Just Foreign Policy Iraqi Death Estimator    

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Israel admits shell report flaws:

THE Israeli Army has admitted to The Times that its official account of the explosion that killed eight Palestinians picnicking on a Gaza beach last week was flawed. The account is also contradicted by a UN radio transmission.

Link Here

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Jews For Palestine:


There are many other Jews who risk being ostracized by their communities, and, in some cases, even their very lives so as to stand up for justice in Palestine.

Link Here

West has been helping itself, not Afghanistan:


The aid flowing to Afghanistan is only a fraction, per capita, of what Kosovo and even East Timor received, and much of it has entirely bypassed the Afghan Government, leading to the emergence of what the World Bank has called a "second civil service" of UN agencies and private commercial contractors, receiving rewards that are astronomical by Afghan standards, but doing little to foster local capacity. Not enough is trickling down to ordinary Afghans.

Link Here

Death threats are alleged in Marine investigations:


Pentagon investigators threatened the death penalty and used other coercive techniques to obtain statements from some of the seven Marines and a Navy corpsman jailed at Camp Pendleton in the shooting death of an Iraqi civilian, two defense lawyers say.

Link Here

Iraq attacks kill 43:

















A series of bombs killed at least 43 people in and near Baghdad on Saturday, police said, in one of the bloodiest days in Iraq since a U.S. military air strike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi 10 days ago.

Link Here

Stephen Colbert Exposes The Hypocrisy Of 10 Commandment Bill Sponsor

Stephen Colbert Exposes The Hypocrisy Of 10 Commandment Bill Sponsor


1 Minute Video

Colbert Interview Shows Ten Commandments Bill Sponsor Can Only Name Three..

Click here to view

Which Side Are You On?


Stephen Gowans

When US President George W. Bush identified an "axis of evil" whose existence Washington pledged to topple through a program of regime change, Iraq was not the only country the United States threatened with a virtual declaration of war. North Korea and Iran were also singled out. According to former Bush speechwriter, David Frum, who boasts he had a major hand in coining the "axis of evil" phrase, the common characteristic that bound the trio was "resentment of US power," another way of saying they resented US efforts to encroach upon their sovereignty. The quest by Washington to dominate other countries is ultimately rooted in economic forces, and seeks advantage for the country’s corporations, banks and wealthy

continua / continued

Zarqawi the scourge defeated, Osama not wanted for 9/11?


Jerry Mazza, Online Journal Associate Editor

As everyone and his brother, including Jordanian intelligence, rushes in to claim a piece of the Zarqawi kill, his fellow-Afghanistan-Mujihadeen and super-star terror-meister, Osama bin Laden, fade into Not Wanted by FBI for 9/11 status, that is, the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, according to an article by Enver Masud. What? What’s going on here? I thought that’s why Bush declared The War on Terror in the first place and went to Afghanistan to "smoke him out." But hey, what do I know, what do we know? We only live here...

continua / continued

Telling Lies about Ahmadinejad


Buried in the Week in Review section of the New York Times is an admission that Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad never said Israel should be "wiped off the map," a reference to a mistranslated phrase bandied about the corporate media over the last several weeks as an example of Iran’s intention to attack Israel, especially after it develops nukes, either next week or a decade out, depending on the level of fanaticism of the neocon making the claim...

continua / continued

Exceptional Americans Manifest Their Destiny: And to Hell with the Consequences...


Contrary to the "catapulted propaganda", Enron, Haditha, and Abu Ghraib were not isolated incidents or the work of a "few bad apples". American savagery and oppressive behavior pervades our society and predates our nation’s birth. Building its patriarchal wealth on the backs of Black slaves and cheap labor while acquiring its territory through Native American genocide, predatory exploitation of non-Anglos, the poor, women, and the working class emerged as a pillar of America’s socioeconomic "success" before we even declared our independence...

BUT THESE ARE THE FEW BAD APPLES WITH THEIR LIES AND CARNAGE, THAT DECLARE THEMSELVES LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD NOW,
continua / continued


U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ:
2501

U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ:
18490

Printable Representations:
Deaths, Wounded source: antiwar.com



IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS (MINIMUM):
38475

source: iraqbodycount.net

Iraq democracy takes root


Reminds me of Georgies Democracy. Hey America

Truth About Iraqis

... Did you really think I was writing about Democracy? What putrid stench-ridden democracy do you see here? How stupid are you? Is this the kind of democracy you would welcome on yourselves? This IS the new Iraq. For those Iraqis waiting for some respite, move to Iran. You will get better treatment than the Green Zone there. Human rights? Ha! Government? Ha! "You can't even talk to the militias, because they are the government," Yei said. "They have ministers on their side."...

continua / continued

The Struggle to Recapture our Soul

Mike Whitney


George Bush loves being the war president. He loves popping up in Baghdad for a few hours of male camaraderie with the newly-appointed Iraqi Premier al-Maliki or strutting across an aircraft carrier in a tight-fitting flight-suit. He loves showing Papa-Bush that he can stay the course when things get tough and that he won’t squander his "political capital" by "cutting and running". But things are going the wrong way in Iraq and, by many accounts, the war is already lost. Conservatives are jumping off the bandwagon faster than liberals and Bush’s approval ratings continue to plummet. Retired General William Odom summarized the Iraq misadventure best when he said, "It is the greatest strategic disaster in US history." Bush’s photo-op in Baghdad only proves the wisdom of Odom’s judgment. What looked like a triumphant visit by the Commander-in-Chief to the heart of a war zone, was actually a desperate attempt to garner support for a failed mission...

continua / continued

2,500 dead: How many more?

Cindy Sheehan someone likes my pic.
On Feb. 1, I was arrested at the State of the Union address for wearing a Veterans for Peace shirt that read: "2,245 Dead. How many more?" A little more than four months later, we are now tragically marking the deaths of 255 more of our brave and wonderful young American soldiers. So today, with 2,500 dead, I ask again: How many more? And with tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians -- maybe even a lot more than 100,000 -- killed, I ask: How many more? All of their families, American and Iraqi, will never be the same again due to the trickery and deceit of the commander in chief of the U.S. military and his advisers and cabinet members. And for what? So Halliburton can get reconstruction contracts and Exxon Mobil can lay its pipelines and charge $3.50 for a gallon of gas?...

continua / continued

Iraq mother condemns army 'blood money'
Lorna Martin, The Observer

The mother of a soldier killed in the Iraq war has condemned the army's decision to offer a lucrative bounty to troops who persuade their friends to join the forces. Rose Gentle, whose 19-year-old son Gordon was killed in Basra a month after completing his training, called it 'blood money'. The army is offering members of infantry and artillery regiments £1,300 per recruit in an attempt to reverse a recruitment shortfall that has left the forces 2000 soldiers below strength...

continua / continued

Fathers' Day Reflections on a Lost Son

by Michael Berg
http://www.opednews.com

Fathers’ Day Reflections on a Lost Son...

Of all of the holidays a grieving father can be confronted with after the death of his child, Fathers’ Day is for me the most difficult.

My son Nick died in Iraq on May 7, 2004. He is buried next to my father, who had died just a year and a half before. That is not the way it’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to go somewhere between my father and my son. My mother is on the other side of my father, and my mother’s parents are nearby. My proud immigrant grandparents died first, then my parents died many years later. That is the way it is supposed to be.

I want to make sure no father suffers the loss of their son or daughter in Iraq or a future illegal war of aggression. I urge all those who oppose the military occupation of Iraq and do not want to see future wars of choice to sign the Voters' Pledge at http://www.votersforpeace.us/.US. Nearly fifty thousand people have already signed. It will let politicians know that we will not support pro-war candidates in the future.

There is a lot else going on that is not the way it is supposed to be. Our leaders are not supposed to lie to us. Yet that is precisely what George Bush and company have done. They told us to beware of weapons of mass destruction, Iraqi involvement in 9/11, and Al Qaeda infiltration of Iraq. We now know these were all lies, yet still my son and the loved ones of 150,000 other grieving souls lost their lives because of them.

I have no excuse. Though I doubted the veracity of George Bush’s words, I did too little too late.
My son Nick was an independent contractor, not associated with Haliburton, Bechtel, Lockheed-Martin, or the U.S. military. Nick was murdered in retaliation for the atrocities committed at the Abu Ghraib prison: murders, rapes, and torture of Iraqi citizens. Though Donald Rumsfeld says he took responsibility for those atrocities, no consequences were felt by him, but they were by my son and everyone who loved him. George Bush ordered Alberto Gonzalez to rewrite definitions of torture essentially ordering these sins, and he did so with impunity. This is not the way it’s supposed to be either.

Nick was arrested by George Bush’s military without reason and then illegally detained for thirteen days. While he was in custody, the revelations of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal became public. These revelations ignited the resistance in Iraq and made it impossible for Nick to get home alive. When Nick did arrive home, it was to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, a base from which I and all other loved ones of the invisible deceased are barred. This is not the way it’s supposed to be either.

We learn more and more of the truth of what is happening in Iraq every day. We learn what is happening to America and our allies as a result of the voters of these United States electing the wrong men and women: unjustifiable wars, the undermining of vital social programs, willful neglect of the maintenance of the infrastructure of our nation, and dangerous "ignorance" of climate change that could result in unprecedented disaster. This is the legacy of these leaders. Neither of the two largest political parties in this country are doing anything to make things the way they are supposed be.

On March 17, 2006, I joined many others, both conservatives and liberals, in taking the first steps to put things right. I had the honor to be the first person to sign the Voters Pledge for Peace.

The Voters' Pledge on the Voters for Peace website is a project comprising many of the major organizations in the antiwar movement—United for Peace and Justice, Peace Action, Gold Star Families for Peace, Code Pink, and Democracy Rising—as well as groups with broader agendas like the National Organization for Women, Progressive Democrats of America, AfterDowningStreet.com, and magazines including the American Conservative and the Nation. The goal of this coalition is to build a base of antiwar voters that cannot be ignored by anyone running for office in the United States. We want millions of voters to sign the pledge and say no to pro-war candidates.

You can help right now by visiting www.VotersForPeace.US and immediately signing the Voters' Pledge, which states:

I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign.

And after you sign it, send it to everyone you know and urge them to do the same. Together we can change the path of the United States—move ourselves in a new direction toward the way it’s supposed to be, so that all fathers, all mothers, all Americans will be able to face the next Fathers Day, Mothers Day, and Independence Day with the pride these holidays deserve.

VotersForPeace
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 240 - Takoma Park, MD 20912 - (301) 270-2355
Copyright 2006 VotersForPeace.US. All rights reserved.

www.votersforpeace.us

Michael berg is the father of Nick Berg, an American contractor believed to have been beheaded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq

Contact Author

Link

Cheney's unqualified daughter pushes for overthrow of leaders in Iran, Syria in powerful state dept. position


The arrogance of the bushies never stops - nor does the nepotism and appointment of unqualified officials to important positions...



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Cheney COLD BUSTED For Corruption and Cronyism By Judge


Cheney COLD BUSTED For Corruption and Cronyism By Judge
by a gnostic
Thu Jun 15, 2006 at 10:17:45 AM PDT

U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said "embarrassment is not sufficient cause for exemption" when the Army Corps of Engineers refused to release FOIA documents that provides proof of corruption and cronyism by the Bush/ Cheney government when awarding no-bid contracts to Halliburton and subsidiaries.

Here's the crime:

> That email, dated in March of 2003 was sent by an official of the Army Corps whose name was redacted. It stated, "We anticipate no issue (with the KBR deal) since the action has been coordinated w VP's office."

And here'e the cover-up uncovered by Judicial Watch:

> "The US district judicial court judge had to get personally involved and look at these documents in private before they could be released," a Judicial Watch employee told RAW STORY. "And what the judge said when he saw them was, 'turn them over,'" the staffer added. "They were abusing the FOIA process -- embarrassment is not sufficient cause for exemption."

Links, scoop, image snippets seen at Raw Story.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Documents_suggest_Army_lied_about_Cheney_0615.html

> The Cheney contradiction is not the only cause for embarrassment in the documents.
>
> One email, for example, includes a frank admission by an Army Corps of Engineer official: "I am copying you on this crap since I honestly believe the competitive procurement will never happen."

MUCH MORE!

Link

CIA insiders report: CIA ultra-secure communications compromised by foreign acquisition deal. Coming as no surprise: Carlyle Group (Bush, Incorporated

June 17, 2006 -- CIA communications put at risk in foreign ownership deal. According to informed intelligence sources, the recent acquisition of Houaston-based SkyPort International, Inc. by Balaton Group Inc., a Canadian private equity firm wholly owned by five Canadians and which is based in Toronto with offices in London and Vancouver, British Columbia. Balaton has been described as a Canadian mini-version of the Carlyle Group. >>>cont

***Wayne Madsen Report***

The physical theft of personal data is unprecedented in the history of computer security in the United States. Intelligence sources reveal massive data theft is part of a plan to populate U.S. surveillance databases. >>>cont Link Above

Read Caylor's motion for recusal of judge to be filed this morning in Bay County Court.


June 16, 2006 -- John Caylor, editor of Insider-Magazine.com and WMR colleague, is due to appear before Bay County Court this morning on trumped up charges stemming from his arrest on June 14 after he tried to obtain public documents from the Bay County Court. In addition to investigating a contract CIA assassin, Caylor was also investigating the beating deaths of inmates carried out in Jeb Bush's infamous Florida prison "boot camps." This morning, Caylor reports that the Miami Herald is interested in his case. It's a sad commentary on the state of American "journalism" that an American journalist is jailed and tortured for doing his job and we and the Herald are the only news media outlets that are interested in the story. Read Caylor's motion for recusal of judge to be filed this morning in Bay County Court.

Speaking of America's slide towards total fascism, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 yesterday in a case in which they affirmed the right of police to bash down your door without first announcing themselves. The swing vote was Bush's recent fascist appointment, Federalist Society goon, Sammy "the Snake" Alito. Thanks to all the wonderful Democrats who voted to confirm this Nazi to his lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. Remember them: Ben Nelson (NE), Kent Conrad (ND), Tim Johnson (SD), and Robert Byrd (WV). (Byrd, who, the older he gets, the more he returns to his Ku Klux Klan roots).

***Wayne Madsen Report***

Shanghai Cooperation Organization emblem: Chinese and Russian inscriptions only. The lack of English is no mistake.

June 16, 2006 -- The Bush regime's puppet in Kabul showed signs of independence by attending the recent summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Shanghai. SCO is viewed increasingly as a rival to the United States' flimsy NATO/Coalition of the Willing rag tag band of dictatorships, beggar nations, puppets, and neo-con governments like Poland, Britain, Denmark, and Ukraine. Hamid Karzai attended the Shanghai summit as a guest. Other nations represented as full members were Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Observers in attendance, who may become full members, were Iran, India, Pakistan, and Mongolia. Belarus is also interested in membership as an observer. The neo-cons, including uber-fascist Robert Kagan, have expressed concern that SCO will soon include Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Myanmar, Malaysia, and other countries threatened by U.S./neocon control and become a new Warsaw Pact of nations that will collectively defend themselves from future American aggression. It is clear that Karzai, if he hopes to avoid hanging from the end of a rope one day, sees SCO as an attractive alternative to Bush's pathetic "Coalition of the Dwindling."

Shanghai Cooperation Organization emblem: Chinese and Russian inscriptions only. The lack of English is no mistake.

***Wayne Madsen Report***

Knives, Rifles and a Whip. Are Bush's Gift-Givers Trying to Say Something?



DEFINITELY APPROPRIATE TOOLS FOR THE WEANER.

Published on Saturday, June 17, 2006 by the Guardian / UK

2004 presents inventory leaves president prepared for worst-case scenario

by Julian Borger

A braided leather whip, a sniper rifle, six jars of fertiliser and a copy of the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook were among the presents foreign leaders have given George Bush. They are clearly trying to tell him something.
The inventory of official gifts from 2004, published this week by the state department, reads like the wish list of the sort of paranoid survivalist who holes up in his log cabin to await Armageddon, having long ago severed all ties with the rest of the world.

The president received a startling array of weapons, including assorted daggers and a machete from Gabon. He got the braided whip with a wooden handle from the Hungarian prime minister. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, a gift from the Sultan of Brunei, has some tips on how to use some of these implements in a tight spot.

The paperback also explains how to wrestle with an alligator, escape from a mountain lion and take a punch. But the small arsenal of guns presented by Jordan's King Abdullah, including a $10,000 sniper rifle, would presumably render much of that advice unnecessary.

The king also gave President Bush six jars of "various fertilisers" on a rotating wooden stand. It sounds like the sort of present likely to cause offence when coming from a mother-in-law or sibling. But according to the Jordanian embassy, the jars contained neither manure nor the sort of chemicals that can be turned into homemade bombs, but rather an array of fertile volcanic soils found around the country .

In each instance listed by the state department, the acceptance of the gift is justified by the phrase "non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and US government". But acceptance clearly has its own embarrassments.

President Bush was reminded of his problems with language by a vocabulary-expanding game called Forgotten English, from Brunei. Meanwhile, it is hard to imagine no-nonsense Donald Rumsfeld summoning much enthusiasm for the gold bracelet he got from the Egyptian minister of defence, or the aromatherapy gift set from those cheeky Jordanians. There will, however, be no calming scents wafting around the Pentagon in the near future as the gift was passed on to the general services administration, a government department that disposes of unwanted presents.

If the top members of the administration met to compare gifts at the end of the year Mr Rumsfeld would no doubt have been looking enviously over the president's shoulder at some of his weapons, or at the special presentation edition of The Art of War Dick Cheney got from the Chinese vice-president.

But Mr Cheney also received presents clearly intended to enhance his gentler, fun-loving side: a "Happy Day" clock from the Swiss president, gold silk pillows, scented candles and a pottery incense burner (the Jordanians again).

It is apparent that a lot of the foreign dignitaries do not do much research before buying gifts. President Bush, a reformed drunk, was given a cellarful of wine over the course of 2004.

CIA agents seem to get a lot of presents, although the recipients (other than then director George Tenet) are not named. Nor are the donor governments, although it is usually easy enough to guess from the gifts, many of which are from the Middle East or Pakistan.

Officials are only allowed to keep gifts worth under $305 (£165) after they leave office. Others are consigned to libraries or archives, where they are occasionally displayed to show the US's warm ties with the rest of the world.

But despite standing shoulder to shoulder around the world in 2004, President Bush got nothing from Tony Blair, for Christmas or his birthday.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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Man arrested for 'acting strangely' around Cheney


His behavior and demeanor wasn't quite right." Man arrested for \'acting strangely\' around Cheney

16 Jun 2006

A man was arrested by Secret Service agents when he tried to approach Vice pResident Dick Cheney in Beaver Creek Village yesterday afternoon, said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren. Cheney was walking outside when the agents charged with protecting him noticed the man, identified as Steven Howards, who "wasn’t acting like the other folks in the area,"
Zahren said.

(OMFG! Why hasn't Cheney been arrested for 'acting strangely' around everyone on the planet?) Lori Price

Citizens For Legitimate Government http://www.legitgov.org/

Receive the CLG Newsletter every day! http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg

ABC: Amid Iraq Debate, a Document Mystery


Talking Points, From Pentagon Office, May Have Been Illegal

June 15, 2006 -- Going into Thursday's Iraq debate in Congress, both sides had news points to bolster their arguments — for war supporters, it was recent the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the completion of the Iraqi cabinet; for war critics, the fact that U.S. deaths in Iraq today hit 2,500.

Both also went into the debate armed with political talking points. The most unusual came via a document sent out by Office of the Secretary of Defense to an assortment of congressional aides, as well as to the Iraqi Embassy and the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. The 74-page document is an exhaustive rebuttal of criticisms of the war and a defense of the administration's conduct of the war.

The document, labeled "Iraq floor debate prep book," was emailed on Wednesday afternoon to a handful of Democrats as well as Republicans — and was then abruptly recalled. Thursday afternoon, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) sent a letter to Rumsfeld complaining that his office had spent "taxpayer dollars to produce partisan political documents." Lautenberg also suggested that the document may have violated laws prohibiting the Executive Branch from using taxpayer dollars for lobbying and propaganda activities.

The Pentagon later said the document was produced by the National Security Council — but did not offer an explanation as to why it was sent out by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Republicans on the Hill were not happy that the document was sent to Democrats — or that it was produced at all. "I've never seen anything like it," said one Republican aide, noting that the document went well beyond a Statement of Administration Policy. "I mean, a 74-page document — are you kidding me?" The aide added: "It did more harm than good for the Republican cause."

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Navy confirms sunken vessel in Thailand is U.S. WWII sub

COURTESY PHOTOUSS Lagarto underway, circa late 1944. Lagarto, a 1,526-ton Balao-class diesel sub, was one of 52 submarines lost during the Pacific war.

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com
Navy divers have confirmed the location of a World War II submarine believed to have been sunk by a Japanese minelayer 61 years ago in the Gulf of Thailand.

Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, spokesman of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force at Pearl Harbor, said USS Lagarto was first discovered in May 2005 by a commercial diver. It was one of 52 submarines lost during the Pacific war.

Last month, Navy divers participating in an annual naval exercise confirmed the discovery first made by British wreck diver Jamie McLeod.

McLeod used records from "fishermen in the area where they lost a lot of nets," Davis said. "He assumed that something on the bottom was catching the nets.

"On his first dive he found the Lagarto sitting upright."

The 1,526-ton Balao-class diesel sub is in 275 feet of water.

McLeod has taken family members of the Lagarto to the area where he found the wreckage.

Davis said no attempt will be made to raise the 311-foot sub where 86 members of its crew are entombed.

"The Navy considers the ocean an appropriate final resting place for sailors killed in the line of duty," Davis said.

Photographs and video of the wreck will be sent to the Naval Historical Center in Washington for further analysis.

"Without a doubt it's a U.S. submarine, a Balao-class," said 7th Fleet Diving Officer Cmdr. Tony San Jose.

San Jose and his fellow divers reported identifying twin 5-inch gun mounts both forward and aft, a feature believed to be unique to Lagarto. They also reported finding serial numbers and the word "Manitowoc" engraved on the submarine's propeller. The Lagarto was one of 28 submarines built in Manitowoc, Wis.

San Jose said that the diving operations were challenging because of short bottom times, strong currents and limited visibility. Due to the depths involved, the dives had to be conducted with mixed gas.

Commissioned in Oct. 14, 1944, Lagarto arrived at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day 1944.

On April 12, 1945, it left Subic Bay to patrol the Gulf of Siam, which is now called the Gulf of Thailand. On May 3, Lagarto met with USS Baya, which was tracking a tanker. Nothing was heard from Lagarto's crew after that.

Last year, Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cassias, Pacific Submarine Force commander, met with Lagarto family members in Wisconsin at a memorial service held in Manitowoc.

Cassias told the family members that Japanese records indicated the minelayer Hatsutaka reporting sinking a submarine near the Gulf of Siam. Twelve days later the Hatsutaka was sunk by USS Hawkbill.

Cassias said, "In all, 52 submarines were destroyed during World War II, which is about the number of attack submarines we have in our Navy today. More importantly, 3,500 submariners lost their lives aboard these ships."

The divers who searched for Lagarto were from the Pearl Harbor-based Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One. The rescue and salvage ship USS Salvor and USS Patriot mine countermeasures ship also participated in the mission.

The Pacific Fleet Submarine Force sent the divers to Thailand for previously scheduled international maritime exercises and asked them to stay on an extra week for the Lagarto search mission.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contradictions Cloud Inquiry Into Haditha


What really happened in Haditha on November 19, 2005? On that day, marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians, including 10 women and children and an elderly man in a wheelchair. But how and why it happened and who ultimately bears responsibility are matters of profound dispute. Interviews with marines who were present that day or their lawyers, Iraqi residents who witnessed the attack and military investigators provide broadly conflicting accounts of the killings.

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The Battle of Huda Ghalia - Who Really Killed Girl's Family on Gaza Beach?


Heartrending pictures of 10-year-old Huda Ghalia running wildly along a Gaza beach crying "father, father, father" and then falling weeping beside his body turned the distraught girl into an instant icon of the Palestinian struggle even before she fully grasped that much of her family was dead. Who and what killed the Ghalia family, and badly maimed a score of other people, has been the subject of an increasingly bitter struggle for truth all week amid accusations that a military investigation clearing the army was a cover-up.

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Bush denies request for federal aid for tornado-ravaged counties

Bush denies request for federal aid for tornado-ravaged counties

DES MOINES, Iowa The Bush administration has denied Governor Tom Vilsack's request for federal aid for Iowa's counties affected by severe weather in April.Vilsack had asked for Johnson, Jones and Muscatine counties to receive Presidential Disaster Declarations after a series of tornados swept across eastern Iowa, killing one and causing millions of dollars in damage. The declaration would have made federal money available for housing assistance and repairs.

Vilsack says he was -- quote -- "extremely disappointed" in Bush and would consider appealing the decision.

Vilsack says he has asked the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division to work with the Small Business Administration to obtain loans for those in the affected counties.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Fans lose trousers to gain entry



Crazy World, Hahahahahaha


Around 1,000 fans arrived for the Ivory Coast tie in their traditional bright orange trousers - but bearing the logo and name of a Dutch brewery.

To protect the rights of the official beer they were denied entry, so the male fans promptly removed the trousers and watched the game in underpants.

Fifa said an attempt at an "ambush" publicity campaign was not allowed.

Fifteen major companies have paid up to $50m (£27m) each for the right to be official partners at this World Cup.

The American firm Anheuser Busch, which makes Budweiser, won the exclusive right to promote and sell its beverage in the stadiums and other venues.

There has been a wider resentment in Germany that a US brewery has the exclusive rights in a country which prides itself on the quality of its beer and has very strict laws governing its composition.

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Alleged pedophile, former Homeland Security press aide talked sex, bashed Bush to 'girl'

One Deviate hitting on another Deviate don't you just love it.

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Fox anchor asks FBI official if American government fakes terrorist documents

Hey Wiener YOUR WORD SUCKS, And notice I have not taken your advice and butted out of American Policy, I dont hate America, I just despise the Lying Hypocracy of Georgie and his administration of deviates that roam the White House.

RAW STORYPublished: Saturday June 17, 2006

In an interview with an FBI official about a recently discovered Qaeda letter, Fox News Channel's John Gibson asked if the American government ever fakes terrorist documents, RAW STORY has found.

"The American government doesn't fake terrorist documents," FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs John Miller told Gibson on Friday.

"But again, John, I don't want to get pulled into a discussion that I'm not briefed on, so I can't talk about these particular documents, per se."

"Not to characterize them one way or the other, I just wasn't told this was going to come up and I've not read into those," Miller continued.

Transcript of FOX interview:
#
MR. GIBSON: The alleged al Qaeda document found during raids in Iraq paints a dismal outlook for al Qaeda, as we have just been discussing. What do we know about it? Do we know if it authentic?

Here now is FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs John Miller.

So John, this document is now being challenged. It was challenged by Senator Harry Reid today -- as much as said it could be a fake. You just saw Congressman Cummings not sure whether to believe it. And those people who oppose the president and oppose the war are claiming it was made up.

What do we know about this thing?

MR. MILLER: Well, I'm actually not briefed on that and that's not what I was told we were talking about today or I would have gotten briefed on it. But I'm not sure it's in the FBI's portfolio. This is something recovered by the military. We may have something to do with looking at it down the road, but I can't answer you question, John.

MR. GIBSON: Well, when you find these -- well, let me put it this way, John. Does the American government fake terrorist documents?

MR. MILLER: The American government doesn't fake terrorist documents. But again, John, I don't want to get pulled into a discussion that I'm not briefed on, so I can't talk about these particular documents, per se. Not to characterize them one way or the other, I just wasn't told this was going to come up and I've not read into those.

Now, as far as the FBI goes, our role in sensitive site exploitation overseas is we will go in with the military. We will collect evidence. We will process that evidence. We'll examine that evidence. We'll authenticate that evidence, and that may be happening in this case. That would be in the normal course of business, but I can't refer to these with specificity.

MR. GIBSON: Do you know anything about any al Qaeda documents that have come into the possession of the FBI?

MR. MILLER: Well, I certainly know about al Qaeda documents that have been received along the way over the years. And what we are seeing in those documents is a pattern of problems developing for al Qaeda because of advances in the war on terror. I would refer specifically to letters between Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two man in al Qaeda, and Zarqawi that were intercepted, where Zawahiri is telling Zarqawi that al Qaeda's hurting for money, that he'd like to see funds, that he doesn't like the direction that Zarqawi is taking in the killing of other Muslims and that is injuring their cause.

So we've certainly seen a lot of documents between Zarqawi and Zawahiri, where they have lamented that things are not going as well as they want to. I just can't comment about these latest documents today because I haven't been briefed on those.

MR. GIBSON: All right. FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs John Miller.
John, thanks.

Link

Qaeda was set for NY subway attack







Book: Unknown why bin Laden deputy halted 2003 poison gas plot;

More.

Bombers defy security to hit Iraq


At least 41 people have been killed and 100 injured in a string of attacks in and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The targets included a minibus, markets and Iraqi security checkpoints.

The attacks came in defiance of a major security clampdown launched in Baghdad on Wednesday, which has seen thousands of extra troops on the streets.

The bombers seem determined to prove they can continue despite the curfews, checkpoints and combing operations, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad.

At least nine separate attacks were reported in and around Baghdad. They included car bombs, mortar attacks and a device planted on a minibus.

Civilian casualties

Baghdad's Haraj and Kazimiya markets were both targeted, causing many civilian casualties.

Security checkpoints in Mahmudiya, a town 30km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, and in Baghdad's Karrada district, were also hit - with many of the casualties reported to be civilians.

Others died when a device devastated a minibus in the al-Amin district of the city.


In pictures: Baghdad attacks
US soldiers 'missing'

Since the security clampdown was launched on Wednesday, thousands of extra US and Iraqi troops have been on the streets of Baghdad, manning checkpoints in a high-visibility security operation.

Officials had feared a backlash after the death of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, despite a series of raids targeting his insurgency network in the wake of his death.

But they had also hoped to capitalise on possible disruption to the militants caused by Zarqawi's death and by the subsequent raids, and were keen to be seen as gaining the upper hand over the bombers, correspondents say.

On Friday, a suspected suicide shoe-bomb attack at a key Shia mosque in Baghdad left 11 people dead - an indication that the bombers were prepared to change tactics to beat the new security regime.

Missing soldiers

In a separate development, the US army said it was hunting for two of its soldiers missing after an attack that killed a third.

The men's checkpoint south of Baghdad came under fire on Friday evening, and when back-up forces got there they found one man dead and two missing, officials said.

Teams of divers are searching canals and rivers near the scene, outside the town of Yusufiya.

"We are currently using every means at our disposal on the ground, in the air and in the water to find them," said US spokesman Major General William Caldwell.

"We... will not stop looking until we find the missing soldiers."

Link

New dawn or false dawn in Baghdad?

A suicide bomber at one of Baghdad's most important Shia mosques, as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers - his explosives hidden in his shoes, which allowed him to evade checks on all worshippers.

Thousands of extra troops have been deployedIt looked like the answer to the tighter security measures the government imposed this week on the capital, and which were supposed to prevent such incidents.

At least 11 Shia worshippers were killed; 25 others were injured.

But you can argue the events of the last few days in Baghdad and the impact of the security crackdown two ways.

The attack on the Buratha mosque was the deadliest in the capital since the start of the crackdown, which has been enforced by thousands of extra Iraqi soldiers and police running checkpoints on roads across the city.

Link

Republicans steal Ohio in 2004.









'Alleluia... Praise be to God!' its a start, they are filing the first suit next week



Bobby, Mike and Matt Schultz, an attorney with Levin Papantonio, discuss their lawsuits against Diebold and the other electronic voting machine companies that helped the Republicans steal Ohio in 2004.

Link

Also on Fire: Dave Lindorff, co-author of


The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office...

Here are some excerpts from the new book, The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office, written by Dave Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky, released May 1 by St. Martin's Press.

LinkHere

Wash Post: Rove's Strategy For '06 Elections Echoes Strategy Of '04 and '02...

For me it will be interesting to find out if the American Public have finally been jerked out of their slumber, and get out the vote in November, take back the Peoples White House and give it back the Honesty and Dignity it deserves. Then maybe it can assume its status of Leader of the Free World again. Are you

going to let them corrupt the vote

again America.

Washington Post Jim VandeHei and Dan Balz June 17, 2006 at 03:26 PM
READ MORE: CIA, Karl Rove

White House political strategist Karl Rove emerges from the CIA leak case with his reputation scuffed, his power slightly diminished, and Republicans counting on him, once again, to help rescue their House and Senate majorities.

Described by friends as relieved and recharged after getting the news this week that he will not be indicted in the leak probe, Rove now faces another verdict this fall over his abilities as a political strategist and his ambition to build an enduring GOP majority.

READ WHOLE STORY

Rove: Left uses Web to 'mobilize hate and anger...'



Hopefully it will take you down deviate!!!!




Austria's Haider says Bush is a war criminal

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian right-wing populist Joerg Haider called President Bush a war criminal on Saturday, days before Austria's government hosts Bush and European leaders in Vienna.

Haider, whose group is part of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's government coalition, said Bush's meeting with his European peers on Wednesday was pointless as he did not expect the U.S. president to pay attention to what Europe had to tell him.

"He is a war criminal. He brought about the war against Iraq deliberately, with lies and falsehoods," Haider said in an interview with Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse.

"The Iraqi population is suffering terribly. Bush took the risk of an enormous number of victims," said Haider.

Maverick Haider is a personal friend of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and visited Iraq's former President Saddam Hussein shortly before the U.S.-led invasion started in 2003.

Austria's attitude toward the United States has worsened over the last three years, Die Presse reported separately, citing a Eurobarometer poll.

The poll showed 62 percent thought the United States played a negative role for world peace, up from 56 percent in the same poll in 2003, Die Presse said, and 49 percent found the U.S. role in fighting terrorism negative.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Link

24 killed, dozens hurt in string of attacks across Iraq

Posted: 19:15 AEST

At least 24 people were killed and more than 60 wounded on Saturday in a string of attacks across Iraq, most of them in Baghdad where a massive security crackdown by Iraqi and US troops entered its fourth day, security officials said.

[FULL STORY]

Attacks Rip Through Baghdad Amid Security Crackdown...


Associated Press SINAN SALAHEDDIN June 17, 2006 at 08:35 AM

A series of explosions struck commercial areas in Baghdad within hours Saturday, killing at least 17 people and dealing a blow to a huge government operation to secure the capital.

The blasts -- seven within five hours -- brought the death toll around Iraq to at least 23 people.

The bombings also wounded at least 72. A day earlier, a suspected shoe bomber blew himself up inside one of Baghdad's most prominent Shiite mosques, killing 13 people.

READ WHOLE STORY

US seeks to sway Russia on jet sales to Venezuela

US seeks to sway Russia on jet sales to Venezuela
Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:46pm ET

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - The United States on Friday said it will ask Russia to reconsider selling two dozen fighter jets to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after Washington banned all U.S. arms sales to Caracas.

The U.S. government, which calls Chavez an autocrat threatening regional stability, has already opposed Spanish and Brazilian aircraft and warship sales to Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a key U.S. crude supplier.

Chavez, a former soldier who says he is battling U.S. influence in Latin America, said on Wednesday he will buy 24 Sukhoi 30 fighters to replace his government's U.S.-made F-16 jets after charging Washington blocked sales of spare parts.

"We'll certainly be in touch with the Russian government, who would be the potential source providers for those fighter aircraft," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.

"I think we will ask them to take another look at any potential sales they have, given what Venezuela's real defensive needs are," he said

Fight to replace DeLay on ballot hits federal court


June 16, 2006, 10:58PM
Fight to replace DeLay on ballot hits federal court
Democrats want to force the GOP to mount a write-in effort in November

By JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - A fight between the state Democratic and Republican parties over replacing Tom DeLay on the November ballot has moved to federal court.

State Republicans filed papers Thursday to move from state to federal court a lawsuit filed last week by the Texas Democratic Party. The Democrats sued to block Republicans from picking a replacement for former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the ballot for the 22nd Congressional District.

The Democrats are hoping to keep DeLay's name on the ballot against their nominee, Nick Lampson. Since DeLay is no longer eligible because he has moved out of the district, Republicans would be forced to write in a candidate.

Republicans are trying to replace DeLay, who resigned from Congress last week amid legal and ethical problems, as quickly as possible so their candidate has enough time to campaign in hopes of keeping the seat for the GOP.

Link

Lamont Invests Another $500,000 In His Campaign

Hell Yeah, take him down big time, I hope.

Ned Lamont is contributing another $500,000 to his Senate campaign, bringing his personal investment in the race to $1.5 million, his campaign said Friday.

The Lamont campaign cast the latest contribution by the multimillionaire businessman as necessary to counter attack ads by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman.

"Ned said he would not sit back and let Lieberman attack him without a response. This shows he wasn't kidding," said Tom Swan, Lamont's campaign manager.

After months of jousting, Lieberman and Lamont will meet face to face July 6 during a 30-minute debate to be televised live at 5:30 p.m. on WVIT, Channel 30, the campaigns said Friday.

Lamont had publicly promised for weeks to accept any invitation to debate, but the Lieberman campaign issued a press release Friday afternoon asking, "Will Ned agree to a debate and answer questions on issues that matter to real voters?"

Swan said the press release was cheap posturing, since Lamont had accepted Channel 30's invitation on Wednesday.

Link

Report Cites 'Failures' of Emergency Response in Reporter's Death

By DAVID STOUT
Published: June 16, 2006

WASHINGTON, June 16 — Firefighters, ambulance technicians, police officers and the nurses and doctors at a Washington hospital committed "multiple individual failures" in responding to the ultimately fatal beating of a journalist near his home last January, an official inquiry concluded today.

In a report that raised serious questions about emergency medical treatment in the nation's capital, the District of Columbia's inspector general said the initial response to the attack upon David E. Rosenbaum, a retired New York Times reporter, suggested "alarming levels of complacency and indifference."

A string of mistakes led to a collective and erroneous conclusion that Mr. Rosenbaum, who was found lying semi-conscious on a sidewalk the night of Jan. 6, was drunk when in fact he had been beaten and robbed, the inquiry found.

The assumption that Mr. Rosenbaum, 63, was intoxicated led ambulance technicians, police officers and the staff at Howard University Hospital to handle him with far less urgency than is necessary for a person with a head injury, the report said.

The report by the inspector general, Charles J. Willoughby, does not speculate on whether Mr. Rosenbaum might have survived if he had been treated better and faster. But it does say that, if left uncorrected, the problems laid bare by the case "could undermine the efficient and high quality delivery of emergency services" in Washington.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams called Mr. Willoughby's report "comprehensive and unflinching" and said today that reforms are already under way in the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. The hospital issued a statement that it had put in place "immediate and ongoing measures" to ensure "the highest standards of emergency care." >>>cont


Link

Iraqis gather around the coffins of five children who were killed while sleeping.

Sleeping children killed

Five children were killed while they slept outside with their family, next to an empty house where a bomb planted by insurgents exploded.

The roof of the family's house collapsed on them, police in Baquba said.

Three sisters and two brothers died. Four other people were wounded, police said.

The children who died were between 6 and 13 years old, hospital officials said, and included 6-year-old twins. Others wounded in the house included the mother, father and two unspecified relatives.

Police don't know what the motive was but said the house belonged to a government employee involved in security at the Baquba hospital.

During the hot summer months, Iraqis frequently sleep in their gardens or on their roofs because of the nation's electricity shortage.

Link

2 U.S. troops missing, 1 killed in attack

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier was killed and two were unaccounted for Friday after they came under attack at a traffic checkpoint in Yusufiya, about 20 miles southwest of Baghdad.

A quick reaction team was searching for the missing soldiers early Saturday morning. The team was dispatched to the scene after other troops nearby heard gunfire.

The soldiers were officially listed as "whereabouts unknown," which means they could have been captured or killed or could be hiding out.

The death brought to 2,492 the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war. Seven American civilian employees of the military also have died in the conflict.

Link

Govt. Probe Reveals "Harsh, Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques" By US Special Operations...




The New York Times Eric Schmidt June 16, 2006 at 10:31 PM
READ MORE: Investigations, Afghanistan, Iraq

American Special Operations soldiers employed a set of harsh, unauthorized interrogation techniques against detainees in Iraq during a four-month period in early 2004, long after approval for their use was rescinded, according to a Pentagon inquiry released today.

The investigation is the last of 12 major inquiries to be made public in reviewing allegations of detainee abuse by American personnel in Cuba, Afghanistan and Iraq,, and it is the first to focus on Special Operations forces, who operate with more latitude than other military units. It detailed harsh treatment that continued at isolated operations bases even after the abuses first surfaced at the Abu Ghraib prison.

READ WHOLE STORY

IRAQI DETAINEE ABUSE detailed in 'blacked-out' Pentagon report.

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. special operations forces fed some Iraqi detainees only bread and water for up to 17 days, used unapproved interrogation practices such as sleep deprivation and loud music and stripped at least one prisoner, according to a Pentagon report on incidents dating to 2003 and 2004.

The report, with many portions blacked out, concludes that the detainees' treatment was wrong but not illegal and reflected inadequate resources and lack of oversight and proper guidance more than deliberate abuse. No military personnel were punished as a result of the investigation.

Released to the American Civil Liberties Union on Friday, the details of the report were was part of more than 1,000 pages of documents, including two major reports - one by Army Brig. Gen. Richard Formica on specials operations forces in Iraq and one by Brig. Gen. Charles Jacoby, on Afghanistan detainees.

While some of the incidents have been reported previously and reviewed by members of Congress, this was the first time the documents were released publicly. Specific names and locations, including the identities of the military units, were blacked out.

The report comes as the military is grappling with new allegations of war crimes in an increasingly unpopular conflict in Iraq. And they could hamper the Bush administration's election-year effort to turn public opinion around with upbeat reports about the progress of the new government in Baghdad.

"Both the Formica and the Jacoby report demonstrate that the government is really not taking the investigation of detainee abuse seriously," said Amrit Sing, an ACLU attorney.

Sing questioned why the two reports only focused on a limited number of incidents. In particular, she said there have been numerous documents showing that special operations forces abused detainees, and yet Formica only reviewed a few cases.

Ordered more than two years ago, the Formica review recommended changes including better training, new standards for detention centers and updated policies for detainee operations. His final report is dated November 2004 but was just released to the ACLU in its unclassified, censored form on Friday.

According to a senior defense official, all eight of Formica's recommendations for changes and improvements in detention policies were implemented shortly after he completed the report.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Formica reviewed allegations of abuse by special operations forces who held detainees in temporary facilities, often hastily set up near where they were captured.

Formica found that overall conditions "did not comport with the spirit of the principles set forth in the Geneva Conventions," which require humane treatment of prisoners.

Formica said, for example, that the forces used five interrogation techniques that were allowed at one point but had been rescinded by then: sleep or food deprivation, yelling and loud music, forcing detainees to remain in stressful physical positions and changing environmental conditions - which could include making their locations too hot or too cold.

Formica also found that the nakedness "was unnecessary and inconsistent with the principles of dignity and respect" in the Geneva Conventions. And he said that while one of the prisoners fed just bread and water appeared to be in good condition, 17 days of that diet "is too long."

In his recommendations he said detainees should receive adequate bedding, food, water and holding areas, get systematic medical screenings and a clear record of their detention at every level.

He dismissed other specific allegations of more serious abuse in several earlier cases. He said that the allegations of rape, sodomy and beatings were not substantiated by medical examinations and that the accusers' stories changed over time and were not credible.

The reports' release comes less than a week after three detainees committed suicide at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, highlighting anew accusations of abuse. A little more than two years ago, the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq came to light, with its graphic photographs of detainees being sexually humiliated and threatened with dogs.

Another review was conducted by Jacoby, who was dispatched in May 2004 to examine the treatment of detainees at facilities in Afghanistan. His report found no evidence of abuse but identified a number of problems, including inadequate enforcement of proper interrogation practices. Link
---
On the Net:
Defense Department: http://www.defenselink.mil

THE GRAY ZONE

How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib.
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
=========

Mark gives more info on subject

It wasn't just about detainees who had to deal with bread and water. The report specifically cites one prisoner who died during interogation, apparently due to using hypothermia techniques on him.

In the report, Brig. Gen. Formica said that he did not investigate the underlying incidents that led to the investigation, or check the existing documentation for completeness or accuracy, relying instead on the military's own previous findings on the incidents. Those previous findings, unfortunately, appear to have been from investigations which were stonewalled, where members of the Special Forces used fake names and mysteriously "lost" the great majority of their files, and in which the Criminal Investigations (CID) officer on site stated that he was "unable to thoroughly investigate suspects and witnesses because of their involvement in the Special Access Program and/or the security classification of the unit they were assigned to during the offense."

The Special Access Program was specifically approved by Rumsfeld and his assistants in the Pentagon.

Amongst the allegations not investigated further are this one, in which a US soldier over at Abu Ghraib swore an oath indicating that a young Iraqi claimed to have been sexually and physically abused and sodomized while imprisoned by US Special Forces.

The US soldier swore an oath indicating that the Iraqi in question "could not sit and was bleeding from the rectum". This claim of sexual assault while under Special Forces imprisonment appears to have been backed up by numerous other sworn statements from US soldiers

According to the the sworn statement of one soldier:: "In my opinion, (prisoner's name redacted) came in emotionally and physically abused. (Prisoner) said, I don't remember in exact words, "they have taken everything from me."

I don't know the name of their capturing unit. All I know is they came from the palace. . . I don't know if they got a rectal investigation. . . When SF (Special Forces troops, such as Task Force 626) brought detainees in . . . you could see that they were facially abused. I don't know which SF unit. I saw detainees with bruises, black eyes, beaten, physical abuse. If we get them like that, we'll stop and take them to the aid station or MPs, that way we're cleared of it. We don't want it said that it happened here. . ."

Over the course of my time here, I've seen maybe ten detainees come in here physically abused, downright beaten and tortured, and I've easily screened hundreds of detainees. The only trend associated with that abuse would be SF (Special Forces) detainees. One of the first questions I'd ask was "why were you detained" and if they would mention (redacted) it was usually associated with extortion, and "he beat me". Those were the two trends right there."

So basically, these are very serious allegations with numerous sworn statements backing them up. It should be of real concern that the US' best troops would act in such a manner, with such impunity.

Bill O'Reilly Endorses Dem Sen Lieberman...

You just keep Endorsing him Wanker. Who gives a dam.

Crooks And Liars June 16, 2006 at 06:14 PM
READ MORE: Bill O'Reilly

On "The Factor" Thursday night, Bill's topic focused on Democratic politicians going to events like Yearly Kos and Take Back America. O'Reilly was very worried that Joe was getting a bad shake because he was challenged on his beliefs. He was outraged I tell you.


READ WHOLE STORY


Lieberman Resuscitates "Sleeping Bear" Ad To Attack Opponent...

New Haven Independent Paul Bass June 17, 2006 at 12:32 AM
READ MORE: Karl Rove

or his latest Karl Rove-ian personal attack ad, Joe Lieberman has retrieved an 18 year-old cartoon bear. This bear is no Yogi.

Lieberman's new ad attacking his challenger in an Aug. 8 Democratic primary for his U.S. Senate seat, Ned Lamont, has shown up on his campaign web site. Click here to view the commercial (as long as it remains there; the last personal attack ad never made it onto the site).

READ WHOLE STORY

Lieberman's Dem. Challenger Closing In...

Rasmussen Reports June 17, 2006 at 12:13 AM

Senator Joe Lieberman (D) might be better off skipping the Democratic Primary and running as an Independent this November. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of the Primary Election shows Lieberman leading challenger Ned Lamont by just six percentage points, 46% to 40%. The survey was conducted Monday night, June 12.

These results should be viewed as a clear sign that Lamont is gaining traction. Our last survey found Lamont at the 31% level of support (that itself was a stunning figure at the time).

READ WHOLE STORY

Fight Breaks Out Over Laura Bush On The View...


TMZ June 16, 2006 at 06:46 PM
READ MORE: George W. Bush, Laura Bush

Come back, Meredith! Now that the show's smoothest operator has ditched "The View," everything's descended into total and utter chaos, if this morning's edition was any indication.

Comedienne Sandra Bernhard appeared on the show and, amidst a discussion about Laura Bush, characterized the First Lady, with her typical acidity as "heavily medicated." Co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck, a vocally ardent Republican, took acute exception and tried to defend Mrs. Bush's work on childhood education, whereupon Bernhard called Hasselbeck "honey" - and then the sparks really flew.

READ WHOLE STORY

Colorado Says Girls Can Marry At Age 15...

Unfrikingbelievable, I call that rape, shit Christy the more I read, the more I am sure America is living in the dark ages.
Associated Press Jon Sarche June 16, 2006 at 06:54 PM

A 15-year-old girl can enter into a common-law marriage in Colorado, and younger girls and boys possibly can, too, a state appeals court ruled Thursday.

While the three-judge panel stopped short of setting a specific minimum age for such marriages, it said they could be legal for girls at 12 and boys at 14 under English common law, which Colorado recognizes.

READ WHOLE STORY

America's Cities Still Woefully Unprepared


Associated Press Lara Jakes Jordan June 16, 2006 at 07:37 PM
READ MORE: Homeland Security, 9/11, Hurricane, Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans is still woefully unprepared for catastrophes 10 months after Hurricane Katrina, and the two cities attacked on 9/11 don't meet all guidelines for responding to major disasters, a federal security analysis concluded Friday.

Ten states were rated in a Homeland Security Department scorecard as having sufficient disaster response plans. But the analysis found the vast majority of America's states, cities and territories still are far from ready for terror attacks, huge natural disasters or other wide-reaching emergencies.

READ WHOLE STORY

Friday, June 16, 2006

Killing Fields

Iraq is the republic of fear, once again. If the religious militias don't get you, the resistance will, or the terrorists will, or the criminal gangs will, or the Americans will.

By Nir Rosen Fellow
The Washington Post May 28, 2006

Every morning the streets of Baghdad are littered with dozens of bodies, bruised, torn, mutilated, executed only because they are Sunni or because they are Shiite. Power drills are an especially popular torture device.

I have spent nearly two of the three years since Baghdad fell in Iraq. On my last trip, a few weeks back, I flew out of the city overcome with fatalism. Over the course of six weeks, I worked with three different drivers; at various times each had to take a day off because a neighbor or relative had been killed. One morning 14 bodies were found, all with ID cards in their front pockets, all called Omar. Omar is a Sunni name. In Baghdad these days, nobody is more insecure than men called Omar. On another day a group of bodies was found with hands folded on their abdomens, right hand over left, the way Sunnis pray. It was a message. These days many Sunnis are obtaining false papers with neutral names. Sunni militias are retaliating, stopping buses and demanding the jinsiya, or ID cards, of all passengers. Individuals belonging to Shiite tribes are executed.

Under the reign of Saddam Hussein, dissidents called Iraq "the republic of fear" and hoped it would end when Hussein was toppled. But the war, it turns out, has spread the fear democratically. Now the terror is not merely from the regime, or from U.S. troops, but from everybody, everywhere. >>>cont

Link

Shiite Militias Control Prisons, Official Says

Jonathan Finer and Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post Foreign Service

Iraq's prison system is overrun with Shiite Muslim militiamen who have freed fellow militia members convicted of major crimes and executed Sunni Arab inmates, the country's deputy justice minister said in an interview this week. "We cannot control the prisons. It's as simple as that," said the deputy minister, Pusho Ibrahim Ali Daza Yei, an ethnic Kurd. "Our jails are infiltrated by the militias from top to bottom, from Basra to Baghdad."(...) In an interview this week, Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie, the top Sunni Arab in Iraq's new government, showed photographs taken from one recent inspection of an Interior Ministry detention center. An inmate in one of the photos held out his misshapen, limp hands for the camera. The man's hands had been broken in a beating, Zobaie said. Other inmates showed massive, dark bruises on their skin; one bore a large, open infected sore (...) Ninety percent of the men crowded into Interior Ministry detention centers are Sunni Arabs, Zobaie said...

continua / continued

Bush's Baghdad Stunt


Walter C. Uhler

While reading about the exploits of Emperor Bush, who bravely flew in to war-torn Baghdad, Iraq and spent a whole six hours there without even providing the usual notice to, let alone securing the necessary approvals from, its so-called "sovereign" government, I was reminded of the remarkable words spoken to author Ron Suskind by a senior Bush advisor in the summer of 2002...

Denigrating Mr. Suskind (and those of us like him), for believing "that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality," the advisor boasted: "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality - judiciously, as you will - we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

continua / continued
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