Combat Camera: Sat 14 Oct. 2006

Tracking the Bear - An F-15 Eagle from the 12th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, flies next to a Russian Tu-95 Bear Bomber Sept. 28 during a Russian exercise near the west coast of Alaska. (U.S. Air Force photo)

A three-ship formation of Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcons flies over Kunsan City, South Korea. The F-16s are from New Mexico, Colorado and Montana. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)

A Proteus aircraft flies over Southern California carrying the Global Hawk variant of the new Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program radar. This is the first flight test of the state-of-the-art radar system, which will be incorporated onto the Global Hawk. (Courtesy photo/Northrop Grumman Corp.)

Major Latimer Neal gets a briefing in the cockpit of an Indian IL-76 medium cargo aircraft during a training mission over the big island of Hawaii Sept. 20. The Indian Air Force is flying members of the 15th Airlift Wing to show their American counter parts what their aircraft is capable of. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ Extra

A few tidbits missed the deadline:

• Reuters reports former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said the United States had squandered an opportunity to improve global politics after the Cold War. Gorbachev is limited to wax in critical hindsight on the total failure of Soviet communism to maintain and excel on the stage of world events. Gorbachev adds his voice to those of folks like former President Jimmy Carter and other leftist elites who at once condemn America for projecting a strong force of freedom in the world while complaining that American foreign policy is not doing enough for the world. As we are now seeing in Iraq, it's just plain hard to help those who are simply unwilling to help themselves.

• I noted yesterday that KVUE News reported on anti-war activist Casey Sheehan's claims that she is a Nobel Peace Prize finalist. While the nomination cannot be confirmed, it can, however, be confirmed that Sheehan did not win a Nobel prize.

• U.S. News and World Report says some Republican strategists are increasingly upset with what they consider the overconfidence of President Bush and his senior advisers about the midterm elections November 7–a concern aggravated by the president's news conference this week.
  
  

  "They aren't even planning for if they lose," says a GOP insider who informally counsels the West Wing. If Democrats win control of the House, as many analysts expect, Republicans predict that Bush's final two years in office will be marked by multiple congressional investigations and gridlock.

  Far be it for me to speculate on the lack of a loser's plan for Republicans. Frankly, I'm already weary of all the negative speculation from Republican pundits and the press. A more interesting thought is what it will it say about the Democrats if they lose. Do they have a plan for losing? The thought of Democrats bogging down the country with congressional investigations instead of fighting terrorism is scary enough as it is. I'm just afraid I'll wake up to a nightmare where Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House, Harry Reid is the Senate Majority leader, and the country is in the process of becoming a coast-to-coast version of San Francisco by way of Las Vegas. Happy Friday the 13th!

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ for 13 Oct.

After reading: wash, rinse and repeat.

• The traditional media may soon be on life support. According to Reuters, media outlets are finding it harder to protect the privacy of the politicians and stars they cover without losing scoops to blogs and other competitors, the editor of online magazine Slate said on Thursday. The following quote sums of the decline and fall of traditional (I call it legacy) media who freely admit they no longer exert full control over the folks:
  

  "I very much agree that we need to have standards, but I think that in practical terms, we don't control what people find out anymore," Slate Editor-in-Chief Jacob Weisberg said at a Reuters Newsmaker event.

• Because the legacy media is falling (as I have noted above) in its efforts to control news flow, the blogosphere continues to expose Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's questionable (if not illegal) land dealings. Calling for Reid to step down from his leadership position and undergo a full investigation of his activities, the Strata-Sphere blog details the case -- including exhaustive government records of land deals.

• Chris Cillizza, writing in the Washington Post, says former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner's decision to bow out of the 2008 Democratic presidential race yesterday left the remaining candidates scrambling to fill the ideological and electoral void left by the candidate long considered a leading alternative to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid. Warner's campaign was to be built around the idea that in an age of polarizing netroots politics, voters are looking for an alternative to the far-left elements taking over the Democratic party. Gossip Web-rag Radar says D.C. insiders are speculating that his surprise pull-out may have been sparked by concerns that alleged past sexual indiscretions could derail his campaign—especially in the midst of the Mark Foley feeding frenzy. It's interesting to note that the "pull-out" is a traditional Democratic manoeuvre, starting with former President Clinton's stain making move and still in vogue today with those who want to pull-out of Iraq.

• Air America Radio, a liberal talk and news radio network that features the comedian Al Franken, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a network official told AP. Click here for the filing. Air America proved correct many conservative critics who pointed out the network's business plan (or lack thereof) relied on revenue of contributors, which made the network more like a PAC than a commercial venture for profit.

• Though it goes against the conventional wisdom of anti-illegal immigration supporters, those who enroll the poor in the federal food stamp program say they've struggled for years to get immigrant Latino families signed up. The LA Times reports a Spanish-language news report and television ad campaign have spurred thousands of immigrants in Orange County over the last several weeks to contact a nonprofit organization that offers a Spanish-language class called "Food Stamps in Four Hours."

• British Muslim terrorist mastermind Dhiren Barot, 34, faces life in jail after he admitted plotting a radioactive 'dirty bomb' attack in the UK and a string of devastating atrocities in the USA, reports the Daily Mail. Barot planned to kill "as many innocent people as possible" by blowing up some of the world's largest financial institutions including the New York Stock Exchange, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

• The latest Sacramento resident to be questioned by federal agents in possible threats against President Bush is 14-year-old Julia Wilson who is passionate about liberal politics, according to the Sacremento Bee. Beneath the words "Kill Bush," Wilson posted a cartoonish photo-collage of a knife stabbing the hand of the president. It was one of a few images Julia said she used to decorate an anti-Bush Web page she moderated on MySpace.

• AP reports a teenager who put her bra on a car antenna before it flew off and led to a highway accident will be charged with littering, a prosecutor said. Emily Davis, 17, of Bowling Green, told investigators she took her bra off while her friend was driving on Interstate 75.

• Pillaging, plundering and grog, sweet grog; James Hill is happy to discuss the finer points of pirate life. But first, you'll have to hear him out on lobbying reform, reports AP.
  
  

  "Lobbying should be illegal," said Hill, a self-professed "drunken pirate" who is running for Congress as an independent in Iowa's 1st District. "It amounts to taxation without representation."

• Officials are trying to track down the origins of a mummified human skeleton that a Michigan woman tried to sell on eBay, reports AP. The St. Clair County medical examiner's office confiscated the mummified remains Tuesday from the home of Lynn Sterling.
  
  Sterling, 45, told police she got the remains from a friend who works in demolition and said he found them in a Detroit school he helped tear down nearly 30 years ago, police said. She said she had contacted an attorney before posting the remains for sale.

• Last and surely least ROO TV resents News for Blondes.

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Dispatches From the Front, Fri 13 Oct. 2006

U.S. Army Soldiers provide security for Iraqi engineers assessing the damage to a major oil pipeline caused by an improvised explosive device on Oct. 5, 2006. The Soldiers are assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

IRAQI SECURITY FORCES SPOIL TERRORIST ATTACK
MOSUL, Iraq (CENTCOM) -- Iraqi Security Forces defeated a complex attack in Mosul Thursday night with the aid of Coalition Forces.

CITIZEN’S TIP LEADS IPS TO UNEXPLODED VBIED
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CENTCOM) -- A tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen led Iraqi policemen to a vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device in Baghdad’s Al-Bayaa district Wednesday afternoon.

INSURGENT MORTAR TEAM DESTROYED
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (CENTCOM) -- An insurgent mortar team attacked Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces in Al Anbar Province Wednesday.

MND-B SOLDIERS DETAIN TERRORISTS, SEIZE MUNITIONS
BAGHDAD (CENTCOM) -- Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered a large weapons cache Thursday afternoon and detained four suspected terrorists just outside Mushada.

The Nature of the Enemy
Victory in the War on Terror requires a clear understanding of the enemy. Each week "The Nature of the Enemy" will highlight elements of extremist ideology, strategy and tactics. Download pdf.

FIRE AT AMMUNITION HOLDING AREA
BAGHDAD (CENTCOM) -- An ammunition holding area caught on fire at a Multi-National Division –Baghdad forward operating base in the central Rasheed district of Baghdad Tuesday at approximately 10:40 p.m.

UPDATE 1: FIRE AT AMMUNITION HOLDING AREA
BAGHDAD (CENTCOM) -- Multi-National Division - Baghdad has determined that an 82mm mortar round, fired by militia forces from a residential area in Abu T-Shir, caused the fire at an ammunition holding area at approximately 10:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Iraqi Soldiers distribute school supplies
BAGHDAD (American Forces Press Service) -- For many Iraqis, the only face of the Iraqi Security Force they see is the one patrolling the streets looking for suspected insurgents enforcing the law.

Video: Keeping IEDs off the Streets
B-roll of Soldiers disposing of ordinance found in scrap yards. Scenes include Soldiers safely exploding improvised explosive device materials and inspecting scrap yards. Also see "Keeping IEDs Off the Streets" in the Package section.

Video: Freedom Watch Afghanistan Oct. 11
This edition features a story about deployed Danish Soldiers going on a road march as part of a long standing tradition. Hosted by Sgt. Tim Hanson.

Commander, U.S. Central Command Visits USS Iwo Jima
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Mike Jones
USS IWO JIMA, At Sea (CUSNC) -- Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. John Abizaid, paid a visit to the multi-purpose, amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), Oct. 10.

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Clinton Says Liberals are Conservatives

Former President Bill Clinton, second from left, speaks at a Democratic fundraiser in Las Vegas, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006. Behind Clinton are U.S. Senate candidate, Jack Carter, left; U.S. Congressional candidates, Jill Derby, center, and Tessa Hafen and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., right.

Today's submission to the Gallery of the Absurd comes from none other than former President William Jefferson Clinton. According to AP, the nation has been "jammed into an ideological corner" by conservative Republicans and is primed for a power shift in the November elections, Clinton said Thursday. Clinton addressed a group of about 50 top-level donors to the Jack Carter for Senate campaign. Carter, the son of former President Jimmy Carter, is running to unseat Republican Sen. John Ensign.

"The Democratic Party has become the liberal and conservative party in America. If you want to be fiscally conservative, you've got to be for us. If you want to conserve natural resources, you've got to be for us," he said. "If you want a change of course in Iraq ... you've got to be for us."

It's too bad life long card carrying Democrat and Fox News journalist Chris Wallace wasn't around to ask Clinton exactly what what all that means. When Democrats start calling themselves liberal and conservative just to win an election you can be sure that the war room is in full tailspin mode; denial ain't a river in Egypt.

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Combat Camera: U.S. Troops Search for Shooters

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Thomas Beyerl, of Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, gives his soldiers the order to change positions to optimize visibility during a search in the Adhamiyah area of northeast Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2006. The soldiers are forming a defensive position to counter a possible enemy threat. U.S. Navy photo Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik A. Wehnes

U.S. Army soldiers with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, position their vehicles in a standard diamond pattern, which creates a safe defensive position, in order to engage insurgents in the Shaab neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2006. The soldiers responded to shots fired at Iraqi National Police while on patrol and remained on the scene until a platoon of Iraqi army soldiers arrived to relieve them. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith W. DeVinney

U.S. Army Spc. Robert D. Casturao, foreground, and Staff Sgt. Matthew Carothers, both with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provide over watch security during an engagement with insurgents in the Shaab neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2006. U.S. Army Soldiers responded to shots fired at Iraqi National Police while on patrol and remained on the scene until a platoon of Iraqi army soldiers arrived to relieve them. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith W. DeVinney

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Carothers, with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provides cover from his vehicle during a patrol through the Shaab neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith W. DeVinney

An Iraqi man, who is angry about crime in his neighborhood, explains to an interpreter and U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, the details of recent criminal activity in the Shaab neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2006. The soldiers were on a routine patrol when they encountered locals congregating and stopped to investigate. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith W. DeVinney

An Iraqi man, who is angry about crime in his neighborhood, explains to an interpreter and U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, the details of recent criminal activity in the Shaab neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2006. The soldiers were on a routine patrol when they encountered locals congregating and stopped to investigate. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith W. DeVinney

U.S. Army Sgt. John T. Roper, with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, patrols through the streets of the Shaab neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 2, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith W. DeVinney

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ for 12 Oct.

After reading: wash, rinse and repeat.

• Legacy media has invoked radio silence on news reports of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's ethical hangup. Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show, according to the story: AP Exclusive: Reid Got $1M in Land Sale. Radio host Rush Limbaugh today noted:
  
  

  I'm still watching stories on Denny Hastert and how he needs to resign, and PMSNBC is running a story now about some wacko evangelical who got into Hastert's house yesterday pretending to be -- well, Hastert thought he was just a supporter. This minister shows up, this evangelist, and prays with Hastert for six minutes and then counsels him to resign. Well, all well and good, but where are the calls for Dingy Harry's resignation? He made a greater profit in his land deal than ExxonMobil did on oil prices

  I mean, this is absurd. They're still trying to get Hastert to quit, and everybody's, "Well, Dingy Harry, he has amended his filings, and he's submitted it, it was transparent as it could be." Yeah, to who? Organized crime? He submitted his amended filings to the ethics committee, and he's now awaiting word from them (ha-ha-ha) of what's going to happen. You gotta hear a couple audio sound bites. Jerry Bodlander of AP interviewing Dingy Harry about the story that came out yesterday from Associated Press, and Dingy Harry hung up on Bodlander. We have a little clip of that.

  The Washington Post downplayed the story on page A3: Reid Land Deal Under Scrutiny. I have also linked the AP video here.

The next three stories have taken their rightful place in the Gallery of the Absurd.

• KVUE News reports anti-war activist Casey Sheehan claims she's a Nobel Peace Prize finalist. Video.

• In a statement posted today, the U.S. Committee on Environment and Public Works says that David Roberts posted the following response on the Grist Blog today, retracting his earlier statement calling for Nuremberg trials for those in the climate-change "denial industry":
  
  

  "There are people and institutions knowingly disseminating falsehoods and distortions about global warming. They deserve to be held publicly accountable.

  As to what shape that accountability would take, my analogy to the Nuremberg trials was woefully inappropriate -- nay, stupid. I retract it wholeheartedly. More -- much more -- later."

  Global warming elites have criticized those in their ranks who resort to emotional pleas over sound scientific reasoning. Then again, there is enough disagreement in the professional scientific community over global warming to take a closer look at the ethics and economic incentives of those who so stridently insist that the world pay attention.

• Economists joke about conclusions drawn from studies performed in data-free environments. I'll get to that in a moment. For now, imagine a football game played using rules based on the methodology of what the Washington Post says is a recent study by epidemiologists (folks who study factors affecting the health and illness of populations) who claim 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.
  
  

  The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government.

  OK, back to that football game. So the game would be scored by taking a poll of those in attendance. The poll, of course, would reflect the respondent's answers to questions about who is scoring points without considering the real scoreboard of the game being played. The winner would then be chosen based on the poll data and not the actual score. In any case, it seems the economist's joke is that this study's results conclude more about what Iraqis answers are to interview questions than to a simple bean-count sum using real data like the actual death numbers. The story is also covered by Reuters, AP.

• In related news, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office rejected as inaccurate on Thursday a study that found about 655,000 Iraqis had died due to the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion and later violence, according to Reuters. Researchers surveyed 1,849 households, including 12,801 household members, in 47 randomly selected sites across Iraq.
  
  

  "The problem with this is they're using an extrapolation technique from a relatively small sample from an area of Iraq which isn't representative of the country as a whole," Blair's spokesman said.

  "We have questioned that technique right from the beginning and we continue to do so," he added.

• According to WorldNetDaily YouTube blocked a video mocking Clinton administration's Albright-run North Korea policy. The Examiner reports Fox News pundit, author and top-rated blogger Michelle Malkin last week received notice from YouTube that her video had been deemed “offensive.” The result? Her account was terminated and her videos deleted.
  
  

  Malkin may have been the first casualty in the coming information war but she certainly will not be the last. Yet online conservative elites seem not to care. They fail to realize that voters are increasingly accessing news and information from these new media sources and that these sources are using their editorial discretion to publish and promote a liberal -- not conservative -- agenda.

• Last and truly least, CBS News reports former page Jordan Edmund, now 21, met with Mark Foley in person twice, including for dinner in San Diego in 2002. They went to Foley's hotel room but Edmund told agents he left after about 20 minutes and nothing untoward happened. (Edits: it's what happens when you watch TV when you write.)

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Air Force Memorial Dedication

The United States Air Force Memorial will be officially dedicated and presented to the nation at an onsite ceremony at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, October 14, 2006. The new Memorial is located in Arlington, Virginia, directly across from the Pentagon. More.

U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft from the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbirds" conduct a practice flyby over the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., Oct. 12, 2006, in preparation for the memorial's dedication ceremony Oct. 14, 2006. DoD photo by Master Sgt. Gary R. Coppage, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team flies over the Air Force Memorial while practicing for Saturday's opening ceremony of the memorial while in Arlington October 12, 2006.

A member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team flies over the Air Force Memorial while practicing for the opening ceremony of the memorial on Satuday while in Arlington October 12, 2006.

Memorial dedication to launch AF's 60th Anniversary observance
WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The nation's youngest military service will kick off its 60th anniversary observance this weekend with the official dedication of the Air Force Memorial here. Images.

Air Force Video: Air Force Memorial

Air Force Times: text, images, video.

Wild Blue Wonder
(Washington Post) -- With one bold leap, the Air Force jumps into first place for having the most distinctive service memorial in the Washington area. Visible up close from I-395 and afar from the patio of the Kennedy Center, three stainless steel arms set on a promontory above Arlington National Cemetery tickle the sky. Map, images, video.

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Harry Reid's Ethical Hangup

YouTube has removed the video. Click here for the source AP video.

RELATED: The Examiner reports Fox News pundit, author and top-rated blogger Michelle Malkin last week received notice from YouTube that her video had been deemed “offensive.” The result? Her account was terminated and her videos deleted.

Except for AP, where's the coverage on this? The Post burried the story on A3; yet they ran Foley related stories stories on the front page. Foley resigned a week ago.

AP Exclusive: Reid Got $1M in Land Sale
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show.

Reid Land Deal Under Scrutiny
(Washington Post) -- Harry M. Reid of Nevada, the Senate's top Democrat, said yesterday that he was in discussions with the chamber's ethics committee to determine whether he should amend his financial disclosure forms to include details of a real estate transaction that allowed him to collect $1.1 million.

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Combat Camera: Polish Soldiers Provide Security

Polish army soldiers from the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, provide security for other team members in Al, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006, during a site survey stop. The Polish CIMIC funds, contracts, and inspects projects designed to help revitalize Iraq's economy and provides supplies and services to Iraqi army soldiers and civilians. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

Polish army soldiers from the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, and Iraqi army soldiers from 8th Iraqi Army Division meet with Iraqi medical clinic personnel and the project contractor at a medical clinic in Ghammas, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006, to conduct a site survey of the finished generator project. The Polish CIMIC funds, contracts, and inspects projects designed to help revitalize Iraq's economy and provides supplies and services to Iraqi army soldiers and civilians. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

Polish army Lt. Col. Andrzej Kujawa, commander of the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, shakes hands with Ali Muhammad Hussein, a local religious leader, following a site survey of the finished generator project at a medical clinic in Ghammas, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006. The Polish CIMIC funds, contracts, and inspects projects designed to help revitalize Iraq's economy and provides supplies and services to Iraqi army soldiers and civilians. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

Polish army soldiers from the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, and Iraqi army soldiers from 8th Iraqi Army Division meet with Iraqi medical clinic personnel and the project contractor at a medical clinic in Ghammas, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006, to conduct a site survey of the finished generator project. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

Polish army Lt. Col Andrzej Kujawa, commander of the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, shakes hands with an Iraqi contractor at the inspection and completion of an electrical project his company completed in Sudayr, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

Polish army Sgt. Pawel Danielak, a paramedic assigned to the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, obtains a water sample from a local stream in Ghammas, Iraq, to be tested for a possible water sanitation station project Sept. 27, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

A Polish army soldier from the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, provides security for fellow soldiers in Sudayr, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006, during a site survey stop. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

Polish army Lt. Grjegorz Kotarski, the tactical support team commander with the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, and Iraqi army soldiers from 8th Iraqi Army Division prepare for a convoy mission to Sudayr, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006, to inspect a completed electrical project. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

Polish army Lt. Col Andrzej Kujawa, commander of the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, shakes hands with Iraqi doctors following a site survey at a medical clinic in Ghammas, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

A Polish army soldier with the Civilian Military Cooperation unit at Camp Echo, Iraq, prepares for a morning convoy mission to Ghammas, Iraq, Sept. 27, 2006, to inspect a completed engineering project by an Iraqi contractor. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ for 10 Oct.

Heads up folks, this news rolls downhill.

• Reuters reports an animal rights group called on Tuesday for a North American theme park operator to cancel a competition in which people will try to break the world cockroach-eating record. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it had been flooded with calls from children, adults and even anonymous employees of Six Flags opposing the record-breaking contest and the overall promotion.
  

  "Insects do not deserve to be eaten alive especially for a gratuitous marketing gimmick," PETA spokeswoman Jackie Vergerio told Reuters.

• Mexico's foreign secretary said Monday the country may take a dispute over U.S. plans to build a fence on the Mexican border to the United Nations, reports the Washington Post. The U.S. Senate approved the border fence bill last month and President Bush has said he will sign it into law, despite last-minute pleas from the Mexican government for a veto.
  
  

  "What should be constructed is a bridge in relations between the two countries," Mexico's foreign secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said.

• Soccer Fans form human swastika at soccer game, reports the Sun:

Croatia fans make human swastika

• Denmark said on Tuesday a new cartoon crisis with the Muslim world could erupt after Danish television stations broadcast footage last week deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad, according to Reuters. In Tehran, dozens of Iranian protesters pelted the Danish embassy with stones and petrol bombs, witnesses said. Riot police guarded the embassy.
  
  

  "(The latest cartoon issue is) smoldering around in the Muslim world. We hope it will die out but we don't know if it will pass," Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller told the Danish national broadcaster DR.

• A Harper reporter claims he sat on the Foley story for five months. Ken Silverstein says a Democrat brought him the now infamous e-mail Foley sent to a congressional page. Months after the fact, and only when Foley is news, does Silverstein bother to say anything. If only Republicans would just shut up about Foley....

• ROO TV presents News for Blondes video.

• Republican Sen. John McCain on Tuesday accused former President Clinton, the husband of his potential 2008 White House rival, of failing to act in the 1990s to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, reports AP.
  

  "I would remind Senator (Hillary) Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a failure," McCain said at a news conference after a campaign appearance for Republican Senate candidate Mike Bouchard.

  Perhaps the point is made better in this video.

Tags: Decline and Fall of Western Civ, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, United States
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