Good evening! It's Friday. Finally. Hopefully you get some time off or at least some time where there's a little less to do. Let's get things kicked off with Democracy Now!
15 Anti-Torture Activists Arrested Outside White House
In Washington, 15 activists were arrested outside the White House Thursday at a protest against torture. The protest was called by Witness Against Torture. In December, the group marched on the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of detainees are being held without charge.
Human rights attorney Jennifer Harbury: "We wore the orange overalls and a gag that said 'torture' and we walked the halls of congress to awaken their conscience. We're trying to haunt their conscience. We're the ghost walkers today. We're here to say no human being can be tortured under any circumstances. My husband was tortured to death by CIA assets or informants in Guatemala 10 years ago, and after many of my hunger strikes that leaked out. What we found out after it was too late to save his life is, like I say, they were all on the CIA payroll. The Senate intelligence committee held a huge panel discussion and investigation of this, and after my testimony they said quote: 'This is a disgrace. No one should ever have to starve to stop torture. It will never happen again.' Really all of us are just calling them on that promise. There can be no more torture by the United States or anyone else."
I wonder sometime how mcuh people care about this? Not the ones who follow the news, but the ones who never know what's going on. If they hear about it by accident, do they get what's going on? I think it's really important for demonstrations like the one above to take place. They raise awareness. It's great if they can get media coverage, but just being out there, with people passing them, they raised attention/awareness. That's what all the different rallies, protests and marches this month are about. So find something you can do and do it.
Otherwise, you're giving your approval. Even if silently or among a few close friends, you object, you're giving your approval to torture, illegal war, and all the stuff being done in our name.
Bush Signs Controversial Nuke Deal on India Visit:
In India, President Bush has signed a controversial deal to foster nuclear cooperation between the United States and India. Under the agreement, the U.S. would end a decades-long moratorium on sales of nuclear fuel and reactor components to India while allowing the country to substantially step up its nuclear weapons production. India is one of only three countries that has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The deal was criticized by some lawmakers in Washington who said it could lead to the spread of nuclear weapons. House Democrat Ed Markey, co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation called the agreement "a historic failure of this president to tackle the real nuclear threats that we face."
Wally is on the phone with C.I. I heped enough last night so that Wally could get his latest Jot posted but he's having some serious problems. So C.I.'s trying to help him figure out what's going on there. But yesterday's "THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY RETURNING TO THE USA WITH A 'PLAN'! " nailed Bully Boy's moves described above:
EXPLAINING WHY HE WAS EAGER TO ARM ONE NATION WITH NUKES WHILE HE FRETS OVER THE ALLEGED NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES OF OTHER NATIONS, BULLY BOY EXPLAINED, "I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT FENCES MAKE FOR GOOD NEIGHBORS. AND I THINK GOOD NEIGHBORS BORROW A CUP OF NUKES FROM ONE ANOTHER ON THOSE ROUGH MORNINGS WHERE YOU'RE DRAGGING."
WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE ISSUE OF THE PORTS, BULLY BOY SIGHED LOUDLY.
"I HAVE A PLAN," BULLY BOY EXPLAINED. "MY ECONOMIC CHOICES ARE A PLAN. AND MY PLAN IS A PLAN. MY PLAN IS GOOD FOR THE RICH AND THE PORTS. A PORT MAN WORKING AT MCDONALDS WILL GET TAX RELIEF UNDER MY PLAN. IT IS A GOOD PLAN. IT IS A STRONG PLAN. IT IS A PLAN. RICH OR PORT, ALL BENEFIT FROM MY PLAN."
THE LAST FUNCTIONING PRESS MEMBER IN THE POOL, HELEN THOMAS, ASKED BULLY BOY IF HE COULD "EXPLAIN THIS PLAN?"
"HELEN, WEREN'T YOU LISTENING?" ASKED BULLY BOY. "I JUST DID. IT IS A PLAN. A PLAN FOR RICH AND FOR PORT. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TRUST ME ON THIS. I JUMPED INTO ACTION TO ADDRES THE PROBLEMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA AND I CAN HANDLE THE PROBLEM OF THE PORTS."
I love Wally's running gag where Bully Boy always thinks the "ports" are the poor. :D
But there it is. We're bothered by North Korea and Iran but we're handing over nukes to India.
One of my classmates said today that "the curse and the shame of nuclear weapons is now India's as well." Tony and I were like, "Perfect!" Cause it does sum it up perfectly.
For more on the nukes, on war, on Bully Boy and his visit to India (and probably a lot more), check out the interview Amy Goodman did with Arundhati Roy: "Baby Bush Go Home: Arundhati Roy on Massive Protests Against Bush's Visit to India."
If you're a member of The Common Ills community, did you check out the gina & krista round-robin? Gina, Krista and C.I. hit hard on the Patriot Act. I hope you'll use the action alerts that Gina and Krista always provide.
Tony's cousin Ed was saying, "I oppose the Patriot Act, I oppose torture, I oppose the war . . . But how can I work on all the issues?" Tony had asked him about some protests that are going on this month. So Tony told me about it and goes, "What do I tell him?" Tell him to work on it all. He can do a letter to his rep and senators via e-mail on some issues and he can pick one (or more) to get active on by participating in a rally or something.
When you do just one protest, you'll probably sense how amazing it is when people come together to speak truth and to try to get the word out. I bet if Ed, or you, go to just one protest, you'll want to go to others. But few people have the time to work on every issue all the time.
Nobody can do "everything" but you can do "something." Figure out what that is and get to work on it.
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Friday, March 03, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The US builds prisons, don't they?
Good evening. Wally's had problems all afternoon and evening with Blogger so let's see how things go for me. Let's get started with Democracy Now!
Indian Protests Against Bush Visit Include Rally in Bhopal
In India, tens of thousands of people continued their massive protests against the visit of President Bush. In one of several rallies, victims of the 1984 gas leak from the US-owned Union Carbide pesticide factory demonstrated in Bhopal. Over 20,000 died in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy, while another 100,000 people suffered lasting health problems.
Wherever he goes, he attracts a crowd. Not quite the one he might have wanted but, hey, when the whole world's against you, it's against you. I know what Wally wants to write if he can ever get something posted (none of the e-mails would work and he can't get into his account when he tries that way) so I'll just move on to the next topic to make sure I don't swipe any of his jokes.
New Iraq Reconstruction Funds Devoted Solely to Prisons
In other news, the State Department quietly announced this week it has requested $100 million dollars for Iraqi reconstruction -- all of it for prisons. The Bush administration initially promised $20 billion dollars to reconstruct Iraqi infrastructure. But much of the money has been diverted to security. State Department Iraq coordinator James Jeffrey said the $100 million dollar prison project was the lone new reconstruction effort the US government will undertake over the next year.
Now if that surprises you, think about the prison population in this country and think about what big business prisons are. He never did put up all those promised hospitals but he can get behind prisons. He can "relate" to them. Which is probably a good thing because, if there's justice in this world, he'll be spending some time in one for a few years.
I got an e-mail from Rudy who says I stopped answering questions. I just run out of time sometimes. But Rudy's got a question. Whenever he eats pasta, it disagees with him. "Disagrees"? What's that mean, Rudy? Your stomach hurts? You get gas and start farting?
If I eat Taco Bell, my stomach really burns and I'm burping like crazy. If I eat real Mexican cooking, I don't have that problem. So I'm wondering if it's everytime you have pasta or just at certain places?
I had Taco Bell today and I'm burping now. Not kidding. I know that will happen so I try to avoid it but sometimes when I'm rushing from work to class and I don't have a lot of time, if everything else is backed up, I'll grab Taco Bell. So there's no point in complaining because I know what happens the rest of the day. If it's all pasta, you should probably avoid it. If it's just pasta from some places, something in their food is disagreeing with you.
You could try popping things like Rolaids. But it would probably be better to just avoid what you know is going to make you sick. Now if it's like your mother's cooking, you got a real problem. So let me know if that's where you're getting the pasta and we'll toss out some more ideas.
Rudy also wondered how Nina was doing? She's doing good. She's studying right now in here.
Or trying to. She keeps going, "Excuse me" meaning I should say that. Maybe on that last one which was like an belch explosion. :D
Nina said to tell everyone to read "Kat's Korner: Nina Simone -- Golden" which we looked for after we left campus but couldn't find it. I may end up asking Kat if she could grab one for Nina. I just got that my Nina and Nina Simone have the same name. :D I didn't claim to be the fastest wit in the west. :D
I'll toss out two things you should read. "Industry Shocker: America's Funniest Videos? Not that American" by Ava and C.I. (like C.I. said on the phone today, "Good God, they're outsourcing videos!" :D) and second thing you should read is by Elaine. Did you check out
"No quote tonight -- it's already too long"? It's like a mamoth entry.
If you missed it, our cowardly Senate voted to approve the Patriot Act today. The vote was 89 to 10 so I guess someone was absent or too cowardly to vote one way or the other. That guy was Daniel Inouye. The article just says he didn't vote, not if he was present or not. From the article:
The "no" votes came from Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., and Feingold, Byrd and seven other Senate Democrats: Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Carl Levin of Michigan, Patty Murray of Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
That's crap. And Harry Reid's talking about how he'll keep working on them. Keep working? The article says that they voted today to make 14 of the 16 temporary provisions permanent.
Here's something from a story on Arundhati Roy where she's talking about Bully Boy visiting India:
Often laughing, she highlights the ludicrous to underline her despair at the welcome Bush has been given. The organizational details of a presidential trip offer much amusement -- particularly the decision to hold the president's landmark speech about the emerging Indo-U.S. strategic partnership in a spot by the Delhi zoo.
"First they tried to see whether he would address Parliament, but most of the MPs said they would heckle and boycott so that was canceled," she said in an interview this week.
The Red Fort was out because the Muslim population surrounding the building made it a security nightmare. "So now he will be speaking in the zoo -- to some eminent people and some caged animals. I don't know if the lions can disagree, the cockatoos might say they are against globalization. It's really kind of funny," she said.
C.I. said Arundhati Roy's going to be on Democracy Now! tomorrow so make sure to check that out.
Maybe it's the burping, maybe it's being discussed with the Senate for their vote today, but I'll probably stop here and call Wally to see if I can help him. I don't know a lot about Blogger because I haven't had too many problems.
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Indian Protests Against Bush Visit Include Rally in Bhopal
In India, tens of thousands of people continued their massive protests against the visit of President Bush. In one of several rallies, victims of the 1984 gas leak from the US-owned Union Carbide pesticide factory demonstrated in Bhopal. Over 20,000 died in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy, while another 100,000 people suffered lasting health problems.
Wherever he goes, he attracts a crowd. Not quite the one he might have wanted but, hey, when the whole world's against you, it's against you. I know what Wally wants to write if he can ever get something posted (none of the e-mails would work and he can't get into his account when he tries that way) so I'll just move on to the next topic to make sure I don't swipe any of his jokes.
New Iraq Reconstruction Funds Devoted Solely to Prisons
In other news, the State Department quietly announced this week it has requested $100 million dollars for Iraqi reconstruction -- all of it for prisons. The Bush administration initially promised $20 billion dollars to reconstruct Iraqi infrastructure. But much of the money has been diverted to security. State Department Iraq coordinator James Jeffrey said the $100 million dollar prison project was the lone new reconstruction effort the US government will undertake over the next year.
Now if that surprises you, think about the prison population in this country and think about what big business prisons are. He never did put up all those promised hospitals but he can get behind prisons. He can "relate" to them. Which is probably a good thing because, if there's justice in this world, he'll be spending some time in one for a few years.
I got an e-mail from Rudy who says I stopped answering questions. I just run out of time sometimes. But Rudy's got a question. Whenever he eats pasta, it disagees with him. "Disagrees"? What's that mean, Rudy? Your stomach hurts? You get gas and start farting?
If I eat Taco Bell, my stomach really burns and I'm burping like crazy. If I eat real Mexican cooking, I don't have that problem. So I'm wondering if it's everytime you have pasta or just at certain places?
I had Taco Bell today and I'm burping now. Not kidding. I know that will happen so I try to avoid it but sometimes when I'm rushing from work to class and I don't have a lot of time, if everything else is backed up, I'll grab Taco Bell. So there's no point in complaining because I know what happens the rest of the day. If it's all pasta, you should probably avoid it. If it's just pasta from some places, something in their food is disagreeing with you.
You could try popping things like Rolaids. But it would probably be better to just avoid what you know is going to make you sick. Now if it's like your mother's cooking, you got a real problem. So let me know if that's where you're getting the pasta and we'll toss out some more ideas.
Rudy also wondered how Nina was doing? She's doing good. She's studying right now in here.
Or trying to. She keeps going, "Excuse me" meaning I should say that. Maybe on that last one which was like an belch explosion. :D
Nina said to tell everyone to read "Kat's Korner: Nina Simone -- Golden" which we looked for after we left campus but couldn't find it. I may end up asking Kat if she could grab one for Nina. I just got that my Nina and Nina Simone have the same name. :D I didn't claim to be the fastest wit in the west. :D
I'll toss out two things you should read. "Industry Shocker: America's Funniest Videos? Not that American" by Ava and C.I. (like C.I. said on the phone today, "Good God, they're outsourcing videos!" :D) and second thing you should read is by Elaine. Did you check out
"No quote tonight -- it's already too long"? It's like a mamoth entry.
If you missed it, our cowardly Senate voted to approve the Patriot Act today. The vote was 89 to 10 so I guess someone was absent or too cowardly to vote one way or the other. That guy was Daniel Inouye. The article just says he didn't vote, not if he was present or not. From the article:
The "no" votes came from Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., and Feingold, Byrd and seven other Senate Democrats: Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Carl Levin of Michigan, Patty Murray of Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
That's crap. And Harry Reid's talking about how he'll keep working on them. Keep working? The article says that they voted today to make 14 of the 16 temporary provisions permanent.
Here's something from a story on Arundhati Roy where she's talking about Bully Boy visiting India:
Often laughing, she highlights the ludicrous to underline her despair at the welcome Bush has been given. The organizational details of a presidential trip offer much amusement -- particularly the decision to hold the president's landmark speech about the emerging Indo-U.S. strategic partnership in a spot by the Delhi zoo.
"First they tried to see whether he would address Parliament, but most of the MPs said they would heckle and boycott so that was canceled," she said in an interview this week.
The Red Fort was out because the Muslim population surrounding the building made it a security nightmare. "So now he will be speaking in the zoo -- to some eminent people and some caged animals. I don't know if the lions can disagree, the cockatoos might say they are against globalization. It's really kind of funny," she said.
C.I. said Arundhati Roy's going to be on Democracy Now! tomorrow so make sure to check that out.
Maybe it's the burping, maybe it's being discussed with the Senate for their vote today, but I'll probably stop here and call Wally to see if I can help him. I don't know a lot about Blogger because I haven't had too many problems.
democracy now
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mikey likes it
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Bully Boo gets booed, adminstration never listens (especially about Iraq)
Good evening. It's hump day. We're half-way to the weekend! Let's get things started with Democracy Now!
Over 100,000 Protest President Bush in India
In other news, tens of thousands of people gathered in New Delhi today to protest a visit by President Bush to India. A police spokesperson said the crowd exceeded 100,000 people. Abdul Hussain, a spokesperson for one of the protest organizers, said: "Welcoming a person like him is like welcoming a murderer and he has become a militant and a war monger... he is a war president. So welcoming a person like him does not make any sense or meaning in a country like India. And welcoming him in the country of the Mahatma will desecrate our land."
Dozens of protests have been planned ahead of President Bush’s three-day visit. During his stay, Bush is expected to sign a controversial deal to sell India nuclear fuel from the US.
My comment here is: "Go read Wally!" Read his "THIS JUST IN! THE BULLYING THE GLOBE WORLD TOUR!" It is hilarious. (Wally says C.I. gave him "The bullying the globe world tour" phrase and asked me to note that.) While I'm suggesting, read C.I.'s "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" and I'll talk about that later in this post.
Study: One in Three Iraq Vets Seek Mental Health Treatment
Meanwhile, the Washington Post is reporting an Army study has found that more than one in three US troops who served in Iraq later sought help for mental health problems. According to the report, soldiers and Marines returning from Iraq reported more distress than those returning from Afghanistan and other countries. More than half of all service members returning from Iraq reported that they had "felt in great danger of being killed" there, and over 2,400 reported having suicidal thoughts. Steve Robinson, head of the National Gulf War Resource Center, said: "In Vietnam, there were safe areas where people could go to rest and recuperate. That doesn't happen in Iraq; every place is a war zone."
"Every place is a war zone." And maybe if the embedded corporate press hadn't hid out for almost three years in the Green Zone while "reporting" like everything was fine and dandy, the American people would have caught on a long time. We have a media failure. (I feel like Danny Schechter saying that! :D He may have said it. We all read and reviewed The Death of Media at The Third Estate Sunday Review for "1 Book, 10 Minutes (Danny Schechter, The Death of Media) " so that might be in The Death of Media. If Schechter said it, give him the credit.) Isn't it amazing how the reporting on the health of the troops always comes not from the embeds but from reporters stationed stateside?
The embeds can tell you what the general or major says. They can give you lots of happy talk. They just can't give you any reality. The only leashes in Iraq weren't at Abu Ghraib, obviously many of the embeds decided to put on collars and hand their leashes over to the military higher ups.
Troops coming home will be dealing with side effects for years and watch the big media stop caring the way they did with the the first Gulf war.
Former Intel Officials Say White House Ignored Insurgency Warnings
In other news, Knight Ridder is reporting the White House repeatedly ignored early intelligence warnings that the armed insurgency in Iraq was almost entirely local and growing in size. A National Intelligence Estimate as early as October 2003 said the insurgency was fueled mostly by local conditions, such as the presence of US troops in Iraq. It also said outside forces were playing almost no role in the insurgency. Robert Hutchings, the former chair of the National Intelligence Council from 2003 to 2005 said: "Frankly, senior officials simply weren't ready to pay attention to analysis that didn't conform to their own optimistic scenarios." Another former high-ranking intelligence official said: "This was stuff the White House and the Pentagon did not want to hear. They were constantly grumbling that the people who were writing these kind of downbeat assessments 'needed to get on the team,' 'were not team players' and were `sitting up there (at CIA headquarters) in Langley sucking their thumbs.'"
Anybody else sensing a Condi Rice "No one could have guessed" moment on the horizon? Anyone else going to snort when she says it?
Okay, C.I. wrote about the NSA hearing yesterday in "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" which went up this morning. Tony said, "Man, that's incredible." It is. I know C.I. has had no more than 2 to 3 hours sleep every night this week and can't believe this entry was done this morning. (It was, it happened. It went up.)
But Tony wondered why yesterday C.I. only took on Orrin Hatch?
Kat was going to write about the hearings. She had some ideas and since she's finished both CD reviews (one is up already, "Kat's Korner: Cat Power's Greatness"), she thought she'd have some time. She worked and worked on a post last night. Then she goes to post her post and loses the whole thing. She called Betty who was working on a chapter for Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man to warn her, "Don't post without at least a handwritten copy." But it was too late because Betty had already tried and lost her chapter right before Kat called. C.I. and Kat both wrote about this last night.
But C.I. was stepping aside to let Kat explore the hearings and just focusing on Hatch Tuesday. (And had checked with Kat to make sure she wasn't going to write about Hatch.) Kat's attitude is that it's gone and that must have been meant to be. So when she said that last night to C.I. she urged C.I. to write something on it.
That's how you got the most amazing "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" today. You got to read it. When we had nothing but problems at The Third Estate Sunday Review and had to work forever, we were all dragging. By the editorial, we were on empty. Almost everyone. Like Elaine noted Monday:
For the editorial, the main points had been outlined (by Jess) with pen and paper. But even that was rough. That was the last thing that those of us still helping out were participating on. The basics are from Jim and C.I. with the rest of us modifying them. We were all wiped out and saying things like, "I have nothing else to give." So Jim would grab a point and go with it and then get C.I. to speak on the next point. "Just pretend it's a speech," Jim would say and C.I. would give a five to ten minute speech which we'd boil down to a paragraph. Jim can go on forever and actually thrives on it. C.I. doesn't thrive on it but can pull out second, third, fourth, fifth . . . winds.
The entry on the hearings is like the speeches C.I. would give when Jim would toss. Those two came up with the text. We all worked on what the points should be (the outline) and we had done the editorial and lost it. By five p.m. (that's what it almost was when the editorial was finished), none of us could even remember what the original said before it was lost. But Jim would grab a point and talk on it and from that, we'd reshape it into a paragraph, then Jim would toss the next point to C.I. and go, "Come on, you know you could give a speech on this!" So C.I. would just speak, off the top of the head, for five minutes and we'd take that and reshape it. Jim loves all nighters and thinks it proves something or forces you to "really go to the wall." C.I. can handle an all nighter but not an all nighter and an all dayer. (That edition took over 24 hours straight.) Now I hear C.I. toss out ideas and contribute all the time. And I read The Common Ills always. So I know what C.I. is capable of. Or I thought I did. It was really amazing to hear C.I. sigh or yawn when Jim tossed, take a deep breath and then just take off on whatever point in the outline we were at. It was like an All Stars game. Really, I'd just be listening and thinking, "No way, not again" and BAM! out of the park. So read "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" because it's BAM! out of the park.
I think Kat would have done an amazing job herself. It would have been different because she was going to examine it (she had a chart and all ready this weekend) on different aspects and levels. But why I brought this up was because: Isn't Kat amazing? She worked like crazy and wrote something that Betty says was amazing (Betty heard it over the phone because they were calling each other while they were writing). And where was her focus when she lost it? On Betty. Betty e-mailed me and asked me to please point that out. I have no problem doing that (or anything else Betty wants pointed out ever). Kat's really a special and amazing person. I would have been banging my head against the wall until it was bloody. Kat was focused on what Betty lost.
And let me say one more time that her latest review went up last night ("Kat's Korner: Cat Power's Greatness") and you should check it out. She's got another one that should go up tonight but Ava and C.I. have had something dumped in their laps and are trying to figure out how to address it. (That's all I'll say because they haven't been able to speak to everyone yet. They're trying to decide if this waits until Sunday or if it doesn't? And if it doesn't, where does it go up?)
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Over 100,000 Protest President Bush in India
In other news, tens of thousands of people gathered in New Delhi today to protest a visit by President Bush to India. A police spokesperson said the crowd exceeded 100,000 people. Abdul Hussain, a spokesperson for one of the protest organizers, said: "Welcoming a person like him is like welcoming a murderer and he has become a militant and a war monger... he is a war president. So welcoming a person like him does not make any sense or meaning in a country like India. And welcoming him in the country of the Mahatma will desecrate our land."
Dozens of protests have been planned ahead of President Bush’s three-day visit. During his stay, Bush is expected to sign a controversial deal to sell India nuclear fuel from the US.
My comment here is: "Go read Wally!" Read his "THIS JUST IN! THE BULLYING THE GLOBE WORLD TOUR!" It is hilarious. (Wally says C.I. gave him "The bullying the globe world tour" phrase and asked me to note that.) While I'm suggesting, read C.I.'s "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" and I'll talk about that later in this post.
Study: One in Three Iraq Vets Seek Mental Health Treatment
Meanwhile, the Washington Post is reporting an Army study has found that more than one in three US troops who served in Iraq later sought help for mental health problems. According to the report, soldiers and Marines returning from Iraq reported more distress than those returning from Afghanistan and other countries. More than half of all service members returning from Iraq reported that they had "felt in great danger of being killed" there, and over 2,400 reported having suicidal thoughts. Steve Robinson, head of the National Gulf War Resource Center, said: "In Vietnam, there were safe areas where people could go to rest and recuperate. That doesn't happen in Iraq; every place is a war zone."
"Every place is a war zone." And maybe if the embedded corporate press hadn't hid out for almost three years in the Green Zone while "reporting" like everything was fine and dandy, the American people would have caught on a long time. We have a media failure. (I feel like Danny Schechter saying that! :D He may have said it. We all read and reviewed The Death of Media at The Third Estate Sunday Review for "1 Book, 10 Minutes (Danny Schechter, The Death of Media) " so that might be in The Death of Media. If Schechter said it, give him the credit.) Isn't it amazing how the reporting on the health of the troops always comes not from the embeds but from reporters stationed stateside?
The embeds can tell you what the general or major says. They can give you lots of happy talk. They just can't give you any reality. The only leashes in Iraq weren't at Abu Ghraib, obviously many of the embeds decided to put on collars and hand their leashes over to the military higher ups.
Troops coming home will be dealing with side effects for years and watch the big media stop caring the way they did with the the first Gulf war.
Former Intel Officials Say White House Ignored Insurgency Warnings
In other news, Knight Ridder is reporting the White House repeatedly ignored early intelligence warnings that the armed insurgency in Iraq was almost entirely local and growing in size. A National Intelligence Estimate as early as October 2003 said the insurgency was fueled mostly by local conditions, such as the presence of US troops in Iraq. It also said outside forces were playing almost no role in the insurgency. Robert Hutchings, the former chair of the National Intelligence Council from 2003 to 2005 said: "Frankly, senior officials simply weren't ready to pay attention to analysis that didn't conform to their own optimistic scenarios." Another former high-ranking intelligence official said: "This was stuff the White House and the Pentagon did not want to hear. They were constantly grumbling that the people who were writing these kind of downbeat assessments 'needed to get on the team,' 'were not team players' and were `sitting up there (at CIA headquarters) in Langley sucking their thumbs.'"
Anybody else sensing a Condi Rice "No one could have guessed" moment on the horizon? Anyone else going to snort when she says it?
Okay, C.I. wrote about the NSA hearing yesterday in "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" which went up this morning. Tony said, "Man, that's incredible." It is. I know C.I. has had no more than 2 to 3 hours sleep every night this week and can't believe this entry was done this morning. (It was, it happened. It went up.)
But Tony wondered why yesterday C.I. only took on Orrin Hatch?
Kat was going to write about the hearings. She had some ideas and since she's finished both CD reviews (one is up already, "Kat's Korner: Cat Power's Greatness"), she thought she'd have some time. She worked and worked on a post last night. Then she goes to post her post and loses the whole thing. She called Betty who was working on a chapter for Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man to warn her, "Don't post without at least a handwritten copy." But it was too late because Betty had already tried and lost her chapter right before Kat called. C.I. and Kat both wrote about this last night.
But C.I. was stepping aside to let Kat explore the hearings and just focusing on Hatch Tuesday. (And had checked with Kat to make sure she wasn't going to write about Hatch.) Kat's attitude is that it's gone and that must have been meant to be. So when she said that last night to C.I. she urged C.I. to write something on it.
That's how you got the most amazing "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" today. You got to read it. When we had nothing but problems at The Third Estate Sunday Review and had to work forever, we were all dragging. By the editorial, we were on empty. Almost everyone. Like Elaine noted Monday:
For the editorial, the main points had been outlined (by Jess) with pen and paper. But even that was rough. That was the last thing that those of us still helping out were participating on. The basics are from Jim and C.I. with the rest of us modifying them. We were all wiped out and saying things like, "I have nothing else to give." So Jim would grab a point and go with it and then get C.I. to speak on the next point. "Just pretend it's a speech," Jim would say and C.I. would give a five to ten minute speech which we'd boil down to a paragraph. Jim can go on forever and actually thrives on it. C.I. doesn't thrive on it but can pull out second, third, fourth, fifth . . . winds.
The entry on the hearings is like the speeches C.I. would give when Jim would toss. Those two came up with the text. We all worked on what the points should be (the outline) and we had done the editorial and lost it. By five p.m. (that's what it almost was when the editorial was finished), none of us could even remember what the original said before it was lost. But Jim would grab a point and talk on it and from that, we'd reshape it into a paragraph, then Jim would toss the next point to C.I. and go, "Come on, you know you could give a speech on this!" So C.I. would just speak, off the top of the head, for five minutes and we'd take that and reshape it. Jim loves all nighters and thinks it proves something or forces you to "really go to the wall." C.I. can handle an all nighter but not an all nighter and an all dayer. (That edition took over 24 hours straight.) Now I hear C.I. toss out ideas and contribute all the time. And I read The Common Ills always. So I know what C.I. is capable of. Or I thought I did. It was really amazing to hear C.I. sigh or yawn when Jim tossed, take a deep breath and then just take off on whatever point in the outline we were at. It was like an All Stars game. Really, I'd just be listening and thinking, "No way, not again" and BAM! out of the park. So read "NYT: Republicans seek a 'bridge' (Brooklyn, so they can sell it to you?)" because it's BAM! out of the park.
I think Kat would have done an amazing job herself. It would have been different because she was going to examine it (she had a chart and all ready this weekend) on different aspects and levels. But why I brought this up was because: Isn't Kat amazing? She worked like crazy and wrote something that Betty says was amazing (Betty heard it over the phone because they were calling each other while they were writing). And where was her focus when she lost it? On Betty. Betty e-mailed me and asked me to please point that out. I have no problem doing that (or anything else Betty wants pointed out ever). Kat's really a special and amazing person. I would have been banging my head against the wall until it was bloody. Kat was focused on what Betty lost.
And let me say one more time that her latest review went up last night ("Kat's Korner: Cat Power's Greatness") and you should check it out. She's got another one that should go up tonight but Ava and C.I. have had something dumped in their laps and are trying to figure out how to address it. (That's all I'll say because they haven't been able to speak to everyone yet. They're trying to decide if this waits until Sunday or if it doesn't? And if it doesn't, where does it go up?)
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snoopgate
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Blood continues flowing in Iraq, no "bounce" for Bully Boy
Good evening and let's get things kicked off with Democracy Now!
Report: Over 1300 Killed in Iraq Violence
The Washington Post is reporting over 1300 people have been killed in less than a week of violence in Iraq. The death toll is at least four times higher than previously reported, and one of the biggest outside of major US operations since the war began. Violence has increased across the country following Wednesday's bombing of a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra. Earlier today, separate attacks in Baghdad killed at least 36 people and injured dozens more. In the biggest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Baghdad gas station, killing over 20 people and injuring 50 others.
So yesterday the numbers were shocking. Today, even more so. There's a Patti Smith song called "Radio Baghdad" and Shawn picked it as one of the best of 2004 at The Common Ills (Cedric picked Eminem's "Mosh" and Marci picked Prince's "Cinnamon Girl" -- Ma had a pick in there too!). This is from "Radio Baghdad" and Patti sings it like a chant:
Oh Baghdad
Center of the world
City of ashes
With its great mosques
Erupting from the mouth of god
Rising from the ashes like
a speckled bird
Splayed against the mosaic sky
Oh, clouds around
We created the zero
But we mean nothing to you
You would believe
That we are just some mystical tale
We are just a swollen belly
That gave birth to Sinbad, Scheherazade
We gave birth
Oh, oh, to the zero
The perfect number
We invented the zero
And we mean nothing to you
Our children run through the streets
And you sent your flames
Your shooting stars
Shock and awe
Shock and awe
Like some, some
Imagined warrior production
Twenty-first century
No chivalry involved
No Bushido
"And we mean nothing to you." That pretty much sums up the attitude that Bully Boy's shown to the people of Iraq.
Bush Approval Rating on Iraq, Presidency At All-Time Low
In other news, a new CBS News poll has found the number of Americans who approve of President Bush’s overall job performance and his handling of the Iraq war has fallen to an all-time low. 34 percent of Americans give the President a favorable job approval rating, while even less -- 30 percent -- approve of the President’s handling of the Iraq war. Meanwhile, less than a third of Americans believe President Bush has adequately responded to the needs of victims of Hurricane Katrina.
What? You thought there was no good news today? Bully Boy's in the toilet. Like Ava and C.I. said in their review of "Close To Home" -- "Flush his latest 'creation' down, flush it down." Floating in the toilet, making a stink, flush the Bully Boy.
I don't know, I was thinking we had a shot at that today. I listened to the hearings on
Pacifica and was hopeful even though everyone was saying, "Mike, don't expect much" Sunday when we were doing "NSA Hearings This Tuesday." But I was pretty hopeful. Then we get the news, right at the start of the hearing that they're cutting it in half and I was thinking right then, "Oh man."
I don't know. Rebecca thinks Russ Feingold did a good job and I can go along with that. We were talking about that on the phone a little while ago. I don't know that I was hugely impressed with any other Senator. Patrick Leahy was strong at times but there was too much "joshing with Arlen" for me to take Leahy or the hearings too seriously. Tony thinks it was pretty strong. Maybe it was? Maybe I just expected too much?
C.I. takes on Orrin Hatch in "Democracy Now: John Pace, Dave Isay; NSA hearings -- Miss Priss Instant Cuckoo (O. Hatch!)" which is hilarious and perfectly gets at that annoying moment when Hatch was talking how tough it was for the executive branch to follow the basic law. I wish I could grab a moment and just like crystalize it. C.I. did but listening, I didn't even register that was a moment until I read about Miss Priss Instant Cuckoo. Read it. It's really funny and really true.
Be sure to check out Elaine's site for her thoughts at Like Maria Said Paz. And The Daily Jot is back up and running. Be sure to check out Wally's latest!
I'm down about today's hearing but otherwise pretty cool. My bro that just got married is back from his honeymoon and he and his wife are coming to a late dinner tonight. So I'm wrapping this up quick. That's probably why my oldest sister Kelly visited last night. :D Usually, she only drops by on the weekends. But one of our brothers is getting back from the honeymoon, better go drop by and say hi to Ma and Dad before the return! Don't want to be forgotten!
I teased her about that last night so I'm guessing it's okay to put it up here.
democracy now
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pacifica radio
radio
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nsa
fisa
government snooping
government spying
snoopgate
trinas kitchen
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
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the daily jot
patti smith
radio baghdad
mikey likes it
Report: Over 1300 Killed in Iraq Violence
The Washington Post is reporting over 1300 people have been killed in less than a week of violence in Iraq. The death toll is at least four times higher than previously reported, and one of the biggest outside of major US operations since the war began. Violence has increased across the country following Wednesday's bombing of a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra. Earlier today, separate attacks in Baghdad killed at least 36 people and injured dozens more. In the biggest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Baghdad gas station, killing over 20 people and injuring 50 others.
So yesterday the numbers were shocking. Today, even more so. There's a Patti Smith song called "Radio Baghdad" and Shawn picked it as one of the best of 2004 at The Common Ills (Cedric picked Eminem's "Mosh" and Marci picked Prince's "Cinnamon Girl" -- Ma had a pick in there too!). This is from "Radio Baghdad" and Patti sings it like a chant:
Oh Baghdad
Center of the world
City of ashes
With its great mosques
Erupting from the mouth of god
Rising from the ashes like
a speckled bird
Splayed against the mosaic sky
Oh, clouds around
We created the zero
But we mean nothing to you
You would believe
That we are just some mystical tale
We are just a swollen belly
That gave birth to Sinbad, Scheherazade
We gave birth
Oh, oh, to the zero
The perfect number
We invented the zero
And we mean nothing to you
Our children run through the streets
And you sent your flames
Your shooting stars
Shock and awe
Shock and awe
Like some, some
Imagined warrior production
Twenty-first century
No chivalry involved
No Bushido
"And we mean nothing to you." That pretty much sums up the attitude that Bully Boy's shown to the people of Iraq.
Bush Approval Rating on Iraq, Presidency At All-Time Low
In other news, a new CBS News poll has found the number of Americans who approve of President Bush’s overall job performance and his handling of the Iraq war has fallen to an all-time low. 34 percent of Americans give the President a favorable job approval rating, while even less -- 30 percent -- approve of the President’s handling of the Iraq war. Meanwhile, less than a third of Americans believe President Bush has adequately responded to the needs of victims of Hurricane Katrina.
What? You thought there was no good news today? Bully Boy's in the toilet. Like Ava and C.I. said in their review of "Close To Home" -- "Flush his latest 'creation' down, flush it down." Floating in the toilet, making a stink, flush the Bully Boy.
I don't know, I was thinking we had a shot at that today. I listened to the hearings on
Pacifica and was hopeful even though everyone was saying, "Mike, don't expect much" Sunday when we were doing "NSA Hearings This Tuesday." But I was pretty hopeful. Then we get the news, right at the start of the hearing that they're cutting it in half and I was thinking right then, "Oh man."
I don't know. Rebecca thinks Russ Feingold did a good job and I can go along with that. We were talking about that on the phone a little while ago. I don't know that I was hugely impressed with any other Senator. Patrick Leahy was strong at times but there was too much "joshing with Arlen" for me to take Leahy or the hearings too seriously. Tony thinks it was pretty strong. Maybe it was? Maybe I just expected too much?
C.I. takes on Orrin Hatch in "Democracy Now: John Pace, Dave Isay; NSA hearings -- Miss Priss Instant Cuckoo (O. Hatch!)" which is hilarious and perfectly gets at that annoying moment when Hatch was talking how tough it was for the executive branch to follow the basic law. I wish I could grab a moment and just like crystalize it. C.I. did but listening, I didn't even register that was a moment until I read about Miss Priss Instant Cuckoo. Read it. It's really funny and really true.
Be sure to check out Elaine's site for her thoughts at Like Maria Said Paz. And The Daily Jot is back up and running. Be sure to check out Wally's latest!
I'm down about today's hearing but otherwise pretty cool. My bro that just got married is back from his honeymoon and he and his wife are coming to a late dinner tonight. So I'm wrapping this up quick. That's probably why my oldest sister Kelly visited last night. :D Usually, she only drops by on the weekends. But one of our brothers is getting back from the honeymoon, better go drop by and say hi to Ma and Dad before the return! Don't want to be forgotten!
I teased her about that last night so I'm guessing it's okay to put it up here.
democracy now
pacifica
pacifica radio
radio
the common ills
nsa
fisa
government snooping
government spying
snoopgate
trinas kitchen
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
cedrics big mix
the daily jot
patti smith
radio baghdad
mikey likes it
Monday, February 27, 2006
Blood pours in Iraq, money trickles into Halliburton
Good evening, let's get things kicked off with Democracy Now!
Over 200 Dead in Iraq Since Wednesday's Mosque Bombing
In Iraq, at least 29 people died on Sunday even though security forces had imposed a rare daytime curfew barring all vehicular traffic in Baghdad and its suburbs. In the deadliest attack, a Shiite neighborhood came under mortar fire in Southwest Baghdad. 16 people died and another 53 were injured. Over 200 people have been killed since Wednesday's bombing at a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra. On Saturday gunmen broke into the home of a Shiite family northeast of Baghdad and killed 13 people. Three people also died on Saturday during the funeral of the Atwar Bahjat -- the well-known Al-Arabiya journalist who was killed last week.
What did we bring to Iraq? Elaine and me were wondering that when we went over what items to pick. They lied us into war and they didn't give a damn about the people in this country or the people in Iraq is what I say. Why are we still there? That's what I think Americans should be asking. There was no WMD, Saddam Hussein's standing trial. Why are we still there?
This was about people making money. Look at C.I.'s morning entry and see how Halliburton is not only still getting rich but they're bending the government bends or breaks every rule for Dick Cheney's former company. As C.I. said: "Does a profit from the war mean never having to say you're sorry? It plays like that these days." I didn't get that at first. I mean, I got that they were making a profit from tragedy. But it's a movie quote. Nina explained it to me. It's from an old movie called Love Story (and maybe the book that the movie's based on). Love Story's about Oliver and Jenny and Jenny gets a fatal disease and Oliver tells her he's sorry and she tells him, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Oliver was played by Ryan O'Neal and Nina pointed out that he's in What's Up Doc? with Barbra Streisand and at the end of that movie (that's a good movie, real funny, I've seen it a couple of times), Barbra Streisand bats her eyes and says in this real blank voice like she's sending it up, "Love means never having to say you're sorry" and Ryan O'Neal says something like, "That's the stupidist thing I've ever heard."
So if you missed it, I did, don't feel bad. "Before our time," like me and Wally like to tease C.I. :D
But making a war profit means never having to say you're sorry. That's what the administration and the corporations doing business in Iraq seem to think. The American people should say back, "That's the stupidist thing I've ever heard!"
By the way, Wally is planning to do a Daily Jot today. But he' had a paper due in one class today and a test in another and he just had to focus on that. I told him, "Take the day off." He goes, "Evil McKinnon! You're just worried I'm catching up on you!" :D I'm glad The Daily Jot is so popular now. It was always a cool site and Wally's had readers and all but since Wally went to D.C. with C.I. and Kat and got his new attitude, it's really just exploded. Congrats to my buddy Wally but seriously dude, don't push yourself. Relax.
Army to Allow Halliburton Not to Repay Disputed Costs
The New York Times is reporting the Army has decided to reimburse a Halliburton subsidiary for nearly all of its disputed costs on a $2.4 billion no-bid contract to deliver fuel and repair oil equipment in Iraq. Auditors had recommended the Army withhold $263 million from Kellogg Brown and Root, but the Army decided to withhold just $10 million. California Congressman Henry Waxman said "Halliburton gouged the taxpayer, government auditors caught the company red-handed, yet the Pentagon ignored the auditors and paid Halliburton hundreds of millions of dollars and a huge bonus."
What? You thought your good buddy Mike would leave you hanging like that? No way. I know some of you rush through this thing. Here's something else. Of the costs the Pentagon's questioning, the Halliburton costs, they're holding back from paying 3.8%. Want to know the standard percent for holding back payment on costs the Pentagon questions? 75.2% for all companies in 2004, 56.4% in 2005. So with a measly 3.8% withheld for Halliburton, there must be some companies that are getting nearly nothing. Guess they didn't kick up the big campaign donations to the Bully Boy?
We've got a third item because C.I. asked me and Elaine to include it. C.I. even mailed it to us with a link for the earlier report.
Science Fiction Writer Octavia Butler, 58, Dies
And science fiction writer Octavia Butler has died at the age of 58. She died on Friday night after a fall outside her home in Washington state. Her best-known work included "Parable of the Talents" and "Kindred." Butler was considered to be one of the first African-American women to break into the world of science fiction. Jane Jewell, of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, said "She is a world-class science fiction writer in her own right. She was one of the first and one of the best to discuss gender and race in science fiction." Butler joined us four months ago on Democracy Now:
OCTAVIA BUTLER: "I'm going to read a verse or two. And keep in mind these were written early in the 1990s. But I think they apply forever, actually. This first one, I have a character in the books who is, well, someone who is taking the country fascist and who manages to get elected President and, who oddly enough, comes from Texas. And here is one of the things that my character is inspired to write about, this sort of situation. She says:
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears. To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool. To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen. To be led by a liar is to ask to be lied to. To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery."
That was supposed to close out C.I.'s "Democracy Now: Michael Ratner, Clive Stafford Smith, Maher Arar; Maureen Farrell, Danny Schechter" today. I don't know if it got lost in dictation or what but C.I. called me and asked if I could note it and called Elaine and asked the same thing. Then I'm on the phone this evening with Elaine and in the e-mails and I see C.I.'s even hunted down the link to the interview four months ago. How come?
Ty had asked C.I. to note that. Ty's a huge fan of horror books and science fiction books. C.I. feels awful that it didn't go in (and plans to note it before tomorrow's Democracy Now!) and asked if we would note it at our sites. I remember her when she was interviewed. She seemed really deep. Not just smart, she seemed smart too, but really deep like she thinks about really serious stuff. Ty loves her books. I know I feel sad when someone whose work I like dies so I'm betting Ty feels pretty sad right now.
Okay, there are hearings tomorrow morning. NSA Senate hearings. Pacifica will carry them (9 to 4 eastern) so listen to your Pacifica station of choice online or on the airwaves and you can also listen at the main Pacifica website.
My oldest sister's pretty pissed off, by the way. She came over this evening. Suddenly I'm Mr. Political because I do a blog. :D She got her copy of The New Yorker in the mail today. Guess what? The postman just crammed it into her box. The cover's all torn up. She got a catalogue and another magazine (I forget what it was) and they were folded together and find. But she opens her box and it's like the postman tried to shove it against the back of the box until it crumpled in half. The cover is Bully Boy and Dick Cheney and Cheney's holding a rifle with a puff of smoke coming out of it. She thinks the postman was pissed about the illustration and decided to destroy her issue. C.I. passed on an issue to Ma awhile back and my sister was going, "If I'd known mother was interested . . ." :D I laughed at that because she's always doing that. She'll get rid of some make up or a shirt or whatever and my youngest sister will be all, "Why didn't you give it to me?" and she'll be all, "If I'd known you were interested . . ."
I told her I was putting that in tonight. She goes "fine." She said I could put in her name too. It's Kelly. She's pretty cool. But she's sooo old! :D I'm joking.
Sorry this is going up late but I'm tired from The Third Estate Sunday Review. We put in sooo many hours on that. I don't regret it because I think it's a pretty impressive edition. But I've been dragging all day.
Elaine said she felt the same way. Which, hint hint, means go check out Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's thoughts.
democracy now
octavia butler
halliburton
the common ills
the third estate sunday review
the daily jot
trinas kitchen
pacifica
pacifica radio
radio
nsa
fisa
government snooping
government spying
snoopgate
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
Over 200 Dead in Iraq Since Wednesday's Mosque Bombing
In Iraq, at least 29 people died on Sunday even though security forces had imposed a rare daytime curfew barring all vehicular traffic in Baghdad and its suburbs. In the deadliest attack, a Shiite neighborhood came under mortar fire in Southwest Baghdad. 16 people died and another 53 were injured. Over 200 people have been killed since Wednesday's bombing at a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra. On Saturday gunmen broke into the home of a Shiite family northeast of Baghdad and killed 13 people. Three people also died on Saturday during the funeral of the Atwar Bahjat -- the well-known Al-Arabiya journalist who was killed last week.
What did we bring to Iraq? Elaine and me were wondering that when we went over what items to pick. They lied us into war and they didn't give a damn about the people in this country or the people in Iraq is what I say. Why are we still there? That's what I think Americans should be asking. There was no WMD, Saddam Hussein's standing trial. Why are we still there?
This was about people making money. Look at C.I.'s morning entry and see how Halliburton is not only still getting rich but they're bending the government bends or breaks every rule for Dick Cheney's former company. As C.I. said: "Does a profit from the war mean never having to say you're sorry? It plays like that these days." I didn't get that at first. I mean, I got that they were making a profit from tragedy. But it's a movie quote. Nina explained it to me. It's from an old movie called Love Story (and maybe the book that the movie's based on). Love Story's about Oliver and Jenny and Jenny gets a fatal disease and Oliver tells her he's sorry and she tells him, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Oliver was played by Ryan O'Neal and Nina pointed out that he's in What's Up Doc? with Barbra Streisand and at the end of that movie (that's a good movie, real funny, I've seen it a couple of times), Barbra Streisand bats her eyes and says in this real blank voice like she's sending it up, "Love means never having to say you're sorry" and Ryan O'Neal says something like, "That's the stupidist thing I've ever heard."
So if you missed it, I did, don't feel bad. "Before our time," like me and Wally like to tease C.I. :D
But making a war profit means never having to say you're sorry. That's what the administration and the corporations doing business in Iraq seem to think. The American people should say back, "That's the stupidist thing I've ever heard!"
By the way, Wally is planning to do a Daily Jot today. But he' had a paper due in one class today and a test in another and he just had to focus on that. I told him, "Take the day off." He goes, "Evil McKinnon! You're just worried I'm catching up on you!" :D I'm glad The Daily Jot is so popular now. It was always a cool site and Wally's had readers and all but since Wally went to D.C. with C.I. and Kat and got his new attitude, it's really just exploded. Congrats to my buddy Wally but seriously dude, don't push yourself. Relax.
Army to Allow Halliburton Not to Repay Disputed Costs
The New York Times is reporting the Army has decided to reimburse a Halliburton subsidiary for nearly all of its disputed costs on a $2.4 billion no-bid contract to deliver fuel and repair oil equipment in Iraq. Auditors had recommended the Army withhold $263 million from Kellogg Brown and Root, but the Army decided to withhold just $10 million. California Congressman Henry Waxman said "Halliburton gouged the taxpayer, government auditors caught the company red-handed, yet the Pentagon ignored the auditors and paid Halliburton hundreds of millions of dollars and a huge bonus."
What? You thought your good buddy Mike would leave you hanging like that? No way. I know some of you rush through this thing. Here's something else. Of the costs the Pentagon's questioning, the Halliburton costs, they're holding back from paying 3.8%. Want to know the standard percent for holding back payment on costs the Pentagon questions? 75.2% for all companies in 2004, 56.4% in 2005. So with a measly 3.8% withheld for Halliburton, there must be some companies that are getting nearly nothing. Guess they didn't kick up the big campaign donations to the Bully Boy?
We've got a third item because C.I. asked me and Elaine to include it. C.I. even mailed it to us with a link for the earlier report.
Science Fiction Writer Octavia Butler, 58, Dies
And science fiction writer Octavia Butler has died at the age of 58. She died on Friday night after a fall outside her home in Washington state. Her best-known work included "Parable of the Talents" and "Kindred." Butler was considered to be one of the first African-American women to break into the world of science fiction. Jane Jewell, of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, said "She is a world-class science fiction writer in her own right. She was one of the first and one of the best to discuss gender and race in science fiction." Butler joined us four months ago on Democracy Now:
OCTAVIA BUTLER: "I'm going to read a verse or two. And keep in mind these were written early in the 1990s. But I think they apply forever, actually. This first one, I have a character in the books who is, well, someone who is taking the country fascist and who manages to get elected President and, who oddly enough, comes from Texas. And here is one of the things that my character is inspired to write about, this sort of situation. She says:
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears. To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool. To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen. To be led by a liar is to ask to be lied to. To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery."
That was supposed to close out C.I.'s "Democracy Now: Michael Ratner, Clive Stafford Smith, Maher Arar; Maureen Farrell, Danny Schechter" today. I don't know if it got lost in dictation or what but C.I. called me and asked if I could note it and called Elaine and asked the same thing. Then I'm on the phone this evening with Elaine and in the e-mails and I see C.I.'s even hunted down the link to the interview four months ago. How come?
Ty had asked C.I. to note that. Ty's a huge fan of horror books and science fiction books. C.I. feels awful that it didn't go in (and plans to note it before tomorrow's Democracy Now!) and asked if we would note it at our sites. I remember her when she was interviewed. She seemed really deep. Not just smart, she seemed smart too, but really deep like she thinks about really serious stuff. Ty loves her books. I know I feel sad when someone whose work I like dies so I'm betting Ty feels pretty sad right now.
Okay, there are hearings tomorrow morning. NSA Senate hearings. Pacifica will carry them (9 to 4 eastern) so listen to your Pacifica station of choice online or on the airwaves and you can also listen at the main Pacifica website.
My oldest sister's pretty pissed off, by the way. She came over this evening. Suddenly I'm Mr. Political because I do a blog. :D She got her copy of The New Yorker in the mail today. Guess what? The postman just crammed it into her box. The cover's all torn up. She got a catalogue and another magazine (I forget what it was) and they were folded together and find. But she opens her box and it's like the postman tried to shove it against the back of the box until it crumpled in half. The cover is Bully Boy and Dick Cheney and Cheney's holding a rifle with a puff of smoke coming out of it. She thinks the postman was pissed about the illustration and decided to destroy her issue. C.I. passed on an issue to Ma awhile back and my sister was going, "If I'd known mother was interested . . ." :D I laughed at that because she's always doing that. She'll get rid of some make up or a shirt or whatever and my youngest sister will be all, "Why didn't you give it to me?" and she'll be all, "If I'd known you were interested . . ."
I told her I was putting that in tonight. She goes "fine." She said I could put in her name too. It's Kelly. She's pretty cool. But she's sooo old! :D I'm joking.
Sorry this is going up late but I'm tired from The Third Estate Sunday Review. We put in sooo many hours on that. I don't regret it because I think it's a pretty impressive edition. But I've been dragging all day.
Elaine said she felt the same way. Which, hint hint, means go check out Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's thoughts.
democracy now
octavia butler
halliburton
the common ills
the third estate sunday review
the daily jot
trinas kitchen
pacifica
pacifica radio
radio
nsa
fisa
government snooping
government spying
snoopgate
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
Friday, February 24, 2006
Democracy Now! and Danny Schechter
Good evening. Let's get the weekend kicked off right by noting Democracy Now!
140 Die in Iraq Following Bombing at Shiite Shrine
Iraq is under a high security alert following days of violence sparked by Wednesday’s bombing of one of the country's holiest Shiite shrines in Samarra. At least 140 people, mostly Sunni Arabs, have been killed across the country. The Sunni-led Association of Muslim Scholars has said 184 Sunni mosques have since been damaged or destroyed. 10 clerics have been killed and 15 more abducted. The government imposed a rare daytime curfew today in Baghdad and in three other provinces -- preventing many from attending Friday prayers. A series of joint Sunni-Shiite demonstrations have been held calling for national unity and to condemn the increasing violence. As many as 10,000 rallied in Basra alone. But many analysts fear Iraq is on the brink of civil war. The U.S. military is ordering its soldiers to stay in its barracks in Baghdad and to stay off the streets. On Thursday seven U.S. troops died. Meanwhile the staff of the satellite TV channel Al Arabiya is in mourning following the death of one of its best-known correspondents in Iraq. The 30-year-old Atwar Bahjat was assassinated along with her cameraman and soundman on Thursday.
Well is it civil war yet? Is it? Is this where the weak ass Dems wake up and stop saying "Stay the course." Or offering crap of: "We broke it, we've got to fix it." What an inflated sense of self they have. And who's this "we"? Who's over there? I don't see Hillary Clinton securing Baghdad.
Tony and I have a new friend in class. He was a Republican. Why? Because his parents were. When he found out about my site he started checking it out and used to come here and chuckle at the silly lefty. I wish I could say I convinced him. But, hey, I was a gateway. :D
He's crazy for The Common Ills. First thing when I get on campus today, he's running up asking me if I'd read "And the war goes on (Indymedia Roundup)" from last night? Yep. Better believe I did. C.I.'s hitting on Iraq over and over is what woke him up. Last week, for the first time, he started thinking about the prisoners at Guantanamo as something other than "animals." (That's his word for how he used to see them.) It was probably the last week of January that I caught on that he was checking out the other sites in the community. And I could tell he was checking out C.I.'s stuff because he'd make a mention every now and then. Then last week, he came out and admitted it. He's off the Bully Boy Kool Aid. And now he's going to try to get his parents off.
Now I'd love to say, "Man, what a writer I am." But that's not the case. But what is the case is that he checked out my site and found something worth reading for some reason and then started checking out the other sites. So here's the point: you can do that too.
You can talk to people and you may think, "Okay, I'm not able to do the job somebody else could . . ." but you do what you can and somebody may get curious. And then they may start finding out other stuff on their own. We can all make a difference.
A lot of the time, I find most of the people on campus who turned on Bully Boy didn't really follow politics. They just knew the media loved it and thought he was God. So they were just kind of following the media's lead. And one person can make a difference there. If you're surrounded by Bully Boy lovers, you saying you don't agree with him may make someone else wonder, "Well, what do I agree with Bully Boy on?"
Or you might find that they already have doubts but didn't want to be the first one to go out on the limb. So go out on that limb and see if they don't join you.
It was different with this guy. He was a Kool Aid drinker big time. Followed Bully Boy's speeches and all that. Could give you every talking point in the world. But he didn't hear anything but those talking points. He goes, "If C.I. did this on CNN, I would've seen the obvious a long time ago."
And we all need to see the obvious. So don't be silent.
Marines Conduct Secret Study Into Iran Ethnic Minorities
The Financial Times is reporting an intelligence wing of the Marines has hired a private defense contractor to conduct a secret study of Iran's ethnic minorities. This is a move that could indicate early stages of contingency plans for a ground assault on Iran. The Marines conducted a similar study in Iraq. A former intelligence officer said the ultimate purpose of the Marines intelligence wing was to "support effective ground military operations by the Marine Corps." The study appeared to focus on whether Iran would be prone to a violent fragmentation along the same kind of fault lines that are splitting Iraq. The Financial Times reports several Iranians living in the United States refused to help with the study because they saw it as part of an effort to break up Iran. To conduct the analysis, the military hired a subsidiary of the defense contractor SAIC, the Science Applications International Corp.
People said, "Oh no, Bully Boy's too smart to start a third war when two are still waging." They were WRONG! He is a menace. We need to impeach him. It's been said before and it'll be said again but that's because it's true: nobody died from the blow job. But the Republicans in the House impeached Bill Clinton. Here we've got a liar who has blood on his hands and you can see what the priorities of the press are. With Bill Clinton they paraded every looney they could dig up before the cameras. There stories didn't match with the previous version they'd told or the one before that. But the press loved it. They ate it up and they forced it on America.
Now we've got someone who has lied us into war. We've got someone who is incompetent. And they can say a word. They act like he is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now he wants to launch war number three and we have to say "NO!" loudly and repeatedly. We have to be prepared for all the usual fear mongering. When Condi and Dick start talking "Mushroom clouds" we have to remember we've seen this crap before.
I am so sick of the American corporate press right now. They lie and they lie again. That's probably why they can't call Bully Boy out -- they are a bunch of liars and cowards.
If they'd done their job in 2000, we never would have been stuck with Bully Boy in the first place. And don't think I think the Democratic Party has a bunch of brave leaders in it because they don't. Every single one of them should have been screaming loud during the recounts.
And Joe Lieberman's ass should have been drop kicked out of the party when he went around giving interviews where he played his usual lame ass self. Giving the recounts away on Meet the Press should have been the last straw. But instead there was the press acting like Al Gore owed it to Stab-Me-In-The-Back-Lieberman to endorse him in 2004. The only people who wanted Joe Lieberman to win the nomination were the idiots and fools seeing a Joe-mentum that was never there. He's a coward and a suck up.
The segments on Democracy Now! are always important but Danny Schechter's one of the voices I've learned from The Common Ills and one that I really do look forward to reading because he speaks so good you can understand -- any issue and he just seems able to break it down so that you understand. He was on a segment of Democracy Now! today:
The News Dissector Danny Schechter Calls For March 21 Protests Targeting Media's Complicity in the Iraq War
We speak with Danny Schechter 'the News Dissector' -- veteran journalist, media critic and co-founder of MediaChannel.org, one of the largest online media issues networks. Schechter discusses the upcoming anti-war and media protest day, dangers journalists face in Iraq, coverage of war and more. We play an excerpt of his documentary "Weapons of Mass Deception."
I swiped that from C.I. because it had the links in it. I'm also going to swipe this announcement:
Danny Schechter's "ANNOUNCEMENT: UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE IS PARTNERING WITH MEDIACHANNEL.ORG TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON MEDIA COMPLICITY IN THE IRAQ WAR:"
America's largest anti-war coalition, United For Peace and Justice, is broadening its anti-war protest to include targeting a US media system that has largely substituted jingoism for journalism and backed the war -- often in the name of supporting the troops.
UFPJ Coordinator Leslie Cagan announced that her organization is partnering with MediaChannel.org and other media groups to organize a Media Day of War Coverage Protest on March 21, 2006. It takes part during a week of organizing and activism marking the third anniversary of the war. Plans are also underway for forums and film screenings on March 20th.
"We are thrilled that anti-war activists will now be connecting with media reform activists to challenge mainstream media 'coverage' that has underreported civilian casualties and much of the costs of the war," says MediaChannel Director David DeGraw."
Sadly, the media helped make the war possible, and despite mea culpas about flawed pre-war coverage, the coverage has basically not changed, an approach which treats every Administration claim seriously, while marginalizing the anti-war movement."
Even as public opinion shifted against the war -- only 37% of the American people are said to still back the war -- most of the media downplay reporting on demands for troop withdrawal.
Focusing on the media role is a departure for the anti-war movement that helped organize the protests that brought 30 million people to the streets on March 15, 2003. Until now, protesters have focused almost entirely on government policies and practices.Recognizing the media role indicts a corporate America that has, in some cases, profited from the war with rises in ratings and revenues. This includes General Electric (GE), owner of NBC-Universal, who received $600,000 in Iraq reconstruction contracts.Before the war began broadcast networks lobbied the FCC for rule changes to allow them to buy more stations. At the time, Washington insiders spoke of a quid pro-quo with the networks asking the FCC to waive their rules while their news shows waved the flag. In that period, then FCC Commissioner Michael Powell justified a need for more media concentration with the claim that "only big companies can cover a war like the one in Iraq."
Many journalists and media organizations have since blasted one-sided coverage. Editor & Publisher, a media industry trade magazine, has consistently documented and criticized pervasive media practices that boosted the war with more "selling than telling."
Mediachannel.org launched a "Tell the Truth About the War" campaign months ago, calling for better and more consistent coverage. Thousands of emails from readers have gone to media executives.
If the war is to end, the coverage has to change. We need to press the press and move the media.
Now MediaChannel plans to organize meetings between critics and media companies. Planning for protests and panels is underway - not only in New York, but at local newspapers, radio and TV stations across the nation as part of a national effort. A national email campaign will be launched as well.If you would like to endorse or participate in this effort, or help in your community by organizing meetings, house parties - including screenings of WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception) and other films critical of the war media coverage - contact Priya@mediachannel.org
Now we all just discussed one of Schechter's books at The Third Estate Sunday Review at the start of the week: "1 Book, 10 Minutes (Danny Schechter, The Death of Media)." That's a great book. They also addressed Danny's documentary in March of last year (they, because I wasn't blogging then and I didn't help out on that) with "Must see DVD: Danny Schechter's Weapons of Mass Deception." I hope you'll look at those and consider picking up the book or getting the DVD. Last Friday I suggested this article "JACK ABRAMOFF'S WHITE MAN'S BURDEN: How the Sleazy Republican Lobbyist Boosted Apartheid" here and on campus, I passed it around. Kip, Tony and my new bud, was one of the ones I passed that out too. As soon as Kip gets done asking me today if I read C.I.'s "And the war goes on" last night, the next thing he's telling me about is that Schechter was on Democracy Now! today. I'm like, "Woah, dude, you're watching Democracy Now! these days too?" He is. Kip is off the Kool Aid.
I bet there's a Kip that you know and you probably think there's no point talking to him because you'll never reach him. But don't give up because you may end up surprised. He heard about my site and knew me from class. He'd make a crack here or there and I'd make a crack back and before you know it, we're talking. I was hoping that by the end of the semester, he'd be thinking a little and, dude, he's off in his own orbit now. He's getting the information he needs and he's bringing up stuff to me. So you never know. Talk to the people around you and who knows how much difference it could make.
And what else do you need to do? You know what you need to do. You need to get over to Like Maria Said Paz and check out Elaine's stuff. Let's all try to be the gateway antidote to the Bully Boy Spin Drugs. Here's one more thing you need to do: have a great weekend! :D
democracy now
iraq
danny schechter
and the war drags on
the common ills
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
140 Die in Iraq Following Bombing at Shiite Shrine
Iraq is under a high security alert following days of violence sparked by Wednesday’s bombing of one of the country's holiest Shiite shrines in Samarra. At least 140 people, mostly Sunni Arabs, have been killed across the country. The Sunni-led Association of Muslim Scholars has said 184 Sunni mosques have since been damaged or destroyed. 10 clerics have been killed and 15 more abducted. The government imposed a rare daytime curfew today in Baghdad and in three other provinces -- preventing many from attending Friday prayers. A series of joint Sunni-Shiite demonstrations have been held calling for national unity and to condemn the increasing violence. As many as 10,000 rallied in Basra alone. But many analysts fear Iraq is on the brink of civil war. The U.S. military is ordering its soldiers to stay in its barracks in Baghdad and to stay off the streets. On Thursday seven U.S. troops died. Meanwhile the staff of the satellite TV channel Al Arabiya is in mourning following the death of one of its best-known correspondents in Iraq. The 30-year-old Atwar Bahjat was assassinated along with her cameraman and soundman on Thursday.
Well is it civil war yet? Is it? Is this where the weak ass Dems wake up and stop saying "Stay the course." Or offering crap of: "We broke it, we've got to fix it." What an inflated sense of self they have. And who's this "we"? Who's over there? I don't see Hillary Clinton securing Baghdad.
Tony and I have a new friend in class. He was a Republican. Why? Because his parents were. When he found out about my site he started checking it out and used to come here and chuckle at the silly lefty. I wish I could say I convinced him. But, hey, I was a gateway. :D
He's crazy for The Common Ills. First thing when I get on campus today, he's running up asking me if I'd read "And the war goes on (Indymedia Roundup)" from last night? Yep. Better believe I did. C.I.'s hitting on Iraq over and over is what woke him up. Last week, for the first time, he started thinking about the prisoners at Guantanamo as something other than "animals." (That's his word for how he used to see them.) It was probably the last week of January that I caught on that he was checking out the other sites in the community. And I could tell he was checking out C.I.'s stuff because he'd make a mention every now and then. Then last week, he came out and admitted it. He's off the Bully Boy Kool Aid. And now he's going to try to get his parents off.
Now I'd love to say, "Man, what a writer I am." But that's not the case. But what is the case is that he checked out my site and found something worth reading for some reason and then started checking out the other sites. So here's the point: you can do that too.
You can talk to people and you may think, "Okay, I'm not able to do the job somebody else could . . ." but you do what you can and somebody may get curious. And then they may start finding out other stuff on their own. We can all make a difference.
A lot of the time, I find most of the people on campus who turned on Bully Boy didn't really follow politics. They just knew the media loved it and thought he was God. So they were just kind of following the media's lead. And one person can make a difference there. If you're surrounded by Bully Boy lovers, you saying you don't agree with him may make someone else wonder, "Well, what do I agree with Bully Boy on?"
Or you might find that they already have doubts but didn't want to be the first one to go out on the limb. So go out on that limb and see if they don't join you.
It was different with this guy. He was a Kool Aid drinker big time. Followed Bully Boy's speeches and all that. Could give you every talking point in the world. But he didn't hear anything but those talking points. He goes, "If C.I. did this on CNN, I would've seen the obvious a long time ago."
And we all need to see the obvious. So don't be silent.
Marines Conduct Secret Study Into Iran Ethnic Minorities
The Financial Times is reporting an intelligence wing of the Marines has hired a private defense contractor to conduct a secret study of Iran's ethnic minorities. This is a move that could indicate early stages of contingency plans for a ground assault on Iran. The Marines conducted a similar study in Iraq. A former intelligence officer said the ultimate purpose of the Marines intelligence wing was to "support effective ground military operations by the Marine Corps." The study appeared to focus on whether Iran would be prone to a violent fragmentation along the same kind of fault lines that are splitting Iraq. The Financial Times reports several Iranians living in the United States refused to help with the study because they saw it as part of an effort to break up Iran. To conduct the analysis, the military hired a subsidiary of the defense contractor SAIC, the Science Applications International Corp.
People said, "Oh no, Bully Boy's too smart to start a third war when two are still waging." They were WRONG! He is a menace. We need to impeach him. It's been said before and it'll be said again but that's because it's true: nobody died from the blow job. But the Republicans in the House impeached Bill Clinton. Here we've got a liar who has blood on his hands and you can see what the priorities of the press are. With Bill Clinton they paraded every looney they could dig up before the cameras. There stories didn't match with the previous version they'd told or the one before that. But the press loved it. They ate it up and they forced it on America.
Now we've got someone who has lied us into war. We've got someone who is incompetent. And they can say a word. They act like he is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now he wants to launch war number three and we have to say "NO!" loudly and repeatedly. We have to be prepared for all the usual fear mongering. When Condi and Dick start talking "Mushroom clouds" we have to remember we've seen this crap before.
I am so sick of the American corporate press right now. They lie and they lie again. That's probably why they can't call Bully Boy out -- they are a bunch of liars and cowards.
If they'd done their job in 2000, we never would have been stuck with Bully Boy in the first place. And don't think I think the Democratic Party has a bunch of brave leaders in it because they don't. Every single one of them should have been screaming loud during the recounts.
And Joe Lieberman's ass should have been drop kicked out of the party when he went around giving interviews where he played his usual lame ass self. Giving the recounts away on Meet the Press should have been the last straw. But instead there was the press acting like Al Gore owed it to Stab-Me-In-The-Back-Lieberman to endorse him in 2004. The only people who wanted Joe Lieberman to win the nomination were the idiots and fools seeing a Joe-mentum that was never there. He's a coward and a suck up.
The segments on Democracy Now! are always important but Danny Schechter's one of the voices I've learned from The Common Ills and one that I really do look forward to reading because he speaks so good you can understand -- any issue and he just seems able to break it down so that you understand. He was on a segment of Democracy Now! today:
The News Dissector Danny Schechter Calls For March 21 Protests Targeting Media's Complicity in the Iraq War
We speak with Danny Schechter 'the News Dissector' -- veteran journalist, media critic and co-founder of MediaChannel.org, one of the largest online media issues networks. Schechter discusses the upcoming anti-war and media protest day, dangers journalists face in Iraq, coverage of war and more. We play an excerpt of his documentary "Weapons of Mass Deception."
I swiped that from C.I. because it had the links in it. I'm also going to swipe this announcement:
Danny Schechter's "ANNOUNCEMENT: UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE IS PARTNERING WITH MEDIACHANNEL.ORG TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON MEDIA COMPLICITY IN THE IRAQ WAR:"
America's largest anti-war coalition, United For Peace and Justice, is broadening its anti-war protest to include targeting a US media system that has largely substituted jingoism for journalism and backed the war -- often in the name of supporting the troops.
UFPJ Coordinator Leslie Cagan announced that her organization is partnering with MediaChannel.org and other media groups to organize a Media Day of War Coverage Protest on March 21, 2006. It takes part during a week of organizing and activism marking the third anniversary of the war. Plans are also underway for forums and film screenings on March 20th.
"We are thrilled that anti-war activists will now be connecting with media reform activists to challenge mainstream media 'coverage' that has underreported civilian casualties and much of the costs of the war," says MediaChannel Director David DeGraw."
Sadly, the media helped make the war possible, and despite mea culpas about flawed pre-war coverage, the coverage has basically not changed, an approach which treats every Administration claim seriously, while marginalizing the anti-war movement."
Even as public opinion shifted against the war -- only 37% of the American people are said to still back the war -- most of the media downplay reporting on demands for troop withdrawal.
Focusing on the media role is a departure for the anti-war movement that helped organize the protests that brought 30 million people to the streets on March 15, 2003. Until now, protesters have focused almost entirely on government policies and practices.Recognizing the media role indicts a corporate America that has, in some cases, profited from the war with rises in ratings and revenues. This includes General Electric (GE), owner of NBC-Universal, who received $600,000 in Iraq reconstruction contracts.Before the war began broadcast networks lobbied the FCC for rule changes to allow them to buy more stations. At the time, Washington insiders spoke of a quid pro-quo with the networks asking the FCC to waive their rules while their news shows waved the flag. In that period, then FCC Commissioner Michael Powell justified a need for more media concentration with the claim that "only big companies can cover a war like the one in Iraq."
Many journalists and media organizations have since blasted one-sided coverage. Editor & Publisher, a media industry trade magazine, has consistently documented and criticized pervasive media practices that boosted the war with more "selling than telling."
Mediachannel.org launched a "Tell the Truth About the War" campaign months ago, calling for better and more consistent coverage. Thousands of emails from readers have gone to media executives.
If the war is to end, the coverage has to change. We need to press the press and move the media.
Now MediaChannel plans to organize meetings between critics and media companies. Planning for protests and panels is underway - not only in New York, but at local newspapers, radio and TV stations across the nation as part of a national effort. A national email campaign will be launched as well.If you would like to endorse or participate in this effort, or help in your community by organizing meetings, house parties - including screenings of WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception) and other films critical of the war media coverage - contact Priya@mediachannel.org
Now we all just discussed one of Schechter's books at The Third Estate Sunday Review at the start of the week: "1 Book, 10 Minutes (Danny Schechter, The Death of Media)." That's a great book. They also addressed Danny's documentary in March of last year (they, because I wasn't blogging then and I didn't help out on that) with "Must see DVD: Danny Schechter's Weapons of Mass Deception." I hope you'll look at those and consider picking up the book or getting the DVD. Last Friday I suggested this article "JACK ABRAMOFF'S WHITE MAN'S BURDEN: How the Sleazy Republican Lobbyist Boosted Apartheid" here and on campus, I passed it around. Kip, Tony and my new bud, was one of the ones I passed that out too. As soon as Kip gets done asking me today if I read C.I.'s "And the war goes on" last night, the next thing he's telling me about is that Schechter was on Democracy Now! today. I'm like, "Woah, dude, you're watching Democracy Now! these days too?" He is. Kip is off the Kool Aid.
I bet there's a Kip that you know and you probably think there's no point talking to him because you'll never reach him. But don't give up because you may end up surprised. He heard about my site and knew me from class. He'd make a crack here or there and I'd make a crack back and before you know it, we're talking. I was hoping that by the end of the semester, he'd be thinking a little and, dude, he's off in his own orbit now. He's getting the information he needs and he's bringing up stuff to me. So you never know. Talk to the people around you and who knows how much difference it could make.
And what else do you need to do? You know what you need to do. You need to get over to Like Maria Said Paz and check out Elaine's stuff. Let's all try to be the gateway antidote to the Bully Boy Spin Drugs. Here's one more thing you need to do: have a great weekend! :D
democracy now
iraq
danny schechter
and the war drags on
the common ills
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Iraq, abuse of prisoners, Amy Goodman and David Goodman and more
Good evening. Let's kick things off with Democracy Now!
Bombing of Shiite Shrine Sparks Protests, Violence
In Iraq, the bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine has set off a wave of sectarian violence that is rekindling fears of an escalated civil war. At least 60 people have been killed since the Askariya shrine was attacked Wednesday. The dead include Al-Aarabiya TV reporter Atwar Bahjat and two members of her crew. Three Sunni imams have also been reported killed. Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite Iraqi Vice-President, said: "This is as 9/11 in the United States." USA Today is reporting at least 90 Sunni mosques came under attack in violent reprisals. In Basra, about 10 foreign prisoners were removed from a local jail and executed. In Baghdad, the offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party -- the country's largest Sunni group -- were attacked. Iraqi Islam Party head Tareq Al-Hashimi said: "The Iraqi Islamic party consider the attacks on mosques and the party buildings as historical crimes that demand an official stand from all (Iraqis) and to put an end to these crimes, confronting the perpetrators before it will be too late for that. We are calling on demonstrators to show self- restraint and not to be drawn behind a sectarian tension in which there will be no winner or a loser."
So who's doing this? That's the big question on campus. Some thing this is the first wave of the civil war U.S. military intervention has unleashed. Others are talking about Negroponte and his work in Central America and wondering if this is handiwork? I don't know. I know that next month is the third anniversary of the illegal war and occupation and there's no peace.
The New Republican set seems to think that peace is just around the corner if we send a zillion more American troops over. They've maintained that crap for some time now. They really aren't concerned with "peace." They're worried about their war jones. Got to satisfy their war jones. Bringing the troops home means the people of this country win the way they did (finally) in Vietnam and that means people realizing just how much power they have which makes it harder for the current Bully Boy or one on down the line to wage wars of choice.
It's past time to bring the troops home. People need to face reality. Bully Boy lied us into war. He needs to be impeached.
Study: Nearly 100 Detainees Have Died in US Custody
In others news, a new study from the group Human Rights First has found that nearly 100 prisoners in US custody have died in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last three and a half years. At least 34 deaths were due to suspected or confirmed homicides. Another 11 deaths were deemed suspicious and up to twelve deaths were caused by lethal torture. The report found that most deaths went un-punished. The report comes one week after a set of new photographs were released showing prisoner abuse at the US-run Abu Ghraib.
Did you check out The Common Ills this morning? I called Rebecca because C.I. has been sick all week and I didn't want to risk calling during a period where C.I. was sleeping. But Rebecca had already checked in with C.I. when I called her. I was going, "Great morning entries" because they were and Rebecca goes they were written between trips to the bathroom to throw up. That makes me appreciate them all the more because I know how hard it is for me to do anything (and I'm not putting myself up there with C.I.) when I'm able to fully concentrate. That C.I.'s writing a paragraph or two, then rushing to throw up, then coming back and writing some more and the whole time just wanting to crawl back into bed really amazes me.
So here's some points C.I. made in this morning in "NYT: Well . . . at least there's a strong Associated Press story:"
The above is from the Associated Press' "Abusive G.I.'s Not Pursued, Survey Finds" which is carried by the New York Times today. When we open with the Associated Press, you know the paper's in trouble. What's even more strange is that they leave the topic to the Associated Press when there's a trial on prisoner abuse currently going on. From the Associated Press article that the Washington Post is carrying, Alicia A. Caldwell's "Reservist Goes to Trial in Afghanistan:"
Army prosecutors in the final case involving an Army reserve unit from Ohio linked to prisoner abuses in Afghanistan say a sergeant abused two prisoners while they were shackled and helpless.Sgt. Alan Driver's attorney countered in opening arguments in his prison abuse trial Wednesday that the military policeman was putting his life at risk to guard dangerous terrorists at Bagram Air Base detention center.[. . .]
Driver, of Indianapolis, is the last of 11 soldiers from the 377th to be tried on charges of abusing detainees, including two who later died. Only one soldier has been convicted by an Army jury, and he was spared jail time.
The investigation was launched shortly after two detainees, men known as Dilawar and Habibullah, died within days of each other in Bagram in December 2002.
No one has been prosecuted for the detainees' deaths, though both cases were ruled homicides and the Army claims the men were beaten to death inside the jail.
By emphasis and omission, the press determines what America follows and what it doesn't follow. A point made strongly with regards to the Times by Amy and David Goodman in their book The Exception to the Rulers. The abuse and deaths of prisoners isn't a story the Times is interested in today. As you flip through this morning's paper, you realize the lack of interest isn't because they're covering anything major or 'breaking' any news. It reads like a Monday paper -- full of lazy "reporting" and naval gazing.
C.I.'s had the flu since Tuesday I think. Everybody here knows that when I'm sick, I just want to crawl in the bed and be left alone. I'm a growling bear if anybody bothers me. So I want to take a moment here to note my friend C.I. and how, sick or well, The Common Ills goes on and covers what matters.
Nobody's earned a break more than C.I. and we all hope one will be taken but until it is, let me note that since November 19, 2004, every day, on the road speaking or not, C.I.'s had entries up at The Common Ills. Protesting in DC at the inauguration or at whatever event, The Common Ills has always gone on. I don't have that kind of energy or dedication.
It's the same way with Ava and C.I.'s TV reviews. And Wally will tell you that the advice C.I. gave him was, "Just get something up there. Every day won't be perfect and beautiful and some days will flat out suck but keep trying." That's part of the reason The Common Ills community built up. And last week, Rebecca wrote a great thing about the role C.I. plays within the community and how she'd never want that role. I don't think I could handle it either. Maybe Ava and Jess could handle it and maybe Ty but I don't think most of us would be able to (and Jim doesn't think so either). I know this kind of talk ticks C.I. off so usually I avoid it but with C.I. being sick and doing the indymedia roundup tonight, I'm almost postive this won't be read. And it needs to be said and shouldn't just fall to Rebecca to say it. So I just wanted to take a moment to note a friend who works hard and then some. Leigh Ann wrote today and commented on my thing yesterday. I was probably wanting to say this but worrying about C.I. reading it. I think it's important to note the people who work hard and step up to the plate and take a swing because most people don't do that. Most people just write about what's "safe" and what everyone else is talking about.
That's also why I make a point to highlight Democracy Now! because they go in and do the work that most people don't want to do. That's not comparing the two. (C.I. would point out that they do outstanding journalism and that The Common Ills is "just a resource/review.") But that is noting that we need more brave voices and me noting we need to recognize the ones that are out there.
So let's note Democracy Now!:
* Democracy Now! is 10 Years Old This Week
*On February 19, 1996 the first Democracy Now! was broadcast out ofthe studios of WPFW in Washington. You can now listen to or downloadan MP3 of this historic broadcast at http://10years.democracynow.org.We'll be using the http://10years.democracynow.org site to periodically highlight past programs and offer free MP3s of these shows so check back often or subscribe to our new archives podcast.
10 years of doing real journalism. I hope you make a point to watch or listen to Democracy Now! and if you're not in one of the areas that it's broadcast (over 400 stations -- radio and TV -- broadcast the news program), you can watch it or listen to it online and you can also read it online if you're on an older computer that doesn't work too well with audio or video.
If you haven't checked it out, you should. You should also check The Exception to the Rulers by Amy Goodman and her brother David Goodman. This is from pages 170-171:
It was bound to happen. People start sleeping together, and the next thing you know, they're talking commitment.
That was the basic theme underlying most of the embedded reporting during the invasion of Iraq. As reporters rode shotgun on tanks and Humvees and slept alongside soldiers in Iraq, what journalistic distance there ever was vanished into the sands of the desert.
Don't take it from me. Take it from Gordon Dillow of The Orange County Register, who wrote: "The biggest problem I faced as an embed with the Marine grunts was that I found myself dong what journalists are warned from J-school not to do: I found myself falling in love with my subject. I fell in love with 'my' Marines."
And CBS's Jim Axelrod, who was embedded with -- I would say in bed with -- the 3rd Infantry Division, echoed: "This will sound like I've drunk the Kool-Aid, but I found embedding to be an extremely positive experience. . . . We got great stories and they got very positive coverage."
From the Pentagon's point of view, this one-sided reporting worked like a charm. "Americans and people around the world are seeing firsthand the wonderful dedication and discipline of the coaliton forces," declared Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke.
For Clarke, a former top executive with Hill & Knowlton, the world's largest public relations firm, nothing was left to chance. "We put the same planning and preparation into this [embed program] as military planners put into the war effort," she said.
The embed program for the invasion of Iraq was the culmination of years of effort and experimentation by the Pentagon to control the media during war. In World War II and Vietnam, many reporters were in the field alongside soldiers. But as the Southeast Asian quagmire deepened, the Pentagon became exasperated with journalists who reported the increasingly grim realities that they saw: dispirited troops, futile efforts by the United States to win the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese through carpet bombing, and even occasional dispatches about war crimes. It became an article of faith that "the media lost Vietnam" -- as if the American public would otherwise have gladly accepted the staggering toll of 58,000 Americans killed, 300,000 wounded, and at least 2 million Vietnamese killed in a pointless war.
That was a book we discussed at The Third Estate Sunday Review so if you need more on why you should read this book, check that out. To me, the Goodmans book is as important and as satisfying as Howard Zinn's writing and that's like the ultimate compliment from me. Buy a copy and if you can't afford to buy one, go to your library and check out the book. This is a book you really have to read. It's already been a bestseller but I think with more people waking up to the realities of Bully Boy's illegal war, a lot more people could be interested in the book now. So make a point to check out The Exception to the Rulers and if you've already checked it out, get the word out to your friends. If you have a copy, share it with a friend. (One you can trust to return it because this is a book you want to hold onto.)
And also check out Ava and C.I.'s "TV Review: Close To Home (and floating in the toilet)" and Betty's "Thomas Friedman's one moment of public truth."
the exception to the rulers
amy goodman
david goodman
democracy now
the common ills
thomas friedman is a great man
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
the daily jot
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
associated press
alicia a caldwell
the washington post
Bombing of Shiite Shrine Sparks Protests, Violence
In Iraq, the bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine has set off a wave of sectarian violence that is rekindling fears of an escalated civil war. At least 60 people have been killed since the Askariya shrine was attacked Wednesday. The dead include Al-Aarabiya TV reporter Atwar Bahjat and two members of her crew. Three Sunni imams have also been reported killed. Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite Iraqi Vice-President, said: "This is as 9/11 in the United States." USA Today is reporting at least 90 Sunni mosques came under attack in violent reprisals. In Basra, about 10 foreign prisoners were removed from a local jail and executed. In Baghdad, the offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party -- the country's largest Sunni group -- were attacked. Iraqi Islam Party head Tareq Al-Hashimi said: "The Iraqi Islamic party consider the attacks on mosques and the party buildings as historical crimes that demand an official stand from all (Iraqis) and to put an end to these crimes, confronting the perpetrators before it will be too late for that. We are calling on demonstrators to show self- restraint and not to be drawn behind a sectarian tension in which there will be no winner or a loser."
So who's doing this? That's the big question on campus. Some thing this is the first wave of the civil war U.S. military intervention has unleashed. Others are talking about Negroponte and his work in Central America and wondering if this is handiwork? I don't know. I know that next month is the third anniversary of the illegal war and occupation and there's no peace.
The New Republican set seems to think that peace is just around the corner if we send a zillion more American troops over. They've maintained that crap for some time now. They really aren't concerned with "peace." They're worried about their war jones. Got to satisfy their war jones. Bringing the troops home means the people of this country win the way they did (finally) in Vietnam and that means people realizing just how much power they have which makes it harder for the current Bully Boy or one on down the line to wage wars of choice.
It's past time to bring the troops home. People need to face reality. Bully Boy lied us into war. He needs to be impeached.
Study: Nearly 100 Detainees Have Died in US Custody
In others news, a new study from the group Human Rights First has found that nearly 100 prisoners in US custody have died in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last three and a half years. At least 34 deaths were due to suspected or confirmed homicides. Another 11 deaths were deemed suspicious and up to twelve deaths were caused by lethal torture. The report found that most deaths went un-punished. The report comes one week after a set of new photographs were released showing prisoner abuse at the US-run Abu Ghraib.
Did you check out The Common Ills this morning? I called Rebecca because C.I. has been sick all week and I didn't want to risk calling during a period where C.I. was sleeping. But Rebecca had already checked in with C.I. when I called her. I was going, "Great morning entries" because they were and Rebecca goes they were written between trips to the bathroom to throw up. That makes me appreciate them all the more because I know how hard it is for me to do anything (and I'm not putting myself up there with C.I.) when I'm able to fully concentrate. That C.I.'s writing a paragraph or two, then rushing to throw up, then coming back and writing some more and the whole time just wanting to crawl back into bed really amazes me.
So here's some points C.I. made in this morning in "NYT: Well . . . at least there's a strong Associated Press story:"
The above is from the Associated Press' "Abusive G.I.'s Not Pursued, Survey Finds" which is carried by the New York Times today. When we open with the Associated Press, you know the paper's in trouble. What's even more strange is that they leave the topic to the Associated Press when there's a trial on prisoner abuse currently going on. From the Associated Press article that the Washington Post is carrying, Alicia A. Caldwell's "Reservist Goes to Trial in Afghanistan:"
Army prosecutors in the final case involving an Army reserve unit from Ohio linked to prisoner abuses in Afghanistan say a sergeant abused two prisoners while they were shackled and helpless.Sgt. Alan Driver's attorney countered in opening arguments in his prison abuse trial Wednesday that the military policeman was putting his life at risk to guard dangerous terrorists at Bagram Air Base detention center.[. . .]
Driver, of Indianapolis, is the last of 11 soldiers from the 377th to be tried on charges of abusing detainees, including two who later died. Only one soldier has been convicted by an Army jury, and he was spared jail time.
The investigation was launched shortly after two detainees, men known as Dilawar and Habibullah, died within days of each other in Bagram in December 2002.
No one has been prosecuted for the detainees' deaths, though both cases were ruled homicides and the Army claims the men were beaten to death inside the jail.
By emphasis and omission, the press determines what America follows and what it doesn't follow. A point made strongly with regards to the Times by Amy and David Goodman in their book The Exception to the Rulers. The abuse and deaths of prisoners isn't a story the Times is interested in today. As you flip through this morning's paper, you realize the lack of interest isn't because they're covering anything major or 'breaking' any news. It reads like a Monday paper -- full of lazy "reporting" and naval gazing.
C.I.'s had the flu since Tuesday I think. Everybody here knows that when I'm sick, I just want to crawl in the bed and be left alone. I'm a growling bear if anybody bothers me. So I want to take a moment here to note my friend C.I. and how, sick or well, The Common Ills goes on and covers what matters.
Nobody's earned a break more than C.I. and we all hope one will be taken but until it is, let me note that since November 19, 2004, every day, on the road speaking or not, C.I.'s had entries up at The Common Ills. Protesting in DC at the inauguration or at whatever event, The Common Ills has always gone on. I don't have that kind of energy or dedication.
It's the same way with Ava and C.I.'s TV reviews. And Wally will tell you that the advice C.I. gave him was, "Just get something up there. Every day won't be perfect and beautiful and some days will flat out suck but keep trying." That's part of the reason The Common Ills community built up. And last week, Rebecca wrote a great thing about the role C.I. plays within the community and how she'd never want that role. I don't think I could handle it either. Maybe Ava and Jess could handle it and maybe Ty but I don't think most of us would be able to (and Jim doesn't think so either). I know this kind of talk ticks C.I. off so usually I avoid it but with C.I. being sick and doing the indymedia roundup tonight, I'm almost postive this won't be read. And it needs to be said and shouldn't just fall to Rebecca to say it. So I just wanted to take a moment to note a friend who works hard and then some. Leigh Ann wrote today and commented on my thing yesterday. I was probably wanting to say this but worrying about C.I. reading it. I think it's important to note the people who work hard and step up to the plate and take a swing because most people don't do that. Most people just write about what's "safe" and what everyone else is talking about.
That's also why I make a point to highlight Democracy Now! because they go in and do the work that most people don't want to do. That's not comparing the two. (C.I. would point out that they do outstanding journalism and that The Common Ills is "just a resource/review.") But that is noting that we need more brave voices and me noting we need to recognize the ones that are out there.
So let's note Democracy Now!:
* Democracy Now! is 10 Years Old This Week
*On February 19, 1996 the first Democracy Now! was broadcast out ofthe studios of WPFW in Washington. You can now listen to or downloadan MP3 of this historic broadcast at http://10years.democracynow.org.We'll be using the http://10years.democracynow.org site to periodically highlight past programs and offer free MP3s of these shows so check back often or subscribe to our new archives podcast.
10 years of doing real journalism. I hope you make a point to watch or listen to Democracy Now! and if you're not in one of the areas that it's broadcast (over 400 stations -- radio and TV -- broadcast the news program), you can watch it or listen to it online and you can also read it online if you're on an older computer that doesn't work too well with audio or video.
If you haven't checked it out, you should. You should also check The Exception to the Rulers by Amy Goodman and her brother David Goodman. This is from pages 170-171:
It was bound to happen. People start sleeping together, and the next thing you know, they're talking commitment.
That was the basic theme underlying most of the embedded reporting during the invasion of Iraq. As reporters rode shotgun on tanks and Humvees and slept alongside soldiers in Iraq, what journalistic distance there ever was vanished into the sands of the desert.
Don't take it from me. Take it from Gordon Dillow of The Orange County Register, who wrote: "The biggest problem I faced as an embed with the Marine grunts was that I found myself dong what journalists are warned from J-school not to do: I found myself falling in love with my subject. I fell in love with 'my' Marines."
And CBS's Jim Axelrod, who was embedded with -- I would say in bed with -- the 3rd Infantry Division, echoed: "This will sound like I've drunk the Kool-Aid, but I found embedding to be an extremely positive experience. . . . We got great stories and they got very positive coverage."
From the Pentagon's point of view, this one-sided reporting worked like a charm. "Americans and people around the world are seeing firsthand the wonderful dedication and discipline of the coaliton forces," declared Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke.
For Clarke, a former top executive with Hill & Knowlton, the world's largest public relations firm, nothing was left to chance. "We put the same planning and preparation into this [embed program] as military planners put into the war effort," she said.
The embed program for the invasion of Iraq was the culmination of years of effort and experimentation by the Pentagon to control the media during war. In World War II and Vietnam, many reporters were in the field alongside soldiers. But as the Southeast Asian quagmire deepened, the Pentagon became exasperated with journalists who reported the increasingly grim realities that they saw: dispirited troops, futile efforts by the United States to win the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese through carpet bombing, and even occasional dispatches about war crimes. It became an article of faith that "the media lost Vietnam" -- as if the American public would otherwise have gladly accepted the staggering toll of 58,000 Americans killed, 300,000 wounded, and at least 2 million Vietnamese killed in a pointless war.
That was a book we discussed at The Third Estate Sunday Review so if you need more on why you should read this book, check that out. To me, the Goodmans book is as important and as satisfying as Howard Zinn's writing and that's like the ultimate compliment from me. Buy a copy and if you can't afford to buy one, go to your library and check out the book. This is a book you really have to read. It's already been a bestseller but I think with more people waking up to the realities of Bully Boy's illegal war, a lot more people could be interested in the book now. So make a point to check out The Exception to the Rulers and if you've already checked it out, get the word out to your friends. If you have a copy, share it with a friend. (One you can trust to return it because this is a book you want to hold onto.)
And also check out Ava and C.I.'s "TV Review: Close To Home (and floating in the toilet)" and Betty's "Thomas Friedman's one moment of public truth."
the exception to the rulers
amy goodman
david goodman
democracy now
the common ills
thomas friedman is a great man
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
the daily jot
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
associated press
alicia a caldwell
the washington post
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Alito of no suprises, American detentions? and more
Good evening, let's get things started with Democracy Now!
Supreme Court To Reconsider Banning Late-Term Abortion
And the Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will consider reinstating a federal ban on late-term abortion. Recent President Bush appointee Samuel Alito could hold the tie-breaking vote when the court hears the case. The court last ruled on the issue in the year 2000, when Judge Sandra Day O’Connor cast the deciding vote to strike down a state law banning the procedure. Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said: "Today's action means the core principle of protecting women's health as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade is in clear and present danger."
Did you read Rebecca yesterday? She summed it up. Those who sat on the sidelines, or worse, shouldn't be surprised now. This isn't surprising. Nothing Alito does will be. The man should never have been confirmed to the bench. Democrats didn't have any guts, they wouldn't filibuster. Reporters didn't have any integrity. They were too busy playing color commentators on ESPN: "Let me give a you a replay" instead of dealing with the issues at stake. Dems cowarded, press clowned, so we get Alito. God help us all.
Three Ohioans Charged With Conspiracy To Attack US Troops
Back in the United States, the Justice Department has charged three Ohio men with conspiracy to kill US troops in Iraq and other countries. The three -- Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Wassim I. Mazloum, and Marwan Othman El-Hindi -- are originally from Jordan and Lebanon. Amawi is also charged with making threats to kill President Bush. They each pled not guilty Tuesday. El-Hindi’s attorney, Steve Hartman, said: "It doesn't help that he's Jordanian. I think he's caught up in the Justice Department's vigorous work."
Did you catch the New York Times this morning? If you did, I hope you caught C.I. as well. "NYT: One sided 'reporting' (Neil A. Lewis)" is where C.I. takes Lewis to task for offering nothing but a press release for the Justice Dept. There's no dissenting voice heard. And Lewis can give you the Justice Dept.'s view but somehow doesn't have time to talk to the defense. This is pretty embarrassing and my professor picked it as "the best catch today" so listen to him if you don't listen to me and go read C.I.
Now check out Elaine's site Like Maria Said Paz to get her take on things.
Rebecca wanted me to note this -- Nat Parry's "Bush's Mysterious 'New Programs'"
But recent developments suggest that the Bush administration may already be contemplating what to do with Americans who are deemed insufficiently loyal or who disseminate information that may be considered helpful to the enemy.
Top U.S. officials have cited the need to challenge news that undercuts Bush’s actions as a key front in defeating the terrorists, who are aided by "news informers" in the words of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. [For details, see Consortiumnews.com "Upside-Down Media" or below.]Detention CentersPlus, there was that curious development in January when the Army Corps of Engineers awarded Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root a $385 million contract to construct detention centers somewhere in the United States, to deal with "an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs," KBR said. [Market Watch, Jan. 26, 2006]
Later, the New York Times reported that "KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space." [Feb. 4, 2006]
Like most news stories on the KBR contract, the Times focused on concerns about Halliburton's reputation for bilking U.S. taxpayers by overcharging for sub-par services.
"It's hard to believe that the administration has decided to entrust Halliburton with even more taxpayer dollars," remarked Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California.
Having noted that, I'll also note that this issue that's been popular this week and last was (can I say "as usual") noted by C.I. in real time. From Feb.4th, "NYT: David Johnston and Rachel L. Swarns:"
Billie notes Rachel L. Swarns' "Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers:"
The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention centers to Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary that has been criticized for overcharging the Pentagon for its work in Iraq.KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space, company executives said. KBR, which announced the contract last month, had a similar contract with immigration agencies from 2000 to last year.
So Halliburton's gotten a new contract (probably no bid). Why? Because of the wonderful job they've done in Iraq? Don't kid yourself. But where is this "unexpected influx of immigrants" coming from? Does that bother you? The fact that Homeland Security will be over them? Where is the influx coming from?Ponder. And wonder if Bully Boy's going to scapegoat undocumented workers (which is bad enough) or if the I'm-above-the-law Bully Boy has something else in mind?
Want to know what everyone will be talking about a month now? Read The Common Ills.
At least until we're all living in a Bully Boy detention facility. I'll bring the marshmallows. :D
I hear the new Rumsfeld approved punishments in the facilities for American "detainees" will be forced-readings of Wonkette. We may all crack.
democracy now
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
like maria said paz
nat parry
alito
mikey likes it
Supreme Court To Reconsider Banning Late-Term Abortion
And the Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will consider reinstating a federal ban on late-term abortion. Recent President Bush appointee Samuel Alito could hold the tie-breaking vote when the court hears the case. The court last ruled on the issue in the year 2000, when Judge Sandra Day O’Connor cast the deciding vote to strike down a state law banning the procedure. Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said: "Today's action means the core principle of protecting women's health as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade is in clear and present danger."
Did you read Rebecca yesterday? She summed it up. Those who sat on the sidelines, or worse, shouldn't be surprised now. This isn't surprising. Nothing Alito does will be. The man should never have been confirmed to the bench. Democrats didn't have any guts, they wouldn't filibuster. Reporters didn't have any integrity. They were too busy playing color commentators on ESPN: "Let me give a you a replay" instead of dealing with the issues at stake. Dems cowarded, press clowned, so we get Alito. God help us all.
Three Ohioans Charged With Conspiracy To Attack US Troops
Back in the United States, the Justice Department has charged three Ohio men with conspiracy to kill US troops in Iraq and other countries. The three -- Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Wassim I. Mazloum, and Marwan Othman El-Hindi -- are originally from Jordan and Lebanon. Amawi is also charged with making threats to kill President Bush. They each pled not guilty Tuesday. El-Hindi’s attorney, Steve Hartman, said: "It doesn't help that he's Jordanian. I think he's caught up in the Justice Department's vigorous work."
Did you catch the New York Times this morning? If you did, I hope you caught C.I. as well. "NYT: One sided 'reporting' (Neil A. Lewis)" is where C.I. takes Lewis to task for offering nothing but a press release for the Justice Dept. There's no dissenting voice heard. And Lewis can give you the Justice Dept.'s view but somehow doesn't have time to talk to the defense. This is pretty embarrassing and my professor picked it as "the best catch today" so listen to him if you don't listen to me and go read C.I.
Now check out Elaine's site Like Maria Said Paz to get her take on things.
Rebecca wanted me to note this -- Nat Parry's "Bush's Mysterious 'New Programs'"
But recent developments suggest that the Bush administration may already be contemplating what to do with Americans who are deemed insufficiently loyal or who disseminate information that may be considered helpful to the enemy.
Top U.S. officials have cited the need to challenge news that undercuts Bush’s actions as a key front in defeating the terrorists, who are aided by "news informers" in the words of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. [For details, see Consortiumnews.com "Upside-Down Media" or below.]Detention CentersPlus, there was that curious development in January when the Army Corps of Engineers awarded Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root a $385 million contract to construct detention centers somewhere in the United States, to deal with "an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs," KBR said. [Market Watch, Jan. 26, 2006]
Later, the New York Times reported that "KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space." [Feb. 4, 2006]
Like most news stories on the KBR contract, the Times focused on concerns about Halliburton's reputation for bilking U.S. taxpayers by overcharging for sub-par services.
"It's hard to believe that the administration has decided to entrust Halliburton with even more taxpayer dollars," remarked Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California.
Having noted that, I'll also note that this issue that's been popular this week and last was (can I say "as usual") noted by C.I. in real time. From Feb.4th, "NYT: David Johnston and Rachel L. Swarns:"
Billie notes Rachel L. Swarns' "Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers:"
The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention centers to Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary that has been criticized for overcharging the Pentagon for its work in Iraq.KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space, company executives said. KBR, which announced the contract last month, had a similar contract with immigration agencies from 2000 to last year.
So Halliburton's gotten a new contract (probably no bid). Why? Because of the wonderful job they've done in Iraq? Don't kid yourself. But where is this "unexpected influx of immigrants" coming from? Does that bother you? The fact that Homeland Security will be over them? Where is the influx coming from?Ponder. And wonder if Bully Boy's going to scapegoat undocumented workers (which is bad enough) or if the I'm-above-the-law Bully Boy has something else in mind?
Want to know what everyone will be talking about a month now? Read The Common Ills.
At least until we're all living in a Bully Boy detention facility. I'll bring the marshmallows. :D
I hear the new Rumsfeld approved punishments in the facilities for American "detainees" will be forced-readings of Wonkette. We may all crack.
democracy now
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
like maria said paz
nat parry
alito
mikey likes it
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Dave Zirin on "gaseous hop-head" Limbaugh, Administration ignored warnings and more
Good evening. Hope everyone had a good holiday and a great weekend. Let's get things kicked off with Democracy Now!
Navy's Top Attorney Warned Against Administration's Detainee Policies
The New Yorker magazine has revealed that two years before the Abu Ghraib photos were first published, the Navy's general counsel, Alberto Mora, began challenging what he described as the administration's "disastrous and unlawful policy of authorizing cruelty toward terror suspects." Mora warned his superiors at the Pentagon about the consequences of President Bush's decision, in 2002, to circumvent the Geneva conventions. He argued that a refusal to outlaw cruelty toward U.S.-held detainees was an implicit invitation to abuse. Mora also challenged the legal framework that the Bush Administration has constructed to justify an expansion of executive power, in matters ranging from interrogations to wiretapping. He described the novel legal theories granting the President the right to authorize abuse as "unlawful," "dangerous," and "erroneous."
So four years later, we're still dealing with fall out that was predicted but that no one wanted to listen to? Jane Mayer wrote the article and you should read it. She's had a series of strong articles during the last few years and she's frequently a guest on Democracy Now! so I'll assume most of you already know who she is. Here's my take on the article: you had people who wanted to do what they wanted (and give the administration unchecked powers) so the result was they didn't listen because they didn't care. That's the policy of this administration. They want what they want and don't care about the costs. That's how we end up in Iraq. Lies are fine with them, as long as it gets them what they want.
Report: U.S. Used Bogus Call Sign to Hide Secret Flights
The Sunday Times of London is reporting the U.S. military has been operating secretive flights across Europe using a call sign assigned to a civilian airline that they have no legal right to use. This has allowed the U.S. to carry out covert missions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Sunday Times reported one flight apparently transported 45 tons of surplus weapons and ammunition to Rwanda in defiance of a UN embargo. In another case, a plane identified with the CIA practice of "extraordinary rendition" left a US air base just after the arrival of an aircraft using the bogus call sign.
We are the Gansta' Nation. And the real gangster's are in the administration. There's no law they won't break. In fact, Ava and C.I. covered this in their TV review of Bully Boy's press conference last year:
Obviously Bully's the madcap one, so he needs a sidekick who's a little more serious and a lot more prissy. We think they should create a character named Cheney who goes around hiding maps of the Middle East and stroking his stuffed cat that he calls Boo-Boo Kitty WMD. We think Jonathan Winters would be perfection in the role.
Yeah, it's a steal from Laverne & Shirley but imagine the opening credits as they skip down Pennsylvania Avenue singing "Give us any treaty we'll break it . . ."
And think of how humorous it would be if [Timothy] Bottoms had a big "B" on all his outfits. Especially if they dressed him up in military garb! The AWOL Bully in military garb would bring the house down. It would be "high-larious" to use a word none of the kids are saying but What I Like About You tries to convince us they are.
Gansta' Nation. People talk about how America once stood for something. Maybe it did. But we get further and further away from that each day. Bully Boy is a disgrace and it's past time to impeach. He needs to be impeached by Congress and the Senate needs to find him guilty of the charges.
Be sure to head over to Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's take on the above.
Tony asked me to note Dave Zirin's "White Blindness: The Winter Olympics and Defending Bryant Gumbel" (Common Dreams):
The right-wing media hordes, in a mad dash to deflect attention from Dick Cheney's shooting spree, may have found their target of mass distraction: Bryant Gumbel. At the end of his HBO show "Real Sports," Gumbel unleashed a prolonged rant about the utter unwatchability of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. The Winter Games certainly are a worthy target. On ten-hour tape delay, NBC has been force-feeding us highlights of sports that seem concocted on Madison Avenue to sell Mountain Dew. As Gumbel took the Xtreme winter games to task, he said, "So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of Blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention." Immediately, and predictably, the bloviating bigots of the blogosphere started splattering Gumbel's statement all over the web.
This was to be expected. But more striking was the reaction to Gumbel on ESPN Radio's "The Dan Patrick Show." Normally, in the red meat world of sports radio, Dan Patrick seems happy to be veal: no gristle or fat, morally offensive to some, but generally just plain and easily digestible. But Dan blew a gasket on the air, going after Gumbel like he was president of the Willard Scott fan club. He called for Gumbel's job, saying that if Rush Limbaugh was fired from ESPN for making racially insensitive comments, - a firing Dan says he opposed -- then Gumbel should suffer the same fate. Comparing Gumbel to Limbaugh is like comparing apples to an obese drug addict. Gumbel is an award-winning journalist who has had a foot in the world of hard sports commentary for three decades. Limbaugh is a gaseous hop-head who once asked, "Why do all composite criminal photos look like Jesse Jackson?" and telling an African-American caller to his show - who somehow got through the screeners -- to "Take the bone out of your nose." Gumbel hosts a critically lauded show. Limbaugh was a hired by ESPN as a gimmick by their ownership group, Disney, as part of their mission to make America stupider.
But when you actually compare their respective comments, the Dan Patrick argument not only collapses, but becomes intellectually dishonest. Limbaugh, of course, said on ESPN's NFL show that Pro-Bowl Philadelphia Eagle Donavan McNabb was "overrated" because of the "media's social concern" to see a successful Black quarterback. This was exactly the kind of ignorant garbage Disney hired him spew. What the rat shack didn't count on was thousands of phone calls and emails demanding the fat man's Sosa-sized head.
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Navy's Top Attorney Warned Against Administration's Detainee Policies
The New Yorker magazine has revealed that two years before the Abu Ghraib photos were first published, the Navy's general counsel, Alberto Mora, began challenging what he described as the administration's "disastrous and unlawful policy of authorizing cruelty toward terror suspects." Mora warned his superiors at the Pentagon about the consequences of President Bush's decision, in 2002, to circumvent the Geneva conventions. He argued that a refusal to outlaw cruelty toward U.S.-held detainees was an implicit invitation to abuse. Mora also challenged the legal framework that the Bush Administration has constructed to justify an expansion of executive power, in matters ranging from interrogations to wiretapping. He described the novel legal theories granting the President the right to authorize abuse as "unlawful," "dangerous," and "erroneous."
So four years later, we're still dealing with fall out that was predicted but that no one wanted to listen to? Jane Mayer wrote the article and you should read it. She's had a series of strong articles during the last few years and she's frequently a guest on Democracy Now! so I'll assume most of you already know who she is. Here's my take on the article: you had people who wanted to do what they wanted (and give the administration unchecked powers) so the result was they didn't listen because they didn't care. That's the policy of this administration. They want what they want and don't care about the costs. That's how we end up in Iraq. Lies are fine with them, as long as it gets them what they want.
Report: U.S. Used Bogus Call Sign to Hide Secret Flights
The Sunday Times of London is reporting the U.S. military has been operating secretive flights across Europe using a call sign assigned to a civilian airline that they have no legal right to use. This has allowed the U.S. to carry out covert missions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Sunday Times reported one flight apparently transported 45 tons of surplus weapons and ammunition to Rwanda in defiance of a UN embargo. In another case, a plane identified with the CIA practice of "extraordinary rendition" left a US air base just after the arrival of an aircraft using the bogus call sign.
We are the Gansta' Nation. And the real gangster's are in the administration. There's no law they won't break. In fact, Ava and C.I. covered this in their TV review of Bully Boy's press conference last year:
Obviously Bully's the madcap one, so he needs a sidekick who's a little more serious and a lot more prissy. We think they should create a character named Cheney who goes around hiding maps of the Middle East and stroking his stuffed cat that he calls Boo-Boo Kitty WMD. We think Jonathan Winters would be perfection in the role.
Yeah, it's a steal from Laverne & Shirley but imagine the opening credits as they skip down Pennsylvania Avenue singing "Give us any treaty we'll break it . . ."
And think of how humorous it would be if [Timothy] Bottoms had a big "B" on all his outfits. Especially if they dressed him up in military garb! The AWOL Bully in military garb would bring the house down. It would be "high-larious" to use a word none of the kids are saying but What I Like About You tries to convince us they are.
Gansta' Nation. People talk about how America once stood for something. Maybe it did. But we get further and further away from that each day. Bully Boy is a disgrace and it's past time to impeach. He needs to be impeached by Congress and the Senate needs to find him guilty of the charges.
Be sure to head over to Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's take on the above.
Tony asked me to note Dave Zirin's "White Blindness: The Winter Olympics and Defending Bryant Gumbel" (Common Dreams):
The right-wing media hordes, in a mad dash to deflect attention from Dick Cheney's shooting spree, may have found their target of mass distraction: Bryant Gumbel. At the end of his HBO show "Real Sports," Gumbel unleashed a prolonged rant about the utter unwatchability of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. The Winter Games certainly are a worthy target. On ten-hour tape delay, NBC has been force-feeding us highlights of sports that seem concocted on Madison Avenue to sell Mountain Dew. As Gumbel took the Xtreme winter games to task, he said, "So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of Blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention." Immediately, and predictably, the bloviating bigots of the blogosphere started splattering Gumbel's statement all over the web.
This was to be expected. But more striking was the reaction to Gumbel on ESPN Radio's "The Dan Patrick Show." Normally, in the red meat world of sports radio, Dan Patrick seems happy to be veal: no gristle or fat, morally offensive to some, but generally just plain and easily digestible. But Dan blew a gasket on the air, going after Gumbel like he was president of the Willard Scott fan club. He called for Gumbel's job, saying that if Rush Limbaugh was fired from ESPN for making racially insensitive comments, - a firing Dan says he opposed -- then Gumbel should suffer the same fate. Comparing Gumbel to Limbaugh is like comparing apples to an obese drug addict. Gumbel is an award-winning journalist who has had a foot in the world of hard sports commentary for three decades. Limbaugh is a gaseous hop-head who once asked, "Why do all composite criminal photos look like Jesse Jackson?" and telling an African-American caller to his show - who somehow got through the screeners -- to "Take the bone out of your nose." Gumbel hosts a critically lauded show. Limbaugh was a hired by ESPN as a gimmick by their ownership group, Disney, as part of their mission to make America stupider.
But when you actually compare their respective comments, the Dan Patrick argument not only collapses, but becomes intellectually dishonest. Limbaugh, of course, said on ESPN's NFL show that Pro-Bowl Philadelphia Eagle Donavan McNabb was "overrated" because of the "media's social concern" to see a successful Black quarterback. This was exactly the kind of ignorant garbage Disney hired him spew. What the rat shack didn't count on was thousands of phone calls and emails demanding the fat man's Sosa-sized head.
democracy now
torture
secret flights
dave zirin
the common ills
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
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