About
Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.
Read More
The Crows Nest
OpenCongress Web Widget
Ever wanted to announce your support or opposition to Congressional legislation? OpenCongress now has a web widget that allows bloggers to do exactly that. Take a look at this, and check out how easily you can build your own.
Maybe They're Flotation Devices?
The Australian Navy foots the bill for breast augmentations. The Labour Party would like to know why, and probably so would most of the voters in Australia.
The Thinking Blogger
Congrats to Fausta, who won a Thinking Blogger award. She thanks me for my friendship, but the truth is that Fausta makes it easy to be her friend. She's always positive and energetic, and she epitomizes the notion of a thinking blogger. Make sure to put her on your must-read list!
Ensign Calls For Return Of MoveOn Money
NRSC chair Senator John Ensign calls for Democrats to return all campaign funds donated by MoveOn, after their despicable New York Times ad today accusing David Petraeus of treason. "If Senate Democrats are serious about moving our country forward, they will denounce this outrageous ad and return the campaign funds MoveOn.org has lavished on them as well as the donations made through MoveOn.org -- the choice is theirs." Ensign's right, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the refund ...
Support The Al-Dura Petition
Roger Simon at Pajamas Media is circulating a petition to demand accountability for the discredited al-Dura report from France's Channel 2. This is, as Roger calls it, the "Father of all Fauxtography," and C-2 has never acknowledged its fault in airing the supposed murder of a Palestinian child. He wants C-2 to show all of the unedited footage of the incident in order to show that C-2 faked the murder. If they're resisting the demand, I'd say they have something to hide ....
There Goes The Undefeated Season
Notre Dame managed to get its first loss out of the way as soon as possible -- and as badly as possible. Georgia Tech came to South Bend and stomped the Irish, 33-3, in the worst home opener loss in school history. The offense fumbled twice and allowed seven sacks on Evan Sharpley, who must have longed to have Brady Quinn back on the field instead. If Charlie Weis doesn't turn this debacle around fast, he may want to start asking Ty Willingham for some career counseling ....
Would Early Primaries Allow More Donations?
Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot believes that candidates will benefit if primaries and caucuses get pushed into 2007. A loophole in campaign finance regulation appears to allow an extra $2,300 per donor for candidates if those elections are held this year. Be sure to check out Jim's analysis, and the surprising candidate that may benefit the most.
When Tom Met Jeralyn
One of the interesting aspects of politics is finding out that opponents are people, too. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft met Rep. Tom Tancredo backstage at NBC's studios, and found him more likable than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was their mutual interest in Dog, The Bounty Hunter ...
Joe Lieberman A Right-Wing Nut?
That's what CAIR says, according to Joe Kaufman. He has a link to a CAIR official's blog post that calls Lieberman, along with John Bolton, former CIA director James Woolsey, and the Heritage Foundation's Peter Brookes as "extremists". Affad Shaikh also calls Dick Cheney a "fat bastard of a liar," apparently not meant as a pop-culture reference to the Austin Powers movies. (via Let Freedom Ring)
Broadband Homelessness
The Japanese have made homelessness more efficient, and more Net-friendly, too. Their Internet cafés have become homeless shelters for the struggling manual-labor sector. The problem has grown into such a problem that government intervention will shortly become a political priority.
Found My Law Firm
Power Line links twice to this story regarding an attorney at Faegre & Benson who refused to become a victim and helped capture a very dangerous man. Keith Radtke is a partner in the firm as is Power Line's John Hinderaker. Radtke is listed in satisfactory condition after getting shot in the back, but that didn't keep him from locking up his attacker in a wrestling grip until police could arrive. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of man I'd want as my counsel ....
Don't Click That YouTube E-mail
The latest in spam seems to be redirections from YouTube links in e-mail to IP addresses without domain names. They attempt to entice people by making it seem that they have been inadvertently YouTubed. I'm sure most people can see through this scam, but just in case, you've been warned ....
Rick Moran Escapes The Floods
Rick Moran has kept us up to date on his travails along the Algonquin River. Yesterday, the police showed up to get him evacuated before the river flooded his home -- but today, Rick finds that a minor miracle has taken place, and that his house survives ... at least for now. Keep Rick in your prayers, and keep checking in at Right Wing Nut House for updates.
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Hobbs Choice
Volunteer Voters is holding its annual "Best of Nashville" on-line polls, and one of the categories is for the best political writer. Our friend Bill Hobbs, now posting at Newsbusters, and he'd like his on-line fans to cast their votes. Drop by and put one in for Bill if you get a chance!
Comments (30)
Posted by Carol Herman | September 19, 2007 12:40 AM
This was a whole successful operation!
I credit Olmert for playing his "weak hand," and in not giving anything away.
And, I credit the Israelis, themselves, because Labor saw it had a problem. Amir Peretz did not want to leave. And, it took an election to change the odds.
Today, those odds have been shaken. And, stirred. Ehud Barak's stock tops even what Arik Sharon held.
And, there will be very little information forthcoming. No operational secrets will leak.
Of course, if you look over to iran, you'll remember the "announcement" that Israel would be wiped off the face of the earth.
And, it's true. Using a nuke would destabilize Israel; a small country.
While Israel knows she hasn't got a friend worth a damn in the whole region. (Bush is in bed with the Saud's. Where you get to see stuff that's also "impossible.")
For instance, Maliki wanted to kill Ambassador Crocker. So the State Department hires the BLACKWATER contractors; to get him from the airport, back to the safety of the US Embassy, in Baghdad. Maliki has "inside information" on the convoy. But the US military DOES NOT.
Hmm. Could it be the Shi'ite Iraqi police couldn't be trusted? And, experienced hands were needed? Blackwater is composed of Special Ops guys. And, Seals.
Please do not expect to find out. You never will.
But the way I figure it, the SURGE was to protect the SUNNI tribes, and convince those bastards (oops ... those sheiks) ... that time was running out.
So, yes. Petraeus knows that the Anbar, Fallujah, hot beds are improving. THIS INFURIATES MALIKI!
He sees the USA helping the SUNNIs. And, doing this successfully.
So, Maliki was in Damascus. But then on July 23rd, syria had a work accident. And, there were dozens killed. FROM SARIN and VX GAS! (Oh, you're still questioning WMD's?)
Israel made a calculated decision, for all these arab screw ups to get as far as they could go.
Ship from north korea has nukes? Yup. Delivers same? Yup. And, then falls off the face of the earth. People think the captain just painted his hull; and he's now a Disney cruiser. Believe what you will.
But the choices are still there.
The Mossad is better than ever.
And, the Israelis aren't looking to conquer territory! Why bog down among these dogs? You need to see more than you see in gazoo?
Oh, while in gazoo ... you heard some Special Forces go in, totally unrecognized by the armed-to-the-teeth natives. They arrive on donkey carts. They pass for "grocers." And, they slowly approach the gang leader, who kidnapped Shalit.
Must have been well planned. Once they had their hands on this bastards; they drove to the airport. And, a helicopter made the quick trip OUT. And, to an airport in Israel.
Yeah. Gazoo complained to the UN.
Syria is also complaining.
But there's a rumor, afoot; that Assad has ten more days to live. Should he not choose to go to a senseless war with the IDF, his own brother-in-law gave him an ultimatum. (Maybe, he can share his get-away with Mugabe?)
When these kinds of operations aren't successful, that's when the diplomats come in. And, tear into the brave who are tasked with these assignments.
Success is a whole other ball game.
And, you're free to make things up. I just did.
I also think that MONEY had to change hands "after the goods arrived." And, here, too, the operation was so quiet ... no one heard a thing.
Well, isn't that how they're building subs these days?
Also, there's no need for the russians to make refunds. As a matter of fact, their prices just went up.
How did the Israelis do it? How did they just sit there, watching this develop; and then waited?
One reason? I think they have a quiet, Dolphin Class submarine ... in the waters. (They got it from Germany. And, they've made enhancements.)
If the plans on the ground ... because there were ground troops inserted 48 hours before September 6th ... I think missiles would have been flying.
Just never needed to press the button on Option #2.
Feel free to make up your own scenarios. Something happened.
Condi even has to absorb that Maliki wanted Crocker dead, for the headlines!
You think he wants Petraeus ... and the surge?
Doesn't benefit the shi't ... shi'ites. Not at all. But the Bonkeys have corrupted our war news. Forget it. There's not gonna be any debate.
Posted by sean | September 19, 2007 12:48 AM
any chance those chemical weapons came from iraq?
Posted by CJW | September 19, 2007 1:11 AM
I would guess the sarin came from one of the three locations within Syria that house Saddam's WMDs.
And, since Syria is such a fine upstanding country, they were doing their part to recycle and not dsangerously start a new nerve gas program.
Posted by stackja1945
| September 19, 2007 4:23 AM
A boomerang effect?
Posted by swabjockey05 | September 19, 2007 4:41 AM
I think "Janes" is printed by the Brits...right? Aren't they the puppets of BushHitler / Cheney? How can anyone trust this “information/propaganda”? Even if it is true...why shouldn't they be allowed to posses these weapons? Couldn’t one consider them to be “defensive weapons”? How can you say otherwise? You must be biased!!
Posted by patrick neid | September 19, 2007 5:04 AM
Apparently Ms Pelosi needs to return to Syria. Her last hug and photo op failed to produce its intended effect. I believe she said something along the lines that Assad was a man of peace.
Pelosi said afterwards she had been pleased with the "assurances we received from the president" that he was ready to resume the Middle East peace [sic] process and to talk with the Israelis.
"We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace."
Posted by the fly-man/bong boy | September 19, 2007 5:20 AM
CJW, I'm not questioning any of your statements I have a serious question. Right before the Bush/kerry election, a retired military officer came out and said that the Russians had assisted the Syrians in securing the WMDs from Iraq. He subsequently had his security privileges revoked and I can't find anything about the guy. Would you happen to know his name? Anybody?Thanks.
Posted by Silvio Canto, Jr. | September 19, 2007 6:22 AM
I hate to diagree with Captain Ed.
I think that you picked the wrong title for this essay. "Instant Karma" is good but "Bang Bang the witch is dead" is perphaps a better one!
Keep up the good work!
Posted by dhunter | September 19, 2007 6:28 AM
Wasn't this sarin gas explosion shortly after or around the time comrade Pelosi was visiting Assad?
Bet she talked them into getting rid of their chemical weapons. Too bad she wasn't up close and personal to witness it. I would have loved to see some pictures from her disposable kodak.
Posted by Bennett | September 19, 2007 6:31 AM
These countries are all trying to punch way above their weight class. It's as if they have no comprehension of the danger to themselves, messing around with this stuff. They don't seem to have the technical expertise to make these weapons work or the sense to put measures in place to protect themselves against just this kind of accident. So what is the point?
It would make for a great comedy skit if it weren't so horrifying.
Posted by John Cunningham | September 19, 2007 6:32 AM
Sounds like great news. Every dead Syrian or Iranian weapons expert is a small step towards peace. as SF author Keith Laumer put it, "I totally support peace. And there's nothing more peaceful than a dead troublemaker."
Posted by GaryK | September 19, 2007 6:56 AM
You would have thought that these bozos would have been wearing protective gear but, to each his own.
At least chemicals that initially came from pre-WWII German research into insecticides finally got used on some insects.
Posted by rbj | September 19, 2007 8:03 AM
This story is obviously a lie. Otherwise one would have to assume that Assad was being less than truthful to both Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Kucinich. That couldn't be right, now could it?
/sarcasm.
Posted by LarryD | September 19, 2007 8:09 AM
Just to clarify, the Keith Laumer quote was from one of his Retief books, not Keith Laumer himself. Though he probably does agree with the sentiment.
Posted by Kent | September 19, 2007 9:25 AM
Obviously they have no duty to refrain from using these weapons if they haven't signed the treaties,
There were no treaties forbidding Goering et al. from helping Hitler dispose of six million Jews. We rightly hanged them anyway.
That Syria has not signed certain parchments does not change the fact that firing Sarin into Israeli villages, under present circumstances, would constitute a crime against humanity.
Posted by NoDonkey | September 19, 2007 9:49 AM
Fortunately, weaponizing chemicals is no small task.
And Arabs/Persian culture traditionally cuts corners (to put it mildly). If these people hadn't found oil, they would all still be wandering around the desert, chasing goats.
Makes me hope for the day when the Iranians Rube Goldberg nuclear program blows up in their faces.
At which point of course they will blame the Isrealis and the United States for sabatoging their "energy" program. Which of course our ridiculously biased press will buy, but at that point, who really cares?
Posted by Casey | September 19, 2007 10:20 AM
Hrm...where did Syria acquire these alleged chemical weapons? :P
Posted by Joseph Eversole | September 19, 2007 10:41 AM
I guess Dave Allen was right. God does indeed have a sense of humor. How many times did our Mother's tell us, "don't play with Sarin, or you can get hurt."
Posted by Amendment X | September 19, 2007 10:52 AM
"At least chemicals that initially came from pre-WWII German research into insecticides finally got used on some insects."
Apparently these chemicals also were used on insects.
Posted by Jeff Adams | September 19, 2007 11:23 AM
This incident was a little like the battle of Stalingrad during WWII. But instead of Nazis and Communists slaughtering each other, we have Iranians and Syrians getting blown-up by their own WMD. Poetic justice if you ask me.
Posted by always right | September 19, 2007 11:54 AM
NoDonkey:Makes me hope for the day when the Iranians Rube Goldberg nuclear program blows up in their faces. At which point of course they will blame the Isrealis and the United States for sabatoging their "energy" program. Which of course our ridiculously biased press will buy, but at that point, who really cares?
No, that's too EEEVIL. You aren't saying they'll do it themselves just to achieve their end, are you?
Posted by burt | September 19, 2007 12:37 PM
Iraq may have borrowed a little sarin from Iran's storage bunker, but they didn't need to do so. They have had plenty of their own since they were a Soviet client.
Posted by Joseph Kempton | September 19, 2007 1:55 PM
Question by "the fly-man/bong boy"
The officials name was John Shaw who was undersecretary of defense until he was later fired, either for revealing classified information or being involved in a corrupted business relation.
There was also several others who made this claim more than on this short list: a Syrian dissident Journalist whos name escapes me, a former X-KGB officer and defector named Ion Pacepa, an Israeli Inteligence director, an UNSCOM inspetor named Tierney, and an ISG inspector named Dave Gaubatz.
Posted by NoDonkey | September 19, 2007 2:05 PM
"No, that's too EEEVIL. You aren't saying they'll do it themselves just to achieve their end, are you?"
No, the Iranian nuclear program will blow up because the Iranian "scientists" are incompetent bumblers. As are their government masters.
In this I have faith.
How'd those NORK missile tests work out? The NORKs have pretty much abandoned their nuke program and have come begging for coins, probably because it doesn't work.
Wouldn't be surprised if the Iranians have a similar epiphany.
Posted by Joseph Kempton | September 19, 2007 2:09 PM
A little digging in my archives
The Syrian journaists name was Nizar Nayuf
http://www.2la.org/syria/iraq-wmd.php
Posted by Noocyte | September 19, 2007 2:33 PM
Regarding this whole question of where Syria might have gotten that nerve gas, I found this article from Front Page Magazine on line. I've not been able to verify the credibility of its source, and I've sent the link to the Cap'n to see if he can make anything of it (anyone else care to have a go at it as well? My resources and time are rather limited for such things). It paints a very scary picture of Russian complicity in moving Iraqi WMD to Syria (remember those trucks?) and parts beyond.
If true, this puts the WMD question into a terrifyingly broader context and seriously calls into question the ultimate fate of US-Russian relations.
It also lends itself quite heavily to the idea that Israel may have just fired the opening shots in a much-belated and thrice-deserved reckoning for Assad's regime. Apart from the intrinsic value of this, it would have the effect of putting the screws into Iran something fierce.
Posted by the fly-man/bong boy | September 19, 2007 7:02 PM
Joseph Kempton, gracias beyond. I find it hard to believe that this guy worked for BAH and had a case of the loose lips. Anyway, thanks. We shall see where all of this goes.
Posted by courtneyme109 | September 19, 2007 7:17 PM
This is TOOO much! According the 'Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran' by Yossi Melman and Meir Javedanfar (1st edition - out now - new) They say that the IAF had destroyed nearly 80% of Hiz'B'allah's missiles in about 90 minutes during the July August War. They hinted that Israel has top level agents either infiltrated or bought and paid for in either Syrian Military or HBA itself.
Reckon this missile engaged in unIslamic activity like detonating in her work shed may have been sabotage?
Notice that Syria (or the Sunni Arab League) hasn't really made a big deal about the IAF strike?
Reckon that the Arab League's silence is sending a LOUD message that Syria's Bros and Sistas in the AL don't really mind the wicked Israelis' putting paid to Bashar Al Assad's Chemical Chicanery, indeed, maybe their spies collaborated with the Zionist Entity.
It also shows that Syria is almost as isolated as Iran. Now, wouldn't that be a hoot!
Posted by Michael Mannske | September 20, 2007 1:46 AM
NBC Weapons + Sand Monkeys + Mossad=Nasty Break
Posted by Carol Herman | September 20, 2007 6:52 PM
Bennett, that's an excellent post!
I'm exporting it to explain, now, why affirmative action never worked. Because people can't just title themselves with an ability to "punch above their class," either. They're just lightweights.
Here? There are some dead ones. But no coronor's report.
I give Israel so much credit! They saw it developing. They let it ride in. And, then they rode it out.
First, mishap on July 23rd; took care of the sarin and VX gas experiements. Then, on September 6th; after the russians were already paid for their anti-aircraft artillery; AND the electronic transfers went out when the Al-Hamed unloaded its nukes at port ...
To Ehud Barak's "calling cards."
One dropped off in gazoo, for hamas. By a few "grocers" ... using donkey carts.
And, then? Well, September 6th remains a super-duper secret. And, Assad ain't talking, either.
NOT. TO. BE. BELIEVED.
That's why it worked.