Well, it has been a very strange year, indeed.

According to Human Rights Watch, an international NGO (non-governmental organization) dedicated toward the preservation and monitoring of human rights and human rights abuses (respectively), during the air war by US and "coalition forces" (Mar. 19 through Apr. 09, specifically), over 29,000 (29,199, to be precise) bombs were dropped on Iraq, out of which 31% were not "precision-guided" warheads. The heavily concentrated bombing campaign on Baghdad and other major cities in Iraq earlier this year has led to the deaths of approximately 3,000 Iraqi civilians, according to HRW and Associated Press estimates. However, according to this, the count much higher.

You can read the report ("Off Target: The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in Iraq") here. There is a downloadable version of the publication in PDF format (16 MB).

I just got back from seeing The Last Samurai. It is a magnificent film, and can be summed up in that it portrays the struggle between the ancient and the modern for the soul of Japan.

I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King last night, and all I can say is that it is a glorious, overwhelmingly epic conclusion to one of the greatest motion picture trilogies of cinematic history. Director Peter Jackson ought to be awarded generously for his magnificent work, which may not be paralleled for many, many years to come.

Well, I have had my iPod for about a year now (I got it last Christmas), and so I guess that I have six more months until I have to get a new battery (because after 18 months, the battery apparently dies). Of course, if you do not know what I am talking about, go to this website now.

"iPOD'S UNREPLACEABLE BATTERY LASTS ONLY 18 MONTHS."

P.S.: According to an article about this in the Washington Post, Apple, because of this issue (see the site above), has now announced that it will sell replacement batteries for $99.

I just got the news that Libya has reportedly dismantled its weapons of mass destruction. No doubt great news, because Libya has one of the most repressive government regimes in the world (according to Amnesty Int'l) and has supported terrorism in the past. But if we really want to make the world a lot safer, we ought to be looking at a country which has the most chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons* in the world (the United States); why don't we dismantle our WMD?

*Of course, we don't refer to them as weapons: we call the former two "agents," as in chemical agents and biological agents; as for our nukes, we wouldn't dare call them "weapons," but rather "deterrents."

I think that it would be a really good time to put Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964) back in theaters. Such a funny movie, and all the more relevant than ever.

I just watched Bush's address on Saddam's capture. You know, it's funny, you can basically construct anything Bush might say out of the following words:

FREEDOM
TERRORISTS
LIBERTY
IRAQIS
DEMOCRACY
LIBERATION
FEAR
INSURGENCY
VICTORY

According to this, France and Germany, the two major opponents of the war in Iraq, were the first to hail the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Anything to say from the people who poured French wine down the gutter?

Well, as you all now know, we have finally succeeded in capturing Saddam Hussein. I guess that this means that we will get out of Iraq soon. Bush is expected to address the nation about the capture at noon today, which is in around a little over two hours from now.

Well, the Dow Jones Industrial has hit 10,000 for the first time in 18 months; so I guess it looks like the economy is finally back on track. Now all Bush needs to worry about in 2004 is, you know, those wars we're still fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is now an impending crisis with Taiwan, as well as with North Korea (25 days and counting) and Iran (57 days and counting), which has a timeline, too, which says 105 days and counting. (www.globalsecurity.org)

President Bush has secretly absconded last night via Air Force One from his ranch in Crawford, TX, to Washington, D.C., and on to Baghdad to give the troops there a needed boost in morale. He assured them that they were fighting for a truly noble cause: "We will win because our cause is just. We will win because we will stay on the offensive." However, it must be asked, Will staying on the offensive in the short-term have beneficial consequences for the long-term? It seems that Operation Iron Hammer will most likely do more harm than good, and probably increase the volitility of the insurgency against our forces in the long run; nevertheless, in the short run, good things should have immediate effect.

I'm sure you all have heard of this: the Republican National Committee has released this ad, which claims that those who are exercising their Constitutional rights of criticizing the President on his policies in Afghanistan and Iraq are actually "attacking" him "for attacking the terrorists." That is not patriotic, RNC, now, isn't it. Disgusting.

Well, according to a quite credible source, which I have cited before (www.GlobalSecurity.org), 44 and 76 days remain until military action of some kind takes place in North Korea and Iran (respectively). Well, they were right about Iraq. I pray it isn't true.

So, right now in the Washington, D.C. area, in which I reside, there are high winds, a huge cold front is passing through, and there are about 100,000 without power (or heat, for that matter). Not very good.

Dell has released a blatant iPod rip-off called a "DJ". It has less hard drive space and cost more than an iPod, and probably, being a Dell product, will suck. (I would know; I, unfortunately, have a Dell laptop.) I have an iPod (for Windows, but its good), and people, if you are looking to a get an MP3 Player that will work and work great, just get an iPod: they're cheaper and better. Don't listen to what Dell is making to compete with it. There is no competition when it comes to Apple.

According to the most recent CIA World Factbook statistics, about 13% of the population of the United States is living below the official federal poverty line: that's about 40,000,000 Americans. Why isn't the administration addressing this?

According to www.GlobalSecurity.org (you can access the link to it here), we have about 71 days until the U.S. military exacts some sort of military action in North Korea and approximately 103 days until a similar action by the United States occurs in Iran; both of these countries, by the way, were a part of the "Axis of Evil," along with Iraq. Speaking of Iraq, this website had a countdown for U.S. military "intervention" in that country, and it predicted it on the nose, almost exactly to the hour. (For North Korea, 71 days points to around Tuesday, December 30, 2003 or Wednesday, December 31, 2003 on the calendar; for Iran, 103 days points to around Thursday, January 30, 2004 or Friday, January 31, 2004.)

And now, another "Bushism":

"Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."

-- Oct. 3, 2003 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)


Hmm. Then, by Mr. Bush's logic, the United States is the least free nation in the entire world. Makes sense, right Dubya?