Unilateral?

The big lie seems to be that we are in Iraq all by ourselves. Here's a list that was compiled by the Candian Broadcasting Corporation. We are not there alone by a long shot.

United Kingdom: 9,000 soldiers

Italy: 3,000 soldiers, some serving as police and engineers

Poland: 2,400 soldiers

Ukraine: 1,600 soldiers

Netherlands: 1,100 soldiers plus a logistics team, a field hospital, military police and 200 engineers

Japan: 1,100 soldiers assigned to reconstruction

Australia: 800 soldiers

Romania: 700 soldiers plus 149 de-mining specialists, military police and "special intelligence" members

South Korea: 600 military engineers and medics

Bulgaria: 480 soldiers plus chemical warfare experts

Thailand: 440 soldiers assigned to humanitarian missions

Denmark: 420 soldiers including medics and military police

El Salvador: 360 soldiers

Hungary: 300 soldiers

Norway: 179 soldiers, mostly engineers and mine clearers

Mongolia: 160 soldiers involved in peacekeeping

Azerbaijan: 150 soldiers taking part in law enforcement and protection of historic monuments

Portugal: 125 soldiers functioning as police officers

Latvia: 120 soldiers

Lithuania: 115 soldiers

Slovakia: 102 soldiers

Czech Republic: 80 soldiers, serving as police

Philippines: 80 soldiers plus police and medics

Albania: 70 non-combat troops

Georgia: 70 soldiers

New Zealand: 60 army engineers assigned to reconstruction (expected to leave in Sept. 2004)

Moldova: 50 soldiers including de-mining specialists and medics

Macedonia: 35 soldiers

Estonia: 30 soldiers

Great Music

Carbon Leaf is one of my favorite bands. They are from Richmond and are currently touring nationwide. You can listen to their newest album on the website. Give them a listen.

I'd heard this before but I couldn't relocate the source. Well, here it is again. Bush volunteered to go to Vietnam. Details here.

"The Air Force, in their ultimate wisdom, assembled a group of 102's and took them to Southeast Asia. Bush volunteered to go. But he needed to have 500 [flight] hours, but he only had just over 300 hours so he wasn't eligible to go,” Morrisey recalls.

Instapundit is on the case.

Semper Paratus

An HH-65 from AIR STATION DETROIT hoisted a man after being stranded on his roof in Beaver, PA. Franklin Twp 911 requested aircraft assistance in rescuing an individual from his roof. Rushing waters from severe flooding prevented four previous attempts by the local fire department to rescue the man. AIR STATION DETROIT arrived on scene, basket hoisted the man and transported him to safety. Case closed.

Hurricane Updates

I have found an excellend website for the latest hurricane news. It is Crown Weather Services. I check it several times during the day. I hope that you find it useful.

Another interesting site is the National Buoy Data Center. It provides near real-time observations from weather buoys all over the world.

Good Order and Discipline

When John Kerry testified before the Senate in 1971, he was still a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserve. I have to wonder if that testimony violated the following punitive article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

ART. 88. CONTEMPT TOWARD OFFICIALS
Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

Linked to the Beltway Traffic Jam on Outside the Beltway.

Duck Season!

I haven't gone hunting in several years. I am now getting the chance to go duck hunting for the first time (I've only hunted quail). So, I started to go buy some 12 guage shells and I'm immediately overwhelmed by the selection out there now. I knew that lead shot was a no-no but I didn't realize that steel wasn't the only alternative.

So, here's my bleg; what type of shot should I use and what size? My shotgun is a 12 guage semi-automatic. It chambers 2-3/4 inch shells and has a full choke.

Ted Rall out does himself

Ted Rall has to be one of the biggest DNC whores in the world. Everytime he pulls some vile stunt, I think that he couldn't possible do worse. Well he did.

Muslim Cleric supports targeting children

The Telegraph has this story about a Muslim cleric who says that targeting children is acceptable. Here's his quote;

"If an Iraqi Muslim carried out an attack like that in Britain, it would be justified because Britain has carried out acts of terrorism in Iraq.

"As long as the Iraqi did not deliberately kill women and children, and they were killed in the crossfire, that would be okay."

He gave this interview to promote an upcoming celebration of the 9/11 attacks on the US. What a charmer! A member of the British Parliament had this to say about it, "It is an insult to most moderate Muslims, who are sick of people like this claiming to represent them." The thing is, why aren't the moderate Muslims saying it? Has anyone heard anything from them? They must exist right?