Don't Be Spun by the Spin - by Charley Reese talks about W's trip to Europe. He always is right where the "spin" is concerned.
I think the best line that sums up W is " ... Bush cannot resist acting as if God appointed him schoolmaster of the world." The smirk and snide laugh is not very dimplomatic-like.
Read more...Wear brown on April 1. Celebrate the Fool in the House - the White House that is. Brown suits, brown ribbons, brown coats....
Read more...Putin Loses His Smile After Lecture from Bush On Democracy is an article about W's meeting with "old buddy" Vlad. It seems our cowboy decided to teach Vlad a few lessons on democracy. Oh yeah, just great. Treat the few "friends" we have like crap. What is really amazing is that W, who probably can't spell "democracy" and is leading this country to ruin, is trying to teach others how to run their countries.
W, teach yourself, study history, really listen - not to the voices in your head, not to the words of Rove, Rice and Uncle Dick but to the voice of other nations, other creeds, those who may think differently from you. You may just learn something.
Read more...The New York Times OpEd of a shameless incident that is a standard.
"Mr. Arar is the most visible victim of the reprehensible U.S. policy known as extraordinary rendition, in which individuals are abducted by American authorities and transferred, without any legal rights whatever, to a regime skilled in the art of torture. The fact that some of the people swallowed up by this policy may in fact have been hard-core terrorists does not make it any less repugnant."
Read more...Rummy TV is one that I won't be calling my cable company for. Hey can TiVo zap through programming and just go to commercials? That could apply here.
Blood and guts channel - hey why spend our tax dollars on this propoganda channel when we already have FOX.
Read more...This Modern World has an hysterical strip. But also sad because it's true.
Maybe it's the mood I am in but I am very disheartened, troubled and vexed by the rightwing nuts out here. Reading other blogs, I am afraid of their vitriol - their hatred of "all" Muslims, their willingness to condone sterotyping, the willingness to glorify killing...
Tom Tomorrow is absolutely right. When they argue they use "any tenuous excuse to seize the moral high ground...concede nothing...grandstand...change the subject entirely...be utterly shameless."
And from the look of blogs and comments it is getting worse. They are taking their cue and they are learning from Hannity and O'Reilly. Their "M.O." - put down your "opposition" or just say "I have no time to deal with you."
I am not saying that I or like minded souls like me are "saints" or perfect. But I have to say that I feel we appreciate other's opinions (cultures). I wish everyone would. EVERYONE has a right to their opinion and a right to life. Let us stop condemning entire civilizations, races, creeds.... Let us respect all - let us earn the respect of others.
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No, I did not open a chain of restaurants in NYC. Though I wish I did. 
MSNBC recently reported that a Homeland security grant will pay for a shrink wrap machine able to bag human bodies. What is going on? Big plans being made?
Read more...Israel must be prepared for an air strike on Iran is a report on the "plans" being made. The dogs of war are barking at the same time the top-barker, W, tries to downplay the rhetoric. Confused? Hey we always get mixed messages from this regime. Double-speak? No. More like "confuse the masses with fear and lies. When the sh*t hits the fan they will never know what hit 'em."
Read more...United for Peace of Pierce County, WA reports that Scott Ritter "...said that President George W. Bush has received and signed off on orders for an aerial attack on Iran planned for June 2005. Its purported goal is the destruction of Iran’s alleged program to develop nuclear weapons, but Ritter said neoconservatives in the administration also expected that the attack would set in motion a chain of events leading to regime change in the oil-rich nation of 70 million -- a possibility Ritter regards with the greatest skepticism."
He also "...said that U.S. authorities in Iraq had manipulated the results in order to reduce the percentage of the vote received by the United Iraqi Alliance from 56% to 48%."
No surprise here. Are you surprised? This is news we won't be hearing on FOX.
Read more...From a Rolling Stone article by Thompson about the 2004 election and debates.
Nixon was a barrel of laughs compared to this gang of thugs from the Halliburton petroleum organization who are running the White House today -- and who will be running it this time next year, if we (the once-proud, once-loved and widely respected "American people") don't rise up like wounded warriors and whack those lying petroleum pimps out of the White House on November 2nd.Read more...Nixon hated running for president during football season, but he did it anyway. Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.
When young Bush was at Yale in the Sixties, he told the same joke over and over again for two years, according to some of his classmates. One of them still remembers it:
There was a young man named Green
Who invented a jack-off machine
On the twenty-third stroke
The damn thing broke
And churned his nuts into cream."It was horrible to hear him tell it," said the classmate, who spoke only on condition of anonymity. He lifted his shirt and showed me a scar on his back put there by young George. "He burned this into my flesh with a red-hot poker," he said solemnly, "and I have hated him ever since. That jackass was born cruel. He burned me in the back while I was blindfolded. This scar will be with me forever."
From Ode by Ziauddin Sardar:
Sometimes it seems like the world can be simply divided into good and evil, into terrorists and pacifists. But is it that easy? British intellectual Ziauddin Sardar lodges a complaint Most terrorists lead mundane, apparently peaceful lives, but, in their own way, they are as cruel as those who behead victims for audiences on the internet. They are you and me, ordinary people consuming much too much, leading an unsustainable lifestyle, plundering non-western economies in the name of free trade, and imposing our lifestyle and morality on the rest of humanity. Yes, terrorists R (also) us! Of course, there is a difference between “their” terrorism and, “our” terrorism. They feel they have a legitimate grievance; they engage in conscious terrorism because they see themselves as powerless against governments that have inflicted real injustice on them. We, on the other hand, are motivated by greed, a sense of superiority and an unshakable belief in our right to dominate the world. They kill indiscriminately. We kill en masse. Their nefarious deeds get the attention of the global media. Our terrorist activities are invisible, shrouded in pious rhetoric about “freedom and democracy,” embedded in our way of life, integrated into our system of thought and way of looking at the world. They know they are guilty. We have an innate belief in our innocence. They kill in hundreds and thousands; we kill in millions. Of the 4.4 billion people living in developing countries, nearly three-fifths lack access to sewers, a third lack clean water, a quarter lack housing, and a fifth lack healthcare of any kind. Every day 800 million people go hungry. A baby born today in Botswana has a life expectancy of 39. This is not the product of some fluke of history, or natural disasters, or mismanagement by tinpot dictators or a lack of initiative by the wretched of the Earth. These people are the direct victims of our deliberately-planned policies and actions. We close our markets to African peanut farmers but give billions of dollars in subsidies to American peanut farmers and ensure they can sell their products all over the globe. We subsidize every cow in the European Union by $2.50 (U.S.) a day at the same time we force peasants in Africa and Asia off their land to live on less than $ 1 a day. We also kill cultures in the name of development, destroy traditional communities, turn rainforests into deserts to satisfy our craving for hamburgers. Ten languages fall silent every year. Entire cultures and different ways of being human are disappearing as a direct result of the cultural terrorism we perpetuate. In return, we gloat. America constitutes three percent of the world’s population but consumes 25 percent of its energy and produces 30 percent of its pollution. The three richest Americans have assets exceeding the combined gross domestic products of the 48 least-developed countries. Americans spend $8 billion (U.S.) on cosmetics, nearly as much on pet food, and $10 billion a year on pornography—more than the estimated cost of providing clean water, sanitary sewers and basic healthcare to all the world’s poor. This, then, is the world the West has created over the past two centuries and America has shaped over the last few decades. In this world, inequalities, exploitation and imperialism are not just part of the system—they are the System. “Evil terrorists” commit horrendous acts of carnage by insulating their conscious awareness from the emotional consequences of what they do. We too insulate our consciousness from the repugnant consequences of what we continue to do every day of our mundane lives and the truly hideous world we have created and maintain. For sure, terrorists need to change. But we need to change even more. The future need not be an extension of the past or the present. It can be shaped, decolonized and made more equitable. But to shape a future free from terrorism we must understand it. The terrorists believe they are fighting a form of cultural politics. It is a struggle to create cultural space for other ways of knowing, being and doing. It is a politics of visibility that brings the inhuman consequences of our policies and actions into sharper focus. In the end, a terrorism-free future begins with our Selfs.We too must be very careful as to all our actions. Killing and destruction for freedom or progress is still killing and destruction. Let us truly judge ourselves before we judge others. Didn't Jesus say, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Well W, if you think we are that innocent and above it all take a look around and see the fruit of our actions- death, polluted skies, poverty, hopelessness, homelessness..... Read more...
The Independent reports on "Operation River Blitz", the attempt to "pacify the remaining rebel strongholds." Interesting choice of words. How do blitz and pacify go together?
I am sure that Ramadi will face a similar devastation as seen in Fallujah. More destruction, more death, more hatred....Interesting way to pacify through destruction.
Read more...TIME reports on talks between the U.S. and Iraqi insurgents.
What do the insurgents want? Top insurgent field commanders and negotiators informed TIME that the rebels have told diplomats and military officers that they support a secular democracy in Iraq but resent the prospect of a government run by exiles who fled to Iran and the West during Saddam's regime. The insurgents also seek a guaranteed timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal, a demand the U.S. refuses. But there are some hints of compromise: insurgent negotiators have told their U.S. counterparts they would accept a U.N. peacekeeping force as the U.S. troop presence recedes. Insurgent representative Abu Mohammed says the nationalists would even tolerate U.S. bases on Iraqi soil. "We don't mind if the invader becomes a guest," he says, suggesting a situation akin to the U.S. military presence in Germany and Japan.This is so fiiting. I have always said that with W, today's friend is tomorrow's enemy and vice versa. The "insurgents' may be offering the best option for W. He doesn't want someone associated with Iran either. He would rather deal with a Baathist - hell we supported Saddam in hiw war against Iran (remember Rummy and saddam shaking hands like ong lost buddies). Hey the insuragents have been targeting Shiir=tes lately more than our troops. A brokered deal? I wouldn't put anything past W. Read more...
Reggie Rivers in the Denver Post:
Partisanship has denuded the political landscape of meaningful debate to the point that anyone who criticizes President Bush's policies is presumed to be a Democrat who is still angry about the outcome of the election. However, as a critic of the president, I speak for a lot of people when I say that it's not simple partisanship that motivates us. Many of us believe that President Bush is doing great harm to the United States, and we're concerned about where our nation will stand four years from now. As the Bush administration gears up for an invasion of Iran, Americans need to ask whether we can fight another pre-emptive war. To understand how wrong this doctrine really is, you need merely to reverse roles. Imagine that, in the face of all this saber-rattling, Iran decided to attack us pre-emptively. Would Americans shrug and say that it was legitimate for Iran to hit us first? How many hundreds of billions will this war cost? Will the president give us an estimate beforehand or will he try to hide the costs as he's doing with the war in Iraq? Will American servicemen again be deployed for extended periods in a deadly conflict with vague goals and no exit strategy? How many of them will die fighting the president's pre-emptive wars? How many more domestic programs will President Bush have to cut in order to finance the war? How much more debt will our nation take on in order to pay for it? The freedom to ask these questions is among the characteristics that separates us from other nations. And when it comes times for actual combat, most of us believe that there is a wide gulf between war and terrorism, but the differences are actually quite subtle. By definition, war is organized fighting conducted by a nation against another nation; violence or terrorism is everything else. So when the United States sent troops into Iraq, we called it war, but when Iraqi citizens fought back, we didn't describe their actions as warfare because they weren't part of a national army. Instead, we called them "insurgents engaged in violence." Civilians who die at the hands of insurgents or terrorists are called "victims"; civilians who die at the hands of powerful states are called "collateral damage." The words are important because they reinforce the right of nations to use force. But along with this power comes great responsibility to follow established rules of warfare. And we've always believed that the United States follows those rules. The U.S. has in the past believed in the rule of law and engages only in legitimate warfare, taking great care to follow the international protocols for war. Yet, lately, we invaded Iraq without a threat of imminent attack. We have held hundreds of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay without calling them POWs and without giving them the protection of the Geneva Convention. We've held people around the world without charges and without access to lawyers or courts. We have an attorney general who said that torture was a legitimate tool in the war on terrorism and, consequently, we have soldiers who have tortured prisoners. But how many rules can the United States break before it's guilty of engaging in simple violence rather than legitimate warfare? Can you imagine us giving our blessing to any nation that held American POWs without giving them protection of the Geneva Convention? We would immediately condemn that action. But somehow, when we're the nation committing the same offense, we shrug as if it's no big deal. I know I'll be accused of being a member of the Blame-America-First crowd, and that's OK. Too many of our citizens are part of the Blame-America?-Never! mindset, and that has the danger of leading us down a very tyrannical path.I have no need to add any words or comments except: Bravo!! Read more...
12 Australians are being sought in Harrari's murder. Great. This will throw W's Syrian plans into the toilet. And what about Australia as a nation of terrorists.
I don't really know the source of this report. Interesting - have to find out more....Mossad agents with Aussie passports?
Read more...don't wait until he's 18 to document his opposition to war. Record it now. Some excellent advice! It looks like I am going to be busy creating files for my three sons. They may have to start putting their names on some of these posts.
Read more...Telegraph News reports on W's statements concerning Iran and Israel. "Clearly, if I was the leader of Israel and I'd listened to some of the statements by the Iranian ayatollahs that regarded the security of my country, I'd be concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon as well. And in that Israel is our ally, and in that we've made a very strong commitment to support Israel, we will support Israel if her security is threatened." His comments appeared to be a departure from the administration's line that there are no plans to attack at present and that Washington backs European diplomatic efforts. The remarks may have reflected Mr Bush's personal thinking on an issue causing deep concern in Washington."
W seemed to have some trouble with his answers. Didn't want to let everyone know what his acrds are. But we all know that the cards are stacked against Iran and Syria.
Read more...Aljazeera.Net reports that there "was a lot of coordination between the groups that were based in Iran and Iranians, with those of Americans to create the conducive environment for the victory of the forces over there." So we work with them and at the same time rattle our sabres, send drones and allow talks of war to spread. Today's friend can be today's enemy all at the same time. Maybe this is why the threats against Syria have taken center stage.
Read more...MSNBC reports on the repercussions of the bombing in Lebanon, and our recalling our ambassador from Syria. Many are pointing their fingers at Syria -things are moving very quickly, with the big question:
How will this affect the Mideast peace process? It all leads toward how deeply Syria was involved in it. Syria has been the last holdout, as it were, against Israel. If there were to be pressure on Syria, then of course it’s going to be to Israel’s advantage. Coming so close to the agreement signed between the Palestinians and the Israelis, anything seen to upset the balance of that cease-fire would impact very negatively on everyone in the region. Everybody is worried that Syria will be forced into some sort of confrontation with Israel and that would of course have repercussions across the region. That’s a big fear that people are talking about as well.Well I am quite confident that conspiracy theorists will be having a field day with these events. This is all fitting in very nicely with our plans for Syria and Lebanon (but I thought they would be coming after Iran). I am not sure who drove the car into the motorcade, but the media and propoganda machines are revving their engines to implicate Syria.
It is amazing how things seem to be coming together in perfect order for W. Hey, maybe I should re-read Hal Lindsey's books again.
Read more...Ahmad Chalabi is back and there's going to be trouble - hey now, hey now Chalabi's back. Okay so I stole it from the "My Boyfriend's back" song. But the sentinment still holds.
Chalabi was the poster child for some in the regime. He was instrumental in setting the stage and rationale for our Iraq war/occupation. Then he had to go and get himself accused of embezzlement and passing secrets to Iran.
But the phoenix is rising again. I know that there will be many in W's house who will welcome Chalabi (Wolfowitz will probably lead the parade). Hey, Chalabi can set us up for our Iranian adventure. With enough money passing his way I think he would sell out his closest relative.
Read more..."Rolling Stone" courtesy of Truthout.org reports on the possibility of a draft.
According to an internal Selective Service memo made public under the Freedom of Information Act, the agency's acting director met with two of Rumsfeld's undersecretaries in February 2003 precisely to debate, discuss and ponder a return to the draft. The memo duly notes the administration's aversion to a draft but adds, "Defense manpower officials concede there are critical shortages of military personnel with certain special skills, such as medical personnel, linguists, computer network engineers, etc." The potentially prohibitive cost of "attracting and retaining such personnel for military service," the memo adds, has led "some officials to conclude that, while a conventional draft may never be needed, a draft of men and women possessing these critical skills may be warranted in a future crisis." This new draft, it suggests, could be invoked to meet the needs of both the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. The memo then proposes, in detail, that the Selective Service be "re-engineered" to cover all Americans - "men and (for the first time) women" - ages eighteen to thirty-four. In addition to name, date of birth and Social Security number, young adults would have to provide the agency with details of their specialized skills on an ongoing basis until they passed out of draft jeopardy at age thirty-five. Testifying before Congress two weeks after the meeting, acting director of Selective Service Lewis Brodsky acknowledged that "consultations with senior Defense manpower officials" have spurred the agency to shift its preparations away from a full-scale, Vietnam-style draft of untrained men "to a draft of smaller numbers of critical-skills personnel."
So what are the chances? The majority of citizens don't want a draft reinstated. Even if it is very selective - "skilled" positions - it will go over like a lead balloon. But with adventures in Iran and Syria looming, can we avoid it?
In the end, it may simply come down to a matter of math. In January, Bush told America's soldiers that "much more will be asked of you" in his second term, even as he openly threatened Iran with military action. Another war, critics warn, would push the all-volunteer force to its breaking point. "This damn thing is just an explosion that's about to happen," says Rangel. Bush officials "can say all they want that they don't want the draft, but there's not going to be that many more buttons to push."Read more...
Fasten Your Seatbelts: The Rapture Index brings readers up to speed on where the countdown stands. "The Rapture Index, as of this writing, stands at 153. Anything over 145 is labeled by the Rapture Actuaries as "Fasten your seat belts." In other words: Repent for the End Is Near."
But it is not just Iraq, Iran and Russia that enter into the Rapture rap. It's also the environment. "One of George Bush's core constituencies is actively praying for environmental degradation. Its members are in fact praying for the end of the world, because the end of the world is the beginning of the fun part of salvation."
Woo-hoo, the next four years are going to be fun. They're praying for the end of the world, and I'm praying that we all survive W's regime.
Read more...WorldTribune.com: reports that two planes were downed over the sea by Israeli F-16 jets. Because of the downing, Syria has been seeking an array of ant-aircraft systems from Russia. Now before you go off about this, read the article and see who Israel got their weapons from.
Why are we just hearing about this now? Is there something in the timing we should be aware of?
Read more...Progressive Democrats of America "toasts" new DNC Chair Dean. Things are looking up. His speech talked about building the party - not top down from consultants but bottom up from the grassroots. A sound idea indeed. Things are beginning to look up - it is time to not back away from ideas and ideals. Looking forward to seing the Dem party get back to its principles and roots. Congratulations!!!
Read more...Paul Craig Roberts has a great article, "We Have Nothing to Fear But Bush Himself ", on the Iraq/Middle East situation. He talks about the need for this regime to listen to and become more reality-based.
"If our aim is to win against terrorism, we can't afford more instability in the area," warned the king (of Jordan) prior to the ill-fated US invasion of Iraq. "It's the potential Armageddon of Iraq that worries all of us."
Roberts has a new name for this regime. one that will stick:
"Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, Cheney and Bush blame Syria and Iran for the troubles that they brought upon themselves. The Iraqi insurgency, say the Five Morons, is the fault of Syria and Iran."The Five Morons - how fitting. Read more...
Well Hannity, O'Reilly, Malkin and friends are having a field day crucifying two men: Eason Jordan for his "journalists are targeted" remarks and Ward Churchill. Watched C-Span last night that had a talk by Churchill - He is definitely a little rough around the edges. Churchill is taking a lot of heat because of an essay he wrote right after 9-11. In so many words he laid some of the blame on us. He went far, in some respects, by calling victims "little Eichmans". But when you read his comments there are many points that any thoughtful rational person would agree with. But even if you do not agree with him in a single aspect, we all must admit that he has a right to his ideas and is free to express them. Just wish folks would let up a little on him. It is called Freedom of Speech.
So North Korea has nukes - I think we all knew that. And they say they are for defensive purposes to protect themselves against us. Well is it any wonder? We called them an Axis of Evil and just about declared open war on them. Wouldn't you be a little rattled too? But now poor W has to shift his focus just a little from Iraq, Iran and Syria to North Korea. Afghanistan and bin Laden? They haven't been on W's list for a long time. I'm waiting for the report that North Korea has saddam's WMD's. So what to do with North Korea? It's called Diplomacy. Remember the post a few days ago about Oreos? Did you see how much the "Evil" ones spend on defense compared to us? I think North Korea is upping the bargaining chips. Well it is in the world's best interest to listen.
Joey "I'm one with W" Lieberman was on Hannity radio again. He is becoming a regular - I hope Sean offers him a job after he loses his Senate seat. He talked about North Korea and stressed the idea that we have to find a way for regime change. We always call for regime change when it suits us. Can't we learn to deal with all people? Wasn't there a book about dealing with "difficult people"? Maybe Joey and W should curl up in front of a fire and read a few chapters to each other.
Read more...Exopolitics.org has the explanation for our involvement in the Mid East. It seems there is a "stargate" in the area. Yeah, just like the movie. Interesting site. Aliens - W - war - politics.
Read more...Condi's "Victory" tour has been filled with warnings to Iran. But she always points out that "the United States has set "no deadline, no timeline" for Tehran to act."
Our man in England Tony Blair agrees but is taking some heat because of the sabre rattling.
So it seems it is a war of words. The threats are now directed at Syria. Why this shifting of threats and potential targets? Could it be that we heard Iran when it stated that they will retaliate if we strike? Could it be that W's regime is listening to the voices that say an attack will raise all Iranians to a nationalistic fervor? Or am I dreaming when I assume that we really do listen - or is this just another series of jabs before a big right-hand punch.
Read more...Michelle Malkin is coming very close to annoying me as much as Ann Coulter. The good news is that I don't see or hear her on TV and radio as much as I do Queen Ann.
This was Michelle's take on Esiason's comments of our trooops "targeting" reporters. Esiason is really taking a lot of heat on this one. One of the dead reporters everyone is mentioning is Mazen Dana, killed in 2003.
Well, Malkin weighs in. I love her reasoning of how a shoulder held camera can be mistaken for a shoulder fired weapon. Towards the bottom of her article click on "Check out the photos here". The photos show Dana with his camera and two samples of weapon photos.
Sure. Can't you see the similarities like Michelle obviously does. The microphones? - no only one has a microphone, silly. The light on top? - no only one has a top mounted light. The length of weapons? - no they are different lengths. Boy are you slow - they are all held on the shoulder. Proof that anyone can mistake one for the other. And don't give me that there are differences in headgear. You are missing a critical point - all three are wearing something on their heads! Again proof that it was an honest mistake.
Thank you Michelle for enlightening us. You brought us the truth of the WWII internment camps. now you are bringing us the truth about the Iraq war. You are my Queen in waiting. Watch out Ann, a new bitch is in town.
Read more...Oreos and The Federal Budget from True Majority is a perfect way of looking at the Billions of dollars spent on Defense and so little spent on other domestic issues. Click on the cookie to the left ("See what's wrong") to see a movie about the budget. Then click on the Oreo to the right ("Set it Right") to set your own idea of a budget - and send it to Congress.
This is a great presentation. It works. The only problem is - now I'm hungry. MMMMMMM Oreos!!!!!
Read more...Eric Margolis writes of the secret police - U.S.'s own SS (we call them the Strategic Support Branch or SSB - coincidence?). This spy unit is being run out of the Pentagon and headed by Lt. General Willy Boykin. This is the same guy who called "the U.S. Army "the house of God" and Islamic insurgents "agents of Satan." He warned Muslims, "my God is bigger than your god, which is an idol."
Doesn't it warm your hearts to know that a nutcase is heading a spy unit ready to act on US shores and working without any oversight of Congress. All this because U.S. citizens were driven to fear and waiting for their knight in shining armor. But folks, W and regime are not that knight in shining armor. W's knights' swords are double edged and very sharp.
Read more...Pat Buchanan sometimes frightens me, especially when I see some reason coming out of that isolationist's mouth. The one thing I have to give him credit for, he does have an understanding of history. The problem is, I don't know what his solution would be. But this article is worth reading. It clearly shows the dilemma we are in, and paints the Iraqi election in a different light from what W wants us to believe.
Read more...Any article about Ann and her mistakes or inane remarks gets me excited. Poor Ann. So many pick on her and her lack of historical knowledge. To go and call her an "empty-headed, epithet-throwing fictionalist" goes to far. She is not empty-headed. She is just a little confused...listens to Hannity and Limbaugh too much...more along the lines of "shit-head" versus "empty-head".
Read more...Telegraph News has a good article about the recent election and post-election powerplays taking place in Iraq. With the mention of Sadr and the probable departure of Allawi, W and regime must really be ticked. Things haven't gone as smoothly as he hoped.
All the folks who voted for W can paint their forefingers blue, but it still will not change things. As the Stones said "You can't always get what you want...if you try sometimes you get what you need."
And what we need is a new way to deal with other cultures and other nations. There is a better way to deal with folks other than through the barrel of a gun.
Read more...ZNet's article by Rick Salutin ("Globe and Mail") is a must read. After reading this I understand what was troubling me about this election.
"Elections are a first attempt at democracy, not the finale. It is always inspiring to see human aspirations on display, as they almost always are, somewhere. What's dispiriting is to see outsiders overstate the case, understate future problems, deny their own culpability, and take credit for what they themselves tried to prevent."Can you guess who the "outsiders" are? Read more...
Condi so gentley states: “Diplomacy can work if there is unity of purpose and unity of message. I really hope that the Iranians can live up to the opportunity that is being presented to them.”
What the press failed to hear were the words following these: "If not, we'll bomb those guys to kingdom come. Praise the Lord and pass the ammo. It is clear that we cannot let these Muslims rule themselves. Look at Iraq, they voted for Sistani's guys. We just have to wipe them and all like them off the face of the earth and start all over. Let Armageddon begin!"
Okay, maybe she didn't say that but some times I wonder if that is what the regime is thinkng. I know Coulter feels this way. And I know some Amerikans have this same sentiment. Sad.
Read more...Shiite cleric's alliance trouncing Washington's favorite. Where are the blue inked fingers of the Congressmen now? The situation in Iraq is a no-win for us. It was always a losing proposition. Now we are in deep.
Read more...Not Worth It is an article by a woman whose son was lost in Iraq. She was to appear on Larry King, but of course more important matters took over her spot - Jacko of course.
"The average American needs to hear from people who have been devastated by the arrogance and ignorance of an administration that doesn’t even have the decency or compassion to sign our “death” letters."
She is one who has been devastated. Her thought is that her son's sacrifice was not worth it.
I agree.
Read more...Click "Watch It Now". Very moving and clearly shows that there are two sides to every story. We hear about our troop's casualties but very little is mentioned of Iraqi deaths. War is not healthy for anyone. War must never be glorified. Generals who talk about the "fun" in killing people should be reprimanded, punished and questioned as to their sanity.
Watch it then sign the petition. Please for humanity's sake.
Read more...I tried to watch W last night but I couldn't sit there and listen to him. So I found myself surfing the internet(s), reading the paper... But what I did catch was :
I mentioned Kucinich. Uncle Dick Cheney was on Hannity Radio today and said, "I never could understand Kucinich." Of course not Dick: he talks of new ways of looking at things, he talks of peace, he thinks before he talks and he talks based on his passion and ideals.. Is it any wonder you don't understand him?
Read more...Arianna Huffington writes about Sunday's election. She calls it a "Kodak moment" but warns that we should not to get too carried away. Our troops are still there, the Iraqi factions are lining up against each other (Kurd, Sunni, Shia and Allawi)...
"This is still the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the election, as heart-warming as it was, doesn't change any of that."
Read more...The Vietnam Turnout Was Good as Well has an interesting take on Sunday's success. While I encourage and welcome voting, our prostrating ourselves in front of W is a little too much. An election where Sunnis may have stayed away is not an election that will generate peace. And too, the violence and bloodshed was there, though conveniently left out of our news reports.
The opening paragraph of this article is very interesting. If only we all would learn from history:
On September 4 1967 the New York Times published an upbeat story on presidential elections held by the South Vietnamese puppet regime at the height of the Vietnam war. Under the heading "US encouraged by Vietnam vote: Officials cite 83% turnout despite Vietcong terror", the paper reported that the Americans had been "surprised and heartened" by the size of the turnout "despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting". A successful election, it went on, "has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam". The echoes of this weekend's propaganda about Iraq's elections are so close as to be uncanny.Read more...
Kurds' designs on Kirkuk is frightening for Turkey. Threats are flying. W, i thought you had our "friends" all lined up?
Read more...Please contact your Senators. Our next Attorney General must be someone who respects the law and respects human rights.
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