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Rockefeller Rocks
It is a beautiful day in New York City and the mood at Rockefeller Center is upbeat. Everyone seems to understand that this event is part of a long haul--a serious campaign to tell the truth about our government. Individuals with signs and fliers are speaking with tourists and the conversations are substantive.
I spoke with Sarah, who has been an activist for about a year. She recently returned from London, where, she says, "people know all about the Downing Street Minutes."
Ann is 86 and her first protest was in Chicago, in 1937, in a performance with the Lincoln Brigade in Chicago. She raised her children to speak up and now they are writing and teaching about democracy. "America is very alive right now," she says. And so is she:
Caroline and Stephen are also veterans; they go back to Eugene McCarthy and the civil rights era. Stephen remembers when he protested at the White House about El Salvador and our involvement with toppling another regime. He was arrested then, along with some of the more than 100,000 people who cared enough to show up. The media reported--
NOTHING.
It was at that moment that he knew we have to BE THE MEDIA.
Streets, everyone!
http://www.democrats.com/july23-intro
Bob Fertik's remarks for today in NYC.
Hope you have a great time, Karen, and that someone from MSM pays attention to the meetings and demonstrations about the Downing Street Memos!!!
DSM are vitally important because they are evidence of the "fixed" and fictional WMD lies pResiDunce Nitwit and the rest of the pit vipers at the White House used to justify their illegal, immoral, and unethical declaration of war against a country that was no threat to the US....
Certainly, IMHO, Downing Street Memos alone are grounds for building a case for impeachment because (to me) it proves this administration LIED (they didn't "mislead" - they LIED), not to mention the connected stories involving TreasonGate, which may be easier to prove once Fitzgerald's Grand Jury comes back with their recommendations.
Former Agents Push Bush for Action on Rove
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/072305Z.shtml
Testimony By Rove and Libby Examined
Leak Prosecutor Seeks Discrepancies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072201830.html
CIA Leak Investigation Turns to Possible Perjury, Obstruction
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-leak23jul23,0,3075904.story
We are inside the Ethical Culture Society--this event will be on a live webcast at www.kpftx.org/pls/kpftx6210.pls.
Pass it on!
NonnyO--please let people know on other blogs that Matt and I are here and will be reporting live--as will sparrow in Detroit and DiAnne in Seattle. They can come here or to afterdowningstreet.org. AND THANKS!
Contact the media!
Live from New York...it's
The Downing Street 2nd Anniversary Town Hall!
And this is definitely a Democratic venue.
How do I know - No Air Conditioning!
Here's what I love about New York--the place is full of older people--the ones with great smiles, and twinkly eyes--the ones who, like Ann, have been writing letters, making calls, and marching since the 1930s. These people have energy and passion--and they know their stuff too!
There is an elderly woman behind me who just said "I have to sit next to my new friend from England. I just met her--she came all the way over from there to help us here."
With a half hour to go, the place is more than half filled. People are passing around fliers for future events (Sept 24-26 in DC) and other actions today.
Marjorie G. is gathering signatures for a petition on electronic voting machines (It seems she wants a paper trail--imagine that! ;))--she radiates positive can-do energy.
Keep it going...
I'm sending you a cool rain-soaked breeze from where I live (hopefully none of the thunderstorms that are also part of the weather front just south of me!). After two weeks of 90+ and 80+ temps, we have cooler temps and rain today, and it feels really good.... ready??? Stand still.... gentle cool breeze coming your way, Karen and Matt..... :-)
I'll let people know where you are..... if they don't find out by reading this blog first....
...and send ice cubes! It is getting warmer in here...
And it's plenty hot here in NY. But as Congress sings in the opening number of the musical "1776", it was
"hot as hell in Philadelphia.
Why doesn't someone open up a window?"
Opponents of Nominee Taking Populist Tack
WASHINGTON - Critics of John G. Roberts Jr. are turning to populist economic arguments to thwart his nomination to the
Supreme Court, echoing one of the themes Al Gore used against George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential campaign. By Ronald Brownstein.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-econ23jul23,0,6549320.story
Anti-Abortion Advocacy of Wife of Court Nominee Draws Interest
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/23/politics/politicsspecial1/23jane.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IMHO, the exchange between Roberts and the judge at the 1991 Rust v. Sullivan trial is ample evidence that Roberts wants to overturn Roe v. Wade...... and Roberts' wife would foster and support that decision, too.....
Roberts' wife anti-abortion activism scares me, but Ted Kennedy has told us that it must be considered off limits.
It's looking like it's going be a packed house. The lower level has already filled up.
We are blogging with BobGeiger.com (YellowDog)
http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/ and http://www.smirkingchimp.com/index.php -- having a grand time! The hall is filling!!!
Oh, dear.... With Bu$hCo's anti-environmental policies and global warming, I'm not sure I can find any glaciers to obtain ice.... {{{ Sarcasm! }}} But I'll think cool breezes for sure! :-) Hope you have ample water and that you're at least wearing hats like the lovely lady in orange (Ann?).....
Randi Rhodes is in the house!
Oh Nonny--Ann was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!
Don't you just love those wonderfully fresh YOUNG and wise older people? I want to find her and have tea with her...
Posted by: Matthew Carnicelli at July 23, 2005 01:48 PM
Teddy can consider Jane off limits if he wants to... I don't have to...
I am not forgetting the influence of pillow talk between spouses (and the Roberts' - who are both supposedly good and faithful Catholics - adopted both of their kids, so they would push the idea of giving children up for adoption when the girls who were not taught anything about contraception - thanks to shrubbie's and the fundamentalist policy of anti-contraception - give birth to children through ignorance about birth control....
So Teddy can keep his opinions, and I can keep mine.... and I do want to know how influential Jane's opinions are to John.....
The festivities are about to begin.
Bob Fertig, of Democrats.org is speaking.
Bob just said, "On this hot Saturday, I'm sure you can think of better things to do" and the crowd roared, "NO"!!
The speakers just came unto the stage.
Posted by: Karen at July 23, 2005 02:03 PM
Oh, Karen... now I'm green with envy...!!! Please give Ann a hug from me, and I so hope you have a tall iced tea with a tad bit of lemon and sweetener with Ann (and that Matt and Marjorie and other like-minded people join you)...
And, yes... I do love those wise and mentally young and alert people (of every physical age) who impart the wisdom and lessons they have learned, especially with age and experience. Even at my age, I turn into a kid who wants to sit at their feet and learn everything they know... so that someday I can pass their wisdom on to other - and younger - people who will need experienced wisdom to guide them.....
Why are we here?
DSM IS the smoking gun. They wanted military action to be seen as inevitable. Intelligence and facts were fixed around the policy.
Democrats Are on the Wrong Battlefield
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072201585.html
Excerpts:
If John Roberts is confirmed as a Supreme Court justice, as now seems likely -- barring a shocker in his record or his past -- the reasons he made it won't be solely his résumé or the support of President Bush. The groundwork for Roberts's elevation to the high court -- and the likelihood of success for future Bush Supreme Court nominees -- was laid nearly three years ago in Georgia, Minnesota and Missouri, and last November in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana and South Dakota, when Republicans captured eight Democratic Senate seats.
~~~~~
Just how far Republicans have succeeded in converting Washington into a safe place for Bush can be found in the recent Senate compromise on the use of the filibuster in judicial nominations. (The agreement was hailed by People for the American Way's Ralph Neas as a "major defeat for the radical right." Replied one right-wing wag, "This is like Custer declaring victory at Little Bighorn.")
~~~~~
Winning judicial nomination fights in Washington over the next three years will require scoring victories far beyond the Beltway. Good places to start? Next year's U.S. Senate races in Arizona, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming.
Unlike churning out news releases and holding grip-and-grin sessions around Washington, that takes real work.
Bob Fertig is talking:
Impeachment in Washington. The elephant in the middle of the room that the MSM refuses to talk about.
The crowd is rowdy...lots of boos and hisses and shouts and applause.
Bob Fertik just said "Today we ask whether George Bush should be impeached!" sustained applause...
40% of Americans support impeachment, according to a recent poll, if it is demonstrated that George Bush mislead the nation into war.
Another 40% believe that Saddam is the grinch that stole Christmas. They all voted for Bush in 2004.
Posted by: Karen at July 23, 2005 02:15 PM
Smoking gun?!? Heck, it's a mushroom cloud...!!! We bloggers spotted the LIES when they were being told... we didn't really need the DSM, but the memos are the evidence to show Republicans and neoCons what we knew all along....
Posted by: Matthew Carnicelli at July 23, 2005 02:16 PM
Yes, another of those blatant truths that everyone is ignoring because MSM talking heads refuse to mention the obvious..... LIES > grounds for impeachment. Unjustified war of choice that was illegal by international laws, an action that was illegal, immoral, and unethical which ties in with the ex- CIA officers' statements yesterday (etc.), > added grounds to try Bu$hCo for high crimes and misdemeanors, which are ALSO, coincidentally, grounds for IMPEACHMENT!!!
Liz Holtzman is speaking. She is the only person who ever voted to impeach a President. It is not an easy thing to do, she says. When Congress overturns the will of the people, it must be done within the rule of law. "We met that with Richard Nixon." A
She also was the author of a resolution that sought to impeach Nixon for the secret bombing of Cambodia. Congress had said no, but the President authorized it anyway--they kept two sets of books--just like Enron. The House Judiciary did not support that resolution. Without the overwhelming support of the people, Congress will not act.
BUT the forces WILL break through when evidence is substantive and THE PEOPLE FORCE CONGRESS TO ACT.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0722-24.htm
Published on Friday, July 22, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
TreasonGate - What Did Bush Know, And When Did He Know It?
by Thom Hartmann
Political smears by right-wingers are nothing new. In the election of 1800, John Adams had a surrogate newspaper publisher write an article about "Dusky Sally," the half-sister of Thomas Jefferson's deceased wife, who was also one of the Jefferson family slaves. Jefferson succeeded in avoiding the issue, and his friends pointed out that it was merely about his personal life, not national security.
George W. Bush may not be so fortunate.
Today comes the revelation in The Wall Street Journal that "A key department memo discussing Joseph Wilson's Niger trip was classified 'Top Secret,' and the passage about his wife's CIA role was specially marked 'S/NF' -- not to be shared with any foreign intelligence agencies."
Perhaps even more damning are reports that the Top Secret-S/NF document was apparently first delivered to Air Force One when George W. Bush and Colin Powell (who had apparently requested it from analysts within the State Department) were flying to Africa in 2003.
Somehow - nobody knows at the moment - the information in this Top Secret-S/NF document (the identity of Joe Wilson's wife) then migrated from Air Force One to George W. Bush's assistant, Karl Rove, and Dick Cheney's assistant, Scooter Libby. Rove and Libby then immediately began "dialing for dollars" - calling reporters with this juicy bit of Top Secret-N/SF information - in an attempt to politically assassinate Joe Wilson.
Which raises the question: "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"
It's unlikely that Colin Powell would have called Rove and Cheney (to give instructions to Libby) with the information in the memo - that was above his pay grade. Ditto for Ari Fleischer. And it's extremely doubtful that the pilots on the plane even knew about the explosive information they were carrying as they flew across the Atlantic.
Which leaves George W. Bush, as the only other person on that plane with the means, opportunity, and motive.
Thus, perhaps, the reports that Patrick Fitzgerald has now subpoenaed the phone logs of Air Force One.
Those of a certain age among us remember well the shocking moment when Nixon's lawyer, John Dean, confirmed to Congress that Nixon himself was involved in the Watergate scandal.
The urgency Bush brought to deciding on and releasing the name of John Roberts coincided relatively closely with a growing press awareness that the Sop Secret-S/NF memo with Plame's identity started it's long path to Bob Novak on Air Force One. Time - and an awakened press corps (and hopefully an awakened Congress) - will tell if Bush's own fingerprints are all over this treasonous act of political revenge.
Thom Hartmann (thom at thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored Award-winning best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk show, and a morning progressive talk show on KPOJ in Portland, Oregon. www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," "Unequal Protection," "We The People," "The Edison Gene", and "What Would Jefferson Do?"
Liz Holtzman is sharing her experience of the 1974 Impeachment of Tricky Dick. She is reminding the audience that while a wrongdoer can stem one stream or another, they cannot stem an entire tide.
Liz is talking about the War Crimes Act of 1996, a statute that makes it a crime to violate aspects of the Geneva Convention - murder, torture, inhuman treatment of human beings.
THERE IS NO STATUE OF LIMITATIONS FOR THIS ACT!
She is detailing the Geneva Convention statutes. Do you know that for torture of detainess for which there is a death, there is NO STATUTE OF LIMITATION.
Gonzales stated this. He also asked "What happens after we are out of power?"
Alberto Gonzalez apparently advised Dubya that the US needs to opt out of the Geneva Conventions, in order that US officials are not liable under this Federal Regulation.
As we learn more from Professor Holtzman, I wish you all could see Randi Rhodes, with her look of totoal incredulity! (She is taking notes too....)
Dubya has told us time and again that the US did not opt out of the Geneva Convention with regard to the War in Iraq. Anyone who knows about this mistreatment, and does nothing about, it liable under this Federal Law.
Liz is advising that we begin to call for a Special Prosecutor to investigate violations of the War Crimes Act of 1996.
Liz is telling the audience that impeachment can be a course of action for officials other than the President.
Bless, Liz, who would have thought her article to get this traction. Brilliant, and if not mistaken, once DA of Brooklyn.
Seems all so reasonable to impeach. We'll see. Last January, I was in a group with the same Bob Fertik, fantasizing about such a thing.
Posted by: Karen at July 23, 2005 02:30 PM
If there is a god/goddess, the mere fact that there is no statute of limitations.... should be able to force our legislators to send Bu$hCo to The Hague... I hope....
I've been so upset about this torture business, on top of the insult and injury of their war of choice, that livid does not begin to describe the anger and frustration I feel that all of those crimes were done in the names of ALL Americans, and it was only that little secret cabal in the White House that approved torture, never the rest of us!!!
As a complete pacifist, I have been appalled every time I even begin to think about torture....
What happens when they're out of office....? Actually, I look for some other huge tragedy to happen in late '08 that will make them declare martial law and make georgie-boy the dictator for life.... if we don't get some decent Dems in Congress in the '06 elections.....
NY Congressman Maurice Hinchey is up next.
{{{!!!!! Read the quote carefully: "would usurp the president's authority" !?!?!? The pRezNitwit has NO authority that is not granted to him. What gives him the presumed "right" to claim authority he was never given in the Constitution..., other than the fact that the Congressional Nitwits granted him too much authority after 9/11?!?!? pResiDunce Nitwit PRESUMES too far in his quest to become dictator of our now-fascist nation, thanks to his bamboozling a whole lot of people...!!! I'm waiting for the lead-up to the '08 elections when I suspect he will try to declare martial law over some incident or other and try to declare himself president without benefit of the elections... unless, of course, Fitzgerald finds information in his Grand Jury investigation that links the Nitwit as the prime source of the TreasonGate leak of Plame's identity.... }}}
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072201727.html
White House Aims to Block Legislation on Detainees
By Josh White and R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, July 23, 2005; A01
The Bush administration in recent days has been lobbying to block legislation supported by Republican senators that would bar the U.S. military from engaging in "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of detainees, from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross, and from using interrogation methods not authorized by a new Army field manual.
Vice President Cheney met Thursday evening with three senior Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee to press the administration's case that legislation on these matters would usurp the president's authority and -- in the words of a White House official -- interfere with his ability "to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack."
It was the second time that Cheney has met with Senate members to tamp down what the White House views as an incipient Republican rebellion. The lawmakers have publicly expressed frustration about what they consider to be the administration's failure to hold any senior military officials responsible for notorious detainee abuse in Iraq and the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
This week's session was attended by Armed Services Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.) and committee members John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). Warner and Graham last week chaired hearings that explored detainee abuse and interrogation tactics at Guantanamo Bay and the concerns of senior military lawyers that vague administration policies have left the door open to abuse.
Neither Cheney's office nor the lawmakers would say exactly what was discussed at the meeting, citing a routine pledge of confidentiality. But Cheney has long been the administration's chief defender of presidential prerogatives, and at the meeting he reiterated opposition to congressional intervention on the topic of detainee interrogations, according to a source privy to what happened.
The White House, in a further indication of its strong feelings, bluntly warned in a statement sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday that President Bush's advisers would urge him to veto the $442 billion defense bill "if legislation is presented that would restrict the President's authority to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack and bring terrorists to justice."
The threat was a veiled reference to legislation drafted by McCain and being circulated among at least 10 Republican senators, Senate aides said. No effort has been made by McCain to cultivate Democratic support, although his aides predict he could get it easily. John Ullyot, a Warner spokesman, said that the senator has been working with McCain and Graham on detainee legislation and that "the matter continues to be studied."
A spokeswoman for McCain, Andrea Jones, said yesterday that McCain plans to introduce the legislation next week. McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, has criticized the way detainees have been treated by U.S. forces and is said by aides to want to cut off further abuse by requiring that the military adhere to its own interrogation rules in all cases.
One McCain amendment would set uniform standards for interrogating anyone detained by the Defense Department and would limit interrogation techniques to those listed in the Army field manual on interrogation, now being revised. Any changes to procedures would require the defense secretary to appear before Congress.
It would further require that all foreign nationals in the custody or effective control of the U.S. military must be registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross -- a provision specifically meant to block the holding of "ghost detainees" in Iraq, in Afghanistan or elsewhere. The provision would not apply to detainees in CIA custody at nonmilitary facilities.
Military investigations into the abuse in 2003 of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad disclosed that dozens were held without being registered at numerous prisons; the administration has said it needed to do so to conduct interrogations in isolation and to hide the identity of prisoners from other terrorists.
Another McCain amendment prohibits the "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in the custody of the U.S. government. This provision, modeled after wording in the U.N. Convention Against Torture -- which the United States has already ratified -- is meant to overturn an administration position that the convention does not apply to foreigners outside the United States.
Graham, who has been outspoken on the need for Congress to get involved in the issue of detainee treatment, said in an interview that he intends to pursue additional amendments that would define the term "enemy combatant" for purposes of detention and regulate the military trials of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.
Graham said he believes that his amendment would strengthen the president's ability to pursue the war on terror because it would give congressional support to the process of prosecuting detainees after they are transferred to Cuba, an issue that has been hotly contested in federal courts. "Every administration is reluctant to not have as much authority as possible," Graham said, adding that he has gotten mixed signals from the White House. "But we need congressional buy-in to Guantanamo."
The Republican effort is intended partly to cut off an effort by Senate Democrats to attach more stringent demands to the defense bill regarding detainees. One group, led by Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), has proposed an amendment calling for an independent commission -- similar to the Sept. 11 commission -- to look into administration policies on interrogation and detainee abuse.
2005 The Washington Post Company
Hinchey is repeating the shocking remark of a Bush Administration official, from Ron Susskind's October 2004 NY Times Magazine piece:
"We're an empire now. We make our own reality."
According to Hinchey, Bush is now claiming that the decision to go to war in Iraq was a last resort.
And if you believe Bush on that one, he's got a bridge he can sell you in Falluja...
He is now describing Rumsfeld's visit in Iraq in the 1980s, in the hope of building an oil pipeline. And how the US was responsible for putting chemical weapons in Saddam's hands.
Hinchey: "..an unnecessary, illegal and unjust war in another country".
...a loss, conservatively estimated, of at least 25,000 innocent civilians, and possibly as much as 100,000.
As if that's not enough, the nominee for US Propaganda Person is Karen Hughes.... she has not been approved yet, but our Democratic members on the committee didn't even bother showing up for the meeting yesterday.... shocking.... Hughes is, of course, repeating the current Bu$hCo Propaganda.... {{{ Urge to hurl...}}} I don't know who on earth believes she can fix the US image at this late date.... she's an overbearing *itch with whom one can have no civilized discourse....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072202035.html
Hughes Hopes to Burnish Image of U.S.
Nominee Says Ideas Will Prevail
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 23, 2005; A04
Karen Hughes, returning to Washington to take charge of State Department efforts to improve the nation's tarnished image abroad, said at her confirmation hearing yesterday that she wants to enlist the private sector -- including the music, film and travel industries -- in a reinvigorated effort to help the Muslim world understand America.
Hughes, who will hold the rank of ambassador and the title of undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the long-term "way to prevail in this struggle is through the power of our ideas."
"We need to engage more vigorously," she said. "We cannot expect people to give a fair hearing to our ideas if we don't forcefully advocate them. . . . America must also improve our rapid response and do much more to confront hateful propaganda, dispel myths and get out the truth."
Hughes, a longtime senior adviser to President Bush, plans to travel abroad extensively, starting with a trip to the Middle East, administration officials said.
Bush nominated Hughes in March to be undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. But with the additional portfolio of public affairs, she will run a bureaucratic empire that includes three State Department bureaus with 860 employees and 140 contractors.
Hughes, who held the title of counselor to the president during Bush's first 19 months in Washington, returned to Texas in deference to her teenage son, Robert, who will enter Stanford University this fall.
Hughes, who was part of Bush's inner circle of advisers, was guardian of his image through both his Texas and national campaigns. During Bush's reelection campaign, Hughes became a consultant to the Republican National Committee and flew on Air Force One throughout the fall.
Democrats have accused Bush of harming the country's international image with his handling of the prelude to the Iraq war and the bloody aftermath of deposing Saddam Hussein. To the surprise of administration officials, none of the eight committee Democrats attended the hearing. The chairman, Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), and Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) were the only lawmakers who attended and asked questions.
The committee's top Democrat, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) met with Hughes privately Thursday and said in a statement -- read by Lugar at the hearing -- that he could not attend because of previous commitments but is "particularly interested in and supportive of the nomination," and that Hughes will bring "new energy and creativity to our public diplomacy efforts."
Lugar said he hopes for a committee vote on Hughes next week, before Congress leaves on its August break.
Hughes, accompanied by her husband, Jerry, said she wants to hear ideas from and "develop effective ways to marshal the great creativity of our private sector. . . . Our music and film industries, artists and entertainers create powerful impressions, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always powerful."
"I recognize the job ahead will be difficult; perceptions do not change quickly or easily," she added. "We don't expect instant results."
Appearing with Hughes was Josette Sheeran Shiner, the nominee for undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs. In a second session, the committee heard from Kristen Silverberg, nominee for assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs; and Jendayi E. Frazer, nominee for assistant secretary of state for African affairs.
Silverberg, whose Bush pedigree dates to the Austin policy shop of the 2000 campaign and is a favorite of top White House officials, will have a portfolio that includes the administration's campaign for United Nations reform.
"When we talk about U.N. reform, we always need to do it in a balanced way to remind people of all the good things the U.N. does and can do, and then to talk about the ways that we want the organization to be more effective and stronger," Silverberg said. "It's important to remind people what a good organization it can be."
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
There are still some loose threads, but what is apparent so far;
In the early 80's, Saddam and Iraq were heavily supported by Presidents Reagan and Daddy Bush, Rumsfeld and the gang. The resistance movement in Afghanistan was created by the US, which became Al Queda. Bin Laden was part of this group financed by the US. After Afghanistan fell, the US abandoned them to their own fate. The Taliban sprung from this disaster and came to control Afghanistan.
During the 80's relationships with the house of Saud and the bin laden group are greatly expanded between Daddy Bush and what will become the Carlyle Group, a Major holding company concentrated in oil, gas and weapons manufacturing.
Condoleeza Rice, Dick Cheney, Lynne Cheney, Wolfowitz, and the rest of the gang worked at oil and or defense contractors during the 90's. In the late 90's this group brought the Taliban to the United States to secure oil and gas pipeline through Afghanistan.
The Taliban relationship didnt work out, they began to bomb US embassies in africa after they were given a tour of this Nation, so the Northern Alliance is supported to get rid of the Taliban.
The Gang now works in the highest levels of our Government, and is currently overseeing the construction of the pipeline they have been trying to build, attempting control of Caspian sea production and distribution of oil and gas.
The loose threads are Mr. Chalabi who appears to have been working for Iranian intelligence services while the US was using him as their main source of intelligence in Iraq; Did Mr. Chalabi plant evidence in the White House knowing the Gang would bite and invade Iraq, thereby enabling Iran to rid itself of Saddam, or did the White House use the intelligence thinking it would provide the avenue to invade Iraq?
Since the greatest Benifits have gone to Iran; 1) Using the US to take out Saddam
2) signing large construction projects in Iraq
3) securing oil and gas contracts in Iraq
4) trade and treaty agreements with Iraq
5) using the US to rebuild Iraqs oil and gas infrastructure
6) Using the US to rebuild Iraqs energy and water systems
it would seem Iran used the greed of the gang to further its political, commerical, and economic influence in the middle east.Iran played the US like a Violin.
Impeachment...more like the Worlds Dumbest politicians. I wonder what will happen when the history of the Gang becomes widely known.
Hinchey is saying that the torture that has been pervasive throughout the military prison system is the result of official orders, not a few bad apples.
He's also strongly making the point that the War in Iraq has made the world a much less safe place.
Hinchey is calling for a Congression Investigation, and that it should have happened two years ago.
...talk about your do-nothing Congresses...
Hinchey on fire!
New thread...
NEW THREAD!
- to be continued
Posted by: Toolmaker at July 23, 2005 02:57 PM
I'm old... I can connect the dots to the Iran Contra scandal (I watched the all of the hearings on TV - 1986-87), and this whole thing also connects to daddy bu$h much earlier when he was head of the CIA, and there were nefarious dealings with south-central American dictators that the US supported, too - before the support was withdrawn later....
But, yes. Shamefully, the horrors practiced against civilians in both Iraq and Afghanistan by their dictators were financed by, and military and poisons supplied by, the US.....
"Karen Hughes, returning to Washington to take charge of State Department efforts to improve the nation's tarnished image abroad, said at her confirmation hearing yesterday that she wants to enlist the private sector -- including the music, film and travel industries -- in a reinvigorated effort to help the Muslim world understand America"
Rumsfeld and company created the groups that flew planes into New York and are now bombing London, Egypt and who knows where next.
Maybe if we stop killing Muslims our image might not be so tarnished? Maybe if we stopped worshiping the oil drill the world might understand us better?
This is no more than Political spin at the world level. Doesnt anyone even question WHY we need to have someone explaining the actions of an American White House gone mad?
Posted by: Toolmaker at July 23, 2005 03:07 PM
Okay, NOW I've heard everything!
Truth shall prevail...love the Moniker BTW.;
In 1979, Bush’s first business, Arbusto Energy, obtained financing from James Bath, a Houstonian and close family friend. One of many investors, Bath gave Bush $50,000 for a 5 percent stake in Arbusto. At the time, Bath was the sole U.S. business representative for Salem bin Laden, head of the wealthy Saudi Arabian family and a brother (one of 17) to Osama bin Laden. It has long been suspected, but never proven, that the Arbusto money came directly from Salem bin Laden. In a statement issued shortly after the September 11 attacks, the White House vehemently denied the connection, insisting that Bath invested his own money, not Salem bin Laden’s, in Arbusto.
"In conflicting statements, Bush at first denied ever knowing Bath, then acknowledged his stake in Arbusto and that he was aware Bath represented Saudi interests. In fact, Bath has extensive ties, both to the bin Laden family and major players in the scandal-ridden Bank of Commerce and Credit International (BCCI) who have gone on to fund Osama bin Laden. BCCI defrauded depositors of $10 billion in the ’80s in what has been called the “largest bank fraud in world financial history” by former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. During the ’80s, BCCI also acted as a main conduit for laundering money intended for clandestine CIA activities, ranging from financial support to the Afghan mujahedin to paying intermediaries in the Iran-Contra affair.
The Afghan Mujahedin spoken of in this story splits off to become AlQueda and the Taliban.
We are fighting the very groups we created to Facilitate Iran / Contra, and creating the mess in Afghanistan.
Let truth be told.
2 topics ago -
Thanks for the transcript of Larry Johnson's speech. Does anybody have a link for the audio or for a podcast?
Oops! I just read the speech more carefully & this time I saw the audio link at the end :-p
Starting to think I should change my name feom aimzzz to oops
Illuminating Video Interview
If any one is interested in a story that TREMENDOUSLY lends itself to the Downing Street Minutes story, let me know and I will be happy to send you a 30minute interview of a former Pentagon official who witnessed firsthand how Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Cheney, (and the neoconservatives) knowingly and deliberately created false intelligence to support their pre-existing plans to go to war. The footage was shot about 2 years ago, yet it is completely in sync with the revelations of the Downing Street Memo, Richard Clarke's story (that the administration was looking for war rationals immediately after 9/11) and so many other facts.
The video footage is from a film I purchased, titled "Hijacking Catastrophe" and the interview is with Karen Kwiatkowski. The film was released almost 2 years ago and only appeared in a few small theatres. I was fortunate to live in the only town in the state of Washington that hosted the film, and by mere chance I stumbled across the film, then bought a copy.
I spoke with the production company and the producers gave me the okay to distribute "Fair Use" copies of the interview, at no charge. If you are interested please let me know and I will send you a CD-ROM of the video ASAP. I'll even pay the shipping costs.
This story needs to be heard...
To my knowledge Karen Kwiatkowski's story has received little to no press attention, except an article in Salon a long time ago. Following is a except from the Salon article (which I copied from the "Timeline 1" link on afterdowningstreet.org)
I STRONGLY recommend everyone watch this video, here is a quick glimpse of some of what Karen talks about in her interview:
May 2002 Karen Kwiatkowski says:
"From May 2002 until February 2003, I observed firsthand the formation of the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans and watched the latter stages of the neoconservative capture of the policy-intelligence nexus in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq... I saw a narrow and deeply flawed policy favored by some executive appointees in the Pentagon used to manipulate and pressurize the traditional relationship between policymakers in the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. I witnessed neoconservative agenda bearers within OSP usurp measured and carefully considered assessments, and through suppression and distortion of intelligence analysis promulgate what were in fact falsehoods to both Congress and the executive office of the president. (Salon)
The production company is interested in putting the video online, but they do not have the resources to do so. Does anyone know of a website or someone who might be willing to host the interview online? If so, please contact me soon. I am awaiting a reply from the folks at this site (afterdowningstreet.org), but figure that the more sites we can get this video on the better. Thanks. Please contact me with any ideas or contacts.
“We must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately.~Benjamin Franklin~
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=Activism_Forum_Intro