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Oil for Food or Blood for Oil...
I have heard many proponents of the Iraq War, those specifically who disagreed with France's refusal to join the coalition, fling out the words, "Hey, like they've got anything to talk about. They've got the whole Oil for Food scandal." Then the same people would smirk at the idea that our soldiers are over in Iraq fighting for Iraq's oil. They say, "Blood for oil, yeh...right!"
The common theme in both appear to be the oil and the allegations of corrupt behavior to get to that oil. Can either be substantiated with solid proof? U.N. Secretary General-General Kofi Annan has praised the Oil-for-Food Programme for accomplishing one of the largest, most complex and unusual tasks ever entrusted to the Secretariat.
In a statement to the Security Council (20 November 2003), he noted that the Programme, which closed on 21 November was the only humanitarian programme ever to have been funded entirely from resources belonging to the nation it was designed to help.
Furthermore, on May 18, 2005, George Galloway took the floor of the U.S. Senate to give evidence defending himself against the allegations that he was involved in the food for oil scandal.
In his powerful rebuttal before the U.S. senate, he set the complete record straight. These were part of his fighting words:
"Have a look at the real Oil-for-Food scandal. Have a look at the 14 months you were in charge of Baghdad, the first 14 months when $8.8 billion of Iraq's wealth went missing on your watch. Have a look at Haliburton and other American corporations that stole not only Iraq's money, but the money of the American taxpayer."Have a look at the oil that you didn't even meter, that you were shipping out of the country and selling, the proceeds of which went who knows where? Have a look at the $800 million you gave to American military commanders to hand out around the country without even counting it or weighing it.
"Have a look at the real scandal breaking in the newspapers today, revealed in the earlier testimony in this committee. That the biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicians or French politicians. The real sanctions busters were your own companies with the connivance of your own Government."
Now lets "have a look" at the blood for oil theory. We all know the world remains too dependent upon oil and that any disruption in the supply can damage our economy and well-being. According to the UK Guardian:
"The potency of the oil weapon is not lost on Osama bin Laden, either, who has stated that crude oil should sell at $144 a barrel - about five times the price at which it currently trades. The attack on the Limburg oil tanker off Yemen's coast may prove to be al-Qaida's first targeting of the global economy.The Bush administration prefers not to discuss the economic effects of the war on terrorism as this could sap support domestically and abroad, especially in the Arab world where critics suspect, with good reason, the US of wanting to seize its vast petroleum riches. Instead the White House prefers to talk about imposing democracy and ridding the world of weapons of mass destruction. These are noble aims, but they are undermined by leaks suggesting a bolder grab for oil riches."
And according to worldwatch.org, gaining access to the plentiful oil in Iraq would be a definate asset to the U.S. and its businesses. Worldwatch describes the windfall this oil could mean to us as follows:
The Middle East—and specifically the Persian Gulf region—accounts for about 30 percent of global oil production. But it has about 65 percent of the planet’s known reserves, and is therefore the only region able to satisfy any substantial rise in world oil demand—an increase that the administration’s energy policy documents say is inevitable. Saudi Arabia, with 262 billion barrels, has a quarter of the world’s total reserves and is the single largest producer. But Iraq, despite its pariah status for the past 12 years, remains a key prize. At 112 billion barrels, its known reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia's. (See Table 1.) And, given that substantial portions of Iraqi territory have never been fully explored, there is a good chance that actual reserves are far larger.
So where does all this leave us? Since 2002, we have heard at least 25 different explanations from the Bush administration as to why we attacked Iraq. And since the beginning of the war, we've seen some evidence in the Downing Street Minutes that suggest that President Bush intentionally began the war with false, forged documents and an advertising blitz designed to garner support for attacking Iraq. We've heard of Nigerian documents, Wilson, Plame, and treason from this administration--all to promote the propaganda and increase support for this war.
And now, Cindy Sheehan waits outside Bush's vacation house (the Western White House) asking him to account for the loss of her beloved son and asking him, "For what noble cause did my son die?"
Blood for oil..?
"The potency of the oil weapon is not lost on Osama bin Laden, either, who has stated that crude oil should sell at $144 a barrel"
well, in the time span since Bu$h invaded Iraq, we are now about half way to bin Laden's goal.
3 more years of Bu$h and I'm quite sure bin Laden will achieve his goal.
I want to scream when Bu$h & his followers spout out that insane mantra: "we're fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here" crap.
Bin Laden does not have to attack America again. Our entire economy is a house of cards, totally dependent on mideast oil. As a barrel of oil moves towards $75 and then $100 per barrel, the whole stock market will panic and the entire house of cards will implode.
When Bu$h invaded Iraq, oil was about $30 barrel. $300 Billion borrowed taxpayer dollars later, oil is now more than double that with no end in sight.
I'm still waiting for a national political "leader" (anyone? anyone??) to repeat that every day on national teevee, until it sinks in with every American, and we demand Congressional investigation into Bu$hCheney's secret energy blood-for-oil policy.
There's something happening here'
Will our children and grandchildren and their children harvest a bitter crop of budget deficits, higher oil prices, Islamic militancy and a broken Army and Marine Corps that was seeded in Iraq by this president, his vice president and his secretary of defense?
Will that bitter harvest, not a cakewalk, a mission accomplished and a Mesopotamian march of democracy, be Bush's legacy?
more~
http://tinyurl.com/a2ant
Staying with a host family in Nashua at primaries, the man is a strategic thinker, net guru, talking about all the alternative energy patents owned by the oil companies, hidden until they officially need them and we're run dry. Why do I believe it?
There is no question in my mind that getting the Iraqi capacity fully online was one of the neocons goals in "liberating" Iraq. They were opposed to the lifting of sanctions while Hussein was in power (since his continued presence in Iraq apparently threatened their manhood), and hence his removal had some economic basis. I doubt that they had plans, however, to physically control Iraqi oil the way that the British used to, for instance, in Iran. They probably saw the equation as one of increased supply ultimately lowering prices given stable demand. Unfortunately, demand is not stable - not with the booming Indian and Chinese economies. The only way that a President could today impact these dynamics is by becoming an advocate for significant energy conservation, and the rapid development of alternative sources. But Dubya's response here is pretty similar to his "The Pet Goat" moment after 9/11 - dazed, dumb, and confused.
On the other hand, the less that I hear of Osama Bin Laden's opinions the better. I just want to know why he isn't dead.
Sen. Dorgan is talking about reviving the Windfall Profits Tax on Air America. A good idea by it needs to be matched with a Democratice Gasoline Tax Rebate as well.
On the other hand, the less that I hear of Osama Bin Laden's opinions the better. I just want to know why he isn't dead.
Posted by: Cyrano at August 25, 2005 03:48 PM
"Because if we don't fight them over there they will get us over here." What a bunch of hooey.
Ira,
You know that I feel just as passionate as you do about the political opportunities that progressives are squandering with today's gas prices. The ideas that you listed in the last thread were excellent. Another idea is somebody standing in front of a gas station with a sign asking, "Food for my children or gas for my job?" I too want to know where the leaders are on this issue? They are certainly missing in action on this one. I am disgusted.
CNN just aired the Cindy Sheehan Gold Star Mom's Ad. CNN! Way up here in this red state!
It is so good. Has anybody seen it in their state?
Cindy said "Mr. President, there were no weapons of mass destruction. Al Qaeda and 9-11 had nothing to do with Iraq. You lied to us. Now my son Casey is dead.
I love my country. My son Casey was an honest and honorable man. Why can't you be honest with us?
You can't bring Casey back. You said you went into Iraq for a noble purpose. What was it?"
Thank you Cindy.
tsp,
I also saw the Cindy ad on CNN here (southern red state within the past hour, for the first time ever. The Gold Star Families for Peace must have made a national ad buy on CNN!
A Time for Leading, Not 'Framing'
by Clarence Page Thursday, August 25, 2005 by the Boulder Daily Camera (Colorado)
If Democratic Party leaders were listening to me, I'd give them some good old-fashioned advice: Run to the head of the parade so you can lead it.
As remarkable as President Bush's slump in the polls has been for his handling of the war in Iraq during these, his dog days of discontent, so is the failure of Democrats to benefit from it.
continue~
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0825-27.htm
Has anyone thought of capping gasoline consumption by issuing "credits" or "ration coupons"...the same way pollution credits work among big companies. Each person has the option to buy a certain number of "ration coupons" at a set price and then they can buy/sell them (for any price they can negotiate) among themselves. Those using less gas can sell their coupons to those who use more. The government could gradually reduce the number of ration coupons that are issued...
Also heating oil...I seem to remember reading that the cost of home heating oil would be up about 75% this year over last year. Where is the outrage on this aspect of the CRISIS?
Also heating oil...I seem to remember reading that the cost of home heating oil would be up about 75% this year over last year. Where is the outrage on this aspect of the CRISIS?
Larry Johnson, former Deputy Director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism agrees with Cindy:
Why We Must Leave Iraq
by Larry C. Johnson
A hard, clear-eyed look at the current situation in Iraq reveals that we are confronted with equally bad choices. If we stay we are facilitating the creation of an Islamic state that will be a client of Iran. If we pull out we are likely to leave the various ethnic groups of Iraq to escalate the civil war already underway. In my judgment we have no alternative but to pull our forces out of Iraq. Like it or not, such a move will be viewed as a defeat of the United States and will create some very serious foreign policy and security problems for us for years to come. However, we are unwilling to make the sacrifices required to achieve something approximating victory. And, what would victory look like? At a minimum we should expect a secular society where the average Iraqi can move around the country without fear of being killed or kidnapped. That is not the case nor is it on the horizon.
continue~
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0825-29.htm
Posted by: Ira at August 25, 2005 02:50 PM
Ira, it takes a helluva a lot to get me to go to Texas...I lived there for 7 yrs so I've done my time. Peace is worth the trip.
And thanks, Truth, for your song!
I've made my travel arrangements and I'm definitely going now. I'll keep you posted from Crawford on Saturday/Sunday. And I WILL meet the infamous Indy, come hell or high water!
For anyone who is still keeping one eye on the Rove outed Plame story:
Don't miss this timeline and background story from the Los Angeles Times. This tells us more than I had ever seen in 1 article before:: including the fact that Cheney & Rumsfeld despised the CIA and what they did about it:
A CIA Cover Blown, a White House Exposed
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050825/ts_latimes/aciacoverblownawhitehouseexposed
or here~
http://tinyurl.com/bop3b
And I WILL meet the infamous Indy, come hell or high water!
Posted by: madame defarge at August 25, 2005 06:04 PM
Hell, if I were a betting monkey, I'd put all my banana's on high water.
Peace Shooters
And I WILL meet the infamous Indy, come hell or high water!
Posted by: madame defarge at August 25, 2005 06:04 PM
Godspeed, Madame!! If you get a chance to have a beer with Indy, toast to the DCP! Take lots of pictures, too!
Repost from previous thread:
For Madame Defarge as she rides off to Texas....
DEAD HORSE
(sung to the tune "Old Paint")
I ride a dead horse, I'm bleeding in the sand
I'm going off to Crawford, and Cindy Sheehan
She stands in the wilds, the wind beneath her hair
Her face is all sunburn, and wrinkled with care
(chorus)
Stand your ground, Mistress Cindy, stand your ground to let us know
For they're hiding and running from the son you let go
Old George Bush had two daughters and a wife
One went bar hopping, the other suffered strife
His gal, she cried in that moment, she was weak
For to now she is crying alone by the creek
(chorus)
Stand your ground, Mistress Cindy, stand your ground to let us know
For they're hiding and running from the son you let go
When I sing, all the soldiers come to life
Riding dead horses in the deepest part of night
Send my heart off to Cindy, send my soul to her dear son
And we'll ride to Texas, to see the shadows run
(chorus)
Stand your ground, Mistress Cindy, stand your ground to let us know
For they're hiding and running from the son you let go
http://mortaljive.blogspot.com/2005/08/in-tradition-of-western-
Posted by: monkey at August 25, 2005 06:13 PM
Who's going to warn Indy...
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 25, 2005 06:26 PM
Most definitely! (P.S. You've got mail...)
OTV4D,
Welcome back! I have missed you and your fine articles terribly!
You know, the President could have met with Cindy Sheehan down at the end of his driveway. After all, he is a down home, aw shucks kinda guy, isn't he? He could have worn his cowboy hat and boots, and pulled up a couple lawn chairs and met with her, all cozy like. She would have met with him in the ditch she was forced to walk in during her first few days in Crawford. She doesn't want a meeting in a palace - she wants the truth.
Like the above song says "they're hiding and running from the boy you let go".
Instead of looking into the eyes of a mother asking why, the President flew into a choreographed, off vaudeville production of "They Can Have My Kids"!, complete with a semi-professional, hand picked audience. (CNN had the caption "Bush's Choreography" under footage of the
debacle). THEY DIDN'T ASK ANY QUESTIONS.
Since he refused to meet with Cindy in private, the question will now be asked from all four corners of the nation, and the question is growing louder, as it echoes across this land.
Mr. President, Cindy Sheehan has a question she wants to ask you.
The ghosts want to know, Mr. President.
America wants to know, Mr. President.
oncall: since dems are always accused of increasing taxes why not roll back taxes at the pump.I believe that there are state and federal taxes at the pump and while we cannot take money away from highway construction, just proposing to roll back pump prices 10 cents offset with the windfall profits tax would be symbolic if nothing else.
And how about oncall a ticker at least on the DNC site or prominent somewhere like the electronic panel I remember seeing in D.C.showing the minute by minute increase of the budget defict the same ticker showing increases in pump prices 1. since Bush has been in office 2. Since jan 2005 OR 3. even better, the increased pump prices since the wonderful energy bill was passed (around 20%).
oncall: does anyone think the Republican party would be sitting on their hands today with these obscene energy prices if they were ocurring under a President Kerry? The answer is absolutely not they would be on every talk show attacking from New York to California and blaming it on failed Democratic leadership and vision.
Where are our leaders?
Where are our leaders?
Posted by: Ira at August 25, 2005 07:28 PM
There was one?
America wants to know, Mr. President.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 25, 2005 06:57 PM
Once a chickenhawk, always a chickenhawk.
Yell UH!!!!
BAWWK!
BOK BOK BOK BAWWWK!
YELL UH - UH HUH
TERRAH Terrah terr -
BOO!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-08-25-iraq_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA
BAGHDAD (AP) — The speaker of Iraq's parliament announced a one-day extension early Friday in talks on the new constitution — a fourth attempt to win Sunni Arab approval. But he said that if no agreement is reached, the document would bypass parliament and be decided in an Oct. 15 referendum.
If you're down in Texas or you can afford to pay for a rental van, they need transportation help there. Contact Anarchy1999 at D.U.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4459798
Hey All!!!
Indy Bloggin' from Camp Casey II!
Last night Dot, Jesse and I sat with many others talking to a youngveteran who was very upset about the way the press has been treating the Arlington West II Memorial...walking through and sometimes knocking over crosses.
Cindy could not sleep and came out of her tent and joined us. I was able to read Memoriam to her from across the table! Also, Jesse sang his song "Sons and Daughters" to Cindy for the first time. It was a magical night. Many beers and many tears were shared by all.
Two young women braved their friends and parents and came to the table. One became very emotional talkngabout how all of her friends had either just returned from Iraq, the ones that made it...or had just gone over. All of the active duty soldiers she knows were curious about the Peace Protest, so she was their eyes and ears. As Cindy and all of us spoke with them, they began to feel comfortable and were very open with us as they asked questions of them and they asked questions of us. They vowed to return Thursday...and did. Lokken played with the young woman's son and afterwards she smiled genuinely and thanked me...so did her son...well, he "Tanked" me.
This is the community being built here in Crawford...though there are those who refuse to hear the truth...many are coming out and meeting with us in open and honest discussions.
Simply put, it is nothing less than a miracle.
Today was kind of slow and very hoy here at CC II but up the Camp Casey I the Bush supporters are gearing up for a confrontation. They have many tents and "Bush Country" signs across the road from Arlington West...very tacky.
They are also chanting loudly "Take down the crosses!"
Some people just don't "Get It."
I will try to report on more as it happens and let you know the latest, unitl then...
Hopefilled at Camp Casey,
Indy =]
Posted by: madame defarge at August 25, 2005 06:04 PM
Have a safe flight, madame. And should we warn Indy you're on your way?
Posted by: Indy at August 25, 2005 08:46 PM
Sounds like they're attempting to pick a fight. Be careful and tell everyone else to hang tough--and yet peacaful too.
I couldn't make it to Camp Casey but I've bought my ticket to DC. I can't wait to help prepare for the rally but also to join people Monday when we'll lobby our Representatives directly.
Let's make sure people stay for Monday too. It's that lobbying that will have a direct effect with the Congressmen or Congresswomen.
Sounds like they're attempting to pick a fight.
Posted by: sparrow at August 25, 2005 08:55 PM
BAWK! BAWK!
Pssst! Hey military recruiters. You should set up show in Crawford, there are a lot of really gung-ho war supporters just lookin' for action.
43rd Heirborn, Division
thanks, TSP!
Bu$h is lying again!
Bu$h is ramping up his stump speech, insisting the US will not be pulling troops from Iraq.
Bu$h is lying, again.
He knows the US is not, can not "win" in Iraq.
"Win" what exactly? Bu$h has made Iraq a pro-Iranian Islamic state, in chaos.
The Generals know something that Bu$h is not telling America: this one is done, its over, we're out of there, the Iraqi's will soon be on their own:
I think Bu$h is trying to "frame" this, so the Dem leaders push publically for withdrawal, then when Bu$h withdraws from Iraq (which is already in the plan), he blames the Dems for "cutting & running"...maybe the Dem leadership is silent because they know Bu$h is leaving Iraq anyway...its Bu$h's war, pin the whole mess on him, including the "cutting & running".
This is interesting from the generals in Iraq:
US general sees significant withdrawal in Iraq
By Peter Spiegel in London and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Published: August 24 2005
The US is expected to pull significant numbers of troops out of Iraq in the next 12 months in spite of the continuing violence, according to the general responsible for near-term planning in the country.
continue~
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/9f81fef2-14de-11da-9df1-00000e2511c8.html
Posted by: monkey at August 25, 2005 09:10 PM
Yes, we should see a lot of military recruters parked next to the "support Bush" signs.
OMG--I can't believe it! They're closing down Walter Reed Hospital!
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082505I.shtml
from the Dallas Morning News, via dkos,
the Rove/Bu$h plan to sneak their Soc Sec Privatization through Congress, using the same tactics they did to ram the Medicare prescription giveaway to big PHarma:
Rove's stealth plan for enacting privatization of SS
Bush's Social Security plan may hinge on the House
Thursday, August 25, 2005
As Ronald Reagan might have put it, there they go again.
Congressional Republicans, persisting in hopes of enacting some form of private Social Security option despite opposition from the public and the Democrats, are considering the same kind of maneuver that enabled them to pass a controversial Medicare drug bill two years ago.
That's the clear signal from key GOP congressional leaders and chief White House strategist Karl Rove, one of the main architects of the Social Security proposal that President Bush made his top 2005 priority.
Mr. Rove, speaking to college students and lobbyists before Congress went on its current recess, said the House would act next month and the Senate soon after, according to the congressional newspaper The Hill .
continue~
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/25/145610/620
Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems at August 25, 2005 09:16 PM
In an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC's Today Show last week, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard B. Meyers said expectations have not been lowered in Iraq.
http://www.dod.mil/news/Aug2005/20050817_2464.html
This administration seems to have multiple personalities sometimes. What gives?
Bu$h is lying, again.
_________
His lips must be moving...
This administration seems to have multiple personalities sometimes. What gives?
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 25, 2005 09:42 PM
Sybil liberties.
Blah, blah and we NEVER use it. Blah...
_________________
Library sues over controversial Patriot Act
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-08-25T222124Z_01_MCC580326_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-SECURITY-LIBRARIES-DC.XML
A controversial Patriot Act clause allowing the U.S. government to demand information about library patrons' borrowing habits is being challenged in federal court for the first time by a library.
The lawsuit was filed against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut by an unnamed library and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The suit -- filed on August 9 and made public by the ACLU on Thursday -- calls the FBI's order to produce library records "unconstitutional on its face" and said a gag order preventing public discussion of the lawsuit is an unlawful restraint on speech.
Critical details of the lawsuit were blacked out on the ACLU's Web site in compliance with the gag order. The library is thought to be based in Connecticut since the lawsuit was filed there with the participation of the Connecticut branch of the ACLU.
The ACLU said in its lawsuit that legal changes made under the Patriot Act "remove any requirement of individualized suspicion, (and) the FBI may now ... demand sensitive information about innocent people."
...&more
California sues 39 drug makers
California's attorney general said on Thursday the state has filed a lawsuit accusing 37 more pharmaceutical companies of bilking the state's Medicaid program of hundreds of millions of dollars by inflating drug prices.
snp
The action was prompted by a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by a small pharmacy, Ven-A-Care, alleging that drug manufacturers reported "average wholesale prices" to the government health insurance program that were much higher than the actual cost to the pharmacy.
The state pays pharmacies and doctors based on prices supplied by the drug companies. California charges that the company-reported prices effectively created higher profits for pharmacies, doctors and clinics.
By defrauding the state into paying higher reimbursement rates, the drug makers created a financial incentive for drug dispensers to use their products, the lawsuit alleges.
...& more
http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-08-25T232033Z_01_N25699614_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-HEALTH-CALIFORNIA-LAWSUIT-DC.XML
the Rove/Bu$h plan to sneak their Soc Sec Privatization through Congress, using the same tactics they did to ram the Medicare prescription giveaway to big PHarma
_______________
Which accountant's job are they holding hostage this time?
I just gassed up at Citgo and will do so now.
In the 1990s, CITGO was purchased by Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Sybil liberties.
Posted by: monkey at August 25, 2005 09:53 PM
For a monkey, you are pretty witty.
Speaking of Sybil liberties, Bush says we can't win the war. Yes we can. It will take a generation to win it. Gonna start pulling troops out next year. Sending 1500 more troops in. Lowered expectations (yeah, like women's rights?). No, we haven't lowered expectations, we're right on track, (in that case OMG!), Gonna fight 'em over there so we don't have to fight 'em here, (the guys who actually attacked us on 9-11 are still alive and thriving - so....where ARE we going to fight them?) Gonna fight anyone who poses a threat. Not gonna fight those that could kick our butts, though. Forget them, they don't have any oil anyway.
9-11. 9-11. America is safer because Bush is in office. The terror alert is on yellow. Be vewy afwaid.
As if the administration isn't giving enough conflicting messages, then we have the eloquent Mr. Robertson, the champion of the "religious right", who they say leads a following of millions. "If Chavez thinks we are trying to assassinate him, then we ought to do it". "I didn't say that, the media misconstrued my comment". "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry." Eek.
Cheney (lol) during the debate with Edwards - "I have never met this man before".
Whatever they're taking, I want some. I'd like to forget this whole mess and live in a fantasy world where I don't know my arse from a hole in the ground and get $400,000.00 per year to read from a piece of paper after I fall off my bike and take my nap.
Was it Pat Robertson who "joked" that it would be OK to shoot a gay man & then lie to God & say he didn't (or some such...)
I get all those televangelists mixed up
http://media.ljworld.com/flattened/fsm2.html?education
In the past few weeks, hundreds of followers of the supreme Flying Spaghetti Monster have swamped state education officials with urgent e-mails.
They argue that since the conservative majority of the State Board of Education has blessed classroom science standards at the behest of
intelligent design supporters, which criticize evolution, they want the gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster taught.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flying_Spaghetti_Monster.jpg
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/3177/cthulhumonster7hv.jpg
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1635315
I never realized there were so many religions on the internets. Invisible Pink Unicorn? Thee Church of MOO?
You are using one weapon they don't possess.
Logic.
Posted by: losing my religions at August 25, 2005 11:37 PM
My neighbor was out collecting butterfly cocoons from the milkweed plants. She was collecting them for 2 kids classes, some friends kids classes, and some teachers asked for them too. That's a lot of cocoons!
"Why?" I asked her!
She responded, "So they can have real science instead of intellegent design!"
Hey DiAnne:
Remember "Big Sky Brad" who used to end every post with "Ain't logic fun?"
Chuck in Houston
Hey DiAnne:
Remember "Big Sky Brad" who used to end every post with "Ain't logic fun?"
Chuck in Houston
Sorry, don't know why hat posted twice. And I don't even use a Mac!
Chuck in Houston
Don't forget the church of the SubGenius! Praise Bob!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_SubGenius
Big Sky Brad! Yeah I remember.
Think how appalled some of those bloggers must be, where ever they are!!
DiAnne:
We'll get there eventually. You can fool some of the people all of the time....
As Ira said on this or the last post, the trick for us now is to make sure that the "fooling" isn't allowed to be concentrated in the run-up to November 2006. IMHO, that is all it is about right now.
Chuck in Houston (en route to Doha)
Also, I've noticed that the posts of late have begun to address the gas price issue. As some here know, I work in the oil industry. My take is that supply is leveling off and demand is ramping up (primarlily driven by the growth of the economies of India and China -- what's that -- 1/3 of human population?). Prices will continue to increase over time. To my mind, the issue isn't band-aid solutions. We have to make economincally, politically, morally and ecologically sustainable energy production a national priority. This will nothappen overnight and the results will be felt in the medium term at best but anything else is simple, pure, and unadulterated bloviation.
Chuck in Houston, the Petroleum Capital of the World
Belay that, economically, politically, morally and ecologically sustainable energy production must not be simply a national priority, it must be an international priority. Where is Andre? I bet she would agre.
Chuck in Houston
And also, we have to start thinking about how we consume energy. This is a key issue for communities in a democratic country. The way we design and plan our lives and communities must take into account energy conservation. This is a very critical issue that can only be addressed through a democratic political process. Intelligent design begins there.
Chuck in Houston Monopolizing the Thread!
Not to change the subject, but heads up -- privatization of social security is "not dead yet."
Bush's Social Security plan may hinge on the House
06:29 PM CDT on Thursday, August 25, 2005
Congressional Republicans, persisting in hopes of enacting some form of private Social Security option despite opposition from the public and the Democrats, are considering the same kind of maneuver that enabled them to pass a controversial Medicare drug bill two years ago.
That's the clear signal from key GOP congressional leaders and chief White House strategist Karl Rove, one of the main architects of the Social Security proposal that President Bush made his top 2005 priority.
Mr. Rove, speaking to college students and lobbyists before Congress went on its current recess, said the House would act next month and the Senate soon after, according to the congressional newspaper The Hill .
--snip--
That would appear to be their hope for private Social Security accounts – pass a bill in the House authorizing private accounts, accept any Social Security vehicle in the Senate that gets the issue to conference and write a final version letting the White House proclaim success.
In recent weeks, various members have floated several different versions that could form the basis of a GOP bill.
--snip--
In the end, any GOP success may depend, as it has before, on uniting virtually all House Republicans behind a compromise bill and picking up a small number of Senate Democrats. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Finance Committee, remains optimistic despite his inability to woo any Democrats so far.
"I'm not going to give up on personal accounts until the last minute," he told Bloomberg News.
That last minute probably won't come until close to Thanksgiving, or even Christmas Eve. But some Republicans think any effort – even if unsuccessful – would pay off in next year's mid-term elections by attracting younger voters who don't believe they will get much from Social Security.
The problem is that the public remains dubious and no group more so than older voters. And they're the ones who vote most heavily in mid-term elections.
http://tinyurl.com/7mrhy
By the way, now that I am back in the states (wasn't that a NY Dolls tune, "Meanwhile, back in the States"?) I have to tell you all that the health-care delivery system in our great nation stinks. The "commie socialists" in Europe have a system that is much better than ours. We have settled for a sorry situation. Why is our government such a mess? Why do voters put up with such lousy management? Are we going to sit back and watch the great US of A turn into a sorry and corrupt third-world country?
Chuck in Houston
Just skimming the thread, and I notice that madame is going to meet Indy and I'm jealous as hell.
We're heading to Paris soon for a holiday so I can't go down to Crawford myself, but I sure wish I could.
Amy:
All things considered, Paris France is a fair trade for Texas in the summer.
Chuck in Houston missing the Pacific Northwest
Amy
Likewise, I'll be stuck in Paris too.
Chuck
It would be worth paying taxes to have a decent system of healthcare. Instead, next proposal is to get rid of estate taxes permanently, to benefit the richest 2% of Americans and pass the bill on to the middle and lower middle classes.
Which is worse? Government owning corporations or corporations owning government? Who can say?!
Neither extreme makes much sense & we're heading to an extreme (hypercapitalism maybe fascism)
Posted by: Amy at August 26, 2005 12:46 AM
There's always Paris, Texas...
BTW, I'd rather be anywhere than Texas, and especially in August. But there are some things you just have to do...
Amy:
But then again, give me six months or so. It may be that the bass and crappie here in Texas, not to mention the red fish and trout (not our kind) in the bays along the Gulf of Mexico, rival our Steelhead and Salmon and (real) trout in the Great PAcific Northwest. I'll check it out and get back to you on that. And when your GOP friends say "but since we invaded Iraq we haven't been struck again," remind them that before 9/11 we had only been struck once (in 1993, if memory serves, with six dead, if memory serves), and, moreover, that since 9/11 you swore of Swiss Cheese, and you think that is the reason that we haven't been struck again, not the fact that we, for no reason at all, occupied one of the largest countries in the Middle East.
Chuck in Houston, ex-PDX (Hosford GS, Cleveland HS 1979)
DiAnne:
How about a democratic government regulating private economic activities in the interests of the country? I know it sounds crazy.
Chuck in Houston
DiAnne (and Amy and Madame DeFarge):
Totally off topic, but you know, the one thing that bums me a bit about this blog is that we never get trolls to knock around like we did back in the day. I thought that always kept us sharp. I always liked Mark in Iowa (if memory serves) on that. He was sort of my role model on troll-bashing. I miss that caustic element. Sorry for digressing.
Chuck in Houston
DiAnne,
I started using Citgo a few months ago. For those travelling or wanting to find Citgo locations near your home, try this site:
http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator.jsp
Our daughter is driving back to Montreal from here, leaving on Saturday. We just prepaid her gas costs for the whole trip through Citgo!
Hey DiAnne, let's meet in Paris!
Amy:
I can't belive you did that before I did! Here's mine:
Click on location name to get a map
SHOP N GO
7800 ALMEDA
HOUSTON, TX 77054
Phone: (713) 795-0452
Chuck in Houston
By the way, Amy one last thing. I agree with you that "we" do not "own" the oil underground in other countries, per se. And I (see above) fervently believe that economically, politically, morally and ecologically sustainable energy independence MUST be a primary objective of US policy. HOWEVER, in the immediate term, I still maintain that it is naive and unrealistic to maintain that we can simply disregard the current reliance of all advance economies on Middle Eastern oil in the immediate term (i.e., until real energy independence, as defined above, begins to bite).
Chuck in Houston
Yes Chuck, troll-batting is great fun.
And the Northwest is the best place in America to live, no question. I spent a few days in Portland this week, and I'm always impressed by what a together city it is. Culturally, socially and politically - it's the best! C'mon back!
DiAnne:
How about "people owning government and government regulating corporations"? Is that really so far-fetched?
Chuck in Houston
PS: The first part is the hardest.
Posted by: Chuck at August 26, 2005 12:33 AM
You are not monopolizing the thread. Activity has been a wee bit lighter than usual this week, probably due to last minute vacations and the new school year starting.
Typically this time of night the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time bloggers come on.
Ira will be glad to see your posts about energy and the high gas prices, when he checks in tomorrow.
To answer your other questions, Americans have suffered a steady decline in their standard of living for the past thirty years. Outsourcing has caused many to consent to work up to 70 hour work weeks and do the job of up to three people just to hold on to their jobs. When I was in Europe I saw many examples of how Europeans not only have it better because of health care, but they take the time to eat well (we run through the drive thru after our 10 hrs. a day, and eat terrible food there), they retain their dignity and classic way of life - "siestas" (2 hrs. of rest every afternoon), higher wages, and longer time off for holidays. Even their clothing was superior to ours. We wear jeans and feel good when we can buy them, and pay pretty prices for lesser quality garments from China, while in many places they wear better quality.
It is a shock to come home and have it smack you in the face that this is how far America has deteriorated, isn't it?
Posted by: Chuck at August 26, 2005 01:13 AM
You can always get you troll-batting kicks at the After Downing Sreet site. They've got lots of them. Vicious little freepers, they are.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=
(But come back here to maintain your sanity...)
Amy:
I do love my Portland. I love the Pacific Northwest. It's who I am. I don't thrive in these flat-land tropical bayous. On the other hand, I also see sometimes that Portland can be a bit isolated and self-satisfied. It's no good being right in five square blocks while the rest of the world goes to hell in a hand-basket. That's my main gripe with Portland.
With all possible respect,
Chuck in Houston
I still maintain that it is naive and unrealistic to maintain that we can simply disregard the current reliance of all advance economies on Middle Eastern oil in the immediate term ...
Chuck in Houston
Of course we can't disregard our dependence on mideast oil. We can do what other countries do - buy it fairly from the people who own it, until we find an alternative. We don't have to invade them!
Truth:
It is a shock. I am a bit ashamed of how we Americans have settled for such garbage, and I don't think I have really appreciated that until recently. The Amercian I came up in was a lot more hopeful (and a lot more fun). Looks like the Blue Meanies won!
Chuck in Houston
Posted by: Chuck at August 26, 2005 01:23 AM
Hey! Portland is perfect and don't you forget it!
Okay, okay, so the people do get a little smug now and then. And some of those liberal drivers can be downright rude. But other than that, it's a great place. (Okay, there may be one too many Subaru Outbacks....)
Amy:
Agreed on the oil thing -- the one thing to ponder in that respect is what the implications of a precipitous US withdrawal from Iraq would be. That is why I raised the issue. Maybe an immediate pull-out would be the way to go. However, I wouldn't agree to that unless I was satisfied that such a pull-out would not destabilize the world market. I haven't heard that discussion and I think it is premature to discuss pulling out from Iraq without having that discussion. That does not speak to the fact that we should never have occupied Iraq in the first place. That is a separate issue, in my mind, because it already (unfortunatley, in my opinion) happened.
Chuck in Houston
Truth:
And also, and perhaps this hurts the most, the America I remember was much more honest and friendly. People used to stick together and help each other out, the way I remember it. My dad was a great mechanic. In fact, in WWII he was a mechanic on our bomber fleet (voluntered December 8, 1941) and was recalled in 1950's into SAC (USAF) as a flight mechanic on B-39's then 47's then 52's. I will never forget how he would NEVER pass by a motorist on the side of the road without stopping to try and fix the problem (in fact, he never failed to pick up a hitch-hiker). 9 times out of 10 he did -- on the exception, he would give them a lift to the nearest station and grill the mechanic on duty. Where did we go wrong?
Chuck in Houston
FOR CHUCK IN HOUSTON,
Maybe an immediate pull-out would be the way to go. However, I wouldn't agree to that unless I was satisfied that such a pull-out would not destabilize the world market. I haven't heard that discussion and I think it is premature to discuss pulling out from Iraq without having that discussion.
Posted by: Chuck at August 26, 2005 01:31 AM
Chuck,
I wish someone WOULD have that discussion, on the blog if possible, because I would like to know how much of the world's economy this war is sustaining. I have been giving that some thought lately, and the war was entered into when we were still in a recession. How instrumental has the Iraq war been in fueling recovery for our recession, and just what would the consequences be for the world economy should we pull out?
I realize it's late, but, if a few of you could discuss this some time it would be helpful, I think.
Truth:
My issue isn't so much how the war is sustaining the economy, but how our foreign policy posture in the Middle East effects the energy component of the international economy, and the role of our unfortunate involvement in Iraq effects that posture. Basically, hydrocarbon reserves generate much of the energy that runs the economies of all nations. Therefore, the ability to "protect" access to those reserves becomes a major component of international power, on the one hand, and a major component of economic stability, on the other. Discussing our misadventure in Iraq without addressing these concerns, to my mind, runs the risk of sounding cavalier. That formulation didn't quite work for me but it's the best I can do now.
Chuck in Houston
Where did we go wrong?
Chuck in Houston
Posted by: Chuck at August 26, 2005 01:47 AM
CHUCK,
I was raised in Reno, when it was small. I believe in the late sixties early seventies it was 10,000 people. Families had come from Europe to settle there a generation or two before then. There were alot of Italians and French Basque there. My dad came from one of the prominent Italian families and went to school there, and everybody pretty much knew everybody else, or their relatives. It was the divorce capitol of the world, but people came to get their divorce, and then left. The city wasn't transient, as it is now.
When I left Reno three years ago it was pushing 350,000 people and is now close to 400,000. It became very transient, and very cold. People do business and everything is cold, calculated, and sterile. It did not matter what you needed, if your car broke down, or you needed help in any way, you could not even contemplate receiving any kind of help from anybody. Families are there for each other, but that's it. Shopping, in public for whatever reason, people don't talk to one another, or even get to know their neighbors.
I moved to this little town on the prairie of 1200 people. We don't even have a stop light.
Everyone knows everyone, and everyone helps everyone. It doesn't matter what you need, you've got it. Credit is extended every where in this town. When I got here my current landlord came to where I was staying to get me to do my paperwork for my lease. Then they offered to come and help me move in. And I like it.
I don't know, maybe it's the size of the towns now?
Posted by: Chuck at August 26, 2005 12:22 AM
Not a whole lot of discussion on the oil prices yet in the blogosphere it seems. I picked up on a good ppiece in the LA Times about the Repubs getting nervous...
Mad As Hell About Prices at the Pumps!
August 25th, 2005
American’s are “Mad As Hell” about prices at the pumps and the GOP is getting nervous.
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=353
Looks like this will be on the agenda when Congress convenes.
And don't forget, Chuck, Ira would love to have a long discussion with you about the prices at the pumps.
TRUTH OVER AND OUT.
One last thought to all before I turn in regarding my dad, who was career Air Force (volunteered for the Army Air Corps in 1941, retired from USAF 1968, died 1979). My dad was born in 1920. My dad was working-class Chicago. My dad was for unions. My dad became a good officer in the USAF. My dad thought Vietnam was a huge mistake. I was born on a US Air Base overseas in 1961, the youngest of five children. I don't want to let my dad down. And that is on-topic.
Chuck in Houston
Wars dont sustain economies, they are massive deficit fueling events that propel research and developement programs. These programs develop new products, technologies and services that propel economies.
The Iraqi war is not large enough to create the R and D trigger. i would argue the Iraqi war has destabablized the middle east, caused a spike in oil prices, cast doubts on the integrity of American Foriegn Policy, begun to cast doubts on our leadership, and will continue to haunt this Nation for many years afterward.
Invading Iraq was funded by selling 300 billion dollars of treasury debt instruements, of which China purchased most. We will be paying China interest on this for a hundred years.
300 Billion spent on bullets and bombs. What could 300 Billion have done for cancer research? clean water treatment? micro-credit programs in third world nations? This is Historic Waste.
We had the chance to truly lead the world in fighting terrorism. We wasted it by invading a nation that did little to nothing to aid terrorism, now the bills come due.
How about "people owning government and government regulating corporations"? Is that really so far-fetched?
Chuck in Houston
Apparently.
Truth Shall Prevail,
I escaped from Reno, too. We're survivors!
Headline on todays CNN.com... (but lets see who it REALLY is...)
Civil Rights Groups Support Roberts
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With the approach of Senate confirmation hearings for President Bush's Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, representatives from a handful of advocacy organizations Thursday announced support for him and criticized groups on the left who claim to speak for minority groups.
At a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, speakers from the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, Project 21, the Center for New Black Leadership, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said liberal advocacy groups who came out against Roberts' nomination this week did not speak for all minority communities, including blacks and Hispanics.
"We are not a monolith. We come from many different religious backgrounds and different socioeconomic backgrounds," said Jennifer Braceras, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Congress of Racial Equality spokesman Niger Innis, who led the coalition of organizations and individuals, said he was speaking on behalf of voices in the black community that often are not heard on issues of concern to all Americans, but particularly to African-Americans.
Among those issues, he said, are school vouchers, education, making government money available to faith-based organizations and making sure there is no discrimination against faith-based organizations.
On these type of issues, Innis said, the "voice you hear from this coalition represents a large segment of the African-American community that is standing behind John Roberts and his nomination."
more... http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/25/roberts.supporters/index.html
p.s. A little background on this Niger Innis...
29 May, 2002
In response to a protest of ExxonMobil's history of human rights violations and environmental degradation, Niger Innis called the protesters "the anarchists, socialists, communist types of the 1960's" and defended ExxonMobil's actions in the Third World.
Source: CNSNews.com 5/29/02
... and more...
http://www.blackcommentator.com/20_commentary_1_pr.html
America's Black Forum is hosted by Juan Williams, a favorite Black political conjure-artist of Republican-managed FOX News, and alternate host James Brown, a FOX sportscaster with no background in news whatsoever. FOX News has had a special relationship with ABF since the 1996 ascension of chairman Roger Ailes, best described as a "pit-bull Republican media strategist turned television tycoon." Ailes has made a career of creating an electronic environment amenable to racism of the rawest kind, to accommodate the policies of his clients. His influence is tangible on the set of ABF.
The show's most compelling on-air presence is Armstrong Williams, possibly the most noxious Black personality in broadcasting. He lovingly embraces arch-racist Senator Strom Thurmond, who decades ago gave the servile yet ambitious young Armstrong an internship, as both "friend" and "mentor." Williams has served the interests of apartheid South Africa, wallowed in the largess of every Hard Right foundation and think tank in the land, and reveled in long weekends with white supremacists. Williams' broadcast deals entangle him with the Christian Right's unholiest electronic pulpits. He is the premiere Black political whore in America, and the central fixture on America's Black Forum.
Armstrong Williams' protégé is Niger Innis, rising son of gangster "civil rights" caricature Roy Innis, head of the family business criminally referred to as the Congress of Racial Equality. CORE is a tin cup outstretched to every Hard Right political campaign or cause that finds it convenient - or a sick joke - to hire Black cheerleaders for their cross burning events. As the bearer of such lineage, Niger Innis is a prince among Black political scavengers - he even fancies himself an interpreter of what he believes to be Hip Hop culture's conservative characteristics. Niger Innis advertises his political "consultant" wares on America's Black Forum, in the shadow of Strom Thurmond's protégé, Armstrong Williams.
"We are not a monolith. We come from many different religious backgrounds and different socioeconomic backgrounds," said Jennifer Braceras, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Braceras is a Bush appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
She quoted Roberts as having written that "before the law, we do not stand as black or white, gentile or Jew, Hispanic or Anglo, but only as Americans entitled to equal justice."
p.s. A little more on the impartial Bush appointee who is "throwing" her support behind Roberts...
Ms. Braceras is a member of the Committee for Justice, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and the Civil Rights Practice Group of the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies.
http://www.usccr.gov/cos/bio/braceras.htm
Oh, and here, just read the opening sentence of this artcicle she penned...
Unequal Treatment
The Da Vinci Code vs. The Passion.
By Jennifer C. Braceras
There is a double standard when it comes to reviewing controversial depictions of the life of Jesus. In the view of the media elite, those portrayals that raise questions about the Christian Bible or Catholic doctrine are generally applauded as courageous works of genius, while those that reinforce Christian teachings or purport to portray a literal rendering of the Gospels are viewed as backwards or intolerant.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/braceras200403020838.asp
Bush Supporters Turn To TV To Challenge Sheehan To Debate
The father of a slain Central Texas Marine appears in a new TV spot that began airing Thursday, challenging anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan to a debate.
In the spot, Gary Qualls, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Qualls, died in 2004 in Iraq, takes Sheehan to task for calling the President a liar and for erecting a cross bearing his son’s name as part of what he calls “your sick cause.”
“Cindy, how can you be so cruel?” Qualls asks in the spot.
“I am challenging you to a debate, “ he says. “I am waiting.”
Qualls is one of the Bush supporters who set up a camp over the weekend in Crawford named “Fort Qualls,” in honor of Louis Qualls.
The new spot hit the airwaves as a spot featuring Sheehan began to air nationally on CNN and Fox News.
Gold Star Families for Peace spent $67,000 to buy the national airtime.
The Sheehan spot has run in the Waco market as well as in Salt Lake City and Boise during the President’s visit to the two cities earlier in the week.
Meanwhile another group of Bush supporters pitched tents Thursday in the newly formed “Camp Reality” across from the anti-war protesters.
The new group, sponsored by the conservative advocacy organization Grassfire.org, is distributing some 500 pro-Bush yard signs, some of which had already showed up Thursday afternoon on fences in the area.
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/1803517.html
Read the difference between how CNN & AP portray the current draft constitution crisis in Iraq this morning....
First, Rose colored specs from CNN...
Bush calls Iraqi leader to bolster constitution talks
Negotiations continue in bid for charter agreement
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/26/iraq.main/index.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- In the midst of political wrangling over the delayed final draft of the Iraqi constitution, President Bush this week called a Shiite leader, encouraging him to keep the political process open during the often-difficult negotiations, a spokesman for the leader said Friday.
According to Haitham al-Husseini, the phone call to Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), was placed Wednesday evening.
Al-Husseini said Bush wanted to talk to al-Hakim about developments in the constitutional process and to make sure not to leave any sides out of the negotiations.
Now, reality from AP (who Pat Robertson hates btw)
Bush phones Shiite leader urging concessions
President said to offer ideas on getting Sunnis to accept constitution
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9084376/
BAGHDAD - President Bush has urged Shiites to make concessions to Sunni Arabs on two key points — federalism and Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party — to win their support for Iraq’s constitution, a Shiite official said Friday following a third extension of the deadline to approve the document.
U.S. officials have also appealed to the country’s powerful Shiite clergy, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to help resolve the standoff, said Ali al-Adeeb, a Shiite member of the committee drafting the charter.
Shiite negotiators agreed to study the suggested changes Friday after parliament speaker Hajim al-Hassani announced officials would try again to reach unanimity after the latest deadline passed at midnight Thursday.
Shiite officials said Thursday they believed talks were at a standstill and there was no legal requirement anyway to have parliament vote on a draft that was approved Monday by the Shiites and Kurds.
Al-Adeeb said Bush personally telephoned Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim and asked him to make compromises on parts of the constitution that would purge former members of Saddam’s Sunni-dominated Baath Party from government jobs and political life and on federalism, which the Sunnis strongly oppose.
A second Shiite negotiator also confirmed the Bush call but asked that his name not be published.
Dancing German politicians, left, right & center
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/app/kultur/bundesdance/index2.html
U.S. wants changes in U.N. agreement
Administration pushing for renegotiation ahead of summit
Less than a month before world leaders arrive in New York for a world summit on poverty and U.N. reform, the Bush administration has thrown the proceedings in turmoil with a call for drastic renegotiation of a draft agreement to be signed by presidents and prime ministers attending the event.
The United States has only recently introduced more than 750 amendments that would eliminate new pledges of foreign aid to impoverished nations, scrap provisions that call for action to halt climate change and urge nuclear powers to make greater progress in dismantling their nuclear arms. At the same time, the administration is urging members of the United Nations to strengthen language in the 29-page document that would underscore the importance of taking tougher action against terrorism, promoting human rights and democracy, and halting the spread of the world's deadliest weapons.
Next month's summit, an unusual meeting at the United Nations of heads of state, was called by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to reinvigorate efforts to fight poverty and to take stronger steps in the battles against terrorism and genocide. The leaders of 175 nations are expected to attend and sign the agreement, which has been under negotiation for six months.
The proposed changes, submitted by U.S. ambassador John R. Bolton, touch on virtually every aspect of U.N. affairs and provide a detailed look at U.S. concerns about the world body's future. They underscore U.S. efforts to impose greater oversight of U.N. spending and to eliminate any reference to the International Criminal Court. The administration also opposes language that urges the five permanent members of the Security Council not to cast vetoes to halt genocide, war crimes or ethnic cleansing.
Russia, Pakistan and several other developing countries have also introduced plans for changes in the power of some U.N. bodies.
Bolton and a spokesman did not respond to requests to comment Wednesday.
U.S. and U.N. diplomats say that Bolton has indicated in face-to-face meetings with foreign delegates that he is prepared to pursue other negotiating options if the current process proves cumbersome.
For example, he has suggested that the entire document could be scrapped and replaced with a brief statement. He also has indicated that the document could be split up by themes, and that nations could choose the ones to support, the diplomats said.
In meetings with foreign delegates, Bolton has expressed concern about a provision of the agreement that urges wealthy countries, including the United States, to contribute 0.7 percent of their gross national product in assistance to poor countries. He has also objected to language that urges nations to observe a moratorium on nuclear testing and to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which the Bush administration opposes.
"There seems to be general agreement that we must now undertake the more difficult process of open and transparent negotiations to reach agreement on those issues," Bolton wrote Wednesday in a confidential letter to U.N. envoys. "Time is short. In order to maximize our chances of success, I suggest we begin the negotiations immediately, this week if possible."
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
Time for Congress to get back to work!
WHEREAS it has been two years since undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame had her cover blown and her career ruined by a White House leak to the press, during which, despite President Bush’s assurances that he would get to the bottom of it, there have been no answers, and
WHEREAS now, after two years of denials, it has emerged that Karl Rove discussed Plame with at least one reporter before Robert Novak’s column was printed, and WHEREAS, at the time she was exposed, Valerie Plame was working undercover on counter-proliferation, possibly the most urgent responsibility of the CIA, making the leaking of Plame’s name a serious breach of national security, and
WHEREAS Congressman Rush Holt (D - NJ) on July 14, 2005 submitted - along with fifty (50) co-sponsors - House Resolution 363, requesting the President and Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than fourteen (14) days after its adoption documents in the possession of the President and those officials relating to the disclosure of the identity and employment of Ms. Valerie Plame, and
WHEREAS this resolution was referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select) and, in addition, to the Committees on Armed Services, International Relations, and Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned, and
WHEREAS the more Congress members in the full House who co-sponsor the resolution, the more likely committee members are to vote for it, and
WHEREAS its number of co-sponsors has increased to seventy-six (76) House Members, (OPTIONAL) including Rep. ________________ and Rep. ________________ of (your state),
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the (your legislative district or caucus) will respectfully request that (your Congressional Representative) thoughtfully and without delay consider signing on as a co-sponsor of H. Res. 363, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the (your legislative district or caucus) will also request that (your Congressional Representative) additionally encourage his/her colleagues on the Select Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select) and the Committees on Armed Services, International Relations, and Judiciary not only to vote for H. Res. 363 but to discuss it at length in a substantive debate when their respective committees meet, so that members who oppose the resolution will have to explain their reasons, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the (your legislative district or caucus) will also request that (your Congressional Representative) additionally sign the related petition to President Bush by Congressman Jay Inslee (D - WA), which may be found on his website at www.jayinslee.com. Submitted (date) (name, position, legislative district or caucus)
http://www.backbonecampaign.org
Funny... we only get to see Fox News at the PX and the other locations;
used to be CNN.
I can't stand either network, to tell the truth.
FOX/CNN: I can't stand either network, to tell the truth.
Posted by: hal in heidelberg at August 26, 2005 09:21 AM
They can't stand to tell the truth either.
I totally disagree with this Frank Luntz conclusion:
“If Republicans explain that the legislation takes time to have an impact, they’re inoculated” from the political risk of sustained high prices, Luntz said. “The only way Democrats can get an advantage on gas prices is to show that their policies would bring them down. It is not enough to blame Republicans; you need a solution.”
I believe people bitching at the gas pump are not stupid and understand that it will take time for energy independence but they hunger for one party to lead on this issue, to recognize the problem and at least make an effort to Really Start doing something about rising prices.
Even O'Reily understands that Bush opposes conservation and only believes in the free market, the one that gives away $9 billion dollars to the struggling energy industry. Why don't we Progressives become the Conservationist party. Bush is leaving an opening for a Conservation Policy for us to drive a truck through. Why aren't we taking that bait?
I think our message is that Republicans had their bite at the apple, and guess what, they failed. Gas prices have actually increased some 20% since their failed energy policy, a $9 billion dollar give a way passed 2 months ago.I would like to see a chart, maybe even a running clock showing how prices have actually risen since the failed Republican energy policy passed.
Americas are angry but also fair minded. I think they will reward any party that seriously makes an effort to slow down rising prices. Sen. Dorgan spoke about reviving the Windfall Profits tax yesterday on Air America. I think we ought to take that idea, a step further and use that money to roll back federal gasoline taxes you see added to pump prices. We want to see a good faith, honest effort to at least slow rising prices, we don't expect miracles,just a little honesty. Sorry to once again nag about this issue but as oncall suggested yesterday, we need to be proactive before Luntz and Hastert figure out some gimmick to pre empt Dems on this issue. I think the time is ripe NOW to push this issue BEFORE Congress is back in session. That is my sermon on the blog.
Many of us are anxious to take back Congress next November. Wouldn't a Gasole Price Reduction Plan of Action be a good first step?
Bush is leaving an opening for a Conservation Policy for us to drive a truck through. Why aren't we taking that bait?
Posted by: Ira at August 26, 2005 10:08 AM
I could not agree with you more on this.
Drill into public anger, it is welling up.
For those of us old enough to remember Country Joe & the Fish, here's an updated version of his Fixin' to Die Rag...
Well come on all you new young men
Uncle Sam's in a mess again
Got himself in a terrible jam
With a crazy Muslim named Saddam
So put down your bibles pick up your guns
We're gonna have a whole lot of FUN
And it's 1 2 3 what are we fighting for
Don't ask me I don't give a damn
I just know we gotta kill Saddam
And its 5 6 7 open up the pearly gates
Aint no time to wonder why
Big oil is startin to cry
Well come on all of you christian right
We all know you love a good fight
Now's your chance for a last crusade
The whole damn word has got to be saved
Just remember when your children all die
They'll be standing at the good Lord's side
Come on Dubya ,better move fast
Our gas is burnin and it won't last
Your daddy started but he couldn't finish
Now's your chance to make your own image
Aren't you glad you don't have sons
Cause were callin up the guard for this one
Schools block peace group
Board says students, but not activists, can hand out anti-war material on campus
By JENNY LEE ALLEN
jenny.allen@heraldtribune.com
BRADENTON -- Paul Waters-Smith, 17, said military recruiters call students sissies and say things like "It's time to be a man" to try to get them to enlist.
On top of the harassment, recruiters target the weak and "promise things that will never happen," the Pine View High School senior said.
Waters-Smith was one of nearly 20 people who urged the Manatee County School Board on Monday night to let groups on campus to counter the messages of the recruiters.
"We are targets for our very lives," Waters-Smith said. "This is unacceptable. We will not be lied to anymore."
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to allow recruiters on campus and provide them with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of students, or risk losing funding.
Starting this year, Manatee County is sending home a separate refusal-to-release information form, also called an opt-out form, for high school students.
But this month the district blocked the anti-war group Coalition of Concerned Patriots from handing out literature to students, saying doing so would violate a school policy that bars political groups from campuses.
"We need to be there," said Donald Thompson, who helped found the coalition.
Despite the pleas of Waters-Smith, Thompson and the others, School Board attorney John Bowen said Monday that the policy remains, and the group will not be allowed on campus.
"The School Board has decided that it is not going to open up public school properties as a forum for political debates," he said. But, he said, students could hand out material if it's done in "a reasonable time, place and manner."
Several School Board members said they couldn't imagine recruiters lying to students. But if they are, "then I have some real problems," said board member Barbara Harvey.
more... http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050823/NEWS/508230486/1006/SPORTS
Oil & gas prices
Reality bites...
The following AP article (now picked up by many daily newspapers across the US) is for anyone interested in the price of oil/gas in the US.
and why no American politician can now substantially lower gasoline prices, unless we suddenly miraculously hit a field of gushers under Iowa cornfields or Kansas prairies:
9/11 spurred Mideast growth
Investors took money out of U.S.; fears and anger cited
BY JIM KRANE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- In the United States, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are seen as the catalyst for a period of fear, war and economic worry.
But in the oil-rich Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, Sept. 11 is increasingly viewed as the event that kicked off a galloping economic boom, when Arabs divested from the United States and reinvested at home.
Arab investors pulled tens of billions of dollars out of the United States. They were angered by perceived U.S. hostility toward Arabs. They worried their assets would be frozen by U.S. counter-terror measures. And U.S. markets happened to be plummeting while economies in the Gulf were on the upswing, buoyed by rising oil prices.
The results have been spectacular.
Since late 2001, economies in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- have soared, with stock markets up a collective 400 percent. During the same period, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 24 percent.
Most of the credit for the wealth influx here is goes to the near-tripling of oil prices since 2001 to current levels of more than $67 a barrel.
"It's just been an exceptional period, the likes of which the region hasn't seen in 20 years," said Simon Williams, a Middle East analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit in London.
Gulf oil revenues are expected to reach almost $300 billion this year, up from $61 billion in 1998.
In Saudi Arabia, gross domestic product rose 37 percent between 2001 and last year. In the Emirates, GDP jumped almost 50 percent. By contrast, the U.S. economy rose 16 percent during the same period.
continue~
http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050826/BUSINESS/508260320/1003
[Oil: they have it; we need it; we tried to go to war to take it; America has to wake up to the fact that we have to pay the piper, our era of "cheap oil" is over.
The US is a country that moves by truck: 18 wheelers for commerce and now, SUV's for comfort. Unless and until America curbs back its love affair with the gas-guzzling trucks across this country, price at the pump will continue to increase. Supply & demand ]
Where are our leaders?
Posted by: Ira at August 25, 2005 07:28 PM
The cynic in me says the "leaders" are just as happy to see prices going up as it provides greater money to their contributors as well. This is sickening. $35.00 dollars to fill my tank yesterday. No, I don't drive an SUV.
I drive a small car too, and it was 35 dollars. I'm just consolidating my long-distance trips. (Oncall, you saw my car! It's small like yours.)
The Sunrise Report (sort of) from Camp Casey II
Mornin' All! I am very happy to hear that Native and Madam will be joining us in Crawford.
Well once again the Credo is enacted in full force:
1. Shoot self in foot.
2. Reload.
3. Shoot self in other foot.
4. Repeat.
The Movement has been hi-jacked.
It is no longer all Americans welcome.
The threats of arrest and banishment keep coming from the "leadership" for those that do not fall lock and goose-step in line with the ever tightenening restrictions driven by the "political consultannts and lawyers" who think they know it all.
Willie Nelson and Jackson Brown were to perform in solidarity with Cindy, but the powers that opress have BLOWN it and said, "No big name acts". As in our plight to restore America...the enemy is within our government and is now controlling the movement.
Al Sharpton, however, is to hold a prayer meeting with Cindy.
One good thing...
Bill Moyers will be here to interview Cindy and report on the movement at 10:00 pm CST please check your local listings on HBO or Showtime I think.
Any who are coming to Crawford please listen up!
The police have decreed that because of the massive numbers expected this weekend, the roads will be closed to vehicular traffic. However, shuttles will be either going to CC I or CCII in order to avoid predicted confrontations with Bush Supporters. Please just take the shuttle to Camp Casey II and Lokken and I will greet you with open arms...and cold bottled water.
The Today show broadcast live this morning and Cindy is at this moment holding her daily press briefing.
George and Laura Bush have been invited to the BBQ that will be held at Camp Casey II tomorrow.
Here is your chance W...be a man.
ROFLMAO!!! Sorry...I could not even blog that with a straight face much less say it!
I'll be checking in periodically throghout the day with further reports.
Here is to a peaceful and enlightening weekend.
Peace and Good Will to all.
Still Hopefilled in Crawford,
Indy =]
the Front Page has Camp Casey listed as "Camp Crawford" would someone please correct.)
Indy...
DON'T LET THEM F*** THIS UP!
I missed out on last night's discussion here.
Its just my guess, but I would be willing to wager that most of the informed folk who visit this website and other progressive sites do not drive huge trucks or suv's.
Its a choice, a deliberate choice, in what kind of vehicle we drive. I drive my small car because it is trustworthy and has always been economical to upkeep, even when gasoline was cheaper. Do I sometimes feel like an ant sandwiched between a couple of menacing 18 wheelers on the freeway...sure. But I still choose to drive a small economical car.
But I know many people who drive truck type suv's and are now screaming at the pump. When I ask why did they buy such a huge gas-guzzling vehicle, I mostly get these answers:
"they're safer"
"they're more comfortable"
and "I'm not giving up my suv, I'll cut back on something else".
Until this country comes around to "Conservation" for the greater good, the price at the pump will continue to rise for all of us.
The politicians cannot lower gasoline prices.
What they CAN DO is begin to change US policies. What they can do is begin to demand "Conservation of our resources". We progressives are ahead of the rest of the country, we have to prod the rest of them to conserve.
Until "conservation of resources" becomes the new American way, not much will change. And if America does not learn to conserve and to live on less, then "we", as a country, will continue to scream at the pump.
I escaped from Reno, too. We're survivors!
Posted by: cali dem at August 26, 2005 02:39 AM
Cali Dem,
What part of Reno? When did you leave? Did you see it like that?