Thursday, April 8, 2004

Miami! "We doin' ... big pimpin', we spendin' G's..." I'm travelling to Miami tomorrow for a much needed vacation over the Easter weekend. WWDT will be back and running on Monday. 1:11:41 AM    comment [] Winning Hearts and Minds From the AP: FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. Marines in a fierce battle for this Sunni Muslim stronghold fired rockets that hit a mosque compound filled with worshippers Wednesday, and witnesses said as many as 40 people were killed. [snip] An Associated Press reporter in Fallujah saw cars ferrying the dead and wounded from the Abdul-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque. Witnesses said a helicopter fired three missiles into the compound, destroying part of a wall surrounding the mosque but not damaging the main building. The strike came as worshippers had gathered for afternoon prayers, witnesses said. Temporary hospitals were set up in private homes to treat the wounded and prepare the dead for burial. I can only imagine how this is playing on television sets and in newspapers across the Arab world. [Link via the invaluable Cursor.] 12:57:50 AM    comment [] Increased Air Traffic over Dover AFB and Andrews AFB I came across the following post on one of my favorite Internet haunts, Wild West Sports: I have noticed a significant increase in inbound air traffic to Dover AFB. I work in Dover and have always been accutely aware of the flight patterns of the C-130 Galaxies that fly in and out of Dover, as well as the general training patterns which usually fly in a circular fashion around the Kent County and northern Sussex County areas. Generally, since the current conflict in Iraq began, the inbound planes, whether they came from Europe or the Middle East, arrived usually around the middle of the night. For those that are not aware, Dover's primary function is to serve as a military morgue, so to speak, for all overseas military personnel. During the past three days, inbound air traffic during the day has increased. Of course this is only speculation, but I can only assume that this means that there are more dead than we are being told about by the media and the administration. I called my friend in Maryland, who happens to live and work near Andrews AFB. Andrews is where our wounded are flown in from Ramstein after being treated in Pirmasens and Wiesbaden, Germany respectively. He has noticed the same increase in air traffic for the past few days. Now, before I am dismissed as a wild rumor monger, I would like to again explain to you folks that I am a 32 year-old Army combat vet, who has served in both Desert Storm and Mogidishu, Somalia. I have seen my fair share of the shite and I know from my experience that something is up. The reality is not being broadcasted...BUT IT SHOULD. As I said this morning, we must all demand the truth. Our valiant countrymen deserve to hear their stories heard and the truth of this conflict must be told from all sides. Other posters mentioned similar increases in air activity at Miramar AFB in San Diego and at the Los Alamitos Reserve base, but I do not know the exact significance (if any) of those possible increases. [n.b. This post has been edited.] 12:45:32 AM    comment [] Taxes - They're Not For Everyone . . . . . . to borrow a line from David Cay Johnston. CNN refers to Tuesday's Wall Street Journal's eye-opening report: More than 60% of U.S. corporations didn't pay any federal taxes for 1996 through 2000, years when the economy boomed and corporate profits soared, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported, citing the investigative arm of Congress. 12:30:53 AM    comment []

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