breaking radio silence...

Me versus the finals: 5 down, 3 to go.
By tomorrow morning it should be 6 down, 2 to go.
Then we get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Or maybe pictures of cats.

in other news, the U.S. military brass is getting nostalgic:
US plots 'new liberation of Baghdad'
First time i saw the headline, i thought they were going to leave Baghdad, wait a few hours, and then re-invade it retro-style.

The sources said American and Iraqi troops would move from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, leaving behind Sweat teams — an acronym for “sewage, water, electricity and trash” — to improve living conditions by upgrading clinics, schools, rubbish collection, water and electricity supplies.

Are they fuckin' serious? It's the same tactic that has failed them every single time. The last offensive they launched-- complete with its cock-in-hand macho codename; i forget what it was exactly-- ended without them firing a shot. The guerrillas will disappear as Americans shell empty buildings, the 'Iraqi army' (read: militias) will terrorize families, and then the guerrillas will reappear to kill off the... ugh... "Sweat Teams."

Strategic and tactical plans are being laid by US commanders in Iraq and at the US army base in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, under Lieutenant- General David Petraeus. He is regarded as an innovative officer and was formerly responsible for training Iraqi troops.

oh piss off.

This is a strategy that might have made some sense three years ago, when the chief grievance against occupation for most Iraqis might have been the lack of water and electricity. Guess what: after countless checkpoint shootings, misplaced bombs, abu ghraib.... no, picking up litter isn't going to settle this bill.