Transterrestrial Musings

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You know, of course, as soon as there's a spike in the violence again, the media will pull out this story and point out its complete drivel.

Posted by Mac at November 22, 2006 06:39 AM

Anyone actually thinks we are now "winning" in Iraq is totally deluded. Either that or the said individual is living in the alternate universe inhabited by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levine, Savage etc where every fact can be twisted to prove their point.

Quickly now, let's tell Jim Baker not to worry, things are looking so much better. Also, please tell McCain we don't need any more troops and Lindsey Graham, take a rest. Biden, forget about the partition plan. Mission (is) Accomplished II.

Posted by AnonIraq at November 22, 2006 09:02 AM

It is SO good to hear from General Anon. We feel much safer knowing he and his Demo cronies have all the answers...yet refuse to let us know what they are. Now, if our General were actually in theatre...no, wait...that would make him uneducated.

Posted by CJ at November 22, 2006 11:18 AM

Anon says: Anyone actually thinks we are now "winning" in Iraq is totally deluded. Either that or the said individual is living in the alternate universe inhabited by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levine, Savage etc where every fact can be twisted to prove their point.

Which can be said about you too, twisting every fact to your benefit. I believe our problem is a definite difference in what "winning" is. That alternate universe is inhabited by the left as well you know...Babs Streisand, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen...all just as deluded as you paint Hannity. Every fence has two sides, and your hatred for the conservatives isn't helping anyone find the gate.

Posted by Mac at November 22, 2006 11:27 AM

I wonder if there is some kind of religious implication to the way some commenters always bring up "Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levine, Savage"? It seems to be highly ritualistic.

Posted by TJIT at November 22, 2006 12:14 PM

I've also noticed that when the left is sniping at the right, its "people" that are the target, not the ideas. When The aformentioned Sean Hannity rails against the left, its more often the ideas and policies he's against. Notice, I said more often, not all the time.

Posted by Mac at November 22, 2006 12:26 PM

I think it's legitimate to question Maj. Gen Caldwell's statistics in the press release. After all, it's the man's job to be the spokesman for our effort in Iraq.

The UN reports 3709 Iraqis dead, which is the highest number of civilian casualties of any month of the war so far. That's a staggering figure when you normalize for population - that's the equivalent of over 40,000 dead in the US, which would make violence about the seventh or eighth leading cause of death here if those statistics applied in the US.

The AP runs a statistic effort as well, and it shows a similar trend to the UN figures. It doesn't agree with Maj Gen Caldwell's numbers.

So I think we could all be a little skeptical of the conclusion that violence in Iraq is declining.

Posted by Jane Bernstein at November 22, 2006 12:28 PM

In another sign of the supposed "reduced violence," CNN reports below as follows:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- More than 140 bodies have been found dumped across Baghdad over the past three days, police said Wednesday.

Police said 52 bullet-riddled bodies were found Wednesday, with 20 of them blindfolded, tied up and possibly tortured.

Police also discovered 29 bodies on Tuesday and 60 on Monday.

The dead are thought to be victims of Sunni-Shiite sectarian revenge killings.

That word came as the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq issued a grim bimonthly human rights report that underscored the instability and death resulting from sectarian violence.

The report said 7,054 civilians were killed violently in September and October in Iraq, with almost 5,000 in Baghdad alone -- most of them shot to death and showing signs of torture. (Full story)

November's death toll continued to rise Wednesday as gunmen in Baghdad shot and killed a bodyguard of Iraq's parliament speaker and a journalist for a state newspaper.

In Baquba, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, gunmen killed three Iraqi police officers on patrol Wednesday morning, a police official said.

North of Baquba near Muqtadya, two Iraqis were killed, including an Iraqi soldier, and five others were wounded during two separate attacks targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint, the official said.

The U.S. military said Wednesday that two U.S. soldiers were killed Tuesday in northern Iraq.

A Task Force Lightning soldier assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division was killed and three others were wounded when a roadside bomb blew up near their vehicle in Salaheddin province, the military said.

Another soldier from the same unit also was killed Tuesday in a noncombat incident.

The American military death toll in Iraq is 2,869, including seven American civilian contractors of the military. There have been 49 troop deaths during November.

Posted by AnonIraq at November 22, 2006 12:38 PM

Someone should tell the Shiites and the Sunnis that the mid-term elections are over. They seem to be still killing each other with the same ferocity, when we all know that the only reason they were doing this was to make sure the Republicans would lose in 2006. That is unless the reason for the continuing violence is to make sure the Republicans also lose in 2008. I really wish these Iraqis were less obsessed with US politics, what say you Rand?

Posted by Offside at November 22, 2006 12:48 PM

Mac, I doubt 20 something million Americans listen every day to any one of Streisand,Baldwin, Sheen etc if they listen to them at all!

On the other hand there are an estimated total of 30 to perhaps 40 million Americans who listen every day for several hours to one or more of Limbaugh,Hannity,Levine etc. Just listening to the complete rubbish they spew for several hours a day is a sign of serious illness.

The reason liberals can't do this medium is that liberals in general don't swallow diatribe whole, since, despite the opinion of many on this blog, most liberals tend to think things out for themselves.

There is a difference, and the danger inherent in this difference should worry any thoughtful conservative. One might say that a lot of what has gone wrong in this country recently is due to the fictional universe created and sustained by the talk show media. It is a big stumbling block in the path of having an informed public.

Posted by AnonIraq at November 22, 2006 01:54 PM

Any bad news coming out of Iraq is clearly the fault of the MSM, which doesn't like Bush or Republicans. They don't report on the good things happening there, like children playing and people laughing.

This kind of thing is rampant in the MSM. Here's another example:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/293283_diverdeaths22.html

Yeah, people died, but why don't we hear about the GOOD things happening in the Arctic Circle?! Because of the MSM, that's why!

Posted by Bill Gibson at November 22, 2006 04:24 PM

Anon obviously hasn't been to a college campus lately or his own delusions are taking over. The left made a mantra out "Bush lied people died". Oh and don't forget that number one hit "No blood for oil". The liberal religion has its own dogma and catechisms that would do a 14th centuury pope or 21st century imam proud.

Posted by Bill Maron at November 22, 2006 06:21 PM

"the alternate universe inhabited by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levine, Savage"

Those people all inhabit this universe, same as all the rest of us.

The total US troop deaths in Iraq over the last three years is still less than 3000, which is less than WTC or even some single battles like Antietam.

I just wonder when the US is going to pull the troops out of the quagmire. No, not Iraq. Germany.

Posted by Ed Minchau at November 23, 2006 02:21 AM

"The total US troop deaths in Iraq over the last three years is still less than 3000, which is less than WTC or even some single battles like Antietam."

There have been tens of thousands of Iraqis killed. But they don't look or speak like us, so they don't matter?

Posted by Kenneth Ambler at November 23, 2006 06:48 AM

Check the news today: at least 30 civilians killed in Sadr City, plus an attack on the health ministry. The violence has not abated. Only a person divorced from reality would continue to think that everything is going well in Iraq. It's a mess. Even Bush had to acknowledge that by firing Rumsfeld.

Posted by Kenneth Ambler at November 23, 2006 07:01 AM

"The News They Don't Want You To Know:
Violence has been dropping in Iraq."

Rand, you're full of stuffing:

"Deadly Baghdad Attacks Kill at Least 138:
Sadr City assault is single deadliest on Iraqi civilians since the start of the U.S.-led invasion; Baghdad's airport closed to commercial flights."

Yeah, everything is just fine in Iraq. It's only the MSM and Bush Derangement Syndrome that makes people think otherwise.

Posted by Phil Joyce at November 23, 2006 01:30 PM

Sadr City assault is single deadliest on Iraqi civilians since the start of the U.S.-led invasion; Baghdad's airport closed to commercial flights."

Sadr City is not Iraq as a whole, so this has no bearing on the overall violence, which is the statistic I was citing. Go back to school and take a course in logic (set theory) and statistics.

Yeah, everything is just fine in Iraq.

No one said that everything is fine in Iraq.

Go back to school, and take a logic class. This particular argumentative error is called a "strawman."

Posted by Rand Simberg at November 23, 2006 01:45 PM

"There have been tens of thousands of Iraqis killed. But they don't look or speak like us, so they don't matter?"

Tens of thousands - spread out over a period of three years. Get some freaking perspective, man. Has there ever been a war where the number of casualties is so low?

In 2002, there were 145000 deaths in Iraq out of a population of 24 million. That was the year before the war.

Did you somehow expect the US Army to come up with a cure for death? Or for the death rate to suddenly drop during a war?

Hell, between 2002 and 2005 the population of Iraq increased from 24 million to 28.8 million. Think about that for a moment.

And as for your implication of racism on my part, fornicate yourself.

Posted by Ed Minchau at November 23, 2006 11:42 PM

Anon says: The reason liberals can't do this medium is that liberals in general don't swallow diatribe whole, since, despite the opinion of many on this blog, most liberals tend to think things out for themselves.

Not whole maybe, but in large chunks. The forty million americans who listen to he right leaning radio have 4-8 hours of the stuff to listen to...Sheen, Baldwin, and Babs don't have that amount of time, but they still find the time to be largely more dumb than the right. "If Bush wins, I'm leaving the country." And he's still here. I listen to Rush's show, but only when Walter Williams is hosting. He clearly shows that the left has no clue how to show economics. Williams explains it easily and swipes at the conservatives when they get it wrong too. All radio shows, even the super left NPR (National Partisan Radio) have nuggets of good info, its just weeding out what those are.

Posted by Mac at November 24, 2006 09:24 AM

Kenneth says: Check the news today: at least 30 civilians killed in Sadr City, plus an attack on the health ministry. The violence has not abated. Only a person divorced from reality would continue to think that everything is going well in Iraq. It's a mess. Even Bush had to acknowledge that by firing Rumsfeld.

Therin lies the problem. This issue is not black and white. Not everything is going well in Iraq, absolutely true. But then again, which all the leftists REFUSE to acknowledge...Not everything is going badly either. The whole point the conservatives are trying to make is that the media for purposes of ratings and political wrangling, report only the bad things and rarely the good. Conservatives are not saying everything is fine, even Bush who you all despise so much, has not said everything is fine. We have a lot of work to do still, but it takes time. We are having a good effect and things are getting better in some places. But I'm betting you won't acknowledge that at all.

On the home front....Bush helped Kennedy get a freaking FORTUNE for the education system 5 years ago....and again nothing is fixed. How come you're not railing against Kennedy for screwing that up? How come its Bush's fault the education system is screwed up when he gave the left the power and money to do what they wanted to? 65 years the left has thrown money at education and it still doesn't work. 65 years and yet you lefties don't recognize your own failures. Kerry says the system is messed up too, and the stupid wind up in Iraq. Less than a decade for Iraq and nobody sees any of the good side. That is a terrible imbalance. Our children's education is being sold down the river by the Democrats, yet no one cares. Our kids are being wounded overseas and everyone can't stop blaming the president. There's a war at home in education and we are losing....where's the media?

Posted by Mac at November 24, 2006 09:35 AM

Well written Mac.

Posted by Leland at November 25, 2006 12:13 PM

Thanks Leland. Note the lack of response.....

Slamdunk!

Posted by Mac at November 27, 2006 10:35 AM

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