YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM TONIGHT WATCH HBO's "To Die in Jerusalem" This is the most incredible, amazing story. The Palestinian mother whose daughter blew herself up in a suicide bombing — who killed another 18-year-old Israeli girl who looked like she could have been her sister -- states her case showing the anguish of what Palestinians go through. The Jewish girl's mother beseeches the Palestinian mother to admit what her daughter did was wrong. I had tears in my eyes watching these two women come face to face. It was riveting. Please go out and rent this DVD or watch it on demand again. Amazing footage of Bethlehem on the West Bank, and the Palestinian encampments.
THis film speaks to everyone who wants to stop all fighting and do everything in our power to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
To Die In Jerusalem, Premiering TONIGHT, Thursday, November 1 at 9 p.m.—only on HBO!
Two daughters lost in conflict. Two mothers searching for answers. Two nations divided by the land they share. HBO Documentary Films presents the story of two young casualties of terrorism, and of older wounds that have yet to heal: To Die in Jerusalem
To Die in Jerusalem recounts the heart-wrenching story of two teenaged girls – one a 17-year-old Israeli student named Rachel Levy, the other an 18-year-old Palestinian student/suicide bomber named Ayat al-Akhras – who died together in a Jerusalem market in March 2002. The horrific incident ignited international outrage because of the age and similarities of the two girls, and set in motion a quest on the part of Rachel’s mother, Abigail Levy, to arrange a one-on-one meeting with her counterpart, Um Samir. The result was an underscoring of the tension and resentments that persist among Israelis and Palestinians – and undermine the desire on both sides to find common ground and forge lasting peace.
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Please listen to our interview this morning with Dahr Jamail, author of “Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches From an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq.” You can listen in the archives, as he was just on live. Go to: BASHAM & CORNELL RADIO The show airs weekday mornings at 8 a.m. Pacific Time on AM 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas and simulcast on the web.
He is an American hero, he has shown courage way beyond, even unrealistic expectations, he literally risked his life… in the service of the truth. He is an independent journalist who has covered the Middle East for more than four years. He has reported extensively from inside Iraq, and has also reported from Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Dahr Jamail, and he writes for the Inter Press Service, Asia Times, and many other outlets. His reports have been published in the Nation, the Sunday Herald, the Guardian, Foreign Policy in Focus, and the Independent, among other publications.
The term New World Order (NWO) has been used by numerous politicians for many years, and is a generic term used to refer to a worldwide conspiracy being created by an extremely powerful and influential group of individuals (at least at the highest levels) which include many of the world's wealthiest people, top political leaders, and corporate elite, as well as members of the so-called whose goal is to create a One World Government, stripped of nationalistic and regional boundaries, that is totally obedient to their agenda.
The corporate alliance of the NWO is dominated by international bankers, oil companies and pharmaceutical cartels, as well as other major multinational corporations. The decision making nerve centers of this effort are in London, Basel Switzerland, and Brussels (NATO headquarters).
The intention of the New World Order is to gain complete control over every person and to eventually reduce the world's population by nearly two-thirds. This would give the ultra elite of the world the opportunity to create the "perfect society" in their minds.
Many see obvious signs within the political realm that point to this becoming a reality, sooner than we think. The bulging Mideast wars, the rapid collapse of the U.S economy, and the reduction of many of the rights and freedoms previously enjoyed in America.
In 1992, Dr John Coleman published Conspirators Hierarchy: The Story of the Committee of 300. With laudable scholarship and meticulous research, Dr Coleman identifies the players and carefully details the New World Order agenda of worldwide domination and control. On page 161 of the Conspirators Hierarchy, Dr Coleman accurately summarizes the intent and purpose of the Committee of 300 as follows:
"A One World Government and one-unit monetary system, under permanent non-elected hereditary oligarchists who self-select from among their numbers in the form of a feudal system as it was in the Middle Ages.
In this One World entity, population will be limited by restrictions on the number of children per family, wars, famines, until 1 billion people who are useful to the ruling class, in areas which will be strictly and clearly defined, remain as the total world population.
There will be no middle class, only the extremely rich and the extremely poor. All laws will be similar under a legal system of world courts practicing the same code of laws, backed up by a One World Government police force and a One World unified military force to enforce laws in all former countries where no national boundaries shall exist.
The system will be on the basis of a welfare state; those who are obedient and subservient to the One World Government will be rewarded with the means to live; those who are rebellious will simply be starved to death or be declared outlaws, thus a target for anyone who wishes to kill them. Privately owned firearms or weapons of any kind will be prohibited."
The NWO conspirators manifest their agenda through the skillful manipulation of human emotions, especially fear. In the past centuries, they have repeatedly utilized a plan that NWO researcher and author David Icke has characterized in his latest book, The Biggest Secret, as Problem, Reaction, and Solution.
According to Icke, NWO strategists create the Problem by funding,assembling, and training an "opposition" group to stimulate turmoil in an established political power (sovereign country, region, continent, etc.) that they wish to impinge upon and thus create opposing factions in a conflict that the NWO themselves maneuvered into existence. In recent decades, so called opposition groups are usually identified in the media as 'freedom fighters' or "liberators."
Meanwhile the leader of the established political power where the war is being orchestrated is demonized and,referred to as "another Hitler" such as they did with Saddam Hussein.
The war is drawn to the world stage by the controlled media outlets with a barrage of photos and video tape reports of bloody deaths suffered by innocent civilians.
The leaders of all major industrial countries like the United States, England, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, etc. are active participants in this conspiracy.
In this century, the degree of control exerted by the NWO has advanced to the point that only certain hand-picked individuals, who have been specifically chosen, are even eligible to become the Prime Minister or President of countries like England, Germany, or The United States.
It is said that many of the major wars, economic upheavals and political dissension over the past several years was created and instituted by this elitist group. These various tragedies brought profit to those of the corporate powers involved, the greater gain will be the unveiling of the New World Order.
Is there a New World Order? Was the installation of George W Bush into the presidency, the unwarranted attack on Iraq and soon Iran, the coming economic collapse, and the taking of Americans rights and privacy a part of it?
Perhaps the actions of George W Bush and those who appear to enable him, coupled with famous quotes of the past from those in positions to know can answer that very question.
"Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it." - Woodrow Wilson
"[The New World Order] cannot happen without U.S. participation, as we are the most
significant single component. Yes, there will be a New World Order, and it will force the United
States to change it's perceptions." -- Henry Kissenger, World Affairs Council Press Conference,
Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel , April 19th 1994
The State Department, which admitted this week that it can’t say “specifically what it received” for the $1.2 billion it paid DynCorp, ostensibly to train the Iraqi police—other than that somebody got an Olympic-size swimming pool out of the deal.
ReplyDeleteDraining the U.S treasury: Another phase of the New World Order!
The Ugly Republican America
ReplyDeleteA. Alexander:
There is something inherently ugly about this new Republican America. For a long time this ugliness was more felt or sensed than it was identifiable and quantifiable. Now, however, Republican-culture-generated ugliness is everywhere.
In Jena, Louisiana a group of black kids decided to muster around a tree that had always been the domain of the school's white kids. Apparently appalled by the audacity of the young African-American students, the white kids decided to place a noose in the tree. Some of the parents in Jena claimed it was "just a joke." Sure, and it was a real knee-slapping hoot only a little more than a generation ago, when the black kids' grandparents were hanging from the end of that noose.
But that is the new Republican America. The indefensible is reduced to the knowingly false claim that it was all just a big joke. Hanging a noose in a tree to scare away black kids -- a warning of what might come next if the warning isn't heeded -- isn't abhorrent and hateful behavior, it is funny. That is to say, it is funny until the black kids kick the snot out of one of the white boys that threatened them with death by hanging. Then, when that happens, it is a crime ... and the black kids go to jail.
For those inclined to believe that the Jena situation is all about "crazy Liberals" making a mountain out of a molehill, it isn't. It is about Republican culture trying to make a molehill out of a mountain. That is to say, since Bush Republicanism became the cultural driving force in America -- closely marked by the rise of FOX News and GOP propaganda radio -- the use of the noose as a tool to intimidate African-Americans has become a national epidemic. Construction workers, college students and even town mayors have been made victims of the Republican noose. It doesn't get any uglier than race-based intimidation, but that is the reality in the new Republican America.
Ugly as threatening to hang Jena's black students from the schoolyard tree might have been to people with a conscience, it didn't resonate across American society. Somehow people managed to either shrug it off or they didn't connect the act with the cause. They just weren't able to link the ugliness of the noose with the ugliness of Republican policies that undermine affirmative action and nurture the notion of the dominance of a white Christian culture.
The American people seem unable to connect acts of race-based terrorism to Republican ugliness, but they might be able to connect Mister Bush and the Republican Party's grotesque disregard for the welfare of America's children with the ugliness that is the new Republican America.
Congressional Democrats had sent Mister Bush a bill that would have helped provide health care for 10 million uninsured American children, but the President claimed the $35 billion price tag was too much. Within days, however, George W. Bush demanded another $46 billion -- in addition to the current 2008 total of nearly $150 billion -- for his war fetish.
Perhaps after Bush's escalated war funding request, realizing that the President had become willing to expend tens of billions of dollars that he had previously seemed unwilling to spend, Democrats adjusted their child health care bill and Congress passed it again. Mister Bush, however, quickly threatened a second veto and, "accused Democratic lawmakers on Friday of wasting time by passing legislation to expand children's health coverage."
Funding an ongoing, never-ending lost war is, for Mister Bush and Republicans, an honorable thing ... providing health care for children, literally saving the lives of thousands of American kids, is an example of Congress "wasting time." It really doesn't get uglier than that, but that ugliness is the new Republican America.
Still don't think there is a new Republican America - an extremely ugly Republican version of America that now dominates our culture? Please, explain Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and the United States government's torture policies and the ease with which it is all rationalized away by FOX News and Republican propaganda radio. Well?
Welcome to the very ugly America ... the new Republican America. The America where threatening to lynch black kids is considered "a joke," the America where sick kids are left to fend for themselves so the President can indulge his lust for war, and the America where torture is somehow excused as if it were little more than an obstinate child's poor behavior.
The New Republican America: Another Part of the New World Order.
New York Times:
ReplyDeleteAmerica’s allies and increasingly the American public are playing a ghoulish guessing game: Will President Bush manage to leave office without starting a war with Iran? Mr. Bush is eagerly feeding those anxieties. This month he raised the threat of “World War III” if Iran even figures out how to make a nuclear weapon.
With a different White House, we might dismiss this as posturing — or bank on sanity to carry the day, or the warnings of exhausted generals or a defense secretary more rational than his predecessor. Not this crowd.
Four years after his pointless invasion of Iraq, President Bush still confuses bullying with grand strategy. He refuses to do the hard work of diplomacy — or even acknowledge the disastrous costs of his actions. The Republican presidential candidates have apparently decided that the real commander in chief test is to see who can out-trash talk the White House on Iran.
The world should not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, but there is no easy fix here, no daring surgical strike. Consider Natanz, the underground site where Iran is defying the Security Council by spinning a few thousand centrifuges to produce nuclear fuel. American bombers could take it out, but what about the even more sophisticated centrifuges the administration accuses Iran of hiding? Beyond the disastrous diplomatic and economic costs, a bombing campaign is unlikely to set back Iran’s efforts for more than a few years.
The neocons pushing an attack on Iran admit that a prolonged bombing campaign would be necessary and would likely only delay Iran’s program. But it is still worth it, they say, and if everybody gets lucky maybe the attacks will unleash that popular uprising against the mullahs they’ve been promising for years.
That is the same kind of rose-petal thinking that was used to sell Americans a fantasy about the invasion of Iraq. Large numbers of Iranians are fed up with their government’s corruption and repression and with being branded a pariah state. Rain down American bombs, however, and the mullahs and Iran’s Holocaust-denying president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are more likely to be turned into national heroes than hung from lampposts. And that’s not even calculating the international fury or the additional mayhem Tehran could wreak in Iraq or what would happen to world oil prices.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the other great hope (after Defense Secretary Robert Gates) for holding off a war. She still wants to give sanctions and diplomacy a chance. But, as with everything else she does, there’s nowhere near enough follow-through. If the stakes are really that high — and they are — then Ms. Rice and her boss must tell Moscow, Beijing and the Europeans that relations will be judged on whether they are willing to place a lot more pressure on Iran.
They also need to offer Iran a credible way back in from the cold — and clear rewards and security guarantees if it is willing to give up its nuclear ambitions. If it’s really that important — and we believe it is — then it’s time to send somebody higher ranking than the American ambassador in Baghdad to deliver the message.
For this to have any chance, Mr. Bush will have to tone down the rhetoric. Sure, a lot of these countries are letting greed cloud their judgment, when they balk at restricting trade with Iran. But it’s a lot easier to justify when they say they’re not giving the crazy American government an excuse for another war.
Fear and the New World Order!
President Bush’s recent veto on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program not only shows his irresponsible priorities but those of the GOP as well.
ReplyDeleteTo blame the fiscal irresponsibility of the bill for his veto is one of many hypocrisies of his presidency. In an era of bigger government and out-of-control spending on everything but the needs for our own citizens, the Republicans’ platform is crumbling beneath their feet.
The scare tactics of saying universal health care is wrong for the United States is a crime to the millions of uninsured men, women and children in our country.
Universal health care is not a bad word but a right everyone deserves.
We have seen what private health care has done in our country. It is making pharmaceutical, managed care and insurance companies richer and increasing the number of uninsured in all of the United States.
In Missouri, the number of uninsured is increasing three times the rate of the rest of the country. If our elected officials, from U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt up to the president, aren’t going to protect our children, it is time we elect those who will.
Another phase of the New World Order!
On the occasion of King Abdullah's visit to the UK, I managed to dig a few facts from CIA's factbook. Tell me what's hegemonic about Iran?
ReplyDeleteTen months into his presidential bid, Rudolph W. Giuliani continues to work part time at the security consulting firm he promised to leave this past spring to focus on his pursuit of the Republican nomination.
ReplyDeleteGiuliani's continuing involvement with a firm catering to corporate clients makes him unique among Republican contenders. It also complicates the task of separating his firm's assets from his campaign spending.
Gotta reward those campaign donors!
Six years after the Bush administration embraced harsh physical tactics for interrogating terrorism suspects, and two years after it reportedly dropped the most extreme of those techniques, the taint of torture clings to American counterterrorism efforts.
ReplyDeleteThe administration has a standard answer to queries about its interrogation practices: 1) We do not torture, and 2) we will not say what we do, for fear of tipping off future prisoners.
Still lying and still committing torture!
The tab for US non-military spying in 2007 is a whopping $43.5 billion, according to figures released today by National Director of Intelligence Mike McConnell.
ReplyDeleteDisclosure of that amount marks the first time in nine years that funds budgeted for national intelligence activities have been publicly aired, and comes amid mounting pressure from Congress and the Sept. 11 commission to make the practice routine.
A more complete budget figure for US spying is actually even higher, according to sources cited in the Washington Post, who told the paper that if still-classified totals for military-based programs were factored in, that number would reach $50 billion.
Another phase of the New World Order: The U.S Spying on it's Citizens!
A key barometer of consumer sentiment dropped to its lowest level in two years, igniting concern that the upcoming holiday shopping season would be lukewarm.
ReplyDeleteThe New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 95.6 from a revised 99.5 in September. It was the lowest reading since 85.2 in October 2005 when gas and oil prices soared after hurricanes Katrina and Rita pummeled the Gulf Coast. Analysts had expected 99.5.
The report heightens worries for retailers, who are already bracing for a challenging holiday shopping season after a disappointing fall. The results also rattled investors, sending Dow Jones industrial average down 62.75, or 0.45 percent, to 13,807.51.
The Faltering Bush Economy: Another Aspect of the New World Order!
All due respects, Lydia, but I don't buy it.
ReplyDeleteThis is like so many conspiracy theories about....well....anything. There's way too many loopholes for an effective take over of an entire planet by a cabal of men.
Now, if you tell me there are opportunists who look to exploit loopholes in governments and societies that tend to benefit themselves at the detriment of others and these people are networked and organized, then yes, that I can believe.
Eighteen months or so ago I wrote a post here comparing Bush, Cheney and the boys from PNAC to Hitler, to the Nazi hierarchy and to the wonderful folks who gave the world kristallnacht, the terror bombings of Guernica, of London and conducted history's magnum opus of human carnage, the holocaust, the destruction of two thirds of the Jews in Europe and millions of other "undesirables."
ReplyDeleteI saw it used by others on the blogs and, guardedly, in the MSM, witnessed their reception of similar treatment and I realized that a taboo (see Godwin's law) had been created. "Disrespectful to the office of the President," some cried, "diminishes the horror of the holocaust and the brutality unleashed on Europe's Jews by the real Hitler," cried others, "the ultimate ad hominem attack," wrote one academic seeking to show that such comparisons were childish , demeaning to those who offered them and "kills dead," scholarly internet discussions.
As the months dragged on and the war escalated, the deaths, the casualties, the carnage mounted, the attacks on dissent increased, civil liberties began to erode and disappear, as the regulatory bureaucracy and the judiciary were stripped of independent professionals and replaced with ideological partisans, as tens of billions of dollars of American taxpayers cash simply disappeared into the black hole of "privatization" and reason itself came under constant attack, I couldn't help myself, I began to use the "Hitler Comparison" more often in my various rants.
I don't pretend to scholarship, or journalism, I'm an old carpenter, not an academic, I'm content to be a pamphleteer. As long as the feedback tells me that people are reading my electronic leaflets, not ripping them from under their wiper blades and kicking them to the curb, if I sense that they are following the links, I find a small measure of hope, not a lot, just enough to make me look forward to coffee and another batch of leafleting in the morning.
The war..s continue, and as the fervor grows for another, in Iran and more evidence of official "misdeeds," of lies, of outright criminality, of incompetence, rampant cronyism and fraud continue to seep out from under the closed doors of what has developed into the most secretive, insular, antidemocratic administration in the history of the Republic, the "Hitler comparison" has grown in my mind and, I believe, much of the public's to the point that we need to repeal the "Godwin law" and popularize the idea in the hopes that by holding up the mirror to the tyrant we may drive him from our shores. I'm serious, we need "Hitler Comparison" T shirts, by the millions.
Sunday night I watched Naomi Wolf on PBS as she was interviewed about her recent book by "guest interviewer" Viet Dinh, a former Assistant Attorney General, and principle author of the Patriot Act, greatly admired by none other than Rupert Murdoch, in other words, as Adol George W is wont to say, no cream puff. Ms Wolf more than held her own, after all, she knows her book and the research on which its based and defended it well against a wholly predictable neo-con cross examination.
Her book may represent, albeit in a much more scholarly and reasoned way, the ultimate in "Comparisons," (I confess I haven't yet read it) She says that she charts the closing of various previously open societies, from Hitler to Stalin to Pinochet and on to our current rapidly closing system, and finds the comparisons striking, the trends frightening, ant the peril, imminent enough to cause her to run around the country like a latter day Paul Revere shouting that the redcoats brown shirts are coming, while making astute "comparisons" between current and past events, motives and personalities.
It is, of course, a book tour and yes, the object is to sell the book but there is much more here, I hear a clarion call in her voice and feel truth in her message.
Would that several million people, Germans perhaps, in 1933, 34 or 35 had been possessed of the poor taste and "classlessness," had been willing to succumb to the gaucherie of loudly and publicly comparing Adolph Hitler to... well ..what the hell, lets go for it.. Adolph Hitler, I wonder what result might have ensued. Or, back in the USSR, had Russians stood up and said "hey this Stalin guy is becoming a real Hitler or maybe even a Stalin," how many of the fifty million Russian dead might have been spared, the cold war, arms race avoided, at least greatly reduced.
There is a responsibility of those who govern to speak truth to the governed, but, when they fail in that responsibility, there is a greater responsibility on the part of the governed to speak truth to power, to spit in its eye and to dethrone it as necessary to insure the continuity of the rights, freedoms and welfare of the public, for that is what finally matters, not the government, nor the corrupt interests of the criminal oligarchs that it represents.
I listened to the GOP candidates a bit the other night, a little goes a long way with these birds, and heard the words "personal responsibility" several times, a phrase which is nothing more, on Republican lips, than a code word for racism, sexism and a continuation of the war they have waged against the "lesser classes' for all of modern history.
I agree with them in this sense, it is time for a large percentage of the population to take personal responsibility for themselves, for their country, to unite in the name of freedom, in the name of economic, political and spiritual liberty, to rise up and seize control of the whole package, the big damn shebang, to wrest control from the five percent who have kept them enslaved, who have enforced ignorance and poverty and to throw aside the twenty percent who guard the prison.
It may be "classless" and a violation of "Godwin's law to "Compare" George Walker Bush, the arrogant young scion of eastern establishment wealth and power, grandson of Senators and son of Presidents, cowboy of windshields and owner of chainsaws, to the beer swilling gutter scum of the beer halls of Munich and Berlin but I'm afraid it is unavoidable, it is inescapable, obvious, and it is historically necessary.
Terrorism? 9/11? The attack on the World Trade Center was their Reichstag fire, the invasion of Iraq, comparable to the blitzkrieg into eastern Europe. They share the same motives and ideology, the same vision, they exhibit the same compassion, and wield power with the same ruthless disregard for the lives, for the welfare and dignity of common humanity.
Make no mistake, these people, the architects of the last six years of international turmoil, of domestic division, of war and death, of crushing despair and hopelessness, are Nazis, perhaps not yet in the full bloom of adulthood, not yet grown to the evil proportions of their twentieth century predecessors, but they have emerged from their larval stage and are prepared for full flight, They have all the weapons, they lack nothing, nothing but to complete their rewriting of our laws and of course, they need those handsome uniforms.
The only thing that can prevent them from fulfilling their wretched and terrible goals of oligarchy, universal slavery and domination of the world is your voice, your derision, your hand, raised in resistance, your lips mouthing a simple no.
Hurry, I think the uniforms have been ordered.
Bob Higgins
Worldwide Sawdust
Carl, Larry wrote this post.
ReplyDeleteBut please I urgently ask all of you to listen to our interview this morning with Please listen to our interview this morning with Dahr Jamail, author of “Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches From an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq.”
He has riveting information on the war profiteering, the Iraq swindle and war profiteering by Cheney-Bush-Rummy and tells what the Iraqis really think of us. He was unembedded for 4 long years in Iraq. NO one knows the truth in this country.
You can listen in the archives, as he was just on live. Go to: BASHAM & CORNELL RADIO The show airs weekday mornings at 8 a.m. Pacific Time on AM 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas and simulcast on the web.
I believe this New World Order is happening faster than you know.
ReplyDeleteJust study the evidence, the facts. Explain why we can't seem to get any truth out there or any action to impeach for all these Constitutional crimes and war crimes.
They will not succeed though. There is a higher power. All our joint efforts for good will defeat these monsters.
Larry, thank you for a great article and great comment above.
ReplyDeleteYou are right.
I, for one, do not believe a NWO is inevitable. I still have faith in the nature of man to not only desire freedom, but fight for it, tooth and nail.
ReplyDeleteThe next step in the agenda of the NWO should be Bush declaring martial law. At this point, it will be up to all good men to do what they know in their hearts is the right thing for themselves, their family, and their future.
Oh, sorry, Lydia, I didn't see Larry's name on it.
ReplyDeleteWe are in danger, no doubt, of having a stratified American society, with a dwindling middle class, a swelling poverty class and a minute aristocracy that will utilize our resources for their whims. This is how all democracies and republics have developed, until ultimately, a dictator takes over, usually after some form of revolution.
Lydia said,
ReplyDeleteThey will not succeed though. There is a higher power. All our joint efforts for good will defeat these monsters.
You're quite right, but it won't necessarily be any force for good that will splinter globalization in the economic and political realms.
The coming collapse of energy production is going to have effects we haven't even considered yet. The price spikes in energy have already created a climate where domestically-produced goods are becoming competitive again. And as it gets worse, people will look closer and closer to home for everything-and that will out of necessity include Government.
Can you imagine how it would have played out for the repug presidential candidates who basically all support torture and a failed war based on lies if one of the Neo Con architects of the torture and war of choice was being tried as a war criminal just as the Nazi's were.........another stellar Kodak moment thanks to GWB and his Neo Con thugs and lackies.
ReplyDeleteTime to be bounced out the door Troll Tex............that Mike that just posted that is anbout to be deleted is not me its Troll Tex the Slimy troll.
ReplyDeleteBye Bye Troll Tex
You were warned Eric!!
ReplyDeleteMajor dam in Iraq about to collapse
ReplyDeletemike said...
ReplyDeleteMike, Go have a triple cheeseburger and 16" pizza, and wash it down with a 12 pack.
You have homework to do, son...remedial shoe lace tying...
Excellent Larry
ReplyDeleteIt all adds up to world war and it will not be averted! You just by default named the adversaries we all know already but I will guarantee you attacking Iran will be the trigger unless someone else jumps first.
I would say it is very scary indeed but after years of trying to wake people up, as we are powerless I can only wait and watch and see what happens.
Larry
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it but you can't listen to the Afghani's because you don't know if they are the enemy or not.
Even when you kill a Taliban they say it was a civilian to create more trouble for us. As yo know, the same thing occurs in Iraq.
Larry You are prolific here buddy! I was just reading that real long comment and Bush is so obviously mirroring the Nazi's it is sickening and only the complicit can deny it. I am afraid what the nazi's did will pale to what is about to happen thanks to Bush and NWO.
ReplyDeleteI also believe this holiday season should be a bust if the truth gets out. As usual I would expect the Fed to bail the market out and Bush to keep lying about his awesome failures and to keep thid facade of success, this house of cards going.
I would say everything will cave in once Bush is gone and the truth gets out but you know what I expect and soon!
Thanks Jim.
ReplyDeleteAs you very well know the pieces are being put into place that will enable the upcoming attempt at Martial Law, while the economy completely crumbles, and the wars never end.
This is from Nancy Scola.
ReplyDeleteOver on the Huffington Post I’ve attempted to connect the dots between the Hunt Oil’s deal in Iraqi Kurdistan, CEO Ray Hunt’s multi-million dollar contribution to the half-billion-dollar George W. Bush Library, and the long and messy history of international economic development. Go on and give it a read.
But on the off chance that you don’t have the time or stomach for 2,700 words on the topic, I’ll share the gist. Congress is off looking for whether or not Ray Hunt had the inside track on Iraq info because of his relationship with Bush. But what I’m arguing is that looking at these two projects — the Kurdistan oil deal and the massive GWB library project — in the context of the history of international economic development projects suggests that they are part and parcel of the same destructive mess with or without any sinister quid pro quo. Men like Ray Hunt and George Bush get tangled up in the same economic orbit, and we get a seemingly neverending war in Iraq.
More Bush corruption.
Check out Average Patriot's post on the plan for Martial Law:
ReplyDeleteAverage American Patriot
The NWO is alive and well.
ReplyDeleteOne part of their multi-layered agenda is the formation of the North American Union and the launch of the Amerco: a combined single currency, a la, the Euro, and made up from the US dollar, the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso.
One of the obstacles to the single North American currency has been the overheated value of the greenback compared to the other national currencies. But, the Canadian dollar is now at near parity with the US dollar and the Mexican peso is gaining speed fast.
I can only speak for myself but, I do not relish the idea of living in an EU-style nation with a central government run by Amercocrats. I'm funny that way, I suppose.
Christopher:
ReplyDeleteYou are right the North American Union is a part of the New World Order and once they combine the currencies of Canada and Mexico with the U.S, a new currency will emerge.
No doubt with the moniker of King Bush on the imprint.
by Scott Ritter
ReplyDeleteDont worry, the White House is telling us. The world’s most powerful leader was simply making a rhetorical point.
At a White House Press conference two weeks back, just in case you haven’t heard, (United States) President (George W.) Bush informed the American people that he had told world leaders “if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon”.
World War III? That is certainly some rhetorical point, especially coming from the man singularly most capable of making such an event reality. Pundits have raised their eyebrows and comics are busy writing jokes, but the president’s reference to Armageddon, no matter how cavalierly uttered and subsequently brushed away, suggests an alarming context.
Some might note that the comment was simply an offhand response to a reporter’s question, the kind of free-thinking scenario that baffles Bush. So, in a way, this makes what the president said even more disturbing, since we now have an insight into the vision, and related terminology, which hovers just below the horizon in the brain of George W. Bush. When I was a weapons inspector with the United Nations, there was a jostling that took place at the end of each day, when decisions needed to be made and authorisation documents needed to be signed.
In an environment of competing agendas, each of us who championed a position sought to be the “last man in”, namely the person who got to imprint the executive chairman (our decision maker) with the final point of view for the day. Failure to do so could find an inspection or point of investigation sidetracked for days or weeks after the executive chairman became distracted by a competing vision.
More of the Bush agenda: World War III.
By Max Blumenthal
ReplyDeleteOn October 20 and 21st, I attended the Value Voters Summit, a massive gathering hosted by the Colorado-based Christian right mega-ministry, Focus on the Family, and its Washington lobbying arm, the Family Research Council. With the pro-choice Rudy Giuliani leading in the race for the Republican nomination and the threat of another Clinton presidency looming, the stakes for the Christian right were high.
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At the Summit, I witnessed all of the major Republican presidential candidates compete for the affection of so-called value voters. Rudy Giuliani, the current frontrunner, sought to assuage movement leaders' concerns about his multiple marriages, pro-choice politics, and penchant for cross-dressing. Mitt Romney pledged to fight for a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, hoping his newfound conservatism would somehow lessen evangelical resentment of his Mormon faith.
Though no candidate emerged from the Summit as a clear Christian right favorite, the badly underfunded former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister Mike Huckabee won over the audience with his insistence that banning abortion would put an end to America's illegal immigration problem. Huckabee's comparison of "liberalized abortion" to the Holocaust further endeared him to the "value voters." Later, during a press conference, I challenged Huckabee to explain the logic behind his rhetoric.
Recently, there has been a lot of mainstream media noise about a new, more socially conscious evangelical movement rising from the angry ashes of the Christian right. Pastors like Rick Warren and "evangelical feminist" Bill Hybels are supposedly bringing issues like the environment and poverty to the forefront of the movement's social agenda, while pushing anti-abortion and anti-gay activism to the wayside. Yet no one told those evangelicals gathered at the Value Voters Summit about this friendly new initiative.
If anything, the movement seemed more extreme and paranoid than it did four years ago. Rev. Lou Sheldon, dubbed "Lucky Louie" by his former paymaster Jack Abramoff, told me that homosexuality is a "pathological disorder" and "a groove" that is difficult to escape from. He proceeded to passionately defend his friend, Senator Larry Craig, from allegations of homosexuality.
Star Parker, a former welfare cheat who had multiple abortions, claimed to me that abortion is the leading cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25 and 34. Then she described her wish for the forced quarantine of all "sodomites." Parker was not a lone wacko milling around in the hallway; she was a speaker invited by the Family Research Council.
Neoconservative activist Frank Gaffney appeared at the Summit as well. Before a standing room audience, Gaffney exclaimed that "by not being bigoted and not being racist, [George W.] Bush has embraced Islamofascists on several occasions." Phyllis Schlaffly echoed Gaffney's comments, declaring that there are too many mosques in America.
The New Republican Party: Bigots and Racists.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo has had enough. Of Congress, that is.
ReplyDeleteThe five-term member of the U.S. House and long-shot presidential candidate has decided he will not run for reelection in 2008, ending his congressional career as he continues to seek the White House.
Another neocon warlover bites the dust!
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling for the U.S. and NATO to cut back on airstrikes in the battle against Taliban and al-Qaida militants, saying too many civilians have been killed.
ReplyDeleteKarzai said that six years after the U.S.-led invasion the Afghan people "cannot comprehend as to why there is still a need for air power."
"The United States and the coalition forces are not (killing civilians) deliberately. The United States is here to help the Afghan people," Karzai told the U.S. news program "60 Minutes" for a story scheduled to air Sunday night.
Asked if he wants the use of airstrikes curtailed, Karzai replies, "Absolutely. Oh, yes, in clear words and I want to repeat that, (there are) alternatives to the use of air force."
At least 700 civilians have died because of insurgency-related violence this year, and about half of those deaths were caused by U.S. or NATO military action, often because of airstrikes hitting civilian homes, according to an Associated Press tally based on numbers from Afghan and Western officials.
Killing innocent civilians is another part of the "order of the elite" to eliminate the masses.
Baghdad - At least 51 Iraqis were killed and more than 38 injured in separate incidents in and around Iraq, while US forces handed over Karbala's security file to the Iraqi government, sources said Monday.
ReplyDeleteA suicide attacker driving an explosives-laden motorbike blew himself up near a police training centre in central Baquba, in Diyala province, around 60 kilometres north-east of Baghdad, killing at least 30 police officers and recruits and injuring 20, colonel Ali Ismail said.
More blood on the hands of the heartless George W Bush.
Check out this post on the New World Order:
ReplyDeleteBlog of Revelation
Hey guys if Bush does declare martial law how will be put in jail for disagreeing
ReplyDeleteIs the rising oil prices because of higher demand or because bush is going to war with iran
ReplyDeleteWill the reichwing ever learn censorship is unamerican?
ReplyDeleteClear Channel is attempting to silence Bruce Springsteen
Here we go again. The Dixie Chicks redux! Bruce has the #1 record in all the land called ” Magic,” but Clear Channel has sent out a memo saying:
Alas, there’s a hitch: Radio will not play “Magic.” In fact, sources tell me that Clear Channel has sent an edict to its classic rock stations not to play tracks from “Magic.” But it’s OK to play old Springsteen tracks such as “Dancing in the Dark,” “Born to Run” and “Born in the USA.”
Republican owned corporate media once again is attempting to silence progressive positions. I’m trying to contact Springsteen’s camp for a comment.
Howie Klein has much more…
Clear Channel is a big-time and very consciously right-wing power player with a goal of changing American pop culture. They have done all they could to stifle progressive voices and to dumb down and trivialize the culture…read on
Censoring the BOSS is simply unamerican, no matter what the reichwingers at Clear Channel think, and they don't seem to think much at all
Aides and advisers to congressional Democrats are pessimistic about their efforts to tie the approval of supplemental Iraq war spending to U.S. troop withdrawals. Even more challenging, they warn, would be a movement to cut off war funds entirely, which could split apart the caucus.
ReplyDeletePandering Pelosi is an enabler not a fighter.
The Scott Beauchamp affair is reminding me of this, from 1984:
ReplyDeleteA Party member…is supposed to live in a continuous frenzy of hatred of foreign enemies and internal traitors, triumph over victories, and self-abasement before the power and wisdom of the Party. The discontents produced by his bare, unsatisfying life are deliberately turned outwards and dissipated by such devices as the Two Minutes Hate, and the speculations which might possibly induce a sceptical or rebellious attitude are killed in advance by his early acquired inner discipline…called, in Newspeak, crimestop. Crimestop means the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought. It includes the power of not grasping analogies, of failing to perceive logical errors, of misunderstanding the simplest arguments if they are inimical to Ingsoc, and of being bored or repelled by any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction. Crimestop, in short, means protective stupidity.
At first it seems amazing that Orwell could have precisely described today’s right-wing blurgh world sixty years ago. But the right-wing blurghs are just an outgrowth of human nature, which never changes. (In particular I’m always been struck by the consistency with which such people are unable to understand analogies.)
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a dark horse contender for the the Democratic presidential nomination, questioned President Bush's mental health on Tuesday, according to a Philadelphia newspaper.
ReplyDelete"I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich told The Inquirer's editorial board. "There's something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact."
Kucinich was referring to President Bush's warning of dire consequences if Iran acquires nuclear weapons during a press conference earlier this month. Bush said that he had told world leaders the country must be prevented from achieving nuclear capability "if you're interested in avoiding World War III."
Get out the straight jacket: Bush is a deranged madman.
About one of every eight veterans under the age of 65 is uninsured, a finding that contradicts the assumption many have that all vets qualify for free health care through the Veterans Affairs Department, says a new study.
ReplyDeleteResearchers at Harvard Medical School projected that about 1.8 million veterans overall lack health coverage. That's an increase of 290,000 since 2000. The researchers said most uninsured veterans are in the middle class and are ineligible for VA care because of their incomes. Still others cannot afford their copayments, or lack VA facilities in their community.
''Like other uninsured Americans, most uninsured vets are working people -- too poor to afford private coverage but not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid or means-tested VA care,'' said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, an associate professor and a physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance.
The study is based on an analysis of government surveys released between 1988 and 2005. Veterans do fare better than the overall population when it comes to obtaining health insurance. Still, the Harvard researchers said the rising number of uninsured vets points to the need for more funding for the VA. The best solution, they said, would be for universal health coverage in the United States.
''Only the government can put men and women into military service and only the government can guarantee that they are covered after they serve,'' said Dr. Jeffrey Scavron.
Bush hates the U.S troops.
- U.S. home prices fell nationwide in August for the eighth consecutive month, offering little hope of a turnaround anytime soon, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThings could get worse, said Yale economist Robert Shiller, who helped create the index.
"There is really no positive news in today's report," said Shiller, chief economist for MacroMarkets LLC, which collaborates with S&P on the indicator. "At both the national and metro area levels, the fall in home prices is showing no real signs of a slowdown or turnaround."
Another result of the Bush economy!
...In an interview in Saturday's Daily Telegraph, one of Rudy Giuliani's leading foreign policy advisers-- Norman Podhoretz --prattles on about we must bomb Iran. Talking about military strikes, including cruise missiles and "bunker busters", this neoncon man sounds delusional: "It would take five minutes. You'd wake up one morning and the strikes would have been ordered and carried out during the night. All the president has to say is go."
ReplyDeleteAnother Republican madman waiting in the wings!
Thanks for the heads up on that, Clif. We have a big Clear Channel classic rock station here in NYC (the single biggest advertising draw in classic rock in America).
ReplyDeleteIt's time to stir up some trouble...
Fresh Republican (Gay) Sex) Scandal
ReplyDeletehttp://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50104.asp
It just ends with these people.
Larry,
ReplyDeleteGrabbed your comments. Akismet is acting up. Sorry.
Larry, this is fine work. The NOW sounds exactly like what I call the Reich.
ReplyDeleteEveryone should go out of their way to stand up for BRUCE!
ReplyDelete...SPRINGSTEEN
Christopher, your link to advocate is hosed.
ReplyDeleteCarl,
ReplyDeleteIf "hosed" means doesn't work, then read it on my blog -- I have the piece up there.
Karen Hughes, who led efforts to improve the U.S. image abroad and was one of President Bush's last remaining advisers from the close circle of Texas aides, will leave the government at the end of the year, she told The Associated Press.
ReplyDeleteHughes said she plans to quit her job as undersecretary of state and return to Texas, although improving the world's view of the United States is a "long-term challenge" that will outlast her.
Check out Christopher's post on this:
From The Left
The Federal Reserve, confronted with surging oil prices and a slumping housing market, on Wednesday cut a key interest rate by a quarter-point, the second rate reduction this year.
ReplyDeleteThe central bank lowered the federal funds rate to 4.5 percent in an effort to stimulate economic activity and keep the country from dipping into a recession. The move will make it cheaper for consumers and businesses to borrow money.
It will take more than this to fix the faltering Bush economy!
Several hundred U.S. diplomats vented anger and frustration Wednesday about the State Department's decision to force foreign service officers to take jobs in Iraq, with some likening it to a "potential death sentence."
ReplyDeleteIn a contentious hour-long "town hall meeting," they peppered officials behind the order with often hostile complaints about the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam. Announced last week, it will require some diplomats _ under threat of dismissal _ to serve at the embassy in Baghdad and in so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams in outlying provinces.
Many expressed serious concern about the ethics of sending diplomats against their will to serve in a war zone, where the embassy staff is largely confined to the so-called "Green Zone," and the safety outside the area is uncertain while a review of the department's use of private security contractors to protect its staff is under way.
"Incoming is coming in every day, rockets are hitting the Green Zone," said one who identified himself as Jack Crotty, a senior foreign service officer who once worked as a political adviser with NATO forces.
He and others directly confronted Foreign Service Director General Harry Thomas, who approved the move to "directed assignments" late last Friday to make up for a lack of volunteers willing to go to Iraq.
"It's one thing if someone believes in what's going on over there and volunteers, but it's another thing to send someone over there on a forced assignment," Crotty said. "I'm sorry, but basically that's a potential death sentence and you know it. Who will raise our children if we are dead or seriously wounded?"
His remarks were met with loud and sustained applause from the approximately 300 diplomats at the meeting.
Thomas responded by saying the comments were "filled with inaccuracies" but did not elaborate until challenged by the head of the diplomats' union, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), who, like Crotty and others, demanded to know why many learned of the decision from news reports.
Now these Bush loyalist know how the troops feel being forced into that hellhole.
In an explosive monologue lambasting President Bush and the Pentagon as "ignorant" for implementing a policy of using private security firms as protection for troops in Iraq, CNN's Lou Dobbs said the US military should be "mortified and embarrassed."
ReplyDeleteThe extended outburst followed a story from the network's Jamie McIntyre, who reported that US Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Dorko was wounded in Iraq on Monday when his vehicle was hit by an IED explosion. He is the highest ranking officer yet injured in such an incident.
"He was in a convoy that was protected by a private security firm, one indication of the over-stretched US troops," said McIntyre, who noted that the security contractor in question was a British firm and not affiliated with the Blackwater company.
"A brigadier general, US military forces, in a convoy protected by a private security contractor?" asked Dobbs later. "An indication of how stretched? It is also an indication of how just ignorant the Pentagon leadership, the general staff is, this president, this commander in chief and the civilian leadership, that we have US military being protected by private security forces..."
His voice rising, Dobbs blamed senior military leaders for making a grave error in judgment, in his opinion.
"Is there any sense of shame and embarrassment in that Pentagon?" he asked.
"I don't care what they're former," Dobbs said. "They are private security forces being employed to protect men and women in uniform who are making a heck of a lot less money than they are to put their lives on the line in combat. This is obscene, Jamie."
"All I'm saying is, the United States military, its leadership, should be mortified and embarrassed," he continued later.
Told by McIntyre that the Pentagon hadn't yet made any apologies for their policy, Dobbs called on President Bush to do so.
"Well then we have a president who needs to...reverse course on this policy, this is utter, complete, shameless disrespect for every tradition and value of this country," he said.
"And frankly, in my opinion," Dobbs told McIntyre, who was reporting from the Pentagon, "it is an absolute disregard for the values of the men and women who have served in that very building you're reporting from."
Tell it like it is Lou Dobbs!
It's not quite signing statements, where President George W. Bush used legal means to "interpret" laws, allowing him to avoid Congressional directives, but the White House is now planning to implement as much new policy "as it can" by administrative order "after concluding that President Bush cannot do much business with the Democratic leadership."
ReplyDeleteAccording to officials who spoke to the Washington Post, Bush blames Democrats for the holdup of Judge Michael Muskasey's nomination as attorney general, the failure to pass budget bills and an inability to reach compromise on child healthcare.
Bush vetoed the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, saying Democrats hadn't found a way to offset spending for the expansion of the program. Democrats have reservations about Mukasey because he has refused to denounce the president's policy on waterboarding.
"White House aides say the only way Bush seems to be able to influence the process is by vetoing legislation or by issuing administrative orders, as he has in recent weeks on veterans' health care, air-traffic congestion, protecting endangered fish and immigration," the Post authors write. "They say they expect Bush to issue more of such orders in the next several months, even as he speaks out on the need to limit spending and resist any tax increases."
George W Bush: Corrupt and Evil as he Bypasses The Law!
Larry,
ReplyDeleteIt's outrageous that diplomats are being forced under threat of termination, to serve at the American Embassy in Baghdad.
The diplomatic corp isn't the military. When you graduate from college, frequently with a degree in International Relations, and take a government job and diplomatic assignment, you are given options of where you want to serve.
But as with all things "Bush," he's managed to fuck this up too.
Christopher,
ReplyDeleteThe link gets chopped off in IE5.
I did manage to find it by navigating the site.
Christopher said...
ReplyDeleteLarry,
It's outrageous that diplomats are being forced under threat of termination, to serve at the American Embassy in Baghdad.
No it's not, this sort of stuff goes on all the time in history. Vietnam in the 60s springs to mind.
Larry said...
ReplyDeleteIt's not quite signing statements, where President George W. Bush used legal means to "interpret" laws, allowing him to avoid Congressional directives, but the White House is now planning to implement as much new policy "as it can" by administrative order "after concluding that President Bush cannot do much business with the Democratic leadership."
That's basically what Clinton did throughout his second term, however. He issued executive order after executive order, many of which Bush overturned.
clif said...
ReplyDeleteWill the reichwing ever learn censorship is unamerican?
Clear Channel is attempting to silence Bruce Springsteen
Here we go again. The Dixie Chicks redux! Bruce has the #1 record in all the land called ” Magic,” but Clear Channel has sent out a memo saying:
Alas, there’s a hitch: Radio will not play “Magic.” In fact, sources tell me that Clear Channel has sent an edict to its classic rock stations not to play tracks from “Magic.” But it’s OK to play old Springsteen tracks such as “Dancing in the Dark,” “Born to Run” and “Born in the USA.”
Republican owned corporate media once again is attempting to silence progressive positions. I’m trying to contact Springsteen’s camp for a comment.
Howie Klein has much more…
Clear Channel is a big-time and very consciously right-wing power player with a goal of changing American pop culture. They have done all they could to stifle progressive voices and to dumb down and trivialize the culture…read on
Censoring the BOSS is simply unamerican, no matter what the reichwingers at Clear Channel think, and they don't seem to think much at all."
Boy the Reich Wing sure knows how to rile people up and inspire people to oppose them.........I was never really a Bruce Springsteen fan...........BUT now ui'm gonna go out and buy his new album to support him.
I was NEVER a political person, essentially never talked about politics and Never bothered to vote and Bush and his Reich Wing Neo Con thugs inspired me to oppose THEM, just like they did Worfeus and just like they are inspiring the entire world to hate and oppose the entire USA,
based on the ignorant self serving actions of a few raging fanatics who hijacked our country and are obsessed with transforming it into a fascist police state that bullies and attacks the world like a group of thugs in the mafia.
US authorities recalled some 440,000 Chinese-made toys Wednesday because of high levels of lead, just hours before US children were set to use some of them while celebrating Halloween.
ReplyDeleteThe Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled 380,000 Galaxy Warriors figures, 43,000 sets of plastic disguise teeth, 16,000 sets of military-style Elite Operations action figures distributed by the global Toys R Us chain, and 1,500 Ribbit board games.
The toys were the latest in a raft of Chinese-made products aimed at children which have been removed from shelves in the United States because of high lead levels.
China and Bush: Both Dangerous To America's Children!
The Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee is demanding that the White House hand over more than 600 pages of documents detailing the nature of its contacts with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
ReplyDelete“The White House is withholding hundreds of pages of documents about the activities of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff on the grounds that these documents involve internal White House deliberations,” wrote Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) in a Wednesday letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding. “Unless the President is prepared to assert executive privilege over these documents, they should be turned over to the Oversight Committee without further delay.”
President Bush has previously denied any connection to Abramoff, who was convicted on three felony counts and sentenced to more than five years in prison. “I don’t know him,” said the president in 2006.
The letter recounts a number of similar statements from top White House officials seeking to distance themselves from the lobbyist, including former senior advisor Karl Rove, who had described Abramoff as a “casual acquaintance,” through a spokesman.
But Waxman says that former White House political director Matt Schlapp, who is cooperating with House Oversight’s investigation and provided testimony in a deposition, tells a different story:
“Mr. Schlapp estimated that he had ‘monthly’ contact with Jack Abramoff on subjects that often involved official government business,” writes the chairman. “He also told the Committee that Mr. Abramoff and his associates ‘had many friends in the administration’; that Mr. Abramoff was regarded as a ‘point of information’ because of ‘his knowledge and his experience and his judgment on issues surrounding politics and policy and how the town works.’”
Bush and Abramoff: Thick as Thieves!
Not too long ago a misguided and idealistic young man, later diagnosed as being developmentally disabled, torched-off an automobile dealership's SUVs. He was labeled a terrorist -- an eco-terrorist -- and sent to prison. His only real crime was that his behavior cost a multi-billion dollar automobile corporation a few bucks in replacement costs and that his actions infringed upon the God-given right of Americans to shop for gas-guzzling vehicles that are too big for anyone to actually need. For that and his own stupidity, he was said to be an Osama bin-Laden-like "evil-doer."
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, back at the Greed-driven Ranch Mister Bush, Mister Cheney, Corporate America, big oil and big energy, the American Enterprise Institute and Congressional Republicans have done everything humanly possible to prevent the American public from knowing about and accepting global warming and its inherent dangers. Thanks entirely to their efforts half the state of California has burned to the ground, the state of Georgia is running out of drinkable water, the city of New Orleans has been washed out to sea, the Great Lakes are drying up, and the world is on the brink of unfathomable famine and disaster. Yet, some mentally challenged and misguided kid that burned up a few SUVs is the "terrorist" and he is rotting in prison, while Bush-Republicans and their corporate masters walk around freely.
You really can't make this stuff up! Doesn't it seem at least mildly possible that we have our priorities and judgments a bit out of whack?
On the one hand we have a grotesquely foolish kid whose actions resulted in some shopping inconvenience, the loss of a few thousand dollars and nobody killed. On the other hand we have a cabal of conspirators whose actions have resulted in trillions of dollars in damage and a death toll that will reach into the tens of millions, if not billions of people. Come on now, if we are to assign the label of "terrorist" to anyone, is the SUV-torching kid really the correct choice?
The Bush Policy: Destroying America's Youth!
Yahoo News, October 31st, 2007
ReplyDeleteThe horrible discovery in Diyala province Monday was disturbing even by the standards of Iraq's running sectarian violence. Iraqi police said they found 20 decapitated bodies dumped near a police station west of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province. That same day a suicide bomber on a bicycle careened into a Baquba police station, killing 29.
The violence was of course nothing new, especially for the Baquba area, which remains the most troubled region in Iraq outside Baghdad. But the bloodshed showed how the success of the surge of U.S. forces in Baghdad and Anbar Province nine months on has perhaps gone as far as it can toward controlling Iraq's violence.
Reasons behind the slow actions of Maliki's government range from deeply ingrained sectarianism in Iraqi security forces to incompetence and graft among government officials. That has left a feeble Iraqi government clearly unable to maintain and further the gains in security made with the help of U.S. surge forces, which are set to dwindle in the months ahead according to the original surge plan.
The prognosis for Iraq, barring a dynamic transformation on the part of the Iraqi government very soon, is grimly apparent. As U.S. forces lessen their presence in the coming months, killings of the kind seen Monday in Diyala will persist there and most likely spread to areas calmed by the increase of U.S. forces. Rising Shi'ite militia unrest in southern Iraq will go on unchecked, leaving the fate of Iraq's richest and most populous territory uncertain. Recently subdued Anbar Province will operate as a kind of Sunni semi-independent emirate, barring any meaningful administration from a central government, much as the northern Kurdish territory already does. And Baghdad will be on edge, watching for signs that the relative calm in the city may be giving way to another wave of violence.
Another Bush Failure!
More than 100 Buddhist monks marched peacefully Wednesday in a northern Myanmar town noted for its defiance of the country's military rulers, the first large protest since the junta violently crushed a wave anti-government demonstrations.
ReplyDeleteThe monks marched for nearly an hour in the town of Pakokku, chanting a Buddhist prayer that has come to be associated with the pro-democracy cause. They did not carry signs or shout slogans, but their action was clearly in defiance of the military government, as one monk spelled out in a radio interview.
"We are continuing our protest from last month as we have not yet achieved any of the demands we asked for," the monk told the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based short-wave radio station and Web site run by dissident journalists.
"Our demands are for lower commodity prices, national reconciliation and immediate release of (pro-democracy leader) Aung San Suu Kyi and all the political prisoners," said the monk, who was not identified by name.
If only the masses here had the determination of the Monks.
Mike said...
ReplyDeleteclif said...
Will the reichwing ever learn censorship is unamerican?
Clear Channel is attempting to silence Bruce Springsteen
Here we go again. The Dixie Chicks redux! Bruce has the #1 record in all the land called ” Magic,” but Clear Channel has sent out a memo saying:
Alas, there’s a hitch: Radio will not play “Magic.” In fact, sources tell me that Clear Channel has sent an edict to its classic rock stations not to play tracks from “Magic.” But it’s OK to play old Springsteen tracks such as “Dancing in the Dark,” “Born to Run” and “Born in the USA.”
This shits gotta end.
Larry said,
ReplyDeleteAs you very well know the pieces are being put into place that will enable the upcoming attempt at Martial Law, while the economy completely crumbles, and the wars never end.
I'll bet you my last worthless paper dollar that orders to attack Iran will end in full-scale revolt. The wingtards know it, too.
Clinton would cream Giuliani, poll finds
ReplyDeleteOne year before voters go to the polls to select the next president, the Republican Party is as weak as it has been in a generation, a detailed new poll suggests.
In a hypothetical match-up between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, bloc after bloc of traditionally Republican voters break for Clinton:
She wins the South.
She polls evenly with voters who attend church at least once a week.
She splits families with a household income above $100,000.
She loses rural voters and men — but only by a narrow margin.
All are constituencies Republicans have dominated for decades; George W. Bush won each by double-digit margins.
The findings from The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press remain preliminary, considering even the primaries are still two months off.
But Pew questioned an unusually large number of voters to try to paint the most accurate picture possible of where the presidential contest stands today.
Should the race continue down its current trajectory, the poll finds Clinton defeating Giuliani by eight percentage points.
The best comfort I take from this poll, if it bears out is;
At leasts the President wearing dresses in the White House after Jan 2009 will be Hillary and not Rudy.
Here are poll numbers from a different poll;
ReplyDeleteA new round of polling from SurveyUSA would seem to totally undermine a central claim of Rudy Giuliani's candidacy — namely, that he can put some usually safe-Democratic state into contention.
Clinton (D) 59%, Giuliani (R) 36%
Clinton (D) 66%, Thompson (R) 28%
Clinton (D) 65%, Romney (R) 31%
Clinton (D) 68%, Huckabee (R) 24%
Clinton (D) 58%, McCain (R) 37%
Clinton (D) 67%, Paul (R) 24%
As it turns out, a poll released Monday showed Giuliani losing California to Hillary Clinton by a 55%-39% margin. And as for his home state of New York — it's even worse, with Hillary beating Rudy by an astonishing 64%-30% margin in a poll released on Tuesday.
Thought's she's not my first or even second choice, it is nice to see polls where the reichwing enablers of Bush ET AL are getting handed their collective asses for now at least.
If it end up a contest of who looks best in a womans dress, Rudy doesn't look like America's choice for president either.
Blackwater Worldwide, its reputation in tatters and its lucrative government contracts in jeopardy, is mounting an aggressive legal, political and public relations counterstrike.
ReplyDeleteIt has hired a bipartisan stable of big-name Washington lawyers, lobbyists and press advisers, including the public relations powerhouse Burson-Marsteller, which was brought in briefly, but at a critical moment, to help Blackwater’s chairman, Erik D. Prince, prepare for his first Congressional hearing.
Blackwater for a time retained Kenneth D. Starr, the former Whitewater independent counsel, and Fred F. Fielding, who is now the White House counsel, to help handle suits filed by the families of slain Blackwater employees.
Another outside public relations specialist, Mark Corallo, former chief spokesman for Attorney General John Ashcroft, quit working for Blackwater late last year because he said he was uncomfortable with what he termed some executives’ cowboy mentality.
The neocons are protecting Bush's Gestapho.
Today the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds target rate – the rate that banks borrow reserves from each other – by .25%, from 4.75% to 4.5%. The commentary was furious, with supporters and distracters arguing for and against. “It’s a bail out for Wall Street” and “Helicopter Ben to the rescue” on the one side. “It’s the right thing to do to dampen the impact of the housing downturn” on the other. I believe it was not the right thing to do, but rather than use platitudes and sound bites I think I found a straight forward way to show why I am uncomfortable with this FED action. (Please keep in mind that I am working with simple numbers and simple concepts, while those making these decisions have exponentially more data and brainpower than I.)
ReplyDeleteIn theory, a reduction in the interest rate will spur consumers and businesses to borrow and spend, which in turn adds fuel to the economy. Here are the Household Debt Service Payments and Financial Obligations as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income numbers from the fed:
1980 Q1 = 15.90%
1990 Q1 = 17.28%
2000 Q1 = 17.67%
2007 Q1 = 19.28%
Average of quarterly data since 1980 Q1 = 17.30%
These numbers are from here: http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/housedebt/default.htm
The ratio of debt service to our personal incomes appears to be at an historical high since 1980, as far back as this report goes. Our debt service ratio is now over 11% higher than the average of the past 26 years, and 21.3% higher than in 1980. Keep in mind that this debt service ratio has expanded considerably during a period of very low interest rates. Should rates go up, this burden can get even worse. This cannot continue forever. At some point we need to de-leverage. If we keep putting it off, it will only be more painful when it ultimately occurs because it will take us longer to get back to a manageable debt service ratio.
Add to the debt service burden on consumers the high cost of energy and food and the declining value of homes and the picture looks pretty bleak. The last thing we need right now is higher prices added to our debt service burden.
Many pundits are claiming that the expanding global economy will save us from a recession, especially with the weak dollar spurring exports. The problem with this argument is that a falling dollar only adds to the inflation problem, as does strong global demand. Is this a time we should be lowering interest rates?
We are paying for the delay of the inevitable recession through a loss of purchasing power and incremental debt service burden that will only make it worse when the correction comes. It does not seem this is the time to be encouraging more borrowing. In the interim, our assets are now dirt cheap in relation to many other currencies. America is ON SALE.
Because of the Bush Economy!
For the most part, long-term poverty today is self-inflicted. To see this, let's examine some numbers from the Census Bureau's 2004 Current Population Survey. There's one segment of the black population that suffers only a 9.9 percent poverty rate, and only 13.7 percent of their under-5-year-olds are poor. There's another segment of the black population that suffers a 39.5 percent poverty rate, and 58.1 percent of its under-5-year-olds are poor.
ReplyDeleteAmong whites, one population segment suffers a 6 percent poverty rate, and only 9.9 percent of its under-5-year-olds are poor. Another segment of the white population suffers a 26.4 percent poverty rate, and 52 percent of its under-5-year-olds are poor.
What do you think distinguishes the high and low poverty populations? The only statistical distinction between both the black and white populations is marriage. There is far less poverty in married-couple families, where presumably at least one of the spouses is employed. Fully 85 percent of black children living in poverty reside in a female-headed household.
The Army began its recruiting year Oct. 1 with fewer signed up for basic training than in any year since it became an all-volunteer service in 1973, a top general said Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteAnother result of Bush's war.
Hundreds of US diplomats have protested against a government move to force them to accept postings in war-torn Iraq.
ReplyDeleteAbout 300 angry diplomats attended a meeting at the state department, at which one labelled the decision a "potential death sentence".
If too few volunteer, some will be forced to go to Iraq - or risk dismissal, except those exempted for medical or personal hardship reasons.
Iraq postings have previously been filled on a voluntary basis.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7072047.stm
Please check out the new updates on the blog. We are having Ed Asner on the show this morning, and Valerie Plame next week for a whole hour.
ReplyDeleteAlso tonight please watch HBO's "To Die in Jerusalem" and amazing movie.
xoxo
With 200-300 nuclear weapons in their arsenal, Israelis enjoy a nuclear monopoly in the Middle East. They mean to keep it that way, and they want the U.S. to help.
ReplyDeleteSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice is at her mushroom-cloud hyperbolic best, and this time Iran is the target. Her claim last week that "the policies of Iran constitute perhaps the single greatest challenge to American security interests in the Middle East and around the world" is simply too much of a stretch.
To gauge someone's reliability, one depends largely on prior experience. Sadly, Rice's credibility suffers in comparison with Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Basing his judgment on the findings of IAEA inspectors in Iran, ElBaradei reports that there is no evidence of an active nuclear weapons program there.
If this sounds familiar, it is in fact déjà vu. ElBaradei said the same thing about Iraq before it was attacked. But three days before the invasion, American nuclear expert Dick Cheney told NBC's Tim Russert, "I think Mr. ElBaradei is, frankly, wrong."
Here we go again. As in the case of Iraq, U.S. intelligence has been assiduously looking for evidence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran, but, alas, in vain. Burned by the bogus "proof" adduced for Iraq -- the uranium from Africa, the aluminum tubes -- the administration has shied away from fabricating nuclear-related "evidence." Are Bush and Cheney again relying on the Rumsfeld dictum, that "the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence?" There is a simpler answer.
Cat out of the bag
The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Sallai Meridor, let the cat out of the bag while speaking at the American Jewish Committee luncheon on Oct. 22. In remarks paralleling those of Rice, Meridor said Iran is the chief threat to Israel. Heavy on the chutzpah, he then served gratuitous notice on Washington that countering Iran's nuclear ambitions will take a "united United States in this matter," lest the Iranians conclude, "come January '09, they have it their own way."
Meridor stressed that "very little time" remained to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. How so? Even were there to be a nuclear program hidden from the IAEA, no serious observer expects Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon much sooner than five years from now.
Truth be told, every other year since 1995 U.S. intelligence has been predicting that Iran could have a nuclear weapon in about five years. It has become downright embarrassing -- like a broken record, punctuated only by so-called "neoconservatives" like James Woolsey, who in August publicly warned that the United States may have no choice but to bomb Iran in order to halt Tehran's nuclear weapons program.
World War III is Coming!
BARTLEBEE said...
ReplyDeleteMike said...
clif said...
Will the reichwing ever learn censorship is unamerican?
Clear Channel is attempting to silence Bruce Springsteen
Here we go again. The Dixie Chicks redux! Bruce has the #1 record in all the land called ” Magic,” but Clear Channel has sent out a memo saying:
Alas, there’s a hitch: Radio will not play “Magic.” In fact, sources tell me that Clear Channel has sent an edict to its classic rock stations not to play tracks from “Magic.” But it’s OK to play old Springsteen tracks such as “Dancing in the Dark,” “Born to Run” and “Born in the USA.”
This shits gotta end.
Actually, it's not entirely true:
There is no concrete proof that Clear Channel "issued an edict."
In fact, a survey of Clear Channel classic rock stations shows that "Magic" is receiving heavy rotation air time in some markets.
What it appears is happening is individual station managers (whether at corporate behest or not remains to be seen) are making this decision. The rationale that's been floated around is that Springsteen (as well as Jon Fogerty and Annie Lennox) are "too old" to have their new stuff played on air.
It might just be coincidental that all three of them have come out strongly agaisnt this war and this administration.
Might be.
In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.
ReplyDeleteThe memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. Spanning from 2002 to shortly after his resignation following the 2006 congressional elections, a sampling of his trademark missives obtained yesterday reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war.
In a 2004 memo on the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Rumsfeld concluded that the challenges there are "not unusual." Pessimistic news reports -- "our publics risk falling prey to the argument that all is lost" -- simply result from the wrong standards being applied, he wrote in one of the memos obtained by The Washington Post.
Under siege in April 2006, when a series of retired generals denounced him and called for his resignation in newspaper op-ed pieces, Rumsfeld produced a memo after a conference call with military analysts. "Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists," he wrote.
People will "rally" to sacrifice, he noted after the meeting. "They are looking for leadership. Sacrifice = Victory."
The meeting also led Rumsfeld to write that he needed a team to help him "go out and push people back, rather than simply defending" Iraq policy and strategy. "I am always on the defense. They say I do it well, but you can't win on the defense," he wrote. "We can't just keep taking hits."
The only man to hold the top Pentagon job twice -- as both the youngest and the oldest defense secretary -- Rumsfeld suggested that the public should know that there will be no "terminal event" in the fight against terrorism like the signing ceremony on the USS Missouri when Japan surrendered to end World War II. "It is going to be a long war," he wrote. "Iraq is only one battleground."
Based on the discussion with military analysts, Rumsfeld tied Iran and Iraq. "Iran is the concern of the American people, and if we fail in Iraq, it will advantage Iran," he wrote in his April 2006 memo.
The real story continues to emerge: Impeach and Jail Bush and Cheney.
The price of oil rose to a record above $96 a barrel Thursday after a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles raised concerns about supplies for coming winter demand. Other energy futures also gained.
ReplyDeleteBush and the boys getting richer, while the rest of the nation faces ruin!
Recent polling has made something pretty clear for Mitt Romney: He would have a hard time at best in the general election in his home state of Massachusetts, where he served one term as governor. The latest SurveyUSA poll shows him losing the state by an amazing 65%-31% margin against Hillary Clinton.
ReplyDeleteNobody wants Mitt the Twit!
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteHow thrilling to have a genuine American hero like Valerie Plame as a guest on your program!
Do ask her how her and Joe's civil case is proceeding against Cheney and if they have a court date.
I am certain Cheney will try to hide his massive fat ass behind Executive Privilege with Bush, leading to a SCOTUS showdown.
Also, how does she and Joe like living in Santa Fe? It's a lovely, peaceful place.
Married to the Mob
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Times, or at least sources the Times reporters spoke to, Rudy Crony Bernie Kerik has a legal defense trust set up to help him defray his weighty legal bills. Considering that Giuliani's candidacy can probably only survive if Kerik keeps quiet, it'd be very interesting to know who's contributing to that fund. People who were just fans of his public service?
Of course, even if Kerik does keep quiet a Rudy nomination would have to force a lot of questions about why Rudy put a mobbed-up, crooked cop in charge of the NYPD and tried to get him installed as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
(ed.note: Thanks to TPM Reader DG for the catch.)
--Josh Marshall
Because in may ways Rudy is MORE corrupt them his BFF Bernie is.
On Nov. 1, 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb, in a test at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands.
ReplyDeleteI thought yesterday was supposed to be the scariest day of the year we celebrate.
The Peak Oil Crisis: After The Peak?
ReplyDeleteWritten by Tom Whipple
I am frequently asked “What is going to happen to us?” and the honest answer of course is we really don’t know in any detail. The world has never been to peak oil before and there are so many factors that will affect a world in oil depletion, it is difficult, or better yet nigh impossible, to paint a picture of what life will be like 10 or 20 years from now.
However, as we get closer to the times when the real troubles stemming from the decline in oil availability begin, a broad outline of what could happen is starting to emerge. Throw in some logical deductions and a fragmentary insight or two starts to emerge.
First the overall magnitude of a swift transition from oil and natural gas to other, less plentiful, forms of energy is almost certain to be a very big problem. Most commentators on life with diminishing supplies of oil conclude it will take decades to transition our lifestyles to those of a more sustainable civilization and that there are some very hard times ahead.
Many commentators now have noted that the speed at which our oil supplies diminish will have much to do with how tough the situation becomes. Slow depletion would give us a one-time opportunity to “make other arrangements” while rapid depletion screams “Gotterdammerung.”
Among the recent insights into what is about to happen is the likelihood that the major oil-importing counties, especially the United States, will have to contend with “peak exports” as well as oil depletion. This means that no matter what the rate world oil production declines — 4, 5, 6 or more percent a year — the importing countries will have to contend with a rate of decline far worse due to the inability to find oil available for import.
The implication here is that we are going to have rapidly falling oil and gas imports no matter what happens to world oil production. Indeed there is evidence that world oil exports are already falling and that the importers are starting to live off of their stockpiles — a situation that will not last for long.
If exports do start to drop, the U.S. will quickly become highly vulnerable. It is time to start thinking that five years from now we will be importing significantly less oil and gasoline than the 12 million barrels a day we currently import. For the sake of argument let’s say that by 2012 we can only find 9 million barrels a day to import — a not unreasonable proposition. Domestic production 5 years from now looks like it will be roughly the same or down a bit so we are going to have to do with less.
From here we could explore many possible outcomes, but the private automobile is obviously where the biggest blow will fall first. I have no idea where gasoline prices will be five years from now but they will obviously be higher. We probably should be thinking dollars higher rather than cents.
Somewhere between now and the day when we only import 9 million barrels of crude and products, we are going to have to confront the issue of who gets how much.
This will rapidly become a political question that will quickly surpass every other political issue of the day by many orders of magnitude. If you think the American people are upset about Iraq, abortion, immigration, taxes and pistols, just wait until the politicians start talking about who gets how much gasoline and diesel fuel. It is going to be something to watch.
Now, as a nation, we could simply do nothing and let many-dollars-per-gallon sort out the allocation, but I suspect this is not going to work. Too many vital functions of our civilization such as food production and distribution or health and sanitation will be disrupted and a clamor will arise for government at all levels to do something. Although the intensity of the debate will be unprecedented, I suspect that the pains of disruption will soon reach a threshold where a compromise is reached and some scheme for the “allocation” of liquid fuels is established.
It will soon become apparent that bottom priority for distributing liquid fuels will be filling the tanks at your local gasoline station and marina.
This line of reasoning suggests that while the availability of petroleum products in the U.S. may be down by three million barrels per day (b/d) from 21 million to 18 million, there will be a disproportional impact on the 9+ million barrels of gasoline we consume each day.
As we currently have no idea how a liquid fuel allocation scheme would work, it is difficult to calculate or guess at what is going to happen to the gasoline available for sale to the general public. I would suspect, however, that we should be thinking of a cut on the order of 50 percent from the current rate of consumption.
If a cut in gasoline availability of this size does not occur in the next five years, just be patient, it won’t take much longer once oil depletion and export limitation sets in.
All this is by way of saying that when you throw in “peak exports,” the oil depletion situation takes a rapid and sudden turn for the worse. With world oil prices now in the $90s and the prospect of higher gasoline prices this winter, we are clearly feeling the opening tremors of much worse to come.
A cut of 50 percent in the availability of gasoline does not bring civilization to halt for there are many acceptable alternatives such as public transit that can result in major savings. I suspect we all have some sort of carpools in our future, not just for getting to work, but for inter-city travel and the errands of daily life. Just as empty seats on airplanes are now few and far between, so too will be empty seats in cars.
In the real game of of peak oil, we aren't even through the first inning yet. Good luck by the seventh inning stretch.
Wow, thats cool Clif..........looks like you linked to TT/Erics profile............the little gutless welching Reich Wing Troll musta had to change his diaper because he soiled himself.
ReplyDeleteTime to update the ol’ Blackwater investigation tally. NBC reports that federal investigators are probing the company’s exportation of “dozens” of silencers to Iraq and elsewhere. It’s illegal to do so without permission from the State Department.
ReplyDeleteNBC reports that a whole bevy of agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the State Department are in on the investigation, which appears to be related to the broader federal criminal investigation for arms smuggling by Blackwater guards led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh, N.C.
Intriguingly, NBC reports that “experts say it is not clear why Blackwater guards would need them for missions such as personal protection of diplomats.”
Investigate all you want, Blackwater has Bush protection.
60 Minutes has identified the man whose fabricated story of Iraqi biological weapons drove the U.S. argument for invading Iraq. It has also obtained video of "Curve Ball," as he was known in intelligence circles, and discovered he was not only a liar, but also a thief and a poor student instead of the chemical engineering whiz he claimed to be.
ReplyDelete60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon's two-year investigation will be broadcast this Sunday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Curve Ball is an Iraqi defector named Rafid Ahmed Alwan, who arrived at a German refugee center in 1999. To bolster his asylum case and increase his importance, he told officials he was a star chemical engineer who had been in charge of a facility at Djerf al Nadaf that was making mobile biological weapons.
60 Minutes has learned that Alwan’s university records indicate he did study chemical engineering but earned nearly all low marks, mostly 50s. Simon’s investigation also uncovered an arrest warrant for theft from the Babel television production company in Baghdad where he once worked.
Also appearing in Sunday's segment is video that 60 Minutes obtained of Alwan at a Baghdad wedding in 1993 - the first time images of him have ever been made public.
He eventually wound up in the care of German intelligence officials to whom he continued to spin his tale of biological weapons. His plan succeeded partially because he had worked briefly at the plant outside Baghdad and his descriptions of it were mostly accurate. He embellished his account by saying 12 workers had been killed by biological agents in an accident at the plant.
More than a hundred summaries of his debriefings were sent to the CIA, which then became a pillar - along with the now-disproved Iraqi quest for uranium for nuclear weapons - for the U.S. decision to bomb and then invade Iraq. The CIA-director George Tenet gave Alwan’s information to Secretary of State Colin Powell to use at the U.N. in his speech justifying military action against Iraq.
Tenet gave the information to Powell despite a letter - a copy of which 60 Minutes obtained - addressed to him by the head of German intelligence stating that Alwan appeared to be believable, but there was no evidence to verify his story.
The congressional vice-grip is tightening on Blackwater and other contracted defense firms.
ReplyDeleteNext Wednesday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) will introduce legislation to phase out the use of tens of thousands of private security contractors deployed on battlefields where American troops are present. The Stop Outsourcing Security Act intends to effectively put Blackwater and their ilk out of business.
Nothing will happen to Bush's hired murderers.
Chrysler LLC said Thursday it plans to cut up to 12,000 jobs, or up to 15 percent of its workforce, as part of an effort to slash costs and match slowing demand for some vehicles.
ReplyDeleteThe automaker will cut 8,500 to 10,000 hourly jobs and 2,100 salaried jobs through 2008. The company already had begun cutting 1,100 temporary workers Wednesday. It will eliminate shifts at five North American assembly plants and cut four vehicle models from its lineup.
It's the Bush economy!
Don Imus will return to the airwaves Dec. 3 on New York's WABC-AM, only nine months after the cantankerous shock jock's career seemed doomed over his racist, sexist remark about a women's college basketball team.
ReplyDeleteCitadel Broadcasting Corp. made the announcement Thursday, confirming long-rumored reports that Imus was returning to morning drive time in the same city where he was banished in April.
"We are ecstatic to bring Don Imus back to morning radio," said 77 WABC President and General Manager Steve Borneman. "Don's unique brand of humor, knowledge of the issues and ability to attract big-name guests is unparalleled. He is rested, fired up and ready to do great radio."
Imus will return with his longtime newsman, Charles McCord, and other members of his morning team, Citadel said in announcing the move. It did not specifically mention Bernard McGuirk, the producer who was fired along with Imus.
Imus will replace the morning team of Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby on the Citadel Broadcasting-owned station.
The acid-tongued broadcasting icon was fired in April after he called the Rutgers University's women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" on the air, sparking a national furor and calls by civil rights leaders and broadcast journalists to resign.
But just three months later, Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the strongest voices calling for the shock jock's firing, said Imus had a right to make a living and could return to radio.
Citadel Broadcasting CEO Farid Suleman also recently defended Imus, telling The New York Times in a recent interview: "He didn't break the law. He's more than paid the price for what he did."
Citigroup Inc (C.N) shares fell as much as 9 percent on Thursday after Credit Suisse and CIBC World Markets downgraded the largest U.S. bank, with CIBC citing concern Citi might have to cut its dividend.
ReplyDeleteThe moves followed another downgrade, by Morgan Stanley, on Wednesday and come amid fears that the bank could face further losses from collateralized debt obligations and other subprime mortgage-related securities.
It's the Bush economy!
Wall Street plunged Thursday as investors found themselves confronted by two uncomfortable prospects: an end to interest rate cuts and a slowing economy. The Dow Jones industrials skidded more than 180 points.
ReplyDeleteMindful of a warning from the Federal Reserve Wednesday about inflation, the market nervously watched the price of oil, which passed $96 a barrel overnight for the first time before dipping on profit-taking.
Another result of the faltering Bush economy!
Foreclosure actions were reported on more than 446,000 properties the three months ended Sept. 30, up 30 percent from the second quarter and double last year’s third quarter. That brings the overall foreclosure rate to one in every 196 U.S. households.
ReplyDeleteThe rise in foreclosures was widespread, with 45 out of the 50 states reporting higher levels than last year. But the highest concentrations were a handful of housing markets; California Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Texas and Michigan made up more than half of the total.
Another result of the devasting Bush economy!
George W. Bush -- President of the United States, commander in chief of the world's most powerful military, a man whose actions can move global markets -- took some time out of a speech Thursday to personally toss some political red meat to the conservative audience he was addressing.
ReplyDelete"Some in Washington should spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden, and the requests of our commanders on the ground," Bush charged, "and less time responding to the demands of MoveOn.org bloggers and Code Pink protesters."
If Bush had responded to Bin Laden instead of Iraqi oil, we wouldn't be heading for World War III.
Hey guys did you hear that chrysler is laying off several thousand people that will probably never return
ReplyDeleteLarry said...
ReplyDeleteGeorge W. Bush -- President of the United States, commander in chief of the world's most powerful military, a man whose actions can move global markets -- took some time out of a speech Thursday to personally toss some political red meat to the conservative audience he was addressing.
"Some in Washington should spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden, and the requests of our commanders on the ground," Bush charged, "and less time responding to the demands of MoveOn.org bloggers and Code Pink protesters."
If Bush had responded to Bin Laden instead of Iraqi oil, we wouldn't be heading for World War III."
Is the idiotic "DECIDER"S" response to Osama Bin Forgotten to let him escape into the sunset in Tora Bora, or to admit he doesnt think much about Osama the man who murdered 3000 Americans, or to say he is irrelevent and capturing the Leader of Al Qaeda and mastermind of 9/11 doesnt matter............thats an "interesting response Georgie boy......wonder how that would play out in the election if you were running.
And as far as listening to the Commanders on the ground................firing and attempting to silence the ones who disagree with your failed policies is a FAR CRY from listening to your commanders on the ground............you fired, attacked and tried to smear and discredit ANY general or commander who spoke out against your pre-ordained plan to occupy Iraq and ONLY NOW that you have a puppet, a shill, a parrot like Petraeus who says what YOU want to hear do you say we need to listen to the commanders onm the ground.
Why was Shinseki and the other Generals fair came to attack and smear but Petraeus is a sacred cow that anyone is attacking "the Entire military" if they disagree with him, criticize him or think he lacks credibility and integrity............funny how when all the wingtards critized and attack Shinseki THEY werent attacking or disrespecting the ENTIRE military and ALL the soldiers.
Those hippocritical Reich Wing fascists and their double standards aye Dolty Boy!
I heard many other blogs are going to promote edwards every friday to try and keep clinton from getting in
ReplyDeleteAt least 554 Iraqis were killed in the month of October in insurgent and sectarian attacks, according to the latest figures from Iraq's three ministries obtained by AFP on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteThings are going great for Bush now.
MOSUL, Iraq — Two U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday after an insurgent bomb exploded underneath their Bradley fighting vehicle as they were clearing a route for hidden explosives, U.S. military officers said.
ReplyDeleteThe soldiers were members of 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast and were transported to a coalition hospital at Forward Operating Base Marez for treatment, military authorities said.
Does this make you happy Bush?
Excellent post, Larry, and some great comments also. You know how I feel about the NWO.
ReplyDeleteWe are all SOOOO screwed.
Thanks Tim:
ReplyDeleteMore and more evidence shows the New World Order is upon us.
Television and movie screen writers said Thursday they would go on strike for the first time in nearly 20 years in a dispute over royalties.
ReplyDeleteFour writers told The Associated Press that Writers Guild of America President Patric Verrone made the announcement in a closed-door session, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
Bad news from some of the biggest U.S. companies reignited investor fears about the shakiness of the credit market Thursday, sending stocks tumbling just a day after the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate to prevent a broad economic downturn.
ReplyDeleteThe three major stock indexes finished the day down by more than 2 percent as money poured into safer investments. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 362 points, its fourth worst trading day of the year.
Bush's failed war. Bush's failed economy. Bush's failed life.
Thirty US senators wrote to President George W. Bush Thursday, warning he had no authority to launch military action against Iran, and expressing concern about the administration's "provocative" rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteThe senators, 29 Democrats and one independent, urged the resolution of disputes with the Islamic Republic through diplomacy.
That didn't stop him from attacking Iraq.
(AP) - A defiant Democratic-controlled Congress voted Thursday to provide health insurance to an additional 4 million lower-income children, ignoring President Bush's threat of a second straight veto on the issue.
ReplyDeleteThe legislation cleared the Senate on a vote of 64-30. It passed the House last week, but supporters were shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's threatened veto.
"We're convinced that the president has undermined an effort to protect children," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said shortly before the vote.
Why don't they do this with the war as well.
Ten Shell gas stations in the Windy City are testing biometric systems that let consumers walk up to the pump, scan their fingertips on a device and fill up their vehicles. The systems, also installed at Shell convenience stores, are directly linked to customers' checking or credit-card accounts for payment.
ReplyDelete"When we talk to customers, they're always looking for ways to make buying gasoline quicker and easier, and always looking for ways to make their transactions faster and more secure," said Chris Susse, Shell's manager of global refueling innovations. "They don't want to carry more cards, kits and keychains, and they want it to be free."
Shades of the coming New World Order.
As Congress and the White House continue to work toward solutions to help embattled homeowners, home foreclosure filings took a big jump in the third quarter, according to the latest data from real estate Web site RealtyTrac.
ReplyDeleteForeclosure actions were reported on more than 446,000 properties the three months ended Sept. 30, up 30 percent from the second quarter and double last year’s third quarter. That brings the overall foreclosure rate to one in every 196 U.S. households.
[…]
“Given the number of loans due to reset through the middle of 2008, and the continuing weakness in home sales, we would expect foreclosure activity to remain high and even increase over the next year in many markets,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac
The Bush economic disaster.
My blog was named a finalist in the 2007 Weblog Awards!
ReplyDeleteI owe it all to my readers, like Larry, Mike, and Clif. And of course, and especially, Lydia...
Thanks for the tip. I will check it out.
ReplyDeleteHey thats cool Carl.
ReplyDeleteOk citizens of California, LISTEN UP.
ReplyDeleteSTOP VOTING FOR DIANE FEINSTEIN.
Every Vote for Diane Feinstein is a vote for the NEOCON AGENDA!!!
She is the not your friend, she is the enemy. She is a liar and an enabler of all that has happened and that will happen under right wing rule.
Do NOT VOTE FOR DIANE FEINSTEIN.
If you do then you might as well change your party affiliation to Republican.
And to those of you who live in New York, I think there are a few of you, SCHUMMER IS THE ENEMY!!!
ReplyDeleteSchummer is not part of the solution he IS part of the problem!!!
A vote for Charles Schummer is a vote for the right wing.
A dollar donated to Chuck Schummer is a dollar donated to the neocons!!!
I can't understand Schumer's philosophy....they're never going to get someone who agres with them on torture, so they'll settle???
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, torture shouldn't be negotiable! Tell me that there was a swap of privacy for....Cheney's impeachment, then maybe I'd agree, but torture????
Oh, and thanks, Bart...
Spread the word people.
ReplyDeleteIf you really are interested in making a change, then spread the word.
The right wing could never do what they do without Democrats like Schummer and Feinstein.
Send them no money, give them no votes.
Shun them.
Carl said...
ReplyDeleteI can't understand Schumer's philosophy....they're never going to get someone who agres with them on torture, so they'll settle???
They didn't even screen a few nomniees first. They just roll over on the FIRST CLOWN BUSH THROWS OUT!!!
Theres no excuse. No words.
They have more power at this point in time then they've had in 7 years, and they roll over on the FIRST CANDIDATE BUSH NOMINATES????
ReplyDeleteNo words can explain this one away.
Screw Feinstein. She's trying to talk her way out of it but don't you listen LYDIA!
Tell her you will no longer support her. Send her no money. Give her no votes.
And TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!
FEINSTEIN IS THE ENEMY!!!!!
NO VOTES FOR CHARLES SCHUMMER and NO VOTES FOR DIANE FEINSTEIN!!!
ReplyDeleteNO VOTES. NO BUCKS.
NADA
I believe the Patriot Act is vital to the protection of the American people
ReplyDeleteDiane Feinstein
December 19, 2005
Sens. Charles Schumer and Diane Feinstein say they will vote for Attorney General-nominee Michael Mukasey, which likely gives him enough support to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee.
ReplyDeleteTheir decision came shortly after the chairman of the committee, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced he would vote against Mukasey, a former federal judge.
“This is an extremely difficult decision,” Schumer said in a statement, adding that Mukasey “is not my ideal choice.”
Schumer is the moron that told Bush to choose him and now he isn't his ideal candidate.
Congrats on your blog being in the finals Carl.
ReplyDeleteHeading there to vote now.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced he would move to force a vote next week on his resolution calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney.
ReplyDelete“The momentum is building for impeachment,” Kucinich said in a statement on his Web site. “Millions of citizens across the nation are demanding Congress rein in the Vice President’s abuse of power.
Kucinich said he plans to introduce a privileged resolution, which would have priority for a House floor vote, on Nov. 6. A vote on the measure would be required within two days.
Observers expect a motion to table Kucinich's resolution, which has 21 Democratic co-sponsors. It is almost certain that such a move to kill the resolution would be successful, but activists are urging members of Congress to support Kucinich's move.
"We need you to ask your representative to vote No on tabling, Yes on giving impeachment a chance," wrote David Swanson on the pro-impeachment Website AfterDowningStreet.org. "Those who vote Yes to table cannot use the excuse that 'We don't have the votes,' since others will at that same instant with exactly the same exertion be voting No. Please scroll down to contact Congress and the media right away!"
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long said that impeachment was "off the table" and Kucinich has had little success spurring legislative action on his resolutions, despite the growing number of lawmakers who have signed on as co-sponsors since it was introduced this spring.
Finally someone is doing what they were elected to do.
Global equities took another battering Friday, with Asia and Europe diving lower after a sharp Wall Street reverse linked to fresh fears over the fallout from the US subprime home loan crisis.
ReplyDeleteInvestors are on tenterhooks over the exposure of major commercial banks to the US high-risk mortgage sector, which is facing severe problems after they lent cash to borrowers with patchy credit histories.
"Markets can deal with bad news; what they find difficult to deal with is uncertainty and this does appear to raise the uncertainty levels across the board," said analyst Keith Bowman at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown in London.
"There are obviously the wider implications as to where we stand across Europe and the rest of the world," he added.
Markets around Asia fell by as much as three percent on Friday after sharp overnight losses in New York as renewed subprime worries erased the euphoria over a US interest rate cut Wednesday.
Signs that major banks may be more severely affected than previously thought expected took a heavy toll on financial stocks.
The Bush economic disaster is spreading.
BAGHDAD - Three U.S. soldiers were killed in northern Iraq, the military said yesterday, while 14 Iraqis were killed in bombings around Baghdad and east of the capital.
ReplyDeleteTwo American soldiers died when their car struck an explosive device Tuesday in Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, the military said. Two other soldiers were wounded in that attack. A U.S. soldier, on patrol in Salahuddin province, was killed when a bomb ripped apart his vehicle.
Are you happy now Bush?
CONGRATULATIONS CARL!!!
ReplyDeleteeveryone vote for Carl at Weblog Awards.
Larry thanks for posting the new vote that passed for children's health insurance.
ReplyDeleteCan you post the details>
Thanks.
Also, is impeachment really going to be put on the table by Kucinich?
November 2, 2007
ReplyDeleteCongress Passes SCHIP Again; House Republicans Still Preventing Veto Override
The Senate passed the re-vamped SCHIP expansion bill on Thursday with a vote of 64-30. The House passed the same bill 265-142 last week with only one Democrat voting no, 26 votes short of the two-thirds required to override the veto promised by President Bush.
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance to children from low-income families who cannot afford private healthcare but do not qualify for federal Medicaid, will run out of funding on November 16.
The bill would provide $60 billion to fund SCHIP over five years, instead of the current $25 billion five-year funding level. Raising the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents to $1 per pack would cover the added cost. President Bush vetoed a similar bill last month. The House failed to override that veto.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced he would move to force a vote next week on his resolution calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney.
ReplyDeleteKucinich said he plans to introduce a privileged resolution, which would have priority for a House floor vote, on Nov. 6. A vote on the measure would be required within two days.
Observers expect a motion to table Kucinich's resolution, which has 21 Democratic co-sponsors. It is almost certain that such a move to kill the resolution would be successful, but activists are urging members of Congress to support Kucinich's move.
"We need you to ask your representative to vote No on tabling, Yes on giving impeachment a chance," wrote David Swanson on the pro-impeachment Website AfterDowningStreet.org. "Those who vote Yes to table cannot use the excuse that 'We don't have the votes,' since others will at that same instant with exactly the same exertion be voting No. Please scroll down to contact Congress and the media right away!"
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long said that impeachment was "off the table" and Kucinich has had little success spurring legislative action on his resolutions, despite the growing number of lawmakers who have signed on as co-sponsors since it was introduced this spring.
Kucinich's full statement is reprinted below:
Kucinich Will Introduce Privileged Resolution To Force Up Or Down Vote On Cheney Impeachment
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 2, 2007) — Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced today that he will be offering a privileged resolution on the House floor next week that will bring articles of impeachment against the Vice President, Richard B. Cheney.
“The momentum is building for impeachment,” Kucinich said. “Millions of citizens across the nation are demanding Congress rein in the Vice President’s abuse of power.
“Despite this groundswell of opposition to the unconstitutional conduct of office, Vice President Cheney continues to violate the U.S. Constitution by insisting the power of the executive branch is supreme.
“Congress must hold the Vice President accountable. The American people need to let Members of Congress know how they feel about this. The Vice President continues to use his office to advocate for a continued occupation of Iraq and prod our nation into a belligerent stance against Iran. If the Vice President is successful, his actions will ensure decades of disastrous consequences.”
The privileged resolution has priority status for consideration on the House floor. Once introduced, the resolution has to be brought to the floor within two legislative days, although the House could act on it immediately. Kucinich is expected to bring it to the House floor on Tuesday, November 6.
H. Res. 333, Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President, has 21 cosponsors. They are: Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Robert Brady (D-PA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Rep. Henry Johnson (D-GA), Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Rep. James Moran (D-VA), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD).
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today announced that he will vote against Michael Mukasey’s attorney general nomination, “potentially derailing his confirmation.” “No American should need a classified briefing to determine whether waterboarding is torture,” said Leahy, who will hold a press conference later in the day. Four other Democrats on the panel have also said they will vote against Mukasey.
ReplyDeleteFinally a partial Democrat in the midst.
In a speech on the Senate floor today, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) became the fourth member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to say he would vote against Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey over his refusal to call waterboarding illegal torture. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Joe Biden (D-DE) have also come out against Mukasey.
ReplyDeleteFinally a real Democrat emerges!
There's a crisis in the labor movement: In the past half century, union membership in the United States has dropped from 35 percent to 13 percent of the work force. As homegrown employers such as Alcoa and Firestone have morphed and prospered in the global economy, American workers have stood pat and lost their shorts. More than 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been cut. Working in the fastest-growing industries—retail, health care, and other human services—tends to be a heartless affair: non-union, temporary, part-time, no health care, no vacation, no retirement. "It has taken unions a long time to realize they've been hallucinating," says Ruth Needleman, a professor of labor studies at Indiana University. "How do you bargain with someone who doesn't care about you?"
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, unions have contributed to workers' woes. Long before Ronald Reagan was in office, labor bosses practiced trickle-down economics. They focused on the salaries and benefits of members in a few core industries such as steel and autos, thinking that their gains would become the standard for other workers. "That's why we don't have national health care," says Needleman. "When other countries were instituting social welfare programs, our unions argued that if the government gave people these benefits, they wouldn't join unions. Today we're left with a tiny corps of organized workers, a perception that unions are selfish, and a huge mass of people without unions."
But a few progressive unions are working hard to beat capital at its own game. After all, if companies can go global, unions can too. This fall, the United Steelworkers held talks in Pittsburgh with the U.K.'s Unite to explore the idea of merging to create the mightiest (or at least the largest) union in the world. Together, the two unions represent 3.4 million active and retired workers. With worsening wages and conditions for workers all over the world, and one country being played off against another, "workers in this new century need a transatlantic union to tame the exploitation of global corporations," said Steelworkers president Leo Gerard in a press conference last April.
The Steelworkers represents 850,000 Canadians and Americans working in the paper, forestry products, steel, aluminum, tire and rubber, mining, glass, chemicals, and petroleum industries—which already makes it the largest industrial union in North America. Since Steelworkers leaders first started taking action on the threat of globalization about a decade ago, they have been coordinating efforts with unions in Germany, Australia, Brazil, and Mexico, as well as in the U.K. Whether the more formal Steelworkers-Unite merger goes ahead (they've given themselves until next spring to work out the details), the two unions have agreed to pool resources to help workers in developing countries, mentioning possible projects in Africa, Columbia, India, and China.
The goal is not to establish one big global bargaining table where wages and benefits are the same everywhere; the world is too complicated for that. Wages are the equivalent of $3.38 a day at the Bridgestone Firestone rubber plantation in Liberia, for instance, and $22.50 per hour plus benefits at the Bridgestone Firestone plant in Des Moines. Rather, the aim is to come up with basic rules that allow workers to make a fair wage and have safe working conditions locally. "Globalization allows multinational corporations to export jobs to the developing world, where oppression and a glut of workers keep wages to a minimum," Gerard says. "This not only destroys North American jobs, it undermines the security and sense of fair play that unions have historically offered here. If we don't raise the standard of living of workers in the developing world, they will be used as cannon fodder against us."
Other unions are co-opting globalism in their own ways. The Teamsters are yoking up with longshoremen in the United States and in Latin America to back each other on strikes and demonstrations. SEIU (Service Employees International Union) is harnessing the power of the janitors, bus drivers, and hotel and security workers who are employed by the same few transnational companies in major cities around the world. Last fall, for example, the SEIU organized 5,000 janitors in Houston. Simultaneous "Justice for Janitors" demonstrations were staged by union brothers and sisters in Mexico City, Moscow, London, and Berlin.
How much will all this fraternizing help unions rise to the challenges posed by multinational corporations? Some argue that globalizing unions is simply "a defensive move—a way of pooling the resources they have," says labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein of the University of California-Santa Barbara. "It's a good thing, but what the movement really needs is better labor laws, universal health care, and a shift to the left politically to make unions more central."
Still, Indiana University's Needleman, whom the Steelworkers hire to teach an annual weeklong leadership course, believes that a little global jujitsu could bring hope and understanding to the beleaguered movement. In fact she herself has hosted worker trips to Brazil. "The unions in other countries, particularly Latin America, are way ahead of us in terms of tying the labor movement to broader social goals," Needleman says. "But it's going to take time for American workers to realize that a Latin American worker is an ally, not an enemy."
Look at the highest paid one half of one percent of Americans, and who do you find? According to a study by University of Chicago professors Steven Kaplan and Joshua Rauh, more than twice as many Wall Street financiers as corporate executives.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you imagine there's such a huge disparity between executives in the financial economy and those in the real economy? If you believe pay is a measure of someone's economic value, you might think that Wall Street's top brass is just plain smarter. I mean, consider the inventiveness and daring required to create collateralized debt obligations, structured credit derivatives, credit default swaps, and all the other financial innovations over the last few years -- some of which, although no one seems to know how much of which, have rested on sub-prime loans.
Well, you might want to think again.. Last week, Merrill Lynch stunned investors by announcing a $7.9 billion write-down of bonds backed by sub-prime mortgages -- billions more than the company had forecast earlier this month. Then earlier this week, Merrill's top gun, Stanley O'Neill, was sacked. But don't cry for him. He'll get a $140 million good-bye gift -- far higher than the golden parachutes of most CEOs in the real economy who flame out. Even when it comes to being fired, it seems Wall Street's top brass do better than regular CEOs.
Other Wall Street heads may be on the chopping block soon. Despite all the hype about each big bank having its own unique expertise, the fact is they've all used similar techniques for highly-leveraged and largely unaccountable speculation. Which means their balance sheets are likely to have similar credibility problems. With their fiscal years ending in November, and their auditors requiring that assets reflect market realities, expect other big write-downs. Citigroup could be next.
In other words, there's no reason to believe Wall Street executives have been smarter than executives in the real, non-financial economy. They've been paid more because they've been smarter at creating schemes that have only appeared to create value, while keeping investors in the dark.
Cooking the books for persoanl profit.
Every day it becomes clearer that Thoreau's answer is the only basis for a genuinely effective resistance to the accelerating depredations of the Bush-Cheney regime. Disassociation, boycott, filibuster, strike -- call it what you will, but the Gandhian tag might be the best: "non-cooperation with evil." The corruption and authoritarian tyranny that the regime has imposed on the nation are evil. The war of aggression it has launched against Iraq is evil. The war of aggression it is fomenting against Iran is evil. If you would not be complicit in evil, then you must not cooperate with it, and you must not acknowledge its power as rightful or legitimate (however powerless you may be to resist its application by brute force)...
ReplyDeleteThus impeachment is not a "distraction" from efforts to end the war in Iraq, or stop a new war with Iran, or quell the vast and sickening corruption of the regime. It is their prerequisite. And even if impeachment is "politically impossible in the present circumstances," as Bush enablers like the pusillanimous Nancy Pelosi likes to tell us, it should be shoved to the forefront of national debate nonetheless. Let us have a "constitutional crisis;" let us bring our festering sickness to a boil. Let's lay it all out, and let people declare once and for all where they stand. Are you for the republic, or do you hold with tyranny, torture and mass murder? Let's draw the line at last, and be done with all pretense...
But we know that what should be done will not be done...
Impeach Bush and Pelosi.
As of Friday, Nov. 2, 2007, at least 3,848 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,131 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe AP count is eight higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.
The British military has reported 171 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.
Death is such good news for Bush he may have a whiskey with Pickles tonight!
Cooking the books and cooking the food are a lot the same. You have to know when to stop, or it all ends up in the trash.
ReplyDeleteGee Lydia you sure side stepped my comments there.
ReplyDeleteCitigroup Inc (C.N) Chief Executive Charles Prince plans to resign this weekend, the Wall Street Journal said, as the widening subprime mortgage crisis deals a final blow to a reign long under attack.
ReplyDeleteAnother Republican thief bites the dust.
Staffers on Capitol Hill are howling over an e-mail sent from Sen. Larry Craig's office Friday about a watch found -- guess where -- in the men's room!
ReplyDeleteThe e-mail, which is being forwarded pretty much all over the place on Capitol Hill, is from Pat Olsen, the embattled Idaho Republican's administrative director
Bathroom Romeo strikes again.
CNN's Jack Cafferty says it's a "national embarrassment" that US military veterans are among the 47 million Americans that do not have health insurance.
ReplyDeleteCafferty cited new research conducted at Harvard Medical School indicating that 1.8 million veterans were uninsured in 2004, a number that's climbed by 290,000 since 2000 estimates. The same study found an additional 3.8 million people, all members of veteran households, also lacked coverage.
"Turns out most uninsured veterans are in the middle class and thus are ineligible for VA care because of their incomes," said Cafferty. "They're too high. Others can't afford to make the co-payments, and some just simply lack veterans facilities in their communities."
The lead researcher on the study, Dr. David Himmelstein, of Cambridge Health Alliance, said in a press release that the problem was on the rise -- and pointed to universal health care as a possible fix.
"The number of uninsured vets has skyrocketed since 2000, and eligibility has been cut, barring hundreds of thousands of veterans from care,” said Himmelstein. “We need a solution that works for veterans, their families, and all Americans -- single payer national health insurance."
Cafferty said that even one uninsured American veteran was nothing short of a disgrace.
"That, in this humble fellow's opinion, is a national embarrassment," he said.
More of Bush's Compassionate Conservatism!
" Larry said...
ReplyDeleteCitigroup Inc (C.N) Chief Executive Charles Prince plans to resign this weekend, the Wall Street Journal said, as the widening subprime mortgage crisis deals a final blow to a reign long under attack.
Another Republican thief bites the dust."
Larry, do EVER research anything?
Prince's financial contributions were:
36.8% Republican ($50,800)
58.7% Democrat ($96,100)
and
22.5% ($42,594) to a special interest group, primarily his own company's pac.
Hardly a staunch Republican...
Bartlebee, I haven't had time to read any comments here yet, only one jumped out at me because of the link. I skim quickly on busy days.
ReplyDeleteStill can't read any comments until the weekend is almost over this week.
It's my son's birthday, so I am sorry.
What comments -- can you let me know?
Larry,
ReplyDeleteAre you around?
I got your comments out of Akismet.
It's not Blogger -- it's Wordpress and for some reason, the spam filter keeps grabbing your posts.
I'll check Akismet and reroute your comments to appear. Sorry.
Bathroom Romeo strikes again.
ReplyDeleteROFL! Priceless.
Let's look at that, MmmmmmmmmK, Widdle Twucker? Since you know, you tend to swallow the cumshots of your Republican overlords so easily...
ReplyDeletePRINCE, CHARLES
NEW YORK, NY 10021
CITIGROUP/BANKER
DEWINE, RICHARD MICHAEL
VIA MIKE DEWINE FOR US SENATE
06/30/2006 2000.00
MCCONNELL, MITCH
VIA MCCONNELL SENATE COMMITTEE '08
11/30/2005 2000.00
PORTMAN, ROBERT J
VIA PORTMAN FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE
01/18/2002 1000.00
CRAPO, MICHAEL D
VIA MIKE CRAPO FOR US SENATE
05/27/2004 2000.00
GIULIANI, RUDOLPH W
VIA FRIENDS OF GIULIANI EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE
04/29/1999 1000.00
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
09/24/2004 200.00
BUSH, GEORGE W
VIA BUSH-CHENEY '04 (PRIMARY) INC
03/11/2004 200.00
BUSH, GEORGE W
VIA BUSH-CHENEY '04 (PRIMARY) INC
06/20/2003 2000.00
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
07/20/2000 225.00
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
12/06/1999 250.00
Now let's look at his SON'S contributions, Charles Prince III...
DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
05/16/2006 15000.00 26020363043
06/30/2007 15000.00
SCHUMER, CHARLES E
VIA FRIENDS OF SCHUMER
10/18/2000 500.00 21020041359
03/31/2004 1000.00 24020211606
03/31/2004 1000.00
LAFALCE, JOHN J
VIA FRIENDS OF JOHN LAFALCE
11/04/2000 1000.00
NELSON, BILL
VIA BILL NELSON FOR U S SENATE
05/28/1999 1000.00
FERRARO, GERALDINE A
VIA FERRARO FOR SENATE '98
02/23/1998 1000.00
DASCHLE, THOMAS ANDREW
VIA NEW LEADERSHIP FOR AMERICA PAC
03/21/1997 1000.00
RANGEL, CHARLES B
VIA RANGEL FOR CONGRESS
02/17/2007 2300.00
BOWLES, ERSKINE B
VIA ERSKINE BOWLES FOR US SENATE
12/31/2001 1000.00
REID, HARRY
VIA FRIENDS FOR HARRY REID
09/30/2004 2000.00
I could go on, but you get the point.
You were saying something, or was that just sperm oozing out your lips, Widdle Twucker?
As usual, you pass along half-baked lies and call them truths, when in point of fact, you wouldn't know the truth if it was a state trooper on the highway next to you.
Voltron the Moron said...
ReplyDeleteHardly a staunch Republican...
So you're suggesting Prince voted for Kerry? Or Nader?
You really are one stupid mutherf$#ker aren't you?
The money Prince gives to democratic candidates aren't donations.
ReplyDeleteThey're bribes.
Prince is as far right wing as you can get. He voted for Bush both times and he is a supporter the neocon agenda.
Period.
Dang! I wish I got HBO.
ReplyDeleteLarry, what you're calling the NWO is what I call the Reich.
Frankly Tomcat the name Reich is more telling of what they are than the New World Order.
ReplyDeleteBartlebee:
ReplyDeleteCheck out Christopher's post today on Feinstein and Schumer.
You'll like the comments.
From the Left
Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and deployed troops in the capital Saturday, declaring that rising Islamic extremism had forced him to take emergency measures that included replacing the nation's chief justice and blacking out the independent media that refused to support him.
ReplyDeleteAuthorities began rounding up opposition politicians despite calls from Washington and other Western allies not to take authoritarian measures.
The U.S. called for Musharraf to restore democracy. However, the Pentagon said the emergency declaration does not affect U.S. military support for Pakistan and its efforts in the war on terrorism. Britain said it was deeply concerned.
His leadership threatened by an increasingly defiant court and an Islamic movement that has spread to Islamabad, Musharraf said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture and extremists had directly challenged the government's authority.
"The extremism has even spread to Islamabad, and the extremists are taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates," the president said in an address to the nation late Saturday on state-run television.
Musharraf replaced the chief justice of the Supreme Court _ who had emerged as the main check on his power _ before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president. His emergency order accused some judges of "working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.
He criticized the Supreme Court for failing to make a ruling yet on whether to validate his contentious victory in a presidential election, and for punishing government officers, including police. He said this had left the government system "semi-paralyzed."
Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the deposed chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.
In his television address, Musharraf said he hoped democracy would be restored following parliamentary elections.
"But, in my eyes, I say with sorrow that some elements are creating hurdles in the way of democracy," said Musharraf, who was wearing civilian clothes and spoke firmly and calmly. "I think this chaos is being created for personal interests and to harm Pakistan."
The order drew swift complaints from the United States and Britain _ Musharraf's main Western allies. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a return to democracy.
The United States "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice said from Turkey, where she was participating in a conference with Iraq's neighbors.
Musharraf claimed that 61 terrorists have been freed on order from the court _ an apparent reference a case that has been led by the now-deposed chief justice to press authorities over suspects held by intelligence agencies without charge.
"Extremists are openly roaming," he said "And no one knows whether any of the these freed men were behind recent bomb attacks."
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a longtime rival of Musharraf who recently returned from eight years of exile, flew back to Pakistan from Dubai where she was visiting family. She left the airport under police escort; her house was surrounded by paramilitary troops.
After her arrival at Karachi's Airport, Bhutto said she did not believe there would be fair elections as long as emergency rule remained in place.
"Unless General Musharraf reverses the course it will be very difficult to have fair elections," she told Sky News television by telephone. "I agree with him that we are facing a political crisis, but I believe the problem is dictatorship, I don't believe the solution is dictatorship.
"The extremists need a dictatorship, and dictatorship needs extremists."
The government halted all television transmissions in major cities other than state-controlled Pakistan TV. Telephone service in the capital, Islamabad, was cut.
Musharraf said some independent TV channels had contributed to the uncertainty in the country.
In justification, the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press said "the constitution provides no solution for this situation, there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures," it said.
This is a preview of Bush's upcoming move for dominance!
BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military said Saturday that a female soldier was killed by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad — at least the 90th woman service member to die since the start of the Iraq war.
ReplyDeleteAre you happy now Bush?
America's Armageddonites Push for More War
ReplyDeleteBy Jon Basil Utley, Foreign Policy in Focus
Utopian fantasies have long transfixed the human race. Yet today a much rarer fantasy has become popular in the United States. Millions of Americans, the richest people in history, have a death wish. They are the new "Armageddonites," fundamentalist evangelicals who have moved from forecasting Armageddon to actually trying to bring it about.
Most journalists find it difficult to take seriously that tens of millions of Americans, filled with fantasies of revenge and empowerment, long to leave a world they despise. These Armageddonites believe that they alone will get a quick, free pass when they are "raptured" to paradise, no good deeds necessary, not even a day of judgment. Ironically, they share this utopian fantasy with a group that they often castigate, namely fundamentalist Muslims who believe that dying in battle also means direct access to Heaven. For the Armageddonites, however, there are no waiting virgins, but they do agree with Muslims that there will be "no booze, no bars," in the words of a popular Gaither Singers song.
These end-timers have great influence over the U.S. government's foreign policy. They are thick with the Republican leadership. At a recent conference in Washington, congressional leader Roy Blunt, for example, has said that their work is "part of God's plan." At the same meeting, where speakers promoted attacking Iran, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay glorified "end times." Indeed the Bush administration often consults with them on Mideast policies. The organizer of the conference, Rev. John Hagee, is often welcomed at the White House, although his ratings are among the lowest on integrity and transparency by Ministry Watch, which rates religious broadcasters. He raises millions of dollars from his campaign supporting Israeli settlements on the West Bank, including much for himself. Erstwhile presidential candidate Gary Bauer is on his Board of Directors. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson also both expressed strong end-times beliefs.
American fundamentalists strongly supported the decision to invade Iraq in 2003. They consistently support Israel's hard-line policies. And they are beating the drums for war against Iran. Thanks to these end-timers, American foreign policy has turned much of the world against us, including most Muslims, nearly a quarter of the human race.
The Beginning of End Times
The evangelical movement originally was not so "end times" focused. Rather, it was concerned with the "moral" decline inside America. The Armageddon theory started with the writings of a Scottish preacher, John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). His ideas then spread to America with publication in 1917 of the Scofield Reference Bible, foretelling that the return of the Jews to Palestine would bring about the end times. The best-selling book of the 1970s, The Late, Great Planet Earth, further spread this message. The movement did not make a conscious effort to affect foreign policy until Jerry Falwell went to Jerusalem and the Left Behind books became best sellers.
Conservative Christian writer Gary North estimates the number of Armageddonites at about 20 million. Many of them have an ecstatic belief in the cleansing power of apocalyptic violence. They are among the more than 30% of Americans who believe that the world is soon coming to an end. Armageddonites may be a minority of the evangelicals, but they have vocal leaders and control 2,000 mostly fundamentalist religious radio stations.
Although little focused on in America, Armageddonites attract the attention of Muslims abroad. In 2004, for instance, I attended Qatar's Fifth Conference on Democracy with Muslim leaders from all over the Arabian Gulf. There, the uncle of Jordan's king devoted his whole speech to warning of the Armageddonites' power over American foreign policy.
Armageddonite Foreign Policy
The beliefs of the Armageddon Lobby, also known as Dispensationalists, come from the Book of Revelations, which Martin Luther relegated it to an appendix when he translated the Bible because its image of Christ was so contrary to the rest of the Bible. The Armageddonites worship a vengeful, killer-torturer Christ. They also frequently quote a biblical passage that God favors those who favor the Jews. But they only praise Jews who make war, not those who are peacemakers. For example, they vigorously opposed Israel's murdered premier Yitzhak Rabin, who promoted the Oslo Peace Accords.
Based on this Biblical interpretation, the Armageddonites vehemently argue that America must protect Israel and encourage its settlements on the West Bank in order to help God fulfill His plans. The return of Jews to Palestine is central to the prophetic vision of the Armageddonites, who see it as a critical step toward the final battle, Armageddon, and the victory of the righteous over Satan's minions. There are a couple internal inconsistencies with this prophecy, such as the presence of Christians already living in the Holy Land and the role of Jews in the final dispensation. In the first case, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and other Religious Right leaders tried to pretend that Christians already in the Holy Land simply didn't exist. As for Jews, they needed to become "born again" Christians to avoid God's wrath (or, according to some Armageddonites, a separate Jewish covenant with God will gain them a separate Paradise).
Everyone else -- Buddhists, Muslims (of course), Hindus, atheists, and so on -- are then slated to die in the Tribulation that comes with Armageddon. As described in the bestselling Left Behind series, this time of human misery ends with Christ then ruling a paradise on earth for a thousand years.
Armageddonites know little about the outside world, which they think of as threatening and awash with Satanic temptations. They are big supporters of Bush's "go it alone" foreign policies. For example, they love John Bolton. They were prime supporters for attacking Iraq. And, with very few exceptions, they were noticeably quiet about, if not supportive, of torturing prisoners of war (only with a new leadership did the National Association of Evangelicals finally condemn torture in May, 2007). Their support of the Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani shows that they consider aggressively prosecuting Mideast war (to help speed up the apocalypse) more important than the domestic programs of these socially liberal politicians.
On other foreign policy issues, they are violently against the pending Law of the Seas Treaty, indeed any treaty which possibly circumscribes U.S. power to go it alone. They want illegal immigrants expelled and oppose more immigration. They fear China's growth. They despise Europeans for not being more warlike. The UN figures prominently in their fears, and the Left Behind books present its Secretary General as the Antichrist. Domestically, they strongly support the USA PATRIOT Act and all of President Bush's actions, legal or illegal.
Armageddonites and Fascism
Author and former New York Times reporter Christopher Hedges argues that worldview and reasoning of the Armageddonites tend toward fascism. In his book American Fascists, Hedges focuses on their obedience to leadership, their feelings of humiliation and victimhood, alienation, their support for authoritarian government, and their disinterestedness in constitutional limits on government power. Theirs was originally a defensive movement against the liberal democratic society, particularly abortion, school desegregation, and now globalization, which they saw as undermining their communities and families, their values, and livelihood. Their fundamentalism is very fulfilling and, Hedges writes, "they are terrified of losing this new, mystical world of signs, wonders and moral certitude, of returning to the old world of despair."
Hedges, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, also shows that fundamentalists are quite selective. They don't take the Bible literally when it comes to justifying slavery or that children who curse a parent are to be executed. The movement is also very masculine, giving poor men a path to re-establish their authority in what they perceive as an overly feminized culture. Images of Jesus often show Him with thick muscles, clutching a sword. Christian men are portrayed as powerful warriors.
The overwhelming power and warmongering of the Armageddonites has inspired some resistance from other fundamentalists, but they are a minority. Theologian Richard Fenn writes, "Silent complicity (by mainline churches) with apocalyptic rhetoric soon becomes collusion with plans for religiously inspired genocide." Their death-wishing "religion" is actually anti-Christian and should be challenged openly by traditional Christians.
The next election will likely loosen their grip on the White House. However, their growing ties to the military industrial complex will remain. Exposure of their war wanting as a major threat to America and the world may well become as destructive for them as was the famous Scopes trial in the 1920s. But that will only happen if Americans become as concerned as foreign observers about the influence of the Armageddonites.
Common Dreams:
ReplyDeleteFear-mongering, arrogance and bureaucratic bullying. By such tools, Donald Rumsfeld became one of the most powerful, most unpopular and ultimately most unsuccessful Pentagon chiefs in history. Any doubts about that judgement have been removed by the publication this week in The Washington Post of a selection of his “snow-flakes” - the short memos the former defence secretary was wont to fire off daily in scores to his staff. They pestered, they irritated, and on occasion they terrorised their recipients. Together, they give a depressing snapshot of the modus operandi of their boss, as he presided over the debacle in Iraq.
“Keep elevating the threat. Talk about Somalia and the Philippines,” Mr Rumsfeld urged in April 2006 as Iraq fell apart and eminent former generals broke cover to demand his resignation. “Make the American people realise they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists.” In the same vein, he suggested re-branding the war on terror a “worldwide insurgency”. He seems to have had as much scorn for Arabs as for “Old Europe”, noting in a May 2004 rumination that oil had made Muslims forget “the reality of work, effort and investment that leads to wealth for the rest of the world”.
Not least the snowflakes underline the mendacity inherent in Mr Rumsfeld’s style. Whenever pushed into a corner at a Pentagon briefing, he would wriggle free by claiming that he was not involved in a particular decision, that he had not had the time to read an embarrassing article, memo or leaked internal report. Any mistakes, he implied, were made by underlings. In fact, as the memos prove, he was an obsessive micromanager, who knew everything that was going on.
Most depressing, however, while the man himself has gone, his methods remain. Mr Rumsfeld was forced from his job in November 2006, after the Republican midterm election defeat for which his mismanagement of the war was largely responsible. His successor, Robert Gates, has a low-key, cautious and thoughtful style, far removed from the abrasive Rumsfeld. But the scare-mongering continues. Be it the use of torture or the threat posed by Iran, this White House (still featuring Mr Rumsfeld’s ally Dick Cheney) trots out the same justification: America is in mortal peril, and all means are justified. In other words, as the departed, unlamented master would put it: “Keep elevating the threat.”
(AP) -- A Democratic senator on Saturday accused President Bush of "hollow talk" in support of U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and said the Bush administration has not done nearly enough to provide veterans with the care they need.
ReplyDeleteSen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said, "The president can call on Democrats to follow him in lockstep all he wants, but when it comes to caring for our veterans, we are not about to start taking advice from George Bush."
Bush scolded Democrats on Thursday for combining spending bills for defense and veterans programs with one for labor, health and education matters. Republicans consider the bill bloated.
The president also lamented that his emergency spending request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan still languishes.
Murray, delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address, accused Bush of underfunding the Veterans Affairs Department and said thousands of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are "stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare" and aren't getting the health care they need.
The senator said the number of uninsured veterans has skyrocketed in recent years. The administration also lost the personal data of millions of veterans and failed to correct shoddy outpatient treatment and poor living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, she said.
Murray, the fourth-ranking Democratic senator, defended a Democratic bill that pays for veterans programs and other priorities such as education and medical research.
The bill provides thousands of new case workers to help reduce delays for treatment, improves conditions at Walter Reed and other facilities and invests in new ways to treat ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.
Sen. Murray has been an activist for veterans' issues and was the first woman to serve on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, according to her Web site.
Bush loves the Veterans on photo day.
Larry said...
ReplyDeleteBartlebee:
Check out Christopher's post today on Feinstein and Schumer.
You'll like the comments.
Are you Lawrence?
Lawrence
ReplyDeleteNovember 3rd, 2007
Schumer and Feinstein should be waterboarded for this vote. They’re filth and not worthy of serving in the United States senate.
If this were 1837 they'd be tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who remember, Bartlebee has been predicting the very events you are seeing in Pakistan for more than a year now.
ReplyDeleteI warned of Bin Laden returning in force to Pakistan and Al Quaida overthrowing Musharraf and seizing the nukes.
Today Musharraf declared Martial Law.
I knew this would happen. How I knew I don't know, just logic I guess. But I knew it would happen.
ReplyDeleteKashmir is just too good of a hiding place and Pakistan's nukes just too close, and Pakistans people just too loyal to Osama.
The news gave us the polls. Something like 80 percent support Bin Laden over the US. So what did we THINK would happen?
Pakistan could become a real problem. A real big problem.
Real quick like.
BARTLEBEE said...
ReplyDeleteI knew this would happen. How I knew I don't know, just logic I guess. But I knew it would happen.
Kashmir is just too good of a hiding place and Pakistan's nukes just too close, and Pakistans people just too loyal to Osama.
The news gave us the polls. Something like 80 percent support Bin Laden over the US. So what did we THINK would happen?
Pakistan could become a real problem. A real big problem.
Real quick like."
I too saw this as a "REAL" problem for quite a while, there is a very real threat that Osama the guy who attacked us could get his hands on nukes in a country that is very radical and very anti USA.
Like usual the shoot first dont ask questions at all and waste most of your bullets Neo Con fools are wasting all our resources fighting countries that had absolutely NOTHING to do with attacking us, while the man who ACTUALLY DID attack us is free to plot and sceme and possibly seize a country that ALLREADY has nukes while the dumb as dirt Neo Cons use their Nazi propaganda to try to scare the population into support their insane plan to pre-emptively nuke a country that doesnt even have nukes so they can overthrow the government and give their oil cronnies access to developing and controlling their Oil and Natural gas reserves.
I essentially agree with Everything you have said over the past 2 years Bartlebe with the one possible exception that it would make far more strategic sense for Russia to not engage us directly in the Middle East at least not for several more years till we exhaust more resources and are weaker.........if Russia were smart they would supply the insurgents with weapons and sit back and smirk as we beat ourselves just as they did in Afghanistan in the 1980's..............its like chess, it doesnt make sense to risk a fancy wild attack when you have a simple winning endgame.
That being said I do think the Neo Cons WANT Osama to seize nukes and nuke the USA they want and need America scared by real threats its the ONLY way yjey can cling to power.........the sad thing is the way these clowns operate, Pakistan could give the terrorists a dirty bomb to nuke America and the Neo Cons would go off half cocked and use that as an excuse to nuke Iran just like when Osama in Afghanistan atacked us and they let him escape while invading an oil rich country that had absoluterly NOTHING to do with attacking us.
AP
ReplyDeletePosted: 2007-11-03 19:59:56
Filed Under: World News
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Nov. 3) - Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and deployed troops in the capital Saturday, declaring that rising Islamic extremism had forced him to take emergency measures. He also replaced the nation's chief justice and blacked out the independent media that refused to support him.
Pakistan Press Information Department / AP
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency is illegal, eight Supreme Court judges said. The judges ordered officials to ignore the emergency.
Authorities began rounding up opposition politicians, cut phone lines in the capital and took all but the state television station off air despite calls from Washington and other Western allies not to take authoritarian measures.
The U.S. called for Musharraf to restore democracy. However, the Pentagon said the emergency declaration does not affect U.S. military support for Pakistan and its efforts in the war on terrorism. Britain said it was deeply concerned."
Thats a hoot............Washington AKA GWB and his Neo Con cronnies calling for someone else NOT to take authoritarian measures not to try to stifle dissenting oppinions in the MSM and calling for them to restore democracy and nOT declare martial law...........isnt GWB the clown obsesseed with declaring martial law and destroying both the Constitution AND democracy..........mr pot meet mr kettle!
BARTLEBEE said...
ReplyDeleteLawrence
November 3rd, 2007
Schumer and Feinstein should be waterboarded for this vote. They’re filth and not worthy of serving in the United States senate."
You know this really surprised me..........I KNOW the Democrats have proven spineless on most everything but i actually expected them to keep denying all Bushs cronny appointees and most likely run without an Attorney General till 2009.
I never thought much of Schumer, although i did like how he at least tried to put some heat on Gonzalez, I always thought of him as a career cronny capitalist politician hehas been in office sine i was a little kid.
Feinstein on the other hand really surprised me until recently i really liked Feinstein, I did a great deal of researcg on the California energy crisis around 7 years ago, i read Congressional Floor Debates, proposed bills and amendments and investigations and I really had a great deal of respect for Diane Feinstein for the leadership role she took in that crisis/scandal I always thought she was a smart classy lady with integrity...............and the way she and the rest of the Democrats have hangled things in the last year is a disapointment and in my opinion a disgrace.
And I agree many of these people are NOT weorthy of serving in leadership positions as their judgement, leadership and integrity is lacking.
BARTLEBEE said...
ReplyDeleteThe money Prince gives to democratic candidates aren't donations.
They're bribes.
Prince is as far right wing as you can get. He voted for Bush both times and he is a supporter the neocon agenda.
Period."
EXACTLY right as a CEO of a financial titan Prine has to lobby/bribe the people in power that DOESNT mean he isnt a repug that just means he has to blay ball with the people in power and there is a clear shift away from repugs and towards democrats if you check the campaign contributions and lobbying money there is a clear shift away from money flowing to repugs and towards democrats...........thats called the smart money duncetron..............but if you want to admit that instead of the cronny capitalists hedging their bets by supporting the winning side there is a cataclysmic shift where corporate amewrica is becoming democrats and the repug party is dying and withering on the vine feel free.
The Conservative movement is dead dolty boy!......BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Voltron said...
ReplyDelete" Larry said...
Citigroup Inc (C.N) Chief Executive Charles Prince plans to resign this weekend, the Wall Street Journal said, as the widening subprime mortgage crisis deals a final blow to a reign long under attack.
Another Republican thief bites the dust."
Larry, do EVER research anything?
Prince's financial contributions were:
36.8% Republican ($50,800)
58.7% Democrat ($96,100)
and
22.5% ($42,594) to a special interest group, primarily his own company's pac.
Hardly a staunch Republican..."
Your the one who never does any research pal...............only a braindead troll could try to insist that Charles Prince, Richard Armitage, Katie Couric and Chris Mathews are all liberals............you are one stupid ignorant motherf$%#er!
Larry said...
ReplyDeleteGeorge W. Bush -- President of the United States, commander in chief of the world's most powerful military, a man whose actions can move global markets -- took some time out of a speech Thursday to personally toss some political red meat to the conservative audience he was addressing.
"Some in Washington should spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden, and the requests of our commanders on the ground," Bush charged, "and less time responding to the demands of MoveOn.org bloggers and Code Pink protesters."
If Bush had responded to Bin Laden instead of Iraqi oil, we wouldn't be heading for World War III."
Is the idiotic "DECIDER"S" response to Osama Bin Forgotten to let him escape into the sunset in Tora Bora, or to admit he doesnt think much about Osama the man who murdered 3000 Americans, or to say he is irrelevent, and capturing the Leader of Al Qaeda and mastermind of 9/11 doesnt matter............thats an "interesting" response Georgie boy......wonder how that would play out in the election if you were running.
And as far as listening to the Commanders on the ground................firing and attempting to silence the ones who disagree with your failed policies is a FAR CRY from listening to your commanders on the ground............you fired, attacked and tried to smear and discredit ANY general or commander who spoke out against your pre-ordained plan to occupy Iraq and ONLY NOW that you have a puppet, a shill, a parrot like Petraeus who says what YOU want to hear do you say we need to listen to the commanders onm the ground.
Why was Shinseki and the other Generals fair game to attack and smear but Petraeus is a sacred cow that anyone is attacking "the Entire military" if they disagree with him, criticize him or think he lacks credibility and integrity............funny how when all the wingtards critized and attack Shinseki THEY werent attacking or disrespecting the ENTIRE military and ALL the soldiers.
Those hippocritical Reich Wing fascists and their double standards aye Dolty Boy!
Voltron gets his ass handed to him again, and like each and everytime he loses, he just walks quietly away, until he comes back in with a new topic, pretending to be obvlivious to the point he just got proven wrong on.
ReplyDeleteFeinstein on the other hand really surprised me until recently i really liked Feinstein....
ReplyDeleteOh boy. I don't even know where to begin here.
DiFi:
1. voted with Bush for the Iraq war
2. voted with Bush for the USA Patriot Act
3. voted with Bush to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act
4. voted with Bush for his racist, homophobic judge, Leslie Southwick
5. voted with Bush to keep funding the Iraq war
6. engaged in shameless, immoral warmongering for the sole purpose of personal enrichment
The "classy" DiFi is an ethically-challenged, warmongering piece of shit, who is married to billlionaire investor, Richard Blum.
The pair own investment groups that hold 75 percent of Perini Corporation. In April 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Transatlantic Programs Center awarded a contract to Perini worth as much as $500 million to provide goods and services to the U.S. Central Command in Iraq.
In late September 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers issued additional task orders totaling $278 million on the three individual contracts and the Corps decided to raise the contract ceiling from $100 million to $500 million.
Difi is one wealthy neocon and she has the dried blood of U.S. soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians to prove it.
Just keeping it real, Mike.
LOL, Christopher.........i said i liked and respected her 7 years ago BEFORE the fueheror came to power........i actually liked how she handled the California energy crisis which i did extensive Comgressional research on...........I NO LONGER have any respect for her as far as i'm concerned Feinstein, Pelosi, Reed et al dont deserve to be Congressional Representatives.
ReplyDeleteI honestly dont know her well enough to know if she sold out or if like a broken Clock she might have been right twice a day and the way she handled the energy crisis just happened to be one of those times........but I am no fan......i KNOW an enabler of evil when i see one.
Voltron said...
ReplyDelete"...he just walks quietly away,"
Yeah right. Ask Larry how many responses he deleted yesterday.
It's easy to "hand someone their ass" when you have your finger on the delete button.
Go suck an egg.
(Oh and I found your little keylogger, removed it and changed my passwords. Please whine some more about malicious programs on MY blog...)"
BS, you either just spit out BS with NO facts to back it up or you use dubious inaccurate or outdated facts........you havent addressed anyones arguments.
You werent the one getting deleted you jackass associates were for trying to derail.
as for your keylogger comment.......take off the tinfoil hat and change your tampon little troll................BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
BTW, i hope you picked a better password!
Voltron said "It's easy to "hand someone their ass" when you have your finger on the delete button."
ReplyDeleteWow i'm somewhat impressed did you actually think up this stupid talking point on your own or was it tt?
Dont strain that little walnut too much i think i smell smoke................i know thinking on your own is a foreign concept for repugs.
And for the record loser NO ONE deletes real debate characterized by facts and opinions its when there are spam intended to derail or baby talk and name calling that Rusty and TT do that it gets nuked.
No one likes, respects or wants Rusty or TT around but they are paid trolls so they just dont care.
Oh and for the Record Dolty, tell your partner in crime Eric I caught him using his admin privliges in Blogger to change Clifs link the other day............I added that evidence to the file I have on you clowns.............better be more careful next time.
ReplyDeleteBTW, its pretty sad and pathetic that Eric has Admin privliges at Blogger and he STILL gets bitch slapped right of the blog like the little punk troll he is.
Speaking of punks tell that little punk Rusty from Washington STATE that he's going to be run right outa this blog just like the Earps ran those little punk cowboy bitches outa town in Tombstone!
Pakistani police detain 500 activists By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press Writer
ReplyDelete13 minutes ago
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Police rounded up hundreds of opposition leaders and rights activists Sunday after Pakistan's military ruler suspended the constitution, ousted the top judge and deployed troops to fight what he called rising Islamic extremism
As I've been saying for 2 years now, HERE's where the real problem lies.
And its all happening just as I predicted it would, which is actually starting to scare me.
Musharraf is arresting LIBERALS!
ReplyDeleteHe's arresting PEACE ACTIVSTS by the hundreds!!!
Arresting them and tossing them into torture dungeons where many will be tortured or executed as "enemies of the state".
Pakistan is falling apart, because we decided to invade Iraq, instead of going after Bin Laden and Al Quaida, who have made Kashmir their new headquarters.
Ignore the simpleminded fools like Voltron. They're like foolish children who haven't a clue as to whats going on.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is EXACTLY as I predicted 2 years ago, Al Quaida is gathering strength in Pakistan via Muslim extremeism, and they are preparing to uprise against Musharraf and once they do, Al Quaida will have nuclear weapons.
The question is, what are we going to do now?
ReplyDeleteWith our international credibility shot thanks to Iraq, not to mention our military, just what the hell are we going to do with a country the size and strength of Pakistan?
Particularly if they have nukes?
Bush played around in the sands of Iraq when he should have been hunting Al Quaida in Pakistan and Kashmir.
BARTLEBEE said...
ReplyDeleteThe question is, what are we going to do now?
With our international credibility shot thanks to Iraq, not to mention our military, just what the hell are we going to do with a country the size and strength of Pakistan?
Particularly if they have nukes?
Bush played around in the sands of Iraq when he should have been hunting Al Quaida in Pakistan and Kashmir."
You can say that bottom paragraph about 5 more times...............as for what we should do, we should do what we SHOULD have done ALL ALONG.............do things to REALLY increase national security rather than use it as demogoeric rhetoric to manipulate elections and seize power.
We also need to foster international trust and cooperation in combating Al Qeda and extremism rather than helping it with fringe extremism of our own.
Bush used the war on terror as buzz words and catch phrases to demonize his opponents and win elections the truth is GWB did more to help Al Qaeda recruit and gain power than Osama ever did and the effects of Bush's folly will be felt for decades.
Seriously though, port security is what worries me the most.....I can forsee the terrorirsts wanting to impede commerce by blowing up a dirty bomb in a busy US port.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is we could have had Bin Laden without ever going to war anywhere. Not Iraq, and not Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteLaw enforcement working with the CIA supported by a little bit of international diplomacy and we'd have had his head on a platter by now.
Bush used a broadsword when the situation called for a scalpel.
Looks like Thompson was as lazy about checking out his CLOSE friends as he is about everything else he does;
ReplyDeleteThompson Adviser Has Criminal Past
Republican presidential candidate Fred D. Thompson has been crisscrossing the country since early this summer on a private jet lent to him by a businessman and close adviser who has a criminal record for drug dealing.
Thompson selected the businessman, Philip Martin, to raise seed money for his White House bid. Martin is one of four campaign co-chairmen and the head of a group called the "first day founders." Campaign aides jokingly began to refer to Martin, who has been friends with Thompson since the early 1990s, as the head of "Thompson's Airforce."
Thompson's frequent flights aboard Martin's twin-engine Cessna 560 Citation have saved him more than $100,000, because until the law changed in September, campaign-finance rules allowed presidential candidates to reimburse private jet owners for just a fraction of the true cost of flights.
Martin entered a plea of guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979; the court withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. He was charged in 1983 with violating his probation and with multiple counts of felony bookmaking, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-trafficking and conspiracy charges, which stemmed from a plan to sell $30,000 worth of the drug, and was continued on probation.
Thompson's campaign said the candidate was not aware of the multiple criminal cases, for which Martin served no jail time. All are described in public court records.
Karen Hanretty, Thompson's deputy communications director, said yesterday that "Senator Thompson was unaware of the information until this afternoon. Phil Martin has been a friend of the senator since the mid-1990s and remains so today." Thompson communications director Todd Harris added that Martin was not subjected to the campaign's standard vetting process because "he's a longtime friend."
"There's not a campaign in the world that has the ability to research every one of its supporters going back more than 20 years," Harris said.
Martin could not be reached in the past week, and lawyers for him in Tennessee and Florida declined to comment on the criminal cases. Hanretty said she forwarded detailed questions from The Washington Post to Martin yesterday afternoon.
I missed it Larry...but I'll try to catch it on the rebound. It does sound extremely interesting between the two mothers. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteJust because the corporate owned MSM doesn't think the story of almost an entire state in Mexico is worthy of the time they devote to Brittany, Paris ET Al doesn't mean millions of Mexicans aren't suffering;
ReplyDeleteExodus out of Mexico flood zone
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled severe floods in the South Mexican state of Tabasco where rivers burst their banks after heavy rain.
The centre of the state capital, Villahermosa, is under between 2m (6 feet) and 6m of water with only rooftops visible from the air.
Some 300,000 are still trapped in their homes in Tabasco, waiting to be rescued by boat or helicopter.
....
After flying over the state, Mr Calderon described the flooding as "not just the worst natural catastrophe in the state's history but, I would venture to say, one of the worst in the country's recent history".
From another source;
Tabasco Governor Andres Granier said more than half of the state's 2.1 million residents were affected.
"We have lost 100 per cent of our crops and 70 per cent of the state is under water," he said.
"We are just like New Orleans. All the water that comes in has to be pumped out."
Here is the BBC News website readers in the Mexico flood area have been giving their accounts of the disaster:
Your stories: Mexico flood crisis
and for the greedy neo-con reichwingers who wonder why they should care at all;
Mexican President Calderon: Floods Cripple Mexico's Oil Industry
Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Friday warned it would take time to rebuild what has been devastated by the non-stop flooding plaguing the country, including the oil industry, which was crippled by the catastrophe.
"The storms have forced the closure of three of Mexico's main oil ports, preventing almost all exports and halting a fifth of the country's oil production. It has a strong economic impact" Calderon said in an interview.
The storm did not spare the Bay of Campeche, Mexico's main oil producing region and home to more than 100 oil platforms.
Overall, the region normally exports about 1.7 million barrels of crude daily. Since, most of the production remains shut down, it would mean that Mexico's output would drop by 2.6 million barrels a day.
That 1.7 million barrels of exports comes to the US, so both oil and Gas prices are a gonna go up boys, and it ain't the gobernment's fault but a little blowback from the early stages of global warming, you know that climate thingy you clowns STILL wanna deny at all costs.
Oh and as for the US having the Largest companies;
ReplyDeletePetroChina expected to surpass Exxon Mobil as largest company
When the state oil and gas firm PetroChina makes its debut Monday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China's booming stock markets will be on the verge of setting another stunning milestone in market valuations. Soon after the Shanghai listing, analysts expect PetroChina to surpass the U.S. energy giant, Exxon Mobil, as the world's largest company by market capitalization
Looks like the US is gonna have to get used to second place, HUH?
Update
ReplyDeleteSHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shares in PetroChina (601857.SS), which raised $9 billion in the world's biggest initial public offer this year, nearly tripled in their market debut and far exceeded analysts' forecast, buoyed by the company's position in the world's second-biggest energy market.
Local-currency A shares in China's largest oil and gas producer opened at 48.60 yuan on Monday, compared with their initial public offer price of 16.70 yuan.
The shares had fallen back slightly to around 45 yuan nearly an hour after the start of trading. They had been expected to trade around 35 yuan, a Reuters poll of seven industry analysts showed.
The opening price gave PetroChina a total market value of $1.1 trillion, making it the world's largest listed company by market capitalization, more than double the second biggest, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), at $488 billion.
A company with 2 1/2 times the capital worth of EXXON?
They seem to be GROWING not shrinking like Exxon seems destined to do?
Not good for the futures of wall street, cause the Chinese have the money to buy what they want, the US with 9 trillion dollars of debt with a housing bubble bursting crashing US mega banks,
NOT SO MUCH.
A partial list of organizations accepting donations to assist victims of flooding in Tabasco.
ReplyDeleteRed Cross: Call 800-HELP-NOWor 800-257-7575 (Spanish). www.redcross.org
Catholic Relief Services:877-HELP-CRS or www.crs.org
UNICEF: 800-4-UNICEF or www.unicefusa.org
World Vision:888-56-CHILD or www.worldvision.org
Operation USA:800-678-7255 or www.opusa.org
Commercial banks with relief-fund accounts set up by the Mexican government.
ScotiabankAccount 00100911240
HSBC bank
Account 4000943274
Wells Fargo bank
Account 599253401
Bancomer bank
Account name: Ayuda Tabasco 2007.
Account number: 2280300127
from Christian Science Monitor
Lydia's going to interview Valerie Plame.
ReplyDeleteHow cool is that?
BARTLEBEE said...
ReplyDeleteLydia's going to interview Valerie Plame.
How cool is that?"
I'm looking forward to that interview!
I'm also looking forward to Plames book.
Thats what the Chinese are gonna start to do with their money Clif...............Instead of buying US Treasury Bonds at 4% interest and suffering currency losses due to the declining dollar they are gonna start using those trade surpluses to buy Oil and gold.
ReplyDeleteclif said...
ReplyDeleteJust because the corporate owned MSM doesn't think the story of almost an entire state in Mexico is worthy of the time they devote to Brittany, Paris ET Al doesn't mean millions of Mexicans aren't suffering;"
You know i'm so sick and tired of the MSM Ramming Britny, Linsey Lohan, Paris Hilton and anna Nicole down our throats...........I could care less about these people.
Thats why I dont even watch the news anymore.........they are slowly making themselves irrelevent to most people with half a brain.
Voltron said...
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to "hand someone their ass" when you have your finger on the delete button.
Real simple solution, Widdle Twucker.
Don't abuse the privilege of posting in this blog, and you won't have to worry about your posts being deleted.