Main Entry: 1.foul  
Pronunciation: 'fau(-&)l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ful; akin to Old High German ful rotten, Latin pus pus, putEre to stink, Greek pyon pus
1 a : offensive to the senses : LOATHSOME b : filled or covered with offensive matter
2 : full of dirt or mud
3 a : morally or spiritually odious : DETESTABLE (a foul crime) b : notably unpleasant or distressing : WRETCHED, HORRID (in a foul mood)
4 : OBSCENE, ABUSIVE (foul language)
Websters Online Dictionary

The recent uproar over Imus racist remarks reminds me of something I heard a few weeks back. The Right accused (backed up by many in the MSM) the left side of the blogosphere of spewing an endless stream of obscenities with every post. That the of words like fuck, shit, ass, asshole, motherfucker or any combination there of turns the blogoshere into nothing more than a cesspool of juvenile chatter and hateful thoughts. True that curse words can distract the reader or lower the tone of the conversation, but I ask you, what is worse to say "Fuck Bush! I hope he rots in Hell!" or...

A lot of ink and electrons have been spent in the last 6 years on the decay of Main Stream Media outlets. From Judith Miller inflated WMD reports,to Faux News cozying up to the extreme right wing and putting on of their own in the White House, both sides of the great American political divide agree that the news media has failed the nation.

Tip of the hat to Crooks and Liars. Crossposted to Ruins of Empire.

This is the story of a young man who decided to create a podcast about politics, technology and everything else. Along the way he stumbled upon the intersection of Hollywood and Washington and decided to describe what he saw.

Present Day, U.S.A.

A McCarthy like senator sits besides the podium waiting to address the Republican National Convention as their nominee for Vice President of the United States. Two army officers frantically search the hall for a ticking bomb. But the bomb has already been set...it’s a man programed to kill by a foreign power and in moments he is about to strike....

The plot from a Hollywood movie from the ‘60s, perhaps the next episode of 24 or something closer to reality. Follow me down the rabbit hole to find out:

LADY MACBETH: Out, damned spot! out, I say! Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now? -- What, will these hands ne'er be clean? Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. O, O, O!

Macbeth

Cross posted to Ruins of Empire, pics by The Unapologetic Mexican and the White House website.

Inspired by deano and his diary on podcasting I finally did my first podcast. Its called the Ruins of Empire Podcast. I basically talk a little bit about everything; news, technology, and some other interest.

Picture by The Unapologetic Mexican. Crossposted to Ruins of Empire.

And so ends the year 2006 with another Saddam diary. Saddam death brings no satisfaction to me or to many in Iraq. His death does brings us full circle. From the days when the U.S. funneled billions to finance Saddam's cruel war against his foreign and domestic enemies to today's blood soak streets of Baghdad . I could write entire books about it but I think this example (by way of Juan Cole's excellent blog) should suffice:

On Sunday, New Gingrich started spewing nonsense about a "wider war" (a war that, according to him includes not only Iraq but Iran and North Korea.. He also complained about how unfair restricting one form of speech (money) while the government had the right, nay, the duty to stamp down the terrorist internets. Meanwhile his fellow ideologue , Bill Kristol, was on The Daily Show defending the "surge" because like the German generals in the spring of 1918, he is sure that one more push will do.

These statements force me to ask the following questions:

Are the neocons Evil?

Or are they just a bunch of misguided nerds who see Baghdad as a super fun dungeon crawl?

Do they really believe that dropping bombs is like flinging fireballs?

And why am I abusing your sensibilities, oh gentle reader, with so many D&D references?

The answer, one that has eluded so many smart people through the last four or five years is that the neocons are not just evil, they are a special kind of evil. What kind of evil is that? Lawful Evil!

Department of Damn Gall: Bush accuses Democrats of not having a plan for Iraq! The dictionary defines "plan" as "a detailed formulation of a program of action." And Bush's "plan" is . . ?

Prof. Juan Cole asked and I answered....

George W. Bush has/had a plan,the plan is/was "Stay the Course";

Continiues below:
Cross-Posted to Ruins of Empire.

Hello, my name is Rafael R. Piñero Arrufat and I am an Enemy of the State. I am an Enemy of the State because:

Follow me down the rabbit hole, Oh Chosen Ones!
Crossposted to Ruins of Empire.

• The ability to designate anyone as an "Enemy of the State." This first power is the most  important as it enables the State to move freely against those it considers a threat to its survival.
• The ability to do whatever it wishes with said enemies.  
• Lack of real any real limits on the power of the State.

In military strategy, a choke point is a geographical feature (such as a valley or defile) which forces an army to go into a narrower formation (greatly decreasing combat power) in order to pass through it. A choke point would allow a numerically inferior army to successfully fend off a larger army since the attacker would not be able to bring his superior numbers to bear.

Wikipedia Entry

Crossposted to Ruins of Empire

A choke point is a narrowing of an international waterway to a distance of less than 24 miles (38 km), necessitating the drawing of a median line (maritime) boundary. These are almost always strategic locations where, presumably, a blockading naval force could "choke" off the waterway. Examples are the Hormuz Strait between Oman and Iran at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, the Bab-el-Mandeb...

Wikipedia Entry

(Cross posted to Ruins of Empire)

Here we see a Navy beachmaster evacuating Americans from Lebanon. A striking pose, full of energy and purpose, except that this a retreat, not an assault. The reality of the Israeli indiscriminate non-war on Lebannon has pushed hundreds of thousands out of their homes. Of course, none of these things where supposed to happen: