Target Centermass

Day: May 25, 2005

  • Pager-Forced Link Dump

    The oncall pager has been brutal so far this week, as demonstrated by the limited posting. Well, let’s throw it around the horn.

    Schroder has ‘No Chance’ in General Election

    The poll shows Mr Schröder’s Social Democratic party (SPD) scoring 28 per cent of the votes against 49 per cent for Angela Merkel’s opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Should the neo-communist Party of Democratic Socialism fail to make it into parliament, as his figures suggest, the centre-right CDU would command an absolute majority in the house for the first time in 48 years.

    “The CDU is in a state of euphoria right now, and its lead will soften, but not enough,” says Mr Güllner. “The SPD has no chance to win this election.”

    No sympathy. Zero, babe.

    Army Program Aims for Higher Alert for IEDs
    (Hat tip to OtB)

    American military officials have kicked off a new awareness campaign they hope will reduce deaths and injuries caused by the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq: homemade bombs.

    Dubbed “5-and-25,” the program’s goal is, flatly, to “reduce the effectiveness of the mountain of makeshift bombs being produced by insurgents.”

    Faces of the Fallen
    PoliBlog‘s Dr. Steven Taylor visits D.C. and photoblogs an impressive tribute to those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Especially touching were the notes and tokens left by loved ones at the individual portraits.

    I previously blogged more background on the display here. I’m glad to find it’s as honorable and moving as I’d hoped.

    Reports: Zarqawi Shot in Lung

    Insurgents said Wednesday in interviews and statements on the Internet that the leader of the group al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, was struggling with a gunshot wound to the lung. One of Zarqawi’s commanders said the Jordanian guerrilla was receiving oxygen, heightening suspicion that the groundwork was being laid for an announcement of his replacement or death.

    Iraqi Forces Arrest Key Zarqawi Aide

    Officials say Iraqi forces made the arrest of al-Aswadi as he tried to bribe his way through a checkpoint in the town of Balad. His vehicle was found to contain a global positioning system, multiple identification papers, a scope used to launch mortars, and U.S. currency.

    Officials say al-Aswadi served as a key aide to Iraq’s al-Qaida front man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant. The statement says al-Aswadi was involved in the funding of terror cells, terrorist training, and the making of car and roadside bombs.


    U.S. Forces Launch Operation in Another Western Iraqi City

    More than 1,000 U.S. troops on Wednesday swept into this city on the road to Syria to root out insurgents — including those loyal to terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — after rebels damaged the hospital, knocked out the electricity and prevented police from entering.

    Check out Hyscience and In the Bullpen for good commentary on this effort.

  • Caught in a Meme Crossfire

    I’ve been hit by another meme. Actually, I’ve been double-tapped by it, as both Phil at Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum) and JohnL at TexasBestGrok have tagged me with the same book meme.

    Total Number of Books I’ve Owned
    I have no idea how many I’ve owned through my life, but it would easily top a grand. I currently own 250-300, scattered throughout my apartment, my car, the office and my girlfriend’s house.

    Last Book I Bought
    Ghost Wars, after Chad at In the Bullpen emailed me with an enthusiastic recommendation.

    Last Book I Read
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, though it was actually a re-read. The last book I read for the first time was Band of Brothers.

    Five Books that Mean a Lot to Me
    The Lord of the Rings — I first read it in fourth grade. I first re-read it in fifth grade. I have no idea how many times I have turned back to it. This was the only sure thing on my list and, were one to travel back through the history of this meme, I would wager that Tolkien’s masterpiece would appear on more lists than any other book. Well, maybe a lot of people went with the Bible.

    1984 — I read it in 1983 at the height of the Cold War. It provided a chilling reason to believe in the need to fight against the Evil Empire.

    UNIX in a Nutshell — An incredible reference for my working world, one that I still turn to frequently after years in the biz.

    Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land — Okay, yeah, that’s two. Still, I cannot decide which of the two is my favorite sci-fi. Both are amazing in very different ways.

    The Pillars of the Earth — Never has a book that sounded so disinteresting gripped me in the manner as this one did. A historical epic about the building of a cathedral in 12th century England? No thanks. Man, was I ever wrong! As much as this would seem like a book that would have a relatively small target audience, I would heartily recommend it to anyone. Actually, I have recommended it to quite a variety of people, and all that have read it have been extremely engrossed by the story, the scope and the characters, so real that you root for them or despise them to a surprising degree.

    I’m now allowed to stick five others with this meme, but I think I’ll pass on this one. I think almost everybody on my blogroll that does memes has already had a shot at this one.