Saturday, June 21, 2003
You've Got To Be KiddingPart I Apocalypse Now music fires up US troops for raid
BAGHDAD: United States troops psyched up on a bizarre musical reprise from Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now before crashing into Iraqi homes to hunt gunmen on Saturday, as Shi'ite Muslims rallied against the US occupation of Iraq.
With the strains of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries still ringing in their ears and the clatter of helicopters overhead, soldiers rammed vehicles into metal gates and hundreds of troops raided houses in the western city of Ramadi after sunrise as part of a drive to quell a spate of attacks on US forces.
<full story> Whose brilliant idea was that? The next logical step would be to have the soldiers play violent shoot-em-up video games (e.g. Doom/Quake) before a raid. Winning hearts and minds, one kill at a time. Just a heads-up, guys — the sharper the crackdown, the greater the hatred created. Refer to Northern Ireland or Palestine for more information. Suggest you consult with the British, who actually know how to do this stuff.
[Aside — best use of "Ride of the Valkyries": Repo Man. No question.]
Part II Bush says Iraqi weapons sites were lootedWASHINGTON, June 21 — President George W. Bush, trying again to explain the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, said on Saturday that suspected arms sites had been looted in the waning days of Saddam Hussein's rule.
<full story> No, wait wait... Aliens! Yeah, that's it, the weapons were stolen by aliens. It all makes perfect sense if you think about it...
It appears the American public would believe pretty much anything at this point.
Actually, it was those bleeding-heart liberals! They ruin everything. Bunch of traitors. Sean Penn! He smuggled the weapons out in his carry-on bag...
Promote Human Rights With AmnestyCelebrate 30 Years of Amnesty International Help Celebrate 30 Years of Action to Free Prisoners of Conscience. For Every New Online Activist Who Signs Up in June, $1 Will Be Donated to Amnesty Take an easy, simple step to promote human rights! This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Amnesty International's Urgent Action Network (UAN), the global network of concerned citizens who are available 24 hours a day to intercede on behalf of prisoners of conscience everywhere. Tens of thousands of concerned folks have already made an enormous difference in our global fight for human rights — responses to e-mail alerts and Urgent Actions have resulted in hundreds of thousands of faxes, letters and emails and the ultimate release of more than 40,000 prisoners of conscience worldwide. To mark this important anniversary, an anonymous donor has agreed to donate one dollar to Amnesty International for every new sign-up to Amnesty USA's online Human Rights Action Center (HRAC) — up to $100,000! Help us recruit 100,000 new participants in the HRAC! Launched in 2000, the HRAC grew out of our 30 years of experience with the UAN, utilizing new technologies to mobilize more people, more quickly via email and the Web. Participation in the Human Rights Action Center is free. Sign up today — and forward this message on to your friends and encourage them to sign up too! Find out how to join! http://www.care2.com/go/z/6281 Also, read more about the Urgent Action Network and its 30th Anniversary: http://www.care2.com/go/z/6284 Takes about 60 seconds (yes, this can count as your good deed for today).
Posted by Me at 22:48 link
Friday, June 20, 2003
Two stories from the Middle EastFrom the BBC:JerusalemOn 18 June, 2002, Palestinian suicide bomber Mohammed al-Ghoul blew up a bus in Jerusalem killing 19 of the passengers. In the aftermath of the attack that claimed her sister, Sharon Negari talked to BBC News Online about that day. A year on, she speaks to us again about how her life has changed.
"I walked into a nightmare the day my sister was killed," says Sharon Negari, recalling the day her 21-year-old sister Shiri, a passenger on the doomed bus, died of massive internal injuries.
"It's a nightmare that will never go away. I'm so angry. I just can't accept the fact that I will never see Shiri again.
"It's not even that she was killed because of an unavoidable natural disaster. It's simply because of people's cruelty. This is something I just can't live with."
Shiri lived with her family in Gilo, Jerusalem. The residents were the target of the bus attack.
Gilo, home to 60,000 - 70,000 Israelis, is a Jewish settlement built on West Bank land captured by Israel in 1967, and has long been a target for attack by Palestinian militants. Israelis regard it as a neighbourhood of Jerusalem.
"When will it ever end?" says Sharon. "After Shiri died, the only thing I could wish for was that I would be the last person to suffer such agony. But, more and more families are going through it."
<full story>
Gaza"There is no safe place in Gaza now." You hear that everywhere here as people listen out for helicopter gun-ships and look anxiously overhead while Israeli F-16s roar by.
The stifling fear in Gaza mirrors that which Israelis feel as they step onto a bus or go out to a cafe, wary that the next stranger they see might be a suicide bomber.
Barely two weeks after the American roadmap for peace was signed with a flourish at Aqaba, some 18 Israelis and almost 50 Palestinians have been killed.
Many of the Palestinians died in Gaza in Israeli attempts to kill militant leaders here. They are so-called targeted killings.
Two of the victims were sisters, Samia and Majda Daloul, aged 20 and 21, both teachers in the same nursery school in Gaza.
They were not militants. They happened to be nearby when an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at two Hamas operatives, missing them but killing as many as nine civilians.
In the dusty street outside the Daloul family home in Gaza, the girls' mother clasped her head in her hands and wept as she told me how her two daughters were killed.
It should have been a happy day, she said. The two sisters were going with other relatives to meet the family of a girl their brother hoped to marry.
Celebrations
After a lunch of traditional green leaf soup, prayer, and a few minutes reading the Koran, they set off with the brother, Fayis, their sister-in-law Nawal, and her daughter, three-year-old Rawan.
The meeting about the prospective engagement went well. So on the way home they stopped off to buy some Arabic sweets to celebrate.
That short delay meant their car pulled back onto the road just in front of a vehicle carrying two middle-ranking Hamas men.
Majda had gone back to get her sister - she was killed by the second rocket.
Nawal
Inside their red Volkswagen, the five members of the Daloul family did not hear or see the Israeli Apache helicopter.
"We were just laughing at that time," said Nawal, sister-in-law of the two dead girls. "Then I felt the car jumping. We didn't expect it might be a rocket."
She went on to describe the next few terrifying seconds: "I was kneeling down in the back but Fayis realised what was happening and shouted at us to get out of the car.
"Fayis took the little girl out with him. There was foggy, white smoke pouring from the car. We all got out except for Samia. She was already dead.
"Fayis said to leave her there because a second rocket was coming. We were looking for Majda but we couldn't see her.
"Majda had gone back to get her sister. She was killed by the second rocket. It was only then that we heard the Apache."
Nawal is still limping and in pain from her wounds. Her daughter, three-year-old Rawan has a healing entry wound on her back and a lump under the skin, which the family told me was shrapnel left behind by the Israeli rocket.
<full story> When either Israel or the Palestinians embraces nonviolence, there will be a chance for a real solution. Let's pray that happens soon.
Posted by Me at 23:00 link
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Shaking a stick at today's newsMy old grandpappy would've said that there was "more news than you can shake a stick at" today — at least he would've if I'd had an old grandpappy. I got stuck with a stingy old coot whom I met exactly twice. Both times he complimented me on my strong grip and "working man's hands" (his were baby-smooth). He requested I address him as "grandfather". I'm pretty sure he never even once said "more than you can shake a stick at." Which, you must admit, is a pity.
But if I'd had a real grandpappy, he might've been impressed, as I was, that no less than 11 of the 20 Yahoo's Highest Rated news stories today reflected badly on the Bush administration or their cronies.
Afghanistan: U.S. Risks Losing the Peace, Says Key Group
OneWorld.net - Thu Jun 19,10:39 AM ET
WASHINGTON, Jun 18 (IPS) - Just as the United States is struggling to deal with major post-war headaches in Iraq, its efforts to pacify Afghanistan appear to be unravelling, according to a new report by a key group of experts sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Asia Society.
U.S. troops may be in Iraq for 10 years
USA TODAY - Thu Jun 19, 7:09 AM ET
WASHINGTON -- Two top U.S. defense officials signaled Congress on Wednesday that U.S. forces might remain in Iraq for as long as a decade and that permanent facilities need to be built to house them there.
EPA: White House Urged Changes to Report
AP - 2 hours, 57 minutes ago
The Environmental Protection Agency removed a detailed assessment of climate change from a report after the White House directed major changes and deletions to emphasize the uncertainties surrounding global warming, according to internal EPA documents.
Iraq work puts Bechtel in spotlight
USA TODAY - Thu Jun 19, 7:17 AM ET
BAGHDAD -- Saddam Hussein's Republican Palace was once party central for son Uday, who romanced girlfriends under its palms and threw boozy blowouts in the gardens.
GOP Bill Will Cut Land Conservation Funds
AP - Wed Jun 18, 6:17 PM ET
A lands bill that Republicans pushed through a House subcommittee on Wednesday would cut next year's funds for federal land acquisition and could signal months of partisan battling over conservation efforts.
Bechtel, Parsons Win $2 Billion Contract
AP - Tue Jun 17, 6:27 PM ET
Bechtel Corp. and Parsons Corp. have won a $2 billion contract to destroy a stockpile of chemical weapons at a U.S. Army depot in Kentucky.
Brett Ferro, whose grandpappy is Republican House Majority leader Tom DeLay, pops George W. Bush in the snout at the annual White House Summer Picnic on the South Lawn June 18, 2003. This was one of Yahoo's most actively rated photos today. Note: if you ever meet Bush, you should not do this, no matter how badly you want to.
U.S. Sea-Based Missile Defense Fails Test
Reuters - Wed Jun 18,10:14 PM ET
An interceptor missile fired from a U.S. Navy cruiser on Wednesday missed its target, a mock warhead, over the Pacific Ocean, the military said.
False Terrorism Tips to F.B.I. Uproot the Lives of Suspects 1
The New York Times - Thu Jun 19, 9:00 AM ET
Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, federal agents have acted on tips from people with questionable backgrounds and motives.
US worried about mounting casualties in Iraq 2
AFP - Wed Jun 18, 6:19 PM ET
US lawmakers expressed alarm at the rising number of dead and wounded US troops in Iraq, with some highlighting fears that US forces may be overextended.
Independent 9-11 Panel Seeks Documents
AP - Thu Jun 19, 8:55 AM ET
Delving deeper than Congress' inquiry, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks has made far-reaching requests for documents from the Bush administration and does not expect President Bush to invoke executive privilege, officials say.
U.S. Risks Losing Afghanistan Peace - Report
Reuters - Wed Jun 18, 4:54 PM ET
Afghanistan is at risk of reverting to control by warlords and the United States of suffering a defeat in the "war on terrorism" unless Washington strengthens the Kabul government, a nongovernmental report said on Wednesday.
Ann Coulter Jumps the Snark (Again):
Also according to the [New York Times] report, guards at a Brooklyn detention facility -- weeks after the attack and within sight of ground zero -- subjected illegal immigrant Muslim detainees to "physical and verbal abuse." As the Times described it, "Detainees reported being slammed against the wall, or being subjected to such verbal taunts as 'You're going to die here.'" To quote Tony Soprano: You don't say.
Does anyone at the Times even know any normal people?
The detainees are in this country illegally, their co-religionists had just slaughtered thousands of Americans, and the Times is dismayed, perplexed, angry and shocked that some of them may have been subjected to the sort of manhandling that occurs in the hallways of middle schools throughout the nation. Why, I'm subjected to physical and verbal abuse every time I go through an airport security check, and I'm a citizen. I've decided to institute a "no links for dinks" 3 policy, but you can find her column (entitled "You Don't Say") easily enough on your own. This wasn't one of the highest-rated stories — it was rated rather low — but it had been rated enough times to be one of Yahoo's most actively rated stories. I thought her column was so callous and low that someone ought to shake a stick at it. Even if my "grandfather" (God rest his soul) couldn't be bothered.
1 Link to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reprint of Times story, in hopes of a longer-lasting link. <back>
2 Link to spacewar.com in similar hopes of longer-lasting link. <back>
3 "Dink", as in dinky, as in super weak. <back>
Posted by Me at 23:55 link
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
MoveOn PrimaryFrom MoveOn.org:A NOTE FROM THE MOVEON TEAMLast week we asked if we should consider early endorsement of a Presidential candidate, and the results were overwhelming. 96.3% out of 186,000 who responded said YES to an early "MoveOn Primary." So we’re moving forward. If one of the nine candidates receives more than 50% of the vote next Tuesday and Wednesday, we will officially endorse that candidate. Today's message is one of three from the candidates favored in our first straw poll on May 29th. To make sure you have the information you need, letters to the MoveOn membership and responses to the MoveOn interview questions from all the Presidential candidates are online now at
http://www.moveon.org/pac/cands/. Invite your friends to register to vote in the MoveOn primary by going to
http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg/. The more of us that join in this process, the better the chances that ordinary voters, not pundits or big donors, will determine the Democratic nominee. Thanks,
— Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack Read letters from all the candidates here 
Leading up to the MoveOn Primary next Tuesday, we've offered to forward emails from the three candidates who polled highest with our members. You can also view letters from all nine candidates here. Here's the first email, from Governor Dean: ____________ Dear MoveOn member, Our country is at stake. The Bush Doctrine of preemptive war is wrong for America. The Bush tax cuts are not about cutting taxes; they are about starving and destroying Social Security, Medicare, and our public schools. They call polluting our air "The Clear Skies Act," destroying old growth "The Healthy Forest Act," and taking away our civil liberties "The Patriot Act." If you are as tired and angered as I am by the manipulation and lies, then please join my campaign by signing the Pledge to Take Back America. Let's show that millions of us are not ashamed to stand up for our values: http://www.deanforamerica.com/moveon Too many in my party have failed to stand up to this administration's assault on our country's ideals. Let's show them that the era of conservative intimidation is over. People in Washington worry about "electability" but they forget why they were elected in the first place. Silence equals defeat. Victory requires educating, organizing, and convincing. Defeating George Bush will take nothing short of a massive grassroots movement. That's why we've taken a page from MoveOn's book and provided tools on our website to help you build the movement in your community. Click below to see what's happening near you and to join in. And please forward this email to your friends — I want everyone to know that there is a way to get involved, no matter where they live, or how much time they have: http://action.deanforamerica.com Candidates who continue to say whatever it takes to be elected will lose. What Americans want is a leader who believes in and will fight for sensible and principled positions, including balanced budgets, health care for every American, and a defense policy consistent with American values. The only way we can beat George W. Bush is to stand for a clear alternative. I stood up against this President's attack on Iraq. I did not support his huge tax cuts. I did not support the misnamed "No Child LeftBehind Act," which is raising property taxes all over America and bankrupting our public school system. Unlike all but one of my opponents, I have balanced a budget and I have appointed judges — and I am the only candidate who has made health care available to 99% of the children and 90% of the adults in my state. On my first day in office, I will tear up the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war. I will end this President's policy of domestic division. I will repeal those parts of the Patriot Act that betray the Bill of Rights. And I will roll back this President's tax cuts, because we will never achieve social justice in this country unless we balance the budget. I believe that we can protect ourselves from terrorism and protect the civil liberties that make our nation strong. I believe that we can grow and prosper while also protecting our environment. I believe that a free and brave nation will always be stronger than a fearful nation,and I refuse to submit to fear any longer. Abraham Lincoln said that a government of the people, by the people and for the people would not perish from this earth. Only you — we — have the power to ensure that the ideals of America are not destroyed by this President's radical agenda. If you share my beliefs, then join me in pledging to take back America in 2004: http://www.deanforamerica.com/moveon To plan or to join campaign events near you — including a nationwide day of rallies and house parties on June 23 — please click here: http://action.deanforamerica.com We can undo the damage this President has done only by coming together as Americans today. MoveOn members like you have proven that the grassroots has more power today than at any time in history. Yet MoveOn took years to grow to the size it is today. We do not have years. Years from now will be too late. We must come together now to take back America. Sincerely, Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Posted by Me at 20:07 link
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Lie, Cheat & Steal — Part II: Cheat & StealWhy would anyone want a war? Wars suck. After thousands of years of civilization, the most commonly-agreed principle across all the cultures of earth is that killing people is bad. Wars kill lots of people. Therefore, wars are bad, right?
Well, where you stand on that seems to depend a lot on where you sit.
From the Center for Public Integrity: Of the 30 members of the Defense Policy Board, the government-appointed group that advises the Pentagon, at least nine have ties to companies that have won more than $76 billion in defense contracts in 2001 and 2002. Four members are registered lobbyists, one of whom represents two of the three largest defense contractors....
The companies with ties to Defense Policy Board members include prominent firms like Boeing, TRW, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen Hamilton and smaller players like Symantec Corp., Technology Strategies and Alliance Corp., and Polycom Inc. ...
The board, whose list of members reads like a who’s who of former high-level government and military officials, focuses on long-term policy issues such as the strategic implications of defense policies and tactical considerations, including what types of weapons the military should develop.
<full article> Charles Lewis, the founder of the Center for Public Integrity, spoke today to Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. He made a factual, understated case that it might be a good idea at least to examine whether people being paid large sums by defense contractors should advise the Defense Department on defense policy. Here's Lewis talking about the Defense Policy Board: "For investors and the private sector, what goes on in these conversations is of immense interest; the folks on this board have incredible access and influence — because they have the ear of the Secretary of Defense and his top people."
Fresh Air's interview requests were denied by the Pentagon's Public Affairs Department, their Standards of Conduct Office, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, and Richard Perle, noted hawk and member of the Defense Policy Board (he recently stepped down as chair amid conflict-of-interest accusations). Terry was able to speak to Lt. Colonel Gene Pawlick, spokesperson for the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The Corps awarded a Halliburton subsidiary a lucrative no-bid contract to put out Iraqi oil fires earlier this year. Favorite quote from Lt. Colonel Pawlick: "Mission execution, not perception, is our criteria [sic] for success." Using a combination of aw-shucks Midwestern charm and bureaucratic jargon, he skillfully avoided answering any questions directly.
Click here to hear the full interviews.
Posted by Me at 23:05 link
Monday, June 16, 2003
American Public Not Confused With FactsNothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. -Martin Luther King, Jr. Ted Rall's column this week is harsh, factual and remarkably snark-free. He makes the case that Bush and others in his administration lied to sell the Iraq war to the U.S. Congress and the American people, and that they should be fully investigated and held responsible for their actions. That's the same case I've been making here (Rall writes better than I do, of course). Read his column.
Did the administration's spin job work? The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that A third of the American public believes U.S. forces have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, according to a recent poll. Twenty-two percent said Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons. Also, the Inquirer article reminds, Before the war, half of those polled in a survey said Iraqis were among the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001.
<full article> Yikes!
Do such misconceptions matter? Very much so. 60% of the recent survey's respondents said the "most important reason for going to war with Iraq", according to the government, was "the evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," while 19% cited "the evidence that Iraq was working with the terrorist group al Q'aeda".
<view poll results> (Adobe PDF file)
Maybe the public's misconceptions shouldn't be surprising, considering this FAIR study from earlier this year: Among the major findings in a two-week study (1/30/03 - 2/12/03) of on-camera network news sources quoted on Iraq: - Seventy-six percent of all sources were current or former officials, leaving little room for independent and grassroots views. Similarly, 75 percent of U.S. sources (199/267) were current or former officials.
- At a time when 61 percent of U.S. respondents were telling pollsters that more time was needed for diplomacy and inspections (2/6/03), only 6 percent of U.S. sources on the four networks were skeptics regarding the need for war.
- Sources affiliated with anti-war activism were nearly non-existent. On the four networks combined, just three of 393 sources were identified as being affiliated with anti-war activism-- less than 1 percent. Just one of 267 U.S. sources was affiliated with anti-war activism-- less than half a percent.
<full article>
Consider also Bush's deliberately-ambiguous rhetoric, and it's even less surprising how gullible the American people appear to be. From Spinsanity:In an October 7, 2002 speech in Cincinnati, Bush announced that:We know that Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network share a common enemy -- the United States of America. We know that Iraq and al Qaeda have had high-level contacts that go back a decade. Some al Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. These include one very senior al Qaeda leader who received medical treatment in Baghdad this year, and who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks. We've learned that Iraq has trained al Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. And we know that after September the 11th, Saddam Hussein's regime gleefully celebrated the terrorist attacks on America.
Bush's statement brackets assertions implying an operational connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda -- a connection that is still hotly debated -- with vague assertions that because "that Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network share a common enemy" and that "after September the 11th, Saddam Hussein's regime gleefully celebrated the terrorist attacks," Iraq is guilty for those attacks by association.
<full article>
That's called deception. If he were selling used cars, folks probably wouldn't stand for it.
Bush doesn't want to confuse us with facts. He wants to present only his side of the story — deceptively — and the U.S. news media have been more than willing to assist him.
I don't think Americans are any more gullible than any other people. But how could any people make a reasonable decision when they're given only one side of the story, and even that side is made of lies?
I feel like shouting I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!
But instead, I'm sending another letter to my elected officials. Join me. From MoveOn.org: TO: (Your Representative and Senators)
FROM: (Your Name and Email)
SUBJECT: Investigate the Distortion of WMD Evidence
__________
Dear (Name):
(Your comment here)
I have two specific requests:
1. Please call for an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the distortion of Iraq intelligence. The investigation should include open hearings with testimony from government and outside witnesses that conclude with an unclassified report to the American people.
2. Please co-sponsor H. Res. 260, a Resolution of Inquiry that compels the administration to turn over "documents or other materials in the President's possession" to substantiate claims that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the U.S.. The House International Relations Committee is expected to vote on this resolution on Wednesday, June 18th. Some committee members may vote against this resolution by claiming that Congressional hearings will be sufficient. This would be a mistake. The closed-door hearings will not produce the answers that this resolution requires – and the American people deserve.
A President may make no more important decision than whether or not to take a country to war. If Bush or his officials deceived the American public to create support for the Iraq war, he needs to be held accountable.
Sincerely,
(Your name)
(Your address) Click here right now to send this letter to your elected officials (it'll take you about 60 seconds).
Posted by Me at 21:59 link
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Reality CheckBecause I'm tired of hearing the terms "conservative" and "liberal" misused so badly, and so frequently:conservative adj Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. liberal adj - Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
- Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
From Dictionary.com. Go there, read more. Check out conservatism and liberalism. You will probably be surprised.
Many would argue (and I'd be among them) that the terms are outdated and inadequate. A much richer understanding of the political spectrum can be gained by using a two-dimensional model.
Take this quiz to see where you fit into the picture. Poke around the site to see where leaders and political thinkers of history fit in. You will probably be surprised — and a whole lot better-informed.
Posted by Me at 20:30 link
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