Mystery Surrounds the deaths of Several hundred Dolphins in waters around Zanzibar Tanzania.
This was not the ordinary "beaching" event. What makes this situation different is that the Dolphins were being found dead way out to sea, before they hit land. They did not die after being beached.
Original Story Here...
Scientists are investigating.
Sonar is now suspected....
The sonar theory is the most likely cause of the event IMO. These are deep water animals. When certain frequencies of sonar hit them, it scares them and/or causes pain. This causes the animals to try to get out of the water as soon as possible. In their attempts to get away from the sonar, they end up rising to the surface way too fast. This causes the "Bends" condition, which kills them.
This is one of the worst cases of Marine deaths in recent memory.
This is just 400 THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT. How many others died out to sea, where no one can find them or where no one may be looking. These sonar waves travel many many miles, so widespread deaths are plausable.
The navy should get out of denial about the problem. Once they do that, they should try to determine what frequencies of sonar are least threatening to major marine life. They should try to limit use of sonar in peacetime only to certain frequencies or they should try to reduce the use of it in peacetime altogether.
What use is it in East Africa in the so called "War on Terror" anyway?
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Ed Gordon and the Roundtable, April 28th
Great Roundtable from NPR's "News and Notes" program with Ed Gordon.
Topics: the status of African-American films and filmmakers, and U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq who are now facing debts and bill collectors.
Guests: E.R. Shipp, distinguished professor in journalism at Hofstra University; Joe Davidson, an editor at The Washington Post; and Nat Irvin, a professor of future studies at Wake Forest University.
To Listen to the program... click audio tab.
Topics: the status of African-American films and filmmakers, and U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq who are now facing debts and bill collectors.
Guests: E.R. Shipp, distinguished professor in journalism at Hofstra University; Joe Davidson, an editor at The Washington Post; and Nat Irvin, a professor of future studies at Wake Forest University.
To Listen to the program... click audio tab.
Global Terrorism Rising Dramatically According to New Report
Just more evidence pointing to the fact that the U.S. strategy of war war war, and chest beating, is not working and will never work when it comes to fighting terrorism. In fact, it is having the opposite impact. It is militaristic U.S. policy that is fueling the terrorism, and the anti-Americanism that leads to terrorism.
Americans must adjust its strategy if it hopes to make any progress in the fight against terrorism.
-----------------------------
April 28, 2006, 9:42PM
Report: Drastic rise in global terror
Officials point to the inclusion of attacks, deaths in Iraq for first time
By JOSH MEYER
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - The State Department's annual report on global terrorism released Friday concludes that the number of reported terrorist incidents and deaths has increased exponentially in the years since the United States invaded Iraq, largely because of Iraq itself.
The report also said that while America has made some gains in fighting terrorism, al-Qaida and its affiliate groups remain a grave threat to U.S. national security at home and abroad — in Iraq and elsewhere.
Continue reading here... From the Houston Chronicle
Another report from the Guardian Newspaper...
Americans must adjust its strategy if it hopes to make any progress in the fight against terrorism.
-----------------------------
April 28, 2006, 9:42PM
Report: Drastic rise in global terror
Officials point to the inclusion of attacks, deaths in Iraq for first time
By JOSH MEYER
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - The State Department's annual report on global terrorism released Friday concludes that the number of reported terrorist incidents and deaths has increased exponentially in the years since the United States invaded Iraq, largely because of Iraq itself.
The report also said that while America has made some gains in fighting terrorism, al-Qaida and its affiliate groups remain a grave threat to U.S. national security at home and abroad — in Iraq and elsewhere.
Continue reading here... From the Houston Chronicle
Another report from the Guardian Newspaper...
Pentagon To Test New Super Bomb
But this actually appears to be a simulation of a nuclear explosion.
From NPR:
The Pentagon has labeled it "Divine Strake," the detonation in the Nevada desert of a record-setting superbomb. The official line is that this is the test of a new bunker-busting weapon. But weighing in at 700 tons, the bomb cannot be delivered by any existing planes or missiles, experts say.
Continue to audio story here...
From NPR:
The Pentagon has labeled it "Divine Strake," the detonation in the Nevada desert of a record-setting superbomb. The official line is that this is the test of a new bunker-busting weapon. But weighing in at 700 tons, the bomb cannot be delivered by any existing planes or missiles, experts say.
Continue to audio story here...
Friday, April 28, 2006
Mistake By Missouri Child Support Officials Sparks Mass Shooting Incident
CHILD SUPPORT MISTAKE LEADS TO DEADLY SHOOTING RAMPAGE IN ST. LOUIS
Catering Company Owner loses wife and daughter in shooting rampage.
Original report about shooting spree last week in St. Louis. A shorter report of incident.
Another victim was raped. Additional article.
Final Toll: 5 dead, including shooter. 1 rape victim. Owner of company has heart attack. And several other employees shot or injured.
And For What?
-------------------------------
The Latest
Turns out that it was sparked by a mistake by the State of Missouri's Child Support office.
State says it was taking too much child support from shooter
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - A clerical error caused the state to assess a man who went on a shooting rampage last week five times more per month in child support than he actually owed, state officials acknowledged.
Herbert L. Chalmers, who shot four people to death before killing himself last week, told a sometime girlfriend he raped during the rampage that he was upset about his child support obligations. One of the victims was the mother of some of his children.
An error in data entry, made when more than 400,000 child support files were converted to a new computer database in 1998, increased Chalmers' monthly child support more than fivefold, said Deborah Scott, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services.
Continue reading here from The Kansas City Star.
KSDK News in St. Louis has article and a video report.
Shooter was actually a good worker for the catering company.
Catering Company Owner loses wife and daughter in shooting rampage.
Original report about shooting spree last week in St. Louis. A shorter report of incident.
Another victim was raped. Additional article.
Final Toll: 5 dead, including shooter. 1 rape victim. Owner of company has heart attack. And several other employees shot or injured.
And For What?
-------------------------------
The Latest
Turns out that it was sparked by a mistake by the State of Missouri's Child Support office.
State says it was taking too much child support from shooter
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - A clerical error caused the state to assess a man who went on a shooting rampage last week five times more per month in child support than he actually owed, state officials acknowledged.
Herbert L. Chalmers, who shot four people to death before killing himself last week, told a sometime girlfriend he raped during the rampage that he was upset about his child support obligations. One of the victims was the mother of some of his children.
An error in data entry, made when more than 400,000 child support files were converted to a new computer database in 1998, increased Chalmers' monthly child support more than fivefold, said Deborah Scott, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services.
Continue reading here from The Kansas City Star.
KSDK News in St. Louis has article and a video report.
Shooter was actually a good worker for the catering company.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
FEMA Should Be Eliminated?
NONSENSE!
A U.S. Senate Panel Issued Its Final Report Today regarding the government response to Hurricane Katrina and overall disaster readiness. Article here...
I kept up with the hearings of this panel over the last 6 months, and their final report doesn't seem to match up with the problems that were found during the investigation. Most of the evidence pointed to a lack of leadership at the White House and at the top of Homeland Security. The lack of emergency management professionals in charge was a key factor. A lack of proper systems for dealing with disasters was a key factor. A lack of planning for prevention and mitigation was a key factor. The lack of proper protocol was a key factor. A lack of planning and leadership within State and local governments were key factors. The lack of communication on all levels was a key factor. And a lack of funding for FEMA was a key factor.
How do we go from all of these things to the conclusion that FEMA should be abolished?
I did some extensive study of the issue of U.S disaster preparedness… and I can tell you, FEMA was not and is not the problem. The problem is a lack of leadership both within FEMA and in other sectors of government which control FEMA. It’s the people in charge. It has nothing to do with the organization, although it does have problems. But those problems are related to bad policies. Those bad policies, in turn, come from poor leadership.
FEMA should be an independent agency like it was before Katrina, and it should be funded properly. And the Congress- If it was really concerned- should pass legislation preventing the President from filling the top jobs at FEMA, Homeland Security, or any other position critical to saving lives, with "political appointees".... people who are not the best qualified for these important positions. It's criminal negligence to put unqualified political appointees in these key life & death positions.
FEMA has been underfunded for years, despite the fact that they would always beg for more money. Now the Congress wants to use FEMA as a scapegoat after the house of cards that they built finally fell apart.
Here is what James Lee Witt had to say about this issue. Witt, a former director of FEMA, is one of the nations most skilled and most respected emergency management professionals.
Videos from C-span
Video One
(copy and paste directly to your browser)
Discussion on Hurricane relief efforts and related issues affecting emergency management within the U.S.11/29/2005
WASHINGTON, DC: 45 min. James Lee Witt, Former FEMA Dir., Clinton Admin., 1993-2001
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/hur/hur_wj112905witt.rm
Video Two
CSIS hosts a discussion on the roles and respective authorities of government officials for emergency response and consequence management. Fmr. FEMA Director James Lee Witt is among the panelists, along with former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. 2 Hrs
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/hur/hur112805_response.rm
A U.S. Senate Panel Issued Its Final Report Today regarding the government response to Hurricane Katrina and overall disaster readiness. Article here...
I kept up with the hearings of this panel over the last 6 months, and their final report doesn't seem to match up with the problems that were found during the investigation. Most of the evidence pointed to a lack of leadership at the White House and at the top of Homeland Security. The lack of emergency management professionals in charge was a key factor. A lack of proper systems for dealing with disasters was a key factor. A lack of planning for prevention and mitigation was a key factor. The lack of proper protocol was a key factor. A lack of planning and leadership within State and local governments were key factors. The lack of communication on all levels was a key factor. And a lack of funding for FEMA was a key factor.
How do we go from all of these things to the conclusion that FEMA should be abolished?
I did some extensive study of the issue of U.S disaster preparedness… and I can tell you, FEMA was not and is not the problem. The problem is a lack of leadership both within FEMA and in other sectors of government which control FEMA. It’s the people in charge. It has nothing to do with the organization, although it does have problems. But those problems are related to bad policies. Those bad policies, in turn, come from poor leadership.
FEMA should be an independent agency like it was before Katrina, and it should be funded properly. And the Congress- If it was really concerned- should pass legislation preventing the President from filling the top jobs at FEMA, Homeland Security, or any other position critical to saving lives, with "political appointees".... people who are not the best qualified for these important positions. It's criminal negligence to put unqualified political appointees in these key life & death positions.
FEMA has been underfunded for years, despite the fact that they would always beg for more money. Now the Congress wants to use FEMA as a scapegoat after the house of cards that they built finally fell apart.
Here is what James Lee Witt had to say about this issue. Witt, a former director of FEMA, is one of the nations most skilled and most respected emergency management professionals.
Videos from C-span
Video One
(copy and paste directly to your browser)
Discussion on Hurricane relief efforts and related issues affecting emergency management within the U.S.11/29/2005
WASHINGTON, DC: 45 min. James Lee Witt, Former FEMA Dir., Clinton Admin., 1993-2001
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/hur/hur_wj112905witt.rm
Video Two
CSIS hosts a discussion on the roles and respective authorities of government officials for emergency response and consequence management. Fmr. FEMA Director James Lee Witt is among the panelists, along with former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. 2 Hrs
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/hur/hur112805_response.rm
While America Was Asleep
The Congress took the first steps towards taking away the Internet as we know it.
Now customers will be charged double time in the future for the use of lines, and certain web services will be favored over others.
A complete attack against the essence of the internet- the free flow of information. This is what made the internet what it is today.
This is a perfect example of why I believe that Americans should have the right of national referendum. People in “Real life Democracies” have referendum powers. This would be the perfect issue for a national referendum vote. But in this case, as with most cases, the legislation was written and bought by corporate lobbyists. It’s ironic that recently the Congress has been talking about lobby reform and ending corruption, but this shows that they are still at it. Nothing has changed and nothing will ever change in Washington D.C. It is inherently corrupt.
Audio stories from NPR here, and also here.
Now customers will be charged double time in the future for the use of lines, and certain web services will be favored over others.
A complete attack against the essence of the internet- the free flow of information. This is what made the internet what it is today.
This is a perfect example of why I believe that Americans should have the right of national referendum. People in “Real life Democracies” have referendum powers. This would be the perfect issue for a national referendum vote. But in this case, as with most cases, the legislation was written and bought by corporate lobbyists. It’s ironic that recently the Congress has been talking about lobby reform and ending corruption, but this shows that they are still at it. Nothing has changed and nothing will ever change in Washington D.C. It is inherently corrupt.
Audio stories from NPR here, and also here.
Karl Rove Back In Hot Seat
Rove Called Again to Testify in Front of Grand Jury- A New Grand Jury This Time.
Will This Lead to Criminal Charges? I Can Only Hope So...
------------------------------
Rove reportedly denies lying about CIA leak
By Jim VandeHei
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told a federal grand jury Wednesday that he did not provide false statements in the CIA leak case, testifying for more than three hours before leaving a federal courthouse unsure whether he would be indicted, according to a source close to the presidential aide.
In his fifth appearance before the grand jury, Rove testified that it would have been foolish for him to knowingly mislead investigators about his role in the disclosure of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame to the media, the source said. His grand-jury appearance, which was kept secret even from Rove's closest White House colleagues until shortly before he went to court Wednesday, suggests that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald remains keenly interested in Rove's role in the case.
Rove for the first time partly waived his attorney-client privilege to detail conversations he had with his attorney, Robert Luskin, about the leak and his knowledge of it, the source said.
Rove's testimony focused almost exclusively on his conversation about Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper in 2003 and whether Rove later tried to conceal it, the source said. Rove testified, in essence, that "it would have been a suicide mission" to "deliberately lie" about his conversation with Cooper because he knew beforehand that it eventually would be revealed, the source said. Lawyers involved in the case said Wednesday that they expect a decision on Rove's fate soon.
Continue reading story from the Seattle Times...
Will This Lead to Criminal Charges? I Can Only Hope So...
------------------------------
Rove reportedly denies lying about CIA leak
By Jim VandeHei
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told a federal grand jury Wednesday that he did not provide false statements in the CIA leak case, testifying for more than three hours before leaving a federal courthouse unsure whether he would be indicted, according to a source close to the presidential aide.
In his fifth appearance before the grand jury, Rove testified that it would have been foolish for him to knowingly mislead investigators about his role in the disclosure of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame to the media, the source said. His grand-jury appearance, which was kept secret even from Rove's closest White House colleagues until shortly before he went to court Wednesday, suggests that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald remains keenly interested in Rove's role in the case.
Rove for the first time partly waived his attorney-client privilege to detail conversations he had with his attorney, Robert Luskin, about the leak and his knowledge of it, the source said.
Rove's testimony focused almost exclusively on his conversation about Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper in 2003 and whether Rove later tried to conceal it, the source said. Rove testified, in essence, that "it would have been a suicide mission" to "deliberately lie" about his conversation with Cooper because he knew beforehand that it eventually would be revealed, the source said. Lawyers involved in the case said Wednesday that they expect a decision on Rove's fate soon.
Continue reading story from the Seattle Times...
And The Academy Award Goes To......
The U.S. Congress!!
That's right....
Congress Deserves Academy Award.
Acting as if they had nothing to do with the tax breaks that were given to the oil industry. Interesting how they are now trying to distance themselves from the decisions that they have been making over the last several years. Now they act as if they know nothing about any of those tax breaks and can't explain how they came about.
Story here...
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
HOSPITAL IN TEXAS TO END LIFE OF WOMAN- INSURANCE Co. SAYS PULL THE PLUG
Where are all the Republican evangelical wack jobs on this one? Where did they go?
Why no response, no protest, no unprecedented emergency meetings of Congress, no prayer vigils, etc?
Why no outrage from the pro-life folks? Are they really pro-life, or just crazy as hell?
For the Terri Schiavo case these fruitcakes were sending death threats to federal judges.
In this case....a much stronger pro-life argument, there is no outcry.
This just shows what kind of hypocrits there are in the Religious Republican Right. It also shows that the Schiavo affair was nothing but theater for political purposes. Of course we already know this from their own internal memos (that were leaked). But this just confirms it even further for anyone who was not sure about what kind of people these neo-conservative Republicans really are.
The DailyKos has the scoop on this sick story...
Why no response, no protest, no unprecedented emergency meetings of Congress, no prayer vigils, etc?
Why no outrage from the pro-life folks? Are they really pro-life, or just crazy as hell?
For the Terri Schiavo case these fruitcakes were sending death threats to federal judges.
In this case....a much stronger pro-life argument, there is no outcry.
This just shows what kind of hypocrits there are in the Religious Republican Right. It also shows that the Schiavo affair was nothing but theater for political purposes. Of course we already know this from their own internal memos (that were leaked). But this just confirms it even further for anyone who was not sure about what kind of people these neo-conservative Republicans really are.
The DailyKos has the scoop on this sick story...
O.J. SIMPSON ANNOUNCES THAT HE WILL DO HIS OWN INVESTIGATION TO FIND THE KILLERS
O.J. Simpson recently announced that he is launching an investigation to find the real killers of Nicole Brown. He is putting together a dream team of investigators and he will be on the case, according to his assistant.
"The Killers Will Be Found", he said in a statement. "I don't care what I have to do..."
In other news.... (pardon me .... there seems to be some technical difficulties.. my producer is straightening things out now...apparently this was the wrong report)....
The Angry Independent
OH WAIT A MINUTE!!! OH I'M SORRY READERS....!!! Please Forgive me!
I got the O.J. report mixed up with the report of an investigation of the oil industry by Mr. Big Oil himself. Flashback to the O.J. Trial.... sorry.
O.J.'s statement years ago about wanting to find the real killers was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the report about Bush launching an investigation into the oil business. That's like letting a known child molester watch your children for the weekend. This government is so full of absurdities.
FOX news and all the rest of the Bush media want the American people to believe that a President who is from the Big Oil Industry...and a Vice President who is from the Big Oil Industry, (who happen to have a Secretary of State with an Oil Tanker named after her, and a Sec. of Defense with huge ties to the oil and defense industries) will launch an investigation against their closest, most loyal supporters in the corporate world- The oil industry.
GIVE ME A F_____G BREAK!!! They could have at least tried to lie a little better on this one. I give them a 2.5 on a scale of 10 for that effort. They are beginning to slack off in the lie competition. Absolutely no creativity with that one at all... I would expect an administration that has developed so much expertise in lying to the American people to be a little more creative than that.
No other administration in the history of this country has had closer ties to the oil industry. THEY ARE THE OIL INDUSTRY! On the global level, the only government with closer ties to big oil than the White House is the Saudi government. The Bushies and Cheneys are the Western version of a Saudi Royal family supported by big oil.
Does anyone in their right mind really believe that there will be an investigation? Please.. This is strictly damage control and window dressing in preparation for the Congressional elections later this year. Bush isn't going to bite the hand that feeds him.... He depends on his close friends in the oil industry for his support. Who do you think bankrolls these people in the White House?
We are seeing the result of failed policy or lack of policy from the last 4 or 5 U.S. Presidents.
At this point, half of all U.S. vehicles should be running on ethanol or Hydrogen. The U.S. is at least 10-15 years behind in the development of an alternative fuel society. The U.S. used to be known for leading the way and innovating these things that change the world...now we will be followers trying to desperately catch up. But during this catch up period, we will be held hostage by global events, other countries, and other circumstances beyond our control. U.S. foreign policy is also to blame for this nonsense, because it set the stage for what we see now. Our pro-war stance in the world continues to aggravate oil prices.
It's not like the U.S. never saw this coming. We should have embarked on a bold, ambitious, and massive "New Deal" "Kennedy and the Space Race" type of endeavor years ago to rid ourselves from dependence of foreign oil and events overseas. The oil crisis' of the 1970's should have been the only wake up call that we needed. But the giant quicky fell back to sleep.
Follow this ridiculous story here...
Great Commentary on this issue from the Huffington Post. And also from the Chicago Tribune.
"The Killers Will Be Found", he said in a statement. "I don't care what I have to do..."
In other news.... (pardon me .... there seems to be some technical difficulties.. my producer is straightening things out now...apparently this was the wrong report)....
The Angry Independent
OH WAIT A MINUTE!!! OH I'M SORRY READERS....!!! Please Forgive me!
I got the O.J. report mixed up with the report of an investigation of the oil industry by Mr. Big Oil himself. Flashback to the O.J. Trial.... sorry.
O.J.'s statement years ago about wanting to find the real killers was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the report about Bush launching an investigation into the oil business. That's like letting a known child molester watch your children for the weekend. This government is so full of absurdities.
FOX news and all the rest of the Bush media want the American people to believe that a President who is from the Big Oil Industry...and a Vice President who is from the Big Oil Industry, (who happen to have a Secretary of State with an Oil Tanker named after her, and a Sec. of Defense with huge ties to the oil and defense industries) will launch an investigation against their closest, most loyal supporters in the corporate world- The oil industry.
GIVE ME A F_____G BREAK!!! They could have at least tried to lie a little better on this one. I give them a 2.5 on a scale of 10 for that effort. They are beginning to slack off in the lie competition. Absolutely no creativity with that one at all... I would expect an administration that has developed so much expertise in lying to the American people to be a little more creative than that.
No other administration in the history of this country has had closer ties to the oil industry. THEY ARE THE OIL INDUSTRY! On the global level, the only government with closer ties to big oil than the White House is the Saudi government. The Bushies and Cheneys are the Western version of a Saudi Royal family supported by big oil.
Does anyone in their right mind really believe that there will be an investigation? Please.. This is strictly damage control and window dressing in preparation for the Congressional elections later this year. Bush isn't going to bite the hand that feeds him.... He depends on his close friends in the oil industry for his support. Who do you think bankrolls these people in the White House?
We are seeing the result of failed policy or lack of policy from the last 4 or 5 U.S. Presidents.
At this point, half of all U.S. vehicles should be running on ethanol or Hydrogen. The U.S. is at least 10-15 years behind in the development of an alternative fuel society. The U.S. used to be known for leading the way and innovating these things that change the world...now we will be followers trying to desperately catch up. But during this catch up period, we will be held hostage by global events, other countries, and other circumstances beyond our control. U.S. foreign policy is also to blame for this nonsense, because it set the stage for what we see now. Our pro-war stance in the world continues to aggravate oil prices.
It's not like the U.S. never saw this coming. We should have embarked on a bold, ambitious, and massive "New Deal" "Kennedy and the Space Race" type of endeavor years ago to rid ourselves from dependence of foreign oil and events overseas. The oil crisis' of the 1970's should have been the only wake up call that we needed. But the giant quicky fell back to sleep.
Follow this ridiculous story here...
Great Commentary on this issue from the Huffington Post. And also from the Chicago Tribune.
Ed Gordon and the Roundtable, April 25th
From Ed Gordons News and Notes program on NPR, April 25th.
Topics: Bin Laden Comments on Darfur, Attack on "Black leaders" by Florida official, and other topics...
Guests: Mary Frances Berry, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania; Roland Martin, executive editor of The Chicago Defender; and John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute senior fellow in public policy.
Listen to program here... Click audio tab.
Topics: Bin Laden Comments on Darfur, Attack on "Black leaders" by Florida official, and other topics...
Guests: Mary Frances Berry, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania; Roland Martin, executive editor of The Chicago Defender; and John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute senior fellow in public policy.
Listen to program here... Click audio tab.
Condi Rice Causes Riot in Greece
Seems like everywhere that the U.S. sends an official these days, it starts a riot.
I am old enough to remember when it was the opposite.
Story here...
I am old enough to remember when it was the opposite.
Story here...
Amy Goodman Sheds Light on Situation of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees
Amy Goodman Sheds Light on Situation of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees
Amy Goodman is run off by Security when she visits a Trailer Park for Hurricane Katrina victims.
People are being muzzled, precluded from speaking freely about what is happening there.
These kinds of fact finding efforts are being discouraged.
From Amy Goodman's Democracy Now Program:
"During Democracy Now's recent trip to New Orleans, we managed to get inside the largest FEMA trailer park set up after Hurricane Katrina. Shortly after we interviewed hurricane evacuee Donna Azeez, we were kicked out of the park by security guards working for Corporate Security Solutions, the private company hired by FEMA to police Renaissance Village".
Follow this story here... Video/Audio available.
Amy Goodman is run off by Security when she visits a Trailer Park for Hurricane Katrina victims.
People are being muzzled, precluded from speaking freely about what is happening there.
These kinds of fact finding efforts are being discouraged.
From Amy Goodman's Democracy Now Program:
"During Democracy Now's recent trip to New Orleans, we managed to get inside the largest FEMA trailer park set up after Hurricane Katrina. Shortly after we interviewed hurricane evacuee Donna Azeez, we were kicked out of the park by security guards working for Corporate Security Solutions, the private company hired by FEMA to police Renaissance Village".
Follow this story here... Video/Audio available.
Fox News Commentator Taking White House Job?
Right Wing Conservative Fox News commentator Tony Snow set to take job as White House Spokesperson. (No change there... The only thing changing is his geographical location. He's always been the mouthpiece of the White House...just like the network that he works for).
This is yet another indication that FOX is nothing more than an arm of the Bush administration and the Republican Party.
FOX has clearly been State-Run media for the Republican government. Other major networks have also followed suit, but none as aggressively as FOX…
If anyone still has any doubts about FOX… then they must be crazy.
There should be Federal legislation against corporate media colluding with the government or with a particular political party. This would prevent a situation where you have State-Run media… completely incompatible with Democracy.
Is this the Democracy that we are touting to the rest of the world? Plleeeaase!!!
Read the Tony Snow story here...
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Rare Speech From MLK
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. attended the National Conference for New Politics on 8/31/67 and delivered this address, titled "The Three Evils of Society." The analog recording is available at the National Archives, in RG 306, Records of the U.S. Information Agency/Voice of America collection (at Archives II, College Park, Maryland). The speech was digitized by Talking History/University at Albany, SUNY.
Listen to Speech Below
2 Listening options
Mp3
or
RealMedia stream
U.S. Air National Guard Units Headed To Israel?
From the online edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch
Lambert Guard unit appears headed to Israel
By Harry Levins
POST-DISPATCH SENIOR WRITER
04/22/2006
Unofficially, word among enlisted airmen at Lambert Field's Air National Guard complex holds that the 131st Fighter Wing will soon fly its F-15 Eagle fighters to Israel for exercises with the Israeli air force. Officially, Air Guard officers will say nothing about any such exercise.
If the St. Louis-based Eagles indeed lift off and head east toward Israel, they'll continue a long-running but remarkably low-profile series of joint military exercises between the two countries.
Some people who pay attention to such affairs expressed surprise. Among them is military historian Jerry Morelock of Fulton, Mo., managing editor of Armchair General magazine. From 1990-94, he served on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon as an Army colonel - and in that post, he said, "I don't recall anything like that. This is a new one for me."
Similarly surprised was aviation historian Walter J. Boyne of Auburn, Va., a retired Air Force colonel. He said he found it hard to imagine such an exercise, "particularly at this time, because things are so sensitive." In particular, he cited the suspicion by some that "we're going to whack Iran" to prevent that nation from developing nuclear weapons.
The St. Louis Eagles lack any whack, at least with bombs. The planes are C-model Eagles, designed to shoot down other fighters. Only E-model Eagles tote bombs - and the Air Guard here has no E-model Eagles.
At any rate, from EuCom headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Navy Lt. Corey Barker said: "The exercises are not based on real-world events. They are designed to increase interoperability and understanding."
Still, when Middle East scholar Victor Le Vine of Washington University first heard of the exercise, he said, "Maybe these are tests in preparation for that strongly denied possibility of an attack on Iran."Like many others, Le Vine was unaware that since 1984, the United States has regularly and routinely held joint military exercises on Israeli soil.
For example, retired Air Force officer John Correll of Annandale, Va., edited Air Force magazine from 1984-2002 and still keeps a hand in as contributing editor. He said, "No, I've not heard of that - and yes, it's a surprise."
But others who were unaware of the exercises expressed no surprise. Among them was historian Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina.
"Our relationship with Israel is close and so long-standing that any kind of interchange or joint training would hardly be surprising," said Kohn, once the chief historian of the Air Force.
Similarly, military writer (and retired Army officer) Ralph Peters of Warrenton, Va., said: "It doesn't surprise me that such exercises would take place. But given the current tension with Iran and the Middle Eastern penchant for conspiracy theories, whether combined exercises at the present time are a good idea is another issue entirely."
Len Nordeen of Webster Groves - he's the author of "Fighters over Israel," a history of the Israeli air force - said: "I don't know anything about it, but it doesn't surprise me. You're talking about a very experienced air arm."
He added, "In the war on terror, the sharing of techniques is a valuable thing."
Low profile
News organizations have covered past U.S.-Israeli exercises, which began under President Ronald Reagan. But the coverage has been scant - and much, if not most, of it has been in the foreign press. Why the low profile?
It's a matter of perception, said Carl Conetta of a think tank called the Project on Defense Alternatives. From Bethesda, Md., he spoke of "trying to appear to maintain balance and even-handedness in the region." He said the joint exercises had accelerated since the Persian Gulf War, "but we're not crazy about advertising this stuff."
Likewise, Middle East scholar Juan R. Cole of the University of Michigan said: "Every time you have big headlines about U.S. exercises with Israel, you might provoke demonstrations or even attacks. By and large, this is something you don't want to advertise."
Washington University's Le Vine said: "The Israelis are nuts about security. So the less others know about what goes on militarily, the better. Besides, why give others propaganda weapons to use against Israel and the United States?"
But retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom showed no qualms about discussing such exercises. "This is nothing unusual," said Brom, now a visiting scholar at the congressionally chartered U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. "Each year, the U.S. Air Force is involved."
St. Louis University political scientist Timothy Lomperis agreed."The fact that there has been an ongoing and special military relationship between the U.S. and Israel is a 'well-kept secret' that's well-known to all sectors of the Middle East," said Lomperis, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War. "Muslim countries don't like these exercises - but they know the exercises go on."
But U.S. military officials won't talk about them.A spokeswoman for the Air Guard here referred all questions to the U.S. European Command, whose geographic turf includes Israel.Navy Lt. Barker of EuCom said that "due to force-protection concerns and Department of Defense policy, we will not be able to discuss any upcoming exercises."
hlevins@post-dispatch.com: 314-340-8144
Source from St. Louis Post Dispatch
Lambert Guard unit appears headed to Israel
By Harry Levins
POST-DISPATCH SENIOR WRITER
04/22/2006
Unofficially, word among enlisted airmen at Lambert Field's Air National Guard complex holds that the 131st Fighter Wing will soon fly its F-15 Eagle fighters to Israel for exercises with the Israeli air force. Officially, Air Guard officers will say nothing about any such exercise.
If the St. Louis-based Eagles indeed lift off and head east toward Israel, they'll continue a long-running but remarkably low-profile series of joint military exercises between the two countries.
Some people who pay attention to such affairs expressed surprise. Among them is military historian Jerry Morelock of Fulton, Mo., managing editor of Armchair General magazine. From 1990-94, he served on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon as an Army colonel - and in that post, he said, "I don't recall anything like that. This is a new one for me."
Similarly surprised was aviation historian Walter J. Boyne of Auburn, Va., a retired Air Force colonel. He said he found it hard to imagine such an exercise, "particularly at this time, because things are so sensitive." In particular, he cited the suspicion by some that "we're going to whack Iran" to prevent that nation from developing nuclear weapons.
The St. Louis Eagles lack any whack, at least with bombs. The planes are C-model Eagles, designed to shoot down other fighters. Only E-model Eagles tote bombs - and the Air Guard here has no E-model Eagles.
At any rate, from EuCom headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Navy Lt. Corey Barker said: "The exercises are not based on real-world events. They are designed to increase interoperability and understanding."
Still, when Middle East scholar Victor Le Vine of Washington University first heard of the exercise, he said, "Maybe these are tests in preparation for that strongly denied possibility of an attack on Iran."Like many others, Le Vine was unaware that since 1984, the United States has regularly and routinely held joint military exercises on Israeli soil.
For example, retired Air Force officer John Correll of Annandale, Va., edited Air Force magazine from 1984-2002 and still keeps a hand in as contributing editor. He said, "No, I've not heard of that - and yes, it's a surprise."
But others who were unaware of the exercises expressed no surprise. Among them was historian Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina.
"Our relationship with Israel is close and so long-standing that any kind of interchange or joint training would hardly be surprising," said Kohn, once the chief historian of the Air Force.
Similarly, military writer (and retired Army officer) Ralph Peters of Warrenton, Va., said: "It doesn't surprise me that such exercises would take place. But given the current tension with Iran and the Middle Eastern penchant for conspiracy theories, whether combined exercises at the present time are a good idea is another issue entirely."
Len Nordeen of Webster Groves - he's the author of "Fighters over Israel," a history of the Israeli air force - said: "I don't know anything about it, but it doesn't surprise me. You're talking about a very experienced air arm."
He added, "In the war on terror, the sharing of techniques is a valuable thing."
Low profile
News organizations have covered past U.S.-Israeli exercises, which began under President Ronald Reagan. But the coverage has been scant - and much, if not most, of it has been in the foreign press. Why the low profile?
It's a matter of perception, said Carl Conetta of a think tank called the Project on Defense Alternatives. From Bethesda, Md., he spoke of "trying to appear to maintain balance and even-handedness in the region." He said the joint exercises had accelerated since the Persian Gulf War, "but we're not crazy about advertising this stuff."
Likewise, Middle East scholar Juan R. Cole of the University of Michigan said: "Every time you have big headlines about U.S. exercises with Israel, you might provoke demonstrations or even attacks. By and large, this is something you don't want to advertise."
Washington University's Le Vine said: "The Israelis are nuts about security. So the less others know about what goes on militarily, the better. Besides, why give others propaganda weapons to use against Israel and the United States?"
But retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom showed no qualms about discussing such exercises. "This is nothing unusual," said Brom, now a visiting scholar at the congressionally chartered U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. "Each year, the U.S. Air Force is involved."
St. Louis University political scientist Timothy Lomperis agreed."The fact that there has been an ongoing and special military relationship between the U.S. and Israel is a 'well-kept secret' that's well-known to all sectors of the Middle East," said Lomperis, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War. "Muslim countries don't like these exercises - but they know the exercises go on."
But U.S. military officials won't talk about them.A spokeswoman for the Air Guard here referred all questions to the U.S. European Command, whose geographic turf includes Israel.Navy Lt. Barker of EuCom said that "due to force-protection concerns and Department of Defense policy, we will not be able to discuss any upcoming exercises."
hlevins@post-dispatch.com: 314-340-8144
Source from St. Louis Post Dispatch
U.S. Deaths in Iraq Up This Month
U.S. Deaths are way up this month, making April the deadliest month so far this year, and making April one of the deadliest months overall.
------------------------------------------
Deadly Month for U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
3 U.S. Soldiers and 27 Iraqis Killed As Politicians Begin Work on New Government
By LEE KEATH
BAGHDAD, Iraq Apr 24, 2006 (AP)— Insurgents killed three American soldiers in the Baghdad area Sunday and fired mortars near the Defense Ministry in a spree of violence that killed at least 29 Iraqis as politicians began work on forming a new government.
The largest Sunni Arab party raised new allegations of sectarian killings one of the most urgent issues facing the new leadership.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the next government must decommission sectarian militias and integrate them into the national armed forces, warning that the armed groups represent the "infrastructure for civil war."
Sunday's deaths raised to eight the number of U.S. troops killed in the past two days.
At least 61 American service members have died in April, putting it on track to pass January with 62 as the deadliest month this year. It represents a jump over March, which with 31 deaths was the lowest monthly toll for the Americans since February 2004.
On Monday, a car bomb exploded in a busy area of central Baghdad, killing at least three people and wounding 25, police said.
The parked car exploded during morning rush hour on a major street in the Bag al-Muadim section of Baghdad, close to one of the capital's largest hospitals, a complex of government buildings, a bus station and a traffic roundabout.
Continue Reading here...
------------------------------------------
Deadly Month for U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
3 U.S. Soldiers and 27 Iraqis Killed As Politicians Begin Work on New Government
By LEE KEATH
BAGHDAD, Iraq Apr 24, 2006 (AP)— Insurgents killed three American soldiers in the Baghdad area Sunday and fired mortars near the Defense Ministry in a spree of violence that killed at least 29 Iraqis as politicians began work on forming a new government.
The largest Sunni Arab party raised new allegations of sectarian killings one of the most urgent issues facing the new leadership.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the next government must decommission sectarian militias and integrate them into the national armed forces, warning that the armed groups represent the "infrastructure for civil war."
Sunday's deaths raised to eight the number of U.S. troops killed in the past two days.
At least 61 American service members have died in April, putting it on track to pass January with 62 as the deadliest month this year. It represents a jump over March, which with 31 deaths was the lowest monthly toll for the Americans since February 2004.
On Monday, a car bomb exploded in a busy area of central Baghdad, killing at least three people and wounding 25, police said.
The parked car exploded during morning rush hour on a major street in the Bag al-Muadim section of Baghdad, close to one of the capital's largest hospitals, a complex of government buildings, a bus station and a traffic roundabout.
Continue Reading here...
Monday, April 24, 2006
WHY I ABSOLUTELY HATE MODERN "BLACK" CULTURE
WHY I ABSOLUTELY HATE MODERN "BLACK" CULTURE
From NPR
"The city of Atlanta is making hip-hop a central part of its public identity. Officials say they see the music as a way of presenting a modern look and getting past images of the Old South."
Listen to the silly white PR official as she describes what's "great" about Hip Hop. My question is- what kind of Hip Hop are you talking about? It appears they are talking about mainstream Hip Hop- the Hip Hop that gets 90% of the major media coverage.
I personally can't stand most of the garbage that comes out of the "Hip Hop community" and I don't patronize anything related to it. If it's not Chuck D. or something from that vein... trying to uplift, inform, and fire up young folks, then to hell with it.
What are those fools in Atlanta thinking? I am seeing more and more cities, public officials, and even civil rights organizations supporting this garbage which is the tool for so much unmitigated degradation of black folks. How f___ing ironic is that? Blacks celebrating their own degradation.
We have seen it in Detroit, St. Louis (my hometown), Memphis, Baltimore, and a whole host of other so called "Chocolate Cities". It should be no surprise that many of these cities go down hill quick under these corrupt, inept black led governments. We have also seen this with groups such as the NAACP, NOI (a joke of a group anyway) and other entities. It's disgusting! Even the King family supports it. This is why I recognize no Black organization or Black leader as a representative or spokesperson for me, and hopefully I never will. Luckily we don't need these played out leaders and organizations anymore...at least not like we used to. Their work is no longer effective. This effort to reach the younger generation through rap is an indication of how desperate they are to stay relevent, so that they can stay in the spotlight and keep making money. The crap that they are promoting is the nonsense that is poisoning the so called "Black Community". The PR person from this NPR report has no clue!
There will be those Blacks (ignorant Blacks) who will say this is a great idea and a great way for the Black elite and Black politicians to connect with the young folks. BULLSHIT! Is my response.
If they want to connect with young folks, there are many other ways for them to do that... Let's see... how about step aside and allow young leaders to emerge? That's for starters. But there are also other things such as establishing informative, educational news and entertainment networks to uplift young folks.. obviously i'm not talking about that disgraceful network called BET. Massive job training programs could be started in every "Chocolate City" and major city in the country...to teach young folks trades, and give them skills they need to make it in this cut throat society, News and Public television stations in every major city that would be run by the young folks in the community and sponsored by city governments, give young folks a voice in local and State government by giving them seats on alderman boards and State legislatures (if for no other reason than to let them speak), help groom the next generation of young leaders, establish & maintain better public schools, provide free community college (or very low cost) for everybody, provide an alternative to the poisonous "bling bling" T.V. and radio media, have more open houses for young folks so that they can see how the wheels of government turn, create more alternatives to the criminal justice system..... there are so many other things that I could think of...but you get the point. THAT is connecting with young folks.
Now I know for sure that I wouldn't want to move to that crappy city... Unfortunately both of my sisters have moved there.
Listen to report from NPR. Click audio tab.
Report taken from today's Ed Gordon program.
From NPR
"The city of Atlanta is making hip-hop a central part of its public identity. Officials say they see the music as a way of presenting a modern look and getting past images of the Old South."
Listen to the silly white PR official as she describes what's "great" about Hip Hop. My question is- what kind of Hip Hop are you talking about? It appears they are talking about mainstream Hip Hop- the Hip Hop that gets 90% of the major media coverage.
I personally can't stand most of the garbage that comes out of the "Hip Hop community" and I don't patronize anything related to it. If it's not Chuck D. or something from that vein... trying to uplift, inform, and fire up young folks, then to hell with it.
What are those fools in Atlanta thinking? I am seeing more and more cities, public officials, and even civil rights organizations supporting this garbage which is the tool for so much unmitigated degradation of black folks. How f___ing ironic is that? Blacks celebrating their own degradation.
We have seen it in Detroit, St. Louis (my hometown), Memphis, Baltimore, and a whole host of other so called "Chocolate Cities". It should be no surprise that many of these cities go down hill quick under these corrupt, inept black led governments. We have also seen this with groups such as the NAACP, NOI (a joke of a group anyway) and other entities. It's disgusting! Even the King family supports it. This is why I recognize no Black organization or Black leader as a representative or spokesperson for me, and hopefully I never will. Luckily we don't need these played out leaders and organizations anymore...at least not like we used to. Their work is no longer effective. This effort to reach the younger generation through rap is an indication of how desperate they are to stay relevent, so that they can stay in the spotlight and keep making money. The crap that they are promoting is the nonsense that is poisoning the so called "Black Community". The PR person from this NPR report has no clue!
There will be those Blacks (ignorant Blacks) who will say this is a great idea and a great way for the Black elite and Black politicians to connect with the young folks. BULLSHIT! Is my response.
If they want to connect with young folks, there are many other ways for them to do that... Let's see... how about step aside and allow young leaders to emerge? That's for starters. But there are also other things such as establishing informative, educational news and entertainment networks to uplift young folks.. obviously i'm not talking about that disgraceful network called BET. Massive job training programs could be started in every "Chocolate City" and major city in the country...to teach young folks trades, and give them skills they need to make it in this cut throat society, News and Public television stations in every major city that would be run by the young folks in the community and sponsored by city governments, give young folks a voice in local and State government by giving them seats on alderman boards and State legislatures (if for no other reason than to let them speak), help groom the next generation of young leaders, establish & maintain better public schools, provide free community college (or very low cost) for everybody, provide an alternative to the poisonous "bling bling" T.V. and radio media, have more open houses for young folks so that they can see how the wheels of government turn, create more alternatives to the criminal justice system..... there are so many other things that I could think of...but you get the point. THAT is connecting with young folks.
Now I know for sure that I wouldn't want to move to that crappy city... Unfortunately both of my sisters have moved there.
Listen to report from NPR. Click audio tab.
Report taken from today's Ed Gordon program.
Spike Lee In New Orleans Working on Katrina Film
Spike Lee in New Orleans on 4/22/2006 with Mayoral candidate Mitch Landrieu. Spike Lee is in New Orleans working on a film about the Katrina disaster.
Former CIA Official Reports That White House Ignored Conservative WMD Estimates
Former CIA official reports that the White House ignored conservative WMD estimates. They were more concerned with establishing an excuse for war. If information came to light that did not fit their plans, they ignored it, discounted it, and covered it up.
The Blog Think Progress has more information.
Article from 60 Minutes.
Additional article from overseas press.
The Blog Think Progress has more information.
Article from 60 Minutes.
Additional article from overseas press.
U.S. Establishing Permanent "Superbases" in Iraq
U.S. building permanent military bases in Iraq. All this talk about withdrawal is for public consumption. They have been lying all along.
More information.
Read my previous post about permanent bases. The evidence continues to confirm it.
The major corporate (Washington controlled) media in this country continues to avoid the subject. Unreal!
More information.
Read my previous post about permanent bases. The evidence continues to confirm it.
The major corporate (Washington controlled) media in this country continues to avoid the subject. Unreal!
Nepal Showing World What Real Democracy Looks Like
The U.S. and the World Should Look At Nepal to See What Democracy Actually Looks Like.
Nepal is a perfect example of Democracy in action. The U.S. especially should take note. You cannot bomb a country into Democracy. Democracy CANNOT come artificially, contrary to what the U.S. wants the world to believe. Democracy cannot be imported and force fed to a population by outsiders.
Democracy must come about through a natural genuine process of grassroots action. The people who actually live in a particular country must be the source of the Democracy. "Democracy" IS the people. The people of a particular country must be the ones who fight, bleed, and die for their own freedom. U.S. soldiers cannot and should not be sacrificed for this purpose...especially not for this purpose alone. This is an important point because current U.S. foreign policy doctrine (used by the Republicrats) basically involves the U.S. reshaping the whole world in its own image and for its own benefit, and this includes engaging in regime change when deemed necessary as a means to that end.
Democracy comes about from internal actions... these are, for the most part, internal matters that no outsiders can or should influence or determine. The U.S. should have learned this lesson after Vietnam, but unfortunately the country learned nothing from Vietnam except more war and that we should have killed more Vietnamese men, women and children. This is a country that has a long history of not learning from its past. This will be to the detriment of Americans from the present generations as well as generations to come.
Follow story on the protests in Nepal. Another article from the BBC.
The King there has been forced to back down and give up his status as absolute ruler. He is being opposed by a 7 party coalition... I SAID 7 PARTY COALITION. I can only look at that situation with envy since we only have one party in the U.S. ...one party with 2 faces... otherwise known as the Republicrat party.
Even Iraqi's have more choice with literally dozens of political parties who compete on the national level.
U.S. "Democracy" is a complete joke!
Nepal is a perfect example of Democracy in action. The U.S. especially should take note. You cannot bomb a country into Democracy. Democracy CANNOT come artificially, contrary to what the U.S. wants the world to believe. Democracy cannot be imported and force fed to a population by outsiders.
Democracy must come about through a natural genuine process of grassroots action. The people who actually live in a particular country must be the source of the Democracy. "Democracy" IS the people. The people of a particular country must be the ones who fight, bleed, and die for their own freedom. U.S. soldiers cannot and should not be sacrificed for this purpose...especially not for this purpose alone. This is an important point because current U.S. foreign policy doctrine (used by the Republicrats) basically involves the U.S. reshaping the whole world in its own image and for its own benefit, and this includes engaging in regime change when deemed necessary as a means to that end.
Democracy comes about from internal actions... these are, for the most part, internal matters that no outsiders can or should influence or determine. The U.S. should have learned this lesson after Vietnam, but unfortunately the country learned nothing from Vietnam except more war and that we should have killed more Vietnamese men, women and children. This is a country that has a long history of not learning from its past. This will be to the detriment of Americans from the present generations as well as generations to come.
Follow story on the protests in Nepal. Another article from the BBC.
The King there has been forced to back down and give up his status as absolute ruler. He is being opposed by a 7 party coalition... I SAID 7 PARTY COALITION. I can only look at that situation with envy since we only have one party in the U.S. ...one party with 2 faces... otherwise known as the Republicrat party.
Even Iraqi's have more choice with literally dozens of political parties who compete on the national level.
U.S. "Democracy" is a complete joke!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
New Prime Minister Chosen In Iraq
But will this stop the insurgency? No! Of course not. The U.S. has been trying to suggest that the issue of an Iraqi government has something to do with the insurgency. In fact, the two issues are not very connected at all. The U.S. is only setting itself up for failure by framing the discussion this way. They would be better off telling the American public the truth- the two issues are not connected and that even after a new leader is chosen in Iraq, the insurgency will likely continue. This would be a better idea and would brace Americans for future difficulties there.
Instead, the U.S. is only putting pressure on itself. Now, since this is the last political milestone for Iraq, the U.S. will have no other excuses and no other future events to point to in hopes that violence will cease. The U.S. has tried to point out that after each election, there would be this great turn around, and the insurgency would suddenly stop. There have been 3 elections in Iraq and the Bush administration assessment has been wrong each time. Why, because the insurgency is not well connected to the political figures in power there. The two entities operate independently. In fact, the Iraqi politicians have found themselves the targets of insurgents.
Now that the last political milestone has come, the U.S. will not be able to use the political situation as an excuse. The pressure is now on the Bush administration to perform and deliver. If the Republican administration and Republican Congress do not come through, they will suffer here at home and overseas.
-------------------------------------------------
The Sunday Times
April 23, 2006
Iraq names new prime minister
A tough-talking Shi’ite politician was asked to form a government of national unity in Iraq yesterday, ending four months of political deadlock, writes Hala Jaber.
Jawad al-Maliki, 56, who was spokesman to the outgoing prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, will now try to tackle the insurgency, ease sectarian strife, dismantle militias and salvage the Iraqi economy.
In one of his first statements as prime minister-designate, Maliki warned Iraq’s militias they must merge with the country’s armed forces.
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, said the announcement that he had been asked to head Iraq’s new government was an “important milestone” and he was someone the US could work with.
Meeting for only the second time since last December’s general election, the Iraqi parliament chose a Sunni Speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. Under an agreement reached before the session, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, will remain president.
The new prime minister spent more than 20 years in exile, mostly in Syria, during Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. A veteran leader of the Shi’ite Dawa party, he became one of the leading negotiators in the drafting of Iraq’s new constitution after the fall of Saddam.
He also gained a reputation as a hardliner as deputy head of a committee assigned to purge former members of the Ba’ath party.
Source: The Times UK
Instead, the U.S. is only putting pressure on itself. Now, since this is the last political milestone for Iraq, the U.S. will have no other excuses and no other future events to point to in hopes that violence will cease. The U.S. has tried to point out that after each election, there would be this great turn around, and the insurgency would suddenly stop. There have been 3 elections in Iraq and the Bush administration assessment has been wrong each time. Why, because the insurgency is not well connected to the political figures in power there. The two entities operate independently. In fact, the Iraqi politicians have found themselves the targets of insurgents.
Now that the last political milestone has come, the U.S. will not be able to use the political situation as an excuse. The pressure is now on the Bush administration to perform and deliver. If the Republican administration and Republican Congress do not come through, they will suffer here at home and overseas.
-------------------------------------------------
The Sunday Times
April 23, 2006
Iraq names new prime minister
A tough-talking Shi’ite politician was asked to form a government of national unity in Iraq yesterday, ending four months of political deadlock, writes Hala Jaber.
Jawad al-Maliki, 56, who was spokesman to the outgoing prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, will now try to tackle the insurgency, ease sectarian strife, dismantle militias and salvage the Iraqi economy.
In one of his first statements as prime minister-designate, Maliki warned Iraq’s militias they must merge with the country’s armed forces.
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, said the announcement that he had been asked to head Iraq’s new government was an “important milestone” and he was someone the US could work with.
Meeting for only the second time since last December’s general election, the Iraqi parliament chose a Sunni Speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. Under an agreement reached before the session, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, will remain president.
The new prime minister spent more than 20 years in exile, mostly in Syria, during Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. A veteran leader of the Shi’ite Dawa party, he became one of the leading negotiators in the drafting of Iraq’s new constitution after the fall of Saddam.
He also gained a reputation as a hardliner as deputy head of a committee assigned to purge former members of the Ba’ath party.
Source: The Times UK
5 Kansas Students Arrested
Kan. students arrested in alleged plot
By David Stonner, The Joplin Globe/AP
RIVERTON, Kan. (AP) — Five teenage boys fully intended to go on a shooting spree at their high school but were stopped after one of them discussed the plot on a website, law enforcement and school officials said.
The boys, ranging in age from 16 to 18, were arrested Thursday, the anniversary of the Columbine massacre, just hours before they planned to shoot fellow students and school employees, authorities said.
"What the resounding theme is: They were actually going to do this," Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Norman said.
The teens planned to wear black trench coats and disable the school's camera system before starting the attack between noon and 1 p.m. Thursday, Norman said. Sheriff's deputies found guns, ammunition, knives and coded messages in the bedroom of one suspect and documents about firearms and references to Armageddon in two suspects' school lockers.
Apparently, they had been plotting since the beginning of the school year. Norman said school officials began investigating Tuesday after learning a threatening message had been posted on MySpace.com.
"The message, it was brief, but it stated that there was going to be a shooting at the Riverton school and that people should wear bulletproof vests and flak jackets," Norman said.
It also discussed the significance of April 20 as Adolf Hitler's birthday and the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School attack in Colorado, in which two students wearing trench coats killed 13 people before committing suicide.
School officials identified the student who posted the message and talked to several of his friends, he said.
But Riverton school district Superintendent David Walters said the significance of the threat did not become clear until Wednesday night, after a woman in North Carolina who had chatted with one of the suspects on Myspace.com notified authorities there would be about a dozen potential victims, at least one of them a staff member.
Riverton student Michaela Ferneau said Friday she had heard she was one of the targets.
Back in January, one of the teen suspects had talked about Columbine, but "we thought he was joking because he was always joking about stuff like that," Ferneau told ABC's Good Morning America on Friday.
"I guess I told on them, apparently, when I didn't know I did," she said. "It's kind of scary to know that people from a little town like this would even try anything like that."
Ferneau and other students described the teen as a class clown who was often in trouble with the teachers.
He was an "oddball," student Trenton Berry told ABC. "Everybody picked on him and everything."
Norman also mentioned bullying and said investigators had learned the suspects liked violent video games.
Four of the suspects were arrested at their homes Thursday; the fifth was taken into custody at the school.
The suspects, who were not immediately identified, were expected to appear in court Friday, when charges are likely to be announced, said Attorney General Phill Kline, whose office took over the prosecution at the request of the county attorney.
The four younger than 18 were being held Thursday at a juvenile detention center in Girard. The 18-year-old was in the Cherokee County Jail. No decision has been made on whether to charge the four juveniles as adults, Kline said.
Officials assured the community that the 270 or so students at Riverton High School were safe and school would continue as normal Friday.
MySpace.com — a social networking hub with more 72 million members — released a statement declining to discuss the case because of the investigation, adding that it has provided users with mechanisms to report inappropriate content.
Barbara Gibson, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, said her classmates didn't seem too bothered by the threat.
"A lot of people just talked about it," she said. "But there wasn't much reaction."
Riverton is a small community of about 600 people along what once was the famed Route 66 in southeast Kansas, near the Oklahoma and Missouri borders.
Source: USA Today.
-----------------------------------------
What in the world is wrong with these Middle school and High School students these days? Most of these people are spoiled, from well-to-do backgrounds, and have everything that they need.
What makes these people flip out? I understand bullying and teasing at school, but there has to be more to it.
It seems that the social pressures in these schools are so great and students are under so much pressure to fit in, that it causes these kinds of situations to manifest themselves, especially on the part of those students who are left out. This is just one more example of why the American approach to education needs to totally change. There needs to be a complete overhaul of the system. Schools should be a place for learning.... not a social club.
At my 2 high schools...both mostly white, suburban type settings, it was all about fitting in, cliques, sex, drugs, partying, gossip, fashion, and other assorted nonsense. It was a social club. Education was somewhere at the bottom of the list of things that actually got done. This is why American education is so lacking when compared with the rest of the world.
Now we hear about another sick plot out of Alaska! Yet another major murder plot disrupted, making it 2 in the same week. I wonder how many other plots are broken up that never reach national media.
Read here.
By David Stonner, The Joplin Globe/AP
RIVERTON, Kan. (AP) — Five teenage boys fully intended to go on a shooting spree at their high school but were stopped after one of them discussed the plot on a website, law enforcement and school officials said.
The boys, ranging in age from 16 to 18, were arrested Thursday, the anniversary of the Columbine massacre, just hours before they planned to shoot fellow students and school employees, authorities said.
"What the resounding theme is: They were actually going to do this," Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Norman said.
The teens planned to wear black trench coats and disable the school's camera system before starting the attack between noon and 1 p.m. Thursday, Norman said. Sheriff's deputies found guns, ammunition, knives and coded messages in the bedroom of one suspect and documents about firearms and references to Armageddon in two suspects' school lockers.
Apparently, they had been plotting since the beginning of the school year. Norman said school officials began investigating Tuesday after learning a threatening message had been posted on MySpace.com.
"The message, it was brief, but it stated that there was going to be a shooting at the Riverton school and that people should wear bulletproof vests and flak jackets," Norman said.
It also discussed the significance of April 20 as Adolf Hitler's birthday and the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School attack in Colorado, in which two students wearing trench coats killed 13 people before committing suicide.
School officials identified the student who posted the message and talked to several of his friends, he said.
But Riverton school district Superintendent David Walters said the significance of the threat did not become clear until Wednesday night, after a woman in North Carolina who had chatted with one of the suspects on Myspace.com notified authorities there would be about a dozen potential victims, at least one of them a staff member.
Riverton student Michaela Ferneau said Friday she had heard she was one of the targets.
Back in January, one of the teen suspects had talked about Columbine, but "we thought he was joking because he was always joking about stuff like that," Ferneau told ABC's Good Morning America on Friday.
"I guess I told on them, apparently, when I didn't know I did," she said. "It's kind of scary to know that people from a little town like this would even try anything like that."
Ferneau and other students described the teen as a class clown who was often in trouble with the teachers.
He was an "oddball," student Trenton Berry told ABC. "Everybody picked on him and everything."
Norman also mentioned bullying and said investigators had learned the suspects liked violent video games.
Four of the suspects were arrested at their homes Thursday; the fifth was taken into custody at the school.
The suspects, who were not immediately identified, were expected to appear in court Friday, when charges are likely to be announced, said Attorney General Phill Kline, whose office took over the prosecution at the request of the county attorney.
The four younger than 18 were being held Thursday at a juvenile detention center in Girard. The 18-year-old was in the Cherokee County Jail. No decision has been made on whether to charge the four juveniles as adults, Kline said.
Officials assured the community that the 270 or so students at Riverton High School were safe and school would continue as normal Friday.
MySpace.com — a social networking hub with more 72 million members — released a statement declining to discuss the case because of the investigation, adding that it has provided users with mechanisms to report inappropriate content.
Barbara Gibson, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, said her classmates didn't seem too bothered by the threat.
"A lot of people just talked about it," she said. "But there wasn't much reaction."
Riverton is a small community of about 600 people along what once was the famed Route 66 in southeast Kansas, near the Oklahoma and Missouri borders.
Source: USA Today.
-----------------------------------------
What in the world is wrong with these Middle school and High School students these days? Most of these people are spoiled, from well-to-do backgrounds, and have everything that they need.
What makes these people flip out? I understand bullying and teasing at school, but there has to be more to it.
It seems that the social pressures in these schools are so great and students are under so much pressure to fit in, that it causes these kinds of situations to manifest themselves, especially on the part of those students who are left out. This is just one more example of why the American approach to education needs to totally change. There needs to be a complete overhaul of the system. Schools should be a place for learning.... not a social club.
At my 2 high schools...both mostly white, suburban type settings, it was all about fitting in, cliques, sex, drugs, partying, gossip, fashion, and other assorted nonsense. It was a social club. Education was somewhere at the bottom of the list of things that actually got done. This is why American education is so lacking when compared with the rest of the world.
Now we hear about another sick plot out of Alaska! Yet another major murder plot disrupted, making it 2 in the same week. I wonder how many other plots are broken up that never reach national media.
Read here.
The Tank Man
"The Tank Man"
New PBS Documentary looking back on the 1989 uprising in China and how China controls media. The current generation of young Chinese have almost no sense of what happened in their own country in 1989 due to the Chinese government controlled media blacking out all history of the uprising.
View Documentary online. Best viewed using the Realplayer video option.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
2 Americans Arrested in Terror Plot
I wonder just how big of a plot/story this will be. And are they still plotting? This is why we need to push the Canadian and the Mexican governments to monitor their immigration situation and be more mindful of the extremists who are in their midst.
Atlanta-area men plotted terrorist attack, According to FBI
By Giovanna Dell'Orto
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA - A 21-year-old Georgia Tech student and another man traveled to Canada to meet with Islamic extremists to discuss "strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike," according to an affidavit made public Friday.
Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, both U.S. citizens who grew up in the Atlanta area, met with at least three other targets of ongoing FBI terrorism investigations during a trip to Canada in March 2005, an FBI agent's affidavit said.
The affidavit said the men discussed attacks against oil refineries and military bases and planned to travel to Pakistan to get military training at a terrorist camp, which authorities said Ahmed then tried to do.
Ahmed, who was indicted on suspicion of giving material support to terrorism, was being held at an undisclosed location. He waived his right to arraignment and pleaded not guilty. His indictment, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, was returned under seal on March 23 and unsealed by the court Thursday.
Ahmed's court-appointed attorney, Jack Martin, did not return messages left seeking comment.
Continue reading... From The Macon Telegraph
Atlanta-area men plotted terrorist attack, According to FBI
By Giovanna Dell'Orto
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA - A 21-year-old Georgia Tech student and another man traveled to Canada to meet with Islamic extremists to discuss "strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike," according to an affidavit made public Friday.
Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, both U.S. citizens who grew up in the Atlanta area, met with at least three other targets of ongoing FBI terrorism investigations during a trip to Canada in March 2005, an FBI agent's affidavit said.
The affidavit said the men discussed attacks against oil refineries and military bases and planned to travel to Pakistan to get military training at a terrorist camp, which authorities said Ahmed then tried to do.
Ahmed, who was indicted on suspicion of giving material support to terrorism, was being held at an undisclosed location. He waived his right to arraignment and pleaded not guilty. His indictment, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, was returned under seal on March 23 and unsealed by the court Thursday.
Ahmed's court-appointed attorney, Jack Martin, did not return messages left seeking comment.
Continue reading... From The Macon Telegraph
U.S. Arrests Hundreds of Illegal Workers In Raids Across The Nation
U.S. Cracking Down On Illegal Immigration? It remains to be seen.
Looks like more of a smoke screen to me. All of a sudden the White House is cracking down?
This seems like more of an effort to satisfy the Republican mainstream. Part of the new spin machine that is being assembled for the Bush administration with all the new changes. More window dressing.
I don't think that the U.S. is serious about the Immigration issue. This series of raids is more an effort to send a message....but it's a message directed more towards the Republican base than to companies that use illegal immigrants.
---------------------------------
Feds Warn Companies Using Illegal Workers
By ANDREW MIGA
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The government plans to crack down ever harder on employers who harbor and hire illegal immigrants, pursuing companies that ignore the law so they can exploit cheap labor.
"We are going to move beyond the current level of activity to a higher level in each month and year to come," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. He pledged to "come down as hard as possible" on violators.
Federal agents on Wednesday arrested seven current and former managers of IFCO Systems, a manufacturer of crates and pallets, on criminal charges, and more than 1,100 people were arrested on administrative immigration charges at more than 40 IFCO sites in the U.S.
"Our nation's communities cannot be a wild frontier where illegal aliens and unscrupulous employees subvert our nation's laws," said Julie Myers, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Don Sherman, director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, an advocate for immigrant workers and their rights, was skeptical about the government's move.
Continue reading here, from the Washington Post.
Looks like more of a smoke screen to me. All of a sudden the White House is cracking down?
This seems like more of an effort to satisfy the Republican mainstream. Part of the new spin machine that is being assembled for the Bush administration with all the new changes. More window dressing.
I don't think that the U.S. is serious about the Immigration issue. This series of raids is more an effort to send a message....but it's a message directed more towards the Republican base than to companies that use illegal immigrants.
---------------------------------
Feds Warn Companies Using Illegal Workers
By ANDREW MIGA
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The government plans to crack down ever harder on employers who harbor and hire illegal immigrants, pursuing companies that ignore the law so they can exploit cheap labor.
"We are going to move beyond the current level of activity to a higher level in each month and year to come," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. He pledged to "come down as hard as possible" on violators.
Federal agents on Wednesday arrested seven current and former managers of IFCO Systems, a manufacturer of crates and pallets, on criminal charges, and more than 1,100 people were arrested on administrative immigration charges at more than 40 IFCO sites in the U.S.
"Our nation's communities cannot be a wild frontier where illegal aliens and unscrupulous employees subvert our nation's laws," said Julie Myers, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Don Sherman, director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, an advocate for immigrant workers and their rights, was skeptical about the government's move.
Continue reading here, from the Washington Post.
Amy Goodman Interviews Author on the Folly of U.S. Foreign Policy
Amy Goodman & Writer Stephen Kinzer Deliver a History Lesson.
They discuss U.S. Foreign policy and the folly of U.S. intervention.
The authors points are so true...and I myself have thought about this many times. The U.S. often does more harm than good with all the wars and coups that it instigates. This is one of the reasons why the U.S. badly needs a more sound & sensible foreign policy strategy. Under the current strategy- based on the Truman Doctrine- The U.S. is creating its own problems and has become its own worst enemy.
Listen/Watch interview.
They discuss U.S. Foreign policy and the folly of U.S. intervention.
The authors points are so true...and I myself have thought about this many times. The U.S. often does more harm than good with all the wars and coups that it instigates. This is one of the reasons why the U.S. badly needs a more sound & sensible foreign policy strategy. Under the current strategy- based on the Truman Doctrine- The U.S. is creating its own problems and has become its own worst enemy.
Listen/Watch interview.
Still No Real Response to Crisis in Darfur
When will the world wake up? Will the world ever wake up?
Stories from NPR from this week.
Sudan On The Brink, and Strategies for Intervention.
Wesley Clark also commented about the Sudan crisis on the Ed Gordon program.
To read my previous commentary about this issue, click here.
Stories from NPR from this week.
Sudan On The Brink, and Strategies for Intervention.
Wesley Clark also commented about the Sudan crisis on the Ed Gordon program.
To read my previous commentary about this issue, click here.
Ed Gordon and the Roundtable from April 20th
Another great roundtable from Ed Gordons NPR program "News and Notes". Show from this week.
Topics include: The Duke Rape Case, Politicians and Race, & Child Support.
Link to show. Click audio tab.
Topics include: The Duke Rape Case, Politicians and Race, & Child Support.
Link to show. Click audio tab.
General Anthony Zinni Talks With Tavis Smiley
Gen. Zinni interview from Tavis Smiley's PBS show. Interview from this week. Click on the audio tab (General Zinni's name) on the PBS page to hear the interview.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Out of Hiding, Into The World- An AIDS Diary
Listen to a great AIDS diary from NPR, about a South African womans struggles and triumphs in her fight against AIDS. Mainstream media just can't provide this kind of old school, in the trenches, real life journalism.
Great series from public radio.
Scroll down to bottom of page to listen/download the audio diary.
Find program here...
Great series from public radio.
Scroll down to bottom of page to listen/download the audio diary.
Find program here...
Jim Hightower Commentary: The Manning Memo
Jim Hightower, in his commentary from April 19th, talks about more evidence showing that the American public was misguided about the war in Iraq.
Read/Listen to commentary here. "The Manning Memo"
Read/Listen to commentary here. "The Manning Memo"
The U.S. Addiction to Oil
Public radio program "On Point" has some good analysis about the current oil situation. This crisis could have a huge impact on the U.S. economy....the inflationary pressure could be amazing.
Listen to program here. Click audio options at top of page.
Listen to program here. Click audio options at top of page.
Changes At The White House
A wolf can change clothes as many times as it wants...but at the end of the day, it's still a wolf.
I don't think this will make much of a difference for the White House and Republicans. With all the ongoing investigations, corruption, and bad policy, I just don't see how this will help them now. They waited too long (way too long) before acting. The damage has been done. And without a serious fundamental change in philosophy and policy, I don't see the White House turning things around in less than 6 months. This is a desperate last minute effort. One reason that they waited so long is that this is a crew that does not like to change unless it is absolutely necessary.
Although the American people are easily manipulated and have extremely short memories, this crew won't be able to save itself by turning Rove loose to try to work his magic. That won't be enough this time (and I certainly hope it won't). This Administration is so sloppy that i'm sure they have a lot more stumbling to do between now and November...so progressives should not worry. Rove...sure, he is an evil genius... I wish Progressives had a version of a Karl Rove. But not even Rove will be able to save the sinking ship.
NPR has a short story on the changes...
Also great analysis from The Houston Chronicle.
I don't think this will make much of a difference for the White House and Republicans. With all the ongoing investigations, corruption, and bad policy, I just don't see how this will help them now. They waited too long (way too long) before acting. The damage has been done. And without a serious fundamental change in philosophy and policy, I don't see the White House turning things around in less than 6 months. This is a desperate last minute effort. One reason that they waited so long is that this is a crew that does not like to change unless it is absolutely necessary.
Although the American people are easily manipulated and have extremely short memories, this crew won't be able to save itself by turning Rove loose to try to work his magic. That won't be enough this time (and I certainly hope it won't). This Administration is so sloppy that i'm sure they have a lot more stumbling to do between now and November...so progressives should not worry. Rove...sure, he is an evil genius... I wish Progressives had a version of a Karl Rove. But not even Rove will be able to save the sinking ship.
NPR has a short story on the changes...
Also great analysis from The Houston Chronicle.
Crude Oil Prices Skyrocketing
Photo above taken from a NY gas station from midweek. Gas prices in most places were between 3 and 4 dollars per gallon. Something unthinkable just a year ago.
Americans are complaining already. In fact, people were uptight before the rise from this week. So imagine what they are going to do if the U.S. attacks Iran? Oil will go to 80, 90, and perhaps 100 dollars a barrel. That is going to be really crazy. The U.S. is facing a serious dilemma...held hostage by oil, and a hostage to its own bad foreign policy and bad energy policy here at home.
-------------------------
Oil prices top $72 a barrel
By Brad Foss
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Oil prices leapt above $72 a barrel Wednesday, setting a record for the third straight day and increasing the likelihood that pump prices will keep rising as summer nears.
The rally in oil futures was kicked off by a government report showing U.S. gasoline supplies shrank for the seventh straight week. That magnified market jitters about a nuclear dispute between Iran and the international community, as well as supply disruptions in Iraq, Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico.
Even though retail gasoline prices already top $3 a gallon in some parts of the country, motorists are only lightly tapping the brakes on demand, according to government data.
But that could change in the months ahead if higher pump prices squeeze discretionary spending, particularly among low-income Americans, economists say.
Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, warned Wednesday that it anticipated its least wealthy customers to spend less in 2006 because of higher fuel expenses. "As fuel prices go up, it dampens our store sales," said Tom Schoewe, the company's chief financial officer.
Continue reading here... From Seattle Times
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Where Are the Parents? Why Are Parents Not Doing Much Parenting These Days?
How does a 10 year old girl go to the public library and get on public computers and join a chatroom without any adult supervision? How does that happen?
A 10 YEAR OLD...AND A PARENT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE CHILD IS DOING?
And as for the suspect that was no surprise. These sorts of nuts lurk within our society. What is troubling is that they could be next door.
And another thing... it amazes me that these are the kinds of guys who women prefer dating.... that's incredible. We didn't see that in this case, but in many other cases.... we hear of that kind of thing. People still believe that white is automatically alright. Yeah.. i'm not being PC, but it's the truth.
The other case making news this week concerned the 2 boys from Milwaukee. Again...an 11 and 12 year old not being watched properly. Another case of parents not parenting. How could they not know where the boys were?
I don't know why people are running away from Bill Cosby. Cosby is so right. I wish he would do a nationally televised show of his speaking program, where he talks about the lack of parenting. I wish he would expand his speaking engagements to all audiences rather than just to the so-called "Black Community". America needs to hear it.
This is why every student in High School, and in College should be required to take a certain number of parenting classes before they are allowed to graduate. This is badly needed right now. Currently, such classes are not required at all.
And people wonder why children and the American society are going downhill?
We live in a society where The Mall, and MTV have become babysitters for entire generations.
How much does America expect to get out of that weak investment?
Story about girl from Oklahoma...
And story about missing boys..
A 10 YEAR OLD...AND A PARENT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE CHILD IS DOING?
And as for the suspect that was no surprise. These sorts of nuts lurk within our society. What is troubling is that they could be next door.
And another thing... it amazes me that these are the kinds of guys who women prefer dating.... that's incredible. We didn't see that in this case, but in many other cases.... we hear of that kind of thing. People still believe that white is automatically alright. Yeah.. i'm not being PC, but it's the truth.
The other case making news this week concerned the 2 boys from Milwaukee. Again...an 11 and 12 year old not being watched properly. Another case of parents not parenting. How could they not know where the boys were?
I don't know why people are running away from Bill Cosby. Cosby is so right. I wish he would do a nationally televised show of his speaking program, where he talks about the lack of parenting. I wish he would expand his speaking engagements to all audiences rather than just to the so-called "Black Community". America needs to hear it.
This is why every student in High School, and in College should be required to take a certain number of parenting classes before they are allowed to graduate. This is badly needed right now. Currently, such classes are not required at all.
And people wonder why children and the American society are going downhill?
We live in a society where The Mall, and MTV have become babysitters for entire generations.
How much does America expect to get out of that weak investment?
Story about girl from Oklahoma...
And story about missing boys..
More and More Generals Calling For Rumsfeld to Step Down
More and More Generals Now calling for Rumsfeld to resign. RepubliCONS have already started a "Swiftboat-like" campaign to discredit these men...despite their positions and despite their first hand experiences concerning the war in Irag.
Rumsfeld and Bush have written them off....AMAZING!
The list of new Generals who have spoken out over the last 1-2 weeks include:
Gen. Charles Swannack
Gen. John Batiste
Gen. John Riggs
Marine Gen. Gregory Newbold
Story from NPR, and an article from the NY Times.
An article with comments from General Newbold.
Rumsfeld and Bush have written them off....AMAZING!
The list of new Generals who have spoken out over the last 1-2 weeks include:
Gen. Charles Swannack
Gen. John Batiste
Gen. John Riggs
Marine Gen. Gregory Newbold
Story from NPR, and an article from the NY Times.
An article with comments from General Newbold.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
This Is More Proof that These "Think Tank" Guys Don't Know What They Are Talking About
This is just another example showing that most of these "Think Tank Scholars" don't know what they are talking about. Yet these are the experts that the news media turns to when something happens in the world. No wonder Americans are confused and uninformed about the World.
Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, actually believed that the U.S. would not consider attacking Iran. People like myself, who have been paying attention, knew that the U.S. was aiming for Iran all along, since the tensions started to rise in 2002/2003.
The motives... regime change...and control of Middle Eastern Oil. The U.S. wants to attack no matter what.
Listen to commentary from NPR, including comments from Joseph Cirincione.
Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, actually believed that the U.S. would not consider attacking Iran. People like myself, who have been paying attention, knew that the U.S. was aiming for Iran all along, since the tensions started to rise in 2002/2003.
The motives... regime change...and control of Middle Eastern Oil. The U.S. wants to attack no matter what.
Listen to commentary from NPR, including comments from Joseph Cirincione.
Bombing Iran Won't Work
I, along with many others, agree with this commentator who believes that military action will not work.
Bush & Co. believe that the Iranian people will overthrow the Iranian government once the U.S. bombs Iran.
NONSENSE! The opposite would happen.
Listen to commentary here...
Bush & Co. believe that the Iranian people will overthrow the Iranian government once the U.S. bombs Iran.
NONSENSE! The opposite would happen.
Listen to commentary here...
Interview With Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh Interview from Amy Goodman. He discusses Iran and U.S. military action.
Audio/Video here...
Audio/Video here...
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
RIP JUNE POINTER
Another Singer Enters Soul Heaven
--------------------------
June Pointer of the Pointer Sisters dies
By DAISY NGUYEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LOS ANGELES -- June Pointer, the youngest of the singing Pointer Sisters known for the 1970s and 1980s hits "I'm So Excited," "Fire," and "Slow Hand," has died, her family said Wednesday. She was 52.
Pointer died of cancer Tuesday at Santa Monica University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, the family said in a statement. She had been hospitalized since late February and the type of cancer wasn't disclosed.
She died "in the arms of her sisters, Ruth and Anita and her brothers, Aaron and Fritz, by her side," the family statement read. "Although her sister, Bonnie, was unable to be present, she was with her in spirit."
The Pointer Sisters began as a quartet in the early 1970s with sisters Ruth, Anita, Bonnie and June. The group became a trio when Bonnie embarked on a solo career.
The group's hits also included "He's So Shy," "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)."
The sisters, along with their two older brothers, grew up singing in the choir of an Oakland church where their parents were ministers.
Bonnie and June formed a singing duo and began performing in clubs around the San Francisco Bay area. Anita and Ruth later joined the group and together, they sang backup for Taj Mahal, Boz Scaggs and Elvin Bishop, among others.
Their first, self-titled album, "The Pointer Sisters," debuted in 1973 and the song "Yes We Can Can" became their first hit. They followed up with the album "That's A Plenty," which featured an eclectic mix of musical styles ranging from jazz to country and pop. They won the first of their three Grammy awards in 1974 for best country vocal performance by a group for the song "Fairytale."
Bonnie left the group in 1977, and the sisters recorded several more albums, scoring several hit songs that became identified as the soundtrack of the 1980s.
The successful 1984 album "Break Out" earned two Grammy awards for the songs "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)." The album's other hit song, "Neutron Dance," was prominently featured in the movie "Beverly Hills Cop."
June recorded two solo albums, and later left the trio.
Anita and Ruth still perform under the group's name. Ruth's daughter, Issa Pointer, is the trio's newest member.
Two years ago, June Pointer was charged with felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor possession of a smoking device. She was ordered to a rehabilitation facility.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
From Seattle Times
--------------------------
June Pointer of the Pointer Sisters dies
By DAISY NGUYEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LOS ANGELES -- June Pointer, the youngest of the singing Pointer Sisters known for the 1970s and 1980s hits "I'm So Excited," "Fire," and "Slow Hand," has died, her family said Wednesday. She was 52.
Pointer died of cancer Tuesday at Santa Monica University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, the family said in a statement. She had been hospitalized since late February and the type of cancer wasn't disclosed.
She died "in the arms of her sisters, Ruth and Anita and her brothers, Aaron and Fritz, by her side," the family statement read. "Although her sister, Bonnie, was unable to be present, she was with her in spirit."
The Pointer Sisters began as a quartet in the early 1970s with sisters Ruth, Anita, Bonnie and June. The group became a trio when Bonnie embarked on a solo career.
The group's hits also included "He's So Shy," "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)."
The sisters, along with their two older brothers, grew up singing in the choir of an Oakland church where their parents were ministers.
Bonnie and June formed a singing duo and began performing in clubs around the San Francisco Bay area. Anita and Ruth later joined the group and together, they sang backup for Taj Mahal, Boz Scaggs and Elvin Bishop, among others.
Their first, self-titled album, "The Pointer Sisters," debuted in 1973 and the song "Yes We Can Can" became their first hit. They followed up with the album "That's A Plenty," which featured an eclectic mix of musical styles ranging from jazz to country and pop. They won the first of their three Grammy awards in 1974 for best country vocal performance by a group for the song "Fairytale."
Bonnie left the group in 1977, and the sisters recorded several more albums, scoring several hit songs that became identified as the soundtrack of the 1980s.
The successful 1984 album "Break Out" earned two Grammy awards for the songs "Automatic" and "Jump (For My Love)." The album's other hit song, "Neutron Dance," was prominently featured in the movie "Beverly Hills Cop."
June recorded two solo albums, and later left the trio.
Anita and Ruth still perform under the group's name. Ruth's daughter, Issa Pointer, is the trio's newest member.
Two years ago, June Pointer was charged with felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor possession of a smoking device. She was ordered to a rehabilitation facility.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
From Seattle Times
What Would MLK Say About The Present State Of The World?
What Would MLK Say?
What Would Dr. King Think About What Was Going On In The World Today?
He basically told us 4 decades ago.... we were just a little late arriving to the show.
If we would just listen to these Prophets when they are here sounding the alarm, maybe we could avoid more disasters. Many of the things that King spoke of 4 decades ago, we see today. It is a combination of things not changing, and King being way ahead of his time, foretelling issues and threats decades ago that we are now seeing develop today in our lifetimes.
Listen to the speech The Drum Major Instinct, given in February of 1968. This is one of my favorite speeches, and one that never gets old. So relevant for today. It's also one of Kings great messages. His greatest speech has to be "A Knock At Midnight". Scary speech. But Drum Major instinct is also really great.
"I Have a Dream" is nowhere near being his greatest work. But America often uses I Have a Dream to try to sanitize King, and box him into being a Civil Rights/Racial Equality leader. The fact is, between 1965 & 1968, King was the leading anti-war voice and leading voice for economic equality in the country. I think that is part of the reason that he was gunned down. This is the part of Kings history that is hardly ever told. It's the part of his history that America tries to smother every year when the nation goes through its so called "remembrance". If they really wanted to honor King they would rewrite the school books to tell the true story about his efforts. He was not just a civil rights leader. If they wanted to honor him, they would try to live up to his vision....a vision that went beyond race and civil rights. Peace was at the heart of his struggle. He was just as passionate as an anti-war advocate as he was as a civil rights advocate....and perhaps maybe even more so as a Peace advocate.
What Would Dr. King Think About What Was Going On In The World Today?
He basically told us 4 decades ago.... we were just a little late arriving to the show.
If we would just listen to these Prophets when they are here sounding the alarm, maybe we could avoid more disasters. Many of the things that King spoke of 4 decades ago, we see today. It is a combination of things not changing, and King being way ahead of his time, foretelling issues and threats decades ago that we are now seeing develop today in our lifetimes.
Listen to the speech The Drum Major Instinct, given in February of 1968. This is one of my favorite speeches, and one that never gets old. So relevant for today. It's also one of Kings great messages. His greatest speech has to be "A Knock At Midnight". Scary speech. But Drum Major instinct is also really great.
"I Have a Dream" is nowhere near being his greatest work. But America often uses I Have a Dream to try to sanitize King, and box him into being a Civil Rights/Racial Equality leader. The fact is, between 1965 & 1968, King was the leading anti-war voice and leading voice for economic equality in the country. I think that is part of the reason that he was gunned down. This is the part of Kings history that is hardly ever told. It's the part of his history that America tries to smother every year when the nation goes through its so called "remembrance". If they really wanted to honor King they would rewrite the school books to tell the true story about his efforts. He was not just a civil rights leader. If they wanted to honor him, they would try to live up to his vision....a vision that went beyond race and civil rights. Peace was at the heart of his struggle. He was just as passionate as an anti-war advocate as he was as a civil rights advocate....and perhaps maybe even more so as a Peace advocate.
Dr. Cornel West Speech
DR. CORNEL WEST SPEECH
Another Great Speech from Dr. West
One of my principal teachers, Dr. Cornel West, speaking at North Carolina A&T University for a College event.
Watch Speech Here. Give it a minute to load.
Bonus
Here are a few music selections from West.
1. A Matter Of Man- A Tribute to Dr. West from his family
2. Everything's Going To Be Alright
3. Three M's
Another Great Speech from Dr. West
One of my principal teachers, Dr. Cornel West, speaking at North Carolina A&T University for a College event.
Watch Speech Here. Give it a minute to load.
Bonus
Here are a few music selections from West.
1. A Matter Of Man- A Tribute to Dr. West from his family
2. Everything's Going To Be Alright
3. Three M's
14 Year Old California Boy Commits Suicide After Being Threatened by Authorities
14 year old California Boy Kills Himself After Being Threatened for Protesting.
Amy Goodman has the story.
Amy Goodman has the story.
Italian Elections Bring New Leader
Elite Bush Ally Berlusconi loses power. It will be interesting to see how soon the new leader, Prodi, will pull troops from Iraq. My guess is... he will pull them out pretty quick.
Parliament vote in Italy is headed toward split
By Alessandra Rizzo
Associated Press
ROME - Italy's Parliament appeared headed Tuesday toward a split between the conservative coalition headed by Premier Silvio Berlusconi and one led by his center-left challenger -- an election result that could stall the formation of a new government.
Final results in the two-day vote ending Monday showed Romano Prodi's center-left coalition winning control in the lower house of Parliament, with 49.8 percent of the vote compared with 49.7 won by Berlusconi's conservatives. The winning coalition is automatically awarded 55 percent of the seats, according to a new electoral law.
According to the results, Berlusconi's conservative allies held a one-seat lead in the Senate, although six seats elected abroad were still to be counted.
``We have won, and now we have to start working to implement our program and unify the country,'' said a jubilant Prodi, speaking to his supporters.
Berlusconi's spokesman contested the victory claim, and Prodi's allies conceded after his announcement that results in the Senate were still not complete.
During his tenure, Berlusconi, a flamboyant billionaire, had strongly supported President Bush over Iraq despite fierce Italian opposition to the war. Prodi, an economist, said he would bring troops home as soon as possible, security conditions permitting. But the issue was largely deflated before the campaign began, when Berlusconi announced that Italy's troops there would be withdrawn by year's end.
The Senate and lower chamber of Parliament have equal powers, and any coalition would have to control both in order to form a government. Both center-left and center-right leaders have said if neither side controls both houses, new elections should be called.
Source...
Parliament vote in Italy is headed toward split
By Alessandra Rizzo
Associated Press
ROME - Italy's Parliament appeared headed Tuesday toward a split between the conservative coalition headed by Premier Silvio Berlusconi and one led by his center-left challenger -- an election result that could stall the formation of a new government.
Final results in the two-day vote ending Monday showed Romano Prodi's center-left coalition winning control in the lower house of Parliament, with 49.8 percent of the vote compared with 49.7 won by Berlusconi's conservatives. The winning coalition is automatically awarded 55 percent of the seats, according to a new electoral law.
According to the results, Berlusconi's conservative allies held a one-seat lead in the Senate, although six seats elected abroad were still to be counted.
``We have won, and now we have to start working to implement our program and unify the country,'' said a jubilant Prodi, speaking to his supporters.
Berlusconi's spokesman contested the victory claim, and Prodi's allies conceded after his announcement that results in the Senate were still not complete.
During his tenure, Berlusconi, a flamboyant billionaire, had strongly supported President Bush over Iraq despite fierce Italian opposition to the war. Prodi, an economist, said he would bring troops home as soon as possible, security conditions permitting. But the issue was largely deflated before the campaign began, when Berlusconi announced that Italy's troops there would be withdrawn by year's end.
The Senate and lower chamber of Parliament have equal powers, and any coalition would have to control both in order to form a government. Both center-left and center-right leaders have said if neither side controls both houses, new elections should be called.
Source...
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
FORMER IMMIGRATION SECURITY DIRECTOR REPORTS LAPSES IN SYSTEM
FORMER IMMIGRATION SECURITY DIRECTOR REPORTS AGENCY FULL OF FRAUD AND CORRUPTION.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO! video no longer available....but most of the article links should be functioning
Former Immigration Security Director, Micheal Maxwell, Reports That His Agency Suffers From Fraud and Corruption. He States That The System Cannot Protect The Nation.
This information backs up earlier reports from other former government officials who sounded the alarm about Homeland Security vulnerabilities, including Clark Kent Ervin- Former Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security. Check here and here.
Background here. Clark Kent Ervin was railroaded out of his job for shedding too much light on security problems- his job as Inspector General. Others have also been forced out of their jobs for reporting lapses in security.
Read report on Maxwell from ABC news... Here is a second report from the Guardian.
Maxwell also reports that the agency was infiltrated by a spy.
What in the hell is going on at Homeland Security? Is this the "War on Terror" that the RepubliCONS are always shouting about?
Watch Michael Maxwell's full testimony from April 6th, in front of the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations- Sub Committee on Terrorism & Nonproliferation. Rep. Edward Royce (R)- Chairman. Others will also testify.
Former Immigration Security Director, Micheal Maxwell, Reports That His Agency Suffers From Fraud and Corruption. He States That The System Cannot Protect The Nation.
This information backs up earlier reports from other former government officials who sounded the alarm about Homeland Security vulnerabilities, including Clark Kent Ervin- Former Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security. Check here and here.
Background here. Clark Kent Ervin was railroaded out of his job for shedding too much light on security problems- his job as Inspector General. Others have also been forced out of their jobs for reporting lapses in security.
Read report on Maxwell from ABC news... Here is a second report from the Guardian.
Maxwell also reports that the agency was infiltrated by a spy.
What in the hell is going on at Homeland Security? Is this the "War on Terror" that the RepubliCONS are always shouting about?
Watch Michael Maxwell's full testimony from April 6th, in front of the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations- Sub Committee on Terrorism & Nonproliferation. Rep. Edward Royce (R)- Chairman. Others will also testify.
Robert Fisk Interview
Amy Goodman interviews Robert Fisk.
Topics: Palestine, Iraq, and Failure of Mainstream Media to Challenge the Government Line and to Be Skeptical.
Listen/watch interview here...
Topics: Palestine, Iraq, and Failure of Mainstream Media to Challenge the Government Line and to Be Skeptical.
Listen/watch interview here...
Monday, April 10, 2006
Immigration Protests Continue
My thoughts:
I'm all for immigration, but we need controlled immigration, especially in this era of greater risks from terrorism. Control the borders, and know who is coming in. However, this idea of deporting hundreds of thousands, & perhaps millions of people is a fantasy. Racist Republicans have dug themselves a hole on this one, and I am enjoying watching them sqirm in pain, lol. They have drawn this line in the sand, now they have to deliver on tough legislation or else be viewed as failures for backing down...so they have really boxed themselves in. Also, Republicans are under pressure on one hand from their corporate backers who need the cheap labor, but they are also under pressure on the other hand from more traditional, race sensitive Republicans from their traditional base (the South and rural Midwest) to keep immigrants out. I'm enjoying seeing these Republicans implode on this one.
What Americans should understand is that the current Immigration debate is more about style than substance. Members of Congress want to appear as though they are doing something about this issue in an election year. They don't intend to actually deal with the problems and fix them.
The plans offered by the House of Representatives and by the U.S. Senate, both would leave hundreds of thousands of people who would need to be deported.
Fact is, the U.S. does not have the stomach to deport tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants. Even if they wanted to deport people in large numbers, they don't have the resources to do so . So this whole debate is phony in my opinion....possibly designed to distract the publics attention from other issues.
But if the Congress really wants to deal with this problem they must look at it from a security perspective...something that they really have not done. So far, motives have been racial and economic. Think about it... Most of the 19 hijackers who gave us 9/11 came into the country through the normal, legitimate process... they didn't run across a border. It was U.S. immigration entry policy that was exploited. Most of these problems still exist. The student visa program still exists... The same vulnerabilities are still there..this is why we have a high ranking member of a terror group- the Taliban...a stated enemy of the U.S., attending Yale University. What happened to that discussion? I don't see the issue of bad entry policy at the center of the debate. Why not? this is the real issue.
Conservatives are raising the immigration issue and using migrant workers as an excuse to pass legislation that will reflect their racist views. The migrant issue is a smoke screen. If they were really concerned about the immigration issue and really concerned about national security they would work to pass a real, comprehensive bill that would address the real issues (hire more immigration workers to support any legislation that they pass), protect the borders, and that would offer a REALISTIC approach to the undocumented immigrants who are already here.
-----------------
Thousands march in protest of immigration policy
By SAM SKOLNIK, JOHN IWASAKI AND ANGELO BRUSCAS
Thousands of protesters swamped downtown Seattle Monday afternoon to protest American immigration policy, which could be on the verge of being historically altered by Congress.
Seattle officials estimated that at least 15,000 people -- more than twice the number expected -- took part in the rally associated with the "National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice."
The group marched from St. Mary's Church in the Central District to the Federal Building downtown. The protesters, who filled a several-block-long playground behind the church, was loud and spirited but uniformly peaceful. As of 5:45 p.m., police reported no arrests.
"Si se puede!" the crowd yelled, which in English, that means "Yes, we can!"
The march was part of a series of protests in cities nationwide. The groups timed their rallies to try to impact bills moving through Congress.
Continue reading ....from the Seattle Post
I'm all for immigration, but we need controlled immigration, especially in this era of greater risks from terrorism. Control the borders, and know who is coming in. However, this idea of deporting hundreds of thousands, & perhaps millions of people is a fantasy. Racist Republicans have dug themselves a hole on this one, and I am enjoying watching them sqirm in pain, lol. They have drawn this line in the sand, now they have to deliver on tough legislation or else be viewed as failures for backing down...so they have really boxed themselves in. Also, Republicans are under pressure on one hand from their corporate backers who need the cheap labor, but they are also under pressure on the other hand from more traditional, race sensitive Republicans from their traditional base (the South and rural Midwest) to keep immigrants out. I'm enjoying seeing these Republicans implode on this one.
What Americans should understand is that the current Immigration debate is more about style than substance. Members of Congress want to appear as though they are doing something about this issue in an election year. They don't intend to actually deal with the problems and fix them.
The plans offered by the House of Representatives and by the U.S. Senate, both would leave hundreds of thousands of people who would need to be deported.
Fact is, the U.S. does not have the stomach to deport tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants. Even if they wanted to deport people in large numbers, they don't have the resources to do so . So this whole debate is phony in my opinion....possibly designed to distract the publics attention from other issues.
But if the Congress really wants to deal with this problem they must look at it from a security perspective...something that they really have not done. So far, motives have been racial and economic. Think about it... Most of the 19 hijackers who gave us 9/11 came into the country through the normal, legitimate process... they didn't run across a border. It was U.S. immigration entry policy that was exploited. Most of these problems still exist. The student visa program still exists... The same vulnerabilities are still there..this is why we have a high ranking member of a terror group- the Taliban...a stated enemy of the U.S., attending Yale University. What happened to that discussion? I don't see the issue of bad entry policy at the center of the debate. Why not? this is the real issue.
Conservatives are raising the immigration issue and using migrant workers as an excuse to pass legislation that will reflect their racist views. The migrant issue is a smoke screen. If they were really concerned about the immigration issue and really concerned about national security they would work to pass a real, comprehensive bill that would address the real issues (hire more immigration workers to support any legislation that they pass), protect the borders, and that would offer a REALISTIC approach to the undocumented immigrants who are already here.
-----------------
Thousands march in protest of immigration policy
By SAM SKOLNIK, JOHN IWASAKI AND ANGELO BRUSCAS
Thousands of protesters swamped downtown Seattle Monday afternoon to protest American immigration policy, which could be on the verge of being historically altered by Congress.
Seattle officials estimated that at least 15,000 people -- more than twice the number expected -- took part in the rally associated with the "National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice."
The group marched from St. Mary's Church in the Central District to the Federal Building downtown. The protesters, who filled a several-block-long playground behind the church, was loud and spirited but uniformly peaceful. As of 5:45 p.m., police reported no arrests.
"Si se puede!" the crowd yelled, which in English, that means "Yes, we can!"
The march was part of a series of protests in cities nationwide. The groups timed their rallies to try to impact bills moving through Congress.
Continue reading ....from the Seattle Post
Federal Prosecutors Closing In On White House
WASHINGTON, April 10 — From the early days of the C.I.A. leak investigation in 2003, the Bush White House has insisted there was no effort to discredit Joseph C. Wilson IV, the man who emerged as the most damaging critic of the administration's case that Saddam Hussein was seeking to build nuclear weapons.
But now White House officials, and specifically President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, have been pitched back into the center of the nearly three-year controversy, this time because of a prosecutor's court filing in the case that asserts there was "a strong desire by many, including multiple people in the White House," to undermine Mr. Wilson.
The new assertions by the special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, have put administration officials on the spot in a way they have not been for months, as attention in the leak case seems to be shifting away from the White House to the pretrial procedural skirmishing in the perjury and obstruction charges against Mr. Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr.
Continue reading article from NY Times...
But now White House officials, and specifically President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, have been pitched back into the center of the nearly three-year controversy, this time because of a prosecutor's court filing in the case that asserts there was "a strong desire by many, including multiple people in the White House," to undermine Mr. Wilson.
The new assertions by the special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, have put administration officials on the spot in a way they have not been for months, as attention in the leak case seems to be shifting away from the White House to the pretrial procedural skirmishing in the perjury and obstruction charges against Mr. Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr.
Continue reading article from NY Times...
White House Linked To Voting Fraud
Monday, April 10, 2006
Phone-jamming records point to White House
By LARRY MARGASAK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show.
The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 - as the phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly shut down.
The national Republican Party, which paid millions in legal bills to defend Tobin, says the contacts involved routine election business and that it was "preposterous" to suggest the calls involved phone jamming.
The Justice Department has secured three convictions in the case but hasn't accused any White House or national Republican officials of wrongdoing, nor made any allegations suggesting party officials outside New Hampshire were involved. The phone records of calls to the White House were exhibits in Tobin's trial but prosecutors did not make them part of their case.
Continue reading....
Phone-jamming records point to White House
By LARRY MARGASAK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show.
The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 - as the phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly shut down.
The national Republican Party, which paid millions in legal bills to defend Tobin, says the contacts involved routine election business and that it was "preposterous" to suggest the calls involved phone jamming.
The Justice Department has secured three convictions in the case but hasn't accused any White House or national Republican officials of wrongdoing, nor made any allegations suggesting party officials outside New Hampshire were involved. The phone records of calls to the White House were exhibits in Tobin's trial but prosecutors did not make them part of their case.
Continue reading....
Saturday, April 08, 2006
CIA Case Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald Describes Organized Plan by White House
More Information from Wall Street Journal
Libby Prosecutor Outlines Effort At High Levels
Fitzgerald Aims to Show An Organized Plan LedTo Leak of CIA Agent's Name
By ANNE MARIE SQUEO
April 8, 2006; Page A6
WASHINGTON -- The special prosecutor trying the case against former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis Libby will try to show that the leaking of a CIA agent's name grew out of a highly organized administration effort that commanded high-level attention, a court filing this week shows.
Pretrial filings by Mr. Libby's defense team indicate they intend to argue that any misstatements made in Mr. Libby's testimony to investigators and a grand jury were innocent mistakes because of his focus on more pressing national-security issues. They are seeking a wide array of classified and sensitive information they say is necessary for trial, including secret daily intelligence briefings given to the president.
This week's filing by Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, was intended to convince the judge to deny the defense's latest request for information. In doing so, the prosecutor also attacked Mr. Libby's bad-memory defense by introducing new information about the attention -- including by President Bush -- placed on responding to Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador and critic of the Iraq war.
Libby Prosecutor Outlines Effort At High Levels
Fitzgerald Aims to Show An Organized Plan LedTo Leak of CIA Agent's Name
By ANNE MARIE SQUEO
April 8, 2006; Page A6
WASHINGTON -- The special prosecutor trying the case against former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis Libby will try to show that the leaking of a CIA agent's name grew out of a highly organized administration effort that commanded high-level attention, a court filing this week shows.
Pretrial filings by Mr. Libby's defense team indicate they intend to argue that any misstatements made in Mr. Libby's testimony to investigators and a grand jury were innocent mistakes because of his focus on more pressing national-security issues. They are seeking a wide array of classified and sensitive information they say is necessary for trial, including secret daily intelligence briefings given to the president.
This week's filing by Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, was intended to convince the judge to deny the defense's latest request for information. In doing so, the prosecutor also attacked Mr. Libby's bad-memory defense by introducing new information about the attention -- including by President Bush -- placed on responding to Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador and critic of the Iraq war.
Black "Preachers" Being Bought by Republicans
There are few things more disgusting than religious leaders who allow themselves to be bought and who try to manipulate their own people for someone else’s political gain.
The Bush administration has been giving millions of dollars to key black preachers under the cover of “faith based federal funding”. Republicans are giving these black preachers this money in exchange for getting these preachers to get black folks to vote for Republican candidates.
Republicans are engaged in a campaign to confuse and divide black voters by using controversial wedge issues. In many cases, this has worked.
Uninformed and under-informed Black Americans are particularly vulnerable to this group of scum. I hope that Black folks will get educated enough about the issues to think for themselves. Blacks must particularly keep themselves better informed about issues of foreign policy.
Blacks must understand how foreign policy is connected to domestic policy.
Listen to public radio story....
The Bush administration has been giving millions of dollars to key black preachers under the cover of “faith based federal funding”. Republicans are giving these black preachers this money in exchange for getting these preachers to get black folks to vote for Republican candidates.
Republicans are engaged in a campaign to confuse and divide black voters by using controversial wedge issues. In many cases, this has worked.
Uninformed and under-informed Black Americans are particularly vulnerable to this group of scum. I hope that Black folks will get educated enough about the issues to think for themselves. Blacks must particularly keep themselves better informed about issues of foreign policy.
Blacks must understand how foreign policy is connected to domestic policy.
Listen to public radio story....
Friday, April 07, 2006
General Paul Eaton Giving Inside View of Iraq War
Listen as recently retired General Paul Eaton discusses incompetence within the Bush administration, particularly with Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.
Discussion from April 6th.
Listen to discussion here.
Surely there are other high ranking officers in the U.S. military, both past and present, who have misgivings about how the war in Iraq is being handled and about the direction of U.S. foreign policy. However, they may be reluctant to speak out.
Let's not forget that there have been several other high ranking officers and civilians who have spoken out against the problems in the current government. Many people may have forgotten about the group, Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change- a group of over 2 dozen high ranking former military and civilian officials who came out against the Bush administration in 2004. The problem for this group was that the mainstream corporate media (State-run media) basically muzzled this group and did not allow them to get their message out.
But the dissenters are out there. It's just a matter of finding those who are brave enough and willing to speak publicly.
Scooter Libby Says Cheney and Bush Approved Leak
New Documents show that Libby told Grand Jury in CIA leak case that Cheney and Bush gave him the o.k. to leak classified information about Plame. It was done to help discredit and intimidate Ambassador Joe Wilson- Husband of the CIA worker and a critic of the war in Iraq.
This was no surprise. I knew that at a minimum, Cheney was probably involved in the leaking of CIA information. This just represents more of the criminal organization being revealed.
However, what aggravated me most after this news broke was how the State-run American media, especially FOX, CNN, and MSNBC, quickly began to scramble to save these scoundrels by painting them in the most positive light possible. With Armstrong Williams and so many other reporters on the White House payroll and being planted in so many places, it makes me wonder how many of these phony reporters are on the take.
Several news outlets quickly began a campaign to convince viewers that this really was not a big deal afterall, and that we should go back to being obedient zombies. The major news outlets went out of their way to downplay the new information. People should be asking the question- why?
This clown Jeffrey Toobin of CNN wanted to convince us that these acts were not really illegal and were actually o.k.- "It is not clear if the President or Mr. Cheney specifically mentioned the name of Valerie Plame. Even if they did leak such Classified information this would not be illegal". So everything is o.k. OHHH BULLSHIT JEFFREY!!!!
These reporters in this State-run American media system should be arrested for collaboration in these crimes and for trying to convince the public to believe the lie that, all of a sudden, no crimes were committed- all of this while an investigation is ongoing and there is an active grand jury involved. One person has already been indicted in the case for not cooperating with the initial investigation.
And will anyone be impeached? Of course not. Even though these are certainly high crimes that are more than enough for impeachment. This is greater than Watergate in terms of magnitude. And it is certainly greater than what Clinton was accused of. I'm no fan of Bill Clinton (despised him at times) but I find it strange that he had to be impeached for a private matter, costing taxpayers millions of dollars, yet other people are allowed to get away with what are truly huge diabolical crimes. Just another example of American hypocrisy. I guess these people believe that other countries are not watching...and this is the "democracy" that the U.S. wants to export? Please.
An impeachment will never come from a Republican Congress. There won't even be a censure....no support for one. And impeachment also would not come even from a Congress that was controlled by Democrats. This is why I often refer to Democrats and Republicans as Republicrats- crooks that are one in the same. They are all thugs and crooks. I put "most" of these people on the same level as child molesters. And that includes the crooked news reporters who collude with these people in under the table deals.
I have written before about the collusion between American media and government.
This was no surprise. I knew that at a minimum, Cheney was probably involved in the leaking of CIA information. This just represents more of the criminal organization being revealed.
However, what aggravated me most after this news broke was how the State-run American media, especially FOX, CNN, and MSNBC, quickly began to scramble to save these scoundrels by painting them in the most positive light possible. With Armstrong Williams and so many other reporters on the White House payroll and being planted in so many places, it makes me wonder how many of these phony reporters are on the take.
Several news outlets quickly began a campaign to convince viewers that this really was not a big deal afterall, and that we should go back to being obedient zombies. The major news outlets went out of their way to downplay the new information. People should be asking the question- why?
This clown Jeffrey Toobin of CNN wanted to convince us that these acts were not really illegal and were actually o.k.- "It is not clear if the President or Mr. Cheney specifically mentioned the name of Valerie Plame. Even if they did leak such Classified information this would not be illegal". So everything is o.k. OHHH BULLSHIT JEFFREY!!!!
These reporters in this State-run American media system should be arrested for collaboration in these crimes and for trying to convince the public to believe the lie that, all of a sudden, no crimes were committed- all of this while an investigation is ongoing and there is an active grand jury involved. One person has already been indicted in the case for not cooperating with the initial investigation.
And will anyone be impeached? Of course not. Even though these are certainly high crimes that are more than enough for impeachment. This is greater than Watergate in terms of magnitude. And it is certainly greater than what Clinton was accused of. I'm no fan of Bill Clinton (despised him at times) but I find it strange that he had to be impeached for a private matter, costing taxpayers millions of dollars, yet other people are allowed to get away with what are truly huge diabolical crimes. Just another example of American hypocrisy. I guess these people believe that other countries are not watching...and this is the "democracy" that the U.S. wants to export? Please.
An impeachment will never come from a Republican Congress. There won't even be a censure....no support for one. And impeachment also would not come even from a Congress that was controlled by Democrats. This is why I often refer to Democrats and Republicans as Republicrats- crooks that are one in the same. They are all thugs and crooks. I put "most" of these people on the same level as child molesters. And that includes the crooked news reporters who collude with these people in under the table deals.
I have written before about the collusion between American media and government.
Rep. Cynthia McKinney Apologizes
This is what she should have done earlier. But she has a tendancy to seek the attention that comes from controversy.
Hopefully this will not become a fiasco for Democrats. This is not what their party needs right now.
Follow story here
Hopefully this will not become a fiasco for Democrats. This is not what their party needs right now.
Follow story here
Thursday, April 06, 2006
The Status Of The Democratic Party
Great Discussion from the Public Radio Program "On Point", about the Status of the Democratic Party.
Included in the discussion are Donna Brazile and Mr. Markos Moulitsas himself, the founder of the Blog Daily Kos. Markos helps dissect the Democratic Party.
(Link Below)
Markos brings up some great points about the Democratic Party, regarding structural problems with the Party and the strategy that is needed. For years I have been screaming about many of the same ideas that Markos mentions. Interesting to see that there are a few people out there who share my view about the lack of Progressive infrastructure.
No matter what ideas Democrats, Progressives, Independents or any other groups have; if they don't have the kind of media infrastructure that Republicans have, they will not be allowed to share their ideas or their "message" effectively. It's a little difficult to get a message out when Conservative Republicans practically control the radio airwaves and much of Television. There are a limited number of outlets for Progressives to use to get any sort of message out. And when Democrats do manage to get a message out, Republicans are able to hijack the message, distort it, or discredit the messenger ("Swiftboating" their victims). John Kerry was literally destroyed in a way that I have never seen anyone destroyed before. And you can even go back to 1999 and 2000. Look at all the ideas that Bush stole from Gore...regarding healthcare and several other ideas. Bush made several of Al Gores ideas appear as his own. Gore was never able to reclaim his own ideas after that. That was a result of Republican media dominance.
Republicans have spent the last 20 years or so building their infrastructure. Even if Democratics pull off a miracle in 2006, and/or 2008, the trend of the country overall is still going toward the Republican side...mainly because they control the debate so well. Their support network in the media and in corporate America allows them to dominate almost unimpeded.
I also agree with Markos when he talks about the flawed idea of "Politics being local" and that Democrats must concentrate on local elections. This is nonsense. Democrats must do both. The idea of "politics is local" is a little outdated. Overall it is still a good strategy.... if you have 15-20 years for it to work. WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH TIME. Politics move so much faster today than in the past anyway. The problem with the "Politics is local" idea is that it assumes there is a local political base for Democrats to work with. Look at the recent election maps. Some 70-75% or more of the local Counties across this country are Republican...firmly controlled by the Republican Party. It would take decades for Democrats to take and hold that kind of ground. It would take more than political change...a fundamental cultural shift would have to take place within the U.S. for this to change. Democrats must groom charismatic State Governors, a few Senators and Representatives, but most of all, they must groom charismatic Presidential Candidates. National Politics is where Democrats, Progressives and Independents must focus, at least in the short term. In general it is my opinion that the Republican Party must be fought from two directions...from the top down (National Political level) and from the bottom up (grassroots level)....simultaneously. It would be a mistake to focus on the local level at this point, where Democrats don't even have much of a base to work with, while neglecting national politics.
I had to disagree with one thing Brazile mentioned. She mentioned that the war in Yugoslavia didn't cost any U.S. lives- comparing it to the war in Iraq. According to Brazile, war is o.k. as long as there are no U.S. casualties. It's a flawed way to think of war. Because with any war you start, you must be willing to spill a lot of American blood, because things often do not go as planned. From the time that a war is started, leaders must be willing to follow through under the worst case scenarios. If they can't do that, then they shouldn't start a war. In other words, this kind of thinking that Brazile supports will lead the country into all sorts of conflicts. This is why I often look at Republicans and Democrats as being one in the same. Both Parties have the same imperial, pro-war tendancies, despite the Democrats fake act, pretending to be Pro Peace, when they are far from it. One only has to look at their history to know that the idea that Democrats are pro Peace is a lie.
It's as if Brazile is oblivious to all the unintended consequences that came about in the war against Yugoslavia. It strained relations with China and nearly caused an all out conflict with Russia....when Russia entered a live NATO area of operations...something that never took place before. Not to mention all the civilian casualties from that war.
I have my doubts that Democrats will be able to capitalize on Republican stumblings to take back Congress this year. I am even less enthusiastic about 2008. If Hillary Clinton is the best candidate that Democrats can put forward, then they are in very serious trouble as a Party. I recently took some time to research possible Democratic candidates for 2008, and this has to be one of the worst periods for Democrats. They just don't have many promising candidates. They have several that are qualified, but few that are electable to an American public that is increasingly anti-intellectual. Americans elect Presidents based more on style rather than substance. This means that Democrats would really need a strong Southern or Midwestern Democrat, and there are really none to be found. I am hoping for a dark horse to emerge and take over the entire stage...the same way that Bill Clinton did (although i'm no fan of Clinton). This nation has a tradition of producing these powerful charismatic figures.
I am keeping my fingers crossed anyway. Ultimately for me, the Democrats are the lesser of two evils. I hope for the day when the U.S. really becomes a true Democracy and we have AT LEAST 3 or 4 major national political parties, rather than the same Party with two faces. With at least 4 political Parties in government, no one Party would be able to get away with the nonsense that we see over and over again from the Republicans.
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