Tomorrow: Kerry speech on national security and foreign policy

Tomorrow: Kerry speech on national security and foreign policy

John Kerry is due to give a key speech tomorrow on national security and foreign policy. It will mark the start-off of an 11-day period focusing on his ideas for winning the war in Iraq and fighting terrorism. He will allegedly promise to craft a foreign policy that would make it unnecessary to have a conventional military draft.

While Adam Nagourney and Richard W. Stevenson claim that Kerry's Iraq views are much like Bush's , I would implore them and all Americans to weigh this question (posed by LeMoyne College philosophy professor John Schonsheck):

At this point [in the Iraq war],there may well be no good options for either a President Kerry or a President Bush. But that does not imply there are no differences between them.

One distinguishing question that comes to the fore:

"Should we continue to follow the steely-eyed leadership of the candidate who has jumped us into deep water with large rocks in our pockets? Or perhaps more accurately - who has jumped us into deep water, with anvils chained to our necks?"

[LINK]

Gore: Rumsfeld, Rice, Tenet Should Resign

Gore: Rumsfeld, Rice, Tenet Should Resign

In a speech at New York University today, Gore argued that officials, including several of Rumsfeld’s top civilian deputies, should step down because the situation in Iraq is out of control. He called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, CIA director George Tenet, and national security adviser Condoleeza Rice. [LINK]

TRANSCRIPT OF TODAY'S SPEECH

27 Rationales for Iraq War

27 Rationales for Iraq War

27 reasons...were any good enough?

See Devon M. Largio's Senior Honors Thesis titled:
“Uncovering the Rationales for the War on Iraq:
The Words of the Bush Administration, Congress, and the Media
from September 12, 2001 to October 11, 2002”

Department of Political Science
University of Illinois

Ms. Largio covers them all..including everything from the five front-runners – war on terror, prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, lack of weapons inspections, removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Saddam Hussein is 'evil', to the "also-rans" – Sen. Joe Lieberman’s “because Saddam Hussein hates us,” Colin Powell’s “because it’s a violation of international law,” and Richard Perle’s “because we can make Iraq an example and gain favor within the Middle East.” With regard to the Bush administration’s shift from bin Laden to Saddam, Ms. Largio found that Iraq was “part of the plan for the war on terror early in the game.”

A must-read.

[LINK] (pdf)

Conspiracy theories and Sibel Edmonds- Village Voice

Conspiracy theories and Sibel Edmonds-
Village Voice

Why are there so many conspiracy theories swimming around about the death of Nick Berg? At the Village Voice, Kareem Fahim explores the reasons for such skepticism. [LINK]

Richard Goldstein provides an exploration of why the news media keeps silent when rumors (like those surrounding Nick Berg's death) sweep the internet. [LINK]

James Ridgeway is trying to help us figure out why the FBI is going back in time and classifying some pretty basic information (involving 9-11 whistleblower Sibel Edmonds) that's already out there in the public sector. [LINK]

A dedicated Marine fed up with armchair hawks

A dedicated Marine fed up with armchair hawks

This letter to the editor appeared yesterday in the Syracuse Post Standard:

I am a Marine Corps officer in the reserves who was activated and deployed to Iraq in spring 2003 for the invasion phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am proud of my unit and its performance in-theatre. We were going to defend our country against what we thought was an imminent threat to our soil. Regardless, my Marines deserve the highest praise for their performance. They did their duty without exception. They are very simply the best I have ever seen among men.

I would do my duty again in Iraq, as may be the case if a new unit of which I am a part is deployed next year (it's still up in the air, I'm told).

I am a Republican with conservative viewpoints. My point, ironically, is that I am sick to death of all of the "hawks" and pro-war slogans spewed from the mouths of individuals around our country who have never had to stare down a bullet or a piece of hot shrapnel that can very easily tear bodies in half.

Unless you are a hawk who has been in combat, or you have had a loved one go into harm's way and dealt with the long, sleepless hours, not knowing if he or she is alive and well, as my beloved mother had to endure, then shut the heck up! "Send more troops . . . Go get 'em, George" - please! Give such shortsighted individuals a helmet, body armor and a rifle, drop them off in Baghdad in 120-degree heat with no sleep or shower for weeks, and say: "You go get 'em, tough guy."

I'm sorry. I needed to vent that as I watch so many troops and their families who sacrifice on a daily basis. My thoughts are truly with them. God bless them for all they put up with.

Capt. Eric R. Lindgren, USMC

[LINK]

President Bush: Fire Douglas Feith!

President Bush: Fire Douglas Feith!


President Bush needs to make himself accountable as leader of the U.S. by firing those responsible for many accounted-for errors and misleadings.

Douglas Feith is only one of those responsible for the lies and screw-ups regarding the Iraq situation, but there is no doubt he played a major role and needs to suffer the consequences.

If there are no consequences to egregious actions, then the President deliberately harbors the egregious. This would make him vicariously egregious and highly negligent.

How can any American stand for such negligence of duty?

__________

General Tommy Franks on Douglas Feith:

"I have to deal with the f*cking stupidest guy on the face of the earth almost every day."
From Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack"

__________

The fact that Bush is failing to clean these incompetents from his administration leads me to confirm my belief that there ARE nothing BUT incompetents in the administration...starting at the very top.

From Pharyngula:

Once upon a time, America stood for liberty, democracy, and forward-thinking confidence. At least we could tell ourselves that we aspired to those things, even if we did frequently stumble over our flaws....
[LINK]

Cicada Sings

Cicada Sings



All these were gather'd at the Scaean gate;
By age exempt from war, but in discourse
Abundant, as the cricket, that on high
From topmost boughs of forest tree sends forth
His delicate music; so on Ilium's tow'rs
Sat the sage chiefs and councillors of Troy.

--From Homer's Iliad

Gas prices: Bush gets a lucky break on public perception

Gas prices: Bush gets a lucky break on public perception

In a recent Gallup poll, one in five people blamed corporate greed for the high cost of gas, and one in five blamed the war in Iraq. Only 5% blamed President Bush, suggesting he has escaped political damage so far.

President Bush is a pretty lucky political soul. If Americans kept themselves properly informed (see NY Times' $40-a-Barrel Mistake), they would easily see how some of the President's failures in leadership have, indeed, contributed to the higher fuel prices.

Until citizens commit themselves to self-education and until they can properly "connect the dots", we are going to be sadly bilked and will never realize who's actually picking our pockets.

Iraq photos (warning: graphic)

Iraq photos (warning: some graphic)




I literally stumbled upon this website today. There is a stunning collection of photos from the Iraq war (in its early stages) on the site. Some are quite graphic and show the ugliness of war. Others are inspirational. Mr. Denne has collected the works of a gifted photographer(photographers?).

Here is the LINK.

Slice of Life at Camps Baker, Hotel, and Golf

Slice of Life at Camps Baker, Hotel, and Golf

I dreamt last night that I was in the center of war-torn Baghdad and I heard the mortar shells exploding and felt a fear I'd not known before. I awoke and knew I was safe, for it was only a nightmare. I thought about the men and women living the nightmare...the troops...and the inncocent civilians of the cities of Iraq.


AP photo

I was reading the Army Times and noticed a nicely-written piece about the soldier's life in the camps and the feelings generated by extended tours.

I saw a reminder of an American's everyday fear and hope while working in Iraq:

Phil Kosnett, a 43-year-old American diplomat who heads the CPA team in Najaf, likes to highlight the contrast between his team’s situation and the image of Foreign Service work as one elegant cocktail party after another. Kosnett, of Black Mountain, N.C., keeps a pistol strapped to his thigh and hopes the mortars that strike the camps every day don’t find their mark.

I found it an unusual lesson- knowing that certain civilians are paid extremely well while the common American soldier takes a meager portion of the civilians' pay. It is also a lesson when you understand that the common soldier is looking forward to leaving the U.S. armed forces in the hopes to strike it rich as a privately-paid warrior.

Also banking on a prosperous future are some of the civilian contractors, especially security experts. One topic of conversation among American soldiers is how much these former Navy SEALs and Special Forces veterans earn, and how the servicemen can get one of those jobs when they get out of the army. The elite among them pocket up to $1,000 a day. That’s the same amount as the monthly bonus given to soldiers whose stay was extended last month.

What is the future of the strength and integrity of the U.S. armed forces when so many are planning on passing up the opportunity for re-enlistment because mercenary work is far more lucrative?

N.Y. Times admits flawed Iraq (Judith Miller) coverage

N.Y. Times admits flawed Iraq (Judith Miller) coverage

On Monday, I had commented:

"Over the past year and a half, I've been saying how wrong these journalists have been and what a disservice they've done to the American people. Will they suffer any consequences? The N.Y. Times will eventually have to apologize to the people of America (and the world) for an inept journalist they still employ..Judith Miller."

Slate had pointed out the truth about Judith Miller's nearly criminal journalism in a May 18th article and commented on the NY Times Editor's notes on May 25.

Today, the New York Times' mea culpa appeared.

See The Times and Iraq

We need to weed out those who perpetuate false and misleading information.
I saw Laurie Mylroie on CSPAN this morning. Not only is she perpetuating the tired fallacies about WMD and the Iraq-9-11 connection, she comes off as a bit of a giggling, bitter anti-Clinton simpleton. I can hardly believe she is professionally supported as a credible academic.

Unrealistic expectations will take more American lives

Unrealistic expectations will take more American lives

Those who stand to make the most money manipulate perception of reality for capital gain

There is no way on God's earth a new Iraqi force will be ready, willing, or able within "months".

"It will be very unusual if we were not able to secure security within the next year. The multinational force [in Iraq], as much as its presence is needed, will need
over time replaced by indigenous Iraqi forces, and we expect that to happen. It [will be] a matter of months before the Iraqi security forces are properly trained and equipped. So hopefully before the end of year - and certainly before the elections for the new constitutional assembly - we should have Iraqi security forces by and large in a position to take greater responsibility for security in their own country."

--Dr. Ali Alawi, Minister of Trade

[LINK]

Prepare for the "very unusual".

Don't miss the Rebuild Iraq trade show and don't forget your civic lessons.

We Need A Hero

We Need A Hero

It isn't going to be George W. Bush. Someone needs to sit down and have a serious chat with David Brooks.

First, Brooks claims our national creed states that "our creator has endowed all human beings with the right to liberty, and the ability to function as democratic citizens".

"Ability to function as democratic citizens"? Isn't Mr. Brooks taking God-given liberty to revise old Tom Jefferson's words? When Jefferson wrote "..they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation"...the word "they" didn't mean to give future Americans the right to impose undue influence on another nation's idea for independence!

Brooks says: "Bush is putting this tenet of our national creed to a fearsome test in the worst possible circumstances."

In other words, Bush is imposing freedom on the Iraqis in the name of the American way. The very words impose and freedom are impossible philosophical bedfellows. We had a chance to create the conditions for freedom in Iraq. That's as much as we will ever be able to do, in righteousness.

I still recall, however, how the American people were LIED TO (bald-faced)about the reasons for going to war in Iraq. Before the pre-emptive strike, it was about the imminent threat to America. It was about WMDs. Lies are not honorable. This war was not waged in an honorable light.

While it may have been ultimately good for the Iraqis to be rid of Saddam Hussein, the war has done too much damage to the trust of the American people. Almost 800 American families have forever given up their sons and daughters for the imposition of freedom upon a people who never required or desired it from us.

Our American soldiers are heroes.

We need a leader who can match their courage, wit, and understanding of what it means to love your country with your last breath, if need be. That's what it means to be a hero.



Bush is not the hero we seek.

David Brooks says that if Bush succeeds, the Iraqis will "take responsibility for their future" as they begin to "regard Americans as necessary guests" and they will ultimately "feel they control their lives".

I wonder how it is David Brooks doesn't see that the Iraqis are already "taking responsibility for their future" in their obvious desire to expel Americans from their lands? How is it that Brooks doesn't see that Iraqis obviously have a strong desire to "control their own lives"?

Is he blind?

There is going to be a civil war in Iraq this summer. Many more American troops will have to die because of too many blind pundits and the chickenhawk leaders who make the word "freedom" their political whore.

The best thing that could happen for Bush (and our troops) is to have the new Iraqi interim government tell the U.S., come July 1st, to get out of their country.

People who blow themselves up and leaders who command their armies to storm into nations with bombs and guns always claim to know the 'truth' better than everybody else. They almost always claim to know what "God wants" or "what God said". None of them are acting in righteousness, which, in the end, is always love.

Using the words of the poet Hafiz, truth means having "profound courage to never relinquish love".

Let the Iraqis be the free people and the free nation God intended them to be.
It's what they want.

America is not God.

God is God.

_____________________________


The Diamond Takes Shape



Some parrots
Have become so skilled with
The human voice

They could give a brilliant discourse
About freedom and God

And an unsighted man nearby might
Even begin applauding with
The thought:

I just heard jewels fall from a
Great saint's mouth,

Though my Master used to say,

"The diamond takes shape slowly
With integrity's great force,

And from

The profound courage to never relinquish love."



Some parrots have become so skilled
With words,

The blind turn over their gold
And lives to caged

Feathers.

--'The Gift - Poems by Hafiz The Great Sufi Master'
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky

The unaccountable Bush blames it on history

The unaccountable Bush blames it on history

"In the last 32 months, history has placed great demands on our country."

In the last 32 months, Bush has placed our country where she remains today. She is disgraced in the eyes of our allies after the Neocons barreled their way into convincing the soft-headed Mr. Bush to take America to unnecessary war.

History demands nothing.

History merely watches the sages and the fools.

Perhaps Mr. Bush will blame God next. After all, t'was God who whispered in his destiny-clad ears, yes?

What do I think of last night's speech, you ask? If you've noticed I've said nothing, you may already have your answer.

____________________

*Speaking of sages, NYCO says: "..it is such a time we live in, that mere adults come off as sages." Sad, yes?

WorldNetDaily helps launch plot to steal the election

Secession looming!

WorldNetDaily: Christians look to form 'new nation' within U.S.

"The plan initially calls for at least 12,000 Christians willing to be active in political campaigns to move to the Palmetto State. "

Pay close attention to who moves where in time for our lofty election coming up. Interstate redistricting? Can not these people play fair??

anonymoses

______________________

Good one, Dave. I've noticed public pleas for people to move to swing states to vote both GOP and Dem. Politics is such a dirty game. Unfortunately, the GOP always seems to know how to play the dirty games more efficiently.

About this secession news, perhaps Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson will become the President of the nation of South Carolina. Can you imagine? How rich!

The whole scenario is deliciously reminiscent of the secessions of the mid-nineteenth century when the argument was over slavery. Gays are the neo-slaves, I guess.

I wonder how many people would fight to the death in a bloody civil war while defending the cry- "Let my people marry!"?

Yesterday we had abolitionists.
Today we have abo-swish-inists.

The silliest (perhaps scariest) part is that our own President is one of these goofball fundamentalists.

Jude

Abu Graib and the Right Wing Culture Warriors

Abu Graib and the Right Wing Culture Warriors

Timothy Noah writes about how the right-wing culture warriors blame the Abu Graib prisoner abuse on moral relativism, gays, pornography, feminists, Quentin Tarantino, the Farrelly Brothers, women in the military, the academic left, the liberal media/entertainment complex, journalists' Vietnam-bred hostility toward the military, our "sick" society...

They blame anyone but those actually accountable--starting with the Commander in Chief and the Secretary of Defense..and on down.

Who or what do we blame for this kind of attempted blame-escape?
Ignorance? Poor character? Pride? Partisanship?


[LINK]

'Nick Berg Was a Soldier of Peace' by Michael Berg

'Nick Berg Was a Soldier of Peace'
by Michael Berg, father of Nicholas Berg

..George Bush can see neither the heart of Nicholas nor the American people — let alone the people his policies are killing daily.
..Donald Rumsfeld said that he took the responsibility for the sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners. How could he take that responsibility when there was no consequence? Nick took the consequences of the policies both stated and given with a wink and a nod by the Bush administration. And, even more than those murderers who took my son's life, I can't stand those who sit and make policies to end lives and break the lives of the still living.
..George Bush's ineffective leadership is a weapon of mass destruction and it has allowed a chain reaction of events that lead to the unlawful detention of my son.
..Many people have offered to pray for Nick and my family. I appreciate their thoughts, but I ask them to include in their prayers a prayer for peace. I ask them to do more than pray. I ask them to demand it from the politicians and leaders in the White House and in the statehouses across the world and in the mountain camps where they may hide. And let them know that if you don't get it, they aren't going to work for you as their leaders any more.

It's Monday

It's Monday

NY Times- An American U.N. resolution draft, critical to efforts to make the United Nations more involved in Iraq, is expected to call for international donations and troops. It is also supposed to define any limitations on Iraq's sovereignty after the transfer of power planned for June 30.



Thanks to Bohemian Mama for pointing me to a listing of 25 things we have learned on Fox News. Bohemian Mama also has some interesting thoughts on Atrocity Fatigue.



This photo bothers me because of the distinct resemblance of the prisoner's stance to Christ's crucifixion pose. The shit on the prisoner's back doesn't increase my joy in seeing the image.

*Note: A friend mentioned to me today that he suspected this photo was a fake. We really don't know, but if you look at it very closely, it does seem quite suspect. In all fairness, I thought I'd submit this possibility to you, my fine readers.*



"This shit has been brewing for months. You don't keep prisoners naked in their cell and then let them get bitten by dogs. This is sick. We don't raise kids to do things like that. When you go after Mullah Omar, that's one thing. But when you give the authority to kids who don't know the rules, that's another."
-An unnamed Pentagon consultant
from Seymour Hersh/ The Gray Zone



I found a lovely recipe for homemade strawberry ice cream.


In The Sun magazine's May 2004 edition, Robert Bly says the U.S. is the insane, obsessed father who took Iraq and bombed it back into childhood. The negative father has come forward almost nakedly and has beaten a country that was already on its knees. We citizens are broken in spirit upon finding out that our father has been beating all our sisters and brothers. (We are all brothers and sisters, regardless of country).



What they see.....

Fragments of musical instruments, tufts of women's hair, and a large blood stain..



Pools of blood lay inside the green-domed Sahla mosque...


What we hear......

Wedding party?! Those killed were involved in smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq and that the houses attacked were way stations for militants.



We said we weren't going to attack sacred sites in holy cities. Well, we are. Period. U.S. soldiers fought militiamen (note-it doesn't say "terrorists"-) near Kufa's Sahla mosque and then raided it for weapons after an Iraqi counterterrorism force "cleared" the site.

Democratic Détente

Democratic Détente
The party's 20-year-old fights are -- well, 20 years old. Enough already

For Democrats, E. J. Dionne lays out ten arguments no longer worth having and replaces them with ten positions he believes are worth taking.

[LINK]

Iraq / War on Terror: Today's News and Views

Iraq / War on Terror: Today's News and Views

BBC- Karbala calm as militia withdraws

Karbala, which is 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of Baghdad, is home to the shrine of Imam Hussein - one of the holiest places for the world's Shia Muslims. On Friday more than 2,000 Iraqis demonstrated demanding that Mr Sadr's men leave the city. And on Tuesday Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, said all armed forces should be withdrawn from the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

Reuters- Bill Clinton: U.N. Should Lead Iraq Effort

"I don't think Iraq was about oil and imperialism but it was about unilateralism over cooperation as way to shape the world in the 21st century," Clinton said in a comment about the Bush administration's approach to foreign policy.

Paul de Rooij- A Political Obituary: Colin Powell, DOA

Sometimes it is worth writing someone's obituary ahead of schedule. In the case of politicians, the purpose of an obituary is to serve as a warning against the political zombies those politicians who are politically spent or have lost their souls.

WP- Prison Visits By General Reported In Hearing; Alleged Presence of Sanchez Cited by Lawyer

A military lawyer for a soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib abuse case stated that a captain at the prison said the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in Iraq was present during some "interrogations and/or allegations of the prisoner abuse," according to a recording of a military hearing obtained by The Washington Post.

WP/Robin Wright- President Plans Drive To Rescue Iraq Policy; Speeches, U.N. Action Will Focus on Future

President Bush will launch an ambitious campaign tomorrow night to shift attention from recent setbacks that have eroded domestic and international support for U.S. policy in Iraq, particularly the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the escalating violence, and focus instead on the future of post-occupation Iraq.

Sunday Herald- Wedding massacre at Makr al-Deeb will fuel resistance against occupying forces

The bombing started at 3am on Wednesday. The villagers from the tiny desert community of Makr al-Deeb were fast asleep, exhausted after a day spent celebrating a wedding. By the time the bombing had stopped and the advancing GIs had finished marauding and shooting their way through the remains of the village, the Americans had killed at least 42 innocent people.

Guardian commment- Here Be Monsters

What happens next will determine the future of Iraq, the region and perhaps the world. The fantasy of Osama bin Laden may be forestalled only if the US coalition, in thrall to myth, can finally sift the real from the imagined.

Gen. Anthony Zinni speaks

Gen. Anthony Zinni speaks-
NeoCons created their own intelligence to match their needs

No personal accountability for negligence and incompetence

"In the lead-up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw, at minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility; at worst, lying, incompetence and corruption."

"....regardless of whose responsibility [it is]...it should be evident to everybody that they've screwed up, and whose heads are rolling on this?"

-Gen. Anthony Zinni [LINK]


Gen. Zinni declared Iraq a diminishing power and of little threat before we ignorantly marched in. [LINK]

SEE: The 10 mistakes: Gen. Anthony Zinni, former CentCom commander, lists the catastrophic blunders made by the Bush team that led to the Iraq nightmare
[LINK]

Proof: Blair suspected Bush was incompetent boor

Proof: Blair suspected Bush was incompetent boor

And other unfortunately true sordid stories

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi has been heavily criticized this week by the GOP for stating (and sticking with) the obvious: Bush is an incompetent leader. [LINK]

A new revelation surrounding the Blair government's early misgivings about Bush is now exposed. [LINK]

In the field of journalism, many mainstream (pre-Iraq-war) pundits (Ted Rall called them "war-pimps") now have runny egg all over their faces. Suddenly, they're all pulling back...some saying what Dennis Kucinich has been stating all along. (Unless you're William Safire, who still clings to stubborn ideas that time has proven false...is he senile?) Over the past year and a half, I've been saying how wrong these journalists have been and what a disservice they've done to the American people. Will they suffer any consequences? The N.Y. Times will eventually have to apologize to the people of America (and the world) for an inept journalist they still employ..Judith Miller.

Ahmad Chalabi is a total mess. He's all over the board in his own self-defense...a poor witness on his own behalf. He says he wants our troops out of his country..."Let my people go free" he says (after 793 Americans died for this piece of shit's cause). He is creating a carefully-crafted scene where it's Chalabi vs. Tenet...a good cover, I suppose..given that Tenet assured Bush that the WMD issue would be a "slam-dunk" as a public-convincing reason for attacking Iraq. It's all too obvious the White House is now trying to distance themselves from Chalabi when we know (damned well) the flim-flam flunky has been their favoured war-pimping political instrument. It seems he's been a Judas to (and for) the Bush administration. He may as well hang himself a la Judas, because by the time this is all over, he will be a worthless, used piece of slime ready to slink easily through the gutterhole.
(See various views on the Chalabi situation from Juan Cole, Juan Cole (2), Andrew Cockburn, Jim Lobe, and Atrios).


The great "hand-off" on June 30th is close-at-hand. Bush-supporters lead the blind to believe the bad guys will be silenced on July 1st. We already know this is not true...General Abizaid told us as much last week. A civil war is about to erupt in the blistering heat of the cruel Iraqi summer.

Bush will begin his new spin on Iraq tomorrow night. He's expected to outline a plan of action to dispel the idea that we don't know what we're doing on Iraq. Bush will explain to Americans and people around the world that the United States has "a plan to overcome the security problems and the political impasse in Iraq", an official said. (per ABC's Political Note).

Look at me, Ma

Look at me, Ma..I'm...

Saudi Arabia has been working hard

"Saudi Arabia has been and will continue to be a strong and reliable energy partner. We are working to bring prices down for George W. Bush's re-election consumers."

- Prince Bandar bin Sultan


Ref: OPEC Unity Threatened by Saudi Promises

The Point- William Rivers Pitt

The Point-
William Rivers Pitt



I dreamed kind Jesus fouled the big-gun gears;

And caused a permanent stoppage in all bolts;

And buckled with a smile Mausers and Colts;

And rusted every bayonet with His tears.



And there were no more bombs, of ours or theirs,
Not even an old flint-lock, not even a pikel.
But God was vexed, and gave all power to Michael;
And when I woke he'd seen to our repairs.

-- Wilfred Owen, "Soldier's Dream"

It is safe to say that a majority of Americans would weep no bitter tears for any hard-core al Qaeda fighters left alone with several angry MI officers and a snarling dog, if such tactics would keep further 9/11 attacks from taking place. Such is the state of our morality in the 21st century, but for the moment, that is beside the point.

The point is four-fold:

a) The seven soldiers at the center of the Abu Ghraib scandal did not perpetrate these horrors on their own, but were ordered to do so. According to Sgt. Provance, those orders are now being covered up.

b) The torture took place because George W. Bush, Don Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft decided that Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners were not subject to the protections of the Geneva Conventions. The orders that created a torture-friendly environment came from the very, very top.

c) The strictures of the Geneva Conventions were deliberately removed because Bush administration officials feared war crimes prosecutions, as is clearly stated in the Gonzales memo.

d) The vast majority of Iraqis tortured in Abu Ghraib were not Taliban, were not al Qaeda, were not even 'insurgents.' They were civilians, among thousands swept up and jailed by American forces. However one may feel about terrorists being provided Geneva Convention protections, only a soulless fiend can devise a defense for the torture, rape, molestation and abuse absorbed by innocent people in Abu Ghraib.

-William Rivers Pitt/Trickle-Down Morality

[LINK]

Monet's Waterlilies

Monet's Waterlilies



Today as the news from Selma and Saigon
poisons the air like fallout,
I come again to see
the serene, great picture that I love.

Here space and time exist in light
the eye like the eye of faith believes.
The seen, the known
dissolve in iridescence, become
illusive flesh of light
that was not, was, forever is.

O light beheld as through refracting tears.
Here is the aura of that world
each of us has lost.
Here is the shadow of its joy.

Robert Hayden

Soldiers eat Iraqis, puke them back up, and make their parents eat their own vomited children

Soldiers eat Iraqis, puke them back up, and make their parents eat their own vomited children

ADVANCED FORMS OF DEATH, PART ONE
state-of-the-art punishments

New videos show totally awesome new behaviors by the unchristian coalition "specialists".

There are those who evolve, and there are those who do not even believe in the existence of evolution. These people are free to continue acting like apes. But why dog the poor ape? Apes are among the innocent.

If only evolution were allowed, we might be able to rise above our barbarity. But nooo!

And so we wind up with images of human beings eating other human beings, images of human beings puking out the remains of our enemies, and images of human beings forcing the parents of these eaten unfortunates...to eat their unfortunates.

These parents are not likely to send their other children to battle the great America! Case dismissed!

But alas the case is not dismissed. It was a headbirth in the first place; a sick pipe dream; a weak attempt at imagining what the actual videos DO contain, since they are not willing to show them, and answer our speculation with the real thing.

Who knows? It may prove worse still! I cease to be amazed at the depths to which humans can sink when they are filled with fear, drugs and ego.

As a regular American with no political strivings, I want to apologize to the world for the behavior of a number of my bretheren and sisteren. I suspect that those "on the ground", "doing the dirty deed", are fearful and order-takers.
But they are acting cogs in someone higher's sick "vision", which is really a lack of vision. A simulacrum. A scheme. Sadly one that has killed and maimed and disinfranchised tens, if not hundreds, of thousands...all the while adding to their inheritance of wind. Hot wind boomerang.

Americans are the world. George is but a Texan. Too small for the job. Too ambitious. Unconcerned about future generations. Egoboy.

Surely John Kerry will be a better steward. Please have patience.

Doonesbury comic strip to list names of military victims killed in Iraq war

Doonesbury comic strip to list names of military victims killed in Iraq war
The comic will list chronologically the names of 702 soldiers killed through April 23, said Lee Salem, editor of the Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes the strip. The names were set in 6-point type to fit in the six panels of the May 30 strip. "The intent (of the strip) is to recognize those who died," Salem said.
[LINK]

Security contractor in Iraq answers Josh Marshall's questions

Security contractor in Iraq answers Josh Marshall's questions

Josh Marshall gets an insider's view of how 'the street' is viewing Abu Ghraib in Iraq, the general feeling amongst the troops, and the extent to which the average soldier is able to connect with news from the outside world via internet. [LINK]

Chalabi Failure- Bush(neo)Conned?

Chalabi Failure-
Bush(neo)Conned?

"I am America's best friend in Iraq."
-Ahmad Chalabi

Standing of Former Key U.S. Ally in Iraq Falls to New Low
From: Robin Wright/Washington Post

Chalabi's betrayal
From: UPI
--"The Iraq Blame Game"
From: Newsmax

Chalabi's Seat of Honor Lost to Open Political Warfare With U.S.
From: David Sanger/N.Y.Times

'America's best friend in Iraq' angry over raid But Chalabi says, 'I am not marginalized'
From: David J. Lynch/USA Today

SEE IDDYBUD 9-30-03

Newsweek backs some of Maher Arar's story

Newsweek backs some of Maher Arar's story

By 2004, the United States was running a covert chartered airline moving CIA prisoners from one secret facility to another. The reason? It was judged impolitic (and too traceable)to use the U.S. Air Force.
--Newsweek Magazine

Maher Arar, 34, is the Syrian-born Canadian who was detained in the U.S. in September, 2002, while changing planes in New York on his way to Ottawa. He was deported to Jordan and then Syria, where he was kept for 10 months and interrogated before being released.

(See Iddybud/11-15-03)

Last November, the Center for Constitutional Rights asked members of both the House of Representatives committee on intelligence and its Senate counterpart to review Mr. Arar's case. At the time, a Republican member of the Senate intelligence oversight committee, provided little hope that they would take up Mr. Arar's case. "We don't have time to do it," he'd said.

I wonder if they'll find the time now....with this current Newsweek report...after Abu Ghraib...after the Canadian inquiry which is about to draw attention to yet another kind of U.S. complicity in torture?

[LINK]


SEE: America's Gulag: Stephen Grey uncovers a secret global network of prisons and planes that allows the US to hand over its enemies for interrogation, and sometimes torture, by the agents of its more unsavoury allies.
[LINK]

Sibel Edmonds/9-11: What does Ashcroft think he's hiding?

Sibel Edmonds/9-11
What does Ashcroft think he's hiding?

Even GOP legislators in disbelief over Ashcroft's unusual retroactive classifying of Sibel Edmonds info.

..the FBI now maintains that some of the information discussed was so potentially damaging if released publicly that it is now considered classified.
[LINK]

Reference: Meet Sibel Edmonds/Iddybud 4-2-04

Journalist Rashid Hamid Wali killed in Iraq

Journalist Rashid Hamid Wali killed in Iraq

According to Reuters, Rashid Hamid Wali,a father of six, was killed while Al-Jazeera was filming fighting in the southern city of Karbala where US forces are battling to put down a weeks-old rebellion by Sadr's militia. [LINK]

Scott Ritter: Iraq sarin shell is not part of a secret cache

Scott Ritter: Iraq sarin shell is not part of a secret cache

Given that the US is in the midst of a contentious presidential campaign, it's essential that accurate data about Iraq be available to the electorate. The handling of the sarin shell incident is the greatest justification yet for shutting down the ISG, and the immediate return to Iraq of UN weapons inspectors - if for no other reason than to restore a vestige of credibility to a disarmament effort that long ago lost its moral compass.
[LINK]

A link to transcripts of all Iraqi prisoner abuse hearings

A link to transcripts of all Iraqi prisoner abuse hearings


Wednesday, May 19:

Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing (Open Session) [LINK]

Witnesses:
-Commander, U.S. Central Command, Gen. John P. Abizaid
-Multinational Force-Iraq Commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez
-Multinational Force-Iraq Deputy Commander for Detainee Operations, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller


Tuesday, May 11:

Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing (Afternoon Session) [LINK]

Witnesses:
-U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander
-Joint Staff Director for Intelligence Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Burgess Jr.
-U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Thomas J. Romig


Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing (Morning Session) [LINK]

Witnesses:
-Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, Deputy Commanding General for Support, Coalition Forces Land Component Command
-Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen A. Cambone
-U.S. Central Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Lance L. Smith


Friday, May 7:

House Armed Services Committee Hearing [LINK]

Witnesses:
-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
-Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard B.Myers
-Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee
-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker
-U.S. Central Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Lance L. Smith

Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing [LINK]

Witnesses:
-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
-Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard B. Myers
-Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee
-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker
-U.S. Central Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Lance L. Smith

Why are we just now learning Berg-beheading arrests were made a week ago?

Why are we just now learning Berg-beheading arrests were made a week ago?

We should be asking why it's taken so long to learn of these arrests. Something doesn't add up here. [LINK]

Another comment- This article claims Nick Berg's body was discovered May 8. I highly suspect the White House knew all about it. If not, we must wonder why, in this age of high technology, the communication between Iraqi officials and the White House is so poor. News of the beheading didn't reach the public until the infamous al-Qaeda-linked web-video on May 11th..the day of the Abu Ghraib hearings, when the news was used to "grandstand". (You may recall Senator Pat Roberts' dramatic reading from a report of the beheading at the May 11th Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the prison scandal). Was the news withheld for the political benefit of the GOP? Why should the death of Nick Berg represent a Republican's point of view...or anyone's point of view, for that matter?

How "Christian" is Zionism?

How "Christian" is Zionism?

Sojourners magazine begs the question. Theological professor Leslie C. Allen contrasts the Bible's Old Testament with the New Testament interpretations, providing us with an opportunity to decide for ourselves. [LINK]

Many U.S. evangelicals seek an 'even-handed' Middle East policy. [LINK]

Some in the Religious Right call Middle East Peace efforts "Satanic heresy." Donald Wagner, a professor of religion, gives us a look at the political and theological roots of Christian Zionism - and why it puts the world at risk. [LINK]

This Week -A Bush/Kerry Summary

This Week-
A Bush/Kerry Summary


Bush lies divide America
"I don't think it's accurate to describe America as polarized between Democrats and Republicans, or between liberals and conservatives.It's polarized between the people who believe George Bush and the people who do not.."
From: Hal Crowther/Independent Weekly

Liberals show they can work together
From: Walter Shapiro/USA Today

Where's the Compassion, Conservatives?
From: Doug Griffin/Counterbias.com

House Approves $447 Billion in Spending for Military
From: NY Times

Bush spends like a drunken sailor
From: Daily Kos

Birds of a feather...
From: Daily Kos

Bush Holds Pep Rally For GOP Members
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Historians Take Dim View Of Bush
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Memories Good times, weren't they..Mrs. Bush applauds...
From: Eschaton

Speaker Pelosi Link: "Bush is an incompetent leader...."
From: Eschaton

Tell Dan Payne Why You Hate Bush
An email from Boston Globe columnist and political consultant Dan Payne: I'm considering writing about all the reasons Bush haters feel as we do. Would love to get your favorite dislikes about Bush, personal, political or policy, large or trivial....
From: Big, Left, Outside

Odds Now Against Bush
A new strategy memo from James Carville and Stan Greenberg says "the race for president has entered a new and distinct phase with Bush not only endangered... but now with the odds against him. He is more likely to lose than win.
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Conservative Base Is Cracking
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Bush to GAO: Faking the news to dupe seniors is wrong?
From: Kicking Ass

'Let America Be America Again'
The Wall Street Journal reports today (paid subscription only, unfortunately) that Kerry is trying out a new campaign theme: "Let America Be America Again." Poetry fans will remember that as the title of a Langston Hughes poem. ...
From: Change for America

Dead Heat In Florida
President Bush and Sen. John Kerry "remain tied among likely voters in Florida," according to a new American Research Group poll.
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Bush Leads in the South
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll looked at Southerners' voting intentions and found that, if the election were held today, President Bush would beat Sen. John Kerry by 15 points.
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Kerry Meets Nader
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Bush World
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is publishing her first book, according to a press release. Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Rowland Bumped By Bush Campaign
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Iraq: Nick Berg Met with 'Shady' Iraqi
*who appeared frequently on major media outlets like Fox News Channel calling for the military ouster of Saddam Hussein
From: Philadelphia Inquirer

Kerry Has Small Lead Over Bush In New Jersey
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Ground Zero volunteers pay for Bush's lie
From: Kicking Ass

Kerry Leads In Web Traffic
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Hello, Kettle? It's Pot Speaking.
President Bush called on Israel on Wednesday to exercise restraint in Gaza and to respect "innocent life" after Israeli tanks and helicopters fired on protesters...
From: Change for America

Grand Old Petroleum
The price of gas is going up, up, up, and Bush is doing nothing — despite his campaign promises. From: Kicking Ass

Compare and Contrast
From: Change for America

Bush Leads In Texas
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Bush's Leadership Style Questioned
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

The Army Brought Down McCarthy, Will It Bring Down Bush?
The infamous Senator Joe McCarthy rode roughshod over every American institution during his "Red Witch Hunt" until, in his ignorant arrogance, he went after the U. S. Army...
From: The LongBow Papers

Edwards Could Tip North Carolina For Kerry
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Do You Think Dubya Has The Smarts To Know It's Endgame?
From: The LongBow Papers

Truth in the NYT Tee Hee
From: Eschaton

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
Locked in Abu Ghraib The prison scandal keeps getting worse for the Bush administration.The White House is about to get hit by the biggest tsunami since the Iran-Contra affair, maybe since Watergate.
From: Prometheus 6

Holy sh*t-An e-mail we weren't meant to see
That was not an exclamation of surprise. It was a description of the situation. Bush White House checked with rapture Christians before latest Israel move..
From: Prometheus 6

Kerry Still Battles Kucinich
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

The Timken Tall Tale
Ripping off CAP:On 4/23/03 President Bush visited the Timken Company...
From: Daily Kos

Dubya, The Wastrel Son
I could not pass up blogging Paul Krugman's column in today's The New York Times if for no other reason than its title, "The Wastrel Son." You get three guesses as to which wastrel son he's writing about, and the first two don't count.
From: The LongBow Papers

Payback Time For Rumsfeld
UPI has bad news for Bush adminstration officials who have tried "to contain the Iraq prison torture scandal and limit the blame to a handful of enlisted soldiers and immediate senior officers."
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Kerry Veep Pick Could Come Shortly
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Bush Leads In Negative Ads
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Kerry's Iraq Problem
From: Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Bush praises activist judges
From: Daily Kos

Good reading

Good reading


I'll be taking a break a few days. For some excellent reading, this is always a great bet:



My Kos diary is HERE.

My latest on Kos:

Zell Miller Haiku



Zell Miller helps Bush
Gives John Kerry big black eye
Smell Elephant dung?


Talk to you soon.

Michael Savage-Loose Cannon

Michael Savage-Loose Cannon

Savage: Arabs are "non-humans" and "racist, fascist bigots"

At Intl News (May 15th archive), there are excerpts from Michael Savage's May 11 and May 12 radio show, Savage Nation highlighting his views of Arabs, immigrants, etc. In the course of the shows, Savage called Arabs "non-humans" and "racist, fascist bigots"; asserted that Americans would like to "drop a nuclear weapon" on any Arab country; and that "these people" in the Middle East "need to be forcibly converted to Christianity" in order to "turn them into human beings." Savage also claimed that, in the United States, "You can never hear about the bad things they [minorities] do"...and more.

Here, my dear readers, is one ignorant human being. We only have to thank the fates that a man like him never reaches the handle of real power.....
Then again...is control of the airwaves of AM radio/mainstream media NOT representative of power?

Perhaps the sane amongst you should write a letter to your local radio station currently airing Mr. Savage's spewfest...unless you agree with him.

Look at what he's getting away with at your apathetic expense:

Savage on Arabs:

From the May 12 Savage Nation:

Right now, even people sitting on the fence would like George Bush to drop a nuclear weapon on an Arab country. They don't even care which one it would be. I can guarantee you -- I don't need to go to Mr. Schmuck [pollster John] Zogby and ask him his opinion. I don't need anyone's opinion. I'll give you my opinion, because I got a better stethoscope than those fools. It's one man's opinion based upon my own analysis. The most -- I tell you right now -- the largest percentage of Americans would like to see a nuclear weapon dropped on a major Arab capital. They don't even care which one. They'd like an indiscriminate use of a nuclear weapon. They want this over with. One thing people cannot live with, which is an undefined, limitless conflict, which is what we have now. They can't take it. They want this war over with, and they want it ended like the war against Japan. They'd like Big Boy dropped on one of the little cities over there. They don't care where. They don't care any more. The American people have had it up to here with this garbage.

In fact, Christianity has been one of the great salvations on planet Earth. It's what's necessary in the Middle East. Others have written about it, I think these people need to be forcibly converted to Christianity but I'll get here a little later, I'll move up to that. It's the only thing that can probably turn them into human beings.

I'm going to give you one further example from my background as an anthropologist just so that you -- I'm trying to put context on this because you can go crazy if you don't have the context on this, because I'm going to lead up to something of what we must do to these primitives. Because these primitives can only be treated in one way, and I don't think smallpox and a blanket is good enough incidentally. Just before -- I'm going to give you a little precursor to where I'm going. Smallpox in a blanket, which the U.S. Army gave to the Cherokee Indians on their long march to the West, was nothing compared to what I'd like to see done to these people, just so you understand that I'm not going to be too intellectual about my analysis here in terms of what I would recommend, what Doc Savage recommends as an antidote to this kind of poison coming out of the Middle East from these non-humans.

Savage on minorities:

From the May 12 Savage Nation:

And as the churches have been emptying out, the mosques have been filling up, in France and Germany. We all know that but we're all looking other way. And now street gangs of young Muslims are beating up and killing people in France and of course you don't read about that either. Because during a revolutionary period you've got to understand that there's a story line and the storyline is they're the oppressed minority and therefore they can do no wrong. . You can never hear about the bad things they do. It's hush-hush but if a Timothy McVeigh should come along, then it gets front page coverage. Because the story line goes that white male, Christian, heterosexuals are evil and all of the others are -- are -- are victims and only getting their just rewards by fighting back.
It's very much like the American minorities here in this country

Zell Miller attacks Kerry at Bush fundraiser

Zell Miller attacks Kerry at Bush fundraiser




Let's face it, people. Zell Miller is campaigning for George Bush and he ought to take off the cloak of the Democratic party because he's staining it with grassroots elephant-dung.

Miller, the lone Democratic senator publicly backing Bush, commented in remarks prepared for a Bush-Cheney grassroots event, held in conjunction with the state Republican convention.

[LINK]

Bush tax cut losing charm with fuel price hikes

Bush tax cut losing charm with fuel price hikes

"Each $10 per barrel increase in crude prices is like a $70 billion tax
increase on American consumers, levied through inflation."

From Paul Krugman N.Y. Times
[LINK]

Oil prices soared to a record Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crossing $41 a barrel and settling at the highest point in the 21-year-history of crude futures trading in New York.

[LINK]

Iraq: Fred Kaplan Finds Reasons Bush is Culpable

Iraq: Fred Kaplan Finds Reasons Bush is Culpable

The Buck Stops … Where?
Stop blaming your henchmen, Mr. President.
By Fred Kaplan / Slate

My main argument was that Bush has placed too much trust, for far too long, in the judgment of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, despite his ceaseless string of bad judgments.

However, two news stories that have since come to my attention—one that appeared on the same day, the other more than two months ago—suggest not merely that Bush is guilty of "failing to recognize failure" (as my headline put it) but that he is directly culpable for the sins in question, no less so than his properly beleaguered defense chief...

[LINK]

The facts on Medicare-A Bad Bill

The facts on Medicare:
Bernie Sanders shows us how a bad bill becomes law

In step-by-step fashion, Bernie Sanders shows us how "George W. Bush and Republican Leadership in Congress redefined lawmaking when they forced their Medicare law through Congress". Let the facts speak for themselves.

Shame: Editor sacked over 'hoax' photos

Editor sacked over 'hoax' photos

At a news conference in Preston on Friday afternoon, the regiment demonstrated to reporters aspects of uniform and equipment which it said proved the photographs were fake.
The regiment's Brigadier Geoff Sheldon said the vehicle featured in the photographs had been located in a Territorial Army base in Lancashire and had never been in Iraq.

Colonel Black, a former regiment commander of the QLR, said the pictures put lives in danger and acted as a "recruiting poster" for al-Qaeda.

The Sun newspaper had offered a £50,000 reward for "information about the fake Mirror photos" but withdrew the offer following the sacking of [editor] Piers Morgan.

.

Let Nick Berg's Life Lead Us-Not His Death

Let Nick Berg's Life Lead Us-Not His Death

I was reading these thoughts at the Mahablog today and it got me thinking.....

Nick Berg was a vibrant, curious, enterprising, free-spirited, and loving individual.
What the terrorists did to him was strategically and murderously stupid.

If we step back and look at the big picture, we'll realize that those terrorists killed someone who represented what is best not only about America, but what is best in the world.

This is another golden opportunity for President Bush. It's his political chance to embrace and act in the best interests of his country by engaging those sensible souls in the world community who are just as appalled as we are over Nick's death.....to help them see how wrong it is to indiscriminately take innocent life. This might take a lot of humility about our own shortcomings and mistakes, but its value would be priceless and its power unbreakable...

...or President Bush can continue using Nick's death as a cover-up for our nation's blunders and misdirection on the war on terror for re-election gain.

President Bush seems to really be at war with Americans like me...a rational liberal..and I just can't understand it. I would be supportive of any President, regardless of his party, if I could see he was taking my nation (and its democracy of beloved people) in the right direction.

There has to come a time when Americans can see that their President truly believes in the good of his nation more than his political party's power.

Let Nick Berg's horrible death not overshadow his beautiful life. He embodied what is best about America. Our President should be very careful about how he politically chooses to use Nick's exemplary life.


Ref: Resist Using Nick Berg as a Prop by C. Brackney

Nicholas Berg-Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial

Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial | Nicholas Berg

The Philadelphia Inquirer did a nice job with this one.

You all have the opportunity to send messages of support and condolence to the Berg family here:

Click here: Guest Book - Nick Berg

Salam Pax Goes to Bloggywood

Salam Pax Goes to Bloggywood

Calling him the "Nick Hornby of the Iraq war", the Guardian gives the world news of its first BloggerStar. There's a film deal for the 'Baghdad blogger'. Media group Intermedia is searching for a scriptwriter. Raed must be proud! Blogger.com, too!

Why can't we take responsibility for Abu Ghraib?

Why can't we take responsibility for Abu Ghraib?

Senator John Kyl's attempt to obliterate conscience through moral rationalization (as quoted below) makes us Americans look weak and excuse-making. Let's take responsibility for what we've done, say we are sorry, and get on with business of punishing those responsible and fixing the system. No more damned excuses. James Inhofe's huffy use of moral rationalization (in the hopes we'll somehow forget what we've done) and political grandstanding makes him look weak and desperate to please and defend the President rather than supporting the Ashcroft-damaged/flimsy hold on democracy by the American citizenry.

Nick Berg's horrible death is being used as a political safety blanket by partisan ghouls and I can't help but wonder if the Bush administration didn't already know about the beheading for some time and waited for the most advantageous political moment (the Abu Ghraib hearings) to pull it out of their hats.(This is not to AVOID putting blame where blame is due--The Allah-abusing murderous terrorists were no stategic brain-trusts themselves for putting it on the internet for the world to see--which proves further to me that these types of people can be defeated by the RIGHT *not rightwing* leaders).

I'm sick of this administration and their unsteady moral rationalizers running from responsibility. They do not represent me, an American. I am ashamed of them. How can I call a man my President when he has no sense of personal accountability? I have little respect for his (lack of) character.

"As bad as some of the things were that were done to Iraqi prisoners, it didn't involve beheading," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

Conservative talk radio has simmered with anger about the attention paid to Abu Ghraib prison abuses by relatively few U.S. soldiers. In the Senate, Republican James Inhofe said he -- and others -- were "more outraged by the outrage than we are by the (prison) treatment."

Loath to express regret, Bush has apologized repeatedly for the abuse. The issue has deepened doubts about his Iraq policy at a time when his approval rating is at its lowest.

Berg's death gave Bush an opportunity to stop saying sorry.

Political analysts said Berg's death might give Bush a little breathing room.

[LINK]

Oh My God- Bush is Chauncey Gardiner

Oh My God-Bush is Chauncey Gardiner

I saw this at the O'Franken blog and had to post it. I was just saying the exact same thing yesterday...no joke. Ask Anonymoses if you don't believe me.

""Oh my God! George Bush is Chauncey Gardiner. And America is living the movie (originally the book, but this Administration doesn't read) "Being There." Could author Jerzy Kosinski have been so brilliantly prescient? I fear yes. Except, this is one t-v show "I don't like to watch."
Posted by NYCLiberal at 05.13.2004 12.13 PM

"It's a really close analogy - but Bush doesn't have the quiet grace that Chauncey Gadiner had. We'd be giving Georgie the benefit of the doubt. He's not allowed that - ever!

However, Kosinski is truly an amazing writer, and Sellers' portrayal was fantastic."

~Stephen
Posted by lovemelongtimelistener at 05.13.2004 12.35 PM [LINK]

___

This, of course, is not the first time the observation's been made.
Interestingly, the revelation, when it comes to people, nearly always evokes the respose "OH MY GOD." That's what we usually say when we realize we've been "had".

"I was reading a post by one of our more far right wing members who was saying
that GW Bush is a genius, and that his critics are the fools, and I was transported back to the early 70's and a book by Jerzy Kosinski called"BEING THERE"
It was a brilliant satire about a man who was a simpleton, and only knew the world by what he saw and interpreted on TV. He winds up in Washinton DC where everyone he talks to thinks he speaks with such deep insights about the nature of man, politics, war, art etc. And then I realized that GW Bush'd is actually Chauncey Gardiner. OH MY GOD."
[LINK]

On Tour

On Tour



CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN


RUMMY AT ABU GHRAIB

Making Up with Tom Friedman

Making Up with Tom Friedman




I've been hard on Tom Friedman at times. In his most recent column, I suddenly feel, at last, that we are looking into the frame and seeing the same image staring back at us.

Tom gets my best Mona Lisa smile for this one. (I'm now confident he'll know which of the three frames to choose).

My mistake was thinking that the Bush team believed it, too. I thought the administration would have to do the right things in Iraq — from prewar planning and putting in enough troops to dismissing the secretary of defense for incompetence — because surely this was the most important thing for the president and the country. But I was wrong. There is something even more important to the Bush crowd than getting Iraq right, and that's getting re-elected and staying loyal to the conservative base to do so. It has always been more important for the Bush folks to defeat liberals at home than Baathists abroad. That's why they spent more time studying U.S. polls than Iraqi history. That is why, I'll bet, Karl Rove has had more sway over this war than Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Bill Burns. Mr. Burns knew only what would play in the Middle East. Mr. Rove knew what would play in the Middle West.

I admit, I'm a little slow. Because I tried to think about something as deadly serious as Iraq, and the post- 9/11 world, in a nonpartisan fashion — as Joe Biden, John McCain and Dick Lugar did — I assumed the Bush officials were doing the same. I was wrong. They were always so slow to change course because confronting their mistakes didn't just involve confronting reality, but their own politics.
[LINK]

Kerry Cites Bush's War Miscalculations

Kerry Cites Bush's War Miscalculations

"Why should we reward more of the same? Why should we reward miscalculations of what it would take to make the peace?" I think that it's been one miscalculation after another, frankly. And arrogance that has lost America respect and influence in the world. They had no plan for winning the peace and now Americans are paying the price."

--John Kerry

John Kerry is criticizing Bush's direction on Iraq.

Republicans call call it political, and I suppose, in some ways, it is. The fact that it is true, however, greatly trumps the fact that it's political. We know politics and truth are seldom bedfellows.

John Kerry was "on-the-money" Wednesday in the 'Truth-department' when he claimed the war in Iraq is being misdirected and that a shake-up is needed to end the Bush administration's mistakes and incompetence. It was, indeed, a sharp critique that sparked Republican criticism that Kerry's making the war a political issue.

Bush's top campaign-man Mark Racicot said, "Political attacks come at a price for the military," I'm sorry, but I must disagree. The military could not have paid a higher price than they have already paid, in precious life.

Racicot went on, "If there was ever a time to refrain from partisan politics, this is it. But all we see from the Kerry campaign and from John Kerry is political exploitation for political gain."

I would think Kerry's failure to mention the misdirection on Iraq would be akin to me seeing a black-widow spider crawling on my best friend's back and failing to mention it.

Our soldiers are in danger.

So mention already, John, Kerry...mention!



*Note: A question about professionalism-
The Washington Post/AP Headline reads as follows: Kerry Calls Iraq War a Failure. Failure is a heavy-duty word to toss around when I see no quote from Kerry using the word "failure" anywhere at all in the article. Professional journalists are not supposed to be politically inflammatory. That's a politician's job. This one AP article has spread to many national news publications. The writer should be reprimanded.

Nick Berg's desire to come homes conflicts with U.S. official statements

Officials acknowledge the presence of the military police at the jail where Nick Berg was being detained, but said their sole function was to "monitor his treatment."

Nick had sent a lengthy e-mail to his family describing the 13 days that he spent in the Shirdta Iraqiyah station near Mosul, an Iraqi detention center where, he said, the United States Military Police supervised and trained the Iraqi officers.

"The M.P.'s were a little surprised to see an American in civilian clothing, and I think out of formality and boredom they decided to do a background check, which involved C.I.D.," he wrote, referring to the Army Criminal Investigation Division.

The next morning, Mr. Berg described F.B.I. agents' questioning as amicable, but pointed. Among the questions asked, he wrote, were: "Why was I in Iraq? Did I ever make a pipe bomb? Why was I in Iran?"

He conjectured that their questions arose from some Farsi literature and a book about Iran that he had. Mr. Berg wrote that after four days he was transferred to a cellblock that included prisoners charged with petty offenses and suspected "war criminals."

"Word had spread due to the presence of certain items amongst my stuff that I was Israeli," Mr. Berg wrote. "So I felt a bit like Arlo Guthrie walking into a jail full of mother rapers and father stabbers as an accused litterbug."

The American military police, in fact, "were pretty stand-up," he wrote. "They heard the chants of Yehudien, Israelein, and told the I.P. prison staff to put me in my own cell."

"I did get on much friendlier terms with the other prisoners after they discovered I could speak a little Arabic and verified I didn't have horns or anything," Mr. Berg said.

Some prisoners, considered political or suspected war criminals from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran "had been in custody for 40 days without a single interpreter interrogation, just waiting as they still do today, and the Iraqi guards treat these poor fellows — especially the Hindis among them — as real dogs.'


Nick was released on April 6.

Nick's friends and acquaintances at the hotel said he was working on communications towers for some Baghdad hotels. Mr. Infante said he last saw Nick on April 10, writing an e-mail message to his family. "I saw him there," he said, gesturing to the Internet cafe. "I said, `Hello, how are you?'

"And he said, `I want to go home.' "

An F.B.I. statement says that coalition authorities had offered "to facilitate his safe passage out of Iraq," but that Nick refused their help.


That doesn't really jibe with the rest of the story, does it? Common sense would only tell you, from Nick's own words, that he was good and ready to get out of Iraq.


Corrente blog is raising some interesting questions surrounding the shaded circumstances surrounding the death of Nick Berg:
Coflicting statements
Nick's mail from Iraq
Where's the copy of the pending lawsuit?

When Sean met Ehdaa

When Sean met Ehdaa



"I’m Muslim and he’s a Christian. I’m Iraqi and he’s American. It just can’t happen. It did. Love can make miracles. I do believe this now.”
--Ehdaa Blackwell


Do you know the story about the handsome young American soldier and the beautiful Iraqi doctor? The soldier would not disobey the orders of his heart.

A Crisis of Modern Civilization

A Crisis of Modern Civilization

Civilization Sinking to All-time-Lows..
Anti-Imperialists concerned about trend toward barbarism throughout all modern civilization

....let me say also loud and clear - predatory Western Imperialism is not alone in its sinking to these lows of inhumanity. There is an absence of civilized behavior on all sides of this mean and mindless conflict that is truly frightening.

Beheading civilian hostages in the name of Allah? Carrying out suicide missions without concern for civilian casualties, publicly mutilating bodies of dead opponents? Blowing up scores of ordinary Spanish citizens (most of them probably opposed to the war on Iraq) to 'teach a lesson' to the Spanish government? Are you guys human or horror-movie extras?

For all their prattle about 'fighting the Crusaders' these cowards are surely no successors to the great Saladin who fought a principled war of resistance, saving not just fellow Muslims but also the large population of Jews under his protection. A successful resistance that led to the great renaissance of the Islamic world and the creation of societies superior to that of the invaders at that time. (Read your history carefully Bin)

And not very far from Iraq is that mother of all colonial occupations, in the Gaza and West Bank, where the Israeli regime of Ariel Sharon is bent on putting the Palestinians through every trauma that the Jews themselves underwent at the hands of the Nazis. In turn, a section of Palestinian militants are willing to stoop to the level of gunning down pregnant women and children just because they happen to be Jewish settlers on occupied land or dancing on the streets with body parts of dead Israeli soldiers. Liberation from colonial oppression, yes, but liberation from all basic human values?

I hesitate to call all this 'barbarism', a term that for too long has been abused to describe the 'primitive', 'tribal' people of this world - who despite their own bouts of occasional madness have done nothing as systematically evil as we see in Iraq and Palestine. Indeed, what we are witnessing now is nothing short of a crisis of modern civilization and its various concepts and institutions that have either outlived their utility or corroded to the point of complete collapse. A situation that could either lead to catastrophe or provide a chance to reshape the world depending really on what all of us propose to do about it. (Nothing I hate more than getting shot in the bloody crossfire)

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