The Geneva Conventions contain the following in the opening paragraph:
"Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat (out of combat) by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely...”
It goes on to explain, “The following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
-- Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture.
-- The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”
And it adds that “the wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.”
The Geneva Conventions are quite clear that the bombing of hospitals constitutes a war crime:
“Article 18: Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.
“Article 19: The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit and after such warning has remained unheeded. The fact that sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed in these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition taken from such combatants and not yet been handed to the proper service, shall not be considered to be acts harmful to the enemy.”
Then... are these war crimes?
On November 6 the BBC reported on the effects of US bombing in Fallujah, “Witnesses said only a facade remained of a small Emergency Hospital in the centre of the city. A nearby medical supplies storeroom and dozens of houses were also damaged as US forces continued preparing the ground for an expected major assault.”
Ex-Navy Seal, Matthew Heidt, explains, “The shots fired at the ‘unarmed’ terrorist in that mosque in Fallujah are called ‘security rounds.’ Its (sic) a safety issue pure and simple. After assaulting through a target, put a 'security round' in everybody's head. There's no time to dick around in the target, you clear the space, dump the chumps…”
The Global Policy Forum explains, "The United States government has consistently opposed an international court that could hold US military and political leaders to a uniform global standard of justice. The Clinton administration participated actively in negotiations towards the International Criminal Court treaty, seeking Security Council screening of cases. If adopted, this would have enabled the US to veto any dockets it opposed. When other countries refused to agree to such an unequal standard of justice, the US campaigned to weaken and undermine the court. The Bush administration, coming into office in 2001 as the Court neared implementation, adopted an extremely active opposition. Washington began to negotiate bilateral agreements with other countries, insuring immunity of US nationals from prosecution by the Court. As leverage, Washington threatened termination of economic aid, withdrawal of military assistance, and other painful measures. These exclusionary steps clearly endanger the fledgling Court and may seriously weaken its credibility and effectiveness."
Here's a complete Chronology of U.S. Opposition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) starting with the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act (ASPA), a bill introduced on May 9, 2002 by Senator Tom DeLay (R-TX) and passed by the House and Senate within a month. On August 2, 2002 President George W. Bush signed HR 4775, making the ASPA U.S. law.
In September 2002 the Bush Administration released its National Security Strategy Policy. In reference to the ICC, it says:
"We will take the actions necessary to ensure that our efforts to meet our global security commitments and protect Americans are not impaired by the potential for investigations, inquiry, or prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose jurisdiction does not extend to Americans and which we do not accept. We will work together with other nations to avoid complications in our military operations and cooperation, through such mechanisms as multilateral and bilateral agreements that will protect US nationals from the ICC. We will implement fully the American Servicemembers Protection Act, whose provisions are intended to ensure and enhance the protection of US personnel and officials."
Never Fear...
Thanks to the ASPA we can continue to support our troops, despite the fact that they have been instructed to ignore the Geneva Conventions. Whew... for a minute there I was worried about being held complicit as an individual citizens who condones war crimes. No fear, our leaders have taken steps to insure that there will be no trial in the ICC.
RELATED STORY:
Embedded with the Marines in Iraq
Dead-Check in Falluja
"I had developed a strange relationship with the sight of dead Iraqis. I felt safer when I saw them."
Rest easy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 21, 2004
In the Old Testament, locusts were the 8th of 10 plagues which God brought on the Egyptians to convince Pharaoh to release the children of Israel. Locusts can eat their own body weight in food, two to three ounces, each day. A single square mile swarm can contain from between 100 million to 200 million locusts, which can eat 220 tons to 720 tons of food every day - quantity enough to feed 200,000 humans.
A single swarm of locusts can be small, extending over a hundred square meters, or huge, composed of billions of insects. In one day, they can fly 100 kilometers in the general direction of prevailing winds. They may breed in one country and attack in another. The locust season usually runs from November through May.
BURKINA FASO: Up to 90 percent crops lost in north, food crisis feared
Locust swarms advance into Egypt
Drought, Locusts Heavily Damage Crops In Mauritania
Friday, November 19, 2004
"On the porch was a garbage bag," says Bev Harris of www.blackboxvoting.org, "and so I looked in it and, and lo and behold, there were public record tapes." Take a look inside this bag of 'Stinking Evidence' of Possible Election Fraud Found in Florida with the help of a report by Thom Hartmann.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
A new report by GRAIN and Focus on the Global South exposes, "Iraq's new patent law: A declaration of war against farmers." In it they explain why Iraqi Farmers Aren't Celebrating World Food Day despite the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) efforts to celebrate biodiversity.
"As part of sweeping 'economic restructuring' implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations - including seeds the Iraqis themselves developed over hundreds of years. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo: Pay Monsanto, or starve."
Low income families in Jacksonville, FL will receive $970, a free video camera, a T-shirt, and a framed certificate of appreciation if they are willing to expose their kids ranging from babies to 3 years old to the effects of toxic pesticides for two years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Bush appointees, plans to launch a new study entitled CHEERS (Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study) to look at how chemicals can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed. Funded by a $2 million grant from the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry front group that includes members such as Dow, Exxon, and Monsanto, the study is vital, says EPA's Linda Sheldon, because there is so little is known about how small children's bodies absorb harmful chemicals.
Click to learn more and file a complaint with Mike Leavitt, EPA Administrator.
"As part of sweeping 'economic restructuring' implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations - including seeds the Iraqis themselves developed over hundreds of years. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo: Pay Monsanto, or starve."
Low income families in Jacksonville, FL will receive $970, a free video camera, a T-shirt, and a framed certificate of appreciation if they are willing to expose their kids ranging from babies to 3 years old to the effects of toxic pesticides for two years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Bush appointees, plans to launch a new study entitled CHEERS (Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study) to look at how chemicals can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed. Funded by a $2 million grant from the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry front group that includes members such as Dow, Exxon, and Monsanto, the study is vital, says EPA's Linda Sheldon, because there is so little is known about how small children's bodies absorb harmful chemicals.
Click to learn more and file a complaint with Mike Leavitt, EPA Administrator.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
"Do you believe there is a U.S. government cover-up surrounding 9/11?"
That's the question of the day today on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and, so far 88% of the 4,493 voters say YES.
"At least eight of the 19 foreign-national September 11 hijackers had registered to vote in either Florida or Virginia," says John Fund in his brief historical essay, How to Steal an Election in the latest City Journal.
Central in the administration's debate over what interrogation techniques are permissible for prisoners held since the Sept. 11 attacks, Alberto Gonzales is the author of a White House memorandum in which he wrote that the Geneva Conventions were 'quaint' and not suitable for the war against terrorism. Alberto Gonzales has a record of injustice as White House Counsel tracing back to his role in advising the Texecutioner.
That's the question of the day today on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and, so far 88% of the 4,493 voters say YES.
"At least eight of the 19 foreign-national September 11 hijackers had registered to vote in either Florida or Virginia," says John Fund in his brief historical essay, How to Steal an Election in the latest City Journal.
Central in the administration's debate over what interrogation techniques are permissible for prisoners held since the Sept. 11 attacks, Alberto Gonzales is the author of a White House memorandum in which he wrote that the Geneva Conventions were 'quaint' and not suitable for the war against terrorism. Alberto Gonzales has a record of injustice as White House Counsel tracing back to his role in advising the Texecutioner.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
The economic unraveling begins...
Greenspan, Fed Governors Warn on Government Spending
"Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the growing U.S. budget deficit could destabilize the economy... 'A second term for Bush doesn't bode well for the dollar,' said Samarjit Shankar, director of global foreign-exchange strategy at Mellon Financial Corp. in Boston, which manages $625 billion. 'There's no way of convincing the market additional spending on the war can be paid for if you have a lower tax base. It's a fundamental mismatch between spending and revenue.'"
"Praise God And Pass Out The Cash," says Harley Sorensen.
And even Popular Science is talking about vote fraud...
Sorry, Your Vote Has Been: Lost, Hacked, Miscast, Recorded Twice
New electronic voting machines are supposed to prevent another Election Day disaster, but these paperless PCs could make hanging chads seem like a minor nuisance
Greenspan, Fed Governors Warn on Government Spending
"Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the growing U.S. budget deficit could destabilize the economy... 'A second term for Bush doesn't bode well for the dollar,' said Samarjit Shankar, director of global foreign-exchange strategy at Mellon Financial Corp. in Boston, which manages $625 billion. 'There's no way of convincing the market additional spending on the war can be paid for if you have a lower tax base. It's a fundamental mismatch between spending and revenue.'"
"Praise God And Pass Out The Cash," says Harley Sorensen.
And even Popular Science is talking about vote fraud...
Sorry, Your Vote Has Been: Lost, Hacked, Miscast, Recorded Twice
New electronic voting machines are supposed to prevent another Election Day disaster, but these paperless PCs could make hanging chads seem like a minor nuisance
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Call in the Geeks...
"Your local elections officials trusted a group called NASED - the National Association of State Election Directors - to certify that your voting system is safe. This trust was breached," says Bev Harris. "NASED certified the systems based on the recommendation of an 'Independent Testing Authority' (ITA)." Harris rounded up a crew of skeptical computer geeks who dug into the "independent testing" process. Her report: The Tampering of Electronic Voting Systems on November 2nd reveals some critical flaws and even has links to dowload the GEMS software to test it for yourself.
The Federal Election Commission explains that, "Independent Testing Authorities designation is granted by NASED, and The Election Center (in its capacity as secretariat for NASED).
While the Election Center claims to be, "a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and improving democracy... (whose) members are government employees whose profession is to serve in voter registration and elections administration," critics contend that the Election Center acts as a front group for e-voting machine vendors.
In March 2004, a mistake by the IRS inadvertently revealed that e-voting machine vendor Sequoia had donated $10,000 per year to the Center from 1997 through 2000. When challenged by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Center's executive director R. Doug Lewis confirmed that the center had taken donations from the following makers of electronic voting machines:
* Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. of Oakland, CA
* Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S) of Omaha, Neb.
* 'probably' (in Lewis's words) Diebold Election Systems
Disinfopedia.org will tell you all about The Election Center.
Are you getting angry yet... or still in denial?
Find out, "Why Kerry Conceded Defeat despite Electoral Fraud" from the Centre for Research on Globalization. In the article they ask you to, "...consider what we would be left with other than defeat, had the Democratic Party thrown its support behind Carol Mosley Braun, Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton or even Howard Dean. We might still be faced with Bush on November 3rd, smirking and basking in the glow of illegitimate power. But we would also have a country that was at least talking about the possibility of ending war on Iraq, protecting civil liberties, and challenging the many forms of racial social and economic injustice that are endemic in this country. We might have heard corporate media pundits being forced to talk about something, anything new."
"Your local elections officials trusted a group called NASED - the National Association of State Election Directors - to certify that your voting system is safe. This trust was breached," says Bev Harris. "NASED certified the systems based on the recommendation of an 'Independent Testing Authority' (ITA)." Harris rounded up a crew of skeptical computer geeks who dug into the "independent testing" process. Her report: The Tampering of Electronic Voting Systems on November 2nd reveals some critical flaws and even has links to dowload the GEMS software to test it for yourself.
The Federal Election Commission explains that, "Independent Testing Authorities designation is granted by NASED, and The Election Center (in its capacity as secretariat for NASED).
While the Election Center claims to be, "a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and improving democracy... (whose) members are government employees whose profession is to serve in voter registration and elections administration," critics contend that the Election Center acts as a front group for e-voting machine vendors.
In March 2004, a mistake by the IRS inadvertently revealed that e-voting machine vendor Sequoia had donated $10,000 per year to the Center from 1997 through 2000. When challenged by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Center's executive director R. Doug Lewis confirmed that the center had taken donations from the following makers of electronic voting machines:
* Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. of Oakland, CA
* Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S) of Omaha, Neb.
* 'probably' (in Lewis's words) Diebold Election Systems
Disinfopedia.org will tell you all about The Election Center.
Are you getting angry yet... or still in denial?
Find out, "Why Kerry Conceded Defeat despite Electoral Fraud" from the Centre for Research on Globalization. In the article they ask you to, "...consider what we would be left with other than defeat, had the Democratic Party thrown its support behind Carol Mosley Braun, Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton or even Howard Dean. We might still be faced with Bush on November 3rd, smirking and basking in the glow of illegitimate power. But we would also have a country that was at least talking about the possibility of ending war on Iraq, protecting civil liberties, and challenging the many forms of racial social and economic injustice that are endemic in this country. We might have heard corporate media pundits being forced to talk about something, anything new."
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance...
Skip the last two stages of "Grief" as defined by Elsabeth Kubler-Ross, it's time to get to work defining the spiritual left wing of this bird.
Democrats need to lay claim to the real pro-life party by opposing all war and the killing of our own soldiers along with tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Reverse the direction toward the greater use of atomic weapons and begin moving toward nuclear disarmament. Become the real pro-life party by demanding an end to the death penalty nationwide. What is it about "Thou shall not kill" that you don't understand?
Defend the environmental resources we have been entrusted with. Clean air and water are directly related to diminishing the use of fossil fuels. Work to support the use of alternative fuels and conservative energy efficient design. Become the ethical defender of minorities and the oppressed... black, Hispanic, gay, women, poor, and laboring Americans. Fight the corporatization of everything from the media, to healthcare and pharmaceuticals, to social security, to patented genetics in seed crops, to tax laws. Explain that an educated pro-life stance does not oppose in vitro fertilization, nor should it oppose the use of the resultant thousands of discarded zygotes for infant stem cell research. Recognize that Palestinians are an oppressed people and the weapons of mass destruction are stockpiled in Israel.
Simply said: It's time for Democrats to become the genuine opposition Party!
As a legally ordained minister I approve this liberal and progressive Sunday sermon,
Stephen Kastner
Recomended reading...
What's the Matter with Kansas?
How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
"A heartland populist, Frank is hilariously funny on what makes us red-staters different from blue-staters (not), and he actually knows evangelical Christians, antiabortion activists, gun-nuts, and Bubbas. I promise y'all, this is the only way to understand why so many Americans have decided to vote against their own economic and political interests. And Frank explores the subject with scholarship, understanding, passion, and -- thank you, Mark Twain -- such tart humor."
--Molly Ivins
Skip the last two stages of "Grief" as defined by Elsabeth Kubler-Ross, it's time to get to work defining the spiritual left wing of this bird.
Democrats need to lay claim to the real pro-life party by opposing all war and the killing of our own soldiers along with tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Reverse the direction toward the greater use of atomic weapons and begin moving toward nuclear disarmament. Become the real pro-life party by demanding an end to the death penalty nationwide. What is it about "Thou shall not kill" that you don't understand?
Defend the environmental resources we have been entrusted with. Clean air and water are directly related to diminishing the use of fossil fuels. Work to support the use of alternative fuels and conservative energy efficient design. Become the ethical defender of minorities and the oppressed... black, Hispanic, gay, women, poor, and laboring Americans. Fight the corporatization of everything from the media, to healthcare and pharmaceuticals, to social security, to patented genetics in seed crops, to tax laws. Explain that an educated pro-life stance does not oppose in vitro fertilization, nor should it oppose the use of the resultant thousands of discarded zygotes for infant stem cell research. Recognize that Palestinians are an oppressed people and the weapons of mass destruction are stockpiled in Israel.
Simply said: It's time for Democrats to become the genuine opposition Party!
As a legally ordained minister I approve this liberal and progressive Sunday sermon,
Stephen Kastner
Recomended reading...
What's the Matter with Kansas?
How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
"A heartland populist, Frank is hilariously funny on what makes us red-staters different from blue-staters (not), and he actually knows evangelical Christians, antiabortion activists, gun-nuts, and Bubbas. I promise y'all, this is the only way to understand why so many Americans have decided to vote against their own economic and political interests. And Frank explores the subject with scholarship, understanding, passion, and -- thank you, Mark Twain -- such tart humor."
--Molly Ivins
Friday, November 05, 2004
From Manic Depression to... Purple Haze
"I was thinking today about how the 'red v. blue' states graphic is really misleading considering the slim margins that the candidates won some of those states by, so I sat down and created the map," says Jeff Culver. See USA Today for a national red/blue breakdown mapped by county for 2004 and 2000.
Meanwhile there has been some debate regarding the actual phrasing in Osama bin Laden's most recent message, "In conclusion, I tell you in truth, that your security is not in the hands of Kerry, nor Bush, nor al-Qaida. No. Your security is in your own hands. And every state that doesn't play with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security."
It has been said that Osama actually understands the electoral college system and intends to strike only the "red" states... Here's the map he intends to go by:
"One thing we can say for certain at this point, after the grieving, the anger, is that the country is still bitterly divided," says the Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel in Stand and Fight.
Maybe I'm just a bad loser but why isn't the "media" discussing any of the following:
"It happened all around the country. Prior to Election Day 2004, people of colors, students and low-income people were intimidated and denied the right to vote. Citizens reported 1,074 instances of voter intimidation to the Election Protection Coalition. Read a few of the many examples of voter suppression.
Evidence Mounts That The Vote May Have Been Hacked
Greg Palast says Kerry Won.
In states where there were paper ballots the results exactly matched the exit polls.
In states where there were only electronic 'touch-screen' paperless voting machines Bush showed an inexplicable 5-8 point or more difference from the polls, contradicting otherwise accurate exit polls.
The software used in these voting machines is so sophisticated that you can't even check out the programming because it disappears leaving nothing to verify, no source code, no nothing.
"Did the voting machines trump exit polls? There’s a way to find out. Black Box Voting (.ORG) is conducting the largest Freedom of Information action in history."
The Ultimate Felony Against Democracy by Thom Hartmann
Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes
More Evidence The Vote Was Rigged from Wayne Nash.
"As evidence mounts that this election was likely stolen, it becomes imperative that the unleashed outrage is channeled into effective political action." Draft Dean says Stephen Dinan.
"I was thinking today about how the 'red v. blue' states graphic is really misleading considering the slim margins that the candidates won some of those states by, so I sat down and created the map," says Jeff Culver. See USA Today for a national red/blue breakdown mapped by county for 2004 and 2000.
Meanwhile there has been some debate regarding the actual phrasing in Osama bin Laden's most recent message, "In conclusion, I tell you in truth, that your security is not in the hands of Kerry, nor Bush, nor al-Qaida. No. Your security is in your own hands. And every state that doesn't play with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security."
It has been said that Osama actually understands the electoral college system and intends to strike only the "red" states... Here's the map he intends to go by:
"One thing we can say for certain at this point, after the grieving, the anger, is that the country is still bitterly divided," says the Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel in Stand and Fight.
Maybe I'm just a bad loser but why isn't the "media" discussing any of the following:
"It happened all around the country. Prior to Election Day 2004, people of colors, students and low-income people were intimidated and denied the right to vote. Citizens reported 1,074 instances of voter intimidation to the Election Protection Coalition. Read a few of the many examples of voter suppression.
Evidence Mounts That The Vote May Have Been Hacked
Greg Palast says Kerry Won.
In states where there were paper ballots the results exactly matched the exit polls.
In states where there were only electronic 'touch-screen' paperless voting machines Bush showed an inexplicable 5-8 point or more difference from the polls, contradicting otherwise accurate exit polls.
The software used in these voting machines is so sophisticated that you can't even check out the programming because it disappears leaving nothing to verify, no source code, no nothing.
"Did the voting machines trump exit polls? There’s a way to find out. Black Box Voting (.ORG) is conducting the largest Freedom of Information action in history."
The Ultimate Felony Against Democracy by Thom Hartmann
Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes
More Evidence The Vote Was Rigged from Wayne Nash.
"As evidence mounts that this election was likely stolen, it becomes imperative that the unleashed outrage is channeled into effective political action." Draft Dean says Stephen Dinan.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Never before have I seen an American election where one party is working like crazy to get people to vote, while the other party is doing everything it can to block the vote... "It's just the sounds of the Devil going down screaming," says my beautiful and intelligent wife.
Poet and pal Mark Turcotte alerted me to the NEA's Operation Homecoming, funded by Boeing. Many people doubt the validity of a project funded by an arms manufacturer that intends to give troops who have served in Iraq the encouragement to express themselves about their experiences.
Operation Truth is a non-profit 501(c)(4), non-partisan veterans' organization that is already accomplishing what the NEA proposes in “Hear it from the Troops,” unencumbered by war-maker sponsorship.
If you have ever suspected that George W. Bush is actually a snotty teenage brat posing as an adult this video clip proves you are correct.
Poet and pal Mark Turcotte alerted me to the NEA's Operation Homecoming, funded by Boeing. Many people doubt the validity of a project funded by an arms manufacturer that intends to give troops who have served in Iraq the encouragement to express themselves about their experiences.
Operation Truth is a non-profit 501(c)(4), non-partisan veterans' organization that is already accomplishing what the NEA proposes in “Hear it from the Troops,” unencumbered by war-maker sponsorship.
If you have ever suspected that George W. Bush is actually a snotty teenage brat posing as an adult this video clip proves you are correct.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Here's a couple of Halloween treats...
But this filmstrip's not for kiddies.
"I just don't feel like we should changing horses in mid stream, even if the horse is on fire and the stream is made of gasoline..." from WTFMFWTFAYT another song by Jim's Big Ego.
And just in case you missed this one on CNN...
Jon Stewart's Brutal Exchange with CNN Host Tucker Carlson over journalism ethics.
Ever wonder How Bin Laden Got Away?
To set one more record straight...
‘Swift Boat Veterans for Truth’ does everything possible to conceal the fact that every member of John Kerry’s own boat crew endorses him for president.
But this filmstrip's not for kiddies.
"I just don't feel like we should changing horses in mid stream, even if the horse is on fire and the stream is made of gasoline..." from WTFMFWTFAYT another song by Jim's Big Ego.
And just in case you missed this one on CNN...
Jon Stewart's Brutal Exchange with CNN Host Tucker Carlson over journalism ethics.
Ever wonder How Bin Laden Got Away?
To set one more record straight...
‘Swift Boat Veterans for Truth’ does everything possible to conceal the fact that every member of John Kerry’s own boat crew endorses him for president.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
"It's hard for me to listen to President Bush invoking my father's memory to attack John Kerry. Senator Kerry has demonstrated his courage and commitment to a stronger America throughout his entire career. President Kennedy inspired and united the country and so will John Kerry. President Bush is doing just the opposite. All of us who revere the strength and resolve of President Kennedy will be supporting John Kerry on Election Day," says Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
I missed seeing the movie Rolling Stone rated as #1... The Motorcycle Diaries. Taken from a book by the same title written by the young Ernesto Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student who takes off on an eight-month motorcycle journey across Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. I suspect that Sturgeon Bay's Cinema 6 wasn't interested in screening it because Ernesto eventually became known as Che... The latest listings for Cinema 6 show no sign of Team America: World Police on their docket either, despite the fact that while many folks think it attacks the right, others like Rolling Stone's Peter Travers think it goes after the left, "the film targets a clear and present danger: liberal Hollywood." Maybe it's the R rating - nothing worse than foul-mouthed puppets.
So far, five Wisconsin video stores have begun free rentals of Fahrenheit 911 through Nov 2nd.
So far, five Wisconsin video stores have begun free rentals of Fahrenheit 911 through Nov 2nd.
Monday, October 25, 2004
How would God vote?
Florida Billboards Blame Bush for Hurricanes
Susan Jones, CNSNews.com Morning Editor
10/26/2004
Because President George W. Bush has "ignored the threat of global warming," Floridians can expect to be hit by increasingly destructive hurricanes, a new billboard campaign says.
The billboards, going up along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando -- a week before the presidential election -- read, "Global warming equals worse hurricanes. George Bush just doesn't get it." The billboards show a photo of a hurricane swirling toward Florida.
The campaign is co-sponsored by Scientists and Engineers for Change and Environment2004. The NAACP National Voter Fund is also involved in the effort to blame Bush for ignoring global warming.
A press release announcing the billboard campaign quoted Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton: "The damage from this year's hurricanes should be taken as a sign of things to come," Oppenheimer said. "The warming ocean surface will supply more and more heat to future hurricanes, causing their winds to strengthen and their destructive power to increase disproportionately."
Aimee Christensen, executive director of Environment2004, said President Bush has "pursued an energy policy driven by industry, which puts polluters before people." She said the Florida billboard campaign is intended to "raise awareness" of how Bush administration policies are "harming the people of Florida."
Christensen said people in the hard-hit Tampa and Orlando areas "need to know that Bush is doing practically nothing to prevent hurricanes from getting worse in the future from global warming."
Gregory T. Moore, head of the NAACP's National Voter Fund, said his organization has launched an effort to inform minorities how they are "more heavily impacted by environmental threats," such as stronger hurricanes.
"Here in Florida," Moore added in a non sequitur, "there are still 90,000 people homeless because of the hurricanes, and they should have the right to vote."
Florida Billboards Blame Bush for Hurricanes
Susan Jones, CNSNews.com Morning Editor
10/26/2004
Because President George W. Bush has "ignored the threat of global warming," Floridians can expect to be hit by increasingly destructive hurricanes, a new billboard campaign says.
The billboards, going up along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando -- a week before the presidential election -- read, "Global warming equals worse hurricanes. George Bush just doesn't get it." The billboards show a photo of a hurricane swirling toward Florida.
The campaign is co-sponsored by Scientists and Engineers for Change and Environment2004. The NAACP National Voter Fund is also involved in the effort to blame Bush for ignoring global warming.
A press release announcing the billboard campaign quoted Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton: "The damage from this year's hurricanes should be taken as a sign of things to come," Oppenheimer said. "The warming ocean surface will supply more and more heat to future hurricanes, causing their winds to strengthen and their destructive power to increase disproportionately."
Aimee Christensen, executive director of Environment2004, said President Bush has "pursued an energy policy driven by industry, which puts polluters before people." She said the Florida billboard campaign is intended to "raise awareness" of how Bush administration policies are "harming the people of Florida."
Christensen said people in the hard-hit Tampa and Orlando areas "need to know that Bush is doing practically nothing to prevent hurricanes from getting worse in the future from global warming."
Gregory T. Moore, head of the NAACP's National Voter Fund, said his organization has launched an effort to inform minorities how they are "more heavily impacted by environmental threats," such as stronger hurricanes.
"Here in Florida," Moore added in a non sequitur, "there are still 90,000 people homeless because of the hurricanes, and they should have the right to vote."
Sunday, October 24, 2004
"You're just a phone call (or a mouse click) away from hot one-on-one chat with a few Weapons of Mass... Seduction. Call 212.875.7000 or visit LieGirls.com to listen on-line.
Friday, October 22, 2004
Iraq veterans open up on mishandling of war
Boetcher presented the audience with statistics showing how veterans are losing service benefits at a rapid rate....
Jennifer Giese of the 826th Ordinance experiences...
"While the unit suffered no fatalities in Iraq, they were plagued the entire time by supply chain glitches. The unit never received body armor, and had to resort to stealing scrap metal for vehicle armor. Bottled water had to be rationed due to shortages, but Giese later filled a swimming pool for a general's use."
Casualties of Faith
"What does it tell you about a president that his grounds for war are so weak that the only way he can justify it is by believing God wants it? Or that his only Iraq policy now - as our troops fight a vicious insurgency and the dream of a stable democracy falls apart - is a belief in miracles?"
Bush Foresaw No War Casualties, Robertson Recalls
The president was the 'most self-assured man I ever met' during a 2003 encounter, televangelist says. The White House says he's got it wrong.
During the meeting, Bush "was the most self-assured man I ever met in my life," Robertson said. "You remember Mark Twain said, 'He looks like a contented Christian with four aces.' He was just sitting there, like, 'I'm on top of the world.' "
Boetcher presented the audience with statistics showing how veterans are losing service benefits at a rapid rate....
Jennifer Giese of the 826th Ordinance experiences...
"While the unit suffered no fatalities in Iraq, they were plagued the entire time by supply chain glitches. The unit never received body armor, and had to resort to stealing scrap metal for vehicle armor. Bottled water had to be rationed due to shortages, but Giese later filled a swimming pool for a general's use."
Casualties of Faith
"What does it tell you about a president that his grounds for war are so weak that the only way he can justify it is by believing God wants it? Or that his only Iraq policy now - as our troops fight a vicious insurgency and the dream of a stable democracy falls apart - is a belief in miracles?"
Bush Foresaw No War Casualties, Robertson Recalls
The president was the 'most self-assured man I ever met' during a 2003 encounter, televangelist says. The White House says he's got it wrong.
During the meeting, Bush "was the most self-assured man I ever met in my life," Robertson said. "You remember Mark Twain said, 'He looks like a contented Christian with four aces.' He was just sitting there, like, 'I'm on top of the world.' "
Thursday, October 21, 2004
"Last week, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a co-chair of President Bush's campaign in Wisconsin, refused Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's request for additional ballots. This left the state's most populous city, which is expecting a record voter turnout, with fewer ballots than in 2000 or 2002. After hundreds protested and media sources all over the nation blasted the decision, Walker relented and grudgingly handed over the ballots. But the intent was clear..."
Read more about The problem of vote blocking by UW Madison's Daily Cardinal reporter Nick Barbash
Read more about The problem of vote blocking by UW Madison's Daily Cardinal reporter Nick Barbash
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
About 1.7 million veterans lack health insurance, study says
Many of the uninsured veterans were barred from Veterans Health Administration services by a 2003 Bush administration order halting enrollment of most middle-income veterans.
"Since President Bush took office, the number of uninsured vets has skyrocketed, and he's cut VA eligibility, barring hundreds of thousands of veterans from care," said David Himmelstein, study author and a Harvard Medical School associate professor.
Many of the uninsured veterans were barred from Veterans Health Administration services by a 2003 Bush administration order halting enrollment of most middle-income veterans.
"Since President Bush took office, the number of uninsured vets has skyrocketed, and he's cut VA eligibility, barring hundreds of thousands of veterans from care," said David Himmelstein, study author and a Harvard Medical School associate professor.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
What will be the "October Surprise"
"We've got a couple of surprises that we intend to spring." - Karl Rove (9/29/04 - On ABC Radio to Sean Hannity)
You can place a $3 bet... at Osama Bin Lotto. "This may seem like a goofy sweepstakes but there is a serious intent. The more that people are aware of the 'October Surprise' before it happens, the less impact it could have and the less likely it will be to happen at all," says Ben Cohen. "Actual winnings will be based on how many tickets are bought overall. The winner gets the pot, which our odds makers predict will be many thousands of dollars or up to half a million dollars."
Want some help to pick a winner?
OctoberSurprise.net has a poll, history lessons and blog where you can learn more about the "October Surprise." Remember the original "October Surprise" back in 1980? It was a plan executed by those who backed the Reagan campaign who set out to unseat Jimmy Carter by making a deal with the Iranians (through the CIA) to continue to hold American hostages beyond the 1980 November elections rather than release them before the vote which would have been a major plus for incumbent Jimmy Carter.
This Mark Green has my endorsement...
He headed Public Citizen's Congress Watch and was Public Advocate of New York City, currently president of the New Democracy Project, a lecturer at New York University and recently edited What We Stand For: A Program for Progressive Patriotism. Mark Green invites readers at his NameTheOctoberSurprise.com Web site to, submit entries to a "Name the October Surprise" contest. "This contest emerges out of history - political history and Bush history," says Mark. "The best modern example occurred in 1972 when then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger announced at the end of the Nixon-McGovern campaign that 'peace is at hand' with Vietnam."
On Sunday, October 30, Mark Green will, "announce the 'winners' based on the submission(s) which predicted what actually happened. Winners appear live on Air America to bask in the gratitude of a skeptical nation...and will receive a signed copy of The Book on Bush and cool Air America gear."
"We've got a couple of surprises that we intend to spring." - Karl Rove (9/29/04 - On ABC Radio to Sean Hannity)
You can place a $3 bet... at Osama Bin Lotto. "This may seem like a goofy sweepstakes but there is a serious intent. The more that people are aware of the 'October Surprise' before it happens, the less impact it could have and the less likely it will be to happen at all," says Ben Cohen. "Actual winnings will be based on how many tickets are bought overall. The winner gets the pot, which our odds makers predict will be many thousands of dollars or up to half a million dollars."
Want some help to pick a winner?
OctoberSurprise.net has a poll, history lessons and blog where you can learn more about the "October Surprise." Remember the original "October Surprise" back in 1980? It was a plan executed by those who backed the Reagan campaign who set out to unseat Jimmy Carter by making a deal with the Iranians (through the CIA) to continue to hold American hostages beyond the 1980 November elections rather than release them before the vote which would have been a major plus for incumbent Jimmy Carter.
This Mark Green has my endorsement...
He headed Public Citizen's Congress Watch and was Public Advocate of New York City, currently president of the New Democracy Project, a lecturer at New York University and recently edited What We Stand For: A Program for Progressive Patriotism. Mark Green invites readers at his NameTheOctoberSurprise.com Web site to, submit entries to a "Name the October Surprise" contest. "This contest emerges out of history - political history and Bush history," says Mark. "The best modern example occurred in 1972 when then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger announced at the end of the Nixon-McGovern campaign that 'peace is at hand' with Vietnam."
On Sunday, October 30, Mark Green will, "announce the 'winners' based on the submission(s) which predicted what actually happened. Winners appear live on Air America to bask in the gratitude of a skeptical nation...and will receive a signed copy of The Book on Bush and cool Air America gear."
Friday, October 15, 2004
The beginning of the holy month of Ramadhan is established by the first sighting of the crescent of the new moon... this evening.
The Prophet Muhammad explains, "O people! The gates of the paradises are wide open in this month, so ask your Lord that He would not close them to you, and the gates of Fire are shut, so ask Allah that He would not open them to you. And the Satans are tied, so ask your Lord that He would not enable them over you.”
"To win this election... we need to be winning in Iraq," says another lesser prophet, Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard. "The President has to convince people he's stubborn... and right."
He's stubborn... and thus the level of agression increases in Iraq as the President looses all three debates.
The Prophet Muhammad explains, "O people! The gates of the paradises are wide open in this month, so ask your Lord that He would not close them to you, and the gates of Fire are shut, so ask Allah that He would not open them to you. And the Satans are tied, so ask your Lord that He would not enable them over you.”
"To win this election... we need to be winning in Iraq," says another lesser prophet, Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard. "The President has to convince people he's stubborn... and right."
He's stubborn... and thus the level of agression increases in Iraq as the President looses all three debates.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Between October 21 and 24, Sinclair Broadcast Group will force the local television stations it owns and operates to preempt regular network broadcasts and devote one hour to an anti-John Kerry documentary. This includes two Wisconsin stations, located in Milwaukee and Madison, but many of the advertisers on these stations serve a broader market and they deserve to hear from you.
Tell Sinclair Broadcast Group not to air right-wing propaganda. Then take a look at the advertisers list and make some phone calls and send e-mail to let them know how you feel - all of the contact info is conveniently provided.
Wisconsin's Capital Times: Customers "hound" Sinclair station advertisers
Restaurants pull Channel 47 ads
Tell Sinclair Broadcast Group not to air right-wing propaganda. Then take a look at the advertisers list and make some phone calls and send e-mail to let them know how you feel - all of the contact info is conveniently provided.
Wisconsin's Capital Times: Customers "hound" Sinclair station advertisers
Restaurants pull Channel 47 ads
Sunday, October 10, 2004
"I'm asking you to join me this November in giving America Hell... My name is Satan and I approve this message."
Thursday, October 07, 2004
On September 26, 2004 the "futures" on John Kerry were at rock bottom...
That was the day to BUY... damn it! For about .29 I could have locked in with a winner and taken home a few bucks for all of this electioneering. GWB shares were at their all-time high of .74 and that was the day to sell GWB short - just like he's done to the rest of us.
You can track and invest in this market on-line at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business Web site: IEM 2004 US Presidential Winner Takes All Market.
If you wish to check the odds and place a traditional bet then go to BetFair.com... Click on "Special Bets," then "USA," then "Politics," then "US President 2004," then "Winning Party." Total bets matched so far as of this posting: $2,622,291.
That was the day to BUY... damn it! For about .29 I could have locked in with a winner and taken home a few bucks for all of this electioneering. GWB shares were at their all-time high of .74 and that was the day to sell GWB short - just like he's done to the rest of us.
You can track and invest in this market on-line at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business Web site: IEM 2004 US Presidential Winner Takes All Market.
If you wish to check the odds and place a traditional bet then go to BetFair.com... Click on "Special Bets," then "USA," then "Politics," then "US President 2004," then "Winning Party." Total bets matched so far as of this posting: $2,622,291.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
The last laugh...
Vice-president Dick Chaney encouraged last night's debate listeners to check the facts on Haliburton at the Annenburg FactCheck Web site. Too bad he sent them to FactCheck.com instead of FactCheck.org - because Web surfers who type in the URL Cheney suggests are met with advice from George Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, who explains "Why we Must not re-elect President Bush."
Meanwhile... FactCheck.org says
Getting it wrong about combat pay, Halliburton, and FactCheck.org
"Cheney wrongly implied that FactCheck had defended his tenure as CEO of Halliburton Co., and the vice president even got our name wrong. He overstated matters when he said Edwards voted "for the war" and "to commit the troops, to send them to war." He exaggerated the number of times Kerry has voted to raise taxes, and puffed up the number of small business owners who would see a tax increase under Kerry's proposals."
"Edwards falsely claimed the administration "lobbied the Congress" to cut the combat pay of troops in Iraq, something the White House never supported, and he used misleading numbers about jobs."
Vice-president Dick Chaney encouraged last night's debate listeners to check the facts on Haliburton at the Annenburg FactCheck Web site. Too bad he sent them to FactCheck.com instead of FactCheck.org - because Web surfers who type in the URL Cheney suggests are met with advice from George Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, who explains "Why we Must not re-elect President Bush."
Meanwhile... FactCheck.org says
Getting it wrong about combat pay, Halliburton, and FactCheck.org
"Cheney wrongly implied that FactCheck had defended his tenure as CEO of Halliburton Co., and the vice president even got our name wrong. He overstated matters when he said Edwards voted "for the war" and "to commit the troops, to send them to war." He exaggerated the number of times Kerry has voted to raise taxes, and puffed up the number of small business owners who would see a tax increase under Kerry's proposals."
"Edwards falsely claimed the administration "lobbied the Congress" to cut the combat pay of troops in Iraq, something the White House never supported, and he used misleading numbers about jobs."
Sunday, October 03, 2004
The Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam is maintained by the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The image automatically updates approximately every five minutes. The VolcanoCam is now the closest operating camera to Mount St. Helens.
Friday, October 01, 2004
And the winner is...
Toronto Star's Voices: Presidential debate winner
Republicans for Kerry 2004
Republicans for Kerry
Evidence that the RNC has completely run out of anything meaningful to say about Kerry... Flipper searching for Lambert Field. Seems like another "mexed missage" to me.
Toronto Star's Voices: Presidential debate winner
Republicans for Kerry 2004
Republicans for Kerry
Evidence that the RNC has completely run out of anything meaningful to say about Kerry... Flipper searching for Lambert Field. Seems like another "mexed missage" to me.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Florida 2000 Deja Vu?
Carter predicts vote trouble in Florida again...
Despite recommendations that he and Gerald Ford drafted together in 2000, some of the basic international requirements for a fair election in Florida on Nov. 2 are still missing says CATV News.
"The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair," says former President Jimmy Carter.
Eric Blumrich provides a disturbing history lesson in Grand Theft America , a 5-minute documentayr flash video with music from Grand Theft Auto that paints a picture of the "Theft of the Presidency" as originally reported by Greg Palast for BBC-TV 's Newsnight. You can read the transcript above or actually watch Palast's entire TV video feature to see him chase down the facts.
Carter predicts vote trouble in Florida again...
Despite recommendations that he and Gerald Ford drafted together in 2000, some of the basic international requirements for a fair election in Florida on Nov. 2 are still missing says CATV News.
"The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair," says former President Jimmy Carter.
Eric Blumrich provides a disturbing history lesson in Grand Theft America , a 5-minute documentayr flash video with music from Grand Theft Auto that paints a picture of the "Theft of the Presidency" as originally reported by Greg Palast for BBC-TV 's Newsnight. You can read the transcript above or actually watch Palast's entire TV video feature to see him chase down the facts.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
How will electoral votes in the closely fought states tally up for Bush and Kerry? Play with this interactive map to find out how different state-by-state outcomes will add up.
Which candidate shares your views? Take this interactive quiz to find out.
Test your political skills with this campaign simulation game. It will tell you which candidate most closely matches your beliefs on the 3 basic areas of core cultural issues.
Isn't it about time for another preemptive strike?
"The Bush administration responded calmly yesterday to North Korean statements it has turned the plutonium from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into nuclear weapons," reports the Associated Press today. "We take all their claims seriously," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, but he also suggested a touch of theater in the North Korean diplomat's statement, saying Pyongyang "is bragging about violating its commitments and its promises."
North Korean theater has great special effects...
On 9/12/2004 Rueters announced, "A huge explosion rocked North Korea last week but U.S. and South Korean officials said Sunday it was unlikely to have been a nuclear weapons test despite the appearance of a 'peculiar cloud' over the area."
Condi Rice played down sightings of a mushroom cloud and a huge explosion in North Korea. "There are all kinds of reports and there are all kinds of assessments that are going on. Maybe it was a fire, some kind of forest fire," she said.
Which candidate shares your views? Take this interactive quiz to find out.
Test your political skills with this campaign simulation game. It will tell you which candidate most closely matches your beliefs on the 3 basic areas of core cultural issues.
Isn't it about time for another preemptive strike?
"The Bush administration responded calmly yesterday to North Korean statements it has turned the plutonium from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into nuclear weapons," reports the Associated Press today. "We take all their claims seriously," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, but he also suggested a touch of theater in the North Korean diplomat's statement, saying Pyongyang "is bragging about violating its commitments and its promises."
North Korean theater has great special effects...
On 9/12/2004 Rueters announced, "A huge explosion rocked North Korea last week but U.S. and South Korean officials said Sunday it was unlikely to have been a nuclear weapons test despite the appearance of a 'peculiar cloud' over the area."
Condi Rice played down sightings of a mushroom cloud and a huge explosion in North Korea. "There are all kinds of reports and there are all kinds of assessments that are going on. Maybe it was a fire, some kind of forest fire," she said.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Maybe not 50 cent... but 50 Billion (Will B) and Felonius Ax (aka Clifford J. Tasner)have produced a new video for Billionaires for Bush with vocals by Ho’ Lotta Bling (Marion Ramsey), Warren Proffet (Ross Wright) & Felonius Ax. They continue to wage a relentless campaign with a Florida Limo Tour to promote 50 Billion's new release , Don't Vote! (MP3) and now daily punditry in The Privileged Perspective - Speaking Power to Truth.
The belief that, "Hip Hop can help send George Bush back to Texas where he belongs," spawned the creation of Slam Bush Battles throughout the US starting in August. "Milwaukee turned out so many heads to slam “W” they had to hold three consecutive nights of battles, one of which was graced by the presence of none other than Congresswoman and Warrior Goddess, Maxine Waters!" Wisconsin's winner, "Darlin" Nikki Janzen, is an 8th grade English, Reading, and Social Studies teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools who uses poetry to inspire and educate youth and adults. On Sept. 29, the night before the first Bush/Kerry debate at the University of Miami, winners from around the country will converge on Miami for the National Slam Bush Championship.
Despite the 32-page agreement between the parties stifling the upcoming Presidential debates it's great to see that in Madison the Baldwin-Magnum debate gets rowdy.
The belief that, "Hip Hop can help send George Bush back to Texas where he belongs," spawned the creation of Slam Bush Battles throughout the US starting in August. "Milwaukee turned out so many heads to slam “W” they had to hold three consecutive nights of battles, one of which was graced by the presence of none other than Congresswoman and Warrior Goddess, Maxine Waters!" Wisconsin's winner, "Darlin" Nikki Janzen, is an 8th grade English, Reading, and Social Studies teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools who uses poetry to inspire and educate youth and adults. On Sept. 29, the night before the first Bush/Kerry debate at the University of Miami, winners from around the country will converge on Miami for the National Slam Bush Championship.
Despite the 32-page agreement between the parties stifling the upcoming Presidential debates it's great to see that in Madison the Baldwin-Magnum debate gets rowdy.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Getting to know Iyad Allawi...
John F. Burns reports, "Visiting Dr. Allawi at his sprawling residence is a short course in just how bad the situation has become for anybody associated with the American purpose in Iraq. To reach the house is to navigate a fantastical obstacle course of checkpoints, with Iraqi police cars and Humvees parked athwart a zigzag course through relays of concrete barriers. An hour or more is taken up with body searches and sniffing by dogs, while American soldiers man turreted machine guns. A boxlike infrared imaging device can detect the body heat of anybody approaching through a neighboring playground. The final security ring is manned by C.I.A.-trained guards from Iraqi Kurdistan. If Dr. Allawi were Ian Fleming's Dr. No, no more elaborate defenses could be conceived."
"This is the man who has been chosen to lead Iraq to the haven of a democratic future, but he is sealed off about as completely as he could be from ordinary Iraqis, in the virtual certainty that insurgents will kill him if they ever get a clear shot."
Who's who in Iraq: Iyad Allawi
Iyad Allawi is one of a US-backed clique of secular Iraqi opposition figures who lived in exile until the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.
Exiled Allawi was Responsible for 45-Minute WMD Claim
Australian press broke this story in July...
Allawi shot prisoners in cold blood: witnesses
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Bush Twins Studiously Avoid UW Madison Campus
On Wednesday Jenna and Barbara, made campaign appearances at St. Norbert College in De Pere, UW-Oshkosh and Marquette University in Milwaukee, stumping for their father. Barbara encouraged the students to vote and not be afraid of being a young Republican.
"Both wearing casual tops in shades of green — Jenna in olive and Barbara in seafoam — the twin daughters of President Bush stumped for their dad Wednesday in the home of the Green Knights," reports Lee Reinsch in the GB Press Gazette.
Jim Hightower encourages both sisters not to be afraid to fully support their father...
WHY AREN'T JENNA AND BARBARA IN FATIGUES?
9/14/2004
Did you take full and proper notice of the political coming out of George W's twin daughters?
Jenna and Barbara, the 22-year-old twins, have long been kept away from the political glare, but they're now adults who have just graduated from college, and both have been brought into the limelight by the Bush political campaign. Their first outing was for a photo spread and puff piece that ran in Vogue, the fashion magazine. Indeed, they looked splendiferous, beautifully made up and swathed in glamorous designer gowns––one by Oscar de la Renta, the other by Calvin Klein. No telling how many silk worms toiled to make this photo spread possible.
But––tacky me–– I couldn't help thinking as I viewed the photos: Why aren't they in fatigues and Kevlar vests, like other women and men their age?
Jenna and Barbara announced that they would be joining their daddy's election campaign, but I had to ask myself: Why aren't they joining their daddy's war?
After all, he says that his war in Iraq is absolutely essential to our national security. And he insists that his policies over there are absolutely worth all the troops who have been killed, worth the horrible mutilations of thousands of other soldiers, worth the horrific beheadings, worth the untold illnesses and poisonings being contracted by the men and women he has sent there, and worth the illegal conscription of tens of thousands of Americans forced to stay in this disastrous war beyond their legitimate tour of duty.
So, if daddy's war is absolutely worth the sacrifice of America's workaday families––why is it not worth the enlistment of his military-age family?
Maybe it's genetic. After all, George himself was a "ferocious war hawk" who used family connections to keep himself 8,000 miles from Vietnam. And now that he's president, he can start his own war that leaves his loved ones safely swathed in silk...while our families see our loved ones come home in shrouds.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
A Trillion has 12 zeros after it... 000,000,000,000
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit will balloon to $2.29 trillion over the next decade, congressional analysts said Tuesday. This represents a worse outlook than previously forecast and one likely to stir election-year debate about President Bush's economic policies. The CBO confirmed a preliminary forecast made in August for a record deficit of $422 billion for the 2004 fiscal year.
"This report underscores that our policies are working to create a stronger economy, more jobs and a lower deficit," said House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, an Iowa Republican.
And everything is going great in Iraq, George Bush was an awesome member of the Texas National Guard, there's no problem with assualt weapons back on the streets again and that mushroom cloud over North Korea... "It was probably just a forest fire" says the Whitehouse Sphinx - the same security advisor who earlier reverse-poked, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud," as we veered away from Osama and gunned it for Baghdad.
Dick Cheney, the Queen of Denial can't stop displaying a brazen disregard for the facts, telling an audience in Cincinnati Thursday that Iraq had "provided safe harbor and sanctuary...for Al Qaeda," despite the findings of the 9/11 Commission.
Watch Pentagon Strike... and then please explain how Flight 77, a Boeing 757 weighing 80 tons simply vanished.
Deny this: There are only two spots in the US that are located below sea level... Death Valley, CA and New Orleans, LA. What might a true Department of Homeland Security provide for the citizens who Can't Evacuate New Orleans for Ivan, the estimated 100,000 poorer New Orleans residents who have no cars, the ones who often rely on City Transportation for all of their travel who now can't flee to safety.
"Got no place to go and no way to get there," said a 57-year-old grandmother, who lives on a disability check and money she picks up cleaning houses or baby sitting. "They say evacuate, but they don't say how I'm supposed to do that," Latonya Hill said. "If I can't walk it or get there on the bus, I don't go. I don't got a car. My daughter don't either."
TALK
President Bush shows that he has compassion, "There are still some people looking for work because of the recession. There are people looking for work because jobs have gone overseas. And we need to act in this country. We need to act to make sure there are more jobs at home, and people are more likely to retain a job."
WALK
The Republican National Committee is such a staunch believer in creating these jobs that they used a firm in Maharashtra, India, to create its database of approximately 165 million registered voters.
WALK'in the WALK:
For the record, The Dems’ voter database was developed by a company, Plus Three, based in a distant suburb of New Delhi, India, called Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit will balloon to $2.29 trillion over the next decade, congressional analysts said Tuesday. This represents a worse outlook than previously forecast and one likely to stir election-year debate about President Bush's economic policies. The CBO confirmed a preliminary forecast made in August for a record deficit of $422 billion for the 2004 fiscal year.
"This report underscores that our policies are working to create a stronger economy, more jobs and a lower deficit," said House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, an Iowa Republican.
And everything is going great in Iraq, George Bush was an awesome member of the Texas National Guard, there's no problem with assualt weapons back on the streets again and that mushroom cloud over North Korea... "It was probably just a forest fire" says the Whitehouse Sphinx - the same security advisor who earlier reverse-poked, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud," as we veered away from Osama and gunned it for Baghdad.
Dick Cheney, the Queen of Denial can't stop displaying a brazen disregard for the facts, telling an audience in Cincinnati Thursday that Iraq had "provided safe harbor and sanctuary...for Al Qaeda," despite the findings of the 9/11 Commission.
Watch Pentagon Strike... and then please explain how Flight 77, a Boeing 757 weighing 80 tons simply vanished.
Deny this: There are only two spots in the US that are located below sea level... Death Valley, CA and New Orleans, LA. What might a true Department of Homeland Security provide for the citizens who Can't Evacuate New Orleans for Ivan, the estimated 100,000 poorer New Orleans residents who have no cars, the ones who often rely on City Transportation for all of their travel who now can't flee to safety.
"Got no place to go and no way to get there," said a 57-year-old grandmother, who lives on a disability check and money she picks up cleaning houses or baby sitting. "They say evacuate, but they don't say how I'm supposed to do that," Latonya Hill said. "If I can't walk it or get there on the bus, I don't go. I don't got a car. My daughter don't either."
TALK
President Bush shows that he has compassion, "There are still some people looking for work because of the recession. There are people looking for work because jobs have gone overseas. And we need to act in this country. We need to act to make sure there are more jobs at home, and people are more likely to retain a job."
WALK
The Republican National Committee is such a staunch believer in creating these jobs that they used a firm in Maharashtra, India, to create its database of approximately 165 million registered voters.
WALK'in the WALK:
For the record, The Dems’ voter database was developed by a company, Plus Three, based in a distant suburb of New Delhi, India, called Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
In commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act the State of Utah auctioned off 40,000 acres of Utah wilderness lands to oil and gas exploration firms. Their expected findings will satisfy a possible 4 days of US oil consumption and 4 weeks useage of natural gas.
The Truth-Telling Project, led by Daniel Ellsberg, encourages whistleblowing in the national interest. It urges current and recently retired government officials to reveal the truth to Congress and the public about governmental wrongdoing. lies and cover-up. It aims to change the norms and practices that sustain the cult of secrecy, and to de-legitimize silence that costs lives.
Randolph Bourne, a notable American critic and social activist, courageously opposed World War I. The Randolph Bourne Institute (RBI) seeks to honor his memory by promoting a non-interventionist foreign policy for the United States as the best way of fostering a peaceful, more prosperous world.
"We support a former Baathist assassin as president, while a Shi'ite cleric, whose father was murdered by Saddam Hussein, is our most implacable foe." Ghost of Madison a warning for Iraq war
The Truth-Telling Project, led by Daniel Ellsberg, encourages whistleblowing in the national interest. It urges current and recently retired government officials to reveal the truth to Congress and the public about governmental wrongdoing. lies and cover-up. It aims to change the norms and practices that sustain the cult of secrecy, and to de-legitimize silence that costs lives.
Randolph Bourne, a notable American critic and social activist, courageously opposed World War I. The Randolph Bourne Institute (RBI) seeks to honor his memory by promoting a non-interventionist foreign policy for the United States as the best way of fostering a peaceful, more prosperous world.
"We support a former Baathist assassin as president, while a Shi'ite cleric, whose father was murdered by Saddam Hussein, is our most implacable foe." Ghost of Madison a warning for Iraq war
Monday, September 13, 2004
Two Americas... Going Nowhere Workers' Wages Since the Mid-1970s
Since 2000 average wages for American workers have stopped growing. From post WWII 1947 until the mid-70s wages for all US workers were rising steadily, and faster than the inflation rate.
Not only are wages declining, health insurance benefits are shrinking as group policy rates continue to rise at a rate way beyond that of inflation. "Alone among developed nations, the United States relies primarily on employers to provide health insurance for its citizens. More than 60 percent of Americans obtain medical coverage as a benefit from their own jobs or from family members’ jobs." - America’s Achilles’ Heel Job-Based Health Coverage and the Uninsured
"American Jobs Blog" discusses the ongoing development, film information, issues, and ideas relating to the documentary film "American Jobs" directed by Greg Spotts that explores the loss of American jobs to foreign competition. Watch for an upcoming free screening at the Compass Coffeehouse.
Since 2000 average wages for American workers have stopped growing. From post WWII 1947 until the mid-70s wages for all US workers were rising steadily, and faster than the inflation rate.
Not only are wages declining, health insurance benefits are shrinking as group policy rates continue to rise at a rate way beyond that of inflation. "Alone among developed nations, the United States relies primarily on employers to provide health insurance for its citizens. More than 60 percent of Americans obtain medical coverage as a benefit from their own jobs or from family members’ jobs." - America’s Achilles’ Heel Job-Based Health Coverage and the Uninsured
"American Jobs Blog" discusses the ongoing development, film information, issues, and ideas relating to the documentary film "American Jobs" directed by Greg Spotts that explores the loss of American jobs to foreign competition. Watch for an upcoming free screening at the Compass Coffeehouse.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Many Americans wonder why we don’t just take a big atomic bomb and drop it on Hurricane Ivan. Little do they realize that not only would Ivan fail to even notice the blast from the largest bomb we can muster, Ivan would absentmindedly scoop up all of the nuclear poison created by the blast and sprinkle it throughout the jet stream for equitable distribution over the entire planet. Hurricane Ivan contains 4 times more power than the entire sum total of all of the energy being used at any one time by all of the people everywhere on planet Earth.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Under federal election law, college students are legally entitled to vote from their residence at school. The New Voters Project intends to make sure they get registered, informed and encouraged to do so on November 2nd.
New Voters Project registers success in UW vote campaign
The Daily Cardinal says, "With election day less than two months away, the UW-Madison branch of the New Voters Project announced they have already registered 3,218 young voters, and said they hope to register a total of 10,000 by November 2."
New Voters Project registers success in UW vote campaign
The Daily Cardinal says, "With election day less than two months away, the UW-Madison branch of the New Voters Project announced they have already registered 3,218 young voters, and said they hope to register a total of 10,000 by November 2."
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Fighting Bob Fest Saturday, September 18 in Baraboo...
is named for its inspiration, Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette, Wisconsin’s former governor, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, who fought to expose and stop governmental corruption, reduce the influence of big business and to empower the people to participate in their democracy.
The theme for this year's Fighting Bob Fest is "Rights at Risk" - the right of a woman to choose; the right of children to a good public education; the rights of minorities to fully participate in our economic and political life; the right of citizens of this country and, indeed, the world, to clean air, water, and sensible growth.
Tom Harkin, Peg Lautenschlager, Jim Hightower, John Nichols, Bob McChesney, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tammy Baldwin, Gerald Bracey and others will lay out their view of the risks, and they are asking you to write to FightingBob.com and give your views on the risks and the top three things you will do to fight for our rights.
is named for its inspiration, Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette, Wisconsin’s former governor, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, who fought to expose and stop governmental corruption, reduce the influence of big business and to empower the people to participate in their democracy.
The theme for this year's Fighting Bob Fest is "Rights at Risk" - the right of a woman to choose; the right of children to a good public education; the rights of minorities to fully participate in our economic and political life; the right of citizens of this country and, indeed, the world, to clean air, water, and sensible growth.
Tom Harkin, Peg Lautenschlager, Jim Hightower, John Nichols, Bob McChesney, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tammy Baldwin, Gerald Bracey and others will lay out their view of the risks, and they are asking you to write to FightingBob.com and give your views on the risks and the top three things you will do to fight for our rights.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
"No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots." — Barbara Ehrenreich
"Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive." — John F. Kennedy
"A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead." — Leo C. Rosten
"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them." — Mark Twain
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" — Eleanor Roosevelt
The above quotes from:
http://activismispatriotism.org/
"Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive." — John F. Kennedy
"A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead." — Leo C. Rosten
"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them." — Mark Twain
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" — Eleanor Roosevelt
The above quotes from:
http://activismispatriotism.org/
Thursday, September 02, 2004
If you miss Donald Rumsfeld at the Republican National Convention, you can still listen to "His" music; Rummy's "Poetic" language makes sweet music on new CD... The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld
Others missing in action: Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.
Peter Schurman of MoveOn.org says, "Tom DeLay of Texas was kept out of sight, and for good reason. DeLay's in charge of ramming the right wing's agenda through Congress, as the Republican leader in the House. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his ruthless style, DeLay is nearly as central to right-wing control in Washington as Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove."
"DeLay was the mastermind behind last year's outrageous redistricting in Texas; he refuses to allow a vote in the House on limiting media consolidation, because it will win; and when other Congresspeople question Bush's war policy, he accuses them of undermining our troopsand surrendering to terrorists. DeLay has literally locked House Democrats out of negotiations on major bills like Medicare, and held votes open for hours while arms are twisted with threats and bribe offers -- and that's according to fellow Republicans."
Schurman says it's time to stop him. "In Texas, DeLay's immersed in a campaign finance scandal that could get him indicted. And meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, he's facing the first formal ethics complaint in seven years, which could force him to resign his post as Majority Leader. The problem is, four of the Ethics Committee's five Republican members have received campaign contributions from DeLay.
Please call your Representative now to "demand an outside counsel to investigate Tom DeLay."
Call Congressman Mark Green:
Washington, DC: 202-225-5665
Local phone: 920-437-1954
Other topics never mentioned at the recent GOP convention... the Crisis in Sudan or the connection between Sadam and 9/11.
Others missing in action: Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.
Peter Schurman of MoveOn.org says, "Tom DeLay of Texas was kept out of sight, and for good reason. DeLay's in charge of ramming the right wing's agenda through Congress, as the Republican leader in the House. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his ruthless style, DeLay is nearly as central to right-wing control in Washington as Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove."
"DeLay was the mastermind behind last year's outrageous redistricting in Texas; he refuses to allow a vote in the House on limiting media consolidation, because it will win; and when other Congresspeople question Bush's war policy, he accuses them of undermining our troopsand surrendering to terrorists. DeLay has literally locked House Democrats out of negotiations on major bills like Medicare, and held votes open for hours while arms are twisted with threats and bribe offers -- and that's according to fellow Republicans."
Schurman says it's time to stop him. "In Texas, DeLay's immersed in a campaign finance scandal that could get him indicted. And meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, he's facing the first formal ethics complaint in seven years, which could force him to resign his post as Majority Leader. The problem is, four of the Ethics Committee's five Republican members have received campaign contributions from DeLay.
Please call your Representative now to "demand an outside counsel to investigate Tom DeLay."
Call Congressman Mark Green:
Washington, DC: 202-225-5665
Local phone: 920-437-1954
Other topics never mentioned at the recent GOP convention... the Crisis in Sudan or the connection between Sadam and 9/11.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Kid's Quotes...
"Since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years. Kind of like dad," - Barbara Bush, 1/2 of The First Twins.
"We don't need Mr. Bush to teach us a lesson in democracy... It's funny to Arabs to listen to the President talking about democracy, and at the same time half the population in America still has doubts about his legitimacy as a President."
- Seif Khadafy, 32-year-old son of Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy
"Since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years. Kind of like dad," - Barbara Bush, 1/2 of The First Twins.
"We don't need Mr. Bush to teach us a lesson in democracy... It's funny to Arabs to listen to the President talking about democracy, and at the same time half the population in America still has doubts about his legitimacy as a President."
- Seif Khadafy, 32-year-old son of Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
"It's Time for a Change" vs. "You've Never Had It So Good" "You've Never Been So Safe" opens today in NYC, in hopes of capitalizing on memories of 9/11. But on Thursday Sept. 2, the night GWB is set to make his acceptance speech, British TV will be airing "The Hamburg Cell", the first major documentary dramatization of the 9/11 plot specifically from the perpetrators' perspective. It will indeed stir controversy because it reveals the hijackers as regular, ordinary, educated, middle class guys who were somehow motivated to strike at the US.
"The central figure in the two-hour long film is Ziad Jarrah, who was at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in Pennsylvania. It shows him being transformed from a moderate Muslim into a suicide hijacker in the months before the attacks," says Malcolm Fitzwilliams and Anthony Barnes of the Independant.
"It is difficult to watch and to hear these facts come out," says David Potorti, whose older brother Jim died in the World Trade Centre. "But the only way to prevent 9/11 from happening again is to face the facts courageously."
Potorti is co-director of Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an international peace campaign set up after 9/11... "As family members of September 11th victims, we know how it feels to experience "shock and awe," and we do not want other innocent families to suffer the trauma and grief that we have endured. While we also condemn the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime, it does not justify the brutality, death and destruction being visited upon Iraq and its citizens by our own government."
"The Hamburg Cell" was one of a plethora of films focusing on Sept. 11 that premiered at the recent Edinburgh Film Festival.
"The central figure in the two-hour long film is Ziad Jarrah, who was at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in Pennsylvania. It shows him being transformed from a moderate Muslim into a suicide hijacker in the months before the attacks," says Malcolm Fitzwilliams and Anthony Barnes of the Independant.
"It is difficult to watch and to hear these facts come out," says David Potorti, whose older brother Jim died in the World Trade Centre. "But the only way to prevent 9/11 from happening again is to face the facts courageously."
Potorti is co-director of Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an international peace campaign set up after 9/11... "As family members of September 11th victims, we know how it feels to experience "shock and awe," and we do not want other innocent families to suffer the trauma and grief that we have endured. While we also condemn the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime, it does not justify the brutality, death and destruction being visited upon Iraq and its citizens by our own government."
"The Hamburg Cell" was one of a plethora of films focusing on Sept. 11 that premiered at the recent Edinburgh Film Festival.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
MissionNotAccomplished.com
The real Flipper... GWB's Administration Shifts on Global Warming, the latest flip flop from President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief. Read 'em and weep... 25 of his biggest flip-flops.
Steve Earle has begun hosting a radio show on Air America Sunday nights. His new album is called The Revolution Starts …Now. Read this Friday, August 27, 2004 transcript of his interview with Amy Goodman - The Revolution Starts Now: Steve Earle on the Republican Convention, the Death Penalty and the GOP Hijacking of Johnny Cash
The real Flipper... GWB's Administration Shifts on Global Warming, the latest flip flop from President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief. Read 'em and weep... 25 of his biggest flip-flops.
Steve Earle has begun hosting a radio show on Air America Sunday nights. His new album is called The Revolution Starts …Now. Read this Friday, August 27, 2004 transcript of his interview with Amy Goodman - The Revolution Starts Now: Steve Earle on the Republican Convention, the Death Penalty and the GOP Hijacking of Johnny Cash
Thursday, August 26, 2004
On RetroVsMetro.org you can learn about how the escalating war between two Americas, "one traditional and rooted in the past, and one modern and focused on the future," affects each of our lives. Pick up a copy of The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America, just published (8/24/2004) and already one of Amazon's top 25 best sellers.
Caitlin, Valerie, Carly and friends provide a new twist on dissent with their sports fashion conversation openers... They have created a collection of new team names on colorful sports jerseys ("made in the USA by companies paying prevailing wages") that pay tribute to the national pastime - special interest politics. Support your favorite team: "Axis of Evil Doers", "Far Righteous Indignators", "Family Devaluers", "Corporate Apologists", "Halliburton Overchargers", "Constitutional Tramplers." and many more at ClothingOfTheAmericanMind.com.
On a more serious note the One Thousand Coffins Procession is set to take place in New York City at 10 AM on August 29. "a serene observance parade of realistic symbolic caskets draped in the Flag - to represent and honor each of our fallen soldiers and marines, and make a bold statement that the truth of their sacrifice cannot be censored."
‘His Scream’ Marine’s Father Burns Van, Himself After Learning of Son’s Death in Iraq
"This was his scream that his Chi-Chi — that's what he called Alex — this is his scream that his child is dead and the war needs to stop," said wife and mother Melida Arredondo.
Luz Marina Arredondo, Alexander's grandmother, said the government is at fault in her grandson's death. "I blame them a lot," she said. "They send them like guinea pigs over there."
Caitlin, Valerie, Carly and friends provide a new twist on dissent with their sports fashion conversation openers... They have created a collection of new team names on colorful sports jerseys ("made in the USA by companies paying prevailing wages") that pay tribute to the national pastime - special interest politics. Support your favorite team: "Axis of Evil Doers", "Far Righteous Indignators", "Family Devaluers", "Corporate Apologists", "Halliburton Overchargers", "Constitutional Tramplers." and many more at ClothingOfTheAmericanMind.com.
On a more serious note the One Thousand Coffins Procession is set to take place in New York City at 10 AM on August 29. "a serene observance parade of realistic symbolic caskets draped in the Flag - to represent and honor each of our fallen soldiers and marines, and make a bold statement that the truth of their sacrifice cannot be censored."
‘His Scream’ Marine’s Father Burns Van, Himself After Learning of Son’s Death in Iraq
"This was his scream that his Chi-Chi — that's what he called Alex — this is his scream that his child is dead and the war needs to stop," said wife and mother Melida Arredondo.
Luz Marina Arredondo, Alexander's grandmother, said the government is at fault in her grandson's death. "I blame them a lot," she said. "They send them like guinea pigs over there."
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
"America Alone" a new book by Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke is hitting the book stores, describing how a group of radical intellectuals seized the reins of US national security policy after 9/11. Republicans and Democrats alike are finding it a valuable resource in assessing what has happened to the nation under the leadership of George W. Bush.
To quote the description, "It shows how, at this 'inflection point' in US history an inexperienced president was persuaded to abandon his campaign pledges and the successful consensus-driven, bi-partisan diplomacy that managed the lethal Soviet threat over the past half century, and adopt a neo-conservative foreign policy emphasizing military confrontation and 'nation-building.' To date, the costs - in blood, money and credibility - have been great, and the benefits few. Traditional conservatives deplore this approach. This book outlines the costs in terms of economic damage, distortion of priorities, rising anti-Americanism, encroachment on civil liberties, domestic political polarization and reduced security. Then, it sets out an alternative approach emphasizing the traditional conservative principles of containing risk, consensus diplomacy and balance of power. "
LINKS:
The Centre for Public Opinion & Democracy has been established at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in order to further research, information exchange, and education on the changing dynamic of public opinion on both global and regional issues. It is unique among the handful of similar centres around the world in that its principle focus is not only the public opinion climate of its home country — Canada — but also the attitudes and perceptions of citizens around the world on the political, social, and economic happenings that shape the future of humanity.
To quote the description, "It shows how, at this 'inflection point' in US history an inexperienced president was persuaded to abandon his campaign pledges and the successful consensus-driven, bi-partisan diplomacy that managed the lethal Soviet threat over the past half century, and adopt a neo-conservative foreign policy emphasizing military confrontation and 'nation-building.' To date, the costs - in blood, money and credibility - have been great, and the benefits few. Traditional conservatives deplore this approach. This book outlines the costs in terms of economic damage, distortion of priorities, rising anti-Americanism, encroachment on civil liberties, domestic political polarization and reduced security. Then, it sets out an alternative approach emphasizing the traditional conservative principles of containing risk, consensus diplomacy and balance of power. "
LINKS:
The Centre for Public Opinion & Democracy has been established at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in order to further research, information exchange, and education on the changing dynamic of public opinion on both global and regional issues. It is unique among the handful of similar centres around the world in that its principle focus is not only the public opinion climate of its home country — Canada — but also the attitudes and perceptions of citizens around the world on the political, social, and economic happenings that shape the future of humanity.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Megan Cavanaugh brings the latest news from New York...
"I'm Gonna Kill the President!" A Federal Offense, is now playing through Sept. 4 at an undisclosed location in Manhattan's East Village. When you call 212.802.7446 for ticket reservations a voice explains, "To see the show, go to Manhattan and proceed to the middle of 10th Street, between Avenue A and Avenue B. Our agents will contact you there. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime." The show's reservation line closes with the further warning, "Latecomers will not be shown to the theatre. And make sure you're not followed." The recording also sends a message to the feds: "If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now, there's nothing illegal happening here." Tickets are, "available to Republican delegates (with ID) for free" and are priced at $15.
Meanwhile New Yorkers are talking up the show, promoting it with posters and bumper stickers that all shout the name of the show... "I'm Gonna Kill the President!" while bookstores are hawking another new release... Checkpoint: A Novel by Nicholson Baker a novella that explores the peculiar angst many Americans are feeling right now about their country and their president. The book is set up as a conversation between two old high school buddies. One of them, in despair about the direction the country is going, is convinced he must kill the president; the other tries to talk him out of it.
"I'm Gonna Kill the President!" A Federal Offense, is now playing through Sept. 4 at an undisclosed location in Manhattan's East Village. When you call 212.802.7446 for ticket reservations a voice explains, "To see the show, go to Manhattan and proceed to the middle of 10th Street, between Avenue A and Avenue B. Our agents will contact you there. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime." The show's reservation line closes with the further warning, "Latecomers will not be shown to the theatre. And make sure you're not followed." The recording also sends a message to the feds: "If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now, there's nothing illegal happening here." Tickets are, "available to Republican delegates (with ID) for free" and are priced at $15.
Meanwhile New Yorkers are talking up the show, promoting it with posters and bumper stickers that all shout the name of the show... "I'm Gonna Kill the President!" while bookstores are hawking another new release... Checkpoint: A Novel by Nicholson Baker a novella that explores the peculiar angst many Americans are feeling right now about their country and their president. The book is set up as a conversation between two old high school buddies. One of them, in despair about the direction the country is going, is convinced he must kill the president; the other tries to talk him out of it.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Why are so many New Yorkers angry about the RNC coming to their city?
“Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York’s financial district,” said Christine Todd Whitman days after the 9/11 attack - even though there were no tests, none that would have told the government to announce that all was safe.
Unlike on Iraq, the Bush administration can’t try to blame this lie on faulty intelligence. Only later did New Yorkers and the general public learn that scientists found the residue from the Twin Towers was as corrosive as drain cleaner, and that between 100 and 1,000 tons of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were released into the local environment.
In fact, the city had never witnessed an incident that resulted in the release of more airborne toxins. Months later, the EPA’s Inspector General admitted that, “National security concerns and the desire to reopen Wall Street played a role in the EPA’s air quality statement.”
On Oct. 26, 2001 Juan Gonzalez with the Daily News, one of only a few crusading journalists posted a front-page expose entitled, “A Toxic Nightmare At Disaster Site.”
New Yorker Mike Burke says, "I remember reading the story where I was working just blocks from the still-burning site. Then I learned what I had been breathing for the past six weeks: benzene, heavy metals, PCBs and other dioxins."
None of the other news outlets felt it was appropriate to warn readers about the danger. And government officials continued lying. The media eventually caught on and would later reveal how the Bush administration pressured the EPA to rewrite press releases to downplay the risks the still-burning site posed to New Yorkers.
But by then Mt. Sinai’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine had already treated 4,000 people left ill by the fallout. Hundreds of firefighters and cops went on disability after working at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill.
Burke remembers, "For ten weeks that smell permeated the lives of the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who worked or lived downtown. Many woke up to the smell. Many more toiled through the workday breathing it in. While working downtown, I would face the smell coming off the train, during lunch breaks and after work. Sometimes when the wind was strong it would fill my office on Nassau Street. This didn’t end until Thanksgiving. All of us New Yorkers were collectively lied to about what we were smelling and how dangerous it was."
The Sierra Club has just released a major 180-page report on the entire affair...
"Air Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero: How the Bush Administration's Reckless Disregard of 9/11 Toxic Hazards Poses Long-Term Threats for New York City and the Nation" criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the post-9/11 clean-up in downtown New York.
"The Republicans chose to hold their convention here, I think most of us believe, to continue the political exploitation of 9/11, which this administration started almost immediately after 9/11," says Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose congressional district in Manhattan includes the site where the World Trade Center once stood.
NYC AGAINST RNC LINKS:
www.rncnotwelcome.org/
www.counterconvention.org
www.windowtreatmentnyc.com
www.norncposters.org/
www.liteupbush.com/
“Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York’s financial district,” said Christine Todd Whitman days after the 9/11 attack - even though there were no tests, none that would have told the government to announce that all was safe.
Unlike on Iraq, the Bush administration can’t try to blame this lie on faulty intelligence. Only later did New Yorkers and the general public learn that scientists found the residue from the Twin Towers was as corrosive as drain cleaner, and that between 100 and 1,000 tons of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were released into the local environment.
In fact, the city had never witnessed an incident that resulted in the release of more airborne toxins. Months later, the EPA’s Inspector General admitted that, “National security concerns and the desire to reopen Wall Street played a role in the EPA’s air quality statement.”
On Oct. 26, 2001 Juan Gonzalez with the Daily News, one of only a few crusading journalists posted a front-page expose entitled, “A Toxic Nightmare At Disaster Site.”
New Yorker Mike Burke says, "I remember reading the story where I was working just blocks from the still-burning site. Then I learned what I had been breathing for the past six weeks: benzene, heavy metals, PCBs and other dioxins."
None of the other news outlets felt it was appropriate to warn readers about the danger. And government officials continued lying. The media eventually caught on and would later reveal how the Bush administration pressured the EPA to rewrite press releases to downplay the risks the still-burning site posed to New Yorkers.
But by then Mt. Sinai’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine had already treated 4,000 people left ill by the fallout. Hundreds of firefighters and cops went on disability after working at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill.
Burke remembers, "For ten weeks that smell permeated the lives of the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who worked or lived downtown. Many woke up to the smell. Many more toiled through the workday breathing it in. While working downtown, I would face the smell coming off the train, during lunch breaks and after work. Sometimes when the wind was strong it would fill my office on Nassau Street. This didn’t end until Thanksgiving. All of us New Yorkers were collectively lied to about what we were smelling and how dangerous it was."
The Sierra Club has just released a major 180-page report on the entire affair...
"Air Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero: How the Bush Administration's Reckless Disregard of 9/11 Toxic Hazards Poses Long-Term Threats for New York City and the Nation" criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the post-9/11 clean-up in downtown New York.
"The Republicans chose to hold their convention here, I think most of us believe, to continue the political exploitation of 9/11, which this administration started almost immediately after 9/11," says Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose congressional district in Manhattan includes the site where the World Trade Center once stood.
NYC AGAINST RNC LINKS:
www.rncnotwelcome.org/
www.counterconvention.org
www.windowtreatmentnyc.com
www.norncposters.org/
www.liteupbush.com/
Sunday, August 22, 2004
I'm betting the name Merrie Spaeth doesn't ring a bell with most people...
She's the current media representative working for the Vietnam Swift boat veterans critical of John Kerry's decision to make his military service a major part of his campaign for president. They and Spaeth have publicised claims that Kerry is lying about his military service record, that he cannot be trusted, and that he “betrayed all his shipmates.” They spent $550,000 to create and run "Any Questions", a rebuttal to a pro-Kerry spot, in Wisconsin, Ohio, and West Virginia. I'm betting that not many people also know that Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth also served as former President Reagan's chief press officer and later as an advisor to Ken Starr.
Salon's Joe Conason says, "Behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth you will also find eternal Kerry antagonist and Dallas attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar; and retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, a cigar-chomping former Vietnam commander once described as 'the classic body-count guy' who 'wanted hooches destroyed and people killed.'"
Conason further explains, "In 2000, Spaeth participated in the most subterranean episode of the Republican primary contest when a shadowy group billed as 'Republicans for Clean Air' produced television ads falsely attacking the environmental record of Sen. John McCain in California, New York and Ohio. While the identity of those funding the supposedly 'independent' ads was carefully hidden, reporters soon learned that Republicans for Clean Air was simply Sam Wyly -- a big Bush contributor and beneficiary of Bush administration decisions in Texas -- and his brother, Charles, another Bush 'Pioneer' contributor."
Journalist Greg Palast bets that while you might remember the name Katharine Harris there is a lot more that you don't know...
So he provided the facts behind a short new on-line video all about how Harris changed Florida's election laws and expanded the data from Choicepoint to "scrub" 55,100 eligible voters from the rolls.
OpenSecrets.org provides a handy bi-partisan guide to help you identify all of the Active Advocacy Groups in the 2004 Election Cycle.
She's the current media representative working for the Vietnam Swift boat veterans critical of John Kerry's decision to make his military service a major part of his campaign for president. They and Spaeth have publicised claims that Kerry is lying about his military service record, that he cannot be trusted, and that he “betrayed all his shipmates.” They spent $550,000 to create and run "Any Questions", a rebuttal to a pro-Kerry spot, in Wisconsin, Ohio, and West Virginia. I'm betting that not many people also know that Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth also served as former President Reagan's chief press officer and later as an advisor to Ken Starr.
Salon's Joe Conason says, "Behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth you will also find eternal Kerry antagonist and Dallas attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar; and retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, a cigar-chomping former Vietnam commander once described as 'the classic body-count guy' who 'wanted hooches destroyed and people killed.'"
Conason further explains, "In 2000, Spaeth participated in the most subterranean episode of the Republican primary contest when a shadowy group billed as 'Republicans for Clean Air' produced television ads falsely attacking the environmental record of Sen. John McCain in California, New York and Ohio. While the identity of those funding the supposedly 'independent' ads was carefully hidden, reporters soon learned that Republicans for Clean Air was simply Sam Wyly -- a big Bush contributor and beneficiary of Bush administration decisions in Texas -- and his brother, Charles, another Bush 'Pioneer' contributor."
Journalist Greg Palast bets that while you might remember the name Katharine Harris there is a lot more that you don't know...
So he provided the facts behind a short new on-line video all about how Harris changed Florida's election laws and expanded the data from Choicepoint to "scrub" 55,100 eligible voters from the rolls.
OpenSecrets.org provides a handy bi-partisan guide to help you identify all of the Active Advocacy Groups in the 2004 Election Cycle.
Friday, August 20, 2004
WEBLINKS...
One of the DC Compass Web Board regulars, cheese_hunter recently posted a helpful link to a great resource: SpellCheck.net, a free on-line spell checker. The site has a bunch of other handy useful tools.
Paper Napkin explains that they are, "a service to help passive-agressive cowards avoid people who would like to date them." They explain, "If someone random asks you for your email address so they can contact you for a date, give them any email address @papernapkin.net (write it on a cocktail napkin for maximum effect) and we will send them a rejection message."
If you think this form of rejection is a bit mean I'd like to introduce you to some angry Knickerbockers...
No passive-agression here. They spit it out in plain and simple English, "We are New Yorkers adamantly opposed to the Republican's selection of our city to celebrate rising unemployment, their gutting of social services, tax cuts for the mega-rich, unlawful detention of immigrants, and their unrelenting exploitation of the 9/11 victims while standing on their ashes." RNCnotwelcome.org reads like a manual for uncivil disobedience... "The Republican National Committee has, for the first time in its 150 year history, selected New York for their Convention from August 29-September 2, 2004. In a shallow attempt at exploiting the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the RNC has pushed the Convention date to September. We have witnessed two unjust wars, at least one American life lost each day overseas, a depressed economy, the collapse of the dollar, $87 billion to boost war profiteering, the closing of our firehouses, a health-care crisis, millions of children being left behind, and now this. We say, Enough!"
Dear Bloggers: Media Discover Promotional Potential of Blogosphere
"The Wall Street Journal Online is promoting one story per day outside its subscription wall to bloggers. NYTimes.com is boosting the number of RSS feeds it offers. Media companies are starting to work with -- instead of against -- the blogosphere."
One of the DC Compass Web Board regulars, cheese_hunter recently posted a helpful link to a great resource: SpellCheck.net, a free on-line spell checker. The site has a bunch of other handy useful tools.
Paper Napkin explains that they are, "a service to help passive-agressive cowards avoid people who would like to date them." They explain, "If someone random asks you for your email address so they can contact you for a date, give them any email address @papernapkin.net (write it on a cocktail napkin for maximum effect) and we will send them a rejection message."
If you think this form of rejection is a bit mean I'd like to introduce you to some angry Knickerbockers...
No passive-agression here. They spit it out in plain and simple English, "We are New Yorkers adamantly opposed to the Republican's selection of our city to celebrate rising unemployment, their gutting of social services, tax cuts for the mega-rich, unlawful detention of immigrants, and their unrelenting exploitation of the 9/11 victims while standing on their ashes." RNCnotwelcome.org reads like a manual for uncivil disobedience... "The Republican National Committee has, for the first time in its 150 year history, selected New York for their Convention from August 29-September 2, 2004. In a shallow attempt at exploiting the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the RNC has pushed the Convention date to September. We have witnessed two unjust wars, at least one American life lost each day overseas, a depressed economy, the collapse of the dollar, $87 billion to boost war profiteering, the closing of our firehouses, a health-care crisis, millions of children being left behind, and now this. We say, Enough!"
Dear Bloggers: Media Discover Promotional Potential of Blogosphere
"The Wall Street Journal Online is promoting one story per day outside its subscription wall to bloggers. NYTimes.com is boosting the number of RSS feeds it offers. Media companies are starting to work with -- instead of against -- the blogosphere."
Thursday, August 19, 2004
In May of 2001 energy giant Chevron Corp quietly renamed one of its big oil tankers. The Condoleeza Rice, named after the former Chevron director and current National Security Adviser to President Bush, was renamed the Altair Voyager. In April, at a White House press briefing, assistant press secretary Scott McLellan was asked about the oil tanker.
A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle questioned with, “Before she became National Security Advisor, [Rice] was on the board of directors of Chevron Corporation. Chevron –– before she left –– named an oil tanker after her. There’s an oil tanker named the Condoleeza Rice. It’s a 136,000 ton oil tanker that carries oil around the world. Given that Chevron has been accused of human rights abuses with the Nigerian Mobile Police against civilians in Nigeria, I’m wondering whether the president thinks it’s wise to have this close a relationship with Chevron.”
McLellan said that he thought “the issue has already been addressed by Dr. Rice and she will uphold the highest ethical standards in office.”
When asked whether the president should call the CEO of Chevron and say, “Take the name off the tanker,” McLellan said, “I think the issue has been addressed.”
“We made the change to eliminate unnecessary attention caused by the vessel’s original name,” says Chevron spokesperson Fred Gorell.
When it comes to campaign contributions, the Republican Party’s ties to the oil and gas industry have been well documented to say the least. No longer is it a surprise to note that 78 cents out of every dollar the industry has contributed to federal parties and candidates over the last decade has gone to the GOP or that President Bush was the No. 1 recipient of the industry’s money during the last election. But here’s something you might not know: Bush, with more than $1.8 million in contributions, got more money from the industry during 1999-2000 than any other federal candidate over the last decade, barely eclipsing two fellow Texans in the process. Sen. Phil Gramm (R) is the No. 2 recipient of oil money since 1989, with $1.6 million from industry PACs and individuals, while his oil patch colleague Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) ranks second with $1.3 million. Texas-based companies dominate the industry’s giving. The most generous: the Houston-based Enron, the industry’s No. 1 contributor during 1999-2000 with more than $2.3 million in contributions, about $1 million more than No. 2 ranked Exxon-Mobil.
George Bush, of course, is a Texas oilman, although not a very successful one. His company, Arbusto, merged with Spectrum 7 in 1984 as it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Spectrum was bought out by Harken Energy in 1986, giving Bush a seat on Harken’s board, some stock options and a $120,000 consulting contract. As the first president to have an MBA, Bush has surrounded himself with people with similar (and more successful) corporate backgrounds.
A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle questioned with, “Before she became National Security Advisor, [Rice] was on the board of directors of Chevron Corporation. Chevron –– before she left –– named an oil tanker after her. There’s an oil tanker named the Condoleeza Rice. It’s a 136,000 ton oil tanker that carries oil around the world. Given that Chevron has been accused of human rights abuses with the Nigerian Mobile Police against civilians in Nigeria, I’m wondering whether the president thinks it’s wise to have this close a relationship with Chevron.”
McLellan said that he thought “the issue has already been addressed by Dr. Rice and she will uphold the highest ethical standards in office.”
When asked whether the president should call the CEO of Chevron and say, “Take the name off the tanker,” McLellan said, “I think the issue has been addressed.”
“We made the change to eliminate unnecessary attention caused by the vessel’s original name,” says Chevron spokesperson Fred Gorell.
When it comes to campaign contributions, the Republican Party’s ties to the oil and gas industry have been well documented to say the least. No longer is it a surprise to note that 78 cents out of every dollar the industry has contributed to federal parties and candidates over the last decade has gone to the GOP or that President Bush was the No. 1 recipient of the industry’s money during the last election. But here’s something you might not know: Bush, with more than $1.8 million in contributions, got more money from the industry during 1999-2000 than any other federal candidate over the last decade, barely eclipsing two fellow Texans in the process. Sen. Phil Gramm (R) is the No. 2 recipient of oil money since 1989, with $1.6 million from industry PACs and individuals, while his oil patch colleague Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) ranks second with $1.3 million. Texas-based companies dominate the industry’s giving. The most generous: the Houston-based Enron, the industry’s No. 1 contributor during 1999-2000 with more than $2.3 million in contributions, about $1 million more than No. 2 ranked Exxon-Mobil.
George Bush, of course, is a Texas oilman, although not a very successful one. His company, Arbusto, merged with Spectrum 7 in 1984 as it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Spectrum was bought out by Harken Energy in 1986, giving Bush a seat on Harken’s board, some stock options and a $120,000 consulting contract. As the first president to have an MBA, Bush has surrounded himself with people with similar (and more successful) corporate backgrounds.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Deadline... "an excellent documentary...chronicling the astonishingly flawed criminal justice system in Illinois." - Richard Roeper, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
What would you do if you discovered that 13 people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. He alone was left to decide whether 167 remaining death row inmates should live or die. In the riveting countdown to Ryan's decision, Deadline details the gripping drama of the state's clemency hearings. Documented as the events unfolded, Deadline is a compelling look inside America's prisons, highlighting one man's unlikely and historic actions against the system.
Among them, 33 African American men had been tried by all-white juries. In a nation where approximately 13% of the population is Black, over 50% of jail inmates are African American with one in every three Black men under 30 are either in jail or on probation...
Yesterday WPR entertained the idea that, "Blacks have a compassionate friend in President Bush," providing valuable on-air time to Charles Sahm, deputy director, Inter-American Policy Exchange, Manhattan Institute - a right-wing think tank. He is the author of a piece by the same name that appeared in the August 2nd issue of the L.A. Times.
As governor of Texas, Bush became known as the Texecutioner, presiding over 155 executions (a record number - more than any other elected official in recorded American history!) including the mentally ill and juveniles. After a 38 year hiatus on executions in Texas, Governor Dubya quickly reinstituted the policy after his innaguration. Many of those sentenced to die had incompetent attorneys, including one who slept through parts of the trial and an unusual percentage were African Americans. Of 76 clemency petitions filed by death row inmates between 1993 and 1998, none were granted. Note: Governor George W. Bush was elected to his 1st term in 1994.
Compassionate Conservatism...
On February 3rd of 1998, the State of Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker Brown for her part in 2 extremely brutal murders committed in 1983. In the 15 years that passed between Karla's sentencing and her death she experienced what an extended period of incarceration sometimes precipitates, remorse and rehabilitation becoming a born-again Christian spending her time in prison working in ministry to her fellow inmates.
In early August 1999, then Presidential candidate Governor George W. Bush mocked Karla Tucker's plea for clemency during an interview with Talk Magazine. Bush mentioned that he had watched Larry King's Texas Death Row interview with Karla Tucker.
"I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it," Bush told the magazine. "I watched his interview with (Tucker), though. He asked her real difficult questions, like, 'What would you say to Governor Bush?' "
The Talk Magazine reporter asked Bush how she answered.
"'Please,' Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, 'don't kill me,' " according to the magazine.
What would you do if you discovered that 13 people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. He alone was left to decide whether 167 remaining death row inmates should live or die. In the riveting countdown to Ryan's decision, Deadline details the gripping drama of the state's clemency hearings. Documented as the events unfolded, Deadline is a compelling look inside America's prisons, highlighting one man's unlikely and historic actions against the system.
Among them, 33 African American men had been tried by all-white juries. In a nation where approximately 13% of the population is Black, over 50% of jail inmates are African American with one in every three Black men under 30 are either in jail or on probation...
Yesterday WPR entertained the idea that, "Blacks have a compassionate friend in President Bush," providing valuable on-air time to Charles Sahm, deputy director, Inter-American Policy Exchange, Manhattan Institute - a right-wing think tank. He is the author of a piece by the same name that appeared in the August 2nd issue of the L.A. Times.
As governor of Texas, Bush became known as the Texecutioner, presiding over 155 executions (a record number - more than any other elected official in recorded American history!) including the mentally ill and juveniles. After a 38 year hiatus on executions in Texas, Governor Dubya quickly reinstituted the policy after his innaguration. Many of those sentenced to die had incompetent attorneys, including one who slept through parts of the trial and an unusual percentage were African Americans. Of 76 clemency petitions filed by death row inmates between 1993 and 1998, none were granted. Note: Governor George W. Bush was elected to his 1st term in 1994.
Compassionate Conservatism...
On February 3rd of 1998, the State of Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker Brown for her part in 2 extremely brutal murders committed in 1983. In the 15 years that passed between Karla's sentencing and her death she experienced what an extended period of incarceration sometimes precipitates, remorse and rehabilitation becoming a born-again Christian spending her time in prison working in ministry to her fellow inmates.
In early August 1999, then Presidential candidate Governor George W. Bush mocked Karla Tucker's plea for clemency during an interview with Talk Magazine. Bush mentioned that he had watched Larry King's Texas Death Row interview with Karla Tucker.
"I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it," Bush told the magazine. "I watched his interview with (Tucker), though. He asked her real difficult questions, like, 'What would you say to Governor Bush?' "
The Talk Magazine reporter asked Bush how she answered.
"'Please,' Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, 'don't kill me,' " according to the magazine.
Monday, August 09, 2004
"Trying to eliminate Saddam...would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq... There was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land." - from "A World Transformed" by George Bush Sr. explaining why he didn't go after Saddam Hussein at the end of the Gulf War.
Hmmmmm, now if only Dubya could read...
Hmmmmm, now if only Dubya could read...
Sunday, August 08, 2004
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D. says, "A good place to have started the War on Drugs all those years ago would have been to bring down GD Searle Corp. and prosecute its CEO, Donald Rumsfeld, for his blatant violations of the Constitution and his shameless disregard for the safety of the American people. You see, Rumsfeld is not only the current point man for the disaster in Iraq, but he was also the point man who brought to your table the most toxic substance ever added to food - aspartame (commonly known as NutraSweet). Now that NutraSweet's cousin, Splenda, is taking over the packaged food industry in all those new low-carb products, it's time to take a look back at how these mutants made their way into our lives in the first place." Read on... The sweet poison even the FDA didn't want to approve
Saturday, August 07, 2004
Mark Brown of the Rocky Mountain News says, "Driving into work this week, there's Steve Earle live on Bret Saunders' morning show on KBCO, previewing two new songs: The Revolution Starts Here and Rich Man's War."
"At virtually the same time, Mike Mills from R.E.M. is on TV, talking about the Vote For Change tour in October, when his band will hit swing states with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Dave Matthews, James Taylor, Pearl Jam, the Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and more, in an attempt to vote George W. Bush out of office." More... Brown: Musicians sing praises, protests to attract voters
"Meanwhile, Fogerty has released a new antiwar single, Déjà vu (All Over Again) that's getting airplay. Prince has more quietly released, through his Web site, The United States of Division, which joins previously released antiwar songs by the Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Mellencamp, Ani DiFranco and more."
The United States of Division
2004, still at war and everybody hates Americans
Flyin' in an aero-plane with pen in hand
Over miles and miles of deep blue
Wonderin' if it was all part of a master plan
Forget the 1 and become 2
How could your brother hear the same music? (music, music, music)
Yet somehow dance 2 a different tune
I guess that once you go divide this precious land
This precious land will divide you
Sing!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody stop fighting!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody make love!
Drivin' a brand new Cadillac through my neighborhood
Everything still look the same, uh
Everything except the fact I wish I could
Take away all the hurt and pain
We let Supafly straighten up our curly hair
He took the Afro out the game
It's kinda cool but the guns and drugs 2 much 2 bear
10 years later Scarface came
Sing the hook
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody stop fighting!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody make Love!
Bridge
A united state of mind will never be divided
The real definition of unity is 1
People can slam their door, disagree and fight it
But how you gonna love the Father but not love the Son,
United States of Division
Walkin' down the street
No flag in hand
No stars and stripes
No claim 2 land
No crescent moon
Just a holy man, holy man
How far from heaven must we go?
Before the winds of change will blow and show
This world how it's supposed 2 be, land of PEACE and HARMONY.
Everybody stop fighting!
Everybody make love!
Everybody stop fighting!
United States of Division
People can slam their door, disagree and fight it
But how you gonna say you love the Father & not love the Son?
United States of Division
BLACK (Division)
WHITE (Division)
STRAIGHT (Division)
GAY (Division)
CHRISTIAN (Division)
MUSLIM
Why must I say "God Bless America"?
And not the rest of the world
Oh say can you see?
I love my country but I love God more
Every man, women, boy and girl
Oooh, can you say it with me?
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, come on
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, everybody
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, oh
Everybody stop fighting! Put your gun down
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, hey
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, everybody gather round
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody make Love!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, oow
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, talk 2 me
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, what is this rush 2 declare war?
Everybody stop fighting! What we fightin' for?
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, hey
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, oh
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, come here baby
Everybody make Love!
Talkin' 2 United States, United States, United States of Division!
Everybody make music
Everybody make love
©NPG Music Club
Brown explains, "It's not just the old guard speaking out. Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2, is coming out next week with tracks from Yellowcard, No Doubt, Green Day, Bad Religion, Foo Fighters, Rancid and 22 more bands. Radiohead struck one of the first blows last year, naming its album Hail to the Thief, a commentary on the Florida voting controversy."
"At virtually the same time, Mike Mills from R.E.M. is on TV, talking about the Vote For Change tour in October, when his band will hit swing states with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Dave Matthews, James Taylor, Pearl Jam, the Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and more, in an attempt to vote George W. Bush out of office." More... Brown: Musicians sing praises, protests to attract voters
"Meanwhile, Fogerty has released a new antiwar single, Déjà vu (All Over Again) that's getting airplay. Prince has more quietly released, through his Web site, The United States of Division, which joins previously released antiwar songs by the Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Mellencamp, Ani DiFranco and more."
The United States of Division
2004, still at war and everybody hates Americans
Flyin' in an aero-plane with pen in hand
Over miles and miles of deep blue
Wonderin' if it was all part of a master plan
Forget the 1 and become 2
How could your brother hear the same music? (music, music, music)
Yet somehow dance 2 a different tune
I guess that once you go divide this precious land
This precious land will divide you
Sing!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody stop fighting!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody make love!
Drivin' a brand new Cadillac through my neighborhood
Everything still look the same, uh
Everything except the fact I wish I could
Take away all the hurt and pain
We let Supafly straighten up our curly hair
He took the Afro out the game
It's kinda cool but the guns and drugs 2 much 2 bear
10 years later Scarface came
Sing the hook
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody stop fighting!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody make Love!
Bridge
A united state of mind will never be divided
The real definition of unity is 1
People can slam their door, disagree and fight it
But how you gonna love the Father but not love the Son,
United States of Division
Walkin' down the street
No flag in hand
No stars and stripes
No claim 2 land
No crescent moon
Just a holy man, holy man
How far from heaven must we go?
Before the winds of change will blow and show
This world how it's supposed 2 be, land of PEACE and HARMONY.
Everybody stop fighting!
Everybody make love!
Everybody stop fighting!
United States of Division
People can slam their door, disagree and fight it
But how you gonna say you love the Father & not love the Son?
United States of Division
BLACK (Division)
WHITE (Division)
STRAIGHT (Division)
GAY (Division)
CHRISTIAN (Division)
MUSLIM
Why must I say "God Bless America"?
And not the rest of the world
Oh say can you see?
I love my country but I love God more
Every man, women, boy and girl
Oooh, can you say it with me?
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, come on
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, everybody
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, oh
Everybody stop fighting! Put your gun down
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, hey
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, everybody gather round
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Everybody make Love!
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, oow
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, talk 2 me
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, what is this rush 2 declare war?
Everybody stop fighting! What we fightin' for?
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, hey
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, oh
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, come here baby
Everybody make Love!
Talkin' 2 United States, United States, United States of Division!
Everybody make music
Everybody make love
©NPG Music Club
Brown explains, "It's not just the old guard speaking out. Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2, is coming out next week with tracks from Yellowcard, No Doubt, Green Day, Bad Religion, Foo Fighters, Rancid and 22 more bands. Radiohead struck one of the first blows last year, naming its album Hail to the Thief, a commentary on the Florida voting controversy."
Thursday, August 05, 2004
The Republican Party of Florida apologized Thursday for sending out a flier over the weekend to some Miami-Dade County Republicans that raised questions about the accuracy of touch-screen machines. Featuring a smiling picture of President Bush flashing a thumbs-up, the flier urged Republicans living in south and west Miami-Dade County to order an absentee ballot to "make sure your vote counts."
"The liberal Democrats have already begun their attacks and the new electronic voting machines do not have a paper ballot to verify your vote in case of a recount," reads the flier. "Make sure your vote counts, order your absentee ballot today."
The flier directly contradicts statements from Gov. Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Glenda Hood, who have spent weeks trying to reassure Florida voters that the new touch-screen machines used in 15 counties will work for the upcoming elections.
But civil rights groups who have been questioning how well touch-screen machines will work attacked Gov. Bush and the Republicans for "hypocrisy." The governor and the division of elections have refused to order an independent audit of the machines. The department has also adopted a rule that prohibits a manual recount on touch-screen machines, which will be used in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and 12 other counties.
This past week, Miami-Dade County election supervisors acknowledged they lost audit logs from the 2002 gubernatorial primary due to two computer crashes and that there is now no record from that election.
"The hypocrisy just digs deep," said Sharon Lettman Pacheco of the People for the American Way Foundation, one of the groups suing to overturn the manual recount rule. "It doesn't pass the smell test."
How They Could Steal the Election this Time
"The result could be the failure of an American presidential election and its collapse into suspicions, accusations and a civic fury that will make Florida 2000 seem like a family spat in the kitchen."
"The liberal Democrats have already begun their attacks and the new electronic voting machines do not have a paper ballot to verify your vote in case of a recount," reads the flier. "Make sure your vote counts, order your absentee ballot today."
The flier directly contradicts statements from Gov. Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Glenda Hood, who have spent weeks trying to reassure Florida voters that the new touch-screen machines used in 15 counties will work for the upcoming elections.
But civil rights groups who have been questioning how well touch-screen machines will work attacked Gov. Bush and the Republicans for "hypocrisy." The governor and the division of elections have refused to order an independent audit of the machines. The department has also adopted a rule that prohibits a manual recount on touch-screen machines, which will be used in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and 12 other counties.
This past week, Miami-Dade County election supervisors acknowledged they lost audit logs from the 2002 gubernatorial primary due to two computer crashes and that there is now no record from that election.
"The hypocrisy just digs deep," said Sharon Lettman Pacheco of the People for the American Way Foundation, one of the groups suing to overturn the manual recount rule. "It doesn't pass the smell test."
How They Could Steal the Election this Time
"The result could be the failure of an American presidential election and its collapse into suspicions, accusations and a civic fury that will make Florida 2000 seem like a family spat in the kitchen."
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
"In the election of 2000, John Ashcroft managed to lose his Missouri seat in the U.S. Senate by losing to a dead man. However, in the last few weeks, we have seen the U.S. dollar do one better, as it has lost ground to what was supposed to be a dead currency, the Iraqi dinar, better known as the Saddam dinar, which portrayed the face of the allegedly-deceased Iraqi president. In both cases, the loser was thought to be invulnerable only to be bitten by reality." ...more at Dollar or Dinar? by William L. Anderson
Welcome to SilverDinar.com. We at SilverDinar.com strive to provide excellent prices with un-paralled customer service for all your Dinar investment needs.
"The Finnish army is in a right old state if one official is to be believed. A bunch of young men are being excused from military service due to a debilitating modern illness - internet addiction." ...more at Conscripts booted out of army for 'internet addiction' by Jo Best
Welcome to SilverDinar.com. We at SilverDinar.com strive to provide excellent prices with un-paralled customer service for all your Dinar investment needs.
"The Finnish army is in a right old state if one official is to be believed. A bunch of young men are being excused from military service due to a debilitating modern illness - internet addiction." ...more at Conscripts booted out of army for 'internet addiction' by Jo Best
Sunday, August 01, 2004
"On Tuesday evening, 150 billionaires courageously marched through the dirty streets of Boston, captivating the media, dodging the filthy commoners, and exposing John Kerry's democratic values which threaten our enormous power and wealth," say the Billionaires for Bush. Next they proceeded to the Massachusets offices of the Republican Party, where they presented a check for "Whatever it takes" to ensure another four years of putting profits over people.
Just for the record, a spell-check on Massachusets (above) reveals that they are a Native American people formerly located along Massachusetts Bay from Plymouth north to Salem. Reduced by epidemics, the Massachuset ceased to exist as a people during the 17th century - the state is spelled with two Ts.
Meanwhile the Billionaires are hitting the campaign trail, taking their limo through the crucial Midwestern swing states to let the voters know that, "Dubya and Dick are the best friends Billionaires have ever had in the White House. Four more years! Four more wars!"
Just for the record, a spell-check on Massachusets (above) reveals that they are a Native American people formerly located along Massachusetts Bay from Plymouth north to Salem. Reduced by epidemics, the Massachuset ceased to exist as a people during the 17th century - the state is spelled with two Ts.
Meanwhile the Billionaires are hitting the campaign trail, taking their limo through the crucial Midwestern swing states to let the voters know that, "Dubya and Dick are the best friends Billionaires have ever had in the White House. Four more years! Four more wars!"
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
