Summaries of 2007, our sixth
year: HomeGuard
News January
2007
... 01/06/07 ... This year gets off to a
rousing start ... 2006 breaks records: number of journalists
killed in action , China takes not of global warming, Iraq
casualties on just about all sides of every conflict in that
country have December as high mark of death ... Lebanon's
dissolution simmers as divides widen ... Somalia's war
spikes as a new front opens in 'The Great War", in the US
the urge to surge faces resistance from many sides but
Dumbledork in Chief seems blind, deaf and dumber than ever
... hotspots slated for increased heat the "weather of war"
spreads ... several stories on the making and unmaking of
Saddam, our one time "go to guy" ... and will the Democraps
get ugly? 01/13/07 ... Iran in the Bush Man's sights,
evidence, speculation, reasons, possibilities ... England
declares all is going SO well that they are reducing their
troops by a third. ... The US works op a coup attempt for
Hammers ... Saddam gets parades and posters befitting his
honor, how did we manage that? ... the Somalian front, the
Islamic Courts are defeated, but fighting in the capital
mimics, to my way of thinking , what is happening in
Baghdad, namely chaos. ... What is polonium and why is it so
dangerous? ... South of the Rio Grande they're actin' up and
becoming' well, a new nation ... Guatemala, those who are
ignorant of history are bound to repeat it. 1/20/07 ... Iran
in the sights, what is said and not said tells all ... the
US garners some support ... a 300 year old feud gives us a
clue about neighborliness in Iraq ... Kurds on the move in
and about the country ... Iraq's new oil law ... April in
Iran? ... how to make enemies, when will we EVER learn ...
01/27/07 ... Hezbollah shows muscle in Lebanon ...
everything is going to hell in Baghdad, except cell phone
service - its a life line ... Kurds don't want to help out
in Iraq, and it is hard to go far when only a mile from the
green zone battles are being fought ... outsourcing a war,
Blackwater, and the other army we have there ... Somalia's
capital getting ragged ... big oil and the SOTU February
200707 ...
Early February and the hype for a war with Iran continues
even as ships, men and material make their way to the
"theater" ... a brief on the post WW2 history of England who
also made the choice between being an empire and a democracy
... How US efforts help Sadr train and arm his men, by the
man in charge now ... Afghanistan the other war we've yet to
make progress in gears u for another round of fighting ...
Exxon Mobil fights for global warming confusion ... our
laughable congress takes non binding action, or tries to,
responding to an imperial president ... 2/10/07 ... Iran's
in the sights, did I mention the draft may be back?... hope
in Florida ... copters down in Iraq signaling change ... New
Mexico's Governor comes on strong ... climate change is upon
us, no duh!, and there are considerations ... Though
republican congressional members don't think it exists,
really ... 023/17/07 ... Iran is still on the hot seat as
"big pieces move into position", Bush the "idiot prince"
flaps his yapper and experts call it a disaster waiting to
happen ... Lebanon still hold's its collective breath, on
the brink ... anyone for a third war in Iraq? ... slowly
shifting the large nations of Asia begin looking to each
other more and together - reassessing the US ... A die off
of honeybees in the US, falling Euro fish stocks and melting
glaciers, in the news ... NYT and others champion a strike
on Iran ... but complain that people don't believe their
anonymous sources ... oh well! ... 02/24/07 ... Iran chatter
builds even more, both sides flex military muscles, make
claims, denounce the other ... Iraq seemingly can't get any
worse but it does despite some modest improvement in Baghdad
... the Brits plan a pullout or whatever name you want to
put on defeat ... Global warming continues apace even as
some eyes are blinking at reports ... South American slowly
grows more distant ... Darfur continues as a crying shame
and Sudan pushes its neighbors around ... in the US severe
poverty reaches more people, corruption is given an escape
route and the housing "industry" has some bad
days March
2007 ..03/02/07... Ramping up for
Iran continues, a surge for Afghanistan, mission creep keeps
our forces "occupied" ... if we were concerned about funding
and arms reaching Iraqi resistance maybe we'd better look
elsewhere than Iran ...Al Qaida beefing up and getting
ready, more than ever? ...Darfur's oil is being mapped out
...Global warming's sting in France ...Laura Bush's
revelations on Iraq, you know it's just that one bomb a day
that makes it such a problem ...03/10/07 ... The state
department hires a man who believes we are fighting WWIII
... a missile system that will or might work ... updates on
"the surge" - another bloody day, no plan B and the
resistance adapting, of course ... how to talk nuclear war
without REALLY talking about it, the dance with Iran
continues, but who is leading? ... Mogadishu cum Baghdad?
... Russians planning new weapons systems and more ... Lots
of global warming info ... the presstitutes inaction indeed,
several juicy stories that did not make the cut for prime
time news. 03/17/07 ... Plame gets coverage and there is
sniffing about White House folks ... Baghdad, the surge and
devilish details ... lots in the Mother Nature category ...
it's Iran this, Iran that ... what the hell is going on
anyway? ... housing bubble gets to go the way of all things?
03/24/07 Iranians grab Brits and talk tough ... Brits go bye
bye battles for Basra bust out ... in the US scandals make
it into the press, Plame, US attorneys, Abramoff, FBI
lawbreaking ... another front "lights up" in the GWOT - see
Yemen ... Iraqi's in a survey say ... unkind things
regarding the US ... how we've helped Iran get into Iraq ...
Pakistan's leader, crossing a "bridge to far?" ... Darfur,
the tragedy continues ... 03/31/07 ... The fake war over the
war, what really was passed by our Congress ... the Saudis
going "off the reservation" and calling us names? ... our
DOD says we goofed it big time in Iraq's planning ... Iran,
what can I say, the Brits have their maps, but who cares?
... Mogadishu the "mini Baghdad" ... Dollar woes, sub prime
loans the "sleeper - spoiler ... how economics effect the
antiwar movement April 20007
... 04/07/07 ... Bush and
terrorism, you wouldn't think that he'd be on both sides of
the fence talking out of both sides of his mouth with a
fucked, uh, I mean forked tongue? Wouldja, well wouldja? ...
the life span of a poorly trained arrival in Iraq: 2 hours
... "CIA and cocaine" ... Saudi Arabia's camel nose snuffing
it's way into the muddle east's morass ... McCain on tour in
Iraq and he still says its better ... after rumors of an
attack on Iran nothing, yet ... Devolution in Darfur how the
players play ... if you attribute a story to "anonymous"
then whose to say you've misquoted someone, but hey we TRUST
the media don't we? 04/14/07 ... as tax day looms we've only
scattered reports, a bombing inside the green zone, Sadr's
million-man march, and the email scandal at the WH. Not a
lot bet enough ... 04/21/07 ... The surge in death totals
continue apace in Iraq and inquiring minds want to know, is
it squeeze the balloon or whack a mole? ... Congressional
oversight belatedly picks off Gonzales? ... the "battle for
Taiwan" continues ... and what does North Korea want, plan?
... 04/28/07 ... Korea and Myanmar become fast friends,
China looks on and smiles ... Pakistan, the closer you look
the worse it looks ... Africa, and the rest of the
equatorial world faces climate induced water shortages ...
various USA corruption stories ... ordinary errands in
Baghdad require extraordinary courage ... large scale
election fraud still bubbling up and the DOJ scandal turns
over a new rock May 2007
... 05/04/07 ...May begins, so far
no attack on Iran, but where is the Nimitz and a couple of
other aircraft carrier groups as well as others? ... the
predictions for the polar deicing have been to conservative,
even though they were "radical" not but a few years ago ...
the track record: how well has the Middle East been
transformed and democratized? ... terror attacks are up and
this up tick is related to operations in Iraq ... word up on
"the surge" ... Mogadishu = Baghdad - but are we getting our
"bang for the buck?" and a n article on hubris ... O5/12/07
... Pakistan is near to bursting at various seams what will
come after its current master is the questions ... Fort Dix,
the sitcom of the GWOT continues - I'm glad we can catch
incompetent, infiltrated wannabes who give themselves away,
must be dangerous work ... fear and lying over Iraq ...
welcome wagon magic in Baghdad ... Iran "plans" and our
generals reservations ... Russian oil wars ... China's
changing face ... global warming's effects on ecology and a
raft of other items, in the US WH emails that were lost are
found ... some mailed to the wrong G W Bush ... and the
usual cover ups in the press ... 05/19/07 ... An up tick in
the three way war in and about Israel, actually four way,
Israel, Hamas, Fatah and Chaos ... Admiral Fallon has both
balls and guts ... progress, at long last in Iraq, now it IS
the epicenter of resistance to the West ... vast quantities
of Iraqi oil are "missing" ... when will we call it a failed
state? ... Pakistan's instability is increasingly evident;
it is just a matter of time before someone else is installed
in the ruling circles, but who? ... The rampant and fevered
idiocy of John Bolton ... China repeats the mistakes of 18th
century colonial powers in Africa ... the US attorney
scandal boils over and Gonzales gets the boot, or did he
give it to himself? ... 05/26/07 ... Arab nations line up
for advice on how to go nuke, if its good enough for Iran
... George W. Dumbass gives himself complete control over
the government in the event of a national disaster, I guess
he's planning ahead ... Darfur, oil, colonialism, cold war,
corruption, proxy wars and much, much more! ... Even Myanmar
wants nukes ... Iraq's surge is "not making it" I guess
reality has a way of checking things ... And HURRAY! We have
yet another proxy war in the making, Lebanon teeters and
totters with idiots fighting over who will hold the match to
the fuse! ... One hopeful sign is that at least someone in
the military wants to put the "crazies back in the
box" June 2007
... 06/02/07 ... a lone man scares
the airlines to fits and makes headlines, a story that hints
at much, much more. another plot in NYC at JFK too - big
plans consisting mainly of talk ... considering that Iraq's
most interesting export are terrorist teams, I guess Bush is
right, I DO feel safer ... A new Hamas tactic reduces an
Israeli town's population ... Turks and Kurds, Lebanon's
fighting ... Pakistan's civil unrest ... the Afghan war ...
new arms race with Russia ... then there is massive vote
fixing scandals festering out of the attorney scandal,
mother nature hitting back and much much more! ...060907 ...
Women and children in our secret European camps for "high
value targets? ... the JFK plot fizzles ... Tony Blair shows
"how corruption is REALLY done ... fighting spreads in
Lebanon, slowly ... Turkish incursion into Iraq? follow up
stories conflicted ... chaos and casualties in Iraq, now
news in that ... Somalia continues to slide away ... where
the neo cons get their bucks ... their 40 year plan ... the
GOP's candidates hah! 06/16/07 ... the US and Israel's
pressure on the Palestinians pays off, Hamas gains control
of Gaza, Fatah controls the West Bank but garners little
respect ... what's wrong with the US left? ... a few pieces
on "bomb bomb bomb, bombing Iran" ... evolution, most
repuglicans find it "still questionable as do their
candidates for president ... handing off Kikurk for a short
term fix - no one notices, much ... the battle of Lebanon is
underway ... read about Iraq's "startling progress" 06/23/07
... funniest lead story that isn't one is the 1200 dollar a
weekend male prostitute's many overnight stays at the White
House - a one time press corps plant, has another trade to
ply ... the surge is working as mortars hit the green zone
regularly and casualties climb ... the "Diwaniya,
melt away"... the mother of all scandals, Bandar Bush and
his Billions ... in Palestine the old government is
dismissed so that money flows, even as some violence grows
... Lebanon hangs on, a miracle of daily survival ...
Pakistan IS unstable but then who is saying that or doing
anything about it, really? And the VP doesn't think he's
part of the executive branch, nice. 06/30/07 ... Hey we
control, have a presence in half of Baghdad! ... Iraq by the
numbers - it does not add up ... Congress challenging the
Toad in Chief? ... China's moves in South America ... Russia
redraws maps and the US is unprepared, the usual under its
jackanape ... the US and Israel's role in birthing Hamas,
once seen as the "alternative to Fatah -oops ... car bombs
in London found by accident ... Kurds and the Turks: the
latter more impatient and itchy on the trigger finger ...
housing market woes ... and Pakistan has a brand new place
for terrorist activities! July 2007
... 07/14/07 ... apologies for
being out of town and not posting last week, the upshot is
Russia talks about scrapping a treaty that prevented arms
build ups ... Pakistan gets blow back for its Islamabad
Mosque operation ... Al Qaida seems to be on a media surge
... China worries its neighbors ... punishing a nuke
proliferator Bush style ... we're ahead of the enemy in
Afghanistan, in killing civilians that is, oh well ...
There's more but you'll have to read for yourself. 07/21/07
... Musharaff and Pakistan: it IS getting dicey with
protests and peace accords breaking down and the US applying
threats and pressure and militants demanding more ...
BushOff goes for MORE executive privilege and Plame is still
not out ... stats for Iraq are, well, mixed at best ... the
upside of the downside in Iraq ... Lebanon, oh well ... Iraq
misses 10 out of 10 benchmarks and we begin handing out guns
... and FINALLY we've gotten back to square one with N.
Korea ... Russia readies the new cold war and new weapons to
boot ... Democraps get lots of laughs from me - read on why
... 07/28/07 ... Well, let's see ... Saudis and the US not
seeing eye to eye ... so we give them billions in military
aid ... the prez sez all torture, uh, I mean interrogations
are going to be legal ... Palestine the leader decides to be
a decider ... Afghan suicide bombers are "different" ...
Iraq: just arm everyone - is that our plan? ... Musharaff
reaching out for "support" ... lots of global warming
stories, some close to home ... Housing market hell ... US
sinks N Korean vessel with radioactive cargo as it heads for
Iran, what you DIDN'T read that ? August
2007... 08/11/07 ... The US housing
market makes worldwide headlines, explanatory details and a
look at what is at stake ... black market weapons "flood"
the Iraqi region and "people" complain ... electricity and
water get harder and harder to find ... in Iraq, hired guns
the "low ball" approach to security has its "draw backs" ...
and how corruption has become the "second insurgency ...
another election, in Lebanon, "goes its own way ...
apparently not having enough to do the US may be considering
strikes into Pakistan ... the India nuke deal, it would be
nice to know WHAT it was/is and Russia makes more moves ...
Paraguay and the new US approach to the region ... and,
finally, selling off America ... 08/18/07 ... Where to
begin: lots of Iran stories part of their armed forces is a
terrorist group, despite our past partnerships with them ...
Padilla convicted but not the way president Cheney would
want, there WAS a trial ... a promise of "persistent
conflicts ... Petraeus' report to be written by DC hacks ...
Hamas has high morale ... Afghanistan's bungled billions ...
Russia flexing military might and making more moves than
ever ... Iraq mess is messier ... in the US spy satellites
for everyone, insecure borders to the south ... the dems
crap out again and further rights erode ... 08/25/07 ...
Bush uses Vietnam "experience" to rationalize the Iraqi
blunder, you read the quote and decide what does he mean ...
a block of Asian nations coalesce into a form - the US
policies give it impetus, and the US failures give it
opportunity to feed ... the north polar ice cap is the
smallest ever with the end of the "warm" season still a
month off the pace of the melt exceeds recent models ...
Iran still in his sights while his administration looses its
main players - are the rats jumping ship? ... Edwards has
some words to say - it was nice to hear them. September 2007
09/01/07... British defeat in
Basra ... no one notices because it is in slo-mo ... France
gets to be our "Great Hole's" latest lapdog ... Shia's and
Sunnis now have a 50-50 share in attacks on US forces ... an
unung chapter on 9/11 the case of the confiscated video of
the pentagon: why can't we see it? ... attacks in the
capital and than opium is up, waaay up ... people STILL
claim the war is working as is "the surge"... IED's are the
killer, the group in charge of US tactics regarding them is
in disarray ... the chatter on Iran escalate even as plans
and preparations seem completed ... changing tides in Asia,
Pakistan's leader weakens, Russia waxes as does China ...
Polar ice at a record level with weeks of summer wrath to to
... tales of the last superpower ... and some notes of hope!
09/0807 ... Nukes headed for Iran and plans laid, ready to
go? ... vast, vast corruption Iraq and the trouble with
becoming a "hired hand" if you're ever hurt ... G. Bush and
the WMD lies, caught out again ... Lebanese forces finally
take a camp ... Riverbend posts again, welcome back ...
ethnic cleansing reduces violence in Baghdad along with the
surge, which gets the credit? You guess ... the "Great Game"
gets an uptick in a most unlikely but historical location
... record breaking weather keeps coming and so do looming
crises. 09/15/07 ... Much information about the surge,
Iraq's overall status the difference between a DC view and a
street corner view of the place ... regionally the nations
seem to be arming and "allied" forces are redeploying in
Iraq ... the civil war that is not being named and the
regional backers on both sides ... and all the rest of the
news lots and lots of little surprises 09/22/07 ... France
and the US see "eye to eye" on Iran? ... war talk is heard
loud and clear in Europe ... measuring the "success" of the
surge ... the Israeli attack into Syria mysteries that don't
make sense ... financial troubles for the US dollar ... why
didn't Greenspan speak when he could have? ... 09/22/07
...What event in Iraq may be worse than Abu Ghraib? The
Senate gives a thumbs up to declaring portions of Iran's
government and military a terrorist organization &endash;
clearing the way for what? The coup to follow up the coup of
2000? While the US and others want sanctions on Iran many in
that group are doing a "good bit of business" with Iran. And
I wonder what Rather would rather be doing? Some think his
backing off the Bush/Vietnam story allowed Bush the Dumber
to win in 04. Shame is the story was around in 99 and could
have stopped him the first time &endash; but thanks to our
"free press" … October 2007
10/06/07 ... Israel's foray into
Syria produces a number of stories, statements and theories
but since most everyone involved is not "really" talking one
wonders - Iran was looking closely at the matter as well,
for obvious reasons ... Pakistan has reached 60 years of age
and, well, age has not been kind to the place ... Sudan has
its problems and maybe more on the way as a contest heats up
between China and the West ... Blackwater gives the Iraqi
resistance a boost ... the evidence for an attack on Iran
comes from an unlikely place and there is STILL intent in
the air ... Arctic ice coverage at a new low as "unusual
weather events" reach a new high and, taken together, make
for a large scale catastrophe, but no one is watching so
it's all sidelined ... 10/13/07 ... We want the Turks to
leave the Kurds alone, but we call them genocidal murderers
and have allowed the Kurds their own turf and severely
crippled Baghdad regime so an attack is in the offing ...
Iran and the US heat up rhetoric, displays of arms and
Russia is still their friend while becoming "distant" from
the US because of our "lovely" policies ... The race is on
for a "black gold" rush into the Arctic where "suspicious
defrosting" is perhaps going on and making exploitation so
much easier - I've a couple of "progress" stories from Iraq
but these ARE overwhelmed with what is going on overall ...
even the Brits are shoving off for home again ... don't mess
with Repuglican agendas, they GO after 12 year olds, no
matter how sickly or needy or truthful. 10/20/07 ... Abizaid
says Iraq was about oil ... some calming in Iraq but
problems overwhelm progress ... Pakistan heats up with
Bhutto and Musharraf making nicey nice ... until she talks
about how the bomb that almost killed her had her consider
the source ... Vermont's late peepers show global warming's
cost, speaking of that Atlanta and other southern states are
feeling the "sun's love" all the more these days ...
Democrats cave again, so what else is new? ... Iran making
friends and allies at our cost and the Turks "go their own
way" and then what WAS bombed in Syria? Hillary backs
bombing, maybe a kindler gentler bombing? 10/27/07 ...
Several; articles on Global Warming the overarching picture
is that it is happening, accelerating and "worst case
scenarios" are being eclipsed by facts on the ground, by the
way the ocean's chemistry is changing, par for the course,
of course ... a flicker of good news from Iraq but the rest
is not ... the Israeli incursion into Syria on a bombing
raid is still in the news and Cheney gets his point across
... Iran's shadow in the Kurdish region and the Kurds making
their way in the world while Turkey is impatient ... South
American nations go their own way ... Rummy gets a served
for his role as a torturer ... and the beat goes on
...
11/03/07... A nice bouquet of items, the surge is touted as
being the reason for a lowering of death rates and attacks
but the death rate may be climbing and buying off or arming
tribes and groups may be contributing, short term, to this
effect ... another 9/11 wrinkle, no one seems to know about
the gold that was stored there, about a billion's worth
actually ... Israel and Hamas getting frisky ... Turkey and
the Kurds the situation continues to mystify those in the
area, time is short - so it seems ... with Iran well, it is
still any day is "day by day" ... China and Iran a summary
and then the "race for the Arctic" November 2007
... 11/10/07 ... Casualties are
down in Iraq but for SEVERAL reasons ... the country of
dispossessed ... meanwhile all around Iraq other pots begin
to boil ... Pakistan has the news for a while until a late
breading story today has Kucinich getting impeachment on the
table ... over Pelosi damn her hide anyway ... the reality
of global warming seen on a local level from the drought
region of the south east US ... and the absolutely
staggering cost of the "Great Decider's" presidency an OMG
experience to be sure... 11/17/07 ... Pakistan has seen
better days, almost any one of them it seems ... global
warming gets political and economic ... violence declines in
Iraq but not solely due to the surge other large and
worrisome factors are at play ... no war for Iran? That
would seem the upshot of various stories ... frightening
Repuglicans make a messy show of themselves in Iowa ...
11/24/07 ... Iraq casualties down, a job well done though
doubts linger ... droughts in the Americas ... Russians use
the "oil weapon"... Israel's nukes ... how housing eats away
at the global financial markets with the big wave set to
come ... the US underestimates its wounded, by many, many
thousands ... December 2007
... 12/01/07 ... Power sharing in
Pakistan? ... half of Afghanistan is lost ... Global warming
the droughts world wide - a tour guide ... the puffery
behind the perception of people returning to Baghdad because
it is safer ... the long term problem of arming everyone in
sight in Iraq ... Why haven't we gone into Iran yet? ... the
building of camps in the US, holding facilities for hundreds
of thousands of persons ... Beirut's descent into darkness
and fear ... US navy fueling up in "The Gulf" and How the US
lost the drug war, a six part expose from Rolling Stone ...
12/08/07 ... The great Dumbell, Bush the Lesser, appears
uninformed, no surprise there but it IS regarding the
Iranian nuke issue ... US legal representatives actually
TELL England that kidnapping is OK by them, any time andy
place ... Politics Pakistan style takes democracy in a new
direction ... and Russia too, has its own "style" ... and a
bit about how our news agencies "report" on Iraq
...
12/15/07 ... Another story on the
progress in Iraq: how much is illusory? ... news from the
Arctic and Greenland these places are melting far faster
that even recent studies predicted ... Al Gore's Nobel
ceremony is compared to Jerry Lewis in "The Nutty Professor"
... US intel folks playing the field and so the most recent
NIE on Iran makes waves here and abroad ... Israel preparts
to take anotehr bite out of Palestinian areas of Jerusalem
... another war brewing in the Horn of Africa? ... 12/22/07
... Mercury is NOT back in the news but it should be, this
time the source is our meds, nasal sprays, flu shots and
such like so forth and so on ... stalemate in Afghanistan,
which is not good news ... The CIA's tapes who saw them,
when, what was said, decided and by whom - nice questions if
you can get any answers ... Antarctica slipping away? ...
AlQaida's year in review - wouldn't you like the skinny on
those shenanigans? 12/29/07 ... The end of another year ...
global warming takes more victims ... Pakistan takes a
drubbing and chaos gains ... the US dollar and housing
market take beatings ... Lebanon delays again and again the
formation of a government ... Iran and Russia get closer ...
you know if I didn't know better I'd think our Great Jackass
in chief wants to ruin his own country for fun and profit
... what do you think?