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Open Thread...
Jibber Jabber time at the DCP.
« Peace in the Middle East? Permanent Bases in Iraq? A Constitution...somewhere! | Open Thread Main | Ice Storm in Iowa »
Jibber Jabber time at the DCP.
Testing comments
On my mind tonight:
peace and justice
final exams
December bills
tomorrow morning's thread header
dinner
et vous?
I couldn't resist posting Homer's brain.
Sorry about the unoriginal name, but it's been a very long, stressful day for me.
Cool picture, Suz.
Yay! Comments are working!
Suz - never fun to have your car die. I know the frustration - I had a Ford Contour that just kept breaking down for no reason (I finally got rid of it last year).
I don't like the car payment.
Your woes about msm and the news may soon be over.
available at: http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/aljazeera-the-new-force-in-quality-foreign-news/2007/11/29/1196037070800.html
woz,
I hate to admit it, but I don't think that Al-Jazeera will make it too far here in the US. I think people will already have a bias against the name.
woz
A much better bet would be BBC.
Oh well - isn't your world driven by demand - or creating demand? I've often checked it out online, but not for a long time. It seems that I forgot about it till I read this. I guess your msm journalists continue unrivalled in their dumbed down reporting. Sad.
Woz,
That frame is perfect. I don't know what on earth you were worried about, because you choose the right one. And the bricks work perfect too.
She is beautiful, thank you. You got me all choked up. What an honor.
And Woz,
I doubt our journalists are MORE ridiculous than North Korean or Burmese journalists. So, you see, We are not completely 'unrivalled' in the mockery of a sham that has become our media.
Pretty much everyone elses though do make ours look sad.
There's always online - but I don't know how you get that to those with no internet or any wish to become connected.
Oops. Forgot the address.
What I don't understand is - roadworkers working for the US military and living in a tent/tents while they do the work - why then are US military sent out to bomb them in case they're really Taliban? I do not get this. I find this utterly inexcusable. And that's without the investigation and ho-hums and doctored evidence.
Afghan workers die in US-led attack
The attack took place in the
mountainous province of Nuristan
At least 12 Afghan road construction workers have been killed in an air strike by the US-led forces in Afghanistan, a provincial governor has said.
Another local official said that up to 25 men were killed in the attack late on Tuesday in the province of Nuristan, northeast of Kabul.
"We had reports that rebels were there," Tamimi Nuristani, the governor of Nuristan, told the AFP news agency.
"There was an air strike by coalition forces but later we found out that 12 people, all local road workers, were killed. The road workers were in a tent which was hit by one bomb. All died," he said.
The labourers had been building a road for the US military and were sleeping in a tent in the remote area when they were killed, according to Sayed Noorullah Jalili, the director of the Kabul-based road construction company, Amerifa.
There were no survivors, he said.
The media office of the US-led coalition forces said it was trying to find out what happened.
"Something happened but we are not sure exactly what," Chris Belcher, a spokesman, said.
The province's police chief said he was trying to verify the incident.
Remote region
Taj Mohammad, the head of the Nuristan provincial council, said 25 people were killed in the strike.
"We collected their flesh and put it in bags. We handed the remains of the ones we could recognise to their families," he said.
Nuristan is an isolated province on the border with Pakistan that has seen occasional fighting between security forces and the Taliban.
Several hundred civilians are believed to have been killed by foreign troops fighting the Taliban this year, but no official figure has been released.
Critics blame the military's reliance on air power in remote areas for the casualties and also accuse soldiers of disproportionate use of force.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E54953AF-C2F1-45F9-BB35-55EE40359FE1.htm
"There's always online - but I don't know how you get that to those with no internet or any wish to become connected."
The answer is, you can't reach those people without direct access to the net.
And even then you will still have a problem. Where to go..?
Do you know how many literal hours a day I am searchimg through news? Hours, not minutes. Morning. Noon. Night. I am watching every move these bastards make but until I came here, to people like this, able to explain and put it into historical context, I still would have been wondering WTF was going on?
What is happening here is contrary to EVERYTHING we have ever known before, and it is totally f*cking confusing. Even for me who has been MORE politically aware than others all my life, I don't get any of this. Watching tv was literally DRIVING ME INSANE!
I mean, I know the theories and the words and I know this happened and that happened, but even still, even now, I have no freaking idea what is ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
And even though your press, other peoples press has and can go further, none of them know exactly what the hell is going on either. Not the truth of it.
Jesus, we LIVE HERE, and have no idea what is happening to us or how all of this could possibly shake out. It is like a bad situation, then somebody started a war.
Our nation is not having a 'crisis'. Our nation, is dying.
People like you and Rossi, who have dedicated yourselves from 'over there' to finding out that truth, and being here to hold our hand as we DIE, people like you will write the final story of what has happened here, cause none of US will see it coming. No one else can see the whole thing.
All I know for sure, is there is something EVIL in our White House. Not bad, not dangerous, not ugly... EVIl.
I truly believe, it is deliberately trying to trigger Armeggeddon.
No. I am not joking. I actually believe that.
His Stupidness's (thanks monkey) new name - the Peace President. If it wasn't so damned tragic, I'd laugh. As you can see, I'm really getting into this alJazeera English site.
More at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/24AF187D-A114-49FC-BDE7-4A1955C49F3D.htm
They, the evil ones, have deliberately blinded US, but that is not the worst they are going to do to us... is it?
And now that we are in the dark.....
You are right Rossi. I am going to go paint now.
And drink. Heavily.
Christy - you have no idea how pleased I am that you like the frame. I'd chosen something ordinary/modern until I asked if he had any old framing material. And he did. And because it was old, I got a discount. I even had a big choice of *old*. So - we're both happy, Christy and this is a good thing.
The shameful thing is, that anyone should have to Seeks US Clarity on Torture
Top State Dept Lawyer Seeks U.S. Clarity on Torture
Torture is illegal under the U.S. criminal code as well as under a
international treaty that prohibits it under all circumstances, which the
United States has ratified
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-torture-bellinger.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Speaking of torture, please see the thread header on the Main Page, and please send it around to your lists. If you cannot comment there, there are opportunities at Kos as well:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/30/82625/683
I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)
by Los Lobos
Now I'm the king of the swingers world
The jungle be, I be
I reach the top and have to stop
And that's what's a bother to me
I wanna be a man, a man cub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I'm tired of monkeying around
So, oo, oo, oo, I wanna be just like you
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you, too
You see it's true
An ape like me
Can learn to be human, too
Now don't try to kid me, man cub
I made a deal with you
What I desire is man's red fire
To make my dream come true
Give me the secret, man cub
Just clue me what to do
Give me the power of man's red flower
So I can be like you
So, oo, oo, oo, I wanna be just like you
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you too
You see it's true
An ape like me
Can learn to be human, too
You see it's true
An ape like me
Can learn to be human, too
Operatives gear up for below-the-belt sucker punches
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sucker punches and below-the-belts can be expected as we enter the slugfest season of political attack ads. They're already taking off the gloves for what promises to be nasty 2008 campaigns that use the newfound enormous strength and reach of the Web.
"If I'm going to get punched in the stomach, I'm going to take a knife out and get you right back," said John Lapp of the consulting firm McMahon, Squier, Lapp and Associates.
Lapp considers himself one of a new breed of Democratic ad-makers who don't hesitate to hit hard in the ad war.
"I'm going to use every single weapon I have in my quiver."
His Republican counterparts agree.
GOP operative Mark McKinnon said to expect an especially ugly ad season over the next year, even though opinion polls consistently show that voters despise negative campaigning. Watch ad where cartoon characters stick head up rears »
"We know from a lot of history and a lot of observation and a lot of science that it works," McKinnon said. He works for GOP hopeful Sen. John McCain and served as media adviser for President Bush's 2004 campaign.
"If you can go at somebody's strengths and hurt them on their strengths," he said, "then you've really done some damage."
On both sides of the aisle, independent expenditure groups are sharpening their knives and filling their coffers for 2008.
The liberal grassroots group MoveOn.Org says it will spend as much as $45 million -- much of it on negative ads. "Sometimes you have to just lay the issues out in very stark terms and fight the fight," MoveOn's executive director Eli Pariser, 26, said.
And on the right: "We're not wallflowers," said Bradley Blakeman, president and CEO of the conservative group Freedom's Watch. "And we're going to come out swinging when we have to."
The proliferation of negative advertising has made Americans more cynical about politics, according to critics. Watch the infamous Willie Horton and Swift Boat ads »
When voters see extreme partisan bickering and slash-and-burn personal attacks, "they basically say, 'a pox on both your parties,'" warned Bill Hillsman, whose Minneapolis-based North Woods Advertising typically represents liberal and independent candidates.
"Negative advertising works in a very insidious way," he said. "It works by depressing voter turnout," which tends to benefit incumbents at the expense of challengers.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/29/attack.ads/index.html
Ah, good times ahead...
Regarding the CNN/ YouTube debate - I think it was the best of all the debate I have seen. It was fast moving; all the candidates got in their say; the questions were quite good - a lot better than in the previous, lame debates. All the questions were in the form of homemade YouTube videos posed to the candidates. All most of the questions were from White Males, CNN managed to get at least three questions from women and a question from two black guys (I thought this was one of the strangest moments because the studio audience was probably 97% white, LOL).....
Once I got past the obligatory "who hates the Mexicans" the most questions - as you can see below the first 30 minutes of the debate was wasted on who hates the Mexicans the most (you can do this easily by going directly to the CNN DEbate website were the debate is divided up in short clips of each question and response - and some questions were quite good (meaning hard to fudge on the answers - and right to the heart of the matter). In fact, many of the questions were far, far better than the tame, timid, insider-trivia questions from the two CNN reporters during the Dem debate.
There were 33 questions asked in total. Here are all of them listed;
and there were some real zingers (Confederate flag, gun question, torture question, bible - do they believe in "it"... etc..)
1.GOP Debate Song
2.Will you make America a 'sanctuary city' country?
3.Will you pledge to veto amnesty for illegal immigrants?
4.With immigration reform failing, will I have a job?
5.Lower college tuition rates - military families or illegals?
6.Do you believe in a conspiracy to make a new union?
7.What measures will you take to tackle the national debt?
8.What are the top three federal programs you would cut?
9.Do you support a 'Fair Tax'?
10.Will you pledge never to raise taxes?
11.Will you eliminate farm subsidies?
12.How will you keep lead-laced toys out of my home?
13.What is your opinion on gun control?
14.Do you believe in a required written exam for gun ownership?
15.How many guns do you own?
16.What will you do to reduce crime in the inner cities?
17.If abortion is illegal, what should the punishment be?
18.Would you sign a federal abortion ban?
19.On the Death Penalty, what would Jesus do?
20.Do you believe every word of The Holy Bible
21.How would you repair the image of America?
22.Is waterboarding torture?
23.Will you make a permanent commitment to the people of Iraq?
24.Is your campaign exploiting 9/11?
25.Should Vice-President Dick Cheney have so much power?
26.A gay Brigadier General asks a question
27.Do you accept the support of log cabin republicans?
28.Repay the $2 trillion borrowed from Social Security?
29.What is your vision for human space exploration?
30.Why don't many African-Americans vote Republican?
31.What does the "stars and bars" flag represent?
32.How can we repair the infrastructure of America?
33.Mr. Paul, are you going to run as an independent?
Romney did poorly, I thought, his answers were calculated, calibrated and not authoritative. Romney was slapped around by McCain (on torture), Giuliani (on illegal aliens), even on the bible question Romney's answer looked weak, unsure and unconvincing. Paul, very effectively, rebutted McCain on Iraq. Paul knows his stuff on foreign policy and McCain looked less informed.....
Regarding the CNN/ YouTube debate - I think it was the best of all the debate I have seen. It was fast moving; all the candidates got in their say; the questions were quite good - a lot better than in the previous, lame debates. All the questions were in the form of homemade YouTube videos posed to the candidates. All most of the questions were from White Males, CNN managed to get at least three questions from women and a question from two black guys (I thought this was one of the strangest moments because the studio audience was probably 97% white, LOL).....
Once I got past the obligatory "who hates the Mexicans" the most questions - as you can see below the first 30 minutes of the debate was wasted on who hates the Mexicans the most (you can do this easily by going directly to the CNN DEbate website were the debate is divided up in short clips of each question and response - and some questions were quite good (meaning hard to fudge on the answers - and right to the heart of the matter). In fact, many of the questions were far, far better than the tame, timid, insider-trivia questions from the two CNN reporters during the Dem debate.
There were 33 questions asked in total. Here are all of them listed;
and there were some real zingers (Confederate flag, gun question, torture question, bible - do they believe in "it"... etc..)
1.GOP Debate Song
2.Will you make America a 'sanctuary city' country?
3.Will you pledge to veto amnesty for illegal immigrants?
4.With immigration reform failing, will I have a job?
5.Lower college tuition rates - military families or illegals?
6.Do you believe in a conspiracy to make a new union?
7.What measures will you take to tackle the national debt?
8.What are the top three federal programs you would cut?
9.Do you support a 'Fair Tax'?
10.Will you pledge never to raise taxes?
11.Will you eliminate farm subsidies?
12.How will you keep lead-laced toys out of my home?
13.What is your opinion on gun control?
14.Do you believe in a required written exam for gun ownership?
15.How many guns do you own?
16.What will you do to reduce crime in the inner cities?
17.If abortion is illegal, what should the punishment be?
18.Would you sign a federal abortion ban?
19.On the Death Penalty, what would Jesus do?
20.Do you believe every word of The Holy Bible
21.How would you repair the image of America?
22.Is waterboarding torture?
23.Will you make a permanent commitment to the people of Iraq?
24.Is your campaign exploiting 9/11?
25.Should Vice-President Dick Cheney have so much power?
26.A gay Brigadier General asks a question
27.Do you accept the support of log cabin republicans?
28.Repay the $2 trillion borrowed from Social Security?
29.What is your vision for human space exploration?
30.Why don't many African-Americans vote Republican?
31.What does the "stars and bars" flag represent?
32.How can we repair the infrastructure of America?
33.Mr. Paul, are you going to run as an independent?
Romney did poorly, I thought, his answers were calculated, calibrated and not authoritative. Romney was slapped around by McCain (on torture), Giuliani (on illegal aliens), even on the bible question Romney's answer looked weak, unsure and unconvincing. Paul, very effectively, rebutted McCain on Iraq. Paul knows his stuff on foreign policy and McCain looked less informed.....
Christy
American journalists are as bad as North Korean ones, I can tell you for sure.
Hail the Great Leader George HW Bush, and General George W Bush!
George HW Bush is our Kim Il Sung, and W is our Kim Jong Il.
Ralpheh
I am pleased to see that the Republicans keep trying to kill their goose with the golden egg - the socially conservative Latino voters.
Citing statistics, Giuliani misses time and again
Both Romney, Dems have accused Republican of using misleading figures
By Michael Cooper
The New York times
Fri., Nov. 30, 2007
In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views.
Discussing his crime-fighting success as mayor, Mr. Giuliani told a television interviewer that New York was “the only city in America that has reduced crime every single year since 1994.” In New Hampshire this week, he told a public forum that when he became mayor in 1994, New York “had been averaging like 1,800, 1,900 murders for almost 30 years.” When a recent Republican debate turned to the question of fiscal responsibility, he boasted that “under me, spending went down by 7 percent.”
All of these statements are incomplete, exaggerated or just plain wrong. And while, to be sure, all candidates use misleading statistics from time to time, Mr. Giuliani has made statistics a central part of his candidacy as he campaigns on his record.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22034699/
Over in Venezuela, the Chavez referendum is up for a vote on December 2nd. Here are the pros and cons:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7120758.stm
Despite the American left's unqualified praise for Chavez and his social "reforms," not all is rosy - this has all the signs of a dictatorship brewing.
Most important is Chavez's own "you're with me or you're against me" rhetoric - sounds so much like his nemesis W.
And this is why I have little love for Islam. I can't stand a religion that wants to dole out death sentences for misnaming a teddy bear.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7121025.stm
Teddy Yuckspin
Biden's warning to Bush: Bomb Iran and face impeachment
Sen. Joe Biden, the loquacious long-shot Democratic presidential candidate, warned President Bush Thursday that he would move for impeachment if the president unilaterally authorized a military strike against Iran.
"The President has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran and ... if he does, as foreign relations committee chairman and former chairman of judiciary, I will move to impeach him," Biden told a crowd of about 100 potential voters at a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
Biden said he is meeting with constitutional law experts and plans to send Bush a legal memo formally outlining his warning, according to Seacoast Online, which reported his comments.
The senior Delaware senator told the crowd that calls for Bush's immediate impeachment were valid but may not have enough constitutional support to make them viable. He added that Bush wasn't the only White House figure who deserves to be booted.
"If you're going to impeach George Bush, you better impeach Cheney first," Biden said, garnering applause from the crowd.
On MSNBC's Morning Joe Friday, host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, criticized Biden's proposal.
"It is so unfortunate, that this is how we campaign now, talking about impeachment," Scarborough said, "when you have [Iranian president Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad talking about obliterating Israel, talking about obliterating the United States, talking about building nuclear weapons, how we can't stop him. Saying just absolutely horrendous crazy things, sending Iranian forces into Iraq to kill American troops.
"And Joe Biden, who I like and respect, talking on the campaign trail about impeaching a commander in chief because of a decision that he may make against a madman," he continued. "And everybody knows that Ahmadinejad is a madman, and that Iran is one of the most dangerous planets on Earth."
more...
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Biden_to_try_impeachment_if_Bush_1130.html
MOVE ON PETITION REGARDING PERMANENT OCCUPATION:
Have you seen the headlines? President Bush is quietly negotiating an agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to keep our troops there indefinitely--an agreement that could include permanent bases and a massive military presence for years!1 Bush is trying to tie the hands of the next administration to keep us in Iraq for the foreseeable future.2
This is a pivotal moment—the agreement is still in the planning stages and if we don't act now, we could be stuck in Iraq for decades.
It's critical to push Democrats into opposing this. Right now, President Bush's troop reduction plan has fooled some people into thinking we're headed toward an exit in Iraq—but this move makes it clear he's literally committing the U.S. to a war with no end. It's an extreme policy and Congress can stop it—but whether they do depends on how loud we are.
Can you sign the petition demanding that Congress act to stop the president from committing to a massive military presence in Iraq for decades? We'll deliver your comments to your representatives by the end of the week—there's no time to waste. Clicking here will add your name:
http://pol.moveon.org/endless/o.pl?id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=3
After you sign, please forward this email to friends, family and colleagues—we all need to speak up together.
News reports indicate that the White House is negotiating an agreement with al-Maliki that could include permanent bases, a massive military presence in the Middle East, and dibs for U.S. investors, which "could provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit its vast oil resources."3 Talking Points Memo summed up the agreement best, saying:
"That means that during Bush's last year in office, the administration will work out the terms of the U.S.'s stay in Iraq in order to, at the very least, seriously constrain the next administration's options for ending the U.S. presence."4
Already Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senators Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama have begun to draw a line in the sand over this, saying that permanent bases are unacceptable. 5 But opposing permanent bases isn't enough. Democrats have to act to stop Bush's move to force us into an endless occupation in Iraq.
An agreement like the one that Bush is negotiating has implications beyond Iraq. Bush administration officials have indicated that a long-term presence in Iraq is necessary to deter what they call "Iranian mischief" in the region6—meaning that an ongoing commitment in Iraq could also pave the way to an escalation of war with Iran.
News of this agreement broke the very same day that the New York Times reported that the Bush administration is giving up on the benchmarks it had set for the Iraqi government.7 Giving up on these benchmarks means that there is no pressure on the Iraqi government to create political reconciliation. Combine that with news of this agreement, and we run the risk of having our troops bogged down in Iraq for decades.
This moment is critical and your voice is urgently needed. The agreement that President Bush is negotiating is still in the planning stages and if enough of us speak out we can get Congress to block him from making yet another reckless foreign policy mistake—one that could cost thousands of American and Iraqi lives.
We need to send Congress a message they can't ignore: Block an endless war in Iraq now—before it's too late. Click here to add your name.
http://pol.moveon.org/endless/o.pl?id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=4
Thanks for all you do,
–Nita, Justin, Tanya, Wes, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Sources:
1. "White House Releases "Principles" for Permanent Iraqi Presence," Talking Points Memo, November 26, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004772.php
Press Gaggle by Dana Perino and General Douglas Lute, Assistant to the President for Iraq and Afghanistan, November 26, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3206&id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=5
2. "White House Releases "Principles" for Permanent Iraqi Presence," Talking Points Memo, November 26, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004772.php
3. "Iraq to Seek Long-Term US Presence," Associated Press, November 26, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3207&id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=6
4. "White House Releases "Principles" for Permanent Iraqi Presence," Talking Points Memo, November 26, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004772.php
5. "Dodd Responds: No Permanent Bases in Iraq." Talking Points Memo, November 26, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3208&id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=7
"Hillary to Bush: No Permanent Bases in Iraq," DailyKos, November 27, 2007
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/27/145834/22
"Obama Responds To Permanent Bases Story—Falls Short Of Full Opposition," Talking Points Memo, November 27, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3209&id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=8
"President Should Take Responsibility for His Failed Iraq Policy," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, November 26, 2007
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=959
6. "U.S. and Iraq to Negotiate Pact on Long-Term Relations," New York Times, November 27, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3210&id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=9
7. "U.S. Scales Back Political Goals for Iraqi Unity," New York Times, November 25, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3211&id=11723-7895107-B86Ei6&t=10
Hostages Taken At Clinton Campaign Office
Police Unclear As To How Many People Involved
BOSTON -- A man took people hostage Friday at a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign office in New Hampshire, police said.
The incident happened at about 1 p.m. Friday at 28 North Main St. in Rochester. Officials said that a man is holding people hostage at the office, but it is unclear how many people are being held.
The St. Elizabeth Seaton School and other surrounding buildings have been locked down.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14737866/detail.html
Ron Paul using verbal Jujitsu on the Republican debate taking down John McCain:
It doesn't take much to verbally take down McCain.
Next time ya see the Maverick speak, count how many times he says "my friends" when starting or ending a sentece.
With friends like that, who needs an enema?
Bush Iraq 9/11 Lies
Lest We Forget
I Am Become Death - The Destroyer of the Worlds
by Anwaar Hussain
As November 2007 draws to a close, it will be full three years since American forces razed the Iraqi city of Fallujah to ground. It was in November 2004 that George Bush’s forces played havoc with that city and its unfortunate inhabitants in the name of God. While the American media chose to remain blind to the utter horror of it all, busy as it was with keeping a close watch over the life and death of Terri Schindler Schiavo, Dr. Hafidh al-Dulaimi, the head of “the Commission for the Compensation of Fallujah citizens” reported the destruction that American troops inflicted on Fallujah.
According to the report, there were some 7000 totally destroyed, or nearly totally destroyed, homes in all districts of Fallujah. 8400 stores, workshops, clinics, warehouses, etc. were completely destroyed. 65 mosques and religious sanctuaries were demolished. 59 kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and technical colleges were flattened. 13 government buildings leveled. Four libraries, that housed thousands of ancient Islamic manuscripts and books, were gutted completely. The number of human beings slaughtered in those buildings, of course, is any body’s guess.
Here once again is a reprint of the article that was one of the first to report the atrocities to the truth seekers in America, and to the world at large, amid a chorus of applause, accusations and denials. Lest we forget.
http://truthspring.info/2007/11/29/lest-we-forget/
Jonathan Stephenson on November 30th, 2007 11:16 am
There are a number of simple facts for Americans to come to grips with, No.1 The information about what is truly happening in Iraq is available for all Americans to see if they will look, most won’t, their guilt is on their own heads. No.2 When your leader is a monster and you are in a free society a lot more than prayer and fasting is required to get the message accross “Not in my name”, our guilt is on our own heads. No. 3 OK we can say the deed is done and what can we do about it now, “We can demand the impeachment, removal, and permanent incarceration of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and a host of other civilian and military leaders” their guilt is on their own heads! No. 4 Look at Myanmar, look at the Ukraine, when their people spoke and their governments ignored them, they took to the streets by the millions and in Myanmar some died, well until we “Americans” are willing to fight our own government to make it do as we wish, our guilt is on our own heads. No. 5 We are facing economic catastrophy due to the actions of these monstrous men, and when the shoe drops do we expect a world which we have ignored, brutalized, threatened, bankrupted, murdered their leaders, sold their people into slavery; do we really think this world will be merciful to us, will care about our loses, no, our guilt will be on our own heads! These are facts for the Citizens of the Great Satan, as the Iranians call us with good reason, do we still have time, can we be saved? Your actions will speak for you, will you act, or will your guilt remain on your own head!
Christy Asks
Dear Republicans,
You seem most eager to bring God into our political discourse, so let's totally go there. But, fair warning, we will also be speaking of the Devil. And Hell. I must assume if you believe in God, you must also then believe in hell.
How dare I, a liberal hawk (sometimes democrat), speak to your beliefs? Well that is simple, for 1. I also believe in God, and for 2, I was in the past one of you who justified my political beliefs with my interpretation of God. And just like you, somehow I even used it to justify supporting the death penalty.
But, God is no longer twisted just to support the death penalty, is He? Somehow the overwhelming support for our current wars, is ultimately justified among our Christian population using God and morality as the ironic excuse to kill and torture people. Somehow Saddam was 'evil' therefore, killing him, and violently overthrowing and occupying his country can be justified because it was the 'right' thing to do. 'Right' by whom? Right by GOD, ofcourse. That is what you mean by 'right'...right? Right.
Except, no Iraqi sees it that way and niether does 99% of the rest of the world. Instead, they see just the opposite. You can say it is because they just 'hate God', but no, they just hate evil people that start wars for lies that gets over a million people killed while expecting everyone else to clean up the mess.
Did she dare say we are evil? What am I suppossed to call people that invade countries that have never threatened them and violently overthrow and occupy people who have never done anything to any of US...? Don't worry, I fully count myself among the evil bastards that did do that very thing. FOR NOTHING we did this, except that God was on our side and it was 'the right thing' to do'. Led by The Son oF Providence, himself, George W. Bush. But, we all know it was his lies that started it, so what if he was lying about Providence too?
What if he is actually the son of the devil instead...? Would the spawn of Satan have acted any differently at all than George Bush has? If the Devil actually wanted to start Armegeddon, he would use a foolish tool EXACTLY like George Bush to do so. And he would have been spouting lies and the the word Providence. With fake preachers bought off with faith based welfare there to vouch for him all along the way.
When ever once has George Bush followed the teachings of Jesus Christ? Not one single time I can remember seeing. Just because the man sits in church does not make him a holy man. It does not even make him a GOOD man. Any fool can sit on a pew without falling off.
I keep wondering why we just can not as a nation confront all this corruption and wars for lies and bring back the moral center that is suppossed to guide us. It has slowly dawned on me that all of these things are not happening because we can not confront and deal with our problems. It is happening because of our own individual inability to look into the mirror and confront the evil that glares back.
Ask yourselves, why is it Bush has never truly been confronted with anything at all he has done or caused ? No real dissent is allowed at all, even from other republicans. He is not exactly a big scary man. They do not avoid confronting him because he is smarter than they. It is because NO ONE wants to see the evil that lies behind his rightous facade. No one here wants to admit that kind of evil has infected us all. If we know we will see evil in the mirror, why look in the mirror?
What happens to evil bastards like me, and you, who violently overthrew and occupied people for lies? People who continue to justify and hide those lies and then use GOD as thier ultimate excuse to trump any suggestion of accountability, what will become of those people once God gets them?
Oh, and God will get them, He will get us alllll. But what do you think will happen to those people that dare stand before Him and say they supported it all, in His name? Because it was the right thing to do by Him. Do you think God will be amused?
As I said, if you believe in God, you most certainly believe in hell, too. Except you republicans always seem to leave that part out when trying to justify political beliefs that require people die. All God, no mention of hell. As someone raised with southern baptists I find that quite extraordinary. It has to be deliberate, so no one will remember there are consequences if God really wasn't on your side after all.
How exactly will you use God to justify attacking Iran? When we bomb their people, will we be told because it is the 'right thing' to do? That is right, we are already being told exactly that. That we must bomb them, because it is the right thing to do. And if it isn't what God would want us to do?
As a Christian myself, I will no longer let any of us pretend bombing people is the 'christian' thing to do. Because it so obviously is not. We could say 'The Devil made us do it!', but only if the Devil is now named George W. Bush. And he very well could be. They don't call him the Great Pretender for nothing.
HOSTAGE SITUATION AT HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN OFFICE
Video From The Scene… Fox, MSNBC: Hostage Taker Demands To Speak To Hillary...Hillary Currently Campaigning In Virginia... Clinton Campaign Statement: “We Are In Close Contact With State And Local Authorities”…. Sharpshooters On The Roof... SWAT Team Moves In... Hostage Taker Is Man In His 40’s, Salt And Pepper Gray Hair…Local Obama, Edwards Offices Evacuated…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Hmmm, with this Hillary thing, has anyone see Ralpheh?
Ummm, Rossi.. Not sure I was ready to share that piece I wrote yet, but...ok.
Rossi and Monkey, packages are enroute, please let me know when they arrive. They made me pay twice to send Rossis and I was mad because the first was their mistake so the lady at the Post Office may hate me now.
Fake FEMA Reporters Promoted
You Messed Up. Now Here's Your Promotion.
Friday, November 30, 2007; 1:53 PM
On Oct. 23, the day of FEMA's now infamous phony news conference, the agency's former external affairs chief, Pat Philbin, announced plans to promote a number of people in the shop as part of an effort to build a "new FEMA."
Cindy Taylor, deputy director of public affairs, was to become head of a new Private Sector Office, Philbin said in his e-mail to staff members. And Mike Widomski would move up to replace Taylor as deputy director of public affairs.
Loop Fans might recall that both of them, posing as reporters, asked questions of acting Deputy Administrator Harvey Johnson. After our item, and an investigation of what Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called "one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government," we're happy to announce that Taylor and Widomski appear to have been disciplined, FEMA-style.
They've received the promotions they were in line to get.
So, according to the External Affairs Weekly report for this week, Taylor is director of the Private Sector Division, and Widomski is deputy director of public affairs.
Heck of a job.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001174.html?nav=rss_nation
When ever once has George Bush followed the teachings of Jesus Christ? Not one single time I can remember seeing. Just because the man sits in church does not make him a holy man. It does not even make him a GOOD man. Any fool can sit on a pew without falling off.
Amen
Sorry girlfriend, The question should be asked by people who declare themselves Christians
monkey said:
Hmmm, with this Hillary thing, has anyone see Ralpheh?
November 30, 2007 3:39 PM
@@@@@@@
1) I can't afford bus fare to Hillary's campaign office (although I have many questions to ask her)
2) I don't have salt and pepper hair....
3) my alibi - I am busy at You Tube...
BTW, the title to that article is ...
'Ok, then. Let's talk about God.'
Just in case anyone needs it.
HERE IS THE CONTROVERSIAL "DON'T ASK DON'T TELL" QUESTION BY A GAY GENERAL:
White House seeks to slash anti-terror funds
Homeland Security grants may be cut by more than half, documents show
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press.
The Homeland Security Department has given $23 billion to states and local communities to fight terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, but the administration is not convinced that the money has been well spent and thinks the nation’s highest-risk cities have largely satisfied their security needs.
The department wanted to provide $3.2 billion to help states and cities protect against terrorist attacks in 2009, but the White House said it would ask Congress for less than half — $1.4 billion, according to a Nov. 26 document.
The plan calls outright elimination of programs for port security, transit security, and local emergency management operations in the next budget year. This is President Bush’s last budget, and the new administration would have to live with the funding decisions between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30, 2009.
The Homeland Security department and the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is in charge of the administration’s spending plans, would not provide details about the funding cuts because nothing has been finalized.
“It would be premature to speculate on any details that will or will not be a part of the next fiscal year budget,” OMB spokesman Sean Kevelighan said, because negotiations between the White House and the Cabinet departments over the budget are not finished.
Proposal at odds with policies
The proposal to drastically cut Homeland Security grants is at odds with some of the administration’s own policies. For example, the White House recently promised continued funding for state and regional intelligence “fusion centers” — information-sharing centers the administration deems critical to preventing another terrorist attack. Cutting the grants would limit money available for the centers.
The White House’s plan to eliminate the port, transit and other grants, which are popular with state and local officials, would not go into effect until Sept. 30, 2008. Congress is unlikely to support the cuts and will ultimately decide the fate of the programs and the funding levels when it hashes out the department’s 2009 budget next year.
The White House routinely seeks to cut the budget requests of federal departments, but the cuts proposed for 2009 Homeland Security grants are far deeper than the norm. Congress has yet to approve the department’s 2008 plan.
“This budget proposal is dead on arrival,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. “This administration runs around the country scaring people and then when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, they say ’sorry, the bank is closed.”’
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22046131/
I can't even come up with a comment for this one...
There is no 'controversy' Ralph.
None that is not fake anyways.
They made it up to be 'controversial' so they do not have to focus on the question itself nor how badly it was responded too.
Slowing death rate in Iraq encourages Pentagon
(CNN) -- Although more U.S. troops have died in 2007 than any year since the war began in 2003, the U.S. military says the monthly tolls are declining, buttressing its claim of progress in the war effort.
Thirty-seven troops have died in November and 38 troops died in October. If the November number stands -- and more fatality reports could trickle in over the next couple of days -- the two-month toll of 74 will be the lowest since 2004, when 20 died in February and 52 in March.
U.S. fatalities for all of 2007 are 878, the worst year since the war began in March 2003. But the Pentagon says the monthly numbers reflect in part the effect of the "surge" -- the addition of 30,000 troops in and around Baghdad starting in midsummer.
The year started with 83 deaths in January and 81 in both February and March. The numbers jumped dramatically in the spring, to 104 in April, 126 in May and 101 in June. Those three months were the deadliest three-month stretch for U.S. troops in the war.
As the military established its new strategy, insurgent attacks killed 78 U.S. troops in July, 84 in August, 65 in September, 38 in October and 36 so far in November.
Along with the "surge," U.S. and Iraqi officials say strides have been made against Shiite and Sunni militants, Iraqi security forces have improved and grass-roots Sunni tribal opposition to al Qaeda in Iraq and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia cease-fire has grown. Watch how al-Qaeda has been driven out »
Authorities said the results of the surge are decreases in sectarian violence, drops in attacks and military and civilian casualties, and a belief among some Iraqi refugees who fled the war-torn country that returning home is an option because of increased security.
"We're in a definite period of progress," Brig. Gen. Ed Cardon, deputy commander for support, Multi-National Division-Central, said Monday.
Military officials like Cardon are quick to warn that conditions are still perilous and the effort to establish stability in the country continues.
"Everything's not 100 percent," Cardon said, noting recent attacks in Baghdad. "But it's all moving in the right direction."
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/30/iraq.us.deaths/index.html
Less death is still too much for too little.
Most of our reports here stress that the *surge is working* as reflected in the fewer deaths. Plus the thousands of Iraqis returning to pick up their lives.
However, the numbers of dead don't take in the Iraqi civilian casualties. The truth is there somewhere but we won't find it from the military bosses, but from Iraqi citizens and those combatants who have to go out and terrorise people in order to dig out the *terrorists*.
When citizens are killed, the American military say that they were killed because they failed to stop when directed to do so. Does anyone here find this about as believable as the Easter Bunny? After almost 5 years? Iraqi citizens who have seen and heard of many civilian deaths because the car in which they were travelling failed to stop? No way. They would be terrified. They'd stop without being directed to stop.
WITH RON PAUL'S STRONG SHOWING AT THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE THERE IS MORE TALK OF A KUCINICH/PAUL TICKET PEACE AND TRUTH TICKET
Just listened to this story on Weekend Edition (NPR) - scathing review of the situation in Guantanamo from the lawyers.
Audio will be ready at noon, but if you are anything but east coast, you may still be able to listen. It was maybe 9:20 or so.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16804483
More controversy about the Clinton campaign "perhaps planting" a question at the CNN You Tube debate - the Gay General who is on her campaign's GLTB steering committee.
Ralpheh
I'm glad if they got asked a potentially embarrassing or unsettling question, no matter how it got there.
By the way, according to Media Matters, both parties have had secret supporters on mainstream media who were supposed to be impartial. With Clinton it was Carville, and with Romney it was someone who worked with Bremer in Iraq.
People shouldn't plant questions but I'm basically over that debate.
Speaking of "planting," a group of college students were rounded up to go on Facebook and "secretly" support Target, never disclosing that they were asked to. http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com
What the hell does this mean, for Gods sake?
what happens to all their democratic voters in these states, do they take this sitting down, or am I not understanding this properly.
Democrats Strip Michigan of Delegates (to 2008 Convention for Early Primary)
Democrats Strip Michigan of Delegates (to 2008 Convention for Early Primary)
Democrats strip Michigan of delegates
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071201/ap_on_el_pr/primary_scramble
Oh dear. Sesame street can only show *good* characters, not the naughty ones, because their behaviour is *inappropriate*. There goes the fun.
The fun police have slapped an "adults only" warning on a new DVD of classic episodes, which featured a world in which children played in the street, a monster gorged on cookies and a bad-tempered puppet lived in a bin.
The episodes, made between 1969 and 1974, have been released in the US with the caution: "These early Sesame Street episodes are intended for grown-ups and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child."
More at: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/keeping-us-on-the-street-and-narrow/2007/12/01/1196394689031.html
Oh, of course, now I understand. The world is populated by very good people. There are no nasty, mean, greedy bullies amongst us. Give children a tainted view of the world so they'll never learn ways in which to cope. What utter bull this is.
By the way, according to Media Matters, both parties have had secret supporters on mainstream media who were supposed to be impartial. With Clinton it was Carville, and with Romney it was someone who worked with Bremer in Iraq.
People shouldn't plant questions but I'm basically over that debate.
@@@@@@
You can pooh-pooh all of Hillary's shenangins with rigging questions, taking dirty money from convicts, taking special interst money from defense contractors, as "everyone does it". But to the independent or undecided voter, either it convinces them not to vote for Hillary (if nominated) or not to bother to vote at all (both parties and all politicians being corrupt).
Hillary just keeps on giving the Repubs ammunition...
dumb....
Estimates of U.S. HIV cases rise 50 percent: reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government is raising its estimate of how many Americans are becoming infected with the AIDS virus every year by 50 percent, according to newspaper reports on Saturday.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now believes the number of new HIV infections each year is between 55,000 and 60,000 -- up from the 40,000 figure used for the past decade, The Washington Post reported.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0134528720071201?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews
On Sunday, DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen will square off with Karl Rove on FOX News Sunday to confront Rove directly on his outright lies about George Bush's war in Iraq.
Is this true? I saw it on DCCC site.
Why don't they have them dress up in Sumo outfits and square off in a ring?
Bush handed blueprint to seize Pakistan's nuclear arsenal
· Architect of Iraq surge draws up takeover options
· US fears army's Islamists might grab weapons
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2220126,00.html
GOOD NEWS FOR HILLARY ON THE GENERAL:
(the General is a long time advocate of this policy change and did not consult with Hillary's "people")
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Anyone who knows General Kerr will tell you: He doesn’t need any help to get his point across. He is a passionate, dedicated proponent of lifting the military’s ban and granting LGBT service members the same dignity and respect that all of our troops deserve. Since he first came out in 2003, General Kerr has pounded the pavement, advocating for repeal and building a movement in the veterans’ community to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Few people tell the General what to do . . . because the General can speak quite well for himself, thank you very much.
But the media last night went into full conservative spin, falsely reporting that General Kerr is an “advisor” to Senator Clinton’s campaign, and attempting to discredit him in the press. The truth, however, as General Kerr pointed out this morning on CNN, is that the Clinton campaign played no role in his question . . . did not know he had submitted . . . and was not tipped off that it would appear during the debate.
The person who ‘planted’ General Kerr’s question was – here’s the shocker! – General Kerr himself.
Rather than focus on the seriousness of General Kerr’s question, however, some in the conservative movement have decided to shoot the messenger because they did not like the message. Because they understand that even a majority of Republicans now supporting repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – and because they know the days of this unconscionable law are numbered – they have manufactured a controversy to distract from the real issue at the heart of the General’s question. Along the way, they have also blown the facts completely out of proportion.
Nonstop Theft and Bribery Are Staggering Iraq
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/middleeast/02baghdad.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
For woz and kangaroo:
The Howard bum is gone, period, it's pretty much official. Bennelong is no longer his.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7122936.stm
Ralpheh
I would never be so optimistic about the level of acceptance for gays in the military (or anywhere, for that matter).
I live in an area where immigrants come from countries that actively try to exterminate their LGBTs. And they want the same done in the US.
That's how California, of all places, got gay marriage banned. And that's why I am refusing to join any "immigrant rights" group on Facebook, even as the rest of the DCP contingent flocks to them.
A Change Ain't Gonna Come: Democrats Openly Embrace Aggression and Torture
Written by Chris Floyd
Friday, 30 November 2007
(UPDATED BELOW.)
It was a remarkable display even by the hideous standards that the Democrats have already set for themselves. Over the past week, the party's leaders have put forward not one but two architects of Bush Regime war crimes as standard-bearers for Democratic policies and principles. In so doing, they have aligned themselves as completely and publicly as possible with the Hitlerian war crime of military aggression in Iraq and the Stalinist filth of deliberate, calculated and brutal torture, as exemplified by (but in no way limited to) the sickening atrocities at Abu Ghraib.
First, the party leadership picked retired General Ricardo Sanchez to give the Democratic response to the president's weekly radio address last Saturday. Then, just three days later, frontrunning presidential candidate Hillary Clinton singled out Colin Powell as one of the personal emissaries she would send out to tell the world that "bipartisan foreign policy is back."
But as these incidents display so nakedly, "bipartisan foreign policy" has never gone away. It has continued to operate smoothly at the highest levels throughout the Bush imperium, greased by the blood money flowing to both parties from the spoils of war (H. Clinton now receives more legalized bribery from military-related industries than any of the Republican candidates), and by their shared vision of armed American hegemony over world affairs. (The latter is well-limned by Arthur Silber here.)
As Amy Goodman notes at Alternet, Sanchez was neck-deep in the blood-flecked slime where Pentagon brass and White House officials devised the torture regimens that were briefly exposed at Abu Ghraib. In addition to urging his troops to "go to the outer limits" in extracting information from the thousands of Iraqis they were sweeping up at random, and ordering prison officials to violate the Geneva Conventions by hiding designated prisoners from the Red Cross, Sanchez gave "detailed orders" for the infliction of carefully calibrated tortures used by CIA-trained, Reagan-backed Latin American tyrannies and death squads in the 1980s. As Alfred McCoy told Goodman:
http://www.chris-floyd.com/Articles/Articles/A_Change_Ain%27t_Gonna_Come%3A_Democrats_Openly_Embrace_Aggression_and_Torture/
For woz and kangaroo:
The Howard bum is gone, period, it's pretty much official. Bennelong is no longer his.
Hallelujah
By the way, the Guantanamo story I posted about this morning is now up with audio, if anyone is interested. It's shy of 7 minutes and worth the listen.
"On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases that could determine whether Guantanamo Bay detainees can go to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their confinement. Two corporate lawyers for whom work at Guantanamo has been a life-changing experience talk with John Ydstie."
You can listen now here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16804483
I don't agree with the above article. People like General Sanchez and Powell can be useful if they admit their mistakes.
A year ago, 60 plus percent of American opposed the war in the Pew poll but now it's more like 50/50.
So it's not right to blame the Democrats for being complicit without examining the intent of the people themselves, their tendency to turn a blind eye or believe propaganda about the "surge working" because violent deaths are reported to have gone down over a month etc.
This is a conservative country now post 9/11 and pretty much before that as well. Will it help us to polarize it more? There has to be some work across the aisles. It's an unfortunate reality.
We have to come back to the middle even, in baby steps, and hope things balance out even more. I understand the left being impatient but certain things will happen fast only when hell freezes over and that's just the way it is.
I like Amy Goodman and General Sanchez is no angel but that is exactly why it's valuable if even HE turns against the war.
Kangaroo
The House Dems also overwhelmingly voted for a new law that would increase surveillance on domestic dissident groups - and I don't see why Senate Dems wouldn't either.
If this farce passes, all members of DCP, CodePink, etc. can expect jail terms.
I was going to re-register as a Dem just so that I could pick someone other than Hillary. But now, with the Dems betraying the activist base AND dead-set on nominating Hillary, I don't see a point.
Carol
I will definitely give the NPR story a listen. Thanks!
Ally
I did just have someone send me information on that (new law) - it came from a rightwing Libertarian site and even THEY were concerned. What is the definition of someone who could be covered under such a law? Could be almost anyone, not?
Again the Congress passes these things but where are the people? Knuckling under again and what can you expect from a bunch who went around flag-waving after 9/11 without even realizing they could soon be had.
NMP
Good point - Congress no longer represents the will of the PEOPLE.
*(For more on just what H. Clinton and the Democrats are supporting, see "Eyes Wide Open,"
http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=480&Itemid=1
and Rich Kastelein's indispensable War Gallery.)*
http://www.chris-floyd.com/war/
UPDATE: Jon Schwarz has more on this theme, with a look at Lee Feinstein, the man who will most likely be Clinton's national security adviser if she is elected. Do read the whole thing, but here's an apt passage that Jon found in a NY Daily News story:
Another Foreign Affairs essay, co-written in 2004 by Feinstein, is also drawing scrutiny. It argues Bush's controversial doctrine of "preemptive" war - attacking an enemy before it attacks the U.S. - "does not go far enough."
Feinstein, a former Defense and State department official, supported ousting Saddam in 2003 and believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Since then he has championed the concept of a "duty to prevent," which justifies preemptive strikes. He said the U.S. should try to build coalitions, but that it can attack without allies' support.
Don't say we didn't warn you
http://www.chris-floyd.com/Articles/Articles/A_Change_Ain%27t_Gonna_Come%3A_Democrats_Openly_Embrace_Aggression_and_Torture/
Two Rescued Iraqi Orphans Die
Troops Rescued Mistreated Boys From Special Needs Orphanage; Two Dead Of Cholera
CBS
...As first reported on CBS News, the boys were found naked, bound and starving to death, while the kitchen down the hallway was packed with unopened food and piles of brand new clothing sat unused, CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan reports. One boy, Saddam Ali Abbas, was the first to die shortly after his rescue. Now, some five months later, two more boys are dead from cholera they contracted while under state care: # Thirteen-year-old Ismail Garib, who loved to show-off and interact with the soldiers. # And Omar Thanoon, whose name is the only detail orphanage officials have for him. Staff Sgt. Mitchell Gibson - part of the original rescue team - was shocked at the deaths and condition of the boys today...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/18/eveningnews/main2946007.shtml
Kangaroo. I thought I'd slipped into the twilight zone then - that was big news here, and everywhere else too for that matter - 6 months ago. For a minute I thought I was a *psychic*!
At last! I finally got it!! Thanks sparrow.
Kangaroo, having said that about the dreadful photo and story - it is truly appalling, the things people are doing these days. They can't surely be called representatives of humanity.
Helen Thomas vs Dana Perino - this is great!
with story, video and transcript
http://rawstory.com/email_story_thanks.html
Ally
Congress no longer represents the will of the people but my point is that alot of the people are even FURTHER to the right. You would never know it from the blogosphere but that isn't a good representation of the street yet. There are still more independents than either Democrats or Republicans and plenty of warhawks and apathetics.
Out with the old, in with the new...
New thread.
And woz...you're welcome! (Congrats on your professional style photo posting!)