Signing off
With Neil Young, Living with War
Almost forgot. If you want to understand the crisis in Darfur, check out Darfur is Dying.
Almost forgot. If you want to understand the crisis in Darfur, check out Darfur is Dying.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Missed Deadline
KHARTOUM, Sudan, Monday, May 1 — Sudan's government offered Sunday to accept a potentially historic Darfur peace agreement, but two of Darfur's three main rebel groups raised last-minute objections that left the negotiations mired in confusion as a midnight deadline passed. Mediators agreed to extend the talks for 48 hours at the request of the United States.
[...]
Progress in the talks was thrown into doubt late Sunday when Seif Haroun, a spokesman for one of the rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Army, told reporters in Abuja, "If the proposal does not include all our demands, we will not sign."
At least 200,000 people have been killed and 2 million driven from their homes since 2003 in the chaotic ethnic and political conflict in Darfur, which has pitted a rebel insurgency against the Arab-dominated central government in Khartoum and its proxy tribal militias known as the janjaweed, who are fearsome marauders considered responsible for much of the killing. The strife has spilled into neighboring Chad and threatened to escalate the crisis further.
[...]
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking Sunday morning on ABC News, noted that "the United States has been one of the most active states" in working to resolve the crisis.
"Let me just say," she added, "the president has passion about this issue."
Yes, Condi, we've heard all about Bush's 'passion' . . . he's so passionate about the crisis, that even he refers to as a genocide, that he wants rallies held across the US. With those satellite dishes, no doubt they'll be able to pick the rallies up on tv in Sudan, and that will be certain to put an end to the murders, and gang rape of women and children.
I feel that nightmare coming on again. The one where there's two of him and due to technicalities the 'other one' is able to run for potus in '08.*shudder*
[...]
Progress in the talks was thrown into doubt late Sunday when Seif Haroun, a spokesman for one of the rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Army, told reporters in Abuja, "If the proposal does not include all our demands, we will not sign."
At least 200,000 people have been killed and 2 million driven from their homes since 2003 in the chaotic ethnic and political conflict in Darfur, which has pitted a rebel insurgency against the Arab-dominated central government in Khartoum and its proxy tribal militias known as the janjaweed, who are fearsome marauders considered responsible for much of the killing. The strife has spilled into neighboring Chad and threatened to escalate the crisis further.
[...]
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking Sunday morning on ABC News, noted that "the United States has been one of the most active states" in working to resolve the crisis.
"Let me just say," she added, "the president has passion about this issue."
Yes, Condi, we've heard all about Bush's 'passion' . . . he's so passionate about the crisis, that even he refers to as a genocide, that he wants rallies held across the US. With those satellite dishes, no doubt they'll be able to pick the rallies up on tv in Sudan, and that will be certain to put an end to the murders, and gang rape of women and children.
I feel that nightmare coming on again. The one where there's two of him and due to technicalities the 'other one' is able to run for potus in '08.*shudder*
Colbert roasts Bush
Colbert: Part 1 of 3
Colbert: Part 2 of 3
Colbert: Part 3 of 3
Crooks and Liars also has it up in it's entirety, as well as the transcript.
Colbert: Part 2 of 3
Colbert: Part 3 of 3
Crooks and Liars also has it up in it's entirety, as well as the transcript.
Site Ban
Eric Jaffa, I have banned you from this site with several different ip numbers today already. If you turn up with another, I'll contact my isp -- as well as anyone else they recommend -- in the morning.
crime is thriving, repos are up
A good thing I've noticed about living in larger cities is the fact that most that I'm aware of -- in the event a home is abandoned -- someone, be it the bank, the police, someone goes and secures the place and boards it up.
I live in a small township, and next door to me is a home that was abandoned by the owners. All I know is the neighborhood gossip, but apparently it was a VA loan and that makes for more paperwork before the place can be put back on the market and sold. It's been empty now about a year, and nothing is locked up. You can walk right in the place now.
Went out to dinner earlier, and when I got home the side doors of the place were wide open. The the sinks are gone, kitchen appliances gone, light fixtures gone, storm doors gone, and wiring ripped out of the walls. In broad daylight on a Sunday. No one saw anything. I'd also been concerned about who might possibly seek shelter there in the Winter. There were fast food wrappings strewn throughout the place.
The police didn't come to look, they said they'd 'make a note of it.' A boarded up home may be an unattractive sight, but it beats wondering what's going on in the shell of it's former self next door. I understand copper pipes are fetching a fair price, too.
I live in a small township, and next door to me is a home that was abandoned by the owners. All I know is the neighborhood gossip, but apparently it was a VA loan and that makes for more paperwork before the place can be put back on the market and sold. It's been empty now about a year, and nothing is locked up. You can walk right in the place now.
Went out to dinner earlier, and when I got home the side doors of the place were wide open. The the sinks are gone, kitchen appliances gone, light fixtures gone, storm doors gone, and wiring ripped out of the walls. In broad daylight on a Sunday. No one saw anything. I'd also been concerned about who might possibly seek shelter there in the Winter. There were fast food wrappings strewn throughout the place.
The police didn't come to look, they said they'd 'make a note of it.' A boarded up home may be an unattractive sight, but it beats wondering what's going on in the shell of it's former self next door. I understand copper pipes are fetching a fair price, too.
Colbert
Atrios has up his picks for the 'best' of Colbert. Here's my favorite:
"I haven't. I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he has stood on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."
It's difficult to imagine this all being pre-approved. It's also hard to believe he wasn't shot in the face where he stood.
"I haven't. I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he has stood on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."
It's difficult to imagine this all being pre-approved. It's also hard to believe he wasn't shot in the face where he stood.
The seeds of fascism
Via Larisa of Raw Story:
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ''to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ''execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.
If no one is going to pay any mind to what's happening in our own country, perhaps someone should at least re-think exactly what it is that we're spreading in Iraq.
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ''to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ''execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.
If no one is going to pay any mind to what's happening in our own country, perhaps someone should at least re-think exactly what it is that we're spreading in Iraq.
My nightmares look like this.
President Bush, left, and Steve Bridges, a comedian and President Bush look alike, speak during the White House Correspondents' Association's 92nd annual awards dinner, Saturday, April 29, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
You go to war with the Secretary of State you've got
Colin Powell -- via Think Progress -- confesses that he didn't believe we had enough troops for the Iraq invastion. If he's looking for forgiveness, he should peddle it elsewhere. He could have opened his mouth long before the deaths of over 2,400 US military members, and untold thousands of civilian men, women, and children casualties.
He should be stripped of his medals, because when it came right down to it, he always put politics ahead of anything else.
He should be stripped of his medals, because when it came right down to it, he always put politics ahead of anything else.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Has anyone heard from Colbert?
Do we know if he made it out of the White House alive? Helen Thomas, too, are they alright?
Respect
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi touches the flag-draped coffin of Carabiniere Warrant Officer Carlo De Trizio during the arrival of the bodies of three personnel killed in Iraq, at Ciampino airport near Rome April 29, 2006. A roadside bomb killed three Italian soldiers in Iraq on April 27, 2006, exposing long-standing divisions within Romano Prodi's government-in-waiting on the timing of a withdrawal. [REUTERS/Enrico Oliverio/Pool]
Crooks and Liars On the "Young Turks"
Audi Video HERE -- If that doesn't work for you, go to the Young Turks site, and click on the video there directly.
Discussion of Oxycontinhead, Kristol & PNAC, Joementum, FEMA, and more.
Discussion of Oxycontinhead, Kristol & PNAC, Joementum, FEMA, and more.
MeanJean on Iraq:
"We have to stay until the job is finished," Schmidt said.
What the hell does that even mean? Until the living are so exhausted from the death and dying that they collapse and put up a white flag? Or do they all have to die? Their new 'democratic' government has asked us to leave. Sounds finished to me.
What the hell does that even mean? Until the living are so exhausted from the death and dying that they collapse and put up a white flag? Or do they all have to die? Their new 'democratic' government has asked us to leave. Sounds finished to me.
Oxycontinhead
Unlike most of the country, Limbaugh didn't have to pose for this photo until *after* his attorney had reached the plea-bargain agreement, and Limbaugh had posted bail.
Over 9 American citizens a day
WASHINGTON - The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday.
It was the first time the Bush administration has publicly disclosed how often it uses the administrative subpoena known as a national security letter, which allows the executive branch of government to obtain records about people in terrorism and espionage investigations without court approval.
Jeebuschristmas on a blue spruce! 3,501 enemy combatants living in the United States? Are our prisons big enough? When will they be charged? Will the administration let us know which areas of the nation have the largest concentrations of 'em? You know, so we can be vigilant? When are the trials, and will they be on court tv?
"administrative subpoena" makes it all sound almost legal-like. Maybe it is being's that congress is looking the other way.
It was the first time the Bush administration has publicly disclosed how often it uses the administrative subpoena known as a national security letter, which allows the executive branch of government to obtain records about people in terrorism and espionage investigations without court approval.
Jeebuschristmas on a blue spruce! 3,501 enemy combatants living in the United States? Are our prisons big enough? When will they be charged? Will the administration let us know which areas of the nation have the largest concentrations of 'em? You know, so we can be vigilant? When are the trials, and will they be on court tv?
"administrative subpoena" makes it all sound almost legal-like. Maybe it is being's that congress is looking the other way.
Friday, April 28, 2006
An open letter to Howard Kurtz
From Howard Kurtz:
"A better series of questions: What can MSM types learn from blogs, both in terms of criticism of their work and as a more freewheeling form of communication? Should reporters blog, and if so, what are the boundaries? Would blogs be more of a factor in public debate if more of their practitioners did a little research -- say, including the very old-fashioned notion of calling people up -- instead of merely pontificating?"
"A little research"? Howard, puh-leeze. If you want to compare/contrast blogs to the msm, then do so fairly, and honestly. How many msm sources spit out whatever comes off the wire as it's released? Where are the people who check these releases for accuracy? Within the internet we have great people like MediaMatters, ThinkProgress and my personal favorite, Eschaton.
As for that old-fashioned notion of calling people up on the phone, let me put it this way. "Hello? Mr. Kurtz? This is Desi of miaculpa.blogspot.com. Yes, yes, I know Webster's says "mea culpa" but it's a long story. You see, my first blog -- greatscat! -- excuse me? Greatscat!? It was the name of a car, a whole 'nother long story, sir. You see, my original site was hijacked by pornographic spammers. That's right. Porn. It was terrible. I was humiliated. Sooo, I had to blog or go blind, so I started a new site -- Mia Culpa -- and intended to go by the nickname 'Mia.' However, I had many internet friends and bloggers worried, so I finally explained things as best as I could. Now I'm back to posting as 'Desi' again, and in January of this year finally was able to reclaim my site from the pornographers, but who wants to take back a name that attracts porno spammers? There you have it, "Mia Culpa" by Desi.
Back to why I called. It's in my notes here . . . wait, this is the stress test results for the Chinese steel -- you don't even want to know that -- here it is. What's that? Oh, the steel, I'm an engineer in my spare time. That's right. I blog for the fame and fortune.
So, Mr. Kurtz, don't you think that when you're in a pinch for something to write about that maybe you should go with what you're familiar with? Do you see any failures within the msm? Do you agree with the public misconception that the msm is "liberal"? Do you think the msm goes overboard in attempts to compensate for that misconception? How do you feel about the level of influence this administration has held over the msm? Go for it, pontificate!
Hello? Mr. Kurtz? Summbitch! I think I lost him back when I mentioned "blogspot"."
"A better series of questions: What can MSM types learn from blogs, both in terms of criticism of their work and as a more freewheeling form of communication? Should reporters blog, and if so, what are the boundaries? Would blogs be more of a factor in public debate if more of their practitioners did a little research -- say, including the very old-fashioned notion of calling people up -- instead of merely pontificating?"
"A little research"? Howard, puh-leeze. If you want to compare/contrast blogs to the msm, then do so fairly, and honestly. How many msm sources spit out whatever comes off the wire as it's released? Where are the people who check these releases for accuracy? Within the internet we have great people like MediaMatters, ThinkProgress and my personal favorite, Eschaton.
As for that old-fashioned notion of calling people up on the phone, let me put it this way. "Hello? Mr. Kurtz? This is Desi of miaculpa.blogspot.com. Yes, yes, I know Webster's says "mea culpa" but it's a long story. You see, my first blog -- greatscat! -- excuse me? Greatscat!? It was the name of a car, a whole 'nother long story, sir. You see, my original site was hijacked by pornographic spammers. That's right. Porn. It was terrible. I was humiliated. Sooo, I had to blog or go blind, so I started a new site -- Mia Culpa -- and intended to go by the nickname 'Mia.' However, I had many internet friends and bloggers worried, so I finally explained things as best as I could. Now I'm back to posting as 'Desi' again, and in January of this year finally was able to reclaim my site from the pornographers, but who wants to take back a name that attracts porno spammers? There you have it, "Mia Culpa" by Desi.
Back to why I called. It's in my notes here . . . wait, this is the stress test results for the Chinese steel -- you don't even want to know that -- here it is. What's that? Oh, the steel, I'm an engineer in my spare time. That's right. I blog for the fame and fortune.
So, Mr. Kurtz, don't you think that when you're in a pinch for something to write about that maybe you should go with what you're familiar with? Do you see any failures within the msm? Do you agree with the public misconception that the msm is "liberal"? Do you think the msm goes overboard in attempts to compensate for that misconception? How do you feel about the level of influence this administration has held over the msm? Go for it, pontificate!
Hello? Mr. Kurtz? Summbitch! I think I lost him back when I mentioned "blogspot"."
Ava Responds to the Hate Mail
Also known as the 32% who still support GWB.
Using their own words against them. Priceless. PeacetakesCourage.
Using their own words against them. Priceless. PeacetakesCourage.
Gimme the Tifecta, baby
Appearing for a fifth time before the federal grand jury in the CIA leak case, White House adviser Karl Rove on Wednesday was questioned extensively about contradictions between his sworn testimony and that of Time magazine writer Matthew Cooper on the substance of their July 2003 conversation regarding then-agency operative Valerie Plame, according to attorneys involved in the case.
In several hours of testimony, Rove was again asked how he learned three years ago that Plame worked for the CIA, and the circumstances of how he relayed that information to Cooper, according to people familiar with his testimony.
Rove also testified to the grand jury that when he told Cooper that Plame worked at the agency, he was only passing along unverified gossip.
In contrast, Cooper has testified that Rove told him in a phone conversation on July 11, 2003, that Plame worked for the CIA and played a role in having the agency select her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, to make a fact-finding trip to Niger in 2002.
Cooper has also testified that Rove, as well as a second source -- I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, then-chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney -- portrayed the information about Plame as accurate and authoritative. Cooper has testified that based on his conversations with Rove and Libby, he felt confident enough about the information to identify Plame as a CIA officer in a July 17 Time story.
I've got popcorn, champagne, a wingnut radio show host was busted, MeanJean got a reprimand, but I still want Rove's fat ass on a platter.
In several hours of testimony, Rove was again asked how he learned three years ago that Plame worked for the CIA, and the circumstances of how he relayed that information to Cooper, according to people familiar with his testimony.
Rove also testified to the grand jury that when he told Cooper that Plame worked at the agency, he was only passing along unverified gossip.
In contrast, Cooper has testified that Rove told him in a phone conversation on July 11, 2003, that Plame worked for the CIA and played a role in having the agency select her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, to make a fact-finding trip to Niger in 2002.
Cooper has also testified that Rove, as well as a second source -- I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, then-chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney -- portrayed the information about Plame as accurate and authoritative. Cooper has testified that based on his conversations with Rove and Libby, he felt confident enough about the information to identify Plame as a CIA officer in a July 17 Time story.
I've got popcorn, champagne, a wingnut radio show host was busted, MeanJean got a reprimand, but I still want Rove's fat ass on a platter.
Sleep my child and peace attend thee.
An Iraqi mother kisses her son who was wounded in a mortar attack Friday April 28, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq. At least 10 people were wounded, mostly children, when a mortar hit a house in western Baghdad.(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Blind Justice
How did Rush Limbaugh walk away from an arrest for fraud to conceal information to obtain prescriptions with the reduced charge of doctor shopping, that is to be discharged in 18 months if he continues to seek treatment from his physician of 2 1/2 years?
According to Black[Limbaugh's attorney], Limbaugh also has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the state to defray the public cost of the investigation.
Ordinary folks do the time, the Rush Limbaugh's get talk radio shows. Oh, and Mr Black? They're called 'fines' not 'payments.'
Cheers and Jeers
Cheers to the 5 members of Congress who were arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy whilst protesting the atrocities in Darfur.
"The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end," Rep. Tom Lantos , D-Calif., a Holocaust survivor who founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said from the embassy steps before his arrest.
Four other Democratic Congress members — James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Jim Moran of Virginia — were among 11 protesters arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor subject to a fine.
"We must hold the Sudanese government accountable for the attacks they have supported on their own citizens in Darfur," Olver said.
And jeers to George W. Bush who said that the United States is serious about solving the problems in Darfur . . . we're gonna hold rallies.
"The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end," Rep. Tom Lantos , D-Calif., a Holocaust survivor who founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said from the embassy steps before his arrest.
Four other Democratic Congress members — James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Jim Moran of Virginia — were among 11 protesters arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor subject to a fine.
"We must hold the Sudanese government accountable for the attacks they have supported on their own citizens in Darfur," Olver said.
And jeers to George W. Bush who said that the United States is serious about solving the problems in Darfur . . . we're gonna hold rallies.
Ney dodged the Sun Cruz bullet
Embattled Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) appears to have dodged at least one legal bullet, as the statute of limitations on a portion of the federal investigation into his dealings with felonious lobbyist Jack Abramoff passed at midnight last night with no indictment.
Wouldn't ya love to be a fly on the wall whilst the drinks are being swilled to celebrate this little milestone?
Wouldn't ya love to be a fly on the wall whilst the drinks are being swilled to celebrate this little milestone?
Does honesty matter to Ohio repubs?
COLUMBUS - A unanimous Ohio Elections Commission voted to issue U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt a public reprimand Thursday for "false statements" - claiming she had a second undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati that she never received.
A letter citing the campaign's "reckless disregard for truth" was to be sent by the commission today to Schmidt, her campaign and her husband, Peter, as committee treasurer. It's the most serious punishment short of fines or criminal prosecution.
The Ohio Primary is May 2.
Flight 93
I don't have any plans to see the movie at this point. I was especially disappointed to read that facts not in evidence were added to the film.
I'll never forget watching the tracking of that flight before it went down, and listening to the tower in Cleveland while they were still able to communicate. Those were the longest minutes of my life -- wondering where that plane would hit -- and would my friends and loved ones be spared. For all I knew, it could even be headed to Detroit, or Chicago.
Claiming that it was known during those moments exactly what the hijacker's intended target was turns it into a fictional account, for me at least, that I have no reason to watch. Although, even if truthful I'm not certain I'd be ready to view it.
I'll never forget watching the tracking of that flight before it went down, and listening to the tower in Cleveland while they were still able to communicate. Those were the longest minutes of my life -- wondering where that plane would hit -- and would my friends and loved ones be spared. For all I knew, it could even be headed to Detroit, or Chicago.
Claiming that it was known during those moments exactly what the hijacker's intended target was turns it into a fictional account, for me at least, that I have no reason to watch. Although, even if truthful I'm not certain I'd be ready to view it.
This doesn't sound like respecting our troops.
After suffering paralysis, brain damage, lost limbs and other wounds in war, nearly 900 Army soldiers ran up $1.2 million in debt because of the military's "complex, cumbersome" pay system, congressional investigators said Thursday.
The report from the Government Accountability Office said another 400 who died in the wars had $300,000 in debt but that the Defense Department doesn't pursue collection of people killed in combat.
This isn't the sort of thing that you 'try' to correct. You get right on it and fix it as soon as you become aware there's a problem. If you care about our soldiers and Veterans . . .
The report from the Government Accountability Office said another 400 who died in the wars had $300,000 in debt but that the Defense Department doesn't pursue collection of people killed in combat.
This isn't the sort of thing that you 'try' to correct. You get right on it and fix it as soon as you become aware there's a problem. If you care about our soldiers and Veterans . . .
Oops
SAMARRA - U.S. forces killed four Iraqi police commandos by mistake on Wednesday in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, a joint U.S. and Iraqi military centre said.
It's a war, damnit, what, you expect a condolence card?
It's a war, damnit, what, you expect a condolence card?
Thursday, April 27, 2006
The Decider has Decidered sumpin' again.
If you scroll waaay down near the bottom left of the NYT's:
WASHINGTON, April 27 — President Bush is expected on Friday to announce his approval of a deal under which a Dubai-owned company would take control of nine plants in the United States that manufacture parts for American military vehicles and aircraft, say two administration officials familiar with the terms of the deal.
I'm not going to even bother to get into what I think the nutball is doing to our country in front of our very eyes.
WASHINGTON, April 27 — President Bush is expected on Friday to announce his approval of a deal under which a Dubai-owned company would take control of nine plants in the United States that manufacture parts for American military vehicles and aircraft, say two administration officials familiar with the terms of the deal.
I'm not going to even bother to get into what I think the nutball is doing to our country in front of our very eyes.
This could be fun.
Remember the guy who left the directions to Rummy's house at a Dupont Starbucks? Eric Ruff, is now the Defense Department's new press secretary.
Wonder what kind of gems he'll accidentally leave lying around coffee houses now? ;)
Ford UAW workers in MI and OH:
Check your local news early in the am Friday. At least half a dozen plants are on shut down as of now. Transmission problem in vehicles on the assembly line of Lincoln Towncar, Econovan, Ford F150.
Length of shut down unclear.
Length of shut down unclear.
Premature Declaraters
From Media Matters -- a look back:
LIDDY: Well, I -- in the first place, I think it's envy. I mean, after all, Al Gore had to go get some woman to tell him how to be a man. And here comes George Bush. You know, he's in his flight suit, he's striding across the deck, and he's wearing his parachute harness, you know -- and I've worn those because I parachute -- and it makes the best of his manly characteristic. You go run those -- run that stuff again of him walking across there with the parachute. He has just won every woman's vote in the United States of America. You know, all those women who say size doesn't count -- they're all liars. Check that out. I hope the Democrats keep ratting on him and all of this stuff so that they keep showing that tape.
Tony Snow remembered by his hometown, Cincinnati,OH
Tony Snow, the new White House press secretary, using the Princeton High School public-address system in 1973.
Newly appointed White House spokesman Tony Snow is best known as a conservative news commentator, most recently on Fox News. But in Cincinnati, his hometown, friends remember him as one of their most liberal classmates, a teenager with "large hair" past his shoulders, a quick mind and a compassionate streak.
A poll conducted in Snow's english class dubbed him "by far the most liberal."
Will you take it up the ass for Ben Franklin?
The repubs have come up with a 'plan' to help out Americans with the rising cost of gasoline. The 'plan' is to give taxpayers a check for $100.00, look the other way whilst Big Oil continues the manipulation of regulations meant to protect the environment, continue to hose the American people with outrageous fuel costs, *and* allow Big Oil to open a portion of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
CBS makes note of this for whatever reason:
Democrats seemed caught off guard by the GOP maneuvering, but a spokesman said they would have a plan of their own.
I would imagine they were shocked that for a mere hundred dollars per household, the Big Oil whores think we'll sign the country over to the Oil conglomerates.
How long would that $100 last you at today's gasoline prices?
CBS makes note of this for whatever reason:
Democrats seemed caught off guard by the GOP maneuvering, but a spokesman said they would have a plan of their own.
I would imagine they were shocked that for a mere hundred dollars per household, the Big Oil whores think we'll sign the country over to the Oil conglomerates.
How long would that $100 last you at today's gasoline prices?
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
In this photo released by the Australian Defense Force shows the casket of Australian army Pvt. Jake Kovco being loaded onto a C130 before leaving Baghdad on April 23, 2006. Kovco died in a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad last week after he accidentally shot himself while cleaning his weapon. Kovco was due to be buried near the southern city of Melbourne with full military honors, but the casket that arrived in Australia early Thursday, April 27 contained the wrong body, the Defense Department said in a statement. (AP Photo /Australian Defense Force, Flt.Lt.Fiona Harris, HO)
Wednesday Blog Round-Up
In keeping with Wednesday Monkey Blogging, SSquirrel has The Arctic Monkey's "I bet you look good on the dance floor" -- they're good, and the lead singer has an adorable accent! You'll also find *the* QOTD at SSquirrel's place, from James Webb, Dem candidate for Senate in VA: "he scalded the Bush administration and a Republican Congress that he said had sent “other people’s kids to war and other people’s kids to bad schools.”
Next up, Luke @ Wotisitgood4 has updates on Larisa Alexandrovna's recent radio guest spots, and tells what he believes her article coming up tomorrow at RawStory will be about:
Apparently we'll hear more about Chalabi in her article tomorrow.
on another radio show larisa beat up on the corporate media for covering the detail about Rove in front of the GJ but still hasn't asked the most important question - what was Plame working on?
the host replied that it was nuclear proliferation - and in particular Iran.
Larisa replied that it was 'inputs and outputs' - into & out of Iran - and she said that she couldn't talk about it any further, but pointed to the listeners to Clemons:
But another dimension of this story has to do with an assessment of the damage that her outing caused this nation. As we now start down a path towards harder-edged threats against Iran, allies will naturally question the quality of our intelligence given our failures on Iraq WMDs.
If Cheney & Co. outed one of the key intelligence operations monitoring the inputs and outputs of Iran's nuclear program -- then Cheney & Co. did vast damage to our ability to know what is real and contrived inside Iran."
Chicago Dyke "Jumps on the Bandwagon" over at Corrente. Any of you ordered Greenwald's book yet?
Say, how would you Delphi workers like retirement packages like this?
Skippy cracks me up. Check out the pre-written letters to your left-behind loved ones.
A plethora of good reading there today on a wide variety of topics. :)
Let's wrap it up with Bateman, Day 253.
Next up, Luke @ Wotisitgood4 has updates on Larisa Alexandrovna's recent radio guest spots, and tells what he believes her article coming up tomorrow at RawStory will be about:
Apparently we'll hear more about Chalabi in her article tomorrow.
on another radio show larisa beat up on the corporate media for covering the detail about Rove in front of the GJ but still hasn't asked the most important question - what was Plame working on?
the host replied that it was nuclear proliferation - and in particular Iran.
Larisa replied that it was 'inputs and outputs' - into & out of Iran - and she said that she couldn't talk about it any further, but pointed to the listeners to Clemons:
But another dimension of this story has to do with an assessment of the damage that her outing caused this nation. As we now start down a path towards harder-edged threats against Iran, allies will naturally question the quality of our intelligence given our failures on Iraq WMDs.
If Cheney & Co. outed one of the key intelligence operations monitoring the inputs and outputs of Iran's nuclear program -- then Cheney & Co. did vast damage to our ability to know what is real and contrived inside Iran."
Chicago Dyke "Jumps on the Bandwagon" over at Corrente. Any of you ordered Greenwald's book yet?
Say, how would you Delphi workers like retirement packages like this?
Skippy cracks me up. Check out the pre-written letters to your left-behind loved ones.
A plethora of good reading there today on a wide variety of topics. :)
Let's wrap it up with Bateman, Day 253.
Action Alert
I received this disturbing bit of information in email this week:
"An Indiana mother recently accompanied her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend to one of Indiana's Planned Parenthood clinics, but they unwittingly walked into a so-called "crisis pregnancy center" run by an anti-abortion group, one that shared a parking lot with the real Planned Parenthood clinic and was designed expressly to lure Planned Parenthood patients and deceive them.
The group took down the girl's confidential personal information and told her to come back for her appointment, which they said would be in their "other office" (the real Planned Parenthood office nearby). When she arrived for her appointment, not only did the Planned Parenthood staff have no record of her, but the police were there. The "crisis pregnancy center" had called them, claiming that a minor was being forced to have an abortion against her will.
The "crisis pregnancy center" staff then proceeded to wage a campaign of intimidation and harassment over the following days, showing up at the girl's home and calling her father's workplace. Our clinic director reports that the girl was "scared to death to leave her house." They even went to her school and urged classmates to pressure her not to have an abortion.
The anti-choice movement is setting up these "crisis pregnancy centers" across the country. Some of them have neutral-sounding names and run ads that falsely promise the full range of reproductive health services, but they dispense anti-choice propaganda and intimidation instead. And according to a recent article in The New York Times, there are currently more of these centers in the U.S. than there are actual abortion providers. What's more, these centers have received $60 million in government grants. They're being funded by our tax dollars."
With a quick 'google' there is much information available on the "phony crisis pregnancy centers." A women's consumer watch group had this to say, as well as tips for how to tell if a center is legitimate or not:
"While most centers do provide free, commercially-available pregnancy tests (similar to a product you can find in any drug store), this is often the limit of their services that can be provided legally. These centers do not have a license to practice medicine, and their counselors do not have state-mandated training or literature. While many of these centers are careful not to tread in unlicensed medicine, there are medical malpractice suits pending against some of these centers [1].
What happens at these centers?
The staff at these misleading organizations (usually volunteers) have been known to use anti-abortion propaganda, misinformation, and intimidation to dissuade women from receiving an abortion. The main objective of these centers is to instill a sense of fear and guilt in women considering an abortion by distorting the medical facts and imposing a specific moral doctrine. Strongly question the information they provide you on abortion procedures [2].
Many clients of these centers express feeling duped, manipulated, and pressured by religious preaching. Women are often persuaded to watch distasteful videos, and are shown pictures of stillborns that are portrayed as aborted fetuses. In some cases, women are harassed and physically impeded from leaving the center after telling their counselor they were going to have an abortion [3]."
This take action petition will help you contact your members of congress to ask them to help put a stop to the deceptive practices of these phony clinics -- that are being funded to the tune of $60 million of your tax dollars, btw -- so I hope you'll consider sending this to your representatives, or contacting them on your own about this important issue.
If you're not certain this is that serious a problem, think about the recent sexual assaults on women in their 30's by a man going door-to-door offering free breast examinations. He seemed innocent enough, carried a black 'medical' looking bag, and they allowed him into their homes thinking they would receive valuable preventative health care.
Anytime people prey on vulnerable women it's serious, and the federal government funding it due to deceptive advertising practices begs the problem be given due attention.
[Thanks to J. for the email.]
"An Indiana mother recently accompanied her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend to one of Indiana's Planned Parenthood clinics, but they unwittingly walked into a so-called "crisis pregnancy center" run by an anti-abortion group, one that shared a parking lot with the real Planned Parenthood clinic and was designed expressly to lure Planned Parenthood patients and deceive them.
The group took down the girl's confidential personal information and told her to come back for her appointment, which they said would be in their "other office" (the real Planned Parenthood office nearby). When she arrived for her appointment, not only did the Planned Parenthood staff have no record of her, but the police were there. The "crisis pregnancy center" had called them, claiming that a minor was being forced to have an abortion against her will.
The "crisis pregnancy center" staff then proceeded to wage a campaign of intimidation and harassment over the following days, showing up at the girl's home and calling her father's workplace. Our clinic director reports that the girl was "scared to death to leave her house." They even went to her school and urged classmates to pressure her not to have an abortion.
The anti-choice movement is setting up these "crisis pregnancy centers" across the country. Some of them have neutral-sounding names and run ads that falsely promise the full range of reproductive health services, but they dispense anti-choice propaganda and intimidation instead. And according to a recent article in The New York Times, there are currently more of these centers in the U.S. than there are actual abortion providers. What's more, these centers have received $60 million in government grants. They're being funded by our tax dollars."
With a quick 'google' there is much information available on the "phony crisis pregnancy centers." A women's consumer watch group had this to say, as well as tips for how to tell if a center is legitimate or not:
"While most centers do provide free, commercially-available pregnancy tests (similar to a product you can find in any drug store), this is often the limit of their services that can be provided legally. These centers do not have a license to practice medicine, and their counselors do not have state-mandated training or literature. While many of these centers are careful not to tread in unlicensed medicine, there are medical malpractice suits pending against some of these centers [1].
What happens at these centers?
The staff at these misleading organizations (usually volunteers) have been known to use anti-abortion propaganda, misinformation, and intimidation to dissuade women from receiving an abortion. The main objective of these centers is to instill a sense of fear and guilt in women considering an abortion by distorting the medical facts and imposing a specific moral doctrine. Strongly question the information they provide you on abortion procedures [2].
Many clients of these centers express feeling duped, manipulated, and pressured by religious preaching. Women are often persuaded to watch distasteful videos, and are shown pictures of stillborns that are portrayed as aborted fetuses. In some cases, women are harassed and physically impeded from leaving the center after telling their counselor they were going to have an abortion [3]."
This take action petition will help you contact your members of congress to ask them to help put a stop to the deceptive practices of these phony clinics -- that are being funded to the tune of $60 million of your tax dollars, btw -- so I hope you'll consider sending this to your representatives, or contacting them on your own about this important issue.
If you're not certain this is that serious a problem, think about the recent sexual assaults on women in their 30's by a man going door-to-door offering free breast examinations. He seemed innocent enough, carried a black 'medical' looking bag, and they allowed him into their homes thinking they would receive valuable preventative health care.
Anytime people prey on vulnerable women it's serious, and the federal government funding it due to deceptive advertising practices begs the problem be given due attention.
[Thanks to J. for the email.]
Detroit Power Outage
An updated message on the continuing power outage in Detroit. Of special interest to anyone with elective surgeries, or outpatient testing scheduled in the Detroit hospitals.
And pigs might fly.
As the top U.S. commander in Iraq suggested today that the United States would soon reduce the number of troops in Iraq, Pentagon planners said to ABC News that they hoped to pull more than 30,000 troops out by the end of the year, and possibly by as early as November.
Read on in the article, and the big *if* word is there, and don't forget this from Bush himself.
Don't let false promises distract from the horrible situation that bush lied the nation into, and our troops, as well as the Iraqi people suffer through daily.
Read on in the article, and the big *if* word is there, and don't forget this from Bush himself.
Don't let false promises distract from the horrible situation that bush lied the nation into, and our troops, as well as the Iraqi people suffer through daily.
Should he stay or should he go?
Army Times:
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has come under fire in recent weeks from a variety of retired generals, who say he should resign for his performance in managing the war in Iraq. Do you think the U.S. war effort is grounds for Secretary Rumsfleld to resign?
Yes 63.89 % (2,045)
No 32.71 % (1,047)
Don't know / no opinion 3.41 % (109)
Total votes: 3201
Not certain yet if it will be Tony Snow, or Scottie to dismiss this poll. Or, perhaps just Rummy himself.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has come under fire in recent weeks from a variety of retired generals, who say he should resign for his performance in managing the war in Iraq. Do you think the U.S. war effort is grounds for Secretary Rumsfleld to resign?
Yes 63.89 % (2,045)
No 32.71 % (1,047)
Don't know / no opinion 3.41 % (109)
Total votes: 3201
Not certain yet if it will be Tony Snow, or Scottie to dismiss this poll. Or, perhaps just Rummy himself.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Tomorrow
In case you missed the news in the comment section, don't miss Ava of PeaceTakesCourage tomorrow morning around 8am(PST)11am(EST) She'llIn case you be on the Stacy Taylor Show on AM 1360 San Diego. Stacy Taylor is San Diego's leading independent and progressive voice.
Listen live on the radio or on the net from this link: http://www.am1360klsd.com/streaming.html
Listen live on the radio or on the net from this link: http://www.am1360klsd.com/streaming.html
fascism
Murray Waas:
When the CIA announced on Friday that it had fired an employee who the agency claims "knowingly and willfully shared classified intelligence" with a newspaper reporter, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, immediately praised the agency's action, saying that "unauthorized disclosures of classified information can significantly harm our ability to protect the American people."
On the eve of the invasion of Iraq, Sen. Pat Roberts was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein.
Roberts, one of the staunchest defenders of the Bush administration's effort to stop the flow of sensitive information to the press, said in a statement that "[t]hose who leak classified information not only risk the disclosure of intelligence sources and methods, but also expose the brave men and women of the intelligence community to greater danger. Clearly, those guilty of improperly disclosing classified information should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
But three years ago on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, Roberts himself was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein and potentially threatened the lives of Iraqis who were spying for the United States.
On March 20, 2003, at the onset of military hostilities between U.S. and Iraqi forces, Roberts said in a speech to the National Newspaper Association that he had "been in touch with our intelligence community" and that the CIA had informed President Bush and the National Security Council "of intelligence information from what we call human intelligence that indicated the location of Saddam Hussein and his leadership in a bunker in the suburbs of Baghdad."
We have 2 more years of this administration to suffer through, and they're running roughshod over everyone, without being held accountable. The president and his vp can 'declassify' classified information at will and release it to the media whenever it fits their agenda. How can anyone be 'ok' with this? Why do members of congress run to the nearest exit door when Russ Feingold mentions censure?
When the CIA announced on Friday that it had fired an employee who the agency claims "knowingly and willfully shared classified intelligence" with a newspaper reporter, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, immediately praised the agency's action, saying that "unauthorized disclosures of classified information can significantly harm our ability to protect the American people."
On the eve of the invasion of Iraq, Sen. Pat Roberts was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein.
Roberts, one of the staunchest defenders of the Bush administration's effort to stop the flow of sensitive information to the press, said in a statement that "[t]hose who leak classified information not only risk the disclosure of intelligence sources and methods, but also expose the brave men and women of the intelligence community to greater danger. Clearly, those guilty of improperly disclosing classified information should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
But three years ago on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, Roberts himself was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein and potentially threatened the lives of Iraqis who were spying for the United States.
On March 20, 2003, at the onset of military hostilities between U.S. and Iraqi forces, Roberts said in a speech to the National Newspaper Association that he had "been in touch with our intelligence community" and that the CIA had informed President Bush and the National Security Council "of intelligence information from what we call human intelligence that indicated the location of Saddam Hussein and his leadership in a bunker in the suburbs of Baghdad."
We have 2 more years of this administration to suffer through, and they're running roughshod over everyone, without being held accountable. The president and his vp can 'declassify' classified information at will and release it to the media whenever it fits their agenda. How can anyone be 'ok' with this? Why do members of congress run to the nearest exit door when Russ Feingold mentions censure?
Our Secretary of State
Greeted by adoring fans in Greece with tear gas and petrol bombs.
Is this the international community she keeps speaking of?
Is this the international community she keeps speaking of?
The growing healthcare crisis in middle income America
More than 40 percent of Americans making between $20,000 and $40,000 a year went without insurance for at least part of the year last year, according to a study published on Tuesday.
The research by The Commonwealth Fund also found that 20 percent of working adults are paying off medical debt -- often $2,000 or more -- and 60 percent of uninsured adults with chronic illnesses such as heart disease skip pills to save money.
The Commonwealth Fund researchers called the 40 percent figure a "dramatic and rapid increase from 2001," when 28 percent of people in this moderate income bracket were uninsured.
Yet the writer of the study -- Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis -- although alarmed, seems puzzled that this can be happening "at a time when our economy has been improving,"
I wish that just once one of these sort of studies could be done by someone with a clue. Any recommendations that come from someone who actually believes our economy is improving can only be detrimental to ordinary Americans who are struggling to get by in bushland.
The research by The Commonwealth Fund also found that 20 percent of working adults are paying off medical debt -- often $2,000 or more -- and 60 percent of uninsured adults with chronic illnesses such as heart disease skip pills to save money.
The Commonwealth Fund researchers called the 40 percent figure a "dramatic and rapid increase from 2001," when 28 percent of people in this moderate income bracket were uninsured.
Yet the writer of the study -- Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis -- although alarmed, seems puzzled that this can be happening "at a time when our economy has been improving,"
I wish that just once one of these sort of studies could be done by someone with a clue. Any recommendations that come from someone who actually believes our economy is improving can only be detrimental to ordinary Americans who are struggling to get by in bushland.
Overcome by the vapors of Democracy
Iraqi men mourn over the coffin of a man killed yesterday in one of seven bombings in Baghdad, during his funeral in the holy city of Najaf, 160 kms south of the Iraqi capital. Iraqi prime minister designate Jawad al-Maliki said that he expected to have his cabinet line-up ready for approval in two weeks as rebels killed at least 15 people across Iraq.(AFP/Qassem Zein)
Monday, April 24, 2006
Bushit
Taking questions from members of the Orange County Business Council, Bush said the United States erred in attempting large reconstruction projects soon after the invasion was completed. This "didn't make any sense," he said, because they "became convenient targets for the enemy."
Bush said he'd sat in a California church on Sunday near a mother and stepfather grieving for their son who had been killed in Iraq. "I also want to let you know that before you commit troops that you must do everything that you can to solve the problem diplomatically," he commented. "And I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I tried to solve the problem diplomatically to the max and would have committed troops both in Afghanistan and Iraq, knowing what I know today."
One decision he questions: After the successful invasion, "preparing an Iraqi army for an external threat. Well, it turns out there may have been an external threat but it's nothing compared to the internal threat." He did not explain what external threat the Iraqis were being trained for.
WTF?
Bush said he'd sat in a California church on Sunday near a mother and stepfather grieving for their son who had been killed in Iraq. "I also want to let you know that before you commit troops that you must do everything that you can to solve the problem diplomatically," he commented. "And I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I tried to solve the problem diplomatically to the max and would have committed troops both in Afghanistan and Iraq, knowing what I know today."
One decision he questions: After the successful invasion, "preparing an Iraqi army for an external threat. Well, it turns out there may have been an external threat but it's nothing compared to the internal threat." He did not explain what external threat the Iraqis were being trained for.
WTF?
Political Strategery
April 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Senate Armed Services Committee will vote on a request by Senator Hillary Clinton to take testimony from six retired generals who have called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's removal, the panel's chairman said.
Clinton, a Democrat of New York, asked Republican John Warner of Virginia in a letter last week to call a hearing so the committee ``can help ensure we learn from past experiences and better shape future operations.''
Warner declined to say when the vote would take place and whether it would be in open session. ``All of those matters will be taken up with members of the committee having a voice in the matter,'' he said in a brief interview today on Capitol Hill in Washington.
It will be a nice, symbolic gesture to have Rummy removed. Also about as powerful as the peace sign in my front yard. Don't get me wrong, I want the psychotic madman to go, but I'm certain Peter Pace would be next in line and therefore status quo.
Clinton, a Democrat of New York, asked Republican John Warner of Virginia in a letter last week to call a hearing so the committee ``can help ensure we learn from past experiences and better shape future operations.''
Warner declined to say when the vote would take place and whether it would be in open session. ``All of those matters will be taken up with members of the committee having a voice in the matter,'' he said in a brief interview today on Capitol Hill in Washington.
It will be a nice, symbolic gesture to have Rummy removed. Also about as powerful as the peace sign in my front yard. Don't get me wrong, I want the psychotic madman to go, but I'm certain Peter Pace would be next in line and therefore status quo.
Ava: Peace takes Courage
"Our" Ava of PeacetakesCourage hitting the big-time:
Ava Lowery is a fifteen-year-old who lives in Alabama. She calls herself a peace activist, and for the past year, she’s been producing her own short animations on her website, peacetakescourage.com. All in all, she’s made about seventy of them, she says, and most of them oppose Bush and his Iraq War.
“I was just so mad about it,” she explains. “And the media are not showing the real images of the war, so I did a lot research and started my own website.”
She submitted one of her latest creations, “WWJD,” to the monthly “contagious” contest that huffingtonpost.com is running. (It’s an open contest that ranks the number of viewers for each submission.)
“WWJD” (“What Would Jesus Do”) is a powerful animation that features a soundtrack of a child singing “Jesus loves me, this I know” while one picture after another of a wounded, bloody, or screaming Iraqi child fills the screen.
“The object of the animation,” says Lowery, is “to get the following point across: Jesus loves Iraqis, too.”
Lowery ends the video with quotations from Beatitudes, including, “Blessed are they who mourn” and “Blessed are the meek” and “Blessed are the merciful” and “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
She says she’s received a lot of positive feedback in short messages back to her site. And she understands that the fact that “people are on the web, and they just let loose.” But she was unprepared for the viciousness of the negative feedback—especially the ugly sexual slurs similar to those that Cindy Sheehan has faced. (If you can’t stand foul language, stop reading now.)
I had no idea that Ava was so young. A talented, and caring soul, Ava you give me hope for what I see as a directionless youth in America. God bless you, girl, and Elayne Riggs, too, for passing on the link to your site last year. You're wise beyond your years. Peace does indeed take courage. Thanks so much for all you do.
Ava Lowery is a fifteen-year-old who lives in Alabama. She calls herself a peace activist, and for the past year, she’s been producing her own short animations on her website, peacetakescourage.com. All in all, she’s made about seventy of them, she says, and most of them oppose Bush and his Iraq War.
“I was just so mad about it,” she explains. “And the media are not showing the real images of the war, so I did a lot research and started my own website.”
She submitted one of her latest creations, “WWJD,” to the monthly “contagious” contest that huffingtonpost.com is running. (It’s an open contest that ranks the number of viewers for each submission.)
“WWJD” (“What Would Jesus Do”) is a powerful animation that features a soundtrack of a child singing “Jesus loves me, this I know” while one picture after another of a wounded, bloody, or screaming Iraqi child fills the screen.
“The object of the animation,” says Lowery, is “to get the following point across: Jesus loves Iraqis, too.”
Lowery ends the video with quotations from Beatitudes, including, “Blessed are they who mourn” and “Blessed are the meek” and “Blessed are the merciful” and “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
She says she’s received a lot of positive feedback in short messages back to her site. And she understands that the fact that “people are on the web, and they just let loose.” But she was unprepared for the viciousness of the negative feedback—especially the ugly sexual slurs similar to those that Cindy Sheehan has faced. (If you can’t stand foul language, stop reading now.)
I had no idea that Ava was so young. A talented, and caring soul, Ava you give me hope for what I see as a directionless youth in America. God bless you, girl, and Elayne Riggs, too, for passing on the link to your site last year. You're wise beyond your years. Peace does indeed take courage. Thanks so much for all you do.
Rumsfeld's Progress
Time:
No one knows how many young women have been kidnapped and sold since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq, based in Baghdad, estimates from anecdotal evidence that more than 2,000 Iraqi women have gone missing in that period. A Western official in Baghdad who monitors the status of women in Iraq thinks that figure may be inflated but admits that sex trafficking, virtually nonexistent under Saddam, has become a serious issue. The collapse of law and order and the absence of a stable government have allowed criminal gangs, alongside terrorists, to run amuck. Meanwhile, some aid workers say, bureaucrats in the ministries have either paralyzed with red tape or frozen the assets of charities that might have provided refuge for these girls. As a result, sex trafficking has been allowed to fester unchecked.
Way to go, Bushco.
No one knows how many young women have been kidnapped and sold since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq, based in Baghdad, estimates from anecdotal evidence that more than 2,000 Iraqi women have gone missing in that period. A Western official in Baghdad who monitors the status of women in Iraq thinks that figure may be inflated but admits that sex trafficking, virtually nonexistent under Saddam, has become a serious issue. The collapse of law and order and the absence of a stable government have allowed criminal gangs, alongside terrorists, to run amuck. Meanwhile, some aid workers say, bureaucrats in the ministries have either paralyzed with red tape or frozen the assets of charities that might have provided refuge for these girls. As a result, sex trafficking has been allowed to fester unchecked.
Way to go, Bushco.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Sen. Schumer asking for military search of 9/11 Remains
I didn't know we had a military unit that specialized in such. You'd think someone would've asked for it sooner.
I guess they didn't mean that they would 'literally' stop the abuse.
BAGHDAD -- Last Nov. 13, U.S. soldiers found 173 incarcerated men, some of them emaciated and showing signs of torture, in a secret bunker in an Interior Ministry compound in central Baghdad. The soldiers immediately transferred the men to a separate detention facility to protect them from further abuse, the U.S. military reported.
Since then, there have been at least six joint U.S.-Iraqi inspections of detention centers, most of them run by Iraq's Shiite Muslim-dominated Interior Ministry. Two sources involved with the inspections, one Iraqi official and one U.S. official, said abuse of prisoners was found at all the sites visited through February. U.S. military authorities confirmed that signs of severe abuse were observed at two of the detention centers.
But U.S. troops have not responded by removing all the detainees, as they did in November. Instead, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials, only a handful of the most severely abused detainees at a single site were removed for medical treatment. Prisoners at two other sites were removed to alleviate overcrowding. U.S. and Iraqi authorities left the rest where they were.
This practice of leaving the detainees in place has raised concerns that detainees now face additional threats. It has also prompted fresh questions from the inspectors about whether the United States has honored a pledge by Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that U.S. troops would attempt to stop inhumane treatment if they saw it.
Pace said at a news conference Nov. 29 with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, "It is absolutely the responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene to stop it." Turning to Pace, Rumsfeld responded: "I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it."
"If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it," Pace answered.
The Iraqi official familiar with the joint inspections said detainees who are not moved to other facilities are left vulnerable. "They tell us, 'If you leave us here, they will kill us,' " said the Iraqi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because, he said, he and other Iraqis involved with inspections had received death threats.
The U.S. official involved in the inspections, who would not be identified by name, described in an e-mail the abuse found during some of the visits since the Nov. 13 raid: "Numerous bruises on the arms, legs and feet. A lot of the Iraqis had separated shoulders and problems with their hands and fingers too. You could also see strap marks on some of their backs."
"I was not in charge of the team who went to the sites. If so, I would have taken them out," the U.S. official wrote, referring to the detainees. "We set a precedent and we were given guidance" from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "but for some reason it is not being followed."
[...]
The two sources involved in the joint inspections said the visits after November included an Interior Ministry detention center in Baghdad, which was inspected twice; a Defense Ministry site near the Green Zone; an Interior Ministry site in the city of Kut; an Interior Ministry site in the Muthanna neighborhood of Baghdad; and a "maximum crimes facility" in Baghdad.
The two sources said that at three of those sites, prisoners were being held by the Wolf Brigade, one of the Interior Ministry commando forces most feared by Sunnis.
After the Nov. 13 raid, Iraqi-U.S. teams inspected ministry sites on Dec. 8, Dec. 20, Dec. 28, Jan. 19, Feb. 16 and March 22, according to Lt. Col. Kevin Curry, spokesman for U.S. detention operations.
Curry added in a statement: "At one of the sites, thirteen detainees showed signs of abuse that required immediate medical care. The signs of abuse included broken bones, indications that they had been beaten with hoses and wires, signs that they had been hung from the ceiling, and cigarette burns. These individuals were transferred to a nearby Iraqi detention facility and provided medical care. Most of the abuse appeared to have occurred prior to arriving at that site.
"There were several cases of physical abuse at one other inspection site. These included evidence of scars, missing toenails, dislocated shoulders, severe bruising, and cigarette burns. At the time of the inspection, most of the apparent injuries were months old; however, there were indications that three cases of abuse occurred within a week of the inspection. No detainee required immediate hospitalization for injuries at that site," Curry said.
It sounds like Rummy can finally retire and pass on the reigns to Peter Pace. Things in Iraq will continue status quo, and the young general is able to spread bullshit like butter when dealing with the media.
"The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming"
ThinkProgress: On "60 Minutes", CIA Official Reveals Bush, Cheney, Rice Were Personally Told Iraq Had No WMD in Fall 2002.
Fall-out
[REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko]
A young cancer patient sleeps in the oncological centre for children in the village of Lesnoi, near Minsk. Ukraine and Belarus are marking the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster this month, considered the worst accident in the history of nuclear power, which resulted in a substantial increase in radiation-induced diseases among the general population in the areas worst affected by radioactive fall-out.
Happy Birthday
Michael J. Stanley Jr. marked his 20th birthday on March 25, the same day he lost part of his right leg in Iraq.
The Hazleton man told his family he heard the click before an improvised explosive device tore into his body near Ramadi.
The last thing he remembered was yelling for help and a medic cutting off his pants leg, his aunt, Jan Fontana, said.
She talked to him two days before his unit came under heavy fire and he told her that he wanted to come home, she said.
“They hate us over here. I’m in the worst possible place you can be in this country,” he told her. “I want to come home.”
In the cruel twists of war, Stanley got his wish.
The Hazleton man told his family he heard the click before an improvised explosive device tore into his body near Ramadi.
The last thing he remembered was yelling for help and a medic cutting off his pants leg, his aunt, Jan Fontana, said.
She talked to him two days before his unit came under heavy fire and he told her that he wanted to come home, she said.
“They hate us over here. I’m in the worst possible place you can be in this country,” he told her. “I want to come home.”
In the cruel twists of war, Stanley got his wish.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
"Watch the War President"
Viggo Mortensen via Perceval Press:
"Beware of the Bush administration keeping the issues of immigration reform and potential overt military action in Iran bubbling for no other reason than to grandstand and make dangerously distracting noises leading up to the elections this autumn. The case for impeachment proceedings and/or criminal prosecutions to be initiated as soon as possible against George W. Bush and against various members of his administration -- past and present -- clearly continues to grow. It will take new Democratic Party majorities in the House and Senate, however slim, for some justice to finally be done. Please let's be mindful of this all summer, and not allow ourselves or our representatives to be diverted from starting in earnest on the hard but worthwhile job of returning the government of the United States to its people. Let's show some spine by simply continuing to seek and tell the truth. If we persist in doing so, hopefully a significant number of our elected officials might take heart from our example and find the courage to do the same." -V.M.
"Beware of the Bush administration keeping the issues of immigration reform and potential overt military action in Iran bubbling for no other reason than to grandstand and make dangerously distracting noises leading up to the elections this autumn. The case for impeachment proceedings and/or criminal prosecutions to be initiated as soon as possible against George W. Bush and against various members of his administration -- past and present -- clearly continues to grow. It will take new Democratic Party majorities in the House and Senate, however slim, for some justice to finally be done. Please let's be mindful of this all summer, and not allow ourselves or our representatives to be diverted from starting in earnest on the hard but worthwhile job of returning the government of the United States to its people. Let's show some spine by simply continuing to seek and tell the truth. If we persist in doing so, hopefully a significant number of our elected officials might take heart from our example and find the courage to do the same." -V.M.
Rumsfeld's Progress
BAGHDAD, April 22 (UPI) -- Faud Radi and Haidar Jawad, Iraqi children's entertainers, were executed by armed militias -- the new moral guardians of Baghdad.
The two actors were part of the Happy Family Team, a troupe seen on television and adored by millions of children, the Times of London reported. Their troupe was part of an 11-day festival intended to help youngsters forget Baghdad's curfews, bombings and the dangers of daily life.
The group had been threatened by gunmen who objected to drama classes the company gave to children of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds, the newspaper said.
"We didn't take them seriously," said Safaa Eadi, 31, a founding member of Happy Family Team.
I'll be using this post title a lot, as we should never let this administration know that we don't believe their happy bullshit lies, and if we don't get congress to stop Rumsfeld now this sort of news will continue to spread like weeds throughout the middle east.
The two actors were part of the Happy Family Team, a troupe seen on television and adored by millions of children, the Times of London reported. Their troupe was part of an 11-day festival intended to help youngsters forget Baghdad's curfews, bombings and the dangers of daily life.
The group had been threatened by gunmen who objected to drama classes the company gave to children of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds, the newspaper said.
"We didn't take them seriously," said Safaa Eadi, 31, a founding member of Happy Family Team.
I'll be using this post title a lot, as we should never let this administration know that we don't believe their happy bullshit lies, and if we don't get congress to stop Rumsfeld now this sort of news will continue to spread like weeds throughout the middle east.
Dump the old fart.
REPUBLICANS are urging President George W Bush to dump Dick Cheney as vice-president and replace him with Condoleezza Rice if he is serious about presenting a new face to the jaded American public.
They believe that only the sacrifice of one or more of the big beasts of the jungle, such as Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, will convince voters that Bush understands the need for a fresh start.
The jittery Republicans claim Bush’s mini-White House reshuffle last week will do nothing to forestall the threat of losing control of Congress in the November mid-term elections.
Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard magazine and author of Rebel in Chief, a sympathetic new biography of Bush, said: “There are going to have to be sweeping personnel changes if people are going to take a second look at the Bush presidency.”
Barnes, who is close to the White House, said he believed Cheney would be willing to stand down in order to help Bush. “It’s unlike Bush to dump somebody whom he likes and respects,” he cautioned. “But the president needs to do something shocking and dramatic such as putting in Condoleezza Rice.”
I don't know, does it really matter which lying liar is the VP? Although, it might be just the stage Condi needs to announce a run for POTUS in '08. This would leave bush with the dilemma of who to fill the Sec.of State slot. Rush Limbaugh? Ann Coulter? Wile E. Coyote?
Sneaky Shrub
Came across this photo on the front page of RawStory today, and ThinkProgress picked up just a bit ago the purpose of Bush's visit to Stanford's Hoover Institution buried in today's WaPo. At a quick glance, I thought I was looking at a photo of the protesting in Nepal.
President Bush's visit to Stanford University's Hoover Institution was quickly moved to another location after more than 1,000 protesters converged around the Hoover tower.
The White House said the protesters blocked the only road into the central areaof the campus where Hoover is located, which forced a meeting with several Hoover fellows to be moved to the campus home of former Secretary of State George Shultz, a Hoover fellow who organized the gathering.
The Running of the Bullshit
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., plan to send a letter to the president Monday asking him to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Justice Department to investigate price gouging and instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to ease rules in order to help oil refiners produce adequate gasoline supplies, Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean said.
Time to contact your Reps, if you've not already done so. The easing of the rules sought by Hastert and Frist would give oil refineries a pass on the 'summer blend' gasoline that contains ethanol. Part of the oil co's rational for the record high gasoline prices is the cost/time of the emptying and cleaning of the tanks to switch over to the summer blend, which I think is more hooey than it is simply the oil companies having fits because this ethanol blend is just the beginning of what will lead to the eventual independence from crude oil. The auto industry could make the switch in 6 months on the late model and newer vehicles. Simple adjustments to the fuel injectors. The poor motherfuckers must be besides themselves.
Time to contact your Reps, if you've not already done so. The easing of the rules sought by Hastert and Frist would give oil refineries a pass on the 'summer blend' gasoline that contains ethanol. Part of the oil co's rational for the record high gasoline prices is the cost/time of the emptying and cleaning of the tanks to switch over to the summer blend, which I think is more hooey than it is simply the oil companies having fits because this ethanol blend is just the beginning of what will lead to the eventual independence from crude oil. The auto industry could make the switch in 6 months on the late model and newer vehicles. Simple adjustments to the fuel injectors. The poor motherfuckers must be besides themselves.
Touched by Rumsfeld's Progress
An Iraqi man holds the head of another man wounded in a bomb blast as he is treated by doctors Saturday April 22, 2006 in Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Suspected insurgents set off two bombs in a public market in northern Iraq on Saturday, the second one timed to hit emergency crews arriving at the scene. The blasts killed at least two Iraqis and wounded 17, police said.(AP Photo/Mohammed Adnan)
Heh.
Todd Harris, a consultant with the firm that helped run Jeb Bush's gubernatorial campaigns and who is not related to Katherine Harris, summed up his reaction this way: "Oy vey."
"The problems she's had haven't been a steady trickle," he said. "They've been a steady flood.
"They keep trying to turn the corner, but they end up right back where they started."
He said many Republicans feel the 2006 Senate race will be a "huge wasted opportunity." They view Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson as "eminently beatable," but probably not by Katherine Harris.
Todd Harris, however, still think it's unlikely that another Republican will challenge her in the primary because she has millions of dollars to spend, enormous name recognition and solid support among the Republican base.
So what would Todd Harris do if he were handling Katherine Harris' campaign?
"I'd kill myself."
Kathy has a special way of growing on folks.
"The problems she's had haven't been a steady trickle," he said. "They've been a steady flood.
"They keep trying to turn the corner, but they end up right back where they started."
He said many Republicans feel the 2006 Senate race will be a "huge wasted opportunity." They view Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson as "eminently beatable," but probably not by Katherine Harris.
Todd Harris, however, still think it's unlikely that another Republican will challenge her in the primary because she has millions of dollars to spend, enormous name recognition and solid support among the Republican base.
So what would Todd Harris do if he were handling Katherine Harris' campaign?
"I'd kill myself."
Kathy has a special way of growing on folks.
Friday, April 21, 2006
The Oil Preznit on Gasoline Prices
As oil prices hit a record, drivers worried about $3-a-gallon gas and politicians feared the impact on elections, President Bush on Friday acknowledged the pain but seemed resigned to being able to do little about it.
Worthless motherfucker.
Worthless motherfucker.
Detroit Red Wings 3-2 Over the Edmonton Oilers
In Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Friday. I have no idea who came up with this new advertising logo, nor what a purple octopus has to do with hockey.
Welcome to the msm's Weird Thoughts.
Daniel Henniger @ WSJ:
"Kevin Ray Underwood, the repressed Oklahoma cannibal, kept an Internet "blog" of his compulsions for years before kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old neighbor last week. On his blog, Kevin wrote a lot about Kevin: "The reason for my lackluster social life is a severe case of social anxiety and depression. I'm on medication now, which helps a lot. Well, in ways."
I don't think the blogosphere is breeding cannibals. But it looks to me as if the world of blogs may be filling up with people who for the previous 200 millennia of human existence kept their weird thoughts more or less to themselves. Now, they don't have to. They've got the Web. Now they can share."
Discuss.
"Kevin Ray Underwood, the repressed Oklahoma cannibal, kept an Internet "blog" of his compulsions for years before kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old neighbor last week. On his blog, Kevin wrote a lot about Kevin: "The reason for my lackluster social life is a severe case of social anxiety and depression. I'm on medication now, which helps a lot. Well, in ways."
I don't think the blogosphere is breeding cannibals. But it looks to me as if the world of blogs may be filling up with people who for the previous 200 millennia of human existence kept their weird thoughts more or less to themselves. Now, they don't have to. They've got the Web. Now they can share."
Discuss.
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