That wasn't the question, Bozo.!
The question was not about the American people, it was about you and your behavior.
Bush Fires Back at Republican Rebels - Los Angeles Times:
Asked whether Powell's letter suggested that Americans were wondering whether the president's strategy was flawed, Bush responded: 'If there's any comparison between the compassion and decency of the American people and the terrorists' tactics of extremists, it's flawed logic.'
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Bush Fires Back at Republican Rebels - Los Angeles Times
This is un-freakin'-believable!!!!!
We have got to get these people, all of them, out of the White House, ASAP
Bush can't figure out what human dignity is, and what outrages on human dignity are?
God help us!
Bush Fires Back at Republican Rebels - Los Angeles Times:
Bush says that this language is vague and that the lack of clarity has left intelligence agents in doubt about whether their interrogation tactics are legal. 'What does that mean, 'outrages upon human dignity'? That's a statement that is wide open to interpretation,' he said Friday. He wants Congress to define the language.
Lawless 'Compromises'
I still say that every speech, by the administrations's leading spewers of crappolla, Bush, Cheney, Rummy and, to a lesser degreee, Rice, has been filled with thinly veiled threats.
Lawless 'Compromises':
George W. Bush's decision to move Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and thirteen other 'high value' Al Qaeda captives from secret CIA prisons to Guantanamo was treated by much of the press as an abrupt change of course. Big news! The President acknowledged CIA prisons that the public has known about for two years! Reality: The President--in the wake of the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision striking down his Administration's post-9/11 military tribunals and faced with the possibility of more lawsuits on behalf of those CIA detainees--is attempting desperate aikido, spinning his eroding legal and political position into yet another assault on the Constitution and civilized values.
Make no mistake: Despite years of rebukes from courts and Congress, Bush remains addicted to a radical vision in which the right to seize and torture abroad and the right to spy on Americans at home are inextricable. In the days surrounding this year's 9/11 anniversary, Bush pulled out all the stops on both the Administration's military commissions bill and its warrantless wiretapping plan, an election-season push that left his Republican allies in knots.
Sidney Blumenthal Calls George W. Bush 'The Most Uniquely Radical President We�ve Ever Had' | BuzzFlash
If Bush has a Rpublican majority for two more years, I hate to think of the hell realm that awaits us all.
Sidney Blumenthal Calls George W. Bush 'The Most Uniquely Radical President We�ve Ever Had' BuzzFlash:
I think the Republican campaign this year comes down to one word --
Halloween -- one long Halloween. It's fright night every night. The symbol of their party ought to be Freddy and Chucky. The Democrats need to focus on Bush. The importance of my book is that it focuses on Bush, who remains the key
crucial question and issue, even in the midterm campaign. Will we have unaccountable, one-party rule with Bush for the next two years? And has this Congress performed its Constitutional duty? The answer is no. -- Sidney
Blumenthal
Both a trenchant, learned journalist and a tested political counsel who served as a former special advisor to both Bill and Hillary Clinton in the White House, Sidney Blumenthal has been writing commentary on politics regularly for Salon.com and The Guardian since 2003. His new book based on those writings analyzes both the Bush policies and the politics we've been enduring in recent times. He argues, very convincingly, that this administration's extremist actions are a deliberate effort to radically change the presidency and America's government. He also shares with BuzzFlash his advice to Democrats about the current election cycle.
Muslim leaders demand apology from Pope - Yahoo! News
Would His Holiness kindly put an sock in it.
This was totally unnecessary! Why dig around for some long past statement by some Byzantine Emperor, in the first place?
The World ould have been better off if they had called the Taxidermy man and had John Paul II stuffed and pretended that he was still alive.
This Pope gives me the creeps!
Muslim leaders demand apology from Pope - Yahoo! News:
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Leaders across the Muslim world demanded Pope Benedict XVI apologize for his remarks on Islam and jihad, unmoved by the Vatican's assurances that he meant only to emphasize the incompatibility between faith and war.
The torrent of rage unleashed by Benedict's comments in a speech in Germany stirred fears of violent anti-Western protests like those that followed the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
Two churches in the West Bank were hit by firebombs Saturday, and a group claiming responsibility said it was protesting Benedict's words. Scattered protests elsewhere, however, have been peaceful.
Benedict cited an obscure Medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam's founder as 'evil and inhuman' , comments some experts took as a signal that the Vatican was staking a more demanding stance for its dealings with the Muslim world.
Cenk Uygur: Call It What It Is -- Bush Wants to Torture People | The Huffington Post
Bush is behaving more and more like Saddam everyday?
The Blog Cenk Uygur: Call It What It Is -- Bush Wants to Torture People The Huffington Post:
It's so annoying to read mainstream press articles where they dance around what the real issue is on 'terror suspect interrogations.' They use every euphemism in the book. Bush seeks 'clarity' on interrogations. Bush wants 'wider leeway' in interrogations. Bush wants 'tougher interrogations.'
Tougher interrogations, my ass. Bush wants to torture people.
Tom Hayden: Withdraw from Iraq Or Carve iIt Up? | The Huffington Post
But that would cut own on the chaos that the Bushites love so much; the chaos that covers up crimes.
The Blog Tom Hayden: Withdraw from Iraq Or Carve iIt Up? The Huffington Post:
The big new buzz on Capitol Hill is partitioning Iraq into three ethnic enclaves, the thesis of a new book by Peter Galbraith who participating in carving up the Balkans a decade ago and who is an official consultant to the Kurdish community seeking independence from Iraq.
The Absurd Season
Again with the supid, inane questions for Democrats:
So, what's your plan for Iraq? As if it matters. The Democrats, even if they win back both bodies of Congress, have very little say regarding foreign policy.
All they have is the power of the purse.
The Absurd Season:
The period before any significant election has been called 'the silly season' for years now, and for good reason. Take the run-up to the 2004 election, for one recent example. The occupation of Iraq was spiraling into chaos, American soldiers and Iraqi civilians were dying in ever-escalating numbers, the nightmare of Abu Ghraib had stained us all, and what did that election turn on? The Vietnam War and gay marriage.
That was just silly, but in many ways, what is happening as we creep toward the 2006 midterms goes beyond silly into the realm of the astonishingly absurd.
Republican officeholders and pundits get on the television day after day and ask the single dumbest question one can ask regarding Iraq: 'What is the Democrat's plan for fixing the occupation?' This isn't a dumb question on the surface, because of course the Democrats absolutely must have a plan. This is a dumb question because, as things stand today, it doesn't matter a whit what the Democrat's plan is.
So, what's your plan for Iraq? As if it matters. The Democrats, even if they win back both bodies of Congress, have very little say regarding foreign policy.
All they have is the power of the purse.
The Absurd Season:
The period before any significant election has been called 'the silly season' for years now, and for good reason. Take the run-up to the 2004 election, for one recent example. The occupation of Iraq was spiraling into chaos, American soldiers and Iraqi civilians were dying in ever-escalating numbers, the nightmare of Abu Ghraib had stained us all, and what did that election turn on? The Vietnam War and gay marriage.
That was just silly, but in many ways, what is happening as we creep toward the 2006 midterms goes beyond silly into the realm of the astonishingly absurd.
Republican officeholders and pundits get on the television day after day and ask the single dumbest question one can ask regarding Iraq: 'What is the Democrat's plan for fixing the occupation?' This isn't a dumb question on the surface, because of course the Democrats absolutely must have a plan. This is a dumb question because, as things stand today, it doesn't matter a whit what the Democrat's plan is.
Nick Turse on 12-Pentagon Steps to a Misfit Military
Outrageous, sad, shameful, incompetent, stupid, criminal...and more
TomDispatch - Tomgram: Nick Turse on 12-Pentagon Steps to a Misfit Military:
Recently, the Washington Post, and then the New York Times, reported a top-secret assessment by the Marines' Chief of Intelligence that focused on the catastrophic situation of his undermanned Corps in the heartlands of Iraq's Sunni insurgency. He concluded, according to the Post's Tom Ricks, that 'the prospects for securing that country's western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there.'
Couldn't get much worse, you'd think. Then, Major General Richard C. Zilmer, the senior Marine commander, decided to 'dispute' both news accounts. His argument, according to Michael Gordon of the Times was that 'he had sufficient forces to carry out his mission but that the mission did not include defeating the insurgency.'
Come again? Fortunately, in a front page piece, 'Growing Concern: Terrorist Havens in 'Failed States'' on the possibility that Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan might all turn into the kinds of terrorist safe territories that only Afghanistan had been prior to September 11, 2001, the Wall Street Journal's Yochi J. Dreazen and Philip Shishkin sum up the latest 'desired endstate' of the Bush administration this way: 'U.S. officials acknowledge their main goal in Iraq now is to prevent it from turning into a place run by fundamentalists who export terrorism to the region.'
TomDispatch - Tomgram: Nick Turse on 12-Pentagon Steps to a Misfit Military:
Recently, the Washington Post, and then the New York Times, reported a top-secret assessment by the Marines' Chief of Intelligence that focused on the catastrophic situation of his undermanned Corps in the heartlands of Iraq's Sunni insurgency. He concluded, according to the Post's Tom Ricks, that 'the prospects for securing that country's western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there.'
Couldn't get much worse, you'd think. Then, Major General Richard C. Zilmer, the senior Marine commander, decided to 'dispute' both news accounts. His argument, according to Michael Gordon of the Times was that 'he had sufficient forces to carry out his mission but that the mission did not include defeating the insurgency.'
Come again? Fortunately, in a front page piece, 'Growing Concern: Terrorist Havens in 'Failed States'' on the possibility that Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan might all turn into the kinds of terrorist safe territories that only Afghanistan had been prior to September 11, 2001, the Wall Street Journal's Yochi J. Dreazen and Philip Shishkin sum up the latest 'desired endstate' of the Bush administration this way: 'U.S. officials acknowledge their main goal in Iraq now is to prevent it from turning into a place run by fundamentalists who export terrorism to the region.'
Are Jag Lawyers being threatened by administration?
Kennedy and Durbin Want to Know.
So do we.
TPMmuckraker September 15, 2006 02:06 PM:
The Honorable Arlen Specter
Chairman
Committee on Judiciary
United States Senate
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Specter,
We recently learned of allegations that, in meeting earlier this week, the White House and Department of Defense General Counsel William J. Haynes pressured senior judge advocates general into signing a letter on the Administration's proposed revisions to the War Crimes Act and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. It is alleged that the JAGs were kept in this meeting for several hours, until they agreed to sign the letter. That letter was subsequently used to suggest that the JAGs supported the Administration's proposals.
These allegations are disturbingly similar to other allegations that Mr. Haynes has ignored, circumvented, or overruled the nation's senior military lawyers. The Judiciary Committee has explored Mr. Haynes' attempts to overrule the JAGs in preparing interrogation guidelines that departed from long-standing military tradition and led to detainee abuses.
We believe these new allegations raise serious further questions about Mr. Haynes' fitness to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. We urge you to thoroughly investigate and hold hearings on these claims and others relating to Mr. Haynes' treatment of the JAGs before the committee takes any further action on his nomination.
Toobin: Bush 'playing chicken' with senators - Sep 15, 2006
Actually, it sounded more like a threat:
If you don't give me what I want, there will be another terrorist attack.
(Hummm...how would he know that unless his administration is planning another one?)
CNN.com - Toobin: Bush 'playing chicken' with senators - Sep 15, 2006:
CNN) -- President Bush warned on Friday that a CIA interrogation program for terror suspects is in jeopardy unless Congress approves his proposals seeking to reinterpret America's application of the Geneva Conventions.
Bush's remarks were the latest salvo in efforts to write new rules that he said would clarify how Geneva Conventions provisions apply to detainee interrogations. A GOP-controlled Senate panel defied Bush on the issue, recommending a bill that would set up military courts without changing the U.S. reading of the Conventions.
CNN anchor Tony Harris spoke with CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Friday about Bush's comments.
Who's the Next Target in the Abramoff Probe? -- Page 1
Conrad Burns? Oh, Joy!
TIME.com: Who's the Next Target in the Abramoff Probe? -- Page 1:
After months of defiant protestations of innocence about his role in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, has pleaded guilty to making false statements, conspiracy to commit fraud and violating post-employment restrictions for former congressional aides. But the probe into the lobbying scandal is far from wrapped up.
A source close to the investigation told TIME that scores of
US prosecutors and FBI agents continue to examine the activities of other sitting members of Congress and prominent individuals who could face prosecution, though not necessarily before the November 7 election. The source confirmed previous public reports that particular scrutiny is being paid to Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican who faces a tough campaign for reelection.
TIME.com: Who's the Next Target in the Abramoff Probe? -- Page 1:
After months of defiant protestations of innocence about his role in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, has pleaded guilty to making false statements, conspiracy to commit fraud and violating post-employment restrictions for former congressional aides. But the probe into the lobbying scandal is far from wrapped up.
A source close to the investigation told TIME that scores of
US prosecutors and FBI agents continue to examine the activities of other sitting members of Congress and prominent individuals who could face prosecution, though not necessarily before the November 7 election. The source confirmed previous public reports that particular scrutiny is being paid to Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican who faces a tough campaign for reelection.
Republicans angry at their own party
They should be angry that their party has been taken over by authoritarian thugs.
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Republican voters are angry, not for the first time, at big-spending politicians in Washington. This year, their wrath is aimed at their own party.
The Republican-controlled Congress heads into the Nov. 7 elections having increased federal spending this year by 9 percent -- the most since 1990 -- to about $2.7 trillion, according to projections from the White House Office of Management and Budget. The agency estimates government spending will grow to 20.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2006 from 18.5 percent when President George W. Bush took office in 2001.
``We've strayed a long way from the principles the party was founded upon,'' said Representative Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican.
Republicans need a big turnout by their core supporters if they are to avoid losing their majorities in the House of Representatives and, possibly, the Senate. Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, said those core supporters are the very voters who are most likely to be angered by the increased spending, and who may stay home in protest.
``It's one of a handful of reasons why Republicans are discouraged,'' Ayres said. ``I don't know what you can say that will mollify the Republican base on this subject. You're better off talking to them about other subjects.'
Watch Your Back
This is scary........
But the real question is, what are we prepared to do, if the Rethugs steal more elections this November?
Seeing the Forest: Senator Reid on Political Surveillance - "I don't Know What They Would Do":
Senator Reid on Political Surveillance -
'I don't Know What They Would Do'
On a blogger call with Senator Reid today, I asked if there is any indiaction that the administration is using the NSA's powerful surveillance capabilities for political purposes. Senator Reid said that he is so disillusioned with the Bush admnistration, with how Cheney just comes out and lies, and Rice just lies - saying things on the news shows this weekend that they certainly know to be false, intending to mislead the public - that, 'I don't know what they would do.'
Watch your backs.
National Debt, Spiarling Out of Control
Abstract: "The Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: September 2006 Update, GAO-06-1077R, September 15, 2006 PDF
Since 1992, GAO has published long-term fiscal simulations of what might happen to federal deficits and debt levels under varying policy assumptions. GAO developed its long-term model in response to a bipartisan request from Members of Congress who were concerned about the long-term effects of fiscal policy. In 1992 GAO said: 'The federal budget is structurally unbalanced. This will do increasing damage to the economy and is unsustainable in the long term. Regardless of the approach chosen, prompt and meaningful action is essential. The longer it is delayed, the more painful it will be.' These words are as relevant today as when GAO first published them. GAO updates its simulations three times a year as new estimates become available from the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook (January), Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports (early spring), and CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update (late summer).
Since 1992, GAO has published long-term fiscal simulations of what might happen to federal deficits and debt levels under varying policy assumptions. GAO developed its long-term model in response to a bipartisan request from Members of Congress who were concerned about the long-term effects of fiscal policy. In 1992 GAO said: 'The federal budget is structurally unbalanced. This will do increasing damage to the economy and is unsustainable in the long term. Regardless of the approach chosen, prompt and meaningful action is essential. The longer it is delayed, the more painful it will be.' These words are as relevant today as when GAO first published them. GAO updates its simulations three times a year as new estimates become available from the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook (January), Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports (early spring), and CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update (late summer).
Radical Anti-Choice Christian Group Busted for Illegal Campaigning During 2004 Election; Loses Tax-Exempt Status
Never thought I would say this, but 15 cheers for the IRS
Radical Anti-Choice Christian Group Busted for Illegal Campaigning During 2004 Election; Loses Tax-Exempt Status BuzzFlash:
The anti-choice organization Operation Rescue West has had its tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) revoked by the IRS. An investigation was sparked from a complaint by Catholics For a Free Choice (CFFC) over blatant political campaigning by the group during the 2004 presidential election.
On July 15, 2004, Operation Rescue West sponsored a full-page ad in an ultra-conservative national magazine. The ad, entitled 'John Kerry is a 'Catholic' Baby-Killing Hypocrite,' referred to Democrats as 'Deathocrats,' and promised that any donations would be tax-deductible.
Radical Anti-Choice Christian Group Busted for Illegal Campaigning During 2004 Election; Loses Tax-Exempt Status BuzzFlash:
The anti-choice organization Operation Rescue West has had its tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) revoked by the IRS. An investigation was sparked from a complaint by Catholics For a Free Choice (CFFC) over blatant political campaigning by the group during the 2004 presidential election.
On July 15, 2004, Operation Rescue West sponsored a full-page ad in an ultra-conservative national magazine. The ad, entitled 'John Kerry is a 'Catholic' Baby-Killing Hypocrite,' referred to Democrats as 'Deathocrats,' and promised that any donations would be tax-deductible.
Retired generals criticize White House
But who cares?
After all, the Chickenhawks who did everything they could to avoid service in a war, know best.
United Press International - Security & Terrorism - Retired generals criticize White House:
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Twenty-seven retired U.S. military leaders are pressing the Senate to reject the White House's attempt to relax interrogation standards for the CIA.
The same group was instrumental in helping to convince Congress last year to pass Sen. John McCain's Detainee Treatment Act, which prohibited torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment for all U.S. detainees.
The Supreme Court earlier this year affirmed that even al-Qaida terrorist prisoners are covered by the most basic Geneva Convention protections outlined in what is known as 'Common Article 3.'
That treaty prohibits violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; taking of hostages; outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; and the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court.
It also requires prisoners to have all judicial guarantees universally recognized as indispensable.
Lie By Lie: The History of Iraq Lies, from 1990 to 2003
From Father to Son.
Lie By Lie: "The first drafts of history are fragmentary. Important revelations arrive late, and out of order. In this timeline, we've assembled the history of the Iraq War to create a resource we hope will help resolve open questions of the Bush era. What did our leaders know and when did they know it? And, perhaps just as important, what red flags did we miss, and how could we have missed them? This is the first installment in our Iraq War timeline project.
CIA Learned in '02 That Bin Laden Had No Iraq Ties, Report Says - washingtonpost.com
Di anyone really believe that Osama and Saddam were Tennis partners at the Tikrit Country Club?
Apparently so.
When did Americans become so air-headed?
CIA Learned in '02 That Bin Laden Had No Iraq Ties, Report Says - washingtonpost.com:
The CIA learned in late September 2002 from a high-level member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle that Iraq had no past or present contact with Osama bin Laden and that the Iraqi leader considered bin Laden an enemy of the Baghdad regime, according to a recent Senate Intelligence Committee report.
Although President Bush and other senior administration officials were at that time regularly linking Hussein to al-Qaeda, the CIA's highly sensitive intelligence supporting the contrary view was apparently not passed on to the White House or senior Bush policymakers.
Apparently so.
When did Americans become so air-headed?
CIA Learned in '02 That Bin Laden Had No Iraq Ties, Report Says - washingtonpost.com:
The CIA learned in late September 2002 from a high-level member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle that Iraq had no past or present contact with Osama bin Laden and that the Iraqi leader considered bin Laden an enemy of the Baghdad regime, according to a recent Senate Intelligence Committee report.
Although President Bush and other senior administration officials were at that time regularly linking Hussein to al-Qaeda, the CIA's highly sensitive intelligence supporting the contrary view was apparently not passed on to the White House or senior Bush policymakers.
President Tells Reporters He Never Questions Anyone's Patriotism -- But Might Be Okay If Others Do
Boehner need to be slapped into next Christmas and Bush is a liar.
President Tells Reporters He Never Questions Anyone's Patriotism -- But Might Be Okay If Others Do:
Earlier this week, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the GOP majority leader, said of Democrats, 'I wonder if they're more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people.'
Asked at the press conference if he agree with Boehner, or if he thinks 'he owes someody an apology,' Bush replied, 'I wouldn't have exactly put it that way, but I do believe there's a difference of attitude' between his administration and the Democrats.
President Brat: Let me torture these people or die.
That was the gist of it. Either Bush gets his way or there will be no more interrogation of suspected terrorist detainees.
This guy is a modern day Caligula!
GOP Infighting on Detainees Intensifies - washingtonpost.com:
President Bush warned defiant Republican senators yesterday that he will close down a CIA interrogation program that he credited with thwarting terrorist attacks if they pass a proposal regulating detention of enemy combatants, escalating a politically charged battle that has exposed divisions within his party.
An irritated Bush, raising his voice and gesturing sharply at a Rose Garden news conference, excoriated legislation passed by a Senate panel Thursday that is intended to conform U.S. detainee practices with the Geneva Conventions. Bush insisted on legislation more specifically defining what is banned so intelligence officers would not worry about being charged with war crimes.
This guy is a modern day Caligula!
GOP Infighting on Detainees Intensifies - washingtonpost.com:
President Bush warned defiant Republican senators yesterday that he will close down a CIA interrogation program that he credited with thwarting terrorist attacks if they pass a proposal regulating detention of enemy combatants, escalating a politically charged battle that has exposed divisions within his party.
An irritated Bush, raising his voice and gesturing sharply at a Rose Garden news conference, excoriated legislation passed by a Senate panel Thursday that is intended to conform U.S. detainee practices with the Geneva Conventions. Bush insisted on legislation more specifically defining what is banned so intelligence officers would not worry about being charged with war crimes.
EU condemns secret CIA prisons
So, who among them will have the guts to arrest Der Monkey the next time he sets foot on their soil?
EU condemns secret CIA prisons��Politics News��Reuters.com:
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union condemned on Friday the detention of terrorism suspects by the United States in secret overseas prisons, whose existence U.S. President George Bush first acknowledged last week.
European nations had held back from criticizing Washington over the matter after it first emerged in media reports last year, and said last December they were satisfied with U.S. statements denying any wrongdoing.
'The existence of secret detention facilities where detained persons are kept in a legal vacuum is not in conformity with international humanitarian law and international criminal law,' Finnish Foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja told a news conference after the bloc's 25 ministers discussed Bush's comments.
'We reiterate that in combating terrorism, human rights and humanitarian standards have to be maintained,' said Tuomioja, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.
Bush publicly acknowledged the CIA held high-level terrorism suspects, including alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in secret overseas locations.
EU condemns secret CIA prisons��Politics News��Reuters.com:
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union condemned on Friday the detention of terrorism suspects by the United States in secret overseas prisons, whose existence U.S. President George Bush first acknowledged last week.
European nations had held back from criticizing Washington over the matter after it first emerged in media reports last year, and said last December they were satisfied with U.S. statements denying any wrongdoing.
'The existence of secret detention facilities where detained persons are kept in a legal vacuum is not in conformity with international humanitarian law and international criminal law,' Finnish Foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja told a news conference after the bloc's 25 ministers discussed Bush's comments.
'We reiterate that in combating terrorism, human rights and humanitarian standards have to be maintained,' said Tuomioja, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.
Bush publicly acknowledged the CIA held high-level terrorism suspects, including alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in secret overseas locations.
"War on Terror" Numbers To Silence Republican Candidates
Now, these are the numbers we should all be talking about.
BobGeiger.com: "War on Terror" Numbers To Silence Republican Candidates:
When George W. Bush made a prime-time television appearance Monday night to give a political speech -- under the guise of commemorating the five-year anniversary of September 11 -- he started right off by telling both a lie and the truth in one short sentence.
'Today, we are safer, but we are not yet safe,' said Bush, which means he was batting .500 with the truth in just one short statement. Not bad for him. It is undeniably true that we are not yet safe, but to imply that we are safer than we were before Bush turned the world against us is demonstrably false.
And Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sketched out the only numbers needed to confirm that Bush's 'war on terror' is not only going very badly, but has gotten much, much worse on his watch.
'Osama bin Laden is still on the loose. Al-Qaeda's membership, estimated at 20,000 on 9/11, is now estimated by our intelligence agencies at 50,000. Instead of shrinking and disappearing, they are growing geometrically,' said Durbin on the Senate floor Tuesday, in describing how unsafe Republicans have made America.
Friday, September 15, 2006
A Defining Moment for America
How can we continue to live in a country where the president lobbies for torture, no matter what he calls it?
If the Republicans he went to lobby weren't thugs just like him, they would have kicked him off the Hill.
This can't be my country.
A Defining Moment for America - washingtonpost.com:
PRESIDENT BUSH rarely visits Congress. So it was a measure of his painfully skewed priorities that Mr. Bush made the unaccustomed trip yesterday to seek legislative permission for the CIA to make people disappear into secret prisons and have information extracted from them by means he dare not describe publicly.
Of course, Mr. Bush didn't come out and say he's lobbying for torture. Instead he refers to 'an alternative set of procedures' for interrogation. But the administration no longer conceals what it wants. It wants authorization for the CIA to hide detainees in overseas prisons where even the International Committee of the Red Cross won't have access. It wants permission to interrogate those detainees with abusive practices that in the past have included induced hypothermia and 'waterboarding,' or simulated drowning. And it wants the right to try such detainees, and perhaps sentence them to death, on the basis of evidence that the defendants cannot see and that may have been extracted during those abusive interrogation sessions.
Election glitches 'could get ugly'
This could all be avoided by using paper ballots.
If there are glitiches, things should get damned ugly.
USATODAY.com - Election glitches 'could get ugly':
WASHINGTON - Eight weeks before elections that will decide control of Congress, a rush by state and local governments to prepare new voting machines and train poll workers is raising the possibility of trouble reminiscent of the 2000 presidential election standoff.
Problems range from delayed delivery of new equipment to an insufficient supply of trained technicians to fix anticipated problems, voting experts say.
Already this year, glitches have occurred in Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia. Maryland became the latest on Tuesday, when technical problems, human errors and staff shortages led officials to keep some polls open an extra hour.
The fall elections shape up as the most technologically perilous since 2000, election officials say, because 30% of the nation's voting jurisdictions will be using new equipment. They include large parts of Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, scenes of key Senate races. 'If you're ever going to have a problem, it's going to be that first election,' says Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Services.
Daniel Ellsberg Asks Insiders to Expose Bush War Plans
Please, please, if you care anything at al about your country, leak everything you have.
Please do not allow this criminal administration to further humilate Americans, making us all war criminals, and the murder of thousands of innocent Iranians.
Daily Kos: Daniel Ellsberg Asks Insiders to Expose Bush War Plans:
E&P reports that in next month's Harper's, Daniel Ellsberg is asking insiders to leak the details of Bush's war plans. Ellsberg knows that what he's asking insiders to do is very hard, but he knows how necessary it is and how important that it be done early enough to change the direction our country is heading. And Ellsberg has said that he regrets he waited so long to come forward with the Pentagon Papers because he might have headed off some of the worst that came from the Vietnam war.
Today he believes that Hersh's anonymous sources who have been talking about Bush's plan to bomb Iran to stop them from getting nuclear bomb need to come forward if we are to head off Bush's plans. Indeed, as Hersh reported, the generals were extremely worried that Bush was leaning towards using nuclear weapons in Iran and rebelled until the Bush administration took tactical nuclear weapons off the table.
Trickery continues on reasons for war - The Boston Globe
Hey, about those microwave beams that the airforce wants to test on Americans; Cheney would be a really good target on which to try them out.
Trickery continues on reasons for war - The Boston Globe:
THREE AND A HALF years and tens of thousands of bodies after the Great False War began , Vice President Dick Cheney still tells us it ``was the right thing to do, and if we had it to do over again, we'd do exactly the same thing.'
The Senate Judiciary Committee caved in, but the people will not! | BuzzFlash
It is Bullshit like this that allows the Turrists to win!
BRDC: The Senate Judiciary Committee caved in, but the people will not! BuzzFlash:
NORTHAMPTON, MA-The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) expressed disappointment over the Senate Judiciary's approval today, on party-line votes, of two bills that would legalize President Bush's illegal warrantless wiretapping of Americans. The grassroots group vowed to continue mobilizing ordinary people around the country to call on their Senators to reject this unprecedented expansion of presidential power.
'Members of Congress have an obligation to protect their constituents from warrantless spying,' said Nancy Talanian, BORDC's director. 'The bills by Senators Arlen Specter and Mike DeWine that passed out of committee today are nothing more than legislative blank checks to the Bush administration that would allow warrantless surveillance to continue.'
Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening' - washingtonpost.com
If this doesn't make you want to pack up and get the hell out of this country, rapidly heading for the Dark Ages, nothing will.
This man's idea of an awakening is actually being unconscious!
Dear God, protect us from these soldiers of the Anti-Christ!
Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening' - washingtonpost.com:
President Bush said yesterday that he senses a 'Third Awakening' of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as 'a confrontation between good and evil.'
Bush told a group of conservative journalists that he notices more open expressions of faith among people he meets during his travels, and he suggested that might signal a broader revival similar to other religious movements in history. Bush noted that some of Abraham Lincoln's strongest supporters were religious people 'who saw life in terms of good and evil' and who believed that slavery was evil. Many of his own supporters, he said, see the current conflict in similar terms.
This man's idea of an awakening is actually being unconscious!
Dear God, protect us from these soldiers of the Anti-Christ!
Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening' - washingtonpost.com:
President Bush said yesterday that he senses a 'Third Awakening' of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as 'a confrontation between good and evil.'
Bush told a group of conservative journalists that he notices more open expressions of faith among people he meets during his travels, and he suggested that might signal a broader revival similar to other religious movements in history. Bush noted that some of Abraham Lincoln's strongest supporters were religious people 'who saw life in terms of good and evil' and who believed that slavery was evil. Many of his own supporters, he said, see the current conflict in similar terms.
Todd: Fear vs. Loathing -
Dems don't have to stir up loathing. It is already neck deep, all over the country.
Todd: Fear vs. Loathing - National Journal - MSNBC.com:
"WASHINGTON - If it wasn't clear last week, it became crystal clear Monday night that the 2006 midterm elections could be boiled down to a phrase made famous by 'gonzo' journalist Hunter S. Thompson. The Republicans are using 'fear' to motivate their voters and the Democrats are employing a message of 'loathing' to fire up their base.
President Bush succinctly reinforced the GOP message in his speech to the nation on Monday when he declared: 'The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad.'
Digest that sentence for a moment.
What to expect if the Democrats win Congress
It all sounds like heaven to us!
What to expect if the Democrats win Congress - National Journal - MSNBC.com: (Full article)
Pelosi has also promised that within 100 hours after taking control of the House on January 3, Democrats will pass legislation to increase the minimum wage, mandate the negotiation of Medicare prescription drug prices, fully implement the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, and repeal tax benefits for big oil companies.
NBC/WSJ poll: Dems seem likely to pick up seats - Politics - MSNBC.com
If, at least, the House is not won by the Dems, our nation in finsihed, and we do not wish to be a party to what this government is doing.
NBC/WSJ poll: Dems seem likely to pick up seats - Politics - MSNBC.com:
WASHINGTON - Less than two months until Election Day, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that more than half of registered voters disapprove of President Bush's job performance, even more disagree with his handling of Iraq and a strong plurality prefer a Congress controlled by the Democrats, all suggesting that Democrats are still poised to pick up seats in the upcoming midterms.
But the poll, which comes out more than a week after administration officials have made a series of speeches on terrorism and after gasoline prices have declined, also shows that Bush and the Republican Party have established a slightly stronger footing than they've held in months. Bush's job approval among registered voters is up two points, giving him his highest rating in the poll since November, and his handling of Iraq is up three, although both gains are within the margin of error.
Fineman: The GOP's Fear Strategy
Some people ought to be taken out back and, actually, horse whipped and most of them are in the White House; others are in the Congressional leadership.
Fineman: The GOP's Fear Strategy - Newsweek Howard Fineman - MSNBC.com:
Behold the Republican playbook: Frightening voters and demonizing Dem leader Nancy Pelosi.
The W.H. picked on the wrong couple.
Even if the Con-Cultists and the press are confued, the Wilsons are not.
NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source:
Because journalists are almost as prone to flatter their audiences as politicians, the staggering ignorance of the American public about matters crucial to democratic self-governance is discreetly ignored.
Get this: According to a Zogby poll conducted early this month, almost half (46 percent ) of respondents agreed that 'there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9 / 11 terror attacks.' Among Republicans, fully 65 percent believe that Iraq played a role in al-Qaida atrocities. Almost two-thirds ! Sometimes it's tempting to wonder if contemporary Republicanism hasn't turned into a cult.
The poll was taken days after President Bush, during a televised news conference, peevishly confessed that Saddam had 'nothing' to do with the 2001 attack. He then denied that anybody in his administration, ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11 th were ordered by Iraq.'
But why pick on deluded Bush cultists ? When it comes to anything touching even remotely on their own prerogatives, there's scant evidence that the courtiers of the Washington press are capable of consecutive thought.
Consider conventional wisdom about the revelation in David Corn and Michael Isikoff's book, 'Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal and the Selling of the Iraq War,' that columnist Robert Novak's initial source in the betrayal of CIA agent Valerie Plame's covert identity was State Department insider Richard Armitage.
NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source:
Because journalists are almost as prone to flatter their audiences as politicians, the staggering ignorance of the American public about matters crucial to democratic self-governance is discreetly ignored.
Get this: According to a Zogby poll conducted early this month, almost half (46 percent ) of respondents agreed that 'there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9 / 11 terror attacks.' Among Republicans, fully 65 percent believe that Iraq played a role in al-Qaida atrocities. Almost two-thirds ! Sometimes it's tempting to wonder if contemporary Republicanism hasn't turned into a cult.
The poll was taken days after President Bush, during a televised news conference, peevishly confessed that Saddam had 'nothing' to do with the 2001 attack. He then denied that anybody in his administration, ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11 th were ordered by Iraq.'
But why pick on deluded Bush cultists ? When it comes to anything touching even remotely on their own prerogatives, there's scant evidence that the courtiers of the Washington press are capable of consecutive thought.
Consider conventional wisdom about the revelation in David Corn and Michael Isikoff's book, 'Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal and the Selling of the Iraq War,' that columnist Robert Novak's initial source in the betrayal of CIA agent Valerie Plame's covert identity was State Department insider Richard Armitage.
Bushies prefer to attack opposition rather than Al Qaeda
It's much easier and, besides, they hate us more.
The Progress Report - American Progress Action Fund:
Over the last several weeks, President Bush and his allies have launched a new offensive against political dissent. On Tuesday, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) wondered aloud if critics of the President's national security policy are 'more interested in the rights of terrorists than protecting the American people.' (White House Press Secretary Tony Snow defended Boehner, telling CNN he was 'asking tough questions.') Earlier, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld compared critics of his policies to people, in the decades before World War II, who believed Hitler 'could be appeased' and 'argued that the fascist threat was exaggerated -- or that it was someone else's problem.' (A poll yesterday found that more than 60 percent of Americans think this kind of comparison is inappropriate.) The rhetorical fireworks are intended to obscure severe problems in our national security posture, in particular military readiness. But attacking political opponents is far easier than addressing the fact that 'strategic miscalculations and gross mismanagement of resources have pushed the all-volunteer force perilously close to its breaking point.'
Stop Believing Bush's Propaganda Parrots
The simple fact is, the White House was out to get the Wilson's, period, because Joe Wilson challenged one of their major lies in the run up to war.
Gerald Plessner:
September 13, 2006 - The president's propaganda parrots have been all agaggle over the news that someone outside the White House was the first government official to spill the beans on Valerie Plame Wilson, disclosing that she was a covert agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Bush administration wants you to think that, because Karl Rove didn't do it, no harm was done. But don't you believe it! To allow that impression to prevail would do an injustice, not only to Ambassador Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson, his wife, who both have served their country with honor, but it would also be an insult to the patriotic Americans working every day to keep us safe and to protect vital and important secrets.
Ms. Plame, as you may recall, was involved in recruiting her husband, former Ambassador and White House staff member Joseph C. Wilson, IV, to go to North Africa in February 2002. While there , he was to check the accuracy of intelligence that alleged that the Saddam Hussein regime had tried to buy yellow cake uranium, an ingredient of nuclear weaponry, from the government of Niger.
The administration was working aggressively in early 2002 to build a case for invading Iraq. As we now know, President Bush was using often flimsy and inaccurate evidence to convince Americans and the world of the necessity of attacking Iraq.
George W. Bush and the neo-conservatives in his inner circle, were eager to use the yellow cake allegation and they hoped that Wilson's trip would debunk the skeptics in the intelligence community about its authenticity.
IAEA: U.S. report on Iran 'dishonest'
So, when have they ever told the truth about anything?
They lied about Iraq and now they are lying anbout Iran.
IAEA: U.S. report on Iran 'dishonest' - Yahoo! News:
"VIENNA, Austria - A recent House of Representatives committee report on Iran's nuclear capability is 'outrageous and dishonest' in trying to make a case that Tehran's program is geared toward making weapons, a senior official of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has said.
The letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday outside a 35-nation board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says the report is false in saying Iran is making weapons-grade uranium at an experimental enrichment site, when it has in fact produced material only in small quantities that is far below the level that can be used in nuclear arms.
The letter, which was first reported on by The Washington Post, also says the report erroneously says that IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei removed a senior nuclear inspector from the team investigating Iran's nuclear program 'for concluding that the purpose of Iran's nuclear program is to construct weapons.'
Senate panel defies Bush on terror
Torture Bush and Cheney. Why not throw Rice in for good measure?
Senate panel defies Bush on terror - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - A rebellious Senate committee defied President Bush on Thursday and approved terror-detainee legislation he has vowed to block, deepening Republican conflict over terrorism and national security in the middle of the election season.
Republican Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record) of Virginia, normally a Bush supporter, pushed the measure through his Armed Services Committee by a 15-9 vote, with Warner and three other GOP lawmakers joining Democrats. The vote set the stage for a showdown on the Senate floor as early as next week.
In an embarrassment to the White House, Colin Powell, Bush's first secretary of state, announced his opposition to his old boss' plan, saying it would hurt the country. Powell's successor, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, jumped to the president's defense in a letter of her own.
All this played out after Bush started his day by journeying to the Capitol to try nailing down support for his own version of the legislation, and by issuing a threat to the maverick Republicans.
'I will resist any bill that does not enable this program to go forward with legal clarity,' Bush said at the White House. (Well, resist away, you effing idiot, cause you are going to prison anyway.)
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Jonah Goldberg: Bring on the Democratic Takeover - Los Angeles Times
Even the most loathsome Republicans can't stand much more of BuCheney and the Rethug Congress.
Jonah Goldberg: Bring on the Democratic Takeover - Los Angeles Times:
CONSERVATIVE Republicans have learned a painful lesson over the last few years. It turns out power isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Republican control of the White House and Congress hasn't resulted in lights being turned off in Cabinet agencies or enormous garage sales of office furniture. Instead, Uncle Sam is still looking like Marlon Brando at the end of his career: bloated, sweaty and slow moving. The GOP has become a Brando-like parody of its former self, reading its lines about cutting government without plausibility or passion.
Tortured logic - Los Angeles Times
We are sick to death of this subject.
Why don't we just say, "Look, George, you are, apparently, going to do as you damn well please, but be prepared to spend the rest of your miserable life in prison if you insist on torturing people.
Tortured logic - Los Angeles Times:
'THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT TORTURE,' President Bush said last week. It can, however, make use of what he euphemistically called 'an alternative set of procedures' for eliciting information from prisoners suspected of being terrorists.
The difference between torture and these 'alternative procedures' seems to be who's conducting the interrogation and where it takes place. If it's the CIA and it's overseas, they're permissible alternative procedures. Anywhere else, they're not allowed. This kind of legalistic legerdemain doesn't just expose the weakness of the administration's argument, it does a real disservice to U.S. foreign policy and all those serving overseas.
In the Netherlands, Life Runs on 2 Wheels (Sometimes 3) - New York Times
Why are the Dutch so much smarter than we are?
In the Netherlands, Life Runs on 2 Wheels (Sometimes 3) - New York Times:
IJMUIDEN, The Netherlands, Sept. 7 - With more than two bicycles per person and a landscape as flat as a pancake, the Netherlands is a cyclists' Eden."
NASA Scientists See New Signs of Global Warming - New York Times
Looks like Mother Earth is rdding herself of the vermin known as mankind before it kills her.
NASA Scientists See New Signs of Global Warming - New York Times:
Scientists have long suspected that the recent melting of Arctic Ocean ice in the summer might be a result of heat-trapping gases building up in the atmosphere. But yesterday NASA scientists reported that higher temperatures and a retreat of the sea ice over the last two winters offered new evidence that the gases were influencing the region�s climate.
On MSBNC, Fund falsely suggested British, French, and German "intelligence agencies all agree[d]" that "Saddam Hussein was involved with 9-11"
John Fund is either a liar or he is insane.
I can't believe MSNBC let him get away with this.
Why would he even have access to the Intel. of this nation, let alone that of others?
Media Matters - On MSBNC, Fund falsely suggested British, French, and German "intelligence agencies all agree[d]" that "Saddam Hussein was involved with 9-11":
Summary: On MSNBC's Hardball, Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund falsely suggested that 'the British, the French, the German, and the American intelligence agencies all agree[d]' that Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; in fact, according to various news reports, British, French, and German intelligence all agreed that there was no link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.
Big wigs screw up again
The MSM, proving once again, that they can't chew gum and walk at the same time and that they have the attention span of a gnat.
Consortiumnews.com:
So, right-wing columnist Robert Novak now says that Richard Armitage, Novak's initial source on the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, wasn't just some loose-lipped gossip blurting out her name, but rather that Armitage urged Novak to write about Plame's alleged role in her husband's fact-finding trip to Niger.
Consortiumnews.com:
So, right-wing columnist Robert Novak now says that Richard Armitage, Novak's initial source on the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, wasn't just some loose-lipped gossip blurting out her name, but rather that Armitage urged Novak to write about Plame's alleged role in her husband's fact-finding trip to Niger.
BOB HERBERT: The Stranger in the Mirror
This is not the country in which I grew up, that's for sure.
What has become of that country?
Welcome to Pottersville: BOB HERBERT: The Stranger in the Mirror:
The invasion of Iraq marked the beginning of the change in the American character. During the Cuban missile crisis, when the hawks were hot for bombing, or an invasion, Robert Kennedy counseled against a U.S. first strike. That's not something the U.S. would do, he said.
Fast-forward 40 years or so and not only does the U.S. launch an unprovoked invasion and occupation of a small nation, Iraq, but it does so in response to an attack inside the U.S. that the small nation had nothing to do with.
Who are we?
What has become of that country?
Welcome to Pottersville: BOB HERBERT: The Stranger in the Mirror:
The invasion of Iraq marked the beginning of the change in the American character. During the Cuban missile crisis, when the hawks were hot for bombing, or an invasion, Robert Kennedy counseled against a U.S. first strike. That's not something the U.S. would do, he said.
Fast-forward 40 years or so and not only does the U.S. launch an unprovoked invasion and occupation of a small nation, Iraq, but it does so in response to an attack inside the U.S. that the small nation had nothing to do with.
Who are we?
Port Security Won't Bankrupt Us
But the never-ending GWOT will, especially the war in Iraq.
Port Security Won�t Bankrupt Us - New York Times:
Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, seems determined to outdo his commander in chief in ratcheting up fears of Al Qaeda whenever he wants to score political points. This week, he raised the specter that if the government starts too many expensive antiterrorism programs it could further a plot by Osama bin Laden to 'drive us crazy, into bankruptcy, through overspending on homeland defense.
It was particularly ironic that Mr. Chertoff spun this theory while he was fighting off a measure, up for a vote today, that would help protect our ports against the threat that he himself deems most worrisome, a nuclear explosion within our borders, without government spending.
In testifying before a Senate committee on Tuesday, Mr.
Chertoff flailed away at straw men of his own concoction. He warned darkly about the dangers of trying to protect the country from 'every conceivable threat," an idea no one has ever espoused. The issue has always been the need to set priorities, and in that respect, Mr. Chertoff's department has become a laughingstock. It compiled one list of possible targets that included a petting zoo and a popcorn factory while the government provided only a pittance for our vulnerable subways.
Dems focusing on accountability
Well, at least it is a start....
Democrats ask for Whitman probe on 9/11 - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - Democrats from New York and New Jersey asked on Wednesday for an investigation that could lead to criminal charges against former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christie Whitman for breathing problems suffered by thousands after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Whitman told The Associated Press that she and the EPA 'agreed then and I reiterate now that the air on the WTC site was not clean, the consequence of millions of tons of burned debris from the most horrific attack in our nation's history.
'We were emphatic that workers needed to wear respirators, a message I repeated frequently.'
At hearings last week in New York, Whitman was the most frequent target of lawmakers who charged that ground zero workers were not protected as they worked to clear the pile of toxic debris.
Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, declared in the days after Sept. 11 that the air in lower Manhattan was safe for workers and residents. But she has said she and the EPA always differentiated between the air quality in lower Manhattan and at ground zero.
The Death of the Conservative Conscience"
Prison, and perhaps worse, awaits these criminals, if we have anything to say about it, and we will!
The Progressive Daily Beacon: "The Death of the Conservative Conscience":
My anger and distress about Iraq is greater than ever these days because instead of putting the blame for the ugly mess on the White House, where it belongs, the GOP is desperately trying to make it seem as if the Democrats are somehow wrong to bemoan the Iraq fiasco. The GOP is afraid of being destroyed in November and is therefore churning out almost daily lies and exaggerations in a desperate attempt to turn the tide that is clearly rising against them.
What truly bothers me, besides the barrage of falsehoods from the administration, is that Conservatives, who used to pride themselves on their morality, are allowing Bush to walk away from the Iraq mess that he created, are continuing to mouth imbecile platitudes about Iraq's eventual salvation, and are not demanding any accountability from this President.
"War Criminal: Bush Admits Secret Prisons"
These assholes MUST be held accountable!
The Progressive Daily Beacon: "War Criminal: Bush Admits Secret Prisons":
George W. Bush is, by his admission, a war criminal. The President of the United States freely, willingly, and openly confessed to operating many secret prisons. This, of course, like much of what George W. Bush has done and continues to do is in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Convention III Article 126 states: Representatives of the protecting powers shall have permission to visit all places where prisoners of war may be, particularly to places of internment, imprisonment and labor.
For five years George W. Bush and his administration, by creating 'secret prisons', violated that Convention and that makes the President of the United States a war criminal.
Bush and Republicans Only Do Two Things Well, Scaring People and Lying"
Ah, yes, the twin pillars of the gates to hell; fear and deceit.
The Progressive Daily Beacon: "Bush and Republicans Only Do Two Things Well, Scaring People and Lying":
There are two things Bush and Republicans do really well. Neither of them, unfortunately, involves the ability to govern well (see Katrina, staggering deficits, falling wages etc.). Neither of them, unfortunately, involves the ability to win wars they start (see Iraq and Afghanistan). The two things, unfortunately, the only two things Bush and Republicans do really well are scaring people enough to vote for them and, of course, lying. First, they lied the nation to war on Iraq and then have spent the past three-plus years telling new lies to cover for their old lies. And just when a person might think they've run out of lies or ways to tell the same old lies, they conjure up bigger and more inventive ways to lie.
The Progressive Daily Beacon: "Bush and Republicans Only Do Two Things Well, Scaring People and Lying":
There are two things Bush and Republicans do really well. Neither of them, unfortunately, involves the ability to govern well (see Katrina, staggering deficits, falling wages etc.). Neither of them, unfortunately, involves the ability to win wars they start (see Iraq and Afghanistan). The two things, unfortunately, the only two things Bush and Republicans do really well are scaring people enough to vote for them and, of course, lying. First, they lied the nation to war on Iraq and then have spent the past three-plus years telling new lies to cover for their old lies. And just when a person might think they've run out of lies or ways to tell the same old lies, they conjure up bigger and more inventive ways to lie.
Let's quit while we are behind - Christopher Buckley
Let's quit while we are behind - Christopher Buckley:
'The trouble with our times,' Paul Val'ry said, 'is that the future is not what it used to be.'
This glum aper'u has been much with me as we move into the home stretch of the 2006 mid-term elections and shimmy into the starting gates of the 2008 presidential campaign. With heavy heart, as a once-proud, ndeed, staunch, Republican, I here admit, behind enemy lines, to the guilty hope that my party loses; on both occasions.
I voted for George W. Bush in 2000. In 2004, I could not bring myself to pull the same lever again. Neither could I bring myself to vote for John Kerry, who, for all his strengths, credentials, and talent, seems very much less than the sum of his parts. So, I wrote in a vote for George Herbert Walker Bush, for whom I worked as a speechwriter from 1981 to '83. I wish he'd won.
'The trouble with our times,' Paul Val'ry said, 'is that the future is not what it used to be.'
This glum aper'u has been much with me as we move into the home stretch of the 2006 mid-term elections and shimmy into the starting gates of the 2008 presidential campaign. With heavy heart, as a once-proud, ndeed, staunch, Republican, I here admit, behind enemy lines, to the guilty hope that my party loses; on both occasions.
I voted for George W. Bush in 2000. In 2004, I could not bring myself to pull the same lever again. Neither could I bring myself to vote for John Kerry, who, for all his strengths, credentials, and talent, seems very much less than the sum of his parts. So, I wrote in a vote for George Herbert Walker Bush, for whom I worked as a speechwriter from 1981 to '83. I wish he'd won.
Byrd Calls For Rummys Resignation
I'm not sure why Dems keep calling for Rumsfeld's resignation, as that is about as likely as the sun rising in the west.
Byrd 2006:
September 11 has come and gone, and as we remember those lost on that fateful day, and contemplate events since the horrific attack, one truth stands out.
The war in Iraq has backfired, producing more recruits for terrorism, and deep divisions within our own country. It is a war we should never have begun. The detour from our attack on Bin Laden and his minions, hiding in the cracks and crevices of the rough terrain of Afghanistan, to the unwise and unprovoked attack on Iraq has been a disastrous one. Mr. Bush's war has damaged the country because he drove our blessed land into an unnecessary conflict, utterly misreading the consequences, with the result now being a daily display of America's vulnerabilities to those who wish us ill. The United States is a weaker power now, especially in the Middle East, but also in the court of world opinion. Where is the America of restraint, of peace and of inspiration to millions? Where is the America respected not only for her military might, but also for her powerful ideas and her reasonable diplomacy?
Novak Changes His Story--a Fourth Time
Maybe he is senile.
Maybe he is as evil as the bastards he is covering up for.
Maybe he is both.
When one lies as much as the WH and their mouth piece. Novakula, it would be hard for anyone to keep up with the truth.
The Next Hurrah: Novak Changes His Story--a Fourth Time: "
Novak Changes His Story--a Fourth Time
Bob Novak, faced with the evidence that his story is BS, has now changed his story ... a fourth time. And even while he changes his story, he suggests Armitage is the unreliable one.
One Million Ways to Die
One's head could explode from all of the cognitive dissonance flowing out of D.C., like sewage.
That seems more likely than dying at the hands of Elvis bin Laden.
Wired News: One Million Ways to Die:
Sept. 11, 2001 was undoubtedly one of the darkest and deadliest days in United States history. Al-Qaida's attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center killed 2,976 people, and the country recoiled in horror as we witnessed the death of thousands of Americans when the towers fell.
In the five years since that shattering day, the government has spent billions on anti-terrorism projects, instituted a color-coded alert system that has never been green, banned fingernail clippers and water bottles from airplanes, launched a pre-emptive war on false pretenses, and advised citizens to stock up on duct tape and plastic sheeting.
But despite the never-ending litany of warnings and endless stories of half-baked plots foiled, how likely are you, statistically speaking, to die from a terrorist attack?
That seems more likely than dying at the hands of Elvis bin Laden.
Wired News: One Million Ways to Die:
Sept. 11, 2001 was undoubtedly one of the darkest and deadliest days in United States history. Al-Qaida's attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center killed 2,976 people, and the country recoiled in horror as we witnessed the death of thousands of Americans when the towers fell.
In the five years since that shattering day, the government has spent billions on anti-terrorism projects, instituted a color-coded alert system that has never been green, banned fingernail clippers and water bottles from airplanes, launched a pre-emptive war on false pretenses, and advised citizens to stock up on duct tape and plastic sheeting.
But despite the never-ending litany of warnings and endless stories of half-baked plots foiled, how likely are you, statistically speaking, to die from a terrorist attack?
President Bush's Reality (isn't)
How can we fend of a civil war that already exists.
President Bush�s Reality - New York Times:
Fending off the chaos that would almost certainly come with civil war would be a reason to stay the course, although it does not inspire the full-throated rhetoric about freedom that Mr. Bush offered last night. But the nation needs to hear a workable plan to stabilize a fractured, disintegrating country and end the violence. If such a strategy exists, it seems unlikely that Mr. Bush could see it through the filter of his fantasies.
It's hard to figure out how to build consensus when the men in charge embrace a series of myths. Vice President Dick Cheney suggested last weekend that the White House is even more delusional than Mr. Bush's rhetoric suggests. The vice president volunteered to NBC's Tim Russert that not only was the Iraq invasion the right thing to do, 'if we had it to do over again, we'd do exactly the same thing.'
It is a breathtaking thought. If we could return to Sept. 12, 2001, knowing all we have seen since, Mr. Cheney and the president would march right out and 'do exactly the same thing' all over again. It will be hard to hear the phrase 'lessons of Sept. 11' again without contemplating that statement.
Our votes are being stolen
Our Democracy is a sham.
Concentric Media: Social Issue Documentaries:
'STEALING AMERICA:
Vote by Vote' brings together dramatic behind-the-scenes stories related to the election of November 2, 2004. The heart of the story is a candid assessment of ways in which privatized election systems, disenfranchisement of certain populations and vulnerable voting technology are impacting our democracy. After a year of intensive shooting, editing and feedback screenings, 'STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote ' is reaching the final stages of production.
Ruth Marcus - ABC's 'Path' Not Taken
ABC is dead to me, my family and friends.
So is Disney.
Pt-9/11 is one of the most irresponsible pireces of crap I have ever seen and it is the last time we will be watching ABC. I have blocked it from our television.
Of all the indecent things one can view on television, lying and deceit are the worst.
Ruth Marcus - ABC's 'Path' Not Taken - washingtonpost.com:
Does it matter that ABC invented and distorted history in its 'warning: this is not a documentary' docudrama, 'The Path to 9/11'? After all, the first night of the faux drama was trounced by the brother-against-brother actual drama of 'Sunday Night Football.'
But consider: The gripping final report of the Sept. 11 commission (budget: $13.5 million) became a surprise bestseller at 1.5 million copies. The not-so-gripping, not-so-accurate ABC production (budget: $40 million) was seen by about 13 million viewers on the first night.
Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, 73, dies - Sep 13, 2006
Good Journey, Ann.
We will miss you.
CNN.com - Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, 73, dies - Sep 13, 2006
Negotations on terror legislation snag - Yahoo! News
It's about time that someone stepped up to stop the little Dictator.
Negotations on terror legislation snag - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - The White House and three powerful GOP senators reached an impasse Wednesday over a Bush administration plan to allow tough CIA interrogations, underscoring election-season divisions among Republicans on the high profile issue of security.
In a direct challenge to President Bush, Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said his panel would meet Thursday to finalize an alternative to the White House plan to prosecute terror suspects and redefine acts that constitute war crimes. Warner, R-Va., said the administration proposal would lower the standard for the treatment of prisoners, potentially putting U.S. troops at risk should other countries retaliate.
The White House said Warner's proposal would undermine the nation's ability to interrogate prisoners and arranged an extraordinary conference call for reporters in which the nation's top intelligence official criticized Warner's plan.
'If this draft legislation were passed in its present form, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency has told me that he did not believe that the (interrogation) program could go forward,' National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said.
Democrats warn US army readiness at post-Vietnam low - Yahoo! News
The Chicken Hawks is the WH have descimated the military.
Guess we shouldn't be surprised.
They have certainly effed up everything else.
Democrats warn US army readiness at post-Vietnam low - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Army's combat readiness has fallen to levels not seen since the Vietnam War, undercutting its ability to sustain deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan or to respond to conflicts elsewhere, opposition Democrats warned in a report.
The report attributed the slide to critical shortfalls in equipment, which have made it more difficult for units back home to train with the tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons it will fight with.
'Army military readiness rates have declined to levels not seen since the end of the Vietnam War,' said the report.
Representative John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), who released the report at a press conference here, said he will present a resolution calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld 'not only for his past mistakes but for the future of the military.'
Senate Rejects Democratic Plan for Ports - Forbes.com
So, what else is new?
Senate Rejects Democratic Plan for Ports - Forbes.com:
Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected a Democratic attempt to attach dozens of national security programs to legislation intended to protect seaports.
The Democrats' proposal had threatened the overall ports security bill, which would install monitors at the 22 largest ports. These devices would screen for materials used to make radiological bombs or nuclear weapons.
The ports bill could come to a final vote on Thursday.
The plan by Democratic leader Harry Reid would have put Republicans in the awkward position of opposing security measures that many people in the United States believe are long overdue. Examples include improving safeguards on trains and buses and at chemical plants.
'Politics won't protect the American people,' Reid, D-Nev., said after the GOP-controlled Senate defeated his plan.
Reid blasts Cheney administration
Cheny is still not willing to fully admit the truth.
Is he lying or just nutz?
AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth:
Late last week the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on a bipartisan basis released reports that discussed Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program and its links to terrorism and the intelligence community's use of information provided by the Iraqi National Congress. These reports provided the American people with important insights into these critical issues.
Unfortunately, the Administration chose to classify certain important portions of these reports that should have been released to the public. A bipartisan majority of the Intelligence Committee disagreed with the Administration's decision to classify certain portions of the report's findings and conclusions and said that classifying this information is
'without justification.'
In my view, the Administration's decision to classify one particular portion of the report, a section discussing a CIA document about the alleged meeting in Prague between 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and an Iraqi intelligence officer, is especially troubling and lacking in justification.
Cheney: Democracy encourages terrorists
Cheney and the GOP have become what they hated for years; Stalinist Russia.
WorkingForChange-Cheney: Democracy encourages terrorists:
WASHINGTON -- Perhaps Vice President Cheney should quit his current job and work within a political system more to his liking, the kind in which those in charge can protect national security by telling everyone what not to say and what not to think.
Cheney seemed terribly impatient with democracy Sunday on 'Meet the Press' when he suggested that those who oppose President Bush's Iraq policies are helping -- excuse me, validating -- the terrorists.
Our allies in the war on terror, Cheney said, 'want to know whether or not if they stick their heads up, the United States, in fact, is going to be there to complete the mission.'
HACKED: VIRUS IMPLANTED, SPREAD ON DIEBOLD TOUCH-SCREEN VOTING MACHINE!
Vote Absentee!
These freakin machines cannot be trusted.
The BRAD BLOG : HACKED: VIRUS IMPLANTED, SPREAD ON DIEBOLD TOUCH-SCREEN VOTING MACHINE!:
New, First-of-Its Kind, University Study Reveals Malicious Code Can Be Easily Inserted into Voting Machine, Spread from One System to the Next, Resulting in Flipped Votes, and Stolen Elections, All Without a Trace Being Left Behind
Study Also Confirms that Voter Access Cards Can Be Created At Home to Defeat Security Protocols, Allowing Voters to Vote Multiple Times in a Single Election.
Air America To Declare Bankruptcy, But Progressive Radio Remains Strong
Think Progress � Air America To Declare Bankruptcy, But Progressive Radio Remains Strong:
Air America Radio will announce a major restructuring on Friday, which is expected to include a bankruptcy filing, three independent sources have told ThinkProgress.
Air America could remain on the air under the deal, but significant personnel changes are already in the works.
Sources say five Air America employees were laid off yesterday and were told there would be no severance without capital infusion or bankruptcy. Also, Air America has ended its relationship with host Jerry Springer.
The right wing is sure to seize on Air America's financial woes as a sign that progressive talk radio is unpopular. In fact, Air America succeeded at creating something that didn't exist: the progressive talk radio format. That format is now established and strong and will continue with or without Air America. Indeed, many of the country's most successful and widely-syndicated progressive talk hosts, Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, for instance . aren't even associated with Air America.
Air America Radio will announce a major restructuring on Friday, which is expected to include a bankruptcy filing, three independent sources have told ThinkProgress.
Air America could remain on the air under the deal, but significant personnel changes are already in the works.
Sources say five Air America employees were laid off yesterday and were told there would be no severance without capital infusion or bankruptcy. Also, Air America has ended its relationship with host Jerry Springer.
The right wing is sure to seize on Air America's financial woes as a sign that progressive talk radio is unpopular. In fact, Air America succeeded at creating something that didn't exist: the progressive talk radio format. That format is now established and strong and will continue with or without Air America. Indeed, many of the country's most successful and widely-syndicated progressive talk hosts, Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, for instance . aren't even associated with Air America.
Daily Kos: CT-Sen: Carter speaks
Jimmy calls 'em as he ssees 'em.
Daily Kos: CT-Sen: Carter speaks:
President Jimmy Carter talks about Lieberman on Lary King:
He's been strongly in favor of the Iraqi war from the very beginning. He was one of the originators of the public statements that misled the American people into believing that the Iraqi war was justified. He's been an undeviating supporter of the war from the very beginning and still is. He's joined in with the Republican spokespersons by saying that Democrats who disagree are really supporting terrorism. So for all these reasons I've lost my confidence in Joe Lieberman and don't want to see him re-elected.
Noe was pressured by BuChney Campaign
Seems like everyone associated with the Bushites wind up committing crimes and everything they touch turns to crap
- toledoblade.com -:
Tom Noe, the GOP fund-raiser at the heart of Ohio's biggest political scandal in a generation, claimed that pressure from the Bush-Cheney campaign led him to commit the campaign-finance crimes for which he was sentenced yesterday to federal prison.
U.S. District Judge David Katz ordered Noe, 52, to spend 27 months in prison and to pay $136,200 in fines for giving two dozen friends and associates money to attend a high-priced luncheon with President Bush in 2003 in Columbus.
- toledoblade.com -:
Tom Noe, the GOP fund-raiser at the heart of Ohio's biggest political scandal in a generation, claimed that pressure from the Bush-Cheney campaign led him to commit the campaign-finance crimes for which he was sentenced yesterday to federal prison.
U.S. District Judge David Katz ordered Noe, 52, to spend 27 months in prison and to pay $136,200 in fines for giving two dozen friends and associates money to attend a high-priced luncheon with President Bush in 2003 in Columbus.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Dems come out swinging
Hit 'em where it counts! This is effing war!
BuzzFlash Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash:
Washington, DC - Instead of using the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as an opportunity to unify the country, President Bush instead marked the solemn occasion by using divisive and misleading rhetoric once again falsely conflating the war in Iraq and the war on terror. An editorial in today's New York Times notes that 'Iraq had nothing to do with the war on terror until the Bush administration decided to invade it.' The President claims that America is safer today because of the Iraq War. Unfortunately, the opposite is true.
Greg Palast: Charged with Journalism in the First Degree | BuzzFlash
This is outrageous and, we fear, a sign of more outrages to come!
Greg Palast: Charged with Journalism in the First Degree BuzzFlash:
It's true. It's weird. It's nuts. The Department of Homeland Security, after a five-year hunt for Osama, has finally brought charges against ... Greg Palast. I kid you not. Send your cakes with files to the Air America wing at Guantanamo.
Though not just yet. Fatherland Security has informed me that television producer Matt Pascarella and I have been charged with unauthorized filming of a 'critical national security structure' in Louisiana.
On August 22, for LinkTV and Democracy Now! we videotaped the thousands of Katrina evacuees still held behind a barbed wire in a trailer park encampment a hundred miles from New Orleans. It's been a year since the hurricane and 73,000 POW's (Prisoners of W) are still in this aluminum ghetto in the middle of nowhere. One resident, Pamela Lewis, said, 'It is a prison set-up' -- except there are no home furloughs for these inmates because they no longer have homes.
Greg Palast: Charged with Journalism in the First Degree BuzzFlash:
It's true. It's weird. It's nuts. The Department of Homeland Security, after a five-year hunt for Osama, has finally brought charges against ... Greg Palast. I kid you not. Send your cakes with files to the Air America wing at Guantanamo.
Though not just yet. Fatherland Security has informed me that television producer Matt Pascarella and I have been charged with unauthorized filming of a 'critical national security structure' in Louisiana.
On August 22, for LinkTV and Democracy Now! we videotaped the thousands of Katrina evacuees still held behind a barbed wire in a trailer park encampment a hundred miles from New Orleans. It's been a year since the hurricane and 73,000 POW's (Prisoners of W) are still in this aluminum ghetto in the middle of nowhere. One resident, Pamela Lewis, said, 'It is a prison set-up' -- except there are no home furloughs for these inmates because they no longer have homes.
Poll: More Americans blame Bush for 9/11 - Sep 11, 2006
Can we spell C-O-M-P-L-I-C-T-Y ?
CNN.com - Poll: More Americans blame Bush for 9/11 - Sep 11, 2006:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The percentage of Americans who blame the Bush administration for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington has risen from almost a third to almost half over the past four years, a CNN poll released Monday found.
Asked whether they blame the Bush administration for the attacks, 45 percent said either a 'great deal' or a 'moderate amount,' up from 32 percent in a June 2002 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.
How Bush Rules: Bush's Radicalism is Leading to a GOP Crackup
Just as we predicted a long time ago, Bush is likely to destroy the Republican Party for generations to come.
If they think it's bad now, just wait until the whole truth comes out, and it must.
The Blog Sidney Blumenthal: How Bush Rules: Bush's Radicalism is Leading to a GOP Crackup The Huffington Post:
Bush's radical presidency has recast the character of the party, its purposes and appeal, and Republicans' disorientation in the 2006 mid-term campaign is only the first inkling of coming disintegration. His radicalism is unique, but the consequences are pervasive and lasting. In the future, to the extent Republican presidential candidates adhere to his legacy they will be undermined beyond the party hardcore; to the extent they reject his legacy they will be undermined within the hardcore. Bush may contaminate the Republican Party brand for perhaps a generation to come.
If they think it's bad now, just wait until the whole truth comes out, and it must.
The Blog Sidney Blumenthal: How Bush Rules: Bush's Radicalism is Leading to a GOP Crackup The Huffington Post:
Bush's radical presidency has recast the character of the party, its purposes and appeal, and Republicans' disorientation in the 2006 mid-term campaign is only the first inkling of coming disintegration. His radicalism is unique, but the consequences are pervasive and lasting. In the future, to the extent Republican presidential candidates adhere to his legacy they will be undermined beyond the party hardcore; to the extent they reject his legacy they will be undermined within the hardcore. Bush may contaminate the Republican Party brand for perhaps a generation to come.
Zilmer: U.S. 'stifling' Iraq insurgency
This is pathetic!
Zilmer: U.S. 'stifling' Iraq insurgency - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - A senior American commander in Iraq said Tuesday that U.S.-led military operations are 'stifling' the insurgency in western Anbar province but are not strong enough to defeat it.
Marine Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer told reporters in a telephone interview from his headquarters in Fallujah that he has enough U.S. troops, about 30,000, to accomplish what he called his main mission: training Iraqi security forces.
'For what we are trying to achieve out here I think our force levels are about right,' he said. Even so, he said the training of Iraqi soldiers and police had not progressed as quickly as once expected.
'Now, if that mission statement changes, if there is seen a larger role for coalition forces out here to win that insurgency fight, then that is going to change the metrics of what we need out here,' he added.
The Swift Boat Connection of ABC's 9/11 Deception | The Huffington Post
ABC is dead to us.
The Blog Max Blumenthal: The Swift Boat Connection of ABC's 9/11 Deception The Huffington Post:
Under pressure about his institutional ties to the conservative movement (see here), The Path to 9/11 screenwriter Cyrus Nowrasteh now claims, the film he wrote had no political agenda. 'This project was generated at ABC at the highest network levels,' and brought together people from 'broadly different backgrounds,' Nowrasteh told the right-wing evangelical publication WorldNetDaily.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Ex-Iranian president condemns bin Laden - Yahoo! News
The Good, the bad and the ugly!
He condemns bin Laden; good
But what about women's rights and the execution of gays in Iran? Bad and very ugly.
These past years have not been very good PR for Islam.
Ex-Iranian president condemns bin Laden - Yahoo! News:
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami condemned Osama bin Laden and suicide bombings but also defended groups such as Hezbollah for what he characterized as resistance against Israeli colonialism.
In a 30-minute speech given under tight security at Harvard University, Khatami repeatedly praised the concept of democracy but said American politicians, since World War II, have been infatuated with 'world domination.'
Khatami, who spoke in Farsi and had his speech relayed through a translator, said he was one of the first world leaders to condemn 'the barbarous acts' of Sept. 11. Responding to a question from the audience about bin Laden, Khatami said he had two problems with the al-Qaida leader behind the attacks.
'First, because of the crimes he conducts,' he said, 'and second because he conducts them in the name of Islam, the religion which is a harbinger of peace and justice.'
He condemns bin Laden; good
But what about women's rights and the execution of gays in Iran? Bad and very ugly.
These past years have not been very good PR for Islam.
Ex-Iranian president condemns bin Laden - Yahoo! News:
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami condemned Osama bin Laden and suicide bombings but also defended groups such as Hezbollah for what he characterized as resistance against Israeli colonialism.
In a 30-minute speech given under tight security at Harvard University, Khatami repeatedly praised the concept of democracy but said American politicians, since World War II, have been infatuated with 'world domination.'
Khatami, who spoke in Farsi and had his speech relayed through a translator, said he was one of the first world leaders to condemn 'the barbarous acts' of Sept. 11. Responding to a question from the audience about bin Laden, Khatami said he had two problems with the al-Qaida leader behind the attacks.
'First, because of the crimes he conducts,' he said, 'and second because he conducts them in the name of Islam, the religion which is a harbinger of peace and justice.'
Hope for quick action on Bush plan on interrogations of suspected terrorists - Americas - International Herald Tribune
You can't beat them by becoming them, George.
Hope for quick action on Bush plan on interrogations of suspected terrorists - Americas - International Herald Tribune:
To many of President George W. Bush's allies, it is time to free intelligence officials from 'legislative purgatory' and get the CIA back in the business of effective interrogations of suspected terrorists.
That chance could come this week if the Senates takes up a White House proposal limiting the punishable offenses that CIA interrogators may face when questioning 'high-value' terrorist suspects. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican of Tennessee, is expected to begin debate on the bill as early as Tuesday.
Through omissions and legal definitions, the proposal could authorize harsh techniques that critics contend potentially violate the Geneva Conventions, which govern the treatment of war prisoners. These methods include hypothermia, stress positions and 'waterboarding,' a practice of simulated drowning.
The bill would keep in law prohibitions on war crimes such as rape and torture that are widely accepted as illegal.
Magazine Details White House Pressure on 'NYT'
More evidence that the Bush W.H. is filled with thugs.
They simply must be brought down hard!
Magazine Details White House Pressure on 'NYT':
NEW YORK A wide-ranging cover story on the current state of The New York Times in this week's New York magazine offers, among other things, fresh details about the pressure brought on the paper by the Bush administration to hold back on its National Security Agency spying story late last year. By that point, it had already been held for over a year, but 11 days later the Times went ahead with it, and it would win a Puilitzer Prize in the spring.
The cover is mainly a mock front page of the Times with pictures of President Bush and the paper's executive editor, Bill Keller. The banner cover line is 'Times Under Siege' and in the deck we learn, 'President says editor will have 'blood on his hands.'' Another 'story' on the cover about Keller is headlined, 'Reluctant Leader Goaded to Fight.'
A focus is the Dec. 5, 2005, meeting at the White House, where three top Timesmen -- Keller, Publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. and Washington bureau chief Phil Taubman -- had been summoned in an attempt to kill or further delay the NSA story.
They simply must be brought down hard!
Magazine Details White House Pressure on 'NYT':
NEW YORK A wide-ranging cover story on the current state of The New York Times in this week's New York magazine offers, among other things, fresh details about the pressure brought on the paper by the Bush administration to hold back on its National Security Agency spying story late last year. By that point, it had already been held for over a year, but 11 days later the Times went ahead with it, and it would win a Puilitzer Prize in the spring.
The cover is mainly a mock front page of the Times with pictures of President Bush and the paper's executive editor, Bill Keller. The banner cover line is 'Times Under Siege' and in the deck we learn, 'President says editor will have 'blood on his hands.'' Another 'story' on the cover about Keller is headlined, 'Reluctant Leader Goaded to Fight.'
A focus is the Dec. 5, 2005, meeting at the White House, where three top Timesmen -- Keller, Publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. and Washington bureau chief Phil Taubman -- had been summoned in an attempt to kill or further delay the NSA story.
Situation Called Dire in West Iraq
Seems the military is fairly screaming at the American people that they are in a no-win situation and that Bush and Cheney are liying out their asses, as usual.
Given that this misadventure has been on the drawing boards since years before 9/11, the Bushites have either got to be the most incompetent bunch of boobs in history, or they see Iraq as a money pit, wth all the money going to Republican suporters.
Impeach them NOW!
Situation Called Dire in West Iraq:
The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country's western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there, said several military officers and intelligence officials familiar with its contents.
The officials described Col. Pete Devlin's classified assessment of the dire state of Anbar as the first time that a senior U.S. military officer has filed so negative a report from Iraq.
Given that this misadventure has been on the drawing boards since years before 9/11, the Bushites have either got to be the most incompetent bunch of boobs in history, or they see Iraq as a money pit, wth all the money going to Republican suporters.
Impeach them NOW!
Situation Called Dire in West Iraq:
The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country's western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there, said several military officers and intelligence officials familiar with its contents.
The officials described Col. Pete Devlin's classified assessment of the dire state of Anbar as the first time that a senior U.S. military officer has filed so negative a report from Iraq.
Losing the War on Terror
There is no "war on terror." When will people, including the media, realize this simple fact.
In the fisrt place you cannot fight a war against an extreme emotional state, "terror." War is terror.
Can't fight against terrorism, either, as terrosism is a tactic.
If Bush had wanted to get the people responsible for 9/11, why did we not stay in Afghanistan long enough to get the job done.
What the hell are we doing bbogged down in Iraq, where even top generals now say we have lost; there are no political or military solutions?
This is by far the most disasterous administration in the history of this country. What's worse, is that the Republican-controlled congress (both bodies) have sat on their butts and done nothing to stop this horror.
Losing the War on Terror:
LAHORE, Pakistan -- In the five years since Sept. 11, the tactics and strategy of Islamic extremists fighting U.S. or NATO forces have improved dramatically. To a degree they could not approach five years ago, the extremists are successfully facing off against the overwhelming technological apparatus that modern armies can bring to bear against guerrillas. Islamic extremists are winning the war by not losing, and they are steadily expanding to create new battlefronts.
Imagine an Arab guerrilla army that is never seen by Israeli forces, never publicly celebrates victories or mourns defeats, and merges so successfully into the local population that Western TV networks can't interview its commanders or fighters. Such was the achievement of Hezbollah's 33-day war against Israeli troops, who admitted that they rarely saw the enemy until they were shot at.
Bush strategy, if he has one, may be helping Taliban
Bush is an idiot; chapter 1,910
Santa Barbara News-Press:
NEW YORK - A leading Afghanistan scholar says that America's military counterterrorism strategy has failed to eliminate the Taliban - and may actually be contributing to the growth of the insurgent Islamist group.
Barnett R. Rubin, director of studies and senior fellow at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, said in a recent interview that a strategy devoted to destroying Taliban remnants has diverted resources from developing a strong central government in Kabul.
''There was from the beginning and still is a contradiction between the counter-terrorism or counterinsurgency mission and the mission of building a stable, sovereign Afghan national state,'' said Rubin, who served as an advisor to the U.N. special representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, in 2001.
Five years after the fall of the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai's government is hampered by rampant corruption, growing insecurity, runaway opium production and widespread discontent over the slow arrival of prosperity.
Santa Barbara News-Press:
NEW YORK - A leading Afghanistan scholar says that America's military counterterrorism strategy has failed to eliminate the Taliban - and may actually be contributing to the growth of the insurgent Islamist group.
Barnett R. Rubin, director of studies and senior fellow at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, said in a recent interview that a strategy devoted to destroying Taliban remnants has diverted resources from developing a strong central government in Kabul.
''There was from the beginning and still is a contradiction between the counter-terrorism or counterinsurgency mission and the mission of building a stable, sovereign Afghan national state,'' said Rubin, who served as an advisor to the U.N. special representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, in 2001.
Five years after the fall of the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai's government is hampered by rampant corruption, growing insecurity, runaway opium production and widespread discontent over the slow arrival of prosperity.
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