Now is the time.

This morning, CNN. com ran a story describing President Bush's new angle to defend the Iraq war. He supposedly is going to release De-classified information concerning foiled terrorist plots in Iraq, and how the war needs to continue in order to thwart future Al-Qaeda operations in the country. Bush states that in 2005, 3 Al-Qaeda plots were foiled in Iraq, and If the U.S. pulls out, then there will surely be more.

What the President doesn't realize is, is that this might be the best ammunition he's given that could potentially be used to impeach him, and I hope that someone in Washington has the balls to point it out. Before 2003, was Al-Qaeda (our biggest threat) operating in Iraq? No. Where where they? Afghanistan. Where did we go? Iraq. Where aren't we now? Afghanistan. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the real mistake here.

Iraq is what it is today because of the mistakes made by the Bush Administration, and now those mistakes are being spun into another excuse for being at war in the first place, and also as a political weapon against those who oppose the war. That makes me sick. The real mistake was the country turning the other cheek in 2000 with the questionable election, and again in 2004 for people being naive enough to re-elect this administration. The country finally did it's job in 2006, but Congress's hands are still tied when it comes to bringing our soldiers home.

The truth is, Iraq has become a playground for terrorists. The central government has no backbone, and the U.S. military is stuck in the middle of a civil war. Saddam was an evil man, but he's nothing compared to the monster that has risen out of his ashes. Instead of having our soldiers bear the burden, we need to bring them home and hold our own villains accountable

LOST: Greatest Hits

I never was much of a Charlie fan. Well, I take that back. I dug his character quite a bit during the infancy of the series, but I felt his story lines never really packed the punch that they could have. However, among the Lost community, Charlie is huge, and even more popular is his relationship with Claire (another one of my least favorite characters). So for fans of that relationship, I'm sure this episode was Nirvana for you. That's not to say I didn't like it, because this was easily the best Charlie episode, and set up the show for a whopper of a finale.

The title "Greatest Hits" referred to the very good plot device of Charlie writing down the five best moments in his life, and them being played out in flashback form. The five moments where the first time Driveshaft's song was played on the radio, his father teaching him how to swim, his brother Liam giving him the Driveshaft ring, saving Sayid's girl, and his most important moment. The first time he met Claire. I though having that as his best moment was an excellent piece of writing, as it deepened the connection he had with Claire, and it added a level of credibility to the fact that Charlie would be willing to die to save her.

Which brings me to the other side of Greatest Hits, and that's Desmond telling Charlie he has to die in order to save everyone. Surprisingly, Charlie agrees, and goes to Jack in order to get in on the plan. These were the scenes that served as an obvious setup for the finale, as there was a lot of talk, but little action. However, unlike Heroes, we will get to see this action play out. (sorry Heroes, but you suck when it comes to delivering). I was happy that they are including the entire cast, Rose and Bernard returned, and Danielle is becoming more and more a regular on the show.I was especially happy to see Sayid take charge in the presence of Jack. The writers are bringing it all together nicely I must say.

However, this was Charlie's episode through and through, as the best scenes were his. The scenes with Claire, the flashbacks, the goodbye to Hurley, and of course the scene with he and Desmond. The introduction of the Looking Glass Station itself is huge, at least in regards to the finale.It also answered the old school Season 1 question of "What the heck is that wire?". Did anyone else notice the symbol for the station. It was a rabbit. Alice in Wonderland anyone. Is the Looking Glass the rabbit hole, and if so, what's on the other side. Craziness is what I'm expecting.

Next week of course is the big season finale titled "Through the Looking Glass", the "flashback" centers around the one and only Jack Shepard. The best line I have heard so far to describe the finale is this one from show producer Carlton Cuse. He states "When the finale ends, you will realize that the house you are standing in has a lot more rooms in it than you once believed". Until then.....

9/10

LOST: The Man Behind the Curtain

Ok, Ok. So I know I said that I'd post a review earlier this time. I lied. To be quite honest though, it's taken me a few extra days to wrap my head around this awesome episode, one that I've been looking forward too since the beginning of Season 3.

Instead of a recap, I'm just going to get right to the point, because there is a large number of implications that can be drawn from this episode, and I would like to explore them. The first, is of course the gorilla in the room being Jacob. When Locke walked into the cabin and didn't see anyone at first, I was immediately disappointed. Just about anyone with any story telling ability could have written Ben as a crazy person (well I guess he still is crazy, but not mentally). But when that cabin began to freak out, and for second we saw a fleeting glimpse of the real man behind the curtain. If you have seen any of the freeze frames of Jacob, it's almost obvious that it's Terry O' Quinn sitting in the chair, whether or not it's TOQ as Locke is yet to be determined. I would assume that it's Locke right now though. However, I don't feel that we will know much more about Jacob until Season 4, because right now there are bigger fish to fry. Those being...

Ben! That fool is cold blooded. Although his life growing up was tragic, I still find it hard to believe that genocide is an acceptable response. It's clear that Ben's sacrifice to the island was his father (crazy murder scene by the way) and his people, and the power that he gained from that is threatened by Locke, especially since he can "hear" Jacob. It's easy to see Ben's motives for shooting Locke, but I honestly didn't see it coming. If Locke dies however, then I'll be shocked. I don't expect to be shocked.

Richard Alpert is a character I'd expect to learn more about in the future as well. Especially the fact that he never ages, or at least he never seems to age, and I doubt that was a mistake by the hair and make-up folks on the show. He seems to have been the leader of the "Hostiles" before Ben took over. I also doubt we have seen the end of Ben's past, as his flashback seemed to be a brief overview, just enough to lay out his motives for being a mass murderer. Also, I want Uncle Rico to come back and challenge someone to a pickup football game. "Hey Richard! How much you want to bet I can throw a football right over them mountains?"

The beach stuff was minimal in this eppy, but shed some more light on Juliet's true motives. It was also good to see the Losties communicating, and actually asking questions. I just hope they all don't roll over for Jack right away. I'm still a bit suspicious of him myself. Most of the things on the beach where a set up for this weeks eppy, which is almost entirely about the beach folk.

Speaking of tomorrow's episode, it's all about Charlie, and it's called "Greatest Hits". Which is funny, because bands usually create greatest hits albums at the end of their careers. That's all I will say. Until then..

9.5/10

Oh and on another Lost note. A synopsis of this weeks and the Season Finale has been leaked. However, if you come across them, which I have (and I read). Don't immedeatly take them as fact. The same thing happened last season, but the entire thing ended up being a foiler (fake spoiler) meant to throw off the audience. I have a feeling this is the same thing.

Paris Hilton. Cry me a river.

That's right. I'm sick of hearing about how she is traumatized. I'm sick of the news outlets acting like it's a story. It's not. She broke the law, and still was given leniency. If an average Joe violated their parole, do you think the Judge would give them any mercy. I doubt it. They would be given a lot more than 45 days in jail. I'm sick of the rich getting off because of their status, and she should be given more jail time not less. I hope prison is miserable for her.

What's almost worse though, like I mentioned above, is the almost constant news coverage. CNN Headline news had a freakin countdown ticker on their newscast last night. That's absurd. Especially considering all of the important world events happening right now. The only time this should have been covered by any news outlet is the day she was sentenced, and the day she is released. Other than that, who cares?

LOST: The Brig

Another late review this week, but alas, I am now 100% done with exams and all of the crap that comes along with them. So now I have more time to devote to my nerd adventures, which include such awesome things as writing Lost reviews, playing hours of MLB 2K7, and many. many other things that one wouldn't consider "important". Anyways, onto Lost. This past week's eppy was titled, "The Brig" and it was at first glance a Locke episode, but don't be fooled young lads, it was Sawyer episode in disguise.

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One of the big character connections that has been theorized since the end of season one was that between Sawyer and Locke's dad. This was the episode where it finally came true, and came true in brutal fashion. From the time that Locke came back to the beach to get Sawyer, lying to him, saying he had kidnapped Ben, until the final moments where Sawyer choked out the man he had been spending his entire life hunting down. The scenes between Locke and Sawyer, and Sawyer and "Sawyer" were fine pieces of acting. It was clear that Locke wanted is father dead only the coward in him remains, and Sawyer proved that he was a man of his word.

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There were many cool shout outs to Season 1, the main one being of course the Black Rock. The title of the episode itself was based on the dark and gloomy "brig" of the old slave ship. It was also fun to see the writers continually poke at the Purgatory, Heaven and Hell theories that many people have, despite the fact the creators themselves have sworn on every holy book and baby they could find that everyone on the island is alive. So when Cooper continued talking as if they were in hell, you could tell he believed it, but Sawyer paid it no attention. Although the line "it's a little hot for heaven" was nice. At least I quite enjoyed it.

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On the flip side, the flashbacks were about Locke's time with the Others, and times they were. We were able to see Cindy the flight attendant again, and she informs him that they have all been waiting for Locke. Which ol boy Richard confirms in his cryptic conversation with Locke on the hill. Everything about these flashbacks was dripping with clues. The conversation between Ben and Locke in the tent. What is it that Locke's not ready for? The pillar that Cooper was tied to, I wonder what that used to be a part of, and I'm sure it has a connection to four toed statue and the overall history of the island. I know we will find these answers out soon, but the pieces they are placing in front of us are more than enough to make a nerd brain become more of a nerd brain. Just look at me. The most telling thing about the Others was the public sacrifice scene, in which Ben told Locke to kill his father. With an audience no less. It makes me wonder what sacrifices the other "Others" made in order to gain the trust of their comrades. I wonder what sacrifice Ben made?

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On the beach, Desmond and his posse decided to keep Naomi a secret from Jack, hereby kicking off the first of the "Lord of the Flies" moments I've been waiting for. The conversation between Sayid and Naomi was also very well done, as Sayid is the most level headed person on the entire island. If he dies, they are all screwed. I can't wait until they show us the things that Naomi described, and the connection with Penny, and the Artic Boys from last years finale makes the last five minutes of season 2 seem even more genius. They are able to keep Naomi a secret, until Sayid makes one of the worst mistakes he's made on the island, and that's telling Kate anything. As she ran right off to Jack and told him everything Sayid told her not to. However that produced one of the lines that has many fans, including myself scratching my head a little bit, and that's "we should tell her". Wah!? I have no idea. Honestly.

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It ends Locke telling Sawyer that he is on his own journey now, a journey to discover the mysteries of the island, and to fulfill his destiny. Whatever that destiny may be. The ending was powerful, and proved to me once again that this show is to well written for network tv. It's no wonder they were able to bend the will of ABC and negotiate an end to the series (3 more seasons, 16 episodes per season, then it's over).

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Tomorrow's eppy is a big one, like Empire Strikes Back big. It's called "The Man Behind the Curtain", an obvious Wizard of Oz reference that is either meant to give us a clue, or throw us off completely. Prepare to meet Jacob, and if you don't know what Jacob is, then re watch season 3. Until.....tomorrow.

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9.0/10

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If I said I was surprised, I'd be lying.

About an hour ago President Bush vetoed a bill that would increase funding to our troops, and set a timetable for getting us out of Iraq. To no surprise to anyone, he vetoed it. As you can imagine, this doesn't make me, or a lot of other people for that matter (including our troops), very happy.

The biggest problem that I have is the philosophy that Bush is taking in defense of the veto, To him, this bill makes us look like we are leaving in defeat. To him this is about winning a losing, not living and dying, and right now our soldiers are doing more of the latter. There is no way that Iraq will ever be perceived as a victory. You can't win something when there is no set blueprint for victory.

Of course the troops need funding, but to act like it's only now a problem, that's a lie. The troops haven't had adequate training or equipment since the war started. Our own President seems to forget that our troops have never had good body armor, or the most important thing, the IED proof hummers. IED's are the leading cause of troop casualties in Iraq, yet with the Billions that are poured into the war they don't have that stuff. So it makes no sense to me that it's now all of a sudden the Democrats fault when they propose a bill that demands progress be made. The troops will get the funding that they need, Because I feel this bill alone is the democrats going all in with the cards that they have, but to say that to withhold funding now would be the cause of all of the troops problems is misleading to the American public, well the American public who doesn't pay attention.

Like I said, this is now way a surprise, because we have a President who is physically and mentally incapable of admitting his mistakes. The reasons I won't get into because there are too many. All I know is, this isn't about victory or defeat, it's about saving American lives, and sustaining our military, so if a REAL threat shows itself all of our eggs will not be broken in the basket our government put them in.

LOST: D.O.C

Another late review from me this week, but the good news is, I'm going to pass my classes. The fact that I'm a week late again has no reflection on the quality of this episode though, because this was one of my favorites of the season. Why? Well read on and find out.

The flashback centered on Jin and Sun, and as it turns out Jin's mother is a prostitute who's hell bent on bribing the newlywed Sun to keep it a secret. Sun sought out Jin's father who confirms the news, and also reveals that he's not even sure if he's Jin's father, yet he still raised him. That scene was excellent, and it's moments like those where Lost shines in the character development department. Sun promised to not tell Jin the truth, but do keep it a secret she had to borrow the money from her father to pay the bribe. Sun's father, Mr. Paik, instinctively guessed what the money was for, and vowed to make Jin pay off the debt by working for him personally. This was actually a pretty big deal, as it's clear that it was Sun who was responsible for making Jin one of her fathers hit men. Although she did it to protect him, she's still at fault, and kind of makes me think that she was a little selfish to want to leave him. That's just me though.

The island story followed two story lines, one with Juliet and Sun venturing out to the medical hatch to give Sun a check up, and the other picking up where last week left off with the parachutist. The dialogue between Juliet and Sun was really excellent, as Yujin Kim played the suspicious Sun really well, and when she found out the baby was Jin's, her reaction seemed appropriate. Finding out the baby was Jin's, yet also realizing that she could very well die because of it is a good storyline and should be one of the main ones for the last season or two. It was also cool to watch all of this play out, knowing what we know about Juliet. Yet her recording that she left for Ben leaves me wondering what her true motives are.

The parachutist's tale didn't disappoint either. Almost right away we find out that Patchy is indeed alive, which to me wasn't a total shocker. One, the fence was off when he was thrown through it, and two, Patchy is the man. I just hope he doesn't fulfill his promise to kill Sayid.
As it turns out, Patchy is also a field medic, and was able to help save the parachutist (her name is Naomi, but were not supposed to know that yet.) An interesting part of that scene was when Mikhail translated something that Naomi said to him. He told Desmond that she said "thank you for saving me" in Portuguese, but she really said "I'm not alone". Why would Patchy lie. I have a feeling we will find out. In exchange for helping save Naomi, Desmond agreed to let Patchy go (which was stupid). Charlie and Jin didn't like the idea, but they let him go anyways. The next morning, Hurley is sitting next to Naomi, when she drops one of the biggest bombshells this season. "Flight 815..they found the plane...everyone was dead".

Was this revelation a turning point in the series. If it's true, then it changes everything. However, I don't necessarily trust the parachutist Naomi. Patchy came right to the sight of the flare like he was expecting someone, only he wasn't expecting the Losties. My theory is that he was expecting Naomi. I do believe that she was sent there by Penny, but remember who Penny's father is, and his possible connection to the Dharma Initiative, the island, and possibly the Others. Basically, I think that she's a liar. If she's not, well, then I would like the see how the Others pulled it off.

Don't let this overshadow the other big things that came out of this episode. Like I said before, the Sun storyline is going to be big. Juliet gave her about two months to live, which gives her right up until the end of Season 5, the projected end of the series. Also the things that Patchy was saying, for example, "This wouldn't be the first time I've died this week" or how he described the healing process on the island. People wine for answers, but the clues are there folks, investigate! It was also nice to see that Jin can not only fight, but spin kick your face off if he wanted to. I expect more spin kicking in the future now that we know he's capable of it. Randomly if need be. Here's a sample of what the episode could be like.

Jack

Hey Jin can you hand me that spoon?

Jin has a confused look on his face.

Jin

Michael?

Jack

No, no... that spoon. Can you hand it to me?

Jin

Michael?

Jack

No. Michael is gone. The spoon, I just need the spoon.

Jin continues to look confused.

Jack reaches for the spoon.

Jin

No!!

Jin spin kicks Jack in the face.

This is just an example of the infinite possibilities opened up by Jin's spin kicking abilities. So take notice Lost writing staff. I graduate in a year, and I'll need work.

Tomorrow's episode is titled "The Brig", and much like Michael's final episode of last season, it will take place completely on the island. With the flashbacks documenting Locke's time with the Others, and what his motives are. Should be saucy. Until then....

9/10