William K. Wolfrum

Let me get this straight: If you don’t support the war on Iraq, you have forgotten 9/11.

So what does it mean when you leave victims’ remains laying at Ground Zero for five years?

From Reuters:

NEW YORK - More than 200 pieces of human remains have been found at the World Trade Center site since the discovery of bones by workers clearing rubble from manholes sparked a new search a week ago, an official said on Thursday.

The Twin Towers in New York City were hit by hijacked passenger jets and collapsed on September 11, 2001, killing 2,749 people. Some 1,150 of the victims have either not been identified or not recovered.

A spokeswoman for New York’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office said that on Thursday an additional nine pieces of bone were found, bringing the total for the week to 202 pieces, ranging from 1 inch to 12 inches in length.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended the clean-up of the site, although he said he was at a loss to explain why the bones had not been discovered sooner.

The manholes where the bones were first discovered last Thursday had been covered by a temporary road built after the attacks to allow in cranes to start removing debris.

“Who is going to be held responsible for the emotional, mental and physical damage this has done to the families?” said Adele Milanowycz on putitaboveground.org, a Web site posting updates for families on the searches.

“Why is this not front-page news? We read about bodies being found in Iraq in mass graves and we are horrified. How is this not horrifying the world?” wrote Milanowycz, who lost her son Greg in the attacks.

Bloomberg has said the city would not shut down construction while searches continued on the western edge of the site where commemoration ceremonies for the families of victims are held on each anniversary of the attacks.

The discovery is the latest setback for the rebuilding effort at the World Trade Center site. Construction of a new Freedom Tower began in April after bickering over financing, security and design delayed plans.

Why indeed is this not front-page news?

Read more about this story at Put it Above Ground.

-WKW

Having spent the last three weeks wandering about the West Coast, playing golf and visiting family, two things currently jump out at me:

1. There are very few actual Americans any longer. There are Republicans, and Democrats, and never the twixt shall meet. A two-party system has divided the United States 300 million different ways.

2. Republicans will still run things after Nov. 7, regardless of what polls say now.

-WKW

This oughta wake him up before he go gos. From the AP:

George Michael praised marijuana and apparently smoked a joint during a recently taped television interview, prompting criticism from anti-drug campaigners Friday.

British television network ITV said the singer lit up while being interviewed for the arts program “The South Bank Show.” The interview is due to be broadcast October 31.

“This stuff keeps me sane and happy,” Michael, 43, told the program.

“I’d say it’s a great drug — but obviously it’s not very healthy. You can’t afford to smoke it if you’ve got anything to do.”

A spokeswoman for “The South Bank Show” said the interview had been conducted in Madrid, Spain, where marijuana consumption is legal. In September, Michael launched his “25 Live” tour — his first in 15 years — in Spain.

Of course, from the joy of seeing an aging pop icon get baked on TV, we go to the joylessness of others.

William Butler, spokesman for drug treatment charity Addaction, said he was “concerned about the message this can send out to young people.”

“Cannabis is illegal because it can be harmful, as can all drugs,” he said.

Mr. Butler than fired up a cigarette and drank a quart of scotch to show his displeasure at the dangers kids had to deal with on a daily basis.

Jitterbug, baby.

-WKW

So, who says diplomacy is a thing of the past in George W. Bush’s America.

From CNN:

The State Department has complained to the Israeli government about its discriminatory treatment of Arab-Americans traveling to the Palestinian territories, senior State Department officials said Thursday.

Officials said that despite a longstanding policy of issuing visas to Americans traveling to the West Bank and Gaza, the Israeli government has recently denied Palestinian-Americans and certain other Americans entry.

During her recent trip to Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raised the issue with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and U.S. diplomats have also recently complained to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, officials said.

“They are being treated as Arabs and not Americans,” one senior official said. “They basically treat them as second-class citizens.”

Remember kids: Arab-Americans deserve respect, they are Americans, after all. Regular Arabs? Well, fuck them.

-WKW

Someone please show me the book, whether theocratic, philosophical or even mathematic, where this equation either works, or improves things in any way at all:

There is a problem with A. The problem with A is the fault of B.

-WKW

shrill

Main Entry: shrill
Pronunciation: ’shril, especially Southern ’sril
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English; probably akin to Old English scrallettan to resound loudly — more at SKIRL
transitive verb: SCREAM
intransitive verb: to utter or emit an acute piercing sound

Shrill

The Press Corps Drives More People Shrill

TNR Shrill? Urges Dem Partisanship

Shrillness

Shrill Defined

The reasonable and the shrill

The case for shrill

The Sacred Order of the Shrill

John Cole is Shrill

Rubin gets Shrill

Shrill Alert!

Let it hereby be known, that as of now, you cannot be too shrill. Anyone offended by overtly shrill behavior can now officially suck it.

Be shrill - thousands and thousands of war dead and the U.S. Constitution will thank you.

-WKW

Nothing like the coach of your national team giving helpful suggestions that include quitting your club team due to a lack of immediate success after moving their from a far-off continent.

Tevez: “We just need time to adjust.”

From RTE Sport:

Argentina boss Alfio Basile claims Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano are only showing ‘half-hearted’ commitment to West Ham and should leave Upton Park.

Both Argentina internationals signed for the Hammers on August 31, and despite their reputation neither has made a significant impact in the Barclays Premiership.

Basile, appearing on Argentinian TV channel TyC Sports, said: ‘I hope both leave that club as soon as possible. I think they are half-hearted and I’m really worried about that. They play as if they are unenthusiastic.

Tevez and Mascherano have now played five games at West Ham. Just a hunch, ut I have a feeling these two stellar players will have things straightened out with the Hammers if you give them a few more weeks. Then maybe Basile can find a reason to advise Leo Messi to leave Barcelona, for some other equally stupid and hysterical reason.

-WKW

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in Jessica Lynch’s own words:

“Most of the earlier stories about what happened to me were untrue. I think people wanted the story to turn out with that whole Rambo-style shooting, the things that didn’t really happen. They wanted that fairy tale story.

In the beginning, I did mind it a little. Then after a while, you see the bigger picture. It doesn’t matter now. With my book, it gave more information, it gave the truth.

Remember people, the current U.S. regime lies to you. Every. Single. Step. Of. The. Way. And they do it on everything from why we go to war, what happens in war, what happens in Congress, who they know, etc. They lie to cover their tracks, they lie to protect their power. They lie even when they have no real need to lie.

However, like Jessica Lynch, they expect you to “see the bigger picture.”

You seeing the bigger picture yet?

-WKW

Welcome to the latest installment of “Things I love”

I love the fact that the PNAC party was ushered into power on generalizatiins, half-truths, rumors and innuendos, and now they are aghast that they may be getting sent out the very same way.

Because there’s a chance terrorist islamofascists will come take over the U.S. and enslave you.

And there’s a chance Mark Foley and other Republicans have been banging your children like they were $2 whores.

Now choose.

-WKW

Remember kids, being tough on terrorism means giving the world’s most screwed-up, evil Islamic fundamentalists back control of Afghanistan, and forgiving them for giving Osama bin Laden a comfortable office so that he could plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the U.S.

Because when Bill Frist says we just can’t defeat the Taliban, you better believe him.

Hey, Afghanistan, sorry for blowing your country to holy hell again, but here are the evil theocratic leaders back to make your lives even more hellish. Oh yeah, and suck it! Bwahaha!

From the International Herald Tribune:

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Monday that the Afghan guerrilla war can never be won militarily and called for efforts to bring the Taliban and their supporters into the Afghan government.

The Tennessee Republican said he had learned from briefings that Taliban fighters were too numerous and had too much popular support to be defeated by military means.

“You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government,” Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. “And if that’s accomplished we’ll be successful.”

Trent Lott: “Iraq, why should we care?”

Bill Frist: “Afghanistan? Give it back to the Taliban.”

This “War of Civilizations” stuff is seriously complicated.

-WKW