GOP Vixen

Oh, so NOW you need our help...

So after the Korean missionaries were taken hostage by Taliban in Afghanistan, Koreans hit the streets in protest -- against us, of course, demanding that forces withdraw from Afghanistan and holding signs at candlelit vigils that read "End the US-ROK alliance in Afghanistan" and "US Troops Out Now!"

But now that time has dragged on, deadlines have passed, and Koreans have learned that the Afghan government can't kowtow to Taliban demands and -- surprise! -- that the Taliban isn't interested in their kaffeklatsch diplomacy or cash for hostages, they suddenly want OUR HELP!

"'We appeal for support from the people of the United States and around the world for resolving this crisis as early as possible,' Kim Jung-ja, the mother of one of the remaining captives, said.

'Especially, the families want the United States to disregard political interests and give more active support to save the 21 innocent lives,' she said, reading a statement before other relatives at the Saemmul Community church in Bundang, just outside Seoul, on Tuesday."

One sign at an anti-war protest read "Bush negotiate with the Taliban."

So let's get this straight -- when we go into a country to help people, we're branded imperialists and become the subject of derision around the world. But when their people are in deep doo-doo, recklessly taking an evangelization trip to a Muslim country, suddenly it's our responsibility to get them out of it? They want U.S. troops out, but if we were out, then we wouldn't be around to clean up their mess, would we?

Terrorism's frenemies could prove our worst enemy

Welcome to part three of my series on the future of al-Qaida: Today's Los Angeles Daily News column focuses on al-Qaida in Iraq's spats with Iran, and how that shouldn't dampen long-term love -- and cooperation -- between the frenemies:

"'We are giving the Persians, and especially the rulers of Iran, a two-month period to end all kinds of support for the Iraqi Shia government and to stop direct and indirect intervention . ... Otherwise a severe war is waiting for you,' al-Qaida in Iraq's Abu Omar al-Baghdadi warned in an audiotape released July 8.

When anyone suggests that al-Qaida and Iran could be partners in crime, the theory is usually met with skepticism. All we've seen in Iraq is sectarian bloodshed, after all, and the Shiite Islamic Republic has its own ideas about creating a clone next door.

But when we brush off the plausibility of these nefarious entities uniting in pursuit of common goals - our destruction, Israel's destruction, a world under Islamic law - we risk missing the intricacies and subtle relationships that spin a tangled web among Syria, Hezbollah, Iran and al-Qaida and its affiliates.

Bashar Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayman al-Zawahri: together at last. Any ideological or political rifts seem to matter less than the common ground of these bombastic leaders..."

Read the whole thing!

And for the package deal, remember the previous two segments:

PART I: Extremism in Pakistan flourishes under Musharraf's containment policy (Wrote one reader: "This is the first accurate assessment of Musharraf that I've seen in the media.")

PART II: Has al-Qaida found a hospitable host in Hamas?

Them's fightin' words!

Certain to piss off Mahmoud Ahmadinejad like nothing else, but hats off to Shimon Peres for telling it like it is:

"...Peres said Ahmadinejad was 'an unbelievable joke,' adding the Iranian president 'claims he's religious.'

'My impression is that in his eyes the nuclear bomb is higher than Allah, than the God in heaven. He's worshipping the bomb more than he's worshipping the God in heaven,' Peres said."

Maybe he should have checked them as baggage

From Reuters:

"A Qatar sheikh held up a British Airways flight at Milan's Linate airport for nearly three hours after discovering three of his female relatives had been seated next to men they did not know.

When none of the other business class passengers agreed to swap seats, the sheikh, a member of Qatar's ruling family, went to the pilot, who had already started the engine, to complain, an airport official said.

But the pilot ordered him and his traveling companions, the three women, two men, a cook and a servant, off the plane."

How quickly they forget...

Iraq's national soccer team beat favorite Saudi Arabia 1-0 today to win the Asian Cup. No word on whether this win will make the Iraqi team attractive to David Beckham, taking Posh from the Woodland Hills TGI Friday's to a falafel stand in Baghdad...

However, one quote after the victory from Younis Mahmoud, who scored Iraq's goal:

"I want America to go out. Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, but out. I wish the American people didn't invade Iraq and, hopefully, it will be over soon."

How quickly he forgets how Uday Hussein tortured soccer players after losses or draws.

Rudy on the offensive!

Giuliani is striking out at the Democratic contenders:

"Edwards offered a proposal on taxes Thursday that calls for increasing the rates for the wealthy and providing breaks for the middle class. The plan would raise the top tax rate on long-term capital gains.

'This is a Democratic program to drive businesses and jobs out of the United States of America,' Giuliani said at a restaurant. 'Capital gains are realized by a lot of middle-class people who have investments in mutual funds. This is a tax on everybody.'

On Monday, Obama suggested that as president he would be willing to meet with leaders of nations such as Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea without preconditions — a notion that has drawn scorn for his Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Giuliani called it a 'terrible mistake,' adding: 'Fidel Castro is a dictator and he is a murderer. He should not be visiting with U.S. presidents.'

On Thursday, during a stop in Houston, Giuliani called Democrats 'the party of losers' for demanding a scheduled pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq.

'Democrats have already declared we've lost,' the former New York mayor said. 'It's really strange. The Democrats want to give our enemies a timetable.'

That drew a quick retort from Democratic candidate Sen. Joe Biden.

'It is absurd for Rudy Giuliani to call Democrats 'losers' after five years of failed Republican policies in Iraq,' the Delaware senator said in a statement issued Friday."

Hey, Joe, how many times have you run for the White House and lost?

I'm liking this Rudy feistiness, though. Particularly on the Cuba part.

Edwards: Rogue nations not a problem facing the U.S.

John Edwards lashed out at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama today for their argument on the best way to approach rogue nations (campfire singalong vs. cautious diplomacy):

"'If you're looking for what's wrong in Washington, why the system is broken, why the system doesn't work, one perfect example is what's been happening just over the course of the last four days,' said Edwards, who spoke before Clinton and Obama.

'We've had two good people — Democratic candidates for president — who spent their time attacking each other instead of attacking the problems that this country is facing,' Edwards said to a mixture of groans and applause.

'I got your attention with that one,' he added."

Whoa there, pretty boy: Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba... these aren't "problems that this country is facing"? Boy, would you make a great prez. Get your policymaking out of the sticks, Edwards!

Weather sucks, wish you weren't here

From the Taliban spokesman of the week, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, on the condition of their remaining 22 South Korean hostages:

"I don't know if the weather is not good for them or our food. The women hostages are crying. The men and women are worried about their future."

Yeah, it's the weather and the Taliban chow -- that's the problem. I'm sure tears and illness have nothing to do with the fact that you're threatening to saw off their heads every 15 minutes.

You got a lotta nerve...

Last night was the night I'd been waiting for -- seeing Bob Dylan, my absolute favorite, live and in person, at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa. After grubbing on some fair food and beating out a bunch of little kiddies to win a stuffed lion (which wound up on my lap during the concert), as well as dropping lots of cash at the Dylan souvenir stand, the legend himself took stage.

Now, Dylan fans such as myself would still be pleased if he got up on stage and gargled (which, let's be serious, his singing sounds like sometimes anyway). But there were a few quirks:

Dylan only played guitar for the first two songs, and keyboard for the rest.

Dylan faced his band while playing keyboard, so only one wing of the house could see his face. I, on the other hand, got the other side: an excellent view of Dylan shaking his junk in the trunk and doing little occasional dance shuffles while boogalooing on the keyboard.

The set started well -- "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" -- which got the audience really excited, and then he went into "Lay, Lady, Lay" (then he ditched his guitar and showed us his backside). After that he did mostly new material, with "Tangled Up In Blue" thrown in. For the encore, he did "Thunder on the Mountain" from his latest album "Modern Times," followed by a jazzy, funkadelic -- OK, weird -- remix of "Blowin' in the Wind."

It was amazing to watch Dylan live, no doubt. But I couldn't believe he didn't play the song christened the greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine -- and my favorite song -- "Like a Rolling Stone." Shouldn't that be a concert staple? Another concertgoer was lamenting that he didn't play "Mr. Tambourine Man." I also wanted "All Along the Watchtower" and "Just Like A Woman." Luckily I had the "Greatest Hits Vol. I" CD in my car changer to get my fix after I left the concert.

Basically, I think that classic artists are still evolving and have every right to showcase their new music -- Dylan seemed to be going with an upbeat, jazzy, bluesy theme for the night -- but should also balance that with the classic tunes that fans are dying to hear. After all, we're shelling out big bucks for tickets nowadays. That being said, my affection for Mr. Dylan is undiminished and he remains the sexiest 66-year-old in a geeky sparkly cowboy suit with stripes down the pants legs out there.

Caption this!