Hi guys and gals, I'm off to Wroclaw, Poland this weekend and the next week to visit my mother-in-law and brother-in-law with Agata and Eva. Will pay a short visit to PM Miller and Prez Kwasniewski to persuade them to stay the course. By the way Polish troops did some good fighting this week, they also killed a top lieutenant of the Fat Babyface.
There's a lot of international outrage against the perfidious behaviour of your heavy-handed Marines in Fuckjuah. Mr. Human Rights Champion Vlad Putin being the most verbose, I'm told. Good ole Pootie-Poot, I'm sure these Chechnyans are sooooo happy they live in Grozny and not in Fuckjuah...
I'm awfully sorry for the losses your troops are taking. Just imagine, one week ago all was looking relatively good, despite the ocasional bomb attack or IED's, Interim Constitution signed, lots of good economic parameters (read about a drastic cut in unemployment figures in Iraq, till 28% or so.... find it hard to believe that though) and then Mr. Fat Babyface-with-Black-Towel-wrapped-around-his-Poor-Excuse-For-a-Brain decided otherwise...
Don't give up though. Your military can handle the situation with one hand tied behind their back. Now if only the world would pay some more attention to the drama in Darfur, Sudan, where the Islamic Government is apparently intent on some kind of genocide against black Sudanese. I suggest the US drops some napalm bombs on the refugees in order to get the cameras over there....
Bye, take care,
Michael
P.S.: there's a chance I am able to follow and even post in Downeast from Poland...IF I can chase my brother-in-law Kamil from behind his puter.
Friday, April 09, 2004
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
I felt the need to chime in on several aspects of the widespread fighting in Iraq. First of all, my thoughts are with our amazing military personel, who are once again putting everything on the line for us. There's simply no way to express the debt of gratitude we owe these outstanding individuals.
While it is easy and understandable to be depressed by the events of the last few days, I believe there may be a hidden positive in the current uprising. While it seems we have a new enemy, we have a visible enemy who has made a decision to show himself. A visible enemy is one who can be killed. One must also ask the question, why has this well trained and well organized group decided to break cover only months before the handoff of power in Iraq? Wouldn't it have been easier to accomplish their goals after power had been officially turned over to the Iraqis? I believe the answer to these questions is that these people are desperate. They clearly fear that the US is going to succeed in their mission in Iraq, and they are staging a last ditch effort to dislodge us. A more strategic move would have been to wait until after the Iraqis took power, or even wait until the US was closer to the presidential election. I believe they have chosen to act now because they feel their window of opportunity is closing. This is a positive development, and it underscores the fact that we cannot deviate from this mission. There is just too much hanging in the balance. If it costs George Bush the presidency, then it will be worth it. This is bigger than any domestic issue being batted around in the media.
It seems we hit a mosque today, with possibly 40 casualties. While the circumstances of the attack are unclear, I wonder if this represents a change in tactics on the part of our forces. So much the better if it does. While I understand the political ramifications of "desecrating" a mosque, they can no longer be a sanctuary for terrorists. The terrorists who hide themselves and their weapons in mosques are the ones desecrating them. If that's where we happen to find them, we owe it to ourselves and the Iraqis to forget about politics and kill the bastards inside, period. I sincerely hope that this was not an accidental attack on innocent civilians. But if terrorists chose to hide among innocent worshippers, they are the ones responsible for the carnage. It needs to be made clear that there is no place for the scum of the earth to hide.
It has been widely reported that there has been a major influx of terrorists from places like Syria and Iran. It's time for us to take the gloves off. Again, possibly political suicide, but I'm over that. Give them one final warning, and the next day BLOW THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THESE SCUMBAGS! In fact, forget abut the warning. I don't care how much it costs. Iran would probably implode from revolution the day we crossed the border, and Syria has all the military might of Vermont. It's time we deal with ALL of our enemies, not just the ones that pass the politically correct muster.
Do I sound pissed? You bet I am. I'm not watching TV at all today, because if I see one John Kerry ad I'm going to smash my head through the TV set.
While it is easy and understandable to be depressed by the events of the last few days, I believe there may be a hidden positive in the current uprising. While it seems we have a new enemy, we have a visible enemy who has made a decision to show himself. A visible enemy is one who can be killed. One must also ask the question, why has this well trained and well organized group decided to break cover only months before the handoff of power in Iraq? Wouldn't it have been easier to accomplish their goals after power had been officially turned over to the Iraqis? I believe the answer to these questions is that these people are desperate. They clearly fear that the US is going to succeed in their mission in Iraq, and they are staging a last ditch effort to dislodge us. A more strategic move would have been to wait until after the Iraqis took power, or even wait until the US was closer to the presidential election. I believe they have chosen to act now because they feel their window of opportunity is closing. This is a positive development, and it underscores the fact that we cannot deviate from this mission. There is just too much hanging in the balance. If it costs George Bush the presidency, then it will be worth it. This is bigger than any domestic issue being batted around in the media.
It seems we hit a mosque today, with possibly 40 casualties. While the circumstances of the attack are unclear, I wonder if this represents a change in tactics on the part of our forces. So much the better if it does. While I understand the political ramifications of "desecrating" a mosque, they can no longer be a sanctuary for terrorists. The terrorists who hide themselves and their weapons in mosques are the ones desecrating them. If that's where we happen to find them, we owe it to ourselves and the Iraqis to forget about politics and kill the bastards inside, period. I sincerely hope that this was not an accidental attack on innocent civilians. But if terrorists chose to hide among innocent worshippers, they are the ones responsible for the carnage. It needs to be made clear that there is no place for the scum of the earth to hide.
It has been widely reported that there has been a major influx of terrorists from places like Syria and Iran. It's time for us to take the gloves off. Again, possibly political suicide, but I'm over that. Give them one final warning, and the next day BLOW THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THESE SCUMBAGS! In fact, forget abut the warning. I don't care how much it costs. Iran would probably implode from revolution the day we crossed the border, and Syria has all the military might of Vermont. It's time we deal with ALL of our enemies, not just the ones that pass the politically correct muster.
Do I sound pissed? You bet I am. I'm not watching TV at all today, because if I see one John Kerry ad I'm going to smash my head through the TV set.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Things seem to have calmed down a bit in Iraq. All very unclear yet still.
Stumbled upon this. Guys, I'm proud of you in your place!!!!!
Stumbled upon this. Guys, I'm proud of you in your place!!!!!
Here's a solid piece from Bruce Bartlett appropriate for tax season. Anyone who thinks "the rich" don't pay "their fair share" needs to read this. That's right, I used the scare quotes because neither term has any meaning after years of abuse from the left. "The rich" is anyone who has made good choices in their life and can support themselves financially and "their fair share" is equivalent to the amount that it would take to keep a majority of citizens under the 24/7 care of the government.
As many of you know, I'm self employed, so despite having a really good accountant find every possible loophole, my family still pays over 40% of our income back to the gubment. (The president of IBM pays a smaller percentage of his income back to the government than I do.) In addition to the ridiculous system of progressive taxation we have, we really have address how difficult we make it for small businesses to survive. (I can't imagine what poor Michael goes through every year paying taxes in Belgium.)
It's time for the Fair Tax (fairtax.org). Either that or just come up with a flat tax rate. Let "the poor" decide what it will be. Enough of this crap already.
As many of you know, I'm self employed, so despite having a really good accountant find every possible loophole, my family still pays over 40% of our income back to the gubment. (The president of IBM pays a smaller percentage of his income back to the government than I do.) In addition to the ridiculous system of progressive taxation we have, we really have address how difficult we make it for small businesses to survive. (I can't imagine what poor Michael goes through every year paying taxes in Belgium.)
It's time for the Fair Tax (fairtax.org). Either that or just come up with a flat tax rate. Let "the poor" decide what it will be. Enough of this crap already.
Saturday, April 03, 2004
On Omar's blog, more specifically in the comments section, I came across this link.
My heart and my prayers go out to the victims and their families. I am depressed.
My heart and my prayers go out to the victims and their families. I am depressed.
Friday, April 02, 2004
Can you say hyperbole? Check out this statement by John Kerry:
Wow. Not one, single manufacturing job in the ENTIRE United States during the last 3 years. That's funny, I manufactured a PC for my sister and her husband and was paid for it. But I'm not a beautiful person like the haughty, French looking senator from Massachusetts so what the hell do I know?
And I see he's up to 10 million new jobs now. If he is so damned amazing why doesn't he just do away with unemployment altogether? Perhaps modesty is to blame, I hear he served in Vietnam but you wouldn't know it from listening to him. He wouldn't DARE politicize that.
"After three years of punishing job losses, the one month job creation announced today is welcome news for America's workers. I hope it continues. But for too many families, living through the worst job recovery since the Great Depression has been, and continues to be, far too painful. With nearly 2.6 million private sector jobs lost during the Bush presidency, America's families need and deserve a new economic strategy. In every single month of this Administration, we haven't seen the creation of a single manufacturing job in America. That's why I've proposed a strategy that that revitalizes our manufacturing sector and puts us on track to create 10 million new jobs in the next four years."
And I see he's up to 10 million new jobs now. If he is so damned amazing why doesn't he just do away with unemployment altogether? Perhaps modesty is to blame, I hear he served in Vietnam but you wouldn't know it from listening to him. He wouldn't DARE politicize that.
Tom, I felt I needed more space than the comments section to react to Victor Davis Hanson's article on US/European realtions. First of all, it's an excellent article and nail on the head.
Let me now give my assessment as a European.
1° We indeed need a sea-change in mentality over here to influence our defense policy in an effective way. I don't see that happen soon. The Left is too strong.
There are attempts however to create a common defense policy. Instruments for that, on the strategic level are the Western European Union (WEU), currently hibernating, and on the operative level the Eurocorps. You can also click here for a sketchy introduction to this happy campers outfit.
But admitted, there's no firm hand behind a common defense policy.
2° Gifted writer as he is, he has his flaws. He seems to be unaware of the process of political unification. I think this knowledge is absolutely NECESSARY when judging "Europe". Furthermore, the Poles chilling for the Germans once the US leaves? Come on!!! Hey, I just went to the kitchen to prepare myself a cup of coffee (I ate “Sprits zandkoeken” with it (some kind of cookies) (they tasted) and asked my wife Agata (from the Polish city of Wroclaw) whether Poles would be chilling for the Germans if the US Army left its barracks over there. She found the idea absurd. In short, VDH is very much okay but on European matters he'd do well to do some field research over here.
3° Throughout the article I perceive a willingness to label the departure of US troops from Western Europe as some kind of policy to make the EU stand on its feet rather than coddling it, thus forcing us to act mature on defense matters. Hmmmm, I would say that the reasons making the US to consider downgrading its presence here are purely financial and organizational. There’s less threat here, other fronts further to the east (Middle East, Uzbekistan, Korea) are gaining importance AND your military is strained across the globe.
But the effect may be just the same. It may push Europe to hasten taking care of its own defense business.
4° Throughout VDH’s rant I perceive nevertheless a love of Europe. He recognizes our common cultural and historical roots. And here I’d like to end with a positive note. It is my sincere wish that we manage to level the Inter European borders and sensitivities to such an extent that we become a forceful economical, political and military bloc AS ALLIES of the United States. I would like to see NATO evolve to some kind of an alliance between USA, USE, Canada and some minor member states.
Maybe I’m too optimistic here, but in the same way as redeploying your troops elsewhere because of external reasons may encourage us to fend more for ourselves militarily, the to be expected drastic geopolitical changes in tomorrow’s world will force USA and EU towards each other. In both cases it’s a welcome development brought about by external circumstances.
And for the love of God, why are you Americans picking the Belgian military time and again as your favourite target??? Goddammit, our Air Force secures NATO’s utmost northeastern flank thus ensuring your daily beauty sleep passes uneventful! And don’t you know past autumn our Navy, in the form of the Frigate F912 Wandelaar kept a presence in the Caribbean, occasionally combating drugs trafficking as well as guarding the US’s soft underbelly??? And what’s our reward? Victor Davis Hanson with four deprecating comments! One of these days I’m really gonna be pissed off you know!!!
Let me now give my assessment as a European.
1° We indeed need a sea-change in mentality over here to influence our defense policy in an effective way. I don't see that happen soon. The Left is too strong.
There are attempts however to create a common defense policy. Instruments for that, on the strategic level are the Western European Union (WEU), currently hibernating, and on the operative level the Eurocorps. You can also click here for a sketchy introduction to this happy campers outfit.
But admitted, there's no firm hand behind a common defense policy.
2° Gifted writer as he is, he has his flaws. He seems to be unaware of the process of political unification. I think this knowledge is absolutely NECESSARY when judging "Europe". Furthermore, the Poles chilling for the Germans once the US leaves? Come on!!! Hey, I just went to the kitchen to prepare myself a cup of coffee (I ate “Sprits zandkoeken” with it (some kind of cookies) (they tasted) and asked my wife Agata (from the Polish city of Wroclaw) whether Poles would be chilling for the Germans if the US Army left its barracks over there. She found the idea absurd. In short, VDH is very much okay but on European matters he'd do well to do some field research over here.
3° Throughout the article I perceive a willingness to label the departure of US troops from Western Europe as some kind of policy to make the EU stand on its feet rather than coddling it, thus forcing us to act mature on defense matters. Hmmmm, I would say that the reasons making the US to consider downgrading its presence here are purely financial and organizational. There’s less threat here, other fronts further to the east (Middle East, Uzbekistan, Korea) are gaining importance AND your military is strained across the globe.
But the effect may be just the same. It may push Europe to hasten taking care of its own defense business.
4° Throughout VDH’s rant I perceive nevertheless a love of Europe. He recognizes our common cultural and historical roots. And here I’d like to end with a positive note. It is my sincere wish that we manage to level the Inter European borders and sensitivities to such an extent that we become a forceful economical, political and military bloc AS ALLIES of the United States. I would like to see NATO evolve to some kind of an alliance between USA, USE, Canada and some minor member states.
Maybe I’m too optimistic here, but in the same way as redeploying your troops elsewhere because of external reasons may encourage us to fend more for ourselves militarily, the to be expected drastic geopolitical changes in tomorrow’s world will force USA and EU towards each other. In both cases it’s a welcome development brought about by external circumstances.
And for the love of God, why are you Americans picking the Belgian military time and again as your favourite target??? Goddammit, our Air Force secures NATO’s utmost northeastern flank thus ensuring your daily beauty sleep passes uneventful! And don’t you know past autumn our Navy, in the form of the Frigate F912 Wandelaar kept a presence in the Caribbean, occasionally combating drugs trafficking as well as guarding the US’s soft underbelly??? And what’s our reward? Victor Davis Hanson with four deprecating comments! One of these days I’m really gonna be pissed off you know!!!
Great post on the Corner by John Derbyshire.
Best Line: "The State is the cold, stern guardian of our rights and liberties, not a frigging psychoanalyst leading Group.
Best Line: "The State is the cold, stern guardian of our rights and liberties, not a frigging psychoanalyst leading Group.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
It appears Lt. Shifrin has his head on straight. Thank God we have people like him in our armed forces.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
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