thorgrimfile comments

Way to go Hawks!!!!

Rockets probably fired by the west-backed terrorists.

Well, I guess Saudi Arabia and Qatar are to the 'west' - of Iran. Maybe Syrians should refer to them as 'south-backed' terrorists? Or is it 'north-backed' (a.k.a Turkey)?

As for "The West", I'm guessing it's sort of a no-win situation (as in, they hope neither Asad, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and friends, etc., win, and continue to kill each other off ad-infinitum).

What's with the "destroy his arm" stuff? NPB teams usually use a 6 man rotation (vs a 5 man rotation and a longer season in MLB). From what I understood, the damage to pitchers in Japan happens when they are still in school (too many advanced pitches too soon).

My brother lives in Seattle. He said Ichiro never did any big advertising in the US. For Japanese players, the big endorsement money is likely made mostly in Japan, whether they play in NPB or MLB.

So which is better? To be an immediate big shot in Hokkaido? Or to be a nobody for several years in the Minor Leagues (and maybe never amount to anything in the Bigs - just ask Kei Igawa how that worked out!).

Turkey is "increasingly being viewed as Washington's lapdog in the region"?

Is that the same Turkey that told G.W. Bush to shove it when he wanted to attack from Turkey into northern Iraq with the US 4th Infantry Division in 2003?

The same Turkey that has a populist Islamic government, and where a large majority of the population has a negative opinion of the US and Americans?

Hillary "put to the screws" to that Turkey?

No, I don't think so. I don't trust what comes out of the US. And certainly not Saudi Arabia or Qatar. But if the Turks have turned 180 against Assad, I figure they must know what the real score is.

Does anyone care to explain away the likelihood that the Syrian government's greatest foreign adversary now is neither the US or Saudi Arabia, but Turkey? A country they, until very recently, enjoyed good relations with, and who's leader, Erdogan, used to be a friend of, and vacation with, the Assads? And who's military is now reported to be training elements of the FSA?

It was an interesting game. Honda played well. The sports news coverage I watched covered all the controversial decisions, including the call that got the Australian player tossed. I think some people need to watch a different channel for their sports coverage.

Historically, many revolutions have needed outside aid to be successful (half the land forces and all the naval forces at the Battle of Yorktown were French: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_ofYorktown%281781%29 - NATO help should in no way undercut or somehow diminish what has happened in Libya.

American Republican vs Democrat "point scoring" over this event is pretty ridiculous. I'm sure the Libyan people don't give a rip.

The likely extralegal execution of Gadhafi is unfortunate, but all too understandable. I suggest anyone bemoaning the fate of Gadhafi first imagine what it must have been like to live under a tyrant for 42 years, to have seen your friends shot by "loyalist" snipers and such, at a time when the ultimate outcome was no longer in doubt. Emotions running high, you wonder?

Oh, and if you're still outraged, feel free to head to Italy, and beat the Italians over the head for the way that poor old Mussolini chap was made to suffer 60 some years ago.

And speaking of Mussolini, just because you "made the trains run on time" doesn't mean you're still not a murderous evil dictator.

This whole issue has taken on the nature of a religious debate. Might as well spend one's time arguing which is the "one true faith" with fanatics, for all the logic or common sense you'd be getting...

I love that attitude that the Arabs in the "Middle East" are such backwards savages, that they should be happy with such a not-totally-evil dictator such as Gadhafi! I mean sure, he and his family and hangers on engaged in torture, rape, extra-judicial killings, etc., but hey, he spent some of that oil money on water and such - so he can't be such a bad guy, eh?

Oh well. I don't know if what Europe and the US are doing is smart (probably not), but arguing that the Libyans should be happy with a murderous loon like Gadhafi as their leader, just because that's the best the best them A-rabs deserve, is just insane!

It doesn't matter if you're a bit better off than your sad-sack neighbors - everyone, Egyptians, Tunisians, N. Koreans, Chinese, Wisconsinites, etc., deserves a chance at genuine freedom and good governance.

You Gadhafi lovers, do you crap all over George Washington and Thomas Jefferson because they dared to rebel instead of enjoying the rich life under King George? Well, if not, shut the heck up if your imagined well-off yet somehow jihad-loving Libyan youth (but probably not nearly as well-off or jihad-loving as you fantasize) want to get rid of their clown ruler and have even a tiny chance at something better. Take your hypocritical "Arab context" and stuff it - just because you're an Arab doesn't mean you aren't a human being!

St. Reagan bombed Libya back in the 80s, and of course he could do no wrong. The lesson is, only Republican presidents can bomb places or start wars, because they do it for sensible reasons (like finding WMDs and, uh, erm...), while naive Democratic presidents, well, they're just too soft and silly, and only start fights that wind up help commies and/or jihadis.

It is amazing how you can have on one hand a hard-core lefty like Kucinich claiming Obama should be impeached for going too far, and on the other hand, right-wing wannabes like Romney declaring Obama is a wimp for bothering to wait for UN/Arab League approval before dropping lead.

Well, if the nutters on either end of the extreme spectrum are unhappy, I suspect this may actually be the best course of action - out of innumerable choices that are all crappy.

BTW, critics out there, care to suggest your super wise alternative? Should the US and/or EU/NATO have started the bombing days or weeks ago, and UN/Middle East sentiments be damned? Easy to call that GW-esque shot when your favored man (or crazy Alaskan woman) isn't in the hot seat!

Or should the US and/or EU/NATO have left Ghadafi alone, free to slaughter his unhappy people at his own mercurial will?

And if that was your favored course of action, keep in mind you can thus no longer criticize the US, your hated World Cop, when it didn't "do enough" - whatever the heck "enough" is - to help the protesters in Iran, etc., overthrow the Revolutionary Guard, Basij, and other such ultra-brutal instruments of repression (that make forces like the Mubarak secret police look like friendly donut-stealers).

And don't start comparing the situation to those in Bahrain or Yemen (as the things going on there are far from done, and who knows what the US and other countries have going in in the post-Wikipedia background), or Syria.

Oh, BTW, if you out of hand hate US involvement of any sort, be happy, as due to the insanity of the Israeli/Palestinian situation, the US will almost certainly not get involved in Syria under any circumstances. You can rest at east that Bashar al-Assad can slaughter his unruly people if he so chooses, just like his father did back in the 80s. Happy?

Yes, Berbert61, as world overlord, Obama (and what, Anderson Cooper?) has sole responsibility for events in Libya and elsewhere. Certainly, Europe and other places/agencies have absolutely zero influence on these events, eh?

Yep, only self-serving America looks after its own interests first in a situation like this.

Oh, wait, there's this from Italy:

""Would you imagine to have an Islamic Arab Emirate at the borders of Europe? This would be a very serious threat," said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini." (From the BBC)

Wow, looks like Europe is ready to throw democracy loving Libyan protesters under the bus as well to avoid Islamic radicalism. Well, that or to avoid illegal immigration.

Crap, I guess it's not all oil then. According to some, it's OK for the Gadhafis to rule like kings in North Africa as long as they keep more darkies out of Europe, I guess, eh?

The hypocrisy of some can really make one sick.

Well, may God be with the people of Libya, cause everyone else has an axe to grind, and will gladly use their misery to make some stupid geopolitical point...

US "condemns" yet sits on the sidelines.

So the US should invade Libya?

The Iranian military is impotent compared to that of Egypt (and the Egyptian military was the deciding factor in forcing Mubarak out).

Plus, the apparatus of repression in Iran - the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia - is much stronger that even that of Mubarak's Egypt.

Plus, as has been noted, as the Iranian regime is no fried of the West, is has no compunctions at all with using extreme violence to crush popular uprisings.

So God help the protesters there. They're going to need every bit of help they can get.

Um, folks with a political axe to grind: Obama(mania) had nothing to do with this. But how much pressure from the White House (and/or State Department/Pentagon/etc.) really effected things, well, I suppose we'll never really know (baring another surprising Wikileak!).

But if you think a hypothetical "President Palin (or some other wingnut)" would have some how handled things better - HA HA HA HA HA! Oh wait, I forgot to figure the power of divine intervention ;)

As for folks ranting about how Obama didn't do the same for Iran (regardless of the fact that we have no idea what pressure this administration applied in Egypt, or what pressure it may have tried to apply in Iran two years back), stop trying to compare apples and oranges!

The Mubarak regime, corrupt and repressive as it was, was tied to the West. It had to play by certain rules (no Tienanmen Square allowed - I mean, you might try thugs on camels whipping folks, etc., but no wholesale slaughter by the army).

But the Iranians (and, for future reference, the Syrians, Libyans, and such, who are not beholden to the West at all) play by different rules - they have no problems unleashing the "revolutionary guards" (armies of thugs employed by the tyrannical government) to stomp the crap out of any genuine revolution!

So whining that Obama didn't somehow do the same for Iran is a ridiculous argument - he had and has no real leverage there - bastards like Ahmadinejad have no compunction about crushing protesters with brutal force. There's little the US/Europe/Japan/etc. could do to influence that outcome (versus the critical leverage available in the Egyptian situation).

Wow, so much uninformed speculation. Keep in mind a couple of things:

About half the Egyptian military's budget comes from the US (so while they'll look out for their own interests, to be sure, they'll also want to keep the US minimally happy and the money flowing).

Egypt does not have oil. They can not afford the luxury of rabid revolution.

They have Pyramids and history. They can not afford to scare off visitors.

I've been to an semi-authoritarian Islamic country (Malaysia), and had a fine time. It doesn't have to mean kidnapping and/or trumped up spying charges.

Everyone take a deep breath and chill out :)

Wow, is Cahill from S. America or Southern Europe? He sure whines and dives like he's from one of those places...

My wife made me watch the game - soccer is so irritating!

I will say this though: The Japanese players don't act, don't dive, don't whine and wave their hands about begging for a penalty, etc.. I have to respect that.

For games not involving Qatar, the stadiums have been mostly empty.

Or, it could be any of a number of Arab states, seeing as how, according to Wikileaks, several have been urging aggressive action against Iran.

So I guess folks should feel free to choose which nation and/or ethnic group the have a personal grudge against, and let fly with the unsubstantiated accusations and speculation! :)

Glad the Dutch lost. It's more than that they play dirty. My god, Robben - have you ever seen such a pathetic whiner before, in any professional sport? Spain had it's share of divers and floppers too though - don't these guys have any shame?

Oh well, I can thankfully go back to not caring about the sport for another four years :P

LoveUSA: Spartacus was almost certainly not actually from Thrace - he was called a "thracian" after the style of gladiator he was. Some think Spartacus was perhaps even an ex-Legionary, who was punished with becoming a gladiator for desertion.

Anyhow, I've seen clips, and it indeed seems like a 300-esque cartoon, which will undoubtedly be full of historical inaccuracies (like having Spartacus come from Thrace, etc.).

So, the Swiss team played defensively, but I'd like to think, courageously. The Japanese team has played defensively, but a lot of people complain about it.

So what's the difference?

The Dear Leader might though! Portuguese ships beware! ;)

They've actually had a few good looks, the more so the closer it has gotten to the end of the half.

Wait a minute, I'm confused. Since the obvious answer - that crazy Kim and the NKs were responsible - is apparently just too obvious, who exactly was responsible again? The CIA? Hatoyama? Mossad/Elders of Zion? Dick Cheney? The Illuminati? The Bilderberg Group? ET?

Just too many conspiracies to shake a stick at :( I need "facts"!

Can some anti-Semites, America-haters, Japan-bashers, and/or plain-old-crazies, please help me out a little?

Sad to be that guy, to be sure, but everyone else should be happy they live in a place where an unspectacular murder makes national news. A guy getting knifed to death in a dark stairwell hardly makes page two of the local pages in most places!

Har, the Philippines haven't left a legacy of ill will with all their neighbors. Thus their defense needs are a lot less than Japan's.

So semperfi and YuriOtani, just how is Japan going to afford going it alone in a hostile region? Is it finally going to come clean on its history to pacify the Chinese, Koreans, etc., to reduce tensions? Or allow a huge increase in immigration and do the other difficult but necessary acts to reform its perma-flat economy, so as to pay for its own bona-fide military?

Until then, it'll need the US around somewhere. No getting around that. Maybe not Futenma, but somewhere. I mean, who else will Japan find to watch its back until (if ever) Japan can look after itself?

Of course, the US has its own desires, as far as force projection in the region goes, so Japan will eventually have to play ball to some extent. In the meantime, the DPJ can look like it's sticking up to Uncle Sam, at least until the next election. Then expect a new deal, probably not too much different from the current one.

This guy was definitely a weirdo. Blathering about a crime in 1991 (he would have been what, 16 or so at the time?)? 9/11 conspiracies (kind of a lefty, anti-Bush thing to harp on?)? Pro-weed (so either a lefty or an ultra-libertarian?)?

Hard to peg him then as a tea-bagger or other right wing nut-job, but then again lefties don't usually go for the gat. So I figure he was a tinfoil-hat schizo, to messed up to have any particular ideology other than "those Illuminati lizard-aliens at the Pentagon must pay for their crimes!"

When Mao-chan's on her game, she can SKATE! Too bad she's got a bum mug though.

Unfortunately for her, Kim's a doll, hot enough to make even me watch skating! If she doesn't fall on her **s, Kim's a lock for the Gold in Vancouver - her blowing the smoke off her 'gun' after that Bond routine a month or so back, mmmm... ;)

Mao-chan, you can do it, but good luck, you'll need it!