Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Quote 'o the day

War creates peace like hate creates love. – David L. Wilson

Weekly Links

Domestic
The 'Uniter' Manages to Divide His Own Party
Democrats: MIA
"Freedom... what is that again?"
Capitol bill aims to control ‘leftist’ profs
Removel of Three From Bush Visit Probed
Pentagon denies mother's plea to photograph son in casket
White House Payments to Columnist Probed
Fiscal Conservatives: Big deficits make the U.S. less secure
Social Security Agency's Web Site Out of Sync With Bush Plan
Moral High Ground: DeLay Goes on Offense in Ethics Battle
Keeping Us Safe: Storage of Nuclear Spent Fuel Criticized; Science Academy Study Points to Risk of Attack
Abuse
"Damn, this stuff always makes me feel proud to be an American. Follow the chain of command and you get... Re-Election???"
New US Army documents point to broader abuse of Iraqi detainees
Commander approved interrogations violating Geneva Conventions
U.S. army releases details in 27 detainee deaths
UK Lawmakers Accuse U.S. of Grave Rights Violations
Army Documents Shed Light on CIA 'Ghosting'
Afghan Detainee's Leg Was 'Pulpified,' Witness Says
Memo Shows U.S. Inmate Interrogation Plans in Iraq
The Memo
Amnesty chides US on rights reports
Not Just Torture But Looting Too:
Starbucks meets Gitmo
US Corruption in Iraq Is Out of Control
Pesky Questions
WMD Report Unlikely to Praise Agencies
Pre-election Blair hit anew over Iraq war's legality and planning
Iraqi Anthrax Scientist Kept Her Secret
"Rummy, my dog. You mean after those soldiers called you out you still delayed ordering them protection? I guess that is what you mean by 'Support Our Troops'".
Army late with orders for armored Humvees, Donald Rumsfeld declines to comment
Smells Like a Cover-up: U.S. bars Italians from examining victim’s car
Shiavo Stuff
"Truth is, I don't really want to bring this up. Seems like the life question is a personal one. I don't know if her husbands a good man or whether she'd want to 'let go' but I do know that our legal system ruled not once, not twice, but ten times on the matter. That said, here are three things I felt were not about a culture of life'
The only thing on the Shiavo case
CNN Broadcasts Schiavo Story Reported by Jeb Bush Contractor
Ignoring suffering of everyone who isn't Terri Schiavo by EJ Montini
Mark Fiore presents: Georgie's Angels
Friends?
"Haven't the hawks learned?: Don't sell arms to untrustworthy, shakey allies. They end up being used against us (see the Taliban).
India Media Slam U.S. Move to Sell F-16s to Pakistan
Generals used Khan for Pakistan’s nukes, says US report
Good to be a Saudi
New Details on F.B.I. Aid for Saudis After 9/11
'Fahrenheit 9/11' clip
"So Moore was right. The FBI gave these guys a free ride outta here. I'm sure bin Ladens victims are glad you let his family go (and first class no less)".
Guns & Ammo
NRA Leader Advocates Guns for Teachers
More Bush Botching: Many missiles missing in Iraq, review of reports shows
Fox Blocker
Man Sells Device That Blocks Fox News
This Modern World: Scandal in the modern era

Rearview Mirror


Craggy Gardens, NC

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Weekly Links

Environment
Senate Backs Opening New Alaska Oil Spigot
Senate Votes to Open Alaskan Oil Drilling
Alaskans Wary of Vote on Oil Drilling
EPA Chided for Disregarding Mercury Study
Navy Sonar Likely Made Orcas Flee
Dirty Footprints
Polluting paradise
"What good is pristine wilderness anyway if you can't plunder it?"

BNN: the Bush News Network - "Nothing like a free press!"
White House to Agencies: Ignore GAO's Ruling on 'Illegal' TV News Releases
JIM GIBBONS: Lawmaker gave job to radio reporter
Garry Trudeau: Bush 'Apparently Thinks Propaganda's OK'
Fake Cable Labeled Writer a Spy for Iraq
Rice Turns State Dept Into White House PR Arm
This Modern World: Bush News Network


Neverending War (which isn't as fun as "the Neverending Story")
Abroad
The world is yours...Pentagon Reaffirms Globocop Role
Fiscally Conservative: House OKs $81.4 Billion on War Spending
A little help from friends: US troops shoot dead Iraqi general
Suprise!: Iraq facing corruption threat
Suprise again!: Bush: No Timetable for Troops Coming Home
McCain towing the party line
Protests
'Support the Troops; Bring Them Home NOW'
Defending labor's right to protest the war
Activists Protest Iraq War on Anniversary
Global Anti-War Protest Gallery
Torture
Abuse led Navy to consider pulling Cuba interrogators
No Convictions Among Guantanamo Suspects Sent Home
Goss Defends U.S. Interrogation Tactics "They are soooo American!"
Report: 108 Died In U.S. Custody
CIA's Assurances On Transferred Suspects Doubted; Prisoners Say Countries Break No-Torture Pledges
Dirt
Secret US plans for Iraq's oil
"What?!! Bush & Co. wanted to get Iraq before 9-11 happened? How weird..."
SECRET U.S. PLANS FOR IRAQI OIL
"Our words are good as gold": U.S. misled allies about nuclear export
Bush defends war order on anniversary of Iraq invasion
Fine Feathered Friends
"No bid contracts to Cheneys buddies and what do you get?"
Ex-Halliburton Employee Indicted for Fraud
Administration Withheld Halliburton Overcharges from International Auditors
Fiore presents: Meet the security family!
Under Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, if you attend a public high school, your school system is required to turn over YOUR private information to the US military unless you...Opt Out

World Bank and Wolfy
Wolfowitz at the World Bank's Door
Bush Picks Wolfowitz for New World Bank President
Bush Taps Wolfowitz to Head World Bank
Bush Throws Support Behind Wolfowitz for World Bank Post
Wolfowitz nominated to head the World Bank By KEVIN G. HALL
Top 10 Reasons Why Paul Wolfowitz Would Make a Good World Bank President
Wolfowitz Grooms Self

The Honorable GOP
"We represent the little guy... honest."
House Member May Face DeLay Probe Conflict
GOP Works to Get Bankruptcy Bill to House
GOP Governors Cut State Workers' Rights

More Social Insecurity
Bush Says Won't Offer Specifics on Social Security

Other news on the Empire's Decay
Trade Deficit at All-Time High of $665.9B
"They are so good at managing our money."
Debt May Be Part of Bush Legacy
John Kerry Slams Bush Budget
Can Karen Hughes help US image abroad?
Where's the compassion?
Panel Resends Blocked Bush Judge Nominees

Rearview Mirror


Playa Samara, CR

Monday, March 21, 2005

Quote 'o the day

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. Buddha

Random Thoughts

I usually don't add my two cents on my page as I'd rather let people have their own reactions to the news. I know it is my blog and all but I'd rather people come and put the pieces together on their own so that their outrage comes from themselves. But I feel I just gotta to say something. First, paid spokesmen for the Bush agenda. Then, a White House press lap dog who turned out to be a gay internet prossi. And now, Video News Releases (AKA fake news). For me I find it strange that people aren't getting upset about this blatent abuse of power. I guess it's "Zombie Nation" afterall. This obvoius "Manufactoring Consent" is way over the top. I mean, fake news? What if in the run-up to war the people wouldn't have been bombarded with thoughts of WMD's being used on Fargo. What if mainstream media would have questioned the vaporous connection between Saddam and 9-11.
Here it is: State sponsered propoganda is for despots and dictators and has no place in free society. The fact that our leader is engaged in the production of this trash a thousand times over is not merely reprehensible nor does it simply reveal his utter contempt for our constitution. It shows that he must not be right. Afterall, truth speaks for itself. Only lies have to be pandered. And when you put all the president's questionable assertions together (whether they be about the environment, the war, or the budget) with the fact that he and his people have been filling household T.V.'s with half-truths and hack spins... well,... I guess you can make up your own mind.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Weekly Links

Manufacturing Consent
White House Defends Video News Releases
Fake News Gets White House OK
Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News
Controversy Brews Over Videos That Some Call 'Fake News'
Journalism Groups Seek Government Openness
Ready-made Reports

Examples of VNR's (AKA State Sponsored Propoganda)
1. T.S.A. Report on Airport Security
2. Collection of USDA VNR's
3. Iraqi Americans React to the Fall of Saddam Hussein

If the president can do it, why not a "govenator"?
Democrats Cry Foul Over Calif. Videos
Calif. Gov. 'News' Videos Cause a Stir
and there really is nothing like shaping reality...
Watchdog Details Run-Ins With Ridge

Wars of the World
U.S. Arrests 17 in Plot to Smuggle Weapons
Syrian-Backed Hizbollah Rallies Against U.S.
U.S. 'Hallucinating' Over Nuclear Talks, Iran Says
Looting at Iraq Weapons Plants After Invasion
Talks on Iraq Government Fail Before Parliament
White House Acknowledges Iran Intel 'Hard to Come By'
Spanish Muslims Issue Fatwa Against Bin Laden
Musharraf: Forces Almost Caught Bin Laden
Report sees holes in U.S. aviation security: Al-Qaida may be turning sights on charter aircraft


Friendly Fire Fallout
Bulgaria Says U.S. Admits Fault in Soldier's Death
Iraq Checkpoint Where Italian Killed Was for U.S. Envoy
Italy to Pull Troops From Iraq in Sept.
Poland Plans to Withdraw Some Iraq Troops
Nations Leaving Iraq Amid Anti-War Gains

War is Terrorism
U.S. Army Details Afghan Prisoner Abuse
U.S. Quits Foreign Inmate Accord Over Death Penalty
Museum Shows Intimate Look at Holocaust
Ex-World Leaders Urge UN to Define Terror

The Environment
Senate to Vote on Alaska Refuge Drilling
Senators Fight Over Tax Cuts, Alaska Oil
White House Sued Over Drilling Off Calif.
EPA Issues Rules to Cut Mercury Pollution but left an out for the worst polluters. "At the behest of industry, the Bush administration has just endorsed the continued poisoning of children and pregnant women with mercury".
High Levels of Mercury Found in Vt. Birds
Group Warns of Shrinking Glaciers' Effect
Himalayan glaciers melting fast
Whale stranding cases increase
Economy needs healthy climate

An Honest Living
WorldCom's Ebbers Found Guilty
Republican Leader Tom DeLay Denies Wrongdoing Over Trips
Firm, Tribe Paid for DeLay Junket
Policy Group Denies Paying for Golf Trips
Ex-GOP Party Head Charged in Phone Jamming
Halliburton in $108m Iraq probe

South of the Border
Verdict Upheld Vs. Ex-Chilean Lieutenant
Free-Trade Protests Jam Guatemalan Roads
Chavez: Iran Has Right to Nuclear Program
Rice to Confront U.S. Resentment in Mexico
Castro's two cents on U.S. moral superiority

Helping the Little Guy
Senate Nixes Efforts to Soften Bankruptcy Rules
Senate Passes New Bankruptcy Legislation
This Modern World: Moral Bankruptcy

Lost Irony
Bush Calls on Hizbollah to Lay Down Arms
Pakistan: Khan Gave Iran Machines Useable for A-Bomb
Mubarak: Democracy Can't Come From Outside
Bush Attacks Social Security 'Scare Ads'
Cuba: U.S. Lacks Moral Authority on Rights

Movements
Anti-war groups plan to mark second anniversary of US invasion of Iraq
Group to stage anti-war march
Guatemalans Protest U.S. Free-Trade Vote
Gandhi's Salt March

March 19: Take Anti-war Action in Your Area

Other Stuff
Budget Deficit Surges to $113.9 Billion
Democrats Warn of Slowdown Over Judge Rule

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

St. Patty's Joke 'o the Day

Old Sean lived alone in Ireland. He wanted to spade his potato garden,
but it was very hard work. His only son, Mick, who used to help him was
in an English prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and
described his predicament:


Dear Mick,
I am feeling a mite down because it looks like I won't be able to plant
me potato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a
garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know
you would dig the plot for me.
Love, yer Dad


A few days later he received a letter from his son:

Dear Father,
For CHRIST'S SAKE, don't dig up the garden! That's where I buried all
them feckin' BODIES!
Love, Mick

At 4 A. M. the next morning, a dozen agents from Scotland Yard and
local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden down to a
depth of about six feet. That evening, not finding any bodies, they
apologized to the old man and left.

Dear Father,
Go ahead and plant yer spuds now. It's the best I could do under the
circumstances.
Love, Mick


Quote 'o the day

The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity - much less dissent. Gore Vidal


Northern Nicaragua Posted by Hello

Friday, March 11, 2005

Quote 'o the day

All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. – Voltaire

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Quote 'o the day

Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later. – Benjamin Franklin

Monday, March 07, 2005

Weekly Links

War on Terror
Admissions of Bush Plot May Not Make Trial
Lawmakers criticize Bush on border security
Russia Angry With U.S. Human Rights Report
U.S. Military Death Toll in Iraq Tops 1,500
WMD's Anyone?: Maximum pain is aim of new US weapon
Nun to Continue Her Antimissile Activism Out of Prison
Visit her website
High school students win right to counter-recruitment table
Video Game Used To Lure New Recruits
Novel Idea: Summit May Favor Tackling Causes of Terror
From Carolina: Veterans and families rally against the war
"The Bush administration's secret program to transfer suspected terrorists to foreign countries for interrogation has been carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency under broad authority that has allowed it to act without case-by-case approval from the White House or the State or Justice Departments" - I Love Torture!
CIA Flying Suspects To Torture?
Defense Wants Bush to Testify at German 9/11 Trial

GLOBAL DAY OF PROTEST ON ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR

Friendly Fire
Freed Italian hostage recalls U.S. shooting
Italy demands answer as hostage liberation turns bloody
Body of Slain Italian Agent Gets Hero's Welcome
No One Safe on Baghdad's Roads, Iraqis Say
Italy Rejects U.S. Version of Iraq Shooting
Bulgaria Says Soldier Killed by U.S. Troops in Iraq
'My truth' By Giuliana Sgrena
Italy Demands Justice from U.S. Over Iraq Death
Social Insecurity
GOP catches heat on Bush Soc. Sec. plan
Republicans Attack Democrats, AARP on Pensions
Bush Sets Up Social Security 'War Room'
N.J. Demonstrators protest Bush's Soc. Sec. Plan
Travels with George: Hitting the pavement with Soc. Sec. Plan
Calculate What You'll Loose with Social Insecurity

Deficits and Shady Deals
Democrats Assail Bush's Budget, Deficit
Documents Suggest Bigger DeLay Role in Donations
Rumsfeld Asked for Unlce "Bucky" Contract Details
Uncle Bucky makes a killing
Analyst: Bush Budget Would Yield Deficit
Deficits and Deceit
Environment
Protest: Chopping Down Oregon's Old Growth
U.S. Infrastructure Deteriorating
House Committee Downplays Health Risks of Mercury
Mercury Study Identifies Problem Spots
Dolphin Beaching Followed Sub's Exercises
Quake Swarm Off Ore. Coast Prompts Reseach
Ecuador tribes vow to fight oil threat
Latin America
Venezuelan Prez. Says Washington Plots His Murder, U.S. Denies
Colombia Massacre Raises Rights Issues
New Leftists Emerge in Latin America
Aristide Supporters March in Haiti Capital
Bolivian President Offers Resignation
Experts Uncover Ancient Mayan Remains
M4M
Gannongate Swinging Open?: New Move in Congress for Info
South Dakota Paper Probes Senator's Link to Jeff Gannon
Bill Maher on Jeff Gannon (video)

Miracles Happen: Tsunami Survivor Found Adrift Comes Home

Commentary on blue/red divide: Empty Boots by Cindy Sheehan

Another Animation from Mark Fiore: Never again... again
Cartoon from Tom Tomorrow: Penguin perspective

Quote 'o the day

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. - President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Rearview Mirror


Singel Canal, Amsterdam, NDL Posted by Hello

Saturday, March 05, 2005

Quote 'o the day

Political language. . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
George Orwell

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Quote 'o the day

War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it. – George Orwell

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Links

The War & The War Prayer
Insurgents Blow Up Oil Pipeline in Iraq
Did Blair sign up for war at Bush's Texas ranch in April 2002?
Top former CIA agent condemns new terror war
Suicide Bomb Kills 125 Near Iraq Marketplace
More $ For Halliburton in Iraq (on top of $9.6 billion already)
It's Called Torture

Environment
The current retreat of ice shelves in the Antarctic due to global warming is nothing new — but this time the problem is manmade and therefore potentially more serious
Wet Winter Soaks Usually Sunny California
"I love mercury! Eat it, drink it, breathe it. You're in America."
Treaty for Mercury Curbs Is Rejected
Bush Team Readying Backdoor Route to Drill Arctic Refuge
Birth Rate Falls for Canadian Grizzlies
World population 'to rise by 40%'
Greenhouse Effect 101
---******All the stuff from last week******---

Law
"I didn't sue Christianity or Judaism. I sued the government."
Bush signs class-action bill into law (and what it means for you)
Vietnamese seeking redress from US in Agent Orange suit
High Court Ends Death Penalty for Youths

Propaganda
"It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion." -Joseph Paul Göebbels
"Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise." -Adolf Hitler

White House stirs debate on media tactics; "Reporter Gannon" saga adds to the concern about Bush's actions
Talon News Web Site Closes Amid Heavy Criticism
Even the "Govenator" loves producing tax payer paid propaganda

Education


Texas defies Bush rules on grading schools

Film
George Bush, Halle Berry Share Worst Film Honors

Honor
Rest in Peace Peter Thanks for Amnesty International

Movements
FBI: Anarchists operating in Hub
Join veterans and military families, speak out against the war
In Vermont, a Town-Meeting revolt over Iraq war
Iraqi girl wants to thank Pope for his antiwar stance
Haitians Protest Aristide's Ouster; 2 Dead

New animation from Mark Fiore: Nuke fashion
New Cartoon from This Modern World: Nothing to see here

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