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The last time I flew Sabena, they had good meals, friendly flight attendants (and not bad to look at, either - there was this one kind of muscley guy who helped me with my carryon... ahem. Anyway), really comfy blankets and pillows, and free booze. Of course, Sabena later went bankrupt.

And what's cool is when you're not wearing them, they can be used to scrub potatoes.

I'll be heading from Atlanta, Georgia all the way down to... well, Columbus, Georgia. So it's not much of a hike. Makes it all the easier to get back up to Atlanta to (gulp, sigh) cover the retail situation with Christmas Eve last-minute shoppers. If I have to spend one more holiday at the...

"And tonight, I have a message for the people of Iraq: Go home and die."

I don't know. It could be that I'm just really sensitized to it now, but that really came across as kind of condescending. "Yeah, good on 'em for speaking up when they don't have enough armor. Good Army boys. Nice Army boys. We're proud of you. Now eat this cookie." And again with the...

Officers' dress blues look like airline pilots because it's the Delta Airlines suit, different stripes. All you have to do here in Atlanta is call up Abbott's and tell them whether you'll by flying friendly or unfriendly skies. As for the women's uniform, the day the Navy realizes that a...

I loved how when the troops were actually looking for his support, it was "you can have all the armor in the world on a tank and it can still be blown up," but at the end, as he tried to save a little face, suddenly it was "we must prevail" and "we must win."

My question has been from the beginning, why now (or, I suppose, why then?). Everything that HueyCobra cited has been ongoing since Gulf War I. I don't for a moment argue that Saddam Hussein wasn't a horrible dictator or that the world isn't better off without him in power - but he was as...

Hey, that's a very important thread, okay? 'Cause I was coming in thinking, like, it's all choker whites and dining outs. And then they're, like, no, it's not all choker whites and dining outs. And I'm, like, no way, and they're, like, yeah. And I was, like, whoa.

I'd still sincerely like someone to tell me what important good news has come out of Iraq in the past two weeks that network media hasn't covered.

Well, that depends. Although I haven't heard it from the mouths of rappers yet (and God knows everyone respects rappers and heeds their advice), I have heard people advocating the indiscriminate incarceration/deportation/execution of Muslims in the US. Usually, though, no one listens to those...

Okay, I'll bite. Sincere question here, no snark intended - what really good things have happened in Iraq in the past two weeks that the networks haven't covered?

Sigh. Okay, fine. Yes, the media are whores, yadda yadda. Commercial interest, headlines, blah dee blah. Saddam's statue, little Iraqi children getting Beanie Babies, "Marlboro Man" Marine, UGA flag above the presidential palace, Saddam getting yanked out of a spider hole, elections in...

Why is it that my name always comes up on these things? "Cate, Cate, please come and become a target for our misdirected uber-conservative vitriol..." Just toolin', of course - honestly, I kid because I love.

HueyCobra, I think you might be the first person I've ever heard to actually come out and say that this isn't an Islam issue. So many people are quick to blame this on Islam without really recognizing the fact that while the terrorists are largely Muslim, so are many of the victims. It's nice...

Ooookay. Raise your hand, everyone who hasn't had a chance to poke fun at the officer/cheerleader. Anyone? Anyone? No? Great. Scene.

I wouldn't dream of knocking SERE school; far from it. What intrigued me there was a woman whose accomplishments include completing SERE school and POW training - and her role model is Oprah. There's just some kind of disconnect there for me.

I just love her profile. Most fulfilling accomplishment: Completing SERE, Survival and POW Training. Role model: Oprah."

I may not know a lot of military aviation, but I know snark, and that one was delicious.

Duh. The dog is supposed to offset the hypertensive effects of the alcohol. Hello. My poing: the media aren't whores because they're liberal - they're whores because they're whores. I want to clarify something: I have no illusions that the media are completely benevolent and only want...

No jabs. And for the record, we're not all fat. I prefer to think of it as "curvy."

Whuh-whuh-whuh-whoa. While you make some good points, you're missing quite a lot of the "big picture" as well. My point wasn't that things are more bad than good over there - obviously, things are improving daily. My point was that the bad things that are happening are more newsworthy than...

It really depends on what you want to call a "major source." Most of those were AP or Knight Ridder, regardless of the publication that ended up carrying them. As for the bad outnumbering the good - that's because the bad over the outnumbers the good, buttercup. I fully acknowledge that...

Making space for democracy World in Brief Transplanted traditions for troops in Iraq Iraq Deputy Prime Minister says elections must go ahead A banner year for women worldwide SAIS Center Receives Grant for Leadership Training of Iraqi Women Dispatches from Iraq's feminist front Veterans...

It's also important to remember that the media are there with the cooperation of the military. While individual units/commanders/troops/as you will have voiced their personal objections, the Big Guys In Charge, on behalf of The Military as a whole, welcome embedded reporters as long as they...

Now, what did I just say? Hmm? 10 chars

Well, uh, yeah. "Marine saves five in his unit and a civilian reporter by clearing machine gun nest" makes a crappy and ineffective headline. Usually, papers include a subhead with pertinent information like that, but people rarely read it. And if people choose not to read the...

I don't know if you're still looking for this - it's an AP photo. The photographer's name is Sal Veder; he won a Pulitzer for the picture. The picture is Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm being greeted by his family at Travis AFB, caption "Vietnam Released POW", 3/17/1973. I'm sure there are framed...

I don't know that you're throwing out the rules, in that case, so much as you're adhering to a set of rules appropriate for the new circumstances. I'll admit to prejudging just a bit when I first heard about the incident - I didn't condemn him for what he did, I just figured that it was okay...

It's a nice sentiment, but it absolutely can't happen. Right now, for better or worse, US military presence is the only thing propping up any semblance of stability in the Middle East. Bit by bit, we're teaching Iraqis to take care of Iraq, but until they're completely ready to do it on their...

Nitpicky me - not arguing with anyone else's sentiment here - however: You don't risk the lives of American troops (and civilian lives as well) and blow up insane amounts of infrastructure and spend millions of dollars to "keep everyone's spirits up." And it wasn't a clear win. It was a win...

I can very easily see that happening.

Ah. Ohh. Okay. I've gotten my fix, life is good. But yeah, there are a lot of posts missing. I think the mods took this craziness as an opportunity to get rid of some of the weirder posts. "The one about ice cream? Gee, I dunno. Site's been wacky lately, must have gotten lost!"

Touche. :) 10chars

I don't really know where the media is going, and I don't like it. I've seen a lot of stuff during the election that really displeased me. "Memogate" ticked me off - it shouldn't take a blogger to debunk a story. CNN's delay in calling the election ticked me off. On the other side of things...

I guess the big question here is Are Embedded Reporters A Good Thing, Check One Yes No. And the answer to that one is, well, 42. Right now, the news media is the main source of information about Iraq for people back home. And it's been a good thing. A lot of important images have come back...

Aww, I'm blushing. Interestingly enough, none of the above. That's a really, really, fantastically good question. And the answer is, ehhh... The purpose of the news media is, to some minor extent, to change the world. The news media is there to shine a light on things that might not...

No complaints at all. I think that the Marine was totally within his rights, under the circumstances, and I hope that this thing will be investigated quickly and thrown out. Just hoping that it's not all liberal media that's good-for-nothing. And I actually don't know that I'm not a ninja...

Um, hi, y'all...

He's not really "resigning at a time like this." He's made it pretty clear for over a year that he'd most likely not return, should President Bush return for another term. It's been at least that long since the president has followed his advice on anything, so there's really no point for him...

Yes, of course, for State, I understand. But the rumors I was talking about discussed Condoleeza Rice for Secretary of Defense. Has anyone else heard similar whispers, and if so, can they be explained?

Newsweek mentioned Condi Rice as a possible Secretary of Defense. Does anyone know why (why, God, why) she might get tagged?

Love it. Love "Airplane II: The Sequel": "Striker was the squadron leader. He brought us in real low. But he couldn't handle it. "Buddy couldn't handle it? Was Buddy one of your crew?" "Right. Buddy was the bombardier. But it was Striker who couldn't handle it, and he went to...

I don't disagree with you. My post was more in response to ducam23; I should have been clearer about that.

Historically, the First Amendment hasn't protected profanity, slander/libel, "fighting words," or those statements that endanger others (i.e. shouting "fire" in a crowded theater; treason; etc.). It all comes back to the my-right-to-swing-my-fist-ends-at-the-tip-of-your-nose thing; you can...

Warning: many of the videos aren't entirely work-friendly. Especially the one with the hedgehogs.

And the same parents who turn their kids loose at the movies on Friday nights so that the tykes can drink and get high and screw around unsupervised are the parents who will be complaining that Ed Burns said a naughty word and corrupted their poor little angels. And while Mom writes her angry...

The thing is, the FCC would fine for it. After the halftime fiasco, they made it clear that they weren't going to stand for anything, be it Bono cussing or Janet flashing, and they've refused to hand out advance waivers in this case. They usually don't act unless there's been some complaint...

I blame Justin Timberlake.

Oooh... Why, I oughta...