Lizardoid Minion Screensaver

Behold the results of the outsourced torture the vomitous Minions clamor for.

Now they have pictures to drool over as they wank each other raw in fantasies of going medieval on those "Muslimes".

Maybe they should have kept their torture endorsements private.

Too late now.

Ultimate Wingnut Finalists

At the World O'Crap

How Republicans Are Like Michael Jackson Fans

This sums up the 'lizards' perfectly!

Most people saw the fans supporting Michael Jackson throughout his trial and cheering for him outside the courthouse as an embarrassment. That’s how most of the country and the rest of the world are beginning to see Bush supporters. The party is over and these guys keep going back up to Neverland.

No matter how much evidence you put in front of them, they will not waver. They love Bush, right or wrong. A little thing like an unjustified invasion or spying on Americans isn’t going to shake their faith. Take another swig of the Jesus Juice and everything will be fine.

Ignored Hurricane Katrina victims. No problem, pass the Jesus Juice. Ignored the constitution and did warrantless searches of American citizens. No problem, pass the Jesus Juice. Passed more tax cuts in the middle of an out of control, record deficit. No problem, pass the Jesus Juice. Never caught Osama and isn’t even trying. No problem, pass the Jesus Juice.

Remember as Nixon was being pushed out the door in lieu of impeachment, 25% of Americans still supported him. You just can’t shake some people, no matter how overwhelming the evidence. Michael just loves kids. OJ didn’t do it. Nixon meant well. And Bush is just trying to protect us. Pass the Jesus Juice.

Chuck, just admit it......

.....Pajamas Media merely apes and lives off the MSM! In a recent article about the Pakistan 'honour killings', PJM links to an extensive report by the Associated Press. It also contains a line so hilarious you may want to prepare yourself to read it. Please make sure you're sitting down.

Some bloggers said a great deal with few words

In other words, they copy and pasted the AP piece and added a line or two of their own. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you can hardly crow about the death of the MSM when in fact you support it by appropriating its news.

Propaganda-a-go-go to go

This one's from the 'We're making this shit up on the internet and don't care' file.

U.S. military websites that pay journalists to write articles and commentary supporting military activities in Europe and Africa do not violate U.S. law or Pentagon policies, a review by the Pentagon's chief investigator has concluded. But a senior Defense Department official said this week that the websites could still be shut down to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

The Pentagon inspector general's inquiry concludes that two websites targeting audiences in the Balkans and in the Maghreb region of northern Africa are consistent with U.S. laws prohibiting covert propaganda, are properly identified as U.S.-government products and are maintained in close coordination with U.S. embassies abroad, according to a previously undisclosed summary of the report's findings.

Yet a top Pentagon official, chief spokesman Lawrence DiRita, said he was concerned that a Pentagon practice of hiring news reporters to advance a U.S. government agenda could draw criticism and that an ever larger military role in shaping public opinion overseas might have negative consequences.

The Pentagon's efforts to win hearts and minds abroad have come under intense scrutiny since it was revealed last month that the military had hired a private contractor, Lincoln Group, as part of a separate operation to pay Iraqi newspapers to print positive stories written by U.S. troops.

An investigation into that information offensive is ongoing, and Pentagon officials expect the inquiry, headed by Navy Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk, to be completed soon.

DiRita ordered a separate review of the websites and other military information operations in February, when news accounts reported the Pentagon's connection to the websites and after disclosures that U.S. agencies such as the Department of Education had paid journalists to promote Bush administration policies.

DiRita said he had not been briefed on the results of the inspector general's review, and said he had asked the National Security Council to consider whether other U.S. agencies should take over the websites, or whether the sites should be shuttered.

"If somebody comes back to me and says there's nothing wrong with the Department of Defense paying journalists, I'll say, 'Even if there's nothing wrong, does it make sense?' " DiRita said.

The two websites are run by U.S. European Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, and maintained by Anteon Corp., a Fairfax, Va., contractor. The European Command is one of five regional U.S. military headquarters around the world and is given authority for U.S. operations in Europe and most of Africa.

The Balkans website, originally called Balkan Exchange and later renamed Southeast European Times, was a result of a secret directive signed by President Clinton in 1999. The order, called Presidential Decision Directive 68, launched an information offensive to counter Serbian propaganda during the Kosovo war.

The European Command created the Africa website in October 2004. It attempts to advance U.S. interests in a region long sympathetic to Islamic fundamentalism. The Maghreb region encompasses Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Mauritania and Morocco, countries that are in the European Command's area of responsibility.

Neither the Southeast European Times nor the African website, called Magharebia, prominently states its connection to the U.S. military, although both link to a disclaimer saying that the sites are "sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense."

The Southeast European Times aims to "offer accurate, balanced and forward-looking coverage of developments in Southeast Europe," the website reads. "Each business day, the site captures the top news from across the region as reported in local and international media. It also features analysis, interviews and commentary by paid Southeast European Times correspondents in the region."

The correspondents often are freelance reporters hired by Anteon Corp. Recent stories on the websites have highlighted a thawing of relations between Serbia and Croatia and efforts to promote female entrepreneurship in northern Africa.

Both websites feature stories culled from independent news services such as the Associated Press, UPI and Reuters. They also provide links to websites of the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and government organizations in the Balkans and Africa.

Two other U.S. military commands — the Pacific Command, which oversees operations in Asia, and the Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East — are developing their own versions of regional information websites.

Any decision to shut down the websites could add fuel to an ongoing debate within the Pentagon about which tactics the U.S. military should use to counter a propaganda and disinformation campaign waged by Islamic extremists worldwide. Many military officials fear that operations such as the European Command websites and Lincoln Group's campaign in Iraq blur the lines between news and propaganda and put the Pentagon into a legal gray area.

U.S. law forbids the Pentagon from conducting propaganda campaigns against American audiences. And though efforts such as the websites target foreign countries, they are available to any person with a computer.

Oh well, as long as propaganda is now 'legal' they may as well release the name of the operation. How about Operation Pajamas Media? Nope, propaganda is only useful if people read it. Operation Little Green Footballs? Yep, that's perfect.

Telco/ISP Disgrace Unraveling

A ball starts rolling... As we've questioned here, why did the telcos sell out their customers to warrantless snooping? The Chicago Tribune has a timely article. Here, a spokesperson dodges several questions:

"Our members have worked for years with law enforcement with an objective to preserve lawfully authorized surveillance," said Tom Amontree, a spokesman for the US Telecom Association, the industry group representing most phone companies. "We have no comment on national security matters."

How about a comment on customer security matters? And what about "lawfully authorized"? Eric Rabe, speaking for phone giant Verizon says:

"We typically make law enforcement agencies get a court order. Our default is to cooperate, but we don't feel we should appropriate customer information lightly. We try to make sure what we do is in compliance with the law."

So what is atypical? And what does "try" mean? That they make an effort but sometimes, oh gosh, it's just too darn hard? Rabe goes on to say:

"In the Cold War era when there was great concern about Communists, probably a lot of things went on, but today we're more circumspect."

More circumspect? Or more secretive about allowing "backdoor access into the main telecommunications arteries" as the NY Times put it. The article also mentions SKYPE, the voice-over-internet free service that is typically used by over two million people at any one time and is simply not "tappable", since it uses peer-to-peer routing and is encrypted. We can expect the usual lunatics to be calling for the execution of Trib journos since there is no way the turrists would ever have found that one out. I mean really, why use encrypted free, lap-top to lap-top voice comms on a poached Wi-Fi connection when you could use a calling card to call Osama on his hard line?

2006 Wishes...

Jimmy, you're so manly!

James Wolcott responds to the slimeballs, racists, rednecks and vast array social misfits at LGF who (as a response to him calling them all kinds of things...all true by the way) called him gay. You'd think Chuckles the clown would want to keep criticism of his bigoted site quiet.....especially when it highlights his own intellectual shortcomings and his regular comment section chickenhawks mental retardation, but no.

Standing shoulder to shoulder

On the issue of torture and the practice of censorship that is. Craig Murray reveals some dirty tricks undertaken by the British Foreign Office in Uzbekistan. Read more here and here......and here's the document in question.

Is it laugh at Charles Johnson week?

TBogg weighs in with this.

When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I read LGF I became a man. A big stupid racist chest-thumping keyboard-cowardman

Well done tbogg. Anybody else want a go?

Propaganda-a-go-go

The Freest Press Money Can Buy? - by William Fisher includes this fantastic quote.

"The same people who set up a program to promote 'independent journalism' are the same folks who defend funding public relations firms, conservative think-tank-connected jingoist individuals, and embedded journalists as 'independent' media."

"It's all about public relations and media control. Joseph Goebbels [Adolph Hitler's propaganda minister] would be proud."

Worthless Words - Promises Broken

We now know that US telcos and ISPs have allowed free access by federal snoops to voice and data on a vast scale. Perhaps even monitoring everything. We also know that they did this without being ordered to by any court, not even the special FISA court set up for that purpose. Below is an excerpt from the Verizon Wireless "Privacy" agreement:

(snip)

Privacy Principles

Our Code of Business Conduct, which is distributed to all employees and can be found at verizonwireless.com, requires our employees to be aware of and protect the privacy of all forms of your communications - whether they are voice, data or image transmissions - as well as your personally identifiable information. The Code makes clear that employees who fail to follow these Principles will face disciplinary action, which can include dismissal. Employees are trained regarding their responsibilities to safeguard your privacy. We strive to ensure that information we have about you is secure and confidential, and to ensure that our employees comply with these Principles. We do not tamper with, intrude upon or intentionally disclose the existence or contents of any communication or transmission, except as required by law or the proper management of our network, or with your consent. Our policy is to limit access to databases containing personally identifiable information to employees, agents, affiliates, suppliers, vendors, consultants and contractors who need it to perform their jobs and in order to serve you - and they are contractually obligated to protect that information. We use safeguards to increase data accuracy and to identify and authenticate the sources of customer information. We use locks and physical security measures, sign-ons and password control procedures and internal auditing techniques to protect against unauthorized use of terminals and entry into our data systems.

(snip)

Read those last words carefully: "unauthorized use of terminals and entry into our data systems". Who, other than a court can possibly authorize such entry? Management must answer that question.

Crybaby

Did the nasty man pick on little Chuckles Johnson??

Let's send Charles to Iraq

It seems the Bush administration is so desperate for good news about Iraq that it is prepared to pay conservative/hawkish bloggers to go there as embedded correspondents and do their dirty work. Well this is Charles Johnsons chance to see the real Iraq and get paid for it (if he isn't being paid already) by the Republican party he so loves. We wish him the best of luck.

Republican Values At Work

Or, as Leona Helmsley put it: "only little people pay taxes". Maybe Astroblog paymasters Chuck Johnson and "The Hat" Simon have a "gross-up" deal. Nah.. they're just minor appartchiks, after all.

Spot on, Mr. Wolcott!

A disorganized Nuremberg Rally

Betraying Their Customers

"We must envision the future we wish to achieve, and then invest ourselves emotionally, philosophically and financially in making that vision come true." - Ivan Seidenberg, CEO Verizon. Oct 11, 2004

Recent revelations that major US telecommunications corporations allowed wholesale government snooping "by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries", as the NY Times put it, begs a question:

What the fuck?

And no, we're not talking about the power-mad Bushies, plenty is being said about their dangerous, illegal behavior. We're talking about the corporations who said, "hey, go right ahead, they're only customers -- have at it!".

It's one thing for a telco to provide access to court-ordered targets, as they have always done. But to allow the National Security Agency (or any other agency) to jack right into their system and snoop on everyone is nothing less than the worst possible betrayal of their customers.

All Verizon honcho Seidenberg, or any other telco CEO, had to say to King George's Men was: "be happy to help you guys, anytime. Just get us a copy of the court order." And after the snoops failed to produce one, then what? What did Seidenberg have to fear for failing to facilitate a disgusting breach of customer trust and confidentiality?

Could the intense longing of telcos like Verizon for more deregulation have something to do with their contemptible cowardice and eagerness to assist the Republican criminals?

Here at LGFWatch, we think it's time to say to Verizon and Sprint and the other betrayers:

"Can You Hear Us Now?"

Fuckers.

Spot the difference

This is what AP reported

Police said they believed a commercial dispute or blackmail attempt was behind the incidents.

...and this is what Chuckles the clown interpreted it as....

The AP'’s story is suspiciously quick with the assertion that this was a “'blackmail'” attempt. There'’s plenty of organized crime in Russia, but there'’s also a very active jihad.

AP merely reported what the Police said Charles!, It says it there in clear English, but as everyone knows that Charles doesn't let a little thing like the truth (and the Russian police's intimate knowledge of the case) get in the way of an opportunity to blame Muslims for something.

PS there isn't plenty of organized crime in Russia Charles, there's bucketloads. There are far more mobsters than jihadists in fact.

No negativity, just charity

Whilst others stand on the sidelines and only contribute negative stories of UN wastage, others donate and help. Please help.

'Everytime I see the sea...'

A wonderful day with statistics

In a post about Daily Kos Charles highlights the fact that web stat counters aren't very reliable and that Kos probably only gets around 30k visitors a week, not 3.7 million, as the site claims.

Presumably, if these calculations are applied to LGF then Charles is getting something in the order of 5k unique visitors a week. That's about 30/hour, or one every two minutes.

Wonder what PJM gets...

Who's the extremist in Boston?

Charles Johnson has reproduced a letter from Charles Jacobs of the David Project on his hateful little blog. You see, it's regarding the building of a Mosque and the opposition to it, so Charles probably couldn't cut and paste quick enough. However, caution should be excercised when quoting people like Charles Jacobs. He's a fervent anti-Arab bigot, a man not worried about making anti-semitic slurs and ridiculous accusations. In fact he's made a career out of it (remind you of anyone?).......but then again, since when has Chuckes been cautious about slander and demonisation of Muslims?

More info:
Semitism.net
Electronic Intifada
Columbia Spectator
Revolutionary Workers

An LGF nightmare is coming true

Of the 275 seats in Iraq’s new parliament, 140 will belong to pious Islamists, 60 will be occupied by Kurds with excellent ties with Iran, and 40 will belong to Sunni Arabs, most of whom want a sovereign, Islamist state.

Democracy? Doubtful.
Whiskey? Not in an Islamic state.
Sexy? Only if you find war a turn on (well ok, the Lizards will love that)

Roger L. Simon: MSM leech

You know Roger. Roger is half of the dynamic duo that founded the international media phenomenon Open Source Media, which within just a few days of launching managed to lose its name and any credibility it might have had through a serious of stupendously clumsy missteps.

Anyway Roger 'Pajamas Media in Los Angeles' Simon presumably had to sign up to the wingnut creed that all Mainstream Media is bad and all blogging media is good (except Kos of course!) when he jumped into bed with Charles Johnson.

So it's enlightening to browse Roger's website today (trust us, we don't do this often) and count the number of items that are entirely based on information provided by the oh-so-evil Mainstream Media.

There's one that starts off with a New York Times report, another that takes a potshot at an AP journalist, a post consisting largely of AP and Al-Jazeera quotes, another AP posting, then one from the NYT again, the San Diego Union-Tribune thrown in for good measure, then the Times (which Roger can't distinguish from its online offering, TimesOnline), back to AP and the NYT...you get the message.

What is it with these people? Don't Roger and his fellow bedwetters realise they should be THANKING the Mainstream Media for providing them with an outlet for their frustrations, rather than hoping for their demise?

We certainly pray to the god of Lizards and his minions every night that he continues to provide us with plenty of entertainment to keep this little blog going...

Lizard-based community fails basic IQ test

When your dear leader claims to be receiving instructions directly from God, when you lash out at anyone who dares question dear leader's suitability for the job given his blind faith in the supernatural, when a fair number of your fellow travelers believe in the imminent return of the son of God and a subsequent apocalypse...isn't it just a tad stupid to condemn all of these things when they're done by others?

Yes, lizards, it is.

Pajamas Media Honcho Charles Johnson and his "Lizard" Goons

Standards

Charles Johnson has a go at James Wolcott and Vanity Fair about journalistic standards! Oh the irony.

PS James Wolcott was wrong to call Daniel Pipes a 'patronizing little shit'. If he'd called him a 'racist, bigoted, lying scumbag' then it would be closer to the truth.

Quick question

Anybody else find it a little strange that Pajamas Media as a new force in media is carrying ads for the Wall Street Journal (strictly old school to the hipster elitists at Pajamas) on their new fangled (read: shit and boring) website?

Sunnis, Secular Shiites unite.....

....on voter fraud allegations.

Sunni Arab and secular political groups joined forces Wednesday to decide whether to call for a repeat of parliamentary elections that gave the Shiite religious bloc a larger than expected lead.

The main Sunni coalition has said the elections were tainted by fraud, including voting centers failing to open, shortages in election materials, reports of multiple voting and forgery.

The election commission, known as the IECI, has said it received 1,250 complaints about violations during the Dec. 15 elections, 25 of which it described as serious. But the commission says it does not expect the complaints will change the overall result, to be announced in January.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said ``there have been a number of complaints lodged with IECI, and their track record on following up on these things have been pretty good.''

The election commission's initial assessment ``was there no complaints or incidents that they found that would fall into the most severe category that would throw into question the results of the election,'' McCormack said. ``The IECI is going to work through these complaints and we'll see what they come up with.''

The agreement to join forces over registering complaints was reached at a meeting in the offices of a secular bloc headed by former Shiite Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a U.S. favorite.

``We decided to form an operations room to collect the complaints from all the affected parties and present them to the Iraqi Electoral Commission'' and international organizations such as the U.N., said Naseer al-Ani of the Sunni Arab Iraqi Islamic Party.

The saga of gorgeous George

Everyone's favourite Saddamite and all round spiv is under investigation again for alleged fraud. Good.

The move comes after inquiries by the US Senate and the UN into the fund, which reported that Mr Galloway's friend and associate Fawaz Zureikat had siphoned £252,000 from the UN's Oil for Food programme into the appeal.

Mr Galloway could not be immediately contacted for comment.

Funtime with Chuckles

Either Charles Johnson is stupid or he's a really barefaced propagandist. Make you're own minds up.

How about his recent post where he announces that an arms dump has been found in Iraq with weapons of Soviet, German and French origins. Is his memory so short that he forgot all the support and logistical support offered by the USA in the 80's? Of course it isn't. Saddam Hussein was a good little dictator when he was doing the US's bidding.

How about his recent post about the British somehow cozying to the Saudis over a fighter jet deal? Didn't he realise the British have been supplying the Saudis with jet fighters since 1985? The truth is he doesn't care. He also doesn't care to report US deals with the Saudis, the Bush families very close ties with the house of Saud and other major Saudi organisations.

PS for a man so much at the forefront of the 'New Media', why is it everyone bar two of his stories (one's an open thread) from yesterday is sourced from and quotes taken heavily from the dreaded MSM?

Cornholio skewered by new colleague

It seems there is no honour amongs Pajamas Media 'execs'. Roger L. Simon has this charming description of David Corn.

I feel sorry for people like David Corn who have put themselves in such a box that they de facto are rooting for failure in Iraq, no matter how much they deny that. This is the fate of the modern fuddy-duddy liberal who was formerly in the "cool" position and now finds himself allied with most reactionary forces on earth just because he loathes George Bush on stylistics. Yes, that's what it seems to come down to. What a brutal historical joke.

Ouch. Way to insult one of the few people involved with Pajamas with any journalistic skill.

Love America Vegan Scum!

George Bush's America is truly a scary place. Not since the height of the Cold War have there been such a collection of dangerous subversives on its shores.

NEW YORK -- According to new documents released today by the American Civil Liberties Union, the FBI is using counterterrorism resources to monitor and infiltrate domestic political organizations that criticize business interests and government policies, despite a lack of evidence that the groups are engaging in or supporting violent action.

Who are these fifth columnists?

One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a "Vegan Community Project." Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group's "semi-communistic ideology." A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Jeebus!

Support? Thanks but no thanks!

Little Green Footballs supremo (read: wanker) Charles Johnson has long been touted as an ardent supporter of Israel and of Jewish people in general. I wonder how many American Jewish people are happy with the support of a bigoted chickenhawk? According to this poll not many.

Democracy in the hands of extremists

After all the coverage and the blatant propaganda produced to coincide with the Iraqi election, I wonder how chickenhawks and shysters like Charles Johnson are dealing this news? It seems that Iraqis who are being praised for engaging in democracy are voting in Islamist parties. Will Iraq be the new Iran? How long before Chuckles and his moronic followers are whining about Iraq as a new power in the 'axis of evil'?

Selective outrage

Chuckles has got himself in a hissy fit over the release of Hezbollah member Ali Hamadi. He isn't happy that the Germans have allegedly done a deal to allow the release of a hostage in Iraq. Isn't it terrible Charles. Listen, well support your outrage here if you post about the US releasing people (Dr Germ and Mrs Anthrax) who should've faced crimes against humanity charges just to sell the Iraqi election to certain factions there. How about that for a deal?

Ali Hamadi was given a life sentence for murdering an American while he hijacked a plane was imprisoned in 1985. How many times does a life sentence mean life? How many people serve more than 20 years for the crime? If Charles wants to take such a moral stand here perhaps he should take it about murder convictions and prison terms in general. If he wants to sneer at the Germans for deal making then perhaps he should look at the deals his beloved Bush administration is making. Of course he wont. And neither will Pajamas Media.

News from Iraq

It seems that the Bush administration is cherry picking polls for their propaganda. They're getting caught out so much recently, it begs the question whether Bush's media experts are on a par with the dolts at Pajamas Media.

President Bush is making selective use of an opinion poll when he tells people that Iraqis are increasingly upbeat.

The same poll that indicated a majority of Iraqis believe their lives are going well also found a majority expressing opposition to the presence of U.S. forces, and less than half saying Iraq is better off now than before the war.

Bush frequently talks in general terms about millions of Iraqis "looking forward to a future with hope and optimism," as he put it in a news conference Monday. The previous evening, he was more specific in his televised address when he declared, "Seven in 10 Iraqis say their lives are going well — and nearly two-thirds expect things to improve even more in the year ahead."

He was referring to an ABC News poll conducted with Time magazine and other media partners before the Iraqi general elections last week. Bush is dismissive of polls that reflect on his own performance, claiming not to pay attention to them.

Quick question

When will the verdict of unlawful killing of a British UN project manager be reported on either LGF or Pajamas Media? Answers on a postcard or in the comments section please.

Support the troops

Operation Kringle Kill. A true 'noble cause'.

"Bush is going to go down in history as one of the great peacemakers"

I'll have a double dose of what this guy is taking. Is it CIA stash?

Liveblogging to death (part two)

Iraqi Parties complain of voting irregularities

Militias intimidated voters

Allawi group claims fraud in Iraqi elections

US no longer seeks 'defeat' of Sunni insurgents

Election commission accused

Quick question

In violation of international law and the so-called "Road Map", Israel announces construction of yet more houses in West Bank. Number of times mentioned on LGF or Pajamas Media? Answers on a postcard or in the comments please.

Liveblogging to death

A quick round-up from the excellent Today in Iraq blog.

Bring 'em on: Mizhar al-Dulaimi, head of the Free Progressive Iraqi Party, was killed while campaigning in the center of Ramadi, capital of the restive Anbar province in western Iraq, police said. Three of his bodyguards were wounded.

Bring 'em on: A Shiite member of the interim Iraqi parliament escaped an assassination attempt on Tuesday when a roadside bomb struck his convoy south of Baghdad, wounding one of his bodyguards, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

Bring 'em on: In the southern town of Nassiriya protesters burned down a campaign office for Iyad Allawi, a secular leader who has mounted a strong challenge to the ruling Shi'ite Islamist bloc.

Bring 'em on: A roadside bomb aimed at an Iraqi patrol killed a child in Samarra

Bring 'em on: A roadside bomb took the lives of two policemen in Mosul.

Bring 'em on: A Trade Ministry employee was shot dead in Baiji, police said.

Bring 'em on: Small explosive devices damaged three empty polling stations in the restive western city of Falluja on Wednesday, police said. No one was hurt but 4,000 ballot papers were stolen.

Bring 'em on: Streets in Baghdad were eerily quiet one day before Thursday's election, with police strictly enforcing a traffic ban. Only the noise from an occasional police siren, sporadic gunshot or U.S. helicopter could be heard. Borders and airports have also been closed and the nighttime curfew has been extended.

Bring 'em on: An Iraqi policeman was killed in a bomb blast in Baghdad on Wednesday, according to the Iraqi police. It added in a statement a road-side bomb went off when an Iraqi police vehicle was passing near Sebaa' bank in central Baghdad. The blast killed one policeman and injured two others.

Bring 'em on: Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Mitchell, 28, of Evansville, Ind., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 12, when an improvised expolosive device detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank during combat operations. Mitchell was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Bring 'em on: A large explosion was head in downtown Baghdad within minutes of the polls opening and sirens could be heard inside the heavily-fortified Green Zone. Police said the explosion was reportedly caused by a mortar landing near the Green Zone. There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.

Bring 'em on: In northern Mosul, where all polling stations opened, a bomb killed a hospital guard when it went off between a polling station and a hospital, initial US military reports said. mortar also landed near a polling station without causing any injuries, the reports said.

Plus much, much more to give you more of a complete picture than a certain media outlet that specializes in 'astroblogging' and incompetence is giving.

Malkin deleted?

Liberal Avenger has noticed something quite strange over at Pajamas Media. The huge profile (with picture) of Michelle Malkin has disappeared. Was Steve H. at Hog on Ice right when we linked to him earlier? Is there a rift between Pajamas Media and the Malkins?

LGF & Iraq: Utter Idiocy

Take a look at this piece of astute news commentary posted on LGF Tuesday night.

The headline (1) reads: "Iran Tampering with Iraqi Election". So far so clear. Iran, the headline says, is fiddling the Iraqi elections. Presumably in an attempt to swing the result in its favor. Nasty Iranians. They're anti-semitic. They want nuclear weapons. Now they're messing with a free Iraq. How dare they! Strong stuff from the mouth of the lizard king.

The link (2) is a straight filch from the NYT's piece (written by the hilariously named 'Dexter Filkins' - is that a real name?) which obviously meets with Charles's approval, otherwise he wouldn't copy it.

The two line commentary from Charles (3) makes the point that Iran is trying to provoke the US at a 'delicate' time by shipping cartloads of forged ballots over the border to Iraq.

The correction (4) is one in name only, as Johnson pulls off the incredible feat of being both wrong and right. The NYT story he linked to turns out to be inaccurate, but that doesn't stop him from turning round and blaming the NYT for the falsehood (bad MSM, bad MSM!), rather than admit that he was taken in by it too and that his reliance on the MSM makes him look like a fucking fool when they recant and he's left standing naked on Hollywood Boulevard without his trousers on or a copy of the Times to cover his shrivelling...[that's enough, keep it clean - ed.]

A workplace fit for LGF'ers

This is something that the LGF'ers will probably love. A depot in the Asda supermarket chain is deliberately targetting Muslims for special treatment by insisting that they produce their passports to identify themselves. They even went as far as calling out names of employees (all Muslim) over the tannoy system to report to management for the checks.

Asda is being threatened with legal action for alleged racial discrimination after insisting that Muslim employees produce their passports to prove they had the right to work in the UK.

At one of the supermarket’s main depots, a manager read out 'foreign-sounding' names over the public address system, telling them to report immediately to the manager's office.

The workers, who were all Muslims, were ordered to produce evidence that they were not illegal immigrants. At least one was threatened with the sack unless he produced his passport the next day, reports the Independent.

Before the visiting LGF racists get their hopes up though Asda have condemned what happened and is looking into the case.

A spokesman for Asda told the paper that the company fully accepted that the managers in question had handled the situation poorly.

“We are fully committed to equality in the workplace and we deeply regret what happened," he said.

"Racism embedded in Australian culture" says Labor MP

Rather than slavering over the possibilities of a race war like the majority of LGF readers, we'd like to applaud Australian MP Harry Quick for standing up to be counted. He's refusing to follow the 'see no evil' tactic of Kim Beazley and John Howard and states clearly that the root causes of the recent troubles is the racism embedded in Australian culture. Not that this will ever get reported on LGF or the failing Pajamas Media, unless of course it's to blame the victims.

A federal Labor MP has contradicted his party leader Kim Beazley and Prime Minister John Howard by blaming racism for the violence in Sydney that led to more arrests overnight.

Federal Tasmanian MP Harry Quick says racism is embedded in Australian culture and federal politicians should not ignore it.

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has said the Sydney clashes are "simply criminal behaviour" and Mr Howard says he does not accept there is underlying racism in Australia.

Mr Quick says political leaders should not gloss over the issue.

"I think leaders of all political parties who have put their opinions on the public record need to look seriously at the underlying issues," he said.

"Because in Sydney especially, I am in Melbourne today and I'd like to think that Melbourne has a totally different attitude but in Sydney there is overt racism.

"It really concerns me that Australians - if you scratch them you discover a racist and this is one of the sad things about Australia, despite us espousing multiculturalism, deep down we have this fear of people who are different from us," he said.

Opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan says he disagrees with Mr Quick.

Mr Swan says it is a law and order issue and criminals are criminals regardless of their background.

"It doesn't matter what people like Harry Quick or anyone else thinks about where these people come from ... they must feel the full force of the law," Mr Swan said.

The pressure mounts

Tony Pierce hits out again at Pajamas Media and makes a very good case for the argument that Pajamas is an excercise in 'astroblogging' and that one of their backers has close ties to BushCo. How many people have been mugged by this excercise? How many are ready to walk? Has there been a rift between Pajamas and Michelle Malkin?

Developing. The slowest trainwreck in history.

When poor propaganda goes bad

The Chicago Tribune has an interesting story here about $3.9 million and the bad propaganda no-one needed.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- When The Rendon Group was hired to help Afghan President Hamid Karzai with media relations in early 2004, few thought it was a bad idea. Though Rendon's $1.4million bill seemed high for Afghanistan, the U.S. government was paying.

Within seven months, however, Karzai was ready to get rid of Rendon. So was Zalmay Khalilzad, then the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and now the American envoy in Iraq, according to interviews, e-mails and memos obtained by the Tribune. The complaint: too much money for not enough work.

Despite such grumbling, The Rendon Group, based in Washington, managed to secure even more U.S.-funded work with Karzai's government, this time a $3.9 million contract funded by the Pentagon, to create a media team for Afghan anti-drug programs. Jeff Raleigh, who helped oversee Rendon in Kabul for the U.S. Embassy, and others in the U.S. government said they objected because of Karzai's and Khalilzad's opposition but were overruled by Defense Department superiors in Washington.

"It was a rip-off of the U.S taxpayer," said Raleigh, who left the U.S. Embassy in September.

Rendon departed Afghanistan in early October when its $3.9 million contract expired. But diplomatic sources said it is in line for another multimillion-dollar Afghan contract: a three-year deal to work on counternarcotics public relations.

The company's work in Afghanistan is just a sliver of the more than $56 million the Pentagon has paid Rendon since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when it became one of the leading media consultants in the Bush administration's war on terrorism. It also is doing work for the Pentagon in Iraq.

Its performance, and the Defense Department's use of the company to shape its anti-terrorism message, has come under renewed scrutiny amid reports that the Bush administration hired Rendon to track foreign media and reporters and to help foreign governments shape their own anti-terrorism messages and images.

[...]

The company's fees also have been an issue. CIA staff members have complained about the group's work on other projects, such as a costly media campaign against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul estimated that the work the company was hired to do on its second contract in Afghanistan could have been performed for about $200,000 rather than $3.9million.

The firm was to train five Afghan press officers, according to e-mails and people familiar with the contract. But it trained only three, and one has left her job.

[...]

"I don't think their performance was worth more than $50,000," said Lutfullah Mashal, until recently the spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "It certainly was not worth millions of dollars."

What a waste of money. Remind you of anyone?

Bitter fallout or childish hissy fit?

Has Tim Blair suffered the same fate as Discarded Lies? It seems Charles has delinked him from his anti-Idiotarians section (he was certainly in his roster here). It was probably in a hissy fit over Tim's decision to leave PJM.

Barbarians

A Falls City man who impregnated and later married his 14-year-old girlfriend pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault at a hearing Tuesday.

Richardson County District Judge Daniel Bryan Jr. accepted Matthew Koso’s plea and scheduled him for sentencing Feb. 7. Koso, 22, could receive a prison sentence of up to 50 years or probation.

...

Bruning said Koso and the girl began having sex when he was 20 and she was 12. Nebraska law prohibits sex between adults 19 and older and juveniles under 16.

After Crystal became pregnant, the couple married in Hiawatha, Kan., in May. Kansas does not have a minimum age for marriage, although the state requires couples under 18 to get permission from their parents or guardians.

Nebraska requires people to be 17 or older to marry.

Expect full, blow-by-blow coverage on Littlegreenfootbals.com and OSM.org !

a whole lot of nothing

It's a crying shame how little $3,500.000 buys you these days in the way of editorial effort. It's puzzling too, because although Charles Johnson has never done any original writing (adding five words of snark to cut-n-pasted stuff doesn't count), he's usually very diligent about cherry-picking the "news" that makes his racist, bush-pandering case. Not this time. Did he really think that Hollywood gadfly Roger L. Simon was going to put in actual hours at the Culver City World HQ?

Does Fosters cause severe memory loss?

It's funny how everyone and their mangy mutt is so shocked about the racist rioting in Australia this week: "What, Australia racist? No, Australia isn't racist." As one commenter said, "we need to look at the root causes" (heh!) for why thousands of white youths rampaged around Sydney trying to bash Lebs and Meds. LGFers, like Michael Howard and those goons they interviewed on Sky News last night, either haven't got a clue about Australian history or they've been in a lager-induced coma for the last fourty years.

Doesn't anyone remember the Aborigines?

Anti-Greek riots and the anti-Italian shit-stirring in the 50s?

What about Romper Stomper?

Pauline Hanson?

And though less organized, you'll find plenty of anti-Semitism, anti-Pom sentiment (though is that really racism?), and anti-Polynesian feeling in Australia. The fact of the matter is: Australia has a long and dishonorable history of racism, but you're never going to get white Australians to admit that on camera. And LGFers are only ever going to believe what white Australians say...

Everyone's bitch

First it was Pajamas Media, now it's Fox News! The transformation into the new Alan Colmes is complete!

(Snatched from the excellent tbogg)

Racism rears its ugly head in Australia ... and at LGF

Mobs took to the streets and beaches of Sydney yesterday and had a go at each other, but this time it's not just a good old-fashioned Aussie argie bargie.

As one news outlet puts it:

Rioting erupted on Sunday after thousands of white youths attacked police and people of Middle Eastern appearance at Cronulla beach in southern Sydney.

So, if you're not blond, expect a bottle over the head on Bondi.

Naturally the lizards over at LGF, racist scum that they are, have a rather different take on the story: in their book, it's the poor white Australians who are being harassed by gangs of Lebanese Muzzies (hey wait, I thought we were with the Lebanese!?) and surfers simply ran out of patience and took upon themselves what liberal, PC politicians wouldn't do: teach them "wogs and Lebs" a lesson.

Here are some choice quotes from LGF:

44 starboardside 12/11/2005 10:07AM PST

Bloody sand monkeys,who do they think they are?Get rid of the lot I say!,send them back to the litter box from which they came.

56 McJenny50 12/11/2005 10:36AM PST

I'm thinking it's time to pack up all of them and have a "secret flight" to a country that has the same values they do. If they aren't willing to assimilate - they should be forced to leave.

#65 Shiplord Kirel 12/11/2005 11:10AM PST

Men of Australia:

The media and the multicultists are the enemy.
Their real objective is to enslave you with the help of their Islamofascist clients.

Rise up and destroy them before they destroy you.

#84 pork rinds for allah 12/11/2005 12:00PM PST

it's starting


pass the pork rinds

#87 ddd 12/11/2005 12:06PM PST

Deport all Muslim now.

#102 another brick in the hall 12/11/2005 12:27PM PST

#1 Organize a wet T-shirt or itsy-bitsy bikini contest at a Sidney beach (bait).

#2 Have a few of these guys hanging around with some baseball bats:

http://www.cooldudes...

Then...

#3 Badda-Bing! Bip! Baam!

Australian for Good Ole Time!

#120 tuckunderbreak 12/11/2005 01:07PM PST

Filthy Muzzslime Lebs started it two weeks ago with an unprovoked assault on lifeguards.

#126 tuckunderbreak 12/11/2005 01:13PM PST

followers of the islamic cult have no business among human beings. period. QED.

Sure, there are some measured comments on the thread too, and some of the racists are gently rebuked for their views, but what's amazing is that Charles Johnson lets people get away with this kind of shit-stirring on his weblog. The conclusion can only be: racism against Arabs is acceptable, while any criticism of Bush/War/America/Israel/LGF gets you banned.

UPDATE: Pajamas Media also cover the story, but look who's missing. Aren't the racist rantings of the 'lizards' acceptable on Chuckles new project?

Threats

Gen. JC Christian, Patriot has some details of White House style tactics emanating from Pajamas Media. He's not saying much.

Developing......as they say.

Donghzou and all that

Jim Hu is seriously underwhelmed by Pajamas Media and its coverage of the Donghzou Massacre. We're not surprised Jim, everything we've read over there has been half assed (check out todays London explosion coverage). They've developed a whole new form of site, they are the LSM (lame stream media). What do you expect from a site that can't even get it's web address and logo right?

Not Even Trying

For any blogger, the most precious commodity is "whitespace", the blank page waiting for text and images. The challenge is balancing aesthetics against the natural desire to use the space as completely as possible, particularly the "above the fold" first page. The image here is a snapshot of Pajamas Media taken this morning, Friday Dec 9th, 2005. It's not like there aren't a few things happening in the world. And yet, here it is, on the front page of the multi-million dollar funded Pajamas Media, acres of... nothing. Guess Chuckles and The Hat are phoning it in while cashing huge checks. Wonder what their investors are thinking?

Avoidance tactic

Has anybody else noticed that Pajamas Media seem a little wary about directing their readers to Little Green Footballs? In the lead story over there now (which touches on the subject of the Iranian President's anti-Israel sentiments at the OIC meeting) many blog links are given. Co-owner Chuckles Johnson's little hate site is noticeable by its absence. Are Pajamas worried that if the 'advertisers' (ahem) see the bigoted, fascistic claptrap spewed by the LGF regulars that they may have second thoughts? Perhaps their worried that Muslim readers of their site attracted by links to other sites covering the OIC meeting may not appreciate being directed to a site that constantly demeans their religon and sometimes Muslims ethnicity.

The 'new' Iraq

Is this the noble cause?

BAGHDAD - After the U.S. forces and the bombings, Iraqis are coming to fear those bands of men in masks who seem to operate with the Iraqi police.

Omar Ahmed's family learned what it can mean to run into the police, their supposed protectors.

Omar was driving with two friends in the Adhamiya district of Baghdad at night Sept. 1 when they were stopped at a police checkpoint.

"The three of them were arrested by the police even though there was nothing in the car," an eyewitness told IPS, speaking on condition of anonymity.

They did not return home for days, and the family began to search the morgues, a common practice now when someone is arrested by the Iraqi police and does not return.

"Five days after they were arrested, we found Omar's body in the freezer in a morgue, with holes in the side of his head and shoulders," a friend of the family told IPS.

Meet the new boss....you know the rest.

Contrast and Compare

Not Acceptable on Pajamas Media flagship blog "Little Green Footballs":

#1564 Charles 8/11/2005 8:18:15 PM
Deranged lefties who use the term "Chimpy" to refer to the President will now be banned automatically. I'm really, really tired of that crap.

Acceptable and welcome at Pajamas Media blog "Little Green Footballs":

Iron Fist 12/7/2005 6:56:21 PM
#4 aafflyer, Bombers? No, no, no, no, no. They want nukes, I say we give them some. It is, after all, only neighborly. Orbit rain of bottled sunshine. All of it they can stand.

"Iron Fist" is one of Charles most rabid commentators and has often called for nuclear weapons to be dropped on Tehran, Mecca, etc etc. Hosting calls for genocide is just fine with the silken-maned Johnson, that's the kind of "crap" that gets him off.

Advertisers should take careful note. LGF, after all, is the flagship blog of Pajamas Media.

A letter to the advertisers

Scott Ferguson has an interesting point about complaining here and he also lists the rights of all bloggers and advertisers.

1. It is a blogger’s right to say what they want.

2. It is an advertiser’s right to advertise where they want.

3. It is my right to complain about it

He also drafts a letter to complain about LGF. Which in our opinion is always good.

Harold Pinter

On Iraq

Political language, as used by politicians, does not venture into any of this territory since the majority of politicians, on the evidence available to us, are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives. What surrounds us therefore is a vast tapestry of lies, upon which we feed.

As every single person here knows, the justification for the invasion of Iraq was that Saddam Hussein possessed a highly dangerous body of weapons of mass destruction, some of which could be fired in 45 minutes, bringing about appalling devastation. We were assured that was true. It was not true. We were told that Iraq had a relationship with Al Quaeda and shared responsibility for the atrocity in New York of September 11th 2001. We were assured that this was true. It was not true. We were told that Iraq threatened the security of the world. We were assured it was true. It was not true.

The truth is something entirely different. The truth is to do with how the United States understands its role in the world and how it chooses to embody it.

On Nicaragua

Direct invasion of a sovereign state has never in fact been America's favoured method. In the main, it has preferred what it has described as 'low intensity conflict'. Low intensity conflict means that thousands of people die but slower than if you dropped a bomb on them in one fell swoop. It means that you infect the heart of the country, that you establish a malignant growth and watch the gangrene bloom. When the populace has been subdued - or beaten to death - the same thing - and your own friends, the military and the great corporations, sit comfortably in power, you go before the camera and say that democracy has prevailed. This was a commonplace in US foreign policy in the years to which I refer.

The tragedy of Nicaragua was a highly significant case. I choose to offer it here as a potent example of America's view of its role in the world, both then and now.

I was present at a meeting at the US embassy in London in the late 1980s.

The United States Congress was about to decide whether to give more money to the Contras in their campaign against the state of Nicaragua. I was a member of a delegation speaking on behalf of Nicaragua but the most important member of this delegation was a Father John Metcalf. The leader of the US body was Raymond Seitz (then number two to the ambassador, later ambassador himself). Father Metcalf said: 'Sir, I am in charge of a parish in the north of Nicaragua. My parishioners built a school, a health centre, a cultural centre. We have lived in peace. A few months ago a Contra force attacked the parish. They destroyed everything: the school, the health centre, the cultural centre. They raped nurses and teachers, slaughtered doctors, in the most brutal manner. They behaved like savages. Please demand that the US government withdraw its support from this shocking terrorist activity.'

Raymond Seitz had a very good reputation as a rational, responsible and highly sophisticated man. He was greatly respected in diplomatic circles. He listened, paused and then spoke with some gravity. 'Father,' he said, 'let me tell you something. In war, innocent people always suffer.' There was a frozen silence. We stared at him. He did not flinch.

Innocent people, indeed, always suffer.

Finally somebody said: 'But in this case "innocent people" were the victims of a gruesome atrocity subsidised by your government, one among many. If Congress allows the Contras more money further atrocities of this kind will take place. Is this not the case? Is your government not therefore guilty of supporting acts of murder and destruction upon the citizens of a sovereign state?'

Seitz was imperturbable. 'I don't agree that the facts as presented support your assertions,' he said.

On other US adventures

The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right wing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged and can never be forgiven.

Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did they take place? And are they in all cases attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is yes they did take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy. But you wouldn't know it.

It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn't happening. It didn't matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It's a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.

On Bush and Blair

The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading - as a last resort - all other justifications having failed to justify themselves - as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.

We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.

How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice. But Bush has been clever. He has not ratified the International Criminal Court of Justice. Therefore if any American soldier or for that matter politician finds himself in the dock Bush has warned that he will send in the marines. But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore available for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're interested. It is Number 10, Downing Street, London.

Death in this context is irrelevant. Both Bush and Blair place death well away on the back burner. At least 100,000 Iraqis were killed by American bombs and missiles before the Iraq insurgency began. These people are of no moment. Their deaths don't exist. They are blank. They are not even recorded as being dead. 'We don't do body counts,' said the American general Tommy Franks.

Early in the invasion there was a photograph published on the front page of British newspapers of Tony Blair kissing the cheek of a little Iraqi boy. 'A grateful child,' said the caption. A few days later there was a story and photograph, on an inside page, of another four-year-old boy with no arms. His family had been blown up by a missile. He was the only survivor. 'When do I get my arms back?' he asked. The story was dropped. Well, Tony Blair wasn't holding him in his arms, nor the body of any other mutilated child, nor the body of any bloody corpse. Blood is dirty. It dirties your shirt and tie when you're making a sincere speech on television.

The 2,000 American dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to their graves in the dark. Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The mutilated rot in their beds, some for the rest of their lives. So the dead and the mutilated both rot, in different kinds of graves.

Harold Pinter. On the case and on form.

New Media? You're kidding right?

The 'revolutionary' Pajamas Media has really shocked us with this new daring little show. How daring? How new? You ask....

Today at Pajamas Media, it’s the first episode of The Michael and Marc Show, featuring Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute and Marc Cooper of The Nation, mixing it up on the important news of the day. The battle starts at 9 am Pacific, 12 noon Eastern. Should be a hoot.

And by the way, we’re asking for suggestions for a colorful permanent name for this show. Post your ideas here; we’re offering a bottle of nice holiday champagne to the winner.

Hannitty and Colmes show anyone? Oops, that's taken. How very old media Pajamas is becoming. I wonder if Marc Cooper is happy to become the Colmes of the blog Titanic?

The Persecution Complex

Richard Silverstein nails Jeff Goldstein and John Cole here for using the anti-Semitism card when addressing his criticism of Pajamas Media. It seems that these Pajama clad warriors think that criticising the make up of Pajamas Media for it's obvious bias towards the Israeli and US right is equivalent to anti-Semitism, and that it's ok to throw around spurious charges of it around at anyone who is willing to pick them up on it.

Recently, I wrote a post here analyzing the hard-right Likud-type orientation of many of the blogs then affiliated with Pajamas Media. I felt it was important for potential readers to know that this project had a distinct, and rigidly neocon approach to the Mideast conflict.

There were howls and screams from some PJM participants which you can read in the comment thread for the post.

But lately Jeff Goldstein and John Cole (see links below) have dug up the old anti-Semitism card/canard in mischaracterizing my criticism of Pajamas Media. They say I attack it because of the Jewish affiliations of participants. I put them and all my readers on notice that Goldstein and Cole, in their anti-Semitism infused minds, are mischaracterizing my post and my criticism. I would never write disparagingly of someone being Jewish because I am myself. I criticize the political orientation of the project. That is all. Many (though not all) PJMers have a pronounced tilt toward hard-right Likud-style politics when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That’s all I said.

If Jeff/John want to go around the blogworld (see examples below) and throw these charges around that’s their blighted prerogative. But it’s mine to call them willful distorters of my meaning. If they continue saying this in light of my denial, then he’ll just become outright liars. Let them try to present one scintilla of evidence supporting my so-called anti-Semitism. They haven’t done so yet and they can’t because there isn’t any. So shut up already guys. Go pick a fight with some other unsuspecting shlump. I’m tired of your whining.

Seems like Richard hit a raw nerve with these guys. Are there no depths these guys won't sink to to justify their business deal with PJM?

Too Funny!

A Reality-Based Parody...

An extraordinary rendition

What's with the Bush administration's knack for coming up with one Orwellian term after another? Marina Hyde looks at the most recent example...

[T]he current focus on the CIA policy of flying terror suspects to countries where they can be questioned outside the protection of US law reveals that the latest word to get its ass kicked is "rendition". That, and the more vogueish phrase "extraordinary rendition". Hitherto, for me at least, "rendition" conjured up images of musical actors dressed in brightly coloured clothes crying "hey, let's do a song about it!". In its qualified state, it would indicate someone garnering critical acclaim for said rendering, as in: "That really was an extraordinary rendition of Memory from Cats." Now it turns out the phrase refers to sitting on the tarmac at Glasgow Prestwick airport while your CIA interrogators stock up on fuel before exporting you to some facility that doesn't show up on any Romanian Ordnance Survey maps. Who knew?

Certainly, the dictionary has once again been left with egg on its face. "Rendition", it states. "The act of rendering." To render is defined among other things as to present, to give what is owed, to translate into another language and to reduce by heating. Not one word about being cellophaned to a ducking stool in the former eastern bloc.

And call me a hopeless old romantic, but it's really ripped the poetic heritage out of the word. "Render unto Egypt that which you can't make stand for 16 straight hours on home soil." Hard to put a finger on it, but it definitely loses something. Admittedly, against all the odds, the CIA's verbal appropriation has softened the blow of one familiar scenario. Next time a builder of questionable scruples squints at your brickwork and assures you the only way to deal with it is rendering, you will be able to think: "Well, it could be worse."

Indeed, "rendition" has some way to go before its definition becomes as elastic as that of "freedom" now is. Frankly, the Bush administration's "freedom" knocks the "patriot" of Patriot Act fame into a cocked hat. You can prefix anything with this baby. It can only be days before Fox News starts referring to white phosphorus as "freedom dust". As for the potato chips ... There's a moment in David Rees's brilliant internet cartoon strip Get Your War On when two office workers discuss the US Congress's decision to rename french fries in the wake of France's refusal to support America's stance on Iraq. "Freedom Fries???" one demands. "OK, I have a question - is the War on Terrorism over? Because I sure as hell want to know that ALL THE TERRORISTS IN THE WORLD HAVE BEEN CAPTURED before legislators actually take the time to rename their GODDAMN CAFETERIA FOOD!"

In such a milieu, then, it's no surprise to find ourselves talking about "extraordinary renditions". The only question, now that it has been sullied by unsightly explanation in the media, is how long we have to stick with the term. Not too long, hopefully. "Freedom torture" sounds so much more seemly.

Ouch!

OSM.org? LOL: A Website Launch 'Revolution' Goes FUBAR!

Dialogue

(via Hitchens Watch)

Hypocrites

When left wing sources compare the Bush administration with Hitler and the Nazi regime he headed, Charles Johnson is the first to seethe and whine about the bankrupt morality of such people. Strange then that he remains quiet when right wing bloggers do the same (who also happen to contribute comments to LGF and is one of the Pajamas Media crowd).

(picked up from James Wolcott)

UPDATE: The shrieking blogger is now claiming it was a joke. That she did not say he was Hitler or called him a Nazi (posting a pic of Howard Dean as Adolf Hitler with a swastika in the background is 'hysterical').....and then attacks the left for doing the same to Bush! She's obviously one of the sharper minds at the Pajamas brain trust.

Christopher Hitchens upset

Give Up Blog hits the nail on the head with regards the darling of the neo-cons, pomposity personified, Mr. Christopher Hitchens.

And Chris Hitchens has finally found something so atrocious he can't stand by it in this war. Ready for it? He is upset that the U.S. is lying to the Iraqis. It was ok, I suppose, when they were only lying to their own citizens about this war, but now that they are planting bullshit in the Iraqi media rather than feeding it to Judy Miller, now that's a crime.

Not to worry though, Ms. Miller has found plenty of work since.

Astroblogging

Astroblogging: similar to "astroturfing", wherein an individual or entity seeks to influence "grass-roots" opinion by funding opinion leaders or aggregators of a particular philosophy or mindset by slipping them boatloads of cash with the implicit understanding they'll push said mindset, talking-points, devotion to said entity or individuals as an unwritten and largely untraceable quid pro quo for pocketing said moolah. May involve in funneling fractions of said moolah to other like-minded individuals who may or may not know the source of funding.

The term "astroblogging" has been introduced into the lexicon of Republican Black Ops by LGFwatch, and should so be credited.

Carry on.

UPDATE:

We are not alone in thinking OSM/PJM is an astroblog. Developing... as we say...

"The Project"

Is it an authentic document? Is it a conspiracy theory? Is it the modern equivalent of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? Indigo Jo takes a balanced and realistic look at the recent controversy that followed the Daily Ablution's publishing of articles quoting the document.

Another Excellent Blog...

As we ponder the mystery of Bathrobe Media and how Squeaky Johnson and Roger The Dodger were able to scam so many benjamins, let us commend to you another excellent and informative blog: TruthOut Amongst its attributes, TruthOut has found a way to publish editorials by Frank Rich and others now hidden behind the pay-per-view firewall the NY Times foolishly erected. It is seriously worth a bookmark.

Now, back to the Stinking Bathrobe. It is simply unbelievable that with all the resources a few million bucks can buy, so little effort of any kind has gone into OSM/PJM. From the shoddy slapped together website (built on barely customized open-source VOPE), to the sophomoric editorial "voice" (if you can even call it that), to the fact that they haven't even bothered to update the URL, you really got to ask, WTF?

One answer: OSM/PJM was never intended to be any kind of money-making venture, supported by advertising or anything else. That's why they're not even trying.

It is simply another Republican Black Media Op, a way of funneling sustaining money to right-wing bloggers with Johnson and Simon as gravy-train paymasters. You've heard of "astro-turfing", well OSM/PJM is a Republican "Astroblog", a "Scaife" type venture, if not funded by Scaife himself. How long, one wonders, before the 70 or so bloggers currently cashing monthly checks from Chuckles and The Hat start to wonder where the money is coming from?

Truthdig trumps Pajamas

Roger and Simon should take notes, this is what a real news website looks and works like. I bet it cost a damn site less as well!

(hat tip Benjamin)

SHORTER LGF: "BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

LizardWorld, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BushWorld, is pushing more agit-prop:

ElBaradei: Iran Only Months Away from Nukes
The leader of the UN’s toothless nuclear watchdog says Iran is only months away from having nuclear bombs.

This comes from the Jerusalem Post, which got it from [presumably Israeli] Army Radio, which in turn got it from The Independent in England.

Now, what did El Baradei actually tell the Independent?

Although IAEA officials have said it would take at least two years for Natanz to become fully operational, Mr ElBaradei believes that once the facility is up and running, the Iranians could be "a few months" away from a nuclear weapon. "That's why there is the concern of the international community about Iran," he said, "because lots of people feel it could be a dual purpose programme".

Did he believe the Iranians were building a nuclear weapon? "The jury's out," he said. "It's difficult to read their intention. We're still going through the programme to make sure it's all for peaceful purposes.

UPDATE:

A commenter showed Charles the light:

#597 Baldy 12/5/2005 10:02AM PST
Misleading Article in J Post: It Quotes the Independent, Which Says,

Although IAEA officials have said it would take at least two years for Natanz to become fully operational, Mr ElBaradei believes that once the facility is up and running, the Iranians could be "a few months" away from a nuclear weapon.

But it was too bright for Charles:

The IAEA, however, has been incredibly wrong so many times that we simply cannot trust this estimate.

As opposed to....

"We know for a fact there are weapons there." - Ari Fleischer, Jan. 9, 2003

A small step for womankind...

...a big step for Saudi Arabia. Not, you may have guessed, reported on LGF.

Fallujah fallacies

There's something particularly funny about Charles 'Icarus' Johnson's (non-)understanding of the way the media works. This week, after he and his buddies went on and on about how great things are going in Iraq and particularly in Fallujah and Ramadi, a dozen marines get blown to pieces or suffer some other gory fate in said towns and suddenly CJ and the lizards are all over...the media reporting of these events.

No word about how the C-in-C might not be giving the nation an honest appraisal of how the war is going; no soul-searching analysis of how the 'insurgents' could have killed so many US soldiers in so short a time in towns that have supposedly been 'cleared' of enemy combatants. No, just keep bashing old 'al-Jizz' (as the lizzies like to call it) because that's much easier than answering the question: what went wrong and what are we going to do next?

Let's take a look at what Charles's minions have to say about a tape al-Jazeera aired the other day, showing the explosion of an IED as a US patrol passes by:

#3 zombie 12/3/2005 10:19AM PST

In 2008, I'm voting against Bush because he didn't bomb al-Jazeera when he promised he would.

Ah yes, let's kill journalists...

#6 talk sick alaskan 12/3/2005 10:22AM PST

Good guys and bad guys. They're the bad guys, we're the good guys.

Life can be so simple, when you've got a reptile brain.

#16 Earth2moonbat 12/3/2005 10:54AM PST


And I suppose that they just happened to have a camera crew there by pure coincidence.

Maybe they should start evacuating areas that AJ cameras are pointed at.

Dude, get with the facts: The tape was posted on a website BY THE INSURGENTS, al-Jazeera found the website, downloaded the tape, aired it. No 'embedded' camera crews, no money changing hands. Al-Jazeera simply did their job, just as they did when they aired footage of US aircraft bombing Baghdad in 2003, which presumably also involved the death of one or two people but of course they're just "Sandniggers" right and so you don't give a shit about them...

Someone really needs to give Charles and co a crash course in media literacy.

Backyard blindness

Gunmen kidnap missionary, demand ransom, ransom paid, missionary released. All of this in America's backyard. Is Charles 'nuisance' Johnson interested in the story of Phillip Snyder? Is he fuck!

As long as there are no Muzzies involved, Charlie boy doesn't care.

Hypocrit.

Judith Miller admits WMD stories 'were wrong'

Pajamas Media's keynote speaker at their launch (or OSM's as it was) has made an apology to her readers for publishing stories that turned out to be wrong. The stories were about WMD's, so frankly it's a waste of an apology because most people now know they were bullshit.

Judith Miller, the US journalist at the heart of the CIA leak probe, has apologised to her readers because her stories about WMD and Iraq turned out to be wrong.

The US journalist, who spent 85 days in prison over the summer before agreeing to give evidence to a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, made the apology during an exclusive interview for BBC Newsnight.

She said: "I am obviously deeply chagrined that I ever write anything that turns out to be incorrect. I'm deeply sorry that the stories were wrong."

I wonder whether Chuckles will mention this surprise apology on either LGF or Pajamas?

Advertising? Shmadvertising! (Part two)

A big thanks to Tex MacRae in our comments section for pointing out a couple of facts about the alleged launch of advertising on the PJM 'network'.

They're just doubleclick ads, not Pajamas Ads. Den Beste writes about them here.

He even asked Simon about them and he admitted it.

So, what does it all mean? PJM is desperate to show ads and they thought we wouldn't notice they were sucky old doubleclick junk? By using doubleclick, they have to share the take with them and then still pay the bloggers who're stuck showing the junk ads.

The original idea was for PJ to pitch the blogs as a group to advertisers. What's funny is that everyone who signed up for this deal is probably reading their contracts and realizing there isn't a damn thing they can do about the doubleclick ads. Remember how RLS told people that they could reject ads they didn't like? Ha! There's no way to do that with doubleclick. Everytime the page is refreshed a different ad appears, so you have no idea which ads you've even shown.

World AIDS Day - 1 December 2005