Ed writes:
That is my whole problem with participatory athletics, always 180 degrees off.
Ed | 11.11.07 - 9:30 am | #

Asa writes:
Tanta, please tell me that video was filmed in Iraq and those are the future security forces of that great and free nation! PLEASE!
Asa | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 9:40 am | #

lunatic fringe writes:
bacon was in the army?
lunatic fringe | 11.11.07 - 9:42 am | #

James writes:
This explains why our army can't even get control of our new colony in Iraq with over 150,000 of the best equipped killers on the planet. The Pentagon needs to restore the DRAFT.
James | 11.11.07 - 9:54 am | #

Tennis_8 writes:
Anyone who finds this video amusing is a wretched excuse for a hunan beijing
Tennis_8 | 11.11.07 - 9:55 am | #

Tanta writes:
Anyone who finds this video amusing is a wretched excuse for a hunan beijing

Anyone who ever lived through the endless humilation of third-grade PE knows why this is so funny.

I have no idea why anyone would think that the success or failure of the project of teaching Iraqi police recruits to do syncopated jumping jacks matters in the slightest. But I guess if you can't accomplish your real mission, you get worked up over photo-op stuff.

But then I am a wretched excuse for a major Chinese city.
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 10:01 am | #

Wretched Excuse writes:
Very funny. LOL.
Wretched Excuse | 11.11.07 - 10:02 am | #

anonymous writes:
Too bad that video was only a minute long.
anonymous | 11.11.07 - 10:03 am | #

Nude writes:
Tanta,

It isn't the activity so much as learning to operate in concert within a unit.

And third grade was mild compared to seventh and eighth ;)
Nude | 11.11.07 - 10:09 am | #

James writes:
There are others in the same group, one re push-ups is almost as good.
James | 11.11.07 - 10:12 am | #

Neal writes:
Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun
Take it on the run, on the run, on the run
Hear them calling you and me
Every Son of Liberty
Hurry right away, no delay, go today
Make your Daddy glad to have had such a lad
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her boy's in line


Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun
Johnny, show the "Hun" you're a son-of-a-gun
Hoist the flag and let her fly
Yankee Doodle, do or die
Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit
Yankee to the ranks from the towns and the tanks[4]
Make your Mother proud of you
And the old red-white-and-blue

Chorus

Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming
The drum's rum-tumming everywhere
So prepare, say a prayer,
Send the word, send the word to beware
We'll be over, we're coming over
And we won't come back till it's over, over there
Neal | 11.11.07 - 10:14 am | #

Alec writes:
Is that a video from the future with Mozillo, Prince, Killinger et al getting PT'd to death inside a Club Fed?

T8, could you cut n paste Ken Fisher's advice on how to have them doing jumping jacks better?
Alec | 11.11.07 - 10:15 am | #

sootytern writes:
Nude is correct. As a veteran, I wouldn't want to be within 10 miles of this group in any combat situation. Coordination within the group and between groups is vital. These guys would not only kill themselves, they would kill you - you know, that infamous friendly fire.
sootytern | 11.11.07 - 10:19 am | #

Neal writes:
Verans day..not for the faint of heart.

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Neal | 11.11.07 - 10:32 am | #

Tanta writes:
As a veteran, I wouldn't want to be within 10 miles of this group in any combat situation.

Yeah, but I think they're supposed to be police officers.

The inability to distinguish between a civilian police force and combat troops may well be part of our big problem here.

I say this as a former Total Dork(tm) whose performance in third-grade PE was a lot like that guy on the far right's.
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 10:34 am | #

seminole83 writes:
good to see that "specially abled" kids are getting into the army these days, they have as much a right to shoot swarthy people as anyone.
seminole83 | 11.11.07 - 10:40 am | #

Tanta writes:
"Specially abled"? C'mon, peeps. Jumping jacks are not an innate human skill. Americans think so because (at least those of us of a Certain Age) had to learn this stuff in PE. I say, "had to learn" because if you stretch your memory back, you will recall that it was a non-obvious behavior.

I will also observe that the Podunk High Drill Team and Baton Squad can probably do crackerjack jumping jacks, and I wouldn't put them in charge of a civilian police force on that basis.

Would anyone actually feel a lot better about our Excellent Iraq Adventure if we had video proof that Iraqis had learned to do perfect calisthenics?
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 10:47 am | #

oy vey writes:
Looks like some of those guys had to much DU in their wheaties
oy vey | 11.11.07 - 10:51 am | #

ecc writes:
the Frontier of our War on Physical Educationalism

ecc | 11.11.07 - 10:52 am | #

the_economist writes:
After watching this, it confirms that we never had any threat from Iraq. I also come from a military background and I knew Bush was lying from the beginning. We should have just let them continue their war with Iran.
the_economist | 11.11.07 - 10:53 am | #

Max writes:
I think this video pretty much sums up the Iraq tragicomedy. Everyone seems to have a different, yet perfectly valid reaction.

My first reaction was to laugh. Seriously, these guys are funny as hell. But the more I watched, the more pathetic they began to look, and I started feeling sorry for them. Not because they can't do jumping jacks, but because they look like they're trying to please the Americans so much they're willing to perform this ridiculous exercise.
Max | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 10:53 am | #

dryfly writes:
Maybe they are part of the IT Battalion - may look terrible in real life but they rock in 'virtual'.

;)

dryfly | 11.11.07 - 10:54 am | #

Racerx writes:
What does this have to do with Ron Paul...oh am i off topic?
Racerx | 11.11.07 - 10:55 am | #

risk capital writes:
blog mother-

you have way too much time on your hands.
risk capital | 11.11.07 - 10:56 am | #

Tanta writes:
you have way too much time on your hands.

I wish.
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 10:59 am | #

Gary writes:
Tanta, any book offers yet?

I am confident there is a market for "The Compleat Ubernerd: Dead Tree Edition"
Gary | 11.11.07 - 11:01 am | #

calmo writes:
Maybe I need a 2nd peek, but "synchopated" seemed like a better fit than "uncoordinated"...but "stylized" was my first impression. There are no individual characteristics, and the figures (not future chorus line dancers to be sure) are too uniformly ignoring each other...as if someone had made a composite of individual performances.
So my first impression was that someone had spent a lot of time editing... to produce this sight gag.
The message underlying the training --that together we are strong-- is undermined by those pesky suicide bombers, no?
Ok, time for a 2nd peek.
calmo | 11.11.07 - 11:05 am | #

confused writes:
GM, thanks for the nyt link

was the “pay option adjustable rate mortgage” that allowed a borrower to pay only a fraction of the interest owed and none of the principal during an introductory period.

is this similar to the Corp Toggle bond, retail version, that i keep reading about?
confused | 11.11.07 - 11:07 am | #

bacon dreamz writes:
bacon was in the army?

hey! i have mad jumping jack skillz!!! i am also proficient at jump rope and pogo ball...
bacon dreamz | 11.11.07 - 11:08 am | #

Tanta writes:
I have no desire to pick on confused, you know.

But sometimes reading comment threads is like watching this video.

What NYT link?
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 11:16 am | #

bacon dreamz writes:
it's on the thread below this.
bacon dreamz | 11.11.07 - 11:20 am | #

bacon dreamz writes:
i will also note that as the only person here (probably) who hasn't yet cracked the quarter century mark, i bet i could beat any of you in a foot race! so there!
bacon dreamz | 11.11.07 - 11:32 am | #

Tanta writes:
i bet i could beat any of you in a foot race! so there!

I suspect you could beat me in a foot race if I got a twenty yard head start and you had your legs tied together and were forced to run the race backwards in dress pumps.

I further suspect we'd all pay good money to watch that video.
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 11:42 am | #

Spread The Word writes:
hard to find fault with gretchen's attack this time
Spread The Word | 11.11.07 - 11:42 am | #

calmo writes:
2nd peek confirms my view: this is a composite. Not exactly a toon, but a construction...for our entertainment...compare the "push-ups" for a real video clip (and ask yerself who looks sillier: trainees pushupping or trainers walking about for a closer look? for what?)
So...this cognitive test...entirely innocent? Now I need to know who produced it and why, you?
calmo | 11.11.07 - 11:53 am | #

Tanta writes:
hard to find fault with gretchen's attack this time

Perhaps because so much of it is old news?

Did we post about the $11.5B LOC draw down the day it was announced? Yes we did. Did we kick Mozilo around for his claims that the borrowers made him do it? Why, we did that so much that our own bacon dreams was moved to create artwork for us on the subject.

I will grant that neither I nor CR has ever been interested in pursuing the Butcher's Son Becomes CEO Personal Biography Masquerading As Analysis angle so beloved of the Real Press. That turf I concede to those who give a rat's patootie. Nonetheless, I think any article with tan jokes should have to credit this blog's comment section.
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 11:59 am | #

John S writes:
I'm confused. Are the recruits supposed to be performing "YMCA" or are the reenacting the cover of the Beatles "Help!" album?
John S | 11.11.07 - 12:06 pm | #

bacon dreamz writes:
our own bacon dreams was moved to create artwork for us on the subject.

you couldn't resist, could you? zed's dead, baby.
bacon dreamz | 11.11.07 - 12:10 pm | #

bacon dreamz writes:
...it always makes me happy when i get to stick it to English major Tanta for not spelling "dreams" with a "z".
bacon dreamz | 11.11.07 - 12:15 pm | #

Tanta writes:
you couldn't resist, could you? zed's dead, baby.

Sigh. Child, you have no idea how hard it is for a very fast touch-typist who has been spelling the English language correctly for nearly twice your lifespan to type an intentionally misspelled word, and particularly that goofy plural. The fingers are simply on auto-pilot at this point in my life. I have the same problem with typing "u" instead of "you": that's actually slower and more effort for someone like me, because I have to stop and think about it.

I will make the attempt, since it is so important to u.
Tanta | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 12:19 pm | #

Jane Doe writes:
Tanta at the beginning of each HS quarter my big task was to plot out how many days I could "forget" my gym clothes without failing.
Jane Doe | 11.11.07 - 12:23 pm | #

Frederick Demetrius writes:
They are getting paid to be there, not for performance. Pay them for production -- jumping jacks performed correctly -- and they will soon be rich.

We can laugh at them only if we can also laugh at the performance of mortgage brokers...when "investors" were buying -- and they were selling -- anything that looked anything like a mortgage.
Frederick Demetrius | 11.11.07 - 12:40 pm | #

bacon dreamz writes:
I will make the attempt, since it is so important to u.

thanks, but i don't really mind, i just like pointing out your typing errors...did you know that god invented the concept of infinity when he tried to count all of my typos but couldn't get that high?
bacon dreamz | 11.11.07 - 12:44 pm | #

James writes:
"...they look like they're trying to please the Americans so much they're willing to perform this ridiculous exercise."

Better that than getting shot (by error of course) by Americans. How long did Betrayus say it would take to get the Iraq army into shape???
James | 11.11.07 - 12:49 pm | #

jus me writes:
At the video end, who says "zero" in English? ("ONE! TWO! THREE! (zero)")
jus me | 11.11.07 - 1:00 pm | #

sandman writes:
"Tanta, please tell me that video was filmed in Iraq and those are the future security forces of that great and free nation! PLEASE!"

This is the cancer that's killing America.
sandman | 11.11.07 - 1:05 pm | #

IM writes:
Watching this video, I somehow reconciled with humanity. It is difficult to determine whether the guys are dancing or training. A bit of chaos in the superordered (superhuman = human as killing machines) military world: wonderful.
IM | 11.11.07 - 1:16 pm | #

BarneyOne writes:
Those Iraqi guys are doing exactly what they should do against invaders. Use the invader's own resources against them. Inflitrate their troops, pretend to be "friends", learn their tactics, take their money until one day Americans had have enough of this shit.
BarneyOne | 11.11.07 - 2:28 pm | #

Joe writes:
Holy cow James, Betrayus? Killers? Colony of Iraq? You sure were able to work a lot of propaganda into this otherwise amusing thread. How're things up in San Francisco these days? ;)
Joe | 11.11.07 - 3:03 pm | #

Troy writes:
The inability to distinguish between a civilian police force and combat troops may well be part of our big problem here.

Civilian police cannot operate as such in Iraq, given the sizeable number of "dead enders" / insurgents willing to take out whatever US-supported apparatus they can target.

We saw the same effect in Vietnam, where the increased paramilitarization of the national police was necessary to maintain and protect effective government presence against VC terrorist encroachment.

Wars of occupation are won or lost on the neighborhood level; without the populace being secure in their homes at night their loyalty will be driven to the side with the bigger baddasses.

It only takes one or two underground Baathists -- in Vietnam terms "VC Cadre" -- keeping an eye on local events, in communication with "enforcer"-type thugs, to keep control over an area.

Being relatively well-read on the to and fro of the Vietnam conflict led me to expect similar difficulties we would face establishing and preserving a "friendly" regime in Baghdad in the face of terrorist thugs willing to go asymmetrical on us to wear us down over the long term.
Troy | 11.11.07 - 3:25 pm | #

Underwriter writes:
Oh my goodness! My flight of USAF women in 1971 would put these guys to shame, but of course, we grew up in the days of the President's Physical Fitness test. Anyone remember the 1 mile walk/run, and those "cool" patches?
Underwriter | 11.11.07 - 3:41 pm | #

James writes:
Joe: well "Betrayus" was popular in Washington for a time and I borrowed it. I think it's pretty accurate. You think US troops don't kill people? Don't read the papers or watch TV much, do you? Colony in Iraq? What would you call it? You know our "embassy" there (the largest we will have in the world) will be more humongous than was the British Viceregal residence in India under the Raj, don't you? And finally, when are facts "propaganda"? I think facts are pretty much facts even if you don't like them, don't you?
James | 11.11.07 - 5:22 pm | #

Online Shrink writes:
This brings back memories of an otherwise exemplary squad leader who became semi-notorious for his inability to do jumping jacks. Several years later we discovered that he was concealing a degenerative nervous disorder so he could support his family.

I can only assume that some of these recruits are suffering from the long-term effects of malnutrition, or untreated head trauma from one of the two Gulf Wars.
Online Shrink | 11.11.07 - 5:28 pm | #

Stagflationary Mark writes:
Tanta,

If you are a veteran of the United States Military (and thank you very much), or if you have ever attempted to moderate blog comments, you will find the following video too painful to watch. For everyone else I expect it's a scream.

LOL!

I do apologize for being out of sync more often than not. I'm not shown in the video though. My shoe was untied. I tripped and fell off to the side just as the video was starting to roll.

In rare form I am finally on topic again though! Woohoo! ;)
Stagflationary Mark | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 5:37 pm | #

James writes:
I can only assume that some of these recruits are suffering from the long-term effects of malnutrition, or untreated head trauma from one of the two Gulf Wars.

*********************

More likely they are just going through the motions without conviction at all, because the imperial neo-colonial invader tells them to. You think Iraqis are enthusiastic about joining forces with the army that has killed hundreds of thousands of them and their families? Americans don't seem to get what we are doing there at all. At least many Americans don't.
James | 11.11.07 - 6:03 pm | #

BarneyOne writes:
American soldiers are shit. All gung-ho when they got the upper hand but all shit when they do not. Name one battle outside US that US soldiers have succeeded since WWI against superior enemy!
BarneyOne | 11.11.07 - 6:43 pm | #

Joe writes:
James: Ok, so facts are facts huh? Let me know exactly how General Petraeus betrayed us? He was smeared with the name after testifying that a troop buildup (the surge) would be good for our efforts over in Iraq. Since the buildup violence has fallen dramatically and American deaths are at a multi-year low. It seems he was right, so I'd be interested to hear why you think the name "fits".

I think your labelling all of our soldiers over there as "killers" is pretty despicable. Soldiers, by definition, kill enemy combatants, but this does not make them killers. They kill when fired upon or to hunt down enemy combatants, they DO NOT roam around randomly slaughtering innocents. I know a number of guys who served over there and have discussed the situation with them, trust me the average soldier is just a guy doing his job, not a killer. Talk about someone who needs to get more information, and I don't mean the NY Times or NPR. As far as the colony of Iraq, a large embassy doesn't make a colony, but we'll see what happens.

I labeled your post as propaganda because that's exactly what it is, do you know the definition? http://dictionary.reference.com/...owse/ propaganda
Joe | 11.11.07 - 7:32 pm | #

dilbert dogbert writes:
OT but someone else started it. Everytime Tanta writes Gretchen Morgenson I read Wretched Morgenson.

Thanks for the laughts everyone.

Next week we talk to the nice lady who takes our money and invests it until it is all gone. I want to ask her how much of our stuff is SIV positive. To date Roi is very good. Wonder how long that is going to last? Maybe that ROI was due to investments in stinky stuff and the next statement will look like ABX cliff diving.
dilbert dogbert | 11.11.07 - 9:15 pm | #

jg writes:
Hilarious! Well, thank goodness that they are prospective cops and not prospective soldiers (although jumping jacks really are non-intuitive).

Ex-Navy, '85-'90.
jg | 11.11.07 - 10:06 pm | #

JR writes:
BarneyOne - I am really glad that idiots like you are not veterans.
JR | 11.11.07 - 10:16 pm | #

doug r writes:
Good grief, my squad of 14 year old Air Cadets would outperform these sorry sacks.
doug r | 11.11.07 - 10:39 pm | #

HC writes:
A "scream," Tanta?

No, I see wasted human capital. Surely there are better things for people to do with their lives than destroy foreign societies and then teach jumping jacks to their brutalized subjects.
HC | 11.12.07 - 1:46 am | #

Troy writes:
Joe:

James is an idiot and/or troll not worth responding to, but IMV part of the PNAC plan was a soft-colonization of Iraq, providing to the needy Iraqis American-brand Liberty, consumer goods, and strategic oversight of their oil industry dealings.

It was a pretty plan going in:

1. Liberate the Shia majority
2. Install secular Shiite governance
3. . . .
4. Profit!
Troy | 11.12.07 - 12:05 pm | #

Joe writes:
Troy, thx for the heads-up on James, knew here so didn't know he's the local jester. I agree that you could be right about the long-term plans for Iraq, that's why I didn't completely disagree with James' comment. Whatever the plan it hasn't been all that successful thus far, here's hoping the current trend continues.
Joe | 11.12.07 - 1:16 pm | #