Elect a madman, you get madness

Like this, and this and this and this and this. Just another day of news accounts from Iraq and the American Empire.

Let the word go forth from this time and place...

that Robert Kennedy should be our next president of the United States.

The coalition of the dwindling

The newly-elected Prime Minister of Norway has told Bush that he will pull Norway's troops out of Iraq. All twenty of them.

Lest we forget

Here's a dispatch from Iraq, a necessary reminder, because while hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their belongings and some hundreds have lost their lives to a natural catastrophe, a similar number of Iraqis are in the middle of a man-made storm. And while Katrina has passed into meteorological history, the agony the Iraqis are suffering has no apparent end.

Just when you thought they couldn't stoop any lower...

They seek to blame the woeful levee-levels around New Orleans on environmental groups to deflect criticism from their own lack of funding of levee projects. Recall, BTW, that the head of the department that employs all U.S. Attorneys is none other than our torture-lover, Alberto Gonzales.

(The person who leaked this memo to the Louisiana newspaper should be awarded the highest environmental medal, something like the Earth Emblem.)

A dog in this fight

For weeks I've stayed away from the question of John Roberts' suitability as Supreme Court Justice, now Chief Justice. But having watched and listened to a few hours of his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee (and having all the while squirmed and moaned at the ineptness of the questioning by the "liberals") I have concluded as follows:

1. Roberts is a skilled advocate of legal positions, and has brought those skills to the hearing room to support his own nomination. He argues positions very well.

2. He has no soul. This is apparent not only from his demeanor and the content of his "answers" but from his record as well. As to the latter, consider this analysis by a long-time Washington lawyer, a Georgetown Law teacher who litigated civil rights cases for years.

So, do I think he should be a Supreme? No, because it's a job for a human being, not a robot. And, if you look carefully at John Roberts, don't you get a kind of Stepford-wives feeling, like there's nobody there? So maybe we should dub him John Robot?

So far, so mute

The MSM is still silent, as of this writing, on this Reuters story of Iraq's Justice Minister's (Attorney General) complaints about the US detentions of innocents and journalists in Iraq, as well as the legal immunity of our troops. A huge development, showing clearly that our status in Iraq is that of occupier, not liberator. I wish the Justice Minister well--he certainly speaks for "liberty" in his nation--but I'll bet his complaint gets no legs in this nation and is even buried by his cohorts, the puppets, who run Iraq on behalf of the US. Stay tuned.

A rat deserting...?

NYT's Tom Friedman, evil genius of the conservative economy, compares the US to Singapore, and decides the latter is preferable to the America run by his compadres. Is the dike cracking?

Economic disconnect

If "the economy" is soaring, why do most Americans not believe it? Here's why.

Who's on first?

Depending on whom you listen to--the Rummie or the President of Iraq--the US will pull out "at least 50 or 60 thousand" troops by the end of the year. Or not.

Update: This is what they call a puppet government.

Polling the polls

Here's a list of most recent national polls, showing the percentages who approve/disapprove of Bush's performance as president. All of the disapproval percentages are at an all-time high for his presidency, and so for once the hype in the MSM about his declining numbers isn't just hype--it's real.

Now, wouldn't it be great if the MSM would finally get the guts to tell the truth about his reign, now that it's safe to do so? And maybe if they did, the Democrats in Congress could get some balls too. But don't count on it. Rove's power is still formidable (but recall that the Plame grand jury term will end in October, so that a report on the leak is imminent, maybe with indictments) and both the MSM and the Democrats (most, anyway) have consistently shown no spine when it comes to attacking this administration for its aberrant policies and its lies.

Stay tuned.

She's baaack!

Riverbend, the Baghdad's Burning blogger, has resumed posting, telling us what it's like in that city. If ever there was "fair and balanced" reporting, this is it.

(A)musings on America

Check out the writings on this site, really radical, really righteous.

How's this going to work, exactly?

The US effectively empties and destroys two of the major cities in which the Sunni Muslims reside, Fallujah and now Tal Afar, so that on the eve of the supposed national referendum on the proposed (and Shia- and Kurd-backed) constitution many Sunnis are in refugee status; and then the constitution isn't able to be printed up to be read and debated by the citizenry with but a month to go until the vote on it. And then, when, as is likely, the Sunnis can't muster enough votes to disapprove it, the constitution is adopted and acclaimed by the US as proof of democracy in action. Right. Just like in Florida and Ohio.

Deconstructing Iraq

We're running out of money to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. Law enforcement in many parts of the country has taken the form of tribal militias and death squads. In order to induce American soldiers to re-enlist to cover the shortfall in recruitment, the Army is increasing re-enlistment bonuses again, offering many thousands of dollars to each person who re-ups, especially in hard-to-fill capacities. In addition to the ongoing violence, the "economic plan" instituted unilaterally by Tribune Bremer during the occupation is ill-suited to bring prosperity to Iraq in the future, and Iraq's constitutional process has produced a document of dubious quality, fraught with ambiguities and unresolved issues, certain to trigger continued rebellion even if it's voted for by the requisite numbers in the requisite number of provinces in Iraq.

Quagmire is too refined a word for it.

Bush's brain

At last--but, alas too late--the explanation for Bush's lack of intellect.

Media, where are you?

Here are ten of the most underreported stories of the year, with sources cited. The days of Watergate-style investigative reporting by MSM is over. In its place--what? Insurrection?

Stay tuned

It seems that the squabbling over the wording of the draft of the "Iraqi constitution" isn't over. Apparently there's still some question over the wording of Iraq's arab relationship or something, and the UN printers won't start printing the draft until at least Sunday, because it needs to have the assembly (which has never voted on it) certify the text. That will give the millions of Iraqis less than a month to read, comprehend and debate the constitution before the October 15 referendum--whereas in our democracy we take more than a year to consider whom to elect as our president.

You can't get there from here

Not to Baghdad, that's for sure. The airport's been closed because the British security company that Bremer hired to guard the place hasn't been paid.

Almost, but not quite

Stories like this, of innocent civilians being held by the US military even though they've been cleared of any wrongdoing, is enough (almost) to cause me don my lawyer robes again and fight the bastards in the courtroom. Almost enough.

Fascism watch revisited

Many posts ago I started a fascism watch on this blog, but in my comings and goings I haven't followed up. Too much vacation and moving and such, so many incidents to report, so little time. But here's a classic, showing the merger of the U.S. military with politics of the Bush administration, which is doing its best to characterize its occupation of Iraq with its "war on terror." Note in Centom's news release that the "terrorist attack" was directed at a military target, no civilians were harmed, not even as "collateral damage." If that makes the insurgents terrorists, what then are we?

Take heart, oh ye of little faith!

Rasmussen Reports, a conservative poll that publishes its results daily, shows Bush's job-approval number (45%) near his lowest ever, and of greatest significance shows the "strongly disapprove" percentage at 41.

What the hell is this?

Zarqawi's forces have a flag--a black flag--and they'e flying it over a city in Western Iraq? They're burning video stores and womens' beauty parlors--enforcing fundamentalist Muslim dictates--and openly occupying the area?

And Bush says we're making military, political and social progress in Iraq?

Too good to be true?

Could it be that George Tenet will come clean, will no longer tolerate the role of scapegoat for the various intelligence failures under his watch? Could it be that he would write a memoir that laid the blame on Bush and Cheney and their minions? Stay tuned.

Here's what's wrong with our system of government

A United States District Judge who up to now has been relatively receptive to the ACLU's claim to full disclosure of the grossest Abu Ghraib videos and photos, now relapses into judicial mumbo-jumbo, giving deference to the testimony of military types who say that such disclosure would injure the war effort and cause death to our military forces.

Look, Judge Hellerstein, the citizens of this nation are its owners, are its bosses. How dare you stand in the way of an informed citizenry, depriving them of information about their nation's most important facet--war-making--by hiding behind some separation-of-powers nonsense, or worse, a facile fact-finding function! It's the judges, under article 3 of the Constitution, who were placed in the position of reining in the legislative and executive branches of government, who were the guardians of the public's right to know and to express themselves knowledgably, despite the efforts of those who govern them to hide facts and functions.

Judge Hellerstein, there's no debate, no doubt. The voters need to know what their employees, the government, has done in their name. You must order the photos and videos released to the public or else America becomes--no doubt about it--just another nation doomed to destruction by its own lack of honesty and virtue. And you, Judge Hellerstein, are early on the list of those who enabled, ensured, its demise.

The cost of war

Here, finally, is a comparison of the dollar cost of the US madness in Iraq to its madness in Viet Nam. No wonder his administration couldn't afford to build levees around New Orleans.

Happier than pigs in shit?

Yup, that's it. That's what Rove and Cheney and Bush are feeling right now. They've got their Wag the Dog event, their urgent distraction from the reality of Bush's malfeasances in Iraq, in economic policy, in everything he touches: Hurricane Katrina, a Godsend for Bush, will be exploited by him and his comrades to bail him out of the onslaught of terrible news from home and abroad, to explain the rising gas prices, to allow him to be a savior (a false one, again), to deflect the news (the MSM news, certainly) from everything that's gone before.
How does he do it? How does Bush slide through a life of evil, corrupt, and worthless acts and somehow emerge unscathed, even heroic? A miracle, truly. No wonder he believes in a personal God and in Jesus as miracle-maker.

Ya gotta love him

Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, wants his country's state-owned oil company, CITGO, which operates hundreds of gas stations in the US, to offer its gasoline at half price to the poor in America. No doubt it won't happen--too many logistical and financial obstacles--but he sure knows how to get under the skin of the conservatives, especially George Bush, and lately Pat Robertson, the assassin.

What is there about this name, Chavez? First Caesar, now Hugo. Troublemakers, both. Heroes too?

Strange bedfellows

While the Left chides Democrats (except for the few who consistently opposed the war in Iraq), the Right berates the NeoCons who plumped for this war. A few Democrats are coming around, now demanding an end to the war, and a few Republicans, too. Very few of each so far, but more today than yesterday, and more on the midterm election day in 2006 than today. Could it be that by then the Left and the Right can coalesce on this one issue: End the war and with it the reign of the madmen who brought it on?

It's the inequality, stupid!

This book, by an accomplished social researcher, documents and explains why those at the low end of the economic and social ladder suffer greatly, even if their standard of living exceeds, in material terms, that of their forebears. It's the standing in current society, in the economic and social hierarchy, that matters; which explains why nations such as the U.S., with great wealth, still lags in many health categories among the poorest classes. The relative standing of the poor causes the misery, and in the U.S., with the greatest gap between rich and poor, the poor suffer greatly.

A tremendous argument for socialism--especially potent to me, an inveterate socialist.

Fuzziness

There's been much Internet chatter about the squishy positions of "liberal" groups like MoveOn.org and others on the topic of withdrawal of US troops from Iraq; and even more hollering about the ridiculous positions of Biden and H. Clinton that troops levels should be increased. Well, as I hope readers of this blog know, the author has always demanded immediate withdrawal--from the day our troops entered Iraq to this moment. Just checking, just making sure you're sure. Out today, out yesterday, out in March, 2003, out forever.

As for what happens in Iraq if we withdraw immediately? Nobody knows. Just like nobody knows what will happen if we don't, except that the US will lose more troops, more money, and more standing in the world.

Hallelujah Halliburton

This post by Juan Cole is the first I've seen that raises the question of the impact of Islamic law in Iraq (now that the US has sanctioned it) on the myriad of corporate enterprises that were plundering that nation in the aftermath of our invasion. Wouldn't it be lovely if the mullahs decided to void all extant contracts as not in conformity with Islamic principles? Laugh, I thought I'd die!

The logic of withdrawal

The debate over withdrawal of our troops from Iraq has been cast by the Bushovics as "stay the course" versus "cut and run." Tragically, this has become the standard of discourse on the topic also, so that most Democratic politicians are buying into it, with H. Clinton and Joe Biden (two likely presidential candidates in 2006) calling for more troops in Iraq, not withdrawal. This thinking will also infect the upcoming midterm elections, probably, so that the American people will be left without a meaningful discourse on the possibility of immediate, or even early, withdrawal.

Such discourse is mandatory in a democracy, certainly over a war that has proven so disastrous and has been shown to have been the product of a fraudulent premise. And so it's heartening to find this essay, a sensible rationale for immediate withdrawal, stated in terms that demonstrate that it may be in America's interest to pull out now, as a strategic matter, not "just" as a moral one. Maybe, so clothed, the debate may find favor with politicians, who seem to prefer strategy to morality.

Baby on board?

No, I don't think so. Not if the baby's name is on the "no-fly" list.

Switzerland is so cool

They've frozen a deal to send some American-made armored personnel carriers to Iraq until they have assurances that they will be used only in noncombat situations. Neutrality rocks and democracy rules.

Intermittent outrage

It's true that lately my blogging has been sporadic. I took a long trip into the wilds of NW United States and Canada and blessedly left my 'puter in its bag; and on my return to SB was confronted with the need to find a new rental, which I've now accomplished and this post is authored from my new digs. So, while our soldiers don't have the luxury of being distracted by such silly excursions, I admit I have been.

However, I've still been doing my demonstrating, my tiny effort at informing those who pass by my streetside sign of the unending and lately mushrooming (to use Condi's word) US casualties in Iraq. And lately here's what I've experienced.

Last Saturday's march up and down State Street in SB was not only well received by the shoppers and tourists of this vacation town, but was positively uplifting. We got ceaseless honks and hoots and cordial expressions of gratitude--the strongest surge of support for our message, our chants and signs calling for an end to the Iraq war and the impeachment of Bush/Cheney that we've ever experienced in our two-plus years of weekly marching.

On the other hand, during my Sunday afternoon vigil, where I hold out my sign for an hour to the vehicular and foot traffic at the base of Stearns Wharf in SB, the reaction was muted, almost silent, as in embarrassed silence. Maybe it was Sunday, maybe it was because most folks were in a hurry to "do" their touristy stuff before they had to head back to LA...whatever. But silence, silence so constant it felt conspiratorial.

The United States has waged war, has invaded and is now occupying another foreign nation. Thousands of human beings were killed in the process, billions of dollars of destruction was wrought, millions of lives were eternally altered, all because of the faulty decision of a cadre of leaders "elected" by us to protect us from an enemy that is undaunted in its desire--and ability--to do us great harm.

I ask, and I'm not alone in asking, WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE OUTRAGE?

King Solomon

And on the current state of cable TV "newscasting" check out this post.

Juan Cole speaks

One of the blogs I regularly visit is Juan Cole's. He's a college professer, shows up on liberal talks shows often. Here's a post that knowledgeably captures the current state of affairs in the oil game.

Beating a live horse

Okay, I've carped about this before, but on the sixtieth anniversary of the atom bombing of Hiroshima, it seems appropriate to reiterate a point about "terrorism."

The IRA, the German Baader Meinhof group, the Weather Underground, Osama bin Laden--these were hardly the first to use the death of civilians as a military/political tool. In just the last century -- not to mention the use of plague and disease as a weapon in previous times -- both the Allies and the Axis powers were "terrorists," as that term's being used now. The Nazis employed rockets, the V-1 and V-2, that were specifically designed to kill and frighten civilian Londoners to affect Britain's resolve to fight. We bombed Dresden, Tokyo and other cities that had no strategic value, precisely to break the will of our enemies to resist, and then, of course, there's Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cities without any military defense and no military value. We did so without warning, without at least trying to deploy the bomb on an unpopulated target to persuade the Japanese to cease fighting. We killed more civilians in our bombing of defenseless cities in 1944-45 than bin Laden can imagine.

Terrorism sucks, no doubt. But let's not forget its history.

Blood and guts

During the first three days of August, 27 US military service persons have been killed. This doesn't include Iraqi soldiers and police or civilians.

And yet, not a peep from any news source or Democrat (except those who opposed the war to begin with) that we should pull our troops out immediately.

Not even an explanation to the American public why these people are dying. The war has settled into a meat grinding operation, just like those who opposed it predicted, and Bush has the temerity to say that the recent deaths are a "grim reminder" that we're still at war. Reminder? Had he forgotten? Had the American people? Had the media?

I'm angry beyond words. So I'll stop typing.

Bean counting

For a detailed review of the recent casualty figures in Iraq and trends, check out this post. Not heartening, not at all. For an ongoing tabulation, this site's the best. The ghoul in me hits the latter every day, despising Bush/Cheney while I do so, because they've caused me to cheer our increasing death-toll.

Pat Buchanan, Republican whore

For years, Pat Buchanan, a Nixon/Reagan stalwart and conservative commentator on the AntiWar blog, has railed against the invasion and occupation of Iraq. I've linked to his writings often, including this post, well-written and incisive.

But he backed Bush/Cheney in both campaigns, notwithstanding that they brought us this awful, tragic war. Why? Because, he said, the alternative, Kerry/Edwards, offered him no choice on the conduct of the war and proposed a liberal domestic agenda, which he opposed.

Here's what I say to Buchanan. Shut up about the war, shut the fuck up! You gave your vote to Bush/Cheney, so shut the fuck up.

Your opinion, please

Okay, here's a report of a car bombing in Baghdad that apparently targeted Iraqi police (killing four of them) that also killed or injured several "innocent bystanders." Is this appropriately called an act of insurgency with "collateral damage," an act of "terrorism," "negligent homicide" or what? If the Soviet Union had occupied the U.S., and Americans were working as police to uphold that occupation, wouldn't an attack on those police by an outraged American be heroic, even though innocent Americans were killed in the process? I dunno, just asking.

The wheels are off

I'm not going to make the effort to provide links to all the stories that contain these facts (it takes too much patience), so you can either trust me or find them yourself through Google or various blogs. These are all current events, taken from today's news accounts.

We're running out of fish--the major fisheries in all oceans are startingly depleted. Our beaches are growing filthy. Global warming is here. Our Congress just passed an energy bill that omits requirements that our cars become more fuel efficient, and the House passed CAFTA, which guts the US job market and exploits foreign workers and the environment, for the benefit of multinational corporations.
The war in Iraq is growing bloodier, there are deep schisms in the positions of the various factions that are said to comprise its "freely elected" government, and women will lose significant freedoms under the eventual constitution. Terrorist attacks are now common in Europe, especially in nations that supported the US invasion of Iraq.
Middle class income in the US is down, credit-card and mortgage debt is skyrocketing, the disparity between rich and poor, nationally and internationally, is greater than during the "Gilded Age."
Corporations (banks, defense contractors and oil companies, mostly) are prospering, while the availability of health care to workers is spiraling downward, now become rare in some industries, particularly the service industry. America's deficits--both in international trade and in balancing its governmental fiscal policy--are higher than ever in history.

That's today's news, folks. And the good news? I'm in California, and the day on the east coast is almost over.

A fine kettle of fish

So--Turkey wants the U.S., occupiers of Iraq, to send troops up to the north part of Iraq to quell the Kurdish guerillas that are attacking into Turkey from there. We, of course, have stayed out of the north for our own reasons, and the Turks are getting tired of our one-sided treatment of terrorism, since they (and we) have labeled those Kurdish guerillas terrorists.

Oh, goody. Now we get to fight another country's war on foreign soil. We reap what we sow.

Blood in the water?

Thank goodness for WaPo's Walter Pincus. A true "liberal media" person. This story about Rovegate reveals that the prosecutor Fitzgerald has smelled blood, and has included in his inquiry the fascinating question of how the 18 words about "uranium from Africa" found their way into Bush's state of the union address, when the CIA had earlier stricken the reference from a previous speech by Bush. Recall how deliberate Bush's reference was: He attributed the information to British intelligence, an obvious way to avoid the dispute that was evident in US sources.

Could it be that there will be indictments? With the grand jury's term (and hence Fitzgerald's task) concluding in October, we don't have long to wait.

More mystifying

My reflections on the ambivalence of recent poll results, see my post, "Mystifying" below, are highlighted by this story, that cites a poll where a majority now believes Bush "deliberately misled" us about the existence of WMD in Iraq, that we're unlikely to "win" the war, but (what?!) that we were right to invade.

What does that say about our leadership, about our democracy, about pollsters, about the media, and--most fundamentally--about how Bush has Americans exactly where he wants them, dazed and confused.

The silence is deafening

I guess I understand. Nobody likes to hear bad news, but the media thrives on it anyway. So why, in view of the ongoing misery in Iraq (bombings, shootings, devastation), do we hear so little about it on the mainstream media? I'll tell you why. Because it's old news, that's why.

God, this is a cynical culture we've created. Surely, God didn't create it, did He?

Boy oh boy, this Iraqi sure gets around

Two separate "terrorist attacks," weeks apart, as reported by the US Army. But guess what? An Iraqi who witnessed one of the attacks somehow finds himself at the site of the second attack and is quoted by the Army again. Same quote.

Is this an ubiquitous Iraqi talking, or the Army's spin doctor?

Neither. It was an "error."

Under the radar

The ACLU and other groups have sued Rummie and the DoD to release the videos and photos of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, the many that weren't revealed previously. Seymour Hersch said that they were more horrific than the original photos, including screams of detainees audible on the videotapes while they were being sodomized.

The district judge who's handling the case is disgusted with the DoD's repeated delays in production of the material under the Freedom of Information Act, the latest maneuver by the DoD being to claim some law-enforcement restraint on production. (A quickie series of quotes by the judge, Rummie and the DoD can be found here and NYT's take on the DoD's latest ploy to avoid compliance with the District Judge's order, go here.)

Bottom line: Despite Bush/Rummie's assurances that their investigation of the abuse scandal with be so transparent that it will show how democratic and forthright the U.S. is, the administration is doing all it can to obstruct the revelation of the prisoner abuses and to bring to justice those (including Rummie, Gonzales and the generals) who caused them to occur.

Take heart: The District Judge who's handling the case doesn't appear to be cowed by the Bushists. The awful photos and videos will indeed be made public, and not too long from now.

Treasongate

For a succinct and entertaining summary of the Rove/Plame/Niger/Yellowcake-gate affair, check out this story, the conclusion of which is telling: The real story is how Rove's actions reveal the degree to which this administration is dedicated to its lies and its wars.

Mystifying

Check out these recent polling results on various questions relating to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. While in several polls a large majority of those polled state that they feel Bush has done a poor job of handling the war, to other questions a majority answers that they approve the military operation--even though a majority also believes the invasion/occupation has worsened the terrorist situation around the world and has made the US less safe from terrorism.

These disparities of public opinion tell me that a majority of US citizens are conflicted about our actions and policy in Iraq, but are coming slowly to the realization that Bush has made a gross error by invading Iraq in the first place and has placed our nation in an impossibly costly and strategically disastrous position. As I've said for years, "It's Iraq, stupid!" If we want to have any chance to change the direction of our nation's politics and policies, we must continue--day by day--to hammer home the evil idiocy of that awful war.

Tangled webs after a thousand deceptions

Could it be as simple as this? Karl Rove and Scooty Libby (the two men closest to Bush/Cheney, respectively) indicted for perjury for testifying before a grand jury that they first learned of Valerie Plame's status from news reporters when those same reporters deny same? This testimonial conflict, supported by the implausibility of Rove/Libbys' stories, taken together with today's new account of the State Department memo that was circulated on Bush's Africa-bound airplane (surely a smoking gun on the issue of whether Plame's employment by the CIA was "secret"), may spell the end of Bush's holier-than-thou administration. Just as a "third-rate burglary" wrecked Nixon's reign, this tiny crack in Bush's impervious imperium may bring down the entire structure.

Let's hope--it's just a hope--that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is the Archibald Cox/Leon Jaworski of the new millenium.

One step backward, one step backward

The "new constitution" in Iraq will likely curtail womens' rights, far more limiting than womens' status under Saddam Hussein's regime. Makes all that killing worth it, eh?

Back in the USSA

In response to the urgent pleas of scores of you devotees, I resume my posting after a month's vacation in NW USA and Alberta/B.C., Canada.

Amazing, isn't it?, how Bush slithers through his lies and treasonous conduct. A month ago, after months of urging by us bloggers, the Downing Street Memos finally made the bigtime, bringing to the fore the "smoking gun" proof of Bush's lies about WMD before the Iraq invasion. At the time, we knew the Bushists would manufacture some detour--a Supreme Court nominee, another war, something--to wipe the Downing Street Memos from our memories. But no--there's been an unexpected detour: The Karl Rove story.

Fact is, however, the latter isn't anywhere near as important the the former, and now Bush's war-inducing lies have disappeared into history, as will the Karl Rove story, as will even the outrageous Iraq war when the Saddam Hussein trial starts. The latter will be carried ad nauseum by the networks, obliterating the war news and Bush will once again escape the fallout from his criminal conduct. Worst president ever, no contest.

Take care

I'm off for an extended trip (look out, trout!), be back in about a month. Meanwhile, don't you people let Bush get away with any more shenanigans.

Secrets and lies

Here's a report by a retired military man, detailing the sustained effort by the Bushies to plump for invasion and to keep spreading favorable press about the war in Iraq in the face of reality. We're still being fed lies and misinformation by Bush/Cheney/Rummie/Condi, and we've simply got to demand that the media call them to account. Otherwise, we'll be in for another decade of war in the Middle East and beyond.

Just another day in Iraq

For a sense of the terror and outrage of our occupation of Iraq, check out the list of entries and news summaries for today (6/15) that are shown down the right-hand column of the blog.

It's getting uglier and uglier

So now, the Kurds in Kirkuk--a northern Iraq city with a pool of oil under it--are abducting and imprisoning Arabs and Turkmen, who oppose Kurdish control over the city, and in some cases with the knowledge of the US and Iraq military. What the hell?

Leaked memos

Here, in a sequence (pdf format) are the various memos, including the Downing Street Minutes, that have given rise to all the recent blog (and, finally, a bit of MSM) hullabaloo.

Enjoy.

Recon by fire

Stories like this, where our soldiers shoot at cars that are speeding toward a checkpoint, or are driving too slowly toward a checkpoint, or are turning around to avoid a checkpoint--whatever--are becoming common. It's part of the reconnaissance by fire tactic (more like a syndrome) that we adopted in Viet Nam, where our troops fired indiscriminately into the jungle to see if there were any VC or NVA in the bushes and in the process killed thousands of locals.
Slopes, gooks, Arabs, what's the difference?

A prediction

I don't do this often, and when I've done it in the past (as with the ruination of the dollar and the replacement of Cheney on the ticket in 2004) I've been wrong. So, with a miserable track record, I presume nevertheless to predict this: A catastrophic attack, or a discovered threat of one, within the next few days. With Bush/Cheney in such shit as now, what else could one expect?

The Times--the original Times

The Times of London, which broke the Downing Street Memo on May 1, has done it again, this time with a memo about how Bush/Blair were intent on seeking a legal justification--in particular, the use of the UN--to invade Iraq. Doncha wish our MSM would do some spadework on this issue?

Here's the actual memo, as published by the Times.

Freeway blogger

This site--especially for me, an inveterate sign-displayer--is inspiring. And fuuunny.

Lehrer sucks

I just watched PBS Friday night news with Jim Lehrer. He gave the shortest possible shrift to the Downing Street memo and its significance. When a transcript of the show is made available I'll post it. Amazing. We are really being isolated, even by the "liberal" media.

More about suicide bombers

Here's an elucidation of the study of suicide bombers that I referred to in a previous post. It's important for Americans to understand what we're fighting, and how they're fighting us. It's brutal, all of it, but are we less--or more--brutal than they? In answering, remember, we invaded their country and presently occupy it. If they invaded ours, and you were powerless against their overwhelmingly powerful force, what would you do?

This is absolutely delicious

Private contractors from the US, working in Iraq and armed to the teeth (and immune from suit by reason of Tribune Bremer's previous decree), have fired on civilian Iraqis and US soldiers, causing deaths and injuries. Now, the Iraqi Interior Ministry, with the blessing of the US military, want to impose controls on these contractors, whose impunity and huge salaries are envied by our poorly paid grunts.

Could we be talking about a civil war in Iraq between American troops and American contractors?

Winning their hearts and minds

Ah, This'll do it, no doubt. The Pentagon has decided to outsource to private PR firms its propaganda effort directed at foreigners. (The military is forbidden by law from spreading propaganda among US citizens--oh right!) .

I love this part:

"The contract calls for the firms to produce print articles, video and audio
broadcasts, Internet sites and novelty items, like T-shirts and bumper stickers,
for foreign audiences."

Bumperstickers? T-shirts? What slogans? "They dropped clusterbombs on my village, but all I got was this lousy T-shirt"?

It's Iraq, stupid

I can't believe that those in charge of the Democrats' positions can read the tea leaves, or even the polls. This nation hates this madness in Iraq, and the Left must jump on it. Now, tomorrow and until the Right dies from loss of blood.

The responsibilities and lawfulness of occupation

Look, there's no mystery to this. We've occupied countries before. Germany, Japan and Italy after WWII to name three. We are now occupiers of Iraq after a war in which we prevailed. No mystery there. So our obligations are fixed by well-settled international law. We must follow due process of law with regard to prisoners, just as the UN dictates.

So, if you have any doubts that the US is capable of being as vicious a conqueror as Nazi Germany in France during WWII, just compare our treatment of those who resist our occupation with the French who resisted the Nazi's. I submit that the only difference is that Bush doesn't have a moustache.

Wrongfooting Saddam

This memo, another from a growing collection of British prewar documents, tells of a meeting between a UK official and Paul Wolfowitz, then with the Pentagon. In it, the Brit shows what a charade our prewar machinations were, as we tried to trick Saddam into some mistake that would give support to our invasion of Iraq.

It was apparent to me in the weeks before the invasion that all of the public relations, from Bush's speeches to Colin Powell's dog and pony show before the UN, that war was inevitable (to borrow a word from the Downing Street Minutes). We were bombing strategic targets in the north and south of Iraq, we were obfuscating on the subject of WMD, not presenting the weapons inspectors with our claimed sightings of caches of weapons, and then, when finally some information was given to the UN inspectors it turned out to be "garbage on garbage."

I just watched a PBS interview with an important journalist who believes the quiet about the Downing Street Minutes (which is no longer quite so quiet) is the calm before the storm, that some major news organization will put all (or most) of the pieces together and publish a definitive proof that Bush/Cheney/Rummie and the gang weren't serious in any attempt to "solve Iraq" except by invasion. The evidence--not just documents and observations by insiders, but their conduct too--is inconsistent with any other conclusion.

Update: As to the legitimacy of the "wrongfooting Saddam" memo, check out this Guardian article about the memo, published almost a year ago. There's no doubt about its authenticity.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse

Now we learn about the massive underfunding of pensions for employees of major corporations, and the insolvency of the federal agency that supposedly insures against just that.

(If you think you just heard the death knell for Bush's "privatization plan" for Social Security, you're right.)

Suicide bombers explained

It's not about Islamic fundamentalism. It's not lunacy, or the product of misfits in their culture. Those who commit suicide by detonating explosives to cause damage to the enemy do so to get the enemy the hell out of their country.

Call me crazy

but I think this story about the Pentagon's corruption (with the complicity of Bush administration officials, including Andrew Card, the President's Chief of Staff), the the aborted sale/leaseback of Boeing transports will become the first significant scandal to touch Bush. Because John McCain was the driving force to squelch the deal, he's in the driver's seat. He could ride this scandal to the White House.

For background on the deal, a story appearing in WaPo before the sale/leaseback arrangement was killed, go here. As you can see, this was politics at its slimy worst.

BBC, Thanks

A new feature on the BBC website will follow events in Iraq, including comments and details as they occur, on a daily basis. Think any of our networks will follow suit?

Under the radar

There are so many stories that go unreported by the MSM that it's difficult to list them all, but here's one that's so far under the radar that even sonar doesn't reach it: The charges against two lobbyists for AIPAC, a group supporting the Israeli interests in the Middle East, of obtaining secret documents from a Defense Department official, Larry Franklin, and Franklin's connection to high officials in the Bush administration. For details, check out the invaluable online encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Viva Chavez

You just gotta love this guy. Not just spot on, but cheeky too.

What a fine kettle of fish

Spreading democracy? Free and fair elections throughout the Middle East, throughout the world? Well, Bush, be careful what you pray for because now, in southern Lebanon, you've got it.

Dictator watch

My third watch, following the Fascism Watch and the Orwell Watch, probably merely a supplement to each, is my just-launched Dictator Watch, that reports most recently on Time magazine's revelation the the CIA is no longer automatically included in Bush's briefings and discussions of national security. We can't have any of those pesky independent agencies listening in on the neocons' plans, can we?

Marla Ruzicka

Remember her? The young American woman who worked in Baghdad, trying to get a count of civilian Iraqi war dead, and was killed in a suicide blast a few months ago? Well, here's a revealing, well-written piece about her life and last days.

A Brit looks at the US press

Some memorable quotes, including this one about the result of the Bush administration's constant attack on those who report its mistakes:

The result of this climate of fear and caution is that few Americans have any
idea of the circumstances in which 1,600 of their countrymen have lost their
lives in Iraq, the hideous injuries suffered by both Iraqi and American victims
of suicide bombers, or even the profound responsibility that lies with Rumsfeld
for mishandling practically every facet of the occupation. The mission to
explain has been replaced by the mission to avoid.

If you ever doubted

the similarities between the wars in Iraq and Viet Nam, check out this story, and, in particular, the photo.

Orwell Watch

In addition to my fascism watch (actually, to supplement it), I'm instituting an Orwell Watchto track instances (not all of them, there are so many) in which the Bush administration is delivering us to 1984.

Here's a prime example of its employment of "the memory hole" called to my attention to by a website of the same name.

The smoking bullet in the smoking gun

Ya know, the massive pre-war airstrikes inside Iraq by the US, that were contemporaneously reported by AP and others, struck me at the time as worthy of comment, since the US had no authority to conduct such attacks--even under its twisted reading of the UN resolution that the Kurds and Shiites be protected (which the Brits and the US claimed justified their armed clearance of the "no-fly zones" in the north and south of Iraq). But not being a blogger, I thought about it but did nothing but think.

Now this article in The Nation puts those attacks into the context, revealed by the Dowing Street Memo and confirmatory testimony and paperwork, of a pre-planned attack on Iraq, wholly inconsistent with Bush's statements to Congress and--as if it matters anymore--entirely in violation of international law.

It is a "high crime" to wage illegal war. Bush has committed an impeachable offense and should be removed from office.

Query: Will the Democrats follow Conyer's lead to that end?

Oh, Wouldn't it be loverly?

If the Iraqi workers' unions successfully resisted privatization of Iraq's oil, so that Bush and his buddies ended up without their spoils after all?

I am speechless

with outrage. Is this how we support the troops--by killing them after they've been wounded in battle?

The Tillman tragedy

So, the Army--that's gotta include Rummie, DOD boss--knew NFL star Pat Tillman was killed by "friendly fire" and lied to hide the fact until weeks later. Now that the truth is out and Tillman's parents are publicly expessing their outrage, will he give them a call? Will Bush? Or will they, as is their habit, somehow dodge the issue of these lies, as they've dodged all others? Or will they, as is their more habitual habit, somehow find something to tar Tillman's parents with?

It makes sense to me now

I've been truly baffled about my fellow citizens' behavior, that is, the behavior of those who, despite his lies, continue to trust Bush to govern. Well, now I understand, and I forgive them. It's genetic. Their systems produce too much oxytocin.

Why I march

As readers of this blog know, I weekly march in protest of the war in Iraq, carrying a sign that counts the dead and wounded G.I.'s and Iraqis, and demands that Bush order our immediate withdrawal. We (five regulars and an average of five irregulars) cover a two-mile loop in downtown SB, singing peace songs and chanting anti-Bush slogans. I also hold the sign up at various intersections here in SB, about two hours a week. In both settings the response by passers-by is overwhelmingly supportive, with the honks and thumbs-up outnumbering the middle-finger salutes and jeers by a two to one margin, and the favorable ratio is increasing weekly.

I call attention to this because some friends have wondered why I persist, especially since the 2004 election gave Bush the White House for four more years, and there doesn't seem to be much articulation of a protest movement, or a demand for withdrawal from Iraq, in Congress or on other streets of the U.S.

Well, my answer is simple. I just can't not protest, not simply in this blog with a readership (maybe) of five or six like-minded souls, but in some way that maybe will be noted by someone who'll reflect for a moment on this ongoing outrage and maybe, just maybe, be affected in some positive way. Maybe someone will see the figures (to date)--1667 dead G.I.'s, and 12,222 wounded; 24,000 dead Iraqi civilians; $300,000,000,000 wasted--and be affected. Maybe.

To me, the question isn't Why do we march?, but Why aren't more people marching? I've seen little discussion of this question, particularly in view of the polls showing that a large majority of Americans feel that the war in Iraq isn't "worth it." Here's one columnist who's asked the question, Why isn't there more protest? His answer--not comforting--is that Americans aren't sufficiently moved to react because the body count isn't high enough. Well, if he's right, then I suppose all we have to do is keep marching and wait a while.

Maybe I'm a bit crazy

but isn't it big news that the Iraqi government has just today formally asked for, and received,an extension of the UN mandate authorizing the continued occupation of Iraq by US and coalition troops? I mean, given the fact that Iraq's "duly constituted sovereign government" could theoretically ask for an end to the occupation at any time, shouldn't it be important that it didn't, both to the Bush administration (which is probably nearly passed out in relief) and to the anti-occupation Westerners, like me (who is deeply disappointed). Maybe neither side wants to publicize the event for its own reasons and so no news is no news.

You're not alone

According to Rasmussen's polls, the percentage of persons (44%) who believe the US is winning the war on terr'r has fallen to its lowest level ever.

The insurgents' latest weapon

is poisoned watermelon. (Scroll down to middle of story.)

Four more years!

How comforting. Cheney says the war in Iraq will be over by the end of Bush's term. Of course he's right. Sometime before election day 2008, Bush will have declared the conflict over so that whoever the neo-cons put up to run for his office will be able to claim victory.

Basra revisited

Remember Basra? That's Iraq's second largest city, the port city that's occupied by British troops, not American. It's been relatively quiet, without the car bombs and razor wire that pervades Baghdad and the towns in the "Sunni Triangle." So what's its status? Well, according to the Iraqi general who's in charge of the place, not good, not good at all.

Downing Street Memo remembered

Here's a site, with a lengthy exposition, related to the status of the Downing Street memo, or rather its lack of status in the MSM. It's actually an entire website devoted to tracking, and calling the MSM's attention to, the "smoking gun" document.

Next time you're in eastern Pennsylvania

drop in and have a beer, and congratulate the owner, at Keystone Pub.

Body count

"Things are getting better in Iraq." So goes the Bush/Cheney refrain, repeated in news conferences and interviews. Well, to check just one "metric" (Rummie's word), here are the numbers of American soldiers who've died, showing that the contrary is true. May's total of coalition soldiers killed is exactly the same as May last year, both of which are among the highest totals since the war began.

Update: The coalition troop body count for May 2005 turns out to be higher than a yearago.

MoJo radio

News Flash! Mother Jones magazine is launching a radio program, starting June 5. An hour-long show will be carried on Air America Radio, available here in SB on 1340AM. Listings for other areas are available on the above website. For those of you (us) who tire of Al Franken, this is good news indeed.

Fascism watch

Further to my previous post--I've decided to maintain a fascism watch. The latest sighting: MTV.

I don't like the sound of this

"Widening the focus against extremism?" With this administration, such a concept can only mean one thing. Two, actually: Perpetual war and invasion of civil rights.

You heard it here first (or maybe for the hundredth time): We are becoming a fascist state.