Kerry represents one of the more cliched liberal fantasies: marrying into money instead of working for it and then wiling the halcyon days away spending other people's money like a drunken diamond thief, except even said thief WORKED for his ill-gotten gains.

The Swiftboaters were a nice touch, but such an obvious (flip)flop socialist belongs in the crumbling European-soon-to-be-Islamic Onion, not anywhere near the American Presidency. Mission Accomplished.

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I wasn't refering to HIV - just that vaccines were cultured on rhesus monkey tissue.

My problem with Western medicine in general is that it's so susceptible to hubris. Over and over it's been "trust us we're doctors" - and then things like thalidomide happen. The fact that this current vaccine has only been in people for 4.5 years is scary.

Maybe it's my dislike for authority in general showing through - but I distrust the medical establishment thoroughly. You can guess my views on pharmaceutical companies.

You can say that "oh, well they've stopped putting mercury in vaccines - so don't worry". But what in fuck's sake made them think it would be a good idea in the first place to inject kids with mercury? It doesn't inspire confidence in their current descision making.

The mercury was used as a perservative - it was taken out when the whole autism flap happened (I'm not saying I believe it's a cause - the data seems inconclusive - but damn it can't help!). So they replaced it with another chemical perservative with a hard to pronounce name. Fantastic - mission accomplished - and er ... no thanks.

The Right is having trouble attacking this man clearly. They go back years to find a clip to try to pass him off as a flip flopper?

Please.

Let's see now... Since 2003 Bush revised the way he refers to the war...

March 2003 - Operation Iraqi Freedom:
"This will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory."
TROOPS : 90,000

May 2003 - Under Mission Accomplished banner:
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."
TROOPS : 146,300

April 2004 - On Staying Course:
"These killers [terrorists] don't have values. They want to shake our will... But we will stay the course."
TROOPS : 138,100

November 2005 - Strategy for Victory in Iraq:
"Every man and woman who volunteers to defend our nation deserves an unwavering commitment to the mission - and a clear strategy for victory."
TROOPS : 154,000

July 2006 - Operation Together Forward:
"Obviously, the violence in Baghdad is still terrible, and therefore there needs to be more troops."
TROOPS : 131,000

January 2007 - New Way Forward Iraq Strategy:
"This violence is splitting Baghdad into sectarian enclaves, and shaking the confidence of all Iraqis... Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me."
TROOPS : 132,000


The military itself says Bush's surge plan is a foolish political compromise, that introduces too few troops to secure the situation but just enough to get more Americans killed. Bush doesn't listen to his own generals, dismissing the advice of the Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, who wanted the increase to be just a few thousand men.

The Battle of Algiers (in Italian, La Battaglia di Algeri) is a 1966 black-and-white film by Gillo Pontecorvo based on the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 until 1962 against the French occupation. The film has been critically acclaimed for it's realistic and evenhanded portrayal of both sides of the conflict. It remains as one of the best cinematic discourses on struggles for independence.

In 2003, the film again made the news after the US Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict at The Pentagon offered a screening of the film on August 27, regarding it as a useful illustration of the problems faced in Iraq. A flyer for the screening read:

"How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film."

According to the Defense Department official in charge of the screening, "Showing the film offers historical insight into the conduct of French operations in Algeria, and was intended to prompt informative discussion of the challenges faced by the French." The 2003 screening lent new currency to the film, coming only months after U.S. President George W. Bush's May 1, 2003 "Mission Accomplished" speech proclaiming the end of "major hostilities" in Iraq. Opponents of President Bush cited the Pentagon screening as proof of a growing concern within the Defense Department about the growth of an Iraqi insurgency belying Bush's triumphalism. One year later, the media's revelations regarding the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal lead critics of the war to compare French torture in the film and "aggressive interrogation" of prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison.

Journalist: M. Ben M'Hidi, don't you think it's a bit cowardly to use women's baskets and handbags to carry explosive devices that kill so many innocent people?

Ben M'Hidi: And doesn't it seem to you even more cowardly to drop napalm bombs on defenseless villages, so that there are a thousand times more innocent victims? Of course, if we had your airplanes it would be a lot easier for us. Give us your bombers, and you can have our baskets.

Journalist: The law's often inconvenient, Colonel.

Col. Mathieu: And those who explode bombs in public places, do they respect the law perhaps? When you put that question to Ben M'Hidi, remember what he said? We aren't madmen or sadists, gentlemen. Those who call us Fascists today, forget the contribution that many of us made to the Resistance. Those who call us Nazis, don't know that among us there are survivors of Dachau and Buchenwald. We are soldiers and our only duty is to win. Should we remain in Algeria? If you answer "yes," then you must accept all the necessary consequences.

Sorry, it's BS. I went to whitehouse.gov and some of the other videos are like that. It just seems to be something funny with their player so it can play widescreen and fullscreen clips. Clips that are widescreen just get shoved to the top instead of having black bars at the top and bottom. Plus, you can go on YouTube and find the Mission Accomplished video and it's exactly the same. (Not with a big black bar at the bottom, but bars on the bottom and top.) You can even see the camera zoom out and the banner isn't hidden. (Only good link I have is from an edited parody, but it's still good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCWEw6xZEuo)

Funny thing is people believe it can be true. Just goes to show what little reputation and credibility this administration has. No one believes them anymore.

I'll upvote it, even if the thing with the Governor doing it to serve his country is a bit corny.

I also want to add one (sarcastic) comment. "33,000 new business have started up since the end of the war." The war ended? When? I guess we can go home right? Mission accomplished! lol

*Is flying his F4 Phantom low over enemy territory*
"Enemy in sight, arming napalm bombs.... dropping... mission accomplished*

I just can't understand how anyone thought this was funny.

I think a better slideshow would have been "Mission Accomplished?" and a picture of him putting the last puzzle piece in a puzzle. And then another one showing him tying his shoes.

"Mission Accomplished"

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Really well done, slice of life stuff. Makes me want to be on that team, and drink Carlsberg. (Mission accomplished)