Two months ago, I wrote about someone else writing about how the U.S. government was making an anti-suicide bombing TV commercial for broadcast in Iraq.

Here’s the commercial.

Below is my original post on the subject:

According to Newsweek, the U.S. has paid for the production of a ‘public service announcement’-style TV commercial aimed at discouraging Iraqis from becoming suicide bombers.

What a terrific idea!

I’m sure Iraqis would enjoy seeing the new commercial. Too bad they don’t have reliable electricity, if any at all.

The following business card showed up in my home mailbox this morning.

Do people who drive Hummers have little self-regard?

Do people who drive Hummers do it to compensate for personal shortcomings?

The answers to those questions are apparently yes and yes.

Says who?

Says the advertising agency who made the most recent Hummer commercial.

Check out the commercial.

Note the sequence of events. Wimpy guy feels inadequate. Wimpy guy buys Hummer. Wimpy guy suddenly feels better about himself.

Most car companies try to lure customers with phony flattery. Hummer is boldly (or clumsily) pointing out its target audience’s inadequecies. Either way, good work.

The National Park Service announced last week that visitors will no longer be allowed to climb to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.

The reasons given by the National Park Service: fire hazard and, you guessed it, terrorism.

What is wrong with my country?

Reports indicate that two FOX News journalists have been kidnapped in Gaza.

I hope that they’re released quickly and unharmed.

I also hope that, unlike Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll, who was abducted in Iraq and held for nearly three months before being released, that the kidnapped FOX News journalists are not subjected to vile personal attacks by cowardly right-wing talking heads like Sean Hannity.

Report: US helped Israel plan Lebanon offensive
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com

A special report in The New Yorker says the Bush administration was closely involved in the planning of Israel’s retaliatory attacks against Hizbullah in Lebanon, and US officials hoped that by helping Israel destroy or disarm the militant Islamic group, it would make it easier for the US to launch a preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Read the rest

Is the U.S.-Pakistan alliance coming apart?

That’s the leading question I answer in my newspaper column this week.

Other recent columns:

What are some of the hidden motives behind the current war between Lebanon and Israel?

Is Zarqawi’s death a turning point in the Iraq war? — See if what I wrote in June has held up well.

Prime Minister Maliki was very clear this morning; he said he does not want American troops to leave his country until his government can protect the Iraqi people. And I assured him that America will not abandon the Iraqi people.

—President George W. Bush, July 25, 2006

President Bush will move U.S. troops out of Iraq if the country descends into civil war, according to one senior Bush aide who declined to be named while talking about internal strategy. “If there’s a full-blown civil war, the president isn’t going to allow our forces to be caught in the crossfire,” the aide said.

—Newsweek, August 14, 2006 issue

George W. Bush says what he means, he means what he says. You can trust him.

—Gov. George Pataki at the 2004 Republican convention.

On Wednesday, I purchased my first gallon of biodiesel fuel for Chapman, my 1973 Mercedes-Benz 220D.

I only bought one gallon of biodiesel because old cars like mine need time to get used to it. Biodiesel acts as a detergent in old cars, loosening fuel-system deposits left behind by regular diesel (in my case, 33 years worth).

To prevent my fuel filters from getting clogged with the loosened deposits, I’m starting with a low concentration of biodiesel (one gallon of biodiesel mixed with 13 gallons of regular diesel).

When my tank nears empty, I’m going to change the car’s fuel filters ($12 at Advance Auto Parts), then increase the concentration of biodiesel in my tank to two gallons of biodiesel mixed with 12 gallons of regular diesel. Rinse and repeat.

It could take up to a dozen fuel filter changes before the car is fully transitioned. Once I’m past the transition period, however, I can go back and forth between biodiesel and regular diesel, at any ratio I choose. Plus, the car will probably run better (more smoothly, efficiently, and quietly) than it has since the mid-70s.

As chance would have it, a producer from CNN Radio was at the Fillin’ Station interviewing customers for a story about alternative fuels. You can hear me yapping at about 24:30 mark. The much more knowledgable person who speaks after me is my friend Jerry. He was there buying biodiesel for his 1982 300SD. Jerry and his wife own my ‘hood’s coffee shop, Capitol Coffee.

——
What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is diesel fuel made from vegetable oil. It’s renewable, biodegradeable and non-toxic. It puts out fewer harmful exhaust pollutants than regular petrodiesel. It extends the life of diesel engines and improves performance. It can be mixed at any ratio with regular diesel. And my favorite thing — it’s domestically produced, so it doesn’t benefit the jackasses running Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Russia, etc.