Shlonkom Bakazay?

Just wondering, because that's what I heard tonight from a good source.
Like he's taking some heavy pills for bi-polar disorder.
I'm being totally serious.
Anybody hear the same?

Back in the US of A.
My nephew is getting baptized and I'm going to be the Godfather.
I'm already so proud of him. He's impressively fast at learning. Not even 9 months and is he's about to walk!

I've gotta start practicing my Brando impersonation. There was a time I could do it pretty well, but I tried again recently and I don't remember it being that difficult.

What else is cooking?


I saw Apocalypto.
Loved it. The subtleties of symbolism and plot are fascinating.
There are truly not enough films about the indigenous peoples of North America.

At the moment, I'm watching Ms. Collateral Damage (Madeleine Albright) wax holier than thou about the Iraq war on CSPAN.
How obscene! Why do I watch this repulsive pornography?

Speaking of pornography, here's a few things...

In other news, Gen. George Casey said, "I think it's probably going to be the summer, late summer, before you get to the point where people in Baghdad feel safe in their neighborhoods." [source] I don't know about you, but I'm going to remember this and revisit this again in the summer. We'll see if he's full of shit or not...or out of a job.

I'm seeing the phenomenon of blaming the Iraqis for all that is wrong in Iraq, more and more...
Now that brain-drain has effectively cut-out most Iraqis with any sort of western leanings, it is going to be difficult to get Iraq on its feet. Is it their fault that they want to leave a place so violent? I ask all those saying it's Iraqis to blame, why is it so violent after 4 years of war? Who started the war? Why wasn't there any WMD? Why was the war persecuted with so many lies?

Perhaps because they couldn't have had the war without the lies.

So, who's fault is it really?

This is how the subtext to the headline today on CNN's website reads, "Rice explores peace in the Middle East":

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explored opportunities for a fresh start in the stalled effort at a political compromise between Israel and the Palestinians.

At the start of a week-long trip to the region, she warned that an enduring peace cannot be stamped "made in America."

Of course, it's true...but it's the ultimate cop-out and just a way to stave of criticism for all the inaction by the American government regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the last 5 years and heavy bias towards the Sharonian ideal while Israel runs rampant radicalizing the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, much like the US government has radicalized Iraq.

But how convenient for the looney toons in the WH...because now they can have their excuse to have a war on Iran.

The world gone crazy...stoking the flames of extremism seems like one of the objectives of this administration.

I've decided to start blogging again.
Politics has gotten more interesting all of the sudden.
And I've got several snarls left in me yet.
I'll see how it goes anyway.

So, I'm hearing talk about the possibility of democrats being able to block more funding of the Iraq debacle.
Amazing, no?

Why'd it take so damn long? And T.Snow is now saying supporting this stance is unpatriotic.
Is that the last and shortest straw? Almost tantamount to saying John Murtha is a weeny, spineless liberal...
Chabuduo anyway...

We are now entering the densely ironic phase of this very predictable war.
Meaning, I could have predicted (and subsequently did predict) that this war would go this badly.
I mean, that's why I was so against it to begin with.
The possibility of failure was high based on the original premise and all the following premises, as we have seen.
And now, since talk of this troop increase has been discredited by just about every bona fide expert on Iraq...we're at yet the same point again. To be clear, a physical place, a sort of crossroad we've reached many a time...
Which end will the knife turn on?
One ring to rule them all? (Fascism) Or all rings to rule nothing? (Chaos, Anarchy)
Those are the choices Iraq as a complete entity faces now.
Not to say there isn't some grey area.
Point is,
even the best possible one is a bad one.

So, whether or not they put more troops in...doesn't really matter. Because we don't really know which direction to expect if we do, or if we don't.

While it would be better they didn't, they will...and they will see the negative effects of it a couple steps down the road.
And there will be another senate hearing about it that will amount to nothing. Where we'll see more experts discredit the original decision to have the troop increase. Some of course saying, I told you so.
So what? So what? So what?
Iraq's fucked. And the world is so much worse off for it.
Everybody knows this much now.
And believe me, that's enough.

But what do I really think about said troop increase?

20,000??? Are you kidding me?
Are they deliberately trying to make a bad situation worse?
That's what I'll say. Talk about kindling...
It screams disaster. And they are crazy for talking about putting such a small amount in such a manner.
It's foolish to the highest order.

And even trying to fathom the possibility of an exponential increase in troops, say upwards another 100-150,000, to a total of 250,000...would simply be impossible for American Armed Forces to absorb at the moment.

But would putting only 20,000 more troops in make sure Iraq becomes a fascist religious state or a continued chaotic chasm of violence? Lets get down and dirty with this one.
Yes...
There's simply no way of knowing.
In many ways, the fascist secular state appears to have been better compared with the ever-narrowing field of options facing Iraq and Iraqis now. And that's the real travesty of the whole matter. That we've regressed so greatly. One would like to say, two steps backward, then eventually one step foward. But can we now? Can we really expect any improvement with Iraq in the coming years, even if democrats are steering more?

I doubt it.

So, yes...things have gotten more interesting.
And I wanna exhume my thoughts for you in the coming weeks.
haha
Thanks...
bye,
Lim