Iraq War Fatalities

You have to see this. "Pockets" of resistance? It seems that the resitance has been the same all along and nothing has subdued its intensity. They are going about their business of blowing up things and we are going about our business of getting blown up... This is just weird.

Iraq War Fatalities

The USA: the biggest prison of the world

We are in good company... Russia and South Africa!

REPORT

The Court's Jester Speaks...

... And appears to have admitted defeat.

Rumsfeld Speaks Cautiously on Strength of Insurgency - New York Times: "'The insurgency will be put down by the Iraqi people over time,' Mr. Rumsfeld said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'It won't be won by the coalition forces.' He added that 'insurgencies tend to go on 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 years.' And violence, he said, might increase ahead of national elections set for December."

Hey... Why Not?

It seems to work for them terrorists.

...

Another Lie About to Unfold

"Read my lips... No Reinstatement of the Draft."

Pentagon Creating Student Database: "The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches.

The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying."

The Relentless Mother Fucker

"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Mr. Rove, the senior political adviser to President Bush, said at a fund-raiser in Midtown for the Conservative Party of New York State.

[...]

Mr. Rove also said American armed forces overseas were in more jeopardy as a result of remarks last week by Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, who compared American mistreatment of detainees to the acts of "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others."

"Has there ever been a more revealing moment this year?" Mr. Rove asked. "Let me just put this in fairly simple terms: Al Jazeera now broadcasts the words of Senator Durbin to the Mideast, certainly putting our troops in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals."

Rove Criticizes Liberals on 9/11

See No Evil...

Mission Unsure

"THE PRE-WAR MISSION WAS TO RID IRAQ OF WMD…

Bush: “Our mission is clear in Iraq. Should we have to go in, our mission is very clear: disarmament.” [3/6/03]

AFTER THE WAR BEGAN, THE MISSION EXPANDED…

Bush: “Our cause is just, the security of the nations we serve and the peace of the world. And our mission is clear, to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.” [3/22/03]

Bush: “Our forces have been given a clear mission: to end a regime that threatened its neighbors and the world with weapons of mass destruction and to free a people that had suffered far too long.” [4/14/03]

THEN THE MISSION WAS COMPLETE…

Bush: “On Thursday, I visited the USS Abraham Lincoln, now headed home after the longest carrier deployment in recent history. I delivered good news to the men and women who fought in the cause of freedom: Their mission is complete, and major combat operations in Iraq have ended..” [5/3/03]

BUT THEN IT CONTINUED AGAIN…

Bush: “The United States and our allies will complete our mission in Iraq.” [7/30/03]

THEN THE MISSION WAS TO DEVELOP A FREE IRAQ…

Bush: “That has been our mission all along, to develop the conditions such that a free Iraq will emerge, run by the Iraqi citizens.” [11/4/03]

Bush: “We will see that Iraq is free and self-governing and democratic. We will accomplish our mission.”
[5/4/04]

AND TO TRAIN THE IRAQI TROOPS…

Bush: “And our mission is clear there, as well, and that is to train the Iraqis so they can do the fighting; make sure they can stand up to defend their freedoms, which they want to do.” [6/2/05]

NOW, COMPLETION OF THE MISSION IS FAR FROM CLEAR…

Bush: “We’re making progress toward the goal, which is, on the one hand, a political process moving forward in Iraq, and on the other hand, the Iraqis capable of defending themselves… And we will — we will complete this mission for the sake of world peace.” [6/20/05]


Think Progress » The Ever Changing Definition of “Mission” In Iraq

Nixon Went To China...

... But that didn't help much.

Bush Vows Increased Ties With Vietnam: "Thirty years after the end of a war that divided the United States and ravaged his own country, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai yesterday became the first leader of his nation to visit the White House and won promises from President Bush to bolster economic and military ties between the former enemies."

More from Goss

Salon.com Politics: "BLITZER: How can you be so confident of that when the CIA says they're not confident of that? They dismiss it.

WELDON: Two years ago, the CIA was totally dismissing that bin Laden would be in Iran. But if you look at the recent comments coming out of both the CIA and some of our military generals in theater, they're now acknowledging the same thing that I've been saying -- that in fact, he's been in and out of Iran. No one can prove it exactly until we capture him. But you asked my opinion. My opinion is he's been in and out of Iran several times over the past several years."

All this does not tell us whether bin Laden has been more "in" or more "out" in the past. Bin Laden has been "in and out" of many countries, including the United States... What does that prove?

School of Rumsfeld

it appears that Porter Goss has been schooled at the Rumsfeld School of Press Conference wherein you learn to ask your own questions and then proceed to answer them... at the lest. Whether or not such question and answer is relevant is secondary.

Salon.com Politics: "One of them, from Time's Timothy Burger, is whether or not the U.S. could 'go to war again based on false intelligence.'

GOSS: I would not agree to surmise that America has gone to war based on false intelligence. I would say that the right question is: Should America be checking out threats to America? The answer is yes. And will we find some threats were more talk than real? Yes, we will."

Some Get Praised For Fulfilling Their Obligations

They probably think we are stupid. It is Israel's duty and obligation to 1) withdraw front the occupied territory that is call the Gaza Strip, and 2) to destroy or allow to be destroyed all illegal settlements. That Israel has agreed to abide by International Law and fulfill its duty is hardly a monumental event.

The fact that after almost 40 years and many UN Resolutions calling for Israel to withdraw and to comply with International Law and many other Resolutions calling for it to stop settlement activities in the occupied territory, Israel is finally is making an attempt to comply with the law should, well... be expected.

Israel Agrees To Demolish Its Settlers' Gaza Homes: "JERUSALEM, June 20 -- Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed that Jewish settler homes in the Gaza Strip will be demolished as Israeli citizens and soldiers leave the area this summer, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Sunday after two days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials."

Hammer

AOL Television: Greatest American

All right... I can understand numbers 1 to 3 and number 5. But, number 4? That walking, bumbling of an idiot nominated for the greatest American spot? Sheeeesh...

AOL Television: Greatest American

One More...

It's Sunday after all.



Via Hoffmania.

WoW... The "Liberal" Media...

... Finally acts like the Media should!!!

More than six weeks after it originally appeared in the British Media, AP finally picks up the "news":

Memos Show British Fretting Over Iraq War: "When Prime Minister Tony Blair's chief foreign policy adviser dined with Condoleezza Rice six months after Sept. 11, the then-U.S. national security adviser didn't want to discuss Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida. She wanted to talk about 'regime change' in Iraq, setting the stage for the U.S.-led invasion more than a year later.

President Bush wanted Blair's support, but British officials worried the White House was rushing to war, according to a series of leaked secret Downing Street memos that have renewed questions and debate about Washington's motives for ousting Saddam Hussein."

:/

How Much My Vote is Worth

Find out how who and how much the Bushies have collected in contributions...

Bad companies

Shit Place to Live...

Poll (Fox News Notwithstanding)

Perhaps Karl Rove knows a demolition crew he could send to some city in order to blow some towers up to get a boost in his Boy's approval ratings...

"BUSH'S JOB APPROVAL

Disapprove Now 51%
5/2005 48%
5/2004 52%

Approve Now 42%
5/2005 46%
5/2004 41%

Bush's job approval dropped significantly since last month among people aged 30 to 44, from 52 percent to 40 percent now. Approval among those in middle-income households (incomes between $30,000 and $50,000) also dropped, from 46 percent in May to 40 percent now. Bush also lost ground among white Catholics. "

CBS News | Bush's Approval Ratings Stay Low | June 16, 2005 22:00:01

***Must See TV***

Just a Bump in the Beltway: "The Conyers' hearing will be re-broadcast tomorrow night on C-Span 2 at 8 PM EDT. Make whatever arrangements you need to make in order to see this, it is an extraordinarily powerful event. Throw together a house-party and invite your friends and relations. The remarks (not 'testimony,' this wasn't a legal hearing and no one was sworn in) by attorney John Bonifaz of afterdowningstreet.org on the constitutional issues were particularly convincing.

Those who are unfamiliar with the Constitution are probably not aware that we are in a constitutional crisis on at least three levels in this country. The Constitution requires congressional oversight of the executive. This Congress fails to do so. The Constitution requires a commission of iinquiry when faced with compelling evidence that the executive branch committed a possible felony in providing Congress with information which is untrue or incomplete. In order for the balance of powers to function, the federal judiciary needs to be free of political partisans who make partisan rulings from the bench.

These great dangers are off the radar screens of all but constitutional scholars in this country because they can't be explained in the 10 second sound bites that pass for news in the US.

Watch the Conyers hearing tomorrow night or online in the C-span archive. This was a great moment for democracy."

Reminder

Of the top oil producing countries in the world, only one is a democracy with a president who was elected on a platform of using his nation's oil revenue to benefit the poor. The country is Venezuela. The President is Hugo Chavez. Call him "the Anti-Bush."

Citgo is a U.S. refining and marketing firm that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. Money you pay to Citgo goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. There are 14,000 Citgo gas stations in the US. (Click here to find one near you.) By buying your gasoline at Citgo, you are contributing to the billions of dollars that Venezuela's democratic government is using to provide health care, literacy and education, and subsidized food for the majority of Venezuelans.

From Common Dreams

Since I saw this back around the beginning of this month, I have been filling up only at Citgo... It feels good not to put money into the pocket of the Bushies and their oily friends here and in the Middle East. It really feels good.

Demand it...

Play Space Invaders!!!

Wow.. I had not played this game for soooooooooooo long! Love it.

Dan-Dare.net - Space Invaders Game

Quotable

Four more years of George Bush will be like four more years of syphilis. Only a fool or a sucker would vote for a dangerous loser like Bush. He hates everything we stand for, and he knows we will vote against him in November.

— Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing Campaign 2004

Things Any Self-Respecting Male Should Know

Take a wooden matchstick and slice a thin sliver from one side

The Flexibility to be Flexible...

White House defends Iraq postwar planning: "'Some things we prepared for did not happen, like large numbers of refugees needing humanitarian assistance, and others we did not expect, such as large numbers of regime elements fleeing the battlefield only to return later,' said Almacy. 'Anytime you go to war you have to be flexible to adapt to the unexpected. That is why we gave our commanders the flexibility to do so.'"

A Positive Development

OK--The "Smoking Gun" Memo II hits the front page of "a" Newspaper. Here the Washington Post talks about this second memo that was leaked. The focus of this memo is the fact that the Bushies were not adequately preparing for the aftermath of the invasion and the costly and protracted invasion that was sure to follow and was then being predicted by the British.

The interesting point about this article is that it points out the jest of the previous memo leaked to the media more than a month ago about the Bush Administration "fixing intelligence around" the idea of invasion only down next to the last paragraph... So if you do not read that far you will miss it.

Liberal Media...

And of course no mention of this new Memo on NYTimes.com...

Liberal Media... I tell you. With Liberals like this who needs Conservatives.

Memo: U.S. Lacked Full Postwar Iraq Plan

History...

div_10474542800

A foreign policy driven by fear

A foreign policy driven by fear: "When Timothy McVeigh bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City in an act of domestic terrorism, this was treated like the criminal act it was. No one declared war on the right-wing militias that had given birth to the thinking that underlay his actions. We have learned to live with and contain these forces that sanction the overthrow of our government, and they remain marginalized.

Why could we not similarly contain the radical Islamists who seek our destruction? The answer, of course, is fear. They are foreign to us and therefore more threatening, their motives and methods obscure. So we attack them (and those who resemble them) and try not to notice how like them, brutal and ruthless, we are becoming in the process.

We also seem not to notice how our lashing out is creating more of them. We act as if we can revoke some basic rules of human behavior: We are not defined by what we say but by what we do. Illegitimate means cannot be justified by laudable ends. We can't spread freedom by lies and torture.

We are frightened by what we cannot understand: death, foreignness, religious fanaticism. What we ought to consider is what our fear has driven us to become."

Gmail for All

I have another 50 (that's right... Fifty!!)
invites to give out. Anyone wants it leave your email and will send you one.

A Rather...

... plump Jesus!

The Revenge...

... of Baghdad Bob: "It has gotten so that on the subject of Iraq, the way you can tell when Bush is lying is that his mouth is moving."

On Colin Power

I do not want to hear anyone tell me how much of an honorable person this man is. What he really is, is a good liar.

disinformation | colin powell

Interesting Statistics

"Working families have seen little if any progress over the past 30 years. Adjusted for inflation, the income of the median family doubled between 1947 and 1973. But it rose only 22 percent from 1973 to 2003, and much of that gain was the result of wives' entering the paid labor force or working longer hours, not rising wages.

Meanwhile, economic security is a thing of the past: year-to-year fluctuations in the incomes of working families are far larger than they were a generation ago. All it takes is a bit of bad luck in employment or health to plunge a family that seems solidly middle-class into poverty.

But the wealthy have done very well indeed. Since 1973 the average income of the top 1 percent of Americans has doubled, and the income of the top 0.1 percent has tripled."

Losing Our Country - New York Times

On Liberty

"On Liberty contains a rational justification of the freedom of the individual in opposition to the claims of the state to impose unlimited control, and has become a classic of libertarian philosophy.

In this essay Mill also warns of a second danger to liberty, which democracies are prone to, namely, the tyranny of the majority. In a representative democracy, if you can control the majority (and get them to vote for, and elect, your candidates) then you can control everyone (because your candidates, once 'democratically elected', will pass whatever laws are needed for this, as was done by Hitler's agents in the 1930s in Nazi Germany and seems to be happening today in the U.S.A.)."

John Stuart Mill's Essay On Liberty

Some people may read the quote above and dismiss it as another "liberal" exageration. But, before dismissing anything, I also suggest reading the following essay:

"But besides all of this, we are squandering the freedoms and the ideals that we inherited from those who have gone before us, and that have made this country great. This administration actually argued in court that the President has the right to decide that any citizen is an enemy combatant, and that if he so decides, he can detain that citizen without charges, access to counsel, or trial, simply on his say-so. Their arguments did not prevail, but the administration that sought to deprive its citizens of some of our most basic rights -- the right to be imprisoned only on specific charges, to be tried on those charges, and to be represented by counsel -- has never been held to account for doing so. To most Americans, as far as I can tell, the fact that George W. Bush sought to strip us of a right that has been upheld since the Magna Carta has not even registered."

Obsidian Wings: More Things We Throw Away

Goodbye Mrs. Robinson

"Actress Anne Bancroft died.
She was 73. She died of cancer, spokesman John Barlow said June 7."

Quotable

"Appellate judges sit above the fray as the battle unfolds beneath. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, they descend from their lofty perches and shoot the wounded."

From Have Opinion, Will Travel

!!!

Movies to Watch

Wim Wender's movies I should watch.

Movie Timeline

Amnesty Int'l Director Responds to President Bush--in Letter to Editor

Published: June 04, 2005 11:00 AM ET

NEW YORK In a letter to the editor published Saturday in The New York Times, William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International, responded to President Bush's widely-published charge that the group's charges of wide human rights abuses in the war on terror were 'absurd.' Schulz called the charge 'ironic.'

If Amnesty's reports are so 'absurd,' Schulz asked, 'why did the administration repeatedly cite our findings about Saddam Hussein before the Iraq war? Why does it welcome our criticisms of Cuba, China and North Korea? And why does it cite our research in its own annual human rights reports?

'No amount of spin can erase the myriad human rights abuses committed by United States officials in the 'war on terror.' The United States cannot simultaneously claim that it 'promotes freedom around the world' while detaining tens of thousands at Guantánamo Bay, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and in Iraq and other locations without charge or trial and allowing those civilian and military officials responsible for orchestrating a systematic policy of torture to escape accountability.

'Instead of attacking us, President Bush should insist upon a truly thorough, independent investigation of those who tried to circumvent global prohibitions on torture, and he should open all detention centers to scrutiny by independent human rights groups. Only then will the world be able to judge whether it is Amnesty International or the president whose perspective deserves to be called 'absurd.''

The letter was written before the Pentagon acknowledged abuse of the Koran at Guantanomo on Friday night."

Amnesty Int'l Director Responds to President Bush--in Letter to Editor

Kill The Messenger

Mysterious Ways...

The banana...

1. is perfectly shaped for the human hand.

2. has a non-slip surface.

3. has outward indicators of inward content.

* Green lets you know that it's not ready to eat yet.
* Yellow lets you know that it's just right to consume.
* Black lets you know that it's far too late to put it in your belly.

4. has a tab at the bottom to facilitate removal of its wrapper.

5. has a perforated wrapper for easy peeling.

6. has a bio-degradable wrapper.

7. is perfectly shaped for the human mouth.

8. has a point at its top for ease of entry.

9. is pleasing to the taste buds.

10. is curved towards the face to make the eating process easy.

To say that the banana happened by accident is even more unintelligent than to say that no one designed the Coca Cola can.

Note: The actual wording of this argument and the picture of the banana (shown above) was taken from an evangelical Christian website, but Kirk’s fundamental argument was substantially the same--except for his choice of words."

Godless Bastard - . Got Logic?

And They Blame the "Welfare Queen"...

... For everything.

Not Since the 20's Roared

Update:

"The Times set out to create a financial portrait of the very richest Americans, how their incomes have changed over the decades and how the tax cuts will affect them. It is no secret that the gap between the rich and the poor has grown, but the extent to which the richest are leaving everyone else behind is not widely known.

...

* Under the Bush tax cuts, the 400 taxpayers with the highest incomes - a minimum of $87 million in 2000, the last year for which the government will release such data - now pay income, Medicare and Social Security taxes amounting to virtually the same percentage of their incomes as people making $50,000 to $75,000.

* Those earning more than $10 million a year now pay a lesser share of their income in these taxes than those making $100,000 to $200,000.

* The alternative minimum tax, created 36 years ago to make sure the very richest paid taxes, takes back a growing share of the tax cuts over time from the majority of families earning $75,000 to $1 million - thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars annually. Far fewer of the very wealthiest will be affected by this tax."

From Daily Kos

Who Is...

... Dave Chappelle. And why should I care about where he is, where he has been, and where he is going?

There Are Alternatives to Slavery

"There are alternatives to the Wal-Mart low-wage model. Costco, for example, has 449 warehouses internationally, $47 billion in revenue and 113,000 employees, and uses a high wage model. And, depressingly, it has been attacked by Wall Street for 'caring too much about its customers and it employees.'

As Nina Shapiro points out in Seattle Weekly, 'Wal-Mart's business model relies on relentless cost-cutting. Wal-Mart's 1.2 million U.S. employees earn an average of $9.99 an hour, less than two thirds of Costco's average.'

It has long been a goal of grassroots progressives to connect their issues with the populist roots of small businesses and rural inhabitants. But that objective has been elusive. Much to the consternation of progressives, working-class voters have given conservatives their votes and, in the minds of many, not voted their economic interests."

AlterNet: Turning Up the Heat on Wal-Mart

Interesting Equation

"Kurtz's argument -- which O'Reilly embraces -- is that when legal rights are accorded to gays, through some unspecified process heterosexual couples begin bearing children out of wedlock and refuse to marry when they otherwise would."

How do these people get to be on TV?

O'Reilly's False Claim

Kissinger on Bush

"In a clear rejection of George W. Bush's advocacy of democracy, he argued: “I do not believe India will join a crusade to spread democracy. For the US to crusade in every part of the world simultaneously to spread democracy may be beyond our capacity.”

While he noted that US-India relations had improved considerably over the last 30 years, he disagreed with suggestions that India should be built up as a counterweight to the growing strength of China in the region.""

Kissinger warns of energy conflict

New Top Level Domain

I think it is a good idea--if it is implemented right and all sites abide by the same rules (which is a big if...).

Code-Abiding Porn to Get .xxx Domain

Buy Your Gas at Citgo: Join the BUY-cott!

"Looking for an easy way to protest Bush foreign policy week after week? And an easy way to help alleviate global poverty? Buy your gasoline at Citgo stations.

And tell your friends.

Of the top oil producing countries in the world, only one is a democracy with a president who was elected on a platform of using his nation's oil revenue to benefit the poor. The country is Venezuela. The President is Hugo Chavez. Call him 'the Anti-Bush.'

Citgo is a U.S. refining and marketing firm that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. Money you pay to Citgo goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. There are 14,000 Citgo gas stations in the US. (Click here http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator/StoreLocator.jsp to find one near you.) By buying your gasoline at Citgo, you are contributing to the billions of dollars that Venezuela's democratic government is using to provide health care, literacy and education, and subsidized food for the majority of Venezuelans."

Buy Your Gas at Citgo: Join the BUY-cott!

:-\

Democracy Lite 6/1/05

Shitty Place to Live I Tell Ya...

Ten-day Forecast

It is About Time...

"Anti-war activists upset by the continuing violence in Iraq are planning demonstrations in Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco this fall to urge the administration to bring U.S. troops home."

Anti-war coalition planning major protests

Is Bush a Sith Lord?

"In a moment of triumph, Palpatine tells the Senate: 'In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society.' The senators respond with sustained cheering and applause. Padme says, 'So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.'"

Is Bush a Sith Lord?

The American Taliban...

... Strickes again:

Patriot Pastors a project of Ohio Restoration Project "To see 2,000 Ohio Patriot Pastors who understand the sacred trust of this moment in history and who are mobilized to make a difference by the close of the 2006 election cycle."

Whatever happened to the sepration of Shit and State?

So That's What it's Called

Ratfucking

Ratfucking is a political term, brought to public attention by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in their Pulitzer Prize winning book, All The President's Men. It is the performing of an act, or acts, of political sabotage.

Their investigation of activities leading to the Watergate break-in on June 17, 1972 revealed a program of orchestrated political sabotage performed by supporters of Richard Nixon against political opponents. These included, but were not limited to, activities designed to interfere with political rivals; canceling meeting halls prior to rallies, releasing false press releases or "leaked documents" in the name of political opponents, spying on rival campaigns, stuffing ballot boxes and other less than salubrious activities.

Ratfucking is essentially electoral fraud, but is often extended beyond specific election campaigns or campaign periods.

From Wikipedia

Karl Rove didn't invent anything... He is merely a mimicking the past, although with a bit more success.

Graphic: How Class Works

New York Times (yes, I still read it from time to time) has an iteresting interactive graph about class. Of all the aspects presented, I find the income mobility graph comparision between five countries most interesting.

Graphic: How Class Works