Althouse: At the Wednesday Night Café…

January 3, 2024

At the Wednesday Night Café…

… you can talk about whatever you want.

70 comments:

rehajm said...: Heeee…likes em young.; 1/3/24, 6:40 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: Somone at lunch threw out the following:
The average Dutch man is 6' tall and the average Pakistani man is 5'6"
If you meet these two men - one a Dutch man who is 5'10" and one a Pakistani man who is 5'11," you don't assume the Dutch man is taller. Women (on average and across cultures) prefer tallness, and all things being equal may be mildly more attracted to the Pakistani.
Does it bother the Pakistani man that so many of his countrymen are short and perhaps less attractive to many women? Does he feel that the world is discriminatory for not prizing shortness more? Or, is he just happy that as an individual he did well in the genetic lottery and his kids are more likely to be (relatively) tall?
Is this a dangerous discussion?; 1/3/24, 6:51 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Completely unmanageable and entirely unethical.; 1/3/24, 6:56 PM
Jaq said...: The Epstein Files exonerated Trump. What a surprise. If there was anything damaging to Trump in them, it would have leaked years ago.; 1/3/24, 7:04 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Let's talk...

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/01/the_united_states_is_in_a_dark_place.html; 1/3/24, 7:25 PM
Mason G said...: Be careful what you wish for, maybe...

Did Car-Free Market Street Kill San Francisco’s Most Important Boulevard?; 1/3/24, 7:48 PM
Jaq said...: Speaking of pedophilia rings, Putin is under indictment by the ICC for refusing to release children to people who applied for them on the internet, instead asking that the parents actually show up with documentation. Those who have followed the process have gotten their children back. These are not kidnapped children, but rather children removed from a war zone, from cities that have been shelled since 2014, and are still being shelled today by Kiev's army. This is known as a "war crime" The US carpet bombing of Baghdad using B-52s full of dumb iron bombs was *not* a war crime, and George W Bush is free to travel anywhere in the world.

But since we are the good guys, it's fine. If that's your attitude, that's fine. Just don't try to justify wars by appeals to sympathy or some idea of "justice," because that's embarrassing. Rape is an interesting justification for war. How is rape worse than having your spine shattered by a rifle bullet, or like Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises, having your taliwacker cut off in a plane crash in combat? Rape is handy because it gets up the blood lust, and gets people baying for war, but there is no logic to it. Not to mention that almost everything we hear from war zones is lies, like "kids being thrown from incubators," lies designed to short circuit our reason. My mother was never raped by the Nazis, but her town was bombed, and she still woke up with nightmares about it 70 years later. Using that scale, I would say that getting your home bombed is up there with rape on the scale of evils that men do.; 1/3/24, 7:49 PM
MadisonMan said...: Happy New Year to all. I think I'll be taking down the indoor decorations this weekend. But not the outdoor lights. It's still very dark out.
We didn't get a tree this year. That was kind of liberating.; 1/3/24, 7:53 PM
Eva Marie said...: Speaking of cats - cat movies on the Criterion Channel. I watched Walk on the Wild Side which starts with “one of Saul Bass’s most iconic title sequences” featuring a black cat. Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Fonda, Capucine.; 1/3/24, 8:57 PM
reader said...: A sixty-five year old man was struck and killed by a woman driving a truck. The report says she had the green light. My sympathies are with the driver and the deceased’s family.

https://althouse.blogspot.com/2022/11/as-of-jan-1-we-californians-will-be.html?m=1

https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/male-pedestrian-dead-after-a-fatal-collision-in-midway-district; 1/3/24, 9:36 PM
reader said...: It’s so sad. The driver has the right of way on the green…as long as it’s safe. The pedestrian can cross wherever he/she so chooses…as long as it’s safe because jaywalking is no longer against the law. Who was wrong? Was alcohol involved for either person? Automobiles can’t stop on a dime. I don’t know if there has been an increase in pedestrian fatalities but the timing, one year in on the new law is tragic.; 1/3/24, 9:49 PM
Beaneater said...: I was in Madison for the first time in my life today. Didn't see our hostess as far I know, alas.; 1/3/24, 10:01 PM
gadfly said...: Virgil- Why are you discussing unprovable assumptions?; 1/3/24, 10:16 PM
Jupiter said...: It might be nice, if the world could be run, according to contract law. Different persons, who have different things to offer, could bring their wares to market, negotiate a price, and then participate in a mutually beneficial transaction. The thing is, you can't make a deal with a mosquito. Or rather, the only deal you can make with a mosquito, is, "You drink my blood, I get nothing". Well. There is another deal you can make with the mosquito, which is, "Smack!".

Some mosquitos.; 1/3/24, 10:56 PM
Jupiter said...: "It's still very dark out."

Yeah. But I was checking out the Western skyline, as I bumbled out back to have a beer, and I thought, "That's strange, it's after 5:00, and there's still some light over there, under the clouds." Then it occurred to me, the coldest days are still ahead. But already, they're getting longer.; 1/3/24, 11:01 PM
Jupiter said...: See, the thing is, there are Americans -- voting Americans -- lots of them -- who actually imagine that these are human. And the thing is, they are, sort of. They're orcs, of course, they aren't human. But they can breed with humans. Specifically, they can rape human females, and those raped females will give birth to orc brats. Orclings. They have an evolutionary strategy that can work. If actual humans don't blow their stinking brains out. These sickening monsters are the future of the human race.; 1/3/24, 11:12 PM
Gospace said...: Asian discrimination- it's real. If you've been paying attention, Korans think that Japanese and Chinese are beneath them, Chinese believe that Koreans and Japanese are beneath them, and Japanese believe Koreans and Chinese are beneath them. And all 3 place Filipinos as last in the Asian hierarchy. And thought they won't admit it to most, none of them actually think blacks are human And Australian Aborigines? Let's not talk about them.

In the UK, English, Irish, Scot, and Welsh can all differentiate each other at a glance. Can you? And they don't intermix- at least, they don't often intermix.

Europe is full of all kind of these things. The Flemish in Belgium dislike the Walloons. Do you know the difference? Even if you read about it- will you be able to notice it?

The Basques in Spain want to separate from Spain, as the Basques in France want to separate from France. I'm not certain of they want to unite with each other...

In Spain, the Catalonians, Valencians, Aragonese, and others, all want to separate from each other. Can you tell the difference? I can't.

If you drop a Persian (Iranian), Arab, or any of the non-Asian groups mentioned above in the USA- they would be white- period. If they dressed like a typical American, no one glancing at them would recognize them as anything else. I'm a mixture of Irish, Welsh, Scot, English, and others. like many Americans ho have family here predating 1776. I can't ell the difference between any of them. I had heard of a Roman nose. Living where I do now, if I see someone with a Roman nose, usually if my wife drags me to mass, I can reasonably guess they have Italian ancestry. From Wikipedia, Italy has 13 separatist movements. Everyone knows, at least those of us that grew up in Jersey, that all the rest of the Italians look down upon Sicilians. I can't tell the difference- Italians can.; 1/4/24, 1:06 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Biden faces uprising over Israel from his OWN STAFF: Top education official resigns over White House turning a 'blind eye to atrocities' and 17 members of his campaign tell Joe to demand a ceasefire

It appears that the mass murder of innocents just ain't the draw some of you maniacs think it is.; 1/4/24, 1:07 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up, Lil Nas X?’ That n—- stood up in front of the whole class, ‘I want to be the gayest n—- that ever lived. I want to do a music video, slide down a stripper pole, all the way to the depths of hell, and suck the devil’s d— at ten o’ clock on BET while all the kids are awake and can see me.’

- Dave Chappelle, on "the only dream that worked out.”

MLK could not be reached for comment, after white folks shot him in the face, mumbling something about "character"; 1/4/24, 1:51 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: ‘Uh-oh’: Psychic on Fox News pulls the Grim Reaper card for Trump

Uh-huh: a Psychic on Fox News; 1/4/24, 1:52 AM
wendybar said...: "In just a few short years, January 6 has become the holiest day on the Democrat calendar. While Christians have long celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, Democrats venerate it as the excuse they've been using since 2021 to eliminate political opposition through incarceration, legal harassment, and a general shredding of the United States Constitution.

Yes, with the anniversary of JANUARY 6 coming up on Saturday and with Joe Biden apparently planning to run for reelection (as far as he knows), the campaign is coming out swinging on Saturday and Monday. Biden is set to deliver speeches on JANUARY 6 and white supremacy. Not the economy, not the wars overseas, not finding a way forward from the vicious hate and the rise of anti-Semitism. Not even a pretty little lie about the border. Nope, we're headed right back to Mega-Mecha-Mooga-MAGA white supremacists. (They're robots in disguise.)"

https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2024/01/04/the-morning-briefing-biden-to-celebrate-dem-j6-high-holy-day-with-white-supremacy-fairy-tale-n4925186; 1/4/24, 3:43 AM
wendybar said...: "Drill into the nation’s 3.7% unemployment rate, and you’ll find a growing welfare-industrial complex beneath the seemingly strong labor market. Government, social assistance and healthcare account for 56% of the 2.8 million net new jobs over the past year, and for nearly all gains in blue states such as New York and Illinois."

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/01/the-welfare-industrial-complex-2.php; 1/4/24, 3:47 AM
wendybar said...: "We are, at least in theory, a nation of laws, not men. What that means is that there aren’t supposed to be two sets of rules; one for a specific class of people meant to be above the massed and one for everyone else.

But we’re not. We’re nothing of the sort.

Think about how few of the elites are prosecuted for doing all the things we see literally every one of us would go to prison for if we tried it."

https://tomknighton.substack.com/p/lets-stop-pretending-the-system-isnt; 1/4/24, 3:52 AM
wendybar said...: unusual_whales
@unusual_whales

🚨BREAKING🚨

I have just released the full report on politicians trading in 2023.

Like every year since 2020, US politicians beat the market.

And many in Congress made unusually timed trades resulting in huge gains.

Here are the top performers of 2023.

https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1742207287966777673?s=20

unusual_whales
@unusual_whales

This year, Democrats absolutely dominated their Republican counterparts.

Dems were up 31%, and Republicans 18%.

Meanwhile, the S&P500 itself was up 24%.

Many traded despite conflicts in their committees in record numbers.

Read the full report here:
https://unusualwhales.com/politics/article/congress-trading-report-2023; 1/4/24, 3:57 AM
wendybar said...: "Mark Carter: American citizens, American children who are already struggling academically. You’re going to bring in a new group of children, a new group of people, take those resources away from Americans to accommodate this new group of people. The children are going to fall further behind. Unemployment is going through the roof. Poverty, crime, this is going to impact our communities across this city to the point to where violence, murder, robbery is going to spike not just with Americans, but also with these people coming here. 3,000 illegal immigrants are living in this factory almost a half a block long. And this is going to transcend into public housing. They keep saying that there will be no public housing for illegal immigrants. That’s not true. So we pay to be homeless basically. Now as United States citizens, we’re going to flip Chicago Red. The Democratic Party is done in Chicago, and that’s a fact. By summer, you think it’s a lot of them coming in, you watch the uprising of red."

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/democrat-party-is-done-chicago-thats-fact-black/; 1/4/24, 4:02 AM
wendybar said...: 'Trump is the only powerful figure who helped Epstein victims.'

https://twitter.com/i/status/1742768795381273087; 1/4/24, 4:07 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Did you see that leaping squirrel attack the judge in Vegas?

Now court rooms are going to resemble urban gas stations with the judge behind some glass structure.; 1/4/24, 4:12 AM
Humperdink said...: Nothing says our justice system is in the dumpster when the only person in the slammer in the Jeffrey Epstein case is a woman. Child hood trafficking is so yesterday.; 1/4/24, 4:29 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Palestinian American official quits Biden administration over Gaza strategy; 1/4/24, 4:33 AM
Humperdink said...: Having watched the Las Vegas judge being attacked by a defendant, the Pittsburgh Steelers have offered to sign him under the state's work release program. The Steeler's GM was heard saying: "His technique was impeccable, our linebackers could learn something".; 1/4/24, 5:19 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: I just heard Norman Finkelstein's great take on the Claudine Gay affair: since, we know, Alan Dershowitz has been caught plagiarizing billions of times, let's hold the presidents of other colleges to the same level of scrutiny as Gay, chosen at random even, and see how well they do. Norman says they would all fail as well, because the instances cited for Gay are trivial. Without the threat of Jewish billionaires pulling their money, upset over the fact students don't share their desire to kill Palestinian kids, she'd still be employed. Also, a warning on academic freedom, a concept started after the robber barons of old tried this shit:

If Jewish billionaires can get rid of presidents, they can get rid of faulty. If they can get rid of faculty, they can get rid of courses. If they can get rid of courses, you don't have a school.; 1/4/24, 5:24 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Unintentional laughter: Asian women playing 'Aja' by Steely Dan; 1/4/24, 5:55 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Joe Biden has become so irrelevant that he isn’t even mentioned in the unsealed Epstein documents.; 1/4/24, 5:57 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Billionaire alum calls for resignation of Harvard University board members

A new McCarthy era is upon us, led by billionaires.; 1/4/24, 5:58 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: The promise of Zion: Israeli news anchor carries a gun while live on air in the studio in latest sign of how civilians still do not feel safe since Hamas attack; 1/4/24, 6:27 AM
Humperdink said...: "A new McCarthy era is upon us ... "

Hopefully. Like the Kansas plains prior to the wheat harvest, the fields are ripe with Commies.; 1/4/24, 6:45 AM
Hey Skipper said...: @tim in vermont: “ The US carpet bombing of Baghdad using B-52s full of dumb iron bombs was *not* a war crime …”

As is true of everything that didn’t happen.; 1/4/24, 6:48 AM
Rocco said...: Humperdink said...
“Having watched the Las Vegas judge being attacked by a defendant, the Pittsburgh Steelers have offered to sign him under the state's work release program. The Steeler's GM was heard saying: ‘His technique was impeccable, our linebackers could learn something’.”

Sloppy technique and missed tackle. He’d fit right in on the Steelers.

Or a lot of other NFL teams lately.

He left his feet. You don’t leave your feet on a tackle. He wasn’t square up on the ball carrier. Both of these things led to a missed tackle.

Now, you can and often should leave your feet attempting to block a kick. But he would have been penalized for leaping over the center.

And knocking over the American flag is an automatic personal foul.

And the judge needs some improvement too. A modern judge in the NFL needs to be able to deliver the verdict while on the run after being flushed from the pocket.; 1/4/24, 6:54 AM
Humperdink said...: @Rocco. You have clearly forgotten the legendary Lavar Leap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AjsRbLLlKY; 1/4/24, 7:35 AM
Jaq said...: "At the time of invasion, coalition aircraft were making bombing runs on Baghdad at the rate of 1,000 sorties a day" - Wikipedia

Most of the bombs in terms of numbers were unguided iron bombs, but sure, you can quibble with the wording, but not the fact that bombing urban areas, which we did, with iron bombs, is going to kill a lot of innocent civilians, and terrorize the rest.; 1/4/24, 8:03 AM
MadTownGuy said...: Finally got around to watching "Sound of Freedom" last night. Yes, "based on a true story" as outlined at the close of the film. But I was appalled by the dreck spewed by certain reviewers who try to tar the filmmakers and Jim Caviezel with 'QAnon' and 'antisemitic' epithets:

"Glenn Kenny, writing for The New York Times, gave a more critical review: "The queasiness derives from the contemporary-thriller vibes of the police procedural material... Then there are the scenes in which actual child actors perform being prepped for provocative pictures by adult groomers. What are the ethics of depiction here? The makers of this film initially seem to be grappling with how to properly tell this story." He went on to say "The director Alejandro Monteverde does have some sense of flourish, what with several single-point perspective shots and considered dissolves", but concluded "Oddly, the picture's muted tone ultimately undercuts its solemn sense of mission."

RogerEbert.com's Nick Allen was also negative, writing: "Sound of Freedom is a solemn, drawn-out bore with a not particularly bold narrative stance—caring about the safety of children is roughly the easiest cause for any remotely decent human being... But while being so committed to such solemnity and suffering, the truncated storytelling by co-writers Monteverde and Rod Barr neglects to flesh out its ideas or characters or add any more intensity to Ballard's slow-slow-slow burn search for two kids in particular (Lucás Ávila's Miguel and Cristal Aparicio's Rocío) whose faces haunt him."

Slate's Sam Adams said in his review that the film appears to be "a straightforward search-and-rescue thriller, in which Ballard, a special agent at the Department of Homeland Security, goes rogue to free a young girl from the clutches of a Colombian sex-trafficking ring. But it arrived in theaters surrounded by a cloud of innuendo put forth by its star and its noisiest right-wing supporters—conspiratorial insinuations about who doesn't want this story to be told and what real-world traffickers are really up to."

The Times of Israel's Shira Li Bartov wrote that the film draws upon multiple conspiracy theories that include anti-Jewish canards, including the blood libel, while its star, actor Jim Caviezel, has floated antisemitic theories in interviews promoting the film."; 1/4/24, 8:04 AM
Jaq said...: "Joe Biden has become so irrelevant that he isn’t even mentioned in the unsealed Epstein documents."

No, we just have Biden's own daughter's diary to peg him as a pedophile. Not to mention his own creepy behavior, and the word of a girl, now grown, who was seen on a video to have her nipple pinched by Biden, that that is exactly what he did. But since you won't hear about these things on NPR or MSNBC, I guess you can continue to pretend that they didn't happen.; 1/4/24, 8:05 AM
MadTownGuy said...: https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=56848">Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Swatted

"Those scumbags who file false reports in order to elicit a (possible fatal) police response to their intended target are at it again, and this time their target was none other that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Wednesday morning that his home in McKinney was victim to a “swatting” incident.

Paxton took to social media to alert the public that he and his family “were not home at the time and were made aware of the false report when a state trooper, who was contacted by McKinney police, informed [them] of the incident.”

“On New Year’s Day, a currently unidentified caller made a false report to 911 describing a life-threatening situation at our home in McKinney. As a result, the City of McKinney Police and Fire Departments quickly and bravely responded to what they believed could be a dangerous environment,” he explained.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation “swatting” is “making a hoax call to 9-1-1 to draw a response from law enforcement, usually a [special weapons and tactics or] SWAT Team … it is a serious crime, and one that has potentially dangerous consequences.”

“It is also important to acknowledge that this ‘swatting’ incident happened weeks after the disgraced Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, his lieutenants, and the Dallas Morning News doxed our family by publicly posting our address,” Paxton continued on social media.

“We understand some people may not agree with our strong conservative efforts to secure the border, prevent election fraud, and protect our constitutional liberties, but compromising the effectiveness and safety of law enforcement is completely unacceptable.”

Interesting that Paxton fingered Phelan’s crew as the possible perpetrators rather than the usual leftwing loons who employee the tactic.

In any case, I’ve got to believe that SWATing the Attorney General is a pretty risky gambit. I mean, I’m pretty sure any AG is going to have the resources to pursue the perps. Likewise, I’m pretty sure he can get a warrant for the device data, and even an unregistered burner phone can be tracked.

Here’s hoping the perp who swatted Paxton ends up earning himself a nice, long stint behind bars."; 1/4/24, 8:16 AM
jaydub said...: I've discovered that if one clicks one's mouse next to the name on a post one can cause that post to be hidden so as to prevent inane comments from detracting from the flow of the blog. I've done this on Crack's posts for the last week and as a result my IQ has already jumped 10 points and my opinion of Blacks has returned to positive territory.

So, I've got that going for me now, which is nice.; 1/4/24, 8:41 AM
Jaq said...: I also admit to a little curiosity how Joe Biden managed to get his brother James a $2. billion contract to rebuild housing in Iraq which we never actually bombed. I am not curious at all about how James Biden qualified for the contract, even as he had zero experience in building housing, anymore than I wonder why Hunter Biden was qualified to sit on the board of an energy company, or Amtrak, for that matter.; 1/4/24, 9:03 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Trump is mentioned multiple times in the newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents. I’m shocked, shocked to find out the guy who talked about having sex with his own daughter and owned underage beauty pageants is implicated in the Epstein docs.; 1/4/24, 9:06 AM
Rocco said...: Humperdinck said...
“@Rocco. You have clearly forgotten the legendary Lavar Leap.”

Touché. I had forgotten. But that play is remembered because it succeeds so rarely.

But perhaps in the specialized NFL there is room for a designated leaper. We can call the position the “Jack” after Spring Heeled Jack from the Victorian era.; 1/4/24, 11:47 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Bernie CRACKS: 'NO MORE' Support for Israel's Illegal War; 1/4/24, 12:17 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: James O'Brien's damning verdict of Israel's war on Gaza | LBC; 1/4/24, 12:20 PM
Original Mike said...: "Trump is mentioned multiple times in the newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents."

For example?; 1/4/24, 12:26 PM
Jaq said...: Hwew ia how "Trump was mentioned"

Was Trump ever in this place?

No

that place

No, never

OK, let's move on.

If anybody had any question about when Rich was a liar, this should settle it.

There was a picture of Rich on Twitter today https://twitter.com/TheEmperorSon/status/1742954428393496626; 1/4/24, 12:29 PM
Jaq said...: he [Joe Biden] once twisted a 9 year old girl’s nipple on the senate floor. one of his senate colleagues daughter. she acknowledged it on IG a few years ago and then went private stating “it doesn’t matter. no one will believe me even though they can see the video. it’s too painful”; 1/4/24, 12:34 PM
Jaq said...: I try not to get into the morality behind wars, because the decision to fight wars is never made on moral grounds, except by idiots, but as a plain matter of geostrategy and of second and third order outcomes, the war on Gaza has been a disaster for both Israel and the US. The Epstein thing was a Mossad operation to politically control powerful people through blackmail. Think about that.

It is not inconceivable that the Gaza war ends up destroying the dollar, and with it, US world influence. The Britons never defeated the Roman Empire, Rome itself collapsed and the soldiers in Britain either went home or went native when the money and supplies that enabled them to control things stopped coming.; 1/4/24, 12:53 PM
Hey Skipper said...: @tim in vermont: “ Most of the bombs in terms of numbers were unguided iron bombs, but sure, you can quibble with the wording, but not the fact that bombing urban areas, which we did, with iron bombs, is going to kill a lot of innocent civilians, and terrorize the rest.”

Bollocks.

But then I only have extensive, in-depth, first hand experience to go on.; 1/4/24, 1:17 PM
Rusty said...: Tim.
Rich will respond by calling you names.; 1/4/24, 1:48 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: As I asked when the NYT story broke: where are the rape victims? Haaretz:

"The police are having difficulty locating victims of sexual assault, of witnesses to ask from the Hamas attack, and are unable to connect the existing evidence to witnesses described in [the NYT article claiming widespread rape on Oct 7]."

To which I also ask: how many lies are you guys going to swallow before you admit the Zionists are liars continually lying to you?; 1/4/24, 2:10 PM
Hey Skipper said...: @crack: link please. Based on previous performance, I don’t believe a darn thing you say.; 1/4/24, 3:28 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Hey Skipper said...

@crack: link please. Based on previous performance, I don’t believe a darn thing you say.

And you don't know how the internet works, either, right? First, show me evidence that I've lied to you in a "previous performance" and I'll do the work for you. Otherwise - if you're going to insult me - find it your damn self. Haaretz. It's a very popular Israeli newspaper. Look it up.; 1/4/24, 3:53 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Hey Skipper,

FUCK - Busting these liars is too good to hold back, even from you. I didn't link to the original because it's in Hebrew, but others are linking to it, and translating it.

Now keep insulting me while you ask for favors.; 1/4/24, 4:03 PM
SteveWe said...: Oh please Crack, STFU.; 1/4/24, 5:29 PM
Kakistocracy said...: @Rusty: Let's get all the names out there. And let's get the women under oath to detail exactly who was involved and when. If these women were under age, the men should all be prosecuted.; 1/4/24, 5:36 PM
Jaq said...: "But then I only have extensive, in-depth, first hand experience to go on."

So we used all precision bombs on Baghdad in 2003? We didn't kill thousands of civilians during the "shock and awe" phase of the campaign?; 1/4/24, 6:19 PM
Drago said...: Tim in vermont: "Most of the bombs in terms of numbers were unguided iron bombs, but sure, you can quibble with the wording, but not the fact that bombing urban areas, which we did, with iron bombs, is going to kill a lot of innocent civilians, and terrorize the rest."

"Unguided" does not mean undirected.

We aren't talking about B-52's dopping tons of weapons from 10k feet.

Tactical combat pilots are quite skilled at delivering these "unguided" munitions very accurately at surprisingly close ranges on flight profiles designed for very high probability of success onto precisely defined targets after pre-flight planning evolutions involving hundreds of people across multiple command elements to ensure all the latest intel is taken into consideration for optimum ingress, drop, egress pathways.

And the Israeli pilots are just as good at that as the Americans. Probably better now due to degradation of US capabilities from the "wokies" and their insane policies.; 1/4/24, 8:14 PM
Drago said...: Tim in vermont: "So we used all precision bombs on Baghdad in 2003? We didn't kill thousands of civilians during the "shock and awe" phase of the campaign?"

Without addressing the wisdom of the entire endeavor, a high percentage of the air missions flown during the "shock and awe" phase of the conflict were quite precise cruise missile "decapitation" strikes against Saddam and his Republican Guard leaders. Lots of palaces and defined military installations were the primary targets...and those places are not usually found in dense residential areas...if you catch my drift.

By the way, if you ever find yourself flying with a dude with the callsign of "Drift", you might want to think about suddenly coming down with the flu and catching the next hop.

Back to Tim's point: in the end, despite the intensity of the "shock and awe phase" and the volume of activity, mostly US ground forces whacking Republican Guard ground units outside of Baghdad, the estimated number of civilians killed was around 7,000 by Iraqi estimates. An estimate the American Command vehemently disputed. I am not saying thats alot nor a little. Everyone makes their own call and the 7k number was impossible to verify.

Of course, after "shock and awe", when the US entered the city, there was basically zero resistance. Yeah! Victory!

But then the Bush/Cheney neo-con cabal said: Whoopsie-Daisy! Mission change time my dudes! We are going to transform the entire Middle East into Jeffersonian democracies! And we'll get rich beyond the dreams of avarice while we do it!

The horrific failures over the next 20 years speak for themselves.; 1/4/24, 8:32 PM
Hey Skipper said...: @tim in vermont: “ So we used all precision bombs on Baghdad in 2003? We didn't kill thousands of civilians during the "shock and awe" phase of the campaign?”

You said most of the bombs dropped were unguided. That was true of Desert Storm, not Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During DS, NO dumb bombs were dropped on populated areas. By the time of IF, there were no, or very few, aircraft in the inventory that couldn’t drop PGMs.

And that’s leaving aside that Baghdad was scarcely touched during IF.; 1/5/24, 5:39 AM
Hey Skipper said...: @crack: “ First, show me evidence that I've lied to you in a "previous performance" and I'll do the work for you. Otherwise - if you're going to insult me - find it your damn self. Haaretz. It's a very popular Israeli newspaper. Look it up.”

A couple or three weeks ago you asserted that an LAT investigation had shown there had been no rapes, and linked to the article.

It had been written on Oct 10. It was updated with a caveat that there wasn’t yet conclusive evidence.

An article that was two months old when you cited it, and most definitely not an investigation.

By my count, that’s two Gays.; 1/5/24, 5:47 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Hey Skipper said...

"A couple or three weeks ago you asserted that an LAT investigation had shown there had been no rapes, and linked to the article."

You're an idiot who never looks further than your nose. Fuck off.; 1/5/24, 6:55 AM
Hey Skipper said...: @crack: “ You're an idiot who never looks further than your nose. Fuck off.”

Odd reaction to my having looked at your link, read it all the way through, only to discover you had so badly distorted its obvious content that bald face lying, and/or serial incompetence on stilts was essential.

There are plenty of other instances, but this will suffice.; 1/5/24, 8:07 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Hey Skipper said...

"Odd reaction to my having looked at your link, read it all the way through, only to discover you had so badly distorted its obvious content that bald face lying, and/or seayrial incompetence on stilts was essential."

Really? There's still an easy solution to prove I did that: provide evidence of 'widespread rapes.'; 1/5/24, 10:24 AM
Hey Skipper said...: @crack: “ Really? There's still an easy solution to prove I did that: provide evidence of 'widespread rapes.'}

This is about you as a liar, and nothing about rapes.

The distinction is obvious. Shame you can’t suss it.; 1/6/24, 6:09 AM