the disgrace of not defeating the 4th placed Concacaf team. Prediction: Paraguay 2--T&T 1.
Ecuador vs. Germany: They fight for first place, both having qualified. Germany needs to win to capture their group [a tie gives its to Ecuador on goal differential]. It is difficult to imagine Ecuador besting the Teutons before 100,000 Teutons...Prediction" Germany 2- Ecuador 0
Costa Rica vs Poland: Both teams utterly disappointed at this WC. Poland should be the more stung by this fact, given the expectations for each team coming in. The crowd should be largely Polish in background. Sauerbraten lies uneasy in the Costa Rican belly. Prediction: Poland 3- CR 1

Joys of blogging

Whereby Matt Labash crashes the Kossack party. Are all pinko-lefties as clueless as this bunch? Do these people have a job (or a life?) Questions, questions...

Mooning the WC

Ah, another day of prognostication. At least my record is better than the psychics...OK
Saudi Arabia vs. Ukraine. Extremely unlikely to win the Match of the Day award. Methinks Ukrana will do unto the Saudis, what the Czechs did unto the men of Kiev. Prediction" Ukr. 4-- EOF&A the Saudis 0
Spain vs Tunisia. Tunisia is respectable, Spain can be magnificent. Assuming they have not overindulged in paella and sangria, let's say Spain 2-- Tunisia 0
Switzerland vs Togo. Should be the most intriguing match of the day, a true clash of styles. Expect the cohesiveness and determination of the Swiss to see them to victory. Prediction: Swtz 2, Togo 1.
One of the duller days at this WC, probably.

Venting spleen

This guy sounds like your typical pinko-lefty on a bad hair day:

Choe Thae Bok, a ranking Workers’ Party official, said Washington was “hell-bent on provocations of war of aggression ... If the enemies ignite a war eventually, the Korean army and people will mercilessly wipe out the aggressors and give vent to the deep-rooted grudge of the nation."

there goes the neighborhood

what next ? parakeets ?

Gentle persuasion

He said he still hoped that one day the United States would be a Muslim country ruled by Islamic law, "not by violent means, but by persuasion." "Every Muslim who is honest would say, I would like to see America become a Muslim country."

The NYT and the Brie-and-Chablis set is persuaded, all right.

Sun Day. Apollonian Radiance touches the WC

After the darkness of this day, and the wounds of war much in need of healing, let the sun shine in, dudes. Well, Italy-USA was 1-1, but a very different sort of 1-1. The refereeing was the most bizarre and one sided I've seen since the Korea-Spain match of the last WC. It is just as well that Arena was so putrid in his decisions as to substitutions and in not going for victory at the end. We had one more sub, and rested and fleet players such as O'Brien and Johnson available, but instead he just had the team bunker down. So instead of having a hope of controlling our own fate, we are now, assuming victory against Ghana [a very big assumption] utterly dependent on the kindness of strangers [yes, now it is good that Italy beats the Czechs]. Fire the Bruce as soon as this WC is over!
Anyway, predictions:
France vs. South Korea. Again, on paper, France's is the much stronger squad. But the Koreans definitely have heart and strength, as Togo found out. Prediction: France 1-Korea 1
Japan vs. Croatia. Japan's collapse, mental collapse, at the end of the match against Australia was ugly. Croatia, against Brazil, was very good, and did not deserve defeat. Prediction: Croatia 3- Japan 1
Australia vs Brazil. The match of the day, or at least it will be if Brazil wakes up from the torpor induced by Ronaldo o Gordo. Prediction: Brazil 3- Australia 2.
For you Pagans out there, any plans for the Summer Solstice?

Saturnalia at the WC

Well, Angola did not quite fulfill my "upset special" but they made a game try of it. La Raza weeps. As for the Serbs, they were the best team I've ever seen shellacked at the WC. A team that allowed precisely 1 goal through all the WC qualification matches suddenly surrenders 6, and a very good 6. When they are on form I am much more a fan of the Brazilian style than that of Argentina...but there was pure beauty in the game of El Gauchos today. The match between them and the Dutch, although almost pure practice, should be a fun ride. OK, now for Saturday.
Portugal vs. Iran. Or, as CAIR would style it, The Shia Heresy against West Andalusia. Iran is playing for Allah, Ayatollah, and Ahmenedinejad. Portugal is playing for Wine, Cheese, and Olives. Viva Portugal, e Morte [futbolisticamente, pois pois] para o Irao! Prediction; Portugal 2--Iran 1.
Czech Republic vs. Ghana. I am hoping for Ghana to defeat or tie CR. But expect the Czechs to win 1-0.
USA vs Italy. Italians like to break legs, and the Yanks have legs....hence it could be quite a bone-crunching affair tomorrow afternoon. [By the way, this match is on ABC not ESPN. At 2:30 EST. Just in case ya wanna watch]. It is exremely simple for the Yanks, win or start preparing your bags. Sounds easy, eh? But note that not only have the Yanks never defeated Italy, no one has defeated Italy over 24 straight matches. The Italian defense is incredibly good, and the whole team in fact plays as an extended defense. The goalkeeper, Buffon, is rivalled only by Cech for the mantle of best in the world right now. And, as the leg-breaking hints at, the Italians are seriously tough men. I hope for, but do not expect, a Yank victory. But I do expect a far far better performance than against CR, the sort of performance they put out against Germany and Mexico in the last WC, and against Mexico, Japan, and Norway this last year. If they don't, if they repeat the spiritless meandering of the last match, Arena should fall on his sword in the post-game conference. And if he doesn't, there will be no lack of candidates to play Brutus to his Caesar. Prediction: Italy 1-USA 1
By the way, have you noticed the quality of the commercials for this WC, on ESPN? I'm thinking in particular of the "He Who Would Fly" and "The Boxer", although the latter is more cruel than justly ironic. Anyway, I found them very funny. The little touch of Monty Python in the Guiness commercials is also amusing, if not "Brilliant".

Thunder Falls, Frye Rises at the WC

Ah, another day is done, and another bouquet of embarassing predictions has faded. But rosy fingered Dawn brings hope and a new day.
Argentina vs. Serbia [Imminently UnMontenegrized]. Serbia could only win if Argentina committed a series of major blunders. The Args don't ever do that. Tonight Belgrade weeps as it has not since the Battle of the Crows, for the World Cup team is officially eliminated. Prediction: Argentina 2- Serbia 0.
Netherlands vs. Cote D'Ivoire. The Dutch offer a mean treat, and the bones of the Ivorians will lie scattered on the wasted shores of the Western Sahara. Prediction: Holland 3- CIv 1
Mexico vs. Angola. El Tri dream Aztecan dreams, but La Raza hangs its collective fascist head in shame after Angola pursues a huge upset. Prediction: Angola 1- Mexico 0.
Until the aftermath, Amici

"Fighting Sioux"

Not to take too much away from World Cup goooooaaaaallll, but here's an update on a provincial university fighting the mighty NCAA.

Click here for Kupchella's Open Letter.

It was keen to make the observation (mentioned in the open letter to the NCAA) that Pontiac motors sponsers the NCAA (at least "keen" in the sense that I hadn't thought of it)... Overall, this argument over the "Fighting Sioux" emblem is an incredible waste of time and resources on both sides. UND's arena was constructed by the late Ralph Engelstad, a northern Minnesotan who played hockey for UND, and who went on to make money in Vegas by purchasing dirt, building houses on it, and reselling the said dirt with the said houses to folks who wanted to live in a desert (weird, I know). The plot thickens:

Ralph held mock "Nazi Costum Parties" but the University of North Dakota was willing to overlook that when he presented the board with a $100-million. Originally Ralph was going to donate some of the funds to academics, but after he started constructing the arena he said there were too many academics protesting the "Fighting Sioux" name. Ralph then informed UND that he was going to put all the $100 million (that buys a good deal in Dakota) into his big arena (what I refer to as the Eagle's Nest) and none into academics or funding scholarship. Thanks Ralph.

[note: I contend that Ralph's body is cryogenically frozen under center ice at his arena.]

Still, I tend to side with my Lakota friend's opinion on the matter. Seems to me that a Lakota-Sioux might know a bit more about the matter than the NCAA.

The WC Hammer Falls on Thor's Day

Aye, me bucko mates, 'twas a waste o' spittle to boast on me relative qualitative success. For, today, me got slapped silly.....If it weren't for the happy happenstance that the sports punditry seems to be doing on average worse than I, would be tempting to admit that Nostradamus had the right stuff and gracefully admit defeat. But if the "experts" are so screwed up...Anyway, to tomorrow's matches.
Today Poland was brought to the brink of elimination [it still has a convoluted in calculation non-zero probability of going on], and tomorrowIt is possible that every match sees a team either eliminated or sent into that awful limbo Poland is currently in. These sad sacks on the verge of a nervous breakdown are Trinidad, Sweden(!), Paraguay, Costa Rica. Of course, should they win, they would not be sad at all.
England vs T&T: OK, what are the odds the Caribbean side can sustain another 90 minutes of "Spartans at Thermopylae" play? Would you wager your gonads on it? Nah, didn't think so. There is no objective reason for thinking T&T has hope....But, as my upset special, I predict T&T shocks the world again, and draws 1-1 with England.
[after all, It is unlikely this prediction will be any worse than mine of yesterday which saw Ukraine defeating Spain!]. Yorke, Hislop, Edwards continue to inspire, while Sven sweats as would Leif Ericsson if his boat had drifted down to what is now Miami. Rooney reinjures himself, Ferguson brings Fifa to court, London Burns....Good times a'comin'.
Sweden vs. Paraguay: Both teams will make maximum effort to win this, although probably Sweden can afford a tie, whereas Paraguay cannot. Paraguay is unused to sustaining attack, but will have to. Sweden this time puts in some of its chances, and routs Paraguay by a score of 3-1.
Ecuador against Costa Rica. On paper, Ecuador is the sounder squad. But Costa Rica has strength, a good keeper [despite what Germany did to him], and Paulo Wanchope, who could score against Bella Abzug. Prediction" CR 2- Ecuador 1.
Now, let the thunder begin.

Woden Play at the WC

"Qualitatively", i.e. in terms of wins, ties, and losses, the prediction game is going quite well. In terms of the attempt at quantitative precision, it is not going so well. But let the mean statistical analysis of that wait until after the games are ended. The one comment I have is that, after the first couple of days, the goal scoring in this tournament seems to be dwindling. To some extent it is conservative play and excessive fouling to slow things up, but it also seems some teams from whom we expect lovely and productive attacking play [e.g Brazil, England, France, etc...] just haven't been sharp so far. Frankly, Croatia should at least have tied Os Brasilheiros today, they played erratically and slowly, and Ronaldo O Gordo, Hero of 2002, strolled the pitch like he was a 37 year old Country Buffet lover playing in a local Houston league at 2 pm on a 100 degree 100% humidity June day. For the world's most talented squad, pathetic....Now, onto Woden's Day.
"Ever Our Friends & Allies" the Saudis vs "Choke on our Barbary Coast" Tunisia. The Saudis play like Mamelukes; they make effort in exact proportion to the riches dangled before them. That is, perhaps, because they are indeed mercenaries, bought from throughout the Ummah, and corraled into lavish football pens for the greater glory of Allah. To get them properly motivated, the Saudi princes have offered them huge bonuses should they make it out of group play. Tunisias is a much poorer [financially] squad, and is, in fact, mostly composed of Tunisians. They are really not as good as Morrocco, as Angola is not as good as Nigeria, but they did eke out a goal differential qualification, are more talented and creative in their play [although not as physically fast as the Africans brought in by the Saudis] and now it is as good as gold. Prediction [modulo the Saudis having bribed refs and players] Tunisia 2- KSA 1.
Spain vs Ukraine. Spain's moment was 2002, where they, far more than Italy, were the ones who had victory denied them by absolutely awful/corrupt refs. They dominated the game in every way against SKorea, as they had all opponents before, and the calls agains them were so shameless and destructive that even the Koreans watching the matches were embarassed [at least the Koreans who were watching the match with me at the Lion Pub on Sher-Da Lu, Taipei ]. It is a shame, because now their time is past. They have great talent, yet, but the team is older and lesser. Ukraine has Shevchenko, who plays a little like Nedved and Rosicky combined. And a very very physically tough squad. Do not play them if you are the sort who care for shins and knees that will last a lifetime...Prediction, Ukraine 2- Spain 1.
Germany vs Poland. This will be, or should be, a fierce match. Germany vs. Poland always is, of course, but Poland absolutely must win this match if they wish to have a hope of making it out of the group round [assuming Ecuador does not lose to Costa Rica]. Should be fun to watch. Prediction: Germany 2-Poland 1.
Yes, Mein Freunden, tomorrow is my "2 for 1" special.

thankless bastards

Was JJ here?

Could it be??

After the Yank's Gotterdamerung Comes Tue''s Day

Now that the Yanks have been Judged, and Damned, it is onto a fresh set of three games at this Best of All Possible World Cups [in honor of Herr Liebniz, as interpreted by Voltaire].
South Korea vs Togo. This Korean team does not have quite the quality of its 2002 version [nor, of course, the advantages of fiercely partisan crowds and strangely accomodating officialdom], but it does have something the Yanks never showed today: a pride in the game, a fierce will to do one's utmost, to play as if life itself might be at stake [watch Park, for example. Let's just say he is no Damarcus Beasley or Eddie Lewis]. For that reason, or at least primarily that reason, I pick them over Togo. Togo is actually quite talented, and has players that at the youth level vied for the world championships, but they have trained very poorly and are torn apart by squabbles over monies and the politics of the nation's FA. They may, may not, actually have their manager present, as he quit/or maybe did not quit/or wtf we shall see if he quit or not. A mess they be. Prediction: Korea 2- Togo 0

France vs. Switzerland. I like the Swiss. They are a very determined and brave team. If you doubt me, just relive the events of that last match, to qualify, played in Istanbul in all its full Turkic splendor and friendliness. I don't like the French team very much, a shell of the magnificent 1998 team. Zinedine Zidane is, or rather was, one of the great midfield generals of all time. Barthez was once a great keeper. Warriors they once were, and young...but no more. Now ZZ claims the Angel Gibreel speaks to him at night, and Barthez has little left but his baldness. Henry is excellent, but he will have to try much by himself, for Cisse was unfortunately injured. The French however are very very lucky, for this group is one of the easiest in this WC. Against Switzerland, I think they will give their all, and then seek to coast against Korea and Togo. Still, I see a tie. Prediction: France 2-Switzerland 2.

Brazil vs. Croatia: Who needs to say anything about Os Brasilheiros? As for Croatia, tough chippy defensively, chaotic but capable of most dangerous flair in offense. Do NOT expect some 1-0 monstrosity. This game should be highscoring and much fun to watch. Prediction: Brasil 4- Croatia 2.

Derb eats crow

Does his explanation pass muster? Not sure, but the following sounds correct:
Instead of rubbling, we have ourselves been rabbled.
On the other hand, rubbling Zarky may signal a return to basics. We'll see...

opportunity for jj

any of you know where to contact him ?

Judgement Day for Yanks at WC

Monday, wherein unkind Selene casts her cold light over the umourned defeated. Today the Yanks face a monster team in the Czech Republic, ranked [and rightly so] second only to Brasil in the world. The men of Prague are led by a striker of AI proportions, Jan Koller, who approaches the game in the spirit of the skinhead trolling through the St.Pauli district. Their midfield general, Pavel Nedvev, unlike Beckham, is truly a great player, one without discernible weakness but being of mortal woman born. Has a wicked shot, very generous and clever with his passing, and highly intelligent in defensive situations. Their goalkeeper, Cech, is phenomenal for one relatively young. Potentially the best man in the nets the game has ever seen. The rest of the squad range from merely highly competent top flight professionals to challengers for world class status. In other words, this is a fearsome team. And, oh yes, thanks to the location of this world cup the stands will be dominated by hirsute pilsner swilling baying fanaticos [and that is just their women :( ]. The Yanks are led by an old seattle keeper addicted to chewing gum, a california kid who never cottoned to Teutonic ways, and a manager who had to make a tough decision in careers between coaching soccer or lacrosse teams....So the Yanks are doomed, eh? Well, every Euro worth his little bag of Roman salt thinks so, and tens of millions of smirks are being practiced before gilded mirrors, even as I write, the better to accompany the withering scorn [long and barely pent] ready to be cast at whatever unsuspecting Yankee Doodle happens to stumble by postmatch.
On the other hand, this Yankee team, despite its unprepossessing appearance, is actually good. And, as no Euro will disagree with, they "are too stupid to know they have no hope" [a quote from Keller]. The fools shall go where the angels fear to tread and shall snatch Victory from the Jaw of the Czech Beast. Prediction: 2-1 USA.
As for Ghana vs. Italy, the Azzurri will stumble to boringly inglorious victory over an agressive but unprepared african side. Italy 1- Ghana 0.

Precision is a Biatch

Nostradamus was cunning to have his fat ass covered! Oh well....
The Arg-CIv game was quite close to how I thought it would go. If the Belgian ref hadn't been in Sergeant Schultz mode as Drogba and co got pancaked in Droogish fashion mere feet from the goal, the PK's, ya gotta assume, would have led to at least one more goal and a 2-2 result. Eheu, tweren't ameanta be.
The Sweden vs T&T match, on the other hand, was a beast I had not foreseen. In fact I had explicitly said that a draw would be a major upset, so heavily was Sweden [rightly?] favored. But Football/Calcio/Soccer is a great game for many reasons, and one of them is the chance to see "Braveheart" courage in meaningful play. Hislop was on fire, and the effort put out was astonishing. Sweden coulda won, shoulda won, really shoulda won, but did not. T&T's gain, Sweden's pain, and another error lain.
For tomorrow, emotional stuff dude's.
Portugal contra Angola, Pappy's Country contra Pappy's country. Portugal is a most un-European side in its style of play, without insult a lesser version of Brasil. Angola is a most un-African side, playing controlled and patiently and cohesively as a team throughout the match. A sober son of the wine drinking father. Portugal could win, Portugal should win, really should win, but as today showed--who really knows? Angola has played quite well in prep matches before this WC, losing only 3-2 to Turkey [in Istanbul, impressive] and 1-0 to the USA. Still, Portugal yet smarts over the agony of losing to the contemptible Yanks in the last WC, and are sure to be more concentrated and wary this time round. Predicition: Portugal 2- Angola 1.
Mexico contra Iran. I would very much like to be for Mexico, as it too suffers from the same contempt from Eurosnobbos as does the USA. Regional pride and all that...but the Mexicans, from their manager to their fans websites, are almost uniformly a loathesomely viciously jingoistic lot. All La Raza all the time. As for Iran, the mere accident of life that one can trace one's ancestry to the land of the Azers ain't no cause for indulging in truly retro regional pride....Death to Iran! [metasoccerly speaking, of course ;)]. Anyway, Prediction: Mexico 1-Iran 1, in the most boring WC game so far.
Holland against Serbia. Holland could win, should win, really should win, yet....The Dutch have an extraordinary offensive team, and a master keeper in Van De Sar. Let us hope their defense, though, shows more backbone than the Dutch "Peace" keepers did before Milosevic's serbs at Brezsenika [spelling is way off, so sue me]. The Serbs have some flair, but their cohesiveness is surely in question. After all, how kicks it with their Montenegrin players now that Montenegro has voted to shed the snake? But then, who knows. After all, anarchy and the Balkans have long been blood brothers. Prediction: Holland 2-- Serbia 0.

autopsy

maybe he died of acne - you just never know.

WC Second Day Anti-Nostradamus

Ah, so yesterday, as AI calculated, I came somewhat to the negative with my predictions. If the infernal England-Paraguay match had not been so damn early, out here in the Lands of Rain, I would have predicted the correct result [Paraguay defends very well, and has a hard time scoring. But England is definitely stronger. So would have gone for 1-0. But, it has already happened, so no choice but to chuck that game aside. That leaves two games for the Anti-Nostradamus; Sweden-T&T, Argentina-Cote d'Ivoire.
Predictions:
Sweden 3- T&T 1 [T&t are brave, and I do hope they get this consolation goal. But T&T is reduced to drawing from clubs in Englands League Two, and Sweden is full of high powered players. A draw alone would be a huge surprise.]
Argentina 2- CIv 2 . [This is, for me, a total crapshoot. Argentina is a total team, with perhaps a slight weakness on defense this time round. CIv is, with possibly Ghana, arguably the very best African side this WC. It can play sloppily, but then just brilliantly. All in the same 5 minutes].
Thus has The AN spoken, Thus shall he be judged!

zarkycide

The story of the day in every paper seems to be that zarky died of natural causes but not right away. i am wondering if that this is not really a subliminal message [from the administration?] to other zarky wannabes that he actually was offed once on his stretcher - and that similar fate will await copycats. I can't understand the purpose of the ubiquity of this otherwise peripheral detail any other way. You ?

The Anti-Nostradamus Meets A Copa Mundial

The beauty of drivel such as that of Nostradamus the Prognosticator is that is is expressed so vaguely and metaphorically that anyone with inclination and half a wit can scry from it whatever they wish, to almost any time and place. His words are clouds and mist, and so for that reason he is nigh well unfalsifiable. Hence, for a certain crew, nigh well infallible. His track record is free of all proven error, the enviable lad.
But I am an Anti-Nostradamus, which means I prognosticate as clearly and sharply as I can. And thus can be judged easily, once the evidence is in, by that proverbial half wit with the inclination to do so. Which means, sadly enough, that my track record is resplendent in proven error.
It is time to extend this track record.
Today, Germany plays Costa Rica, and Poland plays Ecuador. I am on edge about the Ger-CR game, and the absence of the great Ballack, but will go with a 2-1 German victory. Poland has hurt itself by not going with Dudek, who is the better keeper in dangerous moments, but then Ecuador's keeper and defense are truly mediocre. Poland 2-0.
Let the embarassment begin!

Hoisted on his own petard

Starring in funny videos (playing with guns, while hopping around, dressed in New Balance sneakers) can be bad for your health:

Italy's military intelligence services SISMI first discovered the video on the internet on 25 April and analysed it along with their US and Arab counterparts. The video - in which Jordanian-born Zarqawi appears as he fires a kalashnikov rifle in a desert area along with some aides - enabled intelligence services to identify the area where he was hiding.

Zarky bites the dust

Hurray for the flyboys - they know how to conduct a meaningful dialog.

feingold on scapegoating

whatever happened to "i wanna be a unita, not a divida'?

more candidates for dialog?

Two months ago, a pair of Atlanta men, one a Georgia Tech engineering student, were arrested not long after communicating by e-mail with two of the suspects arrested in Canada over the weekend. The Atlanta men are charged with videotaping domestic targets, including the U.S. Capitol and the World Bank.

All right, so what is the reason these guys would do such a thing? Who really cares? And, what would a dialog achieve in such a case?

dialog

it's all good

louisiana steps back 100 years

La legion etrangere

Zarky is recruiting. Those guys must be ready for a dialog.

willie coyote

Another yahoo cowboy who doesn't understand he's supposed to start a "dialog," not act up like a dirty harry john wayne:

The six-vehicle convoy, was passing through the city of Kandahar about 9 a.m. near the provincial governor's mansion when Cote, the observation officer in the fifth vehicle, saw a black pickup truck emerging from a back lane, driving aggressively.

"Nobody's supposed to pass us," said Cote. "This one came too fast. I thought something was going on."

Cote told his gunner to swivel the turret and point the cannon of his armoured vehicle at the truck. With the cannon of the Coyote aimed at him, the driver swerved to the side.

"When we started to turn the turret, that's when he waved off. It happened really fast. He waved off, then he turned back toward us, and that's when he exploded."

The suicide bomber was little more than a metre away from Cote's Coyote when he detonated.

When will they learn to behave like proper Alan Aldas??

Selling falafel

Or wearing a goatee has its perils. Oh well, we must really sit down and understand this phenomenon, start a heartfelt dialogue.

In a bizarre example of Iraq's creeping "Talibanization," militants visited falafel vendors a couple of weeks ago, telling them to pack up their stalls by today or be killed.
The ultimatum seemed so bizarre that, at first, most laughed it off -- until two of them were fatally shot as they plied their trade.
"They came telling us, 'You have 14 days to end this job,' and I asked them what was the problem," said Abu Zeinab, 32, who was packing up his stall for good yesterday in the suburb of al Dora, a hard-line Sunni neighborhood.
"I said I was just feeding the people, but they said there were no falafels in Muhammad the prophet's time, so we shouldn't have them either.
"I felt like telling them there were no Kalashnikovs in Muhammad's time either, but I wanted to keep my life."

Wrong! You should have pursued the dialogue, man,! Don't take after those stoopid American yahoo cowboys. Be sensitive. Try wearing Birkenstocks. We are the world. Sweet talking will do it. Sure thing.

Ward Churchill and the dangers of simplistic history

Clay Jenkinson discusses Ward Churchill's ignorant interpretation of the historical record.

note: The archaeological record tells us that the Mandan and Hidatsa have occupied the banks of the upper Missouri since at least the 15th century. They were oh so friendly, and they often greeted pepe's ancestors with open arms, feasts, and great trade deals.

Don't worry, be happy

Just a bit of dialogue with these guys in London and Toronto and elsewhere will solve all our problems, says the "reality based community". What kind of dialogue would that be? Perhaps like the little one the French had at Compiègne a while back?

scapegoating

time to distract the yahoos from iraq again ?

getting smart?

if there ever was a 180, that'd be it.

more outliers

sweet marines waging peace in Ishaqi this time.