Chapter 1 of the Iraq Study Group report lays out Iraq's importance to its region, the U.S. and the world with this reminder: "It has the world's second-largest known oil reserves." For any degree of oil privatization to take place, and for it to apply to all the country's oil fields, Iraq has to amend its constitution and pass a new national oil law.
The Bush administration hired the consultancy firm Bearing Point more than a year ago to advise the Iraqi Oil Ministry on drafting and passing a new national oil law. Iraqi Finance Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi (who is now vice president) explained how this law would open Iraq's oil industry to private foreign investment.
This, in turn, would be "very promising to the American investors and to American enterprise, certainly to oil companies." The law would implement production-sharing agreements. Much to the deep frustration of the U.S. government and American oil companies, that law has still not been passed.
All told, the Iraq Study Group has simply made the case for extending the war until foreign oil companies — presumably American ones — have guaranteed legal access to all of Iraq's oil fields and until they are assured the best legal and financial terms possible. We can thank the Iraq Study Group for making its case publicly.
It is now our turn to decide if we wish to spill more blood for oil.
31 December, 2006
USA and Sadaam
Read today:
Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course not. Because that would also expose our culpability.
Kurdish survivors of Halabja and the Shia rose up against the dictator at our request in 1991 and and were betrayed by us - and whose comrades, in their tens of thousands, along with their wives, were hanged like thrushes by Saddam's executioners
And the mass killings we perpetrated in 2003 with our depleted uranium shells and our "bunker buster" bombs and our phosphorous, the murderous post-invasion sieges of Fallujah and Najaf, the hell-disaster of anarchy we unleashed on the Iraqi population in the aftermath of our "victory" - our "mission accomplished" - who will be found guilty of this? Such expiation as we might expect will come, no doubt, in the self-serving memoirs of Blair and Bush, written in comfortable and wealthy retirement.
His execution will go down as an American affair and time will add its false but lasting gloss to all this - that the West destroyed an Arab leader who no longer obeyed his orders from Washington, that, for all his wrongdoing (and this will be the terrible get-out for Arab historians, this shaving away of his crimes) Saddam died a "martyr" to the will of the new "Crusaders".
Say it isn't true????
Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course not. Because that would also expose our culpability.
Kurdish survivors of Halabja and the Shia rose up against the dictator at our request in 1991 and and were betrayed by us - and whose comrades, in their tens of thousands, along with their wives, were hanged like thrushes by Saddam's executioners
And the mass killings we perpetrated in 2003 with our depleted uranium shells and our "bunker buster" bombs and our phosphorous, the murderous post-invasion sieges of Fallujah and Najaf, the hell-disaster of anarchy we unleashed on the Iraqi population in the aftermath of our "victory" - our "mission accomplished" - who will be found guilty of this? Such expiation as we might expect will come, no doubt, in the self-serving memoirs of Blair and Bush, written in comfortable and wealthy retirement.
His execution will go down as an American affair and time will add its false but lasting gloss to all this - that the West destroyed an Arab leader who no longer obeyed his orders from Washington, that, for all his wrongdoing (and this will be the terrible get-out for Arab historians, this shaving away of his crimes) Saddam died a "martyr" to the will of the new "Crusaders".
Say it isn't true????
30 December, 2006
who wins and loses in republican wars
WAR is a racket. It always has been. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.
How many of these neo-con war millionaires EVER shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle? AND WHO PAYS THE BILL???
And what is this bill? This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Death and all its attendant miseries. AND Back-breaking taxation for generations and genenerations to come. (HUGE NATIONAL DEBT MOUNTING EACH DAY FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO PAY)
How many of these neo-con war millionaires EVER shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle? AND WHO PAYS THE BILL???
And what is this bill? This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Death and all its attendant miseries. AND Back-breaking taxation for generations and genenerations to come. (HUGE NATIONAL DEBT MOUNTING EACH DAY FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO PAY)
republicans continue Iraq war
US cost (admitted) $354+ Billion----Total non-mortal US casualties at least 46,880----Total US dead "at least" 2997---- notcounting at least 650+ US "contractors"and the innocent Iraqi women and children, (AND it will end up in Islamic Law whichever side of the civil war wins.) Take a guess as to who doesn't have their sons and daughters in their war????
29 December, 2006
28 December, 2006
bush,Iran, republican wars
read today:
Bush is a brutal, pathological liar -- arguably a homicidal maniac. After losing two wars against helpless, unarmed nations, he's bored. The Decider is moving on to greater things, and those who know how to listen to him know the decision to nuke Iran has already been made.
Before he leaves office, Bush plans to spread the same freedoms throughout Iran that Iraq is presently enjoying, only this time he has decided to attack a huge, oil-rich, armed-to-the-teeth nation which has the capacity not only to defend itself, but to wreak death and destruction upon its attackers.
Bush is a brutal, pathological liar -- arguably a homicidal maniac. After losing two wars against helpless, unarmed nations, he's bored. The Decider is moving on to greater things, and those who know how to listen to him know the decision to nuke Iran has already been made.
Before he leaves office, Bush plans to spread the same freedoms throughout Iran that Iraq is presently enjoying, only this time he has decided to attack a huge, oil-rich, armed-to-the-teeth nation which has the capacity not only to defend itself, but to wreak death and destruction upon its attackers.
republican finances
The Financial Report of the United States Government, the summation of the 2006 fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, found that had the federal government used the same accounting practices used by the private sector, the 2006 federal budget deficit would have been $449.5 billion, not the widely reported $247.7 billion.
While the official national debt is pegged at about $8.5 trillion, according to Walker, the net present value of the government's "total reported liabilities, net social insurance commitments, and other fiscal exposures continue to grow and now total approximately $50 trillion, representing approximately four times the nation's total output (GDP) in fiscal year 2006, up from about $20 trillion, or two times GDP in fiscal year 2000."
So, here's the overall picture - and it's not a pretty one. The Baby Boomer generation is starting to take their retirements, pushing up the costs of Medicare and Medicaid. Social Security should be solvent, but the money that was supposed to be set aside for the Boomer retirements has already been spent. We're paying hundreds of billions of dollars a year in interest payments to China, Japan and other countries that hold U.S. Treasury securities - borrowing that is covering the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While the official national debt is pegged at about $8.5 trillion, according to Walker, the net present value of the government's "total reported liabilities, net social insurance commitments, and other fiscal exposures continue to grow and now total approximately $50 trillion, representing approximately four times the nation's total output (GDP) in fiscal year 2006, up from about $20 trillion, or two times GDP in fiscal year 2000."
So, here's the overall picture - and it's not a pretty one. The Baby Boomer generation is starting to take their retirements, pushing up the costs of Medicare and Medicaid. Social Security should be solvent, but the money that was supposed to be set aside for the Boomer retirements has already been spent. We're paying hundreds of billions of dollars a year in interest payments to China, Japan and other countries that hold U.S. Treasury securities - borrowing that is covering the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
27 December, 2006
25 December, 2006
cost of Republican War
Cost of Iraq
US cost (admitted) $353+ Billion
Total non-mortal US casualties at least 46,880
Total US dead at least 2972 not
counting at least 650 US "contractors"
and the innocent Iraqi women and children,
(AND it will end up in Islamic Law whichever
side of the civil war wins.)
US cost (admitted) $353+ Billion
Total non-mortal US casualties at least 46,880
Total US dead at least 2972 not
counting at least 650 US "contractors"
and the innocent Iraqi women and children,
(AND it will end up in Islamic Law whichever
side of the civil war wins.)
23 December, 2006
hidden republican agenda
Asked by a reporter on Oct. 25 if we are winning the war, Bush said, “Absolutely, we’re winning.” He now says, “We’re not winning, but we’re not losing.”
America’s secret torture prisons, whose existence Bush acknowledged as part of his tough-guy campaigning this fall. Set up in the aftermath of 9/11 to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely, the legality, morality and practicality of these so-called “black sites” have come under scrutiny. After a brief flurry about the use of torture tactics like “water boarding,” where a prisoner is made to feel he’s drowning, the story of these CIA-operated overseas prisons faded.
Yet they contributed to the central tragedy of the Bush administration, the collapse of America’s standing around the world.Karl Rove decided the best way for Republicans to retain control of the House and Senate was to embrace the war in Iraq and run against the Democrats as “Defeatocrats” and “Cut and Runners.”
It might have worked, had not most Americans decided they did indeed want to cut and run. Not right away—the voters want an orderly exit—but they weren’t buying Bush’s big lie about the Democrats. Now that the Democrats have won, watch Bush try to off-load blame for the failure in Iraq.
Days after giving Defense Secretary Rumsfeld a ringing endorsement, declaring he would be there until the end, Bush fired him. It was the most obvious lie of his presidency. And it tripped so easily off Bush’s tongue. There was none of the stammering that usually accompanies his public utterances.
There are 100,000 government contractors in Iraq, a number that rivals the 140,000 U.S. soldiers in the country. It’s dangerous work; some 650 contractors have died there. They do a lot of the jobs the military used to do.
They work for military contractors like KBR and DynCorp International. This is the largest contingent of civilians ever operating in a battlefield environment, and there’s been no congressional oversight or accountability. That should change with the Democrats taking over the investigative committees on Capitol Hill. The abuses may be just waiting to be investigating.
America’s secret torture prisons, whose existence Bush acknowledged as part of his tough-guy campaigning this fall.. After a brief flurry about the use of torture tactics like “water boarding,” where a prisoner is made to feel he’s drowning, the story of these CIA-operated overseas prisons faded. Yet they contributed to the central tragedy of the Bush administration, the collapse of America’s standing around the world.
America’s secret torture prisons, whose existence Bush acknowledged as part of his tough-guy campaigning this fall. Set up in the aftermath of 9/11 to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely, the legality, morality and practicality of these so-called “black sites” have come under scrutiny. After a brief flurry about the use of torture tactics like “water boarding,” where a prisoner is made to feel he’s drowning, the story of these CIA-operated overseas prisons faded.
Yet they contributed to the central tragedy of the Bush administration, the collapse of America’s standing around the world.Karl Rove decided the best way for Republicans to retain control of the House and Senate was to embrace the war in Iraq and run against the Democrats as “Defeatocrats” and “Cut and Runners.”
It might have worked, had not most Americans decided they did indeed want to cut and run. Not right away—the voters want an orderly exit—but they weren’t buying Bush’s big lie about the Democrats. Now that the Democrats have won, watch Bush try to off-load blame for the failure in Iraq.
Days after giving Defense Secretary Rumsfeld a ringing endorsement, declaring he would be there until the end, Bush fired him. It was the most obvious lie of his presidency. And it tripped so easily off Bush’s tongue. There was none of the stammering that usually accompanies his public utterances.
There are 100,000 government contractors in Iraq, a number that rivals the 140,000 U.S. soldiers in the country. It’s dangerous work; some 650 contractors have died there. They do a lot of the jobs the military used to do.
They work for military contractors like KBR and DynCorp International. This is the largest contingent of civilians ever operating in a battlefield environment, and there’s been no congressional oversight or accountability. That should change with the Democrats taking over the investigative committees on Capitol Hill. The abuses may be just waiting to be investigating.
America’s secret torture prisons, whose existence Bush acknowledged as part of his tough-guy campaigning this fall.. After a brief flurry about the use of torture tactics like “water boarding,” where a prisoner is made to feel he’s drowning, the story of these CIA-operated overseas prisons faded. Yet they contributed to the central tragedy of the Bush administration, the collapse of America’s standing around the world.
Republican face-saving in Iraq
Iraq is now the lame-duck war, but lame ducks have a way of hobbling around for a while. We know that George W. Bush will be quacking for two more years, sometimes in bipartisan tone, faux or real, and sometimes with instinctive calls to the base that failed him, Rove and Rumsfeld in 2006.
The difference with Iraq, which is of course Bush’s twin lame duck, is that Americans and Iraqis are dying every day. How many more will die month after month after month of the remaining Republican Presidency?
These kids on the front lines deserve to be treated as something more than pawns in a face-saving exercise.
The difference with Iraq, which is of course Bush’s twin lame duck, is that Americans and Iraqis are dying every day. How many more will die month after month after month of the remaining Republican Presidency?
These kids on the front lines deserve to be treated as something more than pawns in a face-saving exercise.
republican wars by contractors
Shane Schmidt was a U.S. Marine for seven years, the leader of a sniper unit. Chuck Shepard spent seven years in the U.S. Army. After leaving the military, each found his way into the legions of heavily armed private security contractors working in Iraq.
The two were working together on July 8, 2006, when they claim they witnessed what they believe was a crime. They say another American fired, unprovoked, into two Iraqi civilian vehicles.The men were fired, along with their supervisor, who has denied wrongdoing, according to the company. Shepard and Schmidt are now suing Triple Canopy. Their lawsuit alleges they were fired "in retaliation for their reporting criminal activity which they had witnessed."
Triple Canopy says it filed a report with Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), the prime contractor for whom it was working. It reported the incident to the U.S. military three days after it was told of the shootings. KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, said it would not comment on the issue because of the ongoing litigation. All these subsidiaries limit financial responsitility.
Shepard and Schmidt say they haven't been contacted. "There's been no follow-up whatsoever by any government agencies," says Schmidt, and its not just this incident. Despite similar allegations involving other companies, not a single security contractor in Iraq has yet faced charges for attacking civilians. Heavily armed civilian contractors working with no oversight or controls and accountability. Republican war.
The two were working together on July 8, 2006, when they claim they witnessed what they believe was a crime. They say another American fired, unprovoked, into two Iraqi civilian vehicles.The men were fired, along with their supervisor, who has denied wrongdoing, according to the company. Shepard and Schmidt are now suing Triple Canopy. Their lawsuit alleges they were fired "in retaliation for their reporting criminal activity which they had witnessed."
Triple Canopy says it filed a report with Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), the prime contractor for whom it was working. It reported the incident to the U.S. military three days after it was told of the shootings. KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, said it would not comment on the issue because of the ongoing litigation. All these subsidiaries limit financial responsitility.
Shepard and Schmidt say they haven't been contacted. "There's been no follow-up whatsoever by any government agencies," says Schmidt, and its not just this incident. Despite similar allegations involving other companies, not a single security contractor in Iraq has yet faced charges for attacking civilians. Heavily armed civilian contractors working with no oversight or controls and accountability. Republican war.
22 December, 2006
Republicans, the deciders
If the job of more boots on the ground is to separate Iraqi Shiite and Sunni neighbors who’ve learned to fear and loathe each other since the U.S. invasion, who now nourish ferocious vendettas, and who thoroughly disrespect American grunts who share nothing of their language, faith, culture or long-term concerns—well, that’s just not going to work. We will have made our big push, our last-ditch drive, and come up short.
The surge is a surefire formula, in fact, for turning what still could be called a retreat with honor into an outright defeat with humiliation. That is just what America’s enemies around the world would like to see—and it is just what the Iraq Study Group wanted to avoid.
Their plan as of two weeks ago (it seems so long already) was for "our" Iraqis to win the war, of course, if such a thing were possible, but much more importantly for the Iraqis to bear responsibility for losing it if they fail to get their act together. It was a cynical strategy for shifting blame, and far from ideal, but at least it wasn’t built on a cheerleader’s delusion that more American muscle is what it takes to set the Iraqis straight.
Apparently The Decider has decided not to explain to the public what he’s decided until he decides he’s good and ready. Decidedly, we’ve heard this kind of spin before. Four years ago, when Bush knew damn well he was going to invade Iraq, he kept telling the public he hadn’t made any final determination.
The surge is a surefire formula, in fact, for turning what still could be called a retreat with honor into an outright defeat with humiliation. That is just what America’s enemies around the world would like to see—and it is just what the Iraq Study Group wanted to avoid.
Their plan as of two weeks ago (it seems so long already) was for "our" Iraqis to win the war, of course, if such a thing were possible, but much more importantly for the Iraqis to bear responsibility for losing it if they fail to get their act together. It was a cynical strategy for shifting blame, and far from ideal, but at least it wasn’t built on a cheerleader’s delusion that more American muscle is what it takes to set the Iraqis straight.
Apparently The Decider has decided not to explain to the public what he’s decided until he decides he’s good and ready. Decidedly, we’ve heard this kind of spin before. Four years ago, when Bush knew damn well he was going to invade Iraq, he kept telling the public he hadn’t made any final determination.
20 December, 2006
Republicans lying hypocrites
After repeatedly saying we were winning in Iraq as late as last week, President Bush yesterday acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq, because he now wants to use that to expand the overall size of the "stressed" U.S.
Asked yesterday about his "absolutely, we're winning" comment at an Oct. 25 news conference, the president recast it as a prediction rather than an assessment. "Yes, that was an indication of my belief we're going to win," he said.
What lying hypocrites these Republicans are.
Asked yesterday about his "absolutely, we're winning" comment at an Oct. 25 news conference, the president recast it as a prediction rather than an assessment. "Yes, that was an indication of my belief we're going to win," he said.
What lying hypocrites these Republicans are.
19 December, 2006
making us safe
An accident occurred last year as a decades-old nuclear warhead was being dismantled at the government's Pantex facility, 17 miles northeast of Amarillo in the Panhandle of Texas (the country's only factory for assembling and disassembling nuclear weapons).
The weapon was a W-56 warhead, with a yield of 1,200 kilotons, 100 times the destructive power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The warheads were first put in service in 1965 on Minuteman missiles and don't have the safety features of more recent models that protect against detonation. The accident, in which an unsafe amount of pressure was applied to the warhead, could have caused it to explode.
When a mechanism that is part of the disassembly equipment fails to prevent application of too much pressure, Energy Department regulations require that a new or different device be used, the summary states. However, "due to expediency/convenience," the same device was used the next day in a second attempt to disassemble the warhead
An anonymous letter, purportedly sent by Pantex employees, warning that long hours and efforts to increase output were causing dangerous conditions in the plant. Most production technicians work five 10-hour days, plus weekends," the letter states. "Our safety analysts get pounded on a daily basis to support the production schedule and are expected at times to work around-the-clock, And this is BEFORE we take the insane step of trying to complete work on 50 percent more units this fiscal year." (Saving money to spend in Iraq.)
The weapon was a W-56 warhead, with a yield of 1,200 kilotons, 100 times the destructive power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The warheads were first put in service in 1965 on Minuteman missiles and don't have the safety features of more recent models that protect against detonation. The accident, in which an unsafe amount of pressure was applied to the warhead, could have caused it to explode.
When a mechanism that is part of the disassembly equipment fails to prevent application of too much pressure, Energy Department regulations require that a new or different device be used, the summary states. However, "due to expediency/convenience," the same device was used the next day in a second attempt to disassemble the warhead
An anonymous letter, purportedly sent by Pantex employees, warning that long hours and efforts to increase output were causing dangerous conditions in the plant. Most production technicians work five 10-hour days, plus weekends," the letter states. "Our safety analysts get pounded on a daily basis to support the production schedule and are expected at times to work around-the-clock, And this is BEFORE we take the insane step of trying to complete work on 50 percent more units this fiscal year." (Saving money to spend in Iraq.)
investigate and provide oversight
The policy we are pursuing—maintaining 144,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and hoping that things improve—is not sustainable either in Iraq or in America.
"We're winning," President Bush still said last week. He continues to lie. It is a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless—America is not winning in Iraq, which means that it is losing. Iraq has fallen apart both as a nation and as a state.
So now what do these Republicans give us. Someone is feeding Bush the new spin words, "the way forward" We will hear them use it over and over again. But, hope is not a policy. It is past time to confront reality. They say don't look back. We say Bull----!!!
Congress better provide oversight so it doesn't happen again. We want to know the, who- how-why and how much did they benefit, of those that got us into this mess? so INVESTIGATE.
.
"We're winning," President Bush still said last week. He continues to lie. It is a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless—America is not winning in Iraq, which means that it is losing. Iraq has fallen apart both as a nation and as a state.
So now what do these Republicans give us. Someone is feeding Bush the new spin words, "the way forward" We will hear them use it over and over again. But, hope is not a policy. It is past time to confront reality. They say don't look back. We say Bull----!!!
Congress better provide oversight so it doesn't happen again. We want to know the, who- how-why and how much did they benefit, of those that got us into this mess? so INVESTIGATE.
.
18 December, 2006
class warfare
How it possible that economic pie is getting bigger -- how can it be true that most Americans are getting smaller slices? The answer, of course, is that a few people are getting much, much bigger slices. Although wages have stagnated since Bush took office, corporate profits have doubled.
The gap between the nation's CEOs and average workers is now ten times greater than it was a generation ago. And while Bush's tax cuts shaved only a few hundred dollars off the tax bills of most Americans, they saved the richest one percent more than $44,000 on average. In fact, once all of Bush's tax cuts take effect, it is estimated that those with incomes of more than $200,000 a year -- the richest five percent of the population -- will pocket almost half of the money. In this Republican era, economic inequality is on the rise.
For the first time in our history, so much growth is being siphoned off to a small, wealthy minority that most Americans are losing ground even during a time of economic growth -- and they know it. CEO pay has soared -- from less than thirty times the average wage to almost 300 times the typical worker's pay. Those who benefit are playing class warfare card, not those of us who mention it.
The gap between the nation's CEOs and average workers is now ten times greater than it was a generation ago. And while Bush's tax cuts shaved only a few hundred dollars off the tax bills of most Americans, they saved the richest one percent more than $44,000 on average. In fact, once all of Bush's tax cuts take effect, it is estimated that those with incomes of more than $200,000 a year -- the richest five percent of the population -- will pocket almost half of the money. In this Republican era, economic inequality is on the rise.
For the first time in our history, so much growth is being siphoned off to a small, wealthy minority that most Americans are losing ground even during a time of economic growth -- and they know it. CEO pay has soared -- from less than thirty times the average wage to almost 300 times the typical worker's pay. Those who benefit are playing class warfare card, not those of us who mention it.
falsified Iraq war
The British government never believed Saddam Hussein posed a threat to British interests and warned the US that toppling him would lead to "chaos", according to a Foreign Office diplomat closely involved in negotiations in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
Damning repudiation of the government's public claims in the run-up to the war is contained in secret evidence to Lord Butler's committee on the abuse of intelligence over Iraq by Carne Ross, a diplomat at Britain's UN mission in New York.
Mr Ross continued: "There was no intelligence evidence of significant holdings of CW [chemical warfare], BW [biological warfare] or nuclear material.
"At no time did [the government-the British government] assess that Iraq's WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK," he told the Butler committee. "On the contrary, it was the commonly-held view among the officials dealing with Iraq that any threat had been effectively contained ... At the same time, we would frequently argue, when the US raised the subject, that 'regime change' was inadvisable, primarily on the grounds that Iraq would collapse into chaos."
He said colleagues in other UN delegations told him the UK sold security council resolution 1441 - later used to help justify the invasion - "explicitly on the grounds that it did not represent authorization for war". Yet the USA neo-con Republicans went ahead with their war anyway.
Damning repudiation of the government's public claims in the run-up to the war is contained in secret evidence to Lord Butler's committee on the abuse of intelligence over Iraq by Carne Ross, a diplomat at Britain's UN mission in New York.
Mr Ross continued: "There was no intelligence evidence of significant holdings of CW [chemical warfare], BW [biological warfare] or nuclear material.
"At no time did [the government-the British government] assess that Iraq's WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK," he told the Butler committee. "On the contrary, it was the commonly-held view among the officials dealing with Iraq that any threat had been effectively contained ... At the same time, we would frequently argue, when the US raised the subject, that 'regime change' was inadvisable, primarily on the grounds that Iraq would collapse into chaos."
He said colleagues in other UN delegations told him the UK sold security council resolution 1441 - later used to help justify the invasion - "explicitly on the grounds that it did not represent authorization for war". Yet the USA neo-con Republicans went ahead with their war anyway.
15 December, 2006
tortured the innocent
The Pentagon called them "among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the Earth," sweeping them up after Sept. 11 and hauling them in chains to a U.S. military prison in southeastern Cuba. Since then, hundreds of the men have been transferred from Guantanamo Bay to other countries, many of them for "continued detention." And then set free (205 out of 245).
Decisions by more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, Europe and South Asia to release the former detainees raise questions about whether they were really as dangerous as the United States claimed.
Decisions by more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, Europe and South Asia to release the former detainees raise questions about whether they were really as dangerous as the United States claimed.
Apparently innocent people tortured by our country run by these Republicans give the lie to others around the world that we are the moral country we claim to be.
Decisions by more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, Europe and South Asia to release the former detainees raise questions about whether they were really as dangerous as the United States claimed.
Decisions by more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, Europe and South Asia to release the former detainees raise questions about whether they were really as dangerous as the United States claimed.
Apparently innocent people tortured by our country run by these Republicans give the lie to others around the world that we are the moral country we claim to be.
U.S. price tag is currently at least $350(+1) billion of our money and "at least 2,937 ( 4 a day so far this month) " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess.
Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess.
14 December, 2006
hijacked Republican party
read today:
Political science 101 definitions liberals are those who look forward, conservatives those who support the status quo, reactionaries, want to return to the past and revolutionaries want rapid change. I think the GOP has been taken over by a new force, one that meets at the base of the political circle; think of this circle as the face of a clock; moderates - Republicans and Democrats - meet at twelve, neo-conservatives meet at six.
Neo-cons seem to combine the extreme ideologies. Why do they want to return to the past? I think because they are afraid of the future, they see the emergence of people who are not like them (people of color, non-christian) as a threat; hence, those who support the goals of the New American Century hijacked the Republican Party. Their policy of world domination is motivated by fear and greed and in no way emulates the traditional values of Americans or of our society
Political science 101 definitions liberals are those who look forward, conservatives those who support the status quo, reactionaries, want to return to the past and revolutionaries want rapid change. I think the GOP has been taken over by a new force, one that meets at the base of the political circle; think of this circle as the face of a clock; moderates - Republicans and Democrats - meet at twelve, neo-conservatives meet at six.
Neo-cons seem to combine the extreme ideologies. Why do they want to return to the past? I think because they are afraid of the future, they see the emergence of people who are not like them (people of color, non-christian) as a threat; hence, those who support the goals of the New American Century hijacked the Republican Party. Their policy of world domination is motivated by fear and greed and in no way emulates the traditional values of Americans or of our society
12 December, 2006
Iraq and the media
U.S. price tag is currently at least $350 billion of our money and "at least 2,937(+9 since last update) " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us into this civil war and are keeping us in this mess. HAVE YOU READ OR HEARD THIS ON TV?? SO, WHY ISN'T THE "MEDIA" KEEPING AND PUBLISHING THESE STATS???
reasons for invading Iraq?
U.S. businesses were looking at Iraq as a significant opportunity before the war began. With vast oil resources, underserved population and strategic location, that nation had all the markings of a place for U.S firms to expand. How interesting, I wonder if that is one of the hidden reasons we invaded that country.
Major American companies that went into Iraq on U.S. government contracts, including Bechtel, Parsons and Halliburton subsidiary KBR, had hoped reconstruction work would serve as a natural bridge to private-sector deals in Iraq.
Instead, they found rampant violence, still three years later with 70% unemployment, with many U.S.-funded projects coming under attack and workers being targeted. Now, with their contracts expiring, Parsons and Bechtel are closing up shop in Iraq and returning home. KBR is doing the same with its reconstruction work, though it continues to hold a major contract supporting the U.S. Army.
"We're pleading with the companies to give Iraq a second or third look," said retired Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman, senior vice president for international affairs at the Chamber of Commerce.
It's ok for our troops to be ordered to Iraq and face death in a civil war, but the big corporations who initially scooped up the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS apparently don't want to go back. And who would you guess are big contributors to the Republicans??
Major American companies that went into Iraq on U.S. government contracts, including Bechtel, Parsons and Halliburton subsidiary KBR, had hoped reconstruction work would serve as a natural bridge to private-sector deals in Iraq.
Instead, they found rampant violence, still three years later with 70% unemployment, with many U.S.-funded projects coming under attack and workers being targeted. Now, with their contracts expiring, Parsons and Bechtel are closing up shop in Iraq and returning home. KBR is doing the same with its reconstruction work, though it continues to hold a major contract supporting the U.S. Army.
"We're pleading with the companies to give Iraq a second or third look," said retired Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman, senior vice president for international affairs at the Chamber of Commerce.
It's ok for our troops to be ordered to Iraq and face death in a civil war, but the big corporations who initially scooped up the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS apparently don't want to go back. And who would you guess are big contributors to the Republicans??
11 December, 2006
4 a day in Iraq
U.S. price tag is currently at least $349 billion of our money and "at least 2,932 ( 4 a day so far this month) " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess. HAVE YOU READ OR HEARD THIS ON TV?? SO, WHY ISN'T THE "MEDIA" KEEPING AND PUBLISHING THESE STATS???
slow loss of freedom
Who could have imagined ten years ago that Congress would permit the Republican regime to eliminate habeas corpus? Our founders understood this was the bedrock fundamental principle of a free people. No political opponents could be rounded up and jailed by a tyrant. No one could presume to be above the law. Yet there was hardly a peep from blasé American consumers. The mainstream press reassured us that good Americans had nothing to worry about.
We welcome reassuring propaganda that reinforces our noble purposes in the Middle East and elsewhere. We do not care to investigate personally, or even listen to, the evidence of our considerable crimes.
History will not treat us kindly. We will be remembered as the Americans who insulated themselves from reality and remained self-absorbed, concerned with their own personal comfort and privilege while our government wrecked havoc on the world and destroyed our own culture.
It will be difficult for future generations to understand how it happened and the sequence of events. Our freedom is slowly being taken away and no one is paying attention.
We welcome reassuring propaganda that reinforces our noble purposes in the Middle East and elsewhere. We do not care to investigate personally, or even listen to, the evidence of our considerable crimes.
History will not treat us kindly. We will be remembered as the Americans who insulated themselves from reality and remained self-absorbed, concerned with their own personal comfort and privilege while our government wrecked havoc on the world and destroyed our own culture.
It will be difficult for future generations to understand how it happened and the sequence of events. Our freedom is slowly being taken away and no one is paying attention.
more lies
read today:
Manipulation of facts was often very crude. As an example of the systematic distortion, the Iraq Study Group revealed last week that on one day last July US officials reported 93 attacks or significant acts of violence. In reality, it added, "a careful review of the reports ... brought to light 1,100 acts of violence".
The 10-fold reduction in the number of acts of violence officially noted was achieved by not reporting the murder of an Iraqi, or roadside bomb, rocket or mortar attacks aimed at US troops that failed to inflict casualties.
I remember visiting a unit of US combat engineers camped outside Fallujah in January 2004 who told me that they had stopped reporting insurgent attacks on themselves unless they suffered losses as commanders wanted to hear only that the number of attacks was going down. As I was drove away, a sergeant begged us not to attribute what he had said: "If you do I am in real trouble."
Manipulation of facts was often very crude. As an example of the systematic distortion, the Iraq Study Group revealed last week that on one day last July US officials reported 93 attacks or significant acts of violence. In reality, it added, "a careful review of the reports ... brought to light 1,100 acts of violence".
The 10-fold reduction in the number of acts of violence officially noted was achieved by not reporting the murder of an Iraqi, or roadside bomb, rocket or mortar attacks aimed at US troops that failed to inflict casualties.
I remember visiting a unit of US combat engineers camped outside Fallujah in January 2004 who told me that they had stopped reporting insurgent attacks on themselves unless they suffered losses as commanders wanted to hear only that the number of attacks was going down. As I was drove away, a sergeant begged us not to attribute what he had said: "If you do I am in real trouble."
now Iraq is about oil corporations
December 8, 2006 -- WHILE THE Bush administration, the media and nearly all the Democrats still refuse to explain the war in Iraq in terms of oil, the ever-pragmatic members of the Iraq Study Group share no such reticence.
Page 1, Chapter 1 of the Iraq Study Group report lays out Iraq's importance to its region, the U.S. and the world with this reminder: "It has the world's second-largest known oil reserves." The group then proceeds to give very specific and radical recommendations as to what the United States should do to secure those reserves.
If the proposals are followed, Iraq's national oil industry will be commercialized and opened to foreign firms.The report makes visible to everyone the elephant in the room: that we are fighting, killing and dying in a war for oil. It states in plain language that the U.S. government should use every tool at its disposal to ensure that American oil interests and those of its corporations are met.
It's spelled out in Recommendation No. 63, which calls on the U.S. to "assist Iraqi leaders to reorganize the national oil industry as a commercial enterprise" and to "encourage investment in Iraq's oil sector by the international community and by international energy companies." This recommendation would turn Iraq's nationalized oil industry into a commercial entity that could be partly or fully privatized by foreign firms.
Page 1, Chapter 1 of the Iraq Study Group report lays out Iraq's importance to its region, the U.S. and the world with this reminder: "It has the world's second-largest known oil reserves." The group then proceeds to give very specific and radical recommendations as to what the United States should do to secure those reserves.
If the proposals are followed, Iraq's national oil industry will be commercialized and opened to foreign firms.The report makes visible to everyone the elephant in the room: that we are fighting, killing and dying in a war for oil. It states in plain language that the U.S. government should use every tool at its disposal to ensure that American oil interests and those of its corporations are met.
It's spelled out in Recommendation No. 63, which calls on the U.S. to "assist Iraqi leaders to reorganize the national oil industry as a commercial enterprise" and to "encourage investment in Iraq's oil sector by the international community and by international energy companies." This recommendation would turn Iraq's nationalized oil industry into a commercial entity that could be partly or fully privatized by foreign firms.
more Iraq
U.S. price tag is currently at least $349 billion of our money and "at least 2,928(+12 since last update) " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess. HAVE YOU READ OR HEARD THIS ON TV?? SO, WHY ISN'T THE "MEDIA" KEEPING AND PUBLISHING THESE STATS???
10 December, 2006
Republicans extend tax breaks
The Republican controlled 109th Congress adjourned yesterday morning with final passage of measures to expand civilian nuclear trade with India, establish permanent trade relations with Vietnam and extend a bevy of expiring business tax breaks.
endless Republican civil war
James D. Fearon, an expert on civil conflict at Stanford University, said that "by any reasonable definition, Iraq is in the midst of a civil war.
The White House’s steadfast refusal to call this conflict a civil war feels more like denial than delusion. President Bush understands that using the term 'civil war" would force him to concede that the defining act of his presidency had ended in ruin. So, our troops continue being wounded and dying so these Republicans don't have to admit that they goofed and lied us into war. THAT MAY EVEN BE CRIMINAL.
Americans should not continue to send their sons and daughters into the Iraqi maelstrom in order to defend Iraqi factions from one another. What’s more, civil wars rarely have the kind of equitable conclusion that the Bush administration has envisioned in Iraq.
Fearon testified that the 54 such conflicts he studied typically lasted more than 10 years and normally ended with decisive military victory rather than power-sharing agreements. History, he said, indicates that the current administration strategy “is highly unlikely to succeed, whether the U.S. stays in Iraq for six more months or six more years (or more).”
The White House’s steadfast refusal to call this conflict a civil war feels more like denial than delusion. President Bush understands that using the term 'civil war" would force him to concede that the defining act of his presidency had ended in ruin. So, our troops continue being wounded and dying so these Republicans don't have to admit that they goofed and lied us into war. THAT MAY EVEN BE CRIMINAL.
Americans should not continue to send their sons and daughters into the Iraqi maelstrom in order to defend Iraqi factions from one another. What’s more, civil wars rarely have the kind of equitable conclusion that the Bush administration has envisioned in Iraq.
Fearon testified that the 54 such conflicts he studied typically lasted more than 10 years and normally ended with decisive military victory rather than power-sharing agreements. History, he said, indicates that the current administration strategy “is highly unlikely to succeed, whether the U.S. stays in Iraq for six more months or six more years (or more).”
big money at it again
Among the 160 or so wealthy Republicans the Romney campaign had invited for the weekend was a particularly important group of potential supporters -- the 40 or so men and women who were "Rangers" or "Pioneers" in the 2000 and 2004 campaigns of President Bush.
In this new world of presidential fund raising, finding a wealthy person and persuading him or her to write a check is not the gold standard. Instead, the goal is to identify individuals who not only can contribute the federal limit of $2,000 but also can persuade 100 or so of their friends and business associates to do the same.
"The relationship did not start or end when they wrote a check," Vogel said. "They were not just donors but part of the organization."
McCain and Romney are mimicking the Bush model not only in terms of the individuals they are courting but also in the approach they are taking to their pitch: a heavy emphasis on personal attention
The big donors received top-level strategy briefings and were feted at campaign events. Many received appointments to the transition team after Bush was elected, and many others received ambassadorships, including Ron Weiser to Slovakia and Howard Leach to France.
In this new world of presidential fund raising, finding a wealthy person and persuading him or her to write a check is not the gold standard. Instead, the goal is to identify individuals who not only can contribute the federal limit of $2,000 but also can persuade 100 or so of their friends and business associates to do the same.
"The relationship did not start or end when they wrote a check," Vogel said. "They were not just donors but part of the organization."
McCain and Romney are mimicking the Bush model not only in terms of the individuals they are courting but also in the approach they are taking to their pitch: a heavy emphasis on personal attention
The big donors received top-level strategy briefings and were feted at campaign events. Many received appointments to the transition team after Bush was elected, and many others received ambassadorships, including Ron Weiser to Slovakia and Howard Leach to France.
battle of the titans
an interesting read:
So, the battle lines have been drawn. On one side we have James Baker and his corporate classmates who want to restore order while preserving America’s imperial role in the region. And, on the other side, we have the neo-Trotskyites and Israeli-Jacobins who seek a fragmented and chaotic Middle East where Israel is the dominant power.
The one group that has no voice in this "Battle of the Titans" is the American people. They lost whatever was left of their shrinking political-clout sometime around the 2000 Coronation of George Bush.
In any event, Baker and his ilk are not going to sit back and watch the empire (and the military) they put together with their own two hands be systematically pulverized by a cabal of zealots pursuing an agenda that only serves Israeli hardliners. That ain’t gonna happen.
Expect Baker to wheel out the heavy artillery and fight tooth-and-nail to reassert the primacy of the American ruling class. "The Lobby" may be powerful, but it’s going to be tough-going to take the country away from the people who believe they own it. The struggle between the political heavyweights is about to break-out into open warfare.
So, the battle lines have been drawn. On one side we have James Baker and his corporate classmates who want to restore order while preserving America’s imperial role in the region. And, on the other side, we have the neo-Trotskyites and Israeli-Jacobins who seek a fragmented and chaotic Middle East where Israel is the dominant power.
The one group that has no voice in this "Battle of the Titans" is the American people. They lost whatever was left of their shrinking political-clout sometime around the 2000 Coronation of George Bush.
In any event, Baker and his ilk are not going to sit back and watch the empire (and the military) they put together with their own two hands be systematically pulverized by a cabal of zealots pursuing an agenda that only serves Israeli hardliners. That ain’t gonna happen.
Expect Baker to wheel out the heavy artillery and fight tooth-and-nail to reassert the primacy of the American ruling class. "The Lobby" may be powerful, but it’s going to be tough-going to take the country away from the people who believe they own it. The struggle between the political heavyweights is about to break-out into open warfare.
09 December, 2006
a final solution
As the Iraqi civil war (euphemistically termed "sectarian violence") intensifies, both US and Iraqi casualties have sharply increased. Thirty-five US troops have been killed in the first week of December. Iraqis are dying at each other’s hands at about 100 per day, with many more wounded by bombs. Iraqi civilians continue to suffer at the hands of the US military, with the latest news being a US air strike that wiped out two families totaling 32 people.
The report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group has made it plain as day that the US is accomplishing nothing in Iraq except the destabilization of the entire Middle East. As Middle East expert Anthony Sullivan writes in The National Interest, the ISG report "constitutes a massive repudiation of the policy of the Bush Administration." The war is lost and cannot be retrieved militarily. "Staying the course" is the path of total folly.
Yet, the White House Moron says that it is better for 100 US troops and 3,000 Iraqi civilians to die every month than for him to admit that he is wrong. The report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group has made it plain as day that the US is accomplishing nothing in Iraq except the destabilization of the entire Middle East.
As long as Bush remains in office, the neoconservatives will demand more wars. In the current issue of "Foreign Policy," neocon Joshua Muravchik stridently insists that Bush bomb Iran before he leaves office. Muracvchik urges his fellow neocon warmongers to "pave the way" for the bombing of Iran and to "be prepared to defend the action when it comes."
Sounds like a case for impeachment, doesn't it.
The report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group has made it plain as day that the US is accomplishing nothing in Iraq except the destabilization of the entire Middle East. As Middle East expert Anthony Sullivan writes in The National Interest, the ISG report "constitutes a massive repudiation of the policy of the Bush Administration." The war is lost and cannot be retrieved militarily. "Staying the course" is the path of total folly.
Yet, the White House Moron says that it is better for 100 US troops and 3,000 Iraqi civilians to die every month than for him to admit that he is wrong. The report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group has made it plain as day that the US is accomplishing nothing in Iraq except the destabilization of the entire Middle East.
As long as Bush remains in office, the neoconservatives will demand more wars. In the current issue of "Foreign Policy," neocon Joshua Muravchik stridently insists that Bush bomb Iran before he leaves office. Muracvchik urges his fellow neocon warmongers to "pave the way" for the bombing of Iran and to "be prepared to defend the action when it comes."
Sounds like a case for impeachment, doesn't it.
08 December, 2006
no hate laws
On Oct. 7, 1998, a young man with dreams of helping others became a symbol of hate and bigotry in America. At 21, Matthew Shepard was lured from a local college bar by two men, taken by car into a remote area of Laramie, Wyo., strung up on a ranch fence, beaten beyond recognition and left to die in subzero temperatures.
His attackers, 22-year-old Aaron McKinney and 21-year-old Russell Henderson—later convicted of felony murder and given double life sentences—killed him because he was gay.
His bloody body, nearly mistaken for a scarecrow, was not discovered for 18 hours. When the gruesome details of his death hit the headlines, it sparked demonstrations across America and calls for anti-hate-crime legislation.
Did you know that WYOMING IS STILL ONE OF FOUR STATES WITH NO HATE LAW ON THE BOOKS?
His attackers, 22-year-old Aaron McKinney and 21-year-old Russell Henderson—later convicted of felony murder and given double life sentences—killed him because he was gay.
His bloody body, nearly mistaken for a scarecrow, was not discovered for 18 hours. When the gruesome details of his death hit the headlines, it sparked demonstrations across America and calls for anti-hate-crime legislation.
Did you know that WYOMING IS STILL ONE OF FOUR STATES WITH NO HATE LAW ON THE BOOKS?
07 December, 2006
beck, prove yourself
CNN host Glenn Beck:
Said recently, to newly elected U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a Muslim: "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."
Said, "I'm telling you, with God as my witness... human beings are not strong enough, unfortunately, to restrain themselves from putting up razor wire and putting you on one side of it. When things—when people become hungry, when people see that their way of life is on the edge of being over, they will put razor wire(concentration camps) up and just based on the way you look or just based on your religion, they will round you up".
"When things heat up, the profiling will only get worse, and the razor wire(concentration camps) will be coming."
When Beck is talking about "razor wire," he's talking about concentration camps—in the original sense of the word, places where masses of people are imprisoned "just based on the way you look or just based on your religion."
Since the overwhelming majority of U.S. Muslims are neither "murdering innocent people" nor "excusing the people who do," there's really nothing that they can do to avert Beck's threat that "the razor wire will be coming." And Beck is explicit that there's nothing non-Muslims can do to avoid locking Muslims up en masse.
Beck said, "The Hurricane Katrina refugees seen on TV and the father of a terrorism victim were both "scumbags"
Contrary to Beck's suggestion, there are things that the people of the U.S. can do to avoid repeating the "grotesque" history of Japanese-American internment. One of these things is to take people seriously when they start threatening people with concentration camps—rather than looking the other way because of their ratings "success."
Please contact CNN/U.S. president Jonathan Klein and urge him to condemn Glenn Beck's chilling threats against Muslims. ALSO, I CHALLENGE BECK TO PROVE TO ME THAT HE IS NOT A FACIST NAZI.
Said recently, to newly elected U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a Muslim: "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."
Said, "I'm telling you, with God as my witness... human beings are not strong enough, unfortunately, to restrain themselves from putting up razor wire and putting you on one side of it. When things—when people become hungry, when people see that their way of life is on the edge of being over, they will put razor wire(concentration camps) up and just based on the way you look or just based on your religion, they will round you up".
"When things heat up, the profiling will only get worse, and the razor wire(concentration camps) will be coming."
When Beck is talking about "razor wire," he's talking about concentration camps—in the original sense of the word, places where masses of people are imprisoned "just based on the way you look or just based on your religion."
Since the overwhelming majority of U.S. Muslims are neither "murdering innocent people" nor "excusing the people who do," there's really nothing that they can do to avert Beck's threat that "the razor wire will be coming." And Beck is explicit that there's nothing non-Muslims can do to avoid locking Muslims up en masse.
Beck said, "The Hurricane Katrina refugees seen on TV and the father of a terrorism victim were both "scumbags"
Contrary to Beck's suggestion, there are things that the people of the U.S. can do to avoid repeating the "grotesque" history of Japanese-American internment. One of these things is to take people seriously when they start threatening people with concentration camps—rather than looking the other way because of their ratings "success."
Please contact CNN/U.S. president Jonathan Klein and urge him to condemn Glenn Beck's chilling threats against Muslims. ALSO, I CHALLENGE BECK TO PROVE TO ME THAT HE IS NOT A FACIST NAZI.
another Iraq update
U.S. price tag is currently at least $348 billion of our money and "at least 2,920(+14 since last update) " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess.
HAVE YOU READ OR HEARD THIS ON TV?? SO, WHY ISN'T THE "MEDIA" KEEPING AND PUBLISHING THESE STATS???
HAVE YOU READ OR HEARD THIS ON TV?? SO, WHY ISN'T THE "MEDIA" KEEPING AND PUBLISHING THESE STATS???
imagine the discussions in that family
Mary Cheney, a daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, is expecting a baby with her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe. Mr. Cheney’s office said Wednesday. Mary Cheney, 37, is a vice president at AOL; Ms. Poe, a former park ranger, is 45. Another reason not to have AOL. lol
06 December, 2006
how Liberty is lost
We cannot deny civil liberty to others and retain it for
ourselves. When zealous agents of the Government arrest suspected
"radicals" without warrant, hold them without prompt trial, deny them
access to counsel, we have shorn the Bill of Rights of its sanctity.
History teaches us that liberty is eroded in bits and pieces.
It's only a matter of time until they come for you and me.
Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among people.
Research the Carlyle Group and you will be outraged about the depth of
corruption and deceit within the highest ranks of our government.
ourselves. When zealous agents of the Government arrest suspected
"radicals" without warrant, hold them without prompt trial, deny them
access to counsel, we have shorn the Bill of Rights of its sanctity.
History teaches us that liberty is eroded in bits and pieces.
It's only a matter of time until they come for you and me.
Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among people.
Research the Carlyle Group and you will be outraged about the depth of
corruption and deceit within the highest ranks of our government.
05 December, 2006
what's wrong with McCain?
Iraq's Shiite leadership brought al-Sadr into their coalition. Now, frustrated by his influence on the government, McCain said "I think he needs to be taken out."
Killing al-Sadr would immediately create a renewed worldwide backlash against the U.S. It would also be an enormous gift to Al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists, giving them a new martyr and reinforcing the stereotype of Americans as bloodthirsty and lawless.
Al-Sadr's death would deprive future Iraqi leaders of a critical bargaining partner. It would be the equivalent of a newly-elected Ronald Reagan assassinating Brezhnev, instead of negotiating with him.
Most importantly, it would turn many more Shiites into active participants in the insurgency. Al-Sadr is the son of a beloved Grand Ayatollah, in a culture that believes holiness runs in families. For many Iraqi Shiites, it would be the equivalent of murdering someone who is the combination of Pope John Paul and Abraham Lincoln.
We may not like Moqtada al-Sadr's ideas, but his influence is undeniable. McCain was talking loony talk here. Whether he was serious, or just throwing red meat to conservatives, it was foolish, irresponsible, and un-Presidential.
Speaking of the Iraq Study Group's search for a compromise solution to ending the war, McCain was contemptuous: "Well in war, my dear friends, there is no such thing as compromise; you either win or you lose."
Here's a simple truth about war. If you don't know how to win one and you don't intend to negotiate, there's only one other option left: defeat." McCain's "strategy" can only end in failure. Does he know that? Does he care? Does anything matter except promoting his presidential chances?
The mainstream media is working overtime to elect John McCain. They're telling you he's a "straight talker," despite his self-serving and politically motivated about-faces - on torture, on the religious right, even regarding racist attacks on his own family during the 2000 primaries. And there's always more - like his embarrassing (and clearly politically-motivated) flip-flop on ethanol. Yet the political pundits still claim McCain's a straight shooter.
Here's what they won't tell you: President John McCain would be every bit as unstable, dangerous, and cynical as the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld axis he hopes to replace. The press played a big part in electing the people who got us into today's mess. Now they're working hard to elect someone who may, in fact, be just as dangerous - or more so.
Killing al-Sadr would immediately create a renewed worldwide backlash against the U.S. It would also be an enormous gift to Al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists, giving them a new martyr and reinforcing the stereotype of Americans as bloodthirsty and lawless.
Al-Sadr's death would deprive future Iraqi leaders of a critical bargaining partner. It would be the equivalent of a newly-elected Ronald Reagan assassinating Brezhnev, instead of negotiating with him.
Most importantly, it would turn many more Shiites into active participants in the insurgency. Al-Sadr is the son of a beloved Grand Ayatollah, in a culture that believes holiness runs in families. For many Iraqi Shiites, it would be the equivalent of murdering someone who is the combination of Pope John Paul and Abraham Lincoln.
We may not like Moqtada al-Sadr's ideas, but his influence is undeniable. McCain was talking loony talk here. Whether he was serious, or just throwing red meat to conservatives, it was foolish, irresponsible, and un-Presidential.
Speaking of the Iraq Study Group's search for a compromise solution to ending the war, McCain was contemptuous: "Well in war, my dear friends, there is no such thing as compromise; you either win or you lose."
Here's a simple truth about war. If you don't know how to win one and you don't intend to negotiate, there's only one other option left: defeat." McCain's "strategy" can only end in failure. Does he know that? Does he care? Does anything matter except promoting his presidential chances?
The mainstream media is working overtime to elect John McCain. They're telling you he's a "straight talker," despite his self-serving and politically motivated about-faces - on torture, on the religious right, even regarding racist attacks on his own family during the 2000 primaries. And there's always more - like his embarrassing (and clearly politically-motivated) flip-flop on ethanol. Yet the political pundits still claim McCain's a straight shooter.
Here's what they won't tell you: President John McCain would be every bit as unstable, dangerous, and cynical as the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld axis he hopes to replace. The press played a big part in electing the people who got us into today's mess. Now they're working hard to elect someone who may, in fact, be just as dangerous - or more so.
Bill of Rights in the Constitution
Here are the Bill of Rights to our Constitution before Republicans complete their destruction:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
update Iraq
U.S. price tag is currently at least $348 billion of our money and "at least 2,906(+12 since last update) " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess. HAVE YOU READ OR HEARD THIS ON TV?? SO, WHY ISN'T THE "MEDIA" KEEPING AND PUBLISHING THESE STATS???
04 December, 2006
republicans, Iraq, insanity?
Tens of millions of Americans want President George W. Bush to be impeached for the lies and deceit he used to launch an illegal war and for violating his oath of office to uphold the US Constitution. Millions of other Americans want Bush turned over to the war crimes tribunal at the Hague. The true fate that awaits Bush is psychiatric incarceration. The President of the United States is so deep into denial that he is no longer among the sane.
Delusion still rules Bush three weeks after the American people repudiated him and his catastrophic war in elections that delivered both House and Senate to the Democrats in the hope that control over Congress would give the opposition party the strength to oppose the mad occupant of the White House.
Bush has destroyed the entire social, political, and economic fabric of Iraq. Saddam Hussein sat on the lid of Pandora’s Box of sectarian antagonisms, but Bush has opened the lid. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed as "collateral damage" in Bush’s war to bring "stable democracy" to Iraq.
Tens of thousands of Iraqi children have been orphaned and maimed. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their country. The Middle East is aflame with hatred of America, and the ground is shaking under the feet of American puppet governments in the Middle East. US casualties (killed and wounded) number 25,000. And Bush has not had enough!
What better proof of Bush’s insanity could there be?
Delusion still rules Bush three weeks after the American people repudiated him and his catastrophic war in elections that delivered both House and Senate to the Democrats in the hope that control over Congress would give the opposition party the strength to oppose the mad occupant of the White House.
Bush has destroyed the entire social, political, and economic fabric of Iraq. Saddam Hussein sat on the lid of Pandora’s Box of sectarian antagonisms, but Bush has opened the lid. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed as "collateral damage" in Bush’s war to bring "stable democracy" to Iraq.
Tens of thousands of Iraqi children have been orphaned and maimed. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their country. The Middle East is aflame with hatred of America, and the ground is shaking under the feet of American puppet governments in the Middle East. US casualties (killed and wounded) number 25,000. And Bush has not had enough!
What better proof of Bush’s insanity could there be?
update Iraq-more killed
U.S. price tag is currently at least $348 billion of our money and "at least 2,894(+6) " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess.
Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess.
03 December, 2006
Republicans in bed with Big Oil
DURING a 22-year career, Bobby L. Maxwell routinely won accolades and awards as one of the Interior Department’s best auditors in the nation’s oil patch, snaring promotions that eventually had him supervising a staff of 120 people.
He and his team scrutinized the books of major oil producers that collectively pumped billions of dollars worth of oil and gas every year from land and coastal waters owned by the public. Along the way, the auditors recovered hundreds of millions of dollars from companies that shortchanged the government on royalties.
"Mr. Maxwell’s career has been characterized by exceptional performance and significant contributions," wrote Gale A. Norton, then the secretary of the interior, in a 2003 citation. Ms. Norton praised Mr. Maxwell’s "perseverance and leadership" while cataloguing his "many outstanding achievements."
Less than two years later, the Interior Department eliminated his job in what it called a "reorganization." That came exactly one week after a federal judge in Denver unsealed a lawsuit in which Mr. Maxwell contended that a major oil company had spent years cheating on royalty payments.
Invoking a law that rewards private citizens who expose fraud against the government, Mr. Maxwell has filed a suit in federal court in Denver against the Kerr-McGee Corporation. The suit accuses the company, which was recently acquired by Anadarko Petroleum, of bilking the government out of royalty payments. It also contends that the Interior Department ignored audits indicating that Kerr-McGee was cheating. Three other federal auditors, who once worked for Mr. Maxwell and still work at the Interior Department, have since filed similar suits of their own against other energy companies.
In February, the Interior Department admitted that energy companies might escape more than $7 billion in royalty payments over the next five years because of errors in leases signed in the 1990s that officials are now scrambling to renegotiate. The errors were discovered in 2000, but were ignored for the next six years and have yet to be fixed.
Several of the nation’s biggest oil producers, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips, failed in an effort to block Mr. Maxwell’s suit, arguing before an appellate judge that his case would "open the floodgates" to suits by other federal auditors. But the court rejected their pleas, and a trial is set to start on Jan. 16.
He and his team scrutinized the books of major oil producers that collectively pumped billions of dollars worth of oil and gas every year from land and coastal waters owned by the public. Along the way, the auditors recovered hundreds of millions of dollars from companies that shortchanged the government on royalties.
"Mr. Maxwell’s career has been characterized by exceptional performance and significant contributions," wrote Gale A. Norton, then the secretary of the interior, in a 2003 citation. Ms. Norton praised Mr. Maxwell’s "perseverance and leadership" while cataloguing his "many outstanding achievements."
Less than two years later, the Interior Department eliminated his job in what it called a "reorganization." That came exactly one week after a federal judge in Denver unsealed a lawsuit in which Mr. Maxwell contended that a major oil company had spent years cheating on royalty payments.
Invoking a law that rewards private citizens who expose fraud against the government, Mr. Maxwell has filed a suit in federal court in Denver against the Kerr-McGee Corporation. The suit accuses the company, which was recently acquired by Anadarko Petroleum, of bilking the government out of royalty payments. It also contends that the Interior Department ignored audits indicating that Kerr-McGee was cheating. Three other federal auditors, who once worked for Mr. Maxwell and still work at the Interior Department, have since filed similar suits of their own against other energy companies.
In February, the Interior Department admitted that energy companies might escape more than $7 billion in royalty payments over the next five years because of errors in leases signed in the 1990s that officials are now scrambling to renegotiate. The errors were discovered in 2000, but were ignored for the next six years and have yet to be fixed.
Several of the nation’s biggest oil producers, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips, failed in an effort to block Mr. Maxwell’s suit, arguing before an appellate judge that his case would "open the floodgates" to suits by other federal auditors. But the court rejected their pleas, and a trial is set to start on Jan. 16.
02 December, 2006
update Iraq
U.S. price tag is currently at least $347 billion of our money and "at least 2,888 " members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems. Let's never forget it is the Republicans who got us in and are keeping us in this mess.
01 December, 2006
Republicans are idiots
There is no iron law of history that says that the bad relations between America and the Islamic world, and even between the United States and radical Shiite groups like the one led by the militant cleric, Moktada al-Sadr, are fated to continue this way indefinitely and immutably.
Nor is there any reason to believe that an American withdrawal from Iraq will harm these relations any more than the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam permanently damaged U.S.-Vietnamese relations.
We are not leaving Iraq because neo-cons(who control the party) think that doing so would be admitting they goofed. We know that already. Meanwhile who is going to be the last soldier to be counted dead, not to mention the contractors and innocent Iraqi women and children.
Nor is there any reason to believe that an American withdrawal from Iraq will harm these relations any more than the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam permanently damaged U.S.-Vietnamese relations.
We are not leaving Iraq because neo-cons(who control the party) think that doing so would be admitting they goofed. We know that already. Meanwhile who is going to be the last soldier to be counted dead, not to mention the contractors and innocent Iraqi women and children.
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