Annoyed by the incredibly horrible “Citizen Soldier” recruiting ad / song / music video that plays in many movie theaters these days? Well, never fear, Brian Beutler’s identified the antidote: “The music’s equally terrible (possibly worse?) but the message is deeply anti-war.”
Yep, that really sucks.
You may recall that last year, Ethiopia launched a major invasion of Somalia timed for right around the Christmas holiday so that nobody would notice. Or else, you may not recall since Ethiopia timed it for right around the Christmas holiday and thus nobody noticed. With this story out of Kurdistan, I wonder if we’re starting to see a new under the radar military action Christmas tradition:
Two Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq hit more than 200 targets and killed more than 150 rebels, the Turkish Army said Tuesday. [...] Turkish officials have not commented reports by the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq that two more airstrikes took place on Monday and early Tuesday. But Turkish surveillance planes were spotted early Tuesday flying over Cukurca in the Hakkari Province of Turkey’s far southeast, along the border with Iraq, and also above the Kanimasi region in northern Iraq, and shelling was heard, the semi-official Anatolian news agency reported.
Meanwhile, suicide bombing seems to be back in style in Iraq.
As everyone knows, American Jews celebrate Christmas with a meal composed of the North American Ashkenazi Diaspora’s traditional cuisine, Chinese-American food. Thus, Jeff Weintraub directs our attention to two key documents. One, Brandon Walker, “Chinese Food on Christmas”:
Two, Gaye Tuchman and Harry G. Levine, “New York Jews and Chinese Food: The Social Construction of an Ethnic Pattern”, Contemporary Ethnography, 1992: Vol 22 No 3. pp. 382-407.
For the scrooge in your family, Joel Waldfogel, “The Deadweight Loss of Christmas”, American Economic Review, 1993, vol. 83, issue 5.
ThinkProgress wishes everyone a Merry Christmas. Thank you for visiting and reading our site this year.
Here’s a review of our top 10 most popular posts (as measured by inbound traffic) over the past year:
10) Right Wing Launches Baseless Smear Campaign Against 12 Year Old Recipient Of SCHIP [Link]
9) Fox News Anchor Calls Ted Kennedy A ‘Hostile Enemy Right Here On The Home Front’ [Link]
8) Obama Smeared As Former ‘Madrassa’ Student, Possible Covert Muslim Extremist [Link]
7) Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs [Link]
6) Report: In Meeting, ‘Wild-Eyed’ Bush Thumped Chest While Repeating ‘I Am The President!’ [Link]
5) McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships [Link]
4) Photos: The $592 Million U.S. Embassy In Iraq [Link]
3) Fox News Sinks To New Low, Repeatedly Reports Parody Story As Actual News [Link]
2) Report: The Right Wing Domination Of Talk Radio And How To End It [Link]
1) Coulter: I Would Talk About Edwards But “You Have To Go Into Rehab If You Use The Word ‘Faggot’” [Link]
Pope Benedict XVI, speaking from St. Peter’s Basilica this morning:
“On this day of peace, my thoughts turn especially to those places where the grim sound of arms continues to reverberate,” he said, emphasising “the whole of the Middle East — especially Iraq, Lebanon and the Holy Land.” [...]
[He] prayed that political leaders would find “the wisdom and courage to seek and find humane, just and lasting solutions.”
The pontiff spoke of “those who live in the darkness of poverty, injustice and war … those who are still denied their legitimate aspirations for a more secure existence, for health, education, stable employment.
“It is the most vulnerable members of society — women, children, the elderly — who are so often the victims of brutal armed conflicts, terrorism and violence of every kind, which inflict such terrible sufferings on entire populations,” he said.
AP reports President Bush and his family are celebrating Christmas at Camp David, along with Laura Bush’s mother, Jenna Welch; the president’s sister, Doro Bush Koch, and her family; and the president’s brother, Marvin, and his family. “The Christmas Day lunch menu called for roast turkey, cornbread dressing, green beans, sweet potato casserole, fruit salad, pumpkin and pecan pies and red velvet cake.”
I’ll be celebrating by watching the NBA doubleheader, going to Chinatown Express, and watching Alien Versus Predator: Requiem. And, probably, writing more blog posts. The rest of you do whatever it is y’all do….
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