I read a comment over on the excellent AmericaBlog that put some perspective on the amount of money spent ‘freeing’ Iraq. The US, or rather Bush’s government have spent nearly half a trillion dollars on their various war adventures. I know that some people have problems with large numbers, but a comment by WrongAgain brought it home to me just how much money we’re talking about.

“If I gave you $1 each second, it would take:

1. 11 days to give you a million dollars

2. 32 years to give you a billion dollars

3. 32,000 years to give you a trillion dollars

But since Iraq is off budget it will not cost you a thing.”

The absolute waste of this whole war of choice is just outrageous. Illustrations like that just bring it home.

Manic is setting up a googlebomb. After seeing the headlines this morning, rightly so. If Wade wants to start throwing the ‘T’ word around, she’d better be ready to have a little googlejuice in return.

Traitor

It’s bad enough having to listen to Melanie Phillips having her logic beaten down each week on “The Moral Maze”, but to have articles like this sent to you in email….lets just say you wonder what sort of qualifications your need to be a ‘social commentator’? No TV? Inability to buy a newspaper? Lack of internet access? The woman excels herself this time by managing to avoid seeing, reading or listening to the news.

To quote the media-dodging Melanie

The appearance of a muted handful of opinion pieces today about the rioting in Birmingham last weekend merely serves to highlight the fact — as Alice Miles in the Times actually says —that so few people have said anything about it at all. Indeed, there has been a striking near-silence about these events. What happened was that a rumour spread by pirate radio stations went round the Afro-Caribbean community in the run-down Lozells road area of the city that a 14 year-old black girl had been gang-raped by between three and 25 Pakistani men. Reports of what happened next are confusing and inadequate, but in the disturbances that followed a black Christian was set upon by up to 11 armed youths and stabbed to death as he walked home from the cinema, a mixed-race man was shot dead and an Asian taxi-driver was attacked.

So, “muted handful of opinion pieces today”. Lets see. Google news is only carrying 111 articles about this unreported news – days after the event. I saw a lot more when it was ‘fresh’ news. Obviously Melanie was passed out at that point. Shame Melanie was trying so hard to make her racist point that she didn’t even begin to perform the basic research required to make her anti-everybody-not-white-Christian-and-British story stand up

By any standards such occurrences are deeply disturbing. If this had been white on black violence, there would have been a media feeding frenzy and the newspapers would have been full of reconstructions, analysis and instant opinions and recriminations. Instead, there has been near silence. The reason is obvious. The cult of multiculturalism holds that all minorities are victims of the majority, and therefore minorities must always be blameless. When two minorities start beating each other up, therefore, politically correct Britain is paralysed.

Aha, a good old, right-wing PC bashing. Now we reach the point. After ignoring the evidence in front of everyones’s eyes and ears, Mels finally gets around to the point she normally gets back to. The one point she has.

Melanie – buy a paper, turn on the telly or the radio, but please, please, engage with the world before you pontificate to us on things you know nothing about (and proudly show that fact to the world.)

Still, it gets her exposure on places like littlegreenfootballs, the renowned anti-muslim hate site. Funny that, they go well together.

You would think that the US administration has it’s hands full at the moment, but no.

Breaking: Condi Rice Spends Salary on Shoes : Gawker

Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, “How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!” Never one to have her fashion choices questioned, Rice had security PHYSICALLY REMOVE the woman.

You’ve got to love these people.

Disgusting.

Troops’ Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans – Yahoo! News