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Taking the Bait in Iraq
What does it take to get you to pick up something off the sidewalk?
Money does it for me--I'll even go after that lucky penny. And I'll stop for any book that still has a cover on it and isn't completely water-logged from being out in the rain.
There's always a certain little burst of joy when I find something unclaimed on the ground, a little ray of fortune bursting through whatever clouds there might be that day.
Things are a little different in Iraq, according to a story in yesterday's Washington Post. On the streets of Iraq, if you happen to pick up the wrong thing lying on the ground, you get a little "kicker"--a high-powered sniper bullet in the head.
Because U.S. snipers were ordered some time ago to start putting out "bait" on the streets, things like detonators or ammunition that terrorists might use. The rule of engagement here was simple: if anyone on the street stopped and picked up one of these items, and started to walk away, kill them.
There was probably a pretty short learning curve on this one: if one of your friends bends over and picks up a box of bullets on the street, and the next thing you know his brains are sprayed all over your body in a bloody, gooey mist, how long would it take you to learn to give such objects lying in the street a wide berth?
Ah, but even such quick learning may not be enough to protect an Iraqi walking down the street who skirts suspicious objects on the ground.
The story spilled out because some snipers are accused of taking this "assassination-for-touching"--no trial--go straight to execution model a little bit further. According to the accusations, some snipers didn't bother to go to the trouble to set out the "bait." One or more snipers shot Iraqis first, then wandered over and put some "bait" on the dead bodies, turning what was a crime scene into a U.S. military-approved and "legal" "assassination-for-touching." (Assuming that you don't consider it a crime to shoot people for picking up things in the street.)
The Army declined to tell the Post reporters whether this program existed or not, but the story left little doubt that there was some such program.
But the Post got its hands on some sworn court testimony:
The Washington Post, which first reported the existence of the "baiting" program, cited the sworn statement of Capt. Matthew P. Didier, the leader of a Ranger sniper scout platoon."Baiting is putting an object out there that we know they will use, with the intention of destroying the enemy," Didier said in the statement. "Basically, we would put an item out there and watch it. If someone found the item, picked it up and attempted to leave with the item, we would engage the individual as I saw this as a sign they would use the item against U.S. forces."
This policy is getting us very close to what was once just a bitter joke: "death by Iraqi."
(For a little historical background, here's a piece from the International Herald Tribune from November 22, 2006 in which U.S. officials bemoan the lack of targets for snipers. The article also talks about the rules of engagement at the time.)
Yes, once again, my appetite has vanished. It also vanished earlier this afternoon, when I heard George Bush speaking out for human rights in Myanmar (Burma, to him).
I do not know why he was not laughed right out of there.
Except, none of this is funny.
The Feed And Forage Act : Bush's Trump Card For Iraq Funding?
Passed originally in 1861 in wake of the crisis caused by the outbreak of the Civil War, the Feed and Forage Act provides that :
"§ 11. No contracts or purchases unless authorized or under adequate appropriation; report to the Congress
(a) No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States shall be made, unless the same is authorized by law or is under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except in the Department of Defense and in the Department of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, transportation, or medical and hospital supplies, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year.
b) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy shall immediately advise the Congress of the exercise of the authority granted in subsection (a) of this section, and shall report quarterly on the estimated obligations incurred pursuant to the authority granted in subsection (a) of this section."
What this means is that the Secretary of Defense has the legal authority to continue funding active duty troops without any Congressional Appropriation in order to ensure their basic living needs are met. It apparently does not cover munitions and equipment, but as it does say that the amount "shall not exceed the necessities of the current year" this would still give the Department of Defense a large amount of credit to work with, all without any Congressional yay or nay, and the cost of all this spending coming back to Congress at a later date.
Now the question is can this law be used for supporting missions overseas, and what oversight would Congress have to ensure that its implementation was narrowly interpreted? I don't have all the answers to those questions, but I am very sure Bush would have the Secretary of Defense activate the law should funding for the troops get caught in the showdown between the Congressional leadership and the President. It almost happened in 2005, when the Republican-controlled Congress was dilly-dallying on passing appropriations bills to the point the Defense Department was nearly out of funding.
So the question becomes, if Reid and the Congressional Leadership stand firm, does anything change for the troops in Iraq? Unless the Courts were to rule the administration was illegally using the Feed and Forage Act inapprorpiately, Bush and his administration will still have the money needed to fund operations in Iraq until such time as either the Executive and Legislative branches agree to a compromise both can live with, a President who agrees with the Legislative Branch is elected to office, or a Legislative majority in agreement with the President is elected.
I'm not saying Reid is wrong to say "Never Give In," but in this case I do fear the best cards still lay with in the Bush administration's hands, with both the veto power and a law already on the books and used in the past that can allow funding for military operations without Congressional approval.
And if Bush invokes Feed And Forage to keep US Personnel in Iraq until he decides they are no longer needed, what is our next step to try and end this war?
Beside the obvious...elect a Democratic Party candidate President in 2008 and ensure a 60 seat Democratic Senate and increase the Democratic majority in Congress would of course.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/24/183341/916
Posted by: karen at September 25, 2007 05:09 PM
http://tinyurl.com/b7q4k
Beside the obvious...elect a Democratic Party candidate President in 2008 and ensure a 60 seat Democratic Senate and increase the Democratic majority in Congress would of course.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/24/183341/916
Posted by: rossiann at September 25, 2007 06:57 PM
NOT ENOUGH. Not as long as the likes of Feinstein are in the Democratic fold, and not as long as Lieberman continues to caucus with the Dems.
The 60 Dems must be OTHER than these people.
The 60 Dems must be OTHER than these people.
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at September 25, 2007 07:51 PM
To True, Does Liebermans seat come up again, with the Presedentail Election in 2008, or in 2010
Anti-Bush protesters arrested outside U.N.
Demonstrators knelt on sidewalk in act of civil disobedience, officers say
NEW YORK - (AP) About a dozen war protesters were arrested Tuesday morning during a peaceful demonstration against President Bush’s speech before the U.N. General Assembly.
They were among about 400 protesters opposing the Bush administration’s war in Iraq and its incarceration in Guantanamo Bay of more than 300 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida or the Taliban. Many in the crowd wore orange jumpsuits in solidarity with the Guantanamo detainees.
Police took the demonstrators into custody after they knelt on the sidewalk in an act of civil disobedience at the rally near the United Nations. One of them, 58-year-old Bill Ofenloch, said they were trying to serve an “arrest warrant” on Bush for “high crimes against humanity.”
Members of the anti-war group Code Pink performed a bit of street theater where a person wearing a Bush mask was arrested.
“What do we say?” shouted Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin. “Arrest the criminal!”
The crowd picked up the chant. Once the arrests were made, the rest of the group began marching downtown. The demonstrators, in orderly fashion, walked along the sidewalks because they lacked a permit for a street march.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20980625/from/RS.1/
U.S. accused of failing ill '91 Gulf War veterans
16 years after war, 175,000 complain of serious diseases
WASHINGTON - Medical experts and U.S. senators accused the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday of failing to take seriously illnesses suffered by U.S. 1991 Gulf War veterans and doing too little to help them.
Expert witnesses called before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee testified that Gulf War illnesses are real, serious and widespread among U.S. troops sent to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The issue has been controversial for years.
The Institute of Medicine, which provides advice on medical issues to U.S. policymakers, concluded in September 2006 that Gulf War veterans reported far more symptoms of illness than their fellow troops who were not deployed.
One in four report illness
But its report said studies have failed to establish that these symptoms constitute a medical syndrome unique to Gulf War veterans.
Some of the harshest criticism of the government came from members of an advisory committee created by Congress in 1998 to advise the VA on Gulf War illnesses.
This panel's chairman, James Binns, said 16 years after the war, 175,000 U.S. veterans -- one in four of those who served -- remain seriously ill, with the sickest among them developing neurodegenerative diseases and brain cancer.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20978351/
Watch David Schuster skewer this pathetic republican congresswoman regarding MoveOn's ad:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/25/blackburn-focused-more-moveon-ad-than-troop-deaths/
Richard, I'm sure it is an excellent header but I'm not reading much at the moment - a sick day. Just reading this though and thought you'd all enjoy (or be embarrassed by) it. You probably all know this already. The rest of us in the world have wondered.
When going gets tricky, Bush goes fo-net-ik
September 26, 2007 - 11:09AM
Mr Bush confused APEC with OPEC and Australian troops with Austrians in a recent speech in Sydney. It's not known if he had the help of a teleprompter.
How do you keep a leader as verbally gaffe-prone as US President George Bush from making even more slips of the tongue?
When Mr Bush addressed the UN General Assembly today, the White House inadvertently showed exactly how - with a phonetic pronunciation guide on the teleprompter to get him past troublesome names of countries and world leaders.
The White House was left scrambling to explain after a marked-up draft of Mr Bush's speech popped up briefly on the UN website as he delivered his remarks, giving a rare glimpse of the special guidance he gets for major addresses.
It included phonetic spellings for French President Nicolas Sarkozy (sar-KO-zee), a friend, and Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe (moo-GAH-bee), a target of US human rights criticism.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/when-going-gets-tricky-bush-goes-fonetik/2007/09/26/1190486359541.html
Posted by: woz at September 25, 2007 09:55 PM
Hope your feeling better soon.
Speaking of florida...
Four teens charged with beating of black FIU student
According to Miami-Dade police, four teenagers beat a college student with a bat and tried drowning him at Haulover Beach Park Marina on Sunday.
After calling him the N-word, the teens beat Florida International University freshman Stephen Barrett with a baseball bat and tried to drown him in the Intracoastal Waterway, Miami-Dade police said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/249239.html
Southern for their northern tip, Northern for their southern tip, and almost an island unto themselves.
Me too, Woz, hope you get to feeling better.
Rossi, your canvas is almost done, will finish it up tommorrow.
I did not duplicate the original, but I did come damn close. It is the first time I have ever reproduced one of my own works. Kinda neat cause I can correct all the mistakes from the first one as I paint the second.
I'm on my way to bed. Good night Aussies.
And G'day.
To True, Does Liebermans seat come up again, with the Presedentail Election in 2008, or in 2010
Posted by: rossiann at September 25, 2007 08:00 PM
Senators serve 6-year terms, so Lieberman isn't up for re-election until 2012.
Senators serve 6-year terms, so Lieberman isn't up for re-election until 2012.
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at September 26, 2007 12:58 AM
CRAP
Good night Aussies.
And G'day.
Posted by: Christy at September 25, 2007 11:42 PM
Can't wait to see it, Night Girlfriend
Another bridge. Under construction. Vietnam.
Bridge collapse kills 60
September 26, 2007 - 5:13PM
A bridge under construction collapsed in southern Vietnam today, killing at least 60 workers, and 100 others were missing, a contractor and police said.
State-run Vietnam TV showed footage of the damage to the collapsed concrete and steel structure in Can Tho City and reported that people were still trapped in the rubble.
A contractor with China State Construction Engineering Corp, one of the firms involved in the construction of the bridge, said by telephone that 60 people were dead.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/bridge-collapse-kills-60/2007/09/26/1190486384854.html
Wow! This lady did more than pick up something from the sidewalk! She WAS the bait. Ironically, she saved the wrong target. Museums would have been a better gift to Iraqi citizens.
Human shield on the attack for Democrats
Penelope Debelle, Adelaide
September 26, 2007
Ready for battle: Ruth Russell's experience in Iraq prompted her to seek a more active role in government.
STANDING as a human shield at a silo north of Baghdad while the first bombs fell in the Iraq war may have prepared the Australian Democrat seeking to replace the retiring Natasha Stott Despoja for the fight of her life.
A former regional councillor and disability policy worker, and a mother of two, candidate Ruth Russell was part of an international antiwar response in 2003.
After eight weeks huddled in confined spaces while the earth around her trembled from bombs, Ms Russell returned to Adelaide emotionally exhausted but committed to a more active role in government.
It was only later she came to regret her choice of location in Iraq, which was meant to resonate with Australians. She guarded a wheat silo, not knowing the scandal that would engulf AWB over its payment of kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime.
"The joke was we went and protected the Australian wheat, which is funny now, isn't it?" she says. "But I didn't know that at the time."
http://www.theage.com.au/news/web/write-your-own-laws/2007/09/26/1190486375202.html
Nope - wrong URL - excuse - I'm sick
However, New Zealand has left all of it's bigger allies for dead in terms of spreading democracy.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/web/write-your-own-laws/2007/09/26/1190486375202.html
And for the Australian Democrat written about above:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/human-shield-on-the-attack-for-democrats/2007/09/25/1190486310043.html
"Museums would have been a better gift to Iraqi citizens."
Amen girlfriend.
Amen.
Love the way they worded it... It MAY BE a war crime....
U.S. sniper 'bait and kill' tactics may be a war crime
http://rawstory.com//news/2007/US_Sniper_tactics_of_bait_and_0925.html
Look at this little b*tch!
Speaking at the National Press Club Tuesday evening, CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric pulled back the curtain on her personal views of both the war in Iraq and former “Evening News” anchor Dan Rather.
“Everyone in this room would agree that people in this country were misled in terms of the rationale of this war,” said Couric, adding that it is “pretty much accepted” that the war in Iraq was a mistake.
“I’ve never understood why [invading Iraq] was so high on the administration’s agenda when terrorism was going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan and that [Iraq] had no true connection with al Qaeda.”
http://www.examiner.com/blogs/Yeas_and_Nays/2007/9/26/Couric-weighs-in-on-Iraq-Rather
OMG I wish I could kick her in her teeth.
BAGHDAD - A confrontation between the U.S. military and the State Department is unfolding over the involvement of Blackwater USA in the shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad square Sept. 16, bringing to the surface long-simmering tensions between the military and private security companies in Iraq, according to U.S. military and government officials.
In high-level meetings over the past several days, U.S. military officials have pressed State Department officials to assert more control over Blackwater, which operates under the department's authority, said a U.S. government official with knowledge of the discussions. "The military is very sensitive to its relationship that they've built with the Iraqis being altered or even severely degraded by actions such as this event," the official said.
"This is a nightmare," said a senior U.S. military official. "We had guys who saw the aftermath and it was very bad. This is going to hurt us badly. It may be worse than Abu Ghraib, and it comes at a time when we're trying to have an impact for the long term." The official was referring to the prison scandal that emerged in 2004 in which some U.S. soldiers tortured and abused Iraqis.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20982306/
OMFG!
"And I remember feeling, when I was anchoring the ‘Today’ show, this inevitable march towards war and kind of feeling like, ‘Will anybody put the brakes on this?’ And is this really being properly challenged by the right people? And I think, at the time, anyone who questioned the administration was considered unpatriotic and it was a very difficult position to be in.”
Katie Couric if I ever meet you I am going to try to slap that stupid look off of your face.
OMG! I can not believe the gall of these people.
Nice hindsight, Katie... you should be the new host of 20/20.
Just read the teleprompter, and thanks for speaking up when you should have.
Monkey,
Your package should come today. I slipped something in there for you too.
But now that I think about it, I may be getting you into trouble. Your wife just might hate me for it.
Damn.
If I have to apologize, let me know.
Posted by: Christy at September 26, 2007 09:08 AM
Art means never having to say yer sorry.
Durable goods orders plummet
Data signal a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing sector
WASHINGTON - Demand for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in August by the largest amount in seven months, with widespread weakness signaling a slowdown in the nation’s industrial sector.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for durable goods, everything from commercial jetliners to home appliances, fell by 4.9 percent in August, the biggest decline since a 6.1 percent fall in January.
It was far larger than the 3.5 percent drop that economists had been expecting and resulted from across-the-board decreases in a number of categories. The concern is that the steep downturn in housing and turbulence in financial markets could start to affect the economy more broadly, raising the risks of a full-blown recession.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20989458/
Art means never having to say yer sorry.
Posted by: monkey at September 26, 2007 09:11 AM
Hell yeah man!
On that note, I am going to go paint something fascinating.
U.S. sniper 'bait and kill' tactics may be a war crime
http://rawstory.com//news/2007/US_Sniper_tactics_of_bait_and_0925.html
Posted by: Christy at September 26, 2007 07:23 AM
Not discussed in all these years, barely mentioned by anyone who realizes it... the FACT that invading Iraq itself was a war crime per the Geneva Conventions (which, of course, is part of our Constitution under the treaties clause). From that one war crime alone have arisen many more war crimes: torture, Guantanamo, and every death in Iraq is a war crime stemming from the act of invasion itself....
The whole bloody mess is/was a war crime from the original plans to invade made before the last election (PNAC).
Yet both Dem and PubliCon politicans talk about "winning" and achieving some kind of "victory" in Iraq.
Do any of them realize just how pathetically and incomprehensibly stupid they all sound? There will never be any kind of "victory" in Iraq. There is not now, nor can there ever be, any kind of 'winning' or 'victory' achieved in the commission of a war crime.
The only people who have 'won' anything are oil corporations and the corporations who have provided mercenaries whose salaries have been paid for with our tax dollars, thanks to no-bid contracts....
All these crimes, done in our names without our permission, and no matter how many emails or phone calls they get from us, Congress Critters STILL vote in favor of funding Georgie's and Dickie's illegal war, STILL give them extraordinary powers never granted under the Constitution, STILL refuse to consider impeachment (probably because somewhere in the backs of their minds they realize they're at least accessories after the fact in these war crimes, if not part of the group who planned the war crimes before the illegal invasion, and they can't deal with the fact that they aided and abetted the criminals).
I'm still ashamed to be an American right now, because everything our "leaders" do reflects badly on me/us, and I know I'm not the least bit like any of the people who commit atrocities and war crimes in our names.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/25/countdown-bush-used-bogus-terror-threat-to-scare-votes-for-fisa-bill/
Countdown: Bush Used Bogus Terror Threat To Scare Votes For FISA Bill
{{{Anyone besides me have weird nearly-out-of-body-surreal mental sensations when you find yourself in total agreement with Bruce Fein...? Well, now we know why those moral cowards and invertebrate Congress Critters caved - YET AGAIN - on the last FISA fix...! When, oh WHEN, will those morons ever figure out how they've been conned repeatedly? WE figured out the game years ago. Apparently damned few Congress Critters have ever figured out the con game. If their IQs are that low, perhaps they ought not be elected again....}}}
Nonny: Bruce Fein has been a regular guest on Rhandi Rhodes show and she speaks highly of him. I recall his attacks on Clinton during impeachment and know where you are coming from as was Johnathan Turley. As a lawyer I have come to admire their constitutional knowledge and lack of a political agenda. Lawyers have been beatn up over the last 6 years and I am a cheer leader for legal scholars where I see it and these are two people I have learned to admire even though not always agreeing with them. Compare their legal knowledge to those from Liberty University who were choosing our federal judges on political ideology rather than legal skills. In Texas there is even a movement for our Supreme Ct. judges to be selected without attaching political party like in Virginia. Its time to rebuild our judicial system and Bruce Fein and Johnathan Turley should be selected to be on a committee to restore our legal system. It may be one of the hidden issues including restoration of the US Constitution in the '08 Presidential election.Its better than listening to mindless discussions(Lyness on Air America) about whether O'Reily is a racist,who cares.
Yes, Nonny, it is all a war crime. No 'may be' about it.
Yall know how we had that topic about how art can be political? When I was working on Allys piece I discovered the most disturbing thing.
I have a book that I used to look through almost every day. It is titled 'History of Art'.
When I decided to do a piece for Ally, I went to my handy dandy history book to look up Asian art.
There is no Asian art in it. There is no Aboriginal, or Myan art either. There is no native American art at all.
This is what it covers... Lower Egypt and the Ancient Near East (which is a fancy way to say greeks and Persians), Greece and Mycenean, The Roman Empire (All of old Europe basically) and Byzantine art.
In other words, this book named 'The History Of Art' only covers the history of white peoples art and NOTHING ELSE.
And the wierdest part, is I did not even notice it until I thought to look up Asian art styles. The closest they get to brown people art is the servants drawn at the feet of a light skinned pharoah.
It is creepy. And now I am sitting here looking at this book and I just want to kick it across the room.
Art is not just political, it is documented history in all forms. It is hard for me to believe they could leave so much color and history out of an art history book.
Posted by: NonnyO at September 26, 2007 10:33 AM
NonnyO,
The Republicans OWN the media. Therefore, They OWN the message.
So it's not just that Democrats 'caved', it's that Democrats are more worried about the message than they are about the consitution and the Republicans KNOW it 'cuz they control the message.
Another for NonnyO:
Somehow, many foreign countries still believe that despite the W tyranny, America somehow remains a beacon of democracy.
There is a double standard to our actions, that somehow we are above other countries, and that somehow our war crimes can be justified in some way.
I don't buy this line of thinking, but right-wingers around the world, from Sarkozy's France to Merkel's Germany to Fukuda's Japan, buy this line.
Art is not just political, it is documented history in all forms. It is hard for me to believe they could leave so much color and history out of an art history book.
Posted by: Christy at September 26, 2007 11:42 AM
None of my dance history texts that are general include Africanist, Hispanic, or Asian dance history. There are only specialized books on that. I have to put together a special lecture on African-American dance history; otherwise these students would think that only white people dance...or contributed to our dance culture.
Kevin Spidel, on his Facebook page, quotes what he calls the greatest paragraph ever:
The Bush-Cheney administration has surrendered much of Afghanistan to the Taliban and much of Pakistan to al-Qaida. They have turned most of Iraq over to Iran, creating the very danger over which they now threaten another disastrous war; they have strained the U.S. Armed Forces to the point of exhaustion, turned the Defense Department over to private contractors, the Justice Department over to the Republican National Committee, and the national debt over to foreign creditors, while leading a party whose single most basic belief is supposed to be that individuals must take personal responsibility for their actions. And they dare to lecture us on national security?
http://harpers.org/archive/2007/09/hbc-90001292
Posted by: karen at September 26, 2007 02:15 PM
That does sum up the nutshell, don't it?
Posted by: karen at September 26, 2007 02:15 PM
So true - thanks for sharing.
And now I am sitting here looking at this book and I just want to kick it across the room.
Posted by: Christy at September 26, 2007 11:42 AM
Can't you throw it at Katie Couric instead?
Bush seeks nearly $50 billion more for wars
Defense Secretary Gates will make appeal for $190 billion, a third more
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates will ask Congress on Wednesday to approve nearly $190 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008, increasing initial projections by more than a third.
In remarks prepared for a Senate hearing, Gates says the extra money is necessary to buy vehicles that can protect troops against roadside bombs, refurbish equipment worn down by combat and consolidate U.S. bases in Iraq. A copy of the remarks was obtained by The Associated Press.
In February, Bush requested $141.7 billion for the wars; officials said at the time the figure was only a rough estimate and could climb. In July, the Defense Department asked Congress for another $5.3 billion to buy 1,500 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.
Gates says another $42 billion is needed to cover additional requirements. The extra money includes:
$11 billion to field another 7,000 MRAP vehicles in addition to the 8,000 already planned;
$9 billion to reconstitute equipment and technology;
$6 billion for training and equipment of troops;
$1 billion to improve U.S. facilities in the region and consolidate bases in Iraq;
$1 billion to train and equip Iraqi security forces.
The request for additional funds takes into account Bush’s decision to bring home five Army brigades by next summer, Gates said.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20991580/
A public thanks to Christy -
Thank you for your artwork case. I just received mine in the mail via Karen.
It looks absolutely beautiful - and even though one of the Chinese characters has a slightly off-center stroke, I love it even more that way.
Thank you for all your hard work that must have gone into creating this. I really appreciate what you've done, and the thoughts you put into making this.
Xie xie!
William Rivers Pitt | Dan Rather's Magnum Opus
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092607A.shtml
William Rivers Pitt writes for Truthout: "The willful collusion between CBS management and the Bush administration, offered by Rather to frame his accusations, illuminate an insidious, grotesque, and altogether deadly alignment of circumstances hiding in plain sight before the entire American populace. An explanation for why the legitimate fears and anxious uncertainties of the people are never soothed or clarified by mainstream news outlets like CBS, but are instead methodically aggravated and intentionally amplified by those outlets, begins to take shape inlight of Rather's inside-view revelations."
Yes, the above Pitt article for those who already know what we know about who owns the media and what gets reported... and, more importantly, what does NOT get reported.
Oh, I almost missed it 'cuz I was busy, but I caught Boston Legal last night (season premiere). I think TV networks now have shows online the day after shows are aired, and the closing arguments in a fictitious legal case having to do with the environment and Georgie's administration and corporations and a mention or two of oil corporations and media will be appreciated - not to mention the bumbling judge who had lines about being "the decider."
Posted by: Christy at September 26, 2007 11:42 AM
Posted by: karen at September 26, 2007 12:23 PM
I did a minor in art history, so I know what you're talking about. The prof I had did search out and include at least ancient artifacts from all over the world from the Venus of Willendorf to Mayan and Aztec to Australian aboriginal art to Native American painted rocks and several other things in the slide presentations he had with the class lectures - he didn't only test on what was in our books, although the ones I saved for my personal library do include at least ancient art from around the world (which is my favorite art, actually, even above the most famous Renaissance artists; I do have a soft spot for a few things done by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artists/poets).
I think, Karen, you would have liked the music prof we had for one of my honors classes. There were always at least two or three profs who did interdisclipinary teaching, so if we had literature from any specific point in history, the art history prof came in and did a slide show of art from that period which then tied in to music from the same period... etc. The music prof had been to Africa many years ago and did tape recordings of tribal music (alas, no video), and one could hear the dancers in the background, but the percussion rhythms were absolutely fascinating!
Judge rules part of Patriot Act unconstitutional
Provisions allow search warrants issued without probable cause, she says
BREAKING NEWS
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to be issued without a showing of probable cause, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as amended by the Patriot Act, "now permits the executive branch of government to conduct surveillance and searches of American citizens without satisfying the probable cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment."
Portland attorney Brandon Mayfield sought the ruling in a lawsuit against the federal government after he was mistakenly linked by the FBI to the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in 2004.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20999950/
Hillary Rodham has nominated herself as Democratic candidate for president and has elected herself president. All of this occurred on Sunday with a media blitzkreig attack on the nation. Hillary was everywhere - on all four networks. It was an incredible feat of media choreography:
see this very interesting You Tube video by Talking Points Memo on Hillary's conquest -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_U5FNRIRQ1Y
BTW: For a sense of the thoroughness of Hillary's conquest, Fox News Brit Hume was complimenting Hillary's style and "poise" displayed on Sunday. This endorsement by the Fox News anchor should be chilling to liberals and true Democrats...
Posted by: Ralpheh at September 26, 2007 07:47 PM
Well, ya know Rupert Murdoch has been investing in Hillary for the past several years, so that Brit Hume buttsmooch has probably been in the can for months now.
Infoxuation
Art is not just political, it is documented history in all forms. It is hard for me to believe they could leave so much color and history out of an art history book.
Posted by: Christy at September 26, 2007 11:42 AM
How right you are Christy. History in any form is provided by the so-called winners. The losers have never been given an opportunity to put their part. In schools across the world, white reigns supreme.
Aboriginal art is sought all over the world. It used to be greedy art dealers buying a work for $50 that would then be sold on, the very next day, for $5000. Now there is more awareness. There are more Aboriginal lawyers and judges, teachers and professors, doctors and specialists, sociologists and archaeologists, artists and songwriters, actors and narrators, than there were in years after our arrival.
Ancient culture such as this cannot be murdered. It will resurrect. Always. In all of the ancient worlds. This generation of Australia's Black people is coming out with documentation of gross injustices and trampling of culture (just as we are now doing in Iraq).
My dad used to say, "The Black population will be the majority very soon. And then they will get justice."
In February, Bush requested $141.7 billion for the wars; officials said at the time the figure was only a rough estimate and could climb. In July, the Defense Department asked Congress for another $5.3 billion to buy 1,500 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.
Gates says another $42 billion is needed to cover additional requirements.
Posted by: monkey at September 26, 2007 03:38 PM
He's been getting this kind of money since the war daze began. But, whatever you do, don't you or your children get sick, there's no money for that.
And don't forget all those mercenaries whose money comes indirectly from you.
Killing Monks. How terribly brave of them.
Monks killed as soldiers shoot at protesters
Aung Hla Tun in Rangoon
September 27, 2007
SOLDIERS fired on crowds of protesters in Rangoon yesterday in an attempt to end the biggest people-power marches in Burma in 20 years.
At least three monks were killed, an official told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity. One was killed when a gun went off as he tried to wrest the weapon away from a soldier, while two were beaten to death, the official said.
Sorry. The article about the monks is from:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/26/1190486395931.html
Um...well, someone talked me into trying to go onto myspace. So in my heroes category, I tried to say, "Whoever will impeach Cheney and Bush and send them to the Hague for crimes against humanity."
I had it saved.
I went back about 10-15 minutes later and my 'hero' section was deleted.
Monkey, I would love to throw my hinky book at Katie. I would pay for the opportunity to knock the retarded out of her.
Did you get mail and does your wife think I suck? I painted something fascinating, but I kept thinking 'OMG what did I do to poor Monkey?'
Ally,
I am very glad you liked it but sorry about the mistake. I looked up the characters on a Chinese jewlery site, and I almost gave up until I saw the 'Do you need English?' option.
If the mistake bugs you I can redo it anytime, I still have the paint I mixed for it. As you said though, sometimes it just makes it more artistic when it is flawed, but I try not to make mistakes like that. I do a lot of cultural pieces and I fear insulting them with a sloppy work.
If you notice the pictures from front to back and left to right inside, each gets more complicated than the last one. I loved doing it, I think the colors just seduced me.
Karen, thank you for sending it to her. I KNEW she did have a mailing address! HAHA!
I was just looking at your Gandhi again. Your right, he does look amused. I did him so unexpectedly and sent him out so fast it is almost like looking at someone elses work. Almost.
Woz,
If you have not made up your mind about your painting, I have an idea I would like to try.
And Rossi.
I just finished your canvas. (The other will take time). I not only rivaled the original, I created another original just as beautiful. Not twins but definately sisters.
She is drying now. 5 coats of topcoat and another 20 hours to cure completely, I will try to have her in the mail by friday afternoon here.
By the way, to everyone that got a canvas, I just today got wood delivered for frames, but I still don't have all the fittings I need, but as soon as I do I will start my son on assembling custom frames for the canvases. Sorry I could not get them there with the frames, but I'm working on it.
Hey did yall see the Spanish Memos?
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/26/the-spanish-downing-street-memo/
How much more evidence does congress freaking need?
Oh yeah, for a moment I forgot they were implicated in all this.
Just caught the last bit of the Dem Presidential debate in New Hampshire on MSNBC. Russert was the moderator. The format was much better than in previous debates - with lots of give and take but with time limits so people could not start launching into pre-fab speeches. Also the candidates were arranged on stage in a rather interesting hodge-podge - as opposed to Gravel and Kucinich being way off on the wings. The order from Left to Right was Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Obama, then rather interestingly, on the rightwing was Hillary, sandwiched between Kucinich and Gravel... LOL
BTW I did catch these two good questions - one was about the use of torture and all the Dem candidates brought out good points arguing against the use of torture.
Russert then asked a good and pointed question about fund-raising for presidential libraries and whether contributions to these libraries should be reported. Of course, this question went straight to Hillary because of Bill's library. And Hillary characteristically, predictably, and foolishly tried twice to avoid answering the question directly and honestly, by wonkishly saying that she "supports legislation" that would require (sometime in the distant future...) reporting of library donations. Russert repeated the question more directly asking if Hillary would release the donor list to her husband's library. She gave the Ultra Lame, "I don't talk about my private conversations with my husband." Lead balloon.. billing records, Wal-Mart, cattle futures...
She could have and should have said, "Sure we will release the list of donors. No problem." Of course, the fugitive Mr. Hsu might have been a contributor to the Clinton Library or Marc Rich or a bunch of foreigners etc... which might explain Hillary's reluctance on this point.
The Republicans have tons of red meat right there on Clinton - her husband cashing in...
Um...well, someone talked me into trying to go onto myspace. So in my heroes category, I tried to say, "Whoever will impeach Cheney and Bush and send them to the Hague for crimes against humanity."
I had it saved.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I think the peace/justice movement, after the glorious day that Bush and Cheney leave office, is have them tried before the UN or the World Court (in absentia, of course). The Iraq war is such a breach of international law that it must be dealt with by the global community - if the Congress is too chicken to act.
I went back about 10-15 minutes later and my 'hero' section was deleted.
Posted by: sparrow at September 26, 2007 10:14 PM
creeeeepy! Are those spaces just for heroes who are murderers, torturers and thieves under the protection of US law?
Woz,
If you have not made up your mind about your painting, I have an idea I would like to try.
Posted by: Christy at September 26, 2007 11:01 PM
Christy! You are kidding! If you have an idea - then that's exactly what I'd love. You are too generous, Christy. But as they say, what goes around comes around and I believe that is true. You're an amazing woman and I'm glad that I'm in your conversation space for a few hours every day.
"I don't talk about my private conversations with my husband."
Posted by: Ralpheh at September 26, 2007 11:30 PM
Yeah well. No pillow talk in that White House apparently.
Australian firms win more JSF work
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September 27, 2007 - 4:54PM
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Australian firms have won fresh work on the United States-led
I have no idea what this means, but because it was cooked up between the worst PM Australia's ever had and the worst US president the world has ever had, it can't be good except for a couple of very rich people. And that's not me.
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, the world's biggest collaborative defence project.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said 23 Australian companies now had contracts for work, worth about $A160 million, with major additional opportunities in prospect.
He said Melbourne firm GKN Aerospace Engineering had continued its JSF success story with well over one million hours of JSF design work under contract.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Australian-firms-win-more-JSF-work/2007/09/27/1190486471568.html
oops. sorry about that mish mash of nonsense. Something in the cyber space between us, is playing funny buggers.
I have no idea what this means, but because it was cooked up between the worst PM Australia's ever had and the worst US president the world has ever had, it can't be good except for a couple of very rich people. And they are not me.
Australian firms win more JSF work
September 27, 2007 - 4:54PM
Australian firms have won fresh work on the United States-led Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, the world's biggest collaborative defence project.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said 23 Australian companies now had contracts for work, worth about $A160 million, with major additional opportunities in prospect.
He said Melbourne firm GKN Aerospace Engineering had continued its JSF success story with well over one million hours of JSF design work under contract.
Melbourne-based Marand Precision Engineering's existing ground support equipment and tooling contracts with Lockheed Martin had recently been extended, with substantial additional work likely.
"It is not just larger Australian companies that are proving their competitiveness on JSF," he said in a statement.
"Partech Systems, a small company based in Nowra, NSW, has secured additional JSF test equipment work from Northrop Grumman.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Australian-firms-win-more-JSF-work/2007/09/27/1190486471568.html
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20070927/cx_crwiz_uc/crwiz20070927
Wizard of Id
Wizard of Id
Posted by: NonnyO at September 27, 2007 04:56 AM
hahahaha
I love it! Some cartoonists get it so absolutely spot on.
Thanks Cristy, I think my computor is going down, Heading off to Kangaroo Point now, will check it out when I get back.
Darn it all I hope not to much stored, to lose.
You know, when you did that little job for me in Texas, if you still have the links will you send them over to me please. Or leave them at Rebelle for me.
These monks have started a revolution. But what else should be expected from people who wear all orange all the time?
God bless them.
"Witnesses said soldiers stormed six monasteries overnight, smashing windows and doors and beat the sleeping monks.
About 200 Buddhist monks were reported to have been detained during raids on two monasteries in Rangoon.
As protests resumed, only a small number of monks could be seen among the crowd. Many of the protesters were heard chanting nationalist songs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7015544.stm
"..when you did that little job for me in Texas,"
I must still be asleep.
Huh...Texas... what..?
Wow. That sounds really promising.
Synta's drug is one of several in development by other companies trying a new strategy against cancer — killing tumor cells by overloading them with oxygen.
"We are taking advantage of the Achilles heel of cancer cells," said Dr. Anthony Williams, vice president of clinical research at Synta Pharmaceuticals.
The drug has no effect on normal cells, which can adjust to higher levels of oxygen that cause cancer cells to self-destruct.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070926/ap_on_he_me/new_cancer_drug;_ylt=AtHyjcLdzt2ym6tZ6j.p.eGs0NUE
Posted by dickbell at September 25, 2007 03:36 PM
http://tinyurl.com/yhmcgc
Good morning all.
Difficult day yesterday and Tuesday. So here I am this morning after having caught up, read the thread, looked at the stuff online.
And all I have to say is "New day, same old crap." More toys with led in them. Military personel say that they need time to rest between placements. (Of course this wasn't said last week when they were voting on the Webb ammendment.) Bill Clinton comes forth and says that the Betrayus stink in Congress was a bait and switch and comments on the swifties... Why weren't they censured by Congress?
Ok. So it leave me to believe we are all stuck in some sort of "Alice in Wonderland" except that maybe the new name is "Alice in D.C."
Posted by: Christy at September 27, 2007 07:57 AM
It would be interesting to hear from Oncall on this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7015544.stm
Posted by: Christy at September 27, 2007 07:38 AM
When a regime brutally guns down pacifists; the gentle Buddhist monks; that regime needs to be sent to Gitmo with Dubya, Rumsfeld et al. For the terms of their natural lives.
It would be interesting to hear his take on it for sure.
I have reason to believe they already found a 'cure' for cancer in the form of anti-protiens, but as soon as georgie took office the study was shut down and buried.
Either way it comes to late for my family this week. My grandmother probably will not survive to see next week. This is her fourth bout. The fact she is still awake and talking is either a miracle or a curse.
I am not sure how to feel about it. She has evil in her soul. She is the single most manipulative person I know, but, no one deserves to die in pieces.
Woz,
As I said, I pointed out to my son that these famous pacifists, Ghandi, Jesus, Martin, all of them were publicly murdered for their beliefs. I told him to think of how powerful words of peace are when those that utter them will be murdered for it.
That whole discussion on Ghandi made me think too about how governments fear pacifists more than anything else, because their words and beliefs are likely to spark REVOLUTION.
In Christians english class he has to do a short biography of someone... He chose Gandhi.
No word yet on if he can actually spell it.
Deep Thoughts, by Jack Monkey
Isn't it bizarre how Condi and Ghandi sound so similar, yet they are on opposite sides of the peace pipe?
Christy... got the pieces yesterday, awesome! Totally dig the fish...
... and no yer not in trouble... and neither am I, as far as you know!
WASHINGTON - The United States is lining up with China, India and the world's other biggest polluters in opposition to mandatory cuts in Earth-warming greenhouse gases sought by the United Nations and European countries.
President Bush's two-day climate meeting, opening Thursday, will emphasize creating more processes to find a solution to global warming, rather than setting firm goals for reducing carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for heating up the atmosphere.
The nations summoned by Bush will "seek agreement on the process" and more work teams for nations to set their own strategies beyond 2012, when the U.N.-brokered Kyoto Protocol expires, according to a White House statement Wednesday.
The Washington talks are not formal climate negotiations, but rather an airing of views on greenhouse gases, energy security, technology development and financing — as well as a daylong closed-door session on "process and principles for setting a long-term goal" to cut the human-caused emissions that spur accelerated climate change.
Bush's proposal would come up with "aspirational goals" to limit emissions by the end of 2008, shortly before his administration leaves office.
That has European leaders, who concede that the biggest polluting nations must be part of any solution, walking a thin line between skepticism and optimism.
"What would really galvanize the international efforts on climate would be a set of policies in the United States to put the United States on a fast track to building a low carbon economy," John Ashton, Britain's climate envoy, said in a telephone interview. "We now need to stop talking about talking and start deciding about doing."
"We know that a voluntary approach to global warming is about as effective as a voluntary speed limit sign in the road," he said in a separate interview. "We don't just need an approach that works; we need an approach that works very quickly."
moron...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21008731/
Ally, Monkey, Woz and others...
Please post the picts of your gifts online. (If it's ok with all of you and Christy for you to do so.)
Posted by: monkey at September 27, 2007 09:36 AM
I've often thought that too.
Also, I remember all the white Republican girls in my home school support group who idolized Condi as being smart, honest, a 'righteous' public servant (meaning worthwhile for a religious person to admire) for all little Republican girls to emulate.
I didn't know who she was back then.
Now I do. And if I have to pick a woman of either side to admire for honesty and intellegence, I'd havew to pick someone that the world doesn't really know very well: Jesselyn Radack. (Of course it may say something that she's not a Congress-critter)
Of course I don't mind Sparrow, if they don't.
Me too Monkey, I totally dig those fish! I think it is one of my all time favorites. After it was done, me and two of my kids and a friend were all sitting in the shop just quietly gazing at it. I had not told them what it was exactly and so they started guessing. My older kid says, 'It's fish'. The younger one said 'No, its' birds.'
I looked at it thinking..Birds? Then my friend says 'Is it an octopus?" I just looked at him like WTF? He says, 'You know, an octopus surfacing from below, legs first?'
I just looked at the canvas again and grinned and nodded. I knew then I had painted the perfect picture.
I told you it was green purple and orange! HAHAHA!
As for the other... I know you probably can't display it, but, if anyone ever tries documenting my progress as an artist (200 years from now I will be famous), they will specifically be looking for her. Store her in a dry place.
BTW Sparrow, any ideas on color or theme yet?
Hey, what happened yesterday when Gen pacemaker said that about gay sex being against Gods law?
I saw they had to shut down the meeting but I can't watch the video.
WTF happened in that crowd?
Posted by: Christy at September 27, 2007 10:13 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/27/pace.gays.ap/index.html
Isn't it odd how these people believe their God is so infallable, but yet, all these gay people must just be a...mistake, error, whatever.
I tend to believe God knew exactly what he was doing. And if it is so unnatural, then why do animals also frequently engage in homosexual couplings?
The higher evolved the animal is, the more likely same sex encounters will occur.
Posted by: sparrow at September 27, 2007 09:46 AM
I'll try to get a pic with my camera phone today. (I'm putting it away in storage for now, because I don't want any DCP or other "left wing wacko" stuff lying around where I live.)
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at September 27, 2007 11:39 AM
Expecting visitors, are ya?
Wowzers! The Tall Guy posted a new threader on his eponymous blog this morning, and boy howdy, did he ever knock one out of the park! Some selected snippets:
-------------
If there's anybody left who doubts that "compassionate conservatism" is an Orwellian smokescreen for the same old Republican policies, listen to this:
After promising he'd work on "expanding health care for children," the President has now unilaterally declared war on a successful, wildly popular program that gives health care to millions of low-income kids.
Democrats see a successful program, S-CHIP, and they see 11 million kids still uninsured in the richest country in the world, and they want to build on what works and expand it. Makes sense, right? But this White House is so hell-bent on denying the Democratic Congress a victory, the President's threatening to veto health care for kids.
[ ... ]
The President still says he's committed to "expanding health care to children" but his machinations on this issue tell a different story -- this is what happens when people who hate government run our government: we get regulators who don't regulate, "heckuva-job" cronies, and trickle-down tax cuts that leave middle class families feeling tricked on.
For Republicans, this S-CHIP bill is the worst threat of all: a bipartisan bill to expand a government program that actually works, and a chance for this Democratic Congress to deliver. That's like kryptonite to Republicans, who honestly seem to think that America's gain would be a Republican loss if it's passed by a Democratic Congress.
[ ... ]
Those Republicans willing to stand up and do the right thing threw a wrench in the usual tactics of fear — demonizing good social policies that help real Americans as "socialized" or "European" when actually they're just smart. But some Republicans would rather cover for the ideologue-in-chief than cover America's children. It's time for the rest of the Roadblock Republicans to show some spine and override the President's veto.
America's families don't care where their insurance comes from -- parents just want to make sure that when their kids get sick, they'll get the treatment they need. Republicans have to stop blocking every bill this Democratic Congress passes.
"Delay" used to be just one thuggish Congressman -- now it's become the Republican way of life. I hope my Republican colleagues will join me and pass a bill that will insure millions of uninsured kids across America. But if they can't hold their noses and vote with Democrats to do what's right for America's kids, at least have the decency to get out of our way.
http://tinyurl.com/yphgpd
-------------
give 'em hell, boss,
Otter
Expecting visitors, are ya?
Posted by: monkey at September 27, 2007 12:14 PM
No, reactionary household members.
I am looking for my own place, however.