4.06.2007

Jumping from Blogger to Wordpress

This will be my last post on "The Root." I have created a new blog at www.beausams.com, and until I can afford to have this site link to my new one, I'm asking you to make that easy click on over. Don't worry, BeauSams.com contains the same astute analysis of just about everything under the sun. (I'm joking about the astute part.) Thanks for reading.

Best,

Beau

4.05.2007

Watching 24 for the First Time

As a 24 noob, I have to say that I've been impressed with the first four episodes. The pace is frenetic, if a bit implausible, and the balance of tension within each episode is fantastic. The season one DVD is nice to have because I find myself wanting to see what's next constantly.

The only show I'm hooked on at the moment is Lost, and I definitely have room for some Jack Bauer in my diet. I think, though, that I'll try to catch up with the show, now in season seven, by rental first. I can tell already that this is going to be an enjoyable ride.

Democrats and the "GWOT"

FOX News reports that Democrats are fighting their Global War on Terminology again, attempting to strike "Global War on Terror" and "long war" from defense reports:

Erin Conaton, the committee's staff director, sent out the 15-page memo titled "Style Guide for Defense Authorization Report."

"When referencing military operations throughout the world, please be as specific as possible. Please avoid using colloquialisms such as, 'the war on terrorism, or the 'Long War' Please do not use the term 'global war on terrorism,' " according to the memo.

4.04.2007

Rainbow Six, Vegas Style

I admit I'm a little behind the curve when it comes to console video games, but I have recently been playing Rainbow Six: Vegas, and it really rocks. Having played Gears of War prior to this, I was familiar with the run, duck, and fire from cover game mechanics. What I wasn't expecting was the impressive amount of visceral fun Rainbow Six offers. While chasing terrorists through Mexico and into Vegas, you get to blow up pretty much anything that stands between you and them. Spraying a burst of gunfire through a casino's glass windows while a bad guy hides behind an escalator shouldn't be this much fun, but it is. Heck, sometimes I don't even know where the bad guys are, so I just fire randomly across the room, which is surprisingly rewarding.

The storyline leaves a lot to be desired, but part of my confusion comes from not being able to hear the important conversations before and during missions. I'm not sure if my television is to blame or if the dialogue is rather muted. Regardless, I tend to play games like this using Tuco's philosophy from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: "If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk."

For a generally good time, I can't imagine action games getting much better than Rainbow Six: Vegas. It's easy to pick up and hard to put down.

Happy Easter! Signed, Your friend Mahmoud

Mad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (MMA) has agreed to "pardon" captured British soldiers and just in time for the Easter holiday! Well, how about that. FOX reports.

Ahmadinejad asked British Prime Minister Tony Blair not to "punish" the crew for confessing that they had been in Iranian waters when they were seized by Iranian coast guard. Iran broadcast videotapes of some of the crew giving confessions, infuriating Britain.
Aww, what a swell chap. It gets better:
Ahmadinejad said Iran was not seeking a "confrontation" when it intercepted the British, "but the deplorable conduct of the British government led to the prolonging of this incident."

He criticized Britain for deploying Leading Seaman Faye Turney, one of the 15 detainees, in the Gulf, pointing out that she is a woman with a child.

"How can you justify seeing a mother away from her home, her children? Why don't they respect family values in the West?" he asked of the British government.
Touche.

4.03.2007

Taking One on the Stiff Upper Lip?

Former soldier and current military analyst Frank Peters today questioned the actions of the British hostages in Iran, claiming the Brits "wimped out in a matter of days and acquiesced in propoganda broadcasts for their captors." Ouch.

Peters colorfully describes the situation:

What on earth happened to the Royal Marines? They're members of what passes for an elite unit. Has the Labor government's program to gut the U.K. military - grounding planes, taking ships out of service and deactivating army units - also ripped the courage from the breasts of those in uniform?

The female sailor who broke down first and begged for her government to surrender was pathetic enough. But when Royal Marines started pleading for tea and sympathy . . . Ma, say it ain't so!

Meanwhile, back at No. 10 "Downer" Street, British politicians are more upset that President Bush described their sailors and Marines as "hostages" than they are with the Iranians.

Okay, Lord Spanker and Lady Fanny - what exactly are those sailors and Marines? Package tourists?

Naturally, the European Union has praised Britain's "restraint." We've now got another synonym for cowardice.

I've always respected the Brits and quite liked those I worked with when in uniform . . . but I'm starting to wonder if I bought into a legend. While criticizing our military's approach to everything, the Brits made an utter balls of it in Basra - now they're bailing out, claiming "Mission accomplished!" (OK, they had a role model . . .) In Heaven, Winston Churchill's puking up premium scotch.

A-R-A-B: The Rap

Another video from Remy and Habib, the guys who did the Warcraft vid.

Warcraft: The Rap

My nerdy alter-ego is a huge World of Warcraft fan, and this is one of the best WoW vids out there right now. Even if you don't play, you might still enjoy this.

4.02.2007

U.S. to Blame...Again

It turns out Rosie O'Donnell is not the only voice in the liberal wilderness blaming the U.S. for the British hostage crisis. She is joined by the British daily, The Independent, which claims in an article today that a botched U.S. raid ten weeks prior to the hostage incident is ultimately to blame for Iran's actions.

I'm sure Iran is really miffed that we took a swipe at the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on his visit to Arbil in Northern Iraq. After all, I'm sure he was on a goodwill mission, delivering cookies and milk to Kurdistani diplomats there. But it stands to reason that they would send a clear message to us instead of the hopelessly mixed signals coming from Tehran at the moment. Also, nevermind the fact that evidence has been found showing Iranian involvement in resistance efforts against the U.S.; Rick Brennan covered this in a NYTimes piece two weeks ago. Nevermind Iran's repeated flouting of U.N. demands to come clean over their nuclear program. Simply forget Mad Mahmoud's eagerness to perpetrate another Jewish holocaust. It is, as always, those cowboys from the West who are to blame.

If only we wouldn't be so gung-ho. If only we would listen to the worldwide community (who, interestingly, spends most of their time listening to Iran's demands). If only we would reward bad behavior by the promise of incentives upon compliance. Then this hostage situation could have been averted. This whole Middle Eastern imbroglio might have been averted if we would have curried the favor of world opinion.

This article is, sadly, another example of a growing dhimmitude in Europe--a hope to achieve success through submission. That the UK would take so long to attempt to resolve this situation doesn't speak to patient virtue, but to indecisive weakness. There is a reason, after all, that British soldiers were kidnapped and not Americans, and The Independent never quite gets around to it. Iran's leaders know that kidnapping American soldiers would be the death knell for Ahmadinejad and his cronies. They understand the language of the strong man--that a strong man only submits to the stronger man. Unfortunately, as Tony Blair warns the Iranian government that he will move to a new diplomatic phase if pushed, British hostages are paraded, humiliated, and made a mockery of to a worldwide audience. Teddy Roosevelt said to "speak softly and carry a big stick." Thus far, the British only have the first part of that right.

Update: Allahpundit at Hot Air offers an extended debunking of The Independent's article here.

More on Britain's "quiet diplomacy" from Time.

At a Camp David press conference on the weekend, Bush reiterated his support for his friend across the Atlantic and deplored Iran's "inexcusable behavior" in "the British hostages issue." The use of the word hostages was "utterly careless," says John Williams, who in June 2004 as Director of News for the British Foreign Ministry, was involved in moves to free eight British service personnel, also detained by Iran on a stretch of the Shatt al Arab waterway. He argues that the British government must be seen to regard the current crop of detainees "as victims of a misunderstanding that could be resolved." That's a prerequisite for the kind of quiet diplomacy that prevailed back in the summer of 2004 when the eight were freed after three days.

Yes, but it is also a prerequisite for more aggressive behavior on Iran's part, as manifested in this latest hostage incident.

Newt Gingrich - How to bring the British hostages home

Newt shoots straight regarding Iran.

Those who do not learn from the past...

In a rather predictable move, some teachers and schools in the UK are refusing to teach certain inconvenient historical truths--namely the Holocaust and the Crusades--in an effort to appease the Muslim community, who are taught in their mosques ideas contrary to popular historical interpretation.

Well blow me down. If this type of behavior wasn't becoming commonplace in Europe, I'd be more aghast. The essence of politically correct behavior has always been to sacrifice truth at the twin altars of tolerance and multiculturalism, which is why it is ultimately doomed to fail. The question is will it fail because good people wake up and recognize it for the idiocy that it is or will it take the future Imam of England to decree it so?