Israelis arrested on 9/11 sue U.S.

Israelis arrested on 9/11 sue U.S.

Their names are Paul and Sylvian Kurcheil, Omer Marmari and Vyron Shmuel.
The Haaretz story is here.

Stanley Hilton Claims Bush Authorized 9/11 Attacks

"I think people ought to just think about the consequence of having someone like Bush in the White House and the danger for the future that these sort of individuals pose. This is not just a historical event of the past. This is part of the plan and the camera is still rolling. They have an agenda. These individuals are extremely dangerous."

--Stanley Hilton, former Bob Dole chief of staff

Stanley Hilton Claims Bush Authorized 9/11 Attacks

This story is making the rounds and I don't know what to make of it yet. I have a feeling people will be talking a lot about it.

Awoken.info has the Hilton interview with Alex Jones.
Shaula Evans has the story at BOP.
Anonymoses has a summary.

"We have to prove three things; that the defendants are guilty, that the crimes are unconstitutional and that the plaintifs (who all must be US taxpayers) were harmed by the crimes alleged.
The primary allegations are that the defendants (the Bush Administration, The FBI, The Pentagon, and The CIA) were involved in the facilitation of the 9/11 attacks, that The USAPATRIOT Act is intentionally unconstitutional, and that the Iraq War has nothing to do with 'fighting terror'."

--Abel Ashes, one plaintiff in pending lawsuit

http://www.deprogram.info

Alex Jones interviews Hilton, 2003

http://www.propagandamatrix.com/archiveprior_knowledge.html

Booker Elementary Principal Confirms Bush Didn't See WTC Footage Before He Entered Classroom

President Meets with Displaced Workers in Town Hall Meeting - states he saw first plane hit on TV monitor

Warnings Ignored

William Rivers Pitt wrote, in 2002, that the LIHOP Theory is not so easily dismissed in light of the main obstacle to the completion of the pipeline, which was the fact that it had to pass through Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
*The LIHOP Theory puts forward the accusation that Bush and his people allowed the September 11th attacks to take place, despite the fact that they had been repeatedly warned of an impending strike.

"It is now Sept. 2, and I still haven't heard any updates to the lawsuit filed in August. Of course it is of no surprise that this was completely absent from the national news,(what with the media completely controlled by 5 owners in the US alone) I imagine that Monica L. dress was of more importance than this."

--Stanley Hilton

The Hegelian Dialectic in History: Operation Northwoods In the early 1960s, America's top military leaders reportedly drafted plans to kill innocent people and commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities to create public support for a war against Cuba.
Northwoods-Unclassified pdf file

Kairos

Kairos

'Kairos' refers to the "timeless realm" of God, a space in time where measurable time does not apply. We pause upon the brink of the unknown; we are each a part of the same phantom corps moving about the earth. The book of history remains empty and blank out ahead of us.

Who are we, as individuals, to think we can effect those now-white pages?

We are living in a moment of time which I believe will prove itself to be a great turning point in the history of not only America, but all of mankind. In order to have this moment in history be a reflection of purpose and principle in our lives, we simply must learn to speak a different language than those who are seeking to control the political agenda today in America.

We must learn not only to avoid speaking in the tongue of right wing talking points, but to create a new language for all men and women to recognize and understand. It must be a language which would be the basis of new and inspired conversations.

The book of history awaits. We each need to give substance to our reality, but we can only do it in concert with one another. I believe the good of mankind depends upon it.

So, here is our kairos time. We're pebbles in a great sea. Our language, uttered at the right time and with the right intonation, could make all the difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A book for the must-read list:

Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think by George Lakoff


Daily Kos and readers sound off
*It's also gives proper explanation to the difference between conservative and liberal blogs -- where high-traffic conservative bloggers serve not to build community (most have no comments), but to amplify their party's agenda (doing what "father" tells them to do, like good, disciplined, obedient children). We, on the good side of the ideological fence, believe in "open, two-way communication", hence the use of comments and the building of "community" on most of the top progressive bloggers.

U.S. Becoming A Loser in World Politics?

U.S. Becoming A Loser in World Politics?

I want us to be winners and to do it soon-- with decent and honest American strength.

What do you think of these statements?

Iraqis who are fighting America's occupation are simply a few people who have "perceived the liberation wrongly"?

"American is not fighting the Shia now. And the Shia are not fighting America now. It's a small group of people who has perceived the liberation wrongly for their own political gain and for their own personal ambition.”

Iraq's interim government national security advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie made these statements on CBS' 60 Minutes this evening.
You'd think he was talking in a foreign language..it's such crazy spin.
Talk about your excuses and denials.
Does he think Americans are that stupid?
Might he be correct in his thinking, to a large extent?

The UN Speech, the Defiance, the Plea, and the Reality

President Bush's UN speech, due this Tuesday, comes amid fresh new tensions over Iraq. Last week, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused the U.S. (who supply 90% or more manpower and funds) and allies (who supply less than 10%) of launching an illegal war to remove Saddam Hussein.

Here we are, six weeks out from the U.S. presidential election, and Bush is having to face the facts. We now know, officially, that he has not been telling us citizens the full story about Iraq after last week's appearance of a leaked CIA assessment which had pessimistically warned that a civil war in Iraq remained a rational possibility.

A new report on Iraq's WMD has confirmed earlier assessments that Saddam had no WMD stockpiles, but merely dreamed of building an arsenal if UN sanctions were lifted. Some imminent threat that turned out to be.

With international polls showing the Iraq war has caused major dives in the world's opinion of the U.S. government, Bush has almost totally changed the subject and intimated that his UN speech this Tuesday would focus on U.S. goodwill projects.

Sandwiching a gigantic flip-flop in the bundle of those "goodwill projects", Bush will be desperately trying to get the U.N. to cooperate with him. The only way this will happen is for Bush to show humility.

I have suggested that Bush should show some humility to the U.N. all along, but I don't expect that a leader like Bush would ever listen to Americans like me, because we do not wish to compromise the decency of humanity for an arrogant political agenda. We value life too much to see children of any nation being made the scapegoats in any unnecessary and optional war. Bush calls us decent Americans "hand-wringers", usually through his mouthpiece Scott McClellan. Shame on Mr. Bush for this indecent mischaracterization of our American decency.

Political scientist Larry Sabato thinks that a cold-shoulder from the UN after Bush's UN speech on Tuesday might only strengthen America's support of Bush. In a land called Bushworld, I imagine that could be true. In the real world where people have been properly informed of facts on the ground in Iraq by an American media which (allegedly) rejects propaganda, I would think Americans would start to realize, if they haven't yet, that something is dreadfully unreconciled between Bush's words and the brutal reality of the results of his actions.

Allawi and Blair:
Mr. Bush, kindly step away from our entreaty

Iraq's Prime Minister Ayad Allawi insisted yesterday that U.S. and Iraqi forces were "winning" the fight against 'insurgents' and said progress would be made to calm the violence (ie: kill people) before the January elections. With all respect, Iraq isn't winning anything and America is bleeding the lives of our own loyal, trusting and brave troops in the name of Iraq.

Allawi claims the Iraqi 'insurgency' is "not getting stronger; it's getting more desperate. We are squeezing out the insurgency". What Allawi means is that U.S. troops will have to kill hundreds upon hundreds of Iraq's citizens in the next couple of months (with many innocents caught in the crossfire). This may not happen right away, but surely it shall take place as soon as the new wave of U.S. reservists are snuck through the back-door draft and shipped abroad. Allawi says Iraq's rebels are growing desperate. With all respect, they've been "desperate" since the war began in March, 2003, and look at our consistent failure to maintain any security.

Tony Blair and Allawi appeared together yesterday (with the oh-so obvious omission of "bad-world-PR-Bush") to come pleading to the world: "Help us, world!"

As long as the world understands that Bush, in all his arrogant and defiant defense of his failures, is still behind (or anywhere near) the pleading itself, the pleading will fall upon deaf and untrusting world ears.

The fact that Blair and Allawi are taking up Bush's Manichaean cross and connecting the preemptive Iraq war with Bush's "war on terror" also doesn't help gain world trust, especially when the great "march toward freedom" is no more than a promise to a march toward more poorly-planned, violent and fruitless bloodshed. (And will someone please tell Mr. Bush that Russia doesn't seem to be marching in freedom's direction, but instead seem to be joining Iran and North Korea's parade in marching toward far less open societies?)

As long as Blair, Allawi, and Bush insist this is a war on the symptoms of terror rather than a war on its root causes reflected in the mirror of another culture's ideals, the U.S. will be the political losers of the world, along with the UK and Iraq.

The world's not ignorant of facts on the ground, even if at least a third of America's voters seem to be. Bush has misled our nation into war, mismanaged its aftermath, and abused the trust of his own people and the trust and support of the world.

Bush Flip Flops on U.N.

Bush Flip Flops on U.N.

..about that permission slip.....

"In the global war on terror, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, President Bush has brought many allies to our side. But as the President has made very clear, there is a difference between leading a coalition of many, and submitting to the objections of a few. George W. Bush will never seek a permission slip to defend the American people."

*Crowd cheers wildly.

--Dick Cheney, RNC speech, 1 Sept 2004

*Many allies?!



The vice president mocked and derided the U.N. at the RNC earlier this month to the crowd's gleeful cheering. President Bush gave his weekly radio address today and without elaborating, said that he'd visit the U.N. later this week and offer "some additional proposals to expand prosperity and accelerate the march of freedom in our world."


He added: "Never in the history of the United Nations have we faced so many opportunities to create a safer world by building a better world. For the sake of our common security, and for the sake of our common values, the international community must rise to this historic moment. And the United States is prepared to lead."

He's speaking to twin crowds.
Flippy floopity floppity.

"Oh, please, U.N., may I have a permission slip to obtain your assistance at this "historic moment"-- when my lack of ability to lead the optional war in Iraq is bringing about too much negative news for which my pal Karl Rove can no longer think of fitting excuses?"

Signed
Your bestest friend George

Cartoon / Hitchens

Credit: Steve Bell

"I become irritated or disgusted only when anyone attempts to enlist these now voiceless dead for their own purposes. Respectful silence would be a far better response."

--Christopher Hitchens

I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Hitchens. Those deaths mean everything to our political reality and cannot be swept under the rug for any critic's values or personal satisfaction. Perhaps I can write a flowery poem for Mr. Hitchens and he will see my point.

NYC gets black eye for RNC protester detention

NYC gets black eye for RNC protester detention

Preventative detention: Tactics used to manage the NYC arrest process to keep arrested protesters away from judges and in police custody until President Bush spoke on the last night of the convention.

"Some of the people were seen on national television. There was a serious threat in Madison Square Garden..."

Michael C. Cardozo, speaking about 12 people who got onto the floor of Madison Square Garden during the RNC and disrupted a speech by a White House aide.

Yes, some of the people were seen committing serious offenses on the floor of the RNC. The most obvious threat to anyone's safety was this guy. He was liable for kicking a woman after she was pulled to the floor of the RNC. That, my dear readers, makes the Parlock clan's crocodile tears over a torn sign look "girlie-man" by comparison. I'll cry tomorrow...or as soon as the Gallup polls stop cheating.

Where Is The Outrage?

Dead Soldier's Mother Arrested
Where Is The Outrage?


Police haul a grieving mother away

Howard Dean on Bush/Assault Weapons

Howard speaks..

Howard Dean on Bush/Assault Weapons

Howard Dean's common sense is keen and he pulls no punches. His aggressive gumption and spirited bluntness (along with one scream) are what caused his presidential candidacy to burn and burn out, althought I submit to you that, as a Democratic candidate, he was far clearer on his Iraq stance than his then-opponent John Kerry.
He wrote an opinion piece this week on the failure to renew the automatic weapons ban, and I think he hit the nail directly on the head.

This week, Bush has benefitted politically by his silence as Tom Delay worked his voodoo to ensure that our American streets would become far less safe.

Some of my readers will tell me it's all about hunting the range where the deer and the antelope play. Perhaps we'll carry the first kid who dies from a wound produced by one of these legally-purchased guns to your doorstep for your inspection and you can have a chat with that kid's mother. Or the first cop who gets knocked off--why don't you have a chat with his widow about your home on the range?

The red states are running the show,
causing red, red blood to run
through streets of blue state cities
all for the love of a gun.

Home, home in the target's range
where the gangs and the terrorists play
where seldom is heard one common sense word
and Bush bows to the whims of Delay.

--Iddybud

Howard Dean excerpt:

Where I come from, chief executives are supposed to lead. Where I come from, when the chief says he supports something and his party controls the House and the Senate, what the chief really wants, he gets.

I would have more respect for President Bush if he had come out and said, "I changed my mind, and I'm not supporting the reauthorization of the assault-weapons ban."

But, he did not do that. America needs a president with the real courage to say what he believes -- no matter what the latest poll numbers show.

LINK

The Truth Will Not Be Televised

The Truth Will Not Be Televised

The truth will not be televised,
but you will see it trickling in
to this blog, drip by drip,
until the river of truth flows
through a canyon of hard-won hope.

--Iddybud

Scott Lewis, an Army Reserve sergeant home after 15 months in Iraq, spoke just a few words.

"We need some new ideas in Iraq," he said. "People criticize John Kerry for changing his mind about Iraq, but I think that's actually a strength. And I'm a Republican."

Doug Madory, a recently discharged Air Force captain, was the last. He spent four months in Iraq, but most of his deployment was spent in Italy.

He spoke of the way Italians embraced American servicemen in brotherhood after Sept. 11 and said, "President Bush squandered a good deal of that support all through Europe by rushing headlong into Iraq. George Bush should be held accountable. . . . People around the world are with us, but are not with George Bush."



From David Broder, 16 September

Dan Rather!? Where Was the Outrage When...

Dan Rather!? Where Was the Outrage When...

Laura Rozen is feeling intimidated when it comes to reporting on any news which may be construed as unfavorable to American power these days.

I want you to read her statement, and then I have a question upon which you may ponder and discuss with me:

The neocons call those reporting unfavorably on Iraq, on the FBI counterintelligence investigation of alleged espionage, and who allegedly leaked US Iran intel to Chalabi, etc. "McCarthyites". But who's really McCarthyite?

Let's be clear about what is going on here. They are trying to intimidate people from reporting on an existing investigation. To act as if it does not exist, as if that will make it go away. They are not just saying the allegations are not true, which they have a right to say, if that's their opinion. They are obviously not the judge or jury. They are trying to make it illegitimate to even report on the investigation at all. As if reporting on its existence is in and of itself an unethical act.

Think about it. Would they also want us not to report on allegations of, say, Saudi espionage in the US, or of Congressional investigations into terrorist finance? No, they champion that.

What about French espionage at, say, NATO? We've heard of those cases during the Kosovo war. No, they champion reporting on that.

They just want to prevent reporting on an existing investigation into who allegedly leaked US Iran intel to Chalabi and Aipac. Does that investigation make some of those people uncomfortable? Sure. Does that give them a right to try to threaten and intimidate people trying to report on it? To understand and report what the investigation is about? An investigation, after all, that the reporters did not create, but government agencies did?

That's insane.

Question: Where was the outrage?

The Dan Rather flap is flitting all over media creration. It is saturating and drowning the American consciousness. It is sating the right wing pundits.

Where was the outrage when Bush's lies were exposed and we reached the tipping point when we realized there would be
no WMD found,
there was no imminent threat from Iraq,
there were to be no flowers nor would there be roses,
that civil war was fast approaching, a scenario which the Pentagon (unbelievably) never saw coming,
that over 1000 of our trusting troops' lives were erased by a sick foreign policy, manipulation of known-to-be shaky intelligence, and a poorly planned pre-emptive attack?

Where was the outrage?

Rather than crying for Rather's lather (pun intended), why is the American public not appropriately aware of the facts about what has become a far worse security mess than Vietnam ever was?

Is it because anyone in the media who dares to cross the Bush administration and/or the Neocons are turned to anti-Semitic toast the moment they get a bit too appropriately noticeable?

Consider me the canary in the coal mine.
I think some of us are in danger by speaking freely here in America.
You're free as long as you stick to the right-wing/neocon talking points.
I sense that our first amendment freedoms are not only being manipulated, but are being absolutely throttled by the fear of recrimination of a most personal nature. No tin foil hats here, people. This is the way it is in America at this sad moment in our history

Our troops may not realize it, but lately they are only fighting for 50% of America's freedom.

RIP: Johnny Ramone

Godspeed, Johnny

RIP: Johnny Ramone

Johnny Ramone has died at the age of 55. Losing a five-year battle against prostate cancer, he died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home yesterday afternoon. He was surrounded by family and friends. Along with his wife, Linda Cummings, friends including Pearl Jam rocker Eddie Vedder, singer Rob Zombie, Lisa Marie Presley, Pete Yorn, Vincent Gallo and Talia Shire were gathered at Ramone's bedside yesterday.

Annan: Iraq War Was Illegal

Annan: Iraq War Was Illegal

From a BBC World News Interview with Kofi Annan:

Owen Bennet-Jones: So-you don't think there was legal authority for the war?

Kofi Annan: I have stated clearly that it was not in conformity with the Security Council - with the UN Charter.

Jones: It was illegal?

Annan: Yes, if you wish.

LINK TO INTERVIEW TEXT

LINK TO VIDEO OF INTERVIEW

Edwards: No draft with John Kerry presidency

Edwards: No draft with John Kerry presidency

"There will be no draft when John Kerry is president."

--Senator John Edwards, speaking in Parkersburg, W.V. yesterday, when asked whether the draft would be reinstated

Theocracy Watch: Pennsylvania Speaking Tour

Theocracy Watch: Pennsylvania Speaking Tour

Are We Becoming a Theocracy?
How Dominion Theology Is Subverting the U.S. Constitution

Beginning this Saturday in Pittsburgh, PA, Joan Bokaer of the Theocracy Watch website, along with a team of volunteers, will be on the road, making presentations meant to inform people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey about the disturbing rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party. In this talk, the speakers examine dominionism in U.S. government, tracking the key players in this movement and exposing their plan to remove the barriers between church and state and replace the U.S. Constitution with Biblical law. Joan’s meticulously researched evidence—in the form of congressional voting records, party platforms, speeches, legislation, and media reports—illustrates just how dramatically their seizure-by-stealth of much of the political system has succeeded.

The speaking tour schedule is here.

NBC Won't Have DNC Revisiting Bush Interview

NBC Won't Have DNC Revisiting Bush Interview

They won't play partisan politics...and maybe they figure it was damning enough for poor George the first time around. -wink-

NBC's lawyers are working on rendering silent the "Meet the Press" footage used within this DNC ad. CBS has not yet said if they will or will not ask the DNC to cease the use of the "60 Minutes" footage with Ben Barnes in the same ad.

Progressive Leaders Endorse Kerry, not Nader

Nader's Top Endorsers from 2000 Urge
"Swing States" Support for Kerry

The swing states are getting a clear message from top Progressive leaders. In a recent proclamation, the message is:

Vote for Kerry, not Nader.

See a partial list of signers here.
These are not pantywaist progressives.
These progressives are the real deal. Among them are Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Cornel West, Rabbi Michael Lerner, and Norman Solomon.
They're the big guns of progressive politics and they are stressing the necessity of strategic voting in swing states this time around.

Meanwhile, that progressive-hugging fellow (grin), Jeb Bush, is trying his hardest to give his brother a "leg-up" on the election by overseeing a senior Republican-appointed official ordering Nader's name reinstated on the Florida ballot.

Bush's Failure

Bush's Failure
Iraq Storms Toward Tragedy

Ahman Mohammad, his chubby, 20-year-old face scarred with burn marks, his arms charred to the bone, lies on a blood-stained bed at Karkh Hospital and tries to make sense of the day’s horror, etched in his mind like a Hieronymus Bosch painting.

"Human beings were piled one on top of the other like pieces of meat," he says, shivering. "I’m all choked up with shock. I saw it with my own eyes."

Today's Scotsman editorial documents the many failures on the Iraq war, and recommends:
-The administrations in the US and Britain need to focus on Iraq as their number-one priority
-Elections must go ahead as soon as possible, in order to isolate the insurgency.
-The security situation in Baghdad must be stabilised as soon as possible. If that means more coalition troops being deployed, so be it.

The Scotsman also has a piece by Borzou Orzou Daragahi (in Baghdad) about distraught Iraqis, who are are blaming the US as more innocent blood is shed. Hossein Ali Hossein is a 41 year-old train driver who was sitting in a tea shop when an explosion occurred. He said: "This was a peaceful, modest lower-middle-class neighbourhood where everyone cared about everyone. I was born here. This explosion has changed everything in this neighbourhood forever."

Last, at the Scotsman, Colin Freeman gives us a brutally honest assessment of the lie "turn-over of sovereignty" has become. Iraq is listing towards total anarchy, and the fact that US troops regularly give the enemy an easy hiding--killing scores, sometimes hundreds at a time--is no comfort.

The bullish confidence of George W. Bush boasting of his successes at the election rally podiums is startling in contrast to the news coming out of Iraq.

K Street: Exclusiveness of American Avarice

K Street: Exclusiveness of American Avarice

While you shell out your hard-earned tax dollars to the Federal government, the fat cats of K Street hire the washed-up Republican Congressmen who took major corporate contributions for many years, ensuring a continuity of the great mammonite partnership-- the Republican/Corporate oligarchy.

They have plans for your tax dollars and they don't
care what your ideology might be.
It's not about you or your democratic freedom.
It's about their power and their agenda.

Seven figures isn't too bad for a position with the K Street Project, a GOP-led effort to persuade lobbying firms to hire Republicans in their top positions.
Democrats are virtually persona non grata.

Go K Street.

Maybe we'll soon see more tax breaks that encourage businesses to buy Humvees for delivery vehicles.

Woo-hoo. Celebrate.

Dan Rather Isn't Running for President

This is not Dan Rather

Dan Rather Isn't Running for President

I think Dan Rather should ask Marian Carr Knox, the 86-year old retired Ellington AFB secretary who worked for Lt. Col. Jerry Killian to give him an exclusive interview. I have a feeling she'd be a fascinating woman. If there's a mea culpa due to the American people over this memo authenticity flap (and I think there may be), it could be offered with a healthy dose of 'first-hand witness'. She might be characterized by those who wish to destroy her credibility as a sweet but confused old lady, but I think most Americans would love to see her side of the story.

In the LA Times, Lt Col Killian's son Gary D. Killian ('bless his heart') is trying to impugn Marian Carr Knox's credibility, saying:

"I had more time to talk to my father and know what he thought about those things than Ms. Carr, bless her heart."

I don't buy this sugared-up line of thought at all. I believe there are plenty of things we discuss at work that we never carry home to our children and our spouse. (Unless we're incredibly obsessed with our careers).

The story is a circus. Killian's son admits to being partisan (toward Bush) and so does Marian Carr (anti-Bush).

Ben Barnes' daughter thinks he lied, but she admits to having a strained relationship with her father. (It makes you thankful for having a good family relationship. Hell hath no fury like a daughter scorned).

The Bush campaign and the bloggers who love them best have been successful in getting the media to blur the actual content of Ben Barnes' message (he got Bush into the Guard so he could avoid Vietnam) with the Dan Rather memo circus.

Editor and Publisher reveals a disturbing story, leading me to believe that someone may have been trying to manipulate CBS (not that CBS shouldn't have known better):

USA Today has revealed that it, too, received letters and memos purportedly written in the early 1970s by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, Bush's former commander in the Texas National Guard.

USA Today, like CBS, has refused to say how it got them, beyond saying that it was "from a person with knowledge of Texas Air National Guard operations. The person refused to be identified out of fear of retaliation. It is unclear where the the documents, if they are real, had been kept in the intervening three decades."

This may or may not be the same person who leaked them to CBS. Like the CBS documents they are copies, not originals.

See:

USA TODAY: Amid criticism, CBS stands by its reports

USA TODAY: Memo debate eclipses content