Not all who wander are lost...

 
GO GET 'EM NEIL!!!

I distinctly remember this story when the injury occurred. I followed the near comeback a while ago, and always hoped the kid would make it back.

Dude is a hero.
posted by Sean McMahon at 3:39 PM

 
BLOW IZZY BLOW...

The storm is still more than a day away, but I am already tired of Hurricane Isabel... and I live in the expected impact zone!!!

I can't imagine how boring all the cable news coverage must be to people in other parts of the country. Networks like CNN wonder how they can catch Fox in the ratings game, then with events like Wesley Clark entering the presidential race, the California recall being postponed, the United States using its U.N. Security Council veto to shelter Israel, and authorities giving some loony the chance to finish killing all his kids (more on this later), the big boys in Atlanta bore the nation with their Hurricane coverage two days before the storm.

Then there was the small little admission by Donald Rumsfeld that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. You probably didn't hear too much about that one, did you?

I predict the storm will actually kind of fizzle out and not be that big of a deal at all. But, should Izzy blast the Eastern seaboard and crush Washington, DC, you will see some of the most pathetic media coverage ever. The Bush administration will use the timing of Izzy to air all its dirty laundry. Every bad thing they are sitting on will be released, and CNN, Fox, et al will happily ignore it in favor of going to yet another rain-soaked and wind-ravaged live shot of their man in Virginia Beach.

Did you hear there was a storm coming?
posted by Sean McMahon at 9:41 AM

 
WTO TALKS FALL APART...

I am far from highly educated on the intricacies of the WTO, but even I can see a major problem with the collapse of the WTO meetings in Cancun. It's really kind of a two plus two equals four kind of thing.

You have a band of poor nations demanding that the world's more wealthy nations eliminate farming subsidies. These subsidies make it impossible for farmers in the poor nations to compete in the global markets. The poor farmers can no longer survive on the crops they grow.

They become impovershed.

They lose hope.

Then they get pissed.

They channel their anger toward the governments and the people of the wealthy nations that they believe keep them in despair.

Does any of this sound familiar? Sounds a lot like the reasons terrorists give for doing what they do. And for those of you who don't think this coaltion of poor nations has any supporters that are fanatical enough to take the hurt to the superpowers, check this out.

And we wonder why they hate us?
posted by Sean McMahon at 7:10 PM

 
SHAMED INTO BELIEF...

As a huge Notre Dame fan, the ass-kicking the Irish received from Michigan Saturday was almost unwatchable. But I did watch. And what I saw was my new choice to win the national title this year. Michigan was simply awesome. If the Wolverines can avoid a let-down this week at another BiteyTheShark favorite, Oregon, they should roll to the BCS championship game. While Michigan was thumping the Irish, the two other pre-season Big Ten favorites were either struggling to survive their second home game scare in a row against inferior competition (Ohio State), or getting thumped at home, by the juggernaut that is UNLV (Wisconsin).

With no conference championship game, Michigan is in the driver's seat.
posted by Sean McMahon at 6:45 PM

 
AN OLD, BUT STILL RELEVENT, OBSERVATION...

You can love Howard Dean or you can hate Howard Dean, but if Republican strategist Karl Rove really believed that Dean would be the easiest Democrat for Team Bush to beat in 2004, the very last thing Karl Rove would have ever said publicly is that Dean would be the easiest Democrat for Team Bush to defeat in 2004.
posted by Sean McMahon at 6:41 PM

 
LOSING OUR SEAT AT THE BIG KIDS TABLE...

Over the past few days, many people have asked me how I think the United Nations should handle George W. Bush's pitiful plea for help. It is an intricate issue that I reckon the international community will handle with more delicacy than the current American leadership is capable of exercising.

The United Nations is a body capable of removing emotion from a situation, and making decisions on the basis of what is best for society. For that reason, and that reason alone, I believe the U.N. will eventually come to the aid of the Bush administraion. Not a single member, save Britain, really wants to help Bush, but they have enough vision to see that leaving Iraq in the hands of bumbling Americans is only going to harm the Iraqi people and lead to further regional turmoil.

So I think the U.N. will help. The real question is how much America will be made to concede in order to get the U.N. help George W. Bush needs. This is where I think Kofi Annan and the Security Council should be bold and exact revenge for the arrogance Bush and the neoconservatives displayed in their march to Baghdad. The United States took it upon itself to override the authority of the Security Council and took great pride in declaring the U.N. irrelevent. If Bush thinks he is bigger than the U.N., and stronger than the the Security Council, then perhaps he doesn't need a seat at the Security Council table.

I propose that the United Nations help the U.S. in Iraq, but only under the condition that the United States surrender its permanent seat on the Security Council. By choosing to play by Bush's rules, America ignored the sanctity of the world's most effective governing body. For that, America must be punished.

This is a harsh punishment; one that I am perfectly aware will never happen. That is a shame because, in the long-term, it would save lives. For the re-election of George W. Bush is contingent upon America's success in Iraq. He needs the help of the U.N. more than the U.N. needs to help him. If they bail him out and fail to make him and the neoconservatives pay, the whole process will repeat itself and they will begin yet another "pre-emptive" military intervention.
posted by Sean McMahon at 9:12 PM

 
UMM... ABOUT THAT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ADMINISTRATION THING...

This guy might have just been trying to avoid high-priced airfares, but wouldn't that be a nifty way for Johnny Terrorist to enter the country?

posted by Sean McMahon at 5:27 PM

 
THE FRENCH AND GERMANS AREN'T STUPID...

So let me get this straight, career-minded generals in Iraq have informed President Bush that we have enough troops on the ground in Iraq, yet Bush wants the U.N. to bail him out and send more? Take a look at this excerpt from W.'s speech last night...

...we are committed to expanding international cooperation in the reconstruction and security of Iraq, just as we are in Afghanistan. Our military commanders in Iraq advise me that the current number of American troops -- nearly 130,000 -- is appropriate to their mission. They are joined by over 20,000 service members from 29 other countries.

Two multinational divisions, led by the British and the Poles, are serving alongside our forces, and in order to share the burden more broadly, our commanders have requested a third multinational division to serve in Iraq.

Some countries have requested an explicit authorization of the United Nations Security Council before committing troops to Iraq. I have directed Secretary of State Colin Powell to introduce a new Security Council resolution which would authorize the creation of a multinational force in Iraq, to be led by America.

Bush proclaims the number of American troops "is appropriate to their mission," then in the very next breath asks for the creation of "a third multinational division in Iraq."

Which is it? Do we have enough muscle? Or do we need another division?

Look at this from the perspective of nations that might be hesitant to send their own troops to try and clean up America's mess in Iraq. What Bush is really saying is that he doesn't want to commit any more American troops to Iraq. But if other nations are stupid enough to send their troops into the fray to get steadily picked off, that's fine by him. U.S. commanders have convinced Bush that more American soldiers would only provide resistance fighters with more targets. He seems to subscribe to the growing misconception that non-American forces will not be targeted. While U.N. forces might not be as tasty a target as good ol' Yanks, intelligent people need look no further than the rubble of the U.N. headquarters in Iraq to see that they will still be targets!

You'd think that in asking for help, Bush might show some contrition and throw U.N. members a bone here, but he doesn't. By insisting that an added multinational force be "led by America," he refuses to cede any control to those nations over how and where their soldiers will be killed. And make no mistake about it... they will be killed.

All you people out there that want to bash the French and Germans for demanding more from the United States in U.N. Security Council negotiations, ask yourself one question. Would you eagerly approve of sending American forces into a deadly military "hot zone" without granting U.S. generals a say in how and/or where they are deployed?

Neither would I.

posted by Sean McMahon at 2:27 PM

 
ANOTHER REASON TO ADMIRE JOHNNY DEPP...

Even before I happily spent $8 and thoroughly enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean, I thought Johnny Depp was the most underrated actor of our time.

Now, as if his acting abilites weren't enough, he unleashes this.

Rock on Johnny!
posted by Sean McMahon at 1:47 PM

 
HEAR ME NOW, BELIEVE ME LATER...

If Real Madrid fail to win La Liga and make an early exit from the Champions League, this will be the reason.

BiteyTheShark knows a thing or two about the "beautiful game", and what I can tell you is this... when Real Madrid matched up against other top competition in recent years, Claude Makelele was their most important player. Bar none.

Say what you want about Ronaldo, Figo, and Zidane. Love or hate Raul and Roberto Carlos. Applaud or boo the signing of Beckham. None of that matters. It all pails in comparision to the significance of Makelele's departure.

The very first European football game I ever attended was a Champions League match against Moscow Lokomotiv at Estadio Bernabau in 2001. Zidane was the big new signing of that transfer season and I was excited to see for myself the magic of the World Cup winner. Not ten minutes into the match, Zidane might as well have hit the showers. I could not take my eyes off of the all-white number 24 shirt that seemed to be everywhere on the pitch. Shamefully, I knew little about Makelele at the time, and wasn't even sure who he was. But that all ended on that night. He controlled everything that night. Sure, he left the scoring to the big names, but every time Lokomotiv threatened, Makelele shut them down and launched the counter-attack. He was clearly the Man of the Match (a distinction eventually won by crowd favorite Raul).

Since that night in the summer of 2001, I've watched numerous Real Madrid matches. Each game, I focus on Makelele. How he goes, Real Madrid goes. If they produce a clean sheet defensively, it is largely due to the efforts of Makelele. If they give up 2 or 3 goals, it is because Makelele is either out of the line-up due to injury, or off his game (though rarely the latter).

Offensively, Real Madrid could not be more splendid. Defensively, they are a liability. Even before the unceremonious release of long-time captain Fernando Hierro at the outset of the summer, Real Madrid had a suspect defense. Now, they won't be much more effective than a line of cones.

Not surprisingly, money had a lot to do with Makelele's move to Chelsea. He wanted more, and Real Madrid didn't want to give it to him. While I'm no fan of athletes making millions and millions of dollars, even I side with Makelele on this point. He made roughly $1 million dollars a season in wages. That's undoubtedly a good amount of money, but Beckham, Ronaldo, Zidane and the like were making around $5 million. While he may not sell as many shirts, Makelele was equally, if not more important to the success of the team than any of those players. The fact that he was only making one-fifth the amount of the stars was a joke. Makelele should have been insulted, and he was.

When Real Madrid goes crashing out of the Champions League this season, much of the blame and speculation will be focused on who they added to the team this summer. That will be a shame, because the real Real focus should be on who they let go.
posted by Sean McMahon at 1:19 PM

 
TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS...

I thought Bush & Co. said that in not supporting U.S. bombs falling on Iraq, the United Nations Security Council had made itself insignificant?

Now this.


posted by Sean McMahon at 10:55 PM