Just say no to any neutral site World Series games

Ken Rosenthal has a good column up today about how baseball’s future is so bright it’s gotta wear shades. Business is booming and looks as though it will continue to boom. Technology that allows fans to get even more immersed in the game is leading the way to the future, and how the time is now ripe for baseball to build on it. He only has one MBT Sawa Shoes misstep — and he admits that it’s a problematic idea — and that’s talking up Scott Boras’ idea of a big World Series Weekend event in which baseball basically stages a party around the kickoff of the World Series in which awards are given out, other fan events are held and — in most constructions of the idea — at least one or two World Series games are played. All at a neutral site. Which, in my mind, makes the idea a deal breaker.

 Neutral site scenarios — most of which are launched when the weather gets nippy in late October — are just awful. And not just on the grounds of tradition and unfairness to whichever team is MBT Chapa Shoes, losing home games. As the NFL has taught us, if you have a neutral site event, the certainty of time and place of that event will invite — hell, demand – corporate underwriting. Contest winners, rights partners, advertising partners, and junket junkies will gobble up all the tickets, freezing out season ticket holders for contending teams and/or sending them to stratospheric prices on the secondary market. The only thing keeping that from happening now — at least en masse — is that no one knows where the games will be until three or four days before they begin.

Schedule Game 1 and Game 2 of next year’s World Series for San Diego tomorrow, and you can bet that all of the MBT Shoes Cheap, hotel rooms will be booked by the end of the month. I don’t care how much money it makes or how much it grows the game (or how much those who stand to make all that money argue that it will grow the game). Baseball should not, under any circumstances, seek to emulate the Super Bowl. That game has become a giant, overhyped-corpse of an event and I don’t want baseball to have any part in that kind of thing. Under such a scenario, Kirk Gibson hits his homer in the 1988 World Series where? Miami? I agree that MBT Changa Shoes, making the awards into an event of some kind would be a good thing. And the All-Star Game could use some help, I think. But let’s leave the games that count alone. They’re fine just the way they are.

MLB announces seven-day disabled list for concussions to be used on “trial basis” this season

MLB MBT Tembea Coffee,  that teams will be able to place players who suffer concussions on a seven-day disabled list this season in addition to the standard 15-day and 60-day disabled lists, with the new option being used on a “trial basis.”

According to the announcement the shorter DL option is intended “to allow concussions to clear, prevent players from returning prematurely, and give the clubs a full complement of players in one’s absence.”

Players on the seven-day DL will be transferred to the 15-day DL once they’ve been sidelined for more than seven days, but the abbreviated DL stint will hopefully make teams more willing to shut a player down once post-concussion symptoms surface. In the past some players have remained on the active roster following concussions because the team wasn’t sure they’d need to miss the full 15 days.

Also of note is that, MBT Tembea Shoes of the Los Angeles Times, the new concussion policy “also requires players to take a baseline neurological examination each spring and whenever they join a new team” and “establishes protocols for evaluating players and umpires for possible concussions and for clearing affected players and umpires to return.”

All in all, a very nice step in the right direction after concussions unfortunately sidelined numerous players last year, including knocking MBT Karani,  of the Twins and MBT Karani,  of the Mets out for months and ending Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue’s career.

For the players, Miami is a “girlfriend city”

I was gone yesterday afternoon so I wasn’t following the blow-by-blow of the Bonds trial. By missing it, though,Nike Shox Torch I missed a doozy. In case you missed it too, know this: to players on road trips, there are “wife cities” and there are “girlfriend cities.” This came up during Kimberly Bell’s testimony, in which she said that Bonds told her about the idea. Bonds would know too, seeing as though he dated Bell through parts of two separate marriages.

During her cross examination, Bell said that Miami was a “girlfriend city.”, so she’d rendezvous with Barry there and other girlfriend cities. Quite the concept. Maybe it explains why the Braves always seem to play so flat against the Marlins on the road! I’d love to Nike Shox Shoes, have a list of all major league cities and have them rated for wife or girlfriend-friendliness.

And in case you think I’d use such information for player-stalking purposes, I should say that I’m more interested in the criteria for categorization than anything else. Based on Miami being for the girlfriends I’d assume that a hot night life is important for that, but there has to be more to it. Like, which way does good shopping cut? And does the entire breakdown of the cities give us any idea as to whether cheating players have more contempt for the wives they Nike Cortez, betray or their girlfriends they use? Put differently, who gets stuck with Cincinnati?

Pedro Feliciano shut down for 10 days, will begin year on DL

Signed by the Yankees in large part because of his incredible durability after leading the National League in appearances in each of the past three seasons, Nike Shox Deliver, has been shut down for at least 10 days because of what Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com “soreness in a muscle behind his left shoulder.”

Feliciano will begin the season on the disabled list and manager Joe Girardi  Nike Blazer Low, that the Yankees don’t expect him to be ready for at least three weeks. Once he’s cleared to resume throwing again Feliciano will rehab at extended spring training in Florida.

According to Matthews the two in-house options to replace Feliciano are veteran right-hander Nike Shox Turbo, and rookie left-hander Steve Garrison. Neither are particularly appealing options, but Garrison is definitely the lesser of two evils considering Ayala didn’t pitch in the majors at all last season and hasn’t had an ERA below 5.00 since 2007.

2011′s uniform changes are minor, but mostly positivePaul Lukas has no peer when it comes to the world of cataloging and commenting on sports uniform design, and today he has a post I look forward to every year: all of the uniform changes heading in to the new baseball season.

Paul Lukas has no peer when it comes to the world of cataloging and commenting on sports uniform design, and today he has a post I look forward to every year: all of the uniform Nike Shox NZ,changes heading in to the new baseball season. Nothing really major. The Blue Jays have trashed the powder blue alternates. The Dodgers have that light blue home alternate. The Pirates have trashed the pinstriped vest. Lots of memorial patches are floating around. The Padres are — inexplicably — encouraging everyone to use their secondary logo “whenever possible,” instead of their primary logo, yet are still keeping the primary logo and are continuing to call it primary. It’s like the logo has a guaranteed contract or something and can’t be released. Nike Air Presto, All in all, a quiet year on the uniform front with most of the moves being tasteful enough. No terrible missteps. And though I love the Blue Jays’ powder blues, the fact that they never wore them on the road like Nike Shox TL1, God and Nature intended made me rather blah about the whole enterprise. Good stuff from Lukas. Check it out.

Next stop, stardom: 2011 breakout picks – Derek Holland

Nike Shox Deliver‘s departure left a huge hole in the Rangers’ rotation and they signed rehabbing former Cy Young winner Nike Shox Turbo in the hopes he could fill the void if healthy, but 24-year-old left-hander  emerging as a front-line starter is the more likely way for Texas to forget all about Lee.

Holland was slowed by a knee injury last spring and began the season in the minors, but earned a call-up in mid-May by posting a 0.93 ERA and 37/7 K/BB ratio in six starts at Triple-A. He pitched well through three starts, but then looked nothing like his usual self against the Twins on May 30 and missed the next two months with a shoulder injury.

Holland returned from the disabled list in mid-August and threw 38 innings down the stretch, finishing with a 4.08 ERA, .247 opponents’ batting average, and 54/24 K/BB ratio in 57 innings overall. Toss in his 1.83 ERA and 85/27 K/BB ratio in 93 career innings between Double-A and Triple-A, and it’s easy to see the young southpaw’s star potential. His fastball averaged 92 miles per hour last season and Holland’s low-80s slider is his best pitch, with a solid changeup giving him the repertoire to thrive as a starter long term.

Being a fly-ball pitcher in Texas’ power-inflating ballpark works against Holland, but he misses enough bats and throws enough strikes to succeed even while serving up some long balls. Counting on Holland to truly replace Lee is obviously wishful thinking, particularly at age 24 and with just 31 career starts under his belt, but he has the ability to emerge as one of the Nike Shox Cheap, top left-handed starters in the league and looks capable of taking the first big step this season.

Springtime Storylines: Are the Boston Red Sox the best team in baseball? 2

Finally, the bullpen, where the addition of Bobby Jenks and the maturation of Daniel Bard will complement the maligned yet still highly effective Nike Blazer Low, to make the final three innings of any game fairly miserable for Red Sox opponents most nights. And don’t sleep on Dan Wheeler who — at least judging by superficial bullpen depth charts — is one of the better fourth options out of the pen in all of baseball.

Where does that leave us? I’ll get a little more reflective about their chances below in the “So how are the going to do” section, but for now I’m going to give a guarded “yes” in response to that question. I think the Red Sox are the best team in baseball in 2011.

So what else is going on?

• Nike Air Presto has been raking this spring. I don’t spend too much time mucking about the Boston press, but the fact that he could add something major to the Red Sox lineup seems like one of the more underreported stories of the spring. If Ellsbury shines this year, that guarded “yes” above turns much more emphatic. Same goes for Nike Shox TL1,  who, unlike the vast majority of baseball fans, I am not inclined to sleep on. He’s good. He’s always been good and at times he’s been great. He could still turn in an All-Star caliber season, even if no one is all too eager to acknowledge it as such when it goes down.
• How much rope does Marco Scutaro have? He toughed his way through injuries and ineffectiveness last year to play in 150 games, but how much of Terry Francona’s loyalty was based on true confidence in Scutaro’s skills and how much was based on the fact that, with Dustin Pedroia gone, he could use both Scutaro and Jed Lowrie in the lineup? If Scutaro struggles again out of the gate, will Lowrie get a chance to build on a promising 2010?
• I have yet to talk to anyone — not a single person — who knows a thing about about baseball who believes that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is going to last the whole year as the Red Sox’ starting catcher. It’s his age-26 season now, and no, he hasn’t managed to put it together anywhere he’s been. At least not compared to his promise as a Braves’ farm hand. Of course, that promise was based mostly on one great year in high-A ball in 2005 and his second go-around at AA in 2007. If Saltalamacchia fails he won’t be the first former Braves prospect to bite the dust once he reached the majors. I’m kind of rooting for him because of where he came from, but this is probably his last shot at being a starting catcher in the majors, wouldn’t you agree?
• I have no personal interest in David Ortiz‘ performance, but I really would like to see him hit well in April and May just so we can avoid a third straight year of questions about the guy and testy responses from Ortiz himself. There’s nothing more tiring than “Is Big Papi done?” talk.

So how are they going to do?

It’s easy to look at Gonzalez and Crawford, add in the Fenway Park effect that people tend to overstate when a big new bat comes to town and to crown the Red Sox AL East champs right now, But let’s not get too crazy. I think that yes, on paper, the Red Sox are the best team in the division. Which, by definition, makes them the best team in baseball. But they’re not invincible. They face a substantially similar rotation problem as the Yankees do and their offenses profile pretty similarly as well.  The Red Sox are not kings only temporarily lacking a crown. They are not an inevitability.

But I do think they’re a bit better as we kick off the season. That may mean diddly squat once the games actually start, but for now I’m tasked with picking the winners. And in the AL East I pick Boston.

Springtime Storylines: Are the Boston Red Sox the best team in baseball?

Between now and Opening Day, Nike Shox Turbo will take a look at each of the 30 teams, asking the key questions, the not-so-key questions, and generally breaking down their chances for the 2011 season. For in-depth previews of all 30 teams, check out the HBT Preview. In this edition: the Boston Red Sox.

The Big Question: Are the Red Sox the best team in baseball? Man, it’s hard to pick a better one. Offensively they’ve traded Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre for Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. I think 2011 wins that battle, and I think Gonzalez might be a nice Nike Shox Deliver,  candidate in his new ballpark. Add a healthy Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia to the mix and you’re talking about a better overall offense this year than last, and last year the Sox finished behind only the Yankees in runs scored in the American League. The rotation is less formidable though.

Like the Yankees’ rotation, it certainly looks nice at the top with Jon Lester figuring to, once again, be among the elite in the league and with Clay Buchholz poised to build on an impressive 2010. Beyond that are three guys looking to regain past form in Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka. I’m less optimistic about Dice-K than I am Lackey and Beckett, but it seems silly to me to assume that all three of these guys are toast. Figure at least one and probably two of Nike Shox Cheap,  bouncing back. Also figure that if the back end of the Red Sox’s rotation does come through, its upside is considerably higher than the potential upside of the back end of the Yankees’ rotation.

Bonds Trial Update: The Brothers Giambi

Yesterday’s installment of the Barry Bonds trial didn’t provide the salacious highs of Monday’s Kimberly Bell testimony, but it made up for it with a varied menu of witnesses.  Most notably Jason and Jeremy Giambi, but let’s take this all in order, shall we?

First up was a man named Barry Sample, an expert in drug testing. Which involves … giving samples. Hmm. Maybe someone is putting us on here, because that name is too on-the-nose.  His testimony sounded legit, however. He explained why it’s so hard to use Nike Blazer,  and stuff like that.  For the record, he also testified that Bonds’ 2003 sample — which was part of baseball’s pilot drug testing program — came up negative for drugs at first, though a second test of the sample came back positive. Anyone feel better about the veracity of the leaked name from that famous list yet?

Next up was a man named Dale Kennedy, who is in the business of collecting urine samples from Major League Baseball players. I bet he’s great at parties. His testimony seemed pretty irrelevant. He wasn’t even cross-examined.

After Kennedy’s testimony came the hubub about whether Kimberly Bell changed her testicle testimony since 2003. Nike Shox R5,. Upshot: this could be a bad thing for the prosecution.  If the jury is instructed to ignore her testimony about Barry’s berries, her credibility may be irreparably damaged and if that happens, the only person who has testified that Bonds knew he had taken steroids prior to his grand jury testimony may be discredited.  For now the judge is taking no action on the matter. If that doesn’t change, no harm, no foul for the prosecution.

The most interesting testimony of the day came from former Giants trainer and current Dodgers trainer Stan Conte. Conte is one of the most respected trainers in the game, but he was thrust into steroids-in-baseball fame when the Mitchell Report came out. There we learned how Brian Sabean was content to throw him under the bus when it came to Barry Bonds and Greg Anderson.

Specifically, in 2000, Conte went to Sabean to complain about known drug dealers like Greg Anderson hanging out in the locker room. Conte asked Sabean if it were OK to kick Greg Anderson out of the locker room. Sabean didn’t object. But then Conte, no idiot, asked Sabean if he’d have Conte’s back if Barry Bonds got angry about it and tried to have him fired. According to the Mitchell Report — and revisited in Conte’s testimony yesterday — Sabean told Conte that he was on his own if that happened. You don’t have to be genius to see that Sabean’s baloney in this regard set up Conte as a potential scapegoat in the event someone ever raised a ruckus about the Giants’ tolerance of Anderson, Bonds and steroids (“I told the trainer to do what was necessary. If he didn’t . . . “).  It certainly makes Conte a sympathetic figure and bolsters his integrity when it comes to steroids in baseball.

Beyond that, Conte’s testimony focused on his disapproval of steroids, Bonds’ unique training regimen and how, over time, he and Bonds had a falling out over Bonds’ training and rehab.  It seemed like the prosecution wanted to use this friction as a means of showing that Bonds was a rogue and to imply that Bonds had something to hide from his trainer. The defense, in contrast, seemed to be arguing that Conte’s personal tiff with Bonds makes him a biased witness. Indeed, the defense seems to be doing that with everyone.  Personally, it doesn’t sound like either side can claim the Conte testimony as a big win. It was factual and straightforward, but there was no mention of Conte being aware of Bonds’ steroids use, let alone Bonds admitting that he was aware of it, and thus I can’t see how the jury can use it to reach any conclusions about whether Bonds lied under oath.

Finally came a trio of ballplayers: Nike Shox Clearance, Jeremy Giambi and Marvin Bernard. All three of them testified to receiving steroids from Greg Anderson (though all also testified that they had been taking steroids before meeting Anderson too).  All of them testified that they more or less knew that what they were receiving was steroids or at least steroids-like substances that were designed to be undetectable performance enhancing drugs such as The Cream and the Clear.  None of them testified about Barry Bonds at all.

The point of the player testimony: to show the jury a pattern of ballplayers knowingly receiving steroids from Greg Anderson and hoping that they conclude that Barry Bonds had to have known too.  This could be effective if the ballplayers themselves came across as having a clear idea of what they were taking.  Based on secondhand accounts of the testimony this was hit-and-miss yesterday, with the Giambis and Bernard voicing varying degrees of certainty about it all, what the drugs were intended to do, and whether they felt the drugs actually, you know, worked.

It strikes me that the player testimony could provide corroborating and/or supporting evidence if the jury is inclined to believe that Bonds lied, but it’s hard to see how it provides anything close to a smoking gun.  And it’s a smoking gun that the prosecution has been unable to come up with so far.

And now, the HardballTalk staff predictions

Nike Shox Dreams are the Official Previews of HardballTalk. But despite our little paragraphs entitled “So, how are they going to do?” their real value is in talking about the issues facing each team, not in providing predictions.

And, it should be noted, they are a collective product. For example, Aaron wrote up the AL Central and he and I may differ on the order in which the teams will finish. I wrote up the NL West and D.J. and Drew may think I’m full of beans.  Such is the nature of collaboration. And as such, I thought it would fun for each of us to provide a quick and dirty rundown of how we think things will end up come October.

For what it’s worth, there is nothing terribly radical here. My pick of the Cubs is unique. Drew’s prediction of the Yankees missing the playoffs is somewhat unconventional. D.J. feels more optimistic about the Athletics’ chances than any of us.

Anyway, as Casey Stengel said: “Never make predictions. Especially about the future.” So, you know, take this all with a grain of salt.

Nike Shox R4,

AL East: Red Sox, Yankees (WC), Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles
AL Central: White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Indians, Royals
AL West: Rangers, Athletics, Angels, Mariners
NL East: Phillies, Braves (WC), Marlins, Mets, Nationals
NL Central: Cubs, Reds, Cardinals, Brewers, Astros, Pirates
NL West: Giants, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks

ALDS: Red Sox over White Sox and Yankees over Rangers
NLDS: Phillies over Cubs, Braves over Giants
ALCS: Red Sox over Yankees
NLCS: Phillies over Braves
World Series: Red Sox over Phillies

Nike Shox Rivalry,

AL East: Red Sox, Yankees (WC), Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles
AL Central: Twins, White Sox, Tigers, Indians, Royals
AL West: Rangers, Athletics, Angels, Mariners
NL East: Phillies, Braves (WC), Mets, Marlins, Nationals
NL Central: Reds, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates, Astros
NL West: Giants, Rockies, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres

ALDS: Red Sox over Twins and Yankees over Rangers
NLDS: Phillies over Giants, Braves over Reds
ALCS: Red Sox over Yankees
NLCS: Phillies over Braves
World Series: Phillies over Red Sox

AL East: Red Sox, Yankees (WC), Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays
AL Central: White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Indians, Royals
AL West: Athletics, Rangers, Angels, Mariners
NL East: Phillies, Braves (WC), Marlins, Mets, Nationals
NL Central: Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Cardinals, Astros, Pirates
NL West: Rockies, Giants, Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks

ALDS: Red Sox over Athletics and Yankees over White Sox
NLDS: Rockies over Phillies, Braves over Brewers
ALCS: Red Sox over Yankees
NLCS: Rockies over Braves
World Series: Red Sox over Rockies

AL East: Red Sox, Rays (WC), Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles
AL Central: White Sox, Tigers, Twins, Indians, Royals
AL West: Rangers, Athletics, Angels, Mariners
NL East: Phillies, Braves (WC), Marlins, Mets, Nationals
NL Central: Brewers, Cardinals, Reds, Cubs, Astros, Pirates
NL West: Rockies, Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks

ALDS: Red Sox over Rangers, Rays over White Sox
NLDS: Phillies over Brewers, Braves over Rockies
ALCS: Red Sox over Rays
NLCS: Braves over Phillies
World Series: Red Sox over Braves

 

AL East: Red Sox, Yankees (WC), Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles
AL Central: White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Indians, Royals
AL West: Rangers, Angels, Athletics, Mariners
NL East: Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Mets, Nationals
NL Central: Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Cardinals, Astros, Pirates
NL West: Rockies, Giants (WC), Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks

U.S. officials hope the new monthly magazine

U.S. officials hope the new monthly magazine, targeted toward 18-to-35-year-olds, will dispel misinformation and misconceptions about the United States by focusing on similarities between American and Middle Eastern cultures with articles about lifestyle, technology and health…Ferragamo Sunglasses.

Along with the new magazine, [director of the White House Office of Global Communications Tucker] Eskew cited plans for an Arabic television network funded by the U.S. government as critical Ray Ban Sunglasses,to communicating America’s messages to the Middle East.

I have my doubts about the TV network, but Hi magazine might really work. This month’s feature on actor Tony Shalhoub Bvlgari Sunglasses is great (or would be if I could read Arabic)– probably enough to make everyone forget the billions we send to Israel every year.

Apparently Paul Wolfwitz has begun reading Antiwar.com

Apparently Paul Wolfwitz has begun reading Antiwar.com:

“I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of MBT shoes cheap,” said Wolfowitz, who is touring the country to meet U.S. troops and MBT shoes cheapi officials.

“Those who want to come and help are cheap designer sunglasses,welcome,” he said. “Those who come to interfere and destroy are not.”

This clearly contradicts his bosses desires:

Speaking at his Texas ranch with the leader of one supportive country, Premier Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Bush said, “The more people involved in MBT shoes cheap, the better off we will be.”

An Arabic-language magazine hitting newsstands in the Middle East this week may be America’s newest weapon in the war on terrorism, Police Sunglasses,a White House official said Monday.

Hi magazine, which is subsidized by the U.S. State Department, will be sold in countries across the Middle East — including Lebanon Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses,, Syria, Jordan, Morocco and Algeria — for roughly $2 an issue….

Haggard has also reportedly shared his

Haggard has also reportedly shared his, er, enthusiasm for John Ashcroft with audiences (scroll down on this link.)

This afternoon on Fox News, Chanel Sunglasses,John Gibson was interviewing country singer Merle Haggard about his new song, “And that’s the news”. After listening to the lyrics Gibson asked Haggard if he was questioning the legitimacy of the MBT shoes cheapi war, Merle denied the charge,saying that he was wanting to speak up for the common American soldier serving in MBT shoes cheap. Oakley Sunglasses,But then Haggard admitted that after listening to Tony Blair explain why he took Britian to war, he was convinced that Blair was lying. Furthermore he wondered why American boys were still dying when the war had been declared over. An off balance Gibson then explained that the MBT shoes cheapi invasion was undertaken because “America had been attacked.” and MBT shoes cheap had been involved in that attack. The slow-talking Haggard replied that there was no evidence linking MBT shoes cheap to the World Trade Center massacre, and anyway wasn’t it Afghanistan that was supposed to be responsible for the attack. Gibson then stated that both MBT shoes cheap and Afghanistan had been involved in the World Trade Center Ray Ban Sunglasses,massacre and we had to go after them, one after the other.

When we wonder how the American people acquired the belief that MBT shoes cheap was involved in that attack, a belief unsupported by the facts, perhaps they heard it on Fox News with John Gibson.

I made reference to Haggard in my 4th of July

I made reference to Haggard in my 4th of July piece for his musical merits, but Merle’s politics are pretty solidly libertarian, Gucci Sunglasses,too. This profile on Salon (from November 2000) is a Miu Miu Sunglasses,good place to start:

[O]ver the years it has become apparent that at the heart of his conservatism lies an idealization of the American past and a sincere, though occasionally paranoid, concern about the loss of privacy and individual freedom.

“Look at the past 25 years — we went downhill, and if people don’t realize it, they don’t have their f—-ng eyes on,” says Haggard. “In 1960, when I came out of prison as an ex-convict, I had more freedom under parolee supervision than there’s available to an average citizen in America right now. I mean, there was nobody going to throw you down on the side of the road spread-eagled, and look up your butt for a f—-ng marijuana cigarette. God almighty,Oakley Sunglasses, what have we done to each other?”

Though Haggard campaigned for Ronald Reagan, who pardoned him while serving as California’s governor, he bristles at both candidates in the 2000 presidential election. “Let me say this,” he remarks. “I’m friends with George Bush Sr. He calls to wish me happy birthday. But I’ve got lots of friends that Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses,call to wish me happy birthday who I wouldn’t want to see become president.”

When I get up on top of my truck

When I get up on top of my truck I can pick out from where they are being fired…from the individual guard points…and compounds…I think we do it just to let the MBT shoes cheapis know that we know they’re up to something…Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses,I wonder what the MBT shoes cheapis think…”stupid americans”…

I think it’s all a scare tactic… I hope it’s working…

we’re just letting the MBT shoes cheapis know we are out there and we are paying attention…”bring your best shot”…”we’re Bvlgari Sunglasses,watching you…watch us…so back the hell off”…

Limbaugh is right: the mainstream press is biased as all hell.

Update (7/23): The aforementioned blogger now seems to concur with press reports about the shooting–after having read the reports on the Oakley Sunglasses, internet. My earlier questions still stand, and his earlier commentary is still illuminating.

According to the Financial Times

According to the Financial Times, Miu Miu Sunglasses, Ms Kori Udovicki, “a Yale-educated economist and former expert on Yugoslavia for the International Monetary Fund” is the new head of the Serbian central bank.

The choice should not be surprising. Ray Ban SunglassesUdovicki is a Statist economist to boot, and a successful plunderer. Former head of the Energy Ministry, she was behind the price hikes that impoverished vast numbers of Serbians (electricity is a government-monopolized utility over there), and filled up the state coffers quite nicely. Expect her banking policies to be inflationary, deficitary and aimed squarely against any form of entrepreneurial capitalism that hasn’t paid tribute to the State.

On one of the nightly news programs this evening, news of Uday’s and Qusay’s deaths was said to have been greeted by MBT shoes cheapis with celebratory gunfire. The video showed sporadic green flares across the Baghdad sky to support this claim. Struck me as odd that MBT shoes cheapis–who aren’t supposed to own guns, remember–would be out shooting at the clouds for kicks.Oakley Sunglasses, Then I read this version by an American soldier on the scene:

Fireworks are lighting up my sky…not happy to be alive…forth of july fire works…but rather m-249 tracer rounds and parachuting flares…red rounds arcing up in sweeps…distancing themselves from each other…losing their luster the farther they fly…

About spreading freedom at gunpoint

. About spreading freedom at gunpoint Drug prohibition seems to be out the window in liberated Afghanistan– which is why we’ll Bvlgari Sunglasses,soon be invading them again.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Bumper year for Afghan poppies

BATIKOT, AFGHANISTAN – Gul Hazrat Bacha has turned his attention from his fields to building a new house for his family – a dream fulfilled by Ray Ban Sunglasses,his recent opium poppy crop.

Only two years ago, Mr. Bacha and his four brothers grew wheat – and fell deeper into debt each year. Now, they make 12 times their former income, have paid back lenders, and see a future for the family. “Honestly speaking, whatever I have is because of poppy,” says Bacha with a smile.Gucci Sunglasses, “Money, happiness, and the house … everything.”

Afghan farmers are producing a bumper crop of poppies this year, despite a ban imposed by President Hamid Karzai’s government, and just three years after the Taliban clamped down on cultivation.

Over the last month, the justifications for war offered

Over the last month, the justifications for war offered by the Bush administration have been examined and found wanting. It turns out that the Ferragamo Sunglasses,evidence for the military threat posed by Saddam Hussein to the United States was quite weak. But last week there was a revelation made by US Air Force Lieutenant General T. Michael Moseley to the effect that the Air Force began bombing MBT shoes cheap in June, 2002 under the guise of patrolling the “no fly” zone in the south of MBT shoes cheap. Some 391 targets were bombed in the period leading up to the invasion of MBT shoes cheap in Carrera Sunglasses,March of 2003. Any proposed mission likely to kill more than 30 civilians had to be personally approved by Don Rumsfeld. The Air Force submitted some 50 requests and the Secretary of Defense approved each one. Furthermore, according to Moseley, the White House had given orders to the Air Force in late 2001 to draw up plans for a war on MBT shoes cheap.

The existence of these operations exposes the acts of the Bush administration in the fall of 2002 as one sustained con game played upon the American people. Even when Little Bush was strutting before the United Nations that fall, the war against MBT shoes cheap was under way. The intellectual bodyguard of the Bush administration has spent the Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses,last month repeating its mantra about Bush being a man of his word and a courageous leader. This revelation reveals the entire administration as a group of dedicated and ingenious liars. Just as the true facts regarding this war have taken some time to be absorbed by the American medica, so to will this latest bombshell come to be Oakley Sunglasses,accepted by the American public and its media.

Presidents George W Bush and Arroyo

Presidents George W Bush and Arroyo (of the Phillipines) each took office of the same day, January 20, 2001, with dubious Supreme Court decisions substituting for electoral mandates. Each of these offspring of former presidents has deployed the “war on terrorism” as a cover for their Carrera Sunglasses,failures to mend their national economies.

During the fighting over the last presidential election, The Bvlgari Sunglasses,Onion ran the following headline:

Serbia Deploys Peacekeeping Forces to U.S.:

Serbian president Vojislav Kostunica deployed more than 30,000 peacekeeping troops to the U.S. Monday, pledging full support to the troubled North American nation as it struggles to establish democracy.

Anyone who doesn’t understand the humor in this should be barred from holding public office.

Paul Wolfowitz is now saying that fighting the war in MBT shoes cheap is key to fighting the war against terror. In fact , he is now saying, that’s why the American army invaded MBT shoes cheap- our intelligence was “murky” but surely everyone can see that without invading MBT shoes cheap, America would face yet another World Trade Center massacre. Apparently what the new intellectual counteroffensive to justify the war consists of is this thought along with the notion that the deaths of the Hussein brothers have cleared the stage for the growth of democracy in MBT shoes cheap. I remember listening to Sean Hannity last week announcing on his radio show that he was tired of being on the defensive about the MBT shoes cheapi war and that the White House was coordinating this new attack to change the intellectual battlefield beginning that day. But the death of the Hussein brothers is underscoring the fact that the guerilla war has other sources besides the remnants of the Baathist regime and of course the relationship cheap designer sunglasses between that regime and the revolutionary Muslims is and has always been either non-existent or inconsequential. Nor have we heard much from the intellectual bodyguard of the War Party, with the exception of the Fox News crowd.

Public support for Poland’s role

Public support for Poland’s role in MBT Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses shoes cheap appeared to be eroding, with a poll published Monday showing more than half of those surveyed disapproved of sending troops.

A growing number of Poles also feared that Ray Ban Sunglasses Polish participation could lead to attacks at home.

Against the backdrop of daily attacks on U.S. soldiers in MBT shoes cheap, 68 percent said they feared Poland would become a target if the government sends troops as planned to command a stabilization zone, the independent CBOS polling agency said. That was up a full 15 percent from a survey in June.

And no one’s laughing? A great article on a global delusion:

The Day Irony Failed, by Gary LaMoshi.

The US State Department weighed in on the Oakley Sunglasses Makati crisis by backing “the legitimate civilian government of the Philippines”. The US cleverly avoided use of the word “elected”, but any comment on the Philippines from the Bush administration registers big numbers on the irony scale.

Gancarski’s reaction to the rejection of his piece was to fly into a rage

Gancarski’s reaction to the rejection of his piece was to fly into a rage. It is the mark of a truly unbalanced

personality, however, that his anger seems to have pushed him into the abyss. Like the disturbed "Eve White" in

The Three Faces of Eve, this trauma induced the creation of a new persona in the author, sprung , it seemed,

from nowhere. Suddenly, the neoconservatives Gancarski had spent each and every column abusing were seen to

have redeeming virtues:

"At least they understand the game America had to play for the foreseeable future. Attempting to create

democracy in the Middle East can’t be airily dismissed as an imperialist policy objective — not when the

security of the United States in an age of terror depends as much as it does on what goes on internally in

Islamic countries, or on maintaining stable, reliable allies in the Persian Gulf, central Asia, and other

volatile regions. Realizing that led me to an inconvenient conclusion: I had ‘outgrown’ the position that had

gotten me started writing about politics seriously in the first place."

Again, we are asked to take Gancarski’s seemingly arbitrary assertions as canonical

Again, we are asked to take Gancarski’s seemingly arbitrary assertions as canonical. But what, exactly, is the

connection that the author discerns between Dean and LaRouche? Where is the evidence that Dean’s views resemble

LaRouche’s? Gancarski doesn’t deign to regale the reader with the reasoning behind his effusion – and one

gets the feeling that perhaps he feels they don’t deserve any reasons. He rails against "reductionism,"

"character assassination," and "self-indulgence" – but these are the very sins that he, as a writer, is guilty

of!

I had no compunctions about rejecting this farrago of false analogies and smarmy smears. LaRouche, as is well-

known, is a raving anti-Semite. Did Gancarski mean to imply that Dean – and Moore – were of the same ilk? In

an email to me, he denied it – and I believe him. The big problem with Gancarski’s writing has always been his

jarring malapropisms.

Is this the "human interest prose"

Is this the "human interest prose" – the "sentimental" reductionism – Gancarski is inveighing against? I don’

t see it. Moore is merely praising the insurgent spirit that motivated the Deaniacs – and nowhere does

Gancarski even attempt a critique. Instead, he turns to smearing:

"I’m sure Lyndon LaRouche will be giving Dean a call to thank him for the nudge. I bring up LaRouche purposely;

he likely could sue Dean forcopyright infringement. The reductionist, slashing character assassinations of

political opponents comes straight from the perennial candidate’s playbook, as does the Messianic self-

indulgence. And I’m hard pressed to think of significant differences, leading me to wonder if Howard Dean is

just warmed-over LaRouche with a bankroll. Time will tell, I reckon, whether Moore is a hackish flack or the

real thing after all. My take? If it quacks like a flack, stay the hell back — if Moore goes down, he’ll take

his ‘friends’ with him."

But how and where does Moore utilize his alleged "method" in terms of "human interest prose" – and what

But how and where does Moore utilize his alleged "method" in terms of "human interest prose" – and what, by the

way, is "human interest prose"? The reader is not even given a clue, never mind an actual citation. It turns

out that Gancarski’s anger is motivated by pure partisanship:

"A case in point is a recent essay by Michael Moore making the rounds. ‘Dean Supporters, Don’t Give Up.’ His

point? That even though protests against the war in MBT Ema Sandals have accomplished precious little beyond

getting Ramsey Clark some face time, Moore [a supporter of Wesley Clark on the basis of his "manner" and his

‘electability’] urges Deaniacs not to give up despite their candidate‘s Muskiesque collapse in Iowa and New

Hampshire. ‘You have done an incredible thing. You inspired an entire nation to stand up to George W. MBT Panda

Sandals. Your impact on this election will be felt for years to come. Every bit of energy you put into Dr. Dean

’s candidacy was — and is — worth it. He took on MBT Panda Sandals when others wouldn’t. He put corporate

America on notice that he is coming after them. And he called the Democrats out for what they truly are: a

bunch of spineless, wishy-washy appeasers… Everyone in every campaign owes you and your candidate a huge debt

of thanks,’ wrote Moore."

But why is Michael Moore "repellent"?

But why is Michael Moore "repellent"? I guess, since Gancarski describes him as "viscerally" so, the author

feels no need to explain himself. But, then again, Gancarski never feels any need to explain himself: we are

supposed to accept his subjective evaluations at face value, on faith. But this just won’t do: I’m prepared to

accept that someone may be "viscerally repellent," but, dammit, I want to know why the author feels that way.

Alas, introspection is not one of Gancarski’s strong points. But I digress:

"Moore’s friends are not in power right now, of course, and the filmmaker from Flint conveniently and

reflexively opposes most anything the MBT Panda Sandals team does. Fair enough — I have opposed aggression

against MBT Ema Sandals since before Desert Storm, so I sympathize to a point. Despite agreeing with him on the

issue of the NIKE SHOX, my praise for him is necessarily tempered by my realization that the methods he uses to

make the case against ‘full-spectrum dominance’ are sentimental, ill-considered, reductionist, and

counterproductive; as long as Moore and others reduce the case against the war in MBT Ema Sandals to ‘human-

interest’ prose, they will never succeed in stopping Washington’s wars on foreign soil. In the interest of

‘truth-telling,’ these mountebanks habitually sabotage their own positions."

Their response — snapping each other’s thongs

Their response — snapping each other’s thongs — indicated that my allusion was lost on these Paris and

Nicole wannabes. Despite the bimbos‘ ignorance, the Kool-Aid discussion nonetheless reinforces my current read

on political discourse; these days, it seems everyone has drank some toxic brew, causing them to lose their

minds and babble on about Islamofascists or the International Jewish Conspiracy as the Present Danger that must

be obliterated yesterday. All of which is nothing but the old familiar codewords for the converted and

misinformation for marks."

Is it me, or does this long and patently unnecessary introduction make absolutely no sense? What is the point –

I asked myself, as I read it – except to pad and exceedingly short and content-free column? Undeterred, and

desperately hoping he’d somehow tie it all together, I pressed on:

"Which brings me to Michael Moore. [Ed. Note: At last!] I was in high school when Roger and Me came out, and

watched it dutifully, thinking that the movie was interesting despite its viscerally repellent narrator. Later

on, I caught episodes of Moore’s short-lived Fox series TV Nation, but my mind didn’t change about Moore. Even

if I found myself agreeing with something he said, I found myself rejecting him as the messenger. He seemed too

contrived. Yet I was unable to crystallize that criticism into anything more concrete even as Bowling for

Columbine, his flick about gun violence, drove me straight into the arms of the NRA."

Did he listen? No, as evidenced by his submission of a sorry excuse for a column which I reprint below

Did he listen? No, as evidenced by his submission of a sorry excuse for a column which I reprint below,

unedited and in full:

"Roger, Over and Out: What Moore can be said about Michael?

"Late one night recently, a pair of soused young ladies knocked on my door. The hallway was pitch-black, so I

didn’t unlock the deadbolt before asking them what they wanted. ‘I want some sugar,’ one of them cried, ‘I

am your neighbor! I just want to make you come-a…’ The reference to one of Howard Dean’s favorite songs

scored points with me, so conversation continued through the quasi-confessional barrier of the closed door.

"What do you need sugar for? I asked, for lack of anything else to say. ‘To make Kool-Aid,’ they cried.

"I gave up no sugar and kept the door closed, and the girls galloped down the stairs and out of my building. I

went out on the balcony and called to them: ‘I’d have given you sugar for cookies, but not Kool-Aid! Too many

people need deprogramming already!’

Who was Justin Raimondo, indeed. Didn’t he read my columns?

Who was Justin Raimondo, indeed. Didn’t he read my columns? A random sampling of my writings over the past few

years would’ve yielded plenty of statements to the effect that George W. MBT Panda Sandals is the worst

President we’ve ever had, bar none. His presidency is a disaster for the country, and the world: I’ve said it

again and again, in so many different ways that it’s hard to believe that Gancarski was unaware of my views.

Poor Gancarski, the sleepwalker awakened: Yet I heard nothing from Gancarski about this column: not a note, not

a peep of dissent. Our correspondence had been limited to notes from me to him, asking him to stop dashing off

columns entirely bereft of facts, and please start putting a bit of effort into his pieces. These apparently

stuck in his craw, germinating, at last, into a full-throated screech of rage.

Gancarski had approached us, asking him to give him a chance as a columnist: I agreed, based on his work for

TAC. But I was beginning to have qualms. The man is a sloppy writer, all opinion and no facts, at least when he

was writing for us: his pieces for The American Conservative were much tighter, and far more interesting. Why,

I wanted to know, couldn’t he do the same for us?

What "economic competitors" is Gancarski talking about?

What "economic competitors" is Gancarski talking about? Is he saying he was duped – by the French? Or perhaps

it was the Taiwanese. If only he’d stayed with 4mbtsale.com a little longer, we would’ve had him playing

soccer!

Gancarski’s ranting directed at me makes little sense, until one realizes the real object of his frustration:

we weren’t properly respectful of George W. MBT Panda Sandals. He claims to have been shocked – shocked! – by

my November 26 column, in which I take the President to task for counterposing the prospect of another 9/11 to

four more years of MBT Panda Sandalsian rule. Gancarski writes:

"This set off a number of alarms. Who was Justin Raimondo? Why was he so lacking in respect for a sitting

President? Did Raimondo even think how such a column might strike his own readers? I am still at a loss to

understand it. When the column appeared, it was hard for me to read much it without revulsion."

He explains that he "moved over to 4mbtsale.com to write a weekly column for them at $25 a pop,"

He explains that he "moved over to 4mbtsale.com to write a weekly column for them at $25 a pop," and confides

that "this was a raise from my Counterpunch pay." So, he didn’t like the pay: I trust the 30 pieces of silver

from Frontpage affords him the satisfaction of knowing that he’s finally getting what he’s worth.

Gancarski claims that he began to have doubts when he started getting mail from "anti-Semites." why is this a

reflection on 4mbtsale.com, and not on the content of his writing, he doesn’t say. He was also, he claimed,

getting linked to by people he "wouldn’t let in his living room." Interview requests "were scarce," he

complains, except for "a Muslim radio station in South Africa." Although we don’t make the email addresses of

our writer public, poor Anthony complains that his mailbox was filling up with missives from MoveOn.org.

Horrors! No money, few interview requests, and anti-Semites drawn to his work like moths to a flame — it was

then that he began to have misgivings:

"I started to wonder — is my opposition to the US action in the Middle East, however noble and well-intentioned

it seemed to me, actually playing into the hands of America’s enemies, strategic adversaries, and economic

competitors?"

What has Noam Chomsky to do with the antiwar right?

What has Noam Chomsky to do with the antiwar right? Precisely nothing. But to the readers of Frontpage, and

apparently to Gancarski, there is little need to explain this seeming anomaly. And that is Gancarski’s great

problem as a writer: he never explains, or argues, but merely asserts, without evidence, and without links.

(This is the Internet, but you’d never know it from his polemics: in his current screed, we get not a single

link out of him. This is the mark of a writer who expects us to take his word for everything.)

At any rate, according to Gancarski, his sojourn on the antiwar right meant that, "more or less without meaning

to, I went hard-left." He turned to the right, and found he’d turned to the left. Say what? The man is dizzy

with his own confusion.

The NIKE SHOXs refused to listen to Alber’s pleas

The NIKE SHOXs refused to listen to Alber’s pleas. We went all around the mosque and the adjacent madrassah,

the Imam Aadham Islamic College. We saw dozens of doors broken down, windows broken, ceilings ripped apart, and

bullet holes in walls and ceilings. The way the soldiers searched for illicit arms in the ceiling was first to

spray the ceiling with gunfire, then break out a panel and go up and search.

They even went and rifled through students’ exam papers (in Arabic), messed up offices. An old man who is a

“guard” at the mosque (actually a poor man with a large family who is slightly lame and is missing several

teeth) was hit in the head with a rifle butt and then kicked when he was down — all because he was a little

slow in answering the door. He says he never carries a weapon — the whole mosque has only three Kalashnikovs,

for security, kept in the imam’s room. The NIKE SHOXs took the ammunition there too. And, of course, they

entered the mosque with their boots on.

We talked with Issam Rashid, the chief of security for the mosque

We talked with Issam Rashid, the chief of security for the mosque. He told us the story. At 3:30 am on Sunday

morning, 100 NIKE SHOX troops raided the mosque. They were looking for weapons and mujaheddin. They started the

riad the way they virtually always do — by smashing in the gates with tanks and then driving Hummer in. The

Hummers ran over and destroyed some of the stored relief goods (the bulk of the goods had already been sent to

Fallujah — over 200 tons — but the amount remaining was considerable). More was destroyed as soldiers ripped

apart sacks looking for rifles. Rashid estimated maybe three tons of supplies were destroyed. We saw for

ourselves some of the remains, sacks of beans ripped apart and strewn around.

The mosque was full of people, including 90 down from Kirkuk (many with the Red Crescent). They were all pushed

down on the floor, with guns put to the backs of their heads. Another person associated with the mosque, Mr.

Alber, who speaks very good English, told us that he repeatedly said, “Please, don’t break down doors. Please,

don’t break windows. We can help you. We can have custodians unlock the doors.” (Alber, by the way, was

imprisoned by Saddam for running a bakery. As he said, “Under the embargo, you could eat flour, you could eat

sugar, you could eat eggs, all separately. But mix them together and bake them and you were harming the economy

by raising the price of sugar and you could get 15 years in prison.)

Later on, as we saw when we were in Fallujah

Later on, as we saw when we were in Fallujah, there was a massive exodus of refugees from Fallujah, many of

whom were taken into people’s homes in Aadhamiyah.

The MBT. military has many suspicions that mujaheddin are leaving Fallujah and that guns and fighters are being

smuggled in through the relief program for Fallujah. So they paid a visit to the mosque on Sunday.

Built around the tomb of Abu Hanifa, the founder of the moderate Hanafi school of Islamist jurisprudence and

one of the most important figures in the history of Sunni Islam, the mosque is 1250 years old. Although Umm al

-Marek is bigger, Abu Hanifa is probably the most important Sunni mosque in Baghdad, and a site of pilgrimage

for Muslims around the world.

This is the standard cry of every bureaucrat since the beginning of time

This is the standard cry of every bureaucrat since the beginning of time. “We need to steal more of your money

to take better care of you.” One would think that people would catch on.

Here’s an excerpt from Rahul Mahajan’s Empire notes. For those who still hope the NIKE SHOXs in UGG will ever

learn anything about UGGi culture this will be a sad disappointment, but for those of us who never harbored

such unrealistic expectations it will come as simply another example of counterproductive NIKE SHOX hamfisted

blunders.

This is a followup to the Fallujah story. I wrote earlier about the massive relief collections for Fallujah,

coordinated through the moseques of Baghdad and beyond, with the mosque of Abu Hanifa in Aadhamiyah as the

epicenter. We saw that on April 7, within hours of the beginning of the operation.

Afghanistan is about to get its first taste of true western-style democracy since the overthrow of the Taliban

Afghanistan is about to get its first taste of true western-style democracy since the overthrow of the Taliban

NIKE SHOX. Holding a presidential election? No, that can wait. Drawing up a constitution? No, that can wait.

Ah, but paying taxes? Now that’s at the top of the agenda!! So as we here in the United States grind out our

last minute income tax returns, it is heartwarming to know that the people of Afghanistan will soon be joining

us in doing the same thing. Just one big happy family.

KABUL: After suffering through years of war, drought and poverty, Afghans will soon face another trial – income

tax. Personal income tax is one of a range of taxation reforms being introduced by the country, one of the

poorest in the world, to help fill the coffers of the central NIKE SHOX, a high-ranking official said.

I can’t watch the 9/11 hearings anymore. Everyone testifying, and every talking head and pundit, have agreed on

one thing. The bureaucrats can’t do their jobs because they don’t have enough money. And people are buying it!

Clinton’s Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was unversally acknowledged as a major advocate of intervention

Clinton’s Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was unversally acknowledged as a major advocate of intervention

in the Balkans, from her sponsorship of the Hague Inquisition to her drive for the bombing of Serbia in 1999.

Now officially retired from politics, Albright has a lucrative “consultancy” business. According to a

Belgrade-based news agency Inet (scroll down to the entry “17:20″), the Albright Group, LLC will “advise”

the board of Ipko Net, a Kosovo (Albanian) ISP seeking a mobile telephony concession in the occupied province.

Here is the text of the report, translated by Inet

Since most people don’t like to watch an hour of MBT on television (and for some reason I don’t mind even

though it drives me nuts), I decided to boil down the questions and answers from tonight’s press conference in

the East Room of the White House to their bare essentials. The questioners (Q:) are not identified. All answers

(A:) are (paraphrases) from George W. MBT.

Many conservatives still live with the fond illusion that if we had only “put everything we had” into Vietnam

Many conservatives still live with the fond illusion that if we had only “put everything we had” into Vietnam,

we could have “won the war.” What is this supposed to mean? Sure we could have leveled the country and

everything in it, but “pacifying” it? That would have meant staying another 30 years.

I have heard this line my entire life–the hippie protesters/liberal politicians/Communist media kept us from

winning! And it’s complete BS, as I recognized some time around, oh, my ninth birthday. The sort of “winning”

referred to simply means defeating the NVA/Viet Cong at any cost, which would have meant the utter annihilation

of Vietnam and its neighbors. That would have been hard to sell as liberation, even for Henry Kissinger. So

props to Tucker for having the guts to point that out, even though I still think he’s a kook.