Scanner : iraq war

Students Study Abroad... in Iraq?

Scanner Matt — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:31:00 GMT

University of Maryland University College now offers classes in the war torn nation of Iraq. The faculty keep Kevlar jackets within reach and students carry rifles to class along with their books.

"It makes for a strange college campus," reports The Washington Post, "Cement blast walls, helicopters roaring overhead, packs of wild dogs howling, the risk of mortar and rocket attacks."

Of course these classes are for service members only. This is not the typical cushy semester-long debaucherous jaunt in Western Europe, where privileged students search for sex, drugs, romanticism and their spoiled souls... we assume.

Even on a protected military base, college in a war zone has a makeshift, edgy feel. UMUC faculty teach wherever they can find space. At Victory, a network of bases near Baghdad International Airport that has served as the U.S. military's nerve center in Iraq since 2003, classes have been held in a tent, the back of a chapel and a conference room built in Hussein's former stable for camels and horses.

Hopefully these students are studying foreign policy.

Related:

High Class College Hooker: No One Understands Me

Did You Get Your Money's Worth at College?

This Week in Hot for Teacher News: Another Sexy Teacher Gets Sexy With a Student

[image]

Iranian Kids Like Sex Too

Scanner Matt — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:10:00 GMT

Iran’s Islamic legal code outlaws premarital sex, sex outside of marriage and abortion (sound familiar? we’re not even going to bring up gay sex here), but the law is no match for a young person’s quest to get it on.

A recent survey reports the number of sexually active unwed Iranians is on the rise “… more than one in four men aged 19 to 29 had experienced sex before marriage”

The survey also revealed that the average marrying age had risen to 40 for men and 35 for women, a blow to the government's goal of promoting marriage to shore up society's Islamic foundations.

So why the increase in sexual activity and the feet-dragging to married life?

Many blame economic circumstances for their failure to marry, citing high inflation, unemployment and a housing shortage along with cultural traditions that expect brides' families to provide dowries and husbands to commit themselves to mehrieh, an agreed cash gift.

How do you say, “make love not war” in Persian?

Hojatoleslam Ghasem Ebrahimipour, a sociologist, told Shabestan news agency that the trend was due to the availability of premarital sex, and feminism among educated women. "When a woman is educated and has an income, she does not want to accept masculine domination through marriage," he said.

The Guardian has the full story.

Related:

Your Frenemy's Christmas Gift: The Artifical Virginity Hymen

George W. Bush Attacks Our Vaginas

**Bush: "People Voted For Barack Obama Because of Me" No sh*t!**

George Bush: From White House to 'Whites Only' House

[Image]

While You Were Sleeping: Scrubs & Friends

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:18:00 GMT

Denis Leary can't escape controversy if he tries.

Geffen is blaming Axl Rose for the flop that is Chinese Democracy. Releasing the album exclusively to Best Buy stores and not really promoting that fact may not have been the blockbuster idea of the century either, dumbass.

Someone send these people a lifetime supply of birth control pills, stat: Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag want to have children.

Friends guest stars are trying to boost the ratings of just about every show. Now, Courtney Cox is guesting on the January 6 episode of Scrubs.

MTV is feeling the crunch-- and so will its employees.

Iraqi women are back on the road.

Jessica Alba + swimsuits + Campari is an ad campaign we can get behind.

And Paris Hilton's second album may not come out. Pass the Campari, baby!

Related:

9-Year-Old Boy Teaches You How To Pick Up Girls

Louisiana Teacher Gets Closer to Student By Sleeping with His Father

While You Were Sleeping: Who's #1 on Yahoo?

While You Were Sleeping: What Men Think Women Think Men Want

Why Beyonce Was In No Hurry to Marry Jay-Z

New York Times: Iraq War Ends

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:07:00 GMT

Did you enjoy our little prank?

Well, we didn't come up with it, but we knew about it and were part of it on our own undisclosed way... and if you don't know what we're talking about, you will now.

And hey, if Lili Taylor thought it was awesome, it was worth getting up at the crack of dawn to pass these out in Union Square:

New York Times Special Edition Video News Release - Nov. 12, 2008

For those of you who don't live in New York City, here's a rundown from our friends Beka and Andy:

Hundreds of independent writers, artists, and activists are claiming
credit for an elaborate project, 6 months in the making, in which 1.2
million copies of a "special edition" of the New York Times were
distributed in cities across the U.S. by thousands of volunteers.

The papers, dated July 4th of next year, were headlined with
long-awaited news: "IRAQ WAR ENDS". The edition, which bears the same
look and feel as the real deal, includes stories describing what the
future could hold: national health care, the abolition of corporate
lobbying, a maximum wage for CEOs, etc. There was also a spoof site, at
http://www.nytimes-se.com/.

"Is this true? I wish it were true!" said one reader. "It can be true,
if we demand it."

"We wanted to experience what it would look like, and feel like, to
read headlines we really want to read. It's about what's possible, if
we think big and act collectively," said Steve Lambert, one of the
project's organizers and an editor of the paper.

"This election was a massive referendum on change. There's a lot of
hope in the air, but there's a lot of uncertainty too. It's up to all
of us now to make these headlines come true," said Beka Economopoulos,
one of the project's organizers.

"It doesn't stop here. We gave Obama a mandate, but he'll need mandate
after mandate after mandate to do what we elected him to do. He'll need
a lot of support, and yes, a lot of pressure," said Andy Bichlbaum,
another project organizer and editor of the paper.

The people behind the project are involved in a diverse range of
groups, including The Yes Men, the Anti-Advertising Agency, CODEPINK,
United for Peace and Justice, Not An Alternative, May First/People
Link, Improv Everywhere, Evil Twin, and Cultures of Resistance.

In response to the spoof, the New York Times said only, "We are looking
into it." Alex S. Jones, former Times reporter who is an authority on
the history of the paper, says: "I would say if you've got one, hold on
to it. It will probably be a collector's item."

UPDATE: Our lawyer just let us know that some of the 1.2 million copies are "already on sale on E-bay at prices from $30-40 to $200."

Related:

Cheerleaders "Streak" High School Football Game

Sloppy Seconds: The Grey's Anatomy Lesbian Controversy

While You Were Sleeping: The Naked Mannequin Orgy

A History of MIT Pranks, In Glorious Pictures...

Drunk Man Has Sex With A Toyota (Hey, At Least It Wasn't A Hummer)

The Onion Called It Seven Years Ago...

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:56:00 GMT

First, they predicted the emergence of Joe the Plumber in a story published in the nineties. Then, they perfectly encapsulated the Bush Administration... just days into W's first term.

The story went on to "quote" Bush on his administration's support for nation building, something Bush the Candidate had said he was against.

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

In a high-profile story today that was picked up by CNN, MSNBC, and various other outlets, Joe Garden, an Onion editor and our pick to replace Conan O'Brien when Conan takes over the Tonight Show, had this to say:

Writers at the satirical paper still speak reverentially of the story, in which Bush promises to take the country into a deep recession, worsen the environment and "end the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton."
"Wow, was that prescient," marvels Joe Garden, the Onion's features editor.
"We get asked a lot if we secretly want Republicans to win since there's so much more material," [assistant editor Megan Ganz] says. "The thing is, we always say, we have to live in the country, too. And also, when stuff is really going bad, it's harder to make jokes." [CNN]

Check out the original story here.

Related:

The Nerve Nerds Know How to Party Pretty, Too

Video of the Day: Are the Olympics a Trap?

While You Were Sleeping: The Revenge of Harold And Kumar

We Call BS On The Onion's Topless Cello Players Story

Debate #4: McCain Blinks, Misses His Chance

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:49:00 GMT

Boy, this John McCain guy is pretty repetitive, huh? If McCain's not saying "my friends" every other sentence, now he's referencing a guy named "Joe the Plumber" so many times that everyone ends up just laughing over the rest of his answers.

Meanwhile, thank God Bob Schieffer at least had some decent questions (bringing up Roe v. Wade and thankfully not just asking the candidates to state their opinions about the decision.) All that matters is what the public thought-- and they thought Obama won by another 20+-point margin. Bye bye, Johnny, bye bye...

1) Here's the Joe the Plumber video you've been dying to see. This is the actual guy, who by now has gotten two hundred million phone calls thanks to all the publicity and probably wouldn't vote for McCain in 10,000 years (whether we're still in Iraq then or not.)

2) This was sent by a friend-- Secret Service much?

We don't really have much more to say about this debate. At this point, nothing really matters except this: are the Republican attempts to disenfranchise as many newly registered voters as possible going to offset Obama's lead in the polls. Vote switching and the lack of voting machines in Democratic districts worked in 2004 Ohio, but will it work in 2008 Virgina, with Obama pulling ahead? It's looking very, very bad for John McCain...

We'll leave you with this, from Overheard in New York:

He Refers to Sarah Palin As "Mama Mia" in Private Moments

Little boy: Mommy, John McCain likes Abba.
Mom: Does he really now? Then you two have something in common.
Little boy: Noooooo!

--College Walk, Columbia University

So How's Your Family? And When'd You Get the Dick?

Man: What the fuck are you doing in here?
Woman: I'm sorry, I just had to pee.
Man: Holy shit! I can't fucking believe it. The first time I see my ex-wife in forty years is in a men's bathroom.

--Picnic House Men's Room, Prospect Park

The second one has nothing to do with this post, but we couldn't resist including it because it's absolutely brilliant. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Related:

Debate #3: It's Better To Fade Away Than To Burn Out

It's Friday, And There's Just Too Much Good Stuff To Squeeze It All In

Today in WTF: Endorsed By...

I Wasn't Going to Live Blog the Debate...

The Foo Fighters Would Like John McCain to Stop Comparing Himself to Kurt Cobain

BREAKING: John McCain Suspends His Campaign

McCain Sabotages His Own Attempt To Save The Nation

You Can't Argue With A Conservative... No, Really, It's A Fact

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:35:00 GMT

We're traveled all across the country for political reasons over the years. Sometimes to cover a story for a newspaper, other times to campaign for our preferred candidate. And not to get all "there are only two kinds of people in this world, son" on you, but... there are two kinds of political people in this country: the liberal, who thinks just because he's right and has the facts on his side, he can change the oppositions mind, and the conservative, who thinks if he just sticks to his talking points and ignores what the other person is actually saying, he will eventually get the other person to give up.

They're both wrong, although a new study shows that presenting facts and truth to conservatives makes them more likely to reaffirm their original position...

From the Washington Post:

One group was given a refutation -- the comprehensive 2004 Duelfer report that concluded that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction before the United States invaded in 2003. Thirty-four percent of conservatives told only about the Bush administration's claims thought Iraq had hidden or destroyed its weapons before the U.S. invasion, but 64 percent of conservatives who heard both claim and refutation thought that Iraq really did have the weapons. The refutation, in other words, made the misinformation worse.

[The study suggests] that Republicans might be especially prone to the backfire effect because conservatives may have more rigid views than liberals: Upon hearing a refutation, conservatives might "argue back" against the refutation in their minds, thereby strengthening their belief in the misinformation. [They] did not see the same "backfire effect" when liberals were given misinformation and a refutation about the Bush administration's stance on stem cell research.

Well, either that or liberals are just whimps who cower before conservative's loud awesomeness!

Via HuffPo.

Related:

Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson Would Like You to Know What They Think of Sarah Palin

Hey... Wanna Make Out? With A Thousand People?

Ow, My Eyes! "Ann Coulter Lite" Is Anti-Everything We Hold Awesome

RNC Day Three: Sarah Palin Makes Dick Cheney Look Like Al Gore

This Week In Gayness: Doctors Shocked To Learn They Can't Reject Gay Patients

RNC Delegate, Robbed By Hooker, Speaks Out In Favor Of More War

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:29:00 GMT

Have you guys heard about this smarmy, sniveling Republican toolbox who got robbed of "$120,000 worth" of crappy personal effects during the Republican National Convention? Yeah, he deserved it...

Check out this video that's been floating around, thanks to LinkTV, of Colorado schyster Gabriel Nathan Schwartz discussing the foreign policy he'd love to see John McCain enact:

For the sake of sanity, we're hoping he's being satirical. Something, anything.

Anyway, if you haven't heard about this guy's story, here's the rundown: Schwartz, an RNC delegate, met a woman at a bar during the convention in Minneapolis and took her back to his hotel. Red flag #1: she made the drinks. Red flag #2: she told him to get undressed. In case you don't know, these are clear indications she was attempting to subdue, rather than seduce, the dashing young buck.

He's not sure what happened next, since the prostitute (see Red flag #2: she "ordered" him to get dressed, according to his report to the police... sounds like pro talk to us) had slipped some sort of pill in his drink. When he awoke, he was out of the following:

$30,000 watch, a $20,000 ring, a necklace valued at $5,000, earrings priced at $4,000 and a Prada belt valued at $1,000

Um, yeah. He had a thousand dollar belt and he's worried about his taxes under Barack Obama?! Dude, you better worry about your shopping insanity, first...

Via Minnesota Independent.

RNC Day Three: Sarah Palin Makes Dick Cheney Look Like Al Gore

Our Crazy RNC Photo Essay

"We Support George McCain For President"

Trojan Girls Try To Get Republicans To Wear, Learn Uses Of Condoms

Armed Robber In Wheelchair Going To Have A Blast Tonight

Why Is The Military Covering Up Murder In Iraq?

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:23:00 GMT

Pfc. Lavena Johnson, 19, was the first woman from Missouri to be killed in the Iraq War. She was found in KBR tent with a broken nose, busted teeth, cut-up lip, burn marks on her genitals, and a gunshot wound to her head.

The US Military told this soldier's family that their daughter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound...

An Army representative initially told LaVena's father, Dr. John Johnson, that his daughter died of "died of self-inflicted, noncombat injuries," but initially added that it was not a suicide. The subsequent Army investigation reversed this finding and declared LaVena's death a suicide... Dr. Johnson pointed to indications that his daughter had endured a physical struggle... suggesting that "someone might have punched her in the mouth."

A promise by the office of Representative William Lacy Clay to look into the matter produced nothing. The military said that the matter was closed.

Liberal media outlets such as Democracy Now! and some lesser-known blogs have trumpeted the case, to no avail. Now the Katrina-focused group Color of Change is pushing hard for a Congressional petition, and have added a new charge to the fray: rape by her a military serviceperson.

[S]he was raped, murdered, and her body was burned--by someone from her own military base.

From Common Dreams:

“Lavena was clearly happy and seemed in very good health both physically and emotionally.”
Johnson was concerned about the bruising on her face. He was puzzled by the discrepancy in the autopsy report on the location of the gunshot wound. As a US Army veteran and a 25-year US Army civilian employee who had counseled veterans, he was mystified how the exit wound of an M-16 shot could be so small. The hole in Lavena’s head appeared to be more the size of a pistol shot rather than an M-16 round. He questioned why the exit hole was on the left side of her head, when she was right handed. But the gluing of military uniform white gloves onto Lavena’s hands hiding burns on one of her hands is what deepened Dr. Johnson’s concerns that the Army’s investigation into the death of his daughter was flawed.

But this is only the beginning of the coverup: among other things, investigators claimed that Lavena was found fully clothed, although hidden crime scene photos showed this to be a falsification, and that Lavena was, in fact, found in the nude. There was also an unexplained blood trail leaving her KBR tent.

We're not even going to pretend to be objective here: this is the military we're talking about. This might not even make the footnotes on a multi-volume history of their illegal coverups, lies, and defrauding of the treasury. We're just going to say: this is fucking sick, and you should sign this petition for the Democrats to open an investigation here.

More on this story from Common Dreams, Lavena Johnson The Website, and Democracy Now.

Related:

Political Survey Reveals (Duh) U.S. Citizens Incredible Beavises

While You Were Sleeping: Autistic Children Are Brats?

Iraqi Prime Minister Dares To Defy Bush, Lives To Retract it

McCain Supporters Prove Idiots Continue To Procreate

If You Can Name Two Funny Republicans, BarackBook Is For You

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:28:00 GMT

Oh, those conservative icons, members of a party known for supporting the arts, free speech on the internet, and Nerve.com. They've really got us guffawing now: how witty, you'll say! "Barack Obama is now friends with Tony Rezko!" Zing! Man, that talking point is sure killing Obama's momentum over the past seven months, let's just beat him to death with it...

Barack is hoping to settle on an Iraq policy before November.

Check out that rim-shot worthy status update, dudes. Remember: it's better to ignore the demands of war and blindly stick with original plan-- we all saw how wonderfully that worked for Afghanistan and Iraq, let's just keep it going! God Bless America Over Other Countries!

(Tongue outta cheek, if you don't want to give the RNC your page views, you can view their hilariously satirical website-- almost as funny as that laugh-out-loud New Yorker cover-- in the screenshot below. Should you have a death wish, click here to peruse.)

Related:

Obama Button Makes Us Want To Mess With Texas

Someone Please Explain This Brum Thing To Us

David Vitter: "Thank Christ You Forgot About Me"

Today in The Worst Facebook Applications, Ever: What Kind of Bride Will You Be?

Sloppy Seconds: Heather Mills, Liv Tyler, and... Roseanne Barr?!

How Facebook Proved Mom Right

Blogger Reveals Facebook is 64% Female; Experience Reveals MySpace is 95% Jackasses

While You Were Sleeping: Autistic Children Are Brats?

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:58:00 GMT

The YouTube divorce trial has ended with no surprises. She signed a prenup, so that pretty sure wrapped it up. (Oh yeah, airing your husband's dirty laundry in front of three million people on the internet could not have helped your standing with the judge.)

John McCain's essay on the Iraq War was rejected by the New York Times. And not because he's wrong on every single point.

Various British media outlets are reporting Christian Bale will be questioned by police over allegations he beat his mother and sister the night before the European premiere of the new Batman movie...

His mother and sister reportedly complained that the 34-year-old actor assaulted them at a west London hotel on Sunday.
Britain's Press Association said they made the allegation at a police station in south England on Monday and that the allegation was passed on to Scotland Yard in London. It said questioning was expected Tuesday. [CNN]

A Palestinian man was killed near Obama's hotel (he wasn't yet staying there, though) after the man rammed several vehicles in what is believed to have been an attack unrelated to the Senator's visit.

A court overruled the fine leveled by the FCC against CBS for the 2004 "warddrobe malfunction incident." Hooray for free speech... and more importantly... hooray for oddly-pierced boobies.

And talk show host and (big surprise) hardcore conservative Michael Savage is under attack after saying 99 percent of all kids with autism are nothing more than "brats."

UPDATE: According to Yahoo! News, Bale is under arrest in connection with the previously-reported incident, although the Guardian is reporting the charge is for assaulting his mother and not both his mother and sister.

Related:

Who Would You Rather: Michelle Pfeiffer vs. Julie Newmar

We Saw The Dark Knight In A Cavernous Movie Theater, During The Dead Of Night

Video of the Day: "American Psycho" as RomCom

Iraqi Prime Minister Dares To Defy Bush, Lives To Retract it

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Iraqi Prime Minister Kamal al-Maliki must have felt the full wrath of the Bush White House come down on him yesterday when he first responded to a question about Obama's troop withdrawal plan by saying the Senator's plan

"...talks about 16 months... that, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.”

Obama's opponent and the opposition party at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. reacted swiftly, but maybe not swiftly enough to fool anyone.

Soon after the story appeared in the media, with most outlets saying, "See, even the Prime Minister in Iraq, essential a Bush flunky, agrees we gotta have a withdrawal plan," Maliki's retraction was out, with the classic cover line "misunderstood and mistranslated." Nice try, but what about the lines that followed your support for his plan?

“Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans’ business,” he said. But then, apparently referring to Republican candidate John McCain’s more open-ended Iraq policy, Maliki said: “Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of U.S. troops in Iraq would cause problems.”

Did the translator completely fabricate all of that as well? The conservative media tend to think so. But we tend to agree with New York Times reader Frank Caramelli, who commented:

What is very important and shouldn’t be missed: Maliki did not offer this comment last week when Condi Rice was there. That is very telling. Timing is everything. Maliki is nobody’s fool. And he’s probably darn sick and tired of those in the Bush Administration thinking he’s theirs.

Via the New York Times.

While You Were Sleeping: Kardashian Off To The Slammer

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:45:00 GMT

A House Committee investigating the misinformation campaign that arose following the death of soldier Pat Tillman has concluded without any answers. One member of the investigation team said there was a "striking lack of recollection" by officials in the White House and Pentagon as to why Tillman's death was long reported as due to enemy fire instead of friendly fire, which turned out to be the truth.

Both of America Ferrera's love interests on "Ugly Betty" are reportedly leaving the show. Damn, this girl already has enough trouble getting a guy...

The baby boomers are living so long, they'll be broke before they're dead. And other wonderful economic news we already figured out years ago.

Apple sold a million iPhones this weekend. In an unrelated story, Apple announced the next generation will appear in August. (Gotcha.)

Barack Obama said he regrets allowing Access Hollywood an interview with his kids. Fortunately, they didn't reveal his dark plans to burn the American flag and install Osama as his VP.

Khloe Kardashian violated the conditions of her parole and will serve up to 30 days in jail. As you'll recall since everyone watches "Keeping up with the Kardashians," Khloe was arrested a while back for drunken driving and had been ordered to seek treatment for her little problem. Obviously, she didn't think it was necessary to show up.

Photo via Hollywood Family.

Sloppy Seconds: Topless Chicks Arrested At KFC

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:45:00 GMT

Miss USA fell down during the evening wear competition at the Miss Universe pageant.... for the second year in a row. USA! USA! USA!

A student protester in Iran was beaten, tortured, and imprisoned there after appearing on the cover of The Economist. Two things: People actually read The Economist? And how did the guy get from Iraq to America? The followup doesn't say-- he just escapes from Iran, then makes it to Iraq and... the next thing you know, he's here. Does anyone smell another Bush Administration manipulation here?

Kate Moss, topless on vacation, is apparently trying for the Amy Winehouse-Doing-Kate Moss look these days. Make it stop!

Princess Anne apparently enjoys something called "lighthouse bagging." We read the whole article and still can't get our original idea of what that means out of our heads.

A twenty-eight-year-old female sheriff's deputy has to register as a sex offender in Colorado after getting it on with a prisoner. Who was a man. A man, as in, he was well over the age of 18.

Best spam headlines of the day: "Moulin Splooge," "Tiffany accessories at never before prices," and, from a Capt. Mr. Chidpong: "ASSIST ME OUT OF IRAQ URGENTLY." Good luck, Captain, but I think George Bush wants you there until we die of old age.

And then this:

The topless women from animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) were arrested on Monday afternoon while protesting outside the CBD restaurant over KFC's alleged treatment of chickens in factories and slaughterhouses.

The women - naked apart from lacy, yellow bikini bottoms - were inside a large cage, holding signs that read "Chicks Agree: Boycott KFC".
One of the protesters claimed they were "roughly-handled" by police...

Not that we're condoning police brutality, but is anyone surprised that a bunch of cops manhandled (what a sexist term) a bunch of naked activists?

Is Obama Using the Gore-Kerry Playbook?

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:37:00 GMT

There's no question Barack Obama has moved to the Right since clinching the Democratic nomination. On a variety of issues, as many of his critics (like Joe Lieberman) have pointed out, he's trying to pick up independents and other swing voters by trying to pass himself off as a centrist, a strategy that makes sense on the surface, but doomed both Al Gore and John Kerry to "flip flopping" square status, and could doom him as well...

Arianna Huffington and other liberal commentators have been attacking Obama for changing or at least appearing to modify his positions on many issues, including gun control. (Obama praised the Supreme Court's decision to overturn DC's handgun law.) Over the weekend, John McCain and the right wing got in on the action:

Barack Obama defended his position on the Iraq War on Thursday after saying he may "refine" his position to withdraw combat troops within his first 16 months in office if military officials said such a timeline is unsafe.

"When I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I am sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies," Sen. Obama told reporters during a press conference before an event with veterans. [WSJ]

...which sounds reasonable, until you remember how eagerly his opponents have been awaiting his first "flip flop" (hell, they' both already "flip-flopped" a bunch of times.) The critics saw their chance:

In a statement, [McCain] campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said, "We are all absolutely committed to ending this war, but on Thursday Barack Obama's words indicated that he also shared John McCain's commitment to securing the peace beforehand. What's really puzzling is that Barack Obama still doesn't understand that his words matter."

In North Dakota on Thursday, Obama denied that he's shying away from his proposed 16-month phased withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq, calling it "pure speculation" and adding that his "position has not changed." [CNN]

CBS News Correspondent Embroiled In Career-Defining Sex Scandal

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:45:00 GMT

Doesn't she kinda look like Liz Hurley in this photo?

When Lara Logan, a CBS News and 60 Minutes correspondent in Iraq, was on the Daily Show last week, she caused a minor furor for chastising the media's coverage of the war. Who would've thought that would all be forgotten so soon, brushed aside when word of a big stinker of a sex scandal broke last night?

The Enquirer has learned exclusively that CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes foreign correspondent, Lara Logan, has been named as the “other woman” in a Texas couple Joe and Kimberly Burkett's bitter divorce.

Burkett’s wife Kimberly, 32, was so distraught with his cheating that she took an overdose of Valium...

Kimberly Burkett's attorney Susie Chmielowiec told The Enquirer, “Kimberly believes Lara stole her husband – and now they’re trying to steal her little girl."

The we're-not-too-sure-this-is-true National Enquirer story goes on to detail Katie Couric's "outrage" at the alleged behavior, Burkett's State Department job (how risque of them), and erotically-charged encounters in Baghdad safe houses.

Of course, this can only help Logan's career-- until the other day, she was all but completely under the radar. Now, she's on her way to becoming the next Paula Zahn! Meanwhile, Kimberly Burkett will have to look at Lara's mug everytime she turns on the TV for the next twenty years... ouch.

Via the News Junkie, including photos.

London Mayor May Have Looted Saddam's Deputy's House

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:54:00 GMT

London's new mayor, barely a few days in office, is already in trouble with Scotland Yard.

British police confirmed Tuesday they are examining an Iraqi cigar case belonging to London mayor Boris Johnson to determine whether it is a looted Iraqi artifact. Johnson says he handed over the case, which once belonged to Saddham Hussein's deputy...

Seems Boris Johnson, the wacky Conservative Mayor bringing his vast political experience as a TV host and journalist to run one of Europe's greatest cities, was at the ruined house of Tariq Aziz shortly after Baghdad fell in 2003 and discovered a cigar case there. Johnson now claims lawyers for the former deputy prime minister actually sent him a letter saying he should consider the looted treasure a "gift." Mmm hmm, a cigar case, you say? You won't bomb my home back to rubble again, right? Great, then take the damn case. Just take it!

In any case, this isn't enough of a cultural crime to warrant removal from office or even jail time, although as Johnson himself joked:

"Well, I suppose we should be grateful for one thing," he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. "It seems that a Western politician is finally going to pay the price for his involvement in the Iraq War."

Via AP.

Dear Nintendo Wii: Happy Birthday, You Old Homewrecker You!

Bryan Christian — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:15:00 GMT

Monday was the Nintendo Wii's first birthday! What did you get yours? We know what Go Nintendo reader "Tony" gave his Wii: a massive guilt trip for ruining his marriage. Seems that "Tony" got back from Iraq to find something he wasn't expecting on his Wii's Mii Channel (a.k.a., the place where your personalized Wii characters live), something that confirmed rumors he'd been hearing about his wife and an unnamed sports figure.

It’s a guy strikingly similar to PBA Bowler *name deleted*. To be sure of this, I went into the Wil Message Board and click on the Calendar option. Through this menu I was able to identify the many nights my wife’s Mii and this ‘other’ Mii Character played Wii Bowling. It became clearly obvious that she couldn’t explain her way out of this.

Here's the best part about all this: somewhere out there, there's a pro bowler who's getting into girls pants with his video game skills. What, polos and the promise of remarkable finger strength weren't cutting it?

[Via GamePro and Gizmodo]