30 April, 2007
new total for Iraq
Number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America'sWar on Iraq is now 3,351, not including mercenaries, civilians or wounded.
Tenet tells on Cheney, et al
White House and Pentagon officials, and particularly Vice President Cheney, were determined to attack Iraq from the first days of the Bush administration, long before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and repeatedly stretched available intelligence to build support for the war, according to a new book by former CIA director George J. Tenet.
another Republican Scandal
Randall L. Tobias, the deputy secretary of state responsible for U.S. foreign aid, abruptly resigned yesterday after he was asked about an upscale escort service allegedly involved in prostitution, U.S. government sources said.
Tobias resigned after ABC News contacted him with questions about the escort service, the sources said. ABC News released a statement last night saying Tobias acknowledged Thursday that he had used the service.
Tobias resigned after ABC News contacted him with questions about the escort service, the sources said. ABC News released a statement last night saying Tobias acknowledged Thursday that he had used the service.
26 April, 2007
spirituality vs religion
Spirituality is about ethics and morality; organized religion is about power. Worse, religion connected with government is about power without accountability.
25 April, 2007
republicans making us weaker
Does the President and wannabe McCain think terrorists are puppy dogs? He keeps saying that terrorists will "follow us home" like lost dogs. This will only happen, however, he says, if we "lose" in Iraq.
Of course, nothing about our being "over there" in any way prevents terrorists from coming here. Quite the opposite, the evidence is overwhelming that our presence provides motivation for people throughout the Arab world to become anti-American terrorists.
Some 100,000 Iraqis, probably more, have been killed since our invasion. They have parents, children, cousins and fellow tribal clan members who have pledged revenge no matter how long it takes. For many, that revenge is focused on America.
At the same time, investing time, energy and resources in Iraq takes our eye off two far more urgent tasks at hand:
one, guarding the homeland against terrorism much better than the pork-dispensing Department of Homeland Security currently does the job;
and two, systematically dismantling Al Qaeda all over the world, from Canada to Asia to Africa. On both these fronts, the Bush administration's focus is sorely lacking.
Of course, nothing about our being "over there" in any way prevents terrorists from coming here. Quite the opposite, the evidence is overwhelming that our presence provides motivation for people throughout the Arab world to become anti-American terrorists.
Some 100,000 Iraqis, probably more, have been killed since our invasion. They have parents, children, cousins and fellow tribal clan members who have pledged revenge no matter how long it takes. For many, that revenge is focused on America.
At the same time, investing time, energy and resources in Iraq takes our eye off two far more urgent tasks at hand:
one, guarding the homeland against terrorism much better than the pork-dispensing Department of Homeland Security currently does the job;
and two, systematically dismantling Al Qaeda all over the world, from Canada to Asia to Africa. On both these fronts, the Bush administration's focus is sorely lacking.
Republican attack dogs fall flat
First, there was the G.O.P.-incited flare-up over Ms. Pelosi’s request for a military jet to transport her from Washington to her home district in California—the same service that had been provided to her Republican predecessor, J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, for the previous five years.
The Republican National Committee, The Washington Times, the Drudge Report and a small army of Congressional Republicans fanned out to claim that Ms. Pelosi was simply trying to live like a queen at the taxpayers’ expense.
The story riled up elements of the G.O.P. base, but it quickly fell apart when—rather inconveniently—it came to light that Ms. Pelosi had made the request on the advice of the Pentagon and with Mr. Bush’s blessing, and that she also offered to simply fly commercial if the arrangement would be too complicated.
Then there was the Speaker’s recent trip to Syria, aggressively decried by the same chorus. Again, never mind that Republican members of Congress had taken identical trips in the preceding weeks and months, or that Ms. Pelosi’s own delegation included a Republican House member, David Hobson of Ohio.
At the tail end of her trip, her critics even stirred up chatter that Ms. Pelosi would next head to Iran—something she quickly put the kibosh on, though not before the massively influential Drudge Report gave it some play. They lie and lie until some people believe them.
The Republican National Committee, The Washington Times, the Drudge Report and a small army of Congressional Republicans fanned out to claim that Ms. Pelosi was simply trying to live like a queen at the taxpayers’ expense.
The story riled up elements of the G.O.P. base, but it quickly fell apart when—rather inconveniently—it came to light that Ms. Pelosi had made the request on the advice of the Pentagon and with Mr. Bush’s blessing, and that she also offered to simply fly commercial if the arrangement would be too complicated.
Then there was the Speaker’s recent trip to Syria, aggressively decried by the same chorus. Again, never mind that Republican members of Congress had taken identical trips in the preceding weeks and months, or that Ms. Pelosi’s own delegation included a Republican House member, David Hobson of Ohio.
At the tail end of her trip, her critics even stirred up chatter that Ms. Pelosi would next head to Iran—something she quickly put the kibosh on, though not before the massively influential Drudge Report gave it some play. They lie and lie until some people believe them.
human cost of Iraq
Number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America'sWar on Iraq is 3,332 and is growing faster, not counting the "contractors/mercenaries", or the wounded or any civilians.
23 April, 2007
McCain
To this ‘hero’ of the Vietnam War, the White House means not only prolonging the Iraq war and the death of more Americans and slaughter of Iraqis, which he has strongly endorsed , but also the genocide of innocent Iranians. Given that he is lagging behind in fundraising, it comes as no surprise that he should target Iran, lie about Iran’s aspirations to destroy Israel, and hope to receive AIPAC’s blessings and be bank-rolled by them. No doubt, in spite of inciting mass murder, the mainstream media will boost his popularity with the backing of AIPAC, and he will be the frontrunner for the 2008 Republican elections - the war hero who learned nothing from Vietnam and the killing massacre that went on there.
food contamination
FDA Was Aware of Dangers To Food leading to people dying and getting sick, and leading to an unprecedented recalling of food products. Republicans do not like regulation of owners, they do not like spending money except in Iraq because it doesn't benefit owners, and they have a hostility toward government. The poisonous result is that a program like the FDA is going to suffer at every turn of the road,"
22 April, 2007
more republican scandals?
Removing Federal Prosecutors puts pressure on the others to drop investigations of Republicans. New scandals are brewing.
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-Calif.), under investigation by the FBI for a series of land deals, is now facing Democratic ads alleging that he lied about a land sale that he declined to pay taxes on.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) still faces FBI scrutiny of his work as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and this month, his campaign filings showed that he has racked up $892,951.69 in legal fees since July.
And for the first time, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) reported significant legal fees -- $15,620.60 -- in his campaign filing this month, as he tries to stave off accusations that he used taxpayer-funded congressional staff and resources to do political work.
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-Calif.), under investigation by the FBI for a series of land deals, is now facing Democratic ads alleging that he lied about a land sale that he declined to pay taxes on.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) still faces FBI scrutiny of his work as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and this month, his campaign filings showed that he has racked up $892,951.69 in legal fees since July.
And for the first time, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) reported significant legal fees -- $15,620.60 -- in his campaign filing this month, as he tries to stave off accusations that he used taxpayer-funded congressional staff and resources to do political work.
21 April, 2007
"winning hearts and minds" in Iraq
Excerpts from Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell's report on the Haditha incident (the killing of innocents).
Statements made by the chain of command during interviews for this investigation, taken as a whole, suggest that Iraqi civilian lives are not as important as U.S. lives, their deaths are just the cost of doing business, and that the Marines need to get 'the job done' no matter what it takes.
These comments had the potential to desensitize the Marines to concern for the Iraqi populace and portray them all as the enemy even if they are noncombatants.
Yet the Military says we cannot win in Iraq without winning the "hearts and mind" of the people.
Statements made by the chain of command during interviews for this investigation, taken as a whole, suggest that Iraqi civilian lives are not as important as U.S. lives, their deaths are just the cost of doing business, and that the Marines need to get 'the job done' no matter what it takes.
These comments had the potential to desensitize the Marines to concern for the Iraqi populace and portray them all as the enemy even if they are noncombatants.
Yet the Military says we cannot win in Iraq without winning the "hearts and mind" of the people.
and another republican scandal
The Justice Department is conducting a probe of a $6 billion reading initiative at the center of President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, another blow to a program besieged by allegations of financial conflicts of interest and cronyism, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.
Doherty, one of the two Education Department employees who oversaw the initiative, acknowledged yesterday that his wife had worked for a decade as a paid consultant for a reading program, Direct Instruction, that investigators said he improperly tried to force schools to use. He repeatedly failed to disclose the conflict on financial disclosure forms.
Doherty, one of the two Education Department employees who oversaw the initiative, acknowledged yesterday that his wife had worked for a decade as a paid consultant for a reading program, Direct Instruction, that investigators said he improperly tried to force schools to use. He repeatedly failed to disclose the conflict on financial disclosure forms.
20 April, 2007
another neocon republican scandal
The World Bank's board on Friday delayed a final decision on bank chief Paul Wolfowitz's role in a promotion he arranged for his girlfriend and referred some issues to a committee for further investigation.
update Iraq
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq is 3,315, not including "conractors" and civilians,as is continuing.
USA like Germany?
What no one seemed to notice. . . was the ever widening gap. . .between the government and the people. . . And it became always wider. . . the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting, it provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway . . . (it) gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about . . .and kept us so busy with continuous changes and 'crises' and so fascinated . . . by the machinations of the 'national enemies,' without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. . .From Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free, The Germans, 1938-45
17 April, 2007
they are not civilized
The civilized republicans have created the wretched, quite coldly and deliberately, and do not intend to change the status quo; are responsible for their slaughter and enslavement. They rain down bombs on defenseless children whenever and wherever they decide that their 'vital interests' are menaced, and think nothing of torturing a man to death.
These people are not to be taken seriously when they speak of the 'sanctity' of human life, or the conscience' of the civilized world. [3304 sacrificed (officially acknowledged) to date in Iraq.]
These people are not to be taken seriously when they speak of the 'sanctity' of human life, or the conscience' of the civilized world. [3304 sacrificed (officially acknowledged) to date in Iraq.]
16 April, 2007
the religious right
The evangelical Christian movement conjures up a very negative picture is of a narrow, bigoted collection of pious people who wish to impose their politics and religion on the United States.
It is reinforced by the likes of James Dobson, an influential religious leader who recently pronounced a Republican presidential hopeful, Fred Thompson, as insufficiently Christian.
Warren's church draws more than 20,000 worshipers each Sunday, has a $30 million budget and his global offshoots are mushrooming. Dobson's Focus on the Family organization in Colorado publishes books, magazines and weekly newspaper columns and has a radio show.
Their approaches to American political and social life could not be more different.
Warren, to the consternation of some anti-abortionists on the religious right, invited Senator Barack Obama, Democratic of Illinois and a presidential candidate, to his church to talk about their mutual efforts to battle AIDS and world poverty. Warren is the establishment's favorite evangelical leader, comfortable going to Harvard and the Aspen Institute to preach about Jesus and tolerance.
"Dobson thrives on a role as a political kingmaker" said Charles Kimball, a religion professor at Wake Forest University, in North Carolina. And Dobson is willing to use almost any tactic, however incendiary and divisive. On his radio programs, publications and speeches, his favorite targets are gay civil unions, which Dobson would have you believe threaten the fabric of a moral society.
Dobson deeply immerses himself in Republican Party politics. He was part of a regular conference call with White House operatives during the 2004 campaign and was consulted by Karl Rove, the Bush adviser, before the nomination of two Supreme Court justices, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. He has a close working relationship with a former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich.
Warren, though less political, resembles the Billy Graham, an evangelical minister, of an earlier generation. Graham drew the ire of fundamentalists in the 1960s by reaching across ecumenical and racial lines in his crusades.
Dobson is following in the footsteps of two preachers, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, the Batman and Robin of the religious right who have long traded on fear mongering and personal invective.
Ralph Reed, a creative religious-right political operative, once noted the movement succeeded by flying below the radar. Its leaders could rally the faithful without alienating the larger population.
That worked until they overreached. Reed, a victim of personal greed, was ensnared in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and rejected as a political candidate in his home state of Georgia.
Then there was the Terri Schiavo case, where the religious right browbeat the U.S. Congress into intervening, under false pretenses, to try to force the authorities to keep alive a brain-dead woman. Much of the American public was appalled. It was a turning point.
Republican 2008 candidates beware: It is going to be a lot harder to fly below the radar screen especially if you are traveling with Jim Dobson.
It is reinforced by the likes of James Dobson, an influential religious leader who recently pronounced a Republican presidential hopeful, Fred Thompson, as insufficiently Christian.
Warren's church draws more than 20,000 worshipers each Sunday, has a $30 million budget and his global offshoots are mushrooming. Dobson's Focus on the Family organization in Colorado publishes books, magazines and weekly newspaper columns and has a radio show.
Their approaches to American political and social life could not be more different.
Warren, to the consternation of some anti-abortionists on the religious right, invited Senator Barack Obama, Democratic of Illinois and a presidential candidate, to his church to talk about their mutual efforts to battle AIDS and world poverty. Warren is the establishment's favorite evangelical leader, comfortable going to Harvard and the Aspen Institute to preach about Jesus and tolerance.
"Dobson thrives on a role as a political kingmaker" said Charles Kimball, a religion professor at Wake Forest University, in North Carolina. And Dobson is willing to use almost any tactic, however incendiary and divisive. On his radio programs, publications and speeches, his favorite targets are gay civil unions, which Dobson would have you believe threaten the fabric of a moral society.
Dobson deeply immerses himself in Republican Party politics. He was part of a regular conference call with White House operatives during the 2004 campaign and was consulted by Karl Rove, the Bush adviser, before the nomination of two Supreme Court justices, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. He has a close working relationship with a former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich.
Warren, though less political, resembles the Billy Graham, an evangelical minister, of an earlier generation. Graham drew the ire of fundamentalists in the 1960s by reaching across ecumenical and racial lines in his crusades.
Dobson is following in the footsteps of two preachers, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, the Batman and Robin of the religious right who have long traded on fear mongering and personal invective.
Ralph Reed, a creative religious-right political operative, once noted the movement succeeded by flying below the radar. Its leaders could rally the faithful without alienating the larger population.
That worked until they overreached. Reed, a victim of personal greed, was ensnared in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and rejected as a political candidate in his home state of Georgia.
Then there was the Terri Schiavo case, where the religious right browbeat the U.S. Congress into intervening, under false pretenses, to try to force the authorities to keep alive a brain-dead woman. Much of the American public was appalled. It was a turning point.
Republican 2008 candidates beware: It is going to be a lot harder to fly below the radar screen especially if you are traveling with Jim Dobson.
racism
Being an old white guy myself, I am always amazed and saddened when old white guys come to the defense of white guys who spew racist downers toward people of other races.
It goes to prove that racism is still alive and well in our country and will destroy it unless we quit trying to protect these nitwits
It goes to prove that racism is still alive and well in our country and will destroy it unless we quit trying to protect these nitwits
another Republican Scandal
World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz personally dictated the terms under which the bank gave what it called his "domestic partner" substantial pay raises and promotions in exchange for temporarily leaving her job there during his tenure, according to documents released by the bank's executive board yesterday.
Wolfowitz joined the bank in 2005 after working at the Pentagon, where as the neocon republican deputy defense secretary, he was a principal architect of the Iraq war.
Wolfowitz joined the bank in 2005 after working at the Pentagon, where as the neocon republican deputy defense secretary, he was a principal architect of the Iraq war.
winning hearts and minds
A preliminary U.S. military investigation indicates that more than 40 Afghans killed or wounded by Marines in a village near Jalalabad last month were civilians.
update Iraq
Number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America'sWar on Iraq continues to average about 3 a day and now totals 3,299.
12 April, 2007
if you join the military?
The decision to extend Army tours is a further buildup of a war that has no end in sight. The republican failed strategy in Iraq continues to stress U.S. forces to the breaking point.
Senior Army leaders have said it is approaching the breaking point. Military soldiers are were extended again and again and again, so finally no one believes them, Also if you join the military, you may not be able to get out when your term is up.
Senior Army leaders have said it is approaching the breaking point. Military soldiers are were extended again and again and again, so finally no one believes them, Also if you join the military, you may not be able to get out when your term is up.
11 April, 2007
war without end
Number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America'sWar On Iraq is 3,282 and couting in the republican war without end that they started based on lies and manipulation.
10 April, 2007
a republican blunder
The invasion of Iraq was the biggest diplomatic blunder in the history of the United States. It is not worth the fight. The invasion of Iraq has brought on Civil War and genocide there and has placed the US troops in a meaningless meat grinder.
While we waste out blood and money in Iraq the terrorists are growing, the influence of the US is dwindling and our actual enemies are growing stronger. The War in Iraq has divided our allies and unified our enemies.
There is no historical evidence that setting a timetable for troop withdrawal will embolden the insurgents, the history of insurgencies proves this. The Irish were willing to wait for 750 years, the Spanish waited for 700 years and the Hindis waited for 1100 years. The Bush Administration has placed OUR foreign diplomatic future in the hands of the Iraqi Arabs who hate our guts.
While we waste out blood and money in Iraq the terrorists are growing, the influence of the US is dwindling and our actual enemies are growing stronger. The War in Iraq has divided our allies and unified our enemies.
There is no historical evidence that setting a timetable for troop withdrawal will embolden the insurgents, the history of insurgencies proves this. The Irish were willing to wait for 750 years, the Spanish waited for 700 years and the Hindis waited for 1100 years. The Bush Administration has placed OUR foreign diplomatic future in the hands of the Iraqi Arabs who hate our guts.
09 April, 2007
war on or is?
Today's slogan, war on terrorism, reverses its true meaning. The US war on Iraq is based on lies making in unjustified, thus this WAR IS TERROISM.
republicans wanted war on Iraq
Just four months after the Sept. 11 attacks, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz dashed off a memo to a senior Pentagon colleague, demanding action to identify connections between Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime and al Qaeda.
Wolfowitz's memo, released Thursday, is included in a recently declassified report by the Pentagon's inspector general.
The memo marked the first days of what would become a controversial, yearlong Pentagon project (Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense) to convince the most senior levels of the Bush administration that Hussein and al Qaeda were linked -- a conclusion that was hotly disputed by U.S. intelligence agencies at the time and discredited in the years since.
Wolfowitz's memo, released Thursday, is included in a recently declassified report by the Pentagon's inspector general.
The memo marked the first days of what would become a controversial, yearlong Pentagon project (Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense) to convince the most senior levels of the Bush administration that Hussein and al Qaeda were linked -- a conclusion that was hotly disputed by U.S. intelligence agencies at the time and discredited in the years since.
same republican lie again
Vice President Dick Cheney repeated his LIES of al-Qaida links to Saddam Hussein's Iraq on Thursday as the Defense Department released a report citing more evidence that the prewar government did not cooperate with the terrorist group.
However, a declassified Pentagon report released Thursday said that interrogations of the deposed Iraqi leader and two of his former aides as well as seized Iraqi documents confirmed that the terrorist organization and the Saddam government were not working together before the invasion.
The Sept. 11 Commission's 2004 report also found no evidence of a collaborative relationship between Saddam and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network during that period.
THEY TELL THE SAME LIES OVER AND OVER SO SOME WILL BELIEVE.
However, a declassified Pentagon report released Thursday said that interrogations of the deposed Iraqi leader and two of his former aides as well as seized Iraqi documents confirmed that the terrorist organization and the Saddam government were not working together before the invasion.
The Sept. 11 Commission's 2004 report also found no evidence of a collaborative relationship between Saddam and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network during that period.
THEY TELL THE SAME LIES OVER AND OVER SO SOME WILL BELIEVE.
mispoke means lied
A local hospital source and a resident said six people, including two children and a woman, were killed in the missile strike on a home in the centre of the city, 110 miles south of Baghdad.
A former captain in the Scots Guards who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq describes both operations as troops are dying in Iraq for a 'doomed project' and a political and military shambles in a book to be published next week. 3275 SACRIFICED AND INCREASING.
U.S. Senator John McCain said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday he misspoke in his recent upbeat comments about security in Baghdad, where he traveled under heavy military protection. Did you notice that when these republicans lie and they get caught in it, they always say they "misspoke"?
A former captain in the Scots Guards who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq describes both operations as troops are dying in Iraq for a 'doomed project' and a political and military shambles in a book to be published next week. 3275 SACRIFICED AND INCREASING.
U.S. Senator John McCain said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday he misspoke in his recent upbeat comments about security in Baghdad, where he traveled under heavy military protection. Did you notice that when these republicans lie and they get caught in it, they always say they "misspoke"?
republican progress in Iraq?
The number of Americans killed in combat or other violence rose to 53 in Baghdad in the first seven weeks of the push, from Feb. 14 to April 2. That is up from 29 in the seven weeks before then.
05 April, 2007
one reason for wars?
The power and influence of Israel and the Zionist power influence US political institutions (Congress, the Executive branch, the mass media, the two major political parties and electoral processes), their economic leverage on investment and financial institutions (state and trade union pension funds, investment banks), their cultural domination of journals, the performing arts, magazines, films and newspapers.
Zionist political, economic and cultural power is directed exclusively toward maximizing Israel’s military, economic and political expansion and superiority in the Middle East even when it conflicts with other US imperialist interests.
Zionist political, economic and cultural power is directed exclusively toward maximizing Israel’s military, economic and political expansion and superiority in the Middle East even when it conflicts with other US imperialist interests.
McCain
The delegation, led by Senator John McCain, arrived at Shorja market on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armoured vehicles as attack helicopters circled overhead. Soldiers redirected traffic, restricted access to the Americans and sharpshooters were posted on the rooftops.
They wore bulletproof vests throughout their hour-long visit. Then he prclaimed prgress in Iraq because he could walk down that street. What a phoney shill for continuing the Republican War without end.
They wore bulletproof vests throughout their hour-long visit. Then he prclaimed prgress in Iraq because he could walk down that street. What a phoney shill for continuing the Republican War without end.
04 April, 2007
the Iraq mess
Donald Vance2007 recipient of the Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize
Donald Vance, a 29-year-old Navy veteran, had been a long-time supporter of the war in Iraq. But that changed last April when, serving as a security contractor in Baghdad, he was detained by U.S. forces and held without charges for more than three months at Camp Cropper, one of Iraq’s most notorious military prison camps.
There, Vance and a colleague, Nathan Ertel, were denied counsel and were largely prevented from communicating with the outside world. They were held in isolation in extremely cold cells without adequate clothing or blankets.
Vance was also subjected to sleep deprivation, interrogation for hours and periodically denied food and water for long periods. The U.S. military eventually released both Vance and Ertel without explanation, admitting that they had done nothing wrong.
Vance secretly kept notes on his time at Camp Cropper and smuggled them out in a Bible.
He took his story public in December, offering a detailed and verifiable account of his experiences to the New York Times. His report has provided a rare and credible inside account of the Pentagon’s detention operations — and is one of only a few stories to emerge since the abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib.
Vance has also filed a lawsuit in federal court, charging former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the government with torture and violating Vance’s rights of habeas corpus.
Ironically, Vance was arrested in a military sweep that he helped to instigate. An employee of Shield Group Security at the time of his arrest, Vance had been working as an unpaid informant for the F.B.I., sending reports about suspicious activities at the Iraqi security firm where he worked, including possible illegal weapons trading.
When American soldiers raided the company, Vance and Ertel were arrested and detained with the others. For reasons that are still unclear, the military failed to believe or act on Vance’s story, holding him even after the F.B.I. confirmed Vance’s activities were legal and that he had been acting in the interests of the U.S. government.
Vance, a resident of Chicago, joined the U.S. Navy after graduating high school. He started doing security work in Iraq after the fall of Baghdad. He is working on a book about his experiences in Iraq.
Donald Vance, a 29-year-old Navy veteran, had been a long-time supporter of the war in Iraq. But that changed last April when, serving as a security contractor in Baghdad, he was detained by U.S. forces and held without charges for more than three months at Camp Cropper, one of Iraq’s most notorious military prison camps.
There, Vance and a colleague, Nathan Ertel, were denied counsel and were largely prevented from communicating with the outside world. They were held in isolation in extremely cold cells without adequate clothing or blankets.
Vance was also subjected to sleep deprivation, interrogation for hours and periodically denied food and water for long periods. The U.S. military eventually released both Vance and Ertel without explanation, admitting that they had done nothing wrong.
Vance secretly kept notes on his time at Camp Cropper and smuggled them out in a Bible.
He took his story public in December, offering a detailed and verifiable account of his experiences to the New York Times. His report has provided a rare and credible inside account of the Pentagon’s detention operations — and is one of only a few stories to emerge since the abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib.
Vance has also filed a lawsuit in federal court, charging former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the government with torture and violating Vance’s rights of habeas corpus.
Ironically, Vance was arrested in a military sweep that he helped to instigate. An employee of Shield Group Security at the time of his arrest, Vance had been working as an unpaid informant for the F.B.I., sending reports about suspicious activities at the Iraqi security firm where he worked, including possible illegal weapons trading.
When American soldiers raided the company, Vance and Ertel were arrested and detained with the others. For reasons that are still unclear, the military failed to believe or act on Vance’s story, holding him even after the F.B.I. confirmed Vance’s activities were legal and that he had been acting in the interests of the U.S. government.
Vance, a resident of Chicago, joined the U.S. Navy after graduating high school. He started doing security work in Iraq after the fall of Baghdad. He is working on a book about his experiences in Iraq.
Iraq continues
Number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in the fifth year of America's Republican war on Iraq is 3,257 killed, not counting the "contractors", the 30-40 thousand wounded and all the Iraquis.
02 April, 2007
war,war,war
If the republican war is enlarged in the next 20 months to include Iran -- if that happens -- for the next 20 years the United States is going to be bogged down in a war which spans Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and then you can forget about American global leadership, regardless of which party governs the USA.
how they sell war
These republicans promoted the misguided and destructive war in Iraq by targeting our concerns about vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. The continued occupation of Iraq or an attack on Iran will likely be sold to us in much the same way.
USA vs. Iranian hostages
No hoods. No electric shocks. No beatings. These Iranians clearly are a very uncivilized.
update Iraq
3246 brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers sacrificed and thousands wounded for life ,and the beat goes on in the fifth year of this republican war.
01 April, 2007
dead in Iraq?
A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.
The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government.
It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December. It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group.
The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government.
It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December. It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group.
more republican justice?
About one-third of the nearly four dozen U.S. attorney's jobs that have changed hands since President Bush began his second term have been filled by the White House and the Justice Department with trusted administration insiders.
No other administration in contemporary times has had such a clear pattern of filling chief prosecutors' jobs with its own staff members, said experts on U.S. attorney's offices.
Those experts said the emphasis in appointments traditionally has been on local roots and deference to home-state senators, whose support has been crucial to win confirmation of the nominees.
"If we have eight U.S. attorneys dismissed because they were not 'loyal Bushies,' then how many of the remaining U.S. attorneys are?" asked Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), borrowing a phrase that Gonzales's former chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, used in an internal e-mail to describe criteria by which prosecutors were chosen to be fired.
These jobs are serious prosecutorial jobs that require judgment and an understanding of the laws that are to be enforced. They are not meant to be steppingstones, or to give people turns at political jobs.
No other administration in contemporary times has had such a clear pattern of filling chief prosecutors' jobs with its own staff members, said experts on U.S. attorney's offices.
Those experts said the emphasis in appointments traditionally has been on local roots and deference to home-state senators, whose support has been crucial to win confirmation of the nominees.
"If we have eight U.S. attorneys dismissed because they were not 'loyal Bushies,' then how many of the remaining U.S. attorneys are?" asked Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), borrowing a phrase that Gonzales's former chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, used in an internal e-mail to describe criteria by which prosecutors were chosen to be fired.
These jobs are serious prosecutorial jobs that require judgment and an understanding of the laws that are to be enforced. They are not meant to be steppingstones, or to give people turns at political jobs.
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