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Witnessing
NonnyO wrote something yesterday that stopped me in my tracks for a moment, and so I thought I would try to write about it today. As you, dear reader, know, part of my purpose here at the DCP is to help educate, activate, and empower YOU: the citizen-activist. I get to see, in the offices of Congress, the power of the informed and passionate citizen, and the way the place starts hopping when those phones start ringing.
But until NonnyO wrote "Even with phone calls and emails, physical presence counts (or, at least it would if I were in their shoes). I'll concede that all avenues of communication with Congress Critters are important: in person, by phone, by email...(Posted by: NonnyO at February 9, 2007 01:42 PM), I hadn't thought much about that in-person part, at least not the way that I do it.
You see, I have no voting representation in Congress, so there is no one person for me to dog; no one to speak truth to directly. And so I have decided to be a witness of and for those who can act.
I worry that it's a passive role, and I think about what I might be doing that would be more effective. And so I decided to do some research on the act of witnessing, in the hope that I would understand my chosen role a little better, or at least, do it a little better so I could feel more effective.
I came across this website. Dr. Kaethe Weingarten, Ph.D. founded and directs the Witnessing Project. She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Her latest book, Common Shock, Witnessing Violence Every Day, How We Are Harmed, How We Can Heal resonated with me. Although I would not characterize the actions of Congress as violence, at least not in the way we think of violence, regular shockwaves move through me. I often feel as if I am witnessing a train wreck, or a horror movie when I sit in hearings or offices and observe what passes for critical thinking in the halls of this government.
And so I delved further into the website, until I came to this model:
The website goes on to explain the Four Positions:
Using a two by two grid, four witness positions are created by the intersections of awareness and empowerment. It makes a difference to the witness -- and to the family, community and wider society -- whether one is aware or unaware of the meaning and significance of what one is witnessing and also a difference depending on whether one feels empowered or not in relation to what one witnesses. Crucially, witness positions can change.
Witness Position 1 is the most desirable for the person herself and constructive for others, for the person is aware – cognizant and mindful of the implications – and has an idea about how to take effective action in relation to that which she observes.
Witness Position 2 represents the most toxic condition for others, since a person in this position is unaware of the meaning and significance of what she is witnessing but is empowered in relation to the situation. A person in this witness position is most likely to do harm, where “do” refers to omissions as well as commissions.
Witness Position 3 depicts a person who is unaware of the meaning and significance of what she is witnessing and therefore does not, for she cannot, act in relation to that to which she is exposed.
Witness Position 4 represents the position that people experience with the most evident distress. The person is aware of the meaning of what she is witnessing but feels helpless or ineffective in relation to it.
I spend a great deal of time in Witness Position 4, folks. In fact, the only way I ever seem to be able to operate from Witness Position 1 is when I write about what I am witnessing and there is a response. There is no way that I know of for me to be an effective witness without all of you. And that means backup.
Yesterday I witnessed Lori Perdue and Medea Benjamin's distress over hearing Inspector-General Gimble acknowledge that the information given to Congress before the Iraq invasion was both selected and inaccurate. Gimble described this process as "not illegal but inappropriate." Sen. Carl Levin had a stronger take on it:
LEVIN: We will put in the record the request, if it's not already in the record, of Chairman Roberts, of September 9, asking you, or your predecessor, to know whether -- to ascertain whether the personnel assigned to the Office of Special Plans, which was part of the Feith operation, at any time conducted inappropriate intelligence activities.
LEVIN: Your finding is clear that they did.
They. Did.
They cooked the intelligence. They cooked the intelligence. They cooked it. They cooked it, so they could manipulate the Congress and the citizens of this country into supporting an invasion based on lies.
We see it, we hear it, and we know it. And now, we must ACT. My witnessing of the truth means little without effective action. Lori and Medea are still reeling, and they need our help too.
Please put all ideas in the comments. Together we can move mountains.
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 sus