Summaries of 2005, our fourth year: HomeGuard News

For these articles see: First Quarter, 2005

January 2005 ... 1/02/05 ... Republican representative defends against the charge he hired a company to "fix" the voting machines in Florida ... The battle of Ohio rages on tens of thousands of voters have cause to doubt the results ... dishonor for the medal of freedom ... the Fallujah fight continues, after victory there ... Kurds ruminate about their own future ... Bill Moyers gives a nice historical overview of the function of the free press in the US ... Pakistan: winner of the "strangest ally" award for 2004 ... and a story of optimism and hope, thank God ... 1/09/05 ... Ohio's vote is being challenged, despite the certification, a raft of irregularities, lies, deceptions and conflicts of interest being the least on the list ... oh, yes, Florida too has problems ... what a mandate means when Bush likes the percentages and what it means when he doesn't ... Iraq: 200,000 fighters/sympathizers? Mosul has no one to run the election ... many opting out of the election makes its results questionable ... Our future: debt can threaten the value of the dollar ... Bill Moyers talks about the responsibility of the press and gives us a 100 year old lesson in precedents related to that aspect of our democracy ... whistle blowing is out of style ... and nuclear proliferation is a problem, except where Pakistan is involved, they, it seems can do no wrong, at least they do not have to worry about serious consequences as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea must. 01/16/05 ... Team Bush cleans house, no more dissent in the ranks ... Asian nations think together, act together and grow closer, does the US care? ... US military in Iran ... and another report of global climate change ... Pakistan prepares to fight its 4th simultaneous conflict ... US military considers "Death Squads" in Iraq ... and, going back in time the media is crippled, see Dan Rather, and the CIA has its own criminal bank conveniently located in D.C. ... 1/23/05 ... Kurds and Kikurk make the Iraq equation very, very complex ... Allawi in Iraq a murderer ... game boy style wars for the future ... no level playing field in the media ... and how the press is pounded into a shape pleasing to Mr. Bush ... 1`/30/05 ... Iraq: combat robots and "poppers" that broadcast ULF, VLF and UHF intended to pacify despite a record to the contrary ... mountains of missing money... hotel journalists can't get to stories ... Ramadi abandoned by its police force ... everyone who likes the election has their own reason for doing so and they don't always jibe ... China holds our economy in its hands ... we slowly become sidelined as other groups of nations see the benefits of organizing without us ... American style fascism with a veneer of democracy and good guy governance ... historical accounts of human rights: how we got what we've lost.

February 2005 ... 02/05/05 ... Iraq has three ways to go and it is taking all of them ... What if democracy works and they want us to go as 90% or more think this election is leading to? ... 90% of Kurds want independence, too ... What is the resistance, who is in it, how does it work ... are the getting good antiaircraft missiles? ... in the US Big Tobacco and Big Polyvinyl chloride, one is in the news the other should be ... and whatever GMO is good enough for us it is good enough for Iraq, whether they want it or not ... and so much more ... 2/13/05 ... NAZI's and the CIA, the "agency doesn't want to release info ... Bush takes the credit for an election he didn't want run the way an Iranian wanted it to be run ... How can we criticize Iraq's new government for wanting to mix religion and politics? ... Will we get Iran Lite? ... Iraqification seems to be going very badly ... Korean Nukes ... alarm bells ringing for the ecology but no one much is getting the word ... 2/20/05 ... UN resolution has the US out by 2005, will we go? ... America fights veterans tortured in Abu Ghraib ... Russia, Syria, Iran all have get togethers and "happy talk" the US glowers ... Global warming is here, showing up and spoiling the party ... we are at a greater threat for nuclear attack now than ever before ... Hondurans will never forget the man who is now becoming our Director of National Intelligence. 02/27/05 ... A proto civil war in Iraq between Shia's and Sunni's? ... Iran is targeted, no Syria, no Iran, no wait ... Bush keeps them guessing ... US says Canada has lost some of its sovereignty; Canada begs to differ ... US is being sidelined, ignored in some cases ... Europe and US, Bush's feel good tour and real disagreements continue to emerge, GE foods, China arms, Iran, Iraq, Kyoto ... Meanwhile Rove et al can say whatever they want, no matter the reality since reality does not matter

March 2005 ... 03/06/05 ... civil unrest bordering on civil war in Iraq, no real news reaches the US population ... another 10 years in Iraq? ... resistance in Iraq changes strategy, why stand and fight? ... the huge following that runs the Republican party has the "craziest ideas" ... one half million disabled by "Gulf War Syndrome, from the first war, the cause is depleted uranium ammunition, being used right now ... And Rep. Sam Johnson wants a jet and a a couple of nukes to take care of Syria ... and Bush's magic bubble... 3/13/06 ... In Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine the democracy movement energizes, well, our oppositions in those countries, uh, oops ... organizations representing 15 million African Americans come out in favor of "getting out of Iraq" no coverage of this event ... Gulf War one, the updated casualty count: 500,000 and counting ... the primary cause? Gulf War Syndrome, GWS ... The cause of GWS? seems to be depleted uranium which is being used currently in Iraq ... being fired for the wrong religious beliefs is now possible ... farming out torture ... The dollar loses its allure ... Mercury poisoning shows up in the damnedest places ... and keeping our veterans in the dark, literally 3/20/05 ... Global warming shows up on Kilimanjaro, about 15 years ahead of schedule ... The media's a mess, but who cares, news is canned, fresh of the government's shelf, Haliburton shows us how to buy low and sell high, imagine a 3,350% profit, can you spell Iraq? ...and last, a measure of hope for Palestine/Israel? Maybe maybe... 3/27/04 ... weapons that home in from space... prewar plans for Iraqi oil come to light ... US army and national guard woes ... Great poppy harvest in Afghanistan ... China's hand stronger and wider ranging ... a report talks about the plans being made for the coming oil shortage... and stupid media, being stupid again, what else is new?

For these articles see: Second Quarter, 2005

April 2005 ... 04/02/05 ... The spread of Democracy in Asia, troubles upon troubles, especially Pakistan. We should be getting a heads up for events there but nada in the media ... And who would be elected in fair elections anyway if they were held in Egypt, Syria, Iraq anyway, word is it wouldn't be anyone the US would be "fine" with ... lies and more lies let to the Iraq invasion, no surprise that ... low numbers of volunteers for the volunteer military, how low can they go? ... plenty of 8 year olds for the marines though ... failures of the media to inform or catch Mr. Delay in monstrous Shiavo flip flop ... sea changes in US culture many and varied ... Its not our country anymore, is it? 04/10/05 ... Civil war or reek up for Iraq, well maybe not the former ... Vietnam style victories replete with no witnesses, and lots of survivors... preparing for war in space ... the strategy behind petrodollars ... how we lost the "practice" war for Iraq ... Iraq's national government has trouble, the local scene is worse ... but, the good news is, there are less casualties at the moment.... 4/17/05 ... Oil as a reason for the US attack on Iran? ... Pakistan's government is under attack and who will get their nukes? ... tens of thousands of Iraqi's protest our being there ... we put bathists back in power ... the lies we told as Saddam's statue fell ... if we are what we consume, then we are the world, or 60% of it ... China is a player and the US is distracted ... How we aided and abetted the Iraqi oil smuggling to benefit Turkey among others, oh well. 4/24/5 ... Terrorist attacks are way up, its just that the report talking about it won't be released, bad press I guess ... Russia helps Syria ... North Korea goes for even more nukes ... Most of Antarctica's glaciers are in retreat, but not because of global warming, no, couldn't be that ... Islamism and fascism and pair of wildcard partners and their historical romp? ... Rumors of Peak Oil persist, evidence slowly accumulates just as prices inch upward. We don't hear the stories that the world does: American soldier beats on Iraqi government official is on the front page for millions and millions, not here in the US of A, likewise the hundreds of thousands who protested US presence in Iraq, nary a word ... 4/30/05 ... Iraqi violence on the up-tick after a lull ... not keeping track of terrorist attacks when doing so "isn't politic" ... event horizon for North Korea, could it be June? ... Iran says it wants to do what other nations, like the US and Israel for example, do ... I am glad to report that Rummy has said "winning or loosing is not the issue (in Iraq) Whew, and there I was thinking it was a war, that we were fighting against terror and that our nation was in imminent danger, gosh but I am glad were not concerned ... If the truth, logic, reason, reality, and so forth do not matter to Bush or the press corps lobbing softballs, what does?

May 2005 ... 05/0705 ... The Pentagon's embarrassing black out doesn't work, their PDF file leaked our lies to our allies, the Italians were not amused ... Who knows where we'll strike next, now it seems North Korea is getting all the speculations,will they test a nuke? ... Does it matter that England's paper shows Bush as a liar? No! ... More hints that Lebanon's Christians are being targeted ... Nonproliferation explained, how the double standard works for US. A US representative, must be making a mistake when he says, we're fighting there so we can buy oil from the region ... and the spread of faith based news, how wonderful. 5/15/05 ... Korea pushes the nuke issue, Iran and the non proliferation treaty... The US can't seem to find a terrorist whose lawyer is trying to get him asylum in the US ... Iraq = quagmire? ... flushing a Koran causes riots in central Asia ... Why Iraq has little gasoline ... Volunteer army is not making it ... China makes moves on Cuba ... Bush and the Era of Lies 5/22/05 ... It seems like the radical right in the US and the radical Muslim groups agree: It is the end of times and EVIL has got to be fought ... Al Qaida goes "legit" ... Our press ignores the latest round in China's global diplomacy offensive and again blames the "reporter" for exposing the truth as The Times apologizes despite the accuracy of the report ... Show down in Iran? ... Shooting Iraqi allies while billions go missing ... massive problems with our economy masked for the time ... why they don't like us in "Muslimland" ... 5/29/05 ... Syria is/is not helping US ... Report is that our methodology is helping the enemy recruit and this is news to someone?... The silence of the media on the Iraq war vote, casualties and war images, the 9/11 Israeli spy "non-story" ... Iranian Kurds acting up? ... metrics, dozens of them, to measure progress in Vietnam, uh, I mean Iraq ... selling weapons to the "bad guys" ... dinosaurs on Noah's ark? Only in America ... deserting an issue

June 2005 ... 06/04/05 US takes out the nuke treaty conference, battles for the right to export GMO's where ever it wants ... Terrorists as liberators for Iran ... More prison abuse pic and video on the way? ... Asia has lots of wars to choose from in case boredom threatens ... Iraq, sectarian preludes to civil war which we may be aiding and abetting, our tactics backfiring, we kill more innocents than the insurgents, and the general who cannot talk - those who do are fired ... and a commencement address that makes some kind of sense, unfortunate as that might be. 6/11/05 ... missing nuke plans? from ore to bombs where are they? Thanks Pakistan for the headache... Guantanamo as a recruiting tool, for AQ ... millions spend on machines that can't tell cat litter from nukes? feeling safe yet? ... Oil companies talking about the "end of oil" ... has team Bush "Watergate proofed" the US government? ... Iraq: we plan more unemployment, cease our "happy talk", but mini vans for the troops, hear hints of civil war and desertions continue to hamper INA success ... a Potempkin school in Egypt is lauded ... and Afghanistan and Indonesia heat up. 6/19/05 ... If you made a bet as to when the Iraq war (number two) started, you'd probably be wrong ... An overview of how we went to war, who said what and when, from 98 to 03 ... how to hide global warming? Lie, that about covers it ... Saudi Arabia wants to "study" nukes, we won't bother them with oversight, their word is good enough ... and more memos for the "Memogate" story that is not a story ... Kurds and Kikurk and oil ... military persons assess Iraq, (hint: no good news here) ... Under the Patriot Act we've arrested 400 and found, uh, well, a few guilty of things, well, well that were darned suspicious 06/30/05 ... China is on the move all over Asia and Africa, hint: it's the oil stupid ... Iran goes its own way ... attacks in Iraq are up, casualties are up, and confidence is down all while estimates of how long we'll be staying there range as high as "generational" according to Condi girl ... a reporters confidential source is no longer confidential ... a peek into corporatized media ... and, of course, Downing St. and more...

For these articles see: Third Quarter, 2005

July 2005 ... Where to begin ... Iraq and Iran both get friends swapping deals and smiling ... our efforts to "undo" Iran involve a known liar and a fraud ...Bush speaking on the environment, Africa, Iraq and more ... China heats up the competition for oil ... Iran's new man is certainly not friendly to us ... uptick in Afghanistan fighting ... world wide faith based education is making its impact on young, impressionable minds, oh well ... 7/30/05 ... We loose a piece in the chess game that is central Asia ... we keep saying Pakistan can't get worse, when will we be wrong? ... fighting in Fallujah ... US withdrawals next year? ... Iraq and corruption as millions go missing ... the new "face" of the US military as thousands of "foreigners" join up ... we are OK with the exporting of weapons grade uranium ... and Plame, the case that won't go away, a nice timeline.

August 2005 ... 8/6/05 ... We begin: wondering which way Pakistan is really going ... an uptick in Afghanistan ... China VS the US in the oil game ... Iran, Iraq and Syria making nice ... the Bush man who leads the Iran "attacks" is well, controversial ... Kurds still having their way ... terrorists in Canada? 8/13/05 ... Syria will get rid of its WMD if Israel does ... hundreds of millions, dollars that is, go missing in Iraq ... doubts that we can keep up the troop levels ... Kurds and Shia's are talking a federal system ... Baghdad's mayor tossed out, by force ... casualty numbers that don't add up ... Fallujah still a bit active, though safer ... How we've helped Iran's position in the region and strengthened its hand ... and another little story about Mr. Atta. 8/20/05 ... Bushis a flip flop king ... Iraq's constitution struggles to be born, federalism anyone? ... military policy bungles, some new details ... new calls to "get out" ... bombs in Bangladesh ... Iran takes advantage of fortuitous circumstances .. why we shouldn't "go for Iran" ... US military man Meyers wants ti both ways ... Russia and China getting some team work done ... 8/27/05 ... Iraq torn over the constitution, threats and ultimatums, oh, yes, and violence ... Do we have ANOTHER four years to look forward to? ... Israel trades Gaza for swaths of the West Bank and OK's more building ... how egregious does Bush have to get, how poor his polling before anyone breathes the "I" word ... Pakistan the proliferator gets a good finger shaking ... Bolton comes out shooting ... and eat your PCB's if you know what's good for you.

September 2005... 9/03/05 ... The spotlight on Hurricane Katrina: help finally arrives but Bush budget cuts played a role in the disaster, in the very poor start of rescue operations, and the death toll, which no one has estimated ... Oh, and global warming may be a contributing factor to the heaviest hurricane season yet, and it's not over yet, not by half ... the phrase "civil war" is increasingly used in Iraq ... fighting in Fallujah ... patience toward Iran's renewed nuclear programs wears thin ... 9/11, in the days after that event over 100 Israeli intelligence operatives were deported, now we hear a bit more about that ... and Bush sets some records, not enviable ones, but records none the less ... and a walk down memory lane with Cheney 9/10/03 ... Iraq, we get ray guns ready, how we allowed the food for oil program to be circumvented...The Sunnis finally want to participate, if only to stop the constitution, but they ARE participating ... but the news is Katrina, the Feds lie, bungle and do the CYA dance - from Bush on down - a royal mess "six ways 'till Sunday ... Iran does not seem to fear being "talked to" by anyone 9/17/05 ... Katrina: Bush turns on the lights for a tour, and uses landmark backdrop to give what looks like a speech except there was no audience and the reporters were kept at distance ... did you see his shirt buttoned incorrectly? ... the company in charge of handling the dead bodies is "infamous" for dumping bodies "where feral pigs roam" ... aid is wonderful as long as it doesn't come from Cuba ... incompetence and excuses all over the place, nice timelines ... and you can take pictures as long as you are 300 yards away from any body recovery action ... if the evidence for global warming gets bigger than this someone is going to have to report it, Arctic ice at a new low? ... and weapons business is booming, no matter the "character of the government buying... 9/25/05 ... Civil war and civil war within a civil war in Iraq ... what would a plan B be? ... Kurds a pawn in everyone's game for a long time, now, it's different ... hunger strike in Guantanamo is in the hundreds now ... reasons why we won't get rid of Bush ... it's Bush versus nature, who will win? Who will win? ... Why the anti war campaign is not getting the "job done' ... how are blocks of nations forming up nowadays, against us? The hurricane may have left but fallout from Katrina just keeps on comin' ... 09/30/05 ... the price of oil is a terrorist target ... China is looming larger ... we come to see why we're being attacked in Iraq, essentially because we're there ... Corporation for public broadcasting is now in "safe hands" ... the latest on Bin Ladens redoubt ... Porn and the war effort ... loosing towns ... the constitution, whether it passes or not, has the potential to make matters worse.

For these articles see: Fourth Quarter, 2005

October 2005 ... 10/08/05 ... the strategy of the resistance revealed ... the "Brits" do Basra ... when is civil war not civil war? ... the Prez is still gung ho on Iraq, and seems to mean it - and that's a good thing, because we are making Iran so happy ... Then too we can practice what we've learned on Syria but we'll do it better ... Middle East cum Muddle east, our policies clash but no one notices, much ... inside the beltway Rove is sweating a bit under the "Plame" of heat ... 10/15/05 ... China vs. the US in Africa? Oil is the name of the game as is containing the new "would be world class player" that China has become ... Iraqi resistance see's us as their reason for being, in the absences of sense in our policies more death and destruction ... the constitution inflames the resistance and worsens the situation whether or not it passes... God speaks to Georgie boy ... the good news is that GW is not solely to blame for the mess we're in, congress helped, a lot! ... The Ms. Mier's mess tsk tsk...10/22/05 ... Afghanistan is now a Narco State elections there have made it clear ... Syria is up for some hard times, but who cares ... Saddam goes on trial but doesn't have to worry about his vicious war against Iran as it is not on the list of charges ... Colin Powell says we're not doing to badly in Iraq ... Voter fraud accusations and hints of same ... the Prez interviews troops for home consumption rehearsed lines play well ... The "Iraq Syndrome" ... Permanent Patriot Act = permanent state of emergency 1029/05 ... Iran's leader goes metaphorically goes ballistic, even as they prepare the means to do so in reality ... Syria the off again on again target is on again - poor excuses aren't better than none it seems ... how we helped Saddam during the embargo years big time ... Another look at why we "went in" ... In Iraq we're still in the 1% bracket as far as being held in high esteem and being seen as solving problems ... With the "flame on" the Plame situation Cheney's history of inflating the cause to war is highlighted as are his shenanigans ... Oh, and global warming, an expansion in the terrorists range and a possible case in which the wars legality is challenged

November 2005. ... 11/05/05 ... Syria or Iran, who will be the next one to go ... rumors fly and North Korea seems to be out in the cold, could be time for them to launch another missile, send a ship load of arms somewhere or what... the case against Syria vis a vis Hariri, seems much like our case against Iraq, anonymous sources and so forth ... Iraq: marsh Arabs give the Brits a bit of a sticky wicket, Sistani plays cards close, billions for nothin' and the country ain't free ... our press ignores the Bush friends implicated in the oil for food scandal, global warming and the take over of PBS ... what is a "black site"... the flap over intel and the Iraq war snares a widening range of people 11/12/05 ... back to back setbacks for the Bushwhacker in the muddle east and South America ... Judith Miller gets a golden parachute and after all her hard work too ... phosphorous in Fallujah, we never used it, well a little bit, well, some, well, yes as a weapon ... The Bushwhacker's list of 10,000 names ... Cheney is fine with torture ... and of course presstitutes and Iraq, the never ending story ... and our plan for the Horn of Africa will we blow it? ... Oh yes, getting more serious with Syria ... bonus: more good news than ever, almost has me think we've objective reason for hope. 11/19/05 ... Pakistan's atomic scientists helped Iran with bomb plans ... Will Bush "Wag the Dog"? Overviews of what "can be done" to Iran, Syria, North Korea ... democracy in Afghanistan, if you don't mind the past of those running, ballot box stuffing, warlordism, a narco state, then well, it's not to bad... the "end of news as we know it, or rather knew it" and I wish I'd made up the name "presstitute" what a zinger... losses mount on most every metric used in Iraq ... military shift on Guam ... science ignored - what's new there anyway?... Bush called "cheap and cowardly" ... Murthra calls for redeployment...good luck with that ...11/26/05 ... Europeans get a harsh winter's start and early, don't care to much for our intel or secret ops ... have we made Iran and North Korea strange bedfellows? ... Opium down slightly but MJ is way up in Afghanistan the narco state ... Iraq is a pull out in the wind? ... France's troubles are not so easily solved ... television war coverage: is minutes a day enough? ... Polls, what is left of American democracy... yet another Downing Street bomb, uh, I mean memo... how the repubs will be spinning in 2006, Santorum shows the way!

December 2005. ... 12/04/05 ... Chalabi is back in the news and not for being a wanted embezzler from Jordan, a failed intel provider, a puppet of the US, a spy for Iran, but for, and get this, being the "go to guy" for "bringing Iran to the table for stabilizing Iraq ... Egypt's elections - getting radical ... Cleared cities in Iraq have continued fighting ... Bush's victory strategy ... Iraqi army is ready to go ... 70 to 90% of prisoners taken in Iraq are just plain unlucky, not terrorists ... Padilla and "Plamegate" in the news ... What is a just war? ... Black sites in Europe ... the ozone, arctic and global warming interesting articles but who reads such things anyway? And in case Iraqi's don't know what's going on our stories planted in their papers give them the word ... 12/11/05 ... Chalabi, a criminal, an intel source, then our man, then a spy for Iran, then an electable, then working with us with Iran for Iraq - don't be confused by the facts ... Bush and Iran's "new man" compare and contrast ... Egypt's elections complete with water cannons and blocked polling stations ... How we write for Iraqi news papers ... Rummy says there is no REAL insurgency in Iraq ... most of the prisoners in Iraq, 60 to 90 percent, should not be in prison, nor should autopsy reports for prisoners included homicides, lots of them, or heart attacks for 20 to 30 year olds, one wonders... why Louisiana is so short of money ... Climate change, what else is new? well implants to modify behavior and tracking you, your shoes, and what you buy ... and a brief reprise of the best of the cold war 12/18/05 ... Israel and Iran on a collision course? ... Iran manages well while we mismanage ... Bush is wrong about congress getting the "same intel" ... a unique argument for getting out now ... abuse is reason enough to stall the Patriot Act ... if terrorism is what is feared why do we "do ourselves in" as much as we do, many thousands die each year from our own hands ... Condi Girl implies, publicly that we DO torture ... TV magic makes Dems look bad ... 12/24/05 ... Iran's leader and the Bushwhacker in Chief both believe in the end times being NOW ... In Iraq air power replaces boots on the ground, the election that divides, yet Sadr City has progress ... Russia and US contretemps over NATO expansion ... The intel war mostly at home now a days and on the look out for books ... Many stories about the presstitutes of the media ... Canada or, how to loose friends and not influence enemies ... Thank God there are a few stories under the hope category ... 12/31/05 ... Fault lines in Iraq harden in this election ... Kurds prepare ... 10 biggest lies for Iraq, this year I mean ... a nice list of neo con filp folps ... what doesn't stoke the resistance? ... Domestic spying on peole and mosques ... rendition continues despite the legal issues and warrants issued by Italy ... Terrorism in the US is alive and well but seemingly not as much an issue as library books ... and a raft of presstitute issues ... weather goes wild ... year end economic indicators have the US comparing poorly - merry Christmas from Crazy George the Third.