Just a quick pop here, happened across these pics here of some Korean War POWs:

You'll remember during the Dem primary when Obama's middle finger came up and scratched his face while talking to a crowd of supporters about Hilary Clinton, at a particular tense moment in the contest between the two. 

Here's the video:

Classy.

Obama did this on purpose.  He's from Hawaii.  This is precisely how this maneuver is executed, in just this type of situation.  The index and ring fingers can just come up so far, curled at about 60% total length, to give you enough room to make the excuse that you didn't mean it.  Similar calculating algorithm is functioning to decide Obama's positions.

Apparently, Korean War POWs put out the finger in DPRK propaganda films...

The finger became an integral part of our anti-propaganda campaign. Any time a camera appeared, so did the fingers. A concern grew among us that sooner or later the Koreans would notice this and ask questions. It was decided that if the question was raised, the answer was to be that the finger was a gesture known as the Hawaiian Good Luck sign, a variation of the Hang Loose gesture.

Obama meant to give Hillary the bird.  There should be zero doubt about this small point.  The people in the audience seemed to understand the moment's meaning precisely.

If Obama did this on purpose, it's a sign of incredible immaturity. If he did it by accident, it's a sign of inexperience. If a president were to make an accidental gesture like that while talking about a foreign leader, for example, it could cause a global uproar. [USNEWS]

Barnicle seems like he was pretty close to Russert's best friend.  Imus does a great job with the interview as usual, and we get more detail of that last day.  Barnicle happened to be taking over for Chris Matthews' hosting duties, and ended up sharing a last lunch with Russert that day.  [Starts around 17:00]

Somewhat off-topic, but it's part of where we are in media & politics.

On one hand, the shift to the new counterinsurgency strategy and additional force levels brought to bear—together referred to as 'the surge'—were the keys to turning around the situation in Iraq.  On the other hand, the surge of American resolve illustrated by these actions may have been the most important factor.

From Stratfor:

What was important about the surge is that it happened at all. In the fall of 2006, when the Democrats won both houses of Congress, it appeared a unilateral U.S. withdrawal from Iraq was inevitable. If Bush wouldn’t order it, Congress would force it. All of the factions in Iraq, as well as in neighboring states, calculated that the U.S. presence in Iraq would shortly start to decline and in due course disappear. Bush's order to increase U.S. forces stunned all the regional players and forced a fundamental recalculation. The assumption had been that Bush’s hands were tied and that the United States was no longer a factor. What Bush did -- and this was more important than numbers or tactics -- was demonstrate that his hands were not tied and that the United States could not be discounted.

Hold this up to the light with the report showing how negative media reports embolden terrorists and increase violence to see how those who understand and support the war are correct in saying media bias and war opposition undercut the mission, lengthen the conflict, cause more deaths, and chip away at the chances for success.  Finally, the Iraq War is truly starting to resemble Vietnam: enemies fighting a superpower democracy know the path to victory is through the media to the political leaders and voters.

The enemy thought they could throw the US out, and with that reorder the perception of strength and power around the world.  More than simply an addition of troops, the surge beat down that dream yet again, while killing many of its supposed deliverers.  If Obama is elected, the enemy will have a reason to raise violence levels again, knowing Obama would never be able to match Bush's resolve.

Obama will be tested if elected, challenging the gains that have been made.

ICYMI: Worth seeing footage of some odd light formations recorded by US Marines in Iraq.

Maybe light refracting through some pressure layers, with some dust and moisture to pick up the beam from the source.

...and where we're going.

"This Much We Pledge" & MSNBC Laughs at McCain

File under "John McCain is more like JFK than Obama" and "MSNBC has been falling apart for a while" or "Obama is their last hope for sanity." Especially after Russert's unfortunate passing. A huge loss, especially at NBC/MSNBC where he was clearly one of the stabilizing forces.

Note Tom Brokaw's reaction in there; incredible that this guy is now running MTP. WTF.

Just a quick, rough video made right after McCain's victory in the New Hampshire primary in January 08.

This one is also pretty good: Obama 4 McCain (in a roundabout way)

Update from MEMRI: Islamist Forum Member Suggests Stirring Up Racial Tension in U.S.

A message posted January 20, 2008 on the Islamist forum Al-Hesbah (hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc. in Florida, USA), by a member calling himself Al-Jawfi, suggests stirring up racial tension between African-Americans and whites in the U.S. by spreading inflammatory materials on the Internet. In the discussion thread, other members proposed posting racist materials against African-Americans (such as insulting jokes and pictures) on sites frequented by African-Americans, in order to arouse anger and bitterness in their community. Another suggestion was to post, on white supremacist sites, materials that present African-Americans as a threat to American society.

Click for details...

No way to summarize the article here(it's the weight of the full piece I'm recommending), but it is a must-read and an eye-opener.

CITY-JOURNAL
An Anatomy of Surrender:
Motivated by fear and multiculturalism, too many Westerners are acquiescing to creeping sharia.