"We're not Saddam"

That's the mantra of Rummie and Wolfie, when confronted with the prisoner-abuse photos. Well, now it turns out that our military has killed suspects during interrogation, one by stuffing him in a sleeping bag and suffocating him, another by shoving him off a bridge.

And the investigations have just begun.

The grand manipulation

For a well-written exposition of how we were tricked into attacking Iraq, check out this article by a Frenchman, of course.

A bitter pill

I feel so sorry for the Iraqis. I've read post after post on their blogs expressing hope for a new and democratic Iraq, free from terror and violence, governed by the people. And yet we know, because Bush has proudly told us, that Iraq is a haven for terrorists, that it's better to fight them there than in the US, and that he wants to "bring 'em on" in Iraq.

So, we've created in Iraq a battleground for the terrorists, and then have told the Iraqis to govern it, to seek peace and freedom in a battleground we've created out of their nation.

If I were a citizen of that nation, I would be hurling more than epithets at the US. And I wouldn't have much hope.

Ooops

Seems like the Iraqis are taking this sovereignty thing a bit too seriously, whipping and abusing criminal suspects. It seems the US isn't quite finished intervening in Iraq's internal affairs after all.

Not with a bang, not with a whimper

But with a thud, the "turnover of sovereignty" takes place in a hasty, secret meeting, with Bremer on a plane home to the US two hours later.

What a public relations coup for Bush!

And of course the arabs aren't fooled, not for a minute. They've been down this road before. There are still foreign tanks in the streets of Baghdad, and that's what counts.

Iraq Returned to Self-Rule Two Days Early

Cool! Now all our surviving troops can come home and carry on protecting us from real dangers, right? Heh heh. I amuse myself.

Yahoo! News

Right on, Reaganites

Former international experts under Reagan speak out and have authored a book pillorying the neocons, Wolfowitz, Rummie, Pearle, Cheney, et al., for their idiotic promotion of US imperialism. They take on Condi, too, calling the National Security Adviser ineffective. Their attacks from the right sound like the attacks on Bush from the left. Is there some nexus, some middle ground where these forces can meet and topple Bush?

Good for you, John

For refusing to cross the Boston Police picket line to address the US Conference of Mayors. You showed some class, adhering to your mantra that you don't cross picket lines, even though it cost you a political opportunity to spread your message about aid to the cities. Sticking to your ideals in spite of sacrifice is right on, bro.

Finally

a mainstream publication, WaPo, has discovered that which we bloggers have pointed out long ago, that Tribune Bremer has tried to tie the hands of the interim government in Iraq with a detailed and lengthy series of edicts and appointments that purport to bind Iraq for years into the future. Will there be any fallout from this revelation, in the US or in Iraq? Probably not. This is how an empire works, with impunity, without opposition, regardless of how hypocritical it is.

A Parting Shot

This is how Knight-Ridder News Service reports the upcoming handover event:

Ordinary Iraqis can watch the ceremonies live on television, provided electricity is working in their power-starved neighborhoods. But there are still no details on where or when the events will take place. Iraqis inside the new leadership, meanwhile, are bracing for attacks and more criticism that they are simply a proxy government for their former occupiers.


"It'll be nice," one incoming Iraqi official said sarcastically when asked to describe the ceremonies. "Our new ministers will take an oath that'll go, `I swear by almighty God to be faithful to the United States and its Republican administration."


While the civilian occupation will dissolve, the U.S. military remains firmly in place. The patrols, checkpoints and tanks that have become part of Iraq's postwar landscape aren't going anywhere.

Off to Sonora

I'm taking a few days off from blogging, visiting my family in Tucson. A bit of bad news (among all the other bad news): Someone stole my protest sign. It's a big deal, kinda, because it was an ornate, two-sided sign, made of white panel-board that allowed me to overwrite slogans, changing them as events demanded. My last slogans were, "Hey,Hey, USA, How many soldiers died today?" and "Take Back America. Re-defeat Bush/Cheney."

I hope whoever stole it is a progressive who'll make good use of it. Hey, I may even spot it at a peace rally one of these days.

Sovereignty lite

Apparently, Iraq will have to make do without a military force, without armor or artillery. That much sovereignty, the US says, is too much.

Nice Mouth, Mr. Vice President!

F**k yourself,' said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency.

Says the Washington Post, "...Even if the Senate were in session, the vice president, though constitutionally the president of the Senate, is an executive branch official and therefore free to use whatever language he likes."

Well, I'm a private citizen and also free to use any language I like. Dick Cheney is a contemptable, unmannered, self-serving dipwad who attained his position through a stolen election, the nefarious act of a politically partial Court. He should still be running Haliburton, which is where his loyalties obviously lie.

We've got to dis-appoint this cabal in November!

The handover

The June 30 date, which I'm sure the Bushies anticipated would be a fabulous photo op, with flags and trumpets and would boost Bush's ratings, will now have no such trappings, no such effect. Indeed, the pundits are saying that it could be Iraq, not the economy, that defeats him in November.

Could history be so ironic? After all of Bush's twisting and wriggling to avoid going to war in VietNam, could he become a casualty of this new war?

Clinton

I watched Clinton being interviewed by Charlie Rose and, for the first time, felt that Rose was out of his element. Too slow, too behind-the-curve, to deal with the incredibly intelligent, quick- and well-spoken Clinton. So it meant Clinton was on his own to expound his views, slightly guided by Rose, but not penetrated.

Here's what I came away with. Clinton is a business-as-usual Democrat, the very reason I voted Green in 2000. I feel sorry for Gore because Clinton's loss of principle and leadership cost Gore the election. Now I'm a Gore fan, but Clinton? Glad to see him cast into the dustbin of history. I didn't like him in office, I like him less as a has-been.

Sometimes I despair

for our world, led by powers, including the US, who are headed toward nuclear oblivion. A few voices with influence are, however, calling us to account. Good for them, and to those who listen, like Senator Ted Kennedy.

You've come a long way, Reverend

Twenty-five years ago, I defended the Moonies against charges that they brainwashed their young recruits. The Reverend Moon was thought of as a demon, later convicted after a federal trial on tax evasion charges.

Now, however, owner of the conservative newspaper The Washington Times, he's being celebrated, in fact he's being crowned, in the halls of Congress.

An historic critique

by twenty-seven former diplomats (many Republicans), calling for Bush's defeat, not only gets precious little coverage in the mainstream media, but causes Bush's approval rating to rise four points.

This is certain: Bush has hardcore support among forty-four percent of likely voters (and they will vote). Kerry has somewhat softer support among the same percent (who may vote in greater numbers this year due to Bush antipathy). To beat Bush, therefore, the undecideds must be convinced to support Kerry in a high percentage, and the pro-Kerry vote must turn out in great force.

We activists must realize we can't cause the hardcore Bush supporters to change their minds. They have no minds.

For the full text and signatories of the critique of Bush, go here.

the perfect metaphor...

Don't sniff now, but our boys are really stuck in the shit in old Baghdad.

Call me crazy

but I wonder why, if Michael Moore wants Fahrenheit 911 to "wake up the choir" to cause them to alert the blacks, the browns, the youth, and the disaffected voters to the evils of Bush and his ilk, why doesn't Moore, with financing from Soros and Turner, crank out millions of free DVDs of the movie and flood the market with them--for free? Once the distributor has made back his investment plus a decent return, the free distribution would both ensure wide dissemination and would be such a departure from traditional movie-making that it would break ground on many fronts, including the political. If Moore does this, he'll surely benefit hugely later in his life.