UN approves extension of military mission in Iraq

What do the "cut and runners" have to say about this ? Their favorite UN has approved an extension of the mission in Iraq on the urgings of Nouri Al-Maliki . If the UN says stay , do they still want us to leave before the job is done ?

The UN Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to extend the mandate of the 160,000-strong multinational force in Iraq.

The council acted quickly in response to a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who said a top government priority is to assume full responsibility for security and stability in the country but that it needs more time.

The resolution, drafted by the U.S., extends the mandate of the multinational force for one year starting on Dec. 31 and authorizes a review at the request of the Iraqi government or by June 15.

The resolution contains the same provision as past resolutions: A commitment the council "will terminate this mandate earlier if requested by the government of Iraq."

Al-Maliki's request for the one-year extension with a termination clause came as the U.S. administration stepped up diplomatic efforts to stabilize the war-torn country, certain to be a top item on the agenda when U.S. President George W. Bush meets al-Maliki tomorrow in Jordan.

This report from AP should tell them that for at least a year , Iraq and the UN want the coalition to stay in Iraq .

Damned if we do , damned if we don't !

The Bush administration is facing a foreign policy crisis in Lebanon where the Iran-backed Hizbullah and Syria threaten to topple the weakened democratic government in Beirut.
"The future of the Middle East, certainly the future of Lebanon may well be decided in the next several days," U.S. envoy to the United Nations John Bolton told BBC radio. "A successful re-emergence of democracy there is being directly challenged by the terrorist Hizbullah and those who support them, Syria, Iran and others."

Thisarticle on Worldtribune.com tells us about the quandry we are entering into in Lebanon . We have committed money and supplies that could easily fall into the hands of Hezbollah and Syria . We are committed to helping Lebanon shore up the democracy , but can we be sure they won't succumb to the desires of our enemies , thus in essence paving the path for terroristic leadership ?

The U.S. dilemma is whether or not to provide up to $200 million in military aid to Lebanon over the next year.

Officials said the State Department intends to determine the stability of the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora before the aid is sent to Beirut, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the assassination of Trade Minister Pierre Gemayel and the resulting unrest could lead to a delay in U.S. weapons to Lebanon.

"The nightmare is that we help build a military that is taken over by Hizbullah or Syria," an official said.

I haven't heard any liberal saying anything about this yet , but it sure will be another thing for them to blame on the administration if things go sour . The terrorists have patience , so it would not surprise me to see them let us go ahead with this , just to take advantage of it later . It would give them money and at least a bunch of Humvees to use against Israel , not to mention air defense equipment and weapons sent as surplus .

Consider this -

Posted on Myoldtruck.com by a member there -


Civilian Versus Military
__________________________
Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10
minutes.
He stays up for days on end.
___________________________

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.

He goes days or weeks without running water.
__________________________

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.

He gets shot at, as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.
__________________________

You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go
meet up with your friends.

He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
__________________________

You make sure your cell phone is in your pocket.

He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
__________________________

You talk trash on your "buddies" that aren't with you.

He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
__________________________

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girl s.

He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
__________________________

You complain about how hot it is.

He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to
wipe his brow.
__________________________

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got
your order wrong.

He does not get to eat today.
__________________________

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.

He wears the same things for months, but makes sure his weapons
are clean.
__________________________

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.

He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
__________________________

You are angry because your class ran five minutes over.

He is told he will be held an extra two months.
__________________________


You call your girlfriend and set a date for that night.

He waits for the mail to see if there is a lette r from home.
__________________________

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.

He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.
__________________________

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.

He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if
they'll ever meet.
__________________________

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves
anything.

He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own government
and remembers why he is fighting.
__________________________

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of the men like
him.

He hears the gunfire and bombs.
__________________________

You see only what the media wants you to see.

He sees the bodies lying around him.
__________________________

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.

He does what he is told.
___________________________

You choose the path you're going to lead your life on.

He lets GOD choose his!
_________________________

You stay at home and watch TV.

He takes whatever time he is given to call and write home,
sleep, and eat.
__________________________

You crawl into your bed, with down pillows, and try to get
comfortable.

He crawls under a tank for shade and a five-minute nap, only to
be woken by gunfire.
__________________________

You sit there and judge him, saying the world is a worse place
because of men like him.

If only there were more men like him.

Blue Dog Democrats

I borrowed this info from A Way With Words through Dave Wilton's weekly newsletter of Wordorigins.org .

The name is modeled after yellow dog Democrat. A yellow dog Democrat is not
especially liberal, but is rather someone who will vote party line
regardless of the circumstances. The New York Times records this from 11
March 1883:

There is no eagerness shown, however, among Republicans to seek office at
this time, when Democrats can see nothing but certain victory awaiting them.
"Why, we could nominate yellow dogs this Spring and elect every one upon the
ticket by a big majority," said one of the Democratic ward statesmen to-day.

By 1911, the above quotation had been turned into a political buzzword when
the Mansfield News (Ohio) had this on 22 April:

He favors a job for every "yellow dog Democrat" to keep him from want,
exertion and worry.

I see some hope for middle-of-the-road politicians and the center of the citizenry , because it shows that there really are some fiscally conservative Democrats in office . In my view , these Blue Dog Democrats will find their voices as the next two years show that the far left find themselves unable to pass leftist legislation , due to their running to the center to win , then veering left to legislate . It is my fervent hope that centrist politics will prevail .

The article quoted says -

They call themselves the blue-dog Democrats-yellow-dog Democrats turned blue
by the choke hold put on them by their own liberal leadership.

For those interested in etymology , Wordorigins is a very interesting discussion group , accessed by logging on to

Wordorigins , but to participate you must register with EZboard . Spammers are not welcome , and discussions are serious , though some good-natured humor is found there at times .

Windchill Index

Winter is arriving and that brings to mind something I used to wonder about , the windchill index that weather people always cite , but hardly ever explain . Specifically, the new WCT index:

Calculates wind speed at an average height of five feet (typical height of an adult human face) based on readings from the national standard height of 33 feet (typical height of an anemometer)
Is based on a human face model
Incorporates modern heat transfer theory (heat loss from the body to its surroundings, during cold and breezy/windy days)
Lowers the calm wind threshold to 3 mph
Uses a consistent standard for skin tissue resistance
Assumes no impact from the sun (i.e., clear night sky).

Perhaps this chart will help .
The chart is better viewed on The National Weather Service site .
They also offer a calculator for you .

Cartoon

I don't understand this !

Forgive me for not being a gamer and into the Playstation scene , but -
bidding is wild for the Playstation 3 that came out today ! Yesterday I saw 20 or so people camped outside the local Wally World , in line for the game system . It looked like a bunch of homeless people !
On Ebay , they have a set of rules just for Playstation and the Nintendo whatever . Since I am not a gamer , I am out of touch , but is a game system worth 5-6 hundred dollars ? Maybe so , but $9,000 or more ???????
Look at this auction - Playstation IIIdammit - the link has been killed ! Oh well , just search Playstation III on Ebay , you will see .


Guess I should have bought several and sold them on Ebay . If the system just came out today , how did they get one to sell ? The rules say it must be in the seller's possession and a receipt shown in the picture . And if you can buy it at retail today , why would you spend a ton of money ? You won't be the first to have it obviously .

Update - that auction ended at a price of $9000.00 !! The buyer's handle is brainz11203 - Really ? NO-brainz , I should think .

Borat not funny

This guy is not funny to me , and apparently not to a man in Manhattan either . Borat and Hugh Laurie ( House) were headed to a bar when Borat accosted a passer-by with his character , and got a punch in the face for his efforts .

He approached the man and said: “I like your clothings. Are nice! Please may I buying? I want have sex with it.”

But the bystander didn’t see the joke. He took one look at Cohen and punched him in the face.

From The Sun Online

Two years to rebuild

Now Conservatives have two years to rebuild the movement .

In this group , I include people from all sides in the recent election .
Many ran toward the center in order to get elected , including Republicans and Democrats .
Now the real center of the political spectrum needs to assert itself in the
political process in order for any substantive good to come from the political power
shift the voters have demanded . The center must speak out locally , regionally ,
and nationally in order to keep Washington on the road to better government .
I truly believe there are good politicians on both sides , just as there are
corrupt ones . The American public says it is tired of the staus quo in Washington ,
and in most state governments , but will we insist that our elected representatives
live up to election promises ?

I believe we can and should be ever watchful for those who become enamored
with the power offered them in office . The practice of always looking for political
favor from the special interest groups , and passing "pork projects" for states
is one of the evils of our representatives . Too often , these take precedence
over what may be good for the country . Almost every member of Congress from the
beginnings of our nation has succumbed to the temptation to get more for his or her
state and/or "friends" and this practice must be tempered by fairness , reality ,
and legality .

In the next two years we will see if the new powers that be can rise above past
ills and go forward to rebuilding our government . I don't mean that they have to
rewrite any laws or make any new ones , just that they need to govern justly
and in line with the wishes of the population . I also hope the Left doesn't go on
a witch hunt , thus ignoring the problems that led to the current situation .
It will take co-operation and bi-partisanship to achieve any lasting goals .

Some may have to reassess their label as conservative or liberal in order to stay
in power , and this would be an improvement in itself .

Democrats have to live up to promises of bringing government back to their con-
stituents by remaining as centrist as they seemed to be in their campaigns .
This can be done in part by not veering off to the far left as soon as in office .

Republicans have to re-assert themselves as a small-government party by abandoning
many of the faults they have acquired in the last six years in power . This may
require quite a bit of self-inspection on their part to rid themselves of the
image they have in the eyes of constituents .

The citizens have to become more aware of the function of government , and their
demands on government . We , as citizens must impress upon government our
awareness and hold them accountable for their actions , or inactions .

Hamas wants peace ?

Sure they want peace , but only on their own terms !
From this article on Yahoo News.

More "Land for peace " proposals from Hamas . They want peace talks with Israel reverting to an old Arab resolution in which Israel gives up even more land for
peace . Has this done any good in the past ? NO !!

The Hamas-led Palestinian government agreed Sunday to an international peace conference with Israel after the Arab League — angered by
Israel's military offensive in Gaza — voted to end a financial blockade on the Palestinians.

The Arab League statement said ministers sought a conference to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "according to international resolutions and the principle of 'land for peace'." Arabs want Hamas to endorse a 2002 Arab initiative that calls for peace in exchange for land seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war — the
West Bank, the
Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

Israel responded by saying it would not hold talks with Hamas unless it agreed to demands, backed by the U.S. and Europe, that the group recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing agreements between Israel and Palestinians.

Here we see the unrealistic demands haven't changed . The Palestinians and Hamas have no intention of ever seeking peace with Israel .

Today's election

The only thing important in today's election is it's impact on the war on terror . according to Orson Scott Card in his article in realclearpolitics.com .

Let me paraphrase --
Card says this as a Democrat, for whom the Republican domination of government threatens many values that he holds to be important to America's role as a leader among nations.

But there are no values that matter to him that will not be gravely endangered if we lose this war. And since the Democratic Party seems hellbent on losing it -- and in the most damaging possible way -- He has no choice but to advocate that his party be kept from getting its hands on the reins of national power, until it proves itself once again to be capable of recognizing our core national interests instead of its own temporary partisan advantages.

In Iraq and Afghanistan -- but especially Iraq -- President Bush is behaving according to America's best and most honorable tradition. We did not come to destroy, we came to liberate and rescue, he says -- by word and deed. We bring freedom and opportunity. Our money will help rebuild your devastated (or never built-up) economies; our expertise will help train your most talented people to be ready for prosperity and self-government; and our military will keep enemies from overwhelming you as you reinvent yourselves.

Instead of leaving an empty house, swept clean but unprotected, waiting for the devils of Islamic puritanism to come take over, President Bush has sworn that America will bring democracy, and that American soldiers will do their best to protect the decent, ordinary people until they are able to protect themselves.

"Americans Won't Stay"

How do the Islamicist tyrants answer the obvious success and growing appeal of Bush's democracy program?

They kill people, of course.

But they also tell the story, over and over: "America will never stick it out. We'll keep killing Americans till they give up and go away, and then you will answer to us!"

Until they believe that the Islamofascists are never coming into power, many people will remain afraid to commit themselves to democracy.

Under those circumstances, the remarkable thing is how courageously the Shiites of the south have embraced democracy, and how many of them are beginning to trust that we mean what they say.

But against Bush's promises and the actions of our brave and decent soldiers, the tyrants can set the behavior of Bush's political opponents, who are doing their best to promote the propaganda of the tyrants. Every Congressman who says "We must set a timetable for departure" is providing ammunition to the tyrants in their campaign of terror.

I wish I had found this before tonight . It is about 10:30 PM and most of the polls are closed . We are just waiting for the results . This may have swayed some reluctant voters to come out and make sure the Democrats don't take over the House and possibly the Senate and start us down a road to early withdrawal from Iraq .

Elizabeth Dole says Democrats content to lose in Iraq

Mrs. Dole . on Meet the Press said :

To pull out, to withdraw from this war, is losing, there’s no question about it,... The Democrats appear to be content with losing.”

This is what the opposition party is standing for , no matter what they say in speeches .

Democrats are saying they want to send more soldiers to Iraq to "police" Iraq . What is the meaning of this ? They think we can be a police force for a while and then redeploy the troops home sooner than any present plan . Would this mean "policing" in the fashion of the UN ? We have seen how well that has worked in the past .

Saddam Hussein has been convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging.

Now we will see what result this sentence has on Iraq .

Perhaps it will settle things down , but just as possible is an increase in activity of insurgents .

I give no credit to those who are saying this was timed to help Bush .

This trial has dragged on so long , it seems comical to me . The trial is the first that Saddam has faced in the wake of his downfall.

It has been punctuated by walkouts, boycotts, hunger-strikes by Saddam and his co-defendants, the murder of three lawyers and the removal of the original trial judge, who announced in court that he did not believe Saddam was a dictator.

What's wrong with Walmart's "new" tardy policy ?

Walmart's tardiness policy is coming under fire as not being "Family Friendly " !
This is idiotic , there is only one new item in their policy - an 800 number to call for a code to give the supervisor when tardy or absent .

Wal-Mart’s ‘New’ Attendance Policy

Wal-Mart Watch and Wake Up Wal-Mart are touting an article from the Wall Street Journal discussing the company’s “new” attendance policy.

The new policy instructs employees requesting time off for illness to call an 800 number to get a code and then relay that code to their store manager for approval of their absence. Previously, employees asked their store manager directly for such time off, employees say.

In addition, the new policy formalizes penalties for employees who fail to get their absences authorized or don’t bother to call. Among them: Any employee with more than three unauthorized absences in a six-month span will be disciplined, and those with seven will be fired. Any employee who is absent three times during a six-month period and doesn’t call the 800 number for any of the three times can be fired. And employees needing more than three consecutive sick days are encouraged to apply for an unpaid leave of absence or time off under the Family Medical Leave Act. Previously, store managers had more discretion regarding discipline for unexcused absences.

see This Article from The Wall Street Journal .

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has enacted a new attendance policy that penalizes workers for multiple unexcused absences and requires them to call an 800 number whenever they get sick, changes critics say are part of a bigger effort to nudge out unhealthy and long-tenured employees.

I am a punctual person , and am always early to work and late to leave . I have
never been a clock-watcher , and do not understand people who are consistently late . I don't see anything wrong with this policy . It is also not new , judging by the article . Just a method to get tardiness under control . If I were a Walmart
manager , I would want my people to be on time and at their job at the assigned
time every working day . What could be wrong with that ?

Workers who are late and absent cost the company money and cause other employees to have to cover for them , perhaps having to neglect some of their own regular duties .

A QUOTE I LIKE

The important thing in the world is not where we stand , but in what direction we move .
GOETHE

I believe our position as a strong country in today's and tomorrow's world depends in part on how we weather this mid-term election and the 2008 elections . If the left gets a very strong grip on the legislative branch next week , they will build toward taking the executive branch in 2008 , and in my view , that will begin a slide downward for the US . I believe this in spite of the left's assertions that Bush is a cause of our loss of esteem around the world , and they represent a change for the better .

This is America , where we are free to have opinions , and to air them publicly . I respect the opinions of others when those opinions are based on considered facts and results . I wish the left would offer plans to better things , rather than harp on the current administration , only saying "Americans want change " .

Fine , let's have change , but not just for the sake of change !

Redneck home security

HOW TO INSTALL A HOME SECURITY SYSTEM IN THE SOUTH
------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work
boots.

2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo
magazine and your NRA magazines.

3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazine.

4. Leave a note on your door that reads: Hey Bubba, Big Jim, Duke and
Slim, I went for more ammunition. Back in an hour. Don't mess with the
pit bulls -- they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up
real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it but it was hard to tell
from all the blood.

Anyways, I locked all four of 'em in the house. Better wait outside