Scalia's behavior is becoming more and more bizarre. Now it has come to the attention of the MSM and Press.
Is something worng with this guy, and can a Supreme be re-called, impeached or something, if he is a little NUTZ!
Seems to me that a Supreme should not have mental problems. But what do I know?
Once Again, Scalia's the Talk of the Town:
"Justice Antonin Scalia is at it again.
'For Pete's sake, if you can't trust your Supreme Court justice more than that, get a life!' he said Wednesday, replying to an audience member at the University of Connecticut who asked about Scalia's refusal last year to sit out a case involving his hunting partner, Vice President Cheney."
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Cafe Politico � Heard Around the Blogosphere
Cafe Politico � Heard Around the Blogosphere:
"Their newest crusade? The War on the Easter Bunny.
Only a bunch of privileged, straight, white guys could think this shit up. Can you imagine how O'Reilly and company would act if they actually did experience some discrimination or persecution? "
Why don't these idiots know that the Easter Bunny is a pagan hold over, and has nothing to do with Christ. Although I am sure he would have loved little Bunnies, they have nothing to do with Easter.
These guys don't even know what the hell hey are talking about.
Why I find that surprising, I have no idea.
"Their newest crusade? The War on the Easter Bunny.
Only a bunch of privileged, straight, white guys could think this shit up. Can you imagine how O'Reilly and company would act if they actually did experience some discrimination or persecution? "
Why don't these idiots know that the Easter Bunny is a pagan hold over, and has nothing to do with Christ. Although I am sure he would have loved little Bunnies, they have nothing to do with Easter.
These guys don't even know what the hell hey are talking about.
Why I find that surprising, I have no idea.
Modern Conservative Movement Values
Cafe Politico:
"The Abramoff case is instructive not just as a tale of the rise and fall of a corrupt lobbyist, but as a case study of the modern conservative political movement.
While the mainstream media are busy questioning the wisdom of the Democrats trying to appeal to their liberal base, and pretending that the Abramoff scandal has nothing to do with the GOP in general, they ignore the fact that the Abramoff scandal is about more than just Jack Abramoff- it�s about the conservative culture in Washington. And it�s damning.
If you read beyond the headlines, you will see many familiar names- Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, Tom Delay, Michael Scanlon, Diebold, Bob Ney etc. And of course, Karl Rove and George Bush.
Rolling Stone has an excellent and in-depth article about the conservative culture that allowed Abramoff to thrive and about those around him who serve at the highest levels of our government, including the Oval Office. It's a story the mainstream media has ignored."
"The Abramoff case is instructive not just as a tale of the rise and fall of a corrupt lobbyist, but as a case study of the modern conservative political movement.
While the mainstream media are busy questioning the wisdom of the Democrats trying to appeal to their liberal base, and pretending that the Abramoff scandal has nothing to do with the GOP in general, they ignore the fact that the Abramoff scandal is about more than just Jack Abramoff- it�s about the conservative culture in Washington. And it�s damning.
If you read beyond the headlines, you will see many familiar names- Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, Tom Delay, Michael Scanlon, Diebold, Bob Ney etc. And of course, Karl Rove and George Bush.
Rolling Stone has an excellent and in-depth article about the conservative culture that allowed Abramoff to thrive and about those around him who serve at the highest levels of our government, including the Oval Office. It's a story the mainstream media has ignored."
Cheney in the cross-hairs; big time.
Firedoglake - Firedoglake weblog � Cheney Ordered Libby To Leak Classified Information:
"The evidence that Cheney was a key architect in the effort to discredit Wilson, and quite possibly Fitzgerald's target. is growing. Says Murray:"
"The evidence that Cheney was a key architect in the effort to discredit Wilson, and quite possibly Fitzgerald's target. is growing. Says Murray:"
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Over the Moon: how football wins recruits for sect leader in Brazil
Somebody needs to do something about this Moonie Cult. Sun Myung Fool seems to be everywhere these days and, as usual, up to no good!
Guardian Unlimited Special reports Over the Moon: how football wins recruits for sect leader in Brazil:
"Unification Church's critics say sports projects are used to brainwash impoverished young people "
Guardian Unlimited Special reports Over the Moon: how football wins recruits for sect leader in Brazil:
"Unification Church's critics say sports projects are used to brainwash impoverished young people "
Pete Pace's defense of Rummy; he had no choice
Generals Break With Tradition Over Rumsfeld - New York Times:
"Critics of Mr. Rumsfeld, who agree with the former generals who have derided him as wrongheaded and arrogant, may see General Pace's endorsement as fulsome flattery. After all, some officers contend that the 73-year-old defense secretary has promoted top leaders based largely on their fealty to him, his management of the war in Iraq and his ambitious plan to remake the military.
But the comments by General Pace of the Marines were more than a public plug for a boss under fire. Scholars who study the armed forces say they were a public restatement of a bedrock principle of American governance: civilian control of the military.
'This is what the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is expected to do by tradition and law,' said Dennis E. Showalter, a military historian at Colorado College who has taught at the Air Force Academy and West Point. Short of submitting his own resignation, General Pace had little choice but to offer a public show of support, Mr. Showalter said."
"Critics of Mr. Rumsfeld, who agree with the former generals who have derided him as wrongheaded and arrogant, may see General Pace's endorsement as fulsome flattery. After all, some officers contend that the 73-year-old defense secretary has promoted top leaders based largely on their fealty to him, his management of the war in Iraq and his ambitious plan to remake the military.
But the comments by General Pace of the Marines were more than a public plug for a boss under fire. Scholars who study the armed forces say they were a public restatement of a bedrock principle of American governance: civilian control of the military.
'This is what the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is expected to do by tradition and law,' said Dennis E. Showalter, a military historian at Colorado College who has taught at the Air Force Academy and West Point. Short of submitting his own resignation, General Pace had little choice but to offer a public show of support, Mr. Showalter said."
Pope says we're in Satan's grip
Pope says we're in Satan's grip - World - theage.com.au:
"POPE Benedict has warned that the world is in the grip of Satan as he prayed for mankind to open its eyes to the 'filth around us'.
At a Good Friday ceremony recreating the passage of Jesus Christ to the Crucifixion, Benedict XVI lashed out at man's 'decadent narcissism'.
The Good Friday service, held at the Colosseum, showed the 14 stages of Christ's suffering and was designed to allow worshippers to share in the agony of Jesus. The Pope himself carried the cross during two stages.
The prayers, written by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Vatican City's vicar-general, were approved by the Pope, and reflect his conservative outlook.
'Surely God is deeply pained by the attack on the family,' the Pope said. 'Today we seem to be witnessing a kind of anti-Genesis, a counter-plan, a diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family.'"
I don't know of anyone who wants to eliminate the family. The Church has done a pitiful job becoming a new community which supports the family, after the industrial revolution began tearing the family assusnder, with grown children folowing their industrial and corporate jobs all over the country and, now, the world. Extended families living near each other are rare anymore. (All that business with the pedophiles in the priesthood didn't help matters.)
But here's the thing. It is my humble opinion that people all over the world are losing trust in their institutions, religious, political, economic...you name it. I don't see the lack of faith that many of the clergy, from many denominations, are talking about. There is a growing spiritual/faith movement in this country. It is just not heavily reliant on the churches.
I do, however, agree with the Pope; there is a dark force at work in ths world. Many of the pro-family types in this nation are screaming about attacks on the family while waving the falg and demanding military attacks on Muslim families in the middle east.
That, You Holiness, is evil.
"POPE Benedict has warned that the world is in the grip of Satan as he prayed for mankind to open its eyes to the 'filth around us'.
At a Good Friday ceremony recreating the passage of Jesus Christ to the Crucifixion, Benedict XVI lashed out at man's 'decadent narcissism'.
The Good Friday service, held at the Colosseum, showed the 14 stages of Christ's suffering and was designed to allow worshippers to share in the agony of Jesus. The Pope himself carried the cross during two stages.
The prayers, written by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Vatican City's vicar-general, were approved by the Pope, and reflect his conservative outlook.
'Surely God is deeply pained by the attack on the family,' the Pope said. 'Today we seem to be witnessing a kind of anti-Genesis, a counter-plan, a diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family.'"
I don't know of anyone who wants to eliminate the family. The Church has done a pitiful job becoming a new community which supports the family, after the industrial revolution began tearing the family assusnder, with grown children folowing their industrial and corporate jobs all over the country and, now, the world. Extended families living near each other are rare anymore. (All that business with the pedophiles in the priesthood didn't help matters.)
But here's the thing. It is my humble opinion that people all over the world are losing trust in their institutions, religious, political, economic...you name it. I don't see the lack of faith that many of the clergy, from many denominations, are talking about. There is a growing spiritual/faith movement in this country. It is just not heavily reliant on the churches.
I do, however, agree with the Pope; there is a dark force at work in ths world. Many of the pro-family types in this nation are screaming about attacks on the family while waving the falg and demanding military attacks on Muslim families in the middle east.
That, You Holiness, is evil.
Afghan battle kills 41 Taliban - South and Central Asia - MSNBC.com
Afghan battle kills 41 Taliban - South and Central Asia - MSNBC.com:
"KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Forty-one Taliban fighters and six Afghan policemen were killed in a fierce battle in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said on Saturday.
There were no foreign casualties in Friday�s battle between Taliban fighters and Afghan and foreign forces in the Zare Dasht district of Kandahar province, Kandahar Governor Assadullah Khalid said.
'Forty-one Taliban were killed in the fighting, mostly as a result of air bombing. Six policemen, including the Zare Dasht police chief, were also killed,' Khalid told a news conference in Kandahar city. A number of Taliban bodies had been recovered."
"KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Forty-one Taliban fighters and six Afghan policemen were killed in a fierce battle in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said on Saturday.
There were no foreign casualties in Friday�s battle between Taliban fighters and Afghan and foreign forces in the Zare Dasht district of Kandahar province, Kandahar Governor Assadullah Khalid said.
'Forty-one Taliban were killed in the fighting, mostly as a result of air bombing. Six policemen, including the Zare Dasht police chief, were also killed,' Khalid told a news conference in Kandahar city. A number of Taliban bodies had been recovered."
Bush's band of war-happy simpletons
Keep them away from the tools of power!
We are not kidding.
Bush's band of war-happy simpletons:
"Reports that the Bush administration is considering a nuclear strike on Iran may not frighten the mad mullahs in Tehran, but it will scare the hell out of many Americans here at home.
It's hard to believe that with one military venture gone bad in Iraq and a world that now sees Washington as the greatest threat to peace, the Bushies would contemplate attacking a second nation, this time with tactical nukes. Which prompts two questions: Are these guys obsessed with a messianic sense of world mission that has robbed them of common sense? Or are they just plain nuts? "
We are not kidding.
Bush's band of war-happy simpletons:
"Reports that the Bush administration is considering a nuclear strike on Iran may not frighten the mad mullahs in Tehran, but it will scare the hell out of many Americans here at home.
It's hard to believe that with one military venture gone bad in Iraq and a world that now sees Washington as the greatest threat to peace, the Bushies would contemplate attacking a second nation, this time with tactical nukes. Which prompts two questions: Are these guys obsessed with a messianic sense of world mission that has robbed them of common sense? Or are they just plain nuts? "
MoDo: The patriotic Generals' Mutiny
MoDo gets it!
Sound off: Where the views and opinions of our staff and others are expressed on various topics that relate to Bush: "WASHINGTON -- When Donald Rumsfeld was 10, his operating principle, as described by his dad, was: 'If it doesn't go easy, force it.' Not much has changed in the last 63 years. Goodness, gracious! Will that dadburn Rummy ever follow any of his own rules?
Rumsfeld's Rules offer many wise axioms that Washington's most famous infighter is ignoring as he engages in the Mother of All Infighting Battles against rebellious generals.
One rule advises: 'Preserve the president's options. He may need them.' Others include 'It is easier to get into something than to get out of it' and 'Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating' the mistakes of your predecessors.
History will long dwell on how America made the same bloody errors in Vietnam and Iraq within a generation, trading the arrogant, obtuse, wire-rimmed Robert McNamara for the arrogant, obtuse, wire-rimmed Donald Rumsfeld. "
Sound off: Where the views and opinions of our staff and others are expressed on various topics that relate to Bush: "WASHINGTON -- When Donald Rumsfeld was 10, his operating principle, as described by his dad, was: 'If it doesn't go easy, force it.' Not much has changed in the last 63 years. Goodness, gracious! Will that dadburn Rummy ever follow any of his own rules?
Rumsfeld's Rules offer many wise axioms that Washington's most famous infighter is ignoring as he engages in the Mother of All Infighting Battles against rebellious generals.
One rule advises: 'Preserve the president's options. He may need them.' Others include 'It is easier to get into something than to get out of it' and 'Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating' the mistakes of your predecessors.
History will long dwell on how America made the same bloody errors in Vietnam and Iraq within a generation, trading the arrogant, obtuse, wire-rimmed Robert McNamara for the arrogant, obtuse, wire-rimmed Donald Rumsfeld. "
IRAQ: Baghdad Morgue Overflowing Daily
IRAQ: Baghdad Morgue Overflowing Daily:
"BAGHDAD, Apr 14 (IPS) - As sectarian killings continue to rise in Iraq, the central morgue in Baghdad is unable to keep up with the daily influx of bodies.
The morgue is receiving a minimum of 60 bodies a day and sometimes more than 100, a morgue employee told IPS on condition of anonymity.
'The average is probably over 85,' said the employee on the morning of April 12, as scores of family members waited outside the building to see if their loved ones were among the dead.
The family of a man named Ashraf who had been taken away by the Iraqi police Feb. 16 anxiously searched through digital photographs inside the morgue. He then found what he was looking for.
'His two sons were killed when Ashraf was taken,' said his uncle, 50-year-old Aziz. 'Ashraf was a bricklayer who was simply trying to do his job, and now we see what has become of him in our new democracy.' " (cont.; it gets pretty graphic)
"BAGHDAD, Apr 14 (IPS) - As sectarian killings continue to rise in Iraq, the central morgue in Baghdad is unable to keep up with the daily influx of bodies.
The morgue is receiving a minimum of 60 bodies a day and sometimes more than 100, a morgue employee told IPS on condition of anonymity.
'The average is probably over 85,' said the employee on the morning of April 12, as scores of family members waited outside the building to see if their loved ones were among the dead.
The family of a man named Ashraf who had been taken away by the Iraqi police Feb. 16 anxiously searched through digital photographs inside the morgue. He then found what he was looking for.
'His two sons were killed when Ashraf was taken,' said his uncle, 50-year-old Aziz. 'Ashraf was a bricklayer who was simply trying to do his job, and now we see what has become of him in our new democracy.' " (cont.; it gets pretty graphic)
Cruella Harris going down in flames
Political Wire: In Florida, Nelson Crushes Harris in Latest Poll:
"Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) continues to struggle in her bid to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.
Nelson currently leads Harris by an astonishing 30 points, 57% to 27%. These numbers have Nelson 'counting down the days until May 12,' the Florida filing deadline which would ensure a Nelson-Harris match-up should no other candidates enter the race. "
"Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) continues to struggle in her bid to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.
Nelson currently leads Harris by an astonishing 30 points, 57% to 27%. These numbers have Nelson 'counting down the days until May 12,' the Florida filing deadline which would ensure a Nelson-Harris match-up should no other candidates enter the race. "
The GOP's Betrayal On Speech
The GOP's Betrayal On Speech:
"If in November Republicans lose control of the House of Representatives, April 5 should be remembered as the day they demonstrated that they earned defeat. Traducing the Constitution and disgracing conservatism, they used their power for their only remaining purpose -- to cling to power. Their vote to restrict freedom of speech came just as the GOP's conservative base is coming to the conclusion that House Republicans are not worth working for in October or venturing out to vote for in November.
The 'problem' Republicans addressed is that in 2004 Democrats were more successful than Republicans in using so-called 527 organizations -- advocacy groups named after the tax code provision governing them. In 2002 Congress passed the McCain-Feingold legislation banning large 'soft money' contributions for parties -- money for issue-advocacy and organizational activities, not for candidates. In 2004, to the surprise of no sensible person and most McCain-Feingold supporters, much of the money -- especially huge contributions from rich liberals -- was diverted to 527s. So on April 5, House Republicans, easily jettisoning what little remains of their ballast of belief in freedom and limited government, voted to severely limit the amounts that can be given to 527s."
"If in November Republicans lose control of the House of Representatives, April 5 should be remembered as the day they demonstrated that they earned defeat. Traducing the Constitution and disgracing conservatism, they used their power for their only remaining purpose -- to cling to power. Their vote to restrict freedom of speech came just as the GOP's conservative base is coming to the conclusion that House Republicans are not worth working for in October or venturing out to vote for in November.
The 'problem' Republicans addressed is that in 2004 Democrats were more successful than Republicans in using so-called 527 organizations -- advocacy groups named after the tax code provision governing them. In 2002 Congress passed the McCain-Feingold legislation banning large 'soft money' contributions for parties -- money for issue-advocacy and organizational activities, not for candidates. In 2004, to the surprise of no sensible person and most McCain-Feingold supporters, much of the money -- especially huge contributions from rich liberals -- was diverted to 527s. So on April 5, House Republicans, easily jettisoning what little remains of their ballast of belief in freedom and limited government, voted to severely limit the amounts that can be given to 527s."
ITAR-TASS
The worm is definitely turning.
ITAR-TASS:
"NEW YORK, April 15 (Itar-Tass) -- U.S. investors, traditional supporters of the Republican Party, seem to be ever more critical of the current Administration and President George W. Bush in person.
The 'investor exodus' phenomenon may have dire effects in the forthcoming congressional elections in November and eventually lead to the Republicans' loss in the struggle for control of the Congress, as follows from a Zogby International opinion poll.
According to the poll results Business Week published on Friday a mere 43 percent of the polled investors approve of George W. Bush's policies. Business Week recalls that in the 2004 presidential election Bush had the backing of 61 percent of investors.
The investor class is a major driving force in U.S. politics. It encompasses virtually all walks of life, because everybody who invests one' s earnings into securities regards oneself as an investor. (cont.)
ITAR-TASS:
"NEW YORK, April 15 (Itar-Tass) -- U.S. investors, traditional supporters of the Republican Party, seem to be ever more critical of the current Administration and President George W. Bush in person.
The 'investor exodus' phenomenon may have dire effects in the forthcoming congressional elections in November and eventually lead to the Republicans' loss in the struggle for control of the Congress, as follows from a Zogby International opinion poll.
According to the poll results Business Week published on Friday a mere 43 percent of the polled investors approve of George W. Bush's policies. Business Week recalls that in the 2004 presidential election Bush had the backing of 61 percent of investors.
The investor class is a major driving force in U.S. politics. It encompasses virtually all walks of life, because everybody who invests one' s earnings into securities regards oneself as an investor. (cont.)
The Writings of Greg Palast
Rummy can't resign and Junior can't fire him, so that's that.
Does anyone think that the Bushites want some outsider coming into the pentagon> Oh, no...that would be suicidal!
The Writings of Greg Palast:
"Well, here they come: the wannabe Rommels, the gaggle of generals, safely retired, to lay siege to Donald Rumsfeld. This week, six of them have called for the Secretary of Defense's resignation.
Well, according to my watch, they're about four years too late -- and they still don't get it.
I know that most of my readers will be tickled pink that the bemedalled boys in crew cuts are finally ready to kick Rummy In the rump, in public. But to me, it just shows me that these boys still can't shoot straight.
It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who stood up in front of the UN and identified two mobile latrines as biological weapons labs, was it, General Powell?
It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who told us our next warning from Saddam could be a mushroom cloud, was it Condoleeza?
It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who declared that Al Qaeda and Saddam were going steady, was it, Mr. Cheney?
Yes, Rumfeld is a swaggering bag of mendacious arrogance, a duplicitous chicken-hawk, yellow-bellied bully-boy and Tinker-Toy Napoleon -- but he didn't appoint himself Secretary of Defense. "
Does anyone think that the Bushites want some outsider coming into the pentagon> Oh, no...that would be suicidal!
The Writings of Greg Palast:
"Well, here they come: the wannabe Rommels, the gaggle of generals, safely retired, to lay siege to Donald Rumsfeld. This week, six of them have called for the Secretary of Defense's resignation.
Well, according to my watch, they're about four years too late -- and they still don't get it.
I know that most of my readers will be tickled pink that the bemedalled boys in crew cuts are finally ready to kick Rummy In the rump, in public. But to me, it just shows me that these boys still can't shoot straight.
It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who stood up in front of the UN and identified two mobile latrines as biological weapons labs, was it, General Powell?
It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who told us our next warning from Saddam could be a mushroom cloud, was it Condoleeza?
It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who declared that Al Qaeda and Saddam were going steady, was it, Mr. Cheney?
Yes, Rumfeld is a swaggering bag of mendacious arrogance, a duplicitous chicken-hawk, yellow-bellied bully-boy and Tinker-Toy Napoleon -- but he didn't appoint himself Secretary of Defense. "
U.S. Program Is Directed at Altering Iran's Politics - New York Times
Ah, for chrissake!
U.S. Program Is Directed at Altering Iran's Politics - New York Times:
"WASHINGTON, April 8: As the Bush administration confronts the Tehran government over its suspected nuclear weapons program and accusations that it supports terrorism, a newly created office of Iranian affairs in the State Department is poring over applications for a rapidly expanding program to change the political process inside Iran.
The project, which will spend $7 million in the current fiscal year, would become many times larger next year if Congress approves a broad request for $85 million that the Bush administration has requested for scholarships, exchange programs, radio and television broadcasts and other activities aimed at shaking up Iran's political system.
The effort, overseen by Elizabeth Cheney, a deputy assistant secretary of state who is a daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, has been denounced by Iran's leaders as meddling in their internal affairs."
U.S. Program Is Directed at Altering Iran's Politics - New York Times:
"WASHINGTON, April 8: As the Bush administration confronts the Tehran government over its suspected nuclear weapons program and accusations that it supports terrorism, a newly created office of Iranian affairs in the State Department is poring over applications for a rapidly expanding program to change the political process inside Iran.
The project, which will spend $7 million in the current fiscal year, would become many times larger next year if Congress approves a broad request for $85 million that the Bush administration has requested for scholarships, exchange programs, radio and television broadcasts and other activities aimed at shaking up Iran's political system.
The effort, overseen by Elizabeth Cheney, a deputy assistant secretary of state who is a daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, has been denounced by Iran's leaders as meddling in their internal affairs."
Consortiumnews.com
Is Hollywood trying to tell television viewers something?
Consortiumnews.com:
"Like the plot from this year's TV terrorism drama '24,' suspicions over who's at fault for a real-life string of U.S. military and political disasters have swirled around top administration officials before settling on the ultimate culprit: an arrogant, self-centered President who has put in motion dangerous forces that he can't control"
| Army report on al-Qaida accuses Rumsfeld
Making it official.
Guardian Unlimited Special reports Army report on al-Qaida accuses Rumsfeld:
"Donald Rumsfeld was directly linked to prisoner abuse for the first time yesterday, when it emerged he had been 'personally involved' in a Guant�namo Bay interrogation found by military investigators to have been 'degrading and abusive'.
Human Rights Watch last night called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate whether the defence secretary could be criminally liable for the treatment of Mohamed al-Qahtani, a Saudi al-Qaida suspect forced to wear women's underwear, stand naked in front of a woman interrogator, and to perform 'dog tricks' on a leash, in late 2002 and early 2003. The US rights group said it had obtained a copy of the interrogation log, which showed he was also subjected to sleep deprivation and forced to maintain 'stress' positions; it concluded that the treatment 'amounted to torture'."
Guardian Unlimited Special reports Army report on al-Qaida accuses Rumsfeld:
"Donald Rumsfeld was directly linked to prisoner abuse for the first time yesterday, when it emerged he had been 'personally involved' in a Guant�namo Bay interrogation found by military investigators to have been 'degrading and abusive'.
Human Rights Watch last night called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate whether the defence secretary could be criminally liable for the treatment of Mohamed al-Qahtani, a Saudi al-Qaida suspect forced to wear women's underwear, stand naked in front of a woman interrogator, and to perform 'dog tricks' on a leash, in late 2002 and early 2003. The US rights group said it had obtained a copy of the interrogation log, which showed he was also subjected to sleep deprivation and forced to maintain 'stress' positions; it concluded that the treatment 'amounted to torture'."
Senator expects seven lawmakers to go to jail
Is Frist the Senator who will be wearing orange this Fall.
Senator expects seven lawmakers to go to jail:
"WAGONER, Okla. U-S Senator Tom Coburn isn't naming names, but he expects six congressmen and a fellow senator will go to jail.
That's because he thinks they'll be facing corruption charges following investigations involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and others.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Wagoner last night, Coburn said that 'if you've been keeping up with things, you've got a pretty good idea' of who the seven lawmakers are.
The Oklahoma Republican says members of both parties have been involved in questionable dealings.
The remarks were made in relation to his attempts to curb 'earmarking,' which is the practice of inserting appropriations for specific projects into unrelated bills."
Mirror, Mirror on the Web - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
"Watching America," the website to which this German article refers, is not an easy read for most Americans, I would imagine. I know it isn't for this American, but I read it, every day.
We highly recommend it, especially for Americans, nevertheless. We need to know what te rest of the world is thinking and feeling, because it does matter.
SPIEGEL Surfs the Web: Mirror, Mirror on the Web - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News:
"A new Web site offers a portal of daily news about the United States from non-US sources. To our American friends out there: after finishing your daily diet of the usual English-language newspaper and corn flakes, you might want to pay Watching America a visit."
I, especially, feel heartened by the above, leading paragraph.
That we have friends in Germany, among it's people, is tremendously important to me and, I believe, to the America peace movement and resistance to Bush foreign policiy. The reasons for that humble, very personal opinion go way back, yet recently I have longed for conversations with Germans, especially those who remember the years under Hitler.
The German people have more to teach us than those of any other country on earth and the lessons are long over-due.
A short personal history, for purposes of clarity:
I was born three years after VE Day. With the war fresh in the memories of my parents, I had a very early "education" all about WWII, the war with Germany and the Holocaust. My father was far more affected by the Great Depression than was my mother. Mother was greatly affected by the Holocaust. The films that came back from Germany, of the starving, tortured and, finally, murdered Jews was seared into her psyche. We were not Jewish.
Nevertheless, she never blamed the German people. She did not hate the German people anymore than she would hate a whole race of people.
While many Americans wanted to believe that the Holocaust and the aggression of Adolph Hitler were sign of a basic flaw in the character of the German people, Mother always said that was hogwash. (That theory was disproved by a social psychologist in America. He found that, given the right circumstances, we are all capable, to some degree of atrocities.) So, as always, Mother, it turned out, had been right-on.
She always warned me; "Don't ever think that it cannot happen here, because it can. It can happen anywhere."
Probably because of Mother's continuing interest in what happened in Germany, I, too, became interested in studying Hitler. In my chosen field of psycholgy, he, and others of his ilk, became a sources of great interest.
In the last 4 years, I have become far more interested in knowing about the German people, of Hitler's era, as well as Germans who have been born since WWII; what are they thinking, what can they tell us?
There was a time that merely hearing a German accent caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. But to day, that is the accent I long to hear.
I have watched the German people endure their recent history with grace and dignity.
We could Learn a lot from them, if we could only let go of the denial enought to know, that it is happening here.
We highly recommend it, especially for Americans, nevertheless. We need to know what te rest of the world is thinking and feeling, because it does matter.
SPIEGEL Surfs the Web: Mirror, Mirror on the Web - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News:
"A new Web site offers a portal of daily news about the United States from non-US sources. To our American friends out there: after finishing your daily diet of the usual English-language newspaper and corn flakes, you might want to pay Watching America a visit."
I, especially, feel heartened by the above, leading paragraph.
That we have friends in Germany, among it's people, is tremendously important to me and, I believe, to the America peace movement and resistance to Bush foreign policiy. The reasons for that humble, very personal opinion go way back, yet recently I have longed for conversations with Germans, especially those who remember the years under Hitler.
The German people have more to teach us than those of any other country on earth and the lessons are long over-due.
A short personal history, for purposes of clarity:
I was born three years after VE Day. With the war fresh in the memories of my parents, I had a very early "education" all about WWII, the war with Germany and the Holocaust. My father was far more affected by the Great Depression than was my mother. Mother was greatly affected by the Holocaust. The films that came back from Germany, of the starving, tortured and, finally, murdered Jews was seared into her psyche. We were not Jewish.
Nevertheless, she never blamed the German people. She did not hate the German people anymore than she would hate a whole race of people.
While many Americans wanted to believe that the Holocaust and the aggression of Adolph Hitler were sign of a basic flaw in the character of the German people, Mother always said that was hogwash. (That theory was disproved by a social psychologist in America. He found that, given the right circumstances, we are all capable, to some degree of atrocities.) So, as always, Mother, it turned out, had been right-on.
She always warned me; "Don't ever think that it cannot happen here, because it can. It can happen anywhere."
Probably because of Mother's continuing interest in what happened in Germany, I, too, became interested in studying Hitler. In my chosen field of psycholgy, he, and others of his ilk, became a sources of great interest.
In the last 4 years, I have become far more interested in knowing about the German people, of Hitler's era, as well as Germans who have been born since WWII; what are they thinking, what can they tell us?
There was a time that merely hearing a German accent caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. But to day, that is the accent I long to hear.
I have watched the German people endure their recent history with grace and dignity.
We could Learn a lot from them, if we could only let go of the denial enought to know, that it is happening here.
Saudis warned Cheny of disasters that would follow an invasion
...and they were right!
Cheney didn't listen, but he didn't isten to State or Energy or anyone else, who told him anything he did not wish to hear.
Crazy, paranoid old fool!
Watching America:
"BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson recently recalled an interview he conducted some three years ago with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, shortly before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. At the time, Prince Saud predicted the myriad disasters he believed would follow such an invasion: U.S. and British troops would be bogged down in Iraq for years; there would be civil war between Sunnis and Shiites.
'And what do the Americans say when you tell them this,' Simpson asked him. 'They don't even listen,' Prince Saud said. When Simpson asked Prince Saud why he thought the U.S. was so determined to invade Iraq, he said he had put the same question to Vice-President Dick Cheney who had replied: 'Because it's doable.' "
Cheney didn't listen, but he didn't isten to State or Energy or anyone else, who told him anything he did not wish to hear.
Crazy, paranoid old fool!
Watching America:
"BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson recently recalled an interview he conducted some three years ago with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, shortly before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. At the time, Prince Saud predicted the myriad disasters he believed would follow such an invasion: U.S. and British troops would be bogged down in Iraq for years; there would be civil war between Sunnis and Shiites.
'And what do the Americans say when you tell them this,' Simpson asked him. 'They don't even listen,' Prince Saud said. When Simpson asked Prince Saud why he thought the U.S. was so determined to invade Iraq, he said he had put the same question to Vice-President Dick Cheney who had replied: 'Because it's doable.' "
U.S. Buys Back Stolen Data by Afghan Base - Yahoo! News
Un-freakin'-believable!
U.S. Buys Back Stolen Data by Afghan Base - Yahoo! News:
"BAGRAM, Afghanistan - American investigators armed with a 'box full' of cash have paid thousands of dollars to buy back stolen computer drives, many of which contain sensitive military data, shopkeepers outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan said Friday. "
U.S. Buys Back Stolen Data by Afghan Base - Yahoo! News:
"BAGRAM, Afghanistan - American investigators armed with a 'box full' of cash have paid thousands of dollars to buy back stolen computer drives, many of which contain sensitive military data, shopkeepers outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan said Friday. "
E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official
The stench of corruption in this admministration can only be compared to that of a Red Tide.
E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON - A batch of 278 e-mails between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a Bush administration official show a highly inappropriate relationship where gifts and business interests mixed freely and frequently, federal prosecutors said Friday. "
E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON - A batch of 278 e-mails between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a Bush administration official show a highly inappropriate relationship where gifts and business interests mixed freely and frequently, federal prosecutors said Friday. "
Friday, April 14, 2006
Cheney War-profiterring worse than we thought
The paranoid old thief made over 8 mil last year.
Latest News The Huffington Post#a019160
Just another one of those BFEE coincidences, I suppose.
Getting booed at RFK stadium (fitting, don't you think?) is nothing compared to what ought to happen to this man.
Cheney has got some major Karmic-blowback coming. I wouldn't want to be within 500 miles of this guy. Karmic fallout is a bitch.
Pop the corn and sit back, folks. Get ready to see some major lessons from the Universe.
Latest News The Huffington Post#a019160
Just another one of those BFEE coincidences, I suppose.
Getting booed at RFK stadium (fitting, don't you think?) is nothing compared to what ought to happen to this man.
Cheney has got some major Karmic-blowback coming. I wouldn't want to be within 500 miles of this guy. Karmic fallout is a bitch.
Pop the corn and sit back, folks. Get ready to see some major lessons from the Universe.
NSA Surveillance: More Muck From the Bowels of AT&T | The Huffington Post
This is a must read:
The Blog Shayana Kadidal: NSA Surveillance: More Muck From the Bowels of AT&T The Huffington Post:
"Last week I posted a short summary of developments in the EFF case against AT&T for its complicity in the NSA's illegal warrantless spying program. Two weeks ago EFF filed papers containing a bombshell: the accusation that AT&T installed or helped the government install equipment in its main facilities to intercept almost all communications that move through AT&T's circuits."
The Blog Shayana Kadidal: NSA Surveillance: More Muck From the Bowels of AT&T The Huffington Post:
"Last week I posted a short summary of developments in the EFF case against AT&T for its complicity in the NSA's illegal warrantless spying program. Two weeks ago EFF filed papers containing a bombshell: the accusation that AT&T installed or helped the government install equipment in its main facilities to intercept almost all communications that move through AT&T's circuits."
Coleen Rowley: Republican Control Threatens Our Security | The Huffington Post
Hey! Where do I have to move to vote for this woman?
She makes more damned sense than just about anyone is Washington?
The Blog Coleen Rowley: Republican Control Threatens Our Security The Huffington Post:
"Those who cry out I'm exploiting a threat to our nation's security for political gain have it exactly backwards. I'm running for Congress because Republican control of government is a threat to our national security! It was a Republican administration that, despite numerous warnings from Richard Clarke and U.S. intelligence, ignored the threat from Osama bin Laden. Bush did not take notice of the CIA's Presidential Brief in August 2001 about Al Qaida being determined to attack. Meanwhile, Attorney General Ashcroft ranked terrorism as his lowest priority and told the FBI's acting director that summer that he didn't want to hear anything about terrorism.
It was a Republican administration who resisted the creation of the 9/11 commission, and then stonewalled it. And it has been a Republican administration and Congress which has systematically blocked Democratic efforts to implement the commission's recommendations.
It is a Republican Senate, and in particular Republican Senate Intelligence Committee chair Pat Roberts who have blocked investigations into the administration's misuses of prewar intelligence to prop up public support for an invasion of Iraq. It was a Republican administration who ignored the advice of experienced generals and invaded the country with fewer than half the recommended number of troops, without sufficient body armor to protect our troops, and without a plan to secure the peace. It is a Republican administration and its ever-shrinking pool of supporters who demand that our troops remain in an Iraqi shooting gallery even as the country descends into civil war."
She makes more damned sense than just about anyone is Washington?
The Blog Coleen Rowley: Republican Control Threatens Our Security The Huffington Post:
"Those who cry out I'm exploiting a threat to our nation's security for political gain have it exactly backwards. I'm running for Congress because Republican control of government is a threat to our national security! It was a Republican administration that, despite numerous warnings from Richard Clarke and U.S. intelligence, ignored the threat from Osama bin Laden. Bush did not take notice of the CIA's Presidential Brief in August 2001 about Al Qaida being determined to attack. Meanwhile, Attorney General Ashcroft ranked terrorism as his lowest priority and told the FBI's acting director that summer that he didn't want to hear anything about terrorism.
It was a Republican administration who resisted the creation of the 9/11 commission, and then stonewalled it. And it has been a Republican administration and Congress which has systematically blocked Democratic efforts to implement the commission's recommendations.
It is a Republican Senate, and in particular Republican Senate Intelligence Committee chair Pat Roberts who have blocked investigations into the administration's misuses of prewar intelligence to prop up public support for an invasion of Iraq. It was a Republican administration who ignored the advice of experienced generals and invaded the country with fewer than half the recommended number of troops, without sufficient body armor to protect our troops, and without a plan to secure the peace. It is a Republican administration and its ever-shrinking pool of supporters who demand that our troops remain in an Iraqi shooting gallery even as the country descends into civil war."
Tommy Franks accidentally tells the truth
This is really priceless!
The Blog Harry Shearer: Iraq War Planning -- The Timeline, Revisited The Huffington Post:
"On Hardball Friday afternoon, Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of the Iraq war, was defending Defense Secretary Rumsfeld against the recent offensive by the retired generals. In passing, he said this:
'Ask him about the 14 months we spent planning this thing.'
That would put the operational, as opposed to contingency, planning as having started in roughly January of 2002, about eight months later than what was implied in Joint Chiefs head Peter Pace's statement at the Pentagon briefing earlier this week."
Oops!
The Blog Harry Shearer: Iraq War Planning -- The Timeline, Revisited The Huffington Post:
"On Hardball Friday afternoon, Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of the Iraq war, was defending Defense Secretary Rumsfeld against the recent offensive by the retired generals. In passing, he said this:
'Ask him about the 14 months we spent planning this thing.'
That would put the operational, as opposed to contingency, planning as having started in roughly January of 2002, about eight months later than what was implied in Joint Chiefs head Peter Pace's statement at the Pentagon briefing earlier this week."
Oops!
U.S. Building Massive Embassy in Baghdad - Yahoo! News
Check this out. We are building a fortress of an embassy, the size of Vatican City.
Does this sound like we are planning on leaving anytime soon?
Of course not. The Bushites have no plan to leave Massa's Oil Plantation and they never did.
U.S. Building Massive Embassy in Baghdad - Yahoo! News
Does this sound like we are planning on leaving anytime soon?
Of course not. The Bushites have no plan to leave Massa's Oil Plantation and they never did.
U.S. Building Massive Embassy in Baghdad - Yahoo! News
GOP losing strategy
When will the people who keep voting for Republicans finally get it?
With Reagan we lived off plastic and now Bush II has out done Reagan.
...and lets not forget the billions, or is it trillions by now, that have simply gone missing in Iraq
OpinionJournal - Featured Article:
"If Republicans lose control of Congress in November, they might want to look back at last Thursday as the day it was lost. That's when the big spenders among House Republicans blew up a deal between the leadership and rank-in-file to impose some modest spending discipline."
With Reagan we lived off plastic and now Bush II has out done Reagan.
...and lets not forget the billions, or is it trillions by now, that have simply gone missing in Iraq
OpinionJournal - Featured Article:
"If Republicans lose control of Congress in November, they might want to look back at last Thursday as the day it was lost. That's when the big spenders among House Republicans blew up a deal between the leadership and rank-in-file to impose some modest spending discipline."
In 2005, Exxon CEO Raked in 190K a Day
Even investors are getting pissed-off and who can blame them.
This is another plank in the platform for a Greed Tax
Think Progress � In 2005, Exxon CEO Raked in 190K a Day:
"Average Americans are struggling to keep up with persistently high gas prices, now approaching $3 a gallon. Testifying before Congress last November, Exxon CEO Lee Raymond blamed the problem on 'global supply and demand' and assured the public that 'we're all in this together.'
Last year, Raymond made due with 'a total compensation package' of just $69.7 million or $190,915 a day, including weekends.
After his haul in 2005, Raymond has decided to retire. It's seems that, for Raymond, not working is even more lucrative than working:"
This is another plank in the platform for a Greed Tax
Think Progress � In 2005, Exxon CEO Raked in 190K a Day:
"Average Americans are struggling to keep up with persistently high gas prices, now approaching $3 a gallon. Testifying before Congress last November, Exxon CEO Lee Raymond blamed the problem on 'global supply and demand' and assured the public that 'we're all in this together.'
Last year, Raymond made due with 'a total compensation package' of just $69.7 million or $190,915 a day, including weekends.
After his haul in 2005, Raymond has decided to retire. It's seems that, for Raymond, not working is even more lucrative than working:"
The coming crack up in the Christian Right: Fact or fiction?
Separating the wheat from the chaff
The coming crack up in the Christian Right: Fact or fiction?:
"Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson calls for civil debate after being attacked by evangelical brethren
Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson was recently roughed up for supporting legislation that some on the right have charged is too 'gay-friendly.' When more than 80 highly respected evangelical leaders signed onto the Evangelical Climate Initiative -- a campaign recognizing that global warming is a serious threat to the planet -- they were blasted for cavorting with the enemy. And even the Rev. Pat Robertson -- once considered untouchable by his Christian right colleagues -- has gotten cuffed around by former close associates over a string of controversial commentaries he's made over the past several months.
Is the Christian conservative movement heading for a crack up? Or, are right-wing watchers making much ado about much too little?
Crack-up for the Crusading Crackpots.
The coming crack up in the Christian Right: Fact or fiction?:
"Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson calls for civil debate after being attacked by evangelical brethren
Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson was recently roughed up for supporting legislation that some on the right have charged is too 'gay-friendly.' When more than 80 highly respected evangelical leaders signed onto the Evangelical Climate Initiative -- a campaign recognizing that global warming is a serious threat to the planet -- they were blasted for cavorting with the enemy. And even the Rev. Pat Robertson -- once considered untouchable by his Christian right colleagues -- has gotten cuffed around by former close associates over a string of controversial commentaries he's made over the past several months.
Is the Christian conservative movement heading for a crack up? Or, are right-wing watchers making much ado about much too little?
Crack-up for the Crusading Crackpots.
Freedom House receiving US government money "for clandestine activities inside Iran"
Freedom House receiving US government money "for clandestine activities inside Iran":
"While Mohamad ElBaradei, the atomic energy chief of the United Nations, urges restraint, Michael Ledeen, an American Enterprise Institute neocon, advocates 'regime change' in Iran, and charges the Bush Administration with being asleep at the wheel
Regardless of what Michael Ledeen thinks of conflict in the Middle East, Iran has been in George W. Bush's sights for quite some time. Recently Bush Administration officials and some members of the European Union have been warning that conflict with Iran over its nuclear program may be inevitable, particularly if Iran doesn't cease its effort to perfect uranium enrichment.
In a newly released National Security Strategy (NSS) the Bush Administration placed Iran squarely in its crosshairs. Along with affirming Bush's preventive (not 'preemptive'*) strike doctrine -- as outlined in the 2002 NSS -- the current document clearly has Iran in mind when it states that the U.S. is 'committed to keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world's most dangerous people.'"
"While Mohamad ElBaradei, the atomic energy chief of the United Nations, urges restraint, Michael Ledeen, an American Enterprise Institute neocon, advocates 'regime change' in Iran, and charges the Bush Administration with being asleep at the wheel
Regardless of what Michael Ledeen thinks of conflict in the Middle East, Iran has been in George W. Bush's sights for quite some time. Recently Bush Administration officials and some members of the European Union have been warning that conflict with Iran over its nuclear program may be inevitable, particularly if Iran doesn't cease its effort to perfect uranium enrichment.
In a newly released National Security Strategy (NSS) the Bush Administration placed Iran squarely in its crosshairs. Along with affirming Bush's preventive (not 'preemptive'*) strike doctrine -- as outlined in the 2002 NSS -- the current document clearly has Iran in mind when it states that the U.S. is 'committed to keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world's most dangerous people.'"
Split among Evangelicals regarding Ton Delay
'Where's the outrage?':
"Another fracture in the conservative evangelical movement
Ken Connor, the former head of the Family Research Council, is angry about the 'double standard' on ethical issues that may threaten the credibility of Christian conservative leaders.
The tumultuous reception accorded Tom DeLay at the late-March 'War on Christians and the Values Voters in 2006' conference appears to have triggered at least two distinct reactions. For DeLay, the love in the room assured him that there would be life after Congress, so he decided the time was right to announce his resignation from the House. For Ken Connor, the former head of the Family Research Council and the founder and president of the Center for a Just Society (website), the reaction appeared to be a tipping point; a visible indicator that his Christian evangelical brethren had lost their bearings when it came to identifying and criticizing unethical behavior."
"Another fracture in the conservative evangelical movement
Ken Connor, the former head of the Family Research Council, is angry about the 'double standard' on ethical issues that may threaten the credibility of Christian conservative leaders.
The tumultuous reception accorded Tom DeLay at the late-March 'War on Christians and the Values Voters in 2006' conference appears to have triggered at least two distinct reactions. For DeLay, the love in the room assured him that there would be life after Congress, so he decided the time was right to announce his resignation from the House. For Ken Connor, the former head of the Family Research Council and the founder and president of the Center for a Just Society (website), the reaction appeared to be a tipping point; a visible indicator that his Christian evangelical brethren had lost their bearings when it came to identifying and criticizing unethical behavior."
2005's most appalling corporate tax giveaway. By Michelle�Leder
This is the kind of assanine Washington Bullshit that makes a sane person go ballistic.
How much more of this highway robbery will the American people tolerate?
2005's most appalling corporate tax giveaway. By Michelle�Leder:
Feeling flush because you're getting a nice tax refund this year? You're not alone. Some of America's largest corporations, a virtual who's who of the Fortune 100, have been reporting their own hefty tax windfalls, thanks to an absurd provision of a law designed to create jobs.
IBM, for example, is banking a $2.8 billion refund, well, better to call it a 'tax savings', because instead of paying the normal corporate tax rate of 35 percent on $9.5 billion in profits it earned overseas, the company paid only 5.25 percent. That's the magic of the American Jobs Creation Act, a piece of legislation that passed with comfortable margins in both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by President Bush just two weeks before the 2004 elections.
The AJCA, which was pushed through during the last fit of panic about outsourcing, was ostensibly designed to encourage companies to add jobs here. It gave a small tax deduction to American manufacturers, and it offered a one-time tax holiday in 2005 when corporations could repatriate their foreign income at a massively reduced tax rate. This repatriation, the theory went, would encourage R & D and capital investment in the United States, leading to new positions down the road. But, like President Bush's creatively named Clear Skies initiative and Healthy Forest Restoration Act, the American Jobs Creation Act has not lived up to its title. "
How much more of this highway robbery will the American people tolerate?
2005's most appalling corporate tax giveaway. By Michelle�Leder:
Feeling flush because you're getting a nice tax refund this year? You're not alone. Some of America's largest corporations, a virtual who's who of the Fortune 100, have been reporting their own hefty tax windfalls, thanks to an absurd provision of a law designed to create jobs.
IBM, for example, is banking a $2.8 billion refund, well, better to call it a 'tax savings', because instead of paying the normal corporate tax rate of 35 percent on $9.5 billion in profits it earned overseas, the company paid only 5.25 percent. That's the magic of the American Jobs Creation Act, a piece of legislation that passed with comfortable margins in both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by President Bush just two weeks before the 2004 elections.
The AJCA, which was pushed through during the last fit of panic about outsourcing, was ostensibly designed to encourage companies to add jobs here. It gave a small tax deduction to American manufacturers, and it offered a one-time tax holiday in 2005 when corporations could repatriate their foreign income at a massively reduced tax rate. This repatriation, the theory went, would encourage R & D and capital investment in the United States, leading to new positions down the road. But, like President Bush's creatively named Clear Skies initiative and Healthy Forest Restoration Act, the American Jobs Creation Act has not lived up to its title. "
Gary Hart has some amazing ideas a regarding National Security and Foreign Affairs
You can order at buzzflash
BuzzFlash Review: The Shield and the Cloak: The Security of the Commons (Hardcover):
"First off, it's just damn exciting to read a book by a Democrat that actually proposes an effective, well thought out, and articulate vision of a national security program. And it's by former Senator Gary Hart, who is perhaps the smartest politician we have interviewed. That this guy is not in an active governmental leadership position is a great loss to the nation.
You know that you are off to a different approach to national security and foreign affairs when Hart entitles his introduction: 'The New Three-Dimensional Chess Game.' In contrast, the troglodyte Busheviks are so flat world in their thinking that any concept beyond one dimension would simply be incomprehensible to them."
Cheney Authorized Leak Of CIA Report, Libby Says (04/14/2006)
The noose tightens around Cheney's fat neck!
NATIONAL JOURNAL: Cheney Authorized Leak Of CIA Report, Libby Says (04/14/2006):
"Vice President Dick Cheney directed his then-chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, on July 12, 2003 to leak to the media portions of a then-highly classified CIA report that Cheney hoped would undermine the credibility of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, according to Libby's grand jury testimony in the CIA leak case and sources who have read the classified report. "
NATIONAL JOURNAL: Cheney Authorized Leak Of CIA Report, Libby Says (04/14/2006):
"Vice President Dick Cheney directed his then-chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, on July 12, 2003 to leak to the media portions of a then-highly classified CIA report that Cheney hoped would undermine the credibility of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, according to Libby's grand jury testimony in the CIA leak case and sources who have read the classified report. "
The Irrelevance of Intelligence Again, and Collective Illusions
Everyone did not think that Iraq had WMD.
Millions of people around te world did not think so. But they were called a focus group by Bush, the Idiot Emperor.
Once Upon a Time...: The Irrelevance of Intelligence Again, and Collective Illusions:
"I continue to see many references on political blogs to the 'importance of getting the intelligence right.' At the moment, such comments obviously come up most often in discussions about 'what to do about Iran.' It's no surprise that this perspective shows up on conservative and rightwing blogs -- but I continue to be astounded that so many liberal and progressive bloggers still fall for this line.
People don't seem to grasp the necessary meaning of this approach. If you contend that it is crucial for the intelligence to be correct and given how the argument is almost always presented, you are assuming that major policy decisions are made on the basis of that intelligence, at least to a significant degree. This is buying into Bush's defense entirely: 'But everyone thought Iraq had WMD and was a serious and growing threat!' Never mind the lie about 'everyone' having thought this, which everyone most certainly did not. The crucial point is that Bush is saying that he only launched the war on Iraq because of what the intelligence indicated. And even liberals still repeat this propaganda."
Millions of people around te world did not think so. But they were called a focus group by Bush, the Idiot Emperor.
Once Upon a Time...: The Irrelevance of Intelligence Again, and Collective Illusions:
"I continue to see many references on political blogs to the 'importance of getting the intelligence right.' At the moment, such comments obviously come up most often in discussions about 'what to do about Iran.' It's no surprise that this perspective shows up on conservative and rightwing blogs -- but I continue to be astounded that so many liberal and progressive bloggers still fall for this line.
People don't seem to grasp the necessary meaning of this approach. If you contend that it is crucial for the intelligence to be correct and given how the argument is almost always presented, you are assuming that major policy decisions are made on the basis of that intelligence, at least to a significant degree. This is buying into Bush's defense entirely: 'But everyone thought Iraq had WMD and was a serious and growing threat!' Never mind the lie about 'everyone' having thought this, which everyone most certainly did not. The crucial point is that Bush is saying that he only launched the war on Iraq because of what the intelligence indicated. And even liberals still repeat this propaganda."
Olbermann covers "biolabs" Monkey says he found in Iraq
Crooks and Liars: See the video
"Keith Olbermann covered the fake biological laboratories that Dick Cheney and George Bush trumpeted up after it was revealed that:
WaPo: 'On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile 'biological laboratories.' He declared, 'We have found the weapons of mass destruction.' The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.'"
"Keith Olbermann covered the fake biological laboratories that Dick Cheney and George Bush trumpeted up after it was revealed that:
WaPo: 'On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile 'biological laboratories.' He declared, 'We have found the weapons of mass destruction.' The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.'"
Fear is the weapon of mass destruction
Fear is the weapon of mass destruction:
"If some of us aren't expressing it, we're at least privately questioning the breakdown in federal and state law and the failure of leading officials to restore accountability to a system designed to represent, at least on the surface, a majority of its people. We're flabbergasted that politicians of Faustian proportion could disrupt our checks and balances as effectively as they do and are just as astounded at the range of criminal activity within our federal, state and local governments. We're even more dismayed at the public's limp reaction to this usurpation of power.
Personally, I don't know which devil to admonish the most: Washington or my own neighbor, for both are guilty for what has happened to our lives, laws and Constitution. We've allowed our leaders unlimited dips into the national well and have done little to pay closer heed to history's lessons. As a result, the rich have gone on to enjoy unthinkable profits while the rest of us have been left behind with fewer benefits, protections and freedoms.
All of this intrusion into our private lives could possibly been avoided had we been on the lookout for two particular elements: first, the laying down of a national consciousness and second, the intrusion of that most troubling emotion: fear. Thoreau, and not Roosevelt, first wrote about the poisonous state of fear without adequately explaining its daunting effect on our lives. I can suggest however, that the less educated and informed a public is the more easily manipulated it becomes. Conversely, while many of us are aware of the psychological unraveling that takes place when education is put on hold and fear raised to its highest level, we should likewise be prepared to take up the battle against fear and its accompaniment: propaganda."
"If some of us aren't expressing it, we're at least privately questioning the breakdown in federal and state law and the failure of leading officials to restore accountability to a system designed to represent, at least on the surface, a majority of its people. We're flabbergasted that politicians of Faustian proportion could disrupt our checks and balances as effectively as they do and are just as astounded at the range of criminal activity within our federal, state and local governments. We're even more dismayed at the public's limp reaction to this usurpation of power.
Personally, I don't know which devil to admonish the most: Washington or my own neighbor, for both are guilty for what has happened to our lives, laws and Constitution. We've allowed our leaders unlimited dips into the national well and have done little to pay closer heed to history's lessons. As a result, the rich have gone on to enjoy unthinkable profits while the rest of us have been left behind with fewer benefits, protections and freedoms.
All of this intrusion into our private lives could possibly been avoided had we been on the lookout for two particular elements: first, the laying down of a national consciousness and second, the intrusion of that most troubling emotion: fear. Thoreau, and not Roosevelt, first wrote about the poisonous state of fear without adequately explaining its daunting effect on our lives. I can suggest however, that the less educated and informed a public is the more easily manipulated it becomes. Conversely, while many of us are aware of the psychological unraveling that takes place when education is put on hold and fear raised to its highest level, we should likewise be prepared to take up the battle against fear and its accompaniment: propaganda."
Abramoff and Diebold
News From Underground:
"...All along, Abramoff was buying journalists, creating tax-exempt organizations to fund campaign activities and using charities to fund foreign conflicts. He spent the past twenty years doing business with everyone from James Dobson to the Gambino family, from Ralph Reed to Grover Norquist to Karl Rove to White House procurements chief David Safavian. He is even lurking in the background of the 2004 Ohio voting-irregularities scandal, having worked with the Diebold voting-machine company to defeat requirements for a paper trail in elections."
"...All along, Abramoff was buying journalists, creating tax-exempt organizations to fund campaign activities and using charities to fund foreign conflicts. He spent the past twenty years doing business with everyone from James Dobson to the Gambino family, from Ralph Reed to Grover Norquist to Karl Rove to White House procurements chief David Safavian. He is even lurking in the background of the 2004 Ohio voting-irregularities scandal, having worked with the Diebold voting-machine company to defeat requirements for a paper trail in elections."
More Orwellian B.S. from the Pink Frog man
Damn! Can you believe this twit?
News From Underground:
"Rove thanks Republican lawyers for their work on 'clean elections'
RAW STORY"
More E-voting news
It will take one hell of a mg. dosage
News From Underground:
" I asked Shamos if there was anything he could say to the people of Bucks County, who soon will switch from mechanical to electronic voting machines (even if it's not in time for the coming primary election). He said his style is not to give blanket endorsements of electronic voting to make people feel better. ''If the objective is to make the voters feel better,'' Shamos said, ''you can do that by giving them Valium at the polling place.''"
America's new secret police.
This admiistration has provided one "Oh, shit moment" right after another.
News From Underground:
"America's Secret Police?
Intelligence experts warn that a proposal to merge two Pentagon intelligence units could create an ominous new agency."
News From Underground:
"America's Secret Police?
Intelligence experts warn that a proposal to merge two Pentagon intelligence units could create an ominous new agency."
Evil GOP Bastards
Pre-civil war Rethug to run for Preznit?
Evil GOP Bastards:
"Hall of Shame
Evil GOP Bastard of the Month
Neo-Confederate Republican Senator (VA) and Presidential Hopeful (?) Sen. George Allen
The ugly secret of the GOP is that if you scratch the skin of a Republican you'll find an unrepentant racist lurking underneath. Allen, whose odd penchant for Confederate flags extends back to his privileged youth in California, was reportedly involved in an ugly racist incident there. A Confederate flag (and a hangman's noose) has adorned his office. Allen's judgement has shown no signs of improvement over the years.
Today, Senator Allen is pushing to promote General Jerry 'My God's Better Than Your God' Boykin to command US Special Forces. Could a theocratic 'Seven Days in May' scenario be far behind? The truly amazing thing about Allen is that today's Republican Party is so intellectually bankrupt that this goober is considered a serious contender for his party's nomination for president. MORE"
Evil GOP Bastards:
"Hall of Shame
Evil GOP Bastard of the Month
Neo-Confederate Republican Senator (VA) and Presidential Hopeful (?) Sen. George Allen
The ugly secret of the GOP is that if you scratch the skin of a Republican you'll find an unrepentant racist lurking underneath. Allen, whose odd penchant for Confederate flags extends back to his privileged youth in California, was reportedly involved in an ugly racist incident there. A Confederate flag (and a hangman's noose) has adorned his office. Allen's judgement has shown no signs of improvement over the years.
Today, Senator Allen is pushing to promote General Jerry 'My God's Better Than Your God' Boykin to command US Special Forces. Could a theocratic 'Seven Days in May' scenario be far behind? The truly amazing thing about Allen is that today's Republican Party is so intellectually bankrupt that this goober is considered a serious contender for his party's nomination for president. MORE"
Rumsfeld Knew!
Democratic Underground:
"What Rumsfeld knew
Interviews with high-ranking military officials shed new light on the role Rumsfeld played in the harsh treatment of a Guantnamo detainee.
By Michael Scherer and Mark Benjamin
April 14, 2006
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was personally involved in the late 2002 interrogation of a high-value al-Qaida detainee known in intelligence circles as 'the 20th hijacker.' He also communicated weekly with the man in charge of the interrogation, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the controversial commander of the Guant�namo Bay detention center.
During the same period, detainee Mohammed al-Kahtani suffered from what Army investigators have called 'degrading and abusive' treatment by soldiers who were following the interrogation plan Rumsfeld had approved. Kahtani was forced to stand naked in front of a female interrogator, was accused of being a homosexual, and was forced to wear women's underwear and to perform 'dog tricks' on a leash. He received 18-to-20-hour interrogations during 48 of 54 days. "
"What Rumsfeld knew
Interviews with high-ranking military officials shed new light on the role Rumsfeld played in the harsh treatment of a Guantnamo detainee.
By Michael Scherer and Mark Benjamin
April 14, 2006
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was personally involved in the late 2002 interrogation of a high-value al-Qaida detainee known in intelligence circles as 'the 20th hijacker.' He also communicated weekly with the man in charge of the interrogation, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the controversial commander of the Guant�namo Bay detention center.
During the same period, detainee Mohammed al-Kahtani suffered from what Army investigators have called 'degrading and abusive' treatment by soldiers who were following the interrogation plan Rumsfeld had approved. Kahtani was forced to stand naked in front of a female interrogator, was accused of being a homosexual, and was forced to wear women's underwear and to perform 'dog tricks' on a leash. He received 18-to-20-hour interrogations during 48 of 54 days. "
Opensecrets.org--Money in politics data
Opensecrets.org--Money in politics data:
"Don't let the donors ramble on and on about their bills, sick spouses, or problems with the government. Move carefully and purposefully through the requests and appropriate rebuttals, keeping the subject of the conversation on money.'
Advice from the Republican National Committee's handbook for telemarketers making calls to elderly potential contributors (Roll Call, 3/21/1996)" ..and nothing has changed
"Don't let the donors ramble on and on about their bills, sick spouses, or problems with the government. Move carefully and purposefully through the requests and appropriate rebuttals, keeping the subject of the conversation on money.'
Advice from the Republican National Committee's handbook for telemarketers making calls to elderly potential contributors (Roll Call, 3/21/1996)" ..and nothing has changed
Chemical Weapons Report: Toxicity by Race and Gender
The Memory Hole > Chemical Weapons Report: Toxicity by Race and Gender:
">>> The Citizen's Education Project and the Sunshine Project requested this report in August 2004 because its title suggests that the US Army has recently exposed people to chemical weapons (CW) agents. The report does not detail any recent human experiments, although that conclusion can only be tentative, because large portions of the report are blacked-out and parts of the D049 program are classified.
The report began when the Pacific Command noted that US CW toxicity data is based on a 70 kilogram male. Are there differences, the Pacific Command asked, for people who are not 70 kg males? Assuming that the Command was asking for the right reasons (i.e. defensive ones), then the question was reasonable enough.
Once the query got to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Dugway Proving Ground, however, it morphed into a gem of late 20th century military science. Reminiscent of phrenology (racial skull studies) in vogue a hundred years ago, the report will leave critical readers laughing at its quack ethnic distinctions; but also horrified at what is implied by this 'science.'"
">>> The Citizen's Education Project and the Sunshine Project requested this report in August 2004 because its title suggests that the US Army has recently exposed people to chemical weapons (CW) agents. The report does not detail any recent human experiments, although that conclusion can only be tentative, because large portions of the report are blacked-out and parts of the D049 program are classified.
The report began when the Pacific Command noted that US CW toxicity data is based on a 70 kilogram male. Are there differences, the Pacific Command asked, for people who are not 70 kg males? Assuming that the Command was asking for the right reasons (i.e. defensive ones), then the question was reasonable enough.
Once the query got to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Dugway Proving Ground, however, it morphed into a gem of late 20th century military science. Reminiscent of phrenology (racial skull studies) in vogue a hundred years ago, the report will leave critical readers laughing at its quack ethnic distinctions; but also horrified at what is implied by this 'science.'"
Reid to Bunnypants....
Gotta laugh, or we'll all surely go insane!
WTF Is It Now??:
"Reid to Bunnypants: up yours, idiot!
Preznit Liar accused Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Thursday of 'single-handedly thwarting' action on immigration legislation, and got a bitchslap in return."
WTF Is It Now??:
"Reid to Bunnypants: up yours, idiot!
Preznit Liar accused Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Thursday of 'single-handedly thwarting' action on immigration legislation, and got a bitchslap in return."
Bush IS a liar
Consortiumnews.com:
"The White House is taking umbrage over new press reports that George W. Bush misled the American people on a key justification for invading Iraq. But Bush's latest excuse 'that he was just an unwitting conveyor of bad information, not a willful purveyor of lies' has been stretched thin by overuse."
"The White House is taking umbrage over new press reports that George W. Bush misled the American people on a key justification for invading Iraq. But Bush's latest excuse 'that he was just an unwitting conveyor of bad information, not a willful purveyor of lies' has been stretched thin by overuse."
Kay Baily Hutchinson; Hypocrite
Check it out!
After her oft' spoken pledge to seek only two terms in the Senate, she's running again.
Just another Rethug hypocrite.
We've lost count........
annatopia
In New Orleans, a Big Green Opportunity is Wasted, Environmentalists Say
This is just a damned shame!
There is no excuse for it.
Maybe if city, state officials were spending more time working rather than ponitficarting on the glory of themselves, they might have gotten something done by now.
Unfortunately, before this crowd of goofballs can get it together, The Big Easy will get hit again.
In New Orleans, a Big Green Opportunity is Wasted, Environmentalists Say:
"NEW ORLEANS: In the rush to rebuild, this hurricane-smashed city is dumping its debris into the swamps by the truckload, and throwing away an opportunity to turn America's costliest natural disaster into the nation's greatest recycling effort, environmentalists say.
Every day, trucks rumble down the streets on their way to the Old Gentilly Landfill, a municipal dump in the swampiest part of the city, to unload the debris that homeowners and contractors have piled up on the curbs throughout New Orleans.
With large-scale home demolitions now beginning, there are no comprehensive, citywide plans to salvage and recycle building materials; things such as cypress and cedar boards, bricks, cinderblocks and roof tiles.
'We don't have the time,' said John Rogers, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's recycling specialist. He cited the sheer volume of debris created by Katrina, 30 years' worth of the stuff, officials say.
But environmentalists say that in the seven months since Katrina hit, there has been plenty of time for city, state and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials to draw up contracts to recycle debris, buy recycling equipment and putting people to work sorting through the rubble."
Americans Wary of Action on Iran, Gloomy on Iraq, Poll Shows
This president and his administration should not be allowed to make any crucial decisions about anything as important as starting WWIII, or taking out the garbage for that matter.
They have proven themselves to be liars, thieves and enemies of the constitution.
We aren't sure if Congress can be trusted to do their jobs of oversight, either, since they have refused so far.
Americans Wary of Action on Iran, Gloomy on Iraq, Poll Shows:
"American pessimism about the Iraq war has deepened and may be feeding doubts about President George W. Bush's efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, the latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll found.
A majority of those surveyed -- 56 percent -- said Iraq is now in a civil war, and just 37 percent said they believe Bush when he says a lot of progress is being made there, down from 45 percent who said they believed him in January.
Forty-eight percent said they would support military action against Iran if it continues to produce material that can be used to develop a nuclear bomb, down from 57 percent in January. Forty percent oppose military action, up from 33 percent in January.
A majority -- 54 percent -- said they ``don't trust'' Bush to make the right decision about whether the U.S. should go to war with Iran, compared with 42 percent who said they do trust him. Forty percent said the Iraq experience had made them less supportive of military action against Iran, while 38 percent said it had no impact. The poll surveyed 1,357 American adults by telephone April 8-11 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. "
They have proven themselves to be liars, thieves and enemies of the constitution.
We aren't sure if Congress can be trusted to do their jobs of oversight, either, since they have refused so far.
Americans Wary of Action on Iran, Gloomy on Iraq, Poll Shows:
"American pessimism about the Iraq war has deepened and may be feeding doubts about President George W. Bush's efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, the latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll found.
A majority of those surveyed -- 56 percent -- said Iraq is now in a civil war, and just 37 percent said they believe Bush when he says a lot of progress is being made there, down from 45 percent who said they believed him in January.
Forty-eight percent said they would support military action against Iran if it continues to produce material that can be used to develop a nuclear bomb, down from 57 percent in January. Forty percent oppose military action, up from 33 percent in January.
A majority -- 54 percent -- said they ``don't trust'' Bush to make the right decision about whether the U.S. should go to war with Iran, compared with 42 percent who said they do trust him. Forty percent said the Iraq experience had made them less supportive of military action against Iran, while 38 percent said it had no impact. The poll surveyed 1,357 American adults by telephone April 8-11 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. "
Development in Defiance of the Washington Consensus
Development in Defiance of the Washington Consensus:
"China has carried off the world's largest reduction in poverty by grasping that market economies cannot be left on autopilot
China is about to adopt its 11th five-year plan, setting the stage for the continuation of probably the most remarkable economic transformation in history, while improving the wellbeing of almost a quarter of the world's population. Never before has the world seen such sustained growth; never before has there been so much poverty reduction.
Part of the key to China's long-run success has been its almost unique combination of pragmatism and vision. While much of the rest of the developing world, following the Washington consensus, has been directed at a quixotic quest for higher GDP, China has again made clear that it seeks sustainable and more equitable increases in real living standards. China realises that it has entered a phase of economic growth that is imposing enormous - and unsustainable - demands on the environment. Unless there is a change in course, living standards will eventually be compromised. That is why the new plan places great emphasis on the environment.
Many of the more backward parts of China have been growing at a pace that would be a marvel, were it not that other parts of the country are growing even more rapidly. While this has reduced poverty, inequality has been increasing, with growing disparities between cities and rural areas, and coastal regions and the interior. This year's World Bank world development report explains why inequality, not just poverty, should be a concern, and China's plan attacks the problem head on. The government has for several years talked about a more harmonious society, and the plan describes programmes for achieving this. "
"China has carried off the world's largest reduction in poverty by grasping that market economies cannot be left on autopilot
China is about to adopt its 11th five-year plan, setting the stage for the continuation of probably the most remarkable economic transformation in history, while improving the wellbeing of almost a quarter of the world's population. Never before has the world seen such sustained growth; never before has there been so much poverty reduction.
Part of the key to China's long-run success has been its almost unique combination of pragmatism and vision. While much of the rest of the developing world, following the Washington consensus, has been directed at a quixotic quest for higher GDP, China has again made clear that it seeks sustainable and more equitable increases in real living standards. China realises that it has entered a phase of economic growth that is imposing enormous - and unsustainable - demands on the environment. Unless there is a change in course, living standards will eventually be compromised. That is why the new plan places great emphasis on the environment.
Many of the more backward parts of China have been growing at a pace that would be a marvel, were it not that other parts of the country are growing even more rapidly. While this has reduced poverty, inequality has been increasing, with growing disparities between cities and rural areas, and coastal regions and the interior. This year's World Bank world development report explains why inequality, not just poverty, should be a concern, and China's plan attacks the problem head on. The government has for several years talked about a more harmonious society, and the plan describes programmes for achieving this. "
The Slow-Motion Trap
Oh, what a tangled web the Bushites weave.....
The Slow-Motion Trap:
"His presidency was built on secrecy and, we now know, on lies. The more Bush struggles to free himself, the more his past deceptions bind him.
President Bush has been in search of himself for two and a half years. His voyage of self-discovery began on Sept. 30, 2003. Asked what he knew about senior White House officials anonymously leaking the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, he expressed his earnest desire to help special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald ferret out the perpetrators. 'I want to know the truth,' he said. 'If anybody has got any information inside our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these allegations are true and get on about the business.'
Bush didn't stop there. He issued an all-points bulletin requesting help for the prosecutor. 'And if people have got solid information, please come forward with it. And that would be people inside the information who are the so-called anonymous sources, or people outside the information -- outside the administration. And we can clarify this thing very quickly if people who have got solid evidence would come forward and speak out. And I would hope they would.'
The day before, the president had sent out his press secretary, Scott McClellan, to announce that involvement in this incident would be a firing offense: 'If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.' "
The Slow-Motion Trap:
"His presidency was built on secrecy and, we now know, on lies. The more Bush struggles to free himself, the more his past deceptions bind him.
President Bush has been in search of himself for two and a half years. His voyage of self-discovery began on Sept. 30, 2003. Asked what he knew about senior White House officials anonymously leaking the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, he expressed his earnest desire to help special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald ferret out the perpetrators. 'I want to know the truth,' he said. 'If anybody has got any information inside our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these allegations are true and get on about the business.'
Bush didn't stop there. He issued an all-points bulletin requesting help for the prosecutor. 'And if people have got solid information, please come forward with it. And that would be people inside the information who are the so-called anonymous sources, or people outside the information -- outside the administration. And we can clarify this thing very quickly if people who have got solid evidence would come forward and speak out. And I would hope they would.'
The day before, the president had sent out his press secretary, Scott McClellan, to announce that involvement in this incident would be a firing offense: 'If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.' "
Officer Jailed over Iraq Refusal
Hope the Brits are preparing to aid this man and his family in any way they can.
Refuseniks, Unite!
Officer Jailed over Iraq Refusal:
"An RAF doctor who refused to serve in Iraq has been sentenced to eight months in jail and dismissed from the service.
Flt Lt Malcolm Kendall-Smith, 37, was found guilty of five charges of disobeying orders after he refused to go to Basra last June. "
Refuseniks, Unite!
Officer Jailed over Iraq Refusal:
"An RAF doctor who refused to serve in Iraq has been sentenced to eight months in jail and dismissed from the service.
Flt Lt Malcolm Kendall-Smith, 37, was found guilty of five charges of disobeying orders after he refused to go to Basra last June. "
Analysts Say a Nuclear Iran Is Years Away
"They're hyping it"
So, what else is new?
Analysts Say a Nuclear Iran Is Years Away:
"Western nuclear analysts said yesterday that Tehran lacked the skills, materials and equipment to make good on its immediate nuclear ambitions, even as a senior Iranian official said Iran would defy international pressure and rapidly expand its ability to enrich uranium for fuel.
The official, Muhammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran's atomic energy organization, said Iran would push quickly to put 54,000 centrifuges on line, a vast increase from the 164 the Iranians said Tuesday that they had used to enrich uranium to levels that could fuel a nuclear reactor.
Still, nuclear analysts called the claims exaggerated. They said nothing had changed to alter current estimates of when Iran might be able to make a single nuclear weapon, assuming that is its ultimate goal. The United States government has put that at 5 to 10 years, and some analysts have said it could come as late as 2020. "
So, what else is new?
Analysts Say a Nuclear Iran Is Years Away:
"Western nuclear analysts said yesterday that Tehran lacked the skills, materials and equipment to make good on its immediate nuclear ambitions, even as a senior Iranian official said Iran would defy international pressure and rapidly expand its ability to enrich uranium for fuel.
The official, Muhammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran's atomic energy organization, said Iran would push quickly to put 54,000 centrifuges on line, a vast increase from the 164 the Iranians said Tuesday that they had used to enrich uranium to levels that could fuel a nuclear reactor.
Still, nuclear analysts called the claims exaggerated. They said nothing had changed to alter current estimates of when Iran might be able to make a single nuclear weapon, assuming that is its ultimate goal. The United States government has put that at 5 to 10 years, and some analysts have said it could come as late as 2020. "
First Democrat to Announce Candidacy for President on Monday
First Dem. to announce is anti-war
First Democrat to Announce Candidacy for President on Monday:
"NEW YORK -- Mike Gravel, a former U.S. senator from Alaska, will next week become the first Democrat to formally declare his candidacy for president. "
Lieberman Whining again!
I think if I hear one more person use the phrase, "Dirty hippies," I am going to go ballistic on their ass.
Eschaton:
"Another day, another article from Joe Lieberman Weekly about how Howard Dean isn't sucking up to rich people enough. DAMN DIRTY HIPPIES!"
Eschaton:
"Another day, another article from Joe Lieberman Weekly about how Howard Dean isn't sucking up to rich people enough. DAMN DIRTY HIPPIES!"
Lawmaker upset by silence on another Dubai deal - Boston.com
Is congress finally getting it?
Bush has made them irrelevent.
They will be forced to make themselves relevent again, and it will take more than quaint parlimentary maneuvers. It will take outrageous action on their part, and none of them have the intestinal fortitude for such a challenge, no matter how outraged they are.
Ultimately, it will be left to the people.
Lawmaker upset by silence on another Dubai deal - Boston.com:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker on Tuesday fumed that the Bush administration refused to divulge anything about a security review it is conducting of a Dubai-owned company that is planning to take over several plants in the U.S. that make equipment for defense contractors."
Bush has made them irrelevent.
They will be forced to make themselves relevent again, and it will take more than quaint parlimentary maneuvers. It will take outrageous action on their part, and none of them have the intestinal fortitude for such a challenge, no matter how outraged they are.
Ultimately, it will be left to the people.
Lawmaker upset by silence on another Dubai deal - Boston.com:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker on Tuesday fumed that the Bush administration refused to divulge anything about a security review it is conducting of a Dubai-owned company that is planning to take over several plants in the U.S. that make equipment for defense contractors."
Scalia's instability re-visited
All humor aside, Scalia is a disgrace to the high court and to this nation!
Madeleine Begun Kane, Humor Columnist, Notables Weblog & Podcasts (Political Commentary, Humor, Song Parodies, Limericks - January 1-April 30, 2006):
"It's one thing for a Supreme Court Justice to refuse to recuse himself from a case involving his pal and hunting mate Dick Cheney. But it's quite another to practically brag about it:
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Wednesday called his 2004 decision not to recuse himself from a case involving Vice President Cheney, who is a friend of his, the 'proudest thing' he has done on the court.
Scalia's Stability Revisited
By Madeleine Begun Kane
When questioned about his refusal
To agree to a Dick case recusal,
Scalia claimed pride
That he didn't step aside.
His sanity needs some perusal. "
| Ann Coulter neglects to answer gender question on voter registration form
Maybe she isn't sure.
We can understand that, because we aren't sure either.
Hell, she isn't even sure where she lives.
Perhaps, she should submit to the piss police.
PageOneQ Ann Coulter neglects to answer gender question on voter registration form:
"Conservative commentator and best-selling author Ann Coulter neglected to answer Question #15 on her Palm Beach County, FL voter registration form, PageOneQ has learned. The question asks the registrant to indicate sex by checking 'M' or 'F' on the form. Bloggers and comment posts have speculated about Coulter's gender identity.
Arthur Anderson, Jr., The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, confirmed to PageOneQ that Question 15 had not been answered on the original form. Coulter's registration form was first posted by BradBlog.com, the blog of voting rights activist and journalist Brad Friedman. Friedman reported Tuesday that Coulter's registration form raised questions about her decision to register and vote at an address where she did not live. For a full report on Coulter's voter registration click above."
We can understand that, because we aren't sure either.
Hell, she isn't even sure where she lives.
Perhaps, she should submit to the piss police.
PageOneQ Ann Coulter neglects to answer gender question on voter registration form:
"Conservative commentator and best-selling author Ann Coulter neglected to answer Question #15 on her Palm Beach County, FL voter registration form, PageOneQ has learned. The question asks the registrant to indicate sex by checking 'M' or 'F' on the form. Bloggers and comment posts have speculated about Coulter's gender identity.
Arthur Anderson, Jr., The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, confirmed to PageOneQ that Question 15 had not been answered on the original form. Coulter's registration form was first posted by BradBlog.com, the blog of voting rights activist and journalist Brad Friedman. Friedman reported Tuesday that Coulter's registration form raised questions about her decision to register and vote at an address where she did not live. For a full report on Coulter's voter registration click above."
The Revolt of the Generals: Just Short of a Coup Against the Incompetence of the�Busheviks?
Bushites didn't learn the lessons of Vietnam.
Therefore, the lessons of 9/11 are not complete.
...and let's not forget that we still do not know the truth about 9/11, therefore, we are not sure about what lessons to learn.
The Revolt of the Generals: Just Short of a Coup Against the Incompetence of the�Busheviks?:
"It is unprecedented for former military brass to rise up and denounce the Secretary of Defense in such scathing terms and call for his resignation.
It is a sign of how deeply flawed and failed the Bush Administration Iraq war policy and anti-terrorism efforts have been that it has come down to this: Americans and their elected officials must choose between the military analysis and advice of the military leadership with wartime experience or the arrogant stubborn failure of two draft evaders, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. Add to that, Donald Rumsfeld who served in the military but never had combat experience.
In whose hands do you think America is safer in terms of wars: the generals or the bumblers at Bush Inc? "
Therefore, the lessons of 9/11 are not complete.
...and let's not forget that we still do not know the truth about 9/11, therefore, we are not sure about what lessons to learn.
The Revolt of the Generals: Just Short of a Coup Against the Incompetence of the�Busheviks?:
"It is unprecedented for former military brass to rise up and denounce the Secretary of Defense in such scathing terms and call for his resignation.
It is a sign of how deeply flawed and failed the Bush Administration Iraq war policy and anti-terrorism efforts have been that it has come down to this: Americans and their elected officials must choose between the military analysis and advice of the military leadership with wartime experience or the arrogant stubborn failure of two draft evaders, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. Add to that, Donald Rumsfeld who served in the military but never had combat experience.
In whose hands do you think America is safer in terms of wars: the generals or the bumblers at Bush Inc? "
Judge Threatens to Bar Leak-Case Comments - New York Times
Anyone with more than three neurons firing has a fairly good handle on what happened with the pre-war intelligence and that there was a conspiracy in the White House to savage all naysayers.
The more important issue now, is the cover-up congress that did nothing in the way of over-sight, let alone investigation, to shed light on these crimes against Democracy.
All the Kings men in congress are co-conspirators, as far as we are concerned, against Democracy, because Democracy is impossible with a misinformed/disinformed electorate.
Judge Threatens to Bar Leak-Case Comments - New York Times:
"WASHINGTON, April 13: The judge in the C.I.A. leak case against Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff threatened Thursday to issue an order barring the defense and prosecution from speaking publicly about the proceedings."
The more important issue now, is the cover-up congress that did nothing in the way of over-sight, let alone investigation, to shed light on these crimes against Democracy.
All the Kings men in congress are co-conspirators, as far as we are concerned, against Democracy, because Democracy is impossible with a misinformed/disinformed electorate.
Judge Threatens to Bar Leak-Case Comments - New York Times:
"WASHINGTON, April 13: The judge in the C.I.A. leak case against Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff threatened Thursday to issue an order barring the defense and prosecution from speaking publicly about the proceedings."
'I feel like I did in the Vietnam days - I hate to pay taxes just so they can go and bomb more people'
Feel bad about paying blood money? Don't!
It is immoral and hypocritical to pay for murder in the name of Democracy or for any other reason.
It is passed time for non-violent civil disobedience and becoming a refusenik is one way of practicing that time-honored American tradition.
Guardian Unlimited Special reports 'I feel like I did in the Vietnam days - I hate to pay taxes just so they can go and bomb more people':
"This week's extraordinary report alleging that George Bush had not only made up his mind to topple the Iranian government, but was also toying with the idea of doing it with a tactical nuclear weapon, was a telling example of his influence. If any other journalist had produced the story, it would almost certainly have been laughed off. Because Hersh wrote it, it was front-page news around the world, notwithstanding Mr Bush's insistence it was all 'wild speculation'. The White House stopped short of denying the story, saying only that the Pentagon was conducting 'normal military contingency planning'.
The problem for the president is that the man known in Washington as Sy has become an institution with more credibility than the administrations that come and go in this fickle city.
Hidden away in an anonymous office block, he works out of two shabby rooms. The wall behind him is covered with black skid marks inflicted by his penchant for leaning back in his chair and putting his running shoes on his desk while on the telephone."
It is immoral and hypocritical to pay for murder in the name of Democracy or for any other reason.
It is passed time for non-violent civil disobedience and becoming a refusenik is one way of practicing that time-honored American tradition.
Guardian Unlimited Special reports 'I feel like I did in the Vietnam days - I hate to pay taxes just so they can go and bomb more people':
"This week's extraordinary report alleging that George Bush had not only made up his mind to topple the Iranian government, but was also toying with the idea of doing it with a tactical nuclear weapon, was a telling example of his influence. If any other journalist had produced the story, it would almost certainly have been laughed off. Because Hersh wrote it, it was front-page news around the world, notwithstanding Mr Bush's insistence it was all 'wild speculation'. The White House stopped short of denying the story, saying only that the Pentagon was conducting 'normal military contingency planning'.
The problem for the president is that the man known in Washington as Sy has become an institution with more credibility than the administrations that come and go in this fickle city.
Hidden away in an anonymous office block, he works out of two shabby rooms. The wall behind him is covered with black skid marks inflicted by his penchant for leaning back in his chair and putting his running shoes on his desk while on the telephone."
Libby seeks administration documents - The Boston Globe
Catastrophic news for the Bushites!
This is the beginning of the end.
Libby seeks administration documents - The Boston Globe:
"Prewar intelligence relevant to defense, lawyers contend
WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for former vice presidential aide I. Lewis ''Scooter' Libby are citing prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's disclosure last week that President Bush had authorized Libby to leak sensitive Iraqi intelligence as justification for a request to obtain thousands of documents that could shed new light on the administration's use of prewar intelligence."
This is the beginning of the end.
Libby seeks administration documents - The Boston Globe:
"Prewar intelligence relevant to defense, lawyers contend
WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for former vice presidential aide I. Lewis ''Scooter' Libby are citing prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's disclosure last week that President Bush had authorized Libby to leak sensitive Iraqi intelligence as justification for a request to obtain thousands of documents that could shed new light on the administration's use of prewar intelligence."
Christian mavericks find affirmation in ancient heresies | csmonitor.com
Christian Mavericks are badly needed today. They walk in the footsteps of a Jewish Maverick named Yeshua ben Yosef, whose true teaching are written on their hearts.
Christian mavericks find affirmation in ancient heresies csmonitor.com:
"'An awful lot of what passes for orthodoxy today is something Jesus would have despised,' Buehrens says, noting Christian support for 'imperialism and militarism.' As a challenge to orthodoxy in its time, he says, the Judas story is 'a reminder that no single interpretation of the Christ event can exhaust the spiritual implications.'"
Christian mavericks find affirmation in ancient heresies csmonitor.com:
"'An awful lot of what passes for orthodoxy today is something Jesus would have despised,' Buehrens says, noting Christian support for 'imperialism and militarism.' As a challenge to orthodoxy in its time, he says, the Judas story is 'a reminder that no single interpretation of the Christ event can exhaust the spiritual implications.'"
Study alleges US sets aside own security interest for Israel's | csmonitor.com
A very interesting study that confirms what we have been saying for years, through simple observation. The U.S. no longer has any credibility as an honest broker in the middle east.
Study alleges US sets aside own security interest for Israel's csmonitor.com:
"A research paper by two leading American political scientists alleges that the US relationship with Israel is not good for US security, and that the Israeli lobby in the US, particularly the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, has helped exaggerate to the US media and public the importance of making the protection of Israel a key part of US foreign policy.
John J. Mearsheimer, a professor of political science and a co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago, and Stephen M. Walt, academic dean of the Kennedy School, published their paper, 'The Israeli Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,' on the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University website. A shorter version was also published by the London Review of Books.
Mr. Mearsheimer and Mr. Walt question the relationship between the two allies right from the beginning of the paper:"
Neocons Turn Up Heat for Iran Attack - by Jim Lobe
What is it with the f------ crazies?
Do they want WWIII?
Do they want thousands, perhaps millions dying of radiation poisoning, all over the world, including America?
Do they want gas prices to soar to $300 a barrel and the economy to crash, all over the world?
We need to lock these people up, in an institution; as they are clearly a danger to themselves and others.
Neocons Turn Up Heat for Iran Attack - by Jim Lobe:
"Led by a familiar clutch of neoconservative hawks, major right-wing publications are calling on the administration of President George W. Bush to urgently plan for military strikes, and possibly a wider war , against Iran in the wake of its announcement this week that it has successfully enriched uranium to a purity necessary to fuel nuclear reactors.
In a veritable blitz of editorials and opinion pieces published Wednesday and Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, and National Review warned that Tehran had passed a significant benchmark in what they declared was its quest for nuclear weapons and that the administration must now plan in earnest to destroy Iran's known nuclear facilities, as well as possible military targets, to prevent it from retaliating.
Comparing Iran's alleged push to gain a nuclear weapon to Adolf Hitler's 1936 march on the Rhineland, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol called for undertaking 'serious preparation for possible military action, including real and urgent operational planning for bombing strikes and for the consequences of such strikes.' "
Intelligence Manipulation at the Washington Post
Let thm keep on keeping on, and they will become as irrelevent as the U.N. in the mind of John Bolton.
It is clearly time for a new, information-age media; one that is not beholden to the damnable, sociopathic corporations, but to the people of this country.
Wonder when their advertisers are going to get it?
Intelligence Manipulation at the Washington Post:
"Newspaper editorial pages are entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. The Washington Post's editorial page, however, seems to want to have it both ways.
The paper's April 9 editorial, 'A Good Leak,' defended the White House's actions amid new revelations in the investigation of the leaking of an undercover CIA employee's name to reporters. CIA analyst Valerie Plame Wilson was outed by administration sources in July 2003 after her husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, publicly challenged a key White House argument for war, that Iraq was attempting to procure uranium from Africa.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald recently filed new documents indicating that Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, testified that he was authorized by George W. Bush to release portions of a classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to reporters to rebut Wilson's criticisms of the case for war."
It is clearly time for a new, information-age media; one that is not beholden to the damnable, sociopathic corporations, but to the people of this country.
Wonder when their advertisers are going to get it?
Intelligence Manipulation at the Washington Post:
"Newspaper editorial pages are entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. The Washington Post's editorial page, however, seems to want to have it both ways.
The paper's April 9 editorial, 'A Good Leak,' defended the White House's actions amid new revelations in the investigation of the leaking of an undercover CIA employee's name to reporters. CIA analyst Valerie Plame Wilson was outed by administration sources in July 2003 after her husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, publicly challenged a key White House argument for war, that Iraq was attempting to procure uranium from Africa.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald recently filed new documents indicating that Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, testified that he was authorized by George W. Bush to release portions of a classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to reporters to rebut Wilson's criticisms of the case for war."
impeach Bush now
Amusing but true.
However, we want artciles of impeachment that include war crimes.
There is no other way in which our country will ever regain credibility, not to mention moral status
impeach Bush now: Read full article here
"Yep...
Bush, the dunderhead that he is, has admitted that he is guilty of ignoring the Bill of Rights in spying on American citizens. Not only that but get this:
He says that he will continue to commit this crime!
Now if that isn't a real dose of reality when considering just how ANTI-American bush really is.
Laws don't apply to him...
Nope! Not in his small mind.
He is the 'A-leet,' and is above those little things like laws.
Nevermind that he is the first president to ever admit to an impeachable offense.
Good lord, man!
Have you no shame?
Have you no sense of decency?
Congresscritters need to have a committee meeting to stop this NOW! Not in a few days, not in a few weeks. NOW! "
However, we want artciles of impeachment that include war crimes.
There is no other way in which our country will ever regain credibility, not to mention moral status
impeach Bush now: Read full article here
"Yep...
Bush, the dunderhead that he is, has admitted that he is guilty of ignoring the Bill of Rights in spying on American citizens. Not only that but get this:
He says that he will continue to commit this crime!
Now if that isn't a real dose of reality when considering just how ANTI-American bush really is.
Laws don't apply to him...
Nope! Not in his small mind.
He is the 'A-leet,' and is above those little things like laws.
Nevermind that he is the first president to ever admit to an impeachable offense.
Good lord, man!
Have you no shame?
Have you no sense of decency?
Congresscritters need to have a committee meeting to stop this NOW! Not in a few days, not in a few weeks. NOW! "
Washington Post FINALLY Polls on Censure and Impeachment | ImpeachPAC
Of course, the poll is poisoned by the framing of the questions, but that the questions were asked at all is a major miracle.
Washington Post FINALLY Polls on Censure and Impeachment ImpeachPAC:
"On censure, 45% support is the highest since the ARG poll on 3/15, which was before the White House ginned up its counterattack machine. That means Americans have heard the White House spin - that it is essential to fighting terrorism - but they are becoming increasingly skeptical.
On impeachment, 33% support for 'impeach and remove' is 7% higher than the Newsweek poll in March. It is also 7% higher than the average support for 'impeach and remove' for President Clinton in 1998."
Washington Post FINALLY Polls on Censure and Impeachment ImpeachPAC:
"On censure, 45% support is the highest since the ARG poll on 3/15, which was before the White House ginned up its counterattack machine. That means Americans have heard the White House spin - that it is essential to fighting terrorism - but they are becoming increasingly skeptical.
On impeachment, 33% support for 'impeach and remove' is 7% higher than the Newsweek poll in March. It is also 7% higher than the average support for 'impeach and remove' for President Clinton in 1998."
Eminently Quotable
For more highly pertinent quites, read on:
Eminently Quotable:
"'There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its ascendancy.'
-- Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)"
Eminently Quotable:
"'There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its ascendancy.'
-- Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)"
And the Mutiny continues with 6
No wonder Peter Pace is so shocked. He has never seen anything like this. No one has.
They just keep coming.
Something tells me that Bush can't fire Rumsfeld and these Generals know it. Want to know why?
Just think about it.
Hint: It has nothing to do with Iraq.
Generals clamor for Rumsfeld's ouster over Iraq war - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two more retired U.S. generals called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign on Thursday, claiming the chief architect of the Iraq operation ignored years of Pentagon planning for a U.S. occupation and should be held accountable for the chaos there. "
They just keep coming.
Something tells me that Bush can't fire Rumsfeld and these Generals know it. Want to know why?
Just think about it.
Hint: It has nothing to do with Iraq.
Generals clamor for Rumsfeld's ouster over Iraq war - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two more retired U.S. generals called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign on Thursday, claiming the chief architect of the Iraq operation ignored years of Pentagon planning for a U.S. occupation and should be held accountable for the chaos there. "
Thursday, April 13, 2006
On Cheney, Rumsfeld order, US outsourcing special ops, intelligence to Iraq terror group, intelligence officials say
Just when you think it cannot possibly get any worse...
This is huge!
We aren't only harboring terrorists, we are hiring them! (again)
The Raw Story On Cheney, Rumsfeld order, US outsourcing special ops, intelligence to Iraq terror group, intelligence officials say: "
The Pentagon is bypassing official US intelligence channels and turning to a dangerous and unruly cast of characters in order to create strife in Iran in preparation for any possible attack, former and current intelligence officials say.
One of the operational assets being used by the Defense Department is a right-wing terrorist organization known as Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), which is being 'run' in two southern regional areas of Iran. They are Baluchistan, a Sunni stronghold, and Khuzestan, a Shia region where a series of recent attacks has left many dead and hundreds injured in the last three months.
One former counterintelligence official, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the information, describes the Pentagon as pushing MEK shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The drive to use the insurgent group was said to have been advanced by the Pentagon under the influence of the Vice President's office and opposed by the State Department, National Security Council and then-National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice."
This is huge!
We aren't only harboring terrorists, we are hiring them! (again)
The Raw Story On Cheney, Rumsfeld order, US outsourcing special ops, intelligence to Iraq terror group, intelligence officials say: "
The Pentagon is bypassing official US intelligence channels and turning to a dangerous and unruly cast of characters in order to create strife in Iran in preparation for any possible attack, former and current intelligence officials say.
One of the operational assets being used by the Defense Department is a right-wing terrorist organization known as Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), which is being 'run' in two southern regional areas of Iran. They are Baluchistan, a Sunni stronghold, and Khuzestan, a Shia region where a series of recent attacks has left many dead and hundreds injured in the last three months.
One former counterintelligence official, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the information, describes the Pentagon as pushing MEK shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The drive to use the insurgent group was said to have been advanced by the Pentagon under the influence of the Vice President's office and opposed by the State Department, National Security Council and then-National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice."
Young Jews demand rights and freedom for Palestinians
....and the children shall lead us.
Boston IMC: feature/61239:
"On Tuesday, April 11, at 5:00 pm, 20 young Jewish people gathered for a seder (traditional celebration of Passover) outside 126 High Street in Boston, the building that houses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Boston's Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). The group expressed their support for Palestinian human rights and opposition to AIPAC's and JCRC's unquestioning support for Israel and its governmental policies. With a banner that read 'Passover means liberation for all. Justice for Palestine,' they conveyed the message to the organizations inside and to the media that AIPAC and JCRC do not speak for all Jews. "
Boston IMC: feature/61239:
"On Tuesday, April 11, at 5:00 pm, 20 young Jewish people gathered for a seder (traditional celebration of Passover) outside 126 High Street in Boston, the building that houses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Boston's Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). The group expressed their support for Palestinian human rights and opposition to AIPAC's and JCRC's unquestioning support for Israel and its governmental policies. With a banner that read 'Passover means liberation for all. Justice for Palestine,' they conveyed the message to the organizations inside and to the media that AIPAC and JCRC do not speak for all Jews. "
Iran: don't let it happen
New Statesman - Iran: don't let it happen:
"'To me it would be a worse crime to stay silent if telling the truth could prevent war.' By Katharine Gun
More than three years ago, as George Bush and Tony Blair rushed headlong into the invasion of Iraq, Martin Bright, then at the Observer, tested the veracity of an e-mail passed to him and his colleagues anonymously, while I nervously waited to see if the contents would appear in a newspaper. The e-mail, which the paper duly published, contained details of a bugging operation designed to coerce wavering members of the UN Security Council to vote for the use of force. It alerted the world to what I saw as scandalous dirty tricks within the United Nations.
I was sacked from my job at GCHQ, the top-secret government eavesdropping centre, and prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act, though the government dropped the prosecution when it was put under pressure to reveal the legal advice that took Britain into war. My aim had been to bring into the open government manoeuvrings and lies which were aimed at securing public support for what I believed was an unjust war, one that would lead to the deaths of thousands, and the untold misery of millions. "
"'To me it would be a worse crime to stay silent if telling the truth could prevent war.' By Katharine Gun
More than three years ago, as George Bush and Tony Blair rushed headlong into the invasion of Iraq, Martin Bright, then at the Observer, tested the veracity of an e-mail passed to him and his colleagues anonymously, while I nervously waited to see if the contents would appear in a newspaper. The e-mail, which the paper duly published, contained details of a bugging operation designed to coerce wavering members of the UN Security Council to vote for the use of force. It alerted the world to what I saw as scandalous dirty tricks within the United Nations.
I was sacked from my job at GCHQ, the top-secret government eavesdropping centre, and prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act, though the government dropped the prosecution when it was put under pressure to reveal the legal advice that took Britain into war. My aim had been to bring into the open government manoeuvrings and lies which were aimed at securing public support for what I believed was an unjust war, one that would lead to the deaths of thousands, and the untold misery of millions. "
Joseph Goebbels; on the importance of propaganda
This is a must read....
Goebbels at the 1934 Nuremberg Rally:
"It is difficult to define the concept of propaganda thoroughly and precisely. This is especially true since, in past decades, it was subject to unfavorable, and in part extraordinarily hostile, definitions, on the part of us Germans. First, then, we must defend it. Those abroad sometimes claim that in the past we Germans were particularly knowledgeable in this area, and knew how to apply it, but that unfortunately is not consistent with the facts. We learned the consequences of our neglect all too clearly during the World War. While the enemy states produced unprecedented atrocity propaganda aimed at Germany throughout the whole world, we did nothing and were completely defenseless against it. Only when enemy foreign propaganda had nearly won over the greater part even of the neutral states did the German government begin to sense the enormous power of propaganda. It was too late. Just as we were militarily and economically unprepared for the war, so too with propaganda. We lost the war in this area more than in any other. "
TERRORIST 'CHIEF' IS US SPIN
TERRORIST 'CHIEF' IS US SPIN:
"04/13/06 'The Mirror' -- -- TERROR mastermind Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi is a largely fictitious bogeyman invented to help an American propaganda war in Iraq, it was claimed last night.
Senior US military and intelligence officers admitted they have 'overstated' the importance of the Jordanian-born al-Qaeda chief.
Evidence has emerged that spin doctors also bombarded the 'home audience' with exaggerated stories about al-Zarqawi, who is rumoured to have personally decapitated British hostage Ken Bigley in 2004.
At a meeting at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas Colonel Derek Harvey, a former military intelligence officer, said foreign rebels were 'a very small part of the numbers'.
He said: 'Our focus on al-Zarqawi has enlarged his caricature - made him more important than he really is. The long-term threat is not al-Zarqawi or religious extremists, but former regime types and their friends.'
Al-Zarqawi - a former junkie jailed for trying to overthrow the Jordanian government - has received a death sentence and had a $15 million bounty placed on his head by the US.
He is said to have been behind the Fallujah uprising in 2004 and to be Osama bin Laden's representative in Iraq. The US claims he is at the head of a foreign force of insurgents and Britain still insists the rebellion is being led by foreign fighters.
But former SAS trooper Ben Griffin said recently: 'I was there for months and I didn't come across any foreign fighters.' "
"04/13/06 'The Mirror' -- -- TERROR mastermind Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi is a largely fictitious bogeyman invented to help an American propaganda war in Iraq, it was claimed last night.
Senior US military and intelligence officers admitted they have 'overstated' the importance of the Jordanian-born al-Qaeda chief.
Evidence has emerged that spin doctors also bombarded the 'home audience' with exaggerated stories about al-Zarqawi, who is rumoured to have personally decapitated British hostage Ken Bigley in 2004.
At a meeting at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas Colonel Derek Harvey, a former military intelligence officer, said foreign rebels were 'a very small part of the numbers'.
He said: 'Our focus on al-Zarqawi has enlarged his caricature - made him more important than he really is. The long-term threat is not al-Zarqawi or religious extremists, but former regime types and their friends.'
Al-Zarqawi - a former junkie jailed for trying to overthrow the Jordanian government - has received a death sentence and had a $15 million bounty placed on his head by the US.
He is said to have been behind the Fallujah uprising in 2004 and to be Osama bin Laden's representative in Iraq. The US claims he is at the head of a foreign force of insurgents and Britain still insists the rebellion is being led by foreign fighters.
But former SAS trooper Ben Griffin said recently: 'I was there for months and I didn't come across any foreign fighters.' "
Freedom dies quietly
Here, as well as in Britian
Freedom dies quietly:
"The bill marks the end of true parliamentary democracy; it is as significant as Congress abandoning the Bill of Rights"
We stand on guard for powerful against weak
We're sorry, Canada.
We stand on guard for powerful against weak:
"04/02/06 'Toronto Star' -- -- We now know where the Harper government stands on the Arab-Israeli issue: squarely with Israel and the United States.
Early this month, Canada was the only nation to join the U.S. in voting against a resolution on Palestinian rights at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Now it has become the first nation after Israel to cut off contacts with and aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
We stand on guard for the powerful against the weak, for the occupier against the occupied.
Combined with our increasingly Americanized combat role in Afghanistan, we are abandoning Canada's traditional neutrality and recasting ourselves in a partisan role � in the service of the Bush administration.
To be fair to Stephen Harper, the process was started by Paul Martin, who tweaked the Canadian military role in Afghanistan and reversed the Canadian voting pattern at the U.N., as if to make up for all his anti-U.S. rhetoric. The difference with Harper may be that he actually believes in this policy and has the backbone to back it."
Critics: National intelligence office not doing much
Surprise, surprise!
Did anyone really expect this would work?
USATODAY.com - Critics: National intelligence office not doing much:
"WASHINGTON: A year after John Negroponte became the first director of national intelligence, key lawmakers worry that the spy agency they created is not fulfilling its vital mission.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is 'not adding any value' by enlarging the bureaucracy, said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who leads the House Intelligence Committee. 'They're lengthening the time to make things happen. ... We want them to be lean and mean.'
The agency does some tasks well, Hoekstra said in an interview Tuesday, but is only slowly improving the quality of intelligence. Negroponte was sworn into office last April 21."
Fascism, anyone?
Beyond Mainstream - alternative news, progressive politics, holistic healing, humor jokes, alternative media, alternative culture:
"Definitions: dictatorial movement: any movement, ideology, or attitude that favors dictatorial government, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism Fascism's principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for. The cliche' that people and nations learn from history is not only overused, but also overestimated; often we fail to learn from history, or draw the wrong conclusions. Sadly, historical amnesia is the norm.
We are two-and-a-half generations removed from the horrors of Nazi Germany, although constant reminders jog the consciousness. German and Italian fascism form the historical models that define this twisted political worldview. Although they no longer exist, this worldview and the characteristics of these models have been imitated by protofascist regimes at various times in the twentieth century. Both the original
German and Italian models and the later protofascist regimes show remarkably similar characteristics. Although many scholars question any direct connection among these regimes, few can dispute their visual similarities."
"Definitions: dictatorial movement: any movement, ideology, or attitude that favors dictatorial government, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism Fascism's principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for. The cliche' that people and nations learn from history is not only overused, but also overestimated; often we fail to learn from history, or draw the wrong conclusions. Sadly, historical amnesia is the norm.
We are two-and-a-half generations removed from the horrors of Nazi Germany, although constant reminders jog the consciousness. German and Italian fascism form the historical models that define this twisted political worldview. Although they no longer exist, this worldview and the characteristics of these models have been imitated by protofascist regimes at various times in the twentieth century. Both the original
German and Italian models and the later protofascist regimes show remarkably similar characteristics. Although many scholars question any direct connection among these regimes, few can dispute their visual similarities."
Upper Class Welfare
The rich really should fear class warfare, and the more the middle class disappears, the more likely it is there wll be one, and it won't involve tax cuts for anyone.
Bear Left!: Upper Class Welfare:
"The rich are different than you and me: they get the government to do their bidding. The latest tax cut proposals in the United States House and Senate demonstrate just how different they are. In the face of rising unemployment, a stagnant economy, and fiscal crises in dozens of states, the Republican Party has devised tax cut plans that show its true colors. The centerpieces of its plans will do next to nothing to help the economy, but will amply reward the investor class, Americans who live off their investments, to the detriment of anyone who has to work for a living. Radical tax cuts on dividend income are well nigh useless for their stated purposes, boosting the economy or creating jobs, but they serve the real purposes of the Republican party very well.
The vast majority of Democratic legislators have stubbornly resisted the worst of Republican proposals. President Bush has given up on his original $750 billion tax cut, thanks to a consistent Democratic party line in the Senate. But even a fully united Democratic Party needs at least two Republican votes to be assured of a majority, so the tax cut plans now under consideration are designed to appeal to the most moderate of Republicans, those who want merely a huge tax cut instead of a massive one."
News from around the "Internets"
Cursor.org - Table of Contents page: "
The Washington Post's Joby Warrick reports on the White House's push-back against his article, including Scott McClellan's demand that media outlets 'publicly apologize.'
Sidney Blumenthal argues that President Bush is now entangled in a 'Slow-Motion Trap' of his own devising, and David Gergen says of the Bush administration, 'they're in deep, deep trouble ... I think you can hear the quacking now.'
'I believe we need a fresh start in the Pentagon,' says one retired general, while another tells the Post that among his peers, he senses that 'everyone pretty much thinks Rumsfeld and the bunch around him should be cleared out.'
Glenn Greenwald finds an attack on the motives behind the 'Revolt of the Generals' to be a 'symptom of what is likely to come,' but Jeffrey St. Clair sees another kind of 'civil war inside the Pentagon -- between the corporations.'"
The Washington Post's Joby Warrick reports on the White House's push-back against his article, including Scott McClellan's demand that media outlets 'publicly apologize.'
Sidney Blumenthal argues that President Bush is now entangled in a 'Slow-Motion Trap' of his own devising, and David Gergen says of the Bush administration, 'they're in deep, deep trouble ... I think you can hear the quacking now.'
'I believe we need a fresh start in the Pentagon,' says one retired general, while another tells the Post that among his peers, he senses that 'everyone pretty much thinks Rumsfeld and the bunch around him should be cleared out.'
Glenn Greenwald finds an attack on the motives behind the 'Revolt of the Generals' to be a 'symptom of what is likely to come,' but Jeffrey St. Clair sees another kind of 'civil war inside the Pentagon -- between the corporations.'"
Hagel: Military Strike on Iran is Not a Viable, Feasible, Responsible Option
Since when has irresponsibility, feasibility or viability, for that matter, stopped Der Monkey, Vice or Mr. Senlity at the Pentagon?
Think Progress � Hagel: Military Strike on Iran is �Not a Viable, Feasible, Responsible Option�:
"Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has joined the long list of officials and experts who believe that no good military options exist in Iran. "
Think Progress � Hagel: Military Strike on Iran is �Not a Viable, Feasible, Responsible Option�:
"Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has joined the long list of officials and experts who believe that no good military options exist in Iran. "
How Crazy Are They?
They don't call them "f------ Crazies" for nothing
How Crazy Are They?:
" I had a debate with my boss last night about Sy Hersh's terrifying New Yorker article describing Bush administration plans to attack Iran, potentially with nuclear weapons. After reading the Hersh piece, my boss was understandably worried, describing his reaction to the article in road-to-Damascus-revelation terms. They're going to do this, he said.
I told my boss that I couldn't believe it was possible the Bush administration would do this. I ran through all the reasons why an attack on Iran, especially with any kind of nuclear weaponry, would be the height of folly.
Iran, unlike Iraq, has a formidable military. They own the high ground over the Persian Gulf and have deployed missile batteries all throughout the mountains along the shore. Those missile batteries, I told him, include the Sunburn missile, which can travel in excess of Mach 2 and can spoof Aegis radar systems. Every American warship in the Gulf, including the carrier group currently deployed there, would be ducks on the pond.
The blowback in Iraq would be immediate and catastrophic, I reminded him. The Shi'ite majority that enjoys an alliance with Iran would go indiscriminately crazy and attack anyone and anything flying the stars and stripes. "
How Crazy Are They?:
" I had a debate with my boss last night about Sy Hersh's terrifying New Yorker article describing Bush administration plans to attack Iran, potentially with nuclear weapons. After reading the Hersh piece, my boss was understandably worried, describing his reaction to the article in road-to-Damascus-revelation terms. They're going to do this, he said.
I told my boss that I couldn't believe it was possible the Bush administration would do this. I ran through all the reasons why an attack on Iran, especially with any kind of nuclear weaponry, would be the height of folly.
Iran, unlike Iraq, has a formidable military. They own the high ground over the Persian Gulf and have deployed missile batteries all throughout the mountains along the shore. Those missile batteries, I told him, include the Sunburn missile, which can travel in excess of Mach 2 and can spoof Aegis radar systems. Every American warship in the Gulf, including the carrier group currently deployed there, would be ducks on the pond.
The blowback in Iraq would be immediate and catastrophic, I reminded him. The Shi'ite majority that enjoys an alliance with Iran would go indiscriminately crazy and attack anyone and anything flying the stars and stripes. "
How Dems should respond to threat of war on Iran
Fisrt of all, Junior should not be the president who deals with Iran. We have ten years to make a decision about how to deal with Iran, why let the f------ crazies loose again?
AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth
AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth
Polls spell big trouble for GOP
Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide:
"April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Democrats, buoyed by President George W. Bush's problems, have taken commanding leads over Republicans on most issues and in voter preferences for the November congressional elections, a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll shows.
The poll found that registered voters favor Democrats by 49 percent to 35 percent as the party they would like to see win their congressional district this year. Democrats are preferred even on issues that often favor Republicans, such as taxes and the budget deficit, and lead by wide margins on traditional Democratic strengths like Social Security and health care.
While Republicans maintain an edge in handling terrorism and the war in Iraq, the party's disapproval rating among all Americans has jumped 6 percentage points since January, to 50 percent. That corresponds with a souring national mood, as 65 percent say the U.S. is on the wrong track. "
"April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Democrats, buoyed by President George W. Bush's problems, have taken commanding leads over Republicans on most issues and in voter preferences for the November congressional elections, a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll shows.
The poll found that registered voters favor Democrats by 49 percent to 35 percent as the party they would like to see win their congressional district this year. Democrats are preferred even on issues that often favor Republicans, such as taxes and the budget deficit, and lead by wide margins on traditional Democratic strengths like Social Security and health care.
While Republicans maintain an edge in handling terrorism and the war in Iraq, the party's disapproval rating among all Americans has jumped 6 percentage points since January, to 50 percent. That corresponds with a souring national mood, as 65 percent say the U.S. is on the wrong track. "
Ear to the Ground - Powell's Iraq Admission Reverberating
Truthdig - Ear to the Ground - Powell's Iraq Admission Reverberating:
"Colin Powell's controversial claim (made to Truthdig editor Robert Scheer) that he never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat has renewed the debate about Powell's culpability in the Iraq debacle. Check out Vanity Fair's Chris Hitchens and Newsweek's Evan Thomas discussion of the issue on Hardball; or read Jame Hamsher's take at Firedoglake. "
"Colin Powell's controversial claim (made to Truthdig editor Robert Scheer) that he never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat has renewed the debate about Powell's culpability in the Iraq debacle. Check out Vanity Fair's Chris Hitchens and Newsweek's Evan Thomas discussion of the issue on Hardball; or read Jame Hamsher's take at Firedoglake. "
Tom Hayden: Revolution, Protest and America
Truthdig - Reports - Tom Hayden: Revolution, Protest and America:
"Editor's Note: Author and political activist Tom Hayden speaks at length about his politics, the war in Iraq, Cuba-U.S. relations and a range of other topics with Cuban journalists in an interview for Juventud Rebelde. The English translation of the interview is published here in full, courtesy of Hayden. "
"Editor's Note: Author and political activist Tom Hayden speaks at length about his politics, the war in Iraq, Cuba-U.S. relations and a range of other topics with Cuban journalists in an interview for Juventud Rebelde. The English translation of the interview is published here in full, courtesy of Hayden. "
Robert Scheer: Now Powell Tells Us
Powell was in damage control mode during almost entire tenure as SoS, according to Col. Wilkerson, on C-Span, last night.
Truthdig - Reports - Robert Scheer: Now Powell Tells Us:
"The president played the scoundrel -- even the best of his minions went along with the lies -- and when a former ambassador dared to tell the truth, the White House initiated what Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald calls 'a plan to discredit, punish or seek revenge against Mr. Wilson.' That is the important story line. "
Truthdig - Reports - Robert Scheer: Now Powell Tells Us:
"The president played the scoundrel -- even the best of his minions went along with the lies -- and when a former ambassador dared to tell the truth, the White House initiated what Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald calls 'a plan to discredit, punish or seek revenge against Mr. Wilson.' That is the important story line. "
Molly Ivins: White House Whopper Becomes Instant Classic
Truthdig - Reports - Molly Ivins: White House Whopper Becomes Instant Classic:
"AUSTIN, Texas: Personally, I think this is a really good time not to keep up. The more you try, the less sense it makes, although getting us used to having it all make no sense at all may be an extremely sneaky Karl Rove ploy to justify the war in Iraq. Hard to say.
The latest development to which the only appropriate response is, 'Huh,' is the news that the 'mobile weapons labs' introduced to us by President Bush before the war as conclusive evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were not evidence, conclusive or otherwise, of WMD and were not, in fact, mobile weapons labs.
The only thing new here is the news that George W. Bush likely knew a couple of days before he talked about them in public that the Defense Intelligence Agency had found they were not mobile weapons labs. "
"AUSTIN, Texas: Personally, I think this is a really good time not to keep up. The more you try, the less sense it makes, although getting us used to having it all make no sense at all may be an extremely sneaky Karl Rove ploy to justify the war in Iraq. Hard to say.
The latest development to which the only appropriate response is, 'Huh,' is the news that the 'mobile weapons labs' introduced to us by President Bush before the war as conclusive evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were not evidence, conclusive or otherwise, of WMD and were not, in fact, mobile weapons labs.
The only thing new here is the news that George W. Bush likely knew a couple of days before he talked about them in public that the Defense Intelligence Agency had found they were not mobile weapons labs. "
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