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Third Quarter of 2005 July 2005 ... August 2005 ... September 2005
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7/23/05 So, read what the man, Bush, actually says when
interviewed on Iraq, environment, Africa and so on,
a
laundry list of issues, right here
(070405a) It seems that each year we've been in Afghanistan the
casualty rate has gone up. This year already surpasses the
total of US killed in action for all of last year. We may
have to be there for years longer. That
is the optimistic view? (070505c) Whither
Pakistan? Pakistan has been mentioned by myself as a country to
be concerned about The reasons are it is a nuclear power,
headed by a man most all in the country do not support,
there are sections of the country which are not under his
control and where the Taliban is welcome.
It is a country of young people, divided, and with education
systems that, in part, promote racial views, today's
Pakistan (072305a) It seems the rush for resources puts Japan and China
on a courses that will either bring them together or bring
them into conflict,
oil is the resource and the timeline is now.
(070405c) How to become the "darling" of the US neo cons? Just
"do the right things" meaning
become a dissident in a country those neo cons would like to
change the government in. (072305b) A disappointing portrait of the point man in team
Bush's effort to undo Iran and make it too into a bastion of
democracy. Portrayed
here as a liar, a bigot, one who "cut his teeth as a swift
boat veteran" and something of an incompetent makes him the
intelligence community's perfect candidate.
(070505f) Iran's new man. Who is he? What is his past, as they
say cabinet's are being rattled, everyone
wants to know (070105b) The winner in the Iraq war? Well it is Iran. Lots of
deals going down now that Iran sees the
deep ties and friendship that connect the two governments,
all thanks to the US invasion. (072305e) Despite horrendous cause and the fomenting of
radicals, despite evidence that sectarian violence may have
a foothold in the hearts and minds of some the
Iraqi preferrence for pluralism still holds
(070505e) Sectarian violence getting underway, questions about
the police role in such things, vengeance against the Sunnis
being an issue, the
occluding cloud of chaos allows much it seems. Do we have
progress? (070595b) Oil, Kikurk, Kurds, reversing the arabizaton done
under Saddam the issue is raised again, divisive
as it is. (070505) Too bad this article is so short, it proposes that the
occupation's strategy has stoked sectarianism in a nation
that has little or no history of such; it proposes that a
withdrawal would speed up the process of democratization,
short circuit the violence and that a large and influential
group of government and religious figures have called for
that exactly. Upshot?
No dice, take that to the bank (070505a) Another small step in the development of the Iraqi
resistance, two
of the more visible groups appoint a
spokesperson. (070405b) Microwave "ray guns" for riot control in Iraq?
It
seems that we're more than interested.(072305d)
There have been reports of similar weaponry already in use,
this article makes no mention of those. The nature of "religious schools" in England is
different from that in the US. But the ultimate cause for
concern applies to the US, and probably even more so.
Separation of church and state is one thing, perhaps it is
time to separate education and religion. Not like to happen,
I know, but the article makes the point that faith
based radicalism is one of the results of teaching that
there is "one way, one truth and one life". It is a world
wide issue, really. (072305c) It doesn't take long for this Supreme court decision
to have immediate impact in Oakland,
California: read it and weep: (070205a) If those
who have set their sights on the US as their enemy can read,
and by all accounts they can, then they would look at the
following two articles and probably get an idea, anyone
would. part
one (070405d) part
two (070405e) part
three (070405f) And then this: 50
Terrorist groups believed to be in Canada.
(070405g) Readying the ground for regime change in the
Philippines? Could be,
the hints are being given, clues clatter and so on...
(070505g) What a difference some fear makes, or a half year
makes. A worst case scenario has oil topping 100 dollars a
barrel by this year's end. Translating that to pump prices
has me thinking that we'd be looking at prices over 4
dollars a gallon. The
G8 summit apparently does not have this issue at the top of
its agenda. (070505d)
England also suffers for lack of media opposition to
the Iraq "misadventure" if most of the people, most of the
time opposed the war, why
isn't there a media drumbeat to reflect that? And why isn't
their representative government representing them? Do they
have what we have? Maybe so. (072805e) If I can put it together anyone can: If the military
had "serious misgivings" about the interrogation techniques
allowed in Guantanamo, and there is evidence that they did
doesn't that mean that "higher ups" were involved, and not
only for Guantanamo, but by extension Abu Ghraib?
Yet,
no hot dogging TV news team is snuffling up the pant legs of
this one, hey? (072805b) If you remember those "infamous" 16 words in a Bush
state of the union speech, it seems the CIA was made to take
the blame for their inclusion, despite
their having been on record as disagreeing with them. Some
of this is in the news. (072705b) As Bob Dylan put it in one song "Only a pawn in the
game" the color coded democratic "revolutions" ran into
Uzbekistan's strongman Islam Karimov.
Now the repercussions of the slaughter of some 700
protesters has larger powers jockeying for
influence. (072605c) Pakistan, as I've written before, is the center of the
storm. It is nuclear, it has an unpopular absolutist ruler,
large numbers of radicalized groups, porous borders and is
set right in the midst of the US drive to democratize Asia,
troublesome Iran, Afghanistan, and it has it's own internal
problems. Could
more US and Brit pressure make things worse? You
decide (072405d) As this article makes clear
Pakistan's support of the Taliban and others, as well as his
"fence sitting", even as early as 9/19/01 - days after 9/11,
makes one
wonder what is going on in his mind, his country, with his
military and what the future holds.
(072405e) How we spend our money in Iraq? Accounting is absent
in some instances, fraud
is evident as millions go missing
(072905c) If we don't have enough troops now, and we plan to
withdraw 20% of them sometime next year, and there is no
sign of the insurgents "giving up" and the Iraqi government
and armed forces are infiltrated, what does that mean?
I
guess you can figure that one out. But then such
considerations won't be our affair, will they?
(072805d) Remember Fallujah? It's hardly in the news these days,
this is a quick peek into a city where sporadic
fighting continues, civilian casualties mount, and, as one
marine put it, "No one wants to talk about
Fallujah" (072805c) Is the Iraq war unwinnable? That is the topic being
broached in this article. The writer spends a great deal of
time in Baghdad, and reports that despite what Tony Blair
says, Iraq has radicalized many Muslims and it
is the reason that many join the ranks of suicide bombers,
by the hundreds if not thousands.
(072405a) Related to Iraq's mess are the ambitions of the Kurds.
Here is a primer on what they might dream of. Go the links
for the maps and see for yourself. For some background, here
is a Google image search for maps
of Kurdistan.(072605a) Some of the most
ambitious (072605b) mark out a region reaching to
the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and the Gulf.
Edinburgh University has an interesting linguistic
map (072605c) which matches reasonably well with
the most detailed map on kurdistania.com.(072605d)
There are excellent summary maps on Globalsecurity.org
showing past
claims and autonomous regions (072605e) and a
rough guide to the Kurdish
percentage of the population (072605f) in
different areas on Globalsecurity.org How we do business: the energy bill passed has a lot
to do with keeping oil in business as well as details, one
of which threatens to reorganize the electrical utilities
nationwide, do
we have long to wait? (073005a) and
part two of the article (073005b) The changing "face" of the US army doesn't yet show up
in the commercials showing in theaters or on
TV,
but the numbers are significant, foreign born immigrants are
signing up for a "quick path" to US citizenship.
(072905d) How to give away hundreds of millions of dollars to
companies that your friends or supporters own? Simple,
write
the provision into a bill AFTER it has been reviewed and
approved by your peers, it's called the "Tom Delay
move." (072905b) The Bushies are famous for putting the fox in charge
of the hen house, and here is the latest example the
EPA
delays an "embarrassing" report about US auto fuel
efficiency for purely political reasons. Hint: our cars,
overall, are less efficient than in the 80's
(072805a) Judge John Roberts, who is he and what does he stand
for? Well he does not stand for Roe V Wade, supports the
president, in
fact he met with Mr. Bush the day before he made a decision
regarding the military tribunals of detainees at Guantanamo
(072705a) In the super power chess game that central Asia has
become the US just lost a piece, Uzbekistan, totalitarian
state which recently "crushed with extreme prejudice" what
might have been another "color coded" democratic revolution
has, with support of China and or Russia, told us to "get
out." Well
, see what it really means I guess, later,
(073005c) So, it's OK to export weapons grade uranium? Bush and
his supporters think so because they
support such a provision in the new energy bill.
(072905a) Ocean fish in decline? It seems like it from this
study. I
don't think the scientists will get their wish, however,
that of some "off limits" regions in the ocean, places where
fish populations would be allowed to recover, oh
well. (072805g) Valerie Plame, the story goes on. Here is an overview
with links and everything. It
explains how the Rove defense is full of rot, that there is
more to this than meets the eye and that it is a serious
threat to the administration. (072805f)
And
here is the simplified time line for the Plame case it is
really beautiful and implicates higher ups of
course (072805g) How the National Endowment for Democracy, NED, has
worked to topple regimes in "color coded" revolutions in
central Asia now targets more "sensitive" areas starting
with Nepal and, dast we say it, Tibet. China,
understandably is "interested" (072405c) Dubai, a small nation which is looking to a future all
its own. Ruled absolutely it has
no qualms about what it wants and how it goes about getting
all of that and more. (072405b) There is a new story headlining the fact that popular
support of terrorism in Muslim countries is waning. The
countries surveyed: Turkey, Lebanon, Pakistan, Indonesia and
Jordan. Jordan's figures show increased support,while the
others do not. However
not in the survey, notably, are Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran.
They are all absent, and reasonably so, but the headline may
therefore be misleading. (072505i)
07-30-05
08/06/05 Two dovetailing stories: Mauritania
a bit of background to the US involvement with another
dictator in a poor oil rich nation (080305d)
Who
is overthrown (080305e) by the military. Does it look like two of our opponents in the middle
east are getting all comfy cozy? Yes it does. This follows
on the heels of Iraq and Iran making all nicy nice. All
three of them have no love for the US. One
can't help but wonder what this portends for the near and
mid term future. (080705a) Two soldiers kill themselves in Texas. We
are taking casualties over here for what is happening over
there? (080505b) Some say "support" is needed,
certainly
the soldier who killed himself and his wife could have used
the help. (080505c) Don't forget: your tax dollars are hard at work in
Iraq, even
if we don't know just the what, where, when, why , how and
who, all the time. (080305b) Two dovetailing stories: Nation
Building in Iraq is a Disaster, (080205e) and
Iran'
role in stability in Iraq as important (080205d)
And
a specific example of how helpful Iran is being to Iraq,
say, didn't they fight a war? (080305a) Another report on a previous rumor/story: that the US
plans to draw down the number of troops in Iraq as early as
next year. What happens if the insurgency reads this public
report, what will happen as we reduce our presence if they
don't? The
US military's concern is that another rotation of troops
into Iraq will impair the viability of the "all volunteer
force." (080105g) Iraq, continues on, simply because it exists and has
not been destroyed, yet. The Kurds have their aspirations
and have made no bones about them. Virtually 100% of the
Kurds want independence, they make continual efforts in
Kikurk and the region around it and hold the would be
constitution of Iraq hostage in the light of their dreams
and desires. One wonders what will be happening a few months
or a year from now. What
will the map of Iraq look like? (080105f) "all options are on the table" and laughter ensues.
Bush the comic gets the yuk yuks when talking about "dealing
with Iran" Don't
worry logic doesn't matter as this article makes perfectly
clear. (080405c) And
here is the overview of the situation, now, and
"possibilities" (080405d) Could this be good news? Iran saying it is going ahead
with the nuclear programs we and some others want to
dissuade them fro pursuing? I
guess once a member of the axis of evil always a member,
eh? (073105a) Supreme court and Catholicism, or better both at the
same time and place. Is
is a source of undue influence by a foreign
power? (080205c) When
people abroad read this article will it make them more or
less likely to feel that the US is the "leader" in the free
world where justice and fairness are valued?
(080205a)
Or how about extraordinary rendition?
(080205b) With coalition casualties in Iraq topping 2,000, 90%
of which are US, we may well have passed the ironic turning
point. That is to say the number of "our people" killed in
the "global war on terror" may now exceed the number of
those who died on 9/11. Of course the Iraqi's have lost a
number of "9/11's" worth of people since we invaded them.
Ironic
since they and their erstwhile dictation had nothing to do
with that, or WMD's, or terrorism in general, or threats to
their neighbors... and so forth.
(080405b) Just read the lead paragraph: "Even as an
authoritative report from an arm of the US government warned
of a potential nuclear war in South Asia triggered by an
"arms race" between India and Pakistan, the George W Bush
administration is working hard to complete arms sales and
transfers of astronomical proportions to the two nations."
Says
it all does it not? When well we ever learn?
(080305c) When we "lost" a base in Uzbekistan was it
"a
valuable asset, vital to our success in the war on terror"
(080105d) or was it "no
big deal" (080105e) I won't go into this much but some word from London
has it that the official story of the deadly first set of
bombings had official stories that did not add up,
but
then who pays attention to dissenting views, or
eyewitnesses? (080105a) And
this addendum to that, (080105b) This
is sort of reminiscent of the 9/11 "story of the twin
towers. (080105c) A bit of history: how the Brits helped Israel get the
bomb, without
knowing it, it seems, how quaint. (080405a)
A
slight amendment to that story (080505a)
Election 2004, still in the news, Republicans still
fighting charges to impact voting in New Hampshire, they got
to "gung ho" there. A few go down in flames but the RNC
still
backs one of theirs to the tune of 3/4 million peed, I mean
paid, out in legal fees to hold onto their smoldering
weenie. (081305a) The US and India have an interesting relationship,
we
say jump and they say "how high" or so it seems
(081105c) How to succeed as president without really working?
Bush leads the pack with about 300 days of vacation time,
but manages the press, how? Well
here's how. Except there is a butterfly on his salad days,
the butterfly named Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville
Ca. (081005d) Syria
says we'll get rid of our WMD if Israel gets rid of its. Now
isn't that just about fair? (081305b) One expert, from our military says, "The wheels are
coming off this thing." Meaning
we might not be able to sustain the troop level we have been
or want to. (081205c) It's Friday, the Iraqi constitution is supposed to be
finished by Monday, and there are several versions, Kurd,
Sunni, Shia, American.... or that's what it seems like to
some observers. Gee,
I wonder what will happen? Will they finish? I can't
wait. (081205b) What's a few hundred million slipped around among
friends? I mean isn't there enough to go around? Apparently
there is. Like my mom used to say, "spend it while you have
it, and plan a good getaway. The
Iraqi's got the first part down, let's see if they get the
second. (081205a) There are arguments against cutting and running - the
great escape from Iraq. This article answers the most common
ones being proffered to date. It is a good read,
unfortunately is makes sense. And this is the reason no one
will listen to it, not to mention the corporatized press,
the massive spin machine of the "Christian/conservative
right and the neo con's own fat little Napoleon, Rove. Oh
well, it is a good read. (081105b) Kurds want a federal system, now there are some
indications that the Shia's do as well. This
would leave the Sunni's hung, almost literally, out to dry,
and this happening a few days before the constitution is
supposed to be "finished"? Can anyone spell
c-o-n-f-u-s-i-o-n? (081105a) So the mayor of Baghdad, appointed by the "central
government" is
removed by an armed "legitimate" gang, (081005e)
Here
are some details. (081005f) Playing a number game. How many insurgents are there,
how many do we kill, how many are left. The
"official data" seem to be contradictory causing one to
wonder about their validity. Are we lying to
ourselves? (081005b) Iran is possibly the source of new IED's used in Iraq,
but since the new Iraqi government is sympathetic to/with
Iran it's becomes an issue of debate. Upshot,
my guess is that in chaos, anything is possible.
(080805f) Interesting story: Fallujah, reading the article,
stressing progress one almost "reads over" the
artillery firing in the background in retaliation for a
mortar attack, we are told insurgents want to get back
inside. (080805e) Drawing down our troop levels some 30,000 by next
spring? Will that mean we're that much closer to achieving
our objective? What was the objective again? If Bush does
simply "go for it" I know 30,000 persons who will be
particularly happy. It
will make the bi-elections that much more easily handled,
and well the Iraqi's they'll figure in somewhere, no doubt.
but who cares? (080705b) How did the US invasion of Iraq change the region?
Well here is an analysis with some juicy tidbits and
frightening possibilities. The upshot is that we improved
Iran's internal cohesion, ensured a connection between Iran
and Iraq, decreased our influence in the region and harmed
our own interests. Sounds
good? Read it here (081005j) The Iranians have an out for any argument the US uses
to pressure it about its nukes.
The out is Israel, to say the least, it has been secretive,
in fact, officially, it has no nuke program is not a
signatory to the NPT and so forth, all this with US and Brit
approval. Then there is Pakistan, um can anyone there even
spell n-o--n p-r-o-l-i-f-e-r-a-t-i-o-n?
(081005i) Well, shall we have an interesting time? Iran seems to
be restarting some of its "forbidden" activities.
We,
here, just have to watch and look on. (080805a)
and
the second page (080805b) and
page three (080805c) Hold on to your stomachs, or your colin's whatever,
a
very short and interesting peek into congressional workings,
if you call this working....(081205h) We are and have been told that US citizens are not
"spied" upon by our government, it turns out that remarks by
Mr. Bolton, our new UN rep have put that whole idea into
question, but
then what's 10,0000 incidents anyway?
(081005g) While
the US military prepares scenarios, (080805i)
boning up on a bit of law "Posse
Comitatus" might be relevant just about now.
(080805d) A brewing scandal involving high powered republicans,
a mysterious or shady lobbyist, gambling, a cruise line,
murder, millions and more. Story
one gives the facts as they are known now.
(081205d) Story
two makes unsavory connections between the lobbyist, those
events and a Mr. Atta and company of 9/11 fame, an involved
but interesting read. (081205e) This scandal involves, in part an intelligence effort
which identified Mr. Atta as a terrorist associated with Al
Qaida and recommended his arrest. That
wonderful recommendation was not, as we know,
followed. (081205f) The
program was called Able Danger, how apt, no?
(081205g) The 9/11 commission report, according to this article,
disappoints. I do not disagree with him. If you want to be
disappointed and a bit depressed read the article and take a
few aspirins, or
if you're of "the generation" then "get high with a little
help from your friends." (080805h) Global warming, hmmm, it takes a great leap forward in
this report, we may have a "doubling" of greenhouse gasses
very soon. But
this is only the tip of the global warming
"iceberg." (081005k) One woman is waiting to talk to Mr. Bush.
Will
he or won't he. If she gets to much attention, what then?
(081005a)
A great page here, a bit of humor, well, sort of. Bush
flip flops on Iraq, there is a whole collection of them.
And
the main site has sets of flip flops for "every issue" how
convenient. (081905b) This recent update: the mess worsens as the debate
over "federalism" continues to ramp up and making
the task of creating an acceptable document all the
harder. (081905a) Serious "planning gaps" were noted and reported before
we invaded Iraq. The
report if heard was, apparently, ignored.
(081805d) "Americans should not imagine" that Iraq will not be
"dependent on significant levels of U.S. military support
for years to come,"
says military historian Frederick Kagan
(081705a) Someone tell the Mr. Bush that it's "Time
to Get Out of Iraq" this from Armstrong Williams
(081504e) Or "Someone
Tell The President the War is Over, New York
Times (081504c) Maybe
he doesn't know that "Doubt on War grows in US, Chicago
Tribune (081504d) This is a three page story wh ich gives a peek into
the "political scene" of Baghdad and introduces you to a
man, a courageous soul actually, who exemplifies the miracle
of the human spirit and who is being hunted by just about
every major group he knows because he's involved with the
writing of the constitution.(part
one) (081405j) (part
two) (081404k) (part
three) (081404l) How refreshing this seems, it is said that the US is
becoming more "realistic" about the "goals for Iraq." It is
said that the original goals were "never realistic" simply
marvelous is it not? And after only 28 months plus the few
used for planning, and despite being told of their folly
numerous times, by experts. Maybe congratulations are in
order, eh? See the three part missive from the WP:
(part
one ) (081405g) (part
two) (081405h) (part
three) (081405i) Everyone, it seems, is waiting for whatever the hell
is produced by what could be called a "constitutional
convention" Word
does not seem to be optimistic, predictable problems
permeate and, well, it is the 11th hour at this
writing. (081405f) There have been reports of
Sunni' the
Sunni's give voice to a desire for a federal
system. (081405a) Meanwhile,
at the border, weapons are intercepted from Iran, the Brits
say, and this is "not cricket" (081405b) A new front in the war on terror? This
nation has been forced to enter the fray willing or
no. (081805b) What are the risks for attacking Iran's nuclear
facilities? There seem to be several. I've
heard these before so the reasoning should be part of Bush's
calculus if he does ever "go for it."
(081805e) Iran's
new leader, takes advantage of circumstances beyond his
control, becoming more popular, and powerful in the
bargain. (081404m) He does not seem to fear
threats at this point. At this point what can we do to bring
him to heel? Iran
accuses the US and Britain of fomenting unrest. Sounds like
we've a problem goin' on. (081405e) Some
proof of Iranian claims that the "weapons grade" uranium
found some time ago, in trace amounts, was from foreign
sources. (081405d) That said, with Bush in
control the US can ignore any fact it wants to and
substitute whatever. Iran
getting accused of supporting the Iraqi insurgents with a
more powerful armor piercing bomb.
(081405c) Continuing AIPAC scandal is still simmering along,
now
with some "higher ups" being charged.
(081805c) Russia and China engage in their first joint military
training exercise, practicing the invasion of a "restive"
nation; the article cites "Peace Mission 2005," is the
latest indication of warming post-Cold War ties amid
shared
suspicions of U.S. dominance in world affairs.
(081805a) Pardon the paraphrase: "Oh how can you quote opposite
things at once when he might not mean both at all?" The
Koran in the toilet did not and then did cause a surge in
violence in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers says yes, exactly.
Though
it took a freedom of information suit to see his exact
words. (081604a) Re: prior stories about Mr. Delay and a Mr. Abramoff,
a noted lobbyist and possible link to all sorts of
underhanded shenanigans, including connections to the
infamous Mr. Attsa. It seems Mr. Delay, House Majority
Leader, says he severed
his association with Jack Abramoff as of Feb. 6,
2001 (081504b) well public sources indicate other
wise. So
the guy is lying? It would seem.
(081504a) "When will they ever learn, when will they eee veeerrr
learn?" Global warming, given short shrift by neocon
knownothings has a couple of new backers: Senators John
McCain, a Republican, and Hillary Clinton a Democrat.
Odds
are they'll be ignored Bush be dah man yew mus' rec uh lek
dat, yassuh.(081805f)
Last minute hold up of the constitutional process,
another extension of time, the
next story elaborates but this one is dated
later. (082505d) Have I said this before: it is a mess? Have I? O.K.,
well the latest scene has Al Sadr defiantly playing his Shia
hand with the Sunnis' both don't want a federal state, while
the Kurds and other Shia's do. it
WAS hoped that the constitutional process would mend fences
and make peace, but it may not prove to be that
way. (082505b) A few months back I posted a link which talked about
"the return of the body count" well
here is all you might want to read about that event, what it
means, and how it is used. (082405e) Going beyond the "wire" is worse than going down to
it. The Iraqi constitution is just another example, in a
long, long string of such, demonstrating Mr. Bungle Brains
Bush's poor planning. I want them to agree, make peace, set
up shop, have us go home and call it a day. Though
I fear it will be contentious, divisive and that we will
have continued violence. (082405a) The army plans another 4 years? Well,
well, well (082205c) And we can't get real
agreement on the constitution, will they take more than the
one week extension? Kurds
feel betrayed by the US backing of a principle in which no
law could be passed that does not meet a "religious
test" (082305a) Election workers killed, but seriously folks things
are "getting small," as they used to say, in Iraq
with
division in the Sunni's as to whether or not to support the
constitution and other fractions lines
appearing.(082103a) and
part two (082105e) Israel's Sharon makes the prediction of Palestinians
come true, that being that the abandoning
of Gaza will precede continued building efforts in the West
Bank areas. and today that is what is in the news, as the
last Gaza settlement is cleared out.
(082305a1) A bit out of date, but still a very brief and
comprehensive overview of the
essential problems of the Bush Administration.
(082605a) Bush has number problems, his approval rating sinks to
36%. Zogby
has an article (082405d) The
American Research group does too (082405d1)
And
a place where you can make your voice heard about
impeachment, an idea whose time has come
(082405d3) What this means, folks, is hold on to your hat,
Bush does not want to go, and I suspect that there are plans
afoot to "distract us" once again, but good this time. I
mean he wants the draft back, to fight another couple of
wars, and then some. Go figure, or pray. From May of 2004 to July 2005 we have here a
collection of stories about Abu Ghraib, fascinating
material, interesting reading, the
kind of information that our opponents make use of, I would
guess (082305d) I guess anyone can make foreign policy these days.
Isn't threatening the life of a foreign head of state
something of a major kind of "no no"? We
wonder what Pat Robertson is up to. (082305b)
Well, Patty
boy was recorded using the word "assassinate" but he says he
meant "take out" or that he said "take out" which he did,
after he said "assassinate" twice. (082405b)
Even
Rummy boy says it was "Certainly, it's against the
law" (082405c) so does that mean a prosecution is
in the making? I know, I know, but I had to ask.... Pakistan Well, back in the news are we? And what is this we
hear? Pakistani scientist, Kahn, father of their bomb
provided North Korea with centrifuges. Doesn't this sound
like proliferation? And
to one of those "axis of evil" countries too. I think Bush
should wag his finger at them and tell them they are bad,
bad bad bad! And not to do that again, ever, you hear
me? (082505c) John Bolton, is off the hook, in da house, he be
flyin' on sumptin' dat boy will cumatcha wid bowf hans, see
what he dun did to da UN jus' now. Whadafukup
he be! (082705a) Oceans are at the "tipping point? This
article has the scoop on that skinny, or
whatever. (082505f) The see sawing continues: Iran or North Korea, back
and forth, right
now Iran is the "concern" while North Korea is seen as
tractable. Whatever (082505) Health, nothing more pure than a mother's breast milk,
well
that is if you like PCB's and PBDE's
(082505a) Global warming, and the famed and legendary "northwest
passage" is now a reality. Canada is taking note that
shipping from the northern Atlantic, across the arctic, and
into the north Pacific is possible, even if only seasonally
at this time. Disputes
come to the surface between various nations
(082305c) As "Strider" asked Frodo, "are you afraid?" Well, I'm
not saying you should be but we
to have to talk to the Russians about their biological labs
part one (082105b) and
two (082103c)
and three (082105d) One of the "reddest states" has its biggest city's
mayor calling for a protest against Bush's upcoming visit.
Can you believe it? Salt
Lake City, read the news and let the quandaries
flow (082205a) Just a quick look back:
the
election 2001 a bit of perspective (082203b)
and
the evidence for it however this is 50MB document
and I have not archived it. So good luck with that, it is an
interesting read.
08/13/05
08/20/05
08/27/05
09/0305 Egypt's election process gets underway, there is a
promise of no more beatings and the police have been told to
restrain themselves, oh,
by the way, the incumbent is heavily favored to
win (082905b) A study of the "five kinds of violence" shows them all
to be present in Iraq and all factoring into the chaos.
Sorry
to hear that. (090305g) We again assault Tall Afar, "allied" forces "cleaned
it out a year ago, but since then it has been ruled by the
resistance, so we go in again. This pattern must be
frustrating and is part and parcel to the lack of planning,
the disappointing participation of other nations, the slow
training of Iraqi forces, and our low troop levels.
In
other words we are paying for the "Bush/Rumsfeld"
plan. (090305c) And its a good thing that we're in Iraq, otherwise all
that oil wealth would fall into the wrong hands. Yup, you
guessed it, that is the latest reason for staying in Iraq,
we are fighting for the oil. So
nice that he's finally mentioned it.
(090105b) What's bad news for if you don't get a laugh every now
and then. Sadr on the inside or outside posits a good
question, maybe he's trying to be the center and play it
against the edges? Essentially
he'll be making hay while the moon shines too, and he won't
need "mutant blue" to do it. Anyway.
(082905k) When language changes so does reality. US marines in
this article are said to call the Iraqi fighters "mujahadin"
and to describe the situation as a stalemate, referring to
their gains and losses. You
tell me that that adds up to. (082905i) Chaos? What else is new
the constitution seems to bring out the worst in some people
(082904h) Haliburton gets some heat about, what a surprise,
corruption in Iraq, a whistle blower blows the whistle
and
she's outta there faster than spit in a hurricane,
nice.(082905g) Now forgive me for asking, but didn't we go into
Fallujah, subdue it in harsh fighting, surround it with
barriers, force everyone to be checked as they either go in
or out and wasn't it not too long ago that it was declared
the safest city in Iraq? All too true, yet we read this
today: "As we all know, we have mujahedeen operating in
small squads throughout the city,'' Marine
Sgt. Manuel Franquez said before leading a patrol in
Al-Fallujah last week. So what gives?
(082905f) Same o, same o. Bush repeats what he's said about the
Iraqi resistance, the constitution creates problems,
exacerbating differences and threatening the
disenfranchised, however,
for the time, this article says, we do simply move on,
momentum has everything in its cold unfeeling
grip. (082905d) Women get a short shrift in Iraq's constitution, but
what they hey, the US didn't give them voting rights either
until last century, no matter that establishing freedom was
one of the reasons we went into Iraq. Oh
well, chalk up another dissonant bit of reality which I am
sure will be played down, no, ignored.
(082905e) Update on the big picture in Iraq, things are not
going swimmingly and I am not talking about the
constitution, attacks, casualties and cost. Things like oil
output, electricity, infrastructure and so forth;
this
brief article makes for an unhappy portrait.
(082805b) Bin Laden? What's up? Well here is a listing of
stories that contains descriptions of the various tapes and
announcements from Al
Qaida through the years since 2001 to this current
time (082809a) The skinny on Iran's nuclear "possibilities" remain
"unclear". Some of their excuses hold up, other's don't and
suspicion remains. The
future is uncertain therefore and patience grows
thin. (090305d) Overall progress in Afghanistan's war against the
opium poppy. The
results are mixed but the overall acreage is down.
(082905a) Don't this beat all? In an interview with ABC on
Thursday, President Bush said the U.S. was not seeking
foreign assistance. "This
country is going to rise up and take care of it," he
said.(090305i) Of course he changed his mind for
it appears that on Friday Condi said, "We've turned down no
offers". Except those from Cuba.
We won't accept 1,100 doctors with 26.4 tons of supplies
which Cuba has offered (090305k)
twice! (090305j) If you want a selective snapshot of stories, check
this MoJo page out. A
good range of stories, all very brief and
informative. (090305h) In the near term, it must be pointed out, that the
hurricane season is not half over, there is another storm
brewing, Maria, and with the Atlantic ocean's temperature
"about as warm as it ever gets" we have the precursor for a
hurricane season that can produce storms at a rate far above
the average. Let
us hope, in the coming months that another storm does not
follow Katrina's path. (090305b) Here is some background as to why FEMA is not "what it
once was" decisions and choices effected its effectiveness,
lay such decisions on the Bush administration's
doorstep,
but do you really think anyone will hold his feet to the
fire? It hasn't happened yet for all the bungling idiocy he
has perpetrated thus far, why expect change?
(090305a) So look at these two links, the first shows the
stories about "disaster in the dome, in
mainstream media, the networks, CNN, major newspapers and so
forth (090205a) Then
we have, Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security,
claim he "hadn't heard about it!" Amazing no? Fire the
idiot? No, not in Bushland, he's a
friend...(090205b) Not that it matters in the short term, but this
article details what has been on the radio the past couple
of days, Federal cuts in local flood control budgets stopped
the ongoing maintenance of the levees in the region for the
first time in 37 years. Typical
Bushist action (090105j) And
some one did complain, Michael Parker, and he was relieved
of his job for it, again, typical Bushit thinking
(090105k) Some stories in the past suggested a convergance of
Israeli agents operating in the US and that of the 9/11
"crew". This
brief story hints that there may be more than coincidence
but one wonders, what more? (090105f)
Or
get the 166 page pdf file right here (090105e)
And
this one too, gives an overview (090305f) I love this story asks for someone to ask "hard
hitting" questions. I second that emotion! To be sure, but
to be fair I have a question of my own, who is supposed to
step up to the plate? This overview covers the legislative
bodies back seat sleeping while a unsteady but ever so
greedy hand is at the wheel steering us into pothole after
pothole, and going a bit to fast on the curves.
What
it means is that I think they'll wake up, at least enough to
serve their own servile interests, those of the states, and
also of the body politic, I know, I know, don't hold your
breath, but read the article. (082905k) I think this is more a domestic issue now. I have come
across the "entire" public record of the "Affair de Plame"
currently playing in the DC area. The curtain has gone up on
act after act but the curtain has yet to come down,
surprisingly
short for all that. Names names and dates places, neat
(082908j) There is a lot of talk, in pundit land, comparing the
charade in Baghdad to our own constitutional convention.
This comparison does not stand cursory scrutiny.
Notable
is the fact that our founders had expelled an occupying
army, and the winners in a national struggle for
independence, ahem. (082905c) Confusing and "as dense" as prior stories about the
dollar have been, this one is brief and makes it
understandable. The "dollar bubble" exists and there are
fears that it may burst. What
happens next is speculated upon, oh yes, it's not pretty,
not at all. (090305e) The infamous and misnomered "Clear Skies" was famous
for its polluting provisions, however, if memory serves, it
went down, now however the egregious portion is being
revived. I
would guess it has to do with energy and the "situation"
whatever that means. (090105i) In the "deluge" of coverage given to Hurricane Katrina
there is barely a whisper of "global warming" German
papers and scientists think its a no brainer
(090105c), our
scientists think we may well be in for more and fiercer
storms. How wunnerful....(090105d) Bush set another record this week he is THE FIRST
president to preside over five straight years in which
household
incomes failed to rise. (090105g) People working
the longest fared the worst: Earnings for full-time workers
fell
by 2.3 percent for men and 1.0 percent for
women.(090105h) for the big pdf doc. And there
has been news stories that the poverty rate rose for the
fourth consecutive year, after declining every year from
1993 to 2000. The percentage of people without private
health insurance also went up for the fourth year in a row.
How wunnerful, boss man This is a long page. Some portion of the material can
be dismissed, some is "out there" however it contains
speculations about
the National Socialist movement of Germany and its attempt
to survive ensconced in the US. (090105) I
include it for the photographs, the bits of historical data
and the curios. Also, in case you want to see a few years of Cheney
shenanigans, here is a fairly comprehensive list:
from
2000 to 2004, October. (090105a)
Ray guns for Iraq? Yup that is the skinny on this
story. Prior
story reported them being described this story talks about
deployment. (090905d) And
here is a bit more on that (090905e) Just a little reminder of how the oil for food program
was circumvented by those sneaky oil tankers that just
slipped on by the US navy send there to guard against just
that sort of thing. How
did they manage to do it? (090805g) Those sly Sunni's now they are registering to vote by
the hundreds of thousands, except a lot of them want to vote
the constitution down, then, of course they''ll be more
represented in the next government elected to write the
agreement, it
is suspected that more sparks will fly then, c'est la
vie (090805f) We went into Iraq, so it is said, because of WMD.
Well, if that is the case why have we only apprehended 3 of
the estimated 200 Iraqi nuclear scientists? Maybe that would
have made a "deck of 52 most wanted" to big, but still, what
do they know, where are they, and who might they be working
for now? Part
one (090705k) Part
two (090705l) Part
three (090705m) Part
four (090705n) and
Part five (090705o) Incidents in Turkey imply that events in Iraq may well
have "spill over." Kurdish
demonstrators get violent, attack and are
attacked. (090405a) The hide and seek method of warfare: US forces sweep
an area, but the opposition for the most part leaves, goes
elsewhere and then, comes right back. Today
a city is taken by insurgents, casualties mount and the
struggle, chaotic as it is, continues.
(090705a) Perhaps this is why Iran doesn't feel a pressing need
to "do anything much" about
US or European concerns regarding its nuclear
programs. (090505a) To say that Egypt's recent election was a model of
democracy as we know it, is to make quite a stretch with
participation varying from 4 to 15% and "nobody watching" it
seemed a landslide for the incumbent was no surprise
part
one (090805h) part
two (090805i) In Egypt we have a couple of stories covering their
election. This event was hailed as part of the Bush
described "blossoming of democracy" in the middle east.
Well, it may or may not be, a
description of the opposition groups, note the largest is
disallowed from participation (090705e)
quotes
from "ordinary people: (090705f) and
accounts of protest and fraud, oh well
(090705g) Keeping
track of the eight biggest lies told during the whole
affair. (090905c) A snapshot of how Bush runs his office how he
"governs", not
pleasant, a brief recap (090905a) So
who runs FEMA? Not the experts (090905b) No good deed goes unpunished? That's
what they say...Go Navy (090805e) The side of Katrina's survival tale that was not
covered.
A tale of two paramedics who were at a convention of same,
the day it all came down. (090805d) Ah, simplicity of the essence of wit and wisdom, so
here is a simple timeline of the Katrina situation, who did
what, said what, went where and when. Clearly
Bush could have done more besides holding a birthday cake
for someone to blow out candles, don't you think?
(090705h) There is help a plenty just waiting, and we're not
just
talking about the 1,000 Cuban doctors, but Swedish, German
and Canadian assistance is slowly making their way over the
paper hurdles. (090705b) The race issue brought up "indirectly" by Katrina is
not appreciated by the US news viewers, perhaps
because only 22 of 1300 broadcast segments "mentioned
it." (090605g) I like how this article ends, "we have no choice but
to fight the war with the president we have" but
read the rest, it's brief and just as good as that little
zinger. (090605f) Karl
"Bush's Brain" Rove is in charge of "damage control" over
Katrina (090605c) So the following attempt at
using the technique of lying louder than anyone else until
the lie is all that can be heard should come as no surprise.
Newsweek and others reported that Louisiana's governor
called for a state of emergency. The White House says that
the reason the feds were so slow is that the
governor did not call for a state of emergency for several
days. (090605e)The news media PRINTED
retractions. However according to the evidence they should
retract the retractions, see
the white house web page here (090605b)
And
here is of those that did the retracting of the retraction
(090605d) Troops begin combat operations in New Orleans?
Yup,
that's what it says, read it here from the Army
Times. (090605a) House Speaker Dennis Hastert has said of New Orleans:
"It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed." and
that rebuilding hurricane-ravaged New Orleans "doesn't make
sense to me," How
about that? Oh, he backpedaled but this article goes into
all of that. (090405b) Hey, I scored 7 out of 10, that means I passed! How
many of the 10 most under reported stories of 2004 did you
miss? Find
out right here right now! (090705i) Well, I hope you are ready, I thought I was, but then
perhaps I really was not. Here is the deal. The concept of
"Peak Oil" is the idea that since oil is a finite resource,
and demand is growing that prices will go up. Secondarily
since it is a finite resource that, eventually, we will
begin to have demand outstrip production causing a rise in
its price. Everyone can see that, but what happens when the
production peaks and then what happens when the production
declines, inexorably? We not only have a price rise, we have
economic disruption on a scale that dwarfs anything we've
ever seen. These two web page articles spell out what Peak
Oil is, how it came about, what can and cannot be done, and
spells out the seeming paradoxes as time grows short. We may
be seeing the first "throes" of a new world in which oil
only gets more expensive and the means to acquire it more
and more desperate, part
one (090705c) and
part two (090705d) This study from England estimates that, due to global
warming, the amount of CO2 being added to the atmosphere is
rising. This is because at temperature goes up the processes
that occur in soil to break down organic matter speed up and
release more CO2, a "warming" gas. The article estimates
that the amount being given off exceeds the amount of
emissions reductions that England has been able to achieve.
My
question becomes this: So, is this happening around the
world? And if so don't we "have a problem Houston?"
(090705j) Let us look at these three articles, man
freaks out on plane,(090805b) HIV
spitter gets 13 years, (090805a) and
pranksters put up a Pterodactyl (090805c) In the
first case you have an example of how our security is still
vulnerable. Anybody can get up on a plane and say the "magic
words" and force that plane to land. What would happen if
200 people decided that three times a week, some one of them
would board a plane only to announce that it had a bomb
aboard, that the bomb would go off in an hour unless the
plane was landed? Of course they'd land the plane, a fuss
would be made and arrest made. However, after a couple of
weeks of this, would people want to fly? Second, did anyone
else see the connection between this and the so called
"infected hooker" plot during the 2004 election? Another
means of terror we are not protected from. And last, if a
group of teens can erect a sizable structure anywhere they
might like, what is to prevent them from putting other items
out for "display" and calling in bomb threats and so
forth? We are vulnerable to fraudulent terrorism,
acts which are essentially "put up jobs" but which still
force the emergency system to work and cause it to waste
effort.
Levels
of violence spike upward in general (091605e)
and
there is a Fallujah redux (091605f) Sectarian violence is more common and is the precursor
to civil war. What
was our plan again? (091105a) Those
who are not Kurdish and live in Kikurk are coming out
against the constitution, and they want to form their own
militia's (091105b) The madrassas of Pakistan seem to chafe under a
renewed effort to register them. What
can President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's do?
(091505a) If you can recall any battle in Afghanistan you
probably recall the name "Tora Bora". This was where we were
"going to get Bin Laden" as it were. It
did not turn out that way, here are some of the details,
hint: when are friends allies and not at the same
time? (091205a) The same English group that provided "vital
intelligence on Iraq" now also has "vital intelligence on
Iran." My thinking is this, even if they are right there
will be doubt, if they are wrong it is even worse.
I
guess we can call the the "ripple effect."
(091405m) Geopolitically, Iran is a key energy supplier to China
as well as India, its political relations with China is
excellent. Its trans-Caspian alliance with Russia is
ironclad, as both countries are dead-set, in diplomatic
language, not to allow "other great foreign powers" to
penetrate the Caspian. This
means a peaceful, non-confrontational solution to the
nuclear issue will be in the interest of all Iran's
neighbors if not Washington. (091005a) Meanwhile there is a "no photo, no story" policy being
enforced in New Orleans, now who could have thought that up?
And
why? Any guesses? Aw, come on, you can guess, can't
you? (092405c) It has been mentioned that Bush travels in a bubble of
his own reality, including visits to Potempkin like
events,but in New Orleans he gets the lights turned on while
he drives through parts, eliciting
cheers, and when he goes, so does the power.
Whatever...(091605a) Here is a prime case of the
"bubble president" he gives a speech in the Big Easy and
guess what no
crowd, no questions the press kept at distance,but a "live"
backdrop. (091605c) Let me see, securing power to hospitals and other
emergency related facilities or getting the petroleum moving
through pipelines, which is more important? I
guess you'll have to read this to find out the exciting
answer that that trick question.
(091405k) It seems that Bush told Chertoff, Dept. of Homeland
Sec. that Katrina was "actionable" on 8/27, however it was
some days before the maligned Mr. Brown was allowed to take
any action. In sum three days passed while Homer's
"Duh O" might best describe the public's
reaction. (091405j) So, get this, the company hired to "take care of the
dead bodies" is run by a Bush favorite and has a record of
desecrating bodies, dumping them, and so forth as a matter
of public record.
Hmmm, another scandal in the making?
(091405h) Katrina and Iraq connected by how parts of our society
create meaning for or from our dead. Bush, Cindy Sheehan,
anti war groups, war supporters are all grappling with the
"meaning of our dead" and
it may be that Katrina will effect the war effort, one way
or another. (091405e) A
hospital of dead and dying and those who tried to take care
of them. (091305e) Want to know what might be polluting the water in New
Orleans? So would the people, but the EPA is stonewalling, I
mean there is on known super fund site ... but what
else?
Well, maybe some one will talk, oh that's right it's a Bush
administration, how silly of me. (091305c)
Here
are the details (091305d) And
we're still getting stonewalled, what gives? Taxpayers pay
for the EPA to do its thing, and now we get
squat. (091405a) And here is a bit more, links to
pictures and descriptions, it
is not as it the "possibilities are unknown, you
know. (091405b) In a top down, "do as I say" organization, such as
Bush's White House, it
seems the Katrina episode only proved the underlings to be
as poorly organized as the "overlord" was.
(091205d) A
day by day portrait of miscommunication, improvisation,
heroics and forbearance. (091205e) Things are getting better but this story is bizarre,
15 tons of aid flown in from Germany gets turned away for
what appear flimsy reasons, don't
you think a phone call and could have allowed SOME of that
materiel to be donated? (091005d) The arctic ice cap is a stabilizing factor in the
worlds temperature regulating system. It is impacted,
severely, and
it seems that the ice pack is definitely on the decline,
this does not bode well for global weather
patters. (091605b) Selling
weapons to human rights abusers, despots and so
forth, (091405f) And
how we go about selling the "hard stuff" to the world
(091405g) Japan reelects Koizumi, China doesn't like that or him
much, their militaries have met up close a few times and old
memories die hard. Resources are in contest as well. With a
will and mind of his own he might be shifting Japan to a new
perspective. part
one (091305a) part
two (091305b) Greenland provides hints of global warming, some say
proofs, yet nay sayers abound. One wonders what will it take
for them to see , A: that although we may be in a natural
warming period now that we ARE effecting the climate,
perhaps making it even warmer. Permafrost regions around the
arctic are defrosting for the first time in 10,000 years,
said one article, this one gives other details.
part
one (091005b) part
two (091005c) A
great overview article of Bush's "war on Nature" religious
conservatives and so on (091605d) Has Russia regained some of its "losses" in central
Asia, has the tide begun to turn against the US?
Despite
the color coded revolutions? (091405l) If you think FEMA is the only agency run incompetently
by hacks check
out the small business administration
(091405i) While Katrina has put a spotlight on FEMA's
politicization other agencies suffer from a similar
disabling condition, here
is the scoop on that poop (091205f) Wither the war? The facts seem to bear one thing the
Bush administration did say, "it will be a long struggle"
Bin Laden has made errors, but the Bush errors seem to trump
them in scale and effect. Terrorism is up, the US is
suffering to achieve elusive goals. We
are at a crossroads in history. This article spells out the
evidence and rationale for Bin Laden's actions, a great
recap, analysis and read. (091205b) And
here is a bit of retrospective from the US, Seattle in
fact. (091205c)
Complications, we have a declared civil war between
the Sunni and Shia in Iraq, and now rumblings of a Shia on
Shia schism which threatens the relative peace of the
"British Zone". Apparently is is Sadr versus Badr, not
unlike the Hatfields and the Coys, these
two are finding common enmity the division is dangerous,
Iran is involved, and it goes back decades.
(092305b) And in this mix, ironically it is our one time
foe/villain Muqtada Sadr, leader of the Mahdi Army who would
want what we want, a unified Iraq, strange
bedfellows indeed! (092305d) When is civil war, Civil War? When the leader of one
faction publicly declares as such? If so Iraq now has a
Civil War. Ironically
it may benefit US Chicken Hawks, arms dealers and other
profiteers, god knows. (092105g) Is there a plan B? If not there might be a rationale
to consider one, even Richard Pipes asked the Putin to
negotiate with the Chechens on the grounds that the conflict
had historical roots (there were real grievances) and
because the Chechens had "resorted to terrorism for the
limited objective of independence … not
[destroying] Russia." Al Qaida's goals and situation
is similar enough to enjoy comparison. Only
thing is time is running out and, well, with that goes our
ability to negotiate. (092105c) Anti war protesters had signs saying "No Blood for
Oil" well, perhaps now the signs should read "Blood for no
Oil" I
guess the not so surprising lack of coverage of this aspect
of the Iraq war will continue apace.
(092105b) How short is the fuse in Iraq? Need one ask, but here
is a story from the "British Zone" in Basra where two
English troopers dressed as natives were arrested by Iraqi
police after an Iraqi officer was killed in events leading
up to their arrest, the
rest is chaotic history. (092005b) A catalogue of our errors? What did we do to let this
mess happen? Here are some of the pieces of that puzzle
which led one to quoted as saying we're making the same
mistakes we made in Vietnam." While
that may not be true, the articles reach is thought
provoking. (091905e) I still wonder how can some one loose this much money?
How can you loose a billion dollars? I mean that IS
truckloads of the stuff. It
was supposed to help equip the Iraqi army, as they say in
the states, "Oh well!" (091905d) Chunks of Baghdad out of US or Iraqi government
control? Seems so according to this report. NGO's
are sending people off to safer towns such as
Arbil.(091905c) It seems everyone in the Middle East has used the
Kurds against their neighbors. The puzzle piece that isn't
is another of the regions intractable problems only
exacerbated by the US policy which depends on them as a
primary ally. One wonders how long that will last and what
will happen if it ends or does not. Stay
tuned for another harrowing misadventure in
paradise, (092105j) It seems Iran wants to have its nukes, according to a
"fiery" speech at the UN. To me this short article makes
clear some of their reasoning, but the kicker is the last
sentence "Mr. Ahmadinejad said, 'Iran is ready to transfer
nuclear know-how to the Islamic countries due to their
need.' On
Saturday, he asserted that 'the quote was incomplete,' but
did not explain further." (091905j) So the brouhaha over registering the Madrassas is
nearing a close, the schools have agreed to register. The
main objective, of the government (and the US) was their
curriculum and the sources of their funding. OK? Well the
schools agreed to being registered as long as their
funding sources and curricula are "their own business. Now
the change is set to take place. Does the term "window
dressing" come to mind? (092305a) This nation seems to slip under the "man on the
street's" radar. To me its importance to the greater middle
east region is very under rated. Here
is a description of the confusing "relationship" between the
US and Pakistan from proliferation to Afghanistan, Bin Laden
to Madrassas (092105h) Here are specific details
which highlight the "imaginary" border between Pakistan and
Afghanistan and how some portion of Pakistan's government
support, publicly, the Taliban's efforts. Confused?
So is everyone else. (092105i) Ya Gotta love this guy, taking a lesson from Bush, Mr.
Musharraf "makes a big time verbal boo boo" has witnesses,
is recorded and when the comment blows up simply denies it.
Essentially he was complaining about women who get raped for
money and as a way of escaping the country, or some such.
I
am sure I am speaking for you when I say that Us citizens
are glad he is on our side fighting for truth, justice and
the American Way. (091905h) Oh well, is the update on this story, NK wants
something first and we want something else first. So the
issue is now in doubt. What
is more fleeting than hope? A six party
agreement. (092005a) Big story is that there is "agreement" a reading of
this article lends credence to Mr. Bush's skepticism. I
would like an amenable agreement, and there is agreement
that this agreement is agreeable, but it will be November,
it seems, before the next meeting and some of
the agreement seems to be vague or contain various opinions
as to what has been agreed to , exactly. Still hope, is
nice, no? (091905a) But as they say "Dey Debbil' be in de details,
yassuh!" And that seems true here what kind of nuclear
program will be allowed, will the North Koreans have a light
water nuclear reactor? If
so when, where, and so forth. This issue has been
postponed ... (091905i) They had their first election. The turnout according
to this article was about 50%, other sources give lower
estimates 30 to 35%. If it is anywhere in that range it is
about what we do in the US. So is it good, most likely yes.
What will it mean? Who knows. Warlords tried to legitimize
themselves I have heard, but
the Taliban did not succeed in stopping the elective
process. I hope for the best. (090905j) A hunger strike in progress, a couple hundred of them
according to one source less than half that according the
the US Government, either way, if those people start dying
it will be "not good" for the US effort in Iraq, Afghanistan
as well as making our coalition of the willing, perhaps less
willing? Who
knows, but one thing is certain, time will tell.
(091505g) Here is a reporter, for a major publication
contradicting himself in his own article which is, it would
seem, trying to bolster Bush. The
article is described here (092005d) and
the article itself is here (092005e) Some might say that 1500 doctors would be a help in
the Katrina aftermath, but since those doctors are from Cuba
... well .. they are still on stand by, but I don't think
they'll be called anytime soon, they've
been waiting for weeks now. (092105a) How to yank the news around, a piece talks about the
"early reporting period" when news actually got out,
questions were asked, and in the chaos, reporters reported
and they had a scent of blood, however
soon it was same -o, same -o and the curtain closed the
"show" from view. (092005f) The person to head up the "Katrina" investigation
"demanded" by Bush is someone who knows little of emergency
services but knows how to handle cover up situations. How
does Bush do it? I
guess no one pays attention or those that do are voiceless,
beyond the "electronic curtain."
(092005c) Image over substance, that is the theme of this
article and it starts with Katrina but segues into other
areas a bit as well. The details are, of course, disturbing,
but this approach, symbolized by putting PR people,
such
as Rove and others, in control of the refilled efforts. What
the hey??? (091905f) China builds a railroad where the best builders said
it was impossible. A visitor to the project gives a first
hand view of the highest track in the world, one that links
China's "wild west" with Tibet in a bid for better
management or should I say, development, part
one (092005g) part
two (092005h) China's can do spirit is
spotlighted, interesting read. Bush is a poor president but no matter how bad it has
gotten, the
likelihood of getting rid of him is, well, not likely, here
is why (092305c) Going for a "blast from the past" we see a nice
overview of how the press "decided" the election in 2000,
ignored major stories and allowed our current commander
in mess to be just what he is a jackass without a brain who,
asleep at the wheel, doesn't know shit from
beans, (092205a) This is your "Healthy Forests Act" in action. We take
you to the Bitteroot Valley of Montana and the struggle of
locals
against the Forest Service, the Lear Jet Set, and well oiled
PR machines get set for a struggle over old growth, virgin,
forests. (092105e) We seize a Canadian, ship him off to Syria for
interrogation. 10 months later he's back, appears to be
innocent and the US government says, essentially, "Well, you
know it could happen again, we're not sorry." Talk
about how to "Win friends and influence enemies."
(092105d) Here
are the stories details (092105e) What went wrong or is wrong with the protest movement
against the Iraqi war? This article talks about a lack to
take discontent to the next level, which involves non
-violent demonstrations with impinge upon the smooth
operation of the machinery, to resist, to sacrifice,
to
be willing to suffer and campaign...(092005i) I
concur with this. But how many others do? Here is a brief article talking about how blocks of
nations are forming up, ostensibly for their own reasons,
but what is occurring is a multi polar world in which the
US, as the hyper power, is not being questioned, disagreed
with, ignored and or countermanded. We
can thank Bush for the acceleration of this trend and the
difficulties it will bring about.
(091905b)
He once said "bring them on" well his wish has been
granted, 13 of ours dead this week, 105 Iraqi's,
no
totals for wounded (093005b) So
we spin the story prophylactically
speaking...(093005d) In July we were told three brigades of Iraqi troops
were "ready" now we're told it is only one. Yet, we are told
this is not a "backward step." I
guess it must be that "New Math". (092805e)
Meanwhile
sectarian violence notches up. (092805f) So the war goes on, we've "taken" aka destroyed Tal
Afar to pacify it. However
5 more cities have fallen to the enemy and I guess they'll
be next on the list. (092705f) More prisoner torture scandal to come? Well, if they
every let a witness off his base, perhaps. Others
have come forward telling tales of wantonness and
cruelty. (092605h) A
bit more on Captain Fishback's "situation"
(092805d) Porn and the Iraqi dead. That's the new sicko thing
not in our news. The site is up for all to see, I guess you
have to "join" Then you too can see such lovely classics as
a woman whose right leg has been torn off by a land mine,
and a medical worker is holding the mangled stump up to the
camera. The
woman's vagina is visible under the hem of her skirt. The
caption for this picture reads: "Nice puss -&endash; bad
foot." (092605g) Oh, yes, and don't you think the
Iraqi's and our other enemies can get the pics too? Take a look at parts of the Iraqi constitution, and
read this article which concludes: "Federalism based on
geography is acceptable, but federalism based on ethnicity
and sect? Why
not simply declare civil war and get it over
with?" (092605f) Not that anyone will listen but here is a set of
reasons
that argue for our leaving Iraq, sooner rather than
later. (092605c) Statistics are interesting
things. Here is one: for every "insurgent" killed the US
military uses 250,000 bullets. Is
that good shooting or what? (092605b) The Brits in Basra and what happened to the
"disguised" men, who were they? What were they doing?
No
the place is just more of a mess.
(092605a) A detailed portrait of the area in which Bin Laden is
supposed to be hiding. An bizarre place with a legendary
history whose uniquity has only been highlighted in recent
times. It
is another place whose people have, from time to time been
"played" and are now in the forefront of yet another power
struggle beyond their capacity to control or
effect. (092705f) They were not at the giant anti-war rally in DC, they
have not taken advantage of Bumble Boy Bush's same-o lame-o
administration, So
where are they? (092705k) Of course if the Dems
"speak up" as did Kerry recently, claiming "progress in
Iraq" then what would have been the use? It
is a sorry state of affairs and the Dems seem determined to
hold on to their number two spot in politics.
(092805a) Headlines were splashed and then, this, the details.
Yes there is an "agreement" but no seems to agree as to what
the agreement agrees to. One
thing, it may take years for that to be figured
out. (092705a) Violence at an all time high, as are casualties.
Allied success in running an election but the opposition may
be waiting to see what happens are they waiting to see if
the US military decides to draw down forces following the
Sept. 18 parliamentary elections? Do
they have Stinger missiles? (092605d) Interview
with Cindy Sheehan, makes good reading even if it makes no
headlines. (093005f) While the death count gets higher and the stakes rise
and their constitution or election process proceeds,
we
pay less and less attention, why would that be?
(093005c) Who is taking over the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting? Oh no, not again! Yes,
some one willing to "enforce accountability"
(092805b) So in terms of "accountability" read a bit about
the
number two person at the CPB, chilling to say the
least (092805c) Torturous silence on torture, the title of this brief
says it all. Who is asking questions, demanding answers,
what is happening over there? Who
is doing what? Now that Ms. England is found guilty are we
to presume everything is OK? Not quite
(092705j) So there is good news and it seems it is ignored. If
this story is correct many stories of chaos and violence in
New Orleans were just that, stories. To be sure it was a
mess, but headline grabbing tales of shootings, murders, and
the like may not have happened, that's
the word now (092705d) Here
is a bit more on that, unverified tales grab headlines and
have the worst imaginings taken at face value ... news
anyone? (092705e) Ignoring and ignorance, our media mavens marvelously
marvel but don't seem to know who Cindy Sheehan is
meanwhile
big papers bury the DC protest and others pic their pics, oh
well. (092605e) The law of unintended consequences, that is what this
article, brief but sweet, is about. The US has made,
probably the largest scale goof it has ever made when it
invaded Iraq. The gap between reality and the high blown
goals of a "democratic revolution in the middle east" is a
fantasy at this point. Only drastic and large scale
alteration of circumstances can rescue the mission. If we
are going to be fighting for fifty years as Rummy has said,
we
need to see some evidence of progress, at best it is
stalemate, or so it seems. (092705i) Katrina's headlines washed out this story, but Al
Qaida has cells in Saudi Arabia, I know, big surprise, but
this one was quite well armed, had plans and though it was
destroyed it seems others are expected to take its place.
Their
target: the world's oil prices.(092705h) Change is here. China's military becoming modernized,
is large and freed up from border concerns with Russia and
others, now
they practice. (092705b) And
develop and deploy new naval vessels.
(092705c) An Israeli spy network in the US? Yup, and part of it
is being exposed, to bad it's not getting the headline news
that it deserves, story
has been around for months by the way.
(093005a) Karen Hughes takes a tour of the middle east region.
Her purpose is to polish how the area perceives us,
to
bad her efforts provide Bin Laden's ilk with
support. (092805g) As to suicide attacks, here is
a summary of the scoop, "Why do they do it?" How
about this as a simple answer, "Because we're
there." (092805h) According to Mr. Pape's thesis,
"Dying to Win." Remember extraordinary rendition? First no one knew
about it, then we denied that it happened, then we said it
did but it wasn't bad; now Italy has issued arrest warrants
for nearly two dozen US citizens involved in a kidnapping,
including CIA agents. As
they used to say on Laugh In ... "very
interesting" (093005g) I don't rightly know if this belongs here, but that's
where I'll put it. It speculates that Bush is done for. Not
that I disagree with it, but hell, he has a few more years
and his finger is still on the "big button" so ... I think
it's to early to count him out,
I mean there is another election to steal, a war to start
and another, and even better 9/11 to create. That is my bad
side talking there. (093005e)
(afterdowningst.org.) The "Saint Patrick's Day Four, a group arrested for an
anti-war action, spilling their own blood at a recruitment
center, have been found "not guilty" of the most serious
charges. Finally
a democrat New York congressman Maurice Hinchey breaks the
silent ranks and uses their case to tell it like it
is. (092705g)
09/10/05
09/17/05
09/24/05
09/30/05
