Witnessing

Karen--thanks for writing this. I understand 100% where you fit into this paradim and where I fit in as well. (And most of us too.)

My ideas are extreme:

1. Fill Congressman's halls and their diner with signs saying "IMPEACH and IMPRISON"

2. Keep the phones, emails and faxes going.

3. Go to your local media and stand there with IMPEACH and IMPRISON at the reporters' door each and every day until impeachment hearings begin and of course throughout.

4. Take over the &*(& (*&(%&%& media! TAKE IT BACK!

5. Print up this information and pass it out on your street and town.

6. Hold candlelight vigils

7. Hold impeachment parties

8. Demand money reparations from Bush, Cheney, Condi, and all the war profiteers.

9. Freeway blog

10. Run for office.

Thanks, energetic sparrow! Somehow I think it might take you a few weeks to accomplish all that.

Which will you do today? ;)

Great topic, Karen. Thanks.

I sense that many people (other than bloggers) have not been paying attention to these hearings, in light of all the other (important) news (about luxury planes for politicians, astronuts & celebrity deaths).

While I don't have any great ideas (yet) about what actions we can take, the timing of this news is coincidentally coming at the same time of louder drum beats for attacking Iran -- based on "pretty good" evidence that Iran is providing either weapons or technology to Iraq (per Gates). (There's a good diary about this here ==> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/9/171633/3316 )

And unfortunately, the NYTimes still has Judy Miller clones working there since today's (online) front page is all about the Iranian - Iraqi link, with nothing -- NOTHING -- about Feith & cooked intelligence above the fold. (There's a small bit buried way down the page -- "Inquiry on Intelligence Gaps May Reach to White House".)

So getting the message out to people & connecting the dots to me seems to be most important right now. It's as simple as "They did it before & they're doing it again!!! Stop them NOW!!!"

But just how do we stop them?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/10/04417/0435

This one connects the dots too.

Posted by: karen at February 10, 2007 09:30 AM

After the pharmacy, I'm going for the taking over the media thing.

Need help. Want to join in?

Interesting model.

What I sometimes do is don't witness. For example, I don't watch television - hardly ever. I don't know who alot of the mainstream media bullies are or what they sound like. It's the same reason Woody Allen doesn't watch many movies. In some ways, he doesn't want to be influenced. If I can reduce my data set and increase its quality, it's easier to synthesize.

It seems to be easier for me to recognize patterns (which is my strength) if I am not overwhelmed by detail, some of which may be false. I also am trained to separate subjective, objective, assessment, treatment - that's medical format. Editorials, commentary and speculation are subjective.

Where do I get objective? That refers to facts and data. One place not to get it is when it emanates from the government. Scientists? Center for Disease Control? Amnesty International? Scientists are restricted nowdays (ex: AIDS researchers who cannot in grants talk about sexual behavior). Government agencies will now have officials who make sure what they put out is in line with Bush policy. Independent agencies? Dependent on donations. Where to turn?

I start with newspaper stories from a variety of sources including foreign and then public radio, American and British. I look for numbers and trends and what is included or left out of the same story by different editors. I trust a few radio reporters such as Adam Davidson and Ann Garrels. It's possible to look directly at websites and journal articles, as well, or at direct sources.

Then comes the subjective. I consider Air America to have a liberal bias and Fox news to have a conservative bias. I find Democracy Now informative and NPR a good baseline start. & blogs may contain objective information but then alot of the commentary is subjective. I will almost never read blogs before reading newspapers.

There turn out to be whole areas where I am uninformed but sometimes it doesn't turn out to be a huge issue. I did not know until last night that George W. Bush called Al Gore "ozone man" and said if he were elected we would be "up to our neck in owls." I did realize that the MSM echo chamber had reduced Gore to an "environmental wacko" who "invented the internet" just as they made Kerry an "elite flipflopper" and so on. So I somehow glossed over an issue about Catholics, bloggers and Edwards.

I have a ranking system and too much data confuses it. It starts with foreign policy because that seems to be the most messed up and I believe that is robs us in most all domestic areas. & we live in a system where the President never mentions "peace." Well he one day said "I am the peace president" and two days later changed it to "I am the war president" and no one accused him in the media of flip-flopping.

I am afraid of the issue of the day. I am afraid of picking up the vernacular of the media. There is too much distraction. I am terrified of falling into their frames. Sometimes I hope that if I'm kind of "out of it" in a fog of my own making, but selectively so, I can somehow come closer to the consciousness of one who (like the Sufis) is "in it but not of it." Of course, that will never happen, and I know sometimes people get pissed off when I say I'm a "global citizen" first, but that's ok. My Vietnam Vet blogmate has a new photography company called Global Citizen Photography, and it is a coincidence because we had never overtly discussed this.

I am terrified of being brainwashed in a country that may not be a democracy any more. This is often the only blog I read and it's mostly because I trust people's information consumption styles and habits.

Then there's that other information source - my damn, depressing email:

Incredible.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2010086,00.html

US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington.

The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring. But the sources said that if there was an attack, it was more likely next year, just before Mr Bush leaves office.

Neo-conservatives, particularly at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, are urging Mr Bush to open a new front against Iran. So too is the vice-president, Dick Cheney. The state department and the Pentagon are opposed, as are Democratic congressmen and the overwhelming majority of Republicans. The sources said Mr Bush had not yet made a decision. The Bush administration insists the military build-up is not offensive but aimed at containing Iran and forcing it to make diplomatic concessions. The aim is to persuade Tehran to curb its suspect nuclear weapons programme and abandon ambitions for regional expansion.

But Vincent Cannistraro, a Washington-based intelligence analyst, shared the sources' assessment that Pentagon planning was well under way. "Planning is going on, in spite of public disavowals by Gates. Targets have been selected. For a bombing campaign against nuclear sites, it is quite advanced. The military assets to carry this out are being put in place."

He added: "We are planning for war. It is incredibly dangerous."

Posted by Karen at February 10, 2007 07:25 AM

And you stopped me in my tracks: I keep forgetting you have no one to represent you in Congress! If ever it's proposed in Congress that DC gets a rep, I'll be urging my Congress Critters to vote in favor of it.

I see you and others who live inside the Beltway Bubble, or who can get there easily, as being in Postion 1: You're there, you can get in the faces of Congress Critters, so to speak, by attending public meetings, and when the opportunity arises, you can actually talk with/to them (whether or not they listen is another issue). We who live thousands of miles away can't. You are the ones I envy because you, in person, are the physical reminders to Congress Critters that they have a responsibility to those who vote for them (although people who live in states with e-voting machines may feel no such confidence that their votes were counted). We who live thousands of miles away rely on your eyes and ears and writing ability to tell us what's really happening (since we obviously can't rely on Lamestream Media).

I see myself as being in Position 4: Watching a slo-mo train wreck and unable to stop it, especially regarding the criminals in office now. Emails just get a form reply or no response; I write anyway - to politicians, and, if I'm brave enough to watch Lamestream Media snooze, I write to them, too (some of them actually answer, at least from in-state TV media; it always surprises me when they do reply). Phone calls leave me feeling depressed because I get an answering machine, or if a person answers, I get stock replies or just a 'listener' (staff person) who may or may not be reporting to my Congress Critters what I've said or thought about any issues. I don't know if anything I say to a staff person or write to my Congress Critters means anything to them. I can only follow their votes on issues by watching C-SPAN online (and hope they vote with my position on anything), but I still never know if anything I said or wrote actually gets to them via any staff person.

Mostly, I feel invisible, ineffective, disembodied, and insignificant, like the old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip I saved (and printed out and made into a fridge magnet): in the second panel Calvin screams to a starlit night 'I'm significant' (in caps)... and on panel four Calvin says (in small letters) '... screamed the dust speck.'

I suspect the ONLY people who know what the heck's going on in this country and are paying attention are bloggers and people who do not live in the US who see what's happening and hate and distrust Bush, Cheney, and their LYING administration and what they are doing to us as much as we do. I very much sense that foreign leaders have totally lost patience with Bu$hCo....

From where I sit, I rely on accurate and truthful observations about FACTS, and I get that from you and Dick or anyone else (usually only bloggers) who have seen or heard the same things as you have. I can read and read and read to keep myself informed about various issues (multiple opinions are very important to me, especially when I'm still ruminating about issues I haven't made up my mind about yet), but the fact remains that I see the US as headed in a disastrous direction, and I haven't yet seen anything to prevent the top two criminals from leading us into a world-wide conflagration (see the Puting story I'll be posting) if Congress Critters don't put them both on a choke-chain leash... or, better yet, IMPEACH the bam dastards.

I have long since reached my hanging-on-by-a-hair patience level about the issue of impeachment.... We KNOW we've been LIED to over and over and over and over and it's cost hundreds of thousands of lives (here and in Iraq and Afghanistan) and billions of dollars, and some of those billions are not even accounted for. That MUST stop; we can't afford any more wars based on lies for oil...! That's why I was so happy to see hundreds of thousands out for the anti-war rally in DC in January. I just wish more Congress Critters could have seen and appreciated it.

So (working within physical limitations), I'll shall continue to (mostly) write or call Congress Critters and blog and write some more.... At this point, getting our Constitutional rights and privileges restored, stopping one war and stopping the progress on the road to another war, and closing Gitmo is vitally important... and however the message gets through to our Congress Critters (in person, by email, by phone or FAX), every kind of message counts...! At least in the act of writing (or sometimes calling), I don't feel quite so invisible....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070210/ap_on_re_eu/security_conference
Putin blasts U.S. for its use of force

MUNICH, Germany - Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the United States Saturday for the "almost uncontained" use of force in the world, and for encouraging other countries to acquire nuclear weapons.
In what his spokesman acknowledged were his harshest attacks on the U.S. since taking office in 2000, Putin also criticized U.S. plans for missile defense systems and NATO's expansion.

Putin told a security forum attracting top officials that "we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations" and that "one state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way.

"This is very dangerous, nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law," Putin told the gathering.

Putin did not elaborate on specifics and did not mention the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

But he voiced concern about U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in eastern Europe — likely in Poland and the Czech Republic — and the expansion of NATO as possible challenges to Russia.

On the missile defense system, Putin said: "I don't want to accuse anyone of being aggressive" but suggested it would seriously change the balance of power and could provoke an unspecified response.

"That balance will be upset completely and one side will have a feeling of complete security and given a free hand in local, and probably in global, conflicts..." he said. "We need to respond to this."

~~~~~

Asked if he had any reaction to Putin's charges, Defense Secretary Robert Gates just shook his head and said no.

Putin's spokesman Dimitry Peskov said the Russian leader did not intend to be confrontational, but acknowledged it was his harshest criticism of the United States since he was elected in March 2000.

Putin also criticized NATO expansion.

"The process of NATO expansion has nothing to do with modernization of the alliance or with ensuring security in Europe," Putin said. "On the contrary, it is a serious factor provoking reduction of mutual trust."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interesting that Liberman is quoted in this article with a D behind his name, but he's spouting pure neoCon propaganda. He was not elected as a Democrat, so he should have an I behind his name. Well, *technically* he's a neoCon, if one wants to nit-pick....

If my first impression of the Putin quotes is correct... Putin has led the world by putting Bu$hCo in his place and set the standard for the rest of the world stopping Bu$hCo's determined march to take over control of the world's oil resources, among other things. If Bu$hCo goes any further and starts another war, the rest of the world's countries will likely follow Putin's lead and they'll clobber the US - but they will stop Bu$hCo, PNAC, and the rest of the neoCons. They're out of patience, too.

EXECUTIVE TIME OUT OR PHUKET?
By Will Durst, AlterNet
Satirical musings on the president and rehab.
http://www.alternet.org/stories/47856/
{{{Bwahahahahahahahaha......}}}

TEN WAYS TO PREPARE FOR A POST-OIL SOCIETY
By James Howard Kunstler, Kunstler.com
The best way to feel hopeful about our looming energy crisis is to get active now and prepare for living arrangements in a post-oil society.
http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/47705/

{YES-S-S-S-S-S!!! I was wondering if/when someone else was seeing the future as I have been thinking it will be when fossil fuels are all gone....}

American Enterprise Institute
Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 10:54 AM

Isn't that what the PNAC group has now re-named themselves? I remember reading a while back that PNAC has disbanded and formed another group with another name (same people, of course), but I can't remember what the new name is.

Inquiry on Intelligence Gaps May Reach to White House
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021007Z.shtml
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Friday that he would ask current and former White House aides to testify about a report by the Pentagon's inspector general that criticizes the Pentagon for compiling "alternative intelligence" that made the case for invading Iraq.
~~~~~~~

"Alternative intelligence," my ass!!! They LIED...!!! Since ol' Scooter was hung out to dry by the administration, it will be interesting to see what he might have to say to the panel if he's called as a witness.... I wonder if he will tell the truth the first time, this time....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6349287.stm

Putin attacks 'very dangerous' US

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked the United States for what he said was its "almost uncontained" use of force around the world.
America's "very dangerous" approach to global relations was fuelling a nuclear arms race, he told a security summit.
~~~~~
Mr Putin told senior security officials from around the world that nations were "witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations".

"One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way," he said, speaking through a translator.

"This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law.

"This is nourishing an arms race with the desire of countries to get nuclear weapons."

BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson, in Munich, said Mr Putin's speech was a strident performance which may well be remembered as a turning point in international relations.
~~~~~
Mr Putin's spokesman Dimitry Peskov said the speech was "not about confrontation, it's an invitation to think".

"Until we get rid of unilateralism in international affairs, until we exclude the possibility of imposing one country's views on others, we will not have stability," he said.

{{{More on link. And why the heck was LIEberman even asked for his opinion about this?!?}}}

Putin didn't really say anything that outrageous. The policy of pre-emption is what is outrageous.

& I heard the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations interviewed on NPR. He didn't say anything that outrageous either.

Gates and others are using a strategy of tracing weapons they find in Iraq to Iranians as part of a pretext to hostilities. Add some trigger act and Bam.

It would not be hard to find foreign weapons in Iraq. Consider that Iran and Iraq warred for almost a decade, with both sides able to buy American weapons (given the profiteers who will sell to anyone and given the Cold War strategy of not caring if they duked it out).

Then consider the couple of tons of bundles of cash money that Bremer handed out without record, AFTER we failed to secure Saddam's 24 border checkpoints with Iran and left 2. Surely some of that has been used to buy weapons, from many countries, since we are not the only ones who accept dirty money for profit.

If we truly could invade, as Bush has said many times, any country that harbors potential terrorists, then we really ought to have gone into Canada by now.

Speaking of Witnessing, I was nervous because Libby's people will be called to testify. But now, come to think of it, if Libby is being set up, and others were expected to fall on the sword for Cheney, maybe the witnesses won't be so loyal.

Another White House Aide Fingers Cheney
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021007Y.shtml
David Addington, chief legal adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, says he was taken aback when the White House started making public pronouncements about the CIA leak investigation. "Why are you making these statements?" Addington asked White House communications director Dan Bartlett. "Your boss is the one who wanted" them, Bartlett replied, referring to Cheney. With that, "I shut up," Addington recalled recently for jurors in Libby's CIA leak trial, which begins its fourth week on Monday with Libby's lawyers calling their first witnesses.

Thanks for the post, Karen.

As someone who lives in the very blue state of Massachusetts, I often feel that the usual methods for me to witness are just preaching to the choir. I already KNOW that Sen.s Kerry and Kennedy will vote our way, and my local rep. as well. It makes it hard to get very enthusiastic about making calls and sending emails.

I often wish I was there with you being the voice in person... the voice they can't easily pretend doesn't exist.

I don't know what the solution is for getting the word out on this. I think sparrow is right - we've gotta get the media on it. I didn't watch Olbermann last night - did he have a piece on it?

If not, sending him emails to get it out there would be a good place to start. Seems like it would be a good opp. for his special commentary.

Did anyone see it? the transcript isn't up yet.

Karen, are you talking to yourself? ;=)

Kerry Democratic Response (to Bush radio propaganda address):

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/10/104646/494

Also 2 recommended diaries about IranNam that have scary titles

typed in Karen by mistake?
my guess: mbk

(I've done that - copied name of person I was thinking of)

OT, but for those who care...

Obama gave a very great & inspiring speech this morning announcing his candidacy for President (IMHO).

CSPAN just announced that they will replay the speech at 8pm tonight.

Posted by: Karen at February 10, 2007 12:51 PM

Sorry - that was me!!

Posted by: Carol at February 10, 2007 01:21 PM

Channelling Karen, of course. ;=)

(Good thing it wasn't Sybil.)

Back to Obama -- you can also watch his speech here ===>
http://www.barackobama.com/#

Carol
I didn't remember where you lived - cool!

Blog: Free Expression
Post: Obama: The Real Deal?
Link: http://free--expression.blogspot.com/2007/02/obama-real-deal.html

Petition to save NPR and PBS from Bush budget cuts

http://civ.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/o.pl?id=9861-3132966-g_VupTaUx31zFAVm.NYEWw&t=1

For one thing, they don't give them much anyway.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 01:50 PM

I take it you're not a fan. I personally like what I heard today & plan on supporting him 150% or more.

Posted by: Karen at February 10, 2007 12:51 PM

Sorry - that was me!!

Posted by: Carol at February 10, 2007 01:21 PM

Good that it's not the Three Faces of Karen then.

And also good is that the voices she's hearing in her head are your voices not just her own!

Posted by: Karen at February 10, 2007 12:51 PM

Sorry - that was me!!

Posted by: Carol at February 10, 2007 01:21 PM

Olberman's transcript or the transcript from yesterday's hearing?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x167135#169042

Madame Defarge

I think Obama is fine. That was a collection of various stuff about him & the BBC stuff was rather uninformed and biased. I should have included the preface from the person who gave me that link, but I didn't want to bias the reader.

It will be really cool if Obama can stand up to the unfair media & if he can increase his support base.

May the best candidate win! (That doesn't always happen though because of the demands of financing a campaign in this country).

Posted by: madame defarge at February 10, 2007 01:55 PM

I'm with you MD, I just worry, the brightness of his star may frighten those who cower in the shadows. When the establishment is scared, there is no limit to the audacity of their anger and fear.

Putin didn't really say anything that outrageous. The policy of pre-emption is what is outrageous.
Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 11:59 AM

True, Putin didn't. And I agree with him, and I agree with you that the Bu$hCo policy of pre-emption is what is outrageous.

I may not agree, or even like, some of the world's other leaders regarding other things, but when they speak the truth about Bu$hCo, I give 'em credit where credit is due.

The truly astonishing part is that our own politicians (danged few exceptions noted, quotes read on blogs, rarely ever mentioned otherwise) and Lamestream Media have not done said exactly the same things. That's the mind-bending, dumbfounding part. The truth is SO patently obvious it just walks right up and slaps us in the face with a double whammy. And no one in this country talks about it!!!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/10/04417/0435
Posted by: sparrow at February 10, 2007 09:46 AM

Excellent Kos diary... and some of the comments are spot on!!!

I particularly liked this one:

Look for Halliburton serial numbers

For chrissakes, Halliburton sold a lot of that shit to them, at the behest of Cheney. How dumb does Bushco think we are?

V E R Y

Another poster had this tag line from Molly:
I believe that ignorance is the root of all evil. And that no one knows the truth. RIP, Molly Ivins. And thanks.

Bush's uncle linked to options lawsuit
Defendants' backdating benefited a board he was on, the SEC alleges.

President Bush's uncle William H.T. "Bucky" Bush was among directors of a defense contractor who together reaped $6 million from what federal regulators say was an illegal five-year scheme by two company executives to manipulate the timing of stock option grants, court documents show.

The youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, he is the second Bush family member whose name has surfaced in stock options scandals this month.
~~~~~
Last week in an unrelated case, Marvin Bush, the current president's youngest brother, was named as a defendant in a suit charging that officers and directors of HCC Insurance Holdings benefited from backdated options.

Click on link for more....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bushfam9feb09,0,2095254.story

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070210/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_driver_shot

U.S. contractor shot by U.S. forces

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military confirmed on Saturday that American forces at Camp Anaconda, the huge air base north of Baghdad, shot and killed a civilian contract truck driver.

A spokeswoman for KBR, a contracting subsidiary of Halliburton that was formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, said the shooting was under investigation.

Melissa Norcross, the KBR spokeswoman, said the company was not releasing the name of the dead driver or a second person in the truck who was wounded "to protect the individuals' privacy."
~~~~~
Halliburton is spinning off KBR into its own separate, publicly traded entity.

{{{What's next? Combat pay for mercenaries on top of their five-figure monthly salary???}}}

Eric Boehlert | Scooter Libby and the Media Debacle
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021007A.shtml
Eric Boehlert writes: "The New York Times made headlines last week when it tapped a new DC bureau chief. But if the paper of record really wanted to jump-start its Beltway news operation, maybe it should have tried to lure Patrick Fitzgerald away from the Department of Justice. Let's face it, as special counsel in charge of investigating the Valerie Plame CIA leak, and now the lead prosecutor in DC federal court methodically laying out the damning evidence against Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Fitzgerald has consistently shown more interest - and determination - in uncovering the facts of the Plame scandal than most Beltway journalists."

{{{This is a damning "tribute" to Lamestream Media. They deserve it. Boehlert is with Media Matters. You will appreciate the whole article - you'll have to click on link to original story to be able to activate embedded links. I just copied and pasted the original article into an email and sent it off to several friends.}}}

Saddam-Al Qaeda Evidence Blasted
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021007B.shtml
Senate Democrats assailed Pentagon officials today for insisting to the White House in the months before the Iraq war that Saddam Hussein had direct links to Al Qaeda — despite doubts within the US intelligence community.

The New York Times | The Build-a-War Workshop
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021007F.shtml
"It took far too long, but a report by the Pentagon inspector general has finally confirmed that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s do-it-yourself intelligence office cooked up a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda to help justify an unjustifiable war," writes the New York Times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's astonishing that occasionally the NYT has good editorials when one considers the fact that they are also still faithfully publishing the propaganda about Iran without any "journalists" questioning the propaganda or comparing the Iran "alternative intelligence assessments" to the LIES told to us about the lead up to the illegal Iraq invasion....

Senator Tim Johnson Working From Hospital
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021007G.shtml
Senator Tim Johnson is reading news clippings and starting to do some office work from the hospital, almost two months after suffering a life-threatening brain hemorrhage. Spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said the South Dakota Democrat is starting slowly. "We do not anticipate him back (in the Senate) for several weeks," Fisher said.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 01:07 PM

?????
I didn't get this, DiAnne. Can you explain??
If you're talking about Karen talking to Karen, it wasn't me!

May the best candidate win! (That doesn't always happen though because of the demands of financing a campaign in this country).
Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 02:35 PM
. . Boy, do I ever agree with that.

Two thought-provoking articles on Obama:
1. David Sirota: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/i-want-to-believe_b_40901.html
2. Ken Silverstein (Nov 2006 Harpers) : http://www.harpers.org/BarackObamaInc.html

I just listened to Sen. Obama's speech on the TPM election central site/Utube here:
http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/feb/10/barack_obamas_announcement_on_video

I thought it was really great! The articles cited above by mbk are very premature in my humble opinion.

Like M. Defarge, I'm a bit smitten with Obama now--haven't felt like this in a while (That funny-looking, straight-talking Jon Tester certainly caught my eye, and Webb has that macho populist thing I can fall for), but I'm wary of giving my full heart at this point. Likely to be crushed in Iowa, or by the Clinton money machine.

Hope not. From what I heard, Obama kinda laid down his glove at the foot of the Washington money machine. He's declaring a duel against the big money guns. Gotta admire that, but the lobbyists are oh so powerful in BOTH parties.

Beth, I agree. Now that he's an official candidate, all kinds of opinions about him will surface.

There will never be the perfect candidate -- especially for Democrats whose party premise is based on diversity.

What I'm looking for in a presidential candidate is strong leadership, good judgement, intelligence, & the ability to heal the divisiveness within our country. Of course, his/her stand on issues is important, but in the end, a good leader will build a strategic vision for the country based on listening to good advisors, Congress, and his constituents -- we, the people.

What a freaking dumb headline. The "US" isn't surprised. Only Bush & his deluded administration are surprised.... (And for the record, I really detest the condescending royal "we" that some in the administration use....! Aaargh!) Click on link for more.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070210/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_russia

U.S. expresses surprise at Putin remarks

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Saturday it was surprised and disappointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks that the United States "has overstepped its national borders in every way" and is fostering a new global arms race.

"His accusations are wrong," said Gordon Johndroe, President Bush's national security spokesman.
~~~~~
While some in the administration pushed for a tough tone toward Putin, the official reaction was muted.

"We are surprised and disappointed with President Putin's comments," Johndroe said. "We expect to continue cooperation with Russia in areas important to the international community such as counterterrorism and reducing the spread and threat of weapons of mass destruction."

US 'friendly fire' incident kills allies
Richard Oppel, David Cloud
February 11, 2007

A US military helicopter has killed as many as nine Kurdish militia fighters — allies of the US in Iraq — after the aircraft mistakenly attacked a guard post in the northern city of Mosul.

The post protected the local offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the political party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

The attack stunned Patriotic Union officials, whose leadership and militia are close allies of US forces. They said their base and the surrounding guard posts were well known to the American military in Mosul.

"Everybody knows that it is a PUK base and is used for protecting the main road between Mosul and Erbil," said Kabir Goran, a Patriotic Union official.

He said the guard post was less than two kilometres from the party offices. "We have daily contacts with the Americans and they have been to the base."

The US command in Baghdad said troops erroneously thought they had identified insurgents near the hide-out of an al-Qaeda bomb-making cell. The command said the strike killed five Kurds, described as policemen. Kurdish officials said as many as nine were killed.

"What the American statement said is not true," Mr Goran said. "They are trying to cover the massacre that they carried out at that military point."

Cont. .....
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/us-friendly-fire-incident-kills-allies/2007/02/10/1170524346949.html

Re: woz's post
The longer we have troops and weapons in Iraq, the more death and destruction will happen in our name. This administration doesn't know the first thing about making friends, about respecting other cultures. That is such a sad story among so many...

Posted by: madame defarge at February 10, 2007 06:17 PM

I don't believe there is any candidate who can heal divisions until we have a media that thrives on telling the truth and not thriving in being an attack bull for any party.

We know there is no liberal media, but we know that the media wants ratings and money--that's it.

So one candidate will only be able to thrive if Congress works together to make corporate owned media illegal and when they enforce the fairness in media doctrine.

Posted by: beth at February 10, 2007 07:41 PM

Agreed Beth. And with emotional involvement, the truth is somewhere between the two extremes. Nevertheless, tragic indeed. Tragedy upon tragedy.

mbk
I was trying to guess who it might be that accidentally typed Karen and it wasn't you, it was Carol. I was trying to remember who lived in Massachusetts.

Re Obama I think it's useful to read articles pro and con, to try to figure out what slams the opposition researchers might use. At the primary stage the Republicans really watch the Dem infighting between factions for various candidates, I think. They certainly watched to see what Dean people said about Kerry last time, etc.

So I think people who support a candidate should just study carefully what people say and also if they intend to be involved later, it's good to find out more about the Republican candidates, pros and cons not just on position but on strengths and weaknesses.

It's such a dirty game I can't get in the mood to play it yet. & got severely burned on Gore and Kerry, much of which I attribute to the media's whoring for the Administration, big business and the general concept of infotainment.

The candidates will at some point (maybe already) try to impress the bloggers, who tend to be more activist than the sleeping general populace. I saw it last year at YearlyKos and am wondering who would like to go to Chicago in August to see it again. The candidates show up and the mainstream media shows up - it's an amazing circus & interesting. I'm not really a Kossack & my friends who are aren't going, but that's not the point.

Karen, from my perspective in all of this, I see you at position 1 for most of the time. I am certain there is great distress in this position also, because the clock ticks as the clock ticks, and all action is way too slow.

In the few months I've been observing, many of you here have opened my eyes and clarified issues and political processes. In doing this for me, I then pass on to others. And those people pass on and so on it goes. Round the mulberry bush. Around the world.

Raising awareness in the heads that are firmly cemented in the sand, is perhaps the hardest but most essential task of all. You are not alone. What you don't realise during your witnessing, is where your witnessing goes immediately after it leaves you. I have passed on your witnessing-as-it-happens to friends and politicians on both sides of the fence.

Karen - you are definitely right there in position 1 and I am extremely grateful to you. Nothing is more important than getting the word as spoken, from the location in which it is said. And once caught, that word must be passed on immediately to as many as possible.

Thanks.

Hey woz, is your PM being paid by the Bush regime? Or maybe he's bucking for Rover's job?

Al-Qaeda praying for Obama win, says PM
PRIME Minister John Howard has blasted US presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying his policy of withdrawing troops from Iraq will destabilise the entire Middle East.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21207082-1702,00.html

Posted by madame defarge at February 10, 2007 09:34 PM

Yep mme d - he's indebted to the Bush regime for getting him reelected. On several occasions - when they were together - Bush wished him and his Liberal party luck in the elections. So, I guess it's payback time for the little lapdog (shudder).

But remember too, that Howard still believes that Iraq has WOMD and that Gitmo is the equivalent of a 3 star resort where the residents are happy and have never, ever been spoken to crossly. He said 3 days ago - "Look, the jury's still out on carbon emissions being a cause of global warming."

I wouldn't really count anything Howard says as having much point. The good thing is that Bush must see Obama as a bit of a threat since he and Howard have obviously discussed him.

Howard tried the same nonsense with the new Labor leader here - Kevin Rudd - about the troops out deal, but Rudd threw it straight back. "Mmm, so we're going to win the election Saturday (good of him to recognise it at this stage), rest Sunday, prepare for the changeover Monday, swear in Tuesday, troops home Wednesday. What's he want us to do for the rest of the week?"

Oh, could there be such poetic justice as this?

War crime risk for MPs in 'retro' case against Hicks
Liz Porter
February 11, 2007
Australia's support of a new, retrospective terrorism charge against David Hicks has put members of the Federal Government at serious risk of committing a war crime, a leading Victorian silk and international law expert has warned.

Peter Vickery, QC, said members of the Government were at risk of breaching the Australian criminal code as well as Australia's international treaty obligations by urging the US to proceed with the present draft charges against Hicks.

Mr Vickery, an International Commission of Jurists special "rapporteur" on Hicks, said the charge of "material support for terrorism" against Hicks was a classic retrospective law which did not exist in 2001.

"It was created by the Americans to apply to David Hicks and others on 17 October 2006 when President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 into law in the United States," he said. "However, Hicks is alleged to have committed the offence in Afghanistan in 2001."

Cont. .....
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/risk-in-retro-hicks-case/2007/02/10/1170524347080.html

It would be nice to see all of Bush's friends become lame ducks and leave office in their own countries. Most of them are wingnuts, dictators, princes, sheiks, generals. Not a people-powered friend does he have.

I have been jumped on for negatively commenting on leaders of other "sovereign nations" (are there any left, really? with globalization?) but it's a form of returning the favor for all of those all around the world who recognize Boy Einstein for the military genius he is (not). Thank you to sane reality-based people everywhere!

If we truly could invade, as Bush has said many times, any country that harbors potential terrorists, then we really ought to have gone into Canada by now.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 11:59 AM

And of course, that's what the neocon chicken hawks, notably Mann Coulter, have called for all along.

And as you posted on your own blog a while back, why Canadians have a level of mistrust toward the US.

It would be nice to see all of Bush's friends become lame ducks and leave office in their own countries. Most of them are wingnuts, dictators, princes, sheiks, generals. Not a people-powered friend does he have.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 10:18 PM

It would be nice indeed, but I don't see it happening.

Right now, Koreatown is prepping for visits by South Korea's presidential candidates, all from the Grand National Party, our Republicans' puppet party. The election is this coming December, and Grand Nationals are heavily favored to win, if only because the leftist parties have pretty much self-destructed.

If South Korea were to become our 51st state (a prospect some Grand Nationals would feel very honored to accept), the Grand Nationals would make a perfect state-level Republican Party.

Elsewhere in Asia, remember that Shinzo Abe of Japan is also close to our neocons, even though not as close as his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi.

What a great bunch of responses! It helps!

I was out most of the day at a meeting and then to a museum with the family and then at dinner with more family, so this is the first chance I've had to get back here.

On Obama: we were tickled to see a young black woman with a very LARGE Obama sticker today in a bookstore in downtown DC. Looks like there is juice already....

The next six months will be interesting on that front.

"But just how do we stop them?

Posted by: madame defarge at February 10, 2007 09:31 AM"

If I knew the answer to that...One suggestion is to look at the Occupation Project ( http://www.vcnv.org/project/the-occupation-project ) and join in. If enough did that, they would notice.

Iran is happening, just as we have feared, and we may not have done enough to prevent it. Yet if each person reading this were to tell ten people about the need to act NOW, and those ten folks told ten each, we might have what we need to begin.

Remind them of what we are up against, and tell them about Lori and Medea and Col. Ann and all the other women and men here in DC witnessing and speaking up. We need each other now, more than ever.

"It's such a dirty game I can't get in the mood to play it yet. & got severely burned on Gore and Kerry, much of which I attribute to the media's whoring for the Administration, big business and the general concept of infotainment."
Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 09:16 PM

That's my mood, too. Plus this race is so absurdly early, and absurdly hyper. I'm concentrating on causes.

I am personally convinced the an attack on Iran could happen anytime. Unlike the Iraq war, Bush is not going to give enough warning for 10 million people (or whatever it was) to assemble in the streets around the world to protect. And that size protest didn't stop him last time.

We already played that hand. It turned out to be a weak hand. We need a better hand, and the only way to get it is to take it. Bush is still holding what he thinks are the better cards. If we don't trump the actions of the last war, why shouldn't he go ahead again?

I share Karen's frustrations at the absence of more direct actions. Why should any Congressperson of any party be able to go anywhere outside the front door of their house without being accosted, harangued, jostled, and harassed until he or she promises to go to the floor that day and sign on to legislation to cut off ALL the funding, and to set the impeachment investigation process in motion TODAY?

Time is running out.

I share Karen's frustration

Too bad people can't do massive tax witholding with April 15th coming up. I guess we'd end up in debtors' prisons, like in the old days.

Massive work strike - people won't do that here. & it doesn't even work in France any more.

Guardian weighing in on Putin's comments about US aggression fueling the arms race - I hadn't realized it was at a Security conference in Munich at which McCain and Gates were in the audience.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2010462,00.html

I agree with the position that the power of the US needs to be counterbalanced by other forces in the world. I think it's the only hope. The problem is - what does it take to stop the madness? We obviously can't do it alone, nor can Congress. It will take an international effort. We impose sanctions. We freeze assets. What makes us immune from other countries doing the same?

India and China are advancing, US and Britain are receding. It's the way of Empires. I hope we don't get crushed in the last gasp of the paranoic powermongers.

just type "Israel bunker busters" into Google

Why are we selling them and what are they intended for?

The Australian Federal Government is on its way .....

OUT we hope!

From. .....

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/costello-steals-a-goal/2007/02/10/1170524346469.html?page=2

Looking ahead, there doesn't seem to be anything positive on the horizon for the Government either.

First up is the visit to Australia of United States Vice-President Dick Cheney on February 22.

No joy for Howard there. Cheney looks like someone from the cast of Night of the Living Dead and is about popular back home as Dr Strangelove.

His week-long stay will only focus attention on the United States' disastrous venture in Iraq, where Howard has no choice but to keep Australian troops for as long as the Americans are there.

Cheney's visit will also put further pressure on Howard over David Hicks' continued incarceration without trial at Guantanamo Bay — a fact that an increasing number of Liberal MPs are angry about.

-----
A holiday from politics and look what's waiting at the door.

"It's such a dirty game I can't get in the mood to play it yet. & got severely burned on Gore and Kerry, much of which I attribute to the media's whoring for the Administration, big business and the general concept of infotainment."
Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 09:16 PM

Ditto for me.

Lamestream Media has been hyping Hillary for prez since she was first elected senator. I have LONG since OD'd on her. My #1 objection to Hillary is this: If she's so smart, why didn't she vote against the war originally? Kennedy and Feingold, to name two of maybe a dozen or so senators, voted against AUMF originally. They were smart enough to see the pack of lies for what they were, even if they didn't define it as clearly (I knew Shrubbie was lying in the 2000 debates when he said he wasn't going to do any nation building). If Hillary was on the ball, she would have voted against that piece of $h!te legislation to begin with. The fact that she didn't doesn't leave her any credibility now, especially since she has not been one of the senators demanding an immediate withdrawal and an end to the war, and she isn't forcefully demanding an end to torture and closure of Gitmo. Everything I've seen/heard/read about any speeches she's given does't impress me. She's dead down the center of everything, no firm stance on anything. Media hype plus lack of calling for an immediate end to Shrubbie's war combined with an end to torture and closure of Gitmo is two strikes against her. (And I resent that I have to analyze her viability on those terms, because I really want to vote for a woman for prez, but I can't based on those issues.)

Following on the heels of the media hype about Hillary, Lamestream Media then began hyping Obama immediately after his '04 DNC convention speech. He's inexperienced, and of the few news clips I've seen of any of his speeches, he's not calling for an immediate end to Shrubbie's war nor an end to torture and closure of Gitmo. Following Hillary's lead, Obama has said nothing that has impressed me; he's right down the middle. Good orator, but no substance to his speeches (and I deconstruct speeches for substance - neither Hillary nor Obama have any substance to their speeches). That's two strikes against him.

The other media darling is McCain, the whore of warmongering. Of all the senators, he has the most against him. With his track record of being a POW and experiencing torture, he's the last person one would have suspected of being such a warmonger and he didn't forcefully stand up to Shrubbie over the issue of torture and Gitmo. He loses, every which way one looks at it. His spinelessness is against him.

More appallingly to me, since there's a local "connection" to McCain, Minnesota's governor is now in charge of whatever commission McCain has to see about his viability as a candidate. First Pawlenty mildly rebuked Shrubbie over the escalation, and less than a week later it was announced he was heading McCain's commission. What a freaking hypocrite!!! No local media has covered that flip-flop. Allegedly, Pawlenty is "helping" McCain in his "spare time" and it won't cut into his governor duties, but that's a crock of $h!te, too. Pawlenty's name has been brought up within in-state media as a potential VP candidate for '08, and, of course, there's the fact that the RNC will hold their convention in the Twin Cities in '08, in the heart of the bluest state in the Midwest.

While channel surfing in the middle of the night, I caught a re-run of last night's 10 p.m. news when they were featuring a segment about the early declaration of the above candidates. The poli-sci prof they were interviewing thinks the early declarations will backfire with the results being lack of turnout at the polls in '08 due to voter fatigue and people being bored with this whole thing. He cited Dean's early declaration and early flame-out as an example (without going into the fiasco of the Dean scream and how media treated a yell of enthusiasm, equating it with a 'temper' on Dean's part).

No other candidates were mentioned. I know Kucinich is against the war, but I almost never hear his name mentioned, and I can't remember the last time I saw a sound byte about Kucinich.

The candidates getting the most media hype are the very candidates who should be watching the anti-war, stop-the-war polls (and pay attention to the reason the Dems got a majority in Congress after this last election). All polls have from 2/3 to 3/4 majority against the war, in favor of stopping the war, bringing the troops home NOW (and that includes the poll done among the troops in Iraq who think they should leave). I haven't seen any polls recently about impeachment, but the last ones I saw indicated a majority of Americans favor impeachment, and the Dems, in particular, should have realized they need to state their positions on impeachment, too. Why impeachment proceedings haven't already been brought to the floor of the House is just beyond my ability to comprehend. Conyers has the papers. So put them before the House already!!!

If the current crop of candidates are so CLUELESS they can't even follow the polls and forcefully and dramatically state an anti-war, stop-the-war, stop-the-torture and close Gitmo position now, along with restoring our constitutional rights and privileges and declare they favor impeachment, then I don't see why they should be nominated at the conventions in '08. They talk in general terms of domestic programs - cute and soothing, but meaningless - because if that unjustified, illegal, immoral, unethical, dishonorable war based on lies for oil is not stopped, there won't be any money to fund any domestic programs because currently available monies and borrowed money is going down the black hole that finances Shrubbie's war (and his plans to escalate to another war for which there are not enough people or money to start, but he's going to manufacture an unjustified reason for it anyway - duh!). No use to talk about domestic programs until the war is stopped, torture is stopped, Gitmo is closed, and Congress restores our rights and privileges by repealing all the bad legislation passed since Georgie was given his residency by SCOTUS.

Shrubbie's lies and his war and the resulting fallout (torture, laws taking away our rights and privileges, etc.) is the root of what ails this nation. If that's not dealt with FIRST, the rest doesn't matter. All the well-meaning vague rhetoric about domestic programs fall into the realm of pipe dreams because those programs can't even be funded with the money going to Shrubbie's illegal war based on lies for oil.

I'm at this point for now: I don't give a hoot how it's accomplished, but I want Congress to stop the war, stop the torture, close Gitmo, and start impeachment proceedings (and if Shrubbie starts another war, throw his ass in prison for war crimes!). The sooner I hear any news along those lines, the more I'll pay attention. Bickering about the wording of a NON-binding resolution just wastes time and gets more people killed and I've totally lost patience with that piece of stupidity and nonsense. Make it a binding resolution or else shut the hell up and stop bickering like children over something that doesn't really matter anyway.

I'm in no mood to listen to politicians who want to become president nearly two years from now. Ring me in about 18 months....

Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 09:16 PM
Posted by: mbk at February 10, 2007 11:50 PM

Whole heartedly agree. There should be a law preventing any exploratory committee or any other Presidential campaigning from happening until January 1st of the year in which the primary caucuses begin. Or they should make donations prior to that point nondeductible.

Posted by: NonnyO at February 11, 2007 07:20 AM

I wish I could support Hillary not just because she's a woman but because she's actually done a lot of work for children in her own life.

She actually has a lot of experience.

But the day she met with Rupert Murdock's people and the day she started taking donations from big business, including pharmaceutical companies and medical companies, is the day I knew she was selling herself to the highest donors.

And to me that makes her impossible to even consider voting for.

I'm keeping everyone else on my watch list I guess.

Posted by: richard at February 10, 2007 11:59 PM

Seems to me that would be pretty hard to do. Plus, to me it seems like they're in DC 5 days of the week and would stand a better chance of getting jostled and such over there than in their own home districts.

http://www.vcnv.org/project/the-occupation-project
Posted by: karen at February 10, 2007 11:44 PM
Posted by: richard at February 10, 2007 11:59 PM

Karen - VCNV sounds good to me! There is a serious disconnect between Congress Critters and the people they're supposed to represent. Their job is to do the "will of the people" - not the will of the corporations. Now, "if only" Lamestream Media will cover it.... Media, I believe, is the biggest hurdle we have. Media has whored for the administration for too long, they're in the habit of never questioning the emperor with no clothes and they cover for him at every turn, ignoring lies, ignoring reality, ignoring the majority of people who want this war and torture insanity to end, while they feed the masses with nothing but infotainment! People without computers, people who have computers but who do not seek out information via the internet, don't stand a chance of ever being informed about anything that's relevant, even if they're against the war. They feel alone and isloated because they get nothing of any substance from the TV snooze every night and never pick up a paper to find out that occasionally these topics are talked about in editorial or op-ed pieces.

I share your frustration, Richard's frustration... we all do. Most days I feel absolutely apoplectic!!! From listening to Woolsey, Lee, and Conyers on Jan 27, I know they have impeachment papers ready... so WHY hasn't Conyers brought impeachment proceedings to the floor of the House, even over Pelosi's objections? Why don't they talk about impeachment off the floor of the House (say when they're being interviewed on a Sunday political yak show?) and give people a chance to write to Pelosi to urge her to bring impeachment back to the table? Procedural rules be damned! We NEED the impeachment process to at least begin... NOW!!!... before Shrubbie starts another war based on more lies which can only result in the entire rest of the world being against us and maybe even do a "pre-emptive" attack against us, just because they hate and distrust Shrubbie and Chinkster as badly as we do. I suspect the only reason they've restrained themselves this long is that they know that the vast majority of Americans are not like them and they don't want to hurt us just because of the criminals in the administration. If we can't stop them, the rest of the world will, I believe.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070211/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gates

Gates: Prisoner abuse scandals hurt U.S.

MUNICH, Germany - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that prisoner abuse scandals in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay and other mistakes have damaged America's reputation, and work must be done to prove the U.S. is still a force for good in the world.

While he did not mention the war in Iraq, he told a conference of top security officials from around the world that the U.S. has to do a better job of explaining its policies and actions.

For the last century most people believed that "while we might from time to time do something stupid, that we were a force for good in the world," Gates said.

And while he said a lot of people still believe that, he added, "I think we also have made some mistakes and have not presented our case as well as we might in many instances. I think we have to work on that."

More on link....

{{{Earth to Gates: It's not a matter of "explaining" policies. It's a matter of stopping war crimes and illegal wars and a slow return to being a civilized nation again!!! Just exactly how stupid are you?!?}}}

But the day she met with Rupert Murdock's people and the day she started taking donations from big business, including pharmaceutical companies and medical companies, is the day I knew she was selling herself to the highest donors.

And to me that makes her impossible to even consider voting for.
Posted by: sparrow at February 11, 2007 07:33 AM

Sadly, I totally agree with you......

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070210/ap_on_re_us/living_in_sin

N.D. Senate OKs cohabitation law change

BISMARCK, N.D. - Living together out of wedlock would be downgraded from a sex crime to fraud, and then only if the couple claims to be married, under a proposal that passed the state Senate on Friday.

The bill was changed from an outright repeal of the state's anti-cohabitation law. The amended proposal would make the false representation of marital status a misdemeanor crime for a man and woman who live together.

Cohabiting couples who do not falsely claim marriage would not be penalized.

Since statehood, North Dakota has barred unmarried couples from "openly and notoriously" living together as if they were married. It is one of seven states with anti-cohabitation laws.

More on link.... {This is a hoot to me!!! ROTFLMAO! My paternal gr-grandparents each left a spouse and one of two children each in NY state, moved to MN to homestead with one child each from their marriages, had three more daughters (one my paternal grandmother who ended up being a midwife), and neither one divorced their spouses in NY. Lucky they never went to ND!!!}

Here's a video clip that appeared on NBC nightly news last week. It's an interview with a soldier in Bagdhad, but the reporter clearly states that just about everyone he talked to said about the same thing. Hopefully more interviews like this will make it to MSM.

"It's Time to Come Home"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKGdbcSZezw

Madame,

Wow! That was an amazing clip. Many things were stated that we've been saying for years. We were mislead; it's failing; they're in a Civil War; and the troops and their families are paying the biggest price as a result.

Here we go again. White House had intended to release cooked up evidence against Iran.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/10/iran-cooked-intel/

This is an accurate portrayal of Hillary and the media and next year's primaries.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=262231&mesg_id=262231

Behold the Rise of Energy-Based Fascism
By Michael T. Klare
Unlike Islamo-fascism, Energo-fascism will, in time, affect nearly every person on the planet. Either we will be compelled to participate in or finance foreign wars to secure vital supplies of energy, such as the current conflict in Iraq - This is not simply some future dystopian nightmare, but a potentially all-encompassing reality whose basic features, largely unnoticed, are developing today.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17026.htm

The Iran thing is related to and also a distraction from what is going on in Iraq. Will see if Congress can do anything beyond a nonbinding resolution, and please stop refusing to establish timetables? This is a case where the country is ahead of the Congress. At least we will see debate and a vote, and they really need to follow the nonbinding resolution with something which is binding. They need to get Republicans hoping to be re-elected to stop blocking. People from both parties have to push and push hard and fast. Congress can block legislation the Republicans want, tying it to the war. They can turn requests for more money into debates over the war, raise the public profile. They can forbid the sending of troops that aren't properly trained and equipped and slow things down. The purse strings is the main weapon of the Legislative branch. They need to block creation of more bases, turn the ones they have over to the Iraqis (and the oil fields), and reduce then close Guantanamo, using the budget. All of these projects are expensive, run 24/7, are running on credit now. All Bush can do is veto. & there will be alot of competing plans to wind down the war, all of which makes the process slower. Someone needs to introduce a bill to take back authorization Congress made in 2002, so any entrance into Iran will be illegal.

I'm not going to specifically address the 2008 candidates - the oppo researchers don't need my ideas. Want to figure out policies and positions that are smart, see who best fits and can maybe win, and who they're likely to run against. Way too early for that.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 10, 2007 10:39 AM
"I am afraid of the issue of the day. I am afraid of picking up the vernacular of the media. There is too much distraction. I am terrified of falling into their frames. Sometimes I hope that if I'm kind of "out of it" in a fog of my own making, but selectively so, I can somehow come closer to the consciousness of one who (like the Sufis) is "in it but not of it."

Yes, yes, yes! I think that is a form of witnessing (and from experience, I think witnessing can be one of the most difficult places to find ourselves), that allows freedom via choice of action. The fire is there, it is banked, as you said before, DiAnne, and accessible, and to what extent possible, untainted by the emotions of others.

I hated, hated, hated the movie "Forrest Gump." My sisters asked me why. I told them that the blatent manipulation of emotion in that movie made me sick. I can smell manipulation a mile away and I have a primal fear of it encroaching on my mind. My cat can manipulate me, she has carte blanche, but she's the only one. ;-)

"Be in the world but not of it."
"Live the ordinary in a non-ordinary way."

Protection from manufactured 'reality' is a requirement in these times, without a doubt.

For Woz...

Obama's response

"If Prime Minister Howard truly believes what he says, perhaps his country should find its way to contribute more than just 1,400 troops so some American troops can come home," [Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs] said. "It's easy to talk tough when it's not your country or your troops making the sacrifices."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/11/australia.obama.ap/

Anyone looking for a real health care plan, I invite you to check out Rep. Conyer's plan.

http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c110:1:./temp/~c110IqpFhC:e12680:

KJ
Yes you understand pretty well my strategies for controlling information type and flow, and how to sustain effort over time vs burning out through expecting immediate gratification or ability to quickly and personally make a difference. We all feel helpless at times but delusions of grandeur are probably as dangerous. I'm not a conventionally religious person but I do also believe in the Serenity Prayer.

Distancing from emotional manipulation is part of it too. I am very affected by casualty figures without needing to hear testimonials. The YouTube video of the soldier questioning what is happening in Iraq was powerful because he was allowed to speak for himelf, but it was convincing enough to imagine there truly are many more like him. That's why I like Ann Garrels or Adam Davidson on NPR, and he is a business correspondant. First of all, it's radio, so I have to imagine. She is a seasoned war correspondant, multilingual, faces danger, goes without embedding, stays after others have left. He also dared to live outside the Green Zone, at great personal risk. They pretty much describe what they see, and interview using interpreters they have a personal relationship with and it's easier to imagine the lives of ordinary Iraqis. As a former reporter, you would appreciate it.

Dianne and KJ,

I understand how both of you might prefer to distance yourself from emotional manipulation; however, the media and our environment actually enourages or causes people to require that emotional manipulation to make a decision.

Examples:

Some churches have learned to use emotionality in their services so they may 'save' others.

Media promotes anger and patriotism to turn one side against the other.

Campaigns use anger and disgust and false information to create such emotional confusion that voters stay home rather than vote at all.

DiAnne,

"Yes," on all counts. Cog-in-the-wheel is my prefered role, because the resulting anonymity allows, even encourages, autonomy of thought and action. I don't recognize authority unless I chose. (stoplights, etc. lol!)

DiAnne, I look at your methods as very similar to my husband's, you both have the detached air that science demands. For me, the approach is balance of the left and right brain, even if I still give first slot to intuition. So much stimuli, I let the antenna go first, I trust its abilities of discernment. And then I'll do my research. As a poet, and that's about as core as I'll define myself, gotta keep the filters for the gross input clean. Otherwise, instant overwhelm. Which is why I don't watch the news or even listen to the radio.

When we first moved back here last summer, I spent hours every morning in the rocking chair, rocking up the sunrise, just to restore some sort of balance.

And straight unfiltered reporting, yes, I value. To keep yourself out of the situation and report observations only takes an ego that is firmly in check. And that ego I can trust. :-)

And I mean I sat in the rocking chair, in the dark, for at minimum two hours, with nothing but incense burning in the way of stimuli, until the sun was well over the horizan. Best meditation (and medication!) in the world. That's when I realized I had taken in way, way too much in northwest rural red and there would be no more taking in until that experience was at least on the shelf to be processed. Whatever we did or caused to ripple in that part of the country will not be anything I'll ever see the results of. But we acted, and for that, I'm grateful.

sparrow,

What you said above is sort of the whole reason I distance myself from anything that smells of manipulation. Our senses are manipulated at each and every turn, from advertising (in the thousands each day for the typical New Yorker) to music to sermons to backdrops to grocery stores to deployment ceremonies. Manipulation is everywhere, it is insidious.

In DiAnne's and my day, "Question Authority" was the buzz word. Today I believe it might very well be "Question Reality." (I think I have the fridge magnet, anyway!)

karen,

Interesting and engaging blog. As soon as I read it, I thought of the 365 Tao #52, which is etched in time and place in my memory. The thoughts may not apply to your post, but this sentence might:

"The greatest sorrow of life is witnessing. Experiencing our own sufferings is not as difficult as watching others held in fate's mighty grip."

http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/vortex/401/library/365/061.htm

Posted by: kj at February 11, 2007 02:38 PM

KJ,

That's apsolutely correct.

KJ
Reality is a crutch - that's one that I remember.
That actually preceded Question Authority, as it was a hippie ethos, not punk. One guy (and this was at University of South Dakota) would tell the fundamentalists "Don't preach religion to me and I won't put LSD in your coffee."

That was more about escapism and transcendance.
There is reality beyond the mundane reality and whether it's exploring consciousness (which is now almost taboo) or knowing what's going on in the outside world, it takes some effort.

The mode for escapism now seems to be American Idol type of things.

or FOX news.

Sparrow
Yes I agree that the emotional manipulation is used constantly and is what motivates alot of people to action. All I do is try to avoid it because I do not at all believe that I am immune to propaganda, whether it be political or in the marketplace (such as to have thinner thighs etc).

It's impossible to avoid it all, and that would not be desirable but it's possible perhaps to let information in selectively.

For example, I like to try to reduce exposure to commercials by listening to noncommercial radio, not watching television, and my downfall is magazines. Then there is alot of ambient stuff around.

I think it is possible not to get sucked into what you are supposed to be getting sucked into, to some degree.

DiAnne,

"It's all relative" was the one used by an older brother of one of my classmates in high school. He needed a religion credit to graduate, so came back to school and sat in the seat in front of me. He was a bonafide hippie in my eyes, long blond hair and everything. He drove Fr. Loner, who taught religion, nuts. But he inspired me. ;-) (I was susceptible to his anti-establishment creed. Plus, he didn't treat me as a girly girl, which, believe it or not, was a plus in my book even back then!)

Sparrow,

It's too damn hard to keep the filters clean as it is, two hours of rocking every morning is a tad excessive. I do whatever I can to keep the flotsom out, out, out! of consciousness. Even with all the effort, it's still impossible, as DiAnne said above, lots of ambient stuff around. I do watch television shows, but we've had a tivo since they first came out and I haven't watched a commercial in over six years.

My friends who are in their 70's are quite adept. They said they completely gave up after the antrax scare... when going to get your mail from the box became an act to be concerned about... they decided to reduce their stimuli to classical music and newspapers. They are still as informed as anyone I know, but they only know who Jon Stewart is because of my stories. She reads Arts and Letters Daily, also. They've stayed sane and they have a great network of friends and people they know, they're influences, they spread information far and wide. Also, very active in local political issues. They don't know who Anna Nicole Smith and I wouldn't dare tell them, they don't need to know.

I've been thinking about Richard's comment above, and sadly agree that I doubt we'll be given the time and/or possibility of organzing anti-war Iran marches. Whatever leadup time was needed before we landed in Iraq can't be anywhere near what is needed now, in terms of logistics. And although the protests were world-wide, we were nothing but a "focus group" to Mr. Bush. (I used to rail that we were a "focused group!")

Dick's right, we already played that hand and we need a better hand and to get it, we have to take it. But, I also wonder how many of us were really calling Senator Roberts in 2002 and 2003? I don't know that our hand was as weak as our numbers were, in this country at least, but they were were much, much smaller than they are now. As hopeless as calling and writing the Hill may seem, I still like it is vital and important.

Maybe because I witnessed/felt the sea change out here in rural red, I have more hope than those who are in more solidly blue areas. It was a fast turnaround. No, not fast enough to save the lives we could have saved, but faster, two years, than I could ever have imagined. Brutally fast but irrevocable. I live nine miles from a major base. The war is not supported. Bush is not mentioned. He is a pariah, when a few short years ago people were bragging about Rummy coming to visit.

More is needed. More is always needed.

Small example (which I might have relayed before):
The KC Star now has a political blog. I don't comment, but read occassionally. After the news that Bush could now open our mail, some wonderful smartass wrote in (paraphrased): "Great! He can have all my bills!" I've repeated that story over and over again and always get a wry laugh in reply, even among my Bush-voting family in Indiana.

That's the kind of frame I look for and when I find one, I do what we all do, I pass it on. If I'm obsessing over the latest whatever flameup in the blogosphere or wherever, I'll miss those gems. At least, that's what I think.

Time is valuable, it's a treasured, but limited resource. What to witness and how to respond, always a choice.

One more thought, since I'm rambling, people outside the blogosphere ARE engaged. It's the families of the troops, the majority of who come from small towns and counties, and those troops themselves, who have done MUCH in their communities to turn the tide of opinion against this illegal war in Iraq.

If nothing else about going back to work thrills me, the thought of getting to know the people here, and hear their stories, which are sacred in my thinking, is one big plus. I heard many stories while in the northwest corner of this state. Many deployed troops. Many family members. I remember every one. And I like to think that they were willing to talk to me, a stranger, because I was open to listening to them, whether they voted for Bush, or not.

Now my ex-boss, well. ;-)

KJ,

Karen and Dick aren't the only ones worried about an imminent attack on Iran. And many are worried that if we attack Iran, it is the start of WWIII.

I fear that Bush welcomes Armageddon. And I fear the neocons who run the show are so full of themselves that they can't see what they're starting.

Yes, we need to keep calling. Yesterday, I spent part of the day writing to local papers to let them know about the hearings on Friday. But, at the grocery store, the biggest excitement was Anna Nicole Smith.

Tomorrow, I'll likely freeway blog. I think I'll make a sign that says, "Stop Bush, Stop Bush's WARS and IMPEACH" I figured a painted stop sign helps conserve space and is immediately recognizable.

There are days when I feel they will get what they deserve; but then my heart screams out for all of our families and kids and WE most certainly don't deserve that too!

Maybe I'll stop typing soon. ;-)

Back to living in DC, I imagine the frustration is every bit as disheartening, or more, as living in rural red these past few years. You are, quite literally, banging on the doors of power and getting canned, tamed, focus-group-to-death responses for your effort.

But it's made an impact. That I was able to witness. I'm right in the center of the country, the coastal tides made it here. Please don't forget that... think of the effort and push that took and know that your actions DID have far- reaching effects.

sparrow,

I guess where we part in agreement is the idea of what we deserve. (Except when talking to my husband, and then I'm always telling him what riches and adoration I deserve ;-) I just don't look at life that way. I read W. Somerset Maugham's, "The Razor's Edge" at a crucial time in my life, and took to heart the idea that no one is due any reward, of any kind, for living a spiritual life.

I also don't know if GWB will ever feel the effects of his actions in any significant way. I don't believe, except in the most fairy tale way, in the idea of an after-life, so I can't claim to believe GWB will even face St. Peter and his book at the gate.

I just know that I'm accountable to my own consciousness, however limited it is. I always hope that the actions I take will stretch, and not limit, my capacity to love. Beyond that... ???

And sparrow, remember, I don't have kids. Although I wanted a dozen, I can't tell you the number of times JBK and I have looked at each other over the past fews years and heaved a huge sigh of relief that we don't have the burden of that worry.

Well, long chat, er, monologue. @;-)
Leaving a fresh pot of white jasmine tea.

Once I start talking!!! @;-)

Another result of November 7, 2006: Bush's handlers are now Poppy's people. Also, Cheney's power is compromised (Scooter's trial). We may go into Iran as we went into Laos and Cambodia, but not without significant cover, ie, buildup, money and troops, to Iraq. And that isn't going to happen. That's why I'm staying focused on limiting our involvement in Iraq and not so much focus on Iran. I just don't think Bush has the juice to pull an overt war with Iran.

And the reason I don't state opinions like the above more openly and often is... I don't want to argue with anyone about things like that, or impeachment. I know what I think, I trust my friends and my own research, and I take the actions that are in front of me to take.

It all goes back to what DiAnne wrote several times above, and what I think boils down to (informed) choice.

Now, about that pot of tea... :-)

Kj,

I'd rather have something stronger than tea (ice cream) so I did! Mint chip ice cream.

If the world is going to experience Armageddon, I'm at least going to enjoy something I love!

Regarding your comment about Iraq (and Iran), I don't have the confidence that you do. I think they don't care what they have or don't have as long as they get their way.

I hope Congress rescinds the IWR or can find a way to take away Bush's power. I'm still concerned about the signing statements and the big middle-finger Bush and his cronies are giving us.

sparrow - You might appreciate this little "news" story RE: media's inability to provide facts...

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/02/obama_but_not_i.html#more

And THAT was a great way to handle the media. Come right back at them! Good job, Obama. (Not that it means much, but I am quite proud of you for standing up to them. Keep it up!)

Madame--thanks for sharing that great article.

I got carried away today. Parade Magazine did its annual special on the Ten Worst Dictators so I drew them all (Bashir, Jong-Il, Khamenei, HuJintao, Abdullah, Than Shwe, Mugabe, Karimov, Qaddafi, Al-Assad). Then I put Boy Einstein right in the center.

Then I made a poster with the 2008 prospective candidates - In the foreground are Clinton, Romney, Obama, Edwards, McCain and Guiliani. Slightly receding are Brownback, Biden, Richardson, Kucinich and then Dodd, Vilsack, Cox, Thompson, Tancredo, Hunter, Hackabee. The look like two-dimensional head and shoulder cutouts, floating against a red, white and blue diagonally-striped background. They have captions such as "I am the most famous" "I am a rising star" "I am the true conservative" "I support Common Sense Conservatism" "I am the Crime fighter" etc. along with their credentials such as Senator, former Governor etc. They are not identified by party affiliation.

If they will photograph or scan, I'll put them on my website. Anyway, it was very relaxing & cathartic.

IF Iran is invaded, we may get our butts kicked. There are so many unknowns and we don't have too many friends in the world. Consider who has been selling Iran weapons that considers a bully - Russia, Venezuela and other oil-holding countries. We are pushing our luck. We can't assume China and India will always be held back by trade ties and investments we make there, as we are not the only ones to do so. Watch who has joint military exercises and many times, we are not involved. Watch who comes to international meetings and it seems we are becoming more peripheral and other countries are less afraid to publicly speak up against our pre-emptive policies. Add to that that we have blundered and squandered money and goodwill in front of the whole world. It does matter.

It just doesn't get any better than this...

Joan Baez (looking absolutely stunning) introduced the Dixie Chicks at the Grammy Awards.

"Listen carefully to their words."

madame--please keep the grammy info coming--I'm at the Code Pink house in DC and we have no TV!

Lots of good stuff coming up this week, including a conference on election reform tomorrow morning (I have to teach but Nancy, one of the women here, will attend and report)and Tuesday am brings hearings on whistleblower protection and homeland security.

Please support our efforts with phone calls, and let others know what is at stake. We need your help.

OK, a little more grammy stuff, but you're not going to like this one...

A commercial for Fidelity is using "In-a-gadda-da-vida."

What is this world coming to...

Yes it pretty much worked - have a laugh, leave a comment - click on my name.

Wow - too early for Grammy awards here but that is most excellent about Joan Baez & the Dixie Chicks.

I forgot to mention that the Police opened up the show with a wonderful version of "Roxanne."

And Mr. Sting is looking particularly good...

(We can't be all-politics-all-the-time...)

What women do for peace:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1txj32xd1vM

Please do share it around...

And a few weeks ago, this lovely effort:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0cIOSEOL2k

SONG OF THE YEAR!!!

Dixie Chicks "Not Ready to Make Nice!!!"

YES!!!

Country Album of the Year

Dixie Chicks!!! "Takin' the Long Way"

Natalie Maines acceptance speech: "Well, that's a surprise..."To quote the Simpsons 'nah-nah!"

Much Dixie Chick love here at the Code Pink house! Thanx MD!

Good to hear the Dixie Chix won. I heard someone the other day saying, "Well, I don't like their politics or their way of saying things..."

So I responded, "Well, politics aside and style aside, how do you feel about them getting death threats for speaking their mind."

Well, the person shut up fast and I hope my point was clear...

Record of the Year...

You guessed it: "Not Ready to Make Nice"

I consider this a true political coup in music for the times we're living in.

The Dixie Chicks deserve every moment of glory they are reaping.

And this justifies all those times I rode around town in a my little convertible, with "Not Ready to Make Nice" blasting loud & clear while I sang at the top of my lungs.

(Hopefully, the radio was louder than my voice...)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fwc5YSAc-7g

Watch them tell it like it is...

It's a clean sweep...

Album of the Year
"Takin' the Long Way"

A true win for freedom of speech.

(Natalie Maines accepted the award with "OK, I'm ready to make nice now..." LOL!)

A true win for freedom of speech.

Posted by: madame defarge at February 11, 2007 11:29 PM

It definitely is.

(Sorry to the west coasters for spoiling things tonight...)

Tonight, the Dixie Chicks proved that it pays to stand up for your beliefs, tell the truth, speak truth to power and never back down.

BTW, Bush's album of the year is "Takin' the Wrong Way"...

And this justifies all those times I rode around town in a my little convertible, with "Not Ready to Make Nice" blasting loud & clear while I sang at the top of my lungs.

(Hopefully, the radio was louder than my voice...)

Posted by: madame defarge at February 11, 2007 11:10 PM

That's a pretty sight to behold!

And proof that not all BMW drivers (or for that matter, not all auto enthusiasts) are Republicans. Dems and progressives forget that all the time.

Please keep it up! And I'm joining the fun if/when I can get my Chicago trip confirmed!

(Sorry to the west coasters for spoiling things tonight...)

Posted by: madame defarge at February 11, 2007 11:43 PM

I don't mind the spoilers. Thanks for your commentaries!

Posted by: Ally McRepuke at February 11, 2007 11:49 PM

You're on! CD is loaded up & ready to go.

You're on! CD is loaded up & ready to go.

Posted by: madame defarge at February 11, 2007 11:52 PM

Wait, isn't it only 15 degrees or something over there right now? :)

The fun can wait until Memorial Day, when I'll most likely visit - and the weather should be much nicer. We'll definitely rock the town then!

From my favourite Melbourne paper...

Dixie Chicks in Grammy gloat
February 12, 2007 - 3:26PM
The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines could not resist the rich irony - or the chance to rub their success in the face of a country music establishment that turned its back on them.

"That's interesting," Maines said in picking up the band's Grammy for best country album, one of four awards the group received today.

Country radio stations have largely ignored the band after Maines' infamous 2003 remarks critical of US President George W Bush on a London stage.

"Well, to quote the great Simpsons: 'Heh-heh'," she said, invoking the gloating laugh of a bully character on The Simpsons TV series.

The Dixie Chicks' Not Ready to Make Nice, a blistering retort to their critics following the incident, had already won the Grammy for song of the year. They drew several standing ovations from an audience well aware that their victories had a political point attached.

Cont. .....
http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/grammy-gloat/2007/02/12/1171128870446.html

I didn't watch the Grammys - I was sleeping.

I've always been in favor of what the Dixie Chicks said and did (and never understood the horrid reaction of the reich-wingers over it), but I don't like C & W music even though I tried to listen to the song ages ago, and while I could hear the chorus on the video okay, I couldn't hear the rest of the lyrics because the bass is too loud (now you know why I like 60s R & R - I could always understnad the lyrics because the background music didn't drown out the words!!!).

I Googled the lyrics for "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice".... This is what I couldn't hear because the bass covered the lyrics, and now the chorus finally makes sense (to me):

I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

All the same, Congrats to the Dixie Chicks!!! :-)

IF Iran is invaded, we may get our butts kicked.
Posted by: DiAnne at February 11, 2007 08:21 PM

No "may" about it. We WILL get our butts kicked (IMHO).

The Cretin and Vice Cretin and their corporate cronies and PNAC cronies have made too many enemies for us in the world. All while NOT speaking for the majority of us who have never, ever favored any wars anywhere that they have illegally started.

http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/vortex/401/library/365/061.htm
Posted by: kj at February 11, 2007 02:38 PM

Thanks for the quote!!! It's not just that one sentence that makes sense, but all three paragraphs resonate with me about the events since the SCOTUS decision of 2000. The full quote (all of which hit me in the gut like a swift kick and brought tears to my eyes):

Sorrow

Rain scatters plum petals;
Weeping stains the earth.
One can only take shelter
And wait for clearing.

When sorrow comes, its bitterness soaks everything. The sages say that life is illusion, but does that change its poignancy? Let us be sad; it is feeling that makes us human. If we gain enlightenment, understanding all life to be a dream, sadness and happiness will fall away soon enough.

The greatest sorrow of life is witnessing. Experiencing our own sufferings is not as difficult as watching others held in fate's mighty grip. Bearing our own problems is easier because we are always aware that we can exercise other options -- up to the final one. However, it hurts the most when we can do nothing for others. The greatest sorrow is to see those we love suffer helplessly.

When faced with a sad situation, it is best not to languish in it. We can change things by being with different people, moving to other places, or, if all else fails, adjusting our own attitudes to take the initiative. Sadness is transitory, like everything else. If we want to deflect it, we need only alter its context and allow it to be subsumed back into Tao.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/02/11/the-dixie-chicks-win-the-grammy/

Complete video from the Grammys, including intro by Joan Baez.....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070211/od_nm/boots_viagra_dc
Viagra sold over counter on Valentine's Day
LONDON (Reuters) - Men will be able to buy impotence treatment Viagra over the counter in Britain for the first time from Valentine's Day, chemist chain Alliance Boots said on Sunday.

Three Manchester Boots pharmacies will sell the prescription-only medication made by U.S. drugs group Pfizer in a pilot program from February 14.

Men aged between 30 and 65 suffering from erectile dysfunction will be able to buy four Viagra pills for 50 pounds ($97) without having to get a prescription from a doctor first.

Instead, they will have a private consultation with a Boots pharmacist, when their medical history will be checked and measurements taken of their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels.

On a return visit patients will see a private doctor to ensure they are suitable for a further supply of pills.

{More on link. So, I wonder just how long it will be before Viagra will be available over the counter in the US...? And, if it ever happens that Viagra is available over the counter, then what about the morning after pill being available over the counter in every state (no exceptions for those moronic pharmacists who won't sell it on religious grounds, but will sell Viagra anyway)...? Snark.}

After Many Denials, Army Confirms Blackwater Contract in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021107G.shtml
The families of four private guards whose bodies were burned and dragged through the streets by a mob in Iraq told Congress on Wednesday that the security company that hired them failed to provide armored vehicles and other promised protections. The guards' families have sued the company, North Carolina-based Blackwater USA, telling a House hearing it was the only way they can learn all the circumstances of the deaths.

Excerpt:

The secretary of the Army on Tuesday wrote two Democratic lawmakers that the Blackwater USA contract was part of a huge military support operation by run by Halliburton Co. subsidiary KBR. Dick Cheney ran Halliburton before he became vice president.

Several times last year, Pentagon officials told inquiring lawmakers they could find no evidence of the Blackwater contract. Blackwater, of Moyock, N.C., did not respond to several requests for comment.

The discovery shows the dense world of Iraq contracting, where the main contractor hires subcontractors who then hire additional subcontractors. Each company tacks on a charge for overhead, a cost that works its way up to U.S. taxpayers.

"This ongoing episode demonstrates the Pentagon's complete failure to safeguard taxpayer dollars," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., one of the lawmakers who had asked about the Blackwater contract and received denials.

"They continue to look the other way in the face of overwhelming evidence that Halliburton was charging taxpayers for unauthorized security services," Van Hollen said.

~~~~~

Blackwater employees have suffered heavy casualties in Iraq. In addition to the four killed in Fallujah in 2004, the company said three of its employees were killed in Mosul in 2005, and last month, five of its employees died when a helicopter went down in Baghdad under heavy fire.

{{{I certainly hope Lamestream Media or the White House & Congress don't suddenly want us 'commoners' to start thinking of mercenaries on par with their 'heroic' status of the US military who are fighting and dying because of lies for oil.... I'm sorry for the families of the mercenaries, but no one should forget that mercenaries are in Iraq (and Afghanistan or wherever else) for the five-figure monthly salary (paid for by our tax dollars!), not for any patriotic duty!!! This next link/story tells me that now the families of the mercenaries are asking for recognition...}}}

In my perusing news stories from the newsletters sent to me daily, I found this story shortly after I marked the other one to post (this just makes my brain sizzle with anger!), and at the bottom of the excerpts is the email I fired off to the author of the story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-contractors12feb12,0,2514893.story
The battle scars of a private war
Contractors wounded or killed in Iraq are the anonymous casualties. Ceremonies are secret, and benefits are scarce.

HOUSTON — On a cold, overcast day here Friday, nine families came together in a hushed hotel ballroom to receive one of the nation's most prestigious civilian honors.

Executives in dark blue suits shifted uncomfortably as an Army major general in battle fatigues awarded posthumous Defense of Freedom medals to the families' loved ones, all contractors killed while working in Iraq.

But this was no public recognition of sacrifice. The event was held in secret, with guards to keep out the media. The Army even refused to release the names of those it was honoring. The nation's gratitude was delivered behind closed doors.
~~~~~
The Houston medal ceremony, jointly sponsored by KBR and the Department of Defense, underscored the meshing of the American military with contractors. KBR holds the single largest contract in Iraq, with 50,000 workers supplying food, fuel and mail to the military. The contractors work alongside soldiers, helping rebuild the country and providing private security guards to diplomats and senior U.S. officials.

All told, the Pentagon has awarded 119 contractors the Defense of Freedom medal, which is considered the civilian equivalent of a Purple Heart. Of those, 95 have gone to KBR employees, according to KBR officials.

The officials declined to provide names or access to the event, citing privacy concerns. The Times was given access by family members who received the award.

Bruce A. Stanski, a KBR executive vice president, told the families that the KBR workers were "true heroes." "We at KBR will never forget those who lost their lives carrying out their critical work. They work side by side with our soldiers, providing them with the bare necessities and the comforts of home."

Maj. Gen. Jerome Johnson, head of the Army's Sustainment Command, which oversees the KBR contract, spoke for nearly half an hour before presenting the families with the medal, created after the Sept. 11 attacks to honor civilians working for the Defense Department.

Johnson, who strode across a low riser decorated with U.S. and KBR flags, compared the KBR workers to soldiers and said their work was vital to the U.S. cause in Iraq. Meanwhile, Ray Charles' "America the Beautiful" played.

"Some of your loved ones may not have been wearing a uniform, at least not now, but they were American soldiers," he said, alluding to the many contractors in Iraq who are military veterans.

{{{This kind of thing goes too far, IMHO!!! Civilian medals, no less!!! Aaargh!!!}}}

The email address of the guy who wrote the LA Times article is at the end of the column on the second page. This is what I wrote to him:

You are entirely TOO sympathetic to the mercenaries!!! They are NOT heroes! They are not patriotic! Mercenaries are out to profit from our tax dollars (or borrowed money used to finance the supplemental spending bills passed by Congress to finance Bush's war based on lies for oil)!

Mercenaries deserve neither accolades nor medals!!! Their loyalty is to the corporation that signs their paychecks, not to the US Constitution or the people of this country!

KBR (Kellogg, Brown & Root) is a Halliburton subsidiary (as is DynCorp, another corporation that hires mercenaries). Blackwater is also a mercenary group, a private army in and of itself; Blackwater was also in New Orleans after the hurricanes (Louisiana's guard troops were in Iraq!), and Blackwater was sub-contracted to Halliburton at one point. (Halliburton is Cheney's old company, in case you don't know that already, and Cheney is still garnering a salary from Halliburton, which will presumably not be paid until he's out of office.) Google Halliburton; Google Blackwater. Google any of the other names connected with mercenary groups who have personnel in Iraq or Afghanistan... and be sure to note, also, how many are being investigated by Congress at this moment for fraud...! Additionally, Halliburton (and subsidiaries) have built additional prisons at Guantanamo and they are constructing the same kind of prison camps right here on US soil (yes, paid for by our tax dollars)..

The last time I read anything about monthly salaries paid by mercenary corporations, they were making $30,000 to $35,000 per MONTH, and any mercenaries hired from other countries were making pennies on the dollar in monthly salaries compared to US mercenaries. How is war for profit deserving of accolades or medals? They knew what they were getting into when they decided to work for a private mercenary corporation!!!

If the mercenaries believe in BushCo's war for oil so much, why didn't they enlist in the regular military, or stay in the regular military and earn regular military pay to protect the oil wells and the oil piplines in Iraq and Afghanistan...? They certainly have jumped on to the bandwagon of war profiteers fast enough when they signed on to work for mercenary groups and reap the benefit of American taxpayer monies!

If you are going to write sympathetic columns about mercenaries, at least do your readers a favor and present ALL the FACTS, like how much money they make per month, what the death benefits are... and most of all, remind your readers where the mercenaries' salaries come from: our taxpayer dollars!

If Bush and Cheney and their oil corporation cronies need protection so much, those same corporate crooks who made record-setting obscene profits for the last few years should pay the salaries for the mercenaries!!!

But the families of the mercenaries should not expect us to be sympathetic to their loved ones. Sorry the mercenaries are dead, but they did know what they were getting into when they hired themselves out for outrageous monthly salaries... all for the sake of their own greed. They get no sympathy from me! I have a relative with a guard unit in Afghanistan right now, so seeing that mercenaries are getting accolades and medals does NOT sit well with me!!!

Shame on you for writing a story sympathetic to mercenaries!!!

Sincerely,

http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-grammy12feb12,0,5829540.story
Grammys make nice with the Dixie Chicks

Excerpt (more on link):

The Dixie Chicks are Nashville refugees for reasons of politics and personality — after stinging comments about President Bush, country radio banned them and country fans shunned them — but on Sunday the trio found blue-state redemption at the 49th annual Grammy Awards with five awards, including song, record and album of the year.

Intense R&B singer Mary J. Blige and the rock veterans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers were among the other notable winners, but by the end, the show belonged to the Chicks, who became the first act in 13 years to sweep all three prestigious categories.

The avalanche of honors at Staples Center in Los Angeles came just three months after the Chicks and their defiant album "Taking the Long Way" were snubbed at the Country Music Assn. Awards, creating a divide that turned into something resembling a pop-culture election.

"I think people are using their freedom of speech tonight with all these awards," said Natalie Maines, the lead singer of the Texas-bred band and a firebrand figure for much of America.

It was Maines who in 2003, on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, told a London concert crowd: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." That led to radio bans, CD burnings, death threats and the Nashville career collapse for a group that had been among country music's most bankable acts.

Maines, a lifelong Texan, moved to an L.A. beach house and her music partners, sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, joined her in California to record "Taking the Long Way" with rock producer Rick Rubin and rock session musicians.

There was also "Shut Up and Sing," a documentary film that gave the back-stage story of the public furor, enraging critics even more. The group, which began as a bluegrass outfit, had surrendered much of its musical identity, but songs such as "Lubbock or Leave It" signaled that the musicians were not in ideological retreat.

Maines joked Sunday night that Middle America might not be happy with the Chicks' romp, which came from the votes of the Recording Academy, which is centered in the industry hubs of Los Angeles and New York.

"A lot of people just turned their TVs off right now," the newly dark-haired Maines said with a laugh. "I'm very sorry about that."

The first single from their album, "Not Ready to Make Nice," won record of the year, which honors the best overall recording, and song of the year, a songwriter's award, which they shared with their collaborator Dan Wilson, formerly of the band Semisonic. The Chicks ran the table Sunday — they won all five categories in which they were nominated.

Folk singer Joan Baez introduced them as "three brave women" and also asked the audience to "please listen closely" to their performance of "Not Ready to Make Nice," which the trio performed on a small pedestal stage at the center of the venue.

Cronkite: Quest for profits crippling media companies
By Associated Press
Pressures by media companies to generate ever-greater profits are threatening the very freedom the nation was built upon, former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite warned.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17033.htm

Congress Accuses White House of Homeland Security "On the Cheap"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021107Y.shtml
A House committee chairman accused the Bush administration Friday of protecting the country from terrorism "on the cheap" as lawmakers complained to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff about proposed cuts in emergency communications and other programs.

{{{I'm all for disbanding that idiotically-mistitled "Homeland" Security department completely and going back to separate departments, but opening up communication between the law enforcement agencies so they can track crooks like the hijackers.... The title of the department reminds me of Nazi Germany and their 'fatherland' nonsense. Yuk! And, anyway, the 'homeland' security department has done nothing but funnel money to companies like Halliburton & subsidiaries, DynCorp & KBR (who also get money for what they're doing in Iraq and for building prisons on US soil), Blackwater (in New Orleans, plus money for what they're doing in Iraq), etc. via FEMA, etc. The only corporations who profit from 'homeland' security contracts are all tightly connected to Chinkster and/or Shrub.}}}

US Sending Third Carrier Strike Group to Persian Gulf
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021107B.shtml
The Iranians have reason to feel paranoid. At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran. A second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf, and a third carrier will likely follow.

{{{Have any Congress Critters spoken out against this military build-up in the Persian Gulf that has all the earmarks of leading up to an invasion of Iran...??? If not, why not???}}}

A road map out of Iraq
By Zbigniew Brzezinski
The painful reality is that the current Iraqi regime, characterized by the Bush administration as representative of the Iraqi people, largely defines itself by its physical location: the 4-square-mile U.S. fortress within Baghdad protected by a wall 15 feet thick in places and manned by heavily armed U.S. military popularly known as the Green Zone.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17031.htm

{Good points, but even Brzezinski's timeline to get our troops out is too slow (IMHO)....}

Adam Liptak | Cheney's To-Do Lists, Then and Now
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021107C.shtml
Adam Liptak writes: "Mr. Cheney's notes, now in the Gerald R. Ford presidential library, collected and synthesized the views of lawyers, diplomats, spies and military officials, but his own views shine through. He is hostile to the press and to Congress, insistent on the prerogatives of the executive branch and adamant about the importance of national security secrets. Fast forward three decades and that same handwriting appears on a copy of the Op-Ed article in the Times that set in motion events that led to the perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff."

David Swanson | Feith-Based Intelligence
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021107F.shtml
"On Newsweek's web site, you can flip through a short PDF slideshow of a presentation produced by the Pentagon in 2002," says David Swanson. "The presentation purports to show that Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda were working together, and had been for years. Not only was this a presentation of intelligence at odds with what the legitimate intelligence community was saying, but the first slide in the presentation provides reasons why the intelligence community had it wrong. This hardly looks like the product of an office doing only policy work."

Excerpt (full story on link, of course):

But Senator Jay Rockefeller, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement: "The IG has concluded that this office was engaged in intelligence activities. The Senate Intelligence Committee was never informed of these activities. Whether these actions were authorized or not, it appears that they were not in compliance with the law. In the coming days, I will carefully review all aspects of the report and will consult with Vice Chairman Bond to determine whether any additional action by the Senate Intelligence Committee is warranted."

According to numerous reports, the law Rockefeller has in mind is the National Security Act of 1947, which appears to make it illegal to engage in intelligence activities of the sort engaged in by the Pentagon, without notifying Congress.

It's nice that Rockefeller is consulting with the Vice Chairman. But, this being a democracy, he probably wants to consult with the American people. You can encourage him to get touch on crime by phoning his office at 202-224-1700 or 202-224-6472 or emailing him here http://rockefeller.senate.gov/services/email.cfm.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/arts/music/12gram.html
Dixie Chicks, Mary J. Blige and the Red Hot Chili Peppers Win Grammys
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 — After death threats, boycotts and a cold shoulder from the country music establishment, the Dixie Chicks gained sweet vindication Sunday night at the 49th annual Grammy Awards, capturing honors in all five of the categories in which they were nominated.
{More on link. I get a thrill out of seeing the beautiful, laughing smiles on the faces of the Dixie Chicks. I wonder how long it will be before they stop smiling, and how sore their facial muscles will get from smiling... as in the good kind of soreness from such a complete triumph?!? :-) Heck, if I were them, it would take at least a year to wipe off a permanent smile from my face...! :-)}

John Howard is making a total idiot of himself now in his attacks on Obama. He's really lost the plot. The leader of the opposition presented a censure motion against the PM in parliament today.

And, for this I didn't know whether to laugh or throw up..... John Howard is urging the American President to "Stay the Course"!

Posted by: woz at February 12, 2007 07:40 AM

First, throw up in revulsion. Then the humor becomes painfully obvious and you may be able to laugh to avoid crying. Otherwise you might choke on the bile.

May the censure motion against Howard be more successful than the NON-binding resolution against Shrubbie here....

Dixie Chicks. :-)
I do love kickass women (chicks!) who can sing.

woz - Did you see this?

OPPOSITION Leader Kevin Rudd today moved a censure motion against Prime Minister John Howard over his attack on US presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Mr Rudd said Mr Howard should be censured over his comment yesterday that terrorist network al-Qaeda would be hoping for a Democratic candidate to win next year's US presidential election.

Senator Obama has pledged to withdraw US troops from Iraq by March 2008, a timetable Mr Howard believes is dangerous.

Labor's censure motion refers to Mr Howard's “false statement” that his comments were directed only at Senator Obama and criticises Mr Howard for damaging the Australia-US alliance.

It also accuses Mr Howard of “gross insensitivity” for lecturing the United States on Iraq when the war has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 US servicemen and women.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21210997-601,00.html

Go Rudd! (Looks like he's about to make Howard obsolete.)

NonnyO, it's more ridiculous than that. John Howard fancies himself as being far more important to America than he actually is. Mostly when Rice or Bush speak of troops in Iraq - they mention the UK but never Australia unless Howard is standing right there beside them. That's understandable when you consider the size of our troop commitment.

Please don't take this as a criticism of our troops. I don't underestimate the vital role of our troops wherever they are in the world. In fact our own region in the pacific is in far greater need of our troops than Iraq.

Back in early days of the invasion an American military big wig was asked on one of our tv current affair programs, "What would be the reaction in America if Australia did pull out?" He said bluntly. "We'd hardly notice." He went on to qualify that in glowing terms of Australia and the Australian military, but it was quite true. As a percentage of the total troop numbers in Iraq, Australian troops were very low. New Zealand never felt bound to honour the ANZUS treaty for an invasion.

But for little Johnny Howard, he had a chance to play with the big boys and be right up there beside them on the world stage. Right now he seems to have swallowed a bit too much of his own propaganda and he really seems to believe that he's a big power in the world.

Obama is right to laugh. The Australian PM is making an ass of himself. Again. Still.

Oh yes Mme D - I mentioned it just a few posts back. Kevin Rudd is newly installed as leader of the opposition - too close to the federal election many would say - but he's brilliant! He's got a brain. He's unflappable. He's had them on the hop on all kinds of issues. And now this latest gaffe of the PM's has given him yet another huge boost in confidence in the electorate.

I wrote him (Rudd) a big long cogratulatory email today! LOL

Posted by: woz at February 12, 2007 08:57 AM

I saw that just after I posted. Sorry for the duplication of info. Great stuff though, eh?!

AND Mme - as you know, on election day the people can do what you hope - or they can carry on with the status quo. Although Howard hasn't given a date for the election he's well and truly into election seedy behaviour - bribing the poor and ill - nursing homes just got a big boost in funds. It will be single parents and low income earners next - he gave them $5,000 in cash one-off payments just prior to his last election. He also learned some of the sleaze tactics of your neocons. I just hope they don't work again. At least we don't have electronic voting.

woz, I'm a firm believer in "what goes around, comes around" as well as the Peter Principle.

Eventually, these right wingnuts self destruct. We just have to hope that it's before they destroy too many others along the way.

Me too Mme. That's always the unfortunate part - how many innocents do they take down when they fall? When these people get together and inflate each other's egos, there's no stopping them it seems. But, they will fall. It will happen. It always does. Eventually.

Goodnight for now NonnyO and Mme and anyone else out there this morning. It's Tuesday 1:17am here.

Here's a video of Rudd telling off Howard.

The Censure motion was defeated under party lines, but that's not really the point of these, it's more an opportunity to make a nice speech.

http://tinyurl.com/2nsout

G'night woz.

Oh dear - I should have shut down before looking at another paper. This is great. Check out the cartoon on the link.

Blunder, followed by bluster, with a dash of hubris
Michelle Grattan
February 13, 2007
ANALYSIS

JOHN Howard likes the world stage but suddenly he's turned into an embarrassing extra in someone else's play.

Howard should have — must have — known he'd gone way beyond conventional behaviour in his attack on Barack Obama.

When the PM blundered a week ago in an answer on climate change he said he "mistook" the question. In arguably a much bigger blunder this week, he misspoke. But he did not back off. Yesterday he defended himself with bluster.

The offending quote, delivered in an interview with Laurie Oakes, was a hefty swipe at both Obama and his party. "If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 (the date by which Obama wants the troops out), and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats," the PM said.

Howard could easily have avoided trouble, while making his point. He could have just said: "I don't want to intervene in American politics, but the Australian Government's position is …"

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/blunder-followed-by-bluster/2007/02/12/1171128898889.html

You're right Mme. The censure is important only in that it gets recorded in Hansard (the parliamentary minutes) for all to see forever after. However, it did give Rudd another opportunity to show that he's clearly more aware of the diplomacy required in staying out of the politics of other nations.

(aside - umm - isn't that how we got in this great catastrophe? Interfering in the politics of other nations?)

It's scary to have leaders of other nations who actually support the United States Republican party. People who live under them should beware of creeping authoritarianism, just as we should, especially in a globalized world. Beware Germany, and now beware France (upcoming election). Spain & Italy have bought themselves some time, for now.

Both Talking Points Memo and Huffington Post have top stories about how the "Intelligence" officials doing the big Power Point presentation on how Iran is supposedly supplying weapons to Iraq are keeping their identities anonymous.

It all takes me back to the McDermott talk I heard where he spoke with many from the middle east and heard about how the borders between Iran and Iraq were secured under Saddam. Then when we went in, they became porous.

So it seems a little backward to blame the Iranians, just at it seems backward to blame the Iraqis for looting their own museums when we didn't secure them (that's like leaving the Louvre unlocked) and rushed to protect "our" oilfields.

Anything they find may have serial numbers but are their dates? Because it wasn't so long ago Iran and Iraq were at war for almost a decade. Seems there might be a few leftover weapons from that time.

Then there is the little matter of the two tons or so of cash money that Bremer handed out without record after the invasion - surely some of that might have been used to purchase weapons - not just from Iran but from anyone.

It's scary to have leaders of other nations who actually support the United States Republican party. People who live under them should beware of creeping authoritarianism, just as we should, especially in a globalized world. Beware Germany, and now beware France (upcoming election). Spain & Italy have bought themselves some time, for now.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 12, 2007 10:28 AM

Even scarier are those nations that WANT to be a Red State in our union. I've already named Mexico under PAN and South Korea under Grand National Party, and there must be several more.

The surest way to shut their right-wing puppets up is to have a non-Republican (for all practical purposes, Democratic) government in the US. These countries sure were quiet during the Clinton years.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 12, 2007 10:53 AM

Starting a war against Iran because of Iranian stray weapons in Iraq, is like some "rogue state" starting a war against the US because our weapons are found somewhere.

And we all know that our weapons are found everywhere in the world - including Iraq, both during and after Saddam. The death angels, known as weapons manufacturers, are laughing all the way to the bank.

See? Bush is garnering support from his few international friends. I'm talking the heads they'd like to get rid of, not the people. We aren't the only ones.

http://ichuddersfield.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200nati...

No 10 backs US claim over Iran arms

Downing Street has backed American claims that Iran was involved in arming Iraqi insurgents with powerful roadside weaponry used against allied forces.

Prime Minister Tony Blair had first warned in October 2005 of concerns over improvised explosive device technology and weaponry coming from Iran, said the premier's official spokesman.

He added: "Those concerns have not gone away at all.

"We certainly believe that if the Iranian government wanted to, it could address these concerns, but we don't see any sign that it is.

Ally
We even have "leftist Japanese guerillas" now trying to attack one of our bases!

Ally
Even Canada has gone some to the right under Harper.
France will go to the right under Sarkozy.

Things are shaping up rather unstably.

Over 75% of Americans favor talks with Iran
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/12/08/iran-syria-diplomacy/

Australians and British did not want the Iraq war and they will not want to expand it to Iran. Unfortunately, the leaders are not listening. Are any of these countries still truly democratic?

http://voanews.com/english/2007-02-12-voa20.cfm

Top American General Disputes US Military Claim on Iran

The top American military officer, General Peter Pace, declined Monday to endorse the conclusions of U.S. military officers in Baghdad, who told reporters on Sunday that the Iranian government is providing high-powered roadside bombs to insurgents in Iraq. General Pace made his comments during a visit to Australia, and VOA's Al Pessin reports from Canberra.

General Pace said he was not aware of the Baghdad briefing, and that he could not, from his own knowledge, repeat the assertion made there that the elite Quds brigade of Iran's Republican Guard force is providing bomb-making kits to Iraqi Shiite insurgents.

"We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in Iran. What I would not say is that the Iranian government, per se (specifically), knows about this," he said. "It is clear that Iranians are involved, and it's clear that materials from Iran are involved, but I would not say by what I know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit."

Military officers who spoke to reporters in Baghdad, Monday, on condition of anonymity, said the high-powered projectile bombs are made with parts manufactured in Iran and that intelligence indicates the parts are sent to Iraq with the approval of senior Iranian officials. The officials said the bombs, whose projectiles can pierce the skin of an armored vehicle, have killed 170 American troops.

Wesley Clark diary:

Is war with Iran inevitable?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/12/122254/478

Journalist turns to Obama to help Hicks
February 12, 2007 - 8:24PM

A Melbourne journalist has written to US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama apologising for comments made about him by Prime Minister John Howard and campaigning for the release of Australian terrorist suspect David Hicks.

Barry Everingham said he felt compelled to write to Mr Obama following comments about the Iraq war made by Mr Howard that the al-Qaeda terrorist network would be hoping for a Democratic Party win in next year's US presidential election.

Senator Obama has pledged to withdraw US troops from Iraq by March 2008, a timetable Mr Howard believes is dangerous.

Mr Everingham has so far written to the Queen and the Pope on behalf of Hicks, who has spent five years without charge at Guantanamo Bay, the US military prison in Cuba.

"I sent the letter because I wanted to distance myself from the remarks Howard made and to point out that Howard, to paraphrase what I wrote, is up George Bush's arse," Everingham said.

{{Plainly put.}}

Cont. ....
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Journalist-turns-to-Obama-to-help-Hicks/2007/02/12/1171128896437.html

Not scientific polling. But still it does represent a more informed readership. The Age is read by people who want information. The other papers are read by people who want to know everyone's business whether it's true or not.

Barack's business
Should John Howard butt out of US politics?

Yes - 87%

No - 13%

Total Votes: 3210

Woz
Maybe he should butt out of all politics.