Correlation? As US election nears, more US servicemen die

Is there any relationship between the approaching American congressional elections and the enemy's intensified killing of our servicemen in Iraq?

My bet is that the enemy is exploiting the cut-and-run rhetoric of the bed-wetters in this year's congressional campaign, and that it will ratchet up the killings of American men and women as November 7 nears.

It's one thing in politics and infotainment to differ with how the US is fighting the war in Iraq. That's freedom of speech.

It's another to use rhetoric so carelessly that it plays into the hands of the enemy and gets our people killed. That's treason.

RIP, Ed

On this day four years ago in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, Islamist terrorists killed 202 people, including Edward Waller. Ed was employed by Nexis-Lexis in Hong Kong and was a member of the Hong Kong Football Club. Ed was 26 years old. His brother Tom made a short video to remember him.

Not so ronery with Mad Madeleine

The Dear Leader was thrilled in 2000 to meet for the first time with an American official. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright looks pretty excited, too.

Dave Zucker, the creator of Airplane!, the Naked Gun and Scary Movie, has made a great campaign-season video that sort of features the mad duo. The Republicans are too wimpy to air it. The 90 seconds are well worth the time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h3GPc_yMCE.

Look who's visiting Pearl Harbor

The Chinese Navy destroyer Qingdao (DDG 113) moors at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on September 6, 2006. Not pictured: the Hongzheu (AOR 881), also on what is called "a routine port visit."

Is that Admiral McVadon waving the little red flag?

(Photo courtesy Chris Brown)

Putin's birthday present

Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 54 on October 7, and he got what for him is a nice birthday present to add to his collection.

One of his few critics still alive in the Russian media, Anna Politkovskaya, was gunned down in her apartment building.

Anna was one of my heroes. She is at least the twelfth journalist critical of Putin to be murdered.

Two of the others - Yuri Shchekochikhin of Literaturnaya Gazeta, who was poisoned; Paul Klebnikov of Forbes magazine, who was shot to death in the street - were my friends. As was State Duma member Galina Starovoitova of St. Petersburg who was murdered in the stairway of her apartment, much as Anna was.

I remember clearly how Putin, a St. Petersburg native who was then Russia's internal security chief, pledged to take personal control of the investigation of Galina's death. The authors of her assassination remain at large.

Two weeks ago, Anna had been poisoned. Her killers succeeded in time for Putin to celebrate his birthday.

Most of Russia's journalists who criticize Putin are either silenced, in exile, or dead. That should tell us something about the nature of Russia's government today.