Saturday, April 15, 2006

Heckuva Job...

Rumsfeld?

Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., who led troops on the ground in Iraq as recently as 2004 as the commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, on Thursday became the fifth retired senior general in recent days to call publicly for Mr. Rumsfeld's ouster. Also Thursday, another retired Army general, Maj. Gen. John Riggs, joined in the fray.

"We need to continue to fight the global war on terror and keep it off our shores," General Swannack said in a telephone interview. "But I do not believe Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person to fight that war based on his absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam in Iraq."

Another former Army commander in Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the First Infantry Division, publicly broke ranks with Mr. Rumsfeld on Wednesday. Mr. Rumsfeld long ago became a magnet for political attacks. But the current uproar is significant because Mr. Rumsfeld's critics include generals who were involved in the invasion and occupation of Iraq under the defense secretary's leadership.


But being the loyal boss that he is Dubya gives Rumsfeld NOT a pink slip, but a pat on the back...

"Secretary Rumsfeld's energetic and steady leadership is exactly what is needed at this critical period," the president's statement read. "He has my full support and deepest appreciation."

The statement, issued as Mr. Bush interrupted a family holiday at Camp David, was part of a strong effort by the White House to fend off criticism of the handling of the war that has come from six retired generals, several of whom were involved in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The generals are weighing in as polls show support for the war waning significantly in an election year.


But seeing how things went with Brownie... I say things aren't looking so good for the Secretary of Defense. By the way, I have always mixed up Rumsfeld and Cheney. I have NO idea why... it just happens. Are they really that same on the "evil-meter"?

And in unrelated news...

Plastic surgery was once mainly a female domain, but men have increasingly been going under the knife around the world to improve appearances as a way to boost self-esteem and compete for jobs. South Korean men have begun to join in, so much so that local media write of men being gripped in a ''plastic surgery craze.''

In other hip cities, the stylish ''metrosexual'' look is being overtaken by the ''ubersexual,'' a more macho breed whose straight sexual orientation is unambiguous. But in Seoul, the trend veers the other way, toward the ''cross-sexual'' -- an androgynous form of beauty.

That type of pretty boy allure has gained renewed attention from the hit movie ''King and the Clown,'' which became South Korea's all-time top-grossing movie in March with its story of an effeminate male jester at the center of a gay love triangle during Korea's Chosun empire [...]

[T]he trend of men seeking a nip and tuck reaches all the way to the president's office: Roh Moo-hyun had his eyelids done last year. The official reason his office gave was to correct a condition that could affect his sight.

I bet Andrew wants to come with me to Korea this summer... ;P

PS: George should finish his drafts and publish them while Christie should go and eat her postponed (>.<) dinner.