HusBand How To: Loverher Not Fighther

HusBand How To: Funding the Contras

Kerrey Out. Congratulations Senator Johanns.

clipped from thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com It’s Official: Kerrey Won’t Run for Senate After flirting with the idea for months, Bob Kerrey closed the door today on the idea of returning to Nebraska to run for his old seat in the United States Senate. Damn. Well, I guess I won't have to quit my job to campaign for him now.

This Product Has Only One, Minor Flaw

clipped from www.nytimes.com Sales Are Strong for Glaxo’s Weight-Loss Product Alli has an annoying, but not serious, side effect: it can cause flatulence and diarrhea that is, at times, uncontrollable. That can happen when people eat meals containing too much fat, which simply goes undigested through the intestinal tract because of Alli’s fat-blocking properties. UNCONTROLLABLE?!?!? "The Spastic colon people are on the phone and they are not happy..."

Justice Delayed...

clipped from www.examiner.com O.J. Co-Defendants to Testify Against Him LAS VEGAS (Map, News) - Two co-defendants pleaded guilty to reduced charges Tuesday in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery case, agreeing to testify against Simpson and three others in the alleged hotel room theft of sports collectibles from two memorabilia dealers. ...will still be sweet.

Speaking of WWIII...

clipped from www.nytimes.com Iraq Says It Will Cooperate With Turkey on Kurds ISTANBUL, Oct. 23 — Iraq urged Turkey today to use diplomacy to resolve the conflict with the Kurdish separatist group that has been mounting attacks in Turkey and taking refuge in northern Iraq and said it would send a high-level military delegation to Ankara to discuss international cooperation to halt the violence. In Baghdad, Mr. Babacan publicly dismissed the idea that Turkey would agree to any cease-fire called by the P.K.K., saying Turkey could not do so with a terrorist organization. On Monday, the Kurdish group declared its willingness for a cease-fire, according to a statement posted on a Kurdish Web site. This might be a good sign if the Iraqi government had any power to control anything in the part of Iraq they ostensibly control let alone in Kurdistan where they have no military presence. The good news is that the Turks really seem to want to avoid invading Iraq. (They've seen how that ends - or rather, doesn't end.) This is yet another example of a consequence of the war that was widely predicted - including by Turkey - but completely ignored. Kudos again Mr. President.

Pay Attention

clipped from www.forbes.com China's Communists Revamp Politburo Politburo China has placed its bets on two up-and-coming young political stars to lead the country into its next stage of development. In doing so, it is looking beyond the current leadership under President Hu Jintao to its first political realignment under a collective leadership system. The selections serve as a vivid display of how China is managing its succession problem through a new collective leadership, under which different factions actively engage in political compromises and trade-offs to reach a consensus. The two new stars, Xi and Li, are emblematic of China’s two most influential tendencies. Based on the current rankings, Xi is being groomed for the top job, succeeding President Hu, while Li is being prepped for the premiership. But the succession plan will naturally depend on the outcome of ongoing bargaining at the top and the general political and economic situation in China over the next five years. These are the people who will shape Chinese policy for the next 5-15+ years. This matters. (To us.) Read it.

Iraq War II

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Turkey: 8 Troops Missing After Ambush The Turkish military confirmed Monday that eight of its soldiers were missing after an ambush attack by Kurdish rebels in which 12 other soldiers were killed. The confirmation from the military came as dozens of military vehicles headed toward the Iraq border and protesters across the country demanded tough action against the rebels. The attack has pushed Turkey closer to a possible incursion into Iraq to target Kurdish insurgents hiding there. The PKK is begging the Turks to invade. I haven't put enough thought into why they think that would be good for them. Maybe they think that if America and Turkey are no longer close allies, they would have an easier time getting the Kurdish part of Turkey to break away and form an independent Kurdistan? Anyway, the PKK is single handedly destabilizing the only stable part of Iraq. More unintended (although foreseeable) consequences of the Bush war "plan".

Politicians Don't Care About You (Pakistani Edition)

clipped from www.nytimes.com Bomb Attack Kills Scores in Pakistan as Bhutto Returns KARACHI, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 19 — Two bombs exploded Thursday just seconds apart and feet from a truck carrying the returning opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, narrowly missing her but killing scores of people and bloodying her triumphal homecoming after eight years in exile. The bombs killed 134 people and wounded 450, according to the home secretary of Sindh Province, Ghulam Mohatarem. Before the explosions sundered the celebration, thousands of supporters and workers from her party had lined Ms. Bhutto’s route, waving banners and surging forward for a glimpse of the opposition leader. Many danced in the road. This disgusts me and I hate to overstate this because clearly the bad guys here are the extremists who tried to kill former Prime Minister Bhutto; however, she was warned that this may happen. Pakistani security requested that she take a 10 minute helicopter ride to her destination instead of a 10 HOUR bus ride. This made her a slow moving target for attacks and put at risk the 200,000+ Pakistanis who rallied in the streets around her. Scores died so she could have a parade in honor of her. I wish her the best of luck in trying to restore true democracy to Pakistan while also stamping out extremism. I also hope that in the future, she will consider the safety of her people over her own personal political aggrandizement. Shameful.

Husband How To: Is She Ready for Some Football?

Note that they are, of course, watching a Husker game.

Suck It China (Yet Again)

clipped from www.voanews.com China Says US Award for Dalai Lama Gravely Undermines Relations President Bush applauds as Dalai Lama (l) arrives in U.S. Congress, 17 Oct 2007 China says the United States has "gravely undermined" relations between the two countries by awarding Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, with its highest civilian medal. Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters Thursday, that the United States needs to take concrete steps to make amends for what he called the "terrible impact" of its actions. Last month, Beijing canceled annual human rights talks with Germany that were to be held in December after German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the Dalai Lama. Oh no! Without human rights talks, China may abuse the human rights of their citizens! Oh wait... I hope we finally take a stand on something with China and not continue to reflexively cow-tow every time they clear their throat. (That said, I would rather see us reduce our trade deficit with China, and balance our budget so we can pay off some our debt to them. But I'll take not backing down on an entirely ceremonial and virtually meaningless affair.) Despite everything that has happened of late, we do still wear the Daddy-pants in this world.

That's What I'm #&@%ing Talking About!

clipped from news.yahoo.com Swearing at work 'boosts team spirit, morale' LONDON (AFP) - Regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff, allowing them to express better their feelings as well as develop social relationships, according to a study by researchers. I know it makes me enjoy work more. #&@%

No Armenian Genocide Vote?

clipped from www.nytimes.com Support Wanes in House for Genocide Vote WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 — Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have begun to withdraw their support from a resolution backed by the Democratic leadership that would condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago. Until Tuesday, the measure appeared on a path to House passage, with strong support from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was approved last week by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But by Tuesday evening, a group of senior House Democrats had made it known that they were planning to ask the leadership to drop plans for a vote on the measure. “Turkey obviously feels they are getting poked in the eye over something that happened a century ago and maybe this isn’t a good time to be doing that,” said Representative Allen Boyd, a Florida Democrat who dropped his sponsorship of the resolution on Monday night. It seems Congress is coming to its collective senses regarding this pointless endeavor. Maybe once this is off the table we can try and keep Turkey from invading Iraq!

PKK Says It Will Fight the Turks if They Enter Iraq

clipped from english.aljazeera.net PKK vows to confront Turkish forces The leader of Kurdish separatist fighters in northern Iraq has told Al Jazeera that the group will confront Turkish forces if they are attacked. Murat Karayilan, the head of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Iraq said on Tuesday: "If Turkey is going to use violence against our movement, our leader and our people, then we will respond." Can one country be invaded and have two different insurgencies at the same time? What. A. Mess.

HusBand How To: Do You Know Your Type of Marriage

Tom in as Interim AD: Update

clipped from ucommxsrv1.unl.edu University of Nebraska–Lincoln Perlman announces Osborne will be interim athletics director Lincoln, Neb., October 16, 2007 -- In a new development in leadership changes in the athletic department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced today that Tom Osborne has agreed to serve as director of intercollegiate athletics on an interim basis. Osborne met with Perlman this morning to discuss the interim post and Osborne agreed to serve, on an open-ended arrangement, until Perlman finds a permanent athletics director. Perlman on Oct. 15 fired Steve Pederson, who had held the AD post since 2002. Hopefully, the "interim" period will be long enough to bring back real Huskers to guide the program in the future. For the first time in several years, I feel positive about Nebraska football. (Despite the fact that we almost certainly won't win another game this year.) T.O. is back!!!!! Here is an article about the press conference.

Osborne to be AD?

clipped from journalstar.com Osborne to rejoin athletic department Tom Osborne will be announced as Nebraska's interim or permanent athletic director -- the former coach wouldn't say which -- at a press conference at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday. Now I understand why he wasn't elected Governor: God had a more important job for him.

Osborne Back at Nebraska?!?!?

clipped from www.omaha.com BREAKING NEWS: Osborne expected to return to NU athletic department Nebraska has set a press conference for 5:15 p.m. today where it is expected that former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne will be named to a role within the NU athletic department. Osborne met with NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman at 11 a.m. today. Hopefully, as AD (or better yet, as coach). Finally, we can get back to Nebraska people in charge of Nebraska football (and I'll finally feel right about buying gear licensed by the University).

That's a Shame

clipped from www.reuters.com China "furious" at Dalai Lama's U.S. award BEIJING (Reuters) - China expressed fury on Tuesday that the United States is to honor the Dalai Lama with an award and warned that the activities of his supporters were increasing in Chinese-controlled Tibet. Hey China, stop interfering in our internal affairs - we'll give medals to whomever we damn well please. Check your 5 principles of peaceful coexistence. (Besides, you should see some of the people who've won the Medal of Freedom.)

Clinton and McCain in Foreign Affairs

clipped from www.foreignaffairs.org Security and Opportunity for the Twenty-first Century Hillary Rodham Clinton clipped from www.foreignaffairs.org An Enduring Peace Built on Freedom Securing America's Future John McCain These articles detail the foreign policies each would pursue as President.

HusBand How To: Learning To Fib

Nebraska AD Asked to Resign!!!!!!!

clipped from media.www.dailynebraskan.com Pederson asked to step down UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced today that he asked UNL Athletic Director Steve Pederson to step down from his post. "We are of course disappointed about the progress in our football program," Perlman said in the release. "Steve has done many positive things for Husker Athletics during his tenure but I think only new leadership can objectively assess the state of our program and make the decisions necessary to move forward." WOW! I know Virginia people don't really care but this is HUGE news for Nebraska fans! I'm guessing they pressured Pederson to fire Callahan and he said no. This is definitely the first move in a cascade of events that will lead to the end of the Callahan error at Nebraska. Thank God. The question is: Will Callahan (or the God-awful Defensive Co-ordinator Cosgrove) make it until the end of the season? Will they even be on the sidelines come next Saturday? I hate to see the program in turmoil but we haven't really had a program since Callahan came aboard. (Some of us saw this coming the day they hired Callahan.) Hopefully, we can get real Nebraska people back coaching at Nebraska, the way it should be. (TO is still unemployed, I believe.) Go Huskers!

Terrifying and Depressing

clipped from www.tnr.com How Osama Bin Laden Beat George W. Bush War of Error by Peter Bergen Once again, the Bush administration is the administration of missed opportunities. This is an excellent summation of the mistakes made by the Bush administration vis-a-vis the war on terror. [The clock just can't move fast enough, can it?]

Bush Policy on Cancer Same as on Afghanistan

clipped from news.yahoo.com U.S. cancer death rates continue to fall WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Death rates from cancer continue to fall in the United States, dropping more than 2 percent per year from 2002 through 2004, cancer experts reported on Monday. "The evidence is unmistakable: we are truly turning the tide in the cancer battle," said John Seffrin, executive officer of the American Cancer Society. "The gains could be even greater if everyone in the U.S. had access to essential health care, including primary care and prevention services." "The long-term federal investment in cancer research is paying off," said Dr. Nancy Davidson, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. "But this impressive pace of progress will slow if we don't recommit to funding cancer research. Adjusted for inflation, cancer research funding has actually declined 12 percent since 2004 -- this has never happened in our nation's history," Davidson added in a statement. Once your enemy is on the run, pull all your resources to fight a war in Iraq. Sigh. Is it possible for a President to "take a knee" just to run out the clock faster?

Al Qaeda in Iraq Finished?

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled I guess we can go home then.

Chinese Communist Party Congress Opens

clipped from www.examiner.com Hu Promises More Open China in Future Americans should watch the developments of this Congress very closely as it will greatly affect Chinese policy for the next five years and more generally for years after that.

So Like Us

clipped from news.yahoo.com Syrian soap opera captivates Arab world RAMALLAH, West Bank - With its tales of brave men and dutiful women in a simpler, long-vanished Middle East, a Syrian soap opera has become the latest rage in the Arab world during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The formula is working so well that for many it has proven a stronger draw than the Mideast's two standard preoccupations — religion and politics. Eventually TV will destroy all societies. (PS: I still love you TV!)

What Possible Good Can Come from This?

clipped from www.csmonitor.com Turkish ire may affect Iraq war clipped from www.csmonitor.com Administration officials – and Turkish politicians – pointed out that 70 percent of the US military's air cargo destined for Iraq transits through the US air base at Incirlik in eastern Turkey, and 30 percent of the fuel used by US forces. This CSM article sums up all of the problems with U.S.-Turkey relations vis-a-vis the PKK and the Armenian genocide bill. It is unfortunate, but this whole thing is a terrible idea. It is a non-binding resolution, which means that the House is basically telling Turkey that we have zero appreciation for the help they give us in Iraq and being our ally has no value.

Marines Out of Iraq, Into Afghanistan?

clipped from www.reuters.com Gates plays down report Marines want Iraq exit LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday played down a newspaper report that the U.S. Marine Corps was pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and switch to a leading role in Afghanistan. Under the proposal, the newspaper said, the U.S. Army would concentrate on Iraq while the Marines would focus on Afghanistan. Some officials sympathetic to the army said such a realignment would help ease pressure on the army by allowing it to shift attention from Afghanistan into Iraq, the newspaper reported. Sounds like a good plan to me. At least someone would be paying attention to Afghanistan then.

Turkey Pushes Ahead

clipped from www.reuters.com Turkish PM to ask approval for Iraq incursion ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's prime minister will ask parliament to authorize a military push into north Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels amid Turkish anger on Thursday at a U.S. vote branding Ottoman Turk killings of Armenians genocide. Analysts say a large Turkish cross-border incursion remains unlikely, but Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government will seek authorization for it after a public holiday which ends on Sunday, a ruling party member told Reuters. The United States relies on Turkish bases to supply its war effort in Iraq but the U.S. vote. Any Turkish offensive into north Iraq would seriously strain ties with the United States and possibly hurt Turkey's European Union accession bid. Not a lot new here. Hopefully this is just bluster but if the PKK keep provoking the Turks, who knows? Never get involved in a land war in Asia.

EU Pressures Turkey on Kurdistan Incursion

clipped from www.reuters.com EU says hopes Turkey respects Iraqi integrity BRUSSELS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it hoped Turkey would respect Iraq's territorial integrity after the Turkish prime minister said his government was drawing up plans to authorise a military incursion. A major military incursion into northern Iraq, to crush Kurdish rebels using the region as a base, would strain ties with the United States and the European Union, which Ankara hopes to join, and could undermine regional stability. This could actually keep the Turks out of Kurdistan. Membership in the EU has been long coveted by Turkey and has been pushed by Prime Minister Erdogan's party. They have used it as a way to show that they are not trying to Islamicize Turkey. Even this pressure won't work for long if the PKK is still allowed to attack Turkey from a safe haven in Northern Iraq. Unfortunately, no one involved seems to have the ability or will to take on that challenge in the near term.

Armenian Genocide Bill Could Spell More Trouble in Iraq

clipped from www.latimes.com Bush urges 'no' vote on Armenian genocide bill The administration, while acknowledging the tragedy in which 1.5 million were killed, says the resolution in Congress would damage relations with key ally Turkey. Purely pragmatically, I have to agree with them. We can't keep dumping on Turkey and expecting them to continue to help us on Iraq. Unfortunately, the genocide was real so that can't be ignored, but what is more important? People who died tragically almost 100 years ago, or people who may die as a result of further hamstringing U.S. operation in Iraq? Sounds harsh but that is the reality.

More Dumb-@$$ Dobson

clipped from www.washingtonmonthly.com THIRD-PARTY EVANGELICALS....If the Republican Party nominates abortion-friendly, gay-friendly Rudy Giuliani for president, will James Dobson make good on his threat to support a third-party nominee? Steve Benen says yes: I really hope they do it and are revealed as totally impotent. It is the least the psycho-evangelicals deserve for their instrumental role in %#@%!^& up this country.

Oh Crap!

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk Turkish PM clears way for Iraq assault The Turkish prime minister gave the go-ahead today for a possible military operation into northern Iraq after a spate of deadly attacks on soldiers and civilians by separatist Kurdish guerrillas. A Turkish incursion is fiercely opposed by Washington since it would immensely complicate the US campaign in Iraq and upset the only stable part of Iraq: the Kurdish-controlled north. Mr Erdogan is known to think little of the invasion option, making the pragmatic calculation that it would probably fail. Gee, I wonder where he got that idea from? Invading Iraq worked out so well for us. Seriously though, this is bad. Even for Iraq, this is bad. This will take delicate diplomacy to keep it from spiraling out of control... Oh crap.

Israel Willing to Divide Jerusalem with Palestine?

clipped from news.yahoo.com Israel may OK division of Jerusalem If they are serious about this, it is a very good sign that the upcoming Mid East peace talks may actually be fruitful. Wouldn't it be ironic if the Bush administration pulled off the most significant deal for Middle East peace in, well, ever? Granted, the willingness to deal is more based on favorable conditions (and general willingness to accomplish something) in Israel and Palestine than due to anything Bush, et al. have done, but if they manage not to #%@% it up, it will be an unprecedented win for them. In all seriousness, pray that they reach an actual deal and can implement it. That will remove one of the biggest rallying cries for Islamist militants, and if the U.S. can claim even some reflected glory from the deal, it will greatly improve our standing in the eyes of the people of the Middle East and the world (although, no one will likely admit it until after Bush is out of office). (Then on to Kashmir!) Good luck.

HusBand How To: Your P*orn*gr^phy

PKK Kills 13 Turk Soldiers

Iraq is going to have a hard time keeping the Turkish military out of Kurdistan after this.

To Hell with the Grandkids

clipped from www.nytimes.com Charge It to My Kids By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Yes, those silly Democrats. They’ll raise taxes for anything, even — get this — to pay for a war! Excuse me, Ms. Perino, but I wish Republicans would revert to type. I thought they were, well, conservatives — the kind of people who saved for rainy days, who invested in tomorrow for their kids, folks who didn’t believe in free lunches or free wars. “In every major war we have fought in the 19th and 20th centuries,” said Mr. Hormats, “Americans have been asked to pay higher taxes — and nonessential programs have been cut — to support the military effort. Yet during this Iraq war, taxes have been lowered and domestic spending has climbed. In contrast to World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, for most Americans this conflict has entailed no economic sacrifice. The only people really sacrificing for this war are the troops and their families.” Again, do we have any ability to sacrifice anymore? Keep shopping America.