Reflections on the "New American" Revolution
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Bush admits mistake over Iraq: "Bush said he had made a 'miscalculation of what the conditions would be' in postwar Iraq. But he said that was the result of the 'swift victory' against the Iraqi army, which collapsed so fast that it was able to melt away and stage a guerrilla insurgency.
Ivo Daalder, a former member of Bill Clinton's National Security Council and now an analyst at Brookings Institution, said the president's remarks showed 'a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation'.
'If the Iraqi defences fell quicker, we should have more troops in Baghdad. Had they had more troops there, they would have been able to deal with the insurgency more quickly and effectively,' Mr Daalder said. 'This was not miscalculation. This was ignoring military advice.' "
Rumsfeld Denies Abuses Occurred at Interrogations: "Mr. Rumsfeld, who was traveling outside Washington this week, said, "I have not seen anything thus far that says that the people abused were abused in the process of interrogating them or for interrogation purposes." A transcript of the interview was posted on the Pentagon's Web site on Friday. Mr. Rumsfeld repeated the assertion a few hours later at a news conference in Phoenix, adding that "all of the press, all of the television thus far that tried to link the abuse that took place to interrogation techniques in Iraq has not yet been demonstrated." After an aide slipped him a note during the news conference, however, Mr. Rumsfeld corrected himself, noting that an inquiry by three Army generals had, in fact, found "two or three" cases of abuse during interrogations or the interrogations process. In fact, however, the Army inquiry found that 13 of 44 instances of abuse involved interrogations or the interrogation process, an Army spokeswoman said. The report itself explicitly describes the extent to which each abuse involved interrogations.
... Rumsfeld also misstated an important finding of an independent panel he appointed and is led by James R. Schlesinger, a former defense secretary, saying in the interview with KTAR radio, 'The interesting thing about the Schlesinger panel is their conclusion that, in fact, the abuses seem not to have anything to do with interrogation at all.'
But the first paragraph of the Schlesinger panel report says, 'We do know that some of the egregious abuses at Abu Ghraib which were not photographed did occur during interrogation sessions and that abuses during interrogation sessions occurred elsewhere.' "
Friday, August 27, 2004
We could have stopped him: "The CIA has taken much of the blame for the security lapses that led to 9/11 and the false intelligence on Iraq's WMDs. But now one spy has broken ranks to point the finger at the politicians - and warn that the war on terror could plunge the US into even greater danger.
... 'America ought to do what's in America's interests, and those interests are not served by being dependent on oil in the Middle East and by giving an open hand to the Israelis,' Scheuer argues. 'If we're less open-handed to Israel over time we can cut down Bin Laden's ability to grow. Right now he has unlimited potential for growing.' "
... The morass in Iraq, meanwhile, is a "big factor in not allowing us to develop much expertise" on Bin Laden. "I think [director of central intelligence George Tenet] said we had enough people to do two wars at once, and clearly that was a fantasy."
... "
New York Tramples Bill of Rights to Protect 'Grass'?: "even in a war on terror, political protest is not a 'privilege.' It's a basic right.
'The right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances,' is part of the Bill of Rights, which the Founders drafted more than two centuries ago to persuade the states to ratify the Constitution.
If Bloomberg has forgotten that, regrettably, he has plenty of company. In a nationwide poll conducted earlier this year for the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center and American Journalism Review, only 10% of respondents could name the right of assembly and free association as one of those guaranteed by the First Amendment.
After the oppression of British colonial rule, those were among the rights the Revolution was fought for. They're still worth defending. Protecting municipal grass is a thin excuse for mowing down those rights. "
A Ruinous Trap of Their Own Making: "'Iraq is more dangerous to the US potentially than it was at the moment we went to war'.
These are the reluctant judgments of one of the key US officials who participated in the highest levels of decision-making of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
... Fallujah remains under terrorist control; insurgents run rampant even beyond the Sunni triangle; the number of US soldiers killed spirals towards 1,000; the Iraqi army, disastrously disbanded by the CPA, is being reassembled and trained. The American campaign is consumed with false charges made by a Republican front group about the medals that John Kerry earned in a war more than 30 years ago. The arrogant and incompetent blunders of the Bush administration in Iraq are not debated. On the eve of the Republican convention, Bush burnishes his image as a prudent and reassuring leader. The lethal realities of his "hubris and ideology" are for the moment off the screen. Mission accomplished."
washingtonpost.com � White House Briefing: "Bush 'acknowledged for the first time that he made a 'miscalculation of what the conditions would be' in postwar Iraq...
"President Bush said on Thursday that he did not believe Senator John Kerry lied about his war record, but he declined to condemn the television commercial paid for by a veterans group alleging that Mr. Kerry came by his war medals dishonestly."
And they also write: "Showing none of the alarm about [North Korea's] growing arsenal that he once voiced regularly about Iraq, he opened his palms and shrugged when an interviewer noted that new intelligence reports indicate that the North may now have the fuel to produce six or eight nuclear weapons.""
What a fool!
Where Is The Shame?: "Cleland told reporters: 'The question is, where is George Bush's honor? Where is his shame?'
Mr. Cleland reminded reporters of the scurrilous attacks by Bush forces against Senator John McCain in the Republican presidential primary in 2000 and said: 'Keep in mind, this president has gone after three Vietnam veterans in four years. That's got to stop.'
... What is incredible is that these attacks on men who served not just honorably, but heroically, are coming from a hawkish party that is controlled by an astonishing number of men who sprinted as far from the front lines as they could when they were of fighting age and their country was at war.
Among them:
Mr. Bush himself, the nation's commander in chief and the biggest hawk of all. He revels in the accouterments of combat. The story was somewhat different when he was 22 years old and eligible for combat himself. He managed to get into the cushy confines of the Texas Air National Guard at the height of the Vietnam War in 1968 - a year in which more than a half-million American troops were in the war zone and more than 14,000 were killed.
The story gets murky after that. We know the future president breezed off at some point to work on a political campaign in Alabama, skipped a required flight physical in 1972 and was suspended from flying. He supported the war in Vietnam but was never in any danger of being sent there."
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Top Brass Won't Be Charged Over Abuse (washingtonpost.com): "the senior officers cited for indirectly allowing the abuse to flourish at the Abu Ghraib prison will not face charges under the findings of an Army report issued this week -- a fact that three Army generals explained and defended yesterday in interviews. Those in the U.S. command structure who failed to supervise their subordinates, who handed down unclear and in some cases illegal policies, and who ignored signs of abuse were found in Army reports to be 'responsible' for the problems but not 'culpable' because they did not have a direct hand in the mistreatment.
'That's the differentiation that's being made,' Gen. Paul J. Paul J. Kern -- who supervised the Army's most recent investigation, by Marine Gen. George R. Fay and Lt. Gen. Anthony R. Jones -- said in an interview yesterday with Washington Post editors and reporters. "Are we letting them off the hook? I don't think so. In fact, we put the spotlight on them and said, 'You didn't do your job right.' "
That's a poor effort at accountability. And the fact that there have been no resignations is an indication of the lack of responsibility that pervades our government. Only the lowest ranks are held responsible. Those with authority are never responsible in this administration! They find distinctions without meaning and hide behind their clever language.
New York Awaits Republicans With Reluctance and Unease: "Fifty-three percent of city residents say they are very or somewhat worried that a terrorist attack will happen during the convention, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. Forty-eight percent say they are very or somewhat worried that demonstrations or protest marches will lead to violence. Fifty-two percent said some other city should have been picked to hold the convention."
The GOP brings fear with it. I think that's a good metaphor for the Bush administration. They have increased the level of fear in our society.
Nearly 36 Million Americans Live in Poverty: "Some 1.3 million Americans slid into poverty in 2003 as the ranks of the poor rose 4 percent to 35.9 million, with children and blacks worse off than most, the government said on Thursday in a report that fueled Democratic criticism of President Bush.
Despite the economic recovery, the percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose for the third straight year to 12.5 percent -- the highest since 1998 -- from 12.1 percent in 2002, the Census Bureau (news - web sites) said in its annual poverty report. The widely cited score card on the nation's economy showed one-third of those in poverty were children.
The number of U.S. residents without health-care coverage rose 1.4 million to 45 million last year, while incomes were essentially stagnant, the Census Bureau said. "
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Cleland Attempts Delivery of Protest Letter (washingtonpost.com): "the president said the group's anti-Kerry advertising should stop, but he refused to denounce it.
'The moment of truth came and went for President Bush to condemn these ads, and he still could not bring himself to do the right thing,' Cleland said in a statement.
The senators signing the letter included Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Ernest 'Fritz' Hollings of South Carolina, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Tom Carper of Delaware and Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg, both of New Jersey.
'As veterans of the armed services, we ask that you recognize this blatant attempt at character assassination, and publicly condemn it,' the senators said in their letter. "
Kerry Renews Call for Rumsfeld to Resign (washingtonpost.com): "'I called months ago for Secretary Rumsfeld to take that responsibility, for the president to take that responsibility,' Kerry said. 'And again today, as I have previously, I call for the resignation of the secretary of defense for failure to do what he should have done.'
... A new commission should "report back so that these abuses can never take place again," Kerry said. "That's leadership and that's what ought to happen." "
Lawyer Advising Vets Quits Bush Campaign: "An election lawyer for President Bush who also has been advising a veterans group running TV ads against Democrat John Kerry resigned Wednesday from Bush's campaign.
"I feel I cannot let that continue, so I have decided to resign as national counsel to your campaign to ensure that the giving of legal advice to decorated military veterans, which was entirely within the boundaries of the law, doesn't distract from the real issues upon which you and the country should be focusing."
... Ginsberg's acknowledgment Tuesday evening that he was providing legal advice to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth marked the second time in days that a person associated with the Bush-Cheney campaign had been connected to the group, which Kerry accuses of being a front for the Republican incumbent's re-election effort.
The Bush campaign and the veterans' group have said repeatedly that there is no coordination."
Remember that Bush's spokesmen have been saying there was no connection between the Bush campaign and the Swift Boat Partisans--and accusing Kerry of making misleading statements. Turns our there were lots of links. So who was lying? And who was trying to decieve. Well, Bush. He comes out and says that ad should stop. After it had stopped. He doesn't say the ad was untrue. And now there's a new ad. I guess we'll have to wait for that one to run its course, take the heat off Bush and his "record" of disasters and abominations. And then he'll come out and say, "that ad should stop."
That's our decisive, war president at work.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Observers See Eerie Parallels in Attacks on Kerry & McCain: "Four years ago, as George Bush struggled in the polls, supporters of his bid for the Republican presidential nomination unleashed a ferocious attack on rival John McCain, questioning his commitment to veterans and his fitness to serve.
After the charges took root, Bush distanced himself from the veterans group that made the attacks, called the Arizona senator's service "noble'' and cruised to a nomination-saving victory in the South Carolina primary."
Kerry Accuses GOP of "Fear and Smear" Tactics :The campaign and its allies have turned to the tactics of fear and smear because they can't talk about jobs, healthcare, energy independence and rebuilding our alliances. They can't or they refuse to talk about the real issues that matter to the American people."
The administration, he said, has "obviously decided that some people will believe anything, no matter how far fetched, if they just repeat it often enough. That's how they are running their administration. That's how they are running their campaign. And that's how they are going to run their convention."
Kerry's speech came a day after his campaign unveiled a new ad accusing President Bush of using the same smear tactics that he used against Sen. John McCain in 2000."
Rumsfeld & Commanders Share Blame for Abuse: Top Pentagon officials and the military command in Iraq contributed to an environment in which prisoners were abused at Abu Ghraib prison, according to a report released Tuesday by a high-level panel investigating the military detentions.
The outside four-member panel headed by former defense secretary James Schlesinger found that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of Staff failed to exercise proper oversight over confusing detention policies at U.S. prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Former defense secretary James Schlesinger speaks during a news briefing today after the panel he chaired delivered its final report to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. (Alex Wong - Getty Images)
"Command failures were compounded by poor advice provided by staff officers with responsibility for overseeing battlefield functions related to detention and interrogation operations," the report said. "Military and civilian leaders at the Pentagon share this burden of responsibility."
The panel did not find that Rumsfeld or military leaders directly ordered abuse such as stripping prisoners naked and sexually humiliating them. It said, however, that the abuses were not carried out by just a few individuals, as the Bush administration has consistently maintained.
Schlesinger said there were 300 cases of abuses being investigated, many beyond Abu Ghraib. "So the abuses were not limited to a few individuals." He said there was "sadism" by some Americans at Abu Ghraib. "
Defense Leaders Faulted by Panel in Prison Abuse: "A high-level outside panel reviewing American military detention operations has concluded that leadership failures at the highest levels of the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff and military command in Iraq contributed to an environment in which detainees were abused at Abu Ghraib prison and other facilities, Defense officials said Monday.
...the panel implicitly faults Mr. Rumsfeld, as well as his top civilian and military aides, for not exercising sufficient oversight over a confusing array of policies and interrogation practices at detention centers in Cuba, Afghanistan and Iraq, "
Monday, August 23, 2004
Anger as Bush Bids to Exploit Olympic Games: "To the embarrassment of their media handlers in Athens members of the Iraqi football team have reacted furiously to the news that their efforts are being used to aid Mr Bush's efforts to win a second term in the White House.
The team's coach Adnan Hamd told Sports Illustrated magazine. My problem is not with the American people. They are with what America has done-destroyed everything. The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the stadium and there are shootings on the road
One of the team's midfield players Ahmad Manajid accused Mr Bush of slaughtering Iraqi men and women. "How will he meet his God having slaughtered so many? I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that make them a terrorist? he said. "
GOP restricts Black Vote in Florida: "A Democrat can't win a statewide election in Florida without a high voter turnout - both at the polls and with absentee ballots - of African-Americans said a man who is close to the Republican establishment in Florida but asked not to be identified.
It's no secret that the name of the game for Republicans is to restrain that turnout as much as possible. Black votes are Democratic votes and there are a lot of them in Florida."
Saturday, August 21, 2004
US Doctors Tied to Prisoner Abuse Faked Death Certificates & Helped Design Torture at Abu Ghraib: "U.S. military doctors and medics at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad were complicit in the torture of Iraqi detainees and faked death certificates to try and cover up homicides says a report in a top British medical journal."
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
At "Ask Bush" Campaign Events - Only true believers need apply: "At his rallies Bush is a pseudo-populist. But these controlled environments reflect his deeper view of the presidency as sovereign - preempting democracy.
Floundering in the polls, without a strategy for Iraq, unwilling to say the name of Bin Laden, he is secure in the knowledge that the cheering multitudes have been selected. Ask President Bush has crystallised the underlying issue, framed succinctly by the greatest American poet of democracy, Walt Whitman, who wrote, "The President is there in the White House for you, it is not you who are here for him."
Former Iraq Arms Inspector Faults Prewar Intelligence: "weapons inspector David Kay said the National Security Council had failed to protect President Bush from faulty prewar intelligence and had left Secretary of State Colin L. Powell 'hanging out in the wind'when he tried to gather intelligence before the war about Iraq's weapons programs."
Showdown in Najaf- US Logic Hard to Follow: "if this ends in a last stand and a massacre of the al-Mahdi militia in the most sacred site in the Shia world - possibly doing serious damage to the Imam Ali mosque itself - the long-term cost to the United States will far outweigh any possible gains"
The U.S. logic may be more than hard to follow. It may be insane. I suspect that Bush wants to provoke the Iranians into attacking to defend the holy shrine. That would create a war between Iran and the US, which Bush could say was unprovoked.
The US would rise up in horror, not understanding how Bush has provoked the Shiites. And he would be re-elected in a landslide. And, yes, this would cause dreadful costs on the US. But what does Bush care. He's all about looting anyway.
The costs we would pay would generate huge profits for his supporters. Look at Halliburton today. Making out like bandits. Expect more of the same.
Don't use Pearl as electoral pawn--family tells politicians: "The family of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl has appealed to American politicians not to use his name in their election campaigns.
The family issued the appeal after vice-president Dick Cheney mentioned Pearl in a campaign speech that criticised Democratic presidential contender John Kerry."
Don't use Pearl as electoral pawn--family tells politicians: "The family of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl has appealed to American politicians not to use his name in their election campaigns.
The family issued the appeal after vice-president Dick Cheney mentioned Pearl in a campaign speech that criticised Democratic presidential contender John Kerry."
Friday, August 13, 2004
Bush Overhauls U.S. Regulations Under the Smokescreen of War: The "preoccupation with war and terrorism has allowed the administration to push through changes that otherwise would have provoked an outcry. Carl Pope, the executive director of the Sierra Club, says he does not think the administration could have succeeded in rewriting so many environmental rules, for example, if the public's attention had not been focused on national security issues.
'The effect of the administration's concentration on war and terror has been to prevent the public from focusing on these issues,' Mr. Pope said. 'Now, when I hold focus groups with the general public and tell them what has been done, they exclaim, 'How could this have happened without me knowing about it?' '"
Oil Above $46 and Far Above OPEC's Ceiling: "Low-sulfur crude for delivery next month, the most widely watched oil price, settled at $46.58 a barrel in New York on Friday, the third time this week that it has set a record; last Friday's final price was $43.95 a barrel."
Bush wants to be judged on his record. Well, Oil was $9 in 1998. Now it's $43 +. And that is after spending more than $200 Billion to invade and secure the oil wells of a major oil producer. Gas is over $2.00 / gallon in Calif. I just paid $2.25 / gallon in Palo Alto today.
I vote him out.
U.S. to Pull 70,000 Troops from Europe, Asia: "The United States plans to withdraw about 70,000 U.S. troops from Europe and Asia in a major restructuring of military forces prompted by the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the war on terrorism, U.S. officials said Saturday. "
I don't know if this troop redeployment is part of it, but I suspect the administration is trying to provoke a war with Iran by its actions in Najaf, as part of its strategy of keeping us at war and keeping themselves in power.
Why a war with Iran? Well, our military action in Najaf is as incendiary as Saddam invading the Vatican would be to Catholics. We are provoking a massive uprising in Iraq and an invasion by Iran.
What would that do for Bush? It would keep him in power, because it would be inconcievable to Americans to dump Bush if the Iranians went to fight in Najaf.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Bush's Own Goal: "A new Bush campaign ad pushes the theme of an 'ownership society,' and concludes with President Bush declaring, 'I understand if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of America.'
Call me naive, but I thought all Americans have a vital stake in the nation's future, regardless of how much property they own. (Should we go back to the days when states, arguing that only men of sufficient substance could be trusted, imposed property qualifications for voting?) Even if Mr. Bush is talking only about the economic future, don't workers have as much stake as property owners in the economy's success?
But there's a political imperative behind the 'ownership society' theme: the need to provide pseudopopulist cover to policies that are, in reality, highly elitist."The Bush tax cuts have, of course, heavily favored the very, very well off. But they have also, more specifically, favored unearned income over earned income - or, if you prefer, investment returns over wages. Last year Daniel Altman pointed out in The New York Times that Mr. Bush's proposals, if fully adopted, 'could eliminate almost all taxes on investment income and wealth for almost all Americans.' Mr. Bush hasn't yet gotten all he wants, but he has taken a large step toward a system in which only labor income is taxed.
... The political problem with a policy favoring investment returns over wages is that a vast majority of Americans derive their income primarily from wages, and that the bulk of investment income goes to a small elite. How, then, can such a policy be sold? By promising that everyone can join the elite."
Director Moore Quotes Goss on Lack of CIA Credentials: ""I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified," the Florida Republican told documentary-maker Michael Moore's production company during the filming of the anti-Bush movie "Fahrenheit 9/11."
... 'The reality is that Porter Goss was in charge of the oversight of the CIA during a time when the CIA didn't do its job, which in part resulted in the loss of lives of 3,000 people,' he said via telephone from New York. "
Report Finds Tax Cuts Heavily Favor the Wealthy: "Fully one-third of President Bush's tax cuts in the last three years have gone to people with the top 1 percent of income, who have earned an average of $1.2 million annually, according to a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to be published Friday.
The report calculated that households with incomes in that top 1 percent were receiving an average tax cut of $78,460 this year, while households in the middle 20 percent of earnings - averaging about $57,000 a year - were getting an average cut of only $1,090.
The new estimates confirm what independent tax analysts have long said: that Mr. Bush's tax cuts have been heavily skewed to the very wealthiest taxpayers
... two-thirds of the benefits from the tax cuts, enacted in 2001 and 2003, went to households in the top fifth of earnings, with an average income of $203,740... bottom fifth of earnings received an average tax cut of only $250
... Mr. Bush's top economic priority has been to make his tax cuts permanent, rather than letting them expire at the end of this decade"
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Bush's economy is for the elite few: "It is easy to see why enormously rich businessmen believe more personal income and lower taxes are good for them. But what is good for an individual chief executive's wallet does not translate into being �good for business� or for the nation's economy.
What businesses and the economy need are full employment, or as full as possible, and strong consumer demand, generated by a combination of consumer confidence and fair compensation. The Bush-Cheney ticket is failing that test. They adopt �anything-goes-for-big-business� policies, continue to push for ever-lower tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, defend self-serving executive compensation packages and condone benign regulation of corrupt practices.
The latest sign of how what is really good for ordinary citizens and the economy is being flipped on its head is George W. Bush's spin on sluggish job-growth numbers. Now, he contends, that bad is good. In response to the far lower than expected employment numbers for June, he said: �Steady growth. That's important. We don't need boom-or-bust-type growth.
But when the number of new jobs created this year fails to keep up with the growth in the adult population - a trend confirmed by last Friday's job numbers for July - a little more boom and a little less steady stagnation would certainly be helpful."
Republican loyalist named as CIA chief: "Goss is said to be very close to Vice-President Dick Cheney, himself blamed by many for pushing false claims about Iraq's WMD, and critics said his appointment would not end executive interference in intelligence gathering.
'It's interesting that they have appointed someone who has been a staunch defender of the CIA in Congress. I think it says 'no great shake-up',' said David MacMichael, a former CIA analyst and a member of the group Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. "
New York lockdown: "There's a showdown coming to Manhattan. Backed by the most intense security the city has ever seen, the Republicans are about to turn the blue-state bastion of New York City into the backdrop for George Bush's coronation. The RNC chose New York because it was the site of the September 11 terror attacks, which to Bush's opponents and even some ordinary New Yorkers seems a brazen provocation.
... the NYPD has received $50m in federal money to prepare for the convention, and $18m is being used 'for the latest in crowd-control devices,' including nonlethal weaponry and 'high-tech video surveillance devices.'
Overseeing it all will be the Secret Service, which is in charge of the convention site. Under Bush, the Secret Service has proved particularly hostile to protest. They often set up 'free-speech zones' to corral demonstrators far from the president, and they ask local police to arrest anyone who strays from the designated areas.
In October 2002, South Carolina activist Brett Bursey was arrested for trespassing when he waded into a crowd of Bush supporters waiting to greet the president and held up a 'no war for oil' sign. On July 4 this year, police say, the Secret Service directed them to arrest a couple for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts at a presidential speech in West Virginia - despite the fact that the speech was open to the public.
... as protesters themselves feel squeezed, their urge to rampage grows greater. "I think people will fight back if they're provoked," Moran says. "Usually a riot is an explosion of energy and anger at a situation. The cops create a situation where peoples' desires are completely foiled, so they lash out. I don't think that's unhealthy."
... Most activists believe that if violence does break out, the city is to blame. Mayor Bloomberg and the cops, says Bill Dobbs, spokesman for United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), are "flirting with or inviting chaos".
... 'The Republicans are coming,' she began. 'In a shameless effort to exploit the tragedy of 9/11, they will craft an agenda that erodes the very freedoms they claim to fight for.
'This is where we step in,' she continued. 'On Tuesday, Aug. 31, a day of nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action will commence.' It will start, she says, with a shout. 'As clocks strike 11 a.m., two days before the renomination of George W. Bush, the people of the world will shout 'no' with one voice. From Brooklyn to Baghdad to London to Lisbon, from Selma to Sao Paulo, we'll raise our voices in this global expression of outrage ... Here in New York we will converge on Madison Square Garden. We will sit down in the streets and refuse to move ... We want more than speeches and protest pens. We want change!'"
The failed occupation: "A TV station ban, 160,000 foreign troops, trumped up charges: is this the free society Iraqis were promised?
... They are falling like skittles in a bowling alley. One by one, the arguments for the 2003 invasion of Iraq keep tumbling. First to go was the big one. War was necessary because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It turned out there were none. Next was the insistent promise that a US-led conquest of Baghdad would end completely and forever human rights abuses committed in hell-holes such as Abu Ghraib jail. Except we saw the pictures and realised that abuses had continued even in Abu Ghraib itself - albeit under new management.
The last week has sent one more Iraqi ninepin wobbling. It is the hope on which Tony Blair has had to rest his case for war, the hope that Iraq is on its way to becoming a unique entity in the Arab world: an open, democratic society. There may be no WMD and the occupation may be a mess, Blair seems to say, but Iraq will be a democracy - and that alone will make all the pain and bloodshed worthwhile. "
US forces prepare major assault on Najaf: "Thousands of Mr Sadr's supporters vented their anger against the interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, in the streets of Nassiriya and several other cities. In Nassiriya, one of seven cities where a radical Shia uprising has taken hold in the past week, demonstrators set fire to Mr Allawi's political party office and called for his downfall. "
U.S. accused of "slaughtering the people of one of the holiest Islamic cities": "'the supreme leader of neighboring Iran warned that American combat operations in Najaf constitute 'one of the darkest crimes of humanity.' 'The United States is slaughtering the people of one of the holiest Islamic cities and the Muslim world and the Iraqi nation will not stand by,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said ... These crimes are a dark blemish which will never be wiped from the face of America. They commit these crimes and shamelessly talk of democracy,' the ayatollah said. 'Shame has no place in their vocabulary.' "
U.S. Forces, Close to Attack in Najaf, Suddenly Pull Back: "Officers declined to discuss why they did not go ahead with the attack.
... But a known concern of the American military is that fighting in Najaf's old city, where many of Mr. Sadr's guerrillas are hiding, could damage the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam.
Damage to the mosque by either side could provoke immense anger among Iraq's 15 million Shiites, and marines and soldiers have been told that the consequences could be catastrophic.
Any attack must still be approved by Ayad Allawi, Iraq's prime minister. Officers said they could not disclose whether Mr. Allawi had delayed the attack,"
Cemetery Fight Haunts Some U.S. Soldiers: "'Wives, daughters, husbands,' said Sgt. Hector Guzman, 28, of the 1st Cavalry Division's 5th Regiment. 'You just know you're destroying that tomb.'
The Houston native shook his head. 'It doesn't feel right sometimes.'
'We feel bad that we're destroying, that we're desecrating graves and such,' added Staff Sgt. Thomas Gentry, 29, of Altoona, Pa. 'That's not what we want to do.'"
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Iraq sabotage fear deepens oil crisis: "The price of crude on futures markets rose to record levels in both London and New York last night after the threat of sabotage by rebels forced Iraq to shut down production in its southern oilfields.
Fears of prolonged disruption to supply led to a fresh wave of speculative buying in markets already rattled by the prospect of dearer energy, prompting a slowdown in the global economy."
Diplomacy Sidelined as US Targets Iran: "The US charge sheet against Iran is lengthening almost by the day, presaging destabilizing confrontations this autumn and maybe a pre-election October surprise. "
What the f**K is going on here?
Bush Team on Defensive Over al-Qaeda Leak: "the White House prematurely exposed the identity of a key source whose contacts and communication with the terrorist group's operational masterminds had yet to be fully exploited.
... British and Pakistani intelligence agencies were reportedly furious with the leak, which forced U.K. police to hurriedly round up 13 al-Qaeda suspects who are alleged to have been in email communication with Khan. Five others who were sought by MI5 reportedly escaped capture, and there is some question that the British had gathered enough evidence to persuade a judge to keep the 13 detainees in custody, according to published reports.
''The outing of Khan, probably the most important asset the U.S. has ever had inside al-Qaeda, is a huge disaster and a setback to attempts to finish off the top leadership of al-Qaeda'', according to Juan Cole, a Middle East specialist at the University of Michigan"
Rep. Goss Nominated to Lead Embattled CIA: "'He is well prepared for this mission,' the president said of Goss, chairman of the House intelligence committee who was an Army intelligence operative before joining the CIA the 1960s. 'He's the right man to lead and support the agency at this critical moment in our nation's history.' "
Can you believe this? This is the guy who blamed the CIA for the administration's use of intelligence in the run up to the Iraq war. So do you think that he will politicize the intelligence system?
Monday, August 09, 2004
Who's the Flip-Flopper? (washingtonpost.com): "Bush has flipped and flopped with the best of them. As a presidential candidate, he declared himself implacably opposed to nation-building. Now we are engaged in building Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, the cost has been not merely a ton of money, as it was in Haiti and other places Bush said he wouldn't go, but nearly a thousand American lives lost and countless more ruined. Mind you, with weapons of mass destruction all but declared a mirage in the desert, the new -- and sole -- justification for the war is not anything approaching self-defense but getting rid of Saddam Hussein and his regime. This is nation-replacement and nation-building, a total rehab project.
Bush also declared himself a determined unilateralist, kissing off treaties and understandings and even spurning NATO's help in Afghanistan. Now, though, the unilateralist of old is sending Colin Powell around the world, seeking alms and arms for Iraq. Flip-flop.
Bush would not negotiate with North Korea. He did. Flip-flop.
Bush told the United Nations to butt out of Iraq. Now he wants it in. Flip-flop.
The president opposed creating the Department of Homeland Security. Soon after, his strong opposition apparently slipped his mind and he flip-flopped his way to an embrace. Bush later opposed the creation of the Sept. 11 commission, but now he cannot thank it enough. He did not want his chief aides -- Condoleezza Rice, for instance -- to testify publicly before it but relented in the face of popular opposition. Flip-flop. He himself would not testify for all sorts of hallowed constitutional reasons and then, of course, did. Flip-flop... "
Bar Association Rips U.S. on Detainees: "The American Bar Association criticized what it called 'a widespread pattern of abusive detention methods.' Those abuses, it said, 'feed terrorism by painting the United States as an arrogant nation above the law.'
The ABA was responding to abuse of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad and concerns about the treatment of about 600 terrorism suspects being held in Cuba. "
U.S. to Continue Filling Oil Reserve-Abraham: "The U.S. government will continue to build its strategic oil reserves despite record-high crude oil prices, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said on Monday.
'We clearly will use our oil reserves if there is a severe disruption' in oil supplies, Abraham said in an interview with CNBC television. 'That hasn't happened.' "
Filling the oil reserve with oil at $44 + / barrel is insane. Unless they are expecting a major disruption in supply. And what would cause that?
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Taliban Maintains Grip Rooted in Fear (washingtonpost.com): "Taliban guerrillas usually come out at night, walking from the other side of the mountain, Sifullah said. They have long beards and usually dress in white, with big black or white turbans. Often they carry AK-47 assault rifles on their shoulders and 9mm pistols at their sides. Sometimes they have satellite telephones. They search the stone huts of this village for weapons, making the women wait outside.
And they come with a message: Do not help the Americans and their allies fighting in Afghanistan, and do not register to vote in the Oct. 9 presidential election, or you and your family will be killed. "
Why is this happening in a country that Bush claims to have rescued from the Taliban? Clearly, Afghanistan is still in the thrall of the Taliban and warlords in most areas. This is a terrible failure in the 'war on terror' not a great success. It is certainly not making us safer... it is driving a great resurgence in heroin production, and that will mean more US young people taking heroin and getting addicted to hard drugs. Shame on you Bush.
It's Not Just the Jobs Lost, but the Pay in the New Ones: "the nation still has about 1.2 million fewer jobs than when Mr. Bush took office, and the work force has expanded by more than a million since that time.
Adjusted for inflation, average hourly wages have fallen slightly in the last year. And for many who have lost their jobs as a result of plant closings and layoffs, the impact has been more acute: a recent survey of displaced workers by the Labor Department found that 57 percent of those who had found work were earning less than they did in their old jobs. "
Iraq Seeks Arrest of Ahmad Chalabi: "Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for Ahmad Chalabi, a former governing council member, on counterfeiting charges and another for Salem Chalabi, the head of Iraq's special tribunal, on murder charges, Iraq's chief investigating judge said Sunday.
The warrant was a new sign of the fall of Ahmad Chalabi from the centers of power. Chalabi, a longtime exile opposition leader, had been a favorite of many in the Pentagon but fell out with the Americans in the weeks before the U.S. occupation ended in June.
His nephew, Salem Chalabi, heads the tribunal that is due to try Saddam on war crimes charges. "
Wait for his defenders in Washington to trot our their idiotic spiel defending this crook.
Deepening Anti-U.S. Rage Casts Doubt on Iraq Leaders' Ability to Restore Order: "Iraq's Achilles' heel was revealed: To defend their country, Allawi and the interim government must go to the American military, an institution that's widely reviled by many Iraqis as an occupational force run amok."
Inventor warns over abuse of DNA data: "Police and forensic scientists have embarked on 'a thoroughly dangerous' bid to boost the power of DNA fingerprinting, Sir Alec Jeffreys, the technology's inventor, has warned.
Jeffreys said new developments in the field have alarming implications for civil liberties, and could allow police to compile files containing highly personal data about a person's racial origins, medical history and psychological profile. He told The Observer, in an interview to mark the 20th anniversary of the first DNA fingerprint, that he was now 'very nervous' about developments in the field. "
British investigate 48 Iraqi deaths: "British military police have opened investigations into the deaths of 48 Iraqis - a jump of nearly a third in the previously disclosed official figure, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
The Ministry of Defence also admitted on Friday that armed forces police have investigated, or are still looking into, a total of 94 cases of alleged deaths in custody, illegal shootings, injuries and suspected ill-treatment involving British troops.
The latest figures, which are a significant rise in the last official statistics released by defence ministers in June, are set to climb even higher, officials have admitted.
The IoS has established that the MoD still has no clear figure for the number of Iraqis who have died in incidents involving British troops since the occupation officially began on 1 May last year.
After mounting allegations from lawyers and human rights group that abuses were being ignored, the armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, ordered all military units that have served in Iraq to check their records and produce a full list of every incident where an Iraqi was killed."
News: "Serious new allegations about the ill-treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have been revealed in a series of letters from a British detainee, who has accused US guards of threatening him with sexual assault and physical violence, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
The letters from Martin Mubanga, one of the last remaining British detainees in Guantanamo Bay, were carefully written to escape the military censors, using a unique mixture of London street slang, Cockney, Jamaican patois and rap lyrics.
...In his letters home to his younger brother Anthony - all stamped "cleared by US Forces" - he talks about "radix", slang for the authorities or police, and about the "bull boy" guards "giving it large", a reference, his family says, to threats and the use of violence. Other passages accuse the guards of threatening him with sexual abuse: "expecting man n' man to bend over so as them there can give to man n' man real good.""
England's Hearing Stalls on Request for Witnesses: "The hearing into whether Army Lynndie England should be court-martialed in the Abu Ghraib scandal was abruptly postponed late Saturday afternoon after defense attorneys argued that another prison guard should be allowed to testify that military intelligence officers sponsored and carried out much of the abuse at the Iraqi prison.
England's lawyers also asked to present dozens of other defense witnesses, including Vice President Dick Cheney, members of the Army high command and two officers who ran the military intelligence operation at Abu Ghraib. The defense hopes to show that the torture and humiliation of detainees was condoned under the orders of military interrogators."
Saturday, August 07, 2004
Annexes to Taguba Report Reveal Life at Abu Ghraib: "Classified annexes to Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba's report on abuses at Abu Ghraib paint the most vivid and disturbing picture of daily life at the prison to date. The documents describe prisoners knee-deep in mud, inedible food and poorly provisioned guards."
Why Bush could be a fan of terror: "Who exactly will Osama bin Laden be voting for this November? Is he (whisper it gently) a closet Republican?
Take almost any current terror scenario and put it to public opinion. Suppose that the 9/11 commission is right. Suppose that the obvious risk of another al-Qaeda attack turns to bloody reality sometime over the next four months. Who gains? Why, the sitting President, the Commander in Chief. George W Bush "
Sadly, this is true. Bin Ladin's top asset is Bush, who has given him everything he wanted; a war, an invasion of an arab country, systematic abuses of Islamic people, the degradation of western civil rights and more. If Bin Ladin wants to promote his cause, he will probably attack America in the week before the election, and get Bush re-elected.
I am truely sorry to say this. Because I want Bush out.
US Soldiers Ordered to Leave Iraqi Prisoners to Abusers "and immediately withdraw": "Hendrickson's superior officers told him to return the prisoners to their abusers and immediately withdraw. It was June 29 - Iraq's first official day as a sovereign country since the U.S. invasion. "
Economy, Politics Collide for Bush Team (washingtonpost.com): "Bush asserted during his weekly radio address, 'Our economy is on a rising path.'
Even then, the statement had a certain incongruity, coming a day after the Commerce Department reported that economic expansion in the second quarter had been weaker than expected. The same day, the White House had issued another forecast, showing the year's budget deficit of $445 billion, a record in dollar terms. "
G.O.P. Donors Paying to Play at Convention: "'The price of playing the game has risen dramatically,'' said Fred Zeidman, a Texas fund-raiser who has brought in at least $200,000. 'I don't think anybody is happy about writing the check. But it's a cost of doing business.''"
There it is: donating money to the GOP is "a cost of doing business". It's a business transaction. They are buying something. And when they buy political access or favors, that is corruption--organized by the GOP.
Bush's Military Past: "The disappearance of Bush's federal payroll records mirror the evidence of Texas records going down the memory hole. According to Lt. Col. Bill Burkett Rtd, of the Texas Air National Guard, in 1997 he heard his superior officer, Major General Daniel James, on the speakerphone with George Bush's chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, and communications director, Dan Bartlett, arranging the sifting of Bush's military records.
Burkett also claimed that soon after he overheard Assistant Adjutant General Wayne Marty, in discussing the then Governor Bush's records, caution 'make sure there's nothing in there that'll embarrass the governor.' Burkett said he later saw files and photocopies of pay and performance records--and the name on at least one of them was 'Bush, George W., 1LT.'
Another officer, George Conn, originally verified much of Burkett's story. He has since retracted his memories of the specific conversations and events, a retraction that unkind souls have suggested may be due to his current position as a civilian defense contractor in Germany. Although he strongly qualified his retraction by affirming that 'Lt. Col. Burkett is an honorable man and does not lie,' the White House seized upon the quasi retraction to back up its case. "
Low Numbers, New Problem for Bush: "All week long, President Bush traveled the country, cheerfully telling audiences that ''we've turned the corner'' on the economy. But on Friday, in the face of the government's paltry new numbers on job growth, the president's new slogan suddenly sounded premature at best."
Friday, August 06, 2004
Why Bush has More to Fear than Fear Itself: "But how does a president project anything but weakness in having the world's greatest power tremble over evidence of file-updating by an enemy with a tiny fraction of his military capacity?
It's probably the response that Osama bin Laden and his network of savages would have desired."
What the Terror Alerts Really Tell Us: "Bush's faltering credibility is tearing at trust in US national security. Perversely, his campaign must exploit the fears that his failures have helped engender. "
The Hand-Over That Wasn't: Illegal Orders give the US a Lock on Iraq's Economy: "Officially, the U.S. occupation of Iraq ended on June 28, 2004. But in reality, the United States is still in charge: Not only do 138,000 troops remain to control the streets, but the '100 Orders' of L. Paul Bremer III remain to control the economy.
These little noticed orders enacted by Bremer, the now-departed head of the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority, go to the heart of Bush administration plans in Iraq. They lock in sweeping advantages to American firms, ensuring long-term U.S. economic advantage while guaranteeing few, if any, benefits to the Iraqi people.
... the interim constitution of Iraq, written by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, solidifies the orders by making them virtually impossible to overturn."
With War Losing Support, Rumsfeld Stages a Retreat: "Iraq policy and media analysts attributed Rumsfeld's lower domestic profile to a broader strategy by the Bush administration to shift the focus away from Iraq. So far, they say, it is working. - the administration's strategy was 'working politically - it is protecting the president"
Bush, Family and Top Aides Received $127,600 Gifts Last Year from Saudi Crown Prince: Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bave Bush and family $127,600 in jewelry and other presents last year, including a diamond-and-sapphire jewelry set for first lady Laura Bush that was valued at $95,500.
Iraq Set to Use Martial Law in Terror Fight: "The interim Iraqi government last night looked increasingly prepared to impose martial law on sections of the country as coalition and Iraqi forces fought fierce battles with armed insurgents loyal to the radical Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr. "
What does martial law mean in a country that is under occupation, where US troops are not subject to the law, where people can be imprisoned for months without civil rights, and where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and wounded without any recourse to justice? It is meaningless in itself. But it shows how completely impotent the "interim government" is, highlights the sham of the US handover of "power" and "sovereignty".
McCain Criticizes Ad Attacking Kerry on Vietnam War Record (washingtonpost.com): "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) rushed to John F. Kerry's defense Thursday, condemning a new ad claiming the Democratic presidential nominee lied about his military record and betrayed his Vietnam comrades by protesting the war.
McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, called on President Bush to condemn the ad, which was financed in part by a major Republican Party donor in Texas. "
Suit Accuses Halliburton of Fraud in Accounting: "our former finance employees at the Halliburton Company contend that a high-level and systemic accounting fraud occurred at the company from 1998 to 2001, according to a new filing in a class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors who bought the company's shares.
The filing accuses the company of accounting improprieties that go far beyond those outlined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in its civil suit against Halliburton, which the company settled on Tuesday, paying $7.5 million.
The charges in the complaint and in the S.E.C.'s action cover the two years when Vice President Dick Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive. "
U.S. Employment Growth Surprisingly Weak in July: "Job growth ground nearly to a halt last month, the Labor Department reported this morning, in a clear sign that the economy has weakened in recent months.
Employers added just 32,000 jobs in July, a small fraction of what forecasters had expected and the smallest gain this year. The government also announced that job growth in May and June was less than initially estimated.
... Stocks fell broadly after the release of the jobs report, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index down almost 1 percent at 10 a.m. in New York. The dollar dropped against the euro, and interest rates declined too, although economists continue to expect the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark short-term rate next week."
Thursday, August 05, 2004
What Cheney Should Have Known: "The second-most important political executive in our country claims to be ignorant of one of the key business decisions his company made during his tenure as CEO. It may well be that an underling was willing to make such an important call without telling Cheney, but make no mistake: This type of scenario would be very rare, even in pre-Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate America. "
Law Experts Condemn U.S. Memos On Torture (washingtonpost.com): "Nearly 130 lawyers, retired judges and law school professors and a former director of the FBI yesterday condemned a series of U.S. government legal opinions holding that the torture of terrorism suspects might be legally defensible.
The lawyers signed a statement asking the Bush administration and Congress to investigate why the memos were prepared by administration lawyers, and whether there is a connection between the opinions and detainee abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and other detainee facilities. "
Yahoo! News - New 'Bushism' Born at Bill Signing: "President Bush... declaring that his administration will 'never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people.' "
This is really the truth... he may not intend to harm our country and our people, but his policies and his actions do both. Let's give him the credit that is his due... his mis-statements contain more truth than his scripted baloney.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
$1.9 Billion of Iraq's Money Goes to U.S. Contractors (washingtonpost.com): "Halliburton Co. and other U.S. contractors are being paid at least $1.9 billion from Iraqi funds under an arrangement set by the U.S.-led occupation authority, according to a review of documents and interviews with government agencies, companies and auditors.
Most of the money is for two controversial deals that originally had been financed with money approved by the U.S. Congress, but later shifted to Iraqi funds that were governed by fewer restrictions and less rigorous oversight. "
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Cynical justice: "It is nearly two years since Lord Justice Steyn asked: 'Ought our government to make plain publicly and unambiguously our condemnation of the utter lawlessness at Guant�namo Bay?' He spoke for all decent people. "
Questioned at gunpoint, shackled, forced to pose naked. British detainees tell their stories of Guant�namo Bay: "Britain and the US last night faced fresh allegations of abuses after a British terror suspect said an SAS soldier had interrogated him for three hours while an American colleague pointed a gun at him and threatened to shoot him.
The allegation is contained in a new dossier detailing repeated beatings and humiliation suffered by three Britons who were captured in Afghanistan, then held in Guantánamo Bay for two years, before being released in March without charge."
Bush administration moves forward with plans to disrupt our democratic process: "The US government is considering whether this year's presidential and congressional elections could legally be delayed in the event of a terrorist attack that threatened to disrupt the ballot.
The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Justice Department's office of legal counsel to report back on the legal requirements for postponing the November elections, according to a homeland security official.
The request came last week as senior US officials stepped up their warnings that al-Qaeda was planning attacks. Tom Ridge, homeland security secretary, said: 'Credible reporting now indicates that al-Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large- scale attack in the US in an effort to disrupt our democratic process.'"
Army interrogators 'did not order abuse': "President George W.Bush said military investigations into the abuses demonstrate the strength of democracy by showing nobody is above the law."
As usual, the truth is the complete opposite of Bush's statement. The investigations reveal that almost everyone is above the law. Only the lowest levels are being prosecuted, and the punishment recieved so far is derisory compared to the crimes committed. For example, soldiers who murdered civilians get one year in prison. Bush himself needs to take responsibility for these atrocities--he created the context in which they happened.
Greenhouse Gases, Not Solar Activity, Cause of Global Warming: "Professor Sami Solanki, solar physicist and director at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, is not convinced that the increased activity of the Sun is responsible for global warming.
He says that based on his team's research, the Sun can be responsible for, at most, only a small part of the warming over the last 20 to 30 years. "
Reading the Media's Script: "check out media watch sites like campaigndesk.org, mediamatters.org and dailyhowler.com. It's good to see ourselves as others see us. I've been finding The Daily Howler's concept of a media 'script,' a story line that shapes coverage, often in the teeth of the evidence, particularly helpful in understanding cable news.
For example, last summer, when growth briefly broke into a gallop, cable news decided that the economy was booming. The gallop soon slowed to a trot, and then to a walk. But judging from the mail I recently got after writing about the slowing economy, the script never changed; many readers angrily insisted that my numbers disagreed with everything they had seen on TV.
... CNN used to be different, but Campaign Desk, which is run by The Columbia Journalism Review, concluded after reviewing convention coverage that CNN 'has stooped to slavish imitation of Fox's most dubious ploys and policies.' Seconds after John Kerry's speech, CNN gave Ed Gillespie, the Republican Party's chairman, the opportunity to bash the candidate. Will Terry McAuliffe be given the same opportunity right after President Bush speaks?
Commentators worked hard to spin scenes that didn't fit the script. Some simply saw what they wanted to see. On Fox, Michael Barone asserted that conventioneers cheered when Mr. Kerry criticized President Bush but were silent when he called for military strength. Check out the video clips at Media Matters; there was tumultuous cheering when Mr. Kerry talked about a strong America.
Another technique, pervasive on both Fox and CNN, was to echo Republican claims of an 'extreme makeover' - the assertion that what viewers were seeing wasn't the true face of the party. (Apparently all those admirals, generals and decorated veterans were ringers.)"
Halliburton Settles SEC Charge from Cheney Years: "Halliburton Co. will pay $7.5 million to settle charges that it failed to disclose a 1998 accounting change at a time when Vice President Dick Cheney headed the company, authorities said on Tuesday.
... By failing to disclose the change, Halliburton issued misleading profit statements in 1998 and 1999, the SEC said.
Cheney served as CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. He "provided sworn testimony and cooperated willingly and fully in the investigation," the SEC said in a statement "
Monday, August 02, 2004
Republicans Defecting to Kerry's Camp: "Ohio resident Bob Stewart says of President Bush: 'He's been a world-class polarizer. I don't know if I can stomach four more years with him as president. He misled us into the war in Iraq and has mismanaged everything since.'
A raging Democrat? No, Stewart is a Republican, one of an unknown number of such voters who plan to back John Kerry, out of despair over the war in Iraq and disappointment over budget deficits and social policies.
... Stewart, 44, an insurance agent from Anderson Township near Cincinnati, voted for Bush in 2000 and is a registered Republican.
... Bush is "supposed to be a conservative and yet he's run up the biggest federal deficit in history. One thing that really turned me (away from Bush) as a lifelong Catholic ... was to see Bush go to the Vatican and try to get the pope to come down hard on Kerry for his stand on abortion. That is absolutely appalling." "
Bush's Republicans Prepare for Their 'Dirty War' on Kerry: "President George Bush's senior strategists have vowed to use the month of August to mount derisive and personal attacks on the Democratic candidate John Kerry in what is becoming an increasingly bitter election campaign.
... In another sign of the aggressive stance being taken by Republicans, Democrats who signed up to hear Vice-President Dick Cheney speaking at a rally in New Mexico on Saturday were refused tickets unless they signed a pledge to endorse President Bush."
Can't Bush and Blair See Iraq Is About to Explode?: "just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America�s puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told. Hundreds of attacks are made against US troops every month. But unless an American dies, we are not told. This month�s death toll of Iraqis in Baghdad alone has now reached 700 � the worst month since the invasion ended. But we are not told. "
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Another F.B.I. Employee Blows Whistle on Agency: "in early 2002, when Mr. German got word that a group of Americans might be plotting support for an overseas Islamic terrorist group, he proposed to his bosses what he thought was an obvious plan: go undercover and infiltrate the group.
But Mr. German says F.B.I. officials sat on his request, botched the investigation, falsified documents to discredit their own sources, then froze him out and made him a 'pariah.' He left the bureau in mid-June after 16 years and is now going public for the first time - the latest in a string of F.B.I. whistle-blowers who claim they were retaliated against after voicing concerns about how management problems had impeded terrorism investigations since the Sept. 11 attacks.
'What's so frustrating for me,' Mr. German said in an interview, a copy of the Sept. 11 commission report at his side, 'is that what I hear the F.B.I. saying every day on TV when I get home, about how it's remaking itself to fight terrorism, is not the reality of what I saw every day in the field.'"
Kill the scapegoat: "Instead of feeling purified by the removal of Saddam, many people in Europe and the US feel polluted by the war and its aftermath. It has not increased our security, but made us more vulnerable to terrorist attack. But instead of learning from the mistakes of the past, it seems that Iran is about to become the new scapegoat in the war against terror. "
The real reasons Bush went to war: "WMD was the rationale for invading Iraq. But what was really driving the US were fears over oil and the future of the dollar "
