Carmichael's Position

The Instrument Has Yet to be Built That Can Measure My Disdain for People Like Brian De Palma

Evidently this knucklehead so hates American Troops in the Field that he will go to great lengths to associate an isolated vile incident perpetrated by a gang of dirtbags who just so happened to be in the US Army.

VENICE (Reuters) - A new film about the real-life rape and killing of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers who also murdered her family stunned the Venice festival, with shocking images that left some viewers in tears.

"Redacted", by U.S. director Brian De Palma, is one of at least eight American [?] films on the war in Iraq due for release in the next few months and the first of two movies on the conflict screening in Venice's main competition.

Inspired by one of the most serious crimes committed by American soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, it is a harrowing indictment of the conflict and spares the audience no brutality to get its message across.

De Palma, 66, whose "Casualties of War" in 1989 told a similar tale of abuse by American soldiers in Vietnam, makes no secret of the goal he is hoping to achieve with the film's images, all based on real material he found on the Internet. [so it must be true! ed.]

"The movie is an attempt to bring the reality [who's reality?]of what is happening in Iraq to the American people," he told reporters after a press screening.

"The pictures are what will stop the war. One only hopes that these images will get the public incensed enough to motivate their Congressmen to vote against this war," he said.

Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi was gang raped, killed and burnt by American soldiers in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in March 2006. Her parents and younger daughter were also killed.   Continued...

There is plenty of blame to be distributed in the particular case. That de Palma has chosen to leverage this tragic and vile incident in his campaign to demonize all things associated with the Iraq War and the US Military and as a representation of the behavior of "US Soldiers" is utterly contemptuous!

Remember the recruitment phrase leveraged by the US Army at the time?  "An Army of One!"  No marketing phrase could better represent these vermin who were and are still individuals, who still have free will.  They inconsiderately wear the uniform and are too STUPID to recognize the whole that they in turn represent!  In my mind, this is one of the most inexcusable and most extreme failings of the US Army, that of not instilling a more resilient sense of DUTY, HONOR, and COUNTRY in the minds of its recruits.  Morality is not a word we need to shy away from, it needs to be engrained.  Which I am quite sure a man of Mr. De Palma's philosophical leanings would have trouble blessing as well!

Where De Palma and his ilk are the most despicable are in their flagrant and willful disregard for Accurate Statistical Representation.  Yes atrocities occur in warfare, and the United States Military has gone to great lengths to reduce the occurrence of these incidents, eliminated? no, but greatly reduced? Absolutely!  But the "oh so sanctimoniously sensationalistic acrimony" piously pontificated by those who so hate the Martial Philosophy of Warriors is sickening and tiresome!  The "feeding frenzy for the surreal"  mentality of today's Hollywood producers and the leftist propagandists  "Reporters" in the Mainstream Media (yes that line has blurred tremendously) has become so paramount the result is to all but censor the overwhelmingly positive behavior, conduct and professionalism in today's United States Armed Forces.

De Palma openly states his vainglorious wish... "The pictures are what will stop the war. One only hopes that these images will get the public incensed enough to motivate their Congressmen to vote against this war"

Propagandist for the Militant Extremists is what this equates to.  It will receive more screenings and lauded support from peaceniks, Al Qaeda, and our (that'd be the United States') other sworn enemy than any other!  The vile vermin who perpetrated this act DO NOT in any way shape or form represent the other 99.999 percent of United States Army Soldiers!  But alas this is what movie makers the likes of De Palma would have you believe.  Which is the bigger lie?  In the illustrated case De Palma uses as his Metaphor for all things military, these scum were tried, and convicted and incarcerated for their crimes!  I would think most intelligent people could easily see why the US Army would not really want to publish commercials on Monday Night Football using these wretched repulsive dregs as spokesmen!

But De Palma chooses to use these individuals as Poster Children for the US Army.  You have to ask yourself,... better yet... go ask a returning veteran, or your serving brother, or father... "So how many innocents did you rape today?"... I'll wait............................... 

When you recover from the physical punctuation of the delivered answer... maybe, just maybe you'll begin to understand the degree of contempt that representative accusations, like Mr. De Palma's tripe, really deserve. 

Be weary of the enemy in our midst... The methods employed by these empowered few, who choose to view life through the narrowest of keyhole, are on the precipice of pernicious propaganda in Machiavellian proportions and cater to the addle mind.

"All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach."
    ---  Adolf Hitler

Another Photo Walk-About

Occasionally I just need a break from the pressures of work... who doesn't?

And today my schedule afforded me the opportunity to take an hour to grab a bite for lunch and then, with camera in hand, take a walk about this fair City of Denver.

The subject matter really ranged today, from a little Black & White to some nature subjects, to color contrasts, and then finally a few Statue Abstracts...

Here's some of my captures I hope you like...

Now, Hillary Wouldn't Be Part of Something Crooked... ........ Would She?

Looks like the Los Angeles Times (No bastion of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy) is beginning to connect some, none too convenient, dots!

WASHINGTON -- For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish.
"He is a fugitive," Ronald Smetana, who handled the case for the state attorney general, said in an interview. "Do you know where he is?"

Hsu, it seems, has been hiding in plain sight, at least for the last three years.

Since 2004, one Norman Hsu has been carving out a prominent place of honor among Democratic fundraisers. He has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions into party coffers, much of it earmarked for presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Actually he has another talent in obfuscation... called "Bundling"

Records show that Hsu has emerged as one of the Democrats' most successful "bundlers," rounding up groups of contributors and packaging their checks together before delivering the funds to campaign officials. Individuals can give a total of $4,600 to a single candidate during an election cycle, $2,300 for the primaries and $2,300 for the general election.

One example of the kind of first-time donors Hsu has worked with is the Paw family of Daly City, Calif., which is headed by William Paw, a mail carrier, and his wife, Alice, who is listed as a homemaker.

The Paws -- seven adults, most of whom live together in a small house near San Francisco International Airport -- apparently had never donated to national candidates until 2004. Over a three-year period, they gave $213,000, including $55,000 to Clinton and $14,000 to candidates for state-level offices in New York.

So in other words, the fine folks living in this house, who works for the POST OFFICE as a LETTER CARRIER for GOD SAKE!!!!  willingly chose to give $213,000 to Candidates... instead of say... buying a few gallons of another paint color!... and specifically decided to fund the campaigns of New York.  Um... did you catch that the Paw's live in the San Francisco Bay area?  Sure makes sense to me...

Opus Deleted?

I'd have to say I agree with Lex here... I really do not see the offensive ways of the following comic strip by one of my favorites... Berke Breathed.

...The rest of the strip is here [Link] copyright Berke Breathed Dist. the Washington Post Writers Group.

It is clearly a lampoon of our "fickle society, dedicated to chasing the latest greatest shiny object of spiritual enlightenment", Breathed points out our "willows in the winds" propensity in a quite current and topical... I might add humorous... way.

But noooo the ever politically correct and inoffensive Washington Post chose not to display this panel in their Sunday comics.  I guess out of fear of respect for the peace loving and oh so understanding Radical Islamic ways.

Seriously if this were a stab against Catholicism, Baptists, Evangelicals there would have been no second thoughts... Oh brave Sir Robin! 

I love optical illusions!

This one is a great one, if you stare long enough at the picture below, you'll eventually see a giraffe... Seriously!

 

I found this on one of my favorite daily visits over at Steve Bamford's site Aircraft Resource Center. (If you have ever had an interest in building Model Aircraft, military especially, you owe it to yourself to check it out... Priceless for learning about the hobby or just checking out some good quality efforts by some of the world's model builders... yes one of mine is there too (look in the gallery in the Jet Aircraft section in the A-4 category.))

Marine Poet: "And She Called"

Below is a powerful and passionate presentation by United States Marine Corp SSGT Lawrence E. Dean II.

BlackFive has the details and an interview with SSGT Dean. 

"Here is the coolest thing, the piece is titled 'And She Called,' well She is his Grandma and the piece is his explanation to her of why he would go to war. She inspired the video, but the reference in the video itself is about America calling."

Urh  Rahhh!!!

Photo Safari

Occasionally I get really stir crazy... who doesn't? 

Well having to seriously watch the finances (got a wedding coming up doncha know!) I really do not want to resolve my boredom by having to go spend great sums of money.

So my solution is to get out a bit, take the camera and find cool stuff to take pictures of... great therapy. 

So this past weekend, Ginger (pictured right) and I headed into the local "foothills" here in Colorado (these would be considered mountains in places like North Carolina, but here 9,000 feet = foothills) to see what interesting subjects materialized. 

It is always funny when Ginger and I head out on a photo expo together, because invariably 80% of our photos are of the exact same subject matter!

And wouldn't you know it... Ginger ended up taking better quality photos on this excursion than I... Dag-nab-it!   

Anyway, here's a sampling (Mine first then, saving the best for last, Ginger's) More of our photos can be found here [link]:

 

And now... Ginger's:

 

Onions the size of Jupiter!!!!

Wow! What do you get when you cross Paris Hilton Smarts with Steve McQueen Nads! 

This dude in a "Rollersuit" headed down the Swiss Alps! [link]

glumbert.com - Rollersuit in the Swiss Alps

 

[HT Keith]

Jesus in the Cupboard? -- Don't be too sure...

9News Denver is reporting this afternoon of a:

 "Manchester, Connecticut couple... convinced they have a very special piece of woodwork in their kitchen... Malynda and Eric Smith say they noticed last Friday that one of the cabinet doors has an image of Jesus Christ in it.

Malynda says "my daughter came and said mom look it's God.. and I looked.. and there it was a picture of Jesus Christ. Then my son noticed it and my husband came in and noticed it. I just can't believe we hadn't noticed it before."

And they say it may be hard to believe, but everyone who looks at it sees the image.

After studying the image... and running it through Photoshop a number of super-scientific-spectra-analytical tools... I'm not so sure.  After adjusting for ambient light and various "stupidity-variables" I managed to isolate the image... and adjusting for "misplaced faith"... found the following...  The New Messiah?  Oh I hope not!

Propaganda? What Propaganda? This is NEWS!!!!

Yeah but I've pictures to prove it! 

So tell me again why it is important to be educated in multiple disciplines?  We'll to be precise, so you can determine the difference between Brownies and Mule Muffins!!!

What's wrong with this picture and the associated caption? 

The Caption as it appeared:

" An elderly Iraqi woman shows two bullets which she says hit her house following an early coalition forces raid in the predominantly Shiite Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.

No joke folks this appeared as Hard News from AFP (Agence France-Presse)and here's a couple of links to prove... link to a screen shot - provided courtesy of the Autonomist  and to France 24 hour News Channel (or if they've been taken down I'm supplying a couple of screen captures).  The picture was taken by - Wissam al-Okaili © 2007 AFP.

Ok, for all you ANTI-GUN Pansies out there who have never made the attempt to understand cartridge fired projectiles... that's "BULLETS" to you macrame heads in Boulder!   Allow me to explain:

What she is holding in her hand are cartridges!  Which is comprised of a bullet and a Shell or Cartridge Casing. See Diagram on the right:

The way a bullet is delivered is via pressure! 

1. A pin aptly referred to as a "Firing Pin" strikes a mini-explosive cap located in the end of a cartridge called a Primer.
2. That primer then experiences a mini-explosion that rapidly ignites the Gun powder contained in the Casing.  Gun Powder when excited, explodes (burns real fast actually) the resulting release of energy = Heat and extreme pressure! 
3. The bullet in the business end of the cartridge is like a cork in a champagne bottle.  When the pressures in the bottle (cartridge) become to great to for the bullet to sustain it's friction grip on the sides of the casing... the bullet departs!... Rapidly!  Usually through a tube!  AKA Gun Barrel!  Assuming the instigator of this process want's accuracy in delivering said bullet.  Otherwise assuming you would like to have a Darwin award named in your honor, you can simply tape a small stone to said primer and simply drop the cartridge (Bullet and All) on a hard surface... good luck with that sparky!
4. The loud and oft annoying BANG is usually the tell tell sign someone has actioned a bullet.

So what she is so proudly displaying to the all too willing propagandist journalist are a pair of bullets that "Done never been fired!"  This is not to say that these two exhibits weren't... uh... thrown at her house!  Probably by the propagandist uh reporter!

Whole new meaning to the phrase "Sea of Humanity"

A co-worker of mine sent this to me in an e-mail (how pedestrian...that's sooo 90's!).  But wow!  I lived in Japan so I can relate to the different perspective of "Personal Space" but this is amazing!  The story as reported on CScout-Japan is:

"...not just any pool, but a wave pool! It was broken until 3:00, and when they announced it was starting again, the following craziness happened. If you get motion sickness easily, please do not watch this video."

How'd you like to be a life guard having to keep an eye on that? 

ZZ Top, Tremendous!... Stray Cats, Fantastic!... The Pretenders... Did I mention ZZ Top was Tremendous?

I went to a concert last night at Red Rocks Amphitheater here in Denver (Morrison actually...) to see The Stray Cats, The Pretenders and the ever enduring ZZ Top.

I'm not much of a concert goer in my mid-life, probably due to my attending hundreds (that's right hundreds!) of them while supervising the security staff at San Diego State's Open Air Theater and our various inside venues back in the late 80's early 90's.  But some friends of mine talked me into going last night. 

A few observations...

1. Red Rocks is BEAUTIFUL!!! I've given presentations at Red Rocks but I've never been to a concert there... and certainly not at night! Awe inspiring.  The acoustics are impeccable.
2. Our 28 year old friend was probably the youngest person in attendance out of 9,000 peeps!  Damn I'm getting old!
3. Pot Smokers are truly an inconsiderate lot!  I assume they think they are being generous, sharing their smoke in such a liberal fashion...  I feel for those who are subject to random drug tests, who may flag simply because they WENT to a concert!  Nice!
4. I'm trying to figure out  how old Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill (the leads of ZZ Top) really are... cuz they looked that old/young... bearded 20 years ago!  They've been a band since '69 folks!
5. Brian Setzer and Stray Cats epitomize the roots of rock!  An energetic combination of Blues, Swing, Big Band, and Country all to form Rockabilly!  Three guys!!!! Sounded like 12!  The richness and depth of the "Slap Base" enthusiastically played by Lee Rocker combined with rhythm of Slim Jim Phantom's drums raised the crowd to their feet by the 8th note!  Setzer was captivating with his 1959 Gretsch 6120, wow what a sound! The Stray Cats so moved the audience, that the cheers and whistles did not subside until the trio returned to the stage to play an encore!!! How often do you see an "Opener" perform an encore? 
6. The Pretenders?  I wish they had!  Fire your Sound Tech!!!!!  And Chrissy Hines really needs to not sell any seats to her concerts closer than the 22nd row, she looks alright from sand wedge distance, but once on the green?????  whooooghf!  Not so much...
7.  And finally, ZZ Top!  What a spectacular show of sight and sound!  This Texas Trio did not disappoint a single fan.  An hour and a half of continuous soulful blues and high powered guitar rock!  Again absolutely astounding the cornucopia of quality sound that three men can produce!  (And I don't mean after a bowl of chili!... although having experienced that personally... that too can be astounding!)

It made going to a concert fun... I thought I had lost that opportunity after having had it turned into work many years past now...  Thanks Dusty, Billy, Frank, Brian, Lee, and Slim for a rock'n night to remember!  Chrissy... I hope you enjoyed your "animal-free-doobie!"

Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk Part 2

Ok... Now that I have your attention... Greg, Scott, Chris, Tommy, John, Steve, Ken, Dave, Clay, Jeff, Dan, Trevor, Jason, Mark, Brian, Jim, Tim, Todd, Matt, Tony, Doug, Andy, Craig and Stu!

It's time to re-visit a worthy cause!  We've saved the whales, the Baby Seals, the Sea Otter... now its time we save something near and dear to all us!

Let's save the Breasts! 

Boys!  We certainly don't want these to go the way of the DoDo Bird, so it's time to act now!  My sister (not pictured above... really!) is doing something for the cause, and I say we help where we can!

All kidding aside, My sister is walking for the cure! The Breast Cancer 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.

Here's the request once again from my sister:

On May 30, 2007, I celebrated an anniversary; 10 years since cancer was removed from my body. In February 2007, my friend, Betsy, asked if I would walk 60 miles with her in the Breast Cancer 3-Day event October 12-14 in Atlanta, Georgia. She has had breast cancer this past year and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has helped her financially in this battle. She would like to give something back. I said I would begin training and walk beside her every step of the way in the 3-Day and the journey beyond. Betsy has a wonderful husband, Shawn, and 3 very wonderful children, Luke (10), Hannah (9) and Joseph (5).

These are some of the reasons I walk:

• Because I can and I am grateful . . . I’m alive and well 10 years later.
• Because I want to contribute to the the cause . . . A CURE for Breast Cancer
• Because I want to honor those women in my life who have lived inspiring lives and fought the fight against cancer gallantly.
• and Because I want to honor those I dearly miss in my life. . . I have lost 3 aunts, 3 uncles, and 3 close friends to cancer and disease in the past 5 years.

 

Although I did not have breast cancer, I believe that research done to find a cure for breast cancer benefits us all and the strides made in finding a cure in one type of cancer will surely benefit many if not all types of cancer.

Please join me in Celebration for lives fully lived. It is with a grateful heart and much hope and encouragement that I prepare to walk this walk.

I must raise $2200 in order to participate. I hope to raise much more. I invite you to support me and join the global movement to end breast cancer forever.

Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Kelly Carmichael Brustman

PS. If you would like for me to walk in honor of someone, please let me know. I will carry their names with me on the 60-mile walk, and in my heart long after.

You too can help... click here and contribute...

To the New Republic... We'll be waiting!

BlackFive and a number of others do this story much more service than I can ever:  But let's just say I'll be waiting for those sensationalistic Bovine Scatology Brokers over at the New Republik to chow down!!!  (I'm thinking it will be a loooooonnnnnggggg wait!)

Blackfive links about Private Scott T. Beauchamp and the New Republic:
RE:  The New Republic's Correspondent a Fake? (Blackfive, July 18)
RE:  The Unavoidable BS at The New Republic  (Uncle Jimbo, July 18)
RE:  I'm Sending CPT Wedley to Speak With Scott Thomas (Blackfive, July 19)
RE:  Scott Thomas Bull (Laughing Wolf, July 21)
RE:  Scott Thomas, Franklin Foer and TNR - Beatdowns for All (Uncle Jimbo, July 22)
RE:  Scott Thomas, MFA? (Laughing Wolf, July 25)
RE:  Scott Thomas Beauchamp, Still Wondering about the MFA (Laughing Wolf, July 26)
RE:  Private Beauchamp- Requiem for a dung beetle (Unlce Jimbo, July 26)
RE:  Bleu Beau: Astroturfing? And Let The Pushback Begin (Laughing Wolf, July 27)
RE:  Private Beauchamp and the bravest Chaplain in the World (Blackfive, July 27)
RE:  Beauchamp: Silence and the Severity of the Matter (Grim, July 27)
RE:  Greyhawk sums up Scott Thomas Beauchamp (Blackfive, July 28)
RE:  TNR, Beauchamp...Yawn (Uncle Jimbo, August 2)
RE:  US Army Interviews Everyone in Beauchamp's Unit (Blackfive, August 4)
RE:  The Best Word on Beauchamp (Blackfive, August 6)
RE:  Beauchamp Sinks The New Republic (Uncle Jimbo, August 7)

Bloggers of the World Unite!... Are you kidding me?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

Let's Unionize for the sake of Unionizing!  It appears that the bloggers on the left are so significantly insecure that they cannot view themselves as legitimate until they have a Union to join!  Seriously... coming out of the KOS Convention (a gathering of "Left Leaning" bloggers) is the following:

AP
Bloggers Consider Forming Labor Union
Monday August 6, 9:24 am ET
By Ashley M. Heher, AP Business Writer

Left-Leaning Bloggers Debate Forming Labor Union

"Left Leaning"... heheh, hell if this collection leaned any more left they'd be inverted! 

...a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers are trying to band together to form a labor union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.

Huh?...  Seriously folks... If you are a "Blogger" you are generally a Hobbyist, or maybe even one of the few "A" list bloggers that have managed to woo enough readers by providing entertaining or useful content to make some money at the venture.  Great!  But if you think for a moment that being a "Blogger" deserves "Representation" by a Guild or Union I think you are suffering delusions of Yosemite-like Grandeur!

But that's not how Kirsten Burgard sees it.

Sitting at a panel titled "A Union for Bloggers: It's Time to Organize" at this week's YearlyKos Convention for bloggers in Chicago, Burgard said she'd welcome a chance to join a unionized blogging community.

"I sure would like to have that union bug on my Web site," said Burgard, a blogger who uses the moniker Bendy Girl.

Madrak hopes that regardless the form, the labor movement ultimately will help bloggers pay for medical bills. It's important, she said, because some bloggers can spend hours a day tethered to computers as they update their Web sites.

"Blogging is very intense -- physically, mentally," she said. "You're constantly scanning for news. You're constantly trying to come up with information that you think will mobilize your readers. In the meantime, you're sitting at a computer and your ass is getting wider and your arm and neck and shoulder are wearing out because you're constantly using a mouse."

Ah... It's a perspective thing... notice the choice of "Loaded Language" in the previous.  Blogging is torturous!!!  God knows I certainly relate my Blogging necessities(?) to the sweatshop atmosphere found in the 30's!!!

"...some bloggers can spend hours a day tethered to computers as they update their Web sites."

"TETHERED!" Yep... that's me...  I'm a victim of the blogosphere!  There I was innocently minding my own business, cooking my freshly killed impala over an open fire in West Africa when, this TypePad Executive threw a net over me, slapped me in irons and dragged me off to a Sailing Ship--Transporting me to a foreign tragic land, where I was TETHERED like a... well...  Tether-ball... to a computer and forced to write mildly entertaining,  factually insignificant, blather on a semi-daily basis... oh the horror!

Uh... you ever heard of... "Choice?"  You get to "Choose" how you spend your time, nimrod! 

So in reality what we probably have is a mediocre writer who could not quite cut the mustard and land a Mainstream Media position writing for the "East Coon Rapids Intelligencer's" socialite section... but somehow feels that now that she has "Her own" outlet for her literary and journalistic excellence, she is owed... Medical Benefits and Press Passes!    

The blogosphere is truly the open market for content, if you write well and gain an audience, you can sell ad space on your site, if you are really entertaining and can gain a significant daily readership you get to charge more and maybe even pay for your own medical care. Else...

GET A REAL FRIGG'N DAY JOB!  WHINER!!!