WMDs [politics]

Ok, supposedly WMDs have not been found in Iraq (if you ignore the artillery shells that contained sarin and the mobile factory-truck), but all of the capability was there, including uranium. There is still debate in the news as to whether or not the intelligence report was correct that Iraq was trying to get yellowcake uranium from Niger. "Bush lied!"

Yet, Iraq had yellowcake uranium from somewhere. Isn't that the important part? Sure, you want to find someone to blame (preferably the opposing political party), but that should not be the main focus.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14295

Now there are new reports that suggest that Iraq was indeed working hard to build WMDs.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=4&u=/ap/20040721/....

Also, the old UK intelligence report about Niger may have been right after all.

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2004/07/17/news/opinion....

http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page....

Ok, so they didn't have a stack of fresh WMDs ready to go, but merely the capability to build them. That doesn't make me feel a lot better about the old Iraq. And shouldn't this at least end the "Bush lied!" mantra? I won't hold my breath!

Yet the news features many people saying that the war on Iraq was wrong, the intelligence is wrong, everything is wrong.

So the question remains, do you just leave a dictator in power (who even Russia's Putin said was planning attacks on the US) until he finally gets a bomb and transports it to who-knows-where, or do you finally end the mess that existed since the end of the first gulf war, where the coalition had the great idea of leaving Saddam in power and not enforce the treaties that were signed? The real bottom-line is why leave Saddam in power at all? I don't understand the arguments towards wanting to keep a brutal dictator in power in defiance of the UN treaties he signed as well as crimes against humanity. Somehow Bush is the problem? What stretch of logic is this? Soveriegnty is fine as long as a country is not a basketcase of despotism. Even if you thought that he had no intention of making WMDs and the stockpiles were there but he'd never have the guts to put them together, given his other atrocities, why leave him in power? Blair agrees:


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040720/ap_on_re_eu/.....

Everything isn't wrong, and Iraq is better.

[UPDATE 9/26/04: I did find an article that mentioned the 500 tons of yellocake uranium that explained that it had been in Iraq for quite a while, implying that there were no recent acquisitions. Even if not, it still looks like Saddam had the capability of continuing a nuclear program and may have been at least attempting to make more acquisitions.]

Free online games [games]

Free online games, for limited time:
EverQuest Trilogy

Star Wars Galaxies

Obviously, once you're through the trial period, they want you to pay money to keep going. :-)

Myself, I don't know that I need something else to occupy my time, especially after the $5 Circuit City game deal, where I picked up 6 games. :-) But this would be a great way to try it out without committing to a big investment.

Speaking of the CC deal, my local store was pretty picked-over already, with the top-rated games long-gone, but there were still some decent games that were more obscure. It is still worth visiting to see if there's something you might want. Keep in mind that a really bad game isn't even worth $5, as it'll just be a waste of your time, if not your money.

GI Joe and the military [politics]

washingtontimes.com

... it is almost as if these types have had a psychotic break from reality.

Now, there's a Quote of the Week for you!

The author is speaking about some in the anti-war crowd being upset that GI Joe action figures are being handed out during a Minnesota Twins baseball game. The claim is that the dolls will promote war, but I can't help but think that it has an implied message that it's bad to grow up to be a solder. What would be the problem if a youngster actually admired solders or even grew up to become one? I suppose if you're anti-war and don't like solders, you probably don't want an army either.

I can imagine arguments about how to best make use of a military (such as only in defense of the homeland or getting 27 resolutions from the UN instead of 17 before reacting), but to not have one at all? What is to keep a despot from taking advantage of such a situation? Seems very naive and unrealistic.

Who should we encourage our kids to look up to as an alternative? Firemen? Policemen? Luke Skywalker? I say, all of the above, including the solder.

What a sale! [games]

Various sites on the 'net are talking about a Circuit City sale where the games are $4.99. Well, from what I've been reading (not just the results from the local store), pretty much all of the top-rated ones are long gone. Many posts talked about people taking shopping carts to buy stacks of games (presumably to resell on eBay). So, a lot of the remaining games are not the best, but there might be a niche product that you are interested in. For instance, I picked up Super Bust-a-move for two gaming systems. I often like puzzle-style games, so even though they are not always rated highly, they might be worth getting to some.

Still, I read through the lists that others have gotten, and most of the games listed are just not that good. So how bad does it have to be before $5 turns out to be not such a good deal? There were a few that are actually halfway decent, though, so it's not a complete waste of time. It's more like a treasure hunt, so check it out and have fun.