obby

Sweet! Tear it up Eric!

I know this is a bit long but well worth the read. This is regarding a dead soldiers letter to his family that was found after his death and found in his laptop. The New York Times decided to post this letter BUT they left out many of the soldiers statements. Once his parents heard what was being done by the New York Times they took it upon themselves to ask the President to read the correct letter in it's entirety which he did today during his speech to our nation. "OTHERS HAVE DIED FOR MY FREEDOM. NOW THIS IS MY MARK." By Michelle Malkin · November 02, 2005 09:00 AM ***scroll for updates...a soldier responds...*** "OTHERS HAVE DIED FOR MY FREEDOM. NOW THIS IS MY MARK." These are words you did not read in the New York Times. They are the words of the late Corporal Jeffrey B. Starr, whose letter to his girlfriend in case of death in Iraq was selectively edited by the Times to convey a bogus sense of "fatalism." My column in the New York Post today and elsewhere follows up on last week's blog post about the Times' butchery. The Times reporter, James Dao, did not respond to my e-mail inquiry about his agenda-driven omission but he did have an interesting e-mail exchange with one of this blog's readers, Michael Valois. Excerpt: Reader Michael Valois questioned the Times' reporter, James Dao, about his selection bias and forwarded me the exchanges. A defensive Dao (who didn't respond to my e-mail inquiry) argued, "There is nothing 'anti war' in the way I portrayed Cpl. Starr." He then had the gall to berate the reader: "Even the portion of his e-mail that I used, the one that you seem so offended by, does not express anti-war sentiment. It does express the fatalism that many soldiers and Marines seem to feel about multiple tours. Have you been to Iraq, Michael? Or to any other war, for that matter? If you have, you should know the anxiety and fear parents, spouses, and troops themselves feel when they deploy to war. And if you haven't, what right do you have to object when papers like The New York Times try to describe that anxiety and fear?" Dao sounds a bit unhinged playing the far-left chickenhawk card. Only people who have traveled to Iraq can criticize a paper's war-related coverage? And he's dead-wrong about Cpl. Starr's presumed "fatalism." If you don't believe Cpl. Starr's own words, which Dao chose to ignore, listen to Cpl. Starr's father, Brian. I asked him this week whether his son was fatalistic. "I don't agree at all. Jeff had an awareness of death, but was very positive about coming home." Dao apologized to Valois for the tone of his snippy e-mail, but apparently feels no shame or sorrow for distorting a dead Marine's thoughts and feelings about war, sacrifice and freedom. In addition, the paper is sending out a separate response from the ombudsman's office to readers challenging the Times' bias. I'm reprinting it here in full: Dear Reader, Thanks for writing to us about this article. I raised this issue with Bill Borders, a senior editor at The Times, who responded with the message I have pasted below. Sincerely, Joe Plambeck Office of the Public Editor The New York Times Note: The public editor's opinions are his own and do not represent those of The New York Times. ---------- Jim Dao's article about the 2,000 dead last Wednesday was entirely fair, and so, within it, was our presentation of Corporal Jeffrey Starr. The most prominent part of the presentation of Starr was the picture and caption at the top of Page A15. The caption represented him this way: "His father, Brian Starr, said his son believed in the war but was tired of the harsh life." The article also reported that even after his son's death Brian Starr "remained convinced that invading Iraq was the right thing to do." It is true that the article did not quote everything that Corporal Starr said in his e-mail, like his reference to Iraqi freedom, any more than it quoted everything said by all the others quoted in the article, who represented all sorts of shades of opinion. But the article was completely fair in its representation of the views of Corporal Starr and his father. And no one who has read the entire article could possibly conclude that it was colored by an anti-war point of view. Here, for example, is the seventh paragraph, prominently played on the front page: "Many of those service members returned voluntarily to war because they burned with conviction in the rightness of the mission. Others were driven by powerful loyalty to units and friends. For some it was simply their job." In its very first paragraph, the article introduces Sgt. Anthony Jones, who was killed in June weeks after the birth of his second son. Farther down in the piece, it quotes his young widow: "Mrs. Jones, 26, said she struggled at first to contain her anger that her husband was sent to Iraq instead of Germany. But she has consoled herself with the conviction that he died for a cause he supported. And she firmly rejects the antiwar protests of Cindy Sheehan, saying they dishonor the fallen. ''I hope she doesn't have my husband's name on a cross,'' Mrs. Jones said. ''My husband, if he had a choice, that's how he would want to die. As a soldier.'' Bill Jason Van Steenwyk at Countercolumn was one of the e-mailers who received the ombudsman's e-mail. His reaction: Thank you and Mr. Borders for the thoughtful reply. I still don't get it, though. Is the editorial policy at the NY Times such that you may misrepresent the last letters home of any individual KIA, and dishonor their memory by making them look like whiners and cynics, if only you raise a different argument somewhere else, under another dead soldier's name. This is somehow acceptable? No, it isn't. Re-read the entire article. Remember how the Times reported Cpl. Starr's letter: Sifting through Corporal Starr's laptop computer after his death, his father found a letter to be delivered to the marine's girlfriend. "I kind of predicted this," Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. "A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances." And remember the rest of the words from Cpl. Starr's letter that the paper left out: "Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark." The smug reporters and editors argue defiantly that their anti-war propaganda and treatment of Corporal Starr were "entirely fair." They're hoping you'll just forget about it. Please don't. *** Write ombudsman Byron Calame to share your response to the Times response here. *** Reader Paul D. writes: All of this "we can't print the whole letter" business is a farce. What the NY Times aplogists are missing is this: Those 11 words written by the deceased Cpl Starr are his thesis for the letter. And to exclude it is creative journalism at best, but most likely journalistic malpractice. This would be akin for modern day liberal historians to exclude Lou Gehrig's famous "Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth" line from his famous speech, simply to make him appear as a weak and sympathetic figure. If space were an issue they could have simply reprinted those 11 words. Period. Update: A soldier e-mails a response to Dao. A quick response back to James Dao's whine about no one being able to criticize him unless they have been to war. James, yes, I've been to war. Twice now, already in OIF, and I'm heading back to war within the month. Since you do not even have the courage to acknowledge that you used selected quotes from a dead soldier's last letter home to further your (and your paper's) agenda, you are not worthy of even writing about a Marine like Corporal Starr, never mind trying to psychoanalyze what he was feeling about being back in the war. You are a coward when only your reputation is on the line. Corporal Starr was courageous, when even his life was on the line. Should I die in Iraq, on this, my third tour, my wife will have in her possesion, a letter from me to be released to the press, should some slimy dirtbag like you try to make it look like I served in anything other than an honorable manner. I'm proud of what I do, I do it knowingly and with full knowledge of what the background on this war is. And likely better knowledge of what the outcome can be. I'm not some poor schlep who needs a NYT reporter to "interpret" my thoughts. I've live in the Middle East longer than Juan Cole, I've met more common Iraqis than has George Galloway, and I know more about the military soldiers I serve with than you will ever know in a lifetime of mis-reporting on soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.

2005 Holiday Donations [No Greater Gift Than The Gift Of Life] Alright people, I was in the process of making my annual donations to the two organizations that I deal with and thought I would share the links just in case any of you would like to do the same (choose your own charity if you like). I was once told "If God Gives You Then You In Turn Must Give To Others" which is something that will stick with me forever. Although I am not a very religious person, I do believe in giving to those who are less fortunate. I may not have much but compared to those who have nothing, I have it all. Anything helps during the Holidays. International Children's Heart Foundation http://www.babyhearts.com/new/default.php?m=17 American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/docroot/DON/don_0.asp OBBY

La Fiera "MIMI" will be in town too so expect to party with her as well. Between Blue and Crobar........def going to be a fun night!

I do. They think more with their hearts than with their heads. There is a time for each. IMO

It was my pleasure. It is the least I can do for those who serve our Country. A world without war would be outstanding but also utopia and unrealistic. We have always had critics during our occupancy in other Countries and we will always have them. I truly believe they mean well. After all, who in their right mind does not love PEACE. Unfortunately their are those who take advantage of the weak and I thank God (or whomever you may believe in) that there are also those who are willing to put their life on the line and stand up to defend others who cannot defend themselves. God Bless Our Troops and Coalition

If I don't see you...HAPPY B DAY ERIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Article was dated Wednesday, January 12, 2005 Posted: 9:21 PM EST (0221 GMT) hummmmmmmmmmmm

1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium 1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents Chemical warheads containing cyclosarin (a nerve agent five times more deadly than sarin gas) Over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas This is only a PARTIAL LIST of the horrific weapons verified to have been recovered in Iraq to date. Yet, Americans overwhelmingly believe U.S. and coalition forces found NO weapons of mass destruction. The question is... WHY do they believe this lie? -------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Fellow Conservative, This is an email about one of the most powerful weapons of our time... "disinformation." It's a weapon that is used on all of us over and over every day of our lives. You know this now, since you have already read a chapter of Disinformation, by Richard Miniter. But there is more, much more. Have you heard that Osama bin Laden is on kidney dialysis? I'll bet you have. Much of the Western media report bin Laden's presumed affliction as a matter of fact -- and most Americans believe it. But... ...it's just not true. Now, you may well be thinking: "Why would the news media want to make me believe that Osama bin Laden is a very sick and perhaps dying man?" Well, here's why... The news media are -- overwhelmingly -- against the Iraq War. The image of an aged, 6-foot, 8-inch Arab limping from cave to cave, trailing a camel loaded down with dialysis equipment -- eluding George W. Bush and the most powerful military in the world -- appeals to them enormously. And so the myth lives on -- for SEVEN YEARS now! -- long past the normal life expectancy of patients hooked up to dialysis in the best hospitals, let alone the freezing, rugged mountains of the Afghan-Pakistani border. There is a name for this phenomenon -- disinformation. The term refers to the deliberate dissemination of FALSE information (and the intentional omission of TRUE information) for the purpose of confusing rivals or influencing public opinion. Indeed, the false conclusion that "Bush lied, there were no WMDs in Iraq," is the main supporting claim of the anti-war Left. Without it, the movement collapses. My name is Tom Winter, Editor in Chief of HUMAN EVENTS. It grieves me to admit that millions upon millions of Americans unknowingly accept blatant falsehoods as facts due to the power and prevalence of disinformation. Take a look at some of the most pernicious lies that you have no doubt read or heard: There is no connection between Iraq and al Qaeda The U.S. funded the Taliban in the 1980s Suitcase nukes are in place across America Osama bin Laden was trained by the CIA Halliburton made a fortune in Iraq There were no Jews in the Word Trade Center on 9/11 What do each of these widely publicized, widely believed "facts" have in common? Here's what: They are undeniably false... as you will discover in Disinformation, the new blockbuster book by veteran reporter Richard Miniter, and it will be my pleasure to send it to you FREE in hard cover, just for trying HUMAN EVENTS. Rich Miniter's career sounds like something out of a spy thriller -- except it's real. In addition to writing for newspapers in the U.S., Western Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia, he has traveled with rebels into war zones in Uganda, Sudan and Burma and along smugglers' routes in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. Few reporters are more familiar with the methodology of disinformation -- the clever misdirection, false rumors, press manipulation, and endless repetition of falsehoods until they morph into "truth." Disinformation is a dark art, and Richard Miniter understands its shadings and subtleties. In Disinformation, you'll delve into this shadowy world and discover... Why both the CIA and al Qaeda prop up the myth that Osama bin Laden is immensely wealthy. (The reality of his so-called "wealth" will surprise you) The truth about Halliburton's "war profits." (If Dick Cheney steered Iraq contracts to the company, Halliburton should sue!) Who started (and spread) the insidious myth that no Jews died in the 9/11 attacks. (Actually, more than 500 Jews perished in the World Trade Center, in addition to those who were passengers on the doomed planes) Why it was so important for the airlines and the U.S. government to spin the myth that "box cutters" were used to commandeer the planes on 9/11 The true story of the Canadian woman (a convert to Islam) who duped the eager-to-believe media into reporting rapes that never happened at the Abu Ghraib prison Did the U.S. -- as charged by the Left -- fund the Taliban in the 1980s? (Answer: Impossible! The Taliban wasn't even formed until 1995) There's so much more in this enthralling and disturbing book... How Bush-hating civil servants quietly sabotage the War on Terror... Pro-al Qaeda websites the global press treats as "impartial"... The country that acts as a pipeline for terrorists into the U.S. (It's not Mexico)... How the media continue to give Bill Clinton a "free pass" on bin Laden. As I said, most Americans do not begin to comprehend how the Left is determined to undermine U.S. efforts to bring democracy to Iraq and win the War on Terror. You'll be one of those in the know as soon as I send you a just-published hardcover edition of Disinformation FREE, just for taking a no-risk look at HUMAN EVENTS. Why is HUMAN EVENTS for you? Here's why. The treacherous strategy of disinformation goes far beyond the Iraq War. Indeed, it is employed by liberals throughout American culture as a means of indoctrination to glorify sex and violence, to trivialize family values, to glamorize drug consumption, to promote the tax-and-spend "social justice" agenda and, of course, to demonize anyone who dares disagree with the liberal orthodoxy. HUMAN EVENTS is the antidote to disinformation -- the weekly newspaper that zeroes in on the real story like a truth-seeking laser beam! A few recent examples... LIBERAL DISINFORMATION: "George Bush killed the Kyoto Treaty that would 'save' the world from global warming." Nonsense! Reports HUMAN EVENTS. Liberal reporters know perfectly well that the U.S. Senate voted 99-0 against ratifying the Kyoto Treaty during the Clinton administration... and, moreover, that global warming is a dubious theory disputed by many leading climatologists. LIBERAL DISINFORMATION: "The Bush Administration was slow to send help to New Orleans... and FEMA failed to rush in to rescue stranded citizens." Baloney! Reports HUMAN EVENTS. Informed Americans fully realize that Louisiana Governor Blanco at first refused help from President Bush and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin did not issue an evacuation notice until it was too late. Both are Democrats. FEMA, which has no police, firemen, planes, trucks or boats, cannot rescue people and is a secondary responder. LIBERAL DISINFORMATION: "GOP tax cuts have caused the budget deficit to explode." Hogwash! Reports HUMAN EVENTS. The budget deficit exists because of the cost of The War on Terror and excessive government spending (much of it "pork") at home. What's more, the deficit has been dropping sharply because President Bush's tax cuts have increased government tax revenues as the economy has strengthened. See what I mean? HUMAN EVENTS is not afraid to buck the conventional journalistic "wisdom" and reveal the politically incorrect truth... no matter whom it offends! (Which probably explains why there is no faster-moving object in Washington than a liberal politician trying to duck a tough-questioning HUMAN EVENTS reporter!) What's it like to read HUMAN EVENTS? Well, let's try this: Would you like to know... WHICH group of American citizens will soon be allowed to virtually secede from the United States? (HUMAN EVENTS answers: Native Hawaiians who, with Senate approval, could have their own separate, race-based governing authority.) WHO demanded that attorney-client privilege be waived on memos written by Judge John Roberts? (HUMAN EVENTS answers: Sen. Ted Kennedy -- whose attorney-client discussions about a young girl drowning in the waters off Chappaquiddick Island have remained secret for 36 years.) WHAT do radical Islamists mean when they speak of "The Caliphate"? (HUMAN EVENTS answers: They are referring to bringing about the overthrow of existing Mideast regimes and replacing them with a chain of theocratic Islamic dictatorships stretching from Morocco in the West to the Philippines in the East... holding control over 60% to 70% of the world's oil reserves.) WHICH group sponsored a drug conference that included a lecture titled "You Don't Have To Be Clean and Sober... Or Even Want To Be"? (HUMAN EVENTS answers: The United States Department of Health and Human Services.) WHAT single act would free America from depending on Middle East oil? (HUMAN EVENTS answers: Liberating U.S. companies to find, drill, refine and deliver gas to our pumps from ANWR and other places -- which they are NOT permitted to do now.) In addition to independent reporting like this, the best columnists in the country are writing for HUMAN EVENTS -- Robert Novak, Michelle Malkin, L. Brent Bozell, Terence Jeffrey, Bruce Bartlett, Thomas Sowell, David Limbaugh, Phyllis Schlafly, Oliver North and, as the icing on the cake, the peerless, priceless Ann Coulter. The most hated (by liberals) woman since Margaret Thatcher, Coulter had this to say about Jimmy Carter's demand that the U.S. shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention center for terrorists: "Here's a foolproof method for keeping America safe. Always do the exact 180-degree opposite of whatever Carter says, as quickly as possible." News Max

LOL From what I read he sated that he wanted to punch you in the face. How a simple punch in the face can be interpreted as a threat to your life can only lead me to assume that you're a ...............................

Trying to hunt down a free software that allows me to make phone calls via my PC (PC to Phone). The few that I have phone require calling cards. Anyone here know of a software that will fit my needs?

Who's partying with us tonight?

Very rarely do my old school friends go clubbing anymore. It took an event like this to get us all together again and it was definitely a night that will go down in our books of "remember that night". Nice seeing everyone!

Welcome back bro. Bring some wax (make your weekend a little extra special.)

A group of 20 0f us went for a special B Day party this past Saturday. What an interesting night. After being seated at our tables we almost get into a scrap with some asshole who was crying cause we were "to close" to his table. Then his vatos locos girlfriend tries us for shits and giggles. As for the music, it must have been a Reggaeton Night cause I heard RA TA TA…….RA TA TA and YO VOY VOY VOY like 1000000001 times. The DJ booth looks impressive and sounds just as impressive so my props to that but all in all I don't think we will be going there again. I'm sure they will have their followers and I wish them the best but……...

I'm off and I am trying to figure out where to take my crew tonight? Delano? Sky Bar? Who's doing what?

Sounds like a fun!

Great point. Yeah !!! What he said. Fuck you Phil!

At all. Phils my boy!

Show the man some respect. I know you dislike trance but fact be told, George introduced many lost souls to Trance which eventually led them to explore other genres in EDM See many of you old schoolers at the reunion! OBBY

I second that!

Great event in your new home town and thought you may want to know about it. Grayarea will be performing at The Masquerade with Front 242 on Friday, December 2nd. I would definitely go if I lived there. When: Friday Dec 02, 2005 at 7:00 PM Where: Masquerade Tampa, FL 33605 US

Cool stuff Funk. Here is a link to some cool pictures taken regarding this. http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=1169&gid=92

Phil, Koky, Funk ect ect http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/16/051116213750.jnfvcpbv.html Disclaimer: This is only a joke!