Prince Harry Pulls Out Early

If I was him, I'd be pretty pissed off at the media for this. The identity of soldiers deployed in war zones never gets revealed, unless they take pictures of prisoners naked or something.

It's an early entrant for Bullshit of the Year award.

On a lighter note, I think the future Disgruntled Son will be named Jock Stirrup.

From Yahoo!

By D'ARCY DORAN, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Britain's defense chief decided Friday to immediately pull Prince Harry out of Afghanistan after news of his deployment was leaked on the U.S. Web site the Drudge Report.

Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup, chief of the Defense Staff, said he decided to withdraw the prince after senior commanders assessed the risks, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Harry, third in line to the British throne, has been serving on the front line with an army unit in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province since mid-December. He was originally due to return to Britain within weeks, but "the situation has now clearly changed," the statement said.

The decision was based on concerns that worldwide media coverage of Harry in Afghanistan could put him and his comrades at increased risk.

The ministry asked the media not to speculate on Harry's location — or how and when he would return — until he was back in Britain.

British officials had hoped to keep Prince Harry's deployment secret until he had safely returned, but they released video of him serving in Helmand Province after the leak appeared on the Drudge Report.

The ministry deplored the leak by "elements of the foreign media."

"However, this was a circumstance that we have always been aware of and one for which we have had contingency plans in place," the statement said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the prince had demonstrated that he was an exemplary young officer. "The whole of Britain will be proud of the outstanding service he is giving," he said.

Harry, 23, is the first royal to serve in a combat zone since his uncle Prince Andrew flew helicopters during Britain's war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982.

Tours to Afghanistan usually last six months; Harry has served 10 weeks.

Harry conceded in an interview filmed last week that when he returns to Britain he could be a "top target" for Islamic terrorists.

"Once this ... comes out, every single person that supports them will be trying to slot me," he said.

The deployment plan had been disclosed to reporters, with no specific date, but was not reported previously because of an agreement between the Ministry of Defense and all major news organizations operating in Britain, including The Associated Press. The news blackout was intended to reduce the risk to the prince and his regiment.

Harry was supposed to go to Iraq with the Blues and Royals regiment in May last year but the assignment was canceled because of security fears. Iraqi insurgents made threats on Internet chat rooms, saying he would not make it home alive.

Harry trained at Sandhurst military academy and joined the Blues and Royals as a cornet, the cavalry regiment's equivalent of a second lieutenant. After being held back from his Iraq assignment, the prince threatened to quit the army if he was not given the chance to see combat.

Harry said his older brother, William, who also graduated from Sandhurst and is training as a military pilot, is jealous of his deployment. As Britain's likely future king, Prince William is unlikely ever to see combat.

Helmand province is where most of the 7,800 British soldiers in Afghanistan are based. It has seen some of the country's fiercest combat in recent years, with NATO-led forces fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

Harry's work in Afghanistan has involved calling in airstrikes on Taliban positions as well as going out on foot patrols. He spent part of his deployment at a base 500 yards from Taliban positions, the military said.

Since Harry's arrival, his battle group has been responsible for around 30 enemy deaths, a Ministry of Defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Video showed the prince in camouflage fatigues walking across arid and dusty terrain, calling in air support, firing a machine gun and patrolling the streets of Garmsir, the southernmost part of the province. He has since left Garmsir, and his current whereabouts are being kept secret.

Disgruntled Democracy

Well, the results are in, and the winner is: you can all go to hell.

I did, however, get some good ideas from some people, most notably the addition of the phrase, "asshole-deep," which I'll insert in some part of the dialogue, perhaps in the way the Blog. Gen. suggested.

I'm actually probably going to call the movie, "Slumlord." Or maybe, "Stinkgee Housegee." Kind of a toss-up.

Finally, in late-March, I'm going to be doing my first auction-style fantasy baseball draft. Has anyone here (besides Mike) ever done one of these? Any ideas? Bid $40 on Stinkgee McGee??

Finally finally, HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!

A Somewhat New Medium

Holy shit, a new blog entry!?!?!?!

So the Disgruntled Investor has begun a new phase, doing something he's always wanted to do, but up to now has only mostly joked about doing - writing a screenplay based on the Disgruntled Investor's real estate/slumlord experiences. I've always thought that all of this crap is completely unbelievable (though true!), and having popped out my first attempt at a screenplay last year (about a guy who hates his job and decides to go around visiting haunted battlefields...yeah, it wasn't great, but it proved I could actually write one of these things), I've decided to give this a whirl.

So, I'll be working on that for the next month or two, and I'll update with any, um, updates. I'm planning on entering it into some screenwriting contests and/or sending it off to some agents. Basically, I'd like to do something worthwhile this year, and it's always been my disgruntled goal in life to write a screenplay and get it made into a movie. So, that's what's new with me.

Having said all that, the damn thing needs a title. I'm terrible at coming up with clever titles for anything I write, preferring instead to pilfer other people's clever ideas (thx MC Paul Barman for this post's title). So, I'm posting a poll (the blog's first!) on the sidebar. I've come up with a few ideas, and you can all vote on which one you think seems best. I'll also take suggestions, and add them to the poll if I like them enough. Remember, this movie is going to be based on all of the crazy shit that's happened with my failed attempts at selling the places, and the insane, phantom shitter, alcoholic, suicidal, etc., etc. tenants I've had, so keep that in mind with the titles. I'll use whichever one wins as my title. That's my pledge to you. Since I really only have two actual usable ideas (guess which ones!) I heartily encourage write-in entries.

Here's what I have so far:

"I'm So Glad" - kind of relates to my first scene, where the main character (based on the DI), pops a CD - specifically, Cream's "Fresh Cream" (good album) in and the song that comes up is "I'm So Glad." Anyway, it's a great song, and one that fits the general tone of the movie, I think

"The Disgruntled Investor" - because, you see, the movie is about a real estate INVESTOR, who, through various mishaps and shenanigans, becomes rather DISGRUNTLED

"I'm Gee!!" - just anticipating Ete Packley's write-in

Other - write-ins, again, gladly accepted

It'll be fun and interactive!

Gee...