The incredible shrinking RAF.

UPDATE: Oops, wrong link. All fixed now.

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So where did Norman Hsu get all that money? Would it surprise you if it turned out to be the same guy who brought you Woodstock almost 40 years ago?

And speaking of 40, the Wall Street Journal reports that Joel Rosenman gave Hsu 40 million bucks – supposedly to make cut-rate designer items in China. Where’d the money go? It’s “missing.” Well, except for nearly a million of it that showed up in Hillary’s campaign coffers. Rosenman runs a Wall Street investment fund, and ought to know a thing or two about keeping track of something with that many zeroes.

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Is it possible to take a butt ugly BMW M6 and turn it into something beautiful? Yes, but only if you have a bunch of 30-year-old Soviet car parts to stick on it.

(Hat tip, Kaus.)

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More evidence that Iran is fighting a proxy war against us:

Afghan police recently found a ten ton weapons cache near the Iranian border. The material included land mines, RPG rockets, mortar shells, rifles and artillery shells. What was most striking was that most of the Chinese, Russian and Iranian made munitions appeared new…

While it’s widely known that China, Russia and Iran have corrupt officials willing to sell weapons to gunrunners, Iran doesn’t want to see any investigation of how arms smugglers seem to get across the Iranian border so easily. Bribing Iraqi border guards is one thing, but the munitions are apparently coming from Iran in bulk. At first, the Iranians will blame Afghan smuggling gangs, who move major amounts of opium and heroin into Iran. Harder to dismiss are the boasts of captured Taliban, citing the support they are getting from Iran.

Why isn’t this front page news?

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Yet another sign that The Surge

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German state media: Proud sponsor of “Truther” nonsense.

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Uh-oh:

Senate Democratic leaders on Wednesday rejected the call by the top U.S. general in Iraq for a reduction of up to 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq by next summer, saying it does not go far enough.

“This is unacceptable to me, it’s unacceptable to the American people,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

If Reid’s new opposition to stuff and things is as effective as his old opposition, then Gen. Petraeus could be in real trouble. Or, you know, not.

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Hugh Hewitt spanks Doug Bandow, without so much as the privacy benefit of an airport bathroom stall.

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Frank Williams wrote to 99 US Senators, asking what kinds of cars they drive. And he nearly got a response from one whole senator. Williams speculates:

So what

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There’s an angle I missed from an earlier post — the angle of attack. Read:

A Defense Department official said Israeli jets had struck at least one target in northeastern Syria last Thursday, but the official said it was still unclear exactly what the jets hit and the extent of the bombing damage.

Now I can read a map well enough to tell that Israel borders Syria’s southwest tip. So how’d those plane get all the way to Syria’s northeast? Did they fly over Turkey? Did they come in over Iraq, via Jordan? Both seem unlikely to me. Most likely, those IAF fighters took the direct route, all the way across Syria, and never once worried too much about Syria’s Russian-made air defenses.

Come to think of it, Iran uses the same equipment…

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This just in from the Middle East:

Israel believes that North Korea has been supplying Syria and Iran with nuclear materials, a Washington defense official told the New York Times.

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Hillary Clinton is willing to take a second chance at taking your money:

The campaign is refunding $850,000 to these donors, viewing the money as tainted. Yet the campaign is also risking another public relations mess by saying that it would take back the money if it clearly came from the donor

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Russia has answered Mark Steyn’s theories about demographic decline with a hearty “fuck you!” Literally:

ULYANOVSK, Russia (Reuters) – The governor of a central Russian province urged couples to skip work on Wednesday and make love instead to help boost Russia’s low birth-rate.

And if a woman gives birth in exactly nine months time — on Russia’s national day on June 12 — she will qualify for a prize, perhaps even winning a new home.

“It’s normally something for the home — a fridge or a television set,” Yelena Yakovleva at the Ulyanovsk regional administration press office, said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a girl or a boy.”

Next month, Russia plans to hold Pee On a Plastic Stick Day.

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Iraq: The big lie.

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I travel a lot on business. I’m on travel right now, in Orlando. Luckily for me, my business this morning was completed ahead of schedule, and as I left my vendor’s office, I phoned Delta Air Lines to move up my return flight time a few hours.

This kind of thing happens all the time; up until Delta joined the ranks of the bankrupt airlines, making a change on the day of a flight was free, assuming seats were available on the alternate flight. A while back Delta tacked on a $25 fee, which was annoying but not a show-stopper. It’s worth $25 for me to not waste half a day waiting on a flight.

Unfortunately, I’ve just discovered that Delta has changed the rules again. Now it’s a $50 fee to make a change, plus another $20 if you make the change over the phone. It’s “only” $50 if you put in for a change on Delta’s web site–but you can’t make a change on the web site if your original booking wasn’t directly through Delta. Like most corporate travelers, I’m not allowed to book directly with an airline, I have to use my company’s contracted travel agency.

I can defend a $25 fee. I’d have a hard time defending a $70 fee, and even if I could, I don’t want to. I’m not going to give Delta any more money for this flight. The original ticket, booked on Monday, was more than pricey enough.

I’m also done with Delta. I’ve been flying Delta most of my life, and I’ve accumulated hundreds of thousands of miles over the years, but this is the last straw. I’ve already cashed in what’s left of my frequent flyer miles, and I see no reason to bother with this pain in the butt of an airline any more, especially if this is how they treat their best customers.

To hell with ‘em. AirTran is cheaper, much more accommodating, and unlike Delta, their gate reps and stewardii don’t act like they did you a favor by showing up for work.

So long, Delta. You suck.

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TERRORISM: A strong enough brand?

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Austin Bay finds the subtext in today’s hearings:

The US Congress is sending a message to the Iraqi government

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Kos on Petraeus:

We won! Therefore, our troops need to stay there forever.

Or something like that.

And that’s all Kos had to say about that. No, really – somebody finally managed to nearly shut him up.

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The Surge

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ThinkProgress seems to think that this chart measures some kind of progress. They just don’t say for whom.

Seriously though, if insurgent attacks are up, while our casualties are down, then I’d say that chart represents desperation on the part of the insurgents. It certainly doesn’t show any increase in effectiveness. Unless, of course, increased lame-osity is meant to shock and awe the anti-war crowd, in which case — mission accomplished.

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Live on tape from Miami:

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP)

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GI Joe — too American for Hollywood?

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San Jose Mercury News report from last night:

Norman Hsu’s quickly jumpstarted life on the lam came to a screeching stop less than 48 hours after it began when he got sick on the California Zephyr and was nabbed after being rushed to a Colorado hospital, according to the FBI….

He was still in St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction – 250 miles west of Denver – Thursday evening, according to Pete Smarr, a nursing supervisor. Smarr declined to say what Hsu was suffering from – other than to report him in custody and in “fair” condition.

HT: da blogfaddah

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Is Hillary locked in to win Florida and Michigan? It looks that way to Bob Novak:

Defying DNC rules, Florida moved its primary to Jan. 29 and Michigan then went to Jan. 15, not specifying whether it would be a caucus or a primary. The early states responded that they would adjust their own dates to make certain that they voted first. The DNC imposed sanctions on the rebellious states: loss of their national convention delegates and prohibition of candidates from campaigning there. The word in Democratic political circles was that Florida and Michigan would get back their delegates before the convention and that nothing could stop presidential candidates from campaigning there.

But all Democratic candidates a week ago agreed to follow the DNC rules. Contending that early primary states “play a unique and special role in the nominating process,” the Clinton campaign statement said “the DNC’s rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role.” What the statement did not say is how much she actually welcomed Michigan and Florida breaking the rules.

If Obama & Edwards & Co. can’t campaign in Michigan and Florida, then Clinton will win them almost by default. Two big wins in two big states could carry her all the way to the Denver Democratic Convention in August.

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He’s been raising money. He’s been campaigning. He’s been asked about by all the pollsters. And now Fred Thompson is sho’-nuff fo’-real running for President. At least he is if you can believe anything you see on Leno. The question is, since Fred’s already been doing all the things that candidates do, will his big announcement (just watched here at the VodkaManse via TiVo) make any difference?

Thompson took so long to announce, that anything short of a Who Shot J.R.?-sized event was going to seem a bit of a letdown, especially after coming on so strong with his Michael Moore video way back when. Last night he put in a credible appearance on Leno, and by “credible,” I mean he could have just been there to talk about Red October II, “due in theaters this Friday, Jay — I have a clip.”

So, no, I don’t think Fred’s Big Announcement is any big deal. The Republican race stands where it stood. Yawn.

UPDATE: Down in the comments, Frank Martin says, “I get the feeling watching Fred that he would drop out of the race tommorow if you showed up fishing pole in hand with a 5lb folgers coffee can full of nightcrawlers.”

I get the same feeling, Frank.

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Via Slashdot comes this:

A joint U.S.-Czech team from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Charles University in Prague suggests that the parent object of asteroid (298) Baptistina disrupted when it was hit by another large asteroid, creating numerous large fragments that would later create the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula as well as the prominent Tycho crater found on the Moon.

Wish them good luck finding the rest of those giant fragments. Meanwhile, prepare to duck and cover.

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My evening in California ends on a sad note; perhaps yours, too. Opera lovers the world over are learning the news of the death of Pavarotti.

Here is how I will remember him. In his prime, and in his element. He sings “Una Furtiva Lagrima” from the Donizetti opera “L’Elisir d’Amore” recorded at the Metropolitan Opera in 1981.

Sleep well, sweet man.

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