First they came for our satire…
posted by TheDon

This administration has been almost impossible to satirize for years. I tip my hat to TR for his efforts; he is fighting the good fight in hellish conditions.

Now, in another development which could completely destroy Ted’s livelihood, it is almost impossible to be too cynical about them. As I predicted, the more we learn about the “terrorists” trying to blow up JFK, the less they look like terrorists. And the less Homeland Security looks like security.

No weapons, no experience, no money, no plan with any chance of succeeding, all egged on by a convict looking for a jail-term deal from the FBI. And the reporting is politically timed.

Good Luck Ted! Your job gets harder every day.

It’s because of our hairstyles

posted by TheDon

Neal Boortz, syndicated Atlanta hate-yakker blasts war hero Rep. John Murtha for not understanding the danger we face:

He does not understand that the fundamental hatred of terrorists is not based on our presence in Iraq. Rather, this hatred is based on a general hatred for our culture. It almost seems as if moonbats like Murtha want nothing more than to see America defeated by Islam.

They hate our culture. They hate our freedoms. And Murtha is the moonbat? Atta and his buddies spent their time before the attacks hanging out on Jack Abramoff’s gambling boat and inside strip clubs – at least the ones not living with FBI informants. I’m pretty sure that the people blowing up our soldiers in Iraq wouldn’t recognize our “culture” if they were holding it in their hands.

Refusing to even acknowledge that the people attacking us might have logical motives and could have a knowable agenda is a big part of the pathology of the enablers of the thieves and murderers in the current administration. You, Neal Boortz, are part of the problem.

Man, if I thought I was jetlagged before! Here I am, 9 hours ahead of New York and I don’t know if I’m coming or going. The Tajik capital has changed a lot since my last visit in 2002: more expensive cars, more businesses, more of a sense of hustle and bustle. There’s even a brand-new airline terminal, though they seem to have reinstalled the same obscene old crappers from the Soviet days in the new one.

The Hotel Tajikistan, home to the international press corps during the heady days of the U.S. invasion of neighboring Afghanistan, is decidedly even more worn. Renovations, however, are underway. And a garrison of French troops wearing oh-so-tight cammie shorts (“he wears short shorts!”) keep heavily armed pressure on the breakfast chefs to make the food more palatable than in the past.

This coming week, my syndicated column was filed from Istanbul. After that, Tajikistan’s previous bland president takes up the mantle of the deceased Turkmenbashi.

This Weak
posted by TheDon

This Week With George Stephanopoulos

Terrorist Plot Foiled! Whatever. Discussed by FBI guy. No weapons. Not operational. No ties to Al Queda. Starting to sound familiar.

GS hammers him a little on the lack of focus on home-grown threats and the phony focus on AQ.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani shows up.

“I don’t blame them (Americans getting impatient).” “Withdrawing forces without achieving success will harm the Iraqi people and the people of the US” Says the Iraqis can take over security at the end of NEXT year (2008). Trusts Malaki to dismantle militias. Says some of Muqtada al Sadr’s people are bad, and *some* of his militias are run by bad people. Says (despite polls) that most Iraqis love the occupation. Especially Kurds. Claims the parliament which voted to end the occupation was deceived and doesn’t mean it.

W claims he supports Baker-Hamilton, just like he always have. Pretty good laugh line

Talibani stays with his original assessment that B-H was unjust.

Thanks “glorious people of US” for dying there for his people and their liberation.
Says we only get the bad news out of Iraq. His ability to spin and twist would do an American politician proud.

Murtha comes on.

GS asks Murtha what happens if the benchmarks aren’t met. Murtha says a disaster is coming and coming fast. Talks about how bad the situation in Iraq is – water, electricity, security, etc. Says homegrown terror is inspired by Iraq war.

Murtha expresses reservations about believing what Petraeus and other military leaders say, since they seem to be parroting W administration lines. Calls out Iraqis for not doing enough, especially for not including Sunnis, claiming that it keeps surrounding Sunni countries from helping in Iraq.

GS pushes Murtha for caving on war vote. Murtha goes with “we don’t have a veto-proof congress”. Claims that veto-proof congress is coming.

GS talks about the Korea model. Murtha gives it the proper amount of respect.
“The key is to start to withdraw, and force them to rewrite their constitution.””We must do what is best for OUR country, not for Iraq.”

brief parry about the earmarks controversy

Roundtable time!

Thompson first, of course. (sigh)

clip of Thompson sounding like an idiot and a hack.

George Will says R’s are in the grip of Reagan nostalgia, and they won’t find another Reagan. Calls Thompson “McCain without the immigration issue”.

Cokie says the problem is that the R’s don’t have a candidate.

Sam says Thompson *is* the Reagan candidate, but wonders if he has Reagan’s substance. Hey! Don’t set the bar so high! I have a Shih Tzu with more substance than Reagan.

blah blah blah – just don’t care about Fred that much.

How do candidates deal with Bush for next 18 months? Consensus – by running away from him.

But Will thinks that will be tricky since Bush=War, and both are popular for the primary mouth-breathers on the right. Not so much in the general election.

Sam once again implies that Thompson is lazy.

W talks about how good Americans are, and how proud he is to be our leader. gag.

Sam goes way out on a limb and says W is not an evil man. ummmm… guess he hasn’t watched TV during his retirement.

Will goes to Limbaugh talking points on global warming, Sam calls him on it.

W – We must not let Al Queda keep the safe haven we have created for them in Iraq. Something like that. I might not have that exactly right.

In memoriam – 37 soldiers and Marines killed in Iraq. Jeebuz.

This week’s voice: Kyle Petty – NASCAR driver – made a camp for sick kids. Anybody who makes kids smile is good by me.

Sunday Funnies
includes a clip from FoxNoise’s 1/2 Hour News Hour:”There are reports that Fred Thompson’s portrayal of a racist character on TV in the ’80s could hurt his chances of being elected president today, particularly among people unable to distinguish between television and real life.” WOW! Talk about going after your own base!

credits roll

Because I have a strong stomach
Posted by TheDon

Fox News Sunday

first the headlines…
FOILED!! Another “terror plot” foiled in the planning stages. Stop me if you’ve head this before… How long until we find out the whole plot was generated by FBI agents and informants?

General Ricardo Sanchez, who used to lead the US ground forces in Iraq, says the best we can hope for in Iraq is to stave off defeat. Claims the US has a crisis in its political leadership. Goddamn defeatocrats! They’re EVERYWHERE!!! And they hate America!

6 more US soldiers dead. Since the last six. Before the next six. I think I’m gonna be six.

Newt is on. I have to admit my stomach isn’t that strong. The disgraced former speaker is a rock star to these idiots, but I.just.can’t.watch. I’m guessing we’re not missing that much. Maybe I could read the transcript later, but I can’t listen to that pompous ass superciliously pontificate about what a prophet he is. Thank you DVR!!!

a clip of W saying,”If you want to frighten the American people, you call it an amnesty bill. It’s not an amnesty bill. That’s empty political rehetoric, trying to frighten our fellow citizens.” Well…. that *is* his area of expertise…

Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
Wow. Bug-eyed and telling lies is NOT a pretty combination. In his defense, trying to justify dead soldiers for this war can’t be easy. He’s sticking to the company line – we’re dying so their politicians can have some breathing space. I know that makes ME feel better! Especially when they show no inclination to solve their political problems.

I just love that the administration is already, in early June, telegraphing their September move. No report card. Period. It will be to early to give any kind of report card. Not that we expected any different… But considering they told us we would know how the surge is working in the Spring, and considering Maliki said the Iraqis would take control of their own security by last Friday… at some point people should start seeing a pattern. Any day now…

Still trying to blame the Iranians. Anybody wanna bet me on a war with Iran before W leaves the Whitehouse? Anybody? Didn’t think so.

Wallace asks the ambassador if the US will support Maliki giving amnesty to groups that have attacked US forces. They make it so hard to remember that Iraq is a sovereign nation. But the ambassador seems to be saying that we will.

Heh. The leaked plans for the massive embassy are talked about. I have seen the advice that they put a LARGE helicopter pad on top to accomodate the evacuation, but I really don’t think the evacuation will look like Hanoi. Back then, the people running us out of the country didn’t have missles to knock helicopters down. This one will be much uglier.

Oh goody! The roundtable. I do love Juan Williams being on there…
first topic: Fred Thompson

Brit Hume seems skeptical. Says Thompson seemed bored in the Senate, didn’t go after Clinton nearly hard enough. But he is likeable!

Nina Easton is asked about Fred being lazy. She calls the criticism legit. Questions his qualifications, since he’s never run anything.

Bill Kristol must sense that Fred will buy into the Weekly Standard line of reasoning, and seems to like him. I guess so, since Mary Matalin is on board.

Juan goes for the kill. Says Fred getting in is an indication that the R’s have no candidates.

Standard “who does he help, who does he hurt” question. Brit instead takes a shot a Newt, comparing him to Dukakis. Nina thinks Newt will make a splash. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Kristol takes the bait, and says truthfully that Newt is unelectable. Says Newt will endorse Thompson. Be still my heart!

Brit seems sad that McCain is doing poorly but says not to count him out. Looks like he’s picked his candidate.

Amnesty: Bush defending, Limbaugh getting defensive. Too good to be true.

Hume thinks that W attacking the base as racists if they oppose amnesty is a bad idea. “about as dumb as it gets”

Nina agrees that nobody really wants W calling them names.

Kristol calls himself a “liberal on immigration”. Just a guess, but maybe that means he’s ok with them cutting his grass. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mean that he supports public education, safe working conditions, wage protection, health benefits and anti-discrimination protection for them. Liberal can mean so many different things.

Peggy Noonan jumps on Bush, Kristol disagrees – says she overstates the case. Calls Bush “liberal on immigration”. You keep using that word. I don’t think that word means what you think it means.

Juan makes a real argument about the racists (my word) who attack immigrants differently than they attack citizens for the same offenses.

Hume argues, apropos of nothing that we haven’t been attacked since 9/11. Claims the economy is roaring along, ergo, the only reason people hate Bush is because of Iraq. Guess he missed the scandals and attacks on our constitution.

Power Player of the Week
Ayaan Hirsi Ali “there is something wrong with Islam” blah blah blah
shocking that Fox puts her on…

credits roll

40 years
posted by TheDon
So Sgt Peppers is 40 years old. Is that finally old enough that we can stop over-praising it? How many weak songs does an album have to have before you can drop it from your all-time lists? At least half the songs on this one are weak or unlistenable by any reasonable standards. If I had $1000 to spend at Amazon (since it’s not in iStore), I still wouldn’t spend the $10 it would take to pick it up.

I meet the press, so you don’t have to
posted by TheDon

Meet The Press:
A panel of political whores and hacks discuss the day’s issues.

Topic: Fred Thompson
It’s nice to see that a life-long lobbyist who left his wife and child to party his ass off for 15 years can marry a woman younger than his daughter and then make a play for the family values crowd. And be proclaimed as the only viable true conservative in the race. Apparently having a red pickup is a plus. Sweet.
The Republicans have always preferred fake cowboys (Reagan, Bush, and they seem to think John Wayne was some kind of, well, John Wayne), so Fred seems like a natural choice.
Mary Matalin says the R’s are missing a candidate who believes in limited government (which is how she defines conservatism). Yeah. No shit. And your solution is the professional lobbyist? heh. Good luck with that!

Topic: Bill and Hillary
Two new books sliming them. Big deal. I think everyone has made up their mind about their marriage. It amuses me that their one marriage fascinates the R’s WAY more than the 357 marriages of their candidates.
It is increasingly difficult to find anyone defending Bush (outside of Fox Noise).
Mary Matalin and the Republican strategist seem to think Liberal is a bad word and Conservative is a magical good word. How very quaint. Apparently the pendulum swing was way over their heads.

Topic: Al Gore
Can we just wait until he gets in or not to spend a lot of time on this? Huh? Personally I hope he does not get in. I think he deserves better than the treatment he will get during a run. He won once and that should be enough for anyone.

Topic: Obama
Every election since 1980 has had a Bush or Clinton in it. They think it’s time to change that. Bush and Clinton fatigue. They are at least half right. No More Bushes!!! 8 years of peace and prosperity were kinda nice. Having the liberal of the family in charge wouldn’t hurt my feelings, but I’m ok with most of the Democratic candidates right now.
Matalin: We have to be objective or we will lose. If we don’t know who the enemy is we will lose. Running against Hillary will be hard.
She seems to really fear a Hillary candidacy. Matalin might not be as stupid as I have thought in the past, or at least not as dishonest.

Topic: Edwards
Bob Shrum’s book called out Edwards on his Iraq war vote. Edwards releases a statement calling Shrum a conceited liar. Shrum then defends Edwards on the show.
Shrum says Kerry isn’t running because of the beating he took over the joke he told last year which (my characterization) was distorted beyond recognition by the cynical liars in the right-wing noise machine. (Hi Sean! Hi Billo! Hey Rush! Wazzup, Fox Noise!)

Topic: The New Yorker has an article about “conservatives” abandoning Bush.
Matalin claims 70% of conservatives love Bush: Supreme Court nominees, transforming the military (WTF?!?!? INTO WHAT?!?!?), peace through strength (Peace? What? forget the earlier comment about her being smart and honest) Claims that so *very* many great presidents had popularity problems. heh. Calls Newt wrong about the next R having to run against Bush.

Some talk about how the immigration bill splits the party. Ya think? They people who fund the party want all the low-wage workers they can get. The people who vote for the party want all them brown people to go back where they came from, and stay there. Conflict, anyone? I really think this is the big one – the issue that cripples this coalition between the country-club set and the trailer-trash racists.

Carville piles on Fredo and points out that the Dems in the debate will talk about W every chance they get, and the ‘pubs won’t. Interesting – I can’t tell from this apearance that Carville has a preference in the field.

Bob Shrum thinks healtcare will be a central theme in the campaign. From his lips… He and Carville praise the depth of the Dem field for the number of ideas which are coming out and being discussed.

Murphy (R strategist) says that if they nominate a good candidate they will be in the presidential race. Good luck with that. I don’t see an electable onr in the bunch. They are a sad, sad bunch.

Matalin seems to be for permanent occupation of Iraq. Anything less will be irresponsible.
They dig in Shrum’s book and find a quote from Carville explaining his strategy in bars. Go ugly early. He refuses to explain in front of his embarrased wife, but the meaning seems obvious. It does explain his marriage.

roll credits

Shortwave Report for Central Asia, Part 2
posted by Susan Stark (part 1 is below)

COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME

For those who’ve listened to shortwave radio for a while, this is a fancy term for World Time, or Zulu Time, or Greenwich Mean Time. GMT is the standard by which all other time zones begin and are measured by; it is literally the World’s Time.

It’s also a pain in the ass, because it is written out in 24 hour notation, which is something Americans don’t use unless they’ve been in the military. More often than not, a shortwave broadcaster or program uses GMT when stating what time a program or transmission comes on. It’s easier to do that than to write out all the time zones the particular broadcast can be heard in. GMT time is constant, it has no daylight-savings adjustment.

As I write this blog, the Local Time is 5pm here in New York. That is 1700 hours in military time. New York is in the Eastern time zone, which is four hours behind GMT. So in order to figure out current GMT, I must add four hours to the military time, which is 2100 hours. This 2100 hours is the time *everywhere*.

Central Asia, or the “Stans” specifically, has three time zones in it. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the western part of Kazakhstan is five hours (+5) ahead of GMT. Kyrgyzstan and eastern Kazakhstan is six hours (+6) ahead, with these two countries the only ones with Daylight Savings. Afghanistan has it’s own unique time zone–it’s four-and-a-half hours (+4:30) ahead. So when the BBC gives it’s program listing, it looks something like this:

FREQUENCIES: AFGHANISTAN, IRAN & CENTRAL ASIA All Times GMT

< From To Days Frequency (kHz) 01:00 03:00 Daily 7320 01:00 02:00 Daily 9410* 02:00 07:00 Daily 11760 02:00 02:30 Daily 1413 03:00 04:00 Daily 1413 03:00 06:00 Daily 15575 07:00 07:30 Daily 15575 07:30 09:00 Sat-Sun 15575 09:00 15:00 Daily 15575 15:00 17:00 Daily 11760 12:00 16:00 Daily 15310* 13:00 14:00 Daily 1314 18:00 20:00 Daily 5955 18:30 20:00 Daily 9485 18:00 18:30 Daily 1413 19:00 21:00 Daily 1413

* South Asia programmes

So to find out from here when the BBC will be broadcasting in Dushanbe on the 7320kHz frequency above, take it’s GMT time (1am) and add five hours. BBC broadcasts on this frequency at 6am Local Time. This 11760kHz frequency is trickier. The 1500 hours is harder to convert to standard notation, but in any case it is 3pm GMT. Add five hours to 3pm GMT, and it’s 8pm Local Time. To find out GMT from Local Time in Dushanbe, subtract the current time by five hours, and convert to military time notation.

Here is a military/standard notation conversion chart:

That’s it for now.

Your Man in Istanbul

The delay leaving JFK was four hours, and it was at the gate–but after boarding. But Turkish Airlines was notable for what it didn’t do. It didn’t keep giving us pointless updates (“we’re 38th in line for take-off”). When it was time to go, we went. They didn’t act like people were unreasonable for getting up to pee, and when it was time to take-off they didn’t freak out about making everyone sit down posthaste. And they didn’t forget to crank up the A/C or dole out lots of beverages while we were waiting. Memo to American carriers: free fluids will keep trapped passengers happy for hours.

A day later and that peeled-grapes-eye feeling later, I’m in Istanbul, the greatest achievement of Islamic civilization. An amazing world-class city with layer upon layer of history, architectural and otherwise, no one should die without having seen it.

Tomorrow I’ll go see “Spider-Man 3.” (Istanbul has a highly developed movie culture.) Then, it’s off to Dushanbe, where blogging may or may not be possible.