I Smell a Rat

Literally, I do smell a rat. We discovered an infestation of rats last week near my place and the owner of the property put some bait out. Unfortunatley, one of the critters must have crawled up into the side of my wall and died.

Now the other part of the rat-smelling may belong to the producers of the Kingdom. While Reuters never seems to publish one positive accomplishment that goes on in Iraq, they do get the "if it bleeds" part down:

Baghdad blast toll rises, deadliest for months

By Michael Holden

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi police said on Friday 68 people were killed in coordinated bombings blamed on al Qaeda in a packed shopping area in central Baghdad on Thursday, making it the deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital for nine months.........link

Iraqi and U.S. officials said a roadside bomb had exploded first in Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite Karrada district, which was crowded with shoppers and vendors on Thursday evening.
Minutes later, as Iraqi security forces and locals gathered to tend to casualties, a second, larger bomb exploded. Women and children were among the casualties.

Police and the U.S. military said they believed the second blast was caused by a suicide bomber but Iraqi security officials said it appeared to have been another bomb planted at the scene.

(Gee wiz....let me guess.....where have we seen a version of this production before? Would the first ten minutes of the Kingdom work for the terrorist who start with a smaller explosion, (or attack), and then work up to the big one that takes out medical responders, investigators, and more people trying to identify their loved ones?)

(Even the synopsis leaves out a "small" tidbit of info on how the terrorist succeed after their initial attack----the second planted explosive goes off after the first attack when medical responders and investigators are on the scene, including FBI agents......nice job providing terrorist with the "one-two" punch for effectiveness)

Perhaps Hollywood can come up with some more splendid plots to help the terrorist write their real life story's of mayhem and catastrophes?

Reuters did find a way to bury the good new in this story too:

It was against the background of improving security that General David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq, announced plans to withdraw five of the 20 U.S. brigades operating in Iraq.

That would mean overall U.S. troop levels falling from around 160,000 to about 140,000. On Thursday, the U.S. military said the second of those returning brigades, totaling some 2,000 soldiers, was leaving Baghdad as part of the draw down.

Earth to liberal Democrats--------troops are coming home-----victorious.

Pro Golfer Apologizes for Killing Hawk

By TRAVIS REED
Associated Press Writer

Is there something a little fishy about how Mr. Reed writes this story?

Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.

Isenhour allegedly said, "I'll get him now," and aimed for the hawk.

"About the sixth ball came very near the bird's head, and (Isenhour) was very excited that it was so close," Baine wrote.

A few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.

"He just kept saying how he didn't think he could have hit it, which I think is a stupid thing for a PGA Tour golfer to say," Senger said. "He can put a ball in a hole from hundreds of yards away, and here he is hitting line drives at something that's, I don't know, a couple hundred feet away?"

Let's see......75 yards times 3 feet per yard comes out to 225 feet. Most of the best pros in the world at 75 yards away may put a golf ball within five feet of the hole on a putting green. Hitting the shot fifty times from the same location a pro may get within a foot or two. After Tripp Isenhour's ninth shot (attempting to hit line drives) he nails the bird dead on? I think the military should sign this guy up to hit hand grenades into enemy fortresses with this kind of accuracy. Now for the record, I'm not condoning the "results" of Isenhour's shot-making abilities-------but I do question the implication by the writer and Mr. Senger that Isenhour was deliberately attempting to kill the bird. The top twenty pros in the world could have fired over a hundred golf balls at this bird and would not have achieved the same result.