Drudge links Robert Novack, who opines…

“WASHINGTON, D.C. — Close-in supporters of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama.

The Democratic front-runner’s wife did not comment on other rival candidates for the party’s nomination, but she has been sniping at Clinton since last summer. According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility.” [emphasis mine]

Who knew?

Can you imagine the “Dream Ticket”, if elected, with the ultimate spectacle being these two shrews battling for four years?

Happy thoughts, in a way. Brings a smile to my stone face.

;D

Glenn Greenwald thinks he’s got the angle on the Pentagon/Military Analyst kerfuffle that’ll turn it into the scandal that he and other’s have been hoping for; it’s, in his opinion, illegal.

On the question of whether the Pentagon maintained an illegal covert domestic propaganda program — and on the broader question of whether the American media’s political coverage is largely shaped and controlled by the U.S. Government — I don’t believe it’s possible to obtain more conclusive evidence than this:

Where “this” is a set of excerpts from DoD emails discussing how to build a stable of friendly analysts.

If you follow Greenwald’s link in the quote above, you can read that the legality issue is raised by Congressional appropriations requirements: “No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by the Congress.”

This is some of the same ground covered in the TELCO and surveillance flaps. Even if we could consider the actions of DoD to be in violation of the laws, there are two exceptions to consider. First, that the President has, as the Commander in Chief, a set of wartime powers that cannot be legislatively modified. If that’s too abstract, and it is for some, the second point is that the Authorizations for Use of Force, in both Iraq and Afghanistan, are worded broadly enough to be just such a purpose “authorized by the Congress,” explicit or not.

Far more important, though, is that the actions of DoD simply aren’t a violation, because they cannot be. Glenn and PR Watch make much of the definitions of “covert propaganda” and the appearance of origination with third-parties. But to make their case they have to ignore a number of matters that are wholly practical in nature.

DoD is going to try to get it’s message out and they are going to put the best face on it that they can without venturing into falshood (those cases where that last has not been true have been found out and punished, so let’s dispense with that canard now). They have a variety of means to do so; direct publication, press releases, and personal relationships. This matter falls into that last category.

What I’d ask the kerfuffleers is, if there were no directed or planned attempt to manage a media message, how would these military analysts get the information they use to formulate and present the opinions that they are paid for? The answer is that they get it through those personal connections inside DoD that they formed while a part of the organization.

How is that different that what has gone on? E-mails saying , “let’s be careful about what we say to these people and give more information to the ones we like than the rest,” don’t matter, because that’s how it would work anyway absent some whistleblower scenario. The logical concussion of the kurfuffleers’ position would be an end to any communication, not only between DoD and military analysts, but between DoD and any retired or separated former employee. Indeed, it could be logically extended to include a gag on any kind of speculative, or informal communication from within DoD to the outside, including, press releases and military Blogging and direct publications would have to be strictly controlled, access only to the DoD community.

What this is really about is journalistic provincialism. The media, despite continuous attempts by them to manipulate the public and policy, can’t stand to have those same tactics used on them. That there is some evidence that this case is somewhat more organized that it would naturally be, just stokes their ire. That they may have “fallen for it” just makes it harder for them to handle. Greenwald, himself, is on board though, purely because he thinks it should make DoD look bad.

Is there any potential for a charge here that could stick? Not really. Even leaving aside the Constitutional issues mentioned, there’d have to be some indication that DoD presented information to these analysts that they would not have presented to anyone else. And why would they do that? It’s not as though DoD told GEN Downing or any other analyst, “what really happened was this, but you should say that.” It’s also not as though any of them were given bad or false information either.

I’d have to point out that there should be some issues of expectation raised as well. One of the elements that Greenwald and others rely on is that the analysts are a “third party” and that the information given by them appears to be independent of the DoD. I don’t get it. Virtually every one of these men have a title that precedes their name; GEN, MAJ, SEC, ADM…. When I see that I believe I know exactly from where they get their information–from those aforementioned relationships with people still in DoD, and, naturally, from those established formal lines of communication in Public Affairs and the like.

The value of these analysts comes not in the information that they gather and present. It comes in having a first party relationship with the culture that the information comes from and pertains to. It’d require a monumental stretch and temporal paradox to make them independent of that, which in turn would destroy the value for which they were hired in the first place.

Iraq: Security
Multinational Force

U.S. Troops, Shi’ite Gunmen Battle Daily In Al-Sadr City
Source: RFE/RL 7 May 2008, BAGHDAD – U.S. troops and Shi’ite militants are clashing daily in Baghdad’s volatile Al-Sadr City as fighters tied to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr try to stop, or at least delay, construction of a 5-kilometer barrier to keep them from firing rockets on the International Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government. The battleground is a section of Al-Quds Street, a garbage-strewn thoroughfare that separates the Jamilla and Tharwa neighborhoods from the northern heart of the Shi’ite enclave of 2.5 million people. U.S. officials say the barrier will help block militants from moving their weapons into the area through the many side streets that cross Al-Quds Street. Residents of both northern and southern Al-Sadr City can still cross from one district to the other, but they will have to do so through just three main crossings where Iraqi Army troops check vehicles for weapons and other contraband.

“Surge” Brigade redeploys
Source: Multi-National Corps — Iraq PAO 5 May 2008, BAGHDAD — Approximately, 3,500 Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division are redeploying to Fort Benning, Georgia, in the next several weeks. The brigade was one of five units deployed in support of the surge. Its contributions over the last 14 months have led to improvements in security and the capture of more than 600 criminals, numerous cache finds, and a remarkably lower number of attacks in the area. The improvements in security enabled merchants to reopen shops, and the local government to establish rule of law and employment through programs such as the Sons of Iraq. The remaining two brigades will redeploy by the end of July.

Top US commando sees more demand for elite forces in Iraq
Source: AP 5 May 2008, WASHINGTON – Even as the overall U.S. force in Iraq shrinks, the number of elite troops known as special operations forces is likely to grow, Adm. Eric T. Olson, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, told the The Associated Press on 5 May. In addition to their role in training Iraqi soldiers and police, U.S. special operations forces perform small-scale raids, long-range reconnaissance and other secretive operations in search of al-Qaida and other terrorist suspects. They also work quietly with Iraqi tribal leaders to undermine the insurgency.
(more…)

Seth Adam Newman, Closet Teen Nudist.

Well, I was hoping the Richmond Times Dispatch would mention this aspect of the interests of freakin rocks this world, eclectic Seth A. Newman, library-sex-sheriff, but it looks like I’m going to get this sword out of the scabbard first.

In a standard googly screen-name search for the combination of “‘Sethyyy’ mom”
I stumbled upon a google hit for a young man with spelling habits, age and location that seem to match up to my UR gun-scare neighbor, on a website called “Ardent Youth.” The focus of the Ardent Youth website seems to be (mostly) Christian teens who identify as “Naturists” and who celebrate God’s purity of creation and explore shamelessness by taking their pants off. They all get together and talk about pantlessness and how normal it is. Despite the the focus on “nature” and “purity”, it of course comes off on the whole as rather tragically pervy.

He makes one or two posts, including

sethyyyy

Mar 15th 2007

see i’m a closest naturist and i think that people will persecute me for being a naturist. Only a few of my close friends know that i’m a naturist. My parents would probably send me to a insane assylum if they found out. haha

A little more casual searching confirms Sethyyy is indeed Seth Newman, closet teen nudist. He participated more actively in this board for a time He even had a cool idea!

sethyyyy
Closet Nudist
Joined: Mar 12, 2007
Posts: 37
Location: Virginia
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2007 6:55 pm Post subject: Cool idea
I think a cool idea would be to have a place on this website where users could post videos and stuff, kinda like youtube, except we would call it nudetube. :p
-Seth
—-

There is a youtube channel, FWIW, linked to username Sethyyyy. Youtube Sethyyyy’s favorites are tame “tarzan skinny-dipping” speed, excepting, perhaps, the “how to make meth” link. There are a enough similarities in profile to suggest it could possibly be Newman’s… except for the part where he posts that he’s been accepted by the college of William and Mary; which makes the connection doubful. That doesn’t seem very likely for my gluebeard neighbor. Not if this essay got anywhere near his admission papers. Seth Newman submitted his Dr. Stranglove essay to Antieessays.com just a few weeks ago, which begins:

“General Jack Ripper introduced the knowledge of a Russian plot to rob American citizens of their precious bodily fluids to us…”

——- My husband and son just got back from a brief UR alumnus trip to the beach. Friends from University of Richmond mentioned to my husband that recent and repeated incidents of exhibitionism have been reported on Campus.

Prudent PW regular Jim in KC had noted that if he were in charge of the UR gun-scare investigation, he would be checking surveillance tapes for evidence of earlier visits by young Mr. Newman. It would seem, with this backstory on Newman, there is all the more reason to investigate possible previous appearances of “nature boy” on campus.

crossposted at Bluemerle

PILLAR I: POLITICAL AFFAIRS
 NATO- CJTF-82 - US/Coalition Forces

Gates: Expanding US command in Afghanistan is possibility
 Source: AP 2 May 2008, TEXARKANA, Texas — The idea of giving the U.S. military more authority in areas of Afghanistan now under NATO command is “worth taking a look at,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on 2 May. The internal Pentagon discussions reflect concern at a lack of continuity among NATO forces and a view that, in the long run, NATO may be better off focusing mainly on areas of Afghanistan, like the north and west, where there is less fighting but a great need for non combat aid. Changing the command structure to give a U.S.general more control in the south would, in effect, mark a partial “re-Americanization”of the combat mission. NATO now has overall responsibility for the mission inAfghanistan, and that would not change if a U.S. general were put in charge in the southern sector. But it would give the Americans a greater degree of control. Gates indicated he did not expect the idea of changing some of the command arrangements to lead to final decisions any time soon.

U.S.army targets $400 mln for Afghan emergency funds
 Source: Reuters 1 May 2008, BAGRAM, Afghanistan – The U.S. military hopes to double its emergency funds for aid and reconstruction in Afghanistan this year, turning a once small-scale program into a core part of its strategy to defeat Taliban insurgents. If the U.S. Congress approves, commanders on the ground say they could soon have as much as $410 million to finance new schools, roads, bridges and small hydro-electric power projects in rural areas, up from $206 million in 2007. The program, known as the Commanders’ Emergency Response Programme, or CERP, gives mid-level officers the authority and financial freedom to launch local reconstruction projects without the usual lengthy approval process from above. It has become a central to the military’s counter-insurgency strategy as it seeks to quell the still-potent threat from the Taliban.

Afghans Build an Army, and a Nation
 Source: Wall Street Journal April 22, 2008 — Lt. Col. Fanning, of the New York National Guard, has recently deployed to Camp Alamo to help train the Afghan National Army. On the field, about 100 recruits sit on the clay earth waiting their turn to “take the hill.” The faces are Uzbek, Hazara, Tajik, Pashtun. Dari and Pashto are spoken interchangeably, but the army being forged is a genuinely national one.It is also one that’s willing to fight. “The Afghan soldiers are a lot tougher than the Iraqis,” says Lt. James Harryman, one of the British trainers on site.”This is a warrior culture.” This isn’t to say the Afghan Army is problem-free.Lt. Harryman complains about an ingrained culture of soldiers not wanting to “get into trouble” by taking responsibility for their decisions. Afghan officers and NCOs are in the habit of seeking the consent of their soldiers before undertaking operations. The army still lacks some of the most basic logistical and command-and-control skills.
(more…)

Seth Newman, who has confessed to being the unconvincing glue-whiskered cop who prompted a four-hour lockdown Tuesday at the University of Richmond* had considered previously his right to openly carry a weapon.

Today’s Richmond Times-dispatch, reporting on the 19 year-old fantasy-fan’s confession to police, notes

Seth Newman asked an online legal service last summer,

“Are there any laws in Virginia regarding carrying around a sword?

“If I were to walk around in the streets with it would I have to keep it in its scabbard?

Well, maybe he shouldn’t be carrying his sword around, out of the scabbard, in the public ways. But it doesn’t necessarily follow it has to stay in the closet forever.

During a warrant search of his home, Police also confiscated (per the affidavit) Newman’s ID, insulin syringes, cameras, film, a plastic bag for a holster and “make-up removing” towelettes.

*A library employee told police that a male in a fake beard and sheriff’s jacket stated to her that he was a police officer and that he had heard that people were fornicating in the library and that he needed to spend the night.

Humor me here for a moment…

It’s never been done AFAIK. But I’m shooting for three wins in a row. Visit Cowboy Blob’s caption/photoshop contest here. Tough competition, but hopefully I’ve a contender.

Last week’s winning pshop…and, the previous week’s, that one with help from Megan Fox. Just the light touch of hottie.

Good luck to all my competitors…

;D

I missed Seth Newman’s Facebook page:

The Richmond Times-dispatch reports, University of Richmonds gun-scare “Lockdown Man”, aka Seth Adam Newman, 19, appeared in court early this morning. A warrant to search Newman’s home potentially confirms some wilder speculation on my part about his intentions, and those second hand reports of “his reasons” linked in previous pub post. The TD article notes:

According to the warrant to search the home of Seth A. Newman, a UR library employee said the suspect was wearing a sheriff’s jacket “stated to her that he was a police officer, and that he had heard that people had been fornicating in the library and that he needed to spend the night.” The worker “asked for identification, he did not produce any, and then left the building.”

WRIC image: Seth cleaned up for Richmond General District Court

Captcha’d!
19-year-old Seth Newman, without his crepe beard. ( photo via Myspace)

I’m hoping to soon get the rest of the story on the character responsible for a four-hour lockdown of the University of Richmond Campus, and one whopper of a helicopter headache for me. Because just what the heck was that beard all about?

The university[of Richmond] said Wednesday that 19-year-old Seth Adam Newman of Henrico County has been charged with one felony count for hiding his identity and two misdemeanor counts for impersonating a police officer and acting like a police officer. Henrico County police said Newman was being held on $10,000 bond.

Police have recovered a “very realistic” firearm replica Crosman CO2 pellet gun (image is a typical example), according to a statement given in a press conference by UR police Chief, Robert Dillard (video).

which Newman is believed to have carried in his holster into the library.

He lives roughly 2 and a half miles from campus, a little less to my man trap in the back yard, as the crow flies. He’s sort of on the wrong side of the tracks, as it were, near a little public park. I can’t wait for the backstory.

Seth Newman appears to have a one-entry blog from 2006. With some warning signs. He seems to have had some insight about his his religious tendencies potential to be percieved as “nutty”, implying that perhaps he’s been called nutty to his face, and at least seeming to acknowlege his zeal is unusual, and he has self reported a history as an addict during late adolescence.

That blog also links to a now-defunct xanga page, but there is nothing to be salvaged from that.

Here is a yahoo profile he created.
And,
Taa Daa!, Seth A. Newman’s Myspace page.

This page(pdf format) notes he graduated from a (local) community dual-enrollment college/high school program in 2007.
Each graduate has a little biographical note. Seth Newman’s reads:

I have been homeschooled from kindergarten through twelfth grade. For the last three years I have attended J. Sargeant Reynolds
Community College. I am involved in the leadership committee at church and have been on mission trips to West Virginia and
Washington, D.C. This summer I am going on a mission trip to Mexico. My interests include guitar, reading, and computers. I plan
on continuing with my education at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College

Update - Local news station WTVR (CBS channel 6) reports on tips police received, leading to Newman’s arrest:

[reporter] Jon Burkett found that a worker at The Little Sisters of the Poor, where Newman worked [as a dishwasher], found in a bathroom grey hair, rubbing alcohol and a clear bag. At the same time, another person at the home of the aged called police saying she saw a man fitting the UR suspect description, and the person was leaving with a sheriff’s jacket on.

Inrich.com adds some details, but still the motive for the visit is still uclear:

He [newman] was on his day off Tuesday when the UR incident occurred, said Stephen Neill, a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond.

“The people at Little Sisters have a high regard for Seth and are praying for him,” Neill said. “He was well-liked, and there was no sign that there was something bothering him.”

He’s either using again, or nuts: perhaps both. I wonder if he was just delusional, or if he was after something…and delusional…which he’d just have to be in you consider that outlandish and ridiculously conspicuous fail of a police officer disguise he cooked up. He has, according to police and university officials, no known or suspected connection to University of Richmond (e.g., unhappy student, employee, or disgruntled reject status.)

I had edited this bit of speculation out for poor justification/potential for giving offense ratioL: but I had this idea that his actions were probably related to sexual confusion/frustration, and queried in a draft post:

“Was Newman hoping to “sting” someone at relative den of iniquity University of Richkids? Was he thinking he would be cruising the boys room?”

Then this morning, I ran across this person’s post at The Highroad.org
Medgrl writes:

The details I have are that an individual with a gun was on campus and
the campus was placed on lock down. I don’t know how the situation
was resolved, but the information I did receive from my friend was
that “[the man with the gun] thinks he’s from the sheriffs dept and
wanted to stay overnight in the library to investigate students
fornicating“.

[emphasis added]

So maybe that deleted impression wasn’t meritless.
There is cruising in the UR library like most any other university library, maybe this is a reaction formation or desperate attempt to conceal acts he is ashamed of. I don’t think anyone is going to be satisfied until his cunning plan is understood.

Me: “The seed in that feeder is at least a couple of years old.”

Sparrow:

Me: “Especially way down at the bottom. I tried to clean that stuff out once before but it’s really caked in there.”

Sparrow:

Me: “I think maybe we should consider getting a new one. Thing is, this one’s supposed to be squirrel-proof so you birds don’t have to compete with them for the seed.”

Sparrow:

Me: “Though I suppose it probably would be just as well to give ‘em this crud. I’ll take another crack at cleaning out the bottom of this thing and put in some fresh seed, okay?”

Sparrow:

Me:

Sparrow:

Me: “So what’s the word about Obama’s big win in South Carolina? You know, among the bird community?”

Sparrow: “We were all rooting for Kucinich.”

Me:

Sparrow: “He is one of us, you know.”