Art For Girls.
posted by Christy at 5:53 PM
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Saturday, April 09, 2005
Clint Curtis and the Lie Detector
The following has been posted in light of breaking news that Clint Curtis INDEED took a lie detector test in March, And PASSED with flying colors. Brad Delong at www.bradblog.com is the new Paul Revere.
Both of these men will be remembered as true American heros.
And on a personal note, SHAME ON YOU St. Petersburg Times. If that article was written by a PULITZER PRIZE WINNER then I will never again set stock in the honor.They paint it as 'wild conspiracies' with a bunch of 'unrelated facts... THEN ADMIT CURTIS PASSED A LIE DETECTOR....
Unbelievable what a TOTAL PIECE OF SHIT the so called Media has become. http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/09/State/Blogs_spin_tale_of_co.shtml
Here's the story so far...as reported by Brad Delong.
A summary of the key points in the story so far…
Based on the Reporting of Brad Friedman
(For a list of key articles in this series, see
www.BradBlog.com/ClintCurtis.htm )
...OVERVIEW...
On December 6th, 2004 , The BRAD BLOG (www.bradblog.com) published a sworn affidavit by Florida software programmer Clint Curtis. In his affidavit and videotaped sworn testimony presented before members of the U.S. House Judiciary committee, Curtis claims to have been asked by U.S. Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) to design a "vote-rigging software prototype". This request took place in October 2000 during a meeting at Yang Enterprises, Inc. (YEI), a computer consulting firm in Oviedo, Florida.
Curtis, a life-long Republican up until then, had been a programmer at YEI, which had several top-secret clearance contracts with the state, NASA and other government agencies. Curtis' understanding at the time was that the prototype he was being asked to create (built to the very precise specifications of Feeney) was to address Feeney’s concerns that the Democrats might attempt to electronically rig the election and Feeney wanted to know what to look out for in that event. After informing YEI CEO Mrs. Li-Woan Yang that he would not be able to hide the vote-flipping routines in the software source-code as Feeney had requested, Curtis testified that Mrs. Yang informed him that the program was needed to "rig the vote in South Florida ".-
At the time of the alleged meeting, Feeney was the incoming Speaker of the Florida House, and also a registered lobbyist and the general corporate counsel for YEI. Previously, he had been the running mate of Jeb Bush during his 1994 unsuccessful first bid for Florida Governor. In November 2000, Feeney gained national notoriety after declaring open defiance of the Florida Supreme Court by vowing to choose Presidential electors for George W. Bush regardless of whether a court-ordered recount showed that Gore won Florida . He eventually ascended to the U.S. Congress and today sits on the House Judiciary Committee. Although he was outspent two to one by his Democratic opponent in 2002, Feeney beat him handily at the polls and then ran unopposed for the same seat in 2004.
...CONFIRMED LINKS TO CHINESE ESPIONAGE...
Curtis also reported in his affidavit and to the Florida State Inspector General that YEI was employing an illegal Chinese alien by the name of Hai Lin "Henry" Nee who was inserting "wire-tapping modules" into sensitive database programs which YEI had built for NASA and other companies. Curtis also alleged that the brother of Mrs. Li-Woan Yang, the YEI CEO, had been a deported Chinese spy.
Since the time of Curtis' allegations, Hai Lin "Henry" Nee has been indicted, and pleaded guilty to charges of espionage related to attempting to send chips used in Hellfire anti-tank missile systems to China. The arrest was the result of a four year sting operation by the Homeland Security Office's Immigration and Customs Export (ICE) bureau. Although Nee admitted in his pleading to have sent such chips "ten to twenty times in the past year" to China, he was sentenced (10/2004) to just three years probation and a $100 fine!
Federal officials in the Florida Inspector General’s report investigating claims by Curtis have confirmed that Nee was an illegal alien as of January 2000. Yet for reasons still unknown, Federal officials refused to disclose information on Nee's alien status to the Florida IG until after Nee's prosecution had concluded in October of 2004.
...YEI DENIALS EXPOSED AS LIES...
Mrs. Yang and the attorneys for YEI (Tom Feeney's former law-partner and current contributor, Michael O'Quinn) still insist that Nee never worked for them even though the Florida Inspector General’s report confirmed otherwise. Moreover, weekly time records published by The BRAD BLOG show that Nee worked 40 to 60 hours a week at YEI on their contract with the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT). As Curtis also charged in his affidavit, the recent Florida IG's report found YEI owing approximately $300,000 in questionable charges to the FDOT where Curtis had been working at the time he originally blew the whistle on these allegations.
...THE DEAD INSPECTOR GENERAL...
The original Inspector General assigned to the case, Raymond Lemme, had contacted Curtis in mid-June of 2003, after both Curtis and the other whistleblower on the case had been fired without cause – both on the same day. (Eventually, both of them would win their whistleblower cases against FDOT on the matter.) Curtis says in his sworn affidavit that Lemme had advised him in mid-June that he would be very happy about his upcoming report and he should keep his ears open for it because, he told Curtis, "this goes all the way to the top."
Two weeks later, Lemme was found dead in a Valdosta, Georgia motel room.
The police report determined the death was a suicide. However, this BRAD BLOG article examines a number of troubling inconsistencies in the police report including photographs from the crime scene which the Valdosta police report claimed would not exist due to a failed "flash memory card" in the camera. In reality, however, the photographs do exist and are now posted along with the other troubling inconsistencies and anomalies in this part of the story.
The Valdosta police department now admits that they re-opened the Lemme case after "interest from the Internet" in December 2004, but then re-closed it quickly after they received a phone call (confirmed by the Valdosta police, but so-far unexplained) from FDOT.
...FEENEY'S DENIALS EXPOSED AS LIES...
Tom Feeney has categorically denied all charges made by Curtis and has refused to comment on the record about any of the allegations beyond telling MSNBC that "Curtis has defamed a lot of people". In the meantime, The BRAD BLOG, has so far been unable to find any holes or inconsistencies in any of Curtis' claims. On the contrary, the bulk of Curtis’ claims have so far been proven truthful and legitimate based on a multitude of hard evidence obtained from public documents, court records, newspaper accounts, emails and other materials from a long three year paper trail.
On the other hand, statement after statement made by Feeney, YEI and their attorneys on this matter have turned out to be demonstrably untrue and incorrect based on documented evidence as reported over the past three months on The BRAD BLOG.
...LOCAL MEDIA GETS ON THE STORY...
Even though this scandal links a powerful Republican Congressman to Chinese espionage, the national media has largely ignored the story so far. But in Florida , several local newspapers have jumped on the story, including the Seminole Chronicle, Oviedo Voice, St. Petersburg Times, and New Times Broward Palm-Beach. While some reports have been more responsible than others, all largely confirm the bulk of items reported by The BRAD BLOG and many of the claims by Curtis' himself.
The story and the investigation continue…
Additional details and a list of key articles can be found at www.BradBlog.com/ClintCurtis.htm
For more information on interviews on this story, or for help in scheduling an interview with Clint Curtis, please contact Brad Friedman via email at TheBradBlog@cville.com
Both of these men will be remembered as true American heros.
And on a personal note, SHAME ON YOU St. Petersburg Times. If that article was written by a PULITZER PRIZE WINNER then I will never again set stock in the honor.They paint it as 'wild conspiracies' with a bunch of 'unrelated facts... THEN ADMIT CURTIS PASSED A LIE DETECTOR....
Unbelievable what a TOTAL PIECE OF SHIT the so called Media has become. http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/09/State/Blogs_spin_tale_of_co.shtml
Here's the story so far...as reported by Brad Delong.
A summary of the key points in the story so far…
Based on the Reporting of Brad Friedman
(For a list of key articles in this series, see
www.BradBlog.com/ClintCurtis.htm )
...OVERVIEW...
On December 6th, 2004 , The BRAD BLOG (www.bradblog.com) published a sworn affidavit by Florida software programmer Clint Curtis. In his affidavit and videotaped sworn testimony presented before members of the U.S. House Judiciary committee, Curtis claims to have been asked by U.S. Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) to design a "vote-rigging software prototype". This request took place in October 2000 during a meeting at Yang Enterprises, Inc. (YEI), a computer consulting firm in Oviedo, Florida.
Curtis, a life-long Republican up until then, had been a programmer at YEI, which had several top-secret clearance contracts with the state, NASA and other government agencies. Curtis' understanding at the time was that the prototype he was being asked to create (built to the very precise specifications of Feeney) was to address Feeney’s concerns that the Democrats might attempt to electronically rig the election and Feeney wanted to know what to look out for in that event. After informing YEI CEO Mrs. Li-Woan Yang that he would not be able to hide the vote-flipping routines in the software source-code as Feeney had requested, Curtis testified that Mrs. Yang informed him that the program was needed to "rig the vote in South Florida ".-
At the time of the alleged meeting, Feeney was the incoming Speaker of the Florida House, and also a registered lobbyist and the general corporate counsel for YEI. Previously, he had been the running mate of Jeb Bush during his 1994 unsuccessful first bid for Florida Governor. In November 2000, Feeney gained national notoriety after declaring open defiance of the Florida Supreme Court by vowing to choose Presidential electors for George W. Bush regardless of whether a court-ordered recount showed that Gore won Florida . He eventually ascended to the U.S. Congress and today sits on the House Judiciary Committee. Although he was outspent two to one by his Democratic opponent in 2002, Feeney beat him handily at the polls and then ran unopposed for the same seat in 2004.
...CONFIRMED LINKS TO CHINESE ESPIONAGE...
Curtis also reported in his affidavit and to the Florida State Inspector General that YEI was employing an illegal Chinese alien by the name of Hai Lin "Henry" Nee who was inserting "wire-tapping modules" into sensitive database programs which YEI had built for NASA and other companies. Curtis also alleged that the brother of Mrs. Li-Woan Yang, the YEI CEO, had been a deported Chinese spy.
Since the time of Curtis' allegations, Hai Lin "Henry" Nee has been indicted, and pleaded guilty to charges of espionage related to attempting to send chips used in Hellfire anti-tank missile systems to China. The arrest was the result of a four year sting operation by the Homeland Security Office's Immigration and Customs Export (ICE) bureau. Although Nee admitted in his pleading to have sent such chips "ten to twenty times in the past year" to China, he was sentenced (10/2004) to just three years probation and a $100 fine!
Federal officials in the Florida Inspector General’s report investigating claims by Curtis have confirmed that Nee was an illegal alien as of January 2000. Yet for reasons still unknown, Federal officials refused to disclose information on Nee's alien status to the Florida IG until after Nee's prosecution had concluded in October of 2004.
...YEI DENIALS EXPOSED AS LIES...
Mrs. Yang and the attorneys for YEI (Tom Feeney's former law-partner and current contributor, Michael O'Quinn) still insist that Nee never worked for them even though the Florida Inspector General’s report confirmed otherwise. Moreover, weekly time records published by The BRAD BLOG show that Nee worked 40 to 60 hours a week at YEI on their contract with the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT). As Curtis also charged in his affidavit, the recent Florida IG's report found YEI owing approximately $300,000 in questionable charges to the FDOT where Curtis had been working at the time he originally blew the whistle on these allegations.
...THE DEAD INSPECTOR GENERAL...
The original Inspector General assigned to the case, Raymond Lemme, had contacted Curtis in mid-June of 2003, after both Curtis and the other whistleblower on the case had been fired without cause – both on the same day. (Eventually, both of them would win their whistleblower cases against FDOT on the matter.) Curtis says in his sworn affidavit that Lemme had advised him in mid-June that he would be very happy about his upcoming report and he should keep his ears open for it because, he told Curtis, "this goes all the way to the top."
Two weeks later, Lemme was found dead in a Valdosta, Georgia motel room.
The police report determined the death was a suicide. However, this BRAD BLOG article examines a number of troubling inconsistencies in the police report including photographs from the crime scene which the Valdosta police report claimed would not exist due to a failed "flash memory card" in the camera. In reality, however, the photographs do exist and are now posted along with the other troubling inconsistencies and anomalies in this part of the story.
The Valdosta police department now admits that they re-opened the Lemme case after "interest from the Internet" in December 2004, but then re-closed it quickly after they received a phone call (confirmed by the Valdosta police, but so-far unexplained) from FDOT.
...FEENEY'S DENIALS EXPOSED AS LIES...
Tom Feeney has categorically denied all charges made by Curtis and has refused to comment on the record about any of the allegations beyond telling MSNBC that "Curtis has defamed a lot of people". In the meantime, The BRAD BLOG, has so far been unable to find any holes or inconsistencies in any of Curtis' claims. On the contrary, the bulk of Curtis’ claims have so far been proven truthful and legitimate based on a multitude of hard evidence obtained from public documents, court records, newspaper accounts, emails and other materials from a long three year paper trail.
On the other hand, statement after statement made by Feeney, YEI and their attorneys on this matter have turned out to be demonstrably untrue and incorrect based on documented evidence as reported over the past three months on The BRAD BLOG.
...LOCAL MEDIA GETS ON THE STORY...
Even though this scandal links a powerful Republican Congressman to Chinese espionage, the national media has largely ignored the story so far. But in Florida , several local newspapers have jumped on the story, including the Seminole Chronicle, Oviedo Voice, St. Petersburg Times, and New Times Broward Palm-Beach. While some reports have been more responsible than others, all largely confirm the bulk of items reported by The BRAD BLOG and many of the claims by Curtis' himself.
The story and the investigation continue…
Additional details and a list of key articles can be found at www.BradBlog.com/ClintCurtis.htm
For more information on interviews on this story, or for help in scheduling an interview with Clint Curtis, please contact Brad Friedman via email at TheBradBlog@cville.com
posted by Christy at 5:05 PM
1 comments
Its gone too far when...
http://americablog.blogspot.com/
Out of Control... Absolutely out of fucking control
by Joe in DC - 4/9/2005 10:57:00 AM
The right wing nut jobs have gone over the deep end when it comes to their hatred for judges. Read this article in today's Washington Post. Then, read it again. You know the situation is scary when the article, written by Dana Milbank, starts:
Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is a fairly accomplished jurist, but he might want to get himself a good lawyer -- and perhaps a few more bodyguards.
Conservative leaders meeting in Washington yesterday for a discussion of "Remedies to Judicial Tyranny" decided that Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan appointee, should be impeached, or worse.
The charge against Kennedy is being led by one of the long-time nutballs, Phyllis Schlafly because of his recent decision that juveniles shouldn't be executed. Okay, not to delve in to too much hypocrisy, but this whole "culture of life" crowd wants Kennedy impeached because he won't send kids to the chair. Huh?
But it gets better...or actually worse:
Not to be outdone, lawyer-author Edwin Vieira told the gathering that Kennedy should be impeached because his philosophy, evidenced in his opinion striking down an anti-sodomy statute, "upholds Marxist, Leninist, satanic principles drawn from foreign law."
Ominously, Vieira continued by saying his "bottom line" for dealing with the Supreme Court comes from Joseph Stalin. "He had a slogan, and it worked very well for him, whenever he ran into difficulty: 'no man, no problem,' " Vieira said.
The full Stalin quote, for those who don't recognize it, is "Death solves all problems: no man, no problem." Presumably, Vieira had in mind something less extreme than Stalin did and was not actually advocating violence. But then, these are scary times for the judiciary. An anti-judge furor may help confirm President Bush's judicial nominees, but it also has the potential to turn ugly.
Quoting Stalin as a solution to a political problem??? What the fuck??? And this Vieira guy is serious about Stalin-type solutions:
Invoking Stalin, Vieira delivered the "no man, no problem" line twice for emphasis. (I added the bold for my own emphasis) "This is not a structural problem we have; this is a problem of personnel," he said. "We are in this mess because we have the wrong people as judges."
These are the people setting the agenda in the GOP around judges. That judge-bashing debate is tied right in to the battle over nominations.
Every single Democrat in Congress has to denounce these threatening attacks. And these attacks are coming from -- and have to be directly linked to -- Tom DeLay and John Cornyn. The nuts are just echoing this violence rhetoric that comes right from DeLay and Cornyn.
Stalinist solutions??? This is out of fucking control.... and it has to be stopped. Every debate in the Senate about judges has to be about how America's judiciary is being threatened with violence.
---Dear conservatives, YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE.... Keep your fucking hands OFF OUR JUDGES....YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF THE SITUATION. WE the People are...You are dillusional and MUST RETHINK your stratagy before you open the GATES OF HELL.----
Oh thats right...You already opened them. Our children will be fighting off Iraqis for the next 100 years you stupidstupid arrogant bastards.
Out of Control... Absolutely out of fucking control
by Joe in DC - 4/9/2005 10:57:00 AM
The right wing nut jobs have gone over the deep end when it comes to their hatred for judges. Read this article in today's Washington Post. Then, read it again. You know the situation is scary when the article, written by Dana Milbank, starts:
Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is a fairly accomplished jurist, but he might want to get himself a good lawyer -- and perhaps a few more bodyguards.
Conservative leaders meeting in Washington yesterday for a discussion of "Remedies to Judicial Tyranny" decided that Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan appointee, should be impeached, or worse.
The charge against Kennedy is being led by one of the long-time nutballs, Phyllis Schlafly because of his recent decision that juveniles shouldn't be executed. Okay, not to delve in to too much hypocrisy, but this whole "culture of life" crowd wants Kennedy impeached because he won't send kids to the chair. Huh?
But it gets better...or actually worse:
Not to be outdone, lawyer-author Edwin Vieira told the gathering that Kennedy should be impeached because his philosophy, evidenced in his opinion striking down an anti-sodomy statute, "upholds Marxist, Leninist, satanic principles drawn from foreign law."
Ominously, Vieira continued by saying his "bottom line" for dealing with the Supreme Court comes from Joseph Stalin. "He had a slogan, and it worked very well for him, whenever he ran into difficulty: 'no man, no problem,' " Vieira said.
The full Stalin quote, for those who don't recognize it, is "Death solves all problems: no man, no problem." Presumably, Vieira had in mind something less extreme than Stalin did and was not actually advocating violence. But then, these are scary times for the judiciary. An anti-judge furor may help confirm President Bush's judicial nominees, but it also has the potential to turn ugly.
Quoting Stalin as a solution to a political problem??? What the fuck??? And this Vieira guy is serious about Stalin-type solutions:
Invoking Stalin, Vieira delivered the "no man, no problem" line twice for emphasis. (I added the bold for my own emphasis) "This is not a structural problem we have; this is a problem of personnel," he said. "We are in this mess because we have the wrong people as judges."
These are the people setting the agenda in the GOP around judges. That judge-bashing debate is tied right in to the battle over nominations.
Every single Democrat in Congress has to denounce these threatening attacks. And these attacks are coming from -- and have to be directly linked to -- Tom DeLay and John Cornyn. The nuts are just echoing this violence rhetoric that comes right from DeLay and Cornyn.
Stalinist solutions??? This is out of fucking control.... and it has to be stopped. Every debate in the Senate about judges has to be about how America's judiciary is being threatened with violence.
---Dear conservatives, YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE.... Keep your fucking hands OFF OUR JUDGES....YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF THE SITUATION. WE the People are...You are dillusional and MUST RETHINK your stratagy before you open the GATES OF HELL.----
Oh thats right...You already opened them. Our children will be fighting off Iraqis for the next 100 years you stupidstupid arrogant bastards.
posted by Christy at 1:42 PM
0 comments
Ummm, ...Can I have the Kinky Salsa instead...?....That baby just looks horrible!
posted by Christy at 1:40 AM
0 comments
Our First Endorsement
We are very proud to annouce our very first political endorsement...Yeah Yeah it is early ...But this guy is worth it.
We would like to announce our UNWAVERING support for Kinky Friedman for Governor of Texas.
Why the hell not...?
I have never asked for money to be a blogger and I am not doing so now. I will ask though, if you have thought of contributing to someone who actually deserves it, PLEASE PLEASE look up Kinky Friedman.
www.kinkyfriedman.com
This is from his camp. ALLLL Aboard The Pirate Ship!
"Save the last vote for Kinky.
Where we need help most: At this time, we need everyone to spread the word about Kinky. Tell your friends, your coworkers, complete strangers on the street, EVERYONE about Kinky and let them know he is serious about being governor of Texas! Download the "Save My Vote for Kinky" pledge form and collect pledges. Encourage everyone you know to board this pirate ship, as we set sail for the governor's mansion!
Contribute to the campaign: "A fool and his money are soon elected." - Kinky Friedman. The two major parties spent $100 million dollars in the last campaign. $100 million dollars! We need donations of all sizes to help us make this campaign a reality. Kinky's no fool. He can win it all, and he will do it wholesale.
To contribute, go to http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=KFDONATE
Or, For mail contributions, please send to:
Kinky Friedman Campaign
PO Box 293910Kerrville, TX
78029
May the God of your choice bless you.
We would like to announce our UNWAVERING support for Kinky Friedman for Governor of Texas.
Why the hell not...?
I have never asked for money to be a blogger and I am not doing so now. I will ask though, if you have thought of contributing to someone who actually deserves it, PLEASE PLEASE look up Kinky Friedman.
www.kinkyfriedman.com
This is from his camp. ALLLL Aboard The Pirate Ship!
"Save the last vote for Kinky.
Where we need help most: At this time, we need everyone to spread the word about Kinky. Tell your friends, your coworkers, complete strangers on the street, EVERYONE about Kinky and let them know he is serious about being governor of Texas! Download the "Save My Vote for Kinky" pledge form and collect pledges. Encourage everyone you know to board this pirate ship, as we set sail for the governor's mansion!
Contribute to the campaign: "A fool and his money are soon elected." - Kinky Friedman. The two major parties spent $100 million dollars in the last campaign. $100 million dollars! We need donations of all sizes to help us make this campaign a reality. Kinky's no fool. He can win it all, and he will do it wholesale.
To contribute, go to http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=KFDONATE
Or, For mail contributions, please send to:
Kinky Friedman Campaign
PO Box 293910Kerrville, TX
78029
May the God of your choice bless you.
posted by Christy at 12:57 AM
1 comments
Fun In Christys' Email..
---Relinked because I kept losing it on the scroll.---
Wrote in response to...
Beyond The Consensus
Democrats Agree on How to Play Defense, but What Are They Fighting For?
by Harold Meyerson
At..http://www.dissentmagazine.org
Dear Mr. Meyerson,
I just read your article on what it is the dems need to win and what are we fighting for. I was almost in tears with frustration within your second paragraph.
Can I please just stop you a moment?
Do you really want to win the nation?...It is not that difficult. It is in fact as simple as history. You WILL NEVER win leading a charge by explaining the polls.
Here is how the democrats can take over a nation.
NUMBER 1....There is no 'red state blue state' problem. The problem is the same it always has been. It is a southern problem.
The South is the very HEART of the nation. The south is also the poorest region in the nation. Therefore the south is STILL TO THIS DAY RIFE with poverty. The educational and election systems down here are not only a joke but a VERY BAD JOKE. That is EXACTLY how GW Bush stole Florida TWICE and OHIO. They used classic carpetbagger techniques that play out in the southern states EVERY election day. Want to know WHY the black man is still angry in the south?..All of those reasons.
It is a war of hearts and minds. History has never been addressed here. Corruption roams the streets here without ANY relief. The illiteracy rate is sky high. The masses are by large ignorant(isolated) and therefore the most repressed in the country. If you want to take this nation you MUST first take the south. Hell even the British knew that. Hopefully the dems will be more successful.
Example A...Louisiana... population of Louisiana is about 70% black. If 90% of blacks are dems adding in the white dems..HOW is it STILL a republican stronghold? The answer is, it is not, but if only the disenfranchised could speak.
Why does ALMOST ALL leaders in our party avoid the south?.. Well thats just too damn bad and till it changes you will not win the heart of the nation.
And Number 2)
When you send someone, send a hero. With Kevlar. A war for hearts and minds is STILL a war after all.
Martin Luther King was worshipped and killed for the exact same reason. He was not letting fear stop him from doing the right thing. The day they killed him the fight did not stop but it became less worth it. Less to anyone who does not have to actually live here, that is.
There is ONLY one thing that can counter the God-Guns-Gays mentality...And it coincidently is also the ONLY thing that EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT AGREES ON...Civil Rights.
I would LOVE to see a Republican try to oppose Civil Rights on MORAL grounds. Talk about falling down your own slippery slope. Whomever they send I hope he has the balls to march all the way to New Orleans and tell the truth about history and its aftermath.
Simply by listening to old speeches of Martin you will have your talking points..Now stick to them. Even if they start shooting.
I am very sorry if I have offended you by sticking my own opinion into it but as a southern democrat you guys are driving me nuts. It is not REALLY that complicated until you start considering what the polls mean. If you want to win then pick the fight where you can use your greatest advantage. Our party was FOUNDED on civil rights.
It is not AN ISSUE..it is the ONLY ISSUE.Everything we fight for and against can be defined by them.
And by the way, in case you are wondering no, I am not black. I think democrats have a FATAL misjudgement of where the battlefield truely is. Its the same place where heros died . And our leaders fear to tread.
Anytime you wanted to find it again, you could. Just come south.
Thank You,
Christy Cole
Wrote in response to...
Beyond The Consensus
Democrats Agree on How to Play Defense, but What Are They Fighting For?
by Harold Meyerson
At..http://www.dissentmagazine.org
Dear Mr. Meyerson,
I just read your article on what it is the dems need to win and what are we fighting for. I was almost in tears with frustration within your second paragraph.
Can I please just stop you a moment?
Do you really want to win the nation?...It is not that difficult. It is in fact as simple as history. You WILL NEVER win leading a charge by explaining the polls.
Here is how the democrats can take over a nation.
NUMBER 1....There is no 'red state blue state' problem. The problem is the same it always has been. It is a southern problem.
The South is the very HEART of the nation. The south is also the poorest region in the nation. Therefore the south is STILL TO THIS DAY RIFE with poverty. The educational and election systems down here are not only a joke but a VERY BAD JOKE. That is EXACTLY how GW Bush stole Florida TWICE and OHIO. They used classic carpetbagger techniques that play out in the southern states EVERY election day. Want to know WHY the black man is still angry in the south?..All of those reasons.
It is a war of hearts and minds. History has never been addressed here. Corruption roams the streets here without ANY relief. The illiteracy rate is sky high. The masses are by large ignorant(isolated) and therefore the most repressed in the country. If you want to take this nation you MUST first take the south. Hell even the British knew that. Hopefully the dems will be more successful.
Example A...Louisiana... population of Louisiana is about 70% black. If 90% of blacks are dems adding in the white dems..HOW is it STILL a republican stronghold? The answer is, it is not, but if only the disenfranchised could speak.
Why does ALMOST ALL leaders in our party avoid the south?.. Well thats just too damn bad and till it changes you will not win the heart of the nation.
And Number 2)
When you send someone, send a hero. With Kevlar. A war for hearts and minds is STILL a war after all.
Martin Luther King was worshipped and killed for the exact same reason. He was not letting fear stop him from doing the right thing. The day they killed him the fight did not stop but it became less worth it. Less to anyone who does not have to actually live here, that is.
There is ONLY one thing that can counter the God-Guns-Gays mentality...And it coincidently is also the ONLY thing that EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT AGREES ON...Civil Rights.
I would LOVE to see a Republican try to oppose Civil Rights on MORAL grounds. Talk about falling down your own slippery slope. Whomever they send I hope he has the balls to march all the way to New Orleans and tell the truth about history and its aftermath.
Simply by listening to old speeches of Martin you will have your talking points..Now stick to them. Even if they start shooting.
I am very sorry if I have offended you by sticking my own opinion into it but as a southern democrat you guys are driving me nuts. It is not REALLY that complicated until you start considering what the polls mean. If you want to win then pick the fight where you can use your greatest advantage. Our party was FOUNDED on civil rights.
It is not AN ISSUE..it is the ONLY ISSUE.Everything we fight for and against can be defined by them.
And by the way, in case you are wondering no, I am not black. I think democrats have a FATAL misjudgement of where the battlefield truely is. Its the same place where heros died . And our leaders fear to tread.
Anytime you wanted to find it again, you could. Just come south.
Thank You,
Christy Cole
posted by Christy at 12:19 AM
0 comments
Friday, April 08, 2005
Who Is Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?
--DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES...It took me bloody forever to get this re-posted and re- edited. --
What CAN Scare Even Bloggers?
I have to admit right off, I am a blogger and this story scares the hell out of me, too. After a very WIERD incident with a cable guy named Larry...I have been thinking ALOT about paranoia. I have been wondering about when it is actually appropriate, when it's not.
And I keep coming back to one issue that seems to scare absolutely everyone. As I said, it frightens me too, but not in ways I can easily relate, or even articulate.
Perhaps thats why no one, and I mean NO ONE wants to talk about it. I imagine the way my stomache twists and my knee jerks is contagious because all those who are willing to WHISPER it are immediately struck with thier own uncomfortable paranoia. Appropriate or not.
Some try to chalk it up as a 'tinfoil hat' type of thing perhaps to dispell thier own uneasy questions, or perhaps, to try to discredit the questioner..I don't really know WHY but even good men have fallen silent now. On this one issue in particular the silence is SO profound it is in fact the bigger question.
What is it that has even the vicious 'liberal-left-whatever' shocked into a stunned silence? Something so explosive, not even 'fearless bloggers' will dare touch it much less speak of it? What could possibly inspire so much fear?
Her name was Margie Schoedinger. And she was ,in fact, a real human being.
The following facts are her facts, not my own. The accusations are hers, not mine. I do not know the Truth of them, but the FACT of them is pretty damn...scary.
If you simply Google this womans name, you will indeed instantly start getting a story about a woman who accused a sitting president of rape.
In 2002 Shoedinger accused THE sitting president G. W. Bush of RAPE. And much more.
These are the facts we know.
SOMEONE tried kidnapping this woman, her would-be kidnappers were foiled by a passing highway patrol, who broke up the melee, and for whatever reason, let them go after she vehemetly told the officer they were 'going to kill her' and she knew why.
Margie Shoedinger and many people in her family were brought into police custody for 'vigorous questioning' . After this she went public with rape allegations against GW Bush and filed 4 VERY INTERESTING lawsuits.
Not one newspaper, not one tv news, not one cable news, not one radio program, not one TABLOID in the US media reported it. It was as if a tree fell, and no one heard it.
In these lawsuits it openly speaks of a 'One MILLION dollar settlement' secured BY her AGAINST GWB for 'damages'. At this point, he had ALREADY paid her ONE MILLION DOLLARS. The settlement had been mitigated through attorneys.
Four months after the accusations were filed in Fort Bend County Texas the USA invaded Iraq. Bush was ORDERED to come to court in Texas on RAPE charges.
His accuser openly says in these lawsuits that she fears she will be suicided. Nine months after accusing THE president of RAPE, Margie Shoedinger was dead, a bullet in her brain.
She died the same day Bush appeared before the UN, Sept 22, 2003.
Did I mention she was black and could apparently PROVE she had dated GW Bush as a MINOR...?
Surely there are things here to talk about...?
And then the quiet falls and thats where things get REALLY bizarre. In that silence three immediate questions cause an awful ripple in your gut.
Number 1)
What in the HELL happened to the so called 'Free Media'...?
Number 2)
Is it possible my president is a RAPIST?
AND
Number 3)
WHAT ELSE are we NOT hearing about?
By the way, did I also mention there are accusations of HOMOSEXUAL RAPE as well? Yet NO ONE can find any words to ask ANYTHING...? Here the current black out becomes a literal void of nothingness.
I suppose anyone brave enough to approach it would ask the simple questions first, like who is Shoedinger and is she credible?
The truth is I don't know the TRUTH. But the FACTS are disturbing, twisted and wrong in unimaginable ways. I do not KNOW what happened between these two people. IS SHE CREDIBLE...? I simply do not know because those who were SUPPOSED to report such matters, never said a damn thing. Not even when she died did it make any press ANYWHERE inside the borders of the USA.
Yet the Russians, Brits and Aussies were aware AS IT WAS HAPPENING.
At some point HER CREDIBILITY actually becomes a moot point. His Iraqi lies surely could be used against him and don't look good for his credibility either. At some point the FACTS alone so far can niether prove nor disprove her story. Which brings up another very odd question.
IF she WAS crazy/gold digging/a political pawn ...WHY did the media NEVER ONCE TRY to DISCREDIT HER? They didn't even bother to report her existance. Or her untimely death. She is dead and apparently no one cared.
This was not just a story blacked out, it was purposely overlooked by every single decent, bad or half assed reporter in the nation. Even after all this time the bloggers don't want to hear a word of it. I know exactly how they feel, unfortunately this story will not die as easily as she did. It will not die because NO ONE answered ANY of the questions.
And even now two years later her story is still un-impeached. The facts still lay there like the twitching dead, uncomfortable and unacknowledged.
One day we may have answers to the many questions the facts raise, but perhaps, that may be what scares the hell out of simply everbody. Do we REALLY WANT to know?
If you ever cared about the TRUTH, then that is YES...YES WE MUST KNOW.
But if even bloggers are afraid, My God, Who can POSSIBLY be left to ask? If I know certain facts of the case, SURELY Congressmen and Senators can not plead ignorance, so where in the hell are THEY?
I do not, nor have ever known Margie Shoedinger. I do not know what to make of her life or her death. But knowing what limited amount I do know, makes me question such fundamental issues that everything I know or thought I knew hangs in the balance.
One day Margie Shoedinger may rise from her gave and tell us it was all a joke. She may tell us it was true, but unimportant. Perhaps she would beg any she had harmed in life to forgive her. Or Perhaps...just perhaps, she may arise and SCREAM for justice.
I wonder if anyone will HEAR HER either way?
I wonder will they still FEAR her so...?
Christy Cole
---NOTICE...This womans name I believe is spelled Schoedinger...
HOWEVER...Shoedinger is also to be found in refrence to her. If you are still not sure where to go for more on this I recommend looking up the lawsuits she filed with the clerk of court in Fort Bend County Texas. One of the lawsuits was brought against Sugar Land Police Dept. (Yes Tom Delays stomping ground)...Apparently the final lawsuit was dropped because she was in fact dead.(Convienant)... If anyone DOES look deeper into this story..Good Luck friend and welcome to HELL... Please do let us know what you find.---
posted by Christy at 6:52 PM
0 comments
From Congress Daily:
Christian conservatives and a core group of congressional supporters are launching a significant new push to restructure the federal judicial system to reflect a more explicitly biblical world view, in the hopes that these changes will pave the way for broader social and political changes, leaders of the movement said. Some of the most prominent conservative leaders in the country -- including Vision America's Rick Scarborough, Coral Ridge Ministry's James Kennedy and the Free Congress Foundation's Paul Weyrich -- launched the effort Thursday in Washington.Members of the new coalition said they would immediately focus on bringing an end to Democratic filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees before pushing Senate Majority Leader Frist to enact sweeping changes in the judiciary.They also warned that Frist and other politicians who have thus far been reluctant to force a confrontation with Senate Minority Leader Reid over the nominations would be held accountable if Democrats continue to block conservative judges.Participants at this week's Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration meeting said the group also will focus on forcing Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against any judge who does not conform with their biblically based interpretation of the Constitution, as well as permanently curb judicial authority over matters of church and state, marriage and governmental acknowledgement of a Christian deity."What it is time to do is impeach justices," Texas Justice Foundation President Allan Parker extolled a crowd of a hundred or so conservative lobbyists, attorneys and activists. "The standard should be any judge who believes in the 'living constitution' should be impeached."
http://www.atrios.blogspot.com/
---If an American had openly said such even 5 years ago he would have instantly been ruled fucking crazy. THIS IS NOT THE AMERICA I KNOW.---
Christian conservatives and a core group of congressional supporters are launching a significant new push to restructure the federal judicial system to reflect a more explicitly biblical world view, in the hopes that these changes will pave the way for broader social and political changes, leaders of the movement said. Some of the most prominent conservative leaders in the country -- including Vision America's Rick Scarborough, Coral Ridge Ministry's James Kennedy and the Free Congress Foundation's Paul Weyrich -- launched the effort Thursday in Washington.Members of the new coalition said they would immediately focus on bringing an end to Democratic filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees before pushing Senate Majority Leader Frist to enact sweeping changes in the judiciary.They also warned that Frist and other politicians who have thus far been reluctant to force a confrontation with Senate Minority Leader Reid over the nominations would be held accountable if Democrats continue to block conservative judges.Participants at this week's Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration meeting said the group also will focus on forcing Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against any judge who does not conform with their biblically based interpretation of the Constitution, as well as permanently curb judicial authority over matters of church and state, marriage and governmental acknowledgement of a Christian deity."What it is time to do is impeach justices," Texas Justice Foundation President Allan Parker extolled a crowd of a hundred or so conservative lobbyists, attorneys and activists. "The standard should be any judge who believes in the 'living constitution' should be impeached."
http://www.atrios.blogspot.com/
---If an American had openly said such even 5 years ago he would have instantly been ruled fucking crazy. THIS IS NOT THE AMERICA I KNOW.---
posted by Christy at 5:59 PM
0 comments
All the death of innocents for this propaganda
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:58 PM
0 comments
NEW: Iraqi death toll spirals upwards; elections followed by increase in civilian casualties Iraq Body Count Press Release
Joint campaign of Medact and IBC - Count the Casualties[External Link]
No Longer Unknowable: Falluja's April Civilian Toll is 600Iraq Body Count Press Release
What Happened During the April 'Pacification' of Falluja? IBC Falluja Archive
3,029 Named and identified victims of the war on IraqIN REMEMBRANCE
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/
Joint campaign of Medact and IBC - Count the Casualties[External Link]
No Longer Unknowable: Falluja's April Civilian Toll is 600Iraq Body Count Press Release
What Happened During the April 'Pacification' of Falluja? IBC Falluja Archive
3,029 Named and identified victims of the war on IraqIN REMEMBRANCE
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:43 PM
0 comments
Forces: U.S. & Coalition/Casualties
There have been 1,718 coalition troop deaths, 1,543 Americans, 87 Britons, eight Bulgarians, one Dane, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Hungarian, 21 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, one Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 17 Ukrainians in the war in Iraq as of April 7, 2005. (Graphical breakdown of casualties). The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose families have been notified of their deaths by each country's government. At least 11,664 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon does not report the number of non-hostile wounded. For a historical look at U.S. war casualties, click here. To view casualties in the war in Afghanistan, click here.
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/
Still very pissed off so I sent of this email to Cnn and let them know it
As a member country of your coalition, that invaded a soverign country, and now occupies it, not in my name by the way, that has fought at the side of the American People in all wars, it is so insulting to know that we do not even deserve your recognition in your
Forces: U.S. & Coalition/Casualties, numbers
Kangaroo Brisbane Australia
There have been 1,718 coalition troop deaths, 1,543 Americans, 87 Britons, eight Bulgarians, one Dane, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Hungarian, 21 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, one Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 17 Ukrainians in the war in Iraq as of April 7, 2005. (Graphical breakdown of casualties). The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose families have been notified of their deaths by each country's government. At least 11,664 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon does not report the number of non-hostile wounded. For a historical look at U.S. war casualties, click here. To view casualties in the war in Afghanistan, click here.
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/
Still very pissed off so I sent of this email to Cnn and let them know it
As a member country of your coalition, that invaded a soverign country, and now occupies it, not in my name by the way, that has fought at the side of the American People in all wars, it is so insulting to know that we do not even deserve your recognition in your
Forces: U.S. & Coalition/Casualties, numbers
Kangaroo Brisbane Australia
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:07 PM
0 comments
In Queensland My home State the Bastards and very close at that I have a cousin living there Darn Them all to Hell
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:05 PM
0 comments
US may trial dumb bombs in Australia?
06/11/2004
The United States looks set to test new generation weapons, including dumb bombs, in Australia within three years. The testing would be part of increased joint military exercises, which are currently being planned. Up to 20,000 United States troops will descend on Queensland's Shoalwater Bay, north of Rockhampton, in 2007 to participate in new warfare training and experimentation exercises.
"There is not a US military base in the world that has not resulted in soil and/or ground water contamination from toxic chemicals in munitions, fuel, paint and thinners, greases, heavy metals, acids, PCBs, oils and solvents. By signing up as a front line collaborator with the US military, the Howard Government is putting all Australians in danger." said Dr Hannah Middleton, spokesperson for the Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition. [Full report]
http://http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/82441.php
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The View From America
Carter's Absence From Group Reignites Tensions With Bush
By Peter BakerWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, April 8, 2005; Page A16
He was the only president ever to host a pope at the White House when John Paul II came to visit a quarter-century ago, and in many ways Jimmy Carter had a powerful spiritual and philosophical affinity for the Polish pontiff. But when the pope is buried at the Vatican this morning, three living U.S. presidents will be in attendance and Carter will not.
The reason has touched off a classic Washington imbroglio fueled by suspicion, animosity and distrust, one that has reopened a rift between the camps of the former president and the current one. When Carter was left off the delegation list assembled by President Bush's White House, Democrats assumed he was snubbed. The Bush team is angry at what it considers an unfair smear.
The truth is a little harder to sort out. Both sides agree that the White House invited Carter and that he ultimately chose not to go, but questions immediately arose as to whether he was genuinely welcome or subtly discouraged from joining the entourage. Both sides have officially denied any dispute and issued instructions to their various surrogates not to discuss the matter publicly to avoid prolonging what has turned into a messy sideshow to a solemn event.
According to people on both sides most familiar with the discussions, the episode grew out of a sequence of telephone calls during a fluid two days that evidently left room for misunderstanding. White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. called Carter at least twice to invite him to join the delegation. Carter initially accepted, but when Card called back and reported that others were interested in joining a delegation limited to five members, the former president withdrew.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35576-2005Apr7.html?
06/11/2004
The United States looks set to test new generation weapons, including dumb bombs, in Australia within three years. The testing would be part of increased joint military exercises, which are currently being planned. Up to 20,000 United States troops will descend on Queensland's Shoalwater Bay, north of Rockhampton, in 2007 to participate in new warfare training and experimentation exercises.
"There is not a US military base in the world that has not resulted in soil and/or ground water contamination from toxic chemicals in munitions, fuel, paint and thinners, greases, heavy metals, acids, PCBs, oils and solvents. By signing up as a front line collaborator with the US military, the Howard Government is putting all Australians in danger." said Dr Hannah Middleton, spokesperson for the Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition. [Full report]
http://http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/82441.php
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The View From America
Carter's Absence From Group Reignites Tensions With Bush
By Peter BakerWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, April 8, 2005; Page A16
He was the only president ever to host a pope at the White House when John Paul II came to visit a quarter-century ago, and in many ways Jimmy Carter had a powerful spiritual and philosophical affinity for the Polish pontiff. But when the pope is buried at the Vatican this morning, three living U.S. presidents will be in attendance and Carter will not.
The reason has touched off a classic Washington imbroglio fueled by suspicion, animosity and distrust, one that has reopened a rift between the camps of the former president and the current one. When Carter was left off the delegation list assembled by President Bush's White House, Democrats assumed he was snubbed. The Bush team is angry at what it considers an unfair smear.
The truth is a little harder to sort out. Both sides agree that the White House invited Carter and that he ultimately chose not to go, but questions immediately arose as to whether he was genuinely welcome or subtly discouraged from joining the entourage. Both sides have officially denied any dispute and issued instructions to their various surrogates not to discuss the matter publicly to avoid prolonging what has turned into a messy sideshow to a solemn event.
According to people on both sides most familiar with the discussions, the episode grew out of a sequence of telephone calls during a fluid two days that evidently left room for misunderstanding. White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. called Carter at least twice to invite him to join the delegation. Carter initially accepted, but when Card called back and reported that others were interested in joining a delegation limited to five members, the former president withdrew.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35576-2005Apr7.html?
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:44 PM
0 comments
Baghdad Burning
... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend...
Sunday, April 03, 2005
...American Media...
You wake up in the morning. Brush your teeth. Splash the sleep out of your eyes and head for the kitchen for a cup of coffee or tea and whatever is available for breakfast.
You wander to the living room and search for the remote control. It is in its usual place- stuck inexplicably between the sofa cushions.
You turn on the television and stand there flipping from one channel to the other, looking for a news brief or something that will sum up what happened during those six hours you slept. You finally settle on the pleasant face on the screen- the big hair, bright power suit, capped teeth and colorful talons- blandly reading the news.
The anchoress is Julie Chan. The program is CBS’s The Early Show (Live from Fifth Avenue!).
Guess the nationality of the viewer above. Three guesses. American? No. Canadian? No. British? Japanese? Australian? No, no and no. The viewer is Iraqi… or Jordanian… or Lebanese… or Syrian… or Saudi… or Kuwaiti… or… but you get the picture.
Two years ago, the major part of the war in Iraq was all about bombarding us with smart bombs and high-tech missiles. Now there’s a different sort of war- or perhaps it’s just another phase of the same war.
Now we’re being assailed with American media. It’s everywhere all at once. It began with radio stations like Voice of America which we could access even before the war.
After the war, there were other radio stations- ones with mechanical voices that told us to put down our weapons and remain inside our homes, ones that fed us American news in an Iraqi dialect and ones that just played music.
With satellite access we are constantly listening to American music and watching American sitcoms and movies. To be fair- it’s not just Iraq that is being targeted- it’s the whole region and it’s all being done very cleverly.
Al-Hurra, the purported channel of freedom, is the American gift to the Arab world. What they do is show us translated documentaries about certain historical events (American documentaries) or about movie stars (American stars) or vacation spots.
Throughout this, there are Arab anchors giving us the news (which is like watching Fox in Arabic). It’s news about the Arab world with the American twist. Our new “national” channels are a joke.
One of the most amusing, in a gruesome sort of way, is Al-Iraqiya. It’s said to be American sponsored but the attitude is decidedly pro-Iran, anti-Sunni. There’s a program where they parade ‘terrorists’ on screen for us to see in an attempt to show us that our National Guard are not only good at raiding homes and harassing people in the streets.
The funny thing about the terrorists is that the majority of them have “Sunni” names like Omar and Othman, etc. They admit to doing things such as having sexual intercourse in mosques and raping women and the whole show is disgusting. Iraqis don’t believe it because it’s so obviously produced to support the American definition of the Iraqi, Sunni, Islamic fanatic that it is embarrassing.
Couldn’t the PSYOPS people come up with anything more subtle? Then you have the whole MBC collection. MBC is actually financed by Saudi Arabia, but based in Dubai, as far as I know.
They have several different channels. It started out with the original MBC which was a mainly Arabic channel that was harmless enough. It showed some talk shows, debates and Egyptian movies with an occasional program on music or style. Then we were introduced to MBC’s Al-Arabia- a news channel which was meant to be the Saudi antidote to Al-Jazeera.
Simultaneously, we were accessing MBC’s Channel 2, which is a channel that shows only English movies and programs. The programs varied from talk shows like Oprah, to sitcoms like Friends, Third Rock from the Sun and Seinfeld. Earlier this year, the MBC did a mystifying thing.
They announced that Channel 2 was going to be made a 24-hour movie channel which would show all sorts of movies- old Clint Eastwood cowboy movies, and newer movies like “A Beautiful Mind”, etc. The programs and sitcoms would be transferred to the new MBC Channel 4.Personally,
I was pleased with the change at first. I’m not big on movies and it was nice to know our favorite sitcoms and programs would all be accessible on one channel without the annoyance of two-hour movies. I could turn on Channel 4 at any time and expect to find something interesting or humorous that would end within 30-60 minutes.
The first time I saw 60 Minutes on MBC 4, it didn’t occur to me that something was wrong. I can’t remember what the discussion was, but I remember being vaguely interested and somewhat mystified at why we were getting 60 Minutes.
I soon found out that it wasn’t just 60 Minutes at night: It was Good Morning, America in the morning, 20/20 in the evening, 60 Minutes, 48-Hours, Inside Edition, The Early Show… it was a constant barrage of American media. The chipper voice in Arabic tells us,
“So you can watch what *they* watch!” *They* apparently being millions of Americans.
The schedule on MBC’s Channel 4 goes something like this: 9 am – CBS Evening News9:30 am – CBS The Early Show10:45 am – The Days of Our Lives11:20 am – Wheel of Fortune11:45 am – Jeopardy12:05 pm – A re-run of whatever was on the night before – 20/20, Inside Edition, etc.
...And the programming continues…
I’ve been enchanted with the shows these last few weeks. The thing that strikes me most is the fact that the news is so… clean. It’s like hospital food. It’s all organized and disinfected.
Everything is partitioned and you can feel how it has been doled out carefully with extreme attention to the portions- 2 minutes on women’s rights in Afghanistan, 1 minute on training troops in Iraq and 20 minutes on Terri Schiavo! All the reportages are upbeat and somewhat cheerful, and the anchor person manages to look properly concerned and completely uncaring all at once.
About a month ago, we were treated to an interview on 20/20 with Sabrina Harman- the witch in some of the Abu Ghraib pictures. You know- the one smiling over faceless, naked Iraqis piled up to make a human pyramid.
Elizabeth Vargus was doing the interview and the whole show was revolting. They were trying to portray Sabrina as an innocent who was caught up in military orders and fear of higher ranking officers.
The show went on and on about how American troops never really got seminars on Geneva Conventions (like one needs to be taught humanity) and how poor Sabrina was being made a scapegoat. They showed the restaurant where she worked before the war and how everyone thought she was “such a nice person” who couldn’t hurt a fly!
We sat there watching like we were a part of another world, in another galaxy. I’ve always sensed from the various websites that American mainstream news is far-removed from reality- I just didn’t know how far. Everything is so tame and simplified. Everyone is so sincere.
Furthermore, I don’t understand the worlds fascination with reality shows. Survivor, The Bachelor, Murder in Small Town X, Faking It, The Contender… it’s endless. Is life so boring that people need to watch the conjured up lives of others?
I have a suggestion of my own for a reality show. Take 15 Bush supporters and throw them in a house in the suburbs of, say, Falloojeh for at least 14 days
. We could watch them cope with the water problems, the lack of electricity, the check points, the raids, the Iraqi National Guard, the bombings, and- oh yeah- the ‘insurgents’.
We could watch their house bombed to the ground and their few belongings crushed under the weight of cement and brick or simply burned or riddled with bullets.
We could see them try to rebuild their life with their bare hands (and the equivalent of $150)…
I’d not only watch *that* reality show, I’d tape every episode
KANGAROO SAYS: AINT THAT THE TRUTH
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#111247654157434704
... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend...
Sunday, April 03, 2005
...American Media...
You wake up in the morning. Brush your teeth. Splash the sleep out of your eyes and head for the kitchen for a cup of coffee or tea and whatever is available for breakfast.
You wander to the living room and search for the remote control. It is in its usual place- stuck inexplicably between the sofa cushions.
You turn on the television and stand there flipping from one channel to the other, looking for a news brief or something that will sum up what happened during those six hours you slept. You finally settle on the pleasant face on the screen- the big hair, bright power suit, capped teeth and colorful talons- blandly reading the news.
The anchoress is Julie Chan. The program is CBS’s The Early Show (Live from Fifth Avenue!).
Guess the nationality of the viewer above. Three guesses. American? No. Canadian? No. British? Japanese? Australian? No, no and no. The viewer is Iraqi… or Jordanian… or Lebanese… or Syrian… or Saudi… or Kuwaiti… or… but you get the picture.
Two years ago, the major part of the war in Iraq was all about bombarding us with smart bombs and high-tech missiles. Now there’s a different sort of war- or perhaps it’s just another phase of the same war.
Now we’re being assailed with American media. It’s everywhere all at once. It began with radio stations like Voice of America which we could access even before the war.
After the war, there were other radio stations- ones with mechanical voices that told us to put down our weapons and remain inside our homes, ones that fed us American news in an Iraqi dialect and ones that just played music.
With satellite access we are constantly listening to American music and watching American sitcoms and movies. To be fair- it’s not just Iraq that is being targeted- it’s the whole region and it’s all being done very cleverly.
Al-Hurra, the purported channel of freedom, is the American gift to the Arab world. What they do is show us translated documentaries about certain historical events (American documentaries) or about movie stars (American stars) or vacation spots.
Throughout this, there are Arab anchors giving us the news (which is like watching Fox in Arabic). It’s news about the Arab world with the American twist. Our new “national” channels are a joke.
One of the most amusing, in a gruesome sort of way, is Al-Iraqiya. It’s said to be American sponsored but the attitude is decidedly pro-Iran, anti-Sunni. There’s a program where they parade ‘terrorists’ on screen for us to see in an attempt to show us that our National Guard are not only good at raiding homes and harassing people in the streets.
The funny thing about the terrorists is that the majority of them have “Sunni” names like Omar and Othman, etc. They admit to doing things such as having sexual intercourse in mosques and raping women and the whole show is disgusting. Iraqis don’t believe it because it’s so obviously produced to support the American definition of the Iraqi, Sunni, Islamic fanatic that it is embarrassing.
Couldn’t the PSYOPS people come up with anything more subtle? Then you have the whole MBC collection. MBC is actually financed by Saudi Arabia, but based in Dubai, as far as I know.
They have several different channels. It started out with the original MBC which was a mainly Arabic channel that was harmless enough. It showed some talk shows, debates and Egyptian movies with an occasional program on music or style. Then we were introduced to MBC’s Al-Arabia- a news channel which was meant to be the Saudi antidote to Al-Jazeera.
Simultaneously, we were accessing MBC’s Channel 2, which is a channel that shows only English movies and programs. The programs varied from talk shows like Oprah, to sitcoms like Friends, Third Rock from the Sun and Seinfeld. Earlier this year, the MBC did a mystifying thing.
They announced that Channel 2 was going to be made a 24-hour movie channel which would show all sorts of movies- old Clint Eastwood cowboy movies, and newer movies like “A Beautiful Mind”, etc. The programs and sitcoms would be transferred to the new MBC Channel 4.Personally,
I was pleased with the change at first. I’m not big on movies and it was nice to know our favorite sitcoms and programs would all be accessible on one channel without the annoyance of two-hour movies. I could turn on Channel 4 at any time and expect to find something interesting or humorous that would end within 30-60 minutes.
The first time I saw 60 Minutes on MBC 4, it didn’t occur to me that something was wrong. I can’t remember what the discussion was, but I remember being vaguely interested and somewhat mystified at why we were getting 60 Minutes.
I soon found out that it wasn’t just 60 Minutes at night: It was Good Morning, America in the morning, 20/20 in the evening, 60 Minutes, 48-Hours, Inside Edition, The Early Show… it was a constant barrage of American media. The chipper voice in Arabic tells us,
“So you can watch what *they* watch!” *They* apparently being millions of Americans.
The schedule on MBC’s Channel 4 goes something like this: 9 am – CBS Evening News9:30 am – CBS The Early Show10:45 am – The Days of Our Lives11:20 am – Wheel of Fortune11:45 am – Jeopardy12:05 pm – A re-run of whatever was on the night before – 20/20, Inside Edition, etc.
...And the programming continues…
I’ve been enchanted with the shows these last few weeks. The thing that strikes me most is the fact that the news is so… clean. It’s like hospital food. It’s all organized and disinfected.
Everything is partitioned and you can feel how it has been doled out carefully with extreme attention to the portions- 2 minutes on women’s rights in Afghanistan, 1 minute on training troops in Iraq and 20 minutes on Terri Schiavo! All the reportages are upbeat and somewhat cheerful, and the anchor person manages to look properly concerned and completely uncaring all at once.
About a month ago, we were treated to an interview on 20/20 with Sabrina Harman- the witch in some of the Abu Ghraib pictures. You know- the one smiling over faceless, naked Iraqis piled up to make a human pyramid.
Elizabeth Vargus was doing the interview and the whole show was revolting. They were trying to portray Sabrina as an innocent who was caught up in military orders and fear of higher ranking officers.
The show went on and on about how American troops never really got seminars on Geneva Conventions (like one needs to be taught humanity) and how poor Sabrina was being made a scapegoat. They showed the restaurant where she worked before the war and how everyone thought she was “such a nice person” who couldn’t hurt a fly!
We sat there watching like we were a part of another world, in another galaxy. I’ve always sensed from the various websites that American mainstream news is far-removed from reality- I just didn’t know how far. Everything is so tame and simplified. Everyone is so sincere.
Furthermore, I don’t understand the worlds fascination with reality shows. Survivor, The Bachelor, Murder in Small Town X, Faking It, The Contender… it’s endless. Is life so boring that people need to watch the conjured up lives of others?
I have a suggestion of my own for a reality show. Take 15 Bush supporters and throw them in a house in the suburbs of, say, Falloojeh for at least 14 days
. We could watch them cope with the water problems, the lack of electricity, the check points, the raids, the Iraqi National Guard, the bombings, and- oh yeah- the ‘insurgents’.
We could watch their house bombed to the ground and their few belongings crushed under the weight of cement and brick or simply burned or riddled with bullets.
We could see them try to rebuild their life with their bare hands (and the equivalent of $150)…
I’d not only watch *that* reality show, I’d tape every episode
KANGAROO SAYS: AINT THAT THE TRUTH
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#111247654157434704
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:01 PM
0 comments
The Big Fix
By Chris Floyd
04/07/05 "Moscow Times" - - Let's face the facts. The game is over and we -- the "reality-based community," the believers in genuine democracy and law, the heirs of Jefferson and Madison, Emerson and Thoreau, the toilers and dreamers, all those who seek to rise above the beast within and shape the brutal chaos of existence into something higher, richer and imbued with meaning -- have lost. The better world we thought had been won out of the blood and horror of history -- a realm of enlightenment that often found its best embodiment in the ideals and aspirations of the American Republic -- is gone. It's been swallowed by darkness, by ravening greed, by bestial spirits and by willful primitives who now possess overwhelming instruments of power and dominion.
A gang of such spirits seized control of the U.S. government by illicit means in 2000 and maintained that control through rampant electoral corruption in 2004. The re-election of President George W. Bush last November was a deliberately shambolic process that saw massive lockouts of opposition voters; unverifiable returns compiled by easily hackable machines operated by avowed corporate partisans of the ruling party; and vast discrepancies between exit polls and final results – gaps much larger than those that led elections in Ukraine and Georgia to be condemned as manipulated frauds. Indeed, a panel of statisticians said last week that the odds of such a discrepancy occurring naturally were 959,000 to 1, the Akron Beacon-Journal reported.
The copious documentation of the Bush fraud keeps growing. Last month, experts using actual machines and returns from the 2004 election showed Congress how a lone hacker could skew a precinct's results by 100,000 votes without leaving a trace. More than 40 million votes in 30 states were cast on such computer systems, BlackBoxVoting noted.
Late last year, Congress heard sworn testimony from Florida programmer Clint Curtis, who created vote-rigging software in 2000 at the request of Tom Feeny, a Bush Family factotum. Feeny wanted Curtis (a fellow Republican) and his employer, Yang Enterprises, to produce untraceable programs that could "control the vote" as needed, investigator Brad Friedman reported. Feeny also told Curtis of Bush plans to "suppress the black vote" with "exclusion lists." This is exactly what happened. BBC investigator Greg Palast has shown that tens of thousands of legitimate African-American voters were deliberately "purged" from the rolls by a private Republican-controlled corporation hired by Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Afterwards, Feeny -- who had been Jeb's running mate in his first gubernatorial campaign -- was rewarded for his dutiful service with a plum congressional seat
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8484.htm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hail to the Robber Baron?
By Yoshi Tsurumi04/07/05
"Harvard Crimson"
- - Thirty years ago, President Bush was my student at Harvard Business School. In my class, he called former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, Class of 1904, a “socialist” and spoke against Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other New Deal innovations. He refused to understand that capitalism becomes corrupt without democratic civic values and ethical restraints.In those days, Bush belonged to a minority of MBA students who were seriously disconnected from taking the moral and social responsibility for their actions. Today, he would fit in comfortably with an overwhelming majority of business students and teachers whose role models are celebrated captains of piracy. Since the 1980s, as neo-conservatives have captured the Republican Party, America’s business education has also increasingly become contaminated by the robber baron culture of the pre-Great Depression era.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8486.htm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Blix says war motivated by oil
07:46 AEST Thu Apr 7 2005
AP - Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has said that oil was one of the reasons for the US-led invasion of Iraq, a Swedish news agency reports.
"I did not think so at first. But the US is incredibly dependent on oil," news agency TT quoted Blix as saying at a security seminar in Stockholm.
"They wanted to secure oil in case competition on the world market becomes too hard."
Blix, who helped oversee the dismantling of Iraq's weapons programs before the war, said another reason for the invasion was a need to move US troops from Saudi Arabia, TT reported.
Competition over oil is creating tension between the United States and China, Blix said, suggesting nuclear power as a more environmentally friendly source of energy.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=4124
I sure as hell did not read about you saying that before the war
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Official: China Plans 40 Nuke Power Plants:
China plans to build 40 nuclear power plants over the next 15 years, making them the main power source for its booming east coast, a government official said in remarks reported Thursday
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-china-nuclear-power,0,5085882.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Colombia 'will not try US troops' :
A group of US soldiers arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling cannot be allowed to stand trial in Colombia, Washington's envoy to Bogota has said.
Colombian senators have been calling for the men, who were based in the country, to be extradited from the US.
But US ambassador William Wood said the soldiers are immune from prosecution.
More than 200 Colombian citizens have been extradited to the US to face trial for drug trafficking, under a bilateral deal between the two countries.
Colombian politicians have asked the government to push for the US to hand over the men, arguing that the extradition agreement works both ways.
"In practical terms, these military personnel committed the alleged crime in Colombia, and according to the extradition treaty, which is bilateral, they should be tried here," legislator Gustavo Petro said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4420329.stm
I just find this amazing it speaks for itself
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hidden Angle
April 05, 2005
Bad News Bears Go Into Hibernation
Over the past two years, the media has taken plenty of heat for reporting only the "bad" news coming out of Iraq. With the weekend's coverage (or lack thereof) of a major attack by insurgents, that criticism is looking a little ragged around the edges.
On Saturday, in what has been called the largest and most sophisticated insurgent attack in Iraq to date, a group of between 40 and 60 members of al Qaeda attacked Abu Ghraib prison, wounding 44 Americans and 13 prisoners. The attack, which employed mortars, rockets, several coordinated ground assaults and a car bomb, took the Marines guarding the prison over an hour to beat back with the help of Apache helicopters and artillery.
One might think that a major engagement with a high casualty rate (at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, no less) would grab some headlines back home -- after all, even saturation coverage of the pope's death leaves some room for other news. Yet the story has been largely buried on the back pages of our major dailies.
http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001421.asp
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
30,000 U.S. military troops not citizens
By UPIWASHINGTON,
April 5 (UPI)
-- More than 20,000 military personnel have become U.S. citizens since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the Pentagon.Another 5,000 have applications pending for citizenship, with that process being expedited for military members, shortening the wait from about nine months to 60 days.There are still about 30,000 active duty and 11,000 Guard and Reserve personnel in the military who are not U.S. citizens, according to Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel David Chu. He testified Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on personnel issues facing the military.Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8480.htm
Now these are numbers that we do not have that have died
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Bush Administration's Afghan Spring: Drugs, Bases, and Jails:
The power of the new, democratically elected government of Hamid Karzai extends only weakly beyond the outskirts of Kabul. Large swathes of Afghanistan are still ruled by warlords and drug lords, armed militias dominate much of the country as they did after the Soviet withdrawal back in 1989
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2303
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Theodore E. Lang: Conflict of Command: The Destruction Of American Military Honor:
“Duty, honor, country,” were once the moral standards for the American military. It is nothing short of both a rude, astonishing awakening, as well as a great sense of shame and humiliation, to witness how far both our military and this once great nation have fallen into such disgrace, disrepute and international condemnation and rebuke.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8478.htm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
By Chris Floyd
04/07/05 "Moscow Times" - - Let's face the facts. The game is over and we -- the "reality-based community," the believers in genuine democracy and law, the heirs of Jefferson and Madison, Emerson and Thoreau, the toilers and dreamers, all those who seek to rise above the beast within and shape the brutal chaos of existence into something higher, richer and imbued with meaning -- have lost. The better world we thought had been won out of the blood and horror of history -- a realm of enlightenment that often found its best embodiment in the ideals and aspirations of the American Republic -- is gone. It's been swallowed by darkness, by ravening greed, by bestial spirits and by willful primitives who now possess overwhelming instruments of power and dominion.
A gang of such spirits seized control of the U.S. government by illicit means in 2000 and maintained that control through rampant electoral corruption in 2004. The re-election of President George W. Bush last November was a deliberately shambolic process that saw massive lockouts of opposition voters; unverifiable returns compiled by easily hackable machines operated by avowed corporate partisans of the ruling party; and vast discrepancies between exit polls and final results – gaps much larger than those that led elections in Ukraine and Georgia to be condemned as manipulated frauds. Indeed, a panel of statisticians said last week that the odds of such a discrepancy occurring naturally were 959,000 to 1, the Akron Beacon-Journal reported.
The copious documentation of the Bush fraud keeps growing. Last month, experts using actual machines and returns from the 2004 election showed Congress how a lone hacker could skew a precinct's results by 100,000 votes without leaving a trace. More than 40 million votes in 30 states were cast on such computer systems, BlackBoxVoting noted.
Late last year, Congress heard sworn testimony from Florida programmer Clint Curtis, who created vote-rigging software in 2000 at the request of Tom Feeny, a Bush Family factotum. Feeny wanted Curtis (a fellow Republican) and his employer, Yang Enterprises, to produce untraceable programs that could "control the vote" as needed, investigator Brad Friedman reported. Feeny also told Curtis of Bush plans to "suppress the black vote" with "exclusion lists." This is exactly what happened. BBC investigator Greg Palast has shown that tens of thousands of legitimate African-American voters were deliberately "purged" from the rolls by a private Republican-controlled corporation hired by Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Afterwards, Feeny -- who had been Jeb's running mate in his first gubernatorial campaign -- was rewarded for his dutiful service with a plum congressional seat
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8484.htm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hail to the Robber Baron?
By Yoshi Tsurumi04/07/05
"Harvard Crimson"
- - Thirty years ago, President Bush was my student at Harvard Business School. In my class, he called former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, Class of 1904, a “socialist” and spoke against Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other New Deal innovations. He refused to understand that capitalism becomes corrupt without democratic civic values and ethical restraints.In those days, Bush belonged to a minority of MBA students who were seriously disconnected from taking the moral and social responsibility for their actions. Today, he would fit in comfortably with an overwhelming majority of business students and teachers whose role models are celebrated captains of piracy. Since the 1980s, as neo-conservatives have captured the Republican Party, America’s business education has also increasingly become contaminated by the robber baron culture of the pre-Great Depression era.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8486.htm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Blix says war motivated by oil
07:46 AEST Thu Apr 7 2005
AP - Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has said that oil was one of the reasons for the US-led invasion of Iraq, a Swedish news agency reports.
"I did not think so at first. But the US is incredibly dependent on oil," news agency TT quoted Blix as saying at a security seminar in Stockholm.
"They wanted to secure oil in case competition on the world market becomes too hard."
Blix, who helped oversee the dismantling of Iraq's weapons programs before the war, said another reason for the invasion was a need to move US troops from Saudi Arabia, TT reported.
Competition over oil is creating tension between the United States and China, Blix said, suggesting nuclear power as a more environmentally friendly source of energy.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=4124
I sure as hell did not read about you saying that before the war
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Official: China Plans 40 Nuke Power Plants:
China plans to build 40 nuclear power plants over the next 15 years, making them the main power source for its booming east coast, a government official said in remarks reported Thursday
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-china-nuclear-power,0,5085882.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Colombia 'will not try US troops' :
A group of US soldiers arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling cannot be allowed to stand trial in Colombia, Washington's envoy to Bogota has said.
Colombian senators have been calling for the men, who were based in the country, to be extradited from the US.
But US ambassador William Wood said the soldiers are immune from prosecution.
More than 200 Colombian citizens have been extradited to the US to face trial for drug trafficking, under a bilateral deal between the two countries.
Colombian politicians have asked the government to push for the US to hand over the men, arguing that the extradition agreement works both ways.
"In practical terms, these military personnel committed the alleged crime in Colombia, and according to the extradition treaty, which is bilateral, they should be tried here," legislator Gustavo Petro said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4420329.stm
I just find this amazing it speaks for itself
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hidden Angle
April 05, 2005
Bad News Bears Go Into Hibernation
Over the past two years, the media has taken plenty of heat for reporting only the "bad" news coming out of Iraq. With the weekend's coverage (or lack thereof) of a major attack by insurgents, that criticism is looking a little ragged around the edges.
On Saturday, in what has been called the largest and most sophisticated insurgent attack in Iraq to date, a group of between 40 and 60 members of al Qaeda attacked Abu Ghraib prison, wounding 44 Americans and 13 prisoners. The attack, which employed mortars, rockets, several coordinated ground assaults and a car bomb, took the Marines guarding the prison over an hour to beat back with the help of Apache helicopters and artillery.
One might think that a major engagement with a high casualty rate (at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, no less) would grab some headlines back home -- after all, even saturation coverage of the pope's death leaves some room for other news. Yet the story has been largely buried on the back pages of our major dailies.
http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001421.asp
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
30,000 U.S. military troops not citizens
By UPIWASHINGTON,
April 5 (UPI)
-- More than 20,000 military personnel have become U.S. citizens since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the Pentagon.Another 5,000 have applications pending for citizenship, with that process being expedited for military members, shortening the wait from about nine months to 60 days.There are still about 30,000 active duty and 11,000 Guard and Reserve personnel in the military who are not U.S. citizens, according to Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel David Chu. He testified Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on personnel issues facing the military.Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8480.htm
Now these are numbers that we do not have that have died
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Bush Administration's Afghan Spring: Drugs, Bases, and Jails:
The power of the new, democratically elected government of Hamid Karzai extends only weakly beyond the outskirts of Kabul. Large swathes of Afghanistan are still ruled by warlords and drug lords, armed militias dominate much of the country as they did after the Soviet withdrawal back in 1989
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2303
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Theodore E. Lang: Conflict of Command: The Destruction Of American Military Honor:
“Duty, honor, country,” were once the moral standards for the American military. It is nothing short of both a rude, astonishing awakening, as well as a great sense of shame and humiliation, to witness how far both our military and this once great nation have fallen into such disgrace, disrepute and international condemnation and rebuke.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8478.htm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 2:04 PM
0 comments
DISPATCH FROM DOWN UNDER
Iraq gets first Kurdish President
Iraq's first elected government in half a century finally took shape today when a former rebel leader took oath as its first Kurdish president and immediately named a top religious Shi'ite as his prime minister. more
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Iraq/Iraq-gets-first-Kurdish-President/2005/04/08/1112815676214.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Report: New York City teens held after FBI says they planned suicide bombing
Posted: 04/07/2005 07:00:32
NEW YORK (AP) -- Two 16-year-old girls from New York City have been arrested on immigration charges after federal authorities said they planned to become suicide bombers, according to a published report.
The teenagers were arrested March 24 and were being held in a detention center in Leesport, Pa., The New York Times reported Thursday, citing a government document provided by a federal agent.
According to the document, the FBI found that the girls posed "an imminent threat to the security of the United States based upon evidence that they plan to be suicide bombers," the Times said.
The evidence was not described in the document.
http://http://www.abc15.com/news/morenews/index.asp?did=17648
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Charles and Camilla 'share strong sexual pull'
Prince Charles and his bride-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles share a "very strong sexual pull", a close friend said yesterday. more
This is frikin news who the hell wants to know:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Bush syndrome: Dead wrong and proud of it
By Max J. Castro
“Dead wrong.” That’s what the president’s own hand-picked committee on intelligence gathering said last week about the information concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that the Bush administration used to bamboozle Americans and attempt to browbeat the world into backing war.
“Dead wrong.” That’s what Judge Stanley F. Birch Jr. of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta – a conservative judge appointed by the president’s own father – just about said last week in a scathing opinion in which he castigated Congress and President Bush for attempting to usurp the authority of the judiciary in the case of Terri Schiavo.
http://progresoweekly.com/index.php?progreso=Max_Castro&otherweek=1112850000
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Counsel to GOP Senator Wrote Memo On Schiavo
Martinez Aide Who Cited Upside For
Party Resigns
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff WriterThursday, April 7, 2005; Page A01
The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night.
http://http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32554-2005Apr6.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EDITORIAL
The Judges Made Them Do It
Published: April 6, 2005
It was appalling when the House majority leader threatened political retribution against judges who did not toe his extremist political line. But when a second important Republican stands up and excuses murderous violence against judges as an understandable reaction to their decisions, then it is time to get really scared.
It happened on Monday, in a moment that was horrifying even by the rock-bottom standards of the campaign that Republican zealots are conducting against the nation's judiciary. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, rose in the chamber and dared to argue that recent courthouse violence might be explained by distress about judges who "are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public." The frustration "builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in" violence, said Mr. Cornyn, a former member of the Texas Supreme Court who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which supposedly protects the Constitution and its guarantee of an independent judiciary.
Listeners could only cringe at the events behind Mr. Cornyn's fulminating: an Atlanta judge was murdered in his courtroom by a career criminal who wanted only to shoot his way out of a trial, and a Chicago judge's mother and husband were executed by a deranged man who was furious that she had dismissed a wild lawsuit. It was sickening that an elected official would publicly offer these sociopaths as examples of any democratic value, let alone as holders of legitimate concerns about the judiciary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/opinion/06wed1.html?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
CIA Leak Probe Done, Minus Some Testimony
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:47 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal prosecutor investigating the leak of an undercover CIA officer's name says his work is complete except for one large omission: hearing from two reporters who are fighting a court order to answer questions under oath.
Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the refusal of Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of The New York Times to divulge their sources has stalled his probe.
Neither Cooper nor Miller wrote the original story that revealed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Her name was first published in a 2003 column by Robert Novak, who cited two unidentified senior Bush administration officials as his sources.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-CIA-Leak.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Insurgent attack on Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad wounds 20 U.S. soldiers
BAGHDAD (AP) - Dozens of insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and detonated two car bombs Saturday while attacking the Abu Ghraib prison in western Baghdad, wounding 20 American service members and 12 prisoners, the U.S. military said.
The attack, carried out by 40 to 60 militants, began as darkness fell on the city, 1st Lieut. Adam Rondeau said. Soldiers and marines stationed at the detention facility responded, and the resulting clash lasted about 40 minutes, Rondeau said.
"This was obviously a very well-organized attack and a very big attack," he said.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the insurgents carrying out the attack suffered casualties or were arrested
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Iraq/2005/04/02/980426-ap.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
U.S. military helicopter crashes in Afghanistan; 16 killed, 2 missing
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
KABUL (AP) - A U.S. military helicopter crashed in bad weather in southeast Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 16 people, including four American crew members in the deadliest military crash since the U.S.-led invasion began in 2001.
An Afghan police official said all the dead appeared to be American. The U.S. military said 16 people were killed, up from nine reported previously, but provided no details of the passengers' identity. Two other people were listed as missing.
A U.S. spokeswoman suggested severe weather brought down the CH-47 Chinook near Ghazni city, 125 kilometres southwest of the capital, Kabul, as it returned from a mission in the insurgent-plagued south.
"Indications are it was bad weather and that there were no survivors," Lieut. Cindy Moore said
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2005/04/06/984774-ap.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Secret U.S. court approved record number of terror warrants last year
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government requested and won approval for a record number of special warrants last year for secret wiretaps and searches of suspected terrorists and spies, 75 per cent more than in 2000, the administration disclosed Friday.
Assistant attorney general William Moschella revealed the figure in an annual report to Congress. Last year's total of 1,754 approved warrants was only slightly higher than the 1,724 approved in 2003. But the number has climbed markedly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, as authorities have moved aggressively against terror suspects. In 2000, there were 1,003 warrants approved under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Since passage of the Patriot Act, the FBI can use such warrants in investigations that aren't mostly focused on foreign intelligence.
Operating with permission from a secretive U.S. court that meets regularly at the U.S. Justice Deaprtment headquarters, the FBI has used such warrants to break into homes, offices, hotel rooms and automobiles, install hidden cameras, search luggage and eavesdrop on telephone conversations. Agents also have pried into safe-deposit boxes, watched from afar with video cameras and binoculars and intercepted e-mails.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2005/04/01/979542-ap.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
US troops wound journalist
From correspondents in WashingtonApril 06, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
US forces today shot and wounded a television cameraman working for the American CBS network in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, after mistaking him for an armed insurgent.A US military statement said troops also shot and killed an insurgent who was waving an AK-47 assault rifle and inciting a crowd of civilians at the site of a suicide bombing in eastern Mosul.
"During the engagement an individual that appeared to have a weapon who was standing near the insurgent was shot and injured," the statement from the Multinational Brigade-Northwest said.
"This individual turned out to be a reporter who was pointing a video camera."
The CBS network identified the wounded man as Abdul Amir Younis Hussein, an Iraqi freelance reporter/cameraman employed by CBS News.
Mr Hussein, who is from Mosul, was taken to a US military hospital and treated for what the military said were minor wounds. He is expected to make a full recovery.
"Regretfully the reporter was injured during the complex and volatile situation. The incident is under further investigation," the military statement said.
The troops involved were from the 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division based in Mosul.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12770109-38201,00.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shia named as Iraq prime minister
Iraqi Shia leader Ibrahim Jaafari has been named prime minister of the country's new interim government.
He was appointed shortly after Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was sworn in as Iraq's new interim president.
Outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has resigned, but will continue his work until Mr Jaafari names his government.
The transitional government's main task will be to oversee the drafting of a permanent Iraqi constitution and to pave the way for elections in December.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4420971.stm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Iraq's first elected government in half a century finally took shape today when a former rebel leader took oath as its first Kurdish president and immediately named a top religious Shi'ite as his prime minister. more
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Iraq/Iraq-gets-first-Kurdish-President/2005/04/08/1112815676214.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Report: New York City teens held after FBI says they planned suicide bombing
Posted: 04/07/2005 07:00:32
NEW YORK (AP) -- Two 16-year-old girls from New York City have been arrested on immigration charges after federal authorities said they planned to become suicide bombers, according to a published report.
The teenagers were arrested March 24 and were being held in a detention center in Leesport, Pa., The New York Times reported Thursday, citing a government document provided by a federal agent.
According to the document, the FBI found that the girls posed "an imminent threat to the security of the United States based upon evidence that they plan to be suicide bombers," the Times said.
The evidence was not described in the document.
http://http://www.abc15.com/news/morenews/index.asp?did=17648
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Charles and Camilla 'share strong sexual pull'
Prince Charles and his bride-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles share a "very strong sexual pull", a close friend said yesterday. more
This is frikin news who the hell wants to know:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Bush syndrome: Dead wrong and proud of it
By Max J. Castro
“Dead wrong.” That’s what the president’s own hand-picked committee on intelligence gathering said last week about the information concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that the Bush administration used to bamboozle Americans and attempt to browbeat the world into backing war.
“Dead wrong.” That’s what Judge Stanley F. Birch Jr. of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta – a conservative judge appointed by the president’s own father – just about said last week in a scathing opinion in which he castigated Congress and President Bush for attempting to usurp the authority of the judiciary in the case of Terri Schiavo.
http://progresoweekly.com/index.php?progreso=Max_Castro&otherweek=1112850000
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Counsel to GOP Senator Wrote Memo On Schiavo
Martinez Aide Who Cited Upside For
Party Resigns
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff WriterThursday, April 7, 2005; Page A01
The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night.
http://http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32554-2005Apr6.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EDITORIAL
The Judges Made Them Do It
Published: April 6, 2005
It was appalling when the House majority leader threatened political retribution against judges who did not toe his extremist political line. But when a second important Republican stands up and excuses murderous violence against judges as an understandable reaction to their decisions, then it is time to get really scared.
It happened on Monday, in a moment that was horrifying even by the rock-bottom standards of the campaign that Republican zealots are conducting against the nation's judiciary. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, rose in the chamber and dared to argue that recent courthouse violence might be explained by distress about judges who "are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public." The frustration "builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in" violence, said Mr. Cornyn, a former member of the Texas Supreme Court who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which supposedly protects the Constitution and its guarantee of an independent judiciary.
Listeners could only cringe at the events behind Mr. Cornyn's fulminating: an Atlanta judge was murdered in his courtroom by a career criminal who wanted only to shoot his way out of a trial, and a Chicago judge's mother and husband were executed by a deranged man who was furious that she had dismissed a wild lawsuit. It was sickening that an elected official would publicly offer these sociopaths as examples of any democratic value, let alone as holders of legitimate concerns about the judiciary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/opinion/06wed1.html?
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CIA Leak Probe Done, Minus Some Testimony
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:47 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal prosecutor investigating the leak of an undercover CIA officer's name says his work is complete except for one large omission: hearing from two reporters who are fighting a court order to answer questions under oath.
Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the refusal of Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of The New York Times to divulge their sources has stalled his probe.
Neither Cooper nor Miller wrote the original story that revealed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Her name was first published in a 2003 column by Robert Novak, who cited two unidentified senior Bush administration officials as his sources.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-CIA-Leak.html
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Insurgent attack on Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad wounds 20 U.S. soldiers
BAGHDAD (AP) - Dozens of insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and detonated two car bombs Saturday while attacking the Abu Ghraib prison in western Baghdad, wounding 20 American service members and 12 prisoners, the U.S. military said.
The attack, carried out by 40 to 60 militants, began as darkness fell on the city, 1st Lieut. Adam Rondeau said. Soldiers and marines stationed at the detention facility responded, and the resulting clash lasted about 40 minutes, Rondeau said.
"This was obviously a very well-organized attack and a very big attack," he said.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the insurgents carrying out the attack suffered casualties or were arrested
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Iraq/2005/04/02/980426-ap.html
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U.S. military helicopter crashes in Afghanistan; 16 killed, 2 missing
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
KABUL (AP) - A U.S. military helicopter crashed in bad weather in southeast Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 16 people, including four American crew members in the deadliest military crash since the U.S.-led invasion began in 2001.
An Afghan police official said all the dead appeared to be American. The U.S. military said 16 people were killed, up from nine reported previously, but provided no details of the passengers' identity. Two other people were listed as missing.
A U.S. spokeswoman suggested severe weather brought down the CH-47 Chinook near Ghazni city, 125 kilometres southwest of the capital, Kabul, as it returned from a mission in the insurgent-plagued south.
"Indications are it was bad weather and that there were no survivors," Lieut. Cindy Moore said
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2005/04/06/984774-ap.html
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Secret U.S. court approved record number of terror warrants last year
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government requested and won approval for a record number of special warrants last year for secret wiretaps and searches of suspected terrorists and spies, 75 per cent more than in 2000, the administration disclosed Friday.
Assistant attorney general William Moschella revealed the figure in an annual report to Congress. Last year's total of 1,754 approved warrants was only slightly higher than the 1,724 approved in 2003. But the number has climbed markedly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, as authorities have moved aggressively against terror suspects. In 2000, there were 1,003 warrants approved under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Since passage of the Patriot Act, the FBI can use such warrants in investigations that aren't mostly focused on foreign intelligence.
Operating with permission from a secretive U.S. court that meets regularly at the U.S. Justice Deaprtment headquarters, the FBI has used such warrants to break into homes, offices, hotel rooms and automobiles, install hidden cameras, search luggage and eavesdrop on telephone conversations. Agents also have pried into safe-deposit boxes, watched from afar with video cameras and binoculars and intercepted e-mails.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2005/04/01/979542-ap.html
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US troops wound journalist
From correspondents in WashingtonApril 06, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
US forces today shot and wounded a television cameraman working for the American CBS network in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, after mistaking him for an armed insurgent.A US military statement said troops also shot and killed an insurgent who was waving an AK-47 assault rifle and inciting a crowd of civilians at the site of a suicide bombing in eastern Mosul.
"During the engagement an individual that appeared to have a weapon who was standing near the insurgent was shot and injured," the statement from the Multinational Brigade-Northwest said.
"This individual turned out to be a reporter who was pointing a video camera."
The CBS network identified the wounded man as Abdul Amir Younis Hussein, an Iraqi freelance reporter/cameraman employed by CBS News.
Mr Hussein, who is from Mosul, was taken to a US military hospital and treated for what the military said were minor wounds. He is expected to make a full recovery.
"Regretfully the reporter was injured during the complex and volatile situation. The incident is under further investigation," the military statement said.
The troops involved were from the 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division based in Mosul.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12770109-38201,00.html
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Shia named as Iraq prime minister
Iraqi Shia leader Ibrahim Jaafari has been named prime minister of the country's new interim government.
He was appointed shortly after Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was sworn in as Iraq's new interim president.
Outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has resigned, but will continue his work until Mr Jaafari names his government.
The transitional government's main task will be to oversee the drafting of a permanent Iraqi constitution and to pave the way for elections in December.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4420971.stm
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posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 1:51 PM
0 comments
For those who just needed to be reminded what I look like.. Here I are....NOTICE we are having technical problems on this site. Basicly we are not as smart as our equipment, but we are working on it. I thank you for your patience...(New Art Posts Soon I Promise!)
Yes Mom its the junkie hooker pic.
posted by Christy at 12:20 PM
0 comments
Faulty fireproofing caused collapse of World Trade Center buildings:
report
YORK (AP) - U.S. investigators said Tuesday the World Trade Center buildings probably would not have collapsed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks if fireproofing had adhered firmly to the walls.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology also concluded the average survivor took more than double the estimated time to descend emergency stairwells and better communication between emergency responders could have saved more lives.
The NIST, which issued three reports on the attacks, did not blame designers or builders for the buildings' collapse. However, Shyam Sunder, who led NIST's fire and safety investigation, said there are now better ways to ensure fireproofing adheres to steel.
"Even with the airplane impact and jet-fuel-ignited multifloor fires, which are not normal building fires, the buildings would likely not have collapsed had it not been for the fireproofing that had been dislodged," he said.
continued
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2005/04/05/983972-ap.html
report
YORK (AP) - U.S. investigators said Tuesday the World Trade Center buildings probably would not have collapsed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks if fireproofing had adhered firmly to the walls.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology also concluded the average survivor took more than double the estimated time to descend emergency stairwells and better communication between emergency responders could have saved more lives.
The NIST, which issued three reports on the attacks, did not blame designers or builders for the buildings' collapse. However, Shyam Sunder, who led NIST's fire and safety investigation, said there are now better ways to ensure fireproofing adheres to steel.
"Even with the airplane impact and jet-fuel-ignited multifloor fires, which are not normal building fires, the buildings would likely not have collapsed had it not been for the fireproofing that had been dislodged," he said.
continued
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2005/04/05/983972-ap.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 12:02 AM
0 comments
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Ummm Mr Hannity..I can answer that question.
Via Media Matters..
"While maintaining that he was only "speaking philosophically" about the issue, Hannity lent credence to the story by asserting that bloggers "have often led the way and have been way ahead of the curve on some controversial stories," and then asked: "[I]f they [journalists] see crimes that are about to be committed, atrocities ... do they not have a moral human obligation first, as opposed to a journalistic obligation?" "
The answer is YES. As a human being you should do the right thing and try to stop it. Now lets get back to philosiphy...
If a journalist stands by...or supports, say, a president who lies and takes us into an illegal war...if that journalist just stands by...And allows say TREASON to occur (See James Bathh) ...WHAT IS YOUR MORAL JOURNALISTIC OBLIGATION?
Metaphoricaly speaking, ofcourse......????
Yeah I'll be holding my breath.
"While maintaining that he was only "speaking philosophically" about the issue, Hannity lent credence to the story by asserting that bloggers "have often led the way and have been way ahead of the curve on some controversial stories," and then asked: "[I]f they [journalists] see crimes that are about to be committed, atrocities ... do they not have a moral human obligation first, as opposed to a journalistic obligation?" "
The answer is YES. As a human being you should do the right thing and try to stop it. Now lets get back to philosiphy...
If a journalist stands by...or supports, say, a president who lies and takes us into an illegal war...if that journalist just stands by...And allows say TREASON to occur (See James Bathh) ...WHAT IS YOUR MORAL JOURNALISTIC OBLIGATION?
Metaphoricaly speaking, ofcourse......????
Yeah I'll be holding my breath.
posted by Christy at 8:01 PM
0 comments
(Christy Said)
Jimmy Carters Not INVITED?
I swear I just heard CNN a little earlier annouce that
GW Bush, Clinton, and GH Bush are on thier way to the Vatican,
but Jimmy Carter was 'Not Invited.'
Thier WH statement said there was 'Not enough room in the official delegation.'......
WHHHHAAAAAA?????Un Fucking Believable.
My thoughts on this:
A war declared because of the lies of a so called Christian Administration
An illegal occupation
The Murder of 100000 Iraqi Women and children of god on his command
The Death of 1533 American Military Sons and Daughters
That we know of:
How many maimed and wounded maybe up to 10000 __ 14000
That we know of:
Visits Vatican City the House of God for people of the Catholic faith here on earth While a True man of peace Jimmy Carter is not invited
Says it all for me it is not worth one minute of my time
Jimmy Carters Not INVITED?
I swear I just heard CNN a little earlier annouce that
GW Bush, Clinton, and GH Bush are on thier way to the Vatican,
but Jimmy Carter was 'Not Invited.'
Thier WH statement said there was 'Not enough room in the official delegation.'......
WHHHHAAAAAA?????Un Fucking Believable.
My thoughts on this:
A war declared because of the lies of a so called Christian Administration
An illegal occupation
The Murder of 100000 Iraqi Women and children of god on his command
The Death of 1533 American Military Sons and Daughters
That we know of:
How many maimed and wounded maybe up to 10000 __ 14000
That we know of:
Visits Vatican City the House of God for people of the Catholic faith here on earth While a True man of peace Jimmy Carter is not invited
Says it all for me it is not worth one minute of my time
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 12:17 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Monaco's Prince Rainier III dies aged 81
April 6, 2005 - 10:10PM
Monaco plunged into mourning, its famed casino closing its doors upon news of the death Wednesday of Prince Rainier III, the long-ruling monarch hailed for modernising the tiny principality once renowned as a "sunny place for shady people."
Rainier, whose marriage to American film star Grace Kelly brought elegance, glamour and world renown to what once was a Riviera backwater, died at 6:35 a.m. (1435 AEST) at the hospital treating him for heart, kidney and breathing problems. He was 81.
Prince Albert, his son and heir, was at his side, after doctors called him just before 6 a.m. (1400 AEST) to tell him the end was near, the royal palace said. Albert, 47 and groomed from birth to succeed his father, had already taken over the royal powers - but not the throne - last week because Rainier was too sick to rule.
Rainier's body was transferred from the hospital back to his hilltop palace shortly after his death and will lie in state in the palace's Palatine Chapel so Monegasques can pay their respects, said an official close to the palace.
The Mediterranean enclave's famed Monte Carlo closed its doors Wednesday in a sign of respect.
"Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years" of his reign, said Patrick Leclercq, head of government in the principality of 32,000 people.
"Let us render, in dignity and respect, the immense homage that is his due for a body of work that resounded throughout the world and from which we reap the benefits."
There was no immediate official word on funeral arrangements. Rainier was expected to be buried alongside Princess Grace at the 19th-century Monaco Cathedral, where they wed on April 18, 1956. Beside her tomb is an empty slab of marble waiting to be engraved with the prince's name.
Tributes flooded in from European leaders and politicians who praised Rainier - who had been Europe's longest-serving monarch - as a reformist prince.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Monacos-Prince-Rainier-III-dies-aged-81/2005/04/06/1112489561946.html
April 6, 2005 - 10:10PM
Monaco plunged into mourning, its famed casino closing its doors upon news of the death Wednesday of Prince Rainier III, the long-ruling monarch hailed for modernising the tiny principality once renowned as a "sunny place for shady people."
Rainier, whose marriage to American film star Grace Kelly brought elegance, glamour and world renown to what once was a Riviera backwater, died at 6:35 a.m. (1435 AEST) at the hospital treating him for heart, kidney and breathing problems. He was 81.
Prince Albert, his son and heir, was at his side, after doctors called him just before 6 a.m. (1400 AEST) to tell him the end was near, the royal palace said. Albert, 47 and groomed from birth to succeed his father, had already taken over the royal powers - but not the throne - last week because Rainier was too sick to rule.
Rainier's body was transferred from the hospital back to his hilltop palace shortly after his death and will lie in state in the palace's Palatine Chapel so Monegasques can pay their respects, said an official close to the palace.
The Mediterranean enclave's famed Monte Carlo closed its doors Wednesday in a sign of respect.
"Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years" of his reign, said Patrick Leclercq, head of government in the principality of 32,000 people.
"Let us render, in dignity and respect, the immense homage that is his due for a body of work that resounded throughout the world and from which we reap the benefits."
There was no immediate official word on funeral arrangements. Rainier was expected to be buried alongside Princess Grace at the 19th-century Monaco Cathedral, where they wed on April 18, 1956. Beside her tomb is an empty slab of marble waiting to be engraved with the prince's name.
Tributes flooded in from European leaders and politicians who praised Rainier - who had been Europe's longest-serving monarch - as a reformist prince.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Monacos-Prince-Rainier-III-dies-aged-81/2005/04/06/1112489561946.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 2:06 PM
0 comments
Jimmy Carters Not INVITED?
I swear I just heard CNN a little earlier annouce that GW Bush, Clinton, and GH Bush are on thier way to the Vatican, but Jimmy Carter was 'Not Invited.'
Thier WH statement said there was 'Not enough room in the official delegation.'......WHHHHAAAAAA?????
Un Fucking Believable.
No one else is saying ANYTHING about it...HMMM wonder whats afoot in the Monkey Palace?
I bet Karls fat ass got a seat the thieving bastard. I wonder will he wear a parka too?
Thier WH statement said there was 'Not enough room in the official delegation.'......WHHHHAAAAAA?????
Un Fucking Believable.
No one else is saying ANYTHING about it...HMMM wonder whats afoot in the Monkey Palace?
I bet Karls fat ass got a seat the thieving bastard. I wonder will he wear a parka too?
posted by Christy at 2:05 PM
0 comments
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
April 6, 2005
Release Number: 05-04-09C
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 DEAD IN HELICOPTER CRASHKABUL, Afghanistan
– Sixteen people have now been confirmed dead in the crash of a Coalition CH-47 transport helicopter near Ghazni on Wednesday afternoon.
Eighteen people, including crew members and passengers, were listed on the flight manifest; two remain unaccounted for. Recovery operations have ended for the night due to darkness and weather conditions.
The names of the dead are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. The cause of the crash will be investigated.
-30-
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Casualty_Report.asp?CasualtyReport=20050409.txt
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
April 6, 2005
Release Number: 05-04-09C
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 DEAD IN HELICOPTER CRASHKABUL, Afghanistan
– Sixteen people have now been confirmed dead in the crash of a Coalition CH-47 transport helicopter near Ghazni on Wednesday afternoon.
Eighteen people, including crew members and passengers, were listed on the flight manifest; two remain unaccounted for. Recovery operations have ended for the night due to darkness and weather conditions.
The names of the dead are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. The cause of the crash will be investigated.
-30-
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Casualty_Report.asp?CasualtyReport=20050409.txt
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 1:46 PM
0 comments
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
DVD: Weapons of Mass Deception
"Think You Can Trust The Media? Think Again."
BuzzFlash Recommendation
If BuzzFlash handed out our own Oscars, hands down we’d give Danny Schechter the best film expose' of the media for his gripping new documentary Weapons of Mass Deception. WMD is a scathing indictment of how the media colluded with the Bush administration to sell an unjust and unnecessary war in Iraq to the American people like it was nothing more than rolling out a new product for better ratings.
Rather then being watchdogs, Schechter reveals with stunning clarity how the media became lapdogs and he tells his story using the media’s very own techniques such as rapid editing, music, graphics, gripping footage, and animation on top of his stellar work as an investigative reporter. Schechter says he is fighting fire with fire through Weapons of Mass Deception and the result is a political tour de force that is an entertaining and disturbing portrait of how the American media utterly failed in its job to tell the truth about the buildup to the war. A failure measured by the somber toll on American soldiers, 1,420 killed and 10,622 wounded in Iraq and counting in addition to the scores of Iraqi people who have been killed.
Do you remember watching the months leading up to the preemptive attack on Iraq and feeling like there was some kind of an invisible composer who was weaving the story together? It was as if a guiding hand was pulling the strings of the media to make it appear the Bush administration was sincerely trying to avoid war, and then left with no other choice to protect the American people, was compelled to launch the attack. Chapter by chapter in his DVD, Danny Schechter dissects that this in fact wasn’t a phenomenon but a carefully orchestrated strategy to tell one and only one narrative and to ignore any discussion of how to avoid the war.
Schechter reveals how the Pentagon launched a war on the media itself to spin the story and that this strategy was included in the very beginning of planning the war itself.
MORE >>>
http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/05/02/pre05023.html
"Think You Can Trust The Media? Think Again."
BuzzFlash Recommendation
If BuzzFlash handed out our own Oscars, hands down we’d give Danny Schechter the best film expose' of the media for his gripping new documentary Weapons of Mass Deception. WMD is a scathing indictment of how the media colluded with the Bush administration to sell an unjust and unnecessary war in Iraq to the American people like it was nothing more than rolling out a new product for better ratings.
Rather then being watchdogs, Schechter reveals with stunning clarity how the media became lapdogs and he tells his story using the media’s very own techniques such as rapid editing, music, graphics, gripping footage, and animation on top of his stellar work as an investigative reporter. Schechter says he is fighting fire with fire through Weapons of Mass Deception and the result is a political tour de force that is an entertaining and disturbing portrait of how the American media utterly failed in its job to tell the truth about the buildup to the war. A failure measured by the somber toll on American soldiers, 1,420 killed and 10,622 wounded in Iraq and counting in addition to the scores of Iraqi people who have been killed.
Do you remember watching the months leading up to the preemptive attack on Iraq and feeling like there was some kind of an invisible composer who was weaving the story together? It was as if a guiding hand was pulling the strings of the media to make it appear the Bush administration was sincerely trying to avoid war, and then left with no other choice to protect the American people, was compelled to launch the attack. Chapter by chapter in his DVD, Danny Schechter dissects that this in fact wasn’t a phenomenon but a carefully orchestrated strategy to tell one and only one narrative and to ignore any discussion of how to avoid the war.
Schechter reveals how the Pentagon launched a war on the media itself to spin the story and that this strategy was included in the very beginning of planning the war itself.
MORE >>>
http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/05/02/pre05023.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:12 PM
0 comments
BuzzFlash Recommendation
If you saw Robert Greenwald's documentary expose on FOX News and wanted more, this is the book for you. This 309-page journey through the Republican propaganda station, aka FOX News, will provide you with enough outrage for a lifetime. By the time you're done reading it, you'll want to buy one of those
"FOX Blockers" some wag recently invented.
FOX is a so-called news network -- run by the former producer for Rush Limbaugh and a GOP television advisor -- that creates its own reality. Their slogan should be, "Our stories are more interesting than the facts. Facts are boring; we never are."
Of course, the fiction dispensed as news by FOX is always in sync with the White House propaganda messages of the day. It's amazing how that happens, isn't it?
FOX News represents the death of journalism, and the triumph of propaganda and PR packaging masquerading as accurate information. It is really as if the RNC had been thinking about starting a news station, but Rupert Murdoch just turned one over to them instead.
What FOX News sells is a radical GOP ideology prism that is used to manipulate viewers to believe that what they are hearing and watching is true because it matches their Bushevik world view. It is also responsive to the timely demands of Rovian political strategy, making a story like Terri Schiavo a 24-hour a day crisis if that's what the White House wants in order to stir up its radical religious base.
Why is FOX News so attractive to its viewers, the author of this great written follow-up to the documentary asks? Because it reassures them that someone else is responsible for their problems. In short, like true demagogues it provides scapegoats, in the form of liberals, minorities, non-Christians, gays, and anyone who is not a loyal Bushevik.
MORE >>>
[ About BuzzFlash Recommendations ]
http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/05/03/pre05039.html
If you saw Robert Greenwald's documentary expose on FOX News and wanted more, this is the book for you. This 309-page journey through the Republican propaganda station, aka FOX News, will provide you with enough outrage for a lifetime. By the time you're done reading it, you'll want to buy one of those
"FOX Blockers" some wag recently invented.
FOX is a so-called news network -- run by the former producer for Rush Limbaugh and a GOP television advisor -- that creates its own reality. Their slogan should be, "Our stories are more interesting than the facts. Facts are boring; we never are."
Of course, the fiction dispensed as news by FOX is always in sync with the White House propaganda messages of the day. It's amazing how that happens, isn't it?
FOX News represents the death of journalism, and the triumph of propaganda and PR packaging masquerading as accurate information. It is really as if the RNC had been thinking about starting a news station, but Rupert Murdoch just turned one over to them instead.
What FOX News sells is a radical GOP ideology prism that is used to manipulate viewers to believe that what they are hearing and watching is true because it matches their Bushevik world view. It is also responsive to the timely demands of Rovian political strategy, making a story like Terri Schiavo a 24-hour a day crisis if that's what the White House wants in order to stir up its radical religious base.
Why is FOX News so attractive to its viewers, the author of this great written follow-up to the documentary asks? Because it reassures them that someone else is responsible for their problems. In short, like true demagogues it provides scapegoats, in the form of liberals, minorities, non-Christians, gays, and anyone who is not a loyal Bushevik.
MORE >>>
[ About BuzzFlash Recommendations ]
http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/05/03/pre05039.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:43 PM
0 comments
4 U.S. soldiers slain in clashes;
militants in Web videos claim beheadings
By TRACI CARL
BAGHDAD (AP) - Militant groups posted Internet videos Tuesday claiming to have beheaded an Iraqi soldier and killed an alleged informant, and insurgents launched attacks that left four U.S. troops dead.
The bombings and ambushes came after a relative lull in fighting, including the lowest monthly death toll for the U.S. military in a year: 34 service members killed in March.
Iraqi legislators prepared to name a new Iraqi president on Wednesday, taking a step toward building a new government and writing a permanent constitution and thereby paving the way to an eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was expected to get the job. One of his two vice-presidential posts was likely to go Adel Abdul-Mahdi, with interim President Ghazi al-Yawer and al-Sharif Ali bin Hussein two possible candidates for the second job.
As U.S. officials have begun returning control of the troubled country to Iraqi security and government officials, insurgents are targeting Iraqis along with U.S. troops.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Iraq/2004/11/29/740395-ap.html
militants in Web videos claim beheadings
By TRACI CARL
BAGHDAD (AP) - Militant groups posted Internet videos Tuesday claiming to have beheaded an Iraqi soldier and killed an alleged informant, and insurgents launched attacks that left four U.S. troops dead.
The bombings and ambushes came after a relative lull in fighting, including the lowest monthly death toll for the U.S. military in a year: 34 service members killed in March.
Iraqi legislators prepared to name a new Iraqi president on Wednesday, taking a step toward building a new government and writing a permanent constitution and thereby paving the way to an eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was expected to get the job. One of his two vice-presidential posts was likely to go Adel Abdul-Mahdi, with interim President Ghazi al-Yawer and al-Sharif Ali bin Hussein two possible candidates for the second job.
As U.S. officials have begun returning control of the troubled country to Iraqi security and government officials, insurgents are targeting Iraqis along with U.S. troops.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Iraq/2004/11/29/740395-ap.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:11 PM
0 comments
COLUMN ONE
They're Talking Up Arms
Military recruiters are fortifying their outposts at high schools,
hoping a chummy familiarity will entice students to enlist.
Some decry the tactics.
By Erika Hayasaki, Times Staff Writer
Marine Sgt. Rick Carloss is as familiar to students as some teachers at Downey High School. He does push-ups with students during PE classes and plays in faculty basketball games. During lunch, he hands out key chains, T-shirts and posters that proclaim:
"Think of Me As Your New Guidance Counselor."
On a recent morning, Carloss drove his silver 1996 Mercedes-Benz from his recruiting station to the school two blocks away. A parking attendant waved him into the lot, saying, "Hi, dear."
Inside the attendance office, Carloss kissed two secretaries on their foreheads."I need you to summon a young man out of class for me," he told one."OK," she replied. "What's his name?"The young man, Gilbert Rodriguez, was an 18-year-old senior. He was enlisting in the Marines the next day. Carloss needed go over paperwork with him.
Walking through corridors, Carloss pounded a student's fist in greeting, chatted with another about a novel she was reading, shook hands with administrators.The sergeant entered the library and a student shouted: "Hey, Carloss!"
Such familiarity is what the Marines and Army believe they need if they are to keep their ranks replenished. As the conflict in Iraq entered its third year, the Marines missed their monthly recruiting goals in January through March for the first time in a decade, and the Army and the National Guard also fell short of their needs.
This year, the Army and the Marines plan not only to increase the number of recruiters, but also to penetrate high schools more deeply, especially those least likely to send graduates to college. For Carloss and other recruiters, part of the way has been cleared by the No Child Left Behind education law of 2002, which provides the military with students' home addresses and telephone numbers. It also guarantees that any school that allows college or job recruiters on campus must make the same provision for the military.
CONTINUED
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-recruit5apr05,0,5875265.story?coll=la-home-headlines
They're Talking Up Arms
Military recruiters are fortifying their outposts at high schools,
hoping a chummy familiarity will entice students to enlist.
Some decry the tactics.
By Erika Hayasaki, Times Staff Writer
Marine Sgt. Rick Carloss is as familiar to students as some teachers at Downey High School. He does push-ups with students during PE classes and plays in faculty basketball games. During lunch, he hands out key chains, T-shirts and posters that proclaim:
"Think of Me As Your New Guidance Counselor."
On a recent morning, Carloss drove his silver 1996 Mercedes-Benz from his recruiting station to the school two blocks away. A parking attendant waved him into the lot, saying, "Hi, dear."
Inside the attendance office, Carloss kissed two secretaries on their foreheads."I need you to summon a young man out of class for me," he told one."OK," she replied. "What's his name?"The young man, Gilbert Rodriguez, was an 18-year-old senior. He was enlisting in the Marines the next day. Carloss needed go over paperwork with him.
Walking through corridors, Carloss pounded a student's fist in greeting, chatted with another about a novel she was reading, shook hands with administrators.The sergeant entered the library and a student shouted: "Hey, Carloss!"
Such familiarity is what the Marines and Army believe they need if they are to keep their ranks replenished. As the conflict in Iraq entered its third year, the Marines missed their monthly recruiting goals in January through March for the first time in a decade, and the Army and the National Guard also fell short of their needs.
This year, the Army and the Marines plan not only to increase the number of recruiters, but also to penetrate high schools more deeply, especially those least likely to send graduates to college. For Carloss and other recruiters, part of the way has been cleared by the No Child Left Behind education law of 2002, which provides the military with students' home addresses and telephone numbers. It also guarantees that any school that allows college or job recruiters on campus must make the same provision for the military.
CONTINUED
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-recruit5apr05,0,5875265.story?coll=la-home-headlines
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:12 PM
0 comments
Just an Osama thought..
If you listen to what Bush LITERALLY SAYS about bin Laden... Its amazing.
The few times he does actually address him he says repeatedly,
"We are keeping him in hiding..."
Well...my thought is this, Thats fucking amazing cause SOMEONE IS KEEPING HIM SOMEWHERE!!!!!!
Big HUMMMMMM
The few times he does actually address him he says repeatedly,
"We are keeping him in hiding..."
Well...my thought is this, Thats fucking amazing cause SOMEONE IS KEEPING HIM SOMEWHERE!!!!!!
Big HUMMMMMM
posted by Christy at 2:01 PM
0 comments
EXCLUSIVE
Democrats prep stinging rebuke on Gannon,
Congressional oversight
By John Byrne
RAW STORY EDITOR
Democrats are readying a sharp rebuke of the Republican-led Judiciary Committee’s vote against demanding an investigation into discredited White House ‘reporter’ Jeff Gannon, and placing it in the context of what they see as a broad attempt by Republicans to stonewall investigations into improper activity, RAW STORY has learned.
Their dissent, prepared by Democrats in the House, is an eight-page explanation of why they feel investigating Gannon’s credentialing was warranted, citing preferential treatment and issues of security.
Most salient, perhaps, are the Democrats’ effort to place Gannon in a broader context of the Republican-led Congress’ moves to derail investigations on issues such as Abu Ghraib and Halliburton contracts.
“We have an Administration that is all too willing to flaunt the law, and a Republican-controlled Congress that refuses to investigate even the most serious ethical transgressions,” the Democrats write. “Whether it is torture at Abu Ghraib, sole source contracts with Haliburton, or the outing of a CIA operative, this Congress has been unwilling and unable to ask the hard questions or issue the difficult subpoenas.
“The Committee’s failure to request even the most cursory of information regarding Mr. Gannon from the Administration,” they continue, “represents a disturbing continuation of this trend, and illustrates the ongoing problem of one-party rule in Washington.”
Their dissent, leaked to RAW STORY this evening, follows.#
Dissenting Views to Committee’s Adverse Reporting of H. Res. 136
We vigorously dissent from the Majority’s decision to report adversely H. Res. 136, which would have requested the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security disclose information concerning the manner in which Jeffrey Gannon (aka James A. Guckert) received White House press privileges.
http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/democrats_dissent_gannon_405.htm
WHAT'S NEW ANTHING GOES WITH THIS ADMINISTRATION
THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAW SO IT SEEMS
Democrats prep stinging rebuke on Gannon,
Congressional oversight
By John Byrne
RAW STORY EDITOR
Democrats are readying a sharp rebuke of the Republican-led Judiciary Committee’s vote against demanding an investigation into discredited White House ‘reporter’ Jeff Gannon, and placing it in the context of what they see as a broad attempt by Republicans to stonewall investigations into improper activity, RAW STORY has learned.
Their dissent, prepared by Democrats in the House, is an eight-page explanation of why they feel investigating Gannon’s credentialing was warranted, citing preferential treatment and issues of security.
Most salient, perhaps, are the Democrats’ effort to place Gannon in a broader context of the Republican-led Congress’ moves to derail investigations on issues such as Abu Ghraib and Halliburton contracts.
“We have an Administration that is all too willing to flaunt the law, and a Republican-controlled Congress that refuses to investigate even the most serious ethical transgressions,” the Democrats write. “Whether it is torture at Abu Ghraib, sole source contracts with Haliburton, or the outing of a CIA operative, this Congress has been unwilling and unable to ask the hard questions or issue the difficult subpoenas.
“The Committee’s failure to request even the most cursory of information regarding Mr. Gannon from the Administration,” they continue, “represents a disturbing continuation of this trend, and illustrates the ongoing problem of one-party rule in Washington.”
Their dissent, leaked to RAW STORY this evening, follows.#
Dissenting Views to Committee’s Adverse Reporting of H. Res. 136
We vigorously dissent from the Majority’s decision to report adversely H. Res. 136, which would have requested the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security disclose information concerning the manner in which Jeffrey Gannon (aka James A. Guckert) received White House press privileges.
http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/democrats_dissent_gannon_405.htm
WHAT'S NEW ANTHING GOES WITH THIS ADMINISTRATION
THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAW SO IT SEEMS
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 1:57 PM
0 comments
America is usurping the democratic will in Iraq
To forestall a clerical-driven religious regime
, Washington has a plan to arm small militias
By Michael Meacher04/05/05
"The Independent"
- - It's two months now since the elections in Iraq, and still no government is formed. The struggle over the Sunni problem, the Kurdish claim for the massive Kirkuk oilfields, and the manoeuvring between religious groups and contending personalities continues unabated. But there is a deeper problem still.
There are two scenarios for Iraq. One, the American one, aims for a pro-Western government, an uninterrupted supply of Middle East oil to US markets, and a semi-permanent military base in the area to ensure that the first two objectives are secured.
The other is more complex, and only now slowly beginning to emerge.When the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq, they expected there would be a quick handover to carefully selected allies in a secular government that would be the opposite of Iran's theocracy, and perhaps even a counterfoil to Iran's regional aspirations.
It is one of the greatest ironies of the US intervention that the Iraqi people instead used their first voting opportunity to elect a government with a strong religious base, and indeed with close links to the Islamic republic on their border.
The US, having destroyed the sole major secular government in the region, is now at risk of replacing it with a theocratic regime.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8460.htm
To forestall a clerical-driven religious regime
, Washington has a plan to arm small militias
By Michael Meacher04/05/05
"The Independent"
- - It's two months now since the elections in Iraq, and still no government is formed. The struggle over the Sunni problem, the Kurdish claim for the massive Kirkuk oilfields, and the manoeuvring between religious groups and contending personalities continues unabated. But there is a deeper problem still.
There are two scenarios for Iraq. One, the American one, aims for a pro-Western government, an uninterrupted supply of Middle East oil to US markets, and a semi-permanent military base in the area to ensure that the first two objectives are secured.
The other is more complex, and only now slowly beginning to emerge.When the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq, they expected there would be a quick handover to carefully selected allies in a secular government that would be the opposite of Iran's theocracy, and perhaps even a counterfoil to Iran's regional aspirations.
It is one of the greatest ironies of the US intervention that the Iraqi people instead used their first voting opportunity to elect a government with a strong religious base, and indeed with close links to the Islamic republic on their border.
The US, having destroyed the sole major secular government in the region, is now at risk of replacing it with a theocratic regime.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8460.htm
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:45 AM
0 comments
Exclusive:
Iraqi Mujahideen Claim
To Have Killed CIA Shadow Director in Iraq
The following video and text is purported to be from the Iraqi Resistance.
Posted - 04/05/05
Please wait a moment for video to load.
Source file
From the Political Committee – Rafidan(The Political Committee of the Mujahideen Central Command) On the 14th of Safar 1426H, the 24th of March 2005M In the Name of God Most Merciful Most Graceful Congratulations to our Great Army
We congratulate you to the Demise of Dale C. Stoffel a CIA Shadow Manager in Iraq, and a close friend of George Bush. He is more important than Bremer and his lot of Generals.
He was killed on the 8th of December 2004 after close monitoring of our moles on the hands of the Islamic Jihad Brigades. This was at the hour of 1630He is the engineer of darkness to the destruction of Iraqis Army assets forever.
We have in our hands thousands of documents which have been assessed over the past few months.We will present these documents translated and will declare them internationally.
We reserve the right as Iraqis to bring to justice all the war criminals & the traitors like Chalabi, Allawi, Shalan, Bader, & the Peshmirga Militia.Rafidan with the arms of it’s military factions will not fall short of bringing justice to those.
For each Iraqi killed, we will kill ten of the invaders and the traitors.This Criminal was eradicated, there was to be a film directed by Hollywood for this criminal’s adventures by orders from Bush
.We will release in the coming days documented evidence to a new scandal. God has given us this graceful land of all prophets, & our victory will come eventually, & our army will return to be the protector on the people with god’s will.We hold the prophecy given by God.Rafidan
- The Political Committee
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8464.htm
Iraqi Mujahideen Claim
To Have Killed CIA Shadow Director in Iraq
The following video and text is purported to be from the Iraqi Resistance.
Posted - 04/05/05
Please wait a moment for video to load.
Source file
From the Political Committee – Rafidan(The Political Committee of the Mujahideen Central Command) On the 14th of Safar 1426H, the 24th of March 2005M In the Name of God Most Merciful Most Graceful Congratulations to our Great Army
We congratulate you to the Demise of Dale C. Stoffel a CIA Shadow Manager in Iraq, and a close friend of George Bush. He is more important than Bremer and his lot of Generals.
He was killed on the 8th of December 2004 after close monitoring of our moles on the hands of the Islamic Jihad Brigades. This was at the hour of 1630He is the engineer of darkness to the destruction of Iraqis Army assets forever.
We have in our hands thousands of documents which have been assessed over the past few months.We will present these documents translated and will declare them internationally.
We reserve the right as Iraqis to bring to justice all the war criminals & the traitors like Chalabi, Allawi, Shalan, Bader, & the Peshmirga Militia.Rafidan with the arms of it’s military factions will not fall short of bringing justice to those.
For each Iraqi killed, we will kill ten of the invaders and the traitors.This Criminal was eradicated, there was to be a film directed by Hollywood for this criminal’s adventures by orders from Bush
.We will release in the coming days documented evidence to a new scandal. God has given us this graceful land of all prophets, & our victory will come eventually, & our army will return to be the protector on the people with god’s will.We hold the prophecy given by God.Rafidan
- The Political Committee
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8464.htm
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:30 AM
0 comments
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