Unless November
’s new blood improves the Democratic Party’s civil liberties pedigree, the Democrats will have failed even before they are sworn in next January. In its disregard for truth, public opinion, the separation of powers, the Geneva Conventions, the US Constitution and statutory law, the Bush administration has been more of a regime...
read more | digg story
Monday, November 13, 2006
Are Democrats turnning a Blind Eye to Civil Liberty?
Unless November
’s new blood improves the Democratic Party’s civil liberties pedigree, the Democrats will have failed even before they are sworn in next January. In its disregard for truth, public opinion, the separation of powers, the Geneva Conventions, the US Constitution and statutory law, the Bush administration has been more of a regime...
read more | digg story
’s new blood improves the Democratic Party’s civil liberties pedigree, the Democrats will have failed even before they are sworn in next January. In its disregard for truth, public opinion, the separation of powers, the Geneva Conventions, the US Constitution and statutory law, the Bush administration has been more of a regime...
read more | digg story
Monday, October 23, 2006
A Must See DVD: America: From Freedom to Fascism
You must see
this DVD America: Freedom to Fascism. It provides the missing link to undestand the root of the problem we are facing. We are living before the rising of a fascist state which ultimate goal is world domination.
The World as we know it is quickly coming to an end. See the signs, first 9/11, then the Patriot Act, then wars of aggression, then torture, then secret prisons, then wiretaps, then removal of Habeas Corpus, up coming, more stolen elections, WW3, National IDs, then Labor Camps ... The New World Order is upon us.
this DVD America: Freedom to Fascism. It provides the missing link to undestand the root of the problem we are facing. We are living before the rising of a fascist state which ultimate goal is world domination.
Jesus said:
“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." Matthew 16:2-3.
The World as we know it is quickly coming to an end. See the signs, first 9/11, then the Patriot Act, then wars of aggression, then torture, then secret prisons, then wiretaps, then removal of Habeas Corpus, up coming, more stolen elections, WW3, National IDs, then Labor Camps ... The New World Order is upon us.
Remember those people enjoying the view instead of runing for their lives when the ocean receded before the Tsunami waves started coming? We will be no better, if we see these signs and do nothing. (the animals knew better and fled to higher ground!)
Evil is on the rise; a destructive wave is coming; Only truthful people will be able to resist it. What will you do?
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Sept. 11 doubter to retire from BYU
In his paper, Jones said experiments he conducted on material from ground zero and other evidence led him to believe three complex towers fell because pre-set explosives detonated throughout the buildings after the hijacked jets struck the Twin Towers, the Morning News said.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, October 19, 2006
9/11 Guilt: An Interview with DVD Producer Don Paul
The DVD shows beyond question, that all three Buildings were taken down by different methods of controlled demolition. The Twin Towers were exploded as no buildings have been before or since and about 7 hours later WTC 7 was imploded in a classic, conventional demolition. The DVD, also gets into the who and why of the crimes.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
America : a Fascist Dictatorship
Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism |
By Dr. Lawrence Britt
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
read more | digg story
By Dr. Lawrence Britt
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
read more | digg story
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
9/11 Truth: Too Harsh a Reality for Most People to Face
Short discussion of the harsh reality of 9/11 and why most people are still in denial mode. This video was created to serve as a short introduction to the American Scholars Symposium by the man who posted the CSPAN coverage of it on Youtube.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
George Bush Needs to be Impeached
Impeachment and removal, followed later by indictment and conviction, will be a long struggle. (It will, sadly, slow Congress down for a while in its work of destroying the world.) But it is needed to restore the U.S. Constitution as well as international law, and to establish a standard of accountability for the launching of aggressive wars. ....
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Friday, October 06, 2006
Must Read: Naval build-up in the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean
The probability of another war in the Middle East is high. Only time will tell if the horrors of further warfare is to fully materialize. Even then, the shape of a war is still undecided in terms of its outcome.
If war is to be waged or not against Iran and Syria, there is still the undeniable build-up and development of measures that confirm
read more | digg story
If war is to be waged or not against Iran and Syria, there is still the undeniable build-up and development of measures that confirm
read more | digg story
More Silent Preparations for War Against Iran,
Why is the Media not talking about this?
"Senate passes Iran sanctions bill"
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate, with no debate Saturday, passed and sent to the president legislation that would impose mandatory sanctions on entities that provide goods or services for Iran's weapons programs.
read more | digg story
"Senate passes Iran sanctions bill"
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate, with no debate Saturday, passed and sent to the president legislation that would impose mandatory sanctions on entities that provide goods or services for Iran's weapons programs.
read more | digg story
One-Party Government A Threat To American Liberties
Next month we will know if Americans see the danger of the Bush administration's fanatical preoccupation with terrorism combined with one-party control of the executive and legislative branches. If voters let pass the opportunity in the election to take Congress out of Republican hands, America will experience a rapid descent into a police state.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, October 05, 2006
October Surprise
US prepares for War against Iran.
"The March to War: Naval build-up in the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean"
-A carefully documented review of the ongoing naval build-up and deployment of coalition forces in the Middle East. The article examines the geopolitics behind this military deployment and its relationship to "the Battle for Oil"
read more | digg story
"The March to War: Naval build-up in the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean"
-A carefully documented review of the ongoing naval build-up and deployment of coalition forces in the Middle East. The article examines the geopolitics behind this military deployment and its relationship to "the Battle for Oil"
read more | digg story
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
911 Squashing the Pancake Theory
World Trade Center towers & building 7 collapsed at free fall speed. Concrete and steel naturally present more resistance than air to a falling object. Pancake theory is not only impossible, it is an insult to the intelligence. Give yourself some time for reality check. Follow this 8 minute video and judge who is really wearing the tin foil hat.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
While America Sleeps, a Dictartoship is Taking Over.
Are You an 'Unlawful Combatant'?- by Justin Raimondo
Are You an 'Unlawful Combatant'?- by Justin Raimondo: "Congress has now granted the president the powers of a dictator. The rest of the story of our slide into absolutism is merely a matter of filling in the details.
Our rulers will naturally continue to pretend that we live in a normal democratic country, that the Constitution still means something, and that nothing essential has really changed – but, of course, everything has changed, as the post-9/11 War Party has relentlessly argued, and we had better get used to it. Because if you very vocally and aggressively refuse to get used to it, they can and perhaps one day will come for you. As an Arab friend of mine puts it when describing the routine operations of Middle Eastern police states, 'You will never see the light.'"
Saturday, September 30, 2006
America Needs to Wake Up to the Truth about 9/11
1 How can steel and concrete buildings fall at free fall speed, by fire and gravity alone?
Answer: No way. It is physically impossible for a reinforced structure of concrete and steel to collapse at almost free fall speed, upon its footprint without explosives, because concrete and steel naturally offer much more resistance than air to a falling object, unless systematically blown out of the way, as it happens in a control demolition.
I now this fact is hard for us to come to terms with. It was not easy for me to face the facts either. So without any desire to be offensive, let me ask you a simple question: How do we know there were no explosives used in the buildings?
Neither FEMA nor NIST even tested for explosives. The steel remains were quickly destroyed so that no conclusive examination of the evidence can settled this question.
Think about that. Never in history a building had collapsed due to fire. Symetrical collapses of buildings at free fall speed can only occur as a result of control demolition. A perfectly natural hypothesis; Yet, No examination testing for explosive, and the destruction of the evidence so that now there is no evidence to examine in the worst crime in recent times. Who did that?
Government officials did. The same who told us the official story. Now people think they know the truth, purely by faith in the word of the government without evidence. Because one dare not think the unthinkable, That some government officials may have conspired to commit and cover up a henious crime.
You may ask what evidence leads me to prefer the explanation of a controlled demolition to explain the fall, I would point to the following:
The speed of the fall,
The symetry of the fall,
the complete destruction of the structure,
the explosive trajectory of some of the debris
molten metal at the foundation of each demolished building,
evidence of thermite
eye witness reports of demolition type explosions in both towers.
the fact that no other building has collapsed as a result of fire.
For a scholarly presentation of these and other considerations:
see here:
Updated Version: Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?
The official story provides no reasonable answer to the most basic questions.
The families of the victims still have valid unanswered questions. Had it not been for their persistence, we would know even less than we do. Consider what they have to say watching their documentary:
Press for Truth
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3979568779414136481&q=Press+for+truth
I have no theory to advance, just an assertion of fact: the official story does not square with the known facts. And any non biased investigator is able to verified that. That is the purpose of my questions and this post to invite you gentle reader to examine the fact by yourself.
Look at the evidence. Face the facts. Ask questions; America needs to wake up and face the facts.
9/11 mysteries
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6708190071483512003&q=911+mysteries
Answer: No way. It is physically impossible for a reinforced structure of concrete and steel to collapse at almost free fall speed, upon its footprint without explosives, because concrete and steel naturally offer much more resistance than air to a falling object, unless systematically blown out of the way, as it happens in a control demolition.
I now this fact is hard for us to come to terms with. It was not easy for me to face the facts either. So without any desire to be offensive, let me ask you a simple question: How do we know there were no explosives used in the buildings?
Neither FEMA nor NIST even tested for explosives. The steel remains were quickly destroyed so that no conclusive examination of the evidence can settled this question.
Think about that. Never in history a building had collapsed due to fire. Symetrical collapses of buildings at free fall speed can only occur as a result of control demolition. A perfectly natural hypothesis; Yet, No examination testing for explosive, and the destruction of the evidence so that now there is no evidence to examine in the worst crime in recent times. Who did that?
Government officials did. The same who told us the official story. Now people think they know the truth, purely by faith in the word of the government without evidence. Because one dare not think the unthinkable, That some government officials may have conspired to commit and cover up a henious crime.
You may ask what evidence leads me to prefer the explanation of a controlled demolition to explain the fall, I would point to the following:
The speed of the fall,
The symetry of the fall,
the complete destruction of the structure,
the explosive trajectory of some of the debris
molten metal at the foundation of each demolished building,
evidence of thermite
eye witness reports of demolition type explosions in both towers.
the fact that no other building has collapsed as a result of fire.
For a scholarly presentation of these and other considerations:
see here:
Updated Version: Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?
The official story provides no reasonable answer to the most basic questions.
The families of the victims still have valid unanswered questions. Had it not been for their persistence, we would know even less than we do. Consider what they have to say watching their documentary:
Press for Truth
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3979568779414136481&q=Press+for+truth
I have no theory to advance, just an assertion of fact: the official story does not square with the known facts. And any non biased investigator is able to verified that. That is the purpose of my questions and this post to invite you gentle reader to examine the fact by yourself.
Look at the evidence. Face the facts. Ask questions; America needs to wake up and face the facts.
9/11 mysteries
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6708190071483512003&q=911+mysteries
9/11 Ask Questions
I invite you to consider the facts, and ask the basic questions: For example
1 How can steel and concrete buildings fall at free fall speed, by fire and gravity alone?
2 What happened to the 47 massive core columns of the towers?
3 How can asymmetric damage cause symmetric controlled demolition like collapses in three buildings the same day?
4 What caused the collapse of the WT7 in a symmetrical demolition like manner? How and why?
5 Why four hijacked planes were not intercepted by the most sophisticated defense system in the planet? Why was nobody held accountable for such blatant failures?
6 Why was the pentagon hit in the most difficult angle at the least efficient place?
7 Why the government resisted every effort of serious investigation? Why the families of the victims were forced to demand an investigation from the government, without which there would not have been an official investigation?
8 Why the official investigation report left unanswered the most important questions, and is plagued with omissions and distortions?
9 Why the evidence was quickly removed and destroyed?
10 Where did the molten metal at the foundation of the three buildings come from?
11 Where does the energy to melt metal came from?
12 Why most of the eye witness of the collapse, many of them experienced firemen, testified perceiving controlled demolition like explosions inside of the buildings?
13 Why president Bush stayed put reading a book to kids knowing the nation was under attack?
14 Why was he not protected by the secret service?
And there are many other basic unanswered questions, omissions and distortions showing that your faith in the official story is not based upon and objective examination of the facts but upon an apriori faith in the government and the rejection of the possibility that the official story could be false.
We were all deceived by a well constructed lie. The only way you will find out this is so, is if you step out of the ideological bubble and begin to cross check the official story against the facts.
You may begin here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3979568779414136481&q=press+for+truth
Forget about conspiracy theories. Face the facts. Make questions. Start dialogue. The truth shall make us free.
1 How can steel and concrete buildings fall at free fall speed, by fire and gravity alone?
2 What happened to the 47 massive core columns of the towers?
3 How can asymmetric damage cause symmetric controlled demolition like collapses in three buildings the same day?
4 What caused the collapse of the WT7 in a symmetrical demolition like manner? How and why?
5 Why four hijacked planes were not intercepted by the most sophisticated defense system in the planet? Why was nobody held accountable for such blatant failures?
6 Why was the pentagon hit in the most difficult angle at the least efficient place?
7 Why the government resisted every effort of serious investigation? Why the families of the victims were forced to demand an investigation from the government, without which there would not have been an official investigation?
8 Why the official investigation report left unanswered the most important questions, and is plagued with omissions and distortions?
9 Why the evidence was quickly removed and destroyed?
10 Where did the molten metal at the foundation of the three buildings come from?
11 Where does the energy to melt metal came from?
12 Why most of the eye witness of the collapse, many of them experienced firemen, testified perceiving controlled demolition like explosions inside of the buildings?
13 Why president Bush stayed put reading a book to kids knowing the nation was under attack?
14 Why was he not protected by the secret service?
And there are many other basic unanswered questions, omissions and distortions showing that your faith in the official story is not based upon and objective examination of the facts but upon an apriori faith in the government and the rejection of the possibility that the official story could be false.
We were all deceived by a well constructed lie. The only way you will find out this is so, is if you step out of the ideological bubble and begin to cross check the official story against the facts.
You may begin here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3979568779414136481&q=press+for+truth
Forget about conspiracy theories. Face the facts. Make questions. Start dialogue. The truth shall make us free.
CHOMSKY FEARS 9/11 DEBATE
When questioned about his stance on the 9/11 issue, Chomsky supports the official line with apriori arguments. The official version is "pretty much what happened" according to him. He claims that he hasn't seen any "credible evidence" to suggest otherwise. But Chomsky does not address the scholarly evidence of 9/11 omissions and distortions. Why?
Whatever the reason we should be very careful with anyone asking you to make your mind about 9/11 without considering the facts. If you hear apriori arguments and adhominem arguments instead of an invitation to consider all the relevants facts you can be sure you are encountering disinformation.
read more | digg story
Whatever the reason we should be very careful with anyone asking you to make your mind about 9/11 without considering the facts. If you hear apriori arguments and adhominem arguments instead of an invitation to consider all the relevants facts you can be sure you are encountering disinformation.
read more | digg story
Monday, September 25, 2006
Crisis is upon us.
Chavez warned the world. Bush is evil. Americans need to wake up, and oppose the imperial evil and madness leading this country into a war for world domination. WWIII. This is the only time when raising the voice of alarm will have any effect. After the nuclear weapons are used against Iran, we will have nothing to do but suffer the consequences of our current indolence. The Crisis is upon us. God have mercy.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
9/11 and Media Crimes
There is a 9/11 cover up occurring. It appears to be intentional. When the truth about 9/11 comes out, that it was an inside job involving members of the Bush Administration, there will be a massive international investigation. The media that helped with this cover up will be held accountable, if there is any hope for the future of democracy.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Why "NOT" to Fight for 9/11 Truth
"Propaganda is not meant to fool the intelligencia
. . . but to provide them an excuse."
-- Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Propagandist
read more | digg story
. . . but to provide them an excuse."
-- Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Propagandist
read more | digg story
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
No Theory Just Facts: 9/11 Healthy Cognitive Dissonance
Fact: The Towers fell at free fall speed.
Fact: The official story requires us to believe that two reinforced concrete and steel structures were pulverized in mid air by gravity alone at the speed that it takes a billiard ball to fall from the top of the building to the ground.
Without powerful explosives, this is simply impossible.
Learn the truth: 911 research
Read the following article: "After 5 years, we still don't know what really happened on 9/11. This pathetic state of affairs should not continue. We have an elementary right to receive full answers to these basic questions. I don't have ready-made answers. I just offer you the raw data to start a healthy process of cognitive dissonance, with which you can do as you please."
read more | digg story
Fact: The official story requires us to believe that two reinforced concrete and steel structures were pulverized in mid air by gravity alone at the speed that it takes a billiard ball to fall from the top of the building to the ground.
Without powerful explosives, this is simply impossible.
Learn the truth: 911 research
Read the following article: "After 5 years, we still don't know what really happened on 9/11. This pathetic state of affairs should not continue. We have an elementary right to receive full answers to these basic questions. I don't have ready-made answers. I just offer you the raw data to start a healthy process of cognitive dissonance, with which you can do as you please."
read more | digg story
Monday, September 11, 2006
9-11 Press for Truth:
'Knowledge is power', the father of one of the victims of 9/11 recalls with tears at the end of this documentary. It is not a conspiracy theory. It is a compilation of reported facts, unheeded by the majority; a message all need but most have not heard. Five years after 9/11 it is time for us to pay attention to what the families have to say.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
9-11 Press for Truth:
'Knowledge is power', the father of one of the victims of 9/11 recalls with tears at the end of this documentary. It is not a conspiracy theory. It is a compilation of reported facts, unheeded by the majority; a message all need but most have not heard. Five years after 9/11 it is time for us to pay attention to what the families have to say.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Is American Democracy Too Feeble To Deal With 9/11?
"Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Is American Democracy Too Feeble To Deal With 9/11?
"Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Saturday, September 09, 2006
BYU Places '9/11 Truth' Professor on Paid Leave
The arguments of Prof Jones are solid. No one should make an opinion of them before reading the article. He points out objective facts which radically undermine the credibility of the official story. You need to examine these objectively before reacting. Here is a link to the >
professor’s article,
Read It. And see the quality of the evidence for yourself. If he is so wrong it should not be hard to find a valid refutation to his claims. So far I have only found ad-hominem attacks and forgone conclusions; no solid refutation, from anyone. So, as far as I can tell, the good prof. is right and is being persecuted for showing that the emperor has no clothes.
read more | digg story
professor’s article,
Read It. And see the quality of the evidence for yourself. If he is so wrong it should not be hard to find a valid refutation to his claims. So far I have only found ad-hominem attacks and forgone conclusions; no solid refutation, from anyone. So, as far as I can tell, the good prof. is right and is being persecuted for showing that the emperor has no clothes.
read more | digg story
A Critical Review of Morgan Reynolds' Why Did the Trade Center Skyscrapers
His article weds the thesis of controlled demolition of the skyscrapers with the denial that Flights 11, 175, 77, and 93 crashed where reported. This is unfortunate because it functions to discredit the case for demolition by associating it with ideas that lack scientific merit, are easily debunked, and are inherently offensive to the victims.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Why Did the Trade Center Skyscrapers' Collapse? by Morgan Reynolds
It is hard to exaggerate the importance of a scientific debate over the cause(s) of the collapse of the twin towers and building 7. If the official wisdom on the collapses is wrong, as I believe it is, then policy based on such erroneous engineering analysis is not likely prove to be sound.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
The Fatal Flaw of the Official 9-11 Story
It is a fraud. The concrete floors must provide more resistance to debris than air. But the towers fell near free fall speed. If the government wrote a bunch of papers saying "the earth was flat" and went on the air saying that anyone who disagreed was a terrorist or a "conspiracy theorist", would that make you believe that the world is flat
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Friday, September 01, 2006
The Video Every American Needs to See.
Did you now that the government is asking us to believe that a miracle happened on 9/11?
Facts, The towers fell at free fall speed. The Lower levels offered no more resistance to the debri falling than air. Think about: Concrete, vs air, which one should present more resistance. Concrete? Yes! You win, but on 9/11 concrete and steel frame acted like air!
There is much more that you need to consider. So do yourself a favor, go to this website and see this video. You will never see those towers falling in the same way again!
http://www.911revisited.com/video.html
After you have seen it, tell all your friends. Time to wake up and call for accountability.
read more | digg story
Facts, The towers fell at free fall speed. The Lower levels offered no more resistance to the debri falling than air. Think about: Concrete, vs air, which one should present more resistance. Concrete? Yes! You win, but on 9/11 concrete and steel frame acted like air!
There is much more that you need to consider. So do yourself a favor, go to this website and see this video. You will never see those towers falling in the same way again!
http://www.911revisited.com/video.html
After you have seen it, tell all your friends. Time to wake up and call for accountability.
read more | digg story
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark
A lists of Top Anomalies in the official account of the 9/11 attack: Indications of Foreknowledge; Military's Non-Response; Pentagon Attack Anomalies; Total Collapse of WTC Building 7; Total Destruction of the Twin Towers; Suppression and Destruction of Evidence; Overt Omissions in Official Reports.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
'The Big Lie' exposed
'Federal Psywar Against Americans' is a detailed interview exposing the propaganda campaign Americans have been subjected to concerning the Iraq war
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Monday, August 28, 2006
Video: 9/11 Controlled Demolitions of September 11, 2001
30 minute part of 'Loose Change' explaining reasons why the WTC buildings were controlled demolitions.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Sunday, August 27, 2006
911 Unexplained Mysteries
Did you know there was a 3rd skyscraper reduced to rubble on September 11, 2001? Have you seen the videos? Did you know it fell at practically free fall speed, like the Twin Towers, over its own foot print? Did you know that this is impossible unless caused by expert demolition? If the answer to any of the above question is No, you better see this
read more | digg story
http://buildingwhat.org/
What is “BuildingWhat?”
A Worldwide Campaign to raise awareness of Building 7
More than eight years after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, New York Supreme Court Justice Edward H. Lehner was hearing arguments in a courtroom less than a mile from Ground Zero about a ballot initiative to launch a new investigation of the 9/11 attacks. When the lawyer for the plaintiffs sponsoring the initiative explained that the 9/11 Commission report left many unanswered questions, including “Why did Building 7 come down,” the Judge replied quizzically, “Building what?”
read more | digg story
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Bush Responds: Planet Pluto and the War on Terror
Our Solar System is under attack. We have uncovered a terrorist plot to get rid of a whole planet! Security measures are being increased in all airports in order to keep all astronomers out. All travelers are required to leave their brains behind or hide their brains in their behinds. Suspicious brain activity in airports or government buildings..
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Catherine Austin Fitts, Ass. Sect. of Housing For Bush, disputes 9-11 story
"As co-chairs of the first 9/11 Citizens' Commission, held in New York City in September, we were entrusted with answering questions the Kean Commission ignored.
What did we hear? We heard evidence of specific advance warnings about the 9/11 attacks from overseas. We heard about the spiking of FBI terrorism investigations and the lack of response during the attacks by high officials, including George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers."
read more | digg story
What did we hear? We heard evidence of specific advance warnings about the 9/11 attacks from overseas. We heard about the spiking of FBI terrorism investigations and the lack of response during the attacks by high officials, including George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers."
read more | digg story
The Smirking Chimp - Seymour Hersh: 'We've been taken over by a cult'
The Smirking Chimp - Seymour Hersh: 'We've been taken over by a cult': "On the macro, we're hopeless. We're nowhere. The press is nowhere. The congress is nowhere. The military is nowhere. Every four-star General I know is saying, 'Who is going to tell them we have no clothes?' Nobody is going to do it. Everybody is afraid to tell Rumsfeld anything. That's just the way it is. It's a system built on fear. It's not lack of integrity, it's more profound than that. Because there is individual integrity. It's a system that's completely been taken over -- by cultists."
Monday, August 21, 2006
The Raw Story | Frank Rich: America's 'fearing fear itself' era is over
The Raw Story | Frank Rich: America's 'fearing fear itself' era is over: "By crying wolf about terrorism way too often, usually when a distraction is needed from bad news in Iraq, he and his administration have long since become comedy fodder, and not just on 'The Daily Show.' June's scenario was particularly choice: As Baghdad imploded, Alberto Gonzales breathlessly unmasked a Miami terror cell plotting a 'full ground war' and the destruction of the Sears Tower, even though the alleged cell had no concrete plans, no contacts with terrorist networks and no equipment, including boots."
Saturday, August 19, 2006
The 7-Lesson School teacher by John Taylor Gatto - 1991 New York
I teach 1. Confusion: accept it as your destiny 2. Class Position: stay where you are put 3. Indifference: Nothing important is ever finished 4. Emotional Dependency: rights don't exist at school 5. Intellectual Dependency: the expert tells you what to do 6. Provisional Self-Esteem: Officials will tell you what you are worth. 7. One Can't Hide.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
The Propaganda State
The US has progressed towards a propaganda-managed democracy. Its principal aim: to identify the state "with every cherished human value" The meaning of democracy is "transferred" to the propaganda of advertising, public relations and corporate news. This "model of ideological control," would be adopted by other countries, like Britain.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
The End of Christianity in Iraq by Glen Chancy
The End of Christianity in Iraq by Glen Chancy: "While the Kurds, for example, have received millions of dollars in aid following the end of Saddam’s regime, aid to the Assyrians has been almost non-existent. This has resulted in many refugees living in appalling conditions. It was even recently reported that some of the Assyrian refugees in northern Iraq had been reduced to sleeping on bare dirt in Christian cemeteries.
Since 2005, the Council for Assyrian Research and Development has sought to record the abuses endured by Assyrians through the Assyrian Human Rights Documentation Project. The first outcome paper produced by the group pulls no punches in its grim assessment. The paper warns, 'At the current rates of ethnic cleansing, forced assimilation and migration, the indigenous Assyrian Christians will be fully eradicated from the new 'democratic Iraq' in less than 10 years ... the Kurdification, Arabisation, and Islamification of Iraq have left an ancient people at the doors of extinction.'
The Assyrians have been calling for assistance, and these pleas have largely fallen on deaf ears. What is most needed is an Assyrian Administrative Unit, a safe haven that would be administered and guarded by the Assyrians themselves. While international groups such as the European Parliament have issued declarations and resolutions of support, the actual power in Iraq, the United States, appears to have already relegated the Assyrians to the dustbin of history. Unless the American people themselves choose to demand a policy reversal, it is unlikely that the Bush Administration will become interested in the fate of Iraqi Christians on its own accord.
It is doubtful that George W. Bush will be remembered as the American President who brought Jeffersonian Democracy to the Middle East. But it appears that at least one historic achievement is well within his grasp. It is quite likely that "W" will succeed where the Arab Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Ottoman Empire, British colonialism, and decades of Ba’athist misrule all failed. When "W" finally saunters off the world stage, the Assyrian Christian community in Iraq will probably be gone as well.
And the world will be a much poorer place because of it."
Since 2005, the Council for Assyrian Research and Development has sought to record the abuses endured by Assyrians through the Assyrian Human Rights Documentation Project. The first outcome paper produced by the group pulls no punches in its grim assessment. The paper warns, 'At the current rates of ethnic cleansing, forced assimilation and migration, the indigenous Assyrian Christians will be fully eradicated from the new 'democratic Iraq' in less than 10 years ... the Kurdification, Arabisation, and Islamification of Iraq have left an ancient people at the doors of extinction.'
The Assyrians have been calling for assistance, and these pleas have largely fallen on deaf ears. What is most needed is an Assyrian Administrative Unit, a safe haven that would be administered and guarded by the Assyrians themselves. While international groups such as the European Parliament have issued declarations and resolutions of support, the actual power in Iraq, the United States, appears to have already relegated the Assyrians to the dustbin of history. Unless the American people themselves choose to demand a policy reversal, it is unlikely that the Bush Administration will become interested in the fate of Iraqi Christians on its own accord.
It is doubtful that George W. Bush will be remembered as the American President who brought Jeffersonian Democracy to the Middle East. But it appears that at least one historic achievement is well within his grasp. It is quite likely that "W" will succeed where the Arab Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Ottoman Empire, British colonialism, and decades of Ba’athist misrule all failed. When "W" finally saunters off the world stage, the Assyrian Christian community in Iraq will probably be gone as well.
And the world will be a much poorer place because of it."
Monday, July 24, 2006
Extraordinary plenary assembly of the bishops Maronites of Lebanon: Text of the official statement
Extraordinary plenary assembly of the bishops Maronites of Lebanon: Text of the official statement (in French)
1 - Absolutely unjustifiable and illogical are the painful events which we have lived in Lebanon for the last few days, events which paralysed it, after the bombardment of its landing strips, of the majority of its bridges and roads, certain power stations, of its service and communication centers.
The removal of two soldiers, no matter what one may think, does not justify that an entire country be thus dismembered, the killing of the hundreds of people and the starvation of most of the population.
2 - The dramatic situation lived by the Lebanese, in particular those which were forced to leave their homes and villages, demands all to forget the political differences which separate them and to make a common front. This is not the hour for the settlement of political payments, but of solidarity, understanding and courage to face this situation as best as possible.
3 - The deliberate and intensive bombardment of axis road led to the insulation of the majority of the cities and villages, in particular in the South and in Bekaa. It prevented the routing towards these areas of food aids and medicine. So the fathers {of this assembly} call the humane organizations, in particular the ICRC and the Lebanese Red Cross, to work to bring these populations food, drugs and other products of first need.
4 - The assembly exhorts all the Lebanese to receive in love and solidarity their brothers forced by the war to give up their homes and their villages, regardless of their Community membership. Misfortune must link us instead of separate us. It must place us face to face with our responsibilities and the consequences of our acts without leading us to mutual accusations.
Break the cycle of violence
5 - The assembly exhorts the members of the Security Council of UNO to once and for all put an end to the cycle violence in Lebanon by adopting without delay a resolution asking for an immediate cease-fire, the regard for the life of innocent civilians and to regulate the crisis in such a radical way that complete justice is made to all the parts.
6 - The assembly supports the efforts of the government and the Prime Minister to put an end to the Lebanese tragedy and to set the foundation for a strong and rightful State extending its authority over the whole territory, gathering all people and preserving all the components of the Lebanese society.
7 - The fathers call upon all the faithful to answer the call launched by the Holy Father, the pope Benedict XVI, for one day of prayer and penitence on Sunday to pray for peace. It invites all believers, regardless of the religion they belong, to raise their hearts towards God, the only Lord of history and judge of all human actions, good and bad. It is him whom we beseech to limit these days of test and to spread peace in the hearts and the country.
8 - The fathers thank the chiefs of the sisters Churches, the episcopal councils, bishops of the world, which have solidarized with Lebanon, in this trial. They express their sincere condolences to the families of the victims, and wish speedy recovery for the wounded and ask God to put an end to this terrible misfortune.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Democracy Now! | Israeli Refusenik vs. Israeli Peace Party Member: A Debate on Israel's Assault on Lebanon
Democracy Now! | Israeli Refusenik vs. Israeli Peace Party Member: A Debate on Israel's Assault on Lebanon: "And my message here today is that if you will let the Israeli government to solve this conflict, it means the destruction of my country and the destruction of the neighbors’ countries."
Follow the Money
Democracy Now! | U.S. Arming of Israel: How U.S. Weapons Manufacturers Profit From Middle East Conflict: "Israel's relationship with the United States is unique in a number of ways. And one of those ways is that essentially the United States provides 20% of the Israeli military budget on an annual basis, and then about 70% of that money that is given from the United States, from U.S. taxpayers, to Israel is then spent on weapons from Lockheed Martin and Boeing and Raytheon. Most other countries don't have that sort of cash relationship, where they go straight to U.S. corporations with U.S. money to buy weapons that are then used in the Occupied Territories and against Lebanon."
Why They Hate Us?
The Apple of His Eye by John J. Dwyer: "My father would not stay down until finally the leader shot him so many times that only death stilled him. Because of this, he did not see the soldiers break both of my dead little sister’s arms. He did not see the leader return to the living room and begin the raping of the apple of his eye, the memory of whose smiling eighteen-month-old face, with the forelock of dark hair over her brow and her wide shining eyes that loved him with her whole heart, was the last conscious thought of his life.
He did not see them blow her brains out with their fancy rifle, nor set her pure body – and the house he had worked so hard to provide for us – on fire, to destroy the evidence of deeds even they must have been shamed by.
He did not witness the American commanders’ attempts to cast the blame for the crimes on our own countrymen, even though others of our family members and other neighbors – at great risk to themselves and their own vulnerable families – surged forward to testify that the men who usually wore the eagle on their shoulder did it.
He did not live to observe hate kindle in the souls of his two young sons, who had not been at the house and were now orphaned and would devote their lives as mujahideen – which he had never wanted us to be – to avenging our beloveds’ deaths on the children of the invaders, who now would weep their own ocean of tears.
And he never knew how the followers of the gentle prophet about whom I remember him growing curious to know more, could be so unlike that man. For in none of the stories he had heard of that prophet from our own holy books and those of the Americans, who called him their Lord and Savior, did my father remember that humble man urging his followers on to rapings and kidnappings and murders, bombings and burnings and massacres, all the while praying for their success and protection in such deeds."
He did not see them blow her brains out with their fancy rifle, nor set her pure body – and the house he had worked so hard to provide for us – on fire, to destroy the evidence of deeds even they must have been shamed by.
He did not witness the American commanders’ attempts to cast the blame for the crimes on our own countrymen, even though others of our family members and other neighbors – at great risk to themselves and their own vulnerable families – surged forward to testify that the men who usually wore the eagle on their shoulder did it.
He did not live to observe hate kindle in the souls of his two young sons, who had not been at the house and were now orphaned and would devote their lives as mujahideen – which he had never wanted us to be – to avenging our beloveds’ deaths on the children of the invaders, who now would weep their own ocean of tears.
And he never knew how the followers of the gentle prophet about whom I remember him growing curious to know more, could be so unlike that man. For in none of the stories he had heard of that prophet from our own holy books and those of the Americans, who called him their Lord and Savior, did my father remember that humble man urging his followers on to rapings and kidnappings and murders, bombings and burnings and massacres, all the while praying for their success and protection in such deeds."
Thursday, July 20, 2006
I am also Suffering "Christian Music"
Suffering, Thy Name Is FM Radio by Jeffrey A. Tucker: "I'll just say this as plainly as possible: Christian contemporary music is ghastly, insipid, uninspired, brain draining, and horrible in every way.
How can I describe this stuff? It's like bad rock, bad pop, bad country, bad everything all rolled into one. The voices are all bad. They have this cheesy little vibrato that seems designed to sooth but only annoys. The instrumentation is all canned. All songs begin softly with whispered nothings about some personal problem you don't care about. They grow and grow with choruses featuring long notes. Cymbals and trumpet flourishes arrive at the high points. They end with some victorious flourish. A dated rock beat backs it all. The words are completely vacuous. The sentiment is cheap. The melodies are childish. If religion were this thin, it's a wonder anyone goes along with it at all! This is truly bad music in every way."
How can I describe this stuff? It's like bad rock, bad pop, bad country, bad everything all rolled into one. The voices are all bad. They have this cheesy little vibrato that seems designed to sooth but only annoys. The instrumentation is all canned. All songs begin softly with whispered nothings about some personal problem you don't care about. They grow and grow with choruses featuring long notes. Cymbals and trumpet flourishes arrive at the high points. They end with some victorious flourish. A dated rock beat backs it all. The words are completely vacuous. The sentiment is cheap. The melodies are childish. If religion were this thin, it's a wonder anyone goes along with it at all! This is truly bad music in every way."
Monday, July 17, 2006
Just Wait!
CNN.com - Putin rejects Bush's Iraq democracy model - Jul 15, 2006: "'I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world, like Iraq where there's a free press and free religion, and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope that Russia would do the same,' Bush said.
To that, Putin replied, 'We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy that they have in Iraq, quite honestly.' (Watch as Putin reacts to Bush's position on Iraq and the Mideast conflict -- 2:25)"
To that, Putin replied, 'We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy that they have in Iraq, quite honestly.' (Watch as Putin reacts to Bush's position on Iraq and the Mideast conflict -- 2:25)"
ei: Israel attacks Lebanon (12 July 2006)
ei: Israel attacks Lebanon (12 July 2006): "Israel attacks Lebanon (12 July 2006)
Following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizballah on July 12th, Israel brings its campaign of collective punishment and excessive use of force to Lebanon, with 'Operation Just Reward'. Dawn air strikes on south Lebanon on 13 July 2006 claimed the lives of at least 44 civilians, including over 15 children, and wounded over 100. Israel bombed bridges linking the north and south of the country and all three runways of Beirut's commercial airport. The Israeli army's Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, promised that 'nothing is safe in [Lebanon], as simple as that.'"
Following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizballah on July 12th, Israel brings its campaign of collective punishment and excessive use of force to Lebanon, with 'Operation Just Reward'. Dawn air strikes on south Lebanon on 13 July 2006 claimed the lives of at least 44 civilians, including over 15 children, and wounded over 100. Israel bombed bridges linking the north and south of the country and all three runways of Beirut's commercial airport. The Israeli army's Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, promised that 'nothing is safe in [Lebanon], as simple as that.'"
Bush's Faith and the Middle East Aflame by Tom Engelhardt
Bush's Faith and the Middle East Aflame by Tom Engelhardt: " BRADBURY: The President is always right.
The President's record in the Middle East and elsewhere tells us otherwise, of course. From Pyongyang to Tehran, Baghdad to Gaza and Tel Aviv, smaller powers – or simply parties, militias, or mass movements – are going their own way, considering their own narrow interests, and exploring just how far force can take them, while ignoring the words of the Bush administration. In this sense, they learned their new religious catechism well: If you can't impose it on me by force of arms, then to hell with you."
The President's record in the Middle East and elsewhere tells us otherwise, of course. From Pyongyang to Tehran, Baghdad to Gaza and Tel Aviv, smaller powers – or simply parties, militias, or mass movements – are going their own way, considering their own narrow interests, and exploring just how far force can take them, while ignoring the words of the Bush administration. In this sense, they learned their new religious catechism well: If you can't impose it on me by force of arms, then to hell with you."
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Coffee, Tea, or Should We Feel Your Pregnant Wife’s Breasts Before Throwing You in a Cell at the Airport and Then Lying About Why We Put You There? by
Coffee, Tea, or Should We Feel Your Pregnant Wife’s Breasts Before Throwing You in a Cell at the Airport and Then Lying About Why We Put You There? by Nicholas Monahan: "This morning I’ll be escorting my wife to the hospital, where the doctors will perform a caesarean section to remove our first child. She didn’t want to do it this way – neither of us did – but sometimes the Fates decide otherwise. The Fates or, in our case, government employees."
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Diplomatic Deception: The Calm Before the Firestorm by Chris Floyd
Diplomatic Deception: The Calm Before the Firestorm by Chris Floyd: "So don't be lulled by the spoon-fed folderol of the toothless media watchdogs. For while the well-wadded poltroons at Time and the Times serve up Karl Rove's comfort food about a more 'mature' and sensible Bush foreign policy, the world is actually drawing closer and closer to a even deeper level of darkness.
"
"
Friday, July 07, 2006
Hegemonic Tyrant Courts Doom by Paul Craig Roberts
Hegemonic Tyrant Courts Doom by Paul Craig Roberts: "Listening to the pair of hegemonic maniacs, I realized that the US is the new Rome – there is no legitimate power but us. Any other power is a potential threat to our interests and must be eliminated before it gets any independent ideas. The US, however, is far more dangerous than Rome. Rome saw its world as the Mediterranean and, for a while, Northern Europe, but the US thinks the whole world is its oyster. The Bush regime is busy trying to marginalize Russia, and neocons are preparing war plans to attack China before that country can achieve military parity with the US.
Gentle reader, consider what it means when our government believes other countries have no right to their own interests unless they coincide with US interests. It means that we are the tyrant country. We cannot be the tyrant country without being perceived as the tyrant country. Consequently, the rest of the world unites against us.
How is the US, which has spent three years proving that it cannot successfully occupy Iraq, a small country of only 25 million people, going to control India, China, Russia, Europe, Africa and South America?
It’s not going to happen.
What it does mean is that the US government in its hubris and delusion is going to continue starting wars and attacking other countries until a coalition of greater forces smashes us. Even among our European allies we are already perceived as the greatest threat to world peace and stability.
Our power is not what it once was. We are weak in manufacturing and dependent on China for advanced technology products. We are dependent on China to finance our wars, our budget and trade deficits. How long will China accommodate us when China reads about Bush’s plans to prevent China from achieving military parity?
The Bush regime thinks that it can have every country under its thumb. Neocons are fond of proclaiming that it is a unipolar world in which the US is supreme. This is a f"
Gentle reader, consider what it means when our government believes other countries have no right to their own interests unless they coincide with US interests. It means that we are the tyrant country. We cannot be the tyrant country without being perceived as the tyrant country. Consequently, the rest of the world unites against us.
How is the US, which has spent three years proving that it cannot successfully occupy Iraq, a small country of only 25 million people, going to control India, China, Russia, Europe, Africa and South America?
It’s not going to happen.
What it does mean is that the US government in its hubris and delusion is going to continue starting wars and attacking other countries until a coalition of greater forces smashes us. Even among our European allies we are already perceived as the greatest threat to world peace and stability.
Our power is not what it once was. We are weak in manufacturing and dependent on China for advanced technology products. We are dependent on China to finance our wars, our budget and trade deficits. How long will China accommodate us when China reads about Bush’s plans to prevent China from achieving military parity?
The Bush regime thinks that it can have every country under its thumb. Neocons are fond of proclaiming that it is a unipolar world in which the US is supreme. This is a f"
Friday, June 30, 2006
Democracy Now! | Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror
Democracy Now! | Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror: "DR. STEVEN MILES: Yeah, when I first saw these pictures from Abu Ghraib, the question was, “Well, where were the docs?” because docs and nurses are frontline human rights monitors. They're there when the Red Cross isn't. They can get into any part of the prison, and furthermore, even if they don't see the abuse, they see the signs of the abuse, and we are trained to find abuse when it’s crafted to be indiscernible, okay, as a lot of abuse is.
And so I'm reading along, I’m just trying to understand why there was a failure of reporting, and all of sudden what I'm seeing is that the medical system is entirely integrated into the abuse, that there was a structure, there was an actual policy mechanism that can be seen for the delayed release of torture-related homicides, that there was an entire structure for culling patients medical records for information on their vulnerabilities, incorporating that into harsh, incursive interrogation plans, monitoring those plans, designing those plans with psychological insights to exploit the particular characteristics of Islamic men, and then monitoring the disintegration of these men, and feeding that back into the torture plans. It’s an amazing story. It was very discouraging to read. But in every country that’s fought torture, and Chile’s a good example, the docs have played a key role in stopping it."
And so I'm reading along, I’m just trying to understand why there was a failure of reporting, and all of sudden what I'm seeing is that the medical system is entirely integrated into the abuse, that there was a structure, there was an actual policy mechanism that can be seen for the delayed release of torture-related homicides, that there was an entire structure for culling patients medical records for information on their vulnerabilities, incorporating that into harsh, incursive interrogation plans, monitoring those plans, designing those plans with psychological insights to exploit the particular characteristics of Islamic men, and then monitoring the disintegration of these men, and feeding that back into the torture plans. It’s an amazing story. It was very discouraging to read. But in every country that’s fought torture, and Chile’s a good example, the docs have played a key role in stopping it."
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Base Assumptions
Base Assumptions: "This month's offensive by President Bush and his allies in Congress against gay marriage and flag burning proves one thing: The Republican Party thinks its base of social conservatives is a nest of dummies who have no memories and respond like bulls whenever red flags are waved in their faces."
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Enron is a Parable
I just saw the movie, 'Enron the smartest guys in the room'.
And it dawned on me that Enron is a parable for the whole of American society.
The CEOs of Enron were professional liars, and the great majority of employes followed them blindly. They were manipulated, and would have insulted anyone telling them the truth at the time. Their pride was such that the possibility of them being lied to cover up illegal and inmoral activity by such a mighty company was ruled out from the start without ever needing to consider the evidence.
But guess what, the building came down on their faces.
I say this is a parable to understand where America finds itself today. But the truth sonner or later will come to light.
And it dawned on me that Enron is a parable for the whole of American society.
The CEOs of Enron were professional liars, and the great majority of employes followed them blindly. They were manipulated, and would have insulted anyone telling them the truth at the time. Their pride was such that the possibility of them being lied to cover up illegal and inmoral activity by such a mighty company was ruled out from the start without ever needing to consider the evidence.
But guess what, the building came down on their faces.
I say this is a parable to understand where America finds itself today. But the truth sonner or later will come to light.
The Evil Is In Our Government by Paul Craig Roberts
The Evil Is In Our Government by Paul Craig Roberts: "The US government has spent the past half century interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, overthrowing or assassinating their chosen leaders and imposing its puppets on foreign peoples. To what country has Iran done this, or Iraq, or North Korea?
Americans think that they are the salt of the earth. The hubris that comes from this self-righteous belief makes Americans blind to the evil of their leaders. How can American leaders be evil when Americans are so good and so wonderful?"
Americans think that they are the salt of the earth. The hubris that comes from this self-righteous belief makes Americans blind to the evil of their leaders. How can American leaders be evil when Americans are so good and so wonderful?"
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Christianity and the War by Laurence M. Vance
Christianity and the War by Laurence M. Vance: "I do believe that the support of Christian evangelicals for the president and his war is waning. Perhaps it is not out of principle, but at least support for this war has diminished somewhat (although gullible Christians can be counted on to support the next intervention or war if a Republican president undertakes it). But it is a blight on Christianity that many of those who continue to support Bush and his war are evangelical Christians. To their everlasting shame, I suspect that it is evangelical Christians who will support Bush until the bitter end – no matter how many more U.S. soldiers are killed, no matter long the war continues, no matter how many more billions of dollars are wasted, and no matter what outrages the president commits against the Constitution, the rule of law, and Christianity itself.
What, then, should be done? We should immediately withdraw our forces from Iraq, not because the war is not going as planned, not because we have suffered too many casualties, not because we have removed Saddam Hussein, not because we have accomplished our mission, not because there are too many insurgents, and not because Iraq had an election. We should withdraw our troops because the war was a monstrous wrong from the very beginning. How many more dead American soldiers and billions of dollars will it take before we finally say enough is enough? How many more dead American soldiers and billions of dollars will it take before the members of Congress say enough is enough? King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said that there was 'a time of war.' This, my fellow Americans, is not the time."
What, then, should be done? We should immediately withdraw our forces from Iraq, not because the war is not going as planned, not because we have suffered too many casualties, not because we have removed Saddam Hussein, not because we have accomplished our mission, not because there are too many insurgents, and not because Iraq had an election. We should withdraw our troops because the war was a monstrous wrong from the very beginning. How many more dead American soldiers and billions of dollars will it take before we finally say enough is enough? How many more dead American soldiers and billions of dollars will it take before the members of Congress say enough is enough? King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said that there was 'a time of war.' This, my fellow Americans, is not the time."
Friday, May 26, 2006
Books You Must Read by David Gordon
Books You Must Read by David Gordon: "In Speaking of Liberty, Lew Rockwell usefully complements Higgs’s analysis of the dangers of war. He insightfully asks: how can one rationally favor both the market and a bellicose foreign policy? 'The framers intended to keep the US out of foreign wars. They understood that a government that goes abroad in search of monsters to destroy will end up destroying its own people. The foreign policy apparatus of today inflicts a horrible cost on the world. But the greatest cost of all – or at least the one that should matter to us the most – is the cost to the liberty that is our birthright.'"
Enron & Bush Connection
Democracy Now! | Enron: The Bush Connection: "ROBERT BRYCE: She was on the board at Enron at the same time that Graham was in the Senate sponsoring legislation that benefited Enron. Not only did Graham not recuse himself, he sponsored legislation that effectively allowed Enron to operate as an unregulated commodities exchange. So, I mean, there's plenty of -- Enron's money corrupted a lot of elements of government, and it wasn’t just the Bush administration. I’m not saying that to excuse the Bush administration, because, I mean, when you look at Enron and you look at the Bush administration, you see the similarities. Both operated with this clear idea that they were going to change the world, that the world was going to follow their new business model and that that was going to change the world forever.
What else? Well, they launched brutal attacks on anybody who doubted any of their programs. They had huge surges in debt that they covered up with creative accounting. We see that now with the Bush administration, creating some of the largest deficits in American history of any presidency in American history, and also just this idea that they were on a religious mission. This was -- their business model was going to change the world. No one could doubt them. Anyone who did was immediately cast aside. And in a word, it's the same commodity, the same trait that brought down Enron is the defining trait of the Bush administration, and that's hubris. It’s the Greeks’ fatal flaw. And I think that that clearly came home to roost with Lay and Skilling, and I think eventually it’s going to come home to roost with the Bush administration."
What else? Well, they launched brutal attacks on anybody who doubted any of their programs. They had huge surges in debt that they covered up with creative accounting. We see that now with the Bush administration, creating some of the largest deficits in American history of any presidency in American history, and also just this idea that they were on a religious mission. This was -- their business model was going to change the world. No one could doubt them. Anyone who did was immediately cast aside. And in a word, it's the same commodity, the same trait that brought down Enron is the defining trait of the Bush administration, and that's hubris. It’s the Greeks’ fatal flaw. And I think that that clearly came home to roost with Lay and Skilling, and I think eventually it’s going to come home to roost with the Bush administration."
Enron and Congress
Democracy Now! | Enron: The Bush Connection: "ROBERT BRYCE: Sure. Let me make one point I think that we've missed here. It's not just the Bush administration, as well. I mean, Congress had a hand in allowing Enron to do what it did. Let's look at the case of Phil Graham. Phil Graham was the one who carried legislation that allowed Enron to do a lot of the things it did and avoid federal oversight at the same time that his wife, Wendy, was on Enron’s board.
AMY GOODMAN: Phil Graham, the former Texas senator.
ROBERT BRYCE: Former senator from Texas. So Enron had tremendous power in Congress, as well, that allowed it to operate with a free hand in the energy trading business and to operate really as an unregulated commodities broker, an unregulated commodities exchange.
AMY GOODMAN: Just one second, because I spoke over you. I spoke over you. The former Texas senator Phil Graham's wife, Wendy, say again her role.
ROBERT BRYCE: She was on the board at Enron at the same time that Graham was in the Senate sponsoring legislation that benefited Enron. Not only did Graham not recuse himself, he sponsored legislation that effectively allowed Enron to operate as an unregulated commodities exchange. So, I mean, there's plenty of -- Enron's money corrupted a lot of elements of government, and it wasn’t just the Bush administration. I’m not saying that to excuse the Bush administration, because, I mean, when you look at Enron and you look at the Bush administration, you see the similarities. Both operated with this clear idea that they were going to change the world, that the world was going to follow their new business model and that that was going to change the world forever."
AMY GOODMAN: Phil Graham, the former Texas senator.
ROBERT BRYCE: Former senator from Texas. So Enron had tremendous power in Congress, as well, that allowed it to operate with a free hand in the energy trading business and to operate really as an unregulated commodities broker, an unregulated commodities exchange.
AMY GOODMAN: Just one second, because I spoke over you. I spoke over you. The former Texas senator Phil Graham's wife, Wendy, say again her role.
ROBERT BRYCE: She was on the board at Enron at the same time that Graham was in the Senate sponsoring legislation that benefited Enron. Not only did Graham not recuse himself, he sponsored legislation that effectively allowed Enron to operate as an unregulated commodities exchange. So, I mean, there's plenty of -- Enron's money corrupted a lot of elements of government, and it wasn’t just the Bush administration. I’m not saying that to excuse the Bush administration, because, I mean, when you look at Enron and you look at the Bush administration, you see the similarities. Both operated with this clear idea that they were going to change the world, that the world was going to follow their new business model and that that was going to change the world forever."
The Beginning of an Old Era, The Mob is Still in Place
Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: "GREG PALAST: I was wired, yes. And unfortunately for Tony Blair, I was wired. And when he called me a liar on the floor of the House of Commons, we said, “Well, let's listen to the audio tape.” But, you know, that's not done here in the U.S. I mean, at the same time that we were busting Enron over there, the U.S. press here was acting like Ken Lay, like especially writers like Thomas Friedman of the Times, like he was, you know, Elvis on a pogo stick. He was bringing the wonders of the free market to electricity, this guy who was basically leading -- like I say, you have to understand it's a mob. And one thing I am very discouraged at, reading the coverage, it's all about symbol of an era, as if it's gone, as if under George Bush that era is over. No, that era is beginning. Okay, they got rid of the guy who kicked it off. They had to. He went too far. But the whole gang is still operating. That's one of the big evils."
The Bush Family Enron's 'armed sales force'
Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: "GREG PALAST: Before he was governor. This is George's brother. And what Jeb was saying is “My father would very much appreciate if you would give Enron the deal.” And the finance minister was just floored. He thought that this was being muscled into giving away Argentina's resources to some guy he’s never heard of: Ken Lay. This is Jeb Bush. Neil Bush then goes on the payroll of Enron to sell the Saudis water systems for Enron. You have to understand that literally the Bush family has been kind of an armed sales force for Enron, and an empowered sales force, sometimes on the payroll, sometimes just in office and the gimme is, of course, the huge political donations.
And that really hasn't been touched in the U.S. papers, the huge international reach of Enron, including, by the way, Mr. Tony Blair, where I broke a story there about Enron's influence with the Blair government, that huge amount of money was paid into the Labour Party to allow Enron to bust the rules to allow them to build power plants in England. I mean, Tony Blair had a lot to answer for, but that story was covered there."
And that really hasn't been touched in the U.S. papers, the huge international reach of Enron, including, by the way, Mr. Tony Blair, where I broke a story there about Enron's influence with the Blair government, that huge amount of money was paid into the Labour Party to allow Enron to bust the rules to allow them to build power plants in England. I mean, Tony Blair had a lot to answer for, but that story was covered there."
More Evidence of Bush' Hipocrisy
Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: CRAIG MURRAY: It goes back to before George Bush became President. In 1997 or 1998, George Bush, as Governor of Texas, had a meeting with the Uzbek ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Safayev, which was actually organized and set up by Kenneth Lay of Enron. And if you go to my website, you can find a facsimile of Kenneth Lay's letter to George Bush, telling him to meet Ambassador Safayev in order to conclude a billion-dollar gas deal between Uzbekistan and Enron. And that was the start of the Bush relationship with the Karimov regime.
Karimov is one of the most vicious dictators in the world, a man who is responsible for the death of thousands of people. Prisoners are boiled to death in Uzbek jails. And he was a guest in the White House in 2002. It's very easy to find photos of George Bush shaking Karimov's hand."
More Bush Lies
Democracy Now! | Enron Execs Found Guilty on Multiple Conspiracy, Fraud Charges: "JIM HIGHTOWER: Ken Lay, whom George W. fondly called “Kenny Boy,” was the major campaign contributor to George W. Bush, and they exchanged Christmas cards with each other. Ken Lay was very personal, very close with the Bush family.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I do know that Mr. Lay came to the White House in -- early in my administration along with, I think, twenty other business leaders to discuss the state of the economy. It was just kind of a general discussion. I have not met with him personally.
. . .
GREG PALAST: Excuse me, Secretary of Energy. He wanted to name the electricity cops, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, so Ken Lay secretly gave Dick Cheney a list of three names. Now, you have to understand, Al Capone used to have to buy off the cops. Here's Ken Lay trying to get them appointed. He said, “Here's three good choices for chairman of the commission that's supposed to regulate me.” Right? That he already knew that he was being asked for the $9 billion back, right?
Anyway, George Bush gave him a real extraordinary Christmas gift. He appointed all three guys to the Energy Commission. So Lay appoints his own regulators, and he did this before in Texas, when George, when George Bush was Governor of Texas, when George Bush says he didn't know Ken Lay, and I've got a letter in Armed Madhouse showing a note from Ken Lay saying, “Here's the guy I want to be my regulator, the cop that's supposed to be watching me,” and sure enough, Governor George Bush appoints Ken Lay's personal cop."
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I do know that Mr. Lay came to the White House in -- early in my administration along with, I think, twenty other business leaders to discuss the state of the economy. It was just kind of a general discussion. I have not met with him personally.
. . .
GREG PALAST: Excuse me, Secretary of Energy. He wanted to name the electricity cops, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, so Ken Lay secretly gave Dick Cheney a list of three names. Now, you have to understand, Al Capone used to have to buy off the cops. Here's Ken Lay trying to get them appointed. He said, “Here's three good choices for chairman of the commission that's supposed to regulate me.” Right? That he already knew that he was being asked for the $9 billion back, right?
Anyway, George Bush gave him a real extraordinary Christmas gift. He appointed all three guys to the Energy Commission. So Lay appoints his own regulators, and he did this before in Texas, when George, when George Bush was Governor of Texas, when George Bush says he didn't know Ken Lay, and I've got a letter in Armed Madhouse showing a note from Ken Lay saying, “Here's the guy I want to be my regulator, the cop that's supposed to be watching me,” and sure enough, Governor George Bush appoints Ken Lay's personal cop."
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
A Nation in Chains by Chris Floyd
A Nation in Chains by Chris Floyd:
"With the world's attention understandably diverted by the latest scandals and shameless posturings of the Bush Faction – domestic spying, bribes and hookers at the CIA, military units roaring down to the border to scare unarmed poor people looking for work – few noticed a small story that cast a harsh, penetrating light on the corrosion of the national character."Earlier this month, the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College London released its annual World Prison Population List. And there, standing proudly at the head of the line, towering far above all others, is that shining city on the hill, the United States of America. But strangely enough, the Bush gang and its many media sycophants failed to celebrate – or even note – yet another instance where a triumphant America leads the world. Where are the cheering hordes shouting "USA! USA!" at the news that the land of the free imprisons more people than any other country in the world – both in raw numbers and as a percentage of its population?"
Monday, May 22, 2006
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "I was returned to full duty back at Fort Lewis, reinstated as a Muslim chaplain. My record was wiped clear, after which I, of course, tendered my resignation, received an honorable discharge in January of 2005, and upon separation, I would receive another, a second Army commendation medal for exceptional meritorious service.
I didn't receive an apology. Yes, I am an eternal optimist, and I hope one day that I will receive an official apology, and I believe that by speaking out, speaking the truth, and making people aware of what's going on in Guantanamo and letting others know what happened to me, as a U.S. citizen held in this so-called war on terrorism, that one day all of this will lead to a well-deserved apology. Thank you."
I didn't receive an apology. Yes, I am an eternal optimist, and I hope one day that I will receive an official apology, and I believe that by speaking out, speaking the truth, and making people aware of what's going on in Guantanamo and letting others know what happened to me, as a U.S. citizen held in this so-called war on terrorism, that one day all of this will lead to a well-deserved apology. Thank you."
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "We call this tactic “sensory deprivation.” Sensory deprivation, it's something that I recently read that the American Psychiatric Association has included in a draft of their definition of torture.
Sensory deprivation. I was subjected to sensory deprivation, but I knew about this tactic, because that's, of course, how I saw prisoners being treated and subjected to when they are in-processed into Guantanamo when they are flown in from Afghanistan under this very same tactic of sensory deprivation; its purpose, which is meant to instill fear and intimidation. You, yourselves, maybe have seen the pictures with the prisoners wearing the hoods on their head. Well, I feared also that a hood would be then thrown on my head, but fortunately for me, that practice of hooding had just been stopped months before my arrest. I also feared of being kicked and beaten violently, especially after hearing some of the prisoners when I spoke with them down in Guantanamo, how they were kicked and beaten during their transport down to Guantanamo."
Sensory deprivation. I was subjected to sensory deprivation, but I knew about this tactic, because that's, of course, how I saw prisoners being treated and subjected to when they are in-processed into Guantanamo when they are flown in from Afghanistan under this very same tactic of sensory deprivation; its purpose, which is meant to instill fear and intimidation. You, yourselves, maybe have seen the pictures with the prisoners wearing the hoods on their head. Well, I feared also that a hood would be then thrown on my head, but fortunately for me, that practice of hooding had just been stopped months before my arrest. I also feared of being kicked and beaten violently, especially after hearing some of the prisoners when I spoke with them down in Guantanamo, how they were kicked and beaten during their transport down to Guantanamo."
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "I was arrested in secret, held incommunicado. I never showed up at the airport in Seattle like I was supposed to have, where my wife and daughter were waiting. They didn't know what happened to me. My parents in New Jersey had no idea what had happened. I essentially disappeared from society, from the face of the earth. But my family would learn of what happened to me ten days later, when government leaks to the media were then reported, first by the Washington Times, that I was now arrested and charged with these heinous crimes of spying, espionage, aiding the enemy, and mutiny and sedition, which is like trying to overthrow the government. All of these capital crimes, and, yes, I was threatened with the death penalty days after my arrest by a military prosecutor."
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire
Democracy Now! | Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism Under Fire: "Gitmo's secret weapon. Now, what was Gitmo's secret weapon? Well, from the viewpoint of a chaplain in the United States military whose role is essentially to advocate for the free exercise of worship for all individuals, to advocate for religious freedom, Gitmo's secret weapon was the use of religion against the prisoners, whether to try and break them or frustrate them in the course of trying to glean information from them or in the course of detaining them.
Now, how was religion being used against the prisoners? Well, prisoners would come and they would tell me that when they were taken to interrogation, they were, of course, shackled at the wrists and at the waist and at the ankles, as prisoners down in Guantanamo are shackled, and they would tell me that they would be forced to sit in the center of what was painted on the floor, a satanic circle. The interrogators would attempt to force them to bow down and prostrate, you know, like in the form of the Islamic prayer where Muslims bow down and prostrate, while the interrogator is screaming at that prisoner that “Satan is your god now, not Allah!” This is how religion was being used against prisoners."
Now, how was religion being used against the prisoners? Well, prisoners would come and they would tell me that when they were taken to interrogation, they were, of course, shackled at the wrists and at the waist and at the ankles, as prisoners down in Guantanamo are shackled, and they would tell me that they would be forced to sit in the center of what was painted on the floor, a satanic circle. The interrogators would attempt to force them to bow down and prostrate, you know, like in the form of the Islamic prayer where Muslims bow down and prostrate, while the interrogator is screaming at that prisoner that “Satan is your god now, not Allah!” This is how religion was being used against prisoners."
Democracy Now! | UN Panel Calls for Bush Administration to Close Guantanamo Bay Military Prison
Democracy Now! | UN Panel Calls for Bush Administration to Close Guantanamo Bay Military Prison: "GABOR RONA: First, thank you for having me on, Amy. The significance of this entire process is that, in addition to what you mentioned, this is the first time that the U.S. has come before the scrutiny of an international legal body since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This is not a situation in which the U.S. appeared because it was being called on the carpet. Quite the contrary. States are required to file periodic reports to the committee, which is charged with monitoring compliance with the torture convention, and the U.S. is a party to the torture convention. So this is a routine process.
What I think was not routine, though, was the fact that the United States sent a large and very high-level delegation to Geneva to appear before the Committee Against Torture, expressed its respect for the process and for the expertise of the members of this committee. It's an independent committee. It's not a political committee. The people on the committee are experts in their field. And the United States presented very detailed information about its legal arguments, asserting why it felt it was in compliance with its international legal obligations, but did not present a great deal of information about its practices, the facts.
And it was gratifying to see that the committee rejected much of the United States' legal posturing, invited the United States to provide more information about actual practices, and in no uncertain terms was critical of the United States’ practices of secret detentions, of interrogation techniques that amount to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, of the process of extraordinary rendition, which is nothing more than enforced disappearances, and of several practices taking place within the U.S. criminal justice system, supermax prisons, and police stations.
AMY GOODMAN: We only have a minute, but how signific"
What I think was not routine, though, was the fact that the United States sent a large and very high-level delegation to Geneva to appear before the Committee Against Torture, expressed its respect for the process and for the expertise of the members of this committee. It's an independent committee. It's not a political committee. The people on the committee are experts in their field. And the United States presented very detailed information about its legal arguments, asserting why it felt it was in compliance with its international legal obligations, but did not present a great deal of information about its practices, the facts.
And it was gratifying to see that the committee rejected much of the United States' legal posturing, invited the United States to provide more information about actual practices, and in no uncertain terms was critical of the United States’ practices of secret detentions, of interrogation techniques that amount to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, of the process of extraordinary rendition, which is nothing more than enforced disappearances, and of several practices taking place within the U.S. criminal justice system, supermax prisons, and police stations.
AMY GOODMAN: We only have a minute, but how signific"
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Whose Death is Worth More?
Reflecting Hubris by Tom Engelhardt: "Let me offer a few framing comparisons:
1. Sometime in the coming week or two, the number of American soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghan Wars will exceed the 2,752 people who died in or around the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (including those on the two hijacked jets that rammed into the towers). With a combined death toll of 2,739, the war dead have already crept within 13 of that day's casualties in New York. Here's a question then: Who thinks that the United States will ever spend $500 million, no less $1 billion, on a memorial to the ever-growing numbers of war dead from those two wars?"
1. Sometime in the coming week or two, the number of American soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghan Wars will exceed the 2,752 people who died in or around the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (including those on the two hijacked jets that rammed into the towers). With a combined death toll of 2,739, the war dead have already crept within 13 of that day's casualties in New York. Here's a question then: Who thinks that the United States will ever spend $500 million, no less $1 billion, on a memorial to the ever-growing numbers of war dead from those two wars?"
A Parable for Americans
Space Aliens From Luxemburg: A Horror Story by Stefan Molyneux: "Let us imagine that tomorrow morning, when you flip on CNN, you see Wolf Blitzer being jostled by surging crowds. Everyone is running, staring at the sky in fear. 'Space aliens have landed in Luxemburg!' cries Wolf, wide-eyed and almost hysterical, 'and they have a message for all mankind!'
There is a burst of static, and then you see a drooling, bulging-eyed monstrosity gripping prepared notes in its slimy sea-green tentacles.
'Citizens of Earth!' it gurgles, 'We bring good news! We see that, all over the world, citizens live under the slavery of what you call ‘governments.’ Millions of you are unjustly imprisoned, billions are stolen from you through taxation, and government-owned WMDs threaten the very survival of the planet! This is a moral abomination, and we have come to put a stop to it!'"
There is a burst of static, and then you see a drooling, bulging-eyed monstrosity gripping prepared notes in its slimy sea-green tentacles.
'Citizens of Earth!' it gurgles, 'We bring good news! We see that, all over the world, citizens live under the slavery of what you call ‘governments.’ Millions of you are unjustly imprisoned, billions are stolen from you through taxation, and government-owned WMDs threaten the very survival of the planet! This is a moral abomination, and we have come to put a stop to it!'"
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Violence Robs Iraq of Christian Heritage
Violence robs Iraq of Christian heritage: "there is social discrimination of Iraqi Christians. And since the collapse of central authority (beginning with the second US-led invasion), Iraqi Christians have been targeted by extremists",
...
"Grim future
Despite the difficulties in practising their faith and threats, an Iraq bereft of Christians is difficult for the community to grasp.
Christians pre-date Islam by some 700 years and have lived in the area known as Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) since St Thomas the Apostle preached in 30 CE and founded the East Syriac Church.
'I can't imagine an Iraq without Iraqi Christians, says Hancock.
'Iraqi Christians contributed to Iraq with their skills and loyalty to the country. It is sad to watch what happened to them for the last three years.'"
...
"Grim future
Despite the difficulties in practising their faith and threats, an Iraq bereft of Christians is difficult for the community to grasp.
Christians pre-date Islam by some 700 years and have lived in the area known as Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) since St Thomas the Apostle preached in 30 CE and founded the East Syriac Church.
'I can't imagine an Iraq without Iraqi Christians, says Hancock.
'Iraqi Christians contributed to Iraq with their skills and loyalty to the country. It is sad to watch what happened to them for the last three years.'"
We Have Figure It Out!
Political Cortex: Horseshit! Bush and the Christian Cowboy: "Mr. Bush tells Oval Office visitors from Germany:But, we have figure it out. Your decisions are not going to lead to a better tomorrow regardless of what you do with your hands.
'You cannot lead people unless you're optimistic about what you're doing. You've got to believe it in your very soul. One of the interesting things about the presidency is people watch me like a hawk. They're looking at my moves. And if I'm going to be wringing my hands and if I'm all worried about the decisions I make are not going to lead to a better tomorrow, they'll figure it out.
. . .
And so when you talk to me today, I just want you to know I not only strongly believe in the decisions I make, I'm optimistic that they're going to work -- very optimistic.'"
Friday, May 12, 2006
Less We Forget
Pope John Paul II calls War a Defeat for Humanity: Neoconsevative Iraq Just War Theories Rejected: "Americans were largely unaware of the depth and importance of the opposition of Church leaders to an attack on Iraq, since for the most part the mainstream media did not carry the stories. In the same way, many Americans were unaware that Pope John Paul II spoke against the first Gulf War 56 times. Media in the United States omitted this from the commentaries on the war. Many have also been unaware of the number of Iraqis killed in that war (not to mention the war which recently 'ended'). In February 2003 Business Week published an interview with Beth Osborne Daponte, a professional demographer who worked for the Census Bureau. The first Bush administration tried to fire her because her published estimates of the number of Iraqi deaths conflicted with what Dick Cheney was saying at the time. She was defended by social science professionals and was able to keep her job. Her estimates: 13,000 civilians were killed directly by American and allied forces, and about 70,000 civilians died subsequently from war-related damage to medical facilities and supplies, the electric power grid, and the water system.
...
In the past few years, Catholic neoconservatives have been attempting to develop a new philosophy of just war which would include preemptive strikes against other nations, what might be called a "preventive war." George Weigel has published major articles defending this position since 1995. First Things magazine published his articles and editorially agreed with this point of view. The present Bush administration has used these writings to defend the strike against Iraq. Shortly before the war began, through the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, President Bush sent Michael Novak to go to Rome to try to justify the war to the Pope and Vatican officials. Catholic News Service reported that the two-hour symposium was attended by some 150 invited guests, including lower-level Vatican officials, professors from church universities in Rome and diplomats accredited to the Vatican. Since with one voice Rome had already rejected the argument for a preventive war, Novak took the approach that a war on Iraq would not be a preventive war, but a continuation of a "just war," Iraqi War I, and actually a moral obligation. He argued that a was also a matter of self-defense, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, was an un-scrupulous character, and therefore it was only a matter of time before he took up with Al Qaida and gave them such weapons.
Novak did not succeed in convincing Church leaders-in fact, some commentators reflected that his efforts might have had the opposite effect. Novak's credibility in this argument was perhaps under-mined by his employment at the American Enterprise Institute, heavily funded by oil companies, some of whom began advertising in the Houston Chronicle for em-ployees to work in Iraq even before the war began. Administration officials denied for months that the goal of the war on Iraq was related to oil. On June 4, 2003, however, The Guardian reported the words of the U.S. deputy defense secretary, Paul Wolfowitz (one of the major architects of the war). Wolfowitz had earlier commented that the urgent reason given for the war, weapons of mass destruction, was only a "bureaucratic excuse" for war. Now, at an Asian security summit in Singapore he has declared openly that the real reason for the war was oil: "Asked why a nuclear power such as North Korea was being treated differently from Iraq, where hardly any weapons of mass destruction had been found, the deputy defense minister said: "Let's look at it simply. The most important difference between North Korea and Iraq is that economically, we just had no choice in Iraq. The country swims on a sea of oil."
"
...
In the past few years, Catholic neoconservatives have been attempting to develop a new philosophy of just war which would include preemptive strikes against other nations, what might be called a "preventive war." George Weigel has published major articles defending this position since 1995. First Things magazine published his articles and editorially agreed with this point of view. The present Bush administration has used these writings to defend the strike against Iraq. Shortly before the war began, through the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, President Bush sent Michael Novak to go to Rome to try to justify the war to the Pope and Vatican officials. Catholic News Service reported that the two-hour symposium was attended by some 150 invited guests, including lower-level Vatican officials, professors from church universities in Rome and diplomats accredited to the Vatican. Since with one voice Rome had already rejected the argument for a preventive war, Novak took the approach that a war on Iraq would not be a preventive war, but a continuation of a "just war," Iraqi War I, and actually a moral obligation. He argued that a was also a matter of self-defense, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, was an un-scrupulous character, and therefore it was only a matter of time before he took up with Al Qaida and gave them such weapons.
Novak did not succeed in convincing Church leaders-in fact, some commentators reflected that his efforts might have had the opposite effect. Novak's credibility in this argument was perhaps under-mined by his employment at the American Enterprise Institute, heavily funded by oil companies, some of whom began advertising in the Houston Chronicle for em-ployees to work in Iraq even before the war began. Administration officials denied for months that the goal of the war on Iraq was related to oil. On June 4, 2003, however, The Guardian reported the words of the U.S. deputy defense secretary, Paul Wolfowitz (one of the major architects of the war). Wolfowitz had earlier commented that the urgent reason given for the war, weapons of mass destruction, was only a "bureaucratic excuse" for war. Now, at an Asian security summit in Singapore he has declared openly that the real reason for the war was oil: "Asked why a nuclear power such as North Korea was being treated differently from Iraq, where hardly any weapons of mass destruction had been found, the deputy defense minister said: "Let's look at it simply. The most important difference between North Korea and Iraq is that economically, we just had no choice in Iraq. The country swims on a sea of oil."
"
Are Bush's Actions those of a Christian?
From the Iranian Letter we have the following simple question:
Bush policy and actions cannot be reconciled with Christian teaching. Remember the words of John Paul II, when he rigthly opposed the Bush doctrine of preemption, before the war against Iraq started, as opposed to Christian teaching in principle; a fact that most Christians in the United States, many Roman Catholics, have ignored. The Pope warned about all the evil that would grow from Bush's Doctrine, and held him responsible for it. Bush war of aggression was declared to be inconsistent with Christian just war theory, even before no WMD were found. The fact that there were no WMD only made the point even more clear.
The president, and the American people who support him are responsible for all the evils ensuing.
The Pope rightly argued that the Bush administration's principle of preemption would conduce to endless war in the world. That is what we are witnessing.
So for all you Christians out there who may feel chided by the fact that a Muslim may challenge Bush to live up to his Christian profession. Please, remember that he is not the first to do so.
Bush is not acting according to Christian principles. Neither are those who support him. Therefore, faithful Christians ought to be reminding them of the fact until they repent and amend their evil ways.
"Mr President,The simple answer is: There is no way to reconcile them.
You might know that I am a teacher. My students ask me how can theses actions be reconciled with the values outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the tradition of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the Messenger of peace and forgiveness."
Bush policy and actions cannot be reconciled with Christian teaching. Remember the words of John Paul II, when he rigthly opposed the Bush doctrine of preemption, before the war against Iraq started, as opposed to Christian teaching in principle; a fact that most Christians in the United States, many Roman Catholics, have ignored. The Pope warned about all the evil that would grow from Bush's Doctrine, and held him responsible for it. Bush war of aggression was declared to be inconsistent with Christian just war theory, even before no WMD were found. The fact that there were no WMD only made the point even more clear.
The president, and the American people who support him are responsible for all the evils ensuing.
The Pope rightly argued that the Bush administration's principle of preemption would conduce to endless war in the world. That is what we are witnessing.
So for all you Christians out there who may feel chided by the fact that a Muslim may challenge Bush to live up to his Christian profession. Please, remember that he is not the first to do so.
Bush is not acting according to Christian principles. Neither are those who support him. Therefore, faithful Christians ought to be reminding them of the fact until they repent and amend their evil ways.
If Bush Has His Way. . .
We will have yet another senseless war in the middle East, hundreds of thousands of more deaths and destruction.
Iran is not a threat, as Iraq was not a threat.
Bush is the threat. His administration uses pride, prejudice and fear to justify its ideologically driven agenda. Its ultimate purpose is not justice, truth and peace; but power, manipulation and self-interest.
I write this as a Christian. I beleive more Christians need to take a stand against the deception and evil policy of the current administration. I pray that God will have mercy upon us and more Christian would take a stand for truth and resist all forms of abuse and manipulation.
Iran is not a threat, as Iraq was not a threat.
Bush is the threat. His administration uses pride, prejudice and fear to justify its ideologically driven agenda. Its ultimate purpose is not justice, truth and peace; but power, manipulation and self-interest.
I write this as a Christian. I beleive more Christians need to take a stand against the deception and evil policy of the current administration. I pray that God will have mercy upon us and more Christian would take a stand for truth and resist all forms of abuse and manipulation.
Pen and Sword: A Letter From Iran by Chris Floyd: "But there is no chance – zero, zilch, zip – that Bush will make any move at all to lessen the tension. We will probably never know if Iran's nuclear ambitions are peaceful now because the Bush gang is taking every possible step to goad Tehran into leaving the NPT and girding itself for the coming war by seeking nuclear weapons. They are moving systematically to cut off every possibility of a peaceful solution – save the abject surrender of Tehran. The Bush Regime's insistence that any Security Council resolution on Iran's program contain the draconian 'Chapter Seven' strictures – which allow for military action in response to non-compliance – give glaring indication of Washington's true intentions. They want war – or else they believe that by ratcheting up the war fever to intolerable levels on the diplomatic front (along with the covert ops they are now running inside Iran), they will force the Iranian regime to crumble on its own, after which the Americans can march in – at the head of an 'international coalition,' no doubt – to 'restore order' and receive the hosannas of the grateful population.
This won't happen, of course. So we will, in the end, if Bush has his way, have war. It is therefore incumbent upon us all to do whatever we can to keep this swaggering fool from having his way, and his war. Let's close by giving the last word, via Juan Cole, to the Iranian dissident Shirin Ebadi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her resistance to the Iranian theocracy. Her words present a clearer vision of what will come than the bloated fantasies of the Bush Regime's puerile strategists:
'The only beneficiaries of the war are people who sell arms. As a Muslim Iranian, I state here that I do criticize the government of Iran. But this does not mean that America has the right to invade Iran. And if America has not learned its lesson from Iraq and thinks of invading Iran, notwithstanding all of the criticisms we have of our government, we will defend our country to the last drop of our blood. And we will not let an alien soldier set foot on the land of Iran. If American speaks of globalization, this doesn't mean that the whole world is seen as one village and Bush is seen as the only sheriff of that village.'"
Conservative Ascendancy
Pen and Sword: A Letter From Iran by Chris Floyd: "(There has, of course, been much backroom dealing between the two nations’ leadership in the past decades – such as the Reagan-Bush Administration dealing illegal arms to the fundamentalist regime in the Iran-Contra scam, and, of course, the clandestine 'October Surprise' negotiations in 1980 between candidate Ronald Reagan's campaign team and the Khomeini regime that was holding American hostages. These secret talks, confirmed by some of the Iranian principals involved and directed, according to eyewitness testimony, by then-VP candidate and ex-CIA chief George H.W. Bush, were aimed at preventing the Iranians from releasing the hostages before the 1980 presidential election. [Robert Parry has the whole story here.] It goes without saying, of course, that such secret dealings by private citizens with foreign governments is high treason. And Iran's agreement to abide by Bush's request to prolong the suffering of the American hostages and their families by several months was very likely the deciding factor in Reagan's elevation to power. So there is your 'conservative movement' for you, your 'morning in America': the conservative ascendancy was founded on high treason and has now culminated in an unprovoked war of aggression and a self-declared presidential dictatorship above the reach of law."
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Morons and Creative Destruction
Wilhelmian America by Steven LaTulippe: "Try as I might, I can only find two explanations for the administration’s new tone of hostility toward China and Russia.
The first possibility is that America is being led by morons. Only someone with an extremely limited intellectual capacity would cho ose, at the precise moment when America finds herself embroiled in a war with radical Islam, to pick fights with two of the most powerful nations on earth.
While the president himself may fit this category, I reject this as an overall explanation. Too many of the folks surrounding Bush have enormous experience in foreign relations and have track records of academic achievement. Writing them off as mere cretins would be a dangerous underestimation.
That leaves the second explanation. Namely, the Bush Administration is attacking Russia and China because those nations are using their seats on the U.N. Security Council to stonewall our march to war with Iran.
Factions within the Bush Administration desperately want war with Iran to stop their alleged nuclear program. They want a new Security Council resolution condemning the Iranians and threatening future 'unspecified action' if the Iranians don’t back down (resolutions which, just like the pre-Iraq War resolutions, can be conveniently reinterpreted by the neocons to 'justify' an attack).
The Russians and Chinese, who’ve seen this movie before, are having none of it.
Thus, the neocons are baring their fangs and going after them with threats and intimidation.
It truly is a strange world when the presidents of two foreign powers (nations with whom we have had hostile relations in the past) are the ones who are, albeit unintentionally, looking out for the true interests of the American people. While our own government is scheming against us, Presidents Hu and Putin are attempting to abort America’s drift toward another senseless conflict. War with Iran would be a disaster for America (though it might add anoth"
The first possibility is that America is being led by morons. Only someone with an extremely limited intellectual capacity would cho ose, at the precise moment when America finds herself embroiled in a war with radical Islam, to pick fights with two of the most powerful nations on earth.
While the president himself may fit this category, I reject this as an overall explanation. Too many of the folks surrounding Bush have enormous experience in foreign relations and have track records of academic achievement. Writing them off as mere cretins would be a dangerous underestimation.
That leaves the second explanation. Namely, the Bush Administration is attacking Russia and China because those nations are using their seats on the U.N. Security Council to stonewall our march to war with Iran.
Factions within the Bush Administration desperately want war with Iran to stop their alleged nuclear program. They want a new Security Council resolution condemning the Iranians and threatening future 'unspecified action' if the Iranians don’t back down (resolutions which, just like the pre-Iraq War resolutions, can be conveniently reinterpreted by the neocons to 'justify' an attack).
The Russians and Chinese, who’ve seen this movie before, are having none of it.
Thus, the neocons are baring their fangs and going after them with threats and intimidation.
It truly is a strange world when the presidents of two foreign powers (nations with whom we have had hostile relations in the past) are the ones who are, albeit unintentionally, looking out for the true interests of the American people. While our own government is scheming against us, Presidents Hu and Putin are attempting to abort America’s drift toward another senseless conflict. War with Iran would be a disaster for America (though it might add anoth"
You Will Know them by Their Fruits
The Iranian President is not alone in the appreciation that Bush is not acting as a Christian. I profess to be a Christian, and I find Bush's policies and conduct an offense to the Gospel of Christ. It is an irony that a non-believer is pointing out the obvious inconsistency between Bush's claims and actions; while so many American Christians are still being deceived by manipulation, prejudice and fear; fearing that they cannot judge the conduct of a president that claims to be an evangelical Christian. But Jesus said clearly:
'You will know them by their fruits. '
What are the fruits of Bush's presidency? For starters: Kidnap, torture, death of thousands, domestic spying, wars of aggression, lies, intimidation and manipulation.
If he is a Christian he must repent immediately and amend all the evil he is responsible for resulting from his immoral behaviour and policies as president of the United States. Until then he ought to be regarded as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
'You will know them by their fruits. '
What are the fruits of Bush's presidency? For starters: Kidnap, torture, death of thousands, domestic spying, wars of aggression, lies, intimidation and manipulation.
If he is a Christian he must repent immediately and amend all the evil he is responsible for resulting from his immoral behaviour and policies as president of the United States. Until then he ought to be regarded as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Weblog: Iranian President Tells Bush to Be More Christian - Christianity Today Magazine: "'Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ, the great Messenger of God,' Ahmadinejad wrote, 'But at the same time, have countries attacked: the lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed?' (That's a cleaned up version from what appears to be a somewhat poor translation.)
Ahmadinejad criticized the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the treatment of prisoners, support for Israel, U.S. actions in Latin America and Africa, and several other items.
'My students ask me how can these actions be reconciled with … duty to the tradition of Jesus Christ, the Messenger of peace and forgiveness,' he said. 'If prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph, or Jesus Christ were with us today, how would they have judged such behavior? Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal and Jesus Christ will be present?'"
Unfortunately True
Talk Is Necessary by Charley Reese: "What will Mr. Bush do then? Go to war and wreck the world economy? I hope that then his rich friends will intervene and say, 'Now, cool it, George, you're about to cost us all a lot of money.'
Losing money – that might dissuade him. He seems utterly indifferent to the loss of lives and moral standing."
Losing money – that might dissuade him. He seems utterly indifferent to the loss of lives and moral standing."
War and the Pump
Foreign Policy, Monetary Policy, and Gas Prices by Ron Paul: "The sooner we get out of Iraq and allow the Iraqis to solve their own problems the better. Soaring gasoline prices are one giant unintended consequence of the war, pure and simple.
Even so, many war hawks are seriously agitating for an attack on Iran – another major supplier of worldwide oil. They are not concerned one bit about the impact such an attack would have on the wallets of average Americans; their obsession with regime change in Iran trumps all common sense. But let me be clear: An attack on Iran, coupled with our continued presence in Iraq, could hike gas prices to $5 or $6 per gallon."
Even so, many war hawks are seriously agitating for an attack on Iran – another major supplier of worldwide oil. They are not concerned one bit about the impact such an attack would have on the wallets of average Americans; their obsession with regime change in Iran trumps all common sense. But let me be clear: An attack on Iran, coupled with our continued presence in Iraq, could hike gas prices to $5 or $6 per gallon."
Friday, May 05, 2006
Is the Truth finally Catching up with Bush?
Ray McGovern | McCarthyism: Mary and Joe: " But it is also likely that the truth telling will continue. And, in the end, the truth tellers will be glad they did. The years of Bush, Cheney, and Goss are limited, and they will not be able to repeal 18 US Code 2441 (the War Crimes Act of 1996 condemning torture) before going out the door. In addition, potential truth tellers have become increasingly aware of the seldom-mentioned 'Nuremberg obligation' to do what one reasonably can to prevent the commission of international crimes like torture.
By conducting these activities overseas, Bush's lawyers thought they might dodge the US criminal statute. Maybe so. But international sanctions also apply. Will Donald Rumsfeld be able to travel to Europe once he loses his Secret Service protection and that afforded by the office of secretary of defense? Will CIA operatives, like the notorious keystone-cops kidnapping crew in Milan, be able to vacation on the Riviera? Interpol knows who they are.
Those inside the government who become privy to - or, worse still, become responsible for - such criminal activity have a legal as well as a moral obligation to blow the whistle. So take heart, past or future truth tellers. With the polygraph, they may eventually track you down. But it is bound to be awkward indeed to take you to court for revealing war crimes. And you will have earned not only a badge of courage but also exculpatory evidence in the event there are prosecutions - here or abroad."
By conducting these activities overseas, Bush's lawyers thought they might dodge the US criminal statute. Maybe so. But international sanctions also apply. Will Donald Rumsfeld be able to travel to Europe once he loses his Secret Service protection and that afforded by the office of secretary of defense? Will CIA operatives, like the notorious keystone-cops kidnapping crew in Milan, be able to vacation on the Riviera? Interpol knows who they are.
Those inside the government who become privy to - or, worse still, become responsible for - such criminal activity have a legal as well as a moral obligation to blow the whistle. So take heart, past or future truth tellers. With the polygraph, they may eventually track you down. But it is bound to be awkward indeed to take you to court for revealing war crimes. And you will have earned not only a badge of courage but also exculpatory evidence in the event there are prosecutions - here or abroad."
A Piece of the True Story
Now that they are cooking another war against Iran let us not forget the lies used to manipulate public opinion in favor of a war of agression against Iraq. Here is a piece of the true story denounced by Ray McGovern:
ajc: "Q: What's your latest mission?
A: We're trying to spread a little truth around. I've just been watching very, very closely how intelligence has been abused in the lead up to the Iraq war and, now, after the war. I fear for what this will mean for a very crucial part of our government. If the president can't turn to the CIA for straight answers, whether he knows it or not, he's in bad shape. He has nowhere to turn for a straight answer. He can't expect [Deputy Defense Secretary Paul] Wolfowitz or [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld to tell him, "Sorry boss, we didn't think of A or B or C. We thought it would be a cakewalk." He's getting slanted advice from the people running the policy toward Iraq.
Q: Who's to blame?
A: Rumsfeld and [Vice President Dick] Cheney primarily. And then George Tenet, the head of the CIA. He's not making any waves. This is an abnegation of responsibility because the CIA is supposed to make waves. The CIA [should be] completely objective. It should not promote or defend any particular policy. So, once the CIA loses its reputation for complete objectivity, it has nothing special to offer and you might as well just close it down.
[McGovern says Tenet and Cheney should resign.]
Q: What are the most egregious examples of "sexed-up" intelligence?
A: The report that Iraq was seeking uranium from the African country of Niger was false on its face and has to be at the top of the list. That was the most obvious and crass lie and the only report they had in September and October of last year to raise the specter that Saddam Hussein might get nuclear weapons.
The other main thing, of course, was the alleged tie between Iraq and al-Qaida. CIA analysts spent a year and a half poring through each and every report and found none to be persuasive or reliable. Then [Secretary of State] Colin Powell made his speech to the United Nations on Feb. 5, where he produced some cockamamie evidence suggesting that al-Qaida types were roaming around Iraq with Saddam Hussein. In the period leading up to the war, the president would say that we have to go after Iraq because of 9/11. That is the way that the president played on the trauma of 9/11 to persuade the American people that we couldn't take a chance on Saddam Hussein.
Q: Do the American people care that they were misled on Iraq? Does Congress? The press?
A: There's still a lot of torpor, but there are two new elements now. No. 1: The men and women who are being killed every day in Iraq. No. 2: The fact that no one --- not even the press --- likes to be lied to. I'm an American, and I never thought the president would lie so often and so demonstrably.
The Bush administration's reasoning went like this: 'We'll deceive Congress. We'll have our war. We'll win handily. The folks in Iraq will meet us with cut flowers and open arms, and who will care at that point whether the [war's premise] was based largely on a forgery?' But there's zero chance that Congress will establish an independent judicial commission to investigate how we got into Iraq. Both houses of Congress are controlled by the president's party. There are no statesmen to rise above party affiliation and say, 'We were lied to.' No one will do that."
State Sponsors Terrorism
Democracy Now! | FBI Counterterrorism Unit Spies on Peace Group School of the Americas Watch: "ERIC LeCOMPTE: Well, with the ACLU, what we have learned is that since at least 2001, the F.B.I. has been spying on us and on our gatherings that take place at the gates of Fort Benning every year. Every year at Fort Benning, we gather there to call for a closure of the School of the Americas, a school that has graduated over 60,000 Latin American soldiers. These soldiers from Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador have returned to their home countries and committed the worst human rights abuses in Latin American history, and what we've found is that, as we’ve gathered there, the F.B.I. has been monitoring us, has been spying on us, and has been recording what we're doing."
They Are Watching!
Democracy Now! | FBI Counterterrorism Unit Spies on Peace Group School of the Americas Watch: "JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, Ann, this seems almost a complete replay in the 1970s, when the government was involved in massive spying on all kinds of legitimate groups of dissent. And, obviously, there were congressional hearings at the time and new legislation passed. But how has the Bush administration been able to get away with just completely renewing this all over again?
ANN BEESON: Well, that's exactly right, and I'm glad you raise that, because one of the things that’s remarkable when you look at what’s happening today is the utter lack of imagination of the F.B.I. In fact, you see precisely the same groups being targeted now as terrorist sympathizers that used to be targeted as communist sympathizers during the Cold War. And that includes the American Friends Service Committee and other Quaker groups. It includes groups like the National Lawyers Guild. A whole range of groups that were spied on then are now being spied on again today.
And, in fact, as you say, there were protections, we had thought, put in place during that era when Americans cried out and said this is not the American way. We can't have the F.B.I. routinely spying on protesters. And right after 9/11 then-Attorney General John Ashcroft basically overturned many of the guidelines that in the last several decades had limited this kind of spying on protest groups."
ANN BEESON: Well, that's exactly right, and I'm glad you raise that, because one of the things that’s remarkable when you look at what’s happening today is the utter lack of imagination of the F.B.I. In fact, you see precisely the same groups being targeted now as terrorist sympathizers that used to be targeted as communist sympathizers during the Cold War. And that includes the American Friends Service Committee and other Quaker groups. It includes groups like the National Lawyers Guild. A whole range of groups that were spied on then are now being spied on again today.
And, in fact, as you say, there were protections, we had thought, put in place during that era when Americans cried out and said this is not the American way. We can't have the F.B.I. routinely spying on protesters. And right after 9/11 then-Attorney General John Ashcroft basically overturned many of the guidelines that in the last several decades had limited this kind of spying on protest groups."
Rumsfeld Arguably a War Criminal
RAY McGOVERN:Democracy Now! | Retired CIA Analyst Ray McGovern Takes on Rumsfeld Over Justification for Iraq Invasion: "And I suppose the good news is that finally someone had a chance to ask Don Rumsfeld -- if I were in Washington, I never would have got into a session where Rumsfeld spoke. I have to give him credit that he took questions and answers. But, you know, it's really interesting that when I walked into the place, I wrangled a ticket very surreptitiously. I was met with this little blurb on Donald Rumsfeld, and as I read it, I had to chuckle. It says, “There’s going to be a question-and-answer period, but please adhere to these guidelines. Refrain from using the word ‘lie’ in relation to the war in Iraq. Do not question the secretary’s personal responsibility for torture. And please don’t discuss first use of nuclear weapons against Iran. If you violate these guidelines, you'll be immediately removed from the auditorium, flown to an undesignated prison location somewhere in Eastern Europe and tortured. Thank you for your cooperation. The World Cannot Wait.” A wonderful, wonderful group. Those were the folks that spoke up and tried to brace Donald Rumsfeld with the lies and their charges of him being -- and he is, arguably -- a war criminal. And we shouldn't shy away from saying that."
Speaking Truth To Power
Finally, Rumsfeld is publicly confronted with the truth.
Democracy Now! | Retired CIA Analyst Ray McGovern Takes on Rumsfeld Over Justification for Iraq Invasion: "JUAN GONZALEZ: And then, it happened again.
PROTESTER 3: Serial killer! This man needs to be impeached, along with George Bush! How can you sit here tonight and listen to this criminal? You’re a war criminal, Mr. Rumsfeld!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Get out of here!
JUAN GONZALEZ: By the end of his speech, security had escorted three protesters out of the building. Then, Rumsfeld began taking questions from the audience. One of those who posed a question was Ray McGovern, who spent 27 years as a C.I.A. analyst.
RAY McGOVERN: And so, I would like to ask you to be up front with the American people. Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary and that has caused these kinds of casualties? Why?
DONALD RUMSFELD: Well, first of all, I haven’t lied. I did not lie then. Colin Powell didn't lie. He spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence Agency people and prepared a presentation that I know he believed was accurate, and he presented that to the United Nations. The President spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence people, and he went to the American people and made a presentation. I'm not in the intelligence business. They gave the world their honest opinion. It appears that there were not weapons of mass destruction there.
RAY McGOVERN: You said you knew where they were?
DONALD RUMSFELD: I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were, and we were --"
Cheney Heating the Pan
Last time it was anti-French propaganda. Now Cheney is playing the propaganda card against Russia. If Cheney is so conscerned about human rights how about realising the prisoners at Guantanamo, stop torture and eliminate the secret prisons.
That would be a good start.
In the meanwhile we are forced to see how again the Bush administration is playing the same cards it used to justify a war of agression against Iraq. This is not about human rights it is about Russia's and China's opposition to the War against Iraq.
That would be a good start.
In the meanwhile we are forced to see how again the Bush administration is playing the same cards it used to justify a war of agression against Iraq. This is not about human rights it is about Russia's and China's opposition to the War against Iraq.
Strong Rebuke for the Kremlin From Cheney - New York Times: "'In many areas of civil society — from religion and the news media, to advocacy groups and political parties — the government has unfairly and improperly restricted the rights of her people,' Mr. Cheney said in a speech to European leaders in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius. 'Other actions by the Russian government have been counterproductive, and could begin to affect relations with other countries.'"
Don't Believe a Word Bush Says
I think that is the best advice to deal with Bush and his administration.
Don't Believe a Word He Says, as the following explains:
Don't Believe a Word He Says, as the following explains:
Why So Defensive?: "The way I see it, the Washington press corps is still appropriately embarrassed that they screwed up in the run-up to war. Now, as Bush's approval ratings fester, they are getting bolder in challenging the official White House line on any number of issues. They're justifiably proud of a handful of great investigative pieces.
But they still haven't addressed the central issue Colbert was raising: Bush's credibility. As it happens, the public is way ahead of them on this one: For more than a year, the polls have consistently been showing that a majority of Americans don't find Bush honest and trustworthy.
And yet, as I've chronicled time and again in this column, (see, for instance, my Feb. 3 column, It's the Credibility, Stupid ) the mainstream press -- the very folks in that ballroom on Saturday night, the ones who actually have access to the president and his aides -- have allowed that fundamental issue to go unexplored.
What Colbert was saying about the guy sitting a few feet away from him -- and I think this is what made so many people in that room uncomfortable -- was: Don't believe a word he says."
Once Again: Cooking War for the American Public
This article links Iran as a sucessor to Hitler, regardless of the facist policies of the Bush administration and the repressive abuses of Israel against Palestinians.
Just for the record, the US is the one who is waging wars of aggressions, attempting to control the world for its interest and is the nation responsible for destroying a democratically elected government in Iran and establishing the religious dictatorship .
Do not miss how again half truths, distortions and fear are being called upon in order to justify, yet once more, another disastrous and illegal war of aggresion: read it for yourself:
Just for the record, the US is the one who is waging wars of aggressions, attempting to control the world for its interest and is the nation responsible for destroying a democratically elected government in Iran and establishing the religious dictatorship .
Do not miss how again half truths, distortions and fear are being called upon in order to justify, yet once more, another disastrous and illegal war of aggresion: read it for yourself:
Never Again?: "But in a cruel historical irony, doing so required concentration -- putting all the eggs back in one basket, a tiny territory hard by the Mediterranean, eight miles wide at its waist. A tempting target for those who would finish Hitler's work.
His successors now reside in Tehran. The world has paid ample attention to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declaration that Israel must be destroyed. Less attention has been paid to Iranian leaders' pronouncements on exactly how Israel would be 'eliminated by one storm,' as Ahmadinejad has promised."
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