Ike's Original Draft

Progblogger beachmom posted this to http://blog.johnkerry.com a few minutes ago. I'm taking the liberty of reposting here because it's bloody damn important to get the news out as far and wide as possible. I expect it's okay to feel free to repost it elsewhere with the same intent, so long as you include the appropriate attribution.

---------------

I just wanted to share the Iraqi blogger Zeyad's new post about what is going on in Baghdad. Zeyad says that the Sadr City bombings are just as bad a catalyst as the Shrine bombing from last February.

Zeyad is still in NYC; NO OTHER blogger that I read has done a post. Bloggers Omar and Mohammed of Iraq the Model (favorite blog for Republicans) have disappeared -- Zeyad can't find them, but thinks since their neighbor was kidnapped, that they have fleed to somewhere unknown. Radio silence from all of the other bloggers. Zeyad's brother is in imminent danger because he is a young male -- Zeyad is begging his parents NOT to allow Nabil to go to school anymore since he is a prime target for abduction.

Then, there are the Iraqi message boards. Zeyad said these are the voices of Sunnis asking for instructions on how to defend their neighborhoods from militiamen. (I don't know of any Shi'ite blogs; otherwise I would share that as well)

http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/archives/2006_11_01_healingiraq_archive.html#116454273430101928

Ali – Khadhraa district:
Please inform us about the areas that are expected to be targeted, so we can be prepared. Also please inform us on the necessary steps we should take to protect our families and ourselves.

Ibn Al-Iraq – Jihad district:
Salam Aleikum. I live in the Jihad district. A group from the Mahdi Army tagged Sunni residences and collected their weapons today. God is witness to what I say.

Mustafa – Ghazaliya:
We have been under mortar fire for two days. It is 10:50 p.m. now and we can hear heavy gunfire and an attack against mosques in the area. May God save us all from the injustice of aggressors.

A Mujahid for Allah – Baghdad of Al-Rashid:
In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.
They want it a war, so be it. We are up to it, God willing.
My brothers, heed these recommendations:
1- Prepare weapons and ammunition.
2- To avoid their mortar fire, do not gather in large numbers at one place in your areas.
3- Spread out in small groups, and assign a commander to each.
4- Always take cover behind a barrier (anything that can protect you from enemy fire).
5- If there is an attack against your area, try not to waste your fire (make maximum benefit from the ammunition you have available).
6- Assign duties to your brothers.
7- Maintain communication with other groups in your area so you can respond to any breach of the area by the attackers.
8- Have courage and patience when you face them. They are cowards and will be defeated.
Remember that your brothers, the Mujahideen, will be with you in your fight against the murderous criminals. May God save us and save Iraq.

The son of Anbar – Baghdad:
Dear brothers, the Khadhraa and Jami’a districts are in need of ammunition. Please come to our aid.

Ali – Ghazaliya:
Groups from the evil Mahdi Army are preparing to enter Ghazaliya from the direction of the Centre Street and near the Muhajireen mosque, but residents are in control of most of the streets, despite assistance from the National Guard and their cover for the mortar attacks from the Security Street. A woman was injured there from their damn mortars.

Abu Al-Hassan Al-Samarra’I – Baghdad:
To the Mujahideen brothers in all areas, attack them and let the initiative be yours so that you can relieve the pressure from other districts. Have no mercy for them. Be careful of their spies in your areas.

Anonymous - Jihad district:
Urgent. Please intervene to save the Jihad district from another massacre. Interior Ministry commandoes have been transporting fighters and mercenaries from the militias with their buses to their headquarters in the district. They are estimated to be around 500 mercenaries, fully armed with medium and light weapons. And now some of them are taking attack positions in preparation for a new massacre in the district. The buses have not stopped arriving, even though terrified residents have called the police and governmental officials.

Abu Mohammed – Baghdad:
I recommend to my brothers the following:
1- Trust in God, and defend your family, your possessions and your honour. Whoever is killed is a martyr for God.
2- Never surrender, because in that case they will kill us after maiming and torturing us. We should fight to the last breath.
3- Ensure surveillance for every area, especially main streets and entry points, and maintain communication to follow the movement of vehicles used by militias. Attack them wisely without wasting ammunition.
4 – Prepare ambushes for these militias on the streets they are expected to pass. Finish them off and take their weapons.
Remember that those militias are former looters, thieves and shoe shiners. Do not make such a big deal of them because, by God, they are lowly animals.

Salim Hussein – Raghiba Khatoun:
There is a large gathering of Mahdi Army militiamen at the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib husseiniya at Raghiba Khatoun, where they came from the Dilfiya area of the Qahira district. They intend to attack the residents of Adhamiya, Raghiba Khatoun and Sulaikh. Please be alert.

Ahmed Al-Janabi – Baghdad:
Salam Aleikum. I’m a resident of Yarmouk and I can hear gunfire from the Four Streets area as if in warning of an attack of sorts. God knows. Please come to our aid if the situation worsens.

Abdul Rahman Abdul Qadir – Karkh:
Salam Aleikum. Over 40 vehicles with Mahdi Army militiamen have gathered near the Dora police station. They started arriving at 7 p.m., and at 7:45 p.m. we could see about 40 vehicles preparing to attack Dora.

Abdul Rahman – Iraq:
Please keep these steps in mind:
1- Deploy snipers on the rooftops of buildings that lie close to the main entry points for each area.
2- Prepare positions for medium weapons at a distance from the entry point, and make pincers with sniper and PKC fire. When you choose a position, make sure you can retreat to alternate positions from it, in case the enemy overruns the area (do not choose a building that is not adjacent to another, or use ropes to quickly slide down the building).
3- RPG carriers should maintain their positions on side streets and take cover behind barriers. Do not fire just for the sake of it (attack the first and last vehicle).
4- Create heavy fire density to force the enemy to take cover, and then eliminate them by sniper fire.
5- Provide hand grenades and distribute them to the Mujahideen.
6- Fighters with light weapons should always change positions, fire from different angles and not stay at one place.
7- Prepare and plant roadside bombs on the entrance to every area.
8- Bomb the gathering locations for the army of filthy Muqtada.
9- Prepare a special group to deal with any breach, and it should be armed with RPGs, PKC machine guns and KIA vehicles.
10- Plan ambushes and lure the enemy by using bait vehicles that they chase to be dragged into the killing zone.

Iraqiya – Dora:
Urgent. Dora has been breached. There was an attack by the ragtag militias against residences, and we can now hear women screaming. They are raiding the Tu’ma district, which is inhabited by the Jubour tribes. There is also an attack against the Arqam mosque.

Ali – Dora:
Elements of the Interior Ministry commandos are attacking Dora (the Mechanic, Tu’ma, Sahha and Asia districts). But do not fear, for we are engaging them. Our battle cry is “They came for death, no one brought them.”

Ahmed – Jamila district:
Barbaric groups of the Antichrist Army, and the Iranians that are with them, have killed dozens of Sunni youth at the Jamila district in the exact spot of the car bombing, in a mass execution orgy in front of people. This was broadcast on Sharqiya TV by an anonymous security source. The honourable Shi’ites from east of the Canal have told us that these groups are moving freely, and that they are preparing for a wide-scale assault on Sunni districts. Be prepared to confront the infidels.

Mohammed – Jami’a district:
Mahdi Army followers have been seen gathering at Sallama Al-Khafaji’s residence in Jami’a in preparation for an attack against the district.

Abdul Rahman – Iraq:
For the brothers who have not used weapons before, please take this advice:
1- Check your weapon if you have not used it before. You can ask your neighbour to teach you how to attach the magazine and to load and fire. Do not be ashamed that it would be said you don’t know how to use a weapon, as many people have not had a chance to.
2- Choose the appropriate spot on your roof that can provide you with cover and make it hard for the enemy to target you.
3- It is best if every two families gather in one house when the alarm of an attack is raised to keep spirits high.
4- When you shoot, try to make it intermittent so you do not waste your ammunition. Be patient until more fighters arrive and your neighbours start shooting too.
5- You may feel fear upon using a weapon for the first time or that something bad would happen to you, but think of your family and what awaits them if you are hesitant. Keep your honour and your children in front of your eye, and remember that they have burnt children with kerosene.
6- Make sure that you have an extra magazine because in the midst of action you may take away your weapon and forget your extra magazine. It is preferred that you tape two magazines together. Ask your neighbours how to do that. Practice with it several times.
7- Fear of using weapons will disappear with the first shot. Do not hesitate to pull the trigger and concentrate on hitting the enemy.

Omar Al-Rawi – Baghdad:
Salam Aleikum. Mosques in the Adhamiya and Khadhraa areas have started chanting “Allahu Akbar” and reciting Quran through their loudspeakers to encourage residents to confront the Safavid militias.

Ibn Al-Mansour – Mansour:
Residents of Mansour, large groups of armed militiamen have been seen heading from the Washash and Iskan districts to attack Mansour. Prepare to defend yourselves and your neighbours, Sunni and Shia, from the attack of the treacherous Mahdi Army militias.

Al-Anbari – Baghdad:
Several mortar shells have hit the Jami’a and Khadhraa districts after the evening prayers. And there is news that militias are now gathering to prepare for the attack against these districts. Additionally, there are groups of the Antichrist Army in the Safarat district preparing to attack the Qudhat district.

*******

Zeyad is also begging on his brother's behalf for donations to get him out of Iraq as soon as possible. Zeyad is friends with Jeff Jarvis (founded Entertainment Weekly and was a TV critic for TV Guide) at www.buzzmachine.com, so I can tell you that this is not a scam.

http://nabilsblog.blogspot.com /

George Bush is going to have to utter the dreaded words "Civil War", because that's what it is. FULL OUT civil war.

Posted by beachmom | November 26, 2006 3:50 PM

---------------

life during wartime,
Otter

That is not a civil war? Well the Iraq war has now gone on for longer than World War Two.

It meets the criteria for a Civil War. Factions who belong to the same country are fighting for control of government. More than 1000 have died (many more). Those are the basic criteria.

Our civil war was our longest and deadliest war, moreso than Vietnam or either world war.

Iraqi prime minister being stoned, in the Biblical sense

He's being stoned in a biblical sense:

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-iraq.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

US base on fire:

http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-35/1164547142208640.xml&storylist=international

And so it begins.

---------------

Democrat Pledges Array of Investigations
http://tinyurl.com/v8jyd

WASHINGTON (AP) - The incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is promising an array of oversight investigations that could provoke sharp disagreement with Republicans and the White House.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., pledged that Democrats, swept to power in the Nov. 7 elections, would govern "in the middle" next year. But the veteran lawmaker has a reputation as one who has never avoided a fight and he did not back away from that reputation on Sunday.

Among the investigations he said he wants the committee to undertake:

- The new Medicare drug benefit. "There are lots and lots and lots of scandals," he said, without citing specifics.

- Spending on government contractors in Iraq, including Halliburton Co. (HAL), the Texas-based oil services conglomerate once led by Vice President Dick Cheney.

- An energy task force overseen by Cheney. It "was carefully cooked to provide only participation by oil companies and energy companies," Dingell said.

- A review of food and drug safety, particularly in the area of nutritional supplements.

[snip]

----------------

and there's plenty more where that came from,
Otter

Thousands protest Pope in Turkey

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/26/pope.turkey.reut/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Is it any wonder? This 12th century reactionary Pope has made incendiary comments rivalling any of his spiritual brethren in rival sects from the tree that sprouted off into Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

He is a Divider not a Uniter, no less than any of the others.

Otter
Good to see the investigations into government corruption - traffic has been down and people don't always read below the fold.

I want to say that what stimulated me to write the article above was learning that Eisenhower originally meant to say "the Military-Industrial-CONGRESSIONAL comples" - but was too polite.

Cheney energy commission is a perfect example.

Maybe it's not that surprising that someone would do this thing.

But imho it is that surprising that none of you even knew about it before you read this post.

That surprising... and that appalling.

----------------

Chicago Ponders War Protester's Suicide
http://tinyurl.com/yemlht

CHICAGO (AP) - Malachi Ritscher envisioned his death as one full of purpose.

He carefully planned the details, mailed a copy of his apartment key to a friend, created to-do lists for his family. On his Web site, the 52-year-old experimental musician who'd fought with depression even penned his obituary.

At 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 3 - four days before an election caused a seismic shift in Washington politics - Ritscher, a frequent anti-war protester, stood by an off-ramp in downtown Chicago near a statue of a giant flame, set up a video camera, doused himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire.

Aglow for the crush of morning commuters, his flaming body was supposed to be a call to the nation, a symbol of his rage and discontent with the U.S. war in Iraq.

"Here is the statement I want to make: if I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world. I refuse to finance the mass murder of innocent civilians, who did nothing to threaten our country," he wrote in his suicide note. "... If one death can atone for anything, in any small way, to say to the world: I apologize for what we have done to you, I am ashamed for the mayhem and turmoil caused by my country."

There was only one problem: No one was listening.

It took five days for the Cook County medical examiner to identify the charred-beyond-recognition corpse. Meanwhile, Ritscher's suicide went largely unnoticed. It wasn't until a reporter for an alternative weekly, the Chicago Reader, pieced the facts together that word began to spread.

Soon, tributes - and questions - poured in to the paper's blogs.

[snip]

-----------------

so much for the effing msm,
Otter

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Bush set for high-stakes diplomatic trip

More on link. Two words make this headline an oxymoron (and a lie): "Bush - diplomatic" - we all know he'll just be his usual demanding self. Do it his way or no way. That's as 'diplomatic' as he ever gets. Too bad Lamestream Media and kool-aide drinking sheeple haven't figured that one out yet....

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/uclickcomics/20061126/cx_nq_uc/nq20061126
Non Sequitur

Bush plans week of diplomacy in Iraq, Afghanistan

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/26/us.bush.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Has he a choice? Both spiraling out of control & King Abdullah
wonders if the middle east will soon have 3 civil wars going on at once - Iraq, Lebanon & Israel/Palestine

In 3 1/2 hours the very first investigative piece of journalisim on Alines case is about to air. The first of two parts tonight, the conclusion tommorrow.

God only knows what will unfold by midnight tonight.

I will be back to link yall up to the local station once they release the video online.

Maureen Dowd | No One to Lose To
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112606F.shtml
"After the Thanksgiving Day Massacre of Shiites by Sunnis, President Bush should go on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News and give an interview headlined: 'If I did it, here's how the civil war in Iraq happened'," says Maureen Dowd. "He could describe, hypothetically, a series of naïve, arrogant and self-defeating blunders, including his team's failure to comprehend that in the Arab world, revenge and religious zealotry can be stronger compulsions than democracy and prosperity."

Big Energy Firms Crimping Oil Supplies
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112606X.shtml
An Associated Press analysis suggests that big oil companies have been crimping supplies in subtler ways across the country for years. The analysis, based on data from the US Energy Information Administration, indicates that the industry slacked off supplying oil and gasoline during the prolonged price boom between early 1999 and last summer, when prices began to fall.

Experts Concerned as Ballot Problems Persist
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112606G.shtml
After six years of technological research, more than $4 billion spent by Washington on new machinery and a widespread overhaul of the nation's voting system, this month's midterm election revealed that the country is still far from able to ensure that every vote counts.

Arlen Parsa | Wartime Sacrifices
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112606D.shtml
Arlen Parsa writes: "Never before in American history has such a costly war been fought with so little immediate sacrifice asked of all Americans. Less than one year into his first term, President Bush made clear the terms of his war: every other country was either with us, or against us... and that America is once again a participant in a grand 'struggle for civilization.' This rhetoric should come as no surprise considering that the commander-in-chief has already likened himself to other wartime leaders such as Winston Churchill and compared his 'War on Terror' to World War II. Yet, for such a war with so much in the balance, our leaders have asked surprisingly little of us."

Rumsfeld Approved of Torture Says Former US General
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112606Y.shtml
Outgoing defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib, the prison's former US commander said in an interview on Saturday.

"After the Thanksgiving Day Massacre of Shiites by Sunnis, President Bush should go on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News and give an interview headlined: 'If I did it, here's how the civil war in Iraq happened'," says Maureen Dowd.

(from citations above from NonnyO)

That's very clever, but it's also consistent with her sometimes tendency to be kind of like an Anne Coulter of the Left. I think I prefer the Rude Pundit.

The guy who crashed his motorcycle in the Bush motorcade in Hawaii has died.

Science a la Joe Camel

At hundreds of screenings this year of "An Inconvenient Truth," the first thing many viewers said after the lights came up was that every student in every school in the United States needed to see this movie.

The producers of former vice president Al Gore's film about global warming, myself included, certainly agreed. So the company that made the documentary decided to offer 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for educators to use in their classrooms. It seemed like a no-brainer.

The teachers had a different idea: Thanks but no thanks, they said.

SNIP

It's bad enough when a company tries to sell junk science to a bunch of grown-ups. But, like a tobacco company using cartoons to peddle cigarettes, Exxon Mobil is going after our kids, too.

There's more to this very interesting article. See why the teachers felt they couldn't distribute free DVDs of An Inconvenient Truth.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112400789_pf.html

Nothing new on Browne, just background.

They will answer who is Browne and what drove him to kill tommorrow. Damn I hate waiting.

http://www.ktbs.com/news/local/4747406.html

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=202

Cut and Run, the Only Brave Thing to Do

Excerpt (more on link):

This is what we demand:

1. Bring the troops home now. Not six months from now. NOW. Quit looking for a way to win. We can't win. We've lost. Sometimes you lose. This is one of those times. Be brave and admit it.

2. Apologize to our soldiers and make amends. Tell them we are sorry they were used to fight a war that had NOTHING to do with our national security. We must commit to taking care of them so that they suffer as little as possible. The mentally and physically maimed must get the best care and significant financial compensation. The families of the deceased deserve the biggest apology and they must be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

3. We must atone for the atrocity we have perpetuated on the people of Iraq. There are few evils worse than waging a war based on a lie, invading another country because you want what they have buried under the ground. Now many more will die. Their blood is on our hands, regardless for whom we voted. If you pay taxes, you have contributed to the three billion dollars a week now being spent to drive Iraq into the hellhole it's become. When the civil war is over, we will have to help rebuild Iraq. We can receive no redemption until we have atoned.

In closing, there is one final thing I know. We Americans are better than what has been done in our name. A majority of us were upset and angry after 9/11 and we lost our minds. We didn't think straight and we never looked at a map. Because we are kept stupid through our pathetic education system and our lazy media, we knew nothing of history. We didn't know that WE were the ones funding and arming Saddam for many years, including those when he massacred the Kurds. He was our guy. We didn't know what a Sunni or a Shiite was, never even heard the words. Eighty percent of our young adults (according to National Geographic) were not able to find Iraq on the map. Our leaders played off our stupidity, manipulated us with lies, and scared us to death.

But at our core we are a good people. We may be slow learners, but that "Mission Accomplished" banner struck us as odd, and soon we began to ask some questions. Then we began to get smart. By this past November 7th, we got mad and tried to right our wrongs. The majority now know the truth. The majority now feel a deep sadness and guilt and a hope that somehow we can make make it all right again.

Unfortunately, we can't. So we will accept the consequences of our actions and do our best to be there should the Iraqi people ever dare to seek our help in the future. We ask for their forgiveness.

We demand the Democrats listen to us and get out of Iraq now.

Yours,
Michael Moore

Posted by: DiAnne at November 26, 2006 08:56 PM

I don't even see her as anyone of "the Left". I just see her as the Beltway Gossipmonger, sometimes amusing, rarely serious.

Ike was loved by my father’s generation. He is the only Republican my father ever voted for. The ‘beware of the military industrial complex’ line is interesting. Ike said this in 1961 after his career was over. But he did quite well in the military industrial complex for nearly 60 years before warning us.

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- A motorcycle officer injured last week while escorting President Bush in the islands died Sunday, police said.

Steve Favela, 30, and two other officers crashed their cycles as the presidential motorcade was traveling across Hickam Air Force Base to meet troops for breakfast early Tuesday.

The other officers were treated at The Queen's Medical Center and released.

Favela, an eight-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department and father of four, had suffered internal injuries and had been listed in critical condition at the medical center.

-snip-

Light rain had been falling on the partly cloudy morning, and some roads on the base were slick.

Members of the White House medical team -- including an ambulance -- were cut loose from the motorcade to help. Local ambulance and fire units also responded.

Bush had spent the night on the base on his way back from a trip to Indonesia and Vietnam.

In a separate incident, a fourth solo motorcycle officer crashed and injured his wrist when attempting a U-turn on loose gravel while escorting the president on Monday night. He was also treated and released.

Also during the president's 16-hour stopover, a White House staff member was hospitalized early Tuesday after being mugged by three assailants near Waikiki Beach.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/26/death.bush.motorcade.ap/index.html

Finally some straight talk about Iraq:

"Without mentioning Sen. McCain by name, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) rejected the call for more troops in Iraq in a Sunday Washington Post op-ed. "

"The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to Iraq. Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation — regardless of our noble purpose."

It's not the first time there's been straight talk about Iraq, Bubba:

http://culturekitchen.com/m_loutre/blog/these_latter_day_armchair_generals_really_chap

it's just that they've finally started hearing it,
Otter

Some Colorado housing division refused to let a woman have up a wreath shaped as a peace sign. Some neighbors thought it was Satanic.

just got email about satanic peace sign
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/27/4567/5114

In case you missed it this morning on nbc or msnbc, the network has made a BOLD decision (only many months too late) to start calling a spade a spade.

Under the caption Braindead Media:

MSNBC, NBC News Decide To Call Civil War In Iraq ‘A Civil War’

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/27/msnbc-civil-war/

Read it here and watch the video. Explaining apologetically how they're going against the President's lead.

"Lamestream" media doesn't quite do it justice.

MSNBC, NBC News Decide To Call Civil War In Iraq ‘A Civil War’

Posted by: Carol at November 27, 2006 01:37 PM

So they've decided to "call it" civil war, eh?

What polling data/focus group are they basing that decision on, you might ask?

Why, the official November 7th sampling, of course.

Never mind the lamestream.

U.S. Embassy Asks Bush Twins to Leave Country

November 27, 2006

ABC News

Amid a growing barrage of front-page headlines, U.S. embassy officials "strongly suggested" President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara Bush, cut short their trip to Buenos Aires because of security issues, U.S. diplomatic and security sources tell ABC News.

But the girls have stayed on, celebrating their 25th birthday over the weekend and producing even more headlines about their activities.

Officials say the media coverage upstaged publicity plans for the new U.S. Ambassador Anthony Wayne, who had only recently arrived in the country.

Neither the White House nor the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires responded to requests for comment.

The Argentinean press blitz followed a report on "The Blotter" last week that Barbara Bush's purse and cell phone were stolen last weekend while dining at the popular San Telmo outdoor marketplace despite being guarded by the Secret Service.

-snip-

According to sources, the U.S. embassy encouraged the two girls to cut their stay short because the added attention was making their security very difficult.

But to the dismay and anger of some U.S. embassy and security staff, the girls stayed on.

Thursday night, an ABC News producer was able to walk into their hotel unchecked and engage Barbara Bush in conversation while she checked her e-mail on a computer in the lobby. Jenna sat talking with friends on a sofa nearby. No Secret Service agents were anywhere to be seen in the lobby, according to ABC News' Joe Goldman.

And yesterday the Bush twins were spotted at the Sunday soccer matches, wearing team jerseys and sitting in the owner's box, watching Argentina's top team Boca Juniors compete. Several games have been canceled due to violence in the crowds this year. In fact, last weekend no spectators were allowed to attend the match other than season ticket holders.

Sources tell ABC News the twins plan to stick to their original itinerary and stay in Buenos Aires until Thursday.

http://tinyurl.com/y7qo2c

Lincoln Memorial closed, suspicious liquid found

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/11/27/lincoln_memorial_closed_over/

Posted by: DiAnne at November 27, 2006 03:25 PM

Ya know they're gonna try and blame Clinton for that.

America cannot impose a democracy on any nation — regardless of our noble purpose."
Posted by: Bubba at November 27, 2006 11:46 AM

I wonder if Hagel could answer the question: "What noble purpose?"

The only purpose Georgie and Dickie ever had for illegally invading Iraq (war crime under the Geneva Conventions) was to take control of the oil fields for themselves and their corporate cronies in the oil business (and for additional profit to Halliburton to "rebuild" things there).

They didn't figure out in advance that they can't impose a democratic puppet dictatorship successfully. It just plunged the country into civil war, and now, in addition to our troops dying for lies, they're dying in someone else's civil war that they didn't even start....

eRGO: Georgie's SNAFU became Iraq FUBAR.

Cheney's Quest to Expand Presidential Powers
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112706F.shtml
Cheney bypassed acts of Congress as defense secretary in the first Bush administration. And his office has been the driving force behind the current administration's hoarding of secrets, its efforts to impose greater political control over career officials, and its defiance of a law requiring the government to obtain warrants when wiretapping Americans. Cheney's staff has also been behind President Bush's record number of signing statements asserting his right to disregard laws.

{Dickie's 'interpretation' of presidential powers amounts to dictatorial power. Gee, I wonder if he would be so keen on dictatorial powers for presidents if a Dem were prez? Would he then suddenly bring out the US Constitution, dust it off, have someone read it to him, and declare a Dem prez can't have that much power while a neoCon corporate crony as prez can have dictatorial power? The Founding Fathers made no such distinction. A prez holds office for four years, and with later amendments can't hold office more than eight years. That means a prez's power is finite, and he technically can only have an impact on foreign or domestic policy (if Congress backs a prez) for the time served in office; the will of the People via Congress can change practically everything about a prez's administration (except they can't bring back the dead from wars based on lies and corporate oil profits). Dickie needs to learn to read, and if he accomplishes that, he needs to read the Constitution. Really, Dickie, it's written in elementary English words, easy to understand by even the lowliest peons....}

Howard Zinn | The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112706E.shtml
Howard Zinn begins, "Well, do you get the feeling sometimes that you're living in an occupied country? Very often that's a feeling I get when I wake up in the morning. I think, "I'm living in an occupied country.... They've taken over the country. They've taken over the policy. They've driven us into two disastrous wars, disastrous for our country and even more disastrous for people in the Middle East. And they have sucked up the wealth of this country and given it to the rich, and given it to the multinationals, given it to Halliburton, given it to the makers of weapons. They're ruining the environment. And they're holding on to 10,000 nuclear weapons, while they want us to worry about the fact that Iran may, in ten years, get one nuclear weapon. You see, really, how mad can you be?"

{I agree with most of what Zinn says, but the title containing the words 'War on Terrorism' is just crappy. The whole concept is bogus, since the 'terrorists' are not an organized army representing any country. The term is a propaganda concept hammered over our heads by DimWit, et al., but people talking about the false concept need to make sure they expose the propaganda term for what it is and talk about it realistically.}

Justice Department Eyes Spy Program
Associated Press
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6488504

The Justice Department has begun an internal investigation into its handling of information gathered in the government's domestic spying program.

However, Democrats criticized the review as too narrow to determine whether the program violated federal law.

The inquiry by Glenn A. Fine, the department's inspector general, will focus on the role of Justice prosecutors and agents in carrying out the warrantless surveillance program run by the National Security Agency.

Fine's investigation is not expected to address whether the controversial program is an unconstitutional expansion of presidential power, as its critics and a federal judge in Detroit have charged...

EPA OKs spraying pesticides over waters
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/16109917.htm

The Bush administration pleased farmers and frustrated environmentalists Monday by declaring that pesticides can be sprayed into and over waters without first obtaining special permits.

The heavily lobbied decision is supposed to settle a dispute that's roiled federal courts and divided state regulators. It's popular among those who spray pesticides for a living, but it worries those who fear poisoned waters will result...

Here's a poll that might be of interest:

Which politician do you like best? (about 15 choices)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15924584/

Scroll half way down page one - the vote link is in red across the text of the article. Bill Clinton is currently in the lead - not that that helps us any!

FDR knew.

"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country."

don't ever let them forget that they work for us and not the other way around,
Otter

Those polls .. on what basis would people rank Condi Rice high ..she is scowling in most pictures & was instrumental in getting us into wars. People like a neocon.

There was a lawyer who was on Kerry's team in the area of foreign affairs - at the time he had met John Kerry 7x. He said "When you meet him, you feel like you have a friend." I met him several times myself after that and had the same feeling.

Just another example of not really fitting into the mainstream and ending up being kind of glad ..

sigh

Posted by: Carol at November 27, 2006 09:27 PM

The title of the article is pure propaganda. I guess it must be news when Senator Kerry, whom over 50 million people voted for, is listed last among "likable" politcians. To me that article's title only reinforces the mainstream media's dislike of Senator Kerry.

Perhaps a more relevant poll would have been a poll asking who is most qualified among politicans. I suspect the results would have been dramatically different. Another poll that they forgot to include; what do you care about more, a candidate you like or a candidate who is qualified and can get the job done?

When I just checked and voted, Harry Reid was dead last. Kerry's not last, but only has between 1-2% on the unofficial poll. Reid has less than 1%.

Oh, and Bill Clinton was still ahead.

Another poll that they forgot to include; what do you care about more, a candidate you like or a candidate who is qualified and can get the job done?

Posted by: oncall at November 27, 2006 10:35 PM

That has more relevance.

Bill Clinton has more qualifications and he could get things done. I didn't always agree with him, and I wish he'd have kept his pants zipped while in office, but he has both a high IQ, can walk and chew gum at the same time, and he got things done, in spite of a Con-controlled Congress. I never did understand why he was brought up on impeachment charges for lying about a blow job, but I chalk it up to neoCon male jealousy.

I never did understand why some liked W. On the other hand, men who have a low IQ, can't communicate with complete or grammatically correct sentences, and who have no curiosity bore me senseless - and I have a notoriously low threshold of boredom. That's not including the fact that liars and criminal types are most assuredly not part of my social circle. I will just never, ever understand why anyone likes W or people like him, and especially I don't understand why women voted for anyone that stupid. I just don't get it.

The MSNBC post was a Reuters article discussing a Quinnipiac poll. The title of the MSNBC post could just as easily have been "Bill Clinton most likable among politicians." Instead MSNBC decided to diss the one potental Democratic candidate who could clean up Bushco's disasters. Corporate news media will do anything to keep a Democrat out of the White House.

You might be interested in watching the interview on an Oz current affairs program last night with Major Peter Tinley. He has a very good suggestion of a worthwhile contribution for Australians serving in Iraq right now. Shame our fear-filled leader has no rationality.

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/

Monday 27th November. The bottom interview is the one I'm referring to.

I'd say they are a little late with this story.

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_332062528.html

Are Cheney's days numbered?
Analyst claims influence waning

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday November 28, 2006

A senior columnist for the inside-the-beltway publication Congressional Quarterly speculated on MSNBC's Hardball this afternoon that Vice President Richard B. Cheney may be the next to exit the Bush Administration, a report first caught by ThinkProgress.

Speculation that Cheney could depart the White House has been rampant, and the claim by CQ political analyst Craig Crawford could be yet another 'crying wolf' in the Washington political scene. Still, in lieu of the depature of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and the continuing ostracization of Administration neoconservatives, the possibility isn't beyond the pale.

Excerpts from ThinkProgress' transcript:

http://tinyurl.com/yj9g5m

One of the first concerns of the 110th Congress may need to include new economic policies to preclude a potential economic recession. Just a few weeks ago Bush was traveling around the ccountry telling voters what a great economy he and the Republican led Congress had provided.

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in October by the largest amount in more than six years on a big drop in commercial aircraft, but orders also fell when transportation was stripped from the total.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that demand for durable goods fell a larger-than-expected 8.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted $210 billion.

Excluding transportation, orders were down 1.7%, the biggest decline in 15 months and the third drop in this category in the past four months."

Bush blames al-Qaida for stoking Iraq violence
President in Baltics for NATO summit, heads to Jordan later in the week

Updated: 33 minutes ago

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) - President Bush intensified diplomatic efforts on Tuesday in hopes of quelling rising violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, turning to allies as he visited this small Baltic country, a firm ally in the war on terror.

Addressing the conflict rocking Iraq, he said recent violence is part of an al-Qaida plot to goad Iraqi factions into repeated attacks and counterattacks.

“No question it’s tough, no question about it,” Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. “There’s a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of the attacks by al-Qaida causing people to seek reprisal.”

Bush, who travels to Jordan later in the week for a summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said the latest cycle of violence does not represent a new era in Iraq. The country is reeling from the deadliest week of sectarian fighting since the war began in March 2003.

“We’ve been in this phase for a while,” Bush said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15910652/

Bush: No pull out from Iraq until 'mission is complete'

POSTED: 10:51 a.m. EST, November 28, 2006

RIGA, Latvia (AP) -- President Bush, under pressure to change direction in Iraq, said Tuesday he will not be persuaded by any calls to withdraw American troops before the country is stabilized.

"There's one thing I'm not going to do, I'm not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete," he said in a speech setting the stage for high-stakes meetings with the Iraqi prime minister later this week. "We can accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren."

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/28/bush.ap/index.html

A reminder about the 28-point reconciliation plan that the Iraqi people proposed back in the spring, which was then turned into a 24-point plan by our government's representatives in Iraq, and which subsequently went nowhere:

http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2006_07_03_raedinthemiddle_archive.html

We must, must let these people clean up the mess we made.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military said Tuesday it has not found the pilot of an Air Force fighter jet a day after it crashed in Iraq.

The pilot, who officials have not named, has been classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, who spoke at a Tuesday news conference. Coalition aircraft reported that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site at the time the jet went down.

U.S. Central Command Air Forces said the recovery of the pilot is among its "primary concerns," according to a news release distributed Tuesday.

"The pilot was not found at the crash site, and his status cannot be confirmed at this time," the Air Force statement said. "The investigation board has collected DNA samples from the crash site and will release results upon completion of testing."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/28/iraq.plane.crash/index.html

There is one last Congressional race here in Texas in the 23rd District Ciro Rodriguez that is an upcoming runoff.
Loretta Sanchez believes this is an important election to secure the Hispanic base for 2008 and she will be involved in this campaign. I urge everyone to learn about this race and if interested in helping to email me off line.

Frankly, people might vote for the Clinton name, not knowing which one. Others with a nostalgia for what we had. A better economy, with the help of funny Wall Street numbers, I might add, as well as a sense of fairness. Regardless of some of the policies we didn't like, the result of neo-cons not done expressing themselves yet.

Given the Clintons desire for power, willingness to deal, the media may well want them more than other Dems, waiting for the mood to determine which party to back (although usually GOP corporate).

Bubba has often said he regrets not reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, so I don't where he stands with Murdoch and the like.

But to the Kerry diss, generally, does media have to quash and disrespect all aspects and reality about him? The picture becomes a cartoon creation, and viewers don't require/aren't given the full person.

Those in the media who routinely practice tabloid-like character assassination need to be treated like they have the plague... cuz they do.

The art is formerly known as Print.

Media Murder, Ink.

Marjorie G
Remember now Clintons are neighbors in Manhattan with Rupert Murdoch and had him over to speak at lunch! Not sure what it means.

"But to the Kerry diss, generally, does media have to quash and disrespect all aspects and reality about him? The picture becomes a cartoon creation, and viewers don't require/aren't given the full person."
~~Posted by: Marjorie G at November 28, 2006 12:28 PM

Did I tell you about the couple I spoke to (a few months ago) in the parking lot of the grocery store? They had a bumpersticker on their car that read: "Rednecks for John Kerry: Real Jobs for Real People." So, there are slips and tail ends... we just have to catch and tie them together when we can. :-)