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Fourth Quarter of 2005 October 2005 ... November 2005 ... December 2005
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10/08/05 This story follows up on a few things, notably the
downturn in British Iraqi relations in Basra, with local
officials openly saying they'll not "work with" occupation
forces. Sounds
loverly eh wot? (100805h) Even though this election will be much better than
Iraq's last, still a strong sentiment exists for voting down
the constitution, ironic,but
a man on the street explains. (100705b) Want to know the key demands of the Sunni resistance?
This
is what they'd like. (100505c) Want to know what
the Iraqi Jihadis' strategy is? It
should be clear to the US by now and this article spells it
out: h-u-m-i-l-i-a-t-i-o-n five simple syllables.
(100505j) Here is a story, a diary if you will, written by a
reporter in Iraq's "Green Zone." Is
this progress? (100505a) And this has been run
before, but now may be updated, the
arguments against the arguments for staying the course are
all disposed of. (100505b) So how about that security set up? Only one in four to
be "trusted", civil war has started, talking about breaking
Iraq up and more: part
one (100405g) part
two (100405h) When the rules you make don't seem to work and the
game time is running out, what to do? Well,
change the rules of course. Shiite and Kurdish leaders did
just that to now ensure the constitution's
acceptance. (100405f) So
what does a "secured" Iraqi province look like? Read
on, (100405c) And what is the overall "picture of
progress"? The
prez gives his take and then, well, we hear the truth of the
matter. (100405d) What does Iran want to do with Iraq? Well, lots of
things, lots of possibilities, shall we look at them? Well,
just the big ones. One
question though, haven't we helped Iran enough already? I
don't think so. (100805a) Speculation: Regime change in Syria? The only thinking
on this seems to be, "learn from Iraq." Could it be done?
Yes, in various ways. Israel would be happy about it for
sure, as would Lebanon. But only if it doesn't become
another seething hotbed of chaos and Jihadism. Has
the US learned to spell "plan" yet?
(100505i) The US and Britain have ceased training the military
forces in seven central Asian nations because the
individuals we train have a high desertion rate and they
take their training to the enemy and use it against us.
In
Afghanistan 25% of the trainees desert and rumors persist
that the rebels there are acquiring the means to shoot down
helicopters, a feat which undid the Russian occupation to
some good extend. (100505g) And
the general picture of the Afghan National Army, our tactics
and the strategic capacity of the "enemy" are up for serious
review. (100505h) Another election tale from Ohio? Yup, this ones a
doozy too, a coin collector, uh speculator, uh big time
republican supporter well, "inspired" widespread corruption
in that state - had
the story come out when it was "hot" it may have altered the
fortunes of republicans, perhaps beyond the Buckeye state
... (100805d) Oooh
and it's a two pager (100805e) The difference between what gets the headlines "U.S.
has disrupted 10 al-Qaida plots since 9/11" and the
whispered reality: there
was little or no way of checking the assertion made by Mr.
Bush, read on and laugh or cry as you might want:
(100805b) First Pat Roberton's call for "taking out" the ruler
of Venezuela, now
we have Bill O'Reilly advising we take out the ruler of
Syria. (100505e) You know I DO think that such
shenanigans are against the law, I'm almost sure of that,
what? Ah, film students, do any remember "The Will To
Power"? Hmmmm? No, I guess not. I think it's time for a
remake. Here is an overview of the conundrums of the greater
middle east, how is the empire's expansion going? What would
plans for Iran look like, how
do we spread democratic revolution and the hypocrisy in our
policy in Lebanon vis a vis, Iraq and Israel and how we
treat friends as compared to foes, or our rationales for
those treatments. (100805f) Do new computers come to you complete with a device
which forwards a record of your keystrokes to the Dept. of
Homeland Security? That is what this person found on his new
computer. Check
out the story. (100705a) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich put it mildly when
he asked, "If we can't respond faster to an event we saw
coming across the Gulf [of Mexico] for days, then
why do we think we're prepared to respond to a nuclear or
biological attack? Good
question Newt, here is the scoop on the theoretical
dangers: (100505f) So, what about a flu epidemic? Are we ready for the
big one? Word is nope, not yet we aren't but the report
telling us we're not is due to be out soon, that's
progress isn't it? (100805g) Ok, Ok, now settle down children. Well, let's see, who
can remember the color coded terrorist alert system? No one?
Oh well too bad. It seems there are hints that then as now
the "alerts" seem to have a convenient "sense" of timing.
Sometimes
days go by... then there is the "boy cries wolf" aspect of
the thing, read on (100805c) One of the movers of the current economic situation is
the housing market, which may be in for a downturn.
False
alarms have rung before, could this be the real deal that
sends our economy south? (100405x) Katrina fallout continues, it seems, obvious to you
and I perhaps, but "news" that the National Guard couldn't
respond as well as it might because lots of the manpower and
equipment were in Iraq. Imagine
my surprise. (100405e) The "Plame" flame flickers on. Testimony by Judith
Miller leads some to speculate that the investigations
tendrils may reach quite high into the
administration. (100405a) Yes
even to Rove and Libby et al, a possible conspiracy
charge? (100405b)
Trading blame, the US and England take on Iran. A war
of words, wot? Who
knows the facts of the matter, not that either side in the
equation is to be trusted. What is next?
(101605a) It seems one might be able to predict a "large scale
terrorist warning" any time Bush has bad news, well
those darned terrorist seem to be right on top of his
ratings. What the hey! (101305c) Then again you
could just be on the "A" mailing list it seems. Those who
are learned about the New York City "terror" alert days
before the mayor and the police. How
wunnerful (101305d) What
we have in M is "a female trailblazer who will walk in the
footsteps of President Bush" (101305e) Border areas between Iraq and Syria being compared to
border areas between Cambodia and Vietnam during that
conflict. Have or have we not crossed the line?
Who
knows it's a don't ask, don't tell, don't know sort of
policy. (101505a) Here I am recalling Bush saying " We don't want to get
into the blame game" but that's not how it plays out with
Syria The
US and Syria accuse each other of allowing cross border
travel which the US says causes so much trouble in
Iraq. (101205b) It seems one might be able to predict a "large scale
terrorist warning" any time Bush has bad news, well
those darned terrorist seem to be right on top of his
ratings. What the hey! (101305c) Then again you
could just be on the "A" mailing list it seems. Those who
are learned about the New York City "terror" alert days
before the mayor and the police. How
wunnerful (101305d) Voting on the constitution begins today. The
constitution has been "changed" three times in the last 10
days. No less than 55 divisive issues have been postponed,
not the least of which is the nature of the federal
government and its relations to the Kurdish or Shiite
regions and their oil revenues.
It is said many have not seen the document. In that, at
least, it was similar to the elections previous in which
persons cast votes on ballots which did not indicate names,
just party groups. (101505b) Baghdad by day and by night, who controls it? Who
knows. Here
is a portrait of the mess (101405c) Hey this is a great overview of the large scale
problem, no disaster, that Iraq has become. The upshot is
that there is chaos as long as we're there and not facing
the facts and there will be chaos if we leave because we've
not managed what we've done there at all well. How life is
now, the nature of grievous errors we've made, the
essential role of the Iraqi societal structure and a bit of
20th century insight from the first occupation. A good
read. (101045b) Auk, here is the "best" the Iraqi army has. A brigade
so well qualified it has it's own area of responsibility and
carries on the day to day operations in it. All
I can say is I wonder how soon civil war will be so
pervasive that even the broad US media will have to carry
stories relating to it. (101405a) Interesting thought, not that this administration
would be able to do this, but for arguments sake, let's take
high quality, painstaking and careful planning, I know, I
know, but go with me on this, and apply it to a slow
methodical withdrawal. The argument goes that only 20% of
the country, the Sunni's, supply the insurgency.
So
we let the 80% gradually take over their own areas and then
move on the rest. As long as we're there the insurgency has
a reason and a target. (101305a) If, as the President and Cheney et al claimed it was
the intelligence that "went bad" then why was some accurate
intel, the "cultural factors and political issues ignored
while inaccurate, technical and WMD stuff
believed?.
One cannot have it both ways....(101205d) Another major change in the proposed constitution,
this one touted as being accommodating to some Sunni's
concerns. It could be good news. We'll
know in a few years or so, I would guess.
(101205c) Here's what not talked about in this change:
Sunnis are about 20 percent of Iraq's population, with
Shiites and Kurds&emdash;who oppose Sunnis' constitutional
preferences&emdash;representing most of the remaining 80
percent. With changes to the constitution requiring support
of two-thirds of the next parliament, aren't Sunnis' chances
of pushing through revisions darn slim? And if that's the
case, why are they so excited about the announced
tweak? Iraqi's who were among the most active and persuasive
proponents of our invasion now have serious second thoughts
while
we stay the course. (101005f) One of the pillars of our Iraqi policy has been this:
as political progress is made the insurgency will wane.
Well, it is not happening that'a way is it? Here are some
people being quoted as long as their names aren't used, talk
about CYA, Part
one (100905d) Part
two (100905e) Another
pillar was the idea that Iraqi oil would "pay for" the war,
an idea that has also gone up in roiling clouds of black
smoke (101205a) In Basra it seems the "street" is controlled by
several kinds of personnel, the British, the Iraqi army and
or police and the insurgents who may also be the police or
in the army. Part
one (100905b) Part
two (100905c) Maybe the reason we went into Iraq is that Georgie Boy
hear's voices that tell him to do things "God
would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in
Afghanistan' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George,
go and end the tyranny in Iraq...' And I did."
(100905a) The new line: Bush is a Victim of circumstances,
that's why things are not going well. Poor
boy, maybe he needs more vacation time?
(101005c) To permanently contain the "growing power of China"
has become more and more an important component of our
foreign policy. Does
anyone see where this leads and what it requires the US to
do? (101605b)
China VS the US in Africa, read all about it!
(101605c) Two environmental stories, "loyalty
oaths" for the pork, uh Park Service, (101305f)
And
most people want more environmental protection than anyone
in office is now willing to offer. (101305g)
and
"Pesticide Cowboys' on the loose!
(101305h) So the news Venezuela: they are kicking out
missionaries, some of the em anyway, claiming CIA or other
such imperialism. How different this is from "the good old
days" when poorer nations took all the help they could get.
Now
the US being suspect of "things" well it's a new world honey
(101305b) Here
is the flip side (101505c) Here is a thought, for the Bush Bashers to consider:
Does not congress have the sole constitutional right to
declare war? The last time this happened was WW2. Since then
we've been involved with 5 larger scale wars and none were
declared. Hmmm. If
we don't like what Bush is doing we certainly should not
like what congress is doing, or rather, not
doing. (101005e) Bolton's bedfellows? One wonders why our UN rep Bolton
stands in Agreement with such luminary democracy's as
Russia, China and Algeria in blocking a report to be given
to the security council regarding the "Disaster in Darfur"
He
says he wants action there; so he blocks a report which
might encourage action? I guess it makes sense
(101205e) Grounding the flyboys? Yup, that's what it is
alrighty. The air force is assigning some 3,000 of its
personnel to assist the army in its missions to Iraq and
Afghanistan. The
reason is there are shortages which need to be made up and
since recruitment is off, well ...
(101105a) Well, here is the tip of the iceberg: the crony's,
friends and hanger's on who have their hands on the agencies
and policies that are vital to the country's functioning.
There
are only 15 in the list but well, it's enough to make one
pause....(101005d) Oh,
and here is another "cutie" who doesn't know her - - - from
a - - - - in the ground. (101105b) Auk, here is a peek inside the "bread and circuses"
that is unfolding concerning Miers' nomination to the SC
complete with "secret codes and promises" a roiling of the
right and a promise of "interesting times." It all may blow
over, after
all the Dems just don't get it and are meandering
meaninglessly mouthing mumbles, it seems.
(101005b) The way we do it in the good old You Ess of Ay:
Katrina cleanup: let
the lobbyists advise the senators what has to be done, sure
that's the way to do it (101005a)
Condi Rice says she hold up Afghanistan's success as
an example, something she wants Iraq to follow. REALLY? Well
read here that now much if not most of the government is in
the hands of narcotics dealers and or warlords. That is the
word. With
success like this we'll never have failures will
we? (101905j) And
hey, what do they mean when they say "narco
state"? (101905k) Then we DO like to help our enemies. We could hardly
do better by having our soldiers being filmed burning the
corpses of two Taliban fighters set to face Mecca.
It
was things such as this that made the resistance, during the
Soviet occupation, such a popular boost.
(102105a) It seems that Iran and England are exchanging "they
did its." The UK accusation is full of holes, then to the UK
has difficulty managing a situation where they do not really
manage it so much as bear the burden of maintaining a
presence, while
the US, Iran and the insurgents play the game all around
them. Here are the details as to why they stay despite all
that. (102105b) It doesn't look like a good week for this country.
They say they had nothing to do with an assassination,but
well, no one much believes them. To be precise, the ruler
stated that something to the effect that no Syrian would be
found to be involved with the incident. Quite
a bit different than saying something like, we did not do
it. (101905b) There was a bit of an uproar over
the UN report laying blame on Syria for Hariri's
assasination on Valentine's Day last, so the heat's on but
whose to say what the US et al will actually DO about
it. So in Saddam's trial why isn't he being held
accountable for his invasion of Iran? That was a war, ladies
and gentleman, in which horrors took place. Yet
it is not on the list of charges. What does this mean, to
us, the Saddam, to the resistance? Maybe there are to many
paper trails? (102105c) A
powerfully written argument for leaving Iraq, or rather a
set of reasons. (101905g) And
a bit of an update in the thinking (101905h)
And
how does one spell incompetence? Is it B-u-s-h?
(101905i) Problems with the vote, the killing of innocents,
corruption, bungling and
a "non reality based" leader who pulls figures out of the
air. (101905f) A few reminders: The
main oil pipeline is blown up (101905n)
Colin
Powell says that diplomatically we're doing OK. I ask what
planet is he on? (101905o) 4
more dead (101905c) and
burning the bodies and teasing the taliban
(101905d) Spending money by the billions, yes, public oversight?
No. That's
the story and they're sticking to it.
(101805l) Where does the motivation for the insurgency come
from? Well, beside the family and tribal loyalties which
make each "insurgent" killed a reason for any number of
relatives to join into the fray there is the controversial
constitution and a
number of practical reasons, see them here
(101805d) The election is over. With
some rumors of "questionable results" none of which will
matter, of course (101805b) we
have an analysis of the current status: not pretty,
escalating and difficulties persist to say the
least (101805a) And
then the insurgency will continue because parts, or rather
whole sections of the country rejected it.
(101805c) Here
is more on the voting problems in Iraq. Unusual results and
continuing violence. (101805k) How is it that three different individuals write three
different papers the exact same letter? Is
it possible that the paper's owned by the same company
having an agenda all its own planted the "reader's letters"?
Nah, couldn't be, not in the USA.
(102105g) How did the prez manage that interview with real US
troops? Here
is the skinny: rehearse rehearse rehearse
(101805e) and, oh yeah, have
a shill, just for safety's sake (101805f)
Or
would the term "flack" apply, it is a new term to me, so
read on here (101805g) In the Lord of the Rings some one says: "The world is
changing ... it is in the water" Well this is a warming
warning: we have our first hurricane in the south Atlantic?
a sea change in the arctic and the promise of warmer times
to come, perhaps
warmer than at anytime in a long, long time and we may not
be talking thousands of years here either.
(102105d) for
the overview and here is the report talked about
(102105e) Warming in Antarctica has increased faster than
expected, meaning that it was thought the oceans surrounding
it would not be subject to the effects of global warming for
some long time to come. This
has proven not to be the case. (101905a) The USA Patriot Act has all the support it needs to be
renewed and made a permanent fixture of the political
landscape. Time
is close now. Can you tell the fat lady is clearing her
throat? (102105e) It means we are in a permanent
"state of emergency" that changes everything, believe
me. Korea, Vietnam and Iraqi three instances when the US
military engaged the enemy for a sustained period and had
more than 300 casualties over the course of the conflict. In
each case public opinion began to slide as casualties
mounted. Check out the graphs. My
take on it is that the only way Bush can reverses the
pattern is to model Korea, that is to say when the US
invaded at Inchon and reestablished momentum, if only enough
to return to the status quo. I don't think that is possible
in Iraq. So......? (102005b) and the "Vietnam
syndrome" meets the one from Iraq. Sweet. You want to read someone who lambastes, roasts,
skewers, fries and faults the administration policies
regarding the intelligence community and policy making?
This
guy, Col. Wilkerson, goes and does it up right, even calling
names, when appropriate. An excellent read, I
laughed. (102005a) About 2,000 dead, 15,000 wounded and 50,000 veterans
with illness, stress reaction and so forth with
one in four seeking help. (101905e) And this in,
hmmm, let me see, war on terror, a world wide war on terror
at that, and our intel dept. is "bleeding talent" and
embroiled in some internal power struggle. That's what I
call focus. This
is a one (101905k) two
(101905l) three
(101905m) part article - is that to much infomountain?
HEY! We honestly have something here: the infamous
ozone "hole" over Antarctica is smaller this year than last,
by a bout 10%. It
is a demonstration of what can be done if nations cooperate
as they did to ban certain chemicals associated with the
hole's creation and growth. (101805h) I
don't know if this is hopeful or not but the Plame case may
embroil Mr. Cheney. (101805i) And
a bit more on the "secret snitch"
(101805j)
They've said it before but it seems now there is some
"extra vehemence" in Ahmadinejad's call to destroy Israel.
Sounds
like a ramp up in the rhetorical war. (102605a)
Well the man does not back down, in fact he reiterates what
he said.
My thinking is that they must either feel quite safe to do
so, meaning he does not fear the UN or that maybe nuclear
muscle is not so far off? (1028/05a) More
on the "Serious pressure on Syria (102305d) There
follows this article talking about Syria being the "next
target" as was the case before we "took Iraq"
now it may appear that the strategy of "reforming the middle
east" could be on the neo con's mine once again.
(102505a) And
here is the letter that story refers to, it is preceded by a
recent history of Syrian Jews (102505b) Security council gets demands from the US, France and
England to "put the screws to" Syria. However
Russia and China don't seem to have such interest and can
veto any meaningful or tough sanctions.
(102605c) Is
chaos in Iraq part of the plan? Speculation
here....(102705k) Yeah,
and maybe civil war isn't such a bad thing, speculations run
here (102705l) Oil for food, remember that? The embargo was supposed
to hurt Saddam. We
looked the other way allowing billions in income.
(102705i) France
and Russia and a raft of others had their own ways and means
as well. What does embargo mean?
(102505j) How close we just came to a major, major set back in
the war? A strand of concertina wire snagging the the axle
of a cement mixer loaded with explosives. Had that bit of
luck not occurred a royal mess would certainly have ensued
with hundreds of casualties captured on the world stage.
That's the good news. The
bad is that practice makes perfect. (102705g)
But
who was the target, journalists or these guys?
(102705h) What was it in our Constitution, there was something
about forcing citizens to provide quarters for troops, that
is was a no-no, yet that is what a we are doing in Iraq.
Not
that the situation is the same, after all an imperial power
was trying to put down a rebellion of natives ... uh well
... you know (102705a) Speculation: What could occur in Iraq if it does begin
to come apart at the seems. Neighbors become involved due to
"long standing concerns or interests" and more.
No
one can say we weren't told, or rather they can but they'll
be lying. (102605b) Oh, I almost forgot the Constitution passed, if just
barely. The "official" result however shows that the Sunnis
defeated it in two provinces and almost did so in a third.
However now it is a "valid" document, apparently
in celebrations three huge bomb attacks occurred in Baghdad.
And the beat goes on (102505h) The most recent and probably comprehensive poll taken
in Iraq shows we've lost the battle "for hearts and minds."
Only
1 percent hold the allies as being responsible for improving
security. (102405e) The Iraqi Insurgency Shows No Sign Of Abating, the
headline says it all, we near 2,000 dead and it
is still not clear why we went in and what we want, I mean
really. (102305c) Cheney, let's talk Cheney for a moment. He began
getting the US ready for war with his nuclear drumbeat, many
recall that, but this article spells out curious aspects of
his timing relative to what we know now about the Downing
St. memo, the Plame Affair and other revelations. He clearly
said certain things while the reality, now exposed, was
evidently not in line with it. Could we call him (A) a liar
(B) a god damned liar, (C) a faggot assed rat bastard, son
of a bitch, mother ----ing shit eater of an outhouse maggot?
or (D) All
of the above. The choice is yours.
(102705f) If you cannot believe what some in the Bush
Administration say from time to time, or
want a few howlers, take this quiz, it's free
(102405c) VP Cheney, liar in residence, has come out in
favor of torture, per the Washington Posts headline.
Can
this be good for us in anyway? Not the Post's story I mean
but Cheney's champing at the bit to get this to be
acceptable (102605d) The war on terror expands: bombings in
India (102905b) and high school girls beheaded in
Indonesia
(102905c) Scientists say that hurricanes are "bred" in the
Atlantic when it warms seasonally. Shouldn't some one
realize, now that we have a record breaking season for both
named storms and hurricanes that the ocean might be "warmer
than usual?" No
real US coverage of that salient point which happens to
support the global warming theory.
(102905a) A bit of history for future reference, if a non
nuclear state can proliferate anyone can. Swiss
helped the South African Apartheid Government ramp up their
nukes way back thirty years ago.
(102705m) The arctic, it seems, IS CHANGING, not that the MAJOR
EVENT is even registering in the US. The kicker in the
article is not just the part that talks about the Arctic ice
cap becoming seasonal and effecting a wide range of
climactic changes or that Greenland's ice cap could melt
raising oceans by 20 feet but
that the time line for such changes could be far swifter
than the 40 to 50 years current thinking has. Oh
well (102705e) A bit of a conversation between Sy Hersh and Mr.
Ritter, an
overview of the "sinking ship" and what it means.
(102805d) In Hillary Clinton is the "current leading contender"
who agrees in sum with Bush concerning Iraq, do we STILL
HAVE an opposition party? One
that seemingly can't take advantage of a Republican Goliath
busy hitting himself with everything he's got? I guess
not. (102705d) Libby
resigned after being indicted, could be that Rove is next,
talk about Christmas (102805b) Hints of indictments to come? Why
it's almost like Christmas eve this Thursday, October 27th
2005, isn't it? (102705b) A
Bush administration imploding? Could that be the strains we
are hearing now? This article gives background and
insight (102705c) Tantalizing tidbits, if Rove or "Scooter" gave out
Plame's name, who gave it to them? This
article mentions Cheney. Will Fitzgerald "go for it"?
(102505c) Oh,
and Libby's lie, shall we take his scooter away?
(102505f) And
here is a bit where Cheney, uh, lied and they have nice fat
quotes too. (102505g) Here is a bit of news regarding that "yellow cake"
document believed to be forged. Two articles name names and
put them at places with dates. If it was forged some of
these people know more than any of them have said.
first
one (102505d) then
the other (102505e) The USA Patriot Act has been abused. OK,
everyone say, " Oh wow, how could that happen!"
(102405f) And
here is the document itself (102405g) Presidential tantrums? Not quite but things aren't
going well for the boy and well, he can't just take his toys
and go home. Not
the first nor last report of this I'll wager.
(102405a) And, as he's done several times before,
Cheney
has gone "off the radar screen" why? What would be the Plame
for that? (102405b) Maybe
the "exacting" Mr. Fitzgerald does have something to do with
Cheney's vanishing act, maybe he's just "gone
fishin'" (102405d) I'll just bet that "usufruct" is not in YOUR Funk and
Wagnell's, but it is in Louisiana law here
is the word's meaning (102305a) and here
is
what it "means" in Louisiana to those who have lost their
homes, it is a crying shame (102305b) I've read a
few stories on this and none make mention of how the
"majority" of the homeless feel about this "wonderful idea."
I have to ask, wonderful for who? A British officer refusing to return to Iraq embroils
the military in a battle as to whether
or not the war is legal. (102805c) Seems there
are enough parallels with the charges successfully
prosecuted at Nuremberg to make the man wonder.
10/15/05
10/22/05
10/29/05
11/05/05 If it's possible to become a little more hard nosed,
they've
gone and done it, a shake up of ambassadors
etc...(110205l) If we do go into Iran, or rather put nukes in our
dukes to slap their nuclear programs to bits the reasons
given will be many, but the crux of the matter will be
"To
demonstrate U.S. intent and capability to use nuclear
weapons to deter adversary use of WMD." According to the
Pentagon draft document "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear
Operations" (110205e) Oh,
and from the same source, a possible year end scenario for
"expanded conflict" in the operational theater that is the
greater middle east (110205f) Granted these are
nightmare scenarios but the world we're living in now is
hell on toast for a lot of folks. Will we be so thoughtless or proud as to take on
Syria? "We
Have Been Warned," says U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX)
and he thinks it is the coming thing. (103005d)
Sy Hersh lets us in on a secret, anonymous
is the name of the Iranian source for key pieces of the
evidence against Syria in the Hariri assassination - so long
as the French agree it must be OK by Bush
(110205g) The story in the "West" is that there is a lot of
pressure on Syria, well that may be so but there is
considerable support, mainly because, in my opinion, the US
is viewed so horribly and the old "Arabic adage which runs
something like "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"
first,
news paper stories (102905d) second
Arab League and Russian support (102905e)
And
other papers weigh in (102905f) The point of all
this that most all of the papers are "influenced" either
directly or indirectly by their governments. In a minor province, one once populated with the
"marsh Arabs" whom Saddam could not ever quite quash, the
British are having troubles. Here the insurgents only attack
occupiers and so the people feel safe when they are not
around. The
population fought Saddam for decades and seem like to follow
suit with the British. (110305x) How in God's name did we get into Iraq? Here
is the diagram which shows "how da' magic wuz done
dunne" (110205m) And a bit of a story naming
names and also letting us know that we could have known what
we know now, oh about a year ago, but that would
have been bad for Bush Boy and so Libby lied and more troops
died and an election was "decided" by a public that was
misinformed. (110205p) Rover
boy, is he "Official A" in the Plame investigation, guilty
of violating executive orders? (110305s) What does 30 billion get you? In Iraq, in part,
electrical power substations not connected to the power grid
or rather in areas where the power grid is not existent.
Chaos
is afoot and continues to be ignored
(110105e) What if Sistani decides to "accelerate" our
withdrawal? He's called the shots before and we've heeded
them. He's
biding his time, perhaps for the new government to take
shape? (103005h) A three parter here on Kurds being in the way, get it?
Curds in the whey? He he he he... Ok, so I've said it
before. part
one (103005a) part
two (103005b) part
three (103005c) Oil for Food scandal, yup it's absolutely a must that
we find those responsible at the UN for allowing this to
happen. When
I turns out that US companies, some with ties to the current
administration were involved, well, uh, um, the word is that
there is nothing new in the final report.
(110405c) Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB, many are
familiar with it,
and many may not know how it is being run these
days (110205c) Not
covering global warming we are "snowed" so here is the
overview and insights (102905g) And then there is
an organized
"underground" campaign to debunk the "flawed" science of
global warming, courtesy of Exxon Mobil
(102905h) South America, things are bubblin' right along and the
US is the loser for it. The
US, distracted by Bush's agenda and hobbled by his brash
style and incompetence in foreign affairs has allowed the
percolation of new social organizations and structures which
have their own agenda which is inimical to ours.
(110405x) Here we have a nice concise article detailing how the
Bush Cabal has so sullied the reputation of the US that it
is effecting businesses and profits. Anti
Americanism has economic clout and we "stay the
course." (110405b) South America, the anti-Americanism there has only
grown, with Chavez leading the way, it seems. The problem
began with our involvement in a coup attempt and continues
with the "very skillful" Bush administration's ministrations
to the region. You
know what I mean, (110205a) Links to Cheney and the "loosening up" of
interrogation standards? That
is what is claimed by Wilkerson interview and described in
this article. (110405a) Chalk one up for the Dems, that's right, it seems they
did surprise the Repubs, just a bit, forcing
a discussion of pre-war intel that has been delayed and
delayed and delayed. (110205n) and
who slapped who in the face anyway?
(110205o) Does anyone else remember being told that we do not
send prisoners overseas to other nations whatsoever at all?
I do, yet, finally, we
have this wonderful article which mentions that we do,
sourced from US government sources. (110205i)
The
story continues to describe "black sites" what are
they? (110205j) And
a couple of countries were very quick to deny they had
"anything goin' on" (110205k) And
here we have more on the "black" sites
(1100305q) Of
course Don "rummy" Dumbsfeld thinks the hunger strikers are
comparable to dieters (110305r) The most salient selections from this article:
"Democrats and their partisan supporters are relying on
prosecutors to do what they couldn't at the ballot box a
trend that, if treated by political leaders as appropriate
politics, as the Roman historian Tacitus attested, is proof
of a deceased republic" I
arranged the extracted words into a nice quote,
huh? (110205h) You will be hearing from the "media" that Valerie
Plame was not important, was in the US so how could what she
be doing be important all sorts of "talking head" stuff
meant to minimized her importance so that the investigation
of her exposure is rendered unimportant. Here is part of the
story which will be "untold" from a 60 minutes interview
with an ex agent. A brief read actually part
one (110105a) part
two (110105b) part
three (110105c) and
part four (110105d) Meet our newest nomine for the Supreme Court. It will
hard to find someone farther to the right but it's not
because they didn't try. Welcome
to "his " world (103105a) The overview of the Trillion, that's right, trillion
dollar disaster that Iraq will be. A
lightning fast description of the current status vis a vis
what Rummy and other's have said. (103005f)
And an article
from Counter Punch, a hair raiser connecting all that is
wrong with Bush and Co. (103005g) Once you read this of course you get the idea, Bush
cannot be impeached! Barring the unforeseen miracles or sea
changes in the political landscape for what ever reason,
we
have a few more years of the "corn-holing" monkey faced
bastard. (103005e) A round up of stories from Mother Jones, John Kerry on
Iraq, The Niger Forgeries, Global complicity in Darfur's
genocide, Walmart being a "playa", Syria subplots and much
more all
in all, a nice read (102905i)
Syria
again is warned and in "strident" tones no less from the
Bushwhacker in chief. (111005g) Will we have a count down in the long lasting
"negotiations" with Iran over its nuclear program? If we get
a count down and manage to get sanctions applied will they
be as leak proof as those used against Iraq? If
they are or are not and Iran gets even closer to obtaining a
bomb what then? What happens when Iran tests?
(111005d) The "Long War" is what we call our strategy for the
horn of Africa. We have eschewed the unilateralist approach
that has worked so well in Iraq and now are trying to "work
with nations in the region to forward our
interests: keeping competitors out, stomping out islamist
radical movements and holding onto whatever resources we
think we need. Sounds like "peace, justice and the American
Way." (111005e) A tad of an article on the world wide "Oil for Food"
scandal. The
shame of it is that, in other articles psted in this forum,
many knew what was going on and the US forces enforcing the
embargo looked the other way, orders from on high, you know.
(111205a) The
attack on Jordan: the why and wherefores
(111005f) An
overview of the "terrorist war" and analysis of what the
Jordan attack portends (111005j) Chalabi, what a guy, this brief article shows just how
insane the situation is with him. He goes to Iran to
distance himself from it, runs for office, in Iraq mind you,
as a US backed candidate...what the f----? and
our press laps it up like a starveling dog would suck up
spaghetti sauce (110705b) Oh, yes, and let's not
forget his breaching US security and giving assistance to
Iran, I mean he WAS arrested, it WAS in the headlines,
so
now, is all forgiven? Will anyone ask him questions? No one
has yet, it seems? How odd that. (110705c)
If
you'd like to see the highlights of his criminal career,
read this (110905b) Chalabi,
the cat with nine lives (111005i) So the "Niger Documents" the forgeries which played
such a role in our "run up to the war" the Plame scandal and
the current Intel vs. Bush Regime struggle has a bit of
history and this article gives the
skinny on that, dates, a basic time line and a nice graphic
or two. (110705a) I don't' recall ever hearing anyone in the Bush
administration speaking of how
relations between Iran and Iraq would become friendly as a
result of our invading and toppling Saddam. Do
you? (110605b) Some papers front the story that nationwide the
disturbances are down but Paris continues to be more
active. Two stories covering France, the
first an overview of opinions and a bit of an airing of
speculations as to cause and effect (110905e)
Then some details about the French
police and what might be called their limits.
(110905f) What
if it is the start of a "open sourced" war?
(110905g) Here
are some "people's comments on the situation
(110905h) How
Mssr. Le Pen seems to be prescient or calling the shots in
France. (110905m) Then
it seems as though the riots are slowing down a bit
(110905n) The machine is set to "spin" and now the act of
"checking the intelligence pipeline" that led to the
decision to go to war is being "debated" The Bushwhacker's
theme: Everyone had the same intelligence so everyone knew.
That would be true if the congress had access to the
president's daily briefing or other reports which showed the
inteol sources to be "questionable" Will
we get the promised investigation? Maybe and maybe not, at
least not what we'd like to REALLY know.
(111005h) In the "run up to the war" (I love that phrase, don't
you?) Few did more than Judith Miller to promote the notion
of WMD thanks to her pals in the INC. Here is a cataloging
of the stories she wrote and how WRONG they went.
And as she
wrote up misinformation so was the nation misadvised, by her
though she points the finger quite well (111005c)
She's "retired" now, thank god, but isn't she somewhat
culpable? One would think that this story would be broken over
here, but no, it is broken in Italy. Millions will view the
documentary purporting to show proof that
in last year's assault on Fallujah, that US forces have used
'outlawed' phosphorus shells in Fallujah,"
(110905i) Well, the military said they'd only used the
phosphorous for illumination, then
one of their publications made a lie of that assertion
(111005a.pdf) and
here is another article relating.
(111005b) Back to back setbacks for the Bushwhacker,
First
South America give him the old heave ho and then in the
muddle east an ally, Egypt, tosses in a monkey wrench before
leaving early. (111205b) Expanding on the article below, here is one that
details South America's own 9/11, where we overthrew a
government we did not like, and
a bit of a startling example of how Bush's lack of
historical facts or knowledge must have made the leaders of
South America wince, to say the least
(110905l) "There's a man goin' round takin' names" so goes the
refrain from an old song. Bush has a list and he checks it
more than twice. Rumor
has it that thousands of people are being kept track of, as
Mr. Dorkwad Rove puts it: if you fuck with us we'll fuck you
over. How American is that? (110905j) A pair of stories that dovetail nicely, a
bit of a reflection on Bush's failure at a South American
conference, Cheney's fight for torture (110905c)
And
this article attempting to outline the current flap over
"fixing the problem" (110905d) A bit more on that
"torture thingy" that
the CIA warned against a few years back.
(110905k) As long as we have idiots in control we'll have the
"Top
Ten Idiots List" a wonderful site that details the top ten
idiots. (110605a) Wouldn't a slew of bad poll numbers for the
Bushwhacker be good news for us? Well
then, smile, and take a look at the numbers.
(111105a) Intelligent design gets a set back in Dover
Pennsylvania as the
public turns out "designer republicans" and puts in
"separate church and state" democrats.
(110905a) Curitiba, Brazil, as city that knows how?
So
it would seem from this enthusiast (110805c)
and
part two (110805d) Weird science, hands that glow? A possible new
diagnostic methodology? Years ago Kirlian Photography was
all the "new age rage" now
it seems science has come along and caught up, ruining all
the fun. (110805b) To good to be true, usually means that it is, but I
cannot help but reference this article about a "new power
source" that
"turns quantum physics on its head." We shall see if this
thing ever comes to pass. (110805a) Strange bedfellows, the ecological movement and
evangelical groups are seeing eye to eye, are getting on the
same page, and so forth, concerning CO2 and global warming.
I've
noted articles on this movement before, well it's still
around (110705d)
Australia What the heck you say? Why is Australia in this issue?
Well,
it seems a group of would be terrorists might have been
trying to blow up the country's only nuclear reactor that's
why. (111405e) Recent revelations: documents show that Iran was given
some of the plans needed for a nuclear warhead. The supplier
our friend and ally Pakistan. Understand that Pakistan is an
ally, that we
invaded Iraq because it was "had" nuclear weapons or was
close to having them, because they could "export" their WMD
to terrorists and others. But Pakistan, well they are our
friend and ally. We would never bother them.
(111905a) If we do go for a "Wag the Dog" approach for Iran, who
would be our allies? None other than a group we've labeled
as "terrorist" but hey, friends in need are friends in deed.
The
MEK and USA vs. the Mad Mullah's of Teheran, tune in folks
it could be "SmackDown" 2006. (111705h) Currently the US touts "evidence" obtained from a
laptop from an unnamed source(s) showing Iran is after
atomic weapons. Understandably
the world is skeptical. (111305b) Will
the Russia still help Iran by negotiating with the west over
its nukes? (111305c) If you want to get an idea as to why "violence is up"
in this legendary nation, all you need do is read this.
It is
an Afghani's response to one of our presstitute's who claim
that the recent election in Afghanistan was a miracle.
Sadly, it was not, it seems. Read on and
weep...(111805f) Oh, it includes the article
written by one of our presstitutes....wonderful. Changes in the forces arrayed in Afghanistan may be
good may not be. We
are taking some out and others are supposed to add? But
who? (111405c) North Korea surprises the US by saying they want to
withdraw about a third of their troops. Coalition
of the not so willing? (111805g) Sectarian Torture? And
the excuse for the widening rift separating the main
segments of Iraq, (111705d)
Here is a bit of follow up, yes there was some torture but
as a result of the discovery has produced a mixed bag, some
good some not so the US and the Iraqi government
(111805d) White Phosphorous used in Fallujah a while back,
rumors
that it was used earlier and is in other places.
(111705b) That we ignored, then denied, and now admitted,
sort of, that we are using, well, uh, chemical weapons
when
we invaded Iraq because, well, in part they'd used chemical
weapons. (111705c) US
Army rules say "Don't use WP on people"
(111905b) The role of foreigners in the insurgency was the
reason behind a recent offensive, however, the
continuing reality is that the insurgency is virtually all
home grown. (111705a) Hear the man, Chalabi answer questions that are
pointed. He
dances pretty well, I gotta say (111505d) Why doesn't Iraq have an army? This
introduction to the article, which is available through
subscription, but the intro is interesting
enough. (111305e) The
rioting continues but at a lesser pace.
(111305a) Mr. "Wayward" Woodward. From "Watergate" to
"Plamegate" as
Ms. Huffington puts it, "quite a career arc, no?"
(111805i) But
he is not alone! No a co-worker also has "legal
problems" (111805j) "The End of News" is the title, government is part of
the problem with the "fourth estate" but so is
corporatization, the well organized media machine of the
radical right and the acquiescence of those interested
parties, namely the public, not to mention the industry
itself. (111505h) I still like the phrase, the "run up to the war"
sounds like a football kick off or something doesn't it? I
mean what's up with that monkey-puckey anyway? Here
are the official debumkings of several "case making" points
this administration used to get us to go "over
there." (111505f) Corporation for Public Broadcasting, politicized by
its manager, hirings, firings, breaking the rules, yeah but
does this decision have clout? Not really only the CPB's
budget may be in danger of getting hacked. So
how is this good news? Oh, that's right, I guess it isn't
(111505e) Certain portions, "vital" segments of the armed forces
may have a few as 30% of the manpower needed for the current
demands, despite a vigorous recruitment campaign. Some time
ago a general was quoted as saying "the
wheels are falling off this thing" meaning the military was
under to much strain, that was a year ago, however, how much
longer can we proceed along this road?
(111805e) Global warming: one effect is warmer oceans, that we
all know, but warmer fresh water too. This
means that certain fish, needing certain temperatures will
move on, leaving their food chains wanting. Just another
head's up, that's all (111705i) "Wag the Dog" Bush has three main options for
distracting the American people form his failing polls,
policies, "plamegate", global warming, Iraq, a failing war
on terror, loss of global approval and much, much more.
A
great article looks at North Korea, Syria and Iran as
"options". All a push button away! Cool.
(111705g) Global forestry has good news and bad. Which
is more? You read the story and you call it.
(111505b) In California alone some 800 species are in danger
from a variety of causes. Extinctions
need not happen, but will they? (111505a) Compare
and contrast French Riots and the US poverty, racism and so
forth. (111305d) China and the US in Asia make military adjustments.
Guam
is now the "tip of the spear." (111805h) The article claims Bush's speech is "cheap and
cowardly." It seems part of the problem Bush has,
according
to the Bushwhacker himself, is critics at home. If only
they'd shut up...." (111705e) and
part two (111705f) Grand Jury continues? Rove still suspect? While a
wayward woodward wiggles on the hook? Who knows, stay tuned
for the merry adventures of the
Mighty Mouths of the Beltway, an ongoing sagging saga of
misadventures and misspeaking. (111805a)
and
part two (111805b) What happens when liars lie, despite the public
record? When the lies become talking points endlessly
repeated with the specific goal of relieving pressure on the
presidency increasingly seen as "at fault" for having
"mislead" the nation into a war with Iraq. Bush
prevaricator extraordinary, or a common liar, you make the
call. (111505i) Another case of science ignored. I mean if it gets in
the way of what we believe what are ya gonna go for?
Kneel
and pray brothers and cisterns, now is the time for your
tears (111505g) This story talks about the rest of the world getting
onto the idea that the internet, truly a global resource, is
one that should be looked after by the global community. The
US does not like this idea. But here is my question: does
anyone think that this would have come about if the US was
respected, if we were honoring international treaties, maybe
had not gone into Iraq, supported the international court,
the Kyoto accords and so forth and so on. I
know, I know so what will happen? Maybe two "internet
centers, competing systems? Who knows. Good job Bush, what
say? (111505x) If we ever do have a terrorist nuclear event on US
soil this report, a follow up on the 9/11 commission report,
will
be cited as part of this administration's failure to do
enough to keep the US safe. (111405b) What is it about the "Downing Street Memo" that has
it
trump the casualties, the intelligence controversy, the leak
and the morass that is Iraq? (111405e) When a known terrorist makes a strategic error, it has
to help the US cause against terrorism. Musab al-Zraqawi has
done just that, it would seem, by attacking in Jordan. He
has lost standing among the people there according to this
article. Such
a change of heart can only reduce the potential he has for
mayhem. (111405a)
Iran: "Unidentified western sources" get headlines: Iran
wants to trade oil for North Korean weapons technology. If
true it would seem the enemies we've thrown together are
finding common cause against us. Tell
me, before Bush were there any stories of this kind? I don't
think so, yes, Bush is a uniter, no?
(112605b) Ya' know those pesky details keep cropping up. The
Iranian atomic weapon laptop story, bursting onto the scene
recently, has
actually been around for more than a year and the reporters
for the NY Times in reporting, belatedly mind you,
apparently get some very basic facts wrong.
(112005g) A report has it that acreage dedicated to opium is
down, we've heard that before, but
news is that marijuana is up, in fact "Afghani Gold" gets
production rates second only to Morocco.
(112305g) A quick look over to Afghanistan shows that we are
coming up short of our own expectations regarding
infrastructure and such like. One
hopes that frustrations over this issue do not wind up
helping the resistance. part one (112005b)
part
two (112005c) part
three (112005d) part
four (112005e) part
five (112005f) Rumors of troop reduction? Maybe, maybe not, but what
drives the decision? The improvement of the Iraqi army? No.
The peaceful evolution of Iraqi society? No. How about
political necessity at home so that the upcoming elections
of 2006 go well? Yes!
Ding, ding, ding, you've got a winner there. And yes, I know
it's not funny. (112605c) So the congress gets told: Look you had the same intel
I did, well even if you didn't you still voted the way you
did - an
approach that creates long term "issues" between the two
branches of government centering on trust.
(112305d) Love the lies, ya' gotta' love em - what else is there
to do? We first deny using white phosphorous, then we admit
it, but only for illumination, then well, we used them but
only as a last resort, then we say, well, they aren't
chemical weapons, yet,
according to the Pentagon, in 1995, when Saddam used white
phosphorous against opponents we clearly decried this as a
use of chemical weapons. (112105c) Read
it for yourself (112105d) If you want to hear what Bob Graham says he knew
before the vote to authorize the war, read this.
Did
they, congress, have the same Intel as "the
Bushwhacker"? (112105e) An
uptick in the chaotic combat that is the Iraq war now a
days. (112105d) So another persons steps forward the Honorable
Representative Murtha, raises a flap over Iraq, Bush pounds
him, as do others, then
the Dems, as clever as always, back off and look on. Oh,
well, onward and downward. (112105b)
Here
is a bit more on that story (112105c)
And,
if you want the real low's and simple descriptions of
deceptions, read this (112105g) So what's new besides even more news about the intel
used by the US to "promote the war."
It seems our main man, someone nicknamed "curveball" was
known to be unreliable,yet we "came under his
spell." (112005a) Though recent troubles have abated the idea that
"France is perfect as she is and perfect as she was." still
seems to be the centerpiece of government inaction.
Could
it be that we've only seen the first wave? Will there be a
French infitada? (112105h) Coverage of the war is literally marginalized - Iraq
is the "television-crawl war: a scrolling feed of bad-news
bits, pushed to the margins" A great overview of how and why
the coverage of the war is not really coverage at all,
despite its size and importance as a story the media sees
not, hears not and speaks not:
I think the first three pages of the story says it
all (112305e) second
page (112305f) third
page (112305g) Will the press corps drum up support for exposing the
President's Daily Briefing of 09/21/01? The one in which the
Bushwhaker in chief is told that Iraq and Al Qaida are at
odds with each other, that there is no evidence that they
are or would collaborate and that Saddam viewed them as a
potential threat to his regime? No,
I didn't think so either but it was fun to ask the
question. (112305a) Then,
just for fun, compare those facts with what Bush and Cheney
were saying, what fun! (1122305b) Within the beltway minds may be focused on many things
but at least a few are wondering what's next in the scandal
surrounding a Mr. Abramoff, a one time "player" in the big
leagues of lobbyland. Now
a story involving congressional members, millions of
dollars, cruise lines, dinners, junkets, legislation, and
hotels all sordidly come to light, what we're missing is a
stained dress, a death or two and a missing intern - then
we'd get some prime time and 24-7 news coverage on this
baby. (112105a) This article contains this quote: "Polls are, it might
be said, what's left of American democracy. Privately run,
often for profit or advantage, they nonetheless are as close
as we come these days -- actual elections being what they
are -- to the expression of democratic opinion, serially,
week after week." It
is worth reading for that alone, but there is much, much
more. (112105f) But the key is the last sentence,
that is the worrying conclusion that those in power, from
the Bushwhacker on down, might be afraid. And you know what
a cornered, vicious, animal can do when it feels it has no
options. After a record breaking hurricane season, we have a
report of an early winter in Europe and both
these effects have been predicted by global warming
models. (112605a) Odd note here, some months, perhaps a year even, ago
it was reported and heatedly discussed/denied that Israel
was buying submarines and arming them with missiles,
possibly to have nuclear warheads "in reserve"
now we find that parts of that story are true or are
believed true by the German's who are supplying the
submarines. (11190e) Chinese military buildup seems to be catching Japan's
attention. Naval and air force activities are on the uptick
while the
history of the region plays a role in what is going on now.
I don't expect much, but China does have more muscle these
days.(111905c) Europeans are having problems with our intel
operations, this does not bode well for any future
operations we might need to work up on the continent.
Another
example of Bush bringing folks together, forget about the
fact that it's because they have problems with us. It's all
good. (112605f) War
is bad for the psyche and is harmful, that is one side of
the coin. (112605d) The
other side is that it is helpful and constructive, even
being held prisoner has its advantages.
(112605e) I don't know where to put this story, so I gave it its
own heading: Did George "The Bushwhacker" actually need to
be talked out of bombing Al Jazeera's headquarters in
Quatar? That is what is alleged by yet another Downing St.
memo. Only
time will tell if there is follow up or more exposure or
what. (112105e) Or
maybe it was just some kind of joke? (112105f)
Here's
the update, maybe the important part of the brewing brouhaha
is that the memo will "see the light of day"
(112305c) Sometimes the future is informed by the past, or
formed by the past, then again some say, those who do not
know history are doomed to repeat it. Here is a short piece
that packs a wallop in that vein, so roll up your arm and
bend over, doctor says... referencing a few books it points
out how WW2 was ushered in, Pearl was not the surprise we've
believed, it got us into WW2, ended, once and for all, our
isolationism, and
then we helped create another enemy, the Soviet Union so we
could keep on the deadly treadmill. So, is being misled into
war relevant these days? (112105b) Election 2006 people, get ready. Hawkish republicans
try out their new found "doubts about the war" building, or
rather, rebuilding an image. Santorum of Pennsylvania is one
example; he
hopes people will forget Shiavo, his earlier stands on Iraq
and notice, or not that he didn't appear on Veteran's Day
with Bush when that dolt made his idiotic speech on that
day. (112105a)
1/12/05
11/19/05
11/26/05
12/04/05 Iran: This country is one member of the "Axis of Evil" and
that wily ol' Bushwhacker wuz gonn' git 'em, yahssh dat sho'
WUZ da truf, but now dat wily ol Bushwhacka' he be wantsin'
ta chat wif doze bad boys - so it seem lak. We hear that
Chalabi is the man of the hour, being
resurrected from "giving Iranians intel" and "corruption"
and so forth, but now, he gets warm welcome from think tanks
and he gets to go and help the Iraqi's and Iranians talk
about , well, maybe stabilizing Iraq. Howzaboutdem
apples? (112905k) Oh, and another thing, the
denouement of our occupation of Iraq, and
our policy there has been intertwined with our policy
regarding Iran and its nukes, nice touch that, history is so
funny sometimes. (112905l) Reading this article about Iran's new ruler and how
he: doesn't listen to anyone outside of his "trusted inner
circle", is replacing pragmatists with ideologues in
ministries and ambassadorships, is blending religious
fundamentalism with foreign relations, is beginning to
estrange his base and so on ... does
he REMIND YOU of anyone, say, a Mr. Bush?
(112705a) Egypt's election's proceed with "controversy" as The
Brotherhood make gains. But with reports of people being
kept away from polls, and other violence, well,
I
am not really wondering why Bush is not heaping praise, the
way he did some time ago when he spoke boldly about the wave
of democracy sweeping the Muddle East.
(112605i) Cities we've "cleared" are not, it seems,
though
we do not hear of such and reports and video are
denied. (120205c) The word genocide has a particular meaning,
and
it may be that Bushhumper's most recent "victory" speech has
thrown caution to the wind. (120105d) We're writing their news for them too, isn't that nice
us? Yes,
I thought you'd find that an appropriate place to say W_ _ _
_ the F_ _ _ !, me too. (113005c) Oh,
yeah and torture, secret prisons, death squads, nascent
sectarian civil war and more, merry Christmas!
(113005d) Oh
but Iraqi's get their share of the money too
(120105d) Isn't
it nice to know we have a victory plan for Iraq? And that L.
Bush says we're going to have a really great
ending. (113005a) Oh,
and RumDumb doesn't think there is "really an insurgency" in
Iraq. (113005b) Apparently
the Bushwhacker's speech was a "point counterpoint" response
to this article "Why Iraq has no army" (120105a)
Oh,
here's the speech (120105b) And
here is some criticism of that speech,
(120105c) The proverbial fly in the ointment, the so called
"turd in the swimming pool, the pustule on the dick as it
were, for Herr Bushenvacker is that the "withdrawal debate"
has been stirred up by a surprising unanimity from Iraqi's,
the
honorable Murtha, and dearth of good news from Iraq but few
are willing to go on record so the stories we read lack, uh,
um, well, verifiability to some good degree
(120205a) What ho? Bush to give a speech on Wednesday the 30th
in which it is suspected that he will, in one way or
another, say "Yup, we did it! The Iraqi army and police are
up to snuff and we are going to be drawing down."
That
is the suspicion being analyzed in this article.
(112905m) Advice from a military historian who knows where of he
speaks, says the invasion of Iraq was the worst military
venture in 2014 years, another
record breaking Bush accomplishment a nice short
read. (112905f) A multi part story here, "everybody's got their own
death squads" many hide behind the uniform of the police.
Part
one, (112905a) Part
two, (112905b) Part
three, (112905c) Part
four, (112905d) Part
five (112905e) Terror
in many forms, here are just a few stories, about a
fortnight's worth (112805f) About
a year ago it was said that 70 to 90% of the prisoners taken
in Iraq were innocent. (112805g) Then we read
this: "Just two months after a review panel found that 60
percent of detainees should be freed, the military has
improved its intel to such a degree that 88 percent of
detainees are serious bad guys." So
one wonders about the value of what is happening to the
manner in which we arrest and process persons, to say the
least. (112805h) And then the salient quote from this article: "The
sectarian nature of Iraq's low-level civil war is evident in
virtually every major attack that takes place now."
Remember
when sectarian violence hadn't been in the picture, then was
rare, then admitted, well ... (112805i) In merry Olde Englande civil servants are being put on
trial for the most recent Downing Street memo, the odd thing
is the government prosecuting them has not "officially"
admitted that the memo exists - however
if someone publishes the non existent memo they're in big
trouble. (112805e) The debate over the war is becoming one of moral
issues. Both sides claim the high ground, of course. The
interesting thing about this article is that it contains a
nutshell description of the "just war" tenets. Somewhat
different from the centuries old version, based in religious
thought, but still, nice to look over.
(112605h) So what does get covered? Take a look at these
headlines and excerpts. Maybe
the problem is that people just ignore the stuff?
(120205d) Why Bill Moyers quit CPB? Pressure, political pressure
that the CPB by design was supposed to be immune from.
Bill
carries on the fight, but not from where he sat.
(112905h) Here
is what he was up against, more or less: the Karl and Ken
show (112905i) And
if you aren't sick then jog over to this story
(112905j) Padilla, "regardless of the outcome of h is criminal
trial, he will be held" that is the gist of the governments
position. Odd,
one would think that being proven "not guilty" would regain
one's freedom. (112805d) Something of a row over CIA "black sites" in Europe.
The EU is interested in finding out which country has done
what. Chief
suspects: Poland and Romania, while Germany suspects there
have been flights landing on US bases in their country which
were transporting prisoners to such sites.
(112805j) How to help the ozone hole come back, even bigger:
first sign a treaty promising to reduce the use of methyl
bromide, second sort of ignore the treaty, or ask for
exemptions and exceptions, after
all what the ozone ever done for political fundraising that
a billion dollar industry can't?
(112705c) Big changes in the Arctic region, receding ice means
more opportunity for mining, gas and oil exploitation and a
need to divide up the "pie". A
ship has reportedly sailed to the north pole without the
help of an icebreaker, but in the US no news is good
news. (112705d) Carbon Dioxide levels are greater now than in the past
650,000 years. Also, the story notes, that the regular
fluctuation in that greenhouse gas, a factor used by global
warming detractors, has been exceeded and significantly
so.
And the US mainstream media's reaction:? It doesn't even
rate a "ho - hum" (112605g) Bush/Cheney bumperstikers have usually been hard to
spot in San Francisco, but now I hear in Red and Purple
areas they also seem to be scarce, what
is also missing is the DamnedDems, I mean, what the F_ _ _
is up with that S_ _ _ anyway? (113005f) Amazing though it may seem the "casualties" from this
administration's ministrations are not limited to Iraq.
Here
is an article that provides an overview of hundreds of
persons who have quit, been fired, replaced, or what have
you because, well, they opposed the thoughtless policies of
the Bushwhacker. (112805b) Here
is a list of others (112805c) The nature of fascism: most people think of Hitler or
Mussolini, weird speeches, goosestepping, and warfare.
They
don't usually consider the economic policies relating to
labor, corporations, the concentration of wealth and market
shares. this article illuminates such considerations and
draws uncomfortable parallels to the US and the west
today. (112805a) Hints of more to come? DC still plays the plame game
with more names to be named. But read the story referenced
below this one. What
is the deal? Pardons are available or will such not be good
enough? (112605b) How is Plamegate similar and yet dissimilar to
Watergate? Well, first, times have changed, the political
landscape is morphing toward a one party state, and the
media landscape is vastly different. What
else? Well read here for an informative, yet, discouraging,
comparison. (112605j)
Supposedly "new evidence" that Iran has weaponizing on
their minds has come forth,
but no one is quoted as saying they have it, what it is,
where it was found and so forth, still the ante is upped,
albeit slightly. (120405c) But, putting "new evidence" aside, the stated
positions of Iran and the West seem to at odds,
one
wonders how much of all this is bluster or
brinksmanship (120505i) What is said and what is not said, that is the
question.
Israel mentions a military option, but quickly adds that the
who, when, how or what of such an option is not being
discussed. Time will tell, I guess.
(1210405b) A thought that has been coming up, now and again, is
the idea that "chaos is a good thing" and that the
chaos
in Iraq allows the Bushwhacker and his cronies or puppeteer
a chance to do what they want, get the oil, have a big
military presence and claim that as soon as we're asked
we'll go without having to be concerned that we'll ever be
asked. (120905a) Prisoner abuse widespread in Iraq? If you doubt
such
read what the US military has to say, or prisoners, or
doctors for that matter. (120705x) A bit more on the "managed news" or "story planting"
story that's been getting coverage, a nice overview of what
it means, oh,
don't be surprised, it's not good news, oh well,
(120605c) Let us go back in time to Sept. 6th, 2002, the
article's title: "Lack
of hard evidence of Iraqi weapons worries top US
officials" (120505g) Then
see what CondiGirl said on Sept. 8th, 2002
(120505h) So, then attorney general, John Asscraft, said this
case was the biggest test case since 9/11,
the US government can't convict the defendant. But, hey, I
feel safer already. (120705c) How are we doing in protecting American against
terrorism? Well the GPA is not at all good, lots of D's and
F's and incompletes...On a 4.0 scale we our average is 1.88,
not quite a C. They used to call that a gentleman's grade.
I
mean I don't think that the Bushwhacker implied that we'd be
getting a D in preparations? (120605d) Define
torture correctly and it is clear that we don't do it, that
is absolutely clear. (120605e) The Kashmiri Earthquake and the war on terrorism, how
the Pakistani government, read Musharraf's, response as well
as that of the world's, read
not nearly enough, may well feed the recruitment drives of
those we are fighting, alienate those we need as allies, and
threaten Musharraf's hold on his country.
(120605a) Courtesy of the FOIA Act and ACLU: This link is to a
page which shows how persons, in our custody, have died.
Several had heart attacks or some such, others, blunt
instrument injuries, bullet wounds to the head, broken
skulls. What
is the surprise? That there are many, many more pages just
like this one. A favorite quote: DOD003329 "blunt force
trauma and choking, died during interrogation"
(120505d) Yet
Ms. CondiGirl comes to the rescue and says, in part: "The
U.S. does not permit, tolerate or condone torture under any
circumstances" I am sure Mr. DOD003329 will
agree. (120505e) This
simple sample is simple and succinct. Cause of death:
Homicide. (120505f) Here
they are blunt: Condi doesn't make sense when she defends
extraordinary rendition or the "black sites".
(120505l) The
black sites were there, but they were shut down in time for
CondiGirl's "tour". (120605b) How do they behave in congress? How are bills passed?
What
does it look like when the party in power begins to show
cracks and disorder in the ranks: Read it here
(120805c) The Al Jazeera - Bush bombing story gets a bit of a
historical perspective. Killing
the messenger. (120305c) PBS: the sad tale is ongoing, but it seems when you're
"right" you're RIGHT and that's all that matters these days.
Fait
acompli, coup de gras, and so on
(120305b) How about this bit of history: Louisiana is in dire
need of funds to rebuild, the Bushwhacker in chief has
promised to "do everything" so why not give them what the
other 49 states get? That is to say a share of the revenues
produced on federal lands within their borders?
Louisiana is the only state not allowed to get this money,
it is a long story but it is time to make amends.
(120305a) We don't like Kyoto here, we don't like Kyoto there,
we don't like Kyoto anywhere Sam I Am: How
US companies tried to Bushwhack Kyoto in Europe
(120905c) Egypt, the Bushwhacker hailed, is becoming democratic,
it was part of the "Democratic spring" that was touted not
that long ago, here
is a portrait of the actuality, water cannons, rubber
bullets, thousands of riot police preventing voters from
getting to the polls. (120905b) Now then, if you don't believe your cash flow what do
you believe in? Radical
weather patterns and their effects made 2005 the costliest
year, 2004 was the previous record holder - how surprising
is that? (120705k) Total Surveillance, the marketing concept using radio
frequency identification (RFID) is dawning as is the concern
or even threat it may pose to the concept and actuality of
privacy. When our possessions, such as shoes or purchases
can be tagged, don't we become "it"?
Big Brother has nothing on this technology.
(120705e) If that is not enough for you, how about the use of
surgical implants which can moderate a persons behavior, it
is a miracle, of course, for some persons, certainly a tool
with potential, but exactly what are its promises?
Part
one (120705f) Part
two (120705g) Part
three (120705h) Asia's big wigs get together and klatch it up, but the
US is notable for its absence, not because we weren't
interested but because we were not invited. Over
the last year there have been indications of a multi-polar
world shaping up and this is the latest tick on that
measure. (120705b) Chavez's party seems set for a bit win! I
would bet Whackerboy in Chief would like to have such
support, but then, well, he doesn't. (120405a)
One would be hard pressed to find major newspapers covering
the election in Venezuela, I mean this is a guy who
embarrassed Bush, is loud, a lefty, works with our "enemies"
buys arms by the boatload and so on. So
he's not a news item and the big news is ...
mortgages. (120505b) The submarines Israel is getting from Germany are
allegedly capable of launching cruise missiles, maybe
nuclear capable cruise missiles, meaning
that they would be the counterstrike weapon that Israel
would brandish to any potential nuclear threat from its
current enemies. (120305e) and
part two (120305f) Absolutely stellar article from Common Dreams, called
Art, Truth and Politics. Takes one from a consideration of
what
truth is to a post WW2 brief on the horrors of US activities
during the "Cold War" to what such a past allows us to do
today. Optimists beware. (120805a) Oh, yes, jobs. We've heard that over 200,000 new jobs
were created, but looking behind that kind of headline
figure, well,
let us say the numbers are, uh, soft.
(120505k) Can our relations with Europe sink any further?
Apparently the can because they are a plucky man from
Switzerland is taking on the global superpower that is the
US over the use of European sites for extraordinary
rendition, black sites and over flights. A
row is brewing and not only "across the pond" the Senate
here is becoming awakened. (120505c)
I
guess the relations can get worse, witness the upshot of
CondiGirl's recent whirlwind tour 05
(120705d) More
on the CondiGirl "Torture Tour 2005" Magically see how "that
girl sure can lie up a storm!" (120805b) Our "whacky and fun kind of guy" president, a "real
boy's boy" if you get my meaning, from blowing up frogs to
branding pledges, well,
Mr. "Dry Drunk" has issues, let us say and here is a site
that goes into them. (120505a) Will she EVER learn? I doubt it, she's not her own
man, as it were. Condi Girl goes to EuroLand and is just
about sick and tired of being asked about extraordinary
rendition, so she's going to tell them to "back off."
I
am sure that this will make the trans Atlantic community all
the more friendly and cooperative.
(120305g) New Orleans, the "Big Easy" as it was once called, may
be that again, but the gold diggers have their sights set on
a "depressed" real estate market, some
say New Orleans will not be as black as it once was, but the
man quoted as saying that won't, I'll wager, ever say it
again. (120305d) Hey, we have something here: A lawsuit in Ohio moves
forward, it's proponents argue that the voting system in
that state was egregiously flawed and that people were
disenfranchised -
will The League of Women Voters et al. v. Blackwell, be a
clarion call for similar actions, say in Florida? HMO?
Anyone holding their breath? (120705j)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks of wiping
Israel off the map and has added that the holocaust was a
myth. This riled up the leaders
in the west, but I have to ask, who is he speaking to? Who
finds this appealing? It seems he certainly is "feeling his
oats" as they used to say, does pride go before a fall?
We've said Iranian Atomic weapons are intolerable, as had
Israel. Yet the rumor persists that they are working on
them. The ticking time bomb has long been set, we, now, just
wait for the detonation. (121405a) Israel, Iran and its nukes the "chatter" seems to have
it that they're on a collision course. It all comes down to
what kind of delivery capability Iran develops along with
the weapons. We will know who means what they say when the
Iran has its bomb. If I were them I'd have a number
pre-prepared so that after testing and recalibrating, as
needed, they could quickly build up an arsenal which would
make an attack "costly". The
"brilliant" Bushwhacker strikes again.
(121005h) Several stories here, parallels with Hitler's Germany
in as much as a weak state with a "poor hand" out foxed its
superior opponents. The
general picture has it that Iran will go nuclear and that
the US has, at least inadvertently, strengthened Iran's hand
in the region. (121005c) Some
of the strategic considerations from a couple of months
ago (121005d) And Iran's plan for the region
called "Pipelinistan" with
the idea of becoming a sort of oil clearing house for the
region and beyond. (121005e) If
you ever want to trash the Bushwhacker's assertion that
Congress got/gets the same intelligence as he does just read
this (121705b) And
here is the short, the very short version of that
(121705c) An argument for getting out now, simply goes like
this: getting out now = disaster, getting out later =
catastrophe. Essentially
by staying on we allow the much discussed potential "civil
war" to be delayed and for everyone to build up and get
ready. (121205l) Another
Iraqi torture incident, this time its the Iraqi's own
interior ministry running the show. (121205c)
Some
more details, including the idea that there is a sectarian
factor involved, this cannot help matters. One wonders what
the last straw will be. (121205d) Now we hear
that the torture or abuse of prisoners is far more
widespread and serious, so
not we're going to search the hundreds of locations to
"check it out." (121405b) Patriot
Act is not renewed (121705d) Because
of abuses (121705e) We
spy on our own, without the usual "impediments of judicial
review" and that pesky Bill of Rights. (121605a)
And the press sat on the story for a year or so.
I
guess Bush had asked "pretty please, let me run roughshod
over the constitution." (121605b) Here is a piece on "agroterrorism" the newest of the
"... terrorism" suffixed words. The
irony pointed out in the article is that we, ourselves, are
the source of thousands of deaths a year due to food borne
contaminants of one kind or another, that we ourselves have
attacked our fresh water supplies, contaminated our beef, or
attacked our own crop yield by the very way we farm, if it
could be called that now a days.
(121305h) A lengthy bit of an article here, six parts, detailing
the descent into murky abyssal deeps. Torture and the US war
in Iraq: 1
State Violence and Brutality, and Totalitarianism
(121205e) 2
Of Means and Ends (121205f) 3
Brutality and Sadism as National Policy, and the Monsters of
Our Time (121205g) 4
Becoming Monsters, and Ensuring Our Ultimate
Defeat (121205h) 5
A Monster's Confession, and the Choice to be
Human (121205i) 6
The Truth that Lies Within, and the Truth that Many Will Not
Face (121205j) Condo Rice went to Europe and was questioned about
torture, what
she said in part, implied that we DO torture, DO send
persons to places where they will be tortured; sometimes
what is not said is more important that what is.
(121405c) But we are not alone in torture biz, Europe may decry
what we do but they signed on none the less, what this means
is that any torture besmirches the morality western
civilization professes, and
ultimately serves our opponents by providing them with high
value propaganda with which to sway undecided millions to
their cause. (121205k) Senator McCain fights to restrict terror, has a
victory or two in the Senate's struggle but the George "
brand'em on the ass" Bushwhacker, Mr. "I used to blow up
frogs" has been ramping up efforts in the House and
in
the "court of public opinion" A battle for our moral compass
is being fought, I hope I will not be
disappointed. (121305c) Some in Merry Olde Englande feel that Jack
Straw is "full of _ _ it" and want an investigation into CIA
flights and torture connections in general.
(121305d) A few thoughts on "extraordinary rendition" from the
WW2 perspective, at least at the article's conclusion
anyway. Civilization
was threatened then and more patently and directly, yet the
English intel forces seemed to take the high
road, (121105b) Just how did reporters, or anyone else for that
matter, find out about the over flights of captured
terrorists and the extraordinary rendition? Simple, folks
called "plane spotters" whose hobby is akin to bird
watching, they
watch airports, for fun, take pictures and often enough
write down identifying markings, serial numbers what have
you and the rest is history (121005f )
It
is stories like this that make the US task difficult and
chills our relations with the world, torture
(121005g) This article is long, but contains some beautiful
little stories, check out the link and go to the following
headlines: Pinochet's
Men, Dumbing Down The Army, He Was For It Before He Was
Against It, and Meanwhile In Iran
(121705a) How to put misquoted, out of context words into the
mouths of Dems, make it look like a soldier is watching them
speak when he watching the Grinch, but this is not a
headline, apparently it's not important that Bush pimps a
soldier off on us, thank God the man's face is not shown.
We'd
probably learn more than we want to - as would the soldier,
I'd wager. (121305x) It would take some 24-7 coverage to keep tabs on the
Abramoff scandal. Want to know the ABC's of it all? Here is
the list of those currently involved in one way or another,
and, oh yes, there is more to come, the
article says words to the effect that it is amazing that it
is still unclear whether the actions have been criminal or
just DC business as usual - truly odd that, then again,
maybe not. (121305c) The Katrina Event came and went, now changes are
afoot, large corporations, poor or nonexistent renter's
rights, and the
decision to "fix the least damaged sections of the city
first have combined to hurt those who lost the
most (121105d) Is
the city at "Death's Door"? Speculation on that possibility
(121105e) Endangered species: yes there are lots of them, but a
filtering analysis lists the
nearly 800 which are most in danger, from us or our
activities of course. (121305a) Oh,
yes, and global warming, we're left outstanding in our
field. (121305b) Racial violence in Australia? Something similar to
what happened in France? Maybe, maybe. Differences
there are, certain that, but if this is a "second data
point" in a trend how long will it take for the war on
terror to take another turn? (121205a)
Counter
attacks and more? (121305e) How we help Haiti become a nice democratic state, I
mean after some model we approve of. The
fix is in, the shadowy groups are bold enough to operate in
the open and the history of US manipulation of the region is
played out again, a bit of a review and an
overview (121105a) China is playing the game in East and South East Asia,
we
are standing aside and not even watching - truly odd
that, (121005a) Here
are some more specifics outlining parts of their approach to
their version of the "great game."
(121005b) I have to ask, what does it take for the Dems to "give
it up" and "go for the throat"? Hmmm? What
is up? Here are some recent events that explain why the Dems
are viewed even more dimly than the DimWit in Chief himself,
Mr. "Hey I ain't no damned dry drunk" , Mr. "I talk to God
and do what he says" (121305g) And The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers are: drum roll
please then read on, and
mind this is just a sample, one wonders what the top one
hundred would be. (121205m) The tide of change continues to sweep South America,
Bolivia
is the next nation poised to provide the US with headaches
and setbacks. (121205b) Should Israel give up its nukes? That is the question,
the article suggests there would be advantages,
however,
it's not going to happen. (121105c)
The man who runs Iran has something in common with our
Commander in Goof, a belief in the second coming, that he is
especially chosen to lead his nation in the "end times"
really. Read
it all here (122005i) Probably making the fault lines in Iraq deeper and
wider is a Iraqi court decision to
disqualify a number of important and successful Sunni
candidates because of their Baathist history
(122305h) News is that we'll be drawing down troop levels,
not
covered news is the increase in sorties flown to "fill the
gap". (122305e) Speculation that "good news" is "bad news" will the
good
news of the Iraqi election be followed by the bad news of a
"democratic" civil war? (122105c) Here
is an "in country" reporter's take on the election
(122305a) This
person goes further simply saying "game over"
(122305c) Many
Iraqi's protest in the streets claiming the election was
rigged. (122305d) Some good news from Iraq, from what appears to be a
good source too, Sadr
City: the noise of construction drowns out the gunfire,
progress is made! (121905g) As
part of the coalition of the willing completes its pull out.
(121905i) It is good to know, from Mr. Cheney, that "we've
turned the corner" in Iraq. Victory
must be at hand therefore: here is what happened on his most
recent visit (121905c) It is nice to know that we are winning in Iraq.
One
would have thought otherwise with the news and analysis and
proof and so on, yet that is what the Bushwhacker in Chief
blathered on about (121805x) This article makes the cut for being selected because
it involves the
expansion of NATO, Ukraine's election of a US backed leader,
gas and oil and heated rhetoric.
(121805a) Italy issues EU warrants for CIA operatives,
sounds
like the trans Atlantic alliance is alive and well.
(122305b) Perhaps related to the next story is this one: how the
Bushwhacker in Chief's intel, secret ops, blah blah blah,
targets "terrorists" such as the vegans and the Catholic
Workers organizations. I
sure FEEL safer now that I know they're being
watched. (122005b)
And, oh yes, watch out for high school students
too (122205d) This story talks about Greenpeace discovering that
France ships used nuclear materials to Russia for either
storage or recycling. The article goes on to say that the
storage of the "waste", the material not recycled, is not
truly secure. My question is, if Greenpeace can find this
stuff, where it is stored, and
that it's done inadequately then why can't some terrorist
organization as well? If the transport of such materials is
secret, I mean, how did Greenpeace find out?
(121905f) Bush can say he's not the only one who did domestic
spying, he
can claim Bill Clinton did it too!
(122105d) The war on terror, and the potential for conflict with
the constitutional rights of American citizens - that is the
issue raised by the "secret spying on American citizens
instigated by Bush. There is a constitutional issue here,
he's supposed to have the constitutionally-required court
approved warrants for such, but he avoided that step.
What
I want to know, as does this article, is this: isn't
violating the constitutional rights of American citizens an
impeachable offense? (121905b) if it isn't what
is? Some
Repubs are repulsed by Bubble Boy's bullying
(122205a) FISA
judges also are not happy with our bully boy
(122205b) Plame Game continues on - did Rove prevaricate? He did
change his story, Fitzgerald has a new grand jury -
it
goes back to the Watergate type of questions, what did he
say and when did he know he said it?
(121805k) Some one famous once said, "Play it again Sam" and so
we will, perhaps, here is the pattern of how Bushist
idiocies are managed and massaged into vapor which,
no
matter how badly they stink, still seem temporary and
insubstantial as applied to the current warrantless
wiretapping scandal (122205c) A report covering biased news, Iraqi civilian deaths,
leading cause
US forces, minor cause, some 10%, insurgent violence, and
more media coverage (122005l) Last year there was a time when someone noticed how
congress did business very late at night, two, three even
four am votes and roll calls, now, it seems, they are early
birds, sometimes, as well. On Capitol Hill, predawn votes a
little after 6 a.m. yesterday, approved a five-year
budget
(122005f) plan that included almost $40 billion in cuts to
programs such as Medicaid and student loans. An hour
earlier, the House also passed a $453 billion military
spending bill that included a provision to permit oil
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska.
(122005g) The bill, which includes money for hurricane
relief and preparations for an avian flu pandemic, might put
lawmakers who are against ANWR in a tough spot if they do
not want to be seen as voting against funding the troops.
Also, some are pointing out that the legislation to help
prepare the country for a possible outbreak of bird
flu (122005h) protects vaccine-makers from any
liability, including the result of negligence. So who stays
up to watch these antics? Who gets up early to check on the
cuts to Medicaid? Do you know what a "midnight rider"
is? So
King Bushwhacker breaks the law, uh, I mean the
constitution, so? Does anyone bring up the word
impeachment? (122005c) Well
someone uses the dreaded "I" word, this article talks about
the range of people involved in the domestic spying cover
up (122005e) Here
is a nice overview of the "warrantless wire tap"
episode (122105a) Here
is a report that talks about how the government misled the
court regarding the FISA process and more.
(122105b) Oh yes and here is the Jackass in Chief holding forth
on how and why wire taps and such like must
have a court order supporting them, no matter the USA
PATRIOT Act he says, nothing has changed, he says.
(122005d) Why wait for science, reason, or logic? Just buy an
expert, or, better
still, a whole think tank and get your press coverage for
fee, uh, I mean, free,well, sort of.
(121905e) I've said it before but just because Saddam WhoSane?
tortured people and horribly does not mean that what we do
is excusable because it is "not as bad". There should be
absolutely no comparison between the way we treat our
prisoners in Iraq and the way Saddam did. No
comparison should be possible, we are the good guys, in the
white hats remember? (121905d) Here's a story that bears covering, Clinton had
Whitewater and Lewinsky because of that House Government
Reform Committee issued over 1,000 subpoenas. Because of
leaks of CIA secrets, the largest intelligence failure in US
history, 9/11, an illegal war with cherry picked analysis,
numerous government departments being run by those they are
supposed to regulate, record breaking incompetence during
the hurricane season, substantial foreign policy blunders
not limited to Iran, North Korea and the establishment of
Black Sites or the use of torture, this
House has seen fit to issue only three subpoenas to the
Bubble Boy's Administration. Sounds fair, so it's not a
story, right? (121805f) Here is how it used to be with "real reporters" Jack
Anderson gave them hell, had
murder plots against him by "some of the president's men"
and more, much, much more. Who takes his place?
(121805c) For a more detailed look, part
one (121805d) part
two (121805e) A
bit of history to the Anglo-American invasion of the Middle
East (122105e) Radicals believe that the age of oil is nearing its
denouement, among those are a small group who claim
biodiesel or corn based ethanol are the answer, and within
those are an even smaller group who say: "Do the math,
neither of these solutions add up, in
fact they make matters such as global warming worse,
encourage environmental destruction, and loose energy rather
than produce it. (121905j) see the 8th and 9th
story on the page. The revolution continues in South America with Bolivia
being the most recent "growth opportunity" Two elected
center right governments toppled in as many years and now a
native, meaning
a man of non-spanish descent, has a chance at taking the
reigns of power. (121805g) Another
story gives a broader picture (121905a) The debate over global warming has shifted, now the
detractors have the burden of proof, results from around the
world point, increasingly to a warming trend while the US
remains outside the Kyoto fold and the
trend seems destined to increase its effects on climate,
food production, water supplies and, yes,
politics. (121805b) Impeachment, pollsters say it's not being asked about
because it's not in the media, its not "a topic of general
discussion", congress is not talking about it. Well, that's
changed hasn't it? Impeachment polling regarding
Clinton/Lewinsky began quite early on - with
Bush, it's late in the game, here is coverage of how polls
have been covering the "I" issue.
(122305g) Fear of the Devil is a hell of a governing tool, how
"evil" is being marketed and everything egregious Bubble Boy
does is defended, ultimately
with the notion that "as soon as an atomic bomb goes off in
American city ..." (122305f) Just for fun check out a record of the Bushwhacker in
chief's lies, misdirections and so forth,
I have read a few of them other places but this collection
is a nice read, if you have a half an hour or so
(121905x) Request the right book and you too can have a visit
from government agents! Be the first on your block! My
thoughts are these, lots
of people should check out Mao's Little Red Book, the
original translated version then they'd have to visit us
all. What a concept! (121805x) What the hell, who cares about Canada anyway? I mean
WTF? Our man up there stirs the pot of their internal
politics, perhaps
to our disadvantage - so what else would a "good boot
licking bushite" do? (121805i) Conyers
wants to investigate a whole range of Bush and Cheneyist
activities. Any chance of change?
(122005k) A article which touts 2005 as a year when the
"Goliaths" did not fare all that well, not that the "Davids"
did smashingly well, but
the upshot, globally, is that there may be a measure of
optimism in regard to a shifting of power to "the little
guy." (122005x) Here, possibly, is an example of how bio - engineering
and or genetic engineering that
has benefits, perhaps low impact and a real potential to
make a difference in the lives of those suffering from
illnesses, especially the poor as it ha the promise of
reducing cost and increasing quality.
(122005a)
Great quote by a younger, much younger Lincoln, and
one that has particular relevance for today and yesterday.
Read
on! (123005d) Iraqi unity? Seems like "like voted for like" religious
fault lines are clearly being drawn.
It was not two years ago that the secular nature of the
Iraqi culture was touted as being the foundation for a
democratic Iraq, no longer, it would seem.
(122805) Some insight into Kurdish ambitions, the impression is
that "nothing has changed" independence and Kikurk, even
Mosul are on their minds. The
article indicates they are preparing for an opportunity to
arise. (122805k) Many
in the Iraqi army believe civil war is coming
(122805l) A list of the ten biggest lies being told about Iraq and
the "evolving situation" "on the ground." A
good read, brief and concise. (122705e) Are you ready for a year in review? For Iraq? For 2005?
Here
it is full of quotes and fact is, milestones and memoirs,
flip-flops, contradictions and all of the disparate errata
of a chaotic system in dynamic collapse.
(122605h) How we work to secure one city, this
is the third time in as many years we're trying to turn over
Samarra to Iraqi police. A two part tale of "success Part
one." (122605a) and
Part Two (122605b) Violence
flares, the election, some say, stokes the resistance. I ask
what doesn't stoke the resistance?
(122605c) Chalabi was our point man for operations in Iraq, point
man of sorts, a man with many lives, and a long, long story.
Now we have another of his kind, meet
Farid Ghadry, who is the head of a group wanting to change
the regime in Syria, meeting with neo con "drum head" Perle
with Chalabi himself. (122805x) The hunger strike at Guantanamo spikes for
Christmas,
Read On: (123005h) CondiGirl thinks domestic spying is OK. How do we know?
She
OK'ed spying on the UN delegates when the debate concerning
action in Iraq was at its height. (122705b)
And,
Padilla, a case where the Imperial Presidency meets
resistance from the Judicial Branch.
(122805n) How to loose friends and strengthen enemies, the Homeland
Security operations alienate
US Muslims by spying on mosques, harassing those who are
traveling and so forth (122605d) Summaries of under reported stories, actually two ten
point lists, it's a nice summary of the anti war movement
for 2005. Read
on: (123005j) So our allies in the "terror war" torture children and we
fund it? A brave Englishman, the Former British Ambassador
to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, spills the proverbial beans
from that same country. Read
On! (123005f) Here are some of those memos,
now available on the web.
Read On! (123005g) One might think that, what with all the coverage of
rendition and such, that
such controversial and or illegal proceedings have been on
the wane, and one would, of course, knowing BubbleBoy and
his ButtBrained sidekick, be wrong.
(123005a) There is the "electronic wall" and the "semantic wall"
that
is to say the chosen subject matter of the stories that are
covered and then the way terminology effects
perceptions. (122805g) What
happens when Presidents lie? Here is an overview of a book
covering just that topic. (122805h) And
in case you think our democracy needs a nightcap here it is,
no plainer words could be chosen, well maybe not.
(122805i) Terrorism isn't terrorism when it's anti-abortionist
"direct action" or so it seems. I
mean a tossed bomb is a tossed bomb, bomb threats are bomb
threats, murder is murder, no? (122805f) Here is an update of some of the "embeds" the reporters
that were integrated into the first wave of the US invasion
of Iraq. Many
thought it would be quickly over, all were effected by the
process. (122705c) Fox News, if you can call it that, offers a sampler of
how news is "analyzed" No
wonder we're heading to hell in a hand basket and the
viewers of this pap think they're informed, oh
well. (122705a) Lets look at about a month's worth of news worthy stories
and how the news organizations covered them, the questions
that should have been asked, the points that were made and
accepted without question, the speeches with errors and so
forth, a
long depressing sort of read alive with links to the
originating sources. (122605g) Here is a stunning chance to see how predictions hold up.
In 2006 there are a number of elections world wide which
have import, Part
one (123105a) Part
two (123105b) Part
three (123105c) Part
four (123105d) Part
five (123105e) Part
six (123105f) This story caught my eye, I mean I'd seen a brief
headline but upon reading this it struck me that Oklahoma
and even parts of northern Texas
should be cold this time of year and getting dustings of
snow and such like. This is not the central plains kind of
weather I read about in history books, or check it and let
me know. (123005c) The article says the US has had "wild weather." The
hurricane season demonstrated that all to well, as did late
winters in New England and changes in rainfall. Gee I wonder
why that might be? (123005b) Some time ago there were stories concerning the notion
that the myopic concern the US has for Iraq and the "war on
terror" has caused it to ignore or "loose" South America,
encourage alternate alliance building in Asia and Europe as
well as this: a
souring of relations between Japan and China, 2005 has been
a bad year in that regard. (122805b)
and
page two of the story (122805c) It will be yet
another example of the law of unintended consequences if
this escalates in any way. An economic measure shows the US troubled relative to
other economies in the world, the article does not mention
China's boom times though it compares other "more
traditional" economies. I believe that the relative poor
showing is an indicator that we are on the "wrong track"
both economically and politically. With
Crazy George The Third in office can we expect a dramatic
repair? (123105x) A scary look at the line of succession if Bush is
impeached successfully. Not at all pretty; I mean really.
Read
on: (123005i) So who will impeach Bush, who
will fight for the constitution? Rhetorical questions to
some extent but that is what is discussed here, the
apparent bankruptcy of the Dems, Repubs, and the media make
one wonder. (122605e) But
we see some "blowback" on this "imperial presidency" not
much true but some. (122605f) The wire tap scandal shows that if we have not crossed
the Rubicon, we
may be wading in its waters. (122805d) PTSD
among returning veterans is higher than for those from Korea
or Vietnam. (122705f) But the VA is
reconsidering how
"serious" PTSD is and how much it should be
"covered." (122705g) Perhaps a relevant glimpse into the past how the US, in a
small New England town, hosted
the peace talks for the Japanese Russian war which ended 100
years ago. (123005e)
12/11/05
12/18/05
12/24/05
12/31/05