I don't know if they will..its just been extended for another six months.

Guess I missed this today.......

Oh, and if the Mehdi Army ends its ceasefire, which is looking likely, all bets are off.

I don't know if they will..its just been extended for another six months. Certainly that seems to be the biggest factor in the decline in US deaths. The bigger issue here is for…

If a Dem president, i.e. Clinton, had invaded Iraq,

But he didn't, James, so your point is irrelevant. Why bother to make these silly political points. 'What about Clinton' is neither here nor there.

But that's happened already and it's going to happen when the surge troops are withdrawn (and they have to be, for the sake of the…

the lying, the sheer, crack-smoking craziness ...

Not least of which is the bizarre argument that "we've severely fucked it up getting to this point, so we need to be allowed to stick with it".

The containment effort was crumbing in 2001 & 2002. With the Oil for Food billions, Saddam was in the process of buying the French, Russian and Chinese votes in the UNSC to get rid of the sanctions. They weren't going to last…

"some of this content maybe complete shit and most of it is opinion".

unlike Ralston's eloquent barrage on the radio? Who are ya? At least on Publicaddress anything that is said gets a remarkable amount of peer reviewing, before after and during publication and is frequently amended if there is…

and as for that freaking moron dubya. ever single business be has ever owned has cost a lot of other people a whole load of money.

dubya...is that what Roger Douglas calls himself these days?

Sagenz – ducking and diving and more or less changing the subject (while pulling out the children again), does very little to convince me you are correct.

This is going to be my…

You’ve criticised James for being rather blasé about the costs of the war, I think you're doing much the same re containment. That cost was not inconsequential and it would have continued.

About 1 billion a year. vis a vis the 1 billion a day right now,give or take. That…

Those…

That's the mess that would have existed indefinitely had the war not occurred. Now given the choice between the two containment may been the least worst option but one should have to front up to the consequences.

But isn't that the point, containment was working but it had to go…

Take Obama’s opposition to the war.

His opposition…

moody bugger that ralston is he does have a solid background in journalism and deserves due credit for it, and respect for his comments on the nature of said field.

With respect robbery, no he doesn't. He doesn't in entirely the same way that no other lazy albeit experienced professional…

There's a particulary interesting point about the Lancet studies:

Sitting in his office in Camden in north London, where every surface is covered with wobbly piles of files, the Lancet's editor, Richard Horton, admits that the…

Actually Rich your suggested response highlights the exact Clinton reaction to Rwanda, sit at home, wringing your hands and saying "Oh the poor children" when he could have done something about it.

Going out and…

Would that be an accurate assessment?

Rich: Totally. Your analogy could even be extended further: with his behaviour so unsuited to the local culture and conditions, that guy you're with is easily perceived as being like a psycho himself — enough so that the children aren't willing to approach you,…

is that you get to challenge the journalists quality of research.

Well go on then... challenge away.

oh I do, but the best response I get is

Rob, get over it.

Rob, get over it.

eloquent comeback, but then I'm not the one getting called out by a quite sizable media expert :)

I think his point was amateur posing as expert on everything

Which probably has some truth in it, but as usual not all. This is the beauty of forums like this. Russell or someone else places some material, fact and opinion both, online and many others tease it out as…

This is the difference I have with the findings.

Point being there was a wave of Holocaust Denialism through academia at that time and it washed over these shores too.

I think his point was amateur posing as expert on everything.
its fine to have an opinion on everything but it gets dangerous when you put yourself up as an authority on stuff you are merely an amatuer enthusiast at. maybe believing your own hype.

Rob, get over it.

Whatever the thesis purports to be about, the conclusion is at least holocaust revisionism. The writer does not deny the holocaust, but he does question some holocaust facts, and writes the conclusion in such a way that it [the conclusion] is plausibly read as revisionism…

Ralston's little tanty was cute, in a twitchy-eyed sort of way. It was all about how RB is an 'ignorant blogger ... who believes strange things'.

I think his point was amateur posing as expert on everything.
its fine to have an opinion on everything but it gets dangerous when…

Immediately run out of my house, even though I have neither equipment or a plan and I'm not actally trained in either police enforcement or search and…

do you still want to stay in your warm safe house and do jack shit?

for every poll I can provide you can counter it with another.

Yes. And ignoring "for every poll that's done, there's umpteen places that aren't polled that might like a little more attention on either the occupation of their nation, or the lack of occupation of their nation."

I really don't get how either side uses polling data in relation to Iraq.

I'm kinda with you and immediately regretted my inclusion of that polling reference in my post...for every poll I can provide you can counter it with another..Al Jaz ran a poll last night here which ran…

But I'll finish now unless you want to address the logic of your 1st statement. That the thesis wasn't about the holocaust but then drew conclusions about the holocaust.

As to that, I can only repeat the story I heard – which was, essentially, that it was included because the…

There was a rise of Holocaust Deniers world wide in academia at the time – Butz. Irvine was not so roundly refuted back than and still sits on the Canty Library shelves today.

So does Mein Kampf. The existence of objectionable and/or incorrect material in a university library does not…

I take it you're comparing a rather hasty intervention in Iraq vs the lack of intervention in Sudan?

I'm not comparing the situations as similar.

But I think if you took polling data from the Sudan, there'd be sections of the population that would be 100% in favour of anyone…

If anyone has…

I've always thought it would be better to get a local jewellery designer to create a ring for you than to just buy some generic bling.

Agreed. I did a basic design and took it to the local jeweler in Kingsland. That way the engagement and wedding rings could be…

How there are moral imperatives in Iraq, but not in some other places around the world – Sudan for example – I just don't get.

I take it you're comparing a rather hasty intervention in Iraq vs the lack of intervention in Sudan?

It rode the Holocaust Deniers wave that Canty got caught up in around that time.

An ill-considered paragraph in an otherwise perfectly good thesis from one postgrad student does not, as far as I'm concerned, constitute getting "caught up in" a "Holocaust Deniers wave". What actually happened was that one…

...and polling is showing that the Iraqis themselves are saying they are better off without the US, as they've been saying for years.

The polls indicate a more ambivalent picture –

The presence of US troops is opposed by 72%

While more than a third of Iraqis believe the United…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/weekinreview/16jburns.html?_r=1&ref=weekinreview&oref=slogin

Another interesting article by Jules Crittenden, it is from the Weekly Standard, but well worth a read.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/879jpiay.asp

As for reflecting on…

Retractions in Nature pretty much mean Hayes was wrong.

That Uni has a nasty Holocaust Denier – A. Butz. There was a wee buzz there a…

the media is changing and it's a power change more than a fiscal change.

the answer : tell the truth and tell it in…

James, seriously don't be so bloody smug, it does you no favours.

C'mon Simon, there's no way you can pull the Rush Limbaugh clone schtick without coming across as smug.

Kyle – pleae don't skim read.

Your link clicks onto Blacks reply and several retractions from quite a few who dissed it 1st up including Nature.

Well I didn't skim read. You've followed another three links or so, which if you're that into it, up to you. I can't be…

youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmPcvH2Y3oY

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,96056,00.html

Of particular concern are reports that the Folk Nation, consisting of more than a dozen gangs in the Chicago area, is placing young members in the military in an effort to gather information about weapons and…

I missed it but was wondering if others could fill in on some details. My mate was saying that the US gangs like the crips were represented in the military and there…

Now that is funny!! Unintentionally of course!

Maybe the US/UK enforced no fly zone might have had something to do with "things being fairly ok in the Kurdish areas .. since the 1990s". What do you think? Maybe, just maybe?

James, seriously don't be so bloody smug, it does you…

Now that is funny!! Unintentionally of course!

Maybe the US/UK enforced no fly zone might have had something to do with "things being fairly ok in the Kurdish areas .. since the 1990s". What do you think? Maybe, just…

It turns out the tdiamond engagement ring is essentially a 20th century invention, helped along by clever advertising courtesy of the De Beers diamond cartel.

I worked on a De Beers commercial once where the budget seemed unlimited. The crew was helicoptered on to the lower Tasman glacier where it…

Except that Cockburn implies (by omission) Iraq as a nation had remained intact through the gassing of the Kurds in the 80s and the mass killings of the marsh Shia Arabs in the 90s only to be broken assunder by the American invasion.

Isn't that part of the point? This…

It turns out the the diamond engagement ring is essentially a 20th century invention, helped along by clever advertising courtesy of the De Beers diamond cartel.

I've always thought…

Marc Lynch has a bit of a break down of that BBC -reported poll which indicates the very mixed nature of poeples' experiences and opinions.

Sure, and the Japanese wanted the folks who'd nuked them into submission — after fire-bombing the homes of millions — to piss off sooner rather…

Your link clicks onto Blacks reply and several retractions from quite a few who dissed it 1st up including Nature.

http://www.edwinblack.com/retractions/BaumelRetraction.pdf

http://www.edwinblack.com/retractions/LarsHeideRetraction.pdf

http://www.edwinblack.com/retractions/SegalRetraction.pdf

So yeah that great kiwi company getting a headache over Auckland Airport might have a few more headaches for their complicity…

Depleted or natural? I'm guessing not enriched.

The US has 500,000 tonnes of the former. They might sell you some – but you'd need to do your own processing from UF6 (careful!)

Yes. Those. Are. The. Warlords. Doing. The. Business. And. Building. The. Mansions.

Thieu and his cronies had nice houses, as well. With helicopter pads, if they had any sense.

...but we should take care to know what we're on about when we declare success

Marc Lynch has a bit of a break down of that BBC -reported poll which indicates the very mixed nature of poeples' experiences and opinions.

The latest opinion poll in Iraq bares out what James says about the Kurds – 73% saying life was "quite good or very good".

There's a very detailed set of poll results from Channel 4 that bear out a cautious, growing optimism and better perceptions of quality of life, but…

but yeah, the reality is there's a lot of people with guns and most of them are probably in that other 44%.

From that Cockburn piece:

There was also misconception among Iraqis about the depth of the divisions within their own society. Sunni would accuse me of exaggerating their differences…

Which pretty much backs up Patrick Cockburn's assertion that Iraq as a nation has ceased to exist.

Except that Cockburn implies (by omission) Iraq as a nation had remained intact through the gassing of the Kurds in the 80s and the mass killings of the marsh Shia Arabs in the…

Was it IBM who leased typwriters to the allied and the axis forces. (Enabling the Holocaust) Then when a typewriter was capture by the otherside charged them a lease for the use of the same typewriter while still charging the orininal leasee.

You forgot the people that supplied the paper…

queens having moments of Audrey worship and scaring off the paying trade. :)

Well you don't have to be a dizzy queen for that. Having stayed in New York on E71st St next door to the doorway that Audrey exits at the start of 'BaT', we also had our own…

Which was Bushs aim when he disbanded the entire Iraqi military & police.

From European history where did the Nazis come from = the disaffected unemployed soldiers of…

Which pretty much backs up Patrick Cockburn's assertion that Iraq as a nation has ceased to exist.

although from that poll –

Overall, our poll found Iraqis still want to be Iraqi.

When asked if they support a "united Iraq", 66% responded positively.

but yeah, the reality is there's a…

I hear that man made diamonds are now distinguishable only by their lack of imperfections. Won't be long before we laugh at our precious old diamonds.

I don't get the attraction of diamonds anyway. As daleaway says, most people can't tell them from glass. Why not just use glass, if it's the look that people like?

It's the representation of rarity on earth. And because 50Cent has them in his teeth.

On the invasion itself, there's a big divide – 95% of Sunnis say the invasion was wrong. 65% of Shia say it was right, as do 87% of Kurds.

Which pretty much backs up Patrick Cockburn's assertion that Iraq as a nation has ceased to exist.

All those armed to…

Ben & Sam,

Well, well, its your lucky day, the alternative universe arrives!!

Anyone would think it was still my birthday. Was I right about the Google Alerts? In any case, a sincere welcome back.

But with Sunnis it's pretty much the reverse – 67% stating things weren't going well, to say the least.

72% oppose the presence of US troops…

While the rest of Iraq is not like Kurdistan, as the article linked to above there is plenty of reason for optimism, if the US stays for a few more years and helps the Iraqis stand on their feet.

LOL, if the US was actually in 'Kurdistan' then…

Don't go for any short strolls in the desert.

Well, well, its your lucky day, the alternative universe arrives!

Hoorah! In this one I'm married to Nastassja Kinski.

"Boom! Business is thriving, oil deals are flowing, McMansions are rising ... in Iraq"

It sounds like Saddam's back...all these mansions whilst this this world exists.

From Patrick Cockburn who, I would suggest, has a substantially better track record on Iraq than Dick Cheney.

Well, well, its your lucky day, the alternative universe arrives!!

LOL. it's like evoking the candyman.

Well, well, its your lucky day, the alternative universe arrives!! There are plenty of people in the US who share my views (and quite a few in other countries, such as the UK) but when I come back to NZ I am certainly a voice in the wilderness.…

but he gets richer.

at one point in 2001 i remember thinking, "jesus... they gave this fkcer a country now? how long till he…

Oh, Craig. Don't you know that 'men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end? But square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don't lose their shape...'

OK, Hall of Shame moment. Last time we were in Sydney, Dave and I walked past this store, with…

we take [Cheney] out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.

well... i was actually suggesting that we rough him up a bit, then file an assault chagre against him when he starts to fight back.

Clinton wants to be out of this "civil war that isn't ours" in 60 days – christ lady who do you think kicked off that civil war? No…

I liked it when he posted. This bizarre parallel view on the world just sort of opened up before you on the screen.

Me too. I might disagree with 99% of what he says, but he does turn the echo off, and he's polite in doing it. He actually reads…

What's your view on the French Revolution? Too early to tell?

If we're talking long game, I doubt we'll know how things are shaking down for a lot…

I liked it when he posted. This bizarre parallel view on the world just sort of opened up before you on the screen.

Bush is oil money so he brings his corp cronnies into an unwinnerble war to raise oil revenue. The war is paid for by US taxes & Iraqi blood.
In so doing destroys the US/World economy and can buy up great swathes of Industry it at bargin prices to dominate the…

then handle having to say, "che. see, haych, ee" and have every receptionist from here to new orleans spell it, s, h, e.

That's bizarre. I mean, there was this guy, he's quite famous, you might have seen this picture of him on wannabe revolutionaries walls.

Maybe you should just…

his celebrity pals might want to stop giving outfits like Harry Winston free publicity every awards season until they clean up their acts

Oh, Craig. Don't you know that 'men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end? But square-cut or pear-shaped, these…

it just seems polite to address everyone — regardless of gender — according to their expressed preference.

Absolutely. When I made that remark I was thinking of the 'not being able to get title and surname right', which I'm pretty sure is a bigger issue for women than men.

we take [Cheney] out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.
That is surely illegal in this country?

Besides which, anything done to Cheney should be done without benefit of lubricant. And using a shrubbery. And a hedgehog.

His African accent

He practised it making The Power of One.

I just watched Blood Diamond on the weekend, which puts forward the idea that the wars/conflicts in Africa are financed and run for the benefit of the multi-nationals who derrive their income from the resources (oil, gas, diamonds) those countries contain.

Um, I guess it would be a little more…

I can't wait for that American bloke to turn up with his deluded reasoning why the war has been such a raging success.

Che Tibby responded :

i say if cheney actually turns up, we take him out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.

I…

then handle having to say, "che. see, haych, ee" and have every receptionist from here to new orleans spell it, s, h, e.

Bush is oil money so he brings his corp cronnies into an unwinnerble war to raise oil revenue. The war is paid for by US taxes & Iraqi blood.
In so doing destroys the US/World economy and can buy up great swathes of Industry it at bargin…

As I've said for many years ... the fiasco in Iraq is so bad I'm convinced it has to be by design. So it's been 5 years so far, so what? Republican nominee McCain has made it clear that it aint gonna…

This annoys heaping helpings of women, apparently, if recent discussions in my LJ circle are anything to go by.

Well, I'd respectfully suggest that if anyone started addressing me as 'Craig-y' around here, they'd be told to pull their heads all the way in. It's a diminutive, and in the…

(Not Debbie! Why the f*ck when I have just introduced myself as "Deborah" would you immediately call me 'Debbie'.

I feel the same way about "Andy".

we take him out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.

That is surely illegal in this country?

Sorry, irrelevant rant, but it gets on my wick. :)

Not really. Not when we're talking about who gets to identify us as what.

This annoys heaping helpings of women, apparently, if recent discussions in my LJ circle are anything to go by.

Naming conventions

[[http://jsr.livejournal.com/168842.html|Naming conventions in KAOS, which…

No. I think NEEP. Which means I probably am the only person who thinks "Neep!" when he sees the word shrubbery, since all the other sheep think "Ni!".

Having shrubbery and hedgehog in the same sentence is inherently funny IMHO.

I also think I…

The NYT has other agendas and could hardly be classed as neutral.

Agreed...what with Judith Miller and all those editorials in 2002/3 beating drums, they were one of the major flag wavers for the invasion.

Meanwhile, a Clinton-supporting Daily Kos diarist walks away in protest at the site's tenor and Kos says, whatever.

and that whatever was –

Meanwhile, Clinton and her shrinking band of paranoid holdouts wail and scream about all those evil people who have "turned" on Clinton and are no longer "honest…

Sorry, irrelevant rant, but it gets on my wick. :)

Not really. Not when we're talking about who gets to identify us as what.

I can't wait for that American bloke to turn up with his deluded reasoning why the war has been such a raging success.

i say if cheney actually turns up, we take him out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.

How does anyone get from the New Zealand Party to the Communist Party? That's jumping a few tracks to say the least.

I know someone who went from the NZP to the Alliance. That's practically the same thing, right? All that Billy Bragg was probably a tipper.

And absolutely never, ever "Mrs husband's-given-name husband's-family-name".

Man, I wish someone could slap *that* lesson into my husband's family. Lovely people, but it doesn't matter how many times I sign myself Danielle [redacted], they're guaranteed to send something back with Mr and Mrs [husband's names]. Do I look like a…

What on earth is John Ansell on about? As far as I can tell I've never even mentioned him by name — and even on the two occasions I expressed some distaste for the iwi-versus-kiwi billboards, my language wasn't exactly angry. How bizarre.

I thought he was trying to take…

Am I the only person who can't see the word "Shrubbery" without immediately thinking "Neep!"???

Tom, I think you mean "ni!"

yup!

And for some reason, this made me think of a Verlaines song ...

I got called Joanne seven times on Friday

Funny how the brain works. Well, mine anyway.

I've never been a communist at any stage and at that point the only political party I had belonged to was Bob Jone's "New Zealand Party" in 1984.

How does anyone get from the New Zealand Party to the Communist Party? That's jumping a few tracks to say the least.

Shrubbery. Am I the only person who can't see the word "Shrubbery" without immediately thinking "Neep!"???

Tom, I think you mean "ni!".

Indeed, as I was typing it, I was thinking, heh, I said 'shrubbery'.

Cheer up Russell, you could become the new Google/Jello/Hoover (anyone but Cellotape (r) of course) in terms of becoming a generic verb rather than a brand. Imagine the news headlines
"Protesters outside a National convention Russelled the speakers so loudly that they couldn't be heard".

To be fair, Russell has already…

Student at Massey, surely. Why else would he live in Palmy?

(or he's a 15 year old child prodigy and lives with the folks, but I prefer the former).

And I got called Joanne seven times on Friday, and man, it makes my blood boil

I've been guilty of that – sorry! I did go "d'oh" a few minutes after I posted, but it was too late then.

Deborah

(Not Debbie! Why the f*ck when I have just introduced…

Only the yanks seemed to comment while I was there 3 – 1 wanting it closed.

The fifth year anniversary of the Iraq invasion is having an interesting impact in the Australian…

(Also, please please please can people take note of the fact that my name is Joanna with two As? Call me…

You do have to steel yourself when the people like the Russell Browns [Public Address blogger] attack you. You get used to it, but I didn't realise I'd get used to it quite so quickly. It really stung the first time.

I think I can clear this up. About six…

hmm ... Ansell make a particular product and Johnny be its name – I'm Forever a 4th Former

only the sharing of the bounty of our own labour admist the revelry and joyous harmony of the peoples will, comrade.

I'll ask them to keep their stinking hands off my nuts!

Yes, 2 labels is twice as good!

Heh... fair ping, Ben. But sometimes you've just got to swallow hard and accept there are some folks in the world you can never, ever satisfy no matter what you do. Personally, I get rather more anxious when the usual suspects at Kiwiblog…

Seize the Means of Production, Russ! Put the jackbooted running dogs of imperialism against the wall and tell them you don't like their billboards.

Can I do the revenue projections first?

I think Ansell is simply seeing you as synonymous with the 'leftist' blogosphere. Not an uncommon thing, and probably quite a good thing for you. I can see a billboard: Browns vs Clowns.

Squee!

Cheer up Russell, you could become the new Google/Jello/Hoover (anyone but Cellotape (r) of course) in…

To defend I/S, I don't disagree with you on the substantive point but I tend to give even the best bloggers a subject or person they're allowed to get irrationally cranky about. But just one. :)

i've always had respect for i/s, but that one crankiness really does say, "i'm…

i think the correct verb is "bang on about". it's an unhelpful simplification of world-view designed for slightly stupid minds.

witness the "socialist" bullshit over on kiwiblog.

Heh. The best one ever was when I noticed a KB refugee on the Trade Me forums breathlessly inform another that I was…

As for Amnesty International..spare me.

Yeah. That whole 'human rights' thing is just madness! It'll never catch on.

Meh... the loathing and contempt of the loathsome and contemptible.

Yes, 2 labels is twice as good!

Heh, I get it too. It's always annoying to have the entire contents of your mind given a simple label.

Meh... the loathing and contempt of the loathsome and contemptible. Not seeing the negatives here.

Heh, I get it too. It's always annoying to have the entire contents of your…

I suppose so. I've never been comfortable with being part of this "The Left" thing that Chris Trotter et al talk about.

i think the correct verb is "bang on about". it's an unhelpful simplification of world-view designed for slightly stupid minds.

witness the "socialist" bullshit over on kiwiblog.

otoh…

I've never been comfortable with being part of this "The Left" thing that Chris Trotter et al talk about.

Heh, I get it too. It's always annoying to have the entire contents of your mind given a simple label.

Mind you 'sook' is a pretty fitting label for Ansell. What…

I think Ansell is simply seeing you as synonymous with the 'leftist' blogosphere. Not an uncommon thing, and probably quite a good thing for you. I can see a billboard: Browns vs Clowns.

I suppose so. I've never been comfortable with being part of this "The Left" thing that Chris…

Staying with the US, two key Clinton advisors convened a conference call over the weekend to warn reporters that the Obama camp had decided to go "consistently negative".

Um... OK, first you'd think a campaign that constantly complains Obama gets a soft ride from cock-struck media would congratulate the __Chicago…

I notice that Iraq coverage has slipped to bugger all in the US these days, in favour…