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The Political Circus Comes To Town
If you've been watching the television news, or reading the newspaper, or monitoring things from your state of the art productions studio like Osama does, then it would be difficult to near impossible to have missed these important stories: Vice-President Dick Cheney shoots hunting partner 78 year old lawyer Harry Whittington in the face; the President okays a deal to have the govenment of Dubai assume control of US ports; and kicking off his new energy policy this week, the President visits an alternative energy research company, only to find that 32 people were to have been laid off due to government financing cutbacks.
Let's take these one by one.
Dick Cheney shoots an old man in face. Oh, and in the heart, too. Oh, and he may have been drinking one beer (the one beer story you hear from every single person that's ever been pulled over for DUI). Oh, and the guy's in ICU for four days because he's now had a heart attack from the shrapnel that Cheney pumped into his old buddy after mistaking the 78-year old man for a dangerous pen-raised quailtard bird while doing some extra manly humvee drive-up shooting.
The story rolled out over the course of six days. Over six days, the country was left to wonder, "Is the President in charge? Why isn't Cheney making a statement? Why doesn't the President tell him to come clean? What-he didn't call the President when it happened? Was there drinking involved? Why wasn't a blood alcohol test done? Why was the vice president treated so differently than anyone else would have been if they had shot someone while hunting? Why did the Vice President sit down to dinner at the Armstrong ranch instead of staying at the hospital with his friend? Is it true that the Vice President ate the quail that Whittington shot, and that he had it with fava beans and a nice chianti?"
And why, after the story seemed to be dying, did they put Scary Mary Matalin (who should stop taking makeup tips from Katherine Harris immediately) on "Meet the Press" to do damage control? Clearly, she is only used to inflicting damage and got terribly confused and made the situation even worse by sticking to her statement that Cheney "did nothing wrong."
But the stories continue to roll out...
Next, we have President Bush going to visit the super-duper National Renewable Energy Lab to kick-off his week-long theme of renewable energy. Only someone forgot the small detail that 32 employees were going to be laid off the week before the President arrived, due to a $28 million dollar budget cut. Oops. The President made an off-hand remark that the money didn't get placed in the right places. Due to the political embarrassment, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced yesterday that the funding would be restored and all of the jobs saved. Money not in the right place? I guess someone made a call to the oil and gas industry to ask them to give back the $28 million from their pocket change.
Then there's the Dubai deal. How politically DOA do you have to be to not see this one coming down the pike? And speaking of brain dead, Scott McClellan assured everyone in America that this deal had been very thoroughly vetted by, among cabinet level departments, the Department of Defense, as we hear about in this exchange from today's presser [emphasis added]:
Q- Scott, I have a two-part. The government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has approved a deal that will put six major ports in the United States under the control of a state-sponsored company based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. And my question: Knowing, as we do, that the Arab Emirate was tied in many ways to the 9/11 hijackers and their deeds, and knowing the critical nature of port security and protecting the nation, will the President step in and stop this deal from going into effect March 2nd?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, my understanding, Les, is that this went through the national security review process under CFIUS, at the Department of Treasury. That is the agency that is responsible for overseeing such matters. And this includes a number of national security agencies -- the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Justice, among others, and there is a rigorous review that goes on for proposed foreign investments for national security concerns. And in terms of specifics relating to this, Treasury is the chair of this and you should direct those questions to Treasury.
Except then there's this excerpt from today's presser over at DoD with Donald Rumsfeld [emphasis added]:
QUESTION: Are you confident that any problems with security — from what you know, are you confident that any problems with security would not be greater with a UAE company running this than an American company?
RUMSFELD: I am reluctant to make judgments based on the minimal amount of information I have because I just heard about this over the weekend.
Except that the deal went through on February 13, 2006. And it went through on a unanimous vote of the CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States). As Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld is a member of CFIUS. But he only found out about it this last weekend?
And all this is just what has happened over the course of a few days.
What is it with this White House that makes them completely incapable of managing a crisis, no matter what the size, and why does it take them three days and 72 hours of constant news coverage to even realize there's a problem?
Do you see the pattern?
Let's start with the three days it took for Bush to respond to his administration's colossal intelligence failure, 9-11. And then let's add in the inability to manage one grieving mother at the end of the driveway in the Texas heat. Then let's add in the Terri Schiavo debacle, in which a brain dead woman got more attention from Congress and the President than all of the Katrina victims put together. Hurricane Katrina, yet another occasion in which it took the administration three days to act. And there's always the massive failure of WMD intelligence that has led to the massive failure known as the Iraq War, the handling of the problems at Abu Ghraib prison, the denial, then the admission in the form of the Attorney General's legal opinion that we do torture detainees, and the President's denial subsequent to that admission...on and on it goes.
Sadly, the list of incompetence is only outpaced by the list of corruption.
And the criminals are getting worse and worse at keeping their stories straight. It's like the clown car at the circus, where the door opens and clown after clown after clown after clown comes out of the car until you begin to think, "Well, just how many clowns ARE there in that car?"
And that's just what I am beginning to think about Congress and the White House everytime I see one of their faces of television--"Just how many clowns ARE there in that car?"
Apparently the answer is, "All of them."
Posted by Casey Morris at February 22, 2006 10:23 AM
Ironic, Casey...since I haven't been able to enjoy clowns since watching the movie Poltergeist.
Clowns just aren't funny anymore and neither are these.
It's time to send the circus to a new town. (And disband them!)
Okay... new spin line on the UAE contract for U.S. port security.
Drum roll please....
Apparently, Bush didn't know about it.
http://tinyurl.com/hyh7m = yahoo news
===============================================
So, the UAE port security plan meets with instantaneous, bipartisan explosion... Bush spends 3 days trying to defend the idea... Puppet Master takes another look at the polling on this stink-bomb, and VOILA!!
George didn't know.
This is getting really pathetic.
[edited to use tinyurl...]
White House Has Ties to Dubai Firm Taking Over Ports
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206Z.shtml
The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six US ports has at least two ties to the White House. One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World, the other connection is
David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the US MaritimeAdministration.
Another perspective, sent me by an avid Kos reader who is very well-informed on global affairs
Commentary: Dubai firm running our ports no big deal
By Frank Cerabino Palm Beach Post Staff Columnist
I don't know what the fuss is about. Sure, the Miami seaport may soon be run by a company controlled by an Arab country. But there are a lot of swell Arab countries out there. And the United Arab Emirates is one we count as a real friend, an ally in the fight against global terrorism.
More at: http://tinyurl.com/kbvyy = palm beach post
[edited to use tinyurl...]
As long as we're pulling things from kos today, here's one that deserves a good read as well...
an informed diary by someone from the UK with personal ties to the company that was sold to Dubai Ports...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/22/95744/9325
It does add some more thoughtful perspective to what's going on with the port deal.
I've written about the latest from Juan Cole and the "possible Iraqis Civil War."
This is really scary stuff and more that the media is hiding.
http://tinyurl.com/m9bmw progressiveu-nolies32fouettes
at http://firedoglake.blogspot.com there is a thread about how to prepare to call into talk shows-GOOD EDUCATION!!!
So now I find out Bush did not even know about the Dubai port sale til a few days ago.
http://tinyurl.com/fbeny = comcast news
George "Pet Goat" Bush - who is minding the ranch? This is worse than when Reagan had early Alzheimers & Nancy ruled by consulting an Astrologer!
[edited to use tinyurl...]
Article says Treasury Secy Snow urged Bush to complete the deal. Well he used to be head of the company that Dubai Ports just bought! Not the only conflict of interest - some other high-up is waiting to be confirmed - who has connections with this deal (if I remember right from NPR).
"May God bless India and Pakistan, and may God continue to bless the United States," Mr. Bush said in closing.
brother ..
Though not long, best analysis on Iraq that I've seen in a long time. It does not even really address the US - this is about internal factors & factions. We have obviously stirred the cauldron and the mixture is becoming explosive.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2006/02/22/a_step_closer_to_civil_war.html#more
Why we need leakers
http://tinyurl.com/k8onl = Wash Post
Why journalists hands are tied - more typical of an authoritarian society than a mature democracy
[edited to use tinyurl...]
Posted by: DiAnne at February 22, 2006 03:11 PM
Dianne:
Mr. Snow learned from the example of the Vice-President on how to break free from his previous employer. Which is to NOT break free at all.
Dems having problems finding strong candidates o run against Bob Ney in Ohio. When will labor stop backing crooked Republicans like Ney?
One of the Democrats who turned down Emanuel's recruiting efforts said Ney could be unbeatable, despite his troubles.
Ney is a top target for Democrats in the 2006 elections because of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. When Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges in January, he told federal prosecutors Ney took thousands of dollars in gifts, travel and campaign donations from him and associates in exchange for official acts.
The Democrats have made Ney's race the bellwether for their attempt to erase a 231-202 GOP advantage in the House, but Ney said the fact that "the top-three tier people didn't run against me should tell Rahm Emanuel that the bell's already misshaping itself."
"He is well liked in the district.
He enjoys broad-based support from labor unions and business.
My own personal feeling is, until he is led off the floor of Congress in handcuffs, he'll be tough to defeat," state Rep. John Boccieri said.
By contrast, Ney faces little challenge from his own party. GOP House leaders forced him to give up a committee chairmanship temporarily and Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett has said he would ask Ney to step down from Congress if he is indicted, but the party is unfamiliar with his only primary opponent and the national campaign organization says it would not stop supporting the lawmaker unless he is convicted.
White House Has Ties to Dubai Firm Taking Over Ports
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206Z.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Cretin has yapped about national security and 'ter-rists' since 9/11 to talk the unquestioning sheeple in America into his stupid illegal war in Iraq.
NOW The Cretin approves of opening the ports to the people he describes as our 'enemies'?!?!? And let's not forget that two of the criminal hijackers on 9/11 were from the United Arab Emirates, the rest were from Saudi Arabia, and that UAE allegedly laundered money to support some of the hijackers. What's wrong with that picture???
All that after The Cretin stood on the rubble of 9/11 telling the American public to go back to their normal lives, go to plays, etc..., none of which has stopped him from exploiting 9/11 every time he gives a speech about his false 'war on terrorism.' More people are killed by drunk drivers in the US yearly than died on 9/11. Drunk drivers just don't kill 3000 people all at once, but one, or a few, at a time. I'm more afraid of drunk drivers than any self-described 'terrorist.' How about starting a 'war on drunk drivers?' (And WHY, fer pete's sake, must everything be described as a "war"??? It just fosters the same kind of paranoid xenophobia, the us vs. them mindset, that characterized the 'cold war.' The McCarthy era is done with. Why are we currently moving backward into that same thinking that takes away our rights while claiming to give us a false sense of security while our lives are being invaded with illegal spying... and not forward?)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_tin_ear_1
Bush Port Defiance Fuels Bipartisan Anger
WASHINGTON - President Bush's marquee issue, the war on terror, is being turned against him by Democrats and rebelling members of his own party in an election-year dustup over a deal that allows an Arab company to manage major U.S. ports.
People in both parties are suggesting it's another case of Bush seeming to be tone deaf to controversy — on top of government eavesdropping, Katrina recovery and Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident.
The storm is forcing the president to choose between losing face with the Arab world and embarking on what would be his first veto battle with the GOP-led Congress. And it has enabled Democrats to seemingly outflank him on a key GOP issue: national security.
Has Bush lost his way politically — or at least his touch?
{{{Click on link for more.}}}
Posted by Casey Morris at February 22, 2006 10:23 AM
Do you realize just how stupid George and his band of Keystone cop wannabe's look now, after the Schiavo dog and phoney show? With Katrina and all? Sanctity of life. Uh huh.
(You can't very well send in troops to help disaster victims when they are in Iraq helping those peoples get their "freedom").
Something Bad Happened to a Clown
by Warren Zevon
Every touch is measured out
Every word is written down
Sunny skies are seldom seen
In the land of few and far between
And everybody wears a frown
Someone lost their squirting rose
There's his red nose on the ground
No one's seen his painted smile
He's been gone for quite a while
Something bad happened to a clown
Something bad happened to a clown
He used to honk his horn and everyone would laugh
He used to honk his horn
She doesn't think he's very funny anymore
Footprints in the sawdust leading to the edge of town
Something bad happened to a clown
Something bad happened to a clown
He used to honk his horn and everyone would laugh
He used to honk his horn
She doesn't think he's very funny anymore
Footprints in the sawdust leading to the edge of town
Something bad happened to a clown
Something bad happened to a clown
David Sirota's take on the UAE port deal is interesting...and very similar to the deal done last year to help build nuclear technology in Communist China. It'a all about free trade & money & corporate interests...and to hell with security.
The dirty little secret behind the UAE port security flap
Politicians and the media are loudly decrying the Bush administration's proposal to turn over port security to a firm owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - a country with ties to terrorists. They are talking tough about national security - but almost no one is talking about what may have fueled the administration's decision to push forward with this deal: the desire to move forward Big Money's "free" trade agenda.
How much does "free" trade have to do with this? How about a lot. The Bush administration is in the middle of a two-year push to ink a corporate-backed "free" trade accord with the UAE. At the end of 2004, in fact, it was Bush Trade Representative Robert Zoellick who proudly boasted of his trip to the UAE to begin negotiating the trade accord. Rejecting this port security deal might have set back that trade pact. Accepting the port security deal - regardless of the security consequences - likely greases the wheels for the pact. That's probably why instead of backing off the deal, President Bush - supposedly Mr. Tough on National Secuirty - took the extraordinary step of threatening to use the first veto of his entire presidency to protect the UAE's interests. Because he knows protecting those interetsts - regardless of the security implications for America - is integral to the "free" trade agenda all of his corporate supporters are demanding.
--snip--
There is no better proof that our government takes its orders from corporate interests than these kinds of moves. That's what this UAE deal is all about - the mixture of the right-wing's goal of privatizing all government services (even post 9/11 port security!) with the political Establishment's desire to make sure Tom-Friedman-style "free" trade orthodoxy supersedes everything. This is where the culture of corruption meets national security policy - and, more specifically, where the unbridled corruption of on-the-take politicians are weakening America's security.
http://tinyurl.com/jpcau = working for change/sirota blog
Lawmakers to Bush: ‘HELL NO!’
Republican Rep. Peter King and Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, both of New York, said they will introduce emergency legislation to suspend the ports deal.
“I will fight harder than ever for this legislation, and if it is vetoed I will fight as hard as I can to override it,” said King, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., also indicated Bush faced a serious struggle.
“This deal doesn't pass the national security test,” Saxton said. “I think it's a mistake. If necessary, Congress should act independently of the President. Frankly, I think we can override a veto. We have more than enough votes to do it.”
“I think somebody dropped the ball. Information should have flowed more freely and more quickly up into the White House. I think it has been mishandled in terms of coming forward with adequate information,” said Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y.
Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., expressed the anger of many lawmakers when she sent Bush a one-sentence letter:
“Dear Mr. President:
In regards to selling American ports to the United Arab Emirates, not just NO — but HELL NO!”
more... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11494815/
More info about this Dubai port deal...
This changeover in the ports from the British company to the UAE is supposed to take effect next week, yet...
- Rumsfeld, who is supposedly on the CIFUS committee who reviewed & approved this was not aware of the deal... http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/21/rumsfeld-not-consulted/
- Bush is surprised that Democrats & Republicans (including his loyal supporters Frist & DeLay) are up in arms about this...so is he that clueless? (yes) That stupid? (yes)
- The administration failed to conduct the legally required investigation before approving the UAE port deal, as dictated by law...and the administration can't explain why they didn't follow the law... Did they break the law -- again? (very very likely) Ihttp://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/22/legally-required-investigation/
- Bush, who is supposedly running this country (into the ground) was not aware that the deal had gone through until this weekend...Is he lying again? (duh...)
- The Dubai company hires Bob Dole to lobby for the deal... http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/22/wednesday/index.html
Sheesh. How much more screwed up could this get, regardless of whether it's good for business & globalization & blah blah blah...
One more post (from me) tonight about the Dubai port deal... Here's an interesting counterpoint to the arguments against the deal from Think Progress... It's got lots of good key points and well-reasoned statements, including this one...
We have instead been largely engaged in a disingenuous debate. Following the lead of President Jimmy Carter, progressives can and should embrace the reality of globalization and accept that our more inter-connected world affords us an opportunity to build mutual respect and understanding.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/22/dubai-counterpoint/
While Bush had struck a defiant tone on Tuesday in back-to-back sessions with reporters on Air Force One and outside the White House, McClellan on Wednesday acknowledged Congress should have been briefed earlier "given all the attention that has been focused on this and given the fact that it has been mischaracterized."
Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
22 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. It chose not to impose other, routine restrictions.
As part of the $6.8 billion purchase, state-owned Dubai Ports World agreed to reveal records on demand about "foreign operational direction" of its business at U.S. ports, the documents said. Those records broadly include details about the design, maintenance or operation of ports and equipment.
The administration did not require Dubai Ports to keep copies of business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to court orders. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate U.S. government requests. Outside legal experts said such obligations are routinely attached to U.S. approvals of foreign sales in other industries.
"They're not lax but they're not draconian," said James Lewis, a former U.S. official who worked on such agreements. If officials had predicted the firestorm of criticism over the deal, Lewis said, "they might have made them sound harder."
The conditions involving the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. were detailed in U.S. documents marked "confidential." Such records are regularly guarded as trade secrets, and it is highly unusual for them to be made public.
The concessions — described previously by the Homeland Security Department as unprecedented among maritime companies — reflect the close relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
more... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ports_security_52
On topic...Wednesday's 'toons, compliments of DU...They hit on just about every clown act...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x495821
because sometimes all you can do is laugh to keep from crying...
JUST CAME BACK FROM MOVE ON VIGIL;
Both print and TV media showed up. Cameraman with the print reporter. The crowd was about 20 people. We lit candles and started to get a little rowdy - there were quite a few young people there and not that many old foggies so the atmosphere was extremely anti-Bush. We ventured onto the subject of impeachment and I made it clear that Move On's position was not calling for impeachment but a special prosecutor to look into the NSA wiretaps.
I am curious as to what will come out in the newspaper tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in Iraq...
Riverbend has a new posting today.
Tensions...
Things are not good in Baghdad.
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
Someone knows it's all about the money. I also just heard that on the radio from the Reaganite conservative who wrote "Imposter," about how Bush II is a fake conservative.
The Honorable John Snow
Chair
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
Office of International Investment
Department of Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Room 4201 NY
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I write to you in your capacity as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) regarding the review and approval of the sale of Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Navigation Company to Dubai Ports World (DP). As you know, this sale would give DP, a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, significant operational control over six major US ports.
Specifically, given the national security implications of this sale, I am concerned about the process by which this transaction was approved by CFIUS. First, it appears that CFIUS approved the sale as expeditiously as possible, without even using the additional 45 day investigation process that was clearly warranted under the circumstances.
Further, several media reports have cited ties between Administration officials and DP that raise questions about the basis for the approval of this sale by CFIUS. As you know, the CSX rail corporation, where you previously served as Chief Executive Officer, sold its port operations to DP in 2004. Moreover, the President's nominee for Administrator of the Maritime Administration, David Sanborn, was DP's Head of Operations for Latin America while this transaction was being reviewed by CFIUS. In light of these connections, Congress needs to learn more about the relationship between CFIUS members and DP, and whether Administration officials could have unduly influenced CFIUS's approval process.
Therefore, in the interest of full disclosure and the transparency appropriate under these circumstances, I request that you provide to the relevant committees in Congress all documentation and information relating to contacts between Administration officials, CFIUS members and staff, and DP, including any lobbyists or registered foreign agents working on behalf of DP.
Given the national security implications surrounding this transaction, it is essential that lawmakers have access to this information so that Congress can conduct meaningful oversight.
Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
Up the Pole and No One Saluted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Senate flag, which flies atop its building when the chamber is in session, was raised around 10 a.m. Friday. But there was one problem: It was upside down. That's the universal distress symbol.
Congressional aide Donna Taylor , who works in the Rayburn House Office Building, snapped a photo and promptly called the Senate sergeant-at-arms to alert him to the situation.
Within minutes, the flag was lowered and raised correctly. "I'm afraid the doorkeeper who raised the flag this morning now knows the meaning of distress," Senate sergeant-at-arms spokeswoman Becky Daugherty said.
Actually, folks in the House think that the Senate is in distress whenever it's in session.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101845.html?sub=AR
AOL poll
What rating would you give him overall?
Poor 67%
Good 12%
Fair 11%
Excellent 10%
Total Votes: 155,771
Note on Poll Results
How would you grade his handling of the ports deal?
F 77%
D 8%
C 6%
B 5%
A 5%
Total Votes: 113,378
Note on Poll Results
I went to University of South Dakota and there was introduced to feminism - Women's Studies program, I had a radical feminist lesbian separatist linguistics professor, I was there the night a daughter of a prominent politician who shall go nameless took off to drive across the state for an abortion. Now South Dakota is the most backward state in the union when it comes to women's rights, it's no wonder people like me moved away before we barely got into childbearing age, and things are way less progressive now than they were 30 years ago. God forbid women should ever be raped or victims of incest in South Dakota, let alone that they or their fetus should have a dangerous medical condition.
At least my Republican uncle, originally from South Dakota, sent me 2 articles on this and agrees with me. He also appears to be starting to read TruthOut (not forwards - I think he has signed up). Right on!
The GOP's Loyalty Fetish
by Paul Waldman, TomPaine.com
Conservatives value a simple belief in the absolute and perfect authority of George W. Bush more than personal responsibility.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/22/the_gops_loyalty_fetish.php
Democracy's Regression
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/21/democracys_regression.php
THE WAR ON HYPE
The deadly terror lurking around the corner may not be such a big, ominous threat after all
http://simurl.com/nezfuc
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/02/19/INGDDH8E2V1.DTL
How Neo-Cons Sabotaged Iran's Help on al Qaeda
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0222-07.htm
Behind the White House's Billion-Dollar Propaganda Push
By Michelle Chen, The NewStandard
In two years, the Bush administration spent $1.6 billion to paint a prettier picture of its failing policies, even as it cut away the social safety net.
http://www.alternet.org/story/32378/
Cherry Potter | Train Them Like Rats
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0222-25.htm
Bill Berry | Flatulent Right Wing Fills Radio with Hate
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0222-23.htm
Report: Nearly 100 Dead in US Custody in Iraq, Afghanistan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206L.shtml
Nearly 100 prisoners have died in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since August 2002, the Human Rights First organization said ahead of the publication of their report.
{{{There are two stories on this link about the same subject. One is from France, the other from the BBC.}}}
William Fisher | A Tale of Two Gitmos: Where Was the MSM?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206M.shtml
William Fisher writes: A report compiled from declassified Defense Department evaluations of the more than 500 detainees at the Cuba facility, says just eight percent are listed as fighters for a terrorist group, while 30 percent are considered members of a terrorist group and the remaining 60 percent were just "associated with" terrorists.
Monsanto Turns About on Terminator
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/022206LA.shtml
It turns out you can't trust Monsanto. Warned of devastating consequences to farmers, the company made a landmark public promise in 1999 not to commercialize "Terminator Technology" - plants that are genetically
engineered to produce sterile seeds. Now, seven years later, Monsanto seems to have changed its mind.
{{{This speaks directly to corporate greed, making mega-bucks on the plight of the starving people in the world.... Shame on Monsanto!!!}}}
UAE Would Control Shipments of Military Equipment for US Army
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206N.shtml
The sale of P&O to Dubai Ports World would give the state-owned company control of “the ports of New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.” Dubai Ports World would also control the movement of military equipment on behalf of the US Army through two other ports, Beaumont and Corpus Christi.
{{{Five short paragraphs....}}}
Slicing Away Liberty: 1933 Germany, 2006 America
By Bernard Weiner
I must confess that I'm utterly baffled by the lack of sustained, organized outrage and opposition from Democratic officials and ordinary citizens at the Bush Administration's never-ending scandals, corruptions, war-initiations, and the amassing of more and more police-state power into their hands.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12022.htm
It’s Munich In America. There Will Be No Normandy
by David Michael Green
This is it, folks. This is the scenario our Founders lost sleep over. This is the day they prepared us for.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12030.htm
Simon Jenkins | Bush and Blair Have Brilliantly Done bin Laden's Work
for Him
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206G.shtml
Is Osama bin Laden winning after all? Until recently I would have derided such a thought. Now I am beginning to wonder. Not a day passes without some new sign of bin Laden's mesmeric grip on the governments of Britain and America. British policy seems obsessed with one word: terrorism. The West is equivocating, writhing and slithering in precisely the direction most desired by its enemy. He must be roaring with delight, remarks Simon Jenkins.
Excerpt (click on link for more - it's from a UK paper, author seems to have a great deal of common sense):
There never was a "terrorist threat" to western civilization or democracy, only to western lives and property. The threat becomes systemic only when democracy loses its confidence and when its leaders are weak, as now. Terror attacks are for the police. For George Bush and Blair to demand a "long war" against Bin Laden and, by implication, a long suppression of civil liberty is ludicrous. Western civilization is not some simpering weakling that cowers before a fanatic 's might, pleading for leaders to protect it by all means, however illegal. It has been proof against Islamic expansionism since the 17th century. It is not at risk.
The American president and the British prime minister have spent half a decade exploiting Bin Laden for political ends, in thrall to their security/industrial complex. They have relied on terrifying their electorates with new and bloodcurdling threats, with what Runciman calls "spook politics". But they will pass. The half-baked "message" laws passed by Britain's limp parliament last week will fall in disuse. The vitality of British and American democracy has always been its ability to produce antibodies when truly challenged by an internal or external menace. The West will rediscover its self-belief and restore the liberalism, properly defined as freedom that it once exemplified to the world.
This is amazing and scary.
http://markfromireland.blogsome.com/2006/02/23/reaction-to-the-samarra-bombing/
OK. Color me surprised...!!! Re: those stupid war propaganda ads: Reality Check did another round about the ads, quoting from what looked like a whole ream of paper printed of emails regarding the matter. They repeated their disclaimer at the end. (What a lame excuse for running lying propaganda while being paid for it! Bleah!)
The surprise part was when Kessler was quoting people who are against the ad wrote in. One of the people he quoted was me! Shock! Actually he didn't quote from my first or last emails. Kessler replied to my first email, I replied to his reply, and it was from that reply email that he took the quote he attributed to me. He almost quoted me in context, too, because he was talking about the content of the ads, and that most of the people who wrote a negative criticism disagreed with the claims made in the ads, the contents of the ads. The quote he used from me was "A tactic that Hitler used... repeat a lie often enough and people come to believe it as fact." He also said that today only the first ad had been re-run. I missed that because I've not watched TV all day until I made it a point of watching tonight to see if Reality Check would even talk about the ad.
I'm still in shock; however, I can only conclude that sometimes people actually DO read the emails they are sent! They must, or they wouldn't get my quote pretty much correct, and almost in the context I used those words in my email, and spell my name right! :-)
Just before I watched the news I was reading an article from the local rag. It seems one of the pro-war women traveling the state with another woman, both promoting the war (and those stupid war propaganda ads were mentioned in the article) is from a town next to where I live, which is likely why it made the local paper. The name and phone number and email address of the reporter were listed at the bottom of the piece... I think I have more writing to do....
because sometimes all you can do is laugh to keep from crying...
Posted by: madame defarge at February 22, 2006 09:43 PM
Thanks for the 'toons. I especially liked this one, it is so true!
n http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/uc/20060222/ltt060222.gif
NonnyO
Of everything you posted, I like "Flatulent Rightwing" (filling the airwaves)
A friend sent me two new stories on the Port deal and says the Freepers are exploding. A rightwinger at work asked her who the Dems are running in 2008 - his wife wants to know. Her fundie GOP boss had smoke coming out of his ears. I myself got an an email from someone I thought loved Bush and Cheney & it was from Huffington Post, about "folk songs of the far right!"
My friend says on the freep boards they are criticizing the port deal and also letting slip their concerns about the deficit etc. & that mirrored what the "Imposter" author said on NPR (the former Reagan Treasury dept. guy).
The stories:
Obscure US intelligence agency assessed ports deal
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNew...
Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/port...
Sparrow
I'll read the Samarra thing - I've been thinking about that all day.
Dubai's Port of No Return
http://villagevoice.com/news/0609,ridgeway,72286,2.html
Tying UAE in with Bin Laden etc.
Also check out the articles about 9/11 in this Village Voice issue - stuff I have been trying not to read.
I also don't want to believe American has stolen elections.
Kessler replied to my first email, I replied to his reply, and it was from that reply email that he took the quote he attributed to me. He almost quoted me in context, too, because he was talking about the content of the ads, and that most of the people who wrote a negative criticism disagreed with the claims made in the ads, the contents of the ads. The quote he used from me was "A tactic that Hitler used... repeat a lie often enough and people come to believe it as fact." He also said that today only the first ad had been re-run. I missed that because I've not watched TV all day until I made it a point of watching tonight to see if Reality Check would even talk about the ad.
I'm still in shock; however, I can only conclude that sometimes people actually DO read the emails they are sent! They must, or they wouldn't get my quote pretty much correct, and almost in the context I used those words in my email, and spell my name right! :-)
Posted by: NonnyO at February 22, 2006 11:40 PM
Way to GO, NonnyO!!!
NonnyO got quoted from her email on television!!!
Thanks for all you do, NonnyO! Your research and letters are worth so much!!
And you too, DiAnne, of course!!
I forgot to watch the local network news tonight to see if that is where I saw that ad similar to the one you are speaking and writing about, NonnyO.
I think I can go catch the end of the local NBC right now.
Thanks!
Here is some from the Village Voice article:
General Wayne Downing, Bush's former national director for combating terrorism, was quoted on MSNBC in September, 2003 saying, "They would go out and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits, ride horses. One noted visitor is Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktum, United Arab Emirates Defense Minister and Crown Prince for the emirate of Dubai.''
--I wonder if Cheney ever went hunting with them?! & now Bert from MN tells me this:
Bush indeed is a uniter. Saudi Arabia came out against the US in its support of Hamas, along with Egypt; then Repubs and Democrats united against Bush on port deal.
The irony is killing me! Condi has been spending 3 days trying to twist arms. Next week Bush will go to India and Pakistan - he'll try to convince India to separate their civilian and military nuclear programs (and exactly how would that be monitored?). He assures Americans that India is not a job threat (outsourcing) if we can just get the right training (with what money?!)
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at February 22, 2006 11:48 PM
Thanks! After months and months of writing legislators, media, etc., it is nice to know that someone read something of the thousands of words I've written! Politicans' email programs just send back those stupid form letters, and that's worse than no reply at all.
Posted by: DiAnne at February 22, 2006 11:42 PM
I liked that one, too, DiAnne.
I'm still not hearing as much stuff against that UAE port deal as I'd like to.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ports_security_53
Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. It chose not to impose other, routine restrictions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And Frat Boy wasn't aware of what was going on until after the fact?!? Ya. Sure. You betcha.
Remember Johnny Carson's face when you knew he didn't believe something? I'm making that face....
I'm still not hearing as much stuff against that UAE port deal as I'd like to.
Posted by: NonnyO at February 23, 2006 12:07 AM
NonnyO and DiAnne,
CNN and MSNBC devoted quite a bit of airtime to it tonight. Flipped over for my 10 second view of O'Reilly to see how he is spinning it, and the spin is (a couple of the right leaning pundits on CNN gave this psyops frame, too) that people who object to the Arabs running the ports are bigots and racist. Yep. Whoever dreams up this stuff?
And Casey,
Meanwhile, Anderson Cooper and Oprah did a big bit yesterday complete with first account testimonies from the surviving victims of NOLA. There are many still living in squalor there 5 months after the disaster, and there are thousands of trailer houses sitting going to rot while FEMA drags it's feet. (No I don't sit and watch all this stuff, I leave it on for the noise, and when working in my office I hear something and run out and watch it for a brief time). People are still discovering dead bodies there. I'm sure you are all aware, but Anderson Cooper and Oprah were totally bummed about it, and said so.
Casey, the scariest part of it all is that if they can't even handle an accidental shooting incident without botching it, and it taking up to a hundred people to decide what to do and when to do it, and not having their stories straight, what on EARTH are they doing to our government and to the stability of our nation and the world?
They are the terrorists we need to fear.
This whole port thing is one of the biggest gaffs in the history of this administration.
And, Mr. O'Reilly, how can you even say such a thing? Sending poor young people to fight and die while murdering thousands more in Iraq is not bigoted and racist?
Dang, these guys are beyond belief.
Thanks! After months and months of writing legislators, media, etc., it is nice to know that someone read something of the thousands of words I've written! Politicans' email programs just send back those stupid form letters, and that's worse than no reply at all.
Posted by: NonnyO at February 23, 2006 12:07 AM
I know! It's exciting to know you are being read and heard. Alot of the television pundits are starting their own blogs too, and when not they have a blog analyist give them reports every night about what the blogisphere is saying.
See, all that hard work is paying off!!!
BUSH'S MYSTERIOUS 'NEW PROGRAMS'
Nat Parry, Consortium News
Is the Pentagon building U.S.-based prison camps for Muslim immigrants? Evidence points to the possibility.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/32647/
{{{OK. This is the fourth story I've read about domestic "detention centers." To me, it's like reading about the 'gradual' buildup of concentration camps when the Nazis did the same after Hitler came to power.... I also do not believe these facilities would be only for Muslims; I think it would be for other people, too, including Americans who disagree with The Cretin's policies and his dictatorial rule of this country. There are links embedded in the story to check out, too.}}}
Strangers at the Door
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/23/opinion/23ervin.html
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at February 23, 2006 01:04 AM
It's just enough encouragement to keep me writing...! :-)
Beside the high school annual photo of me in my senior year, it says: "Silence is golden, but I prefer to talk." Well, I write almost as much as I talk.... Odd thing is, I've come down with a bit of a sore throat in the last few days while working on deconstructing and debunking that one miserable propaganda ad, and I haven't had a cold or laryngitis for many years. Odd, that, eh? ;-)
Ok, someone remind me why I keep sticking up for FEMA?? Maybe it's because they need a better PR department.
There are two big reasons there are large "parks" of trailers with no residents in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana (and elsewhere nearby):
1. State and local officials can't agree where to put the parks.
2. State and local officials are hampering (or not facilitating) the utility hook-ups.
Which is, of course, when you need somebody with federal muscle (higher than FEMA or DHS, hint hint) to flex it for once. Although that would upset those who don't like the flexing of federal power in general.
More good work from the Cabal and it's spreading of democracy...
Iraq boils with sectarian violence; death toll tops 100
More than 100 people have been killed in Iraq in violence that boiled over after Wednesday's attack on a revered Shiite mosque in Samarra. No one seems safe from the attacks. According to police, casualties include senior members of the Iraqi army, soldiers, journalists, civilians and children. Fifty Sunni mosques have been attacked in Baghdad since the strike on the Shiite mosque.
cnn.com
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 7:08 a.m. ET Feb. 23, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Religious and political leaders scrambled Thursday to halt a descent into all-out civil war after the destruction of a Shiite shrine sparked the worst sectarian violence the country has seen since the fall of Saddam Hussein, with scores of people killed in Baghdad in the past 24 hours.
In one of the worst incidents, gunmen pulled factory workers off buses northeast of Baghdad and killed 47 of them, a provincial council member said.
The victims were traveling in three buses when they were stopped at a checkpoint in the Nahrawan area, about 12 miles south of Baqouba, said Dhari Thuban, a member of the Diyala Provincial Council. The buses were burned and their passengers killed, he said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11491483/
After reading two articles this morning about the Dubai deal, I'm thinking the Dems should surprise Georgie and agree to the sale under the condition that the government completely revise & enforce new security standards for ports of entry to the US. That's where the problem is and that's where we should focus.
This makes the Republicans look like obstructionists against corporate deals and the Dems strong on security issues but pro-business...
In fact, I'll call my senators today to suggest this... Any other takers?
veritas,
You don't have to keep convincing me. I know you used the words "defending FEMA" but we're lucky here to be able to get our questions answered and to know that the answers are reliable.
However, for most people, they're stuck not knowing, so the believe it's Bush's fault of Democrats fault.
It's realy hard to know the difference sometimes.
I can not believe they're saying to the PEACENICKS that they have anti-Arab feelings.
What PLANET are we LIVING on?
AND LOOK at this HORRIBLE viscious comment on nolie's blog by jujuman13. Where's a barf bucket?!
http://tinyurl.com/pyrqh (progressiveu)
Posted by: madame defarge at February 23, 2006 08:20 AM
OK, after a lengthy discussion in the IRC with marc and a little more research, I've come across a couple of very troubling facts:
- according to a NYT article, "The deal would transfer the leases for ports in New York, Baltimore and Miami, among others, from a British-owned company to one controlled by the government of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates. But the security of the ports is still the responsibility of Coast Guard and Customs officials. Foreign management of American ports is nothing new, as the role already played by companies from China, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and trading partners in Europe attests."
http://tinyurl.com/l7ej3 = NYTimes
- this regime has totally failed in putting any safeguards in the deal, as reported by AP: "Under a secretive agreement with the Bush administration, a company in the United Arab Emirates promised to cooperate with U.S. investigations as a condition of its takeover of operations at six major American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The U.S. government chose not to impose other, routine restrictions.
In approving the $6.8 billion purchase, the administration chose not to require state-owned Dubai Ports World to keep copies of its business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to orders by American courts. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate requests by the government." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ports_security
So, I've revised my thinking & strategy... I still say the Dems should support this port deal from a business perspective with the following qualifications:
- the company who wants control of the ports cannot be owned by a foreign government. It's not the nationality that's the issue; it's the fact that it's a foreign government.
- strict safeguards must be in place as to who works on the ports. The work force must be mainly American, with hiring subject to the same -- if not stricter -- regulations as under the current British management.
That said, I think we still need to use this as an opportunity to show:
- how inept & secretive this regime is in making deals behind closed doors -- doors so thick that even the president & secretary of defense alledgedly can't get through them... (How much you want to bet that Deadeye Dick has the magic key...)
- how uninterested in security this regime is. They totally neglected to put safeguards in place. What do think this is...pre-9/11 days?
- how Dems can be pro-business, but for the right business & the right level of security.
OK, I'll shut up now and move on to something else...
... and I say put boot to throat on this port issue.
We can Get Smart aftewards.
I can't resist... I'm not a Leno fan, but...
"Today was the big White House President's Day clearance sale---all our ports must go!! No offer refused, no enemy turned down! Crazy George is insane! Come on down!!!"
---Jay Leno
And speaking of incompetence...
A White House report released today concludes that inexperienced disaster response managers and a lack of planning, discipline and leadership contributed to vast federal failures during Hurricane Katrina.
The defense rests.
OK, I lied about moving on... I must be turning repub...
Bush says Dubai ports deal not a security threat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President George W. Bush insisted on Thursday that a deal to allow a Dubai company to manage six U.S. ports would not pose a security risk, despite an outcry of concern among both Republicans and Democrats.
"This wouldn't be going forward if we were not certain that our ports would be secure," Bush told reporters during a Cabinet meeting.
http://tinyurl.com/hc64p = Reuters
Here's a longer article...
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/26-02232006-617203.html
So, our president clearly isn't worried about our security anymore...
It's all unraveling before our very eyes...
Separately, U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, said he is concerned about Texas ports where military cargo is handled by London-based Peninsular and Oriental, the company to be purchased by the UAE's Dubai Ports World.
Poe said ports in Beaumont and Corpus Christi move military goods, materials and records of which he would not want UAE employees to have access.
Concerned lawmakers from both parties have noted that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used the United Arab Emirates as an operational and financial base.
"We would be bringing trouble upon ourselves," Poe said. "I've heard the UAE is our friend on the war on terror, despite the past, but they may not be our friend tomorrow.
"They would have access to every manifest regarding shipping, all cargo going out, what's on it, where it's going and all incoming shipping coming back to the port."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_go_co/port_security_delay_1
Another very telling paragraph in the article monkey posted...
The White House said Wednesday that President Bush was unaware of the pending sale until it already had been approved by his administration.
Monkey:
Are you saying to the Anti-Elvis: "Live by the anti-nuance, die by the anti-nuance?"
Just curious.
Chuck in Doha
new thread ... of course
Posted by: Ira at February 22, 2006 05:26 PM
Is this your take on Ney's race in Ohio or are you quoting someone?
This is a race of great interest to me in that my current congressman is right in line with Ney with regard to his involvement with Abramobb.
I wonder what kind of support Ney's Republican challenger will receive and from where...
Posted by: Veritas at February 23, 2006 06:39 AM
Veritas, Anderson Cooper has interviewed people down there, and they are blaming FEMA and the Feds, to the best of my remembrance. I will look for the transcript, I believe one transcript would have been early this week, as Oprah and Cooper just did a joint show down there in the midst of it all. Cooper interviewed an angry man about 6 weeks ago who was blaming it on FEMA.
If the Republican senators have blamed the Katrina fallout problems on every single level of government, from local to state to federal, it is probably a combination like you said last September. However, shouldn't there be some kind of a program SET IN PLACE for national disasters of ALL kinds, whether from a terrorist strike from within or coming in from elsewhere, as well as natural disasters? Federal security should be federal security, IMHO, and Lord knows they had the money to do it right the first time. Those procedures SHOULD have been in place, especially with all the money that was poured into it, all the money that has been poured into the war in Iraq, and with the knowledge that we do have a serious case of global warming and terrorist threat.
You are right to stick up for what you know, Veritas, and I am not questioning that. When I hear an angry man in Louisiana looking at rows and rows of trailers and saying that they can't get the okay to put in the sewer, water, and lights, and saying it is due to FEMA, I assume he knows what he is talking about.
For the record, I don't watch Oprah. I will admit to watching small segments of Anderson Cooper occasionally, especially when he is down in Louisiana. The rubble and chaos and squalor down there that people are still living in is a crime against humanity right here at home.