A Canadian Witnesses Fair and Balanced First Hand

My Fox trot with Bill O'Reilly

I always say yes to American TV because how else are Americans going to hear about radical notions like feeding the poor and sheltering the gentle, or letting black people vote in Florida?
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Mr. O'Reilly is not a smart man. He's like one of those old guys you see on the street ringing a bell and shouting about eternal damnation. He talks to his trousers. You know the type. They let wasps nest in their hair so they can lure weasels, trap 'em and eat 'em slow over the summer.

We were supposed to be discussing American deserters fleeing to Canada; instead, he went off on some wild thing about the mayor of Vancouver injecting people with heroin and unless Canada shapes up, "we" will boycott you and destroy your economy, just like "we" did to France.

I said France seemed to be doing fine. He implied that France now looked like Dresden in 1945. I hadn't heard that.

I said the United States couldn't boycott Canadian goods because it would be mutually damaging. "We're your biggest trading partner."

"No, you're not." (We are.) Naturally, I wanted to reply, "Yes, we are," so that he could say "No, we're not," and then I'd say, "Everything you say bounces off me and reflects back on you, so there," but I couldn't regress that far.

- rob 9:42 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Wolfowitz Doesn't Know Because Wolfowitz Doesn't Care

Pentagon's No. 2 Flubs Iraq Casualties

WASHINGTON - Asked how many American troops have died in Iraq, the Pentagon's No. 2 civilian estimated Thursday the total was about 500 — more than 200 soldiers short.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was asked about the toll at a hearing of a House Appropriations subcommittee. "It's approximately 500, of which — I can get the exact numbers — approximately 350 are combat deaths," he responded

"He misspoke," spokesman Charley Cooper said later. "That's all."

American deaths Thursday were at 722 — 521 of them from combat — since the start of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense.

- rob 10:55 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Creating Enemies
How you make the next generation of terrorists

OUTRAGE AT AMERICAN TORTURE OF IRAQI PRISONERS

VIDEO footage of US soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners of war horrified America yesterday.

I hope so. I do hope America is horrified. It should be.

Other captives were forced to pose in humiliating positions, some of them simulating sex acts, as soldiers gave the thumbs up.

Army Reserve Staff Sergeant Chip, who is accused of striking detainees and ordering them to beat each other, was seen sitting on a prisoner.

He allegedly boasted in an email to his family: "We had a very high rate with our styles of getting them to talk. They ended up breaking within hours."

Yesterday Frederick said he would deny abuse, claiming he was not shown Geneva Convention rules on how to treat captives.

He said: "We had no support, no training whatsoever.

"I kept asking my chain of command for things like rules and regulations. It just wasn't happening." The soldiers, from the 800th Military Police Brigade, were arrested after the video images were sent to a friend who handed them to authorities.

The friend told investigators: "There are some things going on at Abu Ghraib that I can't live with."

Brig Gen Kimmitt said: "These pictures may reflect the actions of individuals. But, by God, it doesn't reflect my army.

Okay - given that war does bad things to good people, given that Frederick might have had bad training, given that Frederick wasn't getting information about rules and regulations; did he still think having prisoners beat each other up was okay?

US general suspended over abuse
(thank god)
A US general has been suspended in Iraq over the alleged abuse of prisoners by US troops in jails she ran

CBS says the pictures it obtained show a wide range of abuses, including:

• Prisoners with wires attached to their genitals
• A dog attacking a prisoner
• Prisoners being forced to simulate having sex with each other
• A detainee with an abusive word written on his body.

The prison where the abuses are alleged to have taken place was a notorious torture centre during the Saddam Hussein era.

Bob Baer, a former CIA operative with extensive Iraq experience, told CBS: "If there [was] ever a reason to get rid of Saddam Hussein, it's Abu Ghraib [prison]."

"When in Rome do like a Roman" does not carry much wait in a military court.

And for more interesting facts of the story, I again have to link to a British paper:

US military in torture scandal
Use of private contractors in Iraqi jail interrogations highlighted by inquiry into abuse of prisoners

The US army confirmed that the general in charge of Abu Ghraib jail is facing disciplinary measures and that six low-ranking soldiers have been charged with abusing and sexually humiliating detainees.

Lawyers for the soldiers argue they are being made scapegoats for a rogue military prison system in which mercenaries give orders without legal accountability.

A military report into the Abu Ghraib case - parts of which were made available to the Guardian - makes it clear that private contractors were supervising interrogations in the prison, which was notorious for torture and executions under Saddam Hussein.

One civilian contractor was accused of raping a young male prisoner but has not been charged because military law has no jurisdiction over him.

Welcome to Rumsfeld's army of the future: "Contractors" [mercenaries] that can act with impunity, and even our military must stand back and look on in horror. He has weakened us, this administration has weakened us: morally, financially, militarily.

And we have just supplied al Quaeda with their new recruitment video:

Arab Stations Show Iraqi Prisoner Images

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Arab television stations led their newscasts Friday with photographs of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by U.S. military police, with one main channel saying the pictures were evidence of the "immoral practices" of American forces.

The images, which document alleged abuses that have led to charges against six American soldiers, were first broadcast Wednesday night in the United States on CBS'"60 Minutes II."

The images shown on Dubai-based Al-Arabiya and the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channels blurred the nudity of the prisoners.

The images were potentially inflammatory in an Arab world already angry at the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Arabs consider public nudity as dishonorable.

- rob 10:23 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Wow, things in Iraq sure are different than they used to be under that mean ol', nasty Saddam. I mean, back then, you had these Baathists, the people who ran the country and all. They were bad. Back then, you had the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the people who tortured the country and all. They were bad too. We were fighting them after the war ended and the mission had been accomplished. The ditto heads all said that the troubles we were having in completely pacifying the country were with those Baathist dead-enders, Saddam loyalists and leftover Saddam Feddayeen. So we rounded up all the generals and put them in prison to answer for their crimes. We even had this little, cute, media friendly deck of 52 that would tell us who we really needed to round up. We had rewards posted for a number of these folks. But the main point was that the mean, nasty and feared Republican Guard was broken and those generals would never be seen again. The ugly and murderous Iraqi security apparatus was in a shambles. And then we found Saddam, and world finally knew true peace.

And then this week we find that not only is the CPA inviting Baathists to join the government to lend "legitimacy" to the efforts, we find that the CPA and DoD are thinking about putting Fallujeh under the control of Iraqi security forces commanded by former Iraqi army generals. A WaPo article also details the involvement of a former colonel in the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

So, just to review, if I've got this straight: we started a war to find WMD that we were pretty certain weren't there and when they weren't there afterall, we said that we really started the war to make Iraq a better place and advance the cause of freedom in the world. So we kicked out Saddam and his cronies and ended the killing, enslaving, torturing, etc. of his people by making sure that we rounded up all the regime members and the leaders of the army and the hated and feared IIS. And now, we're putting the regime members back into the government and we're allowing former army leaders and torturers to control the Iraqi security forces. oh, and we also reopened the prison where lots of the torturing was going on.

It's as if in 1946, we said, you know, this whole Germany thing isn't going very well. Say, um, Rommel (yeah, I know he was dead by then), if you're not busy, could you help us out. Oh, and Himmler? Don't go yet. Can you get some of your SS boys back together and ride herd in Berlin for a moment, most of our boys don't speak too good German and are having a real problem with the locals. Hey, and while you're at it, if you guys could get some of your old Nazi buddies back together to join us in the new government. We need to lend some legitimacy to it. Oh, and almost forgot, if you guys could get the boilers going again at Buchenwald, we've got some people to imprison.

Wow. Good stuff. You couldn't write this stuff. You couldn't even dream of this stuff.

WTF.

- B 1:23 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Link from Atrios

Local Hero Killed in Baghdad

He was searching for weapons of mass destruction around Baghdad when a suspected chemical warehouse exploded. Sergeant Baker was raised in Philadelphia's West Mount Airy section.

Baker leaves a wife and nine-year-old son JD in Luzern County. Baker grew up in Philadelphia, attended Roman Catholic high school where his peace activist mom Celeste Zappala says Baker protested the first Gulf war. Zappala says she raised all her sons to oppose war. She is bitter about the Iraq War calling it Bush's false war.

He was a hero. There have been many heroes, and now a nine year old has lost his dad.

Not only is it a needless war, it was a needless mission that caused his death.

He was searching for weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist, not securing Iraq, not helping Iraq, but searching for weapons of mass destruction whose discovery at this point only serves as a bullet point in the Bush re-election campaign's powerpoint presentation.

He died for a political campaign.

As george joked "they gotta be around here somewhere... are they under the couch...?"

- rob 6:15 PM - [PermaLink] -

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The 9/11 Commission White House briefing

9 hours of this:



Problems With the White House Narrative

Paltrow [WSJ] wrote: "Among other things, the commission is examining such questions as how long Mr. Bush remained in a Florida classroom just after the World Trade Center strikes, whether there really was a threat to Air Force One that day, how effectively American fighter jets reacted to the attacks, and who activated the national-emergency-response plan."

White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr., who famously whispered in the president's ear, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack," has previously said that Bush left the Florida classroom he was sitting in within seconds.

But Paltrow wrote that "uncut videotape of the classroom visit obtained from the local cable-TV station director who shot it, and interviews with the teacher and principal, show that Mr. Bush remained in the classroom not for mere seconds, but for at least seven additional minutes. He followed along for five minutes as children read aloud a story about a pet goat. Then he stayed for at least another two minutes, asking the children questions and explaining to Ms. Rigell that he would have to leave more quickly than planned."

Paltrow wrote: "Both Republican and Democratic commissioners have said they are focusing closely on what happened next -- and whether mere minutes could have affected the outcome on Sept. 11. The panel's investigators are looking at questions such as the timeliness of presidential orders about intercepting the jet that at 9:37 a.m. plowed into the Pentagon."

Card says Bush left the classroom in seconds, but here is a picture of him 4 minutes and 40 secords after being told "America is under attack":



I guess this is what they mean by "steady leadership in uncertain times." Look how steady Bush is! America may be under attack, but he's not going to let that stop him from reading a book about a goat! Damn the man is a ROCK!

- rob 6:12 PM - [PermaLink] -

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White House braced for latest assault by hardback

The Bush administration is bracing itself for the latest memoir by a former insider. Joe Wilson, a former ambassador, will this week reveal the name of the government official who "outed" his wife - revealing her identity as a CIA operative in apparent revenge for his role in proving the White House made false claims about Iraq's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

But in what has increasingly becoming the habit during Mr Bush's presidency, Mr Wilson will not make his claims on television, at a press conference or even in a newspaper column but between the covers of a "must-read" book. His memoir, The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity, is published tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for Mr Wilson, a former ambassador to several African countries and a member of President Bill Clinton's national security council. For while the initial "scoop" will appear in his book, if precedent is any guide the revelation will quickly be devoured by all other media and Mr Wilson will likely be filling the airwaves and broadcasts that day.

- rob 5:59 PM - [PermaLink] -

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How could this be - Chalabi vounched for all of them!

Iraq congress members under investigation

Members of the Iraqi National Congress and its leader Ahmed Chalabi were airlifted into southern Iraq the day Saddam’s government fell. Chalabi was President Bush’s guest at the State of the Union address. Even today, the INC gets $340,000 a month from the Pentagon to feed the United States intelligence information.

But NBC News has learned that members of the group are now under investigation by Iraqi police in Baghdad — allegations of:

• abduction
• robbery
• stealing 11 Iraqi government vehicles
• assaulting police by firing on them during a search.

An Iraqi police official says one doctor claims he was kidnapped at gunpoint: “They bound him, took him to an unknown place and after he got back to his house he discovered they took $20,000. We caught the suspects and they said they were from the INC.”

Iraqi authorities tell NBC that four INC operatives are under arrest, and an arrest warrant has been issued for the INC’s chief of intelligence.
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All this comes in the wake of findings that key intelligence on weapons of mass destruction provided by Chalabi’s group was false, perhaps even fabricated.

In fact, the former head of the weapons hunt, David Kay, questions why a group that provided “fabricated information” is still on the U.S. payroll. “You know, once taken, excused," says Kay. "Twice taken you’re an idiot. And I think we’re now at the point of we’re really an idiot.”

Chalabi the Neo-con Iraqi hero. Idiots. Wolfowitz, Pearle, Cheney, Scouter Libby, congratulations on a job well done.

- rob 5:46 PM - [PermaLink] -

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What 2 Bushes and the Pentagon neglected to tell us about the Gulf Wars

Remember Gulf War Syndrome, and the Pentagon's reaction to it as "stress"? Remember how before the current invasion, men were freezing their sperm before being shipped over? Remember how a few weeks ago we began to hear that the same thing was happening again?

For the record, in the Gulf War in 1991 we nuked Iraq with depleted uranium and it's wiping out their population. Iraq today is essentially what Hiroshima was after August 1945. They don't know how (and haven't had the means, on account of the embargo) to decontaminate, and the cancers have skyrocketed. Here's a quote from the U.S. army physicist responsible for cleaning up Kuwait, Professor Doug Rokke:

"I am like many people in southern Iraq. I have 5,000 times the recommended level of radiation in my body. The contamination was right throughout Iraq and Kuwait. With the munitions testing and preparation in Saudi Arabia, uranium contamination covers the entire region. The effect depends on whether a person inhaled it or ingested it by eating and drinking, or if they got it in an open wound. What we're seeing now, respiratory problems, kidney problems, cancers, are the direct result of the use of this highly toxic material. The controversy over whether or not it's the cause is a manufactured one; my own ill-health is testament to that.... In the Gulf War, well over 300 tons [of depleted uranium] were fired. An A-10 Warthog attack aircraft fired over 900,000 rounds. Each individual round was 300 grams of solid uranium 238. When a tank fired its shells, each round carried over 4,500 grams of solid uranium. These rounds are not coated, they're not tipped; they're solid uranium. Moreover, we have evidence to suggest that they were mixed with plutonium. What happened in the Gulf was a form of nuclear warfare."
--from John Pilger, The New Rulers of the World, pp. 56-57

Bush didn't lie. There certainly are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and the United States is deploying them.

- Michael 10:59 AM - [PermaLink] -

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The Baghdad Blogger:

An update from Salem Pax in Iraq

Remember the days when every time you hear an Iraqi talk on TV you had to remember that they are talking with a Mukhabarat minder looking at them noting every word? We are back to that place.

You have to be careful about what you say about al-Sadir. Their hands reach every where and you don't want to be on their shit list. Every body, even the GC is very careful how they formulate their sentences and how they describe Sadir's Militias. They are thugs, thugs thugs. There you have it.

I was listening to a representative of al-sadir on TV saying that the officers at police stations come to offer their help and swear allegiance. Habibi, if they don't they will get killed and their police station "liberated". Have we forgotten the threat al-Sadir issued that Iraqi security forces should not attack their revolutionary brothers, or they will have to suffer the consequences.

Dear US administration,
Welcome to the next level. Please don't act surprised and what sort of timing is that: planning to go on a huge attack on the west of Iraq and provoking a group you know very well (I pray to god you knew) that they are trouble makers.

Oh and before I forget.........Help please.

and from Baghdad Burning:

I think everyone I know is suffering from that mental strain. You can see it in the eyes and hear it in the taut voices that threaten to break with the burden of emotion. We're all watching things carefully and trying to focus on leading semi-normal lives all at once. The situation in the south seems to be deteriorating and we hear of fresh new deaths every day. Fighting has broken out in Falloojeh again and I'm not quite sure what has happened to the ceasefire. It's hard to know just what is going on. There's a sense of collective exhaustion in the air.

I've been reading articles about Chalabi being (very hopefully) on his way out. I can't believe it took this long for Washington to come to the conclusion that he is completely useless. Did anyone there actually believe he was going to be greeted as the leader of a new era? We were watching him carefully during the last few weeks, trying to see what he would do or say during the attacks on Falloojeh and all the fighting in the south. That was a crucial time… we were waiting for some reaction from the Puppets- any reaction. Some condemning words… some solidarity with the Iraqis being killed and left homeless and there was a strange sort of silence. One of them threatened to step down, but that was only after outraged Iraqis showed an inclination to eat them alive if something wasn't done about the situation…
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also heard today that the Puppets are changing the flag. It looks nothing like the old one and at first I was angry and upset, but then I realized that it wouldn't make a difference. The Puppets are illegitimate, hence their constitution is null and void and their flag is theirs alone. It is as representative of Iraq as they are- it might as well have "Made in America" stitched along the inside seam. It can be their flag and every time we see it, we'll see Chalabi et al. against its pale white background.

These are people whose lives have been torn apart and they fear everyday for the country they love. This war did not have to happen, Saddam was not a threat and as Powell himself said in 2001, sanctions would continue to make sure he would not be a threat. This war is happening because George wanted it to happen. And not only thousands of lives are lost, but millions are ripped apart, and the Bush campaign is trying to paint Kerry arrogant because of expensive haircuts?!?!!!

- rob 4:05 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Cramming for the 9/11 commission appearance


So Bush and Cheney are sitting down and cramming for their joint appearance before the 9/11 Commission. I would think that if all you needed to do was to tell the truth as to what happened, there would be no need to "cram." But in reality, there is probably a much less sinister reason for the late night study session. Without having the questions presented to him prior to the appearance, as has happened with the paltry number of press conferences the pResident has given (McClellan says that the "President will answer whatever questions they have." Let me be the first to say "wow."), Smirk needs to bone up on all his terrorism "strategery" in order to not sound like a complete idiot. Or to have a repeat of his recent press conference. I imagine the following exchange:

Bob Kerrey: Mr. President, what would you say is the biggest mistake that your administration has made in fighting terrorism?
Smirk: Uh, well, that's a good question. I'm sure I should be able to come up with something, but you have kind of put me on the spot here...

- B 2:14 PM - [PermaLink] -

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The White House says the National Guard story is over. The White House lies again

Bush's flight from the Guard

The president and his staff are doing a very good job of convincing the public he has released all of his National Guard records and that they prove he was responsible during his time in Alabama and Texas. But the critical documents have still not been seen. The mandatory written report about Bush's grounding is mysteriously not in the released file, nor is any other disciplinary evidence. A document showing a "roll-up," or the accumulation of his total retirement points, is also absent, and so are his actual pay stubs.
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In April of 1972, the young lieutenant made a unilateral decision that he was no longer going to fly. Although he had taken an oath to serve for six years in his privileged position in the Texas Air Guard, George W. Bush left for Alabama two years before his hitch was up. Taxpayers had spent close to a million dollars training him to fly a fighter jet, but he was intent on working in a U.S. senate campaign. Bush's Guard file shows that he did not request a transfer until a few months later, and it was turned down. Bush, who was due to report to his Houston air base for a physical on or before his July 6 birthday, failed to return from Alabama. He was subsequently grounded on orders from Maj. Gen. Francis Greenlief. And this is where the mystery begins.

Taking away a pilot's wings was not a minor decision. During the course of investigating this matter over the past decade, I was told by numerous Guard sources that pilots simply did not skip their physicals for any reason. Bush may have thought this was a good strategy for getting out of his obligation to the Guard. However, there had to be an investigation into his grounding. Normally, a formal board of inquiry would have been convened to examine the pilot's failure to keep his physical status current. At a minimum, a commanding officer would have been expected to write a narrative report on why one of his pilots had been taken off the flight duty roster. Either that report, or the findings of the board of inquiry, would then be sent to the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver and to the Texas Guard headquarters in Austin. A pilot simply did not walk away from all of that training with two years remaining on his tour of duty without a formal explanation as to what happened and why. This narrative report is the document the public has never seen and the Bush White House is unlikely to ever release. Disciplinary action taken against Bush ought to be a part of his personnel record. No such files have ever been disclosed.
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The documents given to Washington reporters were printed from one of those two microfiches. According to two separate sources within the Guard who saw the printout and spoke with me, the microfiche was shipped to the office of Maj. Gen. Danny James, commander of the Air National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va. James' staff printed out all of the documents on the film and then, according to those same sources, James vetted the material. Subsequent to being scrutinized by James (who commanded the Texas Guard and was promoted to Washington by Bush,) the records were then sent to the White House for further scrutiny prior to release to the news media.

This is a considerably different process from what was practiced by Sen. John McCain during the 2000 presidential campaign. McCain, who spent several years in solitary confinement during the Vietnam War, was the target of a whispering campaign during the South Carolina primary. Political reporters, who suspected the story originated with Bush political strategist Karl Rove, were being told by third parties that McCain had mental problems that made him a presidential risk. McCain signed a release form, and his entire record, a stack of papers more than a foot tall, was made available to reporters without being vetted by the campaign. The allegations about his mental health died shortly after McCain authorized full disclosure.

The Bush administration is playing semantic games with the public regarding the president's Guard files. While Bartlett insists they have been released, there is no proof that Bush has even signed a release-authorization form. The limited release of those 400 pages may have been over his signature. However, the White House is clearly deciding what papers to share and what to keep private. No one has ever seen proof that the president did sign the necessary release forms, and officials at the Denver and St. Louis records centers are no longer commenting. If the president did write his name on the necessary forms, why not share that with the public? It would be a positive indication that he was in favor of the flow of information about his Guard years, and it could be expected to have a positive political effect.

Oh, if the Guard story breaks again, it could be bad for Bush, but don't worry the NY Times again played their lackey role for Bush and tried to kill the story again. A blogger named Corrente has that story: New York Times sends in the clowns: Jodi Will-Whore-'Em buries the Bush AWOL story yet again

- rob 2:04 PM - [PermaLink] -

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G.O.P. Protesters Plan to Infiltrate Convention as Volunteers

Blah blah blah, but here's something that caught my eye:

Boston appears largely immune to the tactic since the host committee there had signed up 12,000 volunteers by the end of March, the host committee said.

But New York, which has a long way to go to reach its target, has so far registered only about 1,400 potential volunteers.

Gee, Repugs are really popular with the New York locals ain't they? The truth is today's republican is used to a party that pays for its "grass root support" and the idea of volunteering seems, the idea of being 'unpaid', well, quite frankly seems unrepublican.

- rob 1:48 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Because the News Media isn't about serving you, here's more shocking news you can only get from a blog:

Spending More on Medicare Ads Than Cheaper Drugs

The White House today announced it will be spending another $18 million of taxpayer money on television ads promoting its new Medicare bill. Not only was the last round of ads criticized by government regulators as misleading, but the White House is on track to spend more Medicare money on television ads ($80 million) than its own FDA commissioner says is necessary to create a safe system to import cheaper, FDA-approved prescription medicines from abroad ($58 million).

But it isn't about the health or well being of America's seniors, its about getting Bush relected, and Medicare has basically donated about $18 million to the Bush re-election effort. Your tax dollars at work.

- rob 1:45 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Another reminder get your war on has been updated:

- rob 1:17 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Feds Probe Ashcroft Campaign Finances

Not only did he lose against a dead guy, it looks like he lost even while cheating.

- rob 1:04 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Tomorrow Bush and Cheney talk to the 9/11 commission hand in hand. Perhaps the most embarrassing admission yet to the public by the administration as to who really is in charge.

I've been thinking the Kerry Campaign should shift gears and campaign against Dick Cheney.

Eventually the media will catch on (if Rove says its okay), and ask why the Kerry campaign is ignoring Bush and discussing only Cheney.

The answer should be: "This election is about who will lead this country starting in 2005, and we just want to make sure America understands more about who's been leading it for the last four years." And leave it at that (though I'm sure the phrasing could be improved).

There are many Americans who choose not to be fully informed about how truly awful this administration has been, but will choose Bush based on his "likeability" (his fake folksy ways and his moronic babbling [which often seems to interpreted that he is just an average Joe, despite the fact that the average Joe does not babble moronicly] seem to work for him). If people realized that in truth they are voting for that sinister smirking cyborg that hides in caves, they might think twice.

- rob 12:59 PM - [PermaLink] -

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TCS Welcomes the CIA!

Blog-Tracking May Gain Ground Among U.S. Intelligence Officials

- rob 11:48 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Bush-League Lysenkoism -- The White House bends science to its will

Starting in the 1930s, the Soviets spurned genetics in favor of Lysenkoism, a fraudulent theory of heredity inspired by Communist ideology. Doing so crippled agriculture in the U.S.S.R. for decades. You would think that bad precedent would have taught President George W. Bush something. But perhaps he is no better at history than at science.
In February his White House received failing marks in a statement signed by 62 leading scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, 19 recipients of the National Medal of Science, and advisers to the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations. It begins, "Successful application of science has played a large part in the policies that have made the United States of America the world's most powerful nation and its citizens increasingly prosperous and healthy. Although scientific input to the government is rarely the only factor in public policy decisions, this input should always be weighed from an objective and impartial perspective to avoid perilous consequences.... The administration of George W. Bush has, however, disregarded this principle."

Doubters of that judgment should read the report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) that accompanies the statement, "Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policy Making" (available at www.ucsusa.org). Among the affronts that it details: The administration misrepresented the findings of the National Academy of Sciences and other experts on climate change. It meddled with the discussion of climate change in an Environmental Protection Agency report until the EPA eliminated that section. It suppressed another EPA study that showed that the administration's proposed Clear Skies Act would do less than current law to reduce air pollution and mercury contamination of fish. It even dropped independent scientists from advisory committees on lead poisoning and drug abuse in favor of ones with ties to industry.

Let us offer more examples of our own. The Department of Health and Human Services deleted information from its Web sites that runs contrary to the president's preference for "abstinence only" sex education programs. The Office of Foreign Assets Control made it much more difficult for anyone from "hostile nations" to be published in the U.S., so some scientific journals will no longer consider submissions from them. The Office of Management and Budget has proposed overhauling peer review for funding of science that bears on environmental and health regulations--in effect, industry scientists would get to approve what research is conducted by the EPA.

None of those criticisms fazes the president, though. Less than two weeks after the UCS statement was released, Bush unceremoniously replaced two advocates of human embryonic stem cell research on his advisory Council on Bioethics with individuals more likely to give him a hallelujah chorus of opposition to it.

How idiotic has the situation become because of Bush's anti-science stance? The Pentagon sent funding to Sweden to study stem cell research that it believes would benefit the health of our soldiers. This is wrong in so many ways (and on of the ways effects you business buffs out there: Bush is making an extremely lucrative future health care business unavailable to American business).

For more of Bush's cave man ways when it comes to science:

Bush Administration Covers up Climate Research

Bush Administration Suppresses Research on Airborne Bacteria

The Junk Science of George W. Bush

Politics and Science Under the Bush Administration

Changing the Standards to Support Abstinence-Only Sex Education

Censoring the Department of Education

- rob 11:47 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Kerry: Bush intentionally exaggerated case

CLEVELAND - Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, accused President Bush on Tuesday of having knowingly exaggerated evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, saying the president made “colossal mistakes” before, during and after the war.

Kerry’s charge, the sharpest accusation he has lodged on the president’s conduct of the war, came a day after the Bush campaign, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, unleashed a major assault on Kerry’s military record and his opposition to the Vietnam War.

“We know that the president and the White House exaggerated material that they were given purposefully, even though they were told otherwise,” Kerry said in an interview on MSNBC-TV’s “Hardball.”

“We know they gave misinformation, and yet the president says he’s never made a mistake,” he said, referring to Bush’s statement during a news conference this month that he could not remember a major misstep he had made during his administration.

‘Because they could’
He accused Bush and his advisers of having gone to war in Iraq simply “because they could.”

“I think it comes down to this larger ideological, neocon concept of fundamental change in the region,” he said. But “they misjudged exactly what the reaction would be and what they could get away with.”

“I think the president has made some colossal mistakes," Kerry said, “not the least of which is taking our nation to war in a way that was rushed, that pushed our allies away from us, that is costing the American people billions of dollars more than it ought, that is putting our young soldiers at greater risk they they ought to be, without a plan to win the peace. And he broke his promise to go to war as a last resort.”

Kerry pointing out the obvious, in a era when the obvious often goes unreported (you know like "Bush is a idiot who thinks God is telling him to go to war when it is really just Cheney throwing his voice").

- rob 11:34 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Heil never name names!

- rob 2:41 PM - [PermaLink] -

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New Krugman: A Vision of Power

There's a deep mystery surrounding Dick Cheney's energy task force, but it's not about what happened back in 2001. Clearly, energy industry executives dictated the content of a report that served their interests.

The real mystery is why the Bush administration has engaged in a three-year fight — which reaches the Supreme Court today — to hide the details of a story whose broad outline we already know.

One possibility is that there is some kind of incriminating evidence in the task force's records. Another is that the administration fears that full disclosure will highlight its chummy relationship with the energy industry. But there's a third possibility: that the administration is really taking a stand on principle. And that's what scares me.
...

As Linda Greenhouse recently pointed out in The New York Times, the legal arguments the administration is making for the secrecy of the energy task force are "strikingly similar" to those it makes for its right to detain, without trial, anyone it deems an enemy combatant. In both cases, as Ms. Greenhouse puts it, the administration has put forward "a vision of presidential power . . . as far-reaching as any the court has seen."

That same vision is apparent in many other actions. Just to mention one: we learn from Bob Woodward that the administration diverted funds earmarked for Afghanistan to preparations for an invasion of Iraq without asking or even notifying Congress.

What Mr. Cheney is defending, in other words, is a doctrine that makes the United States a sort of elected dictatorship: a system in which the president, once in office, can do whatever he likes, and isn't obliged to consult or inform either Congress or the public.

Not long ago I would have thought it inconceivable that the Supreme Court would endorse that doctrine. But I would also have thought it inconceivable that a president would propound such a vision in the first place.

Well here's where Krugman is wrong: Bush wasn't even elected. He was appointed by the Supreme Court.

- rob 2:38 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Get Your War On's Uzbekikitty wants to remind us that the US still is making some nasty friends:

Uzbekistan: Muslim Dissidents Jailed and Tortured
Government Pursues Religious Persecution in the Name of Counterterrorism

(Tashkent, March 30, 2004)—The Uzbek government has arrested and tortured thousands of nonviolent Muslim dissidents who practice their faith outside state-controlled religion, Human Rights Watch said today in a report on this campaign of religious persecution.

The 319-page report, "Creating Enemies of the State: Religious Persecution in Uzbekistan," details the arrest and torture of detainees in an ongoing campaign that has resulted in the incarceration of an estimated 7,000 Muslim dissidents. The government's targets are independent Muslims who practice their faith outside state-run mosques and madrassas or beyond the strict controls set out by the government's laws on religion.

"The Uzbek government is conducting a merciless campaign against peaceful Muslim dissidents," said Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division. "The scale and brutality of the operations against independent Muslims make it clear that these are part of a concerted and tightly-orchestrated campaign of religious persecution."

Just last month, a 62-year-old woman, Fatima Mukhadirova, was convicted on charges of religious extremism after she had spoken out about the torture and death of her son in custody. Her son, imprisoned for "religious extremism," died in prison in August 2002 after he was apparently submerged in boiling water. Mukhadirova was released following international outcry. But police raids and arrests continue unabated and at least 26 independent Muslims have been convicted since January.

A quick aside here: If someone says you have to break some eggs to make an omlette I will puke. What the hell does that mean?

We can't support bad people or bad policies just because they may help us fight a war against terrorists. That is part of the reason why we're in this war in the first place. Bin Laden is CIA trained and received US funding in the early eighties, and we were fine with that when his enemy was the Soviet Union, but his religious views were just as extreme back then.

Not only was Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam back in the eighties (after he "killed his own people," which by the way I hear is the one of the new reasons we are at war now... but under Reagan we were cool with that?), but in 1959 Saddam too was trained by the CIA.

In both cases we made friends with people we shouldn't have because they were against (somewhat) the Soviet Union. Now we are making friends we shouldn't be making friends with because they are (at least publicly) against terrorism.

To be ignorant of history is to repeat it. Luckily we have a President that could never be considered ignorant of any subject (now if one was to say every subject...).

- rob 2:23 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Get Your War On has been updated.

And with just a few explatives he sums up the press conference better than any media critic or news pundit did:

- rob 1:59 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Shock: Iraqis don't like a flag forced upon them

Iraqis Say Council-Approved National Flag Won't Fly

Looks like another success in the battle for their "hearts and minds:

BAGHDAD, April 26 -- It was supposed to be the perfect symbol for a new and unified Iraq: an Islamic crescent on a field of pure white, with two blue stripes representing the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and a third yellow stripe to symbolize the country's Kurdish minority.

But the new national flag, presented Monday after an artistic competition sponsored by the Iraqi Governing Council, appears to have met with widespread public disapproval here -- in part because of its design and in part because of the increasing unpopularity of the U.S.-appointed council.

In interviews in several Baghdad neighborhoods, a variety of residents expressed strong negative reactions to the flag, which was reproduced in most daily newspapers. In particular, people objected to the pale blue color of the crescent and stripes, saying it was identical to the dominant color in the flag of Israel, a Jewish state.

"When I saw it in the newspaper, I felt very sad," said Muthana Khalil, 50, a supermarket owner in Saadoun, a commercial area in central Baghdad. "The flags of other Arab countries are red and green and black. Why did they put in these colors that are the same as Israel? Why was the public opinion not consulted?"

Other residents objected to the removal of the phrase, "God is greatest," which adorned the previous national flag, and said there was no need for a new one until national elections are held next January and a new constitution is written.

Since changing the flag won't seem to stop the violence, Bremer may soon take up the fiddle. (yes I know Nero didn't play the fiddle when Rome was burning because the violin wasn't invented yet, but I'm a strong believer in cliches).

- rob 1:52 PM - [PermaLink] -

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It seems the main anti-Kerry message for the Bush Re-election campaign is that Kerry changes his mind. This from an administration that can't even give a straight answer to the American people about why we are at war in Iraq.

- rob 12:08 PM - [PermaLink] -

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College Leader 'Disappointed' by Cheney

Who isn't?

FULTON, Mo. - Westminster College's president said Monday he was so "surprised and disappointed" by Vice President Dick Cheney's attacks on John Kerry during a speech that he is inviting the Democrat to visit for a reply.

Fletcher Lamkin told The Associated Press that Cheney's staff approached him last week about using Westminster as the backdrop "for a major foreign policy address. Nothing was said about a stump speech."

In a campus-wide e-mail after the speech, Lamkin said: "I must admit that I was surprised and disappointed that Mr. Cheney chose to step off the high ground and resort to Kerry-bashing for a large portion of his speech."

See, here is where Lamkin misunderstood, he was told he would get a major foreign policy address, but instead he got a stump speech which Lamkin thinks is something different. The Bush administration sees foreign policy as just another political venue. War on terror, War on Iraq, 9/11, Religion, God, Flag Burning, Gay Marriages, Tax Cuts, everything is just a move in a large political chess game for the Bush Administration. Conservatives like to say in disgust "is nothing sacred?" There favorite sons, the Bush Administration likes to answer: "no, nothing is sacred."

- rob 11:50 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Here's mine:

Bush lands on a North Korean aircraft carrier with the sign,
"Fission Accomplished"

- Michael 8:30 PM - [PermaLink] -

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So when is Bush going to land on another aircraft carrier?

If he does, I think we should have a sign suggestion competition. Here's mine:
"Mission extended"
"Ooops. My bad."
"Will work for food."

- B 5:16 PM - [PermaLink] -

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People always leave fun comments at the bottom of the page, but for some reason now the comments of the past week or so have disappeared, and new ones are too. Sorry. When I have time I'll fix (or try to). I believe comments elsewhere are still working.

- rob 5:02 PM - [PermaLink] -

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The battle for middle earth has begun In Washington DC.

What makes America great: Candidates for congress with cheesy website design by wacky folks confusing Lord of the Rings with the War in Iraq and Christianity or something. I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like Coggeshell's politics, but I did enjoy his site.

In life we all must decide on which side we will stand.
I stand on the side of true Christian Conservative values that
make America strong.

That text is underneath the candidate in full armor with sword.

- rob 5:00 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Tom The Dancing Bug

- rob 3:19 PM - [PermaLink] -

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NASA Curbs Comments on Ice Age Disaster Movie

Urgent: HQ Direction," began a message e-mailed on April 1 to dozens of scientists and officials at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

It was not an alert about an incoming asteroid, a problem with the space station or a solar storm. It was a warning about a movie.

In "The Day After Tomorrow," a $125 million disaster film set to open on May 28, global warming from accumulating smokestack and tailpipe gases disrupts warm ocean currents and sets off an instant ice age.

Few climate experts think such a prospect is likely, especially in the near future. But the prospect that moviegoers will be alarmed enough to blame the Bush administration for inattention to climate change has stirred alarm at the space agency, scientists there say.

"No one from NASA is to do interviews or otherwise comment on anything having to do with" the film, said the April 1 message, which was sent by Goddard's top press officer. "Any news media wanting to discuss science fiction vs. science fact about climate change will need to seek comment from individuals or organizations not associated with NASA."

Bush has made every division of the U.S. Government paranoid. It reminds me of the time when the Department of Energy demanded a media blackout about the movie Godzilla, because it might make people worried about nuclear radiation. Or the Pentagon ordered media blackout when Terminator II came out "no DOD employee or contractor can comment on any inqueries about advanced military robotic research in reference to the coming war against the machines." (okay those two didn't happen, but that would have been cool). The only thing that gives me hope for NASA is that the order was e-mailed on April 1st.

- rob 3:11 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Stay the course: To make this nation safer for home grown right wing terrorists

Focus on 9-11 may be helping militias regroup

AUSTIN, Texas — When FBI agents searched a rented storage locker in a small east Texas town last year, they found a huge cache of weapons and the ingredients to make a cyanide bomb capable of killing thousands of people.

Just as startling was the identity of the owner of the arsenal, which included nearly a half-million rounds of ammunition and more than 60 pipe bombs. He was not some foreign terrorist with ties to al-Qaida but a 63-year-old Texan with an affinity for anti-government militias and white-supremacist views.

William Krar, an itinerant gun dealer, quickly pleaded guilty to possession of the chemical weapon and then promptly clammed up, leaving federal officials to wonder what he had intended to do with his deadly arsenal and whether his conspiracy extended beyond two accomplices who pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Experts who track domestic terrorist groups would like to know as well. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which occurred nine years ago yesterday, led to a period of disarray and decline for militias, and anti-government right-wing extremists remain a largely hidden threat of unknown proportions.

With the nation focused on terrorist threats from abroad after Sept. 11, 2001, experts wonder if the Krar case, which FBI agents discovered only by accident, could be a harbinger of homegrown attacks to come.

"All of this homeland security, all of the orientation of the government's war on terror is about protecting our borders," said Ken Toole, director of the Montana Human Rights Network, which monitors right-wing groups.

"We're moving back into this period where radical right-wing activism is being dismissed as goofy and loopy, whereas the al-Qaida threat is around every corner. But the right-wingers are much closer to home. And they are still there."

- rob 3:01 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Iraq is Burning! Quick, let's design a new flag!

Iraq gets new flag, drops 'God is Great'

Yeah, you can't have the phrase "God is Great," because in Iraq we're going to set up a wall between church and state, something we should try (ummm.... what's that say on my money "in God we Trust?" I guess that isn't saying he is great or not... just that he is trust worthy).

Yes, I know, under Saddam there was a pretty strict separation of church and unjust totalitarian state. We've actually introduced church back into the laws of Iraq... we've just dropped religion from the flag... for some reason. Nothing better to do I guess.

The new flag is white, with two parallel blue strips across the bottom representing the rivers and a yellow stripe between them representing Iraq's Kurdish minority. Above the stripes is a blue crescent representing Islam.

Council spokesman, Hameed al-Kafaei, said the U.S.-picked council approved the design as the new official flag though the artist was asked to touch up the color of the crescent, perhaps to a darker blue or a different color.

They were also thinking that a little pink at the edges would emphasize the kinder softer Iraq, but then they thought that'd be gay. They also rejected the all seeing eye pyramid as just plain spooky, beside Sumerians built ziggurats, not pyramids. Bremer's folks drew up one with a light blue croissant, but sheepishly removed it from discussion when they realized everyone was talking about using a crescent.

The old Iraq flag had a red and white bands across the top and bottom, with a white band between them with three green stars. During the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, Saddam added the Arabic words "Allahu akbar", or "God is great", to boost the religious credentials of his secular regime.

Bah ha ha. Silly Iraqis, falling for that old "I am having a war for no legitimate reason so I'll pretend I am pious and connected to god to build support from religious zealots" trick. Sadly, that trick never gets old now does it.

Seriously though:

One council member said the Iraqi leadership should wait for an elected government before altering such a major national symbol.

"In my opinion, it should be not be passed until we have a parliament," Mahmoud Othman said. "I think there are issues more important to concentrate on now than the changing of the flag."

Really, if you're going to have a new national flag, perhaps a government the represents the nation, i.e. a "democratically" elected government, should be the one to choose it.

- rob 2:46 PM - [PermaLink] -

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George H. W. Bush: "Atheists Neither Citizens Nor Patriots

When George Bush was campaigning for the presidency, as incumbent vice-president, one of his stops was in Chicago, Illinois, on August 27, 1987. At O'Hare Airport he held a formal outdoor news conference. There Robert I. Sherman, a reporter for the American Atheist news journal, fully accredited by the state of Illinois and by invitation a participating member of the press corps covering the national candidates, had the following exchange with then-Vice-President Bush.

Sherman: What will you do to win the votes of the Americans who are atheists?

Bush: I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is important to me.

Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?

Bush: No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

Sherman (somewhat taken aback): Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?

Bush: Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists.

- rob 1:29 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Criminal Incompetence

The New York Times > Opinion >What Went Wrong?

Why was it predictable that Iraq would go wrong? The squandered victory in Afghanistan was an obvious precedent. But the character flaws in the Bush administration that led to the present crisis were fully visible in the months that followed 9/11.

It quickly became apparent that President Bush, while willing to spend vast sums on the military, wasn't willing to spend enough on security. And 9/11 didn't shake the administration's fanatical commitment to privatization and outsourcing, in which free-market ideology is inextricably mixed with eagerness to protect and reward corporate friends.

Sure enough, the administration was unprepared for predictable security problems in Iraq, but moved quickly — in violation of international law — to impose its economic vision. Last month Jay Garner, the first U.S. administrator of Iraq, told the BBC that he was sacked in part because he wanted to hold quick elections. His superiors wanted to privatize Iraqi industries first — as part of a plan that, according to Mr. Garner, was drawn up in late 2001.

Meanwhile, the administration handed out contracts without competitive bidding or even minimal oversight. It also systematically blocked proposals to have Congressional auditors oversee spending, or to impose severe penalties for fraud.

Cronyism and corruption are major factors in Iraq's downward spiral. This week the public radio program "Marketplace" is running a series titled "The Spoils of War," which documents a level of corruption in Iraq worse than even harsh critics had suspected. The waste of money, though it may run into the billions, is arguably the least of it — though military expenses are now $4.7 billion a month. The administration, true to form, is trying to hide the need for more money until after the election; Mr. Cordesman predicts that Iraq will need "in excess of $50-70 billion a year for probably two fiscal years."

More important, the "Marketplace" report confirms what is being widely reported: that the common view in Iraq is that members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council are using their positions to enrich themselves, and that U.S. companies are doing the same. President Bush's idealistic language may be persuasive to Americans, but many Iraqis see U.S. forces as there to back a corrupt regime, not democracy.

- rob 12:45 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Bushworld

While I sit with head in hands, staring with closed eyes at an endless chain of frightening scenarios that can't be mentally disconnected, no matter how much willpower is brought to bear, I find weary relief in the thoughts of others, even if only to confirm my worst fears, like these from Maureen Dowd, especially,

In Bushworld, it's O.K. to run for re-election as the avenger of 9/11, even as you make secret deals with the Arab kingdom where most of the 9/11 hijackers came from.

In Bushworld, you get to strut around like a tough military guy and paint your rival as a chicken hawk, even though he's the one who won medals in combat and was praised by his superior officers for fulfilling all his obligations.

In Bushworld, it makes sense to press for transparency in Mr. and Mrs. Rival while cultivating your own opacity.

In Bushworld, you can reign as the antiterror president even after hearing an intelligence report about Al Qaeda's plans to attack America and then stepping outside to clear brush.

In Bushworld, those who dissemble about the troops and money it will take to get Iraq on its feet are patriots, while those who are honest are patronizingly marginalized.

In Bushworld, they struggle to keep church and state separate in Iraq, even as they increasingly merge the two in America.

In Bushworld, the C.I.A. says it can't find out whether there are W.M.D. in Iraq unless we invade on the grounds that there are W.M.D.

In Bushworld, there's no irony that so many who did so much to avoid the Vietnam draft have now strained the military so much that lawmakers are talking about bringing back the draft.

In Bushworld, we're making progress in the war on terror by fighting a war that creates terrorists.

Somehow outrage dissipates fear, but not for long. There's always another fresh outrage just around the corner, creating even bigger fear. I mistyped "willpower" just now as "willposer" -- which is not that far off when you think about the kind of will being imposed around the world and in America right now, by strutting imposters.

Here's a great letter from today's New York Times:

To the Editor:

In "Follow the Leader" (Op-Ed, April 23), Joshua Micah Marshall suggests several plausible reasons, despite bad news in Iraq, that President Bush has gained in the polls.

I offer another explanation: Americans are enjoying patriotism on the cheap. We have no draft. A very small percentage of our young men and women have been placed in harm's way. We at home have not been asked to sacrifice — no tax increases, no rationing, just appeals by the president and others to "support the troops" and "stay the course."

If the nation were really placed on a war footing, if we all had to endure personal hardship, the attitudes of Americans would change and those changes would be reflected in the polls.

JOHN A. VITERITTI
Southold, N.Y., April 23, 2004

John, you got that right -- only the sacrifice has indeed been made: It's all of us, and it's a done deal.

- Michael 12:17 PM - [PermaLink] -

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