Allied naval bombardment and bombing

Allied naval bombardment and bombing raids on the German defenses at Omaha beach are a failure.

Guiding craft for the landing force at Utah is sunk; remaining ships head off course.

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Go and check out the

Go and check out the trailers for Michael Moore Hates America.

Should be much fun to watch with a tub of buttered popcorn, no?*

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Hmph. WASHINGTON - The State

Hmph.

WASHINGTON - The State Department welcomed on Monday a
pledge by Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir to mobilize the Sudanese
armed forces to disarm militias responsible for uprooting more than 1
million people in western Sudan. {...}State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said both the government and the rebels should abide by
a cease fire that was signed on April 8. He said the United States has
been helping facilitate the arrival of outside monitors to the area to
monitor the cease fire. Because of the difficulties in sending
assistance overland, the United States has been using aircraft, which
is far more costly. The 15th U.S. relief flight arrived in recent days
carrying food, Boucher said.

15th relief flight, eh? Good. Could be better, but it's a start.
Especially considering the UN's still sitting on their hands trying to
pass a resolution through the Security Council.
Next question would be: when is the US going to get some credit for
actually doing something? Or are we going to get grief for going
"unilateral" again?

Posted by: Kathy at 11:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Or as honest as I

Or as honest as I can be, because we all know I'm really a pathological
liar, hence it just isn't in my makeup to be honest, right?
So long as that's settled...
1. Which political party do you typically agree with?
Republican, but it doesn't sit quite right with me. Particularly when
they spend like a Moscow prostitute who's just stolen a Platinum AMEX
or try to pass amendments to the Constitution outlawing same-sex
marriage to get the ultra-religious nutjobs out to the polls come
election day because
if they don't the nutjobs will think the Rapture is coming and they
won't bother voting at all because they'll be at home, praying and
waiting for the second coming, and there goes that key voting block...
It's crap. If the Libertarians were smart, they'd reorganize their
party into something that doesn't resemble a Montana Militia and they'd
find that they just might have have some takers. 2. Which political
party do you typically vote for?
See above. The least offensive of all options.
3. List the last five presidents that you voted for.
I've only voted for four and I only made the first one because my
eighteenth birthday was a few days before the election and I'd
preregistered (and was able to vote in the primaries at age seventeen
because of Nebraska state law). I'm relatively young that way. Bush,
Bush, Dole, Bush
4. Which party do you think is smarter about the economy?
Neither. Political parties don't have much to do with the economy, do
they? Unless it's an election year, and then 5.6% unemployment is bad
news for one president, when it was good news for another. Oops. I'm
confusing matters. That's the media.
Forgive me. 5. Which party do you think is smarter about domestic
affairs?
Republican. Two words: lower taxes.
6. Do you think we should keep our troops in Iraq or pull them out?
And what, exactly, would pulling them out achieve in the grand scheme
of things?
7. Who, or what country, do you think is most responsible for 9/11?
I think the nineteen assholes who hijacked the planes and slammed them
into the buildings and murdered almost three thousand people are, first
and foremost, responsible. Then there's Osama and his band of merry
financiers/propagandists/training camp operators/imams/sheep. Then
there's the guy in Germany who helped funnel the money. Then there's
the madrassas financed by/operated in Saudi Arabia who filled their
heads with incorrect garbage. I could go on all day. But nowhere on my
list are the names of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, or Condolezza Rice.
Or even Ted Kennedy, although it slays me to say so.
I still, however, would like to know why Tenet's fat ass hasn't been
booted out of CIA Headquarters. 8. Do you think we will find weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq?
As the husband's Kuwaiti friend said: they will be finding them for
years to come via people tripping over trapdoors in the desert. 9. Yes
or no, should the U.S. legalize marijuana?
Marijuana? Yes. And it's about bloody time, too.
Cocaine/Heroin/Crack/Crank? No. 10. Do you think the Republicans stole
the last presidental election?
No, I don't. GET. OVER. IT.
11. Do you think Bill Clinton should have been impeached because of
what he did with Monica Lewinski?
Bubba can have all the sex he wants. Even if it is out of wedlock.
That's his business, not mine. He just can't lie under oath about it,
so yes, I think he should have been impeached. And he was. He just
wasn't found guilty at the trial in the Senate.
But he should have been.
12. Do you think Hillary Clinton would make a good president?
Shudder
13. Name a current Democrat who would make a great president.
There are Democrats who would make a good president? Well, knock me
over with a feather! Who knew?
14. Name a current Republican who would make a great president.
Condoleeza Rice. Good woman in a storm.
15. Do you think that women should have the right to have an abortion?
Tricky question. It's against my religion, and I do think it's murder.
So, part of me wants to call it a right and wrong issue and let that be
the end of that. But can I be the one to say that if a girl is raped
and subsequently becomes pregnant, that she should be forced to endure
nine months of what, undoubtedly, would be sheer and utter hell, the
reminder of what happened ever present? No, I can't. So, I suppose the
answer is yes. I just wish people wouldn't use abortion as a form of
birth control to take care of the inconvenience that an unprotected one
night stand will invariably bring about. There are other options
readily available. 16. What religion are you?
I follow the guy with the big pointy hat who lives in Rome. As much as
I possibly can, even though he and the dudes in the red hats try my
patience. I'm offering it up for all the poor souls in purgatory. Just
in case you were wondering.
17. Have you read the Bible all the way through?
From start to finish? Like it was a novel or something? No,
and who the hell would? I can say with confidence, however, that I'm
pretty darn sure we hit everything, from start to finish, although in
varying order, in school.
18. What̢۪s your favorite book?
Tough one. There's lots. I see no reason to narrow it down to just one.
19. Who is your favorite band?
Jeez. How old are these questions? It's not like Led Zeppelin is still
playing gigs and putting out those really neat vinyl records, kids.
Although, "When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on
side one of Led Zeppelin IV." Music has moved on courtesy of file
sharing. Although I still love U2. 20. Who do you think you̢۪ll vote
for president in the next election?
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that---ahem---WE HAVE A SECRET BALLOT FOR A REASON AND THE CAKE EATER CHRONICLES IS AN ELECTION FREE ZONE. You can probably figure it out if you can read.

21. What website did you see this on first?
Electric Venom

Posted by: Kathy at 11:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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27 DD Swimming Tanks bound

27 DD Swimming Tanks bound for Omaha Beach sink upon launching in high seas.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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DD Swimming Tank With Canvas

DD Swimming Tank With Canvas Shield Down

Posted by: Kathy at 11:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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DD "Swimming" Tank

DD "Swimming" Tank

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Don't you just love it

Don't you just love it when the day completely gets away from you?
Here's the recap:
1. Rise
2. Surf and drink coffee
3. Watch entire funeral
4. Make peanut butter cookies
5. Place peanut butter cookies to rest in fridge
6. Go for a walk with a slightly
batty-from-trying-to-find-venture-capital husband
7. Get home and bake cookies
8. Make Dinner
9. Slap on war paint and put on dress
10. Run to car in downpour
11. Drive to freakin' Burnsville for the niece's dance recital (she's three years old!)
12. Leave recital; drive to Eagan for pie. (Mmmmm. Pie. Lemon Meringue. Mmmmmm.)
13. Drive home.
14. Arrive home---after taking an small detour because Led Zeppelin's D'yer Ma'ker
was playing and the husband was really into percussing along with
Bonham. Ever seen a drummer pretend that his hands are his sticks, his
thighs (or whatever solid surface might be nearby) are the drums, etc.?
It's pretty damn funny. (Note to self: start pricing kits! Birthday!
Month and a half away! AIEEEE!)
I'll blog tomorrow. I promise.

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Allied warships being shelling German

Allied warships being shelling German coastal fortifications.

US troops land boats on St. Marcouf, a German held island just off Utah beach.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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St. Marcouf Proper

St.
Marcouf Proper

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Now ladies and gents, If

Now ladies and gents,
If we were only talking about the actors who played Mr. Knightley and
Mr. Darcy in the movies based on these books, honestly speaking, whom
would you prefer?


Knightley

or


Darcy?

Now, I'm not saying Jeremy's not without his charms. He has many charms. I'm not denying this one little bit. I've loved him in just about everything else he was in (except for that Mimic piece of crap). I even had the notion that Sandra Bullock should have run off with him at the end of The Net, because that small bit of him wanting to kill her could be easily shoved aside because he was a charming creature.

But...damn...how
can he compare to Colin's Mr. Darcy? He can make ruffles look sexy. I
don't think you can say the same thing about Jeremy's Mr. Knightley.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Eastern Task Force (British and

Eastern Task Force (British and Canadian Troops) arrive and anchor for
assault.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I need to introduce you

I need to introduce you to one of my most favorite people in the world:
my nephew James.

Ain't
he a cutie? I have lots of pictures of James, but I think this one
captures his mischievious nature rather well. And he is mischievious.
He's also as stubborn as a rock---it comes part and parcel with the red
hair his mother gave him. And he's also funny and creative---he's quite
the talented artist, and it seems he's inherited more than just red
hair from his mom, who is a bridal gown/haute couture designer. He
loves to laugh and smile and tell jokes and play. He also gives
wonderful hugs and kisses, when he's not too busy rolling his eyes at
you to bother. One of the things I love about James is that he feels
its necessary to keep up his own relationship with his auntie and uncle
in Minnesota: he's taken that burden on for himself, rather than
shuttling it through his folks. He sends letters and drawings and calls
here on a regular basis and he's wonderfully conversant for a
five-year-old. For example this winter we were chatting about
snowstorms and as his father is a civil engineer, he's rather
well-versed in roadway snow removal and was talking excitedly about
snow plows and sand trucks. I told him that up here in Minnesota, they
not only put sand on the roads but salt as well, and he just couldn't
believe me on that one. "No," he said, his voice full of awed
disbelief. "Yep," I replied confidently, "because it's colder here than
it is in Omaha. We need it to melt the ice." "Wow," he gasped, and then
wondered aloud about the logistics of putting a really
big salt shaker on the back of the snow plows. He wanted to know how
that worked. I couldn't bring myself to tell him that they just added
the salt to the sand because I loved the visual his description
produced. About a month ago, he sent a batch of pictures he'd drawn for
us to hang on our fridge and in the envelope was this homemade card
from James, and it's the reason why I'm writing about him.

You see, James has Type I Diabetes. When he talks about "his walk," he
means JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes that his family, friends, teachers
and other assorted people in his life take part in every year in an
effort to help him out. To raise money to find a cure for his disease.
I don't think I'll ever forget when my mom called me and told me about
his diagnosis. It was about a week after his third birthday, fairly
early on a Saturday morning and my mom gently told me that Christi, my
sister and James' mom, had a bit too much on her plate and asked if I
could come down to help for a time. I didn't even have to think about
it: Christi would have done the same if it had been my kid and I was on
a plane the following Tuesday.
Now, to remember the pre-diagnosis James is to remember a completely
different kid. He was crabby. And I say this knowing and loving the
boy, but he was a crabapple most of the time---there just isn't any
getting around it. He loved his family, but he was very wary of anyone
outside the immediate circle. The husband and I would come for visits
and he would circle around us, as if he was trying to decide whether we
were worth his time or not. If he didn't want to be around you, he
wasn't going to tolerate your presence and he would simply strut away.
If you tried to help Christi in the usual Auntie-like way, James, eat your sandwich,
he'd just shoot you the evil eye or he'd sigh deeply and then would
chastise you in a very adult way that stung, even though you knew to
let it roll off your shoulders because it was a child talking. You
could feel the strength of his will, it was palpable. Coming from a
extraordinarily large family and seeing he wasn't going to lighten up,
we eventually chalked this up to individuality and left it at that.
Turns out, however, he wasn't really crabby at all. He just didn't feel
well.
No one knows how James got his diabetes. His pancreas just quit on him.
That very special yet overlooked organ wasn't producing the insulin he
needed to let glucose enter into his cells to provide the energy he
needed. But none of that really mattered as there were other priorities
staring his parents down: it was time to learn how to deal with James'
diabetes. This meant that suddenly my sister was counting carbs long
before it became fashionable, and was forcing James to eat his food,
and cutting him off forcefully when he went for something he couldn't
eat or drink, like candy or regular pop---and learning how to cope with
the resultant temper tantrums. This also meant my sister and
brother-in-law practically cleaned out Walgreens' buying the necessary
supplies. They had to learn how to test James' blood sugar, which
involves a finger prick of the sort you and I have at the doctor's
office once a year when we go in for our physical. The kind of prick
that makes us smart for a minute while we hold the cotton close to our
finger to staunch the flow of blood, remembering just how much we
dislike having that done, James has done anywhere between four and six
times a day---every day.
And of course, his folks also had to learn how to give James' his
shots. There were---and still are---very short, sleepless nights for
his parents when James had to be checked in the middle of the night
because he'd had a low count at bedtime. Once at midnight and once at
three a.m. It's a difficult balancing act. James' blood sugar can
neither be too high nor too low---and with careful management his
parents have done a spectacular job of picking up where his pancreas
left off. But the minute James went on insulin, his personality did a
complete one-eighty. I remember getting off the plane and driving
directly over to their house. I was somewhat stupefied when James said,
"Hi Aunt Kathy!" and smiled at me. That hadn't ever happened before and
I was stunned. Shortly after his diagnosis, my mother remembers coming
into my brother's kitchen, where all the kids were eating lunch, and
James demanded a hello kiss and hug from Grandma. While happy to
oblige, she couldn't remember that ever happening before where James
was concerned and it almost blew her socks right off. He's been a
completely different child since. The insulin, in its perverse way,
while making his life more difficult, has also allowed for us to get to
know the real James: the James who feels well and can do all the things
a kid his age does.

James
at the playground.
James lives the normal life of a five-year-old boy. He goes to school,
he plays, he gets in trouble (he's still as stubborn as a rock), he
does all of the things that a five-year-old should do---but with
limitations. Imagine Halloween and being allowed to go trick or
treating, but having to hand over your candy when you're done because
you can't eat any of it. Sure he gets a toy out of the bargain, but it
does make Halloween a wee bit different, doesn't it? Imagine birthday
parties where you couldn't have any cake. Or having to ignore the ice
cream man when he drives by. His parents may have picked up his
pancreas' slack and while this allows for normality, it also has its
drawbacks. James' lifespan has automatically, just by using insulin,
been cut back by about fifteen years. There's a risk of blindness and
amputation if he doesn't take care of himself. And then there's the
added fun of shots and finger pricks and trips to the doctor. But even
with all of this, like I said, James is one of my most favorite people.
Because while he does complain and whine and groan about the injustice
of it all, he bears this burden much better than people who are fifty
and sixty years older than him who have been diagnosed with Type II
Diabetes. He takes it in stride and two years after the fact, he
doesn't complain about the finger pricks or shots, and for the most
part, eats what he's told to and at the time he's told to do it. He's a
trooper. It's because of James that the husband and I want to help the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation find a cure for Type I Diabetes.
We will be traveling to Omaha on the weekend of August 14th to join up
with James' Jaywalkers to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes. The theme
for this year's walk is "Magic---Making Diabetes Disappear" and I think
that sounds great: nothing would be better to wave a magic wand to make
James' diabetes diappear, like the proverbial rabbit in the hat.
Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. My sister has set an
ambitious fundraising goal of $3000. Now, while this may not sound like
a lot of money, you should know that 85% of it will go toward research,
not to pay for some fat cat administrator's limo service. JDRF is one
of the best foundations out there and they are making great strides toward finding a cure. All we need is to make the magic happen.

I know there are a lot of charitable causes out there, but if you're inspired to help James out by sponsoring his team go here
and donate what you can. All major credit cards are accepted. If you
would rather send a check, please hit the email link over on the left
hand side and I will send you the information you need. Either way,
it's tax deductible and is much appreciated. I will be posting later
about a T-shirt purchasing opportunity (they'll be daisy yellow with a
very cool design) just as soon as I have the details figured out. The
blogosphere is frequented by very generous people, and I would love
nothing better than to help James' Jaywalkers exceed their goal of
$3000 and with your help, I'm sure we can do it.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Snicker. In an hour-long address

Snicker.

In an hour-long address punctuated by polite laughter and
applause, Gore also accused the Bush administration of working closely
"with a network of 'rapid response' digital Brown Shirts who work to
pressure reporters and their editors for 'undermining support for our
troops."'

This from the guy who invented the Internet?

(Confession: I blatantly stole this from the husband. Forgive me, my sweet.)

Posted by: Kathy at 10:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It's times like this when

It's times like this when I'm prone to quoting Bill The Cat and his
infamous "Aaack Thbbt!" and then going about my business, my disgust
for what I'm about to do resolved as being one of those human
compromises.
I hate "Now With Bill Moyers." It offends me that my tax
dollars are paying this partisan twit's salary all in the name of
cultural diversity. I do not like it and the minute that show goes off
the air, the happier I will be. PBS isn't getting dime one from me
during any of their guilt-a-thons until he's off the air---and I've
told them that. They don't care. It plays well here, or so they told
me. Sigh. Anyway, I was flipping past tonight and the word "Darfur" was
uttered in the three seconds before the channel changed and I wound up
flipping it back and paying attention. David Brancaccio was
interviewing Julie Flint, a reporter who's been on the ground in Darfur
recently for Human Rights Watch (yet another stellar organization). She
recently testified before Congress about the humanitarian crisis in
Darfur. Here are some excerpts from her interview. I've cut the twaddle
and left you with facts. You can find the whole thing here.

Aaack Thbbbt!

BRANCACCIO: You have been covering atrocities, war zones
for 30 years. Where do you place Sudan, the current situation in the
Darfur region in terms of the things you've seen in your career? FLINT:
It's as bad as anything I've ever seen. There's no doubt about that. I
expected it to be bad when I went there, because of the very sporadic,
scattered reports we were getting. Information was still quite thin
when I went in. But to my astonishment, I found a land which had no
human life. It was completely empty. And that, in a way is as bad, it's
a land which is full of blood and war, it was just an empty land. All
human life had been removed. And I found that profoundly shocking.
BRANCACCIO: How many villages did you see? FLINT: I probably saw about
17. But it's hard to move. I mean, I moved with a force of probably
about 100 men. Some close to me. Some further out. Some in advance.
It's a huge, Darfur — the size of Texas. It's very hard to know
what's going on. And it's very hard to be blanket. Because I think not
every area, the war will not be the exactly the same in every area. So,
I basically selected a block. And I looked at the 60 square kilometer,
25 square mile block, which had 14 villages. And I visited all those
villages but one. Eleven had been burned. And if there were huts
remaining, it was a handful. All the others had gone. BRANCACCIO: Let's
take a look at some of the video that you were able to record when you
got into the Darfur region. What are we looking at here? FLINT: That's
a village called Harewajip in the Masalit area of Darfur. And the
Masalits are one of three African tribes that form the backbone of the
rebels, the Sudan Liberation Army. And they're being systematically
targeted by the government, and the pro-government militia fighting
side by side, working hand in glove. I don't know how many people died
in that village. But it was completely empty. The mosque had been
burned. I was told that Korans had been torn up and defecated on. And
everything that made life sustainable had been destroyed. There were a
few huts, which were still standing, but food stores had been
systematically broken, looted, destroyed. Even the little glasses they
used for drinking tea had been smashed. It was impossible to go back to
that place. BRANCACCIO: I see nobody there. FLINT: No. Everybody has
gone. Everybody has gone. What shocked me was that I was basically
going to do a human rights report inside Darfur. I had to keep on
crossing the border back to Chad. Because there was no one to speak to
in Darfur, apart from rebels. I was there, in and out for 25 days.
BRANCACCIO: Everyone was either dead or driven out? FLINT: Yes. I was
there for 25 days. I saw 12 civilians, who were going back to their
village, to dig up food stores they buried. People began burying their
food a few months ago, knowing that they would be attacked, and their
food would be looted. And they decided it was better to risk death, by
going back to dig up their food, than to go begging along the border in
Chad. {...}BRANCACCIO: The Janjaweed, these are Arab raiders, often on
horseback, sometimes on camel who are...
FLINT: I wouldn't call them raiders anymore. BRANCACCIO: What would you
call them? FLINT: Well, the word, "Janjaweed," has been used for a long
time. And basically, it referred to a sort of a motley bunch of
different groups, camel herders, encroaching on the farming lands of
settled, African tribes. And it was largely economic conflict. But in
the last few years, the Islamist government have harnessed these
militias, who they know have pre-existing disputes with the settled,
African farmers, and have used them, especially since the rebellion
began, as counter insurgency militias. And what I found of which I'm
absolutely certain is that the vast majority of these lethal attacks
are done by government forces, and the so called Janjaweed forces,
working together. These are no longer hit and run attacks by Arab
nomads. They're systematic attacks by the government and the militia,
often with air support.
BRANCACCIO: So, you saw evidence, and from your interviews, that the
government of the Sudan is working in concert with these Janjaweed?
FLINT: Yes. That was the most striking thing. I interviewed scores and
scores of people, civilians, as well as rebels of course, and
documented 14 instances of large scale killings in a six month period.
Those weren't the only instances of large scale killings. But they were
the only ones I corroborated in the time I had. BRANCACCIO: How many
people? FLINT: Almost 800 people died that I know of. There will be
more. And in all but two of those instances, the Janjaweed and the
government attacked together. And the civilians said, "They're partners
now." And I said to the chief of one village, the headman, "Why do you
say they're partners?" And he said, he looked surprised that I even
asked. And said, "They arrived together. They fight together. And they
leave together." BRANCACCIO: And you saw evidence in these villages of
a systematic campaign, not just to wipe out the village, but really to
prevent it, to make it impossible for people to ever return? FLINT:
Yes. It was striking that even in villages where some huts had not been
burned, all food stores had been destroyed. In all the villages I
visited, I didn't find a single food store that hadn't been completely
destroyed. You can rebuild a hut. But if there's no food, you can't go
back. BRANCACCIO: And of course, in the spring, people plant. And then
they eat that later in the year. FLINT: It's not possible. And now
they're all displaced. And even if they're too late for next season
planting at this stage as well. No, we're going to need a year and a
half of emergency aid at best. BRANCACCIO: To make up for the harvest
that will never come? FLINT: Yes. If you get them back to their homes.
First of all, you have to get them back to their homes, in safety, and
enable them to plant, and harvest in safety. And they can't do that
while the Janjaweed are roaming about, hand in glove with the
government. {...}BRANCACCIO: One term being used here is ethnic
cleansing. From what you've seen, is that accurate? FLINT: Oh,
definitely. The countryside is empty. There's nobody there. It has been
ethnically cleansed. BRANCACCIO: What about the international
community. You don't really see, for instance, the United Nations
breathing fire everyday about this humanitarian crisis. FLINT: The
United Nations initially led the way. They made some very strong
statements. Kofi Annan, a while ago, on the tenth anniversary of Rwanda
made some very strong statements suggesting that military intervention
might be needed. There have been some excellent reports by the U.N.
from teams that have gone into government controlled areas and have
reported on ethnic cleansing, mass burning, mass killing,
extra-judicial execution. Everything I have said from the rebel side,
they have said from the government side. And one delegation said this:
they had never seen such fear ever as the people of the African people
of Darfur have of the Janjaweed. But certainly stronger United Nations'
action is needed. {...}There are things that can be done, air drops,
cross-border access, much greater pressure on the government of Sudan.
We know who the war criminals are. {...}BRANCACCIO: Why is it not being
done? That's the part I don't understand. You make a very good case.
And it's happening before our eyes. What is slowing down the European
response, the U.N. response, maybe the U.S. response. FLINT: There is a
fear that excessive, unwelcome, emphasis on Darfur could still derail
the north-south peace. {...}BRANCACCIO: The international community's
worked really hard to try to establish some peace in the other Sudanese
conflict. FLINT: Yes, absolutely, a lot of energy's been invested in
the north-south peace. And whether it proves lasting or not it's a
great respite for the people of the south. And many countries,
especially in Europe, fear that this peace might fall apart if too much
pressure is put on the government of Sudan. I think there are
indications that the U.S. is no longer of that opinion and think it
necessary to make peace in Darfur even if this jeopardizes peace in the
south. But you can't have peace in the south on the backs of the people
of Darfur. But there are other reasons, I think, for the lack of
action. The press were very slow in getting onto this. And I think
quicker and better reporting of Darfur might have prompted quicker
action. As so often, it's only when you get to the stage of babies
dying that the press are interested. When you have disaster pornography
photos on television of dying people that the press gets involved.
BRANCACCIO: You call it disaster pornography? FLINT: Yes, I mean, I've
been writing about Darfur since August 2002. It was there. It was
happening. It was possible to do. It wasn't reported on. So, the
relative silence of the press and the emphasis of the international
community on let's have a foreign policy success in southern Sudan
conspired to cast a blanket of silence over Darfur. And of course,
there's also coming back to the fact that it's very hard to get in
there. The government simply doesn't let you view what's happening. So,
you have to be quite inventive. BRANCACCIO: Well, I know some other
very intrepid reporters who've tried. And there they are arrayed along
the Chad border with the Sudan. They can't get in. You did? FLINT: You
walk across a valley. It's easy. Sorry, it's really easy. I'd like to
tell you I'm a heroine. It's not. It's easy. BRANCACCIO: And so many
lives are at stake that these are perhaps risk the media should take?
FLINT: Definitely yes, definitely, the attention is welcome now. But
it's late.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:50 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 1929 words, total size 11 kb.

Two minisubs drop off beach

Two minisubs drop off beach masters and equipment for signaling landing
craft.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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who got to this site

who got to this site by typing in "Bert and Ernie Porno Pics"...ahem.

SEEK PSYCHIATRIC HELP NOW!
You're a sick, sick fuck!

Posted by: Kathy at 10:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Robert the Llamabutcher emailed

Robert the Llamabutcher emailed me earlier today, claiming he was
behind in his work and that the whole heatstroke thing had really set
him off his game last week. Could he have another day or two? he asked.
Because he wanted to make sure his essay was up to snuff.
Being the magnanimous sort that I am, I told him sure, no hassles and then
in true mercenary fashion, extracted a favor in the meantime. Since I
went for the quid pro quo in the whole deal, I don't think it would be
sporting for me to slam him for not sticking with the deadline. I'm a
fair that way. So, expect the JANE AUSTEN CAGE MATCH to take place sometime this week. Preferably Tuesday or somewhere around there. I'll let you know what's up.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Saint Mere Eglaise captured by

Saint Mere Eglaise captured by the 505th Regiment of the 82nd Airborne
Division. The Marcouf islets off the coast of Utah beach are occupied
by American forces.
The 9th Battallion of the 3rd Parachute Brigade (British 6th Airborne
Division) captures the Merville battery, a large German gun
installation behind Sword Beach, clearing the way for troops to land.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Merville Battery

Merville Battery

Posted by: Kathy at 10:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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