another small step forward

Got a call from my former shrink yesterday. The security investigator did not find the summary of my case that she sent him, rather than sending him the entire case file as he requested, to be sufficient to his needs and has requested again that she send him a copy of the case file. Which, thank heavens, she has finally done (last time she was threatening to make me come and get it and send it on myself, which the investigator would not have liked, since I could theoretically have removed items I didn't want revealed.) Lady, I've been through this before; just do what I ask, instead of making trouble for me. That's, I think, a month at least that my clearance has been delayed, thanks to her.

"What do you do, that they need to do such a lot of investigation?" Dearie, if I told you what secret work I do, it would hardly be secret, now would it? Sheesh!

no comment

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3672805.stm

wow!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/3672931.stm

Real Madrid have refused to comment on claims England captain David Beckham will be sold at the end of the season.

Reports suggest Beckham will definitely leave The Bernabeu, with Chelsea his likely destination in a £40m deal.

Paul Wolfowitz and Reality: Not Best Buddies

April 30, 2004 | WASHINGTON (AP) -- Asked how many American troops have died in Iraq, the Pentagon's No. 2 civilian estimated Thursday the total was about 500 -- more than 200 soldiers short.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was asked about the toll at a hearing of a House Appropriations subcommittee. "It's approximately 500, of which _ I can get the exact numbers _ approximately 350 are combat deaths,'' he responded .

(snip)

American deaths Thursday were at 722 -- 521 of them from combat _ since the start of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense.

Again, Mr. W seems to prfer the facts he and his staff make up rather than the reality.

and remember...

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of "Misson Accomplished" Day.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat last May 1, 582 U.S. soldiers have died--410 as a result of hostile action. from the same AP report

one reason to listen to presidential speeches and press conferences

or at least read the transcripts afterwards, which I didn't do.

In his press conference of April 13, President Bush gave several reasons for cracking down on Iraqi insurgents. He said their motivation was the same as those who set off bombs in Jerusalem; he tied them to the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, executed by al-Qaida in part for being Jewish. He also cited Shiite radical Muqtada al-Sadr's support for the Palestinian Hamas organization and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah party. He gave as one reason for having gone to war against Saddam Hussein the former dictator's support for Palestinian terrorists. In this speech, he presented the Iraq war and its violent aftermath as an extension of the Israeli struggle to subjugate the Palestinians and Hezbollah.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/04/16/israel/index.html

So we're basically confirming all the extremist Islamic rhetoric that grew up around the beginning of the war. What's the one system that's working in Iraq? The oil industry (not the refining part that gets oil to Iraqis--that's still not fixed, just the exporting part). And who are we aligning ourselves with, rhetorically, diplomatically, and by imitation? Israel. Why don't we jsut declare them the 51st state and get it over with?

you'd think I'd have learned by now

There's no such thing as a bargain, a good deal, a lucky break, or a fair deal.

If someone tells you there is, they're trying to cheat you.