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BCCI, Bush, Bombshells...
Rather than focusing today's thread header on a post-primary discussion, I want to direct you to something that's gotten overlooked during the past week, and that is the article in the Times UK written about Sibel Edmonds.
It revealed quite a bombshell!
I'm going to aggregate the links for you so that you can read up on it without my interpretation.
First, you need to read this whole Times article here.
Then you need to read Lukery's blog to catch up more on what you missed.
And then at Kos, on the current recommended list, Inky99 has posted a great diary with excerpts from the Times article and from Lukey's blog. (That's where you can push the "Recommend" button and keep the story out there.)
Here's an excerpt from the diary Daily Kos:
Chris Floyd describes this story as "one of the most important stories of the last quarter-century: how American officials sold nuclear arms technology to illegal proliferators -- including ideological allies of al Qaeda -- in return for bribes and other inducements. This widespread corruption has been protected from exposure by the highest levels of the U.S. government, which has gone to enormous lengths to protect the truth from coming out. The entire planet has been put at grave risk by the greed -- and geopolitical gamesmanship -- that lies behind this criminal enterprise, which actually is even more extensive, and goes back further in time, than the newspaper's remarkable revelations."
< br /> Floyd ties this story together with the history of the BCCI, past criminal figures, and the Bush family, including George W. Bush:
Edmonds' revelations should be seen in their larger historical context, as an outgrowth of the activities of BCCI, the "Bank of Credit and Commercial International," a supposed financial group that a U.S. Senate investigation called "one of the largest criminal enterprises in history." BCCI was a prime vehicle for clandestine nuclear proliferation, among many other illegal activities, and was also used by the CIA and the White House for various covert operations, including secret military and financial support for Saddam Hussein. It also paid numerous grandees of the Democratic and Republican parties to front its operations – and gave George W. Bush $25 million to rescue one of his many business failures.
Lukery, spread Sibel's recent bombshell across cyberspace. Yet with the pre-New Hampshire primary debates and buildup, nobody picked up on the story.
Some dots that need connecting in this story are of course George H. Bush, John Kerry's investigation of BCCI and the Iran-Contra affair, and Bill Clinton who stopped the investigation into BCCI after he was elected in 1992. And of course, George W. Bush is a dot there too.
Some other well-known names were revealed by Sibel:
- Richard Perle
- Douglas Feith
- Paul Wolfowitz (possibly)
And less familiar names include:
- Eric Edelman, Feith's replacement at the Pentagon
- former Congressman Stephen Solarz.
The dots all seem to lead in the same direction--information that the BCCI investigation was successfully revealing and that Bill Clinton stopped in it's tracks. They also continue in the direction of one, George W. Bush and many still in his cabinet today.
Then there's a different dot to connect. In an article about Bhutto that someone mailed me, the Express India noted that for months before Bhutto's assassination, Bhutto publicly announced that she would turn over A Q Khan to the IAEA. Here's what they said:
Washington, September 27: Ignoring the sharp reaction back home, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto stuck to her stand that she would allow UN inspectors to question disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan if she returns to power, saying it will dispel the impression that Pakistan is a "rogue" nation.
"...If under a PPP government the IAEA makes a request to us to give them access to A Q Khan, we certainly will do that because the People's Party will not cover up or collude in the cover up of proliferation activities," Bhutto said at the Middle East Institute.
and this is what the Express India said about Musharraf:
The Pervez Musharraf's regime has refused to grant access to the US, which is eager to question Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, after he admitted to passing atomic secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea in February 2004.
Bhutto's statement drew an angry response from the government as well opposition parties including Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaf, which dubbed it as against national interest.
Was AQ Khan being protected? If so, by who? In 2004, the news had been that A Q Khan had "turned" and was being forthright in helping us. He was released in 2006, yet serious questions still remain.
This, as you can see, is serious business, involving the spread of nuclear weapons and the criminal involvement of the highest officials in our land. It involves a serious coverup and abuses of power by the leadership in our country. And It involves our relationship with other countries, our policies and treaties with other countries, and it includes the dangerous spread of nuclear weapons.
Sibel's allegations would require criminal investigations and charges for some of the top level people in our government! Sibel's says that the West was infiltrated by foreign states seeking nuclear secrets, and furthermore, high level people in our government turned a blind eye to and worse were even helping countries such as Pakistan acquire bomb technology.
This whole matter is quite confusing. It involves a lot of research into the BCCI investigation that Clinton shut down. It involves more investigation into all Luckey's articles about Sibel. And it includes more investigation and research into the Turkish and Pakistan history and the more recent events there as well. Sibel Edmond's allegations seem to connect dots going back at least 20 years to both Bush Presidents and many in their administration, the CIA, and in Congress.
Clearly, we need to group together, research and discuss this, promote it, and get our political representatives and justice department to take action against those involved. With your help, we can dissect more of these facts and post them in the forum and join Lukery in his goal to keep get the information out there.
As Lukery said...we can not afford to let this get buried and hidden. It's too important.
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I haven't started a spot in the forum. (Need to figure out where.)
But seriously...this topic needs exploring and lots of help with getting the research and the facts out there.
I'll bet I posted about Bush's connection to BCCI about a hundred times on the Kerry blog during the '04 Camp Pain.
This story never gains traction for some reason.
Things that make ya go @%^$%(@^%!!!
I just read it. I had no idea she went ahead with it. But then I just had a horrible moment with my mom.
I called her and just started gushing it all out. What it was saying, and how Edmonds was in terrible danger and she stopped me and said 'Wait. I don't know what you are talking about."
I said, 'You know, Siblel Edmonds! FBI translator!"
She said 'Christy I have never heard of that person. I don't know who she is.'
I just started crying.
CNN; MORE IMPEACHMENT TALK,
All of these bastards in congress, including pelosi and conyers and reid... they have know about these accusations ALL ALONG.
NOW we know they are not just complicit in WAR CRIMES. They have sat back and deliberately did nothing as THEIR COLLEGUES sell our NUCLEAR SECRETS.
Jesus Christ!
No wonder hasterat retired.
SON OF A BITCH!
Watching Bush-Olmert press conference on CNN... Bush looks like he is completely lost up there.
He is listening to Olmert speak, standing next to him, and is all fidgety, lips pursed, looking around the room aimlessly, then down at the podium, then whenever Olmert looks at him, he shakes his head up and down affirmatively.
He is speaking now and can barely string together a complete sentenc... very weird.
I think I just lost all of my faith in my country.
Man, I cant wait to be rid of this totally undignified and unqualified president.
He just said, "Mr. Olmert, if there needs to be some pressure to move the peace process along, ya know me well enough to know, I'll be happy to provide it".
What a friggin douchebag.
Now he is railing about Iran being a threat.
... and all the while Condi and Stephen Hadley are smirking in the front row.
I completely loathe these people, I really do.
I do not trust Isrealis as far as I could pick one up and throw them.
By way of deception, thou shalt do WAR.
TEL AVIV, Israel - President Bush, seeking to pull Israel and the Palestinians toward serious negotiations, said Wednesday he has high hopes that a Mideast peace pact can be achieved before he leaves office next year, despite ongoing land squabbles and continuing violence.
"I come as an optimistic person and a realistic person — realistic in my understanding that it's vital for the world to fight terrorists, to confront those who would murder the innocent to achieve political objectives," Bush said as he began his first presidential visit to Israel.
more on...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22561444/
Hmmm, I think we should DEFINITELY confront those who have killed innocent people in the last 5 years to achieve political objectives.
Anyone?
Jesus, WAIT until you read the transcript of this press conference...
Bush is an ASS!
Raw story was reporting that he is there to be briefed on an Israeli strike on IRAN.
"Mr. Olmert, if there needs to be some pressure to move the peace process along, ya know me well enough to know, I'll be happy to provide it".
Sounds like everybody is on board then.
Well, except anyone who thinks.
Hmmm, I think we should DEFINITELY confront those who have killed innocent people in the last 5 years to achieve political objectives.
Anyone?
Same thing I asked, when I say it, there is 1.6 million innocent Iraqi people out there that have been killed in the last 5 years to achieve your political objectives, Georgie
Kangaroo...
I swear, everything Bush said about Iran or about terrorists or anything negative, if you didn't know better (and WE do), you would have sworn he was talking about his administration.
Read the transcript when it hits the press, it was borderline disgusting.
Kristol Debuts With Embarrassing Error In First NYT Column »
January 7, 2008 -- 12:40 PM EST // //
So those critics who argued against the appointment of Bill Kristol as a New York Times columnist because of the quality of his work -- rather than merely because of ideology -- will now have yet more proof that they were on to something.
That's because it looks as if Kristol's first column will already require a correction: Kristol seems to have attributed a quote to the wrong author.
In the column, Kristol quotes Michelle Malkin as follows:
Still, as the conservative writer Michelle Malkin put it, “For the work-hard-to-get-ahead strivers who represent the heart and soul of the G.O.P., there are obvious, powerful points of identification.”
Only Malkin is now claiming that she didn't write this. Instead, she notes, the quote actually comes from Michael Medved:
It’s not just Christian zealots who recognize Huckabee as “one of us”; I’ve spoken to non-religious Russian immigrant Jews who love him because he’s down-to-earth, plain-spoken and unpretentious non-celebrity. For the work-hard-to-get-ahead strivers who represent the heart and soul of the GOP, there are obvious, powerful points of identification. In this context, his embarrassing fumbles in reacting to Benazir Bhutto’s assassination haven’t destroyed his campaign: anyone who wanted a candidate with foreign policy credentials would have turned away from Huckabee long ago.
Not exactly up to The Times's standards, to be sure. Maybe the way to look at this is that the paper's standards were lowered to Kristol's level?
Bill Kristol, quota hire.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2008/01/whoopsie_kristo.php
I need a drink. We all do.
Things are way out of control. HE is out of control.
Has anyone faxed McGovern's Op-Ed to Pelosi's office??
I just called Pelosi's San Francisco office and the D.C. office and got absolutely nowhere....
"Some say, I'm THIS big of a jerk, others might disagree..."
U.S. slaps sanctions on Iranian general
By Sue Pleming
29 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on an Iranian general from the elite Qods force as well as three Iraqis living in exile in Syria and Iran for fomenting violence in Iraq.
The new sanctions come amid fresh tensions this week between Tehran and Washington after Iranian speedboats confronted three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, an action President George W. Bush called "provocative."
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement identified the Iranian general as Brig-Gen. Ahmed Foruzandeh, who it said "leads terrorist operations" against U.S. forces in Iraq and directed assassinations of Iraqi figures.
Economic sanctions were also placed on Syrian-based Al-Zawra television station. The sanctioned Iraqis were named as Mishan al-Jaburi, Ismail Hafiz al Lami and Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani.
"Iran and Syria are fueling violence and destruction in Iraq. Iran trains, funds and provides weapons to violent Shia extremist groups while Syria provides safe haven to Sunni insurgents and financiers," said Stuart Levey, the Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080109/pl_nm/iran_usa_sanctions_dc
you would have sworn he was talking about his administration.
Read the transcript when it hits the press, it was borderline disgusting.
I have thought that with most of his speeches, it is blatant Hypocracy, as you say that is totally disgusting.
you would have sworn he was talking about his administration.
Read the transcript when it hits the press, it was borderline disgusting.
I have thought that with most of his speeches, it is blatant Hypocracy, as you say that is totally disgusting.
Sorry about the double linking, but my computor is saying it is not posting link, for some reason.
US illegally detains more Afghans than ever at Bagram military base
The US government is continuing its global policy of illegal detention, abuse and torture of prisoners. This emerges from a New York Times article published January 7, which reports on conditions at the notorious Bagram military base in northern Afghanistan’s Parvan province. The US detention center now houses some 630 prisoners, an increase from a total of little more than 100 in early 2004 and some 500 in early 2006, and more than twice the number currently held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The deteriorating military and security situation in Afghanistan is driving the process, notes the Times. All but 30 of the prisoners are Afghans, allegedly captured in raids or on the battlefield....
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39946&hd=&size=1&l=e
speaking of stupid things to say:
Did anyone see Tom Delay on msnbc last night, as a talking head about the primary?
Someone - chris? keith? brian? tom? asked him what his definition of "moderate" was (after he said they didn't want a moderate candidate) and the first words out of his mouth were....
"someone who likes to think alot".
Speaks volumes for the party.
Resheq: Bush visit aims to support Olmert and perpetuate Palestinian division
He described George Bush as the Hitler of the 21st century, the most hated man world-wide, and the most stupid and the least popular among presidents of the United States accusing Bush of leading "international terrorism".
Palestinian Information Center
Senior Hamas political leader and member of the Movement's political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq said on Tuesday the visit of US president George W. Bush to the region has more to do with domestic politics than with the Middle East. "It is clear that the visit of Bush to the region is meant to embellish the tarnished image of the Republican administration before the American electorate who started voicing their rejection of administration's foreign policy especially in the Middle East", said Resheq in press statement he issued and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC...
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39937&hd=&size=1&l=e
How can new generations acquire an awareness of the preciousness of each individual when human life is so cheap, the dignity of all people so blatantly ignored and human potentials so suppressed?
Dan Jakopovich
Great is the hypocrisy of capitalist "civilization". On the one hand, big business and its media boast of their "democracy" and "freedom," while at the same time in today’s world they commit the greatest crimes. They spread rhetoric about human rights while stifling human dignity in a myriad of ways. Although several tens of billions of dollars would be enough to eliminate extreme hunger in the world, the USA annually spends approximately 600 billion dollars on its military budget, while approximately 15 million children are dying from starvation every year. It appears that it is still not in the interest of the system to eliminate poverty. War is profitable, and the profits coming from the war in Iraq are evidently more valuable than human lives....
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39931&hd=&size=1&l=e
I called nancys DC office, her people are such dimwits. I was told he was not 'allowed' to speak of the Edmonds case.
They finally transferred me to leave her a message.
I told her we knew she had done nothing as her collegues were involved in the HIGH TREASON of Buclear Proliferation and it was either time to do her job or get the hell out of the way.
Traitors. We are living in a time of traitors and treason.
I hate these people.
Nuclear even.
Must be nap time.
6 U.S. soldiers killed in explosion in house
4 soldiers wounded in incident during operation in Diyala, U.S. military says
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
BAGHDAD - Six American soldiers were killed and four wounded in a house rigged with explosives during an operation in Baqouba, the U.S. military told NBC News on Wednesday.
The soldiers were clearing the house when a huge blast killed the six — the largest single loss of life for U.S. troops in the Iraq war so far this year. It's not clear whether the house was booby-trapped or the explosives were remotely detonated.
The identities of those killed and their unit were being withheld pending notification of their families.
U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched a major operation against al-Qaida in Iraq in Diyala province, where Baqouba is situated, north of Baghdad, the military said.
Earlier Wednesday, the military reported the deaths of three other soldiers the day before in northern Salahuddin province, another target area of the new offensive against al-Qaida that was launched on Tuesday.
Since Jan. 1, 15 U.S. service members have been killed by hostile action in Iraq.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22575906/
'Why they hate us'
It's called Liberation, Georgies style.
Who is the terrorist, Georgie?
The information in this video and the news report that an Iraqi soldier killed a "US captain and another sergeant, and wounded three others" for brutalizing Iraqi women, one of which who was pregnant, should answer the question that many Americans have been asking for a number of years.
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=24625
Through the following video, which will give you a better idea of the atrocity that is being committed, you can follow US Troops while they conduct Iraqi House Raids:
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39924&hd=&size=1&l=e
House raids Iraq
The Iraq War - Clip 3: House Raids
6 U.S. soldiers killed in explosion in house
4 soldiers wounded in incident during operation in Diyala, U.S. military says
Makes me think of the link that I just posted.
'Why they hate us'
The most paranoid people are usually the guiltiest in terms of what they are paranoid about. This is certainly true of GWB. My view about GWB selling more nuclear arms to Israel in exchange for bombing the sh*t out of Iran? He can extend his term as president in order to do more damage to the world whilst shoring up his own wealth. A man with the power to make the world roll over and let him have his way, will not yield that power easily.
I knew about all of this - nothing surprised me. Why? Now I'm spooked. I'm sure I read this about a month ago. Or 2 months. Last year at any rate. Not this exact article with time line and all - but all about this woman and what she witnessed directly. What I didn't know was the part about Bhutto. However, that explains a lot. It also explains why a military coup leader is supported by those who stand to benefit financially and strategically. GWB believes that Musharraf is his ally. :O Yikes.
Time to let the American people know that the world views Bush, and therefore many Americans, as though he were Hitler and they were Hitler's followers-in-blind-loyalty. This information needs to be out there - in the streets and shopping centres - where regular people are. Media outlets won't do it. People must. Judging by the worst horror films that I could never imagine, that are screened on tv here in Australia - the word is getting out. Only these are not films of fiction. How I wish they were.
monkey's article tells us more Afghanis are held in Bagram. I am still having nightmares over this documentary which revealed the senseless punishment and torture of a poor, gentle and much loved Afghani taxi driver, beaten until his legs were... (from the autopsy report) "... in search of a word, pulped seems to be the closest". With *homicide* as the cause of death. And guess who has been charged with his murder. Well, it's impossible isn't it? All the officers at Bagram are guilty.
And they confess that on camera. And they confess that they read memos of instruction signed by Rumsfeld. And they state that they had Rumsfeld visit and congratulate them on their good work. Abu Grahib? Nothing by comparison with Bagram. And they reveal that GWB demands this is how their prisoners must be treated. And Bush smiles proudly for the cameras when he says that *we* have made certain that America and its friends and allies are now safe forever from *these people*. Sounds like a confession to me.
An Afghani family man, a gentle and loving taxi driver. One day he must have picked up the wrong men and they made him drive himself to Bagram, perhaps. Did these Americans pay his fare?
And Bagram is still in operation. Had the taxi driver lived, both legs would have needed to be fully amputated. But his poor body was such that he could not have lived according to the autopsy report. This I saw and heard in the 5 minutes I tried to force myself to persevere with. I have nightmares still. It is in my head. I couldn't watch the entire hour.
The American administration is just as lawless as any of the direputable warring tribes in Africa. In fact, the Bush administration makes the Janjaweed in Sudan seem like cherubs out on a picnic. Bush and Mugabe are certainly blood brothers. Until one of your candidates stands up and promises to incarcerate every single guilty one of the current administration; until this incarceration happens, your country can never heal. In the meantime we are all falling into economic chaos with America's lead.
I'm so incredibly ashamed of my country, I can hardly stand it... and I can hardly stand that I am so ashamed of my country.
Reich under our nose.
Woz, I hate to tell you but not even Bagram is the worst of it.
The mass graves are.
Not their mass graves... OURS.
I still totally believe that is why so many reporters are being DELIBERATELY sniped.
They are directly related.
Battling in the Bread Basket
A new U.S. military push is focusing on the militant stronghold of Diyala. An on-scene report.
Newsweek
Operation Iron Harvest began in the dark of night, as Blackfoot Company soldiers marched across the bridge leading from their K-Wal combat outpost in Shakarat and headed toward the village of Sinsil some 500 yards away. It could have been another nighttime mission, but in fact was the opening maneuver in a determined U.S. military operation to drive Al Qaeda in Iraq out of Diyala province. In the next few hours the Americans would narrowly escape an IED attack, face sniper fire and establish a beachhead for the expected final onslaught on Al Qaeda.
Hounded from Anbar province and other hiding places, the insurgents have descended on their longtime stronghold of Diyala to wage a murderous stealth effort built around IED detonations and high-profile suicide and bombing attacks. But the U.S. forces believe they are slowly beating them back and have deployed some 24,000 U.S. troops and 50,000 Iraqi Army soldiers to take part in the four-province operation. "We want to put a stake in [them] and be done with it," says Brig. Gen. James Boozer, assistant commander in chief of Multinational Division-North, in a briefing before the launch.
-snip-
At the first house a woman sat on the floor clutching a blanket as the 3rd platoon's leaders, Capt. Travis Batty and Sgt. John Shanyfelt, arrived. A man wearing a long traditional robe cowered in another room; an Iraqi interpreter incongruously named Peter translated instructions as a cigarette burned dully in his left hand. This was the first mission in a planned series called "bounding overwatch," in which a squad takes over a position by fire and another squad goes through it and seizes another position. To a civilian it sounds a good deal like leapfrogging.
At the second house Batty, Blackfoot Company First Sgt. Ken Brantley and others questioned the patriarch at length, as his family sat on the floor swaddled in blankets to ward off the cold. The temperature had dropped to 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and the soldiers huddled in a room around a kerosene heater as they waited to move on to the next objective. The Iraqi man eagerly answered every question in a torrent of words: Yes, Al Qaeda has many cadres in the area. No, he does not support the terrorists. Yes, he'd be interested in joining a Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) group if one were founded. And perhaps most significantly tonight: Yes, he had heard something about the Americans' upcoming operation and yes, he believes Al Qaeda also was aware of it. They had been tipped off by Iraqi Army elements, he said. Batty was neither dismayed nor surprised. Leakage is not atypical; the important thing is that Al Qaeda not know specifics of the overall campaign.
more...
http://www.newsweek.com/id/88766
They gathered the occupants: five women, four children, an older man with cataracts and a younger man, clad in a leather bomber jacket and obviously ill. Despite orders to sit down, one old woman, wearing a shapeless crimson burqa, walked confusedly toward the soldiers—a potentially dangerous lapse at a time when the number of female suicide bombers is on the rise and every move therefore suspicious. Eventually she joined her family squatting on the decorative rug. Meanwhile, the soldiers had come to suspect that the younger man, Maad Kalaf Darweesh, was Al Qaeda. "The house is too large, too nice and this area too bad," said Brantley. "And he speaks fluent English. Come on."
Under intense questioning Darweesh told the soldiers there were many IEDS planted nearby but that he didn't know where they were. He said Qaeda operatives were all over Sinsil and that they often wore masks, but they had abandoned their old black uniforms to better blend in with the citizenry when U.S. forces arrived. He said the insurgents had established a curfew that runs from 5:30 p.m. to 8 a.m., and he said local militias would like to become CLCs but are scared. He coughed incessantly and within a half-hour was under heavy blankets and receiving an antibiotics drip administered by a platoon medic. Brantley had interviewed a neighbor, and Darweesh's story checked out.
-snip-
Gen. Boozer soon arrived to assess the first stage of Iron Harvest, which is part of a wider offensive called Operation Phantom Phoenix. "It was very quiet last night," he said. "I thought we'd have a little more contact than this, quite frankly, but it never goes as expected. Our sense is that they're watching us. This is not a force that's going to go toe to toe with us. They have all the time in the world. This will be a long, slow, laborious process. They will wait us out and lure us in."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/88766
Yes monkey, "Reich under our nose." But don't be ashamed. Shame makes you sick. There are far, far more people who agree with you, than there are who agree with the "Reich". Unfortunately, they rarely vote. They are given no information, except that which is given to them by their *betters*. They are brainwashed to believe that they don't have a brain to begin with - and they must follow those who do know i.e. the richest in the country - they must know....they're successful, right?
We don't have to worry about the brainwashing - all we need is reason - and getting the word out. They have reason and they will be so relieved at last to get some sense being spoken to them. At least the word is getting out from Obama. We need Edwards to start getting it out more too. And the other dem candidates who never stood a chance. We need them to get the word out. And you, monkey - you can get the word out. And all of us here - we need to get the word out everywhere.
They must rise up in their millions and come out to vote. No matter how long the queues. Organise entertainment when voting lines are stretched out forever. Get the word out how valuable their votes are. Even the Republicans cheating will not be able to counter the millions and millions who have turned on their evil.
The word is out in the rest of the world and believe it or not, I'm getting the most compelling evidence and information from the United States - not from the UK or Australia or anywhere else in the world. The US documentaries that I've seen over this past 12 months have all been - proof positive - evidence - of the worst war crimes I've heard of since ? forever really. Waterboarding is nothing by comparison with the war crimes ordered by Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Rice et al.
Woz, ya kinda answered a question I was gonna pose to you and anyone else outside the U.S. bubble... what does the world truly think of us at this point?
Do we look like a nation that is being held hostage by the actions of our (dare I say), "leaders"? Or do we look too lazy and too dense to do the right thing by fighting back against what seems to be the obvious?
I mean, really, how on earth has this been allowed to continue, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, for nearly 8 years, in the face of overwhelming proof?
The Bangor Daily has just endorsed IMPEACHMENT OF DICK CHENEY!
http://bangornews.com/news/t/viewpoints.aspx?articleid=158675&zoneid=34
Christy - re the mass graves. That's what I'm saying. The crimes ordered by the administration are as bad as any others anywhere in the world. Why should Milosovic be facing court for ordering crimes against humanity, and GWB allowed to walk free? I don't get the contradictions.
Being rounded up and shot is terrible. But far worse is being tortured to death slowly over months, without a single moment of relief, whilst your muscles and bones are being systematically *pulped*. That is worse. If I had a choice - I would choose the fastest option of getting to the death part.
Bush: I'm 'nudging' Israelis, Palestinians toward peace
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- President Bush claimed credit Wednesday for "nudging" Israeli and Palestinian leaders toward a two-state peace deal just hours after he arrived in the region on a Mideast tour.
Bush, after more than two hours of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said he was pleased to watch Israeli and Palestinian leaders work hard to try to achieve the vision of peace in the region.
"The only way to have lasting peace ... is for the two parties to come together to make the difficult choices, but we'll help," said Bush during a news conference at the prime minister's residence.
"If you're asking me, 'am I nudging them forward,' well, my trip was a pretty significant nudge because yesterday, they had a meeting," said Bush.
more on...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/09/bush.mideast/index.html
Here is the full transcript of the Bush-Olmert press conference today in Jerusalem... I'm tellin ya, words dont do it justice, Bush was a classless a-hole with his arrogance...
My favorite quote from the dope, "I'm an optimistic people -- person."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010901716.html?nav=rss_politics
A little depressed about the recession and work and etc. & read this and it didn't help .. damn the criminals!!
Christy said:
The Bangor Daily has just endorsed IMPEACHMENT OF DICK CHENEY!
http://bangornews.com/news/t/viewpoints.aspx?articleid=158675&zoneid=34
Ja
@@@@@@@
I am going to try some faxes to Conyers and Pelosi's office tomorrow...
Perhaps we need an impeach Pelosi effort as well...
The root of the party vibe behind this weekend's Monkeyball Weekend celebration in South Florida is, to paraphrase a controversial T-shirt slogan, a New Orleans thing, which you might not understand. And the call-and-response, audience-participation, free-flowing atmosphere of a typical New Orleans show can be hard to explain for the uninitiated, but Ivan Neville, part of one of that city's most prominent musical families, would like to try.
"It's a love thing," says Neville, who can often be found playing with father Aaron and his uncles as part of the Neville Brothers, but who helps kick off the annual Monkeyball, held annually by South Floridian fans of the New Orleans band The Radiators, at Delray's City Limits with an all-star band featuring Tony Hall, Eric Krasno, Raymond Weber and Skerik.
"People (in New Orleans) come to shows to get their souls fed, and in New Orleans that's a huge thing. People feel that in a lot of places, but in New Orleans it's extra special. There's a whole vibe between the musicians, the people playing the music and the audience. I saw that growing up in New Orleans with the sights and sounds, with the marching bands and brass bands. When you go to someone's funeral in New Orleans, brass bands are there to march them out. Music is a part of everything. It's a part of life."
Music also is a part of life for the Monkeykrewe, who like the other Krewes of Radiators fans across the country, organize their own masquerade balls and weekend-long parties at which the Radiators are the star attraction.
Neville and his all-star band will play Thursday at City Limits and also Friday with the Radiators at Fort Lauderdale's Culture Room.
Neville says that he hasn't personally played in Florida "a whole lot" but acknowledges an unfortunate trait both South Florida and his native city of New Orleans share - hurricanes.
"We got that in common," he says. "Florida has been hit many times and bounced back. Obviously, New Orleans got hit real bad, and wasn't prepared for that kind of thing. We've been dodging bullets for years, and they always said 'This is the one that's gonna come get us.' But people just stayed there, and nothing happened. And finally, that happened, and that one was Katrina."
more...
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/accent/epaper/2008/01/09/a3e_feamus_neville_0109.html
My beloved party, which I founded but can't attend for the first time EVER because of my recovery from heart surgery, kicks off tomorrow and runs thru Sunday... I am SO there in spirit, but still, sad not to be there in person, and yet, GLAD to still be HERE in person.
Kind of amusing analysis of HIllary's crying episode in New Hampshire:
monkey said
And I am GLAD that you are still HERE on the planet - in person - monkey. I'm sure that we all are. Yes, it must be hard to miss that for the first time, but as you say - you are SO there in spirit. I'll bet your presence will be missed a lot too.
monkey said
The world bears responsibility too monkey. Especially Australia and the UK, but also the United Nations. Everyone knows what the US is doing and who is standing up to censure its leaders and place sanctions and all the other punishable methods used by civilised countries. Everyone knows about the torture of innocents, about the freedom to commit rape and pillage of citizens houses.
There should never be civilian targets. When was the last time that the United States lined up to wipe out military targets only?
How is it allowed to continue? We all - on all sides of the earth - wonder why we all remain complicit in this. My uncle has hated the Japanese since he spent 4 years as a POW; was put to work building the Burma Railway and was sent shuffling off home, a skin-draped skeleton at the end of the war. His hate runs so deep that it's surprising to think of him saying, George Bush is worse. That is truly a condemnation from one who would know.
I'm in the irc - if anyone feels like chat.
nmp - I know how you feel. Sometimes you wonder if you can get out of the depression and feel positive again. But we must. We must continue to feel optimistic so that we can enthuse others to do what we need to do to make change. Voting in a new president is just the first thing.
And sparrow. Wow. This is one helluva boulder on all our shoulders right now. How can we know about this and not do something? Like what? If a taxi driver can be taken and tortured to death - how can anyone be safe? They are out there with the power, the courts and the money and the means with which to make all lives miserable.
It's good to know it. We have to get the information out. I can't see how we can get the masses to move, without them having the information. But most of us - are moral human beings. Some of us even follow more Christian teachings than the self-proclaimed greatest Christian of the world has ever followed. WE are moral. And we do become outraged when we witness these appalling utterly corrupt acts.
Tell the people. The people who matter. Sibel's life must be in a great deal of danger right now.
Mann Coulter's Daddy died.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=24379
He set a poor example.
Ralpheh
I heard a story on NPR about Mrs. Clinton in the restaurant.
That is enough about it, for me.
Ralpheh
I heard a story on NPR about Mrs. Clinton in the restaurant.
That is enough about it, for me.
@@@@@@@@@@@
Hillary's phony cackling/laughing and now her phony crying, are as bad and phony as George Bush making believe he is a simple, down-home, good old boy from West Texas,,,,,
I AM SICK OF ALL THE CRAPP..... you apparently don't mind yet more crapp from our top elected officials. I do.
Regarding the Sibel Edmonds story:
Even the Times of London is keeping the name of the State Department official secret... I wonder someone will ever let the cat out of the bag
QUOTE:
Among the hours of covert tape recordings, she says she heard evidence that one well-known senior official in the US State Department was being paid by Turkish agents in Washington who were selling the information on to black market buyers, including Pakistan.
The name of the official – who has held a series of top government posts – is known to The Sunday Times. He strongly denies the claims.
Ralpheh
I don't watch TV partly so I can escape all that.
I am not interested.
Why Hillary Won
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119992615845679531.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
by Karl Rove
I am still undecided.
Does everyone get a chance to vote for a candidate in the primaries?
BAGHDAD - U.S. bombers and jet fighters unleashed 40,000 pounds of explosives during a 10-minute airstrike Thursday, flattening what the military called al-Qaida in Iraq safe havens on the southern outskirts of the capital.
The strikes, carried out above approaching troops, was part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a nationwide campaign launched Tuesday against al-Qaida in Iraq.
A military statement said two B-1 bombers and four F-16 fighters dropped the bombs on 40 targets in Arab Jabour in 10 strikes. Al-Qaida fighters are believed to control Arab Jabour, a Sunni district lined with citrus groves and scarred by daily violence.
“Thirty-eight bombs were dropped within the first 10 minutes, with a total tonnage of 40,000 pounds,” the statement said.
The attack came a day after the U.S. military reported that nine American soldiers were killed north of the capital in the first two days of a new offensive.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22587715/
I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
Study: 151,000 Iraqis died in conflict’s violence
Surveyors face danger to count casualties from 2003 to 2006
The Associated Press
About 151,000 Iraqis died from violence in the first three years after the United States invaded, concludes the best effort yet to count deaths — one that still may not settle the fierce debate over the war's true toll on civilians and others.
The estimate comes from projections by the World Health Organization and the Iraqi government, based on door-to-door surveys of nearly 10,000 households. Experts called it the largest and most scientific study of the Iraqi death toll since the war began.
Its bottom line is far lower than the 600,000 deaths reported in an earlier study but higher than numbers from other groups tracking the count.
The new estimate covers a period from the start of the war in March 2003 through June 2006. It closely mirrors the tally Iraq's health minister gave in late 2006, based on 100 bodies a day arriving at morgues and hospitals. His number shocked people in and outside Iraq, because it was so much higher than previously accepted estimates.
No official count has ever been available. While the U.S. military says it does not track Iraqi deaths, it has challenged some news reports of tolls from shootings and bombings as exaggerated — indicating it does in fact monitor fatalities.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22578010/
Ralph, I suggested impeachimg pelosi a year ago when it became obvious she was going to aid and abett multiple High Crimes, including War Crimes.
It kinda fell flat in here and I was jumped on because I am just soooo damn mean to miss. nancy. and to po'po' little mr. conyers too.
No matter what she needs to be removed. Her willingness to help DISMANTLE the US Constitution is among the most politically damning and COWARDLY acts I have ever seen.
White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said White House officials had not seen the study, but called the deaths of Iraqi citizens or any troops "tragic."
"We mourn the deaths of all people in Iraq as the country fights to defeat extremists ...," he said, contending that last year's surge of troops is reducing civilian deaths.
The United Nations paid more than $1.6 million for the new study. Results were published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.
By any count, the toll is "massive," wrote Catherine and John Brownstein, statistics experts at Yale University and Harvard Medical School, respectively, in an accompanying essay. It likely still is low, because many Iraqis have fled and aren't there to report deaths and because Iraq is too dangerous to survey some areas.
A poignant example: One statistician was killed during the project and another, shortly afterward.
You know, to those who felt I was being unfair THEN to pelosi and conyers...
Guess what I say NOW?
Nancy Pelosi is a TRAITOR.
And john conyers is a weak old coward.
Abd that is how both of them will be remebered. The ones who could have stopped george w bush but DID NOT, they will forever be known for it.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - President Bush on Thursday predicted that a Middle East peace treaty would be completed by the time he leaves office, but undercut that optimism with harsh criticism of Hamas militants who control part of the land that would form an eventual independent Palestine.
Bush said he’s convinced that both Israeli and Palestinian leaders understand “the importance of democratic states living side by side” in peace, and noted that he has a one-year deadline for progress on his watch.
“I’m on a timetable,” he told reporters. “I’ve got 12 months.”
more on...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22587081/
I thought His Stupidness didn't do timetables... but I know he does long division.
nmp... wow, exactly one year to go...
CNN: 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry will endorse Sen. Barack Obama this afternoon, sources close to Obama say.
I am going with Obama.
http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/politics/2008/01/10/Obama.Kerry/
My son was right.
I also thought Kerry would endorse Obama when I saw that he had given him his cool bodyguard, the one O'Reilly went off on.
I just got this from a former Bill Clinton intern in Paris. I told him I was going with Obama but would support Clinton if she actually takes the nomination.
John Kerry soutient Obama
Le candidat démocrate malheureux à la dernière présidentielle américaine, John Kerry, soutient Barack Obama et devait l'annoncer dans l'après-midi.
John Kerry, 64 ans, avait remporté les primaires démocrates en 2004 en l'emportant notamment sur John Edwards, qui était ensuite devenu son candidat à la vice-présidence. M. Edwards tente une nouvelle fois sa chance cette année.
Il y a quatre ans, le soutien du candidat malheureux de la présidentielle de 2000, Al Gore, n'avait pas porté chance à Howard Dean, qui briguait alors l'investiture démocrate, mais dont la campagne s'était écroulée après de premières défaites dans le processus des primaires, en Iowa puis dans le New Hampshire.
Barack Obama, 46 ans, a rejoint l'ex-Première dame Hillary Clinton en tête d'un sondage national sur l'investiture démocrate.
Source : AFP
:
Ralpheh
I don't watch TV partly so I can escape all that.
I am not interested.
@@@@@@@@@@@
The crapp goes on whether you watch TV or not. The crapp is going on now in Iraq, Afghanistan and Washington. It is going on now despite the fact that BOTH OF US are not watching television..
And, as we see, the crapp is seeping into National Public Radio and the New York Times...
Ralpheh
I know all that.
Republicans need to know it.
Wake me up when we storm the strongholds.
IMPEACHMENT MARCH IN D.C.??? JANUARY 12TH?
Post #1Takoma Artist (Washington, DC) wrote
13 hours ago.
please circulate this flyer!
Join the Impeachment March in DC this Saturday, January 12th!
On Saturday, January 12, sixty year-old patriot John Nirenberg will walk the final leg of his historic march from Boston to Washington, DC to urge Congress to hold impeachment hearings on Bush and Cheney. Join us as we welcome him to DC with a march to the seat of the original U.S. Constitution at the National Archives. To find out more about John, read his blog entries, and track his progress, go to http://www.MarchInMyName.org
For those who want to walk 5.7 miles with John, see 1) National Arboretum route; For those who want to walk 1.42 miles with John (or who are coming by train or Metrorail), see 2) Union Station route ; for those who only want to participate in the rally following the march, see 3) National Archives Rally.
mimnikg_0.jpg
1) National Arboretum Route
Approximate start time: 9:00 am
Distance: 5.7 miles
Estimated walk time: Three hours
Meetup point: Parking lot of New York Avenue side of the Arboretum (see map)
Public transportation: No direct Metrorail access. Take Metro to Stadium Armory stop; B2 Metrobus stops two blocks from Arboretum. See directions.
Driving: Lots of parking spaces available (but remember that you'll have to have a way back to get your car!). See directions.
Description of site: Open to the public at 8:00 am. Beautiful grounds. Restrooms in Visitors' Center. No food sold anywhere on site.
2) Union Station Route
Approximate start time: 11:30 am
Approximate walking distance to National Archives: 1.42 miles
Approximate walking time: 45 minutes
Public transportation: For Metrorail, take Red Line to Union Station. For Amtrak and commuter trains , Union Station is the main terminal for Washington, DC. Very easy.
Driving directions and parking info: Some paid parking; very limited street parking.
Description of site: Spectacular building with many shops, food vendors, restrooms. Heavy tourist traffic. Bring lots of signs!
3. National Archives Rally
Estimated Start time: 12:30 pm
Meetup point: Constitution Avenue side of building
Public transportation: Take Metrorail Green or Yellow line to Archives/Navy Memorial stop.
Driving: Don't do it!!
Description of site: Located on National Mall, near Smithsonian, National Gallery. Limited food options.
For further information on the march, lodging suggestions, volunteer opportunities, and information on related activities being planned, email:takomaparkibc.gmail.com
Hey Karen,
Ever thought of starting a REAL newspaper in the deep south?
I know. Silly, huh?
But, it would accomplish every single political goal we all hope to accomplish... AND..
A REAL newspaper down here would sell like hotcakes. Money money money.
Fair warning though, certain segments of the population might firebomb your offices from time to time. Depending on how far you are willing to go to spread the truth.
Can you imagine the heart attack my diapered whoremonger of a senator would have if he thought a REAL newspaper was willing to report the facts? HAHAHA!
And he would hardly be the only coronary.
Speaking of heart probs.
Monkey, I am damn glad you are still around too.
I feel horrible my Monkey Ball poster did that to you.
Fox News Caves, Allows Ron Paul Into Debate
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/308330.html
The imperfect storm
From Where I Stand by Joan Chittister, OSB
There are two winds blowing around the globe. The first, fundamentalism, brings with it the guarantee of absolutism and security. The second, inclusiveness, brings with it the promise of a new kind of future, ambiguous certainly but expansive, at least. Those two winds clashed last week and the whole world is waiting to see which of them is stronger.
When Benizar Bhutto lay assassinated in Pakistan on December 28, 2007, news agencies around the world told the political story. Most of them missed completely the cultural story that underlies it.
The media concentrated almost entirely on the death itself. Bhutto was a political figure who had become a political icon and symbol of new life for the country. With her dead, there was plenty of death to go around.
There was, for instance, the death of peace that came with the sudden death of a popular political candidate in the already tension-filled country of Pakistan. Not only was Bhutto dead but so were over 40 other Pakistanis thanks to the riots that followed.
There was, too, the death of confidence in government as a whole. Over 400 government buildings, they told us, were torched in the chaos that followed the loss of Bhutto to the political life of the country, Polling places were destroyed, a symbol of the death of free elections, a clear statement of the gap between the powerful and the powerless there.
We all saw, as well, the death of integrity on world-wide television. Two doctors -- one who had treated Mrs. Bhutto when she was admitted to the hospital, and one speaking as spokesperson for the government the following day -- gave separate and different accounts of her death. The first described the condition of the body and the bullet wounds that killed her. The second told the world that Bhutto was brought into the hospital "her eyes rolled back in her head and with no sign of pulse -- both signs of cardio-pulmonary arrest" brought on, we were supposed to believe, by striking her head on the rim of the sun roof of her car as it lurched forward after an explosion. Obviously one of those doctors was surely not telling the truth. Clearly honesty had died on a grand scale right before our eyes.
But another kind of death, largely unnoted in the public press, gave sign of the seriousness of the other four. With the death of Benizar Bhutto the hope of women for justice, for full human development, for recognition and participation in the public arena, died a bit everywhere, too.
Once prime minister of a secular government, Bhutto was now a candidate for re-election in a country tilting dangerously toward theocracy. When warned that her life might well be in danger, Bhutto's response, according to a BBC radio interview (Jan. 3, 2008) was that "no Muslim would kill a woman." Maybe not. Probably no good Catholic or Jew or Hindu or Buddhist would either. But being Catholic, or Muslim -- or member of any other orthodox religious ilk for that matter -- has little or nothing to do with it. Instead, fundamentalism, the first wind circling the globe, is the real problem.
The thought of a woman leader, meaning a leader who is a woman, simply cannot be stomached by religious fundamentalists. According to The Washington Post, (Dec. 28, 2007, "Bhutto Targeted by Many Militant Groups) "some members of Pakistan's intelligence establishment resented the idea of a woman leading a Muslim nation." After all, fundamentalists teach, God does not want women acting like real human beings -- making decisions, having ideas, developing leadership skills. The God who gave women the same brains that God gave to men apparently gave brains to women only to taunt them, to mock them, to make certain that they understand the depths of their human deprivation. To these people, women are meant to be the servants of men, not the leaders of men. Equal, they say, but "different." These people will do anything to still a woman's voice, to kill a woman's public influence.
CNN's special investigative report, "Lifting the Veil," is clear about what happens to women where the Taliban, Islam's fundamentalist sect, seeks to be -- pretends to be -- the real, the only, expression of Islam. In these places, women are imprisoned in their homes, allowed in public only with a man or at least heavily shrouded, forbidden to drive or travel alone, left uneducated, married off as children and abandoned on the streets when widowed. It's a bleak, desperate situation. "God's will," they say -- as have so many before them.
In theocratic governments, religions other than the state religions exist only by virtue of the fiat of the state and the state is devoted to maintaining the laws of the religion that underlies it. Too bad for everyone else. Like women.
Absolutism is the old wind.
Inclusiveness is the new wind.
And this new wind is blowing, as well. Benizar Bhutto, although a most religious woman, was also the proponent of a secular democratic government. In the secular state, all religions enjoy equal protection under the law. All people are safe from the excesses of religion. This is the wind of justice and equality. And it is equally religious as well as comfortably secular.
This is the wind that comes with those who believe that God created all people with human rights, that God calls women, as well as men, to go on doing God's will, to continue co-creating the universe, to be moral agents. To vote, to minister, to teach, to think, to lead.
As a result, women everywhere, propelled by religion, are calling on both their religions and their governments to realize that as long as women can be suppressed, ignored, discriminated against, used, abused and made invisible -- all in the name of God -- humanity is only half human, government is suspect and religion itself is in danger of betraying itself.
Until the women's agenda is addressed, until things change for women, until the Benizar Bhuttos, the Hillary Clintons, and the Bishop Kathryn Jeffers-Shorri's of the world, leaders all, are the norm, not the exception, until domination and female invisibility stops being blamed on God, oppression will be the norm. Then nothing may change for women, true, but nothing will change for the rest of the world either. The fact is that whether they realize it or not, in the end, oppressors limit themselves as much as they limit those they oppress.
From where I stand, it seems clear that religions that only pretend to be religions ride on the past wind. Just look around you at all the women's groups rising up all over the world. In the face of religious fundamentalism, all of them -- like Benizar Bhutto -- pay the price, of course. But, has anyone noticed, these groups of women leaders are not going away.
Be not mistaken: There is clearly another wind blowing that no number, no kind, of assassinations can quell
http://ncrcafe.org/node/1529
Survey: Diplomats Oppose Iraq Policy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010908M.shtml
The Associated Press reports, "Nearly half of US diplomats unwilling to volunteer to work in Iraq say one reason for their refusal is they don't agree with Bush administration's policies in the country, according to a survey released Tuesday."
Congressman Robert Wexler | A Surge of More Lies
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010908S.shtml
In Politics.gather.com, Congressman Robert Wexler writes: "A new troubling myth has taken hold in Washington and it is critical that the record is set straight. According to the mainstream media, Republicans, and unfortunately even some Democrats, the President's surge in Iraq has been a resounding success. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth."
Decision a Win for Sick Lab Workers
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010908LA.shtml
In The San Jose Mercury News, Betsy Mason says, "Former Lawrence Livermore Laboratory workers who became sick from exposure to radiation won a victory Tuesday when a petition to speed up compensation claims was recommended for approval."
The Surge has failed. If my colleagues gullibly accept the moving rationale for the Surge, just as so many have for the war itself, we will have failed as well.
A Surge of More Lies
by Congressman Robert Wexler
A new troubling myth has taken hold in Washington and it is critical that the record is set straight. According to the mainstream media, Republicans, and unfortunately even some Democrats, the President's surge in Iraq has been a resounding success. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
This assertion is disingenuous, factually incorrect, and negatively impacts America's national security. The Surge had a clear and defined objective - to create stability and security - enabling the Iraqi government to enact lasting political solutions and foster genuine reconciliation and cooperation between Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds.
This has not happened.
There has been negligible political progress in Iraq, and we are no closer to solving the complex problems - including a power sharing government, oil revenue agreement and new constitution - than we were before the Administration upped the ante and sent 30,000 more troops to Iraq.
Too many Democrats in Congress are again surrendering to General Petraeus and have failed to challenge the Bush Administration's claims that the surge has been successful. In fact -- it is just the opposite.
The reduction in violence in Iraq has exposed the continuing failure of Iraqi officials to solve their substantial political rifts. By President Bush's own stated goal of political progress, the Surge has failed.
Of course raising troop levels has increased security - a strategy the Bush administration ignored when presented by General Shinseki before the war in Iraq began - but the fundamental internal Iraqi problems remain and the factors that were accelerating the civil war in 2007 have simply been put on hold.
The military progress is a testament to the patience and dedication of our brave troops - even in the face of 15 month-long deployments followed by insufficient Veteran's health services when they return home. They have performed brilliantly - despite the insult of having President Bush recently veto a military spending bill that enhanced funding and benefits, and increased care.
Despite the efforts of American soldiers, the surge alone cannot bring about the political solutions needed to end centuries of sectarian divide.
As it stands, little on the ground supports the assertion that Iraqis are ready to stand up and govern themselves. Too few Iraqi troops are trained, equipped and combat ready, and they cannot yet provide adequate security. Loyalty is also an issue in the Iraqi army as Al Queda and Sunni insurgents infliltrate their defense forces. The consequences turned deadly just recently when an Iraqi soldier purposely killed two U.S. troops.
On the streets of Baghdad and Mosul, the Sunni and Shia factions have paused their fighting, awaiting guarantees and protections that have not yet been delivered. As Iraqi refugees return, there is no mechanism to help them rebuild their lives, nor recover their now-occupied homes. Neighborhoods once mixed are now segregated.
In Northern Iraq, Kurdish terrorists conducting nefarious operations across the border into Turkey have compelled our NATO ally to strike at bases, inflaming tensions between Baghdad and Ankara.
The surge is working? We suffered more U.S. casualties in 2007 than in any other year of the war. We can't afford any more of this type of success.
How can we create the situation that is most likely to deliver political progress in Iraq? Not by continuing the surge and occupation. Our best chance (there is no guarantee) is by putting real pressure on the Iraqi government to force action. Telling the national and local Iraqi leaders that we are withdrawing our troops can help accomplish this goal. Today, the majority Iraqi Shia government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has little incentive to act when American troops remain in the country to provide security and stability.
Based on the Administration's plan, John McCain's proposal of a 100-year US occupation could be a reality!
The Democratic Congress must act aggressively to first cut off funding for the surge and then the entire war. Many of my colleagues avoided a showdown with the administration because they mistakenly believed such a fight would endanger the safety of the troops.
In fact, we must accept that every soldier killed or injured in the coming months should have already been home. Every billion dollars of war-appropriations we spend from here on should have been spent on genuine priorities here at home such as children's heath care.
Enough is enough: While the Administration over-commits American forces in Iraq, we see Al Qaeda-regrouping and Osama Bin Laden still at large. We remain seriously bogged down in Afghanistan, and are witnessing a crisis in Pakistan that has left a nuclear country on the brink of a meltdown. America's resources and attention are desperately needed elsewhere and our soldiers must no longer be needlessly sacrificed as we wait for Iraqis to stand up.
The Surge has failed. If my colleagues gullibly accept the moving rationale for the Surge, just as so many have for the war itself, we will have failed as well.
To contact me or for more information, go to www.wexlerforcongress.com .
Nine US Soldiers Die in New Iraq Offensive
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011008J.shtml
Christopher Chester reports for The Associated Press, "Nine American soldiers were killed in the first two days of a new offensive to root out al-Qaida in Iraq fighters holed up in districts north of the capital, the US military reported Wednesday."
Who is a more honest man, Keith Olberman or George W Bush?
Anyone who said George Bush as the answer to this question, should be immediately taken into the street and shot, at point blank range, clean between the eyeballs. Their remains should be fed to rabid starving dogs and their families should be made to watch. What do you retarded George Bush lovers think about that? People who support George Bush hate sensible people. They love liars and will defend the criminals that poorly run the country.
http://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080107105910AAOhVYF
Olbermann Vote Ron Paul
Olbermann on the New Hampshire primary polls
REGARDING IMPEACHMENT
3 Faxes went out to Pelosi's district office in Washington:
1) The Bangor editorial
2) The Michaud article
3) The Wexler Op-ED
Another fax, McGovern's WaPo editorial, went, in all its glory to the Speaker's office.
Look what I did today!
http://christysartblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/matyr-bhutto.html
PS. Fax them again tommorrow Ralph.
Eventually someone there might read them.
Christy
Great job on the Bhutto portrait!
This is notice that barring any last-minute emergencies, I *will* attend this year's Netroots Nation (formerly YearlyKos), come July, in Austin.
Just reserved my hotel room, and will send in my registration before too long.
Anyone else coming to Austin - be prepared to put up with me!
U.S. lodges diplomatic protest against Iran
Protest reinforces complaint of harassment of Navy ships in Persian Gulf
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Iran over a weekend incident in which Iranian speedboats harassed U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, the State Department said Thursday.
The protest, which repeats public U.S. complaints about the "provocative" action, was sent to the Iranian Foreign Ministry through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which looks after U.S. interests in Iran, deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. He could not say if the Iranians had actually received and acknowledged receipt of the protest
"We have ... prepared and given to the Swiss a diplomatic note formally protesting this incident," he said. "It reiterates the points that we have made publicly in the last few days."
"We certainly don't want to see the Iranians taking any kind of provocative actions or provocative steps against our ships or against any ships that are transiting what is a primary international waterway," Casey said.
He dismissed Iranian claims that there was nothing unusual about Sunday's incident in the Strait of Hormuz as well as a videotape aired by Iranian television on Thursday that appeared to be an attempt to show there was no confrontation between the vessels.
"We all understand what happened in this incident," Casey said.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22593690/
Great job on the Bhutto portrait!
Hell yeah!!
When are the Nevada, South Carolina primaries please, I think I heard 15th but not sure if that is right
U.S. lodges diplomatic protest against Iran
Protest reinforces complaint of harassment of Navy ships in Persian Gulf
Ohhhhhh Hell, when do they finally get it, how ludicrous to the rest of the world, that they really are?
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Sir Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest and was the first man to drive a tractor across Antarctica to win renown as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers, has died, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced Friday. He was 88.
His 1953 climb of Everest with Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay made him an international hero. Norgay died in 1986.
The gangling New Zealander devoted much of his life to aiding the mountain people of Nepal and took his fame in stride, preferring to be called "Ed" and considering himself just an ordinary beekeeper.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22597658/
Officer’s Abu Ghraib conviction tossed out
Military’s action brings complaints of whitewash in prisoner abuse case
BALTIMORE - The Army has thrown out the conviction of the only officer court-martialed in the Abu Ghraib scandal, bringing an end to the four-year investigation and drawing complaints from human rights activists of a Pentagon whitewash.
Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan was cleared this week of any criminal wrongdoing by Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, commander of the Military District of Washington. Jordan was instead given an administrative reprimand, a blot on his record.
Barring any startling new information, the decision means no officers or civilian leaders will be held criminally responsible for the prisoner abuse that embarrassed the U.S. military and inflamed the Muslim world.
-snip-
Complaints against decision
But human rights advocates complained that the case did not go higher up the chain of command and said the decision sent a troubling message.
"It could not be more clear that prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted from policies and practices authorized by high-level officials, including military and civilian leaders," said Hira Shamsi, an attorney with the National Security Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Although the abuse was systemic and widespread, the accountability for it has been anything but."
Mila Rosenthal, deputy executive director for research and policy for Amnesty International USA, said: "I think we're emboldening dictators and despots around the world. We're saying that it's OK to allow these kinds of abuses to flourish."
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22594842/
Oh, this is gonna go over well...
oh wow! Kerry to endorse Obama! I hope so.
Kerry DID endorse Obama today, woz, it actually happened.
Quite a slap in the ace of his running mate from '04 if ya axe me, but Edwards took the high road.
Edwards responded to word of the endorsement with a diplomatic statement: "Our country and our party are stronger because of John's service, and I respect his decision. When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22590831/
The Republican National Committee pounced on the endorsement to brand Kerry and Obama "liberal soul mates."
Gee, that's imaginative.
I contacted the Wexler campaign and got a copy of Wexler's impeachment video/plea. If anybody wants it, I can email it to you. It is in Quick Time...
I think I will put this video on local Cable Access.
BTW: I asked the young fella with the Wexler campaign what the chances were for impeachment hearings; I said doubtfully, "Is there any hope?" He said somewhat confidently "Yes, or we wouldn't be doing it."
Oh, this is gonna go over well...
Ohhhhhhh Yeah.
Wow, the wheels have really come off Pravda FOX Propaganda Machine when you have Frankie “The Hair” Luntz on telling the FOX audience that his focus group wants change and they want Democrats.
Watch Sean Hannity desperately try to spin this as a failure on the part of the Republicans for being too much like Democrats and not embracing the Republican platform more:
SH: To some extent, Republicans, I guess brought a lot of this on themselves when they abandon some of their principles. They still haven’t built that border fence, they’ve been spending much more money than they’ve been taking in. They have been seen as “Democrat-lite” for a long time. Is there any indication at all that they have gotten the message that they need to go back to the conservative roots?
FL: Bluntly, no. And this is why I’ve said on this show, to you and to Alan, that the Democrats have an advantage in the fall. Because those key independents-people who make up the difference-right now, they’ve shifted over and they’re looking at the Democratic candidates more than the Republican candidates.
SH: But that’s interesting. Are they going to vote because they want their taxes up? Will they vote…do they really want “retreat, defeat” in Iraq? Do they really want nationalized health care? Do they really believe the government’s capable of providing that? Are they answering those questions?
FL: What they really want is accountability and they don’t think they get that from the Republicans.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/
HAHAHA!! That is brilliant!
I can't think of a higher compliment than "liberal soulmates." I would support a ticket like that.
I read that Kerry and Edwards disagreed on some tactical things and that Clinton dissed him for pointing out the true fact that it is smarter to go to college than to Iraq, which Bill sure took advantage of during the Vietnam era, as did Edwards.
Just heard from Sebastien, who worked for Clinton, and he would support Clinton/Edwards ticket, as he says Obama is "beautiful" but not experienced, much as he felt about Segelene Royal in France, who was then beaten by the Republican-equivalent Sarkozy. He feels there is a parallel there.
This will be interesting, but I did find myself emotionally swayed by the endorsement, the timing of it to help Obama. There is also the African connection with Teresa and John wrote a paper in 8th grade on civil rights (as did I).
I am comfortable with Kerry endorsing Obama and am leaning Obama. I don't feel he needed to be loyal to Edwards because that was his running mate. He was pressured by the so-called "netroots" and focus groups, and Gephart was almost chosen anyway. He is as good on labor as Edwards, at least.
C'est la vie.
Karen and I are in the chat now... (though Karen is in the midst of laundry)
In France, not only was Royal a mediocre candidate, but the entire left was in a mediocre state, offering no clear-cut solutions to the economic doldrums that the voters wanted/needed. That's how Sarko won, even with a far-right spoiler like Le Pen.
South Korea last month was the same story. The left was practically bankrupt in new ideas, even though it was not as incompetent as the right painted it to be. The Koreans also had a fascist spoiler in the form of Lee Hoi-Chang, yet the "center-right" candidate Lee Myung-Bak still won in a landslide.
I don't think the US is in the same situation as the above two. The Democratic Party's weakness is not in its lack of ideas, but in its inability to stand up to the Republican assaults (i.e. Swiftboating of Kerry, framing the debates). The Dems simply need a better PR/media machine. As for Obama, I believe that he may be short on experience, but not in knowledge/ideas.
Ally
It needs to well organized.
I also heard a good source (from someone in the French mayor's office) that Sarko's wife (one of Mick Jagger's exes) is quite pregnant, and from before Sarko was divorced. Now some think that sort of thing would only be a scandal in America, but not true. The French resent it very much because the guy is photographed cavorting all over when they are worried about their economy and other problems.
NMP
Did hear that Sarko's popularity is already taking a nosedive, over the love affair and over some of his reforms.
Karl Rove takes aim at Obama
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Karl Rove is getting tough on Barack Obama.
The man behind President Bush's two successful presidential bids, who once offered advice to Obama on how he could defeat Hillary Clinton, is now taking direct aim at him — calling the Illinois senator "lazy" and "given to misstatements and exaggerations."
"Mr. Obama has failed to rise to leadership on a single major issue in the Senate," Rove writes in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed. "In the Illinois legislature, he had a habit of ducking major issues, voting 'present' on bills important to many Democratic interest groups, like abortion-rights and gun-control advocates.
And in a rare move, Rove praises Clinton for her "humanizing" moments on the campaign trail, and calls Obama just "as calculating" as the New York Democrat.
"For someone who talks about a new, positive style of politics and pledges to be true to his word, Mr. Obama too often practices the old style of politics, saying one thing and doing another," he said.
The comments are the latest musings from the man often refereed to as "Bush's brain" on the Democratic race for the White House. In an "open letter" to Obama last month, Rove suggested he "Blow the whistle on Clinton when she tries to become a victim."
"Find a way to gently belittle her whenever she tries to use disagreements among Democrats as an excuse to complain about being picked on," he said then. "The toughest candidate in the field should not be able to complain when others disagree with her. This is not a coronation."
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/11/karl-rove-takes-aim-at-obama/
A new hair-raising thread for you all.