News and views …
Back to Main
January 23, 2006
OT 06-09
Comments
You are getting robbed:
As Profits Soar, Companies Pay U.S. Less for Gas Rights
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 – At a time when energy prices and industry profits are soaring, the federal government collected little more money last year than it did five years ago from the companies that extracted more than $60 billion in oil and gas from publicly owned lands and coastal waters.
…
Companies that pump oil and gas on federal property are required to pay the government royalties, usually 12 percent to 16 percent of the value of what they sell.
Royalties for natural gas have climbed sharply in the last three years. But while prices nearly doubled from 2001 to 2005, the $5.15 billion in gas royalties for 2005 was less than the $5.35 billion in 2001. When oil and gas are combined, royalties were about $8 billion in 2005, almost the same as in 2001.
Dear Everyone,
Do yourself the favor of toodling on over to thewashingtonnote.com…see what the lovely Paul Wolfowitz is up to @World Bank – scroll down. And for more on our beloved NeoNuts – first post is on how they’re pushing Iran agenda. Don’t forget that the adoreable Joey Lieberman is a co-founder of the current incarnation of Committee on the Present Danger 🙂 Cheers!
Posted by: jj | Jan 23 2006 9:42 utc | 2
Via Raw Story this:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday ridiculed as “bizarre” a U.S. report that senior al Qaeda leaders were killed in a CIA attack on a home along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“There is no evidence, as of half an hour ago, that there were any other people there,” Aziz said on CNN’s “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.”
“The area does see movement of people from across the border. But we have not found one body or one shred of evidence that these people were there.”
U.S. counterterrorism officials have said they believe the January 13 attack killed four to eight al Qaeda-affiliated “foreigners” attending a dinner meeting. Knowledgeable sources have said that their bodies were removed from the scene by comrades and buried elsewhere. (Full story)
Tens of thousands of Pakistanis have taken to the streets in cities nationwide to express outrage about the attack, which killed more than a dozen civilians, including women and children. (Full story)
Pakistani officials originally put the death toll at 18 civilians; Aziz cited 13 deaths Sunday.
……………………….
You really gotta wonder whats up with this story. Its not clear why the Paki PM would make such statements. Conventional wisdom would have the Paki government going along with the US reports, that justify the attack and the “collateral” damage because a-Q members were present, and among the dead. The Paki government is officially on board in the WoT, so having the dead be a-Q members would also justify their position. Unless of course, the opportunity to discredit US military operations on their soil trumps any and all good will ($$$) gained from the US through tacit approval (and supposed success) of such operations. And once again the credibility factor (for the US) evaporates into thin air.
Posted by: anna missed | Jan 23 2006 10:21 utc | 3
@anna missed – Soj had a good Kos diary on U.S. forces in Pakistan some 2 weeks ago
U.S. Conducting Secret War in Pakistan
Some troops are in Pakistan with Pakistani knowledge, some without. They nab people off the street and bring them to Afghanistan or “render” them to some other bad places.
I put more trust on what locals says when such attack happens. Later accounts about 4 Talibans killed but no bodys of them to be found sound like coverup.
Weird is also that the US always talks about unmanned drones and Hellfire missles while the locals talked about one drone and multiple planes and bombs.
Azis and Musharraf are of course playing the U.S.. One day they are cooperating, the other day they let their dogs bark.
And the U.S. has no way to get them out of business without inducing much more trouble.
@anna missed – a Pakistani editorial explaining all the deals Aziz wants to do in Washington – power play.
Nuclear Iran, pipeline and Pakistan’s ‘energy needs’
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 23 2006 14:27 utc | 6
An amazing bit of spin on the Abramoff “two-party” scandal:
Bush Aide Calls Abramoff White House Photos a “Coincidence”
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/1/23/90429.shtml?s=ic
It is now just a “coincidence” that Abramoff was photographed six times at White House functions together with George Bush. The spinners are correct in that it does not mean that he sat down with Bush to conspire to break the law, but it does demonstrate how deeply Jackoff Abram was ensconsed in the Republican camp.
Posted by: ralphieboy | Jan 23 2006 14:32 utc | 8
When Seeing and Hearing Isn’t Believing
By taking just a 10-minute digital recording of Steiner’s voice, scientist George Papcun is able, in near real time, to clone speech patterns and develop an accurate facsimile. Steiner was so impressed, he asked for a copy of the tape.
Just something to keep in mind when the evenings news insists that an audio tape trying to scare you into war is really a dead guy… or that people were making cell phone calls from doomed aircraft to their families.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 23 2006 14:52 utc | 10
Kuwait oil reserves only half official estimate-PIW
OPEC producer Kuwait’s oil reserves are only half those officially stated, according to internal Kuwaiti records seen by industry newsletter Petroleum Intelligence Weekly (PIW).
“PIW learns from sources that Kuwait’s actual oil reserves, which are officially stated at around 99 billion barrels, or close to 10 percent of the global total, are a good deal lower, according to internal Kuwaiti records,” the weekly PIW reported on Friday.
…
PIW said the official public Kuwaiti figures do not distinguish between proven, probable and possible reserves.
But it said the data it had seen show that of the current remaining 48 billion barrels of proven and non-proven reserves, only about 24 billion barrels are so far fully proven — 15 billion in its biggest oilfield Burgan.
Now how big were the lies of the other OPEC states?
Press release:Patriots for Al Gore Calls For NSA Special Counsel
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 23 2006 17:09 utc | 12
i knew al had written a book in ’92 Earth in a Balance and that he has been on the road for the last few years speaking about global warming. it appears some filmakers have made a movie that will be opening at the sundance festival
Early last year, longtime environmentalist Laurie David, wife of “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David, saw the presentation and was impressed. She asked Gore to hold forums in Los Angeles and New York. She invited like-minded activists, including Bender. Bender and Laurie David said they were so moved by the message that they agreed to make a movie based on Gore’s work.
“I said to Laurie, ‘This has to be done on a mass scale, it’s too important,’ ” Bender said. “I thought it could be an amazing feature film.”
They quickly pulled together a team of filmmakers, including director Davis Guggenheim (with many television credits, including episodes of “NYPD Blue”), advertising guru Scott Burns (the creative force behind the “Got Milk?” commercials) and Lesley Chilcott (a line producer known for keeping projects on track).
“We were really nervous,” Bender said. Burns said that if Gore rejected their request, he planned to argue that a film could help reach more people: “Either make a movie or do the presentation 450-million times.”
It didn’t take much convincing.
Gore agreed enthusiastically, and filming started almost immediately. Jeff Skoll’s Participant Productions, the production house behind such movies as “Syriana” and “Good Night, and Good Luck,” signed on to fund the project and many involved agreed to work for free. The crew followed the former vice president to speeches he had scheduled around the world. Bender used connections he forged while producing “Kill Bill Vols. I and II” to set up forums in China.
The schedule was so grueling that Gore jokingly referred to it as “Kill Al Volume III.”
a snip from an amazon review of his book gives al only 2 stars
Gore advocates, on the basis of questionable science, worldwide government action to take control of the biosphere. Without conclusive evidence, indeed, without even compelling evidence, he would have us surrender our freedom and undergo a wrenching change in our lives to avert the coming disaster that he sees. Gore is calling for a ban on the internal cumbustion engine (over 25 years) and a ‘Global Marshall Plan’ whose ends include worldwide ‘family planning.’ The second half of the book is filled with a number of similarly-inspired policy proposals. More disturbing to me is the tone of the book. Gore compares the fight to save the planet to the struggles against Communism and Nazism (pp. 178-180). If Gore’s intention is not to imply that the opponents of his school of eviromentalism are the moral equivalent of Nazis, he does not make that clear. Contrast his treatment of his opponents on the Right with what he says of the Deep Environmentalists, who favor the voluntary extinction of humanity as the best/only way to save the planet. Gore does not accept their arguments, but assumes that they are well-intentioned. No such charitable licence is given to pro-growth opponents
go al
Posted by: annie | Jan 23 2006 17:39 utc | 13
They villify Al for the one good thing he ever said. This is really why he was denied the Presidency in 2000. And recall the corporate media refused to discuss the environment in that election cycle, whinging on and on about the death penalty, which the duopoly decided that it wanted to run on, instead. As an aside, whenever you hear the phrase “we need a national discusssion” about an issue, that is elite-speak aknowledgement that the public is too informed about the issue for the elite to push through regressive measures.
As global resources dwindle, there are only two ways to prevent increasing genocide as a result of resource wars: Conservation and population decrease. Conservation will be labeled “giving in to the demands of eco-terrorism” or “negotiating away the ‘American Way of Life™'”, and population control will be labeled “socialism” or “communism”, or “religious tyranny”, or even “genocide”–which it could become depending on how it is structured–but actual genocide will be labeled “protecting the homeland” or “keeping us safe from terrorism.” Radical redistribution of wealth is only a short-term (historically speaking) holding strategy. By the end of the century, only the most wealthy, greedy, violent, and deceitful–or ignorant and willfully complicit–of us will survive.
Sorry, I’m feeling particularly lost and sad today.
As predictable as a cat in a forest full of native birds, the israeli government has begun to hint at what their reaction will be to the inevitable Hamas win in the Palestinian Authority vote.
“JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered aides on Sunday to draw up contingency plans in the event Hamas makes a strong enough showing in this week’s Palestinian parliamentary election to join the government.
An Israeli cabinet minister cast doubt on the future of peacemaking if the Islamic militant group was given a role in the government. Hamas, contesting the legislative vote for the first time, is committed to destroying Israel.”
Same old, same old. Any questioning of the ‘two state solution’ is termed destroying Israel.
With that is the implication that “jews will be driven into the sea”, which is the emotive and untrue piffle that has been used for 3 generations to justify the dispossesion and slaughter of the Palestinian people.
Democracy In Action:
US/Israeli style. That means Israelis are free to vote in an indicted war criminal (if memory serves Sharon was wanted in Belgium at the time he first won prime minister.
As we now know the charges were only withdrawn after the murder of the chief prosecution witness.
Meanwhile The US can continue to elect their presidents from a family that has been involved in profiteering from every major slaughter of the 20th and now 21st century.
Yet should the Palestinians who are being forced to slowly starve thanks to alleged ‘security controls’, which are economic strangulation of a viciousness not seen since the Warsaw ghetto, vote for the one organisation which has ensured Palestinians eat, despite all attempts to make them curl up and die, they are told:
“Hamas participation in a new government would have a “tragic impact both internationally and on the ability of the Palestinians and Israel to continue to have a dialogue.””
Dialogue? What dialogue? Even Murdoch’s Reuters news wire has said in relation to Israeli pronouncements that Israel couldn’t be expected to stick to Bliar’s ‘road map’ that:
” Israel has not met its own road map pledge to freeze settlement building.”
Ultimately that is what this is all about. If Palestinians elect a government which can’t be bribed by Israel or the US govt’s misuse of US taxpayer funds, that in turn, will mean that Israel will no longer be able to keep up their ‘what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine too’ game.
A ‘peace treaty’ is signed under the glare of world publicity (ie bullshit and totally unrealistic expectations).
The treaty makes all sorts of stringent conditions on Palestinians, conditions which aren’t adjudicated by an independent observer, but by the other highly subjective party to the agreement, Israel. The conditions imposed on Israel are nebulous, worded to ‘drive a coach and horses through’ as they used to say, and also adjudicated by a subjective party, Israel, once more.
When Israel finds Palestine in breach of the ‘road map, treaty, agreement, bog roll* it sends in the rounds. Thousands of em usually followed up with missiles and tanks. “A straightforward ‘police action’ to deal with palestinian perfidy” the world is told.
When Israel breaches the road map by building more houses on land stolen in ’67 and the Palestinian kids throw stones at the bulldozers and then the tanks, the children are shot for being terrorists. The terrorists are “preventing Israel from ensuring their safety by building temporary outposts on occupied” (“well I don’t know about occupied lets call it disputed” says Israel) “Palestinian land”(“well I don’t know about Palestinian land lets call it, yet to be allocated” says Israel).
If the constructions are temporary why are they so solid? Why are they being sold for permanent ownership? (“well temporary? I don’t know about that. We need that security as long as there is a terrorist threat, which could be a while” says Israel).
Anyway we’ve all seen the movie watched the mini-series and worn the bum pack with ‘roadmap’ stamped on it. The US/Israeli reaction to Hamas using the democratic system imposed on Palestine by US/Israel will be turned around. Business as usual.
It can now be the latest ‘excuse’ for holding Palestinian feet to the fire while ignoring Israel’s breaches.
I’ve probably said this before but back in 2000 when BushCo and the Supine court did their number on the dem voters in Florida, I consoled myself with the belief that at least these assholes aren’t gonna cop the sorta shit which the dems wear to abet Israeli colonialism.
Yeah right….
I can’t ‘member now if it was just a case of ‘not paying attention’ or thinking the repugs are just trying to placate the jewish vote and once in power that’ll go the way that election promises have since the year dot.
*bog roll = TP
Posted by: Debs is dead | Jan 23 2006 21:17 utc | 16
Paul Craig Roberts asks “How stupid are the American people?”
Susan Pynchon answers “Stupid is as stupid does”.
Really, this is brain dead, thick as a 2 x 4 territory. There is plenty of evidence that Americans are “Really Dumb” so I expect that we will all live through even more interesting times.
Posted by: DM | Jan 23 2006 21:42 utc | 17
@DoD –
I sometimes think the zionist are reenacting the holocaust. Its not even about the land or the water but just on an eye for an eye and not caring who`s eye it is you take. Sad. very sad.
Debs
You are probably going to attract a lot of jerking knees with your statements. I am glad that you are able to keep a good level of outrage for so long.
I really would like to get a discussion going on this Israel thing. I have some questions and wonder if there is anyone willing to speak as a US Jew and or an Israeli to perhaps address my curiousness. I fully realize that no single person can speak for an entire group but hope that a general sense can be had of what the overall feeling is.
So, without intending any disrespect or crazy conspiracy theories let me lay it out.
It seems that there are many Jews in the entertainment industry who not only write the scripts they also determine which shows are made as producers.
There are of course many Jewish authors and reporters who write for both sides, however it is the editor and/or owner of the paper and/or TV/Radio station who determines what the news is for the day, whether it be the lost whale in the Thames or dead coal miners in Virginia. I believe you will find a disproportionate number of Jews in this area too.
What I am getting at is that through direct lobbying, propagenda efforts such as portraying Arabs in a very negative light in nearly all movies, the incessant hawking of the holocaust, and the subtle framing of everyday discourse, it is my belief that this small group of people exerts immense influence on the entire country of the United States of America. They are great opinion makers.
Now my question is, what is the desired end game? Does the Jewish community see itself as riding on top of the wave as opposed to being swept under with the others? When the social programs are eliminated and totalitarianism is the norm, do they believe they will be the oppressors instead of those being oppressed?
Or could it simply be that they are not seeing what is going down?
Can I get any takers?
Posted by: dan of steele | Jan 23 2006 22:00 utc | 19
Russia’s main intelligence agency says it has caught four British diplomats in a spy scheme worthy of James Bond for its use of bizarre gadgetry.
According to Russian television reports, a piece of equipment that can store and exchange classified information was hidden in a fake rock in Moscow Square, allowing alleged spies to upload and download information in broad daylight while appearing to do nothing more innocuous than use a cellphone or Blackberry.
Russia’s spy agency claims British diplomats planted this fake rock containing espionage equipment.
Russia’s Foreign Security Service, which called the spy rock “absolutely new spy technology,” has also accused British diplomats of channelling funds to non-governmental organizations, NGOs, including one of the country’s best-known human rights watchdogs.
On Sunday, Russian state television broadcast video that showed four British Embassy staff allegedly walking up to a rock to retrieve intelligence that had been uploaded by Russian agents.
ADL chief: Franklin affair could pose threat to Jewish lobbyists
The fact is that ADL was caught spying for Israel in the 90s. AIPAC was caught spying now. The former head of the JDL was caught plotting to blow up a US Congressman. The largest foreign spy ring ever uncovered in the US was spying for Israel, and evidence linking them to 9-11 has been classified by the US Government.
So let’s all feel bad over how the blow-back from all this spying might hurt the poor Israeli lobbyists. Boo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.
Israeli Spying: The Mother of all Scandals
Once again, Israel has been caught with spies at the highest levels of the US Government.
Posted by: Anonymous | Jan 23 2006 22:25 utc | 21
Hey, Malooga, thanks for referencing Haiti.
I am embarrassed for Canada’s role in Haiti (not to mention Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan …) because it’s clear that this country participated from the outset in the recent coup which kidnapped Aristide, and now has RCMP staff training the “forces of order” in that country.
I am well aware of the war profiteering, covert support of the current Iraq invasion (warships, transport, manufacture of ammunition and other war materiel) that has gone on under the radar here.
However, in the lefty coast, Haiti is a prominent issue in the current campaign:
Georgia Straight (I keep calling this weekly paper the Village Voice by mistake)
“You heard me up there,” Robinson told the Straight after a January 16 candidates debate in Gastown. “I said I will go down there and see what’s going on. This [situation in Haiti] is absolutely awful.”
Haiti has been raised as an issue at almost every urban riding in the campaign so far. On January 7 at the West End Community Centre, an audience member questioned Canadian involvement in ousting Aristide and also the fact that Canada is doing little to advocate for the freedom of cancer-stricken prisoner Father Gerard Jean-Juste. Robinson responded by saying he voiced his opposition to the ousting and the imprisonment in the House of Commons.
Also, more details of the real Canada from ZMag:
Justin Podur: … Pinochet did, however, help set the stage for Canadian mining to make handsome profits. Canadian investment in Chile was $4 billion in 1997, making Canada the biggest foreign investor there. At Barrick Gold’s mines, workers are paid $500-1000 a month, while Canadians at the same mines make $5000.
…
quoting Asad Ismi:
“As the Indonesian army and its militias set fire to Dili and killed thousands of East Timorese in September 1999, the Canadian government refused to stop the export of military goods to Indonesia. This at a time when even the United States, Jakarta’s main backer, had suspended military sales to Indonesia, as had the European Union and Australia.
…
three Canadian warships escorted the US fleet in ‘Operation Apollo’. The US fleet was firing Tomahawk missiles at Iraqi targets at the time. Canadian soldiers manned AWACS aircraft to direct missiles at their targets. Canadian officers worked at CENTCOM in Qatar, helping with logistics. US troop transport planes used over-flight and refueling privileges in Canadian aerospace.
Okay, I’ll stop there — the footnoted article describes a US-Canada relationship that has US influencing Canadian elections, Canadian governments preferring corporate profits over humanitarian or ethical concerns while remaining holier-than-thou, profit numbers for arms and military support sales mostly to the US, and on.
Yet this is a country with a generally comfortable society and culture, decent education, acceptable (no longer good) health care for all, and the respect of much of our world neighbors.
If there is a light in the darkness, it is that Canada still stands as a good example to the US, both explicitly (health care) and culturally via our exchange of visitors and workers; Canada’s export of music and comedy, and so on.
How long that is to last is the question of the day. I heard a compelling reason (here on MoA?) as to why the US would never annex Canada politically, in that the Republcians can’t face the thought of a new state with the population of California voting the stright Democrat ticket.
Posted by: jonku | Jan 23 2006 22:26 utc | 22
to add to the theme DM has picked up on –
robert parry: Is Bush Stupid — Or Is America?
Many Americans believe George W. Bush is uninformed, simpleminded and, in a single word, stupid. But there is a different way to look at the evidence and conclude that while Bush may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, it is he who thinks the American people are the real dullards.
After all, Bush is the one who explains the “facts” about current events as if he’s speaking to people with the mental capacity of a five-year-old. He also assumes – with some justification – that his listeners don’t mind being misled and lied to, as long as he gives them some bromides that make them feel good.
Regarding the Iraq War and the War on Terror, Bush has mastered a few talking points that sound pleasing but are essentially nonsense – and he then repeats them endlessly to appreciative audiences as he did on Jan. 11 in Louisville, Kentucky. …
jonku- don’t forget canada’s support of indonesia’s policies toward east timor too. i don’t think the PTBs here in the u.s. are any too worried about another group who votes a dem ticket. the repugs just line ’em up (welfare, nafta, deregulation, gwot, iran, totalitarianism/fascism, etc…) & it’s typically the dems who knock ’em outta the park.
Posted by: b real | Jan 23 2006 23:32 utc | 23
Control Grid: The Prison Without Bars
The government demands to know everything about our private lives and catalog, file and index every aspect of our existence, yet government itself becomes more and more secret with each passing day as it engages in escalating criminal activities. (Does this sound like the land of the free to you?)
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 24 2006 0:03 utc | 24
Canada has decent education.
I recently dropped into the local burger joint where I found a couple of Dr. Suess books amongst all the flashy mags on the counter. Holding one Seuss up, I mentioned to the young proprietor that he had raised the level of reading material (Glamour? I mean really).
He laughed and said that it was funny, well sad really, to watch the teenagers come in and struggle with them
Posted by: gmac | Jan 24 2006 0:19 utc | 25
Hey, Uncle.
Did you ever read “The Shockwave Rider” by John Brunner?
In this early ’70s sci-fi novel, the future is a network-centric, network-connected world. The protagonist was given a high security clearance for his personal identity as a subject in government child prodigy experiment … he goes over the wall after witnessing horrifying genetic experiments.
His computer ID allows him to log in and change any detail of his personal profile, history, even his name.
Anyway, the reason I thought of the book is that as you point out, “government itself becomes more and more secret with each passing day as it engages in escalating criminal activities.”
In this novel, the character writes a computer worm (an independent self-replicating computer virus) that scans the whole database and begins printing out reams of “interesting” information on public terminals, including financial records of a public servant who has a much nicer car and house than he can afford and other embarrassing data on criminal and unethical behavior.
Don’t forget if the data exists it can be read and output, just ask Daniel Ellsberg.
Here’s an excerpt of a review at Literatureview:
“The cyberpunk science fiction of writers such as John Brunner predicts corporations and big government will wield the technology to amass power over the individual. The tool of choice to effect this control is a pervasive information network.”
Posted by: jonku | Jan 24 2006 0:41 utc | 26
@b .. pinch a bit of your bandwidth for this crib – good for a wane smile at least..
The Official 9/11 Truth Joke Book
A man enters a bar and orders a drink. The bar has a robot bartender. The robot serves him a perfectly prepared cocktail, and then asks him, “What’s your IQ?” The man replies “150” and the robot proceeds to make conversation about global warming factors, quantum physics and spirituality, evidence against the official version of 9/11, biomimicry, environmental interconnectedness, string theory, nano-technology, and sexual proclivities of Amazon Basin tribes.
The customer is very impressed and thinks, “This is really cool.” He decides to test the robot. He walks out of the bar, turns around, and comes back in for another drink. Again, the robot serves him the perfectly prepared drink and asks him, “What’s your IQ?” The man responds, “about a 100.” Immediately the robot starts talking about football, trucks, NASCAR, baseball, supermodels, favorite fast foods, guns, and women’s breasts.
Really impressed, the man leaves the bar and decides to give the robot one more test. He goes out and returns, the robot serves him the drink and asks, “What’s your IQ?” The man replies, “Er, 50, I think.” And the robot says, real slowly, “So….ya gonna vote for Bush again?”
* * *
(follow the link for more …)
Posted by: DM | Jan 24 2006 2:54 utc | 27
Anybody interested in Canadian election results tonight, one place to see them is
http://www.cbc.ca/
The Conservatives will be governing as a minority government, which means nothing too radical. The Liberals are temporarily in the penality box for come corruption in Quebec province.
Posted by: Anonymous | Jan 24 2006 4:41 utc | 28
gmac, that’s true. I also didn’t mention Canadian citizen Maher Arar who was taken by the US (with at the very least Canadian complicity if not the actual tipoff) at JFK, tortured in Syria and finally repatriated. Apparrently he had contact with a suspected Syrian bad guy. Thanks, government, it only took you from September 2002 until October 2003 to have my fellow Canadian released:
…
He is questioned in particular about Abdullah Almalki. Arar tells them that he only knows him very casually, but that he worked with his brother at two high tech firms in Ottawa and Hull. He tells them that the Almalki family came from Syria about the same time as his, so the families know of each other.
Arar does not know why they are questioning him so much
about Abdullah. He tells them he has seen Abdullah a few times and he describes, in detail, the times he can remember. Arar is shocked when they show him the rental lease he signed when he moved to Ottawa in 1997. It was witnessed by Abdullah Almalki. Arar remembers this and explains he had asked Abdullah’s brother to sign it, but that he was busy and sent Abdullah instead.
That’s enough to get sent up the river, a document. And a year to get him back.
Posted by: jonku | Jan 24 2006 4:48 utc | 29
The above no-name post re Canadian election results was by me, Owl.
Link properly done
Link to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Here is a site for more information on Haiti and the sordid story about how Canada and other countries are involved.
Lenin’s Tomb
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Haiti: the mildest hint of criticism…
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
ITN: Filthy scumbags. posted by lenin
ITN report on Haiti this evening – the most disgusting, racist episode I’ve seen on television for some time. It begins by setting the scene, explaining that the country has been in chaos and civil war “for years” – not true, of course. The country has been in civil war since the US, France & Canada despatched trained death squad militias from the Dominican Republic in 2004. It continues, that this has been the case since Aristide “fled” two years ago – he did not, of course. He was kidnapped and bungled out of the country against his will by US marines. …l
There are also interesting bits of information found in the Comments section, and most likely much more in the archives.
Posted by: Owl | Jan 24 2006 5:21 utc | 30
Thanks Owl for the link to Lenin’s Tomb Haiti article.
“one thing that has really thrived under the UN occupation has been the trade in Haitian slave workers, mostly children, in the Dominican Republic: they are used for domestic service, prostitution or rural labour.”
I also recall that Canadian apparel companies are thriving via Haitian sweatshops …
Also from the link, “For the UN’s part, it can only consider itself at war with “gang members”, universal code in Haiti for armed supporters of Aristide fighting against the coup government.”
I note that the site says Canada sent 500 troops to Haiti n 1994, however I read elsewhere that the number of troops sent was reduced to 60 — although that may have been just in the beginning.
Well, does anyone have any more information about this … maybe when the Democracy Now! story that Malooga links to above comes out in a transcript.
Posted by: jonku | Jan 24 2006 7:24 utc | 31
Oops, not 1994, 2004:
Lenin’s Tomb: “Since the 2004 coup d’etat, Canada has lent its explicit support to the Group of 184, not only in sending 500 soldiers to aid in the process of ousting Aristide …”
From Zmag:
“Relying on Stephen Kerr (12) again, [Stephen Kerr, “Paul Martin’s Haitan Adventure”, March 5, 2004. En Camino]
“Prime Minister Paul Martin first committed approximately 180 troops from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, as well as the Joint Operations Group from Kingston to provide “security” for the criminal Haitian thugs. When on Thursday it became apparent that the political façade created for the coup was crumbling, Martin scaled back Canada’s commitment to 60 soldiers. Martin claims he is keen to get Haiti “on the right track.””
Posted by: jonku | Jan 24 2006 7:32 utc | 32
Yipppeeee..yahoooo…First good news, since….
Right wing mag, Insight Mag, says:
“A coalition in Congress is being formed to support impeachment,” an administration source said.
Sources said a prelude to the impeachment process could begin with hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee in February. They said the hearings would focus on the secret electronic surveillance program and whether Mr. Bush violated the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
link
Posted by: jj | Jan 24 2006 8:33 utc | 33
bernaaard! don’t rain on the parade just yet, this is great news
Posted by: annie | Jan 24 2006 13:16 utc | 35
way up @ Malooga | Jan 23, 2006 5:15:20 PM:
I heard about this on my local indy station where a former spook was being interviewed. It reminded him more of Monty Python that James Bond.
Posted by: beq | Jan 24 2006 18:28 utc | 36
Weep for your country: Reefer Madness at the NSA
Good write-up on the former director of NSA, General Michael Hayden’s recent speech defending the criminal Bushco.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 24 2006 18:31 utc | 37
More on Haiti as well as other countries south of the US at:
http://narconews.com
and
http://narcosphere.narconews.com
The archives are quite good.
The reporters are a very dedicated bunch.
Posted by: Owl | Jan 24 2006 18:39 utc | 38
The U.S. special operations troops in Africa:
War in the Greatest Desert
In 2004, American Special Forces and Marines visited Mauritania, Mali, Chad, and Niger to train local armies how to bring order to the desert, and that program will grow this year. Meanwhile, covertly, the American military experimented with a new form of battle. Some analysts call it “netwar”—an innovative melding of U.S. intelligence and manpower with local forces. Netwar, according to its proponents, promises to be an effective way to fight terrorists, but it also risks causing political chaos, or worse, lethal military confusion.
@ dan of steele | Jan 23, 2006 5:00:57 PM
I will take you up on this as best I can. I was born and brought up Jewish in NYC and now live in Boston.
It seems to me that you are asking two questions: How do Jewish leaders and opinion makers feel about Israel’s policies, and how do they feel about the neo-liberal agenda in general.
Let’s start with Israel.
First some necessary background: The average leader was born sometime around the establishment of the state of Israel. I would imagine that the overwhelming majority (90%+) know someone whose family or a member therof, if not their own, was killed in the Holocaust. This is the defining event of that generation. And defining events sweep up people who would not ordinarily be political–therefore, subtle arguments about IBM, and Bush and American industry in general, supporting the Nazis before the war will not carry much weight among this group: Their thinking is not that deep and reasoned. They are often, but not always, second generation children of immigrants whose parents were uneducated and came to this country with nothing. They were educated affordably after the GI bill and advanced rapidly up the rungs of society. Therefore they feel a great allegiance to the system that was responsible for their success, which as they see it is American Capitalism. Remember, these are not people with a long historical memory: The Holocaust is real and visceral, the Trail of Tears is not.
They grew up during a time of great flux in Jewish identity. In Europe, outside of Germany during the enlightenment, Jews were just Jews; they only came in one flavor. Now their parents arriving in the US encountered many flavors: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform, to name the most common. These all represent differing Jewish responses to modern industrialized life. On one hand there was a great pressure to conform, to be an American, to fit into society, during the McCarthy 50’s. These were a people tired of being persecuted. On the other hand, there is a great guilt in forfeiting the daily rituals of religious life. Combine that with survivor’s guilt after the Holocaust and you have a very guilty generation. Guilt without understanding can be a dangerous combination.
Now, most of these Jews attended specialized Hebrew school in addition to public school. Hebrew school teachers were not paid a great deal and were often Holocaust survivors. The Holocaust was covered in great detail in Hebrew school. The fact that 1/2 the world’s Jews were killed in but a few years was hammered in again and again. Israel was celebrated with more fervor than the local Baseball team, indeed it was treated very much like the local ball club. There were heroes, and their exploits were recited over and over. And the local ball team was the Brooklyn (which at one time contained 1/4 of America’s Jews) Dodgers, not the Yankees. What I’m getting at is the perception, arguably true until 1967, that Israel was the underdog, a tiny nation surrounded by hostile Arab states. I remember following the 1967 war on a map, day by day, battle by battle, much like the Macabees, in Hebrew school. But I was never taught about Deir Yassin, and when a Palestinian friend first told me the story years later, I didn’t believe him. Indeed, the Palestinian side of the story was never presented, and all Arabs were portrayed no more realistically than the Indians in Westerns: They were the “bad guys.” There were no revisionist historians, no Tom Segevs or even Benny Morris’s.
What I’m attempting to show in this long description is the ethos and propaganda system that most Jews of that time grew up under, so that you can better understand how their beliefs and values were formed.
Now, what percentage of Americans understand the way the world really works and is able to see through the American propaganda system to the truth that, to quote King, “America is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world?”; that Vietnam was not an aberration, but one of a long string of American incursions in support of corporate profits? 10% would be a very generous figure. I would argue, that for all the propaganda, American Jews of that generation penetrated the curtain in even greater numbers; and we have many examples: Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Abbie Hoffman, Paul Krassner, Allen Ginsburg, and Susan Sontag, and the many Jews who took part in the civil rights movement, among others.
The Holocaust has moved from being an supreme atrocity to becoming a convenient symbol appropriated by some Jews as an aid to extortion when they can prove even the remotest complicity. Norman Finkelstein has been denied a teaching position in American Universities for having the temerity to expose this racket. It is particularly sad when brilliant people like Elie Weisel sound like a skipping record about the Jew’s tragedy, but fail to connect this particular case to larger issues of global social justice, remaining silent about Rwanda and Iraq.
To climb the ladders of corporate leadership you have to absorb the very same values, therefore corporate leaders are naturally much more conservative than the rest of society. And there you have the Mortimer Zuckermans and his ilk.
Now, when you get to the Hollywood types and the reporters and the opinion makers of society, what you find is this: Most of them would define themselves as liberal and believe in personal freedoms. But when you get to Israel, again, most cannot get beyond their mis-education: They still see Israel as a tiny persecuted minority, despite the fact that it is a nuclear power with the world’s fourth most powerful army.
Indeed, the same is true among the activist community: It is the single most divisive issue progressive Jews face. I would estimate that the activist community breaks down into a pretty even split in how they view the Palestinian question, though with time Israel is losing legitimacy through its repressive treatment and opinions are changing, moving to a greater understanding of the plight of the Palestinians.
You must understand the amount of money that is thrown at supporting Israel’s position. This is readily apparent when one follows the events that are held in the local Jewish synagogues, shuls and temples here in Boston. Almost all speakers speak from the Likud position. Out of about 25 religious facilities around Boston, maybe 5 or so are progressive and will present the other side of the picture. So, it is always an uphill battle.
Remember, opinion makers get their information from think tanks, and again the disparity in funding between groups like AIPAC and progressive groups like Brit Tzedek is well over 100 to 1.
The rule of so-called impartial Journalism in America is that reporters must remain impartial. To do that they are not allowed to select viewpoints in their coverage. Legitimacy is conferred, and the press may cover, only a viewpoint advocated by someone in power. Since all of Congress trembles before the money of AIPAC and others of their ilk, that necesarily limits the acceptable coverage to one highly slanted toward official Israeli position. Indeed, it should be noted that there is a much greater adherance to the official line in the US than in Israel, where publications like Haaretz regularly cover dissenting views.
As far as the opinion makers kowtowing to the Neo-liberal line, one must first acknowledge the number and prominence of Jewish neo-liberals, the so-called followers of Leo Strauss: Wolfowitz, Pearle, etc. Still, this is predominately a corporate agenda. I imagine that that group rather cynically does see itself, not quite as oppressors, but as Strauss alludes to: an elite who rule the world by noble lies, believing that the average person is not fit to hear and understand the truth.
Hollywood is not entirely comfortable with this. Again, there are many progressive Jews in Hollywood, Rob Reiner to name one. But you also have many people whose own ego is bigger than their awareness of the rest of the world, and many outright whores who are bought and sold by the administration. There are not that many progressive roles for an actor in Hollywood. If you want to work you often have to play some pretty reactionary, reprehensible creatures.
I know many Jewish reporters at the Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal, and they are very troubled with the direction the country is taking. But, as a group, they are scared and find it easier to keep their nose to the grindstone, pay their mortgages, raise their kids, and hope for the best. They don’t see themselves as elite, but only struggling reporters in an ever shrinking, ever more insecure job market.
The real elites, the David Brooks and Bill Safires and Bill Kristols: These guys are like thouroughbred horses.
They are identified and set aside to a special regimen from a very young age; they are fed a diet of idealogically pure pabulum from the start. They are wholly a product of and identified with the ruling elite. More interesting is the case of someone like Paul Krugman, raised middle class about five miles from me. Hired by the New York Times for his brilliance, his writing skills, and principally, his unabashed advocacy of free trade, he has maintained a rare inner honesty. His viewpoint has evolved tremendously, to the point where some might argue that he was the press’s most vociferous critic against the lies and crimes of the Bush administration. Many believe that opinion columns were put behind a firewall precisely because his criticism was so devastatingly effective. He has been perhaps the most articulate spokesman for the economic interests of the middle class, and the interests of the country in maintaining a healthy middle class.
I hope this has answered some of your questions. I would be happy to keep the dialogue open if you have more.
wow. malooga, thank you. i will have to chew on this for awhile , some new information here for me. i don’t know if it has anything to do w/ growing up on the west coast, and not having the same exposure to jewish ‘communities’ where i lived. one thing i was not aware of was a preponderance of”children of immigrants whose parents were uneducated”. for some reason i have always thought of education as being a common denominator for most of the jews i know. as far as an ‘end game’ in dan of steels question, finding a common denominator would seem like an impossibility at this time.
Posted by: annie | Jan 25 2006 4:22 utc | 41
Malooga, that was thought provoking.
…like the local ball club….
nice
Posted by: citizen | Jan 25 2006 4:47 utc | 42
add another wow to the pot, thanks for sharing that Malooga, two words:
Bra vo!
I think what we are in the middle of above all else is a ideological paradigm war. And it seems we are losing.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 25 2006 5:42 utc | 43
Yeah well said Malooga. I was hoping for a response from you or one of the other MoA habitues who are jewish. Coming from anyone else would have been kinda silly and not nearly as enlightening.
Posted by: Debs is dead | Jan 25 2006 7:18 utc | 44
Ford claims quarter-billion dollar tax break for “job creation”
This makes me almost physically sick,
It’s almost enough to make you laugh — bitterly, of course. Here was Ford Motor Co. announcing yesterday that it had cut 10,000 jobs last year and that it will cut up to 30,000 more. But shedding jobs at muscle-car acceleration rates didn’t stop Ford from pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars courtesy of the American Jobs Creation Act.
No, I’m not making this up. Right there, on page 2 of one of its news releases yesterday, Ford said that “repatriation of foreign earnings pursuant to the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 resulted in a permanent tax savings of about $250 million.”
Hello? How can you simultaneously cut jobs and benefit from the American Jobs Creation Act? Welcome to the wonderful world of Washington nomenclature.
Ahh, the wonders of corporate welfare. I think I’ll go puke now.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 25 2006 7:37 utc | 45
WTF?
How The NSA Harasses Thousands Of Law Abiding Americans Daily By The Usage Of Remote Neural Monitoring (RNM)
My first reaction was to dismiss this out of hand, but these strange days, I simply don’t know anymore…
While Ken Kesey will be sorely missed, let’s face it, in a world this twisted who needs fiction?
-unknown
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 25 2006 8:02 utc | 46
Remote Neural Monitoring?? .. I gave it about 30 seconds – but the bottom line of my detailed analysis is that it’s another one of these little disinfo games that (paid or unpaid) 20 somethings like to play. Helps muddy the waters and some of it might even get picked up to discredit someone complaining about real stuff. Anyway my 30secs/2c’s worth.
Posted by: DM | Jan 25 2006 8:39 utc | 47
around the bicentennial time magazine interviewed 50 of the worlds top scientists and ask them what they foresaw for the future. most of them said this century was going to be the century of the mind. i just hope i can hold on to mine.
Posted by: annie | Jan 25 2006 8:42 utc | 48
There’s something I’ve been meaning to bring to MoA for a coupla days but been getting side tracked or running outta steam. It’s this:
US army changes execution rules
By Sarah Morris
BBC News in Washington
New rules covering the death penalty in military courts suggest the US army may be preparing for its first execution since 1961.
The new rules spell out the procedures for carrying out death sentences imposed at courts martial.
There are six men on death row, all held at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
Anti-death penalty campaigners fear the new move may pave the way for the execution of Pte Dwight Loving, who was convicted of killing two taxi drivers.
The drivers were killed while Loving was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, in 1988.
The court of appeals for the armed forces rejected his latest appeal last month.
He now has few legal resources left at his disposal.
The execution would have to be approved by President George W Bush to go ahead
Procedures
Two other servicemen were sentenced to death last year.
Sgt Hassan Akbar was convicted of killing two officers in Kuwait in 2003.
A jury also sentenced Senior Airman Andrew Witt for stabbing to death his wife and another airman.
The new rules are acknowledged by senior ranks as a major revision of the existing situation.
The revision also makes it possible for executions to take place at any military prison, not just Fort Leavenworth.
This, according to anti-death penalty protesters, means it would be technically legal for executions to take place at Guantanamo Bay.
Currently 10 detainees there have been charged with various offences, but none of them are capital cases.
When I read this article it wasn’t the hostages in Gitmo I first thought of. My mind when straight to the links uncle $cam posted upthread, the trigger niggers. I was really impressed with the incredible writing of most of the soldiers, apart from the Lincoln Corp plant but I felt like shaking them and sayin “What are you doin, don’t be blogging about this, its time for action.
Then you will have earned the respect that many of you claimed that you joined up to garner.
I decided not to cause although I can’t really feel for those guys, I’m gonna keep my respect for the guys who put themselves at of unemployment,drug addiction, incarceration and eath by deciding up front not to shoot other meat for the machine, I understand their position enough to wish them no ill will and a posting on their blog recommending they shoot the shit telling them to pull the trigger rather than their fellow humans, wouldn’t achieve anything apart from maybe giving the shit an excuse to close down their bloggs.
From reading whats being written on these bloggs I think that it must only be a matter of time before the troops do mutiny. When they do though it will be as a resuly of a group decision from within.
Army combat life has got them so locked into the ‘band of brothers thing’ in the same way a biker gang or rock band does for its members that these guys are only gonna move when the urge comes from within, not cause some idjit on the other side of the world harangues ’em.
That said I think we need to recognise that the shit in suits at the pentagon will also be feeling that ‘tipping point’ is coming close.
That is what this regs change is about.
The blokes who were too busy making their first mil to get drafted a generation ago must be feeling pretty nervous and I’d say a lot of Jack Murtha’s mates are also feeling like the troops aren’t gonna take much more.
So BushCo is gonna start offing a few grunts pretty soon in the hope that will help them to concentrate and remember to only kill those they’re told to and not those who they think deserve it.
The Gitmo gang will be safe until so many grunts have been offed that a certain section of the sheeple will be gettin agitated. Then they’ll commit one of the worst, most abhorred and longest outlawed war crimes, that is taking the life of an enemy who is your captive and/or who has surrendered.
But that’s OK cause these guys will be unlawful combatants.
Assholes are so predictable.
Posted by: Debs is dead | Jan 25 2006 9:34 utc | 49
With all the crap building up and surrounding and smothering us poor folks here in the US, it’s easy to overlook some of the good stuff that’s happening on the planet.
Evo’s election in Bolivia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf victory in Liberia, and Michelle Bachelet’s win in Chile are all heartening.
Pakistan’s loud rebuke to the US about that idiotic airstrike, as well as Mohamed ElBaradei’s refusal to be bullied by The Axle of Evil on Iran nukes . . . good stuff.
THE QUIET REVOLUTION
Morocco’s King Aims To Build a Modern Islamic Democracy
Snip:
Morocco’s 42-year-old King Mohammed VI has discovered religion as a means of modernizing his society — and progress through piety seems to be the order of the day. By granting new rights to women and strengthening civil liberties, the ruler of this country of 30 million on Africa’s northern edge, which is 99 percent Muslim, plans to democratize Morocco through a tolerant interpretation of the Koran.
As the poverty of Americanism is exposed, it’s good to know that some other humans are struggling to construct, rather than destroy.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 25 2006 11:16 utc | 50
“Then they’ll commit one of the worst, most abhorred and longest outlawed war crimes, that is taking the life of an enemy who is your captive and/or who has surrendered.”
There was a guy in my dad’s platoon during WW2 that regularly shot people with their hands up, as dad said “this guy usually didn’t shoot at anything else”…
Posted by: gmac | Jan 25 2006 11:28 utc | 51
@gmac People like your dad’s squadmate have always been around sometimes on a big scale eg My Lai which is american but it could be any nation’s army fighting any war.
The thing is though the US govt didn’t say My Lai was fair enough, they said it didn’t happen in the way/on the scale alleged.
If the US starts killing the people it captured in Afghanistan, no matter which way you cut it, that will be a first, that is the govt of a nation which is a signatory to the Geneva treaties ordering the deaths of soldiers who have surrendered.
Even though Nuremburg appeared to be a US constituted court it was convened as an international court, not some jack-up US military tribunal.
Posted by: Debs is dead | Jan 25 2006 11:52 utc | 52
@Did, and others..
We are already doing just that. We have been doing what you fear. i.e., “…taking the life of an enemy who is your captive and/or who has surrendered.” And not only that, it was on the major media and in everyones face. I’m to tired to look for it now, but, I promise to find it later. It was a filmed incident of a US soldier shooting (EXECUTING) a wounded Iraqi in the back. ON NATIONAL TELEIVISON. And the troops hooping and cheering him on!
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 25 2006 12:24 utc | 53
In re: Impeachment. Bob Fertik has this to say about what Rove is up to.
Rev. Moon’s Insight Magazine says the White House is gearing up for an impeachment battle. It’s an unsigned article citing anonymous sources so what’s the real agenda here? Let’s see if we can find Karl Rove’s fingerprints…
Thanks Malooga for your post. And dan of steele for asking the question. Brilliant!
Posted by: beq | Jan 25 2006 13:16 utc | 54
Yeah, it seems they are gearing up for impeachment again. But I’m extremely worried about a sinister turn of events. Let me explain.
When Clinton was impeached, it was a huge media circus. The impeachment would not and could not have happened without the complicity of the media to create an issue out of a non-issue (“from whole cloth”) and reinflate the deceitful shroud every day. The right wingnuts were also behind it. Some might say to stymie any progressive agenda Clinton might care to enact; others may argue to cover up the right wing agenda he was actually enacting. In the end, impeachment was shown to be a fatuous exercise, and it failed. The demdems, and the indies, and even the non-caring cynics, all breathed a vast collective sigh of relief that the country had not gone crazy. As an aside, that was the first time I realized the true NPR agenda, with their breathless he said, she said coverage.
O.K. Now we have the Bush impeachment. All the demdems will wet their pants with excitment. We will be treated to the very same circus: Hillary blowdry Clinton, John live shot Kerry, Joe sanctimony is me Lieberman, Joe hairpiece Biden, Nancy eyejob Pelosi, and worse, if there is worse, speechifying endlessly and vacuously. The repugs will stand John keating 5 McCain and Linsay born again Graham against the wall to bleat like sacrificial lambs. If Sen. Byrd actually says anything of substance, everyone will assiduously ignore it or pronounce him too senile to hold office. We will have NPR creating one of their trademark pseudo-intellectual events, replete with resident scholars, house whores, Larry Tribe and Doug Kmiec pointing out trivialities (whoopie v. bungie 1887). And the networks will have a field day. People will be jumping out of windows after OD’ing on Cokie.
But lets look beyond the circus and see how this may play out. At best, the country will be convinced that it was wrong to spy on Americans and we go back to the status quo: Americans spy on Brits, and Brits spy on Amurkans, then they get together and cut bait. Have no fear that that could ever be discussed and debated. At worst, the elite are actually able, through the machinations of the circus and maybe a helpful terrah attack or two, to convince the sheeeeeple that they need to be spied on for their own good. Spying becomes institutionalized law. That would be a fine turn of events. Indeed, it is probably the plan. Dems may get lucky and win some seats, but who cares. They are running to the right of Bush anyway. When they get into power we can look forward to expanding our military and fighting the “War on Terror™” the right way, that is with democratic sub-contractors.
While all this is going on the administration (who can fall off a Segway and chew gum at the same time) will be interpreting and enacting some of the most heinous legislation imaginable, while the whoreporate press (who cannot think and sharpen a pencil at the same time) will be assiduously ignoring it all.
And, of course, in the end Bush, having been impeached, will not be indicted. He will get off, and in doing so will claim another fictitious mandate, and the press will depict this as a triumph of a man who cared about America’s security when ‘others’ didn’t.
And the whole circus, the whole simulacram world, only serves to legitimate itself. The media will be a non-stop orgy chorus of “THE SYSTEM WORKS.” If there was a more corrupt, more ecologically unsustainable system anywhere in the world, I know not of it. But that will be the meme: the reification and deification of the fucking system. Bush is not the Emperor without clothes, the whole system of capitalist endless industrialized growth is. And god forbid the sheeeeeeple should ever grok that. Humanity is the ram that Abraham, now capitalism or the system or whatever you want to call it, is about to slay because god commands it so. Issac is our conscience. Will we awake from the spell before it is too late?
So, I can only see this as a lose-lose proposition for progressives, but probably one that must be fought anyway. Perhaps there is a better strategy that I don’t see. Anyway, sorry to be my usual sunshiney self. Maybe I could find a position as a Hebrew prophet and short order cook?
well, my mind is in a tizzy this a.m. over the possible confirnation of alito. i don’t know why i keep reading the dems wouldn’t pull a filibuster. i know we agreed not to, sort of, but so what. whats left for us if we don’t. decades of hell. if they try to pull a nuclear option like they threatened could it be worse anyway. whats the point of saying vote our way or your vote will be meaningless in the future? it’s already meaningless if we are kowtowing in fear of impotence. i just called my 2 unconfirmed senators again and harry reids office. i swear , we are so down a hole right now why not just throw in the towel if he gets confirmed. any ‘ol bill the executives don’t like they can just sign w/the little caveat and any challenge the supremes can just over ride. honestly, what alternatives will we have. even impeachment he could probably take before the court. i’m at my wits end.
Maybe I could find a position as a Hebrew prophet and short order cook? LOL, you rock
Posted by: annie | Jan 25 2006 17:03 utc | 56
as the situation in the u.s. keeps spinning further into an unaccountable authoritarian/totalitarian rule, it’s probably not a stretch to predict an increase in equalizing forces of resistance & opposition, working outside of increasingly meaningless laws. desperate people take desperate actions, esp when their liberties/freedoms truly are on the line. i’m actually surprised that more u.s. professional-patriot reactionary-types haven’t tried to take matters into their own hands. instead, the feds are trying to get the population to focus on the enviros.
Posted by: b real | Jan 25 2006 17:25 utc | 57
KBR awarded Homeland Security contract worth up to $385M
By Katherine Hunt
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — KBR, the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton Co. (HAL) , said Tuesday it has been awarded a contingency contract from the Department of Homeland Security to supports its Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the event of an emergency. The maximum total value of the contract is $385 million and consists of a 1-year base period with four 1-year options. KBR held the previous ICE contract from 2000 through 2005. The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to expand existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs, KBR said.[emphasis mine] The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency, as well as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency, such as a natural disaster, the company said.
For Did, here’s the link I promised you:
Take No Prisoners U.S. Marines execute an Iraqi to the cheers of fellow marines
-:WARNING:-
This video should only be viewed by a mature audience
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 25 2006 19:02 utc | 58
Malooga
I sincerely thank you for your comments and they are quite enlightening. I have been rather occupied by this crap called work and have not had time to write more questions.
Please allow me to continue this on another day as it is nearing my bedtime now.
dan
Posted by: dan of steele | Jan 25 2006 21:16 utc | 59
As a bar snack, I thought everyone might enjoy a second helping of academia nuts.
Posted by: Monolycus | Jan 25 2006 22:11 utc | 60