It is common for politicians to court big money during a campaign. But private schmooze sessions such as the gathering in Utah pose a particular dilemma for McCain, who has spent a long career decrying "special interests" and politicians who offer special access to them in order to raise money.
As a presidential candidate this year, McCain has found himself assiduously courting both lobbyists and their wealthy clients, offering them private audiences as part of his fundraising. He also counts more than 30 lobbyists among his chief fundraisers, more than any other presidential contender.
31 December, 2007
30 December, 2007
Republicanism from Nazism?
Now we find out that Bush acts as though he is not legally obliged to follow his own executive orders. That means the Bush believes: "I don't have to follow my own rules, and I don't have to tell you when I'm breaking them." That includes actions of the Executive Order that governs surveillance of us.
The Executive Order governing surveillance may not be the only one that Bush has modified without revealing he has done so. It appears that Bush has also modified the Executive Order governing the treatment of classified information from its plain text meaning.
So he does whatever his mood dictates when and at whatever time he decides, ignoring the rule of law and the Constitution. The Nazi rule in Germany acted in the same way in taking over Germany and attempting to conquor the world one country at a time. Sound familiar..
The Executive Order governing surveillance may not be the only one that Bush has modified without revealing he has done so. It appears that Bush has also modified the Executive Order governing the treatment of classified information from its plain text meaning.
So he does whatever his mood dictates when and at whatever time he decides, ignoring the rule of law and the Constitution. The Nazi rule in Germany acted in the same way in taking over Germany and attempting to conquor the world one country at a time. Sound familiar..
Republican record supported by republican candidates
What an unbelievable record of deceit, destruction, hypocrisy, incompetence, treason and greed. What a tragic tale of debt, lost wars, stolen elections, environmental crises, Constitution shredding, national shame and diminished security.
torture and more Republican lies
CIA operatives now SAY they destroyed the torture tapes because they wanted to protect the torturers, now called "debriefers."
We know that is a crock because all they had to do is black out their faces as is done every day to protect the identities of children.
They realy wanted to protect these Republican officeholders.
We know that is a crock because all they had to do is black out their faces as is done every day to protect the identities of children.
They realy wanted to protect these Republican officeholders.
Should the USA torture people
In November 2002, an Afghan man froze to death overnight while chained in a cell at a C.I.A. site in Afghanistan, north of Kabul, the capital. Two more prisoners died in December 2002 in American military custody at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
By late 2002, interrogators were recycling videotapes, preserving only two days of tapes before recording over them, one C.I.A. officer said. Finally, senior agency officials decided that written summaries of prisoners’ answers would suffice. Clandestine service officers who had overseen the interrogations began pushing hard to destroy any taping.
Some of the C.I.A.’s techniques appeared to constitute "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" under the international Convention Against Torture. The CIA now prefers that we call their interrogators who tortured prisoners in secret CIA prisons around the world as "debriefers."
Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Williams, a JAG officer with the U.S. Naval Reserve, recently resigned his commission over the alleged use of torture by the United States and the destruction of video tapes containing instances of that torture.
Waterboarding was used by the Nazi Gestapo and the feared Japanese Kempeitai. In World War II, our grandfathers had the wisdom to convict Japanese Officer Yukio Asano of waterboarding and other torture practices in 1947, giving him 15 years hard labor.
John C. Gannon, a former C.I.A. deputy director, says it was a tragic mistake for the administration to approve such methods. as waterboarding. So should our country be a country that tortures people? We report, you decide.
By late 2002, interrogators were recycling videotapes, preserving only two days of tapes before recording over them, one C.I.A. officer said. Finally, senior agency officials decided that written summaries of prisoners’ answers would suffice. Clandestine service officers who had overseen the interrogations began pushing hard to destroy any taping.
Some of the C.I.A.’s techniques appeared to constitute "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" under the international Convention Against Torture. The CIA now prefers that we call their interrogators who tortured prisoners in secret CIA prisons around the world as "debriefers."
Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Williams, a JAG officer with the U.S. Naval Reserve, recently resigned his commission over the alleged use of torture by the United States and the destruction of video tapes containing instances of that torture.
Waterboarding was used by the Nazi Gestapo and the feared Japanese Kempeitai. In World War II, our grandfathers had the wisdom to convict Japanese Officer Yukio Asano of waterboarding and other torture practices in 1947, giving him 15 years hard labor.
John C. Gannon, a former C.I.A. deputy director, says it was a tragic mistake for the administration to approve such methods. as waterboarding. So should our country be a country that tortures people? We report, you decide.
29 December, 2007
Republicans continue lying
It is a lie for Republicans to say that they are not raising our taxes when some of us know that we will have to pay for all this waste and their redistributing the wealth of our country to the rich, PLUS INTEREST, from their astronomical increases in the country's debt that is covered mostly by foreigners, principally China.
The rest of you just don't get it. They have lied to you and are continuing to lie so much that you are brainwashed.
The rest of you just don't get it. They have lied to you and are continuing to lie so much that you are brainwashed.
Ahother law and order Republican
A day after a federal court slip-up exposed intimate office e-mail exchanges with his executive secretary, Texas most powerful prosecutor, the district attorney of Harris County, issued a public apology Friday to his family and others.
The issue took on immediate political dimensions on Thursday when Mr. Rosenthal, a 61-year-old Republican who has announced he will run for a third term next year.
The messages, which had been turned over to lawyers in the course of a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges misconduct involving Harris County sheriff’s deputies, contained Mr. Rosenthal’s professions of love and longing for the woman, Kerry Stevens, with whom he has acknowledged having an affair during his first marriage.
As district attorney of a county with a population of four million, more than that of several states, Mr. Rosenthal also presides over the country’s busiest capital punishment establishment, which has sent 100 convicts to their deaths since 1976.
The issue took on immediate political dimensions on Thursday when Mr. Rosenthal, a 61-year-old Republican who has announced he will run for a third term next year.
The messages, which had been turned over to lawyers in the course of a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges misconduct involving Harris County sheriff’s deputies, contained Mr. Rosenthal’s professions of love and longing for the woman, Kerry Stevens, with whom he has acknowledged having an affair during his first marriage.
As district attorney of a county with a population of four million, more than that of several states, Mr. Rosenthal also presides over the country’s busiest capital punishment establishment, which has sent 100 convicts to their deaths since 1976.
creeping Republican tyranny
It has been two years since top New York Times officials decided to let the rest of us in on the fact that the George W. Bush administration had been eavesdropping on American citizens without the court warrants required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978.
The Times had learned of this well before the election in 2004 and acquiesced to White House entreaties to suppress the damaging information. In late fall 2005 when Times correspondent James Risen’s book, “State of War: the Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration,” revealing the warrantless eavesdropping was being printed, Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., recognized that he could procrastinate no longer.
When Sulzberger told his friends in the White House that he could no longer hold off on publishing in the newspaper, he was summoned to the Oval Office for a counseling session with the president on Dec. 5, 2005. Bush tried in vain to talk him out of putting the story in the Times. The truth would out; part of it, at least. It was published with a slant toward limiting the scope of this treason.
Repbulicans are good at quoting our founding fathers but only when it suits their objectives. When was the last time you heard the following?
Our Founding Fathers were not oblivious to this issue; thus, James Madison addressed the problem as follows:
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. ... The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.
The Times had learned of this well before the election in 2004 and acquiesced to White House entreaties to suppress the damaging information. In late fall 2005 when Times correspondent James Risen’s book, “State of War: the Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration,” revealing the warrantless eavesdropping was being printed, Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., recognized that he could procrastinate no longer.
When Sulzberger told his friends in the White House that he could no longer hold off on publishing in the newspaper, he was summoned to the Oval Office for a counseling session with the president on Dec. 5, 2005. Bush tried in vain to talk him out of putting the story in the Times. The truth would out; part of it, at least. It was published with a slant toward limiting the scope of this treason.
Repbulicans are good at quoting our founding fathers but only when it suits their objectives. When was the last time you heard the following?
Our Founding Fathers were not oblivious to this issue; thus, James Madison addressed the problem as follows:
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. ... The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.
28 December, 2007
Bhutto, US lackey, killed in Pakistan
While some intelligence officials, especially within the US, were quick to finger al Qaeda militants as responsible for Bhutto's death, it remains unclear precisely who was responsible and some speculation has centered on Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, its military or even forces loyal to the current president Pervez Musharraf. Rawalpindi, where Bhutto was killed, is the garrison city that houses the Pakistani military's headquarters.
Perhaps more shockingly, an attendee at the rally where Bhutto was killed says police charged with protecting her "abandoned their posts," leaving just a handful of Bhutto's own bodyguards protecting her. "GHQ (general headquarters of the army) killed her," Sardar Saleem, a former member of parliament said.
Whatever the case, Bhutto's precise cause of death may never be known because of the failure to administer an autopsy. The procedure was not carried out because police and local authorities in Rawalpindi did not request one, according to IBNLive, but the government plans a formal investigation why this was the case.
Perhaps more shockingly, an attendee at the rally where Bhutto was killed says police charged with protecting her "abandoned their posts," leaving just a handful of Bhutto's own bodyguards protecting her. "GHQ (general headquarters of the army) killed her," Sardar Saleem, a former member of parliament said.
Whatever the case, Bhutto's precise cause of death may never be known because of the failure to administer an autopsy. The procedure was not carried out because police and local authorities in Rawalpindi did not request one, according to IBNLive, but the government plans a formal investigation why this was the case.
27 December, 2007
what republican war is doing to Iraq
According to an Oxfam International report released in July this year, 43 percent of Iraqis suffer from absolute poverty, and that according to some estimates over half the population is now without work. Children are hit the hardest by the decline in living standards. Child malnutrition rates have risen to 28 percent now.
George Orwell today
We are living George Orwell's nightmare in the 21st century; for war is claimed to be the way to peace and nuclear weapons are promised as the way to provide security.
26 December, 2007
Republicans without Nuremberg
A number of leading Nazis were executed for their unprovoked attack on Poland. The Bush administration has its own Poland in Iraq, and if there is an American attack on Iran it would also fit the Nuremberg definition. Unlike at Nuremberg, however, no one will be held accountable.
Is there any truth to this Huckabee story?
Read today: When the news is about your son actually hanging a dog -- one of the stranger moments of Mike Huckabee's campaign, which struggled with the rehash of an old story about the Arkansas governor's number one son killing a dog when he was a camp counselor in 1998 -- There isn't necessarily any need for the standard hangdog image. Because when you're riding an updraft of polling numbers, minor details like your son's torturing and killing of man's best friend don't lead to images of fatigue, sadness and impotence. A little sweat on the brow, perhaps.
republican war crimes
Read today: Current and former officials said the torture lasted weeks and even, according to some, months, and that the techniques included hypothermia, long periods of standing, sleep deprivation and multiple sessions of waterboarding. All these "alternative procedures", as Bush described them, are illegal under US law and the Geneva conventions. They are, in fact, war crimes
25 December, 2007
our Army due to Iraq update
The 15-month terms were always seen as a temporary measure. Talk to soldiers, and they will tell you that 15 months of continuous combat duty is simply too wearing.
Enlistment rates are down; junior officers are dropping out at rates unseen since Vietnam days. The war in Iraq is the main reason for both trends. The Army is already stretched to the bone. Senior officers and Gatess are deeply worried that maintaining this breakneck pace for much longer might break the all-volunteer Army.
If the terms of duty are cut back to 12 months of deployment, followed by 12 months home, it is not clear whether even 15 brigades can be sustained in Iraq for very long. And once troop levels fall below 15 brigades, it is not clear—as they approach 10 brigades, it is very unlikely—that the mission of securing the Iraqi population (the essence of counterinsurgency) can be sustained.
The clock is also ticking on the other games that are keeping ultraviolence at bay. After the Sunni-U.S. alliances defeat the jihadists, or reduce their ranks to a manageable level, nobody expects the Sunni fighters—who, before their "awakening," spent much of their time shooting and blowing up American soldiers—to become pliant citizens. Also, ethnic cleansing has Balkanised some neighborhoods and destroyed the mix of Sunnis and Shias.
In sum, U.S. forces may soon have more eruptions to damp down—or, to switch metaphors, more holes in the Iraqi dike to plug up. And the task will be more daunting still once the troop-levels decline.
All this is why Gen. Petraeus and most other officers refrain from wild cheering at the reports of declining casualties and violence. T
Enlistment rates are down; junior officers are dropping out at rates unseen since Vietnam days. The war in Iraq is the main reason for both trends. The Army is already stretched to the bone. Senior officers and Gatess are deeply worried that maintaining this breakneck pace for much longer might break the all-volunteer Army.
If the terms of duty are cut back to 12 months of deployment, followed by 12 months home, it is not clear whether even 15 brigades can be sustained in Iraq for very long. And once troop levels fall below 15 brigades, it is not clear—as they approach 10 brigades, it is very unlikely—that the mission of securing the Iraqi population (the essence of counterinsurgency) can be sustained.
The clock is also ticking on the other games that are keeping ultraviolence at bay. After the Sunni-U.S. alliances defeat the jihadists, or reduce their ranks to a manageable level, nobody expects the Sunni fighters—who, before their "awakening," spent much of their time shooting and blowing up American soldiers—to become pliant citizens. Also, ethnic cleansing has Balkanised some neighborhoods and destroyed the mix of Sunnis and Shias.
In sum, U.S. forces may soon have more eruptions to damp down—or, to switch metaphors, more holes in the Iraqi dike to plug up. And the task will be more daunting still once the troop-levels decline.
All this is why Gen. Petraeus and most other officers refrain from wild cheering at the reports of declining casualties and violence. T
24 December, 2007
Republicans top-down class warfare
On Tuesday, the Republican controlled Federal Communications Commission changed the rules to allow the nation's giant conglomerates to further consolidate their grip on the media by permitting them to purchase TV and radio stations in the same local markets where they already own daily newspapers.
As a gift to the country's automobile industry, The Republican Controlled Environmental Protection Agency ruled Wednesday, over the objections of the agency's staff, that California, the nation's largest and most polluted state, and 16 other states, can't impose regulations to limit greenhouse gases from cars and trucks that are stronger than the federal government's own weak standards.
Class warfare is, in fact, the very essence of the tenure of these Republicans in the White House. In thousands of ways, big and small, they have promoted the interests of the very rich and the largest corporations.
Corporate lobbyists have the run of the White House. Their agenda - tax cuts for the rich and big business, attacks on labor unions, and the weakening of laws protecting consumers, workers and the environment from corporate abuse -that is the Republican agenda.
As a gift to the country's automobile industry, The Republican Controlled Environmental Protection Agency ruled Wednesday, over the objections of the agency's staff, that California, the nation's largest and most polluted state, and 16 other states, can't impose regulations to limit greenhouse gases from cars and trucks that are stronger than the federal government's own weak standards.
Class warfare is, in fact, the very essence of the tenure of these Republicans in the White House. In thousands of ways, big and small, they have promoted the interests of the very rich and the largest corporations.
Corporate lobbyists have the run of the White House. Their agenda - tax cuts for the rich and big business, attacks on labor unions, and the weakening of laws protecting consumers, workers and the environment from corporate abuse -that is the Republican agenda.
more on Republican Blackwater
Hostility toward Blackwater was already high in the Interior Ministry. The February 2006 shooting incident in Kirkuk had damaged U.S.-Iraqi relations in the area, leaving the Americans "hated and ostracized," according to Ali, the provincial council president.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., was founded in 1996 by a former Navy SEAL, Erik Prince, a big Republican contributor. In Iraq, the company protects the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats.
The company developed a reputation for aggressive street tactics. Even inside the fortified Green Zone, Blackwater guards were known for running vehicles off the road and pointing their weapons at bystanders, according to several security company representatives and U.S. officials.
"They're universally despised in the Green Zone," said one security official, who has managed security for several companies since 2004"That's not an overstatement. 'Universally despised' is probably a kind way to put it."
Clearly the overall philosophy and tactics of Blackwater were not in keeping with winning hearts and minds," said a senior defense official involved in private security policy. The company's aggressive tactics provoked widespread frustration among U.S. commanders in Iraq, but complaints went nowhere.
Many memos were sent up the chain of command, It was a huge issue with the military. The "coalition" knew about it, but nothing was ever done. It was completely ignored.
When |Bush was onced asked, by a citizen, "I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions,"
"I was going to ask him," the president responded, drawing laughter as he issued a mock entreaty. "Go ahead. Help."
In other words, he just blew off the question which makes him directly and personally culpable; AND What about winning the hearts and minds?
It's also about millions going to fatcat Republican Contributors.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., was founded in 1996 by a former Navy SEAL, Erik Prince, a big Republican contributor. In Iraq, the company protects the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats.
The company developed a reputation for aggressive street tactics. Even inside the fortified Green Zone, Blackwater guards were known for running vehicles off the road and pointing their weapons at bystanders, according to several security company representatives and U.S. officials.
"They're universally despised in the Green Zone," said one security official, who has managed security for several companies since 2004"That's not an overstatement. 'Universally despised' is probably a kind way to put it."
Clearly the overall philosophy and tactics of Blackwater were not in keeping with winning hearts and minds," said a senior defense official involved in private security policy. The company's aggressive tactics provoked widespread frustration among U.S. commanders in Iraq, but complaints went nowhere.
Many memos were sent up the chain of command, It was a huge issue with the military. The "coalition" knew about it, but nothing was ever done. It was completely ignored.
When |Bush was onced asked, by a citizen, "I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions,"
"I was going to ask him," the president responded, drawing laughter as he issued a mock entreaty. "Go ahead. Help."
In other words, he just blew off the question which makes him directly and personally culpable; AND What about winning the hearts and minds?
It's also about millions going to fatcat Republican Contributors.
Iraq, Blackwater, your children and grandchildren
The U.S. government disregarded numerous warnings over the past two years about the risks of using Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms in Iraq, expanding their presence even after a series of shooting incidents showed that the firms were operating with little regulation or oversight, according to government officials, private security firms and documents. Last year, the Pentagon estimated that 20,000 hired guns worked in Iraq; the Government Accountability Office estimated 48,000.
The warnings were conveyed in letters and memorandums from defense and legal experts and in high-level discussions between U.S. and Iraqi officials. Neither the Pentagon nor the State Department took substantive action to regulate private security companies until Blackwater guards opened fire Sept. 16 at a Baghdad traffic circle, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and provoking protests over the role of security contractors in Iraq. Nothing was done until WE, John Q public, found out.
From a pure counterinsurgency standpoint, armed contractors are an inherently bad idea, because you cannot control the quality, you cannot control the action on the ground, but you're held responsible for everything they do and they are costly.
The Defense Department has paid $2.7 billion for private security since 2003, according to USA Spending, a government-funded project that tracks contracting expenditures; the military said it currently employs 17 companies in Iraq under contracts worth $689.7 million. The State Department has paid $2.4 billion for private security in Iraq -- including $1 billion to Blackwater -- since 2003, USA Spending figures show. This is just a tip of the iceberg of costs in Iraq.
Since it is all financed by long term debt, it's going to be paid by your children and grandchildren thanks to these Republicans.
The warnings were conveyed in letters and memorandums from defense and legal experts and in high-level discussions between U.S. and Iraqi officials. Neither the Pentagon nor the State Department took substantive action to regulate private security companies until Blackwater guards opened fire Sept. 16 at a Baghdad traffic circle, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and provoking protests over the role of security contractors in Iraq. Nothing was done until WE, John Q public, found out.
From a pure counterinsurgency standpoint, armed contractors are an inherently bad idea, because you cannot control the quality, you cannot control the action on the ground, but you're held responsible for everything they do and they are costly.
The Defense Department has paid $2.7 billion for private security since 2003, according to USA Spending, a government-funded project that tracks contracting expenditures; the military said it currently employs 17 companies in Iraq under contracts worth $689.7 million. The State Department has paid $2.4 billion for private security in Iraq -- including $1 billion to Blackwater -- since 2003, USA Spending figures show. This is just a tip of the iceberg of costs in Iraq.
Since it is all financed by long term debt, it's going to be paid by your children and grandchildren thanks to these Republicans.
23 December, 2007
Do you see any Republicans?
Tuesday, December 18, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate combined to give President Bush $70 billion to carry the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into next summer. Only 23 Democrats and one independent supported an amendment by Senator Feingold that would have required the safe redeployment of troops from Iraq.
Here are the senators who voted to end the war:
Akaka (D-HI)Boxer (D-CA)Brown (D-OH)Byrd (D-WV)Cantwell (D-WA)Cardin (D-MD)Durbin (D-IL)Feingold (D-WI)Harkin (D-IA)Kennedy (D-MA)Kerry (D-MA)Klobuchar (D-MN)Kohl (D-WI)Lautenberg (D-NJ)Leahy (D-VT)Menendez (D-NJ)Murray (D-WA)Reid (D-NV)Rockefeller (D-WV)Sanders (I-VT)Schumer (D-NY)Stabenow (D-MI)Whitehouse (D-RI)Wyden (D-OR)
Here are the senators who voted to end the war:
Akaka (D-HI)Boxer (D-CA)Brown (D-OH)Byrd (D-WV)Cantwell (D-WA)Cardin (D-MD)Durbin (D-IL)Feingold (D-WI)Harkin (D-IA)Kennedy (D-MA)Kerry (D-MA)Klobuchar (D-MN)Kohl (D-WI)Lautenberg (D-NJ)Leahy (D-VT)Menendez (D-NJ)Murray (D-WA)Reid (D-NV)Rockefeller (D-WV)Sanders (I-VT)Schumer (D-NY)Stabenow (D-MI)Whitehouse (D-RI)Wyden (D-OR)
Stop these Republicans
A newly declassified document shows that J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison some 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty.
Hoover sent his plan to the White House on July 7, 1950, 12 days after the Korean War began. It envisioned putting suspect Americans in military prisons.
Hoover wanted President Harry S. Truman to proclaim the mass arrests necessary to “protect the country against treason, espionage and sabotage.” The F.B.I would “apprehend all individuals potentially dangerous” to national security, Hoover’s proposal said. The arrests would be carried out under “a master warrant attached to a list of names” provided by the bureau.
The names were part of an index that Hoover had been compiling for years. “The index now contains approximately twelve thousand individuals, of which approximately ninety-seven per cent are citizens of the United States,” he wrote.
“In order to make effective these apprehensions, the proclamation suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus,” it said.
Hoover sent his plan to the White House on July 7, 1950, 12 days after the Korean War began. It envisioned putting suspect Americans in military prisons.
Hoover wanted President Harry S. Truman to proclaim the mass arrests necessary to “protect the country against treason, espionage and sabotage.” The F.B.I would “apprehend all individuals potentially dangerous” to national security, Hoover’s proposal said. The arrests would be carried out under “a master warrant attached to a list of names” provided by the bureau.
The names were part of an index that Hoover had been compiling for years. “The index now contains approximately twelve thousand individuals, of which approximately ninety-seven per cent are citizens of the United States,” he wrote.
“In order to make effective these apprehensions, the proclamation suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus,” it said.
proof of Republicans ruining our economy
At the beginning of 2003, one euro bought one US dollar. Eighteen months ago, it bought $1.20. Now it is pushing $1.50, and there is no reason to think that it will stop there. Three of the world's biggest oil exporters, Iran, Venezuela and Russia, are demanding payment in euros rather than U.S. dollars. Last week a Chinese central bank vice-director, Xu Jian, gave voice to the suspicion of many others, saying that the U.S. dollar was "losing its status as the world currency."
If that happens, then America loses a great deal. Other countries have to maintain large reserves of foreign currencies - most of which they keep in U.S. dollars - to cover their foreign debts, but the United States can pay its huge foreign debts in its own money. If necessary, it can just print more dollars. Having their own money as the world's reserve currency confers advantages that Americans would miss if they lost them.
The main reason for the collapse of the U.S. dollar is President George W. Bush's attempt to fight expensive foreign wars while cutting taxes at home. This involved deficit financing on a very large scale, and inevitably the value of the dollar began to fall - slowly at first, but with increasing speed as it became clear that the White House did not care.
"Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter," as Vice President Dick Cheney told then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.
But they do matter. As the U.S. dollar fell in value, the price of oil (which is usually calculated in dollars) rose to compensate for it, but there was no comparable adjustment for foreign central banks that had huge amounts of U.S. dollars in their reserves. China, which was sitting on about a trillion U.S. dollars, simply lost several hundred billion as the currency's value fell. So various central banks started wondering if they should diversify their reserves, and some acted on it.
The downward pressure on the dollar will continue, because the United States is currently borrowing 6 percent of its Gross Domestic Product from foreigners each year to cover its trade deficit. Foreign banks were happy to go on lending so long as they had faith in the integrity of U.S. financial institutions, but that has been hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Besides, other markets, notably China and India, now offer a better return - and Congress's resistance to foreign takeover bids, combined with tighter visa restrictions, make the U.S. a less welcoming place for foreign investors.
Above all, there are now alternatives to the U.S. dollar. The last time it faced a comparable crisis was in 1971, when a different Republican president was trying to run another unpopular war without raising taxes. Richard Nixon devalued the U.S. dollar and demolished the Bretton Woods system that had fixed all other currencies in relation to the dollar, inaugurating the current era of floating exchange rates.
There was no other candidate then for the role of global reserve currency, so the dollar stayed at the center of the system despite all the turbulence. This time, by contrast, there is the euro, the currency of an economic zone just as big as the United States, with the Chinese currency as a possible long-term rival. But nothing is likely to happen very fast.
Republicans are ruining our economy for their fatcat short term gains while permanently damaging our hardworking middle class.
If that happens, then America loses a great deal. Other countries have to maintain large reserves of foreign currencies - most of which they keep in U.S. dollars - to cover their foreign debts, but the United States can pay its huge foreign debts in its own money. If necessary, it can just print more dollars. Having their own money as the world's reserve currency confers advantages that Americans would miss if they lost them.
The main reason for the collapse of the U.S. dollar is President George W. Bush's attempt to fight expensive foreign wars while cutting taxes at home. This involved deficit financing on a very large scale, and inevitably the value of the dollar began to fall - slowly at first, but with increasing speed as it became clear that the White House did not care.
"Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter," as Vice President Dick Cheney told then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.
But they do matter. As the U.S. dollar fell in value, the price of oil (which is usually calculated in dollars) rose to compensate for it, but there was no comparable adjustment for foreign central banks that had huge amounts of U.S. dollars in their reserves. China, which was sitting on about a trillion U.S. dollars, simply lost several hundred billion as the currency's value fell. So various central banks started wondering if they should diversify their reserves, and some acted on it.
The downward pressure on the dollar will continue, because the United States is currently borrowing 6 percent of its Gross Domestic Product from foreigners each year to cover its trade deficit. Foreign banks were happy to go on lending so long as they had faith in the integrity of U.S. financial institutions, but that has been hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Besides, other markets, notably China and India, now offer a better return - and Congress's resistance to foreign takeover bids, combined with tighter visa restrictions, make the U.S. a less welcoming place for foreign investors.
Above all, there are now alternatives to the U.S. dollar. The last time it faced a comparable crisis was in 1971, when a different Republican president was trying to run another unpopular war without raising taxes. Richard Nixon devalued the U.S. dollar and demolished the Bretton Woods system that had fixed all other currencies in relation to the dollar, inaugurating the current era of floating exchange rates.
There was no other candidate then for the role of global reserve currency, so the dollar stayed at the center of the system despite all the turbulence. This time, by contrast, there is the euro, the currency of an economic zone just as big as the United States, with the Chinese currency as a possible long-term rival. But nothing is likely to happen very fast.
Republicans are ruining our economy for their fatcat short term gains while permanently damaging our hardworking middle class.
Republicans stole the election
Read today: The 2008 elections have already been marred by a number of controversies, the worst of which is the report that was published last Friday by Ohio's top election official, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
The report proves that the voting systems that decided the 2004 election in Ohio were rife with "critical security failures". The election was rigged; pure and simple--stolen by the Bush team and their friends in the establishment media who refuse to report the news. It's actually funny, in a cynical kind of way.
The perpetrators were so cocksure they could pull it off that---"the servers for the computation of the Ohio vote count were in the same basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee that houses servers for the Republican National Committee.
The programmers who worked for Ken Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State, were Republicans who did websites for the Bush administration."
The report proves that the voting systems that decided the 2004 election in Ohio were rife with "critical security failures". The election was rigged; pure and simple--stolen by the Bush team and their friends in the establishment media who refuse to report the news. It's actually funny, in a cynical kind of way.
The perpetrators were so cocksure they could pull it off that---"the servers for the computation of the Ohio vote count were in the same basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee that houses servers for the Republican National Committee.
The programmers who worked for Ken Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State, were Republicans who did websites for the Bush administration."
21 December, 2007
republican dirty tricks
The morning of election day 2002, repeated hang-up calls assaulted six phone lines tied to the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Three Republican operatives, including consultant Allen Raymond, eventually ended up in jail for their involvement in the phone jamming scheme. A fourth, former RNC offical James Tobin, will begin a second trial in February.
In his new book, Raymond says that the scandal goes "to the top of the Republican Party" because "the Bush White House had complete control of the RNC" and there was no way such a risky tactic wouldn't have been "vetted by" Tobin's "high-ups":
Phone records obtained in a civil suit brought against the NH GOP by the NH Democratic Party show that "Tobin made 22 calls to the White House political office in the 24 hours before and after the jamming" while the Republican National Committee has paid over $6 million in legal fees for Tobin.
In his new book, Raymond says that the scandal goes "to the top of the Republican Party" because "the Bush White House had complete control of the RNC" and there was no way such a risky tactic wouldn't have been "vetted by" Tobin's "high-ups":
Phone records obtained in a civil suit brought against the NH GOP by the NH Democratic Party show that "Tobin made 22 calls to the White House political office in the 24 hours before and after the jamming" while the Republican National Committee has paid over $6 million in legal fees for Tobin.
republican surge
Arming the Sunnis + using air strikes = a successful 'Surge', at least statistically, for the time being. In reality, this will make the situation even worse as the Sunnis will inevitably turn on the occupation force they hate, the Shias will be even further alienated by their betrayal, and the thousands of new civilian casualties will only result in more hatred for the brutal occupation.
Add to this the US support for Turkey against the Kurds and you have all the ingredients of a complete nightmare and even more bloodshed. The 'Surge' will go down in history as one of the dumbest and most immoral political stunts ever devised.
Add to this the US support for Turkey against the Kurds and you have all the ingredients of a complete nightmare and even more bloodshed. The 'Surge' will go down in history as one of the dumbest and most immoral political stunts ever devised.
20 December, 2007
Why we need for more Demos in Congress
The Democrats delivered much of what they promised last year. Of the six initiatives on the their "Six for '06" agenda, congressional Democrats sent five to the president and got his signature on four: a minimum-wage increase, implementation of the homeland security recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, college cost reduction, and an energy measure that requires conservation and the expanded use of renewable sources of energy.
They also boosted spending on veterans' needs. Just yesterday, Democrats unveiled a proposal to create the first nonpartisan ethics review panel in House history and passed the most significant gun-control legislation since the early 1990s, tightening the instant background-check process.
Beyond those, Democrats secured the biggest overhaul of ethics and lobbying rules since the Watergate scandal. And they passed a slew of measures that have received little notice, such as more money for math and science teachers who earn more credentials in their field, tax relief for homeowners in foreclosure, a doubling of basic research funding, and reclamation projects for the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast.
Federal funding for stem cell research was vetoed by Bush. Republicans in Congress blocked all end-the-war bills.
They also boosted spending on veterans' needs. Just yesterday, Democrats unveiled a proposal to create the first nonpartisan ethics review panel in House history and passed the most significant gun-control legislation since the early 1990s, tightening the instant background-check process.
Beyond those, Democrats secured the biggest overhaul of ethics and lobbying rules since the Watergate scandal. And they passed a slew of measures that have received little notice, such as more money for math and science teachers who earn more credentials in their field, tax relief for homeowners in foreclosure, a doubling of basic research funding, and reclamation projects for the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast.
Federal funding for stem cell research was vetoed by Bush. Republicans in Congress blocked all end-the-war bills.
17 December, 2007
Republicans
Republicans were (minimally) asleep at the wheel during America’s most severe domestic military attack in history, and are surprised that we might find that troubling.
They identify an enemy and claim that this person and his movement attacked the country, then they fail to come close to defeating this enemy in six years of war. Who’s ready to sign-up for that?
They bring us another war, based on lies, which turns into a quagmire based on lies, and which has nothing remotely to do with American security other than to radically diminish it. Then they belittle us as disloyal for opposing the moral, fiscal and humanitarian disasters they’ve made.
They polarize the country economically in the name of their radical (supposed) free market ideas, which turn out to have a lot more to do with privileging certain elites than with privileging nobody, as per the theory. Then, as we are being gouged paying for gas, food and mortgages, they are astonished that we don’t give them credit for the wonderful state of the economy. Hey, the Dow’s up! What’s wrong with you people?
They offer us record-setting deficits in place of record-setting surpluses, and are shocked that we aren’t interested in such a golden opportunity to go broke.
They create a giant new government benefit structured to enrich insurance and pharmaceutical industries, while maybe incidentally also helping seniors once in a while, and they wonder why we’re not enthusiastic.
They attempt to destroy Social Security, one of the most successful government programs of all time, in order to further enrich the already fabulously wealthy, and can’t imagine that we wouldn’t be all over that.
They allow us to suffer and die from diseases which might well have been cured by now, were it not for the fact that the religious radicals to which they cater have imposed their extreme fundamentalist views on the entire country. Then they’re astonished that we choose health and longevity over blastocysts in petri dishes.
They legislate by an act of Congress intervention into a personal family tragedy, and are amazed that we aren’t all clamoring to be treated like the Terri Schiavo family.
They block health care for children while uninhibitedly enriching crony contractors in Iraq and wonder why we don’t celebrate their twisted values.
They demonize gays and minorities and immigrants and liberals in order to divert attention from their real kleptocracy agenda, and we’re supposed to feel good about how they’ve restored dignity to American politics.
They imagine that good governance involves poor preparation before a natural disaster, criminal negligence during it, and shameful disinterest afterwards, and can’t quite fathom why even an embarrassingly intimidated American press can no longer withhold its criticisms.
They not only stand by and do nothing about the planet’s most serious environmental crisis ever, but they actually block other countries from rescuing themselves, all in order to maintain fossil fuel industry profits. And they wonder why we don’t beg for more of that.
They turn our country into a hated international bully, proud to be an aggressor, a torturer and a hypocrite, and then they’re shocked that we don’t find that a compelling self-image.
They trample the Constitution in every way imaginable, from checks and balances to separation of church and state to due process to illegal search and seizure to stealing elections. After constantly telling us how much we should revere the Founders, they are somehow surprised that we don’t approve of seeing their creation being trashed.
And this is just for starters...
They identify an enemy and claim that this person and his movement attacked the country, then they fail to come close to defeating this enemy in six years of war. Who’s ready to sign-up for that?
They bring us another war, based on lies, which turns into a quagmire based on lies, and which has nothing remotely to do with American security other than to radically diminish it. Then they belittle us as disloyal for opposing the moral, fiscal and humanitarian disasters they’ve made.
They polarize the country economically in the name of their radical (supposed) free market ideas, which turn out to have a lot more to do with privileging certain elites than with privileging nobody, as per the theory. Then, as we are being gouged paying for gas, food and mortgages, they are astonished that we don’t give them credit for the wonderful state of the economy. Hey, the Dow’s up! What’s wrong with you people?
They offer us record-setting deficits in place of record-setting surpluses, and are shocked that we aren’t interested in such a golden opportunity to go broke.
They create a giant new government benefit structured to enrich insurance and pharmaceutical industries, while maybe incidentally also helping seniors once in a while, and they wonder why we’re not enthusiastic.
They attempt to destroy Social Security, one of the most successful government programs of all time, in order to further enrich the already fabulously wealthy, and can’t imagine that we wouldn’t be all over that.
They allow us to suffer and die from diseases which might well have been cured by now, were it not for the fact that the religious radicals to which they cater have imposed their extreme fundamentalist views on the entire country. Then they’re astonished that we choose health and longevity over blastocysts in petri dishes.
They legislate by an act of Congress intervention into a personal family tragedy, and are amazed that we aren’t all clamoring to be treated like the Terri Schiavo family.
They block health care for children while uninhibitedly enriching crony contractors in Iraq and wonder why we don’t celebrate their twisted values.
They demonize gays and minorities and immigrants and liberals in order to divert attention from their real kleptocracy agenda, and we’re supposed to feel good about how they’ve restored dignity to American politics.
They imagine that good governance involves poor preparation before a natural disaster, criminal negligence during it, and shameful disinterest afterwards, and can’t quite fathom why even an embarrassingly intimidated American press can no longer withhold its criticisms.
They not only stand by and do nothing about the planet’s most serious environmental crisis ever, but they actually block other countries from rescuing themselves, all in order to maintain fossil fuel industry profits. And they wonder why we don’t beg for more of that.
They turn our country into a hated international bully, proud to be an aggressor, a torturer and a hypocrite, and then they’re shocked that we don’t find that a compelling self-image.
They trample the Constitution in every way imaginable, from checks and balances to separation of church and state to due process to illegal search and seizure to stealing elections. After constantly telling us how much we should revere the Founders, they are somehow surprised that we don’t approve of seeing their creation being trashed.
And this is just for starters...
16 December, 2007
Republican candidates of the same mold
The Republican candidates either have scandals in their past or are flipfloppers on the issues, or support unpopular causes. They all are talking about the past by promising to reduce the size of government (now while in power increased it) and appointing “strict constructionist” judges, etc, that make all judicial decisions based on their rightwing politics.
They all still support the war on Iraq and are in favor of running up huge debts to overseas governments like China. Their new "red scare" is to promise to be tough on illegal immigrants.
In many ways, at a time when the country — and even some Republicans — are hungry for change, this field of candidates is promising more of the same: to do just what Mr. Bush did, but promise to go one better.
They all still support the war on Iraq and are in favor of running up huge debts to overseas governments like China. Their new "red scare" is to promise to be tough on illegal immigrants.
In many ways, at a time when the country — and even some Republicans — are hungry for change, this field of candidates is promising more of the same: to do just what Mr. Bush did, but promise to go one better.
republicans call this progress in Iraq
When the Iraqi government last month invited home the 1.4 million refugees who had fled this war-ravaged country for Syria -- and said it would send buses to pick them up -- the United Nations and the U.S. military reacted with horror.
U.N. refugee officials immediately advised against the move, saying any new arrivals risked homelessness, unemployment and deprivation in a place still struggling to take care of the people already here. For the military, the prospect of refugees returning to reclaim houses long since occupied by others, particularly in Baghdad, threatened to destroy fragile security improvements.
You move back to the house that you left and find that somebody else has moved into the house, maybe because they've been displaced from someplace else. And it's even more difficult than that, because in many cases the local militias . . . have seized control and threw out anybody in that neighborhood they didn't like."
U.N. refugee officials immediately advised against the move, saying any new arrivals risked homelessness, unemployment and deprivation in a place still struggling to take care of the people already here. For the military, the prospect of refugees returning to reclaim houses long since occupied by others, particularly in Baghdad, threatened to destroy fragile security improvements.
You move back to the house that you left and find that somebody else has moved into the house, maybe because they've been displaced from someplace else. And it's even more difficult than that, because in many cases the local militias . . . have seized control and threw out anybody in that neighborhood they didn't like."
15 December, 2007
your children's money to Iraq
The Republican approach to Iraq is the classic case of a politician arguing that a problem will be solved if only we keep throwing large sums of money at it.
That's why a report on the staggering costs of our Iraq intervention, issued this week by the Congress's Joint Economic Committee, is useful. The report noted that Bush has requested a total of $607 billion for the war and that its actual cost to our economy is $1.3 trillion.
That's why a report on the staggering costs of our Iraq intervention, issued this week by the Congress's Joint Economic Committee, is useful. The report noted that Bush has requested a total of $607 billion for the war and that its actual cost to our economy is $1.3 trillion.
14 December, 2007
US Graft in Iraq, tip of the problem
The U.S. military paid a Florida company nearly $32 million to build barracks and offices for Iraqi army units even though nothing was ever built, Pentagon investigators reported.
The Ramadi construction contract is one of many problems Pentagon investigators cited in this month's report on the military's oversight of $5.2 billion Congress approved in 2005 to help train and equip the Iraqi military and police.
The fat cats are getting rich on our money.
The Ramadi construction contract is one of many problems Pentagon investigators cited in this month's report on the military's oversight of $5.2 billion Congress approved in 2005 to help train and equip the Iraqi military and police.
The fat cats are getting rich on our money.
12 December, 2007
take a guess?
".......But now I know that all that they want is to break my faith, my soul, to separate me from my brothers in Christ. So I have to be more concerned about what they are doing. And be stronger in my faith and keep my faith deep in my heart with me here in my small cell......God called me to know him and to be his servant and I accept his mission.
All what I have done is from my conscience......I did my decision alone by the voice of God who called me in my heart. And the same thing happened with my action against nuclear weapons. From the beginning it has come to me from my belief from inside - my values, my respect for the human being and the human right. And of course everyone knows and understands all about nuclear weapons - the new holocaust that is hanging over our lives...... "
The question is.......where is he in prison?
All what I have done is from my conscience......I did my decision alone by the voice of God who called me in my heart. And the same thing happened with my action against nuclear weapons. From the beginning it has come to me from my belief from inside - my values, my respect for the human being and the human right. And of course everyone knows and understands all about nuclear weapons - the new holocaust that is hanging over our lives...... "
The question is.......where is he in prison?
only 14 cases against gitmo prisioners?
The current neo-con republican administration has been able to create cases against only 14 of those remaining at Gitmo. After all the years of illegal detention, harsh treatment, and denial of access to attorneys, the Bush regime has come up with 14 cases, and they are probably fabricated.
Where is the rule of law when hundreds of people can have years stolen from their lives?
It is uncertain how the court will decide the case. Bush’s solicitor general has told the justices that they should trust the executive branch to correctly balance “the interests of the prisoners” with the administration’s ability to “prosecute the global war on terror.”
In other words, it is Waco all over again. The executive branch runs roughshod over the US Constitution and then demands, “trust us,” which means don’t take away any of the illegitimate power that the executive branch has claimed and exercised or hold anyone accountable for abusing executive power.
The Republican justices or most of them are, or were, members of the Federalist Society, an organization of Republican lawyers committed to increased power for the executive. These Republican justices will be inclined to decide the case in the interest of executive power.
Where is the rule of law when hundreds of people can have years stolen from their lives?
It is uncertain how the court will decide the case. Bush’s solicitor general has told the justices that they should trust the executive branch to correctly balance “the interests of the prisoners” with the administration’s ability to “prosecute the global war on terror.”
In other words, it is Waco all over again. The executive branch runs roughshod over the US Constitution and then demands, “trust us,” which means don’t take away any of the illegitimate power that the executive branch has claimed and exercised or hold anyone accountable for abusing executive power.
The Republican justices or most of them are, or were, members of the Federalist Society, an organization of Republican lawyers committed to increased power for the executive. These Republican justices will be inclined to decide the case in the interest of executive power.
11 December, 2007
why now Iran, Bush threat to Israel
Congress’ intelligence committees, Pentagon brass, and senior CIA officials reportedly made it quite clear they would go public if the White House did not publish a sanitized version of the key judgments of the latest National Intelligence Estimate.
Bush’s words and body language he is far from giving up on ways to “justify” attacking Iran’s nuclear program—weapons-related or not. He appears convinced he must honor the pledge he has made to Israel’s current leaders to eliminate what they have called an “existential threat” to Israel.
This came through in a particularly pointed way on October 17, when an agitated president ad-libbed about the possibility of World War III, complaining loudly, “We’ve got a leader in Iran who has announced he wants to destroy Israel.” So that is what this is all about. We are fighting and dying for Israel.
The idiot eliminated Iraq which was the best counter weight to Iran, therefore Bush became the worst threat to Israel.
Bush’s words and body language he is far from giving up on ways to “justify” attacking Iran’s nuclear program—weapons-related or not. He appears convinced he must honor the pledge he has made to Israel’s current leaders to eliminate what they have called an “existential threat” to Israel.
This came through in a particularly pointed way on October 17, when an agitated president ad-libbed about the possibility of World War III, complaining loudly, “We’ve got a leader in Iran who has announced he wants to destroy Israel.” So that is what this is all about. We are fighting and dying for Israel.
The idiot eliminated Iraq which was the best counter weight to Iran, therefore Bush became the worst threat to Israel.
you, me and torture
Read this on the net: Since our government tortures people, we need to know how to deal with it, just in case they come for you and me.
1. They will try to tell you that you are alone. This is a lie. You are never without your ancestors.
2. They will "isolate" you. Again, this is a lie. The truth is that you come from a long line of survivors. This is simple biological fact. Your people have survived worse. Your people have already been tortured.
3. They will tell you that you are bad and evil. This is again a lie. You love many things and THERE IS NO EVIL IN LOVE.
4. They will make you think death is bad. It's not. All of your people, going back to the beginning have died.
5. They will make you feel pain and it will be real but this does not compare to their alternative.
1. They will try to tell you that you are alone. This is a lie. You are never without your ancestors.
2. They will "isolate" you. Again, this is a lie. The truth is that you come from a long line of survivors. This is simple biological fact. Your people have survived worse. Your people have already been tortured.
3. They will tell you that you are bad and evil. This is again a lie. You love many things and THERE IS NO EVIL IN LOVE.
4. They will make you think death is bad. It's not. All of your people, going back to the beginning have died.
5. They will make you feel pain and it will be real but this does not compare to their alternative.
10 December, 2007
Romney ducks Mormonism question
The Religious Right (the New Calvinists or New Puritans - as I call them) are not "mainstream" at all, but religious radicals who are working to establish a sort of Theo-democracy. As such they belong to the very sector of religious Americans who brutally persecuted Mormons in 1830's Missouri, and then led the successful campaign to completely disenfranchise Utah Mormons between the 1886 and the 1890's.
Romney knows that he can't come public with Mormon theology without completely losing the support of the New Calvinists but also many average Americans who, unfortunately, look to the New Calvinists for sound-bites on Christian belief and practice. Unlike orthodox Christianity,
Mormon thelogy is polytheistic, teaching that the Gods organized the universe from pre-existing, eternal, uncreated chaotic elements. It rejects Original Sin. It rejects Salvation by Grace, teaching that individuals must "work out their own salvation" and "learn to become Gods [themselves] the same as all Gods before have done."
At its inception, with the publication of "The Book of Mormon" in 1830, Mormonism rejected the doctrines of Biblical infallibility and Biblical literalism.
As a Mormon, I was put-off by Romney's disingenuousness when he was asked on a TV interview to explain how Mormonism differs from other Christian denominations. Romney tried to give the impression that he was unqualified to speak for the LDS Church, referring poeple to the Church's website.
When confronted with the fact that he has been an LDS Bishop, he tried to give the impression that, in a "lay church," the calling of a Bishop isn't important. This is untrue.
Bishops interview, and must approve every person in their Ward boundaries (aka Parish) who wishes to convert to Mormonism and be baptized. The process by which they do this (the Bishop's Interview) is the means by which the Bishop finds out if the would-be-convert understands the LDS Church's theology.
If the would-be-convert is ignorant of certain doctrines, it is the Bishop's job to instruct them in the theology before approving that person's baptism.
The Bishop also interviews every single member of his congregation yearly, to pastor them through any spirital crisis or tragedy, and to determine if each person is "keeping the commandments" (i.e., following Church dictates on lifestyle choices), is "active" (attending Church meetings regularly), and "has a testimony" (understands and accepts the Church's theology.)
A Bishop is asked almost daily by some individual or some organization with the LDS Church to explain some aspect of Mormon theology. Whenever a Mormon has a question or concern about any aspect of Mormon theology, they are instructed to ask their Bishop about it.
Romney is intentionally misleading the press by making it seem as if he is unqualified to discuss Mormon theology. Remember, besides being a Bishop, he served as a full-time Mormon missionary for two years. For two years, his full-time calling was specifically to teach Mormon theology to potential converts--not only explaining Mormon doctrine, but explaining how it differs from orthodox Christian doctrine.
The LDS Church brags that young men come back from two year missions who a deeper understanding of their religion than that enjoyed by believers of other faiths. Is Romney the lone exception to this?
The fact is, Mitt Romney is probably one of the LDS Church's MOST qualified speakers on the subject.
Romney knows that he can't come public with Mormon theology without completely losing the support of the New Calvinists but also many average Americans who, unfortunately, look to the New Calvinists for sound-bites on Christian belief and practice. Unlike orthodox Christianity,
Mormon thelogy is polytheistic, teaching that the Gods organized the universe from pre-existing, eternal, uncreated chaotic elements. It rejects Original Sin. It rejects Salvation by Grace, teaching that individuals must "work out their own salvation" and "learn to become Gods [themselves] the same as all Gods before have done."
At its inception, with the publication of "The Book of Mormon" in 1830, Mormonism rejected the doctrines of Biblical infallibility and Biblical literalism.
As a Mormon, I was put-off by Romney's disingenuousness when he was asked on a TV interview to explain how Mormonism differs from other Christian denominations. Romney tried to give the impression that he was unqualified to speak for the LDS Church, referring poeple to the Church's website.
When confronted with the fact that he has been an LDS Bishop, he tried to give the impression that, in a "lay church," the calling of a Bishop isn't important. This is untrue.
Bishops interview, and must approve every person in their Ward boundaries (aka Parish) who wishes to convert to Mormonism and be baptized. The process by which they do this (the Bishop's Interview) is the means by which the Bishop finds out if the would-be-convert understands the LDS Church's theology.
If the would-be-convert is ignorant of certain doctrines, it is the Bishop's job to instruct them in the theology before approving that person's baptism.
The Bishop also interviews every single member of his congregation yearly, to pastor them through any spirital crisis or tragedy, and to determine if each person is "keeping the commandments" (i.e., following Church dictates on lifestyle choices), is "active" (attending Church meetings regularly), and "has a testimony" (understands and accepts the Church's theology.)
A Bishop is asked almost daily by some individual or some organization with the LDS Church to explain some aspect of Mormon theology. Whenever a Mormon has a question or concern about any aspect of Mormon theology, they are instructed to ask their Bishop about it.
Romney is intentionally misleading the press by making it seem as if he is unqualified to discuss Mormon theology. Remember, besides being a Bishop, he served as a full-time Mormon missionary for two years. For two years, his full-time calling was specifically to teach Mormon theology to potential converts--not only explaining Mormon doctrine, but explaining how it differs from orthodox Christian doctrine.
The LDS Church brags that young men come back from two year missions who a deeper understanding of their religion than that enjoyed by believers of other faiths. Is Romney the lone exception to this?
The fact is, Mitt Romney is probably one of the LDS Church's MOST qualified speakers on the subject.
why some Gitmo Saudis are inmates?
For five years, Jumah al-Dossari sat in a tiny cell at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, watched day and night by military captors who considered him one of the most dangerous terrorist suspects on the planet.
In July, he was suddenly released to his native Saudi Arabia, which held a very different view. Dossari was immediately reunited with his family and treated like a VIP. He was given a monthly stipend and a job, housed and fed, even promised help in finding a wife. Today, he is a free man living on the Persian Gulf coast.
So, why was he held in a cell for five years?
In July, he was suddenly released to his native Saudi Arabia, which held a very different view. Dossari was immediately reunited with his family and treated like a VIP. He was given a monthly stipend and a job, housed and fed, even promised help in finding a wife. Today, he is a free man living on the Persian Gulf coast.
So, why was he held in a cell for five years?
09 December, 2007
who benifits warmongering on Iraq and Iran
Bush has been trying to work up an attack on Iran based on a non-existent nuclear weapon program. When asked how he could be threatening World War III with a nuclear-armed Iran when US intelligence (and the International Atomic Energy Agency) cannot find evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, Bush said that “nobody told me” about the new finding. Noone except the neo-cons believes that.
Surely, no one believes that Bush invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, or that Bush and Cheney were working up an attack on Iran because the executive branch did not know of the intelligence findings of its own agencies.
So why are they. The real answer is to look at who is benefiting, getting rich or gaining more wealth.
Surely, no one believes that Bush invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, or that Bush and Cheney were working up an attack on Iran because the executive branch did not know of the intelligence findings of its own agencies.
So why are they. The real answer is to look at who is benefiting, getting rich or gaining more wealth.
waterboarding US claims of morality
Waterboarding as an interrogation technique has its roots in some of history's worst totalitarian nations, from Nazi Germany and the Spanish Inquisition to North Korea and Iraq.
08 December, 2007
Republican spin machine
These neo-con republicans are certainly professional wordsmiths. What do all of the following words mean???: tough methods,
number of tactics, harsh methods,aggressive techniques,all of the techniques used,appropriate interrogation procedures,interrogation practices,coercive techniques,effective coercion,interrogation program,aggressive interrogations, interrogation policies and the tactics, harsh interrogation methods,tough methods used, and enhanced techniques
Talk about Republican spin! The use all of those words really means >>> the word TORTURE. And if waterboarding is not torture, Please give me a neo-con Republican politico to demonstrate it on.
number of tactics, harsh methods,aggressive techniques,all of the techniques used,appropriate interrogation procedures,interrogation practices,coercive techniques,effective coercion,interrogation program,aggressive interrogations, interrogation policies and the tactics, harsh interrogation methods,tough methods used, and enhanced techniques
Talk about Republican spin! The use all of those words really means >>> the word TORTURE. And if waterboarding is not torture, Please give me a neo-con Republican politico to demonstrate it on.
06 December, 2007
Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate who is also a Mormon,
Unlike traditional Christians, Mormons also revere the Book of Mormon equally with the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. They believe that Jesus visited the Americas after he was crucified and that he will return and reign from the United States and Jerusalem.
They believe that the dead can be baptized, that God was once a man and that a human can become like a god. And, they say, God speaks through living apostles and prophets, such as Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Mormon Church.
Mormons believe the faith's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., a Palmyra farmer, was guided by an angel to a set of ancient records etched on golden plates. Those records, which include an account of Jesus Christ's appearance in the Americas after his crucifixion, are in the Book of Mormon. For many traditional Christians, such ideas are heresy.
Smith taught that the true church of Jesus Christ disappeared with the death of Christ's last apostle and that Christianity lapsed into darkness -- the "great apostasy," Mormons call it -- for almost 18 centuries. He also said that God used him to restore the "only true church" to the Earth.
In addition to believing that polygamy was sanctioned by God, they believed until 1978 that God did not allow black people to serve in their priesthood. They have rejected both doctrines, but they still allow only men to serve as priests.
They believe that the dead can be baptized, that God was once a man and that a human can become like a god. And, they say, God speaks through living apostles and prophets, such as Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Mormon Church.
Mormons believe the faith's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., a Palmyra farmer, was guided by an angel to a set of ancient records etched on golden plates. Those records, which include an account of Jesus Christ's appearance in the Americas after his crucifixion, are in the Book of Mormon. For many traditional Christians, such ideas are heresy.
Smith taught that the true church of Jesus Christ disappeared with the death of Christ's last apostle and that Christianity lapsed into darkness -- the "great apostasy," Mormons call it -- for almost 18 centuries. He also said that God used him to restore the "only true church" to the Earth.
In addition to believing that polygamy was sanctioned by God, they believed until 1978 that God did not allow black people to serve in their priesthood. They have rejected both doctrines, but they still allow only men to serve as priests.
04 December, 2007
another republican lie
President Bush got the world's attention this fall when he warned that a nuclear-armed Iran might lead to World War III. But his stark warning came at least a month or two after he had first been told about fresh indications that Iran had actually halted its nuclear weapons program.
The new intelligence report released yesterday not only undercut the administration's alarming rhetoric over Iran's nuclear ambitions but could also throttle Bush's effort to ratchet up international sanctions and take off the table the possibility of preemptive military action before the end of his presidency.
The new intelligence report released yesterday not only undercut the administration's alarming rhetoric over Iran's nuclear ambitions but could also throttle Bush's effort to ratchet up international sanctions and take off the table the possibility of preemptive military action before the end of his presidency.
02 December, 2007
your children's money going down the Iraqi rathole
U.S. officials now say one-third of what they spend on Iraqi contracts and grants goes unaccounted for; an estimated $18 billion has gone missing from Iraqi government coffers since 2004. "Everyone is stealing from the state," says one Shiite leader.
are these top republians racist?
The G.O.P., by its own doing, is saddled with a history that most recently includes “macaca” and Katrina, Mr. Bush’s appearance at Bob Jones University in 2000, and the nonexistent black population of its Congressional delegation.
Their party’s top 2008 presidential contenders would not even show up for a September debate moderated by Tavis Smiley for PBS at the historically black Morgan State University
These Republicans are strangers to the mainstream multiracial and multicultural America..
Their party’s top 2008 presidential contenders would not even show up for a September debate moderated by Tavis Smiley for PBS at the historically black Morgan State University
These Republicans are strangers to the mainstream multiracial and multicultural America..
big business republicans vs. working people
Big business republican lobbyists, nervously anticipating Democratic gains in next year’s elections, are racing to secure final approval for gutting a wide range of health, safety, labor and economic rules.
They are lobbying the Bush administration to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and medical problems. Electric power companies are pushing the government to relax pollution-control requirements.
For example, coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys.
The Environmental Protection Agency is drafting final rules that would allow utility companies to modify coal-fired power plants and increase their emissions into the air we breath without installing new pollution-control equipment.
Corporations and trade associations are expecting battles over taxes and health care as they lobby in advance of the next year's elections.
They are lobbying the Bush administration to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and medical problems. Electric power companies are pushing the government to relax pollution-control requirements.
For example, coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys.
The Environmental Protection Agency is drafting final rules that would allow utility companies to modify coal-fired power plants and increase their emissions into the air we breath without installing new pollution-control equipment.
Corporations and trade associations are expecting battles over taxes and health care as they lobby in advance of the next year's elections.
01 December, 2007
Iran,neo-cons,patriotism,facism
But, "attacking Iran" could just be the last act of "losing on purpose". Suffering a massive loss on an ill-advised third front would make a good excuse for all sorts of reajustments in the power paradigm.
The neo-cons have been out to wreck the USA from the start, so what's to stop them now? Sure, militarily we'll get a black eye, but we'll also get a surge of patriotism and a reason to suspend elections. Beyond that, we can talk NAU while we "heal", since we're all so ashamed of being 'merican "losers".
The neo-cons have been out to wreck the USA from the start, so what's to stop them now? Sure, militarily we'll get a black eye, but we'll also get a surge of patriotism and a reason to suspend elections. Beyond that, we can talk NAU while we "heal", since we're all so ashamed of being 'merican "losers".
republican war with Iran for the election
The Bush administration has charged that Iran is funding anti-American fighters in Iraq and sending in sophisticated explosives to bleed the U.S. mission, although some of the administration's charges are disputed by Iraqis as well as the Iranians. The Bush administration is headed straight for a war with Iran that had been set on this course for years.
The Iran war will be another elective war, not a war of necessity. A war of necessity would be fought at the point and time a conflict is required, if somebody is threatening to invade you, to attack, etc. But an elective war is one where we choose to go to war. It will be conducted on a timescale that's beneficial to the republicans in the next presidential elections.
Also, the need to redefine the Iranian threat away from exclusively being focused on nuclear activity, because now you have the difficulty of both the IAEA saying there is no nuclear weapons program and the CIA saying pretty much the same thing.
So the Bush administration needs to redefine the Iranian threat, which they have been doing successfully, casting Iran as the largest state sponsor of terror, getting the Senate resolution calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command a terrorist organization, and creating a perception amongst the American people, courtesy of a compliant media, that talks about the reason why things are going bad in Iraq is primarily because of Iranian intervention.
Take a look at items in the defense budget, the rapid conversion of heavy bombers to carry bunker-busting bombs on a specific time frame, the massive purchasing of oil to fill up the strategic oil reserve by April 2008.
Everything points to April 2008 to being a month of some criticality. It also matches the obvious, that the Bush administration will want to carry this out prior to the political season of the summer just in time for the presidential election of 2008.
The Iran war will be another elective war, not a war of necessity. A war of necessity would be fought at the point and time a conflict is required, if somebody is threatening to invade you, to attack, etc. But an elective war is one where we choose to go to war. It will be conducted on a timescale that's beneficial to the republicans in the next presidential elections.
Also, the need to redefine the Iranian threat away from exclusively being focused on nuclear activity, because now you have the difficulty of both the IAEA saying there is no nuclear weapons program and the CIA saying pretty much the same thing.
So the Bush administration needs to redefine the Iranian threat, which they have been doing successfully, casting Iran as the largest state sponsor of terror, getting the Senate resolution calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command a terrorist organization, and creating a perception amongst the American people, courtesy of a compliant media, that talks about the reason why things are going bad in Iraq is primarily because of Iranian intervention.
Take a look at items in the defense budget, the rapid conversion of heavy bombers to carry bunker-busting bombs on a specific time frame, the massive purchasing of oil to fill up the strategic oil reserve by April 2008.
Everything points to April 2008 to being a month of some criticality. It also matches the obvious, that the Bush administration will want to carry this out prior to the political season of the summer just in time for the presidential election of 2008.
30 November, 2007
USA becoming the slave
USA is becoming a slave, to our rich elite, to oil and by debt to China. Remember, the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
republican Giuliani, a liar? not a surprise
Mr. Romney accused Mr. Giuliani of having “a real problem with facts,” and aides circulated a statement calling Mr. Giuliani’s crime statistics “about as accurate as his prostate cancer survival numbers for England.”
“He has now done this time and again, making up facts that just happen to be wrong, and facts are stubborn things,” Mr. Romney said.
Translated, this means Giuliani is a liar.
“He has now done this time and again, making up facts that just happen to be wrong, and facts are stubborn things,” Mr. Romney said.
Translated, this means Giuliani is a liar.
transferring wealth to republicans
At the beginning of 2003, one euro bought one U.S. dollar. Eighteen months ago, it bought $1.20. Now it is pushing $1.50, and there is no reason to think that it will stop there. Three of the world's biggest oil exporters, Iran, Venezuela and Russia, are demanding payment in euros rather than U.S. dollars. Last week a Chinese central bank vice-director, Xu Jian, gave voice to the suspicion of many others, saying that the U.S. dollar was "losing its status as the world currency."
The main reason for the collapse of the U.S. dollar is President George W. Bush's attempt to fight expensive foreign wars while cutting taxes at home, largely for the rich. As the U.S. dollar fell in value, the price of oil (which is usually calculated in dollars) rose to compensate for it. So, you and I are paying for this wealth transfer to these rich republicans.
The main reason for the collapse of the U.S. dollar is President George W. Bush's attempt to fight expensive foreign wars while cutting taxes at home, largely for the rich. As the U.S. dollar fell in value, the price of oil (which is usually calculated in dollars) rose to compensate for it. So, you and I are paying for this wealth transfer to these rich republicans.
29 November, 2007
republicans attempt to spy on our reading habits
U.S. prosecutors have withdrawn a subpoena seeking the identities of thousands of people who bought used books through online retailer Amazon.com Inc., newly unsealed court records show, after a judge ruled against it.
The subpoena was troubling because it permited the government to peek into the reading habits of specific individuals without their knowledge or permission.
It is an unsettling and un-American scenario to envision federal agents nosing through the reading lists of law-abiding citizens while hunting for evidence against somebody else.
The subpoena was troubling because it permited the government to peek into the reading habits of specific individuals without their knowledge or permission.
It is an unsettling and un-American scenario to envision federal agents nosing through the reading lists of law-abiding citizens while hunting for evidence against somebody else.
Army recruiting criminals and drugees
Two weeks ago, the Pentagon announced the "good news" that the army had met its recruiting goal for October, the first month in a five-year plan to add 65,000 new soldiers to the ranks by 2012.
But Pentagon statistics show the army met that goal by accepting a higher percentage of enlistees with criminal records, drug or alcohol problems, or health conditions that would have ordinarily disqualified them from service.
In each fiscal year since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, statistics show, the army has accepted a growing percentage of recruits who do not meet its own minimum fitness standards.
The October statistics show that at least 1 of every 5 recruits required a waiver to join the service, leading military analysts to conclude that the army is lowering standards more than it has in decades.
But Pentagon statistics show the army met that goal by accepting a higher percentage of enlistees with criminal records, drug or alcohol problems, or health conditions that would have ordinarily disqualified them from service.
In each fiscal year since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, statistics show, the army has accepted a growing percentage of recruits who do not meet its own minimum fitness standards.
The October statistics show that at least 1 of every 5 recruits required a waiver to join the service, leading military analysts to conclude that the army is lowering standards more than it has in decades.
republican oil profiteers
Bush just pulled the knee strings on his puppet in Iraq, and Nouri al-Maliki did the jig. The prime minister signed on to a deal laying the groundwork for the long-term presence of U.S. troops there.
Permanent military bases, anyone?
The deal would give “preferential treatment for American investments,” AP reports, adding nonchalantly that this “could provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit its vast oil resources.” There’s that dirty three-letter word again—oil, which this war was never supposed to be about but always, in part, was.
Oil and profits are two big reasons why republicans Bush and his fellow oil profiteers will keep probably more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq for the foreseeable future. Those are not legitimate reasons to ask our soldiers to die for, and almost 4,000 of them have done so already. But at least it’s out in the open now. The crassness, that is.
Permanent military bases, anyone?
The deal would give “preferential treatment for American investments,” AP reports, adding nonchalantly that this “could provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit its vast oil resources.” There’s that dirty three-letter word again—oil, which this war was never supposed to be about but always, in part, was.
Oil and profits are two big reasons why republicans Bush and his fellow oil profiteers will keep probably more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq for the foreseeable future. Those are not legitimate reasons to ask our soldiers to die for, and almost 4,000 of them have done so already. But at least it’s out in the open now. The crassness, that is.
republicans getting richer on Iraq
KBR, Inc., the global engineering and construction giant, won more than $16 billion in U.S. government contracts for work in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004 to 2006—far more than any other company, according to a new analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.
In fact, the total dollar value of contracts that went to KBR—which used to be known as Kellogg, Brown, and Root and until April 2007 was a subsidiary of Halliburton--Cheney's Company—was nearly nine times greater than those awarded to DynCorp International, a private security firm that is No. 2 on the Center's list of the top 100 recipients of Iraq and Afghanistan reconstruction funds.
In fact, the total dollar value of contracts that went to KBR—which used to be known as Kellogg, Brown, and Root and until April 2007 was a subsidiary of Halliburton--Cheney's Company—was nearly nine times greater than those awarded to DynCorp International, a private security firm that is No. 2 on the Center's list of the top 100 recipients of Iraq and Afghanistan reconstruction funds.
28 November, 2007
behind the scenes
Read today: The New World Order’s “above the law” criminals — from the Krongards and the entire Blackwater apparatus, to Bush, Cheney, Blair, and the entire membership of the Bilderberg Group — have committed unprecedented atrocities out in the open, and have more than earned the kind of “interrogations” that they and their armed-to-the-teeth functionaries continue to inflict on political adversaries and innocent patsies in CIA prisons all over the world.
25 November, 2007
foreign Bush buddies lose
Australia’s prime minister, John Howard, one of President Bush’s staunchest allies in Asia, suffered a comprehensive defeat at the hands of the electorate on Saturday. Mr. Howard may suffer the indignity of losing his own seat, representing a district on Sydney’s north shore, which he has held for 33 years,
Mr. Howard’s defeat, after 11 years in power, follows that of José MarÃa Aznar of Spain, who also backed the United States-led invasion of Iraq, and political setbacks for Tony Blair, who stepped down as Britain’s prime minister in June.
Mr. Howard’s defeat, after 11 years in power, follows that of José MarÃa Aznar of Spain, who also backed the United States-led invasion of Iraq, and political setbacks for Tony Blair, who stepped down as Britain’s prime minister in June.
24 November, 2007
corporate promise to our children
Corporate profits are up, labor costs continue their downward slide thanks to foreign workers flooding into the country. New opportunities are opening up in the cheap labor markets of China and India.
In an era of dwindling resources we are quietly conquering countries that possess the cheap fuel and raw materials our voracious economic engine demands. Globalization is inevitable, irrefutable, irrepressible: it is like a virulent disease for which there is no cure.
We have removed the few remaining obstacles to unimaginable wealth; gone are the regulations on the products we sell, the restrictions on which lands and workers we may exploit
In an era of dwindling resources we are quietly conquering countries that possess the cheap fuel and raw materials our voracious economic engine demands. Globalization is inevitable, irrefutable, irrepressible: it is like a virulent disease for which there is no cure.
We have removed the few remaining obstacles to unimaginable wealth; gone are the regulations on the products we sell, the restrictions on which lands and workers we may exploit
more Republicans that can't pass the smell test
The industrialist who made a $250,000 personal loan to Giuliani protegee, Kerik, was an Israeli billionaire and philanthropist, Eitan Wertheimer, whose family’s vast holdings include companies with United States Defense Department contracts. Brooklyn businessman Shimon Cohen who has been a friend of Mr. Kerik’s for several years is served as an intermediary in the transaction
The loan to Mr. Kerik came in June 2003 when he was on leave from his job at Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, and serving in Iraq as an adviser to the Interior Ministry for the Coalition Provisional Authority. In that post, which he held for three months, Mr. Kerik was assigned to train the Iraqi police.
The money actually came from the wealthy industrialist, from whom Mr. Cohen had borrowed the funds. Prosecutors have not offered any explanation as to what might have brought about the transaction, or why Mr. Wertheimer did not provide the funds directly.
Using an intermediary, the fact that there was no written agreement that outlined the terms of the loan, and the fact that it came from a family with defense contracts doesn't pass the smell test.
The loan to Mr. Kerik came in June 2003 when he was on leave from his job at Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, and serving in Iraq as an adviser to the Interior Ministry for the Coalition Provisional Authority. In that post, which he held for three months, Mr. Kerik was assigned to train the Iraqi police.
The money actually came from the wealthy industrialist, from whom Mr. Cohen had borrowed the funds. Prosecutors have not offered any explanation as to what might have brought about the transaction, or why Mr. Wertheimer did not provide the funds directly.
Using an intermediary, the fact that there was no written agreement that outlined the terms of the loan, and the fact that it came from a family with defense contracts doesn't pass the smell test.
Buffet and Gates alone with tax policies benefiting the working people
Real Leaders like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates should be prized, both as executives whose civic values shame their peers, and as advocates for better tax-and-spend policies generally. If society is to get the resources so that healthcare and secure retirement (not to mention child care and job training) are not left to the whims and public relations of corporations, Congress had better follow the lead of Buffett and Gates on tax equity, and restore our ability to finance these benefits as citizens.
more proof of Republican lies
Scott McClellan, former White House Press Secretary says:
"The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.
There was one problem. It was not true. I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the Vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the President himself."
"The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.
There was one problem. It was not true. I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the Vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the President himself."
the new holocaust is Iraq
Another holocaust denial is taking place with little notice: the holocaust in Iraq. The average American believes that 10,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the US invasion in March 2003. The most commonly cited figure in the media is 70,000. But the actual number of people who have been killed is most likely more than one million.
liberty not from government
Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it."
18 November, 2007
we don't believe our government?
Hundreds of defendants sitting in prisons nationwide have been convicted with the help of an FBI forensic tool that was discarded more than two years ago. But the FBI lab has yet to take steps to alert the affected defendants or courts, even as the window for appealing convictions is closing, a joint investigation by The Washington Post and "60 Minutes" has found.
In 2004, however, the nation's most prestigious scientific body concluded that variations in the manufacturing process rendered the FBI's testimony about the science "unreliable and potentially misleading."
Specifically, the National Academy of Sciences said that decades of FBI statements to jurors linking a particular bullet to those found in a suspect's gun or cartridge box were so overstated that such testimony should be considered "misleading under federal rules of evidence."
A year later, the bureau abandoned the analysis. But the FBI lab has never gone back to determine how many times its scientists misled jurors. Internal memos show that the bureau's managers were aware by 2004 that testimony had been overstated in a large number of trials.
In a smaller number of cases, the experts had made false matches based on a faulty statistical analysis of the elements. People are still in jail convicted on false Government testimony.
The government has fought releasing the list of the estimated 2,500cases over three decades in which it performed the analysis. Documents show that the FBI's concerns about the science dated to 1991. Another reason to not believe our government of lies and deception.
In 2004, however, the nation's most prestigious scientific body concluded that variations in the manufacturing process rendered the FBI's testimony about the science "unreliable and potentially misleading."
Specifically, the National Academy of Sciences said that decades of FBI statements to jurors linking a particular bullet to those found in a suspect's gun or cartridge box were so overstated that such testimony should be considered "misleading under federal rules of evidence."
A year later, the bureau abandoned the analysis. But the FBI lab has never gone back to determine how many times its scientists misled jurors. Internal memos show that the bureau's managers were aware by 2004 that testimony had been overstated in a large number of trials.
In a smaller number of cases, the experts had made false matches based on a faulty statistical analysis of the elements. People are still in jail convicted on false Government testimony.
The government has fought releasing the list of the estimated 2,500cases over three decades in which it performed the analysis. Documents show that the FBI's concerns about the science dated to 1991. Another reason to not believe our government of lies and deception.
war on terror is a lie? here are the facts
The Bush administration, when it took office, was indifferent to terrorism, brushing aside explicit warnings about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden; we know the president was planning instead, at least six months before 9/11, to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq.
We know of a National Security Council memorandum dated Feb. 3, 2001, concerning the "capture of new and existing oil and gas fields" in Iraq; we have acquired with a lawsuit the maps of Iraqi oil fields Vice President Cheney's "Energy Task Force" was studying a month later.
We have learned how the privatized structure of Iraq's postwar oil industry was designed by the Bush administration a year before the war began; we know the administration was negotiating pipeline rights-of-way with the Taliban, unsuccessfully, until five weeks before 9/11; we know the final threat to them was a "carpet of bombs."
We are aware of President Bush twice refusing offers from the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden, before and after the carpet of bombs was unleashed; we've read of the five "megabases" in Iraq to house 100,000 troops for as long as 50 years.
We've learned the U.S. Embassy compound under construction in Baghdad will be ten times larger than any other in the world; and we know Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, and British Petroleum/Amoco are poised to claim immense profits from 81 percent of Iraq's undeveloped oil fields.
We know of a National Security Council memorandum dated Feb. 3, 2001, concerning the "capture of new and existing oil and gas fields" in Iraq; we have acquired with a lawsuit the maps of Iraqi oil fields Vice President Cheney's "Energy Task Force" was studying a month later.
We have learned how the privatized structure of Iraq's postwar oil industry was designed by the Bush administration a year before the war began; we know the administration was negotiating pipeline rights-of-way with the Taliban, unsuccessfully, until five weeks before 9/11; we know the final threat to them was a "carpet of bombs."
We are aware of President Bush twice refusing offers from the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden, before and after the carpet of bombs was unleashed; we've read of the five "megabases" in Iraq to house 100,000 troops for as long as 50 years.
We've learned the U.S. Embassy compound under construction in Baghdad will be ten times larger than any other in the world; and we know Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, and British Petroleum/Amoco are poised to claim immense profits from 81 percent of Iraq's undeveloped oil fields.
17 November, 2007
republicans working to kill social security
Despite all the attention paid to demographic challenges, such as the coming retirement of the baby-boom generation, our country’s financial health will in fact be determined primarily by the growth rate of per capita health care costs.”
How has conventional wisdom gotten this so wrong? Well, in large part it’s the result of decades of scare-mongering about Social Security’s future from conservative ideologues, whose ultimate goal is to undermine the program.
Thus, in 2005, the republican Bush administration tried to push through a combination of privatization and benefit cuts that would, over time, have reduced Social Security to nothing but a giant 401(k). The administration claimed that this was necessary to save the program, which officials insisted was “heading toward an iceberg.”
But the administration’s real motives were, in fact, ideological. The anti-tax activist Stephen Moore gave the game away when he described Social Security as “the soft underbelly of the welfare state,” and hailed the Bush plan as a way to put a “spear” through that soft underbelly. They want to kill the guarantee feature of the program and thereby kill the program itself.
Fortunately, the scare tactics failed. Democrats in Congress stood their ground; progressive analysts debunked, one after another, the phony arguments of the privatizers; and the public made it clear that it wants to preserve a basic safety net for retired Americans.
How has conventional wisdom gotten this so wrong? Well, in large part it’s the result of decades of scare-mongering about Social Security’s future from conservative ideologues, whose ultimate goal is to undermine the program.
Thus, in 2005, the republican Bush administration tried to push through a combination of privatization and benefit cuts that would, over time, have reduced Social Security to nothing but a giant 401(k). The administration claimed that this was necessary to save the program, which officials insisted was “heading toward an iceberg.”
But the administration’s real motives were, in fact, ideological. The anti-tax activist Stephen Moore gave the game away when he described Social Security as “the soft underbelly of the welfare state,” and hailed the Bush plan as a way to put a “spear” through that soft underbelly. They want to kill the guarantee feature of the program and thereby kill the program itself.
Fortunately, the scare tactics failed. Democrats in Congress stood their ground; progressive analysts debunked, one after another, the phony arguments of the privatizers; and the public made it clear that it wants to preserve a basic safety net for retired Americans.
13 November, 2007
Repblican response to Katrina/Rita
More than two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Mississippi Gulf Coast, private tests of FEMA travel trailers and mobile homes provided to storm victims indicate that high levels of formaldehyde gas in the units is much more widespread than the government has acknowledged.
The previously undisclosed test results from nearly 600 units, reviewed by msnbc.com, found that 95 percent of the temporary housing units provided by FEMA measured at least twice the CDC’s maximum recommended level for long-term exposure to the toxic gas. In some extreme cases, the levels were 70 times the long-term standard.
The previously undisclosed test results from nearly 600 units, reviewed by msnbc.com, found that 95 percent of the temporary housing units provided by FEMA measured at least twice the CDC’s maximum recommended level for long-term exposure to the toxic gas. In some extreme cases, the levels were 70 times the long-term standard.
Giuliani, a sick joke with a nasty temper
This Kerik thing is a big deal. Rudy Giuliani knew for a very long time about the unsavory characters Mr. Kerik associates with and the fact that he turned a blind eye only proves one thing, that he wasn't thinking about running for President at the time.
Rudy's campaign is based solely on opportunism and it is sad that he is the frontrunner only because he walked around ground zero after 9/11. There are plenty of people who were affected by that day who do not hold the Mayor in high regard. Coupled with the fact that his approval ratings were Bush like on 9/10, it seems so obvious.
Rudy's campaign is based solely on opportunism and it is sad that he is the frontrunner only because he walked around ground zero after 9/11. There are plenty of people who were affected by that day who do not hold the Mayor in high regard. Coupled with the fact that his approval ratings were Bush like on 9/10, it seems so obvious.
Republican honesty?
The disappearance of millions of e-mails sent and received by aides to President Bush from March 2003 to October 2005 have disappeared in violation of the law.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, has said it was told by internal sources that the White House determined that at least 5 million and perhaps many more e-mails from that period were not saved as required by law.
The missing e-mail, along with the disclosure that some White House aides regularly used private Republican National Committee e-mail accounts, suggests that they are hiding wrongdoing.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, has said it was told by internal sources that the White House determined that at least 5 million and perhaps many more e-mails from that period were not saved as required by law.
The missing e-mail, along with the disclosure that some White House aides regularly used private Republican National Committee e-mail accounts, suggests that they are hiding wrongdoing.
real costs of war
"The full economic costs of the war to the American taxpayers and the overall U.S. economy go well beyond even the immense federal budget costs already reported," said the 21-page draft report, obtained yesterday by The Washington Post.
The report argues that war funding is diverting billions of dollars away from "productive investment" by American businesses in the United States. It also says that the conflicts are pulling reservists and National Guardsmen away from their jobs, resulting in economic disruptions for U.S. employers that the report estimates at $1 billion to $2 billion.
Added to these amounts are future costs to care for wounded veterans.
The report argues that war funding is diverting billions of dollars away from "productive investment" by American businesses in the United States. It also says that the conflicts are pulling reservists and National Guardsmen away from their jobs, resulting in economic disruptions for U.S. employers that the report estimates at $1 billion to $2 billion.
Added to these amounts are future costs to care for wounded veterans.
11 November, 2007
like Iraq, no evidence of nukes in Iran
There is no evidence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran . The US and its allies pressure Iran to prove that it is not hiding a nuclear weapons program.
This demand is logically impossible to satisfy and serves to make diplomacy fail in order to force regime change. Numerous intrusive and snap visits by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, totalling more than 2,700 person-hours of inspection, have failed to produce a shred of evidence for a weapons program in Iran .
Traces of highly enriched uranium found at Natanz in 2004, were determined by the IAEA to have come with imported centrifuges.
This demand is logically impossible to satisfy and serves to make diplomacy fail in order to force regime change. Numerous intrusive and snap visits by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, totalling more than 2,700 person-hours of inspection, have failed to produce a shred of evidence for a weapons program in Iran .
Traces of highly enriched uranium found at Natanz in 2004, were determined by the IAEA to have come with imported centrifuges.
republicans want another war
Five years into the US-UK illegal invasion of Iraq and its consequent catastrophe for Iraqi people, peace loving people throughout the world are appalled by the current Iran-US standoff and its resemblance to the run-up to the invasion of Iraq .
The republican hawks, headed by Dick Cheney in Washington , are now shamelessly calling for a military attack on Iran . The same Israeli lobby which pushed for the invasion of Iraq is now pushing for a military attack on Iran .
The same distortions which were attempted to dupe the western public opinion for the invasion of Iraq , are now used to pave the way for another illegal pre-emptive war of aggression against Iran .
As in the case of Iraq , the UN Security Council Resolutions against Iran , extricated through massive US pressure, are meant to provide a veneer of legitimacy for such an attack.
The republican hawks, headed by Dick Cheney in Washington , are now shamelessly calling for a military attack on Iran . The same Israeli lobby which pushed for the invasion of Iraq is now pushing for a military attack on Iran .
The same distortions which were attempted to dupe the western public opinion for the invasion of Iraq , are now used to pave the way for another illegal pre-emptive war of aggression against Iran .
As in the case of Iraq , the UN Security Council Resolutions against Iran , extricated through massive US pressure, are meant to provide a veneer of legitimacy for such an attack.
10 November, 2007
republican war, what a mess
American military lost track of some 190,000 pistols and automatic rifles supplied by the United States to Iraq’s security forces in 2004 and 2005, as auditors discovered in the past year. Billions of dollars in arms disappeared without significant oversight.
American officers short-circuited the chain of custody by rushing to Baghdad’s airport to claim crates of newly arrived weapons without filing the necessary paperwork. And Iraqis regularly sold or stole the American-supplied weapons, American officers and contractors said.
Iraqi security guards are suspected of stealing hundreds of weapons last year in about 10 major thefts at arms depots at Taji and Abu Ghraib. Already there is evidence that some American-supplied weapons fell into the hands of guerrillas responsible for attacks against Turkey, an important United States ally.
Many of those weapons were issued when Gen. David H. Petraeus, now the top American commander in Iraq, was responsible for training and equipping Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. He said that warehouse crews had been infiltrated by Iraqis sympathetic to insurgents, and that sometimes weapons would disappear.
30 percent of the equipment delivered went to Iraqi soldiers who showed up for duty one day, and disappeared the next. the Pentagon turned to contractors to operate warehouses to store equipment and weapons.
The Baghdad Police Academy, which along with a nearby warehouse, was operated by an American-owned Contractor company based in Kuwait.
American officers short-circuited the chain of custody by rushing to Baghdad’s airport to claim crates of newly arrived weapons without filing the necessary paperwork. And Iraqis regularly sold or stole the American-supplied weapons, American officers and contractors said.
Iraqi security guards are suspected of stealing hundreds of weapons last year in about 10 major thefts at arms depots at Taji and Abu Ghraib. Already there is evidence that some American-supplied weapons fell into the hands of guerrillas responsible for attacks against Turkey, an important United States ally.
Many of those weapons were issued when Gen. David H. Petraeus, now the top American commander in Iraq, was responsible for training and equipping Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. He said that warehouse crews had been infiltrated by Iraqis sympathetic to insurgents, and that sometimes weapons would disappear.
30 percent of the equipment delivered went to Iraqi soldiers who showed up for duty one day, and disappeared the next. the Pentagon turned to contractors to operate warehouses to store equipment and weapons.
The Baghdad Police Academy, which along with a nearby warehouse, was operated by an American-owned Contractor company based in Kuwait.
09 November, 2007
run up to war on Iran just like that of Iraq
A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran has been held up for more than a year in an effort to force the intelligence community to remove dissenting judgments on the Iranian nuclear programme, and thus make the document more supportive of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's militarily aggressive policy toward Iran, according to accounts of the process provided by participants to two former Central Intelligence Agency officers.
There is a split in the intelligence community on how much of a threat the Iranian nuclear programme poses, according to the intelligence official's account. Some analysts who are less independent are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the alarmist view coming from Cheney's office, but others have rejected that view.
The draft NIE first completed a year ago, which had included the dissenting views, was not acceptable to the White House, according to the former intelligence officer. "They refused to come out with a version that had dissenting views in it," he says.
There is a split in the intelligence community on how much of a threat the Iranian nuclear programme poses, according to the intelligence official's account. Some analysts who are less independent are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the alarmist view coming from Cheney's office, but others have rejected that view.
The draft NIE first completed a year ago, which had included the dissenting views, was not acceptable to the White House, according to the former intelligence officer. "They refused to come out with a version that had dissenting views in it," he says.
waterboarding is torture
Waterboarding is a long-standing form of torture used by history's most brutal governments, including those of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, North Korea, Iraq, the Soviet Union and the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. Those who have experienced it say it is torture and makes you say anything to make it stop.
Yet republicans favor keeping it and our new republican attorney general won't say it's torture. Register to vote and vote.
Yet republicans favor keeping it and our new republican attorney general won't say it's torture. Register to vote and vote.
US/Israel run-up to nuclear war
ISRAEL also has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.
The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.
Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.
Scientists have calculated that although contamination from the bunker-busters could be limited, tons of radioactive uranium compounds would be released.
The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.
Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.
Scientists have calculated that although contamination from the bunker-busters could be limited, tons of radioactive uranium compounds would be released.
08 November, 2007
more killed US military killed in Iraq
Recent casualties has made 2007 the bloodiest year for U.S. troops in Iraq. Seven deaths on Monday took the number of U.S. soldiers killed to 853 this year; the worst previous year was 2004, when 849 deaths were recorded.
U.S. Military personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) In America's War On Iraq now totals 3,857.
U.S. Military personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) In America's War On Iraq now totals 3,857.
07 November, 2007
more on republicans using AT&T to spy on us
By coincidence, in October 2003, Klein was transferred to that AT&T office and assigned to the Internet room. He asked a technician there about the secret room on the 6th floor, and the technician told him it was connected to the Internet room a floor above. The technician, who was about to retire, handed him some wiring diagrams.
That was my 'aha!' moment," Klein said. "They're sending the entire Internet to the secret room." The diagram showed splitters, glass prisms that split signals from each network into two identical copies. One fed into the secret room, the other proceeded to its destination, he said.
"This splitter was sweeping up everything, vacuum-cleaner-style," he said. "The NSA is getting everything. These are major pipes that carry not just AT&T's customers but everybody's."
One of Klein's documents listed links to 16 entities, including Global Crossing, a large provider of voice and data services in the United States and abroad; UUNet, a large Internet provider in Northern Virginia now owned by Verizon; Level 3 Communications, which provides local, long-distance and data transmission in the United States and overseas; and more familiar names such as Sprint and Qwest. It also included data exchanges MAE-West and PAIX, or Palo Alto Internet Exchange,
That was my 'aha!' moment," Klein said. "They're sending the entire Internet to the secret room." The diagram showed splitters, glass prisms that split signals from each network into two identical copies. One fed into the secret room, the other proceeded to its destination, he said.
"This splitter was sweeping up everything, vacuum-cleaner-style," he said. "The NSA is getting everything. These are major pipes that carry not just AT&T's customers but everybody's."
One of Klein's documents listed links to 16 entities, including Global Crossing, a large provider of voice and data services in the United States and abroad; UUNet, a large Internet provider in Northern Virginia now owned by Verizon; Level 3 Communications, which provides local, long-distance and data transmission in the United States and overseas; and more familiar names such as Sprint and Qwest. It also included data exchanges MAE-West and PAIX, or Palo Alto Internet Exchange,
30 October, 2007
US corporations avoid taxes, we pay more
Microsoft sells its software in foreign countries from an affiliate in Ireland – after making small changes in the software so they can avoid US taxes. There, it pays only a 10 percent tax on its corporate profits, rather than the 38 percent corporate rate in the US.
Other US corporations set up affiliates in such tax havens as Barbados, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. US firms are "quite aggressive" in taking advantage of such tax havens,
Other US corporations set up affiliates in such tax havens as Barbados, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. US firms are "quite aggressive" in taking advantage of such tax havens,
standard of living going down w/ republicans
If you look at the current account of the US balance of payments, which measures primarily the balance of trade, and also flows of interest and dividends, foreign aid, and other international transfers, the US should be far deeper in hock – $2.9 trillion more over the years from 1990 through 2006 than the official $2.6 trillion.
Our country under the Republicans is now by far the world's biggest debtor nation. A quarter century ago, the US was the world's largest creditor nation. The result will be a much lower standard of living.
Our country under the Republicans is now by far the world's biggest debtor nation. A quarter century ago, the US was the world's largest creditor nation. The result will be a much lower standard of living.
on to a police state
EARLIER this month, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the White House agreed to allow the executive branch to conduct dragnet interceptions of the electronic communications of people in the United States.
rumsfeld flees
read today:
War Criminals Beware, Justice Ahead : In Paris last week, Rumsfeld left a prestigious speaking event in haste, slipping out a side door to avoid the human rights lawyers and journalists waiting to confront him with criminal charges of torture.
He reportedly avoided the confrontation by sneaking out a door that attached the conference venue to, of all places, the United States Embassy. Have you seen this article in the mainstream media?
War Criminals Beware, Justice Ahead : In Paris last week, Rumsfeld left a prestigious speaking event in haste, slipping out a side door to avoid the human rights lawyers and journalists waiting to confront him with criminal charges of torture.
He reportedly avoided the confrontation by sneaking out a door that attached the conference venue to, of all places, the United States Embassy. Have you seen this article in the mainstream media?
Update on Wars on Iraq and Iran
The US is secretly upgrading special stealth bomber hangars on the British island protectorate of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, according to military sources.
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Sunday he had no evidence Iran was working actively to build nuclear weapons and expressed concern that escalating rhetoric from the U.S. could bring disaster. It sounds like Iraq all over again.
The Republicans are trying to get out of Iraq, saving face by blaming Iran and will enlarge the war to include a war on Iran.
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Sunday he had no evidence Iran was working actively to build nuclear weapons and expressed concern that escalating rhetoric from the U.S. could bring disaster. It sounds like Iraq all over again.
The Republicans are trying to get out of Iraq, saving face by blaming Iran and will enlarge the war to include a war on Iran.
28 October, 2007
is US supporting terroists?
"Escalation of terrorism in the region is one of the direct results of the presence of occupiers in Iraq, particularly America," Jalili, an ally of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said according to the country's state broadcaster. "And there are documents and information available proving America's support for terrorist groups in the region."
27 October, 2007
Cheney republicans against tax reform
The Democratic proposal, unveiled on Thursday, would cut taxes on married couples with annual incomes below $200,000 but raise taxes of most people earning more. It would eliminate the alternative minimum tax, which was created to prevent the rich from avoiding paying any taxes but could this year affect millions of families with incomes as low as $50,000.
It would replace the lost revenue with a 4 percent to 4.6 percent surcharge on the top 10 percent of taxpayers. Of course, the Cheney led Republicans are against making the tax code fair to the middle class.
It would replace the lost revenue with a 4 percent to 4.6 percent surcharge on the top 10 percent of taxpayers. Of course, the Cheney led Republicans are against making the tax code fair to the middle class.
another republican ATT General for torture
At his senate hearing, Michael B. Mukasey, President Bush’s nominee
for attorney general, was plainly asked if the president is required
to obey federal statutes.
Not only did he refuse to answer that question with an unqualified
"Yes", the basis for his refusal was basically that a war president
can do whatever he likes, the catchall Constitution buster of the
current administration.
for attorney general, was plainly asked if the president is required
to obey federal statutes.
Not only did he refuse to answer that question with an unqualified
"Yes", the basis for his refusal was basically that a war president
can do whatever he likes, the catchall Constitution buster of the
current administration.
truth about the surge in Iraq
."This is a dangerous place," said Capt. Lee Showman (in Sadiyah,Iraq), a senior officer in the battalion. "People are killed here every day, and you don't hear about it. People are kidnapped here every day, and you don't hear about it."
The American people don't fully realize what's going on, said Staff Sgt. Richard McClary, 27, a section leader from Buffalo.
"They just know back there what the higher-ups here tell them. But the higher-ups don't go anywhere, and actually they only go to the safe places, places with a little bit of gunfire," he said. "They don't ever [expletive] see what we see on the ground." I guess that includes General "betray us."
The American people don't fully realize what's going on, said Staff Sgt. Richard McClary, 27, a section leader from Buffalo.
"They just know back there what the higher-ups here tell them. But the higher-ups don't go anywhere, and actually they only go to the safe places, places with a little bit of gunfire," he said. "They don't ever [expletive] see what we see on the ground." I guess that includes General "betray us."
Iraq the quagmire
The State Department will order as many as 50 U.S. diplomats to take posts in Iraq next year because of expected shortfalls in filling openings there, the first such large-scale forced assignment since the Vietnam War.
The union representing U.S. diplomats has officially objected to the Iraq call-up. "We believe, and we have told the secretary of state, that directing unarmed civilians who are untrained for combat into a war zone should be done on a voluntary basis," said Steve Kashkett, vice president of the American Foreign Service Association. "Directed assignments, we fear, can be detrimental to the individual, to the post, and to the Foreign Service as a whole."
The union representing U.S. diplomats has officially objected to the Iraq call-up. "We believe, and we have told the secretary of state, that directing unarmed civilians who are untrained for combat into a war zone should be done on a voluntary basis," said Steve Kashkett, vice president of the American Foreign Service Association. "Directed assignments, we fear, can be detrimental to the individual, to the post, and to the Foreign Service as a whole."
25 October, 2007
Republicans muzzle global warning threats
White House officials eliminated several successive pages of
CDC's testimony, beginning with a section in which it planned to say that many organizations are working to address climate change but that, "despite this extensive activity, the public health effects of climate change remain largely unaddressed," and that the "CDC considers climate change a serious public concern."
In another deleted part of the original testimony, the CDC director predicted that areas in the northern United States "will likely bear the brunt of increases in ground-level ozone and associated airborne pollutants.
Populations in mid-western and northeastern cities are expected to experience more heat-related illnesses as heat waves increase in frequency, severity and duration."
CDC's testimony, beginning with a section in which it planned to say that many organizations are working to address climate change but that, "despite this extensive activity, the public health effects of climate change remain largely unaddressed," and that the "CDC considers climate change a serious public concern."
In another deleted part of the original testimony, the CDC director predicted that areas in the northern United States "will likely bear the brunt of increases in ground-level ozone and associated airborne pollutants.
Populations in mid-western and northeastern cities are expected to experience more heat-related illnesses as heat waves increase in frequency, severity and duration."
23 October, 2007
republicans, against other health care
Along with rejecting the SCHIP health insurance for US children with no health insurance, the Republicans are opposed US Senate legislation to fund health care for the nuclear-test-affected Marshallese. Sixty-seven US nuclear bombs were detonated in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958.
republicns wanted war on Iran for years
Two former high-ranking policy experts from the Bush Administration say the U.S. has been gearing up for a war with Iran for years, despite claiming otherwise.
In the years after 9/11, Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann worked at the highest levels of the Bush administration as Middle East policy experts for the National Security Council. Mann conducted secret negotiations with Iran. Leverett traveled with Colin Powell and advised Condoleezza Rice.
They each played crucial roles in formulating policy for the region leading up to the war in Iraq. But when they left the White House, they left with a growing sense of alarm -- not only was the Bush administration headed straight for war with Iran, it had been set on this course for years.
That was what people didn't realize. It was just like Iraq, when the White House was so eager for war it couldn't wait for the UN inspectors to leave. The steps have been many and steady and all in the same direction. And now things are getting much worse. We are getting closer and closer to the tripline, they say. "The hard-liners are upping the pressure on the State Department," says Leverett.
In the years after 9/11, Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann worked at the highest levels of the Bush administration as Middle East policy experts for the National Security Council. Mann conducted secret negotiations with Iran. Leverett traveled with Colin Powell and advised Condoleezza Rice.
They each played crucial roles in formulating policy for the region leading up to the war in Iraq. But when they left the White House, they left with a growing sense of alarm -- not only was the Bush administration headed straight for war with Iran, it had been set on this course for years.
That was what people didn't realize. It was just like Iraq, when the White House was so eager for war it couldn't wait for the UN inspectors to leave. The steps have been many and steady and all in the same direction. And now things are getting much worse. We are getting closer and closer to the tripline, they say. "The hard-liners are upping the pressure on the State Department," says Leverett.
real reason for Iraq
The Hunt Oil deal with the Kurds(Ray Hunt of Hunt Oil, one of George W. Bush's Texas chums), one of several pending oil contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, may have put the last nail in the coffin of the US effort to force Iraq to rewrite its oil laws.
Like the Biden resolution and the Blackwater shooting, the Hunt deal unleashed pent-up anger among Iraqi Arab leaders, who called the deal illegal, since under current Iraqi law only the central government in Baghdad, not the Kurds, can approve oil deals.
The nationalization of Iraq's oil in 1972 by Saddam Hussein, after a decades-long struggle between Iraq and the Anglo-American oil cartel, was a landmark event, the first major oil nationalization in the region since the Iranian government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh took over the British oil interests there and, for his efforts, was toppled in 1953 by a CIA-engineered coup inspired by that cartel.
In Arab Iraq, if not in Kurdistan, the national oil industry is sacrosanct. If the United States intended to confirm Iraqis' belief that the invasion was about grabbing their country's oil, the US effort to open up the industry to foreign investors is perfectly designed to do so.
The real reason the US is in Iraq is about getting the republican oil barons to control and benefit from Iraq's oil, pure and simple.
Like the Biden resolution and the Blackwater shooting, the Hunt deal unleashed pent-up anger among Iraqi Arab leaders, who called the deal illegal, since under current Iraqi law only the central government in Baghdad, not the Kurds, can approve oil deals.
The nationalization of Iraq's oil in 1972 by Saddam Hussein, after a decades-long struggle between Iraq and the Anglo-American oil cartel, was a landmark event, the first major oil nationalization in the region since the Iranian government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh took over the British oil interests there and, for his efforts, was toppled in 1953 by a CIA-engineered coup inspired by that cartel.
In Arab Iraq, if not in Kurdistan, the national oil industry is sacrosanct. If the United States intended to confirm Iraqis' belief that the invasion was about grabbing their country's oil, the US effort to open up the industry to foreign investors is perfectly designed to do so.
The real reason the US is in Iraq is about getting the republican oil barons to control and benefit from Iraq's oil, pure and simple.
Republicans want to stay in Iraq forever
Iraqi nationalism is the only political force capable of uniting Sunni and Shiite Arabs and ending the sectarian civil war, but for the past four years the United States has systematically worked to suppress it.
Do you wonder why? Wouldn't promoting nationalism bind them together? Well then the republicans would have to get out of Iraq, wouldn't they?
Do you wonder why? Wouldn't promoting nationalism bind them together? Well then the republicans would have to get out of Iraq, wouldn't they?
warning to Guard and Army Recruits
The U.S. Army will continue to rely on an unpopular program that forces some National Guad and Army soldiers to stay on beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates, Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, deputy chief of staff for personnel, said Thursday that the number of soldiers kept on duty past their retirement or re-enlistment dates has actually increased in recent months as a result of President Bush's orders to increase troop levels in Iraq.
Republican Blackwater
Written by an army officer: "Every time one of those Blackwater convoys drives an Iraqi civilian off the road because the most important thing in the world is the protection of their'principal,' they make a new enemy for the United States. Every time they ram another car to clear the way (and, yes, I've seen them do that), so that they could maintain their own speed and thereby minimize their exposure to "improvised explosive devices," they make another enemy. Every time they kill innocent civilians, or wound them, they make whole families of new enemies."
"What employees of the private security firm care about, and I have heard this from the Blackwaters with whom I interacted in Iraq, is their paycheck. They care about their huge compensation packages, and about getting home alive to spend them."
"Blackwater USA has already taken in more than $1 billion from the public coffers. All in all, that's not a bad take for Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater and a Naval Academy dropout who served less time under the colors of the nation, in uniform, than my most recent pair of boots."
"What employees of the private security firm care about, and I have heard this from the Blackwaters with whom I interacted in Iraq, is their paycheck. They care about their huge compensation packages, and about getting home alive to spend them."
"Blackwater USA has already taken in more than $1 billion from the public coffers. All in all, that's not a bad take for Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater and a Naval Academy dropout who served less time under the colors of the nation, in uniform, than my most recent pair of boots."
winning hearts and minds in Iraq
Associated Press photos showed the bodies of two toddlers, one with a gouged face, swaddled in blankets on a morgue floor. Their shirts were pulled up, exposing their abdomens, and a diaper showed above the waistband of one boy's shorts. Relatives said the children were killed when the US helicopter gunfire hit their house as they slept.
Immigrants and republicans
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the United States has granted US citizenship to 32,500 foreign soldiers. In July 2002, US President George W. Bush issued an executive order to expand existing legislation to offer a fast track to citizenship to foreigners who agree to fight for the US Armed Forces.
The foreigners already represent 5 percent of all recruits. They even make up the majority of soldiers from some New York and Los Angeles neighborhoods.
The Pentagon spends $3.2 billion a year on recruitment, even sending its recruiters to high schools to persuade 17-year-olds still a year away from graduation to enlist.
Even so, four years and over 3,800 US deaths after the beginning of the Iraq campaign, fewer and fewer American citizens are willing to fight in a war opposed by a majority of the US population .
Most foreign recruits come from Latin America and the Caribbean. Latino rights groups in the United States, fearful that immigrants are being used as cannon fodder, object to the somewhat shady practice of offering citizenship in return for military service.
Also, aren't these the same people that Republicans bash at every chance to stoke fears for their political gain??????
The foreigners already represent 5 percent of all recruits. They even make up the majority of soldiers from some New York and Los Angeles neighborhoods.
The Pentagon spends $3.2 billion a year on recruitment, even sending its recruiters to high schools to persuade 17-year-olds still a year away from graduation to enlist.
Even so, four years and over 3,800 US deaths after the beginning of the Iraq campaign, fewer and fewer American citizens are willing to fight in a war opposed by a majority of the US population .
Most foreign recruits come from Latin America and the Caribbean. Latino rights groups in the United States, fearful that immigrants are being used as cannon fodder, object to the somewhat shady practice of offering citizenship in return for military service.
Also, aren't these the same people that Republicans bash at every chance to stoke fears for their political gain??????
22 October, 2007
a real right wing conspirator-Scaife
Richard Mellon Scaife. Remember him? The cantankerous, reclusive 75-year-old billionaire who's spent a sizable chunk of his inherited fortune bankrolling conservative causes and trying to kneecap Democrats? He's best known for funding efforts to smear then-President Bill Clinton, but more quietly he's given in excess of $300 million to right-leaning activists, watchdogs and think tanks. Atop his list of favorite donees: the family-values-focused Heritage Foundation, which has published papers with titles such as "Restoring a Culture of Marriage."
The culture of his own marriage is apparently past restoring. With the legal fight still in the weigh-in phase, the story of Scaife v. Scaife already includes a dog-snatching, an assault, a night in jail and that divorce court perennial, allegations of adultery.
Oh, and there's the money. Three words, people. No. Pre. Nup. Unfathomable but true, when Scaife (rhymes with safe) married his second wife, Margaret "Ritchie" Scaife, in 1991, he neglected to wall off a fortune that Forbes recently valued at $1.3 billion. This, to understate matters, is likely going to cost him, big time. As part of a temporary settlement, 60-year-old Ritchie Scaife is currently cashing an alimony check that at first glance will look like a typo: $725,000 a month. Or about $24,000 a day, seven days a week.
The numbers are just one of many we-kid-you-not dimensions to this tale. In late 2005, Ritchie Scaife peered through a window at one of her husband's many homes and saw him with one Tammy Sue Vasco, a woman whose colorful criminal history includes an arrest for prostitution. And this tryst was no one-afternoon stand. Ritchie Scaife describes Vasco in court filings as her husband's "mistress."
That would be Andrew Mellon, the uncle of Richard Scaife's mother, a financial wiz who built a Gilded Age fortune through banking and oil. Income from the trusts of that estate yields roughly $45 million a year for Scaife, according to a filing by his wife. That's a gross disposable income of nearly $4 million a month, apparently just for having been born. As the lawyer of his soon-to-be-ex-wife noted, "These massive streams of income are attributable to no employment, business enterprise or other effort -- intellectual, physical, creative or ministerial -- past or present."
Scaife owns a handful of newspapers and newsweeklies, including the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, a conservative answer to the Post-Gazette. When he isn't tending to this modest publishing empire, he's underwriting what Hillary Clinton once called "a vast right-wing conspiracy." His highest-profile expenditure is the $2.3 million he gave the American Spectator magazine in the mid-'90s, to try to unearth prurient and embarrassing details about Bill Clinton's years as governor of Arkansas. (The magazine came up virtually empty-handed.)
t some point in late 2005, Ritchie started having suspicions about her husband and hired a private investigator named Keith Scannell, a specialist in high-end surveillance for insurance companies. In December of that year, Scannell followed Richard Scaife to nearby North Huntingdon, home of Doug's Motel, a place where the TVs are bolted to the furniture and rooms can be rented in three-hour increments, for $28. (It's now under new management and renamed the Huntingdon Inn. Head east on Route 8, then east on Route 30.) There, according to Scannell, Scaife spent a few hours with Tammy Sue Vasco.
Why a billionaire would shack up at Doug's Motel, of all places, is a mystery. Ditto his choice of companions. Vasco is a tall, blond 43-year-old mother who in 1993 was busted in a sting operation after showing up at a Sheraton hotel and offering to have sex with an undercover cop for $225, the Post-Gazette reported.
Social Register material she is not, but Vasco and Scaife seemed to have a relationship that went beyond the purely professional. The two usually met each other twice a week, for months, at the motel, says an employee of the motel. Scaife would show up in a chauffeured car, dressed in a suit, wearing cuff links, always bearing flowers. Vasco would be waiting in same room every time, Room 5 on the ground floor, facing the parking lot, said the employee. Mr. Dick, as he was known at the motel, would stay for two hours or so, then get back in the car, which had been waiting, and leave.
"He actually seemed infatuated with Tammy," says the Doug's Motel employee, who did not want to be identified because of the powerful parties in the case. "She'd talk about trips that he took her on, to California, New York City. And it was great for her. It changed her life."
Private investigator Scannell, commenting on what became a much-discussed local news story, put it this way: "Mrs. Scaife acted as any loving wife would upon finding out just days earlier that her husband had a confirmed meeting, for several hours, at a $40 motel with a woman previously arrested for prostitution."
Police would later say that Ritchie Scaife began pounding on doors and windows and refused to leave, which is why she was promptly arrested for "defiant trespass." She was handcuffed and driven downtown to the Allegheny County Jail -- near the Liberty Bridge, at 950 Second Ave. -- where a woman accustomed to traveling with a personal hairdresser spent the night in what her lawyers later called a "grim" holding cell.
Now we know that Scaife is beneficiary of nine different trusts, including one called the "1935 Trust," with an approximate value of $210 million, and another called "The Revocable Trust," valued at $655 million. Altogether, these gushers are worth about $1.4 billion.
The culture of his own marriage is apparently past restoring. With the legal fight still in the weigh-in phase, the story of Scaife v. Scaife already includes a dog-snatching, an assault, a night in jail and that divorce court perennial, allegations of adultery.
Oh, and there's the money. Three words, people. No. Pre. Nup. Unfathomable but true, when Scaife (rhymes with safe) married his second wife, Margaret "Ritchie" Scaife, in 1991, he neglected to wall off a fortune that Forbes recently valued at $1.3 billion. This, to understate matters, is likely going to cost him, big time. As part of a temporary settlement, 60-year-old Ritchie Scaife is currently cashing an alimony check that at first glance will look like a typo: $725,000 a month. Or about $24,000 a day, seven days a week.
The numbers are just one of many we-kid-you-not dimensions to this tale. In late 2005, Ritchie Scaife peered through a window at one of her husband's many homes and saw him with one Tammy Sue Vasco, a woman whose colorful criminal history includes an arrest for prostitution. And this tryst was no one-afternoon stand. Ritchie Scaife describes Vasco in court filings as her husband's "mistress."
That would be Andrew Mellon, the uncle of Richard Scaife's mother, a financial wiz who built a Gilded Age fortune through banking and oil. Income from the trusts of that estate yields roughly $45 million a year for Scaife, according to a filing by his wife. That's a gross disposable income of nearly $4 million a month, apparently just for having been born. As the lawyer of his soon-to-be-ex-wife noted, "These massive streams of income are attributable to no employment, business enterprise or other effort -- intellectual, physical, creative or ministerial -- past or present."
Scaife owns a handful of newspapers and newsweeklies, including the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, a conservative answer to the Post-Gazette. When he isn't tending to this modest publishing empire, he's underwriting what Hillary Clinton once called "a vast right-wing conspiracy." His highest-profile expenditure is the $2.3 million he gave the American Spectator magazine in the mid-'90s, to try to unearth prurient and embarrassing details about Bill Clinton's years as governor of Arkansas. (The magazine came up virtually empty-handed.)
t some point in late 2005, Ritchie started having suspicions about her husband and hired a private investigator named Keith Scannell, a specialist in high-end surveillance for insurance companies. In December of that year, Scannell followed Richard Scaife to nearby North Huntingdon, home of Doug's Motel, a place where the TVs are bolted to the furniture and rooms can be rented in three-hour increments, for $28. (It's now under new management and renamed the Huntingdon Inn. Head east on Route 8, then east on Route 30.) There, according to Scannell, Scaife spent a few hours with Tammy Sue Vasco.
Why a billionaire would shack up at Doug's Motel, of all places, is a mystery. Ditto his choice of companions. Vasco is a tall, blond 43-year-old mother who in 1993 was busted in a sting operation after showing up at a Sheraton hotel and offering to have sex with an undercover cop for $225, the Post-Gazette reported.
Social Register material she is not, but Vasco and Scaife seemed to have a relationship that went beyond the purely professional. The two usually met each other twice a week, for months, at the motel, says an employee of the motel. Scaife would show up in a chauffeured car, dressed in a suit, wearing cuff links, always bearing flowers. Vasco would be waiting in same room every time, Room 5 on the ground floor, facing the parking lot, said the employee. Mr. Dick, as he was known at the motel, would stay for two hours or so, then get back in the car, which had been waiting, and leave.
"He actually seemed infatuated with Tammy," says the Doug's Motel employee, who did not want to be identified because of the powerful parties in the case. "She'd talk about trips that he took her on, to California, New York City. And it was great for her. It changed her life."
Private investigator Scannell, commenting on what became a much-discussed local news story, put it this way: "Mrs. Scaife acted as any loving wife would upon finding out just days earlier that her husband had a confirmed meeting, for several hours, at a $40 motel with a woman previously arrested for prostitution."
Police would later say that Ritchie Scaife began pounding on doors and windows and refused to leave, which is why she was promptly arrested for "defiant trespass." She was handcuffed and driven downtown to the Allegheny County Jail -- near the Liberty Bridge, at 950 Second Ave. -- where a woman accustomed to traveling with a personal hairdresser spent the night in what her lawyers later called a "grim" holding cell.
Now we know that Scaife is beneficiary of nine different trusts, including one called the "1935 Trust," with an approximate value of $210 million, and another called "The Revocable Trust," valued at $655 million. Altogether, these gushers are worth about $1.4 billion.
what US policy should be in middle-east
The United States has three strategic interests in the Middle East: maintaining the flow of Persian Gulf oil to world markets, discouraging the spread of WMD, and reducing anti-American terrorism from this region.
It is also committed to Israel's survival, but on moral rather than strategic grounds. Instead of garrisoning the region with its own troops or attempting to transform the entire region, the United States should act as an "offshore balancer."
The United States does not need to control the Middle East itself; it merely needs to prevent any hostile power(s) from controlling the region. To do that, Washington should strive to maintain a balance of power in the region and intervene with its own forces only when local actors cannot uphold the balance themselves, as it did when it liberated Kuwait in 1991.
As part of this strategy, the United States would begin to treat Israel like a normal state, rather than as the 51st state. Israel is nearly 60 years old, increasingly prosperous, and now officially recognized by the vast majority of the world's nations.
The United States should deal with it as it does with other democracies: backing Israel when its policies are consistent with U.S. interests, but opposing it when they are not.
It is also committed to Israel's survival, but on moral rather than strategic grounds. Instead of garrisoning the region with its own troops or attempting to transform the entire region, the United States should act as an "offshore balancer."
The United States does not need to control the Middle East itself; it merely needs to prevent any hostile power(s) from controlling the region. To do that, Washington should strive to maintain a balance of power in the region and intervene with its own forces only when local actors cannot uphold the balance themselves, as it did when it liberated Kuwait in 1991.
As part of this strategy, the United States would begin to treat Israel like a normal state, rather than as the 51st state. Israel is nearly 60 years old, increasingly prosperous, and now officially recognized by the vast majority of the world's nations.
The United States should deal with it as it does with other democracies: backing Israel when its policies are consistent with U.S. interests, but opposing it when they are not.
how the Israeli lobby hurts the US
Backing Israel's harsh treatment of the Palestinians has reinforced anti-Americanism around the world and almost certainly helped terrorists recruit new followers. U.S. and Israeli policy also led directly to Hamas' growing popularity and its victory in the Palestinian elections, which made a difficult situation worse and a long-term peace settlement even more elusive.
The Iraq war is a strategic disaster that has damaged America's standing and strengthened Iran's regional position, and now provides other terrorists with an ideal training ground. The Lebanon war enhanced Hezbollah's position, weakened the pro-American Siniora government in Beirut, and further tarnished America's image throughout the region.
A hard-line approach to Iran helped bring President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power but failed to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions, and threatening Syria led Damascus to stop helping the United States against al Qaeda. None of these developments has been good for the United States.
The Iraq war is a strategic disaster that has damaged America's standing and strengthened Iran's regional position, and now provides other terrorists with an ideal training ground. The Lebanon war enhanced Hezbollah's position, weakened the pro-American Siniora government in Beirut, and further tarnished America's image throughout the region.
A hard-line approach to Iran helped bring President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power but failed to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions, and threatening Syria led Damascus to stop helping the United States against al Qaeda. None of these developments has been good for the United States.
Israeli lobby for mid-east wars
The lobby has encouraged the United States to take Israel's side in its long struggle with the Palestinians, and made it more difficult for the United States to help bring this conflict to a close.
The lobby -- and especially the neoconservatives within it -- also played a key role in the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, although other factors (such as the September 11 attacks) were also critical in making the decision for war.
The lobby has successfully pressed the Bush administration to adopt a more confrontational stance toward Syria and Iran, and encouraged it to back Israel to the hilt during the 2006 war in Lebanon.
The lobby -- and especially the neoconservatives within it -- also played a key role in the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, although other factors (such as the September 11 attacks) were also critical in making the decision for war.
The lobby has successfully pressed the Bush administration to adopt a more confrontational stance toward Syria and Iran, and encouraged it to back Israel to the hilt during the 2006 war in Lebanon.
using anti-semitism to smear others
Although most of the lobby's tactics are legitimate forms of political participation, some groups and individuals in the lobby also try to silence or marginalize opponents and critics by smearing them as anti-Semites or self-hating Jews.
This sort of response was evident in the personal attacks directed at Jimmy Carter for writing a controversial book about Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories, and in the efforts of the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League to prevent the historian Tony Judt from giving a lecture on the Israel lobby to a group in New York City.
True anti-Semitism is loathsome and should be firmly opposed, but using this sort of accusation to silence or marginalize critics is antithetical to the principles of free speech and open debate on which democracy depends.
This sort of response was evident in the personal attacks directed at Jimmy Carter for writing a controversial book about Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories, and in the efforts of the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League to prevent the historian Tony Judt from giving a lecture on the Israel lobby to a group in New York City.
True anti-Semitism is loathsome and should be firmly opposed, but using this sort of accusation to silence or marginalize critics is antithetical to the principles of free speech and open debate on which democracy depends.
the Israeli lobby, how it works
The Israel lobby uses the same basic strategies that other interest groups employ. It pushes its agenda in Congress by supporting friendly candidates and legislators with votes and campaign money and by helping to frame legislation; by getting sympathetic individuals appointed to key policy positions in the executive branch; by monitoring the media and pressuring news organizations to offer favorable coverage; and by writing articles, books, and op-eds designed to move public opinion in directions they favor.
These various strategies are as American as apple pie, and there is nothing illegitimate about them. Yet it ought to be equally legitimate to examine and discuss how the Israel lobby works to push its agenda in government, and to debate whether its influence is beneficial?
These various strategies are as American as apple pie, and there is nothing illegitimate about them. Yet it ought to be equally legitimate to examine and discuss how the Israel lobby works to push its agenda in government, and to debate whether its influence is beneficial?
understanding the Jewish lobby
Prominent groups in the lobby include the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL); Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and pro-Israel think tanks like the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Leading individuals in the lobby include the heads of these various organizations, as well as neoconservatives who served in the Bush administration like Elliott Abrams, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, and David Wurmser, some of whom are closely associated with hard-line pro-Israel think tanks and conservative politicians in Israel, or Christian Zionists like John Hagee of CUFI and ... Tom DeLay (R-Texas).
Religious and ethnic identity does not define who is part of the lobby, as it includes gentiles as well as Jewish-Americans. It is the political agenda of an individual or a group, not ethnicity or religion, that determines whether they are part of the lobby.
Thus, the Israel lobby is not synonymous with American Jewry, and "Jewish lobby" is not an appropriate term for describing the various groups and individuals that work to foster U.S. support for Israel. These groups and individuals sometimes disagree on particular issues but they are united in their belief that the "special relationship" between the United States and Israel should not be substantively questioned.
They form a powerful special interest group, which over time has acquired considerable influence over U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Leading individuals in the lobby include the heads of these various organizations, as well as neoconservatives who served in the Bush administration like Elliott Abrams, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, and David Wurmser, some of whom are closely associated with hard-line pro-Israel think tanks and conservative politicians in Israel, or Christian Zionists like John Hagee of CUFI and ... Tom DeLay (R-Texas).
Religious and ethnic identity does not define who is part of the lobby, as it includes gentiles as well as Jewish-Americans. It is the political agenda of an individual or a group, not ethnicity or religion, that determines whether they are part of the lobby.
Thus, the Israel lobby is not synonymous with American Jewry, and "Jewish lobby" is not an appropriate term for describing the various groups and individuals that work to foster U.S. support for Israel. These groups and individuals sometimes disagree on particular issues but they are united in their belief that the "special relationship" between the United States and Israel should not be substantively questioned.
They form a powerful special interest group, which over time has acquired considerable influence over U.S. policy in the Middle East.
truth about US and Israel
Israel is not the strategic asset to the United States that many claim. Israel may have been a strategic asset during the Cold War, but it has become a growing liability now that the Cold War is over. Unconditional support for Israel has reinforced anti-Americanism around the world, helped fuel America's terrorism problem, and strained relations with other key allies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
The United States derives some tangible strategic benefits from its close security partnership with Israel, but it pays a high price for them. On balance, it is more of a liability than an asset.
The United States derives some tangible strategic benefits from its close security partnership with Israel, but it pays a high price for them. On balance, it is more of a liability than an asset.
why Iran
Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. economic and military assistance, having received more than $154 billion in U.S. aid since its creation in 1948, and it currently receives roughly $3 billion in direct U.S. assistance every year, even though it is now a prosperous country. The United States also consistently gives Israel diplomatic support, and consistently comes to its aid in wartime, as it did during the 2006 war in Lebanon.
Most important, U.S. support for Israel is largely unconditional: Israel receives generous American assistance even when it takes actions that the U.S. government believes are wrong, such as building settlements in the Occupied Territories. As former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin once remarked, U.S. backing for Israel is "beyond compare in modern history."
Most important, U.S. support for Israel is largely unconditional: Israel receives generous American assistance even when it takes actions that the U.S. government believes are wrong, such as building settlements in the Occupied Territories. As former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin once remarked, U.S. backing for Israel is "beyond compare in modern history."
killing more Iraqi women and children
American air strikes on Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City killed 49 people including women and children, Iraqi officials said on Sunday.
Iraqi officials said that bombardment of Sadr City turned residential area into rubble killing civilians indiscriminately including women and children.
Reporters gave gloomy picture from massacre of civilians and innocent people in Baghdad district.
A reporter said that in a house where one of the children lived, a man pointed to bloodstained mattresses and blood-splattered pillows, choking back tears as he held up a photo of one of the dead.
Eyewitnesses said that most of those killed and wounded were women, children and elderly men which shows the indiscriminate bombardment of the city.
"We were waking in the morning and all of a sudden rockets landed in the house and the children were screaming," said a woman outside the house.
Iraqi officials said that bombardment of Sadr City turned residential area into rubble killing civilians indiscriminately including women and children.
Reporters gave gloomy picture from massacre of civilians and innocent people in Baghdad district.
A reporter said that in a house where one of the children lived, a man pointed to bloodstained mattresses and blood-splattered pillows, choking back tears as he held up a photo of one of the dead.
Eyewitnesses said that most of those killed and wounded were women, children and elderly men which shows the indiscriminate bombardment of the city.
"We were waking in the morning and all of a sudden rockets landed in the house and the children were screaming," said a woman outside the house.
more on why Iraq and now Iran
Freedom's Watch made its first current public splash just prior to the appearance of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker before Congress, testifying about the situation in Iraq. In late-August, FW launched a $15 million radio and television advertising campaign aimed at maintaining Congressional support for President Bush's surge and the occupation of Iraq.
"If you look at how Iraq was sold to the American public, a number of pro-war groups and committees of the same ilk and backing had meetings at the White House, embarked on policy discussion tours around the country with media, and appeared as experts on news shows," Stauber pointed out. It's happening again with Iran.
"If you look at how Iraq was sold to the American public, a number of pro-war groups and committees of the same ilk and backing had meetings at the White House, embarked on policy discussion tours around the country with media, and appeared as experts on news shows," Stauber pointed out. It's happening again with Iran.
why Iraq and now Iran
The idea for Freedom's Watch (FW) first surfaced in March of this year at the winter meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Manalapan, Florida, where Vice President Dick Cheney accused House Democrats of not supporting the troops in Iraq. The RJC, which is credited with shepherding then-Texas Governor George W. Bush on his first tour of Israel in November 1998, is a big-money pro-Israel lobby group that networks Jewish-American neoconservatives, Christian Right leaders and conservatives in Israel.
The Freedom's Watch "inner circle of strategists and donors are close to Vice President Dick Cheney or held high posts at the White House," the Associated Press's Jim Kuhnhenn pointed out in late September.
According to its website, Freedom's Watch is a 501 (c) (4) nonprofit corporation; it can lobby on issues but cannot expressly advocate for specific candidates.
lAso in the mix are Kevin Moley, who served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva from September 2001 to April 2006; Howard Leach, a big-time GOP donor who served as Ambassador to France until 2005; Dr. John Templeton, Jr., the son of mutual-funds pioneer Sir John Templeton and chairman and president of the John Templeton Foundation who is serving as chairman on Romney's National Faith And Values Steering Committee; Edward Snider, chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, the huge Philadelphia sports and entertainment firm; Gary Erlbaum, Vice Chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and Chairman of the Federation's Israel Emergency Campaign and the Executive Vice President of the Jewish Publishing Group which publishes the Jewish Exponent and Inside magazine; and Richard Fox, chairman of the Jewish Policy Center and Pennsylvania State Chairman of the Reagan/Bush campaign in 1980.
Writing in the October 8, 2007 issue of the American Conservative, Philip Weiss reported that a story titled "Pro-Surge Group Is Almost All Jewish," from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a wire service for Jewish news, noted that four out of five members of Freedom's Watch board are Jewish, and half of its donors are Jewish.
"It should be remembered that Freedom's Watch is run by a White House PR flack [Ari Fleischer] who was key to selling that last war. It is the same script, same images, same messages, and same players. And it is likely to provoke the same response from the mainstream media."
The Freedom's Watch "inner circle of strategists and donors are close to Vice President Dick Cheney or held high posts at the White House," the Associated Press's Jim Kuhnhenn pointed out in late September.
According to its website, Freedom's Watch is a 501 (c) (4) nonprofit corporation; it can lobby on issues but cannot expressly advocate for specific candidates.
lAso in the mix are Kevin Moley, who served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva from September 2001 to April 2006; Howard Leach, a big-time GOP donor who served as Ambassador to France until 2005; Dr. John Templeton, Jr., the son of mutual-funds pioneer Sir John Templeton and chairman and president of the John Templeton Foundation who is serving as chairman on Romney's National Faith And Values Steering Committee; Edward Snider, chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, the huge Philadelphia sports and entertainment firm; Gary Erlbaum, Vice Chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and Chairman of the Federation's Israel Emergency Campaign and the Executive Vice President of the Jewish Publishing Group which publishes the Jewish Exponent and Inside magazine; and Richard Fox, chairman of the Jewish Policy Center and Pennsylvania State Chairman of the Reagan/Bush campaign in 1980.
Writing in the October 8, 2007 issue of the American Conservative, Philip Weiss reported that a story titled "Pro-Surge Group Is Almost All Jewish," from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a wire service for Jewish news, noted that four out of five members of Freedom's Watch board are Jewish, and half of its donors are Jewish.
"It should be remembered that Freedom's Watch is run by a White House PR flack [Ari Fleischer] who was key to selling that last war. It is the same script, same images, same messages, and same players. And it is likely to provoke the same response from the mainstream media."
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