Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke

Oops did not see new thread

Two quick things...

For ONE why are they not giving us the 19 burned tanker story and its death toll..??

Rumor has it those 20 were part of a SIXTY truck convoy.

And also I just put up Afghanistan pics at Reb Nation.

For the newbies...

http://rebellenation.blogspot.com/

If I could vote in Israel, I'd be ABN - Anybody But Netanyahu. Like I say, bad timing, as Sharon was becoming more moderate (strange things are happening all the time). Some of the left had gone into his centrist party, making it easier to deal with the right (Likud), acc/ our Jewish French well-informed visitor.

THIS IS NOT THE WORK OF A FEW 'Insurgents'....

They attacked SIXTY TRUCKS with full military escorts. Chinese reporting 3 military vehicles destroyed.

And NO death or wounded toll anywhere for this attack!!!!!!

WHat the crap is going on..??

Snip

Soon after the attack, guerrillas with rocket-propelled grenades and machineguns ambushed 60 fuel tankers north of Baghdad, destroying 20 of them, police and oil officials said.

A group called the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed responsibility for the assault in an Internet statement, saying the convoy belonged "to the enemy occupier," a reference to the 150,000 U.S. troops stationed in the country.

By nightfall, police said there were still isolated clashes on the road and that at least four people had been killed -- a driver and three members of the convoy's security team.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060104/wl_nm/iraq_dc_52;_ylt=AqLYqHCMQwBeNqCl0ixTcbhX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

ATLEAST 4

The convoys 'Security Team'...??

WOULDNT THAT BE US SOLDIERS..??

Wanna hear something wierd about netanyahu...?

On 7/7 in London he infamously did not make an appearence right where bombs were blowing up just blocks away.. And he had breakfast that morning with...

Rudolf Guillianni.

It is just ...another amazing coincidence.

None of them so amazing as the Kingstar van though. I have pics...

Hehe.

OK, folks--LET'S GET BUSY!

See frontpage...

Thank the Gods!!!

Another Despot Dying/Dead!!!

Sharon and Arafat...the scourge of the middle east.

In a side note:

Feds Approve Election Delays in New Orleans.

If you do not think this is a big deal...think again. They have effectively removed our right to vote in the February Elections and pushed it back to April.

Council to consider consolidating polls
Ater says elections could be in April
Thursday, January 05, 2006
By Bruce Eggler and Ed Anderson
Staff writers
A plan to consolidate hundreds of New Orleans' out-of-commission voting precincts into a few central locations will go before the City Council today for approval.

Under the plan, proposed by Clerk of Criminal District Court Kimberly Williamson Butler's office, more than 50 precincts would be shifted to Municipal Auditorium and about 60 precincts would vote at Brother Martin High School on Elysian Fields Avenue. Those would be the two largest consolidated precincts.

Altogether, the plan before the council would relocate the polling places for more than 220 precincts, mostly in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 17th wards, all of which were heavily damaged by flooding after Hurricane Katrina.

The move could help speed elections for mayor, City Council members, coroner, assessors and several other offices.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco last month postponed the scheduled Feb. 4 primary and March 4 runoff election after Secretary of State Al Ater said it was impossible to prepare the devastated city and track down voters so soon after Hurricane Katrina. The storm damaged more than half of the city's polling places and scattered the city's voters and election commissioners around the country.

Ater, who is the state's chief election official, said last month that he hoped to hold the primary by April 29. But he moved up that timetable Wednesday, saying the election could be held by late March or early April if state and federal officials give quick approval to an emergency balloting plan to be unveiled next week.

But even that schedule apparently won't satisfy the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed recently by four local voters and later joined by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Justin Zitler, the lead attorney in the suit, held a news conference Wednesday outside City Hall to demand the primary be held March 25 and the runoff April 22, which he said would allow the winners to be sworn in May 8, only one week later than provided by the City Charter.

To meet that timetable, Zitler said, qualifying would need to take place Feb. 1-3, allowing for a seven-week campaign.

Zitler said U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle will hold a "scheduling conference" Friday on Zitler's request for a hearing next week on the plan for March 25 and April 22 elections.

Zitler said that if the council approves the poll relocations today, the city could "maintain the right and ability to control its elections," rather than have the state take over control.

But Ater said this week that the U.S. Justice Department has given him authority to take control of the elections.

The Legislature, in a recent special session, gave the secretary of state power to develop an emergency election plan after a declared disaster that would let Ater relocate or consolidate polling places and address shortages of elections workers and voting machines.

The new law needed approval by the federal government under the Voting Rights Act, and Ater spokeswoman Jennifer Marusak said Tuesday that the approval was granted.

Ater said the process of scheduling the elections will begin Tuesday in Baton Rouge, where he will seek approval of his plans from two legislative committees. If the House and Senate panels agree on the plan, the entire Legislature then will be asked to ratify the decision by mail ballot, which would then need the governor to sign off on it, Ater said.

Ater said his office will lobby lawmakers to return mail ballots quickly so the plan can be sent for further approval to the Justice Department, which must review any changes in the state's election laws or procedures. Ater said officials in the federal agency have assured him they will expedite review of the plan.

If the approval process can be wrapped up by late January, Ater said, the elections could be held by late March or early April.

"It would all have to happen clickety-click," he said. "Everything would have to be accepted as we present it. It would have to go bim, bim, bim, but it could happen."

But Ater is working on a tight schedule. Just to hold the primary election by his original goal of April 29, all the approvals must be in line by March 8.

Zitler said Ater's plan is too speculative and contingent on approval by too many people. He said he wants Lemelle to adopt his timetable, meaning the terms of incumbent officials would be extended no more than one week past the date they are due to end.

"It is a core constitutional issue," said Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana ACLU. "When the government violates the law, someone has to step up to the plate" and demand that elections be held on time. "If we can hold elections in Iraq with a war going on, we can certainly hold elections in this city."

As part of developing its elections plan, Ater's office is combing through a list of more than 1 million names submitted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of people who sought FEMA aid after Katrina, with the goal of tracking down where evacuees have relocated since the storm. Ater said he needs the information to notify evacuees of their voting rights and the way to request an absentee ballot for elections.

But noting the large contingent of national news media representatives in the city, Zitler said evacuees can be adequately notified through the media, without recourse to the FEMA list.

I do wonder, though, if and how the chance of peace in that region might be increased with Sharon gone and Arafat dead.

Posted by Casey Morris at January 5, 2006 09:22 AM

Amen Casey, they both should have croaked years ago.

Sorry it's not that simple.
Sharon had a bad reputation after his indirect responsibility for the massacres in the refugee camps in Lebanon in the '80s & I've seen several documentaries on that. That said, he had matured into a leader who was able to start a recent moderate party that did not yet have much infrastructure, but most Israelis were supporting it. If the Likud hardliners now control Israel, instead of Sharon's new party, won't that be a fine kettle of fish? The elections were to happen in about 10 weeks or so. I heard Abbas on radio (BBC) & this is scary as far as potential for peace in the region, because Palestinians in east Jerusalem could be prevented from voting. Several others were interviewed - sounded like the Israeli populace does not support the hardliners, but we don't support ours here either, yet they're in power. The situation is the same in so many places in the world - how can it be called democracy?!!

Christy,
I heard about the hotel in Mecca, the attempt to kill the US envoy in Afghanistan (which resulted in a bunch of civilian deaths) and about some suicide bombings with many civilian casualties (& also 5 US dead) in Iraq, but not a word about the convoys as a top news item.

PS I would be shocked to see Americans actually pay attention to someone else's election. It won't happen.

I am reposting.
Curious about opinions about these questions and this article.

Good morning!

Bad timing about Sharon - his bribery scandal had just hit the press & he had an election coming up.

When is Libby's real trial? So far he had a hearing to set the date.

When is Tom Delay's that he hoped to get done before Christmas?

Does Sybel Edmunds get her day in court?

The Quest, Enron & MultiCom investigations are still on-going, aren't they? & there is more plea bargaining so others could be fingered?

& we don't hear the verdict until end of March or so for Abramoff, do we? Wonder what the story was behind the head of Sun Cruz gambling boats' untimely demise?

Isn't it ironic when you hear them talk about ethics, morality, freedom & democracy & especially "spreading" them?!!

http://villagevoice.com/news/0601,ridgeway,71514,6.html

Mondo Washington
Abramoff Lobbying Scandal: Big Timber Falls Hard
Hastert on tainted money: Okay, okay, I'll give it back by James Ridgeway

WASHINGTON, D.C.--With leaders of both parties compromised in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, questions now center around Republican Dennis Hastert, speaker of the House, who yesterday shed himself of tainted campaign contributions totaling $70,000. He gave the money to an unspecified charity.

In November of last year, the Washington Post described a fundraiser, held by Hastert, at one of Abramoff's restaurants. The party yielded Hastert $21,500 for his political action committee. While several lawmakers who received money from the fundraiser had already returned it, only yesterday did Hastert come forward.

"The speaker believes that while these contributions were legal, it is appropriate to donate the money to charity," a spokesman for the Illinois Republican, Ron Bonjean, said.

Hastert, often viewed as a weak Speaker and little more than a frontpiece for indicted majority leader Tom Delay, recently was linked to another potential political campaign scandal. Vanity Fair last fall ran an article in which Sibel Edmonds, the former FBI translator blocked by a government gag order from telling what she knows about the FBI operations around the time of 9-11, describes how, in her days as an FBI interpreter, she ran across wiretaps of Turkish officials discussing campaign contributions to various politicians, including Hastert.

"Some of the calls reportedly contained what sounded like references to large-scale drug shipments and other crimes," wrote Vanity Fair. "To a person who knew nothing about their context, the details were confusing and it wasn't always clear what might be significant. One name, however, apparently stood out--a man the Turkish callers often referred to by the nickname 'Denny boy.' It was the Republican congressman from Illinois and Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert. According to some of the wiretaps, the F.B.I.'s targets had arranged for tens of thousands of dollars to be paid to Hastert's campaign funds in small checks. Under Federal Election Commission rules, donations of less than $200 are not required to be itemized in public filings."

The magazine went on to point out that there had been a large amounts of money--some $483,000 from 1996 through December 2002--in non-itemized contributions to Hastert's re-election committee. Edmonds said the phone recordings made repeated references to Hastert's role in first supporting, then unexpectedly opposing, a House resolution declaring the killing of Armenians in Turkey as genocide. Hastert claimed he withdrew the resolution after then President Clinton said it would hurt U.S. interests in Turkey. There is no evidence Hastert himself knew anything about this, and his spokesman denied any connection to Turkish lobbyists or groups. He also denied any wrongdoing.

Preying On Fear

Out of arguments to defend President Bush's warrantless domestic spying program, Vice President Cheney has resorted to preying on Americans' fears. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation yesterday, Cheney suggested the program, had it been in place at the time, could have prevented 9/11. Cheney said, "If we'd been able to do this before 9/11, we might have been able to pick up on two hijackers who subsequently flew a jet into the Pentagon. They were in the United States, communicating with al Qaeda associates overseas. But we did not know they were here plotting until it was too late." Cheney's statement is false...(more)
-snip-
THE TRUTH ABOUT ALHAZMI AND ALMIHDHAR: Cheney pretended yesterday that two 9/11 hijackers, who his office later confirmed were Alhazmi and Almihdhar, were not stopped because the government didn't have enough information or authority to conduct surveillance. The truth is the government had the information, but failed to act upon it...(more)
-snip-
HARMAN ALLEGES CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS ON PROGRAM WERE ILLEGAL: The White House has stressed that key members of Congress had been briefed on the warrantless surveillance program prior to the public disclosure by the New York Times last month. But Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, "said on Wednesday that the limited Congressional briefings the Bush administration has provided on a National Security Agency eavesdropping program violated the law." Harman said the briefings should have included the full membership of the intelligence committee and not just the committee leadership...(more)

WAS CNN'S CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR BUGGED?: (more)

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=917053

[Editor's Note: Please follow copyright laws and do not post entire articles. Pease use excerpts when posting information that is not your own work if you do not have permission from the owner and instead provide the links.]

NMP ...

Notice how they buried the news of it kinda inbetween blah and blah...??

Me either not A WORD or it from MSM.. But its not just Rueters reporting it, the CHINESE broke the story first i think last night.

I am ambivelent about Sharon, however, he did have the courage to remove Israelis from Gaza in order to help move the peace process along. And he did recognize that Israel had to give up land in order to secure some type of peace. But, I can't accept that he is totally blameless in the current morass in which Israel finds itself. He had the political courage to say that Israel's two party system was bad for the country (something that some of us know all too well), and walked away from his party in order to start a party that was willing to promote peaceful co-existence with Palestinians.

I don't rejoice, as others here seem to, that he has suffered this catastrophic event.

OC...

I do not rejoice in the news. But I am almost relieved thinking finally, we can end this.

Sharon never gave away anything with his right hand that he was not getting back with the left hand behind his back.

Seeing how Iraq is falling to pieces and he was about to go up on corruption and bribery charges anyway, I think the ONLY person this stroke is 'convienant' for is ARIEL SHARON

Christy,

"They both should have croaked years ago" really doesn't recognize the centurys of hate these people have.

Furthermore, the two most peaceful leaders of the Arab world and the Isreali world were in fact assasinated (by their own countrymen--I believe.)

No, nobody is rejoicing but people would like to see these countries make peace.

And for my part, I'd like to add that the Arab world never allowed the Palestinians a homeland either.

No... There is ONE OTHER person who benefits GREATLY from Sharons pre-rumored death..

George W. Bush.

He will be able to rally his born agains and the Niger Forgeries...?

That secret may soon be buried with much ado.

Centuries of hatred yes, hatred Sharon helped right along.

It IS significant that in his OWN lifetime the man was nicknamed 'The Butcher' BY OTHER ISREALIS when he was forced OUT of the Isreali Gov. in 82.

I recognize the history that transcends both men,... but to be able to look to the future..

The past MUST die, and fall away.

I only PRAY it ENDS with him.

And yes, on the Arab view, but at this point it IS the Arab countries housing millions of refugees.

Death is only the beginning.

amen, oncall those were exactly my sentiments about Sharon. Removing Isarel from Gaza was a bold move but many of us who believe in peace do not approve of his other confrontational policies, but neither do I wish his demise.

"Something is brewing regarding a comment Andrea Mitchell made about the possibility of this administration illegally wiretapping Christiane Amanpour's phones. If that's true, think of the ramifications... AmeriBlog lays out several and how it might have led to them taping conversations about Clark, Kerry, & Clinton... If that's the case, Watergate will look like child's play. (Oh wait, it was...)"

defarge once again raised the issue of possible spying on the Kerry campaign and Christine Amanpore. Why is there utter silence about this. Its a big deal and defarge is right to raise that issue.

and Linda's Hook Em Horns made my day. I knew there was something more than politics that we shared. What a sweet victory. It was my first year at UT that we won our last national Championship;its been a long time.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 11:11 AM

I sure hope Sharon kept a secret diary.

Christy,

Please educate me (not a snark here ) but I am unaware what Sharon personally gained from forced removal of Israelis from Gaza.

Posted by: Ira at January 5, 2006 11:20 AM

Ira,

The Longhorn's first "touchdown"......

James Moore: 'Branded: I'm on the government's 'no fly' list'

"Oh, wait," I said. "One last thing: this guy they are looking for? Did he write books critical of the Bush administration, too?"

I have been on the No Fly Watch List for a year. I will never be told the official reason. No one ever is. You cannot sue to get the information. Nothing I have done has moved me any closer to getting off the list. There were 35,000 Americans in that database last year. According to a European government that screens hundreds of thousands of American travelers every year, the list they have been given to work from has since grown to 80,000.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=24280&mode=nested&order=0

Sharon removed isrealis from Gaza but that was NOT the only happenings in Isreal at that time.

It was certainly the most photographed though.

If we do not see EVERYTHING about Iraq, what makes you believe Isreal is to be taken at face value..??

Sharon took ATLEAST 3 million in bRIBES that we KNOW he is accused of, SO FAR.

I am not saying removing Isrealis was not a.... Monumental act. It was. And yes Sharon took a POUNDING.

But you know what..??

For ATLEAST 3 million dollars.. I would LET YOU kick my A**.

I would even moan like I was dying, and bring ketchup just in case you hit like a girl.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 11:34 AM

Links? Reliable sources? (No snark intended.)

OMG Im going to be ill

Burlington, Vermont -- January 4, 2005

There was outrage Wednesday when a Vermont judge handed out a 60-day jail sentence to a man who raped a little girl many,many times over a four-year span starting when she was seven.

The judge said he no longer believes in punishment and is more concerned about rehabilitation.

Prosecutors argued that confessed child-rapist Mark Hulett, 34, of Williston deserved at least eight years behind bars for repeatedly raping a littler girl countless times starting when she was seven.

But Judge Edward Cashman disagreed explaining that he no longer believes that punishment works.

"The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul," said Judge Edward Cashman speaking to a packed Burlington courtroom. Most of the on-lookers were related to a young girl who was repeatedly raped by Mark Hulett who was in court to be sentenced.

The sex abuse started when the girl was seven and ended when she was ten. Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of eight to twenty years in prison, in part, as punishment.

Continues...

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=4319605&nav=4QcT

defarge once again raised the issue of possible spying on the Kerry campaign and Christine Amanpore. Why is there utter silence about this. Its a big deal and defarge is right to raise that issue.

Posted by: Ira at January 5, 2006 11:20 AM

It is juicy and potentially explosive, but unfortunately there is not much there at this time.It is up to Andrea Mitchell to disclose why she asked the question, and I am not holding my breath on that one.

Sparrow, links to what...??

The corruption scandle or what was going on at that time..??

I read lots of isreali papers at that time, sharon was ALREADY under investigation when he removed the settlers.

Its all over, just google something..

No snarky either.

.......and bring ketchup just in case you hit like a girl.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 11:34 AM

Stop it that hurts. LOL.

OC...

After you kick my butt you could heal me. Wipe off the ketchup.

That could become a seductive and dangerous cycle.

OC & Ira et al...

I do not rejoice in the pain and suffering of a compassionate human being...

But in that of a bigotted, closed minded wicked man.

Sharon and Arafat were...in the words of Madelline Allbright, Forner Secretary of State:

"Two angry bitter old men who hate each other and would do anything to destroy each other no matter what the cost..."

As far as the "courage" to pull out of Gaza...

Funny how you define courage OC...it was the threat from the Bush Administration of not only pulling cash money from the table but defense spending for Israel in the form of aircraft and weapons systems that pushed Sharon to make the move...

Let us not forget who Sharon is ultimately dealing with...

The Neo-cons.

*The preceeding comments are my own opinion developed over years of watching this puppet show go on in the middle east at the cost of innocent human lives.

BTW did I forget to add you owe me 3 million dollars..?

Christy,

You haven't answered my question as to how Sharon PERSONALLY benefitted from his decisions related to Gaza. If there was a quid pro quo. I stand corrected.

Hello Indy..

Send my love to New Orleans.

No OC actually Indy answered that for me.

I'm not sure I see the personal benefit. Yes, Indy said the State of Isreal benefited, but I think we need to be fair and accurate about our allegations.

Sharon benefitted by throwing off attention from his impending bribry charge.

And as I said other orders at that time, other actions taken by sharon while all eyes were on Gaza does not jibe with any great acts of altruisim.

As far a benifitting in its most basic definition.. the man was taking bribes his son was his thug... he was getting paid coming and going.

Those war planes and military equipment were HIS toys to use. He knew it would be a public relations DISASTER.

Quid pro quo...indeed.

There are two sets of corruption / bribery scandals...

one involved Sharon's son; Sharon himself was not the focus of that investigation.

there was a second investigation which focused on the mismanagement of campaign funds

Those two items were in the news in the 2003-2004 time frame. See this BBC article for more info...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3416565.stm

------

Then there is a more recent investigation which has begun but does not appear at this point to have any ties to Gaza but rather to an Austrian businessman per this article from the Israeli paper Haaretz

Last update - 13:21 04/01/2006

PM bribery probe 'will not be ready before election'

By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Agencies

The police bribery investigation into suspicions that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon' family received $3 million from an Austrian businessman and casino magnate will not be completed until after the March 28 elections, Army Radio reported Wednesday quoting unnamed police officials.

A senior police source said late Tuesday that there is currently no evidence to support an indictment against Sharon.

According to the source, there is also no chance that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will be able to make a decision on whether to indict Sharon before the elections.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/665843.html

Please be more accurate and document claims and suppositions.

DW..

It is hard to be specific with so many different issues being discussed.

When I said google it is because all of these things lead to each other and it is far to complicated for casual discussion.

It is something I spent hours and hours studying as it was happening. My whole point is simply nothing is happening in a vaccuum, and it is way more complicated than it should be.

NOTHING is as it APPEARS to be.

Send my love to New Orleans.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 11:59 AM

I already did...

I've been here for almost three months...

Miss me? =]

Terribly

Indy,

What you say may be true (can you post links supporting your statement?) I have searched for statements supporting your contention, but even if Sharon felt that Israel's defense would be compromised by not accepting America's push for withdrawal, he did what he had to do for his country. And that was clearly not the platform he was elected on. He recognized and had the courage to act on the fact that the endless cycle of violence was not good for his country even in the face of strong opposition from his most "loyal" supporters.

Quite honestly I had always thought that America military support for Israel was as a foil against Iran, and not because America had some love lust for the Palestinians.

Sharon had OTHER opposition to worry about,...

Namely American Jews.

His meal ticket.

I am SURE it hurt him terribly, to chew off his own arm and remove the settlers, but the alternative was not good.

Loose American favor ?? That would doom that entire nation.

Christy is right. None of this happens in a vacuum.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 12:19 PM

Then one of two options is available.

1) Post all the undocumented stuff on your personal blog and invite those who may be interested to view it there.

2) Pick one area that is relevant to the goals of this online community and focus on that in presenting new information on the blog or in the forum. A subject such as voting reform in Louisiana or what local, village and city-level citizen's advocate groups are organizing in Louisiana. Document them via articles, news reports, links to their websites, etc.

Our goal here is not to lament all the misdeeds in the world, but to focus on how we bring change to our individual locations and ultimately to the state and federal office-holders who manage our government.

And as far as my seemingly blunted compassion when refferring to sharons croaking on the world stage...

I will be damned if I mourn the natural passing of any man who has caused SO MUCH unnattural death among others.

I regret they can not taste it but once.

Voting rights groups in Louisiana...??

I can only grin.

I almost forgot we were suppossed to HAVE 'voting rights' here. I mean its only been rigged for 130 years. As I recall it is why I sought out you fine people in the first place.

Lemonade anyone??

Wake me up when the yankees get here.

Making progress in Iraq, but it's hard work.

01/05/06 Iraq Pipeline Watch: #289
January 4 - Rahim Ali Sudani, a director-general at the oil ministry, and his son were killed in a drive-by attack on their car.
01/05/06 Iraq Pipeline Watch: #288
January 4 - a rocket-propelled grenade attack destroyed at least 18 fuel tankers in a convoy of 60 heading to Baghdad from Bayji.
01/05/06 Iraq Pipeline Watch: #287
287. January 1 - riots broke out in Kirkuk. Hundreds of demonstrators, protesting fuel shortages, set two gas stations and offices belonging to the national oil company on fire.
01/05/06 Iraq Pipeline Watch: #286
January 1 - attack on pipeline supplying petroleum products to a power plant near the Daura refinery cut capacity at the plant to 30%.
01/05/06 Iraq Pipeline Watch: #285
January 1 - a bomb exploded near a gas station near Daura. Three civilians were injured.
01/05/06 Iraq Pipeline Watch: #284
December 24 - attack on a pipeline in Jurf Sakher area on the outskirts of Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad.
01/05/06 Iraq Pipeline Watch: #283
December 21 - the Bayji refinery was shut after insurgents threatened truck drivers transporting petrol.

01/03/06 AP: Long gas lines, higher prices infuriate Iraqis
Iraq's oil minister resigned Monday in the wake of protests and riots over soaring gas prices and lengthening lines at the pump.

For the first time I would like to know from the Kerry team members a behind the scenes question.

When Alexander in the 5th district in Louisiana turncoated at the very last second, did that not cause even a rIPPLE withing the Kerry campaign...??

Was it ever even discussed..?

Do you even remember what I am talking about..?

Where do you think Pa, Jr. and Jebby learned to RIG ELECTIONS...?

Louisiana does not exist in a vaccuum either. It just seems like it.

Try Ha'aretz - it's a good paper.
(speaking of sources)

The foreign press will discuss this to death & it'll be alot more revealing than reading just our papers.

I'll also have a think tank going on about it over dinner - with people who have been following it closely & one was actually stabbed in middle school over the Arab/Israeli conflict - & needed to be moved for schools.

I have personally seen results of violence in Paris r/t this issue - it's always just below the surface - & I saw that as just a tourist & guest. I cannot even begin to imagine the discussions that are going on there today.

This is a very dangerous thing to be knee-jerk about. If we're going to endeavor to discuss it, we need much more background than we have.

This region has been ignored, glossed over - for years. Failure to deal with the problems successfully in this small region have played a big part in why we have so much war, conflict, terrorism right now.

We can have opinions, but I don't think anyone really has answers. & it's very very late in the game.

Kerry team members?? who are they Christy, most of us here were just actvists foot soldiers.

Do you not recall that the JK wrote off Louisiana by the end of October. Why would a Presidential Campaign have time or resources to take care of your individual Congressional District.

Indy I believe that oncall and I are struggling to defend Sharon's administration9which many of us opposed), but nonetheless don't endorse anyone's suffering, even our political opponents.

I think many of us here Indy would like to hear more of your good works in N.O. and whatever plans your firm is at liberty to discuss publicly. Personally I would like to see some kind of bold move by the DNC to consider N.O. for their '08 Convention. Although unlikely it would grab the nation's attention and send a strong message that we are serious about fixing and supporting N.O.'s rebirth. Do you have any opinions about that?

Those in DC...

Would you PLEASE consider BLOCKADING THE WA PO...?

ALL you have to do is GO THERE instead of in front of a georgeless white house. Ask others to come.

If you build it they will come. EVERYONE is sick of it. START A MOVEMENT.

BLOKADE THE WASHINGTON POST. As soon as possible.

WE must fight back. We ARE running out of time.

When others see, THEY WILL join your ranks. Let them SEE you fighting them. Read their own words back to them. BE OUTRAGED. They are dismantling our AMERICA.

We MUST confront the media. Or we will never ever again get our nation back.

I am not ASKING you. I am BEGGING you.

PLEASE.

Raise money, invite speakers, what the **** (Please, keep it clean. thank you.) EVER...

JUST DO IT.

Ira...

I do NOT live in the 5th district.

And some here were asscociated with the Kerry camp, it does not surprise me though for you to say we were written off.

Funny I hear that alot.

Posted by: Ira at January 5, 2006 01:18 PM

Ira,

I think that is a great idea for a convention in NOLA.

I want to share something:

I am now at a different computer than I was earlier today. While driving this mornig I heard an advertisement on an Air America affiliate about an Iraqi war information conference in Chicago's northern suburbs. I know that Madame and,possibly Victoria and Beth are very involved with this conference. I was happy and proud to hear that DemocracyCellProject was announced as one of the sponsors. Way to go!

Oncall, that's one of the things that madame defarge and ellen beth have been working on so hard.

Madame told me this morning that AAR is announcing it every hour.

TrueMajority.org has also picked up their event and it was also written about in one of the Chicago area papers though I don't have that link.

Here's the TrueMajority article...
http://action.truemajority.org/TrueMajority/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=3488998

ahhhh...

Sources say that in order to convince the administration to invade Iraq, Ahmed Chalabi, the discredited leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) and poster boy for neoconservative hawks, claimed that Speicher was alive and being held as a prisoner of war.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Secretive_military_unit_sought_to_solve_0105.html

"I know that Madame and,possibly Victoria and Beth are very involved with this conference. I was happy and proud to hear that DemocracyCellProject was announced as one of the sponsors. Way to go!"

Posted by: oncall at January 5, 2006 01:27 PM
================================================
Oncall --

Much as I would love to take credit where none is due, I'm afraid I didn't assist in the conference planning.

But I'm thrilled nonetheless that the DCP got mentioned on Air America, and whoever amongst us was a part of that, GOOD WORK!

Ira-they hooked 'em good too, didn't they?
Hot damn.
I hate to tell you too though, that I'm also a 'canes fan.
Hope that doesn't disappoint ya too much.

Ira...

You asked what I have been involved with since my return to NOLA...here is just a bit:

http://www.citizensfor1greaterneworleans.com/

http://bringneworleansback.org/

http://bringneworleansback-education.org/

And several infrastructure projects for Bell South and Entergy.

I am starting on the National World War II Museum (Expansion to the National D-Day Museum) in the next couple of weeks.

As far as holding a convention here...

1.) I believe a convention of that magnitude would be good for New Orleans and the River Region...God knows we need the money.

2.) I believe it would be good for the DNC to hold a convention in the very place the Bush Admin failed so miserably and reminding Americans of that failure to "Protect and Serve".

3.) I believe that regardless of where the convention is held, the DNC will have to SCREW UP A LOT to NOT get an Independent or Dem elected as the next President.

IMHO

Ira- I'd like to see the national convention in N.O. too. Then I could attend.
I think it would go a long way to restoring that city's tourist economy. Right now, Gray Line is charging $35 a ticket to see the hardest areas of hurricane damage.
New Orleans is about so much more than that to those of us who love her. The Democrats could get a lot of good PR from meeting there.

nah, except my inlaws weren't thrilled when they beat their beloved Hoakies. My wife went to graduate school in Gainsville if that counts.I've set the photo confetti drop on Vince as my new screen saver Linda; I am still numb with excitement.

Can those of us not involved in the conference fill us in on the details and perhaps post from the conference site.

The Power of Wind and Water

If you are wondering what New Orleans is up against right now please view this 12 minute video...though no photo, video or computer animation can encompass the magnitude of the destruction, it will at the very least show the difference between what happened due to Katrina...what happened due to flooding due to the levee breaks and negligence...and the aftermath that still remains four months after the storm has passed.

Almost 40% of the city is up and running.

60% or more looks like the pictures in the video.

It is not pretty so if you are sqeemish...don't look.

http://www.ou812videos.com/media/katrina.wmv

A pic for all of you.

http://rebellenation.blogspot.com/2006/01/what-is-answer.html

THIS IS PROGRESS?!?!?!?!

130 Iraqis, 7 U.S. soldiers killed in bombings
One attack near Shiite mosque, another at police recruiting site.

MSNBC News Services
Updated: 12:44 p.m. ET Jan. 5, 2006
KARBALA, Iraq - In one of the deadliest days in Iraq since the U.S. military overthrew Saddam Hussein, bombs killed at least 130 Iraqis and seven U.S. soldiers on Thursday — shattering hopes that last month’s election and the new year would herald a more peaceful era.

Nearly 200 people were wounded in the attacks on Iraqis in two cities. Another three bombs exploded in Baghdad, two of them detonated by suicide bombers. And insurgents sabotaged an oil pipeline near the northern city of Kirkuk, causing a huge fire.

Iraq’s president denounced the violence as an attempt to derail the political process as progress was being made toward including the Sunnis in a new, broad-based government, a development that would weaken the Sunni-led insurgency.

“These groups of dark terror will not succeed through these cowardly acts in dissuading Iraqis in their bid to form a government of national unity,” President Jalal Talabani said.

But Iraq’s largest Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, blamed the violence on Sunni Arab groups that fared poorly in the December election. The party warned that Shiite patience was wearing thin, and it accused the U.S.-led coalition forces of restraining the Iraqi army and its police forces.

The attacks in one of Shiite Islam’s holiest cities, Karbala, and the Sunni Arab stronghold of Ramadi raised fears of an escalation in sectarian tensions.

In Karbala, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt laced with ball bearings and a grenade, killing at least 63 and wounding 120.

Television pictures showed pools of blood in the street, which was littered with debris. Passers-by loaded the wounded into the backs of cars and vans, and one black-clad woman stood crying while clutching her dead or wounded baby to her chest.

Story Continues >>>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10703607/

Posted by: oncall at January 5, 2006 12:26 PM

You can look to your lil' tin-foil hat wearing heart's content and you will not find what was reported when the pull out from Gaza was initiated...

Big Brother IS controlling the media...remember?

Has ANYONE else heard anything else on that convoy attack..??

Am I wrong to be dwelling on it..?

Dwell away on Rebelle Nation

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/5/85158/32663

Author of “Bush’s Brain” put on “no-fly” list

http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=4318177&nav=3YeX

More journalists and media staffers have been killed during the Iraq war than during 22 years of conflict in Vietnam, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday.

Was Christiane Amanpour spied on -- and more importantly, if so, why?
"Given the choice, it's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda."
-- Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti, referring to CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour, Sept. 14, 2003.

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations. Before we intercept these communications, the government must have information that establishes a clear link to these terrorist networks.
-- President Bush, weekly radio address, Dec. 17, 2005.

If you're a blog junkie, you may have seen the speculation -- and it is just speculation -- bounding around "the Internets" that CNN's Christiane Amanpour, a Middle East specialist of Iranian descent, was a subject of Bush's stepped-up post-9/11 spying campaign.

Why the speculation? It's all the fault of NBC's Andrea Mitchell, and this question that she posed on the air to the New York Times' James Risen -- the reporter who broke the domestic spying story -- earlier today, She asked:

Mitchell: You don't have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon?

He didn't, in fact. But presumably Mitchell -- Mrs. Alan Greenspan, who seems to know more than she reports (read our earlier post on her role in the Valerie Plame case) -- hears things, or she wouldn't have asked the question.

If this had been a trial, Mitchell might have added, "I withdraw the question, Your Honor," and a judge would have told the court reporter to strike it from the record. Instead, it was live TV, and there was no way to get that genie back in the bottle.

(Not that NBC didn't try. In yet another example of why "media transparency" seems to be an oxymoron, the network actually deleted the question from its interview transcript. UPDATE: Here is something of an explanation from NBC:)

So, now that the subject is out on the table, we decided to look at why the American government would want to spy on the CNN reporter.

Well, given the current administration's views on civil liberties and Arabs, the most cynical answer we could offer is because she is of Iranian descent. But while her father was an Iranian airline executive, Amanpour was born in London and mostly raised there, attending Catholic schools, and her family fled Iran in 1979 "during the Islamic Revolution."

Not exactly a terrorist profile.

The least cynical answer would be because her recent reporting would have brought her into direct contact with members of al Qaeda. In August 2002, not long after Bush began to authorize the warrantless spying program, Amanpour worked with CNN's Nic Robertson on a special that was billed as an inside view of al-Qaeda.

Actually, it was Robertson who did the heavy lifting on this one, smuggling 64 purported al-Qaeda videotapes -- showing terrorist training exercises and the like -- out of Afghanistan. But Amanpour played a role, according to this Aug. 19, 2002, article in Electronic Media.

There are some taped demonstrations of bomb making, for which written instructions had been found by CNN's Christiane Amanpour after President Bush's war on terrorism opened Afghanistan to the international press. There are lessons in firing small arms, rappelling down what looks like a cliff and assassinating someone.

Do you feel comfortable with the government spying on reporters for American-based news organizations, even if they are working abroad and are part of a chain that leads back to al-Qaeda? We don't, although we know there are many who would disagree with us. After all, some people say that Bush wanted to drop bombs on al-Jazeera.

Then there is the issue of Amanpour's husband, Jamie Rubin, former official in the Clinton administration State Department. You may have forgotten (we did, frankly), but Rubin re-emerged in 2004 -- as a foreign policy advisor to John Kerry. Do husbands and wives use the same telephones and computers? Is the Pope German?

But frankly, the concept that scares us the most, as a journalist, goes back to that lovely quote from the Fox News spokeswoman at the very top of this post -- and the episode that inspired it. Because Christiane Amanpour was highest profile, and also the most forceful, critic of the media's pliancy toward Bush after the 9/11 attacks.

Here's what she said in Sept. 2003:

"I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did."

The next day, Fox blasts her as an "al-Qaeda spokeswoman." And two years later, we are left to wonder if she was spied upon by the American government.

Coincidence?

We sure hope so.

--Also new TruthOut entry - NSA destroyed evidence of domestic spying.

Is that an invitation to leave your .. amusing.. company DW..???

Christy, your not wrong at all. If not for people willing to stand and shout the wrongs they see around them we would still have a king.

Iraq is heading towards a civil war, and nothing anyone can do will stop it. It is the Natural evolvement of terribly planning when the United States invaded.
Chalabi was/is an Iranian spy, his control of American Foreign Policy will go down as the greatest intelligence coup in history. Iran got everything they wanted in the middle east, paid with American and Iraqi blood, funded by your childrens Heritage.
Now there are stories of CIA planting manuals in Iran detailing the construction of Nuclear weapons..and not a peep from our Senate. Truly sad to watch this great institution lie impotent and wallow helplessly as the world watches.

Military leaders that spoke the truth before the invasion were removed from office. They were not afraid, they paid for their courage, but they did not fail the Office they held. This is what leadership looks like.
The People in the NSA that refused to go along with spying on their American compatriots Honor their offices also.

As far as i know there is no money budgeted for iraqi reconstruction in the next budget, which is an indicator that the White House is slowly giving ground to reality.... too little and too late. The White House destroyed a Soveriegn Nation in unbridled lust for domination and will be forced to admit their actions very soon.

The Democratic party needs to find leadership and quickly. Not to profit from a failed White House, but to lead the nation back to what it once was. If we cannot offer Genuine leadership, then we should support whoever can, regardless of party.
This nation cannot continue absorbing policy disasters like Iraq.

Toolmaker...

Me too. I think we all feel we are running against a clock that is ticking louder by the second.

The greatest nation on earth, bled to death through a thousand wounds.

We are at the point of no return.

The next 11 months will decide everything.

No one on earth will be unaffected.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 02:36 PM

I did hear about the attack on CNN radio today. No commentary about it, just the report. I did not see anything on the early morning news.

Any death or wounded toll OC..?

Our soldiers..?

FOCUS | Abramoff-Bush: Ties That Bind?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010506Y.shtml
The Bush-Cheney campaign is returning only a fraction of the contributions it received through Abramoff connections. During 2004, Abramoff was a top fundraiser for the Bush re-election effort, raising more than $100,000 for the campaign. While exact figures on how much he raised aren't known, Abramoff told the New York Times in July 2003 - months before active fundraising even began - that he had already raised $120,000 for Bush and Cheney. "And I haven't even started making phone calls," the lobbyist told the Times.

georgie has gone INSANE.

THIS IS INSANE....

US sees coalitions of the willing as best ally
By Guy Dinmore in Washington

Published: January 4 2006 19:10 | Last updated: January 4 2006 19:10

Building on its experience in Iraq, the Bush administration says it wants to be able to form “coalitions of the willing” more efficiently for dealing with future conflicts rather than turning to existing but unreliable institutional alliances such as Nato.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2d042bd0-7d51-11da-875c-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=c1a5b968-e1ed-11d7-81c6-0820abe49a01.html

convoy?
Pretty typical news blackout .. foreign sources report first

That is one reason to read them - even if many are owned by Murdoch ..

Insurgent Ambush Shuts Oil Refinery
Houston Chronicle, United States - 3 hours ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's largest oil refinery closed again Thursday, a day after insurgents ambushed a convoy of tanker trucks carrying gas from the facility ...

Suicide attack at Iraqi funeral kills 36, wounds 40
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 20 hours ago
A suicide bomber caused carnage at a Shia funeral and gunmen ambushed a vital fuel convoy outside Baghdad in a series of attacks that killed more than 50 ...

Militants attack Iraq fuel convoy
San Jose Mercury News, USA - Jan 4, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militants ambushed a convoy of 60 tanker trucks heading to Baghdad from Iraq's largest refinery Wednesday, destroying four of the vehicles and ...

IRAQ: INSURGENTS ATTACK OIL CONVOY
AKI, Italy - Jan 4, 2006
Baiji, 4 Jan. (AKI) - A rocket-propelled grenade attack launched by insurgents on Wednesday destroyed at least 18 fuel tankers in ...

Insurgents burn 19 fuel tankers north of Baghdad
Xinhua, China - Jan 4, 2006
BAGHDAD, Jan. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Insurgents attacked a convoy of fuel tankers escorted with police commando in north of Baghdad on ...

Fuel convoy ambushed near Baghdad - police
Reuters AlertNet, UK - Jan 4, 2006
BAGHDAD, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Gunmen ambushed a convoy of 60 fuel tankers north of Baghdad on Wednesday, destroying 20 of them, police and oil officials said ...

Dozens killed in Iraq violence
Aljazeera.net, Qatar - Jan 4, 2006
At least 30 people have been killed and a further 36 wounded in a bomb attack on a Shia funeral during another day of violence across Iraq. ...

Fuel convoy ambushed near Baghdad -police
China Daily, China - Jan 4, 2006
Gunmen ambushed a convoy of 60 fuel tankers on a road just north of Baghdad on Wednesday, destroying 19 of them, police said, adding that the convoy's police ...

Iraq's Largest Refinery Shut By Insurgent Attacks
CBS 5, CA - 1 hour ago
An Iraqi official says the refinery located about 155 miles north of Baghdad had to be closed after insurgents ambushed a tanker truck carrying gas from the ...

Insurgent Ambush Shuts Oil Refinery
Herald News Daily, ND - 3 hours ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq ‘s largest oil refinery closed again Thursday, a day after insurgents ambushed a convoy of tanker trucks carrying gas from the facility ...

8:48 am: Beiji oil refinery, Iraq's largest, again shut down after ...
Santa Fe New Mexican, NM - 5 hours ago
By ASSOCIATED PRESS. BAGHDAD - Iraq's largest oil refinery again closed Thursday, a day after insurgents ambushed a convoy of tanker ...

Oil-rich Iraq is facing fuel crunch
Daily Express, Malaysia - 15 hours ago
BAGHDAD: Oil-rich Iraq is suffering an energy crisis in the wake of insurgent attacks on oil facilities and a run on the pumps as people struggle to fill cars ...

Iraq: US air strike wipes out civilian family
World War 4 Report, NY - 16 hours ago
US pilots targeting a farmhouse in the northern town of Baiji where they apparently believed insurgents had taken shelter killed a family of 12, Iraqi ...

Many die in day of violence in Iraq
DeHavilland, UK - 20 hours ago
More than 50 people have been killed across Iraq today and dozens injured in one of the most bloody days the country has witnessed since elections were held on ...

SWARM: Cutting Iraq's Gasoline Lines
Infoshop News - Jan 4, 2006
IRAQ: A large swarm destroyed twenty out of sixty fuel tankers in an Iraqi Oil Ministry convoy built to protect tanker drivers against threatened attacks. ...

Militants Attack Iraq Fuel Convoy
Herald News Daily, ND - Jan 4, 2006
By PATRICK QUINN, 31 minutes ago. BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militants ambushed a convoy of 60 tanker trucks heading to Baghdad from Iraq ‘s ...

Militants attack fuel convoy just days after largest refinery ...
WIS, SC - Jan 4, 2006
(Baghdad, Iraq-AP) January 4, 2006 - A tanker truck convoy in Iraq has come under militant attack. Police say four of the 60 trucks ...

11 killed as Iraq rebels target police, fuel convoy
Times of Oman, Oman - Jan 4, 2006
BAGHDAD –– At least 11 Iraqis were killed and 40 wounded Wednesday when rebels carried out a series of attacks on police and on a convoy taking petrol to ...

Car bomb kills five in Baghdad
Middle East Online, UK - Jan 4, 2006
Senior Iraqi oil official shot dead in Baghdad, Iraqi driver killed in rebel attack on tanker truck convoy. BAGHDAD - At least five ...

Militants Attack Iraq Fuel Convoy
Newsday, NY - Jan 4, 2006
By PATRICK QUINN. BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Militants ambushed a convoy of 60 tanker trucks heading to Baghdad from Iraq's largest refinery ...

Militants Attack Iraq Fuel Convoy
Houston Chronicle, United States - Jan 4, 2006
By PATRICK QUINN Associated Press Writer. BAGHDAD, Iraq — Militants ambushed a convoy of 60 tanker trucks heading to Baghdad from ...

Fuel convoy ambushed near Baghdad, police say
Reuters AlertNet, UK - Jan 4, 2006
By Mariam Karouny. BAGHDAD, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Gunmen ambushed a convoy of 60 fuel tankers north of Baghdad on Wednesday, destroying ...

Fuel convoy ambushed near Baghdad, police say
NewKerala.com, India - 16 hours ago
BAGHDAD: Gunmen ambushed a convoy of 60 fuel tankers north of Baghdad today, destroying 20 of them and killing four people, police and oil officials said. ...

Militants attack fuel convoy just days after largest refinery ...
KRON 4, CA - Jan 4, 2006
The trucks were heading to Baghdad from Iraq's biggest refinery, which had reopened Sunday. The Beiji (BAY'-zhee) refinery was closed ...

Militants attack fuel convoy just days after country's largest ...
WTNH, CT - Jan 4, 2006
(Baghdad, Iraq-AP, Jan. 4, 2006 12:03 PM) _ Militants ambushed a convoy of 60 tanker trucks heading to Baghdad from Iraq's largest ...

Dems not to filibuster Alito?

Is this announcement true? If so its dispicable.

Middle East Online, UK - Jan 4, 2006
Senior Iraqi oil official shot dead in Baghdad,

Theres a new detail. Interesting.

Any source on that Ira? Where did you pick that up?

Its on MSM, but its not what appears. Dems are stating there see no need to bring up filibuster at this time. If the hearings go bad, then all bets are off.

20+ in Congress to seek information on alleged CNN
Amanpour wiretap, aides tell Raw Story... Developing...

http://www.rawstory.com/

heard that on Ed schultz--waiting for details of full story. hopefully its just their playing cards close to the vest.

Dorgan returns his money directly to Indian tribes. Isn't that the proper way to do it?

Pat Robertson making bizarre statements again, this time about God's revenge on Sharon. Someone please lock him away.

The Hightower Report
BY JIM HIGHTOWER

COME CLEAN, TOM

Remember how Republicans howled in derision at Bill Clinton's ridiculous claim that he "did not have sexual relations with that woman"? When confronted with the legality of his actions, Clinton dodged with his now famous line, "it depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."
What a hoot, then, to hear Republican leader Tom DeLay use similar linguistic perversions to try to dodge accountability for his illegal actions. Of course, as is typical with Republican officials, DeLay's transgression does not involve sex ... but money. It's all a matter of what turns you on, I guess.

Article Continues...

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2006-01-06/pols_hightower.html

But WAIT!!!

There is more...

GUTTING THE BAN ON METHYL BROMIDE

It's time for today's riddle!
This one involves a particularly nasty pesticide called methyl bromide. How nasty is it? So nasty that, as of January 2005, its use was banned by an international treaty. And – get this – it's so nasty that even the Bushites back the ban! Yet – here comes the riddle – U.S. agribusiness giants are still pumping more than 10,000 tons of this nasty into our croplands and air each year. Can you figure it out?

Bingo, if you said "politics."

Methyl bromide is a cheap way for Big Agribusiness (especially in California) to wipe out pests and weeds on such field crops as strawberries and tomatoes. Never mind that its "cheapness" comes at a hefty price to others – this toxic gas also causes convulsions, comas, neurological damage, and other debilitating problems (including death) among farm workers who inhale it. The fumigant also disperses into the atmosphere and depletes Earth's protective ozone layer. Without that layer, we all fry.

Article Continues...

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2006-01-06/pols_hightower.html

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 01:41 PM

Christy, I wouldn't rely on Raw Story for accurate information. I can flip a coin and be right as often as they are. My rule is to use Raw Story as an idea of where things are going, and then look for a second source.

The story you posted was discredited two years ago at least, about what promises Chalabi made et cetera.

flip a coin...????

I have been watching them for over a year now, I have yet to see them get it wrong.

As a matter of a fact I have caught more errors on Huffington Post than I ever have on Raw Story.

The next 11 months will decide everything.

No one on earth will be unaffected.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 03:44 PM

During the Rose bowl last night, UT had an ad on, and apparently their tag line is something like

"Things that get their start in Texas change the world" (sic).

Truer, darker words may have never been spoken! I'm not sure they thought that through before putting it out there. Yecch!

Posted by: Carol at January 5, 2006 05:32 PM

That IS truely... Creepy.

Stop the ride, I wanna get off.

We should have voted for pedro.

Oh and speaking earlier of Isreali news sources..

CONFIRMED: PM ARIEL SHARON IS (AT LEAST CLINICALLY) DEAD
By Israel Insider staff and partners

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/7461.htm

Wanna know "who is giving away Abramoff money?"

Looong list:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060105/ap_on_go_co/abramoff_recipients_glance_8

Thanks TPM Cafe.

Nice information NMP. Great collection of multiple sourcing on the story. Nice work tracking that down.

Christy, I think that what DW may have been referring to was the diference between your post, and NMP's (NMP's being well and fully sourced, as well as providing new sources for the bloggers).

Yelling about injustice isn't wrong, but if you only communicate in one mode, yelling, then over time, your voice will get tuned out, which would be a shame, because you write important and moving pieces, but I've noticed those are usually the ones where you are not screaming.

Also, as a blog reader, I wish you wouldn't yell at us. And as for cussing, my niece reads this blog. I'm trying to bring her along as a good liberal, but she has Bush supporting parents. She is allowed to read this blog and a couple of others, but that is because her mother knows that they don't allow cussing here. So please, help me out here.

And I think if you want to start a blockade, you might ask Karen how to go about it. it's not as simple as standing in front of the Washington Post. And the Post has no control over the police coming and arresting people. The police would do it regardless of the Post asking them not to, because of the violations of any number of laws. But Karen knows more about that than I do, and she may know about a local DC group you can join via the internet who is into creative activism. But the point of the DCP is to empower you to do the things that you want to do as an activist.

At any rate, this is not a criticism, but hopefully a clarification of the area (it seems to me) that DW was stabbing around at.

Also, for others, I don't see alot of schadenfruede here about Sharon. I see this as a discussion of Sharon's current power level, and what will happen in Israel and the Middle East as a result.

Also, as far as withdrawing from the West Bank, well, I am pro-Israel, but the UN and INternational law are VERY clear on occupying lands that you seize in wartime. Very Clear, and Israel has been breaking those laws with impugnity for years.

Okay, as Otter would say,
That my .02 cents worth. You may need to convert to metric. Batteries not included.

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 05:25 PM

I agree about HuffPo, and they are another one that I use to catch the direction of things, but not one i would rely on.

For an example about Raw Story, they got things wrong in the Plamegate story, such as who was being indicted, when and what for. I don't think they had a source in Fitzgerald's office. I think their source was someone's attorney who was trying to guess who was going to be indicted.

Of course, Raw Story and Huffpo are nowhere near as bad as Capitol Blue.

new thread...

Karen's live blogging... go to talk to her

Posted by: Christy at January 5, 2006 05:36 PM

I wouldn't be surprised if Sharon is dead but the following quote makes no sense at all:

......Mor-Yosef, briefing journalists at the hospital's gate, said that "the prime minister is suffering from low intracranial pressure,......

Clinically every attempt is made in the post operative period to lower intracranial pressure in order to relieve pressure on the brain. I don't think Mor-Yosef has any idea what he is talknig about.

Posted by: spinnaker at January 5, 2006 05:47 PM

I have never screamed at you once Spinnaker. And if you hear screaming when you READ my words.. Im not really sure thats MY issue.

And also, YES, all you have to do is simply STAND in front of them. Some things just are that simple.

As far as me doing the blockade.. I am nowhere near a major media outlet. Not even close. But if the WaPo were within BLOCKS of me... I would keep going even if they arrest or threaten to arrest.

As far as cursing goes... Will keep it in mind.

And I am not anymore PRO-isreal than I am PRO-Palestinian.

NONE of it is about MY freedom.

By yelling I meant that using capitol letters online are generally mean shouting.

I was thinking more about getting in touch with a group that is based in Washington, who does more creative type activism and suggesting it to them. And as far as protesting in front of WaPo in Washington, you wouldn't last five minutes before being arrested and taken away. On the other hand, you could have an effective protest if you you protest legally and are able to stay long enough to deliver your message. Which means getting a permit to protest. Which is fairly simple to do in DC. There are a few things like that you need to do in Washington, versus protesting somewhere else in the US. T

hat's what I meant about Karen being able to hook you up with someone or some group in DC, to pass along your good ideas, so they can be used, even though you are not in a place where you can be the one to use them.

Truly Christy, I apologize if I offended you. It was not my intent.

You did not offend me at all Spin.

I'm glad, Christy. As I said, I like your ideas, and I would like to see them get used somehow.

I have definetly noticed that the creative protests (the big condoms protest by Code Pink comes to mind) are the ones that get covered by the media, especially if they are protests that happen right in front of them, while they are waiting to cover another news story.

Oncall- I don't get it. Low intra-cranial pressure? Following massive brain bleeding? And after surgery to the brain. I don't get it. How can that be?